Tag: Holy Family

St. Brigid and the manger of Bethlehem

St Brigid and the Manger.
Last Saturday, February 1^st, we remembered St. Brigid (sometimes spelt, Brigit).
Along with St. Patrick, she was Apostle to Ireland and is credited with him as one who proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Irish people.
At that time the links between Ireland and what is now the southern part of Scotland were very strong. So Brigid(t) enjoys a special place in the hearts of both nations.
Her abbey was at Kildare in Ireland and, as in some parts of the Irish Christian tradition, it was a double monastery of both women and men. This practice was later transferred to Northumbria via the mission from Iona.

Many stories, traditions, myth and legends grew up around St Brigid, including one that suggests she was ordained Bishop to serve her Irish congregations. There is more evidence than not about this and if true, Brigid would have the honour of possibly being the first Woman Bishop in the Christian Church! That’s a thought for another time but one legend about her was brought to my attention by my dear friend, Heather Upfield, with whom I enjoyed a lovely friendship when we were both in Edinburgh. Her love of what we now call the Celtic spiritual tradition did much to feed and inspire my own love of it.
Earlier this week I received this note from her:

“In the Scottish tradition, St Bride was carried by angels from Iona to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve to be midwife to Mary at the Nativity. She then remained with the Holy Family till Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple. In the Candlemass mythology, she walked ahead of them carrying lighted candles, with a crown of lit candles on her head.”

The painting above by John Duncan, painted in 1913, which is in the National Gallery of Scotland, is inspired by this story. The two angels are carrying the saint between them to Bethlehem.

Wanting to know more, who better to turn to than my friend, Heather? I happened to find an article, by her, on St Brigid which was published in 2017. Here is the part of that which refers to this story.

“In the mythology, St Bride is carried from the Isle of Iona, in the Inner Hebrides, to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, to be mid-wife to Mary at the birth of Jesus. In the Ghaidlíg, she was known as‘Ban-Chuideachaidh Muire’ ‘knee woman of Mary’, as in the Hebrides, women gave birth on one knee. Not only is she present at the birth of Jesus, but she also takes on the role of the Foster mother of Jesus – ‘Muime Chroisd’. In the Hebridean tradition, a Foster mother was considered more important than a natural mother. They took the view that any woman could become a mother – and be good or indifferent or bad. But the Foster mother took on the rearing of a child who was not her own, and this gave her greater status. In the eyes of the Hebrideans, therefore, St Bride is more important than St Mary and it is she who is considered the true Mary of the Gaels. A Hebridean prayer during labour was ‘Bride, Bride, Come in. Thy welcome is truly made. Give thou relief to the woman and give thou the conception to the Trinity’.
Following the Nativity, the Church celebrates Candlemas forty days after Christmas. St Bride is closely connected to this Festival. When Mary and Joseph carried the infant Jesus to the Temple, St Bride walked ahead of them. She wore a crown of candles and held a lighted candle in each hand. The flames stayed completely still and were not moved by the wind. In some traditions, Candlemas is known as Feast Day of St Bride of the Candles, and she herself is known as St Bride of Brightness. The legend of the flames also corresponds with what we know of Oimelc (or Imbolc) as a Fire Festival.”

[Brighid, St Brigid, St Bride, St Bride of the Isles and Scotland’
©Heather Upfield, www.brighid.org.uk/scotland_footprints.html, 16 April 2017.]

A certain caution must be exercised and possibly a suspension of belief in this story. It is part of a folklore which belongs to a people who understand the importance of myth as containing a kernel of truth rather than made-up fiction. Chronologically, of course, it can’t be an historical truth but there is more than one sort of truth, especially where angels are involved! Sometimes we have to move from the human realm to the heavenly to discover a new way of discovering the heart of God. Poetry, art, storytelling and music belong to this realm. Often words fail us in their bareness and logic but spring to life in a new way if we use our communication skills differently.

So the myth of St Brigid’s visit to Bethlehem and the echo of a Candlemass ceremony which is ascribed to St. Lucy in Scandinavia , are wonderful stories about new birth, tenderness, care and light. Bride’s visit to Bethlehem is also a delightful and fun story. Anything that brings a smile to our lives right now can only be good!

Thank you, Heather, for bringing this source of joy to my heart.

[If you wish to know more about the painting by John Duncan, go to the website of the National Gallery of Scotland.
Search for John Duncan and click on to the the very informative podcast]

Prayer for the Human Race

Josefina de Vaconcellos. *The fled by night. [detail]*
photo by Mr G. Statue is in Cartmel Priory in the Lake District.

