Re: How many of me friends are Irish?
Scholars and historians are uncertain about the years of birth and death for St. Patrick. Many details of his life remain fuzzy. Stories about chasing the snakes out of Ireland and using a shamrock to teach the mystery of the Trinity may be more myth than history.
But one thing is certain: Patrick is a beloved saint whose name is celebrated far beyond the Ireland he Christianized in the fifth century. And well he should be. Here was a humble, self-educated man who achieved remarkable things against great odds.
Growing up in what is now Great Britain, Patrick was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland as a teenager. For six years he was forced to tend flocks, but he was free to turn to God for consolation. Over time, he underwent a profound conversion. After escaping and returning home, Patrick became convinced through a number of powerful dreams and visions that he was being called by God to go back to Ireland and walk among the very people who had enslaved him.
He returned as a priest eager to spread the gospel message among a people who were still practicing human sacrifice and were the major slave traders of their day. Patrick found a way to plant the gospel in that culture, proving himself a missionary of great skill. He believed God had chosen him to convert the Irish. Drawing on his own struggles earlier in life, he preached in a way that had special meaning to a people who were downtrodden and commonly dismissed as barbarian.
St. Patrick found God in nature, in people, in the Church he loved and served. He is a saint for the Irish—and for all peoples.
I'm Not sure how the holiday for this saint turned into a day of drinking and parties. I for one believe he was a good man and someone whose life is good to contemplate. But I won't spend the day drinking to him. Oh I'm Scotch-Irish. Fathers side(Andrews) Scotch. Mothers side(Kirkpatrick) Irish.