Traditional Celebration of St. Patrick's Day

[bkovacs]

Enjoy!

img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=stpatrick.jpg

 

[bkovacs]

Apolytikion in the Third Tone

O Holy Hierarch, equal of the Apostles, Saint Patrick, wonderworker and enlightener of Ireland: Intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

The Master revealed thee as a skillful fisher of men; and casting forth nets of Gospel preaching, thou drewest up the heathen to piety. Those who were the children of idolatrous darkness thou didst render sons of day through holy Baptism. O Patrick, intercede for us who honour thy memory.

 

[lizaanne]

Ok - I must confess the St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Toast story.

A couple of years ago I got one of those freebie things in the mail from some place or other, but this time it was not a plastic rosary. It was a tiny little statue of St. Patrick, maybe only two inches high. He was pointing down at his feet, presumably at the snakes he was stamping out, it would be too tiny to tell.

Well, I did not want to throw him away, so I put him on a little shelf in my kitchen which happens to be over the toaster. He now points down at the toaster from on high, and so we have dubbed him to be the patron saint of toast in our house. And we do ask him to pray for us when we make our toast. It is very handy having a saint over your toaster, don’t knock it till you try it.

~Liza

 

[Volodymyr_988]

McGurk’s in Soulard? Is it still there? :irish3:

I believe so, but I doubt the Missus will let me sneak out for a pint. Plus that would be a 2 hour round trip!

 

[Volodymyr_988]

Bkovacs,

That is the story I’m used to hearing, Saint Patrick as a Romanized Britton, later a slave etc, etc.

Is there not some controversy over whether he was just one man? I have heard of a 2 Patrick’s theory that I’ll admit I do not buy into or care for. Supposedly there were two Missionaries with the same name working in Ireland at similar times and they have been blended into one person by popular history. Does anyone know if church historians have looked into this 2 Patrick theory or if it is just secular ones?

From Wikipedia (caveat lector)

Background

Most modern studies of Saint Patrick follow a variant of T. F. O’Rahilly’s “Two Patricks” theory. That is to say, many of the traditions later attached to Saint Patrick originally concerned Palladius, a deacon from Gaul who came to Ireland, perhaps sent by Pope Celestine I (died 431). Palladius was not the only early cleric in Ireland at this time. Saints Auxilius, Secundinus and Iserninus are associated with early churches in Munster and Leinster. By this reading, Palladius was active in Ireland until the 460s.[3]

Prosper of Aquitaine’s contemporary chronicle states:

Palladius was ordained by Pope Celestine and sent to the Irish believers in Christ as their first bishop.[4]

Prosper associates this with the visits of Germanus of Auxerre to Britain to suppress the Pelagian heresy and it has been suggested that Palladius and his colleagues were sent to Ireland to ensure that exiled Pelagians did not establish themselves among the Irish Christians. The appointment of Palladius and his fellow-bishops was not obviously a mission to convert the Irish, but more probably intended to minister to existing Christian communities in Ireland.[5] The sites of churches associated with Palladius and his colleagues are close to royal centres of the period: Secundus is remembered by Dunshaughlin, County Meath, close to the Hill of Tara which is associated with the High King of Ireland; Kilashee, County Kildare, close to Naas with links with the Kings of Leinster, is probably named for Auxilius. This activity was limited to the southern half of Ireland, and there is no evidence for them in Ulster or Connacht.[6]

Although the evidence for contacts with Gaul is clear, the borrowings from Latin into the Old Irish language show that links with former Roman Britain were many.[7] Saint Iserninus, who appears to be of the generation of Palladius, is thought to have been a Briton, and is associated with the lands of the Uí Cheinnselaig in Leinster. The Palladian mission should not be contrasted with later “British” missions, but forms a part of them.[8]

Saint Patrick went under the gaelic second name of Daorbae (meaning - He was enslaved) so, he was known as Patricius Daorbae, during his Irish ministry.[9]

It honestly sounds like the Shakespeare really didn’t write Shakespeare theory.

 

[Chiltepin]

Ok - I must confess the St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Toast story.

A couple of years ago I got one of those freebie things in the mail from some place or other, but this time it was not a plastic rosary. It was a tiny little statue of St. Patrick, maybe only two inches high. He was pointing down at his feet, presumably at the snakes he was stamping out, it would be too tiny to tell.

