St Patrick hears the voice of the Irish

Monument to St. Patrick, Westport

I thought I heard in my mind the voice of those who were beside the wood of Foclut, near the western sea, calling out "We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk again among us”. This touched my heart deeply."  

"Rogamus te, sancte puer, ut venias et adhuc ambulas inter nos." (From St Patrick's Confession. Note 'Rogamus te' abbreviated to RGMS TE on monument panel)

Hearing this call was a turning point in the life-story of St Patrick as told in his Confession. Born in Britain, he had been taken captive by some Irishmen and brought to Ireland. Later he escaped back to Britain where he went for the priesthood and was eventually consecrated bishop (read his biography here). It was at this stage that visitors from Ireland came with a letter for him. In reading it, Bishop Patrick was moved by the appeal that it contained to come back again -- of his own free will and for a much friendlier welcome this time. The Westport scene depicts his landing in Ireland.

The Confession is contained in the Book of Armagh and is dated to the early 9th century. Like the Book of Kells, this Book has happily been digitized by Trinity College Dublin, allowing us to see the original text (here). Our extract is found on Folio 23v, c. three-quarters way down the second column -- in the reproduction below, lines 6-7. (The last line ends with amplius non potui legere, i.e. my heart was so touched that I could not read any more.) As can be seen, the superb ornamentation of the Gospels in the Book of Kells far outshines the more ordinary script found in the Book of Armagh.  

TCD Book of Armagh, Folio 23v

As for the google digital script used here in the 21st century, the writer sees he is returning to a topic first dealt with ten years ago in 2016 (here), this time with a precious view of the original manuscript. 

May our lives continue to unfold well for us all as, like St Patrick, at a certain moment in our life's journey, we feel we hear a silent call to start down a road that seems to be opening up for us -- in the traditional phrase, 'our vocation'. 

Year A (Matthew), Gospel for 2nd Sunday of Lent

The gospel for this Sunday is from Matthew 17, which tells the story of the Transfiguration. To tie in with the putting up of a link to the Book of Kells in our Readings section (left side-bar), we're showing the first four verses of this gospel as they are found in this national and religious treasure from the 8th century (see top right of page, 'Math.XVII'). The original manuscript is held in TCD and there also now exists a splendid and much more accessible edition online -- there at our fingertips (p. or Folio 79) with no more long waiting in queues!  A wonder, isn't it?  A transcription of the original Latin as well as an English translation can be found here. (The 'original Latin' referred to here is that of the Vulgate, i.e. the translation by St Jerome in the fourth century of the truly original version written in Greek in the first century.)

The Book of Kells, of course, is famous for its amazingly elaborate illustrations, none of which appear on the page featured here. Explore them for yourself now!

PS (i.e. [= id est], 'Post Scriptum' -- everyday Latin!)  There are some small differences between the Kells edition and the transcribed edition: (1) adsumpsit :: assumit (l. 2), duxit illos :: ducit illos (l. 4), past tense in first, present in second; (2) apparuit :: apparuerunt, singular in first, plural in second. 

More puzzling is the following: 'his clothing became white as snow' (l. 8). 'White' is 'alfa' in Kells, and 'alba' in the transcription.  Q. Now is that really an 'f' we see in 'alfa'?  A. It's the same letter as in 'facies' ('face', l. 8), is it not?  Q.  Well, show us you, then, what it should be.  A. Ok. Compare, 'bonum est' ('it is good'), in l. 11. This shows us, does it not, what a 'b' is?   Q. Where does all this leave us, then?  A. Not too sure, really. Anyway, for the poor monk's sake that put so much effort into his writing, with all its marvellous art and penmanship, we'll just whisper sub secreto, ' A possible lapsus calami?', and keep it to ourselves. 

Appeal for More Sunday Readers in Saggart

Dear Online Reader / Saggart Parishioner, 

The 'About Me' notice on the home page of this blog (bottom, right sidebar) will tell you who the writer of this letter is. And we can call this letter a first, since I've never before written one to you!

As well as looking after the parish blog (from 2010 to 2022 the official parish website), I also organise readers for the Sunday Mass in Saggart, a task I inherited from Liam Roche in 2017. I volunteered to read in St Mary's two years after my arrival in Saggart (1995), spurred on to do so when I saw, to my amazement, that the only readers appeared to be Liam and two girl altar servers. As I look round now over thirty years later, I can say, 'Big improvement, certainly' but will quickly add, ‘still, a bit of a crunch point again as regards readers'.  

Naturally, a place changes considerably in many respects over a period of thirty years. Saggart has grown bigger and now has a very diverse population, in terms of geographical and linguistic background. This is seen in the attendance at Sunday Mass. All of us, don’t we, whether well settled or recent parishioners, wish to be part of, and help in some way to build up, the local (parish) community. Such building up will depend on what we feel we have to offer, in the hope that it will be gratefully received.

Which brings me to reading at Mass. What we have to offer depends on our talents. Each person has talents that s/he can offer to society (cf 'charisms' in St Paul, 1 Cor. 12). For example, a person with a fine singing voice will soon find an outlet and a welcome for that talent. A fine speaking voice may also be seen as a gift to be offered to society. As a teacher of English for forty years I very quickly noticed which students I could rely on to read well in class, i.e. out loud and clear. We can all agree, then, that a class ‒ or, in church, a congregation, ‒ calls for a good speaker, good in the sense of natural talent and appropriate training.  So, right attitude, yes, of course, but also good public-speaking ability. (For more on this subject, see the post of 9th March 2024 here). 

If you feel you could offer your services as reader (‘Minister of the Word’ or ‘Lector’), then please contact me at donalpmcmahon@gmail.com. Just in case the above seems to you to be setting the bar too high, let me add that myself and my wife Mary, also a Saggart reader, will be very happy to provide some training, if needed (see the blog notice here). There is also the possibility of gaining experience by sharing the Prayers of the Faithful with one of the official readers.

I wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Fruitful New Year ‒ fruitful possibly now too in the area of reading at Mass.

Thank you,                                                                                

Donal McMahon.  

Report, 10 Feb. 2026   So far, there has been no response to this appeal.