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A Word from Our Associate&
Skellig Michel
Recently, I saw a video and presentation on certain early monastic sites off the coast of Ireland. In total, 24 small islands surrounding Ireland were at one time in Christian history, used as a base for different monastic communities. One in particular, called Skellig Michel, fascinated me more than any other, partly because of it austerity and natural surroundings, partly because of the necessary courage of the monks who sought solitude here, on the edge of the universe. Skellig Michel is a tiny island off Ireland's western coast, standing about 300 yards tall, possessing the same width. It is composed, almost entirely, of rock, which climbs precipitously and mystically from the ocean floor towards heavenly glory. It is continuously battered by Atlantic waves, endures torrential rains, and on a few days of the year, enjoys a cool summer breeze.
In the fifth century, on what seemed and still seems to be uninhabitable land, an adventurous group of Celtic Monks, decided to create their monastery. Their dwellings were built on cliffs, using stone rocks from the island: i. e. large chips of rock. When stacked upon each other, these stones formed what looks like beehive huts, each measuring 5 feet in diameter and 4 1/2 in height (about five huts in total, with a chapel near by). It is estimated that 12 to 20 monks dwelled on this island at a time, and for three or four centuries consecutively, until finally, Viking invaders plundered and pillaged what little the monks had, taking the men captive as slaves.
Why would a monk choose such a difficult lifestyle? Why this seclusion on the furthest corner of the earth? The only answer and power in the universe which could inspire such bravery is the Holy Spirit. These monks must have hungered for an experience of the divine that motivated them to sell all they had and follow Christ to the most deserted of all places. Holy people, we are told, actually grow in their desire for 'alone time' as depth of prayer increases. Where is your desert place, to be alone with the Alone? Is there a sanctuary in your house, or nearby, which offers silence and solitude, to set aside all worries and concerns, and simply gaze upon the loveliness of the Lord? We all need an island of refuge from the world. Our desert place may seem at first, uninhabitable, because unknown and unfamiliar, yet, like the monks of Skellig Michel, if we give it time, we will find heavenly treasure.
-- Fr. Michael Becker
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