I am having difficulty connecting with the Trinity in a grounded, personal way. I can connect with the Cloud of Witnesses. I can connect with the images and prayers, but the Trinity is too far away, too above me. I cannot walk with the Trinity comfortably or invite the Trinity to help me make the bed.
I found this post by Jason Watson of the Deviant Monk most helpful.
One of my most prized books is
Carmina Gadelica, a collection of Gaelic
hymns, incantations, prayers, charms and poetry. Compiled by Alexander
Carmichael in 1900, this collection puts to paper an infinitely valuable trove
of oral culture that might have otherwise been lost.
But these hymns and prayers are more than just
cultural nuggets- they reflect the deep permeation of Christianity in Gaelic
lands, for the invocations of God occur in all manner of contexts, from prayers
for protection to preparing the hearth-fire. There is a deep sense that God is
both behind and beyond all things; nature itself- everything that it is imbued
with the presence of God.
As such, there is a subtle yet profound
theological richness to be found in the Carmina Gadelica.
Part One: The
Trinity
Whether or not St. Patrick used a three-leaf
clover to explain the Trinity, the hymns and prayers of Carmina Gadelica leave no room for doubt that
Trinitarian thought infused the Gaelic imagination. We find page after page
invoking the Blessed Trinity, alternating between generic descriptions (the
Trinity) and mentions of each person (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). While the
oneness of being is taken for granted, the missional relation of each person to
creation is emphasized. But while many Western emphases such as these encompass
salvation history more generally, the invocations in Carmina Gadelica tend to personalize salvation
history to the pray-er himself; that is, that actual missional relation of the
divine person is contextualized for the individual. An example:
I am bending my knee
In the eye of the Father who created me.
In the eye of the Son who purchased me.
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection. (Carmina Gadelica, 1, p.35)
Another favorite designation for the Trinity
is simply The Three, and this
appellation is often used in connection with and juxtaposition to either the
supplicant or creation and the world in general. Thus, the Three are something
altogether removed from the world as we know and understand it, yet there is
nevertheless a deep connection which infuses the very being of creation and
those beings which comprise it. In the same prayer we find a supplication for
fullness:
To do on the world of the Three
As angels and saints
Do in heaven,
Each shade and light,
Each day and night,
Each time and kindness,
Give Thou us Thy Spirit. (ibid.)
As can be seen, this world is indeed ‘the world of the Three.’ The Trinity is far
removed in being from all other beings, yet by virtue of being creator the
Trinity is intimately connected since all being flows from the divine being.
Thus, each action and each portion of creation is a place to meet the Creator
of it all, whether in the shade or light, day or night. The
Spirit is the person who gives us the fullness in our need, fills us with
graces, and leads us into the love of the Three. In some way the Spirit has a
special connection to creation, in that the love and will of God flow into the
world through the ministry of the Spirit. The experience of the Spirit in the
heart of the one who loves God leaves no wonder where joy and peace can be
found:
God with me lying down,
God with me rising up,
God with me in each ray of light,
Nor I a ray of joy without Him,
Nor one ray without him. (Carmina Gadelica, 2, p. 36)
The repetition of the phrase has its own
beauty, but points to a deeper profundity- not only is there no ray of joy
without God, but there is no ray of light, period. Everything in creation
speaks of God and in some way conveys the beauty and grandeur of God. Further, every
action on the part of human beings derives from God’s breathing life and being
into us. Hence, there can be no ray of joy any more than there can be a ray of
light without God. It is in this realization that the believer can come to
grips with the sheer wonder that God is everywhere and in everything; thus,
every thought and desire should be directed toward and led by God. We read
further:
Christ with me sleeping,
Christ with me waking,
Christ with me watching,
Every day and night,
Each day and night. (ibid.)
The Trinitarian experience deepened by this
communion with Christ brings the believer to an invocation of daily Trinitarian
leading:
God with me protecting,
The Lord with me directing,
The Spirit with me strengthening,
For ever and for evermore,
Ever and evermore, Amen.
Chief of Chiefs, Amen. (ibid.)
The supplicant realizes that as the Chief of
Chiefs, God must be directing and protecting and guiding. Every movement must
be in submission to the will of the Three, for, after all, this is the world of the Three.
There is a sense in which the experience of
the Three in this world is a foretaste of that which is to come, for the
missional relations of each person are not superfluous but have a direction, a
purpose. The personalization of each person’s mission is tied back to both the
invocation for protection and blessing while also underscoring the telos of each mission:
Now to the Father who created each creature,
Now to the Son who paid ransom for his people,
Now to the Holy Spirit, Comforter of might:
Shield and sain us from every wound;
Be about the beginning and end of our race,
Be giving us to sing in glory,
In peace, in rest, in reconciliation,
Where no tear shall be shed, where death shall be no more.
Where no tear shall be shed, where death shall be no more. (Carmina Gadelica,
7, p. 42)
This beautiful innovation develops the
understanding the experience of the Three in this life is ultimately leading
the soul into deeper waters; the beginning and end (telos) of our race is thus
located in the Trinity itself, for the missional relations have a temporal
relationship to our world and to salvation, while the eternal union of the
Three transcends it all and mystically provides both its initiation and its
consummation.
