Praying with the Psalms in Lent: 16 March 2022 (Psalms 36)

‘For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light’ (Psalm 36: 9) … fountains at Argiroupoli, in the mountains above Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Before today begins, I am taking some time early this morning for prayer, reflection and reading.

During Lent this year, in this Prayer Diary on my blog each morning, I am reflecting in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 36:

Psalm 36 is known in Latin by its opening words, Dixit iniustus. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, it is Psalm 35.

This psalm is a hymn psalm, attributed to King David, and the text of the psalm refers to its Davidic authorship, for the chief musician of the temple. It may be that David wrote this psalm after being attacked, either by Saul or by his son Absalom.

The psalm may be understood as a prayer of the persecuted person who has taken refuge in the temple, or figuratively, of one who has taken refuge in God. The psalmist takes pride in the goodness of God in which he finds safety.

Verse 1: The wording in the Authorised or King James Version, ‘The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, raises some difficulties. Alexander Kirkpatrick suggests that it is ‘unnatural to regard transgression as uttering its oracle in the Psalmist’s heart.’ and he argues that the reading of the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac texts and Jerome, ‘within his heart’ is a preferable reading. The Revised Standard Version (1946, 1952) has the wording, ‘in his heart,’ and the New Revised Standard Version (1989) uses the words ‘in their hearts.’

After decrying the ‘sinfulness of sin’ in the verses 1-5, David goes on to praises God’s goodness towards all people and creatures.

Verse 6: The juxtaposition here of humans and animals (‘you save humans and animals alike’) has had many interpretations. The Talmud (Chullin 5b) says that ‘beast’ or animals refers to ‘people who are wise in understanding but make themselves simple like a dumb beast.’ The Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 33: 1) interprets this verse as meaning that God saves humanity in the merit of the animals. This verse is also seen by Jewish ethicists as endorsing animal welfare and animal rights. Saint Augustine suggests that this verse proves that animals also receive salvation.

Verses 8-11 are recited by Jewish men after the wrapping of the tallit during the morning prayer service.

Verse 9: The phrase in this verse referring to the fountain of life has been used in the context of preservation of the natural environment.

The psalm concludes with a plea to God to bless those who honour him with his justice, and protect them from the snares of the wicked.

‘Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds’ (Psalm 36: 5) … evening lights above Sutton seen from the end of the West Pier in Howth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 36 (NRSVA):

To the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.

1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
before their eyes.
2 For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
they have ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil.

5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgements are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

10 O continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart! 11 Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me, or the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the evildoers lie prostrate; they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Today’s Prayer:

The USPG Prayer Diary has a particular focus on Ireland and the Church of Ireland this week, and I introduced this theme in the prayer diary on Sunday (13 March 2022). The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary this morning (16 March 2022) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for the people of Rathkeale and West Limerick, as they seek to welcome others into their community.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

‘Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains’ (Psalm 36: 6) … Mount Olympus seen from Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Malahide Presbyterian Church was built to meet the needs shaped by an expanding airport

Malahide Presbyterian Church … designed by William Baird and built in 1956 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

My visit to Malahide last week provided opportunities to visit both Saint Sylvester’s Roman Catholic Church and Malahide Presbyterian Church, each on opposite sides of the railway line.

Presbyterians had been worshipping in Malahide from as early as the 1890s, if not earlier. A small number of Presbyterians in Malahide first worshipped in two rooms in a house at No 2 Killeen Terrace, Malahide.

These rooms may have been adequate for those small numbers, but Presbyterians arrived in Malahide in noticeable numbers with the development of Dublin Airport and the expansion of Aer Rianta, Aer Lingus and other businesses in the north Dublin area from the mid-20th century.

From the early 1950s, Presbyterians in Malahide felt the need for their own church, and the Kirker family donated land as a site for a new church.

The Revd James McCaughey, the Session, the Committee and the members of the Howth and Malahide congregation embarked on the project with enthusiasm. The architect William Baird designed a church to seat 150 people, with an ancillary hall.

Baird was also the architect of the Lifeboat House in Howth, and its obvious likeness to the Presbyterian Church in Malahide attracts pleasing comments again and again from local people and visitors alike.

The foundation stone of the new church was laid on 7 April 1956 by the Right Revd Dr James Carlile Breakey, a former minister of Abbey Presbyterian Church, Parnell Square, Dublin, and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

The church was dedicated on 25 November 1956, by Dr Breakey’s successor as Moderator, the Right Revd Dr Thomas McCurdy Barker.

