 |
| Our New England coastline is evocative of the emerald isle. |
In
observance of St. Patrick’s Day, we wear green clothing, eat corned beef and
cabbage; and some of us will even tip a few pints of green ale.
But why do
we honor the patron saint of Ireland?
Patrick was born
around 385, but biographers are unsure of the site of his birth in Britain,
perhaps near Dumbarton on the Clyde, in Cumberland to the south of Hadrian’s
Wall or at the mouth of the Severn.
In his
spiritual autobiography, the “Confessio,” Patrick tells us that he was of Roman
and British ancestry; and his father, Calpurnius, was a municipal official.
When he was
a teen, Patrick was carried off by Irish raiders, who took him somewhere in
County Mayo.
A slave,
Patrick worked as a shepherd. He tells us he was lonely and afraid and that he
turned to his religion for help.
“The love of
God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was
raised so that in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in
the night nearly the same,” he wrote.
Six years in captivity, Patrick said he heard God’s voice in his sleep, telling him to leave
Ireland.
According to
his biographers, he ran away walking 200 miles, found free passage on a ship
and spent three days before reaching land in some uninhabited country. But
eventually he returned to his family.
When he was
23 years old, Patrick saw a vision of an angel in a dream beckoning him to
return to the western isle as a missionary.
He also heard
voices saying, “We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more.”
After studying for the priesthood, Patrick decided to dedicate himself to the spread of
Christianity in the places of his slavery.
He spent the
next 30 years, traveling throughout Ireland founding schools, churches and
monasteries.
Using native
beliefs to teach Christianity, he superimposed a sun, a powerful pagan symbol,
on the Christian cross, which became the Celtic cross; and he used the
three-leafed shamrock to represent the Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
Patrick died
on March 17, 461 and was buried at Saul on Strangford Lough.
One
thousand, five hundred and fifty-three years later, we celebrate the saint’s
day; and he continues to teach us:
“Be still
and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.”
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.”
―St. Patrick
No comments:
Post a Comment