D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
March 2010
Wearin' the Green and Paying It Forward
The legend and reality behind St. Patrick's Day.
By Michelle Detterick
I'm sure that email forwards are not included in the "pay it forward" movement, a philosophy adopted by many people throughout the ages. The viewpoint embraces living life with enthusiasm, helping others as we have been helped. Good fortune is not to be hoarded but to be shared. Abraham embraced the belief as he was promised, "Through you all nations will be blessed." Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay "Compensation" wrote: "In the order of nature we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. But the benefit we receive must be rendered again, line for line, deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody."
I seldom read an email forward and even less seldom forward one on. However, one from my father that snagged my attention was "A Glass of Milk," an incident from the life of Howard Kelly (1858-1943). Kelly, a Christian physician, had embraced the pay it forward philosophy, demonstrating it by operating for free on a girl who had given him a free glass of milk years earlier.
Curious to know if this story was true, I Googled "Howard Kelly" and found out on Snopes.com that the story is true but not factually accurate. Some people would say it had been enriched, enhanced or embellished, as the email version didn't quite line up with the entry from Howard Kelly's diary detailing the incident. The embellished email had made it a more sentimental story but failed to show the depth of the doctor's generous nature. Dr. Kelly not only wrote off the girl's bill, but wrote off the bills of three of every four patients he treated. Now that's impressive!
Here we are approaching the season of Lent, with the only "holiday" between now and Easter the day of wearing the green, St. Patrick's Day. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, like Dr. Kelly, is known more for the sentimental embellishments that surround his name than the reality of his good deeds, forgiving nature, his impact on the emerald isle, and his lasting influence on the world.
Patrick's acceptance of a pay-it-forward creed is not revealed through legends but the reality of his life. The sensationalism of the legends surrounding his name — driving out all the snakes by beating a drum hard and fast, the changing of cruel ruler Coroticus into a fox, and Patrick riding back to Ireland on an altar stone in the wake of a ship — overshadows the reality of a life given in service to God.
St. Patrick, born in Roman Britain in 389 AD to a family of nobility and named Maewyn, was kidnapped by pirates, transported to Ireland and sold into slavery. During his six-year period of captivity, he experienced the hand of God on his life and was converted to Christianity, the faith of his family. Following a remarkable escape from slavery and reunion with his family, he studied for 12 years in the monasteries of Europe.
In 432 the Pope named him Patricius, the Latin name for Patrick. As a priest and a bishop, Patrick returned to Ireland, his land of captivity, and worked zealously for the remaining 30 years of his life. It is said that "he found Ireland all heathen and left it all Christian." He worked diligently to establish over 300 churches and baptized over 120,000 persons before his death on March 17, 461.
Most of the decorations and symbols of our celebrations of St. Patrick's Day predate his influence on the isle of Eire and actually honor the beliefs that Patrick worked to eradicate — for example, the leprechauns, magic little thumb-size creatures, and their pots of gold. The shamrock with its one stem but three leaves, however, is a fitting symbol of St. Patrick. It is said to have been his visual aid in teaching the concept of the Trinity, one God in three Divine persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
With the surname Shannon as a major branch of my family tree, I celebrate St. Patrick's Day with enthusiasm, as defined by Bo Bennett: "excitement with inspiration, motivation and a pinch of creativity." I'll join in the celebrations by tipping the mug, parading about in green from head to toe, doing a jig, and hoping that the water of the Big Ditch turns green.
But I shant let the shenanigans of my celebration overshadow the reality of St. Patrick's paying it forward with a life given in service to God as reflected in his prayer: "Christ in hearts of all that love me,/ Christ in mouth of friend and stranger."
As I greet the dawn of St. Patrick's Day, wiping the green root beer from the corners of my mouth and counting the blessings of my life, I hope I remember to ask myself, "How will you pay it forward today?"
Michelle Detterick is director of Literacy Link-Leamos in Silver City. She believes in the importance of family values and preserving traditions and credits her mother's spunk for keeping her Irish roots intact while raising her children in the high desert area of Silver City, far away from the heart and land of her Irish kin.