Ancient Prayer of Anoitment

This prayer could be used for baptisms or for a blessing. It is found in a paper by Fr. Sean O'Duinn.

It was originally in Irish and according to Fr. O'Duinn it likely dates to the 9th century. I think it would be a wonderful prayer to rededicate one's own life.

May the yoke of the Law of God be on this shoulder;
May the intelligence of the Holy Spirit be in this head;
May the sign of Christ be on this forehead;
May the hearing of the Holy Spirit be in these ears;
May the scenting of the Holy Spirit be in this nose;
May the vision of the People of Heaven be in these eyes;
May the conversation of the People of Heaven be in this mouth;
May the work of the Church of God be in these hands;
May the welfare of God and neighbor be in these feet;
May this heart be a dwelling place for God;
May this complete person belong to God the Father.

Martin Hayes on the Importance of Music

It's hard to define, isn't it?

A Man Who Recorded History

Austin Cooper lived from 1759-1830 and was a historian. His family calls him the Antiquary to distinguish him from the many Austins in the family line. Ge was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries in London, but perhaps his greatest contribution to preserving history was his drawings. He traveled about Ireland on official business (collecting taxes) and sketched the ancient ruins and prehistoric sites, thus preserving on paper some of what can no longer be seen.

He was not alone in his desire to record history, thankfully. Besides his contemporaries, Austin's descendants worked to print and preserve some of these drawings. The material was kept in the family near Dublin until about 1960 when it was transfer with another descendant to England. The National Library of Ireland eventually acquired it and O'Brien Press published a book in 2000, Cooper's Ireland, Drawings and Notes from an Eighteenth-Century Gentleman.

There are drawings by Cooper in the National Library that are not in this book, and the library also has 18th century drawings by others as well.

You can read more about Austin Cooper and see some of his sketches on this blog by a member of his family.

Sheep

When I find a reference to the same thing in two different places (not intentionally like research) I stop and take notice. In two places today I read something about The Good Shepherd. While that's not an obscure subject for Christians, I still thought about it in a different way.

The Good Shepherd is a reference to Jesus. In the Book of John, Jesus refers to himself as The Good Shepherd. If you search the Bible, you find numerous references to sheep and shepherds. In one of the earliest, Joseph on his death bed says that God has been his shepherd. All this has led to tons of sermons on the subject.

I don't know about you, but I've often been told the story about how stupid sheep are. That's why they need a shepherd. And the conclusion is that human beings are also stupid and therefore need Jesus to shepherd us. I'm not doubting that we need Jesus, but I don't think people are stupid. (Generally speaking, that is!)

I didn't find that "stupid" reference in the Bible. If I missed it, would someone please show me? I don't think we're called to be stupid. Just the opposite: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." ~Matthew 10:16 NIV

It seems to me that it would be much easier to follow a shepherd if you were completely stupid. Having a mind to think and reason, like we do, makes it harder to trust. We think we know we better and that gets in the way. I don't think you have to throw away all your intellect, however. God gave us a mind. He did not make us....sheep, for instance. There is just something about sheep that He used as an illustration.

©2010 Cindy Thomson

Of course there are multitudes of sheep in Ireland, so I had the opportunity to observe them every day when I was there. I didn't really study them, but just noticed a few things. It was obvious that because they didn't know us, they moved away from us when we drove or walked by. This one did not move too far away from his meal, but he was ever observant of me.

Sure, sheep can make poor decisions and easily be led astray. I get that analogy. But like most things, there is more to the story. Any sheep experts out there willing to share their insights??