Saint Patrick’s Day, normally a time of revelry and celebration, feels dampened this year. Perhaps the current mood allows for a bit of reflection. Patrick became one of the greatest missionaries the Christian faith has ever known. Here’s a brief biography:

…on an island far to the north, Irish raiders kidnapped a young English boy named Patricius and held him as a slave for several years. While he eventually made his escape and returned to England, something started to shift in his heart. The Lord, through visions, began to pull him once again to Ireland, this time to return as a missionary to his former captors. He sailed back to preach the gospel to the pagan Irish and eventually became Saint Patrick of Ireland, the first documented missionary outside the bounds of the Roman Empire. Patrick preached the gospel as far as he could go, “to the point beyond which there is no one,” to the western edge of Ireland. Only the sea remained…

GO: Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth

Patrick, transmitter of a virus. One cannot miss the the parallels between the proliferation of COVID-19 and the work of Patrick of Ireland. Patrick spread a virus all through Ireland, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The next few weeks those of us who follow in Patrick’s footsteps should work to slow the spread of one virus, while advancing the cause of another. We slow one by washing our hands, practicing social distancing, forgoing regular worship services and acting on the directives of health experts.

We advance the other by taking groceries to neighbors afraid to leave their homes, checking on elderly friends and family, nursing the sick, washing our hands yet again, leaving toilet paper for others, and reminding ourselves and our communities of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

One virus, as painful and chaotic as it is proving to be, will pass. The other creates a deep, eternal hope and will never fade. That’s welcome news in the midst of challenging times, good news that Patrick of the Virus proclaimed from the green hilltops of Ireland, and good news that our actions in this time of crisis proclaim today.