Blessings

Beannachtaí na Féile Bríde
Blessings of the Feast of Saint Brigid

Lá Fhéile Bríde sona duit
Happy Saint Brigid’s day to you

History of Saint Brigid

We thank Mrs West of Saint Bridget’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery for permission to share this text and to Therese Pollock for her devotion to Saint Brigid.

Saint Brigid was born in 450 AD near Dundalk in County Louth. Her father was a pagan chieftain of Leinster and her mother was a Christian. Her father kept Brigid and her mother as slaves even though he was a wealthy man. Brigid spent her earlier life cooking, cleaning, washing and feeding the animals on her father’s farm.

She lived during the time of Saint Patrick, was inspired by his preaching and became a Christian. When Brigid turned eighteen, she stopped working for her father. Brigid’s father wanted her to find a husband but Brigid had decided that she would spend her life working for God by looking after poor, sick and elderly people.

Legend says that she prayed her beauty would be taken away from her so no one would seek her hand in marriage. Her prayer was granted. Brigid’s charity angered her father because he thought she was being too generous to the poor. When she finally gave away his jewel-encrusted sword to a leper, her father realised she would be best suited to religious life.

Brigid finally got her wish and entered the convent. Legend also says that Brigid regained her beauty after making her vows and that God made her more beautiful than ever. News of Brigid’s good works spread and soon many young girls from all over the country joined her in the convent. Brigid founded many convents all over Ireland, the most famous one in County Kildare. It is said that this convent was built beside an oak tree where the town of Kildare now stands. Around 470 AD she also founded a double monastery, for nuns and monks, in Kildare.

Saint Brigid’s cross

Making a Saint Brigid’s cross is one of the traditional rituals in Ireland to celebrate the beginning of early spring. The crosses are made of rushes that are pulled rather than cut. They are hung by the door and in the rafters to protect the house from fire and evil.

According to tradition a new cross is made each Saint Brigid’s day and the old one is burned to keep fire from the house. Many homes have several crosses preserved in the ceiling, the oldest blackened by many years of heath fires. Some believe that keeping a cross in the ceiling or the roof is a good way to preserve the home from fire which was always a major threat in houses with thatch and wood roofs.

Saint Brigid and her cross are linked together by the story that she wove this form of cross at the death bed of either her father or a pagan lord, who upon hearing what the cross meant, asked to be baptised.

Saint Brigid died in 525 AD at the age of 75 and was buried in a tomb before the High Altar or her Abbey Church. After some time, her remains were exhumed and transferred to Downpatrick, County Down, to rest with the two other patron saints of Ireland: Saint Patrick and Saint Columcille.

Saint Brigid’s cloak

Saint Brigid went to the king of Leinster to ask for land to build a convent. She told the king that the place where she stood was the perfect place for a convent. It was beside a forest where they could collect firewood. There was also a lake nearby that would provide water and the land was fertile.

The king laughed at her and refused to give her any land. Brigid prayed to God and asked him to soften the king’s heart. Then she smiled at the king and said: “Will you give me as much land as my cloak will cover?” The king thought she was joking and because Brigid’s cloak was so small he knew that it would only cover a very small piece of land. The king agreed and Brigid spread her cloak on the ground. She asked her four friends to hold a corner of the cloak and walk in the opposite direction. The four friends walked north, south, east and west. The cloak grew immediately and began to cover many acres of land. The king was astonished and he realised that she had been blessed by God. The king fell to the ground and knelt before Brigid and promised her and her friends money, food and supplies.

Soon afterwards, the king became a Christian and also started to help the poor. Brigid’s miracle of the cloak was the first of many miracles that she worked for the people of Ireland.

Prayer to Saint Brigid

Saint Brigid,
You were a woman of peace,
You brought harmony where there was conflict,
You brought light to the darkness,
You brought hope to the downcast,
May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious,
And may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made,
Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary,
Strengthen what is weak within us,
Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit.
Amen.

How to make a Saint Brigid’s cross