The Way; Postings on The Christian Path

On The Celí Dé ...

The Celí Dé (also called ceile de, culdee, Céli Dé, Céile Dé, and kuldee) literally means spouses of God. It has also been translated (in implied translations) to mean, clients, vassals, servants, vessels, friends, warriors, and children of God.The Celi De practiced original Christianity through unique celtic eyes, and a distinct cultural perspective.

The Celi De were said in some legends to be the early descendants of the first druid converts to Christianity long before the time when St. Patrickus brought the teachings of the roman church to Ireland. According the the legends; while the church of Rome, and the bishop now known as Patrick were very intolerant of those people who still practiced and lived by the old ways of the druid traditions, the Celi De were extremely tolerant. Christianity was first brought to the Celts in the west of Europe shortly after the crucifixion and the ascension of the Christ. The Celi De called Christ, Jesu the white Christ, Christa an-ri (Christ the king), Christa Ard-Ri (Christ the high king). Saint Joseph of Arimathea and Saint Mary Magdalene brought Christianity to the celts of the west. Later Saint John was said to have made a trip for a brief time to the western celts to check on their spiritual progress and administer to their needs. Saint Paul converted a group of more eastern Celts called the Galatians. Some say that Joseph of Aramethia and the Magdalene made the trip at the behest of Christ, while some say it was at the suggestion of Phillip and Matthias. Joseph and Mary Magdalene went to first Gaul now called France, and then to Avalon now called Glastonbury England to preach the gospel and set up the first Christian communities in western Europe. In some stories Joseph built the worlds first above ground church at Avalon. Mary stayed with Joseph for a brief time becoming the first Christian abbess or Reverend Mother to bare the title lady of the lake, high priestess of Avalon. She quickly trained another woman to take her place and fill her role there, and then left Joseph there and returned to France to set up the communities she founded there. It is said that Joseph died at Avalon and Mary died in France. Some say Joseph was the uncle of Mary Magdalene, while others say he was the uncle to Mother Mary and a relative of Yeshua. It is said that the Magdalene was a prophetess, a great healer, an Essene high priestess, and that she had many spiritual gifts. What we know for certain is that she was an independently wealthy business woman, probably from an affluent family. She was some how suffering from an illness either physical or mental and emotional. This is why she was called a woman of ill repute who suffered from unclean spirits. We can be almost certain that she was not a prostitute. She was healed from her afflictions by Christ who brought her in to his inner circle in time and began to train her like his mother as a disciple. She is called the apostles to the apostles as she was the first person to know of the resurrection of Christ and she was the first to preach the gospel which means the good news of the resurrection of Christ. Joseph was said in some stories to be a skilled craftsman, an architect, a lay healer, an essene lay priest, a seer, a counselor, a scholar, and a judge who knew the Hebrew law, some even go so far as to say he was one of the Pharisees. Saint Joseph, the Magdalene, and Saint Brigid are the three most revered saints of the   Celí Dé. Joseph is usually remembered as the benefactor to the dead "Jesus" (Yeshua), giving him his own pre-prepared tomb, holy anointing oils and ointments, and a burial shroud of expensive linen.

A Druid Depiction

Depiction of 

St. Joseph of Arimathea

Kind Bearer of The Holy Grail

(I found this picture of Liv Tyler which to me looks like)

St. Mariam Magdalene 

Apostle to the Apostles

The Celí Dé kept their traditional celtic druidical style of worship. They simply exchanged the worship of their old pantheon of false gods for the Right Worship of the one true God. Many say the early druids were actually already monotheists of sorts, believing that there was one divine being who had many faces; which this divine being chose to express as a plethora of different gods both Masculine and Feminine. They emphasized the teachings Joseph brought about God as the Holy trinity. The teaching of the Holy Trinity became the very heart of their doctrines. Later this was used by Patrick when he used a shamrock to teach the pagans he was trying to convert, about the Holy Trinity teachings. The gospel quickly spread from Avalon to the rest of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Then it spread through out the rest of the celtic nations, and the western world. Within a few generations of Joseph's death these celtic Christians began to refer to themselves as Celí Dé. The stories say that they focused on the mystery of the divine, the divine spark within nature, and the divine essence within themselves. They strongly upheld the teachings that we are all made in the image of God, and that the body is a temple of the divine. They were strongly individualistic having no real hierarchy to speak of in the begging. Some lived in small communities which developed a loose type of Hierarchy, while others became holy hermits. Those that survived into the era of the church of Rome taking over, either were martyred by Rome, or they were absorbed into the monastic life of the Roman monk-hood, where they adopted a hierarchy system of brothers, monks, bishops, and reverend fathers, nuns, and reverend mothers, etc.

