Once again today is a holiday that many do not know the history of or why we celebrate. Do you know who St. Patrick is? Do you know why his life was remarkable enough that we celebrate it every March 17th? If you don't know you're about to find out. Much of his life is legend, but there is always some truth to every legend.
Patrick was born to a wealthy family in 387AD, in Roman Britain, and was known as a trouble maker. His family was a devout Christian family, but he resisted their faith. When he was a teen he was captured by Irishmen and was taken back to Ireland to be a slave. He was a shepherd for several years and during that time his faith in the Lord grew immensely. He also learned about the religeon of the Irish, which was lead by the Druids.
One night, Patrick had a dream where the Lord told him his ship was ready to take him back home. When he went to his master asking for his release from slavery, he was denied. His master intended to tie Patrick to his bed post that night for fear he would make a run in the night; but when he got to Patricks bunk that evening, he was no where to be found. After Patrick had been denied his relase, he left his Masters house and walked right out the front gate in search of his ship.
Patrick found his ship and secured passage back to his homeland where he was reunited with his family and studied under the bishops of the church. While home again he received yet another dream where he received a letter and when he opened it, it was the voice of all of those from Ireland asking him to return to them and minister the Gospel to them.
When Patrick returned to Ireland he first went to the King and Queen. When they announced the arrivale of a Christian priest to the leader of the Druids, the Druid leader attempted to warn them of the dangers of Christianity. The King and Queen told the Druid leader he had permission to stop the Christian if his gods saw fit. The Druid leader took soldiers and waited to ambush Patrick. As Patrick was approaching the castle, the Druid called to the commander of the troops to attack, but the commader refused becaue he didn't see Patrick. Patrick was able to arrive at the castle unharmed and met with the King and Queen. He planted the seed of the gospel and they were very interested, but did not let go of their Druid ways just yet.
On Easter, a ritual of the Druids fell on the same day. They would light a fire to commemorate the spirits of the Druids. It was a large fire and it took them many days to prepare it. Patrick got to the fire first and lit it early and proclamed that the light of the fire should shine for the Lord of the Gospel which he proclaimed, not the false gods of the Druids. This of course got him another audiance with the King and Queen.
In this meeting of the King and Queen, they asked Patrick the meaning of disrupting their ways. He used this opprotunity to explain the sacrifice of Christ and introduce communion. The Druid leader saw his opprotunity and poisoned Patrick's wine. Patrick knew it was a trap when the Druid was so eager to partake in the Lord's Supper, refused to join them, and left. The King and Queen were curious and the scheme was found out of what the Druid was up to. Because the Druid took action into his own hand, the King and Queen determined that the power of his god was not enough to combat the Christian and his God and so decided the days of the Druids were over.
The country of Ireland was converted to Christianity because of Patrick's mission. Patrick converted over 100,000 to be followers of Christ and planted 800 churches. The faith of Ireland is largely attributed to Saint Patrick. Patrick died on March 17th, 461 and we celebrate his life and the faith of the Irish because of his work. This is the reason to celebrate today, to give God thanks for His work through willing men.
Patrick's life may seem catastrophic with being captured into slavery to a foregn land at such a young age and being forced to serve for so many years. Yet, what man intended for evil, the Lord used for the greater good. (Genesis 50:20) Patrick understood today's #CornerstoneVerseOfTheDay fully and would agree that the Lord worked all things for the good, for him, and for the people of Ireland. This is worth celebrating.
Comments