Tuesday 13 January 2009

A Celtic Prayer to begin your day...

I have been learning about the Celts and their dedicated, natural prayer life through my reading of "The Path of Celtic Prayer: An ancient Way to Everyday Joy," by Calvin Miller. They hungered after God out of the desperation of their lives. The only world they knew was the natural world. I also love the fact that they prayed to the Trinity, which only made sense to them because God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Their fervant, honest prayer life is an incredible example to us today in how we can connect more deeply in our relationship with God.



I thought I would leave you with two Celtic prayers to encourage you this morning:



"I will build up my fire today in the presence of the holy angels of heaven, in the presence of Airil of most beautiful form, in the presence of Uiril of all beauty without hate, without envy, without rivalry, without fear, without horror of anyone under the sun, for I have the holy Son of God as my sanctuary. O God, enkindle in my inmost heart the flaming spark of love for my enemy, for my relative, for my friends, for the wise person, for the foolish person, for the unfortunate person, O son of gentle, shining Mary, from the lowest most perverse person to the one of highest fame. May the simple tasks that occupy our current day provide for us such a matrix for devotion."



" The love and affection of the angels be to you,

The love and affection of the saints be to you,

The love and affection of heaven be to you,

To guard and cherish you.

May God shield you on every steep,

May Christ aid you on every path,

May Spirit fill you on every slope,

On hill and on plain.

May the King shield you in the valleys,

May Christ aid you on the mountains,

May Spirit bathe you on the slopes,

In hollow, on hill, on plain,

Mountain, valley and plain."



( From the Carmina Gadelica)



2 comments:

A New Yorker said...

Glad to know you're ejoying your new book. :)

swilek said...

@ Lauren..it is good...am learning so much and it is allowing me to think outside of the box!