Today
is the feast of Saint Patrick, today we celebrate his sainthood, and the
ascendance to heaven of a British man, of Roman heritage, who lived sometime in
the fourth and fifth centuries of the Common Era.
Patrick
is the Patron Saint of Ireland, but he was not Irish at all, he was a Roman of
the Patrician class, he was from a family of rank, and privilege.
Patrick
(Patricius) is credited with converting the people of Erin to faith in the
Universal Church, the Church of Jesus Christ, in so doing he separated the
Celtic people from their Gaelic traditions, and subordinated them to Catholic
Church in Rome.
It
is no wonder that he was named a saint for this, Patricius. He won with the Word what could not be accomplished by
going to war.
It
should be noted that Saint Patrick has never been canonized, or even beatified
by any Pope.
Therefore
he is not officially a Saint of the Catholic Church, but he is recognized in
the annals of the Saints of the Church of England.
There
is some irony for you.
History
tells us that Patrick was a humble man, a rare quality for those of rank.
History also tells us that he proofed the plan of spreading the faith by converting
chieftains first, he was a politician of great skill. Every missionary who
followed him, emulated his method.
He
spread the faith, he established churches and he earned the rank of Apostle, by
popular acclamation..
History
tells us that his mother was a relative of Saint Martin of Tours, the patron
Saint of Soldiers, Saint Martin of the Sword whose biography was written by
Pope Saint Gregory the Great, and is in fact a work of pure fiction.
Saint
Martin never lived, but his story gave license for Christians to become
soldiers, to serve in the army, and as such it brought the Roman legions into
the fold.
He
is said to have had “heroic piety,” praying day and night, in the mountains and
the woods, through storms of snow and ice and rain, he should be the patron
saint of post men if this were true, but then again…all hagiographies are lies.
His
story tells us that he spent six years as a captive and servant to a Celtic
Chieftain and Druid named Milchu in Dalriada, where he mastered the language of
the common folk and learned all of their stories.
However,
it is more likely that he fled his home to wander abroad in order to escape the
duties that were expected of him as the son of a nobleman. Such departures were
so common that it was referred to as the “flight of the curiales,” he was a boy
running from their responsibilities.
Rather
than being taken captive it is more likely that he paid for asylum in Milchu’s
house, and paid for the services of teachers to help him learn the language.
The
Druids were great teachers and oral historians that much is true.
The
story of his escape (if it was in fact an escape from servitude), and
subsequent journey were of his own account. He cast the entire experience in
dramatic, even biblical terms, both to cover up his crimes of abnegation and to
acquire fame.
It
is said that he escaped from Milchu and fled to the mainland of Europe, entered
the priesthood and became a missionary. On his return to Ireland however, the
first place he went was to his former home in Dalriada. Where, after some
period of conflict with his former captor (or patron) and the affectation of
some miracles on Patrick’s part, Milchu immolated himself to make way for upstart.
He threw himself on a fire after burning the collected scrolls and mysteries of
his people, Milchu offered himself as a human sacrifice at the foundation of
the church in Ireland.
That’s
how Patrick wrote it.
In
reality the whole episode was more like the ritual destruction of the Celtic
people in favor of the ascending Romano-British invaders.
On
Easter Sunday, 433 a conflict of will ensued, the historians mythologized it as
a battle of divine forces likening the contest between the Roman Saint Patrick
and the CelticArch-Druid, Lochru, to the contest between Moses and the
Egyptians, or Elijah and priest of Baal. This contest ended with Saint Patrick
magically hurling Lochru into the air, and breaking him to pieces on a sharp
rock.
It
was another ritual murder at the foundation of the Celtic Church, another human
sacrifice to be sure.
On
a side note, while speaking of his vaunted magic powers, this same Saint
Patrick was said to have been able to raise the dead.
It
should be noted the Columbanus, who was the most significant representative of
the Irish Catholic Church after the Dark Ages, who lived and wrote and sent
missionaries from Ireland to Continental Europe, building Churches and founding
religious communities, he makes no mention of Saint Patrick at all in his
writing, and asserts that the Church in Ireland was founded by a man named
Palladius.
Be
mindful when you celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day!
The
entire legend of Saint Patrick could be a myth designed to subordinate the
Irish heart to a British noble of Roman descent, and a fictitious one at that.
Revised
2019.03.17
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