Sep 10, 2010

St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, Sept. 9


Born in Connacht, Ireland, c. 516; died at Clonmacnoise, c. 556. Saint
Ciaran is one of the 12 Apostles of Ireland.

Okay, I'm a day late and a dollar short. Sorry about that. But I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to recognize one of the most interesting ancient Irish saints.

"...the founder of Clonmacnoise, an important monastic centre. As a student he is said to have been so generous that he gave away his only book to new arrivals at the monastery in Clonard and did not complete his own studies on time because of it. He is one of the few famous monks without a royal heritage. His father was a tradesman, possibly a carpenter or a chariot-maker. He was often told that because of his common background his sacrifice to a life of devotion was not as significant as that of others who had given up a royal inheritance. Once, when he visited St. Enda on Aran, he had a vision of a great tree growing in the middle of Ireland with branches spreading to all four corners of the land. Enda believed that this meant that Ciaran would be that tree of great influence, and he was, in a matter [manner] of speaking, by founding Clonmacnoise."

Previous related blog post: The Celtic Tree

1 comment:

  1. St. Ciaran is one of my favorite Irish saints. Thanks for the post. I love Clonmacnoise.

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