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Shin
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« on: March 17, 2013, 05:43:42 AM »

Happy St. Patrick's Day folks!

 big grin  boggles lovemug thrones tea rainyday winter too irishwisdom

Excerpted from sources on the life of St. Patrick..

On his way [to Connaught], passing through Granard he learned that at Magh-Slecht, not far distant, a vast concourse was engaged in offering worship to the chief idol Crom-Cruach. It was a huge pillar-stone, covered with slabs of gold and silver, with a circle of twelve minor idols around it. He proceeded thither, and with his crosier smote the chief idol that crumbled to dust; the others fell to the ground. At Killala he found the whole people of the territory assembled. At his preaching, the king and his six sons, with 12,000 of the people, became docile to the Faith. He spent seven years visiting every district of Connaught, organizing parishes, forming dioceses, and instructing the chieftains and people.

On the occasion of his first visit to Rathcrogan, the royal seat of the kings of Connaught, situated near Tulsk, in the County of Roscommon, a remarkable incident occurred, recorded in many of the authentic narratives of the saint's life. Close by the clear fountain of Clebach, not far from the royal abode, Patrick and his venerable companions had pitched their tents and at early dawn were chanting the praises of the Most High, when the two daughters of the Irish monarch — Ethne, the fair, and Fedelm, the ruddy — came thither, as was their wont, to bathe. Astonished at the vision that presented itself to them, the royal maidens cried out: "Who are ye, and whence do ye come? Are ye phantoms, or fairies, or friendly mortals?" St. Patrick said to them: "It were better you would adore and worship the one true God, whom we announce to you, than that you would satisfy your curiosity by such vain questions." And then Ethne broke forth into the questions:

    "Who is God?"
    "And where is God?"
    "Where is His dwelling?"
    "Has He sons and daughters?"
    "Is He rich in silver and gold?"
    "Is He everlasting? is He beautiful?"
    "Are His daughters dear and lovely to the men of this world?"
    "Is He on the heavens or on earth?"
    "In the sea, in rivers, in mountains, in valleys?"
    "Make Him known to us. How is He to be seen?"
    "How is He to be loved? How is He to be found?"
    "Is it in youth or is it in old age that He may be found?"

But St. Patrick, filled with the Holy Ghost, made answer:

    "God, whom we announce to you, is the Ruler of all things."
    "The God of heaven and earth, of the sea and the rivers."
    "The God of the sun, and the moon, and all the stars."
    "The God of the high mountains and of the low-lying valleys."
    "The God who is above heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven."
    "His dwelling is in heaven and earth, and the sea, and all therein."
    "He gives breath to all."
    "He gives life to all."
    "He is over all."
    "He upholds all."
    "He gives light to the sun."
    "He imparts splendour to the moon."
    "He has made wells in the dry land, and islands in the ocean."
    "He has appointed the stars to serve the greater lights."
    "His Son is co-eternal and co-equal with Himself."
    "The Son is not younger than the Father."
    "And the Father is not older than the Son."
    "And the Holy Ghost proceeds from them."
    "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are undivided."
    "But I desire by Faith to unite you to the Heavenly King, as you are daughters of an earthly king."

The maidens, as if with one voice and one heart, said: "Teach us most carefully how we may believe in the Heavenly King; show us how we may behold Him face to face, and we will do whatsoever you shall say to us."

And when he had instructed them he said to them: "Do you believe that by baptism you put off the sin inherited from the first parents."

They answered: "We believe."

"Do you believe in penance after sin?"

"We believe."

"Do you believe in life after death?" Do you believe in resurrection on the Day of Judgement?"

"We believe."

"Do you believe in the unity of the Church?"

"We believe."

Then they were baptized, and were clothed in white garments. And they besought that they might behold the face of Christ. And the saint said to them: "You cannot see the face of Christ unless you taste death, and unless you receive the Sacrifice." They answered: "Give us the Sacrifice, so that we may be able to behold our Spouse." And the ancient narrative adds: "when they received the Eucharist of God, they slept in death, and they were placed upon a couch, arrayed in their white baptismal robes."

[ . . . ]

The ancient Life attests: "After Patrick had founded cells and churches in Munster, and had ordained persons of every grade, and healed the sick, and resuscitated the dead, he bade them farewell, and imparted his blessing to them." The words of this blessing, which is said to have been given from the hills of Tipperary, as registered in the saint's Life, to which I have just referred, are particularly beautiful:

    A blessing on the Munster people —
    Men, youths, and women;
    A blessing on the land
    That yields them fruit.

    A blessing on every treasure
    That shall be produced on their plains,
    Without any one being in want of help,
    God's blessing be on Munster.

    A blessing on their peaks,
    On their bare flagstones,
    A blessing on their glens,
    A blessing on their ridges.

    Like the sand of the sea under ships,
    Be the number in their hearths;
    On slopes, on plains,
    On mountains, on hills, a blessing.

[ . . . ]

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

    I bind to myself today
    The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
    I believe the Trinity in the Unity
    The Creator of the Universe.

