Celtic Way of Prayer [Hardcover]

Esther De Waal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 1997

To explore and recover the Celtic roots of Christianity is to reclaim a forgotten heritage, one that will deepen and enrich our vision of the Christian faith. This book shows how the Celtic way of prayer draws on both the pre-Christian past and on the fullness of the Gospel. Also woven into the book is the liturgy, folklore, and history of the Celtic people. Here is prayer with the whole of one's self.

Esther de Waal introduces the reader to monastic prayer and praise (the foundation stone of Celtic Christianity), to early Irish litanies, to medieval Welsh praise poems, to the wealth of blessings that come from the oral tradition that made praying a part of daily living. We discover that this is not a dead tradition but a living spring, ancient and yet always new.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Historian and retreat leader de Waal explores the rich legacy of Celtic songs, poems, prayers, and blessings that grew out of the dynamic meeting of Christian monasticism with an older, communal way of life ordered by kinship, a rural sense of place, the pattern of the seasons, and the cycles of birth and death. The author does a fine job tracing the strands that make Celtic Christianity compelling and unique. An important addition to Celtic literature for both general readers and specialists.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'For once, we have something of the challenge and the toughness of the Celtic Christian world, not just a romantic glow; and the connections made with our own age and society give this book exceptional value.' -- Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury 'Superb ... I have read every word, slowly, carefully, enjoying, being nourished.' -- Madeleine L'Engle 'A rich tapestry of learning, personal experience of prayer, empathy with monastic endeavour and a real understanding of what inspiration is needed by so many in their journey of Christian prayer today.' -- Patrick Barry OSB, Abbot of Ampleforth --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (July 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385486634
• ISBN-13: 978-0385486637
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,195,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prayer is every step, every breath., May 26, 2002

By 

Donald S. Meador "imthman" (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Celtic Way of Prayer: The Recovery of the Religious Imagination (Paperback)

Wow! This book is not what I expected. I was looking for a "how to" on prayer the "celtic way." What I got was a deep, and sometimes profound, look at prayer as a way of life. This book is not about sitting down to pray. It is about praying - morning, noon and night.

I was especially moved by the focus on the trinity and the cross in the prayer of the celtic people. De Waal devotes a chapter to each of these topics. She thoroughly demonstrates what she has to say, what she has come to practice in her own prayer life, with excellent examples from the prayers and poetry of celtic Christians and monks.

Another aspect, the one that took me deeper and farther than I expected to go, is the celtic idea of journeying. We journey through life (we all know this), and prayer is a living part of that journey (we often forget this). So true is her statement, "I shall not find Christ at the end of the journey unless he is with me along the way."

The final chapter on praise in the celtic prayerlife was wonderful. I found myself longing to hear the examples of praise put to music today. I think it would enrich the worship at my own church.

I enjoyed The Celtic Way of Prayer tremendously. Coming from a Protestant background I disagreed with the celtic worship of Mary that is sometimes revealed in De Waal's examples. However, anyone should be able to read beyond such a disagreement and be edified in their spiritual growth by applying the rich ideas from the celtic way of prayer in their own life. There is much to be gleaned from this book.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spirituality that is often overlooked in today's society., March 21, 1999

By 

[e-mail] or James W. Knox (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Celtic Way of Prayer (Hardcover)

As Chairman of the Irishroom Committee of the Nationality Rooms, University of Pittsburgh, I took great interest in sharing with the members of our Committee this wonderful book by Esther DeWaal. The Celtic Way of Prayer emphasizes a spirtuality that is too often overlooked in our society today. The ancient Celtic poetry contained in each chapter was carefully indexed as to author and time in the Notes at the conclusion of the book. I found it significant that the book contained a wealth of Blessings that come from the oral tradition that made praying a part of everyday life. It helps the reader to appreciate the many Blessings that we do not count and are often even unaware that they exist. This indeed is a book I highly recommend to all who are interested in the recovery of the religious imagination.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Introduction to Celtic Christianity, May 25, 2003

By 

Chip Webb (Fairfax Station, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Celtic Way of Prayer: The Recovery of the Religious Imagination (Paperback)

Esther de Waal provides readers with a very good overview of Celtic Christian spirituality by examining the subjects of their prayers. Wisely, she lets the prayers themselves do most of the talking; she refrains from long explications of them, a practice that allows the reader to project himself or herself into the situation and make personal applications more easily. This book particularly serves as a good introduction to Celtic Christianity for those unfamiliar with it.

If I have one major complaint with the book, it concerns de Waal's style: she responds to the prayers more from her head than her heart. Also, it might have been helpful to include a historical overview at times, but that's not the purpose of this book. (For a good historical overview, see Oliver Davies' introduction to Celtic Spirituality in Paulist Press' Classics of Western Spirituality series.) These are minor complaints, however, for a book that contains so many Celtic Christian prayers from down through the centuries.