Google Can't Doodle a Saint?

Today is St. Patrick's Day and Google shows a fat guy with red side-burns in Wellingtons picking up stones while a black faced sheep reads an Ogham marker ( pre-Christian Druidic markers from the 4th Century A.D.) .  No indication that God ( All Three of Him) has anything to do with the day, much less the saint himself.

That should please Wiccans, Satanists and atheists, no end.

Googgle Doodles regularly sanitizes nasty pieces of DNA, like Stalin's favorite artist, film maker Sergie Eisenstein, or skin-flint plutocrats who helped build public schools by showing them hugging a diverse armful of children. Generally Google builds a progressive hagiography of second raters who pass the Progressive smell test and create non-existent secular feast days.

St. Patrick's Day now passes as a secular feast day, I guess.  In Ireland, the BBC and its ugly step-child Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) call all of the moral and cultural shots these days and OXFAM dictates all public policy.

One of Ireland's best and most independent voices has been silenced by the PC forces of the UK and Ireland.  Kevin Myers wrote a column about pay and gender.  He was castigated as an anti-Semite and a misogynist. Myers retorted, "The issue is are we allowed to differ from the politically correct and consensual norm that dominates the media?"

Nope.  No Google Doodles for Kevin Myers.  He is too pro-Israel and therefore ( in BBC PC) an anti-Semite.

Like the United States, Ireland is now a firmly secular nation with all of societal ills that national mindset entails - disregard for life from womb to tomb, run-away drug abuse, increased suicide rates, senseless violence and a disappearing middle class.   Google wants America to be the Banana Republic that is Illinois.  Ireland seems to care even less about its becoming an oligarchy, where misery is checked only by Red Carpet events of its island Hollywood.

St. Patrick's Day is a religious feast day.  A Celtic Cross was too much for Google and its overlords and secular bishops.

I Google this, for now. 

St. Patrick, Shield Me " Against the Heart's Idolatry"

St. Patrick's Breastplate is the name given to a litany composed by the saint. The significant human verses beg Christ to shield us.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
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 in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

If you lack demons, well you just aren't Irish.  You just aren't a flawed, or, like me, deeply flawed human being.

My favorite verse begs protection against " the heart's idolatry."

That is a good one.  The heart can be a human warehouse of flaws, as well as the store of best in men and women -compassion, loyalty, honor, piety, dignity and courage.  The heart can also be an emporium of regret, pride, anger, lust and gluttony.  The self-medication first aid kits we turn to in times of doubt.

Idolatry comes in many forms - self-worship, mistaking good for gold, pleasure as liturgy.

St. Patrick was a guy who woke up to himself after decades of sin and it took boatloads of Scotii ( Irish sea-pirates) who snatched him from a life of comfort and dragged him into slavery.

I am still an idolator and want to quit the club.

St. Patrick shield me the idolatries in my heart.

Friar Jack's Real St. Paddy! Better Than the One Goofs Puke To at Both Parades Here in Chicago

It is tough knowing who in Hell each of us happens to be, let alone 'knowing' what a Legendary Saint is all about.

Today and tomorrow the Youth of America will get over served.

They want to get their Chi-Rish On! Chi -Rish don't Ch-Ite about St. Patrick or Saint Patrick's day.

I hold that St. Paddy was an Italian whose folks worked in Wales.

He converted the Irish to Christianity after being a slave in the Emerald Isle for years, and years. Instead of asking the Pope for 'a Mule and Forty Acres' in County Kerry; the emancipated Patricius asked to speak Truth to Power.

Here is a fine account of the abused Saint.


What do we know about the life of St. Patrick?

Patrick was born Patricius somewhere in Roman Britain to a relatively wealthy family. He was not religious as a youth and, in fact, claims to have practically renounced the faith of his family.

While in his teens, Patrick was kidnapped in a raid and transported to Ireland, where he was enslaved to a local warlord and worked as a shepherd until he escaped six years later.

He returned home and eventually undertook studies for the priesthood with the intention of returning to Ireland as a missionary to his former captors. It is not clear when he actually made it back to Ireland, or for how long he ministered there, but it was definitely for a number of years.

