Prayers and chants

God, a Celtic Christian meditation 

I am the wind that breathes upon the sea,

I am the wave on the ocean,

I am the murmur of leaves rustling,

I am the rays of the sun,

I am the beam of the moon and stars,

I am the power of trees growing,

I am the bud breaking into blossom,

I am the movement of the salmon swimming,

I am the courage of the wild boar fighting,

I am the speed of the stag running,

I am the strength of the ox pulling the plough,

I am the size of the mighty oak tree,

And I am the thoughts of all people

Who praise my beauty and grace.

Never turning back

We're gonna keep on walking forward, Keep on walking forward, Keep on walking forward, Never turning back, Never turning back 

We're gonna keep on thinking clearly

We're gonna keep on speaking bravely

We're gonna keep on singing loudly

We're gonna work for change together

We're gonna live what we believe in

Our Father and Mother

Our Father and Mother

In heaven and earth

Give us the love, courage and strength

To do your will.

But help us accept

The things we cannot change.

Forgive us our wrongs

And help us forgive

Those who have wronged us.

Let us be touched by your grace

So that we may feel your

Love, truth, beauty and goodness

For ever.

Amen

Belonging is a river, not a goal

Belonging is a river
not a goal.
Every point is holy--
but you cannot linger there
without losing yourself
for you are the motion of your journey.

No idea,
no attainment,
no goal,
can encompass the truth
which lives only as it dies into new life.
Your are the pain--
let it go.
Your are the joy--
let it go.
You are actions taken and not taken--
let them go.
Your are the dream--
let it go.
Move with the mark
of the unknown upon you
and life will enter your blood like a river.
This world was always holy
and you were always a rising flame
upon its altar.
-Bernadette Miller




Note on the Celtic Christian meditation, which is from the ‘Black Book of Carmarthen’, an ancient Welsh work: I first heard the Celtic Christian meditation on God at St Peter’s Pilgrimage on 2 July 2005.  Annie Mawson was playing her Celtic harp in St Peter’s Chapel and inviting people to read from her collection of Celtic Christian poems and prayers. On that day, after walking the last part of the Pilgrimage in silence, coming into the St Peter’s Chapel to hear this poem, accompanied by the ethereal music of the harp, was a magical moment for me.