Saint Columbcille is a famous Irish saint and seer who lived between 521 and 597 AD. Most of his prophecies involve Ireland, and he successfully predicted many events in Irish history such as the great potato famine and the advent of railroads, which he described as he must have saw them: “In both North and South iron wheels shall support fiery chariots…”
The following is St. Columbcille’s prophecies that seem to point to our present day and age:
“Hearken, thou, until I relate things that shall come to pass in the latter ages of the world. Great carnage shall be made, justice shall be outraged, multitudinous evils, great suffering shall prevail, and many unjust laws will be administered. The time shall come when they will not perform charitable acts, and truth shall not remain in them, and truth shall not remain in them. They will plunder the property of the church, they will be continually sneering at each other, they will employ them at reading and writing. They will scoff at acts of humility; there will come times of dark affliction, of scarcity, monarchs will be addicted to falsehood. Neither justice nor covenant will be observed by any one people of the race of Adam; they will become hard-hearted and penurious, and will be devoid of piety. The clergy will become fosterers, in consequence of the tidings of wretchedness; churches will be held in bondage by the all-powerful men of the day.
NOTE: It definitely seems like this saint is talking about our current time when he speaks of the decline of the Church and the path to perdition being taken by some members of the clergy in regards to the recent abuse scandal.
“Judges will administer injustice, under the sanction of powerful, outrageous kings; the common people will adopt false principles. Oh, how lamentable shall be their position! Doctors of science will have cause to murmur, they will become ungenerous in spirit; the aged will mourn in deep sorrow, on account of the woeful times that shall prevail. Cemeteries shall become all red, in consequence of the wrath that will follow sinners; wars and contentions shall range in the bosoms of every family. Excellent men shall be steeped in poverty, the people will become inhospitable to their guests, the voice of the parasite shall be more agreeable to them than the melody of the harp touched by the sage’s finger. In consequence of the general prevalence of sinful practices, humility shall produce no fruit. The professors of science shall not be rewarded, amiability shall not characterize the people; prosperity and hospitality shall not exist, but destitution will assume their place. The changes of the seasons shall produce only half their verdure, the regular festivals of the Church will not be observed; all classes of men shall be filled with hatred and enmity toward each other. The people will not associate affectionately with each other during the great festivals of the seasons; they will live devoid of justice and rectitude, up from the youth of tender age to the aged. The clergy shall be led into error by the misinterpretation of their reading; the relics of the saints will be considered powerless, every race of mankind will become wicked!
NOTE: Although this all seems a bit extreme, it nonetheless points to our day and age which is filled with lack of belief and the decline in the Church. Unlike during this prophet’s time, many regular Catholic festivals are scarcely mentioned let alone observed in our day.
“Young women will become unblushing, the aged people will be of irascible temper; the kine will seldom be productive, as of old; lords will become murderers. Young people will decline in vigor, they will despise those who have hoary (gray) hair; there will be no standard by which morals may be regulated, and marriages will be solemnized without witnesses. Troublous shall be the latter ages of the world, the dispositions of the generality of men I will point out, from the time they shall abandon hospitable habits — with the view of winning honor for themselves, they will hold each other as objects for ridicule. The possessors of abundance shall fall through the multiplicity of their falsehoods; covetousness shall take possession of every glutton, and when satisfied their arrogance shall know no bounds. Between mother and daughter anger and bitter sarcasms shall continuously exist; neighbors will become treacherous, cold, and false-hearted towards each another. The gentry will become grudgeful, with respect to their trifling donations; and blood relations shall become cool towards each other; Church livings shall become lay property. Such is the description of the people who shall live in the ages to come; more unjust and iniquitous shall be very succeeding race of men. The trees shall not bear the usual quantity of fruit, fisheries shall become unproductive and the earth shall not yield its usual abundance. Inclement weather and famine shall come and fishes shall forsake the rivers. The people will be oppressed for lack of food, shall pine to death. Dreadful storms and hurricanes shall afflict them. Numberless diseases shall then prevail. Fortifications shall be built narrow during these times of dreadful danger.
NOTE: It is interesting that this prophet describes the fisheries as being in decline during the latter days, something that is a serious reality now as fish stocks continue to be depleted.
“Then a great event shall happen. I fail not to notice it: rectitude shall be its specious motive, and if ye be not truly holy, a more sorrowful event could not possibly happen.
NOTE: This prophet’s lofty Irish vocabulary makes this passage somewhat difficult to comprehend, but the basic message here is that a great, worldwide event will take place while the world lives in sin. This event will be so great that everyone on earth will witness or experience it. Goodness or righteousness will not be the reason for this event to take place if you are a faithless person, because this event will be terrifying for you. This prophecy sounds similar to the idea of an Illumination of Consciences, foretold by other saints, where everyone on earth will suddenly see themselves as God sees theirs souls, in that it will be terrifying for nonbelievers. St. Columbcille concludes his prophecy with the following allusion to a rise in sea levels, perhaps brought on by global warming:
“Seven years before the last day, the sea shall submerge Eire (Ireland) by one inundation.”
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