It's St. Patrick's Day again! For me, a day of great thanks and celebration. A day to celebrate some history. And also a day that tests my patience.
My ancestral roots are mostly a mixed bag of German, Swiss, Prussian, Irish, and probably other roots that I don't know of. But of these, I take great pride in my German and Irish roots. I (thankfully) have a family history book from my Mom's side, where my ancestors were roughly 50/50 split Irish and German. But my favorite information in that book is under one special category, "religious affiliation," all of whom are listed as "Catholic."
Praise God that my ancestors were and are still part of the Body of Christ. Praise God that down to my generation and now my son's, this Catholic lineage is unbroken for at least a few hundred years (as far back as my genealogy is currently traced). I assume (and probably correctly so) that all of my Irish ancestors were Catholic, and to that, I credit and give thanks to the man who brought Catholicism to pagan Ireland in the 5th century: St. Patrick.
Good St. Patrick was not even Irish himself, but born in Scotland and actually sold into slavery to Ireland as a teen. In those years in captivity, he grew in love for God. He escaped captivity after 6 years, but Ireland would continue to tug at his heartstrings. Around 433, at the command of Pope St. Celestine I, the priest St. Patrick and companions landed in Ireland to evangelize the people. Though many obstacles faced him, he nevertheless came out successful after more than 40 years, converting almost the entire country. He was granted final rest on March 17, 493, wrapped in the shroud that was hand-woven by St. Brigid (my Confirmation namesake).
He was deeply devoted to bringing and keeping the Truth in Ireland. I was taken aback by this paragraph from his biographical write-up on the New Advent site:
It is recorded that when St. Patrick and St. Brigid were united in their last prayer, a special vision was shown to him. He saw the whole of Ireland lit up with the brightest rays of Divine Faith. This continued for centuries, and then clouds gathered around the devoted island, and, little by little, the religious glory faded away, until, in the course of centuries, it was only in the remotest valleys that some glimmer of its light remained. St. Patrick prayed that the light would never be extinguished, and, as he prayed, the angel came to him and said: "Fear not: your apostolate shall never cease." As he thus prayed, the glimmering light grew in brightness, and ceased not until once more all the hills and valleys of Ireland were lit up in their pristine splendour, and then the angel announced to St. Patrick: "Such shall be the abiding splendour of Divine truth in Ireland."So you see, St. Patrick holds a special place in my Irish-Catholic heart. I'm just so thankful for the graces God gave to him. For the plan that God had for him and Ireland. And for his "yes" to God. My patience is tested especially on this day when people "celebrate" St. Patrick's Day with no nod to the Saint or the God he served. Yes, it bothers me when people use a Catholic feast day as an excuse to commit the mortal sin of purposely getting drunk. Then again, the whole calendar year is full of Catholic-feast-days-turned-sinful-and-misunderstood-celebrations, like the rampant fornication on St. Valentine's Day, more Easter bunnies than celebrations of Christ's resurrection, and the secular war to rid all things religious from Christmas, just to name a few.
But anyways, celebrate today! But don't celebrate how much green alcohol you can drink, but rather, celebrate the Catholic bishop that brought Christ to the hearts of a whole nation, and countless subsequent generations for the last 1500 years. Remember that we are just in the heart of Lent, a time of fasting and self-denial, but go ahead, give thanks, and eat some Irish food, crack open a good beer, and tip your hat to good St. Patrick. Ask for his intercession. Imitate him by loving what he loves: God. Recite and meditate on his prayer (below) and truly honor his feast day, not with drunkenness, but with a heart more open to Christ.
St. Patrick, thank you! Please pray for us!
This prayer of St. Patrick is known as "St. Patrick's Breast Plate". Read and meditate on it. If nothing else, just read what is highlighted in bold near the end and think about those words on this day.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.
I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
