A Note From Rob ...

     This is one of my favorite prayers. It tells of leaving the certain past for a promising future. I think of it at this time of year when clergy, churches and families in the world beyond the church begin new relationships and opportunities.

     St. Brendan left the security of one place to embrace his call in another. In a sense, each of us answers this call as we take a risk or seize an opportunity. May the God who called St. Brendan guide us in such calls in our lives.

St. Brendan’s Prayer

     Shall I abandon, O King of mysteries, the soft comforts of home? Shall I turn my back on my native land, and turn my face towards the sea?

     Shall I put myself wholly at your mercy, without silver, without a horse, without fame, without honor? Shall I throw myself wholly upon You, without sword and shield, without food and drink, without a bed to lie on? Shall I say farewell to my beautiful land, placing myself under Your yoke?

     Shall I pour out my heart to You, confessing my manifold sins and begging forgiveness, tears streaming down my cheeks? Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land?

     Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict? Shall I take my own tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean? O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea? O Christ, will You help me on the wide waves?

(Ascribed to St. Brendan the Navigator before sailing across the Atlantic.)

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