A Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, March 18, 2007
1) At the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Paul says, “I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” (4:16) and again at the end, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (11:1)
2) Phi 3:17 “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”
3) 2Th 3:7-9 “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us… we… give you in ourselves an example to imitate.”
4) Heb 6:12 “be… imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
5) Heb 13:7 “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
1) Hand out copies of Patrick’s Confession
2) Tell Patrick’s life-story, based on Patrick’s Confession, and Muirchu’s “Life of Patrick” written within 200 years of the events.
a. Born in late 300’s AD in England to nominal Christian family
b. Kidnapped at 16 by Irish raiders and sold as slave to King Miliucc
c. Learned to pray over 6 years of shepherding outdoors
d. Escaped to Gaul after hearing prompting, trekking 200 miles, & begging boat passage
e. Converted crew when God provided pork
f. Studied Bible under Germanus of Auxerre
g. Came home to England and was warmly received
h.
Received
“Macedonian call”
I saw in the night the vision of a
man, whose name was Victoricus, coming as it were from Ireland, with countless letters. And he gave me one of them, and I read the opening words
of the letter, which were, `The voice of the Irish'; and as I read the
beginning of the letter I thought that at the same moment I heard their
voice---they were those beside the Wood of Voclut, which is near the Western
Sea---and thus did they cry out as with one mouth: `We ask thee, boy, come and
walk among us once more.' And I was quite broken in heart, and could read no
further, and so I woke up.
i. Left England for Ireland in early 400’s despite:
i. Criticism (“rustic” & “unlearned”),
ii. Blackmail (boyhood sin),
iii. Warning (talk behind his back of throwing away life on dangerous pagans),
iv. and Emotional appeals (begged me not to leave).
j. Entered a terribly pagan Ireland, evangelizing one little kingdom after another through gift-giving, preaching, and power encounters with spirit-worshipping druid priests.
i. When he came back to his former master to buy his freedom and preach the gospel, Miliucc burned himself and his family and his village to death rather than receive Patrick and his message.
ii. Challenged the pagan priests (druids) at Tara on the night of Beltaine/Easter by lighting a bonfire (which the druids forbid) in full view of the castle. When the druid Lochru came out with an army to kill Patrick, Patrick prayed, “May this man who blasphemes your name be carried up and die immediately,” and immediately God lifted Lochru up and smashed him against a rock! The army was thrown into confusion and did not harm Patrick. The next day, Patrick and his disciples entered the castle and were confronted by another druid named Luctmael. Patrick called down fire from heaven which roasted Luctmael, then told the king, “If you do not believe now, then you will soon die, for God’s wrath will come down upon your head too!” King Loegaire became a believer that day!
iii. Letter to Coroticus – only other authenticated document we have from Patrick’s pen: “Not without reason does the Apostle say: ‘Where the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and ungodly transgressor of the law find himself?’ Where, then, 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 at the presence of the Lord… Let this letter be read before all the people, and in the presence of Coroticus himself. May God inspire them sometime to recover their senses for God, repenting, however late, their heinous deeds - murderers of the brethren of the Lord! - and to set free the baptized women whom they took captive, in order that they may deserve to live to God, and be made whole, here and in eternity!”
iv. In each town, Patrick would organize a church, baptize believers, and ordain pastors & elders to oversee them. As he was organizing the church in Armagh, Patrick asked king Daire for the highest hill in the area so that he could construct a church building there. The king refused to give away his high ground, so he offered Patrick a low ground plot. Patrick and his disciples cheerfully set to work on the foundation, so King Daire sent them a valuable imported bronze pot to impress them, but Patrick received the pot by thanking God for it rather than thanking the king for it. This made the king mad, so he demanded the pot back. Patrick’s gracious response was, “Thanks be to God, take it away.” When Daire realized that he could not impress Patrick with wealth, he personally came to the lowland construction site and said, “This place isn’t good enough for your church, holy man. You wanted the ridge? I give it to you and to your God!”
k. Over some 30-60 years of ministry in Ireland, Patrick baptized tens of thousands of converts and planted hundreds of churches.
l. His income came mostly from church friends back in England, and toward the end of his life, men jealous of Patrick’s success tried to cut off his financial support by accusing him of using the money for selfish gain. They demanded that he go home to England and stand trial there. Patrick refused to return home, but rather wrote the confession we now have as a written defense of his innocence of the charges.
m. Patrick used a Latin Bible, but taught in the local languages.
n. He developed seminaries that focused on studying the Bible, spiritual accountability, doing local evangelism & mercy ministry, and training missionaries.
o. The missionaries sent from Ireland went to Scotland (Columba 563AD), Britain, France & Germany (Columbanus 612AD), the Netherlands, Belgium (Forannan 970AD), Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, Iceland, and even West Virginia (Brendon 6th Century)!
p. The Roman Catholic church continually sought to take over the movement in Ireland. As soon as Patrick’s success reached the ears of Pope Celestine, he sent a rival missionary named Palladius to try to get the new Irish church to be under Rome. In 662, the pope forced the Celtic missionaries to conform to customs of Roman monks. Finally, in the 12th century, Pope Adrian paid King Henry II of England to conquer Ireland and claim that all of the Celtic churches were Roman Catholic churches. This is the root of the continuing conflict in Ireland today.
1) In ¶5 he says that “Sacred Scripture” is the basis for “understanding, and knowledge, and the teaching of truth.” and laments that he spent so little time studying the Bible in his youth.
2) In ¶20 he writes that he preaches and is not silent because his belief is not based on the word of man. His knowledge of the truth is based in God’s word.
3) Bible was his basis for establishing truth – over 120 distinct quotes from Bible in confession!
4) How do you decide whether something is true or false? Follow Patrick’s example and use the Bible rather than the opinions of any man as your standard!
1) Bible verses in ¶2
2) Trinity was a big deal, but also affirmed one God – shamrock illustration
3) Patrick believed that Jesus is God and shared the glory of God
a. Uses reference in Hebrews 7:3 comparing Jesus to Melchizek who was “without beginning”
b. Jesus Christ, whom we declare to have always been with the Father (I John 1:2),
c. (John 1:14) glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
d. Quotes from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:24 - of the Father before the beginning of the world
e. Patrick affirms that Jesus created the world, quoting (Col 1:16) For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.
