In A Passion for Justice: Social Ethics in the Celtic Tradition, Johnston McMaster asserts that the “heartbeat of Celtic spirituality” involves living one's life in accordance with the vision of God, experiencing one's faith is a journey of discovery and service, and expressing oneself with creativity and imagination.
 
With this in mind, prayerfully consider each of the following statements:
 
Recognizing time as a reality made holy by a loving God, the Celtic saints valued the daily, the routine, the ordinary. They believed God is found not so much at the end of time when the reign of God finally comes, but now, where the reign is already being lived by God's faithful people. Theirs was a spirituality characterized by gratitude, and in their stories we find them worshiping God in their daily work and very ordinary chores.

Edward Sellner
Wisdom of the Celtic Saints

 
There was in Celtic Christianity a very clear appreciation of the doctrine of the communion of saints, the union of the Church Militant on earth with the Church Triumphant in heaven and the closeness of the cloud of witnesses made up of those who had departed this life. A very narrow line separated the living and the dead who were seen as continuing spiritual presences in the world… available to be called on for protection and help, and also engaged in ceaseless worship of the Trinitarian God in which activity it (also) was united with Christians on earth.

Ian Bradley
Following the Celtic Way

 
“(The Celts) excelled at expressing their faith in symbols, metaphors and images, both visual and poetic. They had the ability to invest the ordinary and the commonplace with sacramental significance, to find glimpses of God's glory throughout creation and to paint pictures in words, signs and music that acted as icons opening windows on heaven and pathways to eternity.”

Ian Bradley
The Celtic Way

 
What ideas or emotions do these statements evoke in you? Summarize these thoughts and feelings in your journal.

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