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My Faith. | |
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I was born in northern England in the later half of the fourth century AD. I was the son of Calpurnius, a wealthy army officer for the Romans that occupied Britain at the time. One day, a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped me along with many other children. My father tried to track the pirates down, but I was sold as a slave in Ireland before he could find me. I was taken to Antrim where a local landowner, Meliuc, put me to work as a shepherd. I lived on Slemish Mountain for six long years with only the sheep to keep me company. I coped with the bleak landscape and harsh conditions by rekindling the faith my people back home had abandoned under Roman rule. I prayed constantly to my Christian God, which gave me strength and hope during those dark days. One night I heard a voice whisper to me, saying the time had come to escape that place. It told me, "Your ship is ready." I travelled two hundred miles south until I came to Wexford where, sure enough, a boat heading for Britain was docked. I approached the captain, who at once denied me passage. I turned and walked away, then kneeled by the shore and prayed for God's guidance. Before I had finished the prayer, a member of the crew called for me to come with them; they had changed their mind and decided to provide me with a safe passage home. I reached Britain and journeyed a few days inland, only to be captured by bandits and returned to slavery once again. But God's voice reassured me as it had back in Antrim, telling me I would be free in two months. When exactly sixty days had passed, a nasty flu epidemic consumed the bandit camp, yet strangely I was the only one not infected. The sick captors made no effort to stop me as I walked away in broad daylight. I spent seven years travelling throughout Europe, trying to determine my purpose on this earth. I finally decided that I should study to become a true servant of God and deliver His message to as many towns as possible. I studied at the Lerin Monastery, situated on an island off the Cote d' Azur in France. When I had completing my education in divinity, I returned to Britain, this time as a qualified priest. I stayed in Britain until a voice came to me in a dream one night. The pleading voice was clearly Irish, and asked of me, "We beseech thee, holy youth, to come and walk once more amongst us." My life's purpose suddenly became clear in that short moment: I would convert the Irish people to Christianity. |
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