Even in sleep the Trinity is invoked:
Spirit, give me of Thine abundance,
Father, give me of Thy wisdom,
Son, give me in my need,
Jesus beneath the shelter of Thy shield.
I lie down tonight,
With the Triune of my strength,
With the Father, with Jesus,
With the Spirit of might. (Carmina Gadelica, 30, p. 54)
There is thus no aspect of life in which the
Three may not be invoked, for it is taken for granted that God is the creator
of all and that all creation is a mirror of his glory and his light. Every act
and every thought thus should be turned toward the Three. From lying down to
greeting the morning the Holy Trinity should be invoked:
Come I this day to the Father,
Come I this day to the Son,
Come I this day to the Holy Spirit powerful,
Come I this day with God,
Come I this day with Christ,
Come I this day with the Spirit of kindly balm.
God, Spirit and Jesus,
From the crown of my head
To the soles of my feet;
Come I with my reputation,
Come I with my testimony,
Come I to Thee, Jesu,
Jesu, shelter me. (Carmina Gadelica, 27, p. 53)
Here the lyricist recognizes both that the
Trinity should be invoked in everything, but also that such an invocation
carries with it a responsibility to walk in the way of the Three. If the Three
are to have all of oneself, then everything- from reputation to testimony- must
come under His lordship. Again we notice the special connection the Holy Spirit
occupies as the conduit of both power and healing, not only to cure the
woundedness of the soul but to empower the believer to live into the love and
fellowship of the Three. The Spirit then leads the soul to Jesus, who becomes
the one who shelters and shields. The Incarnation wherein God becomes man
becomes the meeting place where the Spirit introduces the believer into Trinitarian
communion, and in that love the heart wants nothing more than to cling to
Jesus, to offer the entirety of his being to Jesus like any lover would for his
beloved.
Once introduced into this divine love, the
soul can rest at ease, for, as the scriptures state, perfect love drives out
all fear. The Spirit’s leading to the crucified Savior is the source and
security of safety for the spirit, for in passing from death into life one has
come into God’s family; now the Trinity becomes the ultimate advocate and
defender:
I am placing my soul and body
On the sanctuary this night, O God,
On Thy sanctuary, O Jesus Chirst,
On Thy sanctuary, O Spirit of perfect truth;
The Three who would defend my cause,
Nor turn their backs upon me. (Carmina Gadelica, 29, p. 54)
Even though the second person of the Trinity
is missionally engaged in the work of redemption and justification through his
death on the cross, the lyricist senses the deep unity in the Trinity and
locates the act of justification in the unity of the Divine will and action:
Thou. Father, who art kind and just,
Thou. Son, who didst overcome death,
Thou, Holy Spirit of power,
Be keeping me this night from harm;
the Three who would justify me
Keeping me this night and always. (ibid.)
In this perfect rest where the Three shield
and justify the believer, there is peace and love:
I am lying down tonight with the Holy Spirit,
And the Holy Spirit this night will lie down with me,
I will lie down this night with the Three of my love,
And the Three of my love will lie down with me. (Carmina Gadelica, 34, p. 57)
What could be more beautiful than this
imagery, where the consummation of divine love and unity with God does not wait
until some far-removed time beyond death’s grip but rather is a present reality
in those who believe and who have placed themselves under the sheltering of the
Three? No fear can be present, for in life and in death the friendship of the
Trinity is as near as one’s own life:
I am now going into the sleep,
Be it that I in health shall waken;
If death be to me in the death-sleep,
be it that on Thine own arm,
O God of Grace, I in peace shall waken;
Be it on Thine own beloved arm,
O God of Grace, that I in peace shall awaken. (Carmina Gadelica, 35, p. 57)
In the night- which represents the veil of
death and the uncertainty of this life and the instability of our world- the
love and fellowship of the Trinity stands as bright as a white Moon in the dead
of night:
In name of the Holy Spirit of grace,
In name of the Father of the City of peace,
In name of Jesus who took death off us,
Oh! In name of the Three who shield us in every need,
If well Thou hast found us tonight,
Seven times better mayest thou leave us without harm,
Thou bright white Moon of the seasons,
Bright white Moon of the seasons. (Carmina Gadelica, 54, p. 53)
For the Gaelic writers, the Trinity is not an
esoteric dogma to be recited and systematized but rather a living and lived
reality, for God as Creator is near to us in creation, and all that he has made
is a reflection of his power and his goodness. The triune life of the Three is
not confined to the gates of heaven but spills overflowing onto earth, where
those who call for aid find peace and rest in the divine communion. The Trinity
is near to us in every aspect of our lives, and in the love of the Three we are
complete and healed from our brokenness:
In nearness to the Trinity farewell to all my
pains,
Christ stands before me, and peace is in his mind. (Carmina Gadelica, 346, p.
312)
The Trinity infuses all creation with being,
as everything springs forth from the grace and power of God. There is nowhere
one can go where the Three do not dwell, and in the final analysis all one can
do is invoke the aid of the Three and stand in awe at the grandeur of the
eternal mystery which invites us deeper into its embrace:
The Three Who are over me,
The Three Who are below me,
The Three Who are above me here,
The Three Who are above me yonder;
The Three Who are in the earth,
The Three Who are in the air,
The Three Who are in heaven,
The Three Who are in the great pouring sea.