Books: Where Three Streams Meet

(by Carl McColman via AnamTuras via Shewings)

Where Three Streams Meet: Celtic Spirituality
by Sean O Duinn, OSB

I bought this gem at Eason's wonderful bookstore on O'Connell Street in Dublin; it doesn't appear to be readily available in the USA although you can order it through Amazon.com. O Duinn is a monk of Glenstal Abbey and a lecturer on Irish heritage at the University of Limerick; this book presents his lovely and poetic vision of how Irish spirituality represents an weaving together of neolithic, pagan, and Christian traditions (hence the "three streams" of the title). The book begins with chapters devoted to teasing out the elusive identity of the Celtic world, as the author considers lifestyle, customs, politics, ancestor-worship, and the gods and goddesses of the ancient Celts. His chapter on the concept of "neart" is especially illuminating and important for anyone interested in magical, shamanic, or healing dimensions of Celtic wisdom. From there O Duinn goes on to consider specifically Christian dimensions of Celtic spirituality, looking at Irish understandings of the Easter Mystery (and its relation to Bealtaine), traditional Gaelic prayers and intercession for the dead, and the intersection points between the cycles of nature, the Celtic sacred year, and the Christian liturgical calendar. It's a wonderful book that demonstrates how a thoroughly Christian sensibility can coexist symbiotically with the rich nature mysticism of the Celtic world. Highly recommended.