I do not hold to the voice of birds,
or any luck on
the earthly world,
or chance or a son or a woman.
Christ the Son of God
is my Druid;
Christ the Son of Mary, the great Abbot;
the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit.
My estates are with the King of Kings.
St. Columba*
[521-597]
Your servant, Columba, has touched the ancient pagan fragments
carried deep within my Celtic bones and has fanned the flames of Pentecost in
my soul. Embolden my fervor that I might live deeply into the love of
Christ and give deeply of that love to all around me. Whether in my moments of
solitude or in the midst of all of life's delights and disasters, keep me
unflagging in my devotion to and actions on behalf of Christ, Druid and Abbot
for all whom God has created. amen.
*Born in County Donegal, Ireland, of
royal blood, Columba (also called Columcille) became a monk and rose to the
rank of priest. About 561 he became embroiled in a dispute over copyright
with St. Finnian which resulted in numerous deaths in a battle. As penance,
Columba was ordered out of Ireland for the remainder of his life and told to
make as many converts as men killed in the battle. He went to Scotland
where his conversion of the Picts is the stuff of legend as is his bringing back to life
a man killed by the Loch Ness monster and driving the monster off with the sign
of the cross. He established a monastery on the island of Iona on the
west coast of Scotland which still today is a site of pilgrimage and retreat.
As one of the three patron saints in Ireland, this Holy Three of Erin are
buried together ~ St. Patrick, St. Columba, and St. Brigid ~ in County Down.
**Irish Gaelic for "In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," pronounced:
In an-nim on ah-hur og-gus on vic og-gus on
spir-id neev
Druid: priest in ancient Celtic religion; a priest of an ancient religion practiced in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul until the people of those areas were converted to Christianity
