Celtic Spirituality

Article in Stretton Focus, October 2018

Religions tend to have their Gods pre-packaged and wrapped up in creeds and doctrines for general consumption. This pre-packaged God appeals to those who are afraid to think for themselves, and so such a religion will always have a following. But for many people today, God is greater than any pre-packaged religion has to offer.

Many people today would describe themselves as being ‘spiritual but not religious’; and the Celtic way into spirituality may be the path they are on. This path can be illustrated by the 3 Ps – Presence, Poetry and Pilgrimage.

For those on this path, God is experienced as a Presence, rather than thought of as a Person existing in some distant Heaven. The Celtic knot (with no beginning and no end) symbolises the inter-connection of all things, physical and spiritual: and God is understood as the Oneness holding everything together, giving it meaning and purpose.

In this way, religion itself is liberated from the narrow confines of a belief system. It invites us to find God in the wonders of nature, and in the depth of life’s experiences. It also brings with it a freedom from being tied to any literal understanding of Scriptures. We are left free to respond as we will to the Poetry of the Bible with its symbolism, metaphors, analogies and parables.

Celtic spirituality comes with an invitation to Pilgrimage. At one time, pilgrims travelled to sacred shrines and holy places. Today they may go to Iona or Lindisfarne; but really, the challenge is to see life itself as a Pilgrimage.

Whatever we understand by the word, ‘God’ can never be our possession, but always an ideal to desire, to aim for, and keep travelling towards. And on our Pilgrimage there will be Poetry to enlighten us, and a Presence to be with us.

Donald Horsfield

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