Unlike most pre-schism Orthodox saints, St.
Patrick the Enlightener of Ireland left us a description
of his conversion and apostolic labors in his own words.
They are known as his “Confessions”.
1. I, Patrick, a sinner, a most
simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and
most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon
Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the
settlement [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a
small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was
at that time about sixteen years of age. I did not,
indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into
captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people,
according to our deserts, for quite drawn away from
God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we
obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our
salvation. And the Lord brought down on us the fury
of his being and scattered us among many nations,
even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my
smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.
2. And there the Lord opened my mind to an
awareness of my unbelief, in order that, even so late, I
might remember my transgressions and turn with all my
heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my
insignificance and pitied my youth and ignorance. And he
watched over me before I knew him, and before I learned
sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he
protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.
3. Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor
would it be proper, so many favours and graces has the
Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my captivity.
For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our
way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders
before every nation under heaven.
4. For there is no other God, nor ever was before,
nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and
without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all
things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ,
who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the
beginning of time in the spirit with the Father,
indescribably begotten before all things, and all things
visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man,
conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the
Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven
and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we
believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the
judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each
according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit
on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality,
which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of
God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship
one God in the Trinity of holy name.
5. He himself said through the prophet: ‘Call
upon me in the day of’ trouble; I will deliver you,
and you shall glorify me.’ And again: ‘It is
right to reveal and publish abroad the works of
God.’
6. I am imperfect in many things, nevertheless I
want my brethren and kinsfolk to know my nature so that
they may be able to perceive my soul’s desire.
7. I am not ignorant of what is said of my Lord in
the Psalm: ‘You destroy those who speak a
lie.’ And again: ‘A lying mouth deals death to
the soul.’ And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel:
‘On the day of judgment men shall render account for
every idle word they utter.’
8. So it is that I should mightily fear, with
terror and trembling, this judgment on the day when no one
shall be able to steal away or hide, but each and all
shall render account for even our smallest sins before the
judgment seat of Christ the Lord.
9. And therefore for some time I have thought of
writing, but I have hesitated until now, for truly, I
feared to expose myself to the criticism of men, because I
have not studied like others, who have assimilated both
Law and the Holy Scriptures equally and have never changed
their idiom since their infancy, but instead were always
learning it increasingly, to perfection, while my idiom
and language have been translated into a foreign tongue.
So it is easy to prove from a sample of my writing, my
ability in rhetoric and the extent of my preparation and
knowledge, for as it is said, ‘wisdom shall be
recognized in speech, and in understanding, and in
knowledge and in the learning of truth.’
10. But why make excuses close to the truth,
especially when now I am presuming to try to grasp in my
old age what I did not gain in my youth because my sins
prevented me from making what I had read my own? But who
will believe me, even though I should say it again? A
young man, almost a beardless boy, I was taken captive
before I knew what I should desire and what I should shun.
So, consequently, today I feel ashamed and I am mightily
afraid to expose my ignorance, because, [not] eloquent,
with a small vocabulary, I am unable to explain as the
spirit is eager to do and as the soul and the mind
indicate.
11. But had it been given to me as to others, in
gratitude I should not have kept silent, and if it should
appear that I put myself before others, with my ignorance
and my slower speech, in truth, it is written: ‘The
tongue of the stammerers shall speak rapidly and
distinctly.’ How much harder must we try to attain
it, we of whom it is said: ‘You are an epistle of
Christ in greeting to the ends of the earth . . . written
on your hearts, not with ink but with the Spirit of the
living God.’ And again, the Spirit witnessed that
the rustic life was created by the Most High.
12. I am, then, first of all, countryfied, an
exile, evidently unlearned, one who is not able to see
into the future, but I know for certain, that before I was
humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and he that
is mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and, indeed,
lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall. And
from there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord
for his great favours in this world and for ever, that the
mind of man cannot measure.
