The Confession of St. Patrick: Part Two
Having Escaped From Slavery By Flight, He Returns To His Country.
From: 385 C.E. To: 431 C.E.
Location: Armagh, Ireland
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“Having Escaped From Slavery By Flight, He Returns To His Country.“ from The Confession of St. Patrick translated by Rev. Thomas Olden, 1853.
Sec. 6.
In "the measure, therefore, of the faith" of the Trinity, it is my duty to make a distinction [of persons] without regarding any censure of danger; to make known "the gift of God," and "everlasting consolation," and to proclaim the name of God everywhere, faithfully and fearlessly, that after my death I may leave [the knowledge of it] to my Gallican brethren, and my sons whom I have baptised in the Lord, many thousands in number. And I was neither worthy nor deserving that the Lord should so favour me, the least of his servants, as after such great afflictions and difficulties, after captivity, after many years, to grant me so large a measure of his grace for the conversion of this nation, [a blessing] which, in my youth, I never either hoped or thought of.
But after I had come to Ireland, I was employed every day in tending sheep, and I used often in the day to have recourse to prayer, and the love of God was thus growing stronger and stronger, and the fear of Him and faith were increasing, and the Spirit, so that in a single day I have said as many as a hundred prayers, and in the night almost as many; and I used to remain even in the woods and on the mountain, and used to rise to prayer before daylight, in the midst of snow, and ice, and rain, and I felt no injury from it, nor was there any sloth in me; because, as I now see, the spirit was then fervent within me. And there one night, in a dream, I heard a voice saying to me, "thou dost well to fast, and shalt soon return to thy country;" and again, after a little time, I heard a response saying to me, "behold, thy ship is ready;" and the place was not near, but perhaps two hundred miles off, and I had never been there, nor was I acquainted with any one there.
Sec. 7.
And after this I took flight; and having left the man with whom I had been six years, I came in the strength of the Lord, who directed my way to good; and I feared nothing until I arrived at the ship; and, on the day of my arrival, the ship had moved out from her berth, and I spoke to them, saying I had money to pay for my passage with them; and the master was displeased, and replied angrily, "don't at all think to go with us;" and when I heard this, I withdrew from them, to go to the cottage where I was lodging; and on my way I began to pray, and before I finished my prayer I heard one of them crying out loudly after me, "come back at once, for those men are calling you;" and I returned immediately to them, and they began to say to me, "come, for we receive you in good faith; make friends with us in what manner you please." And then I gave up the thought of fleeing, on account of the fear of God, yet I hoped they would [before long] say to me, "come in the faith of Jesus Christ," because they were Gentiles. And when I had thus obtained my desire, we immediately set sail.
Sec. 8.
After three days we arrived at land, and for twenty-eight days we journeyed through a desert; when, their provisions becoming exhausted, they suffered severely from hunger; and one day the master said to me: “What do you say, Christian? your God is great and all-powerful; can you not then pray for us, since we are in danger of perishing by famine, for it is very improbable that we shall ever see the face of man again." And I plainly said to them:
"Turn faithfully and with your whole heart to the Lord our God—for to him nothing is impossible—that he may send food into your path today, even until you are satiated, for it abounds everywhere to him."
And, with God's help, it happened so; for lo, a herd of swine appeared in the way before our eyes, and they killed many of them, and remained there two nights, much refreshed; and they were relieved [from hunger] by their flesh, for many of the party had sunk from exhaustion, and were left scarcely alive by the way-side. After this they gave the greatest thanks to God, and I was honoured in their eyes.
Sec. 9.
And from that day forth they had food in abundance. They also found wild honey, and offered part of it to me; and one of them said, "this is offered in sacrifice thanks to God:" after that I tasted no more. But the same night, while I was asleep, Satan, of whom I will be mindful as long as I shall be in this body, tempted me strongly, and fell on me like a great rock, so that I was unable to move my limbs; but I know not how it was suggested to me to call Helias, and at this moment I saw the sun rise in the heavens, and while I was calling, Helias, Helias, with all my might, behold, the splendour of the sun fell upon me, and immediately dispelled all my heaviness; and I believe that I was aided by Christ my Lord, and that his Spirit was then crying out in my behalf; and I hope it will be so in the day of my adversity, even as the Lord says in the Gospel, "it is not ye that by the power speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
Not many years after, I was again taken captive; and, on the first night that I remained with them, I heard a divine response saying to me, "you shall be two months with them;" and it happened so, for on the sixtieth night the Lord delivered me out of their hands. Behold, in the journey he provided for us food, and fire, and dry weather, daily, until on the fourteenth day we came to men. As I have above mentioned, we journeyed for twenty-eight days through a desert; and, on the night when we arrived at the abodes of men, we had no provisions remaining.
Patrick. The Confession of St. Patrick. Translated by Thomas Olden, James McGlashan, 1853.
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