St. Brendan
Born:
c. 484 AD
Ciarraighe Luachra, Ireland
Died:
c. 577 AD
Annaghdown, Ireland
Beatified:
1990
Feast
Day:
May 16
Venerated in:
Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican
Communion Churches
Patron Saint of:
Navigators, boatmen,
divers, mariners, sailors,
travelers, whales
Prayer of Saint Brendan
Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and
break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the
darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count
for You.
Amen
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?
