Messenger April 2023

MESSENGER The Sacred Heart

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A modern message in a much-loved tradition

Edmund Rice Brendan Comerford SJ Holy Week with Jesus Fr Gerard Condon Eastering in God Andrea Hayes

Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network

Apostleship of Prayer Pope’s Intention

We pray for the spread of peace and non-violence, by decreasing the use of weapons by states and citizens Pope Francis on Easter

'Easter is the event that brought radical news for every human being, for history and for the world: the triumph of life over death; it is the feast of reawakening and of rebirth. Let us allow our lives to be conquered and transformed by the Resurrection!'

'To celebrate Easter is to believe once more that God constantly breaks into our personal histories, challenging our “conventions”, those fixed ways of thinking and acting that end up paralyzing us.

To celebrate Easter is to allow Jesus to triumph over the craven fear that so often assails us and tries to bury every kind of hope.'

The Editor and staff of Messenger

The Sacred Heart

MESSENGER

Incorporating the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer)

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Publications wish our readers the joy and blessings of the Risen Lord in the Easter season.

Micheál McGréil SJ

We regret to announce the death of Fr Micheál McGréil SJ on January 21.

His final article ‘Revival of the Máméan Shrine’ was published in last month’s Messenger which had gone to print before he died. A native of Offaly and brought up in Westport, Fr Micheál had been a champion of the rights of migrants and Travellers since 1965.

He was the author of many books and had lectured in the National College of Ireland and at NUI Maynooth. He retired to Westport and died in his 93rd year, with many friends particularly in the West. He was also much involved in the Westport–Galway railway.

His autobiography, The Ongoing Present, was published by Messenger Publications.

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April 2023

Contents 04 From the Editor

Interdependent with Jesus Donal Neary SJ

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08 The Sunday in Every Week

Vincent Sherlock

10 Scripture

Easter in Matthew David Breen

13 Courageous

Witnesses

Edmund Rice

Brendan Comerford SJ

16 Eastering in God Andrea Hayes

18 Pathways to Faith Albert McDonnell

13

Anger and Violence Colm Brophy

38 Cookery

05 Pope's Intention Faslane Submarine Base David Stewart SJ

36 Art as Looking

20 Covid-19

and Wisdom

Kevin Hargaden

22 With God in Russia Jesuit.ie

24 Holy Week with Jesus

Gerard Condon

27 Re:Link

The Resurrection of Jesus

Jacqueline Flattery

31 A Week of Guided Prayer

Iva Beranek

Stir Fry Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce / Rhubarb Crumble

Seamus Buckley

40 Children's Pages 42 Crosswords 44 Why Was Jesus Executed?

Peter McVerry SJ

46 Fr Willie Doyle: Cause for Beatification

Bishop Tom Deenihan

48 Reimagining Religion Jim Maher SJ

50 God Is at Work in Dysfunctional Families

32 The Biblical Reality 54 Subscription of the Migrant John Cullen 55 Calendar 34 My Grandfather and 56 Reflection I Used to Wrestle Eric Clayton

Cover: detail of fresco of Crucifixion (centurion Longinus), Vienna.

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From the Editor

Interdependent with Jesus

Jesus' supper with the disciples of Emmaus, Catania, Italy by Michele Rapisardi (1858)

In the story of Jesus feeding the hungry crowd, I like that while he is concerned for each of us individually, he is also concerned with the crowd.

His love goes beyond just the individual. His love is universal – for all who are hungry. No picking out people for the right anything! All were fed. Pope Francis’s Fratelli Tutti and his book Let Us Dream are strong on social friendship. This concept isn’t totally new, but how Pope Francis wrote of it is. Our love in the spirit of the Gospel reaches beyond our own kith and kin. Covid-19 taught us how interdependent we are – nationally and internationally. For example, if the poorer nations don’t get the vaccine, Covid-19 may spread again all over the world.

The resurrection stories of Jesus always involve more than one person seeing the empty tomb and meeting him. To Emmaus the two walked

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together, sharing faith and doubt. At the garden it was Magdalen and the women. At Galilee seven apostles were fishing, and then were fed breakfast by him. Many of his miracles were supported by disciples, like when the hungry crowd looked up and to the amazement of the apostles they could feed them. Jesus and us, we are interdependent and co-dependent. He sent them to feed the people, as he still does today. We are sent in his name.

Our liturgy could sometimes express this more. So many Masses are ‘heard’ in the back of the church as people may want to get out quickly.

As a priest I sometimes can hardly see the people! We need, as often is remarked, to include more community gathering at our Masses – the cuppa after and the chat is an important part of the liturgy.

Donal Neary SJ

Pope’s Intention

Faslane Submarine Base

Firth of Clyde, Scotland, July 2022, with British army submarine training

As the days darkened late last Autumn, some of us, Christians and others, gathered at the gates of Faslane submarine base on Gareloch, one of the Clyde sea-lochs of western Scotland. We had a prayer service outside those gates, repenting for the presence of the submarines and their dreadful cargo of sea-launched nuclear missiles. We did this because we believe that the presence of these weapons, and the British state’s implied threat to use them, is an affront to God’s peace and justice.

Two seasons later, our prayer-protest and witness comes back to

Portrait by Shawky1993, commons.wikimedia.org

Scotsman David Stewart SJ argues that the threat to use nuclear weapons is its own form of violence.

mind as the Holy Father presents his prayer-intention for April, that we ‘pray for the spread of peace and nonviolence, by decreasing the use of weapons by States and citizens’. We do not, in our time, have a culture of peace. Pope Francis asks, through his personal prayer-network, that we pray for such a culture to spread, to replace our violent ways, be those individual or communal. A threat of violence is violent. When a nation-state possesses thermo-nuclear weapons and launch systems, it places the implied threat of violence at the heart of policy. Our small gathering at the nuclear subma5

Pope's Intention: We pray for the spread of peace and non-violence, by decreasing the use of weapons

by States and citizens rine base in Argyll was a refusal to accept the inevitability of such a policy.

As Pope Francis suggests this month, there is another way.

This lochside fortress, officially known as H.M. Naval Base Clyde, is home port to the UK’s force of four nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines. Nearby, Coulport Naval Base is where the actual warheads are stored. When these subs slip out of the Clyde estuary into the Irish Sea, they are always armed; each boat carries enough firepower to instantly kill millions. Our gathering that day, which included the Catholic archbishop of Glasgow and the moderator of the Church of Scotland’s general assembly, wanted to say that this is wrong. The presence, indeed the very existence of these weapons of mass destruction is an affront to God’s creation. We contemplated for a moment the outstanding natural beauty of this part of our common home, God’s creation in Argyll, and then the appalling irony of what destruction even one detonation would cause, here or anywhere.

Also wrong is the spiralling cost of this hardware. The UK government plans to upgrade the warheads and boats. They will spend at least 200 billion pounds on the latest system to replace the current Trident missile 6

system. This costly new system will be useless against the range of threats, such as terrorism and cyber-security, that face us in this century. Estimates of global military spending since 1945 run as high as two trillion dollars.

Archbishop Nolan, president of the National J&P Commission, points out that these huge costs divert resources from the poor. He notes that the annual UK nuclear weapons spend of around four billion pounds per annum is about the same as what was cut from the foreign aid budget.

Over forty years ago, the Catholic bishops of Scotland issued an outspoken statement on nuclear weapons.

Their landmark letter of March 1982 claimed that if it is immoral to use such weapons, then it is immoral to threaten to use them. There is no moral good attached to the possession of these weapons, which wipe out combatants and non-combatants alike, and no good in the inexorable readiness to use them.

Since the Second World War Catholic thought on nuclear weapons has developed. In his 1967 encyclical, Populorum Progressio, Pope Paul VI drew an explicit link between justice and peace, calling development ‘the new name for peace’, noting that ‘peace is not simply the absence of warfare, based on a precarious balance of power; it is fashioned by efforts directed day after day toward the establishment of ... a more perfect form of justice’. In 2014 Pope Francis decried how expenditure ‘on nuclear weapons squanders the wealth of nations’.

Those Scots bishops, over forty years ago, stood in that tradition; Francis, in Hiroshima in 2019, used almost exactly their words.

Easter Books Hearers of the Word:

Praying & Exploring the Readings: Easter & Pentecost, Year A Kieran J O’Mahony OSA 192pp €19.95

Celebrating Holy Week Vincent Sherlock 40pp €4.95

‘a solid resource for adult faith formation as well as parish-based faith renewal groups’ Intercom

A detailed account of the significance and meaning of each day of the Easter Triduum. The author reminds us that we are all part of Easter and he leaves no one out of the experience of the Triduum.

Mary Magdalene and the Gardener: Sacred Space for Lent 2023

The Irish Jesuits 120pp €7.95

‘...a book that is worthy of our attention and prayerfulness. It gives each of us a sense of rhythm to our lives and a pattern of leaning on the love of God.’ Catholic Profiles

Women Leaders in the Church Brian Lennon SJ 72pp €7.95

It was Mary Magdalene who brought the dramatic news that changed everything and that would give hope to millions – that Jesus had left the tomb. Why then, since that dramatic revelation, have women not been given equal decisionmaking weight within our Church? A penetrating analysis by this prolific Jesuit writer.

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The Sunday in Every Week Fr Vincent Sherlock, parish priest of Tubbercurry, addresses the question of the place of Sunday in our week.

Austin Clarke’s poem ‘The Planter’s Daughter’ is as beautiful as it is well known. In it he describes the planter’s daughter, one normally aloof and out of reach, as a beautiful and downto-earth woman in the community.

