The Hermit Of Heaven

The Hermit Of Heaven

by Paul McCann

Patrick first came to Ireland as a slave in a boat in chains as a slave into the Lough where he fought for his freedom and safety . Some of the other prisoners were not as brave and remained in chains to work on the land for rich landlords .

His first view of Ireland was from the mouth of a cave that he had found and he planted his feet on Irish soil claiming the right to live and breathe in freedom and not as a slave .

There in the cave inside a mountain he made his way and found a peaceful place to pray .

He followed an inner voice that guided him to places where he became closer to God and the people . They shook hands and helped him to escape on a fishing boat back to where he had come from . His mother was so happy when he returned to his home and as he grew into a man she could see he was destined for greater things than working in the plot of ground where they lived .

Patrick was called and found a life as a priest and when he became a bishop, he was sent back to bring Christianity to Ireland .

At first, he felt afraid to return back to the land where he was brought as a slave but he prayed for the strength to help him on his mission .

At first, he built an altar inside his heart where he offered his life as a sacrifice in return for blessings to come down in Ireland and the people there who he adopted as his own . He drove out the snakes and miracles came to make Ireland a Christian country and everything fell into place .

He established his first church in the cave where concave slave.

he has hidden himself away .

Now he brought his first followers there who had connected with the things he had to say .

Each day they knelt down and joined their hands and prayed together. Patrick often would say ,

“Nothing do we own except for the love of God who will show us what we have to do . Thank you, Jesus , Mary and Joseph , in you we are never alone “

Their numbers grew and the catholic church was established with many people walking in faith and talking about the love of God in their hearts .

When Patrick got old, he could see that his life’s journey was coming to an end . He prayed and made a decision during this dark night of the soul to walk away not knowing what to do or where to go and then his inner voice spoke to him .

It was revealed to him in a moment that his work was done and he would find peace in the cave that once was his home and to their returned .

He told his followers not to follow him because he was now going to live his life as a hermit with no further contact with man . Those people could see a light around him and they realised God was with him . All over the land a great darkness was taken away and a new light shone down on Ireland and Patrick returned to the mountain and was never seen again .

The monks who had established their community in Ireland stared to travel in ships bringing Christianity to many countries and soon Gods message was known all around the world .

No longer were the people slaves to their sins because the love of God found a way to set them free .Patrick became the patron saint of Ireland and even still people look to him as a great leader and father of their faith .

His simple symbol of the shamrock brought the image of the blessed trinity into the hearts of the Irish people . As there are three leaves to the shamrock so there are three persons on the blessed trinity , God the Father , God the Son and God Holy Spirit.

Even today the echo of Patrick’ teachings are heard and God ,

is always with us now and ever will be still in a world without end .

In conclusion when St Patrick put his foot on Irish soil, he broke the chains of slavery and escaped to find a new life. The spark of faith became a flame that started a fire that spread through every corner of Ireland .

St Patricks flame still burns in the heart of many Irish people who have emigrated all over the world and although in exile from their beloved Irish Shore they are connected through their faith by Saint Patrick to God who is never far away.

The End