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Columban
was an Irish monk who lived in the sixth century and
went as a missionary to mainland Europe.
There the practice of religion had collapsed.
Columban
and his companions began to preach the Gospel message
far and wide. Soon
they became very well known and had a great influence on
the practice of religion in Europe. He founded
monasteries all over Southern Europe but because of his
outspoken condemnation of immoral and unjust behaviour,
particularly of the powerful, he was made to suffer much
and was often driven from his monastery by kings and
princes.
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Columban
was a person who combined a deep spiritual life of union
with God and an all-consuming zeal for the proclamation
of the Gospel.
Today,
this spirit continues to inspire and challenge the
present-day missionaries that bear his name.
Columban
died in a place called Bobbio in Northern Italy on
November 23, 615
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Prayer
to St. Columban
O Blessed St. Columban,
who
in your zeal to follow Christ, left
your homeland
and spent your life in suffering and exile.
Help
and protect, we humbly ask you, the missionaries of our
day
who have devoted their lives to preaching the Gospel
throughout the world.
Obtain
for them, we ask you, that
same wisdom and fortitude
by which you overcame the dangers which
beset your path,
and that firm faith and ardent love which
enabled you
to endure gladly the privations of the life for the love
of Christ.
Assist and protect us also dear St. Columban,
so to live for God’s glory
that when our pilgrimage through life is over
we may share with you in the joy of our heavenly home
through Christ our Lord.
Amen
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