This past week we celebrated two great saints in our Church, on 17 March we celebrated Ireland’s Saint Patrick and then on 19 March we celebrated the Universal Saint Joseph, who is also the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Hartford and for whom our Cathedral is named.

Saints Patrick and Joseph are two men in the Church who were obedient to the Will of God and in their obedience they created much more than simply a reputation for themselves—much more than just a day of celebratory parties, dinners of corn beef and cabbage or the wearing of the green; much more than wearing red on Joseph’s feast day or eating zeppoles, what they helped to create was a lineage of faith and a Church that has changed the world.

I believe we should ponder the lives of these two men, their character and their actions that were rooted in the free act of the will to obey God and to become cooperators with God in the building up of the Church and faith to be a lived experience of daily life.

Patrick, a prisoner and captive, took to educating and setting free his new home—Ireland—to spread the Good News of the Gospel and to choose to love people he did not know. He heard the Will of God in his life and choose to be a spark of light to ignite the world. Look at his impact today—not just the celebrations—but the compassion he inspired and the hope he has passed on to us.

Saint Joseph went against the culture of the day, he believed the angel sent from God in his dream and obeyed the command of the Father to take Mary his wife into his home. Joseph, whom we know little factually about in actuality, used his free will to follow God and from that act of obedience the holy family came to be. Joseph, the caretaker, raised the Son of God, protect his family and from that comes our faith and our opportunities to follow the Lord.

Obedience is a key word in these considerations. Today, many people see the word “obedience” in the negative light, as if to be obedient means to give up personal freedom and to become subservient. In a religious understanding, this form of obedience actually leads to true freedom—a freedom that God leads us to. For we believe that our God who seeks only the excellence of our lives, would never lead us down the wrong road, rather He leads us onto only the widest boulevards of truth that lead us to the Truth so that we may become who God created us to be. Continued in next column.

During these final days of lent, when we might have a hard time being obedient to our Lenten observances, let us recall Patrick and Joseph – and all the others who have gone before us, family and friends in faith, and follow their lead and the Love of God. Knowing we are imperfect disciples who’s faults and sins may be forgiven, take confidence in power that our Free Will provides for us: well-formed in faith and sustained in prayer, we can follow Him