For St. Patrick, Writing Wasn’t About Luck

by Rochelle Melander

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and many of us are celebrating by wearing green. (Although St. Patrick’s color was actually blue. The feast day became associated with green in the 18^th century, when it was linked to Irish independence.)

When Patrick was a teenager in Britain, he was captured by Irish Pirates and brought to Ireland to work. As an enslaved person, he tended sheep. He survived by praying, even though he hadn’t been raised in a religious family. He later escaped, fleeing to France. There, he studied to become a priest. He returned to Ireland as a missionary and later became a bishop. He’s known for incorporating pagan symbols and ideas into his ministry. He’s the author of two documents:  the autobiographical Confessio and Letter to Coroticus.

So how did St. Patrick’s Day become synonymous with luck? Some believe St. Patrick used the three-leaf clover to teach about the trinity. And when a clover grows a fourth leaf, it’s considered lucky. Another legend boasts that St. Patrick chased the snakes out of Ireland. But he does not tell this story in his autobiography.

St. Patrick did not think he was a good writer, but he wrote his story anyway.

He writes:

I am unable to tell my story to those versed in the art of concise writing—in such a way, I mean, as my spirit and mind long to do, and so that the sense of my words expresses what I feel.

Why did Patrick insist on writing, despite his “slow tongue”?

He writes:

But if indeed it had been given to me as it was given to others, then I would not be silent because of my desire of thanksgiving;

Although I am imperfect in many ways, I want my brothers and relations to know what I’m really like, so that they can see what it is that inspires my life. … This is why I have long thought to write.

What can we learn from St. Patrick?

Consider your purpose

I write about this a lot. And for good reason. Purpose does a whole lot of heavy lifting. It can carry you over and through fear, frustration, and procrastination. St. Patrick kept writing, despite his lack of skill, because he wanted to share what inspired him.

Write, no matter how bad it sounds

You can fix bad writing. As Jodi Picoult says, “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

Be persistent

Although St. Patrick felt called by God, he doubted himself because he was not educated. He wrote, “I still blush and fear more than anything to have my lack of learning brought out into the open. For I am unable to explain my mind to learned people.” But he persisted in sharing and writing his story.