Churches of the Day
Pictorial Thought for Today
Nov 23 St. Columbanus: (3) Celts to the Creche
Summary: St. Columbanus, one of the early Irish monks who helped evangelize, educate, and transform pagan Western Europe. (This article came to us as a unsolicited but helpful response to our earlier items on St Columbanus. Thanks to the anonymous supplier!)
Early Life and Education.
St. Columbanus (Columban) was an Irish monk who was born about 543 AD in County Meath, now known as Leinster. While his mother was pregnant with him, she dreamed of a great light that spread throughout the world. She knew that her baby would be a servant of Christ.
It was written soon after his death that “Columbanus’s fine figure, his splendid colour, and his noble manliness made him beloved by all.” He also had a great sense of humour and loved puns. We know about Columbanus from the writings of The Venerable Bede in the fifth chapter of his Ecclesiastical History of the English People and from Jonas, a monk of Bobbio who wrote about Columbanus three years after he died.
As a young man, Columbanus was afraid he was on the brink of giving in to the vain “lusts of the world,” so he sought the guidance of a local female hermit or Abbess. She advised this handsome young man: “Away, O youth, away!” “Flee from corruption, into which, as you know, many have fallen.” Hearing those words of admonition, he was shaken so much that he left home over his Mother’s loud protest as she lay prostrate on the threshold of their home, begging him not to leave to study under a monk named Sinell on Cleenish Island in Lough Erne.
He later entered the famous Irish monastery of Bangor and studied with the renowned St. Comgall (a friend and student of St. Columba of Iona). While there he codified two Rules for living in community, one for the community and one for individual monks. When Columbanus was about 50 years old, Comgall finally gave him permission to go to Europe with twelve companions in about 589.
They landed first in Saint Malo, Brittany in France and then Columbanus set up a monastery at Annegray in the Vosges Mountains on an old Roman fort in Burgundy.
Established Monasteries.
St. Columbanus founded numerous monasteries throughout Europe, most notably Annegray and Luxeuil in France and Bobbio in Italy. At Luxeuil, his largest monastery in France, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul stands on the site of Columbanus’ first church.
It is even said that he had his own personal retreat in a bear’s den! Columbanus was very well educated and became quite popular with the French royalty and even St. Burgundofara (see Day 21 of Celts to the Creche), the first Abbess of Faremoutiers who was blessed as a child by Columbanus when he visited in their home.
All of Columbanus’ monasteries that he established and/or influenced followed Celtic customs and the Celtic calendar. His strict and severe Rule of Columbanus that was based on the Celtic way of monastic living and penitentials was later moderated by a mix with the kinder, gentler Rule of St. Benedict.
Speaking His Mind with the French Royals
When King Theuderic II of Burgundy, France began living with a mistress and having illegitimate children, Columbanus boldly objected, earning the displeasure of the king’s grandmother, Brunhilda. Angered by the saint’s moral stand, Brunhilda stirred up the bishops and nobles to find fault with Columbanus’ monastic rules.
When Theuderic II finally confronted Columbanus at Luxeuil, ordering him to conform to the country’s conventions, the saint refused and was then taken prisoner to Besancon. Columbanus managed to escape his captors and returned to his monastery at Luxeuil. When the King and his grandmother Brunhilda found out, they sent armed soldiers to Nantes to deport him back to Ireland by force.
Exile that Turned for Good.
His ship of deportation was prevented from setting sail as a storm came up, so Columbanus rowed up the Rhine River desiring to settle at Lake Constance, but there was opposition to him there also. His companion, St. Gall who had come with him from Bangor, Ireland remained in Switzerland and it seems they may have gotten “sideways” with each other. St. Gall stayed in Switzerland as a hermit and a large monastery and community grew up in that area bearing his name, St. Gall. Many Irish came to the monastery at St. Gall and it accumulated a large collection of early manuscripts, some with Irish poetry scribbled in the margins.
Columbanus ended up in northern Italy where in 613, he established the famous monastery of Bobbio on the site of a ruined church in the foothills of the Appenines. Bobbio became famous for its scriptorium and its vast library of manuscripts.
His Place of Resurrection
His last years were spent copying manuscripts and writing sermons. This wanderer for Christ, Columbanus died at Bobbio on November 21, 615 AD. On his deathbed, he sent his abbot’s staff as a token of forgiveness and reconciliation to one of his former twelve companions, St. Gall whom he had a falling out with earlier.
The sacristy at Bobbio possesses some of Columbanus’ relics. These relics include a portion of his skull, his knife, wooden cup, bell, and an ancient water vessel formerly containing sacred relics and said to have been given to him by Pope Gregory I. His tomb can also be found in the Cathedral.
Influence
Columbanus’ Celtic love of nature and God’s creation influenced St. Francis who lived for awhile at Bobbio Monastery. As Columbanus walked in the woods, it was not uncommon for birds to land on his shoulders to be caressed, or for squirrels to run down from the trees and nestle in the folds of his cowl. He is often shown with a bear because of two stories. One is that the monks at Luxueil Abbey found themselves shorthanded at planting time. Columbanus went into the woods, rounded up a bear, and yoked him to the plough. Another time later in his life, Columbanus wanted a quiet hermitage away from everything. He found a nice den in a mountain but discovered it had a bear in it, so her persuaded the bear to leave and let him have it.
Only three years after Columbanus died on November 21, 615, one of the monks of Bobbio, Jonas wrote the Life of Columbanus revealing that he was a scholar, poet, and a mystic. He founded or influenced the establishment of sixty monasteries in Ireland and Western Europe. His Rule of Columbanus was the rule that many Irish and European monasteries followed for many years that was later moderated by the less severe Rule of Benedict.
Six letters of his survive including correspondence with Pope Gregory I and Pope Boniface IV. At least thirteen sermons and five poems of Columbanus have also survived throughout the ages. Online links to Columbanus’ sermons, letters, autobiography, and the Rule of Columbanus are listed below.
Bede. Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Book. 5. ii.xix. CCEL: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Bitel, Lisa. Isle of the Saints: Monastic Settlement and Christian Community in Early Ireland. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994.
Columbanus’ Learning in Ireland.
Columbanus’ Life. From MonasticIreland.com
Columbanus’ Places of Ministry. From MonasticIreland.com
Dillon, Miles and Nora Chadwick. The Celtic Realms. Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 2006.
Duckett, Eleanor. The Wandering Saints of the Early Middle Ages. London: The Catholic Book Club, 1959.
Dunn, Marilyn. Belief and Religion in Barbarian Europe c.350-700. London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
Earle, Mary C. and Sylvia Maddox. Holy Companions: Spiritual Practices from the Celtic Saints. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2004.
Hen, Yitzhak and Rob Meens, eds. The Bobbio Missal: Liturgy and Religious Culture in Merovingian Gaul. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Jonas of Bobbio. Life of Columban. From Fordham University. (note: Book I is about Columbanus and Book II is about his disciples).
Jones, Andrew. Every Pilgrim’s Guide to Celtic Britain and Ireland. Ligouri, Missouri: Ligouri Publications, 2002.
Jones, Kathleen. Who are the Celtic Saints? Norwich, UK: Canterbury Press, 2002.
Lack, Katherine. The Eagle and the Dove: The Spirituality of the Celtic Saint Columbanus. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Triangle Press, 2000.
Lapidge, Michael, ed. Columbanus: Studies on the Latin Writings. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK. The Boydell Press, 1997.
Letters of Columbanus.(from CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts)
Mitton, Michael. The Soul of Celtic Spirituality in the Lives of Its Saints. Mystic, CT: Twenty Third Publications, 1996.
Moore, David. The Accidental Pilgrim: Travels with a Celtic Saint.T Dublin: Hodder, 2004. (a bicyclist on a pilgrimage to the places of Columanbus-a great read!)
Ní Mheara, Róisín. In Search of Irish Saints. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1994.
O’Fiaich, Tomás. Columbanus in His Own Words. Dublin: Veritas Publications, 1990.
