Happy feast of St. Patrick! On today’s show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell welcome Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All Ireland and successor of St. Patrick, to share some thoughts in honor of the real St. Patrick. Other guests include Mike Aquilina on why St. Patrick should be considered a Father of the Church, and Rita Heikenfeld with some traditional Italian recipes to help celebrate this weekend’s feast of St. Joseph. Plus news, weather, sports and a whole lot more…
Mike Aquilina is online at fathersofthechurch.com.
Archbishop Eamon Martin is online at armagharchdiocese.org.
Fr. Mark Mary Ames is online at bornoffirebook.com.
Kevin Prendergast is online at athenaeum.edu.
Dr. John Bergsma is online at johnbergsma.com.
Rita Heikenfeld is online at abouteating.com.
Gary Michuta is online at handsonapologetics.com.
Fr. Donald Haggerty, author of St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation
Andrea Patch is online at netusa.org.
Joe Heschmeyer is online at catholic.com.
*****
The Breastplate of St. Patrick
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation. Amen.
*****
Zeppoles recipe from Rita Heikenfeld
Also known as fritters, these are deep fried in oil and quick to make since you use instant or rapid-rise yeast.
This recipe is slightly adapted from Cooks’ Illustrated and I added vanilla and almond flavoring, since almonds represent St. Joseph. You can add only vanilla if you like. Recipe is detailed for success!
Makes 15 to 18 zeppoles
Ingredients:
1 1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (almond is optional)
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
Confectioners sugar for dusting
If you own a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, you can combine the batter in it to make it easier to tell when it has doubled in volume.
Instructions:
Whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder and salt in bowl.
Whisk water and flavorings into flour mixture until blended well.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled at room temperature. This takes only 15-20 minutes or so. As suggested by Cooks, I put mine in a 4 cup measure to make it easy to see when it has doubled.
Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and line rack layer of paper towels.
Heat oven to 200 degrees – this will keep the zeppoles warm as you fry all of them.
Add peanut or vegetable oil (not olive oil) to large Dutch oven until it measures about 1 1/2 inches deep and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees.
Using sprayed tablespoon measure, add 6 heaping tablespoonfuls of batter to oil. (Use dinner spoon to help scrape batter from tablespoon if necessary.)
Fry until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of zeppole comes out clean, 2 to 3 minutes, flipping once halfway through frying. You may need to adjust heat as you fry zeppoles.
Using slotted spoon, transfer zeppoles to prepared wire rack.
Transfer sheet to oven to keep fried zeppoles warm until you’ve fried all the zeppoles.
Dust with confectioners sugar and serve warm.
