Happy St. Patrick's Day to you. As I have gone through the day, I have been greeting people with this salutation and some of them are giving me the strangest looks. When I offer to tell them a little about who St. Patrick was and what he accomplished, they are acting like he is a fantasy. Many people have said that they assumed he was a made up saint and that he looked like a leprechaun! I can't make this stuff up. It is really a shame that the legend of a great man, who was recognized for his ministry by being canonized, has become so diminished by the "green beer revelry." A few days ago I saw an article that indicated that people of Irish descent in the U.S. were very disturbed by the images used to depict them and their ancestors. I can sympathize with them because of my French and Acadian ancestry. The depiction of "Cajuns" has become so simplistic. The use of the term Cajun for any food that is spicy is amusing. The history of the Acadian Diaspora is actually quiet interesting and very related to their Catholic identity. So I pray that more people are drawn to the real St. Patrick. The one who crafted the Gospel message to fit his audience. The man who worked tirelessly to bring people to the grace that God offers. The St. Patrick that I have come to love was a man full of Jesus. He longed to bring to Ireland the salvation message and to have people join the Catholic Church. He deserves better than being reduced to a caricature. So I wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day and I call upon him to pray with and for us and we continue his mission of bringing the Gospel message to all of God's people.
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...