Monday, January 26, 2009

Book Review - Border Lands by David Adam

David Adam was previously Vicar at Holy Island (Lindisfarne), Northumberland. He has written numerous books on Celtic Spirituality which he and the residents of Holy Island live out in their daily lives..

He has written extensively on the Celtic Saints and composes his own Celtic prayers. His book, Border Lands, is sub-titled "The Best of David Adam's Celtic Vision".

He starts out by discussing the "marginal lands" of Holy Island and goes on to talk about the fact that we often live on "the edge of things" and that this experience is a call to explore and experience all that God has for us to see and do. In the introduction to the book, he quotes T.S.Eliot's Little Gidding:

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

Using the words from that great Celtic hymn, Be Thou My Vision, Adam leads the reader through some experiences from his own life and what he has learned. He invites us to consider for ourselves how these words resonate within our own lives and what we can learn.
For example, in the passage "Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art" (pg. 83), Adam writes, "There is something in human nature that makes us all seekers. Whatever we achieve, we feel that we should be able to go on to other things. None of us can live for long off past glories. Most of us have this feeling that life can be improved on. We seek something that is still beyond us, an inner urge makes us explorers."

Before my conversion to Roman Catholicism, I too was "seeking." Although a Christian most of my life, (living with doubts and questions), I felt that there had to be "more." What that more was, I did not know. But as time and prayers went on, I began to be discouraged and frustrated that I would never find the "more" that I was seeking. Where to look? And what was I looking for? I was unsure.

In the Arthurian legends, the Knights of the Round Table go out on a "quest" for the Holy Grail. They encounter obstacles, pitfalls, set-backs on their journey. They learn that 'to whom much is given, much is required." (Luke 12:48)

I began to see that my own 'quest' would require much: hard work, study, struggle, conflict.

Adam writes, "The quest for the beyond, for the Pearl of Great Price, for the Holy Grail, for hidden treasures, is part of the literature of all mankind: the symbols may differ but the quest remains the same. In every quest there is a desert to cross or a jungle to conquer, there are always untold dangers."

"...(but) it is in searching that we grow, in triumphing over the desert that we shape ourselves and show what we are made of."

My 'quest' lead me to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. One quiet Friday afternoon during a Lenten Holy Mass, He spoke to my heart, "Do you see Me now?" "Yes, Lord, I see You", I responded. I became a Catholic in my heart that day and officially joined the Roman Catholic Church at Easter Vigil 2005.

For me, His Real Presence in the Eucharist is the Pearl of Great Price, the 'hidden treasure' of the Church; His cup of Precious Blood is the Holy Grail. This was the 'more' I had searched for; what I had 'quested' for had been found.

This is how Adam's words: "We seek something that is still beyond us, an inner urge makes us explorers" speak to me.

Read Border Lands. Meditate upon the words and stories David Adam shares and become "questers" in this exciting, but often daunting, world of Celtic Spirituality.






Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
- Psalm 127: 1
Let us pray today that our new President will, indeed, let the Lord lead him in all of the hard decisions he will have to make in the days and months ahead. May he rely on the wisdom and knowledge of God to direct his paths, lest he, like the watchmen, act in vain. Amen

Monday, January 19, 2009

Daily Office 01/19/09 Psalm Reading

Responsorial PsalmPs 110:1, 2, 3, 4R. (4b) Daily Office for January 19, 2009

You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right handtill I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.


The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.


“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.


The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.


The Catholic Church teaches that Christ is a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Likewise, all Catholic ordained priests participate in this same royal priesthood. This was one of the many aspects of Catholic teaching that convinced me that the Roman Catholic Church was the Church founded by Christ. The Priesthood is continued forever by Apostolic Succession.

Listmania on Amazon.com

Please feel free to visit my Listmania! lists on Amazon.com
You will find them listed as "Celtic and Benedictine Pathways" and "Journey to Catholicism".
These lists contain several books I have found useful and up-lifting. Hope you enjoy.

Celtic musings...

Welcome to my new blog! I am here to hopefully discuss Celtic Spirituality, the Roman Catholic Church, Benedictine Spirituality.. with others of like mind and heart.

I am a convert (2005 Easter Vigil) to the Roman Catholic Church from evangelical Protestantism. I converted due to my belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and also because of my deep love and abiding affection for the Holy Father John Paul II and, of course, Benedict XVI.

More of that later... would love to hear from anyone who has converted to Roman Catholicism, anyone who is thinking about converting and has questions, or anyone with a love of all things Celtic or Benedictine...