Saint Brigid

[Noel's angel]

Ok, a wee question. Cogitosus, who wrote the Life of Brigid, told of a story of a young woman who had broken the vow of chastity and fell pregnant, and who then went to see St. Brigid to see if she could help. This is what he wrote:

"Brigid, exercising with the most strength of her ineffable faith, blessed her, caused the child to disappear without coming to birth, and without pain."

How does this fit in with Catholic teaching throughout the years? Would God really have done something like this?

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
10/1 - St. Therese of Lisieux

Noel's Angel,

There are a few things to be kept in mind when reading hagiography, or the ancient/medieval "lives of the saints".

1.) These lives differ greatly from those that we have nowadays. Butler's, et al., aren't "hagiographies" proper, since they seek to establish historical, quasi-scientific truths concerning a saint. Hagiographies, on the other hand, sought to use imagery to tell us more about the saint's holiness than the saint proper.

2.) As a result of 1, there are some really interesting things reported about the saints, such as the story that you've written. It's often meant to be interpreted, not necessarily as historical fact, but in light of a particular facet of the saint's life. For instance, one could say that the child represented the feelings created in the woman for the man with whom she had sexual intercourse, and Brigid's prayer drove those feelings away.

3.) HOWEVER, just because something is fantastic does not mean it's fantasy. What was reported could, in fact, have been historical fact. In that case, I don't have an answer for you.

Hope this helps.

Yours,
Pio Nono