St. Patrick Set Ireland Ablaze

St. Patrick Set Ireland Ablaze

      During the 400s AD, the strength of the Roman Empire was weakening, and its army could no longer sustain its power over places far from Rome.  So Rome pulled out of Britain, leaving the land largely defenseless.

      Then dreaded marauders from Ireland repeatedly invaded the western coastal towns of Britain, cruelly abducting young men and women, and selling them as slaves back home.  
In one raid, one of the prisoners was a 16-year-old who would later be known as Patrick.

      He was sold to a Druid high priest, a master of dark occult arts.  Ireland's people and their fierce local chieftains were controlled and loosely united by these Druids. Patrick's life now was hard and lonely, tending his master's sheep all night on hilly slopes, fending against cold and wolves, and being indoctrinated into the dark arts and rituals of his master.

      But secretly Patrick grew in his love of the One True God who has freed us from occult darkness through his Son Jesus Christ.  "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5).

      One night everything changed.  He clearly heard God say to him, "Patrick, rise and go.  Your ship is leaving."  The penalty for an escaped slave was immediate death, but Patrick fled on foot two hundred miles, taking nothing.  Coming upon a ship about to embark, he plunged into the surf and caught a rope tossed by a sailor.  

      After six long years of slavery, Patrick was finally free!

      Reaching France, Patrick walked to a monastery.  After many years there, filled with happiness, learning, prayer, and acts of charity, Patrick was ordained a priest.  He went on to do much missionary work.  When Pope Saint Celestine heard of Patrick, he called him 
to return to the land of his Irish captors, and to bring them the Light that dispels darkness, the healing news of what God had done for them through Jesus.  Celestine knew that Patrick was Ireland's best hope, since the attempt to bring the Gospel to Ireland had already been abandoned by many priests and laity because of the opposition of the ghostly Druids and violent chieftains.

      Arriving on Ireland's shore, now-Bishop Patrick and his priests were immediately seen by fierce Irish soldiers.  Patrick strode to meet them boldly, announcing in their own language that he, a runaway slave, had returned to pay a ransom to his former master and to offer the Irish people the freedom that can be found only in the One True God.  Amazed, the soldiers wanted to know more.  Before leaving the shore that first day, Patrick baptized his first Irish converts.

      Word of this stranger spread everywhere, and a chief vowed to kill Patrick.  He hunted Patrick down, but none of his soldiers' weapons could harm him.  It was Patrick's first miracle.  The chieftain, afraid now of this man, gave Patrick his barn as a peace-offering.  Patrick dedicated it as Ireland's first church, with the purpose of freeing people from the binding craft of the Druids by means of the greater power of the God who created all things. 

     Spring came, the time of the annual pagan gathering of all the top Druids and chieftains for "Lighting of the New Fire", a terrible occult ritual in which all fires in all homes in Ireland had to be extinguished and human sacrifices offered.  The Arch-Druid and High King would kindle a fire that signaled the return of light after "the gods of the underworld" had held sway during the half-year of winter. 

     This year's ritual was of special importance because the demonic oracles had foretold that a priest of the One High God would come that year and that, if he succeeded in lighting God's fire in Ireland, it would never be extinguished.

      The dark ritual occurred on the night of 26 March 433.  That year it also happened to be the Eve of Easter.  Patrick climbed a hill across the valley from the site of the ritual and, not waiting for the Druids' fire, lit a huge Easter bonfire in plain sight.

      The infuriated High King sent soldiers to swarm the hill, douse the fire, and kill all those present.  But God supernaturally protected Patrick and his followers.  The soldiers' weapons and the Druids' arts could accomplish nothing, and the confused pagans slunk away.
  
     When Easter morning dawned, Patrick and his group marched to the High King's castle. It was filled with Druids, warlocks, and chieftains, who summoned all dark powers against Patrick.  As a result, the sun grew dim and an icy cold ensued.  Patrick challenged the Druids to dispel it, but they replied that it showed their gods' fierce anger at Patrick.  Patrick made the sign of the cross toward the sky, and immediately light and warmth returned.  By dark arts, an Arch-Druid rose threateningly into the air over Patrick, but the saint prayed and the Druid fell to the earth. 

     The High King, amazed at such power and courage, wanted to know Patrick's God.  This infuriated the Druids even more, but the High King gave Patrick free reign to share the faith and build churches.

      For the next 30 years, Patrick and his followers braved storms, hunger, and Druids, striding the hills and valleys, teaching all to trust our Lord.  Once, when speaking to a crowd on a grassy hillside, Patrick plucked a shamrock to illustrate the Trinity--three leaves in one plant.  

      He built hundreds of churches, and tore down countless idols and altars of human sacrifice.  He ordained thousands of priests, and freed people from dark arts.  Within only 200 years from his arrival, the people of Ireland embraced the High God, the God who is over all other "gods", the God who frees from fear and leads to eternal life. 
*          *          *

     St. Paul wrote of our need to put on "the Armor of God" (Ephesians 6:11ff) in order to be able to bring Christ's Light.  He was recommending prayers like the following one which Patrick is said to have written.
            
     In Patrick's time, the word "Lorica" referred to the breastplate that Irish soldiers wore for protection in battle, and  Patrick called this prayer his Lorica.  It is believed that he recited it every morning when he awoke, in order to stir his faith in the protection that he would need from God.  He first wrote the prayer when he was preparing to confront and convert Loegaire, the fierce High King mentioned above.

     The earliest version of this prayer is found in the Book of Armagh, from the early ninth century. 

I arise today 
through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Three-ness, 
through confession of the One-ness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
through the strength of Christ's birth and his baptism,
through the strength of his crucifixion and burial,
through the strength of his resurrection and ascension,
through the strength of his descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
through the strength of the love of cherubim,
in the obedience of angels, in the service of archangels,
in the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
in the prayers of patriarchs, in the predictions of prophets,
in the preaching of apostles, in the faith of confessors,
in the innocence of holy virgins, in the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
through the strength of heaven,
the light of the sun, the radiance of the moon,
the splendor of fire, the speed of lightning,
the swiftness of wind, the depth of the sea, 
the stability of the earth, the firmness of rock.

I arise today
through God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look ahead of me, God's ear to hear me,
God's Word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me, God's host to save me
from snares of devils, from temptation of vices,
from everyone who will wish me ill, far and near.

I summon today
all these powers between me and those evils,
against every cruel and merciless power
that many oppose my body or soul,
against incantations of false prophets,
against dark laws of pagandom,
against false laws of heretics,
against the craft of idolatry,
against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ under me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, 
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Three-ness,
through confession of the One-ness
of the Creator of creation. 

                 

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