The Truth About St. Patrick

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
I mey lads and lassies. Oh, happy Saint Patti's Day,
and we're going to have a wee bit of fun tonight. No,
I'm not Irish, but I think I have Irish blood
in me. Honestly. I love Celtic music, love love, love it,

(00:23):
and I love the Celtic dance. River Dance was here
and Wheeling many years ago. Oh it was fantastic. I
don't like the food though. I've been to Ireland and
it's as green as green can be, but the food
is as bland as bland can be. But they're great people.

(00:48):
And so my deceased husband and I went into a
pub because we were guests of some folks. And you
won't believe these people loved to karaoke And what is
the song that they love to sing? Country Roads Take

(01:10):
Me Home West Virginia. I'm not kidding. They knew every
word of the song. It was hysterical. It was hard
to believe I was in Ireland. But they are great
people and I love the Irish. They have a lot
of spunk in them. So tonight I'm going to talk

(01:31):
about the truth about Saint Patrick, and I want to
start out by saying that Patrick was among the first
missionaries to bring the Gospel to pagan Ireland. And let
me tell you how pagan. They were. Full of druids,
full of witchcraft, pagan superstition, human sacrifice. And it really

(01:52):
was only four hundred years after Christ that Patrick began
to convert the island of Ireland. The dead were raised,
miracles happened, and by the end of his life a
third of Ireland had been converted to Christianity. Now here's
the part that some of you may not like, but

(02:16):
it is the truth. However, Patrick brought an old stream
of Christianity. Patrick was not Roman Catholic, a branch of
the Church that claimed to follow the Apostle Peter. But rather,
Patrick was a follower of the Desert Fathers and Mothers,

(02:37):
who adhere to the teachings of the Apostle John, and
as a result, they kept the Hebrew date of Easter.
They ordained both men and women into positions of co
ed leadership, and their communities were self governed and wrote

(02:58):
their own way and prayer books. Unlike the Roman Church,
they also created what they called thin places, the open heavens,
where they said the space between heaven and earth Earth

(03:18):
was thin, and one could easily encounter the presence of God.
Like the Tabernacle of old, these were little holy places
sanctified with prayer, cleansing the land and a rhythm of
prayer intervals throughout the day. They were the prophetic hubs

(03:43):
of their times, places of missional training, copying the scriptures
and beautiful artwork like the Book of Kels. And let
me just say, if you ever get to Ireland, please
go to dlen and a look for I forget where

(04:04):
they're located, but the Book of Kels is where these
monks wrote the scriptures, and they put beautiful artwork, beautiful calligraphy,
and it's it's truly something to see. Now, let me
give you a little background on Patrick. He was born

(04:30):
of Christian parents toward the close of the fourth century.
His father, Calpurnius, though of British race, was by birth
a Roman citizen. The father and grandfather of Patrick's father
had both been Christians, so that the family had kept
the faith for at least several generations. Conchessa, Patrick's mother

(04:56):
was a wise and good woman and sought to bring
up their children in the fear and love of God.
As the son of a Roman citizen and a British noble,
Patrick was bound to have some education. According to the
custom of British citizens of the Roman Empire, Patrick was

(05:18):
given three names, rendered in Latin as Patricius, Magonus, Sicatus,
Patricius meaning noble, and Sicatus, a Celtic word meaning valiant
in war. Patrick had a brother and five sisters. They

(05:38):
all became servants of God and the Church. Miracles happened
over the birth of Patrick. As no priest was to
be found, the infant was taken to the blind hermit
Gornius to be baptized. A difficulty arose because there was

(06:01):
no water to perform the ceremony. Gorneous, however, by faith,
took the baby's sand and with it traced the sign
of the Cross upon the earth, and as a result
water gushed forth. Bathing his own eyes. The hermit gained

(06:22):
his sight, and he then baptized Patrick. From Patrick's childhood
he had been able to understand the things of God,
he wrote in his book. And God had pity on
my youth and ignorance, and he took care of me
before I knew him, and before I could distinguish between

(06:45):
good and evil. And he strengthened me, and he comforted
me as a father does his son. One time, when
he was out playing in the ice and snow, Patrick
took some icicles in it jacket and ran with them
to his foster mother, thinking that she would be pleased. Ah.

