Two years ago I began reading the daily devotionals of Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community
At the same time I began reading the daily devotionals, I also began following the liturgical process that the book outlines, with a morning, noon and evening prayer. This felt felt awkward at first. I was raised Baptist and mostly attended churches without historical traditions, so liturgical readings do not come naturally.
Still, the liturgy added thoughtfulness throughout the day. Pausing each morning to walk through the simple chant, “One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek…”, establishes the presence of God in my heart and mind. Saying the Lord’s Prayer at noon — and recognizing that millions are doing the same — gives me a sense of community even when I am alone. And reading the evening prayer ends the day with a sense of peace.
During difficult times I have found beautiful prayers in the book that captured the right words when I could not. The book has a sense of history, quoting ancient Christian thinkers as well as thought leaders of today. It gives a brief outline of many of the Saints, offers meditations and prayers for the seasons or holidays, and has readings for each day of the week or each day of the month. It’s amazingly complete.
At least once a week I stumble upon something noteworthy to be quoted or shared. Mentions of these devotionals are scattered throughout this blog, the PathLight letters, emails, talks I may have given, or evening conversations with D’Aun. It seems that I’m always learning from the book, always being challenged, and always being encouraged.
Beyond the quality of the book, there is a personal reason that I appreciate it so much. A few years ago I took a DNA test to help with our family genealogy project. One result of this test was finding out that my ancient patriarchs were Celtic. I knew the Goble family came from England, but of course that could mean anything from a Viking to a Syrian lineage (the Roman armies that inhabited Southern England for 400 years were largely Syrian). So it was fun to learn that the probability is that I’m of ancient Celtic stock.
Perhaps that makes the book a bit more interesting to me. It’s part of my religious heritage. I knew little about the Celtic Church, but the book has opened my eyes to the beauty of that history. My family is part of that history, part of that faith tradition, part of that beauty.
You expect a devotional book to help you spiritually. If you are lucky, you find one that provides insight into the challenges of life. But for me, it’s rare to find one that speaks to my soul. Celtic Daily Prayer does that. And for that reason, it makes the list of the twenty five books that influenced my life.
Want to read more of my top 25? Here is the list thus far:
Celebration of Discipline – #1
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – #2
The Cost of Discipleship – #3
The Screwtape Letters – #4
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – #5
Only the Paranoid Survive – #6
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold – #7
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – #8
Truman – #9
Shantaram – #10
The Maltese Falcon – #11
The Shadow of the Wind – #12
Survey of the New Testament – #13
Calvin & Hobbes – #14
Celtic Daily Prayer – #15
Managing the Nonprofit Organization – #16
A Wrinkle in Time – #17
The Practice of the Presence of God – #18
Catch 22 – #19
The Tortilla Curtain – #20
The Kingdom of God is a Party – #21
Earthkeeping – #22
Reviving Ophelia – #23
The Grapes of Wrath – #24
Peanuts – #25