March 17 – the feast of St. Patrick – and March 19 – the solemnity of St. Joseph – are important feast days in the Church. Both fall during the same month, the same week and the same season: Lent.
Dan Guion, a teacher and campus minister at Saint Joseph Academy in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, spent time exploring the two saints and their connections to Christ, the Church and culture during a March 8 virtual meeting of Theology on the Rocks West.
Guion, a member of St. Mark Parish in West Park, taught previously at Elyria Catholic and Holy Name high schools. He told the group he’s “a local boy,” who grew up in West Park and attended Our Lady of Angels School and Saint Ignatius High School before earning his degree from Bonaventure University.
“I learned a lot from the Jesuits, but the Franciscans taught me to be kind,” he quipped. Guion is the father of four children from kindergarten age to 6 weeks.
“I’m proud of my Irish heritage and I love my faith. I get to talk about Jesus every day,” he said, noting the students “yearn for it.”
St. Joseph is a key figure at SJA, the all-girls school, founded in 1890 and dedicated to him. Guion said holy people like St. Joseph and St. Patrick were everyday humans who were called to be saints.
He compared St. Joseph to actor John Wayne’s character in the movie “The Quiet Man,” explaining that at first, Joseph likely didn’t want to listen to what God wanted from him -- but he did. “He heard God’s word and he listened.” He said as parents, Mary and Joseph probably were scared, but an angel told Joseph not to be afraid – to take Mary as his wife and into his home. He referenced the flight to Egypt, the presentation and the finding of Jesus in the temple as other times when Joseph “did what he had to do to bring about salvation. He raised Jesus to know God and to be a good Jew,” Guion said, wondering aloud what would have happened if Mary and Joseph had not done what God wanted.
“We need Jesus in our lives and these saints help lead us to him,” Guion said.
Mary and Joseph are intercessors. Guion said in about 1500-1600, St. Joseph himself began to be noticed more as an intercessor, pointing out the people of Sicily asked him to intercede for relief from a severe drought. Other countries, including Italy, Croatia, China, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Austria, Belgium, Peru and Vietnam also are devoted to St. Joseph, who is a patron of the universal Church and the saint of unborn children, fathers, works, travelers, immigrants and a happy death. While St. Joseph’s feast day is celebrated on March 19, a second feast day -- May 1 -- is dedicated to St. Joseph the Worker.
Celebrations for St. Joseph usually include food. In some cultures, elaborate bread altars are erected. Religious congregations named after St. Joseph may mark his feast day with Mass, a celebratory meal and sometimes a festival. He noted that in Cleveland, there are groups of religious sisters who may be casually referred to as the “Irish Joes” and the “Polish Joes,” based on their heritage. The Sisters of St. Joseph, who sponsor SJA, sometimes are called the “Irish Joes” because they are located in a traditionally Irish area of Cleveland and many of the sisters were Irish. The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, sometimes called the “Polish Joes,” are based in Garfield Heights, which had a large Polish population. Also, many of the sisters were of Polish heritage. The sisters sponsor Trinity High School and the Village at Marymount. They also founded Marymount Hospital.
As for St. Patrick, Guion said he was of Welsh heritage. His birth name was Maewyn Succat, which he later changed to Patricius or Padraig. His father was a magistrate and his mother was a niece of St. Martin of Tours. “He was nominally Christian,” Guion said.
At age 16, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and spent six years essentially in solitude herding sheep in Ireland. That’s when he began to pray, Guion said. Then one day, he had a dream in which he was told he should get on a waiting ship. He did, but God’s call was so strong that rather than return home, he studied, became a priest and returned to his captors to spread the faith.
“The Celts had a spirituality,” Guion said, noting Patrick wasn’t the first person to bring Christianity to Ireland, but under his guidance, the faith took hold and spread. He told the story of Patrick lighting a fire on a hill during the Easter Vigil, which angered the king of the Druids. He sent some warriors to extinguish it, but the fire wouldn’t go out. Some of the warriors converted and the faith began to spread.
“The fire was from God – it dwells in your heart,” Guion said. Patrick also used a shamrock to help illustrate the Trinity.
Guion said there is a strong Irish community in the Diocese of Cleveland that took root in its early days, with St. Mary on the Flats, St. Colman, St. Patrick (four parishes are named after him: West Park, Bridge Avenue, Wellington Thompson). SS. Robert and William and the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist as among the parishes of Irish heritage.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations also date to the early years of the diocese and always included a faith component. A parade, dinners, ceilidhs and other celebrations often took place and many Irish organizations evolved over the years
“St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were about faith and family,” Guion said.
He noted that celebrations of both St. Joseph and St. Patrick helped to keep the faith and culture of people alive. “Food was almost always involved in these celebrations and that’s not a small thing,” Guion said, drawing a comparison with the Eucharist.
The feast days fall during Lent, which he said is a time of fast and penance, which “maybe lets us hear a little better what God is calling us to.”
Theology on the Rocks West will hear from Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Roger Gries in April when he discusses the various religious orders in the diocese. The May program will focus on Mary and the June program will focus on prayer.
The group meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of the month. Click here for more information.