ARRIVAL OF ST. COLUMBA WITH HIS MONKS IN HY, WHERE HE BUILDS A
CHURCH AND MONASTERY--HE PREACHES TO THE NORTHERN PICTS, AND
WORKS TWO STUPENDOUS MIRACLES--OTHER MISSIONARY LABORS OF THE
SAINT--HIS CONNECTION STILL WITH IRELAND AND INTEREST IN IRISH
AFFAIRS--HE RETURNS TO THAT COUNTRY AND MAKES THE VISITATION
OF HIS MONASTERIES, &c.
THE first care of Columba and his monks on arriving at their
destination, was to erect a monastery and build a church. A
period of nearly two years seems to have been engrossed in the
completion of these undertakings, as well as in the settlement
of disciplinary matters connected with the new establishments.
When these were arranged, the saint proceeded to execute his
purpose of evangelizing the Northern Picts, who occupied all
that part of Scotland northward of the Grampian mountains. No
missionary had as yet appeared in this inhospitable clime; the
formidable barrier which separated its inhabitants from their
southern neighbors, hitherto preventing the glad tidings of
salvation from being wafted to their coast. The work seemed
reserved for our own Columba, and to it he went accompanied
only by a few of his disciples, with all the zeal and firmness
which ever characterizes the truly apostolic man.
The news of his arrival having reached the ears of Brude, the
sovereign who held dominion in these parts, he shut himself up
within the walls of the royal residence at _Inverness_, hoping
there to remain undisturbed from the intrusion of the man of
God. Fearing, however, that the solicitude of the latter for
his conversion should prove superior to this precaution, he
moreover issued orders that if the saint approached, the
palace gates should be closed against him. The apprehensions
of the prince were realized; for, anxious to obtain the regal
sanction, the royal mansion was the first place which Columba
visited.
Finding on his arrival that the very posterns were secured
against him, and that all access to Brude was denied, the
saint nowise dismayed, calling to mind this promise of his
loving and divine Master, "Amen I say unto you, if you have
faith as a grain of mustard-seed you shall say to this
mountain, pass from hence and it shall be removed, and nothing
shall be impossible unto you," [1] fearlessly advanced to the
palace gate, and impressed upon it the sacred sign of the
cross; and lo! by the power of Him who dying for us thereon,
shivered "the brazen gates," and burst the chains of Satan;
the royal portals yielded on the moment, and expanded widely,
to the amazement of the Pagan bystanders. This was sufficient;
confounded at "the power which was given to" the holy
missionary, the monarch came forth, attended by all the
members of his council, welcomed him with every demonstration
of kindness and respect, gave him all the permissions he
required, and never failed in their after intercourse to
evince the courtesy displayed at this first meeting. The magi,
or ministers of the national superstition, were the only
persons from whom the missionaries had now any reason to fear
opposition, and they gave it; for, despite of the sanction of
the king, they used every artifice to render unavailing the
labors of the saintly men. An entire family being converted by
the blessed Columba to the Christian faith, their deadly
hatred was so provoked, that they were disposed to view with
pleasure any misfortune befalling its individual members. To
their great joy one of the children grew sick, and died soon
after baptism, which they at once proclaimed to be the
punishment of its parents' apostacy, and a certain proof of
the superiority of the potency of their gods, over the God of
the Christians. Columba being apprized of this circumstance,
and fearing for the faith of his neophytes, repaired without
delay to their abode. On arriving there, he first endeavored
to console the sorrowing parents by enlarging on the Divine
power, and by exhorting them to look with confidence for
relief to the one true God, and next proceeded to the room
where the body of the deceased lay, whence he obliged all to
withdraw while he poured forth his prayer to God for the
restoration to life of the departed child. At the close of his
fervent orison, directing his eyes towards the lifeless
remains, he exclaimed, "In the name of the Lord Jesus, arise,
and stand upon thy feet!" The command was obeyed, the child
was instantly restored to life, and the saint taking him by
the hand led him to the apartment in which his parents
disconsolately remained. We may guess at, but cannot speak
their joy, their gratitude. Surely now they blessed the hour
in which they embraced Christianity, and were more strongly
confirmed in the belief of its mysteries: the people, too,
assembled in crowds to witness the wonder which Columba had
wrought, testified by their acclamations their grateful
acknowledgments to him, and their faith in the omnipotence of
the God whom he came to preach unto them.
