Are you Irish? Do you have some Irish blood flowing through your veins?  Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Today people wear green, they drink green beer, and it is another day for the secular world to belittle the thoughts, actions, and ministry of another Saint. So, what does St. Patrick stand for?  Why was he elevated to Sainthood?

St. Patrick is a patron saint – he is a saint who in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family or person. St. Patrick was also a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the 5^th century.  After being held as a slave in Ireland, he escaped only to be returned to the country. Upon returning, he used the knowledge of Irish language and culture that he gained during his first captivity and brought Christianity and monasticism to Ireland in the form of more than 300 churches and over 100,000 Irish baptized.

March 17 is popularly known as St. Patrick’s Day because it is believed that he died on this date and, and as such is the date celebrated as his Feast Day. For most of Christianity’s first thousand years, canonizations were done on the diocesan or regional level. Relatively soon after the death of someone the church considered very holy, the local expression of the church affirmed that they could be liturgically celebrated as saints. As a result, St. Patrick has never been formally canonized by a Pope; nevertheless, various Christian churches declare that he is a Saint in Heaven (he is in the List of Saints). The Lutheran church does not venerate saints like some churches (e.g. the Catholic, Episcopal or Orthodox), but we still recognize the importance of particular people who had profound impact on the church, the community, and the world. Some Saints that you might want to read more about include but are not limited to:

Saint Augustine, Saint Anselm, Saint Athenasius, and Saint Joseph.

Pastor Dave