The Patrick Factor

We can read that he isn't an official "saint." We're not sure what he had to do with snakes leaving Ireland. Wearing green and four-leaf clovers don't tell us anything about his life or why we remember it every year. Did he invent green beer? Did he play the bagpipes? No. He was born in Scotland, not Ireland. He was captured at age 14 and brought to Ireland as a slave to tend sheep. Exposed to Druid spirituality, he turned from it to Christ. Released at 20, he went on to become an effective Christian evangelist and discipler. The shamrock, a three-leaf clover, is what he used to explain the Trinity. He was a minister. He is famous for many things, but his life was redeemed by the cross of Christ. He lived to teach people about the cross of Christ. I wonder how many people know this.