The "Confessio" of Saint Patrick

   1. I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all

   the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon

   Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement

   [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was

   taken captive. I was at that time about sixteen years of age. I did

   not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in

   Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our deserts, for

   quite drawn away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we

   obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our salvation. And

   the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered us

   among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my

   smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.

   2. And there the Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief,

   in order that, even so late, I might remember my transgressions and

   turn with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my

   insignificance and pitied my youth and ignorance. And he watched over

   me before I knew him, and before I learned sense or even distinguished

   between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a

   father would his son.

   3. Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so

   many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the

   land of my captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing

   him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders

   before every nation under heaven.

   4. For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be

   hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in

   whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught;

   and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the

   Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father,

   indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and

   invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was

   received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every

   name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should

   confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we

   look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the

   dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured

   out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of

   immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of

   God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in

   the Trinity of holy name.

   5. He himself said through the prophet: `Call upon me in the day of`

   trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.` And again: `It

   is right to reveal and publish abroad the works of God.`

   6. I am imperfect in many things, nevertheless I want my brethren and

   kinsfolk to know my nature so that they may be able to perceive my

   soul`s desire.

   7. I am not ignorant of what is said of my Lord in the Psalm: `You

   destroy those who speak a lie.` And again: `A lying mouth deals death

   to the soul.` And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel: `On the day of

   judgment men shall render account for every idle word they utter.`

   8. So it is that I should mightily fear, with terror and trembling,

   this judgment on the day when no one shall be able to steal away or

   hide, but each and all shall render account for even our smallest sins

   before the judgment seat of Christ the Lord.

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   9. 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

   recognized in speech, and in understanding, and in knowledge and in

   the learning of truth.`

   10. But why make excuses close to the truth, especially when now I am

   presuming to try to grasp in my old age what I did not gain in my

   youth because my sins prevented me from making what I had read my own?

   But who will believe me, even though I should say it again? A young

   man, almost a beardless boy, I was taken captive before I knew what I

   should desire and what I should shun. So, consequently, today I feel

   ashamed and I am mightily afraid to expose my ignorance, because,

   [not] eloquent, with a small vocabulary, I am unable to explain as the

   spirit is eager to do and as the soul and the mind indicate.

   11. But had it been given to me as to others, in gratitude I should

   not have kept silent, and if it should appear that I put myself before

   others, with my ignorance and my slower speech, in truth, it is

   written: `The tongue of the stammerers shall speak rapidly and

   distinctly.` How much harder must we try to attain it, we of whom it

   is said: `You are an epistle of Christ in greeting to the ends of the

   earth ... written on your hearts, not with ink but with the Spirit of

   the living God.` And again, the Spirit witnessed that the rustic life

   was created by the Most High.

   12. I am, then, first of all, countryfied, an exile, evidently

   unlearned, one who is not able to see into the future, but I know for

   certain, that before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep

   mire, and he that is mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and,

   indeed, lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall. And from

   there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord for his great

   favours in this world and for ever, that the mind of man cannot

   measure.

   13. Therefore be amazed, you great and small who fear God, and you men

   of God, eloquent speakers, listen and contemplate. Who was it summoned

   me, a fool, from the midst of those who appear wise and learned in the

   law and powerful in rhetoric and in all things? Me, truly wretched in

   this world, he inspired before others that I could be--if I

   would--such a one who, with fear and reverence, and faithfully,

   without complaint, would come to the people to whom the love of Christ

   brought me and gave me in my lifetime, if I should be worthy, to serve

   them truly and with humility.

   14. According, therefore, to the measure of one`s faith in the

   Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make

   known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, to spread God`s

   name everywhere with confidence and without fear, in order to leave

   behind, after my death, foundations for my brethren and sons whom I

   baptized in the Lord in so many thousands.

   15. And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the Lord should grant

   his humble servant this, that after hardships and such great trials,

   after captivity, after many years, he should give me so much favour in

   these people, a thing which in the time of my youth I neither hoped

   for nor imagined.

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   16. But after I reached Ireland I used to pasture the flock each day

   and I used to pray many times a day. More and more did the love of

   God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so

   that in a day [I said] from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the

   night a like number; besides I used to stay out in the forests and on

   the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow,

   in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any

   slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at

   that time.

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   17. And it was there of course that one night in my sleep I heard a

   voice saying to me: `You do well to fast: soon you will depart for

   your home country.` And again, a very short time later, there was a

   voice prophesying: `Behold, your ship is ready.` And it was not close

   by, but, as it happened, two hundred miles away, where I had never

   been nor knew any person. And shortly thereafter I turned about and

   fled from the man with whom I had been for six years, and I came, by

   the power of God who directed my route to advantage (and I was afraid

   of nothing), until I reached that ship.

   18. And on the same day that I arrived, the ship was setting out from

   the place, and I said that I had the wherewithal to sail with them;

   and the steersman was displeased and replied in anger, sharply: `By no

   means attempt to go with us.` Hearing this I left them to go to the

   hut where I was staying, and on the way I began to pray, and before

   the prayer was finished I heard one of them shouting loudly after me:

   `Come quickly because the men are calling you.` And immediately I went

   back to them and they started to say to me: `Come, because we are

   admitting you out of good faith; make friendship with us in any way

   you wish.` (And so, on that day, I refused to suck the breasts of

   these men from fear of God, but nevertheless I had hopes that they

   would come to faith in Jesus Christ, because they were barbarians.)

   And for this I continued with them, and forthwith we put to sea.

   19. And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight days

   journeyed through uninhabited country, and the food ran out and hunger

   overtook them; and one day the steersman began saying: `Why is it,

   Christian? You say your God is great and all-powerful; then why can

   you not pray for us? For we may perish of hunger; it is unlikely

   indeed that we shall ever see another human being.` In fact, I said to

   them, confidently: `Be converted by faith with all your heart to my

   Lord God, because nothing is impossible for him, so that today he will

   send food for you on your road, until you be sated, because everywhere

   he abounds.` And with God`s help this came to pass; and behold, a herd

   of swine appeared on the road before our eyes, and they slew many of

   them, and remained there for two nights, and the were full of their

   meat and well restored, for many of them had fainted and would

   otherwise have been left half dead by the wayside. And after this they

   gave the utmost thanks to God, and I was esteemed in their eyes, and

   from that day they had food abundantly. They discovered wild honey,

   besides, and they offered a share to me, and one of them said: `It is

   a sacrifice.` Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.

   20. The very same night while I was sleeping Satan attacked me

   violently, as I will remember as long as I shall be in this body; and

   there fell on top of me as it were, a huge rock, and not one of my

   members had any force. But from whence did it come to me, ignorant in

   the spirit, to call upon `Helias`? And meanwhile I saw the sun rising

   in the sky, and while I was crying out `Helias, Helias` with all my

   might, lo, the brilliance of that sun fell upon me and immediately

   shook me free of all the weight; and I believe that I was aided by

   Christ my Lord, and that his Spirit then was crying out for me, and I

   hope that it will be so in the day of my affliction, just as it says

   in the Gospel: `In that hour`, the Lord declares, `it is not you who

   speaks but the Spirit of your Father speaking in you.`

   21. And a second time, after many years, I was taken captive. On the

   first night I accordingly remained with my captors, but I heard a

   divine prophecy, saying to me: `You shall be with them for two

   months.` So it happened. On the sixtieth night the Lord delivered me

   from their hands.

   22. On the journey he provided us with food and fire and dry weather

   every day, until on the tenth day we came upon people. As I mentioned

   above, we had journeyed through an unpopulated country for

   twenty-eight days, and in fact the night that we came upon people we

   had no food.

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   23. And after a few years I was again in Britain with my parents

   [kinsfolk], and the welcomed me as a son, and asked me, in faith, that

   after the great tribulations I had endured I should not go an where

   else away from them. And, of course, there, in a vision of the night,

   I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as it from Ireland with

   innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the

   beginning of the letter: `The Voice of the Irish`, and as I was

   reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear

   the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near

   the western sea, and the were crying as if with one voice: `We beg

   you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.`

   And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more,

   and thus I awoke. Thanks be to God, because after so many ears the

   Lord bestowed on them according to their cry.

