1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,680 Proscenium crutches in images, nostrils, Libra Nos Deus noster. 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:07,600 You know many patries ET felia spiritus sancti. 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:13,480 My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that 4 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:18,040 you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,160 reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,360 and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. 7 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:32,720 My mother, Immaculate St Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian 8 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:38,440 Angel intercede for me. Well, to that list of our usual 9 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:43,720 intercessors and patrons who guide us in our prayer, we can 10 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,880 add Today, Saint Patrick, pray for us and we're grateful to 11 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:50,880 Jesus for the gift of Saint Patrick. 12 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,200 We are celebrating this day with with solemnity in our churches 13 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:02,120 and possibly also with maybe the same amount of solemnity in a 14 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,480 different way, in our dining rooms, in our in our sitting 15 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,200 rooms, in our pubs, in our streets. 16 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:14,200 But it's a day to be joyful because this day recalls for us 17 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:19,520 the blessing of having a patron St one who came among us here in 18 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,120 Ireland and who brought the good news. 19 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,760 And that act of generosity on his part continues to bear fruit 20 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,200 today in our lives and, and in the mission of the Church, in 21 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,160 the fruitfulness of the Irish Church, not just here, but 22 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:38,040 throughout the whole world. That missionary impulse for 23 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:43,920 which Saint Patrick shared with our forefathers and, and, and 24 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,400 those who heard this message for the first time, to have an 25 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:51,200 eagerness to spread the gospel, to be a friend of Jesus and to 26 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,560 help others to understand the great love that God has for 27 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,560 them. So I see all of this as an 28 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:03,840 Irishman and grateful in Ireland for this national feast. 29 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,160 But of course, Irishness is only a part of the story. 30 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,440 Though the Feast of Saint Patrick increases the fervour of 31 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,800 the green, white and gold throughout the world, Irishness 32 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,600 is only a a very small part to play in in the Feast of Saint 33 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,200 Patrick and it reminds me of the film which is an adaptation of a 34 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,800 a book by a well known Irish author Walter Mackin called The 35 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,360 Flight of the Doves. A film from the 1970s is very 36 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,920 old, but it's actually worth seeing. 37 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:36,800 If you get a chance to to see it, or if you've seen it 38 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:38,640 already, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. 39 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:43,880 But the basic plot of this story concerns 2 little orphans from 40 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:50,440 England who are escaping a life of difficulty that lies ahead 41 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,880 with a, with a, a kind of a wicked step grandparent there in 42 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,240 England. So they flee and they make their 43 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,640 way for for Ireland, knowing that their grandmother is 44 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,320 waiting somewhere in rural Ireland to take them in. 45 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,360 And they're they're sure that all will be well in Ireland and 46 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,040 that granny will look after them. 47 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:13,200 So these two young children smuggle their way across the 48 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,880 Irish Sea and they land into Ireland on Saint Patrick's Day 49 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:23,320 and they're hiding at one point in, I think it's bushes in Saint 50 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,480 Stephen's Green. Whenever a a guard, a policeman 51 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,520 comes upon them and says you're not joining the parade or words 52 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:35,640 to that effect. And these two little little 53 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,200 urchin children, as they look, they say that way you're not 54 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,080 Irish. To which the the guard responds, 55 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,280 you don't have to be Irish to be Irish. 56 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,360 And then begins a a kind of a triumphal chorus to the same 57 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,920 words with lots of singing and dancing and reflecting a kind of 58 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,600 a multicultural approach to Ireland even back then. 59 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,640 And there you go. There's something in that, that 60 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:03,920 being Irish is at least on this day, more about being joyful, 61 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,120 being joyful in our in our patron St. 62 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,920 And there are many people who, who who are experiencing the joy 63 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,600 of Saint Patrick and the faith of Ireland today, even though 64 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,680 they have similarly come across the the waters, different shores 65 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,400 in order to, to bring something of a different flavour of the 66 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:25,640 faith to the church here. And it's, it's a reminder to us 67 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,800 that it is a universal church that we play a small part in 68 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,400 our, in our individual places. But the church is so much bigger 69 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:38,160 than just you or me and that we are called into the body of 70 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,240 Christ, which is, which is a wonderful thing and which 71 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:43,400 strengthens us all throughout the world today. 