Saint Patrick: A Brief Reflection on Culturally-Enriching Christianity
The name "Saint Patrick" generally evokes memory of imagery of greenery and all things Irish. Perhaps we Central Coasters are stirred to look upon the (usually) rain-lavished rolling hills of San Luis Obispo with a particularly Irish lens. However, the day we often remember for the wearing of green in avoidance of the fated pinch originated in a beautiful story of a man named Patrick.
Patrick was born in Roman-controlled Britain during the 4th century C.E.----a time long before the birth of the English language. Around the age of fourteen, a group of pirates kidnapped Patrick and bore him away to the isle of Ireland, where he was enslaved as a shepherd. After six years of bondage, he dreamt of finding liberty by fleeing to the coast. Indeed, he did so and stumbled across a group of sailors who took him back to Britain where he was reunited with his family, then a twenty-year-old. Not many years after his return, Patrick had a vision from God, which he described in his memoir:
"I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: 'The Voice of the Irish.' As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea-and they cried out, as with one voice: 'We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'"
Though it's a rather pedestrian vision, lacking the transcendent elements we often expect when we hear the term "vision from God" (e.g. strange multi-headed creatures, vivid colors, and maybe even human flight), for Patrick, it was momentous. Therein, he felt a compulsion to return to the very men who ripped him from his family, with not vengeance but with forgiveness and care. Indeed, after the vision, he began a priestly vocation, eventually receiving the office of bishop, and was sent back to Ireland as a missionary in 433 C.E.. Living in poverty, Patrick preached the gospel all across Ireland, incorporating Irish themes with Christianity. [1] He used the shamrock to teach the mystery of the Trinity, the threefold personal unity of the Christian God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; he invented the Celtic cross, the superposition of a sun (an important druid symbol) onto a cross; and he preached over bonfires, something familiar in worship settings for Irish folk. [2] Gradually, Patrick led most of the island to Christian faith. Some decades later, Saint Patrick passed, purportedly, on March 17th in Downpatrick, Ireland----Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Lutherans are among those who commemorate today as a feast day to Saint Patrick's testament of faith. [3]
Fifteen-hundred years later, we still remember Patrick as the patron saint of Ireland. While it is a bit sad to see such a lovely tale of history sidelined, I do think it a fortunate thing we are quick to remember the Irish quality of his feast day. Being of Irish ancestry myself (though I must admit I am also a Scot), the day reminds me of my ancient kinship with the people of the Emerald Isle. While I am by no means a historian----and I must ask for forgiveness from readers who recognize any significant blunder in my historical interpretation----the fact that March 17th is so strongly associated with Irishness seems to tell us that Saint Patrick's gospel has not devalued the Irish culture. In the presence of a long Christian heritage, emblematic Irish things like Celtic knots and crosses, myths and legends derived from Celtic druid tradition, and the lyrical lilting of traditional melodies and hymns have permanence. Why?
Perhaps the locals were devoted to their colorful pagan traditions and did not wish to utterly surrender to monochromatic Christian monotheism. Perhaps Christian ministers throughout Ireland were lax in their commands for repentance. Or perhaps Ireland experienced a root-level cultural death and rebirth after its conversion, the offshoots of which we now esteem as Irish culture. However, I would argue something more elusive and fascinating is at play. Though he did convert and baptize thousands from the druidism of his day, Saint Patrick's religion was somehow compatible with something uniquely Irish, for the Celtic tradition has gone on. Something about the mercy of Christ impels His followers to seek reconciliation ahead of destruction, a claim which could sound ridiculous to those who are mostly acquainted with strongly self-organized manifestations of Christianity. Let me offer a few modern examples.