   24. And another night--God knows, I do not, whether within me or

   beside me--... most words + ... + which I heard and could not

   understand, except at the end of the speech it was represented thus:

   `He who gave his life for you, he it is who speaks within you.` And

   thus I awoke, joyful.

   25. And on a second occasion I saw Him praying within me, and I was as

   it were, inside my own body , and I heard Him above me--that is, above

   my inner self. He was praying powerfully with sighs. And in the course

   of this I was astonished and wondering, and I pondered who it could be

   who was praying within me. But at the end of the prayer it was

   revealed to me that it was the Spirit. And so I awoke and remembered

   the Apostle`s words: `Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;

   for we know not how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit Himself

   intercedes for us with sighs too deep for utterance.` And again: `The

   Lord our advocate intercedes for us.`

   26. And then I was attacked by a goodly number of my elders, who

   [brought up] my sins against my arduous episcopate. That day in

   particular I was mightily upset, and might have fallen here and for

   ever; but the Lord generously spared me, a convert, and an alien, for

   his name`s sake, and he came powerfully to my assistance in that state

   of being trampled down. I pray God that it shall not be held against

   them as a sin that I fell truly into disgrace and scandal.

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   27. They brought up against me after thirty years an occurrence I had

   confessed before becoming a deacon. On account of the anxiety in my

   sorrowful mind, I laid before my close friend what I had perpetrated

   on a day--nay, rather in one hour--in my boyhood because I was not yet

   proof against sin. God knows--I do not--whether I was fifteen years

   old at the time, and I did not then believe in the living God, nor had

   I believed, since my infancy; but I remained in death and unbelief

   until I was severely rebuked, and in truth I was humbled every day by

   hunger and nakedness.

   28. On the other hand, I did not proceed to Ireland of my own accord

   until I was almost giving up, but through this I was corrected by the

   Lord, and he prepared me so that today I should be what was once far

   from me, in order that I should have the care of--or rather, I should

   be concerned for--the salvation of others, when at that time, still, I

   was only concerned for myself.

   29. Therefore, on that day when I was rebuked, as I have just

   mentioned, I saw in a vision of the night a document before my face,

   without honour, and meanwhile I heard a divine prophecy, saying to me:

   `We have seen with displeasure the face of the chosen one divested of

   [his good] name.` And he did not say `You have seen with displeasure`,

   but `We have seen with displeasure` (as if He included Himself) . He

   said then: `He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye.`

   30. For that reason, I give thanks to him who strengthened me in all

   things, so that I should not be hindered in my setting out and also in

   my work which I was taught by Christ my Lord; but more, from that

   state of affairs I felt, within me, no little courage, and vindicated

   my faith before God and man.

   31. Hence, therefore, I say boldly that my conscience is clear now and

   hereafter. God is my witness that I have not lied in these words to

   you.

   32. But rather, I am grieved for my very close friend, that because of

   him we deserved to hear such a prophecy. The one to whom I entrusted

   my soul! And I found out from a goodly number of brethren, before the

   case was made in my defence (in which I did not take part, nor was I

   in Britain, nor was it pleaded by me), that in my absence he would

   fight in my behalf. Besides, he told me himself: `See, the rank of

   bishop goes to you`--of which I was not worthy. But how did it come to

   him, shortly afterwards, to disgrace me publicly, in the presence of

   all, good and bad, because previously, gladly and of his own free

   will, he pardoned me, as did the Lord, who is greater than all?

   33. I have said enough. But all the same, I ought not to conceal God`s

   gift which he lavished on us in the land of my captivity, for then I

   sought him resolutely, and I found him there, and he preserved me from

   all evils (as I believe) through the in-dwelling of his Spirit, which

   works in me to this day. Again, boldly, but God knows, if this had

   been made known to me by man, I might, perhaps, have kept silent for

   the love of Christ.

