The festival day of St Brigid (also known as Brigit, Bride, Brighid, amongst others) is an important day in Ireland because with St Patrick and St Columba, she is regarded as one of the Patron Saints of that fair isle!
She was born in the mid 6th century (about 451) and died in 525AD. Her father was a pagan chieftain at Leinster and her mother was a Christian. It is said that her mother was born in Portugal and her arrival in Ireland was as a result of Irish pirates who kidnapped her to work as a slave. There is a similarity here with the story of how Patrick came to Ireland.
She was probably influenced in developing her Christian faith from her mother but it is also said of her that she was influenced by the preaching of St Patrick.
Despite strong opposition from her father she became a nun and soon established a reputation for compassionate care of the sick and those in need.
She became head (Abbess) of her convent at Kildare which, following an Irish tradition was known as a double monastery in that both women and men shared a common vocation and life together. Brigid was head of both.
When the Irish Christian influence spread to Northumbria, this practice was introduced there by the Saintly Abbess Hilda first at Hartlepool and then at Whitby.
As with many of the early saints, legends and stories became linked to them and Brigid was no exception.
One particular story is certainly true and it provided the Church in Ireland with a link between Christmas and Easter. It comes in the form of what is now called St. Brigid’s Cross, a picture of which heads this article.
It’s a rather lovely story.
A pagan chieftain from the neighbourhood of Kildare lay dying. Christians in his household sent for Brigid to talk to him about Christ. When she arrived the chieftain was raving. As it was impossible to instruct this delirious man, hopes for his conversion seemed doubtful. Brigid sat down at his bedside and began consoling him. As was customary, the dirt floor was strewn with rushes both for warmth and cleanliness. Brigid stooped down and started to weave them into a cross, fastening the points together. The sick man asked what she was doing. She began to explain the cross, and as she talked his delirium quieted and he questioned her with growing interest. Through her weaving, he became a Christian and was baptized just before he died. Since then the cross of rushes has been venerated in Ireland.
There are, of course, several versions.
This one can be found on the website for St. Brigid’s School in Glasnevin in Dublin and gives a rich description of her background and life.
Christianity is often a faith of paradoxes and none more so than the connection of birth with death. At Candlemass, February 2nd, we complete our Christmas celebration of Christ the Light and then begin our journey towards Holy Week and Jesus’s death on the Cross. Yet there is nothing strange in this. Christ’s victory over the human heart and the darkness which so often besets our lives begins in the Christmas event but needs Calvary to complete it. There Christ’s love shone from the Cross as it had from the Manger and in the light of that love we can claim our place in God’s heart.
Brigid’s cross, woven from simple straw became a sign of healing and of life.
The straw of the Manger and the Wood of the Cross woven together are symbols of this healing and salvation linked to God’s Saving Love.
Another story connected with St. Brigid is without doubt highly popular in Ireland. It may be viewed as Ireland’s own version of Jesus’s miracle at Cana,
One day, while working in a leper colony, Brigid discovered to her horror that they had run out of beer. It’s important to understand that in those times, centuries ago, beer was consumed on a daily basis as a source of hydration and nourishment.
Back in those times many of the water sources close to villages and towns were often polluted to the point where consumption would likely result in illness or, worse still, death. Alcohol offered an (almost) germ free alternative.
So, to be faced with a beer drought was nothing short of disastrous.
Brigid knew exactly what to do. She asked God for help and He answered her prayer. The bathwater was miraculously turned into beer and not just any beer, but a genuinely brilliant beer that was enjoyed by one and all!
Obviously this secured her reputation, not least because she was fond of beer herself! Lest it be thought she acted as much out of self-interest as well as those in need, she is thought to have written a prayer/ poem about giving God his Divine Share!
The version we have here is from the 10th Century and some doubt that she wrote it but it’s always unwise to doubt a Saint, especially a lady one!
St. Brigid’s Prayer
(Poem attributed to St. Brigid herself)
I’d like to give a lake of beer to God.
I’d love the heavenly
Host to be tippling there
For all eternity.
I’d love the men of Heaven to live with me,
To dance and sing.
If they wanted, I’d put at their disposal
Vats of suffering.
White cups of love I’d give them
With a heart and a half;
Sweet pitchers of mercy I’d offer
To everyone.
I’d make Heaven a cheerful spot
Because the happy heart is true.
I’d make all contented for their own sake.
I’d like Jesus to love me too.
I’d like the people of heaven to gather
From all the parishes around.
I’d give a special welcome to the women,
The three Marys of great renown.
I’d sit with the men, the women and God
There by the lake of beer.
We’d be drinking good health forever
And every drop would be a prayer.
[Mr G]
Mr G's Ponderings 