St. Brigit of Kildare
451 – February 1, 524
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: 1-301-715-8592
OPENING PRAYER
Holy One, we come to you with hearts full of gratitude for the inspiration and joyful appreciation for the life of St. Brigit of Kildare. St. Brigit, passionate and strong, with courage and confidence you arose as a role model in a time when the weak and downtrodden had little hope. We ask for the courage to follow through on our convictions to reflect the peace of Christ in our time when little peace exists, and for the grace to be strong, valiant, and true to the faith of Jesus our brother and Mary, his mother. Beloved St. Brigit, walk with us once again, and let your mantle cover those who are troubled and anxious. Shine hope in the darkness with the fire of love you brought in your age, and let peace and hope be rooted in our hearts and our world. So be it.
VIDEO 1 ST. BRIGIT OF KILDARE https://youtu.be/IigQ5T6A7L8
REFLECTION 1 ST. BRIGIT: MYSTIC CROSSING THE AGES
Mysticism is about transformation, rebirth through fire. All of us who focus our energies, courage, wisdom, and talents place ourselves before Holy Mystery and offer to use our lives to bring about transformation, of ourselves, our culture, the whole human family. We are called to meld the outer, everyday world across the threshold of our spirit in contemplative stillness to the place where we fall on our spiritual knees and melt into the Holy One, the Healer, who always waits.
From time immemorial, women have gathered their family around a sacred fire, a fire that provided physical nourishment and spiritual succor, to feed our family and every soul we come in contact with, all our lives, knowing that all are One. St. Brigit of Kildare is a mystic who used her spiritual insight, gifted leadership, and wide-reaching firey love of the Holy One to change the face of her ancient culture. We are immensely blessed with models of how to live out this transformation. Some models do not come with primary literary resources to neatly describe their gifts. We must work diligently to raise our awareness to more nuanced, examples of the historical flow. St. Brigit of Kildare lived and glowed the fiery torch that set aglow the way of Love from her ancient world. She burned so brightly, lighting the way down through the halls of history for Christianity to take hold in Ireland in a way it never could have had she not walked the path. “By their fruits you shall know them”. (Matthew: 7 16-20) So let us sink into transformation in Celtic spirituality, mystical insight, and prayerful practice as it flows from beloved St. Brigit of Kildare.
PRAYER 2 AN IRISH BLESSING https://youtu.be/hw-Z2Vfskvo
POEM 1
LIGHT THE FIRE
In honour of St, Brigid (composed by Liam Lawton, Bridgitine Sisters website)
There travels forth from the passages of history
A woman’s voice that is heard across the plains,
That calls once more, for a people of new vision
To heal our wounds and green our Earth again.
She spreads her cloak ‘cross the land and far beyond it,
A shadow cast on a people void of hope.
She speaks of peace and the chains that weigh upon it.
And there her light shall glimmer from the oak
And all that binds the people shall be broke.
And wells now dry, shall issue forth with plenty
To flow upon the sad and parching earth,
To make a prayer from the hearts now tired and empty,
To call on her to bring about new birth,
To make anew the greening of the Earth.
We today need a prophet of new vision,
To lift the low – the forgotten child to heed,
To be the voice of the wounded and the weary,
To plant anew a fresh and peaceful seed
To dance the dance of God’s own Blessed Bríd.
So light the Fire of God’s desire
Within all hearts, let sorrows end.
So light the Fire of God’s desire
God’s chosen one, Your peace upon us send. Amen
CELEBRATING ST. BRIGIT’S DAY - Lá Fhéile Bríde 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieREZFq4iw
REFLECTION 2
ST. BRIGIT’S LEGACY: HOSPITALITY - OUR FIRST MINISTRY
Our world has never been more in need of wise and informed guidance, of the ability to discern the safe, the allowable and the dangerous, and perhaps most importantly of all, of the ability to be nurturers of one aother and our environment. As we celebrate St Brigid’s Day, (February 1, 2026) may our world find ways to bring the inheritance of Brigid’s wisdom, discernment and nurture to the universe and come to the realisation that the interconnectedness of all nature is integral to wholeness and communion. https://brigidine.org.au/reflections/
Hospitality, it’s roots of the most basic Christian activism are biblical. As a sacred moral duty and visible expression of loving kindness, Abraham and Moses welcomed the stranger and provided food and shelter as a moral obligation and a spiritual action (Genesis 18; Leviticus 19:34). Jesus gifted us with exquisite examples of exactly what following Him meant in action, loving and serving outcasts as well as friends. The Beatitudes are His instructions of how to conduct our lives toward others to bring about the Kin-dom. Christianity brought a radical new way of thinking about our “neighbor” as the Beatitudes initiated a mental shift, as focusing on love of “neighbor” slowly spread. History and legend over centuries combine to provide a peek into how this all occurred. Loving kindness in action has never been more needed and valued.
The hospitality of the Irish is based on genuine caring for the welfare of others, deeply rooted in faith, culture, and sense of community uncommon in ancient times. In the fifth and sixth centuries the fight was for survival, controlled by aggressive rulers seeking to conquor and rule.
