Subscription Lists

Point of Reference

    by Fred Price

St. Patrick's Day
Date Posted: March 17, 2006

Green - the color of Ireland, the emerald isle; necessitating the wearing of green on St. Patrick’s Day. Images of a pugnacious character, with a look of defiant determination on his face and shamrocks abound. Pride in being Irish is expressed in parades and ceremonies as well. But beyond celebrating one’s Irishness, who was St. Patrick (Ireland’s patron saint) and why should we remember and honor him?

Patricius, a Romanized Briton, was captured by slave-traders from Ireland at the age of 16. During his exile in the wilderness tending his captors cattle, he began to take seriously his neglected faith. He had thought priests foolish, didn’t really believe in God and hadn’t paid much attention to the Catholic - Christian teaching of his youth. In seclusion, hunger and physical exposure to the dangers of the wild and the harsh elements of nature, he began to pray. He spent years in isolation suffering from the want of food, adequate clothing and shelter, lacking all the comforts of home he had been accustomed to in England; but he grew from a careless, care-free boy into a devout seeker of truth and found his place in the world through it. He sought a way out of slavery but more importantly he sought God, and having found him he sought a place of service through him.

Patricius had a vision one night promising him release from bondage. Encouraged by this he walked two hundred miles to the eastern shore; upon his arrival convincing a commercial ship bound for the European continent to take him on as well, finally boarding another ship returning him to Britain. However, nothing was as he remembered it; he had grown up physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. He was different from who he was at his capture and from who he might have become if he had not been. He grew restless at home in leisure and had dreams of the needy masses of Ireland asking him to return; feeling compelled to answer their pleas, he went first to an island monastery off the coast of Gaul and received training in the church and theology. He became known as St. Patrick, apostle to the Irish nation, not by learning the right words to say but by falling in love with the people. The hate and distrust of Irish for English and vise versa is deeply rooted and the resulting violence long practiced. For him, an Englishman, captured and treated harshly at best, to escape and then return to become the patron saint of these people is absolutely contrary to human nature and nothing short of miraculous.

Patrick succeeded beyond measure. Within his lifetime the Irish slave trade came to a virtual stand-still and most other violent crimes saw a marked decrease; this among a people noted throughout their early history as violent barbarians. He did not chase all the snakes from Ireland, he may have used the shamrock to explain the Trinity (now the national symbol); but he did confront kings and denounce the evils of his day as he befriended the friendless and downtrodden. Patrick dedicated the last thirty years of his life to leading his "warrior children" as he called them to Christ, convincing them to seize the everlasting prize - the kingdom of God - as opposed to seizing one another’s kingdoms. As Europe was rushing from peace to chaos as a result of the fall of Rome and the rule of the barbarian hordes, Ireland was just as quickly rushing from chaos to peace as the result of her introduction to the Prince of Peace almost single-handedly through Patrick. The direct result of his unceasing teaching of the gospel of love, forgiveness, and patience leading to a new sense of civility throughout the land and the preservation of much of the wisdom of the continent to be rediscovered in years to come.

He did this by showing genuine concern expressed in loving action which spoke volumes to a poor, uncouth, even barbaric people. He showed them how to be brave, yet kind; how to be a man of peace among warriors, how to be a warrior for people as opposed to being a warrior people. He gave them a living alternative, the words of Christ fleshed out in reality.

Ireland became unique in religious history by being the only land of it’s time into which Christianity was introduced without bloodshed and yet this island nation was almost entirely "conquered" for Christ by the time of St. Patrick’s death. A people, their culture and way of thinking not wiped out and replaced - but changed, uplifted and refined; prepared to be used by God in far-reaching ways. Irishmen, Scotsmen and many Scots-Irish people played pivotal roles in the religious settlement of the United States throughout the years and Irish pride is legitimate in their remembered endeavors to live free in a new land of opportunity. The specter of the hard-drinking, hard-swearing, hard-living Irishman is a degeneration of the Irishman that grew out of St. Patrick’s work. Their contributions to freedom, economic well-being, education and unfettered religious practice is what should be remembered and applauded.

Englishmen and Irishmen - living together in peace, love, and prosperity. Hard to imagine in a world where English and Irish have spent a lot of time, effort and money killing each other; and taking great joy in doing so. Let’s hope the image - NO - the example of not the sometimes false Saint but the real man can and will speak fresh and new to all people today. The real message of St. Patrick? Love - of Christ and our fellowman. Understanding - a real effort to understand and be understood. Desire - to serve rather than being served.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Was this article helpful?
Rate it:

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

Old School Fishing in a Modern Lake

Read Article »
Biography Information:

Fred Price - married (50 years), father of two grown children, grandfather of six.

Fred retired earlier this year after 42 years as a factory worker.  He has always had a heart for young people and the challenges they face today.  Over the years Fred has taught Discipleship Groups for High School and college students.  

Got Something to Share?
LiveAsIf.org is always looking for new writers. Whether it is a daily devotional or a weekly article, if you desire to encourage others to know Him better, then signup to become a contributor.