In the midst of all his toils, he appeared loving unto all, serene and holy, rejoicing in the joy of the Holy Spirit in his inmost heart.

Above:  Icon of St. Columba of Iona

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT COLUMBA OF IONA (CIRCA 521-597)

Celtic Missionary and Abbot

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–St. Adamnan, on St. Columba of Iona

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St. Columba of Iona is one of the more popular Celtic saints.  He is a figure on the calendars of the Roman Catholic Church and various provinces of the Anglican Communion.  Furthermore, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) merge his feast with those of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne (circa 590-651) and St. Bede of Jarrow (672/673-735).  Those Lutheran denominations lists Sts. Columba, Aiden, and Bede as renewers of the church.  St. Columba is absent from the calendar of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), however.  That calendar does list St. Bede, however.  Furthermore, one should not confuse St. Columba with his contemporary, St. Columban/Columbanus (543-615), the Abbot of Bobbio.  x

Many hagiographies of St. Columba contain legendary and historically unreliable material.  I choose to ignore that content.

St. Columba was an Irish prince.  He, born in County Donegal circa 521, was a son of Feidlimid.  Our saint, benefiting from royal status, studied under St. Finnian of Moville and St. Finnian of Clonard.  Our saint, ordained to the priesthood of the Celtic Church circa 551, founded churches and monasteries in Ireland.  (Celtic monasteries were centers of missionary activity.)

Above:  Iona, the Holy Isle

Image Source = Google Earth

Circa 563, St. Columba and twelve monks relocated to Iona, apparently to get away from interference from certain Irish authorities, who were harassing some of his monks.  Our saint founded a church and a monastery.  He went on to found more monasteries in Scotland.  Monks from St. Columba’s monasteries evangelized Picts.  Many monks founded other monasteries, from which other monks went out and evangelized.

St. Columba, revered as a living saint during his final years, died in his sleep during the night of June 8-9, 597.  He had been copying a portion of the Psalter by hand immediately prior to resting.  His corpse wore a smile.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 27, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY; AND HIS SON, WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY; HYMN WRITERS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET AND RELIGIOUS WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZITA OF TUSCANY, WORKER OF CHARITY

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Almighty God, who filled the heart of Columba

with the joy of the Holy Spirit and with deep love for those in his care:

may your pilgrim people follow him,

strong in faith, sustained by hope, and one in the love that binds us to you;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Common Worship:  Daily Prayer (2005), 475

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O God, by the preaching of your blessed servant Columba

you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland:

Grant, we pray, that, having his life and labors in remembrance,

we may show our thankfulness to you by

following the example of his zeal and patience;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Isaiah 61:1-3

Psalm 97:1-2, 7-12

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Luke 10:17-20

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 417

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Gracious God, by his preaching your servant Columba

brought the light of the gospel to Scotland;

give us grace to follow his example of zeal and patience and

to expand our energy on winning others to faith in your Son,

our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

or

Glory to you, Spirit of God, for the preaching of Columba,

aptly named the dove, and for his companions at Iona;

though we may never banish monsters from the river Ness,

help us, like him, to be loving to everyone,

happy-faced, in the joy of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Isaiah 66:18-19

Psalm 18:31-37 or Psalm 47

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Mark 4:35-41

–The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia

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O God, you girded your servant Columba with the cincture of holiness

and made him a pilgrim for Christ in the midst of the Irish and Scottish peoples.

Grant that, having his life and labours in remembrance,

we may rest upon your love and be cheerful in all adversities,

as we await the redemption of all things in

your well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ;

who is alive and reigns, with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Psalm 89:20-26

Luke 10:17-20

–The Anglican Church of Canada

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Above:  Gaul in 628 

SAINT AMATUS OF LUXEUIL (DIED 630)

Also known as Saint Ame

Roman Catholic Monk and Abbot

His feast transferred from September 13

converted

SAINT ROMARIC OF LUXEUIL (DIED 653)

Roman Catholic Monk and Abbot

One of the joys of preparing these posts about lives of saints is discovering for myself the links between and among saints.  Today, with this post, I add two saints to my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days.  These stories converge with the lives of at least four saints of whom I have written already.  Such overlapping holiness gladdens my heart.

This saga of sanctity begins with St. Amatus (died 630).  The monk from Grenoble had grown up in a monastery.  And, in 614, at the urging of St. Eustace of Luxeuil, abbot from 611, he became a monk there.  A few years later, St. Amatus converted St. Romaric (died 653), then a nobleman serving in the court of Lothair II (reigned 584-629), King of Neustria from 584 and King of all Franks from 613.  St. Romaric also became a monk at Luxeuil.  At that monastery both saintly monks were subject to the positive influence of St. Columban/Columbanus, the great evangelist and founder of monasteries.

In 620 Sts. Amatus and Romaric, with the approval of St. Eustace, founded the double monastery of Remiremont Abbey on St. Romaric’s estate at Habendum.  St. Amatus served as the first abbot; St. Romaric succeeded him in 623 and ruled for the next thirty years.  Among the monks there were St. Arnulf of Metz, a nobleman and a bishop, and St. Germanus of Granfel (see the hyperlink for St. Arnulf), later an abbot.

