It’s the time of year when everyone tries to find a bit of Irish blood in their genealogy. I have a complexion that demonstrates my Irish heritage, even if my lineage does not.

In thinking about what my wife and I would do tonight to ‘celebreate’ St. Patrick’s Day, I got to thinking about who this person is. Why did St. Patrick’s Day become a big deal? Although I don’t have time or space to answer why it is so important, I do have time to indulge a little investigation into the historical St. Patrick.

Writings of Patrick
Two writings ascribed to St. Patrick survive to today. As best as I can tell, there is no information about other things he may have written or could have written. Within these two documents are the only direct sources of information – and they are from the man himself. These two documents are “The Confession of St. Patrick” and “Letter to Coroticus(Ceredig)

Patricius was born to a Roman family in England. His father was a deacon and he was raised as a Christian. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by an Irish warlord. After six years of tending livestock and many prayers, he heard a voice telling him of his escape, his arrival home, and his mission to take him away from his homeland. Leaving the next day, he made his way to a seaport and managed to get onboard the ship.

Travelling for twenty-eight days, they were beginning to run out of food and his shipmates jeered him for his faith. He told them that they would eat to their fill that very night, and they ate to their fill for two days. According the Patrick, the members of the crew may have died had they not come across a herd of pigs.

He served on the ship for two months until he could escape and make his way back home. Once home, he says that he was well received by his kinsmen and honored as a son. From there he went into the preisthood with the full intention of going back to Ireland as a missionary. It is not known when he arrived back in Ireland or how, but the initial reaction to his missionary ambtion was not favorable. Their reaction is given here:

And then I was attacked by a goodly number of my elders, who [brought up] my sins against my arduous episcopate. That day in particular I was mightily upset, and might have fallen here and for ever; but the Lord generously spared me, a convert, and an alien, for his name’s sake, and he came powerfully to my assistance in that state of being trampled down. I pray God that it shall not be held against them as a sin that I fell truly into disgrace and scandal.

They brought up against me after thirty years an occurrence I had confessed before becoming a deacon. On account of the anxiety in my sorrowful mind, I laid before my close friend what I had perpetrated on a day– nay, rather in one hour– in my boyhood because I was not yet proof against sin. God knows– I do not– whether I was fifteen years old at the time, and I did not then believe in the living God, nor had I believed, since my infancy; but I remained in death and unbelief until I was severely rebuked, and in truth I was humbled every day by hunger and nakedness.

It is interesting to note that he was about 45 when this happened – but I am unsure if this happened before leaving or after he was gone. Patrick insists he didn’t leave on his own, the elders later changed their mind and sent him to Ireland, although it seems his trip was controversial at the time. One thing to note is that he was sent with the mission to take care of the Christians already in Ireland and to spread the gospel to the rest of the Irish.

Outside of that, the two writings we have from him seem to speak more about the kind of person he was more than what he did. Personally, I had hoped to find out about the story of him driving out the snakes from Ireland or about the use of the shamrock to explain the Trinity. Apparently, those are stories about him that even Catholic scholars say are uncertain. However, the man I did see in his own words was a striking figure, despite his shortcomings.

I, Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, resident in Ireland…

In his confession and in his letter to Ceredig, Patrick refers to himself as an unlearned man. He learned and spoke Latin up to his capture, then learned and spoke the Vulgar Latin of some of the soldiers, along with the the Irish language. It seems he never felt confident about either language, though he understand the Irish culture and language enough to incorporate elemtes of them into his message. Scholars have commented that his Latin is, at times, almost unintelligible. It could be that the English translations I read hide some of these issues. Other scholars seem to believe that he was fluent in Gaelic. In either case, he notes that while others were perfecting their ‘idiom’ through constant study, that his speech was translated into a ‘foreign tongue’.

