GRACE
May this food restore our strength,
give new energy to tired limbs,
new thoughts to weary minds.
May this drink restore our souls,
give new vision to dry spirits,
new warmth to cold hearts.
And once refreshed,
may we give new pleasure to You,
who gives us all.

Introduction to Celtic Christianity

Bless to me, O God
Each thing my eye sees,
Each sound my ear hears,
Each person I meet.

Circle me, Lord.
Keep peace within, keep harm without.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep love within, keep hate without

The pagan Celts occupied central and western Europe for many centuries before the Romans eventually pushed them to the western fringes of the continent. They settled in Britain, Ireland and North West France.

When the Roman forces withdrew from Britain around the year 410, Christianity nearly died out. However, powerful personalities established Christian communities to which multitudes responded. They included St Martin (in France), St Ninian (in Scotland), St Patrick and St Brigid (in Ireland), St Illtyd, St Samson and St David (in Wales and Brittany).
In the 6th century, Ireland became "a land of saints and scholars" and sent out "wanderers for the love of God" across Europe. St Columba established a monastery on the island of Iona in Scotland.

In the year 631, St Aidan was sent from Iona to evangelise from the island of Lindisfarne, on England's north-east coast. Lindisfarne missionaries won the hearts of the English and reached as far south as London.

The Pope also sent a mission to the English, led by Augustine. In 664, at the famous Synod of Whitby, the rules of the Roman church were laid upon the English, and later upon all Britain and Ireland. Anglo-Saxon Christian leaders trained by Aidan's mission, notably Cuthbert and Hilda, accepted the new framework but maintained the Celtic spirituality.

Celtic Christians see Jesus as the divine light that permeates all creation. So by spending time in nature we can also be spending time with Jesus. Celtic Christians see life as a pilgrimage, using earthy yet poetic prayers, and have a vivid sense of saints, angels and the unseen world.
They believe that the image of God is deep within us. Sin has distorted the image, but not erased it. However, the struggle against evil in the human and the spirit world is real. Memorising Scripture and praying daily following the natural rhythm of the sun and the seasons are a help in overcoming the evil of sin.

Early Celtic Christians shared their food, money, work, play and worship in little communities which were always open to the people who lived around them. Wherever they lived they saw Jesus in their neighbour and community.

Celtic writers talked about worshipping God with the "five stringed harp" - meaning all five senses. The Celtic churches punctuated each day and night with periods of prayer.
The early Celtic churches were communities of work, prayer and hospitality at the heart of local life, and many seek to restore these features to church life today.

The Celtic way of mission is to plant the experience of Christ within the natural patterns of the people, to be friendly towards all people of good will and respect other faiths.
Many people today see Celtic spirituality as a way to weave together again the separated strands of Christianity, and to heal a fragmented world.

There's no plant in the ground
But is full of his blessing.
There's no thing in the sea
But is full of his life...
There is nought in the sky
But proclaims his goodness.
Jesus O Jesus it's good to praise thee!

Being on the edge
Celtic Christians moved out of comfort zones to reach for the edges of life, as did Jesus. Some of them sought out remote places on islands to live alone as hermits, or together in monastic communities. This tradition continues today as people live in communities or seek for silence and solitude for short, regular periods, and reflect on the edges between earth and heaven.
This has a strong sense of God's presence in creation and in everyday life, celebrates God through all the senses, releases creativity, respects all people's gifts, and values contemplation.

Features of Celtic Christianity:
-love of nature and a passion for the wild and elemental as a reminder of God's gift.
-love and respect for art and poetry.
-love and respect for the great stories and "higher learning".
-sense of God and the saints as a continuing, personal, helpful presence.
-religious practice characterized by a love for tough penitential acts, vigils, self-exile, pilgrimages, and resorting to holy wells, mountains, caves, ancient monastic sites, and other sacred locations.
-no boundaries between the sacred and the secular
-there were originally no towns, just nomadic settlements, hence the church was more monastic, resulting in quite independent rules and liturgies.
-they celebrated Easter and Lent according to the ancient calendar system.
-Irish tonsure shaved the front of the head (like the druids).
-abbots had more power than the bishops.
-monasteries often huge theocratic villages often associated with a clan with the same kinship ties, along with their slaves, freemen, with celibate monks, married clergy, lay people, men and women living side by side.
-while some monasteries were in isolated places, many more were at the crossroads of provincial territories.
-women had more equal footing in ancient Irish law, thus had more equal say in church government.
-invented personal confession.
-many pagan practices were "Baptized" such as St. Stephen's Day, and the resorting to holy wells, and many monasteries were built on pagan sacred sites (as evident in the names Derry, and Durrow).
-monks travelled

I and Pangur Ban my cat,
'Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
It is to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill-will,
He too plies his simple skill.

