The 'Set of My Soul'

Even if I am imperfect in so many ways, nonetheless I want my brothers and my family to know my mettle, so that they may clearly recognize the set of my soul.
--St. Patrick, The Confession of St. Patrick 1:6

This is an interesting thought. I have been fond of this quote for a long time, and I ran across it again the other day. If you are not familiar with the story of St. Patrick, it is quite a compelling tale. According to legend, Patrick, a young British boy, is captured by raiders at the age of 16 and taken as a slave to Ireland. After six years of slavery, he manages to escape and return to his family in Britain. Some time later he becomes a priest, and feels God calling him to return to Ireland to minister to the people who had once enslaved him. This particular quote is part of a larger work attributed to him which contains letters to various individuals as well as a kind of running diary of his thoughts and experiences.

All that aside, the idea that is particularly compelling to me is this: do people know my mettle? Do those around me recognize “the set of my soul?”

What I mean is this—the vast majority of people lead lives that are commonplace, obsessed with the ordinary and trivial things of existence, focused on accumulation of decaying possessions and fleeting social status. Am I one of them?

Or, do I live life differently? Do I live my life in pursuit of a compelling purpose? Is my life shaped in practical and observable ways by a deeper belief about life and God?

It is a question for all of us: can those around us clearly and easily recognize the things we stand for—the “hills we die on?” If not, do we really stand for them at all?