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St. Patrick (ca. A.D. 385-461) was born -- in Scotland! He was the son of
a high-ranking Roman family, but was carried off into slavery by Irish marauders
when he was 16 and forced into shepherding. While in captivity in Ireland,
though, he learned Celtic and the ways of Druidism, as his master was a Druid
High Priest, two bits of knowledge that would help him later in evangelizing
Irish pagans. He escaped his master, travelled about a bit -- but desired
to return to Ireland to evangelize, a task he was entrusted with by Pope
Celestine I, and a task he was most successful at (legend says that he even
drove the snakes from that land with a sermon).
Needless to say, St. Patrick is very dear to the Irish people, including
--- maybe especially -- Irish Americans. The symbol of this day is the shamrock
because St. Patrick used the plant as a visual aid in describing the Trinity
-- three leaves, one stem -- and the Cross, which is evoked by its general
shape.
A beautiful prayer for the day is "St. Patrick's Breast-plate" (Faeth Fiada,"
or the "Lorica of St. Patrick"). Below is a poetic version of this gorgeous
prayer:
I bind unto myself
today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the Cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.
See also the
Novena to St. Patrick.
On this day, the Irish -- especially Irish Americans -- get generally rowdy.
This is the day for listening to Irish music (click
here for the lyrics and melodies of a few standards), and, for Americans,
watching the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City and being very
proud of "being Irish!" -- a fact you must advertise by the "wearing o' the
green," especially in the form of a shamrock (Trifolium dubium). Even if
you're not Irish, you can be "Irish" for the day by wearing green and getting
into the spirit of things -- in fact, you "must" or others who see you not
wearing green have a duty to pinch you!
In America, outside
of abstinence days, it is custom to eat Corned Beef and Cabbage, served with
Irish Soda Bread (called such because baking soda is its only leaven) and
Ale -- and if you want a Gaelic toast to go with your green beer, just say:
"Sláinte is táinte!" (pronounced SLAWN-chuh iss TAWN-chuh),
which means "Health and wealth!" :
Corned Beef
and Cabbage (serves 6)
5 lbs. corned beef brisket of beef
12 peppercorns or packaged pickling spices which come on corned beef
5 carrots, peeled and quartered
3 large onions, peeled and quartered
2 lbs. baby new potatoes
1 medium cabbage, cut unto 6 wedges
Parsley Sauce:
4 TBSP butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
In a large stockpot, place corned beef in water to cover by 2 inches with
peppercorns or pickling spices. Cover; bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer
for 4 hours or until tender, skimming occasionally.
One half hour before serving, place carrots, onions and potatoes in pot.
Cook until vegetables are tender. Add cabbage to pot and cook an additional
15 minutes.
While vegetables are cooking, heat butter in small saucepan. Add flour and
stir to make a roux. Slowly whisk in milk, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat
until sauce thickens. Add parsley, taste for seasoning.
When ready to serve, place meat on platter and slice thin across the grain.
Place vegetables around platter and top with parsley sauce. Serve meat with
coarse grain mustard and horseradish, if desired. Serves 6.
Irish Soda Bread (1 loaf; serves 6)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 TBSP sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (substitute 4 teaspoons vinegar plus enough milk to
equal 1 1/4 cups. Let stand 10 minutes.)
Optional: 1/2 cup currants or raisins
Heat oven to 375°F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda
and salt in large bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in buttermilk just until moistened (optional: add 1/2 cup currants or
raisins now).
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead gently 10 times. Shape into
ball. Place onto greased baking sheet. Pat into 6-inch circle. Cut 1/2-inch
deep Cross in top of dough with sharp knife.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
And when the party
is over, what a better way to say goodbye than with this classic Irish blessing?:
May the road rise
to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
Reading
The Confession
of St. Patrick
By St. Patrick
1. I, Patrick,
a sinner, most rustic, the least of all the faithful, and utterly despised
by many. My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a priest, of
the village Bannavem Taburniæ; he had a country seat nearby, and there
I was taken captive.
I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God. I was
taken into captivity to Ireland with many thousands of people--and deservedly
so, because we turned away from God, and did not keep His commandments, and
did not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation. And the
Lord brought over us the wrath of his anger and scattered us among many nations,
even unto the utmost part of the earth, where now my littleness is placed
among strangers.