However, in his confession, he makes over two hundred biblical references. These references are used in defense of his ministry, his faith, and his life. If he was ‘unlearned’ as he claims, why would he quote the Bible more accurately and appropriately than many other comtemporaries? It is true that he had to become a part of the preisthood before his journey, but there may be something more that plays into it. I suspect that he was largely a self-taught man. Being in Ireland as the sole bishop may have been isolating, leaving him, oddly enough, to study the Scriptures (one of the few Latin texts around) constantly.

In addition to this, he seems to have a keen mind, despite his insecurities about his education. To celebrate Easter, he incorporated the local rituals (such as the use of bonfires) in its celebration. He has even been attributed with the creation of the ‘Celtic Cross’, a cross with the sun in the middle. Being there for so many years, I believe that he learned the language and culture pretty well. I can also believe that he was smart enough to use traditional Irish symbols to explain Christianity, rather than attempt to eliminate all traditional Irish symbols. Some believe that he may have understood Druidic rituals through the instruction of his original captor, but that seems a bit of a reach. The point is that he appears to be a man with a sharp mind despite his imcomplete formal education.

A Strong Man
I suspect that Patrick was not a weak man. He set out for Ireland despite criticism. He was focused on what he believed was his mission. He dealt with those that murdered and sold Irish Christians. It seems reasonable to believe that this strength of purpose, duty, and conviction helped him to overcome some pretty tough odds.

Here’s a passage of his confession where he talks about the need for spreading the gospel:

So for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently, just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,’ and again through the prophets: ‘Behold, I am sending forth many fishers and hunters, says the Lord,’ et cetera. So it behoved us to spread our nets, that a vast multitude and throng might be caught for God, and so there might be clergy everywhere who baptized and exhorted a needy and desirous people. Just as the Lord says in the Gospel, admonishing and instructing: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the end of time.’ And again he says: ‘Go forth into the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe shall be condemned.’ And again: ‘This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole world as a witness to all nations; and then the end of the world shall come.’ And likewise the Lord foretells through the prophet: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days (sayeth the Lord) that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they shall prophesy.’ And in Hosea he says: ‘Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called ’Sons of the living God’.

Here is another passage where he mentions his determination to go to Ireland:

For that reason, I give thanks to him who strengthened me in all things, so that I should not be hindered in my setting out and also in my work which I was taught by Christ my Lord; but more, from that state of affairs I felt, within me, no little courage, and vindicated my faith before God and man.

Hence, therefore, I say boldly that my conscience is clear now and hereafter. God is my witness that I have not lied in these words to you.

From his letter to Coroticus, he has much to say:

I am hated. What shall I do, Lord? I am most despised.
Look, Thy sheep around me are tom to pieces and driven away, and that by those robbers, by the orders of the hostile-minded Coroticus. Far from the love of God is a man who hands over Christians to the Picts and Scots. Ravening wolves have devoured the flock of the Lord, which in Ireland was indeed growing splendidly with the greatest care; and the sons and daughters of kings were monks and virgins of Christ – I cannot count their number. Wherefore, be not pleased with the wrong done to the just; even to hell it shall not please.

Keep in mind that when he wrote this to Coroticus (Ceredig), that his men were regularly kidnapping Irish Christians. It would not have been hard to find Patrick if Coroticus wanted to take matters into his own hands. Unfortunately, nothing is known for certain whatever became of this situation. However, Patrick makes it quite clear that Coroticus is committing all kinds of atrocities and that no Christian should even eat with this man. However, despite all the evil Coroticus had done, Patrick still prays at the end that they will repent and come to God.

Final Thoughts
The fact that St. Patrick is revered in Ireland and abroad gives testimony to the life he lead. He made a difference. The true facts of his life are not always clear, but through his own words, we are able to catch a glimpse of his character. He was kidnapped, but had a dream to preach to his captors. He found his way home and waited for the opportunity to return (it could have been years or decades). He lived out what he believed God wanted from his life. I didn’t look at the dark side of his character very much – I think those things are equally plain in reading his words. However, I did want to take a little time today to think about the man behind the hoopla.