Wherever she goes, she is admired for her loveliness and her unquestionable beauty. Men and women are in awe of her – not least, perhaps, because in the ordinary run of things she would have nothing to do with them, but she is the exception and is accessible to all and yet shrouded in mystery.

The phrase I am drawn to in the poem is ‘And O she was the Sunday in every week’.

It is, to me, a lovely image of beauty.

A sort of high point, the destination we are hoping to reach so that it can be fully enjoyed and appreciated. It is certain that when Clarke wrote these lines people had a keen awareness of Sunday and its place in the life of

Sunday is intended to be a day of rest and for worship. It was, and can be, the day of the Sunday clothes, going to church, slowing things down and being with family or indeed oneself in peace.

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a parish – the life of a nation. Shops closed and churches open would have been the norm. Now, alas, for many the roles have been reversed.

Why would this phrase be used to celebrate and describe beauty?

Maybe to reveal the truth that Sunday stands tall in the story of life? Sunday is intended to be a day of rest and for worship. It was, and can be, the day of the Sunday clothes, going to church, slowing things down and being with family or indeed oneself in peace. We have all heard the stories of the Saturday night bath for the family, ensuring the best was there to be presented on Sunday morning.

Where is Sunday now? Sadly, in the eyes of too many, it is a day like any other. Though there is certainly truth in that understanding, there remains a place in the spiritual life for recognising Sunday as the call to worship. Clarke’s poem, in another description of the girl’s beauty, used the line ‘like a bell that is rung’, and maybe we hear again the echo of the Sunday Mass bell as it casts its sound of invitation, even beyond the parish boundary, to wherever it is heard and whoever may hear it.

The bell still rings, and the invitation continues.

It was on Easter Sunday, at the mouth of an empty tomb, that Jesus told the woman who mistook him as a gardener to tell the brothers to meet

him in Jerusalem. It was on a Sunday evening that he caught up with two men on the Emmaus journey and joined them in conversation, listened to them and opened their eyes to a deeper truth. That remains the intention of Sunday, a time and space – a place – where we can be together, pray together.

Can we, in these post-Easter days, commit to Sunday? Of course we can, but there are many obstacles in the path of doing that. Reasons like lack of faith, loss of interest and for some, anger with the Church are there, but other more subtle reasons are there too. Children are asked to tog out for training or challenge matches, quite often at the same hour the church bells

are ringing. Parents, wanting to support their children, accompany them and families are often drawn away from church for no other reason than clash of time. For others, Sunday has become the big shopping day and trips to the shopping centre have replaced a visit to the local church. The truth remains we can combine these interests with a bit of thought, commitment and time management.

At the heart of Sunday, for those who believe, there is still a call to pray and be together in faith. What can we do to make this a reality? The answer is in praying hands and praying hands are at their best when God is acknowledged, respected and listened to – ‘Keep holy the sabbath day’.

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Scripture

Easter in Matthew Continuing his monthly series, David Breen gives historical and cultural background to the Easter mystery.

The Gospels announce the resurrection of Jesus but don’t describe or explain it. The event is at the heart of the Gospel – indeed, without the resurrection there is no gospel – but what actually happened remains a mystery as the ‘resurrection is not something open to human experience’ (Garland).

In Matthew’s Gospel Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are the central witnesses to the passion and resurrection narratives. They had seen Jesus die and watched him being buried (27:57, 61). Now they are the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. Together they meet the Jewish requirement that everything had to be established by two or three witnesses. The unexpected detail is that in choosing the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection God chose women, subverting the cultural belief that the testimony of women was unreliable. It also argues for the historical truth of the resurrection, because if it were a later creation of the Church, as some assert, the primary witnesses would have been male.

In biblical narratives special attention should be paid to both the beginning and the ending of the story to see if there are any correspondences between them. In Matthew’s Gospel there are some.

Both the beginning and ending contain two important angelic announce10

ments, imparting privileged information about divine activity that is otherwise inaccessible to the characters in the story. They provide news of Jesus’ miraculous conception and of his resurrection and give specific instructions on what to do in response. Joseph is told to marry Mary; the two Marys are sent to the apostles with instructions to return to Galilee where they will meet Jesus. The worship of the risen Jesus by the two Marys when they encounter him while racing to the disciples with the news and the angels’ instructions corresponds to the worship of the child Jesus by gentile Magi in Matthew 2:2, 11. Their worship indicates the proper stance towards the risen Lord.

In biblical stories angelophanies always produce fear, as is the case here with the two Marys and the Roman guards. The latter were so terrified by his appearance and strength in rolling away the stone sealing the tomb that they ‘became like dead men’ (v. 4), but the women received the customary angelic greeting, ‘Fear not’ along with the news that Jesus the crucified one was not in the tomb but had been raised ‘just as he said’. The use of the passive voice indicates that the resurrection was the Father’s action, overturning the judgement on Jesus by the Jewish and Roman leadership.

The descent of the angel was ac-

Painting depicting Jesus under the cross by Dirk van Baburen, 1617, in the Church of San Pietro, Montorio, Italy

companied by an earthquake. Matthew mentions earthquakes in apocalyptic contexts such as the eschatological (end time) discourse (24:7) and the resurrection of the saints following the crucifixion (27:53). Here it marks the resurrection as an apocalyptical event.

The time when God acts decisively to set everything right has begun (Heb 1:2).

There is an interesting parallel and contrast between the soldiers present at the crucifixion (27:54) and those guarding the tomb. Both experienced an earthquake, and both were terrified.

The former acknowledged Jesus as God’s son (27:54). The others made no

such acknowledgement and ‘became like dead men’ (v. 4) For them the angel had no word of assurance.

The opening of the tomb was not to let Jesus out, but to enable the women to see that it was empty because the resurrection had already taken place (v. 6). The empty tomb does not of itself prove the resurrection. Mary Magdalene in John’s Gospel could only conclude that Jesus’ body had been removed (Jn 20:2). Without the explanation of the angel and their encounter with the risen Jesus (v. 9) the empty tomb was an enigma.

While on their way to report to the disciples the two Marys encounter 11

Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. Fourteenth-century fresco in the Collegiata of San Gimignano, Italy.

Jesus who greets them with an equivalent of our ‘hello’. The encounter, more than the empty tomb, is the real evidence of the resurrection, and the women prostrate themselves in worship. This was not a spiritual apparition for they held on to his feet (v. 9). Jesus reaffirmed the angel’s instruction and promise for the disciples (28:7) but referred to them as his brothers. The use of the family metaphor indicates the bond of love and patience Jesus has with them. Peter’s denial and the disciples’ desertion are forgiven and prove to be no barrier to sharing in his mission.

The return to Galilee is a return to where Jesus began his public ministry.

It is from here the newly commissioned Church will launch its mission. Christ’s death and resurrection provide an echo of Genesis, suggesting a new beginning/creation has begun. Christ died on the sixth day having completed his work (Jn 19:30). He rested in the grave on the seventh day – the Sabbath. He rose on the first day of the 12

next week creating a new beginning for the world in which death has been overcome and the horizon of human existence has expanded beyond time.

The resurrection was an epoch-changing event. It signified that the ‘last days’ had arrived, the time in which God has acted decisively to set everything right. The general resurrection at the return of Christ is tied to it and depends on it. St Paul tells us that Christ is the ‘first fruits of those who have fallen asleep … For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive’ (1Cor 15:20). To believe in the resurrection of Christ is to believe that God will not only triumph over the violent death that reigns in human history but also will triumph over the tragic death to which all life is presently subject. In this comprehensive sense, proclamation of the resurrection of Christ crucified is gospel, good news indeed. The two Marys left the tomb fearful but full of joy, and so should we for God’s new creation has begun.

Courageous Witnesses

Edmund Rice

Friary image: Andreas F. Borchert, Wikimedia Commons

Brendan Comerford SJ continues his series on Courageous Witnesses with memories of Bl Edmund Ignatius Rice.

South-west view of the Augustinian Friary of Callan

Edmund Rice was born on 1 June 1762 on the family property of ‘Westcourt’ in Callan, County Kilkenny, the fourth of seven sons. His parents were Robert Rice and Margaret Tierney. Edmund’s young life was profoundly influenced by an unswerving family loyalty to the Catholic faith. His younger brother, John, would become an Augustinian priest.

The boys of the Rice family obtained education at home through Patrick Grace, a member of a small community of Augustinian friars in Callan. Edmund was then sent to a commercial or

secondary school in Kilkenny. He completed his formal education in Kilkenny around 1779 at the age of seventeen.

He was then apprenticed to his uncle Michael who owned a merchant business in Waterford, trading livestock and supervising the loading of meat products onto ships bound for the British colonies. Michael Rice died in 1785 and the business passed to Edmund.

Edmund was known to be a successful businessman, respected and admired throughout the city.

About 1785, Edmund married Mary Elliott. Mary died in 1789 as the result 13

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Image by Sir Thomas Lawrence, Wikimedia Commons

of an unspecified accident. There was one daughter from the marriage, also called Mary. Little is known of her other than that she died in Carrick-on-Suir on 23 January 1859.

It was Edmund’s practice to begin his day by attending Mass at 6 in the morning. He received Communion frequently, if not daily, a practice which was uncommon at the time. In his spiritual reading, the Bible played an important part. When his day’s work was done, he spent hours in the slums of Waterford, and his companions were mainly small children whom he brought to his home for food and instruction in religious and secular matters.

In 1793, Edmund set about disposing of his business interests. He arranged for his step-sister, Joan Murphy, and his daughter to go to relations in Callan. A large stable in the New Street area of Waterford had become his property following the death of his wife, and he converted this two-storey building into a school. He opened up the New Street stable as a night school.

