Hi, I'm Cait Finnegan. I
was born in New York City in 1951 to an Irish family who passed to me
the ancient love of music and poetry. I learned of my heritage at the
knee of my beloved grandmother, Nellie Farrell, who sang to me, in the
sean nos, of Irish history, of Faith in God, and the importance of
family and love. Faith is a joy, and living it in the CCC is
a profound joy in my life.
To whom much is given much will be
required!
I invite you to share my world, and get
to know the CCC.
Celtic
Christian Church
I'm
an ordained priest in the
Celtic Christian Church
and
am Vocation
Director for the Church. I'm a member of
the
Order of
the Merciful Christ, a ecumenical Celtic
religious order dedicated to prayer and the corporeal and spiritual
works of Mercy. I'm a chaplain and
spiritual director and part of
Spiritual Care Associates.
My husband Joe+ and I have been married 29
years and we have one adult daughter who is the blessing upon our love.
Joe+ and I have worked in
Good Tidings
Ministry since 1983.
Although this
ministry deals with the painful matter of clergy abuse, I must say it has touched my life profoundly,
and confirmed my convictions that the Church needs prayerful, spiritual
priests and religious who are following their call to serve Christ
willingly, and not feeling trapped--or entitled within priesthood or
religious life This has lead me more deeply into a ministry of
spiritual direction with both victims of abuse, as well as with priests
and religious, and together, Joe+ I and a dear friend, Lindy Morelli
have expanded this ministry to
Solace Of Souls a ministry of spiritual
direction and guidance to those populations (sexually abused by clergy,
GLBT, the disabled, and priests transitioning from clerical life) who
are wounded, ignored or shunned by the Church. It is our
mission to share the Good Tidings of God's presence and Love in their
lives.
On the day of my ordination back in 1997 we started
Brigid's Bord,
as a charitable food and clothing bank for the
poor sponsored by the Celtic Christian Church. We gather and donate to
the various charities, or individuals.
I have
many personal interests and one is music! I
love music
and especially the sean nos or traditional music of the Gaels. Many
years ago a friend of mine strongly suggested I start writing music
about what I love. WOW! I seemed to start "spewing green stuff" as
Irish and Celtic Christian music flowed from the heart, from dreams,
from pain, from hope and from Faith. Over the years I've pulled all the
songs and hymns together into an anthology called:
"Ancient Ghosts and Green Heart
Songs"
as a collection of poems
and songs in the Irish tradition telling the tales of family and
friends, of history, and of my Faith in Christ. I use the guitar,
piano, tin whistle, and bodhran to give some fullness to the songs, but
mostly I learned to play them as "security blankets" to hold when I
sing. Here are a few religious and ethnic songs from:
After writing a
good bit of this music, I was fortunate to begin my chaplaincy
training, and put together groupings of these songs as "Bardic
Blessings",
a music program aimed at the older adult
population and those who are bound to hospitals or care centers. It's
been great to share the love my family gave me with others through this
program. It also helps the listeners to realize how they have touched
the lives of people in their own families. The program is available
for nursing homes, and senior centers.
In addition to
music, I have several other interests,
including Christian Church history, and producing live internet radio
shows on :
I love liturgy and ritual, gardening,
genealogy, Irish history, reading, and cooking. I've been
studying Irish
for so long I should be fluent, but I'm not. I do
love learning and practicing it. I'm an animal lover, oh yes!
Our home is home to many rescued critters who are part of the family.
the Celtic
Christian Church
Approaching
Iona