Saint Columba (7 December 521 – 9 June 597) was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present-day Scotland. He founded the abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious institution in the region for centuries.
Around 563, Columba and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty before settling in Iona in Scotland. There, they founded the abbey as a base for spreading Christianity among the northern kingdoms who were pagan.
Legend has it that from the time of Columba to the present day, in these northern lands, the Holy Spirit has been symbolized by the wild goose.
A goose is assertive and demanding. The goose will insist on being taken seriously. If not, the goose will chase you down and probably bite you in the ass.
Today is Pentecost, and what better way to consider the work of the Holy Spirit than by chasing the wild goose through place and time. Unlike the calm and gentle dove, a wild goose is in essence untamed, uncontrolled and unpredictable. And like the wild goose, the Holy Spirit blows to and fro on the wind; coming in strangeness and power to disturb the status quo and to set people onto a new adventure with God.
May the wild goose keep flying for us. May the Holy Spirit continue to bless us and disturb us. In the words of the hymn:
Even now, as on that earliest day
we feel uncertain. So we pray:
Lord, give us Pentecost again
through city square and country glen.
With or without new tongues of flame
make your church worthy of your name.
Father Steve Adrian
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