Well, I did not want to throw him away, so I put him on a little shelf in my kitchen which happens to be over the toaster. He now points down at the toaster from on high, and so we have dubbed him to be the patron saint of toast in our house. And we do ask him to pray for us when we make our toast. It is very handy having a saint over your toaster, don’t knock it till you try it.

~Liza

I love your story! I don’t have a toaster, but I think I could really use a saint in my kitchen somewhere.

It honestly sounds like the Shakespeare really didn’t write Shakespeare theory.

Please forgive my incompetence, but what does that mean? I almost get it(possible multiple Shakespeare and all), but then I don’t.

bkovacs,
I love that picture,… BUT ITS HUGE!

 

[Volodymyr_988]

My point is that many of the things that St. Patrick did are attributed to someone else. Just like people say that Marlowe or someone else wrote Shakespeare’s plays.

 

[bkovacs]

I love your story! I don’t have a toaster, but I think I could really use a saint in my kitchen somewhere.

Please forgive my incompetence, but what does that mean? I almost get it(possible multiple Shakespeare and all), but then I don’t.

bkovacs,
I love that picture,… BUT ITS HUGE!

I made it big so if you have a large monitor you can still use it as a desktop background.:irish3:

 

[larousser]

Some of the relevant prayers here.

 

[brigid12]

Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland was born around 385, the son of Calpurnius, a Roman decurion (an official responsible for collecting taxes). He lived in the village of Bannavem Taberniae, which may have been located at the mouth of the Severn River in Wales. The district was raided by pirates when Patrick was sixteen, and he was one of those taken captive. He was brought to Ireland and sold as a slave, and was put to work as a herder of swine on a mountain identified with Slemish in Co. Antrim. During his period of slavery, Patrick acquired a proficiency in the Irish language which was very useful to him in his later mission.

He prayed during his solitude on the mountain, and lived this way for six years. He had two visions. The first told him he would return to his home. The second told him his ship was ready. Setting off on foot, Patrick walked two hundred miles to the coast. There he succeeded in boarding a ship, and returned to his parents in Britain.

Some time later, he went to Gaul and studied for the priesthood at Auxerre under St Germanus (July 31). Eventually, he was consecrated as a bishop, and was entrusted with the mission to Ireland, succeeding St Palladius (July 7). St Palladius did not achieve much success in Ireland. After about a year he went to Scotland, where he died in 432.

Patrick had a dream in which an angel came to him bearing many letters. Selecting one inscribed “The Voice of the Irish,” he heard the Irish entreating him to come back to them.

Although St Patrick achieved remarkable results in spreading the Gospel, he was not the first or only missionary in Ireland. He arrived around 432 (though this date is disputed), about a year after St Palladius began his mission to Ireland. There were also other missionaries who were active on the southeast coast, but it was St Patrick who had the greatest influence and success in preaching the Gospel of Christ. Therefore, he is known as “The Enlightener of Ireland.”

His autobiographical Confession tells of the many trials and disappointments he endured. Patrick had once confided to a friend that he was troubled by a certain sin he had committed before he was fifteen years old. The friend assured him of God’s mercy, and even supported Patrick’s nomination as bishop. Later, he turned against him and revealed what Patrick had told him in an attempt to prevent his consecration. Many years later, Patrick still grieved for his dear friend who had publicly shamed him.

St Patrick founded many churches and monasteries across Ireland, but the conversion of the Irish people was no easy task. There was much hostility, and he was assaulted several times. He faced danger, and insults, and he was reproached for being a foreigner and a former slave. There was also a very real possibility that the pagans would try to kill him. Despite many obstacles, he remained faithful to his calling, and he baptized many people into Christ.

The saint’s Epistle to Coroticus is also an authentic work. In it he denounces the attack of Coroticus’ men on one of his congregations. The Breastplate (Lorica) is also attributed to St Patrick. In his writings, we can see St Patrick’s awareness that he had been called by God, as well as his determination and modesty in undertaking his missionary work. He refers to himself as “a sinner,” “the most ignorant and of least account,” and as someone who was “despised by many.” He ascribes his success to God, rather than to his own talents: “I owe it to God’s grace that through me so many people should be born again to Him.”