Thomas Grosvenor and Patrick Finn, both from Callan, were eager to consecrate their lives to God, and consulted the Augustinian, Fr John Rice (Edmund’s brother). Fr John Rice advised them to spend some time with Edmund before they reached a final decision. They came to New Street to help Edmund with the teaching but also to join him in the religious congregation he wished to establish. So many new students came to the school that an additional small school was opened in nearby Stephen Street.

In June 1802 work began on building a monastery on an elevated site in a working-class side of Waterford. The

Portrait of Pope Pius VII (1742–1823)

building was funded out of Edmund’s private resources and comprised living accommodation and a school. The school was given the name ‘Mount Sion’.

Edmund and his two companions were joined by a fourth, John Mulcahy.

By 1808, seven of the staff, including Edmund Rice, took religious vows under the authority of Bishop Power of Waterford. Their religious life took its pattern from the Rule that governed the Presentation Sisters. They were called the Presentation Brothers.

On 15 August 1809, after an eightday retreat, and again in the presence of Bishop Power, Edmund and his companions made perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and pledged themselves to the instruction of poor boys and each adopted a religious name. Edmund Rice became Brother Ignatius after St Ignatius Loyola.

Image by Eduardo Balaca, Wikimedia Commons

Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582)

The next twenty years would see schools founded in Carrick-on-Suir, Dungarvan, Cork, Dublin, Cappoquin, Limerick and, in England, Preston, Manchester, Sunderland and Liverpool.

Brothers went to Australia in 1842.

The communities were under the control of the local bishop rather than that of Edmund Rice. This created problems when Brothers were needed to be transferred from one school to another. Edmund sought approval from Pope Pius VII for the Brothers to be made into a pontifical congregation (directly under the authority of the Vatican) with a superior general. Edmund obtained this approval on 5 September, 1820. The superiors of the various houses were to elect a superior general. Edmund held this post from 1822 to 1838. He was then able to move Brothers across diocesan boundaries to wherever they were needed.

The bishops of Waterford and Cork

were against the Papal Brief – they wanted to maintain their authority over the Brothers. A copy of the Papal Brief was sent to every Brother and a meeting of those who had taken perpetual vows was arranged for Thurles in August 1821. It was significant that no Brother from Cork was present.

The bishop of Cork, Dr Murphy, was intractably opposed to all non-diocesan institutions – he seems to have been more interested in maintaining his authority over them! Dr Murphy appealed successfully to one member of the Institute who had not yet accepted the Papal Brief, Brother Michael Austin Riordan. This was the beginning of the Presentation Brothers in 1827 – in later years, the Presentation Brothers also sought and obtained a Papal Brief.

In the 1820s further difficulties emerged owing to the expansion of the society and its becoming two distinct congregations. From this time on they were called Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers. Both look on Edmund Rice as their founder.

From 1838 onwards, Edmund retired to Mount Sion in Waterford. He dealt with increasingly painful arthritis and would sit in the garden saying the Rosary and reading the Bible or some other spiritual book. When his eyesight failed, he listened quietly while a Brother read to him. Edmund was especially attached to the writings of Teresa of Avila.

In 1842, his mental faculties began to fail and, apart from some lucid periods which grew less frequent, he lived in a state of semi-coma. He died on 29 August 1844, aged eighty-two. Edmund was beatified on 6 October 1996 by Pope St John Paul II. His official feast day is 5 May.

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Eastering in God Andrea Hayes, frequent author on environmental issues, reflects on Easter’s links with the great mystery of ordinary life.

The Easter message has always been a source of mystery and fascination for me, as resurrection gives us great hope that eternal life in God is our legacy.

In order for there to be a resurrection however, there first has to be a genuine death. Death can be a challenging topic for many of us, but I always try to reframe it. Instead discovering what God is calling me to rise above or what in my life I need to release and surrender to Jesus.

Reflecting on the true meaning of the resurrection of Christ, I believe it represents a powerful metaphor for releasing our limited beliefs. The past is behind us; we must look forward with hope towards a new vision for our future. For me, Easter offers a pause

If we lament on how we need to respond to catastrophic climate change, mass extinction of the animal kingdom, extreme world poverty, permanent war and political overreach, can humanity finally rise to the call and make appropriate choices for a better future?

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point to remember the true meaning of the rich Christian symbol of personal resurrection. Resurrection is a universal pattern of the undoing of death and for me, I try to undo any old patterns and release my sins, leaving any baggage and shame at the foot of the cross. In order to do this, we’re reminded to stop crucifying ourselves for missing the mark and put our old, crucified self also at the foot of the Easter cross.

This Easter is an opportunity for us to welcome the spirit and light of Christ, that beautiful light of peace and hope, into our hearts and homes. I challenge you to discover how you can experience your own personal Easter miracle and become receptive to the experience of a new life, with more hope and light in Christ.

This message is especially relevant today as we’re called to become part of something new, part of creating a new vision of heaven on earth. We’re being called as people of resurrection to take action for a higher vision of a new world, a transforming vision of union in the divine for the whole cosmos. It’s a strange, in-between time for humanity and for our planet; we can all sense that the old way of being is coming to an end, and we’re in a liminal space that requires us to hold a vision for a new way of being, for the good of the planet and humanity.

In many ways we can compare the

crucified Jesus with how humanity has often crucified everything on this planet, the empty tomb reflecting our personal sense of being alone and disconnected from our actions. If we lament on how we need to respond to catastrophic climate change, mass extinction of the animal kingdom, extreme world poverty, permanent war and political overreach, can humanity finally rise to the call and make appropriate choices for a better future? How can we each strengthen our personal capacity to respond to these challenges and seek to surrender our old ways, instead becoming alert to the actions needed to face the hard realities of our human story? How can we frame our lives with meaning and rise to spiritual wholeness?

This question offers a good opportunity to reflect and identify our own personal Easter resurrection response.

Perhaps something will trigger within us, that moment of awareness, a conversation or reflection when something just clicks and the Easter miracle represents something personal that is taking place inside of us.

When we celebrate the wonder of the resurrection, we actively and intentionally make space within us to bring the Easter miracle into our daily lives and, more specifically, into our communities and our planet. We can make ‘Eastering in God’ a new spiritual practice. Like prayer or meditation, we can see Easter as something we ‘do’ rather than something we ‘have’. In this way, ‘Eastering’ becomes a process we can apply to any situation. When you feel inspired or in-spirit, this can become the moment where you rise up to become an active agent of change, bringing a sense of hope for the future of humanity and our planet.

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Pathways to Faith Fr Albert McDonnell, co-parish priest of Kildysart, Co. Clare, and chancellor of the diocese of Killaloe, links the steps to faith in the sacraments.

When did I first know that God loves me? It was probably when I was still very small. Maybe a parent or grandparent or perhaps a teacher first told me. But God’s love is so much more than just hearing the words. It is a feeling, an emotion, a sensation, a conviction. It is heart rather than head, more gradual than instant.

Most of the steps along our journey of faith were taken long before we were born. They are the steps trodden by those who by their lives carried the gospel message from the days of Christ right down to our own time.

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Every generation, each life of faith, is a link in a chain that connects our hearts to the living, loving Lord.

There are two formal, sacred moments when we are carried into church by those who love us. The first is when we are little as our parents carry us in their arms to the baptismal font. At the end of our lives, the situation is often reversed when children carry their parent on their shoulders into their church.

Both processions are acts of love.

We didn’t ask to be baptised, just as we didn’t ask to be born. It happened because there were people who loved

us and wanted us to share that which they treasured most. Baptism is the sacrament of sharing that which we value most, our faith, with those whom we love most, our children.

Life is the greatest gift, which in turn is blessed and enriched by baptism. As the christening water is poured three times over our head in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit we become a sister or brother of Christ and those who love him. We now have a friend who will be with us every moment of our lives, a light to illuminate our path, hope that will never fail us, a saviour to welcome us into eternity. Having received so much love we are enabled to live lives of love. Our world becomes larger. We look upwards towards the Lord and outwards towards each other.

We become part of something truly majestic, a family of faith founded on the Lord.

Baptism is a point of departure along the road of loving Christ. That love grows stronger with each little step.

When we receive Holy Communion for the first time, we are not carried into the Church but rather guided by loving parents as they hold our hand. Baptism happens but once. It is the gateway to following Christ. Eucharist, food for the journey, accompanies us during all our life. It is an extraordinary belief that Christ is truly present in a fragment of bread, a drop of wine and thereby becomes part of what we are.

The third big step towards embracing God’s love is confirmation, the sacrament of becoming an adult. This time nobody carries us into Church or holds our hand. We do it ourselves.

The promises made on our behalf at baptism now become our own. In confirmation we take ownership of all

Baptism is a point of departure along the road of loving Christ.

That love grows stronger with each little step. When we receive Holy Communion for the first time, we are not carried into the Church but rather guided by loving parents as they hold our hand.

the faith, hope and love that passed through our parents and all who went before them right back to the days when Christ walked among us.

Baptism, first holy communion, confirmation are the public, sacramental steps along the pathway of God’s love.

There are a great many other steps towards maturity as a Christian. Every word or act of kindness, generosity, patience, justice, forgiveness or love are all steps along the road that Christ walks with us. The public steps are the same for each of us, but the other steps are different for each person.

Every day presents its own opportunities to live God’s love, to walk with him.

A helping hand, a prayer offered, a tear shed, a smile gifted all make real the blessings we have received in baptism, confirmation and Holy Communion.

