Confessio of St. Patrick

PART I

1. I am Patrick, a sinner, an ordinary, unsophisticated person, and the least of all the faithful and contemptible in the eyes of many. My father’s name was Calpornius. He was a deacon; he was the son of Potitus, a priest, (or elder, latin: presbyteri) who lived at Bannaventa Berniae (a town in Roman Britain.) His home was near there and that’s where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time. Back then, I didn’t know the true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland, along with thousands of others, and deservedly so, because we had turned away from God; we were not keen to keep his commands, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to warn us about our salvation. Then the Lord poured down on us the heat of his anger and scattered us across many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where now my insignificance is seen for what it is among a foreign people.

    

2. It was there that the Lord opened up my awareness to my own lack of faith so that I might, at last, acknowledge my sins. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God, who looked upon my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance. And he watched over me before I knew him and before I gained wisdom or could distinguish between good and evil, he protected me, and comforted me as a father would his son.

3. Therefore, I cannot remain silent – it wouldn’t be right – in the light of the great benefits and grace that the Lord has kindly blessed me with in the land of my captivity. For this is what we can bring in return, after God corrects us and brings us to recognise him: to exalt and confess his wonders before every nation under the heavens.

    

4. Because there is no other God, nor was there ever before, nor will there ever be, except God the Father, uncreated, without beginning, from whom all things began, in whom all things have their being, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, whom we testify has always existed with the Father, before the beginning of the world, with a spiritual and indescribable sonship in relation to the Father, before all beginning, and through him all things visible and invisible were created. He became a human, and having conquered death was received into Heaven by the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess to him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in him we believe. Also, we look to his coming again soon, to be the judge of the living and the dead, when he will repay each person according to what they have done. And he has abundantly poured out on us his Holy Spirit, the gift and promise of immortality, who makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and joint-heirs with Christ whom we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of the sacred name.

    

5. He himself said through the prophet: ‘Call on me in the day of your distress, and I will set you free, and you will glorify me’ (Psalm 50:15) Again he said: ‘To reveal and declare the works of God is an honourable thing’. (cf. 1 Peter 2:9)

    

6. Nevertheless, although I am imperfect in many ways, I’d like my brothers and relatives to know what kind of person I am so that they can discern what inspires my soul.

    

7. I’m not ignorant of the testimony of my Lord. He declares in the Psalm: ‘You destroy those who tell lies.’ (Psalm 5:6) And again: ‘A lying mouth destroys the soul.’ (Wisdom 1:11) And likewise the Lord affirms in the Gospel: ‘men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.’ (Matthew 12:36)

    

8. Therefore I should dread this sentence, with fear and trembling, on that day when no one will be able to avoid it or hide from it, but each and every one of us will have to give an account for even our smallest sins before the judgment seat of the Lord Christ.

    

9. So this is why I have long thought about writing, but I’ve hesitated until now, because I feared exposing myself to the criticism of people, because I have not studied like others, who have thoroughly absorbed both laws and the Holy Scriptures equally and have never had to change their speaking style since childhood, but instead were always developing it to perfection, while my speech and language have been translated into a foreign language. So it is easy to discern from the flavour of my writing, my ability in rhetoric and the extent of my training and education, for as it is said, ‘Through his speech will the wise man be recognised, also his understanding, his knowledge and the teaching of truth.’

    

10. But what good is an excuse, even if it is close to the truth? Especially now, in my old age, I am trying to do what I did not accomplish in my youth because my sins blocked me from really mastering what I had read before.But who will believe me, even though I should repeat it again? It was as an adolescent, as a speechless young boy, that I was taken captive! This was before I knew what I ought to seek and what I ought to avoid. Consequently, today I feel ashamed and fearful exposing my unlearnedness, because, lacking eloquence, I am unable to express myself in concise words to those trained in speech, as my spirit, mind and heart would like to.

