A Celtic blessing

The love and affection of heaven be to you,
The love and affection of the saints be to you,
The love and affection of the angels be to you,
The love and affection of the sun be to you,
The love and affection of the moon be to you,
Each day and night of your lives,
To keep you from haters, to keep you from harmers,
To keep you from oppressors.

Carmina Gadelica

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Dance my heart...

"Dance, my heart! Dance today with joy.

The strains of love fill the days and the

nights with music, and the world is

listening to its melodies.

Made with joy, life and death dance to

the rhythm of this music. The hills

and the sea and the earth dance.

The world of man dances in laughter and tears.

Why put on the robe of the monk, and

live aloof from the world in lonely pride?

Behold! My heart dances in the delight of

a hundred arts; and the Creator

is well pleased."

- From 'One hundred poems of Kabir'

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A fulfilling life

"All too often, we believe that in order to live a truly fulfilling life we must achieve some great act or grand feat that will put us on the front covers of magazines and newspaper. Nothing could be further from the truth. 
A meaningful life is made up of a series of daily acts of decency and kindness, which ironically, add up to something truly great over the course of a lifetime. 
Everyone who enters your life has a lesson to teach and a story to tell. 
Every person you pass during the moments that make up your days represents an opportunity to show a little more of the compassion and courtesy that define your humanity. 
Why not start being more of the person you truly are during your days and doing what you can to enrich the world around you? 
In my mind, if you make even one person smile during your day or brighten the mood of even one stranger, your day has been a worthwhile one."
( Who Will Cry When You Die; life lessons from the monk who sold his Ferrari, by Robin Sharma, Harper Collins,  1999 p. 4-5)

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Early hymn

Lord of light, shine on us;

Lord of peace, dwell in us;

Lord of might, protect us; 

Lord of love, enfold us;

Lord of wisdom, enlighten us.

Then, Lord, let us 

go out as your witnesses, 

in obedience to your command;

to share the good news 

of your mighty love for us

in the gift of your son, 

our saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

- Eleventh century Latin hymn

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Celtic blessing

"Bless to me, O God

My soul and my body;

Bless to me, O God

My belief and my condition 

Bless to me, O God

My heart and my speech

And Bless to me, O God

The handling of my hand

Strength and busyness of morning,

Habit and temper of modesty, 

Force and wisdom of thought

And Thine own path, O God of virtues,

Till I go to sleep this night."

- Celtic blessing

Photo - a Celtic cross on Iona by me

St. Apollonius' prayer

"O Lord Jesus Christ,

give us a measure of your Spirit

that we may be enabled to obey your teaching:

to pacify anger,

to take part in pity,

to moderate desire,

to increase love,

to put away sorrow,

to cast away vain glory,

not to be vindictive,

not to fear death;

ever entrusting our spirit to the immortal God

who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns

world without end."

- A Prayer of St. Apollonius

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Morning prayer

Keep your people, Lord,

in the arms of your embrace.

Shelter them under your wings.

Be their light in darkness,

Be their hope in distress,

Be their calm in anxiety,

Be strength in their weakness

Be their comfort in pain

Be their song in the night

In peace I will go out this day,

for it is you O Lord,

you alone who guides my paths,

your wisdom in my heart.

- Celtic morning prayer

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Celtic morning prayer

Guiding God

be with us 

in our going out

and coming home

in our journeying

and returning

in our decision making

and organising

Guarding God

be with us

through the calm

and through the storm

be our comfort

when we’re hurting

be our helper

when we’re falling

Gracious God

walk with us

every moment

of this new day.

- Celtic morning prayer from 'Faith and Worship'

(Image courtesy of Evgeni Dinev / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Morning prayer

Christ our healer

Christ our teacher

Our inspiration and purpose.

Christ our defender

Christ our redeemer

Our liberation and precious.

Bless both day and night.

Bless our travelling and arriving.

Bless our service and our sleeping.

Christ, our all in all,

into your presence I come, Lord;

a few moments of quietness,

closeness

in a busy world

that demands my attention.

Breathe on me now,

that I might know your power

to see this day though 

- Morning prayer from Faith and Worship

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Morning prayer

May I arise this morning

feeling your warmth

embracing me,

conscious of your love

forgiving me,

knowing your peace

within me,

feeling your Spirit

strengthen me,

hearing your whisper

encouraging me.

In all I do

and in all I say

may my life 

this day

and all days

reflect

the beauty of my Lord.

- Morning prayer from 'Faith and Wordship'

(Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net )

A night prayer

Calm me, O Lord, as you stilled the storm.

Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm.

Let all the tumult within me cease.

Enfold me, Lord, in your peace

Holy God, bless the work that is done,

And the work that is to be.

Jesus Christ, bless the servant that I am,

And the servant that I will be

Lord God of power and might

Shield and sustain us this night.

I will lie down this night with God,

And God will lie down with me;

I will lie down this night with Christ,

And Christ will lie down with me;

I will lie down this night with the Spirit,

And the Spirit will lie down with me;

God and Christ and the Spirit,

Be lying down with me.

The peace of God

Be over us to shelter us,

Under us to uphold us,

About us to protect us,

Behind us to direct us,

Ever with us to save us.

The peace of all peace

Be mine this night

In the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

- Celtic night prayer from Northumbria Community

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A blessing for April

May Christ risen give you new hope and assurance of eternal life.
May the risen Lord light your path with resurrection glory
and lead you on the pilgrim way,
and the blessing of God remain with you always. 

- Canadian Church Calendar, A Blessing for April


Photo - snowdrops in my garden

Richard Rohr wisdom

God does not love us if we change,

God loves us so that we can change

- Richard Rohr

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Life is...

“Life is like a beautiful melody, 

only the lyrics are messed up.” 

- Hans Christian Andersen 

 Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net