This Wednesday, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day—a day that is often honored by drinking green beer, wearing green, some even dying their hair green.
In Chicago, they dye the Chicago River green in honor of this day.
But, who was St. Patrick? What did he do to warrant such celebrations? And, what can we learn from his life?
Saint Patrick was a fifth century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop to Ireland. According to Biography.com, Saint Patrick was born in 386 and died in 461.. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders from the villa of his father, Calpurnius, a deacon and minor local official, and was sold into slavery in Ireland.
He spent six bleak years there as a herdsman, during which time he turned with fervor to his faith. According to Biography.com, Patrick came to view his enslavement as God’s test of his faith. He had a dream that a ship he was to escape in was ready for his departure, and so, he fled from his master and left by ship for Britain. On this voyage, he nearly starved to death and suffered a second brief captivity before he was reunited with his family.
Now a free man, he went to Auxerre, France, studied and entered the priesthood under the guidance of St. Germain. He was ordained a deacon by the Bishop of Auxerre in 418 A.D. (Biography.com)
In a short work he published, the Confessio, he stated that following his return to Britain, he had a dream in which a group of Irish people were pleading for him to return to Ireland and walk among them. He returned and traveled across the country of Ireland, baptizing and confirming the Irish. He was a humble man and poured forth his thanks to God for having chosen him as “the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped ‘idols and unclean things’ had become ‘the people of God.’”
Toward the end of his life, he retired to Saul, Ireland, where he died.
Several legends are told about St. Patrick. One is that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, into the sea, to their death. Patrick himself wrote that he raised people from the dead. He also reportedly prayed for food for a group of sailors traveling by land, and a herd of swine miraculously appeared.
The most popular legend surrounding him is that he explained the concept of the Holy Trinity to an unbeliever by showing him a shamrock, with its three-leaves on one stalk. It is an Irish tradition that men wear shamrocks, the national flower of Ireland, in their lapels on St. Patrick’s Day.
March 17th is thought to be the day he died, thus the origin of this day to celebrate his life. For more than 1,000 years, the Irish have observed Saint Patrick’s Day as a religious holiday.
In Ireland, on March 17th, families attend church in the morning and observe other rituals—including eating a traditional meal of cabbage and Irish bacon. This has spread to many countries, which have used the green color associated with Ireland’s lush fields—and the shamrock—to highlight celebrations through dress, food, and beverage.
What are we as Christians to learn from the life of St. Patrick? Here are a few lessons I take from the stories that surround his life:
God answers fervent prayers—especially those that reflect God’s desire to spread the Good News.
A life lived for God is a life well-lived.
Go where God commands—even if it is not where you would place yourself.
There, serve others in a Christ-centered manner.
God has a special place in His heart for the humble.
So, celebrate the life of this Saint by remembering the life he led in walking with and serving God—and the impact it had on a nation.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3: 5-6 (ESV)
(Source: Brittanica.com unless otherwise indicated)