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SAINT PATRICK Men of Grace Spiritual Growth Point March 2010 ISSUE: Focusing on the Christian aspects of Saint Patrick’s Life. BACKGROUND: Ireland’s most effective Christian witness was an ex-slave and not even of native Irish stock. The following references were used to develop the discussion below: How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill, Talese, Nan A., Doubleday, 1995, Chapters 4 & 5; The 100 Most Important Events In Christian History, by A. Kenneth Curtis, J. Stephen Lang, & Randy Peterson. Revell, Fleming H. – A Division of Baker Book House Company, pp. 47-48. DISCUSSION: According to the sources above: Saint Patrick is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures. Many of his amazing accomplishments are shrouded in legend and a few others are exaggerated by storytelling. The holiday in his name that we celebrate this month is largely associated, at least in the secular world, with drinking and rowdy behavior. That makes it all the more important to understand how God really used Patrick. Many years after Patrick’s death in 460, when Western church missionaries came to Ireland, they discovered a thriving Irish faith. The church in Ireland had developed outside the hierarchical system of Rome because Patrick evangelized the nation without relying on the established church, preferring instead to organize around monasteries as this was more in keeping with the nation’s tribal system. He is credited with establishing around 300 churches and baptizing around 120,000 people. It is commonly agreed that Patrick and his disciples converted almost the entire population of Ireland to Christianity during his life. It wasn’t until the year 1100 that Ireland became Catholic when the Pope gave King Henry II sovereignty over Ireland. Impressed with the way Patrick converted the Irish; The Catholic Church made him a Saint. Maewyn Succat was born somewhere around the year 390 to Christian parents in the Roman part of Britain. He had yet to take his faith very seriously when at about age16, he was kidnapped and enslaved in Northern Ireland where he was forced to labor as a swineherd and shepherd. It was during his captivity he became aware of God and, according to his own description at the time, “Tending flocks was my daily work, and would pray constantly during the daylight hours. The love of God and the fear of him surrounded me more and more—and faith grew and the Spirit roused, so that in one day I would say as many as a hundred prayers and after dark nearly as many again, even while I remained in the woods or on the mountain. I would pray before daybreak—through snow, frost, rain, --nor was there any sluggishness in me (such as I experience nowadays) because the Spirit within me was ardent.” (Cahill p.102) Six to eight years later (depending on the source), Maewyn escaped and walked some 200 miles to the coast. There, offering his services as a dog tender, he was taken aboard a ship carrying a cargo of hounds. Finally returning to Britain via Gaul (France), he had dreams of Irish children begging him to bring the Gospel to them. Before returning to Ireland, he returned to France and studied in a Mediterranean monastery. Following his studies, he was ordained priest and later Bishop. Patricius (Patrick) was his baptismal name, given by Pope Celestine prior to his mission to Ireland. Patrick returned to Ireland in the year 432, and began to realize that through his years in slavery, God had given him courage and had helped him understand the Irish people. The Druids, keepers of the old paganism and hostile Chieftains put up fierce resistance to his evangelizing. According to Patrick’s account from the time, “Everyday I am ready to be murdered, betrayed, enslaved—whatever may come my way. But I am not afraid of any of these things, because of the promises of heaven; for I have put myself in the hands of God Almighty.” (Cahill p.108) Patrick had excellent rapport with the common man and leveraged their previous understandings (largely nature worship) to help explain Christianity. For example, he used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. The Irish understanding that Patrick acted for God, when he drove out false religion and established the truth, can be seen in the legend that he expelled the snakes from Ireland. Patrick’s ministry ended human sacrifice when contentious tribal people were taught that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough. Murder and intertribal warfare were reduced and soon the Irish slave trade came to a halt. God orchestrated the events in Patrick’s early life to prepare him for great service later in life. SPIRITUAL GROWTH POINT: What does the Bible say about this topic? “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:22 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 What do you think about this topic? Please send your thoughts to "Men of Grace" at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This Spiritual Growth Point is brought to you by the Men’s Ministry and was compiled and reviewed by the Spiritual Growth Committee consisting of Jim Beachley, Brian Repp, Paul Tucker and Eric Rosenlof.
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