Dear Friends,
Since today in March 17 (though you may not see this until tomorrow due to sending it out late) I thought I would send a post about Saint Patrick, the patron “saint” of Ireland who was neither Irish nor ever canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church! Likewise, although he is credited for driving all the snakes out of Ireland, there were none when he arrived! Today, with bits and pieces from a couple sources (Andrew Menkis “From Slave to Missionary” and “GotQuestions.org”) I offer some helpful facts about the man who is celebrated every March 17 in many countries. This "thought" is for those curious souls who like to be a little better informed. Enjoy.
“Patrick was born to a wealthy family in AD 387 in Kilpatrick, Scotland, and died in Ireland on March 17, 461 at the age of 74. His real name was Maewyn Succat. His father Calpurnius was a Roman, as well as a Christian, and was a deacon in the church. Yet Patrick did not grow up believing in Christ.
KIDNAPPED AND ENSLAVED
We know little about Patrick's youth and can only surmise that he had a relatively comfortable life given his family's status and probable wealth. But this would all be violently ripped away from him. At 16, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders (most believe from coastal Wales) and transported to Ireland where he was sold as a slave.
He worked as a shepherd for an Irish king named Miliucc, a harsh master. Shepherding was an exceedingly difficult, lonely, and labor-intensive job where he was constantly exposed to the elements and spent most of his time far away from civilization. As he traveled through the green forests and sloping mountains of Northern Ireland, he still did not profess to believe in Christ, although he does tell us he began to pray: ‘I used to pasture the flock each day, and I used to pray many times a day. More and more did the love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so that in a day I said from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a like number… in the forests and on the mountain I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time.”
In the wilds of Ireland, with all the freedoms and comforts he had known his entire life stripped away, Patrick began to have what can only be described as a religious awakening. For him, this began with prayer—prayer to a God he wasn't sure he believed in. Prayer to a Christ he didn't yet trust for his salvation. Yet, despite his doubt, he was irresistibly drawn to God and sought communion with him night and day through prayer. Though he did not understand it at the time, as Patrick looked back on this period of his life, he saw the Holy Spirit had been stirring up his heart to faith in Christ.
A JOURNEY HOME
Patrick labored as a slave for six years until, once again, his life was radically altered. He tells us that one night he heard a voice in his dreams which said, "Soon you will depart for your home country ... Behold, your ship is ready." The next morning, Patrick ran away from his master and traveled 200 miles to the coast where he sought a ship to take him back home to Roman Britain. The odds of a runaway slave making this journey safely and without being recaptured are next to nothing. Patrick knew this and saw the hand of God in his journey. Patrick tells us that the ship's captain first refused to allow him aboard. He turned and walked away, dejected, with no recourse left but to pray. But before he could even finish his prayer, some sailors called out to him to tell him the captain changed his mind.
CALLED BACK TO IRELAND
Patrick had no contact with his family and friends for close to a decade. Their lives went on without him. This made it quite difficult for Patrick to settle back into his old life. His years as a praying shepherd in the Irish wilderness had shaped him into a very different sort of person than the Romanized Britons he returned to. He struggled to fit back into society. In particular, he has missed out on a Roman education, which was a sore subject for the rest of his life.
Patrick had no intention of going anywhere, but God had different plans. One night, as he was sleeping, Patrick had a dream of a man he had known in Ireland named Victoricus, who was carrying a large stack of letters. He handed one to Patrick which had the heading, "The Voice of the Irish." Next, Patrick says, "as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voices of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: 'We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us!"
At first Patrick didn't heed this call to return to Ireland. But the visions increased in frequency and intensity until in a vision where he felt the Holy Spirit praying within him, and praying with him, he was convinced to return. It was a disorienting experience for Patrick, who felt he could only understand what had happened to him in light of Paul's teaching in Romans 8:26: "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." After this Patrick could no longer ignore the call of God to return to the Irish as a missionary, but first he needed to receive some theological training.
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
Patrick was acutely aware that he had missed out on the foundational education that other deacons, priests, and bishops had received. Not only was Patrick aware of his limited theological knowledge, he had been forced to learn Irish as a slave while his peers had been trained in Latin, the language of the upper class, church clergy, and scholars in the Western Roman Empire. Given these challenges, he trained at the monastery of Lerins, which is located on an island a little south of modern-day Cannes, France, before going to Ireland.