Each time we enter a church we bless ourselves as we make the sign of the cross in the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Reliving that gesture in the bits and pieces of our daily lives, we walk with Christ towards life and love that never ends.

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Covid-19 and Wisdom Kevin Hargaden, director of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Dublin, reflects on an outcome of ignoring the need for wisdom during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I lost a friend in the pandemic. He was a member of my parish for many years, and he was one of the people I most looked forward to seeing every Sunday. He was a man full of passions: music, sport and most importantly justice. He didn’t just lament the cruelty in the world, every year he travelled to communities in the developing world where he had built longstanding relationships with people, arriving with a truck-load of toys, clothes and medicine, and leaving everyone he met with a smile on their face.

My friend was wise in many things, but at the end of his life he fell for some very stupid lies. He became convinced that the pandemic was a scam.

He refused to take common-sense precautions, fearing they were part of a nefarious plot. He turned down the vaccines, insisting that they were dangerous. During one of the massive waves of infection we endured, he contracted the disease, and it ran rampant through his system. Although in otherwise good health, and decades short of what we might consider a long life, within weeks he was dead.

I feel his absence still, every Sunday.

I struggled with grief at his passing, 20

but also with anger. Why didn’t he just wear a mask? Why would he not just take a vaccine! He’d surely still be here with us now.

My friend is one of an increasing number of people who have been seduced by conspiracy theories. I met another man recently who told me that the environmental collapse we are experiencing was a hoax. He told me it was all just a scheme to depopulate the earth and that if I wasn’t careful, I’d soon be forced to live on a diet of insects and lab-grown food. I was as friendly as possible and gently suggested that I have never met a group of people capable of keeping small lies secret, nevermind massive ones.

He granted there was truth to that, but then told me how billionaires had machines to make tornadoes … There was no rational conversation possible.

The official response to conspiracy thinking is to hit people with the facts, but when some educated adults have convinced themselves that the world is flat, no amount of lecturing will work. My friend who died denying the reality of Covid-19 may well have been pushed further and further into his delusion by the sense that he was being patronised by people with PhDs. If people have left all reason behind, you can’t help them by hammering them with rationality.

Christianity is firmly set against anti-intellectualism. There is no space in the Gospel for embracing ignorance.

St Paul tells us that our spiritual life should be marked by the ‘renewal of the mind’ (Rom 12:2). We must resist the temptation to believe tall tales and leave the world of facts behind.

Christianity does not settle for mere

intellectualism either. The path of faith is one that goes beyond mere knowledge. We are encouraged to seek out instead something better: wisdom.

My friend who died of Covid-19 while denying its existence could not have been saved with a presentation of yet-more facts. He was an intelligent man with an internet connection and a library card – he could have gotten all the data he needed! What he lacked was wisdom. In an age when people believe more and more crazy things, we do not just need more intelligence, we need more reflection, discernment and wisdom. We need the ability to assess the facts, to understand the data and then to interpret it in a way that helps us live our lives well. Our mind, heart and our soul must be fully engaged as we make our way through this complex world.

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With God in Russia Born in Pennsylvania in 1904, the son of Polish immigrants, Walter Ciszek entered the Jesuit novitiate at Poughkeepsie, New York in 1928 and volunteered to work in Russia after his ordination in 1937.

Fr Ciszek’s arrival in New York in 1963.

In Ciszek’s time religious rights and freedoms in Russia were persecuted under the laws of the Soviet Union, which had been established only twelve years before. Pope Pius XI made an appeal for missionaries to travel to Russia. Excited by the challenge, Ciszek resolved to go, and so in 1934 he was sent to Rome, where he studied at the Pontifical Russian College. He was ordained in 1937 and travelled to a Jesuit mission in eastern Poland, as no priest could enter directly into Russia.

This mission was forced to close the following year, however, with the 22

outbreak of the Second World War. Noting the streams of exiles heading east, Ciszek arranged to cross over the Russian border under an assumed name and, together with two other Jesuits, travelled by train to the Ural Mountains. There, in the town of Chusovoy, Ciszek worked as a logger and secretly celebrated Mass for those there who desired it.

In 1941 he was arrested and sent to Lubyanka prison in Moscow, accused of espionage on behalf of the Vatican.

Here he was routinely interrogated and tortured for months, before he finally gave in upon threat of his life

and signed a false confession created by the authorities. Declared guilty of espionage, he was sentenced to fifteen years labour in Siberia. However he would remain at Lubyanka for another four years, mostly in solitary confinement.

In 1946 Ciszek travelled by train and boat to a gulag at Norilsk, where he worked in construction and coal mining, relentless and taxing work.

Some relief came from being able to celebrate Mass and hear the confessions of his fellow inmates.

The horrors of life in the Gulag were Walter Ciszek’s day-to-day experience for more than two decades.

Ciszek never let the oppression and persecution to which he was subjected dull his missionary work.

Finally, in 1955, having received three years off his sentence for surpassing work quotas, Ciszek was released; however given his apparent crime he was confined to the city of Norilsk and the KGB continued to keep tabs on him. He was allowed to write to his sister in America, letting his family know he was alive long after they gave up hope of his returning.

Working in a chemical factory, Ciszek continued to say Mass to an ever growing congregation until the authorities stepped in and told him he was to leave the city and never

come back. In Krasnoyarsk he established missionary parishes until the KGB discovered this too and moved him again. He ended up in Abakan where he got a job as a mechanic and worked for four more years. In 1963 he received a letter from his sister who had obtained a visa to come to Moscow to see him. He was overjoyed but waited and waited and nothing came of it. Months later he was taken to Moscow, where he was introduced to a man from the American consulate. Papers were signed and Ciszek was put on a plane for America.

He had been traded along with another in exchange for two Soviet agents.

Back in America after those decades of imprisonment, Ciszek slowly built a new life for himself; in 1965 he began teaching at Fordham University in Pennsylvania. He wrote two books about his years in Russia, With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me. After years of declining health he died in 1984. His cause was soon put forward for consideration of beatification as part of the process to become a saint.

He is now named Servant of God. Ciszek Hall at Fordham University in New York City is named after him.

From www.jesuit.ie/inspirationaljesuits, with permission.

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Holy Week with Jesus Fr Gerard Condon, director of the office for mission and ministry in the diocese of Cloyne, reminds us that Holy Week reveals the Christian mysteries in ways that are ever ancient, ever new.

Each year, as we approach Holy Week, a colleague of mine likes to remark, ‘It was alright for Jesus. He only had to do this once. We have to get through it every year!’ Preparing the Holy Week liturgies can be something of an ordeal, especially in our post-pandemic Church, where parish volunteers are thinner on the ground. But it would be a shame to succumb to liturgical minimalism for this highpoint in the Church’s calendar.

The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus will never fail to touch us, as we open our minds and hearts to its mystery. It is the privilege of parish teams to lead their congregations into that space (often through the moments of liturgical silence) where we remember the passion of Jesus in the original sense of that Greek word anamnesis: not just the commemoration of an historical event, but the making visible of its saving grace in our time. As the opening address for the Palm Sunday Mass puts it: ‘United with him in his suffering on the cross, may we share his resurrection and new life.’

In a sense, we were all there in Jerusalem for that final Passover Week of Jesus of Nazareth. Most biblical scholars think that it occurred in April 24

of the year AD 30. Jesus had a growing sense that his mission to establish the kingdom of God would only be accomplished by laying down his life as a ransom for many (Mk 10:45). He identified himself with the suffering servant of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 42– 53), the one who would paradoxically establish God’s reign by succumbing to its opposing forces. Later, those who witnessed his resurrection would see him as the new Lamb of God. He had died near the Temple, the place which honoured the original Hebrew covenant, as a sign that he was setting up a new model of divine redemption, a freedom from sin and death that would surpass the Exodus from Egypt. At the Last Supper, Jesus invited his followers to celebrate this new covenant with him, not just through the Passover ritual but by becoming servants to each other (Jn 13:1–13).

It all happened in a culture completely alien to our own. Still, we can identify with the protagonists of the story. Perhaps, this year, you will find yourself among the curious onlookers, the crowds who cheered Jesus as he arrived into Jerusalem only to jeer him days later, after he had been condemned by the religious and civil authorities. Being a fair weather follower of Jesus is relatively easy!

Detail of fresco of Crucifixion (centurion Longinus), Vienna, Austria by Josef Furlich, 1844

Perhaps you can identify with Pontius Pilate and his wife (mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew, 27:19). They saw in Jesus a ‘righteous man’ but did little to prevent his agony. Worse still, they transferred their blame to others.

How many times do we ‘wash our hands’ of personal responsibility, often through neglect or laziness or some clever legal device?

Perhaps you should recognise yourself among the heroes of the story, those who were moved with compassion at the sight of human suffering. Simon of Cyrene became a dutiful helper

of Jesus on the road to Calvary, his help was ‘enlisted’ (Mt 27:32). You may be like the ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ (Lk 23:28–31) whose sympathy, like their tears, flowed more freely. Perhaps, this year, you have been like Joseph of Arimathea (Mt 27:57–60) by providing assistance to someone at the time of their family funeral. Grief may have visited your own house, and, in your thoughts, you find yourself standing with Mary, who kept vigil by the cross as her Son was dying.

One of the graces of Holy Week is the freedom it gives to express our 25

shortcomings. The experience of human failure is well represented by the betrayal of Judas Iscariot and his overwhelming sense of regret (Mt 27:3–6) as well as the denials of Peter, which were followed by ‘bitter weeping’ (Mt 26:75). We have all been there. We have played our part in the sins that were placed upon Christ’s shoulders (1 Pet 2:24). Listening to the passion narratives, we can express our sorrow in the knowledge that, as Easter Sunday dawned, no human failing could contain God’s glory.