A Prayer for the Human Race

This week, the British Parliament has passed the Illegal Immigration Bill (aptly if mistakenly named!).
It seeks to curb refugees from arriving illegally via the English Channel.
The Bill is part of measures aimed at curbing those seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
Some would see these measures as illegal in themselves and members of the House of Lords sought to amend the Bill to make it more humane. These amendments mostly failed. One of the leaders in seeking such amendments to the Bill was the Archbishop of Canterbury.
What is at stake is how we treat each other. So below is a prayer which applies to the whole human race in our dealings with each other.

The Statue by Josefina is inspired by verses in St Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 2.
Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus are seeking safety in Egypt . They are escaping the tyranny of King Herod.
He represents the many who followed him throughout history, as tyrants, despots, dictators and destroyers of humanity, not to mention wholesale destruction of creation, and life itself. Herod, seeing a threat to his power, after a visit from the Magi, or Wise Men,determines to seek out Jesus and kill him. In the process he murders all in innocent babies in his land. Despots and seekers of power stop at nothing.
The Holy Family stand as Icons for those who have fled their homelands to seek for safety and welcome. They are a reminder of the of the vast movement of humanity who, at any one time, are wandering and seeking a home, shelter, love and care as they escape danger imposed on their lives by others.
Most of these journeys are caused by fellow humans who seem incapable of living peaceably with others. Some of these are seekers of power and often rule by force, cruelty and by destroying all opposition.

Our Planet is in a very sorry state right now and almost all that is wrong with it is due to action by the human race. Also, of course, by our inaction, because if we worked together it could be an amazing place to live. Maybe those species who take over from us when we have destroyed ourselves, will do it differently. There is,however, time for us to make a difference but it will demand a complete change of heart and a repentance which will rely on faith, love and a renewal of kindness.

The prayer below reminds us that we are all part of this. None of us is exempt from a duty of care, being seekers of justice, and welcomers of all in need.
With some slight adaption, the prayer can be prayed by people of differing faiths and as a multi-faith intention to work together for our planet’s good.Ultimately, we all belong to each other and to God, however we express that.
Genuine, hearfelt prayer always leads to deepening of purpose, a bursting forth of love, and a commitment to peace, justice, compassion and dedication to the common good.Out of that journey by the Holy Family to Egypt came an amazing commitment on the part of God to love us all and open us to love in return.
You could say that in fleeing by night the human race fled into universal love under God. It just takes a deep humility to express that!

[Mr G. Prayer is in the public domian]

Man in background

*Josefina de Vasconcellos. Holy Family, Liverpool Cathedral*

Man in the background

The Sculptor, Josefina de Vasconcellos was commissioned on a number of occasions to carve large statues of the Holy Family. What never fails to strike me is that always Joseph is central to the scene. He does not lurk in the background or act like some kind of bystander. Josefina shows him as a strong fatherly figure who is a protector of both Mary and Jesus. It is clear that Josefina had a soft spot for the shadowy figure from the Christmas story and was determind to give him the prominence he deserves. Perhaps it was because she was graced with the female form of his name.

One particular statue of the Holy Family that she carved was very different. It can be seen in Cartmel Priory in the Lake District. It is called They fled by night and it is inspired by the flight into Egypt taken by the Holy Family to escape the threat of King Herod.

It is a very powerful statue. Mary is shown to be exhausted with her head leaning backwards as she rests in Jospeh’s arms. Joseph is holding her and and looking down with loving compassion. Meanwhile in the foreground of the composition, Jesus is leaping forward as he embraces the future.

*Photo : Mr.G They fled by night. Cartmel Priory*

What I like about Josefina’s portrayal of Joseph is that he is not the shadow figure that we find in the Gospel. Apart from Matthew’s ‘dream’ sequence when an angel tells Joseph it is all right to take Mary as his wife because it is all according to God’s plan, and an incident when Jesus was 12, Joseph plays no further part in the Gospel story. There is a reference to him when Jesus is called the carpenter’s son. But we are left wondering – what happened to Joseph?

We can invent our own story but I like to think that Joseph was content with his role in making the Incarnation possible. In a world like ours which celebrates status and fame it isn’t a bad thing to be background people. Those with a quiet but firm faith are the bedrock of the Church. They seek nothing more than to proclaim Jesus, not necessarily in words or spectacular deeds but with a fidelity towards Him which simply shouts faith in all they do and are. In Josefina’s statues Joseph comes across as a dependable, caring and protective parent. If I could choose a guardian angel, it would be like him.

The Church celebrates Joseph today It is good to think of him as the dependable one who may be in the background but whose care of Jesus and Mary is truly godly. Someone who can be relied upon come what may. Is that you?

[Mr.G.]