Novice Habit - Abbot's talk on the Reception Br. Seamus

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Mark . . .
To: Donald . . .
Sent: Sunday, 10 June 2012, 16:25
Subject: Talk on reception of the habit  

After Lauds, the Chapter of the Community was present for ceremony of the habit given to the Novice, Seamus Conway.  
The Reception of a Novice is a very practical activity but full of symbolism. On this occasion for the time, the Sacristan was asked to photograph the happy event, as the pictures attached.

 

Talk on the Reception of the Habit     

Seamus Conway          10 June 2012

Traditionally the abbot uses this talk to remind a postulant on the day he receives the habit what his vocation is about, what he has come to the monastery for.  God calls people to the monastic life by various roads but always to the same end.  That end is truly to seek God.  The means to it are many.  The chief of these are prayer and love of the brethren.  Unless we remind ourselves of the need to keep God in our sights and to keep walking with him, we will falter on the way.  

Our daily reading, our regular attendance at the Divine Office and our openness to the calls on our time at awkward moments – when others have a real need – are also means to keeping God before our eyes.  We need to plan our days and to work within the structures of the monastic timetable, but it’s amazing how often we have to drop our own plans because of other circumstances.  We can be busy doing God’s work and yet at the end of the day wonder what on earth we have been doing all day.  The time has flown and we don’t seem to have done anything constructive.  We must not use this experience, which hopefully won’t happen too often, as an excuse for not planning our day.  An ordered day does matter. It is pleasant to do the things that we like, but it is better to get on with the things we have to do whether we like them or not.  That is the way monasteries came to be built over the years and how holy monks came to be formed. 

and Br. Seamus

    

To grow as a person and to become steeped in monastic wisdom is not just about filling the mind with information, though that is important and part of our formation.  True growth is more of a mentality and a training of the heart.  Life can be hard.  In ancient monastic folklore and in the annals of monastic history it has been known for newcomers to the monastic life to be asked to do foolish or ridiculous things.  The famous one is being told to plant cabbages upside down.  Daily living in community is difficult enough without spending time creatively thinking of ways to make life more difficult for newcomers.  There are enough of us who can create that kind of situation naturally without trying.  Part of community living is to put up with such situations, though the community should try and put a stop to such things happening.  The funny thing is that we almost always think that some people do go out their way to make life difficult for us.
      

However these times in our lives can be the very ones that lead us closer to God because they force us to go to God like the psalmist, and plead for help.  We learn quicker our need of God.  These times are also moments when we can get a better awareness if we really do have a call to the monastic life.

Our fellow monks are there to help us on way to God.  We should not let any quirks or peculiar personal oddities they may have to throw us off course.  St John of the Cross, I think it was, said that if we want to have love in our lives, we should put love into life and then we will find it.
 

That, Seamus, is what you have before you.  You came to us with your own particular gifts and you will add to them by receiving the gifts that the other members of the community themselves possess.  Fullness of life comes from giving and receiving what we all have to share.
 

These are only some of the things that have drawn you to the monastic life.  Our vocation is to seek and find God, to hold fast to him in good times and bad.  That is the way offered to you.  After your experience over a number of months in this community, it is time for you now to decide if you wish to continue living with us as you continue to seek God’s will in your life. 

    

 Community Mass of Corpus Christi

Intro Mass  Body and Blood of Christ, year B              2012

Today is the solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ.  It is also the beginning of the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, which continues for the whole week.

The purpose of the Congress, as it is of today’s solemnity, is to celebrate and understand more fully the legacy left us by our Lord of his body and blood in the bread and wine of the altar.  He imparts to us his risen life.  That is what we receive and celebrate.  It is not his physical, earthly, body and blood as he was then but as he became and is for us now in his risen life.  This new life is forever a new beginning for us as we try to rise above our faults and sins.

1                Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life.    - Lord, have mercy.

2                You forgive and free us from our sins - Christ, have mercy.

3                You reconcile us to one another in your own body.         
                                                             - Lord, have mercy.

Prayer of the Faithful

         

Intro.    As one body, let us prayer to our Father
who gives life to the world.. 

