Ancient Celtic Prayers for Today

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 puts 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 protection prayer in the Irish Celtic tradition, often used before going to battle. It may have originated from the original 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—and not the writing—was primary to them. We need both.

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

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 seems like going into battle. However, my experience is that when prayers like this become part of our being, we recognize that the struggle is over and love has already won.

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

Image Gently

Image Gently

“Relationship is not a project, it is a grace.”—Thomas Moore in Soul Mates: Honoring the Mysteries of Love and Relationship (HarperCollins, 1994), p. 256.

My friend, Marilyn Goske, also a pediatric radiologist, spearheaded Image Gently’s campaign to decrease radiation to children in diagnostic radiology. This organization encourages physicians to use the least radiation when performing tests on children. It applies to conventional X-rays, fluoroscopy, interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, computed tomography, dentistry, cardiac imaging, and imaging in the setting of minor head trauma.

 In addition, the organization aims to educate physicians, technologists, and nurses about the amount of radiation used and the importance of reassuring parents about their concerns. This educational program involves communication with all those directly involved in these studies and all medical organizations that support them. It has achieved overwhelming success, with over 1.9 million participants pledging to this program.

Marilyn shows us how to change the world by communicating and dialoguing with all people who share a particular interest. It involves trying to solve a problem, working together, celebrating when answers come, and honoring those who bring the vision to reality. In this way, we see the power of community.

I realize how important this could be in our spiritual lives. We find more answers to our spiritual questions in community, whereas often we cannot understand our concerns on our own.

 I remember meeting with my spiritual director, who helped me understand a dream that had baffled me for days. Each day, in the early morning, I return to the dream and uncover another insight, as though she and all those who have taught me about dreamwork are still guiding me.

We also have many aspects of ourselves: the inner masculine, the inner feminine, the child within, and many more. They reveal answers when we see them as helpful voices, rather than unwanted adversaries, especially when they come from the weaker parts of ourselves. It is in our weakness, in our vulnerability, especially in community, that God the Holy Spirit creeps in and helps us discern a path, where before we saw only a jungle.

In community, we image gently.

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

Message in the Eucharist: Thanks and Abundance

Lessons From The Eucharist: Thanks and Abundance

“The church is the only community that has as its central symbolic act 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.’ Which 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 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. Weekly or daily Eucharist is an experience of abundance. There is always enough bread and wine, and always some left over. The Eucharist is a reminder of a great gift: the love of God for each of us and for all.

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

Remembering this is a table of abundance for all,

 Remembering this is an assurance that we have been given a life of abundance through Christ

 Can make all the difference in how we receive the Eucharist and

How we live our lives.

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