The Mystery of a Shamrock

Now just about everyone has heard of Saint Patrick. In fact, most people are probably aware of the legend surrounding him expelling all of the snakes from the emerald isle. Along those same lines, people know that shamrocks and Saint Patrick's Day go together. But do you know why this missionary is linked with the humble shamrock?

It's a simple and short tale. Back when he was preaching the gospel to the people of Ireland, some of the pagan natives had trouble with his teachings about the Holy Trinity. The concept that God could be both a single being and yet three entities was a tough one for them to wrap their heads around, as it still is problematic for many today.

One day while Saint Patrick was about, a group of pagans came to him. They wanted him to explain this seemingly impossible claim. Now it's not known if they were politely requesting an answer to their curiosity, accusing him of preaching rubbish or trying to trip him up as the pharisees had contended with Jesus, but it doesn't really matter.

The Saint had a simple answer for them. He leaned down and plucked a shamrock from the ground at his feet. Showing the tiny plant to the group around him, he asked a single question: "Is this one leaf or three?"

When they could not answer, he continued, "If it is one leaf, why are there three separate lobes? If it is three leaves, then how come there is only one stem?"

Turning to the crowd at large, he finished by saying "If you cannot explain the mystery of a humble shamrock, how do you expect to explain the more complex mystery of the Triune God?"

So now friends, when you see a shamrock, remember the lesson here: not everything can be explained in simple terms, as not everything will fit neatly into our crude understandings of the world.