Saint Patrick
There are shamrocks and leprechauns everywhere. A smart mom has to ask, Is there anything meaningful to celebrate on St. Patrick's Day?
As a matter of fact, there is. God worked powerfully through Saint Patrick. He was born A.D. 387-390 in Scotland as Maewyn Succat. His is an amazing story of slavery, redemption and changed lives. Rather than me repeating Saint Patrick's story, read it in his own words:
The Confessio
Seperate fact from legend by reading here:
Fact or Fantasy?
Catholic Encyclopedia
Saint Patrick Centre
St. Patrick's Day.com
Some history from the History Channel
I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that Veggies Tales is spreading the word about the real Saint Patrick! In a cartoon short that precedes one of the Veggie Tales feature attractions, Maewyn Succat is introduced. With its usual madcap humor, Big Idea Productions tells the amazing story of this slave boy who went from tending sheep to tending flocks of believers all over Ireland. A great cartoon to watch this week! The Veggie Tales experts in my house claim it is on the "Sumo of the Opera" DVD.
Not only did Patrick use the shamrock to explain the trinity to the Celts, but he set up Christian communities to reach out to these pagan tribes in Ireland. The shamrock idea is a wonderful way to demonstrate to our children the abstract concept of our tri-une God. (Three leaves in one leaf.) You could have the children cut shamrocks out of green construction paper and write "Father," "Jesus," and "Holy Spirit" on each section!
I learned from Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter III that Saint Patrick was responsible for setting up Christian communities near the Celts, who had earlier enslaved him. The Christians intentionally invited Celts in, modeled the Christian life for them, cared for them and taught them. What a wise example for us to follow in the 21st century!
An efficient way to get the most out of St. Patrick's Day is to go to the library and check out a few good children's books. You will all learn a lot about the saint and the history of the holiday. You will spend some cozy time with your children reading to them, and they will grow in literacy. All that for free!
Here are a couple of books that we like:
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie De Paola
Tomie De Paola has several good books about saints and other Christian stories.
Patrick: Saint of Ireland by Joyce Denham
St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons As usual, Gibbons gives children the facts wih clear, colorful illustrations.
As I write about these holidays, it occurs to me that the year is a continual celebration of God's work, flowing from one holiday to the next. As soon as one season is over, we begin to reflect on another aspect of our faith. Right now, Evangelicals are saying "Huh?" Catholics are saying "Duh!" When I read The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, I noticed that they were constantly celebrating something: Each of the seven children's birthdays, each of the children's feast days (of the saint after whom they were named), and all the other Catholic holidays and seasons! What a fun way to live. It must have been a lot of work as well. The children made gifts for each other, but remember that as a baroness in Austria, Maria von Trapp had a staff of people to help her!
Top o' the morning to you!
As a matter of fact, there is. God worked powerfully through Saint Patrick. He was born A.D. 387-390 in Scotland as Maewyn Succat. His is an amazing story of slavery, redemption and changed lives. Rather than me repeating Saint Patrick's story, read it in his own words:
The Confessio
Seperate fact from legend by reading here:
Fact or Fantasy?
Catholic Encyclopedia
Saint Patrick Centre
St. Patrick's Day.com
Some history from the History Channel
I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that Veggies Tales is spreading the word about the real Saint Patrick! In a cartoon short that precedes one of the Veggie Tales feature attractions, Maewyn Succat is introduced. With its usual madcap humor, Big Idea Productions tells the amazing story of this slave boy who went from tending sheep to tending flocks of believers all over Ireland. A great cartoon to watch this week! The Veggie Tales experts in my house claim it is on the "Sumo of the Opera" DVD.
Not only did Patrick use the shamrock to explain the trinity to the Celts, but he set up Christian communities to reach out to these pagan tribes in Ireland. The shamrock idea is a wonderful way to demonstrate to our children the abstract concept of our tri-une God. (Three leaves in one leaf.) You could have the children cut shamrocks out of green construction paper and write "Father," "Jesus," and "Holy Spirit" on each section!
I learned from Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter III that Saint Patrick was responsible for setting up Christian communities near the Celts, who had earlier enslaved him. The Christians intentionally invited Celts in, modeled the Christian life for them, cared for them and taught them. What a wise example for us to follow in the 21st century!
An efficient way to get the most out of St. Patrick's Day is to go to the library and check out a few good children's books. You will all learn a lot about the saint and the history of the holiday. You will spend some cozy time with your children reading to them, and they will grow in literacy. All that for free!
Here are a couple of books that we like:
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie De Paola
Tomie De Paola has several good books about saints and other Christian stories.
Patrick: Saint of Ireland by Joyce Denham
St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons As usual, Gibbons gives children the facts wih clear, colorful illustrations.
As I write about these holidays, it occurs to me that the year is a continual celebration of God's work, flowing from one holiday to the next. As soon as one season is over, we begin to reflect on another aspect of our faith. Right now, Evangelicals are saying "Huh?" Catholics are saying "Duh!" When I read The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, I noticed that they were constantly celebrating something: Each of the seven children's birthdays, each of the children's feast days (of the saint after whom they were named), and all the other Catholic holidays and seasons! What a fun way to live. It must have been a lot of work as well. The children made gifts for each other, but remember that as a baroness in Austria, Maria von Trapp had a staff of people to help her!
Top o' the morning to you!
Comments