Descriptions of St. Brigid paint a picture of a cheerful young woman with a compassionate heart. There is a particular holiness that leads to lasting joy, and that is what God wants for all of us. In the stories of St. Brigid, we get another great example of someone who understood that and pursued it at all times.
In the footnotes of this article from the catholicsaints.info website, there is a prayer attributed to St. Brigid. I referred to one line from the prayer on Monday, but let’s look at the whole prayer today:
“I would like the angels of Heaven to be among us.
I would like an abundance of peace.
I would like full vessels of charity.
I would like rich treasures of mercy.
I would like cheerfulness to preside over all.
I would like Jesus to be present.
I would like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us.
I would like the friends of Heaven to be gathered around us from all parts.
I would like myself to be a rent payer to the Lord; that I should suffer distress, that he would bestow a good blessing upon me.
I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings.
I would like to be watching Heaven’s family drinking it through all eternity.“
Assuming this truly comes from St. Brigid, I think it illustrates that lasting joy that she carried in her heart. This is not the prayer of someone who has given up on the pursuit of happiness. Can we just remind ourselves that she was born into slavery? When she was returned to her father at age 10, it was as his slave. Still, she was more worried about the hungry people around her.
Actually, the 5th line of the prayer gets right to the heart of it. She wanted to share her cheerfulness with everyone. She chose to be happy, and she wanted that for all the world. And yes, I believe happiness is a choice. It must be. If we have no choice, then how do you explain St. Brigid?
I remember a motivational speaker one time posing this question: “How would the world be different if everyone just smiled twice as often?” Wouldn’t that be great? This could be that one little thing that we could each choose to do every day to contribute to a positive atmosphere. We could help to answer St. Brigid’s prayer.
Honestly, it seems like a simple thing that wouldn’t matter very much, but I think it could be a big deal. Most of the time when things go wrong in relationships, it has a lot to do with the attitudes we perceive in each other. A smile and a kind word can go a long way toward healing a broken heart. Imagine what they can do to break down the barriers of misunderstanding. What could they do in the face of loneliness?
And yes, I did notice the last two lines of this prayer. Is that a little too “on the nose” with the stereotypes of my Irish heritage? I’m not sure there are a lot of people who would find it appropriate to pray for “a great lake of beer for the King of Kings,” but there it is. Honestly, I don’t like beer at all. I never have. So I sort of part ways with my ancestors there, but the presence of those lines in the prayer did make me chuckle. Maybe that’s why they’re there.
Dear God, we love the example of sharing a cheerful heart that we see in St. Brigid. We pray that you will teach us to carry that cheerfulness to the people around us. We know that the only path to the kind of lasting joy You want for us is to follow Your will for our lives. Please help us to find those paths and become the bearers of Your lasting joy in the world.