72 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,920 And it's also true that of the missionary impulse of many Irish 73 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:53,320 people who, who left Ireland in order to be like Patrick, to be, 74 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,880 to be a missionary, to go and spread the good news. 75 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,920 And many Saint Patrick's days. I enjoyed also living abroad 76 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,800 and, and maybe with a certain degree of nostalgia, thinking 77 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,800 about home and thinking about all of the, the glories of the 78 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,320 past. It's not completely out of place 79 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:12,640 to have that, that sense of nostalgia because we are 80 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:17,280 grateful to Jesus for all that the church has has achieved. 81 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:22,960 But we have to find our place today in, in the church. 82 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,200 And it's not just about looking back to the past and thinking 83 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:31,200 about how things were back then or the certain belief that 84 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,560 perhaps things were better in a certain age. 85 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:39,760 No, the Today of of, of, of now is the time that we have to be 86 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:44,240 faithful to Jesus and to be faithful missionaries, that we 87 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,480 are essentially called to be like Saint Patrick today. 88 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,600 I went yesterday to a local primary school to talk about 89 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,000 Saint Patrick. And I was thinking how best to 90 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,360 tailor this message to little children, only a minority of 91 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,200 whom were actually Catholics. And some, of course, were, were, 92 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,000 were were foreign born or maybe didn't have English as a first 93 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,960 language. So there they were, all gathered 94 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,120 for the assembly, many of them wearing green, which of course 95 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,280 is typical for today, apart from the priest at Mass wearing white 96 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:22,480 vestments. And I said, well, Saint Patrick, 97 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:27,840 boys and girls, is a great hero. And instantly I can see all 98 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:30,760 their little faces looking up and, and, and, and that's true. 99 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:35,120 Saint Patrick is a hero. Saint Patrick is an example to 100 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,120 us. And I said, you know, we think 101 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,680 of heroes wearing capes. And of course, in many statues 102 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,160 and pictures of Saint Patrick, he is dressed in in investments, 103 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,360 vestments of a Bishop, which have a great resemblance to a 104 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,600 Cape. And so it's easy, Mary, for 105 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,040 their little minds to, to comprehend this, this hero, 106 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:57,400 Saint Patrick. But really what I wanted to, to 107 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,080 talk to them about was the life of Saint Patrick. 108 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,080 And that's the, that's the meat of our, of our prayer in this 109 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,560 meditation, the life of Saint Patrick. 110 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:10,360 And there's plenty for us to think about and to pray about in 111 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:16,400 truth, in the, the letter that Saint Patrick writes about his 112 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:20,760 own life or the confessions, I should say, he begins and 113 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,560 introduces himself in a, in a very beautiful way with great 114 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,360 humility, as a Sinner. I am Patrick, a Sinner. 115 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,680 And that's how he chooses at this moment of his life, 116 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,800 whenever he is, he's making his confession, he's making his, his 117 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,120 public statement of his faith. That's how he wants to identify 118 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:42,800 himself. And, and for me, there's 119 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:44,360 something very attractive about that. 120 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,800 It's to say that, you know, whenever I look at the, the 121 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,280 totality of my life, I see my own, my own weakness, my own 122 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,360 fragility. And at the same time, I see the 123 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:57,960 wonderful gift that God has been to me. 124 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,280 Now, this isn't just false humility on the part of Saint 125 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:06,240 Patrick, because he speaks at various times in his confession 126 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,040 about his experience of his own sinfulness. 127 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:14,400 And I think this must have been a way in which he was able to to 128 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,600 preach so effectively to Irish people. 129 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:22,000 And it is true that whenever we we we touch a little bit of this 130 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,400 sense of guilt that we might have for our sinfulness, then we 131 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,800 have something to offer by way of Christ's forgiveness. 132 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,159 It's not enough to just say that we are, we are sinners. 133 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:36,720 We're we're miserable sinners. We are sinners who are forgiven 134 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:42,720 by Jesus, principally in the sacrament of confession, but 135 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,360 that we are nothing without that mercy and forgiveness. 