Believe it or not

The Third Sunday of Lent

While most people associate the colors of Lent to be purple, and later black, there is actually another color highly visible during this season.

Green.

That is because of a little holiday known as St. Patrick's Day. Since I am married to a man from Savannah, GA, this event has taken on a whole new meaning for me that it ever did growing up. Like Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day is better known to be celebrated with wild events rather than a church celebration.

Also, I should mention that since second grade, I have been a huge fan of Ripley's Believe it or Not. I want to visit the Ripley's museum in any city we find ourselves in, which my husband thinks is a riot. Several years ago, I had forced him to visit yet one more Ripley's, and there was a display about St. Patrick. He's been even more on my mind ever since.

What Ripley pointed out was that St. Patrick wasn't really from Ireland. Believe it, or not.

In this case, you can totally believe it. Here's the skinny. Patrick was born in Scotland to Roman parents. He lived around the time of 340-460, although these dates cannot be totally confirmed.

So, how did he end up in Ireland? He was captured by invaders when he was a young teenager, and became a slave in Ireland until he was about 20 years old. I can practically hear him muttering "Erin Go Braugh;" it probably felt like Ireland Forever alright, spending years as a slave. After more than six years of enslavement, Patrick had a dream in which God told him how to escape. He did so, and was eventually reunited with his family.

Ah, but God works in mysterious ways. After some time back home, Patrick had another dream in which the people of Ireland were begging for him to come back to them. So, he did. He trained for the ministry, and returned to Ireland as a missionary.

Legendary in his teachings, Patrick is given credit for converting "the all of Ireland" to Christianity, not to mention ridding the place of any snakes. It turns out not everyone in Ireland converted, and apparently snakes have never been indigenous to the area - "snakes" were just a metaphor for all the "pagan" practices in the land. (There are so very many comments I could make on this!)

And as for the shamrock? Patrick is given credit for sharing the concept of the Trinity with the Irish people by using this three leaved clover as an instructional tool.

One more symbol - the Leprechaun. Although associated with Celtic culture, this was never a symbol of St. Patrick's Day until Disney released a movie in 1959 called "Darby O'Gill and the Little People." Go figure.

In the late 17th century, the Catholic church gave Patrick his status as a saint. His feast day is March 17, thought to be the day of his death. The Irish, however, have celebrated Patrick for over a thousand years.

Whatever way you choose to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this week, enjoy it as a happy celebration in a dark season of the church. While we muddle down the purple and black highway of Lent, stop and observe a bit of green along the way.

For those who have gone before us, celebrating, working, and sharing good news, we give thanks. Erin Go Braugh! Amen.

In Wisdom,
Brandi Calhoun Diamond

For more information on St. Patrick, please visit the following links. These were primary resources as I researched:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89
http://www.history.com/minisites/stpatricksday/