O’Fiach, Tomás. Columbanus in His Own Words. Catholic Ireland. net. (online)
Ó’Ríordáin, John J. Early Irish Saints. Dublin: The Columba Press, 2004.
Pennick, Nigel. The Celtic Saints. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1997.
Peters, Edwards, ed. “Jonias of Bobbio. Life of Columban” in Monks, Bishops, and Pagans: Christian Culture in Gaul and Italy, 500-700. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1975.
Rees, Elizabeth. An Essential Guide to Celtic Sites and Their Saints. London: Burns & Oates, 2003.
Celtic Saints: Passionate Wanderers. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000.
Richter, Michael. Bobbio in the Early Middle Ages. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2008.
The Rule of Columbanus. (from CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts)
The Rule of Columbanus (from Scroll Publishing)
Sawyers, June Skinner. Praying with Celtic Saints, Prophets, Martyrs, and Poets. Franklin, WI: Sheed & Ward, 2001.
Sellner, Edward C. Wisdom of the Celtic Saints, rev. and expanded. St. Paul, MN: Bog Walk Press, 2006.
Sermons of Columbanus.
Tristram, Kate. Columbanus: The Earliest Voice of Christian Ireland. Dublin: The Columba Press, 2010.
Wallace, Martin. Celtic Saints. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1995.
Wood, Ian. The Merovingian Kingdoms 450-751. London: Routledge, 1993.
Woods, Richard J. The Spirituality of the Celtic Saints. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2000.
“We’ve strayed from being fishers of men
to being keepers of the aquarium”
~ Paul Harvey ~
Early Life and Education.
St. Columbanus (Columban) was an Irish monk who was born about 543 AD in County Meath, now known as Leinster. While his mother was pregnant with him, she dreamed of a great light that spread throughout the world. She knew that her baby would be a servant of Christ.
It was written soon after his death that “Columbanus’s fine figure, his splendid colour, and his noble manliness made him beloved by all.” He also had a great sense of humour and loved puns. We know about Columbanus from the writings of The Venerable Bede in the fifth chapter of his Ecclesiastical History of the English People and from Jonas, a monk of Bobbio who wrote about Columbanus three years after he died.
As a young man, Columbanus was afraid he was on the brink of giving in to the vain “lusts of the world,” so he sought the guidance of a local female hermit or Abbess. She advised this handsome young man: “Away, O youth, away!” “Flee from corruption, into which, as you know, many have fallen.” Hearing those words of admonition, he was shaken so much that he left home over his Mother’s loud protest as she lay prostrate on the threshold of their home, begging him not to leave to study under a monk named Sinell on Cleenish Island in Lough Erne.
He later entered the famous Irish monastery of Bangor and studied with the renowned St. Comgall (a friend and student of St. Columba of Iona). While there he codified two Rules for living in community, one for the community and one for individual monks. When Columbanus was about 50 years old, Comgall finally gave him permission to go to Europe with twelve companions in about 589.
They landed first in Saint Malo, Brittany in France and then Columbanus set up a monastery at Annegray in the Vosges Mountains on an old Roman fort in Burgundy.
Established Monasteries.
St. Columbanus founded numerous monasteries throughout Europe, most notably Annegray and Luxeuil in France and Bobbio in Italy. At Luxeuil, his largest monastery in France, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul stands on the site of Columbanus’ first church.
It is even said that he had his own personal retreat in a bear’s den! Columbanus was very well educated and became quite popular with the French royalty and even St. Burgundofara (see Day 21 of Celts to the Creche), the first Abbess of Faremoutiers who was blessed as a child by Columbanus when he visited in their home.
All of Columbanus’ monasteries that he established and/or influenced followed Celtic customs and the Celtic calendar. His strict and severe Rule of Columbanus that was based on the Celtic way of monastic living and penitentials was later moderated by a mix with the kinder, gentler Rule of St. Benedict.
Speaking His Mind with the French Royals
When King Theuderic II of Burgundy, France began living with a mistress and having illegitimate children, Columbanus boldly objected, earning the displeasure of the king’s grandmother, Brunhilda. Angered by the saint’s moral stand, Brunhilda stirred up the bishops and nobles to find fault with Columbanus’ monastic rules.
When Theuderic II finally confronted Columbanus at Luxeuil, ordering him to conform to the country’s conventions, the saint refused and was then taken prisoner to Besancon. Columbanus managed to escape his captors and returned to his monastery at Luxeuil. When the King and his grandmother Brunhilda found out, they sent armed soldiers to Nantes to deport him back to Ireland by force.
Exile that Turned for Good.
His ship of deportation was prevented from setting sail as a storm came up, so Columbanus rowed up the Rhine River desiring to settle at Lake Constance, but there was opposition to him there also. His companion, St. Gall who had come with him from Bangor, Ireland remained in Switzerland and it seems they may have gotten “sideways” with each other. St. Gall stayed in Switzerland as a hermit and a large monastery and community grew up in that area bearing his name, St. Gall. Many Irish came to the monastery at St. Gall and it accumulated a large collection of early manuscripts, some with Irish poetry scribbled in the margins.
Columbanus ended up in northern Italy where in 613, he established the famous monastery of Bobbio on the site of a ruined church in the foothills of the Appenines. Bobbio became famous for its scriptorium and its vast library of manuscripts.
His Place of Resurrection
His last years were spent copying manuscripts and writing sermons. This wanderer for Christ, Columbanus died at Bobbio on November 21, 615 AD. On his deathbed, he sent his abbot’s staff as a token of forgiveness and reconciliation to one of his former twelve companions, St. Gall whom he had a falling out with earlier.
The sacristy at Bobbio possesses some of Columbanus’ relics. These relics include a portion of his skull, his knife, wooden cup, bell, and an ancient water vessel formerly containing sacred relics and said to have been given to him by Pope Gregory I. His tomb can also be found in the Cathedral.Influence
Columbanus’ Celtic love of nature and God’s creation influenced St. Francis who lived for awhile at Bobbio Monastery. As Columbanus walked in the woods, it was not uncommon for birds to land on his shoulders to be caressed, or for squirrels to run down from the trees and nestle in the folds of his cowl. He is often shown with a bear because of two stories. One is that the monks at Luxueil Abbey found themselves shorthanded at planting time. Columbanus went into the woods, rounded up a bear, and yoked him to the plough. Another time later in his life, Columbanus wanted a quiet hermitage away from everything. He found a nice den in a mountain but discovered it had a bear in it, so her persuaded the bear to leave and let him have it.
Only three years after Columbanus died on November 21, 615, one of the monks of Bobbio, Jonas wrote the Life of Columbanus revealing that he was a scholar, poet, and a mystic. He founded or influenced the establishment of sixty monasteries in Ireland and Western Europe. His Rule of Columbanus was the rule that many Irish and European monasteries followed for many years that was later moderated by the less severe Rule of Benedict.
Six letters of his survive including correspondence with Pope Gregory I and Pope Boniface IV. At least thirteen sermons and five poems of Columbanus have also survived throughout the ages. Online links to Columbanus’ sermons, letters, autobiography, and the Rule of Columbanus are listed below.
Resources
Bede. Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Book. 5. ii.xix. CCEL: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Bitel, Lisa. Isle of the Saints: Monastic Settlement and Christian Community in Early Ireland. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994.
Columbanus’ Learning in Ireland.
Columbanus’ Life. From MonasticIreland.com
Columbanus’ Places of Ministry. From MonasticIreland.com
Dillon, Miles and Nora Chadwick. The Celtic Realms. Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 2006.
Duckett, Eleanor. The Wandering Saints of the Early Middle Ages. London: The Catholic Book Club, 1959.
Dunn, Marilyn. Belief and Religion in Barbarian Europe c.350-700. London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
Earle, Mary C. and Sylvia Maddox. Holy Companions: Spiritual Practices from the Celtic Saints. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2004.
Hen, Yitzhak and Rob Meens, eds. The Bobbio Missal: Liturgy and Religious Culture in Merovingian Gaul. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Jonas of Bobbio. Life of Columban. From Fordham University. (note: Book I is about Columbanus and Book II is about his disciples).
