17 March 2021 - St Patrick - Wednesday of the 4th week of Lent - Psalm 145

     Today we celebrate St Patrick’s day, a popular feast day in our Catholic Church and a popular holiday in our secular society, perhaps due to the many Irish immigrants who came to this country.  As we know, in our Diocese, we have had many Irish priests serve here as missionaries, with Father Martin Rouane and Father Gerry Hurley serving here in recent memory at St Jude.  We give thanks for all the many years of service these Irish priests brought to our Diocese and the love they have had for the people here. 

       For many of the saints in the Early Church, it is hard to distinguish between fact and legend, especially for someone so larger-than-life like St Patrick.  He was born in the 4th century someone in Britain, so he was not even born in Ireland.  A town in Scotland claims him, but it is hard to be sure of that.  When he was a teen, tradition passes down that he was captured by Irish pirates.  He was taken to Ireland as a slave to tend sheep.  He learned the Irish language and the culture of the people. Tradition also passes down that during his captivity is when his faith grew is a very profound way.  He escaped when he was a young adult, finding some British sailor who would taken him back to his homeland.  He became a priest and then later a Bishop in Britain and felt the call to return to Ireland as a missionary in the middle of the 4th century.  He was very successful in converting the Irish to Christianity.  He died sometime in the late 5th century, although the year is not certain.  By the 8th century, he was seen as the patron saint of Ireland.  

      The psalm declares: The Lord is gracious and merciful.  We can imagine the mercy and grace of God that Patrick needed to return to the country where he was kept in slavery to bring the Gospel to them.  He could have been like Jonah, who resisted and begrudged going to Nineveh to convert the people there.  Yet, even though we cannot distinguish between fact from legend in the story of St Patrick, he remains a great saint for us and a great example of faith.