Ord Brighideach--The Order of Brigid

this group was started by a member of the Daughters of the Flame who wanted to make service to Brigid available on a large scale to women as well as men, strictly through the internet. they have been going for several years now, and must have hundreds of flame-keepers. have a look at their extensive website at:

http://www.ordbrighideach.org/

Brigit of Song & Laughter

The Order of St. Brigit of Celts:
Scottish Nobility Re-Enactors Guilde & The Merrie Wreath Consort Renaissance Minstrels
i wouldn't assume that the information about St. Brigit is especially, er, proveable, but what a wonderful bunch of lively friends of Brigit! lovely garments and banners and music and loyalty to Mary Queen of Scots--who could ask for anything more? have a look at their photos and if you are in their neighbourhood...raise the haggis, i guess!

http://www.stbrigit.com/Brigit01.html

Tending Her Flame

sketch by Daughter of the Flame
Hawthorne, in Australia

to our knowledge there are three groups actively tending Brigit's perpetual flame at present, after a hiatus of a few hundred years. the flame of the Goddess had burned for no one-knows-how-long in Cill Dara--Kildare, Ireland--the Cell of the Oak. as Christianity took root the Goddess was replaced by the Saint, Her flame tended instead by nuns, who kept it for hundreds of years.

in 1993, on the same day--Brigit's Feast of 1 February--a group of Catholic Brigidine nuns and a largely Pagan group of women, unaware of the others' activities, relit Her perpetual flame in Ireland and in Canada. the second group, the Daughters of the Flame, live in many areas of the globe and take turns tending the flame every 20 days. the Catholic sisters have groups in several countries besides Ireland, as well.

some years later, a member of the Daughters of the Flame created Ord Brighideach, a solely online group that would make shifts available to women and men and in great numbers.

if you know of other groups who tend Brigit's perpetual flame, we would love to hear of them. please leave a comment at the end of this posting.

the Brigidine sisters in Ireland don't have a website, but can be contacted at this address:

SolasBhríde,
14 Dara Park,
Kildare, Ireland

you may wish to join their lay group or come on Imbolc for the great festival of Brighid each February. their sisters in Australia can be found at:
http://www.brigidine.org.au/

the Daughters of the Flame can be found at:
http://www.obsidianmagazine.com/DaughtersoftheFlame/

and Ord Brighideach's site is:
http://www.ordbrighideach.org/

Peace Beads

this site shows how to use prayer beads for peace, but also features information on a number of spiritual figures--goddesses and saints--who are concerned with peace. it saddened me to realize that although i had heard of the war god, mars, when i was just a child, i had never heard that there was a goddess named peace, pax, until today.

both the goddess Brigit and the saint Brighid are featured on this site, and there is a lovely picture of the goddess with a wolf:

http://www.thepeacebeads.com/ourlady/brighid.htm

http://www.thepeacebeads.com/ourlady/stbrighid.htm

Brigit: The Survival of a Goddess

from the The Druid Grove: The Order of Bards, Ovates, & Druids
http://druidry.org/index.shtml

several pages dealing with the ancient Celtic Goddess Brigit & her Saintly Successor.
http://druidry.org/obod/deities/brigid.html

Catholic Brigidine Sisters in Australia

The Brigidines of Australia
from their site at: http://www.brigidine.org.au/#

Reading and responding to the signs of the times led Daniel Delany, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, to establish the Congregation of the Sisters of St Brigid (Brigidine Sisters) in 1807. In the shadow of the penal days in Ireland the need for education and revitalizing the faith was stark. Six ordinary Irish women came together in Tullow on the first of February to begin this work. The fledgling congregation was placed under the patronage of Our Lady and St. Brigid and Bishop Delany planted a sapling from the oak at Brigid's abbey in Kildare as a sign that the work begun by Brigid had sprouted again. Over almost two hundred years the Brigidine Sisters have continued to read and respond to the signs of the times, branching out to various parts of the world to work in education, ever-widening pastoral ministries and to work for social justice.

Continuing active engagement in the wide-ranging issues of right relationships, equal access to the world's resources and other issues of justice have given rise to the following commitment:

As Brigidines, we stand in reverence
for the community of life
and we will continue to work
to further compassion and justice
for humanity and the earth.

The Town of Saint Brigid's Birth

A page called St Brigid, Muire na nGael, First Woman of Ireland.

Contains info about Saint Brigid's birth in the area, and various shrines and monuments which honour her. Also instructions in making Brigid's Crosses.
http://www.iol.ie/~scphadr/brigid.html

From the site of Scoil Phádraig Naofa, "a small, Irish, rural school located near the east coast on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Our nearest towns are Dundalk and Newry." Created by the students.

Online Audio Meditation by Mara Freeman

guided meditation The Forge in the Forest Meeting Brigit--triple-goddess of healing, smithcraft, and inspiration.

Mara Freeman: voice and zither Gerry Smida: harp, keyboards, percussion

The goddess Brigit presides over the early springtime festival once known as Imbolc in Ireland, and is associated with smithcraft, a sacred art in many primal cultures. The smith transforms the ore from the lower world with the fire of the upper world to create something new and beautiful. The following meditation takes you to Brigit's forge to gain inspiration for your own creativity. Place a candle and matches in front of you before you begin.

Go to the Beliefnet site to hear this meditation. Bring a candle!
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/98/story_9865_1.html

HOW TO POST A COMMENT!

Blessed Be the Golden Sparkling Flame!

How To Post A Comment

A lot of people get confused by this. Fear Not! you use it by going to the blog, reading a message (or ignoring the message--that part doesn't matter), then going to the bottom of ANY message where there is a solid line and then the words:

posted by Daughter of Brigit (TIME) PM 0 comments

you click on the word "comments" and the message comes up again with all the comments that have already been posted to it below.


at the bottom of the last comment you will see this:

posted by Daughter of Brigit (or by somebody else) (TIME) PM

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

if you click on Post a Comment you will get to say whatever you like and either sign in as anonymous or, if you have a blog on blogspot, by your blogger name. if you have to use anonymous, you can sign your name at the bottom of your comment, if you want.

see you there!

The rites of Brigid, goddess and saint by Seán Ó Duinn

The rites of Brigid, goddess and saint

February 1st, the feast of Imbolg in the old Celtic year, marked the beginning of spring. It was Christianised and adapted as the feast of St Brigid and many rituals still associated with the feast are best understood in the light of their pagan Celtic origins. After a Foreword on the life of Brigid as told in the Leabhar Breac, Seán Ó Duinn describes these rites and explores their relevance for today.

236 pp, Columba Press, 2005. To purchase this book online, go to www.columba.ie

CONTENTS

Foreword

Brigid and springtime

Foretelling the future

The annual return of Brigid from the otherworld

Preparing a bed for Brigid

The cult of Brigid among the clerics

Brigid, the goddess and the saint

Brigid and the ever-living fire at Kildare

The place of the sun in ancient religion

The brídeog

The threshold rite

St Brigid's cross

Brat Bhríde/St Brigid's cloak

Crios Bhríde/Brigid's belt

St Brigid's holy wells

Saoire ar chasaibh (A holiday from turning)

Some localised cultic observances

New Year rituals

Bibliography

Index

Review

February 1st, the feast of Imbolg in the old Celtic year, marked the beginning of spring, the rebirth of nature after the long death of winter. It was Christianised and adapted as the feast of St Brigid. A large variety of customs and traditions are still associated the feast till this day, many of which date back to the pagan Celtic days.

