Finding on his arrival that the very posterns were secured against him, and that all access to Brude was denied, the saint nowise dismayed, calling to mind this promise of his loving and divine Master, "Amen I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard-seed you shall say to this mountain, pass from hence and it shall be removed, and nothing shall be impossible unto you," [[1]] fearlessly advanced to the palace gate, and impressed upon it the sacred sign of the cross; and lo! by the power of Him who dying for us thereon, shivered "the brazen gates," and burst the chains of Satan; the royal portals yielded on the moment, and expanded widely, to the amazement of the Pagan bystanders. This was sufficient; confounded at "the power which was given to" the holy missionary, the monarch came forth, attended by all the members of his council, welcomed him with every demonstration of kindness and respect, gave him all the permissions he required, and never failed in their after intercourse to evince the courtesy displayed at this first meeting. The magi, or ministers of the national superstition, were the only persons from whom the missionaries had now any reason to fear opposition, and they gave it; for, despite of the sanction of the king, they used every artifice to render unavailing the labors of the saintly men. An entire family being converted by the blessed Columba to the Christian faith, their deadly hatred was so provoked, that they were disposed to view with pleasure any misfortune befalling its individual members. To their great joy one of the children grew sick, and died soon after baptism, which they at once proclaimed to be the punishment of its parents' apostacy, and a certain proof of the superiority of the potency of their gods, over the God of the Christians. Columba being apprized of this circumstance, and fearing for the faith of his neophytes, repaired without delay to their abode. On arriving there, he first endeavored to console the sorrowing parents by enlarging on the Divine power, and by exhorting them to look with confidence for relief to the one true God, and next proceeded to the room where the body of the deceased lay, whence he obliged all to withdraw while he poured forth his prayer to God for the restoration to life of the departed child. At the close of his fervent orison, directing his eyes towards the lifeless remains, he exclaimed, "In the name of the Lord Jesus, arise, and stand upon thy feet!" The command was obeyed, the child was instantly restored to life, and the saint taking him by the hand led him to the apartment in which his parents disconsolately remained. We may guess at, but cannot speak their joy, their gratitude. Surely now they blessed the hour in which they embraced Christianity, and were more strongly confirmed in the belief of its mysteries: the people, too, assembled in crowds to witness the wonder which Columba had wrought, testified by their acclamations their grateful acknowledgments to him, and their faith in the omnipotence of the God whom he came to preach unto them.
The interests of his monastery at Hy, required that the saint should occasionally interrupt his apostolic labors in Pictland, in order to revisit it. However, his stay was very short, being prolonged only as much as was absolutely necessary for the infant establishment; for as soon as it was possible he tore himself from his dear religious to resume his mission. And what a sacrifice of self, even in its minimum, and apparently lawful form, was not here! That Columba would have preferred communing with God in the seclusion of the cloister, and governing that little and most peaceful flock committed to his care was but natural; but like all saintly "hooded men," he only thought of subjecting nature to grace, and knowing full well that when we leave God for God, we are most certain of finding Him.
It cannot be doubted that St. Columba's zealous exertions were crowned with great success, the vast majority of the inhabitants of Pictland being gained over to the belief and practice of the Gospel. Even during his first visit there, he was enabled to erect some few churches and religious houses, and appointed spiritual instructors to provide for the religious wants of the new converts, and propagate during his occasional absence the holy Catholic faith. Who these were we are not aware, the event being but imperfectly recorded, no less than the history of these first ecclesiastical foundations.
