Some Celtic Prayers
Practicing the Presence of God
Excerpts From "Prayer to Jesus"
I say the prayer from my mouth,
I say the prayer from my heart,
I say the prayer to Thee Thyself,
O Healing Hand, O Son of the God of salvation;
To magnify the greatness of heaven,
To magnify the greatness of God,
To magnify Thine own greatness,
And Thy glory, O Son of God of the Passion;
To give praise to Thee, Jesus, Lord of sea and of land,
Lord of sun and of moon, Lord of the beautiful stars.
O glorious Master of the stars,
O glorious Master of the skies,
O glorious Master of the heavens,
Blest by Thee has been every tribe and people.
O God of the weak, O God of the lowly,
O God of the righteous, O Shield of the homesteads:
Thou art calling upon us in the voice of glory,
With the mouth of mercy of Thy beloved Son.
O may I find rest everlasting in the home of the Trinity,
In the Paradise of the godly, in the Sun-garden of Thy love.
"Jesu, Who Ought to Be Praised"
It were as easy for Jesu to renew the withered tree
As to wither the new, were it His will so to do.
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! Meet it were to praise Him.
There is no plant in the ground but is full of His virtue,
There is no form in the strand but is full of His blessing.
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! Meet it were to praise Him.
There is no life in the sea, there is no creature in the river,
There is naught in the firmament,
But proclaims His goodness.
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! Meet it were to praise Him.
There is no bird on the wing, there is no star in the sky,
There is nothing beneath the sun,
But proclaims His goodness.
Jesu! Jesu! Jesu!
Jesu! Meet it were to praise Him.
Excerpts From "Blessing of the Kindling"
I will kindle my fire this morning
In the presence of the holy angels of heaven,
In the presence of Ariel of the loveliest form,
In the presence of Uriel of the myriad charms,
Without malice, without jealousy, without envy,
Without fear, without terror of any one under the sun,
But the Holy Son of God to shield me.
God, kindle Thou in my heart within
A flame of love to my neighbour,
To my foe, to my friend, to my kindred all,
To the brave, to the knave, to the thrall,
O Son of the loveliest Mary,
From the lowliest thing that liveth,
To the Name that is highest of all.
Excerpts From "Morning Prayer"
I believe, O God of all gods,
That Thou art the eternal Father of life;
I believe, O God of all gods,
That Thou art the eternal Father of love.
I believe, O Lord and God of the peoples,
That Thou art the Creator of the high heavens,
That Thou art the Creator of the skies above,
That Thou art the Creator of the oceans below.
Father eternal and Lord of the peoples,
I believe that Thou hast remedied my soul in the Spirit of healing,
That Thou gavest Thy loved Son in covenant for me,
That Thou hast purchased my soul with the precious blood of Thy Son.
I am giving Thee worship with my whole life,
I am giving Thee assent with my whole power,
I am giving Thee praise with my whole tongue
I am giving Thee honour with my whole utterance.
I am giving Thee reverence with my whole understanding,
I am giving Thee offering with my whole thought,
I am giving Thee praise with my whole fervour,
I am giving Thee humility in the blood of the Lamb.
I am giving Thee love with my whole devotion,
I am giving Thee kneeling with my whole desire,
I am giving Thee my existence with my whole mind,
I am giving Thee my soul, O God of all gods:
My thought, my deed, my word, my will,
My understanding, my intellect, my way, my state.
May God shield me, may God fill me,
May God keep me, may God watch me.
May God bring me to the land of peace,
To the country of the King, to the peace of eternity.
Praise to the Father, praise to the Son,
Praise to the Spirit, the Three in One.
Excerpts From "Saint Patrick's Breastplate"
I rise today in the power's strength,
Invoking the Trinity, believing in threeness,
Confessing the oneness, of creation's Creator.
I rise today in the power of Christ's birth and baptism,
In the power of His crucifixion and burial,
In the power of His rising and ascending,
In the power of His descending and judging.
I rise today in heavens might,
In sun's brightness, in moon's radiance,
In fire's glory, in lightning's quickness,
In wind's swiftness, in sea's depth,
In earth's stability, in rock's fixity.
I rise today with the power of God to pilot me,
God's strength to sustain me, God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look ahead for me, God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me, God's hand to protect me,
God's way before me, God's shield to defend me,
God's host to deliver me: from snares of devils,
From evil temptations, from nature's failings,
From all who wish to harm me, far of near,
alone and in a crowd.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me;
Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ to right of me, Christ to left of me;
Christ in my lying, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising;
Christ in the heart of all who think of me.
Christ on the tongue of all who speak to me,
Christ in the eye of all who see me,
Christ in the ear of all who hear me.
I rise today in the power's strength,
Invoking the Trinity, believing in threeness,
Confessing the oneness, of creation's Creator