Have you ever paid a visit to Lindisfarne, or Holy Island as it is often called, which is two miles off the Northumberland coast? This tiny island of only two square miles was the place where St Aiden landed in A.D. 635 and established a priory, from which he brought Christianity to northern England. In the grounds of the priory there is also a statue of St Cuthbert
and his ghost is said to haunt the priory late at night. Coming from Hartlepool on the north east coast myself, as a teenager I visited the island on several occasions and was always aware of a special atmosphere of peace. One of the reasons for this is that the island had no access for boats, but it is joined to the mainland by a causeway on which a road was built. This causeway is entirely covered at high tide and so any visitors need to leave before hand, or they will be stranded on the island until the next tide. After the tourists have all gone and the island is once again cut off, Lindisfarne becomes a rugged tranquil spot, much sought after by bird watchers and those seeking peace and solitude. Unfortunately, I have just looked Lindisfarne up on the internet and since I visited some 50 years ago, things have changed dramatically and they now have hotels a visitor centre and other tourist attractions, which I think takes away some of the unspoilt rugged charm of the place I well remember, but money talks and it’s all about making a profit on your investment these days and as we are always being told “This is progress isn’t it?”

In this hectic world in which we live, we all need some peace and solitude in our daily lives, yet we don’t always have to travel great distances to achieve this. We may find it whilst sitting in our own garden, walking in the countryside, or spending a few minutes in silent prayer before or after Mass. I’m sure if we tried, we could all find our own special place of quietness, that’s probably just around the corner waiting to be discovered.

“Until we calm down and become still, we won’t be able to hear ourselves.
Listening requires silence and our being very still for a moment.”