Happy St. Patrick's Day

[Gregz]

No babes threads!

[Boleslaw]

http://sciencenotes.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/st-patrick.jpg

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

[Gregz]

Boo to the mod who deleted my paddies day babe. :p

[Hakluyt]

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

http://www.joshbrownnyc.com/hayes/24.jpg

[O'Zebedee]

l6Y2yTirltk&feature=player_embedded

[Monty]

The Myth of St. Patrick

Patrick is undoubtedly the world's most famous patron saint. Few know the patron saint of Spain or Poland outside of those nations but Patrick has attained international fame. Patrick is also the patron saint of fishermen—and almost every other occupation—along the River Loire in France. There are churches named after Patrick all over the world, including in Rome itself.

The popular conception of Patrick is of the mitred bishop who illustrated the Trinity using a shamrock, drove the snakes of Ireland into the sea and victoriously confronted Loeghaire (pronounced Leary), the High-King of Ireland, and the druids at Tara. He is seen as typically Irish and dearly loved by the Irish populace of his day.

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated by many the world over and not just by the Irish and those in the Irish diaspora. The parade in New York—the largest demonstration of its kind in the world—sees over 100,000 march up Fifth Avenue. Green beer; shamrocks; green, white and orange flags; and public speeches are the order of the day. The world turns green and everybody discovers that they have at least some Irish connections.

Patrick, apparently, was a colourful character, a fun-loving guy. One author lends some support to this conclusion. Thomas Cahill puts it this way: Patrick "didn't take himself too seriously."1

Many aspects of the "popular Patrick" are promoted not only by the Irish diaspora and the Irish tourist board and the Irish government, but also by the Roman Church. According to Romish reckoning, Patrick was sent to Ireland by the pope. Clerical vestments are his garb and he carries a pastoral staff. He is accompanied by a guardian angel and works miracles. He is, in short, a "holy man." Thus when Pope John Paul II was in Ireland, he was allegedly walking "in the footsteps of Saint Patrick." It is strange that Patrick has not been canonised by the Roman Church.

On the last Sunday of July, Roman Catholics are still to be seen climbing Croagh Patrick (see insert) in County Mayo, some in their bare feet. Allegedly, Patrick once spent the forty days of Lent on that mount, and the Roman Church promises the faithful access to his merits. The island on Lough Derg in County Donegal on which Patrick allegedly had visions of purgatory is another holy place that is frequented by pilgrims. In reality, however, the legend of Saint Patrick's purgatory began with the pilgrimage to Lough Derg of a soldier known as the Knight Owen in the middle of the twelfth century.

Not content with all this, the papal church even declares Patrick's daily ritual. The Roman Breviary for March 17 tells us:

Every day he worshipped God three hundred times with genuflections and during each canonical hour he made the sign of the cross one hundred times. He divided the night into three periods, devoting the first into the recitation of one hundred psalms, accompanied by two hundred genuflections; the second to the recitation of the last fifty psalms, but immersed in cold water, holding the heart, the eyes and the hands towards Heaven; the third he devoted to a short rest, lying on the bare stone.

But is this a faithful presentation of the Patrick who laboured in Ireland in the fifth century? Is this really the man who evangelised the Emerald Isle? And if it is, do we really want to know such a man, never mind make him the object of a special study? Ironically, the presentation of Patrick that embellishes his life with "pious legend" and papal fictions to make him appealing and interesting rather than making us admire him, makes any real appreciation of this remarkable man impossible. Thankfully, as John T. McNeill points out, "The popular image of Patrick partakes largely of the legend and bears little relation to the historical person."2

Thankfully, we possess two writings of Patrick which, incidentally, constitute the oldest existing Irish literature. First, in his Letter to Coroticus Patrick rebukes Coroticus and his soldiers for attacking some of his Christian converts. Some were slaughtered but others were kidnapped to be sold into slavery. Second, Patrick wrote his Confession near the end of his life as a defence of his mission work in Ireland. Patrick’s two writings have been translated into English several times and exist in many editions. They are well worth obtaining and make rewarding reading, taking us back to the work and world of a Christian missionary in fifth century Ireland.3

Papal writers sometimes betray a certain amount of disappointment with Patrick’s Confession and his Letter to Coroticus. They appear to be dissatisfied with the simple account of his gratitude to God and labours on behalf of the gospel of Christ. "Where are his miraculous works?" they seem to be thinking. "Where does he speak of the practices of the Roman Church?" Something more is expected of a saint, and so the myths and exaggerations of the centuries succeeding Patrick are latched upon and promoted.

Admittedly, there are several historical difficulties. Patrick's writings are brief and they were not intended to provide later readers with his "Life and Times." They are occasionally ambiguous and can sometimes be interpreted in different senses. Our knowledge of the times during which he lived is still somewhat sketchy, and this provides further opportunity for an honest difference of opinion.

