A Tough Act To Follow – Mystic, Legend, Saint: Patrick

As millions of Americans get ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I think it’s only fitting we should look back at this remarkable man. In a way, he truly is a good choice to represent the Celts. He was tough, a survivor, and was touched by the divine. To my way of thinking that describes the Irish, and the Celts I know very well.

St. Patrick: Englishman

St. Patrick was the son of a Roman Decurion (deacon) named Calpornius. Patrick probably had two names: one Roman, the other was Sucat or Maewyn in the local British language. So, with just a trace of Irony, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in honor of a man who was born in present day England and Roman-educated.

Most scholars put his birth in Wales, or on the western coast of England. A young Patrick likely considered himself somewhat pagan or rustic, although he had a formal Roman education. Irish raiders (possibly led by Niall of the Nine Hostages) hit the coast, looting and pillaging, and taking slaves (of which Patrick was one). At sixteen, Patrick was taken to Ireland as a slave.

He had six long and bitter years of loneliness, cold, and deprivation as a sheep herder. During this time he learned to speak Irish fluently. And during this time, he started to hear the voice of God.

Now consider this: People who are touched by the divine generally scare the heck out of the rest of us.

We as humans tend to react badly. For proof of this, look no further than Jesus, Joan of Arc, and many of the martyrs. With directions from God, Patrick headed to the coast and by a miracle managed to secure passage back home. Once he got home, God was not finished with him yet. In Confessio, Patrick writes:

In a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as it from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish,’ and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and the were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’

Imagine if you will, that you had been a slave, abused, and escaped years of deprivation. And God sends you the task of going back to the land of your captors. And so he left home and headed to France. There, he went to monastery where he studied under St. Germaine, bishop of Auxerre for a period of twelve years.

During his training, the visions do not stop

He knew that his calling was to convert the Irish to Christianity. But before the church would let him go forth he needed official approval. And many of the priests considered him not well educated enough. Unfortunately the time spent as a slave was when he would have learned the fine points of Latin. This dogs him for the rest of his life. But it does not stop him. We are fortunate to have several of his original writings, and you can read them today. For a man who felt his lack of ability in writing, they speak most eloquently.

Back to Erin

In 432, Patrick and twenty four of his followers went back to Ireland. At this time, there had been other Christian missionaries, but they had met with limited success. Patrick was different, and a powerful force to be reckoned with. His simple doctrines and persuasive speeches made many converts. By spring, Patrick went to confront the high King himself in Tara. There, he convinced the High King to give him free rein to travel and convert, despite the protests of the local Druids.

Patrick went on to “fight the good fight” for thirty years, during which time he was imprisoned twice and had many confrontations with Druids, the Celtic nobles, and warrior culture. In one of his surviving letters, “A letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus,” Patrick writes to the soldiers of Coroticus, and hopes that his words will influence the release of the hostages.

The fragrance was still on their foreheads when they were butchered and slaughtered with the sword by the above-mentioned people. I sent a letter, asking of the baptized they had made captives. They only jeered…. Will Coroticus with his criminals, rebels against Christ, where will they see themselves, they who distribute baptized women as prizes – for a miserable temporal kingdom, which will pass away in a moment? As a cloud or smoke that is dispersed by the wind, so shall the deceitful wicked perish.

Fighting the Good Fight

Patrick was no stranger to battle and from his writings and other accounts of him, he worked passionately to help those in bondage and to help the suffering. He fought not only the local religion but, because he had Visions, many of his viewpoints were disagreed with within the church as well. And so he took his limited Latin and wrote “Confessions” to argue against charges of corruption and more.
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Patrick went on to convert, establish monasteries, and create laws that made Ireland one of the first European countries to convert to Christianity. And unlike many other countries, Ireland became Celtic Christian, not at sword point, but because of the powerful message of the early Irish Saints. St. Patrick died on March 17, in 461 CE, and we honor his passing to this day.

After Patrick

He was worshiped for many years, and was proclaimed a Saint even before the Catholic Church had been formed. A huge body of folklore and legends sprang up around his story, including the story of where he had picked up a Shamrock (a symbol of spring), and used its three leaves to educate people on the Christian holy trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost). Another popular legend is that he scared the snakes out of Ireland. Scientist now say that there probably weren’t any snakes in Ireland (even in his day) and what is implied by this is that Patrick was winning against priests of other religions.

As the Irish immigrate to the rest of the world, the legend of Patrick travels with them and it becomes a day when all people can share in that strange birthright of the Celts: Passion, Mysticism, and Toughness. It is said that once Patrick was traveling and saw that his group was about to be ambushed. He uttered a prayer that has since been called “the Lorica (breastplate) of St. Patrick” or The Deer’s Cry (Faed Fiada). Here are some excerpts:

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

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.

They say that the ambushers just saw a passing group of deer.

I hope that as we get a chance to explore our Celtic roots this St. Patrick’s Day and, if you get a chance, raise a toast to a tough, mystical, and passionate man: St.Patrick!