Happy St. Patricks Day. A short story about St. Patrick
Of all the saints, St. Patrick probably has the biggest celebration. His day is the 17th of March and Irish people all over the world mark the day with parades and parties. He is most famous for banishing the snakes from Ireland, and for using the shamrock (a little green plant with three leaves) to explain the three-part nature of God.
There are lots of stories about St. Patrick, and in a moment I’ll tell you some of them. First I’ll just tell you briefly about his life. He was born in Wales which is just across the sea from Ireland. It was the year 373, and the Romans still ruled that part of the world. Many of the people in Wales and Ireland were Druids, who worshipped the sun and other aspects of nature – but Patrick was a Christian.
When Patrick was 16 years old, he was walking along the beach when some pirates seized him. They took him to Ireland and sold him as a slave where he worked in the fields. One day, he heard God telling him to escape, and he ran down to the sea where he found a ship waiting to take him home. When he was grown up, he heard a voice calling on him to return to Ireland and to tell the people there about Christianity – which is what he did.
Patrick traveled the length and breadth of Ireland and had many adventures while he spread his message. Quite often, the Druid priests were angry with him for telling their followers to change their religion, and his life was always in great danger.
Ireland is a very rainy country, and the fields are emerald green. One of the most common plants that grow among the grass is the shamrock. It’s like a small clover with three leaves. St. Patrick used to pick up the shamrock and explain that the three leaves were the three aspects of God. The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.
St. Patrick is famous for driving all the snakes
St. Patrick is also famous for driving all the snakes into the sea so that to this day there are no…