We might also associate our situation in life with that of Christ. His soul was sorrowful at his impending death, just as we dread ours. Yet, throughout his passion, Jesus showed courage and a dignity that stemmed from his trust in divine providence. We must remember that the Gospels were composed several decades after the resurrection. The disciples put the meaning of Christ’s passion and death into the broader context of salvation history.

They recognised that God’s plan had

not been fulfilled by an all-conquering Messiah, like King David, nor would there be a dramatic restoration of Israel, like that envisaged in the Book of Daniel.

The gospel writers had delved deeper into the Hebrew Testament, realising that God’s promise would be revealed in a more surprising way, through the death of his Anointed One. In Christ, God fully entered into the human experience of mortality, so as to change its meaning by his resurrection. With St Paul we can say in triumph, ‘Death, where is your sting?’ (1 Cor 15:55) One of my favourite characters from the passion narratives is the Roman centurion, mentioned in all four Gospels and whom tradition calls Longinus.

He was so impressed by the manner of Jesus’ death that he came to recognise him as ‘truly son of God’ (Mt 27:54). His conversion experience that day came as a surprise. May we approach this Holy Week, not with jaded familiarity, but a willingness to meet Jesus again, as if for the first time.

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For St Joseph’s Penny Dinners, c/o Fr Paul Farquharson SJ, St Francis Xavier’s, Dublin 01 TX 23, funding food for the hungry in Ireland and abroad with cheques payable to St Joseph's Penny Dinners.

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Messenger 26

Publications

April 2023 relink.messenger.ie

Re:Link

The Resource for Junior Certificate Religion Studies

by Jacqueline Flattery

The Resurrection of Jesus

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A fresco showing the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Bazilika Svateho, Prague

This year, Easter Sunday falls on 9 April. During Holy Week, Christians remember the events of the final days of Jesus’ life: his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Judas’ betrayal, the Last Supper, his arrest and crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.

Good Friday is a solemn day in the Catholic Church and is a chance for Catholics to reflect on Jesus’ suffering and death and give thanks for his sacrifice. However, Easter Sunday brings great joy, when Christians all over the 28

world celebrate Jesus rising from the dead – the resurrection. Easter is the most important liturgical season in the Catholic Church. Belief in the resurrection is central to Christianity. Paul even goes so far as to suggest that without the resurrection, there is no point in believing in Jesus. ‘And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Cor 15:14).

The Nicene Creed is recited by Catholics during every Mass. It reminds them of the belief in the Trinity – three

Re:Link divine persons in one God. We pray that Jesus ‘was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures’. During his ministry, Jesus said, ‘I am the Resurrection and the life’ (Jn 11:25). When he rose from the dead, he confirmed this for his followers and also fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament.

There were no eyewitnesses to the resurrection. Each of the four gospel writers wrote about the events after the resurrection, when Jesus’ followers found the empty tomb. The accounts differ in some ways but are united on the main details. Luke writes that Mary Magdalene and some other women went to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body early on Sunday morning. When they arrived, they saw that the stone in front of the tomb had been rolled away. Jesus’ body was not in the tomb.

Two angels appeared to the women, and they were frightened. The angels asked them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”’ The women remembered that Jesus had foretold this, and they went straight to the disciples to tell them.

The disciples did not believe them and thought they were speaking nonsense.

But Peter ran to the empty tomb (Lk 24:12).

Jesus’ followers were very sceptical at the beginning – they thought perhaps Jesus’ body had been stolen as the idea of him rising from the dead just didn’t seem possible. Once they

There were no eyewitnesses to the resurrection. Each of the four gospel writers wrote about the events after the resurrection, when Jesus’ followers found the empty tomb. saw Jesus’ new glorified body, they believed. During one of his appearances after the resurrection, Jesus said to the apostle Thomas, ‘Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!’

(Jn 20:29). Believing without seeing the risen Jesus, faith in the resurrection, is a key belief of Christianity.

What does the resurrection tell Christians about God?

• The resurrection confirmed for Jesus’ followers that he was the Messiah, the chosen one sent to Earth by God to restore God’s kingdom. The word Messiah is Hebrew, and the Greek translation is Khristos – Christ. So, when a Christian calls Jesus ‘Jesus Christ’, they are declaring their belief that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah.

• It proves that nothing is impossible to God – through the resurrection, God conquered death and ensured life after death for all who believe in God. Jesus’ resurrection freed God’s followers from sin and promised them eternal life.

For Christians, the empty tomb is a symbol of the resurrection, and the truth about Jesus. Jesus was indeed God in the flesh, with authority over life and death and all creation. He had the 29

Re:Link Jesus appeared to those closest to him a number of times after the resurrection. These appearances helped the disciples to become braver and to realise the important role they would play in spreading the message of Jesus.

power to forgive sin and grant eternal life to everyone who trusted in him. His resurrection proved that death will be defeated.

Transformation and Presence

When we speak of the resurrection, two terms are very important: transformation and presence. When Jesus rose from the dead, he had been transformed by the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that this transformation meant that Jesus would not die again. He did not look the same as before, and some of his followers did not know it was him when he appeared to them. They recognised him through his words, ‘peace be with you’, and his actions, for example, in the breaking of bread.

After the resurrection, Jesus was to be present to his followers in a new way.

Jesus appeared to those closest to him a number of times. These appearances helped the disciples to become braver and to realise the important role they would play in spreading the message of Jesus. After forty days, Jesus ascended into heaven and this signified the end of his ministry on Earth. Before 30

he left them, he told his followers, ‘Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time’ (Mt 28:18–20). Christians believe that God is in heaven, but also with them and in them. Each Christian has a mission – to bring God’s love, mercy and compassion to others.

A famous quote, thought to be from St Teresa of Avila, captures this idea very well: ‘Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which He looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are His body.

Christ has no body now but yours.’

Sources:

‘Religions in the Modern World’ by Shuna Hutchinson-Edgar ‘Inspire: Wisdom for the World’ by Michael Purcell and Ailis Travers www.biblegateway.com Learning Outcomes Associated with this Topic: 2.4 Research and present the under-

standing of the Divine found in two major world religions drawing upon their origins in sacred texts and/or other sources of authority 2.5 Create a biography of a founder

or early followers of a major world religion, using religious and historical sources of information.

A Week of Guided Prayer Iva Beranek, parish manager at St Francis Xavier’s Church, Gardiner Street, Dublin, shares the experiences of both retreatants and prayer guides during the Advent week of guided prayer. They report profound encounters with God in the Ignatian tradition.

The Advent Week of Guided Prayer took place in Gardiner Street Parish from Monday, 28 November until Sunday, 4 December 2022. We had more than twenty-five people who took part in the retreat, which is more than double from last year. Each person committed to praying with Scriptures thirty minutes each day. This was new to some of them, but the feedback is that people were truly blessed in their prayer times. Each person had their own prayer guide to talk to about their experience of prayer.

One of the prayer guides shared, ‘I met wonderful people and we shared our normal, everyday life experiences and looked at them in the light of Scripture. We discovered that looking at the ups and downs of life through the eyes of faith in God, and the Scriptures, was very meaningful and relevant. Pretty amazing when you think about it, that words written so long ago, ancient wisdom, still have so much to offer to the way we live today.’

If you have seen The Chosen (television series about the life of Jesus), the experience of Ignatian contemplation is a bit like that; as if we enter into the scene where Jesus is interacting with those around Him. One of the retreatants said:

‘The week of guided prayer was an incredible experience. I had never tried to meditate on the Scriptures by entering a scene and being one of the characters. The meditations were touching, profound, insightful and also fun! I felt Jesus’ life blending with mine and becoming love, safety, closeness, consolation, whatever I needed in that moment. I saw Jesus shedding light on where I am in life and pouring love on any wound that would come to the surface. My heart felt His closeness, healing power and comforting embrace.’

The participants expressed gratitude for the one-to-one guidance they received throughout that week and said that this was ‘an enormous gift’. A few people who don’t live near the parish participated online by meeting their prayer guide on Zoom. We had a few people join from Donegal and at least one from England. We are greatly encouraged that people wanted to invest in their prayer lives, and grateful to all the prayer guides who were so generous with their time and with sharing their experience with the retreatants.

Our next Week of Guided Prayer will be after Easter 2023. Email sfx@jesuit. ie if you wish to take part or check out our website closer to the time, www. gardinerstparish.ie.

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The Biblical Reality of the Migrant Fr John Cullen, at present working on an interfaith mission to the homeless in London, looks to the biblical reality of the migrant.

‘His own people did not accept him...’

(Jn 1:11) We need to change the perception that being a migrant and being homeless are unusual and unnatural.

The Gospels show us that Jesus is a displaced person in three senses: he is the heavenly one who came down to earth and was not accepted; he is a refugee on the run in Egypt, fleeing Herod’s threatened persecution of all male children under the age of two; he spends his life as a mobile preacher and healer with ‘nowhere to lay his head’ (Lk 9:58).

The entire Bible is a story of people in search of a home: Adam and Eve leave the garden; Noah and his family sail away from destruction; Abraham and Sarah follow God’s call; Joseph and his band of brothers head to Egypt; Moses wanders through desert; Judah is exiled in Babylon. None of these people were going on a package

To turn our backs on migrants and homeless people is to forget our original identity, inhibit our Synodal renewal and deny our true destiny.

