A Great Way to Go

As I have become more and more acquainted with Celtic spirituality, the more it resonates in my spirit.  It is as there has been this part of me that I knew was present, but did not have a way to express it.   For a long time there has been this growing conviction that eternity is so close to earth that it is just beyond sight, but always there behind the "thin veil" which is the language of Celtic spirituality.   Other aspects of it which draw me toward it is the emphasis on the Trinity and the holiness of the earth.  But, one of things which I have really come to appreciate are the prayers and blessings.

 

One of those prayers I find myself repeating at night as I am about ready to drift off into sleep.  It is a simple word which prays, "I lie down this night with God, And God  will lie down with me,  I lie down this night with Christ, And Christ will lie down with me,  I lie down this night with Spirit, And the Spirit will lie down with me, God and Christ and the Spirit Be lying down with me."   Of course, this single prayer cannot take the place of the normal praying we do, but it does serve as something which introduces another dimension that is rich and powerful in its meaning.

 

One of things I have discovered with this prayer which speaks about the presence of the holy in the ordinary moment of sleeping is the way it can be used in so many other things of life.  When we are driving down the road, the prayer can be adapted so that we might pray, "I go down this road with God, and God  goes down this road with me..."  And, the wonder of it is that there is no end to the way this simple prayer can be adapted to remind us that in all our going and in all our doing God, and Christ, and the Spirit are present with us.  What a great way to go!