EMBEE
studios
Artwork by Marybeth Bradbury
St. Brighid
Standing on Common Ground at the Well-spring of Life
Born c. 453 CE; died 523 CE in Ireland. Daughter of a pagan father and a Christian mother who was a follower of Saint Patrick, Brighid was a devout child who tended animals and the poor. When she took her vows before Saint Patrick, he mistakenly used the form for ordaining priests. When told of it he replied, “So be it, my son, she is destined for great things.” She started convents all over Ireland. It is said that the histories of Saint Brighid and the earlier Celtic goddess Brighid are so intertwined that they cannot be separated. Legend says that goddess Brighid was so loved by the Irish people that the Catholic church could only incorporate her attributes into those of St. Brighid.
St. Brighid gives us the gift of birthing what is wonderful within us.
St. Joan of Arc
Courageous enough to be who we truly are
Born c. 1412 in northern France, died May 31, 1431, Joan of Arc, "The Maid of Orléans" is a heroine of France for her role during the Hundred Years' War as a military strategist and leader. On May 23, 1430, she was captured by a group of French nobles allied with the English. She was later handed over to the English and put on trial on a variety of charges. She claimed that visions from archangel Michael, Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine of Alexandrea had guided her actions in her military campaigns. Declared guilty, primarily for dressing as a man against Biblical law, she was burned at the stake on May 30, 1430. In 1456, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, debunked the charges against her, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr. In 1803 she was declared a national symbol of France by the decision of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was canonized in 1920.
Patron Saint of France, captives, military personnel (particularly women), prisoners, and those ridiculed for their piety. birthing and babies, midwives, smithery, watermen, travelers, cattle, dairies, poetry, milk, early lambs, sacred wells, Ireland.
St. Joan gives us the courage to stand firm in our truth.
