As they sat at the table, the bird who had spoken to them last year settled on the prow of the boat, extended its wings, and made a noise like the sound of a great organ. The man of God knew that it wanted to tell them something. The bird said: “God has appointed four places for you for each season of the year where you shall stay until the seven y

When this period was over, the holy father ordered a three-day fast. At the end of the third day an enormous bird flew toward the boat, with a branch from some unknown tree in its beak. At the tip of the branch hung a large bunch of grapes of a wonderful purple color. The bird dropped the branch into the lap of the holy man. St. Brendan called his

a fish, every three days. I ate a third of the fish each day and, thanks be to God, never suffered thirst for every Sunday a trickle of water flowed from that rock from which I could drink and fill my flask for the rest of the week.

When it had placed before me the fish and the twigs, it returned to the sea. I lit a fire with flint and iron and prepared a meal from the fish. This continued for thirty years with the otter bringing me

Then, when they were making their way along the shore, a dog came running toward them and sat at Brendan’s feet, as dogs are accustomed to sit at the feet of their master. St. Brendan said to his brothers: “Has God not sent us a good messenger? Let us follow him.” Then St. Brendan and his brothers followed the dog as far as the settlement.

As the sun rose, they began to sing: “And may the splendor of the Lord come upon us” (Ps 89:17) with the same rhythm and chant that they had used at lauds. And then at terce, the same verse: “Sing Psalms to our God, sing Psalms; sing Psalms to our king, sing Psalms with understanding” (Ps 46:7). At sext: “Let thy face, O Lord, shine upon us and tak

and his companions, this singing and rhythmic beating of wings seemed as sweet as a song of lamentation.

When the holy man had finished praying, all the birds started to flap their wings and sing: “Praise the Lord, all his angels, praise him, all his host” (Ps 148:2). They continued to sing for an hour, just as they had at vespers.

The bird replied: “We are part of the fall of the ancient enemy, not through our own sin but by agreement with theirs. But when we were created, his fall, together with his followers, led to our own ruin. Our God is just and true. It is by his great justice that we were placed here. We are not punished with suffering. Here we can see the presence o