Finding One’s Resurrection retailer Conaire Celtic Saint

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ABOUT:

14. FINDING ONE' RESURRECTION
(Canaire of Inish Cathaig)

It is in affirmation of God's purposes for our lives that we find our place of resurrection.

STORY:

Conaire sensing that Inis Cathaig was to be her place of resurrection, immediately began her 182 km arduous journey walking north towards Inis Cathaig.  It is said that she completed this journey by walking across the water. Some say that she was carried by an angel to the river from Bantry Bay and that she then walked across the water to the island.  Perhaps she even sailed part of the way from Bantry Bay to Inis Cathaig. After her long and treacherous journey, she was greeted on the shoreline by St. Senan himself who informed her that only men were allowed on Inish Cathaig and that he would not allow her to be on the island. He tried to give her some consolation by saying that she could stay with a kinswoman of his in the area.

This strong-willed woman of faith who having lived as a hermit for many years, was not fearful of or put off by Senan. She boldly told him that Christ came to redeem women no less than to redeem men.  No less did he suffer for the sake of women than for the sake of men. No less than men, women enter into the heavenly kingdom.

St. Senan, likely taken aback at this forthrightness of this courageous woman and realizing she spoke scriptural truth, gave her Communion from his hand and a place for her to rest on the edge of the island, still not allowing her to go further inland. As soon as she received Communion, she crossed over to the other side of the veil, dying on the beach of this island. She was buried on the edge of Inis Cathaig and her grave is marked by a flag on Scattery Island.
- Rev. Brenda Warren

MEDITATION:

The Celtic saints would often travel to a location where they expected to die and move from this earthly life into the heavenly realm. This was known as finding one's “place of resurrection”. But this story of Conaire offers us a deeper metaphor for which we can apply to our own lives.

Her “place of resurrection” was actually found just before her death, and no doubt many times prior to that. It was her Susan B. Anthony or Rosa Parks moment, so to speak. It was a defining moment of truth and life. It was that which was placed in her core-being from birth; that she is made in the image of God, and in the ultimate truth that Christ came to redeem all.

We all have our defining moments. They don't necessarily have to be world changer moments, but they are most certainly for us, no matter how small. These are encounters, decisions and directions that give us life, not death. They make us more alive than we've ever been. These moments give us purpose and resolve. It's these times of resurrection that indeed draw us closer to God and who we were made to be.

PRAYER:

Now to the Creator who made each creature,
Now to the Son who paid ransom for His people,
Now to the Holy Spirit, Comforter of might—
Shield and protect us from every wound.
Be about the beginning and end of our race;
Let us sing in glory, In peace, in rest, in reconciliation,
Where no tear shall be shed,
where death comes no more.
- from the book, Earth Afire with God

BIO:

Little is known about this Irish woman solitaire, except what appears in the medieval hagiography of Saint Senan, a holy monk who lived on Scattery Island, off the western Irish coast. According to it, Canaire (or Cannera) lived and prayed for many years in a cell which she had built near Bantry Bay. Shortly before her death, she decided to visit Senan's island-home. Considering her words to Senan about his lack of hospitality, she may well have been the first Irish feminist! She also evidently had a positive effect on the older man, for early legends say that Aidan of Lindisfarne was a disciple of Senan, and he certainly, as we have seen, was a significant mentor for both women and men.
- Edward Sellner

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