The Celi De like most of the early celts were extreme examples of gender equality and egalitarianism. Men and women were equal, though often still seen as different. All people were thought to be able to receive divine guidance and speak directly with the divine presence. They had a high reverence for both nature, and what they like their ancestors called “the otherworld”. They had a high reverence for the messengers of God, and most other worldly beings. They placed a great importance on the inner experience of spirituality and religion. They were mystical thinkers, and natural philosophers. Their approach to religion was open but not overly so to new interpretations of the faith, and they openly borrowed themes, terms, concepts, and symbols from the old religions of their locale. They were artists, scribes, bards, and healers, as well as natural priests, and astronomers. They were very spiritually gifted people with a vast esoteric knowledge. They were said to be welcoming and friendly to all in need; kind, and generous, very unassuming, tolerant, and non-judgmental people.

It is for all these reasons why we have adopted their name and traditions (Though in our own way, granted) for our personal spiritual path, our school, and it's teachings. We are sure Historians reading this will shake their heads at our Romanticized view of history, and want to begin pointing out the historical inaccuracies as they see them; and our response is that...they are welcome to hold whatever views they so choose. Since no one alive today was actually there...the real truth is that a great deal of history is guess work and "Romanticism". We see nothing wrong with adopting a romanticized view of the world if it allows someone to make connections to both the lessons of the past, and our future destinies. We who use words, themes, terms, and concepts out of the far past are aware that we are seeing, doing, and experiencing things differently than those that went before us. We here at The Avalon Grail Mystery School are not only alright with this type of neo-reconstructionism, we are in fact proud of it.

Blessed Be!



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The difference between Christian Mysticism, and Gnosticism:



(these are historical and traditional differences, though they are not true for everyone, and are far from being universal to all christian mystics).



The main differences between the two are as follows;



Gnosticism:



1) traditionally gnostics believe that the physical world is altogether evil, as is the God who made it.

2) They believe that Christ was never physically here, and that he did not die, and that if he was here his resurrection was of the spiritual not the physical. That is to say that they think if Christ was actually here that he died, thereby freeing him from his human physical body which was in their thinking a prison or trap of sorts.

3) They have a pantheon or smaller gods, and goddesses.

4) They believe one can be saved through special knowledge.

5) They tend to worship the divine mystery instead of the source of divine mystery.







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We who are Christian mystics traditionally believe that the physical world is just as sacred as our own body temples which are temples of the divine, and that the earth is a manifestation, symbol, or representation of God’s own divine motherhood.



We believe that Christ did physically come here, that he was all God, all man, human, and divine. That his redemptive work on the cross was all sufficient to cover over all sins past, present, and future, with forgiveness and spiritual freedom. We believe that Christ is the way to salvation, and that he was part of the Trinitarian God-head. We believe that there is one God who is made of three distinct personalities. We believe that we are saved and brought to eternal life by Grace through faith in Christ.

We believe that there is only one God, who is trinity God. “Hear oh Israel, the lord our God is one”!

We do not worship creation though we do revere it.

We worship not the divine mystery, but rather the source of the divine mystery which is God.

We believe that once someone is truly saved then they are always saved.

We believe in sola scriptura, a doctrine that teaches that scripture alone is enough to sufficiently guide one through life, and teach us what we need to know in order to be saved. However we also honor any and all teachers, guides, help, and experiences in life, that God sends us beyond scripture. While we honor and accept this help, and revere all our helpers, teachers, and experiences greatly, as well as honoring tradition, we are adamant that tradition is not necessary for ones salvation. Tradition is merely one more way we choose to participate in our salvation.



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Of Christian mysticism it has been said “I am a Christian because of who God is, and I am a mystic because of who I am”. I do not know the author of this quote but I have always felt this way.



The word Christian brings so many conflicting ideologies crashing together that I will not define that word to you here. Everyone defines it their own way in any case. I am no exception to that rule. Let us say here that it simply means “follower of Christ”. I will also add that I am speaking of original Christianity, not the modernized, Americanized, or Romanized Christianity that is so rampant in the world today. The religion that I speak of when I use this word is loving, tolerant, truth seeking, non-judgmental, non-persecuting, respectful, kind, compassionate, and loving. It teaches love not hate, it says that what happened in the Roman and German inquisitions was evil, it says that what happened during the American witch trials was evil. It says that what the roman and American churches are doing to gay people is evil. It teaches us how to walk in beauty with the lord. It teaches us a better way of life. It teaches us about the mysteries of God and the unseen worlds. It tells us how Christ wants us to preach the gospel and be his witnesses in a way that is respectful of people who disagree with us. This is the Christianity I speak of.



