The Celtic Christian Church
+ FAILTE LITURGY +
Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Íosa, a Íosa
(Kade meela faltcha row-at, ah Eesa, ah Eesa.)
Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Íosa
(Kade meela faltcha row-at, ah Eesa,)
Céad míle fáilte romhat a Shlánaítheoir
(Kade meela faltcha row-at, ah Lani-hoor)
Céad míle míle fáilte romhat,a Íosa, a Íosa
(Kade meela faltcha row-at, ah Eesa, ah Eesa.)
Glóir agus moladh duit, a Íosa, a Íosa
(glor uh-gus mullah gitch, ah eesa, ah eesa)
Glóir agus moladh duit, a Íosa
(glor uh-gus mullah gitch, ah eesa)
Glóir agus moladh duit, a Shlánaítheoir
(glor uh-gus mullah gitch, ah lani-hoor)
Glóir, moladh agus buíochas duit, a Íosa, a Íosa.
(glor, mullah, uh-gus bwee-uh-chkus gitch, ah eesa, ah eesa)
Translation:
A hundred thousand welcomes, O Jesus, O Jesus
A hundred thousand welcomes, O Jesus
A hundred thousand welcomes, O Savior
A hundred thousand welcomes, O Jesus, O Jesus.
Glory and praise to You, O Jesus, O Jesus
Glory and praise to You, O Jesus
Glory and praise to You, O Savior
Glory and praise and thanks to You, O Jesus, O Jesus.
Cait: With open hearts and warm spirits we welcome each of you this night. We welcome those who join us for the first time. We welcome our brothers and sisters in the CCC who travel this way yearly to be together in mutual love, common prayer, and shared joy. We greet Christ within each of you, we greet you as the Presence of Christ in our midst. We bid you come together in the light of Christ’s presence among us here, as we gather in his name. Join us in the warmth of Christ’s healing embrace. Come saint and sinner, come seeker and sought, come with your your burdens, your wounds, your gifts, and your gratitude. Come with all that you are and all that you are not. Come with all that you hope to be. All are welcome here in our spiritual family gathering. No matter who you are, or whence you come, no matter how long or far you have journeyed, you are welcome. Find rest and the Spirit’s healing in our friendship…FAILTE!
+ OPENING PRAYER +
Cait: Let us pray: + In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. All: Amen.
Cait: Lord Jesus, you welcomed all who came to you and taught us that in welcoming even the least of our sisters and brothers, it is you we welcome into our hearts. Bless now, those gatherered here in your name, that we may look upon your countenance in the faces both familiar and new. And make us to know, Lord, that in your body there can be no strangers among us; only friends whom we have not yet met. Amen.
Motion all to be seated…
+ LITURGY OF THE WORD +
Reader: The Lord is with you.
All: And also with you.
Reader: +Our reading tonight is from Matthew 28:16
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The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
All: +Glory to you O, Lord!
Reader: The word of God! All: Thanks be to God!
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Our Own
(for the Celtic Christian Church)
O Jesus, bless our family
As we gather here today.
We have come to this place together
For to celebrate and pray.
You've blessed us through these years, as,
we've lived with our joys and our pains.
We give thanks for the love of each other
And we pass it on again.
We thank you for our Faith, and
the heritage we bear.
Let us pass to our sons and our daughters
this richness that we share.
For though we are first generation,
or second or third or more,
we carry the pride and tradition
of those who first came to this shore.
So today, as we honor your love, here,
we ask blessings on our own.
Let us learn from our many years to
hold sacred our families and homes.
Our communion pays homage to You, as
does Love for our families and friends.
Bless our joy as we share in these days here,
let the love we share never end.
Copyright 1995, Cáit Finnegan
Welcoming Reflection Cait: Jesus! It is good for us to be here…
+ Communal Invocation of the Holy Spirit+
As we begin this year’s ceili we do so by taking this time to pray for the renewal of the Holy Spirit within each of us, within our local communities and ministries, and within the Celtic Christian Church. We will take time this weekend to pray for the courage of our convictions--nourished by our Faith in Jesus the Christ's promise that He will always be with us. We are not left alone.
#1 O God of Heaven, in the early days, when the church was young, you called, in the wake of the apostles, princes and common folk to carry the gospel to unbelieving lands. Thus Patrick and Columba, Bride and Aidan nurtured communities of faith in those lands.
ALL For them and for all ancient saints who brought Christ’s word to Celtic lands, and for those who brought His Word on to the rest of the world, we praise You; and we ask that these later days the zeal of early pioneers may still infuse your Church. Take us, neither Jew nor Greek, Celt nor American, slave nor free, but part of Your Body, we are here to do your bidding.
# 2: Help us, O Christ, our Brother, to let go of all that distracts us from following you completely, from all things that hurt us so--which we find so difficult to cast aside. Like the rich man we cling to that which hurts us and deters us.
