'After her victory Saint Brigit departed this life..'

After her victory saint Brigit departed this life amid choirs of patriarchs and prophets and apostles and martyrs and all the holy men and virgins and amid the ranks of angels and archangels to the eternal diadems of the heavenly kingdom, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the kingdom without end where everlasting rewards are bestowed through Our Lord Jesus Christ together with the Father and Holy Spirit through endless ages. Amen.

 

S. Connolly, ed. and trans., Vita Prima Sanctae Brigitae: Background and Historical Value, JRSAI, Vol. 119 (1989), p.49.

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Saint Bridget in Ireland

 

Tomorrow will be the feast of Saint Brigid and the article below describes for an expatriate audience many of the folk customs associated with the feast in the old country, some of which take place on the previous evening. It has been taken from an Australian newspaper of 1919 where it appears to have been syndicated from an American Catholic publication, the Ave Maria. In common with many other pieces on this theme at this time, the writer laments the passing of these traditions, in particular the falling popularity of the name Brigid and notes the adaptation of the homely diminutive 'Biddy' into the rather more polished-sounding 'Bidelia' by the younger generation.  In the nineteenth century 'Biddy' represented the stereotypical Irish peasant girl on music-hall stages and in popular culture so perhaps by 1919 she had had her day. I have never seen the name Bidelia before nor have I come across the other diminutive 'Jetty'. I have though encountered a surprising number of writings on this theme and wonder if it points to an underlying anxiety about the cultural influences of the host nation to which Irish immigrants were naturally subject. This writer ends by linking the folk customs of Saint Brigid's day with those of the eve of the feast of All Hallows and concludes that they are ultimately harmless:

 

St Bridget in Ireland

 

Of all the saints whom the Irish honour, St. Patrick is first and foremost in their affections, but there is another that is held in fond esteem and veneration: Saint Bridget, whose death occurred in the year 528. She is called the Patroness of Ireland. 

 

Old customs are rapidly vanishing in Ireland. Yet still the colleen, on the 1st. February, rises very early in the morning, and churns before the sun climbs in glory over the eastern hill; and if she has finished her work by that time, and hears the lark sing, then folk say that she will have success in all her doings for the year. For the lark is the bird of St. Bridget, ever since it was wont to awaken her in good time for Matins. To all who on the morning of her festival, hear its strains, it is a good omen for the year, also a sign of fine weather. 

 

Most of the oldtime customs associated with "Biddy's Day" — for so the Irish, with that apparently over-familiar, yet deeply reverent and reticent, trait of theirs, term the festival— are fast dying; but in remote places little girls still carry round a "bredogue" — a large doll resembling the "Morena" of the  Hungarian children,  and supposed to represent St. Bridget or Bride. 

 

In far-lying countrysides the folk usually place before their doors a mat made out of peeled rushes, in order that the Saint may come and kneel there to pray for the family. This they also do if there is illness in the dwelling. Irish girls born in February were formerly almost invariably named after the Saint. But to-day the name is no longer in such great favour, and some young women on whom the name has been bestowed have changed it into Bidelia. In the North of Ireland, as in Scotland, Bride is a popular form of the name; and the homely contraction of "Jetty" takes the place of the "Biddy" or "Bridgie" of the other parts of the island. 

 

On the eve of St. Bridget a silken riband is still occasionally placed on the windowsill in honour of the Saint; and is left out all night, during which time it is popularly supposed to grow longer. It is afterwards kept as a panacea for headaches, the cure being worked thus: the riband is drawn thrice round the patient's head, the following words being repeated at each round, "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen!" and then the silk is knotted round the patient's head. 

 

These are a few of the customs in honour of St. Bride, of Bridget, that still linger in the Green Isle, where many kindly folk still put out a plateful of victuals on All Hallow Eve, for the wandering spirits of the dead and all the strange hosts of beings so real to the Irish peasant. If the griddle-cake and bowlful of milk, and the bit of bread and cheese, have vanished by the morning into the maw of some hungry beggar or even cat or dog, the donors are the better of it, and no one is the worse. — "Ave Maria."

 W.A. Record (Perth, WA : 1888 - 1922), Saturday 22 March 1919, page 8

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Apostle of Scotland and Patron of Ireland

Today is the feast of Saint Colum Cille and to mark the occasion I reprint below a newspaper article from 1905.  The author, who signs himself only as 'J.B.', presents a picture of Saint Colum Cille as an all-conquering heroic figure who is not just a great saint but also a great patriot. Indeed the land of Ireland, from which he now lives in exile, is so holy that the very breezes which blow there were like 'Zephyrs of Paradise' to him. The article is thus very typical of the romantic, nationalist view of Ireland and its saints found at this time. It packs in many of the tropes from Columban hagiography and ends with a prayer from the liturgy. May I wish everyone the blessings of our tertiary patron's feast!


APOSTLE OF SCOTLAND AND PATRON OF IRELAND.

Saint Columbkille.
HIS FEAST, JUNE,  9. 

Saint Columba Abbot, Prince, Priest, Apostle of Scotland, and Patron of Ireland, was born at Gartan, in the County Donegal, in the year 521, and died at Iona in the year 595. "He was," says Alban Butler, "one of the greatest Patriarchs of the Monastic Order in Ireland, and the Apostle of the Picts". He was surnamed Columbkille from the great number of Monastic Cells of which he was the founder. "Columba," said St. Fintan, "is not to be compared with philosophers and learned men, but with Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles. The Holy Ghost reigns in him; He has been chosen by God for the good of all. He is a sage among sages, a king among kings, an anchorite with anchorites, a monk of monks."

