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'If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are a continuation of each of these people.' - Thich Nhat Hahn, Vietnamese Monk, Activist and Writer

I've noticed in my travels that a common personality trait among people with Celtic heritage is the desire to know one's genealogy. Both sides of my family trace our heritage to the Celtic Isles. To Scotland on one side (to the town of Kirkcudbright [kur-koo-bree] specifically) and to Ireland (to County Cork specifically) on the other. My family spent many hours researching our history, and I remember being so impressed at knowing my ancestors. It was almost kind of...satisfying.

Both sides of my family have very colourful histories. Alcoholics, Irish gypsies, horse thieves, corrupt politicians, even a train robber or two. Not all of my relatives were so infamous, however. My family has a long history of ministers and musicians. In fact, I'm directly related to the Irish Catholic Saint Faholain [foe-lan], the patron saint of the insane and mentally ill. Which should explain a lot!

My ancestors were the product of immigration and revolutions. There is an old Irish saying that goes, 'Those who rule write the history. Those who suffer write the music.' And for generations, my family has lived comfortably at the end of that saying.

As I've matured in my faith, I confess that my hunger for genealogy has worked its way into my spiritual self. I'm sure each of us can remember who first shined the light of Christ into our lives. But who minstered to that person? And who to them? And before them? Obviously, each of us would be able to trace our faith back to one of the Twelve, and ultimately to Christ himself. But especially today, I look to one man's ministry as a source of inspiration.

St. Padraig (or Anglicized as Patrick) was a British man who altered the course of history for the Celtic peoples. In Padraig's day, Ireland was a country of pagans who worshipped nature in simplistic ritual. I'll spare you the history lessons as those you can read on your own, but I will say a few words about his ministry.

In the Fourth and Fifth centuries of modernity, there would have been little available to Padraig with regard to ministry tools. We take for granted the availability of books, commentaries, articles, even printed Bibles. The Internet, for all its short-comings, has been instrumental in the construction and maintenance of today's Church. Padraig had a monumental calling in front of him - to bring the Gospel to the people of Ireland. He said this about his ministry, 'If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me.'

Padraig used simple metaphors to illustrate a complex faith. Perhaps his most famous was his use of the "seamrog" (Anglicized as shamrock, representing a loose pronunciation of the Irish word), a kind of clover native to Irish soil. The shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover that Padraig used to illustrate the Trinity. The shamrock is three parts in one, just as our Triune God. Three as one, equal but distinctly different.

Other missionaries to the Emerald Isle made mistakes in that they tried to immediately diffuse and remove any remnants of pagan practice. Missionaries would find a group of Celts gathered around a tree in worship, at which point these missionaries would admonish and rebuke the worshippers. Thus driving them further from the message of Christ. Padraig on the other hand, when he would find these meetings and rituals, would encourage the Celts to continue to meet at whatever day and time they normally would. But as opposed to worship of sun or forest, he taught them of the Saviour and of His desire for our worship. He gave them ideas and challenging lessons to discuss, and encouraged accountability and personal responsibility. Padraig essentially founded the first small group ministries in Ireland.

The Celts were a displaced people. For centuries they bounced from country to country, searching for home. And through his ministry and his connection to the Saviour, Padraig brought the Celtic people home. Padraig brings to light the true meaning of the 'ministry of reconciliation."

See, I think we miss the point of Saint Padraig's Day. We get caught up in the trappings of the holiday, as we do with every other. Today isn't about being Irish (or pretending to be!). Its not about green beer, nor corned beef, nor wearing the green. No, Saint Padraig's Day is really about faith. Today is about remembering where our faith comes from and responding in thankfulness to the God we serve.

Our lives are busy. We travel and work and worry. We get so caught up in life that we forget to live. What we must remember is that our faith is our home. Our faith is where we come from, and our faith is the place to where we always return. The challenge of the day is to find our home, and lead other people to theirs.

As we say in Irish, 'Nil aon tintean mar do thintean fein.' There's no place like home...

Happy Saint Padraig's Day to you and yours.