In our specially-purchased porta-bed. Didn't I say we were being spoiled? We got ice cream last night because we were maybe getting a tooth and "the cold will make it feel better". I'm pretty sure that if we'd thought a Porsche would make it feel better, Miss Boo would have gotten one of those, too. Grandparents. :)Luckily, it's a cold, icy St. Patrick's Day today, so hopefully (here in one of the biggest St. Paddy's towns in the U.S.) the drunks will stay inside instead of running around stepping in front of cars, off bridges, or arguing they are perfectly capable of driving. In case you're ever in town on St. Paddy's Day here, just so you know, assume everybody above Park Street is drunk.
Our celebration, since some of us are in the family way, is consisting of eating corned beef and cabbage with a lot of extra vegetables and wearing a green maternity top. I didn't even think to pack Miss Boo anything so she's obviously Protestant today. Tsk.
So what is St. Patrick's Day really meant to celebrate, apart from Irish independance and the appreciation of a person for something as great as well-brewed beer? (The Catholic church doesn't officially endorse either aspect of the feast.) St. Patrick's Day is merely the feast day of St. Patrick, who as we all know drove the snakes from Ireland.
No, no, no, he didn't do that. There were no snakes in Ireland in the first place. How were they going to get there, swim? Ride in Roman backpacks? What Patrick did was experience an amazing missionary calling toward people who forced him to be a cattle-watching drudge for several years. He was Roman, not Irish, and was held by the wild Irish as a slave. Upon getting saved, Patrick returned from Rome to Ireland to preach to the Irish and get the Druids all het up.
The amazing thing about the introduction of Christianity to Ireland is the effect it had on the Irish national character, which in Irish song and legend up until that time has a suspiciously over-brave tone. (As in, "I'm not afraid! You can't prove I'm afraid! I'm bigger than you anyway! I'm not going to die! I'll turn into a magic salmon!") Christianity pointed out that one doesn't, in fact, need to fear death, because of Christ's work on the cross. The Irish then became frankly fearless and started behaving in the most unlikely way. Christianity provided a channel for all the incredible artistic creativity and passion that sadly has been wasted for the past few hundred years on the IRA.
And boy, did the Irish run with Patrick's idea. They proceeded to enthusiastically set up monestaries for the purpose of copying Scripture and any other books they could get their hands on, and when they had their whole island evangelized they started out for England and the Continent as well. From what I understand, they got as far into Europe as Spain and parts of Germany. They preserved, almost single-handedly, the written civilization of Rome and Greece after they fell, and littered the world with copies of the Bible and extravagantly beautiful manuscripts.
How did this evangelical bonfire burn out? A very soggy island nearby took an interest in Ireland, unfortunately. We'll leave them nameless for now, but suffice to say that once Satan can convince a person or a category of people that they are perpetual victims and have the right to vengeance, it takes nothing short of a Great Awakening for them to become useful to the church again.
So the lessons of St. Patrick's Day are many: love your enemies, God uses the unlikely to advance His kingdom, and then it comes back around to love your enemies again, or you might miss your chance at doing something amazing for the Lord.
Way better things to think about today than "I'm Irish-- I 'Rish I Had Another Beer" t-shirts. :D
God Save Ireland,
Breanna
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