Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy

Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy

Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy

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Who Was St. Patrick?

The stories of St. Patrick are full of wonder – the fire that was lit on Slane with the Druids looking on in alarm, the crozier going through the foot of the king, the shamrock image with which he taught, his time on the Reek (or Croagh Patrick as it was named for him) bargaining with God, and there are many more. I love to think of a Druid’s remark that Christianity would never be extinguished in Ireland if that fire on Slane were not put out that night – Easter night. That story gave comfort, pride and assurance in our childhood days – and then we heard whispers of hagiography, legends and such-like. Disconcerting. But we go on teaching the stories because we understand the truth of them and well – they are great stories.

But what do we really know about St. Patrick that is historical. We know he didn’t write St. Patrick’s Breastplate and there were no snakes. His writings tell us how our view and understanding of the world changes with increased knowledge. The common understanding at the time was that the world would end when the good news had been preached to ‘the ends of the earth’ and Ireland was at the edge of the known world. So Patrick’s message was urgent and immediate and needed to be taken on board right then.

The two pieces of his own writing that are extant are his Confessions and his Letter to Coroticus. This letter betrays his belief that baptised people are more precious than those who are not baptised. Patrick was lamenting the killing of slaves but what made the crime more heinous was that some were Christian. In his Confessio Patrick tells us something of himself, where he was born and where he was in captivity in Ireland. Neither place is identifiable. The Confessio is mostly taken up with praising God for the great work God had wrought in and through Patrick. In it he laments his poor knowledge of Latin but his Latin was the language of the day, he was comparing it to classical Latin and the Latin of the theologians. A humble man.

We do know that Patrick was a man of mystical prayer, zealous for the spread of the Gospel, and eager to do God’s will and he loved the people of Ireland. I wonder why our devotion to him is confined to 17th March each year when we celebrate with enthusiasm. Perhaps this year we could read or re-read his Confessions, and even though the Breastplate was not written before the 7th century it is truly in the spirit of the Celts who knew God in nature and prayed earnestly for protection from anything that was evil or hurtful to them – a prayer apposite for our time.

To listen to an interview with Thomasina Finn about St. Patrick, please click here

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Thomasina Finn rsm
South Central Province