Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition [Paperback]

Esther de Waal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1999

This concise and clear introduction to Celtic spirituality provides an overview of all aspects of Celtic understandings. By providing readers not only with a narrative, but with the poetry and songs of the ancient Celts, she explores Celtic views of pilgrimage, solitude, creation, and healing. De Waal also looks at their understanding of core Christian concepts, such as sin, sorrow, salvation, and the cross. Written accessibly, this book is excellent for parish study as well as individual reading.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... deeply satisfying... This wonderful overview of Celtic spirituality is a classic in the field. -- Values and Visions

... enlightening book, reassuring in this unsettling world... It is to me spellbinding... infinitely rereadable. -- Barbara Gent, National Altar Guild Association Newsletter

... excellent addition to your personal collection of works on spirituality, and is also a wonderful resource to prayer circles... inspires. -- Spiritual Book News

...among the books that first inspired my own interest in the Celtic Christian tradition. -- Philip Sheldrake, author of Living Between Worlds: Place and Journey in Celtic Spirituality

Among the plethora of books on Celtic spirituality... this one remains a treasure... for beginners and Celtic students... -- Timothy Joyce, OSB, author of Celtic Christianity, Spiritual Book Associates

Hundreds of books on Celtic spirituality have been published... none has surpassed it... perceptive insight... without romanticizing it... -- Cintra Pemberton, O.S. H., author of Soulfaring: Celtic Pilgrimage Then and Now

From the Back Cover

"I have written this book with one purpose and one hope, and that is that it will encourage others to discover for themselves some of the riches that I have myself found in the Celtic tradition," writes Esther de Waal. What she finds there, and invites readers to discover as well, are early Christian perspectives that are as relevant today as they were in Celtic times.

This concise and clear introduction to Celtic spirituality provides an overview of all aspects of Celtic understandings. By providing readers not only with a narrative, but with the poetry and songs of the ancient Celts, she explores Celtic views of pilgrimage, solitude, creation, and healing. De Waal also looks at their understanding of core Christian concepts, such as sin, sorrow, salvation, and the cross. Written accessibly, this book is excellent for parish study as well as individual reading.

Esther de Waal is an Anglican lay woman who is living in the Welsh borders where she grew up. She is a writer and lecturer, conducting retreats around the world. She is the author of many books including Living with Contradiction: An Introduction to Benedictine Spirituality, A Celtic Way of Prayer, and Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict.

A free study guide for this book may be accessed through Morehouse Publishing's website at www.morehousegroup.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819218065
• ISBN-13: 978-0819218063
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview, January 31, 2000

By 

A. Doug Floyd "pilgrim" (Louisville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition (Paperback)

This book provides a superb introduction to the Celtic Christian vision. I particularly enjoy the trinitarian aspects of Celtic prayer. The vision and picture presented in the book reveals a Chritian faith that does not divide the sacred from the secular or the mind and the body and soul. But rather, it presents a picture of faith affecting every area of life.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction into Celtic thought, August 13, 2006

By 

Cindy Thomson "Author and Family Historian" (OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition (Paperback)

This book is a good overview of information on the Celtic thoughts related to monks, pilgrims, creation, sin, the meaning behind the Celtic crosses, and the Celtic belief that the spiritual and the natural world are not separate.

Two things that I learned from this book: There are plants that the Celtic Christians avoided because of their roles in persecuting Christ. For example:The aspen tree. They would hurl stones and dirt at it when they passed because they were reminded that this was the type of tree Christ died on. No one used the wood from this tree for farm implements or fishing boats. The other interesting part was the explanation of the illustrations on the high Celtic crosses. The crucified Christ is depicted wearing a long robe, showing at once the suffering of the dying Christ and the victory of the risen one. This "shows the Celtic ability to hold two things in tension: death and life brought together."

Facinating stuff. Wish the book had been longer and more in depth.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "life-giving", December 12, 2008

By 

L. T. Thang - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition (Paperback)

"One of the greatest obstacles to living the Christian life in contemporary society is an impoverished imagination. Most of us will find it difficult to live a life we cannot imagine" (Phillip Kenneson professor of theology and philosophy at Milligan College). Like how the Bible challenges our expectations of what God can do and how humans can respond, Esther De Waal, in her book Every Earthly Blessing, offers an accessible and engaging account of the Celtic way of life to further challenge the compartmentalization of what it means to walk humbly with our God. It is an account of a rugged people at the edge of the known western world that received Christianity and incorporated it into all facets of their daily lives, from performing household chores, to their coexistence with animals, to their art and healing, to their wide acceptance of monastic life dedicated to Christ, and even to self imposed exile from home to be led by God for His sake. De Waal skillfully presents the Celtic understanding of the wholeness between all of creation and redemption in an eloquent balance between academic study and words to the heart, the latter being essential for accurate portrayal of this Celtic form of Christianity. De Waal's goal is not to convert readers to a denomination, herself being Anglican; her hope is that this book "becomes life-giving [to readers] on their own Christian journey." On that, she has succeeded with me.