Bill and Sybil Baird lived in Sutton, and she was a Sunday School teacher at Howth Presbyterian Church.

Bill Baird was one of Ireland’s leading architects and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. He specialised in restoring Georgian residences, including Russborough House for Sir Alfred Beit and Castlemartin for Tony O’Reilly.

The houses and other buildings Baird designed as a partner in the Dublin practice of Kaye Parry had an unmistakeable Baird stamp. Germanic or Nordic in tone with high-pitched, sloping roofs and discreet fenestration they, like their creator, combined several qualities in being solid, unpretentious, distinctive and unique.

He also had a love of sailing and the sea, and of painting. A first-class dinghy sailor in his youth, he won many prizes at regattas in the Dublin area in the 1930s and 1940s. With his friend Brian Campbell and others, he set up the Kilbarrack Sailing Club, and served a term as Commodore.

His watercolours and pastels depicted the Greek islands, the West of Ireland and Sutton.

A stroll in evening sunshine on the West Pier in Howth

Evening lights above Sutton seen from the end of the West Pier in Howth this evening (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Patrick Comerford

I think Howth is the most unpronounceable place name for many English speakers … a bit like people from Dublin find it difficult when they are in Wexford to pronounce the names of places such as Taghmon, Oulart and the Faythe.

But, not having these problems, I suppose I have to explain why I have often neglected Howth. Perhaps it is because I imagine its beaches are less accessible than those nearer home. Or maybe it’s because Howth is a little off the M50 when thinking of weekend walks on the beach.

However, I was there recently for a reception after a baptism, and there last year for a visit that ended up with a trip to the small island of Ireland’s Eye.

At the end of a busy working week, two of us went out to Howth late this afternoon [14 August 2015] for a late lunch, and it took almost an hour to get there … we could have been in Wexford by then, but it was worth it.

We joined friends and extended family for a late lunch in Beschoff’s on the West Pier, and probably lingered for a little too long. As a vegetarian, I would never have thought of lunch in Beschoff’s, but I was pleasantly surprised by my chickpea and aubergine salad with feta cheese, accompanied by a glass of Pinot Grigio, and followed (of course) with a double espresso.

Strolling along the West Pier in Howth this evening (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Earlier, the West Pier was full of groups of tourists, who sounded preponderantly like Italians. But by the time we had finished our late lunch, the pier was quiet, evening lights were beginning to change the colours in the sky, and the sun was preparing to set behind Sutton and Portmarnock to the west.

After a grey, overcast day, it was delightful to find a glow of warmth in the evening sun as we looked out to Sutton and Portmarnock and north across the seemingly stretch of water separating Howth and tiny Ireland’s Eye.

Looking across to Ireland’s Eye from the West Pier in Howth this evening (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015

A ‘perfect day’ on the beaches before the storms sweep in

Signs of a gathering storm on the beach at Sutton this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

Patrick Comerford

We have been waiting for a hurricane-force storm to sweep across these islands, flights and ferries have been cancelled and trains are not running in southern England, throughout Greater London and East Anglia tomorrow morning [Monday 28 September 2013], causing severe commuter disruption.

The selfish gene in me is hoping that this storm passes quickly and that I can catch a flight to Birmingham early on Tuesday morning for a working week that takes me to theological colleges in Oxford and Nottingham, ending, hopefully, with All Saints’ Day in Lichfield Cathedral on Friday [1 November 2013].

I was in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, this morning, where I was deacon at the Cathedral Eucharist, reading the Gospel, and assisting at the distribution of the Holy Communion.

This is also a bank holiday weekend in Dublin, and threatening storms always bring with them the promise of brisk walks on wind-swept beaches. So, in the early afternoon, three of us headed north of Dublin, along the coast at Clontarf and Dollymount, to visit some of the beaches of Fingal and Co Meath.

We thought our first stop would be in Howth but before we reached Howth we decided to the Burrow Beach and the Claremont Beach, which run to a total length of 1.2 km west of Howth and east of Sutton Golf Club, hidden behind the Dart line and a row of elegant suburban houses.

These paired beaches face north towards Ireland’s Eye and Lambay Island. As the three of us walked along the sand in the blustery afternoon, there was a rainbow in the sky but few people braving the weather, with light sand sweeping along the surface of the beach. It was obvious a storm was brewing.

