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MESSENGER AT THE PLOUGHING: 18-20 SEPTEMBER LGBT: KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN I JAMES MARTIN SJ A HOMELESS SUMMER I MAEVE McMAHON OP SCHOOL BEGINS I DONAL NEARY SJ RETIRED FARMER I SHANE HALPIN RE:LINK: LEADERSHIP I FAITH QUILLE

CONTENTS

16 4FROM THE EDITOR

SCHOOL BEGINS Donal Neary SJ

DAILY OFFERING Pope’s Intention

6POPE’S INTENTION

EDUCATION: PATHWAY OF PROMISE Cover photograph by AndiPu / Shutterstock

Joe Hayes SJ

8POEM

BLUEBELLS SING James Smyth SJ

9THE BOOK OF PSALMS

19 21st CENTURY FAITH

Martin Hogan

Alan Hilliard

PSALMS OF PRAISE

LGBT: KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN

REALITY NEW SPIRITUALITY

21 PLACES OF WORSHIP

James Martin SJ

HOLY CROSS DUNDRUM

15 CHURCH OF THE FUTURE

A DYNAMIC GOSPEL COMMUNITY Ronan Barry

16 MASTERPIECES OF

Christopher Moriarty

SOME DREAD SUMMER

Maeve McMahon OP

RE:LINK

LEADERSHIP IN THE CHRIST OF ST JOHN ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE CROSS CHRISTIAN ART

Eileen Kane

Faith Quille

CONTENTS

38 COOKERY

44 49 IN THE MASTER’S FOOTSTEPS

Marie McGuirk

John Murray

CREATION AND THE NUTRITIOUS BACK PARENTS OF ST COMMON GOOD TO SCHOOL THÉRÈSE OF LISEUX Patrick Riordan SJ

33 GARDENING

SATURNINE SEPTEMBER Ciaran Burke

36 THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING LETTERS

37 THANKSGIVING STORY

A LIFE-SAVING KINDNESS Tim Doyle

CROSSWORDS

YOUNG READERS

THE NEW KING John Scally

CALENDAR

A LIFE-CHANGING 56 EXPERIENCE FOR REFLECTION RETIRED FARMER Shane Halpin

46 PART 2

BLESSED SOLANUS CASEY Michael Duffy OFM Cap

FROM THE EDITOR

ope Francis encourages education in three languages, that of the head, the heart and the hands. The language of the head, he says, means thinking well and learning concrete things. That of the heart means understanding feelings and sentiments. The language of the hands is making use of the gifts God has given us to create new things. The key, he says, is to use all three together. Do we hope for all of this for our children? Catholic education brings these together. Pupils are encouraged to study well to the best of their ability, to make friends and treat all with dignity and equality and to care for the disadvantaged in different school outreaches. Education is a gift – parents make great sacrifices, financial and otherwise, to ensure a good education for their families. While many of us longed in our school days for the holidays, we knew we were lucky to be educated in a world where many had no schooling! It is no accident that Christian missionaries have always opened schools, knowing that the prosperity and development of

any people is through education, and a new nation always invests in education as the way forward. While parents are the primary educators of children, and grandparents and extended family also play a big role, we are grateful for education and salute the people involved in our children’s education in the work of both Church and state: teachers, chaplains, school staffs, boards of management, fundraisers, caretakers and parents’ associations. We are proud to be associated with many missionaries and missionary groups who are working energetically for education in the developing world, as in our Messenger support to schools in Assam, North India. Education is not a new instrument for economic development measured by budgets, but a place of growth for students and their families. We take seriously the need for more places in education, for education to be available for all children and for a fair treatment of all religious traditions, including Roman Catholic, in our political decisions on education, and a continuation of the inclusiveness of our schools. Donal Neary SJ

Image: C Jones/Shutterstock

SCHOOL BEGINS

DAILY OFFERING Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYER

UNIVERSAL: YOUNG PEOPLE IN AFRICA

That young people in Africa may have access to education and work in their own countries.

MORNING PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I thank you for my life. Life is not always easy and cheerful but with the help of the Holy Spirit that you sent us, it is full of meaning. Help me to work well and to fulfill the tasks that are expected of me. May I also bring joy to all that I do and fill others with that joy. Through the intercession of Mary, I offer you my day and all that I am and have, for the Church and for the Pope’s intentions this month. Hail Mary...

NIGHT PRAYER

Thank you, Lord, for your presence throughout the day. As I go to bed, I examine my day and recognise many things I did not do. How many good deeds did I have the chance to do, but chose not to do? Help me, tomorrow, to start the day determined to be faithful to your love and not waste the occasion to practise what is good in your eyes. You ask me to love those you love, and to love everyone without exception. Our Father...

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POPE’S INTENTION

JOE HAYES SJ, now working in Southill Parish, Limerick, spent almost fifty years of his life in the education sector in Zambia. He reflects on the Pope’s intention for this month by turning to the story of ‘Evelyn’.

EDUCATION: PATHWAY OF PROMISE Pope’s Intention: that young people in Africa may have access to education and work in their own countries. Evelyn watched her friends get ready for the school graduation – the excitement of new outfits and the hoped-for attention of classmates. All had been fellow travellers through school, but now their attention would be tested as they stepped into the next phase of their journey; going out into the world to seek their dreams. Evelyn felt a darkness cover her heart, however. She knew she was different. She carried within herself a terrible virus, which she had inherited from her mother who had died shortly after her birth. She was not only an orphan but an orphan carrying within a virus that, while it could be controlled, would limit the scope of her life-choices. Sister had tried to share with her over the years the story of her birt, but there were questions Sister could not answer. Who was her father, and where was he? As Evelyn mused on her sense of aloneness, she remembered how Sister tried so hard to provide a home for her at the orphanage. How kind, caring and yet strict she had been as she provided Evelyn with a new family, a new sense of security and a

new sense of home. It was a happy life amid her fellow orphans, carrying one another’s burdens, playing tricks on one another and competing for the attention of Sister. As Evelyn learned how to navigate the adult world she also learned the power of her own mind. She was bright and quickly reached the top of her class at primary school. While it made her admired among her peers it also provoked their envy and jealousy. However, early on Evelyn realised it was her pathway to ‘the promised land’. She progressed to secondary school, but soon learned that her HIV status preceeded her, and so often she felt herself a pariah. The pain of rejection and hurt soon crushed her desire for a promising future. Then, as so often, Sister stepped in. She took her out of the school and sought a small private school which might protect her from the trauma of being treated differently from others. That now left the problem of school fees. A successful businessman, who himself had been helped as an orphan, heard of her plight. Without even meeting Evelyn, he pledged those high school fees

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POPEâ€™S INTENTION

By Riccardo Mayer / Shutterstock

until her second level education would be completed. Faithfully and diligently he honoured that pledge. Evelynâ€™s story is a story of hope. It is a story of that wonderful human cooperation that so often reveals the very heart of God. The gift of life calls us to become worthy of life and a great help in that process is the enterprise of education. In post-colonial Africa many political leaders have invested heavily in improving access for their people to formal education. This journey is still very much in its early stages as populations grow and economic constraints bite. Christian missionaries and now

local Christian communities play a very significant role in partnering with governments to more effectively walk that journey. The quality of education has improved. The values that are communicated through the educational enterprise have often been brought to light so as to make a contribution to the wellbeing of society. The effectiveness of an educator who is competent, conscientious and compassionate, cannot be underestimated as we all continue the wonderful cooperation that reveals the very heart of God and is at the heart of the intention of Pope Francis.

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POEM

Blue shadows ‘neath the trees We sway in the breeze And whisper tunes Its fingers lure Song-laden. Every lingering breeze Brings Songs to this songless haven And melodies flow While the breezes blow And thrill while their touch remains. Unsung – Far fairer strains Than ever ravished listening leaves In June. Unsung – The heart-sprung tune A creature keeps mute for its Maker’s love – Who lives in light above. Alert eternal years To greet mid angel praise Our lays Unsung. James Smyth SJ

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Image: Ronald Ian Smiles/Shutterstock

Bluebells Sing

THE BOOK OF PSALMS

FR MARTIN HOGAN continues his series on the Book of Psalms by looking to psalms of praise; these communal psalms celebrate God and make his great deeds come to life in the present.

