Happy St. patricks Day

St. Patrick is the beloved patron saint of Ireland. The Irish are famous
for spinning exaggerated tales, so despite the infamous stories
traditionally attributed to St Patrick, quite little is actually known
about his life. We do know that St Patrick was born in Britain and that
at the age of 16 was captured by Irish raiders who attacked his family’s
estate. He was then transported to Ireland where he was held captive
for six years, living a solitary, lonely life as a shepherd.  It was
then that he became a devout Christian, embracing his religion for
solace. From his writing, we know that a voice, which he believed to be
that of God, spoke to him in a dream, urging him to leave Ireland. He
did. Walking nearly 200 miles, Patrick escaped to Britain and undertook
seriously religious training.

After 15 years of study, Patrick
was ordained as a priest and sent to Ireland. His mission was to
minister to Christians and to convert the Irish, then pre-dominantly
pagans, to Christianity. Because Patrick was familiar with the Irish
language and culture from his years of captivity, he chose to
incorporate Irish ritual and symbols into his teachings rather than to
eradicate Irish beliefs. Thus, was born the Celtic cross. Patrick
superimposed the sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the traditional
Christian cross so that the result would seem more natural to the Irish.