Brendan stared out from the mountain monastery, peering across the western ocean looking for a glimpse of distant lands... some say he saw them... that they were revealed to him... After fasting for 40 days.. He set sail (supposedly from the gully in the picture) in a Carrach or Coracle, a boat made from wood and leather coated in Animal Fat, on a Seven year Journey...they drifted free at the mercy of the wind and the whim of the waves – in the will of God. They are said to have visited the northern Isles of Scotland, The Faeroe islands, Greenland, Iceland and eventually Newfoundland. There are many places in these countries named after Brendan and in the 1970’s a National Geographic expedition proved not only was the voyage possible but they also encountered many of the things Brendan did, adding credence to a story dismissed by modernity as myth. St Brendan returned to Ireland where he died in 578. I wonder what his story tells us about church/mission... more to come!
Shall I abandon, O King of mysteries, the soft comforts of home? Shall I turn my back on my native land, and turn my face towards the sea?
Shall I put myself wholly at your mercy, without silver, without a horse, without fame, without honour? Shall I throw myself wholly upon You, without sword and shield, without food and drink, without a bed to lie on? Shall I say farewell to my beautiful land, placing myself under Your yoke?
Shall I pour out my heart to You, confessing my manifold sins and begging forgiveness, tears streaming down my cheeks? Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land?
Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict? Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean? O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?
O Christ, will You help me on the wild waves?
Technorati Tags: Emerging Church: Mission: Prayer: Spirituality
Hey Mark, thanks for sharing this. oh that we might be as foolish to through ourselves into the depths and the vastness of God to be carried by His will. To be as wreckless, to let go of everything and drift...to be carried solely by Him. Wild, wild faith...crazy!!!
Posted by: ron | 23/03/2006 at 09:34
Mark just thought I'd pass this comment onto you from a friend on my site...
Ron...
I actually spent time in St. Comgalls Monastery in Ireland, and heard the story of St.Brendan. Very interesting times they were in.
The story goes that St.Comgall started a 24/7 house of prayer, and the intercession went on for upwards of 100 years!
Now some historians think that this monastery was the center of the world concerning avery area of life, and that Comgall sent out missionaries to the "ends of the earth".
This is historical fact, many monks left the area around Bangor Abby, as they called it, and traces of their lives are found in India, Malasia, and even Mongolia.
However, the barbarians from Norway came and wiped out all traces of these Christian Missionaries and left only one tower and a small room, which today still stand as a testiment to St.Comgall and the other men and women that pursued a life of prayer and purpose.
Peace...Ron+
Posted by: ronr | 23/03/2006 at 21:37
Thanks Ron... God has been saying so much about this at the moment... It started with the Francis Drake prayer/poem, then Paulo Coehlo and then St Brendan... There is also the minor connection (coincidence?) that Brendan's journey was for 7 years... the same as ours! We are neginning to explore the possibility of a pilgrimage to both the mountain and the casting off point. If we can catch just a little of the wildness!
Posted by: Mark Berry | 23/03/2006 at 23:03