13. Therefore be amazed, you great and small who
fear God, and you men of God, eloquent speakers, listen
and contemplate. Who was it summoned me, a fool, from the
midst of those who appear wise and learned in the law and
powerful in rhetoric and in all things? Me, truly wretched
in this world, he inspired before others that I could
be—if I would—such a one who, with fear and
reverence, and faithfully, without complaint, would come
to the people to whom the love of Christ brought me and
gave me in my lifetime, if I should be worthy, to serve
them truly and with humility.
14. According, therefore, to the measure of
one’s faith in the Trinity, one should proceed
without holding back from danger to make known the gift of
God and everlasting consolation, to spread God’s
name everywhere with confidence and without fear, in order
to leave behind, after my death, foundations for my
brethren and sons whom I baptized in the Lord in so many
thousands.
15. And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the
Lord should grant his humble servant this, that after
hardships and such great trials, after captivity, after
many years, he should give me so much favour in these
people, a thing which in the time of my youth I neither
hoped for nor imagined.
16. But after I reached Ireland I used to
pasture the flock each day and I used to pray many times a
day. More and more did the love of God, and my fear of him
and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so that in a
day [I said] from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the
night a like number; besides I used to stay out in the
forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before
daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain,
and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness,
because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at
that time.
17. And it was there of course that one night in my
sleep I heard a voice saying to me: ‘You do well to
fast: soon you will depart for your home country.’
And again, a very short time later, there was a voice
prophesying: ‘Behold, your ship is ready.’ And
it was not close by, but, as it happened, two hundred
miles away, where I had never been nor knew any person.
And shortly thereafter I turned about and fled from the
man with whom I had been for six years, and I came, by the
power of God who directed my route to advantage (and I was
afraid of nothing), until I reached that ship.
18. And on the same day that I arrived, the ship
was setting out from the place, and I said that I had the
wherewithal to sail with them; and the steersman was
displeased and replied in anger, sharply: ‘By no
means attempt to go with us.’ Hearing this I left
them to go to the hut where I was staying, and on the way
I began to pray, and before the prayer was finished I
heard one of them shouting loudly after me: ‘Come
quickly because the men are calling you.’ And
immediately I went back to them and they started to say to
me: ‘Come, because we are admitting you out of good
faith; make friendship with us in any way you wish.’
(And so, on that day, I refused to suck the breasts of
these men from fear of God, but nevertheless I had hopes
that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ, because
they were barbarians.) And for this I continued with them,
and forthwith we put to sea.
19. And after three days we reached land, and for
twenty-eight days journeyed through uninhabited country,
and the food ran out and hunger overtook them; and one day
the steersman began saying: ‘Why is it, Christian?
You say your God is great and all-powerful; then why can
you not pray for us? For we may perish of hunger; it is
unlikely indeed that we shall ever see another human
being.’ In fact, I said to them, confidently:
‘Be converted by faith with all your heart to my
Lord God, because nothing is impossible for him, so that
today he will send food for you on your road, until you be
sated, because everywhere he abounds.’ And with
God’s help this came to pass; and behold, a herd of
swine appeared on the road before our eyes, and they slew
many of them, and remained there for two nights, and the
men were full of their meat and well restored, for many of
them had fainted and would otherwise have been left half
dead by the wayside. And after this they gave the utmost
thanks to God, and I was esteemed in their eyes, and from
that day they had food abundantly. They discovered wild
honey, besides, and they offered a share to me, and one of
them said: ‘It is a sacrifice.’ Thanks be to
God, I tasted none of it.
20. The very same night while I was sleeping Satan
attacked me violently, as I will remember as long as I
shall be in this body; and there fell on top of me as it
were, a huge rock, and not one of my members had any
force. But from whence did it come to me, ignorant in the
spirit, to call upon ‘Helias’? And meanwhile I
saw the sun rising in the sky, and while I was crying out
‘Helias, Helias’ with all my might, lo, the
brilliance of that sun fell upon me and immediately shook
me free of all the weight; and I believe that I was aided
by Christ my Lord, and that his Spirit then was crying out
for me, and I hope that it will be so in the day of my
affliction, just as it says in the Gospel: ‘In that
hour’, the Lord declares, ‘it is not you who
speaks but the Spirit of your Father speaking in
you.’
