Confession of St.
Patrick- Translated from
the Latin by Ludwig Bieler
I am Patrick, a sinner, most unlearned,
the least of all the faithful, and utterly despised by many.
My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a priest,
of the village Bannavem Taburniæ; 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. And there the Lord opened the sense
of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted
with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my abjection,
and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched over me before
I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good
and evil, and guarded me, and comforted me as would a father
his son. Hence I cannot be silent---nor, indeed,
is it expedient---about the great benefits and the great grace
which the lord has deigned to bestow upon me in the land of my
captivity; for this we can give to God in return after having
been chastened by Him, to exalt and praise His wonders before
every nation that is anywhere under the heaven. Because there is no other God, nor
ever was, nor will be, than God the Father unbegotten, without
beginning, from whom is all beginning, the Lord of the universe,
as we have been taught; and His son Jesus Christ, whom we declare
to have always been with the Father, spiritually and ineffably
begotten by the Father before the beginning of the world, before
all beginning; and by Him are made all things visible and invisible.
He was made man, and, having defeated death, was received into
heaven by the Father; and He hath given Him all power over all
names in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue
shall confess to Him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom
we believe, and whose advent we expect soon to be, judge of the
living and of the dead, who will render to every man according
to his deeds; and He has poured forth upon us abundantly the
Holy Spirit, the gift and pledge of immortality, who makes those
who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ;
and Him do we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of the
Holy Name. For He Himself has said through the
Prophet: Call upon me in the day of thy trouble, and I will deliver
thee, and thou shalt glorify me. And again He says: It is honourable
to reveal and confess the works of God. Although I am imperfect in many things,
I nevertheless wish that my brethren and kinsmen should know
what sort of person I am, so that they may understand my heart's
desire. I know well the testimony of my Lord,
who in the Psalm declares: Thou wilt destroy them that speak
a lie. And again He says: The mouth that belieth killeth the
soul. And the same Lord says in the Gospel: Every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day
of judgement. And so I should dread exceedingly,
with fear and trembling, this sentence on that day when no one
will be able to escape or hide, but we all, without exception,
shall have to give an account even of our smallest sins before
the judgement of the Lord Christ. For this reason I had in mind to
write, but hesitated until now; I was afraid of exposing myself
to the talk of men, because I have not studied like the others,
who thoroughly imbibed law and Sacred Scripture, and never had
to change from the language of their childhood days, but were
able to make it still more perfect. In our case, what I had to
say had to be translated into a tongue foreign to me, as can
be easily proved from the savour of my writing, which betrays
how little instruction and training I have had in the art of
words; for, so says Scripture, by the tongue will be discovered
the wise man, and understanding, and knowledge, and the teaching
of truth. But of what help is an excuse, however
true, especially if combined with presumption, since now, in
my old age, I strive for something that I did not acquire in
youth? It was my sins that prevented me from fixing in my mind
what before I had barely read through. But who believes me, though
I should repeat what I started out with? As a youth, nay, almost as a boy
not able to speak, I was taken captive, before I knew what to
pursue and what to avoid. Hence to-day I blush and fear exceedingly
to reveal my lack of education; for I am unable to tell my story
to those versed in the art of concise writing---in such a way,
I mean, as my spirit and mind long to do, and so that the sense
of my words expresses what I feel. But if indeed it had been given to
me as it was given to others, then I would not be silent because
of my desire of thanksgiving; and if perhaps some people think
me arrogant for doing so in spite of my lack of knowledge and
my slow tongue, it is, after all, written: The stammering tongues
shall quickly learn to speak peace. How much more should we earnestly
strive to do this, we, who are, so Scripture says, a letter of
Christ for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth, and,
though not an eloquent one, yet...written in your hearts, not
with ink, but with the spirit of the living God! And again the
Spirit witnesses that even rusticity was created by the Highest. Whence I, once rustic, exiled, unlearned,
