God in Ordinary People

Now remember what you were when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing. God purposely chose … what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. 1 Corinthians 1: 26, 27

The Lord prefers common looking people. That is why he made so many of them.
Abraham Lincoln

We should never forget that, although only the words and deeds of the most notable Christians get handed down, Christianity was first spread by slaves, working soldiers and traders.  In Celtic times Christianity was the religion of the people, it took root in ordinary hearts and homes. This fact is reflected in the prayers of the Scottish highlanders and islanders recorded by Alexander Carmichael so many centuries later. Here we have a glimpse of an army of ordinary people who invited God to be in the warp and weft of their everyday lives.

These arrow prayers for ordinary days are inspired by the Carmina Gadelica:

As I wash, the love of Christ be in my breast
God protect the household
God consecrate the children
God encompass our assets

May I do my rounds under the shield of Michael chief of angels

May the ingredients for the meal be mixed together
in the name of God’s Son who gives growth

Circle all my business dealings,
keep out what is false, keep within what is good

In everything my hands do today I will keep my fingers as a cross
In my exercise may thankfulness pulse through my body
As I sleep may your right hand be under my head