916 Happy St. Patrick's Day

The best book you'll ever read about Ireland is "How the Irish Saved Civilization." But the best card is the one I saw last week at the St. Pat's dinner at our friends' home. The main cartoon showed a weary man behind the wheel of a car with a bunch of snakes stuffed in the back seat some leaning out the windows. The caption said something like, "Why St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland." The snakes were saying things like "I gotta pee," "Are we there yet?" "He's touching me," "I want the window." All the parents howled. Even after all these years how well we remember those car trips with kids in the back seat.

"Cahill tells of how the Roman and Irish worlds met in a young Roman kidnapped from his British home by Irish marauders. Born Miliucc, he would spend six years in slavery, escape, and return as a Christian missionary. That missionary had learned much about the Irish people during his time as a slave and, blessed with a gentle faith and a wonder of the world around him, would make Ireland the only land converted to Christianity without violence. The Irish in turn would come to love their St. Patrick and approached Christianity with energy and fervor. A form of Christianity evolved that allowed the Irish to maintain some of the Celtic traditions that were an integral part of their world.

As Christianity settled in, monasteries were established throughout Ireland. The monks became passionate scribes not only of the Scriptures but also of other classical texts that were as risk of being lost after the fall of the Roman Empire. Celtic art forms were among the traditions that survived into the Irish Christian era and would lead to the development of spectacular illuminated manuscripts at the monks' hands. The Book of Kells is one well-known example of the monks' phenomenal artistry. "

When I went into the kitchen to feed the cat this morning, on the counter was a card, a small gift and a huge St. Pat's day pin from my husband. And what did you get your spouse? (Confession: I always forget, and didn't even have a card.)