Daily Light From The Celtic Saints

Seventh-century Ireland is becoming a land of saints, scholars, and spiritual foster mothers as well as warriors. The boy Aidan, a descendant of Saint Brigid, is formed by all of these as well as by a pilgrimage, aborted by an Arab uprising, on which he meets a follower of the Prophet Muhammad. He is transferred to Iona, the mother-house of Saint Columba's family of monasteries, where his character is forged. Aidan becomes guest-master to challenging visitors, one of whom conducts a mysterious affair, suffers a midlife crisis, and develops friendships with royal Saxon exiles at the Dunadd court, the seat of the "real" King Arthur. Iona commissions Aidan to evangelize the original WASPs: the White, Anglo-Saxon Pagan invaders of Britain. Aidan offers a radically different approach to that of the Roman missionaries. His gentle grassroots gospel-sharing through friendship, his villages of God that model God's kingdom, his introduction of spiritual foster-mothers such as Hilda to the English, his soul friendships and heartbreaks with successive saintly and power-hungry kings, and his near-death foresight into the future take us inside the heroic spiritual formation of a person and a people in a story that has contemporary significance. Even Aidan's name, Flame, tells a story of its own

Morning, Midday and Evening Prayer and Complies with Meditations for the day and four years of Daily Readings from Books 1 and 2.

A myth is reviving in the USA, which recent research validates, that Saint Brendan voyaged over three thousand miles from Ireland to America to evangelize it, but when the Indians near the Mississippi welcomed him, he realized Jesus was already there. In humility he returned home. In contrast, USA missions have taken a colonial approach to evangelizing Native American tribes, requiring converts to rubbish their culture and accept white culture as Christian. This book discerns the Creator's imprints in indigenous tribes. It identifies some fault-lines in USA (and Western) society and church, e.g., white supremacy, manifest destiny, and the twin towers of empire-building and separatism. Churches need to repent of these false gods. They need to break free from the prison of consumerism and become open to the prophetic spirit. The book also explores the Creator's imprints in white American culture, and the Christian spirituality of the Euro-Americans' "indigenous" forbears, the Celts. The book outlines ways in which, in these fading decades of Western supremacy, and despite polarization, indigenous, settler, and immigrant peoples may journey together as modern followers of the Way. Those who rise to this challenge undertake a new Brendan's Voyage and create a new American dream.

Drawing on myth, folklore, poetry, and the tales of Celtic gods and heroes, this little book is an invitation to readers to explore the spiritual tradition of the Celtic peoples--a tradition rooted in hospitality and one that is of growing importance in these increasingly fractured and troubled times. McColman illustrates the mystery inherent in this spiritual path with a brief discussion of the three streams of the Celtic path. He explores how faith in the Celtic saints is rooted in the desert spirituality of Christianity. And, most importantly, he explores how contemporary seekers can learn to walk the path of Celtic spirituality. McColman has written a splendid intro to a spiritual path that will appeal to both believers and seekers who are interested in all things Celtic.

Provides material that can be used for private meditation or public worship. This book spans the whole breadth of Celtic Christianity - from liturgies and prayers to the stories of Celtic saints and Celtic artwork. It includes liturgies for different times of the day, for personal use at home or in larger groups; liturgies for different occasions, for example baptism, marriages and funerals; prayers for at home, at work or on pilgrimage; stories from the saints; artistic activities, including Celtic crosses and stitching patterns; and practical advice on planning pilgrimages.