St. Patrick’s Day
via Catholic News Agency:
St. Patrick was born around the year 389 on the Island of Briton and considered himself to be both Roman and British. At the age of 16, he was captured by an Irish raiding party and sold into slavery. As a slave, Patrick worked as a shepherd and was given little to satisfy his needs. After six years of slavery, Patrick was given the chance to escape and he took it, traveling first to France and later back home. While in slavery, Patrick realized the spiritual need of the Irish people and decided to address this problem.
After studying for the priesthood and ordination, Patrick began to seek support for his plan of being a missionary to Ireland.
We are all slaves to sin before Christ offers us the way of escape. The purpose of having a “St. Patrick’s Day” is not, dear friend, to drink green beer. It is, in part, to reflect on our spirituality. Are you a Christian who seeks reconciliation for those who hurt you, or are you the kind that is mad at the lost because they act like the lost? St. Patrick hurt for those who previously held him in bondage. Do we hurt for those still trapped in a worldly system without Christ? How do you make use of your liberty?
This day is also traditionally a day to pray for missionaries who travel the globe, like a matrix-Morpheus, preaching truth to free troubled minds. They have given up their own selfish dreams of greatness for a magnificence of hope in Christ. Here’s to J, R&C H, the Bs, and the Ws - may God protect you and bless your service to him.
We who have been set free are the only ones who truly have a choice. Will we serve God or ourselves? We should all be missionaries to those God has placed before us.
Comment by j cyrus
Solid stuff. I like it.
Posted on March 19, 2007 at 6:26 am