ST GOBNAIT; 11th FEBRUARY

 ST GOBNAIT

11th FEBRUARY

11th February is the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. It is also the feast day of St Gobnait, (Abigail or Deborah), a 6th Century Irish saint, the patron saint of bees and of ironworkers, who is connected with bees and with care for the sick. Her cult is very strong in Ireland and pilgrimages take place to her shrine in Ballyvourney, near the Cork, Kerry border, on her feast day, on Whitsunday and in July. I have taken her story from an article on her in the Irish Examiner by Mary O’Riordan, (1).

As a saint who comforted the sick, it is appropriate that her feast day is the same day as Our Lady of Lourdes. The patronage of bees and apiarists is shared with a number of saints, including the great St Ambrose and St Valentine. Bees are incredible creatures and St Gobnait is an icon in apiary circles –she is one who is to be properly venerated in an age where bees need all the help they can get. There is a statue to her in Ballyvourney by Seamus Murphy.

She was born in County Clare in the 5th or 6th century and is said to have been a sister of St Abban. She fled a family feud and took refuge in the Aran Islands, on the island of Inisheer, where she founded a church which still stands on the north side of the island near the shore. The church is said to contain the remains of her beehive. One day an angel appeared to her and told her that it was not the place of her “resurrection”, and to search for a place with nine white deer grazing. She journeyed through many places which are marked by churches and holywells dedicated to her, such as the medieval church in Kilgobnet, Co Waterford and finally settled in Ballyvourney, when she saw nine white deer grazing, to ‘await her resurrection”. Celtic custom proclaimed that the resurrection place is where the soul leaves the body, which it does as a bee or butterfly. Bees were held in high esteem by the Celts.

She founded a convent, starting a religious order and devoted her life to healing the sick. She also, however, devoted her life to the bees; she used honey as a healing aid and there are stories of her healing her fellow nuns with her own honey.

There are also legends of her fending off invaders who were stealing her cattle; one version has it that the beehive turned into a bronze helmet and the bees turned themselves into soldiers. This tale states that it was the O’Herlihys who sought her help and they handed down the bronze helmet from generation to generation as protection. Another version has it that Gobnait released the bees who attacked the invaders. Yet another story has it that she drove off a brigand by sending a swarm of bees after him and making him return the cattle he had stolen.

There is a well north of Ballyagran in a high field to the left of Castletown, which is a holywell, where it is said that a white stag can sometimes be seen.

She is given veneration at a national level in Ireland. The main areas of devotion to her are Inis Oirr (Aran Islands), Dun Chaoin in West Kerry and Ballyvourney.

She is depicted here in a stained glass window by Harry Clarke in the Honan Chapel, in Cork (1914).

Perhaps, St Gobnait could be an example of a saint who could assist us in living simply and ethically. In doing this, we do not necessarily need to worry about the world ending tomorrow, (that, after all, is another-lucrative- industry), but we can focus on consuming less and living in a manner which is more natural, with less waste and hopefully, which engenders less pollution. Actually, if we just live simply and prayerfully, as these saints did, we could attain health for our souls, for others and for the world.

WAX COTTON WRAPS

These are simple to make and can be used instead of plastic wrap to keep food fresh in the fridge. They are, in fact, far better for food such as cheese, which does not take kindly to the moisture generated by plastic wrap.

Ingredients:

Squares of pure cotton (an old clean sheet should suffice)

Pure beeswax blocks

Baking paper and an iron

Line the ironing board with baking paper. Lay the cotton on the baking paper and grate some wax onto the surface of the cotton. Lay another layer of baking paper over the cotton and iron the waxed cotton, making sure that the wax applies evenly. If an area does not have enough wax, grate more wax onto that area. Let cool.

When the squares are wrapped around food, the warmth of the hands will make the wax melt to the extent that the cotton will adhere and seal off the air - and there you have a way to utilize less plastic in your daily life.

To celebrate St Gobnait’s patronage of bees, we can also include a simple recipe for Spoon Butter, for the preservation and care of wooden implements in the home, including chopping boards, wooden spoons and even rustic style, scrubbed tables.

SPOON BUTTER

Ingredients:

Water

Natural beeswax

Cold-pressed sunflower oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)

Large saucepan

Mason jar

Spoon or chopsticks

Place the bar of beeswax in the Mason jar and pour in a small amount of sunflower oil.

Heat water in a saucepan over medium heat, to be used as a bain marie: When the water begins to simmer, turn to low and gently lower the Mason jar into the water, taking care not to splash any water into the jar. After 10 minutes turn the heat off and leave the saucepan on the stove with the wax. Let the jar sit for more than 10 minutes. As the wax melts use the chopsticks or the base of a spoon to break up the larger pieces, helping them to melt.

Remove the jar – the wax should have melted into a gold liquid. If there remain unmelted pieces, assist the melting by stirring with the chopsticks. Let the jar sit for 20 minutes, then stir together for quite a while to a soft, creamy, butter texture. Leave to cool at room temperature. Then cover and store for up to 6 months. Apply the Butter with your fingers and then polish with a clean rag.

Prior to applying the Spoon Butter, the wooden implements should be cleaned thoroughly and, at the time of the application of the wax mixture, should be completely dry: A method of cleaning is to sprinkle the surface of the chopping board with coarse salt and then rub over the abrasive surface with the cut side of half a lemon, squeezing to allow the juice of the lemon to come out while scrubbing. Scrape the wet surface with a scraper and then wash with warm water.

(1) 13th February 2016.