Saint Patrick

one

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Not to burst your bubble but St. Patrick wasn’t Irish – he was from Britain. He was born around 385, at a time when Ireland was still pagan. Britain, by contrast, was one of the earliest countries to become Christian as early as the year 200, yet by the time of Patrick Britain had grown cold to Christ.

Even though St. Patrick’s father was a deacon, and his grandfather a married priest, he says that “I did not then believe in the living God, not even when I was a child.” Nor was he alone in this. He and thousands of other Britons were captured by pirates, and sent to Ireland as slaves, and he says, “We deserved this, because we had gone away from God, and did not keep his commandments. We would not listen to our priests, who advised us about how we could be saved.”

Prior to his capture and enslavement, Patrick, like many others lived a comfortable life that was spiritually dead. The problem with living a comfortable life is that we think we have all we need, and we don’t need Christ - so we don’t pray. If we don’t pray then God cannot fill our soul and eventually everything feels empty. But we don’t know what we lack so we double down in our effort to find contentment through more success, more entertainment, more travel, more experiences…it’s an addiction that has to be fed by more and more of the drug that satisfies momentarily but leaves us desperate for more and the vicious cycle gets worse and worse.   

two

Saint Patrick said: “I remained in death and unbelief until I was reproved strongly, and actually brought low by hunger and nakedness daily. […] It was there that the Lord opened up my awareness of my lack of faith. Even though it came about late, I recognized my failings. So, I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God, and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance.”

Patrick was stripped of everything he relied upon and then he turned to God. For Patrick, his six years of enslavement in Ireland was his Dark Night.

A Dark Night can be almost any suffering that causes us to be painfully aware of our powerlessness that leads to our purification. The Night can be anything that demonstrates the futility of self-reliance.

In his autobiography Patrick writes: “After I arrived in Ireland, I tended sheep every day, and I prayed frequently during the day. More and more the love of God increased, and my sense of awe before God. Faith grew, and my spirit was moved, so that in one day I would pray up to one hundred times, and at night perhaps the same. I even remained in the woods and on the mountain, and I would rise to pray before dawn in snow and ice and rain.”

three

Patrick had gone through his Dark Night, he was stripped of all he relied upon, experienced his powerless and turned to God in prayer. Then something remarkable happens: God delivered him from slavery, he escapes, making it safely home from Ireland back to Britain. You might imagine that the story would end there, but it doesn’t. Remember, Ireland isn’t a Christian country, or even a post-Christian country. And so Patrick begins to realize that God is calling him to go back to Ireland, to bring people to Jesus. In a very short time, by the power of God and the effort of Patrick Ireland, this totally pagan land, converts to Christ.

But recall how it happened. Patrick was taken out of his comfort zone he began to prayer. His prayer resulted in a greater love for God. But it also caused in him to love what God loves – His people. So Patrick took the initiative, the risk and the responsibility to lead others to Jesus.

Our prayer should lead us to love God more and to take action to lead others to Jesus. If it doesn’t, then something is amiss. We can’t grow in love of God without growing in love of what he loves most – other people. That is why Patrick went back to Ireland. Intimacy with Jesus should propel us to lead others to the same. If not – something is wrong.   

four

Today is not a day to focus on green beer. St. Patrick’s day is a day to reflect on the truth that God alone can satisfy the deep longings of the human heart. That longing is satisfied in prayer and once we experience the love of God in prayer that love should propel us to lead others to an encounter with Jesus.

Thankfully you don’t have to go to a foreign land. God is calling you to live a simple and beautiful way of life right where you live and work and play. Live a deep friendship with Jesus each day in prayer, in the Rosary and in deeper meditation. Then live friendship with your family and friends. Share life with them, just do what normally do and do and invite others to do it with you.

Prayer is the most immediate way to help others to encounter Jesus. A very easy way to give people and experience of Prayer and an experience of God is through the Rosary. When we pray the Rosary, Mary brings Jesus to us and us to Jesus. Invite family and friends to pray the Rosary with you and you will give them an encounter with Jesus through Mary.

Trudy and Rich Boynton, members of the Movement, are down in Florida hosting friends. Each night they say “We usually pray the Rosary, would you like to join us.” Then Rich pulls out the phone and speaker and pray this podcast. When it finishes Trudy looks at the guests with a big smile and says “That was good wasn’t it! We do this together every night.” Then they did the same thing the next night and the next. Finally, Trudy asked, “Would you like to sign up and receive the podcast?” And she signed her friend up.

Keep it simple – its so simple.

Now Trudy doesn’t bat 1000. She gets “no’s”. But this doesn’t stop her. Hey if you only bat 300 for your lifetime you’ll become a Hall of Famer.

five

My dream is for everyone to have a small group of family and friends with whom they can share life together and integrate their faith. It is also the best place to invite people who have not yet experienced friendship with Jesus. They can encounter Jesus through friendship with you and you can put them in direct contact with Jesus through the Rosary.

In this decade we ask the Holy Spirit who we should invite and when. Then when this Rosary finishes, text someone and say, “Hey, I would like to invite you to my home and pray the Rosary with me. Are you available at on this day or that?”

Don’t agonize over it, just do it. Start immediately and you will gain confidence and momentum. Then you can build living this simple way of life into your routine as a regular thing.

Then let us know – send us an email to Themovement@schooloffaith.com and give us the date and if I or one of our team are able, we would love to come and join you. I received four three requests today and I already accepted…