who does not know how to provide for the future, this at least
I know most certainly that before I was humiliated I was like
a stone Lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came and
in His mercy lifted me up, and raised me aloft, and placed me
on the top of the wall. And therefore I ought to cry out aloud
and so also render something to the Lord for His great benefits
here and in eternity---benefits which the mind of men is unable
to appraise. Wherefore, then, be astonished, ye
great and little that fear God, and you men of letters on your
estates, listen and pore over this. Who was it that roused up
me, the fool that I am, from the midst of those who in the eyes
of men are wise, and expert in law, and powerful in word and
in everything? And He inspired me---me, the outcast of this world---before
others, to be the man (if only I could!) who, with fear and reverence
and without blame, should faithfully serve the people to whom
the love of Christ conveyed and gave me for the duration of my
life, if I should be worthy; yes indeed, to serve them humbly
and sincerely. In the light, therefore, of our faith
in the Trinity I must make this choice, regardless of danger
I must make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation,
without fear and frankly I must spread everywhere the name of
God so that after my decease I may leave a bequest to my brethren
and sons whom I have baptised in the Lord---so many thousands
of people. And I was not worthy, nor was I such
that the Lord should grant this to His servant; that after my
misfortunes and so great difficulties, after my captivity, after
the lapse of so many years, He should give me so great a grace
in behalf of that nation---a thing which once, in my youth, I
never expected nor thought of. But after I came to Ireland---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 used to get up for prayer before daylight,
through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm,
and there was no sloth in me---as I now see, because the spirit
within me was then fervent. And there one night I heard in my
sleep a voice saying to me: `It is well that you fast, soon you
will go to your own country.' And again, after a short while,
I heard a voice saying to me: `See, your ship is ready.' And
it was not near, but at a distance of perhaps two hundred miles,
and I had never been there, nor did I know a living soul there;
and then I took to flight, and I left the man with whom I had
stayed for six years. And I went in the strength of God who directed
my way to my good, and I feared nothing until I came to that
ship. And the day that I arrived the ship
was set afloat, and I said that I was able to pay for my passage
with them. But the captain was not pleased, and with indignation
he answered harshly: `It is of no use for you to ask us to go
along with us.' And when I heard this, I left them in order to
return to the hut where I was staying. And as I went, I began
to pray; and before I had ended my prayer, I heard one of them
shouting behind me, `Come, hurry, we shall take you on in good
faith; make friends with us in whatever way you like.' And so
on that day I refused to suck their breasts for fear of God,
but rather hoped they would come to the faith of Jesus Christ,
because they were pagans. And thus I had my way with them, and
we set sail at once. And after three days we reached land,
and for twenty-eight days we travelled through deserted country.
And they lacked food, and hunger overcame them; and the next
day the captain said to me: `Tell me, Christian: you say that
your God is great and all-powerful; why, then, do you not pray
for us? As you can see, we are suffering from hunger; it is unlikely
indeed that we shall ever see a human being again.' I said to them full of confidence:
`Be truly converted with all your heart to the Lord my God, because
nothing is impossible for Him, that this day He may send you
food on your way until you be satisfied; for He has abundance
everywhere.' And, with the help of God, so it came to pass: suddenly
a herd of pigs appeared on the road before our eyes, and they
killed many of them; and there they stopped for two nights and
fully recovered their strength, and their hounds received their
fill for many of them had grown weak and were half-dead along
the way. And from that day they had plenty of food. They also
found wild honey, and offered some of it to me, and one of them
said: `This we offer in sacrifice.' Thanks be to God, I tasted
none of it. That same night, when I was asleep,
Satan assailed me violently, a thing I shall remember as long
as I shall be in this body. And he fell upon me like a huge rock,
and I could not stir a limb. But whence came it into my mind,
ignorant as I am, to call upon Helias? And meanwhile I saw the
sun rise in the sky, and while I was shouting `Helias! Helias'
with all my might, suddenly the splendour of that sun fell on
me and immediately freed me of all misery. And I believe that
I was sustained by Christ my Lord, and that His Spirit was even
then crying out in my behalf, and I hope it will be so on the
