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Diamond Dan is our 'Orange Superhero' but on 17th March each
year we also remember another type of 'hero' - Saint Patrick!
Did you know that Saint Patrick actually wasn't Irish? He
wasn't sent to Ireland by the Pope. He didn't wear a bishop's
mitre and he didn't drive the snakes out of Ireland! Much
that is popularly believed about Saint Patrick is simply fiction
and fantasy. But what are the real facts about Patrick? What
do we really know about him?
Patrick was the son of a British churchman. He was captured
by raiders and spent six years as a slave in Ulster. There
he was converted and later escaped back to his home and family.
Some years after this he heard the call of God to come across
to the island of Ireland and preach the gospel.
His ministry covered the length and breadth of Ulster and
through his preaching many became Christians. Churches were
built and men of God were ordained to minister in those churches.
Patrick was God's man for Ulster, the Apostle of Ulster.
We know there was a real Patrick because he left us a record,
his Confession, written in Latin near the end of his life.
In his writings he wrote about how he didn't feel confident
about his educational background in comparison with other
learned men.
"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 recognised in speech,
and in understanding, and in knowledge and in the learning
of truth.'"
The important thing to learn from this is that even someone
as well-known and loved as Saint Patrick can have doubts about
their ability. So if you have maybe been disappointed recently
by your 11+ or exam results or if you are finding lessons
difficult in school try and remember this story.
It's important to ask for help if you don't understand something.
Talk to your parents, teacher, friends, youth leaders or
Minister and they will be able to offer you advice and encouragement,
no matter how difficult things might seem.
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