Resistance in this Present Darkness
by Kenneth McIntosh

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Resistance in this Present Darkness </br>by Kenneth McIntosh

I remember reading Frank Peretti’s novel This Present Darkness in the mid-1980s. The title for that novel came from the Scripture passage cited above, “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against...the cosmic powers of this present darkness.” As an Amazon.com review describes it, “Nearly every page of the book describes sulfur-breathing, black-winged, slobbering demons battling with tall, handsome, angelic warriors on a level of reality that is just beyond the senses.” Looking back, the book seems maudlin; but when I first read it, Peritti’s Christian thriller provided a lens to view reality. Things happening in the world of the senses were linked with the doings of an unseen realm.

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The Otherworld by Ellyn Sanna

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The Otherworld by Ellyn Sanna

The miracles Jesus performs in the Gospels may strain our modern credulity. The Celts, however, were quite comfortable with stories of the impossible being possible. They lived in a world where the Otherworld was so interwoven with this world that nothing surprised them. Another reality could easily overlap with everyday reality, causing all sorts of strange things to happen.

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Best Wishes at Samhain! by Bill Palmer

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Best Wishes at Samhain! by Bill Palmer

It seems simple enough. “Hallowe’en” (and I’ll use the traditional spelling here) is a contraction of “All Hallows Eve.”  It is the evening before “All Hallows Day” (hallow meaning holy) which is ye olde English name for All Saints Day, the first of November, when the holy dead in Heaven are commemorated by the Church. Hallowe’en begins a short cycle of Holy Days which ends on November second with prayers for the not-so-holy dead, the poor souls in Purgatory as my Irish grandmother referred to them, on All Souls Day. Thus I was taught by the Sisters of Saint Dominic in my suburban parochial school fifty years ago. Hallowe’en was Catholic. It was, even better; it was Irish Catholic! 

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Samhain's No-Time by Meg Llewellyn

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Samhain's No-Time by Meg Llewellyn

Like many other indigenous societies, Celtic society was structured and organized; everyone knew who they were because of the place they held within that structure. Our own society has structures that are just firm, but we barely notice them because they are so much a part of the lens through which we see reality.

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Honoring Our Roots at Samhain
by Meg Llewellyn

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Honoring Our Roots at Samhain </br>by Meg Llewellyn

At Samhain, the Celts honored and feasted their ancestors, not as the dead but as the living spirits of loved ones, the long line of kin who guarded the root-wisdom of the tribe. Samhain’s Eve was the night to remember and toast these beloved ones, for the veil between the living and the dead was thought to be thin, and communication was possible. These Celtic celebrations in many ways resembled the Day of the Dead festivities celebrated by Mexican Americans and other Hispanic groups—not a somber festival but a celebration, a joyful acknowledgement that death is not the end of our family ties, that kinship survives even death. Our modern Halloween celebrations don’t offer us that same connection with our ancestors.

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Nature and the Divine Presence by Ken McIntosh

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Nature and the Divine Presence by Ken McIntosh

It’s a perfect day for mountain biking: not too hot but not yet winter here in Northern Arizona. The red-brown trunks and grey-green needles of Ponderosa pines fly past me as I steer my bike along the trail. All I hear is the swish of knobby tires on the earth . . . the wind’s rustle through the pine needles . . . occasionally a raven’s call.

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Drawing a Circle of Love: The Celtic Encircling Prayer by Bruce Epperly

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Drawing a Circle of Love: The Celtic Encircling Prayer by Bruce Epperly

Today, many people are rediscovering the spiritual wisdom of the Celtic spiritual tradition. Pushed to the sidelines of Christian faith by the gatekeepers of “orthodoxy,” and often seen as an heretical movement deviating from the sin-redemption theology of Augustine and the Roman church, Celtic Christianity has emerged as an earth-affirming, body-celebrating, and creation-honoring, ecumenical vision for today’s pilgrims and seekers. 

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The Celtic Revival by Meg Llewellyn

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The Celtic Revival by Meg Llewellyn

The yearning we feel in the twenty-first century for all things Celtic is nothing new. In the 1700s, people in England became interested once again in the Druids and sought to bring druidry back to life. Later, in the nineteenth century, the poet William Butler Yeats was at the center of what is known as the Celtic Revival, a movement that sought to reaffirm a Gaelic spiritual heritage amid the encroaching British culture.

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An Interview with an Imaginary Pilgrim by Ray Simpson

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An Interview with an Imaginary Pilgrim by Ray Simpson

Hello! As I think about what I'd like to communicate with Anamchara readers, an imaginary scene comes to mind. You and I are sitting in my living room together, and while we enjoy a cup of tea and some biscuits, we get to know each other. Since I don't know your name, I'm going to think of you as "Pilgrim," someone who is on a spiritual journey, seeking to discover new meaning and new connections with God. After we've talked about you for a bit, you begin to ask me questions about myself. Here's how the conversation goes

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The Feast Day of St. Ciarán the Younger
by Ellyn Sanna

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The Feast Day of St. Ciarán the Younger </br> by Ellyn Sanna

Those of us who think of ourselves as “Celtic Followers of Christ” often like to idealize the ancient Celtic saints. The truth is, the early Celtic Christ-followers were a mixed bag (just like today’s). Many of them affirmed women’s spiritual roles—but some were downright misogynists. Some were tolerant of other beliefs and traditions—and others were as narrow-minded as any of today’s most intolerant conservatives. But one thing they all truly had in common—something that sets them apart and endears them to me—is this: they all loved animals. 

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