A thin place

Church of the Immaculate Conception*, Inis Meáin, County Galway, Ireland. The inscription on the altar cloth translates as 'My Lord and my God'. The stain glass window is the work of the famous artist, Harry Clarke.

To mark our anniversary, we are spending some time on one of the three Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. It is a refreshing break from the heatwave in the south-east of Ireland. With temperatures 10–12 degrees lower than at home, the cool, fresh climate is most welcome.

The island on which we are staying is possibly one of the quietest places I have ever visited. The sound of the ocean and the occasional passing car are the only intrusions. A small church serves the 180 souls who live on the island. It provides an oasis of peace and a sense of closeness to God.

There is something mysterious about this place, embraced by the ocean and blessed with a rich and unique landscape and ecosystem, where one senses the hand of God at work. Like the other two islands that make up the Aran Islands in County Galway, it is dotted with the ruins of ancient churches and monastic sites dating from the first millennium. It has long been a place of refuge for fishing communities, farmers, textile workers, monks, musicians, story-tellers, hermits, refugees, poets and artists.

Today, the islands welcome large numbers of visitors from across the globe, although Inis Meáin, where we are staying, is by far the quietest of the three. The islands are also home to small, tightly knit Irish-speaking communities, where  it is as if the melodies of spoken Irish seem to blend with the sounds of the sea.

We are blessed to be here. The presence of Jesus in the reserved Blessed Sacrament—a gift never to be taken for granted - is within a short walking distance of where we are staying.  There is something of a "thin place" about this island—a place where the boundary between heaven and earth seems less defined, and where the presence of God is more easily sensed amid the sound of the ocean, the ancient stones and the quiet rhythm of island life.  For centuries the inhabitants have used native limestones using carefully balanced and inter-locking flat stones so the stone walls can withstand the Atlantic storms.

Note about the Church of the Immaculate Conception:

"The stained glass behind the church’s alter depicts the Virgin Mary flanked by St. John the Baptist and St. Enda. John the Baptist is the patron saint of the islands and he is celebrated every year on June 23 with a bonfire, sing-song, and mass—which, if the day was nice, is held outside, just to make it special." from this source.