On this day, the Church commemorates St. Patrick, Missionary to Ireland. It is good to remember this well-loved and best-known missionary saint for his life and work. He was born to a Christian family in Britain around AD 389. Captured by raiders as a teen, he was forcefully taken to Ireland and forced to work as a herdsman. He escaped after six years of imprisonment and entered a monastery in France. He was ordained as a bishop and is believed to have returned to Ireland in 433 AD, where he spent the rest of his life proclaiming the Gospel and founding Christian communities. He was a defender of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity during a time when the doctrine was under attack. He wrote many contributions, including his autobiography and prayers and hymns that are still used today. He is believed to have died on March 17, AD 466 in Ireland.
“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.
By whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.”
–From St. Patrick’s Breastplate
Description adapted from, and St. Patrick’s Breastplate quoted from: “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” 1285-1286.
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