Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thank goodness it's cool enough today to wear my green turtle neck pullover - one of the few green things in my wardrobe. I'm happy to say that the landscape around here is turning green, too. Several hard freezes this winter made the scenery awfully brown and dull.

I think of St. Patrick's Day as a celebration of all things Celtic. One of my favorite little books is called Celtic Fire (edited by Robert Van de Weyer). It's a collection of Celtic Christian texts. I thought it was appropriate to commemorate the day by re-reading St. Patrick's Confession. According to Celtic Fire, this confession "is one of the few pieces of Celtic writing - and certainly the earliest - where authorship is known." It's a short autobiography as well as a profession of Christian faith.

Celtic Fire also includes some poetry. I especially like this one, called "Spring" (on p. 195) -

The face of nature laughs in the springtime,

her breath fresh and her eyes clearest blue.

Horses gather at the river's edge to drink its fresh clean water;

the sparkling waterfall cries with joy as its torrent hits the rocks.

The blackbird's call is wild and free, rejoicing at the new abundance of food;

the cuckoo, that lover of warmth, begins its happy chorus.

Sheep and cattle gobble the crisp, juicy grass;

the meadows are alight with the colours of flowers in bloom.

The sun glints through the fresh green leaves;

the wind rustling through the branches in the harp of nature, playing a song of love.

Men are vigorous and strong, women pretty and gay;

the whole world is in love with its Creator.