Our Lady of Knock (Chnoc Mhuire) (August 21, 1879)
"The Story of Knock began on Thursday evening of the 21st August, 1879, Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the church at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland. Beside them and a little to their left was an altar with a cross and the figure of a lamb, around which angels hovered. There were fifteen official witnesses to the apparition – young and old – who watched and prayed for two hours in the pouring rain. Two Commissions of Enquiry, in 1879 and 1936, accepted their testimony as trustworthy and satisfactory" (from the Knock Shrine's site).
It was only a few years before this that a number of large reforms were introduced, such as the introduction of railways and new laws regarding property. In a time of change, the appearance of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph with St. John marked a reminder of stability and tradition in a society whose change many people found bewildering. For the immediate residents of Knock, Co. Mayo and the subsequent pilgrims from all of Ireland and the world, Our Lady stands always as a sign of the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As Queen of Ireland she is constantly in advocacy for her children and forever their patroness and protectress.
A song, written by Dana (Rosemary Scallon), about Knock can be found here.
"The Story of Knock began on Thursday evening of the 21st August, 1879, Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the church at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland. Beside them and a little to their left was an altar with a cross and the figure of a lamb, around which angels hovered. There were fifteen official witnesses to the apparition – young and old – who watched and prayed for two hours in the pouring rain. Two Commissions of Enquiry, in 1879 and 1936, accepted their testimony as trustworthy and satisfactory" (from the Knock Shrine's site).
It was only a few years before this that a number of large reforms were introduced, such as the introduction of railways and new laws regarding property. In a time of change, the appearance of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph with St. John marked a reminder of stability and tradition in a society whose change many people found bewildering. For the immediate residents of Knock, Co. Mayo and the subsequent pilgrims from all of Ireland and the world, Our Lady stands always as a sign of the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As Queen of Ireland she is constantly in advocacy for her children and forever their patroness and protectress.
A song, written by Dana (Rosemary Scallon), about Knock can be found here.
St. Patrick (Naomh Pádraig) (c.400 - 493) "Apostle of Ireland"
St. Patrick, who famously converted the Irish people to the Catholic faith was at one time in his life, imprisoned by them. He was born a Roman citizen on the island of Britain and was taken captive and imprisoned at about the age of 16. While in Ireland, his devotion and sanctity grew. Eventually, he was commanded by God to escape Ireland; until one day he had received a locution of the Irish people calling out for his return "We beg you, O holy youth, to come and walk once more among us." His ministry among the Irish people was both rapid and fecund. His evangelization was complemented by an incredible simplicity in life and thought. The primary example is three-leaf clover used as an analogy for the Holy Trinity.
Much of what we know about St. Patrick comes from his own writings in his Confession. Similar to St. Augustine's work, it is an autobiographical reflection on his life and the Lord's working in it.
"According, therefore, to the measure of one’s faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation,to spread God’s name everywhere with confidence and without fear" (St. Patrick's Confession, 14)
St. Patrick, who famously converted the Irish people to the Catholic faith was at one time in his life, imprisoned by them. He was born a Roman citizen on the island of Britain and was taken captive and imprisoned at about the age of 16. While in Ireland, his devotion and sanctity grew. Eventually, he was commanded by God to escape Ireland; until one day he had received a locution of the Irish people calling out for his return "We beg you, O holy youth, to come and walk once more among us." His ministry among the Irish people was both rapid and fecund. His evangelization was complemented by an incredible simplicity in life and thought. The primary example is three-leaf clover used as an analogy for the Holy Trinity.
Much of what we know about St. Patrick comes from his own writings in his Confession. Similar to St. Augustine's work, it is an autobiographical reflection on his life and the Lord's working in it.
"According, therefore, to the measure of one’s faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation,to spread God’s name everywhere with confidence and without fear" (St. Patrick's Confession, 14)
St. Brigit of Kildare (Naomh Bríd) (453 - 524) "Mary of the Gael"
St. Brigit (or Brigid, Bridgit, or even Bride) was the daughter of one of those baptized by Patrick himself. Her pagan, chieftan father was granted a dream before her birth to name her Brigid. Controversy surrounds this because that is also the name of a pagan goddess, commonly "Brighid." However, this can be simply understood as the Christianization and "baptism" of the pagan history of Ireland. Brighid was a goddess associated with fire, yet the nuns of the convent at Kildare (Cill Dara, the first convent Brigit founded and the first ever in Ireland) is known for having sustained an eternal flame. On his deathbed, her father Dubhthach inquired about her knitting of reeds into a cross; he was then baptized, having been converted by the devotion in her answer. This was the first St. Brigit Cross, a tradition still practiced today.
