St. Patrick, An Alternative Vision

[Faísca]

St. Patrick

An Alternative Vision

I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through a belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness Of the Creator of creation... I arise today Through the strength of heaven; Light of the sun, Splendour of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind, Depth of the sea, Stability of the Earth, Firmness of the rock... i

This March brings the annual celebration dedicated to St. Patrick. Across the globe, many will celebrate their Irish ancestry and participate in revelries of parades, raucous music and… green beer. While March 17th brings us St. Patrick's Day, the revelries seem to have overshadowed the man himself, however. Who was this man who supposedly brought Christianity to the Emerald Isles? The myths and legends surrounding his deeds and life's work have taken on mythic proportions and this individual has become obscured in the smoke and shadows of Celtic bards and storytellers. The purpose of this article is an attempt to bring legend and history together once again; to provide some insights into the historical figure whose story has brought people together and driven them apart; much as the "snakes" driven from the Isles of olde.

Much of what we have come to know of St. Patrick comes from the few writings attributed to him. Of these, his Confessio and the Morning Prayer of St. Patrick (St. Patrick's Lorica) are the best known and provide us with the best insights into whom he was. At the beginning of his Confession, translated by Ludwig Bieler, Patrick writes:

• 
  
  "I am Patrick, a sinner; most unlearned, the least of all the faithful, and utterly despised my many. May father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a priest, of the village Bannavem Taburnae; he had a country seat nearby, and there I was taken captive.
  
  
  
  I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland with many thousands of people - and deservedly so, because we turned away from God, and did not keep his commandments, and did not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord brought over us the wrath of his anger and scattered us among many nations, even unto the utmost part of the earth, where now my littleness is placed among strangers…"ii

Patrick was not originally Irish, and by his own admission, not even originally a "man of God". The picture he paints in his opening statements of the Confessio provide us with some insight into what his childhood might have been like. He lived in a small rural community. His father, a priest and deacon in the prevailing church, would have experienced the benefits of his office - well paid by the standards of his time and easily able to provide for the more secular needs of his family. Things were not as easy as it would seem, however.

The Celtic church was coming under greater scrutiny of the Roman Catholic Church, and there was certain theologies that… well, were perhaps a bit too much against the "True Faith" as proclaimed by the Roman Catholic spiritual leaders. As if that were not enough, the Roman occupied government was weakening, and the benefits of a strong military presence were diminishing. Raiding parties were becoming more frequent, and the roads between the towns were becoming unsafe to travel unless with a large party of people.

Patrick's father would have tried to provide his son with the tools needed to lead a good life: an understanding of the divine presence in all things, the knowledge of a God who was an integral part of all life, and an awareness of his own personal relationship with all of creation. This was the faith of the Culdee Church as it had been since the first missionaries arrived on the shores of those Islands. The Culdee church was certainly not at odds with the spiritual Celtic leaders known as the druids - why should it be, when several generations had worked with the druids and discovered that sameness of their theologies?

Calpornius tried, as every father would, to pass these teachings on to his son, but was becoming daily frustrated. His son had started spending a bit too much time frequenting the taverns. His friends, being of a rebellious age themselves where taking a few too many risks, getting into fights and living the life of teenage excess not conducive to their spiritual growth. Calpornius resolved to sit down and discuss these things he was hearing and seeing with his son. "Tonight", he thought to himself, "I will have a long overdue heart to heart talk with my son. Perhaps I can help him turn things around, and if necessary, get him into training. If he is busy with church matters, he will have less time to get into trouble…"

Calpornius never did have the opportunity to reach his son, however. The day had come which the townspeople had long discussed and feared. Raiders reached the shores of the small town and the hopes and dreams of the residents ended in flame and destruction…

Maewyn Succat was that young boy whose father had tried so hard to raise him in the traditions and beliefs of his community. Born approximately 373 C.E., Maewyn's life was forever changed when raiders pillaged his town and took him away to be sold into slavery. He was 16 at the time. The raiders took him to Ireland, and it was there that he was sold as a slave to Niall of the Nine Hostages. After a period of time, Maewyn was again sold to one of the lesser chieftains in Niall's seat. He spent most of his time in the Slemish Mountain region tending flocks of sheep.iii Life as a shepherd was not easy, even for the freeborn, and it is likely that Maewyn's days were marked by solitude, lack of food and comforts and even beatings by his taskmasters.

