Mass for the 150^th Anniversary  of the Church of St. Bridget’s, Eaglesham

1.     “May God grant me to speak as he would wish and express thoughts worthy of his gifts, since he himself is the guide of wisdom, since he directs the sages.” These words from the Book of Wisdom, lines from the first reading of this Mass, induce me to pronounce words above all of thanksgiving and praise to God for the 150 years of the church of St. Bridget’s, Eaglesham. God be praised for the life of this parish! God be praised for the priests and for the parishioners! God be praised for their faith and their prayers and their sacrifices! God be praised for his goodness and mercy over 150 years!

2.     God’s wisdom is exalted and praised in today’s first reading. God’s wisdom is described as more to be desired than all the gifts of nature. God’s wisdom is worth more than riches and achievement. This hymn to wisdom persuades me to ask what God’s purpose may have been in the establishment of St. Bridget’s Church, Eaglesham, 150 years ago.

3.     Broadly speaking, the establishment of the parish of St. Bridget’s in Eaglesham in 1856 owes much to the fusion in the mid-19^th century of the industrial revolution with the Irish immigration to west-central Scotland. Workers were needed for the new industrialisation and the indigent Irish immigrants needed work. Can we find God’s purpose in the economic and social growth of a nation allied to the opportunity of needy people to escape poverty and hunger, and to lay down the foundations of a new life? For broadly speaking Scotland has flourished and the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of these immigrants down to the present generation have grown in prosperity and in status. Are we to see here a sign of God’s purpose for the future in the welcoming among us of immigrants and of new peoples? Are we to see God’s purpose being fulfilled in our giving the opportunity to others to make a new and better life for themselves and their children? Is the figure of St. Bridget, the patron of this parish, who was devoted to caring for the poor a sign of God’s purpose for the way we should behave towards the immigrant, the asylum seeker, the poor and the needy? Is all of this a sign of God’s design that the future is not about rich and poor, have’s and have not’s, this nation and other nations, but the future is about all people living together in peace, justice and harmony? In a word is not God’s purpose and wisdom about the coming of his kingdom?

4.     The opening of St. Bridget’s Church in 1858 re-established the presence of the Catholic Church in this community after an absence 200 years. Can we see God’s purpose in the presence of the Catholic Church in this area both so that the Catholic community could receive spiritual nourishment and pastoral care and so that the Church of Christ can achieve the fullness in this place that the Lord wills? Can we see God’s purpose in the strengthening of the bonds of Christian faith and witness among those who profess the name of Christ so that they can face the new challenges of today and tomorrow? Can we see God’s purpose in the common prayer of Christians that unity among them may be fully restored? In a word, is not God’s purpose also about the oneness, the unity and the mission of his Church?

5.     I have suggested these reflections on God’s wisdom and purpose in the 150 year history of St. Bridget’s in the form of questions. I have done so because God’s purpose is always to be discerned, because God’s purpose continually unfolds and because God’s purpose is not just about the past but about the future. And speaking of the future, this evening’s gospel surely holds a lesson for us. It was suggested to Jesus that his relatives were outside and that they should have privileged access to him. And looking round at those who were near him, he famously answered “Here are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother or sister and mother.” Being a relative is not enough. We have to do the will of God. Having a 150 year history is not enough. We need to continue to seek and to do God’s purpose in faith and hope.

Feast of St. Bridget

1^st February 2008