Abp. Aymond illuminates the life of St. Patrick, a missionary in – not from – Ireland

Dear Young Church,

Did you wear green on St. Patrick’s Day? This has been a longtime tradition because, of course, St. Patrick was Irish.

Well, actually that is not true, and I remember on his feast day how so many people truly misunderstand his life and his background.
We are not sure exactly where St. Patrick was born – possibly in England, but not in Ireland. He considered himself to be Roman and Briton.

At the age of 16, Patrick and a large number of his father’s slaves were captured by Irish raiders. He suffered greatly from hunger and cold during his time of confinement in Ireland. He was able to escape to France and became a priest.

Deep in Patrick’s heart was a desire to be a missionary and, specifically, to go back to Ireland, where he and some of his father’s slaves had been captured. He went back to parts of the country where Christ had never been preached. He was well-loved as a bishop and truly introduced so many to Christ, especially those who had never heard of him.

I bring this up not only to talk about St. Patrick, whose feast we just celebrated, but also to remind us that you and I are to share our faith. How do we share our faith? By a willingness to talk about Jesus in conversation and not be ashamed that we are disciples of Jesus.

Also, we witness to him by truly living the values of Jesus – and sometimes those values are different from values in the world. That can make it difficult for us at times because people can criticize us or make fun of us. Nevertheless, like St. Patrick, we know Jesus, and it is our desire to tell others about him.

The telling of others about Jesus is not just to those around us, but in our neighborhood, in our schools and even throughout the United States. We, like St. Patrick, are called to be missionaries to the farthest parts of the world.

There are so many in the world today who have never heard of Christ. We remember them in a particular way on World Mission Sunday, observed annually in October.

Throughout the year, we should pray for the missionaries who bring Christ to them and for those who have never met Christ. Certainly, Christ wants to meet them and be a part of their lives.

So, whether or not you wear green on the feast of St. Patrick, let us be mindful that he stands as a model of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and to truly have a missionary heart. We, too, are called to be disciples and have a missionary heart.

Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day!

Wishing you God’s blessings and offering you his continued blessings for a holy Lenten season, I am your brother in Christ,

Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond
Archbishop of New Orleans