Short, simple biography of the famous sixth century Irish missionary who brought Christianity to Scotland. This 1919-era book, the sort of book you might find on the shelves of a modest church library, is free in the public domain.
Columba was also known for his pride and short temper, conquering these personal flaws only after a long, long struggle. It took a series of events (see Chapters IV and V) that both traumatized him and caused him to be exiled from his home, but these events also set him on a lifelong road of atonement and self-conquest. We can all see the distance between how we are and how we wish to be, but how many of us make real progress on that journey? Not even the saints make it the whole way.
Finally, I had the privilege of travelling to Iona, the island that served as Columba's primary base of operations in Scotland. It's worth visiting!
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[Dear readers: as always, what follows are my notes, quotes and reactions to the text. They are meant to organize my thinking and help me remember. It's way too long; don't bother reading any further.]
Notes:
Author's Preface:
4ff On the source documentation for Columba, a book written by Adamnan who wrote a Life of Columba; Adamnan was born 27 years after Columba's death, but probably would have heard from people who personally knew him. "Adamnan is considered to be a sober and trustworthy author, and has not exaggerated, as many of the later writers undoubtedly have, the miraculous element in the life of the Saint."
7ff On various relics from Columba's life that still exist, including the stone he used as a pillow; also his three biblical manuscripts: The Book of Kells (also The Great Gospel of Columba), The Book of Durrow and the Psalter or the Cathach of Saint Columba. [Note that Wikipedia confidently claims that the idea that Columba wrote The Book of Kells "has long been discredited" while also saying it is "legend" that he wrote the Book of Durrow, while the author argues that Columba was "an indefatigable scribe" who likely wrote some or all of these works, although the intricate ornamental artwork and lettering were likely finished by another hand; she cites the Book of Kells as an example where the decorative work was clearly done at a later date.] Note the author uses Columba or Columbcille as interchangeable Scottish and Irish renderings of his name.
Chapter I: Child of the Mountain and the Lake
9ff Detail's on Columba's birth; he had a role in the church from an early age, was fostered by a priest to train "in the ways of wisdom and holiness"; On his temper, which was to cause problems, big problems, for him later on: "To be quick to take offence and slow to forgive an injury is a characteristic of the Celtic race all the world over, and Columba was no exception to the rule. Long and sharp was to be the struggle before that quick and imperious nature was wholly conquered by the grace of God, but great was to be the victory at last." On Columba having "second sight" a tradition/legend of the Celtic races; a sort of contact/extrasensory perception to the spiritual world. "The materialist may scoff, but the voice of the Ages is louder and clearer in our ears than his." His guardian angel appears to him frequently; comments here on the often bloody clashes among the different clans in Ireland and the fact that Christianity brought peace and justice to the region.
Chapter II: The Schooling of a Saint
13ff On St. Finnian and "his great monastic school of Moville on the northern side of Lough Cuan." On Finnian building the first stone church erected in Britain, on his pilgrimage to Rome, a dangerous undertaking in those days; and then bringing back a formally sanctioned copy of the Vulgate Bible into Ireland, "translated and corrected by the hand of St. Jerome himself." On Columba being one of the earliest scholars of this church; on Columba's first miracle, where he changed water into wine at a festival for the holy sacrifice; then Columba went to the great School of Clonard to study under a different Saint Finnian: Finnian the Wise; "Clonard was the most famous School in Ireland at the time." Interesting description here of how these students lived basically in little huts of clay and wattle in the meadows, receiving oral instruction, as "a few precious manuscripts formed the whole library at the school"; on how the students ground grain, herded sheep, prayed and studied. It sounds quite a lot like The Holy Desert Fathers or the monasteries described in Elder Porphyrios' book Wounded by Love.
14ff On jealousy from one of the other members of the community who was jealous of Columba [even monks committed to doing God's work have their own petty jealousies...]
15ff On Columba's first sign of the gift of prophecy: predicting a barbarian who had recently killed a young maiden would be cast into eternal fire: the man was struck dead moments later.
Chapter III: Derry and Durrow
18ff Columba sent to the island of Derry to found his own monastery; on Columba leading by example: "He slept on the bare ground, with a skin for covering and a stone for pillow." [Sometimes when I can't take modernity anymore I tell my wife that one day I'll disappear to Hawaii and sleep on the bare ground "with a surfboard for covering and a stone for pillow"] "Three times in the night he rose to pray, and his food was at the scantiest and poorest description... No work was too menial for him... His austerities were the admiration of his monks." Ultimately Columba went on to found 37 monasteries.
20ff Some lines from the Rule of St. Columba:
Yield submission to every rule--that is devotion.
A mind prepared for red martyrdom--that is, death for the faith.
A mind fortified and steadfast for white martyrdom--that is, the trials and mortifications and crosses of earthly life.
Forgiveness from the heart to everyone.
Constant prayers for those who trouble thee.
Love God with all thy heart and all thy strength, and love thy neighbor as thyself.
