St. Patrick's Day: Another reason to dislike Facebook

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Hopefully nobody else is having to deal with this. A lot of my friends, having to work on Monday, decided to use last night to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I know this because around dinnertime last night they started posting pictures of themselves as they started their binge drinking. My kids are able to see my page on the family computer so I try to delete content they don’t need to see. I had to check on my page regularly until they went to bed, not just deleting pictures but also blocking several people, some permanently. Dressing up in green is one thing, but people barely able to stand, picture after picture of them chugging drinks, beer bongs, drinking games and other unwholesome behavior is something else entirely. One lady from my high school showed off her new St. Patrick’s Day tattoo, wearing pretty much just her tattoo and not much else. I realize that most holidays in America are now seen as an excuse to binge drink, but St. Patrick’s Day is the one that, at least since my college days, has been designated as pretty much nothing but a binge drinking holiday, and it just seems to have gotten much worse the last few years, at least with a big segment of the people I know. Even worse, with Facebook the whole world gets to see their blind drunk behavior, the mistakes they picked up at the bar, and read the drunken Facebooking they do afterward. I just went through and deleted a bunch of other posts and will probably avoid it altogether the rest of the day. I’ll likely also pray for my friends to receive a dose of modesty, chastity, temperance and common sense.
 
It doesn’t have much significance anymore because Ireland managed to undo what St. Patrick did in about a generation. Not a very Catholic country anymore.
 
If the Church would shift the religious holidays by about a week to separate them from the secular, I think it would be better. I don’t know, but in Orthodoxy the old Calendar would do this: I am not sure how that would work in the Catholic Church. This way they can act vile while not staining the actual holiday itself. It would mean nothing to us anymore.
 
You’re right its another excuse to binge drink, especially in our country. Just like cinco de mayo and the night before Thanksgiving, etc. With St. Patrick’s Day, the overwhelming majority of people that do this sort of thing have no idea who St. Patrick was, what he did and why there is even a day of observance. Still there are others who are of Irish heritage or at least claim to be, that think that’s what they are supposed to do on St. Patrick’s Day. I know, I used to be one of those people of Irish heritage. I’ve done a lot of stupid things like that. Please pray for them! I now take every opportunity to try and educate people about him and why we even have this day in our country.

I also understand exactly what you are saying about FB. I’ve pretty much began to avoid it for the most part. Thankfully I don’t see too much of that stuff on there from my friends, but it does happen occassionally. I avoid it for that reason but in general its adults acting like children. I’ve come to realize that if you really want to know someone, see what they do on FB!

Have a blessed St. Patrick’s Day! I plan on attending Mass in the morning and spend some time reading the Confession of St. Patrick.
 
You could also say “Lent: Another reason to dislike Facebook”
because I just made the unfortunate discovery of seeing
a picture of a dinner plate in a restaurant with meat on it.
The photo was taken this past Friday,
and people were joking about the sin of eating meat on Friday
and making excuses for it.
At least now I know how to direct my prayers …
 
Nacho45 said:
If the Church would shift the religious holidays by about a week to separate them from the secular, I think it would be better. I don’t know, but in Orthodoxy the old Calendar would do this: I am not sure how that would work in the Catholic Church. This way they can act vile while not staining the actual holiday itself. It would mean nothing to us anymore.
Click to expand...
But why should we give up our holidays to the neo-pagans? Should we no longer celebrate Christmas on the 25th? Change the dating of Easter? Etc. The world will always be full of sin. Perhaps we can show the real spirit of St Paddy’s Day by driving forth the “snakes” in our country and bringing the good old US of A under the reign of Christ the King. Viva Cristo Rey!
 
The problem is debauchery, not Facebook and surely not St. Patrick’s Day. Our family always feasts on this day in celebration of our Irish Catholic heritage (not me, my wife). If people posts inappropriate pictures on Facebook, why not simply block their posts?
 
Never liked it in the first place. It’s certainly not something I would normalize around my children.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
Hopefully nobody else is having to deal with this. A lot of my friends, having to work on Monday, decided to use last night to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I know this because around dinnertime last night they started posting pictures of themselves as they started their binge drinking. My kids are able to see my page on the family computer so I try to delete content they don’t need to see. I had to check on my page regularly until they went to bed, not just deleting pictures but also blocking several people, some permanently. Dressing up in green is one thing, but people barely able to stand, picture after picture of them chugging drinks, beer bongs, drinking games and other unwholesome behavior is something else entirely. One lady from my high school showed off her new St. Patrick’s Day tattoo, wearing pretty much just her tattoo and not much else. I realize that most holidays in America are now seen as an excuse to binge drink, but St. Patrick’s Day is the one that, at least since my college days, has been designated as pretty much nothing but a binge drinking holiday, and it just seems to have gotten much worse the last few years, at least with a big segment of the people I know. Even worse, with Facebook the whole world gets to see their blind drunk behavior, the mistakes they picked up at the bar, and read the drunken Facebooking they do afterward. I just went through and deleted a bunch of other posts and will probably avoid it altogether the rest of the day. I’ll likely also pray for my friends to receive a dose of modesty, chastity, temperance and common sense.
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Facebook does spread a lot of garbage. I guess it’s up to you to block it.