He was forty-three years old before he left Ireland for Iona, and in the meantime, according to Usher, he founded a hundred Monasteries. According to O'Donnell he founded as many as three hundred. "Venerated at home for his sanctity and wondrous miracles," writes Cardinal Moran, "he is ranked with St. Patrick and St. Bridget amongst the chief patrons of Ireland, whilst abroad the grateful piety of those whom he evangelised has awarded him the aureola of Chief Apostle of Caledonia. It is true that many years before the Mission of Columba others had preached the faith in Dalriada and the southern districts of Alba, but in consequence of continual wars and predatory incursions piety had again grown cold, and the light of truth was well nigh spent. He it was that revived there the spirit of piety, and renewed the fervor of Christian life. The Northern Picts, however, had never yet received the Gospel; but now that sanguinary and untameable race, which Imperial Rome could not subdue, was conquered by the Irish missionary. Before St. Columba elided his glorious career the whole nation was gathered into tho one true fold. Their glens and forests, their almost inaccessible mountains, and their distant islands were studded with Christian Churches and Monasteries, and resounded with the praise of the Most High. Pict and Scot hailed him with the utmost enthusiasm, regarding him as an angel in human form. His shining virtues won the admiration of all, for he rejoiced with them that rejoiced and wept with them that wept. He was a great Saint and a great Patriot, entering deeply and warmly into everything that affected the weal of Clan Nial or the honor of Erin. The very breezes that blow on the fair hills of holy Ireland were, to him like the Zephyrs of Paradise, and all his life he retained for Ireland the passionate tenderness of an exile. "Death," he said, "In faultless Ireland is better than life without end in Albyn." "Young traveller,'" he exclaims to a monk revisiting Ireland, "take my heart with thee and my blessing. Carry my blessing across the sea. If death should come upon me suddenly it will be because of my great love of the Gael." The birds that winged their flight across he took up tenderly, caressed, and fed until they were able to return to sweet Ireland, where they were born.

A great consolation was vouchsafed to him in a vision, and he foretold that long years after his death his remains should be conveyed across the sea and deposited in the same tomb with Saints Patrick and Bridget. "They shall bury me first in Iona, but by the will of the living God it is in Down that I shall rest in my grave with Patrick and Bridget, the spotless." Three bodies in one grave, and so it happened. From an old Latin poem we learn that in Down "Three Saints one grave do fill, Patrick, Bridget, and Columkille." Deeply as he loved his native land Columba was satisfied with his cell of exile, his stone pillar, his meagre food, his almost superhuman labor and austerities.

When he left Ireland and settled in Iona he was then in the prime of life. Twelve companions, amongst them two first cousins and an uncle, accompanied him in his voyage. For 30 years after he was the legislator and the Captain of Christianity In those Northern regions. The King of the Picts received baptism at his hands. The kings of the Scottish Colony, his kinsmen, received the Crown from him on their accession, to the Throne. The islet of Iona was presented to him by one of these Princes. Here he and his companions built with their own hands their parent house, and from this Hebridean Rock in after times was shaped the temporal and spiritual destinies of many tribes and kingdoms. Formed by his teaching and example there went out from it Apostles to Iceland, to the Orkneys, to Northumbria, to Man, and to South Britain. A hundred Monasteries in Ireland looked to him as their Patriarch. His rule of monastic life was sought for by chiefs, bards, and converted druids. Clients seeking direction from his wisdom or protection  through his power were constantly arrlving or departing from his sacred isle. He had the gift of seeing men's souls— how they stood before God. On one occasion he foretold to his brethren the immediate arrival of a Pictish Chief, who was very aged, who had preserved intact the laws of nature, and who was now coming to receive the grace of faith and baptism, after which would follow a happy death. Soon the skiff arrived, the chief came ashore, and all else happened as foretold.

Like all great saints he was severe to himself and indulgent to others. His activity was incessant. Not a single hour of the day did he leave unoccupied without engaging either in prayer or in reading, or in writing, or in some other work. His fastings and watchings also were unwearied.  From his boyhood (according to his cousin, St. Adamnan) he had been brought up under Christian training in the study of wisdom, and by the grace of God he so preserved his body and the purity of his soul that though dwelling on earth he appeared to live like the Saints in heaven. He was angelic in appearance, graceful in speech, holy in work, with talents of the highest order, and consummate prudence. Ho was beloved by all for a holy joyousness ever beaming on his countenance revealed the joy and gladness with which the Holy Spirit filled his inmost soul.

 The Commentator of the Feilire of Aengus describes his appearance as that of a man well-formed, with a powerful frame. His skin was white, his face was broad and fair and radiant, lit up with large grey luminous eyes. His large and well-shaped head was crowned, except where he wore his frontal tonsure, with close and curling hair. His voice was clear and resonant so that he could be heard at the distance of fifteen hundred paces, yet sweet with more than the sweetness of the bards. His father, Feidlam, was descended from one of the eight sons of the great Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was Supreme Monarch of Ireland from the year 379 to 406, and his mother, Ethnea, belonged to the Royal family of Leinster. An old life of the Saint states that he was offered the Throne of Leinster and refused to accept it.

Before his death St. Columkille paid one visit to his beloved Ireland and made a comparatively long stay. At length he returned to Iona, where far into the evening of life he waited for his summons to the beatific vision. Death found him at the ripe age of almost eighty years stylus in hand tolling cheerfully over the vellum page. It was the last night of the week when the presentiment of his end came strongly upon him. "This day," he said to his disciple and successor Dermid, "Is called the day of rest, and such it will be for me, for it will finish my labors." Laying down the manuscript he added, "Let Baithen finish the rest."Just after Matins on the Sunday morning he peacefully passed away in the midst of his brethren. His feast is kept on tho 9th of June, and on Tuesday last the Church addressed to him the following prayer in which She wished her children to join :— "Let the intercession of the Blessed Abbot Columba, we beseech Thee, Oh Lord, commend us to Thee, that what by our own merits we are unworthy to receive we may obtain by his patronage, through Christ our Lord. Amen." J. B.

Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), Thursday 8 June 1905, page 8

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The Feast of Saint Colum Cille, June 9

A.Steadman, Our Island Saints (1912)

Flaming June, aptly indeed, is the month in which St Colmcille's feast-day falls. Bright as fire was the nature of that princely saint. How vividly the race always remembered him!

Aodh de Blacam, 'St Colmcille as Poet', in The Irish Monthly, Vol. 67, No. 792 (Jun., 1939), p. 425.


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Brighid na gCoinneall - Brigid of the Candles

St Brigid is called the Mary of Ireland. Numbers of most beautiful legends cluster around her fame. She was the attendant woman of the Virgin and the foster-mother of Christ. She carried two candles before the Virgin at the Purification, hence she is called Brighid na gCoinneall - Brigid of the Candles - and her feast was Candlemas. Her crosses, indeed, are sometimes called Candlemas Crosses.

...On her day Winter is chased away, and life is breathed into the earth. At Candlemas a candle less is required, the days are so much longer.

An Claidheamh Soluis, Jan. 25, 1908, quoted in 'St. Brigid in Tradition and Art', The Furrow Vol. 3, No. 2 (Feb., 1952), p. 4.

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Octave of the Feast of Saint Colum Cille

June 17 marks the Octave of the Feast of Saint Colum Cille. There is a description of a manuscript, no 211, preserved in the Library of Edinburgh University, which contains an office for the Octave:

IV. Four leaves, measuring roughly 11"x7 and three-quarter inches, of an Antiphoner written in Scotland, c. 1340, with later additions, containing parts of the services for the feasts of S. Columba and Corpus Christi, as follows:

S. Columba. — Part of ninth respond at Matins ; anthems, chapter, hymn, anthem to Benedictus at Lauds ; anthem to Magnificat at 2nd Evensong ; rubric for Octave; respond and anthem for 1st Evensong, one anthem for Matins and Lauds of Sunday within the Octave ; seven anthems for other days in the Octave ; responds and anthems to Magnificat at 1st and 2nd Evensong of Octave Day.

Corpus Christi. — End of hymn Pange lingua at 1st Evensong and rest of services to V. Non est alia nacio of 7th respond at Matins, including proper anthems for psalms and Nunc dimittis, and Collect at Compline and hymn Sacris solempniis at Matins ; all the rest as in Sarum Breviary.

The full noted service for an Octave of S. Columba (which has no Octave in the Aberdeen Breviary or other extant breviary used in Scotland) points to an important church dedicated in his name. This is confirmed by an allusion in the anthem to the Magnificat of 1st Evensong of the Octave Day, locumque istum tibi deditum. The fact that the Corpus Christi service (written in the same hand on the same leaves) is not Sarum Use, excludes Dunkeld Cathedral, and Iona is excluded because the Use is not Benedictine. There remains only one other church of any great size in Scotland for which such a service would be required, viz. that of the Augustinian Priory of Inchcolm. The prayer te laudantem serva chorum ab incursu anglicorum also points in the same direction, for Inchcolm was sacked by the English in 1335, and this service was evidently written not long after that date.

The service shows no connection with that in the Aberdeen Breviary. The proper anthems and Collect for Compline of Corpus Christi suggest a church of Canons Regular. The fact that the services of S. Columba, belonging to the Sanctorale, and Corpus Christi, belonging to the Temporale, are written in the same gathering and at the same time, point to their being an addition to a manuscript which was no doubt written in England at a date too early to contain Corpus Christi.

C. R. Borland, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Western Medieval Manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library (Edinburgh, 1916), 306-7.

Alas, there is no translation or text of any of this material cited but to honour Saint Colum Cille below  is the Benedictus Antiphon for his feast as found in the Inchcolm Antiphoner and recorded by the monks of Pluscarden Abbey. An earlier post on this recording can be found here.

Confessor Dei pretiose Columba, devotos tibi astantes adiuva et tuum confugientes patrocinium numquam diurnam deserat auxilium.

Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel... (Lk 1:68-79)

O precious confessor of God, Columba, help those who devoutly come into your presence, and may your constant help never depart from those who fly to your protection.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.

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The Nativity of Saint Colum Cille, December 7

December 7 sees the commemoration on some of the Irish calendars of the birth of Saint Colum Cille (Columba). The Martyrology of Gorman records for this day:

The nativity of chaste, dear-white Colomb, the festival of Buite the fair and vigorous.

while the later Martyrology of Donegal simply records 'The Birth of Colum Cille' in its entry for December 7.

In his 1857 edition of Adamanan's Life of Columba, the Irish Anglican Bishop, William Reeves, commented:

St. Columba was born at Gartan, a wild district in the county of Donegal, on the very day that St. Buite, the founder of Monasterboice, departed this life. Thus the 7th of December is determined for an event, the date of which might otherwise have been unrecorded. Authorities vary as to the year, ranging from 518 to 523; but calculation from Adamnan's data gives 521 as that most likely to be the true period.

Gartan. The earliest authority for St. Columba's birth-place is probably the statement in the old Irish Life: 'Gartan, now, is the name of the place in which he was born.' O'Donnell and the Calendar of Donegal cite the alleged lines of St. Mura :

'He was born at Gartan by his consent;

And he was nursed at Cill-mic-Neoin ;

And the son of goodness was baptized,

At Tulach Dubhglaise of God.'

None of the Latin Lives make any reference to the place of his birth. Local tradition, however, is very decided in confirmation of the Irish account.

Seventh of December. The Irish Life adds: 'on Thursday, of the week-days.' This will give the choice of 517 and 523 for his birth: for, Dec. 7 is e, therefore, it being Thursday, A is the Sunday letter, which belongs to the above years.

William Reeves, ed., The Life of St Columba written by Adamnan (Dublin, 1857), lxix.

