March 17 is the feast day of Patrick of Ireland, arguably the most well-known of the Celtic saints. Patrick grew up on the North West coast of Britain in a Christian family of noble birth, but was a ‘wild youth’. At 16 he was kidnapped by pirate raiders from Ireland and taken back and sold there as a slave. His work was to be a shepherd on the Irish hills. There he found his own relationship with God, which grew deep indeed and included many mystical encounters with the Divine. He became a man of deep prayer, with, in his own words, over 100 prayers a day, and a similar amount overnight. A man of dreams and visions and ecstatic spiritual experiences, Patrick saw a boat which would be for him to become free from his slavery, so, when opportunity arose, he escaped and travelled the coast of Ireland for over 200 miles until he found the boat in his vision. At first he was not allowed on board, but eventually he was. During the trip (which was probably to northern France) a great storm came upon the ship, all feared they would drown, until Patrick spoke of Christ who could calm the waves, which happened. Eventually he found his way back to North West Britain to his family home, where he was implored never to leave again. But soon after this, in another vision, he saw a man come to him with a letter, it was the Irish people pleading for him to come back to tell them about Christ. This he did. Many stories abound about Patrick’s time in Ireland, from the famous Easter fire near Tara hill, to the visage of deer to be free from soldiers attack, and the driving out of all the snakes from the land of Ireland (in which there are still no wild snakes). The story of Patrick is a mirror of the story of Moses, who, coming from a wealthy upbringing, went into exile becoming a shepherd for many years training to lead people, and then becoming a man who drew people into a relationship with God from their slavery. In turn Moses’ story is a forerunner of Jesus, the Great Shepherd who freed his people from the slavery of sin. May we, in our lives, know the training which God puts us through, May we be willing to hear the call of God May we be a people of vision, that see the wonders of God And may we know the power of Christ working through us and protecting us.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 07:56:55 +0000
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