Patrick's first two biographers, Tirechan (pronounced Teera-hawn) and Muirchu (pronounced Murra-hoo), both wrote in the second half of the seventh century, at least two hundred years after his death. Later works betray an even greater desire to heighten Patrick's repute. It was one of these, the Tripartite Life, probably compiled near the end of the ninth century, which (sadly) became the most popular account of Patrick in Ireland until the twentieth century.

At the outset, we need to debunk some of the myths. First, Patrick was not Irish. He was born in Britain. Second, the tradition of Patrick's driving the snakes out of Ireland is palpably false. Third, the shamrock story was first mentioned about one thousand years after Patrick. Fourth, the confrontation at Tara, though taken for truth by many, is mythical. R. P. C. Hanson states, "There was no High-King of Ireland in his day," and "miters were not invented for at least 500 years after Patrick."4 Fifth, the green beer is not of an old vintage.

Sixth, the claim of Patrick's papal connections is denied even by some Roman Catholic scholars. Aidan Nichols, in a recent Vatican publication, states,

Patrick's own writings ... make no such pretension to papal support. It seems that the conversion of those Celtic areas that lay outside the civil zone of Roman Britain was initiated by British Christians themselves.5

It is highly significant that when Patrick was challenged as to his credentials for working in Ireland, he does not appeal to Rome (Conf 23ff.). Had Patrick been a papal missionary, such an omission would be unthinkable.

If this helps us in understanding what Patrick was not, we are still some way in understanding what he was really like. According to one scholar, Patrick "is one of the few personalities of fifth-century Europe who has revealed himself with living warmth, in terms that men of any age who care for their fellows can understand." This quotation may serve to encourage us in our quest for the real Saint Patrick, the man behind the myth.

The Patrick portrayed in public celebrations and by the Roman Catholic Church is mythical and useless. In Patrick’s Confession and Letter to Coroticus we meet a godly Christian missionary who both commands our admiration and deserves greater attention. Thus we shall consider his life, his message and his missionary labours, before concluding with an analysis of his significance.....

Full text here:
http://www.cprf.co.uk/articles/stpatrick.htm

[WillieBrennan]

Yes, if I'm not mistaken it was the wee leprechauns that brought Catholicism to Ireland.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_h4dXaKHYxQ8/Rf39ZTSkN9I/AAAAAAAAAE4/02mfuDMx7LA/s400/Leprechaun_Dancing_1.png


Thanks for the laughs, Monty.

[Monty]

Yes, if I'm not mistaken it was the wee leprechauns that brought Catholicism to Ireland.

http://www.hiphopstarship.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ice-t-leprechaun-in-the-hood.jpg

[Monty]

The Myth of St. Patrick

Patrick is undoubtedly the world's most famous patron saint. Few know the patron saint of Spain or Poland outside of those nations but Patrick has attained international fame. Patrick is also the patron saint of fishermen—and almost every other occupation—along the River Loire in France. There are churches named after Patrick all over the world, including in Rome itself.

The popular conception of Patrick is of the mitred bishop who illustrated the Trinity using a shamrock, drove the snakes of Ireland into the sea and victoriously confronted Loeghaire (pronounced Leary), the High-King of Ireland, and the druids at Tara. He is seen as typically Irish and dearly loved by the Irish populace of his day.

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated by many the world over and not just by the Irish and those in the Irish diaspora. The parade in New York—the largest demonstration of its kind in the world—sees over 100,000 march up Fifth Avenue. Green beer; shamrocks; green, white and orange flags; and public speeches are the order of the day. The world turns green and everybody discovers that they have at least some Irish connections.

Patrick, apparently, was a colourful character, a fun-loving guy. One author lends some support to this conclusion. Thomas Cahill puts it this way: Patrick "didn't take himself too seriously."1

Many aspects of the "popular Patrick" are promoted not only by the Irish diaspora and the Irish tourist board and the Irish government, but also by the Roman Church. According to Romish reckoning, Patrick was sent to Ireland by the pope. Clerical vestments are his garb and he carries a pastoral staff. He is accompanied by a guardian angel and works miracles. He is, in short, a "holy man." Thus when Pope John Paul II was in Ireland, he was allegedly walking "in the footsteps of Saint Patrick." It is strange that Patrick has not been canonised by the Roman Church.

On the last Sunday of July, Roman Catholics are still to be seen climbing Croagh Patrick (see insert) in County Mayo, some in their bare feet. Allegedly, Patrick once spent the forty days of Lent on that mount, and the Roman Church promises the faithful access to his merits. The island on Lough Derg in County Donegal on which Patrick allegedly had visions of purgatory is another holy place that is frequented by pilgrims. In reality, however, the legend of Saint Patrick's purgatory began with the pilgrimage to Lough Derg of a soldier known as the Knight Owen in the middle of the twelfth century.

