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A beautiful Celtic prayer

Lynne Baab • Thursday November 12 2026

A beautiful Celtic prayer

In the late 90s, I interviewed several dozen people at midlife about the ways their congregations were — and were not — supporting them in that life stage. The interviews provided rich material for a book. At roughly the same time, I began reading about Celtic spirituality, filled with paradox, love for the Trinity, joy in God’s presence in nature, and passion for experiencing God’s presence in everyday life. I became convinced that Celtic spirituality could be very helpful for the challenges of midlife. Now I know it’s helpful at all life stages.

After I finished that first book on midlife, focused on congregations, I realized I wanted to write a book about midlife spirituality. One of the six spiritual paths described in the book is Celtic Christianity. If you want to know about who the Celts were, look here. Today, I want to give you a beautiful prayer that captures the richness of the Celtic imagination and language for God. This prayer, called the Litany of the Trinity, is ascribed to Mugron, abbot of Iona from 964 to 980/981.

You can see one page of the prayer in an ancient manuscript here. This over-the-top prayer exemplifies an extravagant and deep love for the Trinity, evident in many Celtic prayers. This prayer lists MANY names for the three persons of the Trinity, which can feel overwhelming at first. Try to read slowly. Maybe you’ll notice two or three names that particularly jump out at you. Bring those names into your walk with God today.

Have mercy on us,
O God, Father almighty!
O God of hosts,
O God most high,
O Lord of the world,
O indescribable God,
O Creator of the elements,
O invisible God,
O untouchable God,
O unjudgeable God,
O immeasurable God,
O immaculate God,
O immortal God,
O immoveable God,
O eternal God,
O perfect God,
O merciful God,
O admirable God,
O awesome God,
O golden good,
O Father in heaven,
have mercy on us!

Have mercy on us,
O almighty God,
O Jesus Christ,
O Son of living God!
O Son that was born twice,
O only-begotten of God the Father,
O first child of Mary the Virgin,
O Son of David,
O Son of Abraham,
O beginning of all,
O end of the world,
O Word of God,
O jewel of the heavenly kingdom,
O life of all,
О eternal truth,
О image, О likeness, О figure of God the Father,
О hand of God,
О arm of God,
О strength of God,
О right hand of God,
О true wisdom,
О true light that enlightens all darkness,
О guiding light,
О sun of truth,
О morning star,
О radiance of the Godhead,
О splendor of the eternal light,
О intelligence of the mystic world,
О mediator of all,
О betrothed of the Church,
О faithful shepherd of the flock,
О expectation of the faithful,
О angel of the great counsel,
О true prophet,
О true apostle,
О true teacher,
О high priest,
О master,
О Nazarene,
О ever living satisfaction,
О tree of life,
О true vine,
О sprout of the root of Jesse,
О King of Israel,
О Savior,
О door of the world,
О chosen flower of the plain,
О lily of the valleys,
О rock of strength,
О cornerstone,
О heavenly Zion,
О foundation of faith,
О innocent lamb,
О diadem,
О silent sheep,
О redeemer of humanity,
О true God,
О true man,
О lion,
О ox,
О eagle,
О crucified Christ,
О judge of Doom,
have mercy on us!

Have mercy on us,
О almighty God,
О Holy Spirit!
О Spirit that is nobler than all Spirits,
О finger of God,
О guard of the Christians,
О comforter of the sorrowful,
О gentle one,
О merciful intercessor,
О giver of true wisdom,
О author of Holy Scripture,
О ruler of speech,
О sevenfold Spirit,
О Spirit of wisdom,
О Spirit of understanding,
О Spirit of counsel,
О Spirit of strength,
О Spirit of knowledge,
О Spirit of gentleness,
О Spirit of awe,
О Spirit of charity,
О Spirit of grace,
О Spirit by whom all high things are ordained,
have mercy on us.

O Father, O Son, O Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Have mercy on us, eternal God,
O God in heaven, have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us, O glorious God,
Trinity glorious, ruling the circle of the earth.
O God, to your name be honor and praise,
now and forever. Amen.

May the almighty God be magnified in all the earth. [1]

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Next week: Another beautiful prayer.  Illustration by Dave Baab: Celtic Cross.  

A few years ago, I serialized the chapter on Celtic Christianity from A Renewed Spirituality: Finding Fresh Paths at Midlife into individual blog posts:

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[1] Litany of the Trinity by Mugron, d. 980-981. Source of this version: Kuno Meyer in Hibernica Minora, 1894, 43-44.



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