ALL: I let go: window and door, house and home, memory and fear.
I let go the hurt of the past, and look to the hope of the future.
#3 I let go, knowing that I will always carry part of my past, and those I love, with me, woven into the story of my life.
ALL: Help me, O Christ, my Brother, to softly fold inside
The grief and the sadness, to pack away the pain
To trust You to send me Your Spirit of healing, and of joy,
And to move on, taking each day in Your company,
Traveling each step in Your love.
#4: O God, give us a well of tears to wash away the hurts of our lives.
O God, give us a well of tears to cleanse the wounds, to bathe the battered face of our world.
ALL: O God, give us a well of tears or we are left, like arid earth, unsanctified.
Send us once again your Holy Spirit to refresh and renew us.
Spontaneous Prayer ~ Here we take time to share our own prayers.
#5 Heal us and your grieving world of all that harms us. Help us to be peacemakers in this world torn by division and war.
By the power of your resurrection restore us to new life, set us on new paths, Bring us from darkness to light, help us to choose hope. In the darkness, help us to light the candle!
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ALL: Holy God, as we stumble and fall, may we KNOW your presence in the bleeding and the tears in life, AND in the healing and the laughter we share here as a spiritual family, and on our pilgrimage.
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Cait: As is our tradition, in many of our liturgies we pray with Patrick and the saints the Cry of the Deer, the Breastplate of Saint Patrick. Let us begin the weekend by praying it now once for the weekend, to begin our time together…binding ourselves to our God and all who have served before us, and binding God and them to us, as we continue to live for Christ:
Peggy Chambers: + I bind unto ourselves today the strong Name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three.
ALL: I bind this day to us for ever, by power of faith, Christ's incarnation; His baptism in the Jordan River; His death on cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spiced tomb; His riding up the heavenly way; His coming on the day of doom; I bind unto us today.
Thomas Marble I bind unto us today, the great love of the Cherubim; the sweet "Well done" in judgment hour; the service of the Seraphim, Confessor’s faith, Apostle’s word, the Patriarch’s prayers, the Prophet’s scrolls; all good deeds unto the Lord, and purity of virgin souls.
ALL: I bind unto us today the virtues of the starlit heaven, the glorious sun's life-giving ray, the whiteness of the moon at even, the flashing of the lightning free, the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, the stable earth, the deep salt sea, around the old eternal rocks.
Max: I bind unto us today the power of God to hold and lead, his eye to watch, his might to stay, his ear to hearken to our need. The wisdom of our God to teach, his hand to guide, his shield to ward; the Word of God to give us speech, his heavenly host to be our guard.
ALL: Against the demon snares of sin, the vice that gives temptation force, the natural lusts that war within, the hostile ones that mar our course; or few or many, far or nigh, in every place, and in all hours, against their fierce hostility, I bind to us these holy powers.
David Ensley: Against all Satan's spells and wiles, against false words of heresy, against the knowledge that defiles, against the heart's idolatry, against the wizard's evil craft, against the death wound and the burning, the choking wave and poisoned shaft, protect us Christ, till your returning.
ALL: Christ be with us, Christ within us, Christ behind us, Christ before us, Christ beside us, Christ to win us, Christ to comfort and restore us, Christ beneath us, Christ above us, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love us, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Laurie Harrington: I bind unto us 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 our salvation, salvation is of Christ the Lord. Amen.
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Cait Dear Friends: In Christ we welcome you, in his name we call upon the Holy Spirit to descend upon you, to fill you, to heal you, to refresh and renew you. We claim the power of the Holy Spirit this night and we commit to live in that same Spirit as we renew our mission of Faith this weekend. Thus, to all gathered here: Peace be with you. Peace, and the joy of Christ!
All: And also with you.
Cait Let us share an embrace of Christ's peace with one another.
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+ CLOSING PRAYER +
Compline Hymn/Irish Melody
When evening comes we turn to You
O Maker of all things.
We seek that truth and goodness that
Your kindness always brings.
Protect us through all dangers now
And all throughout the night
That we might rise once more with Christ
Who is our truth and Light.
Give glory to the Father Who
Is Source of all that is
Give glory to the Son Who died
That we might all be His
Give glory to the Spirit Whom
They to earth do send
Give glory to our triune God
Whose love will never end.
Cait: Let us pray.
Now Lord, let your servants go in peace;
Your Word has been fulfilled:
Our eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.
All: Protect us Lord as we stay awake, watch over us as we sleep. That awake we may keep watch with Christ and asleep rest in his peace.
Cait As we keep watch with Christ throughout the night, let our light shine in the darkness, and let us celebrate the gift of one another and rejoice in each other's company. For this we give thanks and make this prayer in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.
All: AMEN! CEILI TIME! BUIOCHAS LE DIA!
(Bwee-a-chkus luh jee-a!)
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