The Truth About St. Patrick

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,

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.

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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,

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

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,

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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,

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

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.

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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,

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

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.

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

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,

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.