Deep Peace to You

As the Christmas season is upon us,

may I pass along a Gaelic prayer.

May peace reign in our hearts, and

may we spread love and harmony

through our actions.
May we all be instruments of peace.

Deep peace of the running wave to you,

of water flowing, rising and falling,

sometimes advancing, sometimes receding…

May the stream of your life flow unimpeded!

Deep peace of the running wave to you!

Deep peace of the flowing air to you,

which fans your face on a sultry day

the air which you breathe deeply, rhythmically,

which imparts to you energy, consciousness, life.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you!

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,

who, herself unmoving, harbours the movements

and facilitates the life of the ten thousand creatures,

while resting contented, stable, tranquil.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you!

Deep peace of the shining stars to you,

which stay invisible till darkness falls

and discloses their pure and shining presence

beaming down in compassion on our turning world.

Deep peace of the shining stars to you!

Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you,

of unpretentious fold who, watching and waiting,

spend long hours out on the hillside,

expecting in simplicity some Coming of the Lord.

Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you!

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you,

who, swift as the wave and pervasive as the air,

quiet as the earth and shining like a star,

breathes into us His Peace and His Spirit.

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you!

Adapted from the Gaelic, by Mary Rogers

Love to all, and Peace on Earth.