De sancto Patricio
The Miracles of Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick performs various miracles and signs during his ministry in Ireland, including the discovery of a hidden pagan grave and the request for a sign to convert the people.
Around the year 280, while Patrick was preaching to the king of the Scots about the Passion of Christ, he stood before him leaning on the staff he held in his hand, which he had accidentally rested on the king's foot, and with its spike he pierced the foot. The king, however, believing that the holy bishop had done this on purpose and that he could not otherwise accept the faith of Christ unless he suffered similar things for Christ's sake, endured it patiently. When the saint finally realized what had happened, he was stunned. He healed the king with his prayers and obtained for the whole province the grace that no poisonous animal could live there. He didn't just obtain this; it's even said that the wood and hides from that region are hostile to poison. A certain man had stolen and eaten his neighbor's sheep, and although the holy man often urged the thief—whoever he might be—to make restitution, no one came forward; so, when the whole population had gathered at the church, he commanded in the power of Jesus Christ that the one in whose belly the sheep had gone should bleat before everyone; this happened, the guilty man did penance, and others were wary of theft. It was his custom to venerate devoutly every cross he saw, but he once passed by a large, beautiful cross without noticing it; when his companions asked why he had not seen it and bowed, he asked the Lord in prayer whose it was, and heard a voice from beneath the earth: "Did you not see it because I am buried here as a pagan, unworthy of the sign of the cross?" Because of this, he had that cross removed from that place. When blessed Patrick was preaching through Ireland and making very little progress, he asked the Lord to show some sign that would terrify the people and lead them to repent.
The Purgatory of Saint Patrick
Patrick reveals a pit of purgatory, and long after his death, a nobleman named Nicholas enters it to perform penance and face demonic trials.
At the Lord's command, he drew a large circle on the ground with his staff, and suddenly the earth opened up inside it. A deep, massive pit appeared, and it was revealed to blessed Patrick that this was a place of purgatory. Anyone who chose to descend into it would need no other penance and would experience no other purgatory for their sins. Many did not return from it, and those who did were required to stay there from one morning until the next. Many, therefore, entered, but did not return. Long after Patrick had died, a nobleman named Nicholas, who had committed many sins, felt sorrow for his offenses and wished to endure the purgatory of Saint Patrick. After spending fifteen days fasting, as was the custom, he opened the door with the key kept in a certain abbey, descended into the cave, and found another door on its side. Entering, he found an oratory where some monks dressed in white arrived to perform their office. They told Nicholas to remain steadfast, because he would have to endure many temptations from the devil. When he asked what help he could have against this, they said: "When you feel yourself being afflicted by torments, cry out immediately and say: 'Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'" Once those men had left, demons immediately appeared to him, trying to persuade him to turn back and obey them, first with flattering promises, asserting that they would protect him and lead him home safely. But since he would not obey them at all, he immediately heard the voices and roars of various wild beasts, as if all the elements were being torn apart.
Trials of Fire and Suffering
Nicholas endures various torments and demonic temptations, finding deliverance and strength through the constant invocation of the name of Jesus.
Trembling in horrible terror at this, he immediately cried out, "Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner," and at once the entire terrible uproar of those wild beasts grew quiet. He was led from there to another place, and a multitude of demons was present there, saying to him, "Do you think you have escaped our hands?" "Not at all; instead, you're about to start being afflicted and tormented." And look, a certain fire, huge and terrible, appeared there, and the demons said to him, "Unless you agree with us, we will throw you into the fire to be burned." When he refused, they seized him and threw him into that terrible fire, where, while he was being tortured, he immediately cried out, "Jesus Christ!" And the fire was extinguished immediately. Finally, led to another place, he saw certain men being burned alive in the fire, and a pit mentioned. They read 'Recent, they were shaken' from the gloss, and add 'terrible' before 'voices'. He was whipped by demons with glowing iron plates all the way to his very vitals, and others were there, their bellies pressed to the ground, biting the earth in their agony and crying out, 'Mercy, mercy!' The demons then whipped those people even more severely. He also saw others whose limbs were being devoured by snakes, while toads with burning stingers tore at their insides. When he refused to agree with them, he was thrown into that same fire and torment, and whipped with those same plates and punishments. But when he cried out, 'Jesu Christe,' and so on... ...he was immediately freed from that punishment. Next, he was led to a place where people were being fried in a pan; there was a massive wheel covered in glowing iron hooks, upon which people were hung by various limbs, and it spun so fast that it threw off a ball of fire. After this, he saw a huge house containing pits filled with boiling metals, in which some people were submerged up to their feet, others up to their knees, others to their bellies, others to their chests, others to their necks, and others to their eyes; yet, as he passed through all these things, he kept calling upon the name of God.
The Bridge to Paradise
After surviving the pit of hell and crossing a treacherous bridge, Nicholas is granted a vision of the beauty and peace of paradise.
He continued on and saw a vast pit, from which a horrible smoke and an unbearable stench were rising; people were emerging from it like sparks from glowing iron, but the demons were shoving them back in, telling him, "The place you see is hell, where our master Beelzebub lives." "We'll throw you into this very pit if you refuse to agree with us, and once you're thrown in, you'll find no way to escape." When he refused to listen, they grabbed him and threw him into the pit; he was so consumed by intense pain that he almost forgot to call upon the name of the Lord, but as he came to himself, he said, "Jesu Christe," and so on. He had cried out with his heart, because he could not with his voice, and he immediately emerged unharmed, while the entire multitude of demons vanished like something withered. He was then led to another place and saw a bridge he had to cross; it was very narrow, polished like ice, and slippery, with a huge river of sulfur and fire flowing beneath it. While he despaired of ever crossing it, he remembered the word that had saved him from so many evils, and he approached confidently, placing one foot on the bridge and saying, "Jesu Christe," and so on. He began to speak. A loud clamor terrified him so much that he could barely stand, but he spoke the word again and remained secure; then he placed his other foot and repeated the same words, for at every step he spoke them, and thus crossed over safely. Once he had crossed, he arrived at a pleasant meadow where the wonderful sweetness of various flowers was fragrant. Behold, two beautiful young men appeared to him and led him to a beautiful city shining wonderfully with gold and gems; a wonderful fragrance emanated from its gate, which refreshed him so much that he seemed to feel no pain or stench, and they told him that this city was paradise.
The Promise of Eternal Rest
Nicholas is instructed to return to the world, where he shares his testimony before passing away in peace thirty days later.
When Nicholas wanted to enter, the young men told him he should first return to his own people and go back through the places he had come from. They assured him that the demons wouldn't harm him, but would flee in terror at the sight of him, and that after thirty days he would rest in peace and then enter that city as a permanent citizen. Then Nicholas climbed up from there. He found himself restored to the place where he had ascended, and after telling everyone everything that had happened to him, he passed away happily in the Lord thirty days later.
Read the original Latin
Patricius, qui coepit circa annos domini CCLXXX, dum Scotorum regi de Christi passione praedicaret, stans ante eum et appodians se super ferulam, quam manu tenebat et casu pedi regis superposuerat, cum aculeo pedem perforavit. Rex vero credens sanctum episcopum ex industria hoc facere et se aliter fidem Christi non posse suscipere, nisi similia pro Christo pateretur, patienter sustinuit. Sanctus hoc tandem intelligens obstupnit et precibus regem sanavit ac toti provinciae obtinuit, quod nullum venenosum animal ibidem possit vivere. Quod non solum obtinuit, imo etiam ligna et coria illius regionis contraria, ut dicitur, sunt veneno. Quidam vir ovem vicini sui furatus fuerat et comederat, et cum vir sanctus saepius hortaretur satisfacere furem, quicunque ille esset, et nullus compareret, dum totas populus ad ecclesiam convenisset, in virtute Jesu Christi praecepit, ut in cujus ventrem ovis intrasset, coram omnibus balatum daret; quod factum est et egit reus poenitentiam et alii a fartis sibi cavebant. Erat el consuetudo omnes cruces, quas videbat, devote venerari, sed ante quandam crucem magnam et pulchram invisam praeteriit, a suis autem sociis admonitus, cur illam non viderit et inclinaverit, dum precibus a domino requireret, cujus esset, audivit vocem de sub terra: non vidisti, quia ego hic sepultus sum paganus et signo crucis indignus? unde fecit crueem illam abinde tolli. Cum beatus Patricius per Hyberniam praedicaret et fructum ibi permodicum faceret, rogavit dominum, ut aliquod signum ostenderet, per quod territi poeniterent.
Jussu igitur domini in quodam loco circulum magnum cum baculo designavit et ecce terra inter cireulum se aperuit!) et puteus maximus et profundissimus ibi apparuit revelatumque est beato Patricio, quod ibi quidam purgatorii locus esset, in quem quisquis vellet descendere, alia sibi poenitentia non restaret nec aliud pro peccatis purgatorium sentiret, plerique autem inde non redirent et qui redirent, eos a mane usque in sequens mane ibidem moram facere oporteret. Multi igitur ingrediebantur, qui de caetero non revertebantur. Post longum igitur tempus mortuo Patricio, vir quidam nobilis nomine Nicolaus, qui peccata multa commiserat, cum eum delictorum suorum poeniteret et purgatorium sancti Patricii sustinere vellet, cum antea quindecim diebus, ut omnes faciebant, se jejuniis macerasset, aperto ostio cum clavi, quae in quadam abbatia servabatur, in ipsam speluncam descendit et quoddam ostium a latere ipsius invenit. In quod ingrediens cum quoddam ibi oratorium reperisset, quidam monachi albis induti oratorium intraverunt et officium facientes Nicolao dixerunt,ut constans esset, quia multa dyaboli tentamenta eum percurrere oporteret. Cum ille perquireret, quod adjutorium contra hoc habere posset, dixerunt: cum te poenis afíligi senseris, protinus exclama et dic: Jesu Christe fili Dei vivi miserere mihi peccatori. Recedentibus igitur praedictis viris continuo adsunt daemones el ut revertatur et sibi obediat, primo blandis promissionibus persuadent asserentes, quod eum custodient et ad propria incolumem perducent. Sed cum iis ille nullatenus obedire vellet, protinus diversarum ferarum audivit voces pariter et mugitus ae si omnia elementa tererentur ).
