The Lord's Day

Liturgically, today is the 2d Sunday after Epiphany in the ancient traditional Roman rite and the 2d Sunday per annum in the Pauline rite.

In the Diocese of Dunkeld, St. Fillan's feast days is kept on the 19th of January. St. Fillan appears on most of the ancient Scottish and Irish calendars. D’Arcy’s entry on St. Fillan has much of interest:

His grandfather was Ceallach, King of Leinster, his mother Loch Lomond’s Lady of Grace. He received the monastic habit in Ireland in Fintan Munnu’s monastery and is said to have spent some time in a hermitage cell near St. Andrews in Scotland. When Comghan, his mother’s brother, established himself at Lochalsh, Fillan joined his community. He shared honors with Comghan there in two ancient churches named for them: Kilchoan and Killelan.

Fillan’s name, spelled many different ways wanders over the map of Scotland in widespread commemorations: Killen in the uplands of Perthshire; a church Killphillane in Wigtown; two chapels named St. Phillane, one within the castle of Down, the other outside it on the banks of the river Teith; a fair at Srowan Feile Fhaolain; Fillan’s Fair on Fillan’s Day in the parish of Killellan in Renfrewshire. Fillan’s Cave at Pittenweem in Fifeshire was a special objective in the 17th century demolitions. A local minister filled up Fillan’s Well at Killellan in Renfrewshire at the close of the 18th century to end the devotions there. At Strathfillan where he is buried, the church and monastery were named for him. Until the beginning of the 19th century, Fillan’s Well or Holy Pool, there survived as a place of pilgrimage frequented for cures of the insane, brought there to be dipped in its water – and in many cases to be cured.

Robert Bruce had great veneration for Fillan, and on the eve of the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, having procured a relic of the saint to have with his army, he ". . . .past the remanent of the nicht in his prayaris with gud esperance of victorie." Bruce attributed the amazing victory over Edward II to the interecession of Fillan, an explanation recorded by Hector Boece and other historians.

Fillan’s crozier and bell are still in existence. The former, anciently called the Quigrich, or Coygerach, and now a national treasure, is executed in solid silver elaborately carved and fitted with a relic compartment under a white jewel. Interesting data traces its history. Long after its passing into secular hands, it was safeguarded by maintenance lands and a keeper. A letter of King James in 1487 mentions "ane relik of Sanct Fulane callit the Quegrith, in keeping of us and of oure progenitouris sen the tyme of Robert the Bruys and of before." He charges all and sundry "to mak nane impediment letting nor distroblance in the passing of the relik throch the contre." Fillan’s staff was taken from the highlands of Scotland to Canada by Father O’Donnell, the first bishop of Ontario, and was used in the consecration of Bishop Lynch in Toronto in 1859.

Fillan died on January 9.