The interests of his monastery at Hy, required that the saint
should occasionally interrupt his apostolic labors in
Pictland, in order to revisit it. However, his stay was very
short, being prolonged only as much as was absolutely
necessary for the infant establishment; for as soon as it was
possible he tore himself from his dear religious to resume his
mission. And what a sacrifice of self, even in its _minimum_,
and apparently lawful form, was not here! That Columba would
have preferred communing with God in the seclusion of the
cloister, and governing that little and most peaceful flock
committed to his care was but natural; but like all saintly
"hooded men," he only thought of subjecting nature to grace,
and knowing full well that when we leave God _for_ God, we are
most certain of finding Him.
It cannot be doubted that St. Columba's zealous exertions were
crowned with great success, the vast majority of the
inhabitants of Pictland being gained over to the belief and
practice of the Gospel. Even during his first visit there, he
was enabled to erect some few churches and religious houses,
and appointed spiritual instructors to provide for the
religious wants of the new converts, and propagate during his
occasional absence the holy Catholic faith. Who these were we
are not aware, the event being but imperfectly recorded, no
less than the history of these first ecclesiastical
foundations.
It is said, that our saint penetrated into the Orkney Isles,
and with some success, but of his proceedings there we know
little. Of those which took place in the Hebrides or Western
Islands, which he also blessed with his presence, frequently
visiting them, indefatigably preaching in them, supplying them
with missionaries, erecting churches, and founding religious
communities, there is more extant. Among these Islands, Hymba,
where he established a monastery, over which, after some
years, he placed his maternal uncle Erwan, seems to have been
his favorite retreat, just as Sabhal, or Saul, in our own
green isle was of his glorious and saintly progenitor in the
faith, St. Patrick. On various occasions, and at different
intervals, he made it his abode. There it was that he was
visited by four holy founders of monasticism in Ireland--by
Comgall, Cainnech or Canice, Brendan of Clonfert, and Cormac
Hua Liathain;--there while celebrating mass for them, Brendan
saw a very bright flame like a burning pillar, as if rising
from his head, which continued from the moment of the
consecration to the termination of the sacred mysteries. It
was there also that, on another occasion, he had some
extraordinary celestial visitations, which lasted for three
days and three nights consecutively. There were several
monasteries also, founded by himself, or in virtue of his
obedience by his disciples, in an island called Ethica, one of
which was governed by Baithen, who subsequently succeeded him
in the abbacy of Hy. While thus engaged, the saint was at
times obliged to exert himself in defence of the new converts
against certain marauders, who, though nominally Christian,
practised the illicit trade of plundering. On one occasion, he
proceeded to excommunicate some of the leaders, who were
members of the royal house of the British Scots, but at the
risk of his life, one of their partizans having rushed upon
him with a spear, but providentially without effect. Adamnan
says, that the name of this assassin was _Lamh-dess_ or _Right
hand_, and that on his advancing against Columba, Findulgan, a
monk of Hymba, where this transaction occurred, being clothed
in an outer garment of the saint, threw himself between him
and Lamh-dess, who, notwithstanding he used all his might, was
not able to transfix it.
The apostolic labors of St. Columba were not confined to the
territories of the Picts and Western Islanders, he
superintended also the ecclesiastical affairs of the British
Scots, and formed some religious establishments in their
kingdom; one of them, near Loch-Awe in Argyle, was governed by
one of his monks named Cailten, of whom it is related, that he
died at Hy, the parent-house, if we may so call it. The holy
abbot Columba, foreseeing that the death of this monk was
nigh, sent for him that he might give him his blessing, as
being in some sort necessary to his terminating his course in
the true spirit of monastic obedience. In traversing the
southern part of this kingdom, our saint visited St.