Jones, Andrew. Every Pilgrim’s Guide to Celtic Britain and Ireland. Ligouri, Missouri: Ligouri Publications, 2002.
Jones, Kathleen. Who are the Celtic Saints? Norwich, UK: Canterbury Press, 2002.
Lack, Katherine. The Eagle and the Dove: The Spirituality of the Celtic Saint Columbanus. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Triangle Press, 2000.
Lapidge, Michael, ed. Columbanus: Studies on the Latin Writings. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK. The Boydell Press, 1997.
Letters of Columbanus.(from CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts)
Mitton, Michael. The Soul of Celtic Spirituality in the Lives of Its Saints. Mystic, CT: Twenty Third Publications, 1996.
Moore, David. The Accidental Pilgrim: Travels with a Celtic Saint.T Dublin: Hodder, 2004. (a bicyclist on a pilgrimage to the places of Columanbus-a great read!)
Ní Mheara, Róisín. In Search of Irish Saints. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1994.
O’Fiaich, Tomás. Columbanus in His Own Words. Dublin: Veritas Publications, 1990.
O’Fiach, Tomás. Columbanus in His Own Words. Catholic Ireland. net. (online)
Ó’Ríordáin, John J. Early Irish Saints. Dublin: The Columba Press, 2004.
Pennick, Nigel. The Celtic Saints. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1997.
Peters, Edwards, ed. “Jonias of Bobbio. Life of Columban” in Monks, Bishops, and Pagans: Christian Culture in Gaul and Italy, 500-700. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1975.
Rees, Elizabeth. An Essential Guide to Celtic Sites and Their Saints. London: Burns & Oates, 2003.
Celtic Saints: Passionate Wanderers. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000.
Richter, Michael. Bobbio in the Early Middle Ages. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2008.
The Rule of Columbanus. (from CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts)
The Rule of Columbanus (from Scroll Publishing)
Sawyers, June Skinner. Praying with Celtic Saints, Prophets, Martyrs, and Poets. Franklin, WI: Sheed & Ward, 2001.
Sellner, Edward C. Wisdom of the Celtic Saints, rev. and expanded. St. Paul, MN: Bog Walk Press, 2006.
Sermons of Columbanus.
Tristram, Kate. Columbanus: The Earliest Voice of Christian Ireland. Dublin: The Columba Press, 2010.
Wallace, Martin. Celtic Saints. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1995.
Wood, Ian. The Merovingian Kingdoms 450-751. London: Routledge, 1993.
Woods, Richard J. The Spirituality of the Celtic Saints. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2000.
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Memorable Saying for Today
“We’ve strayed from being fishers of men
to being keepers of the aquarium”
~ Paul Harvey ~
******************************
Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 23rd November, 2025
Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, Solemnity
- The 34th (and Final Sunday) in Ordinary time, Year C
We celebrate Jesus Christ as a true shepherd king who leads his people to peace and Eternal Life.
FIRST READING
A reading from the second book of the Prophet Samuel 5:1-3
They anointed David King of Israel.
All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron.
'Look' they said 'we are your own flesh and blood.
In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel in all their exploits; and the Lord said to you,
"You are the man who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you shall be the leader of Israel".'
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them at Hebron in the presence of the Lord, and they anointed David, king of Israel.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 121: 1-5, R/v 2
Response I rejoiced when I heard them say: 'Let us go to God's house.'
1. I rejoiced when I heard them say: 'Let us go to God's house.'And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Response
2. Jerusalem is built as a city strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. Response
3. For Israel's law it is, there to praise the Lord's name.
There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Colossians 1:12-20
He has created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves.
We give thanks to the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light. Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers – all things were created through him and for him. Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity. Now the Church is his body, he is its head.
As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way; because God wanted all perfection to be found in him and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation Mt 24:42
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David!
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 23:35-43 Glory to you, O Lord
Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom.
The people stayed there watching him. As for the leaders, they jeered at him.'He saved others,' they said 'let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.'
The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer vinegar they said,
'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself'.
Above him there was an inscription: 'This is the King of the Jews'.
