Echoes of Creation

Reflections On
Celtic Spirituality

Part One
A Challenge for the West?
 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 2

The Challenges Facing The West

Note. This is the last in the series of 5 presentations/notes on Celtic

Spirituality. It concludes with a Celtic Celebration. These notes need
to be read in the context of this and therefore CANNOT fully convey
the richness of what is Celtic Spirituality.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this our final session and final notes. These notes accompany a
presentation which gives a short resume of the four previous parts and some final points
re Celtic Spirituality. It then reflects on the following challenges that face Religion and
Spirituality in the West:

The Challenges of Modernity and the Relevance of God

The Paternalistic God and its potential bias against women

Ecology

Other Major Faith Traditions – Particularly Eastern

Dualism versus Non-Duality

Rationality versus Mysticism

Our common or universal need for a secure base

At the end of the presentation there will be a final Celtic Celebration bringing together
some of the elements of the 4 week journey But first let us open our meeting and these
notes with a prayer from A. Maclean – the father of the author Alastair Maclean , who in
the 1930s led a revival of Celtic Spirituality in Scotland

As the hand is made for holding , and the eye for seeing.
Share with me the vision that shall find it everywhere.
In the wild violet’s beauty;
In the lark’s melody;
In the face of a steadfast man;
In the child’s smile;
In a mother’s love.
In the purity of Jesus. AMEN

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 3

The Challenges Facing Christianity Post Modernity in the West

The following are some final and personal thoughts concerning the challenges facing
Western Christianity and post-modernity in the West. They suggest how some aspects
of Celtic Spirituality might play its part in addressing these challenges.

Challenge of Modernity and Relevance of God

The first challenge is the relevance of God in the modern age. It gathered great strength
in the later half of the 19th and throughout the 20th Century. Materialism, wars and
conflict played their part in dulling people’s senses to the Presence of God. The
seeming inability of Faith Traditions, and particularly Western Christianity, to present an
answer to these challenges did not help. Increasingly, people, and particularly the
young, began to question the relevance of the ‘paternalistic’ God that is all too often
portrayed by Western Churches.

This is a challenge that all Faith Traditions face but more particularly those in the more
materialistic West. However, it is, to some extent, a challenge of our own making. Over
several centuries, Western Christianity – to a large degree seems to have failed to face
up to the consequences of our materialistic past and present. It has failed perhaps to
remind people of their inter-dependence and their TRUE relationship with this planet and
creation. It has presented a man made in the image of God and has to a certain extent
lost sight of the wonder and mystery of the Creator. In doing this it has turned its own
‘theology’ on its head and seemingly presented a God made in man’s own image.

Challenge of Ecology

The challenge of ecology and the environment is crucial and one that is connected with
some of the points above. Many people and especially the young, are ‘turned off’ by a
religion which seems to have failed to emphasise its connection with creation and this
planet – to have seemingly lost or forgotten its own Creation Narrative – in Genesis .

Losing touch with the ‘Presence of God’ in all creation has led to man, and mainly men
not women, abusing the planet. The land , the ‘Earth’ and its riches are a ‘gift’ from
God to be held in trust ( see Genesis) A failure to see the Sacred in Creation has led to
a cavalier attitude to the world and perhaps hence the current great and looming
disaster of the GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

Modern science increasingly warns us of the impending disaster of our over-exploitation

of our Blue Planet and our greedy use of fossil fuels. Unlike our distant ancestors and
most of the Aboriginal Cultures, we have lost our sense of the sacredness of Mother
Earth.

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 4

The Challenge of a Paternalistic God

The presentation of God as a male, paternalistic figure is another great challenge. This
is a major block for many and particularly to those who challenge the many thousands of
years of male dominated paternalistic culture.

God is neither male nor female and as Jewish Scripture reminds us ‘in the image of
God we were created – male and female’. Our God is essentially Spirit as are we.
Hans Kung the respected German Theologian reminds us of the dangers of a
Paternalistic God. Many cultures have a concept of a God who is either female or both
male and female. ‘The designation of “father” for God is misunderstood if it is taken as
the opposite of “mother” (see Hans Kung;- Does God Exist) Our concept, ‘borrowed’
from Judaism is very simplistic and has led to men assuming they have a ‘God – Given
Right’ to dominate women. Yet MOST Faith Traditions are kept alive by women. We
have ‘skewed’ the concept of God to fit in with a male dominated culture and for
thousands of years women have suffered. In this modern age, people will no longer
accept this.

