BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260722T141143Z UID:41-1015980@holyhermits.com.au DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260621 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260621 CLASS:PUBLIC CREATED:20250926T120938 DESCRIPTION: St Kevin’s Life\nKevin was of noble birth\, born in 498 CE\ , and just as he was about to be baptised by St Cronan of Roscrea\, an ang el appeared to his parents\, saying that he should be given the name Coemg en (Kevin in English)\, meaning fair-begotten. He was the first ever to be given this name.  \nEven as a child miraculous events were part of Kevin ’s life. During his infanthood\, a white cow appeared at his parent’s house every morning and evening\, supplying milk for him. When Kevin was o ld enough\, he was sent to tend the sheep. One day some poor men begged hi m to give them some sheep. He was moved by their poverty and gave them fou r sheep. When he counted his flock in the evening\, however\, the full num ber were there.  \nKevin was a pupil of St Petroc of Cornwall from the ag e of seven\, and lived with monks from the age of 12. He studied for the p riesthood\, and following his ordination\, Kevin lived as a hermit in a pa rtially man-made cave which he was led to by an angel. This cave is now kn own as St Kevin’s Bed. The cave\, about 10 metres above the lake\, measu ring just 1.5 metres wide and 1 metre high\, was difficult to access throu gh a tight passageway. It is assumed that he used the cave for prayer and sleeping only.  \nKevin lived close to nature with the birds and animals as his companions for seven years. During this time he went barefoot\, wor e only animal skins\, slept on stones and ate sparingly of nettles and her bs. His time was spent in prayer\, and soon disciples were attracted to Ke vin as a holy man\, resulting in a settlement being built beside the lake enclosed by a wall\, called Kevin’s Cell. After his community grew into a seminary of saints and scholars\, with several other monasteries\, Kevin again withdrew into solitude\, only returning to his original monastery a fter four years to live a life of praying\, fasting and teaching until his death on 3rd June\, 618 at the age of 120.  \nThe monastic settlement at Glendalough grew to become one of the great spiritual centres of Christia nity in Ireland\, flourishing for a thousand years after St Kevin’s deat h. St Kevin of Glendalough is known for his journey from solitude to commu nity.  \nStories about St Kevin ·      \nThe most familiar story o f St Kevin is represented in depictions of him with a blackbird on his out stretched hand. The story goes that during Lent\, as Kevin held out his ar ms in prayer\, a blackbird built a nest in his hand and laid an egg in it. He remained in that position until the baby bird had hatched and the fled gling left the nest. This story is told in a famous poem by Nobel prizewin ner Seamus Heaney.\n·       Kevin would sometimes stand in the cold waters of the lake reciting psalms keeping vigil and in penitence\, as wa s the practice for the Irish saints. On one occasion he dropped his psalm book in the lake\, but it was returned undamaged to him by an otter.\n·        In a time of drought\, Kevin was able to feed his monks with sa lmon brought to him each day by an otter\, but when one of the monks thoug ht to make gloves out of the otter’s pelt\, it never returned.\n·        A young man with epilepsy had a vision that he would be cured by ea ting an apple. As there were no apple trees in the vicinity\, Kevin ordere d a willow tree to produce apples\, and 20 apples appeared on the tree. \ nA prayer\n\nLoving God\, we pray that all who follow the way of St Kevin\ , may be inspired to draw closer to you in nature and to attend to all th at you surround us with in a spirit of gentleness and gratitude. We thank you for people like Holy Hermit Kevin who inspire us as they communicate their love for you in music and poetry. May we respond with deeper devot ion to our Lord Jesus Christ\, and in loving service of our neighbours. I n the name of Jesus\, Amen.\n\nOther resources:\nHere is a link to Seamus Heaney Reading his poem 'St. Kevin and the Blackbird'.\nHere is a Summary of St Kevin from the Catholic Irish Church.\nThis Article names Kevin as ' The Birdman of Glendalough' from the Irish Times.\nThe Community of Hope h ave created this page to honour his story.\nThe Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration has celebrated Kevin's ecotheology on this page.\nThe Abb y of the Arts Community shared this 'love note from your online abbess' ab out Kevin. \nAnd the Irish Culture and Customs site has named him as the founder of Glenalough.  LAST-MODIFIED:20250926T120938 LOCATION:Remember SUMMARY:Holy Hermit Kevin of Glendalough URL;VALUE=URI:https://holyhermits.com.au/events/holy-hermit-kevin-of-glenda lough/2026-06-21 ATTACH;FILENAME=Kevin-black.jpg;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cl oudfront.net/2021/05/20/20/46/53/cd8cd5ca-51b6-450b-adef-2b3df31c926d/Kevi n-black.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR