St. Patrick's Confessio: Sections 35 - 39

"I am greatly in debt to God. He gave me such great grace, that through me, many people should be born again in God and brought to full life." ~St. Patrick

In this section he begains to tell about his ministry in Ireland.  At every step he gives Glory to God for what he has accomplished there.  He talks some of his trials but does not go into great detail (perhapse he will go into more detail later).

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(Sorry I'm  late in posting this today.  Had a fun day out with my kids and wasn't able to get to this until we got home).  

St. Patrick's Confessio: Sections 33 - 34

"Whatever comes about for me, good or bad, I ought to accept them equally and give thanks to God. He has shown me that I can put my faith in him without wavering and without end."

Alright...I goofed a bit in the way I broke this up:  long section yesterday, super short one today.  Oh well.  This is sort of finishing yesterday's section about the accusations made against him.  Here he shows his gratitude for Gods provision for him through that difficult time.

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St. Patrick's Confessio: Section 26 - 32

"I give thanks to the one who strengthened me in all things, so that he would not impede me in the course I had undertaken and from the works also which I had learned from Christ my Lord."~St. Patrick

This passage deals with an accusation against him ,from something in his past when he was a youth before he believed in God.  He had shared something with a friend in secret which was later brought against him by his superiors. It's something many can relate to.

He never says what it was that was brought up against him, only that God forgave him of it.

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St. Patrick's Confessio: Sections 23 - 25

They called out as it were with one voice: “We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk again among us.” 

I am reading through a few sections of  St. Patrick's Confessio (one of the few works attributed to St. Patrick) every day, leading up to St. Patrick's Day.  In this section he shared three visions he had to lead him on his calling to return to Ireland (where he had previously been taken as a slave, and had escaped from), and preach the Gospel to the people there.

I think also modern people are more hesitant to to put stock in visions, myself included, though my own testimony contains something similar in feeling the Holy Spirit's presence (though not a vision, really, just a sense).   

The second vision leaves me feeling like there should be more to it...since there was a whole message but all he understood of it, if I am reading it right, was that the message was from God.

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St. Patrick's Confessio: Sections 16 - 22

Public Domain photo of the Irish Coast (Copper Coast)


"More and more the love of God increased, and my sense of awe before God."

This passage (16 - 22*) talks about how St. Patrick's faith grew during the 6 years he was enslaved in Ireland, and how he escaped slavery.   

It's both a very interesting part of his Confession, and a somewhat confusing one.  There was several phrases which I was glad to have the notes on (the online translation I'm reading has various linked notes inserted in the text.)  One was particularly colorful...when after he had been allowed to board a ship to leave Ireland he said "That day, I refused to suck their breasts, because of my reverence for God."   That raised my eyebrows a little so I checked the notes, which said "The practice of symbolically coming under the protection of another by sucking the breast was known in North Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Turkey, Armenia, Caucasus region, Albania, as well as Ireland."  VERY STRANGE!  But it helps shed light on the passage...he would not come under their protection because he was under the protection of God.

In the last few days' reading he said much about his inadequacy in speaking in Latin, and up until now it felt like false humility, as to me each word in this Confessio felt finely crafted and poetic..  But in the sections I read today, when he shares his own story, it jumps around and feels awkward at times (and I don't mean just the odd idiom I described above).  Of course, as with the previous days eloquence, it could be due to translation.

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St. Patrick's Confessio

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*For continuity, I went a little more than 5 sections today to get to what seemed like a transition point in the story. and not stop in an awkward place.


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