Not content with all this, the papal church even declares Patrick's daily ritual. The Roman Breviary for March 17 tells us:

Every day he worshipped God three hundred times with genuflections and during each canonical hour he made the sign of the cross one hundred times. He divided the night into three periods, devoting the first into the recitation of one hundred psalms, accompanied by two hundred genuflections; the second to the recitation of the last fifty psalms, but immersed in cold water, holding the heart, the eyes and the hands towards Heaven; the third he devoted to a short rest, lying on the bare stone.

But is this a faithful presentation of the Patrick who laboured in Ireland in the fifth century? Is this really the man who evangelised the Emerald Isle? And if it is, do we really want to know such a man, never mind make him the object of a special study? Ironically, the presentation of Patrick that embellishes his life with "pious legend" and papal fictions to make him appealing and interesting rather than making us admire him, makes any real appreciation of this remarkable man impossible. Thankfully, as John T. McNeill points out, "The popular image of Patrick partakes largely of the legend and bears little relation to the historical person."2

Thankfully, we possess two writings of Patrick which, incidentally, constitute the oldest existing Irish literature. First, in his Letter to Coroticus Patrick rebukes Coroticus and his soldiers for attacking some of his Christian converts. Some were slaughtered but others were kidnapped to be sold into slavery. Second, Patrick wrote his Confession near the end of his life as a defence of his mission work in Ireland. Patrick’s two writings have been translated into English several times and exist in many editions. They are well worth obtaining and make rewarding reading, taking us back to the work and world of a Christian missionary in fifth century Ireland.3

Papal writers sometimes betray a certain amount of disappointment with Patrick’s Confession and his Letter to Coroticus. They appear to be dissatisfied with the simple account of his gratitude to God and labours on behalf of the gospel of Christ. "Where are his miraculous works?" they seem to be thinking. "Where does he speak of the practices of the Roman Church?" Something more is expected of a saint, and so the myths and exaggerations of the centuries succeeding Patrick are latched upon and promoted.

Admittedly, there are several historical difficulties. Patrick's writings are brief and they were not intended to provide later readers with his "Life and Times." They are occasionally ambiguous and can sometimes be interpreted in different senses. Our knowledge of the times during which he lived is still somewhat sketchy, and this provides further opportunity for an honest difference of opinion.

Patrick's first two biographers, Tirechan (pronounced Teera-hawn) and Muirchu (pronounced Murra-hoo), both wrote in the second half of the seventh century, at least two hundred years after his death. Later works betray an even greater desire to heighten Patrick's repute. It was one of these, the Tripartite Life, probably compiled near the end of the ninth century, which (sadly) became the most popular account of Patrick in Ireland until the twentieth century.

At the outset, we need to debunk some of the myths. First, Patrick was not Irish. He was born in Britain. Second, the tradition of Patrick's driving the snakes out of Ireland is palpably false. Third, the shamrock story was first mentioned about one thousand years after Patrick. Fourth, the confrontation at Tara, though taken for truth by many, is mythical. R. P. C. Hanson states, "There was no High-King of Ireland in his day," and "miters were not invented for at least 500 years after Patrick."4 Fifth, the green beer is not of an old vintage.

Sixth, the claim of Patrick's papal connections is denied even by some Roman Catholic scholars. Aidan Nichols, in a recent Vatican publication, states,

Patrick's own writings ... make no such pretension to papal support. It seems that the conversion of those Celtic areas that lay outside the civil zone of Roman Britain was initiated by British Christians themselves.5

It is highly significant that when Patrick was challenged as to his credentials for working in Ireland, he does not appeal to Rome (Conf 23ff.). Had Patrick been a papal missionary, such an omission would be unthinkable.

If this helps us in understanding what Patrick was not, we are still some way in understanding what he was really like. According to one scholar, Patrick "is one of the few personalities of fifth-century Europe who has revealed himself with living warmth, in terms that men of any age who care for their fellows can understand." This quotation may serve to encourage us in our quest for the real Saint Patrick, the man behind the myth.

The Patrick portrayed in public celebrations and by the Roman Catholic Church is mythical and useless. In Patrick’s Confession and Letter to Coroticus we meet a godly Christian missionary who both commands our admiration and deserves greater attention. Thus we shall consider his life, his message and his missionary labours, before concluding with an analysis of his significance.....

Full text here:
http://www.cprf.co.uk/articles/stpatrick.htm

Bumpity bump.

[Jake Featherston]

Remember when all those Black people in Alabama thought they saw a leprechaun hiding in a tree, and TV news crew came out and filmed it? That's what we need to be thinking about today.

:vuvu:

[WillieBrennan]

Was St. Patrick Catholic?

by James Akin


Patrick was born in 385 western Great Britain into a high-ranking Roman Christian family; he died in Ireland in 461, though some accounts put his death later. His grandfather was a priest and his father--Calpurnius--was a deacon, as well as prosperous nobleman and local Roman official. Patrick’s native language was Latin.

