Feast of Saint Bridget – Gal 2:19-20; Ps 34:2-11; John 15:1-8

I am dead – writes Saint Paul. Yes, of course, you see me. You can touch me. I’m not a ghost. In a biological sense, I am alive. And yet my life has changed. It has changed so much that I can say: death is behind me. Previously, I lived with the stigma of death. The grave. Sheol. Following King David, I hoped that God would not abandon me in the land of the dead. I waited. I had hope. And I watch for its fulfilment. I died with Christ on the cross and from that moment on I live. I will live forever. There is no land of the dead. There is the land of the living. Death no longer has power over me, because it cannot rule over Christ who lives in me. Abide in Me, and I will abide in you, says Jesus. You will receive everything you ask for. Your life will be fruitful. I would like to say “fulfilled”. But this suggests an end. And yet there will be no end. So: fulfilled and becoming more and more fulfilled at every moment. Without end. Without Limits. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. And the beginning is death. The death that is already behind  us. . .