All the world is Irish, but do any of them associate with the Shamrock?

Shamrock

Oh the beloved March 17th is upon us.  That means it's St. Patrick's Day and everybody and their grandma is Irish.  Even if only for a day.  A little disclaimer here, my grandmother's father was one of three brothers that came here directly from Ireland about 1910.  But everyone associates with the Irish and joins in the festivities.  Eating cabbage, drinking ale, and wearing green.  But how many know the meaning behind the man that is St. Patrick?  And how many know the message that made him famous enough to earn him Sainthood?  Like so many of our holidays in America, we just join in the party and don't pay any mind to the history or the significance of the event.  This man has an incredible story and there is a legitimate reason multiple churches claim him as their patron saint.


Mr. Patrick was born in a Britain that was under Roman rule.  This would be roughly around 400 A.D.  His Father and Grandfather were said to be either deacons or preachers in a "Christian" church.  There weren't as many denominations back then so it is unclear what "Christian" branch it was.  When he was 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and made a slave somewhere on the west coast of Ireland.  While in captivity God gave Patrick a dream of fleeing to the beach and leaving by boat.  The dream came true and he sailed to Gaul.  This is modern day France.  Since God saved him, he studied to be a priest and returned to Ireland to Christianize his Irish captors away from their Celtic polytheism.  Interestingly Celtic polytheism and Roman mythology are parallel, but that's another story.  What set Patrick apart was he used the most common thing in Ireland as his teaching tool.  The common Shamrock was all he needed.  The Shamrock has three leaves and he used it to explain the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  He spent thirty years walking the emerald isle that once enslaved him using a simple clover to spread the word of God.  He changed a nation and is for every immortalized.  This is why the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox, and Irish Christian Church all claim him as Saint Patrick.


We live in a day and age that it's all about marketing, name recognition, and the wow factor.  Sometimes, the simplest things in life can carry the biggest message.  I find that more often then not that word of mouth is the most effective tool of all.  Friend to friend makes some of the greatest impacts in most people's lives.  And sometimes one man walking for thirty years with a few clovers in his pockets and a simple message in his heart can change a world.  If someone ask you today, "Are you wearing your green?" remember it means "are you wearing your Holy Trinity?".  I hope you wear your green everyday.