4) Patrick affirms Jesus real manhood, quoting from Philippians 2:7 “He was made man”
5) He refers briefly to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ “having defeated death”
6) Patrick affirms the present heavenly rule of Jesus
a. was received into heaven by the Father (Mark 16:19);
b. and He hath given Him all power over all names in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Col 1:16-20),
7) Patrick affirms the second coming of Christ to judge the world in righteousness:
a. every tongue shall confess to Him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God (Isa 45:23; Phil 2:10),
b. and whose advent we expect soon to be, judge of the living and of the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5),
c. who will render to every man according to his deeds (Proverbs 24:12; Matthew 16:27; Romans 2:6);
8) Patrick affirms that our faith must be placed in Jesus Christ, saying that He is the one “in whom we believe”
9) Patrick also affirms the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon all believers
a. He has poured forth upon us abundantly the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 32:15),
b. the gift and pledge of immortality (Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.)
10) This is a very orthodox formulation and is very much like the Nicene creed:
a. Follows the same format as the 381 edition of the Nicene Creed. – Father, Son, Spirit, and even a little on the Church (who makes those who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ – quoting Rom 8:14-17)
b. Quotes 30% of the text of the creed, but is unique and quotes scripture more at length.
1) Patrick believed that man is a SINNER who violates God’s law and justly deserves His displeasure:
a. His opening statement in both his Confession & letter to Coroticus: “I am Patrick, a sinner”
b. ¶1 “we turned away from God, and did not keep His commandments” (2 Kings 17:19; Neh. 1:7)
c. ¶2 “the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart” (Joel 2:12)
d. ¶4 “the Psalm (5:6) declares: Thou wilt destroy them that speak a lie… And the same Lord says in the Gospel: Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgement (Matt 12:36). And so I should dread exceedingly, with fear and trembling, this sentence on that day when no one will be able to escape or hide, but we all, without exception, shall have to give an account even of our smallest sins before the judgement of the Lord Christ.”
e. ¶27 “But the hostile flesh is ever dragging us unto death (Rom. 8:6-7), that is, towards the forbidden satisfaction of one's desires; and I know that in part I did not lead a perfect life”
f. ¶28 “I ought unceasingly to give thanks to God (Psalm 30:12) who often pardoned my folly and my carelessness, and on more than one occasion spared His great wrath on me”
2) Patrick believed that it is THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST that we are saved:
a. Confession mentions “Jesus” and “Christ” 20 times
b. ¶34 – “I have cast myself into the hands of God Almighty, who rules everywhere, as the prophet says: Cast thy thought upon God, and He shall sustain thee” (Psalm 55:22).
c. ¶20 – “I must not, however, hide God's gift which He bestowed upon me in the land of my captivity; because then I earnestly sought Him, and there I found Him, and He saved me from all evil” (Psalm 34:4)
d. ¶14 – “I believe that I was sustained by Christ my Lord”
e. ¶3 – The Holy Spirit “makes those who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ”
f. ¶9 – “our faith in the Trinity”
g. Patrick also wanted others to come to that same faith - ¶12 “I… hoped they would come to the faith of Jesus Christ, because they were pagans.”
3) Patrick believed we are saved by God’s GRACE, not by ourselves:
a. ¶2 - “the great grace which the Lord has deigned to bestow upon me”
b. ¶22 – “It was not grace of my own, but God (Eph 2:8), who is strong in me [to resist sin]”
c. ¶10 – “I now see, because the spirit within me was then fervent”
d. ¶21 – “How came I by this wisdom, which was not in me, who neither knew the number of my days nor knew what God was? Whence was given to me afterwards the gift so great, so salutary – to know God and to love Him?” (Obviously not from himself but from God!)
e. Thus Patrick taught salvation by grace through faith 1,000 yrs before Luther!
1) It was BIBLICAL in epistemology, theology, and soteriology, and
2) He STUCK TO IT despite opposition and difficulties -
a. From his home church:
i. ¶28 “For many tried to prevent this my mission; they would even talk to each other behind my back and say: `Why does this fellow throw himself into danger among enemies who have no knowledge of God?'”
ii. ¶18 “As cause for proceeding against me they found – after thirty years! – a confession I had made before I was a deacon. In the anxiety of my troubled mind I confided to my dearest friend what I had done in my boyhood one day, nay, in one hour, because I was not yet strong.” (i.e. You committed fornication, so you can’t be a church leader.)
iii. The blackmail and discouragement did not work, because Patrick stuck to his belief that God had called him to be a missionary to Ireland.
b. From Pagans in Ireland:
i. Patrick’s Letter to Coroticus describes how, the day after Patrick baptized a village full of converts, Coroticus’ soldiers “butchered and slaughtered [them] with the sword… Dripping with blood, they weltered in the blood of innocent Christians…”
ii. ¶32 “…they laid hands on me and my companions, and on that day they eagerly wished to kill me; but my time had not yet come. And everything they found with us they took away, and me they put in irons” But he didn’t give up, and God delivered him.
iii. ¶21 “God often freed me from slavery and from twelve dangers in which my life was at stake – not to mention numerous plots”
iv. Patrick was not afraid to share his faith even with people who hated him!
1) He used the Scripture to turn away from sin and lead a holy life
a.
Two quotes from
Psalm 119 show what it is that keeps him holy – the Bible!
¶26 - “the Lord will guard me from every evil way that I may not sin before
Him”
i. Psalm 119:11 “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”
ii. Psalm 119:101 “I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word.”
b. Living a holy life and cautiously avoiding sin was for the sake of preserving God’s people and God’s glory: ¶30 “preserve myself cautiously in everything so that they might not seize upon me or the ministry of my service, under the pretext of dishonesty, and that I would not even in the smallest matter give the infidels an opportunity to defame or defile”
2) He used the Bible to guide and confirm him in life:
a. Scripture governed day-to-day life for Patrick. There is an incident in ¶13 where his pagan traveling companions “found wild honey, and offered some of it to me, and one of them said: ‘This we offer in sacrifice.’” “Thanks be to God,” Patrick wrote, “I tasted none of it.” Why did Patrick refuse to eat the honey? He remembered I Cor. 10:28 where it says, “if anyone says to you, ‘This food is offered in sacrifice to idols,’ do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you.”
b. To confirm visions – several times Patrick saw some kind of vision, and he consistently concluded the experience by interpreting it with a Bible verse:
i. ¶17 “I saw Him praying in me, and I was as it were within my body, and I heard Him above me, that is, over the inward man, and there He prayed mightily with groanings. And all the time I was astonished, and wondered, and thought with myself who it could be that prayed in me. But at the end of the prayer He spoke, saying that He was the Spirit; and so I woke up, and remembered the Apostle saying: The Spirit helps the infirmities of our prayer, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself asks for us with unspeakable groanings, which cannot be expressed in words (Rom 8:26).”
ii. ¶19 “On that day, then, when I was rejected by those referred to and mentioned above, in that night I saw a vision of the night. There was a dishonorable writing against my face, and at the same time I heard God's voice saying to me: ‘We have seen with displeasure the face of Deisignatus.’ He did not say, ‘You have seen.’ but ‘We have seen.’ as if He included Himself, as He says: “He who touches you touches the apple of my eye (Zech 2:8).”
iii. ¶17 “And another night – whether within me, or beside me, I know not, God knows (2 Cor 12:2) – they called me most unmistakably with words which I heard but could not understand, except that at the end of the prayer He spoke thus: ‘He that has laid down His life for you (I John 3:16), it is He that speaks in thee;’ and so I awoke full of joy.” Why did he awake with joy? Because he heard in his dream a quote from I John 3:16 “He that laid down his life for you” and knew that this was Jesus Christ, and he was assured that he was being called by Jesus to go be a missionary to those Irish people in his dream.
iv. Patrick used scripture to interpret his dream and to understand what his purpose in life was:
c. Patrick saw his mission to Ireland as the fulfillment of God’s will for the nations:
i. ¶2 “This we can give to God in return after having been chastened by Him, to exalt and praise His wonders (Isa 25:1) before every nation that is anywhere under the heaven (Acts 2:5).”
ii. ¶20 “You [God] called me… assist[ing] me with such divine power that to-day I constantly exalt and magnify Your name among the heathens (Psalm 57:9, 108:3) wherever I may be, and not only in good days but also in tribulations (Rom 12:12)”
iii. ¶20 “the Lord once foretold, would preach His Gospel for a testimony to all nations before the end of the world (Matt. 24:14). So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those parts beyond (2 Cor. 10:16 – “regions beyond” are Paul’s words for Europe where he told the Corinthians he hoped to plant churches!)
iv. ¶23 – “The Lord… promised through His prophets: ‘To you the gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth and shall say: “How false are the idols that our fathers got for themselves, and there is no profit in them”’ (Jer 16:19); and again: ‘I have set you as a light among the gentiles, that you may be for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth. (Isa 49:6)’”
v. ¶24 “He promises in the Gospel: They shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (Matt 8:11).”
vi. “For that reason, therefore, we ought to fish well and diligently, as the Lord exhorts in advance and teaches, saying: Come after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men” (Mat. 4:19)
vii. ¶24 Patrick saw that the Great Commission was for him! “the Lord in the Gospel states, exhorts and teaches, saying: Going therefore now, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world (Matt 28:18-20). And again He says: Go ye therefore into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned (Mark 16:15).”
viii. “in Hosea (2:23), He says ‘I will call that which was not my people, my people; ...and her that had not obtained mercy, one that hath obtained mercy. And it shall be in the place where it was said: “You are not my people,” there they shall be called the sons of the living God.’”
ix. And so the promises of Scripture drove Patrick to his life work until it would “come to pass in Ireland that those who never had a knowledge of God, but until now always worshipped idols and things impure, have now been made a people of the Lord, and are called sons of God (I John 3:1), that the sons and daughters of the kings of the Irish are seen to be men and women of Christ…” (¶25)
1) Radical/complete/nothing held back:
a. Left home for “white martyrdom” – never to return.
b. ¶26 “How I would have loved to go to my country and my parents, and also to Gaul in order to visit the brethren and to see the face of the saints of my Lord! God knows it! that I much desired it; but I am bound by the Spirit (Acts 20:22), who gives evidence against me if I do this, telling me that I shall be guilty; and I am afraid of losing the labour which I have begun – nay, not I, but Christ the Lord who bade me come here and stay with them for the rest of my life”
c. ¶8 “He inspired me…to faithfully serve the people to whom the love of Christ conveyed and gave me for the duration of my life”
d. ¶20 “today I can confidently offer Him my soul as a living sacrifice (Heb 12:1)”
e. ¶22 “[God enabled me] to give my free birth for the benefit of others; and, should I be worthy, I am prepared to give even my life without hesitation and most gladly for His name, and it is there [in Ireland] that I wish to spend it until I die, if the Lord would grant it to me.”
2) Evangelical:
a. ¶9 “In the light, therefore, of our faith in the Trinity I must make this choice, regardless of danger I must make known the gift of God (John 4:10; Acts 8:20; Eph. 2:8; 2Ti. 1:6)… I must spread everywhere the name of God (I Cor 1:2)”
b. ¶31 “With the grace of the Lord, I did everything lovingly and gladly for your salvation (2 Cor 1:6)”
3) Humbly & thankfully offered for the Glory of God
a. ¶6 “I would not be silent (Psalm 30:12) because of my desire of thanksgiving; even if perhaps some people think me arrogant for doing so in spite of my lack of knowledge and my slow tongue, it is, after all, written: The stammering tongues shall quickly learn to speak peace (Isa 29:24).”
b. ¶7 “Whence I, once rustic, exiled, unlearned, who does not know how to provide for the future… I was like a stone lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came and in His mercy lifted me up, and raised me aloft (Psalm 30:1), and placed me on the top of the wall. And therefore I ought to cry out aloud and so also render something to the Lord for His great benefits here and in eternity”
c. ¶20 “I give unwearied thanks to God, who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation”
d. ¶19 “Therefore I give Him thanks who hath strengthened me in everything…”
e. ¶31 “the Lord ordained clerics everywhere through my unworthy person”
f. ¶37 “I pray those who believe and fear God, whosoever deigns to look at or receive this writing which Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, has composed in Ireland, that no one should ever say that it was [me if I did] anything however small according to God's good pleasure; but let this be your conclusion and let it so be thought, that – as is the perfect truth – it was the gift of God. This is my confession...” [END]
1. I am Patrick, a sinner, most unlearned, the least of all the faithful, and utterly despised by many. My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a priest, of the village Bannavem Taburniæ; he had a country seat nearby, and there I was taken captive. I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God (John17:3; 1John5:20). I was taken into captivity to Ireland with many thousands of people – and deservedly so, because we turned away from God, and did not keep His commandments (2 Kings 17:19; Neh. 1:7), and did not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord brought over us the wrath of his anger and scattered us among many nations (Psalm 44:11), even unto the utmost part of the earth, where now my littleness is placed among strangers.
2. And there the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart (Deut 30:10; 1Sam12:20; Joel2:12) to the Lord my God, who had regard for my abjection, and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched over me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good and evil (I Kings 3:9), and guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son (Ps. 103:13; 2 Thess 2:16). Hence I cannot be silent – nor, indeed, is it expedient – about the great benefits and the great grace which the Lord has deigned to bestow upon me in the land of my captivity; for this we can give to God in return after having been chastened by Him (Heb 12:10-11), to exalt and praise His wonders (Isa 25:1) before every nation that is anywhere under the heaven (Acts 2:5).
3. Because there is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be, than God the Father unbegotten, without beginning (Heb. 7:3), from whom is all beginning, the Lord of the universe, as we have been taught; and His son Jesus Christ, whom we declare to have always been with the Father (I John 1:2), spiritually and ineffably begotten by the Father (John 1:18, etc.) before the beginning of the world (John 17:24), before all beginning; and by Him are made all things visible and invisible (Col 1:16). He was made man (Phil 2:7), and, having defeated death, was received into heaven by the Father (Mark 16:19); and He hath given Him all power over all names in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Col 1:16-20), and every tongue shall confess to Him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God (Isa 45:23; Phil 2:10), in whom we believe, and whose advent we expect soon to be, judge of the living and of the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5), who will render to every man according to his deeds (1 Kings 8:39; 2 Chronicles 6:30; Job 34:11; Proverbs 24:12; Matthew 16:27; Romans 2:6); and He has poured forth upon us abundantly the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 32:15), the gift and pledge of immortality (Rom 8:11; 2 Tim 1:10), who makes those who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:14-17); and Him do we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of the Holy Name. For He Himself has said through the Prophet: Call upon me in the day of thy trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me (Ps 50:15). And again He says: It is honourable to reveal and confess the works of God. (Much of this is quoted from the Nicene Creed)
4. Although I am imperfect in many things, I nevertheless wish that my brethren and kinsmen should know what sort of person I am, so that they may understand my heart's desire. I know well the testimony of my Lord, who in the Psalm (5:6) declares: Thou wilt destroy them that speak a lie. And again He says: The mouth that belieth killeth the soul (Ps. 63:11). And the same Lord says in the Gospel: Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgement (Matt 12:36). And so I should dread exceedingly, with fear and trembling, this sentence on that day when no one will be able to escape or hide, but we all, without exception, shall have to give an account even of our smallest sins before the judgement of the Lord Christ.
5. For this reason I had in mind to write, but hesitated until now; I was afraid of exposing myself to the talk of men, because I have not studied like the others, who thoroughly imbibed law and Sacred Scripture, and never had to change from the language of their childhood days, but were able to make it still more perfect. In our case, what I had to say had to be translated into a tongue foreign to me, as can be easily proved from the savour of my writing, which betrays how little instruction and training I have had in the art of words; for, so says Scripture, by the tongue will be discovered the wise man (Prov 15:2), and understanding, and knowledge, and the teaching of truth. But of what help is an excuse, however true, especially if combined with presumption, since now, in my old age, I strive for something that I did not acquire in youth? It was my sins that prevented me from fixing in my mind what before I had barely read through. But who believes me, though I should repeat what I started out with?
6. As a youth, nay, almost as a boy not able to speak, I was taken captive, before I knew what to pursue and what to avoid. Hence to-day I blush and fear exceedingly to reveal my lack of education; for I am unable to tell my story to those versed in the art of concise writing – in such a way, I mean, as my spirit and mind long to do, and so that the sense of my words expresses what I feel. But if indeed it had been given to me as it was given to others, then I would not be silent (Psalm 30:12) because of my desire of thanksgiving; and if perhaps some people think me arrogant for doing so in spite of my lack of knowledge and my slow tongue, it is, after all, written: The stammering tongues shall quickly learn to speak peace (Isa 29:24 – Septuagint).
7. How much more should we earnestly strive to do this, we, who are, so Scripture says, a letter of Christ (2 Cor 3:2) for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth (Isa 49:6, Acts 13:47) , and, though not an eloquent one, yet...written in your hearts, not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God (2 Cor 3:3)! And again the Spirit witnesses that even rusticity was created by the Highest. Whence I, once rustic, exiled, unlearned, who does not know how to provide for the future, this at least I know most certainly that before I was humiliated I was like a stone Lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came and in His mercy lifted me up, and raised me aloft (Psalm 30:1), and placed me on the top of the wall. And therefore I ought to cry out aloud and so also render something to the Lord for His great benefits here and in eternity – benefits which the mind of men is unable to appraise.
8. Wherefore, then, be astonished, ye great and little that fear God, and you men of letters on your estates, listen and pore over this. Who was it that roused up me, the fool that I am, from the midst of those who in the eyes of men are wise, and expert in law, and powerful in word and in everything? And He inspired me – me, the outcast of this world – before others, to be the man (if only I could!) who, with fear and reverence and without blame, should faithfully serve the people to whom the love of Christ conveyed and gave me for the duration of my life, if I should be worthy; yes indeed, to serve them humbly and sincerely.
