One day holy Brigit needed to attend a gathering of the people for a compelling practical reason, and she sat in her chariot which was drawn by two horses. As she sat in the vehicle, she practiced on earth the life of heaven, as was her custom, by contemplative meditation, and prayed to her Lord.
– Cogitosus, The Life of St. Brigit the Virgin
“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
– Matthew 6.10
Attention to detail
Here is a bit more evidence both of the historicity of Brigit and of why we think she matters still.
There was to be a gathering of the people in her parish at a place too far to walk. This fact alone suggests the large reach of Brigit’s ministry. She would need her cart, which was pulled by two horses. Simple, everyday activity.
The gathering was for “a compelling practical reason”, demonstrating that Irish Christians were accustomed to coming together to work out their differences and difficulties, just like the believers in Acts 6 and Acts 15. In a previous generation of Ireland’s history, such gatherings would have been unheard of. Instead, either a coup of a local king or some combat with a neighboring kingdom would be the way to sort things out. Plus a bit of cattle rustling, just to keep up a good Irish tradition.
We don’t know what the issue was in this case, but it was “compelling” and “practical”, so they asked Brigit to help them deal with it. As we shall see in our next installment, she was well prepared to help them out.
Here also we get a glimpse of Irish spirituality, at least as it existed among leaders like Brigit. This is perhaps my favorite phrase in all the literature of this period: “she practiced on earth the life of heaven”. Isn’t this what Jesus had in mind what He taught us to pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven? That we would “practice” on earth what we see in the throne room of the Lord and in His living and powerful Word? In our Personal Mission Field, we can bring heaven to earth, just as Brigit and so many others of the great Irish saints we’ve looked at were able to do.
No wonder these people loved to be around Brigit, and to have her with them in their gatherings.
A lesson in Kingdom-seeking
Don’t try this at home. Well, not all of it.
Apparently, Brigit was driving her chariot. There is no mention of a driver or other companion. As she drove along, she engaged in contemplative meditation and prayer. This is how we pass through the veil of faith that separates us from the heavenly realm to join our spiritual kinfolk there in praising the Lord and marveling at His beauty.
Which Brigit was doing. While she was driving.
Well, this seems to have been a case of “the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh” because one of the two horses, spooked by something, broke out of it harness and bolted in another direction. The other horse didn’t break stride and brought Brigit, who didn’t seem to notice the loss of one of her horses, to her destination.
I wonder how many of us practice the kind of contemplative meditation and prayer that catches us up, like Paul, to the very heavens of God, where we become so enthralled at the beauty, joy, and peace surrounding the throne of Christ that we are speechless to describe it and oblivious to what’s going on around us.
You should try this at home—not while you’re driving. Let some of the passages that show you Jesus in His glory—Psalm 110, Revelation 1, Matthew 17—come together as one enriched vision of Jesus. See yourself there before Him (Ps. 16.8), beside Him (Eph. 2.6), seeing the world and your life as He does (1 Cor. 2.16). Speak soft words of praise and thanksgiving to Him; seek His wisdom for your daily tasks; wait in silence for Him to show you full-on the glory that radiates from His face (2 Cor. 4.6).
Such contemplative meditation and prayer are available to us, and the more we practice these heavenly disciplines, the more a bit heaven will come through us as grace and goodness to the people in our everyday lives.
For Reflection
1. What has been your practice of meditation? How might you improve this?
2. How will heaven come to earth in your life today?
Psalm 77.16-20
(Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise)
The waters and the deeps all tremble ’neath Your hand.
The clouds give forth, the sky resounds across the land.
Your lightning flashes forth and lights the earth around;
we feel beneath our feet the trembling of the ground.
Your way leads through the sea; Your path the water parts.
Your footprints are to us deep mysteries in our hearts.
As then by Moses’ hand and Aaron’s law-filled voice,
You led Your sheep, lead us that we may all rejoice!
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we continue looking at the nature of justice as God defines it. In our Read Moore podcast we begin a series of readings from three booklets on life in the Kingdom. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
