Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I love St. Patrick. I mean, what's not to love? He was a pretty amazing fellow... another one of those young men captured and sold into slavery, where he made friends with God somehow. Then he returned home and spent the rest of his life in the service of the people of Ireland. There are so many fascinating legends of Patrick -- how miracles happened everywhere he went, how he freed Ireland from snakes, and how he preached the Trinity using a shamrock... I like to think of him as a man of joy and love, sharing his faith wherever he could, even in the face of tremendous opposition. He never backed down from being himself and speaking honestly about his belief, and won many friends for God. He's credited with one of my favourite prayers, St. Patrick's Breastplate, a version of which our L'Arche community likes to sing. Peace, before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet...

He also left us his heavenly birthday for celebration and fun. A half million people attended the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin this year, and more will be celebrating until the wee hours... my eldest daughter included. Recently "of age," she's determined to have a green beer with a friend whose birthday is today. I wouldn't mind a green beer myself.

But I'm already dizzy enough, so I'll content myself with a little piece of silliness instead. Here's a funny little video from the Muppets. I'm not sure why they appeal to my sense of humour the way they do. Danny Boy, the quintessential Irish tune, deserves more respect than this, and I'm sure St. Patrick never in a million years could have guessed that something like this would be created because of him! Oh well. Happy St. Patrick's Day! And hugs to all my Irish friends!