The ancient Celts were agrarian people. They lived close to the soil and relied on favorable tides and seasons to grow their crops. Farming was done entirely by hand and life was hard. The people who worked the land needed a way into prayer that could accompany them in everyday pursuits. Since the Celts lived on the fringe of Western Europe (Brittany, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales), their civilization was relatively untouched by corrupting influences of the Roman Empire.
Celtic prayers have three distinctive features: they are simple and easily memorable, they center on ordinary, everyday matters and they are deeply Trinitarian. There has been a resurgence of interest lately in Celtic spirituality. All sorts of spiritual-affinity groups have joined the Celtic bandwagon. Little wonder. Celtic prayer employs common, elegant language to pray about matters of practical, mundane concern. What is often lost on people is these prayers always center on our Three-in-One God. The dynamic interplay between Father, Son and Spirit was not lost on these rural people who depended on each other to prosper under harsh conditions.
Today’s prayer is an example of what is called in Celtic Spirituality a “Caim Prayer.” Caim is an old Gaelic word meaning protection. Prayers such as the one shared here likely originated with a fifth century monastic tradition. Those who prayed this prayer imagined themselves in the center of a circle, invoking God’s presence to encircle them. Circle me, Lord: