His Word Today: Saint Patrick

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Patrick.  Although he is venerated by all people Irish, the precise details of his life are not well known; it is widely accepted that he was a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the fifth century A.D.  He is believed to have been born in Roman Britain (a part of the island of modern-day Great Britain - perhaps in Wales or in Scotland - which was once part of the Roman Empire).  Although his grandfather may have been a Catholic priest and his father is believed to have been a deacon, Patrick was not an active believer - at least not in his youth.

At the age of 16 years, he was captured by a group of Irish pirates who took him to Ireland where he lived as a slave for six years.  He worked as a shepherd during this time and, according to his own Confession, the time he spent in captivity was critical to his spiritual development. He explains that the Lord had mercy on his youth and ignorance, and afforded him the opportunity to be forgiven of his sins and converted to Christianity.  Patrick returned home to Roman Britain when he was 22 years old and continued to study Christianity.

A few years later, Patrick had a vision in which a holy man handed him a letter.  The letter contained the words: We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.  Patrick claims to have heard in these words a call from the people of Ireland to return there, so he returned as a Christian missionary.  Despite this call though, Patrick was often perceived as an outsider by the Irish locals, although he never allowed this to deter him from sharing his faith and from encouraging others to come to know Jesus.

Received with ridicule and insult, perhaps Patrick was more easily able to identify with the fact that Jesus himself was like a trusting lamb led to the slaughter (Jer 11:19), but this is often a sign that the work of one who seeks to preach not his own word but the word of the Lord is truly doing God's work.  May Saint Patrick intercede for all of us so that we may always seek to know the will of God in our lives and choose to follow his promptings no matter where he may ask us to go so that we in turn may know the joy of sharing our faith with those we meet.

Have a great day.