Dear St. Rita Families,

Passiontide begins this weekend. You will notice that all the images in the Church have been covered with purple cloth, an intentional visual fast for us as we enter more intensely into the celebration of the Lord’s Passion. The votive candle stands have been removed and covered, not because we stop asking the intercession of the saints, but to allow us to experience some of the Lord’s aloneness and to increase our faith in the presence of God and our heavenly friends even when we don’t feel it.

It may seem coincidental or ironic in some way, then, that we celebrate two very popular saints during this time – St. Patrick (Sunday, March 17) and St. Joseph (Tuesday, March 19). St. Rita doesn’t boast a statue of St. Patrick (we have a decidedly Italian bent, here), but if we did, it would be covered like St. Joseph! National (or University-related) rivalries aside, I would like to extol the virtues of these two saints so that we can be encouraged over these next few weeks leading to Easter.

First, St. Patrick. Born on the island of Great Britain, believe it or not, he was kidnapped as a teenager by the Irish, brought to Ireland, and sold as a slave where he encountered druid paganism. It was during this time that he first seriously turned to Christ, as many people do when their lives are turned upside down. After escaping several years later, Patrick returned home and entered the service of God and the Church as a priest. Returning to Ireland as a missionary, he eventually becomes a bishop, and his missionary success is so great that he is credited as the Apostle of Ireland. Often the image is used of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland – since the country has none – but most certainly this is to be understood to refer metaphorically to the devil.

It is good to meditate on Patrick’s transformation – from a probably fairly normal teenager, from a Catholic family, though not terribly invested in his faith, to a great missionary. The catalyst was upheaval and suffering. Of course, before you get too frightened for your own teenagers, remember that every human being needs to face challenges and difficulties in this life. God knows the ones that are needed for each of us, and so our prayer is not to avoid those challenges, since they are the means by which we grow. Our prayer, rather, is that we may face them well with confidence and faith, allowing them to help us turn to God and dedicate ourselves to Him. The Lord is faithful, and He uses every last detail of our lives that we and others might come to the joys of Heaven. If you want to assist your teenagers (or any of your loved ones or yourself) in this regard, I recommend to pray daily the prayer known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate. You can replace the word ‘myself’ with the name of person for whom you wish to pray. May his intercession make many missionaries!

St. Joseph’s story is as well-known as Patrick’s, and both have many details missing from their lives. In St. Joseph’s case, this seems more intentional, however. Quiet and faithful to God from the beginning, he is said to have experienced quite a lot of ridicule from his brothers and peers due to his goodness and faith. Despite (perhaps because of) the difficulty of these early years, Joseph’s strength and character were outstanding. He lived a life of simplicity, humility, and hard work in service of the Lord. Preserved from many of the faults of the surrounding culture, he was prepared by God for the greatest of missions – to be head of the Holy Family, to be the Guardian of the Redeemer, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As one like Our Lord in the line of David, it makes sense that he needed to die before Christ could begin His ministry as King of the Jews. He is, then, not only Patron of a Happy Death, but also Patron of the Universal Church (the Body of Christ).

St. Joseph’s role seems much more related to the state of the world and the Church as a whole. And yet, while we ought to pray to him for these things, we can never forget that we ourselves are a part of the Church and the world. As the one who has care of the Body of Christ and of families, St. Joseph has a particular interest in each of us. Not only does he model for us humility, work, silence, and charity, he is able to teach these things to us by his fatherly presence and strength. St. Joseph’s method is precisely that: a strong, silent presence. It gives confidence, dispels attacks of the evil one, and encourages perseverance through difficulty to victory and peace. This approach makes sense. A father’s goal is not to do everything for his children so that they have an easy go of things. A father’s goal is to enable his children to carry out their life’s mission. That means that the children must face difficulties in order to grow. But it means, too, that the father must play his part: whether ensuring that his children do indeed face difficulties, encouraging them through the difficulties, helping them to get up after a fall, or defending them (especially while they are young and impressionable) from evils that are too strong for them. St. Joseph, then, is given to us by God to be both a beacon and truly a father. Have confidence in his powerful intercession!

In Christ,
Fr. Christensen