World's Greatest Religious Holiday

Note: This is an modified version of my Saint Patrick's Day post of 2006 and 2008.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Today is pretty much the only church holiday that I don't find to be a complete and total farce. Saint Patrick was a bona fide man of God, and today's the day we celebrate. Here are a few links pertaining to Saint Patrick and Ireland.

Wikipedia: St. Patrick

The Confession of St. Patrick

The Shield of St. Patrick

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

Guinness Official Website

A couple of things. First, Guinness has nothing to do with Saint Patrick, but it has everything to do with being Irish, so you'd better believe that tonight I'll be celebrating the life of Saint Patrick and the glory of being Irish with twelve fluid ounces of Ireland's finest export. Second, How the Irish Saved Civilization has a couple of great chapters on Saint Patrick and the revolutionary monastic movement he founded. The business of driving the snakes out of Ireland may have been bullshit, but Saint Patrick was pretty much responsible for the lot of you not becoming heathen savages. (Unfortunately, not even Saint Patrick himself could have saved Mighty Mo.) Seriously, it's a quick read, give it a try.

Also, Michael Medved had an op-ed piece last year about why we love the Irish so much - very much worth reading. Also, here's an orbital view of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

Saint Patrick: a great man who played a pivotal role in the development of the world. I raise my glass to him. Have a great day, folks, and check in tomorrow for more!