By Amanda Murthy
The solemnity of St Patrick is a great reminder to all Catholics of what it means to persevere and keep a strong faith, despite all the challenges faced, said St Mary’s Cathedral Assistant Priest Father Conor Steadman, during Mass celebrated at the All Saints Chapel in Perth on Tuesday 17 March.
“His early life as a shepherd in England, being carried off into captivity as a slave in Ireland at the age of 16, his escape and eventual ordination as a Priest and then as a Bishop,” Fr Steadman recounted.
“This continued with St Patrick’s great missionary work in Ireland, converting the once pagan country into the great land of Saints and scholars, of course his most legendary feat was driving out all the snakes from the Emerald Isle.”
“But perhaps the greatest lesson that we can take from his life was unwavering confidence and faith in the almighty God,” he added.
Fr Steadman added that his prayer amidst the struggles and challenges faced in today’s world, is that, all Catholics will be able to draw inspiration from St Patrick’s strength and faith in God.
“St Patrick remained firmly convinced of his mission that God was with him every step of the way.
“As we struggle too each day to place Jesus first in our lives, despite whatever struggles, challenges or difficulties we may face, perhaps today we can make St Patrick’s most famous prayer our own:
“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 everyone 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.”
A small number of lay faithful attended the daily Mass, after it was announced that the annual St Patrick’s Day Mass and gathering at St Mary’s Cathedral were cancelled due to preventative measures taken by the Archdiocese in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Eimear Beattie, Organiser of the St Patricks Day Mass since 2018 and founder of the voluntary not-for-profit organisation Irish families in Perth, expressed why participating in the yearly Mass is a huge deal for the Irish Catholic community, including her family, who look forward to attending every year.
“I am originally from Glenfinn, a remote Gaelic speaking area in mountains Co Donegal. “Growing up in that community, education and faith in all our Irish community was strong and all through the Catholic Church.
“The Catholic Church ran the all the local primary and secondary schools,” Mrs Beattie explained.
“Since moving here nine years back with my husband and kids, I set up a voluntary non-for- profit organisation Irish Families in Perth (IFIP), to provide Irish emigrants with advice on how best to assimilate into the Western Australian culture and lifestyle. Issues regarding relocating, settling in, visa enquiries and social events are addressed.
“This year IFIP and the rest of the Irish Catholic community were all looking forward to the Mass – We had planned to have a mixture of young and old involved in the procession, readings and prayers with Member of Parliament set to attend including Stephen Dawson.”
Unfortunate as the cancellation of Mass is, Mrs Beattie added it could be a great opportunity for the Catholic community of Perth to unite in prayers for all those affected and involved in the coronavirus situation, asking St Patrick to intercede with us during this difficult time.
