St. Patrick’s Day.  I was reminded today as I read in Daniel Ellsberg’s book, All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, that when St. Patrick was a youth he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave.  After many years in slavery, in which his faith was tried and deepened, he escaped and returned to his homeland.  But there, he discerned God’s call to return to the land in which he had been enslaved and to bring the message of Gospel liberation.  This he did, returning to Ireland to preach and teach the Gospel to his those who had enslaved him.  As we opened at Manna House today, this story was shared, and we prayed, “Loving, Life-giving, and Liberating God, may the descendants of slaves who stand here today continue the liberating work of St. Patrick, to bring those who have stood with the slave masters to the true freedom of the Gospel.”