Bishop Faith

This past weekend, I went to a confirmation.  I helped the bishop carry all his accoutrements.  His crosier was quite beautiful.  It is made of silver and kept in a protective case to preserve the silver from oxidizing.  It came in three pieces and fit in the case quite nicely.  I was happy to help Bishop Edyvean to carry everything.  

One of the first things Bishop Edyvean did was to fit the crosier together and hand it over to me, to hold it for him.  Then he went off to vest.  This reminded me of the legend of St. Bridget of Ireland.

 The crosier made it into her icons because of an awkward story about an elderly bishop accidentally saying the wrong prayers when she was blessed to become an abbess… he had mistakenly started to bless her to make HER a bishop! Since she was a woman, let alone not-a-priest, of course she never served in the office, and it was a horribly awkward mistake. (Since it WAS a mistake and not an intentional attempt to subversively ordain a woman, no one got excommunicated.) However, technically the mark of it was on her soul, mistake or not, and therefore it is in her icons…

Often confused with St. Bridget of Sweden, but they are two very different saints.

(Source: theraccolta)

So I reminded Bishop Edyvean of the story of St. Bridget's bishop giving her a crosier.  He didn't take the hint and give me his.

While I was standing there holding the staff, many of my "cloistered brothers" came over to congratulate me on my elevation to the bishopric.  They also took my hand and mockingly kissed my ring.  

We had four confirmandi: Augustin, Ignatius, Luke, and Francis.  May they grow in the faith and stay secure in God's love.