The St. Patrick’s Day parade at Bethpage

2015, April 2015 edition
By Father Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R. |

Moses parted the Red Sea that allowed the Jewish people to be set free from the Egyptians. Our Lord Jesus calmed the seas and walked on the water. The Blessed Mother had the sun dance at Fatima. And Father Pat brought snow for the Bethpage St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 1!

When I was named Grand Marshall, I was told I had only one serious responsibility: to pray for good weather. John Joyce, the chairman of the parade committee, told me that next year they are getting a rabbi for Grand Marshall. I asked John if there had ever been a day that was worse for weather and he said the only worse day was when Father George Keaveney, God rest him, was Grand Marshall. He joked that they will never pick another Redemptorist.

But your Grand Marshall was like the United States Postal Service: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. I completed the March and celebrated the day to the full extent of the law.

I was deeply honored by the Bethpage Parade Committee to have been chosen as the Grand Marshall for the year 2015. In spite of the terrible weather, it was a day that touched my heart deeply and one that I shall never forget. I thank the committee for this wonderful gift.

It would be impossible to list all the graces I experienced on Sunday, March 1, 2015.

To list but a few of those graces is risky since I know I cannot capture them all and the people that touched me with God’s love. But here are a few of the many highlights:

  • The presence of my family. Right before the parade began, my niece called from North Carolina to wish me luck. My sister came from Brooklyn, and my nephew Rob came all the way from Westchester, in spite of having been here the day before for a baptism. My niece Claire, her husband, Tom, Fiona, and Sean were decked out in green. My cousins Philomena and Bridie and some of their children were there. Two dear friends—Mark from Annapolis and Kathy from Saratoga Springs—braved the weather and made the trip, as did two of my confreres, Fathers Frank Gargani and Frank Mulvaney. Father Jim McCabe attended the Mass.
  • Parishioners went out of the way to be so very welcoming and helpful to my family.
  • Elena, as always, provided such beautiful music and is so willing to make any occasion special by her gifts.
  • Maureen Sharen sang three of our family’s favorite songs: “The Lovely Rose of Clare,” “The Fair of Spancil Hill,” and “The Lord of the Dance.” My mother loved “The Fair of Spancil Hill,” since she often told us that her brother sold a horse at the fair that paid the fare for her sister to come to America, who then brought Mom to this great country.
  • Kathy Speelman was a great photographer and took great pictures for me, as did John McCarthy. Kathy also made a great Irish cake. I am still getting an opinion on whether devil’s food counts as chocolate for those who give up the cocoa bean for Lent.
  • I noticed so many people at the 1 o’clock Mass for the parade who do not usually attend the Mass. I was touched that you came to the Mass to honor me. I could not name you all, but I did see you, and I was very moved. The same was true for the reception in the hall.
  • Along the parade route, through the snowflakes, I heard, “Hey, Father Pat, we love you, and you are doing a great job.” I appreciated that since I had told the people to yell that out, even if they did not believe it, at the previous Masses I had said.
  • I could not buy a drink or a sandwich at the party since everyone wanted to be good to the Grand Marshall. If I had drunk all the Jameson I was offered, you might not have heard from me until Easter. That might be a blessing to you.
  • I was going to say that for a whole day, you made me feel so very loved and appreciated. But I honestly must say that’s how you treat me all the time, throughout the year. I wish everyone in the parish could be Grand Marshall (without the snow) since you are all so very special to me, and I am most grateful to share faith and God’s love with you.

 

Again, thank you to the parade committee and to all who made this day a day I will never forget.

Father Pat’s article originally appeared in the St. Martin of Tours bulletin.