Many of the great leaders, mystics and saints have pointed this out. Guru Nanak, the
founder of Sikhism, reminds his followers that ‘ Of woman we are born, without woman
only the True One exists’ The Jewish Scriptures present God with both a mother’s and
father’s care. The prophets remind us, as do the Wisdom Scriptures, of the femininity of
God. Celtic, Coptic and Eastern Traditions recognise the importance of the feminine in
God. In the Celtic tradition the Spirit (of the Trinity) is often represented as a woman.

We urgently need to recover our understanding and sense of inter-connectedness and

that we are ALL , both male and female, made in God’s image. This sense of oneness,
whilst not denying the virtue and fact of our uniqueness, leads to a respect for
difference. A respect for both the feminine and masculine aspects of our common
humanity and this in turn could lead to less discrimination , oppression and violence
being shown to females.

The Challenge of Dualism

The concept of a dualistic God is another great challenge. This has ‘crept’ into
Christianity and many other aspects of Western and Middle Eastern life. In the main this
is due to the major influence, for over 1600 years, by the Platonism of the Greco-Roman
Culture. In addition Christianity has had 300 years of the Cartesian Principle and to what
is often referred to as ‘the age of enlightenment’ Consequently, the paternalistic and
cognitive aspect of the human psyche has been elevated and the feministic and
affective and intuitive aspects demoted. The consequences of all this has been a mixed
blessing. We have to some extent lost sight of our spiritual heritage.

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 5

This has led to the growth (unintentionally to a certain degree) of a DUALISTIC notion of
God. There is a Transcendent God , a God who is somewhere up THERE! This
leaves us as mere humans DOWN HERE! This is often depicted in pictures showing
people looking up to heaven to see the Paternalistic ‘Old Man with a beard ‘on a cloud!
Thus we have the distorted theology of ‘Pie in the Sky when you die’

Yet many people in there ordinary experiences encounter an Immanent God. This is a
God or a sense of ‘Presence’ at the core of their being. These experiences lead to them
shying away from this Transcendent and often angry old man God. This ‘picture’ of the
transcendent God fails to connect with their experience of the spiritual in life. However,
their cultural filters , formed by centuries of paternalistic ideas ‘warn’ them to beware of
their intuition and leads to so much confusion, particularly amongst the young.

In addition, this dualism fails to represent the God both IMMANENT and
TRANSCENDENT and thereby fails to present a more holistic picture of the God we can
know and experience in this life. Therefore, those who experience God in the
‘immanence of Presence’ are often left without means of sharing and discussing this
God. In the Celtic Tradition, this is a God well known and often talked and prayed about.
( See Part 1 – Presence , for further aspects of this.)

The Challenge of RATIONALITY V MYSTICISM AND COSMOLOGY

A further challenge is that of rationalism versus mystery and the Cosmic God ( Christ).
We have to a certain extent created a ‘topsy turvy’ God World! We have indeed turned
things upside down! Instead of us being made in God’s Image, we have tended to make
God in our image! And this leads to us creating a ‘rational God’.

In the West this has become a paternal male authority figure who resides somewhere up
there! This of course reinforces the paternalistic right to rule and thus exert power over.
It mirrors much of the hierarchical systems and structures that dominate most cultures,
even so-called Western Democracies.

Yet God is neither male nor female and certainly God, whatever or whoever God is, is
not up there (wherever ‘up there’ is). God is Spirit. God is also inexpressible and we
(male & female) are created in God’s image but we are neither God nor exactly like God
but we are spiritual people.