2. And there the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last
remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God, who
had regard for my abjection, and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched
over me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good
and evil, and guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.
3. Hence I cannot be silent--nor, indeed, is it expedient--about the great
benefits and the great grace which the lord has deigned to bestow upon me
in the land of my captivity; for this we can give to God in return after
having been chastened by Him, to exalt and praise His wonders before every
nation that is anywhere under the heaven.
4. The Irish Creed
of the Trinity
"Because there
is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be, than God the Father unbegotten,
without beginning, from whom is all beginning, the Lord of the universe,
as we have been taught; and His son Jesus Christ, whom we declare to have
always been with the Father, spiritually and ineffably begotten by the Father
before the beginning of the world, before all beginning; and by Him are made
all things visible and invisible. He was made man, and, having defeated death,
was received into heaven by the Father; and He has given Him all power over
all names in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall
confess to Him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe, an
whose advent we expect soon to be, judge of the living and of the dead, who
will render to every man according to his deeds; and He has poured forth
upon us abundantly the Holy Spirit, the gift and pledge of immortality, who
makes those who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ;
and Him do we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of the Holy Name."
5. For He Himself
has said through the Prophet: Call upon me in the day or they trouble, and
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. And again He says: It is honorable
to reveal and confess the works of God.
6. Although I am imperfect in many things, I nevertheless wish that my brethren
and kinsmen should know what sort of person I am, so that they may understand
my heart's desire.
7. I know well the testimony of my Lord, who in the Psalm declares: Thou
wilt destroy them that speak a lie. And again He says: The mouth that betrays
kills the soul. And the same Lord ways in the Gospel: Every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgment.
8. And so I should dread exceedingly, with fear and trembling, this sentence
on that day when no one will be able to escape or hide, but we all, without
exception, shall have to give an account even of our smallest sins before
the judgment of the Lord Christ.
9. For this reason I had in mind to write, but hesitated until now; I was
afraid of exposing myself to the talk of men, because I have not studied
like the others, who thoroughly imbibed law and Sacred Scripture, and never
had to change from the language of their childhood days, but were able to
make it still more perfect. In our case, what I had to say had to be translated
into a tongue foreign to me, as can be easily proved from the savor of my
writing, which betrays how little instruction and training I have had in
the art of words; for, so says Scripture, by the tongue will be discovered
the wise man, and understanding, and knowledge, and the teaching of truth.
10. But of what help is an excuse, however true, especially if combined with
presumption, since now, in my old age, I strive for something that I did
not acquire in youth? It was my sins that prevented me from fixing in my
mind what before I had barely read through. But who believes me, though I
should repeat what I started out with?
As a youth, nay, almost as a boy not able to speak, I was taken captive,
before I knew what to pursue and what to avoid. Hence today I blush and fear
exceedingly to reveal my lack of education; for I am unable to tell my story
to those versed in the art of concise writing--in such a way, I mean, as
my spirit and mind long to do, and so that the sense of my words expresses
what I feel.
11. But if indeed it had been given to me as it was given to others, then
I would not be silent because of my desire of thanksgiving; and if perhaps
some people think me arrogant for doing so in spite of my lack of knowledge
and my slow tongue, it is, after all, written: The stammering tongues shall
quickly learn to speak peace.
How much more should we earnestly strive to do this, we, who are, so Scripture
says, a letter of Christ for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth,
and, though not an eloquent one, yet... written in your hearts, not with
ink, but with the spirit of the living God! And again the Spirit witnesses
that even rusticity was created by the Highest.
12. Whence I, once rustic, exiled, unlearned, who does not know how to provide
for the future, this at least I know most certainly that before I was humiliated
I was like a stone Lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came and
in His mercy lifted me up, and raised me aloft, and placed me on the top
of the wall. And therefore I ought to cry out aloud and so also render something
to the Lord for His great benefits here and in eternity--benefits which the
mind of men is unable to appraise.
13. Wherefore, then, be astonished, you great and little that fear God, and
you men of letters on your estates, listen and pore over this. Who was it
that roused up me, the fool that I am, from the midst of those who in the
eyes of men are wise, and expert in law, and powerful in word and in everything?