   34. Thus I give untiring thanks to God who kept me faithful in the day

   of my temptation, so that today I may confidently over my soul as a

   living sacrifice for Christ my Lord; who am I, Lord? or, rather, what

   is my calling? that you appeared to me in so great a divine quality,

   so that today among the barbarians I might constantly exalt and

   magnify your name in whatever place I should be, and not only in good

   fortune, but even in affliction? So that whatever befalls me, be it

   good or bad, I should accept it equally, and give thanks always to God

   who revealed to me that I might trust in him, implicitly and forever,

   and who will encourage me so that, ignorant, and in the last days, I

   may dare to undertake so devout and so wonderful a work; so that I

   might imitate one of those whom, once, long ago, the Lord already

   pre-ordained to be heralds of his Gospel to witness to all peoples to

   the ends of the earth. So are we seeing, and so it is fulfilled;

   behold, we are witnesses because the Gospel has been preached as far

   as the places beyond which no man lives.

   35. But it is tedious to describe in detail all my labours one by one.

   I will tell briefly how most holy God frequently delivered me, from

   slavery, and from the twelve trials with which my soul was threatened,

   from man traps as well, and from things I am not able to put into

   words. I would not cause offence to readers, but I have God as witness

   who knew all things even before they happened, that, though I was a

   poor ignorant waif, still he gave me abundant warnings through divine

   prophecy.

   36. Whence came to me this wisdom which was not my own, I who neither

   knew the number of days nor had knowledge of God? Whence came the so

   great and so healthful gift of knowing or rather loving God, though I

   should lose homeland and family.

   37. And many gifts were offered to me with weeping and tears, and I

   offended them [the donors], and also went against the wishes of a good

   number of my elders; but guided by God, I neither agreed with them nor

   deferred to them, not by my own grace but by God who is victorious in

   me and withstands them all, so that I might come to the Irish people

   to preach the Gospel and endure insults from unbelievers; that I might

   hear scandal of my travels, and endure man persecutions to the extent

   of prison; and so that I might give up my free birthright for the

   advantage of others, and if I should be worthy, I am ready [to give]

   even m life without. hesitation; and most willingly for His name. And

   I choose to devote it to him even unto death, if God grant it to me.

   38. I am greatly God`s debtor, because he granted me so much grace,

   that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon a after

   confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the

   masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the

   earth, just as he once promised through his prophets: `To you shall

   the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our

   fathers have inherited naught hut lies, worthless things in which

   there is no profit.` And again: `I have set you to be a light for the

   Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of` the

   earth.`

   39. And I wish to wait then for his promise which is never

   unfulfilled, just as it is promised in the Gospel: `Many shall come

   from east and west and shall sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and

   Jacob.` Just as we believe that believers will come from all the

   world.

   40. So for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently,

   just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, `Follow me, and I will

   make you fishers of men,` and again through the prophets: `Behold, I

   am sending forth many fishers and hunters, says the Lord,` et cetera.

   So it behoved us to spread our nets, that a vast multitude and throng

   might be caught for God, and so there might be clergy everywhere who

   baptized and exhorted a needy and desirous people. Just as the Lord

   says in the Gospel, admonishing and instructing: `Go therefore and

   make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

   Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe

   all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the end

   of time.` And again he says: `Go forth into the world and preach the

   Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptized shall be

   saved; but he who does not believe shall be condemned.` And again:

   `This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole

   world as a witness to all nations; and then the end of the world shall

   come.` And likewise the Lord foretells through the prophet: `And it

   shall come to pass in the last days (sayeth the Lord) that I will pour

   out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall

   prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall

   dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those

   days I will pour out my Spirit and they shall prophesy.` And in Hosea

   he says: `Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those

   not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place where it was

   said to them, You are not my people, they will be called `Sons of the

   living God`.

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   41. So, how is it that in Ireland, where they never had any knowledge

   of God but, always, until now, cherished idols and unclean things,

   they are lately become a people of the Lord, and are called children

   of God; the sons of. the Irish [Scotti] and the daughters of the

   chieftains are to be seen as monks and virgins of Christ.

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   42. And there was, besides, a most beautiful, blessed, native-born

   noble Irish [Scotta] woman of adult age whom I baptized; and a few

   days later she had reason to come to us to intimate that she had

   received a prophecy from a divine messenger [who] advised her that she

   should become a virgin of Christ and she would draw nearer to God.

