Lenten Meditations – Wednesday 21st March

Mar 21, 2018 by Andrew Symes

FIFTH WEDNESDAY OF LENT – St. Edna, Monk and Abbot of the Aran Islands, 590

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Enda was born in the sixth century to the Oriel of Ulster, son of Conall Derg of Ergall, to whose principality he succeeded upon his death. It was the pious exhortations of tsister the Abbess that compelled him to leave the world and embrace the monastic life.

After pilgrimage to Rome, he returned to Ireland, establishing communities Drogheda and along the Boyne Valley. King Oengus of Munster, granted of the wild and barren isle of Aran in the Bay of Galway, where he founded the famous Monastery of Killeaney. Such was the fame acquired by this monastery that he is known as the Father of Irish Monasticism and the island was called “Aran of the Saints” as many of the great Irish saints had some connection with Aran and St. Enda: St. Brendan the Voyager, St. Kiaran of Clonmacnoise, St. Columba of Iona, St. Finnian of Clonard and others. So numerous were the pilgrims to Aran that St. Columba called it “The Rome of Pilgrims”. He died in 590.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: The Gospel today is very fitting for the feast day of the Father of Irish Monasticism. We hear again the words that the Father gave His authority to His Son. The Son gave His authority to His Apostles. The Apostles gave their authority to their disciples forever. As a bishop Edna is an inheritor of those promises and sought in that monastic community to have the monks imitate Christ Of course,to be another Christ in the world should the vocation and ultimate end for all of us. When you consider the bulk of Lent is behind us one should consider asking: When others see me, who do they see? Do they see the Father of mercies? Do they see the God of love, the God of Truth? Do they see the Son of God? Do they see the one who sent you? Created you? The One who loves you to death? Do they see light breaking darkness? If not, today i the first day to begin. The first day of Lent to undertake a discipline that makes us different than the way we were. As we move towards Holy Week, it would be a step back in time and a step forward. A step back to the historic call embraced by Holy Men and Holy women. A step forward to embrace the promise Christ gives to us all.

PRAYER OF THE DAY O God, who called your servant Edna to witness the faith as a monastic so that he might advance your heavenly kingdom, and gave him zeal for your Church and love of knowledge: Mercifully grant that we who commemorate him this day may be fruitful in faithful witness, and attain to the glorious crown of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

ANCIENT WORDS/PRESENT GRACE : ” Action practicing virtue perceives, through the virtue of faith and action, the Son of God confined in the flesh in a wonderful and ineffable manner. But the highest contemplation of the truth wonders at the Word of God in itself, before the flesh, in its principle of absolute and infinite origin in the Father..” ~ St. John Scotus

Lenten Discipline – Living a faithful Gospel witness can be lonely, especially when family and friends do not understand its value and are not supportive. Reach out to a person you know who has been marginalized of lonely because of their faith witness. If it a person far off write a note of encouragement if it is a person nearby share a meal with them and discuss the journey.

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