Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Politics and Religion
When St. Patrick Accidentally Stabbed the King

When St. Patrick Accidentally Stabbed the King

Last updated on: March 24, 2021 at 6:00 am by Gene Veith

0 Comments

When St. Patrick Accidentally Stabbed the King 2021-03-19T17:54:32-04:00 Gene Veith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In a St. Patrick’s Day article in Crisis Magazine, Sean Fitzpatrick tells a rather humorous story from the life of the great missionary, then applies it in a striking way.

In 450 A.D., Angus, the king of Munster in Ireland, heard the Gospel preached by Patrick and asked to be baptized. This was quite a coup, since Angus was highly respected as a great warrior. His conversion would lead to the conversion of his people and many of his admirers throughout Ireland. In the baptismal service, held outside at the Rock of Cashel, Patrick first preached to the assembled onlookers.

St. Patrick to this day is often depicted carrying a crozier, a staff with an elaborately curved top meant to recall a shepherd’s staff that has become the symbol of a bishop’s office. Patrick was a bishop, but his crozier was not just symbolic. If you need a staff to support yourself, it is best if it has a pointed end so that it can stick into the ground.

As Patrick was preaching, he would emphasize his points by lifting his crozier and sticking it into the ground. Caught up in his sermon as he stood beside the royal baptismal candidate, Patrick did not notice that when he lifted his crozier he stuck it into the king’s foot. With a warrior’s self-discipline, Angus did not even flinch.

As Patrick conducted the baptism, he was appalled to see that the king was standing in a pool of blood.

Afterwards, the remorseful bishop asked King Angus why he didn’t say anything. Angus told him that he just thought it was part of the ceremony, that just as Christ’s feet were pierced in the crucifixion that he was being baptized into, his foot had to be pierced as well.

“Patrick was deeply moved by this Irish hardiness,” says the author, “so ready to suffer to receive the joys of heaven, though brought on in this instance through an error of his, an error which brought unnecessary pain to a member of his flock.”

And then Fitzpatrick applies the lesson: Sometimes pastors hurt people who are in their care.

Sometimes this is an evil act, as in the sexual abuse scandal that has been plaguing the Catholic church and that we now know has its counterpart among Protestants. Fitzpatrick emphasizes that victims of this or other kinds of abuse should not just stoically suffer, as Angus did. They should report the matter to ecclesiastical authorities (the bishop, or we Protestants would say, the elders or the district president) and, in cases of sexual assault, the police.

There are less dramatic kinds of harm, as well, such as false teaching and professional misbehavior. Instead of suffering in silence, parishioners should certainly talk to the pastor and perhaps other authorities about them.

When we are in church, we are not meant to stand in a pool of our own blood.

But there is a much lesser kind of harm, as when a pastor jabs you with an insensitive remark or pierces you with an unkind word or draws figurative blood with a hurtful action. Such things are usually unintentional, like what St. Patrick did with his crozier. He felt terrible when he realized what he had done, and he wanted Angus to talk with him to work out any bad feelings. So it can be with us.

Finally and most commonly, there are the completely unintentional actions of a pastor that we might find bothersome or annoying, the kind of quirks and imperfections that all human beings can display. For these, we should not quit going to church, move to a different congregation, try to get the pastor removed, gossip about it to our friends, or even (in my view) bring it up to the pastor, who might find the confrontation hurtful himself.

Rather, we should suck it up, get a sense of perspective, honor the pastoral office, and behave like King Angus.

Stained glass window, St. Patrick Catholic Church, Junction City, Ohio, photograph by Nheyob – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39732088

“Baptism of the King of Cashel,” By James Barry (1741 — 1806) of Cork – https://www.confessio.ie/more/article_moss/image27#, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68064452

Previous Post

March 23, 2021

Exporting America's New Ideology

Next Post

March 25, 2021 Prayer to Aztec Gods in Public Schools

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"While she worked for Trump she was a tool's tool!"

reg

Luther on Tools

"I know wired earbuds are making a comeback (I never stopped using them as I ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"VCRs, tape decks, and cassette players are all having a revival among a segment of ..."

Tom Hering

Luther on Tools

"As a (retired) lawyer I see potential liability from sharing things like power or sharp ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category America Apologetics Art baseball Bible Blog Christ Church crime Culture Economics Education Ethics Family Food Football Government History Holidays Holy Week Humor International Islam Language Law Life Issues Literature Media Medicine Movies Music Nature News Personal Philosophy Politics psychology Reformation Religions Sacraments Science sex Social Science Sports technology television terrorism Theology Uncategorized Vocation war

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE

Books by This Author Books by Gene Veith

See All Titles »