March 17th is celebrated in many places around the world as the day Patrick’s Day, patron saint of Ireland. I learned a couple of years ago the interesting fun fact that, one of the reasons people go to pubs and drink green beer for St. Patrick’s Day because March 17th lands in the middle of the Lenten season…a season of frugality with restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol (mostly for Catholics and Anglicans) before Easter. But the Irish were allowed to break their fasts and feast on this particular day.
Patrick was born around 385 AD near England’s west coast or in Wales into a wealthy British family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest in the Christian church. When he was about sixteen years old, he was captured by Irish raiders, and taken to Gaelic Ireland where he lived as a slave for six years.
It was during his enslavement, while spending long hours in solitude tending sheep, that he had a spiritual awakening. Through dreams and other voices, Patrick was able to escape and return back home again. He studied theology, and went on to become a priest. After many years passed, he had another dream where he heard the Irish people calling out to him to return to the land of his enslavement.
Patrick’s name actually means “one who frees hostages,” and when he returned to Ireland in 432 AD, he was very vocal in his opposition to slavery. He spent the rest of his life preaching the message of Christianity and helping to establish the Christian church in Ireland. Tradition has it that he used the three leaf clover as a way of helping folks understand the concept of the Trinity.
I had the privilege of going on pilgrimage to Ireland a year and half ago. The stained glass image above is taken inside St. Patrick’s cathedral in Dublin. We also climbed Mamean Mountain Pass, where a beautiful statue of Patrick stands at the top, along with one of Ireland’s holy wells. Below is a portion of what is known as the Prayer of St. Patrick.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.