By the time he wrote the Confession and the "Letter to Coroticus," Patrick was recognized by both Irish natives and the Church hierarchy as the bishop of Ireland. By this time, also, he had clearly made a permanent commitment to Ireland and intended to die there.

These two brief documents are the basis for all we know of the historical Patrick. The Confession, because its purpose was to recount his own call to convert the Irish and to justify his mission to an apparently unsympathetic audience in Britain, is not a traditional biography.

And the "Letter to Coroticus," apparently an Irish warlord whom Patrick was forced to excommunicate, is a wonderful illustration of Patrick's prowess as a preacher but doesn't tell us much by way of traditional biography either.


Adapted from St. Anthony Messenger.


How did Patrick decide to return to Ireland?

As recounted in the Confession, most of the major events in Patrick's life are preceded by a dream or vision. The visions were usually simple—almost self-explanatory—but they were also very vivid and carried enormous emotional impact with Patrick.

The first vision, which he received after six years of servitude in Ireland, came by way of a mysterious voice, heard in his sleep. "Your hungers are rewarded: You are going home," the voice said. "Look, your ship is ready." Indeed, some 200 miles away, there it was. (Patrick was nothing if not tenacious.)

The second vision—the one that came to him after he'd returned home and that called him back to Ireland—was equally straightforward. Victoricus, a man Patrick knew in Ireland, appeared to him in this dream, holding countless letters, one of which he handed to Patrick. The letter was entitled "The Voice of the Irish." Upon reading just the title, he heard a multitude of voices crying out to him: "Holy boy, we beg you to come and walk among us once more." He was so moved by this that he was unable to read further and woke up.

But the dream recurred again and again. Eventually Patrick told his dismayed family of his plans to return to evangelize Ireland and soon began his preparations for the priesthood. What is interesting about this dream calling Patrick to his lifelong mission to the Irish is that it came not as a directive from God, but as a plea from the Irish. According to his recollections decades later, Patrick wasn't commanded to bring civilization or salvation to the heathens. He was invited to live among them as Christ's witness.

When he finally returned to Ireland, he proceeded to treat the barbarians with the respect implicit in his dream. From the outset, Patrick felt humbled and honored that God had selected him to convert the Irish. Apparently he never doubted that he would be able to do so.


Adapted from St. Anthony Messenger.


What was life like during Patrick's time?

Patrick lived in the fifth century, a time of rapid change and transition. In many ways we might say that those times of turbulence and uncertainty were not unlike our own. The Roman Empire was beginning to break up, and Europe was about to enter the so-called Dark Ages. Rome fell to barbarian invaders in 410. Within 10 years of that time, the Roman forces began to leave Britain to return to Rome to defend positions back home. Life, once so orderly and predictable under Roman domination, now became chaotic and uncertain. Patrick entered the world of that time.

The British Church of Patrick's time was also intimately connected with the Roman Empire. Missionaries from the continent followed the development of Roman towns, travelling over the system of good Roman roads. This was an urban Church with bishops establishing their centers in these Roman towns. The great ecumenical councils, beginning with that in Nicea in 325, doctrinally solidified a developing and common faith throughout this Church.

As Ireland had not come under the Roman Empire, it was for the most part unnoticed and untended by the developing Church. There were some Irish Christians, mostly on the eastern and southeastern coast. Many of these were probably British slaves who had been taken into captivity by the Irish. There is a record of a Bishop Palladius being sent to Ireland before Patrick. But the mission of Patrick was unique. There had been, up to this time, no other organized or concerted missionary effort to convert any pagan peoples beyond the confines of the Roman Empire. Patrick's efforts to do this, in fact, were criticized as being a useless project.

Adapted from A Retreat With St. Patrick: Discovering God in All.



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Friar Jack's Inbox

A note from Friar Jack: I want to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of you that have taken the time to respond to me in recent months and offer your own thoughts about my musings or the Catechism Quiz. Often your thoughts are very profound and heartfelt and indeed illuminating to me, not to mention inspiring. They can also be challenging, even sharply so, causing me to reconsider and often to broaden my horizons. Many also include kind words of appreciation and touching pledges of prayerful and loving support. My most heartfelt thanks to all!!