21. And a second time, after many years, I was
taken captive. On the first night I accordingly remained
with my captors, but I heard a divine prophecy, saying to
me: ‘You shall be with them for two months.’
So it happened. On the sixtieth night the Lord delivered
me from their hands.
22. On the journey he provided us with food and
fire and dry weather every day, until on the tenth day we
came upon people. As I mentioned above, we had journeyed
through an unpopulated country for twenty-eight days, and
in fact the night that we came upon people we had no food.
23. And after a few years I was again in Britain
with my parents [kinsfolk], and they welcomed me as a son,
and asked me, in faith, that after the great tribulations
I had endured I should not go anywhere else away from
them. And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I
saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from
Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of
them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The
Voice of the Irish’; and as I was reading the
beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear
the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut
which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if
with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you
shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was
stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more,
and thus I awoke. Thanks be to God, because after so many
years the Lord bestowed on them according to their cry.
27. They brought up against me after thirty years
an occurrence I had confessed before becoming a deacon. On
account of the anxiety in my sorrowful mind, I laid before
my close friend what I had perpetrated on a day—nay,
rather in one hour—in my boyhood because I was not
yet proof against sin. God knows—I do
not—whether I was fifteen years old at the time, and
I did not then believe in the living God, nor had I
believed, since my infancy; but I remained in death and
unbelief until I was severely rebuked, and in truth I was
humbled every day by hunger and nakedness.
28. On the other hand, I did not proceed to Ireland
of my own accord until I was almost giving up, but through
this I was corrected by the Lord, and he prepared me so
that today I should be what was once far from me, in order
that I should have the care of—or rather, I should
be concerned for—the salvation of others, when at
that time, still, I was only concerned for myself.
29. Therefore, on that day when I was rebuked, as I
have just mentioned, I saw in a vision of the night a
document before my face, without honour, and meanwhile I
heard a divine prophecy, saying to me: ‘We have seen
with displeasure the face of the chosen one divested of
[his good] name.’ And he did not say ‘You have
seen with displeasure’, but ‘We have seen with
displeasure’ (as if He included Himself) . He said
then: ‘He who touches you, touches the apple of my
eye.’
30. For that reason, I give thanks to him who
strengthened me in all things, so that I should not be
hindered in my setting out and also in my work which I was
taught by Christ my Lord; but more, from that state of
affairs I felt, within me, no little courage, and
vindicated my faith before God and man.
31. Hence, therefore, I say boldly that my
conscience is clear now and hereafter. God is my witness
that I have not lied in these words to you.
32. But rather, I am grieved for my very close
friend, that because of him we deserved to hear such a
prophecy. The one to whom I entrusted my soul! And I found
out from a goodly number of brethren, before the case was
made in my defence (in which I did not take part, nor was
I in Britain, nor was it pleaded by me), that in my
absence he would fight in my behalf. Besides, he told me
himself: ‘See, the rank of bishop goes to
you’—of which I was not worthy. But how did it
come to him, shortly afterwards, to disgrace me publicly,
in the presence of all, good and bad, because previously,
gladly and of his own free will, he pardoned me, as did
the Lord, who is greater than all?
33. I have said enough. But all the same, I ought
not to conceal God’s gift which he lavished on us in
the land of my captivity, for then I sought him
resolutely, and I found him there, and he preserved me
from all evils (as I believe) through the in-dwelling of
his Spirit, which works in me to this day. Again, boldly,
but God knows, if this had been made known to me by man, I
might, perhaps, have kept silent for the love of Christ.
34. Thus I give untiring thanks to God who kept me
faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I may
confidently offer my soul as a living sacrifice for Christ
my Lord; who am I, Lord? or, rather, what is my calling?
that you appeared to me in so great a divine quality, so
that today among the barbarians I might constantly exalt
and magnify your name in whatever place I should be, and
not only in good fortune, but even in affliction? So that
whatever befalls me, be it good or bad, I should accept it
equally, and give thanks always to God who revealed to me
that I might trust in him, implicitly and forever, and who
will encourage me so that, ignorant, and in the last days,
I may dare to undertake so devout and so wonderful a work;
so that I might imitate one of those whom, once, long ago,
the Lord already pre-ordained to be heralds of his Gospel
to witness to all peoples to the ends of the earth. So are
we seeing, and so it is fulfilled; behold, we are
witnesses because the Gospel has been preached as far as
the places beyond which no man lives.