In this book, Seán Ó Duinn OSB collects, describes and shows the relevance and geographical locations of these ancient pagan celtic rites and traditions associated with the feast of Imbolg. It also contains a thorough Bibliography and Index.

FOREWORD

THE LIFE OF BRIGID AS CONTAINED IN THE LEABHAR BREAC

In a flight of imagination, the author of Beatha Bhrighdi ("The Life of Brigid") in the Leabhar Breac sees the soul of Brigid as the blazing sun illuminating the Heavenly City. There are the angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, accompanying Mary's Son and there is the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Inspired by this vision, the author prays:

I ask for the Lord's mercy

through the intercession of blessed Brigid.

May we reach that unity

which exists for ever and ever (Stokes, 1877, 86).

This mystical effusion is concerned above all with the otherworld and the last times.

On the other hand, there is in Beatha Bhrighdi a message of hope and consolation for those who in this world make their way painfully to God amidst trials and afflictions:

It is she who helps everyone in trouble and affliction.

It is she who cures diseases.

It is she who mitigates anger and calms the stormy sea.

She is the prophesied one of Christ.

She is the Queen of the South.

She is the Mary of the Gael. (Beatha Bhrighdi, 1703-1705)

In Brigid, two elements come together - the eternal and the temporal - and she is seen as a female warrior trampling on demons, and on the forces of evil in her efforts to lead a person over the dangerous bridge of this present life to the gleaming country of heaven.

After a short summary of the life of Brigid as it is presented in various biographies, we proceed to the principal object of this work, that is, to discuss the rites and ceremonies with which the Feast of Brigid is celebrated.

Since Brigid is, as it were, a bridge between this world and the world beyond, it is no wonder that her fame extended far and near. As the poem says:

Gabhaim molta Bhríde,

Ionmhain le hÉirinn;

Ionmhain le gach tir í,

Molaimis go léir í. (Mac Giolla Chomhaill, 1984, 29)

(I proclaim the praises of Brigid;

she is dear to Ireland;

she is dear to every country;

let us all join in her praises.)

The object of this work is to examine the ways in which the people of Ireland praised Brigid in the traditional rituals pertaining to her Feastday.

In the biography of Brigid as contained in the Leabhar Breac (Stokes, 1877, 50-87), a very full account is given of her life. Moreover, some elements of pre-Christian practice may be discerned in the narrative. While this version is not as old as that of Cogitosus (JRSAI, Vol 117, 5), nevertheless its ethos is close to that of the folk-cult of the people who revered Brigid. For this reason, the Leabhar Breac version is the one used as a basis for the following shortened account of her life.

Brigid was the daughter of Dubhthach mac Dreimne. Dubhthach had purchased a slave-girl named Broicseach, a daughter of Dall-bhronach of Dal Chonchuir in the southern area of Breagha. Dubhthach married the girl and she became pregnant. Dubhthach's wife, Breachnat, was furious and threatened to leave him if he did not sell Broicseach to somebody living far away. But Dubhthach didn't want to sell her.

One day, while Dubhthach and the slave-girl were going past the house of a certain druid, the druid heard the noise of the chariot and he came out to greet them.

The druid made a foretelling that they would have a wonderful daughter whose fame would spread far and wide because of her power and virtue.

After this, God sent two bishops - Mel and Melchu - to Dubhthach and when Mel learned of Breachnat's anger he informed her that her own descendants would serve the descendants of the slave-girl. Nevertheless, she would be of assistance to them.

Then, another druid happened to come that way and the bishops advised Dubhthach to sell the slave-girl to him but not to hand over the infant in her womb. Dubhthach agreed to this and the druid took Broicseach to his home.

Shortly after this, another file or druid from the territory of Conaill purchased the slave-girl. This man prepared a great banquet for the king of Conaill and it so happened that the queen at that moment was on the point of giving birth. A fáidh (seer, prophet) of the learned class, who happened to be present, was asked if this were a lucky time for a royal birth. The fáidh said that the child born next morning with the rising of the sun would have an outstanding destiny. However, the queen's child was born in advance of this point and he was born dead.

The file, then, asked the fáidh about the slave-girl's child. The fáidh answered: 'The child born tomorrow at the rising of the sun, and who is born without being inside or outside a house that child will surpass every other child in Ireland.'

It happened then, at the break of day, that the slave-girl, Broicseach, was going into a house, holding a bucket of buttermilk in her hand.

She had one foot inside the threshold and the other outside the threshold when Brigid was born. The servant-girls washed the baby and the mother with the buttermilk which was in the vessel. Brigid was born on a Wednesday, on the eighth day of the moon, at Fochairt Mhuirthemhne.

Brigid was taken then to the place where the queen's baby lay dead. When Brigid's breath reached him he became alive and well. The druid and Broicseach and Brigid then went to the Province of Connacht where they settled down.

One day, the people of the area saw that the house in which the child Brigid lived was on fire. They rushed to the house to extinguish the flames but found on arrival that there was no fire at all. The people concluded that the child was filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Once, while asleep, the druid saw three clerics, that is to say three angels, coming and pouring oil on Brigid's head to complete the rite of baptism. The three clerics instructed the druid to give the name Brigid to the child.

Brigid was not accustomed to take the ordinary food available to her. For this reason the druid obtained a white cow with red ears and she used to drink the milk of this cow.

As Brigid began to come of age everything under her care increased and flourished. She took care of the sheep, of blind people and of the poor.

The druid gave Brigid back to Dubhthach, her father, and they returned to the area of Uíbh Fhailí. It happened that her nurse was ill at that time. Brigid prepared a potion for her from water, having the taste of beer, and the nurse was cured of her disease.

Some guests arrived at Dubhthach's house. Brigid prepared five portions of meat for them. It happened that a hungry hound was passing by and Brigid gave him one of the portions. When he had eaten that, she gave him another portion. 'Have you all the portions?', asked Dubhthach. 'Count them,' said she. He did so and all the portions were there. 'That girl works many wonders', said her father.

On one occasion, Brigid attended a Synod of Leinster. It happened that a holy man who was present had had a vision in which he saw Mary coming to the meeting. When Brigid entered, this man said: 'This is the Mary I saw in a vision', and from that time on, she was called Muire na nGael - Mary of the Irish.

Without her father's permission, Brigid went to her mother who was poor and ill and still a slave-girl in Connacht. She took over her mother's duties and it was her custom at the time of butter-making to divide the butter into twelve divisions in honour of the twelve apostles and a large lump in honour of the Son of God. Although she used to give away butter to the poor, there was no reduction in the amount manufactured. 'It was Christ and his twelve apostles who proclaimed the gospel to the peoples of the world,' said Brigid, 'It is in their name that I look after the poor, for Christ is to be found in the person of every faithful poor person.' Finally, Brigid's miracles so impressed the druid and his wife that the druid became a Christian. The druid gave Brigid a herd of cows and made her mother a free-woman. Brigid and her mother Broicseach returned to Dubhthach.

