Day 32: 2/1/13 - Celebrate the Feast of St. Bridget of Ireland!

Day 32: 2/1/13 - Celebrate the Feast of St. Bridget of Ireland!                 
New Thing- Make Beer Bread, Milk Drink, and St. Bridget Cross                    
Inspiration: The Feast of St. Bridget                
Time: All day                
Bottom Line: Kiss me, one of my favorite saints is Irish!

Reflection: Today is the Feast Day of St. Bridget of Ireland! You may remember from my last three years celebrating this saint that her hagiography from James Kiefer includes:

Bridget (Brigid, Bride, Bridey) of Kildare was born around 450 into a Druid family, being the daughter of Dubhthach, court poet to King Loeghaire. At an early age, she decided to become a Christian, and she eventually took vows as a nun. Together with a group of other women, she established a nunnery at Kildare. She was later joined by a community of monks led by Conlaed. Kildare had formerly been a pagan shrine where a sacred fire was kept perpetually burning, and Bridget and her nuns, instead of stamping out the fire, kept it going but gave it a Christian interpretation. (This was in keeping with the general process whereby Druidism in Ireland gave way to Christianity with very little opposition, the Druids for the most part saying that their own beliefs were a partial and tentative insight into the nature of God, and that they recognized in Christianity what they had been looking for.) Bridget as an abbess participated in several Irish councils, and her influence on the policies of the Church in Ireland was considerable. (http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/)

St. Bridget's Cross

Here is some more from my previous posts that still works for today's celebration:

Bridget is indeed laudable for her piety and life, but her legend is also incredibly interesting. When I was a student at Moravian, my favorite class was "Irish Mythology" and Bridget was a major figure that we studied since Saint Bridget is often considered a Christianization of an earlier pagan goddess Brigid. This means that for Ireland, Bridget has stood the test of time as a holy woman and has been one of the bridges to help spread Christianity in that part of the world. I also had the cool experience of visiting one of the sacred wells that is attributed to her in Ireland. Very moving. 

Here are some of my favorite Bridget stories:

• It is thought that her parents were baptized by St. Patrick himself and that Bridget heard him preach several times.  Some even think that Patrick heard her final vows before entering into the convent. 
•  She established a double monastery in Kildare, an art school and many monasteries all over Ireland. 
• She traveled extensively (which is odd for that time period) and is one of the parton saints of traveling.  
• She is know for her love and compassion for the poor, and she once turned water into beer for some thirsty priests. She also could supply an endless supply of milk and ale to her guests and is often depicted with a cow.
• Brigid is known for being the only female bishop of the early church. It is said that upon receiving her vows Saint Mel was inspired by God to make her a bishop. She is often depicted with a bishop's crosier.

So, to celebrate this wonderful woman, Little D. and I have made several things to warm our souls, bodies and home. To begin with, we repeated last year's ritual and made a Bridget inspired meal. Since Brigid is the Patron Saint of things like Ireland, milkmaids, cows, and beer we made beer bread and a tasty milk drink made with cinnamon and honey. Beer bread was a staple in my family growing up and was my grandfather's favorite. I thought that beer bread would be a good choice since Brigid had a vision of a lake of beer that she, Jesus, and Mary sat and drank by in heaven. The warm milk drink was chosen because Brigid was a milk-maid herself and many of her miracles have to do with dairy products. Since this is a drink served hot, it was the perfect way to warm up after coming in from the cold when we were gathering rushes down by the swamp to make a St. Brigid Cross.

Gathering Rushes on a Cold St. Bridget's Day

Here is a little cross history: "Making a St. Brigid’s cross is one of the traditional rituals in Ireland to celebrate the beginning of early spring, February 1. 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. St. 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 baptized." (http://www.crosscrucifix.com/articlehome.htm) Each arm of the cross should have seven pieces to represent the seven days of the week.

So, today we wove together a cross out of the traditional rushes, unlike the first time we made one out of D.'s old art work. I loved it! We are going to hang it up as is tradition to bless the house and to keep it safe from fires (which is her specialty).

Here is Little D. with the final product. She changed into a "fancy dress" because her favorite Bridget legend is that she was so beautiful that she had to pray to God to take away her beauty to keep her from being forced into marriage. God granted her prayer and she was able to join the convent. On the day of her reception into the religious life, her beauty was restored. D. was excited to "be pretty like St. Bridget for God."

To top off this wonderful day, I am about to have dinner at a new restaurant named "Agiato" in Manayunk where I am sure to have good food and ever better fellowship. Sarah is one of my all time favorite people and we have in fact traveled to St. Bridget's church in Kildare together as teenagers. How fitting to share this day together!

Here is the prayer of this most blessed woman:

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his
    poverty might be rich:  Deliver us from an inordinate love of
    this world, that, following the example of thy servant Bridget,
    we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the
    riches of the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
    liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
    one God, now and for ever.