Should We Celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Yeah or Nay?

Written By Brandon Myers

O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. (Psalm 47:1-2)

"In the light, therefore, of our faith in the Trinity I must make this choice, regardless of danger I must make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, without fear and frankly I must spread everywhere the name of God so that after my decease I may leave a bequest to my brethren and sons whom I have baptized in the Lord—so many thousands of people." —St. Patrick

Happy St. Patrick's Day? Or not. Should we celebrate St. Patrick's Day (affectionately called St. Patty's Day by many)? The answer is yes and no. Many cultural holidays take on a life of their own but getting at the historical truth and background is helpful and can lead to gospel opportunities (see the DeYoung article below for more on this).  

To learn more about how God used Patrick (and others) in Ireland watch The Mind Blowing Story of How Irish monks saved civilization. It is is an excellent,  short video narrated by a very thoughtful, creative, and most importantly faithful brother in Christ Jamie Bambrick (with the aid of the brillant Dr. Glenn Sunshine). (Note: Jamie produced the viral What the "He Gets Us Ad should have been" I strongly commend to you and know you will be encouraged. Brother Bambrick also produced "How Leftism Breaks All the Ten Commandments" which I commend to you (his content is reliable excellent for its theological thoughtfulness, biblical fidelity and he has a great sense of humor along the way).

So should we celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Should we wear green and partake of the festivies? (One side note as Protestants we should probably wear orange not green to celebrate this day (find out why at Reformed Faith Insights here) Obviously as Christians we do not celebrate the sins of drunkenness, foolishness, lacking self-control, etc. that are often associated with St. Patrick's Day festivities. That is a no brainer in light of Scripture. So if those sins are  what someone has in mind when it comes to St. Patrick's Day no of course we do not celebrate that. However there is more than just to remember Patrick for.  Dr. Barry Waugh helpfully summarized it:

"It is good to remember Patrick of Ireland and his contribution to church history, but he should not be remembered through the “carousing and drunkenness” often associated with March 17. Instead, “the Lord Jesus Christ” should be put on in faith with “no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” These words from Romans 13:13,14 confronted Augustine with his own sin leading to his response to Christ in faith. Patrick of Ireland is best remembered through worshipping and serving the Triune God through faith in Christ." (read his post here)

Concerning St. Patrick, Reformed Baptist pastor and church historian Dr. Nick Needham noted in his magisterial 5 volume work 2000 Years of Christ's Power the following:

"Obscurity veils much of the life of Patrick (390-461), and historians argue about the details, but it seems that he was probably born in Scotland, the son of a deacon and grandson of a presbyter. A band of Irish criminals kidnapped him in his youth, and sold him into slavery for six years in Ireland. It was during this period as a slave that Patrick experienced conversion; the faith he had learned in childhood became a living reality in his soul amid the harshness of a slave's existence. "After I arrived in Ireland," he said, "I fed cattle every day, and often during the day I prayed; the love and fear of God burned more and more within me, and my faith and spirit grew strong. In a single day I would pray as often as a hundred times, and almost as often during the night. Patrick eventually managed to escape from his captors, and went to France, where he joined a monastery at Lerins and then at Auxerre. But a vision called him back to Ireland to evangelise its largely Pagan population. To this Patrick devoted the rest of his life (from 432 to 461), crusading against the supernatural powers of Pagan religion that reigned in Ireland, and conquering all their dark magic in the mighty strength of Christ. Patrick's missionary labours were so successful that he is often called "the apostle of Ireland". In his own words, "I am greatly in debt to God, who has bestowed His grace on me so largely, that many people were born again to God through me. The Irish, who never had the knowledge of God and worshipped only idols and unclean things, have now become the Lord's people, and are called sons of God; and the sons and daughters of Irish kings are now monks and virgins of Christ." (buy these and read these brothers and sisters-they are worth owning, reading, loving and having on your shelf: “2,000 Years of Christ's Power Vol. 1: The Age of the Early Church Fathers” by Dr Nick Needham

There is much learn and praise God for from Patrick's example--his missionary zeal, love for his enemies and fervor for God's kingdom and gospel. By God's grace Patrick appeared to have. a vibrant walk with the Lord that sustained him and was fueled by God and the God-breathed Scripture. Here is a glorious prayer known as St. Patrick's Breastplate that I pray encourages you:

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom. I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul; Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward. 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,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity. Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

May we pray and ask God to have even a small portion of Patrick's missionary and evangelistic zeal and love for our enemies. Though we may not have been enslaved by Irish pirates let us pray for boldness, wisdom, love for enemies of the cross and a willingness to proclaim Christ crucified, risen, ascended, seated, and one day returning to judge the living and the dead. And may it please our great and glorious triune God to raise up many saints like Patrick who would exalt Christ, steeped in the Scripture, dependent on God in prayer and fearless before our enemies. May it please the Lord to allow us to partake in and  witness the overthrow of idolatrous, blasphemous, man-centered, pagan superstitions that enslave, ensnare, and deceive so many men and women, boys and girls in our nation. And may God the Spirit strengthen us to the glory of the Father as Christ the redeemer is exalted in and among our nation. 

Further resources on Patrick:

Brandon Myers
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