In addition, both the Mystics of all ages and of all religions and the Cosmologists and
Scientists agree that there is a great ‘Mystery’ at the heart of Creation. The
Scientist/Cosmologists try to explore the HOW of it and the Mystics the WHY and WHO
of it. The Mystics throughout the ages have always pointed out to us that the WHY and
WHO of it is God, by whatever name you call it. Thus in Hinduism we have the 1000
names of God and Muslims often refer to the 99 names for Allah. These numbers
merely attempt to point out the ultimate Mystery of the Absolute.

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 6

For Christians, this Mystery is expressed in the God of the Trinity and Christ by His Birth
– Death and Resurrection is ‘mystery’. We need to regain some sense of the awe of this
Mystery and avoid our over-emphasis on the humanity of Christ.This challenge of
mystery, has often led to young people wandering overseas in search of the ‘mystical
God’. They are attracted by the Eastern Traditions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism,
or the ‘New Age’ movements, all of which seem to present both aspects of God, the
Transcendent and Immanent and particularly the holistic and mystical aspect of the
Divine.

A further aspect of this is the importance of recognising the advances made by scientists
and cosmologists in broadening and deepening the boundaries of our knowledge. In
addition, theologians and religious scholars have deepened our knowledge and
understanding both of the Scriptures and of God. All these advances challenge our
‘theology’ and our need to ‘update’ an often outmoded concept of God and Creation.
This can be both painful and difficult but it is essential if we are to recover our sense of
the Mystery and Presence of the Divine in all aspects of life and creation . Perhaps our
greatest danger is to hold on to outmoded and incorrect ideas and thus to attempt to
make God in our image.

All the above advances have been incorporated into Creation Spirituality and one of its
greatest and most influential exponents is Matthew Fox. He writes about and comments
on the ‘Cosmic Christ’ and the Christology of the 20th and 21st Century. In his book,
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ ( 1988) he outlines the ‘shift’ that may need to take
place if Christians are to face the challenges of science and modern theological
scholarship.

He outlines a series of important shifts along a series on continuums. All these are shifts
and challenges that are a result of our growing scientific and mystical understanding.
These shifts are laid out in the table shown overleaf. It is important to note that most of
these ‘shifts’ would have intuitively made sense to the Celts of the early part of the first
millennium.

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 7

Our Need to Shift

FROM TO

Newton Einstein

‘Parts’ mentality Wholeness

Rationalism Mysticism

Obedience Creativity
(as a prime moral virtue) (as a prime moral virtue)

Personal Salvation Communal Healing

( compassion as salvation)

Theism Panentheism
( God outside us) ( God in us & us in God)

Fall - Redemption Religion Creation Centered Spirituality

( Adapted from Matthew Fox ( 1988) – The Coming of the Cosmic Christ)

Celtic Spirituality, with its deep sense of God’s pervading presence, its understanding
and reverence about and for creation and with its sense of the mystical would have few
problems with any of the above.

THE NEED FOR A SECURE BASE

People long for a ‘secure base’. John Bowlby, a famous psychologist has contributed
greatly to our understanding of bereavement and loss and particularly how young
children react and adapt to the effects of good and poor parenting. He talks and writes
about the need for a secure base and how, whenever this is threatened we react either
with submissive apathy or anxiety or aggressive angry behaviour. In other words, people
need some security, some safe haven or base, some strong roots from which to live in
and explore the world.

This need for security is not merely a psychological need, it is an holistic need. We also
need both physical and spiritual security and all three needs are intertwined, like the
leaves of the Irish Shamrock.

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 8

People of all Faith Traditions require this strong base. Christianity is no exception.
Arguably, in this increasingly multi-cultural and multi-faith world, with a growing sense of
our inter-dependence, we need to feel more secure and rooted on our own tradition if we
are to meet and dialogue with others in mutual regard and respect. This dialogue can be
challenging as we begin share values, concepts, ideas that are rooted in seemingly
diverse cultures. For many of our young people, who are desperately searching for
meaning, the short, simple answers of much of Western Christianity do not ring true.
Especially from a culture that in the last century led to two world wars, the horrors of the
Gulags and the Nazi Concentration Camps and the ethnic cleansing in many areas of
Europe and Africa.

