APOSTLE OF IRELAND; CO-PATRON OF THE SACRAMENTO DIOCESE; INSPIRIRATION TO THE WORLD; ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2011...........

If you are seeing life through the prism of the color green today, it is because today is St. Patrick's Day, the Day of the Irish, when many, if not most people around the world join in celebrating the Hibernian heritage and history of the Celtic People, who were evangelized and converted to Christianity, former indentured servant, who was forced into exile from his native Great Britian, most likely Wales, in the early 5th Century A.D.  Sixteen centuries later the impact of St. Patrick's ministry as a Priest and Bishop of the Church continues to inspire and edify not only the Irish, but citizens of countless countries, as the Irish People's migration around the globe has brought their traditions and way of life to others, particularly in the sowing and practice of the roots of the Catholic-Christian Faith.  Much of the United States, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, and Africa, among other nations, were evangelized and ministered to for centuries until the present by the plethora of priests and religious sisters, who were produced by the vast majority of Irish families and who were sent forth as missionaries in the spirit of St. Patrick.  In my own native Sacramento Diocese, in which I am only the 40th of less than a hundred native priestly vocations we ourselves have ordained in our 125 year history as a Diocese, until the 1990's Irish priests and religious made up more than ninety percent of our diocesan vocations.  On this St. Patrick's Day 2011, I encourage everyone to consider and affirm, the contribution to us and the World St. Patrick and the Irish have made, by more than green beer and oversized leprechauns and shamrocks, but in the authentic observance of prayer, parades, pubs, and parties, that mark this day each year in Ireland.  I am of primarily Irish-Portuguese American ancestry and have been blessed to have a 30 year personal experience of Ireland and truly appreciate the relationships I am privileged to share with them particularly in Counties Kilkenny, Dublin, Donegal, Tipperary, Derry, Down, and Waterford.  My inner circle of Irish friends in the 32 counties of the Emerald Isle, include priests, bishops, and lay persons, who we mutually refer to as, "the Usual Suspects".  May they and their families. and all of my Irish friends throughout the Sacramento Diocese in California have the Happiest of St. Patrick's Days.  May The  Prayers And Holy Example Of Patrick, Apostle Of Ireland And Inspiration To The Wider World Be With Us Today, Fr. Troy David dePaor
                                                                                                      (Powers)