Feasts of St. Patrick and St. Joseph: Saints of Immigrants and Immigrant Saints.
This weekend we will celebrate two important saints in the life of the Church of New York: St. Patrick, our patron saint, and St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.
These two feasts underscore the fact that the Church of New York is essentially a church of immigrants.
St. Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland, and when the Irish Catholics immigrated to the United States in the 19th century they brought with them their devotion to this great 5th century saint. Patrick immigrated to Ireland from his home in Britain and is credited with bringing Christianity to that country. When New York’s first cathedral was dedicated in 1815, old St. Patrick’s on Mott Street, the diocese was placed under the patronage of St. Patrick. To this day St. Patrick’s day is a huge celebration for our city. St. Patrick’s feast day is March 17th. Below is the famous prayer called the “Breastplate of St. Patrick.”
The second feast we celebrate this time of year is the Feast of St. Joseph on March 19th. Joseph barely needs an introduction. He was immensely important in welcoming the Son of God into the world and protecting His mother Mary. Joseph is remembered for his strength, obedience, faith and his simplicity. Joseph is the silent saint. In the gospels we never hear Joseph speak. All we know about him is that he was a carpenter who was engaged to Mary. When Mary was found to be pregnant he trusted the angel’s message and married her despite the fact that the child wasn’t his. Joseph’s life wasn’t always easy. He had to migrate to Egypt to protect his family, and then live in fear that enemies of Jesus might still seek the child’s life. And yet Joseph lived a simple life: he was a husband, a father, and a worker. His life resembles the lives most of us live: quite, normal lives striving to do the will of God. Maybe it is for this reason that he was named the patron saint of the universal Church. In many catholic countries, St. Joseph’s day is also celebrated as “Father’s day.” In New York, devotion to this great saint was brought from Europe by the mass waves of immigrants from Italy in the late 19th and early 20th century.
May St. Patrick and St. Joseph, whose devotions were carried to the new world in the hearts of immigrants fleeing from poverty and oppression pray for immigrants today who come to our shores seeking refuge and opportunity. And may these great saints, who were immigrants themselves, pray for us that those of us who are established here may welcome with open hearts the newly arrived immigrants in our midst.
Here is the famous Breastplate of St. Patrick, a prayer attributed to the Saint who lived in the 5th century.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
Welcome to the Scrutinies
This Sunday at the 5:00 PM Sunday liturgy, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi will celebrate the first of three special, intense prayers over those in our community preparing to be baptized this Easter. These prayers, called the “Scrutinies,” capture the very heart of the spirituality of Lent. We began this sacred season marking our heads with ashes and hearing the exhortation: Repent, and be faithful to the Gospel!
Lent calls us to a turning, in Latin, a conversion. The prayer, fasting and almsgiving of Lent are meant to strengthen our conversion away from sin and toward a deeper commitment to Christ. The scrutinies distill this journey into three intense liturgical prayers on the third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent. Each scrutiny is composed of three parts: solemn silent prayer for the Elect followed by spoken intercessions for their conversion, a prayer of exorcism that they might turn away from evil, and the laying on of hands where the priest calls down the Holy Spirit to help them be faithful to the Gospel. All of this is to scrutinize the readiness of the Elect for their Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
We should make no mistake here: we are not scrutinizing anyone. It is God who scrutinizes His Elect, sifting through what needs to be left behind and strengthening what is good in his people. God scrutinizes all of us in just the same way. As Psalm 139 says, God knows us and He probes us.The scrutinies are celebrations for all of us. Certainly we are invited to pray for the Elect, but also pray for ourselves that we too may be more faithful disciples. We must open ourselves to be scrutinized by God so that we might turn away from our sin and ask God to strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good in us.
The First Scrutiny is the scrutiny of water. This week we hear the Gospel of the Woman at the Well. There are references to thirst in the reading: physical thirst as well as spiritual thirst. Jesus is thirsty. The woman is thirsty. There is water that quenches for a time. There is living water that quenches thirst for eternity. The first scrutiny invites us to examine ourselves: what do I really thirst for? Am I thirsty for the things that the world offers that will not really quench my thirst: Money? Fame? Power? Beauty? Status? The water from these wells do not really quench our thirst. Or are we thirsting for the Living Water which Christ offers? Love, Peace, Justice, Patience, Gratitude, Mercy, Faithfulness…?
As we pray for our Elect this week, maybe we can ask also ourselves: From which well do we spend our time and energy filling our bucket? Are we seeking water that does not satisfy? Or are we seeking the Living Water only Christ can give?
