{"id":778,"date":"2013-01-13T03:50:46","date_gmt":"2013-01-13T03:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/?page_id=778"},"modified":"2013-01-13T03:50:46","modified_gmt":"2013-01-13T03:50:46","slug":"the-hymn-of-st-patrick","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/saint-patrick\/st-patricks-writings\/the-hymn-of-st-patrick\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hymn of St. Patrick"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hymn of St. Patrick, Teacher of the Irish
\nby Secundinus, his bishop<\/span><\/h1>\n

The poem is an accrostic (each stanza begins with a successive letter of the alphabet).
\nIt was found in a book called “The Wisdom of St. Patrick”.<\/p>\n

Audite (Listen)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHear all ye who love God, the holy merits
\nOf the Bishop Patrick, a man blessed in Christ;
\nHow, on account of his good actions, he is likened unto the angels,
\nAnd for his perfect life, is counted equal to the Apostles.<\/p>\n

Beati (O You Blessed)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe keepeth the commandments of the blessed Christ in all things,–
\nHis works shine brightly before men,
\nWho follow his holy and admirable example,
\nWhence also they glorify the Lord his Father which is in heaven.<\/p>\n

Constans (Perseverance)<\/span><\/strong>
\nSteadfast in the fear of the Lord, and immovable in faith
\nOn whom, as on Peter, the Church is built;
\nWho received his Apostleship from God.
\nThe gates of hell shall not prevail against him.<\/p>\n

Dominus (The Lord)<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe Lord chose him to teach the barbarous nation
\nTO fish (for men) with the nets of doctrine,
\nTo draw believers from the world unto grace,
\nThat they might follow the Lord to the heavenly se<\/p>\n

Electa (The Chosen)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe trades with the choice Gospel talents of Christ,
\nWhich he puts out at usury amongst the Hibernian nations,
\nDestined hereafter, along with Christ, to possess the of the heavenly kingdom,
\nAs a recompense for this labor.<\/p>\n

Fidelis (The Faithful)
\n<\/span><\/strong>
\nA faithful messenger and distinguished messenger of God,
\nHe shows to the good an apostolic example and pattern;
\nWho preaches to the people of God, as well by deeds by words,
\nSo that by good works he may provoke those to imitation, whom he does not convert by his word<\/p>\n

Gloriam (Glory [to God])<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe has glory with Christ, and honor in this world,
\nBeing venerated by all as the angel of God;
\nWhom God sent, even as Paul, to be an Apostle to the Gentiles,
\nTo guide men unto the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

Humilis (Humility)
\n<\/span><\/strong>Humble, through fear of God, both in spirit and behavior,
\nUpon whom an account of his good actions rests the Spirit of the Lord:
\nWho beareth in his righteous flesh the marks of Christ,
\nIn whose cross alone he glories and sustains himself<\/p>\n

Impiger (The Deprived)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe diligently feedeth believers with heavenly food
\nLest those who are seen with Christ should faint by the way:
\nTo whom he distributes the words of the Gospel like the loaves
\nIn whose hands they are multiplied like the manna.<\/p>\n

Kastam (Purity)<\/span><\/strong>
\nWho, through the love of God, keepeth his flesh pure,
\nHaving prepared it to be a temple for the Holy Spirit,
\nBy whom it is constantly possessed with good motions;
\nAnd who offers up his body a living sacrifice, well pleasing to the Lord.<\/p>\n

Lumen (The Light)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe is a great and burning evangelical light of the world,
\nSet upon a candlestick, shining unto the whole world;
\nA strong city of the king, set upon a hill,
\nIn which is much store of the riches of the Lord.<\/p>\n

Maximus (Greatness)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe shall be called the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
\nWho fulfills, by good works, what he teaches in his holy discourses.
\nHe goes before with a good example, and a pattern to the faithful;
\nAnd in a pure heart has faith towards God.<\/p>\n

Nomen (The Name)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe boldly preaches the name of the Lord to the Gentiles,
\nTo whom he gives the eternal grace of the laver of salvation;
\nFor whose offenses he daily prays to God:
\nFor whom also he offers up sacrifices worthy of God.<\/p>\n

Omnem (Christ is All)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe despises all the glory of the world, in comparison with the Divine law,
\nCounting all things as but chaff, compared with Christ’s table;
\nNor is he disturbed by the violence of the thunder of this world
\nBut rejoices in tribulation when he suffers for Christ.<\/p>\n

Pastor (The Shepherd)<\/span><\/strong>
\nA good and faithful shepherd of the Gospel-Rock,
\nChosen by God, to watch the people of God,
\nAnd to feed, with Divine doctrines, the nation;
\nFor which, after the example of Christ, he is giving his life.<\/p>\n

Quem (Whom)
\n<\/span><\/strong>Whom the Savior advanced for his merits, to be a Bishop,
\nThat he might exhort the clergy in the heavenly warfare-
\nTo whom he distributes the bread from heaven, along with garments,
\nWhich is fulfilled in his divine and holy discourses.<\/p>\n

Regis (The King)<\/span><\/strong>
\nA messenger of the king, inviting believers to the marriage,
\nWho is arrayed in the wedding garment;
\nWho draws the heavenly wine in heavenly vessels,
\nPledging the people of God in the spiritual cup.<\/p>\n

Sacrum (Blessed [or Sacred] Things)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe finds in the sacred volume a sacred treasure,
\nWhich he purchases with his holy and perfect merits.
\nHe discerns also the Godhead of the Savior in the flesh.
\nHe is named Israel, beholding God in his spirit.<\/p>\n

Testis (Witness)<\/span><\/strong>
\nA faithful witness of God in the Catholic doctrine,
\nWhose words are seasoned with the Divine oracles,
\nSo that they are not corrupted, like human flesh, and eaten of worms;
\nBut are salted with a heavenly savor for the sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Verus (The Gospel or Truth)<\/span><\/strong>
\nA true and excellent cultivator of the Gospel field,
\nWhose seeds are seen to be the Gospels of Christ,
\nWhich he sows from his divine mouth in the ears of the wise,
\nAnd tills their hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

Xristus (The Christ)<\/span><\/strong>
\nChrist chose him to be his vicar on the earth,
\nWho liberates captives from a two-fold bondage;
\nAnd of the many whom he has redeemed from the bondage of men,
\nReleases numberless persons from the dominion of the devil.<\/p>\n

Ymnos (Hymn)<\/span><\/strong>
\nHe sings Hymns, with the Apocalypse, and the Psalms of God,
\nOn which also he discourses, for the edification of the people of God;
\nWhich Scripture he believes in the Trinity of the sacred Name,
\nAnd teaches the One substance in Three Persons.<\/p>\n

Zona (The Lord’s Territory)<\/span><\/strong>
\nGirt with the girdle of the Lord, by day and night,
\nHe prays without ceasing to the Lord God,
\nReceiving the reward of which great labor,
\nHe shall reign with the Holy Apostles over Israel.<\/p>\n

[TRANSLATION FROM OLDEN, THE EPISTLES AND HYMN OF ST. PATRICK]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hymn of St. Patrick, Teacher of the Irish by Secundinus, his bishop The poem is an accrostic (each stanza begins with a successive letter of the alphabet). It was found in a book called “The Wisdom of St. Patrick”. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":163,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-778","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":779,"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/778\/revisions\/779"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stpatricksday.com\/spdc_content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}