By John Lucke

Archbishop Bernard Hebda recently allowed a dispensation for eating meat this Friday in Lent, LuckyPalooza on West 7th Street is overflowing with good beer and cheer, and everyone you know is wearing green. It’s Saint Patrick’s Day in Minnesota.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a well-known observance for the Irish in America. Surprisingly, this holiday is not celebrated as widely by the locals in Dublin or Galway; no, the patron saint of Ireland has a special relationship to Irish immigrants and to the people of Saint Paul, Minnesota. “Our whole nation seems to become Irish for a day,” Monsignor Murphy quipped in his 1960 essay entitled The Irish in America. Today on Saint Patrick’s Day, it is a great gift to reminisce on Monsignor Murphy’s words regarding the holiday.

Monsignor Terrence J. Murphy lived a life of remarkable accomplishment. He was born to an Irish family in Watkins, Minnesota over 100 years ago, served as president of the University of St. Thomas for 25 years, and was the first chaplain to obtain the rank of brigadier general for the Minnesota Air National Guard.  He saw March 17^th as a day of great cultural significance, stating that “the wide participation in Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations indicates a significant fact in American society, namely that the Irish have arrived or come of age in America.”

Catholic Social Teaching was a critical lens through which Monsignor Murphy viewed the journey of his fellow Irish. He believed that “Irish immigrants came to American shores because of a deep desire to earn a living compatible with the human dignity he knew to be his as a child of God.” Another famous Irishman, Archbishop John Ireland, left his native County Kilkenny, Ireland during the great potato famine of 1848 and went on to do great things like establish the University of St. Thomas.

“The Irishman accepted the new [American] society uncritically. And he wanted, in turn, to be accepted by it. He was not determined to reform American society but to become a part of it.” This can-do attitude from Monsignor Murphy echoes a familiar voice from another Irish figure in American society. In his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy’s historic words still call to us today: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

As the polarization and solipsism of modern America weigh heavily on each of us, Monsignor Murphy’s words remind us of the truth of this country and those who came here seeking freedom: “the Americanization of the Irish immigrant was swift and complete. That it was so is due to the heritage he brought to our shores, but it is also due to the free institutions he found here. America is a land of freedom and opportunity in every phase of human life.”

John Lucke is a Murphy Scholar and 3L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

“From the Archives” is a recurring blog series which features reflections on the works of Msgr. Terrence J. Murphy available in the Murphy Institute’s digital archive.

By Paul Befort

Msgr. Terrance J. Murphy was the 13^th President of the University of Saint Thomas, a generous benefactor of the school, and a prolific writer. A collection of his homilies and writings have been exclusively entrusted to the Murphy Institute for preservation and propagation. I was recently given the opportunity to review the archive of his works and to reflect on one of them as a Murphy’s Scholar working to complete the Catholic Studies Masters and J.D. Dual Degree Program.

One sermon from 1947, entitled Examination of Conscience, particularly resonated with me. Many people who were raised Christian have likely heard the phrase “examination of conscience” before. I know I often take the practice for granted. After reading Msgr. Murphy’s reflection I am inspired to change that.

I will attempt to provide a synopsis of his homily next.

Msgr. Murphy first notes our conscience is a voice that is ever changing based on our life choices. If we don’t listen to it, our conscience will become so hardened, like burned skin, that we will lose our feeling of what is sinful. Eventually our conscience will die altogether if not heeded.

We can train our conscience to be increasingly accurate by reflecting on our past choices of the day. Too much reflection on our faults can lead us to despair, and too little reflection on our darker tendencies leads to self-complacency. We should strive to see ourselves as God sees us.

Msgr. Murphy instructs that it is important not to merely make negative resolutions (I will not do X again) after examining our choices, but to try to identify the root cause of our manifesting sins. Msgr. Murphy uses impurity as an example of a potentially visible sin, which might be caused by a more fundamental vice such as love of ease, selfishness, or pride.

Once the predominate sin is identified, a positive resolution to grow in the corresponding virtue can be made. Msgr. Murphy uses the example of someone who has the chief fault of uncharitableness which manifests itself in harsh judgements of others. Rather than the person resolving they won’t have uncharitable thoughts about others again, and becoming discouraged when they fail on defense, that individual should offensively resolve to practice finding a good motive for everything he notices in others.

Msgr. Murphy uses a farming analogy that resonated with me as a gardener. Weeding (removing sins) has a place in gardening, but if we focus on giving the plants (virtuous habits) enough nutrients and water, they will eventually choke out the weeds in their shade.

I found Msgr. Murphy’s short, four-page homily excellent as an easily applied attack plan for the spiritual life. Practicing an examination of conscience, or a chance to reflect on whether we listened to the voice of our conscience in a given time period, is integral to growing in the spiritual life. But sometimes I feel like I do not know exactly what to do besides feel bad about my sins after examining my conscience. What comes next after we have identified areas for growth?

Msgr. Murphy does a great job explaining how an examination of conscience can be used as a self-awareness tool, a moment to identify underlying causes of surface sins, and then to proactively counter these weaknesses with positive efforts to grow in a corresponding virtue.

In this Lenten season I am resolved to practice Msgr. Murphy’s spiritual wisdom by refocusing my examination of conscience moments on opportunities to grow towards Christ through virtue building and self-awareness.

Paul Befort is a Murphy Scholar and 1L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in the JD/CSMA program.

“From the Archives” is a recurring blog series which features reflections on the works of Msgr. Terrence J. Murphy available in the Murphy Institute’s digital archive.