One of the criminals hanging there abused him.
'Are you not the Christ?' he said. 'Save yourself and us as well.'
But the other spoke up and rebuked him. 'Have you no fear of God at all?' he said. 'You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.
Jesus,' he said 'remember me when you come into your kingdom.'
'Indeed, I promise you,' he replied 'today you will be with me in paradise.'
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here: https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/
Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.
Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 23rd November, 2025
(AN DOMHNACH SAOR DEIREANACH)
SOLLUNTAS CHRIOST RI NA nUILE
CÉAD LÉACHT
Sliocht as an dara leabhar Samuél 5:1-3
Rinne siad DáivI a ungadh ma rI ar Isráél.
Tháinig treibheanna Iosrael go léir chuig Dáiví ansin i Heabrón.
“Féach,” ar siad, “sinne do mhuintir ó dhúchas feola agus smeara.
San am atá thart nuair a bhí Sól ina rí orainn,
is tusa a bhí mar thaoiseach ar Iosrael ina gcuid eachtraí go léir;
agus dúirt an Tiarna leat:
‘Is tusa a bheidh i d’aoire ar mo phobal Iosrael, is tusa a bheidh mar thaoiseach ar Iosrael.’”
Tháinig seanóirí Iosrael go léir chuig an rí ag Heabrón, agus rinne Dáiví rí conradh leo ag Heabrón i bhfianaise
an Tiarna agus rinne siad Dáiví a ungadh ina rí ar Iosrael.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 121: 1-5, R/v 2
Freagra Rinne mé gairdeas nuair a dúradh liom: 'Téimis i dteach an Tiarna.'
I. Rinne mé gairdeas nuair a dúradh liom: 'Téimis i dteach an Tiarna.'Tá ár gcosa ina seasamh cheana féin i do dhoirse, a Iarúsailéim. Freagra
2. Rinneadh cathair larúsailéim a thógáil go dlúth is go daingean.
Is chuici a ghabhann na treibheanna suas, treibheanna an Tiarna. Freagra
3. D'fhonn buíochas a ghabháil le hainm an Tiarna de réir dhlí chlann Israáél.
Is ansiúd atá cathaoir bhreithiúnais theaghlach Dháiví. Freagra
DARA LÉACHT
Sliocht as litir Naomh Pól chuig Colosaigh 1:12-20
Chruthaigh Sé áit dúinn i ríocht a mhic mhuirnigh.
A bhráithre, gabhaimid buíochais go lúcháireach leis an Athair a dheonaigh daoibh a bheith páirteach in oidhreacht an phobail naofa sa solas agus a d’fhuascail sinn ó chumhacht an dorchadais agus chruthaigh Sé áit dúinn i ríocht a mhic mhuirnigh. Is tríd an Mac sin atá ár bhfuascailt le fáil, is é sin, maithiúnas na bpeacaí.
Is íomhá den Dia dofheicthe é agus céadghin gach dúile cruthaithe
mar is trídsean a cruthaíodh a bhfuil ar neamh agus ar
bídís sofheicthe nó dofheicthe, idir Thróin agus Thiarnais
idir Phrionsachtaí agus Chumhachtaí.
Is trídsean agus dósan a cruthaíodh an t-iomlán.
Tá tosach aige orthu uile agus is ann a choinnítear ar bun iad.
Is é ceann an choirp é, ceann na hEaglaise.
Is é an tús é, an chéadghin ó mhairbh i dtreo go mbeadh an tosach aige ar gach slí.
Mar is ann ab áil le lánmhaireacht iomlán Dé a bheith ina cónaí,
agus is trídsean ab áil leis gach a bhfuil ar neamh agus ar talamh
a thabhairt chun athmhuintearais leis féin,agus síocháin a dhéanamh leo trí fhuil a chroise.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Alleluia Véarsa Mc 11: 10
Alleluia, alleluia!
Is beannaithe an té atá ag teacht in ainm an Tiarna!
Is beannaithe ag teacht í, Ríocht ár nAthar, Daivi!
Alleluia!