It is my intention and that of my coworkers that each of you who sends me an e-mail response receives an automatic response indicating that I am very grateful for all communications from you, read each one of them and pray for all who write me, as well as for our entire online community. I want to confirm that all of this is true.

I am told, at the same time, that there can be glitches. After the newsletter goes out we must disengage the automatic response temporarily to avoid being bombarded by "out of the office" notices and other responses. Being technologically challenged I don't understand such things, but this problem has been mentioned to me more than once. So if you don't always receive a response from me, it's not that we don't have good intentions.

Let me also explain that it is simply impossible for me to answer personally the large volume of e-mails that come in. This is painful to me, because I am often deeply touched by your comments, insights and sincere questions. This was especially true of many responses to my last musing, "God's World Is Holy." My heart wants to answer and engage in dialogue with you, but because of the many hats I wear here at St. Anthony Messenger Press and unrelenting deadlines, it is simply impossible for me to do so.

One thing that amazes me about your responses is that they come from all around the world and from people of different religious backgrounds. We are truly an international and "ecumenical" community. This is a good lead-in to this month's Inbox. Last month we printed an e-mail from a reader who said the Muslim majority in Malaysia persecutes Christians. Two readers from Malaysia wrote to take exception with that assertion. Here is one of the two e-mails:


Dear Friar Jack: I am a Chinese living in Malaysia. I am baptized as a Catholic in year 2002. Previously I was a Taoist. I write in response to the statement made by Miss Erina that "Christians in Malaysia are persecuted and imprisoned." The statement seems so general and misleading. I myself observe harmony, freedom and respect in whatever religion one chooses to embrace in the country. My family is staying in a neighborhood where the majority of the residents are Muslims. Though there are a lot of differences in cultures, beliefs and mindsets between Muslims and Christians, as far as my neighborhood is concerned we are able to live harmoniously and respectfully with each other. Diplomacy and peace will not come by themselves. They have to be developed. I believe we as Christians are always called by God to live peacefully with all people and to love everyone. Though it is hard to practice humility, it is the root to understand and accept people and their beliefs. "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."—June

Dear Friar Jack: I sometimes cannot understand the difference between my human life and my life of GOD. I hope (and know that I will) stand face to face with him so to thank him for all he has given to me. I do understand that my GOD, Maker and Savior gives to me all I need to get through what we call life. Why is it that he looks to me with a love as if I am the only thing in this universe? My GOD is an awesome GOD and I tell him so each day.—Chester

Dear Chester: You express with great reverence and humility the mystery of God and the close relationship you seem to have with God. Jesus also spoke of this mystery from God's point of view: "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5).

Send your feedback to friarjack@americancatholic.org.

Hickey - What I Dream Can Come True!

A beautiful young woman of my acquaintance, asked me 'What goes on in that head of yours?'

Generally speaking - cartoon re-runs; recipes; Sandra Lee Fantasies; staged coups of selected local governments; revenge fantasies; footnotes; memoranda; and day dreams - Los Suenos Impossibles!

I wish Mankind well and individual dip-stick bipeds a personal hornet's nest in their skivvies.

I do not believe that Barbara Flynn-Curry looked at the late memo by Senator Burris that has caused him to be immortal - as a goof. There was no Democrat Plot to conceal - Burris tucked it in like a Kid with a bad report card is all.

I believe that Illinois Rep. James Durkin is the only hero in this Roland Burris mess, but GOP rivals, Democrats Progressives and hack journalists will try to do him some dirt and damn with faint praise.

I can not Believe that the GOP will blow this opportunity to retake a U.S. Senate Seat - but they will.

I believe that Rainier Beer is a fine Domestic Beer - one of my favorites along with Berghoff, Drewerys, Augsburger, Huber, Rhinelander, and Leinenkugle - and it can be captured by men of steely resolve and hearts of oak!

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Ma’s math leat sìth, càirdeas, agus cluain—éisd, faic,‘us fuirich sàmhach."

("If you wish peace, friendship, and quietness: listen, look, and be silent)