I love the circling prayers that are so much a part of Celtic Christian spirituality. These prayers speak of God’s protective “circling” presence. These prayers are very easy to construct for our own spiritual observances and can easily be envisioned to invite God’s encompassing presence to the circumstances we face or the issues we care about.
Today’s prayer was written as I reflected on Martin Luther King Day on Monday and reread my last year’s post Never Be Afraid Of What is Right – Reflections on Martin Luther King. Celebrating days like this is so important as it helps us remember the injustices we have fought to overcome and gives us hope as we set our hearts and our minds against other injustices we see in our world.
Take time this weekend to reflect on the injustices that pull at your heart and be inspired by Martin Luther King’s words:
“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
4 comments
Thankyou for sharing that circling prayer,and for the words you wrote. I’ve always known those prayers as caim prayers. Wonderful. Thankyou.
Yes they are known as caim prayers too.
Marvelous prayer, Christine. I will use this on Sunday in the pastoral prayers. I will instruct people that I will be taking time to be silent; and I’ll invite the congregation to remember things, or people, or situations that come to their minds after each petition. Thanks so much.
Your welcome and I love your suggestion of how to apply this prayer. To give people time to reflect on each phrase and apply it to their own life situations I am sure will strengthen their memory of it and more importantly of the power of God to encompass and transform the situations they face.