Element 1: Study and Application
of the Celtic Christian Way

"Daily Bible reading is the heart of the Way of life. In addition, we study the history of the Celtic church, becoming familiar with such saints as Aidan, Bridget, Caedmon, Columba, Cuthbert, David, Hilda, Illtyd,  Ninian, Oswald and Patrick. We remember their feast days and consider them as companions on our journeys of faith. We also bear in mind their strong link with the Desert Fathers and the Eastern Church, and wish to draw them  also into our field of studies. It is essential that study is not understood solely as an intellectual exercise. All that we learn is not for the sake of study itself, but in order that what we learn should be lived. We encourage the Celtic practice of memorizing scriptures, and learning through the use of creative arts."

Addressing the problem:
"Of the making of many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." So spoke the world-weary author of the book of Ecclesiastes. For the modern person with a realistic  view of our hectic pace of life, this first element can be a source of discouragement. Where, in the midst of out clamor, can we find time for serious study? But before we throw our hands up in despair, let's look closer at what we are to study and why.

"Daily Bible reading is at the heart of this way of life." It is an easy sentence to read and then pass on; an obvious statement to begin a document on Christian discipleship. Yet to call something the heart means that nothing that follows will have life unless we attend to this. Oftentimes our image of Bible study is a desk littered with Greek lexicons and weighty commentaries with reams of notes scattered about. The image is a misleading  one for this discipline is not about becoming a biblical scholar, but about allowing our minds and heart to be transformed by the Word of God.

The final problem is that of idealism/enthusiasm. If we spend practically no time reading in our day, then a resolution to begin with a half hours study tomorrow is doomed from the start. When beginning a new discipline the best  advice we can follow is that for feeding infants: feed little and often. Five minutes a day is a good place to begin, particularly if we can occasionally take more than one five-minute session in a day.

Understanding the purposes:
"It is essential that study is not understood solely as an intellectual exercise. All that we learn is not for the sake of study itself, but in order that what we learn should be lived." Western  culture is doomed to live as a thrall to its emotions, for it persists in the delusion that it lives in its intellect. No amount of study will change the human heart. No program of education is capable of delivering us from hatred and violence. We do not study to add more information or to increase comprehension, but to gather the raw materials needed for the Holy Spirit to work with our spirit for our transformation. To gather all the materials  required to build a house and dump it on site is the foundation of alandfill, not a home. But without the materials, we are confined to wishing for a warm house as we freeze in an icy wind.

Each day, through television, magazine, radio, books, Internet, film and interaction with others our minds and very selves are bombarded with data. Some sticks with us consciously, some unconsciously and some simply passes by with no discernible impact. A discipline of study means we undertake to direct what data we receive and store. If we feed ourselves nothing but trivialities, then that is all we have with which to build our lives. If we want to live lives of meaning, purpose and substance, then we must feed ourselves accordingly. Further, unless we live as hermits, cut off from media input and human contact, we cannot avoid the intake of data and impressions that trivialize and dehumanize us. To avoid becoming the victim of such input, we must give ourselves an alternative.

Paul urges the Roman Christians: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect."  (Romans 12:2) The J. B. Phillips paraphrase is more direct: "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold..." Our discipline of study brings knowledge and understanding that are the building blocks of that transformation.

Making a plan:
As we mentioned earlier, it is most unhelpful to attempt a discipline of 30 minutes of study each day when we've done none before. But in the five minutes with which we begin, where should we look? The  Celtic saints, inheritors of an oral culture, memorized whole books of the Bible. While memorization as n form of learning is held in low esteem today, it has the value of being able to take the Bible with you wherever you go. The Navigators have some excellent programs of Bible memorization available at most Christian bookstores. The process of choosing where to begin may be quite challenging. The Bible is not so much a book as a library. One can read the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation by means of a number of study programs, and this may well be a good place to start, though there are passages of genealogy and census taking that can be rough going. Once we've  read the book through, we may want to return to special sections for a revisiting. Two books of Scripture that seem very important to the Celtic saints were the Psalms and the Gospel of John. The Book of Common Prayer has the  whole Book of Psalms in it and the psalms are divided into sixty sections for morning and evening reading in a thirty-day cycle.

The history of the Celtic saints and their communities are part of our reading content as they put us in touch with the distinct expression of Christian discipleship that characterizes Celtic Christianity. There are many  excellent works now available and a bibliography is being assembled for distribution. However, in the meantime be on the lookout for works by David Adam, Esther de Waal, Ed Sellner and Ray Simpson.

To close we return to an earlier exhortation: begin this discipline from where you are, not where you wish you were. Little and often is the best way to begin. Reading a Psalm a day is better than not opening the scriptures at  all. Reading Esther de Waal's Celtic Way of Prayer in short segments over a year is better than postponing it forever due to lack of sufficient time at one setting.

Being transformed through the renewal of our minds is not pious wistfulness but practical advice. Therefore, the best way to go about it is to be just as practical in our discipline of study