     

11. But then, if I had been gifted just as others have been, I would not have remained silent. Now, if it looks to some people that I am putting myself forward in all this, with my ignorance and my slow speech, listen to what is written: ‘The tongue of the stammerers will speak clearly and fluently.’ (Isaiah 32:4) How much more ought we to speak, we of whom it is said: ‘You are a letter of Christ bringing salvation to the ends of the earth (See 2 Corinthians 3:2) and although not an eloquent one, yet valid and strong ‘written on your hearts, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.’ (See 2 Corinthians 3:1) And again, the Spirit testifies that the ordinary, unsophisticated person was created by the Most High!

     

12. So, I am firstly an ordinary, unsophisticated person, a refugee and unlearned. I don’t know how to provide for the future. But this I know for sure, that before I was brought low, I was like a stone lying in deep mud. Then he who is mighty came and in his mercy pulled me out, lifted me up and placed me on the top of a high wall. That is why I ought to shout aloud in gratitude to the Lord for his great benefits, here and now and for eternity, which the human mind cannot measure.

     

13. Therefore be amazed, you great and small who fear God, and you men of authority, eloquent speakers, listen and consider this: Who was it that summoned me, a fool, from the company of those who appear wise and learned in the law and powerful in rhetoric and in all things? He inspired me, -someone looked down upon in this detestable world- before others that I could be someone who, with fear and reverence, and without complaining, would come to faithfully serve that pagan people to whom the love of Christ brought me and gave me within my lifetime, if I should be worthy, to serve them truly and with humility.

     

14. Therefore, according to this measure of faith in the Trinity, it is my duty to proceed, not letting the fear of danger prevent it, to make known the gift of God and eternal consolation, to spread everywhere God’s name with confidence and without fear, in order that, after my death, I may leave behind foundations for my brothers and children whom I baptised in the Lord in so many thousands.

     

15. 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 with these people, a thing which in the time of my youth I neither hoped for nor imagined.

PART II

16. But after I came to Ireland, I tended flocks (of sheep) daily and I prayed frequently every day. More and more, the love of God, and the fear of him (respect & awe) grew in me, so too did my faith increase, and my spirit was stirred so that in a day I would pray up to a hundred times, and the night time was similar; even when I used to stay out in the woods and on the mountain, I would rise up before daybreak to pray in snow, frost and rain, but I used to feel no ill-effect nor any sluggishness, because, as I now realise, the Spirit was burning in me at that time.

17. And it was there that one night in a dream I heard a voice saying to me: ‘It is well that you are fasting: soon you will leave for your home country.’ Again, a little time later, I heard a response saying to me: ‘See, your ship is ready.’ Now, it was not nearby, but perhaps two hundred miles away, where I had never been before nor knew anybody there. Soon after, I escaped and fled from the man with whom I had been for six years. I went by the power of God who directed my way for good and I was afraid of nothing until I reached that ship.

     

18. On that very day that I arrived, the ship was setting out from its anchorage, and I called out saying that I had the means to sail with them. But the captain was indignant, not at all pleased and responded sharply: ‘Don’t dare attempt to go with us.’ When I heard this I left them and returned to the hut where I had been lodging and on the way back I began to pray, but before I was finished praying, I heard one of them shouting out loud after me: ‘Come quickly because these men are calling you.’ Immediately I returned to them and they started by saying to me: ‘Come – we’ll admit you in good faith; make friendship with us in any way you wish.’ (Now, on that day, I refused to suck the breasts of these men because of my reverence of God, but rather I had hopes that they might come to faith in Jesus Christ, as they were pagans.) And thus I got to go with them, and straight away we set sail.

