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The Southern Cross, Page 4
Thursday, March 23, 2000
D
O n behalf of the Diocese of Savannah, I wish to express my profound
gratitude to our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, for his act of “purifi
cation of memory” celebrated in Saint Peter’s Basilica on March 12.
Jesus taught us to pray “Forgive us our trespasses.” He instructed his dis
ciples not to bring their gifts to the altar until they were reconciled with
anyone who had anything against them {Matthew 5:23-24). The Church
constantly calls its people to seek the forgiveness of Christ and the conver
sion of the heart.
On March 12 Pope John Paul II, as the Universal Pastor, spoke on behalf
of the whole Church. On behalf of the Diocese of Savannah, in my ministry
as the spiritual leader of the local church, I wish to identify myself totally
with the pope’s “confession of sins and asking for forgiveness.” The pope
in this action is a model for all Catholics.
There are many wounded members in our own diocesan family. They
A message from Bishop Boland
have been wounded by members of our own Church either by bishops,
priests, religious or laypeople. From all who have been alienated or hurt by
the Church, in the spirit of the Holy Father, we also seek forgiveness. And
if we do not forgive should we expect God’s forgiveness in return?
This year the Diocese of Savannah celebrates its 150th anniversary. It is
an occasion for thanksgiving for the past and present and an opportunity to
look to the future. Prayerfully, it will be a new future where the grace of
God will be recognized, so that this confession of sins may also resound as
a hymn of praise to his mercy.
Bishop of Savannah
Patrick of Ireland: a saint for all times
By Father Timothy Patrick McKeown
S aint Patrick’s Day 2000 is an occasion of
nearly unspeakable joy. We are in the midst
of an event for the ages. On a local level we cel
ebrate 150 years of the Diocese of Savannah and
the 100th anniversary of the rededication of our
Cathedral. On a universal level we are celebrat
ing the Great Jubilee, 2000 years of Christianity.
What a joy and privilege to be alive at this mo
ment!
The theme of this Jubilee year is, “Open wide
the doors to Christ.” Pope John Paul II has called
for this Jubilee Year to inaugurate a “new evan
gelization.” It is entirely appropriate that we
pause today to honor a saint who embodied these
themes in his life.
Even though Patrick was bom in the year 389,
his life still speaks to us today. His popularity is
enduring. There has been a Saint Patrick’s Day
parade in America since 1737. Across the world
there are 2,000 churches that bear his name. The
common denominator in the lives of the saints is
that their message is timeless, because they
reflect the message of God which endures
through the ages. As we celebrate Jubilee 2000,
we might wonder what message Patrick can have
for us who live on the verge of 21st century
America. As we celebrate his feast day, it is
incumbent upon us to consider that message.
A central message is to trust in God’s provi
dence for our lives. There are times and seasons
when we feel that God has abandoned us, but we
need to trust that somehow God is always at
work in our lives. Patrick did this. Patrick was
kidnapped at the age of 16. He spent six years as
a shepherd slave in the harsh outdoors. Patrick
was taken from a Christian home and enslaved in
the home of a Druid priest. After six years of
slavery, one could imagine Patrick on the brink
of despair.
Only in hindsight can we see the marvelous
hand of God working in Patrick’s life. Instead of
despairing, he found in this trial an invitation to
draw closer to God. Removed from creature
comforts, he reached out to God using the silent
hours of shepherding and his poverty for medita
tion. He was a slave in order to prepare him to
be a slave for Jesus Christ. He was able to learn
the Celtic language, and that would allow him to
later preach the Word of God directly to the peo
ple. His master was a Druid priest which allowed
him to understand the Druid religion and refute
it.
Father Timothy Patrick McKeown
There are periods in our lives that may seem
very bleak, and yet God is always at work in our
lives. Perhaps you are going through an extreme
ly difficult period in your life at this time.
Perhaps you wonder where the caring hand of
God is. Be encouraged by the young captive
Patrick covered in snow on a foreign hillside that
God has a plan for you.
We need to keep the big picture in mind and
never cease to trust in God’s providence.
Another key message for our age is the lesson
of forgiveness. Patrick was kidnapped from his
homeland in Great Britain and forced to give six
of the best years of his life as a slave. He could
have allowed bitterness and resentment to build
up inside him like a volcano. Instead, after he
had escaped and returned to his homeland he had
visions of the Irish crying out, “We beg you,
holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk
among us” {Confessio 23). Instead of turning his
back on his former captors, he forgave them and
loved them. He envisioned an entire nation that
knew nothing of the saving love of Jesus.
Because of this forgiveness, he was able to con
vert a nation. How much vengeance is in our
lives today? How much of God’s plan do we
impede each day by our lack of forgiveness? Our
petty grievances may be holding back God’s
incredible plan for us.
Unfortunately, legend says Patrick’s former
master did not realize Patrick’s magnanimity.
Upon hearing that Patrick had returned and
thinking he would be bent on revenge and abhor
ring the thought of serving his former slave, he
gathered all his possessions within his house and
set it ablaze with himself inside.
Patrick teaches us what passion for Jesus
Christ is. “Passion” comes from a Greek word
that describes an event where wrestlers would
battle until death. They would give their all.
Patrick gave his all for the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. From Patrick to Mother Teresa we see in
the saints a passion to live for Christ. He relates
how in the cold nights of County Antrim, his
source of warmth was a heart aflame for Christ.
It was this blazing love that converted an entire
nation in just thirty years. He wrote in his
Confessio, “I used to stay out in the forests and
on the mountain and I would wake up before
daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in
rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any sloth
fulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was
burning in me at that time” {Confessio 16).
Do we share the passion of Patrick and his dis
ciples? Once Patrick was baptizing a king from
Cashel. As Patrick was now old, he pushed his
pointed crozier firmly into the earth to brace
himself. After the ceremony he noticed blood
flowing from the king’s foot. He had pierced his
foot with the crozier. Patrick apologized profuse
ly and asked why he did not tell him. The king
replied that after hearing of the sufferings of
Christ he thought this was part of the ceremony.
Do we share this passion?
His passion is best captured in his oft-quoted
prayer, “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate”:
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left...
Christ in the heart of everyone
who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone
who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Finally, Patrick teaches us the value of old-
fashioned work. While we may have a fanciful
image of Patrick traipsing across Ireland holding
up shamrocks and converting adoring masses, his
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