136 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:51,120 And so to say I am a Sinner also in some sense recognises the 137 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:52,920 other great part of that identity. 138 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,640 I am a Sinner who is forgiven by Christ. 139 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:02,840 And that as his primary identity is, is really something so 140 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,280 beautiful that he doesn't start off by saying I am the apostle 141 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,880 of the Irish, something that we attribute to him, but to 142 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,080 himself. He sees only his own fragility, 143 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:16,000 his own weakness, his own vulnerability, which is caused 144 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,720 by his sin. So of course it's a great act of 145 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:23,840 humility. But in his his introduction to 146 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:29,280 his life, when he goes on from this identity of Sinner, he 147 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,320 speaks about the conditions on which he was then taken to 148 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:37,280 Ireland as a slave, but not before telling us that his 149 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,240 father was a Deacon, his grandfather was a priest, which 150 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,360 of course in the early church at that time was was not uncommon. 151 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,160 But he says I did not yet know the true God. 152 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:51,800 And that might seem a little bit surprising or shocking that if 153 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,760 his father was a clergyman, his grandfather was a clergyman. 154 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,960 He comes from good stock. How could he not know the true 155 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,640 God? Well, maybe God was not openly 156 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:05,840 discussed in their home that perhaps the practise of religion 157 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:11,040 there in the their homestead was, was perhaps a little bit 158 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,200 formal or it was something that dad did whenever he went to 159 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,360 church, but it wasn't something that they, they maybe lived out 160 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:19,600 in their homes. So that can come as a bit of a 161 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:24,680 challenge to us is that is, is the true God, God, not just of 162 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:30,240 my, my heart, that I love Jesus and I, I want to, to please him. 163 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,560 But how good am I at sharing that with the people around me 164 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:39,880 and even in my own home? Is it, is it obvious that that 165 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,000 the true God is the God not just of my heart, but of my home as 166 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,160 well? That, that my home, my place of 167 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,440 work, my town, my parish. It's a place where God is really 168 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,480 enthroned. And this sense of his, his 169 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,200 sinfulness, his weakness, his, his, his lack of knowledge of, 170 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,840 of true God, it makes him in some sense all the more 171 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,800 surprising that he is such an effective apostle. 172 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:09,400 But we, we heard that even on Sunday, you know, about the man 173 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:14,080 born blind in the Gospel. And they say who sinned this man 174 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:18,760 or his parents? And Jesus says, no, neither he 175 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,040 nor his parents, but he was born blind in order that the wonders 176 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,640 of God might be made manifest in him. 177 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,000 And we have to look at the life as Saint Patrick and say that 178 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,880 there's, there's something of the truth in that for him too, 179 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,400 that the wonders of God were manifested in this. 180 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,920 This young boy taken the age of 16 as a slave to Ireland. 181 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:44,000 And the wonders of God perhaps not seen in that immediate 182 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,360 moment, which must have been a terrible moment for him and for 183 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,520 his family. But slowly but surely, the 184 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,120 wonders of God do emerge from that. 185 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,760 And, you know, maybe there's a timely reminder for us to to say 186 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:03,600 that the individual moments of our life do not comprise the 187 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,200 totality of our life, you know, either the good things, but 188 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:08,080 especially also the bad things, the struggles. 189 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,320 And maybe at times of sickness or, or, or, or real genuine 190 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,920 struggle, that message maybe gets a little bit out of focus 191 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:20,520 that my worries and my fears kind of overtake me a little 192 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,120 bit. And I don't say, well, this is a 193 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,200 moment that reminds me that the wonders of God are going to be 194 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,960 made manifest in me. You know, how God is going to 195 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,160 save me from a particular situation, how he's going to 196 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:39,360 give grace in order to forgive me whenever I I seek it, how he 197 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,640 is going to help me overcome difficulties. 198 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,000 It's, it's his wonder to be achieved yet. 199 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:50,160 And it's, it's, it's my pleasure to to be able to receive that. 200 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,720 And so Patrick helps us a little bit in that regard to see that 201 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:59,400 even this, this disastrous moment of his being taken as a 202 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,400 slave becomes. And we have to persevere a 203 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,360 little bit to, to understand his life. 204 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:09,760 That all of that suffering and that difficulty is not wasted by 205 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:14,400 the by the loving mercy of, of God for him, that there is a 206 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:18,480 wonder to be made manifest even more so in his life. 207 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:24,640 And just like the man born blind, whenever he receives his 208 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,760 sight, he receives a gift of faith as well. 209 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:31,840 And, and it's a little bit like Patrick too, that in the midst 210 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,560 of this suffering, he experiences great faith. 