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holiday! They were homeless refugees, asylum seekers or possibly trafficked persons.

Being displaced in exile and in the wilderness is part of the story of the Bible. There is no Old Testament without migration. In the New Testament there are many journeys evident in the Acts of the Apostles as well as in the Letters of St Paul. For us, to be a Christian is to be en route, on the way, on a pilgrim journey to a citizenship that is not situated right here.

The story of Ruth is made up of many dialogues, and it epitomises the journey about migration and homelessness even for us today. Ruth is viewed with suspicion, just like many migrants today, with her foreign religion, language and customs. Ruth knows all about isolation as a foreign widow who wanders into a place of famine. Ruth pledges her loyalty to Naomi and matches her lowly impoverishment when she meets Boaz, who shapes his life to redeem her and in doing so he finds a blessing.

Together, Ruth and Boaz portray for us the faithfulness of God. This is how God works with steadfast love: at personal cost, facing adversity, never letting go, disarming with goodness and constantly pointing to a purpose beyond what can be seen.

What Ruth’s story shows us is that a foreigner, who appears to be nothing more than a bundle of trouble, turns out to be the harbinger of renewal and hope for an adrift nation with no vision or horizon for its future. Ruth evokes in Boaz an awareness of his own scarcity, as she inspires him to bring deliverance to his people at great cost to himself.

It turns out that it is Ruth’s son, Obed, who is set to become the grandfather of David, Israel’s greatest king. The Christmas gospel tells us that ‘Joseph was of David’s house and line’ (Lk 2:4).

Both Ruth and Boaz typify the figure of Jesus who goes into a far country to become one like us and bring about our salvation through a life of sacrifice and service.

Border controls and quota policies

are part of the political agenda to sort out the issue of homeless migration, but it is not the only framework for this conversation. Migrants and homeless people should not be fundamentally seen as a threat and a danger. They are first and foremost a challenge to our Church to recover its true identity, which is to love the stranger and care for the alien. This is embodied and crystallised in the words of Jesus, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Lk 10:27).

To turn our backs on migrants and homeless people is to forget our original identity, inhibit our Synodal renewal and deny our true destiny. Easter is a time for us to remember that Jesus was a homeless migrant. To forget that, is to forget who we are and also to forget who God is.

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My Grandfather and I Used to Wrestle Eric Clayton of Loyola Press remembers childhood times with his grandfather. Eric is a writer, speaker, storyteller, teacher and author.

He’d visit our home in California with my grandmother – a long flight from New Jersey – and enter the room and declare, ‘Let’s wrestle.’ My fiveyear-old self would giggle and run at him and try to pin this big man to the ground as he scooped me up and kept me dangling in the air.

That was nearly thirty years ago. But that’s how I still see my grandfather: a big guy with a deeply furrowed brow, a belly laugh and an intimidating pres34

ence. A man who’d wag his finger at me for not keeping up with the news – me, a nine-year-old! – and who’d lean in eagerly across the table to hear how I’d deftly managed coupons to save a few bucks on the latest video game for Nintendo 64.

My daughters don’t know that man; they never will. My grandfather is nearly ninety-three. He doesn’t wrestle anyone anymore; he has a hard enough time getting up and out of his

chair. He still has a hearty laugh and a big goofy grin, but those things are rarer and cut by tears and sorrow in the wake of strokes and deaths and the steady march of time.

He’s intimidating still, but not in the same way he used to be – with his furrowed brow and barrel chest and daily newspaper – and it took my eldest daughter a long time to warm up to him. She didn’t want to give him a kiss, give him a hug; she barely wanted to say hello when we’d visit. She’d hide behind me, her eyes cast downward.

This was nearly devastating to me and my grandfather, that my daughter couldn’t see in this man what I still did, couldn’t see her way to just saying hello. I would try and be patient with her, let her lead the way – forced love is a brittle thing to build a relationship on – but still, I’d encourage her: say hello.

Shake his hand. Give him a wave.

And slowly, slowly, that shyness gave way to hellos and then to handshakes and kisses and hugs. And amazingly, this little girl discovered within herself deep expressions of empathy when she saw her great-grandfather rattled by tears and sadness.

She’d wander over of her own accord and give him a hug, hold his hand.

And so, this hard-won affection continues to play out at every visit.

She still needs a little prodding, but that’s okay. And her sister – two years younger, meaning the advantage of two years of watching and idolizing her big sister – needs no encouragement at all. She hits the ground running – ‘Poppop! Poppop!’ – and gives the man’s leg a big hug, burying her face into his belly.

And that’s another amazing thing.

I think we do this for one another: We

We show the way to love. We walk with others along that path. And we rejoice when they take off running at a full sprint.

Isn’t that what Jesus did? Didn’t God enter our human story and show us how to love? How to love better? show one another how to love. We lead others to love. And, miraculously, we are the vessels through which others are able to love more: more ferociously, powerfully, unquestionably. An intimidated five-year-old grows up to nudge a shy little three-year-old who finds her own way and unknowingly leads a little sister, who barrels down that path with a big goofy grin and outstretched arms.

We show the way to love. We walk with others along that path. And we rejoice when they take off running at a full sprint.

Isn’t that what Jesus did? Didn’t God enter our human story and show us how to love? How to love better?

Didn’t Jesus love those whom others found intimidating or off-putting or scary? And didn’t his love – his example, his blazing path – open the way for others to wander along and love all the more?

We’re made in the image and likeness of our God who is love. We each are given the opportunity to help others love a little more, a little better – even greater than we ourselves yet understand.

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Art as Looking

Anger and Violence Continuing his series on art, Colm Brophy recounts an experience of anger and violence in Zambia and its effect on him.

Some images force us to think about difficult realities. Anger and violence begin when there is injustice. I’ve had a few personal encounters with violence. This is one of them.

I had just parked when the door of my car opened, and I was attacked by a powerful man who dragged me out and threw me to the ground, tearing the skin on the right calf of my leg.

When I landed on the hard tarmac, I found another man was holding a gun 36

to my head while my car was being robbed. I found my immediate reaction to the assault very unexpected.

At the time it was happening brilliant thoughts of how I could reverse the situation were flying through my head.

I felt absolutely no fear. What I felt was rage at being robbed. I said to myself maybe this guy doesn’t have a bullet in the gun, it’s just an act. It’s a toy gun. I could easily grab the barrel.

I don’t want my car stolen. But then

I felt his hand shaking violently, the pistol touching my head as he shook.

I said to myself, no, the gun is loaded.

This poor fellow is really scared that he’ll have to shoot me. I was lying there thinking all this at two minutes to ten on a bright April morning in 1998 outside the gates of the Irish embassy in Lusaka, Zambia. It was due to open at ten. The gates might open any minute. I had passports and visa applications in the car, which I was delivering for others. I thought, I don’t want to lose them. My first assailant was still trying to start the car. Maybe I can shout over to him and tell him he can have the car but please throw out the documents on the ground. But then if I do that, I argued with myself, this fellow with the gun to my head will react and shoot me. So I stayed quiet, lying flat out, not afraid, but fuming and furious. Then the engine started. The driver reversed fast missing my leg by inches. The man with the gun jumped in keeping the gun trained on me. They were gone, raising the dust. I stood up and shouted at the watchmen opening the embassy gate, ‘Give me a car I want to catch those fellows’. ‘Take it easy’, they said, and the next minute the ambassador was there phoning the police and inviting me in for a cup of tea and a place of calm.

I made this rough sketch of myself lying on the ground with a gun to my head a few days later, when it really hit me what had happened. I wanted to help get it out of my system. Often our art gets a difficult situation into the open and maybe then out of the system.

The injustice here was that the two who took my car were not the real

I made this rough sketch of myself lying on the ground with a gun to my head a few days later, when it really hit me what had happened. I wanted to help get it out of my system. Often our art gets a difficult situation into the open and maybe then out of the system.

thieves. At the police station, after giving my statement to two kindly young policemen, one of them said, ‘Can you give us your statement?’ ‘I’ve just given it’, I said. ‘Yes, we were listening, but we need to write it down now.’

And then, half way through my second statement, one of them looked up at me with a kind of sad face and said, ‘We are really very sorry sir about your car, but there is nothing we can do.’

‘What? Isn’t the whole point of the statement so that you can do something to find the thieves?’ ‘Yes sir, but you see there is nothing we can do because our elders are involved.’ At last the penny dropped. Some older policemen at that station were in league with business men who hire young men for a small reward to steal cars for them. I suppressed my anger at the injustice. Could I have done more?

In the Easter story, we are aware that the story being told is one of suffering, of lack of resistance and then triumph over evil and death.

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Cookery

Stir Fry Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce This month trained chef Seamus Buckley recommends a stir fry using tenderstem broccoli and a rhubarb crumble rich in vitamin K. My first recipe this month is stir fry beef and broccoli with oyster sauce.

For the stir fry I like to use tenderstem broccoli. Tenderstem broccoli has a long stem and a smaller floret than typical broccoli and is ideal for stir fries.

Ingredients – 4 servings • 750 g sirloin or rump steak, thinly sliced • 2 tbs vegetable oil • 1 tbs cornflour mixed with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper • 200 g tenderstem broccoli, chopped inch strips • 100 g mushrooms, thinly sliced • 100 g mangetout, thinly sliced • 1/2 red pepper, peeled and chopped • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped • 3 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped • 3 tbs of oyster sauce • 1 tbs soy sauce

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Method • Heat a wok or pan until very hot. Add

a tablespoon of oil.

• Coat the beef in the seasoned

cornflour and stir-fry, in batches, until crispy. Remove to a dish and keep warm while cooking the vegetables.

