SAINT PATRICK

Lake County Mail, Issue 41, 17 March 1948, Page 8

SAINT PATRICK

To-day there are many Irishmen who will be making the mistake of calling St. Patrick a fellow-country-man of theirs. Actually, St. Patrick of Ireland was born in Britain, near the border of Scotland! He was the sou of a deacon and the grandson of a priest in the Christian Church, for it was before celibacy came to be the rule for the clergy. Taken Captive by a marauding band he was enslaved in Ireland at the age of 17. Some years later he escaped to Gaul (now known as France) and there, after training, some say under S. Martin, of Tours, he was ordained at the ago of 24, and later he was made a bishop, for he felt called by God to the land of his captivity. He went to Ireland and became the apostle and Patron Saint of that land, even though he was actually what might be termed a “ furriner.” His ministry in Ireland so roused the church there, that it became the operational base for sending, out missionaries to the northern coasts of Scotland, and also to the Scandinavian countries. There are legends concerning him, which whether factually correct or not, have great teaching value. It is said that during the fifth century and his episcopate, Ireland was suffering from a plague of snakes and that St. P'at•rick drove them from the coasts. As I say, whether this was actually so or not, he did drive away from Ireland the devils —often represented by serpents —of ignorance and unbelief. Another legend concerns his parable for teaching the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, where he took up a shamrock leaf and said; “God is like that” — as useful a parable as many others which we use. No. St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, was no more an Irishman that St. Andrew, the Patron Saint of Scotland was a Scot. And St. Patrick was no more a Roman Catholic, than St. Andrew was a Presbyterian, for they were both saints of the one undivided Christian Church of those days. So whether we are Irishmen or not, whether we are Roman Catholics or not, so long as avc are Christians, avc can still rejoice and thank God for the lives of such men, for their noble examples to us of courage and zeal for the cause of God, in troublous times, and can pray “ O, Almighty God, Avho hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of Thy Son Christ our Lord; grant ns grace so to follow thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living ...” They are heroes of the Christian Church, in much the same Avay as aa t c have heroes of the British nation \Adiom we admire and avliosc virtues avc encourage our children to folloAv. They had their Aveaknesses, as Drake and Nelson had theirs, but they also had their good points, and avc can follow their examples. PHILIP C. WILLIAMS.