The Narnia Code: Revd. Michael Ward

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Every year I receive an Alumnus Chronicle from the University of St. Andrews. These are always a great joy to read and give me the opportunity to think back as well as catch up with new events. This year I noted a fascinating sketch about the Rev. Michael Ward, a priest in the Church of England, who is also a Chaplain at St. Peter's College, Oxford. He did his PhD at St. Andrews on C.S. Lewis and is the author of Planet Narnia (2008) a book which is shaking the foundation of Lewis studies, and revolutionizing the way people understand the Narnia series. My own interest in Lewis begged me to ask for more, to contact Rev. Michael Ward, and write this article.

Ward claims to have discovered a secret code in Lewis's fictional series The Narnia Chronicles (1950-1956). In detective like fashion, Ward  believes he has unearthed the governing scheme behind the Chronicles. The discovery came when Ward was reading Lewis's The Discarded Image (1964), one of Lewis's finest academic books which describes the medieval cosmology and worldview. There Lewis discusses the medieval image of the seven heavens which contains the seven planets which revolve around the earth, and also influence the earth, including its people. These "planets" included the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

According to Ward, these "planets" are the backdrop to the Narnian world. Each book corresponds to one of the planets. This is a fascinating idea because this dimension adds another layer of depth to the books. Turns out the Chronciles are much more sophisticated then we ever thought.

How does this play out in the books themselves? Jupiter, the "King" of the planets is featured in The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe in Aslan. Mars, the planet of war, is central to Prince Caspian, where a civil war erputs. The Sun has a key role in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where the ship sails in the direction of the sun. The moon is central in The Silver Chair, and silver was believed to be the medal of the moon. And so on. We should not be surprized at all by this imagery and multi-layered quality to The Chronicles. Lewis was a medieval scholar and he was known to delight in keeping secrets. 

To learn more abot Rev. Ward, and find out more about his discoveries, you can visit his website which is linked here. There is also a fascinating clip on Youtube where Rev. Ward shares more about his discovers and can be viewed here.

The uniqueness of Celtic Monasticism

One of the best features of the World Wide Web is access to materials. The hardest decision, as anyone knows who uses the Web, is deciding what to focus on. Recently I chanced upon the website of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church, and to my delight found some excellent resources on Celtic Christianity. The site has several resources, included an interesting audiofile lecture by Fr. Young on The Uniqueness of Celtic Monasticism, and also a useful essay on Celtic Monasticism: A Model of Sanctity. There are also some handsome brochures on the Life of St. Patrick and St. Brigid, but the real gems are the first two items mentioned.

You should take the time to listen to the lecture, and read the essay. I listened with great interest to The Uniqueness of Celtic Monasticism this morning. There, Fr. Aleksey Young emphasises the only way to properly understand Celtic Monasticism, is remembering the close connection between Celtic and Orthodox spiritual traditions. The Celtic Christians were more like the Byzantine or Slavic Orthodox Christians that the Latin or Northern European Christians. More specifically, it was through the Desert Fathers, and writers like John Cassian, who helped shape the Celtic "brand". 

What is most interesting, is what Young pinpoints as the "unique contribution" of Celtic Monasticism. And that was the emphasis on peregrinatio, or pilgrimage, or as we might say today, "our faith journey". Pilgrimage-at least in its broadest sense-included the willingness to wander for the love of God, the willingness to place oneself in exile (and the unfamiliar) with the belief that such detachment brings with it, a deeper intimacy with God. Moreover, these faith journeys were taken for the main purpose of achieving personal salvation (St. Paul had said to "work out one's salvation"), and were outer manifestations of the inner search. Preaching, and the spreading the Gospel were a secondary by product of this search. Such a bold and daring notion of faith led many Celtic monks to cast everything to the wind, and it was common for the monks to embark on journeys in their coracles without oars, rudders, relying upon God alone to take them wherever He willed; Scotland, England, and to other parts in Europe.  

Many Celtic saints demonstrate this wild abandon to God, and to the Spirit. But perhaps the most famous example comes from St. Brendan's mountain prayer:

Shall I abandon the comforts and benefits of my home,
seeking the island of promise our fathers knew long ago,
sail on the face of the deep where no riches or fame
or weapons protect you, and nobody honors your name?
Shall I take leave of my friends
and my beautiful native land,
tears in my eyes
as my knees mark my final prayer in the sand?
King of the mysteries, can I trust You on the sea?

