February 4, 2023

Dear Friends in Christ,

Happy Feast Day! This weekend on Saturday, February 3, we celebrate the life and witness of our patron, St. Bridget of Kildare. Because of her leadership in helping to form the Christian faith in Ireland, her feast day is now a national holiday. Bridget was born out of wedlock, so she is the patron of women who conceive in similar circumstances. Her mother eventually married her father who was a local chieftain, and Bridget was raised in an environment of privilege and wealth. She was expected to marry into her class but chose instead to consecrate her life to Christ as a nun. She founded monasteries for men and women and served as the abbess of both communities, something unheard of at the time. Bridget is also the patron of healers, poets, dairy workers, and of course our parish.

Celebrating our patron saint is an opportunity for us to give thanks for our history as a parish community. While parish life is changing through the Partners in the Gospel Plan, we can still carry forward a sense of pride and gratitude for all the ways we have shared God’s grace for over 56 years. One of the gifts we bring to our new family of parishes is the spirit of our patron.

Bridget, 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.

St. Bridget of Kildare…pray for us! Live Jesus in our hearts...forever!

Fr. William Heric, Pastor