Patron Saint of My Homeland

And bright G'morning to ye All!  Happy St. Paddy's Day.  Tis the day we honor our Irish heritage...and drink beer.  Today we remember the benefits of being Irish...and drink beer.  We give thanks for all the Irish influences ( like Colin Farrel)...and Drink beer! right? Well, I think there could be more to it.

Not only do I blog, but I read blogs.  It's a vicious circle I know, one fraught with misguided opinions and oft incorrect information, and that's just what I write...not to mention the extremely opinionated advice I receive from other blogs.  But, I found one that is quite good and can shed some light on the incipience of Saint Patrick's Day. This is from Donald Miller's Blog ( He wrote Blue Like Jazz, Into Painted Desserts, and his latest book A Million Miles In a Thousand Years):

Saint Patrick, for whom todays Catholic holiday is named, was not born Irish. His parents were Romano-British and deacons at the local church. At sixteen Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped his captives, snuck aboard a ship and made his way back to Britain. When he returned to Britain he studied to be a priest, after which he decided to return to Ireland to preach the gospel to what was then a polytheistic culture. 

Saint Patrick was said to have used the shamrock to explain to the Irish people the doctrine of the Trinity. He spent thirty more years in Ireland and died on the 17th of March, 461. He is considered the principal missionary from Rome to the Irish and is celebrated as such on this day.

Today Saint Patricks day is celebrated around the world as a sort of tribute to the Irish and the culture of Ireland, a relatively small Island with a storied past and perhaps more storied characters within. It is, of course, widely known for its association with the drinking of beer. Saint Patricks day is the day in which the most alcohol is consumed by Americans. You can just see Saint Patrick now, can’t you, wandering into an American bar well after midnight, laying down on the floor next to a passed out college student, pointing at the paper shamrocks stapled to the ceiling, and explaining how much the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father, and how the Holy Ghost is with us always, even on the floor of a pub.


Pretty Interseting Stuff, huh?  The link to his blog can be found HERE!

So when you see the Shamrock today, don't think Guinness, Jamison, and Harp, but rather think Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Keep those "Irish Eye's a Smiling."