Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:16-20
Today, in the US, folks will drink to excess and say they are celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Yet most have no idea who he was or why he is so revered. Patrick was born in Britian, the son of a deacon and grandson of a priest. Like many PKs, he had no interest in God or the church. At 16, he was captured and taken as a slave to Ireland. After escaping years later, he became a priest and returned to Ireland as a missionary. In the Catholic dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation. Here we celebrate it as a day of Irish pride, but we are invited to honor the love St. Patrick had for his captors, for the people that enslaved him, as a model of true Christian love.
Gracious God, you send us saints
from every tribe and every culture
who live full of your faithfulness
as true servants of the Gospel.
We often serve ourselves alone
finding any excuse to have a party
turning holy moments of reflection
to boisterous and loud celebrations.
May we truly see the sacrifices
of the people who lived for Christ alone
so that we too might model their service
and their love for even those who enslave us. Amen.
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