St. Patrick: A Man for Our Times

Looking at the news, we see all around us scenes of crime, vanity, selfishness, and atheism. People have become so focused on becoming the “best version of themselves” or being pleasing to the eyes of others that they have built a wall around themselves. A wall that prevents God from coming in and talking with them. Summing it up, we see sin and a world that wants nothing to do with the Creator; a world that is in great need of conversion.

A holiday is quickly approaching; one that is celebrated in many countries: St. Patrick’s Day. While those who celebrate this holiday are focused on dressing in green shamrocks and waving Irish flags, for Catholics, this holiday should remind us of whom we are celebrating. He serves for us as a figure of inspiration and courage, of faith and trust.

 Keeping the Faith in Pagan Culture

History debates where and when St. Patrick was born, either in Roman Britain or Scotland and between the years of 387 and 389. His father was a high ranking Roman official stationed in Britain, where Patrick spent his childhood. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland, serving as a shepherd for his master’s flocks. Ireland, at the time, was a land of pagans and Druids. Keeping the Faith must have been challenging for Patrick especially when months of captivity turned into years. But he relates in his “Confessio” that he prayed many times a day while at work in the fields.

“The love of God and His fear increased in me more and more, and the faith grew in me, and the spirit was roused, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same, so that whilst in the woods and on the mountain, even before the dawn, I was roused to prayer and felt no hurt from it, whether there was snow or ice or rain; nor was there any slothfulness in me, such as I see now, because the spirit was then fervent within me.”

These six years of captivity, spent in prayer and constant trust in God, would prepare Patrick for the future, when he would start the fire of Christianity in Ireland. This time spent in the pagan land not only helped Patrick acquire fluency in the Celtic tongue, but it also educated him on the Druid religion which he would combat later in his life.

Voice from Heaven

One night, Patrick heard a voice command him to go to the coast where a boat would take him back to Britain. He related in his “Confessio” that he had to travel two hundred miles to the coast where he met sailors who agreed to take him home. Though he was once again reunited with his friends and family, Patrick felt the unending call to serve the Irish ensnared in the lies of the Druids. He finally answered the call after a dream in which he said he heard the voices of the Irish, calling for him to come back to them. A few years later, Patrick was ordained to the priesthood.

At the age of 43, Patrick was ordained a bishop and by the order of Pope St. Celestine I, went to Ireland to preach the Gospel of Christ to the pagan country. After years of waiting, the newly made bishop could finally do what he had so ardently desired to do. But this task was of no small size.

In the summer of 433, Patrick arrived at the mouth of the Vantry River. One of his first encounters with the Druids occurred a couple weeks later when he was confronted by a chieftain named Dichu. The chieftain drew his sword and raised it above his head. But he could not bring it down upon Patrick. His arm became as rigid as stone and remained so until he professed to be obedient to Patrick. He gifted the saint with a barn which became the first sanctuary Patrick dedicated.

Traveling across the country, Patrick converted many more chieftains and their families. The overwhelming sway that the Druids held over Ireland was beginning to be broken. While Patrick rejoiced, the Druids’ anger only increased. They threatened him with torture and death, but no amount of threats could ever deter this saint. He believed in his God, and in return, God protected him.

Divine Protection

One of the more famous instances of Divine protection over St. Patrick occurred on the eve of Easter. The Druids saw that their hold over the Irish was waning, and so they gathered together at Tara to use their demonic powers to try to reestablish their dominance. Unbeknownst to them, Patrick knew of this meeting and situated himself on the hill across from them. An order had gone out from the king that all fires were to be extinguished until the signal blaze had been lit. Daring to defy the Druids, Patrick lit the Paschal fire. This threw the Druids into an uproar. Running to the hill where Patrick stood, they attempted to extinguish his fire and kill him. But no matter what they tried, the flame would not be put out, and St. Patrick could not be touched. No amount of deviltry that they mustered could contend with the Almighty.

Traveling across the Irish country, St. Patrick converted thousands, facing danger and death to bring them to the truth.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

St. Patrick composed the famous prayer known as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” in preparation for conquering paganism. In it, he pleads for protection against demons, vices, false prophets, heathenism, heresy, idolatry, women, smiths, and druids, to name a few. We see in this prayer, everything he had to face; everything he had to combat during his endeavor to bring Ireland to Christ. What is so striking is the parallel between what St. Patrick experienced then and what we are experiencing now. The world has turned to false gods: Money, selfishness, and pride. Any mention of God is cut down and suppressed. The universal theme of “becoming the best version of you” or being pleasing to the eyes of others has become a seemingly permanent theme.

In these times, we may feel like there is no hope of turning the world around. Instead of giving up before we begin to fight, let us turn to St. Patrick and think of what he went through. He converted a nation of pagans, faced danger, and was threatened with death. But he did not back down, and neither should we. This incredible saint can help us fight the vices of the world and bring souls back to Christ. His extraordinary faith and trust in God serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished by trusting in Him.

Let us also pray for our bishops, that they would have St. Patrick's zeal for the truth and evangelization.

Sources

New Advent: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm