26 June 2010 Homily of Bishop Treanor at XII Columbanian Festival, Bangor
Posted on 26. Jun, 2010
Homily by Dr. Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor,
at the XII Annual Columbanian Festival,
St. Comgall's Church, Bangor
Saturday 26th June 2010
Readings : Is 57.7-10; Lk 9.57-62
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My dear friends in Jesus Christ, some 1419 years after the departure of St Colombanus on his peregrinatio pro Christo from Bangor in 591 AD, we gather here in the Church of St Comghall, his abbot in the Bangor monastery that made and makes this town famous. We assemble as Christians around the table of the Word of God and the table of the Eucharist, mobilised by the memory of this historic figure, Colombanus. From their perusal of his writings, many scholars opine that he had a vast and precise knowledge of the Scriptures. He was a monk, a priest, a man of prayer, a preacher of God’s Word, a poet, a writer, a builder, a fearless advocate before political and religious leaders and authorities.
His legacy in each of these roles gathers us today in Bangor around the sources of his faith and ours : the Word of God and the Eucharist in which we commemorate and celebrate the mysteries of our redemption, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Residents and parishioners of Bangor, pupils of St Columban’s College, Bangor and of St Columban’s College in Lower Mourne, Columbanian guests from France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy and elsewhere, we return to Bangor to inhale and share the vigour of Columbanus’ faith. May our encounter with his memory here in St comghall’s and at Bangor Abbey through prayer, celebration, and later this evening through lectures and discussion in Armagh refresh and strengthen our faith in Christ, our appreciation of the Christian heritage and our understanding of the ennobling beauty of the Christian way of life.
From among his numerous roles St Columbanus stands out as a founder and builder of monasteries. He founded or was associated with five such foundations : Annegray, Luxeuil, Fontaines, Bregenz (where he whiled for a short time), St Gallen and Bobbio. These monasteries were centres of prayer, work, and culture. In today’s terms they were centres of excellence. They were centres of applied spiritual and scientific excellence.
Their traditions of prayer, hospitality, culture and learning envelop and point to the treasure of our Christian heritage. That heritage awaits exploration, re-discovery and personal appropriation by every generation.
This historic European gathering in Bangor and Armagh might move us to read a book or two on Columbanus, or better still his Vita and some of his other writings. A further off-shoot from our events could take the form of exploring and getting to know the monastic tradition by visiting and staying in, spending a few days in the quiet of a monastery. The monastic tradition surpasses and transcends confessional demarcations. That great traditions is common to both Eastern and Western Christianity. It is maintained in the Anglican tradition. It has seen a rebirth in ecumenical form at Taizé, France. Monasteries invite one to tune in to the mystery of God, to develop and sharpen an antenna for the rich and mysterious silence of God. Days in a monastery now and again enrich one spiritually and personally; if you have never dared it, try it!
For us who live and work in the market place of life, St Columbanus’ life suggests two further important insights about the Christian life and indeed about the daily life of our Church and Churches. One is his courage in dealing forthrightly and directly with disputed issues and tensions. One knew where Columbanus stood! He was straight and direct and worked through issues over time. He faced issues; he did not avoid them. His writings, like the Pauline letters, remind us that dealing with the difficulties, tensions and differences within community or parish life, within the communal life of the people of God, is an integral part of Christian living.
The second insight was Columbanus’ sense of the significance of personal faith for the fibre of society and public life. Fired with this conviction, he nurtured the Christian roots of Europe and became one of the Fathers of Europe[1]. Assembled as Christian Europeans this morning, let us revive our understanding of the significance of our personal choice to believe in Christ for the quality of life in our local, national and European societies. We share a common European political, economic, cultural space. It is ours to shape this new European political reality as it integrates further and deepens. May our Colombanian matrix and network enable us to grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ and to fertilize public life with the values of the gospel.
In terms of the literary imagery of the reading from Isaiah chapter 57.vv. 7-10, which resonates with that of the excerpt from the gospel according to Luke chapter 9.57-62, Columbanus brought the good news from this place, Bangor, across mountains (and rivers) to many peoples. May our re-living of his memory and tradition open our minds and hearts anew to the power of God’s saving Word. Amen.