Saint Bridget of Sweden, Patroness of Europe – Readings
Commentary on Galatians 2:19-20; John 15:1-8
The Gospel reading from John’s Gospel comes from Jesus’ long discourse at the Last Supper. In the passage, Jesus speaks of himself as the True Vine. His Father is the vine grower and his disciples are the branches. Jesus, as the trunk of the vine, is the source of life for the branches. As long as the branches remain on the tree, they will produce fruit. Any branches which do not produce fruit will be cut off and burnt. Other branches will be pruned so that they will produce even more fruit.
The images clearly indicate the relationship that exists between Jesus the Son and his Father. They also show the relationship that should exist between Jesus and his followers. Jesus is the source of real life through the Vision of Life that he gives to us, as well as through the grace that he pours into receptive hearts.
We can expect, too, that there will be times of trial. We should not see these as punishment, but rather as challenges to our faithfulness and opportunities for spiritual growth. There can be no real growth in a life where everything goes too easily.
And a test of our discipleship is that we bear fruit. We do not just live for ourselves; it is not just a question of being in ‘a state of grace’ and ‘saving our souls’. We have to carry out Jesus’ injunction to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Our lives are to be marked by a deep desire for the well-being of our brothers and sisters and a dedication to service for their needs.
This was the pattern of life which Bridget followed from her earliest years. Her deepest concern was for the moral uplift of people everywhere. Her life is perfectly expressed in the First Reading, a short passage from the Letter to the Galatians:
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me…I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Like Paul, she is so close to Jesus that she finds it hard to distinguish between her own identity and that of Jesus. They have become one. That should be our goal too.
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Saint Bridget of Sweden, Patroness of Europe
Bridget, born in 1303, and one of eight children, was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and provincial judge (Lagman) of Uppland, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. Her father was one of the wealthiest landholders of the country.
Both parents were marked by their deep piety. St Ingrid, whose death had occurred about 20 years before Bridget was born, was a near relative of the family. Bridget received careful religious formation and, from the age of seven, showed herself to be deeply religious. In addition to her formation, she was also influenced by an aunt who took the place of Bridget’s mother after she died. As a result, Bridget developed her strength of will in later life.
In 1316, at the age of 13, she was married to Ulf Gudmarsson, who was then 18 years of age. She had a great influence over her husband and the happy marriage was blessed with eight children, among them St Catherine of Sweden. Because of her saintly life and charitable work, Bridget’s name soon became widely known. She knew several learned and devout theologians, among them Nicolaus Hermanni, later Bishop of Linköping; Matthias, canon of Linköping; her confessor, Peter, Prior of Alvastrâ; and Peter Magister, her confessor after Matthias. We later find her at the court of King Magnus Eriksson, over whom she gradually had great influence.
Between 1341 and 1343, she made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella with her husband. On the way home, her husband became ill, but recovered sufficiently to be able to complete the journey. Shortly afterwards, however, he died in the year 1344 in the Cistercian monastery of Alvastrâ in East Gothland.
Subsequently, Bridget devoted herself entirely to an ascetical life and to religious works. The visions which she claimed to have had from her early childhood now became more frequent and definite. She believed that Christ himself appeared to her. She wrote down the revelations she received, and they were widely known during the Middle Ages.
Bridget next founded a new religious congregation, the Brigittines, or Order of St Saviour, whose chief monastery, at Vadstena, was richly endowed by King Magnus and his queen in 1346. To get official approval of her institute and to widen the sphere of activity for her mission to raise the morals of the people, she went to Rome in 1349. In August 1370, Pope Urban V confirmed the rule of her congregation. She stayed on in Rome until her death, except for some pilgrimages, including one to the Holy Land in 1373.
Bridget strongly urged Pope Urban to return to Rome from exile in Avignon, but her greatest influence in Rome was by the example she gave in urging people to live a better life. She died on 23 July, 1373, and was originally buried at San Lorenzo in Panisperna before being moved to the monastery at Vadstena in Sweden.
She was canonized by Pope Boniface IX on 7 October, 1391, and this was confirmed by the Council of Constance in 1415. Together with Saints Benedict, Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena, and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Bridget was declared a Patron of Europe by Pope John Paul II in 1999.
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