Trinitarian Prayer

Trinitarian Prayer. The Celtic Christians accepted God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -wholeheartedly. In their hearts and minds there was no need to understand this concept at some deep philosophical or intellectual level. God in three persons was a truth to believe, and threefold relationship to embrace. Legend has it that St. Patrick picked up a Shamrock in order to explain the Trinity. “Shamrock” is the common name for several different kinds of three-leafed clovers native to Ireland. Patrick is said to have picked a shamrock from the grass where he was standing and showed it to those who were listening to him. He explained to them that the shamrock is one leaf with three parts just like God is one entity with three Persons. The Celts spoke of and believed in the Trinity with great ease. They found analogies, not only in nature but also in many areas of their daily life.

 

There is an old traditional poem from Ireland that reflects this truth:

Three folds of the cloth, yet only one napkin is there,

Three joints in the finger, but still only one finger fair

Three leaves of the shamrock, yet no more than one shamrock to wear,

Frost, snow-flakes and ice, all in water their origins share

Three Persons in God; to one God alone we make prayer.

 

Carmina Gadelica and the Religious Songs of Connacht bear witness to the fact that the Trinity was of great importance to our brothers and sisters of long ago. God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – were central to the daily labor songs and the seasonal work songs. Their day began with three handfuls of water being splashed on their face in the name of the three members of the Trinity. In doing this they took the presence of the Trinity with them. There are many prayers that reflect just how deeply the Celtic Christians believed in and relied on all three persons of the Trinity. St. Patrick’s Breastplate is probably the most famous. The last stanza says this:

 

I bind unto myself the name,

The strong name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The three in One and One in Three,

Of whom all nature has creation;

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word,

Praise to the Lord of my salvation

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

 

Click Here to go back to Prayer & Worship