Over recent years I have gained an appreciation for Celtic Christianity. Many of us can trace our roots to Celtic Christianity but our faith traditions have lost much of what our mothers and fathers in faith taught us.
A couple of years ago the community gathered at the NC 5 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation enjoyed Mary Earle and Lloyd Allen who taught us about Celtic Spirituality and Celtic History. I’ve returned to some of their recommended reading in anticipation of a Celtic Pilgrimage that I will participate in soon. John Philip Newell made some of the following observations in the foreword of a book titled Celtic Christian Spirituality annotated by Mary Earle that seems to summarize and help us prepare the way to enter into an immersion of Celtic Spirituality. Here are a few things that I have been reminded of about these early Christians:
- Celtic Christians believe in the oneness of life where heaven and earth are not divided and spirit and matter are woven together. All species in creation are intertwined. The health of individuals and the health of community are intertwined and time and eternity are wedded.
- Carl Jung reminds us that the devil is forever trying to rip apart what God has joined together. Mary Earle points us to the wisdom of early Celtic Christians that remind us of the dualisms that are dangerously
dividing us today, just as early Christians allowed themselves to be divided. - There is much brokenness in life and most of us have wounds deep in our souls. It is possible to hold a vision of the sacredness of everything in life while being fully conscious of life’s wounds.
- We must practice prayer, soul-friending, pilgrimage and social justice if we are to be faithful. We are reminded of these important practices by the Celtic Christians, in the same ways that we are reminded that transformation will only happen in our lives and in our world through practice.
- We are called to remember the essential oneness and sacredness of everything that has being. We must look at brokenness in our world and we are called to be a part of change and healing and we can only do this if we participate in practices that strengthen our relationship with God.
I am grateful for the wisdom offered by the early Celtic Christians. I am also grateful for people like Mary Earle and John Philip Newell who point us to the blessing of the great cloud of witnesses, the saints that have gone before us who are still available to help guide and direct us.
Celtic Blessings y’all, 
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Claire – Appreciating Forgotten Truths
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