The Slave of Ireland and the Gospel...

Very good! On a historical note, it is interesting that at the time of St. Patrick the Roman Empire was coming to it's end, and a once civilized and ordered land was falling into chaos and darkness at the hands of barbarians. Over in Ireland, the Celtic tribes had been staging cattle raids, slave raids (that's how Patrick ended up there), killing each other, and worshiping pagan deities. Ireland was all chaos because it had never been conquered by the Romans and never experiences the Pax Romana of Roman rule. Patrick went over there and was the first successful Christian missionary to the land (others had gone before him but were not as successful as he). He is credited with almost single-handedly converting the pagan Irish to Christianity. So, while the Empire fell into darkness, the once dark pagan land of Ireland drew closer into the light of Christ. The Christianization of Ireland brought relative peace and stability to the island the likes of which it had never seen. Christians from the European mainland came in droves to live the monastic lifestyle (like on Skelig Michael), where they copied the scriptures, preserving them where in Europe barbarian hordes were burning libraries and all they contained.

The life of St. Patrick is a noble and moving one in and of itself. We have a youth (about 16 years old) who has been born to a Romanized-British estate. His parents are Christians but he is indifferent to Christianity and does not believe in God. One night Irish raiders kidnap him and he is sold as a slave to an Irish chieftain. His task is to tend the flocks of this chieftain. He is alone in the Irish countryside, suffering the harsh, bitter cold and wetness of the wilderness (paralell to Christ's time in the desert in a way), alienated from others, stripped of his freedom. These sufferings would drive most to dispair, but he instead decides to try faith in the God of his parents: he prays. Day and night he prays...all the time he prays...throwing himself upon the mercy of Christ. Years go by. One day, a voice tells him: "Go, your ship is ready." Not knowing where to go or if he will make it as an escaped slave, he trusts in the Lord and sets off in the direction he thinks best and ends up on the coast of Ireland in what is probably modern Wexford. There he sees the ship of his vision. The hound-merchants are pagans and are reluctant to take him on board, assuming he is indeed an escaped slave, but after praying to God, they allow him on.

The boat sails for the mainland of Europe only to come ashore in a land made barren by recent barbarian pillaging. The men are starving and their cargo of prized wolfhounds are nearly dead. The pagans half taunt Patrick, saying "Christian, if your God is real, tell him to send us food!" He challenges them to pray and trust in God, and sure enough, a herd of swine soon come stampeding by, which are then caught and cooked and eate (boar was a delicacey to the Irish). Patrick recieves a formal Christian education in Europe and intends to stay until he dreams of a multitude of Irish calling out to him: "Come, Patrick, and walk among us again." The very people who enslaved him are in his dream asking for him to come back and preach the Gospel among them. He relizes this is his mission to tend not the flocks of a chieftain's sheep, but the to the flock of Christians that he is to make out of the Irish, and returns to Ireland, evangelizes a pagan land, and for this the Irish have loved him for almost 1500 years.

And interesting read on the Irish and Patrick's role is Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization. It is one of my favorite books.

Oh, on a side note, as both a Christian and one who has Irish ancestors, I have always found it vulgar and insulting that the day chosen to memoralize this man and the work he did on behalf of Christ has been turned into an excuse to get drunk, wear green for the sake of green, and perpetuate false Irish sterotypes. I don't think St. Patrick would approve. My culture isn't about green beer, corned beef, and leprachauns that dance little jigs atop pots of gold while quipping "Top o' the mornin'!"

Same thing with "Santa Claus." Nicholas of Myra was not a fat man in a red suit who rode reindeer for the delight of children through a brand new iPod on Christmas morning, he was one of the bishops responsible for refuting the Arian heresy (a heresy that stated Jesus was a created being and not God. Arius said "there was a time when the Word (Christ) was not" ).

I too have Irish ancestors, in fact, I'm 56% Irish. I'm also American, Cherokee, and Scottish. Which is why I say the whole drinking green beer and things is wrong, that's not what it's about, I totally agree with you, it's wrong and insulting. It gives off a total false image and sterotype of the Irish and all. People need to wake up and take a look around, not judge, assume things, or just go by what others say. Anyways, thanks for the responses, God bless!

Does anyone from Ireland know any irish Christian music?

I beat you here love! I'm 100% Irish by the fact that I was born in N Ireland, which gives my the right to hold not only a UK passport, but an Irish one as well!

Also, my dear old Dad was also a Scot...

However, I have to confess I am not American nor do I have ANY native American Indian in me...

As regards Irish Christian music, not aware of any modern stuff, although I know there is some Irish Celtic music around, however, one of my favourite hymns was written by an Irish man Dallan Forgaill and is called "Be Thou My Vision."

But, I digress!