(07:06):
She was irritated and told him that it would be
better to bring a piece of wood for the fire.
Patrick smiled sweetly and told her to trust God and
the icicles would start a fire. Well, very soon a
fire was roaring on the hearth. Once, when Patrick was
minding sheep with his little sister Lupita, she tripped and fell,

(07:29):
striking her head against a stone. Her brother some distance away,
but when he returned and found her lying unconscious, he
prayed over her and raised her up. The wound was
instantly healed, and the girl recovered. The scar remained visible
as a proof of the miracle. The children returned home

(07:51):
together as if nothing had happened. On one occasion, when
the Britons had a meeting, his foster parents took him
a lot along with them, and let me just mention
about the foster parents. The father. His real father was
off in Wales taking care of flocks and herds. Excuse me,

(08:20):
and this was a particular custom, so that these were
family that were actually taking care of him. So while
they were there, his foster father father suddenly collapsed and died.
At first a great hush fell upon the assembly, and

(08:41):
then the man's relatives began to weep, and his wife cried,
Calling to Patrick, she said, my boy, why have you
allowed the man who has been so kind to you
to die. Patrick had been playing with the other children
and had not noticed the distress of the people, But
seeing what had happened, he ran to his foster father, and,
putting his arm around the dead man's neck, he said, affectionately,

(09:07):
get up and let us go home. The man arose
and returned home with his wife and boys. When Patrick
was sixteen years old, the Picts and the Scots began
to raid the coast, plunder and take hostages. One of
the most most victorious of these sea kings was Nil

(09:31):
surnamed of the Nine Hostages because he took hostages from
nine places. It was during one of Niow's raids that
Patrick was taken as a slave, along with a maid servant,
his sister Lupida, and some other companions. He was taken
by ship to Ireland somewhere along the coast of Antrim

(09:53):
and sold to a petty king Milkoe. He was put
in charge. I've heard of swine, and spent most of
the time out in the fields. But it was there
that God was made real to him, and, as he
said later, his eyes were opened to his unbelief, and

(10:14):
he was truly converted. All the scripture which he had
learned as a child flooded his mind and heart, and
he decided that somehow he would become a servant of God.
Milka was so impressed with Patrick that he asked him

(10:35):
to teach his children to read. But Milka was a
druid and opposed to Christianity, which was spreading across Ireland.
Patrick had many conversations with the Angel of Ireland named Victor.

(10:56):
Angels are real, folks, They're real, and Patrick had many
conversations with this angel. One night, after six years, he
heard the voice of the angel Victor, who was standing near.
He said to Patrick, soon you will return to your country.

(11:21):
A little while later, Victor spoke to him again, your
ship is ready. Patrick managed to escape, and, trusting God,
he made his way to the coast. After a few
days he found a ship ready to sail and was
taken aboard. Eventually, Patrick, after months of journeying, arrived home.

(11:47):
His parents had died, but his relatives welcomed him. One night,
he was awakened by the Angel Victor, whom he had
known in Ireland. He was standing beside patrick bed, holding
many letters in his hand. Victor selected one and handed

(12:08):
it to Patrick. It read quote the Voice of the
Irish end quote. Then he heard many voices calling to
him to come back to Ireland and bring the message
of the Gospel. Although the Angel Victor said go to Ireland,

(12:29):
for you shall be an apostle of its people, Patrick
determined to go to Rome to lay his case before
the bishop. However, he met Germanus first and was ordained
by him. The Angel came to him while he was
with Germanus and said, you are commanded by God to

(12:51):
go to Ireland to strengthen their faith and belief, and
that you may bring the Irish by the net of
the Gospel to the heart of life. And so Patrick
bade farewell to Germanus, who gave him a gave him blessings,
and sent one of his servants to help and testify
for him. During Patrick's time with Germanus, he met and

(13:17):
prophesied to Kieran. He told Kieran that he would go
before him to Ireland and be abbot over a monastery
and sager. Finally, Patrick returned to Ireland in a d
four thirty two. The ministry to the Irish began, not

(13:39):
without opposition from the druids and wizards, who tried desperately
to keep Patrick away from the kings. See Patrick believed
that if the kings could be won for God, then
the people would follow. Now. One of the first spirits

(14:00):
battles between Patrick and the druids was fought at the
Hill of Tera in eight four thirty three. The King Leary,
son of the renowned niall of the nine hostages, had
invited sub kings and nobles and bards to a lavish festival.

