Towering aspirations

This little book of spirituality is inspired by the writings of St John Cassian (circa 360 – 435 AD), the ascetic monk who introduced the concepts of Egyptian monasticism into the wider western Church, through his residence in Gaul.

By her choice of title, the author alludes to that passage of the parable of tower which Jesus speaks of in St Luke (Luke 14: 28-30).

Sr Kathleen, in discussing the origins of the Irish round towers, drawing on a range of scholarly insights, has to admit that this is a question veiled in doubt.

She would certainly be interested to know that some years ago the painter Hector McDonnell suggested an historical relation between the Irish round towers and the minarets of the Middle East (found on churches as well as mosques), the symbolic use of the tower as symbol of a call to both prayer and a warning of peril.

But nevertheless for her purposes the symbol of the tower functions as a very appropriate icon around which she can develop her insights into the teachings of John Cassian. Though his writings may well be unfamiliar to many readers, they nevertheless exert an influence over the traditions of monasticism to this day.

“The spiritual journey for Cassian,” she writes, “entails a resolute commitment to the process, ‘little by little’. The imagery here in relation to the tower is that of persevering steadily, ‘block by block’, towards the uppermost heights of the most lofty tower.”

Here surely is the key to all spiritual enterprises and accomplishments. Nothing comes easily, but nothing will be done without building on sure foundations, as St Luke implies.

Thomas O’Loughlin, professor of historical theology at the University of Nottingham, Sr Lynch’s former acadmic supervisor, provides a foreword, which sets the book in our current situation, and suggests that to build a future we have to use the materials of the past.