Ad quod cum ille terrore horribili palpitaret, Jesu Christe, fili Dei vivi, miserere mihi peccatori, protinus exclamavit, et statim omnis ferarum illarum tumultus terribilis conquievit. Ductus est inde ad alium locum et ibidem adest daemonum multitudo dicentium sibi: putas, quod manus nostras evaseris? nequaquam, sed nunc potius incipies affligi et torqueri. Et ecce quidam maximus ignis et terribilis ibidem apparuit dixeruntque ei daemones: nisi nobis consenseris, in ignem te jactabimus comburendum. Quod cum ille renueret, ipsum acceperunt et in illum ignem terribilem projecerunt, ubi dum cruciaretur, protinus exclamavit: Jesu Christe eic. statimque ignis exstinctus est. Ad alium denique locum ductus vidit quosdam viros in igne vivos cremari et dictum puteuoin. — Recent, concuterentur ex glossa legunt et ante voces addunt terribiles.
laminis ferreis candentibus a daemonibus usque ad viscera flagellari aliosque ventres habentes deorsum terram prae dolore mordere et clamare: parce, parce! quos tunc daemones gravius flagellabant. Aliosque vidit, quorum membra serpentes vorabant, et bufones ignitis aculeis corum viscera extrahebant. Qui cum iis assentire nollet, in eundem ignem et poenas projicitur et iisdem laminis et poenis flagellatur. Sed cum ille exclamasset: Jesu Christe etc. , à poena praedicta protinus liberatus est. Deinde ducitur ad quendam locum, ubi homines in sartagine frigebantur, ubi rota maxima erat uncinis ferreis ignitis plena, in quibus per diversa membra homines erant suspensi, quae tam velociter volvebatur, quod globum igneum emittebat. Post hoc videbat maximam domum habentem foveas metallis bullientibus plenas, in quibus alii unum pedem, alii duos habebant, alii ibi erant usque ad genna, alii usque ad ventrem, alii usque ad pectus, alii usque ad collum, alii usque ad oculos, sed haec omnia percurrens nomen Dei invocabat.
Processit iterum et quendam latissimum puteum intuetur, de quo fumus horribilis et foetor intolerabilis exibat, indeque homines ut ferrum candentes in modum favillarum exibant, sed daemones eos reimpingebant dixernntque ei daemones: locus ille, quem conspicis, est infernus, in quo dominus noster Beelzebub habitat. In ipsum igitur puteum te jactabimus, si nobis assentire recusas, postquam autem illuc jactatus fueris, nullum inde remedium evadendi obtinebis. Quos dum ille audire contemneret, ipsum arripientes in praedictum puteum jactaverunt, qui tam vehementi dolore absorptus est, ut fere oblitus sit nomen domini invocare, sed dum ille ad se rediens: Jesu Christe etc. exclamasset corde, quia voce non poterat, protinus inde illaesus exivit et omnis daemonum multitudo tanquam vieta evanuit. Ductus igitur ad locum alium vidit quendam pontem, super quem eum transire oportebat, qui quidem erat strictissimus et instar glaciei politus et lubricus, sub quo fluvius ingens sulphureus et igneus fluebat, super quem transire dum se posse omnino desperaret, tamen recordatus verbi, quod eum de tot malis eripuit, confidenter accessit et unum pedem super pontem ponens, Jesu Christe etc. dicere cocpit. Validus autem clamor adeo eum terruit, ut subsistere vix valeret, sed praedictum verbum protulit et securus mansit, deinde alium pedem posuit et eadem verba iteravit, ad quemlibet enim passum eadem verba protulit et sic securus transiit. Cum ergo transisset, in quoddam pratum amoenissimum devenit, ubi diversorum florum míra suavitas redolebat, et ecce duo speciosi juvenes ei apparuerunt, qui ipsum usque ad quandam civitatem speciosissimam ex auro et gemmis mirabiliter rutilantem perduxerunt, de cujus porta odor mirabilis emanabat, qui illum adeo recreavit, quod nullum dolorem vel foetorem sensisse videbatur, dixeruntque ei, quod illa civitas paradisus esset.
In quem cum Nicolaus intrare vellet, dixerunt ei praedicti juvenes, quod primo ad suos rediret et per loca, per quae venerat, eum redire oporteret, daemones tamen eum non laederent, sed eo viso territi fugerent et quod post triginta dies in pace quiesceret et tunc illam civitatem civis perpetuus introiret. Tunc Nicolaus inde ascendens !) in loco, per quem ascendit, se restitutum invenit et omnia omnibus, quae sibi conligerant, narrans post triginta dies in domino feliciter requievit.
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