Three Essential Things

Three is a sacred number in the Celtic tradition, and often the saints expressed their own desires or commitments in terms of the number three.

St. Columba of Iona asked God for three things: virginity, wisdom, and pilgrimage. St. Ita of Killeedy focused on faith, simplicity, and generosity. Each is a variation on wisdom for the three essential things one must do in life.

None of the monks say the same three things, which open us up to the possibility that what is essential to one person will be different to another. Similarly in different seasons of life, what is essential for us might change.

Deeply ingrained in the heart and soul of Celtic Christian spirituality is the mystery of one God in three persons, a truth that is taught clearly in the Bible, even though the word Trinity is not found in Scripture. Three in one; one in three. 

Esther de Waal writes: “Here is a profound experience of God from a people who are deeply Trinitarian without any philosophical struggle about how that is to be expressed intellectually. Perhaps the legend of St. Patrick stooping down to pick up the shamrock in order to explain the Trinity is after all more significant than we might have thought. It is as though he were saying to those early Irish people: Your God is a God who is Three-in-One and this is most natural and immediately accessible thing in the world.”y

The image of three in one is found frequently in Celtic art and poetry. Analogies from nature and daily life permeate the Celtic poems about the Trinity:

     Three folds of the cloth, 

        yet only one napkin is there,
     Three joints of the finger, 

        but still only one finger fair,
     Three leaves of the shamrock, 

        yet no more than one shamrock to wear,
     Frost, snow-flakes and ice, 

        all water their origin share,
     Three Persons in God; 

        to one God alone we make prayer.

Reflect on the three things in your own life you count as most essential. Hold them as principles or touchstones for your life right now as you continue your spiritual journey. One way to do this is to imagine you are at the end of your life looking back. For what do you want to be remembered?

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
—Micah 6:8

Glory be to the Father,

Who by His almighty power and love created me,

making me in the image and likeness of God.

Glory be to the Son,

Who by His Precious Blood delivered me from hell,

and opened for me the gates of heaven.

Glory be to the Holy Spirit,

Who has sanctified me in the sacrament of Baptism,

and continues to sanctify me

by the graces I receive daily from His bounty.

Glory be to the Three adorable Persons of the Holy Trinity, now and forever. Amen