Today we remember St. Brigid of Kildare, a woman whose life continues to inspire contemporary disciples of Jesus to become living reflections of divine compassion, generous hospitality, mutual partnership, and deep love for creation.
Brigit lived the spirit of Jesus with remarkable courage and tenderness. Like Jesus of Nazareth, she welcomed women as full disciples, embraced the poor and the outcast, challenged unjust authority, and made hospitality a sacred act. The stories passed down about Brigit tell us of her radical generosity—food multiplied for the hungry, land shared with the poor, animals protected, and strangers welcomed as Christ himself. These are not quaint legends; they are Gospel truths embodied in a woman’s life.
Brigit’s inclusivity echoes the ministry of Jesus who dined with tax collectors and sinners, who crossed boundaries of gender, class, and purity, and who revealed a God whose love knows no limits. In Brigit’s world—and in ours—belonging is not earned. It is given. Her life proclaims that everyone belongs at the Banquet Table of Love, no matter who you are or where you come from. Here, we are loved totally, tenderly, and passionately in the heart of God.
In this way, Brigit stands in holy continuity with the first disciples—Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the many unnamed women and men who followed Jesus through the ages. Together, they remind us that discipleship has never been about uniformity, hierarchy, or exclusion. It has always been about relationship, courage, and love poured out for the life of the world.
According to early hagiographical sources, St. Brigid of Kildare was consecrated by Bishop Mel, who—according to tradition—mistakenly read the episcopal ordination prayers over her. Rather than retracting the rite, Bishop Mel is said to have affirmed that Brigit received episcopal authority from God. Together with Conleth, Brigit exercised mutual partnership as spiritual leaders of the double monastic community at Kildare.¹
Brigit also calls us into right relationship with creation. Her reverence for the land, for animals, for the rhythms of nature reflects a deeply incarnational faith—one that recognizes the sacred in all that God has made. In a time of ecological crisis, her witness urges us to live gently on the earth, to protect what is vulnerable, and to see creation itself as a partner in praising God.
We have come full circle in our own time. In contemporary inclusive communities, we are reclaiming Jesus’ original vision of discipleship—one rooted in baptismal equality, shared leadership, and mutual blessing. Like Brigit, we are called to trust our God-given gifts and to use them boldly for healing, justice, and reconciliation.
May St. Brigit of Kildare encourage us to open wide our doors, our tables, and our hearts. May her life remind us that Gospel hospitality is not optional—it is the very shape of love. And may we, like her, become radiant reflections of God’s compassion in a world longing to know that it truly belongs.
¹ This account appears in early medieval Irish hagiography, particularly in the Vita Sanctae Brigitae attributed to Cogitosus (7th century), which emphasizes Brigit’s spiritual authority and leadership at Kildare. While historians debate the literal historicity of Brigit’s episcopal consecration, many scholars agree that the story reflects the extraordinary authority Brigit held in the early Irish Church, where abbesses—especially at Kildare—often exercised leadership that surpassed that of bishops. See Cogitosus, Life of St. Brigid; Lisa M. Bitel, Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland (Cornell University Press, 1996); and Joan Chittister, The Liturgical Year (Thomas Nelson, 2009). Feminist theologians interpret this tradition as evidence of early Christian models of shared, non-hierarchical leadership and women’s sacramental authority in the Celtic Church.
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