Ray Simpson is a member of the Lindisfarne religious community in northern England and the author of several books. In this handy resource he has compiled 130 blessings from the Celtic spiritual tradition where people made a habit of acknowledging and cherishing God's presence in all aspects of daily life. In contrast to some other Christian traditions, they set up no dividing wall between the sacred and the secular.
The book in divided into the following blessing sections:
• Everyday Blessings (family members, friends, house, school, work, achievements, illness and injuries, travel)
• Formal Occasions (infants, baptisms, Holy Communion, weddings, funerals)
• Daily and Seasonal Rituals (graces, day and night, holidays, harvest)
• Life's Journeys (birth, death, anniversary, divorce, job loss, retirement)
Here are a few examples of blessings and prayers:
Computers
I program my computer
with the love of God.
God be with me now
as I call words into being.
May they make real my work of love.
May they join the work of creation.
Called from nothing, uttered over chaos
bringing order.
— Esther de Waal
When a Person Suffers from Insecurity or a Lack of Identity
An eye was seeing you.
A mouth has named you,
A heart has thought of you,
A mind has desired you.
Morning
Encircle my soul
In morning stillness
Scattter the shadows of fear
Be at my side in midday bustle
Weave through the knotwork of time
Talk to my heart
In teatime chatter
Speak through the discords of life
Lighten the load
Of incoming darkness
Glow like a star at midnight.
— Jane M. Mackichan