• Add a little more oil to the wok. Add in the broccoli, mushrooms, mangetout, red pepper, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.

• Return the meat to the wok and add in the oyster and soy sauce. Stir to combine and continue to cook for another minute.

• Serve with steamed potatoes or rice.

Cookery

Rhubarb Crumble My second recipe is rhubarb crumble.

The recipe is straight forward and uses one of the tastiest spring vegetables.

Rhubarb is high in vitamin K for building bones and preventing blood clotting. The rhubarb season begins in April and continues all the way through July.

Ingredients • 450 g rhubarb

• 60 g honey • 3 or 4 tbs of water • A squeeze of lemon Ingredients for the crumble: • 60 g plain flour • 25 g oatmeal (porridge oatlets) • 60 g brown sugar • 60 g butter

Method • Cook the fruit with the honey, water and lemon juice until it is soft but not mushy.

Place in a deep pie dish.

• Sift the flour, then mix together the ingredients for the crumble in the order given above. Warm the butter or margarine until it is soft (but not oily) before adding in.

Once the crumble has been well mixed, sprinkle evenly over the fruit.

• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 1800C / gas mark 6 for 20 minutes in the hottest part of the oven or until the crumble is brown and crunchy.

• Serve with custard or cream.

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Childrens Pages

Copy the rabbit, follow the maze and colour in the whale!

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_________________________________________________ Send to: Adult Crossword 04, Messenger Publications, 37 Leeson Place, Dublin, D02 E5V0, Ireland, by 24th of the month.

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Across 3 Uprightness of curette I’d removed (9) 7 Wash twisted reins (5) 8 Discreetly work round rude book (9) 9 Bring forth a young elephant or whale perhaps (5) 10 Agitated state of bull at Hereford (6) 13 Medicine one goes after? (8) 15 City still rapturous (8) 17 Information on welcome back in Swiss city (6) 20 Again rush to repeat showing (5) 21 There is possibly gold included for speculator (9) 22 Picture one of the Three Wise Men (5) 23 Recovering, need month off (2,3,4)

Down 1 Poor reception one receives for pork (9) 2 Fix on-line deviation of modulation of the voice (9) 3 Regret there are some more pentathlon events! (6) 4 Doctrine that’s the same standing on its head (5) 6 Left small number in the river to search for information (5) 11 He does not write anything new (9) 12 Discerned amendment repealed a decision (9) 14 The impracticality of tendency towards the highest conceivable perfection (8) 16 Intensely hot nonsense over strip (6) 18 Man featured in the thank-you letter (5) 19 Record old church taking very long time (5)

A €50 voucher for the first correct adult solution opened and a €30 voucher for the first correct children's solution opened. Judge’s decision is final. Entries must reach us by the 24th of the month.

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CHILDREN'S CROSSWORD 6 7

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Across 1 Leave in liquid (4) 3 Worn on the head (4) 7 Picture (5) 8 Chase quickly (3) 9 Insects used in a colouring-in game race, known as a drive (7) 12 Part of the foot (3) 13 Identify the letters in a word (5) 14 Hard area leading to the front door (4) 15 Shock (4)

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Down 1 Agitate (4) 2 State of wonder (9) 4 An arrangement that satisfies everyone (9) 5 Disappeared under water (4) 6 Person who helps care for your teeth (7) 10 Don't go any further (4) 11 Plot (4)

January 2023 Crossword: Solutions and Winners

Adult Crossword January: Across: 1 Prod; 8 Exposition; 9 Asti; 10 Flagship; 12 Blunt; 13 End; 16 Stanza; 17 Advert; 18 Red; 21 Cross; 22 Announce; 24 Omit; 25 Groundsman; 26 Eden.

Down: 2 Resolution; 3 Deigning; 4 Roll-on; 5 Midge; 6 Fish; 7 Snip; 11 Impressive; 13 Ear; 14 Dad; 15 Everyone; 19 Excuse; 20 Runny; 22 Alga; 23 Neon.

Children’s Crossword January: Across: 1 Safe; 3 Area; 6 Artists; 8 Attitudes; 9 Lantern; 10 Side; 11 Kept Down: 1; Syllables; 2 Flattened; 4 Residence; 5 Assistant; 7 Title.

Adult’s Crossword Winner January: Joseph Quinlivan, Clare Children’s Crossword Winner January: Maeve Bell, Cork 43

Why Was Jesus Executed?

Jesuit advocate for social justice Fr Peter McVerry links the historic crucifixion of Jesus with how he would be treated today.

In Iran some people have been executed for protesting against the rules and practices imposed on them by their religious/political leaders. They were charged with waging ‘a war against God.’ Jesus, too, was charged with blasphemy. He was considered an agent of Satan: ‘It is by the power of Beelzebub that he casts out devils’, they said.

The religious leaders of Israel told the people that their salvation depended on their observance of God’s laws. This was perfectly understandable. After all, when God rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, God made a covenant with the people that God would protect them, and lead them into the promised land, provided the people would obey God’s laws.

At the core of their religious faith and practice, therefore, was the exact, meticulous observance of all God’s laws, as interpreted by their religious leaders. When Israel was invaded by foreign armies, the people banished and the temple destroyed, this was attributed to God’s punishment for their lax observance of God’s laws.

Then Jesus came along. He often broke the law, for example, by healing on the Sabbath, which was considered work and therefore forbidden. He criticised the Pharisees who meticulously observed the details of the law, 44

but ‘neglected the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy, good faith’.

Jesus was considered to be offending God, undermining the faith of the people and risked bringing God’s anger and punishment down on them for failing to observe the laws as faithfully as they should.

Jesus revealed a God who loves us with an infinite and unconditional love, so much so that even our imagination cannot grasp the extent of God’s love.

But you don’t get executed for telling people how much God loves them. cBut Jesus also reminded them that God loves everyone else with the same infinite and unconditional love.

This had radical implications for the way they lived their lives and organised their society. Jesus talked about the compassion and love of God for the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the women taken in adultery, the infirm, the poor, and insisted that their dignity as beloved children of God be recognised and affirmed. But these were groups whom the religious authorities of his time despised and taught others to despise, whom they cast out and taught others to cast out, whom they rejected and taught others to reject, believing that they were obeying the God of the law.

It was clear to Jesus, from early in his public life, that the religious

Painting depicting Jesus meeting the women of Jerusalem by Jean Baptiste van Eycken, Notre Dame de la Chapelle, Brussels

leaders were plotting ‘how to get rid of him’. Just as, in Afghanistan today, it would be clear to everyone that, if they stood in the public square, demanding that women have a right to be educated and to work, the authorities would plot to get rid of them. But Jesus was prepared to sacrifice everything, even his own life, to defend the dignity of the poor and unwanted as beloved children of God. And if Jesus returned to earth today, he would again have to be got rid of.

To believe in a God who not only loves me but who also loves those that are starving, are homeless, are addicted, the abused and the abusing, those who are robbing, are dealing in drugs, is so challenging because it has such radical implications for our personal

behaviour and the way our society is organised. Just as Jesus, through the Incarnation, entered into solidarity with the human race, the God of compassion requires us, too, to enter into a radical solidarity with each other, including the poor and the excluded.

But only those who know they are sinners in need of God’s compassion, and therefore humble enough not to judge others, can dare to believe in the God of compassion.

To believe in the God of righteousness, who rewards the good (as defined by ourselves) and punishes the wicked (as defined by ourselves), is to worship a false God. We have to silence those who call us into solidarity with those we call ‘sinners’ Jesus had to die.

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Fr Willie Doyle: Cause for Beatification Bishop Tom Deenihan recently introduced the cause for beatification of Fr Willie Doyle. Read part of his homily.

The notions of God’s Kingdom, on earth as in heaven, and our obligation to work for that Kingdom are central points of today’s liturgy.

Of course, the feast always occurs in November, coming at the end of the Church’s year. November begins with our celebration of All Saints and then, All Souls.

In a way, the opening of the cause of the Servant of God, Fr Willie Doyle, touches upon all these elements.

His heroic desire to serve and promote God’s Kingdom found ultimate expression on the battlefield when he was ministering, as an army chaplain, to soldiers, some of whom were Catholic, others Anglican. Before that, from 1908 to 1915, he gave no less than 152 missions and retreats. His fame as preacher, confessor and spiritual director spread wide and far and was mainly

That heroic desire of Fr Doyle to serve and promote God’s Kingdom found ultimate expression on the battlefield when he was ministering, as an army chaplain, to soldiers, some of whom were Catholic, others Anglican.

46

responsible for founding the Rathfarnham Retreat House in Dublin.

After bringing a soldier to safety, Willie Doyle returned to the line of fire and was killed ministering to others.

We are told that Fr Doyle was nominated for the Victoria Cross for bravery, but it was not granted due to his, as an article in the Irish Times put it a few weeks ago, suffering from the three disadvantages of being Catholic, a priest and a Jesuit!

Since his death in 1917, his cult or following has remained strong and widespread. Since announcing his cause, I have been struck by the extent of that cult. His name comes up in the most unexpected of places. Indeed my favourite story of him is contained in Alfred O’Rahilly’s biography. After Fr Doyle’s death, his father’s house was being burgled, and Doyle’s father was powerless to stop it. The burglar came across a photograph of Fr Doyle on the dresser and asked who it was.

Doyle’s father said that it was his son who lost his life as an army chaplain.

The burglar responded that he knew him. He was a soldier and Doyle was his chaplain. He said that Doyle was a good man, dropped his bag of stolen property and walked out empty handed!

