Healing Transformation

My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. 1 John 4: 1

During Columba’s journey back from a meeting of rulers near Limavady, Ireland, the bishop of Coleraine arranged for him to lodge at the local monastery, and prepared a huge collection of offerings from local believers, which were laid out in front of the monastic buildings. As Columba looked at them and blessed them, he pointed to one gift and said: ‘The man who gave this enjoys the mercy of God on account of his generosity and his mercies to the poor’. However, he pointed to another gift of food with these words: ‘This is the gift of a man who is both wise and greedy. I cannot so much as taste it unless he first makes penance for his greed’.

This word soon got around the crowd. When Columb mac Aedo heard it he walked forward and knelt in front of Columba, confessed, and promised to renounce greed, mend his ways, and practice generosity. Columba told him to stand up, and announced that he was a changed man, and was no longer grasping. Columb walked away tall though chastened, generous, free and affirmed.

In Iona Columba once saw a threatening rain cloud moving towards Ireland, and he knew that it would bring a life-threatening sickness to a particular district there. So he sent one of his monks to sail over to Ireland saying: “Take this bread I have blessed in the name of God, dip it in water and then sprinkle that water over both the people and their livestock in that place , and they will soon recover their health’. The monk, Silnan, landed and found six men in one house who were already near to death. When he sprinkled them as Columba had said they were all restored to health. News of this spread and many people came to Silnan with their livestock. These were all sprinkled and were saved from disease.

Give me a desire to see others reach their greatness
Give me a word to help another grow.
May petty ways drop from us like scales.
Step by step you lead us.
Feed and renovate us
Till we are glad to be givers
Till we joy in being brothers
Till we delight in being sisters
Till heaven laughs in delight
At our pleasure in each other