St. Brigit
A.D. 523
Feast Day: February 1

 St. Brigit is a very complex character in the company of the Celtic saints. Her name is spelled in various ways including Bridget, Brigid, and, in Scotland, St. Bride. Yet beyond spelling, Brigit stands as  a complex character in the Celtic tradition. This saint brings together at least three streams: Brigit the woman and nun, Brigit the saint of popular devotion, and Brigit the goddess of pre-Christian Celtic religion.

 Of Brigit the woman we know very little that will satisfy the historians. In spite of her association with the work of St. Patrick she was probably only around eight at the time of his death. She  was the daughter of a Christian slave by an Irish chieftain. Her mother was sold to a druid shortly after her birth, but she was raised in her fathers household. The stories of her youth indicate a woman of passionate charity.  When her father took her to his overlord, a Christian chief, to complain of her obstinacy, she waited outside in his chariot. While she waited, a beggar came seeking alms. Looking in her fathers chariot she found only his  jeweled sword, which she immediately gave to the beggar. Her fathers overlord refused to punish her for such irregular charity, noting that the Spirit of God was so powerfully present in her that it would be folly to oppose  her. (If we recall the Gospel story of the Gaderene swine, it seems our Lord was never very cognizant of property rights.)

 Brigit eventually established a mixed monastic community (men and women) at Kildare, from its name probably a sacred druid site (Cill dare - cell of the oaks). There her reputation for holiness, administrative acumen and wisdom flourished. According to one tradition, when Brigit came to Bishop Mel with eight other women to receive the veil, the Bishop saw a pillar of fire over her head and, either startled by the vision or moved by the Holy Spirit (depending on ones agenda), Bishop Mel read the office of the ordination of a bishop over her. Regardless of Bishop Mels intentions, Brigit's successors at Kildare were treated with the courtesy and dignity due to bishops in the Irish church.

 Just as many people link the shamrock with St. Patrick, St. Brigit has a symbol associated with her life; a rough cross woven from reeds. According to tradition she visited a dying pagan and explained the  gospel to him as she wove this cross from the rushes that covered the floor.

 For the Celt the border between the world of space and time and the world of the spirit and eternity was permeable, and quite thin in holy places and holy people. It is perhaps due to this  attitude that Brigit has been long associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Various prayers and poems refer to her as the mid-wife at the birth of Christ. She is still known today as the Mary of the Gaels. The conversion of the  Celtic people was done (mostly) without conquest, the gospel carried to their own by their own. Many elements of their pre-Christian religion were baptized and incorporated into the spiritual life and discipline of Celtic  Christians. Much of the honor and devotion given to the pre-Christian Celtic goddess, Brigit, was transferred to the saint and profoundly affected the traditional stories that grew up around her life.

 One of the more celebrated characteristics of St. Brigit was her hospitality, beautifully illustrated in this poem cited in Robert Van de Weyers book, Celtic Fire.

Brigid's Feast

I should like a great lake of finest ale
For the King of kings.
I should like a table of the choicest food
For the family of heaven.
Let the ale be made from the fruits of faith,
And the food be forgiving love.

I should welcome the poor to my feast,
For they are Gods children.
I should welcome the sick to my feast,
For they are Gods joy.
Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place,
And the sick dance with the angels.

God bless the poor,
God bless the sick,
And bless our human race.

God bless our food,
God bless our drink,
O God, embrace.