Image: Oleg Golovnev/Shutterstock

PSALMS OF PRAISE

The psalms of praise are closely related to the psalms of thanksgiving. The psalms of thanksgiving all praise or thank God for something specific. The psalms of praise, however, praise God in more general terms (Ps 8, 19, 29, 33, 46–48, 65, 66, 76, 84, 87, 93, 95–99, 100, 103– 105, 111, 113–114, 117, 135–136, 145–150). They are not prompted by any specific event. The people praise the glory and greatness of the Lord as it is revealed in their history and in nature. Unlike the psalms of thanksgiving, these psalms are not divided into the individual and

the communal. They are always communal; they are the song of a congregation gathered for worship. Because the psalms of praise are not a response to any specific event, they can be prayed whenever the assembled congregation wishes to honour their God. They are a celebration of God. In the praying of such psalms of praise by the community, there must have been much singing and music, as is suggested by Psalm 150. Most of the psalms of praise have a simple pattern to them. There is firstly an invitation to praise God

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THE BOOK OF PSALMS

10 addressed by the person praying to those present with him, and sometimes addressed to the whole people of Israel, or to the nations or even to the whole of creation. Secondly, the reasons why praise is to be given to God are outlined. The praise is always grounded in the qualities of God or the deeds of God, as those qualities and deeds are revealed in history or in creation. Thirdly, the psalm often concludes with a renewed invitation to praise God. This pattern can be seen very clearly in the shortest psalm in the Book of Psalms, Psalm 117. In this psalm, the grounds of the praise consists in the two basic qualities of the God of the covenant, steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex 34:6–7). Israel experienced the steadfast love and faithfulness of God above all in and through her history. It was in their history that the people of Israel experienced God’s coming to them in a saving way. In the course of their history, there were certain peak experiences of God’s saving presence, such as the exodus from Egypt, the journey through the wilderness, the entrance into the promised land and the crowning of David as king. In many of the psalms of praise, God’s people praise God because of his presence to them in these events of their history. It is striking that in this psalm it is

God’s relationship with Israel which is the reason why all the nations and peoples should praise God. In Romans 15:11, Paul quotes from this psalm in support of his argument that the God of mercy is the God of all nations. Psalm 100 is a good example of the psalm of praise. This psalm can be divided as follows: call to praise (Ps 100:1–2); reason for praise (Ps 100:3); call to praise (Ps 100:4); reason for praise (Ps 100:5). The language of the psalm suggests a liturgical setting. The call to praise comes from some liturgical leader. The first call to praise is addressed to ‘all the earth’. The community are called to gather at the sanctuary to worship the Lord (Ps 100:2). The corresponding motivation for praise concerns the action of God as experienced in the history of Israel. This action is described as ‘making’ (Ps 100:3). God is to be praised because God ‘made’ Israel. Here, Israel acknowledges that their existence as a people is due to God. God created them. God constituted them as a people by choosing them out of love. As well as their maker, God is also their shepherd (Ps 100:3). The second invitation to praise makes more specific the liturgical setting of the Temple in Jerusalem.

THE LORD IS GOD, GOD IS OUR CREATOR, WE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE, THE LORD IS GOOD…

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THE BOOK OF PSALMS

The active nature of the verbs is striking. Reference is made to entering through gates or into courts with singing. The corresponding motivation for praise concerns the fundamental qualities of God, his goodness, his steadfast love and faithfulness. It is these qualities that are revealed in God’s action of making his people. It has been said that the two statements of verses 3 and 5 summarise the creed of the people of Israel in six statements: The Lord is God, God is our creator, we are God’s people, the Lord is good, his steadfast love is everlasting, his faithfulness endures to all generations. God’s presence in history as a basis for praise of God is more fully developed in Psalm 105. The structure of this psalm is typical of this group: An opening invitation to praise (Ps 105:1–6), the main body

of the psalm, which is the ground of the praise (Ps 105:7–44), and a concluding invitation to praise (Ps 105:45). It is clear from the opening invitation that the praise is going to be grounded in what God has done in history, ‘his deeds’, ‘his wonderful works’, ‘his miracles’. The invitation is not only to praise but also to remember. In remembering the past wonderful works of the Lord in the context of worship, these works or acts become present again to the assembled congregation. The great deeds of the Lord are contemporised in worship. Praise thereby becomes a response to a present experience of God’s deeds. The main body of the psalm is a recitation of these wonderful deeds of God on behalf of his people from the call of Abraham to the entry into the promised land.

Please remember

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On Wednesday and Friday of each week, the Editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger offers Mass for all our benefactors, living and dead.

Bequest

I give and bequeth to THE SACRED HEART MESSENGER, 37 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin D02W938, Ireland, the sum of € for the general charitable purposes of the said Charity. The receipt of the said Charity shall be sufficient evidence of payment of said sum. www.messenger.ie

FEATURE

Some readers asked for coverage of family life with regard to LGBT children and grandchildren. JAMES MARTIN SJ is a Jesuit priest, editor, and author of Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion and Sensitivity, and a speaker at the World Meeting of Families.

LGBT: KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN What should you do if your child or grandchild tells me they are LGBT? Love them. That’s the most important thing. The number of LGBT kids who are rejected by their families, because of supposedly religious reasons is staggering. At least in the United States, the most common reasons why LGBT youth are homeless is rejection by ‘religious’ families. Frankly, I should probably stop there. ‘Love them’ should be enough advice. What, however, does that mean in practice? First, it means recognising that they did not choose to be LGBT – no more than you chose your own sexual orientation. Every reputable psychiatrist, psychologist and biologist will tell you that people don’t choose their sexual orientation, any more than they chose whether they’re right-handed or left-handed. So there is no failing or sin whatsoever in their orientation.

And, by the way, nowhere does the Church teach that simply being gay is a sin. So try to accept that this is the way God created them. God created your child or grandchild, whom you love, in this way. Why? That’s very mysterious. But being LGBT is part of what makes your loved one who they are. Another way to look at it is this: it’s part of the person whom you’ve always loved. Nothing so helps a child or grandchild as this: love and acceptance from their family. Over the past few months, I’ve heard from many LGBT youth, and those who are happiest are those with a loving and accepting family. One way to grow in acceptance is to imagine how hard it is for LGBT kids to accept their orientation and be vulnerable enough to share it with their parents and grandparents. Sex is a notoriously awkward thing to talk

Nothing so helps a child or grandchild as this: love and acceptance from their family.

FEATURE

Photo: Erin Alexis Randolph/Shutterstock

about in general with your parents and grandparents: imagine how difficult this is for them. If you find that compassion, then acceptance will follow. One grandfather told me that he said to his grandchild, whom he had suspected was about to come out to him, ‘Whatever you’re about to tell me, I love you.’ That acceptance came from the grandfather’s deep

compassion for him. Such words can be not only lifechanging and life-affirming, but also life-saving. One young man told me that he came out during a high school retreat, during confession. The first thing the priest said to him was, ‘God loves you and your Church accepts you.’ The young man said to me, ‘It saved my life.’ Second, listen. They may not want

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FEATURE

14 to share a whole lot with you at the beginning, but they will be grateful that you are willing to listen. If you’d like, you can ask them simple questions: ‘Is there anything I can do?’ Even better, let them talk or cry. Or just be silent as you sit with them. They will, I promise you, never ever forget your reaction – good or bad. It will be one of the most important moments in their lives. At some point you’ll be thinking about Church teaching. And the Church teaches that same-sex relations and same-sex marriage are out of bounds. Church teaching is not exhausted by that, however. Church teaching means, at a much more fundamental level, the

gospels, and the gospels proclaim God’s radical love for everyone, through Jesus. So the Church teaching that LGBT kids need to hear the most is: God loves you. They might also be worried about the Church accepting them. So encourage them: help them find a welcoming parish or place where they can worship. You may know more about those places than they do. Give them examples of people who are welcoming and accepting in the Church. Tell them that God loves them, and the Church is learning to love them. But you don’t have to learn to love them. You already do. You just have to love them in a new way. And let them love you in a new way, too.

So the Church teaching that LGBT kids need to hear the most is: God loves you.

In Loving Memory

The names sent to us of all those who have died are entered on our

List of the Dead

They are placed on the Sacred Heart Altar in our oratory and remain there for two months. Every Wednesday Mass is offered especially for them, that they may have eternal rest with the Lord, and that their families and friends may be consoled in their loss. www.messenger.ie

CHURCH OF THE FUTURE

In our occasional series on the Church of the future, RONAN BARRY, one of our regular contributors, hopes for a Church community that finds joy in its mission.

A DYNAMIC GOSPEL COMMUNITY In recent times I have met many faithful churchgoing people who have shared the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of their faith community throughout their lifetime. This faith community that energised them and supported them now seems to be disappearing in front of them. They wonder, often in sadness, about the future of this community. In recent times I have also met another group of people, whose work is in the faithdevelopment of young people today. When they speak about their experience, they speak about a positive energy and a connection to what really matters for young people. This group of people seems to be working against a tide of populism to provide a space where values and life meet and connect with a younger generation. This group of people is rooted in a gospel experience that is life-giving for all. My hope for our Church is that we provide a place in our community that is welcoming and inclusive of

all the baptised and those curious about belief. My hope is that we will offer them the Good News that is not communicated just through words but also through our actions. Throughout the gospel, Jesus remained faithful to his mission… to announce the good news to poor people. He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners. He has sent me so that the blind will see again. He wants me to set free those who are treated badly… (Lk 4:18–19) We too (not just as individuals but as a community) are called to remain faithful to this mission. It is my hope that the Church will be a community filled with the joy of this mission. This hope for our Church is not something that can just start at a precise moment in the future, it must grow from the positive experiences of today. In our Church today, we must celebrate the joy of the gospel in our gatherings, in our liturgies and in our actions to help us build our community for tomorrow.

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MASTERPIECES OF CHRISTIAN ART

EILEEN KANE explores the work of Salvador Dalì who, inspired by the advent of the nuclear bomb, wanted to represent Christ as the ‘nucleus of the atom’. Scandalous in its time, Christ of St John of the Cross is now a must-see piece at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.