SOISCÉAL
Go raibh an Tiarna libh. Agus le do spiorad féin
Sliocht as Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Lúcás 23:35-43
A Thiarna, cuimhnigh ormsa nuair a thiocfaidh tú faoi réim do riochta.
San am sin d’fhan an pobal ansiúd ag breathnú ar Íosa. Bhí na cinn urra féin ag dranngháire:
“Shaor sé daoine eile,” deiridís, “saoradh sé é féin, más é Críost Dé, an té atá tofa.”
Agus rinne na saighdiúirí freisin fonóid faoi; ag teacht ag tabhairt fínéagair chuige deiridís: “Más tú Rí na nGiúdach, saor thú féin!”
Agus fós, bhí scríbhinn os a chionn i nGréigis, i Laidin, agus in Eabhrais: “Rí na nGiúdach é seo.”
Duine de na coirpigh a bhí arna gcrochadh, bhí sé á dhiamhaslú á rá:
“Nach tú an Críost? Saor tú féin agus sinne.”
Ach thug an duine eile casaoid dó agus dúirt:
“An ea nach bhfuil eagla Dé ort, agus tusa faoin daorbhreith chéanna? Agus maidir linne, is le ceart é: tá díol ár mbeart féin á thabhairt orainn ach ní dhearna sé seo rud ar bith as an tslí.”
Agus dúirt: “A Íosa, cuimhnigh ormsa nuair a thiocfaidh tú faoi réim do ríochta!”
Agus dúirt seisean leis: “Deirim leat go fírinneach, beidh tú in éineacht liom inniu i bparthas.”
Soiscéal an Tiarna. Moladh duit, a Chriost
AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
© An Sagart
Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 30th November, 2025
November. 30th 2025, |First Sunday of Advent,
Todays liturgy is the first one of the new Church Year A: 2025/2026,
The Second Coming of Christ/Day of Judgement will be the day when our lives will be
truly, fairly and lovingly evaluated by God.
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah 2:1-5
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
'In the days to come the mountain of the Temple of the Lord shall tower above the mountains and be lifted higher than the hills. All the nations will stream to it, peoples without number will come to it; and they will say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths; since the Law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem'.He will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many peoples; these will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war.'
O House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 121: 1-2,4-5,6-9, Rv v.1
Response I rejoiced when I heard them say: "Let us go to God's house."
1. I rejoiced when I heard them say: "Let us go to God's house."
And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Response
2. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel's law it is, there to praise the Lord's name.
There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David. Response
3. For the peace of Jerusalem pray: "Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls, in your palaces, peace !" Response
4. For love of my brethren and friends I say: "Peace upon you!"
For love of the house of the Lord I will ask for your good. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Romans 13:11-14
Our salvation is even nearer.
You know 'the time' has come: you must wake up now:our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted.
The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon -
let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark;
let us arm ourselves and appear in the light.
Let us live decently as people do in the daytime:
no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy.
Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation Ps 84:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and give us your saving help.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 24:37-44 Glory to you, O Lord
Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.
Jesus said to his disciples:
'As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes.
For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away.It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.
'So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.
You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come,
he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house.
Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here: https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/
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The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, 1966 published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.
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Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 30th November, 2025
An Chéad Domhnach den Aidbhint Bliain A
AN CÉAD LÉACHT
Sliocht as an Leabhar Íseáia, Fáidh 2:1-5
Seo linn, téimis suas go sliabh an Tiarna chun go múine sé dúinn a shlite agus go siúlaimis a bhealaí.
Fís Íseáia mhic Ámóz i dtaobh Iúdá agus Iarúsailéim.
Titfidh sé amach san am atá le teachtgo mbeidh an sliabh a bhfuil teach an Tiarna air os cionn na sléibhte, agus go dtógfar níos airde ná na cnoic é.
Tiocfaidh na ciníocha go léir ina sruth go dtí é; is iomaí pobal a rachaidh ann agus a déarfaidh:
“Seo linn, téimis suas go sliabh an Tiarna go teach Dhia Iacóib,
chun go múine sé dúinn a shlite agus go siúlaimis a bhealaí.”
