{Truth Behind Tradition}
Happy Monday! And, Happy St. Patrick's Day! (And, happy birthday Mamaw!) Throughout the weekend, loads of Americans donned their best (and sometimes not quite) green attire and celebrated St. Patrick's Day by attending various parades, visiting Irish pubs, and drinking lots of Irish beer. Confession: I wore green today, accidentally.
St. Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland who actually hailed from Britain. He was kidnapped at the age of 16 by Irish marauders and held captive for years. During his time there, he converted to Christianity and after escaping vowed to return to Ireland to rid the land of its pagans. He did return to Ireland as a missionary. March 17th marks the day of the religious feast in his honor and also marks the date of his death in the 5th century. And, so we celebrate? I assume this holiday is like others that have been consumer-ized (I think I may have just invented a word) almost beyond recognition. We wear green and pinch people who do not. Some drink beer and many enjoy parades. We talk of leprechauns, shamrocks, and the luck of the Irish. But, I wonder how many people know the real story. I am sure many people do, but I could not be counted among them! Bluewas actually the color associated with Saint Patrick. The Shamrock (which does not exist but resembles clover) was used by Saint Patrick to explain the Holy Trinity and was worn later as a symbol of Irish Christianity not luck. Am I the only one who didn't know?! No matter.
I never knew the history behind the observance of St. Patrick's Day, nor did I know the story of the man Saint Patrick until a few years ago when something piqued my curiosity. I heard, for the first time, a portion of Saint Patrick's Breastplate prayer. And, wow. It's beautiful. And, powerful. This beautiful prayer reminds me of one of my favorite psalms, Psalm 139.
A portion of the prayer is to follow. I pray the words are like balm to your soul and remind you that He hems us in and has laid His hand upon us. (Ps. 139, NIV) That is good news. Happy news. It's one of the greatest reasons I can think of to celebrate.
So, celebrate big sweet friends. Jesus knows you. Jesus loves you.
*Note: The historical info I included came from History.com.