St Columba's Day, 9 June
Saint Columba/ Collumcille
Today is the Feast Day of St Columba/ Collumcille, Irish abbot, missionary and one of Ireland's three patron saints, with Patrick and Brigid. In Irish his name means 'dove'. Columba was born in Gartan, Donegal, on 7 December 521 and died on the island of Iona on 9 June 597 AD.
The gospel for the Saint Columba's Day Luke 5:1-11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken;and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Collect
O God, you called your servant Columba from among the princes of this land
to be a herald and evangelist of your kingdom:
Grant that your Church, remembering his faith and courage, may so proclaim the splendour of your grace that people everywhere will come to know your Son as their Saviour, and serve him as their King; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Iona
Saint Columba
"Born a son of the royal house of Ulster at Kilmacrennan in Donegal, Colum, whose name means 'dove', that had such a devotion to the things of God as a child that he was nicknamed 'Columcille', 'dove of the church'. For all that, he was far from being a 'softy' and the leadership he gave to monastic foundations at Derry and elsewhere in his youth secured them as firm bases for the expansion of the church in Ireland in a time of turmoil. His disciple and biographer, Adamnán, provides no details or reasons for Columba's decision in 563 to leave Ireland and set up a monastic base for mission on the island of Iona off the West coast of Scotland.
There seems no good reason to doubt that it was the great commission (Matthew 16:20) and his desire to win souls for Christ in pagan lands that were of a spur for this adventure. It was one greatly blessed by God so that within a generation Christian faith had spread throughout the land of the Picts. Iona was poised to be a powerhouse for the reclamation for the gospel of Northumbria and indeed much of the North and Eastern England in the early decades of the seventh century. Columba has been an inspiration of Irish missionary activity and the promotion of sound Christian education down the centuries. In preparation for the 1500th anniversary of the journey to Iona, Columba was accorded red letter status in the Church of Ireland."
(https://www.churchofireland.org/cmsfiles/pdf/Worship/CelticCommemorations/Celtic-Commemorations-2017---St.-Columcille-or-Columba.pdf)
You can find an account of his life here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba#
Remains of Saint Columba's Church, Gartan, Donegal
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Columba%27s_church,_Gartan,_Donegal.jpg
Today’s other gospel reading Mark10: 17-30
As he [Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ’ He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’
Sacred Space
You can find a gentle prayer guide and reflection here:
https://sacredspace.com/daily-prayer/2025-06-09/
Today's Christian Art
