Understanding our Christian traditions allows us to appreciate their significance and the values they represent–values that we strive to keep in the America Foundation workforce.
True History | St. Patrick’s Day
The Waterfield America Foundation
The History of St Patrick’s Day
St Patrick was born in the late 4th century in Britain. He was taken as a teenager while his home was being robbed, and shipped to Ireland where he spent time in captivity as a shepherd. He eventually broke free and fought his way to a Gaul monestary, where he began studying Christianity. During that time, he experienced a revelation, summoning him to return to the land that had enslaved him, and bring the Irish the teachings of Christ…
Legend has it that St Patrick used the Shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit) to the Irish ☘️, and those that converted to Christianity in Ireland began to notice they were experiencing good luck in ways they hadn’t before. Today, the Shamrock, especially the rare four (4) leaf clover, which is said by some to symbolize The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, and The Believer, is a widely recognized symbol of good luck, of Ireland, and of the truth of Christian teachings.
During his time in Ireland, the Celtic Cross emerged. The circle on the Christian Cross represents the fusion of Celtic (Irish) tradition, and the venerated Celtic sun, with the teachings of Christ. Also during this time the color green became a symbol of The Emerald Isle’s belief in Christianity, the luck it brought the Irish, and the luck it brings those that fight for Christ. St Patrick taught the virtues of evangelism to celebrated knights of that time, based in part on Mark 16:15, in which Jesus appears to the 11 disciples and commands them to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation,” and offered Irish Christian knights of that time the following prayer, which many eventually had inscribed on their breastplates & shields, to call for God’s protection in battle. They wrote in their memoirs that it brought uncanny luck in battle. St Patrick’s “Breastplate Prayer” thus became another symbol of Christianity, and the luck of the Irish:
”Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”
May the luck of the Irish be with you! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
