{"id":5599,"date":"2023-01-29T04:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T04:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/?p=5599"},"modified":"2023-01-25T16:19:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T16:19:22","slug":"st-brigid-patroness-of-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/29\/st-brigid-patroness-of-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"ST. Brigid: Patroness of Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why St. Brigid?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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From St. Patrick’s Cathedral Armagh depicting the concretion of St. Brigid by Bishop Mel<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Why did I choose to write about St. Brigid and why do people continue to be interested? All I can say is her legacy spoke to me and once I began to tell her story, she never left me alone. I’m not sure where the time went, but it’s been 17 years this March since my first novel<\/a> was published. The legends about her are lessons for us all: be generous, be brave, continually seek the grace of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When taken in the context of the historical setting in which the acts of St. Brigid took place, these things are miraculous indeed. She was born a slave. Christianity was still a minority belief system. In those desperate times it was each person for him\/herself. To give away something could mean you’d starve. Brigid had such courage in her beliefs that she ignored the conventions of the age. She went against the grain. She did such outrageous things the people around her could not help but notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a part in the prayer St. Patrick’s Breastplate<\/em> that has been speaking to me lately and I think Brigid’s life reflected it well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Take a moment to read that again.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"drawing
Brigid of Kildare by Sheeri<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

When I think of Brigid, the first things that come to mind are not who she was (in fact there is much debate on whether she was a real person or a goddess.) I don’t think about what color her hair was, whether she had brothers or sisters, how much wealth she may have accumulated, whether or not she could read. You see where I’m going with this? I think about her deeds, her devotion, her bravery. I think about all things Jesus taught us, and therefore, I think of Him, not her, and that’s how Brigid fulfilled the prayer mentioned above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Tangible Reminder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, this St. Brigid’s Day, Feb. 1, reflect on her stories, what people said about her, and consider what you will do on this day. A tall task? Sure it is! But not impossible because it’s a prayer and a goal. Thank goodness we’re not in this alone! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Two
\u00a9CindyThomson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I find physical reminders to be helpful, so if you’d like a St. Brigid’s cross as a reminder, you can do as school children and adults are doing in Ireland right now. Weave a St. Brigid’s cross. This year I’m going to use some material recommended to me by author Kenneth McIntosh. In Ireland they would be using real rushes available this time of year, which we don’t have where I live. Here’s an affiliate link<\/a> to what I’m using if you’re interested. I’ll post the result after I make one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other things you can do to remember this saint’s legacy. Make some Irish soda bread. Take a walk outside to look for signs of spring. (Brigid’s feast day is associated with the first day of spring in Ireland.) Wrap yourself in a shawl and think about the legend of Brigid’s mantle<\/a>. Give something away. Be kind to those you meet. Stand up for those without a voice. Say a prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever made a St. Brigid’s cross? Tell us about it in the comments.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why St. Brigid? Why did I choose to write about St. Brigid and why do people continue to be interested? All I can say is her legacy spoke to me and once I began to tell her story, she never left me alone. I’m not sure where the time went, but it’s been 17 years…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142,90,91],"tags":[145,533,532],"class_list":["post-5599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ancient-ireland","category-brigid-of-ireland","category-st-brigids-day","tag-st-brigid","tag-st-brigid-crosses","tag-st-brigids-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5599"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5601,"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5599\/revisions\/5601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindyswriting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}