Happy St. Patrick's Day And An Anniversary

Today is a very special day for hubby and I. 30 years ago we had our first official "date".

Let's see if can briefly explain all the ins and outs of 30 years ago without boring my bloggy friends to tears.

We had known one another for about a year by that March in 1979. We had first met on a SCUBA diving trip to the Florida Keys with a bunch of other divers in April of 1978. I was married to someone else then but we weren't happy. I had made a dreadful mistake and knew it. Hubby-to-be and I accidentally got paired up (one always has a diving buddy) for reasons I can't remember now. We hit it off bit time. That night the whole dive party was seated at the local Keys restaurant and we ended up sitting together. I fell head-over-heels in love with him. He was so personable, humble, intelligent and downright charming. But, being a married lady, I didn't do or say anything about it. Not because I was shy (perish the thought!) but because I was already married and believed in keeping ones obligations until the bitter end. It's just one of my core beliefs. And I may be a lot of things but I'm not one of 'those' things. [lol]

My marriage to first husband finally crumbled. He wasn't a bad guy or physically abusive but we were definitely mismatched. The marriage was over, kaput, finished. First husband had asked for the divorce and I agreed. It was mutual. No contest. I moved out immediately. So sad to watch a marriage die. But one must learn when to move on.

Hubby-to-be and I were still casual friends. He learned in a roundabout way from a mutual friend about the impending divorce. I was staying with said mutual friend that I worked with (she had graciously allowed me to room with her until my new apartment was ready) and hubby-to-be called this friends home. I answered and immediately said "Oh, (friend) isn't here ..." But, Glory Be he had called to talk to ME! I was so thrilled. We set the date, March 17th which happened to be a Saturday that year. We enjoyed our supper at the local Shrimpy's. And we've been together as a couple ever since.

Cool, huh?

Thus begins our 6 month long celebration this year of all our first times together as a couple. He asked me to marry him April 1st. Yeah, April Fools Day! And he did it on bended knee and gave me a gold bracelet. He was so concerned I would think he was joking that he bought the bracelet with his meager salary in hopes I would say "Yes". Bless his heart. Liked I'd say No to him. [pfftt]


I caught him!
Our 30th wedding anniversary is August 11th. We're planning a big get together in Waycross with friends at one of our local favorite restaurants. Then, with doggies safely tucked away in a kennel and the house all locked down, we take off for a foreign land called New England. Never been there, so, I thought this would be a good time to go. It's bloody hot here in the southeast. Hopefully, New England will be cooler with friendly natives. Pray for us, 'k? [roflol] JK - I'm not worried about the locals. I think I can take 'em ... [snort]

Now, if you're still awake (just drink more coffee, it's almost over). Let's get back to the holiday. I had the idea of posting this from my good bloggy friend Lanny.

How about ...


Saint Patrick Icon
A Little History About Today

St. Patrick's Breastplate is contained in the ancient Book of Armagh, from the early ninth century. along with Patrick's authentic "Confession." St. Patrick is said to have written this prayer to strengthen himself with God's protection as he prepared to confront and convert Loegaire, high king of Ireland. I see in it some similarities to Paul's exhortation to "put on the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:10-18), except that it is much more detailed. I recommend St. Patrick's prayer to you as a wonderful prayer of spiritual preparedness.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.


I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [i.e., travelling by land]
Christ in the poop. [i.e., travelling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Other translations are also available. In 1889, Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895), penned the following version at the request of H. H. Dickinson, Dean of the Chapel Royal at Dublin Castle. He recalls, "I wrote to her suggesting that she should fill a gap in our Irish Church Hymnal by giving us a metrical version of St. Patrick’s "Lorica" and I sent her a carefully collated copy of the best prose translations of it. Within a week she sent me that exquisitely beautiful as well as faithful version which appears in the appendix to our Church Hymnal." The traditional (but not very memorable) tune, was written by Charles V. Stanford (1902). (Information obtained from CyberHymnal.org where a MIDI of the music is available.)

Source


Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig
(Gaelic for Happy St. Patrick's Day)!
♥ ∞