Saint
Brigid, “the Mary of the Gael,” was born around 450 in Faughart, about two
miles from Dundalk in County Louth. According to Tradition, her father was a
pagan named Dubthach, and her mother was Brocessa (Broiseach), one of his
slaves.
Even as a
child, she was known for her compassion for the poor. She would give away food,
clothing, and even her father’s possessions to the poor. One day he took Brigid
to the king’s court, leaving her outside to wait for him. He asked the king to
buy his daughter from him, since her excessive generosity made her too
expensive for him to keep. The king asked to see the girl, so Dubthach led him
outside. They were just in time to see her give away her father’s sword to a beggar.
This sword had been presented to Dubthach by the king, who said, “I cannot buy
a girl who holds us so cheap.”
Saint
Brigid received monastic tonsure at the hands of Saint Mael of Ardagh (February
6). Soon after this, she established a monastery on land given to her by the
King of Leinster. The land was called Cill Dara (Kildare), or “the church of
the oak.” This was the beginning of women’s cenobitic monasticism in Ireland.
The
miracles performed by Saint Brigid are too numerous to relate here, but perhaps
one story will suffice. One evening the holy abbess was sitting with the blind
nun Dara. From sunset to sunrise they spoke of the joys of the Kingdom of
Heaven, and of the love of Christ, losing all track of time. Saint Brigid was
struck by the beauty of the earth and sky in the morning light. Realizing that
Sister Dara was unable to appreciate this beauty, she became very sad. Then she
prayed and made the Sign of the Cross over Dara’s eyes. All at once, the blind
nun’s eyes were opened and she saw the sun in the east, and the trees and
flowers sparkling with dew. She looked for a while, then turned to Saint Brigid
and said, “Close my eyes again, dear Mother, for when the world is visible to
the eyes, then God is seen less clearly by the soul.” Saint Brigid prayed
again, and Dara became blind once more.
Saint
Brigid fell asleep in the Lord in the year 523 after receiving Holy Communion
from Saint Ninnidh of Inismacsaint (January 18). She was buried at Kildare, but
her relics were transferred to Downpatrick during the Viking invasions. It is
believed that she was buried in the same grave with Saint Patrick (March 17)
and Saint Columba of Iona (June 9).
Late in
the thirteenth century, her head was brought to Portugal by three Irish knights
on their way to fight in the Holy Land. They left this holy relic in the parish
church of Lumiar, about three miles from Lisbon. Portions of the relic were
brought back to Ireland in 1929 and placed in a new church of Saint Brigid in
Dublin.
The
relics of Saint Brigid in Ireland were destroyed in the sixteenth century by
Lord Grey during the reign of Henry VIII.
The
tradition of making Saint Brigid’s crosses from rushes and hanging them in the
home is still followed in Ireland, where devotion to her is still strong. She
is also venerated in northern Italy, France, and Wales.
Source: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2018/02/01/100406-venerable-brigid-bridget-of-ireland
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