Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community

by Northumbria Communit

The Ancient Paths of Northumbria in northeastern England have been trod by generations of men and women who loved God and followed Jesus, bringing faith, hope, and love to vast numbers of people. Today, the Northumbria Community remains a living expression of this monastic, contemplative stream of the faith, and the perennial need to make that faith relevant to the world.

Celtic Daily Prayer is the fruit of the spiritual life of a remarkable community. Its liturgies, prayers, and meditations are drawn from a deep well of spiritual experience that transcends fashion, culture, and denomination. Blending prayer and praise and building upon the ancient wisdom of traditional Celtic Christianity, this prayer book is extraordinarily fresh. At the heart of the life of the Northumbria Community, as well as this book, lies the Daily Office — morning, noon, and evening prayers and a monthly cycle of meditations for individual or communal use each day. With words drawn from sources such as St. Patrick's Breastplate, Teresa's Bookmark, Columba's Blessing, and the Psalms, this cycle of daily prayers reflects the essential rhythms of life.

With liturgies for communion and other special occasions as well as daffy readings, this prayer book contains two complete years of scripture readings and a calendar of saints' days and festivals. The Jewish tradition of family Shabbat, adapted with prayers from the Celtic tradition, also finds its place in this book. A section on rites of passage suggests prayers and rituals for the pivotal times of life: birth, rebirth, marriage, midlife, and bereavement, as well as blessings and graces for all occasions. This traditionally grounded yet surprisingly modern prayer book will enrich the spiritual life of readers for years to come.

Genres: Prayer, Religion, Spirituality, Devotional, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian

848 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[David Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a novice when it comes to having your spirituality facilitated by a prayer book then take note, Celtic Daily Prayer is absolutely the best place to start. Here are a few reasons why.

1. Simplicity: Yes, there are old and perhaps better prayer books (I'm tipping my hat to my battered copy of the Book of Common Prayer even as I type this), but in my experience these resources can prove a bit daunting to the beginner. With it's three daily offices and two accompanying sets of readings, CDP is just right for person just beginning to merge time and spirit by praying the hours.

2. Balance: Writing prayers that will be frequently used by others is difficult. A special kind of balance is called for which at once plums great spiritual depths, remains concise (you trying mediating on the Calcedonian Creed sometime. I advise you to drink Red Bull first.), and is framed in language that is both readable and memorable. CDP achieves such balance in a distinctive way that blends the best aspects of Dr. Seuss and Shakespeare.

3. Catholicity: Protestants, before you reach for those torches and pitchforks, do pause for a moment and give thought to what this misunderstood word "catholic" means. The term catholic refers to that which is venerable, ancient, and consistently essential. Wasn't it to recover such things that the Reformation began five hundred years ago? If so then I think you will delight in CDP. Like all things that endure the liturgy developed north of the Humber fifteen hundred years ago still resonates with those in this postmodern age who are seeking to share in God's life.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy using prayer books to help guide my daily devotional times. I’ve had this one on my shelf for quite a while, and this year I decided to make it my default prayer book. It includes one prayer each for morning, midday, and evening, along with a short daily meditation reading for each day of the month (with instruction to switch in other devotional readings as desired), and two complete sets of year-long daily readings. I chose to use the Aidan Series. The book also includes prayers for specific occasions throughout the church calendar, and a section of biographies of well-known Christians throughout history.

I enjoyed the book, though it’s not my favorite prayer book. Overall, I found the entries a bit too brief—particularly in the Aidan readings, where I sometimes struggled to understand what the Bible passages for the day had to do with each other, and what I was meant to understand from them. The daily prayers are good, but I prefer the longer daily prayers in Phyllis Tickle’s prayer books. What I liked most about this book is the set of compline prayers. I will continue to use those regularly. It's been an excellent way to end each day.

I’ll keep the Celtic Daily Prayer book for use in the future, and my feelings about it after this year with it are entirely subjective (I’ll probably view it differently the next time I pray through it). But for this time, it was decent but not my favorite guide for prayer.

[James Klagge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed following these daily reflections. In fact there were two series of daily reflections for the year, so you could use this for two years, but I read them both in one. While the title suggests Celtic spirituality, the reflections are somewhat broader, including spiritual reflections from other traditions including Russian Orthodox.

[booklady]

This book was recommended by Scot McKnight in Praying with the Church: Following Jesus Daily, Hourly, Today as an occasional alternative to the Christian Prayer: The Liturgy Of The Hours.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the Northumbria community who released this little prayer book from the overflow of their own life which is sustained by prayer in liturgical rhythms. It is a great little "modern" prayer book introducing the blessing of liturgy to those from traditions who may have lost its blessing, or who struggle to penetrate its often old language.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non

[Knightgina · Rating 5 out of 5]

My go-to for daily readings still provides food for my soul.

[MR W]

great prayer book

[Kathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I go back to this book a lot, for devotional times.

[Riley Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful prayer book I will use time and time again. I will never grow tired of it or exhaust its usefulness.

