St Patrick Devotion
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Ft. Wayne, IN
17 March, 2026
Many people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green, eating corned beef and cabbage, or visiting an Irish pub. Others think about lucky four-leaf clovers. But how many think of Christ with St. Patrick’s reverence and devotion?
Today on the church calendar we remember Patrick missionary of Ireland.
St. Patrick’s Story
Patrick was born in 385 to Roman parents in Scotland. At the tender age of 14 he was captured by pagan Druids from Ireland who took him across the ocean to Ireland and made him their slave. They forced him to shepherd sheep in remote mountains where he was often exposed to freezing rain and snow. But even though he was just a teenager he learned to sustain himself by praying continually.
When he turned 20, he had a dream that God would help him escape and so he got away from the Druids and snuck onto a ship to return home to his family in Scotland.
When he eventually escaped from slavery, he was a changed man, now a Christian from the heart. He studied for the ministry and led a parish in Britain for nearly 20years.
Then, at age 48, already well past a man’s life expectancy in the fifth century - Patrick had another dream, in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him to come back to help them. So he returned to share the gospel of Christ in the country where he’d been enslaved and abused! — Patrick returned back to Ireland where he thrived in retirement.
Having known the language and the customs from his captivity and having thought about how the gospel might come to the Irish, he now answered the call to return to the place of his pain with the message of reconciliation. The slave returned to his captors with good news of true freedom.
For 40 years Patrick lived a simple life, traveling throughout Ireland for close to a quarter century he would share the love of Christ with people. He used the object of the three-leaf clover to teach the doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. He established churches all over the country and taught thousands of people to become disciples of the Lord Jesus.
St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer
Patrick is famous for his prayers, especially the “Breastplate Prayer,” which says in part: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left…”
According to tradition, Patrick died March 17 — many think the year was 461, but we don’t know for certain. While today’s celebrations will leave much to be forgotten, for those who love and serve the Lord Jesus and the advance of his gospel, there are some good things to remember about Patrick.
Almighty and ever living God, as You used Patrick to teach the people of Ireland the truth of the eternal Trinity so make us faithful in all matters of teaching and godly living to the praise and honor of Your most holy name.
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