Caring for Creation and the Celtic Tradition
Back in the good ol’ days, meaning when I was growing up in the previous century as a “Baby Boomer”, I remember that people prayed for crops, for the health of their cattle, for a generous pecan harvest, and for people they knew in their community. I know we still pray for people in our now widespread communities who need our prayers. But, I don’t know very many people who are praying for their crops, or their cattle, or the health of a new foal.
I can remember standing out in our wheat field with ripe wheat grains bouncing against my jeans as the wind blew the wheat in waves across the field. I remember my dad standing in the field, holding ripe grains in his hand, and watching the clouds move hopefully away from our fields. Believe me, my dad was praying! He was praying that the rain or the winds, or the hail would hold off until our very ripe wheat could be harvested and trucked to the elevator. All across the prairie, farmers prayed fervently for dry weather to last until that last field was harvested!
My family farmed, raised cattle and horses, owned a farm supply store, and a grain elevator. I helped out in the store as Chief Go-For when I was in grade school. Then I helped with the wheat harvest at the elevator when I was older. I knew when wheat needed to be sown in the Fall. I knew when our cattle had to be moved off the fields of green wheat in early winter. I knew all that ripe wheat went from our elevator by rail car to General Mills or Pillsbury after harvest. And, I knew the farmers and their families, just like mine, were working year-round as well as praying every day for a good harvest, healthy cattle, productive chickens, and bountiful gardens.
In many respects, my life during the mid-fifties was similar to the way people lived before the Industrial Revolution. It was similar in the sense that we understood our relationship to the Earth, and where our food came from. We knew the wheat from our fields went to Pillsbury or General Mills to become flour. Several families I knew, including mine, raised their own beef. Most of the fruits and vegetables in our locally owned grocery stores were shipped from “the Valley” in Texas. Some families owned small pecan groves for extra income. If there was a good crop, we might find half a gunny sack of ripe pecans on our kitchen doorstep in the fall! The same went for tomatoes and zucchini in the summer, and occasionally a pumpkin in the late fall. Many of the families I knew were intimately connected in some way with the Earth, with Insects, Birds, Rain, Wind, Cattle, Horses, Bees, Snakes, and all Creatures Great and Small.
We understood that the weaving of prayer and hard work was deeply connected to our well-being and often to our survival. We never talked about these relationships. We just understood. Because of those early experiences, I can go almost anywhere in the world and have meaningful conversations with Farmers, Ranchers, Gardeners, Beekeepers, Bakers, Brewers, families running Orchards, or Vineyards. We speak the same language. We have similar vocabulary, and often it feels just like “old home week”!
In the same way, I could “time-travel” back to Celtic times, change my wardrobe, rearrange my hair, definitely adjust my accent, and “sort of” fit right in. At the very least, I could “help” with farm chores, moving cattle, and gathering eggs! And, we would all be praying for the same outcomes! Now, many of us are not involved with the Earth, or cattle, or horses, or bees, or baking bread. As a result, our relationship to the Earth, to Creation, often doesn’t seem relevant, at least until there is a serious weather event or until our food supplies are interrupted!
In the Celtic Tradition, there are prayers for every aspect of Life, including the very mundane and ordinary. There is a sense of God’s Presence with every breath. Angels abound and are always available for conversation or in case of emergencies.
Here is a prayer that a Celtic herdsman, or herdswoman might say as they were turning out the cattle for a day of grazing.
Pastures smooth, long, and spreading,
Grassy meads neath your feet,
The friendship of God the Son to bring you home
To the field of the fountains,
Field of the fountains.
Closed be every pit to you,
Smoothed be every knoll to you,
Cosy every exposure to you,
Beside the cold mountain,
Beside the cold mountain.
The care of Peter and of Paul,
The care of James and of John,
The care of Bride fair and of Mary Virgin,
To meet you and tend you,
Oh! the care of all the band
To protect you and to strengthen you.
Blessing for Your Day …
Lucky stars above you,
Sunshine on your way,
Many friends to love you,
Joy in work and play.
Laughter to outweigh each care,
In your Heart a song,
And gladness, waiting everywhere
All your whole life long.
Blessing of the Druidic Circle
Grant, O GOD, thy Protection;
and in protection, strength;
and in strength, understanding;
and in understanding, knowledge;
and in knowledge, the knowledge of justice;
and in the knowledge of justice, the love of it;
and in the love of it, the love of all existences;
and in the love of all existences, the love of God.
God and all goodness.
