Just another day for drinkin

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone, oh and if its Thursday, happy St. Alexander's day, oh and if its Friday, happy and blessed solemnity of  St. Joseph's (Earthly father of JESUS) day.

In the Catholic tradition saints are remembered almost every day on the calendar. It reminds of those who have gone before us. Which date corresponds to which saint is based most often on when the person had died.  A day on which there is no celebration or remembrance of a saint is called a ferial day.  A day on which we celebrate a particular saint is called a feast day.  In some religious communities and circles they actually take this serious and actually have a feast or a "party."  But I would venture a guess that its not anything like what we see at the local watering hole on March 17th.  Now dont get me wrong, I love my saints, but puking in some shrubs doesnt sound like a good way to honor a holy and righteous evangelist like the great bishop St. Patrick.  A nice feast may include going to holy mass or enjoying a nice dessert and yes, drinks are suitable for celebration, but in moderation.  To keep the record straight, we arent worshiping these folks, just honoring them for how they lived their lives because of Christ.

Click here if youd like more info on the real St. Patrick.

The third type of day is the solemnity, not solemn like boring or quiet, but most joyous and exalted, no expense is to be spared, even the celebration of mass is different.  Each Sunday is considered a solemnity because we celebrate, commemorate and worship Christ.  There are a few other solemnities scattered through out the year and lo and behold there is one this Friday.  It is the solemnity where we celebrate the life of St. Joseph, most chaste spouse of the blessed virgin Mary and the protector of the Church, the protector of Jesus.  St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland and thats awesome (que the Notre Dame fight song), but St. Joseph, Earthly father of Jesus, thats big time!

This is another great example of lost tradition, St. Patrick's day has turned into a hedonistic ritual, something completely opposite of what he stood for, yet its day is counted down by so many.  What people dont realize is that there is a much more significant celebration which takes place 2 days later, and two more days after that.

Now Im not railing against the party goers but it is my hope that people start to understand why they are doing something be it religious or not.  We cant fully participate in anything if we dont know why we are there and the reason we are doing what we are doing.  There was an experiment done to illustrate similar events:

"Put five monkeys in a cage. Inside that cage, hang one banana on a string and place a ladder under it. Keep a garden hose nearby. Soon one of the monkeys will spot the banana and start to climb the ladder to get it. When he does, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water. Now, replace the banana.

After a while another one of the monkeys will probably go for the banana. Again, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.

Monkeys are relatively smart, so pretty soon, whenever one of the monkeys attempts to climb the ladder, all the other monkeys will try to prevent him from doing it. When that happens, put away the cold water hose. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. Now hang a new banana over the ladder.

The new monkey will spot the banana and head for the ladder. To his surprise, all of the other monkeys will spontaneously attack him. After several more futile attempts, all of which will result in further beatings, the new monkey will no longer try for the banana.

Remove another of the original monkeys and again replace it with a new one. Now replace the banana. Again, the new monkey will make a grab for it. Like his predecessor he will be stunned to discover that all the other monkeys attack him. In fact, the previous newcomer will most likely take a particularly enthusiastic role in his replacement's punishment.

One at a time, gradually replace all of the original monkeys with new ones. Each of the newcomers will go for the banana. Each one will be attacked by the other four. Most of the new monkeys have absolutely no idea why they were not allowed to climb the ladder, or why they are participating in the assault on the newest monkey.

When all of the original monkeys have been replaced, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, not one of those monkeys ever approaches the ladder, why not? Because as far as they are concerned that's the way it has always been done around here."

I hope you all have a blessed feast of St Alexander tomorrow and a blessed solemnity of St Joseph on Friday.