Saint Patrick – The Inside Story We all know that Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. Kidnapped as a boy, he lived as a swineherd in the North, and after six years he walked the length of the island, and caught a boat back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family, and entered the Church. When Saint Patrick came back to Ireland, he was able to convert Ireland to Christianity in a very short period of time. He used the shamrock to emphasize the three persons in one Godhead, a concept familiar to the Celts he was living among. Those are the things we all know. But, there are many things that you may not have known about the patron saint of the Irish. The conversion process was a bit confusing at first. Such was the case of the baptism of King Aengus by Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king’s foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king’s forgiveness. “Why did you suffer this pain in silence?” Patrick asked. The king replied, “I thought it was part of the ritual.” Patrick may not have rid the island of snakes, but he may have destroyed tourist traffic in the Northwest. He was said to have killed a fierce lake monster in County Donegal. After he had killed it, the blood turned the lake red and so since then the lake has been known as Red Lake or Lough Derg. It is now a pilgrimage place and many people go there in hope of expunging sins. However, the possibility of finding the cousin of the Loch Ness monster is now out of the picture. Patrick had a temper. He was refused the right to graze his oxen, so he cursed the field and caused it to sink under the sea, making it useless for cultivation. He also once cured a blind man, but another man who laughed at the blind gent promptly went blind himself. It appears that St. Patrick had a large family with him in Ireland. According to legend, he had five sisters living on the island. He also had a number of nephews who were clerics. His nephew, St. Mel, (who also happens to be the namesake of Mel Gibson,) was the Bishop of Ardagh. Mel once caught a fish while plowing a field. Mel’s mother was Darerca, and she had seventeen children by two husbands. Along with Mel, three other sons were bishops, St. Rioc of Inisboffin, St. Muinis of Forgney and St. Maelchu. His sister, Lupait, also called Liemania or Liamain, was supposedly taken as a slave with Patrick when she was seven, was the mother of Sechnall, Nechtan, Dabonna, Mogornan, Darigoc, Ausille, and the Priest Lugnath or Lugna. Lugna was buried in County Mayo, where he and Patrick were marooned by the Druids for a period of time. Patrick’s trip to France is the reason that Hawthorn bushes bloom in winter. He crossed the Loire River, hung his cape to dry on a hawthorn bush, and the bushes have since bloomed in the off-season. Patrick wasn’t the first bishop of Ireland. The first recorded missionary to Ireland was Palladius, who was probably from Gaul. He was sent by the Pope to be bishop to the “Irish who believe in Christ”. Patrick himself stated that Palladius’ mission was a failure. However, other historical documents from outside Ireland indicate that the mission of Palladius was very successful, and that he set up a number of churches. During his evangelizing journey back to Ireland from his parents’ home, Patrick is understood to have carried with him an ash wood walking stick or staff. He thrust this stick into the ground wherever he was preaching, and at the place now known as Aspatria (ash of Patrick) the message of the dogma took so long to get through to the people there that the stick had taken root by the time he was ready to move on. The 12th century work Acallam na Senórach tells of Patrick being met by two ancient warriors, Caílte mac Rónáin and Oisín, during his evangelical travels. The two were once members of Fionn mac Cumhaill’s warrior band the Fianna, and somehow survived to Patrick’s time. We hope that this helps you to understand a bit more of the life of St.Patrick. And have the blessings of St. Patrick upon you. shamrockclubwis/Reflections/2012March.pdf
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 14:40:15 +0000
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