Heres 4 Shocking Facts About St. Patrick: 1. He wasnt Irish 2. He was kidnapped by Irish raiders 3. He was sold as a slave 4. He went to Ireland to witness to his old slave master. When many people think of St. Patrick, the first things that come to mind are shamrocks, leprechauns, and maybe pinches for people who don’t wear green. What’s easy to miss in these celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day is the fact that the real Patrick was a devout Christian and a missionary. St. Patrick was a Roman Briton, born to wealthy parents. His father was a deacon, but Patrick wasn’t particularly religious. Around the year 430, when Patrick was sixteen, Irish raiders kidnapped him. Patrick became a slave, watching his Irish master’s sheep. In his loneliness, he turned to the God of his father and entrusted his life to Jesus Christ. Six years later, Patrick escaped from the Irish and returned to his family—but soon afterward, a dream changed his destiny. He saw an angel, and the heavenly messenger told him to go back to Ireland. For fifteen years Patrick studied theology and Scripture; then he returned to Ireland not as a slave but as a missionary. He used familiar Irish symbols to explain Christian theology—the three-leafed shamrock, for example, became a metaphor for the Holy Trinity. St. Patrick died on March 17, 493.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:28:47 +0000