Saint of the Day: St. Brendan “the Navigator”

Whilst the idea that he reached America may be apocryphal, there is little doubt that he and/or other Irish monks reached the Faroe Islands.

From Aleteia

By Br Silas Henderson, SDS

One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland

Abbot (ca. 486-575)

His life

+ Brendan was born near Tralee, Ireland, and educated by Erc, the bishop of Kerry.

+ After becoming a monk, Brendan established new dmonasteries in Clonfert, Annadown, Inishadround, and Ardfert. He is also said to have founded abbeys in Scotland and Wales.

+ Saint Brendan died at the abbey of Clonfert in 575 and he became one of the most popular Celtic saints. He is honored as one of the saints known as the “Twelve Apostles of Ireland.”

+ Devotion to Saint Brendan became widespread after the publication of a fantastic tale called The Navigation of Saint Brendan, which tells of a sea voyage Brendan undertook with a group of his monks to an island across the Atlantic Ocean called “the Land of Promise of the Saints.”

+ Some of the details of The Navigation of Saint Brendan may be based in fact, as it seems that Irish monks did travel to the Faro Islands and to Iceland.

For prayer and reflection

“The just will flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a Lebanon cedar, planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.”—Psalm 92:13-14

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember the Carmelite priest Saint Simon Stock. After living in Carmelite communities in Rome and at Mount Carmel in Palestine, Simon was elected sixth general of the Carmelite Order. He helped to promote the Order in England and throughout Europe, playing a significant role in redefining the life and ministry of the Carmelites. During a period of intense struggle for the Carmelite friars, Simon experienced a vision of the Blessed Virgin in which she presented to him the brown scapular of Mount Carmel. Following the vision, on January 13, 1252, the Carmelite Order received a letter of protection from Pope Innocent IV. Saint Simon Stock died in the Carmelite monastery in Bordeaux, France, on May 16, 1265.

Prayer

O God, who by the preaching of Thy blessed servant Brendan Thou didst cause the light of the Gospel to shine in Ireland & lands beyond: Grant, we beseech Thee, that, having his life and labours in remembrance, we may show our thankfulness to Thee by following the example of his zeal and patience

Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

R. Amen. 

(from The Roman Missal: Common of a Confessor Abbot)

Pictured: "Saint Brendan and the Whale" from a 15th-century German manuscript