Friday 3rd. Week of Lent

 

Feast of St. Patrick

When People think of St. Patrick they think of shamrocks, green beer, parades and snakes.

But the real St. Patrick

Was a slave captured by Irish raiders;

And became a shepherd on a cold and windswept hill in Ireland.

How does one go from being a slave who herds sheep;

On a forgotten hill,

On an island

On the farthest edge of the known world,

To one of the most famous people on the planet?

Well when the God who took the form of a slave,

And died on a hill

In the backwaters of the Roman Empire

Calls you in a dream to come.

Anything is possible.

Patrick faced slavery;

Cold and isolation;

Betrayal by his best friend;

Went back to the land of his slavery;

And Risked imprisonment and death;

And converted an entire country.

How did he do it?

Because he had Christ.

As he wrote:

Christ was on his left and on his right.

Christ was above him and below him.

Christ was within him and all around him.

Christ was in the face of every person he met.

Christ was his Shield.

He was surrounded by Christ.

And when we surround ourselves with Christ

There is nothing we can’t do!