-Joseph Nuzzi,
Director of Evangelization
Next week: The Scrutinies and the Reality of Evil
A ‘Wills’ Seminar
A ‘Wills’ Seminar will beheld at St. Francis of Assisi
Saturday,March 18th
after the 4:00 PM Mass
Clare Room of the St. Francis Parish House.
Do you have a will?
Do you have questions about the will that you already have?
Are their tax shields for your inheritance by making charitable grants in your will?
These questions and more will be answered by an attorney, experienced in this area of law, during the seminar.
He will give a presentation and there will be time for questions and answers.
Free of charge.
One-Day Pilgrimage to Pennsylvania Shrines
The Ugnayan Filipino Ministry is organizing a Day Pilgrimage to the National Shrines of Our Lady of Czestochowa and St. Rita of Cascia on Saturday, March 25.
Donation: $60.
For more information, please email filipinoministry@stfrancisnyc.org.
The Cardinal’s Annual Appeal
Goal for St. Francis Church (#068): $98,500
Donations as of March 10: $15,270
Number of Donors: 41
Average Donation: $372.44
Catholic Education either through Catholic Schools or Parish Religious Education Programs has always been a priority for the church. The Archdiocese of New York provides training and ongoing education for those involved with the education of our young people. The Cardinal’s Appeal supports this important mission of the church.
Please send your gift to The Cardinal’s Appeal, 1011 First Avenue, NY, NY 10022.
And please indicate that your parish is the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Manhattan.
The Pastor’s Corner
On this, the Third Sunday of Lent, we hear the Gospel of Jesus as he encounters a Samaritan woman at a well. It is an interesting dialogue in addition to the fact that Jesus, a Jew, is talking in public to a woman who is a Samaritan. This is also interesting because he is talking with her at a time of the day when women normally do not go to the well for water; they go in the morning. After the conversation, she returns to the village and tells about her encounter with “this man.” This causes many to come to believe in Jesus. Nothing can stop Jesus from fulfilling his mission from bringing good news to the various kinds of people that he encounters in the places where he travels. Nothing can stop him.
What about us as we continue the mission of Jesus?
We recently had a situation in our Adult Education building that made it necessary to make an unexpected decision. Several of the large windows in the building began to show their age by becoming dislodged from their casings. Some even fell out. Although we could fix them temporarily, it would only be a matter of time when something else might happen. Therefore, we decided to replace all 33 windows in the building since they had all been installed at the same time years ago. New windows are currently being installed, thanks to the promptness of the window company. Of course, this is an unexpected expense. The total cost is $33,000. We have some emergency funds available, but we could use help in paying for this expense. A few extra dollars in the collection or an outright gift (online is a possibility) would be greatly appreciated. These old buildings have served us well over the years, but they need our constant attention. Thank you for helping us with this situation.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
Second Sunday of Lent: Transfiguration Manifestation
It may seem odd to hear the Gospel of the Transfiguration of Jesus during Lent. Wouldn’t it fit better after Easter? An answer is found a few verses after our Gospel selection. Jesus tells the disciples that he will suffer (Mt. 17:12). The vision of Jesus’ glory shared by Peter, James, and John was meant to help them not to become discouraged by Jesus’ death on the cross. Some of the details in the Gospel can help us understand how Lent leads to Easter. First, we hear about Jesus’ appearance, that “his face shone like the sun” (Mt. 17:2). If the disciples didn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God before, they surely did now. For us this can be a reminder that God is with us during this season of Lent, helping our faith to grow.
Next, the three disciples see Moses and Elijah, symbols of the Old Testament. Peter wants them to stay, but the voice of God interrupts and tells them that now they should listen to Jesus. The Gospel tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus throughout Lent. Do I grumble about Lent, seeing it is as another set of laws to be obeyed? Perhaps I’m forgetting that Lent is not about how much I do for God, but a time to reflect on what God has done for me. The last line of the Gospel has Jesus telling the three not to tell anyone about their vision until after his resurrection. Maybe the disciples were tempted to brag that they were better than the other followers of Jesus. This reminds us that the sacrifices of Lent don’t just make us look holy; they lead us to the new life of Easter.
Lenten Afternoon of Recollection
The Ugnayan Filipino Ministry is hosting an afternoon of recollection with Fr. Brian Smail, O.F.M.
Saturday, March 11
1:00 to 4:00 PM
Lower Church.
Fr. Brian’s topic will be: ‘Our Lenten Journey: Where is God Calling You?’
The ministry extends its hospitality to the non-Filipino members of our church community.
In the Franciscan spirit, all are welcome.
For more information,please email filipinoministry@stfrancisnyc.org.
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