St. Patrick: I

I have been curious, lately, about early Christianity. And, for a long while, I've had an interest in the Celts. That interest may stem from my ancestry; both my mother and father trace ancestors back to Cornwall, England (an area settled by the Celts). I am a true mutt, so to speak, I also have Scottish (which could be Celtic), Danish, Swedish, and maybe some (a wee bit) Irish (Celtic) in me.

My curiosity in these two areas has had me doing some interesting reading. I am NOT a historian, but what I have found, I believe, is that the Britain and Irish Celts were related to the Gauls-- pagans and fierce warriors who originated over on the mainland of Europe somewhere, and were related to the people in Galatia -- Galatians, they would be. The Gauls held oak trees as sacred and sacrificed their own to their gods (they were animists and polytheists). These are the Galatians Paul visited twice and wrote to. One of his letters lives on in the Bible. The Gauls that formed Galatia arrived in that region about 279 BC. The area was formerly the home of the ancient Hittites.

By the time of Paul's visits (mid-first century A.D.), the Galatians had been absorbed into the Roman Empire and had adopted many of the Greek and Roman gods into their religion. When the Galatians witnessed a miracle done by Paul, they wanted to worship him-- to sacrifice to him, calling he and Barnabas Hermes and Zeus (Acts 14). They did not yet know Yahweh or Yeshua.

Tracking down the Celts in the British Isles led me to Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland. He has a very interesting account of his life-- what struck me was his complete confidence that he was called by Yahweh to reach the pagan peoples of Ireland just as Paul had complete confidence that he was called by Yeshua to reach the pagan peoples of Rome, Greece, and Asia Minor.

Out of Patrick's (and other Christian missionaries to the British Isles) travels and work for Yahweh come some wonderful prayers and blessings that focus on Yahweh, Yeshua and Spirit; the Trinity-- I'm rather long in breath today, so I'll quit here, but hope to continue more soon. In closing, I'll leave you with part of an old Gaelic prayer and a blessing:

I am bending my knee
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who purchased me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection.
Through Thine own Anointed One, O God,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need,
Love towards God,
The affection of God,
The smile of God,
The wisdom of God.
The grace of God,
The fear of God,
And the will of God
To do on the world of the Three,
As angels and saints
Do in heaven;
Each shade and light,
Each day and night,
Each time in kindness,
Give Thou us Thy Spirit.

Beannachd Dia dhuit
(blessings of God be with you),
k8t
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