St. Samthann of Clonbroney
A.D. 739
Feast Day: December 19

The history of the Body of Christ includes many whom the Spirit of God raised up to reform it and to restore its connections to the source of its life. From Anthony of Egypt to Francis of Assisi, from  Martin Luther to John Wesley, from William Booth to John Wimber, God finds those in each generation whose fire of love for Him brings renewing flame to a church grown cold. The Celtic Christians were not exempt from those times  of coldness and formalism and God found His agents in that tradition as well.

Samthann of Clonbroney was one such saint. She is not well known today, though her influence on Celtic Christianity was profound. Her legends do not portray her as a reformer, but simply as one more  holy person in the story of the Isle of the saints. Yet her soul friend relationship with the young monk Maelruin led to the Ceile De, the most powerful reform within the history of Celtic Christianity.

Samthann's story, like so many of the women saints, begins with her betrothal to an Irish nobleman through the design of her foster father Cridan, an Irish king. On her wedding night she persuaded her  new husband to delay the consummation until all the residents of the Tuath had retired. During the delay she gave herself to fervent prayer for deliverance and God provided an illusory fire which panicked the residents and  allowed her to escape. Cridan searched and eventually found her. She reproached him for binding her to this marriage against her will. The king relented and asked for her choice of husband. Samthann would have none but God and  both the king and her original betrothed agreed. From there she entered a convent under the direction of St. Cognat.

Her life is replete with various wonders — words of knowledge, prophecies, healings and miracles. However two stories establish her primary reputation as one gifted with Divine wisdom.

There was an itinerant peddler from Munster who used to carry messages between Samthann and the fledgling Ceile De community. She asked the peddler to carry a message to Maelruin and deliver it word  for word. In her message she spoke both of her regard for Maelruin and added: "ask him whether he accepts women for confession, and will he accept my soul friendship?" Maelruin rejoiced in learning of Samthann's admiration, but  when he heard the remainder of her message he blushed deeply and fell silent. After a long period of quiet he sent back a reply that he would indeed receive spiritual advice from her. Samthann's humorous response was prophetic:  "I think, something will come of that youth."

A second story tells of the teacher Dairchellach who came to inform her that he was giving up study to devote his life solely to prayer. Samthann retorted "What then can steady your mind and prevent it  from wandering, if you neglect spiritual study?" When Dairchellach determined to go abroad in pilgrimage, Samthann's response bore a wisdom we would do well to cultivate: "If God cannot be found on this side of the sea, by all  means let us journey overseas. But since God is near to all those who call upon him, we have no need to cross the sea. The kingdom of Heaven can be reached from every land."

The stories of Samthann cited above are taken from Edward Sellner's book, Wisdom of the Celtic Saints.