And He inspired me--me, the outcast of this world--before others, to be the
man (if only I could!) who, with fear and reverence and without blame, should
faithfully serve the people to whom the love of Christ conveyed and gave
me for the duration of my life, if I should be worthy; yes indeed, to serve
them humbly and sincerely.
14. In the light, therefore, of our faith in the Trinity I must make this
choice, regardless of danger I must make known the gift of God and everlasting
consolation, without fear and frankly I must spread everywhere the name of
God so that after my decease I may leave a bequest to my brethren and sons
whom I have baptized in the Lord--so many thousands of people.
15. And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the Lord should grant this
to His servant; that after my misfortunes and so great difficulties, after
my captivity, after the lapse of so many years, He should give me so great
a grace in behalf of that nation--a thing which once, in my youth, I never
expected nor thought of.
16. But after I came to Ireland--every day I had to tend sheep, and many
times a day I prayed--the love of God and His fear came to me more and more,
and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was moved so that in a single
day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many in the night,
and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountains; and I
used to get up for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through
rain, and I felt no harm, and there was no sloth in me--as I now see, because
the spirit within me was then fervent.
17. And there one night I heard in my sleep a voice saying to me: `It is
well that you fast, soon you will go to your own country.' And again, after
a short while, I heard a voice saying to me: `See, your ship is ready.' And
it was not near, but at a distance of perhaps two hundred miles, and I had
never been there, nor did I know a living soul there; and then I took to
flight, and I left the man with whom I had stayed for six years. And I went
in the strength of God who directed my way to my good, and I feared nothing
until I came to that ship.
18. And the day that I arrived the ship was set afloat, and I said that I
was able to pay for my passage with them. But the captain was not pleased,
and with indignation he answered harshly: `It is of no use for you to ask
us to go along with us.' And when I heard this, I left them in order to return
to the hut where I was staying. And as I went, I began to pray; and before
I had ended my prayer, I heard one of them shouting behind me, `Come, hurry,
we shall take you on in good faith; make friends with us in whatever way
you like.' And so on that day I refused to suck their breasts for fear of
God, but rather hoped they would come to the faith of Jesus Christ, because
they were pagans. And thus I had my way with them, and we set sail at once.
19. And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight days we traveled
through deserted country. And they lacked food, and hunger overcame them;
and the next day the captain said to me: `Tell me, Christian: you say that
your God is great and all-powerful; why, then, do you not pray for us? As
you can see, we are suffering from hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we
shall ever see a human being again.'
I said to them full of confidence: `Be truly converted with all your heart
to the Lord my God, because nothing is impossible for Him, that this day
He may send you food on your way until you be satisfied; for He has abundance
everywhere.' And, with the help of God, so it came to pass: suddenly a herd
of pigs appeared on the road before our eyes, and they killed many of them;
and there they stopped for two nights and fully recovered their strength,
and their hounds received their fill for many of them had grown weak and
were half-dead along the way. And from that day they had plenty of food.
They also found wild honey, and offered some of it to me, and one of them
said: `This we offer in sacrifice.' Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.
20. That same night, when I was asleep, Satan assailed me violently, a thing
I shall remember as long as I shall be in this body. And he fell upon me
like a huge rock, and I could not stir a limb. But whence came it into my
mind, ignorant as I am, to call upon Helias? And meanwhile I saw the sun
rise in the sky, and while I was shouting `Helias! Helias' with all my might,
suddenly the splendor of that sun fell on me and immediately freed me of
all misery. And I believe that I was sustained by Christ my Lord, and that
His Spirit was even then crying out in my behalf, and I hope it will be so
on the day of my tribulation, as is written in the Gospel: On that day, the
Lord declares, it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that
speaks in you.
21. And once again, after many years, I fell into captivity. On that first
night I stayed with them, I heard a divine message saying to me: `Two months
will you be with them.' And so it came to pass: on the sixtieth night thereafter
the Lord delivered me out of their hands.
22. Also on our way God gave us food and fire and dry weather every day,
until, on the tenth day, we met people. As I said above, we traveled twenty-eight
days through deserted country, and the night that we met people we had no
food left.
