Happy St. Patrick’s Day

This has been a big day of celebration in my life since my youth as an Irish dancer, performing with some friends from the Ancient Order of Hibernians, back in the day before it became so famous. We loved it, and the discipline of step dancing, the reel and the jig, all with fraternal cheer and pride in the tradition. If you get a chance to see any Irish dancers perform, do. Between the dance and the music, it’s rousing and delightful.

What are we celebrating? This is one of the symbols you see everywhere.

 

According to legend, the Irish clover, or shamrock, was used by St. Patrick to teach the pagans of Ireland about the Trinity, as he set about converting the land to Catholicism.

I have several favorite prayers, which takes the risk of implying that all prayer is not as beautiful. It’s just that some of the saints wrote meditations that profoundly speak to….my soul. I love what’s commonly known as the Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Augustine’s prayer “Late have I loved thee…” is postively sublime. And the Lorica of St. Patrick is an elegant song to the Trinity. Here’s another, slightly different version.