So part of the reason that I chose this saint from among those honored in the Saints’ Calendar for April 5 is because I really really like his name: Tigernach. In my mind, at any rate, I would pronounce it “Tiger Knock.” But the name is not the most interesting thing about him.

According to Butler, Tigernach was the godson of the Celtic goddess…. errr…..ummm… Irish saint… Brigid. Baptized in the faith as an infant, Tigernach ended up being captured by pirates (!) as a young boy, and was spirited across the Irish Sea to Britain. As luck/fate/God would have it, Tigernach “fell into the hands of a British king” (!?) who was so impressed with the lad’s virtue that he shut him away in a monastery (?!).

While in this monastery/prison (in Butler’s words, “the school of affliction”), Tigernach learned that he could not base a life on the hope of earthly enjoyments, period. So instead he found meaning in wholeheartedly (not just around the edges, not just as a garnish, not just as a hobby) devoting himself to the service of God. And this actually made him happy.

When Tigernach was finally released and able, he returned to Ireland. There, he spent his time teaching “a great multitude to serve God in primitive purity and simplicity.” As he aged, Tigernach became blind and (would it be cynical to say “not surprisingly”?) was soon abandoned by this great multitude and left to live in a “lonesome cell.” Yet because Tigernach had already learned in life not to base his happiness on ease or on the pleasure of human companionship, he simply continued in his devotion to God, in contentment, through to his death in the year 550.