Happy St. Patrick's Day

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Since both my grandmothers were half-Irish, I want to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

It seems on March 17th, everyone wishes they were Irish! But there is so much more to the story of St. Patrick's Day than wearing green. 

St. Patrick's name was originally Maewyb Succat.  He was born in Roman Britain in the 4th century to wealthy Christian parents. When he was 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland where he was a slave.  At that point he wrote that he heard a voice telling him that soon he would go home.  Then, later, he heard the same voice telling him his ship was ready.

He ran away from his master, traveled to a port two hundred miles away. He found a ship, and convinced the captain to take him aboard.  

After returning to Britain, He became a priest.  Patrick is the name he chose for himself after becoming a priest. Eventually, he returned to Ireland to teach them about Christ.

The shamrock is associated with St. Patrick, because this is how he explained the Trinity to the Irish people. 

Patrick would hold up a shamrock and challenge his hearers, "Is it one leaf or three?" 

"It is both one leaf and three," was their reply. 

 "And so it is with God," he would conclude. 

This is the same thought process I used to share with my oldest granddaughter when she was three.

Using clover from our yard, I  explained to her that God was one God, but He was God the Father and Jesus, God the Son and also God the Spirit, pointing to one of the petals for each member of the Trinity.  But He was still one God.  

I also pointed out to her that the petals each looked like little hearts, which reminded us that no matter what, God always loves us and that if we trust and believe in Him, He will come into our hearts to stay forever. 

I showed her the little ring of white toward the center of the clover and explained that a circle has no starting point or ending point and God had no beginning point and has no ending point.

So, as we celebrate March 17th, which was the day of St. Patrick's death, let us not forget he devoted his lifeto  teaching the truths of Christ and the Trinity to the Irish.  I am quite sure St. Patrick would prefer we focus on the God of the Trinity, instead of on himself.

Words from  "Patrick's Confession":

"For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught;and His son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the Spirit with the Father,indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by Him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave Him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to His imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to His deeds. And He poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name."

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