“When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.”

Today is my very first Saint Patrick’s Day in the city of New York. For many weeks, people have been telling me how big and special this day is in New York. I am delighted to be here to celebrate with you. And we will celebrate together throughout the entire day. But it is also good for us to begin here, rooted in prayer, rooted in faith, and rooted in gratitude to God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls his disciples to cast their nets further. He invites them to go beyond what is comfortable and familiar. He calls them to trust him, to follow him, and to take part in his mission. And they did just that. They left everything and followed him.

That Gospel image can also help us reflect on the history we celebrate today.

Many Irish immigrants left everything and cast their nets far from home when they journeyed to America. They came seeking a better life. Many of them arrived with strong faith, strong families, and great hope. Yet we also know that when many Irish immigrants first arrived in this country, they were not always welcomed warmly. They often faced suspicion, discrimination, and hardship.

And yet they persevered.

Through their faith, their hard work, and their devotion to family and Church, they helped build parishes, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. They helped shape the Catholic Church in the United States. They also contributed greatly to the life and strength of this country. Like so many immigrants before and after them, the Irish helped build this city and this country. And as the Broadway musical Hamilton reminds us, immigrants “get the job done.”

Today we celebrate that Irish heritage, that Irish faith, and that Irish love for the Church.

We also remember Saint Patrick himself. Back in the fifth century, Saint Patrick was one of the great missionaries, catechists, and evangelizers of the Church. He planted the seeds of faith deeply in Ireland, and those seeds took root. The faith of the Irish people endured through centuries of difficulty and persecution.

For many years, I had always wanted to visit Ireland. Last year, that dream finally came true, and I loved it. While visiting there, I heard a story that captures something very true about the faith of the Irish people.

During the Penal times, when the Catholic faith was persecuted, Mass was often celebrated in secret. One small community learned that soldiers were coming to arrest and possibly kill the priest who had been offering Mass for them.

Just before the soldiers arrived, an elderly farmer approached the priest and said, “Father, switch clothes with me. You put on my clothes as a farmer, and I will put on your vestments.”

The priest immediately refused. But the farmer insisted.

He said, “Father, I have lived a long and good life. God has been very good to me. Our community does not need another old farmer. But we need you. We need the Mass. We need the Eucharist. We need the Church.”

And so the two men switched clothes.

The priest put on the farmer’s simple clothes.

And the farmer put on the priest’s vestments.

When the soldiers arrived, they arrested the farmer, believing he was the priest.

And the farmer was killed.

But the priest lived.

And because of that sacrifice, the Mass continued to be celebrated. The Eucharist continued to be offered. And the faith continued to live in that community.

That story reminds us that the faith we celebrate today was preserved by the courage and sacrifice of many ordinary people.

Today we give thanks for Saint Patrick. We give thanks for the Irish people who carried the faith through centuries of hardship. And we give thanks for the Irish immigrants who came to this country and helped build both the Church and the nation.

But this feast day also invites us to look at the present.

Just as Irish immigrants once came to this country seeking hope and opportunity, today many immigrants come to our nation, leaving everything behind and seeking a better life for themselves and for their families.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to see them not as strangers, but as brothers and sisters. We are called to welcome them, respect them, and walk together in faith.

On this Saint Patrick’s Day, the question for us is simple.

Will we remember our own story?

Will we welcome others as brothers and sisters?

Will we cast our nets wider, just as Christ asks us to do?

The faith we celebrate today was preserved by people like that humble farmer. Ordinary believers who loved the Eucharist, loved the Church, and trusted God completely.

Because of them, the faith survived.

Because of them, the faith was handed on.

And now that faith has been placed in our hands.

May we live it with the same courage. May we share it with the same generosity.

And like those first disciples in today’s Gospel, may we trust Christ, leave everything, and follow Him.