5 Things We Can Learn from The Patron Saint of Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day

5 Lessons from St. Patrick on St. Patrick’s Day – originally published March 2019
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A Short Summary of Saint Patrick’s Life               

There are a lot of myths and confusion about Saint Patrick and why we celebrate Saint Patrick’s day. But he did write a biography [I cannot find a version of this, but here is a current biography] and there are several things that people generally agree on about his life. He grew up in what is now Great Britain… Somewhere? That part isn’t certain. His grandfather was a priest, and his dad a deacon, but he wasn’t particularly enthralled with religion. He was kidnapped at about 16 years old in a pirate raid. Irish pirates were feared and had a tendency to take whatever or whoever they wanted. Oh, and according to his biography, his name was Maewyn Succat originally.

He spent several years as a slave in Ireland, and he spent a lot of time praying while he was forced to keep sheep, isolated out in the field. Then he had a vision about how to escape and return home when he was in his early twenties- and succeeded. According to the stories he was not the first missionary to Ireland, but he knew Ireland better than the missionaries that had gone before him. So, at around 40 years old, Patrick went back to Ireland to tell the people God’s story. He probably did not banish the snakes from Ireland or use the shamrock to teach the Trinity, and he might not technically be a saint- but his story is still pretty amazing and there’s a lot we can learn from it.

5 Lessons from St. Patrick that stood out to me
before we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

1) Being in constant communication with God
is the best way to go through life.

~In his biography, Patrick says that prayer was all he had. He chose to survive on prayer instead of bitterness and anger. He didn’t know the language, the customs, and was isolated as a foreigner and slave. (And literally isolated in the fields with the sheep without adequate food or clothing.)
~So he prayed INTENTIONALLY and CONSTANTLY. As many as 100 times at night and during the day. Prayer was his lifeline, his support. There are lots of versions and translations of the liturgical prayer most attributed to him. Here’s one of the more common ones. The Breastplate Prayer:

“As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
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,
Christ when I stand,
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.
Amen.”

2) A prayer that’s answered ‘Yes’
does not always make things easier.

*Saint Patrick was a slave for 6 years before his escape. His heavenly visions directed him and we don’t know If he questioned them. But according to Patrick, he had to walk over 200 miles to get to the boat he escaped in and it was not simple for him to get smuggled onto the ship.
*Then, after finally escaping Ireland, he landed in a place where there was no food…again. Remember when Job’s friends mocked him for still believing in God’s plan after everything that had happened to him? Patrick faces a similar kind of mockery- and ends up boldly leading everyone in prayer! Wild pigs were the answer to that prayer.
*So while an answered prayer doesn’t guarantee an outcome the way I wanted it- we should still be persistently and boldly communicating with our Father in heaven.

3) He used what he knew and worked hard to learn more.

*His education was cut short by that whole being a slave business. So Patrick had some catching up to do. I can personally attest to how painful it is to catch up on learning Latin when you’re behind- whew. But even though he struggled with school, he worked hard at it for years.
*Other missions to Ireland had failed. But he knew how the power systems worked and who the people trusted. He believed that He was following God and that God knew what He was doing- despite it being unconventional. He knew how to communicate with God and that he needed to help others get there.
*We can trust God and tell people confidently that we do! And growing and learning- those are good things that we should be consistently in pursuit of.

4) Patrick was both humble and bold

*In his surviving writings, he talked about how dehumanizing and humiliating being a slave was. It put everything else in perspective for him. It did not matter that the church had not come out against slavery yet, he did. He believed that every life had value and managed to impart that to a group of people who definitely did not hold that belief.
*He converted from the top down. He knew that he had to convert the chiefs and the people in power first before he would be successful. It would have taken a lot of bravery to lead with that plan. But he successfully converted thousands of people and helped created hundreds of monasteries/ church organizations. Those organizations saved not only souls- but also literal lives and a ton of historical documentation that might have been lost in Britain.
*Everyone is valuable to God, including me. I can be bold with humility- acknowledging the value of others. I can walk in boldness through Christ daily.

5) Write down your story  

*Even when you write everything down, historians might still argue whether or not you were relaying all the details accurately and maybe even the year you were born. It makes me chuckle a little to think of it that way.
*Patrick was embarrassed about his lack of education- but that didn’t stop him from writing bold letters and telling his story! (And from saving historical stuff and helping to create schools!)
*Telling our stories (and being able to graciously give reason for our hope) matter. Plus- writing can be therapeutic. And your story may be being told hundreds of years from now, so you want something for the historians to dissect and argue over that was written by you 😉

Connection to St. Patrick’s Day

So the traditions that have turned into what we know as St. Patrick’s day have very little to do with its namesake and more to do with paying homage to significant things that represent Ireland’s success and a whole lot of other things people associate with over the top celebrations. Regardless, I think it’s cool that he is still remembered and celebrated. And we’ll be wearing green, eating some Irish food, and generally enjoying the holiday. But I’ll also be remembering the legacy of Saint Patrick, because it’s a pretty great one. I’m going to write out a piece of his prayer on a sticky note (a green one of course ;]) and put it on the bathroom mirror. And try to remember communicating with God wholeheartedly is what my faith boils down to. He might not have charmed the snakes away but he knew what was important. And he did help abolish slavery, human sacrifices, and assigned value to women and children. So, that’s cooler to me than snake charming. Check out the full prayer- known as the Breastplate prayer or St. Patrick’s prayer here.

Wishing you a wonderful St. Patrick’s day filled with a little more bravery, a lot more prayer, and a little more grace than your typical Sunday.

Sources: History 1, 2, 3; CT; Holiday 1, 2 ; Prayer 1, 2 *We do not promote or endorse the resources listed*

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