Canticle
December 21, 2008
Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
I find this prayer deeply meaningful. I cannot simply recite it without going deeply into myself and appreciate its work in me. It reflects a ton of biblical images and concepts that are familiar to the Bible reader. That’s the most endearing thing about it. I am going to write a few posts on this canticle of worship. Reading these words is one thing, reading them and letting them read us spiritually is another. I read them slowly, meditatively, prayerfully, and restfully allow them to settle down deep within (by the way this kind of reading is called lectio divina).
The canticle begins appropriately with Christ: Christ as a light, illumine and guide me. The form is prayerful. It is the asking for direction, for wisdom, for understanding of everything in life and of the things of God. Jesus said “I am the light of the world, he who comes to me will not live in darkness”. And this world of darkness needs the light of Christ, and in my world of darkness I need the light who is Christ. Daily I make numerous decisions, some of them are big, most are small, but cumulatively, they shape my future life. How I need The Light!
Christ as a light means to me that Christ reveals God, no small thing. Christ as a light reveals life and reveals me to me. Equally no small thing. Christ as a light reveals the way of life in the kingdom of God. I rest in the thought that I am his and he is mine and that he wants to show me himself and show me myself and the ways of the kingdom of light. He is ever so gentle in his pointing the light. Sometimes the light floods over me and sometimes it comes with laser precision. He knows which I need. I rest in that knowledge of being known and accepted.
Christ as a light, illumine and guide me. Amen.
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This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
I love this verse. It seems that we get stuck in either extremes of either Christ in me or looking for Christ around me. But the reality of Him being in me and without me. Not just around me, but without me! This holds the tension of my individuality and my lostness as part of his creation.
Yes this speaks depths.
I’m glad you shed some light on parts of the canticle, as you know I’m new @ this (celtic daily prayer) trying to make sense of it all, and @ the same time struggling to keep up with the 4 times a day worship, I don’t lead a busy life and enjoy my Mary like time with Jesus, love to sit @ his feet and listen to Him in various ways. yet weird as it is this 4 times thing has been somewhat of a struggle. creature of habit, the Missio Dei I’m learning to keep up with and do enjoy as well, however I find that i’m lacking in my own bible reading, I’m beginning to wonder if the phrase “too much of a good thing” is a chaos, can you shed some light on my confused situation!
Sonia,
The nature of sacred rhythm is new to many of us who grew up in the evangelical tradition. It’s a different way of doing devotionals.
Celtic Daily Prayer morning and evening has a Bible reading section. I usually read those slowly, meditatively, and prayerfully. Sure it is not reading large portions of Scripture at a time (like a chapter a day from proverbs, old and new testament). It may be good to take a time out from that big chunk of scripture reading to a smaller, more manageable chunk and go a little deeper with it. No reason to maintain two things unless you really feel you are called to it. I used to feel guilty for not reading the Bible through. I don’t. My object is to be open to the Father and available to him. If you decide to just do the readings in CDP, you’ll have enough Bible reading for each day.
Praying four times a day is a habit we build and takes time. The reward of sensing that we are doing life with God is worth the struggle.