The later life of Saint Colum Cille, written by the 16th-century Donegal prince Manus O'Donnell, records a number of the traditions associated with the birth of the saint. These include prophecies and visions, but also some very tangible relics: 

51. On a time Ethne the mother of Columcille was in the place that is called Gartan, and it was the night before Columcille was born, and there appeared a fair youth in shining raiment, and he said she should bring forth on the morrow the son that was promised her to bear. And he told her there was a broad flagstone in the lake, to the south of the place where she was, and that is today called Loch mic Ciabain. And he told her to let bring that flagstone to a certain place called Raith Cno and that thereon should God will the child to be brought forth of her.

"In what manner shall I get the flagstone, seeing it is under the lake," saith she, "or whereby shall I know it from other flagstones?"

"Thou shalt find it floating on the bosom of the lake," saith he.

And Ethne found the flagstone on the morrow as it had been told her, and she let bring it from the foresaid place. And albeit it floated on the surface of the lake, and Ethne's folk brought it away with them with out labour, certain it is that it were a task for thirty men to bring it from the lake to the place where it is to-day.

And when the sickness of childbirth came upon Ethne, she went to a lonely valley hard by a little stream. And she sat down in a certain spot there, and in that place she left some of the blood that is wont to come before the child.

And not finer and not whiter is flour than the clay that is found there. And whoso eateth or bringeth with him of that clay is never burned nor drowned, nor may he be killed by one cast that day till night. Nor shall he get a death without priest. And every woman in pangs of childbirth that eateth thereof is helped forthwith. And whoso putteth thereof on his tongue the first day that a fever seizeth him, there is no bitter taste in his mouth from that time the while the fever lasteth. And it is its nature to heal every distemper. And it must be that one of the natives of this place, to wit, Gartan, should dig this clay to bestow on all, for men say a stranger once went to dig it, and it fled from him and entered the heart of a tree or a great big trunk fast by, nor was it found again in its own place until holy water was sprinkled there on and it was blessed.

Then went Ethne thence to the place where she brought forth Columcille, the time when the age of our Lord was five hundred and twenty years.

52. In Gartan, in sooth, in Cenel Conaill Gulban, Columbcille was born. And Raith Cno is the name of the very spot in Gartan where he was brought forth, on the seventh day of December. And it befell that the foresaid flagstone was under him at his birth, and the child rested him crosswise thereon, and the flagstone opened for him in such wise that it left a place for him therein. And the figure of that cross is in that stone from that time to this day. And that flagstone remaineth in that place for working of marvels and wonders. And his mother brought forth a round stone of the color of blood along with him and it is called the Red Stone. And he left that stone in Gartan to work marvels and wonders ; and it doth not take a covering of gold nor of silver, albeit men have oft endeavored to cover it, but a case of silver or of gold it suffereth.

A. O Kelleher and G. Schoepperle, eds and trans. Betha Colaim Chille - Life of Columcille Compiled by Manus O Donnell in 1532 (Illinois, 1918).

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Translation of the Relics of Saints Patrick, Brigid and Colum Cille

Saint Columba also shares his feastday of June 9 with that of the Translation of his relics, along with those of Saints Patrick and Brigid to a common grave at Downpatrick, County Down. The history of this feast is a curious one, with many inclined to believe that it is purely an attempt by the Norman conqueror of Ulster, John de Courcy, to win over the locals by honouring important native saints. Indeed, some would trace the whole idea of Ireland having a trio of patrons back to this time, certainly it was an idea which was accepted by succeeding generations, as the 17th-century illustration of our three patrons at the head of this blog shows. Here is Canon O'Hanlon's account of the Feast from Volume 6 of his Lives of the Irish Saints:

Feast of the Translation of the Relics of St. Patrick, St. Columba, and St. Brigid, Chief Patrons of Ireland.

[June 9.]

Far distant from each other lay the sacred relics of the great Apostle of Ireland St. Patrick, of the renowned Virgin St. Brigid, and of the illustrious St. Columkille, for many generations after their respective dates of departure from this life. The former, first in order of time, was deposed at Downpatrick, and according to a long-preserved tradition, in a very deep earth-pit, without the site of that cathedral. After the lapse of years, the body of the Irish Apostle seems to have been drawn from that position, and it was probably enshrined or entombed within the church. In the century succeeding that of St. Patrick died St. Brigid, and her remains appear to have been deposited within the church at Kildare, attached to her convent. They rested in a shrine, at one side of the high altar, and they were held in great veneration by the people, especially on the day of her chief festival, when multitudes flocked thither for devotional purposes. Many miracles were wrought there through her intercession. The body of St. Brigid remained in Kildare, until the beginning of the ninth century. The magnificent shrine in which her relics were encased invited the cupidity of the Scandinavian invaders, and as Kildare was greatly exposed to their ravages, it was deemed more desirable to have St. Brigid's relics removed to Downpatrick, where they should be in a more defensible position, and more secure from plunder or profanation. When the happy soul of St. Columba departed from the tenement of his body after his useful missionary career in Scotland had terminated, and until the time of Adamnan, the place where his sacred bones reposed was well known and reverenced. Frequently did his monks resort thither, less to offer prayers for the loved and lamented Father of their institute, than to prefer their own petitions for his powerful patronage. Visited by the holy angels, and illumined in a miraculous manner by heavenly light, was that grave, which for many long years succeeding his decease had been exposed to the winds, that played freely over the ancient cemetery at Iona. Those visions were clearly manifested, but only to a select few. It would appear from the words of Adamnan, which are borrowed from the earlier work of Cummian, that at least a century was allowed to elapse, before the remains of St. Columba were disinterred. In the course of the eighth century, it seems probable, that the bones of St. Columba had been removed, and that they had been deposited in a shrine or shrines. Afterwards, they must have been transferred to the church of the monastery in Iona, where they were religiously preserved, so long as it was deemed safe to keep them in that venerated spot.