Dubhthach, however, was not over-satisfied with this arrangement as he saw his wealth diminish while Brigid handed over his goods to the poor. He decided to sell Brigid to Dunlaing Mac Enda, king of Leinster, as a servant, to grind com.

Brigid and her father went to the king's fort by chariot. When they arrived, Dubhthach went inside to meet the king, leaving Brigid and his sword in the chariot. While Dubhthach was inside, a leper happened to pass by and Brigid gave him her father's sword.

Dubhthach was furious at the loss of his sword and he took Brigid into the fort to meet the king. The king asked her if she intended to give his property away to the poor also. Brigid gave the king no satisfactory answer. She answered that if all the wealth of Leinster were at her disposal she would give it all away to the King of the Elements. The king said that Brigid's status was higher in the eyes of God than among men. He gave a sword with an ivory hilt to Dubhthach on Brigid's behalf and he made her a free-woman.

Brigid went, along with other virgins, to Telcha Mide, to receive a nun's veil from Bishop Mel. It happened that through the bounty of the Holy Spirit, the rite of Ordination of a Bishop was read over Brigid. Mac Caille said that it was not right to confer the status of a bishop on a woman. Bishop Mel, said, however:

We have no power over it, because it is from God himself that this honour came to her

- an honour beyond that of any other woman.

For this reason, the men of Ireland, bestow the honour due to a bishop on Brigid's successor.

It was on the eighth day of the moon that Brigid was born; she took the veil on the eighteenth day; she went to heaven on the twenty-eighth day; she was consecrated along with eight virgins and she lived her life in accordance with the eight Beatitudes.

With one sack of malt, Brigid succeeded in providing beer for the seven churches of Tulach for Holy Thursday and the eight days of Easter.

On one occasion, Brigid went to a church in Teathbha for the celebration of Easter. On Holy Thursday she washed the feet of the people in the church. Among them were four who were very ill. Brigid cured the four of them.

Brigid went to Dunlaing, king of Leinster, with two requests. She promised him the kingdom of heaven for himself as a reward. The king, however, took little notice of this promise. 'I can't see the kingdom of heaven,' he said, 'and nobody knows anything about it. For that reason, I don't bother about it at all. As for granting the kingdom to my son, I don't bother about that either, for I myself won't be around. But give me a long life in my kingdom and give me victory over the Uí Néill in battle, and above all make me win the first battle against them to give me courage for those to follow.' This was granted, and the king won a great victory over the Uí Néill in the battle of Lochar (70).

Brigid's fame spread throughout Ireland because of the miracles she performed especially those of curing the sick.

Brigid travelled to the territory of Fir Ros and she asked the king of the area to set a certain prisoner free. The king refused her request but he handed over the custody of the prisoner to her for one night. Brigid appeared to him and she instructed him to recite the hymn 'Nunc populus' when the chain which bound him was loosed. He was then to turn right-hand wise and flee as fast as he could. The prisoner followed these instructions and escaped from prison.

One day when Brigid was travelling in Maigh Laighean (the Plain of Leinster) she met a student and he was running. 'Where are you rushing to?' Brigid asked him. 'I'm going to heaven,' he answered. Brigid recited the 'Our Father' with him. He was Ninnid Lamh-Idan who at a later stage was to give Holy Communion to Brigid.

Brigid went to Bishop Íobhar to mark out her city for her. They arrived at the place where Cill Dara now stands. It happened, just then, that Ailill Mac Dunlainge was going through Cill Dara with a hundred horse-loads of wooden posts. Two of Brigid's women came and asked Ailill to give them some of the posts. Ailill refused. With that, the horses were glued to the ground and were unable to move. Ailill was forced to give Brigid all the posts and it was with these that she built her monastery in Cill Dara. As a reward, she said that Ailill's heirs would have the sovereignty of Leinster for ever.

On one occasion, Brigid gave a cow to each of two lepers. One of them was a proud man and he began to insult her. As they were crossing the Bearbha the river rose up against them. The humble leper and his cow managed to cross in safety while the proud leper was drowned.

The Queen of Leinster came to Brigid and gave her a silver chain as an offering. Brigid gave the chain to her nuns and they hid it away without telling her, as she was always giving things away to the poor. A leper came along and Brigid gave him the silver chain. The nuns were furious when they heard that the chain was gone. 'Your mercy to everybody is of little use to us,' they complained, 'while we ourselves are in need of food and clothes.' 'You are a bad lot,' said Brigid, 'go to the church, to the place where I pray, and you will find your chain.' They did so and there was the chain even though it had been given to the leper.

On another occasion, seven bishops came to Brigid, and she had no food for them. She had the cows milked for the third time that day and they had plenty of milk (80).

Another time, she had a large number of workers gathered together cutting the com. It began to rain in Maigh Life but because of Brigid's prayers not a drop fell on her own farm.

Brendan, in the western area of the country, heard of Brigid's miracles and he came to talk to her. Brigid came in from herding her sheep to welcome him. She took off her cloak and hung it on a sunbeam coming in the window. It hung there as if suspended from a crook. Brendan instructed his servant to hang up his own cloak in the same way but it fell down twice. Brendan's anger rose and he hung up the cloak on the sunbeam for the third time and this time he was successful. After this, each of them confessed the state of their souls to each other. 'It is not usual for me,' said Brendan, to travel over seven ridges without my mind being directed to God.' 'From the time I first directed my mind on God,' said Brigid, 'I have never taken it away from him'.

After Brigid had founded many monasteries and having performed miracles more numerous than the sands on the seashore or the stars in the sky, Brigid came to the end of her holy life. She was ascetic, she was generous, she was patient. She was joyful in the service of God. She was steadfast, she was humble, she was forgiving, she was loving. She was a consecrated vessel to contain the Body of Christ, she was a temple of God, her heart and mind formed an enduring throne for the Holy Spirit. She is like a dove among birds, like the vine among trees, like the sun among the stars of heaven.

Ninnid Lámh-Idan arrived from Rome and he gave her the Holy Viaticum. Then her spirit ascended to heaven. Her relics are preserved on earth with great honour and reverence.

***

It cannot be said that the Life of Brigid, as it is contained in the Leabhar Breac, corresponds to our understanding of a modern biography, with its wealth of historically correct details. Many of the Lives of Brigid emphasise the amount of miracles she performed during her lifetime and it appears that the various writers had in mind the promotion of devotion to Brigid among the faithful as their primary object.

From the searching analysis of the Life of Brigid by Cogitosus made by Dr Seán Connolly, it is clear that Brigid's faith/belief was of high significance. Jesus declared: 'All things are possible to him who believes' (Mark 9:23). Cogitosus lists a large number of miracles and these wonders are an expression of the power of God. But it is through Brigid's outstanding faith that God's power becomes effective in this world and revealed to the people.

Many of Brigid's miracles dealt with the multiplication of food and drink for the benefit of the poor and for ecclesiastics. Domestic affairs and hospitality are prominent and it is easy to imagine her as a female Christian Hospitaller (Brughaidh).