9. In the light, therefore, of our faith in the Trinity I must make this choice, regardless of danger I must make known the gift of God (John 4:10; Acts 8:20; Eph. 2:8; 2Ti. 1:6) and everlasting consolation, without fear and frankly I must spread everywhere the name of God (I Cor 1:2) so that after my decease I may leave a bequest to my brethren and sons whom I have baptised in the Lord – so many thousands of people. And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the Lord should grant this to His servant; that after my misfortunes and so great difficulties, after my captivity, after the lapse of so many years, He should give me so great a grace (Acts 4:33) in behalf of that nation – a thing which once, in my youth, I never expected nor thought of.
10. But after I came to Ireland – every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed – the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was moved so that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many in the night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountains; and I used to get up for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm, and there was no sloth in me – as I now see, because the spirit within me was then fervent (Acts 18:25; Rom. 12:11-12).
11. And there one night I heard in my sleep a voice saying to me: `It is well that you fast, soon you will go to your own country.' And again, after a short while, I heard a voice saying to me: `See, your ship is ready.' And it was not near, but at a distance of perhaps two hundred miles, and I had never been there, nor did I know a living soul there; and then I took to flight, and I left the man with whom I had stayed for six years. And I went in the strength of God (Mic. 5:4; Eph. 6:10) who directed my way to my good, and I feared nothing until I came to that ship.
12. And the day that I arrived the ship was set afloat, and I said that I was able to pay for my passage with them. But the captain was not pleased, and with indignation he answered harshly: `It is of no use for you to ask us to go along with us.' And when I heard this, I left them in order to return to the hut where I was staying. And as I went, I began to pray; and before I had ended my prayer, I heard one of them shouting behind me, `Come, hurry, we shall take you on in good faith; make friends with us in whatever way you like.' And so on that day I refused to suck their breasts for fear of God, but rather hoped they would come to the faith of Jesus Christ, because they were pagans. And thus I had my way with them, and we set sail at once.
13. And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight days we travelled through deserted country. And they lacked food, and hunger overcame them; and the next day the captain said to me: `Tell me, Christian: you say that your God is great and all-powerful; why, then, do you not pray for us? As you can see, we are suffering from hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we shall ever see a human being again.' I said to them full of confidence: `Be truly converted with all your heart to the Lord my God, because nothing is impossible for Him (Matt 17:20), that this day He may send you food on your way until you be satisfied; for He has abundance everywhere.' And, with the help of God, so it came to pass: suddenly a herd of pigs appeared on the road before our eyes, and they killed many of them; and there they stopped for two nights and fully recovered their strength, and their hounds received their fill for many of them had grown weak and were half-dead along the way. And from that day they had plenty of food. They also found wild honey, and offered some of it to me, and one of them said: `This we offer in sacrifice. (I Cor 10:28)' Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.
14. That same night, when I was asleep, Satan assailed me violently, a thing I shall remember as long as I shall be in this body. And he fell upon me like a huge rock, and I could not stir a limb. But whence came it into my mind, ignorant as I am, to call upon Helias? And meanwhile I saw the sun rise in the sky, and while I was shouting `Helias! Helias' with all my might, suddenly the splendour of that sun fell on me and immediately freed me of all misery. And I believe that I was sustained by Christ my Lord, and that His Spirit was even then crying out in my behalf, and I hope it will be so on the day of my tribulation, as is written in the Gospel: On that day, the Lord declares, it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you (Matt 10:19-20).
15. And once again, after many years, I fell into captivity. On that first night I stayed with them, I heard a divine message saying to me: `Two months will you be with them.' And so it came to pass: on the sixtieth night thereafter the Lord delivered me out of their hands. Also on our way God gave us food and fire and dry weather every day, until, on the tenth day, we met people. As I said above, we travelled twenty-eight days through deserted country, and the night that we met people we had no food left.
16. And again after a few years I was in Britain with my people, who received me as their son, and sincerely besought me that now at last, having suffered so many hardships, I should not leave them and go elsewhere. And there I saw in the night the vision of a man, whose name was Victoricus, coming as it were from Ireland, with countless letters. And he gave me one of them, and I read the opening words of the letter, which were, `The voice of the Irish'; and as I read the beginning of the letter I thought that at the same moment I heard their voice – they were those beside the Wood of Voclut, which is near the Western Sea – and thus did they cry out as with one mouth: `We ask thee, boy, come and walk among us once more.' And I was quite broken in heart, and could read no further, and so I woke up. Thanks be to God (Rom. 6:17; 1Co. 15:57; 2Co. 8:16; 9:15), after many years the Lord gave to them according to their cry.
17. And another night – whether within me, or beside me, I know not, God knoweth (2 Cor 12:2) – they called me most unmistakably with words which I heard but could not understand, except that at the end of the prayer He spoke thus: `He that has laid down His life for thee (I John 3:16), it is He that speaketh in thee'; and so I awoke full of joy. And again I saw Him praying in me, and I was as it were within my body, and I heard Him above me, that is, over the inward man, and there He prayed mightily with groanings. And all the time I was astonished, and wondered, and thought with myself who it could be that prayed in me. But at the end of the prayer He spoke, saying that He was the Spirit; and so I woke up, and remembered the Apostle saying: The Spirit helpeth the infirmities of our prayer, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings, which cannot be expressed in words (Rom 8:26).; and again: The Lord our advocate asketh for us (Rom 8:27,34).
