Happy St. Patrick’s Day !
We’ve all heard of green beer and leprechauns in association with St. Patrick’s Day and of course the four leaf clover.
But WHO was the actual “St. Patrick”?
We associate Patrick with the Irish, but few realize that he was not an Irishman by birth. No, he went through an extraordinary baptism of kidnapping and slavery, followed by escape and then a voluntary return to civilize his former captors. How many other nations can claim that in their heritage? The Luck of the Irish has been running its streak for a long time indeed. What did Patrick have to do with this?
When he was 16 he was captured by Irish slave traders where he tended their pigs for 7 years. Although his grandfather had been a priest and his father a deacon he had never accepted the faith until he had these years to think about life.
He heard a voice in his sleep that told him ‘his ship is ready’ and he soon escaped to a ship that travelled 200 miles till he returned home. But he heard ‘ a voice’ which encouraged him to ‘come and walk again among us’. When he asked from whom the voice came he was told, ‘He who gave his life for you, he it is who speaks within you.’
The church in Ireland at that time didn’t think he was worthy enough to head out on this mission but he did it anyway and after baptizing thousands of people and bringing about as many conversions ….. “In less than a century after St. Patrick’s death Ireland was covered with churches and convents for men and women. The monastic institutions were training schools … and workshops for transcribing sacred books“ (Consider the Gospel)
Here are some of my favourite words of St. Patrick…..
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.
