Saint Patrick
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Mark 16:15 (ESV)
Patrick was the son of an upper-class Roman citizen. He was born and raised in Britania (modern-day Britain), near the end of the Roman Empire. In the later days of the empire, Rome was losing its strength, and the empire’s fringes were, in turn, easy targets to raiders and pirates. As a young man, Patrick was captured by Celtic raiders from Ireland and sailed across the sea to the Green Isle. After several years of slavery, Patrick, risking the prospect of being put to death, escaped his master and went back to England.
Shockingly, after this turbulent journey, Patrick voluntarily went back to Ireland to preach the Gospel to the pagans there. Patrick had an evangelical heart for these people, for he took pity on them. At the time, the Irish were under the sway of paganism. These people were led down the wicked rabbit hole of the religion of the druids: a group of mystic, pagan priests in Celtic Ireland. And so, the LORD blessed Patrick’s efforts and the Gospel spread on the Green Isle.
There are many today who are blinded by the mist of pagan mysticism. Shamans, Imams, witch doctors, all sorts of false prophets are out there misleading the heritage of the LORD, the people He created. But, as Christ died on the cross, a light shone forth from the cross to proclaim the captives free from sin and error. This light is still reaching other lands: India, Africa, Nepal, and more. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit that He may, through His Word, reveal to more people the true and only Savior, as He did so long ago on the Green Isle.
From Greenland’s icy mountains, From India’s coral strand,
Where Afric’s sunny fountains Roll down their golden sand;
From many an ancient river, from many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver their land from error’s chain
The Lutheran Hymnal 495:1