23. And again after a few years I was in Britain with my people. who received
me as their son, and sincerely besought me that now at last, having suffered
so many hardships, I should not leave them and go elsewhere.
And there I saw in the night the vision of a man, whose name was Victoricus,
coming as it were from Ireland, with countless letters. And he gave me one
of them, and I read the opening words of the letter, which were, `The voice
of the Irish'; and as I read the beginning of the letter I thought that at
the same moment I heard their voice--they were those beside the Wood of Foclut,
which is near the Western Sea--and thus did they cry out as with one mouth:
`We ask you, boy, come and walk among us once more.'
And I was quite broken in heart, and could read no further, and so I woke
up. Thanks be to God, after many years the Lord gave to them according to
their cry.
24.And another night--whether within me, or beside me, I know not, God
knoweth--they called me most unmistakably with words which I heard but could
not understand, except that at the end of the prayer He spoke thus: `He that
has laid down His life for you, it is He that speaks in you'; and so I awoke
full of joy.
25. And again I saw Him praying in me, and I was as it were within my body,
and I heard Him above me, that is, over the inward man, and there He prayed
mightily with groanings. And all the time I was astonished, and wondered,
and thought with myself who it could be that prayed in me. But at the end
of the prayer He spoke, saying that He was the Spirit; and so I woke up,
and remembered the Apostle saying: The Spirit helps the infirmities of our
prayer. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit
Himself asks for us with unspeakable groanings, which cannot be expressed
in words; and again: The Lord our advocate asks for us.
26. And when I was attacked by a number of my seniors who came forth and
brought up my sins against my laborious episcopate, on that day indeed was
I struck so that I might have fallen now and for eternity; but the Lord
graciously spared the stranger and sojourner for His name and came mightily
to my help in this affliction Verily, not slight was the shame and blame
that fell upon me! I ask God that it may not be reckoned to them as sin.
27. As cause for proceeding against me they found--after thirty years!--a
confession I had made before I was a deacon. In the anxiety of my troubled
mind I confided to my dearest friend what I had done in my boyhood one day,
nay, in one hour, because I was not yet strong. I know not, God knoweth--whether
I was then fifteen years old: and I did not believe in the living God, nor
did I so from my childhood, but lived in death and unbelief until I was severely
chastised and really humiliated, by hunger and nakedness, and that daily.
28. On the other hand, I did not go to Ireland of my own accord. not until
I had nearly perished; but this was rather for my good, for thus was I purged
by the Lord; and He made me fit so that I might be now what was once far
from me that I should care and labor for the salvation of others, whereas
then I did not even care about myself.
29. On that day, then, when I was rejected by those referred to and mentioned
above, in that night I saw a vision of the night. There was a writing without
honor against my face, and at the same time I heard God's voice saying to
me: `We have seen with displeasure the face of Deisignatus' (thus revealing
his name). He did not say, `Thou have seen.' but `We have seen.' as if He
included Himself, as He says: He who touches you touches as it were the apple
of my eye.
30. Therefore I give Him thanks who has strengthened me in everything, as
He did not frustrate the journey upon which I had decided, and the work which
I had learned from Christ my Lord; but I rather felt after this no little
strength, and my trust was proved right before God and men.
31. And so I say boldly, my conscience does not blame me now or in the future:
God is my witness that I have not lied in the account which I have given
you.
32. But the more am I sorry for my dearest friend that we had to hear what
he said. To him I had confided my very soul! And I was told by some of the
brethren before that defence--at which I was not present, nor was I in Britain,
nor was it suggested by me--that he would stand up for me in my absence.
He had even said to me in person: `Look, you should be raised to the rank
of bishop!'--of which I was not worthy. But whence did it come to him afterwards
that he let me down before all, good and evil, and publicly, in a matter
in which he had favored me before spontaneously and gladly--and not he alone,
but the Lord, who is greater than all?
33. Enough of this. I must not, however, hide God's gift which He bestowed
upon me in the land of my captivity; because then I earnestly sought Him,
and there I found Him, and He saved me from all evil because--so I believe--of
His Spirit that dwells in me. Again, boldly said. But God knows it, had this
been said to me by a man, I had perhaps remained silent for the love of Christ.
