Happy St. Patricks Day!

Top o'the mornin' to ya!

In case you just so happen to live under a rock, it's St. Patrick's day. A day when everyone becomes an honorary Irishman or woman. And those who already have Irish blood....Ok, I'm not sure what they do, but I'm one of the latter. My great Grandma was 100% Irish. It is also a day where anyone who isn't wearing green gets pinched. (If you're not wearing green, consider yourself pinched. Well, you know, there really is a saint behind this holiday. St. Patrick, in case you couldn't tell..... I just so happened to write a report on St. Patrick for my writing class at our homeschool co-op. So guess what? You get to read it!

Here ya go:

St. Patrick: A Well Known Saint

By Sarah Hughes

When Saint Patrick was a young boy of sixteen, he was taken prisoner by Irish raiders. They forced him to be a shepherd, a job that was outdoors and isolated. Patrick’s only solace was his religion, and while he was held captive he became an extremely devout Christian. He dreamed of converting the Irish. Through visions, which he later wrote about, God told Patrick to leave Ireland. When he finally escaped, Patrick had been a prisoner of the Irish for six years.

After Patrick escaped, he went into religious training for fifteen years. While he was training, he had more vibrant visions. In one vision, he walked all the way to the Irish coast and beck, while in another vision he swathe unborn babies reaching out to him from their mother’s wombs. Patrick interpreted these visions to mean that he was being called to be a missionary to the pagans. After being ordained, he immediately begged to be allowed to go to Ireland. The pope consented. He sent Patrick in a mission to minister to the current Christians in Ireland, which weren’t many, and to convert the pagans. Because of those visions that God had sent him, and his religious training, Patrick became an Irish missionary.

Patrick’s vast knowledge of the Irish culture helped him to convert the pagans. He wisely incorporated their traditions into his lessons. He lit bonfires at Easter, which was the same way the pagans worshipped their ‘gods’. He also combined the sun, which was a pagan symbol, with the cross, creating the Celtic cross. Patrick suffered much opposition from the pagan druids, as they were against Christians. But despite that, he successfully converted many souls. When Patrick was kidnapped, it was a blessing in disguise because his knowledge of the pagan traditions was a huge help in converting souls.

There are many myths and symbols, which aren’t all true, associated with St. Patrick. He used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. There is an interesting myth that St. Patrick bravely drove the snakes out of Ireland, but since Ireland has never had snakes, it is just a story. Interestingly, the serpent was a pagan symbol. Because of this fact, this story is probably symbolic of St. Patrick ending the pagan practice. Some of the myths and symbols associated with St. Patrick do have some truth to them.

Even though he had kind of a rough start, St. Patrick is now one of the most well-known Saints in the world.

Well, it's not the best work I've done, but I like to think that it's good...If you would notice the first and last sentence of each paragraph, you will notice that the last sentence reflects or repeats 2-4 words from the first sentence. Pretty cool, huh? It's one of the many requirements of my Excellence in Writing class. You should look up excellence in writing. The program is quite......excellent. :)

And now before I leave I'm going to give you some Irish proverbs/sayings:
An Old Gaelic Blessing!
May those who love us, love us
and those that don't love us,
may God turn their hearts;
and if He doesn't turn their hearts
may He turn their ankles
so we'll know them by their limping!
(My Grandma has this hanging in her front entry way.)
****************************************************
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand
****************************************************
May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine on your windowpane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
****************************************************
Christ be with me, Christ be within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.


FROM THE BREASTPLATE OF SAINT PATRICK
****************************************************

A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.

****************************************************

Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you.

Sarah, the Nutty Knitter, Choir Geek, and (part) Irish person