In the Poems of Bláthmac a special importance is given to hospitality and to the mercy of Christ, and these same virtues are discerneable also in the Lives of Brigid. It is said in the Life in the Book of Lismore, that Brigid chose the phrase: 'Blessed are the merciful for mercy shall be shown unto them' (Mt 5:7) from the Eight Beatitudes as a motto for herself (Macdonald, 1992:27).

It appears that these particular virtues were emphasised in early Christianity in Ireland. It is clear that the mind of Christ and the mind of Brigid were closely united and that episodes in her life reflected the gospels.

On the otherhand, Brigid's life was bound up with contemporary Celtic life in Ireland, and so differed greatly from the lifestyle portrayed in the New Testament. Brigid was trying to follow Christ and to put the precepts of the gospel into practice while operating within the native Irish tradition. While the cult of Brigid extended throughout the country as a whole, the various Lives of St Brigid, and place-names such as Cill Bhríde, indicate that it was concentrated around the centre of the country and especially in the area of Uíbh Fhaillí. Even today, it is in the Barony of Uíbh Fhaillí that Cill Dara (Kildare) is situated (McCone, 1982: 83).

Brigid belonged to the tribe of the Fothairt of Uíbh Fhaillí (Smyth, 1982, 19). Perhaps this influenced the tradition which holds that she was connected to Fothairt Mhuirtheimhne (Faughart) near Dun Dealgan (Dundalk) in Co Louth.

Broicseach, Brigid's mother, was the daughter of Dallbhronach of the Dal Chonchuir, in south Breagha, according to the Leabhar Breac. Brigid's genealogy, from her father Dubhthach's side, is given there also:

'Brigid, daughter of Dubhthach son of Deimhne, son of Breasal, son of Den, son of Conla, son of Artrach, son of Art Corb, son of Cairbre Nia, son of Cormac, son of Aongus, son of Eochaidh Fionn Fuathnairt, son of Feidhlimidh Reachtaire', and so forth.

Brigid's Genealogy was used in Cúil Aodha in West Cork by people emigrating. It was believed that there was no danger of drowning if they had this rann or poetic text. Consequently, they learned it by heart from the old people (IFC 900;85-86). However, a certain unevenness may be discerned between Brigid as presented in the Lives and Brigid as the object of the people's rituals.

As has been said already, from the literary point of view, Brigid is especially associated with Leinster, although she is seen to travel beyond that area on occasion.

On the other hand, the folklore accounts will show that her cult belongs to the whole country. This gives rise to the question as to why the cult of Brigid is countrywide while the cult of other Irish saints is confined to their own areas.

From the historical point of view, Kildare was particularly important:

Although Kildare lay on the fringes of Uíbh Fhaillí territory in the north-western region, its association with the Curragh and its domination by the Uí Dunlainge kings of Leinster from the seventh to the twelfth centuries, made it one of the most important centres in northern Leinster. After the Anglo-Norman invasion, it was here, almost certainly, that Strongbow established his headquarters. Kildare began life in the prehistoric Celtic past as a cult centre of the goddess Brigit, beside a sacred oak, which in the sixth century was taken over by a Christian virgin and her community of nuns - hence Cill Dara. The ritual fires which were kept continuously burning here in the thirteenth century testify to the origin of Kildare as a pagan sanctuary (Smyth, 1982,41).

Within this context, the importance of Kildare is readily understood, as politics and religion were contained in one centre.

Professor McCone discusses this question and, on the one hand, lays bare the historical weaknesses of the Lives of Brigid the saint while, on the other hand, pointing to the considerable evidence for a Celtic Goddess of the same name. As a result of this confusion, a trace of paganism can be discerned in the cult of the saint:

Fiú má bhí bunús staire le corrshonra faoi shaol Bhríde sna beathai Uíbh Fhaillí éagsúla seo, níl muide in ann Uíbh Fhaillí é seo a dhéanamh amach go cinnte anois, agus caithfear admháil mar sin nach bhfuil aon eolas iontaofa faoi Bhrid mar bhean stairiuil Ie baint amach astu. Ar an láimh eile, tá neart fianaise le fáil faoi bhandia pagánta na gCeilteach i gcoitinne, agus na nGael go háirithe, darbh ainm Bríd, agus níl aon amhras ná gur fhág an cultus pagánta seo lorg ar an gceann Críostaí (1982, 82).

('Even if there were a historical foundation for some detail concerning the life of Brigid, we are unable now to distinguish it with certainty, and we are forced to admit that it is impossible to draw any reliable information on Brigid as a historical personage from the Lives. On the other hand, there is a wealth of evidence regarding a pagan goddess of the Celts in general, and of the Irish in particular, whose name was Brigid, and there is no doubt but that this pagan cult left its mark on the Christian cult.)

At a later stage, we will see the account given by Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) of the perpetual fire kept by Brigid's nuns in Kildare, and this carries certain pre-Christian overtones. In a similar vein, a statement in Sanas Chormaic concerning Brigid, daughter of An Daghdha, describes her as Lady of Ironwork, Lady of Medicine and Lady of Poetry.

Imbolc is her feastday. Apart from the literature, however, little remains in the actual site in Kildare to indicate that a pre-Christian sanctuary ever existed there, although a Holy Well and the site of the Perpetual Fire are still in evidence.

It will be seen, nevertheless, that if Cill Dara itself is included along with Cnoc Almhaine (Hill of Allen), Nás na Rí (Naas) and Dún Ailinne (Dunawlin) that a square is formed on the landscape with these sites forming the corners, and perhaps Aonach Carmain - the great Fair of Carman - was celebrated within this square in Cuirreach Life.

This means that Brigid of Kildare lived within an area that was steeped in history, prehistory, politics and mythology and that a lively way of life was going on around her during her lifetime.

CHAPTER ONE

BRIGID AND SPRINGTIME

St Brigid's Feastday - Lá Fhéile Bríde - occurs on the first day of February, the beginning of spring and the period of the rebirth of nature after the long death of winter. The turning of the sun at the winter solstice occurred six weeks ago, and the lengthening day speaks of new life and fresh beginnings, as the poet Raifteirí expressed it:

Anois teacht an Earraigh, beidh an lá dul chun síneadh,

is tar éis na Féile Bríde ardóidh mé mo sheol.

(Now that the spring has come, the days will grow longer,

and after St Brigid's feastday I will hoist my sail.)

The sun's new power is energising the vegetation. A dark green colour spreads over the grey grass. Buds appear on the trees and bushes as heralds of new life. The herbs of spring arise from the earth. The song of birds proclaims that the winter is past and a new era beginning.

The farmer is aware that the earth is calling him to a new period of care. This is the lambing season and the time of preparation for the sowing of corn. The evils of the winter season must be banished to allow the fertile energy of spring to enter.

The month of February marks a dynamic change of season, and in ancient pre-Christian Ireland, the Feast of Imbolc/Oimelc on the first of February stood out as the signal for the beginning of spring.

The exact meaning of Imbolc or Oimelc presents considerable difficulty, and Pamela Berger suggests gently that cleansing of the fields after the winter and preparing them for sowing the grain in the spring may be a fundamental idea underlying the term. She refers to the theory which separates the term Imbolc/Imbolg into two words: im and bolg, im meaning 'around and bolg 'belly' - the belly of that goddess - that is the land, the farm. This would refer then, to a traditional ritual procession around the farm, at the beginning of spring, to create a cleansing boundary, so that this particular area of land would be safe from any evil forces threatening the growth of the new corn. Perhaps there is a remnant of this to be found in the Brídeog procession of today on St Brigid's Feast (1988,71).

