Replay: Getting to know the real Patrick of Ireland

Posted by Alan Knox on Mar 17, 2012 in church history | 2 comments

So, today is St. Patrick’s Day, a day for green beer, corned beef, and all things Irish. I’ve written a few posts about Patrick of Ireland in the past. My favorite is the post that I wrote last year called, “Three Quotes from Paddy.” You see, we know alot about the legends surrounding Patrick. But, did you know that we actually have some of his writings? It’s true. So, here is a post about his Confessio.

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Three Quotes from Paddy

Last night, I read back through Confessio by Patrick (of Ireland), Paddy to his friends.

I love the story that he tells about being away from God, then being taken into slavery and turning to God. He talks about being rejected up his return because of his lack of education. He talks about his love for God and for the people of Ireland.

I especially appreciated these three quotes, and I hope you enjoy them also. The first quote is about his motivation for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ:

Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven.

In the second quote, he describes how the love of God brought him to a point where he could humbly serve others:

Me, truly wretched in this world, he inspired before others that I could be — if I would — such a one who, with fear and reverence, and faithfully, without complaint, would come to the people to whom the love of Christ brought me and gave me in my lifetime, if I should be worthy, to serve them truly and with humility.

The final quote is an entreaty and challenge for those who read his confession:

But I entreat those who believe in and fear God, whoever deigns to examine or receive this document composed by the obviously unlearned sinner Patrick in Ireland, that nobody shall ever ascribe to my ignorance any trivial thing that I achieved or may have expounded that was pleasing to God, but accept and truly believe that it would have been the gift of God.