These moral and cultural foundations of loving kindness in action have been institutionalized by religious communities from earliest times, reflected in the spiritual practices and charisms of monastic and service oriented religious communiities. St. Brigit of Kildare had a major role in embedding the hospitality of Christian love in our world, and we experience her fire, the fruits of her efforts and expression. The hospitality industry today retains the core of her values of a welcoming environment, even through the base framework of a world-wide commercial industry. St. Brigit laid groundwork and empowered contemporary practices that circle the globe. She is with us as her fire burns even brighter; let us reflect her.
BRIGIDINE SISTERS TODAY:
The contemporary Brigidine Sisters were founded on February 1, 1807 by the Bishop of Kildare, Daniel Delaney. Six women catechists were gathered together to form the congregation, which was regarded as a re-founding of Brigid's original congregation. This small congregation orginally formed educational centers in Ireland, England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, America, Papua New Guinea, Mexico and China. Today they focus on social justice, peace and reconciliation, and care of the earth. Their motto: "Strength and Kindliness". Here are 2 of their many works:
1.
2. Stop Human Trafficking Project Initiated by the Brigidine Nuns: https://brigidine.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2026/02/2026_1-Stop-Trafficking-EN.pdf
POEM: THE ACORN AND THE OAK
In honour of St. Brigid (composed by Rev. Liam Lawton for the Brigidine Bicentenary Mass, 1st February, 2007.)
In hearts we wonder where love is found.
We keep on searching, our quest abounds.
From darkest valleys to brightest skies,
Through all of creation we are inspired.
For God is near us, and never far,
God’s place of resting is every heart.
So let us journey to the end,
With hands now open to foe and friend.
To light the darkness and seek for hope,
To fight for justice as prophets spoke,
And in creation your wisdom know,
Your sign and symbol,
The acorn and the oak
In places darkened by fear and war.
We speak forgiveness to every heart.
The poor, the lonely, the ones who mourn,
Will find us waiting with open doors,
For God is near us and all who weep,
Our Holy One and Shepherd who never sleeps
There is no future that we can build,
Without love’s presence and be fulfilled
To build a new world where hope is born
Where lives once broken will watch the dawn,
For God is with us to hold and heal,
No longer strangers, our God is near.
The God of history calls us to be
The voice of freedom so all can see
The flame of Brigid to light the way,
The words of Daniel echo in prayer,
So may they guide us as Saint and Friend,
Our own companions till journey’s end
Traditionally, around 480 Brigid founded a monastery at Kildare (Cill Dara, "church of the oak"). This photo is of Kildare Cathedral, built on the site of the original “monastery” of St. Bridget. She is said to have founded several other convents; this was before the time of St. Benedict, whose holy “Rule” came into religious life.
CLOSING HYMN ST. BRIGIT’S PRAYER
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
Bridget Mary Meehan. (1995). Praying with passionate women : mystics, martyrs, and mentors. Crossroad.
Bridget Mary Meehan. (1999). Praying with visionary women. Sheed & Ward.
Earle, M. C. (2011). Celtic Christian spirituality : essential writings-- annotated and explained. Skylight Paths Pub.
John Philip Newell, & Earle, M. C. (2014). Celtic Christian Spirituality.
Kissane, N. (2017). Saint Brigid of Kildare life, legend and cult. Dublin Open Air.
Meyer, J. (2009). The Life of Saint Brigid. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
Newell, J. P. (2021). Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: A Celtic Guide to Listening to Our Souls and Saving the World. HarperCollins UK.
Newell, J. P. (2022). Praying with the Earth.
O’Hanlon, J. 1821-1905. (2016). LIFE OF ST BRIGID VIRGIN. Wentworth Press.
Scherman, K. (1981). The flowering of ireland.
VIDEO
https://brigidine.org.au/ St. Brigit’s Fire, Bridgedine Sisters
https://youtu.be/hmRB0RpmTE8 Find out how st bridgets day is celebrated use this
https://youtu.be/wieREZFq4iw St. Bridget’s Day contemporary 2.0 min
https://youtu.be/2nCqdduHOAU Brigid lantern within me use this!
https://youtu.be/IigQ5T6A7L8 short life
https://youtu.be/DWlQfpKT284 2.5 minute song
https://youtu.be/IigQ5T6A7L8 St. Brigid of Ireland
https://youtu.be/WcbmB8b37sU short flowers song use this
https://youtu.be/ndQKbE0M7l8 short video use this
https://ancient-whispers.co.uk/2025/02/01/brigid-of-kildare-firekeeper-mystic-and-healer/
https://youtu.be/6MgQJaorywc?si=Hrd8wdmhWlNKJ7zM
https://youtu.be/H41d9oc_L70 Saint Brigid of Kildare: Why Ireland Called Her the Mary of the Gael 28 minutes
https://catholicinsight.com/2026/02/01/saint-bridget-of-ireland/,
https://orthochristian.com/90659.html A gift of hospitality use this
orthodoxchristianity.com Article on A gift of hospitality: St. Brigid of Kildare use this
St Bridget’s day folklore and traditions https://youtu.be/sBqp2MXyuYk
7 min song
Anam Cara Lyrics https://www.godsongs.net/2013/02/hymn-to-st-brigid.html 2.12 min
https://brigidine.org.au/reflections/ website of Brigidine Sisters
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