Celtic Prayer For Unexpected Guests

I wish life was predictable, but it is not. Yet, blessings often sneak in unexpectedly if we have prepared our hearts to be interrupted.I sometimes view unexpected phone calls as interruptions to my planned day, especially if the call is from someone needing something from me “right now.” Slow traffic, long lines at the grocery counter, work related demands, and the neighbor who drops in unexpectedly when I have been up all night with a sick kid and the house hasn’t seen “clean” in a month—these interruptions frustrate me.What if all the people involved in these situations were viewed as unexpected guests into my life? Might a new perspective adjust my attitude and my interactions with them?Brigid of Kildare was a woman who looked for the unexpected. She lived between 450 and 523 and was known for her generosity and hospitality to all, but especially to strangers, the poor, and the sick. She never saw people as interruptions to her life, but as guests to be welcomed. This is one of her house prayers still used by many as they prepare their hearts and lives to be interrupted by unexpected guests.

I would welcome the poorand honour them.I would welcome the sickin the presence of angelsand ask God to bless andembrace us all.Seeing a stranger approach,I would put food in the eating place.drink in the drinking place,music in the listening place,and look with joy for the blessing of God,who often comes to my homein the blessing of a stranger.We call upon the Sacred Threeto save, shield and surroundthis house, this home,this day, this night,and every night.

You’ll find more of Brigid’s prayers in Celtic Daily Prayer—Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community. (See right sidebar for more details.) But for now, how do you prepare your heart and life to be interrupted by the unexpected guest?

In Him together, Susan Gaddis