Saint Patrick

A lifelong companion in prayer, trial, and thanksgiving.

Saint Patrick was given to me at the beginning. When I was baptized as a child in the Catholic Church, Patrick became my baptismal name. I did not choose him then. He was simply placed in my life — quietly, from the start.

Over the years, a lot has happened. There have been hard seasons and unexpected mercies. In tribulation I have found myself turning to him. In moments of joy — including the blessing of meeting my wife — I have turned to him as well. He has not been a distant name on a calendar. He has been a companion.

Saint Patrick’s own life makes that companionship feel natural. Taken into hardship as a young man, he learned prayer in loneliness and exile. Later he returned to the land of his captivity with the Gospel, carrying a faith that had been refined in suffering. Courage and humility mark his witness. So does a deep trust that God is at work even in the places we would not have chosen.

When I entered the Orthodox Church, I was invited to take a saint as a heavenly intercessor and companion for the rest of the journey. I kept Patrick. It did not feel like choosing someone new. It felt like remaining with someone who had already walked with me through much of my life.

I am grateful for him — for his prayers, for his example, and for the quiet sense that I have never had to face the road alone. Through every trial and every good gift, he has been an incredible partner before God.

Holy Saint Patrick, pray to God for us.