St. Patrick
By: Missionary Team
The OG Fighting Irishmen
Once there was a lucky man. Partially lucky because he had great faith, and partially because he was Irish. However, his story starts out with not-so-lucky beginnings.
Kidnapped from his home in Britain at a young age by slave traders the young “Patricius” was anything but lucky. After 6 years of slavery in Ireland he finally escaped and returned home, where he received a dream recounted in his Confessio as follows:
“I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: ‘The Voice of the Irish’. As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: ‘We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.’”
Patricius then took on the name Patrick after being ordained a priest, and he embarked unto Ireland in order to convert the very same pagans that had held him captive. Patrick encountered many hardships in his journeys through Ireland and many challenges from the church as he refused money for baptisms and the sacraments, and would take no money for protection from pagan kings.
Patrick recounts being robbed several times of all his belongings. He was driven from where he initially landed and had to flee to an island nearby. However, the stubborn spirit of an Irishmen must have rubbed off on him because he soon returned and began to spread the Gospel all over Ireland. Some say it was luck, others Faith, but anyway you slice it, St. Partick is credited with converting and baptizing thousands of Irish and establishing the first communities of Christians in Ireland.
On one occasion St. Patrick climbed to the top of a mountain to pray. While there he was harassed by snakes. He summoned all the snakes in Ireland to his feet from there he chased them into the sea. And to this day there are no snakes in Ireland! This is just one testament to how having faith and fighting through those unfortunate situations can benefit all. Something we can certainly learn from as Christians.
“Good luck!” many say. The Irish are particularly lucky and when we look at the story of St. Patrick it seems he is quite the lucky man, but was it luck? No, It was faith and perseverance. St. Patrick was a man of persistence only because he believed. He was incredibly blessed because to have what these pagans perceived as “luck” he really needed great faith. This is something we can all take from the story of St. Patrick. This idea of faith in the unfortunate. Something our country needs now more than ever.
Are we living in unfortunate circumstances? Yes, but it’s these circumstances that allow Christians to be put to the test. Just as St. Patrick’s faith was tested initially his perseverance allowed him to push through the rejection. Some would call this breakthrough luck but it is plain to see that it is so much more than that. It was a fight, a fight for not just Ireland but for people’s souls. And right now, the United States is in a fight for our souls, and unfortunately, Irish luck isn’t going to save us. It’s only through perseverance and faith will we be saved.
