[Sam]

continued from part 1

Pursuing God's Plan

When Patrick returned to Britain, his family pleaded with him not to leave them again. But he received a night vision of a man who seemed to be calling him back to Ireland.

"His name was Victoricus as if he were coming from Ireland with innumerable letters," Patrick wrote. "He passed one to me, and I read the beginning of the letter, which said: 'The voice of the Irish.' As I read those words, I perceived that I heard their words at the same time—they were of those beside the Wood of Voclut, beside the Western Sea.

"Their cry was with one voice, 'Holy Boy, we ask you to come and walk among us again.' Thank God after many years He granted their request."

This was Patrick's Macedonian call. Two similar experiences followed, leaving Him with a difficult choice: to obey God and return to the land of his captivity, never to see his family again, or to remain in Britain and forsake the call of God.

Remembering that disobedience in his youth had cost him his freedom, Patrick decided to leave. He traveled to the continent and trained for holy orders. Several sites have been suggested as the place he studied—Gaul, Italy, Lerins (now St. Honorat, just off Cannes and Monaco) and Auxierre, 100 miles east of Orleans, from which he departed for his Irish mission.

In A.D. 431 Bishop Germanus, Patrick's superior at Auxierre, planned to send a bishop to Ireland. Patrick hoped he would be chosen—but he was rejected for two reasons: First, he was considered too rustic (his captivity at 16 had affected his education and social skills), and second, he had confessed to a friend a serious sin he committed at 15 (possibly that of killing someone).

The news of his rejection was devastating. More than 20 years had passed since Patrick had left Ireland, and nothing had dimmed his passion to return as God's messenger.

It seemed a mortal blow. Had he not had the divine visitations? Had he not left his family for this? He wrote, "On that day I was struck so that I might have fallen, now and for eternity."

But Patrick submitted, and a man named Palladius was sent instead. Not long afterward, Palladius died, and Germanus reluctantly sent Patrick to replace him. His arrival in Ireland opened the door to one of the finest chapters in Christian history.

In A.D. 432 Patrick landed at Strangford Lough, near Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, and began to target influential people. His first convert was a chieftain named Dichu who gave Patrick a barn as his first church in Saul. Today a beautiful stone church stands on the site, and those who visit tell of the deep peace and presence of God that abides there.

Patrick faced perils daily. "Every day I anticipate the prospect of being killed, cheated, or enslavement, but I am not afraid of any of these things because of His promises," he wrote.

Tempted to return to Britain, he continued to persevere: "Even if it were my wish to depart and return to Britain, for how much I have desired to see my country and my parents ... the Spirit binds me and testifies ... that I would be wrong to leave, for I fear losing the fruits of my labour, or rather Christ's, who beckoned me come and remain with them to the end of my days."

Love for his flock, obedience to the call and a sense of eternal reward were guiding principles for Patrick, who was convinced that greater riches than the treasures of earth awaited him. He remained faithful until death parted him from his harvest field on March 17, A.D. 461.

Biographers from the seventh to the 12th century embellished Patrick's story with fantastic tales of supernatural encounters. Much of what they wrote is exaggerated, but we should not altogether reject the idea that manifestations of divine power attended Patrick's ministry. Ireland was dominated by the Druids, who influenced the population through occultic power, superstition and fear, and it is unlikely that the Irish would have forsaken the old ways in favor of their new faith unless the power of it could be proved.

By the time of his death, Patrick had laid the foundation of Christianity in pagan Ireland with the conversion and baptism of many thousands of men and women, in a land of only a half-million people. In the following centuries, Irish missionaries swarmed like bees over the European continent, spreading the gospel and establishing monasteries as centers of worship and learning during the "golden age" of Celtic Christianity. From the seed of Patrick's life sprang forests of Christianity in the barren soils of Europe.
Kevin Sambrook and his wife, Rosemary, are pastors of Covenant Love Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and directors of Rhema Restoration Ministries