Readings

February 1: Brigid of Kildare, Monastic, c. 523

The Collect of the Day

Brigid of Kildare

O God, whose servant Brigid, kindled with the flame of your love, became a shining light in your church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Brigid of Kildare

O God, whose servant Brigid, kindled with the flame of thy love, became a shining light in thy church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before thee as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Along with Patrick, Brigid is one of the most beloved Irish saints. She was born into slavery in the middle of the fifth century, the daughter of a local chieftain and one of his slaves. Her father Dubhthach was the poet laureate of King Loeghaire and a pagan, but her mother Brocca was a Christian.

Even as a young girl, Brigid was notorious for giving away all of the family’s food and goods in order to feed and assist the poor. Enraged, her father tried to sell her to the king of Leinster, but even while the two men were negotiating her price, she took her father’s jeweled sword and gave it to a beggar so that he could sell it to feed his family. The king was impressed with her compassion and resourcefulness, and offered Dubhthach his own jeweled sword as a replacement, telling him to give his daughter her freedom.

Gathering a group of women around her, Brigid founded a monastery in 470 at Kildare, a place whose name meant “Church of the Oak.” This was the first monastic community for women in Ireland. Tosecure the sacraments, Brigid persuaded the anchorite Conlaed to receive ordination as a bishop and to bring his community of monks to Kildare, thus establishing a double monastery for both men and women. She also founded a renowned scriptorium and center for manuscript illumination at the monastic community.

Brigid actively participated in leadership and in policy-making decisions, not only within her own monastic federation but also within the councils and synods of the Irish church. She died around 523 at Kildare. Her remains are said to have been re-interred with those of Patrick at Downpatrick in the ninth century.

Lessons and Psalm

First Lesson

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Psalm

1I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *before the gods I will sing your praise.

2I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your Name, *because of your love and faithfulness;

3For you have glorified your Name *and your word above all things.

4When I called, you answered me; *you increased my strength within me.

5All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, *when they have heard the words of your mouth.

6They will sing of the ways of the Lord, *that great is the glory of the Lord.

7Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly; *he perceives the haughty from afar.

8Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; *you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me.

9The Lord will make good his purpose for me; *O Lord, your love endures for ever; do not abandon the works of your hands.

Gospel

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1 Corinthians 1:26–31

26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29 so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Matthew 6:19–24

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.