35. But it is tedious to describe in detail all my
labours one by one. I will tell briefly how most holy God
frequently delivered me, from slavery, and from the twelve
trials with which my soul was threatened, from man traps
as well, and from things I am not able to put into words.
I would not cause offence to readers, but I have God as
witness who knew all things even before they happened,
that, though I was a poor, ignorant waif, still he gave me
abundant warnings through divine prophecy.
36. Whence came to me this wisdom which was not my
own, I who neither knew the number of days nor had
knowledge of God? Whence came the so great and so
healthful gift of knowing or rather loving God, though I
should lose homeland and family?
37. And many gifts were offered to me with weeping
and tears, and I offended them [the donors], and also went
against the wishes of a good number of my elders; but
guided by God, I neither agreed with them nor deferred to
them, not by my own grace but by God who is victorious in
me and withstands them all, so that I might come to the
Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure insults from
unbelievers; that I might hear scandal of my travels, and
endure many persecutions to the extent of prison; and so
that I might give up my free birthright for the advantage
of others, and if I should be worthy, I am ready [to give]
even my life without hesitation; and most willingly for
His name. And I choose to devote it to him even unto
death, if God grant it to me.
38. I am greatly God’s debtor, because he
granted me so much grace, that through me many people
would be reborn in God, and soon a after confirmed, and
that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the
masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the
ends of the earth, just as he once promised through his
prophets: ‘To you shall the nations come from the
ends of the earth, and shall say, “Our fathers have
inherited naught but lies, worthless things in which there
is no profit.”’ And again: ‘I have set
you to be a light for the Gentiles that you may bring
salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth.’
39. And I wish to wait then for his promise which
is never unfulfilled, just as it is promised in the
Gospel: ‘Many shall come from east and west and
shall sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob.’ Just as we believe that believers will come
from all the world,
40. So for that reason one should, in fact, fish
well and diligently, just as the Lord foretells and
teaches, saying, ‘Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men,’ and, again, through the prophets:
‘“Behold, I am sending forth many fishers and
hunters,” says the Lord,’ et cetera. So it
behoved us to spread our nets, that a vast multitude and
throng might be caught for God, and so there might be
clergy everywhere who baptized and exhorted a needy and
desirous people. Just as the Lord says in the Gospel,
admonishing and instructing: ‘Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always to the end of time.’ And again he
says: ‘Go forth into the world and preach the Gospel
to all creation. He who believes and is baptized shall be
saved; but he who does not believe shall be
condemned.’ And again: ‘This Gospel of the
Kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole world as a
witness to all nations; and then the end of the world
shall come.’ And likewise the Lord foretells through
the prophet: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last
days (sayeth the Lord) that I will pour out my spirit upon
all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and
your young men shall see visions and your old men shall
dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my
maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit and
they shall prophesy.’ And in Hosea he says:
‘Those who are not my people I will call my people,
and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the
very place where it was said to them, “You are not
my people,” they will be called ’Sons of the
living God.”’
41. So, how is it that in Ireland, where they never
had any knowledge of God but, always, until now, cherished
idols and unclean things, they are lately become a people
of the Lord, and are called children of God; the sons of
the Irish [Scotti] and the daughters of the chieftains are
to be seen as monks and virgins of Christ.
42. And there was, besides, a most beautiful,
blessed, native-born noble Irish [Scotta] woman of adult
age whom I baptized; and a few days later she had reason
to come to us to intimate that she had received a prophecy
from a divine messenger [who] advised her that she should
become a virgin of Christ and she would draw nearer to
God. Thanks be to God, six days from then, opportunely and
most eagerly, she took the course that all virgins of God
take, not with their fathers’ consent but enduring
the persecutions and deceitful hindrances of their
parents. Notwithstanding that, their number increases, (we
do not know the number of them that are so reborn) besides
the widows, and those who practise self-denial. Those who
are kept in slavery suffer the most. They endure terrors
and constant threats, but the Lord has given grace to many
of his handmaidens, for even though they are forbidden to
do so, still they resolutely follow his example.