Concl.   God our Father, may the gift of food we eat at this table make us strong, and may all of your gifts fill our lives as we seek your kingdom in heaven.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Corpus Christi - Tree of Life. Homily Fr. Raymond

Sunday, 10 June 2012
Fr. Raymond, Homily.  The Tree of Life  


The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) - Solemnity - Year B
Saint(s) of the day : St. Margaret of Scotland, Queen (+ 1093)
See commentary below or click here
Saint John Chrysostom : "This is my blood..., which will be shed for many"

Book of Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 14:12-16.22-26.

Raphael Disputation of the Holy Sacrament-La Disputa

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Raymond  . . .
Sent: Sunday, 10 June 2012, 18:44
Subject: CORPUS CHRISTI  2012

The “Mystery of our Faith”, the Eucharist, is the greatest jewel in the crown of the Church’s Liturgical Year.

It is so rich and deep a mystery that it took two thousand years of gradual revelation to bring it finally to light. The People of God had to be prepared  in order to be able to receive this great Sacrament.  There is a gradual unfolding of the revelation of it in the history of salvation.  Surely if there is any mystery of our faith that would span the whole history of revelation from beginning to end it would be the Eucharist, because the Eucharist, is the Sacramental Sacrifice that sums up in itself the whole meaning and purpose of the Incarnation and Redemption.

The first veiled reference to the Eucharistic Mystery that we find in Scripture is surely to be found in the Book of Genesis.  There we read of the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of Eden.  We can surely see the Eucharist as well as the Cross foreshadowed in this Tree of Life?  Surely this is the very first hint God gives us of the Eucharist.   The new Garden of Eden is the Church and the new Tree of Life is the Eucharist at the heart of the Church.  We read that this tree is surrounded by many other trees in the Garden, all of them “beautiful to look at and good to eat”.  But this tree stands in the midst of them all and is singled out as offering not only pleasure and nourishment, but as providing life itself – The Tree of Life.  Its companion tree, also found with it in the middle of the garden is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, suggesting perhaps that there is a morality, an uprightness, a holiness, associated with this tree of life; a holiness, a sacredness not to be violated.  The two trees are inseparable.  Where the distinction between good and evil is violated there can be no partaking of the Eucharist.  This too is foreshadowed in the expulsion from the Garden of Eden which is described specifically as being a barring of access to the Tree of Life.  We read that Man….“ must not be allowed to stretch out his hand next and pick from the Tree of Life also.”

Next perhaps we may consider the Eucharistic aspect of the distinction between the sacrifice of Abel and that of Cain.  There was nothing wrong with the sacrifice of Cain in itself.  He offered the fruits of the earth, a sacrifice that acknowledged man’s dependence on God for the sustenance and support of his life on earth, and that surely was a good and praiseworthy sacrifice.  Where Cain went wrong was in his jealousy at the favour shown by God to the sacrifice offered by Abel. This sign of favour, whatever it was, was in no way a negative rejection of the sacrifice of Cain but was rather a positive sign of the excellence of the sacrifice of Abel; a sign that was pointing to the future; to the perfect sacrifice of the Eucharist.  Because Abel, on his part, offered a sacrifice of blood, the sacrifice of a living creature from his flocks; a sacrifice which acknowledged that man owed, not only his sustenance, but also his very life and existence to his God.  There was the element of blood, the element of  life and death, in that sacrifice and surely God’s approval was something that pointed to the perfection of that other great and ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God; that supremely pleasing sacrifice which Is the other side of the Eucharist, a Eucharist which is at the same` time both sacrament and sacrifice. 

No doubt, if we look further in the book of Genesis with the Eucharist in mind we will find many other prophetic links with this great Sacrament.  But let us turn now to the Book of Exodus.  Here there is no problem at all in uncovering the links with the Eucharist.  There is the blood of the fist sacrificial paschal Lamb marking the dwellings of the Israelites, and there is, above all the miraculous bread of the desert, the ‘Sacramental’ Manna which sustained the people of God for forty years on their journey to the Promised Land. 

We find an echo of this also in the book of Kings where Elijah is fed with bread from heaven by an angel and is told to eat and drink or the journey would be too much for him.  “.....and he ate and drank and went in the strength of that bread for forty days and forty nights right to the mountain of God”.

Similarly we find an echo in the life of Jesus when he fed the crowds with miraculous bread lest they faint from hunger on their way home.

Let us then keep the idea of the Eucharist at the back of our minds as we listen to or read the Scriptures and we will surely be surprised at how often we see the mystery of the Eucharist being unfolded before our eyes.

