Find a comfortable place in which to sit. Cut out as many distractions as possible. Focus on your breathing. Take a deep slow breath in from the depths of your abdomen and hold it for a moment. Then breathe out slowly. Relax your body and your mind.
Read the prayer above imagining the presence of God surrounding you. Read it again and visualize Christ walking beside you as a friend, guiding and comforting you.
What is Your Response?
How aware are you of the surrounding presence of God? How do you respond to the idea of God as companion and friend?
Iona cross with Bishop’s house in distance
The photos above were taken on the island of Iona off the West Coast of Scotland, where Columba established a monastery in the 6th century. My husband I are very attracted to this stream of Christianity which believed that all things were under the lordship of Christ, and all aspects of life were ways to share in God’s purposes.
Belief that the One who called them to conduct the affairs of the kingdom was actually with them and enfolding them as Father, Son and Spirit kept them from dividing life into sacred and secular realms. Spiritual and material, heaven and earth were seen as so interpenetrating that Celts embraced a unique sense of time. Eternity was always present in some way and invited people’s awareness, gratitude and praise. Time itself was seen as God’s creation and gift, so that ordinary moments could share in the rhythms of God’s reign (Drinking from the Wells of New Creation, Kerry Dearborn, 126)
What Is Your Response?
Read through this quote several times. What glimpses of God’s eternal world have you caught sight of today? Sit quietly in the presence of that gift. Offer prayers of gratitude and praise to God. Write down your response.
Finish your time of reflection by watching this following Celtic blessing by John O’Donohue.
11 comments
I have always enjoyed your post – each and every one. However, this post today, filled me with what I need to move forward. Yesterday was a particularly tough day spiritually. I found out that I had hurt someone – deeply. I have apologized, and, hope that my apology will be accepted. This prayer and meditation helped me to put many things into a better space. Thank you!
Vicki, I am so glad that this helped you to move into a better place. May God bless you as you move forward into confession and I hope reconciliation
Thankyou for this beautiful Celtic meditation. It was so appropriate for me today. My heart too, is drawn to and nourished by Christian Celtic prayers and music. Two years ago I was able to visit Holy Island
( Lindisfarne) and the Northumbria Community in the UK – what a blessing!
Thanks Shelley for your comment. My husband and I have visited both Iona and Lindisfarne several times and hope to go back again next year. I am glad that this ministered to you.
I, too, am grateful for this meditation. I woke up this morning feeling ill and with a sense of heaviness and sorrow; these words and images have offered space for me to dwell as I am in the hope of Christ’s presence. Thank you.
Also, I am taking a class right now on Celtic Spirituality, and it is so lovely to see and know that there are others out there who have been impacted by this rich stream of Christian spirituality.
Mollie, Thank you and let me assure you that there are many of us around who continue to be impacted by Celtic spirituality. The Celtic saints belief in the fact that God is present in and through all things is a wonderful approach that I continue to draw from
Yes, it is a wonderful, refreshing approach. This is giving me some ideas and guidance as I seek to develop a more intentional meditation/mindfulness practice. I have practiced mindfulness some over the past year, and while I have found that to be so helpful and grounding, lately it has felt a bit empty and I’m wanting to ground myself more intentionally in Christ. The images, words, and sounds you have included here offer the richness and depth that seems to be lacking.
Blessings Mollie may God continue to guide your journey
Thank you, Christine. A timely meditation for me, and the blessing at the end was particularly poignant speaking into a chronic grief we carry.
I love this Irish blessing – it speaks to me in many different situations
[…] Discover a snug place through which to take a seat. Minimize out as many distractions as potential. Focus in your respiration. Take a deep sluggish breath in from the depths of your stomach and maintain it for a second. Then breathe out slowly. Loosen up your physique and your thoughts. Learn the prayer above imagining the presence of […] Godspace […]