Newsletter resources for Saint Patrick’s Day

Prayer of the Faithful:

  1. St Patrick took the word of God to what was regarded as the end of the earth. May God’s word today penetrate all cultures and bless all societies. We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
  2. Let us pray for all the Christians of Ireland, that we may not reject or quench the fire that St Patrick lit at Slane. May God’s Holy Spirit guide our leaders and our legislators. We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
  3. We pray for those who have left our shores in search of work, and for those who have come here for the same reason. May emigrants and immigrants find a warm and caring welcome. We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
  4. May God grant lasting peace to Northern Ireland, and may the hurts of the past be addressed with compassion and sensitivity. We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
  5. For our faithful departed and for those who mourn them. May the dead find eternal peace with God, in the company of the saints. We pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer

 

The Deep End • The Stranger at the Door

I saw a stranger yesterday,
I put food in the eating place,
drink in the drinking place,
music in the listening place …
And the lark said in her song,
often often often goes the Christ in stranger’s guise,
often often often goes the Christ in stranger’s guise.
CELTIC RUNE OF HOSPITALITY

We often forget that Patrick was an immigrant – in modern terms we might call him an undocumented migrant or a slave. In his Confession he described himself as a refugee: ‘I am first of all a simple country person, a refugee and unlearned. I do not know how to provide for the future.’ But through the grace of God, Patrick’s fortunes were turned around and he embarked on a mission in his adopted homeland that would earn him the title ‘Apostle of Ireland’.

Today we remember all migrants. In his message for the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in January, Pope Francis said: ‘Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age.’ May St Patrick guide us to be true disciples, with the courage to welcome every stranger as Christ in our midst.