His birth name was, reportedly, Maewyn, and the Latin name Patercius (Gaelicized to "Patrick" by the Irish) was given to him by Pope Celestine just before his mission to Ireland, as a token of the fruitfulness of his future mission, which would make him the pater civium (father of the people) of the Irish race.

He writes that as youths he and his companions "turned away from God, and did not keep his commandments, and did not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation" (Conf. 1). But when he was sixteen he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery, where he served as a shepherd. This revolutionized his life; his faith and zeal for God were ignited, and he spent much time praying and fasting. After six years, he escaped, being led by private revelations along a safe route back to Britain. Afterwards, he was commissioned in another private revelation to serve as a missionary to Ireland.

To prepare, he traveled to France and spent around two decades as a monk—studying, praying, and practicing penance. He was ordained to the priesthood, and in 432 was sent to Ireland to serve St. Palladius, who had been consecrated bishop and sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine. When Palladius died on a trip to Britain, Patrick was chosen as his successor and was consecrated bishop by St. Germanus, the papal representative overseeing the Irish mission.

Patrick experienced enormous success in converting the Irish, and three assistant bishops from France were sent to help him, among them St. Sechnall (aka Secundinus). Within his generation the Irish had been transformed by God’s grace into a Christian (and Catholic) people.

In 441 Patrick went to Rome to seek special approval of his ministry in Ireland, and the newly-elected Pope Leo the Great personally confirmed Patrick’s full adherence to the Catholic faith. This is significant since some today assert that Patrick was not Catholic. In this country, the challenge is mainly made by Irish Americans who have abandoned the Church for Protestantism and wish to co-opt Patrick and represent him as a non-Catholic figure.

This is an impossible task, as Patrick was a Latin-speaking Roman noble, grandson of a Catholic priest, son of a minor official of the Roman empire, who had repeated private revelations, practiced penance, spent two decades as a monk, was ordained a priest and sent to serve on the papal mission to Ireland, was then ordained bishop by a papal representative, and had his fidelity to Catholic teaching specially confirmed by Pope Leo the Great (of whom the fathers of the Council of Chalcedon cried "Peter has spoken through Leo!"). He described himself as a Catholic, and a list of canons he drew up for the Irish church orders that any dispute not resolved on a local level was to be forwarded to Rome for decision.

The two writings from his pen that survive—his Confession and Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus—are both in Latin, and both attest to his Catholic faith. The Letter—which Patrick wrote in a blazing fury after some of his newly baptized converts had been slaughtered during a raid by a British ruler—records his belief in the episcopacy, the ministerial priesthood, confirmation, the value of monks and nuns, purgatory, priestly absolution, and "doing hard penance" (the last two, he said the murdering soldiers needed). His later Confession has a mild tone (not being a response to a massacre) and mentions many of the same Catholic distinctives, as well as fasting, loss of salvation, and Patrick’s many private revelations. Another important source is a Latin hymn written in praise of him by his assistant bishop Sechnall, who records many of Patrick’s beliefs, among them the sacrifice of the Mass, merits, the fact the Church is built on Peter, and baptismal regeneration.

Any disgruntled claims that Patrick was not Catholic are just blarney.

link (http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/patrick.htm)


Kissin' the Blarney Stone again, heh Monty :tard:

[Warka]

U9Q0jPyrja0

[Errigal]

Siobhan Hicks wishes you all the best this St. Patrick's Day:
http://laist.com/2006/03/06/laist_interview_chevon_hicks.php

[Warka]

Jig chimpin'

nda_OSWeyn8

[Flying Drumhead Court-Martial]

That video still cracks me up. It makes being black look pretty fun actually.

Anyhow, cheers.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9S3QfCoAYy0/TXQhFj0bEhI/AAAAAAAAANs/remJsGDRWv4/s1600/ShamrockShakegraphic_000.jpg

[OVERWATCH]

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/9409/sarahgoreckit.jpg (http://img705.imageshack.us/i/sarahgoreckit.jpg/)

[cerberus]

My student daughter sent me a text at 11.45am , "Happy St. Pats. Day, I am not going to "Uni" today - in the pub first pint in hand".

She followed this up on Saturday "Are you watching the Rugby, we are really hammering the Brits".

[Errigal]

My student daughter sent me a text at 11.45am , "Happy St. Pats. Day, I am not going to "Uni" today - in the pub first pint in hand".

She followed this up on Saturday "Are you watching the Rugby, we are really hammering the Brits".

I recommend a:

http://www.pitt.edu/~biohome/Dept/Img/graphics/chaperone.gif

... and a full time political officer

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsM/10874-5125.gif

... for the next little while.