The Confession

Patrick escaping from slavery by flight, returns to his countrymen, to whom he writes this letter. — In his slavery he was very much given to prayer — He is admonished of his freedom — Relying on God, he makes his escape, and is received gratuitously by the sailors into their ship — Afterwards, by prayer, he obtains sustenance for them during the famine in the desert — He is delivered from the temptations of the devil by the intercession of Elias.

Wherefore, we must now distinguish what belongs to Faith, in the Trinity, and without fear of danger, we must make known the gift of God, and his everlasting consolation spreading every where, without apprehension and with confidence, the know-

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ledge of God’s holy name, and even, after my death, bequeathing to my brethren and to my children whom I have baptized in the Lord, consisting of so many thousand men, although I was unworthy, nor such as the Lord would grant this favor to his servant, who, after so many changes of such magnitude — after captivity, and. after so many years spent amongst that people, would bestow so great a favor, that I, in my youth, neither hoped for nor imagined- But as soon as I came to Ireland, I was daily tending the flocks, and frequently praying, every day, that the love of God might be more enkindled in my heart ; that fear, and faith, and energy, would be increased ; so much so, that in one day I poured out my prayers a hundred times, and as often in the night — nay, even in woods and mountains I remained, and rose before the light to my prayer, in frost, and snow, and rain, and sufiered no inconvenience, nor yielded to any slothfulness such as I now experience, because the spirit of the Lord was fervent within me. Being there in a dream one night, I heard a voice saying to me, “ Well dost thou fast, and soon shalt thou return to thy country.” Again, after a little time, I heard an answer given to me, intimating that the ship was ready ; and it was not near, but was distant about two hundred miles. Now I never had been in that place, nor had any knowkdge of the inhabitants thereof.

“ After this, I took flight, and met the man with whom I had been for six years, and in the power of God, he directed my course until I came to Benan, and I feared nothing until I came up to the ship ; and when I came there, it had gone from its place, and I asked for the means to set sail. The captain, however, was displeased, and answered with bitter indignation : “ Do not you dai’e to ask to come with

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US which, when I heard, I separated myself from them, to come to the hut where I lived, and on the journey I began to pray. Before I finished ray prayer, I heard one of the sailors crying loudly after me ; “ Make haste, for these men are calling you and immediately I retiu’ned to them, and they began to say to me : “ Come, for w'e have found thee faithful, and wish to enter into friendship with thee as far as you are willing.” Upon that day I entered their ship. On account of God, nevertheless, I had no hopes that they would say to me : “ Come to us in the faith of Christ,’’ because they were Gentiles. Now all this I obtained from them, and immediately we set sail. After three days we made the land, and for twenty -seven days we journeyed through a desert. Both meat and drink failed us. The famine was increasing upon us, and one day the captain said to me : “ What is the matter Avith you, O Christian ? You say your God is great and powerful ; why don’t you, therefore, pray to him for us ? Pray for us, for we are perishing with hunger, and scarcely shall we see mortal man any more.” But I confidently said to them : “ Be converted to the Lord my God with your whole heart, for there is nothing impossible to him, who will send us meat this day on our journey until we are comforted, for abundance belongs to him.” By the assistance of God, therefore, it so fell out ; for behold, a herd of swine came before us on the road, and they killed some of them, and they remained there tAvo nights Avith abundance of refreshment ; and their dogs Avere surfeited, and many of them left half dead upon the road. Now, after all this, they gave great thanks to God, and I became very estimable in their sight. From that time they had abundance of meat ; nay, they found even wild honey, which one of them

E

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offering to me, said, “ This has been immolated to God, give thanks.” But I tasted none of it.(a) On the same night, whilst I was asleep, Satan violently tempted me, which I shall remember as long as 1 am in this body : for there fell upon me, as it were, a huge piece of rock, which took away the strength of all my limbs, but I know not whence it came, and in spirit I called on Elias ; and in the mean time I saw the sun arise, and whilst I was crying out “ Elias” with all my stren^h, behold the splendour of that luminary inunediatdy Aspersed all uneasiness from me ; and 1 believe that Christ assisted me, and his holy spirit tried out for me ; and I have confidence that the same will happen to me in the day of my tribulation, as the Lord doth testify in the Gospel : “ In that day,” saith he/bj “ it is not you who will speak, but the spirit of your Father will speak within you.” On our journey, he provided us with food and fire, and dry weather daily, until we met with human beings on the fourteenth day, as I have related above. For twenty-eight days we travdled through the desert, and that very night on which we went forward, we were aU erf us without food.

(«) 1 Cor. X. 28, 29. (£) Matt, x 20.

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ST. PATRICK.