Kentigern, bishop of Glasgow, and spent with him a few days.
Nor is it improbable that he visited South Britain, then
possessed by the Anglo-Saxons, for there were Christians of
that nation in Hy before his death, converted in all
probability by himself or his disciples. Meantime, he did not
neglect to watch vigilantly over his other monasteries, not
only in Scotland and the Isles, but also those which he had
founded in his own dear and more cherished land. Thither did
he often send messengers on business connected with his
monasteries, or with other pious objects. On one occasion he
dispatched to Clogher, in all haste, Lugaid Laithir, one of
his monks, (whom Adamnan calls his legate by excellence,) with
a box containing a benediction, which, when dipped in water,
was to cure the saintly virgin Mangina, whose limb was broken
at her returning from the holy mysteries; which it did most
effectually instantly on its application. [2]
St. Columba was frequently visited by persons from Ireland,
who were either his former friends, or who wished to become
so, or who desired to receive his advice on various matters;
and these, with all other strangers, he received with the
greatest kindness, and treated most hospitably. Besides the
holy men already mentioned, Columbanus, bishop in the province
of Leinster, [3] came to see him. The holy abbot conceived a
great friendship for this prelate, so that, being apprized of
his death by revelation, he gave orders in the morning that
the monks who were preparing for their respective occupations
should refrain from work on that day; and when all was ready
for the holy mysteries, the whole community, clothed in white
garments as on a Sunday or other solemnity, proceeded to the
church along with the saint. When the choir had come to a part
of the service in which the name of St. Martin used to be
commemorated, the saintly abbot cried out, "To-day you must
sing for the holy bishop Columbanus;" and thus they became
informed of his death.
Another visitor of St. Columba's was Aidan, a very religious
man, who had lived twelve years with St. Brendan of Clonfert.
On the day before his arrival, the saint said to the brethren,
"We intend to fast to-morrow as usual, because it will be
Wednesday; but, in consequence of the arrival of a stranger,
the fast will be broken." The event verified the prediction.
Aidan did arrive; and St. Columba's dispensation with so holy
an ordinance, observed even by the whole Irish Church,
establishes his claim to great prudence and discretion. [4]
We shall mention but one more of those visitors, Cronan, a
Munster bishop, who, on the occasion, through humility, did
all that he could to prevent its being known that he belonged
to the episcopal order. Not having yet understood that he did,
Columba desired him on the Sunday to celebrate Mass, "_Christi
corpus ex more, conficere_." He did so; and when he came to
the division of the consecrated host, he called upon Columba
to join him as a priest in breaking the Lord's bread, "_Ut
simul quasi duo presbyteri, Dominicum panem frangerent_."