    I bind to myself today
    The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
    The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
    The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
    The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

    I bind to myself today
    The virtue of the love of seraphim,
    In the obedience of angels,
    In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
    In prayers of Patriarchs,
    In predictions of Prophets,
    In preaching of Apostles,
    In faith of Confessors,
    In purity of holy Virgins,
    In deeds of righteous men.

    I bind to myself today
    The power of Heaven,
    The light of the sun,
    The brightness of the moon,
    The splendour of fire,
    The flashing of lightning,
    The swiftness of wind,
    The depth of sea,
    The stability of earth,
    The compactness of rocks.

    I bind to myself today
    God's Power to guide me,
    God's Might to uphold me,
    God's Wisdom to teach me,
    God's Eye to watch over me,
    God's Ear to hear me,
    God's Word to give me speech,
    God's Hand to guide me,
    God's Way to lie before me,
    God's Shield to shelter me,
    God's Host to secure me,
    Against the snares of demons,
    Against the seductions of vices,
    Against the lusts of nature,
    Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
    Whether far or near,
    Whether few or with many.

    I invoke today all these virtues
    Against every hostile merciless power
    Which may assail my body and my soul,
    Against the incantations of false prophets,
    Against the black laws of heathenism,
    Against the false laws of heresy,
    Against the deceits of idolatry,
    Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
    Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

    Christ, protect me today
    Against every poison, against burning,
    Against drowning, against death-wound,
    That I may receive abundant reward.

    Christ with me, Christ before me,
    Christ behind me, Christ within me,
    Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
    Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
    Christ in the fort,
    Christ in the chariot seat,
    Christ in the deck,
    Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
    Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
    Christ in every eye that sees me,
    Christ in every ear that hears me.

    I bind to myself today
    The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
    I believe the Trinity in the Unity
    The Creator of the Universe.

'A few years later I was again with my parents in Britain. They welcomed me as a son, and they pleaded with me that, after all the many tribulations I had undergone, I should never leave them again. It was while I was there that I saw, in a vision in the night, a man whose name was Victoricus coming as it were from Ireland with so many letters they could not be counted. He gave me one of these, and I read the beginning of the letter, the voice of the Irish people. While I was reading out the beginning of the letter, I thought I heard at that moment the voice of those who were beside the wood of Voclut, near the western sea. They called out as it were with one voice: "We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk again among us." This touched my heart deeply, and I could not read any further; I woke up then. Thanks be to God, after many years the Lord granted them what they were calling for.'

St. Patrick

'I came to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others.

If I am worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most willingly, for Christ's name. I want to spend myself for that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor.

It is among that people that I want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He makes this promise in the Gospel: "They shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world.'

St. Patrick

'More and more did the love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so that in a day -- from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a like number; besides I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time.'

St. Patrick

'I am not ignorant of what is said of my Lord in the Psalm: "You destroy those who speak a lie." And again: "A lying mouth deals death to the soul." And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel: "On the day of judgment men shall render account for every idle word they utter."'

St. Patrick

'If you would be good Christians, be good Romans.'

St. Patrick


Audites omnes amantes Deum
(Hear, All Ye Lovers of God)

Hear ye all, lovers of God, the | holy merits
Of the man blessed in Christ, Pa - | trick the bishop,
How for his good ways he is likened to the an - | gels,
And because of his perfect life is deemed equal to | the Apostles.

Christ's holy precepts he keeps | in all things,
His works shine | bright among men,
And they follow his holy and wondrous exam - | ple,
And thus magnify God the Father | in the heavens.

Constant in the fear of God and steadfast | in his faith,
Upon whom the Church is built | as on Peter;
And his Apostleship has he received from | God --
The gates of Hell will not pre - | vail against him.

The Lord has chosen him to teach the barbar - | ian tribes,
To fish with the nets | of his teaching,
And to draw from the world unto grace the believ - | ers,
Men who would follow the Lord to His | heavenly seat.

He sells the choice talents of | Christ's Gospel
And collects them among the Irish hea - | thens with usury;
As a reward for the great labor of his voy - | age,
He will come into possession of joy with Christ in the
hea - | venly kingdom.

God's faithful minister and His distinguished am - | bassador,
He gives the good an Apostolic ex - | ample and model,
Preaching as he does to God's people in words as well as in |
deeds,
So that him whom he converts not with words he inspires |
with good conduct.

Glory has he with Christ, honor | in the world,
He who is venerated by all as an | angel of God.
God has sent him, as He sent Paul, an Apostle to the gen - | tiles,
To offer men guidance to the | kingdom of God.

Humble is he of mind and body because of his | fear of God;
The Lord abides upon him because | of his good deeds;
In his righteous flesh he bears the stigmata of | Christ;
In His Cross alone, his sole comfort, | he glor - ies.

Untiringly he feeds the faithful from the heaven - | ly banquet,
Lest those who are with Christ | faint on the way;
Like bread he gives to them the words of the Gos - | pel,
Which are multiplied like manna | in his hands.

He preserves his body chaste for love | of the Lord;
This body he has prepared as a temple for the | Holy Spirit,
And he keeps it such by purity in all his act - | ions;
He offers it as a living sacrifice, acceptable | to the Lord.

