This is a summary and commentary on Ian Bradley’s recently published book, Following the Celtic Way: A New Assessment of Celtic Christianity.
Part 2: Exploring the Way
21 themes, all P:
Marks of the Church
Attributes of God
Appropriate Human Responses
Ways to Follow
Marks of the Church and Expressions of Faith
- Prayerful. “Monastic life is prayer-soaked.” “While the monks were called to undertake three labors – prayer, manual work and reading – there was a clear sense in which prayer dominated and also permeated the others.” Prayer arose spontaneously and included a prolific folk culture.
- Psalm-centered. Irish monks chanted the psalms more ofte than Benedictine monks. Psalms show up in the classic texts.Communal chanting.Nature imagery.
- Poetic. From exposure to the psalms, but matching nature imagery. Also consider the druids and bards, and bardic culture. Strong Welsh influence.
- Puritanical perfectionism. Some of this is hagiography. Note that these sources are coming from monastic documents, not folk. But desert spirituality influenced the desire for asceticism.
- Physical. Physically ascetic prayer. Physical elements of nature. physical locality, to tribe, king, neighbor. Overlap between spiritual (warfare) and physical. Physical landscape.
- Provisionality (this life is fleeting). Provisionality in the building structure of the church. Temporariness rather than legacy. Journey and “pilgriamge” but really peregrination
- Patterned (spirals and knots, but).. rhythm of life, rhythm of prayer. Diamond lozenge. Ringed with purple and gold; majesty.
Attributes of God
Appropriate Human Responses
Ways to Follow
- Pastoral presence.
- Peace making.
- Pilgrimage (but really peregrinatio).
patloughery 