Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.
It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.
The Feast Day of St. Gobnait (Abigail)
This is the Christian religious feast day celebration of Gobnait, at other times called Gobnat, Mo Gobnat, or Abigail who was a 5th or 6th century Irish saint, associated with the Múscraige. Her church and convent lay on the borders between the Múscraige Mittine and Eóganacht Locha Léin. She is a patron saint of bees and of beekeepers, and is associated with healing miracles related to the use of honey a a remedy.
Saint Gobnait (fl. 6th century?), also known as Gobnat or Mo Gobnat or Abigail or Deborah, is the name of an early medieval female Irish saint whose church was Móin Mór, later Bairnech, in the village of Ballyvourney (Irish: Baile Bhuirne), County Cork in Ireland. She is associated with the Múscraige and her church and convent lay on the borders between the Múscraige Mittine and Eóganacht Locha Léin. Her feast day is February 11.
Sources
No hagiographicalLife is known to have described her life and miracles, but she appears in the Life of her senior companion St Abbán moccu Corbmaic, written in the early thirteenth century but known only through later recensions. Saint Finbarr‘s Life implies that Gobnait’s church belonged to Finbarr’s foundation at Cork by alleging that it was not founded by her, but by one of his disciples. In spite of this, Gobnait’s cult continued to thrive here and the ruins of a medieval church dedicated to her are still visible today.
“Mo Gobnat from Muscraige Mitaine, i.e. a sharp-beaked nun,
Ernaide is the name of the place in which she is.
Or Gobnat of Bairnech in Món Mór in the south of Ireland,
and of the race of Conaire she is; a virgin of Conaire’s race”
–Note to the Félire Óengusso, tr. Whitley Stokes, p. 73
Life
Gobnait was born in County Clare in the fifth or sixth Century, and is said to have been the sister of Saint Abban. She fled a family feud, taking refuge in Inisheer in the Aran Islands. Here an angel appeared and told her that this was “not the place of her resurrection” and that she should look for a place where she would find nine white deer grazing. She found the deer at the place now known as St. Gobnet’s Wood. Saint Abban is said to have worked with her on the foundation of the convent and to have placed Saint Gobnait over it as abbess.
Celtic lore held bees in high esteem, believing the soul left the body as a bee or a butterfly. Gobnait is said to have added beekeeping to her life’s work, developing a lifelong affinity with them. She started a religious order and dedicated her days to helping the sick. It has been speculated that she used honey as a healing aid. She is credited with saving the people at Ballyvourney from the plague.
One story tells of how she drove off a brigand by sending a swarm of bees after him and making him restore the cattle he had stolen.
Some traditions associate her with the legendary saint Latiaran, the patroness of a sacred well in Cullen, making them two of three sisters.
Well
St Gobnait’s well is situated to the north of Ballyagran in a high field to the left of the road to Castletown. Rounds were made and a pattern was held on 11 February until around 1870. The well has now dried up but the site is still known. It is said that a white stag could sometimes be seen at the well. There is also a well in Dún Chaoin County Kerry and is visited on 11 February every year by locals.
Veneration and depictions in art
In 1601 Pope Clement VIII granted a special indulgence to those who, on Gobnait’s day, visited the parish church, went to Confession and Communion and prayed for peace among ‘Christian princes’, expulsion of heresy and the exaltation of the church. Gobnait was originally a patron of ironworkers. Excavation at the church in Ballyvourney yielded considerable evidence of ironworking on the site.
St. Gobnet’s Church, Inisheer; although the church is 11th century, it claims to derive from a foundation by Gobnait and to contain the remains of her beehive hut.
The saint is still locally venerated today, and is among a group of Irish saints whose feast day has been given national rather than just local recognition. The main centres of devotion to Gobnait are Inis Oírr (Aran Islands), Dún Chaoin in West Kerry and Balleyvourney near the Cork / Kerry border. She is depicted on a stained glass window at Honan Chapel in Cork, which was made by artist Harry Clarke in 1916. The bottom of the design features the story of Gobnait driving off the brigand.
What do you eat to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Gobnait?
Gobnait is strongly associated with her home country of Ireland, and with honey, so a feast day dish from Ireland, featuring honey, seems to me to be the way we should go for celebrating her feast day. I have something in mind, too!
Tie pickling spices in a square of cheesecloth(spices may come with corned beef package). In a large stock pot, combine corned beef, water, pickling spices, whole vegetables and garlc. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 3 hours. You may use a crockpot for this, cooking 4-6 hours on high.
Place a cooking rack in a shallow baking pan or dish. Transfer brisket from cooking liquid, placing fat side up on rack.
Combine honey, brown sugar, mustard and ginger to make a glaze. Spoon glaze over meat.
Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350*F. oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to serving plate.
Makes 8 servings.
What is a prayer to say on the Feast Day of St. Gobnait?
St. Gobnait is associated with a nine-day prayer (a novena) that I will share below.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Intro Prayer
St Abigail, I ask for your prayers in this novena, for healing of sickness, for growth in the virtues I need, and for peace in conflict.
I also ask for a special intention in this novena (mention your request here…)
Concluding Prayer
St Abigail, you endured strife within your own family and yet remained faithful to our Lord.
Pray for me, that I can be a peacemaker in my home and among those I love, for the glory of God and for the sake of souls.
Thank you in advance for the graces you are obtaining for me, and may I ever remain in a state of sanctifying grace, seeking God’s will every day of my life.
Amen.
Our Father Hail Mary Glory Be
Saint Abigail, Pray for us.
(Please follow the link above to see the other days of the novena)
When is the Feast Day of St. Gobnait (Abigail) celebrated?
The Feast Day is celebrated annually on 11 February.
I hope everyone who celebrates has a wonderful day!
Ireland is kind of interesting in its resistance to Roman/British naming of things in favor of Celtic naming/spelling. Blathnaid, for example, is “Florence” in English. Sinead is Shauna (and I’d guess the Irish approach to the name probably helped Ms. O’Connor’s singing career.)
But… you might be right about Gobnait. I’ll have to dig to see if there are thousands of Gobnaits walking around in Ireland.
Gobnait huh? That’s one that didn’t stand the test of time
Ireland is kind of interesting in its resistance to Roman/British naming of things in favor of Celtic naming/spelling. Blathnaid, for example, is “Florence” in English. Sinead is Shauna (and I’d guess the Irish approach to the name probably helped Ms. O’Connor’s singing career.)
But… you might be right about Gobnait. I’ll have to dig to see if there are thousands of Gobnaits walking around in Ireland.
“Suddenly you’re confronted with thousands of Gobaits!” sounds like something a DM would say.