The idea can certainly be compared to that of the Litaniae Minores, or Rogation Processions, in which, in Catholic countries, the priest and people processed around the boundaries of the parish on the three days before the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven, praying and sprinkling Holy Water as a means of safeguarding the growing crops from disease.

While this etymology may be uncertain, nevertheless, examples occur of processions through the fields in which an image of the goddess is carried so that her blessing may fall on them.

While the Feast of St Brigid is on the first of February, the next day - the second of February - is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. However, from the ninth century onwards, north of the Alps, there is a tendency in the church's books of ritual to call the Feast Purificatio Beatae Mariae Virginis and this custom prevailed until the Second Vatican Council (Stevenson 1988:346). By this time the church had moved out from the cities to the country areas and was, no doubt, coming under the influence of the farming population with its preoccupation with cleansing and protecting the farms at this time of the year. In the light of this phenomenon, one can expect a certain similarity between the Feast of Brigid and that of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called Candlemas.

Mary's Feast of the Purification, moreover, may have a pre-Christian model in the custom of Greek women running through the fields in February with lighted torches to simulate the goddess Demeter's search for her daughter Persephone who was taken to the underworld by Pluto, and in consequence the fields were barren. This torchbearing ritual may well have influenced the Candlemas of the western church (Berger 1988:115).

Professor Berger gives a useful summary account of the month of February in so far as it is connected with purification and fertility:

Throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times February was considered a month of purification. It was the time of the ceremonial purification of the fields before the seed could be placed in the ground. And it was also the time of purification of women who had given birth during the preceding year. Until the last century, women would come to the church on February 2 for a postchildbirth blessing and would take home with them their blessed candles. Since the pagan torch or candle procession had been assimilated into Christian ritual, an originally pagan seasonal practice was to endure, transformed, until the twentieth century (1988:115).

With the arrival of St Brigid's Day, a remarkable change is perceptable in nature:

'Tá sé ráite go dtosnaíonn an fhuiseog ar sheinim Lá 'le Bríde agus an londubh leis, agus deirtear go dtosnaíonn éanlaith an aeir go léir ar chúpláil ó Lá 'le Bríde amach' (IFC 900; 39; Ciarán Ó Síothcháin, Cléire, Co Chorcaí)

(It is said that the lark begins to sing on St Brigid's Day and the blackbird also, and that all the birds of the air begin to mate from St Brigid's Day onwards.)

The growth of vegetation in springtime is described very effectively in the folklore of Cúil Aodha. It begins with the week beginning on St Brigid's Day and progresses into April, but it is remarkable that three goddesses are held responsible for this development of the crops during the spring period. One is naturally reminded of the triple goddess of the Celts or the Matres (Mothers) depicted on plaques of the Gallo-Romans on the Continent or in Britain. The three are pictured clearly, for instance, on a plaque found in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The three goddesses are shown sitting down with baskets on their laps holding loaves of bread and fruits of the earth (Bord, J. and C. 1982: 24).

Perhaps an echo of this ancient tradition is found in folklore:

'Deireadh na seandaoine go mbíodh nithe ag cuimhneamh ar bheith ag fás Lá 'le Bríde, go mbíodh cailleach a' cur aníos agus beirt chailleach ag a gcur síos, agus nuair a thagadh Lá 'le Pádraig bhíodh beirt chailleach ag cur aníos agus cailleach ag cur síos. Ach nuair a thagadh an chead lá d'Abran bhíodh an triúr cailleach d' aobhuíon chun bheith ag cur neithe aníos. Deir na feirmeoirithe gur mithid cuimhneamh ar obair an earraigh nuair a thagann Lá 'le Bríde agus 'sé ceol na n-éun a chuireann so i n-iúl dóibh' (IFC 900;89-90; Amhlaoibh Ó Loingsigh, Cúil Aodha, Contae Chorcaí, Narrator, Cáit uí Liatháin, Cúil Aodha, Scribe)

(The old people used to say that things would be thinking of growing on St Brigid's Day; that one 'Veiled One' /hag would be pushing the vegetation upwards while two hags would be keeping it down. Then, when St Patrick's Day would come round, two hags would be pushing it upwards. But when the first of April arrived, the three hags would join forces to push the vegetation upwards. The farmers say that it is time to think of the spring work when St Brigid's Day arrives and it is the music of the birds that reminds them of this. )

The fishing season on the River Barrow in Wexford begins on St Brigid's Day and it continues to October (IFC 907:179). This conforms to the general pattern throughout the country except for the Garbhóg River in Co Sligo:

'Salmon fishing opens in all Ireland that day with the exception of the Garvogue in Sligo, for it is said that St Brigid blessed it when passing and fishing opens in it on the first of January.' (IFC 902;242; Mícheál Ó Gallchobhair, Cill Fhearga, Druim Átha Thiar, Contae Liatroma, Scribe.)

From the literary point of view, Brigid's connection with fishing is not as pronounced as her connection with cows. However, it is not entirely absent, as is evident from the story of St Brendan the Navigator and St Brigid:

One day, Brendan was standing on a high cliff looking out to sea. Suddenly, two whales leaped out of the ocean and began to fight. The fight went on and on and it was evident that the smaller whale was getting progressively weaker. It was only a matter of time before he would be killed. However, at the last moment, the smaller whale shouted out with a human voice calling on Brigid to save him. With that, the larger whale seemed suddenly to lose all interest in the fight. He turned around and went off, leaving the smaller whale unharmed.

When Brendan saw what had happened he became very upset. He said, 'Why did the whale call on Brigid to save him and not on me?' He said to himself that the fish all knew him from seeing him constantly sailing the ocean and they would have known that he was a holy man and any request of his would be immediately answered by God. And yet, the whale had ignored him, and instead, called on the land-lubber Brigid who knew nothing of the sea. He was very disturbed to discover that the fish preferred Brigid to himself.

Brendan decided to return to Ireland and consult Brigid herself to find an explanation for this strange phenomenon.

Brendan, however, was often distracted and his mind preoccupied with various worldly matters. The fish knew Brendan well from his many years living among them but they also recognised that his awareness of God was not up to Brigid's standard and this was the reason, that in his hour of need, the whale ignored Brendan and called on Brigid to save him. (Plummer, 1922, 85-86).

Among the fishermen of the coast of Galway, a custom prevailed called An tIasc Beo (The Living Fish). An account of it" comes from Cill Rónáin, Inis Mar, .Árainn:

Lá 'le Bríde bheireann cuid de na daoine isteach an t-iasc beo (an bairneach). Itheann siad cuid díobh agus caitheann siad cuid eile díobh i gcúinne sa teach. lascairí a dhéanas é seo le go mbeadh rath ar an iascach (IFC 902; 3; Sean Ó Maoldomhnaigh, scribe).

