Saint Patrick

Born in AD 387, Patrick was the son of a deacon who lived in Roman Britain. At the age of sixteen he was kidnapped by pirates who sold him into slavery to a rich man in Ireland. There he worked as a shepherd for six years until miraculously God provided a way of escape. In a vision he saw a ship that was to take him home and he escaped by the very ship he saw in his vision and returned to his family. He studied for the priesthood and was asked to return to Ireland to work as a missionary in this land that was entirely pagan. His six years of slavery there afforded him the knowledge of the language. His master was a high ranking druid and from him he learned the culture of the druid religion. God used the six years of slavery to train Patrick for his future service. Under his many years of missionary work in Ireland he converted Ireland to Christianity and brought about many social reforms.

I thank God for Patrick’s adversity that God used for good. As we face setbacks and troubles in life we need to remember this godly man’s experience and remember that “all things work together for good as we love God and are called according to God’s purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Here are some words of Saint Patrick that we should pray every day:
I bind myself today, God’s power to guide me, God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to reach me, God’s eye to watch over me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s Word to give me speech, God’s hand to guide me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to shelter me, God’s host to secure me against the snares of demons, against the seduction of vices.