day of my tribulation, as is written in the Gospel: On that day,
the Lord declares, it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of
your Father that speaketh in you. And once again, after many years,
I fell into captivity. On that first night I stayed with them,
I heard a divine message saying to me: `Two months will you be
with them.' And so it came to pass: on the sixtieth night thereafter
the Lord delivered me out of their hands. Also on our way God gave us food
and fire and dry weather every day, until, on the tenth day,
we met people. As I said above, we travelled twenty-eight days
through deserted country, and the night that we met people we
had no food left. And again after a few years I was
in Britain with my people. who received me as their son, and
sincerely besought me that now at last, having suffered so many
hardships, I should not leave them and go elsewhere. And there I saw in the night the
vision of a man, whose name was Victoricus, coming as it were
from Ireland, with countless letters. And he gave me one of them,
and I read the opening words of the letter, which were, `The
voice of the Irish'; and as I read the beginning of the letter
I thought that at the same moment I heard their voice---they
were those beside the Wood of Voclut, which is near the Western
Sea---and thus did they cry out as with one mouth: `We ask thee,
boy, come and walk among us once more.' And I was quite broken in heart,
and could read no further, and so I woke up. Thanks be to God,
after many years the Lord gave to them according to their cry. And another night---whether within
me, or beside me, I know not, God knoweth---they called me most
unmistakably with words which I heard but could not understand,
except that at the end of the prayer He spoke thus: `He that
has laid down His life for thee, it is He that speaketh in thee';
and so I awoke full of joy. And again I saw Him praying in me,
and I was as it were within my body, and I heard Him above me,
that is, over the inward man, and there He prayed mightily with
groanings. And all the time I was astonished, and wondered, and
thought with myself who it could be that prayed in me. But at
the end of the prayer He spoke, saying that He was the Spirit;
and so I woke up, and remembered the Apostle saying: The Spirit
helpeth the infirmities of our prayer. For we know not what we
should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself asketh for
us with unspeakable groanings, which cannot be expressed in words;
and again: The Lord our advocate asketh for us. And when I was attacked by a number
of my seniors who came forth and brought up my sins against my
laborious episcopate, on that day indeed was I struck so that
I might have fallen now and for eternity; but the Lord graciously
spared the stranger and sojourner for His name and came mightily
to my help in this affliction Verily, not slight was the shame
and blame that fell upon me! I ask God that it may not be reckoned
to them as sin. As cause for proceeding against me
they found---after thirty years!---a confession I had made before
I was a deacon. In the anxiety of my troubled mind I confided
to my dearest friend what I had done in my boyhood one day, nay,
in one hour, because I was not yet strong. I know not, God knoweth---whether
I was then fifteen years old: and I did not believe in the living
God, nor did I so from my childhood, but lived in death and unbelief
until I was severely chastised and really humiliated, by hunger
and nakedness, and that daily. On the other hand, I did not go to
Ireland of my own accord. not until I had nearly perished; but
this was rather for my good, for thus was I purged by the Lord;
and He made me fit so that I might be now what was once far from
me that I should care and labour for the salvation of others,
whereas then I did not even care about myself. On that day, then, when I was rejected
by those referred to and mentioned above, in that night I saw
a vision of the night. There was a writing without honour against
my face, and at the same time I heard God's voice saying to me:
`We have seen with displeasure the face of Deisignatus' (thus
revealing his name). He did not say, `Thou hast seen.' but `We
have seen.' as if He included Himself, as He sayeth: He who toucheth
you toucheth as it were the apple of my eye. Therefore I give Him thanks who hath
strengthened me in everything, as He did not frustrate the journey
upon which I had decided, and the work which I had learned from
Christ my Lord; but I rather felt after this no little strength,
and my trust was proved right before God and men. And so I say boldly, my conscience
does not blame me now or in the future: God is my witness that
I have not lied in the account which I have given you. But the more am I sorry for my dearest
friend that we had to hear what he said. To him I had confided
my very soul! And I was told by some of the brethren before that
defence---at which I was not present, nor was I in Britain, nor
was it suggested by me---that he would stand up for me in my
absence. He had even said to me in person: `Look, you should
be raised to the rank of bishop!'---of which I was not worthy.