211 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,360 And this is a moment whenever he, he really comes back to the 212 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,320 Lord and, and that becomes his strength. 213 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,520 And so amongst all of the difficulty, you can just picture 214 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,520 it, you know, this, this teenager being sort of ripped 215 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:54,400 away from his family home and screams and the shouts perhaps 216 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,360 of his mother, his sisters. Whereas Patrick, will we ever 217 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,000 see him again? The the longing that he has just 218 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,000 thinking about on the boat, the high seas back over to Ireland. 219 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:10,360 The God is, is, is, is seeing all of this and God is going to 220 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:14,120 use this for his own glory. And it's in the isolation a 221 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:18,840 little bit that he experiences the true God, the true God that 222 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:23,040 he did not know even in his home with a father, a Deacon and a 223 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:26,400 grandfather, a priest. It's only in the, the, the, the 224 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:31,960 isolation, the cold, the, the, the poor weather of Ireland that 225 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:34,960 makes him see the true God and the God who loves him. 226 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,600 And this is a profound moment for him. 227 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:41,400 And he says in, in his conventions. 228 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,080 After I arrived in Ireland, I tended sheep every day and I 229 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,320 prayed frequently during the day. 230 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:52,400 More and more the love of God increased and my sense of awe 231 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,920 before God. Faith grew and my spirit was 232 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:02,160 moved so that in one day I would pray up to 100 times and at 233 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:06,400 night perhaps the same. I even remained in the woods and 234 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,880 on the mountain, and I would rise to pray before dawn in snow 235 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:13,320 and ice and rain. I never felt the worst for it 236 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,440 and I never felt lazy as I realised now the spirit was 237 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:22,920 burning in me at that time. Gosh, I, I hear those words and 238 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,040 I, I instantly think, oh, I, I could do better. 239 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,920 I could do better. You know, often when the alarm 240 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:32,880 clock goes off and we jump out of bed and we, we, we are, we're 241 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,040 offering our day to God and we say Serbia. 242 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,720 But you know, it's the moment after that that we think, oh, 243 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:41,520 I'm tired. Maybe I'm just going to sit back 244 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:43,160 down or I'm going to take my time now. 245 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:48,520 And how quickly laziness sets in, you know, how quickly other 246 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,080 things get in the way of our faith. 247 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:53,800 But we don't see that so much in Patrick. 248 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:58,480 We see this great determination to give more that the more his 249 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,280 heart opens to to the loving God and the more frequently he 250 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,800 prays, the more he he opens his heart in faith, the more burning 251 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:11,320 desire he has. And so, oh, that could be like 252 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:14,960 us too, you know, serve you and, and we continue on in the same 253 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,560 sense. I, I want to serve you, Jesus, I 254 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:19,320 will serve you and I want to continue to do it. 255 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,040 And, and I have to think that it's part of this experience of 256 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,000 hardship that that brings him to that point. 257 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,640 It's like a kind of a purification. 258 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,600 And maybe that's the experience of the Holy Cross. 259 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:33,480 He experiences the difficulty of the cross. 260 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:36,840 And then he, he, he sees us in the next moment, the kind of the 261 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,160 joy of it, the joy of carrying the cross, of being, of being 262 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,680 there at your service, Jesus become something very sweet for 263 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,920 him. And so for all of this time, six 264 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,720 years that he spends then tending these little sheep on 265 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:56,040 the various hillsides and Dales and planes and all the rest of 266 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,920 Ireland, there must have grown within him a kind of a great 267 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:04,599 resilience. And at the same time he's, he's 268 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:07,319 eagerly longing to go home and of course, praying for that. 269 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,720 And so there must have been a patience that that came with 270 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,160 him. And when I was telling the kids 271 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,640 this and saying, you know, like, we have to be kind of, you know, 272 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,160 resourceful. And we can't just, you know, sit 273 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,720 back and say, oh, I'm in this dreadful situation and there's 274 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,079 not much I can do. But we have to try to start 275 00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:26,359 thinking about what can I do now? 276 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:28,359 And I said, you know, and for Patrick, it was looking after 277 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,360 sheep. You know, it mightn't seem very 278 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:32,520 important, but he, he, he was resourceful. 