Saint Patrick

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures. His life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false,  years of exaggerated story telling .It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. His father was a Christian deacon,  there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. They took him  to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity. After escaping , he return as a missionary.

St. Patrick taught the Irish about the doctrine,  the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock ( the National flower of Ireland),  using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of three persons in one God.

One of the three relics of Saint Patrick was a bell is described as "The Bell of the Testament". The other two are described as Patrick's goblet and "The Angels Gospel". 

 He is said to have been buried in Ulster, County Down, Ireland.For more than 1,000 years, the Irish have observed St. Patrick's Day as a religious holiday

 

 

 

 

closer of statue

St Patrick's Statue

St Patrick's Bell of Testament  ( via Wikipedia)



St Patrick's Grave

engraving on stone

 

 Until next time I leave you with:

 

 

Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear.

 

 

St . Valentine

 

 

I need to apologize to you all for not post for a long time. I have moved to a new state. Now that I am settled I will be more proactive. But In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I would do a post on St. Valentine.  No one knows for sure when he was born, but he died around 269. He is a widely recognized third-century Roman Saint commemorated on February 14 and associated since the High Middle Ages with a tradition of courtly love. Nothing is reliably known of St. Valentine except his name .But the "Martyr Valentinus who died on the 14th of February on the Via Flaminia in Rome. According to the official biography of the Diocese of Terni, Bishop Valentine was born and lived in Interamna but was imprisoned and tortured in Rome on February 14, 273, while on a temporary stay there. His body was buried in a hurry at a cemetery and a few nights later his disciples came and carried him home.

 Another popular biography describes Saint Valentine as the former Bishop of Terni, a city in what is now Italy.. While under house arrest of Judge Asterius, and discussing his faith with him, Valentinus was discussing the validity of Jesus. The judge put him to the test and brought to him the judge's adopted blind daughter. If he could restore the girl's sight, Asterius would do anything he asked. Valentinus laid his hands on her eyes and the child's vision was restored. Immediately humbled, the judge asked him what he should do. He replied that all of the idols around the judge's house should be broken, the judge should fast for three days, and then undergo baptism. The judge obeyed and freed all the Christian inmates under his authority. The judge, his family and forty others were baptized. He was later arrested again for continuing to serve Jesus and was sent to Rome, to the emperor Claudius himself. Claudius took a liking to him until he tried to lead Claudius to Jesus, whereupon Claudius refused and condemned him to death. The choice was he either renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs, and beheaded. He refused and he was executed outside the Flaminian Gate. Whatever the truth is behind the legends, St Valentine's Day has since became most connect to love romance and friendship.

The details about his deposition, in 1835, an Irish preacher, Dr. John Spratt, was visiting Rome was invited to Gesu to preach . People liked him so much that he received lots of testimonials even from the Elite of Rome. The Pope, Gregory XVI, found his own way to thank Father John Spratt by suggesting to rebury Saint Valentine’s relic in Dublin. The problem was that by the beginning of the ХIX century, having changed several places of deposition, Saint Valentine’s relics were waiting for a new home. It’s quite understandable, that during one and a half thousand years even a stone can be destroyed More than one and a half thousand years had gone by since the decapitation of Saint Valentine. After all formalities the Archbishop of Dublin, Myrray, received Saint Valentine’s relic. This was on 12th of November, 1836 on Whitefriar Street, Carmelite Church. After the death of Father Spratt, Saint Valentine’s story was slightly forgotten. When they reconstructed of the church in the middle of the ХХ century, a special wing with  an altar and statue  was made for St Valentine relics .They were placed under glass in a glass sarcophagus. To dispel doubts about identity of the relic, the Vatican issued a special letter where they note that the relics did indeed belong to the Holy Martyr Valentine. 

 

 

 

 

 

His burial:

Whitefriars Street Church
Dublin
County Dublin, Ireland

 

 

 

( photos by John Griffin)

 

Stone tablet

 

 

 

I leave you with this:

Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear.