Who was Saint Patrick really?
What is the story of Saint Patrick?
If Ireland could have been called “the island of saints”, it owes it first to the one who was the first to sow faith in Jesus Christ: Saint Patrick. This native of Wales could have nourished a deep resentment with the inhabitants of the island, because captured at the age of 16 by pirates, then sold as a slave to an Irish clan leader.
Deprived of family and freedom, the young Patrick still managed to take advantage of this painful captivity. He got to know the local language and customs, which was going to be useful to him later. During this period, “the love of God and his fear (the) invaded more and more, (his) faith growing” (Confessiontext by Saint Patrick himself). Prayer became for him as a vital breath: “(he did) about one hundred prayers in a single day and about as much night, both when (he remained) in the forests as on the mountain. »»
Why is Saint Patrick associated with snakes?
According to tradition, Saint Patrick singled out by chasing Ireland all the snakes and all the poisonous reptiles. They represented old pagan beliefs.
In fact, the country remains, even today, one of the rare places in the globe where there are no snakes! Sweet, humble and determined evangelizer, Saint Patrick (died around the year 461) continues to occupy a place of choice in the hearts of the Irish … who celebrate it every March 17!
Prayer of Saint Patrick against evil
“I get up today by a powerful force, the invocation of the Trinity, the belief in the Trinity, the confession of the unity of the creator of the world.
I get up today by the strength of the birth of Christ and his baptism, the strength of his crucifixion and his entry to the tomb, the strength of his resurrection and his ascent, the strength of his arrival on the day of judgment.
I get up today by the force of the orders of the cherubs, in the obedience of the angels, in the service of the archangels, in the hope of the resurrection, in the prayers of the patriarchs, in the preaching of the prophets, in the preaching of the apostles, in the loyalty of the confessors, in the innocence of the Holy Virgins, in the actions of the just men.
I get up today by the strength of the sky, light of the sky, sunlight, brightness of the moon, splendor of fire, lightning speed, wind speed, depth of the sea, stability of the earth, solidity of the stone.
I get up today by the strength of God to guide me, the power of God to support me, the intelligence of God to lead me, the eye of God to look before me, the ear of God to hear me, the Word of God to speak for me, the hand of God to keep me, the path of God to precede me, the shield of God to protect me, the army of God to save me from the nets of the Demons, Nature, of all the men who want me from harm, from a distance and near, in solitude and in a multitude.
Today I call all these forces between me and evil, against all ruthless cruel force that attacks my body and my soul, against the incantations of the false prophets, against the black laws of paganism, against the false laws of heretics, against the power of idolatry, against the charms of sorcerers, against all science that defiles the body and the soul of man.
May Christ protect me today from poison, against fire, against drowning, against wound, to come to me a crowd of awards, Christ with me, Christ in front of me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ above me, Christ below me, Christ on my right, Christ in my left, Christ in length, Christ in height Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in all eyes who sees me, Christ in any ear that listens to me.
I get up today by a powerful force, the invocation to the Trinity, the belief in the Trinity, the confession of the unity of the creator of the world. To the Lord is salvation, to Christ is salvation. May your salvation, Lord, be always with us.
Amen “
How Saint Patrick Evangelized Ireland?
After six years of slavery captivity, Patrick managed to run away. He won the Gaul by boat, and instructed it in several monasteries. Ordained a priest, then sacred bishop by Saint Germain d’Auxerre in 432, the former slave made a courageous decision: to return to Ireland to introduce the Gospel to a population that has remained pagan.
For thirty years, he traveled the country tirelessly, preaching and teacher, founding schools, churches and monasteries, converting to the Christian faith the kings and the druids, the bards and the peasants. His catechesis was imbued with local realities. What could be more speaking than a clover, very present in Ireland, to make his interlocutors touch the mystery of the Holy Trinity!