There are those who want to make all of us think that Saint Patrick’s Day is one big drunken holiday; that all irish who are catholic are drunks.

My biggest event was to take my family to the Saint Patrick’s Day parade and have corn beef and cabbage.

Saint Patrick, pray for us.
 
gam197 said:
Facebook does spread a lot of garbage. I guess it’s up to you to block it.

There are those who want to make all of us think that Saint Patrick’s Day is one big drunken holiday; that all irish who are catholic are drunks.

My biggest event was to take my family to the Saint Patrick’s Day parade and have corn beef and cabbage.

Saint Patrick, pray for us.
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I agree, but we don’t do the coned beef and cabbage thing. 🙂

Gordon, I understand what you are saying. Having read so many of your wonderful posts, I am surprised that you are even friends with people that behave as you say they do! Nothing like Facebook to show people’s true character is there?
 
PietroPaolo said:
But why should we give up our holidays to the neo-pagans? Should we no longer celebrate Christmas on the 25th? Change the dating of Easter? Etc. The world will always be full of sin. Perhaps we can show the real spirit of St Paddy’s Day by driving forth the “snakes” in our country and bringing the good old US of A under the reign of Christ the King. Viva Cristo Rey!
Click to expand...
Good post! :shamrock2:

Thank you
 
In the end, people use any excuse to get trashed. A few examples were listed in this thread. Irish people are stereotypically known for their ability to drink a lot. So a holiday that celebrates Irish culture more than the life of the Saint who it’s really celebrating will lead to that. It’s a sad truth and unfortunately one that the Church has no desire of ever commenting on. The day someone like Cardinal Dolan comes out and condemns those people who participate in acts of debauchery in the name of a Saint would be a shocking one indeed.
 
Irishmom2 said:
I agree, but we don’t do the coned beef and cabbage thing. 🙂

Gordon, I understand what you are saying. Having read so many of your wonderful posts, **I am surprised that you are even friends with people that behave as you say they do! ** Nothing like Facebook to show people’s true character is there?
Click to expand...
Pffft! That’s nothing. You should see the people Jesus used to hang around with… 😃

Everyone has their peccadillies*, sometimes they just hide in the background and do not always make themselves immediately manifest.

Peccadilly = same as a peccadillo, only it’s a dilly.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
My kids are able to see my page on the family computer so I try to delete content they don’t need to see.
Click to expand...
Or you could, y’know, log out of facebook when you aren’t using it. That would be easier and more practical, wouldn’t it?
 
Modern day western culture.

My wife has friends from work who have thousands of photos on facebook all with them out at some pub pulling strange faces completely drunk.

:sad_yes:
 
PietroPaolo said:
But why should we give up our holidays to the neo-pagans? Should we no longer celebrate Christmas on the 25th? Change the dating of Easter? Etc. The world will always be full of sin. Perhaps we can show the real spirit of St Paddy’s Day by driving forth the “snakes” in our country and bringing the good old US of A under the reign of Christ the King. Viva Cristo Rey!
Click to expand...
I think he’s talking about something like the Julian calendar, which Catholics and Orthodox in the East use liturgically. Not necessarily pagan.
 
The whole St. Patrick’s day thing is really kind of comical. Here are a bunch of non-religious people celebrating a religious feast! You’d think they would try to ban it!

Personally, I think it is fun to wear something green and go out and have some corned beef and cabbage and a green beer!
 
VanSensei said:
It doesn’t have much significance anymore because Ireland managed to undo what St. Patrick did in about a generation. Not a very Catholic country anymore.
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The tone of this post is very judgemental and harsh. It is true that that Catholic Church in Ireland has it’s challenges. That is undisputable. In social terms Ireland is more conservative that most other European countries. Abortion on demand is still illegal. Ireland has the highest birth rate in all of Western Europe. The Irish Independent reported this morning “A PAPAL document written by Pope Francis has propelled the pontiff into the Irish bestseller category, with bookshops unable to keep the publication in stock.”

What I find so offensive is the statement that Ireland has manage to undue what St. Patrick did in about a generation. As though not one in the Ireland is practicing Catholicism. Is it appropriate for an American Catholic to judge Ireland? Really!!! Have you taken a good look at the direction or own country is going in? With all due respect VanSensei you owe the people of Ireland an apology.
 
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