Biographical Sketch, Research Paper Example

While many individuals living in the United States, Christian and non-Christian alike, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, many are not aware of what he has done to contribute to the Christian faith. While Saint Patrick is generally associated with Ireland, he was in fact born in Roman Britain to a family of religious figures. When Patrick was young, he did not follow the influence of his parents, and refused to believe in the one true God. However, God had a grand plan for Patrick, who learned to eventually recognize the validity of his parents’ teachings. At the age of 16, he was abducted to Ireland by a group of pirates. During his time in captivity, he was able to reflect upon the words of his parents. Through hard work, he came to recognize the blessings that God had bestowed upon him during his youth, and became motivated to work to serve Him and spread the faith (Wood 2001).

According to the Gospel of Saint Patrick, during his captivity, Patrick heard the voice of God tell him that he would soon go home. After hearing these words, he was able to successfully escape from his master and boarded a ship to an unknown destination. When he reached his destination, he wandered for 28 days in the wilderness with the ship’s crewmembers before a miracle occurred. Patrick had convinced them all to not give up hope and put their faith in God if they wished to be saved from their predicament. They had almost become faint from hunger when a herd of wild boar appeared, which confirmed the presence of an all-loving, all-powerful God. When others had heard of this event after the crew had returned, they became intrigued about this occurrence and wished to learn more about God and the origin of the miracle.

After Patrick had returned home to Britain, he had received a vision concerning the vast religious changes that had occurred in Ireland since his absence. He interpreted this message to mean that he people of Ireland wished for him to provide them with counsel and that this was a mission supported by God. As a consequence, Patrick returned back to Ireland as a missionary to spread the faith, which was eventually supported by word of the miracle that God had allowed. Unfortunately, when Patrick initially landed on the island once again, he was not received well by its inhabitants. In fact, even those that considered themselves to be Christian were confused by Patrick’s righteous behavior. Since his goal was to spread the faith, he performed baptisms for free, would not accept gifts of any sort, and would give out worldly goods freely. People were not trusting of this behavior, and believes that he had some sort of ulterior motive.

Despite not gaining the acceptance of many of the Christian Irish, Patrick mission was a success. He baptized thousands of people, which led to the establishment of new Christian communities. This sparked the spread of the faith because some of the individuals he baptized went on to spread the faith on their own. He was also responsible for converting kings and other individuals of high social status, which helped permanently establish the place of Christianity in Irish society (Byrne 1973).

Despite the good that Patrick brought to the people of Ireland, they did not return their gratitude. Since Patrick was a foreigner and a Christian, he refused to follow many of the traditions of the Irish people, especially those that would result in material gain. It appeared that the exchange of gifts were necessary to bind legal contracts and establish ones place in society, and Patrick’s unwillingness to do so led to him being put on trial and in prison several times. However, despite these adversities, he recognized that God had given him a mission and he intended to carry it out nonetheless.

Ultimately, Patrick was a good Christian individual who wished to spread faith and morality to the Irish so that they could be saved. Just as Christ sacrificed himself for our sins, Patrick sacrificed his happiness and well-being in order to ensure that others could live a just and good life. Because of his teachings, a large majority of Ireland is Christian today and it is no longer considered immoral to reject gifts or to give things freely. It appears that Patrick brought about highly beneficial social change to this community.

Even though Patrick had lives hundreds of years ago, many symbols of his teachings remain today. The most commonly known is the three-leaf clover, which he used to represent the trinity. Today, the shamrock and Patrick himself are closely tied into Irish identity, which is now equated with Irish Christian identity (Fletcher 1997). Ultimately, Patrick’s influence is of utmost importance because he demonstrates that Christianity can be successfully integrated into any culture, even if the individuals that are first approach appear to be resistant. The people that Patrick converted seem more fulfilled now that they are members of the Christian faith, and in this way, his influence lives on.

Bibliography

Byrne FJ. Irish Kings and High-Kings. London: Batsford, 1973.

Fletcher R.The Conversion of Europe: From Paganism to Christianity 371–1386 AD. London: Harper Collins, 1997.

Wood I.The Missionary Life: Saints and the Evangelisation of Europe 400–1050. London: Longman, 2001.