[Marlise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A year of readings. This could also be read over 2 years but I read the Aidan reading of the day in the mornings and the Finan reading of the day in the evenings. A mystical blend of liturgy and history. I very much enjoyed it.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years ago I began praying the hours on and off using Phyllis Tickle's wonderful Divine Hours as a guide. It's a great discipline, and one of several ways that Christians through the centuries have sought to keep the command to "pray without ceasing." This prayer book also leads one into fixed hour prayer, though in a little different way. The prayers and readings are thoroughly Trinitarian, and each devotion is shorter than those (like Tickle's) based on The Book of Common Prayer. The prayers and blessings are beautiful and heartfelt, and have a certain lightness and hope to them that makes the prayer times very refreshing. There are numerous prayers for different occasions too, which is nice. A downside might be that unlike The Divine Hours, one uses the same prayers every day, with only the readings changing, whereas the Hours has much more variety. This is a great prayer book, and I anticipate it becoming a frequent companion in my prayer times.

[Charlene Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this from Washington Cathedral after my friend Maggie died, it was in part an aspect of my mourning and a need to find spiritual sustenance but now as I have added it to my daily routine, I love dipping into it for armor for the day ahead, but also for inspiration and words to reflect on. Beautifully varied and inspiring. NOthing didactical.
Some thoughts to reflect on are but a single line eg "Any experiment that can benefit by one hairbreadth any single human life is a thousand times worth trying." Somewhat controversial, but definitely worth reflecting on again, and if you want to go deeper it gives further Biblical readings to pursue, in this instance Psalm 40:8; Proverbs 31:8-9 and John 3: 17 -18

[Patrick Oden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, wonderful volume that includes daily prayers, readings, occasional services, and other tidbits to help an individual or community get into a rhythm of prayer and spirituality during the week. Put together by the Northumbria community, a group of Christians who are gathering together much as the ancient Celtic Christians did. Most books on ordered prayer have a strong denominational leaning, and many include a wee too much emphasis on Mary and the saints, which makes it a bit bumpy for this Evangelical. This book, however, is non-denominational and suitable for a very wide range of theological traditions as it keeps it simple and focused on what we all share.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since January 2005, I've been reading this book as part of my nightly devotions and prayer. It is a beautiful devotional that is deeply grounded in the tradition of Celtic Christianity. As Friends say, it speaks to my condition.

I went through both years of readings (for the most part, missed some days here and there of course), found this a wonderful devotional book. I am looking forward to using St. Brigid's blessing for a new home from this book when I move next month. Even though I am no longer actively reading this as a devotional, I love having it on hand for prayers that I need at particular times.

[L.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a book I have "read" in its entirety. It is a book that I continue to read and reread and spend time in as the years go by. The past few years in my journey with Christ have been rocky and stressful and this little book always does a phenomenal job at quieting the squall and helping me whisper strong words of courage and hope. The Celtic Christian traditions have always called to me in a unique way and the older I get, the more meaningful practices like those found in this book appeal to me.

[Christopher Tierney]

Was given this as a gift and for awhile simply dabbled in the prayers. For the past few years have been using this for my morning prayer routine. I am often stunned and amazed by the truths revealed even in the cycle of daily meditations. A really excellent prayer source and one of the few paper books I keep in paper.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book a few years ago on a retreat and still use it often in my devotional reading. I love the daily readings, the list of saints both ancient and modern, and the lectionary. Celtic spirituality is so beautifully earthy. The prayers here often put words to what my heart wants to say better than I could.

[Lydia Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to be dipping in and out of this one. It's extremely esoteric but gloriously written. Warning! This is not suitable for a lazy reader. I recommend having a Strongs Accordance and a very good Bible Dictionary ( that at least takes you back to the Aramaic and the Hebrew or even Greek) right next to you. I always do this but really have had to cross reference several times already.

[Rod White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am using this book daily as a guide to prayer. If I can do it, I will try to get a lot of our communities to let it guide their daily disciplines of worship and prayer. We'll see. But wouldn't it be great if we had a community of intentional households that had some elements of a common "rule?"

[Dáithí's · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing collection of prayers, readings, biographies, and history of Christianity from the older, established Celtic faith. Beautiful tie-ins to natural settings and creation. Stresses simple faith and reflection. Beautiful book.

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Celtic spirituality added a dimension to my prayer life that heightens my senses to the ordinary, the every-day. I continue to use parts and pieces from this book for corporate prayer experiences.

[Seth Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A resource for daily prayers and devotions. Simple, easy to navigate the prayer cycles, and a sense of lightness in the language that is clearly Celtic. I look forward to using this resource in the future for personal devotions and corporate prayer/worship.

[Author Spirit Bytes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Celtic Daily Prayer is an amazing, rich resource that connects historic Christianity to present reality. People interested in contemplative prayer, liturgies, and Celtic Christianity will find this a must-have resource.

[Sara floerke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific book to have on hand for pre-scribed prayers. There are two years worth of devotionals and Bible passages. Great prescribed prayers for all sorts of holidays. Terrific book for getting in touch with some of the great spiritual leaders' thoughts.

[Willa Guadalupe Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice little Breviary, easy to use ,I have been using it for about a year & I am really enjoying it. It is a nice addition to my day. It is easy to use as each person needs it. Looking forward to getting more from The Northumbria Community!

[Michelle Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! A wonderful guide for reading the Bible and praying

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the rhythm of Celtic prayer (discovered on sabbatical) and have been and am currently helped by this prayer book.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

After leaving seminary, I longed for a rhythm in my relationship with God. This book has definitely helped me find some rhythm within the craziness.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This daily prayer book has a variety of meditations from many writers and theologians. What a great way to do devotions ... with the ear, the pen, the ethic of many Christ-pointed souls.