In his Confessio, Patrick again writes, "…every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed - the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was moved so that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers and almost as many in the night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountains; and I felt no harm and there was no sloth in me - as now I see, because the spirit within me was fervent."

It becomes apparent from this writing that Patrick, due to the austere life he had been forced to undertake, was undergoing a faith transformation shaped by his Culdee upbringing and these teachings of the divine were finally finding fertile ground to take root and grow. It is likely that his time on the Irish slopes looking after his flocks were principle in the development of his later spiritual leadership.

Six years later, Maewyn found the opportunity to escape from his life as a slave. He had a dream in which God told him that, "Thy ship is ready for thee". Maewyn interpreted this to mean that the time had come to escape, and this he quickly did. That night, Maewyn ran away and made his way through the peat bogs of the region. Scaling the mountains at the edge of the shoreline, he made his way to a port and boarded a ship, saying farewell (or so he thought) forever to the lands he now viewed with disdain. The ship sailed onward to France, and it was here that Maewyn began his new life.iv

While in France, Maewyn was befriended by a Catholic priest who undertook his tutelage. The years in slavery while in Ireland had put Maewyn far behind his colleagues in classical education, however, and it was this lacking in his education that caused the Church to pass over him for many opportunities in later life. While his lack of understanding of classical philosophy and his hardships in his grasp of the Latin language served to lessen his academic standing, his ability to quote and apply biblical passages quickly served to gain him recognition among the church clergy.v Maewyn began his seminary training at St. Martins in Tours and on the island of Lerins. Soon thereafter St. Germain began his mission at Auxerre and Maewyn placed himself under Germain's guidance.vi

Maewyn was eventually ordained into the Order, and it was upon his acceptance of the priesthood that he took the name, which he would be remembered by; Patrick (Patricus), meaning "Well-born".vii Shortly thereafter, one of his colleagues by the name of Pelagius was commissioned as the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Ireland. While the choice of Pelegius over Patrick may have been be due (once again) to Patrick's lack of classical education, it is more likely that Patrick himself declined to go - his past experiences in Ireland haunting his dreams. Also likely, given Patrick's background that his philosophical leanings toward the Christian teachings prevalent in those areas had not escaped the attention of the Catholic Church. It was during this period that the conflict between these two philosophies was reaching critical proportions. Rather than sending Patrick back into the "wolves' den" of the Celtic regions, the church officials would have preferred to place a tight rein on Patrick and send a priest whose own theology most closely matched that of the Roman Catholic Church.

By the year 433 C.E., it became apparent to the Catholic Church officials that their choice in Pelegius had been a poor one. Rather than converting the "Pagans" of the Celtic regions and bringing the Celtic Church tenets back in line with those of the Roman Catholic establishment, Pelegius had begun to spread the "heresies" of the Culdee philosophies. Pope St. Celestine I had to make a hard decision. While he was loath to send Patrick to take over the Church in Ireland, he needed someone who understood the Celtic mind. He needed a hardened individual who would not back down from conflict and could be appreciated and respected by the rough-and-ready Celts. In short, he needed a man with the personality of a Peter from the gospels and the philosophical presence of an Aristotle. Resigning itself to the greater need, the Church loosened its reigns on Patrick and commissioned him as the second Bishop to Ireland. So began the ministries of a man who has become legendary - whose mythic proportions match those of even the tales of Merlin and Arthur.

