We have two wonderful saints we celebrate this week: Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph. With the celebration of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, on Sunday, March 17, 2024, we acknowledge and celebrate a great saint along with our Irish culture. We know that St. Patrick became a devout Christian during his six-year enslavement in Ireland and that he escaped later in life as a missionary.
Have I ever mentioned that my mom was Irish? Well, she was so very Irish! We had a wonderful family tradition of always watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 17th. She also always insisted that I wear a shamrock pin on my Catholic school uniform every year…and even to this day. I was reminded of this recently when one of our staff members gave me a lovely shamrock plant for my office. To my great surprise I learned that shamrock plants have a unique ability to close their leaves at night and open them again in the morning. It is believed that St. Patrick used the leaves on the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. This is a beautiful image indeed.
With the celebration of Saint Joseph on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, we acknowledge and celebrate the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the Solemnity is entitled. Of course, we know that St. Joseph was also the foster father of Jesus. Back on November 13, 1962 Pope John XXlll had inserted the name of St. Joseph in the first Eucharistic Prayer, the Roman Canon. On May 1, 2013, the Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker, Pope Francis officially decreed that the name of Saint Joseph also be added to Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV, initially carried forward by Pope Benedict and confirmed by Pope Francis. St. Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church. Pope Francis proclaimed the “Year of St. Joseph” beginning on December 8, 2020 through December 8, 2021. The pope wanted this yearlong celebration to be a “global call for solidarity and a renewed way of being a family in the post-pandemic world.”
St. Joseph’s Day was celebrated in a special way when I was in the seminary with the Saint Joseph Table, where a great table of bread and pastries were set out all day to be enjoyed. The dessert I think of most often on the Table is a zeppole.
So, this week, whether you enjoy Irish soda bread or zeppole and the like, or both, let’s celebrate these saints with great joy in our hearts and some delicious food, even as we continue our Lenten observances.
God Bless You All,
Msgr. Tom
