Celebrating St. Patrick and St. Joseph, as we pray for peace

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

On this past Saturday, March 12, I had the privilege to celebrate and preach at the “Pre-Parade Mass” at Assumption Parish in Morristown, on what was supposed to be the “return” of the Morristown St. Patrick’s Day Parade, after the parade had to be cancelled for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Good things come to those who wait” — while we celebrated the Mass, we will have to wait one more week to march in the parade, which was postponed to Saturday, March 19 (the Feast of St. Joseph) due to inclement weather.

As I thought about celebrating Mass in honor of St. Patrick and celebrating the Irish people, their heritage, and their contributions to the Church and society, I recalled the experience I had growing up as the son of Irish immigrants and how (eventually) I came to appreciate Irish culture and learn some Irish history, especially with the help of Irish music. In the homily at the Mass, I shared that I first began to appreciate Irish history and culture when I began to appreciate Irish music. I spoke about a song called Four Green Fields, written by Tommy Makem, a popular singer and songwriter, who passed away in 2007. The song came to mind because it speaks of a time when the Irish people suffered from war (and foreign invasion) and, sadly, the words describe what the Ukrainian people are experiencing at this moment in history.

In preparation for the Mass and homily, I also recalled a book that I had received as a gift from a cousin when I was named bishop, a translation of the only two writings “in his own hand,” left to us by St. Patrick: his well-known “Confession” and a Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus. When I looked again at the words, especially in the “Letter,” I was struck by the way in which they also “speak” to the sad circumstances in Ukraine. In my homily, I shared a few lines from the book’s introduction to the “Letter.” I would like to also share those words here:

“What has come to be known as A Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus began as a reaction to an especially violent and ruthless act of murder and rape. Patrick describes how he had just baptized and confirmed a large group of young men and women, when on the very next day, the chrism ‘still gleaming on their foreheads,’ they were cruelly cut down and killed. Those that resisted faced instant death; the remainder were taken prisoners …. The perpetrator of this act of barbarism was well known, a chief from Britain called Coroticus. What angers Patrick more even than the brutal savagery of the crime is that its perpetrators are Christian. His final impassioned statement stands today as a cry to heaven against all such outrages against humanity; it also tells us a great deal about the humanity of the man who first wrote it over fifteen hundred years ago.”

The Confession of Saint Patrick and Letter to Coroticus,
by John Skinner, pg. xvii–xviii

Here is that “final impassioned statement” with which St. Patrick ended the letter:

My chief request is that anyone who is a servant of God be ready and willing, to carry this letter forward; may it be read aloud before the whole people — Yes, even when Coroticus himself is present. May God inspire these men sometime to come to their senses in regard to God again, so that they may repent, however latter day, of their grave crimes, namely homicide against the brothers of the Lord, and that they free these baptized women whom they have taken, so that they may deserve to live to God and be made whole once more, here, now and for eternity. Peace to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

The Confession of Saint Patrick and Letter to Coroticus,
by John Skinner, pg. 15–16

In the 1980s and ’90s, up until the signing of the “Good Friday Peace Agreement” in 1998, prayers for peace in Ireland were a part of St. Patrick’s Day Masses, parades, and celebrations. In the last 20-plus years, for the most part, that peace has come to Ireland and her people. As we pray now for peace in Ukraine, we pray with hope that, the end of war and violence will come as soon as possible and eventually that there can be peace and healing.

In my column at this time last year, I mentioned my experience, growing up in an Irish and Italian parish and diocese, in which it was common to have “St. Patrick — St. Joseph Day” celebrations, often with corned beef and cabbage and wonderful Italian pastries! As the Church calendar celebrates these two saints over the course of three days, March 17 and 19, they have acquired somewhat of a connection.

In thinking about St. Patrick and reflecting on his words during this year and time when so many are suffering in Ukraine, we can also call upon St. Joseph as the patron of the universal Church, as the whole Church is praying for peace. We can also call on the intercession and protection of St. Joseph for all those who have had to flee Ukraine as refugees. We recall the Holy Family’s “Flight to Egypt,” “… the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him …’ ” (Mt 2:13).

We pray through the intercession of St. Patrick and St. Joseph as we pray for peace, especially in Ukraine. We also pray for all the victims of this terrible invasion and for the refugees who have had to flee their homes and homeland. We have seen a tremendous outpouring of generosity here in our Diocese and throughout the universal Church to send help to those who are suffering and those who are caring for the refugees. Let us be thankful for the gift of our faith and our heritage and for the saints who inspire and intercede for us.