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Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious Feast

July 23rd, 2010

“The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’
Mt 10 : 13

Jesus was very often addressed as ‘Teacher.’ No wonder, for whenever he wanted to get a point over to his hearers, he used graphic stories, descriptions of nature and the everyday customs of farmers and fishermen. In using these methods, the first hurdle was over, because his descriptions were so familiar in their everyday lives that they could not possibly misunderstand his teaching. Like any good teacher, his methods held the interest of multitudes as they gathered on the hillsides or by the lake.

Prayer


Prayer Lord, help us to understand or make sense of the complexities we find in life. Help us to dwell on your attitude to anxiety, fear, everyday life. Each time we pray, ‘give us our daily bread,’ in the prayer you taught us, let us remember that the Father knows our needs and will meet them, if only we trust as all nature trusts in God’s continued Providence.

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Just a Thought

The Eucharist

The manner in which we celebrate Eucharist and the reverence we give to it speak greatly of the sort of people we are. The following is a lovely story from the early Church which I came across recently: it might help us to understand what it means to be a member of the Church:

Cyprian of Cathage, wrote to his friend, Donatus: “It’s a bad world, Donatus, in which we live. But right in the middle of it I have discovered a quiet and holy group of people. They are people who have found a happiness that is a thousand times more joyful than all the pleasures of our sinful lives. These people are despised and persecuted, but it doesn’t matter to them. They are Christians, Donatus, and I am one of them.”

St. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, describes how those people, the early Christians, bore witness to Christ and celebrated the Eucharist – i.e. the Mass; “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions;… There was not a needy person among them…. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes…”

The Eucharist has consequences for the way we should live our lives. St. Augustine tells us that the Lord gave us these gifts of his Body and Blood so that we, too, might become these very things – i.e. his Body and Blood for the life of the world.

During the celebration of the Last Supper Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you also should do what I have done to you.” Through us Christ is made present to our world. Our sharing in the Eucharist bonds us together with our brothers and sisters who have also been immersed into the life of Christ through the waters of Baptism.

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