(On St Brigid's Day, some of the people bring in the living fish - the limpet. They eat some of them and the throw some of them into a comer of the house. It is fishermen who do this so that there may be luck on the fishing)

This custom is difficult to interpret. It seems that it was mostly small fish enclosed in a shell that were involved. Those thrown into a comer of the house were not killed though they would have died quickly from lack of water.

A similar account comes for Co Clare and this mentions four corners of the house:

'On St Brigid's Eve, people near the sea collect pennywinkles (periwinkles?) and put them in the four comers of the house' (IFC 901; 64; Pádraig Mag Fhloinn, Cill Fhionnabhrach, scribe ).

In this account it seems that, again, small fish enclosed in shells are involved.

Fundamentally, the custom was associated with the luck of the year, with fertility and with a plentiful supply of food. This is the conclusion to be reached from at least some of the accounts. This, however, is only part of the problem, for any kind of fish would have sufficed for this purpose.

We have seen, however, that it was shellfish which were put in the corner or four corners. There is a parallel usage in the sprinkling of a sacrificed cock's blood on St Martin's Feast (11th November) on the four comers of the house and, undoubtedly, this rite was connected with the luck of the year, protection and fertility, for this is really the celebration of the Celtic Feast of Samhain (1st November) which, through a dislocation in the calendar, became the 11th November (Cooper and Sullivan,1994, VI).

A similar dislocation of ten days is seen when St Brigid's Day, the first of February is compared to that of St Gobnat of Baile Bhoime, Co Cork, on the eleventh of February.

This however, does not explain the use of shellfish. But the explanation may lie in the shell itself.

According to the research undertaken by Marija Gimbutas on the goddesses of Old Europe, it is clear that the hedgehog and the snake were connected with the Great Queen, with the Goddess of Fertility. In this country, perhaps, the distinction between the hedgehog and the badger was not emphasised, as both of them appeared at the beginning of spring to coincide with the return of the goddess herself. However, the question of the snail and of the periwinkle remains.

The snake is a .constant companion of the goddess in archaic sculpture and, undoubtedly, the serpent's habit of casting off his old skin and emerging as a new being impressed ancient peoples hugely, transmitting the idea of the snake having the secret of perpetual renewal and immortality (Campbell, 1965:9).

Since the goddess personifies the death and resurrection of nature in the cycle of the year, her connection with the serpent was easy to recognise.

The snail and the iasc beo (periwinkle) are parallel in so far as a shell is involved in both cases. However, it is not the shell itself that is in question but rather the figure on the shell - that is to say the Spiral - a figure that is found so frequently in megalithic sites such as Newgrange and on pottery associated with the goddess.

The Spiral stands, apparently, for the thread of life emerging from the goddess and again returning within her for renewal. Like the snake, the Spiral is another form of presentation of the eternal cycle of life and so it is a valid symbol of the goddess herself as Mistress of Life (cf Streit 1984:51).

This is not to say that there is any strict proof that the custom of the iasc beo derived directly from this source. Rather, an effort is made to explain a ritual whose origin was probably unknown even to those who practised it. The explanation is contained within the mentality of 'Old Europe'.

Before potatoes were introduced, corn was the major crop and this in various ways has left its mark on the celebration of the Feast of Brigid.

.

Firstly, one of the chief materials used in the making of St Brigid's Cross is straw. Straw suits and hats are often used by those taking part in the Brídeog procession from house to house. A ritual which emphasised corn as the great source of food for the people was that of placing a sheaf of corn on the doorstep on St Brigid's Eve:

Seo nós a bhíodh ag na seandaoine fadó. Nuair a bhíodh Féile naomh Bríd ann do théadh fear an tí amach san oíche agus d' fhaigheadh sé punann choirce agus d' fhágadh sé ar leac an dorais í. 'Sé an fath a dhéantaí é sin na nuair a thagadh Naomh Bríd chuig an doras an oíche sin agus nuair a fheiceadh sí an phunann go gcuireadh sí rath ar an gcoirce sin an bhliain sin (IFC 902; 108; Seán Ó Conaire, Druid Snámh, Mám, Contae na Gaillimhe, Narrator; Cait Ni Chonaire, Scribe).

(Here is a custom which the old people had long ago. When the Feast of Brigid arrived, the man of the house used to go out on that night and get a sheaf of oats and set it down at the doorstep. The reason for doing this was, that when St Brigid arrived at the door that night, and when she saw the sheaf, she would put her blessing on this year's crop of oats.)

What is expressed here, is a belief fundamental to the cult of Brigid in Ireland - the belief that Brigid returns from the Otherworld on this night, that she visits the houses of those who venerate her, and that she bestows her blessing on various objects placed outside the door, notably Brat Bhríde - a piece of cloth called 'St Brigid's Cloak' used for cures and protection.

These objects, placed outside the door on St Brigid's Eve, acquire special powers because Brigid has touched them. For an understanding of the rites, it is necessary to accept the visit of Brigid to the various houses as the cornerstone of the cult.

In Castleisland, Co Kerry, the custom of the sheaf, sometimes accompanied by a cake, was in vogue, to keep out hunger during the year (IFC 899; 196). In an account from Co Donegal, emphasis is placed on the reason for the practice and also the pre-Christian element is indicated:

‘A sheaf of corn and an oaten cake used to be placed on the doorstep on St Brigid's Eve for the 'wee' folk (fairies) and also as a thanksgiving for the plenteous grain-crop and for good luck during the following year' (IFC 904; 178; William Gallagher, Socker, Narrator: Mrs Mary Starrit, Ednacarnon NS, Letterkenny, Scribe).

This account belongs to the district around Cill Mhic Réanáin and the sheaf ritual is associated with the Old Religion. In this offering, it is acknowledged that the ancient deities, the Tuatha Dé Danann (Peoples of the Goddess Dana) have control over the fertility of the earth. In another part of the country, Cnoc Fírinne in Co Limerick, the sanctuary of Donn Fírinne, the Irish God of

the Dead, similar offerings were made:

'On May Eve and Halloween girls lay gifts on the high fields, or at the foot of the Stricín ... this was done probably on St Martin's Eve' (Béal. 18: 155).

Other 'gifts' laid on the hill are mentioned by Thomas Ball:

'They bury eggs in hay, in crops of corn, and also parts of dead animals.' 'All these customs prevail in all the districts within view of the remarkable hill' (Béal. 18, 156).

This account shows also the importance of Imbolc within the Irish Ritual Calendar.

Proceeding northwards from Cill Mhic Réanáin to Ros Goill we find another description of the rite of the the sheaf and the cake:

'Roimhe seo chuirtí císte tri-choirneal agus punann coirce ar leac an dorais Oíche 'le Bríde. Deirtear go gcoisriceadh Naomh Bríd an phunann coirce agus an císte. Faoi

© CatholicIreland.net 2002-

A woman for our times: St Brigid of Ireland by Rita Minehan

A woman for our times: St Brigid of Ireland

Brigid of Kildare is a patroness of those who have a care for the earth, for justice and equality, for peace and she is a model for a contemplative life. Brigidine sister Rita Minehan profiles her here.

A great resurgence of interest in all aspects of our Celtic heritage is leading many individuals and groups to rediscover - and draw inspiration from - the lives of the early Irish saints. St Brigid, the patroness of Ireland, is emerging as one whose life has relevance and inspiration for us as we try to face the issues that confront our country and our world at this time. When we look at the life of Brigid and at some of these issues we can see more clearly why she continues to be relevant to us today.

