The Apostle of Ireland
Like Saint Nicholas and Saint Valentine, Saint Patrick is probably one of Christianity’s most popular figures in modern Western culture, with his day on March 17th celebrated around the world with massive parades, Guinness beer, corned beef and cabbage, anything and everything green, and the Irish flag.
Because of this widespread recognition, many of the tales that people associate with St. Patrick and his day are likely exaggerated myths. For example, the stories of how Saint Patrick was the first missionary to Ireland, converted the entirety of the Emerald Isle, and drove all the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea are all surely false.
Well, then, what do we know about St. Patrick and his Christian life?
Patrick’s Confessio
Actually quite a bit, considering that Patrick left us his autobiographical and poetic Confessio, which he wrote in the last years of life and where he tells the details of his story.
Patrick was born in Britain around AD 398 to a Christian family. His father was a deacon, and his mother, Conchessa, is said to have been either the sister or niece of St. Martin of Tours. Patrick first experienced Ireland during his teenage years when he was taken there in captivity, imprisoned by a group of Irish raiders who attacked his family’s villa.
When he was enslaved in Ireland, he relied heavily on his faith for solace, as it got him through his suffering of many hardships and tragedies during that time. He wrote in his Confessio that
“The love and fear of God more and more inflamed my heart; my faith enlarged, my spirit augmented, so that I said a hundred prayers by day and almost as many by night. I arose before day in the snow, in the frost, and the rain, yet I received no harm, nor was I affected with slothfulness. For then the spirit of God was warm within me.”
After more than six years as a prisoner in Ireland, Patrick escaped and began studying to become a priest. Once ordained, Patrick was sent back to Ireland as a missionary with the task of ministering to Christians living there and preaching and teaching the Gospel to the local Irishmen in hopes that he would be able to free many of them from their pagan idolatry.
For orthodox Christians, St. Patrick is perhaps best known for his faithful commitment to the priesthood and his fervent confession of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as the Holy Trinity. Much of his ardent defense of the Triune God can be recognized in the words of “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate,” a prayer that many recognize as a powerful and age-old invocation of God’s triune name and nature.
One of the legends that surrounds him even claims that he used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Triune God to his parishioners. Another story similarly theorizes that this teaching inspired the recognition of the Irish Celtic Knot and the Celtic Cross as symbolic representations of the Trinity, as well.
By the time of his death, Patrick had become a well-known figure within Irish society, establishing many churches and monasteries throughout the country. It is said that Patrick died of natural causes in the AD 460s in Saul, Downpatrick.
A Brief History
It is surprising to many that Patrick was never formally canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, even though he was remembered in the early days of the Church and equated with Irish-Catholic celebrations.
He is, however, a recognized saint in the Lutheran Church, which included his annual commemoration in its liturgical calendar as far back as the Reformation. More importantly, Lutherans have always been drawn to Patrick’s deep devotion to doctrine and firm faith in the mysterious nature of God’s being. Moreover, much of the language that one finds in his Confessio parallels similar rhetoric in our Church’s confession of faith, The Book of Concord.
Lutherans can even find some of the words of “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate” in the Lutheran Service Book within the hymn “I Bind unto Myself Today” (LSB 604). This is a fabulous articulation of Patrick’s faith in the Trinity and has served as a popular credal, baptismal, and ordination hymn throughout the centuries.
Collect
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God: that the solemn feast of Blessed Patrick, thy Confessor and Bishop, may both increase our devotion and further our salvation through the reception of your grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Lessons
Epistle
Gospel
Resources
Issues, Etc. interview with the Rev. Dr. Bill Weinrich on St. Patrick of Ireland
Issues, Etc. interview with the Rev. Will Weedon on The St. Patrick Hymn “I Bind Unto Myself Today”
Propers found in Daily Divine Service Book: A Lutheran Daily Missal, edited by the Rev. Heath Curtis
References:
1. Newland, Mary Reed. The Year and Our Children: Planning the Family Activities for the Church Year. Image Books. 1964.
2. Urlin, Ethel L. Festivals, Holy Days, and Saints’ Days: A Study in Origins and Survivals in Church Ceremonies and Secular Customs. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd. 1915.
3. Weedon, William. Celebrating the Saints. Concordia Publishing House. 2016.
Images:
1. St. Patrick, Thomas Messingham, Ireland, 1624.
2. The Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick, Currier & Ives, United States of America, ca. 1857-1872.
3. Scenes from the Life of St. Patrick, Adriaen Collaert, Ireland, 1603.
Some links might be affiliate links which means we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
[…] accompany St. Patrick’s Day and his commemoration on March 17th. We even touch on some of them here in our St. Patrick post. The thing about most of these secular practices, though, is that they aren’t necessarily […]