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Mystic:

I will start defining this word as first saying that mystics are different from Gnostics.

A mystic is one who spends a lot of time on the intense study of the mystery of the divine, and the divine within. A mystic looks for what was revealed by God and what was concealed. One who believes that you can come to know the divine through both subject and objective experience. The word mystic has its roots in the word mystery. A Christian mystic wonders what a the bible says in its original unedited form, with its original wording, and its original context. The mystic concentrates on coming into true and deep relationship and connection to the divine, with nature, with the entire universe, with their fellow man, and with their innermost being. They worship the divine without and cultivate the divine within.



“mysticism according to its historical and psychological definitions, is the direct intuition or experience of God; and a mystic is a person who has, to a greater or lesser degree, such a direct experience. One whose religion and life are centered, not merely on an accepted belief or practice, but on that which the person regards as first hand personal knowledge”!

Evelyn Underhill; mystics of the church.

Blessed Be!

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The Prayer of The Grail...







I wanted to begin my blogging this year with talking about gratitude and living a life of service. Being a minister I try and live a life of service because, well that’s what a minister does! As a Celi De` minister I believe that I as a minister servant of God am in service to three things; God (The Living Word), humanity, and nature; God being the highest master that I serve. However in service to Him, I am also called to serve Humanity, The Church, Art, Beauty,Truth, and Healing; and I am also called to be a steward of the earth and take care of the planet as best as I can! So I thought instead of just talking about thankfulness and service, that I would just share a powerful prayer of appreciation, service, vocation, and protection with everyone who reads my blog site!

The Prayer of The Grail:

Father God around me in unbroken love holding me in Grace,
Christ with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ to each side of me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ within me
Christ without
Trinity God en-circle-ing me
Christ encompassing me
Holy Spirit indwelling in me, flowing through me, and around me
God surrounds me in unbroken Love
AMEN

This prayer is one of the many "Grail prayers". It is in Celi De fashion (celtic christian mystics, the name means spouses of God amongst other things). I myself am Celi De. In any case this prayer gets me through a lot. it is an affirmation of love, peace, protection, joy, harmony, and power amongst other things. By saying this prayer you are affirming your relationship with God, that he has saved you, that you are submitted to him as his bride, child, and vessel; that you are one with Him and His power. You are saying God, I not only trust and have faith in you; I know you, I know you are here with me closer to me than I am to myself. You are my life my sweetness, my hope and stay, you are my very breath and existence. Nothing can ever separate me from you because in the highest sense of reality I am a part of you, omnipresent Immanuel! You are affirming your faith in Christ who has saved you by Grace through faith in Him. This is a powerful prayer. Be mindful, aware, and respectful when you say it. This is big medicine. You are opening yourself up to being a vessel servant of God, being a Holy Grail by saying this prayer. Be ready to be used when you say this prayer. He will use you and it will astound you the things you are saying and doing for Him; that you never dreamt in your wildest imagination that you would!:) I hope this helps you as it helped me!:)

The Pollen Path Prayer;

Beauty before me,
Beauty behind me,
Beauty to each side of me,
Beauty above me,
Beauty beneath me,
Beauty within me,
Beauty without,
Beauty around me,
I’m on the pollen path,
I walk the good red road,
I make good medicine ,
and I walk in beauty with The God (Creator, Great Spirit)!

This is a Christian adaptation of a very old traditional native American prayer (mantra, affirmation) that I learned. It is in the same style and has the same purpose as the Grail prayer. The fact that these prayers existed in two separate cultures possibly before any contact between the two great races even knew of each-others existence is further evidence that certain spiritual truths are universal to all ancient cultures! These prayers not only keep us mindful of the presence of the divine in our lives; they are prayers acknowledging the protection that we have from God, and they are a way of honoring the daily gifts that God gives us, that we take for granted much of the time. In fact these prayers are designed to keep us from taking anything for granted! These prayers say to us that we should have an attitude of gratitude, that our hearts should celebrate every moment with thanksgiving and thankfulness, and that we should remember to live a life of appreciation and awe of the beauty that God surrounds us with! Life is not only a blessing but full of blessings! This is a prayer for every day yes, and it is also a prayer for the hard times. This prayer is like a brief paraphrase, synopsis, and summation of the biblical book of Job!

There is a very old hymn that was a favorite of the civil war era. The chorus of this hymn is the exact same message of these prayers and all the biblical passages in the bible that tell us to “make a joyful noise unto the lord”! The song is called “for the beauty” and the chorus says;…

“For the beauty of the earth,
for the beauty of the skies,
for the love that from our birth,
over and around us lies,
Lord above (or “of all”) to Thee we raise,
This our joyful song, of (grateful) praise”!