LIFE AS A MISSIONARY
It testifies to the power of God's love that Patrick could go to the Irish - the land of his enslavers - without bitterness, truly desiring their salvation. This is in large part because of Patrick's deep humility. He knew he was a sinner forgiven by God, and he wanted others to experience God's grace as well. Here it's worth quoting a section of Patrick’s call to be a missionary in Ireland: ‘I give untiring thanks to God who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I may confidently offer my soul as a living sacrifice for Christ my Lord… you appeared to me in so great a divine quality, so that today among the barbarians I might constantly exalt and magnify your name and give untiring thanks to you who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I may confidently offer my soul as a living sacrifice for Christ my Lord, and magnify your name in whatever place I should be, not only in good fortune, but even in affliction. So that whatever befalls me, be it good or bad, I should accept it equally and give thanks always to God who revealed to me that I might trust in him, implicitly and forever.”
Patrick considered it an honor and privilege to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, which is, in fact, what he was doing. Ireland lay beyond the edges of the Roman Empire and its people were considered, "barbarians." Patrick did not shrink back from his calling but sought to trust God and continue to obey him no matter what happened to him. He was truly courageous and he called others to show the same fearlessness when it came to sharing the good news of the gospel, arguing, "According, therefore, to the measure of one's faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, to spread God's name everywhere with confidence and without fear." Patrick knew he was an imperfect sinner; he knew he didn't have the best education; yet he saw God use him to establish Christianity in Ireland.
THE LEGACY OF PATRICK
God used Patrick's ministry to establish the church in Ireland. Thousands (130,000 by some estimates) confessed Christ and left behind their pagan gods for Christ. Churches were established, and, in time, 300 bishops were placed all over Ireland. Furthermore, as a result of the mass conversions and Patrick's influence, the Irish slave trade died off and violence declined. Patrick was remarkable, not for his moral purity or intellect, but for his humility and courage to obey God's call to preach the gospel to a people that no one else was willing to go to.”
In the Bond of Christian Affection, Pastor Jeff
Since today in March 17 (though you may not see this until tomorrow due to sending it out late) I thought I would send a post about Saint Patrick, the patron “saint” of Ireland who was neither Irish nor ever canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church! Likewise, although he is credited for driving all the snakes out of Ireland, there were none when he arrived! Today, with bits and pieces from a couple sources (Andrew Menkis “From Slave to Missionary” and “GotQuestions.org”) I offer some helpful facts about the man who is celebrated every March 17 in many countries. This "thought" is for those curious souls who like to be a little better informed. Enjoy.
“Patrick was born to a wealthy family in AD 387 in Kilpatrick, Scotland, and died in Ireland on March 17, 461 at the age of 74. His real name was Maewyn Succat. His father Calpurnius was a Roman, as well as a Christian, and was a deacon in the church. Yet Patrick did not grow up believing in Christ.
KIDNAPPED AND ENSLAVED
We know little about Patrick's youth and can only surmise that he had a relatively comfortable life given his family's status and probable wealth. But this would all be violently ripped away from him. At 16, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders (most believe from coastal Wales) and transported to Ireland where he was sold as a slave.
He worked as a shepherd for an Irish king named Miliucc, a harsh master. Shepherding was an exceedingly difficult, lonely, and labor-intensive job where he was constantly exposed to the elements and spent most of his time far away from civilization. As he traveled through the green forests and sloping mountains of Northern Ireland, he still did not profess to believe in Christ, although he does tell us he began to pray: ‘I used to pasture the flock each day, and I used to pray many times a day. More and more did the love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so that in a day I said from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a like number… in the forests and on the mountain I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time.”
In the wilds of Ireland, with all the freedoms and comforts he had known his entire life stripped away, Patrick began to have what can only be described as a religious awakening. For him, this began with prayer—prayer to a God he wasn't sure he believed in. Prayer to a Christ he didn't yet trust for his salvation. Yet, despite his doubt, he was irresistibly drawn to God and sought communion with him night and day through prayer. Though he did not understand it at the time, as Patrick looked back on this period of his life, he saw the Holy Spirit had been stirring up his heart to faith in Christ.
