WHAT ST PATRICKS DAY MEANS TO ME
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Being of Irish and Italian parents I have always been curious to know as much as is possible about the cultural traditions of my heritage. Since Monday the 17th is the official celebration of St Patrick's Day I have enjoyed researching and learning even more about this special Patron Saint of Ireland. Since my Irish lineage comes from my dear Father's side of the family and this is the month of his translation or passing some years ago, I respectfully dedicate this St. Patrick's Day (officially celebrated on the 17th of March) presentation to his loving memory.
Of course that leaves the Italian portion of my family tree to my dear Mother's side of the family and although the patron saint of Italy is usually celebrated in America along with other saints on "All Saints Day" in Italy he is given very special tribute and honor. I am of course refering to "Saint Joseph, father of Jesus" and so I respectfully dedicate this St Joseph's Day (officially celebrated on the 19th of March) presentation to my beloved Mother.
Each time I write about the Saint's I learn so much more about their simple message and their humble lives of service. These special souls have a great faith and love for the guiding Spirit which lives today within the hearts of all humanity. As usual I provide resource links for those interested in learning more about these Saints and their lives in the "Saints Links Panel" which is posted toward the bottom of this website's offering. May we all come to know and appreciate the thoughts, words and deeds of souls who dedicate themselves to the principles that help make this world a better and brighter place to be, providing all of us with meaningful reasons to hope, care and Love one another even better than ever before...
I hope this modest presentation will be a blessing to you...
May the Blessings Be... Michael AngelOh
HISTORY OF SAINT PATRICK
Transliterated by: "Michael AngelOh"
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St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about 385 AD. His birth name was actually "Maewyn". The future patron saint, considered himself a pagan until at the early age of 16, when he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders. It was during his early captivity, that Patrick was to develop a much closer relationship to God. After six long years of servitude Patrick journeyed to Gaul where he studied at the monastery there under the guidance of St. Germain for a period of twelve years. It was during this time that Patrick was to receive his personal revelations to return to Ireland, and convert the druids and pagans there to Christianity.
Two years later, Patrick was appointed as the second bishop to Ireland. During his life St. Patrick traveled all across Ireland, spreading the scriptural teachings and building Church's and Monasteries throughout the Irish countryland. His ministry which encompassed some thirty years was credited with converting Ireland from paganism to Christianity during this period. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461 AD and the 17th of March has been celebrated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. At the time of his death St. Patrick inspired tens of thousands of his countrymen and women to believe in the Love of God and eventually his message of faith spread into Scotland, England, France, Germany, and Belgium.
As an elderly man, St. Patrick perhaps best summed up his years of loving faith and service in some of his final writings which state;
"Those who never had a knowledge of God but worshipped idols and things impure, have now become a people of the Lord, sons and daughters of God and for this I give thanks..."
Of course after St. Patrick's death there were an abundance of substantiated stories as well as Irish folklore about his life some of which included the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead... as well as the most famous story of his preaching of a sermon which proportedly drove all the snakes from Ireland into the sea. Originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has since evolved into a mostly non-religious secular holiday. The traditional icon celebrated on this holiday is the shamrock. Other records tell of St. Patrick using the three-leaf shamrock to symbolize the holy Trinity and how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements in a single entity. This led to the tradition still honored today of wearing a shamrock on this holiday. St. Patrick's Day was first introduced to ever expanding Irish communities in America in the year 1737 and was initially first publicly celebrated here in the U.S. in Boston, Massachusetts.
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May the Blessings Be... Michael AngelOh
CELEBRATING THE SAINTS HISTORICAL ORIGIN
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Christians have been honoring their saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. The Martyrdom of Polycarp, written near the middle of the second century, attests to this historical fact. Initially the calendars of saints and martyrs varied from location to location, and many times local churches honored their own local saints, however gradually feast days became more accepted and universal. The first reference to a general feasts
"Celebrating All Saints" occurs in St Ephrem the Syrian AD 373 and St. John Chrysostom AD 407 and are assigned as a day to the feast, and in the Eastern Churches the feast is celebrated to this day. In the West, this celebration feast date was eventually moved to May with the current day observance taking place on November 1st originating from the time of Pope Gregory III. AD 741
In the celebration of the Saints we are petitoned to acknowledge the presence of the Saints and ask them to pray for us in the memory of our dearly departed Souls leading to their continued care in the Communion of Saints. Every evening prayers are said for the beloved souls while blessed candles burn out of respect and honor for the holy souls.
