St. Patrick   17th March

How many Patricks were there? Some authors say that there was only one but many others would say that, because of the time span, there must have been more than one. His birthplace has been said to be in Scotland, England and Wales and he, himself, called himself both a Roman and a Briton. Whatever the truth of this, two qualities stand out about Patrick; he was a humble person and also that he was courageous.
At sixteen, he was captured by the Irish and was sold as a slave in Ireland, where he laboured as a shepherd in most severe circumstances. He escaped to France where he studied for the priesthood. He was consecrated a bishop when he was forty-three years old. His great longing was to return to Ireland and preached the Good News there. After a vision he was sent to Ireland where he preached from north to south and from east to west. In a relatively short time the island was converted and was prepared to send missionaries back to Europe to christianize that country. His burial place is supposed to be in Ulster, in County Down.
What a large number of us remember St. Patrick for is his hymn "The Breastplate of St. Patrick"

Christ shield me this day:
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when arise,
Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

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