In his 13 years as Vicar, David Adam has welcomed over one million adults and children to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. This lover of Celtic spirituality is the author of many books including Power Lines: Celtic Prayers about Work, The Rhythm of Life, and The Open Gate. In this paperback, he writes: "Pilgrimage is often not just a seeking of God but a response to his call. The journey is not only to find God, it is to travel in his presence and to journey deeper into the mystery and wonder of that presence and love." Adam is convinced that our searching and longing are essential to this spiritual quest. And so is mystery. He wants us to pay attention to world and what is going on around us.
We call this practice spiritual literacy. Adam writes about another route to the same idea: "The early Celtic Christians talked of the 'Primary Scriptures.' The New Testament is full of the Good News, but it cannot be understood fully if we do not understand the Old Testament. In its turn the Old Testament cannot be understood fully unless we read the Primary Scriptures. The Primary Scriptures are the world and our own being. The sad thing about much modern education is that it has taught us to read but left us illiterate when it comes to reading the world about us. If we go through a world where we have closed our eyes to wonder, where we have become insensitive to beauty, all around us becomes dull, boring and empty. If we are insensitive to each other, how can we hope to be sensitive to the great Other who is God? I believe that people who have not learnt to give their attention to each other and to the world cannot give their attention to God. The world is a great teacher and offers us a joyful entry into the presence of God."
Those familiar with this creative author's books will appreciate his prayers, his natural delight in the senses and wonder, and his ability to convey the special bounties of Celtic spirituality. All of these are on display in this fine paperback.
