Celtic Blessing

Photographs
by Jay Beets

Celtic Prayer and Blessing
from my friend The Rev. Nancy C. Tiederman
Nancy writes: "The origin and location of this prayer have escaped my memory. Perhaps I found it at the shrine for Saint David and St. David’s Cathedral. Or maybe I found it at the little church named for Saint Iltud in Wales. I do remember it came from a place on the Welsh Coast on the Irish Sea."

From the flowing of the tide to its ebbing
From the waxing of life to its waning
Of your peace provide us
Of your life lead us
Of your goodness give us
Of your grace grant us
Of your power protect us
Of your love lift us
And in your arms accept us
From the ebbing of the tide to its flowing
From the waning of life to its waxing

And this ~ kind of related ~
from "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk"
by Franz Kafka:
"Our life is very uneasy, every day brings surprises, apprehensions, hopes, and terrors, so that it would be impossible for a single individual to bear it all did we not always have by day and night the support of our fellows; but even so it often becomes very difficult; frequently as many as a thousand shoulders are trembling under a burden that was really meant only for one pair."

Rows of windows -- a good way to signify
the many burdens and the many shoulders . . . The Travelers Hotel ~ Kirksville, Missouri
Where My Grandmother Used to Work
~ Thanks for the photos Jay! ~

Vintage Postcard ~ The Travelers Hotel ~ Kirksville, Missouri