The feast of St. Brigid, the “Mary of the Gael,” is celebrated on the first of February. You can read more about this well loved Irish saint here. I actually wasn’t planning on doing anything extra to celebrate her feast day this year, especially since it happened to fall on (Super Bowl) Sunday…
I had been admiring the Saint Brigid painting as Audrey Eclectic was posting pictures of her progress on Instagram, but I didn’t plan on purchasing it… Then one afternoon my daughter was asking questions about Confirmation and whether or not she could choose two saints. I asked her why she wanted to know and she said that she loves St. Rose and St. Brigid and wasn’t sure she could pick between the two. Shortly after our conversation I logged into Etsy and there was the painting! I happened to have some money in my PayPal acct from some books I just resold so I purchased it right then and there. I considered saving it for her Confirmation, but that is still years away and she has a special devotion to her now so I surprised her with it on Sunday morning! She loves her new painting and we are still trying to decide the perfect place to hang it in her bedroom.
Between the conversation with my daughter and the new painting I was inspired to try and do a little something extra to celebrate St. Brigid’s feast day after all. I gathered our picture books, printed some coloring pages, pulled the box of chenille pipe cleaners out of my closet, and we were ready to go!
.: STORY TIME :.
“Brigid’s Cloak retells an ancient tale about one of Ireland’s most beloved saints. On the day she is born Brigid receives a brilliant blue cloak from a mysterious Druid. Years later, the young girl still wears the now tattered but beloved cloak while she tends her sheep. Is it her imagination that suddenly takes her to an unfamiliar land? Or is it something far greater that leads Brigid to a crowded inn in a town called Bethlehem?”
Some Additional Stories of St. Brigid found in Our Collection:
Saint Brigid (Saints: Lives and Illuminations) by Ruth Sanderson
Saint Brigid and the Cows (Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow) by Eric A. Kimmel
Saint Brigid (Saints for Girls) by Eve Rouke
St. Brigid and the Cows by Eva K. Betz
The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare by Jane G. Meyer
Note: You can listen to the FREE audio of The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare here.
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| Saint Brigid found in Saints: Lives and Illuminations |
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| Have I ever mentioned how much I love Saints for Girls and Saints for Boys? 😉 |
.: COLORING PAGES :.
Saint Brigid Coloring Page from Waltzing Matilda
Note: A St. Brigid Coloring Page can also be found in Fenestrae Fidei
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| by Rose, who just turned 5 |
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| I asked if he could hold his picture so I could take a picture! This is what I got… I love him so much! |
.: CRAFT – ST. BRIGID’S CROSS :.
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| Can you tell which one the boys made? #seahawks #patriots #beavers |
We’ve made these a couple times in the past and find these step-by-step pictures helpful.
Supplies For each Cross:
16 piece of pipe cleaner, straw, or other weaving material, each 8″ in length
Note: Save some of the short pieces to tie the ends. Some of my children also used their remaining 4″ lengths of pipe cleaner to create miniature crosses.
.: THE IRISH RULE OF HOSPITALITY :.
I saw a stranger yestreen;
I put food in the eating place,
Drink in the drinking place,
Music in the listening place,
And in the name of the Triune
He blessed myself and my house,
My cattle and my dear ones,
And the lark said in her song
Often, often, often,
Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise,
Often, often, often,
Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.
The Irish Rule of Hospitality
St. Brigid of Kildare was well known for her hospitality and generosity inspiring the standard used in the Irish Rule of Hospitality. May we always follow St. Brigid’s example and receive the Christ in the stranger’s guise.
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| Saige was baptized “Brigid” and given a miniature St. Brigid cross as well as Caroline’s Calf, Garnet |
.: CATHOLIC CUISINE :.
I wish I had a great lake of ale for the King of kings, and the family of heaven to drink it through time eternal. I wish I had the meats of belief and genuine piety, the flails of penance, and the men of heaven in my house.
~ St. Brigid of Ireland
St. Brigid is the patron saint for numerous things including cattle and dairy work. She was said to be the best mead and ale maker in all of Ireland, as well as an excellent cook. One way to celebrate this Abbess from Kildare is to enjoy a steaming bowl of Irish Beef stew… made with Ireland’s own Guinness Draught!
You can find my favorite recipe for Irish Beef and Guinness Stew over at Catholic Cuisine.
Some of us have been fighting a stomach bug this past week, so I decided to save the stew for next weekend (it ties in perfectly to our birthday theme for Ranger!) and I served Chicken Soup (straight from the pantry! lol) instead. As Mary pointed out, St. Brigid is also the patron of those who raise chickens. Perfect!
O God, bless my pantry!
Pantry which the Lord has blessed.
Mary’s Son, my friend,
come and bless my pantry!
– St. Brigid of Ireland
To go along with our chicken soup I decided to let the children try and create “St. Brigid’s Cross Dinner Rolls.” I pulled out some frozen dinner rolls from the freezer and let them thaw for about an hour while they painted their pictures.
I wasn’t sure if they would turn out, but they actually did and the kids loved them! I’ll have to post the directions over at Catholic Cuisine sometime before her feast day next year.
+ A FEW MORE LINKS +
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| Ranger’s LEGO contribution to the decorations for the feast of St. Brigid! |
.: PRAYER :.
Saint Brigid, Mary of Ireland ask for us all today,
The courage to do God’s bidding whatever the world may say.
The grace to be strong and valiant, the grace to be firm and true,
The grace to be faithful always to God, His Mother, and You.
Saint Brigid, Ora Pro Nobis!
What a beautiful painting! And I LOVE how the hairstyle Twinkle Toes is wearing!! I keep looking at the pictures to see if I can figure it out 🙂
2015-02-03 23:04:38
Thank you, Marie! I need to keep practicing on her hair, but we saw this tutorial for a Ballerina Bun that a friend posted on Facebook and we had to try it out. 🙂
2015-02-03 23:51:23
I love him too! It's all so beautiful!
2015-02-03 23:35:55
Thank you, Charlotte! I made sure to tell him that the coloring page was illustrated by his Godmother! Oh, and his St. Brigid Cross was green and blue for his Godfather!
2015-02-04 00:12:43
Oh that lego display had our names day girl laughing and running for the Lego box…your recipe looks wonderful…I grew up with my dad making the same stew every year for all our Irish names days but with a handful of prunes added…I have no idea why …it was less than lovely! I will try out your version.
2015-02-04 00:59:38
What a nice afternoon. "Bud" is too precious, I could just eat him up…Lol. I really want to check out some of these books and recipes, maybe we can role it into our St Patrick's day celebration.
PS Love the pink-ah cross. I still love pink, too!
2015-02-04 03:03:39
What a lovely way to celebrate the feast day! And I'm so thankful for the saint book recommendations that you post! Thank you!
2015-02-04 03:31:43
I love St. Brigid, especially since her feast is my oldest daughter's birthday! I love the print. How did you glue it onto the wooden block?? Thanks for this great post! God bless!
2015-02-04 04:46:26
So wonderful! God be praised!
2015-02-04 04:50:00
Twinkle Toes looks so grown up with her hair up! Is it me, or does that beautiful painting of St. Brigid resemble her? 🙂
2015-02-06 16:30:25
Thank you, Veronica! I actually purchased the original painting, not the print, and it was painted on a wooden plaque.
2015-02-06 16:51:50
Yes, I thought it resembled her too! 🙂
2015-02-06 16:52:27
Ooooh, this is so special! Love seeing the girls seeing the painting for the first time and St. Brigid on the table as they created their beautiful paintings! Love this so much! And all your projects you did to celebrate the day— I will have to remember these for future celebrations! 😀
2015-02-07 02:43:51