Daily Celtic Prayers

Daily Protection Celtic Prayer

“May the guiding hands of God be on my shoulders,
may the presence of the Holy Spirit be on my head,
may the sign of Christ be on my forehead,
may the voice of the Holy Spirit be in my ears,
may the smell of the Holy Spirit be in my nose,
may the sight of the company of heaven be in my eyes,
may the speech of the company of heaven be in my mouth,
may the work of the church of God be in my hands,
may the serving of God and my neighbor be in my feet,
may God make my heart his home,
and may I belong to God, my Father, completely.”

—Lorica of St. Fursa (Fursey), 7th Century, Translation composite, from Facebook Page of the Rev. Dr. Frederick Schmidt.

Fred Schmidt posts a prayer on his Facebook page almost every day. I cannot get this one out of my mind. St. Fursa was an Irish monk who was among the first to spread Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England in the seventh century. A “Lorica” is a protective prayer in the Irish Celtic tradition, often used before going into battle. It may have originated from the Latin word "lorica," meaning breastplate or armor. It may have been inspired by Paul’s writing in Ephesians 6:11 to “put on the whole armor of Christ.” 

As modern Christians, we can learn a great deal from the Celts. We have a treasury of their wisdom because they highly valued writing and education. On the other hand, I think of others who worshiped God, whose traditions we know nothing about because their experience—rather than writing—was primary to them. We need both.

This form of prayer should meet us as we wake up in the morning, perhaps with that first cup of coffee or tea, or even before then.

We may need to return to it during the day, leaving a copy in a convenient place so we do not forget to put on “the whole armor of God.” Sometimes life feels like going into battle. However, my experience is that when prayers like this become part of us, we recognize that the struggle is over and love has already won.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Brueggemann, Nouwen: Lessons From the Eucharist: Thanks and Abundance

Brueggemann, Nouwen: Lessons From The Eucharist, the Welcome Table: Thanks and Abundance

“The church is the only community whose central symbolic act is called ‘Thanks.’ The Eucharist. Eucharist is Greek for ‘Thanks.’ Participation in the Eucharist is an act of gratitude for the abundance that the creator God gives to the world!”

But the extraction economy wants to think, ‘It’s mine!’ ‘I made it, I own it, I can do what I want, I don’t have to be grateful to anybody.’ That leads me to think that participation in the Eucharist is the most subversive thing we can do. But notice what the long history of the church has done to the Eucharist. It has siphoned off its danger, turning it into something about sin and salvation and getting right with God, rather than a meal for the neighborhood.”—Walter Brueggemann.

Brueggemann reminds us of something we so often forget about the Eucharist. Christ called all to the Welcome Table, which should be the center of our worship. Whether weekly or daily, the Eucharist is an experience of abundance. There is always enough bread and wine, and there is always some left over.

Feeding of the 5000

Henri Nouwen puts it this way:

“Remember the big crowd, five loaves, and two fish (Matt. 14:15-21)? Jesus said, ‘Give them something to eat.’ The disciples responded, ‘Lord, five loaves, two fish, big crowd? It doesn't fit.’ Jesus said, ‘Give them something to eat.’ And he said, ‘Throw out your nets.’ They did and caught fish, but not enough to meet their needs. They caught so many that their nets could not hold them all. It is the same with the crowd. Jesus didn't just want to make sure everyone got a little piece of bread. There were twelve big baskets of leftovers! And the boat was so full of fish that Simon didn't know what to do with them.”

Jesus breaks right through our normal logic. He is moving all of reality into the kingdom. Suddenly, the fishermen were no longer living by the world's logic. They had entered the logic of God's house, which is beyond all human logic. They had entered a whole new world.”—Henri Nouwen in A Spirituality of Homecoming (Upper Room Ministries 2012)

The Eucharist is a reminder of a great gift: God’s love for each of us and for all.

Remembering we are giving thanks for God’s great gift of love,

Remembering that this is a table of abundance for all,

 Remembering this is an assurance that we have been given a life of abundance through Christ, which can make all the difference in how we receive the Eucharist and

How we live our lives.

Nouwen calls it “kingdom logic.”

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Deciding which Path to Follow Next

Deciding which path to follow next

 And when you turn to the right or to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”— Isaiah 30:21.

Fork in the Road

How do we hear God’s voice telling us what to do and where to go? There are many options, perhaps more than the stars. The purpose of all our spiritual practices is to position us to hear God’s direction.

Many believe God is the dream maker who speaks to us in the language of dreams at night. However, my experience is that I can only find meaning in a dream group. Looking back on what I thought this dream meant, the answer was obvious, but only other people could see it.

Many discernment processes can help determine the next path. The one I use most is Ignatian discernment, in which we visualize or imagine our lives in one situation and then in the other. Ignatius suggests that we discern our path by evaluating how we felt after imagining each situation, rather than how we felt while imagining it.

Many use spiritual direction from another person to guide them. The director is there to help the person connect with their inner soul, where answers often come from.

My experience is that the hours just after waking in the morning are often when situations become clearer. So I try to be quiet and wait to see if answers come.

This reading from Isaiah also reminds me of Benedict’s direction in the prologue to his Rule: “Listen with the ear of your heart.”

Joanna Seibert https://www.joannaseibert.com/