5th Sunday of Lent Year B Homily

On this 5th Sunday of Lent we also celebrate the life of a great British saint, Saint Patrick.

Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain and was captured by Irish pirates at age 14 in order to be placed into slavery to herd and tend sheep. At age 20 he escaped and returned to Roman Britain. A few years after returning he received a vision from God which caused him to study to be a priest and to later return to Ireland in order to bring the Gospel with him. Through his fervent work Ireland was converted into a Christian nation.

From Saint John’s Gospel, “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.” Saint Patrick was willing to take the call that came to him from God and put it into action. His servitude to Christ was so great that he was willing to go back to that land that had placed him into slavery. Through God’s healing work within him he was able to convert many to the Gospel.

We too must undergo such a spirit of conversion, so that we can get to that point where we are able to embrace the Gospel to it’s fullest degree. So often we fail to look towards where we are headed in life. We allow many short term distractions to seep in and cause us to lose sight of our ultimate goal, Heaven. Every aspect of our life should be informed by this goal for if this is not true within us we cannot be a servant.

All around us there is so much potential if only we place our trust in God’s merciful hands. This means total nor partial abandonment to His will. Placed into slavery Saint Patrick probably did not see so much potential for Ireland and yet God brought forth great conversion through his work. Again this was only possible for Saint Patrick was willing to become a servant of the Lord and that servitude brought forth life to a land that was far from the Gospel. So too there is hope that all who are far away from the Gospel may be drawn towards it. We must start this process by choosing to be a servant of the Lord.

We are now just about at the end of the Lenten season. Next week will be Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. Lent is related to Easter because it prepares us for that celebration. So too we must realize that through our work of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving we strive to be better servants of the Gospel. We take all that has been touched by sin and death and turn it over to God and His mercy, so that we may be set free from all that holds us in darkness.

Saint Patrick was set free from darkness by coming to believe in the Gospel, being liberated from slavery, and growing into a true servant of the Lord. May he intercede for each of us that such conversion may take place within the depths of our heart. What keeps us from being a servant of Christ? Let us move forward with God’s grace to put that to rest in order that we may truly come to rejoice with the Risen Lord.

Saint Patrick, pray for us.