Enflaming light of the world, great one | of the Gospel,
Lifted up on a candlestick, shining un - | to all the age -
The fortified city of the King, founded upon a moun - | tain,
Wherein there is great abundance | of the Lord.

Greatest indeed will be called in the kingdom | of heaven
The man who fulfills with good deeds the holy | words he teaches,
Who by his good example is a leader and model to the faith -| ful,
Who in purity of heart has con - | fidence in God.

Boldly he proclaims the Name of the Lord to | the heathens,
And gives them eternal grace in the bath | of salvation.
He prays to God daily for their | sins,
For them he offers sacrifices, worthy in | the eyes of God.

For the sake of God's law he despises all | worldly glory;
Compared to His table he considers all | else as trifling;
He is not moved by the violence of this | world,
But, suffering for Christ, he rejoices in | adversity.

A good and faithful shepherd of the flock won for | the Gospel,
God has chosen him to watch o - | ver God's people
And to feed with divine teaching His | folk,
For whom, following Christ's example, he | gives forth his soul.

Who for his merits the Savior has raised him to the dignity of a |
pontifex,
In heavenly things he instructs the army | of the clergy,
Providing them with heavenly rations, besides vest - | ments -
The rations of divine | and sacred texts.

He is the King's herald, inviting the faithful | to the wedding.
He is richly clad in a | wedding garment,
He drinks heavenly wine from heavenly | cups
And gives God's people the spiritual | cup to drink.

He finds a holy treasure in the Sa - | cred Volume
And perceives the Savior's divinity | in His flesh.
It is a treasure he purchases with holy and perfect | works.
ISRAEL his soul is called -- | "see - ing God."

A faithful witness of the Lord in the Ca - | tholic Law,
His speech is spiced with divine | revelations,
That human flesh may not decay, eaten by | worms,
But be salted with heavenly savor | for sacrifice.

A true and renowned tiller of the | Gospel field,
His seeds | are Christ's Gospels.
These he sows from his God-inspired mouth into the ears of the |
wise,
And cultivates their hearts and minds with the | Holy Spirit.

Christ chose him to be His vi - | car on earth.
He frees captives from a two-fold | ser - vitude:
The great numbers whom he liberates from bondage to | men,
These countless ones he frees from the yoke | of the devil.

Hymns, and the Apocalypse, and the Psalms of | God he sings,
And explains them for the edification | of God's people.
He believes the law in the Trinity of the holy | Name,
And he teaches one Substance | in Three Persons.

Girt with the Lord's girdle | day and night,
He prays unceasingly | to God the Lord.
He will receive the reward for his immense la - | bor -
With the Apostles will he reign, holy, over | Is - rael.

May Bishop Patrick pray for | all of us,
That the sins which we have committed be blotted out | immediately,
May we ever sing Patrick's prais - | es,
That we may ever | live with him.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2013, 05:54:00 AM by Shin » Logged

'Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra. . . Fulcite me floribus. (The flowers appear on the earth. . . stay me up with flowers. Sg 2:12,5)
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« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2013, 02:46:15 PM »

 irishwisdom rainyday winter too :principalities:
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For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.
Matt. 6:21
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« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2013, 07:58:53 PM »

May God save Ireland, her children and her soul. harp violin irishwisdom
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« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2013, 09:15:46 AM »

Amen!
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« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2015, 10:02:31 PM »

Happy St. Patrick's Day my friends!  Cheesy
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« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2015, 05:30:57 AM »

Happy St Patrick's Day
 irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom
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« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2020, 10:04:28 AM »

Happy St. Patrick's day again folks!

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« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2020, 09:35:24 PM »

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom
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« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2021, 04:48:20 PM »

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom
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« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2021, 04:58:59 PM »

And to you, with best regards.
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« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2021, 12:11:34 AM »

A very happy St. Patrick's day to everyone. Cheesy
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« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2022, 01:56:57 PM »

A short prayer from my Catholic Book Co:
O God, You sent St Patrick to Preach Your Glory to the Irish People.  Through his merits and intercessions grant that we who have the honor of bearing the Name Christian may constantly proclaim Your wonderful Designs to others.  Amen.
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« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2022, 08:46:35 PM »

A good day to remember the blessings God left us through St. Patrick.
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« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2024, 04:47:20 PM »

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom irishwisdom
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« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2024, 05:58:29 PM »

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Cheesy Cheesy Cheesy Cheesy Cheesy Cheesy
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« Reply #15 on: March 19, 2024, 10:10:12 AM »

I'm sorry for so belatedly expressing my best wishes to all on St Patrick's day.  I'm getting slower and more behind in lots of things, I'm afraid.  March 17 was my anniversary of both cancer surgery (2004) and heart surgery (2020) so I am certainly pleased to still be around.  But some of these St Patrick's parade are grossly irreverent.  Also, I'm still sulking that neither our local paper nor TV had any reference that I found to Ash Wednesday, only overwhelming and mostly irreverent ads and chatter about Valetines Day with no reference that I found about our Saint.  I give thanks that visiting with you folks always cheers me up if I'm down.  I pray you are well and happy.
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