I first met up with Bridget of Sweden when I moved to Rome in 1986. One of my responsibilities was to acquaint visiting members of my congregation to some of our history in Rome.
We were founded in France but were asked to take on some responsibilities in Rome by the then Pope including an orphanage and a residence that once belonged to the Bridgettines, a religious community of women founded by St. Bridget. Because of financial problems my congregation had to abandon the Bridgettine property and it was restored once again to the Bridgettines. The property is in Piazza Farnese and today in addition to serving as a central office for the religious congregation of women it also houses an incredible bed and breakfast.
With the passage of time, with eyes to see and ears to hear I would come to know who Saint Bridget truly was and not just that the Bridgettines and Father Moreau, the founder of my religious congregation were linked in history.
Born in 1303 in Sweden she married at the age of 13 and in the words of Pope Benedict, “with religious sensitivity, delicacy, and gentleness succeeded in persuading her husband to follow a path of faith”. They had eight children. After his death she moved to Rome and founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior.
The prophet Jeremiah had some compelling words for us to hear today. Speaking to a people who God had designated as his own, he describes God’s reaction to how God’s people had been acting. Since their rescue from slavery in Egypt, the People of God had spurned the advances of God, rejected his offer of marriage, or union and instead had forsaken him, the source of living water and dug themselves cisterns, broken ones that held no water.” Those are hurtful words that unfortunately continue to contain truth even to this day.
Fortunately, we have the example of Bridget, wife and mother who mirrors for us words spoken by Jesus in the gospel today. It is for this reason that we can say of her, blessed are you Bridget because you possessed eyes and ears to see and hear the voice of God. Blessed are you Bridget for moving to Rome and acquiring a property in the eternal city that was once shared by we men of holy Cross but today is shared by countless thousands of pilgrims who have seen, heard and come seeking the source of living water found in the Eternal City.
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Father Leo's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
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