(14:22):
It was to start with great bonfires, but until the
first ceremonial fire was lit by the chief Druid, it
was forbidden for other fires to be seen. King Leary,
in his efforts to hold his power over the lower kings,
had given himself to the power of the wizards and

(14:42):
skillful magicians and Drudik priests, along with their idols. Lock
Crewe and Lucat were his chief wizards. Being false prophets,
they had foretold that an evil teacher would come from
over the sea to their land, and that a multitude
would receive him, and that he would find love and

(15:05):
reverence from the men of Ireland. They said he would
cast out from their realms the evil kings and lords,
and would destroy all the idols, and that the worship
established by him would abide in the land forever. No doubt,
the Druids knew of the progress of Christianity in Britain
and Europe. Their brethren abroad had been discredited, and they

(15:29):
were afraid of the same fate. They were very much
afraid of losing their influence and authority. Patrick, leaving the
friendly hospitality of the city of Ditchou, sailed southward and
arrived at the mouth of the River Boyne. They followed

(15:50):
the course of the stream for about twelve miles until
they came to the Hill of Slain, where Patrick proposed
to celebrate Easter. While they they were rested there on
the hill, they saw the magnificent view of the River
Boyne to the north, far away, where the purple mountains
of Morne, and to the south lay the beautiful hills

(16:13):
of Wicklow. Against this background, about ten miles away stood
the royal Hill of Terra. Roofs of the palace were
shining in the setting sun. And when the sun had set,
Patrick prepared to begin the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.
It was the first time the pastial fire was lit,

(16:35):
never to be extinguished in the land. Hardly were the
Christian torches seen to blaze. When the attention of the
High King was drawn to the scene. Oh, the whole
beautiful plain was illuminated by the fires, while Ra was
still in darkness. Angrily, the King called his attendants and

(16:55):
told them to find out who had dared to light
the fires and break the law he had made for
the occasion of the festivals of Beltainne and Samhine. Now
they still practiced. There are still druids, real druids in
the Celtic countries of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and they still

(17:20):
practiced these festivals of Beltainne and Samhaine. These are obviously
idle gods. The druids told King Leary that there was
no need to send messengers to Slain, for they knew
they knew what the fires were. We see the fire,
they said, and we know that unless it is quenched

(17:40):
on the night in which it was made, it will
never be quenched forever. The man who kindled it will
vanquish the lords and kings of Ireland, unless he is forbidden.
This shall not be cried the king, but we will
go down and kill this man who made the fires. Meanwhile,
on the hill of Slain, Patrick had begun with the

(18:00):
others the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ, singing and
worshiping God. It was late when nine chariots bearing the
King and Queen, with two chief druids and a number
of nobles, came thundering towards Slain. The wizards began to

(18:21):
fear that the king might fail by taking a hasty action,
and as they drew toward the Christians, the druid wizards
spoke to King Leary. You should be careful, they cautioned
the king not to go down to the place where
the fire was made, and give any respect to the
man who kindled the fire. Stay outside and have him

(18:44):
brought out to you, so that he will know that
you are the king and he is the subject Oh.
The King was flattered and agreed, And so the king
and the nobles sat in their solemn state, and in
the light of the fires, they looked very fierce. The

(19:06):
King forbade anyone to rise to greet Patrick or his company,
and a messenger was sent to fetch him. And soon
a bright procession appeared descending the hill, and as Patrick advanced,
all eyes were fixed on him. Calmly, he sang as
he approached the king. Some trust in chariots and some

(19:28):
in horses, but we will call upon the name of
our God. That's scripture, by the way. As Patrick's clear,
strong voice resounded, a feeling of awe feelled the minds
of the warriors. One man Irk, the son of deg Rose,
to Greek Patrick by grace in a moment, he believed

(19:51):
in God, and Patrick blessed him. Later on he was
baptized and eventually became the first Bishop of Slain. So
uh as they had this greeting between King Leary and Patrick,
the wizard lock crew attacked Patrick angrily, with contention and shouting.

(20:17):
He became malicious and hostile, even violent, blaspheming the Holy Trinity.
Patrick's anger was aroused, and he called upon God, and
he said, Oh, Lord, who can do all things, and
on whose power everything depends, you have sent us here
to preach your name to the heathen. Now let this

(20:38):
ungodly man who blasphems your name be lifted up and
let him die. No sooner had Patrick finished speaking, than
a supernatural force raised the wizard in the air. He
fell heavily down, his head, striking a stone, and so
he died in the presence of all those assembled. That's

(20:59):
just one of the stories. There are many stories about
Patrick and his battle with druids. I mean, never did
they have any power over him. Never, never, never, Patrick
carried the awesome anointing of the Lord, and there was

(21:25):
no druid that had power over anything to do with Patrick.
H I want to conclude with this story. As Patrick
came near to Dublin times at that time a small village,

(21:47):
he prophesied this. He said, that village, which is now
very small, shall hereafter become very eminent. It shall be
enlarged in riches and dignity. Neither shall it cease to
go until it has become the principal seat of all
the kingdom. And of course we know that Dublin is

(22:08):
the capital of Ireland. When the people of Dublin heard
of the great signs and miracles that were done through Patrick,
and when they saw him coming near to their village,
they went out to meet him. At this time, Alphinus
was King of Dublin. He and all the citizens were
in great sorrow over the death of the king's two children.

