Customer Reviews

Holy Ground

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Dr. Cronin has woven Celtic legends, historical accounts, cultural traditions and rituals, poetry and her personal resonance with the spirituality of the Celts into a book which challenged me to ponder my own view of creation and my relationship with the God of creation. Through factual and mythical stories, she piqued my awareness of Christian spirituality evidenced and experienced in the natural world. This work is neither a dry, factual text, nor a maudlin excursion into sentimentality. Rather, an invitation to peer into the well of Celtic spirituality and find myself refelcted there. A weaving as intricate as the Celtic designs which decorate the pages.

With a very easy-to-read voice, Cronin evokes a Christian spirituality that connects with the earth and connects with a lifestyle that many of us envy and strive to live, a lifestyle rooted in the seasons of the year and in the seasons of Christ. In some ways Cronin's work is for Christian spirituality what the work of the agrarian movement (the authors of "I'll Take My Stand") was to the world of literature. This book is a worthy contribution to both the academic world and to the everyday world of theology and spirituality. Make no mistake: Her work is not some nebulous spirituality rooted in the latest version of gnosticism. It is explicitly Christian and rooted in the author's understanding of God in Christ.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

My friends, S-- and V--, recently passed along to me a copy of Holy Ground - Celtic Christian Spirituality by Deborah K. Cronin. It's a nice introduction to the subject that is written in such a way that I oftentimes felt like I was taking a peek into the author's personal journal. It's a positive view of spirituality that is defined by the mantra it is good rather than the "crises" we face. Cronin goes beyond the history lesson and suggests ways that we can adapt this ancient view of life in the land of work and Wal-Mart franchises. Recommended reading!

My only disappointment with the experience had nothing to do with the actual book itself: I found out the author used to live in my area and I never had the chance to meet her!

Anticipated reading a good book that would provide greater insights into the beliefs of the people generically referred to as Celtic. Instead, I discovered a book that offered no real new insights into the life of the Celts. Rather, I found a book that mixed a personal pilgrimage with rudimentary insights. Scholarly, the book left this reader longing for something far more than that contained within the covers of the book. For those readers who desire a "romantic" view of the Celtic people, the book may prove rewarding. However, if one earnestly desires to learn more about the practices and lives of the Celts, I would recommend turning to a different author. (Oliver Davies' work is among the best!)

Anticipated reading a good book that would provide greater insights into the beliefs of the people generically referred to as Celtic. Instead, I discovered a book that offered no real new insights into the life of the Celts. Rather, I found a book that mixed a personal pilgrimage with rudimentary insights. Scholarly, the book left this reader longing for something far more than that contained within the covers of the book. For those readers who desire a "romantic" view of the Celtic people, the book may prove rewarding. However, if one earnestly desires to learn more about the practices and lives of the Celts, I would recommend turning to a different author. (Oliver Davies' work is among the best!)