   Thanks be to God, six days from then, opportunely and most eagerly,

   she took the course that all virgins of God take, not with their

   fathers` consent but enduring the persecutions and deceitful

   hindrances of their parents. Notwithstanding that, their number

   increases, (we do not know the number of them that are so reborn)

   besides the widows, and those who practise self-denial. Those who are

   kept in slavery suffer the most. They endure terrors and constant

   threats, but the Lord has given grace to many of his handmaidens, for

   even though they are forbidden to do so, still they resolutely follow

   his example.

   43. So it is that even if I should wish to separate from them in order

   to go to Britain, and most willingly was I prepared to go to my

   homeland and kinsfolk--and not only there, but as far as Gaul to visit

   the brethren there, so that I might see the faces of the holy ones of

   my Lord, God knows how strongly I desired this--I am bound by the

   Spirit, who witnessed to me that if I did so he would mark me out as

   guilty, and I fear to waste the labour that I began, and not I, but

   Christ the Lord, who commanded me to come to be with them for the rest

   of my life, if the Lord shall will it and shield me from every evil,

   so that I may not sin before him.

   44. So I hope that I did as I ought, but I do not trust myself as long

   as I am in this mortal body, for he is strong who strives daily to

   turn me away from the faith and true holiness to which I aspire until

   the end of my life for Christ my Lord, but the hostile flesh is always

   dragging one down to death, that is, to unlawful attractions. And I

   know in part why I did not lead a perfect life like other believers,

   but I confess to my Lord and do not blush in his sight, because I am

   not lying; from the time when I came to know him in my youth, the love

   of God and fear of him increased in me, and right up until now, by

   God`s favour, I have kept the faith.

   45. What is more, let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not

   keeping silent, nor am I hiding the signs and wonders that were shown

   to me by the Lord many years before they happened, [he] who knew

   everything, even before the beginning of time.

   46. Thus, I should give thanks unceasingly to God, who frequently

   forgave my folly and my negligence, in more than one instance so as

   not to be violently angry with me, who am placed as his helper, and I

   did not easily assent to what had been revealed to me, as the Spirit

   was urging; and the Lord took pity on me thousands upon thousands of

   times, because he saw within me that I was prepared, but that I was

   ignorant of what to do in view of my situation; because many were

   trying to prevent this mission. They were talking among themselves

   behind my back, and saying: `Why is this fellow throwing himself into

   danger among enemies who know not God?` Not from malice, but having no

   liking for it; likewise, as I myself can testify, they perceived my

   rusticity. And I was not quick to recognize the grace that was then in

   me; I now know that I should have done so earlier.

   47. Now I have put it frankly to my brethren and co-workers, who have

   believed me because of what I have foretold and still foretell to

   strengthen and reinforce your faith. I wish only that you, too, would

   make greater and better efforts. This will be my pride, for `a wise

   son makes a proud father`.

   48. You know, as God does, how I went about among you from my youth in

   the faith of truth and in sincerity of heart. As well as to the

   heathen among whom I live, I have shown them trust and always show

   them trust. God knows I did not cheat any one of them, nor consider

   it, for the sake of God and his Church, lest I arouse them and [bring

   about] persecution for them and for all of us, and lest the Lord`s

   name be blasphemed because of me, for it is written: `Woe to the men

   through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed.`

   49. For even though I am ignorant in all things, nevertheless I

   attempted to safeguard some and myself also. And I gave back again to

   my Christian brethren and the virgins of Christ and the holy women the

   small unasked for gifts that they used to give me or some of their

   ornaments which they used to throw on the altar. And they would be

   offended with me because I did this. But in the hope of eternity, I

   safeguarded myself carefully in all things, so that they might not

   cheat me of my office of service on any pretext of dishonesty, and so

   that I should not in the smallest way provide any occasion for

   defamation or disparagement on the part of unbelievers.

   50. What is more, when I baptized so many thousands of people, did I

   hope for even half a jot from any of them? [If so] Tell me, and I will

   give it back to you. And when the Lord ordained clergy everywhere by

   my humble means, and I freely conferred office on them, if I asked any

   of them anywhere even for the price of one shoe, say so to my face and

   I will give it back.

