St. Patrick... modern pagans...pray for us.!

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, MAY GOD HOLD YOU IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND.

With the PAGAN WAYS of many people and cultures today; even those who consider themselves "good-Christians" (like myself before I chose for God more than myself and "my ways") we need to pray to St. Patrick. That God hear his and our prayers for a renewed belief in God, Our Father. On this blessed day which is often marked (internationally) by beer and pagan-like attitude... I have a sincere and heartfelt wish for you. I heard this said by a priest only weeks after my life changed in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA around March of 2002. May the road rise to meet you...the wind be always at your back... the sun shine warm upon your face.... the rains fall soft upon your fields.... and

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, MAY GOD HOLD YOU IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND.

May God be with you and bless you....May you see your children's children... May you be poor in misfortune and Rich in blessings.... May you know nothing but Happiness and Holiness from this day forward. May green be the grass you walk on...Blue be the skies above you...Pure be the joys that surround you...and May True be the hearts that Love you.

A LITTLE HISTORY of SAINT PATRICK - ST. PATRICK was born in Wales about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn. Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was sold into slavery. During his captivity, he became closer to God. He escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery for twelve years. During his training he became aware that his calling was to convert the pagans to Christianity. His wishes were to return to Ireland, to convert the native pagans to Christianity. Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity. His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. FOLKLORE: Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated. Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

(the picture on the RIGHT, I took when I was in Ireland, and placed my face on the tomb of St. Patrick, praying for all the intentions of my heart... those I meet, those I will never see again, and those that one day I encounter. I prayed for the intentions that many have asked me to pray for as well as for the needs of the world-wide Church... and those in most need of God's loving mercy.)