Saints Alive! (Ten Things of Thankful)

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

While i am not a Roman Catholic (in fact, i’m a Presbyterian with strong conservative Quaker leanings, go figure that if you can), there are several saints i admire greatly.  So here are saints (and an almost saint) for whom i am thankful because they set such a good example.

First is, of course, St. Patrick himself.  He is an excellent example of forgiving your enemies and then turning around and doing them a great kindness, serving them with love.

St. Francis of Assisi was not just kind to animals and someone who loved to tend this beautiful garden planet of ours.  It is said he was once tending his beloved roses and was asked by a brother, “What would you do if you knew the Lord was coming back in ten minutes?”  He responded, “I would finish tending my roses.”  That’s a man who knows that you should always being doing what is right and good, what you are supposed to be doing, so there is no rushing around at the end of life trying to cram in all that was missed.

St, Maria Gorretti’s story fascinated me from the first time i heard it.  She died at age 12 defending herself from the unwanted sexual advances of a young man, which taught me that you are never too young, or too old, to stand by your convictions and not back down or give in.

St. Monica of Hippo prayed constantly and continuously for her husband, mother-in-law, and son, eventually seeing all of them come to faith.  She is my reminder to never give up praying for the ones i love who are the furthest away from G-d.

St. Augustine, the son for whom St. Monica prayed, was a prodigal if ever there was one.  I am grateful for his example that no one is ever too far away to turn around.  He also reminds me that there is hope for those who are “too smart.”

St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, has a scant record in the Scripture, but reading between the lines, i see a man who was willing to stand up for his wife and be the best husband and father he could be under very difficult circumstances.  

St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) is the most beautiful example of how to serve the desperately poor that i believe the world will ever see.

St. Damien of Molokai (Father Damien) is the example that there is no one who is “beneath” us, spending his life with lepers and outcasts.

St. Martha, whose brother Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus, was also the center of a controversy when her sister Mary chose to sit and listen to Jesus teach instead of helping with the housework and cooking.  She is my reminder to not get so caught up in the doing that i forget the time i need to spend being.

Blessed Oscar Romero is an example of an outspoken activist who never deviated from his spiritual beliefs to serve his activism.

Ten revered Catholics whom i admire and see as fabulous examples, and for whom i am thankful.

Ms. Josie Two Shoes is the very special hostess of Ten Things of Thankful.  If you have some thankful things (it doesn’t have to be ten, no one will fuss), list them and join in.  It lifts all of our days when we get to see your list, too.

Finally, you can’t let St. Patrick’s Day get past you without a traditional Irish blessing:

Here's to your coffin!

May your coffin have six handles of finest silver!

May your coffin be carried by six fair young maids!

And may your coffin be make of finest wood

from a 100-year-old tree,

that I'll go plant tomorrow! 

************************************

Today is:

Birkebeinerrennet -- Rena to Lillehammer, Norway (54km ski marathon commemorating the 1205 rescue of infant prince Hakon Hakonsson by ski over this route) 

Ennensai -- Kyoto, Japan (festival and traditional performances)

Evacuation Day -- Suffolk County, Massachusetts, US (day the British troops left the city in 1776)

Festival of King Amenhotep I -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (rituals dramatizing his death and burial, held in the Valley; date approximate)

Girl Scout Sabbath -- US (encouraging Girl Scouts to wear their uniforms to synagogue services and represent their troop to their congregations; the final day of Girl Scout Week in the US)

Ghode Jatra -- Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (Horse Festival)

Hindu New Year -- Hindu (local custom/date may vary)

    Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Baru -- Indonesia (New Year in the Balinese Saka calendar)

    Nyepi Day -- Bali, Indonesia (Day of Silence, Balinese New Year/Saka New Year celebration on which everything is closed, even the international airport)

    Ougadi -- Mauritius and some regions of India (the Telugu New Year)

Kustonu Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (no planting today, to ward off insects)

Liberalia -- Ancient Roman Empire (fertility festival in rural areas)

Natchez Spring Pilgrimage -- Natchez, MS, US (tour of 25 antebellum mansions, some of which are private homes; through Apr. 17)

National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day 

National Quilting Day -- US, sponsored by the Quilt Alliance   

Rubber Band Day -- patented in England this date in 1845 by Stephen Perry

Saint Patrick's Day (Patron of engineers, excluded people, ophidiophobics; Ireland; Nigeria; over 20 other towns/dioceses around the world; against fear of snakes, snakes and snake bite)

    a public holiday in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Montserrat, and Ireland, and widely celebrated throughout the world, especially with parades

    Trefuilnid Treochair (Feast of Triple Bearer of the Triple Key) -- Ireland (Ireland's National Day)

    Saint Patrick's Day Parades -- various cities around the English speaking world hold their celebrations on the Saturday or Sunday nearest the Saint's day

Save the Florida Panther Day -- FL, US

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Birth Anniversary -- Bangladesh

St. Gertrude's Day (Patron of cats, for accomodations and lodging while traveling, gardeners, mentally ill people, pilgrims, poor people, sick people, suriphobics, travellers, widows; Nivelles, Belgium; against fear of mice and rats, fever, insanity and mental disorders, mice and rats)

St. Joseph of Arimathea's Day (Patron of funeral directors, morticians/undertakers, pallbearers, tin miners, tin smiths; Glastonbury Cathedral)

Submarine Day -- the sandwich or the submersible, your choice

Wild Azalea Festival -- White Springs, FL, US 

Anniversaries Today:

Wellesley Female Seminary is established, 1870

Franklin D. Roosevelt marries Eleanor Roosevelt, 1905

Birthdays Today:

Caroline Corr, 1973

Mia Hamm, 1972

Rob Lowe, 1964

Arye Gross, 1960

Vicky Lewis, 1960

Gary Sinise, 1955

Lesley-Anne Down, 1954

Kurt Russell, 1951

Patrick Duffy, 1949

John Sebastian, 1944

Paul Kantner, 1941

Rudolf Nureyev, 1938

Paul Horn, 1930

Nat "King" Cole, 1919

Bayard Rustin, 1910

Bobby Jones, 1902

Shemp Howard, 1895

Jim Bridger, 1804

Roger B. Taney, 1777

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Camino Real"(Play), 1953

"Kiss and Tell"(Play), 1943

"Welded"(Play), 1928

"The Girl Friend"(Musical), 1926

"Wilhelm Tell"(Play), 1804

Today in History:

In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda, BC45

Marcus Aurelius dies leaving Commodus as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire, 180

Led by Muhammad, the Muslims of Medina defeat the Quraysh of Mecca in the Battle of Badr, 624

Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England, 1337

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern), 1756

George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday "as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence," 1780

The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King, 1805

Henry Jones of Bristol patents "self-raising" flour, 1845

Stephen Perry of London patents the rubber band, 1845

John Joseph Montgomery makes the first glider flight, in Otay, California, 1884

The first practical submarine leaves the dock at NYC and submerges for one hour forty minutes, 1898

A showing of seventy-one Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation, 1901

Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte found Camp Fire Girls (now Camp Fire USA), 1910

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium", 1950

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India, 1959

Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel, 1969

A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%, 1992

President Bush delivers an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein: leave Iraq within 48 hours or face an attack, 2003

Scientists discover that a large number of bacterial life forms live in the deepest part of the world's oceans, the Mariana Trench, which is about 6.831 miles, 2013