43. So it is that even if I should wish to separate
from them in order to go to Britain, and most willingly
was I prepared to go to my homeland and kinsfolk—and
not only there, but as far as Gaul to visit the brethren
there, so that I might see the faces of the holy ones of
my Lord, God knows how strongly I desired this—I am
bound by the Spirit, who witnessed to me that if I did so
he would mark me out as guilty, and I fear to waste the
labour that I began, and not I, but Christ the Lord, who
commanded me to come to be with them for the rest of my
life, if the Lord shall will it and shield me from every
evil, so that I may not sin before him.
44. So I hope that I did as I ought, but I do not
trust myself as long as I am in this mortal body, for he
is strong who strives daily to turn me away from the faith
and true holiness to which I aspire until the end of my
life for Christ my Lord, but the hostile flesh is always
dragging one down to death, that is, to unlawful
attractions. And I know in part why I did not lead a
perfect life like other believers, but I confess to my
Lord and do not blush in his sight, because I am not
lying; from the time when I came to know him in my youth,
the love of God and fear of him increased in me, and right
up until now, by God’s favour, I have kept the
faith.
45. What is more, let anyone laugh and taunt if he
so wishes. I am not keeping silent, nor am I hiding the
signs and wonders that were shown to me by the Lord many
years before they happened, [he] who knew everything, even
before the beginning of time.
46. Thus, I should give thanks unceasingly to God,
who frequently forgave my folly and my negligence, in more
than one instance so as not to be violently angry with me,
who am placed as his helper, and I did not easily assent
to what had been revealed to me, as the Spirit was urging;
and the Lord took pity on me thousands upon thousands of
times, because he saw within me that I was prepared, but
that I was ignorant of what to do in view of my situation;
because many were trying to prevent this mission. They
were talking among themselves behind my back, and saying:
‘Why is this fellow throwing himself into danger
among enemies who know not God?’ Not from malice,
but having no liking for it; likewise, as I myself can
testify, they perceived my rusticity. And I was not quick
to recognize the grace that was then in me; I now know
that I should have done so earlier.
47. Now I have put it frankly to my brethren and
co-workers, who have believed me because of what I have
foretold and still foretell to strengthen and reinforce
your faith. I wish only that you, too, would make greater
and better efforts. This will be my pride, for ‘a
wise son makes a proud father’.
48. You know, as God does, how I went about among
you from my youth in the faith of truth and in sincerity
of heart. As well as to the heathen among whom I live, I
have shown them trust and always show them trust. God
knows I did not cheat any one of them, nor consider it,
for the sake of God and his Church, lest I arouse them and
[bring about] persecution for them and for all of us, and
lest the Lord’s name be blasphemed because of me,
for it is written: ‘Woe to the men through whom the
name of the Lord is blasphemed.’
49. For even though I am ignorant in all things,
nevertheless I attempted to safeguard some and myself
also. And I gave back again to my Christian brethren and
the virgins of Christ and the holy women the small unasked
for gifts that they used to give me or some of their
ornaments which they used to throw on the altar. And they
would be offended with me because I did this. But in the
hope of eternity, I safeguarded myself carefully in all
things, so that they might not cheat me of my office of
service on any pretext of dishonesty, and so that I should
not in the smallest way provide any occasion for
defamation or disparagement on the part of unbelievers.
50. What is more, when I baptized so many thousands
of people, did I hope for even half a jot from any of
them? [If so] Tell me, and I will give it back to you. And
when the Lord ordained clergy everywhere by my humble
means, and I freely conferred office on them, if I asked
any of them anywhere even for the price of one shoe, say
so to my face and I will give it back.