CHRIST OF ST JOHN OF THE CROSS Salvador Dalì (1904-1989)

Salvador Dalì’s Christ on the Cross, known as the Christ of St John of the Cross (Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum), is an invitation to meditate not on the sufferings of the crucified Christ, nor on the events of the first Good Friday, but rather on the mystical aspect of Christ’s death on the cross. There is no narrative in this painting, no action. Against a black sky, there is a wooden cross with Christ hanging from it. Beyond the blackness, there are clouds glowing with the golden light of a sun we cannot see. Below, on the horizon, a range of low hills closes our view of an expanse of completely calm water. At the water’s edge, a fishing boat is moored, with its keel on dry land. Behind it, a man is standing knee-deep in the water. To the left, another man is holding fishing nets. To the right, further away, a third man looks out to sea. The cross appears in the sky as in a vision. It is not vertical, as if rising from the earth, but horizontal, as if hovering above the earth. We see it, both from below, looking up at it, and from above, looking down but yet we also seem to be positioned

directly facing the top of it. We can see Christ’s shoulders and part of his back, but our view of his legs and feet is foreshortened. Light, shining upon the cross from below and to the right of it, casts strong shadows on the wood from the arm of Christ and from the label at the top. The label, or titulus, which we would expect to see inscribed with the initials ‘I.N.R.I.’ – ‘Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews’ – is blank; it is simply a piece of paper, creased by having been folded in four. Christ’s face is not seen. His head hangs forward, covered with a mop of thick, brown hair, falling downwards, drawn by the earth’s gravity. There is no crown of thorns on it, no blood. No wounds disfigure Christ’s body. The fishing boat at the edge of the water, suggests the calling of the first disciples of Jesus, fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. The black sky over the water calls to mind the creation of the world, when ‘there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water’ (Gen 1:2). The hovering presence here is that of Christ, the Son of God, the Redeemer, embracing the whole

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Â© Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow / Archivart / Alamy Stock Photo

MASTERPIECES OF CHRISTIAN ART 17

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MASTERPIECES OF CHRISTIAN ART

18 world, joining heaven and earth. This is the Christ who has risen from the dead, who has entered into his glory, who has been lifted up, and is exalted. It matters little that the distant hills are those that distinguish the horizon line at Port Lligat, on Spain’s Costa Brava, where Salvador Dalì lived. What does matter, however, is the date of the painting – 1951. The news of the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima in 1945 had shaken Dalì profoundly,‘seismically’ was the word he used. It set him thinking about nuclear physics and the destructibility of matter but also about metaphysics, about Christ as the nucleus of the atom, Christ as the unity of the universe. In 1950, he had a dream about this. Then a Carmelite friend showed him a drawing of Christ crucified made by the Spanish mystic, St John of the Cross, in which Christ is seen from above. Inspired by the drawing, Dalì solved his problem of how to represent these ideas visually. He created, he wrote, a triangle, and a circle and placed the figure of Christ within the triangle. Looking at the painting, we see that a triangle is formed if we imagine a line drawn straight across between Christ’s hands, and two others from his hands to his feet. The circle is Christ’s head,

at the centre of his body. The triangle, in art, symbolises the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and the circle symbolises infinity. The triangle and the circle are also compositional tools that artists have used to particularly good effect since the Renaissance. They have the effect, not just of balancing a composition, but also of concentrating attention on the most important point – in this case, the head of Christ. Since the time of the Emperor Constantine the Great, September 14 has been the feastday of the Exaltation of the Cross. On that day, in Jerusalem, and wherever there was a relic of the True Cross, the relic of the wood of the cross was raised aloft for the people to venerate. We can keep this in mind, too, as we look at this painting. When this painting was purchased from Dalì, in 1952, by the Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum, it aroused a storm of criticism and derision from art critics. It was not fashionable then to see this work as the masterpiece it really is. Perhaps some of that was prompted, not so much by the painting itself as by Salvador Dalì’s at times outrageously flamboyant and exhibitionist behaviour. Visitors to the Gallery, however, appreciated it, and still do.

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TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY FAITH: PART 1

In this is a four-article series on Pope Francis’ Gaudete et Exsultate, FR ALAN HILLIARD contributes his reflections on the Pope’s letter. His booklet, Happy to Be Holy? on Gaudete et Exsultate is available from Messenger Publications (€4.95). Photo: Alan Hilliard.

REALITY SPIRITUALITY

“St Francis shows us that in any age we can become prisoners of what others think or impose upon us.”

When St Francis of Assisi left his father, many local people thought his leaving was just a phase, and that he’d come to his senses eventually. However, the phase went on and on and on, and he never went back to the comforts of his father’s home or the security of his inheritance. Time passed and people noticed his deepening devotion to God and his goodness to those who were outcast, especially those suffering with leprosy. Another amazing fact was that he attracted followers. As a result of all this people would, at times, say that he was ‘a very holy man’. When he heard these words Francis would do strange things. He’d climb a tree and could be seen swinging around in its branches or he’d run around the equivalent of a child’s playground shrieking with delight. Then they’d just say he was ‘mad’.

He was much more comfortable with people thinking he was ‘mad’ rather than ‘holy’. St Francis was uncomfortable with the word ‘holy’. He felt people were putting him in a box and then they could control and limit him. He was trying to show new and necessary ways for the Church, but people were trying to fit him into old and tired categories. Similarly today, when someone is seen to be religious, there are so many presumptions and assumptions dumped on them that they are crushed before they have a chance to open their mouth. Even in certain media circles if a person is ‘religious’, they are automatically presumed to be pro this and anti that before they have a chance to bare their soul. In this example, St Francis shows us that in any age we can become

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TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY FAITH: PART 1

prisoners of what others think or impose upon us. A person I know privileged me with the information that he had won the lotto, explaining that he only told one other person. When the initial news came through he did nothing for a few days. The more he thought about his situation, the more he worried. Firstly, he was worried about what the win would do to him and secondly, as he thought further, he was then much more worried about what others would do to him when the news broke. He decided to tell no one and he made very few changes to his chosen life. It can be the same with keeping silent on faith. We are often afraid of what people would think about us if they knew that we have faith in God and his Son, Jesus. Maybe others are often more challenged by those of us who have a deep faith, as it raises more insecurities and questions for them. Maybe this is why so many want to put people of faith in boxes. Our

faith can’t be boxed away – in paragraph 133 of Gaudete et Exsultate, Pope Francis reminds us that ‘closed spaces grow musty and unhealthy’. Politics, mass communications and economic, cultural and even religious institutions become so entangled as to become an obstacle to authentic human and social development. As a result, the Beatitudes are not easy to live out; any attempt to do so will be viewed negatively, regarded with suspicion, and met with ridicule. (Para 91) The presence of constantly new gadgets, the excitement of travel and an endless array of consumer goods at times leave no room for God’s voice to be heard. (Para 29) How can we fail to realise the need to stop this rat race and to recover the personal space needed to carry on a heartfelt dialogue with God? (Para 29)

D on ation s gratef ully r ecei v ed

For the spread of devotion to the love of God in the Sacred Heart and other Messenger charities. For the work of the Jesuit Mission in ASSAM, NORTH INDIA, for the payment of teachers’ salaries in the new Jesuit third-level college at Tezpur. St Joseph’s Penny Dinners, c/o St Francis Xavier’s, Gardiner St, funding food for the hungry in Ireland and abroad. For the promotion of The Sacred Heart Messenger.

PLACES OF WORSHIP

This month CHRISTOPHER MORIARTY takes a spin out to Dundrum, to visit the Church of the Holy Cross. This church, he tells us, is remarkable for its dramatic, modern renovations.

CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS DUNDRUM

Churches that follow an ancient tradition have their main entrance at the west end and the sanctuary at the east. The designers tended to provide an entrance front which is imposing when seen from outside. The sanctuary, on the other hand, with its altar, tabernacle and window, are conceived for viewing from within. This tradition has not been strictly followed for a very long time: it was relaxed as far back as the sixteenth century. The Church of the Holy Cross in Dundrum, Co Dublin was built

facing nearly eastwards rather than westwards, so that it could open onto the main street. That happened often enough in the nineteenth century. What makes this church very remarkable, however, is that a combination of extensive renovations and the building of a bypass road and flyover made its opposite end into something very much more dramatic than the entrance front. Dundrum has a very long association with Christian worship. Tradition tells that, in the sixth century, St Nathi established a

