St. Patrick's Day and Expressing Our Faith

St. Patrick's Day in the United States is a day to celebrate Irish heritage.  There are many traditions, the simplest of which is wearing green on March 17th.  On the Irish flag, the green portion represents the native population of Ireland who are mostly Catholic. The shamrock, of course, was a way St. Patrick taught the people of Ireland about the Trinity.  Three, and yet, One. Saint Patrick's Day symbolism is tied up with Roman Catholicism in a way that some people may not realize.

In light of the current increase in attacks on Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular in the media-- traditional, online, and in social media, I think we should extend the "wearing of the 'green'" into our daily lives.  Actually wearing green every day is not very practical for most people, so, instead, I would like to encourage everyone to wear some symbol of their faith with pride and without fear.

A couple of decades ago, doing this would be non-controversial, but in today's  atmosphere of tolerance-for- all-but-Catholics it is becoming increasingly risky yet more and more important to do so. We need to live out our Christian faith in daily life by treating everyone--those who agree with our beliefs, and those who do not, with respect.

However, if we give up our right to express our faith out of fear, we will never get it back.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

This prayer, The Lorica of St. Patrick, is a prayer attributed to St. Patrick. It is said that Patrick wrote this prayer to invoke God's protection when going to convert the King of Ireland. At any rate, it is an ancient Irish prayer of protection and very powerful.

The St. Patrick's Day Volkswagen

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here is an adorable cartoon on St. Patrick.  The story is told by a little girl named Mary and the award winning animation includes something near and dear to my heart--a VW bus. Hence, the St. Patrick's Day Volkswagen.

Irish Scones from catholicculture.org

Serve these scones with a nice, hot pot of Irish Breakfast tea.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-3 tablespoons sugar
1/2-3/4 cup milk or buttermilk
1/2-1 cup currants or raisins
3 Tablespoons brandy or cognac (optional)
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
Sanding sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400° F. In small bowl combine brandy with the currants or raisins. This can be done overnight, the longer the better (optional step). Sift flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar into a large bowl. Add softened butter and sugar, mixing well. Stir in 1/2 cup milk and currants (or other fruit), with brandy liquid drained. If mixture is dry, add a bit more milk. Dough should resemble pie pastry, pressing together forms a dough. Press dough onto a floured surface and roll out gently to 1/2-inch thickness. Do not overstress the dough. Cut scones into round shapes using biscuit cutter or shape into triangles. Brush scones with egg wash for shine, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 16 3" scones
Prep Time: 40 minutes

The Wearin' of the Green

I thought I'd give us a change of background in honor of St. Patrick's Day. We're back to the Celtic crosses and green, of course!

Saint Patrick's Day is well worth celebrating here because our blog's patroness, Saint Dymphna, was Irish. She was born in Ireland and her father was a pagan Irish king. Dymphna was secretly baptized a Christian. After the death of her mother, her father wanted her as his wife. She fled from him, but he eventually found her and had her killed when she continued to refuse his wishes.

Saint Dymphna is the patron saint of those who suffer from mental illnesses and their caregivers, mental health professionals, incest victims, loss of parents, and runaways.

Here are some links to learn more about Saint Dymphna.

Catholic Encylopedia on Saint Dymphna

The National Shrine of Saint Dymphna

Saint Charles Borromeo Church--Prayers to Saint Dymphna

How to say the Chaplet of Saint Dymphna

An interesting story of a non-believer who took comfort in St. Dymphna while struggling to find help for his mental illness.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

In spite of the St. Patrick's Day confusion this year, I am making my corned beef and cabbage today. No green beer, though.

My dad used to make his corned beef and cabbage in the pressure cooker. I make mine in the crock pot with potatoes. The recipe suggests pouring the liquid from the beef over the cabbage at the last minute to steam it separately. Another suggests putting the cabbage wedges in with the beef for the last 10 minutes of cooking. I haven't decided which I'm going to do yet.

Corned beef anyone?

Who is having corned beef tomorrow? How will you cook it?

I realize that corned beef and cabbage is not an authentic Irish dish. Oh well. My theory is that all the silliness around St. Patrick's Day here in the States helps Irish Americans celebrate their heritage. (In the interest of full disclosure, I'd be just as happy if that heritage did not include copious amounts of alcohol consumption.)

I will put my corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot. Gotta love the crock pot! I might try out a recipe (or variation thereof) that I found on About.com that includes cider and brown sugar. Mmmmm!