Column for March 16

St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow. The European Irish look askance at our desire to make it a day of parades, but mostly alcohol consumption. Combined with March Madness on the TV, we could be swimming in green beer. My father died when I was small, but with a last name like Crowley, I own that slice of my heritage.

So much of the stories of St. Patrick are swathed in legend. Of course, some of my Irish ancestors would say that one shouldn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. He was from Britain and enslaved in Ireland for a number of years. He escaped, but he had a vision to be called back to Ireland to spread the Christian faith. Ironically, he worked as a shepherd and then was called to shepherd souls as a bishop in Ireland around the 400s.

To be Irish is to know that “the world someday will break your heart.” the old country was harsh for the poor, under the yoke of a foreign hand. Laughter helps comfort the heartbreak. I love the idea that parishes would provide dispensations for the Lenten strictures for St. Patrick’s Day. While the Irish are proud: “if you’re lucky enough to be Irish, then that’s luck enough,” They love to puncture self-importance: “the greatest danger to the country is “the small minds of its small people.”

They know full well, for all of their love of language, (as “there is no tax on talk”) that words are insufficient in a hard world. “The sweetest sound of all is a quiet mouth.” Action is required in life, as deciding and action are separate steps. “You never get a field plowed by turning it over in your mind.”

A marvelous prayer is attributed to Patrick, the so called breastplate prayer. I love it as it touches on Celtic spirituality. The words reflect ancient Ireland and they were not translated into English until the 19th century. First it emphasizes the “strong name of the Trinity,” sometimes called the Three in Irish prayers. (The story of Patrick using the shamrock leaves to speak of the distinct but unified plant was used to speak of the Trinity, after all.) Second, it touches on the natural world:” the virtues of star-lit heaven…the whiteness of the moon, the flashing of the lightning free…and the old eternal rocks. Third, protection is key: “the power of God to hold and lead, god’s eye to watch…God’s shield to ward…the heavenly host be my guard.” Finally, it has a sense of the enveloping nature of God’s love: “Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me…Christ to comfort and restore me…Christ in hearts of all that love me.” for the Irish it is indeed a model prayer as it touches all of life. For the Irish, all actions communicate to heaven’s gates, are offerings to a generous God, so the Irish had prayers for everything from lighting a lamp or putting it out at night, to washing dishes, to grace before meals.

In a hard world, we all need blessings. May the rain blow soft against the snug windows of your house that’s paid for. May your blessings outnumber all the weeds in your garden. May troubles avoid you like a debtor avoids an evening phone call. May good luck pursue you like a linebacker. May your wallet be fat with cash and your heart be light.
“May God indeed hold you in the palm of his hand, but may God never close the fist too tightly.”
“May you be in heaven one half hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”