St. Patrick: The Man and the Myth

Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, gave an interview for the St. Anthony Messenger in August of 1996. Cahill pointed to St. Patrick as not only being a mystic, but also a rough and out-spoken man. He stated, "The Patrick who came back to Ireland with the Gospel was a real tough guy. He couldn't have been anything else - only a very tough man could have hoped to survive those people. I don't mean to say he wasn't a saint - he was a great saint - but he was a very rough, vigorous man."viii

Patrick's own childhood experiences led him to the types of ministries he provided to the people in Ireland. His experiences as a slave led him to appreciate and champion the underprivileged, the fringe of society, and the slaves. He gave special recognition to the women in Irish society, and took great care to minister to the women in his ecclesiastical care.ix A perfect example of Patrick's high esteem for women may be found in yet another paragraph of his Confessio:

"Among others, a blessed Irishwoman of noble birth, beautiful, full-grown, whom I had baptized, came to us after some days for a particular reason: she told us that she had received a message from a messenger of God, and he admonished her to be a virgin of Christ and draw nearer to God. Thanks be to God, on the sixth day after this she most laudably and eagerly chose what all virgins of Christ do. Not that their fathers agree with them: no - they often ever suffer persecution and undeserved reproaches from their parents; and yet their number is ever increasing…But greatest is the suffering of women who live in slavery. All the time they have to endure terror and threats. But the Lord gave his grace to many of his maidens; for, though they are forbidden to do so, they follow him bravely."x

This paragraph clearly shows the compassion Patrick showed for women, the sympathy he had of their undermined status of those times in Ireland and the appreciation he had for their strength to grow and contribute despite their general position within society.

St. Patrick's position as a mystic within the Christian faith is firmly defined and, for the most part, clearly undisputed. Cahill writes, "Patrick was a mystic who felt the presence of God in every turn of the road. God was palpable with him, and his relationship to him was very, very close. It was very much like the relationship in the bible that Jesus has with God the Father. It is familiar and comfortable, and that is how Patrick saw God at work in the world."xi

Karen Armstrong, in A History of God, defines the Mystic relationship with the divine as being an understanding of the divine as a highly personal relationship. Mystics recognize the divine as present in all forms of life, and through our interactions the divine essence in each and every being is recognized and honoured.

Armstrong explains this relationship through a quote by Al-Hallaj:

• • 
    
    "I am He whom I love, and He whom I love is I:
    
    We are two spirits dwelling in one body.
    
    If thou seest me, thou seest Him,
    
    And if thou seest Him, thou seest us both".xii

From the writings of Patrick's own hand, and the stories which have sprung forth from his life's deeds, we can clearly see that Patrick in every way fits the definition of "Mystic" - a way of spirituality which recognizes that the essence of the Divine is present and an integral part of all life.

This mystic understanding of God is also the theology, which serves to shape and define the Culdee understanding of the divine. The Culdees held the belief that the Divine existed as a Trinitarian force; God was manifest in Spirit, in Form, and in Action. The "One True God" existed in all things, was all things, and was present in all that was done and thought. The Gnostic and pantheistic extensions to this philosophy were understood and accepted. The ultimate conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of the Culdee was in this very theology. While the Roman Catholic Church saw God as a divine essence existing separately from humanity and an essence which humanity could strive for yet never obtain, the Culdee saw God as a living, breathing force within each and every life form. Within the Culdee construct, individuals could (and did) obtain a relationship with the divine that placed them on equal part with God; by recognizing and realizing their divine essence with God, they could in fact become a part of God themselves. It was this relationship with God that Patrick not only strove for, but also taught to the followers of his Irish congregations.

Isabel Hill Elder, in Celt, Druid and Culdee, recognizes St. Patrick as a Culdee and one of the most influential personas in the development and history of this faith. While recognizing that Patrick would have been influenced in part by his training with the Roman Catholic Church and as such having an incorporated understanding of Roman law and Roman church government, Elder points to Patrick's upbringing and his innate cultural understandings to show that his philosophy was ultimately that of the Culdee teachings of his father and childhood community. Elder goes further to show the eventual misunderstandings of St. Patrick's teachings. According to her research, there were actually two Patrick's: the Patrick of this article, and a later Patrick of the ninth century who developed the concept of purgatory.xiii

According to Elder, "Many saints of the British Church were, at a later date, claimed by the Latin Church, and legends undeserving of the slightest credence grew around their names. Those who owed nothing to Rome in connection to this conversion, and who long struggled against her pretensions, were later claimed by the Latin Church as though they had been her most devoted adherents. This is especially noticeable in the case of St. Patrick, whose conversion was the result of training in a British home, who was all his life a Culdee, yet now is given the greatest prominence in Roman Catholic hagiology."xiv It is widely accepted among academics that Patrick was actually Culdee and that many of the resulting legends and stories surrounding his life are in fact an incorporation by the Catholic Church, which are based more on political necessity and less on historical fact and truth.