279 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,640 He, he was able to do that in that moment. 280 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,720 And he gave himself completely and totally to that. 281 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,040 So look, let's look at our own lives at this moment and say, 282 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:46,320 well, what are my resources and what am I putting at the service 283 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,160 of Jesus? And and then I asked for the 284 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:53,640 gift of perseverance and patience that I can do it for 285 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,880 you, Jesus, that I can maybe struggle on that I can, I can 286 00:17:57,880 --> 00:17:59,560 achieve something for your glory. 287 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,400 And for most of us, it won't be looking after sheep, but it 288 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,120 could just be the daily grind of our work. 289 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:09,520 I could be struggling, maybe even in retirement and trying to 290 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:13,280 find a new direction. Whatever it is, give me the gift 291 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,360 of patience. You know, sheep are notoriously 292 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,840 difficult to deal with. I say this, of course, as a a 293 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:25,080 city boy who has no experience whatsoever shepherding. 294 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,960 But you kind of observe them in in fields, they they go their 295 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,480 own way. And you know, we know enough 296 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:36,600 even from our reading of the gospel about this 99 sheep and 297 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,320 the one that goes astray. So sheep, the sheep do whatever 298 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:42,720 they like. But I remember hearing one time 299 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:47,520 somebody giving an explanation of the Psalm, the Lord's my 300 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,320 Shepherd. And you know, it says the Lord's 301 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:51,960 my shepherd. Nothing shall I want to? 302 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,000 He makes me lie down in green pastures. 303 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:58,560 And the person who's given this explanation said that it was 304 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:02,480 very unlikely that most sheep would just lay down in a green 305 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,600 pasture, that sheep tend to do their own thing. 306 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,960 They're scared. They run around and follow one 307 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,600 another. And so it's really only through 308 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:16,240 the, the, the Good Shepherd, who, who, who helps them and 309 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,720 contend them and, and get them basically to, to do what he 310 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,120 wants to, to make them to, to lie down. 311 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:28,880 And he said that, you know, sheep will only do that if first 312 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,760 of all, they experience the care and the concern of the shepherd. 313 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,560 They know that the shepherd is there for them, is, is there to 314 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:40,040 protect them and loves them. And then secondly, when they 315 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:44,760 sense that there is no danger present, And that's because they 316 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:46,240 know the shepherd is going to protect them. 317 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,080 And then finally, if they're well fed and if all of those 318 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,400 things are there and then they're happy to lie down, 319 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,400 they're going to be very docile. So look, there's the same for us 320 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,400 is that I know God is my shepherd. 321 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:02,240 I know that he's a Good Shepherd. 322 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:05,920 I know that he protects me. I know that he will protect me 323 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,240 from all danger spiritually. He will support me. 324 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,040 He's given me the church. He's given me my friends, my 325 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:17,000 family, my vocation in order to to help me to avoid danger, 326 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:19,080 dangers that cause my sin and temptation. 327 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,360 And then I'm well fed. I'm well fed by Eucharist 328 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,560 sacraments, by the circle, by the caring concern of my 329 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,600 brothers and sisters for my well-being, for my formation. 330 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,400 And so if I can add to that, then my own resilience and 331 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,360 patience, then I can be a good sheep. 