A couple years ago my friend Gilbert Márkus and I put together a translation of an early medieval Irish prayer called The Prayer of Saint Brendan. It dates from the eighth century and wasn’t actually written by Brendan himself but some of his later disciples, much like the Breastplate of Saint Patrick.
Gilbert is a scholar of Celtic studies and Gaelic from the University of Glasgow. He did the actual translation, which I formatted and finessed into something people can pray on their own. I also wrote a short introduction placing the prayer in its historical context, exploring some of the ways early Celtic Christians embodied their prayers. The cover art was generously provided by Kreg Yingst.
The Prayer of Saint Brendan is quite long and, at times, repetitive. It might be helpful to think of it as a personal liturgy containing many different prayers. We don’t usually write prayers like this today, preferring to be succinct and never repeat ourselves. But I want to invite you to try something new, or in this case very old.
We often find it easier to appreciate repetitive prayers in other religions. A mantra with a simple melody is admired in eastern religions, but we often scoff at Christian worship bands who do the same thing. In any case, The Prayer of Brendan is not at all a mantra. Its form is repetitive but its content is not.
In the prayer attributed to him, Brendan recalls the sacred stories of Christian tradition. His primary theological interest is the liberation of body and soul. Though the text predates Liberation Theology by a millennia, it is very much in the same spirit. The phrase “Liberate me Lord, just like you liberated…” introduces each story in a long list of Old and New Testament passages in which God sets people free.
Near the end, there is a Celtic Lorica prayer for protection, invoking the elements of nature to form a breastplate of protection for body and soul. The text also includes instructions for self reflection through journaling, and an invitation to dedicate the prayer to someone else.
The Prayer of Saint Brendan is very much a product of its time. If you are used to reading modern Celtic prayer books (many of which are beautiful and well worth your time) this text may feel unfamiliar to you. It has a medieval Catholic style to it, written as it was in the Latin west. Perhaps, if you are able to see past the old fashioned language, you will find something meaningful to your own condition. Let the wheat and the tares grow together as you participate in a genuine Celtic Christian contemplative ritual.
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