Compassion: Celtic prayers to the cross

Celtic prayers to the cross

St John's Cross - Iona The Celtic belief in the omnipresence of the spirit world inspired countless prayers calling on the power of the cross for protection. The simplest of these was the sign of the cross that was made to ward off evil and to seek the protection of God. A little more elaborate is this short prayer from Connemara: 9

O Lord who didst suffer Thy tortures for me
Torn with iron from the head to the knee,
Whose feet and whose hands were nailed to the tree,
Help, Lord! I come seeking protection from Thee.

Ordinary people prayed these prayers to ask God's help and protection in daily life as well as in times of danger. Women marked the sign of the cross on loaves of bread before they were baked. Milk pails were blessed before they were filled so that a demon wouldn't hide in the milk. The cross was seen as a weapon that could shield one from danger and trouble. By prayers like these they remembered God in their daily lives. (right: St John's Cross, Iona)

We can gain much from the Celtic Christian tradition. Its wealth of art, poetry and prayers can deepen our devotion to the Passion of Jesus and help us to keep its memory ever in our hearts. In our world today the Passion of Jesus can seem a remote event that is difficult to appreciate. A bit of the Celtic imagination could make it more immediate to us. Its beautiful prayers invoking the power of the cross might help us experience its power with more frequency. The cross could become, as it was for the Celts, the cornerstone of our faith and hope.

beginning of this article

Notes:
1 The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory: Iona Prayers by the Rev. George F. McLeod (Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications, 1985), 8.
2 Esther de Waal, Every Earthly Blessing (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant Publications, 1990), 13.
3 Ibid., 122-123.
4 Kuno Meyer, Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry, Constable, 1911, p. 99.Press, 1972), 359.
5 Douglas Hyde, Religious Songs of Connacht (Shannon, Ireland: Irish University
6 Philip Sheldrake, Living Between Worlds (Boston: Cowley Publications, 1995), 46.
7 Edward C. Sellner, Wisdom of the Celtic Saints (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 1993), 13.
8 Sheldrake, p. 46.
9 de Waal, p. 126.
10 Hyde, p. 227.

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Lourdes pilgrim | Thomas Berry and the suffering earth
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