St. Patrick's Day!

Ave Maria!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!  As to be expected, the Web is full of Irish treasures plus lots of blarney as well.  A real gem is the chapter on St. Patrick by Robert Ellsberg from his book All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses From Our Time, which can be found here.  Noting that "St. Patrick was himself the victim of Irish injustice before he ever became the symbol of Irish pride," Ellsberg writes of this saintly man: "His extraordinary return to the site of his oppression -- not to wreak his vengeance, but to implant reconciling seeds of his own hard-won faith -- deserves appropriate commemoration. The gospel drove Patrick to return to his oppressors that he might devote his life to their peaceful conversion and the cause of their salvation. But the spiritual conquest of Ireland followed the prior victory of love over anger and bitterness in his own heart. If the memory of this dimension of St. Patrick's life had long ago become a feature of his feast day celebration, it might be truly said that there are no serpents left in Ireland." 

Dear St. Patrick, pray for us as we pray with you that Christ may be with us always, His power to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to our needs, His wisdom to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward, His word to give us speech, His heavenly host to be our guard. Thanks be to God who has given us the victory through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  Amen!  Hallelujah!

In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  ~Romans 8:37