Flames at Twilight

Pátraic was now keenly aware of the growing snake population in the west of Éireann and especially in Máigheo.  In his heart he grieved for the little boy who was lost because of the venomous bite of a snake.  He had heard the complaints of so many people who wished that something could be done to rid the entire island of the treacherously dangerous reptiles.  His new Christian converts had great belief in his relationship with the Blessed Trinity.  He began to pray constantly about the problem, to the extent that his soul was totally captivated with the dilemma. 

   One evening, having contemplated the goodness of God and the graces He had brought to his life, again placing his quandary in the hands of God, he retired for the night.  In many ways for Pátraic it was a night of wonderment with a dream that he believed was a message from on high.  In the dream he was standing on the bluff by the oceanside.  Reptiles of all descriptions surrounded him.  They were but a short distance away and he was unnerved by their massive numbers, endangering his life.  Snakes of every kind seemed to be slithering around him threateningly.  In his dream he turned to God, asking Him to free him.  Suddenly, at the raising of his hand in a gesture of 'STOP' all the snakes crawled with alacrity over the bluff and fell to the saltwater below where they drowned.  All other vicious reptiles in his dream disappeared.  Pátraic awoke with a start.  His heart was throbbing.  He had been through a nightmare.  He lay on his pillow with prayers on his lips.  He began to wonder if perhaps this was a communication from God.  He pondered and prayed. 

   "Could this be true?" he thought to himself.  "Might it be possible that, instead of a nightmare, this was a message from the Divine Persons?"

   He recollected that his mind had recently been engulfed by thoughts of snakes and the calamities they were causing.  He had many followers beseeching his intercession with God, some even suggesting that through Divine help Pátraic himself would have the ability to rid the neighborhood of this plague.  For a number of days Pátraic prayed and prayed over this conundrum.  Then, one day, he watched a snake crawling up a tree.  Instantaneously he decided that, yes, he could and he would do something with God's help.  He told his companion priests he was about to visit his Christians on the north shore of Máigheo, a journey that would take them as far away as possibly the shores of Oileán Achla , further down on the west coast.  Pátraic remained silent that somewhere along the way he intended to perform a ceremony with the intent of ridding Éireann of snakes, once and for all.