ST. PATRICK'S DAY
In terms of the church calendar 2008 has been a very unusual year. We were still recovering from Christmas and the New Year when we were hit by Ash Wednesday and Lent. And now, with snow flurries still in the air, we are about to celebrate Holy Week and Easter. But all that is of minor significance compared with the fact that this year we are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on the 15 th of March! I ask you! The next thing they’ll be having Ascension Thursday on a Sunday?
Just in case you were born on another planet, let me tell you a little about St. Patrick. He was born in Wales in the year 387, or was it in Southern Scotland or Northern England in 385, or maybe even in northern France sometime. (You can understand why they would all want to be associated with him, and so with Ireland!) The one thing certain is that he was not born in Ireland. But the Irish recognised a good ‘un when they saw him, and on one of their shopping trips across the Irish Sea they ‘invited’ the young Patrick to return with them! They gave him a coveted post as shepherd in Antrim, in the North, or possibly with Fr. Ephrem’s ancestors in Mayo, in the West! Somewhere! Without going into all the details it’s enough to say that he was so impressed with the Irish that when he returned home again he couldn’t wait to get back!
There’s a story told about Saint Patrick meeting a prince, called Aengus, who, having heard St. Patrick preaching, longed with all his heart to become a Christian. While Patrick fumbled a little, searching for the right spot in the book so that he could baptize Aengus, he absent-mindedly stuck his crosier into the ground beside him, and accidentally through the foot of Aengus! Patrick never noticed what he had done and proceeded with the baptism. The prince said nothing; he simply went very white! Patrick poured water over his bowed head at the simple words of the rite. Then it was completed. Aengus was a Christian. Patrick turned to take up his crosier and was horrified to find that he had driven it through the prince's foot! "But why didn't you say something? " Aengus said that he thought having a spike driven through his foot was part of the ceremony! He added: "Christ shed His blood for me, and I am glad to suffer a little pain at baptism to be like Our Lord". (Parents, don’t panic! Irish priests carry out pain-free baptisms nowadays!)
I can’t vouch for the total accuracy of this or any other story of St. Patrick – you will appreciate that despite appearances I wasn’t around at the time – but what is beyond dispute is that St. Patrick had a huge influence on the church in Ireland, and through future Irish missionaries, on the church throughout the world. At this point it hardly matters which stories are historical and which have a share of myth attached to them. What matters is the fruit that has been borne by St. Patrick and his Christian successors down the years. And that’s what still matters – in what way are we spreading the message, the love, the very life of Christ in our world today. We thank God for the faith, the life, that has been handed on to us, and pray that we in turn can hand it on to future generations. |
