Today’s guest is Pádraig Ó Tuama, poet, theologian, host of On Being’s Poetry Unbound, and member and former leader of the Corrymeela Community. Pádraig doesn’t need much of an introduction, as his gifts for writing, and reading, and reading into poems have become widely known and admired. With his keen sense for the meaning behind a poem, his interest in language, violence, power, and religion, and his background in conflict mediation and peacebuilding, Pádraig has a way of seeing deeply into the soul of a poem, and into the people who created them, and into how those poems can help us find grounding in difficult times.
I know Pádraig from when we overlapped at Corrymeela, and when I wanted to talk with someone about the poetry of the Psalms, who better to ask? And I’m delighted that next year, Pádraig will be a virtual guest facilitator on the Resilient Spirit Pilgrimage to Ireland in April 2024, helping us explore the connections between poetry and resilience in our lives.
In this conversation we talk about the language of the Psalms - Psalms in translation, Psalms in Irish; about how the beauty of words put together in a certain way can move us and heal us; and about how even when we might feel all alone, a poem - and a prayer, and a Psalm - is a way for us to imagine what it might be like to be listened to, for our deepest selves to be heard.
So whatever it is that brought you here, I’m so glad you’re with us.
Transcription available by clicking the link above.
Find out more about Pádraig Ó Tuama at www.padraigotuama.com
Featured Celtic Psalms Music:
Come, Spirit, Come (Psalm 144)
I Lift My Eyes Up to the Hills (Psalm 121)
Find out more about Celtic Psalms - downloads, GIA scores, videos, and concerts - at www.celticpsalms.com
There’s a really wonderful opportunity coming up in April 2024 – the Resilient Spirit Pilgrimage to Ireland.
Consider taking 11 days to come to Ireland to explore what brings us joy, strength, hope – resilience – to our lives. We’ll begin with six days at the beautiful Corrymeela residential centre in Ballycastle, on the north coast, which alone will take your breath away, but on top of that we have a program throughout our stay that’s geared toward helping you find resilience within yourself and to develop practices and wisdom that you can take back home with you.
Resilience expert Sara Cook will be our first guest facilitator, followed by the brilliant reflective practitioner Paul Hutchinson. I’ll be leading a retreat day with Celtic Psalms music and space for silence and sharing, and then we’ll have a session on Zoom with the one and only poet/theologian/ Poetry Unbound creator/member and former leader of the Corrymeela community Pádraig Ó Tuama.
Pilgrimage participants will then head a few hours south to the stunning hills and ancient monastery of Glendalough, where we’ll spend a few days connecting with the beauty of nature and the wisdom of Celtic Spirituality, before spending a day exploring the vibrant city of Dublin.
This is going to be a transformative, uplifting, joyful and inspiring experience… Come join us on the beautiful north coast of Ireland at the Corrymeela Centre for the Resilient Spirit Pilgrimage in April 2024. If you’re interested, you can find more information in the episode notes.
See Progressive Pilgrimage’s webpage for more details at https://progressivepilgrimage.com/corrymeela24/
Find out more about Kiran’s spirituality work at www.kiranyoungwimberly.com
Ep. 23 Imagining a Listener for our Deepest Selves, with Pádraig Ó Tuama