332 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,840 So there we have the thought of Saint Patrick, who is a Good 333 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,760 Shepherd also, he's a good faithful sheep as well in in the 334 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,800 flock of the Lord. And so it, it helps us a little 335 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:52,560 bit to, to understand and that experience of, of six years of 336 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:57,800 slavery, of resilience, of courage, and, and all these 337 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:01,400 wonderful virtues that, that he must have had, humanly speaking, 338 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,960 to help him to overcome and to endure even at a young age. 339 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:11,280 But nourished by prayer and faith in a sense like he, he's 340 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:15,480 remarkable that at this, this tender age, he's able to, to 341 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:19,640 process these kind of traumatic experiences and then bring faith 342 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,520 from them. So he's, he's truly heroic in 343 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,640 that sense and inspiring us at whatever age we are that surely 344 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,160 we can do the same. We can be heroic with God's 345 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:34,960 grace, with faith as our guide. In any case, after six years, he 346 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,720 does get his moment of escape. And Jesus, you answered his 347 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:44,200 prayer because he was able to get on a boat and head back to, 348 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,360 to his family. And you can imagine the scene 349 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:51,880 then, of course, as he gets on the boat and he through kind of 350 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,160 miraculous events and he's able to get back home again, the, the 351 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,600 closer he sees the shoreline and then he knows he's safe. 352 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,920 And you'd be thinking to yourself, oh, I'm glad that's 353 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,200 over. And I'm sure like me, you've had 354 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:10,040 those experiences too in life where we feel our prayers have 355 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:12,560 been answered because we've been delivered from a particular 356 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,200 circumstance or situation of even a person. 357 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:17,480 And we say, thank God, that's over. 358 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,560 Thank God that's over. And we can and we should take 359 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:27,160 relief whenever God does answer our prayers and helps us to 360 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,560 persevere. And he brings it to an end that 361 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:36,360 it's not kind of interminable. So there's something of, of, of 362 00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:39,760 hope there that that God really did answer his prayers. 363 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,720 And then he's, he's, he's left with, with the problem of what 364 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,680 to do next. If that was just the sum total 365 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,120 of Saint Patrick's life, it still would have been a good 366 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:52,720 life. You know, he was kidnapped. 367 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:57,280 He, he, he, he learnt to love God through his perseverance, 368 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:01,560 through his resilience, through his great acts of faith and, and 369 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,080 penance. And, and then he came home. 370 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:06,600 End of story. Great Saint Patrick. 371 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,600 Let's all go and celebrate. But there's of course more to 372 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,920 the story. And the more of the story is, is 373 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:18,600 his vocation and he has begins to have these, these stirrings 374 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:23,920 of the heart about what to do next and, and how best to to 375 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,680 serve God. And, you know, he didn't sort of 376 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,480 sit back after this painful experience and say, well, I'm 377 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:34,520 just going to now look for a few sheep around Britain. 378 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,120 But he he says, no, there's more, there's more. 379 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,200 And you know it, it, it, it reminds me of that point in the 380 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:48,840 way 913 Don't doubt it. Your vocation is the greatest 381 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,840 grace God could have given you. Thank him for it. 382 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,760 So his vocation becomes the greatest thing about him. 383 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:03,240 His desire to to be an apostle, to be a Christian, his desire 384 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:07,160 for more. And even just when we think 385 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,840 about the vocation, the gift of vocation that we have received, 386 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:17,720 it is wonderful, is a, a, a grace for us, you know, and to 387 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,920 not let a day pass without, without saying an, an act of 388 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:25,720 Thanksgiving for our vocation, for what we have learnt from our 389 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:32,520 Father, from means of formation. These are all things that that 390 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,520 help us to stay afloat and and more than just stay afloat. 391 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,440 They help us to flourish, to flourish in faith and to say 392 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:43,360 that there's more, there's more that I can do, there's more that 393 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,560 that God can achieve through me, if only I can just continue to 394 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:49,680 open my heart and, and to give myself to him. 395 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,680 That's that's kind of the essence of vocation that once I, 396 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:57,040 I, I, I put my trust in him and, and go with it, so to speak. 397 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:02,720 When I write the letter, I, I entrust myself to, to the means 398 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,800 of formation and then I want to renew that. 399 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,680 And of course, we're thinking a lot about Feasus and Joseph 400 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,840 coming up in a few days and we will renew our commitment to the 401 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,160 work. You know, this is a a renewed 402 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:19,280 sense of the gift that has been given to me in my vocation. 403 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:25,440 And in the life of Patrick, We see the the tremendous grace 404 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,320 that he has in following his vocation. 