Missale Cisterciense, Westmalle MCMLI

Breviarum Cisterciense, Westmalle MCMLI

The 50th International Eucharistic Congress opened in Dublin's RDS yesterday

IEC - Historic day ahead for International Eucharistic Congress

Updated: 08:41, Monday, 11 June 2012

inShare

The second day of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress gets underway in Dublin today.

History will be made during today’s proceedings, as the entire day's work and prayers will focus on the challenge of restoring Christian unity.

This is the first time in the Congress Movement's 131 year history that the search for Christian unity will preoccupy the pilgrims for an entire day.

The afternoon’s Liturgy of the Word and Water in the main RDS Arena will celebrate the common baptism of all Christians and their shared debt to the Bible.

It will be presided over by the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, who will be joined on the altar by the President of the Methodist Church here, the Reverend Kenneth Lindsay and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Dallas, Dr Brian Farrell.

It will be only the second time ever, and the first time in a generation, that an ecumenical liturgy will have been celebrated at such a congress.

The initiative comes 50 years after the Second Vatican Council admitted that both sides were to blame for tearing the Church apart during the Reformation almost 500 years ago.

It is 40 years since Ireland removed the special position of the Catholic Church from the Constitution.

• Keywords:  
• eucharistic, 
• iec 2012, 
• catholic, 
• christian

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http://www.glencairnabbey.org/news/story/glencairn-monastic-experience-weekend-13-15-april-2012/
News from Glencairn Abbey

Sr. Joseph
News from the Eucharistic Bread Department


06 June 2012


It’s not often we receive such a huge challenge i.e.to produce 250,000 peoples’ hosts and 100 extra-large hosts for consecration at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, due to commence in Dublin on June 6th, the Feast of Corpus Christi.
However, in this, the sisters of Glencairn sawa unique opportunity for an enclosed community to contribute in a very practical way to this momentous event. To complete our undertaking on time, extra help was required from sisters who normally don’t work in this department but they responded most generously our contract was completed and dispatched well within our target time.
- Sister Fiachra

Holy Trinity

Homily for Holy Trinity, 2012                                         

 11.00 Mass

When we think of the Holy Trinity, due to our upbringing and the particular focus of theological thinking in the Church of our time, most of us normally think of three Persons in the One nature of God.  Sometimes this can make our understanding of God seem far away and ‘up there’ - very remote from everyday life.

In fact the knowledge of God which Jesus gave his disciples was very personal.  He spoke to them of the experience he had with the Father.  His Father was not an idea but a Person.  That seems quite a concrete but because of the way he went on to talk of the Father, the disciples found it difficult to understand him at times.  We can find it difficult enough to understand each other so it is hardly surprising the disciples having this problem, too, on hearing Jesus’ words.

Jesus was an immensely attractive individual.  All sorts of people were drawn to him by the force of his personality and the compassion he showed to the poor and the needy.  Some looked to him for new life and others to find reasons for doing away with him because of the threat he was to their lifestyle.  So Jesus was someone who touched on the lives of others for good or for bad.  Life is never neutral.  During the course of it we will make choices for what is life-enhancing or what is ultimately selfish.  We cannot stand by and not take part in the drama of life.  Our lives are either increased or diminished by Christ’s coming on earth.

So what is it that made Jesus so different from the rest of humankind?  He was first of all concerned not for himself but for others.  He gave from what he himself had received.  That came from this close but mysterious ‘Father’ Jesus spoke about to the disciples.  They had lived with him during his years of ministry, so they knew him well enough to know that what he told them was somehow true, even though they may have found it hard to understand  him fully.  There was always room for misunderstanding.  But those grains of truth had been sown.  When he rose again from the dead those grains of seed came to life and bore fruit in their new awareness of who he was.

And who was this man Jesus?  He is the one who spoke of God as his Father.  No son was as close to his father as he was to his.  No married couple or closest of friends were as intimate as he was with his Father.  At times he spoke as if he was the Father or that the Father was him.  At other times he said he was doing the work of the Father and that he did nothing that was not from the Father.  Jesus said that he must go to be where he was from the beginning.  It is all so unusual!

And then there is the mention of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus told the disciples that he had to go or the Holy Spirit would not be able to come to them.  When he came he would reveal the full meaning of all he had told them.  This Spirit was the expression of the love, of the being, of Father and Son

Jesus told us he was one with the Father.  But now there is a difference.  Jesus, true Son of God the Father and true son of man, has risen from the dead, and has ascended with this humanity into the Godhead. 

