My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
In the next few days, the Church celebrates two important feasts: St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day. In our own Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, it seems to be that the Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the Italians celebrate St. Joseph’s Day. As we know, however, intermarriage has made our families multi-ethnic. My own brother and sister both married persons of Irish heritage. My five nieces and nephews and my 12 great-nieces and nephews all share that wonderful combination of genes.
But what makes the Irish and Italians attracted to each other when it comes to marriage? Perhaps it is due to the saints we honor this month. St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, is credited with bringing Christianity to a pagan island. His story is an interesting one, as Patrick was kidnapped as a boy and served as a slave in Ireland. He escaped and found his way home to Great Britain, perhaps even France. He was ordained a priest and was sent back to Ireland as a bishop. Patrick knew the Irish culture and language well. With that knowledge he began the evangelization of an island that would be an outstanding Catholic country, withstanding many persecutions even to this day. We see today in Ireland a lack of fervor for the faith that once existed, which today is not peculiar to just Ireland. But it is said that an island so much attached to its patron saint has lost the heritage of its faith.
The St. Patrick’s Day parade in our own diocese, and especially the great parade on Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick’s Cathedral, preceded by a feast-day Mass in the Cathedral, will always be a reminder of the evangelization attributed to St. Patrick and the heritage that is so proudly celebrated by many of the Irish descendants and the Irish born.
St. Joseph, on the other hand, is the patron of the Universal Church. He has somehow been appropriated by the Italians as their very own, so much so that one would think that St. Joseph was Italian. The familial instincts of the Italian culture make Joseph their particular focus for devotion. For example, Father’s Day in Italy is celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day. The connection to St. Joseph in the Holy Family, who with Mary, honored under many numerous titles in Italy, rounds out the devotion to family that most Italians and Italian-Americans experience. St. Joseph inspires many to capture the real meaning of Christian fatherhood, which is so important to the well-being of children. The relationship to one’s father is very predictive to a person’s future, especially in regard to issues of authority and the ability to show affection, which is the highest attribute of paternity.
Any generalizations regarding ethnic characteristics are hard to make. It is true, however, that those of both Irish and Italian heritage enjoy these festive days in the middle of Lent, which allows them to go back to their roots and celebrate days that have become indicative of their culture. Who would not have some corned beef and soda bread on St. Patrick’s Day and who would not on St. Joseph’s Day have sfinge or zeppole? These customs enable us to reconnect with who we are as people. Heritage is a divisive element in culture; while at the same time can be a unifying force between people of the same ethnic group and among other cultures that exist in our own diocese. There exists a unique ability of so many ethnicities to collaborate as the Church in Brooklyn and Queens. In our diocese, the Church as I have often said resembles the first Pentecost. The best people from all over the world make their home in our local Church and all find a place to worship and find respect for one another. Perhaps it is the patron saints of each group that we must evoke to give us the courage to overcome ethnic differences, to respect each other as brothers and sisters and to reflect communion in the Church.
Whenever anyone seeks to find their ethnic roots and celebrate they take a step to put out into the deep because they are never sure what they will find. Perhaps they will be surprised as one commercial on television says; “When we were children we wore lederhosen thinking we were German, but then we found out that we were Scottish and wear kilts.” Many of the genetic services today bring about surprises. But it is no surprise to we who are Catholics that our unity as one Church is blessed by our patron saints, especially in the month of March, by St. Patrick and St. Joseph.
