That famous saint named Patrick will have his green-drenched party this year, but it's unclear when the guests are supposed to arrive.
For the first time since 1940, St. Patrick's Day will fall during Holy Week, the sacred seven days preceding Easter.
Because of the overlap, liturgical rules dictate that no Mass in honor of the saint can be celebrated on Monday, March 17, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. But a few Roman Catholic leaders are asking for even more moderation in their dioceses: They want parades and other festivities kept out of Holy Week as well.
Bishop J. Kevin Boland of the Diocese of Savannah, Ga., wrote to practically every agency in his city, from the Chamber of Commerce to the Board of Education, saying the diocese was changing the date of its celebration this year. In response, the citywide Irish festival was moved to Friday, March 14, when schools will close and bagpipe-driven parties will carry into the streets.
More than half a million people stream into the Southern city for the festival, one of the nation's largest St. Patrick's Day affairs, said Bret Bell, Savannah's public information director. Savannah bars will be open March 17, but no organized events will be held that day, he said.
"The city has a very strong Irish Catholic community, a very traditional Irish Catholic community," Bell said. "They attend Mass regularly. And the last thing they want to do is get in the bad graces of the Catholic Church."
Philadelphia has also moved its parade date to avoid giving offense, and Milwaukee is hitting the streets sooner than usual, too.
But in Columbus, the Shamrock Club is going ahead with its March 17 parade, drawing protests from the local bishop. A handful of Irish-American politicians have lined up behind church leaders, breaking with tradition by refusing to march in the parade.
In a letter last fall, the Catholic Diocese of Columbus told the Shamrock Club, the group that organizes the parade, that Bishop Frederick Campbell wanted "all observances honoring St. Patrick" — religious or otherwise — removed from Holy Week.
"It's not a sin to celebrate your Irish culture," countered Mark Dempsey, the club's president.
"Actually, you're born Irish first," he said, "and then you're baptized Catholic."
Not all Columbus Irish groups agree. Members of the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a national Irish Catholic organization, will skip the parade and will instead join the March 15 parade in Dublin, a Columbus suburb.
In New York and Boston, with legendary St. Patrick's events planned by the cities' large Irish communities, bishops are taking a hands-off approach, saying the church has no part in planning civic celebrations.
The Archdiocese of New York, which has St. Patrick as a patron saint, will hold the liturgical celebration for St. Patrick on March 14. Cardinal Edward Egan will then say Mass on Monday, the same day as the parade, and will review the procession from the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral, archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling said.
Boston's parade remains set for Sunday, March 16, which is Palm Sunday and the first day of Holy Week.
Other public dustups over St. Patrick's Day have erupted in past years, including a protracted fight between gay Irish groups and city leaders in New York and Boston over the right to march in the parades, which the Catholic Church has steadfastly opposed. Continue >>
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Quecat, I believe one of the significant points of your post is that speaking (or praying) to someone besides our Lord is sinful. That at the point of death, there is terminal seperation that shouldn't be crossed.
If I'm acccurately stating a portion of your arguement, how do you reconcile our Lord speaking with Moses and Elijah during his Transfiguration?
another interesting articles about Catholic beliefs by the CP. It's a debate amongst Catholics regarding the holiday. Now why would other "Christians" come here to bash Catholics or more importantly even be interested in this article? I guess it says a lot about them. I could understand if the article discussed other faiths or other points of view, but nope it's article exclusively about different Catholic attitudes. Now why would a person who isn't Catholic want to comment about this article? perhaps because the views of Catholics are important? The Church remains relevant in an increasingly secular world....AWESOME!
Quecat, you'll be relieved to know that 1 Tim 2:5 is talking about Jesus mediating a new covenant, a overused misunderstanding about Catholicism. See Hebrews 9:15 for the reference of mediating a covenant. If anyone tells you that someone is praying to someone else, as though they could not approach Jesus themselves, they're MISREPRESENTING the beliefs of not only Catholicism, but all of Christianity.
Peace, brothers and sisters in Christ.
Some argue that praying to Mary and the saints is no different than asking someone here on earth to pray for you. Let us examine that claim. (1) The Apostle Paul asks other Christians to pray for him in Ephesians 6:19. Many Scriptures describe believers praying for one another (2 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:19; 2 Timothy 1:3). The Bible nowhere mentions anyone asking for someone in Heaven to pray for them.
The Bible nowhere describes anyone in Heaven praying for anyone on earth. (2) The Bible gives absolutely no indication that Mary or the saints can hear our prayers. Mary and the saints are not omniscient. Even glorified in Heaven, they are still finite beings with limitations. How could they possibly hear the prayers of millions of people? Whenever the Bible mentions praying to or speaking with the dead, it is in the context of sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and divination - activities the Bible strongly condemns (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13). The one instance when a "saint" is spoken to, Samuel in 1 Samuel 28:7-19, Samuel was not exactly happy to be disturbed. It is plainly clear that praying to Mary or the saints is completely different from asking someone here on earth to pray for you. One has a strong Biblical basis, the other has no Biblical basis whatsoever.
1 Timothy 2:5 declares, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." There is no one else that can mediate with God for us.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we, believers here on earth, can "...approach the throne of grace with confidence..."
I don't see what is the big deal with celebrating St. Patrick's day during the Holy Week. Did Jesus ever segregate himself with anyone during his life? Didn't he share his life and time with everyone that was willing to be there? Then why do the Catholics think that Jesus would have a problem sharing the Holy Week with St. Patrick?
Topekan, you'll be relieved to know that Catholics aren't praying "to" dead people, but rather asking the cloud of witnesses to "join your prayers with mine to God on my behalf (Rom. 15:30)". Exhale, my friend. Our God is a God of the living, not the dead. If the fervent prayer of a righteous person availeth much, who is more righteous than those in heaven? And if we could pray for each other as the body of Christ down here, why would our role in the body of Christ be diminished in heaven? Exhale.
What's interesting about this article is that Patrick is held up as an example of how God's grace worked in His life to bring about heroic virtue. Secularists hijacked the day we remember how he served God and twisted it into an event with drunkenness and debauchery. No wonder the Bishops are saying to squash it altogether during the week when we should focus exclusively on what Jesus did for all of us by dying on the cross. I agree with the Bishops, and Patrick won't mind either, because the focus will be on Jesus, where it belongs.
If the Catholic church hadn't moved the date for Easter (which should take place after Passover) they wouldn't have this problem.