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Remembering St. Patrick

Saint Patrick of Ireland
Saint Patrick of Ireland

It’s the Feast Day of Saint Patrick, one of the Church’s great evangelists and missionaries, which we in the States of course celebrate by pinching each other and getting drunk.  I really appreciate the work of God through Saint Patrick and find his missionary work increasingly relevant in our post-Christian culture.  How do we reach and engage folks outside the faith and how do we reach them where they are?  Patrick was not even Irish, but actually kidnapped by the Irish when he was young.  After escaping his slavery, he eventually returned to those very people in order to share Christ with them.  It is an amazing story and demonstration of the grace of God.

I was reading a bit from one of my church history books about this time period, and learned that this movement in Ireland became so large, the Irish then sent missionaries to other countries, most notably, Scotland.  There was a well known missionary named Columba who settled in Iona and eventually a monastery was founded there that became a crucial center of missions to Scotland.

It’s amazing what God has done through faithful people and today we remember one of them, Patrick of Ireland.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Here are some other posts on Saint Patrick I have written:

This one features the well known prayer attributed to Saint Patrick.

This one features one of my favorite stories of Saint Patrick’s fearlessness in his faith.

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Feast Day of Saint Patrick

SaintPatrickIreland_240x320pxToday is the day the church remembers an amazing man of God who lived out his calling in such a way that we are still learning from him. I’ve read part of the book, “The Celtic Way of Evangelism,” that explores some of the unique ways the gospel was shared by the Christians shaped by Patrick. Patrick had an amazing way of living alongside people, loving them, and figuring out how to engage them on a level that challenged them to come to Christ.

A few years ago I wrote a post that shared one of my favorite stories about St. Patrick.

And a few years before that, I wrote another post that contains a prayer attributed to Saint Patrick, known as, “The Breastplate of St. Patrick.”

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Saint Patrick and the Light of Christ

One of my favorite stories about St. Patrick involves the lighting of a Paschal fire on the night where fires were outlawed in Ireland due to an upcoming pagan celebration. It is such an act of confident defiance of the present age and hope in the one to whom the light testifies. You must remember that Christian mission in Ireland had failed miserably prior to Patrick, and Patrick’s life and ministry were marked by challenge and hardship. He had been taken captive numerous times, his life threatened others. Yet there he was lighting the Paschal fire because Easter was the next day, and the light of the world would not be overcome by darkness. It’s fascinating that Ireland’s patron saint was not Irish. In fact, he was a Brit who was kidnapped at a young age, who later escaped, and then was called by the Almighty to return to the very people who had enslaved him. There was an uproar over the fire. Lochru, the chief of the Druids led incantations to try to put it out, but in the end (and after some interesting tales which may or may not be accurate) it was the light of the Paschal bonfire which burned bright, not the sacred fire of the Druid festival. And this, in essence, is what happened in Ireland; the light of Christ burned bright in a man named Patrick, and against all odds and even through the darkness, it was that light which remained. It is St. Patrick of Ireland whom we remember today as we praise God for his work through Patrick.

Here is a link to a post from 2 years ago, in it is a famous prayer of St. Patrick, “The Breastplate of St. Patrick.”

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Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

Saint Patrick of Ireland
Saint Patrick of Ireland

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a day when many within some Christian traditions remember the life and ministry of St. Patrick. It’s unfortunate the the celebration of the life of one of the greatest missionaries the Christian movement has known has been reduced to drinking green beer, and wearing green so you don’t get pinched. So if this is all you know about St. Patrick (and perhaps that there is some story about him and snakes…) then I encourage you to find out some things about this saint.  He really was an amazing guy.  I know that I am impressed by the fact that he returned to the people who kidnapped him as a young man, and ended up bringing the gospel to their culture.

Here is a prayer that St. Patrick is known for, it’s called “The Breastplate of St. Patrick.”
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through the confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation. Continue reading “Happy Saint Patrick’s Day”