Óir ó Shíón rachaidh an dlí amach, agus ó Iarúsailéim briathar an Tiarna.
Beidh smacht aige ar na ciníocha agus déanfaidh sé réiteach idir an iomad pobal, agus buailfidh siad a gclaímhte amach ina soic chéachta agus a sleánna ina gcorráin.
Ní thógfaidh na ciníocha an claíomh in aghaidh a chéile a thuilleadh ná ní chleachtfaidh siad cogadh níos mó.
A theaghlach Iacóib, tagaigí, agus siúlaimis i solas an Tiarna!
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 121: 1-2,4-5,6-9, Rv v.1
Freagra Rinne mé gairdeas nuair a dúradh liom.
'Téimis i dteach an Tiarna.'
1. Rinne mé gairdeas nuair a dúradh liom: 'Téimis i dteach an Tiarna.'
Tá ár gcosa ina seasamh cheana féin i do dhoirse, a Iarúsailéim. Freagra
2. Rinneadh cathair Iarúsailéim a go dlúth is go daingean.
Is chuici a ghabhann na treibheanna suas, treibheanna an Tiarna. Freagra
3. Ar son mo bhráithre agus lucht mo pháirte:
'Go raibh síocháin ionat!' Ar son theach an Tiarna, ár nDia, iarraim do leas. Freagra
AN DARA LEÁCT
Sliocht as céad Litir Naomh Pól chuig na Rómhánaigh 13:11-14
Is gaire dúinn ár slánú anois ná nuair a ghlacamar.
A bhráithre, nuair a thuigeann sibh an uair atá ann, is mithid daoibh dúiseacht as bhur gcodladh, mar is gaire dúinn ár slánú anois ná nuair a ghlacamar leis an gcreideamh. Tá sé i bhfad amach san oíche agus ní fada uainn an lá. Caithimis oibreacha an dorchadais uainn, mar sin, agus cuirimis orainn cathéide an tsolais. Mairimis go béasach mar dhaoine atá faoi sholas an lae, gan ragairne gan meisce, gan striapachas gan drúise, gan achrann gan éad. Agus cuirigí oraibh an Tiarna Íosa Críost mar éide agus ná bígí ag déanamh cúraim den cholainn d’fhonn a hainmhianta a shásamh.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Alleluia Versa
Alleluia, alleluia!
Taispeáin dúinn, a Thiarna, do thrócaire, agus tabhair dúinn cúnamh do shlánaithe.
Alleluia!
SOISCÉAL
Go raibh an Tiarna libh. Agus le do spiorad féin
Sliocht as Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Mhatha 24:37-44 Glóir duit, a Thiarna.
Bígí ag faire, dá bhrí sin, mar níl a fhios agaibh cén lá a thiocfaidh bhur dTiarna.
San am sin dúirt Íosa lena dheisceabail:'Amhail mar a bhí laethanta Naoi, is amhlaidh sin a bheidh téarnamh Mhac an Duine. Óir, faoi mar a bhí siad sna laethanta úd roimh an díle, ag ithe agus ag ól, ag pósadh agus ag tabhairt le pósadh, go dtí an lá a ndeachaigh Naoi san áirc, agus gan a fhios acu aon ní gur tháinig an díle agus gur sciob léi iad uile; is mar sin freisin a bheidh téarnamh Mhac an Duine. Beidh beirt fhear sa ghort an uair sin: tógfar duine agus fágfar duine; beirt bhan ag meilt bhró: tógfar bean agus fágfar bean.
Bígí ag faire, dá bhrí sin, mar níl a fhios agaibh cén lá a thiocfaidh bhur dTiarna. “Bíodh a fhios agaibh é seo, áfach: dá mb’eol don fhear tí cén t-am san oíche a dtiocfadh an bithiúnach, bheadh sé ag faire agus ní ligfeadh sé ballaí a thí a réabadh.
Sibhse freisin, mar sin, bígí ullamh, óir is ar an uair nach síleann sibh a thiocfaidh Mac an Duine.'
Soiscéal an Tiarna. Moladh duit, a Chriost
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AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
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