FEBRUARY: Imbolc – Candlemas – Groundhog Day and a Celtic Prayer

Another month begins … February 1st … and this year, it’s a day and month with a number of things to mark
… St. Brigid’s Day (more about her, below) 
… Imbolc/Imbolg, a Gaelic festival which celebrates the arrival in longer, warmer days and early signs of spring in some places
… Candlemas (the Presentation of Christ in the Temple)
…  Groundhog Day
… the beginning of Black History Month (well, after recent news events, it’s unlikely there will be any/much official mention of that.
… the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the United States (1865) – that, too.
… the day the president of the U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and he and his minions inflicted even more frightening decisions on the American public.

Clearly, what is needed is some calm – some sense of hope – some reminder that joy, love, light are still here.

When I took this photo, I was reminded of a lovely Celtic prayer based on the Caim (Gaelic – meaning a ‘circling’ / ‘enfolding’) used by early Celtic Christians, based on a prayer found in the Gethsemane Chapel, Wells Cathedral, England.

Still used by those who value its benefits of ‘protection’ or ‘sanctuary’), I remembered St. Brigid – one of Ireland’s patron saints.  Presumed to have been an early Christian nun, abbess, and founder of several monasteries of nuns, it said that she often visited homes and farms to offer blessings of protection … “enfolding/circling” of homes and livestock.

This is the Celtic prayer known as the “Enfolding Prayer.”

“Encircle me this night with your presence.
Keep joy within.  Keep bitterness out.
Keep generosity within.  Keep greed out.
Keep love within.  Keep self-seeking out.
Keep light within.  Keep darkness out.”

I am praying this prayer each night and do a second verse … replacing “me” with specific focus: Americans, refugees, the world, etc..

May each of us do what we can to keep bitterness, greed, self-seeking, darkness “out” so that joy, generosity, love, and light may be kept “within”.

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© June Maffin
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