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PLACES OF WORSHIP

22 monastery where a cemetery and a small church dedicated to his memory now stand. Not far away, the site for the Church of the Holy Cross was chosen for Catholic worship and a building was completed in 1813. The population of Dublin grew rapidly in the latter half of the nineteenth century, with the development of suburbs to north and south. The old church came to be much too small and leading architect George Ashlin was engaged to design the bigger one, which was dedicated in 1879. The main body of the church, when viewed from the southwest, remains much as Ashlin had planned it: a wall of granite with an ornate five-light Gothic style window. To its left the roof and upper storey of the parochial house, by the same architect, appear. Below the original window and actually underneath the church itself are modern offices, but the most distinctive feature stands to the right. It is an unashamedly twenty-first century annexe to the church, clad in grey stone with huge windows, in a pattern of triangles. They reach to a point at the same height as the roof of the church. The sharp angles complement the Gothic style of the older buildings in a very unusual and pleasing way. This building is the outstanding exterior feature of a remarkable renovation project carried out between 2015 and 2017. The architects were Niall D Brennan Associates and the main contractors Cedar Construction of Arklow. The sale by the parish

of an acre of land adjoining the church provided funding for much of the cost of the enterprise. It was the second major extension in the hundred and forty years of the life of the church. The first had been in the 1950s when a second wave of increasing numbers of suburban dwellers was in progress and the church was regularly filled to overflowing on Sundays. Rebuilding of a church in these changed times was a very remarkable act of faith in the future. Work on the interior of the church included a considerable amount of essential repair work to the structure and gave an opportunity for restoration of much of the decoration as well as improvements to the organ. But the opportunity was taken to make significant additions to the liturgical furnishings, above all to the baptismal font â€“ while maintaining the general character of the interior as conceived by Ashlin. The body of the church comprises a nave with two side aisles, separated by arcades. These lead the eye towards the sanctuary, with a great Crucifixion window. Below this is a marble reredos and gilded tabernacle. The roof is supported by an elaborate structure in dark wood and, at the opposite end, the tall pipes of the organ make a work of art in themselves. The twenty-first century additions include the use of strong colouring on the walls and floor of the sanctuary and the introduction of pale-coloured marbles in several situations. These include the altar,

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PLACES OF WORSHIP

ambo and sedilium, approached by broad, curved steps. But the most significant addition is the beautiful baptismal font which has a central position in the nave and is the first feature to catch the attention of those who enter the church. Baptistries are always places of importance in churches, but they are usually placed to one side or the other rather than arresting the attention of every worshipper as they enter. The font is surrounded by marble floor tiles of various colours and with the symbols of the four Evangelists. Other tiles illustrate sacred ideals and a leaflet explaining them is placed nearby. The church has a good display of stained glass windows and one particularly interesting and unusual work of art. It is a water-colour

cartoon for a window which never came to be made and illustrates the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem, discussing scripture with the elders. The artist was Evie Hone, who was born near Dundrum and whose first window, made in 1933, can be seen in the little church of St Nathi. Evie Hone later came to live in the neighbouring parish of Rathfarnham, having achieved a distinguished international reputation. Another name associated with the church is that of Columba Marmion who served as a curate there in 1881 and 1882. Born in Dublin and educated at Belvedere College, he became a noted Benedictine preacher and writer and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000.

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FEATURE

MAEVE McMAHON OP works with JUST, a tutorial programme in Ballymun for adults seeking access to ThirdLevel Education. She was honoured in 1990 in the White House by President George H W Bush. She reminds us that not all school children look forward to summer.

SOME DREAD SUMMER The beginning of the month of May is here and today I experienced three crocodiles of excited schoolchildren making their hop, skip and jump way past me, with teachers and parents making up the head and tail. It is not yet 10.00 am. The academic year is virtually over. Getting out from school is one thing, but thoughts of the approaching summer holidays with sleep-ins, sleepovers, sea, sand and sun, rush into the minds of the youngsters. ‘Classrooms without walls’ are the answer to squirming, restless children, so teachers plan field trips and out they all go. There’s another reality for 3,646 children, however. Thoughts of months with no school fill them with dread. They are the children who have no place to call ‘home’. Many of them share one hotel room with parent/ parents and siblings. Their space outside school is claustrophobic. They are constantly reminded by anxious, stressed adults: ‘be quiet’, ‘keep your voices down’, ‘don’t jump on the beds’, ‘turn that music down’.

They are forced to live in straitjackets of respectability, invisible to other ‘normal’ hotel guests. Not allowed to play on the narrow corridors outside their hotel room. Much of the research on the importance of play shows its relationship to the development of children’s thinking. Through play, they learn to construct new knowledge by using what they already know; they develop basic literary and social skills, and they make sense of the world. Unstructured, freely-chosen play is a testing ground for life. When children are asked about the activities that make them happy, they invariably say, ‘playing with friends’. Experts tell us that the loss of play in the lives of children results in clinical depression or anxiety. Confining children to a hotel room for a lengthy period of time is a recipe for later psychological and social problems. Why then are we allowing this situation to be normalised? Why aren’t we demanding that our government should address the crisis of homelessness in our country immediately?

They are constantly reminded by anxious, stressed adults: ‘be quiet’, ‘keep your voice down’…

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FEATURE

By Oleg Golovnev/Shutterstock

A year and a half ago, Fintan O’Toole wrote an opinion piece in The Irish Times in which he claimed that ‘the continuing rise of homelessness is a result of political decisions to flog housing off to vulture funds, to stop building social housing, to leave people to the tender mercies of an often rapacious private market.’ He went on to say that homelessness is normal because it has been normalised. He dared to say that there is no housing ‘crisis’ because a crisis is the moment when a problem has to be resolved. So he asked us to be imaginative, ‘Remember in 2001 when a foot-and-mouth outbreak was confirmed in Northern Ireland? Remember how every nerve and sinew of the entire state was brought to bear on making sure it didn’t spread?

Just think of our homeless children as sick cattle and we’ll have ourselves a proper crisis.’ Is this an exaggeration on Fintan’s part? I don’t think so. Response to a crisis requires an urgent, sharp focus. Things do not happen by chance. Truthful data must be available. A coalition is required of leaders who can put together a process that works and that is committed to outcomes. It’s not good enough for people to shake their heads and say, ‘there’s no political will to end homelessness’. We are in a crisis! We must respond in crisis mode. After all, housing is a precondition for everything that children need for healthy lives. Surely that is reason enough to design an enlightened, national response. Let’s do it!

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re:link

September’18

Resource for Religion Studies

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Leadership in the Roman Catholic Church AUG. 2018

POPE FRANCIS VISITS IRELAND!

By Picsfive / Shutterstock

News that Pope Francis was to visit Ireland for the ‘World Meeting of Families’ created much excitement and celebration. Many of your teachers, family members and the media may have recalled the previous papal visit to Ireland, which was of Pope John Paul II in 1979. Pope John Paul held a special place in Irish hearts following that visit, as our small nation was recognised globally for its great faith. Similarly it is an honour to have been asked to host the 2018 World Meeting of Families this year, which equally celebrates the special place that the family holds in the Church and in Ireland. This leads us on to our topic for this month’s RE:Link, which is the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. The leaders of our Church are members of a very important global family of people who share the same beliefs and practices.

Just like every family, each member has their own particular roles and responsibilities. Watching the events of Pope Francis’ visit, on television or by attending one of the events, various people wearing different special garments, take part on the ‘stage’. You may not know who is who, and what their role is in the Church. This month in RE:Link we hope to answer any questions that you may have about leadership in the Catholic Church, with particular focus on Ireland as an example of how the structure works.

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Structure of Leadership in the Roman Catholic Church THE POPE LAY PEOPLE/ THE LAITY

CARDINALS

DEACONS

ARCHBISHOPS

PRIESTS

BISHOPS

Lay People There are about 1.2 billion Catholics living worldwide. Most of these Catholics are lay people. A lay person is somebody who is a baptised member of the Roman Catholic Church, but is not an ordained member of the clergy. A lay person participates in the Church through prayer and receiving the sacraments. Lay people can also participate in the Mass in many ways, including becoming Ministers of the Eucharist and Ministers

of the Word, ministers of music and welcome. Lay people share their gifts and talents and make up the parish community. Deacons Deacons are ordained by the bishop to assist priests in serving people in the community. Permanent deacons can marry and have families. A priest is ordained a deacon before priesthood.

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29 Priest Priests are ordained members of the Catholic Church who lead the parish members in their faith. The priest celebrates the sacraments in the community, in particular the sacrament of the Eucharist each week, hearing confessions, anointing the sick and blessing marriages, as well as looking after the welfare of the parishioners. At Mass, the priest gives a sermon on the gospel readings and explains their teachings. Although the priest leads the parish, he would be unable to do so without the help of the parishioners, each sharing their unique gifts and talents. In some parishes a lay person is the administrator. Bishops and Archbishops A group of parishes is called a diocese. Each diocese is led by a bishop. A senior bishop is called an archbishop. In Ireland the two most senior bishops are the Archbishop of Armagh, who is known as the Primate of all Ireland, and the Archbishop of Dublin, who is known as the Primate of Ireland. The bishop ordains the priests and also confirms young people on Confirmation day. There are twenty-six dioceses in Ireland. When bishops and the archbishops meet it is called the Irish Bishopsâ€™ (Episcopal) Conference and at this event they discuss important issues in the Church to bring back to their dioceses.

