Celtic Daily Prayer

by Northumbria Community

• ISBN13: 9780060013240
• ISBN10: 0060013249
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-06-01
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

The Ancient Paths of Northumbria in northeastern England have been trod by generations of men and women who loved God and followed Jesus, bringing faith, hope, and love to vast numbers of people. Today, the Northumbria Community remains a living expression of this monastic, contemplative stream of the faith, and the perennial need to make that faith relevant to the world. Celtic Daily Prayer is the fruit of the spiritual life of a remarkable community. Its liturgies, prayers, and meditations are drawn from a deep well of spiritual experience that transcends fashion, culture, and denomination. Blending prayer and praise and building upon the ancient wisdom of traditional Celtic Christianity, this prayer book is extraordinarily fresh. At the heart of the life of the Northumbria Community, as well as this book, lies the Daily Office -- morning, noon, and evening prayers and a monthly cycle of meditations for individual or communal use each day. With words drawn from sources such as St. Patrick's Breastplate, Teresa's Bookmark, Columba's Blessing, and the Psalms, this cycle of daily prayers reflects the essential rhythms of life. With liturgies for communion and other special occasions as well as daffy readings, this prayer book contains two complete years of scripture readings and a calendar of saints' days and festivals. The Jewish tradition of family Shabbat, adapted with prayers from the Celtic tradition, also finds its place in this book. A section on rites of passage suggests prayers and rituals for the pivotal times of life: birth, rebirth, marriage, midlife, and bereavement, as well as blessings and graces for all occasions. This traditionally grounded yet surprisingly modem prayer book will enrich the spiritual life of readers for years to come.

Table of Contents

Invocation of the Holy Spirit	ix
Introduction	xi
About This Book	1	(1)
The Upper and Nether Springs	2	(2)
The liturgies	4	(2)
Why Celtic?	6	(2)
The Northumbria Community	8	(2)
The Community Rule of Availability and Vulnerability	10	(1)
How to use this book	11	(2)
Daily Office	13	(13)
How to use Daily Office	13	(4)
Morning Prayer	17	(3)
Midday Prayer	20	(2)
Evening Prayer	22	(4)
Complines	26	(20)
How to use Complines	26	(1)
Sunday - the Ita Compline	27	(3)
Monday - the Aidan Compline	30	(4)
Tuesday - the Cuthbert Compline	34	(4)
Wednesday - the Felgild Compline	38	(2)
Thursday - the Ebba Compline	40	(2)
Friday - the Boisil Compline	42	(2)
Saturday - the Patrick Compline	44	(2)
Meditations for Each Day of the Month	46	(28)
Holy Communion	74	(13)
Family Shabbat	87	(5)
Follow the Example	92	(112)
Calendar and resources for saints' days and festivals	92	(52)
Brigid - in welcoming	144	(9)
A house-blessing	145	(5)
Prayers for a workplace	150	(3)
Oswald - in practical ways	153	(5)
Prayers for committing our work to God	153	(5)
Aidan - in the power of the Spirit	158	(4)
Prayers for being sent out with God's blessing	158	(4)
Chad - in willing service	162	(5)
Prayers for a journey or at a time of change	162	(5)
Hild - in the right place	167	(4)
Wrestling with the call of God	167	(4)
Cuthbert - into a desert place	171	(7)
For a solitary retreat	172	(6)
Brendan - in exploration of a vision	178	(16)
Prayers for a spiritual journey	178	(16)
Ninian - in relating to the whole of life	194	(3)
Prayers for the blessing of land and of life	195	(2)
Caedmon - in declaration of a dream	197	(5)
Prayers about becoming a voice for those who have no voice	198	(4)
A litany of saints - the house that John built	202	(2)
Rites of Passage	204	(24)
Coming into the light - birth	204	(6)
Prayers for the christening or dedication of a child	204	(6)
Coming into the light - rebirth	210	(2)
Marriage - light and shadow	212	(4)
In difficult times	216	(3)
A general intercession for those in trouble	218	(1)
Mid-life	219	(3)
The shadow of death	222	(3)
Death and dying	222	(3)
The darkness of bereavement	225	(3)
Times and Seasons	228	(62)
Advent	228	(7)
Christmas	235	(3)
New Year	238	(8)
A covenant service	239	(5)
Light a candle in the darkness	244	(2)
Lent	246	(2)
Approaching Easter	248	(20)
Foot washing	248	(3)
The way of the cross	251	(13)
Easter Eve	264	(4)
Easter	268	(10)
An Easter Vigil	268	(10)
The Sunday after Easter	278	(3)
Ascension	281	(3)
Pentecost	284	(1)
Harvest	285	(5)
Blessings, Prayers and Graces	290	(12)
Prayers of blessing	290	(4)
Prayers	294	(3)
Caim prayer (when I do not know what to pray)	297	(2)
Graces	299	(3)
The Aidan Series of Daily Readings	302	(287)
About the daily readings	302	(1)
January: Consider my meditation	303	(20)
February: Devoted to Him	323	(20)
March: Ask for the old paths	343	(25)
April: The inward journey	368	(18)
May: Crossroads	386	(30)
All Your creatures	401	(6)
Gift from the sea	407	(9)
June: Desert Fathers	416	(16)
July: Pilgrimage	432	(32)
August: Iona	464	(30)
September: In the shadow of Aidan	494	(19)
October: With understanding	513	(26)
November: Chosen people	539	(29)
December: Deeper life	568	(21)
The Finan Series of Daily Readings	589	(228)
January: Be Thou my vision	589	(19)
February: Doorkeepers	608	(20)
March: Small beginnings	628	(18)
April: Abandonment	646	(15)
May: To a young disciple	661	(23)
June: Jesus of the scars	684	(19)
July: The city without a church	703	(14)
August: What gives you the right?	717	(20)
Without walls	725	(12)
September: Standing in the secret	737	(23)
Broken gold	747	(4)
Celtic insight	751	(9)
October: Parting and planting	760	(17)
November: The house that John built	777	(18)
December: Enter in	795	(22)
FURTHER INFORMATION	817	(1)
Sources and acknowledgements	817	(8)
Bibliography	825	(2)
Contact details for the Northumbria Community	827	(1)
Cross-references to Celtic Daily Readings	828

Excerpts

Celtic Daily Prayer
Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community

Morning Prayer

Said or sung all together except for the sentences marked 'Call', which are for the Leader only.
+ indicates that you may make the sign of the cross.

+ In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentences

One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.

Call: Who is it that you seek?
Response: We seek the Lord our God.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your heart?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your soul?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your mind?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your strength?
Response: Amen. Christ, have mercy.

Celtic Daily Prayer
Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community. Copyright © by James Northumbria Communit. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Celtic Daily Prayer: From the Northumbria Community by The Northumbria Community
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.