(22:31):
His only son had died of a sickness in his bedroom.
His daughter had just been drowned in an adjoining river
now known as the Liffey. She had ventured into a
deep part for the purpose of bathing. The young lady's
body was drawn out of the waters after some considerable search,

(22:54):
and laid by her brother's corpse. In order that their
funeral rites might be sole solemnized together, the tombs were
prepared according to the superstition of the Pagans. In the meantime,
news was spread all over the city that Patrick, the
potent reviver of many dead persons, had been seen near

(23:16):
the town. The king and the people who before had
said to the Lord, depart from us, we will not
acknowledge any of thy ways, were so cast down, saddened
with grief, that all of their rebellion and all of

(23:37):
their barbarous rudeness, and all the pride and idolatry was
utterly subdued. The King, hearing of Saint Patrick's arrival, greatly
rejoiced and asked him to come in to where his
two children lay dead. He then promised before all those
present that if God had if God restored his children

(23:59):
to life, he and all the citizens would become Christians.
Seeing such a gain of souls in the sight of
the King, his nobles, and all the common people, Patrick
raised from death to life. Those princely children. Their bodily
resurrection attributed greatly towards the spiritual resurrection of their father

(24:22):
and the rest of his people. The King and all
his subjects, being astonished at this great miracle, turned away
from the worship of idols, and they were baptized in
the spring. From that day the King and all the
people worshiped God and gave liberally to Patrick, so that

(24:43):
he was able to give to the poor in that
place and other places, and have enough to build churches.
Many of these men of God in Ireland, monastic men,

(25:06):
did mighty works in the name of Jesus, and most
of them, these Celtic saints had such a close relationship
to God. They knew when they were going to die,
and they would make arrangements to go to the place
where God told them that they were going to be,
you know, die and brought to Heaven. And so Patrick

(25:31):
had this conversation with the angel because he thought that
he was going. He thought he should die in Armaga,
that was a place he was deeply attached to. But
the Angel Victor said no, no, you need to go
to dit Chew's Barn. And so Patrick returned to Ditchew's Barn,

(25:57):
where he made his first celebration in Ireland, gave thanks
to God, received Holy communion and prayed with the brethren,
and gave up his spirit to God. Now before he
died on March seventeenth, four seventy one, A D. Patrick

(26:19):
made this confession. He said, if I ever accomplished anything
good for the sake of my God, whom I love,
I ask Him to grant that I could shed my
blood with the strangers and captives for his name's sake.

(26:39):
If I, Patrick, the Sinner, have done any small thing
according to the will of God, I attribute it to
the gift of God alone. And this is my confession
before I die so I hope you found this to

(27:05):
be enlightening, because you know, we often think of kind
of silly little traditions about certain festivals and people associated
with those festivals, like we do about Saint Patrick. But
he was a godly man. He was a powerful man,

(27:27):
and so I love his story. The sad thing is,
I will tell you that I follow currently, I follow
an evangelist in Belfast, Ireland, and Ireland is in deep,
deep trouble. Ireland has been taken over by Islam, and

(27:50):
it's in its spiritually. It's a very difficult place to
be right now. And so pray for Ireland because they
once had the light of the Gospel a long time ago.

(28:11):
And of course there are still druids and there are
still wizards there who practice this paganism, and of course
now with the influx of Islam. And I recently saw
on Instagram it's it's real. I saw it for my

(28:32):
own eyes. It's real. So please pray for Ireland. Well,
this is Don Noble. You can go to www. Dot
pureheart dot today and listen to this podcast again. You
can download the iHeartRadio app and listen twenty four to seven.
You can email me at Don Dawn at pureheart dot today.

(28:56):
That's all lowercase letters. All one were Dawn at pure
Heart Dot today. And I would appreciate you sowing seed,
sowing seed into this ministry, and I surely am grateful

(29:19):
for your prayers always. So I look forward to being
with you again next week. I have some interesting, interesting
topics that I want to bring to you in the
next coming days. So shaloam, shaloam, Peace be unto you.