405 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,480 Because the great thing Patrick is, of course, that the the 406 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,240 story doesn't just end whenever he goes back to his family, but 407 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,240 it's a story of return. And whenever he he mystically 408 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:44,360 hears this, this voice in a in a in a dream to come back, he 409 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:49,400 writes in the in the confessions with this voice coming to him 410 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,480 from Ireland. We beg you, holy boy, to come 411 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,240 and walk again among us. And this tart touched my heart 412 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,960 deeply and I could not read it any further. 413 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:02,880 I woke up and thanks to be to God after many years, the Lord 414 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:04,960 granted them what they were calling for. 415 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,640 So he becomes the answer to prayers for others because he is 416 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,960 faithful to his vocation. So see how God is is achieving 417 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,280 this, this wonder by by putting it all together. 418 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,040 Patrick could never have seen that, in the same way that we 419 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:20,920 can't see it in the individual moments. 420 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:27,040 But there's a whole plan here, and my desire to accept that 421 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:32,920 plan of God is my vocation to be a Christian, to be a faithful 422 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:36,160 Christian, to be a witness, to be an apostle. 423 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:40,640 I'm giving my heart to you, Jesus, in order that you can be 424 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:46,280 fruitful in and through me. And how fruitful Patrick is on 425 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:50,760 the return that at first he came with suffering and penitence. 426 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,520 Well, it wasn't lacking the second time either, but when he 427 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,600 comes back as as Bishop and priest in order to boldly 428 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,320 proclaim the the good news in order to support the Christians 429 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,600 who are already here, he is able to achieve so much. 430 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,480 And that's more than just courage to go back to the the 431 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:16,320 scene of difficulty. It's it's the gift of faith. 432 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,680 Faith can propel me to do things that I could not do by my own 433 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:25,160 human strength. But God loves a cheerful giver, 434 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,000 as we hear in the 2nd letter of the Corinthians. 435 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,360 And Sir Patrick was very cheerful in his giving. 436 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,960 And there's so much devotion throughout the whole island of 437 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:39,520 Ireland, in a sense, to Patrick and desire to be associated with 438 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:43,920 him, and rightly so, because this desire for his vocation, 439 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,720 this desire to serve you God is infectious. 440 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:49,960 And in the, the writings of many of the early Saints, they're 441 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,160 very keen to stress some connection to Saint Patrick, 442 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,680 that either they themselves were a disciple of Patrick or they 443 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,080 were, they were taught by disciples of Patrick. 444 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,920 And you can go different places in Ireland today, these ancient 445 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,320 monastic sites that claim Patrick was here and there is 446 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:09,920 that, that desire to be, to be close to Patrick and, and, and 447 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:14,320 to see association with him. And that's a, that's a wonderful 448 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:15,880 thing. And so we want to be associated 449 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:20,200 with Patrick ourselves as, as as men and women who are inspired 450 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:26,640 by his example to be faithful Christians today, to to have all 451 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:31,240 of those virtues, humanly speaking, that he had and then 452 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,920 to add to them with supernatural grace in order that I can 453 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:38,000 achieve so much for God and so much for God's glory. 454 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:43,040 So he is truly a hero and truly inspirational. 455 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,560 But it's of course not enough, You know, we know that it's not 456 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,640 enough to just look at the sense of the past and say, oh, isn't 457 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,280 that wonderful? Because God is calling for there 458 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:56,960 to be Saints today. And we ask for renewed graces 459 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,240 for for ourselves and for our country, Jesus, that we can be 460 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,280 faithful to you and faithful to all that you are calling us to 461 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,240 do in this moment. And we entrust that endeavour 462 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:11,440 especially to Our Lady. And Patrick was faithful in his 463 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,200 love of Our Lady, too. And there's some beautiful hymns 464 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:20,440 that have kind of an Irish flair, which we can think about 465 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:22,200 at this time as well. And think of these words of a 466 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,880 hymn. O Mary of Graces and Mother of 467 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,800 Christ, O may you direct me and guide me aright. 468 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,480 O may you protect me from Satan's control, and may you 469 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:37,080 protect me in body and soul, just as you did. 470 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,200 Saint Patrick. I give you thanks to my God for 471 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:45,200 the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations 472 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,160 that you have communicated to me during this meditation. 473 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:50,840 I ask your help to put them into effect. 474 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:57,800 My mother, Immaculate St Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian 475 00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:59,720 Angel, intercede for me.