Cross Barbers at Sutton Cross ... but how cross exactly? (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

We headed back to Sutton Cross, where my eye was caught a sign adverting “Cross Barbers ... Open 7 Days.”

Cross Barbers? I wondered how cross? As cross as Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street?

From Sutton Cross and Baldoyle, we drove along the coast to Portmarnock, where the tide was beginning to batter the long beach. The warnings had been heeded, it seems, and once again there were few people on the beach.

The windows in the chapel at Gormanston College ... inspired by Coventry Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

A little further north, in Malahide, the roads were flooded. We joined the M1 north of the Emmaus Retreat Centre at Swords, and decided to stop once again at Gormanston, not to walk on the beach where I have happy memories of playing beach cricket as a teenager but to see my old school at Gormanston Castle.

The school gates were locked, and everyone seemed to be away from Gormanston College for the half-term break. But we stopped to walk through the playing fields, to see the majestic castle, and to walk through the yew walks, said to have been created by a Lord Gormanston as a triangular-shaped cloister in the late 17th century for his daughter so that she would not feel the need to become a nun.

Before leaving, we stopped at the chapel, with its windows based on designs for Coventry Cathedral.

Stepping down onto the beach at Laytown (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

At Julianstown, we turned east, and joined the coast once again at Laytown, where we stopped briefly, looking out onto the Irish Sea.

Darkness was closing in early when we arrived at Bettystown – the loss of an hour with the change on the clocks last night made the afternoon so short today, and the looming storm hastened the closing in of darkness.

In Relish, we were given a table close to the window, and watched the waves and the fall of the evening shadows as we had an early dinner in this wonderful restaurant.

It was 6 p.m. when we stepped down from the terrace behind Relish onto the beach below. In the silence of the dark evening, the sound of the waves beating against the beach was another portent of the gathering storm.

But in the words of Lou Reed who died earlier today, it was Just a Perfect Day.

Kite-surfing, swans and a late lunch at the beach

Kite-surfing on the Burrow Beach in Sutton this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2011)

Patrick Comerford

I was back in Phibsboro this morning for the funeral mass of my friend’s mother, and we then went to Saint Fintan’s Cemetery in Sutton for the burial, before going back to the Marine Hotel at Sutton Cross to meet the family.

Dating back to 1897, the Marine Hotel has a lawn rolling down to the shore of Dublin Bay.

As we were leaving, I noticed in one of the bars, people were sitting quietly, almost in a trance, in one of the bars with nothing to say for themselves as they watched the television coverage of the royal wedding.

But I was more captivated by a set of four prints of the Conyngham Cup at Punchestown in 1872 by the artist John Sturgess and engraved by Edward Gilbert Hester. Sturgess flourished between 1864 and 1903 and was a sporting painter, illustrator and lithographer who was the principal hunting and racing artist for the Illustrated London News for 10 years from 1875. He was also a lithographer after his own work and one of his most famous paintings was his portrait of Blair Athol, the winner of the Derby in 1864.

The four prints hanging in the bar in the Marine Hotel in Sutton illustrate: “The Start,” “The Double,” “The Stone Wall,” and “The Finish.” Below each print, the riders and horses are named with a Victorian politeness, and each print is “Dedicated to The Most Noble the Marquis of Drogheda.” The series was published two years after the race on 1 June 1874 in Dublin by Thomas Cranfield of Grafton Street and in London by Arthur Ackermann of Regent Street, and printed by T. Brooker.

‘The Stone Wall’ ... the third in a series of four prints by John Sturgess and EG Hester, shows “Mr Comerford” in third place but falling from his horse Chisel as they attempt one of the stone walls in race for the Conyngham Cup at Punchestown in 1872

My curiosity was raised less by the subject or the topic – I have never been to the races, at Punchestown or anywhere else – than by the fate of one of the riders. “Mr Comerford” is present at “The Start” on his horse Chisel and is still in the race at “The Double,” even though he is seventh out of ten riders. The third print, “The Stone Wall,” shows the field attempting one of the famous stone walls at Punchestown. At this stage in the race, the eventual winner, Captain Arthur Smith, lies in second place on his horse Heraut d’Armes, while, behind him, Mr Comerford experiences an embarrassing fall from Chisel. Interestingly, spectators are seen standing freely next to the jump: while stands had been built at Punchestown by this 1872, there was still a tradition of leaving the course open to the public.