A JOURNEY HOME
Patrick labored as a slave for six years until, once again, his life was radically altered. He tells us that one night he heard a voice in his dreams which said, "Soon you will depart for your home country ... Behold, your ship is ready." The next morning, Patrick ran away from his master and traveled 200 miles to the coast where he sought a ship to take him back home to Roman Britain. The odds of a runaway slave making this journey safely and without being recaptured are next to nothing. Patrick knew this and saw the hand of God in his journey. Patrick tells us that the ship's captain first refused to allow him aboard. He turned and walked away, dejected, with no recourse left but to pray. But before he could even finish his prayer, some sailors called out to him to tell him the captain changed his mind.
CALLED BACK TO IRELAND
Patrick had no contact with his family and friends for close to a decade. Their lives went on without him. This made it quite difficult for Patrick to settle back into his old life. His years as a praying shepherd in the Irish wilderness had shaped him into a very different sort of person than the Romanized Britons he returned to. He struggled to fit back into society. In particular, he has missed out on a Roman education, which was a sore subject for the rest of his life.
Patrick had no intention of going anywhere, but God had different plans. One night, as he was sleeping, Patrick had a dream of a man he had known in Ireland named Victoricus, who was carrying a large stack of letters. He handed one to Patrick which had the heading, "The Voice of the Irish." Next, Patrick says, "as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voices of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: 'We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us!"
At first Patrick didn't heed this call to return to Ireland. But the visions increased in frequency and intensity until in a vision where he felt the Holy Spirit praying within him, and praying with him, he was convinced to return. It was a disorienting experience for Patrick, who felt he could only understand what had happened to him in light of Paul's teaching in Romans 8:26: "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." After this Patrick could no longer ignore the call of God to return to the Irish as a missionary, but first he needed to receive some theological training.
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
Patrick was acutely aware that he had missed out on the foundational education that other deacons, priests, and bishops had received. Not only was Patrick aware of his limited theological knowledge, he had been forced to learn Irish as a slave while his peers had been trained in Latin, the language of the upper class, church clergy, and scholars in the Western Roman Empire. Given these challenges, he trained at the monastery of Lerins, which is located on an island a little south of modern-day Cannes, France, before going to Ireland.
LIFE AS A MISSIONARY
It testifies to the power of God's love that Patrick could go to the Irish - the land of his enslavers - without bitterness, truly desiring their salvation. This is in large part because of Patrick's deep humility. He knew he was a sinner forgiven by God, and he wanted others to experience God's grace as well. Here it's worth quoting a section of Patrick’s call to be a missionary in Ireland: ‘I give untiring thanks to God who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I may confidently offer my soul as a living sacrifice for Christ my Lord… you appeared to me in so great a divine quality, so that today among the barbarians I might constantly exalt and magnify your name and give untiring thanks to you who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I may confidently offer my soul as a living sacrifice for Christ my Lord, and magnify your name in whatever place I should be, not only in good fortune, but even in affliction. So that whatever befalls me, be it good or bad, I should accept it equally and give thanks always to God who revealed to me that I might trust in him, implicitly and forever.”
Patrick considered it an honor and privilege to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, which is, in fact, what he was doing. Ireland lay beyond the edges of the Roman Empire and its people were considered, "barbarians." Patrick did not shrink back from his calling but sought to trust God and continue to obey him no matter what happened to him. He was truly courageous and he called others to show the same fearlessness when it came to sharing the good news of the gospel, arguing, "According, therefore, to the measure of one's faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, to spread God's name everywhere with confidence and without fear." Patrick knew he was an imperfect sinner; he knew he didn't have the best education; yet he saw God use him to establish Christianity in Ireland.
THE LEGACY OF PATRICK
God used Patrick's ministry to establish the church in Ireland. Thousands (130,000 by some estimates) confessed Christ and left behind their pagan gods for Christ. Churches were established, and, in time, 300 bishops were placed all over Ireland. Furthermore, as a result of the mass conversions and Patrick's influence, the Irish slave trade died off and violence declined. Patrick was remarkable, not for his moral purity or intellect, but for his humility and courage to obey God's call to preach the gospel to a people that no one else was willing to go to.”
In the Bond of Christian Affection, Pastor Jeff
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