18. And when I was attacked by a number of my seniors who came forth and brought up my sins against my laborious episcopate, on that day indeed was I struck so that I might have fallen now and for eternity; but the Lord graciously spared the stranger and sojourner (Eph 2:19) for His name and came mightily to my help in this affliction. Verily, not slight was the shame and blame that fell upon me! I ask God that it may not be reckoned to them as sin (2 Cor 5:19). As cause for proceeding against me they found – after thirty years! – a confession I had made before I was a deacon. In the anxiety of my troubled mind I confided to my dearest friend what I had done in my boyhood one day, nay, in one hour, because I was not yet strong. I know not, God knoweth – whether I was then fifteen years old: and I did not believe in the living God, nor did I so from my childhood, but lived in death and unbelief until I was severely chastised and really humiliated, by hunger and nakedness, and that daily (Rom. 8:35). On the other hand, I did not go to Ireland of my own accord, not until I had nearly perished; but this was rather for my good, for thus was I purged by the Lord; and He made me fit so that I might be now what was once far from me that I should care and labour for the salvation of others, whereas then I did not even care about myself.
19. On that day, then, when I was rejected by those referred to and mentioned above, in that night I saw a vision of the night (Gen. 46:2; Job 4:13; 20:8; 33:15; Isa. 29:7; Dan. 2:19; 7:2, 7, 13; Acts 16:9; 18:9). There was a writing without honour against my face, and at the same time I heard God's voice saying to me: `We have seen with displeasure the face of Deisignatus' (thus revealing his name). He did not say, `Thou hast seen.' but `We have seen.' as if He included Himself, as He sayeth: He who toucheth you toucheth as it were the apple of my eye (Zech 2:8). Therefore I give Him thanks who hath strengthened me in everything, as He did not frustrate the journey upon which I had decided, and the work which I had learned from Christ my Lord; but I rather felt after this no little strength, and my trust was proved right before God and men. And so I say boldly, my conscience does not blame me now or in the future (Acts 24:16): God is my witness that I have not lied (Rom 9:1) in the account which I have given you. But the more am I sorry for my dearest friend that we had to hear what he said. To him I had confided my very soul! And I was told by some of the brethren before that defense – at which I was not present, nor was I in Britain, nor was it suggested by me – that he would stand up for me in my absence. He had even said to me in person: `Look, you should be raised to the rank of bishop!' – of which I was not worthy. But whence did it come to him afterwards that he let me down before all, good and evil, and publicly, in a matter in which he had favored me before spontaneously and gladly – and not he alone, but the Lord, who is greater than all?
20. Enough of this. I must not, however, hide God's gift which He bestowed upon me in the land of my captivity; because then I earnestly sought Him, and there I found Him, and He saved me from all evil (Psalm 34:4) because – so I believe – of His Spirit that dwelleth in me (2 Tim 1:14). Again, boldly said. But God knows it, had this been said to me by a man, I had perhaps remained silent for the love of Christ. Hence, then, I give unwearied thanks to God, who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I can confidently offer Him my soul as a living sacrifice (Heb 12:1) – to Christ my Lord, who saved me out of all my troubles (Psalm 34:6,17). Thus I can say: `Who am I, O Lord (Exo. 3:11; 1Sa. 18:18; 2Sa. 7:18; 1Ch. 17:16; 29:14; 2Ch. 2:6), and to what hast Thou called me, Thou who didst assist me with such divine power that to-day I constantly exalt and magnify Thy name among the heathens (Psalm 57:9, 108:3) wherever I may be, and not only in good days but also in tribulations (Rom 12:12)?' So indeed I must accept with equanimity whatever befalls me, be it good or evil, and always give thanks to God (1Th. 1:2; 2Th. 1:3; 2:13;), who taught me to trust in Him always without hesitation, and who must have heard my prayer so that I, however ignorant I was, in the last days dared to undertake such a holy and wonderful work – thus imitating somehow those who, as the Lord once foretold, would preach His Gospel for a testimony to all nations before the end of the world (Matt. 24:14). So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those parts beyond (2 Cor 10:16) which there lives nobody.
21. Now, it would be tedious to give a detailed account of all my labours or even a part of them. Let me tell you briefly how the merciful God often freed me from slavery and from twelve dangers in which my life was at stake – not to mention numerous plots, which I cannot express in words; for I do not want to bore my readers. But God is my witness, who knows all things even before they come to pass, as He used to forewarn even me, poor wretch that I am, of many things by a divine message. How came I by this wisdom, which was not in me, who neither knew the number of my days nor knew what God was? Whence was given to me afterwards the gift so great, so salutary – to know God and to love Him, although at the price of leaving my country and my parents?
22. And many gifts were offered to me in sorrow and tears, and I offended the donors, much against the wishes of some of my seniors; but, guided by God, in no way did I agree with them or acquiesce. It was not grace of my own, but God (Eph 2:8), who is strong in me and resists them all – as He had done when I came to the people of Ireland to preach the Gospel, and to suffer insult from the unbelievers, hearing the reproach of my going abroad, and many persecutions even unto bonds, and to give my free birth for the benefit of others; and, should I be worthy, I am prepared to give even my life without hesitation and most gladly for His name, and it is there that I wish to spend it until I die, if the Lord would grant it to me.
23. For I am very much God's debtor (Rom 8:12-13), who gave me such grace that many people were reborn in God through me and afterwards confirmed, and that clerics were ordained for them everywhere, for a people just coming to the faith, whom the Lord took from the utmost parts of the earth, as He once had promised through His prophets: To Thee the gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth and shall say: `How false are the idols that our fathers got for themselves, and there is no profit in them' (Jer 16:19); and again: `I have set Thee as a light among the gentiles, that Thou mayest be for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth. (Isa 49:6)'
24. And there I wish to wait for His promise (Acts 1:4) who surely never deceives, as He promises in the Gospel: They shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (Matt 8:11) – as we believe the faithful will come from all the world. For that reason, therefore, we ought to fish well and diligently, as the Lord exhorts in advance and teaches, saying: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men (Mat. 4:19; Mark 1:17). And again He says through the prophets: Behold, I send many fishers and hunters, saith God (Jer 16:16), and so on. Hence it was most necessary to spread our nets so that a great multitude and throng might be caught for God, and that there be clerics everywhere to baptize and exhort a people in need and want, as the Lord in the Gospel states, exhorts and teaches, saying: Going therefore now, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world (Matt 28:18-20). And again He says: Go ye therefore into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned (Mark 16:15). And again: This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come the end (Matt 24:14). And so too the Lord announces through the prophet, and says: And it shall come to pass, in the last days, saith the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy (Joel 2:28-29). And in Hosea (2:23), He saith: `I will call that which was not my people, my people; ...and her that had not obtained mercy, one that hath obtained mercy. And it shall be in the place where it was said: ``You are not my people,'' there they shall be called the sons of the living God.'