The Holy Trinity which we honour today now contains some of our humanity.  With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, this same risen Jesus said he would return to be with us always.  But the Father would also be with us because Jesus said that he and the Father are one.  Together they would remain with us.  When we are alone in times of sorrow, or when we are feeling deserted, they would still be with us in their care and friendship.

The bishops and theologians in the early centuries of the Church’s existence were so convinced of Jesus’ words about the Father and the Holy Spirit that they stated clearly that there are three Persons in the One reality of God.  This is not a puzzle to be worked out but more a bond of love and relationship which embraces all of us.

Today’s readings at Mass do not give us the main texts of the gospel which speak of the relationship of Father and Son.  But they do speak of the mystery of God and of the mission to go and preach that good news to our world.  Grace, love and fellowship are the blessings we receive from Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.  These gifts of such a marvellous God are what the Church proclaims to the world.   We are called to be true to them and to express them through the lives we lead.

St Robert of Newminster - remains where?

COMMENTS:

----- Forwarded Message ----- ----- Forwarded Message ----- 
From: Trevor G. . .
To: Donald . . .
Sent: Saturday, 9 June 2012,
Subject: Re: St Robert of Newminster

Hi Father,
Thanks for the info' about Robert of Newminster.
Interesting and filled some gaps.
Do we know where his remains are? 
- - -
Trust you and community are well.

Regards,


Trevor.

+ + +

Regarding the question, Trevor, I have to go back to George's book?

June 7: Saint Robert of Newminster

Posted by Jacob

Today, June 7, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Robert of Newminster(1100-1159), man of God, and co-founder of the Cistercian (Benedictine) Abbey at Shedale, England. While little is known about the life of Saint Robert, what is remembered is his gentle spirit, merciful judgment, and love of the Lord. His daily sacrifice and self-denial, through concern for sinfulness, remains a model of temperate living today.

Robert was born in Gargrave in Yorkshire, England. He studied for the priesthood in Paris, France, during which time he wrote a commentary on the Psalms which has unfortunately been lost to history. Upon ordination, he returned home to his place of birth, where he served as a parish priest.

After years serving as rector of Gargrave, Robert joined the Benedictine Order, having received permission from his local bishop, and working with a group of monks founded a monastery in which the strict Benedictine Rule would be revived (a movement initiated by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, whom Robert met). For their community, they chose a beautiful spot—surrounded by natural springs-- in the valley of Sheldale (within the town of Sutton) on land given to them by the local archbishop. The monastery became known as Fountains Abbey, given the natural flowing waters mirroring the flowing of the Holy Spirit from within. The group of monks became known for their holiness, poverty, and austere way of life, with Robert recognized for his devotion and self-denial. In time, Fountains Abbey became the center of religious study in North England, and eventually affiliated with the Cistercian reform.

Given the success of Fountains Abbey, a local lord built another abbey on his land, the Abbey of Newminster. To Newminster, he brought Robert and a dozen companions. Robert was appointed Abbot, and under his leadership, the community prospered, establishing two additional abbeys in later years.

While Robert grew the religious communities at Newminster, his life was not without trials. At one point, while serving as Abbot, members of the community accused him of impropriety, suggesting that he had engaged in lascivious acts with a local pious woman. Saint Robert traveled to France, visiting Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the head of the Order. Saint Bernard determined the accusations to be false, and as a symbol of his belief in Robert's innocence, presented him with a golden girdle to be used to affect miraculous cures of the sick at Newminster.

Robert ruled and directed the monks at Newminster for 21 years. He was a man of prayer, favored with gifts of prophecy and miracles. He is described as a devout and gentle man. While he is known for being merciful in his judgment of others, and a warm and considerate companion, he was also very zealous toward his own vows of poverty. Saint Robert is recorded as having had supernatural gifts, including visions and encounters with demons, and the gift of exorcism. In one such encounter, the Devil himself entered the church while Robert and his brothers were praying. The Devil, seeking a weak soul to tempt, was thwarted by Robert’s prayers for strength and encouragement for the monks in his charge.