The fact that St. Patrick held an understanding of the Culdee philosophy, and in fact was a Culdee, cannot be disputed. It was this ultimate understanding of his faith that brought Patrick into direct conflict with the very organization he was commissioned to serve - the Roman Catholic Church. The legend of the "driving of the snakes from Ireland" serves to provide an analogy for us of Patrick's eventual relationship and conflict with his human-ordained priesthood and his divinely ordained ministry. This legend is perhaps one of the best-known stories of Patrick's life, and perhaps…the least understood.

While there is little obvious ecological truth to the story of Patrick driving all the serpents from Ireland (snakes would not have existed since prehistoric eras), the most accepted analogy of this story is the idea that the "snakes" were the Pagans of "pre-Christian" Ireland, and that Patrick arrived in his ecumenical glory to drive out all Pagan and Druidic practices from these Celtic lands. While this particular analogy provides very good cannon fodder to feed the continuing conflict between modern day Paganism and Christianity, there is little historical foundation to this particular interpretation. "Christianity" existed in the Celtic regions that now are known as Ireland - and in fact existed long before the arrival of St. Patrick and even before the Roman occupation which was crumbling during the time of St. Patrick.

What is far more probable than this interpretation, given the evidence that Patrick was an adherent to the Culdee faith existing prior to his arrival, is that the symbolism of the "snake" refers to the Roman Catholic Church itself. Patrick was not in fact working against the pagan religions - his arrival heralded the efforts to once and for all separate the Culdee Church from the vicious war inflicted upon the Celtic understandings of God by the foreign Latin Church. The "snakes" Patrick worked to drive from the Emerald Isle were not in fact "Pagans" - it was the politically motivated theologies of the Roman occupation and Church. Rather than striving to use Patrick's endeavours as evidence for continued spiritual separation of faith understandings, it would behove us to recognize Patrick's attempts at building an understanding of the divine which can ultimately lead us all to greater spiritual understanding.

Among the more memorable of St. Patrick's deeds are legends including his visions, his introduction of the three-leafed clover as a symbol of the Trinity, and miracles exceeding those of Christ's miracles themselves. These include visions and stories in which Patrick defeated "demonic" powers of Druidic leaders who dared to stand against him. Other "miracles" were far more secular, and include accounts such as the story of the "Miracle of the Pigs".

"Saint Patrick was escaping slavery in Ireland and met a ship. He paid his passage with money, but on arrival to land there was no food to be found. The leader said to St. Patrick, 'What have you to say for yourself, Christian? You boast that your God is all-powerful. So why can't you pray for us, you know how badly hunger threatens us; it's beginning to look as if we may not survive to see another living soul.' But I told them with great confidence, 'Turn trustingly to the Lord who is my God and put your faith in him with all your heart, because nothing is impossible to him. On this same day, he will send us food sufficient for our journey, because of him there is abundance everywhere.' And with the help of God that is how things turned out. Suddenly, we saw a herd of pigs right before our very eyes, seeming to block our path. Wasting no time, they killed a very great number."xv

Many other miracles are accounted and attributed to St. Patrick - most of which involve his supposed defeat of the "Pagan" kings and rulers of Ireland. The original slave owner to Patrick - the chieftain who had originally purchased Patrick while he was 16 - died in a "divinely" caused fire which burned him and his family to death upon his rejection of Patrick's return as a spiritual leader. King Loegaire himself became involved in the retelling of these miracles as his Druidic advisor was smashed upon the rocks in an encounter with the "greater divine power" of Patrick. Later accounts tell of Patrick morphing into a white deer after the King sent forces to kill him. According to legend, King Loegaire eventually admitted the power of Patrick's God as superior to his own and converted to Christianity.

