Happy Feast Day!

A blessed St. Brigid's Feast Day to you!

Holy Savior Cathedral, Bruges, Belgium

keeps in reverence a wool, Irish cloak believed

to be St. Brigid's own.

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For our feast, we'll have quiche, boxty pancakes, stuffed mushrooms and homemade bread.  And later, cake!

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A common blessing among friends was the hope that they would be fa bhrat Bhrighde, "under Brigid's Cloak", as her mantle was long remembered as a sign of protection and generous hospitality.

The Light of Christ shines gloriously through his saints!

A Blessed St. Brigid's Day to you!

St. Brigid is my patron and I've made quite a few entries about her and her cross made of rushes, as seen in the icon at left.  You can check the links listed at the bottom of this entry, on the sidebar, or type in "St. Brigid" in the search bar at upper left.   Typically the children and I weave these crosses out of pipe cleaners and share them, but this year there's no time.  Too many school projects due at week's end and we've been nursing colds and sore throats as well.  Here is a link to my favorite icon of St. Brigid,  one of several in our home.  I'll be cooking our traditional menu to celebrate this 5th century Celtic saint this evening:  Boxty pancakes, Spring Herb Quiche and Beacan Bruith with black Irish tea.  May your table be blessed with plenty and may generosity overtake your heart! 

St. Brigid's Feast today!

Well, it's a lovely snowy morning here in Appalachia, a perfect day to be in the kitchen cookin' up a favorite meal for my family. We're honoring St. Brigid today, Mary of the Gael, whose generosity and hospitality I seek to emulate.

The boxty pancakes were such a hit last year, we'll be making this again along with a few extra items. Our menu includes:

Spring Herb Quiche

Beacan Bruith

Boxty Pancakes and

Curach Irish Oatmeal Yogurt Parfaits (which my 8 yr. old daughter gleefully volunteered to make)

Irish Black Tea

"On St. Brigid's Eve every farmer's wife in Ireland made a cake called bairin-breac, the neighbours are invited, the madder of ale and the pipe go round, and the evening concludes with mirth and festivity." - Colonel Vallencey, Essay on the Antiquity of the Irish Language, 1781

You may enjoy this video by a charming Irish lady, demonstrating how to make a St. Brigid's Cross.

February 1, St. Brigid's Feast Day

Today marks a day of honoring and blessing of St. Brigid, my patron saint.  She was known for her generosity, her hospitality and love of art.  It is said that at her abbey in Kildare, a fire was tended by her nuns, and only women were allowed near it.  This fire is said to have been kept perpetually alight for nearly a thousand years after her death.  Notice the flame in the image at left.    

The following is a house-blessing to share, in honor of St. Brigid and her distinct cross made of rushes: 

"May God give His blessing to the house that is here.

God bless this house from roof to floor,

From wall to wall,

from end to end,

from its foundation and in its covering.

In the strong name of the Triune God

all evil be banished,

all disturbance cease,

captive spirits freed,

God's Spirit alone

dwell within these walls.

We call upon the Sacred Three

to save, to shield and surround

this house, this home,

this day, this night,

and every night."

Blessed St. Brigid, please intercede to Christ our God, for healing, peace and wisdom, Amen.