It is said, that our saint penetrated into the Orkney Isles, and with some success, but of his proceedings there we know little. Of those which took place in the Hebrides or Western Islands, which he also blessed with his presence, frequently visiting them, indefatigably preaching in them, supplying them with missionaries, erecting churches, and founding religious communities, there is more extant. Among these Islands, Hymba, where he established a monastery, over which, after some years, he placed his maternal uncle Erwan, seems to have been his favorite retreat, just as Sabhal, or Saul, in our own green isle was of his glorious and saintly progenitor in the faith, St. Patrick. On various occasions, and at different intervals, he made it his abode. There it was that he was visited by four holy founders of monasticism in Ireland—by Comgall, Cainnech or Canice, Brendan of Clonfert, and Cormac Hua Liathain;—there while celebrating mass for them, Brendan saw a very bright flame like a burning pillar, as if rising from his head, which continued from the moment of the consecration to the termination of the sacred mysteries. It was there also that, on another occasion, he had some extraordinary celestial visitations, which lasted for three days and three nights consecutively. There were several monasteries also, founded by himself, or in virtue of his obedience by his disciples, in an island called Ethica, one of which was governed by Baithen, who subsequently succeeded him in the abbacy of Hy. While thus engaged, the saint was at times obliged to exert himself in defence of the new converts against certain marauders, who, though nominally Christian, practised the illicit trade of plundering. On one occasion, he proceeded to excommunicate some of the leaders, who were members of the royal house of the British Scots, but at the risk of his life, one of their partizans having rushed upon him with a spear, but providentially without effect. Adamnan says, that the name of this assassin was Lamh-dess or Right hand, and that on his advancing against Columba, Findulgan, a monk of Hymba, where this transaction occurred, being clothed in an outer garment of the saint, threw himself between him and Lamh-dess, who, notwithstanding he used all his might, was not able to transfix it.
The apostolic labors of St. Columba were not confined to the territories of the Picts and Western Islanders, he superintended also the ecclesiastical affairs of the British Scots, and formed some religious establishments in their kingdom; one of them, near Loch-Awe in Argyle, was governed by one of his monks named Cailten, of whom it is related, that he died at Hy, the parent-house, if we may so call it. The holy abbot Columba, foreseeing that the death of this monk was nigh, sent for him that he might give him his blessing, as being in some sort necessary to his terminating his course in the true spirit of monastic obedience. In traversing the southern part of this kingdom, our saint visited St. Kentigern, bishop of Glasgow, and spent with him a few days. Nor is it improbable that he visited South Britain, then possessed by the Anglo-Saxons, for there were Christians of that nation in Hy before his death, converted in all probability by himself or his disciples. Meantime, he did not neglect to watch vigilantly over his other monasteries, not only in Scotland and the Isles, but also those which he had founded in his own dear and more cherished land. Thither did he often send messengers on business connected with his monasteries, or with other pious objects. On one occasion he dispatched to Clogher, in all haste, Lugaid Laithir, one of his monks, (whom Adamnan calls his legate by excellence,) with a box containing a benediction, which, when dipped in water, was to cure the saintly virgin Mangina, whose limb was broken at her returning from the holy mysteries; which it did most effectually instantly on its application. [[2]]
St. Columba was frequently visited by persons from Ireland, who were either his former friends, or who wished to become so, or who desired to receive his advice on various matters; and these, with all other strangers, he received with the greatest kindness, and treated most hospitably. Besides the holy men already mentioned, Columbanus, bishop in the province of Leinster, [[3]] came to see him. The holy abbot conceived a great friendship for this prelate, so that, being apprized of his death by revelation, he gave orders in the morning that the monks who were preparing for their respective occupations should refrain from work on that day; and when all was ready for the holy mysteries, the whole community, clothed in white garments as on a Sunday or other solemnity, proceeded to the church along with the saint. When the choir had come to a part of the service in which the name of St. Martin used to be commemorated, the saintly abbot cried out, "To-day you must sing for the holy bishop Columbanus;" and thus they became informed of his death.
