Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I post today not to be a killjoy, but to keep our eyes on Christ. I know that our American culture has taught us that today is a day to to get drunk...but why must we do so?

This is a day to remember a great saint. Saint Patrick grew up in 5th century Britain. At age 16 he was captured and made a slave in Ireland. Six years later he escaped and returned to Britain. He became a priest and later a bishop. He felt God was calling him to return to Ireland, so he did just that and was a missionary there for over 30 years, where he built churches, monestaries and helped to spread the faith to tens of thousands of people.

Living as a slave helped him to return to prayer. It had helped his faith to grow. It helped him to appreciate and love Christ even more. Let us take his example during lent to help us reflect on our own lives. Let us not hate the people who have wronged and offended us, but let us show them the love and forgiveness that Christ has shown us. Let us show them how to be the better person. Let us take a situation that seems bleak and show the world what can be done out of love.

Let us remember what the bible teaches us. The Letter to the Galatianstells us: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."

So today, as everyday, let us honor God and fulfill the plan he has made for us. Let this not be a day that we commit each of those sins in the name of a good time.

Saint Patrick...pray for us.

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We know as Christians we are called to live our faith, to not be ashamed, and to spread God's word to all nations. But it seems that as the years go by, more and more is being taken from us.

Let us reclaim Saint Valentine's Day. First, let's put "Saint" back in the name. (On the same note, let's put "God" back in "God Bless You" when you hear a sneeze).

Tell others the story of Saint Valentine. He was a priest in Rome who was imprisoned for giving aid to martyrs in prison. He even is said to have cured his jailer's daughter who was blind. Her family then converted to Christianity. He was also said to have passed a note to the jailer's daughter and it read "from your Valentine". He was later beaten and beheaded for his faith.

There are many stories about Saint Valentine, but no matter what you hear, you will be pointed to Christ.

So what has Saint Valentine's Day become?

Men and women in our country are both pressured into the new meaning of this holiday. A man's worth is judged by how romantic he is on this day and what he bought his Valentine. A woman, well we don't want to say what she would be pressured to do on Valentine's day.

If a man or woman doesn't have a date on this day, he/she is looked down upon. Does God choose us all for married life? No, so why should we feel pressured into this?

A day that was a feast day in the Church, a day to celebrate the Patron Saint of Love has become a day of sin. Premarital sex, lust, drunkenness, greed, envy, must I go on? And let's not even delve into the topic of this being the "Cheater's Holiday", a time when the most men are caught cheating on their wives and girlfriends.

If this is a day for lovers, the best way that we can show someone that we love them, is to be the light of Christ. We are to lead our spouse to heaven, not drag them down. This should be a day that we thank God for the love he has helped us share, not a day that we disgrace his plans for us.

Saint Valentine, pray for us.

P.S. Yes, I am married, and yes I am celebrating with my wife. :-)

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