Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Feast day plans for St Brigid of Ireland

Happy Feast of St Brigid of Ireland.

We love our Irish saints as we have a family history that links us back to the 'Isle of Erin.' So this is one day we enjoy celebrating!

Our plans today consist of these activities:
Food~
Irish Stew
Irish Soda Bread
Scones with Jam and cream - St Brigid is the patron saint of Dairy farmers hence the use of cream
We are also going to make a St Brigid cloak cake this was Vellvin's idea.

Reading~
This is an interesting read for the children and I love this poem from the site: it could be used for memorisation or copywork

The Giveaway -
Saint Brigid was
A problem child.
Although a lass
Demure and mild,
And one who strove
To please her dad,
Saint Brigid drove
The family mad.
For here's the fault in Brigid lay:
She WOULD give everything away.

To any soul
Whose luck was out
She'd give her bowl
Of stirabout;
She'd give her shawl,
Divide her purse
With one or all.
And what was worse,
When she ran out of things to give
She'd borrow from a relative.

Her father's gold,
Her grandsire's dinner,
She'd hand to cold
and hungry sinner;
Give wine, give meat,
No matter whose;
Take from her feet
The very shoes,
And when her shoes had gone to others,
Fetch forth her sister's and her mother's.

She could not quit.
She had to share;
Gave bit by bit
The silverware,
The barnyard geese,
The parlor rug,
Her little
niece's christening mug,
Even her bed to those in want,
And then the mattress of her aunt.

An easy touch
For poor and lowly,
She gave so much
And grew so holy
That when she died
Of years and fame,
The countryside
Put on her name,
And still the Isles of Erin fidget
With generous girls named Bride or Brigid.

Well, one must love her.
Nonetheless,
In thinking of her
Givingness,
There's no denial
She must have been
A sort of trial
Unto her kin.
The moral, too, seems rather quaint.
WHO had the patience of a saint,
From evidence presented here?
Saint Brigid? Or her near and dear?

Of course we will read  Brigid's Cloak
The older children will also read this beautiful story here and write a narration on it.

Activities~
Making St Brigid's cross using these instructions with whatever materials we have on hand, perhaps long grass or pipe cleaners
Write this blessing out to go with our Cross's
An on line quiz
Wordsearch I can't get the direct link to work so just choose wordsearch
St Brigid crossword
St Brigid's mantle- a fun activity
Of course a holy card to have at the end of the meal printed and written on
Draw a Celtic cross and colour
Practice form drawing with Celtic knots as the pattern, for the younger children they can just colour them in!





St Brigid Colouring page from Charlotte 
We will also be using various colouring pages from these books:


Life in Celtic Times:- what ever pages they like

Celtic Stained Glass pattern Book- choose a design and colour it


Link to book :Ours is slightly different being not only letters but is an older version and I can't find a link

Copywork quote~
I would like the angels of Heaven to be among us. I would like an abundance of peace. I would like full vessels of charity. I would like rich treasures of mercy. I would like cheerfulness to preside over all. I would like Jesus to be present. I would like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us. I would like the friends of Heaven to be gathered around us from all parts. I would like myself to be a rent payer to the Lord; that I should suffer distress, that he would bestow a good blessing upon me. I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings. I would like to be watching Heaven's family drinking it through all eternity."

~ St. Brigid of Ireland

Prayers~
I found this lovely St Brigid Chaplet  prayer on line we will try to pray

Prayer to St. Brigid
Brigid, you were a woman of peace,
You brought harmony where there was conflict.
You brought light into the darkness.
You brought hope to the downcast.
May the mantle of your peace
Cover those who are troubled and anxious,
And may peace be firmly rooted
In our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and reverence all God has made.
Brigid, you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.
Strengthen what is weak within us.
Clam us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater wholeness -
In mind, body and spirit.
Amen!

Litany of St Brigid form here
An interesting little piece of information I found
 
St. Brigid of Ireland, Pray for us!

Blessings to you and your homes,

1 comment:

Melissa @ Homegrown Catholics said...

Thanks for your St. Brigid of Ireland's feast day activities posts. They are very helpful in planning for Feb 1st just days away. I'll be sharing a link to your page on my blog of ideas. Blessings!

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