     

19. After three days we made it to land, and for twenty eight days travelled through deserted country. But then the food ran out and hunger overcame them; and the next day the captain addressed me: ‘Why is it, Christian, you say that your God is great and omnipotent; then why can’t you pray for us since we are in danger of starvation? It is difficult to see how we will ever see another human being again!’ But I responded to them with confidence: ‘Be converted by faith with all your heart to the Lord my God, because nothing is impossible for him, so that today he may send food for you on your way, until you are satisfied, because for him there is abundance everywhere’ And with the help of God, it came to be; presently, a sounder of hogs appeared on the road before our eyes, and they killed many of them. And so they remained there for two nights, until the men were filled up, as were their dogs. Otherwise, many of them would have fainted and been left half alive by the roadside. After this they gave the greatest thanks to God, and I became esteemed in their eyes, and from that day on they had an abundance of food. They also discovered wild woodland honey, and they offered a part of it to me, and one of them said: ‘This is a sacrifice.’ (pagan offering) Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.

20. That very same night, while I was sleeping, Satan came at me in a strong test– I will remember it as long as I live; he fell on me as it were, like a huge rock, but all my limbs lost their strength. But how was it that I, in my ignorance of spirit, called out to ‘Elia’? Meanwhile, I saw the sun rising in the sky, and while I was crying out ‘Helia, Helia’ with all my strength, the brilliance of that sun (greek: helios) fell upon me and immediately all the heavy oppression was lifted from me. I believe that it was Christ my Lord who helped me, and that his Spirit was then crying out on my behalf, and I trust that it will be the same for me any day I come under pressure, just as he affirms in the Gospel: ‘In that day’, the Lord declares, ‘it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you’ (Matthew 10:20)

     

21. Many years later, I was taken captive again. On that first night that I was in their custody (the kidnappers), I heard a divine answer saying to me: ‘You will be with them for two months’ which is what transpired. On the sixtieth night the Lord liberated me from their hands.

     

22. Even on the journey he provided us with food and fire and dry weather every day, until the tenth day, when we encountered people. As mentioned above, we had travelled through uninhabited countryside for twenty-eight days, and in fact, on the night when we reached people, we had nothing left to eat.

     

23. A few years later I was again in Britain with my parents .They welcomed me as a son and they pleaded with me that, after all the many hardships I had endured, I should never leave them again. It was while I was there that I saw, in a vision of the night, a man seemingly from Ireland whose name was Victoricus  with countless letters . He gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The voice of the Irish people.’ While I was reading out the start of the letter, I seemed to hear, right at that moment, the voice of those who lived beside the Wood of Voclut, near the Western Sea. They called out as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk among us once again’. This touched my heart so deeply that I couldn’t read any further. With thanks to God, after many years, the Lord granted them what they had been asking for.

24. And on another night—God knows, I do not, whether within me or beside me— (ref. 2 Corinthians 12:2-3) most elegant words issued which I heard but could not understand, except at the end of the prayer he explained it like this: ‘He who gave his life for you, it is he who speaks in you.’ And so, I woke up full of rejoicing

     

25. Another time, I witnessed Him praying within me, and I was as it were, inside my own body, and I heard over me—that is, above my inner self- where He was praying powerfully with sighs and amid all this I was astonished and kept wondering and pondering ‘who it could be who was praying within me?’ But at the end of the prayer it was revealed to me that he was the Spirit. And so, I have experienced and remembered the Apostle’s words: ‘In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.’ (Romans 8:26) And again: ’The Lord our advocate intercedes for us.’ (ref. 1 John 2:1)

PART III 

26. (Once,) when I was put to the test by a number of my elders, they came with the issue of my sins as a charge against my work as an overseer (trad. bishopric, latin: episcopatum). That day really hit me hard, and I might have collapsed forever except that the Lord kindly spared this convert and exile, for his Name’s sake, and he powerfully came to my support in all this trampling down, so that, though in disgrace and shame, it did not end badly. I pray that God will not hold this sin against them.

