Tag: Ireland
Carving the Turnip?
Many of the customs we now associate with Halloween are also derived from ancient celebrations. For example, the current custom of going door-to-door to collect treats actually started in Ireland hundreds of years ago. Groups of farmers would go door-to-door collecting food and materials for a village feast and bonfire. Those who gave were promised… Read More ›
10 Facts about St. Patrick
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, although he was born in Britain, around 385AD. His parents Calpurnius and Conchessa were Roman citizens living in either Scotland or Wales, according to different versions of his story. As a boy of 14 he was captured and taken to Ireland where he spent six years in… Read More ›
Witches, Ghosts and Magic: What Catholics Believe
by Page Zyromski (St. Anthony Messenger) Matt called one of those psychic hotline numbers advertised on television. His parents didn’t find out until they saw the whopping charge on their phone bill. I asked Matt why he did it and he says he was just curious. He’s still delivering pizzas to pay off his debt…. Read More ›
The St. Patrick You Never Knew
(Originally published by St. Anthony Messenger, March, 1997) Some 1,500 years ago a teenage boy from what is now Great Britain was kidnapped and enslaved by marauders from a neighboring country. Not since Paris absconded with Helen of Troy has a kidnapping so changed the course of history. The invading marauders came from fifth-century Ireland…. Read More ›
Life of St. Patrick
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Hymn of Fiacc is one of the few accepted primary sources for the life of St. Patrick other than his own writings. Although its exact date of composition is disputed, there is no question that it is extremely ancient, a document of the Celtic Church before the Viking invasions. Tradition ascribes it… Read More ›
Skellig Michael
Benedictines have a tendency to emphasize the Desert Fathers and the Egyptian desert communities that sprung up in response to the Christian desire to come closer to Christ. But it was not just in Eygpt and the Middle East but also in Europe. There are many “deserts” and in Ireland the early monks also went… Read More ›