[Sam]

more about St. Paddy

The Apostle to Ireland

Most people don’t know St. Patrick had a vibrant charismatic faith that blazed across Ireland in the fifth century.
Hidden within a small cemetery adjacent to Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, is the final resting place of Ireland's patron saint. At first glance it is quite unremarkable, identifiable only by the large granite rock atop it with the single inscription: "Patrick." Here in quiet simplicity lie the earthly remains of the slave boy who rose from the ruins of captivity to become the apostle to the Irish. He shaped the destiny of a nation that would change the entire European continent.

Like grass growing over a long-unused path, time has concealed the trace of his footsteps, and little is remembered of this remarkable man of God even though the date of his death, March 17, is celebrated worldwide as St. Patrick's Day.

Much of what happens at the celebrations has little to do with Patrick himself. Green beer and parades, no matter how well-intentioned, do not reflect his life and legacy. However, his writings—particularly his Confession and his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus—provide us with an accurate picture of his life.

Patrick was born into the volatile world of the late fourth century. The Roman Empire was beginning to collapse, and there was great upheaval.

Trouble began in A.D. 376 when the Huns forced huge numbers of Goths across the Danube River into Roman territory. In A.D. 406 and 407, the Vandals spilled across the Rhine, plundering Gaul and Spain, and in A.D. 409, they forced the last Roman legions to leave Britain. In the following year, Rome itself was sacked.

Convulsions continued until A.D. 476, when the Western Empire disappeared and Europe was plunged into the Dark Ages.

Beyond the dying empire lay Ireland. The inhabitants were, to the Roman mind, as dangerous and unpredictable as the terrain. But it was this land of menacing beauty that God chose to ignite and to spread the flame of renewal across the ravaged lands of Europe, using Patrick as His vessel.

Born of Roman nobility, Patrick lived on an estate at Bannavem Taburniae—possibly in the Severn Estuary near Bristol. With the gradual departure of the Roman legions, the unprotected coastal regions were targeted by the Irish, who plundered and kidnapped at will, and around A.D. 400 Patrick was taken. He wrote in his Confessions: "When I was aged about 16, I knew not the One True God. I was captured and brought to Ireland with many thousands of people."

His comment suggests that there was an invasion. It was a brutal experience. People were caught, beaten, chained and brought back as slaves.

Patrick's last memory of his homeland may have been of burning, smoke and the anguished cries of those wrenched from home and loved ones. His privileged upbringing left him unprepared for a hard life as a slave.

Celtic Ireland was thoroughly pagan at that time, controlled by superstition and omens. Its gods and goddesses were the material of horror stories. This tribal society was ruled by warriors in a place of forests and bogs, far removed from the cultured life Patrick had known.

Differences in language added to his loneliness and isolation. A slave's existence was so austere that life expectancy was little more than 30 years. A fitted iron collar made runaways easy to identify, and those recaptured faced certain death.

Many became bitter and full of self-pity. But Patrick responded differently. He acknowledged that God had allowed his trial for a higher good, and tiny shafts of light began to pierce the darkness.

He wrote: "We had turned from God, not keeping His laws nor heeding His servants who declared to us His salvation. It was the Lord's doing that He might reveal to me my unbelief that I should turn from my sins and be converted."

Patrick was sold to Miliuc, a chieftain of the region of Mount Slemish, County Antrim, where for six years he tended sheep and pigs. On the unforgiving mountain slopes and foothills God began working in the young slave.

He recalled: "Praying throughout each day, the love and fear of God increased within me and my faith was strengthened. And being moved in Spirit upon the mountains and in the woods, I prayed up to one hundred times in the day and as much at night. Arising to pray a great while before day, whether in snow or frost or rain, I experienced no ill effects or laziness as the Spirit was strong within me then."

Slemish became the anvil upon which this man of God was fashioned. Hidden in the Irish hills, strengthened in suffering, praying almost half a million prayers by the end of his captivity, Patrick was molded by God.

In captivity, Patrick developed inner strength and intimacy with God. After six years, he heard a voice in his sleep, "Your ship is ready." He journeyed 200 miles to Wexford and found a ship sailing to Gaul. As a fugitive he was in mortal danger but testified, "I was afraid of nothing." At first he was refused passage aboard the ship, but after praying he was suddenly summoned and invited to board.

Three days later the ship and passengers reached Amorica (Brittany). An invasion by the Vandals on New Year's night A.D. 407 had left the area desolate. With no food, the group journeyed inland for 28 days in danger of starvation.

The ship's captain challenged Patrick: "Answer me this, Christian, you tell us your God is great and all powerful, why will you not pray for us? We perish from hunger and may see no living soul again."

This was a public test of his faith. Would the God he claimed to serve show Himself and answer prayer?

Well done is better than well said. Patrick responded, "Boldly I told them, 'Turn to the Lord my God with your whole heart, for with Him nothing is impossible, that today He may supply you with more than enough food for your journey for He has ample store everywhere.' And so with God's aid it came to pass; at once a herd of swine appeared before us right in front of our eyes. Killing many, they camped two nights regaining their strength. Even their dogs which had become weak and lifeless were satisfied."

to be continued in Part 2