Ireland is said to have been selected as a country best suiting such a purpose, when the occasion arose, which demanded their removal. Towards the close of the eighth century, the Scandinavian sea-rovers began to sail southwards, in quest of new settlements and bent upon plunder. The appearance of the Northman invaders on the Hebridean coasts gave warning to conceal the precious shrine, in which, doubtless, the relics of St. Columba had been encased. But such a temporary expedient could not long save it from their cupidity and profanation. The accounts contained in our Irish Annals state, that the remains of St. Columba had been brought to Erin, after his death, and on more than one occasion. A belief seems to have existed, at the close of the eighth century, that his relics had been brought to Ireland from Britain, and that they had been deposited in Saul. Another mediaeval tradition sets forth Downpatrick, as having been his resting place. These contradictory accounts may be reconciled, however, by supposing a translation from Saul, when it became a subordinate church, and on the erection of Downpatrick into a Bishop's See.

Another thoroughly legendary account of a still later date gives us to understand, that when Manderus, son to a Danish king, and chief of the Northman piratical fleet, ravaged the northern parts of Britain with fire and sword, he also came to Iona, and there he profaned the sanctuary, while digging in the earth for treasures he thought to be concealed. Among other impieties, he opened the sarcophagus or case, in which lay the body of St. Columba. This he is said to have carried with him to that vessel, in which he sailed for Ireland ; but, on opening the chest, in which he found only bones and ashes, he threw it overboard. Then it miraculously floated on the waves, until it was wafted to the innermost part of Strangford Lough, near to Downpatrick. There, it is related, that the Abbot had a Divine revelation, regarding the sacred deposit it contained. Accordingly, he extracted the relics, and placed them with the lipsanae of Saints Patrick and Brigid. We need not attach the slightest credit to the foregoing account ; for, it may be observed, that the earliest recorded descent of the Northmen on Iona was in 802, nor does it seem likely, that the body of St. Brigid had been removed from Kildare to Downpatrick, at so early a date. However, it cannot have been very long after this year, when the relics of St. Brigid were removed from Kildare to Down. There, it seems probable, they had been kept in their own distinctive shrine, which was a costly work of art. Elsewhere, too, some other relics of this holy Patroness of Ireland had been preserved. [At the 9th of June, in the Calendar compiled by himself, the Rev. William Reeves has a festival for St. Brigid, at Downpatrick. It is to be presumed, that he has reference to St. Brigid of Kildare, whose remains had been translated to Downpatrick, where they repose with those of St. Patrick and St. Columkille. See "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," Appendix LL, p. 379. ] Moreover, in the year 825, when the Scandinavians again visited the Island of Iona, St. Columba's shrine adorned with precious metals was there, and to prevent desecration it was hidden

It seems strange, that while the relics of the three great Irish Patrons had been kept with such religious veneration in the Cathedral Church of Downpatrick, for a long lapse of ages, that in the twelfth century the place of their deposition within it was forgotten. It would appear, that the Northmen frequently attacked, plundered, and burned that town. It is probable, that the sacred remains had been buried in the earth, to preserve them from profanation, and that the secret place of their deposition had been confided to only a few of the ecclesiastics, who perished through violence, or who had not been able to return afterwards, to indicate that exact spot, in which they had been laid. For a long time, the bishops, clergy and people of Down lamented this loss, until about the year 1185, when Malachy III. was bishop over that See. This pious prelate had been accustomed to offer earnest prayers to the Almighty, that the eagerly desired discovery might be made. One night, while engaged at prayer within the cathedral, Malachy observed a supernatural light, resembling a sunbeam, passing through the church and settling over a certain spot. This astonished the bishop, who prayed that the light might remain, until implements should be procured to dig beneath it. Accordingly, these being procured, beneath that illuminated place, the bodies of the three great saints were found; the body of St. Patrick occupied a central compartment, while the remains of St, Bngid and of St. Columba were placed on either side. With great rejoicing, he disinterred the bodies of those illustrious saints, and he placed them in three separate coffins. He then had them deposited in the same spot, whence they had been taken, and he took care to have the site exactly noted. In fine, the bones of St. Columkille were buried with great honour and veneration, in the one place with those of St. Patrick and of St. Brigid, within Dun-da-lethgles or Downpatrick cathedral, in Ulster. About this time, the celebrated John De Courcy had procured possessions, in that part of the province; and to him, Bishop Malachy reported all the circumstances, connected with the miraculous discovery of the relics. Taking counsel together, it was resolved, that application should be made to the Pope at Rome, for permission to remove the sacred remains, to a more conspicuous and honourable position in the cathedral. At this time, Urban III. presided over the Universal Church. Supplication was made to him, that the relics of those saints should be translated in a solemn manner. Not alone was his sanction obtained, but the Pope nominated Cardinal Vivian, as his Legate for Ireland, with a commission to direct the undertaking. Accordingly, on the 9th of June, 1186, this public Translation of the remains was solemnized. No less than fifteen Bishops were present, besides many abbots and high dignitaries, with a great concourse of the clergy and laity, the Cardinal Legate himself assisting. An office, which is said to date back to the twelfth century, has been attributed to the approval of Cardinal Vivian, who assisted in the time of Pope Urban III., at this solemn Translation of the Relics of St. Patrick, St. Columba, and St. Brigid, in Downpatrick. This was a Double of the First Class, with an Octave. This is in a small and rare 18mo Tract, containing only 64 pages, but giving other Irish offices, and among them one of St. Columba, Abbot. At p. I, it commences with " Die Nona Junii, Translatio SS. Patricii, Columba; et Brigidae, trium communium Hibernise Patronorum, Duplex I. Classis, cum Octava per universam Insulam, cujus sequitur Oflicium approbatum a Viviano Cardinale titttli S. Stephani in Coelio Monte, quern ad Solemnitatem Translationis, An. 1186, Apostolicum Legatum demandavit Urbanus III." There is not a title page, at least in the copy, the property of Rev. Denis Murphy, S.J. and that used by the writer. The office has a First Vespers, with proper Antiphons, Capitulum, and Prayer. The Invitatorium of Matins is proper, with all the Antiphons and Six Lessons, the remaining three being from the Common of Evangelists, with proper Versicles and Responses. The Lauds, Hours and second Vespers are of a mixed character. Afterwards follows a proper Mass.