'Tis a merry task to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Often times a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur's way;
Often times my keen thought yet
Takes a meaning in its net.
'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
'Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den,
O how glad is Pangur then!
O I prove I too am glad
When I solve the doubts I had!

So in peace our task we ply,
Pangur Ban, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

I arise today,
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of the sun, radiance of the moon.
Splendour of fire, speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind, depth of sea,
Stability of earth and firmness of rock.
I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me.
From the snares of devils, from temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and near, alone and in a multitude.
St. Patrick

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Shepherd Me, O God, beyond my wants,
beyond my fears, from death into life.

God is my shepherd,
so nothing shall I want,
I rest in the meadows of faithfulness and love,
I walk by the quiet waters of peace.

Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul,
you lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth,
my spirit shall sing the music of your Name.

Though I should wander the valley of death,
I fear no evil, for you are at my side,
your rod and your staff, my comfort and my hope.

You have set me a banquet of love in the face of hatred
crowning me with love beyond my power to hold.

Surely your kindness and mercy follow me
all the days of my life.
I will dwell in the house of my God forevermore.

I AM THE GATE
May the cross of the Son of God,
which is mightier than all the hosts of Satan
and more glorious than all the hosts of heaven,
abide with you in your going out and in your coming in.
By day and by night, at morning and at evening,
at all times and in all places may it protect and defend you.
From the wrath of evildoers, from the assaults of evil spirits,
from foes visible and invisible, from the snares of the devil,
from all passions that beguile the soul and body:
may it guard, protect and deliver you.

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
We can be intelligent, healthy, rich, and religious and it would be meaningless without bread. The most pious saint is still dependent on bread. So this prayer is an admission of a great need. No man can eat intelligence. We cannot eat money; we cannot eat the Bible and survive.
"Give us this day our daily bread"

I AM THE TRUE VINE
As the grain once scattered in the fields and the grapes once dispersed on the hillside
are now reunited in the Lord's Supper,
so, Lord, may all your Church soon be gathered together from the corners of the earth
into your kingdom.
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe
Who creates the fruit of the vine
Who made all things exist through His word

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
THE GUIDING LIGHT OF ETERNITY
O God, who broughtst me from the rest of last night
Unto the joyous light of this day,
Be Thou bringing me from the new light of this day
Unto the guiding light of eternity.
Oh! from the new light of this day
Unto the guiding light of eternity.
THE LIGHTENER OF THE STARS
Behold the Lightener of the stars
On the crests of the clouds,
And the choralists of the sky
Lauding Him.
Coming down with acclaim
From the Father above,
Harp and lyre of song
Sounding to Him.
Christ, Thou refuge of my love,
Why should not I raise Thy fame!
Angels and saints melodious
Singing to Thee.
O Christ my beloved,
O Christ of the Holy Blood,
By day and by night
I praise Thee.

I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
Lord, you said that you are the way. Help us no longer to walk side by side in indifference. We need courage to leave behind our selfishness and walk on the way to unity. May our differences only bring mutual enrichment on the journey, for the glory of your name.
Lord, you said that you are the truth. Make us then attentive to your truth. Only in this way shall we be ready to hear what the Spirit is saying to us today and to share it for the salvation of the world. May we be gathered together in your truth from every corner of the earth, to the glory of your name.
Lord, you said that you are the life. Guide all of us to find your life in its fullness. May our lives be a visible expression of the life of Jesus - for the salvation of the world and the glory of your name.

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
Let us look to Jesus
The pioneer and perfector of our faith.
Jesus Christ, we look upon your cross.
We come to you and stand before your cross.
Your cross is showing us the way.
Your cross points the way from separation to unity,
because you sacrificed yourself for all of us.
Your cross points the way from death to life,
because you defeated death for ever.
Your cross points the way from sadness to joy.
Your resurrection calls us to rejoice in a joy that no one can take from us.
Jesus Christ, you are the resurrection and the life. We worship you.

Christ, Be With Me
Christ, be with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me. Christ within,
Christ below me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left.

Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my waking,
Christ in the hearts which think of me,
Christ in the mouth of all who speak to me,
Christ in each eye that looks to me

St.Patrick's Breastplate
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun's life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Irish Blessing
May the road rise up my friend to meet you.
May the winds be always at your back.
May the sunshine warm upon your face,
& the rains fall soft upon your fields.
Until we meet again,
May God hold you, in the hollow of his hands