34. Hence, then, I give unwearied thanks to God, who kept me faithful in
the day of my temptation, so that today I can confidently offer Him my soul
as a living sacrifice--to Christ my Lord, who saved me out of all my troubles.
Thus I can say: `Who am I, O Lord, and to what have Thou called me, Thou
who did assist me with such divine power that to-day I constantly exalt and
magnify Thy name among the heathens wherever I may be, and not only in good
days but also in tribulations?' So indeed I must accept with equanimity whatever
befalls me, be it good or evil, and always give thanks to God, who taught
me to trust in Him always without hesitation, and who must have heard my
prayer so that I, however ignorant I was, in the last days dared to undertake
such a holy and wonderful work--thus imitating somehow those who, as the
Lord once foretold, would preach His Gospel for a testimony to all nations
before the end of the world. So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled:
indeed, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those parts
beyond which there lives nobody.
35. Now, it would be tedious to give a detailed account of all my labors
or even a part of them. Let me tell you briefly how the merciful God often
freed me from slavery and from twelve dangers in which my life was at stake--not
to mention numerous plots, which I cannot express in words; for I do not
want to bore my readers. But God is my witness, who knows all things even
before they come to pass, as He used to forewarn even me, poor wretch that
I am, of many things by a divine message.
36. How came I by this wisdom, which was not in me, who neither knew the
number of my days nor knew what God was? Whence was given to me afterwards
the gift so great, so salutary--to know God and to love Him, although at
the price of leaving my country and my parents?
37. And many gifts were offered to me in sorrow and tears, and I offended
the donors, much against the wishes of some of my seniors; but, guided by
God, in no way did I agree with them or acquiesce. It was not grace of my
own, but God, who is strong in me and resists them all--as He had done when
I came to the people of Ireland to preach the Gospel, and to suffer insult
from the unbelievers, hearing the reproach of my going abroad, and many
persecutions even unto bonds, and to give my free birth for the benefit of
others; and, should I be worthy, I am prepared to give even my life without
hesitation and most gladly for His name, and it is there that I wish to spend
it until I die, if the Lord would grant it to me.
38. For I am very much God's debtor, who gave me such grace that many people
were reborn in God through me and afterwards confirmed, and that clerics
were ordained for them everywhere, for a people just coming to the faith,
whom the Lord took from the utmost parts of the earth, as He once had promised
through His prophets: To Thee the gentiles shall come from the ends of the
earth and shall say: `How false are the idols that our fathers got for
themselves, and there is no profit in them'; and again: `I have set Thee
as a light among the gentiles, that Thou may be for salvation unto the utmost
part of the earth.'
39. And there I wish to wait for His promise who surely never deceives, as
He promises in the Gospel: They shall come from the east and the west, and
shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob--as we believe the faithful
will come from all the world.
40. For that reason, therefore, we ought to fish well and diligently, as
the Lord exhorts in advance and teaches, saying: Come you after me, and I
will make you to be fishers of men. And again He says through the prophets:
Behold, I send many fishers and hunters, says God, and so on. Hence it was
most necessary to spread our nets so that a great multitude and throng might
be caught for God, and that there be clerics everywhere to baptize and exhort
a people in need and want, as the Lord in the Gospel states, exhorts and
teaches, saying: Going therefore now, teach you all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with
you all days even to the consummation of the world. And again He says: Go
you therefore into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not
shall be condemned. And again: This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in the whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come the
end. And so too the Lord announces through the prophet, and says: And it
shall come to pass, in the last days, says the Lord, I will pour out of my
Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and
your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And
upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days
of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And in Hosea, He says: `I will call
that which was not my people, my people; ...and her that had not obtained
mercy, one that has obtained mercy. And it shall be in the place where it
was said: ``You are not my people,'' there they shall be called the sons
of the living God.'
41. Hence, how did it come to pass in Ireland that those who never had a
knowledge of God, but until now always worshipped idols and things impure,
have now been made a people of the Lord, and are called sons of God, that
the sons and daughters of the kings of the Irish are seen to be monks and
virgins of Christ?
