Today is the feast day of St. Patrick, commemorating his death more than 1500 years ago. Like most Americanized holidays, it is celebrated today with lots of alcohol, but it’s important to remember there was a real man and a real mission behind the tradition.
According to that tradition, Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the century after the Empire became Christian. He was captured as a teenager by Irish slavers and taken to work in the Emerald Isle, escaping after six years of servitude.
Despite returning home, his time in Ireland had given him a heart for the people, and after studying for the priesthood he returned to preach the Gospel of Christ to his former captors. Though he faced persecution, imprisonment, and threats of death, Patrick was faithful and the people of Ireland came to Christ.
Ironically, this evangelism would preserve a seed of Celtic Christianity when the Roman legions withdrew from Britain in the 5th century. In their place came the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes with their pagan gods Woden and Thor. An Irish Christian named Columba traveled across the water and established an abbey at Iona where the conversion of Britain would begin again.
There is a pre-Christian Irish legend of a hero named Oisín, the son of a giant named Finn MacCool. He was the great warrior poet of Ireland, embarking on the same sort of adventures as Hercules in Greek mythology. One of the most famous stories of Oisín tells of his journey to Tir na nÓg, a faerie land where time passes more slowly than on earth.
After a few years reining with the faerie queen Niamh, Oisín decided to return home to see his old friends. He was heartbroken to find that centuries have passed and the Ireland he knew was gone. There are many poems and stories of conversations and confrontations between Patrick and Oisín, representing the confluence of Ireland’s pagan past and Christian present.
As a Christian, I am gratified that my ancestors in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland embraced the truth faith. However, it is also important to remember our history. We are the culmination of timeless centuries of human beings whose experiences and beliefs molded each successive generation. Like the English Christians who composed Beawulf, an epic poem about a pagan warrior king from their own history, we don’t need to apologize for appreciating our heritage.
The more our modern world becomes soulless and sterile, the more important it is to remember our fathers and the faith they embraced. C.S. Lewis once wrote that, “Christians and Pagans had much more in common with each other than either has with a post-Christian. The gap between those who worship different gods is not so wide as that between those who worship and those who do not.”
St. Patrick represents the faithfulness of God in all circumstances. Even through the mists of time and of legend we see a dynamic example for our own lives. If he could endure slavery, persecution, and physical violence as he preached the Gospel of Christ, you and I can endure rebuke, ridicule, and whatever setbacks appear in our path.
As you prepare for the week ahead, reflect on the Breastplate of St. Patrick, a prayer for protection and for spiritual battle attributed to to the patron saint of Ireland:
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
