Website of the Week

Just 500 years or so after the death of Christ, the first monks arrived on Skellig Michael, an island 12km from Ireland's south west coast, lying at the very edge of the then known world. The monastery that they established in this inhospitable environment remains one of the most remarkable testaments to human faith on earth. The island was the westernmost sacred site along a long line of ancient pilgrimage places running from Mount Carmel in Palestine through Greece, Italy and France to Ireland.

Website of the Week, 28th February 2021

40 Days: A Visual Meditation through 40 Works of Art

For more online Lenten spiritual resources, click here.
And click here for New Pilgrim Path's weekly Lent Blog.

Forty is a significant number in the Bible. Rain fell for 40 days during the Flood. The Israelites wandered for 40 years. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days. Jonah preached in Nineveh for 40 days. Christ fasted 40 days in the desert. The Ascension took place 40 days after Easter Sunday.

It seems a cruel coincidence that this Lent coincides with at least 40 more days of lockdown (or quarantine - another 40!) in many countries. Yet, this video from the outstanding Christian Art* website reminds us that at the end of every significant 40 days in the Bible, significant transformation occurred. Moses received the Ten Commandments. The Israelites found the Promised Land. Jonah converted Nineveh. Christ began his great redemptive mission. May this Lent transform us, too.

* Christian Art was founded by Patrick van der Vorst, a former director of Sothebys and now a seminarian for the Diocese of Westminster, based at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome.

YOUR CART