25. Hence, how did it come to pass in Ireland that those who never had a knowledge of God, but until now always worshipped idols and things impure, have now been made a people of the Lord, and are called sons of God (I John 3:1), that the sons and daughters of the kings of the Irish are seen to be monks and virgins of Christ? Among others, a blessed Irishwoman of noble birth, beautiful, full-grown, whom I had baptized, came to us after some days for a particular reason: she told us that she had received a message from a messenger of God, and he admonished her to be a virgin of Christ and draw near to God. Thanks be to God, on the sixth day after this she most laudably and eagerly chose what all virgins of Christ do. Not that their fathers agree with them: no – they often ever suffer persecution and undeserved reproaches from their parents; and yet their number is ever increasing. How many have been reborn there so as to be of our kind, I do not know – not to mention widows and those who practice continence. But greatest is the suffering of those women who live in slavery. All the time they have to endure terror and threats. But the Lord gave His grace to many of His maidens; for, though they are forbidden to do so, they follow Him bravely.
26. Wherefore, then, even if I wished to leave them and go to Britain – and how I would have loved to go to my country and my parents, and also to Gaul in order to visit the brethren and to see the face of the saints of my Lord! God knows it! that I much desired it; but I am bound by the Spirit (Acts 20:22), who gives evidence against me if I do this, telling me that I shall be guilty; and I am afraid of losing the labour which I have begun – nay, not I, but Christ the Lord who bade me come here and stay with them for the rest of my life, if the Lord will, and will guard me from every evil way (Psa. 119:101) that I may not sin before Him (Ps. 119:11).
27. This, I presume, I ought to do, but I do not trust myself as long as I am in this body of death (Rom 7:24), for strong is he who daily strives to turn me away from the faith and the purity of true religion to which I have devoted myself to the end of my life to Christ my Lord. But the hostile flesh is ever dragging us unto death (Rom. 8:6-7), that is, towards the forbidden satisfaction of one's desires; and I know that in part I did not lead a perfect life as did the other faithful; but I acknowledge it to my Lord, and do not blush before Him, because I lie not: from the time I came to know Him in my youth, the love of God and the fear of Him have grown in me, and up to now, thanks to the grace of God (1Cor 3:10; 15:10; 2Co. 1:12; 6:1; 8:1; 9:14; Gal. 2:21; Eph. 3:2, 7; Col. 1:6; Tit. 2:11; Heb. 2:9; 12:15; 1Pe. 4:10; 5:12), I have kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7).
28. And let those who will, laugh and scorn – I shall not be silent (Psalm 30:12); nor shall I hide the signs and wonders which the Lord has shown me many years before they came to pass, as He knows everything even before the times of the world. Hence I ought unceasingly to give thanks to God (Psalm 30:12; 44:8; Col. 1:3; 1Th. 1:2; 2Th. 1:3; 2:13) who often pardoned my folly and my carelessness, and on more than one occasion spared His great wrath on me, who was chosen to be His helper and who was slow to do as was shown me and as the Spirit suggested. And the Lord had mercy on me thousands and thousands of times because He saw that I was ready, but that I did not know what to do in the circumstances. For many tried to prevent this my mission; they would even talk to each other behind my back and say: `Why does this fellow throw himself into danger among enemies who have no knowledge of God?' It was not malice, but it did not appeal to them because – and to this I own myself – of my rusticity. And I did not realize at once the grace that was then in me; now I understand that I should have done so before.
29. Now I have given a simple account to my brethren and fellow servants who have believed me because of what I said and still say in order to strengthen and confirm your faith (I Thess. 3:2). Would that you, too, would strive for greater things and do better! This will be my glory, for a wise son is the glory of his father. You know, and so does God, how I have lived among you from my youth in the true faith and in sincerity of heart (I Thess 2:9-12). Likewise, as regards the heathen among whom I live, I have been faithful to them, and so I shall be. God knows it, I have overreached none of them, nor would I think of doing so, for the sake of God and His Church, for fear of raising persecution against them and all of us, and for fear that through me the name of the Lord be blasphemed; for it is written: Woe to the man through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed (Jude 1:10-11).
30. For although I be rude in all things, nevertheless I have tried somehow to keep myself safe, and that, too, for my Christian brethren, and the virgins of Christ, and the pious women who of their own accord made me gifts and laid on the altar some of their ornaments and I gave them back to them, and they were offended that I did so. But I did it for the hope of lasting success – in order to preserve myself cautiously in everything so that they might not seize upon me or the ministry of my service, under the pretext of dishonesty, and that I would not even in the smallest matter give the infidels an opportunity to defame or defile (I Peter 3:16).
31. When I baptized so many thousands of people, did I perhaps expect from any of them as much as half a scruple? Tell me, and I will restore it to you. Or when the Lord ordained clerics everywhere through my unworthy person and I conferred the ministry upon them free, if I asked any of them as much as the price of my shoes, speak against me and I will return it to you. On the contrary, I spent money for you that they might receive me; and I went to you and everywhere for your sake in many dangers, even to the farthest districts, beyond which there lived nobody and where nobody had ever come to baptize, or to ordain clergy, or to confirm the people. With the grace of the Lord, I did everything lovingly and gladly for your salvation (2 Cor 1:6).
32. All the while I used to give presents to the kings, besides the fees I paid to their sons who travel with me. Even so they laid hands on me and my companions, and on that day they eagerly wished to kill me; but my time had not yet come. And everything they found with us they took away, and me they put in irons; and on the fourteenth day the Lord delivered me from their power (Psalm 18:17), and our belongings were returned to us because of God and our dear friends whom we had seen before.
