{"id":34457,"date":"2016-06-22T01:05:38","date_gmt":"2016-06-22T07:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=34457"},"modified":"2016-06-22T01:08:58","modified_gmt":"2016-06-22T07:08:58","slug":"out-of-the-solitude-of-lindisfarne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/06\/out-of-the-solitude-of-lindisfarne.html","title":{"rendered":"Out of the solitude and silence of Lindisfarne"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lindisfarne's<\/a>
Lindisfarne Castle, an extremely pleasant walk from where I\u2019m now writing, is a relative newcomer to the island, and quite foreign to the original spirit of the settlement. It is a fort that dates back to shortly after the time of Henry VIII in the sixteenth century, and was built, in part, with stone taken from the nearby priory \u2014 which like so many other religious establishments in England, the king had looted during his version of the Reformation. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

My wife and I spent the night on Holy Island, as the isle of Lindisfarne has been known for many centuries. \u00a0It\u2019s easy to drive over here at broad intervals, but, when the tide is in, this place becomes truly an island, separate from the coast of England.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

By fortunate coincidence, we made the acquaintance of a Catholic nun here named Tessa \u2014 she wears no \u201chabit\u201d or distinctive clothing, so we only know that she\u2019s a nun because she told us \u2014 and enjoyed several conversations with her.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the tide is high, she said, you don\u2019t need to look to see it. \u00a0You can feel it, she explained. \u00a0The tourists have gone, and the stillness is palpable.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

She is right.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Holy Island or Lindisfarne was an important center of early Celtic Christianity in England. \u00a0It\u2019s particularly associated with St. Aidan, who had come as a missionary from the island of Iona off the western coast of Scotland in the mid-600s, and with St. Cuthbert, who flourished later in that same century. \u00a0(An anonymous biography\u00a0of St. Cuthbert may be the oldest surviving example of historical writing\u00a0in the English language.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lindisfarne<\/a>
The beginning of the New Testament book of Luke in the Lindisfarne Gospels
(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, of course, it\u2019s famous for the beautiful Lindisfarne gospels, which were created here.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given the quietude of this place when the tourists are gone, I was struck by a prayer attributed to St. Aidan of Lindisfarne:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leave me alone with God<\/p>\n

as much as may be.<\/p>\n

As the tide draws the waters<\/p>\n

close in upon the shore<\/p>\n

make me an island, set apart,<\/p>\n

alone with you, God, holy to you.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then with the turning of the tide<\/p>\n

prepare me to carry your presence<\/p>\n

to the busy world beyond,<\/p>\n

the world that rushes in on me<\/p>\n

till the waters come again<\/p>\n

and fold me back to you.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Lindisfarne, Northumbria, England<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 My wife and I spent the night on Holy Island, as the isle of Lindisfarne has been known for many centuries. \u00a0It\u2019s easy to drive over here at broad intervals, but, when the tide is in, this place becomes truly an island, separate from the coast of England. \u00a0 By fortunate coincidence, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOut of the solitude and silence of Lindisfarne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    My wife and I spent the night on Holy Island, as the isle of Lindisfarne has been known for many centuries. \u00a0It's easy to drive over here at\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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