In the House of Memory: Ancient Celtic Wisdom for Everyday Life

Anything Celtic seems all the rage these days, whether it's the kitschy steps of Riverdance or the more spiritual explorations of Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization. Steve Rabey, a veteran religion journalist, briefs the reader on the pre-Christian roots of Celtic spirituality and follows up with an account of the Christianization of pagan beliefs and practices and the full flowering of Celtic spirituality. If this book has a weakness, it may be the author's tendency to pooh-pooh connections between any spiritual tradition and institutional religion--in this case, Roman Catholicism. The assumption seems to be that organized religion had nothing to do with the development of what is best, deepest and most beautiful about Celtic spirituality; therefore, we may ignore it today. In spite of such criticisms, Rabey retells the stories of monks and monasteries, celebrates the Celtic affection for silence, solitude and prayer, and the Celtic love for learning in a manner that is irresistible. (Nov.)