St. Patrick, Bishop, Confessor.
St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, was sent to that country by Pope St. Celestine as a missionary.
He found Ireland heathen and left it Christian.
St.Patrick died, A.D. 464, and was buried at Down, in Ulster.
He scattered the seed of the Gospel with such success that, from the innumerable band of holy men and women which it produced, the verdant land of Erin was known in the Middle Ages by the glorious title of the "Island of Saints" - a glory which three centuries of bitter persecution of the Catholic Faith at the hands of the Anglican Church utterly failed to eclipse.
Pius IX in 1859 as a tribute to the vigorous faith of this nation raised the feast of St. Patrick which has appeared in the Roman Breviary since the Fifteenth Century, to the rank of a double.
Patrick is the great patriach of the Irish episcopate, and of Irish monachism. This monachism left its mark throughout mediaeval Europe wherever the Scotti planted their tents and introduced their traditions. His feast is a Holy Day of obligation in Ireland; there is a church dedicated to him in Rome, not far from the Via Salaria.
St.Patrick and the Necessity of Baptism
History records that St.Patrick - who himself raised some forty infidels from the dead- raised a number of people from the dead specifically in order to baptise them, something which was totally unnecessary if one can be saved without baptism. As one scholar notes,
"In all, St. Patrick brought to life some forty infidels in Ireland, one of whom was King Echu... On raising him from the dead, St. Patrick, instructed and baptised him, asking what he had seen of the other world.. King Echu told him how he had actually beheld the throne prepared for him in Heaven because of his life being open to the grace of Almighty God, but that he was not allowed to enter precisely because he was as yet unbaptised. After receiving the sacraments...(he) died instantly and went to his reward."
St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, was sent to that country by Pope St. Celestine as a missionary.
He found Ireland heathen and left it Christian.
St.Patrick died, A.D. 464, and was buried at Down, in Ulster.
He scattered the seed of the Gospel with such success that, from the innumerable band of holy men and women which it produced, the verdant land of Erin was known in the Middle Ages by the glorious title of the "Island of Saints" - a glory which three centuries of bitter persecution of the Catholic Faith at the hands of the Anglican Church utterly failed to eclipse.
Pius IX in 1859 as a tribute to the vigorous faith of this nation raised the feast of St. Patrick which has appeared in the Roman Breviary since the Fifteenth Century, to the rank of a double.
Patrick is the great patriach of the Irish episcopate, and of Irish monachism. This monachism left its mark throughout mediaeval Europe wherever the Scotti planted their tents and introduced their traditions. His feast is a Holy Day of obligation in Ireland; there is a church dedicated to him in Rome, not far from the Via Salaria.
St.Patrick and the Necessity of Baptism
History records that St.Patrick - who himself raised some forty infidels from the dead- raised a number of people from the dead specifically in order to baptise them, something which was totally unnecessary if one can be saved without baptism. As one scholar notes,
"In all, St. Patrick brought to life some forty infidels in Ireland, one of whom was King Echu... On raising him from the dead, St. Patrick, instructed and baptised him, asking what he had seen of the other world.. King Echu told him how he had actually beheld the throne prepared for him in Heaven because of his life being open to the grace of Almighty God, but that he was not allowed to enter precisely because he was as yet unbaptised. After receiving the sacraments...(he) died instantly and went to his reward."
4 comments:
Hello,
Your posts are always so interesting . The 3 leaf clover is a beautiful sign of the Holy Trinity. When you find a rare 4 leaf it supposed to be a sign of grace. I have found twice a 4 leaf and put it in my missel for safe keeping , right on the page of the feast day of St. Patrick.
Amazing how nature reveals God's love as the leaves are heart-shaped and forms a cross. In a 4 leaf clover, each leaf has a meaning. One of them meaning grace, faith... I can't seem to remember them all. But I will check it out again. Have a nice day !
Pati
Hi Pati,
Thanks again for your comments...I have never actually seen a four leafed clover; I thought it was only a myth, and popularized by the pop song that came out about the 1950's ..."I'm looking over a four leaved clover...etc etc"
Now, I'm not saying that I have never looked for a four leafed clover, for indeed, I recall more than once that I have given more than a cursory glance across a field of white clover, but alas, no such luck!
[I suppose I don't have the "luck o' the Irish" that you apparently are blessed....and for finding two...that's just not fair!]
You are right...they do have a 'heart shape'...the leaves that is....as to the cross I better have a closer look...you are probably right there too!
Was it faith , hope and charity perhaps?
The story goes, apparently, that when St. Patrick was trying to explain the Trinity to some pagans he used the three-leafed clover to explain his point....and I think that's how it became synonomous with Ireland...it's a nice plausible story anyway...
au revoir ...still haven't found my french/english dictionary yet!
I'll make this one observation about your historical acuity, which may give prospective readers of your statements some sense of their level of authority: you clearly think that Rudolf Hess (Hitler's deputy, d. 1987) and Rudolf Hoess (Auschwitz commandant, d. 1947) are the same person.
I recently submitted a comment on this blog entry ("St. Patrick and the necessity of Baptism - 17 March, 2009"), but it was actually meant for another entry ("TERMS OF AGREEMENT -NON NEGOTIABLE Wednesday, 4th March, 2009 Feast of St. Casimir C, and St. Lucius, PM"). Sorry for clicking the wrong "post a comment" link.
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