Roman Catholic Dioceses of Ireland and their Bishops Achonry vacant

Ardagh & Clonmacnoise Bishop Francis Duffy

Armagh

Archbishop Eamon Martin (Primate of All Ireland)

Cashel & Emly

Archbishop Kieran Oâ€™Reilly

Clogher vacant

Clonfert

Bishop John Kirby

Cloyne

Bishop William Crean

Cork & Ross

Bishop John Buckley

Derry

Bishop Donal McKeown

Down & Connor

Bishop Noel Treanor

Dromore vacant

Dublin

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin (Primate of Ireland), Auxiliary Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field

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Elphin

Bishop Kevin Doran

Ferns

Bishop Denis Brennan

Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora Bishop Brendan Kelly

Kerry

Bishop Ray Browne

Meath

Kildare & Leighlin

Bishop Tom Deenihan

Bishop Denis Nulty

Ossory

Killala

Bishop Dermot Farrell

Bishop John Fleming

Raphoe

Killaloe

Bishop Alan McGuckian

Bishop Fintan Monahan

Kilmore

Bishop Leo O’Reilly

Limerick

Bishop Brendan Leahy

Tuam

Archbishop Michael Neary

Waterford & Lismore

Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan

C ompetition ! Write a short account or draw a picture to show us your favourite moment from the Pope’s visit. Send your entry via email to relink@messenger.ie or post to RE:LINK, The Sacred Heart Messenger, 37 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2. Please include your name, age & school. Closing date: 24th of the month of September.

Winner receives a voucher wor th €30!

Get in touch: 01 775 8523 relink@messenger.ie @RelinkMagazine facebook.com/relink relink.messenger.ie

FEATURE

A conviction of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ is that everything created has value in itself. PATRICK RIORDAN, a Jesuit working in Oxford and a well-known author, introduces the notion of the common good that is based on this conviction.

Photo: Liam O’Connell SJ

CREATION AND THE COMMON GOOD

Pope Francis in his encyclical letter Laudato Si’ contrasts two different attitudes that people can have towards the goods of the earth. We can regard the natural world simply as providing material to be worked on and used for human purposes. Water, land itself and the living creatures that inhabit both land and sea can be viewed by some

people as things to be used for human benefit. The Pope calls this the ‘technocratic paradigm’, an attitude capable only of registering what use can be made of the things of the earth for the gratification of human interests. The other attitude sees the goodness and beauty in all created things and it is this attitude the Pope wants

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FEATURE

32 us to cultivate to counterbalance the exploitative use of things. He suggests that the goodness and beauty of all beings should engender a respectful attitude that delights in their existence and avoids harming them. The value intrinsic in natural entities, apart altogether from their usefulness for humans, demands respect. The Pope concludes: ‘we must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things’ (LS 69). The realisation that beings have value in themselves is at the heart of his approach, for instance in paragraph 33, where he writes: ‘It is not enough, however, to think of different species merely as potential “resources” to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves. … Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us’ (LS 33). The encyclical recovers this sense of good and goodness, which has faded from awareness both because of the prevalence of exploitation, and because of the neglect of a contemplative attitude. Behind the distinction between respecting the value of what is, and exploiting the available resources, is a distinction between two senses of good. Confronting a world in which the exploitative mentality predominates the Pope wants to recover the respectful. The sense of goodness that he invokes affirms that ‘whatever is, insofar as it is, is good!’ We can easily see the relevance of

this contemplative attitude in relation to living beings, both plants and animals, but the general principle must apply to all levels of the reality of our common home. In some passages the Pope writes of the climate as possessing its own value, being a common good. The perspective advocated by Pope Francis can be challenging for us, because we will spontaneously think in terms of our practical concerns. The planet is not always hospitable to human existence, and human communities everywhere require cultural adaptation to survive in their environment. The practical goodness of a climate as condition of life has its shadow side of threat and danger. The phenomena of climate change (more frequent occurrence of extreme conditions of storm or drought, rising sea temperatures, migration of species, melting of ice, rising sea levels) illustrate this shift from being more to being less hospitable to human life. While these dynamics of climate change can evoke wonder and appreciation in the scientist, it is their effects on the conditions for human life that motivate the practical concern expressed in the encyclical. The role played by human behaviour, for instance, the burning of fossil fuels generating greenhouse gases contributing to the rising average temperature of the planet, motivates the encyclical’s call to conversion. A new respect for the physical reality is called for; without this respect for the goodness of what is, the value of human life and community will be undermined.

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GARDENING

Our gardening expert CIARAN BURKE on the jobs to be done in the garden at this time of year, when the sun is as reluctant to start the day as a teenager going back to school. He encourages us to inhale September scents and delight in the dewy hedgerow webs â€“ the earth is fresh and fragrant.

SATURNINE SEPTEMBER

Sorbus koehneana

The grass is covered in liquid jewels, each one capturing the world in its tiny globe. The hedgerow has been bound in silk, dampened and ghostly webs dripping with dew. The air smells wet. A fresh wet, just washed and still perfumed by the earth and all its delights. The sun has risen, slowly and lazily: a little later each

morning, as if reluctant to start the day, like a teenager going back to school after a summer of fun. I walk, leaving dark prints, each footstep shattering the silver gilt on the grass. Ripened white berries of a Sorbus koehneana; it is a diminutive relative of our native Rowan tree, but with daintier leaves and berries

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GARDENING

34 that ripen from green to pristine white before being gobbled by avian visitors. Flat heads of the pink starry flowers of Hylotelephium spectabile await the morning sun to warm their petals, unaware of a recent change of name imposed by botanists; it was until recently named the far simpler Sedum spectabile. When the sun has risen higher and its warmth has dried the air, the flowers will be a destination for pollinators such as butterflies and bees. The air is filled with scent, late blooms on rugosa roses enrich my nose with Turkish Delight fragrances, and other blooms of exotic shrubs fill the air. Here and there a blossom is weighed down beneath a soggy cloth of morning dew, but soon it will be standing high again. The fruit bushes have been harvested, a bird flies away from the apple tree; I have disturbed it as it pecked at ripened fruit. Empty space lies where the potatoes once grew, their tubers dug and either eaten or stored. Runner beans enjoy a final burst of growth in the mild autumn days, their multitude of pods hang from their stems, awaiting the first frost to end their season. Looking at the foliage on the trees, showing their first signs of coloured tints, heralding their winter retreat, witnessing the ripening fruits and seeing the bare soil where now harvested crops once grew, it feels like the season of growth has come to an end. Then I walk into the garden shed, I see my recently purchased packets of seeds, autumn-planting onion-sets

and garlic bulbs. In nets are plump bulbs of Narcissus and Muscari, bulbs to flower and fill the borders with their yellow and blue blooms next spring. There are jobs to do: mow the grass, dig over the vegetable bed and sow it with overwintering green manure, plant some bulbs, cut some Dahlias for the vase on the hall table. September is moving into darker days, but it is for the gardener the beginning not an end: bulbs to plant, seeds to sow, plants to plant. Work done now, will be repaid in triplicate next spring. Vegetable beds can be roughly dug over, leaving exposed soil to winter frosts that will kill pests and diseases, break the soil structure to produce crumbly tilts. Seeds of broad beans such as the variety Claudia Aquadulce can be sown at the end of the month outdoors where they will grow over the winter to produce a crop in early summer next year. Autumn onion-sets, such as the red variety â€˜Electricâ€™, can be planted. Plant these with the necks at ground level, and cover with bird netting, otherwise the birds will pull them up, though never eat them. Each day that you push them back in, they will come along and pull them back up, as if playing a cheeky game. Enjoy the harvest, inhale the scents, embrace the chill and comfort yourself with warm jumpers. Wake up the brain with exercise such as raking leaves. September is beautiful, cherish the colours and celebrate the never-ending cycle of the garden as old meets new.

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THE SACRED HEART MESSENGER MESSENGER PUBLICATIONS & RE:LINK AT THE 2018

NATIONAL PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tuesday-Thursday,18-20 September SCREGGAN, TULLAMORE, CO OFFALY

We look forward to meeting READERS & PROMOTERS

Please note we have moved to one of the retail tents

You will find us in the PLOUGHING DIRECTORY under ‘THE SACRED HEART MESSENGER’

THANKSGIVING LETTERS

Every month we publish a selection of thanksgiving letters from our readers. Please be assured that receipt of a letter is fulfilment of a promise to publish. A longer ‘letter’ – a story of thanksgiving – is on the facing page, and our readers are invited to submit their own ‘A Kindness I’ll never Forget’. CONTINUE ALWAYS Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, many thanks for favours and graces granted to me and my extended family over the years. My husband died peacefully after having cancer but he and I were granted a few weeks of normal life before his last illness. My two brothers, who also died of cancer, had peaceful deaths, as did my mother. I now have reasonable financial security, my eight healthy grandchildren and very good children. I thank God for the wedding of my youngest son. I would like my daughter to find a fitting partner if it is God’s will. I buy the Messenger monthly from my local bookshop and love to read it – may it continue always. Thanking God for all his help and love, A grateful sinner

GROWING IN STRENGTH Dear Heart of Jesus, I have always been grateful for the great help I have received from you, and from the prayer attached below. I had an extremely hard and lonely time when my first two children were babies. My husband turned out to be very irresponsible, he drank a lot, at every opportunity. Not caring for the cost, even though he was not earning a

lot. Under the influence of drink he was verbally abusive and difficult. The aggrevation resulted in my feeling so low that I could no longer laugh or even smile. I felt that I could no longer cope. Through lots of tears I prayed daily. For many years things did not change, but I miraculously gained the strength and grace to realise that self-pity was killing me, that my two beautiful children needed my love, the only love they knew. I continued to grow in strength and to manage under great difficulty without support. I would be happy to feel that this wonderful prayer might help more people experiencing difficulties in their lives. A peaceful and loving mother

CALM AND FOCUSED Thank you for your help and guidance over the past three years, the last few months and especially over my latest exam period. You kept me calm and focused during a stressful time. Although I wavered in my faith, especially after my nan died you remained by my side – allowing me to come back to you. I pray once more that my degree grade is good. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in thee. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Anon

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THANKSGIVING STORY

In this month’s A Kindness I’ll Never Forget, our contributor, TIM DOYLE, tells a powerful story of a lifesaving kindness.

