SONG: We walk with Brigid

SONG: We walk with Brigid

We walk with Brigid

And Brigid, she walks with us x2

 

She is the Maiden, Mother and the Crone

She is the sacred feminine

She has revealed to us the Cygnus Way

An ancient path between Sky and Earth

Refrain

PRAYER: Brigid, woman of peace

PRAYER: Brigid, woman of peace

Brigid, you were a woman of peace.

You brought harmony where there was conflict.

You brought light to 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 to reverence all God has made.

Brigid, you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.

Strengthen what is weak within us.

Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.

May we grow each day into greater

wholeness in mind, body and spirit.

Amen

 

PRAYER: Brigid of the Mantle

PRAYER: Brigid of the Mantle

Brigid of the Mantle, encompass us,

Lady of the Lambs, protect us,

Keeper of the Hearth, kindle us.

Beneath your mantle, gather us,

And restore us to memory.

Mothers of our mother, Foremothers strong.

Guide our hands in yours,

Remind us how to kindle the hearth.

To keep it bright, to preserve the flame.

Your hands upon ours, Our hands within yours,

To kindle the light, Both day and night.

The Mantle of Brigid about us, The Memory of Brigid within us,

The Protection of Brigid keeping us

From harm, from ignorance, from heartlessness.

This day and night, From dawn till dark, From dark till dawn.

POEM: Brigid’s Way by Brid McDonnell

POEM: Brigid’s Way by Brid McDonnell

It was the day of Saint Brigid’s walk from Faughart to Kildare.
Patrick the piper played a melodious tune.
Weather turned warm.
Water, iced or ordinary, and biscuits.
Sitting on the stone steps,
I watched the crowd gradually erupt into joy.

Pat told the story of earth mother and saint,
Well spring he drank.
Met old acquaintances there, we talked of those times.
Pleasant, warm.
Pat welcomed me.

Back to where the other walkers were
I had conversation with Dolores.
Intermingled.
We sat on the grass talking and got the feel of the pilgrimage.
Happy.

Dolores and Karen took charge.
We stood around the altar on the ground
In a wide circle.
We brought in the four directions.
The North, the South, the East, the West.
And Earth, Heaven.

Held hands and danced and chanted.
We wished those going on the walk good fortune,
Experiential of Brigid, the pilgrimage,
The countryside they would walk through.
Then the core group came in and took Brigid´s gifts
For the long journey.
Tom stamped their passports.

It was as if we were in love with one another,
Exchanged smiles, words, glances.

Patrick began his ancient tune
And they followed on the first leg of the Way,
Leaving the field in a forming line as I found my lift,
Jodi and Sinead.

And in my soul I said goodbye
To the participants of that holy day.

POEMS: Barnacles from the Pilgrimage

POEMS: Barnacles from the Pilgrimage

A Barnacle is a form of Irish ‘Haiku’ inspired by Nora Barnacle, James Joyce’s muse. The form captures a ‘soul moment’. The first line is literal, the second emotional and the third spiritual.

 

Pilgrims blaze a trail,
Brigid’s fire burns,
Fiercely.   

~ Karen Ward

 

Nuair a suilímis le Bríde,
Cuireann sí timpeall orainn grá mór á clóca bheannacta
Agus is iad ár n-anam agus dá chuid amháin.

As we walk with Brigid,
She wraps us lovingly in her blessed cloak
And our souls and hers become as one.

~ Siobhán Cahill

 

Light pierces the leafy canopy,
Strong woman of Spirit beholds,
Initiation.

~ Karen Ward

 

Firelight, fireside, companions of the flame.

United we rise tall, flicker far to the sky,

Gather heat and warmth….

Enough for a whole universe

~ Alyson McEvoy

 

 

Share your barnacle by email at info@brigidsway.ie