But whence did it come to him afterwards that he let me down
before all, good and evil, and publicly, in a matter in which
he had favoured me before spontaneously and gladly---and not
he alone, but the Lord, who is greater than all? Enough of this. I must not, however,
hide God's gift which He bestowed upon me in the land of my captivity;
because then I earnestly sought Him, and there I found Him, and
He saved me from all evil because---so I believe---of His Spirit
that dwelleth in me. Again, boldly said. But God knows it, had
this been said to me by a man, I had perhaps remained silent
for the love of Christ. Hence, then, I give unwearied thanks
to God, who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so
that today I can confidently offer Him my soul as a living sacrifice---to
Christ my Lord, who saved me out of all my troubles. Thus I can
say: `Who am I, 0 Lord, and to what hast Thou called me, Thou
who didst assist me with such divine power that to-day I constantly
exalt and magnify Thy name among the heathens wherever I may
be, and not only in good days but also in tribulations?' So indeed
I must accept with equanimity whatever befalls me, be it good
or evil, and always give thanks to God, who taught me to trust
in Him always without hesitation, and who must have heard my
prayer so that I, however ignorant I was, in the last days dared
to undertake such a holy and wonderful work---thus imitating
somehow those who, as the Lord once foretold, would preach His
Gospel for a testimony to all nations before the end of the world.
So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we
are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those parts
beyond which there lives nobody. Now, it would be tedious to give
a detailed account of all my labours or even a part of them.
Let me tell you briefly how the merciful God often freed me from
slavery and from twelve dangers in which my life was at stake---not
to mention numerous plots, which I cannot express in words; for
I do not want to bore my readers. But God is my witness, who
knows all things even before they come to pass, as He used to
forewarn even me, poor wretch that I am, of many things by a
divine message. How came I by this wisdom, which
was not in me, who neither knew the number of my days nor knew
what God was? Whence was given to me afterwards the gift so great,
so salutary---to know God and to love Him, although at the price
of leaving my country and my parents? And many gifts were offered to me
in sorrow and tears, and I offended the donors, much against
the wishes of some of my seniors; but, guided by God, in no way
did I agree with them or acquiesce. It was not grace of my own,
but God, who is strong in me and resists them all---as He had
done when I came to the people of Ireland to preach the Gospel,
and to suffer insult from the unbelievers, hearing the reproach
of my going abroad, and many persecutions even unto bonds, and
to give my free birth for the benefit of others; and, should
I be worthy, I am prepared to give even my life without hesitation
and most gladly for His name, and it is there that I wish to
spend it until I die, if the Lord would grant it to me. For I am very much God's debtor,
who gave me such grace that many people were reborn in God through
me and afterwards confirmed, and that clerics were ordained for
them everywhere, for a people just coming to the faith, whom
the Lord took from the utmost parts of the earth, as He once
had promised through His prophets: To Thee the gentiles shall
come from the ends of the earth and shall say: `How false are
the idols that our fathers got for themselves, and there is no
profit in them'; and again: `I have set Thee as a light among
the gentiles, that Thou mayest be for salvation unto the utmost
part of the earth.' And there I wish to wait for His
promise who surely never deceives, as He promises in the Gospel:
They shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down
with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob---as we believe the faithful
will come from all the world. For that reason, therefore, we ought
to fish well and diligently, as the Lord exhorts in advance and
teaches, saying: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be
fishers of men. And again He says through the prophets: Behold,
I send many fishers and hunters, saith God, and so on. Hence
it was most necessary to spread our nets so that a great multitude
and throng might be caught for God, and that there be clerics
everywhere to baptize and exhort a people in need and want, as
the Lord in the Gospel states, exhorts and teaches, saying: Going
therefore now, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold
I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world.
And again He says: Go ye therefore into the whole world, and
preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned.
And again: This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the
whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come
the end. And so too the Lord announces through the prophet, and
says: And it shall come to pass, in the last days, saith the
Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants
indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of
my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And in Osee, He saith:
`I will call that which was not my people, my people; ...and
her that had not obtained mercy, one that hath obtained mercy.