21 On Columba transcribing a copy of the four Gospels, the Book of Durrow; "he is said to have written with his own hand no less than thirty copies of the Gospels and the Psalter." Other examples of miracles: for example he had a vision while in Iona of one of the monks falling from a roof in Durrow, and cried to God for help, and his guardian angel "caught the monk ere he touched the ground."
21ff On the Book of Kells, even more famous than the Book of Durrow; "The most wonderful monument of the art of the Sixth Century that has come down to us."
Chapter IV: The Cow and the Calf
25ff Columba wants to make a copy of St. Finnian's precious copy of the Vulgate Bible, but "St. Finnian guarded his treasure with a jealous eye, and feared to trust it in any hands but his own." So Columba, night after night, secretly copied from it the Psalter; another monk saw him working one night and told St. Finnian; Finnian demanded Columba's copy, saying that it was his rightful property; neither man would give way; they went to King Diarmaid who judged against Columba. "To every cow belongs its own calf" the king said. "Columba's indignation knew no bounds... With dashing eyes and burning heart he turned his back on King and courtiers, and strode from the royal presence." This example of Columba's pride and rage is then followed by another instance where the king put to death a man who was under Columba's sanctuary, another major insult, an injustice, and "more than Columba could bear." The result was a battle where the king lost 3,000 men. Then the king took the question to the church itself; Columba is then summoned to an official ecclesiastical council.
Chapter V: A Bitter Penance
28ff The Synod of Teilte, where Columba was judged "for having stirred up strife in the King's dominions, which had led to a fierce and bloody battle." "..the sincerity of [Columba's] repentance was evident to all." The sentence that the Senate gives him is to win a soul to the Faith of Christ for every man that fell on the field of battle; also note that Columba was tortured by the idea that these men had been hurried to God's judgment and that they might be lost for all eternity as a result--an indirect result of his anger at the king. Columba then goes to St. Molaise at the Isle of Inishmurry for counsel for how best to atone for his own weakness, rage and anger, and he is told to "go forth from his own people and his own land, and never look upon the hills of Erin again" as he went to convert as many men to the Faith of Christ as he could. Apparently Columba had already considered a missionary journey to Caledonia [Scotland] before; "the time had now come to put it into execution" and Columba leaves for Scotland with twelve of his colleagues.
Chapter VI: The Isle in the Western Seas
32ff The group arrives to Iona, "in the heathen country of the Picts." Examples here of some of the mournful verses written by Columba about his mother country that he thought he would never return to. The group begins building a monastery, guest house, they began cultivating the soil. "Even while the brethren were engaged in active labour, they strove to occupy their minds with thoughts of God, so that their work might be hallowed by prayer and bring its blessings on their mission." "Columba slept on the bare ground with a stone for pillow, as had been his custom from his earliest years."
35 "No sooner were the monks settled in their new home, than pilgrims came from every quarter to ask counsel of Columba or to embrace the religious life under his direction. The holy abbot, who sought in every action of his life to make atonement by true humility for the movement of pride that had cost him so dear would go himself to meet them. Kneeling before them he would loosen their sandals and wash their feet, which he kissed with reverent devotion; performing for them, in imitation of his Divine Master, this lowliest of services."
35 Interesting discussion here of how Columba had to make a judgment as to the level of sincerity of the men who had lived evil lives: what was their true desire to make atonement for their sins? He had to judge whether the penitents would make it or not, whether they really meant it or not, and so he would demand a long probation period to prove their sincerity by humility and obedience before admitting them to the monastery.
36 The monastery was so successful and the community increased so rapidly that the island was too small to hold everyone, and so bands of devoted men were sent forth to found other monasteries in the greater region; more than 90 churches in Scotland can trace their foundation to the time of Columba, each with its own monastery.
Chapter VII: The Apostle of Scotland
38ff "In the mountain fastnesses of Caledonia beyond the Grampian hills, lived a wild and hearty race of men known to their British neighbours as the Picts or 'Painted People.' The name had originally been bestowed on them by the Romans in allusion to their habit of going into battle with their bodies tattooed all over with strange devices. They were a brave and warlike tribe, who had resisted the landing of Agricola and his legions, and after several pitched battles had driven the Roman eagles triumphantly before them into the sea... These men were the original ancestors of the Highlanders of Scotland, in whom the courage and the fighting spirit, typical of the race, have survived through all the vicissitudes of their country, and who to this day are acknowledged to be the bravest and hardiest of the soldiers of the Empire. It was to this people, like himself of Celtic origin, that Columba was to carry the priceless gift of the faith, entering with a handful of unarmed men into the heart of the country which the Roman legions had feared to penetrate."
39ff They approach the fortress of Brude the Pictish King near Inverness, but the gates were barred to them by the high priest of the Druids; Columba struck the gates with his fist and the bolts and bars shot back at his touch, and the gates silently rolled open. The King "was struck with fear" and "from henceforth he treated [Columba] with reverence and courtesy."
