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.

From Celtic Wisdom:

"...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

More about Clonmacnoise

Plague

The Yellow Plague killed many Irish in the 6th century, including many monks and abbots. One of the most famous was St. Ciaran, founder of Clonmacnoise, an important early Christian monastic center. He died at a young age, and his death is attributed to this plague. But this disease is most known in Ireland in the 7th century. Bede, the great historian and author of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, mentions this plague, which spread from Britain to Ireland and seems to have been at its peak in the year 664 when a solar eclipse also occurred.

The disease was likely spread from mosquitoes to mice to men, but at that time where it came from and how it was spread was unknown. It's no wonder the people thought the wrath of God was raining down on them. This period of time is also known as the Dark Ages, and it must have been a horrifying time to be alive.

St. Colman, an Irish abbot living in the 7th century, fled to an island with his followers where they believed the plague could not reach them, beyond the ninth wave of the sea. He composed a poem. Here is a portion of it from my book, Celtic Wisdom, Treasures From Ireland:

The blessing of God come upon us. May the son of Mary cover us. May he protect us this night, wherever we go through out great numbers. Whether at rest or at motion, at sitting or standing, the King of Heaven be against every assault. This is the supplication that we offer up.

photo via creative commons by Sandy Sarsfield

County Cork. St. Colman may have sailed from here to avoid the plague.

Modern medicine has done much good. We no longer fear many of the illnesses that destroyed large populations of the ancient world. But there are still some we haven't defeated. In those cases, St. Colman's prayer is still relevant.