Accounts of St. Romaric’s life as abbot include stories of him becoming involved in Merovingian dynastic politics, which were frequently dangerous, for certain Merovingian monarchs were violent toward their own family members.  The particulars of St. Romaric’s political entanglements are irrelevant and would distract me from my focus, but I do note that he strove for a better society–surely a good cause.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 16, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, QUEEN

THE FEAST OF SAINT GIUSEPPE MOSCATI, PHYSICIAN

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O God, by whose grace your servants Saint Amatus of Luxeuil and Saint Romaric of Luxeuil,

kindled with the flame of your love, became burning and shining lights in your Church:

Grant that we may also be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light,

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Acts 2:42-47a

Psalm 133 or 34:1-8 or 119:161-168

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Matthew 6:24-33

–Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 723

Above:  Plan of the Abbey of St. Gall, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT DEICOLA (530-625)

Roman Catholic Monk

His feast transferred from January 18

brother of 

SAINT GALL (550-CIRCA 646)

Roman Catholic Monk

His feast transferred from October 16

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SAINT OTHMAR (CIRCA 689-CIRCA 759)

Roman Catholic Abbot at St. Gallen

His feast transferred from November 16

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St. Deicola and St. Gall, Irish brothers and monks, accompanied St. Columban  on his missionary journey to Europe.  Theuderic II of Burgundy and Austrasia expelled the St. Deicola, the elder brother, at age 80, as well as St. Columban, in 610.  St. Deicola settled at Lure, Gaul, where he founded a monastery and devoted the remaining years of his life to prayer and meditation.  Illness forced St. Gall to break way from St. Columban’s main missionary band in 612.  The latter traveled to Italy, but the former and some hermits settled in the area of Lake Constance, in modern-day Switzerland.

St. Othmar founded the great Abbey of St. Gall and became its first abbot.  He and his monks cared for the poor of the surrounding community, operated a hospital, and established the first Swiss leper colony.  St. Othmar died in exile because of false accusations two nobles had made against him.  His good deeds, alas, did not prevent him from suffering due to the perfidy of others.

From the Abbey of St. Gall generations of faithful monks did great things for God.  Consider the cases of St. Tutilo and St. Nokter Balbulus, for example.

What will your legacy be?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 29, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE DAWSON, ENGLISH BAPTIST AND UNITARIAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY DAY, SOCIAL ACTIVIST

THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CHURCH OF NORTH INDIA, 1970

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O God,

whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich:

Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world,

that we, inspired by the devotion of your servants Saints Deicola, Gall, and Othmar,

may serve you with singleness of heart,

and attain to the riches of the age to come;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Song of Songs 8:6-7

Psalm 34 or 34:1-8

Philippians 3:7-15

Luke 12:33-37 or Luke 9:57-62

–Adapted from The Book of Common Prayer (1979), pages 249 and 927

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Revised on November 20, 2016

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Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT COLUMBAN, A.K.A. COLUMBANUS (CIRCA 540-615)

Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Missionary

St. Columban(us) was one of the great Celtic saints and founders of monasteries.  Born in West Leinster, Ireland, the saint dedicated his life to God over his mother’s objections.  He became a monk before embarking on a missionary journey to Gaul (modern-day France) in 585.  There he founded his first monasteries and spearheaded a movement to found monasteries across Europe.  The saint’s use of Celtic, as opposed to certain Roman practices, such as the calculation for the date of Easter, aroused much opposition among Frankish bishops, whose jurisdiction he interpreted as not including him.

St. Columban(us) made an enemy of King Theodoric II of Burgundy (along the modern French-Italian border), who preferred a concubine to a wife.  The monarch banished all Irish monks from his realm in 610.  The saint, shipwrecked on the way to Ireland, found refuge with King Theodebert II of Neustria (mostly in modern-day northern France) and began to evangelize in the area of Lake Constance (in modern-day Switzerland).  The saint reestablished Christianity in that region.  Among the monks who joined the retinue of  St. Columban(us) founded there was St. Gall, whose name lives on in a place-name and a great abbey.  From that place great works for God took place.   (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/feast-of-st-tutilo-march-28/ and https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/feast-of-nokter-balbulus-april-5/)

Alas, the saint had to flee to Italy in 612, for Theodoric II of Burgundy conquered Neustria.  So St. Columban(us) found refuge in Milan, where King Agilulf of the Lombards ruled.  The saint founded the great monastery at Bobbio, between Genoa and Milan.  He died at that monastery on November 21 or 23, 615.  (The books of saints and the old encyclopedias I consulted disagreed about the date of his death.)

St. Columban(us) left his Monastic Rule (an especially austere one), poems, and sermons behind.  He also went down in history as a proponent of Catholic orthodoxy with regard to the nature of Jesus; the saint denounced Arianism, a heresy which remains, unfortunately.  (The Jehovah’s Witnesses are Arians.)

St. Columban(us) was a man of great learning, as his writings reveal.  He devoted his intellect and energies to the service of God, and many people became Christians (directly or indirectly) because of him.  From the monasteries the saint founded emerged saints, missionaries, and great scholars who kept the flames of knowledge and Christianity alive during the Middle Ages.  Some of the saints and missionaries founded other monasteries, which continued the good work.  You, O reader, and I have callings distinct from that of St. Columban(us), but we do share with him a basic vocation:  to devote our intellects and energies to the service of God.  Where will your vocation take you, and what will your legacy be?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 29, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CLARENCE JORDAN, RENEWER OF SOCIETY

THE FEAST OF JAMES HANNINGTON AND HIS COMPANIONS, ANGLICAN MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF JOHN BUCKMAN WALTHOUR, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ATLANTA

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The Collect and Readings for a Missionary from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006),  the hymnal and worship book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

God of grace and glory,

we praise you for your servant Saint Columban(us),

who made the good news known in France, Switzerland, and Italy.

Raise up, we pray, in every country, heralds of the gospel,

so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of your love,

and be drawn to worship you,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Isaiah 62:1-7

Psalm 48

Romans 10:11-17

Luke 24:44-53