“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  1 John 4:7-8

“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me save that Thou Art.”  From the Hymn “Be Thou My Vision

The Spiritual Romance of the Celts.  Don’t you love that?  It’s the title of a chapter in the book “Water From an Ancient Well” by Kenneth McIntosh.  He illustrates how deeply and passionately the Celts  loved Christ.  They loved Ferociously. Fearlessly.  Faithfully!  They were as passionate in their love for God as they were in other areas of their lives!

Perhaps no one in the Celtic tradition exemplifies this love of Christ more than St. Brigid, a disciple of St. Patrick and one of the three patron saints of Ireland, whose feast day is observed on February 1.  She, as much if not more than St. Valentine, modelled the love of God in her life.

Many legends are told of Brigid, some of which reflect her devotional love of Christ as her king and her Lord.  One legend tells of her plucking out her eye in order to make herself so unattractive to a suitor that he would refuse to marry her.  Her love of God was reflected in her devotional life, as well as in her service to others.  She had great love for the poor.  Brigid set the example of love for God, one emulated by those Celts who faithfully followed in her footsteps.

Describing the devotional love of the Celts McIntosh writes:  “Their thirst for Christ was unquenchable.  The great Celtic saint Columbanus, as he moved throughout Europe, encouraged his friends: ‘Let us desire him like people who are ravenous . . . let us always drink of him with an overflowing love, let us always drink of him with a fullness of living and let the sweet savor of his loveliness ravish us.”[1]

Consider for a moment, dear reader:

When was the last time you were ravenous for Christ?

When have you desired to drink of Christ with overflowing love?

When was the last time the sweet savor of Christ’s loveliness ravished you?

I can’t remember a recent time. I never learned this in seminary, and certainly didn’t practice it as I could have and should have in ministry.  We, who are trained in “Western Sensibility”, don’t envision God like that, do we?  One can’t construct or a doctrine or a dogma around it.  But consider for a moment what our faith life would be like if we did.  Even just occasionally.  Consider how different the church would be if we did.  And think about what an effect it would have on the world if we did.  Truly, “they” would know we are Christians by our love!

As we again take time to observe love on Valentine’s Day, perhaps it would behoove us to ponder what Spiritual Romance means . . . and what it might be like to live in, even for a just a little while every day.

I leave you with the following from St. Brigid, one of the only extant records of what she wrote.

I would like a great lake of ale, for the King of Kings.

I would like the angels of Heave to be among us.

I would like an abundance of peace.

I would like full vessels of charity.

I would like rich treasures of mercy.

I would like cheerfulness to preside over all.

I would like Jesus to be present.

I would like the three Mary’s of illustrious renown to be with us.

I would like the friends of Heaven to be gathered around us from all parts.

I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings.

I would like to be watching heaven’s family drinking it through all eternity.

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[1] “Water From an Ancient Well” by Kenneth McIntosh.  p. 32