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Iona
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Iona Abbey

Iona

Columba's island · Scotland

In 563 the Irish monk Columba sailed to this small island with twelve companions and founded a monastery. From here monks went out to the Picts in Scotland and, through Aidan of Lindisfarne, to northern England. Viking raids later drove most of the monks away. Today the restored medieval abbey is home to the Iona Community, which has welcomed pilgrims here since 1938.

Did you know?

Dozens of early Scottish kings are said to be buried here, including Macbeth.

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An inspiring story

The last line of the psalm

How would you like to spend your last day?

In June 597 the old abbot Columba knew his end was near. He walked around the island and blessed it. On the way back the old white horse that carried the milk pails came to him, laid its head on his chest and wept. Then he sat down to copy the psalms, as he had done all his life. At the verse 'Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing' he stopped and said: let my successor write the rest. Why stop there? Because that verse said everything he wanted to leave behind. That night he died in the church, surrounded by his brothers.

His biographer Adomnán wrote it down a century later. A life of seeking God ended in peace.

Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.Psalm 34:10

Sources

Journeys through this place

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