The Witness of Suffering

"I am Patrick - a sinner - the most unsophisticated and unworthy among all the faithful of God. Indeed, to many I am the most despised." - opening words of the Confession of Patrick

What Patrick accomplished is astounding. In virtually a single generation, he managed to supplant a deeply-entrenched pagan societal system with faith in Jesus Christ. He had few resources - little personnel, no security, no infrastructure, really, nothing. So did he just skip through the land like a fairy tale spreading good cheer & making converts wherever he went? His own words do not say so. His opposition came from within the Church as bitterly as it came from chieftains & druids. But he had two key resources at his disposal: faith & suffering.

A stunning statement from the Pope Benedict XVI's book, Jesus of Nazareth, Part II:

"... the proclamation of the Gospel will always be marked by the sign of the Cross - this is what each generation of Jesus' disciples must learn anew. The Cross is and remains the sign of "the Son of Man": ultimately, in the battle against lies and violence, truth and love have no other weapons than the witness of suffering." p.49