A LIFE-SAVING KINDNESS ‘This is my body which I have given up for you’. Fr Kevin spoke, facing me from the near step of the altar, staring into my eyes. It was Holy Saturday evening in the very rural St Colman’s Church in Listry, on the western fringes of east Kerry. Earlier the snow had glistened on nearby Carrauntoohil, barely forestalling the oncoming night, but the church was cosy and filled with light. Immediately, it was black dark. The congregation shuffled, but Father Kevin spoke reassuringly from the entrance. ‘We are celebrating Lumen Christi: The light of Christ’s coming into the world’. Deacon Conor holding aloft a huge lighted candle and flanked by two red-headed young girls moved toward the altar and placed the candle on the stand. Facing us Kevin continued. ‘To bring the light into this congregation and our individual hearts we will be lighting your individual candles which are available on your seats’.

I transferred the flame of my candle to my neighbour, when suddenly my candle flickered and died. My immediate thought was of the fickleness of life, and how someone once described it being snuffed out like a candle. As if ministering to my meditation, I got a second chance from a child near me. As my candle light speared heavenwards, it was joined by a church-full of flickers arrowing to the ceiling. Later, as Father Kevin raised the host, it rekindled memories of my diagnosis with Chronic Kidney Disease during which my lifespan was sustained for over five years by Denise and her Mater Hospital Renal staff. Then, at 2am on 22 December 2017 the darkness in my life flickered with a sliver of light from my mobile, and the hushed urgent voice had me rushing to the transplant unit of Beaumont hospital where the skilled surgeon took my life in his hands. An unknown person had donated a kidney so that I might live.

Have you something you are grateful for? Write to us about it for our ‘A Kindness I’ll Never Forget’ series at Sacred Heart Messenger, 37 Lr Leeson St, Dublin 2 or email k.kiernan@messenger.ie. There is a token of forty euro for each kindness published. www.messenger.ie

COOKERY

This month MARIE McGUIRK nourishes us with baked potatoes and flapjacks while offering quick recipes for hungry school-goers!

NUTRITIOUS BACK TO SCHOOL For September I’ve chosen quick family-orientated recipes. Children are going back to school and perhaps need a quick and nutritious meal at lunchtime or when they get home from school.

BAKED POTATO WITH TUNA AND CHIVES (1 PORTION)

QUICK MACARONI CHEESE WITH CAULIFLOWER

METHOD

1 large baking potato (Maris Piper or any baking variety) 2 tablespoons cottage cheese with chives 1 small tin of tuna in brine drained (100g) ½ stick of celery finely chopped 1 spring onion finely chopped Salt and pepper n Scrub the potato well and dry. Cut a cross in the centre and place in the microwave for 2 minutes. Turn the potato upside down and continue to cook for a further 2 ½ minutes or until soft. n Meanwhile mix together the cottage cheese, tuna, spring onions, celery and seasoning together. n Place the potato on a serving plate and open out the cross. Spoon the filling into the centre and serve at once with a little salad. This recipe can be increased for larger families.

(serves 4) 300g/10oz penne pasta 1 small cauliflower cut into florets 200ml carton low fat crème fraiche 2 tsps wholegrain mustard 175g/6oz grated red cheddar cheese 2 tomatoes cut into chunks 25g/1oz fine breadcrumbs Salt and pepper n Bring a large pan of water to boiling point and add the pasta – cook for 2 minutes and then add the cauliflower. Continue to cook for a further 8 or 9 minutes until both are cooked, then drain and leave in colander. n Put the crème fraiche, mustard and ¾ of the cheese into the pasta saucepan and heat gently, then add the cooked pasta and cauliflower. Season. n Transfer into a greased casserole dish. Scatter over the tomatoes. n Mix the remainder of the cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top of the pasta, cauliflower and tomatoes.

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COOKERY

n Place under a preheated grill until golden brown and bubbling. Serve at once. n

FRUIT FLAPJACKS

140g/5oz butter 100g/4oz light muscovado sugar 2 tablespoons golden syrup 350g/12oz porridge oats 50g/2oz sultanas 50g/2oz chopped nuts 2 ripe bananas mashed ½ tsp baking powder

METHOD

n n

n Melt the butter, sugar and golden

syrup together over a low heat and then stir in the remaining ingredients. Stir well to combine. Grease and line a swiss roll tin (9 inches by 13) with parchment paper and press the mixture into the tin. Level with the back of a spoon. Bake in a preheated oven for 20–25 minutes. 160°C Gas 4. Cut the mixture into bars while still hot and then remove from tin when cold. Will store well in an airtight tin, good for packed lunch.

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CROSSWORDS

The prize is €100 for the first correct solution opened. Judge’s decision is final.

ENTRIES MUST REACH US BEFORE THE 24th OF THE MONTH.

WIN €100! ADULT CROSSWORD Send to: Adult Crossword 809, Messenger Publications, 37 Lr Leeson St, Dublin 2, Ireland

_________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________

Name: ____________________________________________

ACROSS 1 Don’t remain wholly calm (2,2,6) 6 James came across swindle (4) 9 It’s a washout! (5) 10 Keep this fellow at bay (4) 11 Pop in American tree (4) 13 It can be said to be deceptive start by actor (5,10) 14 He, with pincer movement, put something in code (8) 16 Strange-sounding oriental marketplace (6) 18 Fancy rows in Parisian style drop away (6) 19 Edward tucking into his pud sloppily served (6,2) 22 Adopt local customs in Italian capital (2,2,3,6,2) 24 Way to cook clam at party? (4) 25 Said to restrict alliance (4) 26 Short attempt with our diversion in the city (5)

27 Story spun? (4) 28 Ben pleaded in a distressing way although it could be relied on (10) DOWN 1 Animal least likely to be overlooked (7) 2 He sings discordant note right at the end (5) 3 Trinket that’s doubly attractive (6-6) 4 But leave out editor (8) 5 Was jealous of number that is in final (6) 7 Carrying headgear submissively (3,2,4) 8 He causes friction at work (7) 12 Magnanimous when high-spirited (5-7) 15 Vehicle sailor hesitantly accepted from thief (9) 17 I covered another one legally separated (8) 18 Spiv found lad extending far initially (4,3) 20 Suggest marriage? (7) 21 Yours truly giving an untruth about maize (6) 23 Fellows quibbled enclosing firework (5)

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CROSSWORDS

WIN €30!

CHILDREN’S CROSSWORD

Name: ________________________________Age:_______

Address: _________________________________________

_______________________________________________

Send to: SEPTEMBER Children’s Crossword, Messenger Publications, 37 Lr Leeson St, Dublin 2, Ireland, by 24th of the month.

ACROSS 1 A place you might find a bear (4) 3. A small, circular bit of metal that apparently makes the world go round (4) 7. What you should be getting at school (9) 8. You can put it on almost anything, and it stays there! (7) 12. According to scientists, the universe won’t stop doing this (9) 14. A very bossy man, in a crown (4) 15. Slippery, sometimes electric, for some reason British people eat them (4)

DOWN 1. A person in a white hat who cooks for you (4) 2. Sometimes to jump, sometimes a place you keep your treasures (5) 4. How the French say yes (3) 5. Nada, nichts! (4) 6. From here you can yell ‘Romeo, O Romeo’ but trust me, no Romeos appear (7) 9. The best of the best (5) 10. Sharp part of a bird (4) 11. Long periods of time (4) 13. A writing instrument (3)

MAY 2018 CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS AND WINNERS

CHILDREN’S CROSSWORD: Across: 1 Judo; 5 Mocha; 6 Yurt; 7 Fatal; 10 Unit; 13 Kite; 14 Sonic; 15 Stag; 16 Paris; 17 Gene. Down: 1 Joyous; 2 Darwin; 3 Kodak; 4 Cheat; 8 Tiptoe; 9 League; 11 Nomad; 12 Timid. CHILDREN’S CROSSWORD WINNER: POETRY WINNER: Niall Burns, Cavan, age 11. ADULT CROSSWORD: Across: 1 Implicit 6 Disown 9 Dragon 10 Inchoate 11 Carte-blanche 13 Joule 14 Bellyflop 17 Very light 19 Infer 21 Puffing Billy 24 Precinct 25 Meagre 26 Azalea 27 Tax haven. Down: 2 Mark 3 Logically 4 Canard 5 Trireme 6 Docilely 7 Swoon 8 Watchtower 12 Rose-quartz 15 Funny ha-ha 16 Bignonia 18 Habitat 20 Climax 22 Focal 23 Brae. ADULT CROSSWORD WINNER: Breda Holleran, Mayo.

