St. Patrick the Missionary

The month of March in the United States is becoming the Month of St. Patrick.  Today is his actual feast day, but celebrations, particularly this past weekend, have taken place already with great enthusiasm, as alway, and will conclude at the end of the month. In all of this, there's an Irish Pride factor as well as on-going admiration for the saint himself.  If St. Patrick were here, he would capitalize on the large enthusiastic crowds to help him spread the knowledge and love of God, for that was the main focus of his life.
Kidnapped from his family, he spent six years as a shepherd on those green Irish hills.  There he learned to pray, to love being with God, and to come to an implicit trust in him.  His escape was filled with danger, and even starvation at one point, but his trust never wavered and was a cause for emulation by those around him.  Having been reunited with his family, he then left them again to study for the priesthood, was ordained a bishop, and, because of his knowledge of  Gaelic and Irish culture, he was missioned to Ireland, the land of his captivity.  He began his ministry with a 40 day "retreat" on the very mountain where he had prayed as a young teenager.  Opposition and death-threats followed him; it was not a "quick victory", but eventually he won thousands over to Christianity and helped establish a strong church and monastic network.  Monks from these monasteries later spread the faith throughout Europe. The Irish brought their faith to wherever they settled and their presence in the United States has been unmistakeable.
Amidst all the "wearin' o' the green" there should be a strong element of gratitude as well as a desire to imitate this courageous saint's work of evangelization.
Bro. Rene