After leaving Ireland, Patrick still had to endure hardship and dejection as he was prepared by God for his mission.
After three days, they reached the west coast of Gaul (now France) at a place where there was no food and they walked for weeks without meeting anyone. Gaul had been devastated by war. As the weeks went by, they were all starving and the captain turned to Patrick: ‘Tell me, Christian, you say that your God is great and almighty. Why, then, do you not pray for us?’ (Conf. 19). Patrick called on them to trust in God. Almost immediately, a herd of pigs appeared from nowhere and they had plenty to eat.
That night, it seemed as if something broke inside Patrick. For six years he had kept himself going with the hope of returning to the Empire and he had finally come back to a desert. Was there anything left of the civilization he knew?
Years later, he wrote of how Satan tempted him and how he would remember that night ‘as long as I shall be in this body’ (Conf. 20). It was as if an enormous weight had fallen on him and he was unable to stir a limb. For some reason, he called on the name of Elijah and, as he was shouting with all his might, he saw the sun rising in the sky and the brilliance of that sun overcame his dejection. ‘I believe that I was sustained by Christ my Lord, and that His Spirit was even then calling out on my behalf’ (Conf. 20).
Why Elijah?
In three of the four Gospels we are told about a time when Jesus climbed a mountain with a few of His companions. He wanted to be alone with them. When they reached the summit, His clothes, became ‘dazzling white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them’ (Mk.9:3). His companions saw Him speaking to two men – Moses and Elijah – and ‘they were speaking about His passing which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem’ (Lk. 9:31).
These two men represented the history of Israel. Moses was the one who brought God’s covenant to the people after their escape from slavery. Elijah was the first prophet to be mentioned by name in the Bible. It was the task of the prophet to remind the people of the covenant and to call them to faithfulness.
As with many of the prophets, Elijah had to endure much hardship and persecution. One day, when wandering through the desert, on the run from Queen Jezebel who wanted to kill him, he was overcome by the weariness of it all. ‘Lord’, he said, ‘I have had enough. Take my life’ (I Kings 19:4). He lay down and went to sleep.
When he awoke, an angel had arrived with food and drink, and on the strength of it he made his way to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, where he spent a night in a cave. During that night, he came face to face with the gentleness of God:
There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave (I Kings 19:11-13).
Strength in obedience to God
As Patrick became more acquainted with the Bible, the story of Elijah must have taken root as a model in his own life preparing him for what lay ahead. Here was a man who found strength in obeying the promptings of God, who was called to lead a nation away from idolatry, who at times stood alone and in danger of death, who endured hardship and dejection and who, in the midst of his struggles, came to a deep sense of the loving presence of God.
The parallel between Elijah’s experience of the gentle breeze and his own experience of the rising sun must have struck Patrick very forcibly, particularly when we bear in mind the way in which the Gospels link the name of Elijah with John the Baptist, who is a model for anyone called to preach the Gospel as Patrick was.
On many occasions, he would have recited the prayer of thanksgiving which was placed in the mouth of the Baptist’s father, Zechariah. The Gospel of Luke gives us a picture of this man holding his newly born son in his arms and foretelling how the child would prepare a way for the Lord and forgive the sins of the people:
By the tender mercy of our God who from on high will bring the rising sun to visit us to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Lk. 1:78-79)