27. They had brought up against me, something from thirty years ago that I had confessed to, before I became a deacon (servant /deaconus). It was with an anxious and troubled mind, I had shared with a close friend of mine something I had done during my boyhood one day —or rather in one hour— because I had not yet learned to prevail. I do not know, God knows—if I was fifteen years old at the time, but I did not then believe in the living God, nor had I since my infancy; but I remained in death and in unbelief until I was greatly chastised and truly humiliated by hunger and nakedness, and that daily.

     

28. On the other hand, I did not set off for Ireland (Hibernia) on my own accord until I almost perished, but rather, this was to my good, since I was corrected by the Lord, and he fitted me out to be what I am today—that I should be what was once far beyond me, in order that I should be concerned for—or rather, labour for—the salvation of others, when at that time, I wasn’t even concerned about myself.

     

29. Therefore, on that day when I was rebuked, as I have mentioned above, that very night I saw, in a night vision, a text before my dishonoured face, and meanwhile I heard a divine answer, saying to me: ‘We have seen with displeasure the face of the chosen one stripped of his good name.’ He did not say ‘You have seen with displeasure’, but ‘We have seen with displeasure’ (as if He included Himself). As he has said: ‘He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye.’(See: Zechariah 2:8)

     

30. For this reason, I give thanks to him who strengthened me in all things, (See 1 John 3:21) so that I should not be hindered in my setting out on the course I had determined to take nor also in my work which I had learned from Christ my Lord; but rather, I felt, within myself, no small courage from him, and my faith was vindicated before God and men.

     

31. Now, therefore, I say boldly that my conscience does not reproach me, both now or ever. God is my witness that I have not lied in these words which I have reported to you.

     

32. But I grieve all the more for my closest friend, that because of him we merited hearing such an account—the one to whom I had bared my soul! So I found out from some of the brothers, before that defence (of my case) in which I did not take part, nor was I in Britain, (Roman Provincia Britannia) nor did it come from me, that in my absence he would plead for me. Besides, he even told me himself: ‘See, you are to be granted the rank of bishop’ (or overseer / episcopatus)—something of which I was not worthy of. But how come it occurred to him, afterwards, that he could shame me publicly, in the presence of all, good and bad, over something which he had freely and gladly pardoned, as did the Lord, who is greater than all?

33. I have said enough. But nevertheless, I must not hide the gift of God which he lavished on us in the land of my imprisonment, because it was then that I resolutely looked for him and there I found him, and he preserved me from all evils (this I believe) through his in-dwelling Spirit, who works in me to this day. Again, I can be bold but God knows, if this had been made known to me (only) by man, I might, perhaps, have kept silent about the love of Christ.

     

34. Therefore I constantly give thanks to my God who kept me faithful in the day of my trial (/temptation), so that today I may confidently offer my life (/soul) as a living sacrifice to Christ my Lord; (See Romans 12:1) who has saved me from all my troubles, so that I may also say: ‘Who am I, Lord?’ or ‘What is my calling?’ You have appeared to me with such divinity that today, among the pagans, I can constantly exalt and magnify your name wherever I may be, and not only in good times, but also when under pressure. Therefore whatever may happen to me, be it good or bad, I should accept it equally, and always give thanks to God who has revealed to me that I should always trust in him, fully and forever. And he has heard me so that I, albeit ignorant, should in the last days dare to undertake this holy and wonderful work so that I might imitate those whom the Lord had long ago foretold would proclaim his Gospel, as a witness to all peoples before the end of the world. (See Matt 24:14) This is what we have seen being fulfilled. See, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached as far as the places beyond which nobody lives.

     

35. Now it would take too long to recount my work in total or one by one. Let me briefly relate how the most holy God often delivered me; from slavery, and from twelve dangers which threatened my soul, besides numerous traps, and from things I am not able to put into words. Nor would I hurt my readers, but I have God as the authority, who knows all things even before they even happen, that, to I, a poor little orphan, through divine answer, he gave frequent warnings.

