“I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)

Amid the parades and pub crawls, it is good to have an opportunity to remember what today is really about; the arrival of the Christian faith in Ireland.  Nowadays, St. Patrick has become more of a national symbol than saint. With some irreverence, many people refer casually to “Paddy’s Day” and hardly think about the man who did so much good for Ireland; the man of faith, of prayer and extraordinary commitment.

Like St. Paul and St. Barnabas before him, St. Patrick’s life became a missionary journey. In his Confession, he quotes God’s promise to the Suffering Servant of the Lord as the reason he returned to preach the Gospel in Ireland; “I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.”

It is inspiring that he willingly returned to Ireland although he had spent six years in harsh captivity at the hands of the Irish. This vividly shows us that out of suffering and evil God can bring good, as it was that during his captivity St. Patrick grew in his faith and love of God. His trust in the Holy Spirit enabled him to keep positive during those six years and St. Patrick wrote in his Confession, “There I sought Him and there I found Him.” This depth of conviction manifested itself in his prayer life. In the course of a day he would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night.

The life of St. Patrick is an example to us that faith is not a knowledge to be learned but rather a life to be lived in the company of Christ. Faith is not simply a matter of knowing Christ, his teachings and the teachings of the Church, it is also a sensing of the presence of Christ and a response to that presence. This sensing of the presence and love of God shaped St. Patrick’s life and became the foundation of all that he did.

In our world today, we are faced with many problems in society; drug abuse, violence, collapse of marriage and families, and increased secularisation.  As a response to these issues we should emulate St. Patrick’s belief in the power of prayer, a belief that brought him inner freedom and trust in the active presence of the Holy Spirit, for it was through this belief that he once opened a door before us which no one can ever close.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

(St. Patrick's Day Blessings)

Daniel Cunningham, 22
Diocese of Down and Connor, NI
Studying Hispanic Studies at University of Nottingham
General Secretary of CathSoc