On Tuesday of the Twenty-Eight Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of the prophet Zechariah (1:1—2:4) entitled "Vision of rebuilding Jerusalem". Our treasure, which follows, is from an instruction by Saint Columban, abbot.
Saint Columban was an Irish missionary notable for founding several monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in present-day Italy. Saint Columban was born in the Kingdom of Leinster, on the southeast coast of Ireland, a century after Saint Patrick brought the Catholic faith to the island. Writing shortly after Columban's death, his first biographer and fellow monk, Jonas, states that when Columban's mother was pregnant with him, she had a dream of the sun rising from her womb. She later interpreted her dream to mean that her child would be a man of incredible genius, shining the light of faith upon the people of God whom he would serve. Because of this dream, Columban's mother took great care of raising her son, protecting him from every evil influence.
The Book of Zechariah, because of its great variation in style, content, and language, is widely believed to be a composite work. Made up of First and Second Zechariah, the book has been attributed to at least two different prophets. The prophecies of First Zechariah can be dated to the late sixth century B.C., contemporary with those of Haggai; the oracles of Second Zechariah are somewhat later.
The most striking feature of First Zechariah is a series of visions in which the prophet describes the centrality of Jerusalem, its Temple, and its leaders, who function both in the politics of the region and of the Persian empire and in God's universal rule. These visions clearly relate to the Temple restoration begun in 520 B.C.