42. Among others, a blessed Irishwoman of noble birth, beautiful, full-grown,
whom I had baptized, came to us after some days for a particular reason:
she told us that she had received a message from a messenger of God, and
he admonished her to be a virgin of Christ and draw near to God. Thanks be
to God, on the sixth day after this she most laudably and eagerly chose what
all virgins of Christ do. Not that their fathers agree with them: no--they
often ever suffer persecution and undeserved reproaches from their parents;
and yet their number is ever increasing. How many have been reborn there
so as to be of our kind, I do not know--not to mention widows and those who
practice continence.
But greatest is the suffering of those women who live in slavery. All the
time they have to endure terror and threats. But the Lord gave His grace
to many of His maidens; for, though they are forbidden to do so, they follow
Him bravely.
43. Wherefore, then, even if I wished to leave them and go to Britain--and
how I: would have loved to go to my country and my parents, and also to Gaul
in order to visit the brethren and to see the face of the saints of my Lord!
God knows it! that I much desired it; but I am bound by the Spirit, who gives
evidence against me if I do this, telling me that I shall be guilty; and
I am afraid of losing the labor which I have begun--nay, not I, but Christ
the Lord who bade me come here and stay with them for the rest of my life,
if the Lord will, and will guard me from every evil way that I may not sin
before Him.
44. This, I presume, I ought to do, but I do not trust myself as long as
I am in this body of death, for strong is he who daily strives to turn me
away from the faith and the purity of true religion to which I have devoted
myself to the end of my I life to Christ my Lord. But the hostile flesh is
ever dragging us unto death, that I is, towards the forbidden satisfaction
of one's desires; and I know that in part I did not lead a perfect life as
did the other faithful; but I acknowledge it to my! Lord, and do not blush
before Him, because I lie not: from the time I came to know Him in my youth,
the love of God and the fear of Him have grown in me, and up to now, thanks
to the grace of God, I have kept the faith.
45. And let those who will, laugh and scorn--I shall not be silent; nor shall
I hide the signs and wonders which the Lord has shown me many years before
they came to pass, as He knows everything even before the times of the world.
46. Hence I ought unceasingly to give thanks to God who often pardoned my
folly and my carelessness, and on more than one occasion spared His great
wrath on me, who was chosen to be His helper and who was slow to do as was
shown me and as the Spirit suggested. And the Lord had mercy on me thousands
and thousands of times because He saw that I was ready, but that I did not
know what to do in the circumstances. For many tried to prevent this my mission;
they would even talk to each other behind my back and say: `Why does this
fellow throw himself into danger among enemies who have no knowledge of God?'
It was not malice, but it did not appeal to them because--and to this I own
myself--of my rusticity. And I did not realize at once the grace that was
then in me; now I understand that I should have done so before.
47. Now I have given a simple account to my brethren and fellow servants
who have believed me because of what I said and still say in order to strengthen
and confirm your faith. Would that you, too, would strive for greater things
and do better! This will be my glory, for a wise son is the glory of his
father.
48. You know, and so does God, how I have lived among you from my youth in
the true faith and in sincerity of heart. Likewise, as regards the heathen
among whom I live, I have been faithful to them, and so I shall be. God knows
it, I have overreached none of them, nor would I think of doing so, for the
sake of God and His Church, for fear of raising persecution against them
and all of us, and for fear that through me the name of the Lord be blasphemed;
for it is written: Woe to the man through whom the name of the Lord is
blasphemed.
49. For although I be rude in all things, nevertheless I have tried somehow
to keep myself safe, and that, too, for my Christian brethren, and the virgins
of Christ, and the pious women who of their own accord made me gifts and
laid on the altar some of their ornaments and I gave them back to them, and
they were offended that I did so. But I did it for the hope of lasting
success--in order to preserve myself cautiously in everything so that they
might not seize upon me or the ministry of my service, under the pretext
of dishonesty, and that I would not even in the smallest matter give the
infidels an opportunity to defame or defile.
50. When I baptized so many thousands of people, did I perhaps expect from
any of them as much as half a scruple? Tell me, and I will restore it to
you. Or when the Lord ordained clerics everywhere through my unworthy person
and I conferred the ministry upon them free, if I asked any of them as much
as the price of my shoes, speak against me and I will return it to you.
