March 17, 2017
by Patrick J. Walsh
St. Patrick’s Day in our home was a quiet, subdued affair—no appurtenances of green, no consumption of green beer. We wore no stovepipe hats, nor any buttons of boasting Irishry. However, it was a special day, my saint’s day, the day when St. Patrick passed from the discord of time to the mystery of eternity. My [...]
August 26, 2009
by John Zmirak
Despite the evidence of my implausible last name -- customer-service staff refuse to believe it, force me to repeat it two and three times, and sometimes even argue, "It can't be spelled like that!" -- the provenance of my Catholic faith is Irish American, courtesy of my catechetical mom. Whatever specifically Croatian quirks dad had [...]