In the final print, “The Finish,” we see Captain Smith riding Heraut d’Armes to a famous triumph. “Mr Comerford” is not to be seen – he must never have managed to remount at the Stone Wall. I imagine he was John Comerford, one of the founding members of the Kildare Hunt, which acquired Punchestown as a permanent location of its annual meeting. The first regular steeplechase meeting over a defined circuit was held there in 1854, permanent stands and enclosures were built in 1861, and the Conyngham Cup was established in 1862.

But I wondered: Who was John Comerford? And where does he fit into the family story?

Rather than taking advantage of the shoreline location of the Marine Hotel, two of us headed to Howth, just minutes away, with its attractive harbour and it charming old fishing village. Howth has many inviting restaurants and bars, numerous coastal walks and the added historic attraction of Howth Castle and its demesne.

However, this is the beginning of another bank holiday was weekend, Howth was crowded, and there seemed to be little opportunity for a quiet shoreline walk, and so we went back on our tracks and returned to Sutton for a quiet walk on the Burrow Beach.

Sutton is a tombolo or narrow isthmus connecting the mainland and Howth Head. The original village was located on the south-west side of Howth Head, but Sutton is now focussed on Sutton Cross, with the Marine Hotel, Superquinn and local shops.

In the past, Sutton was divided into two townlands, the Burrow and the Quarry, and there are two neighbouring beaches known as the Burrow Beach and the Claremont Beach, running to a total length of 1.2 km. The Burrow Beach, east of Sutton Golf Club and behind the Dart line and a row of elegant suburban houses, faces north towards Ireland’s Eye and Lambay Island. Because of the islands’ location and their strategic importance, the beach at Sutton suffered many attacks over the centuries, and the Vikings plundered Ireland’s Eye in 960.

There were no signs of Viking sails or marauding raiders as we walked the beach in the warm sunshine this afternoon. Instead, half a dozen people were taking advantage of the low tide and the light breeze to enjoy an afternoon of kite-surfing and kite-boarding.

A swan in the estuary beneath the M50 bridge at Lissenhall this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2011)

From Sutton, we drove north along the coast road through Baldoyle, Portmarnock and Malahide. All along the way, despite the bright sunshine and the light breeze, the water was full of white horses or small waves, coming in one after the other. From Malahide, we then drove west out on the Estuary Road, under the M50, crossed the Ward River estuary at Lissenhall, and turned back east along the north side of the estuary, passing under the M50 once again to a point at Hutchinson’s Strand – which takes its name from the Hely-Hutchinson family who once lived at Lissen Hall.

We were greeted by a colony of mute swans, visibly so used to visitors that they block the roadway in large numbers, refusing to budge even in the face of oncoming cars.

Further east, we came to Prospect Point, the location of the former stables of Lissen Hall House, with a viewing point looking across the Estuary towards Seatown House and Malahide. The estuary widens appreciably at this point, and Malahide is clearly visible across the sea.

The narrow coastal lane from Prospect Point to Newport House (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2011)

From Prospect Point, a narrow road leads north to Newport House, now the home of the actor Stephen Rea, and the Donabate/Portrane Peninsula.

The maps warn that this narrow laneway is covered by water at high tide, but we drove on, and then returned to old Dublin-Belfast Road, and headed north towards Balbriggan. At Balrothery, a sign pointed west towards Balscadden and Gormanston. I hoped to find the ruins of ancient Balscadden Church, but instead we ended back on the main Naul-Balbriggan road.

The beach at Bettystown this afternoon, beneath the Relish café and restaurant (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2011)

We drove back into Balbriggan and went further north through Gormanston and Julianstown to Laytown and Bettystown, where we eventually stopped for a very late lunch in Relish. This is one of my favourite restaurants and – in the middle of Bayview, a terrace of houses perched on top of a sandbank – it has spectacular and breath-taking views of Co Meath’s “gold coast” and out to the Irish Sea.

A roasted Mediterranean vegetable basket on a bed of Moroccan couscous with melted goat’s cheese, sweet chili and pesto dressing, a crab and prawn tart, side servings of garlic bread and potatoes, a bowl of olives, a glass of white wine, a double espresso and a mocha came to about €35.

We still had time to step down onto the beach, where the tide was still out but once more the water was displaying ripple after ripple of white horses. On the beach, a few people were land-kiting and kite-surfing. There is a still a promise of summer in the air, and by the time I got back to south Dublin the setting sun was forming a beautiful round, red balloon above the edge of the horizon.