By the time he established his episcopal See in Armargh in 444, St Patrick had other bishops to assist him, many native priests and deacons, and he encouraged the growth of monasticism.

St Patrick is often depicted holding a shamrock, or with snakes fleeing from him. He used the shamrock to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Its three leaves growing out of a single stem helped him to explain the concept of one God in three Persons. Many people now regard the story of St Patrick driving all the snakes out of Ireland as having no historical basis.

St Patrick died on March 17, 461 (some say 492). There are various accounts of his last days, but they are mostly legendary. Muirchu says that no one knows the place where St Patrick is buried. St Columba of Iona (June 9) says that the Holy Spirit revealed to him that Patrick was buried at Saul, the site of his first church. A granite slab was placed at his traditional grave site in Downpatrick in 1899.

img25.imageshack.us/img25/8672/0317patrickireland.jpg

Gorgeous picture!

I thought he was born in Wales. I recently read something (actually a couple different articles) that said he was born in Scotland, tho’.

 

[Mike_Searson]

I have a routine I’ve followed the past 15 or so years.

My day begins with Mass.

I gave up booze and pork for Lent, tonight I will have booze. I’m a first generation American and we never ate Corned beef and cabbage, usually I make lamb stew for St Pat’s, however this year it’s unusually warm in the Sierras for Stew. I’ll have another traditional meal.

I never drink green beer, but tonight I will drink a pint of Guinness for every hundred years my people were subjugated to the British. I will have an Irish coffee made with Jamesons when I’m done. Before I go to bed I’ll have a shot of Connemara whiskey in honor of all the Irish martyrs over the past 1500 years.

Then I will not have another drink until Easter Sunday.

 

[brigid12]

BTW, thought I’d make sure you guys knew - “The Priests” (the three from Ireland) are doing a special performance tonight in honor of St. Patrick’s Day in St. Malachy’s Cathedral in NYC. It’s on right now on EWTN. They’re :clapping::clapping::clapping:!

 

[Chiltepin]

As for St. Patrick’s day plans I’m going to a paleontology lecture at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (probably, if my ride doesn’t fall through.) It’s not saintly, Patricky or Irish, but it seems cool to me. Afterward we’ll try to find a pub downtown with some good Irish music. I cannot promise a one drink for the night. Two, with a meal between sounds more likely. It’s a long way from idiotic drunkenness. Still, your one drink toast seems more classy!

Quoting myself to revise plans with what actually happened. No Paleontology lecture but it was still fun! Went to Mass at 7pm, then afterward to an Irish pub. Stood around in the crowded pub for about 3 minutes (long enough to smell like smoke but not long enough to order a drink.) The drunks and the smoke were irritating, plus the live music was absent.

We then went to Spec’s(friendly neighborhood liquor store) where most things Irish were already bought. I ran into our Deacon who helped us look. He had just said a funeral for a person who lived a great life and wanted to raise a glass to her. We did spot some unrefrigerated stout. I let him have the last Guinness and I bought some Murphy’s(there was plenty in bottles, but you need the can with the weird fizzy thing, you know.)I bought some Old Rasputin too, just because I felt it would be a good addition to my fridge. The deacon gave me a great big hug and an enthusiastic “Happy St. Patrick’s Day!” before we left. I had one pint can of Murphy’s and that was my night.

So to summarize, daily Mass and a bear hug from the Deacon in a liquor store. That is a good St. Patricks day!

 

[barb_finnegan]

BTW, thought I’d make sure you guys knew - “The Priests” (the three from Ireland) are doing a special performance tonight in honor of St. Patrick’s Day in St. Malachy’s Cathedral in NYC. It’s on right now on EWTN. They’re :clapping::clapping::clapping:!

I don’t get EWTN, but I saw ‘The Priests’ on ABC’s ‘Live with Regis and Kelly’ in the morning. They sang ‘The Irish Blessing’ from their CD. I was doing my wash at the laundromat, and I stayed a few extra minutes to hear them! They are sooooo cool! :clapping:

I also heard that they marched in the New York St. Patrick’s Day parade! Doubly cool!