Exiit qui seminat
As we celebrate the Memorial of St. Patrick (and Bishop Sullivan's Birthday) on March 17th, we have so much to be grateful for to the Catholic Church in Ireland. Starting in 1830, priests from Ireland came to serve the Church in America. By the end of the 19th Century, there were over 4,000 Irish priests ministering in America. This influx continued for the next 60 years. Not only did these priests provide for the celebration of the sacraments in places that were in desperate need of them, Irish priests as well as Irish Catholics that emigrated to the United States brought with them a great fervor for the devotional life fostered by Paul Cardinal Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin, who inspired a renewed piety in Ireland rooted in the attendance of Mass, regular Confession and reception of the Eucharist (something Catholics didn't do on a frequent basis because of the influence of French Jansenism [another article for another day]), as well as being familiar with the Catechism of the Church. The presence of Irish Catholics and priests and the spiritual gifts that they brought with them became the bedrock of the American expression of Catholicism and our prevalent devotional life. So as we celebrate the more ... secular aspects of St. Patrick's Day, let us not forget the spiritual fruits that we have received from our brothers and sisters from the Emerald Isle.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Fr. Rob Sinatra
