03/17/2026
Happy St. Patrick's Day.
Most of what gets celebrated today has little to do with the real man. The green beer and parades are fun, if you're into that kind of thing, but the actual story of Patrick is far more remarkable.
He was a teenager from Britain when Irish pirates captured him and sold him into slavery. For six years he worked as a shepherd in Ireland, alone and far from home. It was in that hardship that his faith took root. Lonely and afraid, he turned to God for comfort and became a devout Christian.
He eventually escaped and returned home. Then came the part that is hard to understand in human terms. He had a vision of the Irish people calling out to him, asking him to come back and walk among them. So he studied, trained, and went back. Not for comfort or safety, but because he believed God was calling him to the very people who had once enslaved him.
He engaged in continuous prayer, loved Scripture, and traveled across the island proclaiming the gospel, baptizing people and ordaining priests to lead new Christian communities. He wrote, "Never before did they know God" except to serve idols and unclean things. Because of his efforts they became people of the Lord.
Hundreds of Celtic monks, inspired by his example, left Ireland to carry the gospel to Scotland, England, and continental Europe. One man's faithfulness reshaped a continent.
That is the story worth remembering today. Not a legend, but a life surrendered to something greater than itself.
Wishing you and your family a meaningful St. Patrick's Day.
