AN IRISH SAYING
May those who love us, love us
And those who don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts
May he turn their ankles
Se we’ll know them by their limp
Lol
THE LIFE STORY OF SAINT PATRICK
There has been much controversy
Surrounding the life of Saint Patrick
Both as to what he did
And what he didn’t do
Patrick was British by birth
He lived during the fifth century
His father was on the town council
And was a deacon
His grandfather was a priest
When he was young
He was captured by Irish pirates
And was made a slave for 6 years
During these years
Patrick began to pray
And draw close to God
Which was in contrast to his earlier years
When he “knew NOT the true God”
After the 6 years
He escaped or was freed
And did some traveling
But almost starved to death
Patrick returned home to his family
A changed man
And trained to become a priest
After some contact with the Papacy
Patrick succeeded Palladius
To be the first bishop of the Irish
To believe in Christ
Patrick worked principally in Northern Ireland
Organizing the church
And had many missionary journeys
From there
Patrick was not especially learned
But lived with a sincere simplicity
And deep pastoral care
He worked to abolish paganism and idolatry
And made no distinction
Among classes of people
HE LOVED ALL
He himself was ready and willing
To accept imprisonment and death
For his FAITH IN CHRIST
Because of being a slave and fugitive
He learned to completely trust God
The historical Patrick is much different
Than the legendary Patrick
And much more interesting
He DID NOT convert Ireland single-handedly
In fact---it took MANY evangelists
And many generations to accomplish
But make no mistake
He was the PRIMARY INSTRUMENT of God
In getting it all started
He remains the most popular Saint
From Ireland
And he is Ireland’s patron
To this day
His cult spread form Ireland to Europe
In the middle ages
And in modern times
To the United States and Australia
Where it still flourishes on his feast day
Which is March 17th
Happy Saint Patrick’s day!
With love---Robert P. wallman
March 15th, 2012
Ps my middle
name is Patrick---after my grandfather Patrick Murphy
Who was
named after Saint Patrick
3-16-18 and 3-16-19=and 3-16-17-2025
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