A long time ago, in the early 6th century, there was an Irish monk who felt called to go on a voyage. He was bound for the “Promised Land of the Saints.” With a blessing from his superiors, he went to work building a boat and gathering a group of monks (some say 14, 60, or 100). They fasted and prayed for 40 days and then set sail.
Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Bold journeyed into the unknown with his motley crew for forty days and nights. They landed at an island: rocky, but beautiful. A dog came out to meet the monks, bowed to them and led them to a great room with tables full of food and drink. The monks found beds to rest in, but never saw any other people. Continuing their journey, they found an island full of sheep as big as an ox. An old man told them there was no winter weather. It was summer all the time with the best grass in the world.
Sailing on again, they found a great island, but it was difficult to find a harbor. Without Brendan, the monks climbed the rocks so that they could make a campfire to cook their dinner. When the meat was almost completely cooked through, the island began to stir and shift beneath their feet! The monks ran away, terrified. When they came back to the ship, Brendan comforted them and told them that this was a great fish (or sea monster or whale) called Jaconius.
Naturally. These kinds of things happen when you travel. Back at sea, after three days, they found a beautiful island with flowers and trees and fruit. These great trees were so lush and each and every bough had a bird perched upon it. When they sang, it sounded so divine, that Brendan knelt down and wept for joy. Brendan prayed to God, surely something like, “what on earth is happening here?!” Brendan commanded the bird to tell them “what gives?” and the bird told them that the whole flock of them had been angels who followed Lucifer in his rebellion. The worst of the worst were in hell, but these birds had only fallen a little bit. So, mercifully, God set the birds in this tree to sing praises for all time. The birds sang at each of the seven hours that the monks did. The bird told them that the monks would spend every Easter at the Island of the Birds until they found the “Promised Land.” They later found out that they were to spend the twelve days of Christmas at an Abbey they had come across, Easter with/on the sea monster Jaconius, and the days following Easter on the Island of Sheep.
There are a lot of other fantastic stories of their adventures – battling sea monsters, meeting creatures who throw fireballs at them, and finding miraculous sources of drinking water. Once, they stopped to celebrate the mass of Saint Peter’s day and found the water around them so clear that they could see all the way to the bottom. Many fish surrounded the boat. The monks were afraid and begged Brendan to stop singing so the fish would go away. Brendan said, more or less, “you’ve celebrated Easter on the back of a sea monster and you’re afraid of a few fish?!” Brendan led them in mass again and so many fish arose around the boat that they could hardly see the water of the sea! When the mass was over, the fish just swam away.
After years of adventures, the ship finally came to a dark fog – days and days of thick mist. Afraid, Brendan and the monks prayed for help. The mist cleared and they saw it – the Promised Land of the Saints! It was more beautiful than any land they had ever seen. The air was clear and the sun shined. The trees were filled with fruit and the ground was covered in flowers. Delighted, the monks roamed the land for forty days and they never came to the end of it. It was never night; it was never too hot; it was never too cold. It was Eden, the garden of paradise. A young man greeted them each by name and told them it was time to leave. If they follow the will of the Lord, only then could they return. Gathering up as much fruit as they could carry – and gemstones and other souvenirs – the monks departed. They wept on their voyage back. It had been seven years and they came home safe.
How do you get to the Promised Land? In this epic tale, it is made clear – heaven can be found on earth if we are faithful, prayerful, humble, and seek to do good. Of course, Brendan had a specific revelation from God and a calling to seek out Eden. For the rest of us, it’s not as straightforward as taking a trip on the sea.
Sources:
–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_the_Navigator
-https://parish.saintbrendan.org/about-us/story-of-saint-brendan/
-https://elfinspell.com/LegendsandSatiresBrandon.html