The Wild Goose of Celtic Christianity

April 14, 2017

Courtyard of Iona Abbey

No, Wild Goose is not the name of a new drink. In Celtic Christianity (around 500 AD) , the Holy Spirit is known as the “Wild Goose”.

Unlike the dove of peace of Roman Christianity (steeped in cultural control) , the  goose of  Celtic Christianity fired-up the mind and soul of the individual with song, dance, and reveries of beauty.

The photograph above is of  an old abbey courtyard on the Isle of Iona, Scotland. This is where Celtic Christianity began.  The courtyard frames an icon if the radiant bird.    Children cheerfully  celebrate the  bronze symbol of the  supernatural spirit that  brings, inspiration, comfort and wisdom to all who seek her.

Twelve hundred years later, in the 18th century, the Wild Goose became gentrified. She emerged as “Mother Goose”, the teller-of-tales to help raise children into virtuous adults known for their strength of character and robust imagination.

The Wild Goose  is  actually aligned with the Christ’s insight into the Spirit. After all, does this description by Christ sound like the dove of peace?  “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” [John 3:8]

This is Good Friday. According to Christ, he would  depart but he would not leave  any of us orphans. He would send a comforter. In a way, Good Friday is the Christ making good on his promise of family through the spirit, or as the Celts would say, through the Wild Goose.

[I discovered  this  photo of the children  in the Iona Abbey in 2015. It has never made an appearance, until now, on the Internet. The date of the photo is unknown.]

 

 

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