IMAGE: Saint Brigid
Last month I presented a reflection on being “Mystics in the Marketplace” to a group of Catholic business people and their spouses. Today is the feast of Saint Brigid of Sweden, a woman who could be called a patron saint of mystics involved in the world. Years ago, my daughter took the name Brigid at Confirmation, but I had not thought of the saint for years. Reading about her reminded me of the many reasons Kathryn had for choosing this woman as one to inspire her.
At the age of thirteen Brigid married a nobleman, Ulf, who shared both her noble background and her religious commitment. Together they raised four boys and four boys. Brigid spent some of her adult life as a lady-in-waiting for the new queen of Sweden but was also known for her compassionate care of the poor and her prayer. She and Ulf made the famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela but on their journey Ulf became ill and died shortly after their return.
After Ulf’s death, Brigid devoted herself to religious life and founded an order for both men and women, the Brigittines or Order of the Holy Savior. Brigid did not remain in Sweden long enough to see the monastery completed but followed her call to Rome where she became a vocal proponent of Church reform.
She also became involved in negotiations for an end to the French and English war and challenged the moral laxity of the age. Her compassion and kindness to the common people of Rome made her a beloved figure.
The example of St. Brigid can speak to our age. Her life of prayer did not keep her from involvement in issues of the day. Quite the opposite. It was a source of strength and inspiration for her activity, enabling her to persevere in the face of resistance. She called for reform in the Church and in a society that had become self-indulgent.
Over the past one hundred days, we have witnessed an environmental tragedy that is emblematic of our lifestyles disproportionate use of the world’s oil supply. We are a society driven by consumerism that is in many ways self-indulgent. Brigid’s life challenges us to bring our faith with us into the marketplace of everyday life. She was not timid in speaking truth to power.
Interestingly, when Brigid founded her order she insisted on simplicity of life and even of architecture, but put no limit on the number of books members could own or read. She was a woman who valued education and sharing thoughts and ideas.
As evidenced in the effort to contain the BP Gulf oil spill, solutions to problems increasingly require input from people of various sectors including academia, business, and blue-collar workers.
Brigid was a woman, a wife, a mother, a leader, a reformer, and a person of deep prayer. We may be tempted to think one or two of these vocations rule out the others, but St. Brigid shows that to be wrong-headed. We must be people of deep prayer, and we must be deeply involved in the world.
© 2010 Mary van Balen
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