The Lives of the Saints, Volume 03 (of 16): MarchBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Religion
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 03 (of 16): March
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Christian saints
S. Patrick having thus established the see of Armagh, spent the
remainder of his life between it and his favourite retreat of Sabhul
or Saul. He may have made excursions to some of the districts adjacent
to both places; but we do not find any account that can be depended
upon, of his having thenceforth visited again the other provinces of
Ireland, much less of having undertaken any long journey. For we are
not to listen to Jocelin, who says that he then set out for Rome with
the intention of getting the privileges of the new metropolis confirmed
by the Holy See; and that when he arrived there, the pope decorated
him with the pallium, and appointed him his legate in Ireland. This
pretended tour to Rome, and the concomitant circumstances are all
set aside by the testimony of S. Patrick himself, who gives us to
understand that from the commencement of his mission he constantly
remained in Ireland, until he published his Confession, which was not
written till after the foundation of Armagh; and that he did not leave
it afterwards is equally plain, from his telling us that he was afraid
to be out of Ireland even for as much time as would serve for paying a
visit to his relations, because in that case he would be disobeying the
orders of Christ, who had commanded him to stay among the Irish for
the remainder of his life.
A singular fact is related as having occurred about the time of the
building of Armagh, which shows how strictly the fasting rules were
observed by the ancient Irish. One of the disciples of S. Patrick,
named Colman, having been one day greatly fatigued by getting in the
harvest, became exceedingly thirsty, but from fear of breaking the
rule of fasting till vesper-time, would not taste a drop of water. The
consequence was that he died of exhaustion. Had the saint been apprized
of the danger in which Colman was, he would certainly have dispensed
with his observance of the rule on this occasion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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