Christ of the heavens,
and Christ of the ravenous ocean wave,
I will hold fast to my course
through the dangers I must brave.
King of the mysteries, angels will watch over me,
Christ of the mysteries, when I trust You on the sea.

In Celtic Monasticism: A Model of Sanctity Young argues as other authors have done, that the Celtic model is one which can help to revive the church, through an emphasis on simplicity of faith and lifestyle. "For the Celts, simplicity wasn't so much a question of externals-like furniture, architecture, and so forth. It was something internal, an it was founded upon the phrase, "Thy will be done". This meant placing absolute trust in God's will, not our own, with every decision in life, including one's health, finances, and career. It also meant, dying to oneself, and one's own plans and desires. Understandably, the Cross of Christ was central to the Celtic thinking, and reminded them, that they needed to die to self. Perhaps this was one reason the high Celtic crosses were became so prominent as holy sites. The monks understood, that the Christian faith demands one's life, one's all. This is incarnational Christianity at it's best; a faith which changes hearts, lives and  behaviors. Such an understanding offers us a fuller view of Celtic Christianity, one which over emphasizes the scholastic, and intellectual aspect of the tradition, focusing on the copying and transmission of Greek and Latin manuscripts, as well the Old and New Testament. A countering stress on personal sanctification provides a fresh new dimension, and perspective as to what may have motivated many of the monks.

A Celtic Miracle

Ever heard of the psychological term "synchronicity"? It's a term (usually heard from the lips of the followers of Carl Jung) which is their way of saying "everything happens for a reason". Something like this happened to me last week when I was flying from Newark NJ to Washington D.C. I was reading The Mountain Behind the Mountain (1993) a book on Celtic Spirituality by my old professor at the University of Edinburgh, Fr. Noel O'Donoghue. Along the way, I heard the person behind me speaking about the history of Ireland. When we were deplaneing, I turned to this individual, and said, "I heard you speaking about Ireland, and wanted to know if you've ever read this book?" and handed him Fr. Noel's book. He replied, "read it, I knew Fr. Noel!". And then he said, "Hello, my name is David Stang".

David and I met a week later in a local Irish bar (hence the dark photo), where we sipped some Guinness, eat fish and chips, laughed, spoke about Celtic Spirituality and history, and people we knew in common. As it turns out, David is a scholar on the Celtic tradition, and has also written a book on Celtic Spirituality, Emerald Spirit (2003) which is subtitled as "A Journey into the Irish Heart and Soul", and is published in Ireland. I'll also write a review of that book later upon returning to Hawaii. David also generously shared with me some essays he had written on the history of the Irish and St. Patrick. I later read these with great interest and was particularly impressed with both the scholarship and ability of David to tell a good story, just what you would expect for a good Celt. David "knows" Ireland, has a home in Kerry, and proudly states he has lived there "sixteen years in all".

I share this story, because I too believe that everything in life, good and bad, serve some kind of divine purpose. Everything does happen for a purpose. It's fascinating to note, that in speaking with David, he shared with me some recent "Celtic miracles" in his life, and I enjoyed hearing these. And at the same time as David was speaking, I realiaaed that I too was experiencing my own "Celtic miracle" in meeting David, having friends in common, and later, having the opportunity to speak with him further, and in developing a new friendship. Yet this phenomena is not something that should be strange to us in the Celtic tradition. The notion of welcoming the stranger, is central to Celtic Spirituality. I thought back to the lives of the many Celtic saints who practiced "welcoming" and thought of St. Cuthbert and remembered how he welcomed strangers, and in so doing, entertained angels unaware. These saints of old were onto something. I am a better person for going out of my way (and getting out of self) to say "hello" to a "stranger". I have also met someone who can teach me something more about a tradition I love.

This is the way our God works-through people, and through relationships, even when we least expect it. If we have the eyes to "see" this way, each moment, each event can open up rich and new possibilities. Change never comes easy, and I have to confess that I am one of those types who always looked for the big splash or Damascus Road experience.  But that's both bad theology and not realistic! We should know from the Carmina Gadelica, that great collection of traditional Celtic prayers and blessings, that miracles surround us each day; in the rising and setting of the sun, in our daily chores, the breathe we take, the simple act of eating food, and the presence of others around us. Fr. Noel was right and used to say with a twinkle in his eyes, "miracles are everywhere"!