'Tis a day of merry making, feasting, and being crammed into spaces along with hundreds, and thousands of other merry makers...
St. Patrick was never canonized, yet, he is considered a Saint! He was born in Roman Britain; at 14 he was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave to tend sheep. He did this for 6 years, and during these years he turned to *GOD*! He says in his memoirs that he sometimes PRAYED a hundred PRAYERS a day, and never during his years of herding, and tending sheep did he feel the pains of the cold, ice, or rains! At 20, he had a dream telling him to go down to the coast, and there he met some sailors who transported him back to Britain. A few years after returning home, Patrick saw a vision he described in his memoir:
"I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: 'The Voice of the Irish.' As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea-and they cried out, as with one voice: 'We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'"
The vision prompted his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years, and was later ordained a bishop and sent to take the Gospel to Ireland.
Patrick arrived in Slane, Ireland on March 25, 433. There are several legends about what happened next, with the most prominent claiming he met the chieftan of one of the druid tribes, who tried to kill him. After an intervention from God, Patrick was able to convert the chieftain and preach the Gospel throughout Ireland. There, he converted many people -eventually thousands - and he began building churches across the country.
He often used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity and entire kingdoms were eventually converted to Christianity after hearing Patrick's message. (I have read that this is simply folklore, but who knows? It is also said he drove all the snakes out of Ireland, but there have NEVER been snakes there, due to the Ice Age, and the continental bridging which occurred thereafter!)
Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461.
He died at Saul, where he had built the first Irish church. He is believed to be buried in Down Cathedral, Downpatrick. His grave was marked in 1990 with a granite stone.
Patrick was a humble, pious, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us. So complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission, he feared nothing -not even death.
"The Breastplate," Patrick's poem of faith and trust in God: "Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger."
Interesting, me thinks! Ireland has certainly had much influence upon the world, even the Catholic Church, and what great tales, as well as other arts have derived from The Emerald Isle!!!
Happy St. Pat's Day, a Holiday rich with history, and inspiration, despite being one which sees over-indulgence, fighting, and other negatives arising from human perception, interpretation, and tradition! I was a bartender for years at an Irish Pub; well, I have been there, done that:)))
Can you imagine walking into the reveling and relating the *GOD*LINESS of St. Patrick FOR the sake of properly aligning the Holiday??? Funny thought, for sure!!! OXOXOXO
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