The early morning mist encircled him and he strained hard to see through it as he stumbled on the rocky path down to the sheepfold. He had spent another freezing night in the barn with the cows and he was expected by Seamus to be up before the sun tending to the sheep. What a miserable existence! If only he could get back home but he didn’t even know the way. . .
It had only been a few years earlier that on another very misty, gray morning, he had been down by the shoreline skipping rocks into the waves when they caught him. Up at the main house, his family’s servants had warned him not to go out that day but he was willful and did as he pleased. His parents had been away on a trip and he was put into the care of the family’s faithful nanny. At the time, he was thirteen and extremely annoyed to be told what to do. But, there had been warnings back then about pirates and the rough men who traded with them were in the area, taking what they pleased and pillaging where they wished. And, sure enough, he didn’t even hear the men coming up behind him as he lazily threw rocks and seashells into the foamy waves. He was caught and the sound of the sea muffled his screams and his cries for help.
Now he was seventeen and he missed his family terribly. He knew he was somewhere in Ireland far from home and he knew that Seamus was a hard-driving man and a pagan chieftain, purchasing him from the pirates some four years earlier to tend sheep and generally do whatever he was told. He was barely given any food or shelter and the only thing that kept him warm at night was the burning anger inside his heart.
Every day was the same. Seamus would command him to take care of the sheep, muck out the stalls for the horses, clean out the family’s chamber pots and feed the pigs. The harshness of his treatment was hard enough to endure but it was made even harder when he could see that Seamus’ wife, Deidre and his daughter Una wanted to help him but they were forbidden to even look kindly towards him by the wicked Seamus. And, he was always around, watching to see if the work was being done satisfactorily. Sometimes, his stomach hurt so badly, he would begin to eat the pigs’ slop but a sudden blow to the head would send him reeling.
He learned the language of the area quickly. He had to if he wanted to stay alive. He didn’t know how much longer he could last and he dreamed constantly of escaping. He wanted to see his family again, despite their religious fervor and constant talk of God’s love. He remembered his name—Sucat (“warlike”)—and would whisper it to himself often so, in a way, he would remember and hold on to his past.
Despite the harshness of his life, Sucat began to wonder about God, the God he had learned about as a child on his mother’s knee. He gazed gaze up at the stars at night on walks with the sheep near the rocky cliffs overlooking the sea and he began to think about how big and great God is. Sucat felt weighed down by his heart’s bitterness and enormous self-pity at his wretched condition. One day, he began to weep. He cried so hard and long that when it began to rain, he did not even notice his cloak was drenched. At that moment, Sucat turned with his whole heart to the Lord. He remembered the Lord cared for him and loved him and was with Him even on this remote cliff in Ireland so far away from home. He poured his heart out to the Lord and asked him to forgive his anger and pride, his self-reliance and his hatred toward Seamus.
Sucat found himself changed—not outwardly but in his heart. Gradually, his hatred for Seamus and at his circumstances of having been kidnapped changed to love and hope for the people around him. Sucat worked hard and although his harsh conditions did not change, he began to learn the language of the people.
One day, while Seamus was away from his lands, on an extended trip, Una, followed him as he took the sheep to the sea cliffs to graze. He was glad for the company since his days were long and lonely. On this day, she brought good news to him. News he had longed to hear since he had arrived six years earlier. There was a ship from Brittania down at the docks and word had it that the ship would sail that evening, heading home to England. Curiously, Una reminded Sucat that her father would be away for another fortnight so why shouldn’t he try to get home?
His heart full of joy, Sucat hugged Una, feeling such a love for this “little sister” of whom he had become so fond. He would miss Una and her mother who were never permitted to show kindness to him when Seamus was around but who managed to sneak him extra bits of food in stealthy ways.
Yes, Sucat would be on that ship sailing for Brittania this very night.
And, so Sucat arrived home after six bittersweet years in Ireland. His parents were overjoyed to see him again, having grieved long and hard for him. Curiously, God placed a burden on Sucat’s heart that he should go back to Ireland. With training from his church and much time spent in God’s Word, he returned to the place where he had been enslaved. He changed his name to Patrick which means “noble” and he devoted himself to preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the people of Ireland who didn’t know they were enslaved to sin and pagan ways.
One day, as Patrick was ministering in his little stone church, a young woman dressed in rags entered. She was not alone. She was leading an elderly, stooped-over man along very slowly and carefully into the door of the church. Patrick stopped his sermon because of the disruption. It was very obvious these two wore the hardships of life in their bodies and in their faces. They would need food and shelter and no doubt, spiritual sustenance as well. With love and kindness, Patrick made his way over to them. Before he knew it, he was staring into Una’s eyes. At once, he could see that she held her father’s hand—Seamus’ hand that had beaten him so many times. He could also see they did not recognize him. Patrick reflected in his heart on who he had been: “Sucat” - warlike and who God had made him. In an instant, his heart filled with love and forgiveness and he joyfully revealed himself to Una and to Seamus. Seamus trembled visibly—not from old age—but from realizing his past wickedness had not served him well. Here was Sucat or Patrick now, an honorable man known for preaching God’s justice on sinner and His great mercy. Before he could stammer any words, Patrick engulfed him in his arms, crying words of love and forgiveness over him. Seamus fell to his knees in sorrow and repentance while Una gasped in amazement. God’s mercy flooded Seamus like a tidal wave and he wept openly at the deluge.
In the meantime, the crowd of parishioners stared and wondered at these things. Gently, Patrick hushed the crowd and taking Una by the hand, he began to explain his past and how God arranged the circumstances of his life to allow him to fully forgive Seamus of his cruelty. Patrick preached with power that day and many sons and daughters of Ireland gave their hearts to Patrick’s forgiving and merciful God.
