March 12, 2006

On Friday we celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick. Legends abound about his life and work.

This Apostle of Ireland tells his own story in his Confessions, written near the end of his life. What a story! He was kidnapped by pirates at 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave, worked as a shepherd in the mountains, escaped and returned to Britain and eventually became a priest, was sent back to Ireland as a missionary by Pope Celestine, constantly at risk from hostile pagans, yet, by the time of his death, a native clergy was in place and Christianity had reached nearly all of Ireland.

Our own country too has been blessed by the Irish Catholics who immigrated to our shores in great numbers, bringing with them the faith and a grand sense of humor too. . . . like this little piece:

May the lilt of Irish laughter
Lighten every load,

May the mist of Irish magic
Shorten every road,

May you taste the sweetest pleasures
That fortune e're bestowed,

And may all your friends remember
All the favors you are owed.

Happy St. Patrick's Day,
Fr. Chuck