This coming week, Lent is marked by the celebration of two saints who have had a tremendous impact on the faith of the world.

They are, of course, St. Patrick and St. Joseph. Thank God for the gift of those men and for the examples of all the saints for that matter.

When we think about the life of Patrick, well, talk about overcoming adversity! He was born in Scotland and by the time he was 16 he was nominally Christian and, by accounts, a worldly youth. But God had plans for him!

He was kidnapped and taken to Ireland where he was a slave and a shepherd in a land of Druids. Out of that experience came his deepened love for God and for the Irish.
And so Patrick followed God’s call to the priesthood, to be the second bishop of Ireland and its patron saint.

Even if things had only remained there, Patrick’s life would have been a blessing for the Church. But the faith he taught became rooted in the Emerald Isle, as Ireland took up the Catholic faith.

Even up to our own day, the Irish have treasured, nurtured and shared that faith. They have done so both by emigration and by missionary work all over the world.

We still find Irish families throughout the Diocese of Rockford (and the United States for that matter) that proudly baptize their next generation with Irish names and hand on the faith to them.

Two days later, we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary.

How good it is for us not just to honor the foster-father of Jesus, but also to learn from him and to take to heart Joseph’s example.

Consider our first meeting with Joseph in the Gospels. Having been informed that his betrothed wife is already with child, he prepares to divorce her quietly in keeping with Jewish practice.

We can only imagine the bewilderment and the spiritual perplexity that Joseph must have endured. Could this really be true of Mary; the Mary that he has known and in whom he has seen such intense holiness?

And yet he must do his duty.

Then the angel appears and after the dream, Joseph must give away his own thoughts and accept in faith the plan of God. And he does so fully.

He takes Mary as his wife. Silently, never speaking in the Gospels, he cares for Mary and Jesus, watching as the shepherds come, moving them quickly and decisively ahead of Herod’s soldiers.

He joins himself to Mary, searching for Jesus in sorrow and in astonishment when they finally find him in the temple.

St. Joseph is the patron of the universal Church throughout the world and throughout all time. If he could look after Mary and Jesus with such love and solicitude, surely he will be attentive to us and intercede for us.

And just as Patrick is so important to the Irish, St. Joseph has a special place in the faith of the Italians.
The model of Joseph sums up a good life of faith: attachment to Jesus and to Mary, openness to the will of God even when it means sacrificing one’s own will, and that silent “out of the spotlight” love for God that is so often a sign of the humility of faith.

We are drawing ever closer to Holy Week and to the greatest of our celebrations: the resurrection of Christ at Easter. But even as we traverse this Lenten season, these saints can help us to stop and pause and draw further lessons of God’s love.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Happy Feast of St. Joseph!