Dec 9, 2009

Celtic Voices


public domain via Flikr
Celtic Voices, the title I chose for this blog, refers to the voices St. Patrick heard long ago. Many people credit Patrick for bringing Christianity to Ireland. In principle this is true, but technically there were Christians in Ireland before he came, first as a slave at the age of 16, and later as a willing minister. The reason Patrick returned to a land where years earlier he had escaped captivity had to do with a dream.

In the dream a man, perhaps an angel, came to him. Quoting from my book, Celtic Wisdom:

"One night a man named Victoricus visited him in a dream, bearing many letters from Ireland. He gave one to Patrick that read 'The Voice of the Irish.' Immediately Patrick heard the voices of those he'd known in Ireland crying out together, 'We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.'"


The result of Patrick listening to those voices and acting on what he heard was that Ireland was blessed with a valuable patron saint who ministered to the lost, many of whom went on to develop learning centers (monasteries) and teach others, both in Ireland and on the European continent.

I think these kind of Celtic voices (not necessarily in dreams but in legends and stories) speak to us today, and I wanted to explore this idea on this blog. I hope you'll join me!

Blessings,
Cindy

3 comments:

  1. I love Saint Patrick a lot and I painted a picture of him and wrote about him here: http://ashmodiel.blogspot.com/2009/10/naomh-padraig.html
    Maybe you like the picture. :)
    I guess I have to put your books on my amazon whishlist.

    I agree with you - those voices still speak to us. Most of us just forgot how to listen. May they be called angels, spirit guides, saints or Celtic voices.

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  2. Hi Ashmodai,
    What a wonderful painting. Thanks for sharing!
    By the way, BRIGID OF IRELAND is available in a German translation.

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Cindy

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  3. Thanks a bunch for the information.
    I put the English version on my wishlist. :)
    I'm glad you like "my" Patrick.

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