As a consequence, many young people are disillusioned and so they search in the East
and in the New Age movements. This is not a new phenomenon. In the 1930’s when
fascism was rearing its head many idealistic people went to India to visit Gandhi.
Gandhiji used to tell them to return to the West and read, reflect on and understand St
Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. Maybe this is something we all need to do.
For it contains a very powerful message of right living and the consequences for failing
to do so.

CELTIC CHRISTIANITY – A POSSIBLE ANSWER?

Celtic Christianity and its deep Spirituality, with its emphasis on the non-dualistic God,
its sense of the Indwelling Presence, the holiness of place and creation, the over-
arching protection of this God and its emphasis on the inner and outer Journey, has
some possible answers to these challenges. It could provide us with many elements of a
secure base, a spirituality which has much to say in these times.

It is a tradition firmly rooted in Western Culture and particularly in Britain and Ireland. It
has a strong sense, awe and reverence for the ‘Mystical Union’, which for Christians is
represented by the Trinity. It believes in the Cosmic Christ, the Christ of the Cosmos and
of Creation. It is centred firmly on the Christian concept of Jesus, the God who became
Man, who came to liberate us from the powers of evil. But it also has retained a strong
sense of the wonder of Creation and its Creator.

It is ‘green’ in its approach to ecology and our need to hold this planet in trust and not to
misuse it. It rejoices in and recognises both the Transcendent and Immanent God and
the fact that this God has both feminine and masculine aspects. In common with early
Christian communities in Syria and in Egypt, it symbolised its understanding of the
femininity of God by representing the Spirit as feminine. This was repressed by the early
paternalistic Church who preferred a masculine concept of God. The Celtic Church
retains the concept of the ‘mystical God’ and sees no distinction between the secular
and the sacred. God is in all, with all and is ALL.

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 9

In short, Celtic Spirituality can answer the challenges outlined in the previous pages,
with a spiritual tradition that is almost 3000 years old and with almost 2000 years of
faithfulness to the Christian Good News. It believes strongly and naturally in
enculturation, that is, in accepting people for who they are, in respecting their culture
and in presenting them with a Faith that is solid, respectful and one that is filled with
Good News. Perhaps it has something to tell 21st Century Christianity about how to ‘do’
Mission?

Conclusions

This has been a journey which has briefly touched on some of the main aspects of Celtic
Spirituality and particularly those of presence, place, protection and pilgrimage; the four
great Ps of this spirituality. These are major and complex concepts, which deeply touch,
inform and inspire this approach to spirituality. This is a ‘living spirituality’ which is
intimately connected to the world, creation and to God. It is all about the intimate
relationship between people, creation and the Creator. These four points are now
summarised.

1. Presence The Celts had an abiding sense of God’s ‘Presence’; this could be likened
to the Hindu practice of awareness or the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. God was in
all and around all. Celtic Spirituality interweaved pre and post Christian themes. The
whole of creation, including man and woman, were permeated by God’s ‘Presence’. God
dwelt within us (the Immanent God) and around and beyond us, the Transcendent God.

2. Place Although Celts believed that God was within and around all and that there
was a connection between this life and the afterlife; they also believed that certain
places were ‘thin places’. Thin places, were those places and moments when the veil
between our sense of this life, as experienced by the body/psyche, and God’s presence
(and the after life) was almost pierced. In other words, these were times and places
where between God and us there was no between – an experience recounted by Mother
Julian of Norwich. Such thin places always exist. Celts particularly found these near
water, in oak groves, mountain tops and in the day –to-day places where we sit and are
present to the ‘presence’. This practice of the present moment is identical to Buddhist
Mindfulness and assists us to drop down into the depths of our consciousness and
thereby be more present to God’s ‘Presence’.

3. Protection Celts believed in the power of Good and Evil and in an afterlife.
To them, Christ came as a liberator and the message of the Cross was one of liberation.
A liberation offered for and on behalf of basically good people to protect and insulate
them from the powers of Evil. Celts did not see this Easter Story of Jesus as one that
focused on the salvation of bad and sinful people. The latter is a very repressive
theology and contradicts the concept of a Compassionate Creator who only creates
‘perfection’. For Celts the story of the ‘Fall of Man, outlined in Genesis was seen as a
metaphor and not a literal fact.

