This post accompanies the special sermon from St. Patrick Sunday on 3/16/14.
There are two extant texts that are original to St. Patrick. They are his Letter to Coroticus and his Confessions. They are the earliest pieces of Irish literature that we posses. The modern reader is often touched by just how strikingly human it is. This is because Patrick was enslaved during the years when he would have mastered and polished his Latin and his Oratory. So because he didn't do this, his only recourse is to write directly from the heart in an unpolished manner (which he personally laments). I personally, find them strikingly unique in terms of their tone, style, and appeal for ancient literature. Read below and enjoy!
Excerpt from the Confession
This is because there is no other God, nor will there ever be, nor was there ever, except God the Father. He is the one who was not begotten, the one without a beginning, the one from whom all beginnings come, the one who holds all things in being – this is our teaching. And his son, Jesus Christ, whom we testify has always been, since before the beginning of this age, with the father in a spiritual way. He was begotten in an indescribable way before every beginning. Everything we can see, and everything beyond our sight, was made through him. He became a human being; and, having overcome death, was welcomed to the heavens to the Father. The Father gave him all power over every being, both heavenly and earthly and beneath the earth. Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ, in whom we believe and whom we await to come back to us in the near future, is Lord and God.