I went to a Mass yesterday night in honor of Saint Patrick's day. It was amazing. So the liturgy was based on the Lorica, also known as Saint Patrick's breastplate, which are a set of prayers that were made by him. This brings back good memories for me, I come from a Presbyterian faith tradition which originates from the Scottish, I used to sing these prayers from the hymnals we had in church. When I went to summer camp as a teenager, we sung these prayers every single day for a week.
The procession of Friars, Priests and Alter boys came and around the building and carried a statue of Saint Patrick into the nave. During which we sung the Lorica. Then we had the readings, then got to the Homily. Which the Priest talked about the story of Peter and Jesus, where Peter was fishing, could catch nothing from the depths and then Jesus told him to do it and he caught many fish from the abyss. He likened that to Saint Patrick's story, where Patrick was raised with the faith but did not cherish it, did not know it, till after he was kidnapped and enslaved, and surrounded by pagans, there he discovered God, in the depths, the darkness of the world around him. He prayed to God for days, found a ship and escaped. But after being in Rome for a time, he was called back to the people of Ireland to bring the light of the gospel to them. He said that Patrick became a Saint there and united the Irish people to the family of the church in Christ. In which Jesus Christ Himself became a cherished member of the Irish family for 16 centuries since the conversion of Ireland. The Priest then called on the Irish descendent people in the congregation to love their people as God does and to cherish not only the faith but the common heritage of the Irish people.
That was pro-White homily I've heard honestly.
Then there was the Eucharist and then finally, with the clergy in front and carrying the statue, while the people were also asking the prayers of various Saints and each other, they began the procession outside of the church. Everyone streamed from the front of the building out onto the sidewalk and walked around the church and parking lot. Playing bagpipes in front, torches carried and lit by a few volunteers. Beautiful White families following the clergy, very beautiful.
Keith Woods