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“Once a king or queen of Narnia always a king or queen of Narnia”









“Once a king or queen of Narnia always a king or queen of Narnia”

commentary on eternal salvation by grace through faith in Christ;

Recently I was watching catholic tv. And a man was speaking. Apparently he was a former protestant who decided to become catholic. He was belittling the protestant notion of “once saved always saved”. This teaching states simply that once Christ has bestowed salvation upon a person it is an eternal salvation that can not be lost. I listened to this man speak and all I could think is “what a moron”! I never knew that roman catholics believed that you could loose your salvation. As if it was something to be lost and regained like a battle with weight. To me it has always been so simple. Either your saved or your not. I should have pieced together that the church of rome believes that you can loose your salvation. Often I have heard on movies nuns and priests telling children that they are “backsliding into the fires of hell”. I thought it was pure scare tactics. I didn’t know the roman church had so much in common with the Baptist church. What an odd notion. This means they believe that the children have reached salvation, that they are on the road to that mature, deep abiding relationship and walk with God, that leads to perfection. Only the children themselves and God could know this. I suppose they think the children were saved due to some ritual like baptism or first communion instead of by the grace of God. Maybe they think it takes the rituals to bestow the grace of salvation. But it takes only a prayer, and total surrender of your soul to its creator. The main problem of roman Catholicism besides worshiping mary as a goddess, and setting up a man (the pope) as a divinely appointed leader of the whole church, is that roman catholics believe in majikal formulas. “say ten hail mary’s and four our father’s” and you will be absolved of your sins. This is ludicrous. All God requires is a repentant heart and for you to ask to be forgiven, and for you to forgive people when they need it of you; even if they don’t ask for it. No majikal formula, no ritual can save you. One is saved by asking God to save you, and by the grace conferred through faith in Christ.
What was this man on tv. Talking about? The more he spoke against “once saved always saved” the more I knew it was the truth. It is like he was calling Christ an “Indian giver”. If you misbehave God will take your salvation away; God will take your toy away! That’s what this man wanted people to believe. Yet I know that God never goes back on his word. His promise, his love, his faithfulness, and his salvation endures forever. God is a God of truth. He is not a liar. He is not a mere man (like the pope) that he should deceive us. Though I acknowledge that one can be saved and go through periods of doubt, wandering, misunderstanding, and darkness. One can “back slide” into living in deep sin. But if a person is really truly saved, then they will not be able to remain in darkness. They will be convicted to live correctly, and they will helped and uplifted by God to do just that. If a person can completely disregard God after being “saved”, then I must conclude through common sense, plain reason, and what Christ told us through scripture, that their salvation was never real to begin with but instead it was mere lip service.
However Christ’s redemptive work on the cross was eternal without end! His work was and is and will be all sufficient, and perfect. God does not take it back, and to suggest that he does is the worst kind of arrogant blasphemy. It suggests that our sin, and our nature is more powerful than God’s salvation. The true Christian knows better than to believe this folly. I myself was saved when I was three years old. But for years after that I walked far from God; wandering, and searching, and religion hoping. I thought that God hated me, and I was in turn angry at him. Yet I never stopped believing in, or knowing God, though he felt far away. Through events, and inner conviction I came back to the faith. However this would not have happened if I wasn’t saved to begin with. I was saved at age three and no one can tell me differently or convince me that I was not. Though I was saved I didn’t during that days of my wandering, participate in my salvation, or enjoy most of the benefits of a deep abiding relationship with God, until coming back to the faith in high school.
I have always found it funny that we refer to our religion as “the faith” when it is something that we know is real and true. Faith is good for new Christians, but I as a mature Christian have a knowing beyond faith. I have experienced God first hand and I now know his power. When I began to write this God spoke to me about “once saved always saved”. He quoted to me a line from the famous c.s. lewis book, “the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe”. The scene is the crowning of the four chosen children. Aslan who represents the Christ is crowning the four children, which is symbolic of salvation, and preparation for entering “Aslan’s country” (heaven) at the end of their reign (life). They are made royal, and given “thrones”, which represents Christ’s appointing each of his children not only to a seat at his heavenly banquet table, but our assignment to a certain task, vocation, ministry, or calling. Then he declares to them for all to hear and bare witness, “once a king or queen of narnia, always a king or queen of narnia”! He was telling them that they were forever his children, bound to him in eternal salvation, love, honor, and duty!
So with all certainty I can declare to you the truth!
“once saved, always saved”!
















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On The Brehon;

http://theagms.blogspot.com/2013/04/on-brehon.html


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