Within her monastic life, Brigit was known for the promotion of what is known as an anam cara, or "soul-friend," with whom one grows alongside in the spiritual life. Her's was a young nun Darlughdach who succeeded her as abbess of their monastery. As part of our preparation and ministry, missionaries are paired together as intercessors and as partners, particularly for bar ministry" (The Confession of St. Patrick, 14).
St. Brigit (or Brigid, Bridgit, or even Bride) was the daughter of one of those baptized by Patrick himself. Her pagan, chieftan father was granted a dream before her birth to name her Brigid. Controversy surrounds this because that is also the name of a pagan goddess, commonly "Brighid." However, this can be simply understood as the Christianization and "baptism" of the pagan history of Ireland. Brighid was a goddess associated with fire, yet the nuns of the convent at Kildare (Cill Dara, the first convent Brigit founded and the first ever in Ireland) is known for having sustained an eternal flame. On his deathbed, her father Dubhthach inquired about her knitting of reeds into a cross; he was then baptized, having been converted by the devotion in her answer. This was the first St. Brigit Cross, a tradition still practiced today.
Within her monastic life, Brigit was known for the promotion of what is known as an anam cara, or "soul-friend," with whom one grows alongside in the spiritual life. Her's was a young nun Darlughdach who succeeded her as abbess of their monastery. As part of our preparation and ministry, missionaries are paired together as intercessors and as partners, particularly for bar ministry" (The Confession of St. Patrick, 14).
St. Thérèse of Lisieux (January 2, 1873 - September 30, 1897)
St. Therese, the patron of missions, is not known for having been a missionary herself. In fact, from the very young age of her entry to the Carmelites, she hardly, if ever, left the convent. Rather, it is because of her deep aspirations, her prayers and intercessions, and her letters of support to missionaries that inspired them to continue on in their ministries. From The Story of a Soul: "I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places...in a word, that it was eternal! Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it ... my vocation is Love! Yes, I have found my place in the Church and it is You, 0 my God. who have given me this place; in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be love." Taking after the example of "The Little Flower," we seek to show our love for all our brothers and sisters in our compassion and in any way that we can lend our service to them. Since we are only in Ireland for a short time, we are somewhat restricted from great deeds; however, we can never be held back from small acts of great love, the core of Therese's spirituality. |
St. Monica of Hippo (331 – 387)
St. Monica (whose husband was, ironically, named Patrick) was the mother of St. Augustine and, as the Church doctor himself reports, was the source of his conversion by her bitter weeping and constant intercession. In imitation of this holy patron we aim to fervently offer prayers to God on behalf of our brothers and sisters who have either lost their faith or never found it.
From St. Augustine's Confessions:
"For my mother, Your faithful servant, wept for me before You more than mothers weep when lamenting their dead children. By the 'faith and spiritual discernment' (Gal 5:5) which she had from you, she perceived the death which held me, and You heard her, Lord. You heard her and did not despise her tears which poured forth to wet the ground under her eyes in every place where she prayed. You heard her" (III. xi. 19). God had arranged "to bring [him] to the water of [His] grace. This water was to wash [Augustine] clean, and to dry the rivers flowing from [Monica's] eyes which daily before [God] irrigated the soil beneath her face" (V. viii. 15).
Trusting in the mercy and promise of our Heavenly Father to preserve Ireland in the faith, we are "already cheered by hope but no less constant in prayer and weeping" (III. xi. 20) just as Monica was for Augustine.
St. Monica (whose husband was, ironically, named Patrick) was the mother of St. Augustine and, as the Church doctor himself reports, was the source of his conversion by her bitter weeping and constant intercession. In imitation of this holy patron we aim to fervently offer prayers to God on behalf of our brothers and sisters who have either lost their faith or never found it.
From St. Augustine's Confessions:
"For my mother, Your faithful servant, wept for me before You more than mothers weep when lamenting their dead children. By the 'faith and spiritual discernment' (Gal 5:5) which she had from you, she perceived the death which held me, and You heard her, Lord. You heard her and did not despise her tears which poured forth to wet the ground under her eyes in every place where she prayed. You heard her" (III. xi. 19). God had arranged "to bring [him] to the water of [His] grace. This water was to wash [Augustine] clean, and to dry the rivers flowing from [Monica's] eyes which daily before [God] irrigated the soil beneath her face" (V. viii. 15).
Trusting in the mercy and promise of our Heavenly Father to preserve Ireland in the faith, we are "already cheered by hope but no less constant in prayer and weeping" (III. xi. 20) just as Monica was for Augustine.