"That I might search all books and from their chart,
Find my soul's calm!"
___ St. Columba's "Song of Exile"
When St. Columba went into self-imposed exile on the Island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland, he borroweda particularly find volume of the psalms from Abbot Finnian of Moville and had it secretly copied. When Finnian discovered what had happened, he demanded not only his book back but also Columba's copy, on the principle that 'to each cow her calf.' Columba, whose enthusiasm for the dissemination of knowledge often outran his ethical judgment, had to comply.
In the early days of book transcription, only sacred texts were considered important enough for an illuminator and scribe to spend several months working on them. Today printed books are widely available; we are able to read a variety of writings, from sacred scriptures to poetry, from biography and history to philosophy, from legends to novels.
If we look among our shelves, there are certain books with which we would never wish to part, dear to us because they provide us with soul-food. These are not always sacred texts: they may be myths, folk tales, or other stories whose narrative inspire us with their abiding wisdom; they may be biographical accounts of people whose lives and works have been inspiring to our own soul's circuit.
"Which book comes nearest to being your soul's chart? Meditate upon a passage from it today. Make your own blessing for the author."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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