OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Tag: Vignettes

  • A Legend of Saint Scothine

    January 2 is the feast of Saint Scothin, an account of whose life can be found here. Below is a retelling of the most famous of the legends associated with him, by the Irish Anglican writer Maud Joynt:

    LEGEND OF SAINT SCOTHINE

    SCOTHINE, who dwelt at Tech Scothine, in Leinster, was a saint of great piety and of wondrous power;  for he could make the journey from Ireland to Rome in one day and return the next; moreover, he could walk dryshod on the sea. One day while he was walking on the sea he met Saint Barre of Cork, who was in a boat.

    ” How comes it that thou art walking on the sea?” asked Barre .

    ” ‘Tis no sea, but a plain covered with clover,” said Scothine, and, with that, he plucked a clover blossom and threw it to Saint Barre in the boat.

    “But thou, how comes it that thy boat floats on a plain?”

    Thereupon Barre dipped his hand into the water, drew out a salmon and threw it to Scothine; and that was all the answer he made.

    Maud Joynt, The Golden Legends of the Gael, (Dublin, n.d.), Part II, 80.

  • Saint Columbanus at Annegray

    We continue the octave of posts in honour of the 1400th anniversary of the death of Saint Columbanus with a portrait of the way of life he pursued at Annegray. It reveals a tension familiar to the saints, torn as they are by the needs of others and a desire for solitude:

    During the sojourn of Columbanus at Anegrai which lasted for two or three years, he lived in the continual practice of prayer and contemplation. Oftentimes, his course of life was interrupted by the wits of those, who came from afar, being attracted by the reputation of his virtues and many miracles wrought through the efficacy of his prayers. Numbers of sick and infirm persons were brought to him, and through his intervention they were miraculously restored to health and strength. Numbers of pious persons sought the direction and advice of this experienced instructor. These unavoidable interruptions did not however prevent our Saint occasionally retiring from public observation, to avoid the distractions caused by his visitors. Although he could not always shun intercourse with men, on account of the laborious duties of the ministry he was called to exercise; yet, he was accustomed, before all great festivals, to withdraw himself for a few days to the most retired parts of the desert, where, by a sort of retreat, he devoted himself entirely to fasting, prayer and holy contemplation.

    Rev. John O’Hanlon, ‘ Life of Saint Columbanus, Abbot of Luxeu’ in The Irish Harp: a monthly magazine of national and general literature: Volume 1, 1-4 (1863), 154.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Columbanus and the Miracle of Water from the Rock

    Canon O’Hanlon brings us another vignette from the Life of Saint Columbanus, this time heavily-laden with Old Testament allusions, as he describes how our saint is able through his prayers to make water flow from a rock:

    On the occasion of his many retreats to the solitudes of the forest, the Saint suffered the extremities of hunger for whole days. He lived upon wild herbs and berries, which the woods furnished, and he often remained altogether apart from his companions. His drink was water. A certain youth, named Domoaldis, was commissioned by Columban and his monks to bear messages between them, and this boy was alone witness to many of the austerities of our Saint. Columban remained for several days on the brow of a precipitous rock, very difficult of access, and Domoaldis, who chanced to be with him, complained in an undertone of voice, that they should be obliged to procure water at a distance, and that it must be conveyed with great toil up the side of the steep. Upon this, Columban desired the boy to scoop out a hollow in the rock, and he obeyed. The holy man knelt down, and besought the Lord, that he would look upon them with a favourable eye. Thereupon, a rill of water issued from the rock, and the spring continued perpetually running from that time. Hence we may admire the wonderful condescension of Almighty God, to the requests of his chosen servants, who with faith and hope prefer their petitions to him. For he himself has given the assurance, “All things whatsoever you ask, believe that you shall obtain and they shall be rendered unto you.” This consolatory promise to the holy man was often realized, even in the presence of multiplied difficulties.*

    * Jonas, Vita S. Columbani. n. 16.

    Rev. John O’Hanlon, ‘ Life of Saint Columbanus, Abbot of Luxeu’ in The Irish Harp: a monthly magazine of national and general literature: Volume 1, 1-4 (1863), 112.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.