Happy St. Patrick's Day

Top of the mornin'!

It's St. Patrick's Day!  This is one of our very favorite holidays - and not JUST because we love corned beef and dancing jigs.  St. Patrick is one of the most inspiring missionaries in our faith!

Patrick was trafficked in slavery.  In the fifth century he was a Christian child in England - then under Roman rule.  According to the Confessio of Patrick, when he was about 16, he was captured by Irish pirates from his home in Great Britain, and taken as a slave to Ireland - then NOT Christian but Druid - and very violent.  He was put in slavery looking after animals, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a priest, he felt called to return to northern and western Ireland as a missionary, sharing Jesus in the land he was once enslaved.

 St. Patrick was known for the creative ways he articulated Christianity to the native people of Ireland, using their symbols like the shamrock to describe God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in one.  He used creativity, inspiration, and reliance on prayer to share Jesus with a dangerous society.  That desire to share Jesus (to even difficult people) is the true lesson of St. Patrick!

So today as you enjoy some of the frivolous aspects of the day, remember your faith.  Offer to pray for someone else's need.  Be generous and bless someone who needs it - even if is just a second shamrock shake for a coworker.  Invite someone to church this weekend.  Sunday will be a fun worship with Palm Sunday and a little more St. Patrick's celebration!