I love that phrase. I actually read it in Spanish: Puentes de Amor.I love the imagery it evokes of connections, communication, friendship, company, togetherness.
Usually bridges are built to make access easier. They connect places that would otherwise be incommunicated, inaccesible, unapproachable. They overcome obstacles (rivers, lakes,etc). Bridges have to be strong, solid, well built.And they can be frightening: once you start on it, you can't go back.There is no other way but forward.The majority of us though, are not afraid because we trust that the bridges have been well built.
We are called to build strong, solid Bridges of Love with one another. We are called to approach the unapproachable, connect with the inaccessible, repair the broken, and give maintenance to those relationships we have already established.
Building Bridges of Love, is about taking risks. It is about forgetting ourselves and thinking of others. It is about "loving your neighbor as yourself" and "dying to self". It is a call to love radically and totally with no turning back.
How do we build bridges? The author the article I was reading in La Palabra Entre Nosotros reminds us that prayer is an indispensable building material. After all, he says, God is the architect and engineer of our lives.
It is impossible not to feel connected to those with whom we pray. When we pray together we share an awareness of God's presence ("where two or more...")and we realize, in a tangible way, that we are children of the same Father. It is also impossible to stay uninvolved in the lives of those for whom we pray. When we pray for others we share their hopes, fears, wishes,needs and their joy when their prayers are answered. Prayer unites us.Prayer build Bridges.
There are many other ways I can think of building those bridges:
-Make time for those we love: This is basic maintenance.If we want to stay connected we need to find the time to be with our spouse, children and friends.
-Give them our undivided attention.
-Establishing eye contact.
-Offering a smile.
-Anticipate needs.
-Little acts of love and service.
-Visits
-Hugs
All of these sound so simple.And they are. It is a matter of cultivating a deliberate attitude.This purposeful living and reaching out will be an antidote to the isolation and loneliness that we see all around us.After all that is what bridges are for.