Coming up to the altar, and looking him in the face, the saint
said, "Christ bless you brother; do you alone break it,
according to the episcopal rite, for now we know you are a
bishop. Why have you hitherto endeavored to conceal yourself,
so as not to let us pay you that veneration which we owe to
you?" [5]
That Columba was held in the highest veneration, as well by
the clergy and people as by the monarchs of his time, both in
Ireland and Britain, is too well known to require proof. A
very remarkable instance of it occurs in his having been the
person applied to for inaugurating, or, as his biographers
express it, _ordaining_, Aidan, king of the British Scots,
after the death of Conall; with which request, by the way, he
complied not, until after being commanded by an angel,
preferring much that Eugene, Aidan's brother, should sway the
sceptre. He subsequently became very friendly towards the
latter; and for his sake chiefly it was that he assisted at
the assembly of Drumceat in Ireland, some differences between
him and Aidus, the supreme monarch of the green isle, being to
be adjusted therein. This was the last of the several visits
with which our saint favored the land of his birth, and it is
referred to the year 590. He was accompanied by some of his
monks, together with his royal friend; and having, after a
stormy passage, entered Lough Foyle, and landed near the mouth
of the river Roe, they proceeded to Drumceat, to meet the
states-general of the kingdom. Aidus, at first rather insolent
and disrespectful towards St. Columba, changed his tone
altogether when he found that he came only to establish peace
between him and the king of the British Scots. The respective
claims of the royal opponents were simply these: Aidan, the
Scottish monarch, asserting a hereditary right to the
sovereignty of Dalrieda in Antrim, demanded that the
inhabitants of that territory should be relieved from the
tribute paid by the other Irish principalities to the supreme
monarch; while, on the other hand, Aidus, contended that, as
the aforesaid territory formed a part of his realm, it could
not be exempt from the subsidy required from the several
states of the kingdom by him and his successors in the
monarchy. The decision of the matter being at length referred
to St. Columba, he, feeling unwilling to pronounce upon it,
advised that it should be submitted to St. Colman, a person
deeply skilled in civil as well as ecclesiastical lore. St.
Colman decided for Aidus; but, to heal the dissensions which
had arisen, he proposed that a solemn covenant should be
entered into between him and Aidan to render mutual
assistance, the one to the other, against any enemy who might
invade their respective dominions. This proposal was received
with joy, and being entered into, gave general satisfaction.
Another subject of no small national importance was
subsequently discussed. The bards had incurred the displeasure
of Aidus, and several leading members of the national council,
being as it was said, a proud and venal order, who bestowed
praise on, or loaded with censure, the nobles and other great
men, not according to merit, but just as they were prompted by
passion or interest. Their fate seemed decided--their
proscription was about to be determined on, until our saintly
abbot, who, at the same time that he protested against such an
abuse, still loved, like a patriot, the institutions of his
country, claimed toleration for "_the sons of song_;" and
pleaded their cause so successfully, that the assembly
contented itself with limiting their number, and obliging them
thenceforward to observe certain regulations. The assembly
being dissolved, our good St. Columba prepared to leave
Drumceat; but, before he set out, his pity for the sufferings
of _Scanlan, prince of Ossory_, detained in prison by Aidus
for some political cause, induced him to petition for his
release. Though disposed to receive favorably any request from
such a holy man, the fears, or perhaps the prejudices, of the
monarch against the unfortunate prince prevented his
acquiescence: so, perceiving that further interference would
not avail, Columba consoled the royal captive with the
assurance that he should survive his imperial master, and be
restored to, and govern for many years, his native princedom.
From Drumceat, St. Columba proceeded to transact business far
more to his mind, and according to his spirit, the visitation
of his monasteries. The number which he visited on this
occasion we cannot ascertain, to that of Derry, as lying
within a short distance of Drumceat, he undoubtedly went; as
also to that of Durrough, his favorite, then governed for him
by Lasrean. In this latter he remained even for some months,
arranging various disciplinary matters; during which time he
visited Alitherus, abbot of Clonmacnois, who, with his whole
community, and the people of the surrounding country, received
him with all manner of respect and veneration. Having
accomplished the business which brought him to Ireland, the
saint set out for his adopted country, and, making the
northern part of Ulster his way, had an interview with St.
Comgall of Bangor, and another with Conall, bishop of
Coleraine. [6] Taking shipping soon after, he sailed for Hy,
where he landed in safety.
[1] St. Matt. ch. xvii, ver. 19
[2] Adamnan, Book 2, ch. 5.
[3] Ibid. Book 3, ch. 12.
[4] Wednesdays and Fridays were fast-days formerly throughout
Ireland.
[5] Adamnan, Book 1, ch. 44.
[6] In the infancy of the Irish Church it was usual to appoint
bishops over small districts, so that the number of Irish sees
were then very numerous.