A saint in whose footsteps we walk today.
A homily by Fr Denis Stanley
“I cannot be silent about such great benefits and so much grace that the Lord conferred on me in the land of my captivity.” I begin with the words of Patrick himself, because that is where we must begin.
Strangely or providentially, I have been rostered for several years now to preside at the Eucharist for St Patrick’s Day. Note the irony, because there is one amongst us, who bears the noble Irish surname of Moloney, who you would think might be a more appropriate presider and preacher.
However, it appears, as the Acts of the Apostles says today, “We must turn to the pagans”. So, the honour falls to me; and I grasp the chance because I delight every year in gently deconstructing the story of Patrick as we have received it. I delight in questioning the shamrocks, the banishing of snakes, the legendary fights Patrick had with the pagan leaders and the green beer.
I delight in brushing all that aside because it obscures who Patrick was, ignoring his own honest and faith-filled words in his little autobiography – St Patrick’s Confessio; and so, we miss what Patrick means for us today.
What we learn from his own words is that he was a man swept up in the love of God and the love of a particular people, the Irish, he was an apostle; he was a faithful servant of the gospel and builder of Christian communities in hard times. We do not celebrate a folk hero, but a saint – and so like all the saints he is a fellow Christian whose example inspired and encourages us today and whose prayers to God surround us here and now.
The gospel today celebrates the confidence Jesus hopes His disciples will be filled with as they are sent out on mission – “Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals.” Their journey will depend on their confidence that they are on God’s mission and supported by God’s grace as they move out to share the Good News that the kingdom is near.
We hear that same confidence in Patrick’s own words. In a dream he hears a call to return to Ireland to go and preach the Gospel. He finds himself asking who is speaking to him, he hears this, “The One who gave His life for you, it is He who speaks in you: and I awoke”, writes Patrick, “Full of joy”.
So, who is St Patrick and why do we have a special day just for him, people may ask. Our answer is simple: his life reveals for us that it is out of an encounter with the living God that faith is nourished and comes alive and it is through that firmness of faith that we grow and can inspire others.
This is a journey where God looks into our hearts, working gently and knitting it anew, and then giving us a task to do.
Again, in Patrick’s own words, “This is how we can repay such blessings when our lives change and we come to know God to praise and bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven.”
We do not celebrate a folk hero, but a saint in whose footsteps we walk today – because that is what he – Patrick – would want us to do. The feast of Patrick invites us to touch the lives of those who are closed to the creativity, peace and truth that God brings to life and that we ourselves might live with eyes and ears open to God’s wonders, arms and hands open to hold and help and heal. To witness, to speak, to be apostles – to be sent. Would anything be dearer to Patrick’s heart?
As we journey closer to the Lord’s passion and resurrection, I weave a prayer form the many of the simple, rich and beautiful prayers of the Irish tradition, from the people who grew deeply in faith – and still need to grow in faith – because Patrick was their apostle.
May God and Mary be with us, that God’s help will be nearer than the door, that God will never weaken our hand and that He will stand between us and all harm. Amen.