Exploring Spiritual Practices Archives • Tammy Hicks Jackson

January 30, 2019February 10, 2019

St. Brigid of Kildare

Image of St. Brigid from artbyeileen.wordpress.com

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Celtic expressions of Christianity draw me because of their connection to nature and level of participation, which contrasts with the spectator quality of American expressions. Celtic Christianity celebrates some saints, heroes and heroines of faith, including St. Brigid of Kildare, whose feast day is February 1 (and sometimes 2).

Born in 453 and living to be 72 years old, St. Brigid was one of Ireland’s patron saints, along with Patrick and Colombo, and a woman before her time. She was well-respected in both ecclesiastical and civic circles. She was an abbess of a double monastery (meaning they had both men and women) at Kildare, and founder of several other communities.

Brigid was especially concerned about the conditions of the poor, of women and of children. There are even miracles stories associated with her.

Miracle of the Cloak

One of my favorite stories is of her asking the King of Leinster for land to open a convent community. He laughed at what he considered a bold requestfor a ridiculous use of land, so she asked if he would grant her the amount of land her cloak would cover. He amusedly granted her request. After praying, four of her nuns took the corners of her cloak and began to run in the directions of the compass points, the cloak growing with each step they took.

When they passed out of sight, the king exclaimed, “Brigid, what are you about?!”

“You have placed yourself opposed to the true God,” she responded. “My cloak shall cover your entire kingdom; you are being punished for your selfishness.”

He begged her to stop and granted her the plot of land she had requested.

Feast Day Traditions

There are two traditions I enjoy associated with St. Brigid’s Feast Day.

One is the making of St. Brigid Crosses. Legend says that St. Brigid was sharing the gospel with a gentlemen and made the cross from the reeds on the floor while she talked. The crosses came to be signs of blessing for a home.

The other is Blessing Cloths. Women leave cloths or scarves outside on the eve of her feast day to be blessed. The cloths carry a blessing of healing, especially for headaches, but also for the health of a relationship and children.

More about St. Brigid

Learn more about St. Brigid at these links.

Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery in Saint Joseph, MN is associated with the United Methodist Church.

St. Brigid Crosses

St. Brigid of Ireland

November 23, 2018December 27, 2018

What are you talking about?

I have a friend. She’s such wonderful fun, adventurous, loyal and hard working. But conversations can be exhausting. Sometimes I have to just stop her and say, “WHAT are you talking about?” When we quit laughing, she will catch me up.

I get lost because I don’t comprehend a connection. Sometimes it’s my fault; I let my attention wander and miss it. Other times she doesn’t give me enough information to follow her off the conversational exit ramp. One example was the day a conversation about back roads to the beach shifted to lasagna. I didn’t know she had the discovered the “best lasagna of my life” in a chance encounter after taking a wrong turn and getting lost. It’s an important piece of information! Once she shared that, I could say, “Oh, now I get it!”

November 20, 2018December 26, 2018

A Righteous Advent

What is Advent?

Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for Christ to be born anew in us, and to recommit ourselves to following Jesus at the beginning of another Church year. Share on X

Advent most commonly refers to the four Sundays prior to Christmas. Advent means a coming, and is from the Latin word adventus. In the Church, it is a time to prepare for the Nativity, or birth of Jesus Christ. The Latin word adventus is also used to translate the Greek word parousia which refers to Jesus’ second coming. Jesus’ first and second comings are integral to his purpose in coming at all, so we also prepare for his return even as we celebrate his birth. For this reason, you will find apocalyptic readings intermingled.

November 20, 2018December 27, 2018

What is a Spiritual Health and Wellness Coach?

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What is Spiritual Health and Wellness Coach

To share with you what I do (and do not do), I need to explain a little about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I’m neither a psychologist nor an expert in Maslow’s theory, but I find it helpful.

Who’s Maslow?

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist (1908-1970) whose work was very different from psychologists before him. He called his work “positive psychology,” because those before him had focused on illness and abnormality while Maslow focused on creating health, wellness, and wholeness in an individual.

The Hierarchy of Needs is a visual representation of his motivational theory, first published in the 1940’s. Maslow asserted that human beings are motivated to meet our needs, and deficiencies in the the needs in the lower levels of the pyramid will inhibit our growth and movement to higher levels of the pyramid.