This week marks the celebration of two ethnically associated saints. We mark the feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland on March 17. A couple of days later on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and step-dad of Jesus, the son of God. Both of these saints have many stories and traditions associated with them.
St. Patrick, for example, supposedly used a shamrock, which conveniently grew in Ireland, to point out the miracle of the Trinity, as three persons in one. He used the shamrock because it was already considered a sacred plant by the pagan Druids and being practical (which I believe most saints were) tried to make a connection to something with which his audience was familiar.
There is a lot of dancing, parading, toasting and wearing of the green to celebrate this great saint's feast. My children love the parades while I like sitting down with my husband in front of the television watching, "The Quiet Man," for the umpteenth time, while sipping on tea and soda bread. Yet, in the midst of all this revelry I do like to take some time each year to quietly read through Patrick's Confession and "Letter of Coroticus," which put me more in touch with the person of St. Patrick than any parade or movie can. My favorite part of Patrick's work is his "breastplate" also called a "lorica," which is a rhythmical prayer calling on spiritual armor for divine protection. It reminds me of the passage from Ephesians 6:10-18 that also talks about putting on "the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils' schemes."
I strongly recommend that a real celebration of Patrick's life for anyone would include reading both the passage from Ephesians and the Lorica itself. With the scope of recent political, economic, and natural disasters Godly protection is what we all need. Here is just a part of that ancient prayer of Patrick:
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 is hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
St. Joseph, whose feast is celebrated two days after Patrick on March 19, is considered a favored saint of both the Italians and Polish. He is also considered the Patron Saint of Families. Celebrations of his feast usually include tables of ethnic specialties. Since St. Joseph's Day usually falls during the time of Lent, if it is on a Friday (which requires fasting from meat), you are exempt from the fast, so you can participate in the festivities of the feast. Celebrating the life of St. Joseph, the consummate family man, by getting together with family and friends seems a very natural way to celebrate this man's life. For me St. Joseph's Day will always remind me of my father, since his name was Joseph and he so enjoy receiving special cards and goodies on March 19. Biblically speaking, Joseph does not. There are no words of his recorded in the Bible. Instead, he acts. Rather, he obeys. An angel appeared to Joseph three times, first to tell him not to divorce Mary because she was really pregnant by the Holy Spirit, not another man. Twice more an angel appeared to Joseph, telling him to leave town for Egypt because soldiers were out to kill his son. Later, the angel came again to say that it was now safe to leave Egypt and return to Nazareth. Also, scripture says that Joseph was the one who named Jesus, because that was the name given him by the angel, Matt. 1:21 "She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Joseph, definitely a man, not of words, but action. Though we have no definitive words from Joseph; his actions speak much louder than any words could have. Reflecting on this, maybe a better the way to celebrate St. Joseph's Day, would be to spend some quiet time seeking the Lord. There may not be any angel visitations, but maybe in the quietness of the moment, God's voice will be strong enough to hear his calling into our lives in the same way Joseph did.
Patrick, a man of words, who preached and converted a nation.
Joseph, a man of visions, who listened and acted to protect a son.
BLESSINGS TO ALL!
