"Remembering Saint Patrick" - The Truth about This Great Man of God

Eire - Isle of the Saints By John Doan $16.00 Instrumental CD	Wayfarer By John Doan $16.00 Instrumental CD
Wrapped in White By John Doan $16.00 Instrumental CD

"Remembering Saint Patrick" The Truth about This Great Man of God By John Doan Email: jdoan@willamette.edu Web Site: http://www.johndoan.com

I have always loved things Irish and when I studied about St. Patrick and went to the places where he walked and experienced the power of miracles, I was moved to compose music at those very sites. The recording "Eire - Isle of the Saints" came from this inspiration and a bit of the miraculous touched it and allowed it to be awarded "Best Celtic Album of the Year" (CD's are available through the Elijah List). I now perform this music around the country and lead Celtic Pilgrimage tours in July back to "Thin Places" - the holy sites where it is believed that the distance between Heaven and earth is thinner that elsewhere. Some now call these places "Open Heavens." (for more information about the tour go to http://www.johndoan.com/events/index.html.

What I learned was that in the year 401 AD, at the age of sixteen, Patricius was captured and hauled as slave cargo across the Irish Sea, where he was purchased by a petty Chieftain. The enslaved boy worked as a shepherd for six years in quiet isolation, exposed to the harshness of the natural world, while pondering the one that laid just beyond. During this time, to his family, his youth, and his hope of worldly gain, he bid farewell (The music I composed to this is titled "Farewell").

The Spirit was Seething Within Me

In his own words he says "After I had arrived in Erie, I found myself pasturing flocks daily, and I prayed a number of times each day. More and more the love and fear of God came to me, and faith grew and my spirit was exercised, until I was praying up to a hundred times every day - and in the night nearly as often. So that I would even remain in the woods and on the mountain in snow, frost, and rain, waking to pray before first light. And I felt no ill effect, nor was I in any way sluggish - because, as I now realize, the Spirit was seething within me." (from his Confession)

Patrick continues by saying "... one night, in my sleep, I heard a voice saying to me: "It is good that you fast, who will go soon to your homeland. And again, after a short space of time I heard this pronouncement: "Look! Your ship is ready."

After hearing these words in a dream, Patrick awoke and hiked away from the rugged hillside pastures where he had tended his owner's sheep and began a new life as visionary and holy man. He "traveled with the aid of God's power" for two hundred miles through unknown lands, undetected as a run-away slave.

An Angel called "Victorious"

He gained passage on a ship and after several years of wandering and performing miracles, he made his way back to his family in Britain. He was warmly welcomed, but he soon had a vision in which a man (an angel calling itself "Victorious") delivered a letter with the message, "The Voice of the Irish...They cried out, as with one voice, 'We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'" When Patrick realized that this inner voice was guidance from Christ, he willingly returned to Eire to tend the flock of his new Master. And so began the true journey home. (The music I composed to this is titled "Journey Home").

When Patrick arrives in Eire (Ireland) he hears from God to take his ministry directly to the High King. He does so on Beltaine, the first day of spring. This was the day that Sacred Kings paid homage to the pagan goddess Medb Lethderg (meaning intoxication), the presiding divinity of Tara (this goddess no doubt still presides over much of our contemporary St. Patrick's Day celebrations!). In the year AD 433 great festivities were anticipated as usual, with May pole dancing, copious quantities of mead, and a bonfire to be lit by High King Loaghaire himself. Custom proclaimed for this day that "whoever in all the country, far or near, should kindle a fire before the fire in the king's house was lit should be put to death by his people." They believed then that "he who had the fire had the power."

Kindling a Fire of Faith

On that same night, on the distant hill of Slain, Patrick, sparked by the Holy Spirit, began his ministry to the Irish people by kindling a fire of faith in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Easter. The King, having not yet lit his fire, immediately dispatched his guard in their chariots after the Druid priests. Lucet M�el and Lochru reminded him of an ancient prophecy stating that "unless it is extinguished on this same night in which it was lit, it will not be put out forever." Miraculously, the king's guard saw only a herd of deer as Patrick and his followers courageously marched past chanting a hymn as their sole defense.

Patrick sang this prayer to give him courage and to protect he and his followers:

"Crist lim, Crist rium
Crist imdegaid, Crist innium
Crist issum, Crist �asum
Crist dessum, Crist tuathum
Crist illius, Crist issius, Crist inerus
(Extract from Ireland's earliest piece
of literature in the ancient Gaelic)

"Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ below me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height."

Receiving New Teachings with Zeal

Although the king would not concede in the ensuing battle of the spirit, Patrick soon discovered that his "warrior children," including the druid priests, were seekers of truth, and many of them received the new teachings with the same zeal they had shown in fierce battles or blood feuds. Faith, hope, and charity came in the wake of Patrick in the Spirit.
(The music I composed to this is titled "Saint Patrick In the Spirit").

