As a young woman Brigid decided to become a hermit; and she built a hut for herself under a large oak tree. Soon large numbers of both women and men came to join, to live as nuns and monks; and within a few years Brigid’s monastery had grown larger than any town in the land.
Every evening after dusk the nuns and monks, led by Brigid, searched the lanes and ditches in the surrounding area, looking for those with no place to rest.They brought them back to the monastery, where they gave them a meal and a bed. Brigid also ran a huge hospital, where the nuns and monks nursed sick people from throughout the country.
Near the monastery was a large house where a wealthy merchant lived. He disliked religion, and openly expressed his contempt for Brigid’s monastery. Nonetheless she regularly visited him, and he could not help admiring the strength of her convictions.The merchant caught a fatal illness; and as he lay on his deathbed, he sent for Brigid.
By the time Brigid arrived the dying merchant could not speak. Brigid knew that no words could comfort him. So she reached down to the floor, where fresh rushes had been laid. She took a bundle of rushes, tied them into a simple cross, and placed the cross in the merchants hands. He lifted the cross to his lips, and kissed it.
A few moments later he died.
Galatians 6:14 - But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Prayer
God our Father,
Your light came into the world.
May we welcome him in our lives,
and thus be a light for our brothers and sisters.
We ask you this through Jesus, the Christ, the Lord. Amen
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