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First of all, Saint Patrick really did exist. Before he became a legend, he was a man who left us a few autobiographical documents. In the 4th century, Patrick was a teenager, the son of a priest or deacon in England. The southern part of the island had been introduced to Christianity, but efforts to convert Ireland had failed. At this time, the islands of the United Kingdom were considered the ends of the Earth, much like the North Pole is now. The indigenous peoples, the Picts and Engles, had terrified the Romans, with their bodies covered in tattoos, going into battle naked. Ireland was still an untamed land, and Saint Patrick was about to learn just how wild, firsthand.

At the age of 16, he and many others were kidnapped by pirates and forcibly taken to Ireland. He was enslaved, and worked as a swineherd ( shepherds tend to sheep, swineherds do swine). After six years in this rough existence far from his family, he had a religious vision, telling him there was a ship ready to go back to England, and he should try to get on it. In the legends, an angel confronts him directly, and guides him through many of his youthful adventures. In his autobiography, he ascribes his captivity to his refusal to believe in his father's Christian faith. During his captivity, he repents, and is given a second chance.

Patrick got on the ship and returned back to England and his family. Here he decides to become a priest, and eventually travels to Rome as part of his training. Here, legend has it that he made a detour to visit a holy man on an island in the Tuscan Sea. He finds that the island is filled with hermits, many very old, the rest young men. He visits the most famous hermit, who tells him he has been expecting Patrick for a long time. He presents the young Patrick with a staff, claiming that it is in fact the staff of Jesus himself. Some eighty years before, a stranger had appeared on the island bearing the staff. The hermits had shown the stranger charitable hospitality, feeding and housing him for the night. The next day, he revealed himself as Christ. Before he ascended into the clouds, he declared that his staff should be given to a man named Patrick. The hermits of the island should wait for this visitor, and until he arrived, the hermits would not age. The children of the island, however, would age at a normal rate. So when Patrick arrived, he received the staff of Jesus, and discovered that the young men of the island were in fact the fathers of the old men.

Patrick completes his religious training, and he asks to be sent back to the wilds of tribal Ireland to covert the heathen. The real Patrick did ask for this assignment, and took over from a prior bishop who had no luck in converting the Irish. Patrick took twenty Christians with him, and travelled through Ireland trying to convert kings and commoners alike. He obviously earned their respect with his profound faith, and lack of fear when endangered. This real heroism would have been irresistable to Irish bards, who already played an important role in Irish tribal society. At a time when everyone believed in magic and miracles, a heroic stranger who spoke of spectacular biblical miracles would have attracted attention, and once established, become the stuff of legend himself.

  Legends of Saint Patrick

Since Saint Patrick's Day is a time to celebrate tall tales and blarney, it seems fitting to tell a few of the legends of Saint Patrick.

Saint Patrick's Fishes
One of the very old traditions of the holiday was for people to eat pork on March 17th, even though it was not allowed during the fasting of Lent. The story goes that when Saint Patrick was in training as a young monk ( before his trip to Rome), he had selfishly hidden some pork, in secret from the other fasting monks. The young man then had a vision of his guardian angel, who appeared with eyes in the front and back of his head. The angel explained that his extra set of eyes enabled him to see what the young monk was hiding. Patrick was seized with remorse, and fell to the ground crying. The angel offered a solution: take the meat to the river and throw it in. Patrick obeyed, and was amazed to see that the pork turned into fish. Since then, revelers have justified eating pork on March 17th, calling it Saint Patrick's fishes, since eating fish is allowed during Lent.

The Conversion of Dublin
The legends relate that one day Patrick arrived at a city that was in crisis. Funeral rites were being held for the local king's son. But as Patrick arrived, the king's daughter, Dublinia, was discovered drowning in the river where she had gone to bathe. The king's subjects abandoned the funeral, diving into the river fully clothed to save retrieve her lifeless body. The king and his people were devastated - both prince and princess lost in a single day.

But word spread that the Saint was in their midst, a man known all over for performing miracles, and bringing the dead back to life. The king and his people were pagans. But he promised that if Patrick could bring his children back to life, the king and his city would convert to Christianity. Patrick consented to beseech God, and thanks to his prayers and God's desire to spread the faith, the prince and princess were restored to life. To baptize the city, Patrick struck the earth with the staff of Jesus, creating a fountain. The inhabitants of the town were baptized in the newly flowing waters. The city was henceforth known as Dublin, named for the risen daughter, Dublinia.