All in all, learning about Patrick and going to the sites where he performed miracles was very inspirational. He truly is a hero of the faith, a tremendous force that changed the course of history bringing a light into a dark age.

By John Doan
Email: jdoan@willamette.edu
Web Site: http://www.johndoan.com

Eire Isle of the Saints By John Doan $16.00 Instrumental CD

" ... if we are to be saved, it will not be by Romans but by saints." - Thomas Cahill Eire is a land where the past still lives, and myth and mystery reign. Many old Irish ways and traditions have remained unchanged for a thousand years. To this day, the Irish think of their homeland as Erie (EH reh), the ancient Gaelic name for all of Ireland. Its long heritage is one of tradition and history, custom and religion. After the collapse of Rome in the fifth century, Europe's dark ages sent monks and scholars in retreat at the edge of the known world and brought Eire fame as the "Isle of the Saints." What is known of these ancient times comes to us in the twilight between history and legend. I have thrown my whole self into this work trying to recreate a flavor that lingers from a lost age so that it can be experienced once again. This recording came into being as I journeyed down narrow winding roads where worn stones were like silent signposts to the past. It is my hope that this music and notes will help the listener to broaden their understanding of some of the elements that comprise the Irish mystic. I have tried to chronicle the life of Patrick, from slave to Saint, describing moments that shaped his character and the lives of those around him. Turlough O'Carolan is another who grows more human in our minds when we venture past the pleasant jigs and reels we tend to remember him for and place him at the time of Eire's darkest days when harps were broken in the streets to counter the pride of the Irish people. Yeats, as well, may take on a new dimension, not only as a writer inspired by ancient bardic texts, but as a person who had become embittered with the limitations of his mortality. Eire - Isle of the Saints reminds me of our ancestry, ancient tales of joy and sorrow, the smell of a peat fire and the purple of the heather bogs, as well as the courage and holiness of the saints of old. It is my conviction that all of us, Celtic or not, feel Eire's passions and trust its truths. This is our story - a journey into the trials and celebrations of the human spirit, the mystery of living, and the temporalness and wonder of it all. Listen to Samples! Saint Patrick in the Spirit mp3 wma rm Yeats Country - Where William Lies mp3 wma rm Feel free to order online OR by phone (1-8.6.6-881-0477) http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=1165

	Wayfarer ANCIENT PATHS TO SACRED PLACES a Celtic pilgrimage By John Doan $16.00 Instrumental CD
John Doan brings back soulful and provocative musical sketches from a pilgrimage to the most sacred sites of the British Isles. The 20-string harp guitar is featured throughout in his most virtuosic outing joined by exotic percussion, ancient instruments, a choir of monks, fiddles, tin whistle, cello and more. Follow the ancient pilgrim's paths to locations made famous by the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland," along roads to secluded sanctuaries, and by boat to remote island retreats. Adventurous, thoughtful, and renewing - a journey memorable for its achingly beautiful moments and encouraging spirit. Listen to Samples! Skellig Michael - A Rock In the Sea mp3 wma rm On the Path to Holycross Abbey mp3 wma rm Feel free to order online OR by phone (1-8.6.6-881-0477) http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=1146
	Wrapped in White Visions of Christmas Past By John Doan $16.00 Instrumental CD
Wrapped In White is a vision of Christmas that has been lovingly handed down through the melodies of carols and hymns. This endearing collection of seasonal favorites tells timeless stories without words using dozens of century old instruments including the harp guitar, classical banjo, harmonium, tremblelin, mandolin harp, and ukelin, woven together with violins and cellos into a tapestry of good tidings that will warm your holiday season for many years to come. The liner notes describe the sources and stories behind each piece, and the wonderful old instruments on which they're played. It is always a joy for me to hear the songs of Christmas past. They speak of tradition, wonder, love, good will, and the desire to help our fellow man. You will hear the melodies that others heard before us on the very instruments they once held in their arms. Some of instruments have rough edges and are little more than toys designed for child's play or a moment's diversion from life's struggles, while others are fine-crafted works of art meant to express the highest of musical thought. This recording is not about such distinctions, but rather about their commonality, how they reflect our humanness and our wonder about the life experience. I see this simple music as part of a living folk tradition handed down and enjoyed from generation to generation, music that transcends the barriers that often divide us. I welcome you all to share with me this mixture of old and new as a tribute to Christmases of long ago. Journey back through each melody to imagine scenes unfold, a vision of a lone infant, wrapped in white, nestled in a manger, and heralded by angels as "the light of the world." Listen to Samples! Infant King mp3 wma rm Three Kings mp3 wma rm Feel free to order online OR by phone (1-8.6.6-881-0477) http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=1139

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