Thin Places Within and Without

 Today, my thoughts turn to Celtic Christianity which has appealed to me from time to time on the edges of my spiritual life.  At times I regret that I do not pay attention to it more regularly and more deeply.  However, whenever I come across explorations of it, I am reminded of its deep resonance which I feel within.

Perhaps it is appropriate that it is on the edges – liminal – to my spiritual life, as Celtic Spirituality is very much about being on the borders and edges.  It speaks about the thin places in our lives. both physically and spiritually, where the boundaries between our physical life and our spiritual life are not so firm and clear.  I have experienced thin places from time to time and am always grateful when they occur.

For me, the other great strength of Celtic Spirituality is the appreciation it brings to everyday things in life being grounded in the natural world.  It recognizes and embraces that God is in the everyday things of life and seems to have a prayer for just about every activity that you might engage in.  I adapted a Celtic prayer for students for a prayer that I use before a spiritual direction meeting:

Celtic Prayer for Spiritual Direction 

Bless this time, in the name of the Three who are over us.

Bless this time, in the name of the One who guides us.

Open our eyes to see how our lives

Can reflect something of You.

Aid us in understanding Your will

With our hearts as well as our minds

Give us the wisdom to discern Your intention for us;

The strength to follow the path You prepare for us;

And Your comfort on the journey You offer to us.

Amen  

People are probably most familiar with Celtic Spirituality through the hymn known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate or a Deer’s Cry: 

I bind unto myself today
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three.

I won’t repeat all the many verses here.  Versions can be found on the internet.  Here is one most appropriately performed in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWdZ13cH5lU

The part which resonates most with me, but is not included in many versions, has the bridge which connects the verses binding us to God with the understanding that Christ which binds us to God is within me and in all things and in all times:

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ to seek me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me;
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ sustaining all who love me,
Christ uniting friend and stranger!

I invite you to look out for those thin places on your journey.