Postmaster said:
Espeically to my Irish friends!
On subject I think Saint Patrick was Greek, he came to Britain with the Roman empire and worked for many years as a slave, Patrickos is a Greek name! Anyway, he went to Ireland risking his life to convert the Pagans! I think he failed on first attempt?
God bless! Don't get too drunk!
LOL Postmaster sometimes...
Patrick (Patricus, or Maewyn Succat) was a British born Roman citizen from a well to do family (his father, Calpurnius was a Roman-British Army Officer). When he was 16, he was captured by a Gaelic raiding party and taken back to Hibernai as a slave. There he tended the animal flocks as a shepard, but was treated more or less with dignity by his captors, and he became enthrolled with the Irish and their joix de vivre. He also noted that it wasn't death the Irish feared, it was life. He remained there for six years, then escaped back to Britian. However, he would never be able to catch up with his peers in his studies and culture, so felt outcast in his own home. And he could not get the Irish people out of his mind or heart.
He went into the priest hood, and requested to be a missionary to Hibernia. So, he went back to the Irish "savages" who had tenderly cared for his physical well being, in order to care for their spiritual well being. What astounded the Gaels about Patrick was that he had no fear, of them nor of life, and he loved them. They also sensed Patrick's certainty and purpose, and they wanted that too. The combination was nearly perfect, and they embraced the "Abbot". He also taught and converted many within the royal families as well (which did not sit well with the Celtic Druids). He was arrested several times, but managed to almost magically escape each time (which caused the Druids to fear him all the more).
By the time Patrick died (17 March 461 AD), there were 11 Abbeys solidly established. Not bad for 20 years worth of preaching...
The only failure Patrick felt at the end of his life, was that he could never get the Celts to give up their one year contract marriages, or sharing their love and beds, with whom ever they fancied. But he did teach them to love writing, so much so that the Irish began to translate everything they could get their hands on, and into as many languages as the Roman Empire contained.
Happy St. Patrick's Day
v/r
Q
