Mary C. Earle is an Episcopal priest, retreat leader, and spiritual director. She is the author of many books including The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness. She has offered retreats and classes on the Celtic Christian tradition for more than 20 years in seminary, conference, and national settings.
In the introduction, Earle makes reference to some of the themes that shine through the essential writings of Celtic Christians: attention and care for all creation; the gift of seeing God as present in everyday activities; and an emphasis on the practices of love, faith, and hope. Like the other volumes in the SkyLight Illuminations series, a text appears on one page and notes and commentaries are on the facing page.
Here is wonderful material by Saint Patrick of Ireland, Pelagius, John Scotus Eriugena, George MacLeod of the Iona Community, John Philip Newell, and John O'Donohue. There are also selections from The Carmina Gadelica, a six-volume collection of poems, hymns, songs, and incantations compiled by Andrew Carmichael around the end of the nineteenth century. This paperback is divided into seven thematic sections:
1. Creation
2. Prayer
3. Incarnation
4. Daily Life and Work
5. Soul Friends
6. Pilgrimage
7. Social Justice
We close with a quotation from Pelagius in A Letter to an Elderly Friend:
"Yet we should remember that all love comes from God; so when our love is directed towards an animal or even a tree, we are participating in the fullness of God's love."