Carer of the earth

The feast of St Brigid on the first of February is a celebration of the wonderful springing back of the earth from its winter sleep. It is the season when we celebrate new beginnings and new life on earth. The sod is turned. The day lengthens. Seeds are sown and sails are hoisted.

Many of the stories about Brigid tell of her milking the cows, churning the milk, making up the firkins of butter, shepherding her flocks of sheep, helping with the harvest and even brewing the ale!

Brigid, in keeping with her Celtic traditions, was wonderfully attuned to the seasons and cycles of nature. She valued the elements of nature: earth, air, fire and water.

Light the fire

Today, we are becoming more aware of the fragility of our planet. Lands are becoming barren, skies fouled, waters poisoned. Many individuals and groups concerned about the environment draw inspiration from the reverence and respect which Brigid had for the land. She is often referred to as the Saint of Agriculture.

In a new hymn, composed by Fr Liam Lawton, Brigid is invoked 'to heal our wounds and green our earth again.'

'A Life of Brigid' (Vita Brigitae), composed by Cogitosus about 650 AD, places great emphasis on Brigid's faith, her healing powers, her hospitality, her generosity, her great skill with animals, and her compassion for the poor and the oppressed. Twenty three of the thirty two chapters tell of her extraordinary concern for the poor. One of the Brigidine legends illustrates this very effectively.

Woman of compassion

One day when Brigid was on a long journey she stopped to rest by the wayside. A rich lady heard about this and brought her a beautiful basket of choice apples. No sooner had she received them than a group of very poor people came by and begged her for food. Without a moment's hesitation, Brigid gave them the choice apples. The rich lady was utterly disgusted and she complained to Brigid, 'I brought those apples for you, not for them.' Brigid's reply was: 'What is mine is theirs.'

This Brigidine legend poses a challenge to all of us in terms of our world today, where forty-five thousand people die from hunger and hunger-related diseases every day and where twenty percent of the population own and consume about eighty percent of the earth's resources.

The poverty gap continues to widen both within and between countries, as the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer. This legend challenges us to work for a more equitable distribution of the world's resources.

Model of equality

It is generally accepted that Brigid established her abbey and church in Kildare around 480 AD, on the site now occupied by St Brigid's Cathedral. Brigid held a unique position in the Irish Church and society of her day. As Abbess, she presided over the local Church of Kildare and was leader of a double monastery for men and women.

Tradition suggests that she invited Conleth, a hermit from Old Connell near Newbridge, to assist her in Kildare. Cogitosus tells us that 'they governed their Church by means of a mutually happy alliance.'

What emerges from many of these stories and legends about Brigid is the portrait of a strong and gentle woman, a powerful leader, a good organiser, a skilful healer and a wise spiritual guide. Brigid has become - for men as well as women - a potent symbol of Christian womanhood, showing us in so many different ways the feminine face of God.

Woman of peace

There was no lack of domestic strife in the Ireland of Brigid's day, where feuds between clans were commonplace. She is often depicted as a peacemaker who intervened in disputes between rival factions and brought healing and reconciliation. Folklorists tell us that in some parts of Ireland a St Brigid's cross was often used as a token of goodwill between neighbours, indicating a desire for peace and friendship after a local quarrel.

One of the best-known stories associated with St Brigid is that of her giving away her father's precious sword to a poor man so that he could barter it for food to feed his family. Thus, a sword, a weapon of war, was transformed into a life-giving instrument.

This story offers an important lesson for our world today where every minute thirteen million pounds is being spent on weapons of war.

One wonders what links Brigid would make today between the massive expenditure on arms and the welfare of the poor people of the world?

Woman of contemplation

Brigid emerges as a woman of action in the stories, legends and poems about her. If one, however, were to seek the source from which she drew her strength and energy, one could probably find the answer in this story.

One day, Saint Brendan the Navigator stood on a cliff top and watched two whales engaging in fierce combat.

Suddenly, the smaller whale, in a human voice, cried out for help not to Brendan but to Brigid, who was not even present. The cry was answered immediately, and the combat ceased.

Brendan was puzzled as to why he had been ignored. 'Do you always think about God?' asked Brigid, when the two met. 'Yes,' replied Brendan, 'except at times when my boat is caught in a storm at sea and I have to concentrate on keeping it afloat.'

'That's the explanation,' Brigid answered. 'From the moment I first knew God I have never let him out of my mind, and I never shall.'

An old Irish poem, written in the seventh century, speaks of her contemplation of the Trinity:

Deeper than the seas,

Greater than words can express,

Three persons in one only God;

Overflowing with wonder.'

Woman of inspiration

Even today, poets, writers and artists still find inspiration in the symbols, customs and folklore surrounding Brigid.

One writer recently referred to her as 'the woman who, above all others, embodies the spirit of pre-Christian and Christian Ireland'.

In a beautiful leadlight window in Kildare College Chapel, Holden Hill, South Australia (see image) the artist depicts Brigid dancing the dance of the new life of creation, carrying the Spirit of Jesus into the twenty-first century.

Many of the values associated with Brigid are captured in this delightful poem:

Lady, from winters dark,

Star of Imbolc, rise!

Dance around our threshold,

Scattering warm laughter,

Seeds of hospitality,

Tolerance, forgiveness!

Return again to the folk;

You the spring we yearn for!

What a lovely image to carry with us into the future!

This article first appeared in The Messenger (February 2002), a publication of the Irish Jesuits. Reprinted from CatholicIreland.net.

Mothering God: Gilbert Márkus

Mothering God

The Irish in the Middle Ages had an intriguing way of expressing devotion to the Child Jesus. And it was more than mere fancy, writes Gilbert Márkus.

