St Patrick's Day (March 17th) is probably the most recognized of the many
Feast Days, followed closely by
St Valentine's Day. This was a day set aside to commemorate an individual who was instrumental in spreading the good news of Salvation to an, as yet, untapped area of the world, Ireland. Though it is, as in many cases, quite unique how God brought about this occurrence. St Patrick was born in 387 AD to a rich family living on the island of Brittania (England) back when it was still controlled by the Romans. When he was about 16 years old he was abducted by Irish raiders and taken into captivity in Ireland. According to his Confession he had a dream where God told him to escape from his captivity and go back to Brittania. He successfully escaped and eventually made it a monastery in Gaul (France) where he studied to become a priest. In 432 he had another dream where God told him to go back to Ireland and spread the Gospel to the
Pagan,
Polytheistic, people living there. One noteable aspect of St Patrick's teaching methods was to use the
shamrock (clover) to explain the
Trinity.