J.R.R. Tolkien felt driven to offer a mythology to England, something that interwove England's ancient pagan roots with his Catholic Christianity, and so he created Middle Earth. C.S. Lewis, the famed philosopher and Oxford scholar of Medieval literature, sought to integrate with Christian themes a myriad of traditional symbols, theories, and legends----pagan and Christian alike----though few are learned enough to really appreciate them. For how beloved his The Chronicles of Narnia are, we ought to also recognize their markedly pagan form. Could it be that the timeless beauty of these fantastic worlds relies on their rich pagan tradition? Could it be that Christianity gleams all the more brightly not when it asserts ruthless domination but when it marries a culture at the deepest level? Could this hold true for a nation, an ethnicity, a family, a personality, a soul?
The challenge of and desire to harmonize local spirituality with Christian monotheism has existed right from the get-go of the Church. Syncretism has waxed and waned throughout almost all Christian art----indeed, one can even look at pre-Christian Judaism and see the same pattern. It's an inescapable tension, I believe; but could it also hold a secret so central and good that, without it, Christianity long ago would have died?
A dear friend of mine, who is a devoted Christian, holds strongly to her belief that because God is mysterious and loving, the wild beauty of paganism deserves to somehow be conserved under the banner of Christendom. Though many a time I have butted heads with her over matters of doctrine, I have observed something wonderful in her. In her, I see that Christ's truth can be transformative----that because God can bear the penalty of our folly and sin, the ongoing journey of Christian conversion and moral betterment does not have to destroy our personal origin story----that growth into a flourishing version of humanness is not naked but clothed----that God's love for humanity appears more redemptive than destructive. And while it can become a definite point of struggle, maintaining a faithful cohabitation between a love toward wild religion and an obedience to the eternal character of God seems to me a good hope, for it points to something resplendent: the gathering together of all tribes, tongues, and nations worshipping God at the end of all days (Revelation 7:9-12).
Whether or not you agree with me, consider the legacy of Saint Patrick's efforts; they stand
testament to culturally-enriching evangelism. Could The Book of Kells----the renowned collection of illuminated manuscripts from the Dark Ages, so exquisitely lovely and representative of harmony between Christianity and Celtic tradition----ever have been created if it weren't for Patrick's shamrock-gospel? What might a Celtic cross symbolize for 21st century Christian worship? What might it mean for San Luis Obispo? In the wake of the recent loss of Billy Graham, the famed evangelist of the 20th century who spoke to hundreds of millions around the world----in the West and East----let us remember that Christianity is a religion for all the world.
To me, Saint Patrick represents that the gospel can be a thing of love, a thing which enriches and preserves a heritage, that Christendom need not be a cultural bleaching agent. I am glad Christianity did not reduce the Irish tradition to naught. The Irish Christianity that grew out of Patrick's ministry over the subsequent centuries has been able to preserve a distinctly Irish note and, for that, is all the more beautiful. How has this been possible? I point to Patrick's shamrock-gospel: the threefold God who preserves diversity and unity without contradiction.
[1] https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89
[2] https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/who-was-saint-patrick
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick
[4] https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/patrick.htm
[5] https://www.thoughtco.com/the-breastplate-of-saint-patrick-542668
Imagery:
Saint Patrick Catholic Church (Junction City, Ohio) - stained glass, Saint Patrick - detail. Nheyob - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39732088.
360 SLO Cal Poly (public domain, Wikipedia Commons).
Brompton Cross. Tracy from North Brookfield, Massachusetts, USA (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Book of Kells, Chi Rho Iota page (public domain, Wikipedia).
Below is the Lorica of Saint Patrick. A lorica, translated "breastplate," is a prayer for protection. In it, you can see the idyllic dreamscapes of rolling green hills and ragged sea cliffs beside deep convictions of faith in a pagan Ireland. It addresses a whole gamut of human emotions, and its meaning is broad and universal. While recent scholars have dated it to the 8th century C.E., many still attribute the poem to Saint Patrick. The seventh stanza is the most famous, being recited by millions of Christians around the world for centuries.
The Lorica of Saint Patrick
(c.a. 377 C.E.)
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today,
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of the patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
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 I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession in the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
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