The Bollandists have fallen into an error, in placing the Finding of the Relics of Saints Patrick, Brigid and Columba, at this date, which should rather be called that for their Translation.

Canon O'Hanlon has a second entry for the feast at June 17 where he records:

Festival of St. Columba, and the Translation of the Relics of St. Patrick, St. Columba and St. Brigid. 

 

In 1620, an Office of St. Columba, Abbot, had been printed in Paris, and again in the same city, A.D. 1675, referring his Feast as a Double of the Second Class to the 17th day of June, on account of the Feast of the Translation of the Relics of St. Patrick, St. Columba and St. Brigid, falling on the 9th of June, and it being an Office of the First Class with an Octave. This contains proper Antiphons for Vespers and Lauds, with proper Hymns and Prayers, as also an Office of Nine Lessons, three of which are proper.

The foregoing is stated,and shown in a small 18mo tract, anonymously printed, apparently in the last century, and in Ireland. The copy, from which the writer quotes, was borrowed from Rev. Denis Murphy, S.J.

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A Liturgy for Saint Columba

A second recording of material from the Inchcolm Antiphoner can be found on this CD. Seven Antiphons are appended to the Gregorian chants from the Roman Liturgy sung by the monks of Pluscarden Abbey in Scotland. The accompanying sleevnotes are useful and for a flavour, here are the notes for Track 20, the Magnificat Antiphon:

The text is a poem, with a strong rhythmic beat and persistent rhyme, in a style that appears often in the Bangor Antiphoner. This still surviving Irish liturgical book of the 7th century gives texts but, of course, no music. Could the music provided here have come down to mediaeval Inchcolm along with the words, through all those centuries? It is a lovely piece, in the first mode, having a wide range, and featuring the repetition of recurring motifs.

Salve splendor et patrone
iubarque iustitiae.
Orthodoxe doctor bone
pastor et vas gratiae.
O Columba columbine
felicis memoriae,
tuae fac nos sine fine
cohederes gloriae.
Magnificat... (Lk.1:46-55)

Hail Columba our glory and our patron;

sun beam of righteousness.

Orthodox doctor, good shepherd, and vessel of grace.

O Columba of happy memory,

truly dove-like:

make us also inherit your glory without end.

My soul magnifies the Lord....

The recording is available to order from the Abbey Shop. There are 22 tracks in all with a total playing time of 55 minutes.

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O Columba, spes scotorum!

St Columba 13th century Scottish chant from the Inchcolm Antiphoner

On St Columba’s Day (9 June) the Bishop of Dunkeld, to whose See the Priory belonged, authorised the burning of 20 candles upon the altar, and one can imagine their flickering flames slowly giving way to the light of dawn as the choir sang the Hymn Aurora rutilatat the beginning of Matins. The Priory’s precarious location and the constant danger from English pirates is reflected in some of the prayers for protection which feature in the Office.

Hymn - Aurora rutilat

Antiphon - Pater Columba decus morum

Responsory - Volens Jesus

Antiphon - Os mutorum

Antiphon - Carne solutus pater Columba

Responsory - O Columba insignis signifer

Aurora rutilat lucis prenuncia:
letos nos excitat a sompnolencia,
volentes celebre festum recolere
Columba venerabilis.
Qui fuit humilis, mitis, affabilis,
vultu vir hilaris, vir venerabilis,
ortu vir nobilis, vir statu stabilis,
corpore castus et mente.
Columba merita et signa singula,
factis prophetica, clara miracula,
vel dictis dicere vel scriptis scribere,
nemo novit totaliter.
Relinquens patriam caram Yberniam,
per Christi graciam venit Britanniam;
per quem ydonea vite promordia
rex gentis sumpsit Britanniam.
O pater patriae, paster egregie,
Columba tribue nobis spem venie;
et labe criminum nostrorum omnium
nos munda sancte Columba.
Qui nobis tribuat peccati veniam,
reatum diluat et donet patriam;
nos tuos famulos, et omnes catholicos
commenda regi gloriae.
Sit laus perpetua, sit semper gloria
patri et filio sancto paraclito,
simplici Domino qui regit omnia
per cuncta semper secula. Amen.

Dawn harbinger of light, glows red:

it rouses us glad ones from sleep,

wanting to reflect on the famous feast

of the venerable Columba.

Who was humble, gentle, approachable.

in appearance a cheerful man, a noble

by birth, a man steadfast inattitude,

chaste in body and mind.

No one knows totally, to say in words or

to write in script, the merits of Columba

and his songs, prophetic deeds,

evident miracles.

Leaving Ireland, the dear homeland,

through the grace of Christ he came to

Britain; through him the king of the British

people received a proper ordination.

O father of this land, excellent shepherd,

Columba, grant us hope of forgiveness;

from the blemish of the guilt of all of us,

cleanse us St Columba.

Who may grant forgiveness of sins to us,

absolve the guilty and vouchsafe this land;

commend us your servants and all

Church people to the king of glory.

Let perpetual praise and glory be to the

Father, Son and Holy Paraclete,

one lord who reigns over all,

world without end. Amen.

Pater Columba decus morum
suscipe vota famulorum
te laudantem serva chorum
ad incursu anglicorum
et insultu emulorum.

Father Columba, glory of our national

tradition, receive the prayers of your

servants, save this choir that is praising

you from attack by the English

and assualt by rivals.

