Feast Day: March 17th
The Life of Saint Patrick: “I owe it to God’s Grace that through me so many people should be born again to Him.”…
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Prayers
Apolytikion: Holy Bishop Patrick, faithful shepherd of Christ’s royal flock, you filled Ireland with the radiance of the Gospel: The mighty strength of the Trinity! Now that you stand before the Saviour, Pray that He may preserve us in faith and love!
Kontakion: From slavery you escaped to freedom in Christ’s service: He sent you to deliver Ireland from the devil’s bondage. You planted the Word of the Gospel in pagan hearts. In your journeys and hardships you rivaled the Apostle Paul! Having received the reward for your labors in Heaven, never cease to Pray for the flock you have gathered on Earth, Holy Bishop Patrick!
Saint Patrick was born in Wales. Taken captive by pirates at the age of 16, he sold as a slave in Ireland and worked as a herder of swine. During this time he learnt the Irish language and always Prayed to God. He then later returned to Britain, and became the Bishop of Ireland. Saint Patrick preached the Gospel of Christ and founded many Churches and Monasteries across Ireland. However he often struggled from hostility and assaults of the local people, because he was a foreigner and former slave. The pagans also tried to kill him. However despite all these challenges, Saint Patrick brought many people to Christ.
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Saint Patrick would often use the example of the shamrock clover to explain the Our Trinitarian God. He would explain how the three leaves growing out of a single stem is like the Holy Trinity – our One God in three Persons.
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“I bind to myself today the faith of the Trinity in unity… Christ with me. Christ before me. Christ behind me. Christ in me.”
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“I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity.”
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“Let those who will, laugh and scorn – I shall not be silent; nor shall I hide the signs and wonders which the Lord has shown me many years before they come to pass, as He knows everything even before the … of the world.”
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Saint Patrick drove out of Ireland all the snakes.
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