Celtic Odyssey

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it - always. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

MAY I speak each day according to Thy justice, Each day may I show Thy chastening, O God; May I speak each day according to Thy wisdom, Each day and night may I be at peace with Thee. Each day may I count the causes of Thy mercy, May I each day give heed to Thy laws; Each day may I compose to Thee a song, May I harp each day Thy praise, O God. May I each day give love to Thee, Jesu, Each night may I do the same; Each day and night, dark and light, May I laud Thy goodness to me, O God.

THOU angel of God who hast charge of me From the dear Father of mercifulness, The shepherding kind of the fold of the saints To make round about me this night; Drive from me every temptation and danger, Surround me on the sea of unrighteousness, And in the narrows, crooks, and straits, Keep thou my coracle, keep it always. Be thou a bright flame before me, Be thou a guiding star above me, Be thou a smooth path below me, And be a kindly shepherd behind me, To-day, to-night, and for ever. I am tired and I a stranger, Lead thou me to the land of angels; For me it is time to go home To the court of Christ, to the peace of heaven.

Mark 13:24-37 (CEB): “In those days, after the suffering of that time, the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky, and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. Then they will see the Human One coming in the clouds with great power and splendor. Then he will send the angels and gather together his chosen people from the four corners of the earth, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven. “Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that he’s near, at the door. I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away. “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know

THE cross of the saints and of the angels with me From the top of my face to the edge of my soles.          +         +         + O Michael mild, O Mary of glory, O gentle Bride of the locks of gold, Preserve ye me in the weakly body, The three preserve me on the just path.      Oh! three preserve me on the just path. Preserve ye me in the soul-shrine poor, Preserve ye me, and I so weak and naked, Preserve ye me without offence on the way, The preservation of the three upon me to-night.      Oh! the three to shield me to-night.

BEHOLD the Lightener of the stars On the crests of the clouds, And the choralists of the sky      Lauding Him. Coming down with acclaim From the Father above, Harp and lyre of song      Sounding to Him. Christ, Thou refuge of my love, Why should not I raise Thy fame! Angels and saints melodious      Singing to Thee. Thou Son of the Mary of graces, Of exceeding white purity of beauty, Joy were it to me to be in the fields      Of Thy riches. O Christ my beloved, O Christ of the Holy Blood, By day and by night      I praise Thee.

ON the Rock of rocks, The peace of Peter and Paul, Of James and John the beloved, And of the pure perfect Virgin,      The pure perfect Virgin. The peace of the Father of joy, The peace of the Christ of pasch, The peace of the Spirit of grace, To ourselves and to our children,     Ourselves and our children.

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.

As Thou art the Shepherd over the flock Tend Thou us to the cot and the fold, Sain us beneath Thine own glorious mantle;       Thou Shield of protection, guard us for ever, Be Thou a hard triumphant slave To shield us securely from wicked hell, From the fiends and from the stieve snell gullies,       And from the lurid smoke of the abyss. Be my soul in the trustance of the High King, Be Michael the powerful meeting my soul.

I AM bending my knee In the eye of the Father who created me, In the eye of the Son who died for me, In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,      In love and desire. Pour down upon us from heaven The rich blessing of Thy forgiveness; Thou who art uppermost in the City,      Be Thou patient with us. Grant to us, Thou Saviour of Glory, The fear of God, the love of God, and His affection, And the will of God to do on earth at all times As angels and saints do in heaven; Each day and night give us Thy peace.      Each day and night give us Thy peace.

Matthew 25:31-46 (CEB): “Now when the Human One comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left. “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’ “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to we

James 1:27 (CEB): True devotion, the kind that is pure and faultless before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their difficulties and to keep the world from contaminating us. ‘Keep the world from contaminating us.’ Many times, I’ve heard that to mean ‘sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll’ (or there abouts). But I don’t think that’s what St. James was getting at here. It’s seem pretty clear that ‘worldly corruption’ would be just the opposite of what St James admonished his audience - namely, not taking care of orphans and widows in their difficulties would be ‘worldly corruption’. This is the same that Jesus talked about in his story in Matthew 25. A story that has it’s place of fulfillment with the lives of his contemporaries, but the message is clearly applicable for all generations. There, Jesus said: Matthew 25:31-46 (CEB): “Now when the Human One comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. All the nations will be g

O GOD, who broughtst me from the rest of last night Unto the joyous light of this day, Be Thou bringing me from the new light of this day Unto the guiding light of eternity.      Oh! from the new light of this day      Unto the guiding light of eternity.

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BLESS, O Chief of generous chiefs, Myself and everything anear me, Bless me in all my actions, Make Thou me safe for ever,        Make Thou me safe for ever. From every brownie and ban-shee, From every evil wish and sorrow, From every nymph and water-wraith, From every fairy-mouse and grass-mouse,        From every fairy-mouse and grass-mouse. From every troll among the hills, From every siren hard pressing me, From every ghoul within the glens, Oh! save me till the end of my day.        Oh! save me till the end of my day.

THOU King of the moon, Thou King of the sun, Thou King of the planets, Thou King of the stars, Thou King of the globe, Thou King of the sky, Oh! lovely Thy countenance, Thou beauteous Beam. Two loops of silk Down by thy limbs, Smooth-skinned; Yellow jewels And a handful Out of every stock of them.

O God, In my deeds, In my words, In my wishes, In my reason, And in the fulfilling of my desires, In my sleep, In my dreams, In my repose, In my thoughts, In my heart and soul always, May the blessed Virgin Mary, And the promised Branch of Glory dwell,     Oh! in my heart and soul always,     May the blessed Virgin Mary,     And the fragrant Branch of Glory dwell.

THANKS be to Thee, Holy Father of Glory, Father kind, ever-loving, ever-powerful, Because of all the abundance, favour, and deliverance That Thou bestowest upon us in our need. Whatever providence befalls us as thy children, In our portion, in our lot, in our path, Give to us with it the rich gifts of Thine hand And the joyous blessing of Thy mouth. We are guilty and polluted, O God, In spirit, in heart, and in flesh, In thought, in word, in act, We are hard in Thy sight in sin. Put Thou forth to us the power of Thy love, Be thou leaping over the mountains of our transgressions, And wash us in the true blood of conciliation, Like the down of the mountain, like the lily of the lake. In the steep common path of our calling, Be it easy or uneasy to our flesh, Be it bright or dark for us to follow, Thine own perfect guidance be upon us. Be Thou a shield to us from the wiles of the deceiver, From the arch-destroyer with his arrows pursuing us, And in each secret thought our minds get to w

Matthew 25:14-30 (CEB): “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was leaving on a trip. He called his servants and handed his possessions over to them. To one he gave five valuable coins, and to another he gave two, and to another he gave one. He gave to each servant according to that servant’s ability. Then he left on his journey. “After the man left, the servant who had five valuable coins took them and went to work doing business with them. He gained five more. In the same way, the one who had two valuable coins gained two more. But the servant who had received the one valuable coin dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. “Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five valuable coins came forward with five additional coins. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good and faithful servant! You’ve be

Matthew 16:13-20 (CEB): Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Human One is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” He said, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. I tell you that you are Peter. And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ. There is a lot of talk about Jesus’ meaning in this passage. A lot of people see this as ‘pr