01 February 2008

St. Brigid's Day!



























First of all, I want to wish a very blessed and happy nameday to my godmother, Robbie Brigid Cox!


Now, on to St. Brigid of Kildare:

She was not a Christianization of Celtic goddess, first and foremost. Granted, she shares a name with the legendary Celtic deity, but, as she was a Celt, and was born to pagan parents, this is not uncommon. She was, however, a great and noble saint of the Irish Church, and is one of the three patron saints of Ireland. Her instruction in the faith by St. Patrick imbued her with a zeal for Christ, and her life of asceticism and holiness is one that we should all seek to emulate.

Troparion (Tone 1):
O holy Brigid,
thou didst become sublime through thy humility,
and didst fly on the wings of thy longing for God.
When thou didst arrive in the Eternal City
and appear before thy Divine Spouse,
wearing the crown of virginity,
thou didst keep thy promise to remember those who have recourse to thee.
Thou dost shower grace upon the world,
and dost multiply miracles.
Intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls.
Kontakion (Tone 4):

The holy virgin Brigid full of divine wisdom,
went with joy along the way of evangelical childhood,
and with the grace of God
attained in this way the summit of virtue.
Wherefore she now bestows blessings upon those who come to her with faith.
O holy Virgin, intercede with Christ our God that He may have mercy on our souls.


Holy Brigid, pray to Christ our God for our salvation!

+Pax vobsicum

5 comments:

Robert Treskillard said...

Thanks for the info on St. Brigid of Kildare. We have a local church only 10 minutes away named after her, and I have wondered about the connection to the Celtic deity.

Justinian said...

Hi Robert! Thanks for the blog visit. I don't know how many folks from the SRL forum ever visit here--but it's always nice to see a friendly screen name.

You're welcome for the info. I'm one of those dreadful Orthodox folks who has a sincere, deep, and abiding love for those Obscure Celtic Saints of the Church.

I have to ask, the church you speak of, it is Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, or something else?

Hope to see you comment more soon!

Mrs. Pagan said...

Is this the same Saint Brigid that Meg or Martha wrote about when we were in Ireland??

Justinian said...

Hi Katie,

Very likely, it is. Best I can remember, it was Martha's writing. St. Brigid is a Very Big Deal to the Irish.

Robert Treskillard said...

Ahh ... about 3 years late, but I finally found your question back finally. The church is in Pacific, MO, and is Catholic. I would guess that Irish immigrants settled in the area, and this makes sense considering a few of the street names.

All the best,

-Robert