It was an obsession that lasted fifty years. Old Gaelic (Celtic) songs and hymns were about to disappear from the living history of the Scottish people. An over-zealous religious establishment sought to suppress these ancient prayers, dismissing them as worthless expressions of a nature religion. But Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912) would not let them die. He collected taxes for the Scottish government but devoted every spare moment to recording these prayers from his fellow Gaels. He visited peasants in their huts, spending hours before the fire listening to them recount hymns and prayers from the distant past.
Alexander was an imposing figure, distinctive in his bushy white beard and Scottish kilts. He was blessed with an insatiable curiosity and an all-consuming passion not to let his Celtic heritage die. He published Carmina Gadelica (Gaelic Songs) in 1900 as a treasure trove of poems, songs, and prayers from the Gaelic oral tradition. Included in his original two-volume work was a large collection of old prayers. These prayers express a deep connection between Creator and creation. They celebrate God’s goodness in creation. These prayers are not pantheistic (creation itself is divine). They revere creation without deifying it. Everything good is created by God and is to be enjoyed as such.
For agrarian people who lived close to nature, such emphasis on creation in prayer is hardly surprising. The following prayer, included in Carmina Gadelica, is titled “Prayer at Rising.” What a great way to begin (and end!) the day: