Saint Patrick's Day: A Holy Day

It's Saint Patrick's Day everyone, which means shamrocks, parades, green dye in public waterways and unusually high amounts of alcohol will be consumed not just in the United States, but across the world...

But all of this is in contradiction to the true meaning of the Irish holiday, which was officially recognized by the Catholic Church four hundred years ago and is dedicated to the life and works of the Catholic bishop, who despite being kidnapped from his British home to the Celtic Isles at youth, returned to evangelize the native population to Christianity.

Saint Patrick, who lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, is known as the "Apostle of Ireland" for his missionary works in the then pagan land and his celebrated for his deeds within the Church, which by a fifth century account believed to be written by the Saint, resulted in the baptism of thousands to the faith.

So before gulping the copious amounts of Guinness and horribly attempting to sing "Danny Boy" with your drunk wannabe Irish mates, please remember this holiday is in dedication to a man who's life was to bring Christianity to the Irish people and save them from their ungodly paganism just four hundred years after the original Apostles set off to preach the Gospel.