     

36. From where did this wisdom come to me, which was not my own; I who neither knew the number of days nor had knowledge of God? (See 2 Samuel 7:18) How did it come to me after all, this great and life-giving gift of knowing or loving God wholeheartedly, even at the loss of homeland and family?

     

37. Many gifts (tributes) were offered to me along with weeping and tears, but I offended them [who offered], and also went against the wishes of a number of my superiors; but commandeered by God, I neither gave consent nor acquiesced to them, not by my own grace but by God who is victorious in me. I stood firm against them all, so that I might come to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure insults from unbelievers; that I might hear reproach about my missions, and endure many persecutions, even the chains of prison; and so that I might surrender my freeborn status for the benefit of others, and if I were worthy, was ready to give my life without hesitation  and freely for His Name. And it is there [in Ireland] I choose to spend my life until I die, if the Lord should grant that to me.

PART IV

38. I am greatly indebted to God because He gave me so much grace that through me, many people should be born again in God and confirmed with full life. And also, that clerics should be ordained everywhere for the people who have newly come to believe, and whom the Lord has drawn from the ends of the earth. This is just as he promised in times past through his prophets: ‘The nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all. (Jeremiah 16:19) And again: ‘I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)

39. And there I want to wait for his promise which certainly never fails, just as he guaranteed in the Gospel: ‘They will come from east and west and will recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ (Matthew 8:11) We believe that believers will come from all over the world.

     

40. Consequently, for that reason it is our duty indeed, to fish well and diligently, just as the Lord forewarns and teaches, saying, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men,’(Matthew 4:19) and, again, through the prophets: “Look, I am sending out fishers and many hunters,” (Jeremiah 16:16) says the Lord,’ et cetera. So it was fitting for us to spread our nets, that a large multitude and throng might be caught for God, and so there might be clerics everywhere to baptise and exhort a needy and desirous people. Just as the Lord affirms in the Gospel, admonishing and instructing: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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 see, I am with you always to the end of time.’ (Matthew 28:19-20) And again he says: ‘Go therefore into the entire world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’(Mark 16:15-16) 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.’ (Matthew 24:14) And similarly, the Lord announces beforehand through the prophet: ‘And it will come to pass in the last days, the Lord declares, that I will pour out my spirit over all mankind, and your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions and your old men shall dream dreams; yes, and on my menservants and maidservants in those days I will pour out from my Spirit and they will prophesy.’ (Joel 2:28-29) And in Hosea he says: ‘Those who are ‘not my people’ I will call ‘my people,’ and those who had not received mercy as those who have received mercy, 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.”’ (Hosea 1:10)

     

41. So, how is it that in Ireland, where they never had knowledge of God but up until now only worshipped idols and unclean things, that they have lately become people of the Lord, and are called children of God? That the sons of the Irish (Scotti) and the daughters of the chieftains are to be seen as monks and virgins of Christ.

     

42. And there was, besides, one blessed Irishwoman (Scotta) of noble birth, a beautiful, grown woman whom I baptised; and a few days later she had reason to come to us: she shared that she had received an answer from a messenger of God, advising her that she should become a virgin of Christ and she should draw closer to God. Thanks be to God, six days later, admirably and most avidly, she took the route that all virgins of God take but not with their fathers’ consent.They then endure persecutions and false hindrances from their own parents. Nevertheless, their numbers continue to grow, (we don’t know the number of those that are born like so by us) besides widows, and those pledged to continence. But it is the slaves among them that suffer the most. They endure constant terrors and threats, but the Lord has given grace to many of his own handmaidens, for even though they are forbidden to do so, they still bravely follow his example.

