CAL THOMAS COMMENTARY MARCH 17, 2021
TODAY IS ST. PATRICK’S DAY, THOUGH MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THE MAN. THEY ONLY KNOW THE COLOR GREEN AND MAYBE FOUR-LEAF CLOVERS. ASK A FRIEND IF THEY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PATRICK AND I’LL BET YOU WON’T GET AN ANSWER, OR IT WILL BE ABOUT MYTHS.
PATRICK WAS NOT IRISH. HE WAS A SPOILED ROMAN CITIZEN LIVING A LUXURIOUS LIFE IN FIFTH CENTURY BRITAIN. HE WAS KIDNAPPED AS A TEENAGER, SOLD INTO SLAVERY AND TAKEN TO IRELAND. HE WAS AN ATHEIST WHEN HE ARRIVED, BUT LATER SAID HE HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD AND REDISCOVERED THE FAITH OF HIS YOUTH.
NEITHER WAS PATRICK A SAINT. HE WAS FLAWED LIKE THE REST OF US. EVEN THOUGH HIS GRANDFATHER WAS A PRIEST, PATRICK “KNEW NOT THE TRUE GOD” AS CHRISTIANITY TODAY PUT IT. HE EVENTUALLY ESCAPED BONDAGE AFTER MUCH PRAYER AND A DREAM THAT HE SHOULD RETURN HOME. PATRICK WAS IN HIS MID-40S WHEN HE RETURNED TO IRELAND AS A MISSIONARY. HE SPOKE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THERE WERE NO SNAKES TO DRIVE OUT AND MANY OTHER MYTHS ARE UNTRUE, BUT PATRICK WAS AN EVANGELIST IN THE TRUEST SENSE AND THAT PART OF HIS LIFE SHOULD BE REMEMBERED AND CELEBRATED TODAY. I’M CAL THOMAS.
