New Years Eve (5)

 
 Repose of Sleep

O God of life, darken not to me your light,

O God of life, close not to me your joy,

O God of life, shut not to me your door,

O God of life, refuse not to me your mercy,

O God of life, quench to me your wrath,

And O God of life, crown to me your gladness,

O God of life, crown to me your gladness.

Ancient Celtic prayer collected by Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912), published in Carmina Gadelica (Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1992). These are prayers, hymns, and incantations collected in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland in the 18th century.

 Graphic: Close up of one side of the Celtic Rest. a sculpture in oak by Mary Mc Namara, outside Templegate Hotel in County Clare, Ireland.