33. You know how much I paid to those who administered justice in all those districts to which I came frequently. I think I distributed among them not less than the price of fifteen men, so that you might enjoy me, and I might always enjoy you in God. I am not sorry for it – indeed it is not enough for me; I still spend and shall spend more (2 Cor 12:15). God has power to grant me afterwards that I myself may be spent for your souls. Indeed, I call God to witness upon my soul that I lie not; neither, I hope, am I writing to you in order to make this an occasion of flattery or covetousness, nor because I look for honour from any of you (Phil 4:17). Sufficient is the honour that is not yet seen but is anticipated in the heart. Faithful is He that promised (I Thess 5:24); He never lieth.
34. But I see myself exalted even in the present world beyond measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy nor such that He should grant me this. I know perfectly well, though not by my own judgement, that poverty and misfortune becomes me better than riches and pleasures. For Christ the Lord, too, was poor for our sakes (2 Cor 8:9); and I, unhappy wretch that I am, have no wealth even if I wished for it. Daily I expect murder, fraud, or captivity, or whatever it may be; but I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself into the hands of God Almighty, who rules everywhere, as the prophet says: Cast thy thought upon God, and He shall sustain thee (Psalm 55:22).
35. So, now I commend my soul to my faithful God (I Peter 4:19), for whom I am an ambassador in all my wretchedness (Eph 6:20); but God accepteth no person (Lev. 19:15; Deu. 1:17; 16:19; Job 32:21; 34:19; Pro. 18:5; 24:23; 28:21; Lam. 4:16; Mal. 2:9; Jam. 2:1), and chose me for this office – to be, although among His least, one of His ministers (I Cor 15:9). Hence let me render unto Him for all He has done to me. But what can I say or what can I promise to my Lord, as I can do nothing that He has not given me? (I Cor 4:7) May He search the hearts (Jer 17:10) and deepest feelings; for greatly and exceedingly do I wish, and ready I was, that He should give me His chalice to drink (Matt. 20:3), as He gave it also to the others who loved Him. Wherefore may God never permit it to happen to me that I should lose His people which He purchased (John 6:39) in the utmost parts of the world. I pray to God to give me perseverance and to deign that I be a faithful witness to Him (Rev 2:13) to the end of my life for my God.
36. And if ever I have done any good for my God whom I love, I beg Him to grant me that I may shed my blood with those exiles and captives for His name, even though I should be denied a grave, or my body be woefully torn to pieces limb by limb by hounds or wild beasts, or the fowls of the air devour it. I am firmly convinced that if this should happen to me, I would have gained my soul together with my body, because on that day without doubt we shall rise in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer (Isa 60:1), as sons of the living God (Rom 9:26) and joint heirs with Christ, to be made conformable to His image (Rom 8:29); for of Him, and by Him, and in Him (Rom. 11:36; 1Co. 8:6; Heb. 2:10) we shall reign (Rev. 20:6; 22:5). For this sun which we see rises daily for us because He commands so (Job 9:7), but it will never reign, nor will its splendour last; what is more, those wretches who adore it will be miserably punished. Not so we, who believe in, and worship, the true sun – Christ – who will never perish, nor will he who doeth His will; but he will abide for ever (I John 2:17) as Christ abideth for ever (John 12:34), who reigns with God the Father Almighty and the Holy Spirit before time, and now, and in all eternity. Amen.
37. Behold, again and again would I set forth the words of my confession. I testify in truth and in joy of heart before God and His holy angels that I never had any reason except the Gospel and its promises why I should ever return to the people from whom once before I barely escaped. I pray those who believe and fear God, whosoever deigns to look at or receive this writing which Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, has composed in Ireland, that no one should ever say that it was my ignorance if I did or showed forth anything however small according to God's good pleasure; but let this be your conclusion and let it so be thought, that – as is the perfect truth – it was the gift of God. This is my confession before I die.
120 Quotes from 27 books of the Bible: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Isaiah, Joel, Micah, Zecheriah, Matthew, Mark, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, Jude, Revelation.
Number of distinct references in ascending order: 1 Kings (1), 2 Kings (1), Job (1), Jude (1), Micah (1), Proverbs (1), Zecheriah (1), 1 Peter (2), Colossians (2), Mark (2), 1 Thess. (3), 2 Thess. (3), Hebrews (3), Jeremiah (3), Joel (3), Philippians (3), Revelation (3), 1 John (4), 1 Cor. (5), 2 Tim. (5), Ephesians (5), Acts (6), John (6), Isaiah (7), Matthew (10), 2 Cor. (10), Psalms (15), Romans (15).
Repeated verses in Patrick’s Confession: Col. 01:16, Eph. 02:08, Isa. 49:06, Mat. 24:14, Ps. 30:12, Rom. 12:12.
Repeated passages in Patrick’s Confession: 2 Cor. 03:02-03; 2 Thess. 02:13,16; 2 Tim. 01:06, 10, 14; 2 Tim. 04:01, 07; Eph. 06:10, 20; Heb. 12:01, 10-11; Jer. 16:16, 19; Joel 02:12, 23, 28-29; Mark 16:15, 19; Phil. 02:07, 10; Ps. 30:01, 12; Ps. 34:04, 6, 17; Rom. 08:11, 12-13, 14-17; Rom. 08:6-7, 26-29, 34-36.
Comparison of Paragraph 3 with Nicene Creed (381 edition): Regular text represent AD325 edition, italicized text represents additions in 381, and red text indicates 30% corroboration with Patrick’s 3rd paragraph: Constantinopolitan Creed of 381. « We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ , the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father ; from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Ghost , the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. »
1) What do Leprecauns, the Roman Catholic church, and corned beef have to do with St. Patrick? What about Ireland and shamrocks and the color green?
2) How did Patrick make decisions in life? Is this a good way to make decisions?
3) What are some of Patrick’s life verses?
4) The Bible says to “imitate” godly men (1Co. 4:16; 11:1; Phi. 3:17; 1Th. 1:6; 2:14; 2Th. 3:7, 9; Heb. 6:12; 13:7; 3Jo. 1:11) What can we imitate in Patrick’s life?