Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Prayer

This day I call to me:

God's strength to direct me,

God's power to sustain me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's vision to light me,

God's ear to my hearing,

God's word to my speaking,

God's hand to uphold me,

God's pathway before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's legions to save me.

—from A Retreat With St. Patrick

Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.

March 17, 2006
St. Patrick
(415?-493?)

There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in strife-torn Ulster, in County Down.