A Celtic Christian Journey-Prayer

In her book, The Celtic Way of Prayer: The Recovery of the Religious Imagination, Esther De Waal writes,

“I discovered that if I wanted to encounter Celtic Christianity, I had to look at poetry, and so I found myself being taken into the world of poetry and song. . . . I have found myself thinking about God as a poet, an artist, drawing us all into his great work of art” (p .xiii).

Celtic spirituality has a flair for beauty and a deep communion with nature.

The concept and living reality of journey (peregrinatio) both inner and outer was important to the Celts. “So peregrinatio presents us with the interior, inward journey that is undertaken for the love of God . . .” (p. 2). And with journeys come journey-prayers. Part of a beautiful journey-prayer by Alexander Carmichael is the following:

Life be in my speech,

Sense in what I say,

The bloom of cherries on my lips . . . (p. 12).

Inspired by Celtic Christianity, I wrote a journey-prayer. I am speaking about the inner journey as well as the journey from birth until death. In spite of the hard times encountered by everyone on their life‘s journey, I pray this journey-prayer with “the bloom of cherries on my lips.”

Lord,

I am not prepared

For the journey

Through this world

Guide my feet

On Your path

Of soft earth

Brighten my eyes

With Your sun

As I walk through

The black night

Fill my voice

With Your laughter

To silence my sorrow

With Your gladness

For the time for sorrow

Is in the dark of winter

With barren trees

Devoid of leaves

But on this new day

As the spring snow melts

The birds and rivers sing

With the joy

Of Your overflowing love

(Written by Terry Chitwood on 4/12/11)
Photo Credit: Photo by Eamon Curry at Flickr Creative Commons.