Exceptionality in Lifetime

All contemporaries of Mother Columba held the view that she showcased an extraordinary bond with God. When looked upon, she was unchangeably found immersed in prayer in ways characteristic only to her: she seemed to dwell before, breath in, and emanate with the Presence of God with everything she was. This disposition of natural, yet profound intimacy with God was something she desired for her sisters too; hence, she made numerous provisions to safeguard their contemplative lifestyle. Among her contemporaries there were also some who purported that, while before the Eucharistic Jesus, she was observed to lose the sense of earthliness. Her whole being easily entered before the Eternal Majesty where she could last ad infinitum. Very much like St. Dominic, she spent nights in prayer, while at dusk, she was ready to busy herself with the affairs of others. She fully lived by the Dominican motto of contemplating and then passing on the fruits of contemplation (contemplare and contemplata aliis trader). Filled with God through prayer, she turned to others with attitudes reflective of the Encounter. Exceptional gentleness, kindness, nobleness, and, particularly, compassion for the ones who were in need are just some features frequently ascribed to Mother Columba. Equally fitted in amazement, the poor and the well-off very early on in her lifetime began to call her “the angelic soul” or just “an angel.” In the letter of Sister Sybilina to Count Tarnowska from February 7, 1887 we read:

Amidst unbearable weakness of our dearest Mother, she acts as if not ill at all: patience and goodness of angelic quality; surrender to the will of God so great that no human powers can achieve anything like that.

Those who walked closer with her distinguished also a rare feature of steadfastness under trial. This woman of poor health and petit frame was concerned with the will of God no matter the cost. Countless crosses related to the new foundation were coming from all directions. Either from within or without, she bore them all. Mother’s fundamental attitude to, first, rightly discern and, then, to uncompromisingly fulfill the will of God were outstanding. She modeled Christian trust in the Divine Providence to a heroic degree as an entry from Wielowieś Chronicles reads:

Oh, our Reverend Mother wanted to pour into everyone of us God’s Spirit. She gathers remnants of forces to admonish, encourage. We see the love of Mother. And her every word, not only we log them faithfully, but we also desire to fulfill in our lives. Mother forgets about herself in the midst of such acute sufferings only to think about and entrust us and our future to Lord God.

Evidenced in oral tradition as well as in writing, the popular conviction about saintliness of Mother Columba was taken for a fact by the contemporaries.