Another Mary: Saint Brigid of Kildare

Today is the feast of Saint Brigid of Kildare, one of the three patron saints of Ireland (the other two being Saint Patrick and Saint Columba). Her day also falls on the ancient (and still observed, especially by neo-pagans and some Celtic leaning Christians) feast of Imbolc, which is one of the four festivals that fall between the four major seasonal feasts (spring and autumn equinoxes and summer and winter solstices). It has many associations, but is seen as the half-way point of winter in the northern hemisphere, a time to anticipate the coming of Spring, even in the midst of dark nights, cold days, and snowy landscapes (Canada, eh?).

Brigid, in the great Tradition of Celtic saints, is reputed to have been a nun, a miracle worker and healer, a teacher to many other male and female saints, as well as an abbess and keeper of the flame at the important monastery in Kildare (which has been re-established, click here.) Many charming and insightful tales surround her life. For example, one Easter Sunday a leper came to Brigid looking for assistance. After some conversation, she offered to heal him but he stated that he received more from people in his leprous condition than he would in a healthy one. The abbess convinced him otherwise and through a blessed mug of water healed him.

There is some controversy and uncertainty about all of the historical details of Saint Brigid’s life. It is often pointed out that Brigid was the name of an important goddess in pre-Christian Ireland and that many of the goddess’ attributes can be found in the saint of the same name. Some see this as clever infiltration by the pre-missionary pagan tradition in Ireland continuing under Christian disguise; others insist on historical argument that Brigid was a real person and in her person embodies the unique elements of what some call: Celtic Christianity; others say her life and or legend was a sign of the failure of the Church to purge itself of a pagan past.

Others still, see her veneration as an example of the Church at her best, taking the God given best of a particular culture and its spirituality and bringing it into conversation and relationship with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Saint Brigid embodies a historical tradition of wise female teachers and healers of the faith, who exercised extraordinary spiritual influence over men and women, sometimes surpassing the influence of their male counterparts. We know such communities of nuns existed in Ireland and still do today. We can thank Saint Brigid, in part for this reality, for her life and legend continue to inspire people to follow Mary’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Speaking of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Brigid herself, is often referred to as the Mary of the Gaels. This makes her a sort of second Mary in traditional Irish spirituality. Whether referring to the Blessed Mother or St. Brigid, it must be said that while Christianity has a rich history of saintly, feisty, and dynamic women of faith, they often receive less of a hearing than their male counterparts. This impoverishes our individual spiritual lives, our congregations and ultimately our witness to the wider world. May the observance of St. Brigid’s day inspire us to change this dynamic, as together, we look and labor for the Spring, which will shortly be, now and forever.