THE BENEDICTINE PRAYER OF THE HEART

LORD JESUS, HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER

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AN ANCIENT CHURCH STILL TEACHING THE ANCIENT

TRUTH AND LIVING OUT THE ANCIENT FAITH

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THE MASS AND THE DAILY PRAYING AND STUDY OF SCRIPTURE ARE

THE TWIN PILLARS UPON WHICH REST OUR HOPE FOR SALVATION

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The Celtic Orthodox Church is

so Ancient it demands respect

is so Traditional it is refreshing

and so Conservative it is reassuring.

HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH

A MONASTIC CHAPEL LOCATED IN THE RESIDENCE OF THE

CELTIC ORTHODOX BENEDICTINE FATHERS

1703 MACOMBER ST., TOLEDO, OHIO 43606

PHONE 419.206.2190 / E-MAIL amdg@bex.net

HOME PAGE: http://www.celticorthodoxy.com/bkceltic-orthodox-church

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THE CELTS ARE ISRAELITES UNDER ANOTHER NAME

The word Celt is the Anglicized form of the Greek word Keltoi, which

means “the people who are different.” In Scripture, all nations, except

the Twelve Tribes of Israel, are referred to as Gentiles (Foreigners),

so the only people who are different are Israel. The word Celt is

therefore another word for Israelite. The Celts are part of the Ten

“lost” Tribes of Israel; as are the Tuatha de Danaan and Milesians. The

Irish people are a mixture of Celts; Danaans; Milesians; Judah/Zarahites

(of the “Red Hand” – Genesis 38:28-30); (Dan-ish) Vikings and Norsemen

and are all racially cousins.

THE CELTS, ACCORDING TO GOD, ARE ISRAELITES.

The word British is not English; it is Hebrew.

Brit (Berit) means Covenant in Hebrew and Welsh

Ish means man or people of, in Hebrew and English

Therefore British means The People of The Covenant,

in other words, the People Israel of The Covenant.

However, the Celtish / Irish people are Israelites descended from

Jacob/Israel’s fifth of his twelve sons, who was called Dan and fathered

the Tuatha de Danaan – the Tribe of Dan (the Irish and Danish).

Therefore the Irish people are Celtish / British-Israelites by birth

i.e. People of The Covenant in the Torah in the Bible and in The Ark,

which is buried at Tara.

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“THE MASS AND THE DAILY STUDY AND PRAYING OF SCRIPTURE ARE

THE TWIN PILLARS UPON WHICH REST OUR HOPE FOR SALVATION”

(Bishop Brian J. Kennedy, O.S.B.)

Our Lord assured his disciples that he had come, not to destroy, but to fulfill,

the Law. It is not surprising, therefore, to find the earliest Christians,

notably the Apostles, conforming to the traditional customs of worship of

the old Covenant: keeping the Passover, or going up to the Temple to pray

at the appointed "Hours of Prayer," or keeping those hours as times of private devotion.

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Likewise, we find St. Paul, wherever he might be, seeking out the local synagogue on the Sabbath, taking part in its worship and availing himself of its opportunities for teaching. At the same time we find Christians keeping strictly Christian observances, notably the First Day of the Week, with its Eucharistic Breaking of Bread as the distinctive act of worship. Even when the Church had overflowed the bounds of Judaism and was overwhelmingly Gentile in its membership, there was a survival of devotional practices of Jewish origin. Chief among these was the observance of the daily praying of the Psalms and the daily prayer and study of the Scriptures. The practice of daily reading and praying the Scriptures became part

of the faith as once delivered to the saints as it had been part of the practice of the Jewish people during the life of Christ and the Apostles. This Lectio Divina emulates the worship of the Temple in the time of Christ.

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Lectio Divina of the Prophet Daniel

TO DAILY PRAY THE PSALMS AND SCRIPTURE

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TO PRAY AS DID THE EARLY CHURCH

“YOU ARE MISTAKEN, NOT KNOWING THE

SCRIPTURES NOR THE POWER OF GOD”

(Jesus Christ reported in Matthew 22:29)

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THE LECTIO DIVINA OF THE PROPHET DANIEL

IS A GIFT FROM THE ANCIENTS TO US TODAY

AND OUR LEGACY TO A GENERATION NOT YET BORN

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Daniel 6:10

Now, when Daniel knew this, that is to say, that the law was made,

he went into his house: and opening the windows in his upper chamber

towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored and

gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before.

