The Story of St. Patrick

March 17th is celebrated each year as St. Patrick’s Day. This is a special day in Ireland because it celebrates the life of St. Patrick who brought the story of Jesus to their country. When Patrick was a little boy, a long time ago, he lived in Britain with his father who was a deacon in the church. But when he was sixteen, he had a very bad thing happen to him. He was kidnapped by some bad people from Ireland. They made him a slave and his job was to watch their sheep for them. But during that time, God spoke to his heart and Patrick grew to love God.

He finally escaped and went back to his home, but Patrick’s story doesn’t end here. He became a bishop in his church and one night he had a dream. In that dream, God told him to return to Ireland and teach them about God. Can you imagine returning to the people who had taken you away from your home and made you a slave? But because Patrick did what he was told, the Irish came to know God. They were so thankful, they declared a special holiday just for him.

One of the things St. Patrick used to tell the Irish about God was a shamrock. He told them the three leaves of the shamrock represented the Trinity. Just like there are three parts of a shamrock, it’s still one leaf. Even though there are three persons in the Trinity (the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit), there is still one God. That helped them understand and the shamrock became a symbol for St. Patrick.

The jigsaw puzzle below is of a shamrock. To play it, just click and hold on the pieces then slide them into place. If you can’t see or play the puzzle below, click on the image at the bottom of the post to go to the jigsaw puzzle website.

20 Stockvault-clover128136