JUNE 2018 CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS AND WINNERS

CHILDREN’S CROSSWORD: Across: 1 Ashy; 3 Pong; 7 Halloween; 8 Lookout; 12 Landslide; 14 Dupe; 15 Lyre. Down: 1 Ache; 2 Hello; 4 One; 5 Gong; 6 Bookish; 9 Unify; 10 Sled; 11 Gene; 13 Nap. CHILDREN’S CROSSWORD WINNER: POETRY WINNER: Tara Ennis, Kildare, 11 ADULT CROSSWORD: Across: 8 Impudence 9 Hooka 10 Tail-ender 11 Enjoy 12 Top of the league 15 Alan 17 Rover 19 Slat 21 Scorpion-spider 23 Zebra 24 Spacewalk 26 Nomad 27 Sentry-box. DOWN: 1 Umlaut 2 Quill-pen 3 Jennifer 4 Acre 5 Thieved 6 Conjugal 7 Baby teeth 13 Haven 14 Capsizing 16 Atom-bomb 18 Rapacity 19 Sideways 20 Upwards 22 Roll-on 25 Peep. ADULT CROSSWORD WINNER: J Rogers, Dublin

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Sarah’sWordsearch T M N O I T A R G I M E N T O V L R R N T N T P E I D T U J I T R T E R M Y M R I T W I N R R Y E R A P N V G Y S P T R G L Z U R H A P V I N G A J A T B E E T N N N R N D T O N C S U I I V D A P U B T K M S M O E Y M R T I U M Z R E Z N L W G V Y O O A W A D N L Q E B C Z F D F M T Q J

By Alena Razumova/Shutterstock

In his article on farmer Brian Sheridan’s time volunteering in Zambia SHANE HALPIN used the following words, can you find them? Impressed Motivation Neighbour Emigration Management Fazed

Daunting Perspective Doubt Rural Community Farming

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

By Ksenya Savva/Shutterstock

page 43

Poetry Competition Test your talents and submit your own poem for a chance to

WIN €30!

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

ANSWERS!

This month’s poem should be written on the theme of:-

ACCEPTANCE

Competition Information: Please include your name, age and address with your entry and send to: SEPTEMBER Competition, Young Readers’ Pages, The Sacred Heart Messenger, 37 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, Ireland OR by email to competitions@messenger.ie by the 24th of the month.

FEATURE

Westmeath farmer Brian Sheridan found out what it means to be part of a supportive community when he gave a year of his time to volunteer in rural Zambia. SHANE HALPIN, CEO of Viatores Christi reports. Photographs are from Brian Sheridan, two including himself.

A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR RETIRED FARMER Brian, who comes from a rural community, was overawed by the support of his family and the local community. They got behind his seemingly outlandish idea to spend, as a recently retired person, a year as a volunteer in Africa. ‘It’s hard to put your finger on the motivation,’ Brian says, ‘but I have been fortunate to have travelled a lot and worked overseas in many countries all for financial gain, but I also saw a lot of poverty too and fundamentally it was about wanting to give these people a leg up and to empower them to make their situation better.’ Brian describes himself a child of 1950s rural Ireland where he says things were very basic with high levels of emigration. He describes his family’s donkey and cart which he used to bring the cans of milk to the local creamery where his own father worked. Even at that young age

Brian saw the potential of dairy as an income generator for rural communities. Brian lived through the changes of the Second Vatican Council where the Church opened up to lay engagement in missionary work. He spent two years studying for the priesthood with the Spiritan Fathers (Holy Ghost as they were known) inspired by this calling to do something for the poor and marginalised in the world. He left there to complete a degree in History and Politics, which led him into teaching and farming. Later Brian was to hear a speaker from Viatores Christi talk about the opportunities to help out in the developing world. His immediate thought was that he just might be able to help. He felt his agricultural skills had a contribution to make in the developing world. Several years later, at the time of his retirement, he headed

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FEATURE

out to Zambia to assist with the development of a commercial dairy farm with the Jesuit Mission in Kasisi, near Lusaka.

to keep his suckler herd ticking over while he was away. He bartered some heifers that were in calf in return for farm management.

PREPARATION

THE ROLE

His four week course with Viatores Christi was full of like-minded people who were exploring the possibility of going overseas to share skills with those less fortunate in life. ‘I felt very welcome and encouraged by the staff there.’ Family life was somewhat of a challenge. ‘At first my wife was not impressed at all with the idea, but she was very understanding.’ For his part Brian undertook to arrange at least two flights home from Zambia over the course of his trip and ensure regular skype calls from his base. ‘That’s the great thing about modern technology,’ he says, ‘you are never far from home.’ And the farm? Brian was overwhelmed with the support of the local community and his farming neighbours who came to the rescue

‘It was very daunting when I arrived’, he says. ‘There was no equipment, no fencing, no livestock, no experienced personnel, nothing but 2000 acres of wide open bush. I just stood there and questioned the enormity of the task at hand.’ Brian, not easily fazed by the challenges, got to work with the local community to clear the land for fodder and begin the task with the local people. The result of his intervention provided vital information to the future direction of the Jesuit mission in Kasisi and in Zambia. When he came home, he says he was ‘changed completely. Without a shadow of doubt. It puts everything in perspective.’ For information on Viatores Christi: www.vcvolunteers.ie

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FEATURE: PART 2

Beatified in Detroit in December 2017, Capuchin Solanus Casey was born of Irish parents and lived a simple life with a goodness recognised by ordinary people. Fr MICHAEL DUFFY OFM Cap, who ministers in Dublin, continues his life story of Solanus. Part 1 appeared in April Messenger.

BLESSED SOLANUS CASEY How did Barney Casey become Friar Solanus? On January 14 1897 he was clothed in the brown habit and white three-knotted cord of the Capuchins. During that ceremony he was given the name of Friar Francis Solanus, after his new patron Saint Francis Solanus (1549–1610), the Spanish missionary to Peru, a Franciscan priest who loved the poor native children and called them to prayer with his violin. However, because another friar in the same community was named Francis, the new friar became known simply as ‘Solanus’. The name (from the Latin word sol, meaning sun) indicates a person filled with the sun. And indeed, our Solanus was destined to bring the sunshine of the gospel into the darkness of many lives. The novitiate year began for Solanus immediately after the clothing ceremony. It was during this year that the seeds of heroic holiness were sown. He formed the practice of writing simple resolutions as reminders to guide him along the path of holiness. His little notebook is still available to us. It reveals the soul of Solanus on his journey to God. For example, he listed the six ‘means for acquiring the love of God’: (1) detachment of oneself from earthly

affections, (2) singleness of purpose, (3) meditation on the Passion of Jesus Christ, (4) uniformity with the divine will, (5) mental prayer and (6) prayer – ‘ask and it shall be given to you’ (Mt 7:7). Nothing sensational or spectacular in any of these ‘tips’! But that is the way God works; gently and quietly and yes, responding to the humble prayer of a humble man. St Francis de Sales, in his quite magnificent Treatise on the Love of God, put it so beautifully when he prayed: ‘Holy Spirit of God, befriend me in my immaturity’. Our Solanus would have loved that little prayer and so too ought we. In his early years in religious life the holy porter had to work hard to discipline a nature that tended to be overly sensitive and impatient. It is worth quoting the late Fr Mike Crosby: the emotional Irishman, he wrote, would ‘battle with feelings that could easily get expressed in anger, intolerance, and excessive concern over little things’ (Thank God Ahead of Time: The Life and Spirituality of Solanus Casey). In his younger years, even in religious life, the humble friar was rather impulsive, thinking later and acting first, and sometimes too critical of others, yet, when it came to himself he could be a bit defensive.

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With the help of God’s grace, he completely overcame these tendencies and nurtured within himself a very congenial, humble and patient disposition. Keeping in mind his own past sins helped forge the holy porter’s own deep humility of soul and it gave him patience in dealing with the sins of the tens of thousands who sought his counsel over the fifty years of his priestly labors. At peace with God and, therefore, with himself, he exuded peace to all who came seeking the ‘good things’. One of his favourite sayings is re-

vealing and beautiful: ‘Many are the rainbows, the sunbursts, the gentle breezes – and the hailstorms – we are liable to meet before, by the grace of God, we shall be able to tumble into our graves with the confidence of tired children into their places of peaceful slumber’. Father Solanus died on July 31, 1957 the exact day to the hour that he offered his first Holy Mass. His last words were: ‘I give my soul to Jesus Christ’. And so, he ‘tumbled into his grave’, a man at peace with God and ready for eternal bliss.

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IN THE MASTER’S FOOTSTEPS

More is known about St Thérèse of Lisieux than of her parents Saints Louis and Zélie Martin. FR JOHN MURRAY, PP of Downpatrick, reflects on their family life. His new book, Saints in the Family, is available from Messenger Publications: www.messenger.ie.

THE PARENTS OF ST THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX

It was a first for the Church – the canonisation of a married couple – and it took place at the end of the second session of the Synod of Bishops which ultimately produced the encyclical Amoris Laetitia (the Joy of Love). On June 27 2015 Pope Francis had approved the decree for the canonisation of Louis and Zelie Martin. He himself celebrated the Mass and pronounced the proclamation of their sanctity on October 18. It was a fitting culmination to a synod which had been looking at the whole area of love and relationship in the Christian family.