These many "miracles" as accounted in the annals of Latin Christianity have been used as evidence to show that Patrick's intent was to wipe out Pagan tradition and replace it with the theology of the established Roman Catholic Church. What must be remembered in all of these, however, is that the interpretation of history belongs to the "victors". As the Roman Catholic Church eventually gained political power in the lands of Patrick's ministry, the stories inevitably changed to record Patrick's presence as an advocate for the ruling power of the Catholic Church. What must be remembered, however, is that all historical evidence points to Patrick as a Culdee leader; and one who made his stand against the impending political manoeuvrings of the Latin Church. Patrick must be remembered, not as a political pawn of Catholic connivings against established Celtic faith understandings, but as an advocate for spiritual Truth and search for ultimate individual understanding with the divine.

Saint Patrick's death in 493 C.E. was a sorrowful loss to all of his followers. According to traditional legend. Patrick was buried in the same tomb as St. Brigit and St. Columba. While there is little historical evidence to support this idea, the story itself shows the importance of Patrick to the people whom he served. Many stories point to Patrick's place of death as Glastonbury. Supposedly, his jawbone is preserved in Downpatrick, and is attributed to cure epileptic fits, protect against the "evil eye" and serve as an aid in childbirth.xvi While many of these folk legends may be called questionable, what is ultimately apparent is that the man called "Patrick" served the people well, and that his leadership served to improve the lives and spiritual growth of the many he touched. His actions in life served not only to improve the lives of those he touched, but reach forward in time to touch each and every one of us; regardless of faith understanding or life experience. Man, myth, Mystic and legend…who he was is what each and every one of us is ultimately called to be.

Conclusions

With his beginnings as the lowly son of a clergyman in small town Wales, St. Patrick went on to accomplish great things. From slave to Bishop, Patrick touched everyone he met, and no one he encountered was left unchanged. He spread his faith and teachings to thousands and in the process came to a greater understanding of the divine presence in his own life. Patrick has become known as many things to many people: teacher, friend, mystic, priest, leader, Culdee and even heretic.

While many of the stories of his life have reached epic proportions, there is one thing that is sure - Patrick lived out his life in action and representation of what our own potentials are and what our own relationship with the divine can be. It is my hope this March 17th that each of us, be they Pagan, Christian, Muslim, Jew or any other faith path, will take a moment from our day's revelries and reflect on our own spiritual faith. What is our relationship to the divine? How is each of us acting to reflect the divine in our own lives and positively touch the lives of others? I believe that St. Patrick would have appreciated such questionings. Upon completion of our contemplations, let us then remember to raise a pint to St. Patrick… I am sure that he would have liked this too….

• 
  
  "Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
  
  Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
  
  Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
  
  Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
  
  Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
  
  Christ in the heart of every man who speaks of me,
  
  Christ in the eye that sees me,
  
  Christ in the ear that hears me.
  
  
  
  I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
  
  Through a belief in the Threeness,
  
  Through a confession of the Oneness
  
  Of the Creator of creation"xvii

Sources
iFrom the Lorica, a prayer attributed to St. Patrick.
iihttp://www.ccel.org/p/patrick/confes...onfession.html
iiihttp://holydays.tripod.com/shamrock.htm
ivIbid
vhttp://www.americancatholic.org/Mess...7/feature1.asp
vihttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm
viihttp://holydays.tripod.com/shamrock.htm
viiihttp://www.americancatholic.org/Mess...7/feature1.asp
ixibid
xhttp://www.ccel.org/p/patrick/confes...onfession.html
xihttp://www.americancatholic.org/Mess...7/feature1.asp
xiiA History of God, Karen Armstrong. Ballentine Books, 1994. pg. 228. ISBN 0-345-38456-3.
xiiiCelt, Druid and Culdee, Isabel Hill Elder, Hoffman Printing Co., 1990. ISBN 0-934666-36-9.
xivIbid, pg. 112.
xvhttp://www.tartanplace.com/slegend/pigmiracle.html
xvihttp://www.hylit.com/info/StPatrick/Legends.html
xviiSt. Patrick's Lorica, as found on
http://holydays.tripod.com/prayer.htm