Celtic Spirituality - Week Four: Intro to Celtic Spirituality: Seeing the Holy One in All Creation

Walking the Rounds

 

"In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he takes." John Muir.

I ARISE TODAY

https://youtu.be/xeVEGOPjJXQ

(Open with discussion of what we have seen encircling this past week.)

       This is a Celtic practice used at sites, such as churches, graves, crosses, and holy wells.

   

       Walking sunwise (or clockwise) in a mindful way around anywhere you think of as sacred, usually repeating a prayer you have chosen. The number of rounds is often three, 6, or 9 as these numbers have been considered sacred for hundreds of years.

 

       Walking helps us to slow down physically and mentally. Walking in a circular manner helps to move us out of linear ways of thinking and to open our hearts to receive God’s grace. 

Practice: 

       Find a holy place to walk Rounds. It might be a sunwise journey around a favorite tree, your church, or around the edges of a labyrinth. While walking the Rounds, repeat any brief prayers that we have written often open us up in a special way.

       Take The Rounds this week. Find a place that is sacred to you.  Your garden, backyard, a tree, somewhere in your favorite park, a building that is precious to you, or a room in your house. 

Plan prayers of the heart you will say or read as you walk. Take someone else who wants to try doing The Rounds if you like. Choose a convenient day within your schedule. Do your Rounds and then write a paragraph or two about the experience.    What did you see as you did the Rounds?  Hear?  How did it feel?   Are you glad you tried this ancient practice?

We rise today,

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of the sun, radiance of the moon.

Splendor of fire, speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind, depth of sea,

Stability of earth and firmness of rock.

We rise through the strength of heaven

We rise today.

Week 3

Encircling Lorica

Christ with me, Christ before me

Christ behind me, Christ in me

Christ beneath me, Christ above me

Christ on my right, Christ on my left

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down

Christ when I arise, Christ to shield me

—Prayer excerpt attributed to St. Patrick

(Open with discussion of what we have experienced blessing moments this past week.)

       Early Celtic languages were vocal, not written, as was Hebrew.  Celts thought that writing dissolved the strength and passion in all they thought and said. Early poetry in Ireland was repetitive...with no rhyme.   While this kind of poetry is not written in English often, it does bring clarity to thought and is easier to memorize. 

       A lorica was a type of combat armor very useful for fighters that moved quickly and often. Leather for construction was each to find as well.  Chest and shoulder plates were made of pieces that floated one over the other, up and down, left and right.  Once lashed together and tied to the body where needed lorica was almost invincible. 

        Lorica is a prayer-poem seeking protection, invoking the love and care power of the Holy One. This prayer eloquently expresses the Celtic Christian belief that in a hostile world the presence of the Holy One surrounds, protects, and comforts all who call. This lorica above is attributed to St. Patrick.

Practice: 

 

       Try using this lorica each day this week.  Read it slowly, listening to it as you go.  Think as you listen to all the things that are troubling you in these difficult days.  Covid-19, the election, the fires in California, violence, those we care about who have cancer, and so much more! How does it feel?  Write a paragraph or two about Encircling Lorica in your journal.  You can write your own Lorica, and share it with us, if you would like.

We rise today,

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of the sun, radiance of the moon.

Splendor of fire, speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind, depth of sea,

Stability of earth and firmness of rock.

We rise through the strength of heaven

We rise today.

 

Week 2 

Intro to Celtic Spirituality: Seeing the Holy One in All Creation

Week Two

Blessing Each Moment

A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal and strengthen.  John O’Donohue 

“Like billowing clouds,

Like the incessant gurgle of the brook

The longing of the spirit can never be stilled.”

Hildegard of Bingen

(Open with discussion of what we have seen in Nature this past week.)

     Blessing Each Moment is a Celtic practice that helps bring loving attention to daily life by using little prayers to celebrate ordinary tasks we do each day. There is a beautiful book of Scottish blessings called the Carmina Gadelica, collected by Andrew Carmichael in the 19th century in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. It is filled with blessings of the day’s unfolding.

       Celebrating ordinary tasks with short prayers are expressing gratitude for the activities of the day.  The Jews use a mezuzah on their doorways to act as a constant reminder of God's presence. Some Christians wear a necklace with a cross or a fish on it as a reminder of their faith and gratitude.   The steam rising from my coffee, sunrise, a bird singing from a tree branch outside, the doorbell announcing a friend’s arrival, remembering that every meal that nourishes my body. Getting into the car, turning on the range to cook dinner, walking the dog, laying down to rest.   Gratitude for all these things bring us closer to God. 