Readers will be very familiar with the story of St Thérèse of Lisieux – more popularly known as ‘the Little Flower’. Her feast is October 1 each year. Invariably most Catholic churches will have a statue or a picture of the young Carmelite who entered the convent at the age of sixteen and died at just twenty-four. Perhaps like many others who had pursued similar vocations no one might have heard her story but for the notes that her superior had asked her to make and which in time became The Story of a Soul. Upon publication there was a universal cry from the Catholic

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IN THE MASTER’S FOOTSTEPS

50 world for her canonisation, and this was duly completed within a quarter century of her death. The parents of Thérèse Martin were born in the early part of the nineteenth century. Both had desires to enter religious life, but perhaps surprisingly they were refused – Louis because of his failure to master Latin and Zelie because of ill health. So Louis settled down to become a watchmaker and Zelie became a successful lacemaker. The couple met in 1858 – supposedly on a bridge – and fell in love immediately. Within three months they were married. We know from their letters that the couple was deeply in love and that this passion grew with time. Louis wrote messages to Zelie signing them ‘your husband and true friend who loves you for life.’ And she would reply ‘I follow you in spirit all day long; I long to be close to you, my dear Louis; I love you with all my heart, and I feel my affection doubled by being in your presence. I could not live apart from you.’ Perhaps again surprisingly – they chose to live a life of continence for that first year. It was a mutual decision of sacrifice and though not unusual for that time it was never meant to weaken the marital bond.

However on the advice of a confessor they began a family and went on to have nine children. Sadly four died in infancy but the remaining five – all girls – survived and in turn entered religious life. ‘I love children like crazy’ Zelie would say. ‘I was born to be a mother.’ For his part Louis delighted in his children, giving each one a special name. The loss of four little ones was particularly difficult. ‘When I closed the eyes of my dear little children and buried them, I felt sorrow through and through. People said to me, “it would have been better never to have had them”. I could not stand such language. My children were not lost forever. Life is short and full of miseries, and we shall see our little ones again.’ From the outside there was nothing remarkable about the Martin household. For nineteen years the family lived a comfortable lifestyle but lived modestly reaching out to the poor and the needy of their town. Each day Louis led the family in prayer of which the rosary was a staple part. But fun and games were also part of the family life. Tragedy was to strike the Martin household because at the young age of fourty-five Zelie passed away from breast cancer. Louis decided to make

“LIFE IS SHORT AND FULL OF MISERIES, AND WE SHALL SEE OUR LITTLE ONES AGAIN”

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IN THE MASTER’S FOOTSTEPS a break with the family home and he and the girls moved to the little town of Lisieux which was not far away. One by one the sisters moved from home, each seeking in Carmel their vocation. Louis said to a friend ‘it is a great honour for me that the Good Lord desires to take all of my children. If I had anything better I would not hesitate to offer it to Him.’ Though he was lonely – and to an extent suffered also from depression – Louis confided in his daughters that he was reconsidering his life. ‘My God, I am too happy. It’s not possible to go to Heaven like that. I want to suffer something for you. And I offered myself.’ Louis’ sentiments were typical of the spirituality of that time – that desire to share in the suffering of Christ. His daughters understood this to be the offering of himself as a ‘victim soul’. Indeed some years later Thérèse herself would offer herself as a victim to the

The old is good Lk 5:33-39

First Friday: 7thSeptember 2018 ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................ ................................................................

51 Merciful Love of God – as mentioned in her Story in the entry for June 9 1895. The final years of Louis were marked by many health problems. He suffered greatly including a period of three years in the Bon Sauveur psychiatric hospital in Caen. His diagnosed illness – cerebral arteriosclerosis (hardening of the walls of the arteries) – was having a deteriorating effect on him. Yet, somehow he maintained a serene and peaceful outlook. No one who visited him came away sad but rather was edified by Louis’ resignation and acceptance of God’s will in his life. He passed away peacefully on July 29 1894. The impact of Louis and Zelie’s faith on their children was beautifully testified to by St Thérèse herself before her own death: ‘God gave me a father and a mother more worthy of heaven than of earth.’

Petitions may be sent to us on this form, or on any piece of paper. All petitions received are placed on our Sacred Heart altar, and Mass is offered for them once each week. SEND TO:

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FEATURE

The humble will be raised up – a constant theme in the Bible. JOHN SCALLY, author and theologian, tells a story of generosity.

THE NEW KING It was common knowledge throughout the kingdom that the reigning king had no heir and was frantically searching for a successor, as he was now in his eighty-fifth year. The sign on the tree showed that he was trying for a different approach: every qualified young man should apply for an interview with the king. The new king would be appointed on the first of the month. Only one question would be asked: what is the real meaning of life? David’s day began as all his days had begun, meandering through the English countryside in search of a breakfast of bountiful blackberries. This was his favourite time of the day, the only pleasure in his poverty-stricken life. Suddenly, he came to a halt, his attention held by a wooden notice, written in bold handwriting and hanging precariously on a magnificent oak tree. David thought long and hard about the notice and even though he was a very modest young man, considered that he might apply. He decided there and then that he would go to be interviewed by the king. However, there was one obstacle which had to be immediately overcome. He was so poor that he had no clothes which would be presentable in the

king’s palace. Worse still, he had little money to buy the food and clothes he needed. He spent every penny he had on some new clothes. His journey was almost complete when he came upon a poor beggar sitting feebly by the side of the road. His haunted eyes, his ashen face, his outstretched arms pleaded for help, much more loudly than any words ever could have. David’s heart was so moved with tender compassion at this picture of vulnerability and suffering that he immediately stripped off his new clothes and swapped them for the beggar’s rags. He gave all his food to the beggar without the slightest hesitation. The old man smiled in grateful appreciation as David headed off uncertainly to the king’s castle. David felt completely out of place as he waited what seemed like an eternity to be presented to the king. When the moment arrived, his heart was in his mouth as he bowed before the king. When he raised his eyes, he was shocked to see the king’s face. ‘But you . . . you were the poor beggar by the side of the road.’ ‘Yes’, answered the king, ‘I was that shabby beggar’. ‘But, why did you put me through all this?’ asked David.

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By sbellott / Shutterstock

‘Because I had to find out if you understood the meaning of life. The meaning of life comes from the meaning we give it when we show love to others. I had to know if you really do love, and if you really love God and your fellow human beings. I knew that if I came to you as king, you would have been so dazzled by my crown and robes that you would have bent over backwards to do

anything I wished, but I would never have known what was really in your heart. ‘So I came to you as a simple beggar, with no claims on you except for the love in your heart. Now I know that you truly do love God and your fellow human beings. You answered the question correctly, not by words, but with your actions. You shall be the new king.’

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SEPTEMBER 2018

Card Type: Visa q Mastercard q Maestro q Laser q Tick As Appropriate

SUNDAY

Put out into the deep

7 u

FRIDAY

I will trust you

SATURDAY

Jesus was astonished

Lk 6: 6-11

Lk 6: 12-19

Jn 3: 13-17

St Matthew Ap Ev

St Andrew Kim Taegon P Mt

Lk 6: 20-26

St Januarius Bp Mt

Some seed fell into rich soil

Jn 19: 25-27

Lk 7: 1-10

Lk 7: 11-17

Ss Cosmas & Damian Mts

St Theodore Canterbury

The Lord felt sorry Wisdom has been for her proven. Lk 7: 31-35

St Vincent de Paul P Rf M

Lk 7: 36-50

Your sins are forgiven

He put his arms Making the light Who are my mother Take nothing for Herod was anxious around a little visible. Lk 8: 16-18 and my brothers? to see Jesus the journey child. Mk 9: 30-37 Our Lady of Walsingham Lk 9: 7-9 Lk 8: 19-21 Lk 9: 1-6

Lk 8: 4-15

Lk 9: 18-22

Who do you say I am?

Jn 1: 47-51

You will see the angels of God

St Lawrence Ruiz Ss Michael, Gabriel & Mm Mt & Co Mts Raphael, Archangels

Mt 9: 9-13

Matthew, follow me.

23 24 25 26 27 28

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mk 8: 27-35

Take up your cross and follow me

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Woman behold your Son

10 11 12 13 14 15

Mt 1: 1-16. 18-23

Holy Name of Mary St John Chrysostom Exaltation of the Our Lady of Sorrows Bp Dr M Cross

Lk 5: 1-11

The old is good The Virgin shall be with child Lk 5: 33-39

He makes the deaf They were furious Everyone was Alas for you who Be compassionate God sent his Son Lk 6: 27-38 hear. Mk 7: 31-37 into the world with Jesus trying to touch him are rich

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Their hearts are To set the He spoke with Laying hands on far from me downtrodden free authority.Lk 4: 31-37 each one Mk 7:1-8. 14-15. 21-23 St Cuthbert B Lk 4: 16-30 Lk 4: 38-44

Mk 9:38-43. 45. 47-48

Birthday of the BVM

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

TUESDAY

Mt 25: 14-30

St Gregory the Great Pp R Dr M

MONDAY

Anyone not against us is for us

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

SEPTEMBER 2018

u First Friday

A path can be dangerous, cracked, ancient and it will still support our journey. Are we not the same for each other – imperfect, not ‘together’? Yet we can support each other’s journey of life. Text: Donal Neary SJ; Photograph: Liam O’Connell SJ ISSN 1649-4450

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