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March 17, 2005
St Patrick for Ireland
A happy St Patrick's day to all those who visit me today! It's quite amazing what this very modest but determined man achieved when you peel away the legends and the hype.
He left us two documents which have survived his mission, one his "Confessio", begins, "I Patrick, a sinner ..." and goes on to give an autobiographic account of his life. It makes very interesting reading. The other is a letter to the Welsh "King" Caractacus (often thought to be the model for the evil King who preceded Uther in the Arthurian legends) and deals with an appeal to the King to be merciful and return Christians his men had seized in Ireland and enslaved. It is even more interesting because its tone is not that of an inferior to the King but that of an equal.
Patrick is buried in Downpatrick in a simple grave covered by a slab of granite. It was his dying wish that his body be placed in a bullock cart and buried when the bullocks stopped and lay down. Legend has it that they wandered for several days before stopping at the place where he now lies. Even Cromwell's evil troopers and their commanders left his resting place alone, although they did attack the adjacent church.
His legacy? The great Celtic tradition of Christian music, worship and thought - and of course, the great faith of the people he converted.
Posted by The Gray Monk at March 17, 2005 03:04 PM