St. Patrick's Day is Coming Up

We are less than a month away from St. Patrick's Day and I thought I would make a quick mention of the great Saint's prayer and tell you about a recent encounter. I have posted portions of the prayer here before.

I was visiting a Catholic store a few weeks ago and met up with a woman whose son had gone through school with one of my older kids. Her son had been a nice enough boy when I knew him, but I had heard from my son that he had gotten into some trouble with drugs. I knew next to nothing about what was going on, but you could see there was pain in this woman's face. The woman herself is a wonderful person and devoted mother and wife.

I asked her whether she had seen the St. Patrick holy cards and I pulled a few off one of the shelves. I mentioned that I had learned an appreciation of St. Patrick because of his prayer and his life. I liked the fact that there is a desperation in St. Patrick that comes out in the prayer. I think its message is especially strong for those who are in desperate need. In the prayer, St. Patrick asks for more than help, he asks to be surrounded by Christ from all sides.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me.
Christ below me, Christ above me.
Christ at my right, Christ at my left.
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height.

I bought a few cards and she took one for herself as well to read after I left. I also showed her a St. Brigid card that I had bought there before, which has a prayer that asks for God's help in finding peace. She seemed interested in both cards and I hope the prayers would help her. Both prayers are wonderful.

I have been in situations like the one that she is going through where there seems to be no good answer and you have to just ask the Good Lord to hold you up and surround you with His love and protection. We parents are meant to be protectors of our children and often we are, but the one thing we cannot protect them from is their own self destruction. I think many of us who know this woman would view her as an especially devoted mother. May God protect her and her son.

One version of Saint Patrick's Prayer/BreastplateLorica.

David Kelly: Rest in Peace

I suppose here in the states we may see just a few bits of an Irish actor and come to love him. David Kelly was certainly someone who fit the bill for me.

I have a few Irish movies that I watch over and over again. I can't say they are the best Irish films. They might be flawed, stereotypical and cheesy, but I love them nonetheless.

My mother was born in Scotland of Irish parents. She lost both parents at an early age and ended up being raised by her brother over here. Her link to home was letters from her sisters and movies that gave her a sense of what her mother and father's people may have been like. One of her favorite movies was The Quiet Man and I suppose I started watching that on TV at a very young age. I still love it.

One of my favorite Irish films is The Commitments. I have watched The Commitments so many times in the last ten years that I am surprised I have not warn out the disc--although I have a VHS version in reserve as well.

I like the Boys and a Girl from County Clare although by film standards, it can hardly be rated among the great ones. But for me, the price of admission is in a few shots that I sometimes pause at just for the view. There is a scene where Bernard Hill comes out of his farmhouse in the morning with a cup of coffee and you see a breathtaking scene of the farm and sea. I hope it is Ireland! There is another scene where Hill drives into town on a damp foggy evening on his tractor. One of the boys in the first bit of film who is playing the violin resembles myself at that age--so of course I love that scene as well. I was not often barefoot in Chicago like the boy, but the rest of the outfit was pretty close to my wardrobe.

My Kelly Movies

The Matchmaker was recommended to me by a local librarian. In this movie, Kelly appears a few time as a souvenir shopkeeper who also does a bit of genealogy. His role adds a little extra humor to the film. In addition to Kelly, the film is carried by Milo O'Shea and David O'Hara --Janeane Garofala is the lead and does a nice job as well. Maria Doyle Kennedy helps to tie the story and the characters together in her roll as the woman who runs the Inn where most of the action takes place.

In Waking Ned Devine, Kelly has a key role as an Irish island inhabitant who is picked by his pal played by actor Ian Bannen to claim a lottery prize that was won by Ned Devine. Devine it turns out passed away in his home when the winning numbers were called. Bannen's character, his wife in the film-actress Fionnula Flanagan, and Kelly make quite a trio of long-time friends that spend half the film showing off their quirky humor and culture -- and the other half trying to carry out their plan to fool the lottery people and snag the money. In this role, Kelly is able to show a sweet and fun-loving character that surrenders nothing to age.

Many Americans would also remember Kelly as Grandpa Joe in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I am not a big fan of either Charlie movies, but it was interesting to see Kelly in it.

According to press reports, Kelly was best known in Ireland for his role in a miniseries "Strumpet City" and for his stage work in Dublin in the 1950s and 1960s. He's kept busy for the past 50 years having dozens of TV/movie roles in Ireland and British TV--some lasting through series runs.

Like so many people in our lives, in films, music and stage, David Kelly will be missed and never replaced. A man who was skinny beyond skinny, he was a man who made the heart beat and the soul sing.

Image: David Kelly says "goodbye Kitty" and goodbye to all of us in Waking Ned Devine.
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