I took as my confirmation name St. Patrick--not because I'm Irish, I can't identify any Irish at all in my ancestry as far back as I can trace--nor because of the revelry associated with the day, I've never participated.
From very early on I recognized Patrick not only as the Patron of Ireland but also as the Father of Knowledge. Because of his work, and the work of others, the Irish Monastery system that preserved a great deal of what we know about ancient and medieval civilization was firmly established.
And so to honor this great Saint who gained so much for us both in graces and in the preservation of our cultural heritage.
St. Patrick quoted in Watch and Pray: Christian Teachings on the Practice of Prayer
Ed. Lorraine Kisly
Once again I saw him praying in me and I was as it were inside my body and I heard him praying over me, that is over the inner man, and he was praying powerfully there, with groans. And during the whole of that time I was dumbfounded and astonished and I wondered who it was praying in me, but at the end of the prayer he spoke as if he was the Spirit, and so I woke up and recalled that the Apostle had said: "The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words."
