Why Brendan David?

A little over 19 months ago our first son was born, and I wrote about Aidan's name here. Our second son Brendan David is now 36 hours old, and doing very well.

The name Brendan we settled on in keeping with Irish first names and felt that it fit well after Aidan. Brendan means "prince." And what is a prince but a son of the King? Brendan is first and foremost a child of God, the King.

Also since I first heard the album Beyond These Shores by Iona have had some interest in the story of St. Brendan, an Irish monk living around 500 AD. It has been hard for historians to verify the details, but legend says he sailed off from his home to uncharted waters for 7 years in search of a land of paradise. The idea of being wholly devoted to God and setting off into sea is a great picture of the kind of life God wants us to lead, the kind of life I hope and pray Brendan will lead. One of the prayers of St Brendan goes like this:

Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.

Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You.

I LOVE the second half of the first paragraph! Similarly, the lyrics of the last song on the Iona album:

Beyond these shores
Into the darkness
Beyond these shores
This boat may sail
And if this is the way
Then there will be
A path across this sea

And if I sail beyond
The farthest ocean
Or lose myself in depths below
Wherever I may go
Your love surrounds me
For you have been before
Beyond these shores

Beyond these shores
Into the darkness

And now for the middle name, David. It means beloved, and the Biblical man David was known, dispite all his failures, as a man after God's heart, the greatest King of Israel in the Bible. His love for God is evident in the Psalms. We want Brendan to know that he is a "Beloved Prince."

Your mom and I are so blessed to have you, dear son, and so excited to see who you become!