Beyond the legend, an inspiring life
I sometimes wish I were Irish. Mostly half-Lebanese, half-French, I differed from most of my Irish-Catholic friends growing up at Catholic school. For them, St. Patrick’s Day ranked as the third most important Catholic holiday, following closely behind Christmas and Easter. As a student at Notre Dame, I became a “Fighting Irish” and experienced beer (and entire bodies of water) dyed green. I finally felt like I could legitimately celebrate.
But I now realize that St. Patrick’s Day is more than just celebrating being Irish. It is more than an excuse from Lenten sacrifices to stuff ourselves with corned beef and cabbage, green beer and Guinness. This great feast day celebrates the life of a humble and dedicated servant who risked his life to courageously bring the Irish people into a deeper relationship with Christ.
Much of what we know of St. Patrick involves the legend and folklore around him that evolved well after he walked this earth. What many people don’t know is that St. Patrick suffered the injustices of slavery, hunger, poverty, and persecution himself. He also rejected the faith of his family and later returned to it after time in captivity. He met people where they were, learned their worries and concerns, and walked with them. He even translated the Bible into the Irish language. This type of personalism was integral to his ministerial approach.
In our everyday work with vulnerable populations, we can take solace in the patronage of St. Patrick, he who knew firsthand what it meant to be vulnerable: under attack, kidnapped, and made to work as a slave. Upon his release from captivity, he actually chose to return to the people who had enslaved him in Ireland, to care for them. He used the local language and culture of the time to teach about Jesus Christ. His selflessness and ingenuity can inspire us when the days seem long and the answers are not apparent.
The legend of St. Patrick lives on today in the lives of resilient refugees, immigrants, and everyday families fighting for their basic livelihoods on American soil, Irish soil, and every land around the world. I, for one, am grateful to have the witness and example of someone like St. Patrick who did not shy away from hard situations, but instead entered into them, armed only with the spiritual weapons of prayer and trust in God.
Aimee Shelide Mayer is Interim Executive Director of the Catholic Labor Network.