One might be greeted with a pinch from a green-clad friend next Tuesday.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the sound of bag pipes will dance along the airwaves or through parade lines.
And the smell of corned beef and cabbage might fill a few homes.
But few revelers know the history and real story behind St. Patrick, the man who converted virtually all of Ireland to Christianity. A man who reminds us about the true meaning of forgiveness, following God’s plan and the faith to face all obstacles.
St. Patrick was not an Irishman who chased all the snakes out of Ireland.
In fact, the soft-spoken man wasn’t even Irish. He was a slave who returned to the land of his captivity to spread the Gospel.
Patrick was actually born in Scotland in about 385. His middle-class family were Christians, but the young Patrick did not devote much of his time to religion.
His life would change when Irish raiders attacked his home. The teenaged Patrick was captured and enslaved.
Patrick was taken to Ireland where he was sold as a shepherd slave.
Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, said the life Patrick lived as a slave was a far cry from his younger years on the family farm.
“The work of such slave shepherds was bitterly isolated, months at a time spent alone in the hills,” Cahill said.
The young Patrick who had ignored his religious upbringing soon turned to God for strength and guidance during the horrible enslavement.
His growing faith is evident in his own confessions, which said, “I would pray constantly during the daylight hours and the love of God . . . surrounded me more and more.”
Phillip Freeman, the author of St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography, said Patrick’s challenging times would totally transform his life and the world.
“It was just horrible for him,” Freeman said. “But he got a religious conversion while he was there and became a very deeply believing Christian.”
After six years in captivity, it is said that Patrick began to hear voices and have visions. Through dreams, he believed God was telling him to return home.
And he believe that he was protected.
Patrick walked 200 miles back to the Irish coast, boarded a ship and reunited with his family.
Upon Patrick’s return to his former life, he soon realized he couldn’t possibly go back to the way he was living before his capture. He was now a devout, practicing Christian.
He would later be ordained a priest, then a bishop.
Did he remain in Scotland to spread the ministry? No, he wanted to return to the people who enslaved him.
Patrick returned to Ireland almost three decades after his escape.
Fifth century Ireland was a land filled with pagan, barbaric people with often violent behavior. It was common for human sacrifices. And it became quite clear to Patrick that conversion to Christianity would not settle too well with the natives.
Patrick wrote, “I am ready to be murdered, betrayed, enslaved, whatever may come my way.”
Through his writings, it is also evident that Patrick was more concerned about the people of Ireland. He was worried about their physical and spiritual well-being.
Able to speak the Celtic language and armed with a shamrock, he used the small plant to explain the Trinity. He continued his preaching all over the continent. His quiet, gentle way of speaking helped convert the Irish.
“Only this former slave had the right instincts to impart to the Irish a New Story, one that made sense of all their old stories and brought them a peace they had never known before,” Cahill said. “Because of Patrick, a warrior people lay down the swords of battle, flung away the knives of sacrifice, and cast away the chains of slavery.”
And as far as chasing out snakes? It was reported that there were not snakes in Ireland at the time. Rather, it seems that the snakes have served as an allegory for paganism, which St. Patrick “banished” when he brought the Catholic religion to Ireland’s shores.
When Patrick died in 461, he had converted most of Ireland to Christianity.
With Tuesday approaching next week, take a moment to remember St. Patrick, the man.
Celebrate his evangelism. Continue his work. And remember the slave who returned to his captors to give them a new life with God.
