“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”John 14:12-14
“Brigid became an abbess but she was also a shepherdess, too. Not only did she tend her sheep on the rolling green hills, but she continued to tend the poor, giving freely from her stores and pantry as she had always done. And her community grew in numbers, until both monks and nuns lived under the abbess’ care in Kildare until thousands filled the place offering joyous praise to the Holy Trinity.
But one convent could not contain all of the Irish women who wanted to follow Brigid’s example. So she prayed for abundance again and again, and Christ favored each request. Brigid founded countless communities of nuns, until the convents reached from sea to sea across the green expanse of Ireland.
She found the chieftain in a desperate state, raving so that even servants feared him. As Brigid sat by his bed, silently braiding the rushes that covered the floor he became calm and asked, “What are you making?” “This is a cross,” the abbess said, “which I make in honor of the Virgin’s Son who died for us upon a cross of wood.”
The sick man listened to Brigid’s words of faith, of how Christ gave His life to save mankind, to save both the rich and the poor, the old and the new. And on that day the chief was baptized and died – one more saint added to heaven because of the work and faithful of Saint Brigid, the Abbess of Kildare.”
Brigid of Kildare (c. 450-525) in The Life of Saint Brigid: Abbess of Kildare, by Jane G. Meyer (Chesterton: Conciliar Press, 2009).
Brigid is believed to have been the daughter of a pagan Scottish king and a Christian Pictish slave known for her generous spirit and compassionate heart for the poor. She founded the double monastery in Kildare for monks (men) and nuns (women) where the perpetual fire burns as a symbol of hospitality, constant devotion to God and the poor. Brigid’s story inspires me today to pray for abundance. Care to join me on this Lord’s day?
Father in heaven, for those are lost, we pray for their souls to find abundant life in Jesus Christ. For those who are hungry that we know, supply us abundant resources to feed them. For those who are hurting, give us an abundance of love and mercy to minister to them. For those who are sick, provide an abundance of grace and strength to care for them. And for those who are poor, teach us to share what we have. Hear our prayer for abundance and grant these requests by your Holy Spirit we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.