  How Patrick helped save civilization

Beyond all the legends, Patrick really does deserve appreciation from all modern Christians. Patrick's work in Ireland cast a long shadow for Christians, and civilization generally. As Thomas Cahill explains in his very readable book How the Irish Saved Civilization, when the Roman empire collapsed, it took the schools with it. Literacy rates dropped, particularly in Latin, the language of the bible at that time. The Irish churches and monasteries which took root in the wake of Patrick's travels became a protected center of literacy and conservation. The latin bible was copied over and over again as empires fell, and Vikings raided England. The Christians in Ireland preserved a part of Roman Catholic civilization that was falling apart elsewhere. For this alone we should all appreciate the pioneering work of Saint Patrick. He might be rolling in his grave over his modern association with drunkeness and pagan leprachauns, but at least we can remember the important work he achieved, and the great stories he inspired.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

Saint Nicholas was a real person who lived in what is now Turkey, in the 3rd century. Historians believe that he was a bishop who served his people well. Like most saints, he is remembered in part for miracles that he performed, including the stilling of waves, which is why he became the patron saint of sailors. But for we modern people in the age of Santa Claus, it is the story of his entry into the holy life that is most interesting. This story features no miraculous powers, save the one we all seek - genuine compassion for others. In it, we can easily see why this saint was chosen as the basis for the gift-giving Santa Claus. But as you read his legend below, ask yourself how the two men differ. The legend has been written so that it can be shared with children.

The Story of Saint Nicholas

Long ago, about three hundred years after Jesus was born, there lived a boy called Nicholas. He grew up in a town by the sea, in what is now Turkey. His mother and father taught him to be generous to others, especially those in need. So Nicholas came to see that helping others makes one richer in life than anything else.

While Nicholas was growing up, a terrible sickness swept through his hometown. It killed many people, including his parents. Now Nicholas was alone, and rich. But he knew that above all, he wanted to help people.

One day, by chance, Nicholas heard about a rich man nearby who lost all his money when his business failed. The man had three lovely daughters, all wishing to get married, but he had no money for their marriage. Besides, who would marry them, he thought, since their father is such a failure? With nothing to eat, the man in desperation decided to sell one of his daughters into slavery. At least then the rest of them might survive.

That night before the first daughter was to be sold, Nicholas, with a small bag of gold in his hand, softly approached their house, and, tossing the gold through an open window, quickly vanished into the darkness. The next morning, the father found a bag of gold lying on the floor next to his bed. He had no idea where it came from. "Maybe it's counterfeit," he thought. But as he tested it, he knew it was real. He went over the list of his friends and business associates. None of them could possibly have given him this.

The poor man fell to his knees and great tears came to his eyes. He thanked God for this beautiful gift. His spirits rose higher than they had been for a long time because someone had been so unexpectedly good to him. He arranged for his first daughter's wedding and there was enough money left for the rest of them to live for almost a year. Often he wondered: who gave them the gold?

But by the end of the year, the family again had nothing, and the father, again desperate and seeing no other way open, decided his second daughter must be sold. But Nicholas, hearing about it, came by night to their window and tossed in another bag of gold as before. The next morning the father rejoiced, and, thanking God, begged His pardon for losing hope. Who, though, was the mysterious stranger giving them such a gift?

Each night afterwards the father watched by the window. As the year passed their money ran out. In the dead of one night he heard quiet steps approaching his house and suddenly a bag of gold fell onto the floor. Some people say that this time, Nicholas had climbed up on the roof, and dropped the gold down the chimney, and it landed in the girl’s shoes, which were drying by the fire.

The father quickly ran out to catch the one who threw it there. He caught up with Nicholas some distance away and recognized him, for the young man came from a well-known family in the city. "Why did you give us the gold?" the father asked.

"Because you needed it," Nicholas answered. "But why didn't you let us know who you were?" the man asked again. "Because it's good to give and have only God know about it."

When the bishop of Myra died, the priests and leading people of the city along with the neighboring bishops came together in their cathedral to select a new bishop. They prayed and asked God to point out who it would be. In a dream, God said to one of them that they should all pray together the next morning. Someone would come through the cathedral door as they prayed. He should be their choice.

It was Nicholas who entered the cathedral the next morning. Immediately, the people of the city named him their bishop, for they knew that this unassuming person, whose good deeds they had learned about, was meant by God to lead them.

Nicholas went on to become important in the church, and he helped many people. He died as an old man, loved by everyone, on December 6th. So now, in many countries, the Christmas season begins on December 6th.It is good to remember that this version of Saint Nicholas has been revered for over one thousand years, making his chimney-hopping namesake a recent arrival. Who knows which one will still be with us a few centuries from now?

Stephen Milton

We know this much for sure: Valentine was a bishop who lived during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, in the late 200s. Like all Roman emperors, Claudius relied on his army to keep his empire together. It had many enemies at this time, so to insure the fighting spirit of his men, Claudius forbade his soldiers from marrying. He feared their desire to return to their families would limit their resolve on the battlefield.

Enter Valentine. Sympathizing with the heartbreak of young couples, he went about marrying them in secret. This got him into trouble with the authorities. The story goes that he was arrested and brought before Claudius. The emperor demanded that he abandon Christ and worship the idols instead. Valentine refused, and was thrown in jail.

Here is where legend probably takes over from fact. The man in charge of the jail was named Asterious ( Aster is Greek for star, like astronomy). He confronted Valentine - if your God is so powerful, can you heal my blind daughter? Valentine did just that, the story says, and her father and many others in the jail converted to Christianity.

According to the legend, Valentine and the daughter became quite close. When it became clear the Emperor was going to have Valentine executed, he asked for a pen and paper from the girl. He wrote her a note of farewell. He signed it, 'from your Valentine'.

This wasn't the only note Valentine wrote, apparently. During his stay in prison, he reached out of his cell window and plucked leaves off nearby violet plants. He scribbled messages onto them, which white doves delivered to his followers.

  Valentine's Day begins

These legends became the justification for many of the Valentine traditions which followed. In the Middle Ages it was believed that birds chose their mates each year on Valentine's day. Chaucer wrote about it first. John Donne was still writing about it two centuries later:

But it wasn't just birds who were expected to choose mates on Valentine's Day. By the 1400s, lovers were sending Valentine notes to each other - while others hoped they would get them. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the love-lorn Ophelia sings:

In England it was believed that if a woman placed a bay leaf on her pillow the night before Valentine's Day, she might dream of her future husband as she slept. In Germany, onions were planted with names of suitors beside each. Whichever one sprouted first would reveal who would be her true love.

  Valentine's Day today

The yearning for a lover has only become stronger since. In our market place culture, Valentine's Day is now big business. It is the second biggest retail day after Christmas, with one billion dollars of chocolate sold each year, along with 25% of the year's cards. We are invited to give stuff to show our love. But the original Valentine story reminds us of something else. Saint Valentine gave his life to help couples get married, knowing that romantic love is part of God's love for us. It can be an ecstatic union where we paradoxically give up part of ourselves so we can feel more alive through union with another.

But that love is not supposed to be a dead end. For Valentine, and many mystics after him, that kind of love can be felt outside romance. Christian saints have often spoken of being in love with the divine, losing themselves to find themselves. The Valentine legend reminds us that ideally, romance is the beginning of a love that can expand beyond our cell to touch our allies ( Valentine's supporters) and our enemies ( the jailor and his blind daughter).

Valentine's story encourages us to love each other, starting with our lovers, but not ending there. We are invited to make more of Valentine's day, not less. Give more, forgive more, love more.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Good Friday is the painful twin of the celebrations of Easter Sunday. It is a day of sadness, as well as mystery. Believers and non- believers alike have always wrestled with the meaning of Christ's journey to the cross and his death there. Why did He let himself get arrested and killed? How could a loving God allow this to happen to a son? The mysteries abound. Yet without question, what happened on this day has proved to be an inspiration for millions of people, for thousands of years. This paradoxical act - dying so others might live - has lit a spark that has led to the creation to the world's most widely practiced religion.

 The story

According to the gospels, after Christ's arrest, he was brought before the Jewish High Priest. They charged him with blasphemy by claiming to be the Messiah, the Son of God, the divine saviour who had been expected to rescue the Jewish people and bring in a new age of justice and peace. Instead, Jesus had criticized the priests who were in charge of the Temple, and even disrupted worship there by over turning over the tables of the moneychangers. The High Priest Caiaphas could see that Jesus was a threat to the established religious order, put in place by the Romans during their occupation, with positions appointed through connections and wealth, not piety. Jesus was taking issue with what he saw as a perversion of the Jewish faith.

After some deliberations, Jesus was handed over to the Romans for crucifixion. To the Romans, anyone who threatened their rule was a candidate for death on the cross. The cross was not invented for Christ- it was a common form of execution for enemies of the state. At times of serious unrest, hundreds of people could be out on crosses on a single day. It was a highly public, excruciatingly painful punishment that was meant to keep the populace in line.

