DOCHAS LINN NAOMH PADRAIG
The much-loved Irish language hymn Dóchas linn Naomh Pádraig, Aspal mór na hÉireann ('Our hope is St. Patrick, great apostle of Ireland')  is rousingly sung here by the Irish Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. 

TEXT
(English translation by Fr Seán Coyle)​

Image: St Patrick as a Shepherd on Slemish. Stained glass window in the Church of the Assumption, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Dóchas linn Naomh Pádraig
Aspal mór na hÉireann,
Ainm oirearc gléigeal,
solas mór an tsaoil é.
D'fhill le soiscéal grá dúinn
d'ainneoin blianta 'ngéibheann.
Grá mór Mhac na páirte,
d'fhuascail cách ón daorbhroid.

​Sléibhte, gleannta máighe,
's bailte mór na hÉireann,
Ghlan sé iad go deo dúinn,
míle glóir dár naomh dhil.
Iarrmaid ort, a Phádraig,
guí orainne na Gaela,
Dia linn lá 'gus oíche
's Pádraig Aspal Éireann.

Bring hope to us, St Patrick,
Great Apostle of Ireland,
Illustrious, glorious name,
He is the great light of the world.
He came back to us with the gospel of love,
Despite years of captivity.
Great love of the Son, 
Freed all from oppression.

Hills, valleys, plains,
Large towns of Ireland
He cleaned them for ever,
A thousand praises to our dear saint
We ask you, Patrick,
Pray for us Irish,
God and St Patrick Apostle of Ireland
Be with us day and night.

“Palm Sunday is a day of high emotions, teetering on the edge between happiness and heartbreak.” This is the opening line of a beautiful Ignatian video reflection on Giotto’s painting, Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem.

For Holy Week, New Pilgrim Path, see our Holy Week Spiritual Resources page, which will be added to daily.  Our poem and music of the week will also be changed each day!

{field_callout_box_content:content}

Croagh Patrick (known locally as 'the Reek'), a soaring  peak that rises above Clew Bay in the west of Ireland, has been a sacred place for time immemorial. As evidenced by archeological discoveries, our neolithic ancestors came here, possibly at the start of the harvest season. Later, people come to worship the Celtic sun god, Lugh, and then in 441 AD the site was shrewdly co-opted by St Patrick who reputedly fasted here for 40 days and nights before banishing the snakes from Ireland. A superb missionary, one of Patrick's methods was to 'Christianise' pagan sites, customs and festivals.  The discovery of a dry stone oratory on the summit of the mountain has been radiocarbon dated to between 430 and 890 AD, indicating that Christian pilgrims have been climbing the mountain for almost two millennia. Click on the image above to see a short video of a pre-pandemic pilgrimage.
To view the geographic location of Croagh Patrick, see this stunning aerial footage.

Lent is a time when we are invited to encounter Christ in the wilderness, free from all the things which distract and anaesthetise us in our daily lives. Passage through the desert was an integral part of Christ’s mission, as it was for Abraham, Moses, Elijah and John. We need not travel far to enter this place – the wilderness inside us is a place of testing, where the power of false gods is broken. It is a place of encounter with ourselves, with our inner demons and with God. New Pilgrim Path has a host of resources to guide us on this transformative journey. Each week, we will add to these.

'Living Lent Daily is a retreat designed to help us  to reflect prayerfully on the unprecedented events of the last 12 months. We have been challenged, individually and collectively, in ways no-one could have imagined. Successive lockdowns have confronted us with the question of whether we want to go back to how things were, or to ‘grow back better’.
Pray-As-Your Go – in partnership with the global online prayer phenomenon, Sacred Space – offers a Lenten online retreat. ‘Growing Back Better’ encouraging us to reflect on what kind of people we truly desire to become and what kind of world we hope to pass on to future generations. There is a new session for each of the seven weeks of Lent. 

Click on the image to watch a short film on Ash Wednesday as depicted by artists through the ages.  It is brought to us by the superb Christian Art website founded by Patrick van der Vorst, a former director of Sotheby’s, London, and now a seminarian for the Diocese of Westminster.