Sister of St. Brigid of Kildare (Brigidine Novice)

Sister of St. Brigid of Kildare ( Novice)  –  Sister Briege Caitríona of Our Lady of Grace, C.S.B.                                   “From every seed sown and cultivated by pure love,                                                          we shall be sure to reap a harvest of endless glory.”  –   Bishop Daniel Delany                       “A person without an “anam cara” (soul friend) is like a lady without a head.”  –  St. Brigid             “Fortiter et Suaviter”  –  Strength and Gentleness”  (gently in manner and firmly in action)

Founder:  Daniel Delany, D.D., Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin

Place:  Tullow, County Carlow, Ireland

Year:  February 1, 1807 A.D.

Her Charism:  This Sister’s Order was named after the 5th Century saint, St. Brigid of Kildare.  Like her patroness, she is also a woman who, above all others, embodies the spirit of pre-Christian and Christian Ireland.  Under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, she goes about the land “on a chariot” evangelizing and educating.  Following the Rule of St. Augustine, she has a focused priority for the Gospel message of love, Eucharistic spirituality, the spirit and strength of kindliness, and an expansive vision of education.  She honors her patroness through prayer and reflective living.  Inspired by the wonderful legends of Brigid of Kildare, this Novice strives to keep alive the flame of Brigid’s faith and hospitality (social), her concern for the poor and oppressed (education), and a deep sensitivity for and appreciation of God’s Creation – the one web of life (ecological justice).  Like St. Brigid, the glorious patroness of Ireland, she welcomes the poor at her feast, for they are God’s children; she welcomes the sick to her feast, for they are God’s joy.  Her desire is that the poor sit with Jesus in the highest place, and the sick dance with the angels.  Similar to the grillwork in her monastery, this Brigidine is an interlaced work of harmony and colors, giving the impression that she is the work of angelic, not human, creation.  She is an extraordinary woman of faith, charity, wisdom and peace who brings harmony where there is conflict, light to the darkness, and hope to the downcast.  Her mantle of peace covers those who are troubled and anxious. and she works and prays that peace be firmly rooted in all hearts and in our world.  She is an answer to the anguished cry of a deeply wounded humanity in the “Land of Saints and Scholars” and beyond.  As a steward of Creation, a “flame-keeper”, a powerful leader, a good organizer, a skillful healer, a wise spiritual guide, a potent symbol of Christian womanhood, and the feminine Face of God, she “turns swords into ploughshares” with her strength being on contemplation of the Trinity.  She is a dancer who dances of the new life life of creation, carrying the Spirit of Jesus into the 21st Century.  By her prayerful attention to her patron,      St. Brigid, (“Mary of the Gael”) this shepherdess becomes a lady from winter’s dark, a star of Imbolc (a Gaelic festival of purification) who dances around our threshold scattering warm laughter, seeds of wonder, hospitality, generosity, compassion, tolerance, and forgiveness.  Owing to her experience of the stillness, the power, and the prayer that is the essence of all life, this Sister is a portrait of strong yet gentle soul – the “Spring” people yearn for- a season of new beginnings when seeds are sown and sails are hoisted.                                                             †   A popular blessing used throughout Ireland to this day is:                                                                    “Brat Bride Ort”  –  “The cloak of St. Brigid upon you.”  †