Amateur Catholic: Feast of St. Patrick

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Friday, March 17, 2006

Feast of St. Patrick

March 17 is the day appointed by the Catholic Church to celebrate the feast of St. Patrick, bishop and Apostle to Ireland. It is also the day that millions of non-Catholics celebrate a thing called St. Paddy’s Day. Normally these would be the same people that would deny an Irishman a job just because of his ethnicity, but on this day they will get stupid-drunk on cheap beer tainted with green dye and pretend they are Irish.

Naturally, us Catholics - amateur or not - are not so shallow. We take this time to reflect on this great saint and the wonderful nation and people he converted to the Faith. We consider the shamrock, which St. Patrick used so effectively to explain the Holy Trinity.

The great people of Ireland have been oppressed by an occupying force for centuries, yet thanks to St. Patrick, they still maintain that fighting Irish spirit!

And here's something of interest. Were you aware that in the year 2003 of Our Lord that a native of Ireland was crowned as the leader of the world or something. Her name is Rosanna Davison but they even called her Miss World. Inspiring stuff. No, you can’t keep the Irish down.

And talent… This people is so blessed with talent. Who is not in awe of the remarkable acting of Maureen O’Hara and Nicole Kidman?

I know, I know… Irish music sure leaves something to be desired, but what about their dancing? Pretty amazing stuff.

Now, to some unlearned types, Ireland is just the surname of some popular model, but we know better.

So as you drink your Guinness and eat your corned beef (if dispensed of Friday abstinence), please say a prayer to St. Patrick, patron of Ireland, engineers, snake bites, and redheaded lasses.

Seeing as Julie and Penni buried poor St. Patrick with their trivial antics, I am returning him to some prominence. After all, it is his feast day, not James Bond's.

16 Comments:

At 3/17/2006 12:59 AM, Fidei Defensor said...: I once heard speculation that Kidman left Tom Cruise because she was sick of him trying to get her to leave the Catholic Church and be a Scientologist. If true, I commend her!

St. Patrick's Day, St. Valantine's Day, St. Nick's Day. We have all these great Holidays that the early Protesant's did away with, now their descendents like to leach off ours. I guess "Reformation Sunday" just doesn't compare to the Catholic year which lives and breathes to the rhythms of saint's feasts, Christ's sorrful Passion, Resurection, the life of Our Lady and her Miracles, etc.

Great post, I hope Ireland stops its slide into EU post-Christianity.

And don't knock the music, that stuff is great, Whisky in the Jar, The Gentleman Solider, God Save Ireland, Come out ye Black and Tans, etc.
At 3/17/2006 1:02 AM, Der Tommissar said...: Irish Music leaves something to be desired?

That'll be three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys.
At 3/17/2006 8:51 AM, Darwin said...: I thought Nicole Kidman was Australian... A continent inhabited entirely by criminals.

We Irish, of course, are different. We're only prospective criminals. We don't actually commit any crimes till the damn English show up and make a bunch of silly rules that no one could be expected to follow anyway.
At 3/17/2006 9:05 AM, owenswain said...: I was writing a response when it became a post.
At 3/17/2006 9:14 AM, Rick Lugari said...: Yeah, Darwin, see penni's post concerning Nicole Kidman. She is of Irish decent. Those of Australian decent are called Aborigines and as a race can hardly be confused with the Irish. ;)
At 3/17/2006 10:14 AM, Rick Lugari said...: I just can't figure out why she's walking like an Egyptian...
At 3/17/2006 10:31 AM, Darwin said...: Well, if you want to play it that way, Rick, no one is native to Ireland if you go back a couple thousand years. (And I'm not sure many of the modern Irish are descended from the Picts, as opposed to the Celts...)

Still, I guess we can grant that Nicole is more Irish than I am -- since I can only claim 25%.

As for why she has her arms up like that, I think it should be obvious she's doing that to accentuate her... profile.
At 3/17/2006 10:46 AM, Rick Lugari said...: As for why she has her arms up like that, I think it should be obvious she's doing that to accentuate her... profile.

LOL. And I thought it was just an Irish inner beauty thing, seeing as the Miss World chick and the dancing babe are holding their arms up in a weird way too.
At 3/17/2006 10:57 AM, Ron Rolling said...: I see you are up to your old tricks, Rick. Some of us remember the picture posting "war" you had with Happy Catholic at De Civitate Deo.
At 3/17/2006 11:28 AM, Barb Szyszkiewicz said...: What do you mean, Irish music leaves something to be desired????
I'm with Der Tomissar on this one. Bring on the Wolfe Tones!
At 3/17/2006 11:39 AM, Rick Lugari said...: Tricks, Ron? I don't know what you're speaking of. I spread love and appreciation throughout the world and you call it a trick. I pay tribute to Irish-Catholic heritage and you paint it as something shallow, the likes of which might come from Happy Catholic?

Are you by chance wearing orange?

;)
At 3/17/2006 11:41 AM, Rick Lugari said...: So you like Irish music, do you, Ms. Szyszkiewicz?

Interesting.
;)
At 3/17/2006 5:10 PM, Barb Szyszkiewicz said...: Rick, my MAIDEN name is "Grady." As in, formerly "O'Grady" until "No Irish Need Apply" and my great-grandfather changed it so he could find work to feed his family.
And now I'm off to blast "A Soldier's Song" and drive my children (half Irish, 1/4 Polish, 1/4 Lithuanian) up a wall. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.
At 3/17/2006 8:32 PM, Pro Ecclesia said...: Barb, we must be cousins. My grandmother was an O'Grady.

Rick,
You forgot one red-headed Irish hottie: traditional Irish dancer Jean Butler. You may remember her as the prettier of the 2 chicks who were the lead dancers in Riverdance. That Flatley chick sorta looked like a man.

I met Jean Butler in Charlottesville a couple of years ago at a conference on the future of Ireland. She's finer in person than she is in that linked photo above.

Smokes like a chimney, though. While chainsmoking may be conducive to one's blogging stamina, it can't be good to fill your lungs with that crap when you have to dance like Jean does.
At 3/18/2006 9:11 AM, Rick Lugari said...: Wow Jay. I'm sorry I was unaware of Jean Butler until now. Truly. I feel like such a bad Catholic by not having been celebrating her inner beauty and dignity all this time. Mea culpa.
At 3/21/2006 10:42 PM, Unknown said...: Actually they sent all the Irish criminals to Australia so you are mostly right about Australia.

Nicole Kidman is Australian, she may have been Catholic before she married Mr Cruise but she isn't anymore, I don't think anyway.

Interestingly so was his first wife and so was Katie Holmes.

Maggie

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Friday, March 17, 2006

Feast of St. Patrick

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