Another visitor of St. Columba's was Aidan, a very religious man, who had lived twelve years with St. Brendan of Clonfert. On the day before his arrival, the saint said to the brethren, "We intend to fast to-morrow as usual, because it will be Wednesday; but, in consequence of the arrival of a stranger, the fast will be broken." The event verified the prediction. Aidan did arrive; and St. Columba's dispensation with so holy an ordinance, observed even by the whole Irish Church, establishes his claim to great prudence and discretion. [[4]]
We shall mention but one more of those visitors, Cronan, a Munster bishop, who, on the occasion, through humility, did all that he could to prevent its being known that he belonged to the episcopal order. Not having yet understood that he did, Columba desired him on the Sunday to celebrate Mass, "Christi corpus ex more, conficere." He did so; and when he came to the division of the consecrated host, he called upon Columba to join him as a priest in breaking the Lord's bread, "Ut simul quasi duo presbyteri, Dominicum panem frangerent." Coming up to the altar, and looking him in the face, the saint said, "Christ bless you brother; do you alone break it, according to the episcopal rite, for now we know you are a bishop. Why have you hitherto endeavored to conceal yourself, so as not to let us pay you that veneration which we owe to you?" [[5]]
That Columba was held in the highest veneration, as well by the clergy and people as by the monarchs of his time, both in Ireland and Britain, is too well known to require proof. A very remarkable instance of it occurs in his having been the person applied to for inaugurating, or, as his biographers express it, ordaining, Aidan, king of the British Scots, after the death of Conall; with which request, by the way, he complied not, until after being commanded by an angel, preferring much that Eugene, Aidan's brother, should sway the sceptre. He subsequently became very friendly towards the latter; and for his sake chiefly it was that he assisted at the assembly of Drumceat in Ireland, some differences between him and Aidus, the supreme monarch of the green isle, being to be adjusted therein. This was the last of the several visits with which our saint favored the land of his birth, and it is referred to the year 590. He was accompanied by some of his monks, together with his royal friend; and having, after a stormy passage, entered Lough Foyle, and landed near the mouth of the river Roe, they proceeded to Drumceat, to meet the states-general of the kingdom. Aidus, at first rather insolent and disrespectful towards St. Columba, changed his tone altogether when he found that he came only to establish peace between him and the king of the British Scots. The respective claims of the royal opponents were simply these: Aidan, the Scottish monarch, asserting a hereditary right to the sovereignty of Dalrieda in Antrim, demanded that the inhabitants of that territory should be relieved from the tribute paid by the other Irish principalities to the supreme monarch; while, on the other hand, Aidus, contended that, as the aforesaid territory formed a part of his realm, it could not be exempt from the subsidy required from the several states of the kingdom by him and his successors in the monarchy. The decision of the matter being at length referred to St. Columba, he, feeling unwilling to pronounce upon it, advised that it should be submitted to St. Colman, a person deeply skilled in civil as well as ecclesiastical lore. St. Colman decided for Aidus; but, to heal the dissensions which had arisen, he proposed that a solemn covenant should be entered into between him and Aidan to render mutual assistance, the one to the other, against any enemy who might invade their respective dominions. This proposal was received with joy, and being entered into, gave general satisfaction.
Another subject of no small national importance was subsequently discussed. The bards had incurred the displeasure of Aidus, and several leading members of the national council, being as it was said, a proud and venal order, who bestowed praise on, or loaded with censure, the nobles and other great men, not according to merit, but just as they were prompted by passion or interest. Their fate seemed decided—their proscription was about to be determined on, until our saintly abbot, who, at the same time that he protested against such an abuse, still loved, like a true patriot, the institutions of his country, claimed toleration for "the sons of song;" and pleaded their cause so successfully, that the assembly contented itself with limiting their number, and obliging them thenceforward to observe certain regulations. The assembly being dissolved, our good St. Columba prepared to leave Drumceat; but, before he set out, his pity for the sufferings of Scanlan, prince of Ossory, detained in prison by Aidus for some political cause, induced him to petition for his release. Though disposed to receive favorably any request from such a holy man, the fears, or perhaps the prejudices, of the monarch against the unfortunate prince prevented his acquiescence: so, perceiving that further interference would not avail, Columba consoled the royal captive with the assurance that he should survive his imperial master, and be restored to, and govern for many years, his native princedom.