Tuesday, March 17, 2009

the faith of St. Patrick

Speaking of evangelists, today is St. Patrick's Day, of course, and Patrick was an evangelist. In fact he engaged in the kind of evangelism which took most seriously all of life, not only one's soul and God (though it certainly did include that). Patrick evangelized Ireland late in life for a number of years. We have St. Patrick's Breastplate from this Christian tradition (click "About Patrick of Ireland" here). This is a wonderful book on Patrick's evangelizing and how it can help us evangelize today.

I love what I understand of Celtic Christianity which flourished for some centuries after Patrick. It sees all of life as a gift from God. And it's essentially God-centered, centered in the Trinity. Patrick used a shamrock to explain the teaching of God as Trinity. Yesterday I was listening to John Michael Talbot's album, The God of Life, its words from that tradition. Wonderful.

So today I do have some green on. I thank God for the faith of Patrick of Ireland.

What would you like to add to this?

12 comments:

Lanny said...

And A good feast of St. Patrick to you.

Read a interesting book years ago, Celtic Evangelism- ha ha I realized that you had mentioned a book so I stopped writing to click on it imagine that the very same book. Good stuff eh Maynard?

donsands said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day Ted.

"Before I was humiliated I was like a stone that lies in deep mud, and he who is mighty came and in his compassion raised me up and exalted me very high and placed me on the top of the wall." -St. Patick

Anonymous said...

thank you for sharing that.

...it is refreshing.

Crowm said...

I too thank God for the faith of people like Patrick. Happy green day!

Mama K said...

We've been learning a lot about St. Patrick these last couple weeks. I posted some of what we've learned over on my blog and it was a crazy long post! Patrick's story is fascinating and certainly inspiring! Thanks for your post, uplifting as usual and way more concise than I managed! (-: We are wearing green today as well... and orange. The Irish colors.

Happy St. Patrick's day!

Maalie said...

Greetings from Wales!

Ted M. Gossard said...

Lanny,
Yes. And I would do well to read that book soon, again. Would have been nice to read it just before St. Patrick's Day.

Ted M. Gossard said...

Thanks for stopping by, Don! Amen. Great to read his own words of testimony.

Ted M. Gossard said...

Nancy,
Yes, for me, too.

Ted M. Gossard said...

Crowm,
Hope you had a nice St. Paddy's Day over there in (not so green?) New Mexico. (actually we're not so green yet either. Spring is not yet in bloom.)

Ted M. Gossard said...

Mama K, Yes, I wouldn't have minded wearing green and orange yesterday. Give me the right shades of each and they're practically my favorite colors.

Good post over there on your blog. You did learn a lot!

Ted M. Gossard said...

Maalie,
Nice to hear from you. And nice that you can be in Wales. Hope you're having a good time there.