St. Columba of Iona

St. Columba of Iona - Patron of Ireland - June 9th

Columba was an Irishman and sometimes he is called by his Irish name of Columkille. He studied at famous monastery schools and became a good poet. Then he became a pupil of St. Finian and later a priest. Before he was twenty-five, he had had the good fortune to study with a number of great Irish saints.

Columba was a tall, strong man with a loud, beautiful voice that people said could be heard a mile away. For fifteen years, he went all over Ireland preaching and starting monasteries. Yet he never stopped studying and he made every effort to obtain many books.

When he was forty-two, St. Columba left Ireland to try to win pagans in Scotland for Christ. On the island of Iona he built a monastery, many missionaries to Scotland and England were to come. St. Columba began his mission to Scotland by going to the castle of the pagan King. The King had commanded his soldiers not to let the Saint enter. But when Columba lifted his arm to make the sign of the cross, the gates fell open by themselves! The King was so amazed that he listened to his words about the Christian Faith and greatly honored St. Columba from then on. Because of the many converts he made, the Saint is called the Apostle of Scotland.

Columba was once a rather rough, quick-tempered man and, though his name means “dove,” he was not gentle at all. But he changed so much that he became loving with everyone, serene and full of holy joy.

The saints were not born saints. They had to overcome their defects. Let us, too, see what our greatest defect is and then pray and work hard to correct it.