40ff On the enmity from Druids toward the Christians: they saw what was going to happen, they saw that they risked being displaced, and they "resolved not to lose their influence without a struggle." On the druidic religion of Caledonia which differed from that of Britain; on how the Druids would pursue Columba, interrupt him and misrepresent what he said; see also another miracle of Columba here, where he converted a family which then lost their eldest son to illness, and then after the Druids tried to claim that it was because of the family's apostasy, Columba prayed and "raised the child to life." Also Columba predicting/prophesying that the Pictish chief would come to be baptized at the point of his death.
44ff On The druids having "a certain power over the elements"; a story about how Broichem, the Druid priest called forth a thick fog and a contrary wind to prevent the departure of the missionaries; Columba, "nothing daunted" went anyway and the boat moved swiftly as if it had a favorable wind. Also comments here on Columba's faithful helpers; Malruve, who suffered "red martyrdom" at the hands of Norwegian pirates, St. Canice (or St. Kenneth as he was known by the Scots) who founded a monastery on the shore of Loch Lagan, etc.
Chapter VIII: The Convention of Drum-Ceatt
44ff King Aidan succeeds King Conal in Scotland, Aidan invites Columba to consecrate him; Columba helps negotiate a peaceful resolution to the tribute Scotland was paying Ireland in those days; Columba helps negotiate a perpetual alliance between Ireland and Scotland; on the banishment of the Bards in Ireland, guardians of the poetry, history and music of Ireland and held in high honor; note that the Bards began abusing their power and become unpopular because of their conduct; Columba speaks up after the king threatens to banish the Bards and do away with their privileges; Columba said that the guilty should be punished and the abuses be corrected but not to abolish the Bardic order. "Who would be left to make the records of the nation, to sing the noble deeds of its heroes or to lament the death of the brave? Why should the good grain be torn up with the tares?... The eloquent pleading of Columba carried all before it."
48 The story of St. Ernan, once a boy thought to be an idiot, with a stammer and a vacant eye; Columba prophesied that he would grow into a wise and great man; he grew up to be "the great St. Ernan, venerated both in Ireland and Scotland."
Chapter IX: For Christ and His Love
48ff "It is especially during the last few years of Columba's life on Earth that we can see how the natural fire and arrogance of his nature have been gradually transformed into the gentleness and charity of Christ." [See Katsuki Sekida's excellent book Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy, and see in particular Chapter 17: Stages of Zen Training, for a discussion of stages 8 ("no ox, no man"), 9 ("returning to the source") and 10 ("in town with helping hands"). It's astounding to see the many spiritual parallels here.] On Columba's self-conquest; gentleness won over a fiery temperament; interesting anecdotes also here about how Columba met with the truest hospitality at the homes of the poor and how he would bless his hosts or find ways to increase their "little store." On his sympathy for exiles from their native land; on a particular chief who was exiled: Columba spoke on behalf of this exile to the chief of the island of Islay, but that chief had this fugitive murdered and took his possessions; Columba then prophesied that he would die "before he had tasted the flesh of the boars that he was fattening for his table." This chief heard the prophecy and wanted to prove it false, so he had a board killed right away to eat... and then died as he sat down to the meal.
51 On Donnell, another chief who vowed vengeance on Columba for excommunicating him, Donnell's son attempted to assassinate him in his sleep but one of Columba's companions begged him to wear his cowl to sleep that night which protected him from injury as the assassin stabbed the wrong person.
52 Columba prophesies and saves a bird in a cute story here. "Not only his fellow-men but all the creatures of God were dear to Columba for their Creator's sake."
Chapter X: The Gift of Vision
52ff On Columba's "flashes of supernatural insight" which became more frequent as he got older; examples here: foreseeing the deaths of important monks; seeing their souls entering into heaven, etc.
55ff Columba sees a poor woman gathering wild herbs and nettles, and asks her what she was doing. "'I am gathering herbs for food,' she replied, 'for I have but one cow and it gives no milk; the poor must live as they can.' Columba reproached himself bitterly that this poor woman should fare worse than he did. 'We seek to win heaven,' he cried, 'by our austerities, and this poor woman, who is under no such obligation, outdoes us.' Henceforward he declared he would make his meal of the wild herbs and nettles that he had seen her gathering, and gave strict orders that nothing else should be served to him."
Chapter XI: The Light Eternal
56ff This chapter discusses Columba approaching death; it's reminiscent of The Sayings of the Holy Desert Fathers as the other monks were always upset and weeping at the loss of their beloved brother. Columba also predicts his own death, telling it to Diarmaid, one of the monks, but swearing him to secrecy until afterward. "To-night at midnight I shall depart from this world; it has been revealed to me by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.' Then Diarmaid could no longer control his grief and wept aloud while the Saint did his best to comfort him, speaking words of hope and consolation."
58 Columba gave his island home a final blessing. "'This place [Iona] will be famous in the days to come,' he said, 'and saints and Kings will come from other lands to do it honour.'"
58 "'My last words to you are these,' said he. 'Cherish true and unfeigned charity ever amongst yourselves, and God will never leave you in need, but will give you all that is necessary for your welfare in this world, and His glory in that which is to come.' ... They could scarcely believe that he was dead, for his face was still bright with joy that he looked like one who rested in a happy and peaceful sleep."
To Read:
Adamnan: Life of Columba