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The act of baptism is usually a painless event. There’s not much to it: take a sinner who desires to follow Christ…and add water. Ta da! That’s baptism: as profound as it is simple.
But history tells of at least one very painful baptism in the life of the Christian church.
In the middle of the fifth century, somewhere around 445 AD, King Aengus of Ireland decided he wanted to be baptized into the Christian faith. He requested that St. Patrick baptize him, and the holy man agreed.
When the day finally arrived, the elderly St. Patrick and King Aengus stepped into the water and took their position, surrounded by the royal state. As usual, St. Patrick was carrying his pastoral staff, known as a crosier. St. Patrick’s crosier was an ornate metal staff affixed with a spike on the bottom which he would press into the ground while preaching or officiating to help him keep his balance.
During the baptism, however, St. Patrick inadvertently placed his sharp-pointed crosier on the king’s foot (under the water) and leaned upon it. Of course, this accident caused a wound and drew blood.
After the baptism was over, St. Patrick finally noticed all the blood. (Historical records say it was “gushing.”) Realizing what he’d done, the saint begged the king’s forgiveness. “Why did you suffer this pain in silence?” St. Patrick wanted to know.
The king replied, “I thought it was merely part of the ritual.”
Granted, following Jesus can be painful at times, but we should never make the mistake of King Aengus. So many “religious people” falsely assume that faith has to hurt them somehow, as though their pain fully seals their spiritual intent.
That’s not the case, at all.
Resource’s Origin:
An Illustrated History of Ireland by Mary Frances Cusack. Public Doman, 1868, Page 123.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Accident
Assumption
Baptism
Bishop
Blood
Church
Embarrassing
History
King
Pain
Suffering
Wound
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