Volens Jesus linire gementem pro
contu vocavit Columbam de
foraminibus petre de cavernis materie.
Qui ad arcem reversus est.
Deferens autem clementie Dei
Columba in ore suo

Jesus, wishing to relieve sighing in favour of

a song, called forth Columba from the

holes of the rock, from the hollows of timber.

This dove returned to the ark,

bearing, moreover, the sign of God’s mercy

in his mouth.

Os mutorum lux cecorum pes
claudarum porrige lapsis manum.
Firma vanum et insanum corrige.
O Columba spes Scotorum nos
tuorum meritorum interventu
beatorum fac consortes angelorum.
Alleluia.

Mouth of the dumb, light of the blind,

foot of the lame, stretch out a hand to the

fallen; strengthen the unreliable and correct

the mad. O Columba, hope of Scots, by the

intervention of your kindness, make us

colleagues of the blessed angels.

Alleluia.

Carne solutus pater Columba
angelorum constipatus turma quibus
conregnat perhenni premio in
resultante celo. Sanctus, sanctus,
sanctus proclamat Deo, alleluia.

Father Columba, released from flesh and

pressed by the crowd of angels, with whom

he reigns as his eternal reward, and with

heavens resounding. They cry out to God:

Holy, holy, holy, alleluia.

O Columba insignis signifer,
mentes mundo ne fallens pestifer
servis officiat maris discrimine.
Tuis ut placeat circumdatis
psallere. Tibi precleris condecet
proxime leticie. Huc aurem adhibe.

O Columba, distinguished standard-bearer,

cleanse our minds lest the deceiving

destroyer injure your servants with danger

from the sea, that it may please those

around you to sing. To you before others it

is fitting that voices of joy be closest. Lend an ear!

Details of the recording of Capella Nova can be found here. The texts have been reproduced from a programme of fellow ensemble Canty.

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Two April Feasts of Saint Patrick

Canon O'Hanlon notes two interesting feasts connected with Saint Patrick in the month of April: a commemoration of Saint Patrick's first baptism of an Irish convert on April 5 followed by the feast of Saint Patrick's Ordination on April 6:

Feast of Saint Patrick's First Baptism, in Ireland.

This means, not the day, on which St. Patrick himself was baptized but the day on which he baptized his first convert. It seems to have been celebrated, from a very remote period, since it occurs, in the "Felire" of St. Aengus, on the 5th day of April. From the commentary appended, we learn, that "The first baptism of Patrick" means how Sinell, the son of Finnchadh, of the Ui Garchon, was the first person baptized in Ireland, by Patrick. On the 5th of April in the Martyrology of Tallagh we find entered Baptisma Patricii venit ad Hiberniam, i.e. "the Baptism of Patrick came to Ireland." The remarkable event of St. Patrick regenerating, in the saving waters of Baptism his first Irish convert, is recorded, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal and, in reference to it, the "Feilire" of St. Aengus is quoted :—

" On the great festival of the son of Cula,

Of Becan with the victory of austerity,

The first baptism of Patrick

Which he performed in Erinn."

The Ordination of St. Patrick. [Fifth Century]

The Bollandists merely notice this Feast. The Martyrology of Tallagh records, at this date, Ordinatio Patricii. Whether this entry, meaning, "the Ordination of St. Patrick," refers to his sacredotal ordination, or to his Episcopal consecration, cannot be exactly determined. It is probable, however, it must be coupled with the latter, as more in accordance with ecclesiastical usage.

Even at the present time, it is customary, to commemorate the anniversary of a Bishop's consecration, by a prayer, added to the Mass, offered on that day, within his own diocese. In the published Martyrology of Donegal, the editor remarks in a note: The more recent hand adds here,'Ordinatio S. Patricii, Mart. Taml,' as if it were deemed by the writer a matter of importance, to supply an obvious omission of the compilers.

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Lá Fhéile Pádraig - The Feast of Patrick

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! It is always interesting to keep an eye on how the media report and present the feast of our national patrons. There is a marked difference between those of Saints Patrick and Brigid, Patrick is unencumbered by the neo-pagan baggage loaded on to Saint Brigid as his Christian credentials are too firmly established. Instead, most journalists set themselves to debunking popular myths about snakes and shamrock. They also seize upon the new Patrician scholarship which views Saint Patrick in a very different light to the all-conquering national hero of Canon O'Hanlon's time. A good example of this was published in 2010 in The Irish Times, although the title 'How Patrick beat Brigid to become our saint of choice' is somewhat misleading as the piece doesn't actually mention Saint Brigid at all.

How Patrick beat Brigid to become our saint of choice

The Irish Times - Wednesday, March 17, 2010

PAUL BYRNE

How did St Patrick get the gig as Ireland’s patron saint?

WHILE ST PATRICK has had the edge in terms of recognition as Ireland’s patron since the dawn of recorded history, St Patrick’s Day has only been a national holiday in Ireland since 1903, when the British Parliament passed the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act. St Patrick’s Day parades have a somewhat longer pedigree, with the earliest recorded taking place in 1762 in Manhattan, when the participants were Irish-born British soldiers. Parading for St Patrick’s Day does not seem to date back any further than the 19th century in Ireland.

Curiously, while the Irish held Patrick in the highest reverence, many centuries were to pass before the name Patrick began to be used as a personal name in Ireland.

The consensus among historians these days is that Patrick’s missionary activity in Ireland took place during the late fifth century. However, it was not until the seventh century that documentary material began to emerge in Ireland in any significant quantity. Some of the earliest of this furnishes evidence of the status in which Patrick’s memory was already held. A hymn, probably dating from the early seventh century, compares Patrick to St Peter and St Paul. A letter written in the early-630s by Cummian refers to Patrick as papa noster – “our father”.

