"I don't know which is the cause of the greatest grief for me: whether those who were slain, or those who were captured, or those whom the devil so deeply ensnared."

St. Patrick's Letter to Coroticus is one of two extant works from the fifth century bishop who would come to be known as the “Apostle of Ireland.”

Written several years into St. Patrick's missionary work in Ireland, this letter offers a stern rebuke to a British warlord named Coroticus and his soldiers, the latter of whom had killed and enslaved several of Patrick's recent Irish converts. Reading at times like a Pauline epistle, the letter reveals Patrick's deep love for his Irish flock, his courage in confronting the evils of his day, and his profound zeal for the Gospel.

St. Patrick, pray for us!

Links

Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus Full Text: https://www.confessio.ie/etexts/epistola_english#

Way of the Fathers, Ep. 51—St. Patrick | Paternal & Patristic: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/51st-patrick-paternal-and-patristic/ 

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Theme music: 2 Part Invention, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.