Miniature Stories of the Saints
by Rev. Daniel A. Lord, S.J.

Saint Brigid of Ireland

When Brigid was a very little girl, Saint Patrick converted the Irish. She was a very beautiful little girl. Many young men wanted to marry her. "I shall be a nun," she thought. But she never knew she was going to be the first of millions of Irish nuns throughout the world. "Make me ugly," she prayed to God. "Then I can love You alone." God heard her prayer and she became very ugly.

With joy she became a sister, a nun. And as soon as she did, God made her more beautiful than ever. She built a lovely little convent. She tended the cattle herself. Other young women heard about her. They came and asked to join her and be nuns too. Then little girls came to be taught. The sick came to her and asked her to care for them. Often she sold everything she had and gave the money to the poor.

So the Irish called on her for help from all over the country. So all over Ireland she went. She built convent schools and hospitals everywhere. And when she died, all Ireland loved her. They made her the Patroness of the Green Isle. Her Feast is February 1st.

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