So, how did Patrick acquire this stellar reputation within little more than a century of his death? For those wishing to push his cause, Patrick had a unique selling point among the saints of early Ireland: he was the only saint from the early period of missionary activity in Ireland who left a personal account of his spiritual life’s journey.

This was his Confession. Its natural style and lack of any obvious agenda have contributed to the universal view among historians that it is the genuine work of Patrick. It is at once a testament to one man’s strong Christian faith and a memorable adventure story. In the Confession Patrick relates how, as a boy, he was captured from his native Britain by Irish raiders and sold into slavery in Ireland, and how he eventually escaped, returning to Ireland some years later as a bishop to spread the Christian message in the land of his former captors. By his own account, Patrick baptised many thousands of people.

By the late seventh century, the Patrick machine, driven by the monastery of Armagh and its federation of churches, had moved into full swing, with the publication of two major works on Patrick – his life by Muirchú and the collection of Patrician data authored by Tírechán. These works were hugely influential in advancing the Patrician claims of the church of Armagh. At the hands of Tírechán and, more particularly, Muirchú, Patrick was transformed beyond recognition into a superhero. The humble bishop evident in the Confession had been replaced by a larger-than-life character, with a streak of vengefulness, who can match the druids as a performer of extraordinary deeds.

In practice, what it seems was being sought was control over all those churches associated with the earliest phase of evangelisation as well as a more general leadership of the churches in Ireland.

The Armagh propagandists had a further arrow in their quiver. They claimed possession of a collection of remarkable relics, with which no other early Irish monastery could compete. According to the seventh century Book of the Angel, these included the relics of the martyrs Peter, Paul, Stephen and Lawrence, and a sacred linen cloth marked with the blood of Jesus. The significance of such relics in terms of enhancing Armagh’s standing and generating revenue would have been considerable.

Moreover, the church of Armagh had the foresight – or good fortune – to link their cause with that of the emerging Uí Néill dynasty in the late seventh century. The confirmation of the Uí Néill, over the succeeding centuries, as the most powerful dynasty in Ireland went hand-in-glove with the consolidation of the cult of Patrick and power of the church of Armagh. By the time that Uí Néill power went into decline in the 11th century, the church of Armagh, and the reputation of its founder, had acquired an unassailable position in Ireland.

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Ist Vespers for the Feast of Saint Patrick - Ecce fulget clarissima

Below is the text and accompanying translation of an Irish medieval plainchant hymn for 1st Vespers from Sarum-rite Divine Office manuscripts 79 and 80, preserved in Trinity College, Dublin. TCD 79 is an antiphonal, dating to c. 1431-1435, previously in use at the Church of St John the Evangelist, Dublin. TCD 80 is an early 15th-century Breviary thought to have come from Kilmoone, County Meath. Selections from the office in honour of Saint Patrick have been recorded by the ensemble Canty on the CD 'Apostle of Ireland- Irish Medieval Plainchant - An Office for Saint Patrick'. Dr Ann Buckley, who has worked on the manuscripts comments in the accompanying notes:

'Ecce fulget', included on this recording, is found in two parts in the Kilmoone Breviary (MS 80): the first part, strophes 1-6 and 11, was sung at First Vespers; and the second part, strophes 6-11 ('Ad hanc doctor') at Matins. The entire text of this hymn occurs also in the Trinity College, Dublin copy of the Irish Liber Hymnorum (MS 1441), a collection dating from the late 10th/early 11th century, although 'Ecce fulget' was added later. The only surviving melody associated with it is that found in the Kilmoone Breviary, a melody not unique to Patrick but in standard use in the Gregorian repertory.

Ecce fulget clarissima

patricii solempnitas,

in qua carne deposita

felix transcendit sidera.

Qui mox [a] pueritia

divina plenus gratia

vitam cepit diligere

dignitatis angelice.

Hic felici prosapia

ortus est in Britannia

perceptoque baptismate

studet [ad] alta tendere.

Sed futurorum prescius,

clemens et rectus Dominus

hunc direxit apostolum

hybernie ad populum.

Erat namque hec insula

bonis terre fructifera,

sed cultore ydolatra

mergebatur ad infima.

Ad hanc doctor egregius

adveniens patricius

predicabat gent[il]ibus,

quod tenebat operibus.

Confluebat gentilitas

ad ejus sacra monita

et respuens diabolum

colebat regem omnium.

Gaudebatque se liberam

remeasse ad patriam,

qua serpentis astutia

olim expulsa fuerat.

Qua propter, dilectissimi,

huius in laude presulis

psallamus christo cordibus

alternantes et vocibus.

Ut illius suffragio

liberati a vitio

perfruamur in gloria

uisione angelica.

Laus sit patri in filio

cum spiritu paraclito,

qui suo dono gratie

misertus est hybernie. Amen

Behold the shining brightness

of the solemnity of Patrick

when, having laid aside his body,

he happily ascends to heaven.

Already from his boyhood

he was filled with divine grace

and began to love the life

of angelic dignity.

This man of a blessed lineage

was born in Britain

and after receiving baptism

strove to attain the heights.

But the merciful and upright Lord

knowing the shape of future things

directed this apostle

to the people of Ireland.

For this island was

fruitful with the earth’s good things

yet dragged down to the lowest point

by its idolatrous worship.

When he arrived here

the distinguised teacher, Patrick,

preached to the heathens

that which he lived in his life.

The heathens assented

to his sacred warnings

and spitting out the devil

worshipped the King of all.

And rejoicing to be free

they returned to their homeland

from which they had once been expelled

through the serpent’s cunning.

Therefore, most beloved,

let us in turn sing psalms

with heart and voice to Christ

in praise of this bishop,

So that with his help,

freed from vice,

we may fully enjoy

the angelic vision in glory.

Praise be to the Father, in the Son

with the Spirit Paraclete,

who by his gift of grace

has shown mercy to Ireland. Amen

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