   51. More, I spent for you so that they would receive me. And I went

   about among you, and everywhere for your sake, in danger, and as far

   as the outermost regions beyond which no one lived, and where no one

   had ever penetrated before, to baptize or to ordain clergy or to

   confirm people. Conscientiously and gladly I did all this work by

   God`s gift for your salvation.

   52. From time to time I gave rewards to the kings, as well as making

   payments to their sons who travel with me; notwithstanding which, they

   seized me with my companions, and that day most avidly desired to kill

   me. But my time had not yet come. They plundered everything they found

   on us anyway, and fettered me in irons; and on the fourteenth day the

   Lord freed me from their power, and whatever they had of ours was

   given back to us for the sake of God on account of the indispensable

   friends whom we had made before.

   53. Also you know from experience how much I was paying to those who

   were administering justice in all the regions, which I visited often.

   I estimate truly that I distributed to them not less than the price of

   fifteen men, in order that you should enjoy my company and I enjoy

   yours, always, in God. I do not regret this nor do I regard it as

   enough. I am paying out still and I shall pay out more. The Lord has

   the power to grant me that I may soon spend my own self, for your

   souls.

   54. Behold, I call on God as my witness upon my soul that I am not

   lying; nor would I write to you for it to be an occasion for flattery

   or selfishness, nor hoping for honour from any one of you. Sufficient

   is the honour which is not yet seen, but in which the heart has

   confidence. He who made the promise is faithful; he never lies.

   55. But I see that even here and now, I have been exalted beyond

   measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy that he should grant me

   this, while I know most certainly that poverty and failure suit me

   better than wealth and delight (but Christ the Lord was poor for our

   sakes; I certainly am wretched and unfortunate; even if I wanted

   wealth I have no resources, nor is it my own estimation of myself, for

   daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the

   occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises of

   Heaven; for I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, who

   reigns everywhere. As the prophet says: `Cast your burden on the Lord

   and he will sustain you.`

   56. Behold now I commend my soul to God who is most faithful and for

   whom I perform my mission in obscurity, but he is no respecter of

   persons and he chose me for this service that I might be one of the

   least of his ministers.

   57. For which reason I should make return for all that he returns me.

   But what should I say, or what should I promise to my Lord, for I,

   alone, can do nothing unless he himself vouchsafe it to me. But let

   him search my heart and [my] nature, for I crave enough for it, even

   too much, and I am ready for him to grant me that I drink of his

   chalice, as he has granted to others who love him.

   58. Therefore may it never befall me to be separated by my God from

   his people whom he has won in this most remote land. I pray God that

   he gives me perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a

   faithful witness for his sake right up to the time of my passing.

   59. And if at any time I managed anything of good for the sake of my

   God whom I love, I beg of him that he grant it to me to shed my blood

   for his name with proselytes and captives, even should I be left

   unburied, or even were my wretched body to be torn limb from limb by

   dogs or savage beasts, or were it to be devoured by the birds of the

   air, I think, most surely, were this to have happened to me, I had

   saved both my soul and my body. For beyond any doubt on that day we

   shall rise again in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory

   of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as children of the living God and

   co-heirs of Christ, made in his image; for we shall reign through him

   and for him and in him.

   60. For the sun we see rises each day for us at [his] command, but it

   will never reign, neither will its splendour last, but all who worship

   it will come wretchedly to punishment. We, on the other hand, shall

   not die, who believe in and worship the true sun, Christ, who will

   never die, no more shall he die who has done Christ`s will, but will

   abide for ever just as Christ abides for ever, who reigns with God the

   Father Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before the beginning of time

   and now and for ever and ever. Amen.

   61. Behold over and over again I would briefly set out the words of my

   confession. I testify in truthfulness and gladness of heart before God

   and his holy angels that I never had any reason, except the Gospel and

   his promises, ever to have returned to that nation from which I had

   previously escaped with difficulty.

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   62. But I entreat those who believe in and fear God, whoever deigns to

   examine or receive this document composed by the obviously unlearned

   sinner Patrick in Ireland, that nobody shall ever ascribe to my

   ignorance any trivial thing that I achieved or may have expounded that

   was pleasing to God, but accept and truly believe that it would have

   been the gift of God. And this is my confession before I die.