Practice: 

      Consider using a short prayer of gratitude or two you already know this week.  Or you might write a brief one or two that you would like to use.  My first prayer each morning is “Blessed be God, blessed be God forever.”  as I take my first sip of coffee!  

       

      Did Blessing Each Moment brighten your days?  How did expressing your commitments and your gratitude affect you?  Write a paragraph or two in your journal about this practice.

We rise today,

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of the sun, radiance of the moon.

Splendor of fire, speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind, depth of sea,

Stability of earth and firmness of rock.

We rise through the strength of heaven

We rise today

Week 1

Ring of Kerry photo by Dennis McDonald

Introduction

Celtic Spirituality is a simple and inclusive tradition that can enrich our spirituality.  It is a reminder to ourselves that the Divine is with us always and everywhere with Love. The Sacred in all Creation is the core of this approach.  

         

For 6 weeks beginning Tuesday, October 20 at 7pm we will explore customs many historians believe began with the Desert Mothers and Fathers.  They have been practiced in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales since before the 5th century. A book list is attached, but reading is not required.

Each week a custom and practice will be introduced.  You will be encouraged to experiment with each practice and discuss your experience the following week.  No one will be required to share.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88622329280 

Week 1: Seeing the Holy One in All Creation

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature's beauty and simplicity.” 

Anne Frank

Celtic thought sees life as a journey, encompassing great care for all of creation. Deepening oneness with the Divine and the Earth, the Celts held two texts sacred in their understanding of the Divine... Nature and Holy Scriptures. Love of Nature... fire, water, earth, air and a passion for the wild are reminders of God's gifts.  It teaches the careful observer much about a loving Creator.  

      This closeness to Nature builds great concern for the poor, the sick and the oppressed, as well as the wounds of the Earth.  Hospitality and mercy are also at the core of Celtic Spirituality, building a deep importance of kinship and community...hope in a hostile world.  There are no boundaries between the sacred and the secular here.   

       

First Practice

Spend 10 minutes each day this week with nature, in any way you choose, including looking at photos or paintings.  Afterward, journal what the experience was like, what did you feel, what did you see, what surprised you?  Where was the Divine Presence during this time?

Take a few minutes and write a paragraph or two in your journal of these or any other thoughts you find important. 

Prayer

I (or we) rise up by the strength of heaven:
The light of the sun
Radiance of the moon,
Splendor of Fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea, 
Stability of Earth,
Firmness of rock.
I (or We) rise up by the strength of heaven:
I (or we) rise!
I (or we) rise!

Celtic Spirituality Book List

Celtic Way of Prayer:  The recovery of Religious Imagination 

Esther de Waal

One of Celtic Christianity's preeminent scholars...introduces readers to early Irish litanies, medieval Welsh praise poems, and the wealth of blessings derived from an oral tradition that made prayer a part of daily life. A welcome contrast to modern worship, Celtic prayer is liberating and, like a living spring, forever fresh.

Carmina-Gadelica  A Compendium of prayers, hymns, charms, incantations, blessings, literary-folkloric poems and songs, proverbs, lexical items, historical anecdotes, natural history observations, and miscellaneous lore gathered in the Gaelic-speaking regions of Scotland between 1860 and 1909 by Alexander Carmichael between 1860 and 1909. http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/Carmina/

Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

John O'Donohue

He guides us through the spiritual landscape of the Irish imagination with ancient teachings, stories, and blessings of Celtic wisdom providing profound insights on the universal themes of friendship, solitude, love, and death.

To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

John O’Donohue

A beautiful collection of blessings to help readers through both the everyday and the extraordinary events of their lives.

Praying with Celtic Holy Women

Bridget Mary Meehan and Regina Madonna Oliver

This book invites readers on a journey through Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall where we contemplate the sacred feminine in Celtic spirituality. Here you will connect with the age-old Christian traditions and... discover how springs and holy wells were associated with birthing and healing, and contemplate the feminine wisdom hidden in Celtic traditions.

The Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation

J. Phillip Newel

"I explore the Celtic image of Christ as the Memory of what we have forgotten. He remembers the dance of the universe and the harmony that is deep within all things. He is the Memory also of who we are."

--from the Prelude