Godly Play: St. Columba

Today, we heard the story of St. Columba from Godly Play: Volume 7. The character of Columba has always fascinated me. First, he was part of the movement of Irish monasticism that "saved civilization" during the Dark Ages. Secondly, he made a huge mistake out of anger as a young man that cost many lives, but rather than being defeated by it, he lived out forgiveness and went on to help many others. Thirdly, his monastic community at Iona produced beautiful illuminated books, including the famous Book of Kells.

This Godly Play story starts out by saying that Columba means "the dove" and that it was said of him that he was loving to all. However, he hadn't always been that way. 

Through his arrogance over a book, many people were killed in an infamous battle. Columba decided to spend his life telling others of God's forgiveness and warning them about the danger of anger.

At the end of his life, he knew that "those who seek the Lord lack no thing", and had helped many people. 

My children were excited about this story, because they have actually seen the Book of Kells, which is now in Dublin. My son asked me to show him how to draw a Celtic knot during our Response Time. I showed him a simple way to do it and he drew the picture below. He figured out how to do the Trinity circular knot all by himself without my help. I love the little animal in the picture. The illuminated letters are supposed to say "God" in German, but he accidentally left off the second "t". Didn't have the heart to tell him, because it is such an amazing picture.: )