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 10

In addition, in Celtic at , we need to remember our friends, families and the saints who
have left their bodies have gone before us. They have joined the angels and Christ and
are therefore available to us in times of need and protection. Therefore, Celtic
Spirituality is steeped in the practice of prayers of protection for all times and occasions.
This leads to the lovely Celtic Tradition of the Caim or Lorica.

4. Pilgrimage Celts believed that the inner journey reflected the outer journey. We
are all on a pilgrimage back to the Source. Therefore, pilgrimage was seen as a
valuable spiritual practice. Not necessarily to any particular Holy Place, although that
can /could be useful. More importantly, pilgrimage involved journeying prayerfully and
mindfully with God. The great (and many) Celtic Missionaries set out on this Journey to
spread the Good News of Truth.

Some Final Points Celts valued equality and both believed in and practiced the
concept of equal rights for both sexes. They respected and valued other cultures and
traditions as well as knowledge, learning, the environment and creation. Celtic
Spirituality pre-dates both the Green Movement and Creation Spirituality. It provides
some very important pointers for the modern Western Christian Church.

This series ends with a reflection from Thomas Merton. I feel that this mirrors the
thoughts, feelings and faith of many of the Celtic saints and missionaries who over a
period of several hundred years fearlessly and faithfully set out to share their vision of
God with others. They set out in hope and with confidence and with humility. They
accepted other peoples and cultures and merely offered to them their vision of what it
was to be human, to be in harmony with creation and more importantly with the Creator

Peter Creagh ( Satsang Member UK Midlands & North)

www.satsang-companionship.org.uk

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 11

The Road Ahead

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.

I cannot see the road ahead of me
and I do not know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I know myself,

and the fact that I think I am following your will does not
mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you

does in fact please you.
I hope that I will never do anything apart
from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always.

Though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death,

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,

and will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections

 An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality 12

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following are some of the main sources which support all chapters/short papers
in this series on Celtic Spirituality. Other sources are quoted in the text as they
occur. In addition, many of the opening and closing prayers have been adapted
and/or compiled or written by the author (Peter Creagh) in the ‘style’ of Celtic
Spirituality.

Adam, David,(1987) The Cry of the Deer , London, Triangle/SPCK

Adam, David,(1985) The Edge of, London, Triangle/SPCK

Glory Backhouse,H & Pipe,R ( Eds)( 1987) Revelations of Divine Love – Mother Julian of

Norwich , London, Hodder & Stoughton

Bamford, C & Marsh,WP (1986) Celtic Christianity – Ecology and Holiness, Edinburgh, Floris

Bradley,I (2003) The Celtic Way, London , Darton-Longman-Todd

Cahill,T (1995) How the Irish Saved Civilization - New York, Doubleday

Beresford-Ellis,P (1992) Celtic Inheritance – London, Constabl

Lleelyn,R (1990) The Dart of Longing Love – Daily Readings from the Cloud of Unknowing,

London, Darton-Longman-Todd

Matthews,J & C (1993) The little Book of Celtic Wisdom, Dorset, Element

Matthews,C (1994) The little Book of Celtic Blessings, Dorset, Element

Matthews,C (1989) THe Celtic Tradition , Dorset, Element

McKinney,D ( 2004) Walking the Mist- Celtic Spirituality for the 21st Century, London ,

Hodder& Stoughton

O Fiannachta,P (1988) Saltair – Prayers from the Irish Tradition , Dublin, Columba Press

O Malley,B ( 1998) Celtic Blessings , Norwich, Canterbury Press

O Malley,B ( 2002) A Celtic Primer , Norwich, Canterbury Press

Streit, Jakob (1977) Sun and Cross, Edinburgh, Floris Press

Tobin, G (1999), The Wisdom of St Patrick, New York, Ballantine

Toulson, S (1993) The Celtic Year, Dorset, Element

Vardey,L (1996) God In All Worlds, New York, Vintage Books

©Peter Creagh (2005,2010) Celtic Christianity – A Series of Lenten Reflections