Every Earthly Blessing

Every Earthly Blessing; Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition, by Esther de Waal plumbs the habits, art, creeds, and customs of Celtic Christians to find insights that revive a view of God as active in and receiving glory from all the details of life and the people these create in us as we live them. In Celtic Christianity, De Waal finds a world that belongs to God, in which all is done before God and to benefit God. The hope is that this perspective may be a corrective of the compartmentalized and frenzied life common today. However, the solution presented is no radical overhaul of the minutiae of life. Rather, it calls the reader to gradual, holistic change. Even the ascetic traditions of the Celts offer us "profound means of spiritual growth," habits that may enable us to recover "...an affirming and unspectacular acceptance of the place of discipline, restraint, simplicity in daily life" as means of freeing us to love and serve God. For in these traditions God's interest in our lives is not a matter of seeking to judge us but of drawing us into fuller, freer fellowship with each other, all creation and God. De Waal brings this view of the world to life with lovely lyricism -especially in the frequent use of primary texts presenting hymns, poetry, legends and practice- that will resonate with fans of Brother Lawrence, elucidating what is only partially depicted in his scant text. The reader is thus lured towards "an inner attentiveness to God, a continual stream of contemplation which becomes possible even in the midst of crowds, noise, and the demands of daily life" - precisely what so many are looking for today.

At one point in her book, Every Earthly Blessing, Esther De Waal describes the Celtic cross, that "circle of creation held in tension " between stone beams. In many ways, this symbol of Celtic spirituality represents the focus of her book, for the Celtic people, she believes, captured the essence of what it means to live in that intersection between the sacred and secular. She describes how common people went about every day whispering prayers that accompanied tasks from making the bed to plowing the field. Monks and hermits, she observes, understood the connection between rest and fruitful work, and therefore set aside time for solitude and prayer. She quotes hymns sung by a people who did not worry themselves as many of us do with covering up our very real pain and failures, but rather brought the whole of their experience before God from a place of "honest acceptance of weakness and dependency." If you're like me, you're probably stuck in the busy intersection between dirty laundry and work deadlines. So, how is this book relevant? Richard J. Foster, in his book, Celebration of Discipline, says, "Simplicity is freedom." De Waal makes available the practices of a people who were much like us, yet because they understood the connection between all things, namely the sacred and the secular, their lives were marked by simplicity, and therefore by freedom.

This book is a good overview of information on the Celtic thoughts related to monks, pilgrims, creation, sin, the meaning behind the Celtic crosses, and the Celtic belief that the spiritual and the natural world are not separate. Two things that I learned from this book: There are plants that the Celtic Christians avoided because of their roles in persecuting Christ. For example:The aspen tree. They would hurl stones and dirt at it when they passed because they were reminded that this was the type of tree Christ died on. No one used the wood from this tree for farm implements or fishing boats. The other interesting part was the explanation of the illustrations on the high Celtic crosses. The crucified Christ is depicted wearing a long robe, showing at once the suffering of the dying Christ and the victory of the risen one. This "shows the Celtic ability to hold two things in tension: death and life brought together." Facinating stuff. Wish the book had been longer and more in depth.

Delightful book, will be looking for more by this authour

This book provides a superb introduction to the Celtic Christian vision. I particularly enjoy the trinitarian aspects of Celtic prayer. The vision and picture presented in the book reveals a Chritian faith that does not divide the sacred from the secular or the mind and the body and soul. But rather, it presents a picture of faith affecting every area of life.