ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends,

It is always a great pleasure for me to join with the Bishops, priests, deacons and religious, as well as so many of the faithful in this annual celebration to honor Saint Patrick. The great Apostle of Ireland, so courageous, faithful and zealous, continues to inspire us to this very day. In celebrating the memory of Saint Patrick, we also honor Ireland, that beloved land where our holy Catholic faith has flourished and, through her sons and daughters, many throughout the world have come to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is attested to by the presence of all of you at this Mass, as well as the gathering of the many participants in today’s parade.

While we honor the achievements of Saint Patrick, we find ourselves immersed in the sacred season of Lent. This holy time of prayer, almsgiving and fasting prepares us for the coming celebration of the Easter Triduum, the mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a profound reverence for this mystery that transformed Patrick, strengthened him in his own sufferings, and emboldened him to become one of history’s most famous and beloved missionaries.

This Fifth Sunday of Lent dramatically invites us to witness the power of Jesus as He asks for a profession of faith from the two bereaved sisters, Martha and Mary. These holy women, who deeply loved Jesus, firmly believed that He could heal their sick brother, Lazarus. But, as we heard in details provided by Saint John the Evangelist, Jesus delayed going to Lazarus in order that a far greater and more profound miracle would be worked.

When Jesus comes to Bethany, Martha goes to meet Him. From the depths of a broken heart, Martha makes it clear that she firmly believed that Jesus would have restored Lazarus to health. Now, even in the midst of her grief, she believes that God the Father will grant whatever Jesus asks.

Jesus reveals Himself and His power to Martha, while requesting of her an act of faith: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies will live, and everyone who lives and believes will never die. Do you believe this?" (Jn 11: 25-26).

Clearly, Martha was a woman of courage, strength and hope, for even as she mourned the death of her brother, she was able to express her understanding of the power of Jesus. But now, when Jesus asks for her faith, Martha declares with boldness and without hesitation in a profession of faith that has resounded in the heart of the Church for 2,000 years: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world" (Jn 11: 27). In response to the declaration of Martha and the faith of Mary, Jesus restores Lazarus to life. This great public miracle of Jesus—witnessed by many people—is the last miracle which Jesus will perform before His Passion. The raising of Lazarus, then, serves as a foreshadowing of His own Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The raising of Lazarus also inspires in us a consideration of bringing back to life someone who is dead in sin. It is an image of conversion. According to Saint Augustine, the raising of Lazarus represents the Sacrament of Penance. As Lazarus was called forth from the tomb by Jesus, so, in the words of Saint Augustine, "when you confess, you come forth. For what does ‘come forth mean if not emerging from what is hidden, to be made manifest. But for you to confess is God’s doing; he calls you with an urgent voice, by an extraordinary grace. And just as the dead man came out still bound, so you go to confession still guilty. In order that his sins be loosed, the Lord said to his ministers: ‘Unbind him and let him go.’ What you loose on earth will be loosed also in heaven" (St Augustine, In Ioann. Evang., 49, 24, cited in The Navarre Bible: St John, p. 159).

The account of the raising of Lazarus, as well as the commentary offered by Saint Augustine, give us some insight into Saint Patrick and his own conversion, his own restoration to life. Raised in turbulent times in the remnant of Roman-occupied Britain, Patrick was a teenager when he was captured by Irish raiders, kidnapped from his home, and sold into slavery in Ireland. The loneliness, anger and bitterness which filled the heart of young Patrick were dispelled by the presence of God. The more that Patrick was alone in tending the sheep, the more he became aware of the nearness of God. Patrick was consoled by his spiritual awakening. He learned the true meaning of prayer. As Patrick himself wrote: "Then the Lord opened my mind and my senses to the nature of my unbelief so that I may—however late—remember my sins and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God. He...took pity on my youth and ignorance. He watched over me and protected me before I knew Him and before I was wise enough to distinguish good and evil. He strengthened and comforted me as a father consoles a son" (Confession, 2).

After escaping from captivity, Patrick made his way home. After several years, Patrick became conscious, through a vision, that he was to return to Ireland and bring with him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The man once a slave truly enjoyed freedom—the freedom of the children of God—and in his charity wanted to share that freedom with the Irish people, who were so bound in pagan ways.

The stories of the heroism of Patrick are numerous. With great courage, the zealous Bishop lit the Easter fire when he celebrated on the Hill of Slane the first Easter Vigil in Ireland. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II stated that Patrick "lit, for the first time in Ireland the Paschal fire, so that the light of Christ might shine forth on all of Ireland and unite all its people in the love of the one Jesus Christ" (Address of Pope John Paul II, September 29, 1979 in Drogheda). The light ignited by Saint Patrick so many hundreds of years ago continues to burn in the hearts of all who are the spiritual children of Saint Patrick.

Shortly, we will participate in a joyful parade, a public witness of pride in the Irish heritage. But we must never forget that the true source of that pride is Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, who called Patrick, a slave, to become a missionary. As a zealous Apostle, the Bishop Patrick dedicated every fiber of his being to instilling the truth of Jesus in the hearts of all the Irish people. "Therefore," wrote Saint Patrick, "may God never allow me to lose His people whom He has won at the farthest corners of the earth. I pray that God will grant His humble son perseverance and will allow me to give faithful testimony of Him until the time of my own passing, all for the sake of my God" (Confession, 58).

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, with Saint Patrick as our model, let us look deep within our souls. Let us listen to the voice of Jesus who calls us to turn away from sin and to live a new life in Him. May we take the opportunity to confess our sins before the celebration of Easter. Like the Easter fire that announced the Light of Jesus to the people of Ireland, may we, with our brothers and sisters in the faith, journey to conversion, to come forth out of the death of sin, and to encounter anew Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the one who came into the world to raise us to new life.

Great Saint Patrick, intercede that we always may be
devoted and loyal, true children of thee! Amen!