11th June, 2006

THREE FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

I had to spend a few days of this past week in Scotland for a meeting of a group in which I am involved. Having lived in Scotland for a number of years in the late 70’s, it brought back many happy memories of the times and the people there – not to mention the golf! But it also stimulated memories going much further back into my childhood. It’s not that I was even in Scotland then, but many of the jokes of my childhood were built around that famous threesome – Paddy the Irishman, Paddy the Englishman and Paddy the Scotsman. This, of course, was long before the days of political correctness.

Nowadays one would have to be careful before telling the one about the three steeplejacks, who were getting bored to tears by the same sandwiches in their lunch-boxes, day after day. “If I get beef again tomorrow,” says the Englishman, “I’m going to jump right off the building!” “Same here,” says the Scotsman, “if I see another tuna sandwich!” “I’ll be with you if I see cheese again”, said the Irishman. Sure enough, the following day they had beef, tuna and cheese as usual, and true to their promise they jumped to their deaths.

At the funerals the three widows met up. “But I thought he really loved beef sandwiches”, says the English widow. “I could have made him anything else but tuna, had I known”, said the Scots widow. “I can’t understand it, at all, at all,” says the Irish widow, “Paddy always made his own sandwiches!”

Mind you, if they had come to the Summer Fair this week-end, they wouldn’t have had to be worrying about what was in their sandwiches, such a selection of foods were available, and were clearly relished by all present. (I’m still looking for the stall with the Irish Stew!) It’s a wonderful symbol of what St. Joseph’s is all about – people from so many different cultures working together to create an atmosphere where all can feel part of something special – a community bound together by the love of God.

And that’s what we celebrate this week-end – a wiser three persons than the ones above, bound together, as it were, by their mutual love. The Trinity is a rich symbol of unity in diversity – three Persons, yet one God. Each time we say the “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit”; each time we bless ourselves passing a church, we are proclaiming our faith that we’re never alone – we are part of a family. And our family food is neither sandwiches nor ethnic dishes, but the very Body and Blood of Christ, the Word made flesh, the Promise of the Spirit.