St. Patrick did not always meet a willing audience, ready and open to receive the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
At times we can get a rosy picture of St. Patrick's time in Ireland, thinking that he met with no resistance and simply traveled around the Emerald Isle, preaching the Gospel.
Various stories or legends can make it seem like St. Patrick's presence alone converted the people of Ireland, and that he met no obstacle along the way.
The reality is that St. Patrick himself admitted that he almost died while spreading Christianity.
Nearly a martyr
Many Catholic missionaries ended up being put to death, such as the North American Martyrs, who were all killed for their missionary activities.
St. Patrick, on the other hand, was not killed, but that doesn't mean his audience was always willing to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord. In fact, many of the local inhabitants of Ireland did not like him and sought to kill him.
He writes in his Confession that his efforts were often met with resistance:
It’s a long story – to tell each and every deed of mine, or even parts of it. I’ll make it short, as I tell of how the good God often freed me from slavery, and from twelve dangers which threatened my life, as well as from hidden dangers and from things which I have no words to express.
St. Patrick doesn't go into exact detail, but he does give some hints later on, even saying how he is willing to become a martyr:
It was not by my own grace, but God who overcame it in me, and resisted them all so that I could come to the peoples of Ireland to preach the gospel. I bore insults from unbelievers, so that I would hear the hatred directed at me for traveling here. I bore many persecutions, even chains, so that I could give up my freeborn state for the sake of others. If I be worthy, I am ready even to give up my life most willingly here and now for his name. It is there that I wish to spend my life until I die, if the Lord should grant it to me.
The Catholic Encyclopedia confirms that these threats were real, "It is sometimes supposed that St. Patrick's apostolate in Ireland was an unbroken series of peaceful triumphs, and yet it was quite the reverse...the saint himself was subjected to frequent trials at the hands of the druids and of other enemies of the Faith...no fewer than twelve times he and his companions were seized and carried off as captives, and on one occasion in particular he was loaded with chains, and his death was decreed."
Despite all of the hardships he experienced, St. Patrick persevered and relied entirely on the grace of God.
It's a reminder to us all that we should never expect smooth sailing when evangelizing others and that we will likely experience great suffering. We cannot expect to be treated any better than our Master was on the cross.