But was Jesus an enemy of the state? In the gospels, this question vexes the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. He is not convinced that Jesus is a terrorist. He asks the crowd to choose which of his current prisoners he should set free - Jesus, or a known enemy f the state, Barabbas. The crowd chooses Jesus. Here we should pause and note that Barabbas is a name that means son (bar) of the father (abba). The gospel writers may be trying to show us that then, as now, we have a choice to make when choosing rulers. We can choose to change ourselves and pursue a path of peace, even if it means losing worldly respect and honor (the Christ path). Or, we can choose the traditional way of power and violence, the Barabbas way. The crowd, like us so often, chose the way of power and violence.

Jesus is whipped then made to carry his cross to Golgotha, the hill where he will be crucified. We are told that he is nailed to the cross between two others who are being crucified. They are called bandits, which at the time meant men who attacked people on the roads, often in the hopes of disrupting the Roman Empire's hold on the country. So Jesus slowly dies between two enemies of the state. In one gospel account, Jesus is taunted by one of the bandits, asking why he doesn't save himself with all of his divine powers. The other bandit tells the first to be quiet- Jesus is clearly without sin and does not deserve to be crucified. Once again, we are presented with the contrast of two ways to live: selfish derision, and compassion. Jesus promises that the compassionate bandit will join Him in heaven when they die.

Down on the ground, the assembled crowd derides Jesus. The Roman soldiers place a sign above his head stating that he is the king of the Jews. Only a few of his followers have braved the risks to stay with him. Three Mary’s are nearby: his mother, Mary Magdalene and another Mary. They are often depicted mourning at the bottom of the cross. Jesus dies deserted by most of his loving followers. In his last words, he asks God to forgive those who would punish Him as they 'know not what they do'. He dies alone and in enormous pain. His followers take his body away and place it in a tomb.

  What good could come of this?

For many, Christ's death makes no sense. The Jewish prophets had predicted a Messiah would come and rule on Earth, establishing a new kingdom of peace and justice. Instead, this Messiah preached for a few years, mostly in the Jewish hinterland, then willingly died a horrible death. Indeed, his criticism of the established order appears to have been a deliberate attempt to provoke the authorities. Jesus expects to die in this way, and does not stop it. This wasn't the kind of Messiah the Jews were expecting, and so most rejected Him. Among the Romans, it was unthinkable that any god would allow this to happen, so they dismissed Him and the believers who followed him after His death. Christians were denounced by Jews, and persecuted by the Romans, often to the point of execution. This seemed like a crazy way to start a faith.

And yet, Christ's death on the cross inspired a new world religion with more followers today than any other. In terms of normal logic, Christ's death doesn't make much sense, even knowing that he will be resurrected three days later. But Christianity, like other major faiths, isn't trying to stay within the bounds of common sense. Instead, it is an invitation to embrace a different kind of consciousness. We are reminded that like Christ, our current incarnation as flesh and bone isn't the whole story of who we are, or what we are meant to do on Earth. We are part spirit, too, a divine consciousness given by God that is always with us, even when we feel abandoned and betrayed by people or circumstance. Like Jesus, we are never alone, no matter how bad it gets. No matter what pain you endure - psychological or physical - whether you are beaten, abused, tortured or just at an existential loss - the man on the cross knows your pain. By dying on the cross, Christ showed his solidarity with all those who suffer, by suffering the greatest humiliation and pain available in His time. This is a God who truly understands what you are going through. That quality has proven to be a key element in Christ's enduring power since human history is also the story of pain.

  Why 'Good' Friday?

But why is this terrible day called 'Good Friday'? What is good about it? So much of it seems to be about pain and lost opportunities. Part of the answer is that without this terrible day, Christ could not have been resurrected three days later, a miracle that changed the way people look at the afterlife and the life we lead now.

By willingly going to the cross, Christ showed us the way to a new kind of life. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that a life led purely in the pursuit of selfish pleasures comes with a lot of pain, disappointment and a sense that life lacks meaning. Ask an alcoholic or drug addict if their highs compensate for the lows. For people who lead a less extreme lifestyle, it can take a long time to suspect that something is amiss. For Christians, Good Friday is an invitation to consider another path. One where there is still pain, but also joy in knowing that you are following a path laid out by God, the Self who gave you your little self. Being a Christian has often meant giving up selfish pleasures to help others - to bear crosses for them. That path has its pains, too, but also the reward of meaning. Despite what our egos tell us, there is no escape from pain in this life. It is part of the human condition, what Sigmund Freud called the normal misery of everyday life. Good Friday shows us that some pain is worth it, leading to the joy of union with God, the promise of a resurrection in a new life. .

Mysterious? Paradoxical? Absolutely.

Stephen Milton