Saint Robert is said to have fasted so rigorously during Lent that his brothers grew concerned, and asked him the reason for his refusal to eat. Robert responded that he might be able to eat a small piece of buttered oatcake, but once it was placed before him, fearing gluttony, he requested that it instead be given to the poor. Over the protest of his brothers, the food was taken to the front gates of the Abbey, where a beautiful stranger took both the cake and the dish it sat upon. While a brother was explaining the loss, the dish miraculously appeared on the table before the abbot, leading the men to realize that the beautiful stranger had been an angel of the Lord.

Saint Robert was close friends with the hermit Saint Godric, whom he visited frequently. On the night Robert died, Godric is said to have seen a vision of Robert's soul, like a ball of fire, being lifted by angels on a pathway of light toward the gates of Heaven. As they approached, Godric heard a voice saying, "Enter now my friends." His relics were translated to the church at Newminster. Numerous miracles have been reported at his tomb, including one in which a brother monk is said to have fallen unhurt from a ladder while whitewashing the dormitory. His tomb remains a center of pilgrimage.

The life of Saint Robert of Newminster reminds us that one does not need to live a life filled with extravagant miracles or preaching, or die a martyrs’ death to be holy. Saint Robert lived a simple life, rich in the spirit of the Lord. He gave all that he have, sacrificed, and spent his days in prayer and self-denial—oftentimes for the souls of his brothers and those who were less fortunate. Robert considered his actions carefully, always on the look-out for temptation, and wary of the pathways to sinfulness. Through fasting and prayer he converted many souls, grew the Church of God on earth, and earned himself a saint’s place in Heaven. How might we better live up to the example of this holy man?

God our loving Father, you inspired Robert
to establish a new monastery, and to preside as abbot
with gentleness and justice.
As we honor today this man of prayer, may we also learn from his example.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Inspired by the origins and spiritual history of the Holy Rosary, we continue our meditation on the psalms, one each day, in order, for 150 days. 
Today’s Psalm: Psalm 44: Israel’s Past Glory and Present Need


1 We have heard with our ears, O God; 
our fathers have told us 
what you did in their days, 
in days long ago. 
2 With your hand you drove out the nations 
and planted our fathers; 
you crushed the peoples 
and made our fathers flourish. 
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, 
nor did their arm bring them victory; 
it was your right hand, your arm, 
and the light of your face, for you loved them. 
4 You are my King and my God, 
who decrees victories for Jacob. 
5 Through you we push back our enemies; 
through your name we trample our foes. 
6 I do not trust in my bow, 
my sword does not bring me victory; 
7 but you give us victory over our enemies, 
you put our adversaries to shame. 
8 In God we make our boast all day long, 
and we will praise your name forever. 
9 But now you have rejected and humbled us; 
you no longer go out with our armies. 
10 You made us retreat before the enemy, 
and our adversaries have plundered us. 
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep 
and have scattered us among the nations. 
12 You sold your people for a pittance, 
gaining nothing from their sale. 
13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, 
the scorn and derision of those around us. 
14 You have made us a byword among the nations; 
the peoples shake their heads at us. 
15 My disgrace is before me all day long, 
and my face is covered with shame 
16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, 
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.
17 All this happened to us, 
though we had not forgotten you 
or been false to your covenant. 
18 Our hearts had not turned back; 
our feet had not strayed from your path. 
19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals 
and covered us over with deep darkness. 
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God 
or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 
21 would not God have discovered it, 
since he knows the secrets of the heart? 
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long; 
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? 
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. 
24 Why do you hide your face 
and forget our misery and oppression? 
25 We are brought down to the dust; 
our bodies cling to the ground. 
26 Rise up and help us; 
redeem us because of your unfailing love.

  http://365rosaries.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/june-7-saint-robert-of-newminster.html

From: Donald  - - -
To: George T...
Sent: Thursday, 7 June 2012
Subject: St Robert of Newminster

Dear George,
At the celebration of the Mass in honour of St. Robert of Newminster this morning we prayed for yourself and for your years and the writing and devotion to the Saint. on Newminter and the Cistercian hertiage
- - -
fr. Donald

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International Eucharistic Congress - Sunday, June 10 – Feast: Corpus Christi – Theme: "Gathering"

This painting by the artist Fintan Tracey was painted to help us see and understand the theme for the Dublin Eucharistic Congress, ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another’. In the reflection as seen on the chalice, we see the community of believers come and gather together with Christ. Then, from the Eucharist, we go out to our homes, communities, and workplaces bearing “the fruit of Eucharistic grace” (CCC, 1390).





The image on this card was created
by artist Fintan Tracey for the
50th International Eucharistic Congress,
Dublin, 2012.


The Eucharist in Ireland
with Fruit Wreath

This is represented
by the fruit in the painting,
as we go out and bear fruit, 

becoming like Christ to one another in the community. Within the fruit wreath framing the host and chalice is the outline of the map of Ireland, the location for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, Dublin, 2012.

The nail with the blue ribbon
tied around it in the top right of the painting
recalls the Passion of Christ, also of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Church. At the top of the painting, the three ears of wheat symbolise the Eucharist and the True Vine.

At the lower left of the painting, V2 recalls that 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council.

The dates for the happy coincidence with the 50th International Eucharistic Congress are seen on the bottom in Roman numerals – L (50) and MMXII (2012).

To the right of this is a bell  
which symbolises the invitation to come together
for the Eucharist and to share in the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

TV: First Day


http://saltandlighttv.org/iec/salt-light-tv-online-streaming-coverage-overview


Sunday, June 10 – Feast: Corpus Christi – Theme: "Gathering"


Start: 8:00am-11:00am ET LIVE – RDS Arena – Opening Ceremony and Mass – Presider: Papal Legate, Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops; President of the Pontifical Commission on Latin America


Repeat: 8:00pm-11:00pm ET and Midnight-3:00am ET

St. Columba on 'The misty isle of Skye'

St. Columba - "The misty isle of Skye ...


Saint Columba (Columcille) 9th June 2012

The Skye Bridge that links Kyle of Lochalsh to Skye

At the Night this morning we listened to: 


1st Nocturne. Reading. Colosians 3:1-17,


2nd Noct. Reading. St. Columba –Breviary p. 220


It was that otherwise concealed in the Common of Abbots, not the assumed Adamnan’s Lesson on the Life of Columba.


There is a classic on "The misty isle of Skye : its scenery, its people, its story"


Full text at http://www.archive.org/stream/mistyisleofskyei00macc/mistyisleofskyei00macc_djvu.txt


and featurers references Admanan’s role on St. Columba as the first Church in Skye.


At the waiting room at the Outpatients Dept. In hospital I found a beautiful an ticle from the Peoples Friend magazine about St. Columba. For it I thank from the author Willie Shand, March 31, 2012.

Loch Coruisk Isle of Skye painted in 1874 by Sidney Richard Percy

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“On Sacred Ground ... to walk in the footsteps of St. Columba”

Just five miles from Portree, and a few hundred yards from the Dunvegan road, has brought me to an old briddge over the Snozort – a place one would certainly have been well advised to steer clear of in 1593. It’s a much quieter scene now.


If you walk over the stone bridge you’ll find a gate leading down to a track following the right bank of the river. In a short distance this track brings us to another bridge, a wooden footbridge which crosses on to a tiny island on the river – an island within an island.


Insignificant as it may look when you step on to this island you stand upon sacred, and historic ground.


For upon it are the ruins of chapel built by St. Columba himself. Some claim this to be the first Christian church to be built on Skye.


His decision to build it here, we are told, was due to a vision the Saint had before coming to Skye. According to Columba’s Adamanan, the Saint had foreseen being greeted by an old man seeking baptism who, upon receiving it,’would immediately die.


When Columba and his followers landed at the head of Loch Snizort Beag, they were met by a number of men carrying an old and frain chief by the name of Artbraham. He had heard about Columba’s teaching and was determined to hold on to life until he could meet the Saint.


Sure enough, just as Columba had foreseen, the old man passed away immediately after baptism. He was then carried to this wee island for burial – claimed to be the first Christian burial on Skye.


Columba then chose to build his chapel upon the very site and you can still see traces of it this day. From 1079 until 1498 this was the Catholic Church of the Bishop’s of the Isles.


Since pagan times the island has been used as a cemetery. One fine carved tombstone depicts a warrior with claymore. Another marks the resting place of Donald Munro, the father of evangelical religion on Skye.


Close to the chapel you’ll find another ancient roofless ruin – Nicholson’s Aisle – and, according to tradition within is are no fewer than twenty-eight Chiefs of the Nicholsons clan.

Somewhere off the beaten tourist trail, this is indeed a fascinating wee island well worth stopping to explore.