Bearing with the Faults of Others (4)

[Traudel]

Bearing with the Faults of Others (4)

If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for
God’s sake? But God has so ordained, that we may learn to bear with
one another’s burdens, for there is no man without fault, no man
without burden, no man sufficient to himself nor wise enough. Hence we
must support one another, console one another, mutually help, counsel,
and advise, for the measure of every man’s virtue is best revealed in
time of adversity--adversity that does not weaken a man but rather
shows what he is.
--Thomas à Kempis, From the Imitation of Christ Bk 1 Chapter 16

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March 5th - St. Kieran of Saigher
(Sixth Century)

This St. Kieran is commemorated in all dioceses of Ireland, for he is
reputed to have been the “firstborn” of Irish saints.

Kieran’s biography is full of obscurities. It is commonly said,
however, that he left Ireland before the arrival of St. Patrick.
Already a Christian, and of royal Ulster blood, he had determined to
study for the Church; hence, he secured an education at Tours and
Rome. On his return from France, he built himself a little cell in the
woods of Upper Ossory.

There he spent the next few years as a hermit. Inevitably, however,
other devout men joined him to form a monastery called “Saigher” (that
is, “Sier-Ciaran,” – “Kieran’s Seat”). Later, he built nearby a
monastery for women, the care of which he entrusted to his mother
Liadan. Thus Kieran, rather than Brigid, seems to have been the
pioneer founder of Irish women’s convents. Around these foundations
arose a village called Saigher, after the monastery.

When St. Patrick arrived in Ireland to carry the Faith throughout
Erin, Abbot Kieran gave him his glad assistance. Some writers say that
Kieran was then already a bishop, having been ordained while on the
continent. It seems more likely, however, that he was one of the
twelve men that Patrick, on his arrival, consecrated as helpers. It
was customary in the early days for abbots to be ordained as bishops
but to remain heads of their monasteries. The Diocese of Ossory
considers Abbot Kieran as its first bishop. (He may also be the St.
“Piran” venerated in Cornwall, Wales and Brittany.)

Many legends inevitably arose, too charming to leave untold, about
this ancient hermit and bishop.

One story involves the Christmas communion of St. Cuach, Abbess of a
monastery far away from Saigher. She had been Kieran’s nurse when he
was a child, and as a priest he always celebrated Mass for her
community on Christmas night, after having presided at the midnight
Mass of his own abbey. But nobody could figure out how he got to the
convent of Ross-Bennchuir, so many miles distant, and returned that
same night. The chronicler of the story suggests that it was by a
miracle like that in which God once lifted up the prophet Habakkuk by
the hair of his head and sped him from Palestine to Chaldea.

A second tale was that of Chrichidh, the boy from Clonmacnois whom St.
Kieran had admitted to his monastery as a servant. One Easter the
young servant mischievously extinguished the Easter Fire. (This was
lighted at the monastery annually on Holy Saturday, and then kept
burning all year as the only source of warmth or light in the monastic
household.) Kieran predicted that for this thoughtless act, the lad
would meet an untimely death. The very next day, as Chrichidh
sauntered through the woods, he was killed and eaten by a wolf.

Soon afterward, St. Kieran the Younger (of Clonmacnois) arrived at
Saigher, and was invited to dine by its monks. But he said he would
not eat with them until his young friend Chrichidh from Clonmacnois
had been restored to life. Out of hospitality in their chilly abbey,
the older Kieran prayed for a little heat, and a ball of fire landed
in his lap, which sufficed to warm up monks and visitors. Bishop Kieran
then told his namesake that he should not hesitate to sit at table
with them, for the boy was about to enter. Thereupon Chrichidh, raised
from the dead, came in, sat down, and began to eat with his usual
gusto.

The last story also concerns a miraculous resuscitation. King Aengus
of Munster had seven minstrels whose songs about dead heroes pleased
him. These minstrels, wandering through the land, were one day
murdered by the king’s enemies. They threw the bodies into the waters
of a bog and hung their harps on a tree. Aengus mourned the loss. But
St. Kieran informed him that the identity of the murderers and the
place of the killing had been revealed to him. The king accompanied
the saint to the spot. After Kieran had fasted a day on bread and
water, the bog went dry, and he and Aengus saw the seven bodies of the
songsters lying in the mud. Kieran then prayed that they might come
back to life. Although a month dead, all seven promptly arose, their
lives fully restored. Taking their harps, they thanked their
benefactors with a recital of their sweetest songs.

The chronicler concluded, “That bog has remained dry ever since.”

Whatever the truth of this legend, one central fact remains certain:
that God will heed the prayers of a worthy person. “Ask,” said our
Lord, “and you shall receive.”
––Father Robert F. McNamara


Saint Quote:
It is very good and holy to consider the passion of our Lord, and to
meditate on it, for by this sacred path we reach union with God. In
this most holy school we learn true wisdom, for it was there that all
the saints learned it.
-- Saint Paul of the Cross

Bible Quote:
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

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Prayer to Defeat the Work of Satan

O Divine Eternal Father, in union with your Divine Son
and the Holy Spirit, and through the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, I beg You to destroy the Power of your greatest
enemy--the evil spirits.

Cast them into the deepest recesses of hell and chain
them there forever! Take possession of your Kingdom
which You have created and which is rightfully yours.

Heavenly Father, give us the reign of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I repeat this prayer out of pure love for You with every
beat of my heart and with every breath I take. Amen