43. Now, even if I wished to take leave from them in order to travel over to the Britons (Britain), as I was willingly prepared to go see my homeland and family—and not only there, but as far as Gaul to visit the brothers (christians) there, so that I might see the faces of the saints (holy ones) of my Lord. God knows how strongly I desired this but I am bound by the Spirit, who protested to me that if I did so he would pronounce me guilty, and I fear losing the work which I began, and not I, but Christ the Lord, who commanded me to come and stay with them for the remainder of my life, if the Lord wills it and protect me from every evil path, so that I might 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 body of death, because there is one who is strong and strives daily to turn me away from the faith and purity of unfaked religion 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, towards unlawful attractions. And ‘I know in part’ (ref. 1 Corinthians 13:9) that I have not lead a perfect life like other believers, but I confess to my Lord and do not blush with shame in his sight, because it is no lie when I tell you: from the time when I came to know him in my youth, the love of God and fear of him grew in me, and right up until now, by God’s favour, I have kept the faith.

     

45. Furthermore, let anyone laugh and insult if he so wishes but I will not be silent nor hide the signs and wonders which were shown to me by the Lord many years before they happened, since he knows all things, even before the beginning of time.

     

46. Therefore, I ought to give unending thanks to God, who frequently forgave my foolishness and my negligence, who, not just once, refrained from being vehemently angry with me, (the one meant to be his helper) and yet I was not quick to accept what had been revealed to me, what the Spirit was suggesting; and the Lord has shown mercy to me thousands and thousands of times, because he saw within me that I was ready, but that I did not know what to do in these circumstances or in my position; because many were trying to hinder this mission. They talked among themselves behind my back saying: ‘Why does this man throw himself into danger amongst enemies who do not know God?’ It was not out of malice, but that they didn’t have wise understanding because, as I myself can testify, I was an unlearned countryman. And I myself was not quick to recognise the grace that was then in me; I now know that I should have done so earlier.

     

47. Now, therefore, I have briefed my brothers and fellow servants, those who have believed me because of what I have proclaimed and still preach in order to strengthen and confirm your faith. May you follow likewise and do what is greater and more excellent. (John 14:12) This will be my glory because ‘a wise son is the glory of his father’. (Proverbs 10:1)

     

48. You know, and God knows, how I lived among you from my youth in the truth of the faith and in sincerity of heart. Even to the pagan peoples among whom I live, I have lived trustfully and will keep in good trust. God knows I did not cheat any of them, nor even considered it, for the sake of God and his Church, lest I should stir up persecution for them and for all of us, and lest the name of the Lord be blasphemed because of me, for it is written: ‘Woe to the man through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed.’ (ref. Romans 2:24)

     

49. So, even if I am unlearned in all things, nevertheless I have attempted to safeguard myself even also from Christian brothers and the virgins of Christ and the devout women, who kept giving me small, unrequired gifts or kept throwing some of their ornaments on the altar. I returned these repeatedly to them and they would be offended by me because I kept doing this. But for the sake of the hope of eternity, I safeguarded myself carefully in all things, so that unbelievers might not take my ministry of servanthood on any charges nor that I would give any opportunity, even in the smallest way, for defamation (of my character) or detraction on the part of unbelievers.

     

50. But perchance, when I baptised so many thousands of people, did I expect even the smallest payment from any of them? Tell me, and I will give it back to you. Or when the Lord ordained clerics everywhere through my modest means, and I distributed this ministry to them for free, if I demanded from any of them even the price of my shoes, say it to me directly and I will repay it and more.

     

51. I spent for you so that they might receive me. And I went about among you, and everywhere for your sake, in many dangers, even as far as the remotest regions beyond which no one lived, and where no one had ever arrived, to baptise or to ordain clerics or to confirm people. With the Lord’s grace, diligently and gladly I undertook all this work for your salvation.

     

52. In the interim, I gave out rewards to the chieftains, in addition to paying fees to their sons who travelled with me; nevertheless, they seized me with my companions, and one day audibly expressed their desire to kill me. But my time had not yet come. They stole everything they found on us, and clapped me in irons; but 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 and on account of the ‘close friendships’ we had made previously.