The Lectio Divina of the Prophet Daniel is designed to be prayed

three times a day. Three Chapters from Scripture with the

attendant Psalm is prayed in the morning, one at

mid-day and three at evening time. The practice of reading and

praying the Scriptures three times a day was a firmly established

practice in the Jewish community before and during the life of Christ.

To this day, the Orthodox Jews continue to pray three

times a day. This practice, evidenced by the

Prophet Daniel continues in the Celtic Orthodox Church today.

CHRIST AND THE APOSTLES PRAYED THE

PSALMS AND SCRIPTURE THREE TIMES A DAY

The first coincided with the morning sacrifice, at the 3rd hour of

the morning, at 9 A.M. The second was at the 6th

hour, or at noon, and coincided with the thanksgiving for the

chief meal of the day. The 3rd hour of prayer coincided

with the evening sacrifice, at the ninth hour (3:00 P.M.)

“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud, and he

shall hear my voice.” Psalm 54:18

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his

house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he

kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks

before his God, as he had done before.”

DANIEL PRAYED THE SCRIPTURES AND PSALMS THREE TIMES A DAY

“In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the

Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the

prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.”

(Daniel 9:2)

THIS OLD TESTAMENT PRACTICE WAS CARRIED

ON BY THE APOSTLES AND THE EARLY CHURCH

Acts 3:1

Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer.

Acts 10: 3

This man saw in a vision manifestly, about the ninth hour of the

day, an angel of God coming in unto him and saying to him: Cornelius.

Acts 10:9

And on the next day, whilst they were going on their journey and

drawing nigh to the city, Peter went up to the higher parts of the

house to pray, about the sixth hour.

Acts 10:30

And Cornelius said: Four days ago, unto this hour, I was praying in

my house, at the ninth hour and behold a man stood before me in

white apparel and said:

THE PRACTICE OF PRAYING AT THE

3RD , 6TH , AND 9TH HOURS LIVES ON IN

THE CHURCH AS THE LECTIO DIVINA

THAT IS PRAYED THREE TIMES A DAY.

THREE CHAPTERS IN THE MORNING,

ONE CHAPTER IN THE AFTERNOON

AND THREE CHAPTERS IN THE EVENING.

THE DAILY STUDY AND PRAYER OF SCRIPTURE IS PART

OF THE FAITH AS ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS

(Bishop Brian J. Kennedy, O.S.B.)

“IGNORANCE OF SCRIPTURE IS IGNORANCE OF JESUS CHRIST

(Saint Jerome)

Soul saving repentance is not possible apart from praying the

Scriptures, as the Scriptures in a unique way convict us of sin. Through

the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit speaks to our heart, soul and mind of

the need for repentance and through the Word of God blesses us with the

grace of conversion leading to salvation in Christ.

Without the Scriptures it is impossible to know Jesus or understand the

power of God.

The Spirit in the words of Scriptures reverberates in the heart creating

a closer union with Christ and through Christ with the Father. This

“Synergy with the Father in Christ” is the product of the Holy Spirit

and can only come to fruition through the abiding presence of the Word

of God.

Christ continues to bring the love of the Father to His people and

reveal His own love for us from the Tabernacle on the Altar. Christ

continues to be our Savior, our Redeemer, our life, our sweetness and

our hope. From the Tabernacle on the Altar Christ ALONE remains the gate

of Heaven, the SOLE arbiter and dispenser of all God’s Graces and gifts;

The Mediator of all graces. We are healed by the Sacred Wounds of

Christ, we are redeemed by His Precious Blood and we are made clean by

His spoken word. It is impossible to be sealed in the Blood of the Lamb

without also experiencing the spoken Word of God by which we are made

clean. (John 15:3)

St. Benedict calls the disciple to the school of the Gospel: “Let us

walk in the paths of the Lord by the guidance of the Gospel” (R Prol).

By these words the Father of monks expresses his intention to establish

a life patterned after the Gospel. This is the only true foundation on

which a community rests. St. Benedict was well aware that his work

represented an embodiment of the Gospel. St. Benedict called praying

the Scriptures the “OPUS DEI”, which is Latin for “WORK OF GOD.”

THE DAILY MASS AND THE DAILY PRAYER AND STUDY

OF SCRIPTURE ARE THE TWIN PILLARS UPON WHICH

REST OUR HOPE FOR SALVATION

(Bishop Brian J. Kennedy, O.S.B.)

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