51. More, I spent for you so that they would
receive me. And I went about among you, and everywhere for
your sake, in danger, and as far as the outermost regions
beyond which no one lived, and where no one had ever
penetrated before, to baptize or to ordain clergy or to
confirm people. Conscientiously and gladly I did all this
work by God’s gift for your salvation.
52. From time to time I gave rewards to the kings,
as well as making payments to their sons who travel with
me; notwithstanding which, they seized me with my
companions, and that day most avidly desired to kill me.
But my time had not yet come. They plundered everything
they found on us anyway, and fettered me in irons; and on
the fourteenth day the Lord freed me from their power, and
whatever they had of ours was given back to us for the
sake of God on account of the indispensable friends whom
we had made before.
53. Also you know from experience how much I was
paying to those who were administering justice in all the
regions, which I visited often. I estimate truly that I
distributed to them not less than the price of fifteen
men, in order that you should enjoy my company and I enjoy
yours, always, in God. I do not regret this nor do I
regard it as enough. I am paying out still and I shall pay
out more. The Lord has the power to grant me that I may
soon spend my own self, for your souls.
54. Behold, I call on God as my witness upon my
soul that I am not lying; nor would I write to you for it
to be an occasion for flattery or selfishness, nor hoping
for honour from any one of you. Sufficient is the honour
which is not yet seen, but in which the heart has
confidence. He who made the promise is faithful; he never
lies.
55. But I see that even here and now, I have been
exalted beyond measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy
that he should grant me this, while I know most certainly
that poverty and failure suit me better than wealth and
delight (but Christ the Lord was poor for our sakes; I
certainly am wretched and unfortunate; even if I wanted
wealth I have no resources, nor is it my own estimation of
myself, for daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or
reduced to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear
nothing, because of the promises of Heaven; for I have
cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, who reigns
everywhere. As the prophet says: ‘Cast your burden
on the Lord and he will sustain you.’
56. Behold now I commend my soul to God who is most
faithful and for whom I perform my mission in obscurity,
but he is no respecter of persons and he chose me for this
service that I might be one of the least of his ministers.
57. For which reason I should make return for all
that he returns me. But what should I say, or what should
I promise to my Lord, for I, alone, can do nothing unless
he himself vouchsafe it to me. But let him search my heart
and [my] nature, for I crave enough for it, even too much,
and I am ready for him to grant me that I drink of his
chalice, as he has granted to others who love him.
58. Therefore may it never befall me to be
separated by my God from his people whom he has won in
this most remote land. I pray God that he gives me
perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a
faithful witness for his sake right up to the time of my
passing.
59. And if at any time I managed anything of good
for the sake of my God whom I love, I beg of him that he
grant it to me to shed my blood for his name with
proselytes and captives, even should I be left unburied,
or even were my wretched body to be torn limb from limb by
dogs or savage beasts, or were it to be devoured by the
birds of the air, I think, most surely, were this to have
happened to me, I had saved both my soul and my body. For
beyond any doubt on that day we shall rise again in the
brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ
Jesus our Redeemer, as children of the living God and
co-heirs of Christ, made in his image; for we shall reign
through him and for him and in him.
60. For the sun we see rises each day for us at
[his] command, but it will never reign, neither will its
splendour last, but all who worship it will come
wretchedly to punishment. We, on the other hand, shall not
die, who believe in and worship the true sun, Christ, who
will never die, no more shall he die who has done
Christ’s will, but will abide for ever just as
Christ abides for ever, who reigns with God the Father
Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before the beginning of
time and now and for ever and ever. Amen.
61. Behold over and over again I would briefly set
out the words of my confession. I testify in truthfulness
and gladness of heart before God and his holy angels that
I never had any reason, except the Gospel and his
promises, ever to have returned to that nation from which
I had previously escaped with difficulty.
62. But I entreat those who believe in
and fear God, whoever deigns to examine or receive this
document composed by the obviously unlearned sinner
Patrick in Ireland, that nobody shall ever ascribe to my
ignorance any trivial thing that I achieved or may have
expounded that was pleasing to God, but accept and truly
believe that it would have been the gift of God. And this
is my confession before I die.
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