Christ be with me, Christ within me: thoughts on St Patrick’s Day

Christ be with me, Christ within me: thoughts on St Patrick’s Day

Rev. Vicki MouradianThe Rev. Vicki Mouradian, Interim Associate Rector

Lent is a perfect time of the year to really appreciate the Saints of the Church.  As those who have been participating in Lent Madness have come to learn, Saints are varied and colorful!  We turn to Saints for inspiration for most Saints have endured arduous journeys throughout church history and we can learn and appreciate from their stories of faith.  One such Saint was St. Patrick who we remember today.

In the words of Holy Women and Holy Men, an Episcopal compendium of Saints, St. Patrick was born into a Christian family somewhere on the northwest coast of Britain in about 390, C.E.  His grandfather had been a Chrisian priest and his father, Calpornius, a deacon.  Calpornius was an important official in the late Roman imperial government of Britain.  It was not unusual in the post-Constantinian period for such state officials to be in holy orders.  When Patrick was about sixteen, he was captured by a band of Irish slave-raiders.  He was carried off to Ireland and forced to serve as a shepherd.  When he was about twenty-one, he escaped and returned to Britain, where he was educated as a Christian.  He tells us that he took holy orders as both presbyter and bishop, although no particular see is known as his at this time.  A vision called him to return to Ireland.  This he did about the year 431.

Tradition holds that Patrick landed not far from the place of his earlier captivity, near what is now known as Downpatrick (a “down”or “dun”is a fortified hill, the stronghold of a local Irish king).  He then began a remarkable process of missionary conversion throughout the country that continued until his death, probably in 461.  He made his appeal to the local kings and through them to their tribes.  Christianizing the old pagan religion as he went, Patrick erected Christian churches over sites already regarded as sacred, had crosses carved on old druidic pillars, and put sacred wells and spring under the protection of Christian saints.

Many legends of Patrick’s Irish missionary travels possess substrata of truth, especially those telling of his conversion of the three major Irish High Kings.  At Armagh, he is said to have established his principal church.  To this day, Armagh is regarded as the primatial see of all Ireland.

Of course, what would a proper Saint be without legends or traditions attached to their identity?  St. Patrick is no exception.  One legend credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a three-leafed plant, to illustrate the Christian teaching of three persons in one God.  The shamrock had been seen as sacred in the pre-Christian days in Ireland.  Due to its green color and overall shape, many viewed it as representing rebirth and eternal life.  Probably the most popular and fantastic legend claims that St. Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland by chasing them into the sea after they attacked him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill.  However, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes because of its insular island status.

We can best remember St. Patrick for his missionary work in a country which had enslaved him, a true credit to his faith and his belief in Christ’s teaching to love our enemies.  Perhaps one way in which St. Patrick can touch us in this present day is to say the following prayer (adapted by Cecil Alexander and Charles Stanford) attributed to him:

Christ be with me,

Christ within me,

Christ behind me,

Christ before me,

Christ beside me,

Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ in quiet,

Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

May St. Patrick touch our hearts and minds and inspire us to grow closer to Christ.