• March 5th - St. Kieran of Saigher

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Mon Mar 4 08:55:03 2019
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

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

    This St. Kieran is commemorated in all dioceses of Ireland, for he is reput=
    ed to have been the =E2=80=9Cfirstborn=E2=80=9D of Irish saints.

    Kieran's biography is full of obscurities. It is commonly said, how=
    ever, that he left Ireland before the arrival of St. Patrick. Already a Chr= istian, and of royal Ulster blood, he had determined to study for the Churc=
    h; hence, he secured an education at Tours and Rome. On his return from Fra= nce, 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 d= evout men joined him to form a monastery called =E2=80=9CSaigher=E2=80=9D (= that is, =E2=80=9CSier-Ciaran,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CKieran's=
    Seat=E2=80=9D). Later, he built nearby a monastery for women, the care of = which he entrusted to his mother Liadan. Thus Kieran, rather than Brigid, s= eems to have been the pioneer founder of Irish women's convents. Ar=
    ound these foundations arose a village called Saigher, after the monastery.

    When St. Patrick arrived in Ireland to carry the Faith throughout Erin, Abb=
    ot Kieran gave him his glad assistance. Some writers say that Kieran was th=
    en 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 hi=
    s arrival, consecrated as helpers. It was customary in the early days for a= bbots to be ordained as bishops but to remain heads of their monasteries. T=
    he Diocese of Ossory considers Abbot Kieran as its first bishop. (He may al=
    so be the St. =E2=80=9CPiran=E2=80=9D venerated in Cornwall, Wales and Brit= tany.)

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

    One story involves the Christmas communion of St. Cuach, Abbess of a monast= ery 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 Chr= istmas 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 st= ory 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 t=
    o Chaldea.

    A second tale was that of Chrichidh, the boy from Clonmacnois whom St. Kier=
    an had admitted to his monastery as a servant. One Easter the young servant=
    mischievously extinguished the Easter Fire. (This was lighted at the monas= tery 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 n= ext 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 th=
    em until his young friend Chrichidh from Clonmacnois had been restored to l= ife. 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 visitor. Bishop Kieran then told his namesake that he should = not hesitate to sit at table with them, for the boy was about to enter. The= reupon 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 Mun= ster had seven minstrels whose songs about dead heroes pleased him. These m= instrels, wandering through the land, were one day murdered by the king=E2= =80=99s enemies. They threw the bodies into the waters of a bog and hung th= eir harps on a tree. Aengus mourned the loss. But St. Kieran informed him t= hat the identity of the murderers and the place of the killing had been rev= ealed 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 th=
    e seven bodies of the songsters lying in the mud. Kieran then prayed that t= hey might come back to life. Although a month dead, all seven promptly aros=
    e, their lives fully restored. Taking their harps, they thanked their benef= actors with a recital of their sweetest songs.

    The chronicler concluded, =E2=80=9CThat bog has remained dry ever since.=E2= =80=9D

    Whatever the truth of this legend, one central fact remains certain: that G=
    od will heed the prayers of a worthy person. =E2=80=9CAsk,=E2=80=9D said ou=
    r Lord, =E2=80=9Cand you shall receive.=E2=80=9D


    Saint Quote:
    It is very good and holy to consider the passion of our Lord, and to medita=
    te on it, for by this sacred path we reach union with God. In this most hol=
    y 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,
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
    19=C2 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;


    <><><><>
    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

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