LENT 2009--JOURNEYING WITH ST. BRENDAN

 JOURNEYING THIS LENT WITH ST. BRENDAN

At Brandon Creek, on Ireland's Dingle Peninsula, where the water empties into the Atlantic Ocean, there is a little shrine.  At first glance, it looks odd--a little bronze boat with a man in it, pushing out to sea.  The holy place is a memorial to St. Brendan, one of the four great holy saints of Ireland.  Most famous for his voyage to the uttermost West, where he surely landed in America sometime in the sixth century A. D., St. Brendan seems the most youthful, adventurous, enthusiastic--and yet the most haunted--of the four saints--and that's saying a lot since the others, Patrick, Brigid, and Columba, are no slackers in these areas either.  He was a joyous man who was conscious of his own sinfulness and need of Christ.  His journey over the waves, however, is primarily a spiritual one, towards God, towards Christ the Light, surrounded by the Holy Spirit.  Catholics sometimes don't know how to hold a balance between acknowledging sinfulness and joyously trusting in God.  St. Brendan does this perfectly.  He's a good saint for Lent.  Enjoy the little poem I wrote above Brandon Creek a few years ago.  A blessed Lent to one and all!

RIDER OF THE WAVES

Rider of the waves,

    Brendan of the many voyages,

Least known but bravest

    of the four holy ones of Eire.

I thought of you today,

Askling you to bless me,

Poor wayfarer as I am

    on the lonely seas of life.

Did you hear above gull cries?

Will you answer a humble prayer?

 

Just a portion of your courage,        

    and I could make it.

Just a drop of your kind charity,

    and I would havew the strength to go on.

Just a shadow of your stirring vision,

    and I could find my way.

 

Brendan of the holy path

Hear my cry, know my story;

Pray to the Christ who gave you strength;

Pray that he may uphold me.

My tiny boat is frail;

I have no companions to comfort me.

Alone am I,

Bereft of hope.

St. Brendan, hear my prayer!

Rider of the waves,

Sailor of the sea,

Friend of all in need.

Hear my prayer!

Amen!

        At Brandon Creek, Dingle, Ireland, August 3, 2005

        St. Brendan sailed from here on his famous voyage.

 

Comments

[Steven Barr]

Steven Barr here , I love your blog , and check it all the time , I have a friend who when we met asked my where my family name was from , I told him I thought we were originally from England , but wasn't real sure , since then he's been trying to convince me I'm Irish ( like him ) , if you can give me a heads up on that I'd appreciate it , keep up the good work

*****It's a Scotch-Irish name. If you go to Glasgow, you will find it everywhere. Barr's Irn (sic) Brew is a soft drink--pretty terrible really--that is very popular there. You will also find the name in Donegal and Northern Ireland where many Scotch-Irish were transplanted nearly half a millennia ago.

[Steven Barr]

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me Fr. Eric , I'll definitely explore that now that I have an idea where to look , I'll also be checking out your book soon and continuing to enjoy the blog , thanks and God Bless
-- Steven Barr

[Randy]

I'm looking forward to reading your book as my daughter and I head to the Dingle peninsula in April. We hope to walk some of the Cosán na Naomh, and your background on Saint Brendan enriches the possibilities.It's enriching exploring the backgrounds of faith...even a few of us Protestants do that!

****Thanks Randy--enjoy the book and the trip. Just remember, folks sometimes get depressed that it rains so much there. Usually, it's a soft rain and you can still do stuff outside. How else will it ever stay green. You will love the Dingle Peninsula. Very wild and dramatic.