An old Irish way of exploring a gospel text: Here in Erfurt the Irish, when they’re drunk, state that among the saints the first one on the list is Saint Brendan, and that the God of gods supreme is Brendan’s brother, and that Brigit is God’s Mum. These lines were written by an anonymous German poet in the thirteenth century, mocking the Irish monks who lived in Erfurt at that time. He went on to describe how most folk think the Irish are completely mad (not to mention blasphemous) in saying such things. He repeats the kind of argument that the monks might use to prove their strange theory. ‘Whoever does my Father’s will,’ Jesus said, ‘is my sister and brother and mother.’ And if they are brother and mother of Christ, they are brother and mother of God. Deviant Irish monks It’s clear from the mocking tone of the poem that the Erfurt poet has no time at all for this kind of argument. ‘What else would you expect,’ he seems to ask, ‘from a bunch of Irish drunks?’ He wasn’t the only German to see the Irish monks abroad as a pretty deviant mob. One wrote to suggest that if a married woman disappeared, the first place you should go to look for her was among the Irish monks. At first sight the German might seem to be right: why would anyone want to describe Brigid as the ‘mother of God’? Surely that title can only be applied to the Virgin Mary. And yet the Irish did speak of Brigit, their own great female saint, in exactly this way, and before we dismiss the idea as the German poet did, we should ask just what they meant. Mothering the Infant Christ An early Gaelic hymn prays: ‘May she destroy within us the taxes of our flesh,/the branch with blossoms, the mother of Jesus.’ But this is a hymn about Brigit, not about Mary. Another Brigitine hymn says of her that she did not love the world, but she perched in it ‘like a bird on a cliff’ and that: ... the saint slept a captive’s sleep for the sake of her Son. Not much to blame was found in her with the noble faith of the Trinity. Brigit, mother of my Lord… In this hymn Jesus is referred to again a little later as Brigit’s son: A tree that the host could not lift at another time – excellent tidings – Brigit’s Son brought to her… Elsewhere, in an Old Irish Life of Brigit, she is referred to as ala-Máire már Choimded máthair, ‘another Mary, mother of the great Lord.’ Enough has survived of this devotion to Brigit as ‘mother of the Lord’ to show that there was something in the Erfurt poet’s accusation. The Irish did seem to have an unusual way of expressing their devotion to Brigit – and not just when they were drunk, as the poet suggested. But though it may have been unusual, it is not at all unorthodox if we read it in the devotional sense in which it was intended. Of course, no one believed that Brigit had actually given birth to the child Jesus, but the image was a powerfully suggestive way of thinking about her sanctity. Medieval Irish writers explored this imagery in which motherhood was used to express Christian devotion – not only speaking of God as the mother of the Christian believer (an image which has always been part of the Christian repertoire), but by speaking of the Christian as the Lord’s mother, nursing the infant Christ. And they did this not only for Brigid, but also for other saints. Jesus against one’s heart A tenth century poem written in honour of Saint Ite, put into her mouth words that reflect exactly this image of the nursing mother. It is little Jesus who is nursed by me in my little hermitage. Though a cleric have great wealth, it is all deceitful save Jesukin. The nursing done by me in my house is no nursing of a base churl. Jesus with heaven’s inhabitants is against my heart every night. Little youthful Jesus is my lasting good: he never fails to give. …Though little Jesus be in my bosom (im ucht), he is in his mansion above. The poem is put into the mouth of a woman, here a sixth century nun, and it was written to be sung by women. And we might imagine that it would naturally be of more interest to women readers – especially perhaps women in monasteries whose work would very possibly include fostering and caring for abandoned children and others. Two other nuns have a similar story in the Martyrology of Oengus: ‘Eithne and Sodelb used to nurture Christ … and Christ used to come in the shape of a babe, so that he was in their bosom, and they would kiss him, and he baptised them.’ What better validation of their work could there be than the belief that the love such women poured out on children should join them to Christ? Men in a ‘maternal’ role But it is not only women who are shown taking Christ in their bosom and acting out this ‘maternal’ role. Adomnán, the ninth abbot of Iona, is seen in his Life in the same posture: ‘At another time when Adomnán was on Iona, he fasted in his closed house for three days and nights and did not come into the monastery. A few of the faithful went to the house to see how the cleric was. They looked through the keyhole and saw a very beautiful little boy in Adomnán’s lap (in-ucht). Adomnán was showing affection to the infant in a manner which convinced them that it was Jesus who had come in the form of a child in order to bring solace to Adomnán.’ We hear a similar story about St Moling after he has given assistance to a leper. The sick man disappears, and Moling thinks he may have been deceived and declares that he will neither eat nor drink till the Lord comes to him. An angel asks him, ‘In what form would you prefer your Lord to come and hold speech with you?’ And Moling replies that he wants to see him as a child. Some time afterwards Christ sat in his lap (ina ucht) and Moling caressed him until the morning. So both women and men were able to express their closeness to Christ through this imagery of nursing or caressing a child, and perhaps through the ordinary and everyday practice of caring for children in their own households, or their own monasteries. A perfectly natural picture of maternal affection is given new depth when it is seen as an image of the soul’s union with God – not the more usual one of the psalmist who says of his soul, ‘A weaned child on its mother’s breast, even so is my soul.’ This is a reversal: now it is God who is pictured as the child, and the Christian as the mother, protective, nourishing, playful. In a sense it is an unfolding of Christ’s teaching about welcoming children: ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me’ (Mark 9:37). Doing the Father’s will The same kind of language is also found in an early scholarly text with Irish connections, the Catechesis Celtica. Here the author looks at the story of the woman who cried out to Christ, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that gave you suck.’ Or as the author understood her to say, ‘If only you were my son!’ He notes Christ’s actual reply, ‘Blessed, rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it,’ and he combines these words with Christ’s words elsewhere: ‘Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’ (Matthew 12:50) In other words, the author claims that Jesus is saying, ‘You can choose to be my mother, for it is within your reach. For if you keep the word of God, you will be my mother and you will not envy Mary. For Mary is blessed more in her having faith in Christ than she is in holding him in the flesh.’ Here there is less stress on the physical gestures of affection, the dandling and nursing of the child, and more on the Christian response to Christ in faith and love – doing the will of the Father. But it still points towards the same image of the Christian, male or female, as the Mother of the Lord. If at first sight the cult of Brigit as ‘mother of God’ looked a little strange, as it did to the Erfurt poet, on a deeper reading we begin to discover a certain richness in the idea. We find a sense that in caring for children, the weakest people in any society, men and women draw close to God. We always need images for our faith, ways of imagining the unimaginable. Here we find a new and fertile image of God, where feelings of tenderness and playfulness might offer a counterpoint to, for example, the holy fear of the just Judge, and an interplay with such images as the Potter, the Father, the Shepherd. Not just the Irish And we should also note that it is not an entirely novel image that the Irish invented, drunk or otherwise. Augustine offers an initial exploration of this very imagery in his short book On Holy Virginity. There he writes: ‘So they are mothers of Christ, along with Mary, if they do the will of the Father. … So every devoted soul is also his mother, as it does the will of his Father in a most fertile love...’ It was not only among the Gaels that this kind of imagery was popular, and in the middle ages women especially were to find ways of articulating their experience in the context of their faith in this kind of way. As Caroline Walker Bynum writes: ‘Secular society expected women to be intimately involved in caring for the bodies of others, especially the young, the sick and the dying… To some extent women simply took these ordinary nurturing roles into their most profound religious experiences. … Not only did female mystics kiss, bathe and suckle babies in visions and grieve with Mary as she received her son’s dead body for burial; they actually acted out maternal and nuptial roles in the liturgy, decorating life-sized statues of the Christ-child for the Christmas crèche.10 So we find examples outside the Gaelic world of simple and tender images such as those in this anonymous English poem in which the mother laments that she has no cloth to wrap up the infant Jesus to protect him from the cold, and instead she will hold his little feet against her breast. Jesu, sweete, be not wroth, Though I n’ave clout ne cloth Thee on for to fold, Thee on to folde ne to wrap, For I n’ave clout ne lap; But lay though thy feet to my pap And wite thee from the cold. Many nations and cultures, not only the Gaels, explored this imagery of the Christian disciple as the mother of God. The application of the Gaelic title már Choimded máthair to Brigit, ‘mother of the great Lord’, is not some kind of weird error or deviation. It is a natural flowering of the creative mind in love, part of that ever unfolding process of finding new ways to express the love poured into our hearts. This article first appeared in Spirituality, a publication of the Irish Dominicans.