Celtic Proverbs
Better “O Mary my misery” than “O Mary my shame”

Better wretchedness that shame, better physical discomfort that the knowledge that we have transgressed a privilege or violated a trust. This assumes, of course, that we have the insight to know what we should do and what we should not and that we experience pain when we make the wrong choice. The Church comes down hard on this second point and evokes the terror of Hell to make sure that the pain is felt. An extreme measure, many would say excessive. But is it any more excessive than the macho-secular alternatives, that we are nothing more that hairless apes and that material progress and enlightened self-interest are the brightest virtues of all?

R. Martin Helick, Travelers From an Ancient Land, Book XII, An Chros, (Regent Graphics: Swissvale, PA, 1993)