"Saint Patrick need not have been the
hero of Ireland. Kidnapped and enslaved by Irish raiders as a young man,
he understandably could have held bitter resentment toward his captors.
When he eventually escaped from his bondage, he could have left Ireland
entirely in the past; he could have even sought vengeance for the
wrongs done to him. But God changed Patrick in the midst of his
suffering and deeply conformed him to his Son. A man deeply conformed to
the Son imitates him and obeys his word: 'love your enemies, and pray
for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly
Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes
rain to fall on the just and the unjust' (Matt 5:44–45)."
In a recent commentary, Brother Gabriel O'Neill, O.P.,
reflected on how saint Patrick exemplified Christ's most Lenten virtues: self-abnegation and suffering love.
To access Br. Gabriel's complete post, please visit:
Dominicana: A Symbolically Lenten Feast (17 MAR 26)
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