During St. Patrick’s season, my thoughts turn to two other Irishmen on the road to sainthood.

Even if one cannot physically make a pilgrimage to the sacred places that the church sets aside, every Catholic can experience the indulgence of God’s grace by entering the holy doors of one’s own parish “home” and being intentional about receiving the sacraments.

Children will forget things at home—the trumpet, the lunch, the math homework, or water bottle. Sometimes you can’t fix it. But sometimes you can—and you will.

In addition to his patronage of the church and a happy death, St. Joseph is patron of nearly a dozen countries. He also is patron of the sick, fathers and husbands, and workers, among others.

If a person truly cannot remain faithful despite their desire to do so, this means that they were incapable of marrying due to a fundamental incapacity to assume a core duty of the vocation of marriage.

Pope Francis has invited us to embark on a journey, a pilgrimage of hope, during this jubilee year. It is a call to walk together and become witnesses to an anxious world that God is faithful to us, and our hope in God will not disappoint.

Surprisingly, given the popularity and influence of the day, many revelers know little about St. Patrick the man.

What made America great was migration, and without it, we may never achieve greatness again.

Away from the demands of corporate media, I’ve found joy in what I call “kids world,” where I’m a daily witness to the wide-eyed wonderment, thoughts and discoveries of my sons Michael (9 years old), Christian (6 years old), and their peers.

Every one of us needs the grace of new life in Christ, and the entirely new heart that goes with it.