And it shall be in the place where it was said: ``You are not
my people,'' there they shall be called the sons of the living
God.' Hence, how did it come to pass in
Ireland that those who never had a knowledge of God, but until
now always worshipped idols and things impure, have now been
made a people of the Lord, and are called sons of God, that the
sons and daughters of the kings of the Irish are seen to be monks
and virgins of Christ? 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 near 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.
How many have been reborn there so as to be of our kind, I do
not know---not to mention widows and those who practice continence. But greatest is the suffering of
those 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. Wherefore, then, even if I wished
to leave them and go to Britain---and how I would have loved
to go to my country and my parents, and also to Gaul in order
to visit the brethren and to see the face of the saints of my
Lord! God knows it! that I much desired it; but I am bound by
the Spirit, who gives evidence against me if I do this, telling
me that I shall be guilty; and I am afraid of losing the labour
which I have begun---nay, not I, but Christ the Lord who bade
me come here and stay with them for the rest of my life, if the
Lord will, and will guard me from every evil way that I may not
sin before Him. This, I presume, I ought to do, but
I do not trust myself as long as I am in this body of death,
for strong is he who daily strives to turn me away from the faith
and the purity of true religion to which I have devoted myself
to the end of my I life to Christ my Lord. But the hostile flesh
is ever dragging us unto death, that I is, towards the forbidden
satisfaction of one's desires; and I know that in part I did
not lead a perfect life as did the other faithful; but I acknowledge
it to my! Lord, and do not blush before Him, because I lie not:
from the time I came to know Him in my youth, the love of God
and the fear of Him have grown in me, and up to now, thanks to
the grace of God, I have kept the faith. And let those who will, laugh and
scorn---I shall not be silent; nor shall I hide the signs and
wonders which the Lord has shown me many years before they came
to pass, as He knows everything even before the times of the
world. Hence I ought unceasingly to give
thanks to God who often pardoned my folly and my carelessness,
and on more than one occasion spared His great wrath on me, who
was chosen to be His helper and who was slow to do as was shown
me and as the Spirit suggested. And the Lord had mercy on me
thousands and thousands of times because He saw that I was ready,
but that I did not know what to do in the circumstances. For
many tried to prevent this my mission; they would even talk to
each other behind my back and say: `Why does this fellow throw
himself into danger among enemies who have no knowledge of God?'
It was not malice, but it did not appeal to them because---and
to this I own myself---of my rusticity. And I did not realize
at once the grace that was then in me; now I understand that
I should have done so before. Now I have given a simple account
to my brethren and fellow servants who have believed me because
of what I said and still say in order to strengthen and confirm
your faith. Would that you, too, would strive for greater things
and do better! This will be my glory, for a wise son is the glory
of his father. You know, and so does God, how I
have lived among you from my youth in the true faith and in sincerity
of heart. Likewise, as regards the heathen among whom I live,
I have been faithful to them, and so I shall be. God knows it,
I have overreached none of them, nor would I think of doing so,
for the sake of God and His Church, for fear of raising persecution
against them and all of us, and for fear that through me the
name of the Lord be blasphemed; for it is written: Woe to the
man through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed. For although I be rude in all things,
nevertheless I have tried somehow to keep myself safe, and that,
too, for my Christian brethren, and the virgins of Christ, and
the pious women who of their own accord made me gifts and laid
on the altar some of their ornaments and I gave them back to
them, and they were offended that I did so. But I did it for
the hope of lasting success---in order to preserve myself cautiously
in everything so that they might not seize upon me or the ministry
of my service, under the pretext of dishonesty, and that I would
not even in the smallest matter give the infidels an opportunity
to defame or defile. When I baptized so many thousands
of people, did I perhaps expect from any of them as much as half
a scruple? Tell me, and I will restore it to you. Or when the
Lord ordained clerics everywhere through my unworthy person and
I conferred the ministry upon them free, if I asked any of them
as much as the price of my shoes, speak against me and I will
return it to you. On the contrary, I spent money for
you that they might receive me; and I went to you and everywhere
for your sake in many dangers, even to the farthest districts,
beyond which there lived nobody and where nobody had ever come
to baptize, or to ordain clergy, or to confirm the people. With
the grace of the Lord, I did everything lovingly and gladly for
your salvation. All the while I used to give presents
to the kings, besides the fees I paid to their sons who travel
with me. Even so they laid hands on me and my companions, and
on that day they eagerly wished to kill me; but my time had not
yet come. And everything they found with us they took away, and
me they put in irons; and on the fourteenth day the Lord delivered
me from their power, and our belongings were returned to us because
of God and our dear friends whom we had seen before. You know how much I paid to those
who administered justice in all those districts to which I came
frequently. I think I distributed among them not less than the
price of fifteen men, so that you might enjoy me, and I might
always enjoy you in God. I am not sorry for it---indeed it is
not enough for me; I still spend and shall spend more. God has
power to grant me afterwards that I myself may be spent for your
souls. Indeed, I call God to witness upon
my soul that I lie not; neither, I hope, am I writing to you
in order to make this an occasion of flattery or covetousness,
nor because I look for honour from any of you. Sufficient is
the honour that is not yet seen but is anticipated in the heart.
