Family Faith Reflections from Chris

Just out of college, I took a job at Immaculate Heart Catholic Church in Kelso, Washington. This small parish is next to the city’s largest park, Tam O’Shanter Park, where its annual festival honors the town’s Scottish settlers. During “Highlander Days” the town is filled with bagpipe music, kilts, and highlander games.
 
If you’ve never seen highlander games, I highly recommend them! Whereas American sports are a blend of strength, skill, and endurance, highlander games are pure brute force. Kelso’s games consist of three events: sheaf tossing (tossing a bag of grain), caber tossing (tossing a 15’ wooden log), and “heavy events” (tossing huge iron weights). These are feats of power, derived from ancient warrior trainings. Scottish warriors didn’t want to engage in prolonged battles; they wanted to hit once with all their power, and move on.
 
This past Tuesday was the memorial of St. Columba, the “apostle to the Scotland.” Much as St. Patrick was the first to widely spread Christianity throughout Ireland, Columba (sometimes Columban or Columbkille) is credited as the first to spread the faith into Scotland. In true Scot fashion, he began with one powerful strike.
 
According to legend, there was village on the shore of Loch Ness that was terrorized by a mighty beastie. The villagers would toss young girls into the lake, hoping to satisfy the monster’s appetite before it began roaming the village. When Columba heard about this, he followed the villagers to the water. Before they could toss their victim in, Columba strode right into the water, blessed the lake with the Sign of the Cross, and the “Loch Ness Monster” was never seen again.
 
We’ll never know for sure what strange animal had been gobbling people up. Perhaps a water snake had been accidentally introduced to the ecosystem, or a pet crocodile gone feral? A real monster of some kind? It doesn’t really matter. Columba found in his faith the confidence to face danger, and to do so without hesitation. One bold act of inspired courage saved that young girl’s life — and won over the Scottish people for Jesus Christ.
 
May our faith, too, help us find the courage to serve others in the face of danger. Slàinte!