St. Patrick

Who is this saint who captures the hearts of everyone, Catholics, non-Catholics, those of Irish descent and those who have no Irish heritage in their family tree at all? We all claim him as part of our lives especially on his feast day, March 17. You will see most everyone sporting some type of green on that day whether it is clothing, jewelry, socks, hair bands and so on, we even have been known to drink green beer, and a lot of us eat corned beef and cabbage or a Reuben sandwich on rye or pumpernickel bread with sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. Does any of this have to do with the actual St. Patrick?

Yes in that St. Patrick was a man of faith who converted the majority of Ireland during his time there. He entered a country where he Druids were the established way of worship and spread the Good News. He was a true evangelizer and that is why we honor and celebrate his life on St. Patrick’s Day. Did he have green beer to drink or wear all sorts of green, I doubt it. He was a Bishop so liturgical colors were part of his way of life of which green would be worn a good majority of the time during Ordinary Time and this is the color he is most often wearing in any images we see of him. Green is also worn on this day because it is a sign of springtime and it was a way to welcome spring. Did he eat corned beef? I am sure there was some type of cured meat that he ate since salting of meat was one way to preserve it, but was it the corned beef we know today? Most likely it wasn’t the same.

St, Patrick was not an educated man but he definitely took his calling seriously and he was a sincere man who lived simply and had a deep pastoral love and concern for his flock. Legend would have us believe that he single handedly converted everyone in Ireland, when in actuality his followers going on missions continued this conversion process which took years.

So as we celebrate St. Patrick today let us keep in mind that we too can be evangelizers of our Catholic faith. We do so each every day when we come in contact with those around us. They see how we act with them and with others and if we are acting in the way of Jesus we are evangelizing.