PEREGRINI (Celtic Saint Columba of Iona) best Scotland

This is an original block print, hand pulled from an antique proof press and printed on handmade Nepalese Lokta natural paper. The image size is 8”x8” and the paper 10” x 10”. Signed by the artist. Comes unmatted, but with backing board in clear acetate.

OPTIONS:
- b/w on handmade Lotka natural paper - $65
- hand-painted Watercolor on Stonehenge light tan paper - $125
- b/w framed in hand painted reddish-brown - $195*
- painted color framed in hand painted reddish-brown- $255*

*frame only available in U.S.

ABOUT:

PEREGRINATIO PRO CHRISTO: The Call to Wander for the Love of Christ
(Columba of Iona)

Is not the all-powerful God the pilot and sailor of our boat? Leave it to him. He himself guides our journey as he wills.
- Saint Brendan

STORY:
Columcille (Columba) was a poet and an artist who some claim illuminated parts of the Book of Kells. The Psalter was a favorite of his and the story is told of him copying one of the manuscripts at a Monastery in Ireland. He was charged with plagiarism and a fight ensued over the issue amongst Irish clans. Eventually Columba was exiled from his native Ireland.

In 563, at the age of 42, he crossed the Irish Sea with 12 companions in a coracle and landed on a desert island now known as Iona (Holy Island) on Whitsun Eve. Here on this desolate rock, only three miles long and two miles wide, in the grey northern sea off the southwest corner of Mull, he began his work; and, like Lindisfarne, Iona became a centre of Christian enterprise. It was the heart of Celtic Christianity and the most potent factor in the conversion of the Picts, Scots, and Northern English.

MEDITATION:
Peregrinatio was a matter of trust. Climbing into a coracle (boat frame covered with animal hides) with limited supplies, and allowing the breath of God to direct you to where you should go. This bold spirit was rewarded numerous times and Columba is just one example. Saint Brendan is perhaps the most famous of the Celtic Saints who took to the sea wandering for God.

There are many people today who choose to go on a journey for God, called pilgrimage. These are places where the saints have trod and where many prayers have been offered. The Isle of Iona is one such place and continues to thrive as a place of prayer, worship, and the word. People may go for many reasons - a few of those reasons being to seek a deeper spiritual connection, to find healing, or to experience God in a new way through ancient practice. While others might wish to simply explore the historical ruins and the beauty of the environment.

Life itself is a pilgrimage. We're less likely to climb into a small craft in such a way as ancient Celtic times and journey to our land of promise. However, our desire to know we're in the right place and to follow the will of God is just as important today. It's a quest most of us have best wrestled with. And so we listen to the soft whisper of the wind, wherever it may blow us, and entrust our lives to the lover of our soul.

PRAYER:

Alone with none but You, my God,
I journey on my way;
What need I fear when You are near,
Oh King of night and day?
More safe am I within Your hand
Than if a host did round me stand.
- attributed to Saint Columba

* Available in USA only

NOTE: all prints are individually handmade and may vary slightly

This is an image from the artist's Anamchara Series. An ongoing group of prints begun at the beginning of 2020 which feature the Celtic Saints.