51. On the contrary, I spent money for you that they might receive me; and
I went to you and everywhere for your sake in many dangers, even to the farthest
districts, beyond which there lived nobody and where nobody had ever come
to baptize, or to ordain clergy, or to confirm the people. With the grace
of the Lord, I did everything lovingly and gladly for your salvation.
52. All the while I used to give presents to the kings, besides the fees
I paid to their sons who travel with me. Even so they laid hands on me and
my companions, and on that day they eagerly wished to kill me; but my time
had not yet come. And everything they found with us they took away, and me
they put in irons; and on the fourteenth day the Lord delivered me from their
power, and our belongings were returned to us because of God and our dear
friends whom we had seen before.
53. You know how much I paid to those who administered justice in all those
districts to which I came frequently. I think I distributed among them not
less than the price of fifteen men, so that you might enjoy me, and I might
always enjoy you in God. I am not sorry for it--indeed it is not enough for
me; I still spend and shall spend more. God has power to grant me afterwards
that I myself may be spent for your souls.
54. Indeed, I call God to witness upon my soul that I lie not; neither, I
hope, am I writing to you in order to make this an occasion of flattery or
covetousness, nor because I look for honor from any of you. Sufficient is
the honor that is not yet seen but is anticipated in the heart. Faithful
is He that promised; He never lies.
55. But I see myself exalted even in the present world beyond measure by
the Lord, and I was not worthy nor such that He should grant me this. I know
perfectly well, though not by my own judgment, that poverty and misfortune
becomes me better than riches and pleasures. For Christ the Lord, too, was
poor for our sakes; and I, unhappy wretch that I am, have no wealth even
if I wished for it. Daily I expect murder, fraud, or captivity, or whatever
it may be; but I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven.
I have cast myself into the hands of God Almighty, who rules everywhere,
as the prophet says: Cast your thought upon God, and He shall sustain you.
56. So, now I commend my soul to my faithful God, for whom I am an ambassador
in all my wretchedness; but God accepts no person, and chose me for this
office--to be, although among His least, one of His ministers.
57. Hence let me render unto Him for all He has done to me. But what can
I say or what can I promise to my Lord, as I can do nothing that He has not
given me? May He search the hearts and deepest feelings; for greatly and
exceedingly do I wish, and ready I was, that He should give me His chalice
to drink, as He gave it also to the others who loved Him.
58. Wherefore may God never permit it to happen to me that I should lose
His people which He purchased in the utmost parts of the world. I pray to
God to give me perseverance and to deign that I be a faithful witness to
Him to the end of my life for my God.
59. And if ever I have done any good for my God whom I love, I beg Him to
grant me that I may shed my blood with those exiles and captives for His
name, even though I should be denied a grave, or my body be woefully torn
to pieces limb by limb by hounds or wild beasts, or the fowls of the air
devour it. I am firmly convinced that if this should happen to me, I would
have gained my soul together with my body, because on that day without doubt
we shall rise in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ
Jesus our Redeemer, as sons of the living God and joint heirs with Christ,
to be made conformable to His image; for of Him, and by Him, and in Him we
shall reign.
60. For this sun which we see rises daily for us because He commands so,
but it will never reign, nor will its splendor last; what is more, those
wretches who adore it will be miserably punished. Not so we, who believe
in, and worship, the true sun--Christ--who will never perish, nor will he
who does His will; but he will abide for ever as Christ abides for ever,
who reigns with God the Father Almighty and the Holy Spirit before time,
and now, and in all eternity. Amen.
61. Behold, again and again would I set forth the words of my confession.
I testify in truth and in joy of heart before God and His holy angels that
I never had any reason except the Gospel and its promises why I should ever
return to the people from whom once before I barely escaped.
62. I pray those who believe and fear God, whosoever deigns to look at or
receive this writing which Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, has composed in
Ireland, that no one should ever say that it was my ignorance if I did or
showed forth anything however small according to God's good pleasure; but
let this be your conclusion and let it so be thought, that--as is the perfect
truth--it was the gift of God. This is my confession before I die.
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