WHY IS ST PATRICK A SAINT
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Generally speaking, a consensus of the definition of Saints is, "People who, by their joyful service, have extended the love of God to others". The list of the saints officially honored by the church, contains over 10,000 names and those are only the saints we know of.
The life of Saint Patrick which has been historically credited with his Spiritual and Christian devotion to the people and country of Ireland and his single handed conversion of tens of thousands of his countrymen and women from paganism to Christianity certainly fulfills a large portion of his Saintly status. The Catholic Church who is primarily responsible for the cannonization fo Saints has it's own rigorous standars for determining Sainthood which includes corroborated miracles of which St Patrick also fulfilled during his lifetime. St Patrick's ministry covered some 30 years of devotion to Jesus Christ, his teachings and message of salvation. He is also credited with the construction of numerous Church's and Monasteries throughout Ireland.
ST PATRICK'S DAY POEMS
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St. Patrick, as in legends told,
The morning being very cold.
In order to assuage the weather,
Collected bits of ice together...
Then gently breathed upon the pyre,
When every fragment blazed on fire.
Oh! If the saint had been so kind,
As to have left the gift behind...
To such a lovelorn wretch as me,
Who daily struggles to be free.
I'd be so content with my part,
I'd only ask him to thaw my heart...
~unknown~
The Leprechaun
By Robert Dwyer Joyce (1830-83)
In a shady nook one moonlit night,
A leprahaun I spied
In scarlet coat and cap of green,
A cruiskeen by his side.
'Twas tick, tack, tick, his hammer went,
Upon a weeny shoe,
And I laughed to think of a purse of gold,
But the fairy was laughing too...
With tip-toe step and beating heart,
Quite softly I drew night.
There was mischief in his merry face,
A twinkle in his eye,
He hammered and sang with tiny voice,
And sipped the mountain dew,
Oh! I laughed to think he was caught at last,
But the fairy was laughing, too...
As quick as thought I grasped the elf,
"Your fairy purse," I cried,
"My purse..?" said he, "'tis in her hand,
That lady by your side..."
I turned to look, the elf was off,
And what was I to do..?
Oh! I laughed to think what a fool I'd been,
And, the fairy was laughing too...
AN OLD IRISH BLESSING
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MAY THE ROAD RISE TO MEET YOU,
MAY THE WIND BE ALWAYS AT YOUR BACK...
MAY THE HAND OF A FRIEND ALWAYS BE NEAR YOU.
MAY GOD FILL YOUR HEART WITH GLADNESS TO CHEER YOU...
MAY THE SUN SHINE UPON YOUR FACE,
THE RAINS FALL SOFT UPON YOUR FIELDS,
AND UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN,
"MAY GOD HOLD YOU IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND..."
LEPRECHAUNS AND WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE
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Leprechauns are tiny and some say fictional fairies from Ireland. They usually stand about two feet in height and their most fabled legend is that if you catch one you can force him to tell you where he hides his pot of gold. Of course most of us know that would be at the end of a Rainbow...
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A Catholic Prayer in Praise of the Saints
Unknown author, 10th century
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How shining and splendid are your gifts, O Lord
which you give us for our eternal well-being
Your glory shines radiantly in your saints, O God
In the honour and noble victory of the martyrs.
The white-robed company follow you,
bright with their abundant faith;
They scorned the wicked words
of those with this world's power.
For you they sustained
fierce beatings, chains, and torments,
they were drained by cruel punishments.
They bore their holy witness to you
who were grounded deep within their hearts;
they were sustained by patience and constancy.
Endowed with your everlasting grace,
may we rejoice forever
with the martyrs in our bright fatherland.
O Christ, in your goodness,
grant to us the gracious heavenly realms of eternal life. |
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St Patrick, Saint Patricks Day, History of Saint Patrick, why is St. Patrick a saint, St Patricks day facts, St Patrick's day poems,
Leprechauns and what they look like, drawings of Leprechauns
"Saint Patricks Day Prayer"
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