A Simple Blessing
I’ve thought about doing a series on Celtic prayer and the Celtic idea of “thin places” — those places where the distance between our physical world and the spiritual world is so thin that hints of the other side come to us. The Celtic Christians believed that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all around us and evident in all things. They took Romans chapter one very, very seriously; believing that the created universe sang of the existence, goodness, and providence of God.
A few years ago, I posted the most famous of St. Patrick’s prayers, the one known as the Breastplate or the Deer’s Cry. This one is much shorter. As I see the unemployment figures shoot skyward in Detroit, and as our country wrestles with itself and its future, I need to retreat to one of his other prayers; a simple prayer of peace.
Deep peace of the running waves to you…
Deep peace of the flowing air to you…
Deep peace of the smiling stars to you…
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you…
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you…
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you…
St. Patrick, AD 440
July 16th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I would like to read such a series, Patrick. I love the “Good Gifting God.”
July 16th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Something is wrong with your rss feed the preview has something about ringtones.
July 18th, 2009 at 6:53 am
I like this
July 18th, 2009 at 10:39 am
What a sweet and peaceful prayer/blessing! I can see the Emerald Isle in my mind as I read it. Thanks for sharing it with us.
July 19th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Having just returned from Ireland a couple of weeks ago – seen Newgrange and Christchurch in Dublin and the hill of Tara and Glendalough – these lines especially resonate with my soul.
It’s humbling to be from a country with a Christian history of a couple hundred years and to visit a country with a Christian heritage of 1500 years.
Who knows what wonderful prayers we might have if American settlers had been more willing to meld their spiritual culture with that of native Americans.
Newgrange is particularly awe inspiring. When I look at it I think “Abraham was living in a tent when they built this thing.” Ireland’s Christianity is actually even older than you stated. When Columba left Ireland for Scotland, Christianity had already taken solid root in his home country. Christians worshiped in the south of Scotland even before that. Say… 1600 years of Christianity and then consider that they believed in a daily, constant connection with the Trinity through prayer. We have a wealth of their prayers still with us today. I wonder what we will leave behind.