Faithful is He that promised; He never lieth. But I see myself exalted even in
the present world beyond measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy
nor such that He should grant me this. I know perfectly well,
though not by my own judgement, that poverty and misfortune becomes
me better than riches and pleasures. For Christ the Lord, too,
was poor for our sakes; and I, unhappy wretch that I am, have
no wealth even if I wished for it. Daily I expect murder, fraud,
or captivity, or whatever it may be; but I fear none of these
things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself
into the hands of God Almighty, who rules everywhere, as the
prophet says: Cast thy thought upon God, and He shall sustain
thee. So, now I commend my soul to my faithful
God, for whom I am an ambassador in all my wretchedness; but
God accepteth no person, and chose me for this office---to be,
although among His least, one of His ministers. Hence let me render unto Him for
all He has done to me. But what can I say or what can I promise
to my Lord, as I can do nothing that He has not given me? May
He search the hearts and deepest feelings; for greatly and exceedingly
do I wish, and ready I was, that He should give me His chalice
to drink, as He gave it also to the others who loved Him. Wherefore may God never permit it
to happen to me that I should lose His people which He purchased
in the utmost parts of the world. I pray to God to give me perseverance
and to deign that I be a faithful witness to Him to the end of
my life for my God. And if ever I have done any good
for my God whom I love, I beg Him to grant me that I may shed
my blood with those exiles and captives for His name, even though
I should be denied a grave, or my body be woefully torn to pieces
limb by limb by hounds or wild beasts, or the fowls of the air
devour it. I am firmly convinced that if this should happen to
me, I would have gained my soul together with my body, because
on that day without doubt we shall rise in the brightness of
the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer,
as sons of the living God and joint heirs with Christ, to be
made conformable to His image; for of Him, and by Him, and in
Him we shall reign. For this sun which we see rises daily
for us because He commands so, but it will never reign, nor will
its splendour last; what is more, those wretches who adore it
will be miserably punished. Not so we, who believe in, and worship,
the true sun---Christ---who will never perish, nor will he who
doeth His will; but he will abide for ever as Christ abideth
for ever, who reigns with God the Father Almighty and the Holy
Spirit before time, and now, and in all eternity. Amen. Behold, again and again would I set
forth the words of my confession. I testify in truth and in joy
of heart before God and His holy angels that I never had any
reason except the Gospel and its promises why I should ever return
to the people from whom once before I barely escaped. I pray those who believe and fear
God, whosoever deigns to look at or receive this writing which
Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, has composed in Ireland, that no
one should ever say that it was my ignorance if I did or showed
forth anything however small according to God's good pleasure;
but let this be your conclusion and let it so be thought, that---as
is the perfect truth---it was the gift of God. This is my confession
before I die.
St. Patrick's Breastplate- As published in
the CyberHymnal
I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The three in one, and one in three.
I bind this day to me forever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spiced tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet "Well done" in judgment hour;
The service of the seraphim;
Confessor's faith, apostles' word,
The patriarchs' prayers, the prophets' scrolls;
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun's life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need;
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same,
The three in one, and one in three.
Of whom all nature hath creation;
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the
Lord. Amen.
Questions, Comments?
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