53. You know also, from experience, how much I was paying out to those who administered justice (the brehons) in all those regions, which I frequently visited. I estimate that I distributed to them not less than the price of fifteen men, in order that you may benefit me and I may benefit you, always, in God. I do not regret this nor is it enough for me that I still spend and will spend more. The Lord has power to grant me after all—that I may spend myself for your souls. (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:15)

PART V

54. Look, I call God as witness in my soul that I do not lie; (cf. Galatians 1:20) nor have I written as an occasion for flattery or selfishness, nor hoping for honour from any of you. Sufficient is the honour which is not yet seen, but is believed in the heart. He who promised is faithful; he never lies.

     

55. But now I see that in this present world, I have been exalted beyond measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy of it, nor that it should be granted to me because I know for certain that poverty and calamity are better suited to me than riches and delight. But Christ the Lord also became poor for our sakes; (2 Corinthians 8:9) I too, wretched and unhappy, have no resources now, even if I wanted them; nor do I judge myself, for  I expect every day, to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery or as any occasion arises. But I fear none of these things, because of the promises of Heaven; for I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, who reigns everywhere. Just as the prophet says: ‘Cast your concerns to God and he will sustain you.’ (Psalm 55:22)

     

56. Now I commend my soul to my most faithful God for whom I function as ambassador in my ignobility but as he is no respecter of persons, he chose me for this office that I might be one of the least of his ministers.

     

57. So then, I should repay him for all that he gave me. But what should I say, or what should I promise to my Lord, because I can do nothing unless he himself enables me. But he examines hearts and deepest parts, for I desire it, even exceedingly, and I am ready for him to grant me that I may drink from his cup, as he has granted to others who love him.

     

58. Therefore may it never happen to me, by my God, that I should ever lose his own people whom he has won in this uttermost part of the earth. I pray that God may give me perseverance and that I may be a faithful witness until the time of my passing for the sake of my God.

     

59. And if I have ever imitated anything good for the sake of my God, whom I love, I ask of him to grant it to me (along with new converts and captives, for his name’s sake) to spill my blood—even should I be left unburied, or my pitiful corpse be torn limb from limb by dogs or wild beasts, or devoured by the birds of the air, I firmly believe, that if this should happen to me, I would have gained both my soul and my body, because beyond any doubt, on that day we will 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 with Christ, to be conformed, in the future, to his image; since from him and through him and in him we will reign.

     

60. For the sun which we see, rises each day for our sake at [his] command, but it will never reign, nor will its splendour endure forever. But all who worship it will come to a wretched punishment. We, on the other hand, believe in and worship the true sun, Christ, who will never die, nor will the one who does his will, but he will live forever just as Christ lives forever, who reigns with God the Father Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before the beginning of time both now and forever and ever. Amen.

     

61. See now, again and again I will briefly expound the words of my confession. I testify in truth and gladness of heart before God and his holy angels that I never had any occasion, apart from the Gospel and his promises, to ever have returned to that nation from which I had previously escaped.

62. But I ask those who believe and fear God -those who decide to inspect or receive this written document, which Patrick, a sinner, surely unschooled, composed in Ireland-  that no one should ever say that it was by my ignorance that I had accomplished or demonstrated some small thing according to God’s pleasure, but let it be considered and truly believed that it had been the gift of God. 

And this is my confession before I die.

Public Domain – you are free to copy, print or redistribute this text with or without attribution.

Attribution: Confessio OBI Version 0.7 translated by OpenBook Ireland 2025 (Confessio OBIV 0.7) in conjunction with The Patrick Story
Click HERE for full text of the Confessio OBI document

Film clips from ‘I am Patrick’ movie by kind permission of CBN Films. Copyright CBN 2020 All rights reserved.

Confessio MRV 1.0 (Readers Version & Audio Version) translated and narrated by Niall MacCárthaigh 2025 (Confessio MRV 1.0) in conjunction with The Patrick Story
Click HERE for full text of the Confessio MRV document