People remarked on Willie Doyle ‘speeding all day, hither and thither

over the battlefield like an angel of mercy; his words of absolution were the last words heard on earth by many an Irish lad that day, and the stooping figure of a priest and father filled the glance of many in their agony’.

Another tribute to Fr Doyle came from a member of the Orange Order who said that ‘We could not possibly agree with his religious opinions, but we simply worshipped him for other things. He did not know the meaning of fear. He was as ready to risk his life to take a drop of water to a wounded Ulsterman as to assist men of his own faith and regiment.’

On November, we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, all those who led good and holy lives and are now with God in heaven. They handed on the faith in their circle of family and friendship.

There can be no doubt that Doyle is one of those saints.

In the meantime, as we pray for his canonisation, his charity, generosity and evangelical zeal have something to offer ourselves. His regard, compassion, sacrifice and witness to all who are suffering, regardless of nationality or creed, is still a lesson for our time.

Fr Leonard Moloney the then provincial noted, ‘I am grateful to Dr Pat Kenny, President of the Fr Willie Doyle association who has championed this cause which the Irish Jesuit Province is delighted to support with Fr John Hogan of the Meath diocese as the postulator. May their work be blessed.’

Patrick Kenny’s more recent book, To Raise the Fallen (Veritas), provides further account, scholarship and inspiration. It is remarkable that so much has been written and that the demand for such is strong.

Consult www.williedoyle.org for updates on his cause and to report favours received.

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Reimagining Religion An extract from Reimagining Religion by Jim Maher SJ (Messenger Publications 2023) highlights the link between Mass and life.

Sunday Mass and daily life are inextricably linked. The consecration affirms God’s unwavering faith in us despite our betrayals which are not held against us. God’s faith in us is ratified by the gift of his Son who endured an unjust death rather than give up on us. The consecration recapitulates the dynamics of death and resurrection in its different guises. There’s the daily reality of betrayal, dehumanisation and alienation expressed through behaviours that are the opposite of life.

Disturbing images fill our TV screens 48

on a daily basis, as we witness the sufferings inflicted on others by those whose connection with the human family has been severed and who live in their own dehumanised and alienated bubble. On the other hand, there’s the possibility of forgiveness which culminates in transformation, both personal and collective, rolling away the heavy boulder that imprisons us in ourselves. The resurrection is at work in us when our unhealthy desires, fears, insecurities, angers and inflated egos are rolled away, allowing us to

be liberated from our false self. But we need help beyond ourselves to roll away the boulder, an idea captured by Ruth Fainlight in her poem ‘The Angel’ when she writes, ‘Sometimes the boulder is rolled away, / but I cannot move it when / I want to. An angel must.’ The ‘angel’ is divine or human outreach which makes it possible for the boulder to roll away. This reality is affirmed at the Eucharist. When Christian communities speak about ‘salvation’, they are referring to being saved from all that is personally and collectively destructive.

God wants us to inhale the breath of life so that we are free to be who God wants us to be. But often we’d prefer to go our own way and destroy our identity as persons-in-relationship.

The resurrection can be compared to an unusually bright spring day when the sun suddenly appears bringing light and warmth interrupting the monotony of grey skies. That spring day is a sign of hope. It reminds us of what’s to come and affirms that the meteorological conditions are already at work triggering the summer which will follow spring. The resurrection is already at work and partially fulfilled in this world as we await its fulfilment. When we’re in the orbit of solidarity and compassion, it’s like the spring day heralding the summer and goodness heralding the completion of resurrection.

At the conclusion of Mass, the congregation is reminded to ‘Go now and enjoy yourselves / For that is what God made you to do / To go out there and enjoy yourselves.’ There is a healthy heartiness about this instruction affirming the ordinariness and blessing of the material universe. This instruction echoes the sentiments of Ignatius of Loyola, who portrays God as wanting

This instruction echoes the sentiments of Ignatius of Loyola, who portrays God as wanting to share life and love with us for ever. to share life and love with us for ever.

Our loving response to God’s friendship is expressed when we embrace life in all its fullness and goodness.

There is a warm, rustic, down-to-earth glow to this Sunday gathering, where God is down-to-earth, and the congregation is having an ‘as-it-is-in-heaven’ experience. The sacredness of each person and the routine of daily life are highlighted. The hope coming from forgiveness is recalled. The light of resurrection dawns like a new day destroying the darkness of night and drawing us into the light. Earth is gathered up into the sphere of the divine, with all its mundane activities, joys and sorrows, sanctity and sinfulness, struggles and strife, as God comes down to earth where nothing or no one is beyond his healing embrace. The effect of such an experience on the speaker in the poem and their companion is ‘Both of us smiling, radiant sinners.’ The experience has been affirmative and hopeful encouraging our frail humanity.

We need not be imprisoned because we are ‘radiant sinners.’ God’s grace of transformation is radiated through the community experience, not suddenly and dramatically but gently and warmly. A community has been recharged by the grandeur of God. But we must be willing to embrace the gift and respond to it.

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God Is at Work in Dysfunctional Families The author, who wishes to remain anonymous, recounts the history of a family in the USA during the time of prohibition. She notes the positives she now sees in her family's difficulties.

Family is a gift of God, a mystery. I did not choose my family; I was born into it, and lived and grew up in it with my parents and siblings. Why am I attempting to write here about my family? It is in order to share how I found God in my family situation, which I experienced as not being ‘normal’ and which had a disastrous impact on us as growing children. Pope Francis, in his realistic vision of the family, says ‘There is no perfect family. We do not have perfect parents, we are not perfect, we do not marry a perfect person or have perfect children’. He’s right, but he would also say that God is right in the middle of every imperfect family!

My Father

My family profile consisted of my father, mother and six children. I need to relate-but not in order to blame-how my father’s thinking and decisions had profound and intense repercussions on my mother, sister and brothers.

I think particularly of my youngest brother: for me, he was the scapegoat, the innocent victim in a multi-dysfunctional family with complex needs.

My father indulged in betting. Customers would approach him and pay him a small amount. When they won, 50

he had to pay them big financial sums which he did not always have. My mother was a conscientious person, and my father demanded her jewelry to pawn it and so pay the customers.

He was an honest person and paid his customers their dues even though he suffered heavy losses.

With the intention of improving his finances he began boot-legging, that is, selling country liquor. Prohibition was in force, so the selling of liquor had to be clandestine. My mother was roped in to sell it to a regular flow of customers who would come to drink.

She would carefully save the day’s earnings and invest it in the family bank account. My mother was illiterate: we taught her to sign her name, and I would deposit the money in the bank. But as before my father would claim the earnings to pay his betting customers. So whatever was earned for the family through boot legging was syphoned off in betting.

Prohibition meant that the local police were on the watch and would raid suspected premises. Corruption was rampant. My father would slip money to the police, paying them to inform us of any raids. We could then make sure there was no liquor in the house when they arrived.

My Mother

My father drank, and we prayed every day that he might become sober. My mother would often cry in desperation for peace in the house as his violence adversely affected family life. Easily annoyed, he would physically beat my brothers with his leather belt. My mother would intervene to protect them. He himself prayed to give up drink and with God’s grace he finally stopped drinking completely. But disaster followed when my dear mother began drinking and showed withdrawal symptoms every morning.

We were unable to study when we returned from school because the customers were in our living room with their drinks: the only other room

was the bedroom. This affected our mental and emotional well-being: we were expected to go to school, to study and do all that was required of us; exteriorly we had to appear as ‘normal’ students from a safe family and were compelled to keep the family condition a secret. We became timid, lacked self-confidence and were not bold enough to speak our minds and express ourselves. We lived our daily routine attending to the basic necessities of going to church, school, college and work. We had no ‘social life’ and no family outings.

Purely the Grace of God

But God was present, and even now we thank him for his grace and protec-

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family hardships came to be seen as a source of purification of our love of God. All experiences helped us to grow in the social and moral values of perseverance and endurance. We learned discipline in keeping to our daily timetable from the time of waking up to sleeping. Our family life was notably strengthened when we managed to cooperate and to adjust to the reality of our lives.

God beside Us in the Dark

In his homily, Pope Francis prayed that the synod would ‘acknowledge, esteem and proclaim all that is beautiful, good and holy’ about family life.

tion that in spite of these overwhelming family situations we moved forward to lead healthy and productive lives.

The family morning and evening prayer was our source of strength. Our family prayer was vocal; from the depths of our hearts we prayed to trust that God would protect our family members, especially our parents, and defend us from all harm.

It was purely the grace of God and his love that protected us and helped us to grow, to continue our higher studies to be respectful professionals and to be employed in reputed institutions. Somehow, we grew up resilient, and we learned to face life in spite of negative pressure.

Silent and painful acceptance of

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I thank God from my heart for my parents, no matter their psychological pathologies which deeply affected us as children. I’ve learned to be grateful to God despite our difficult family circumstances. Surprisingly, these crosses gradually revealed themselves as concealed gifts, agents of interior transformation. Even though filled with negativity and fear, something deeper in us beckoned us to recall that God is beside us in this darkness. My transformation toward living in gratitude has continued and my journey has been enriched with every ‘thank you’ expressed for however God might be intervening.

The family situation helped us to understand the meaning of suffering and to accept pain in our everyday life. In his homily, Pope Francis prayed that the synod would ‘acknowledge, esteem and proclaim all that is beautiful, good and holy’ about family life.

He also prayed that synod would ‘embrace situations of vulnerability and hardship,’ not forgetting those suffering because of ‘war, illness, grief, wounded relationships and brokenness.’ (Homily of Pope Francis on the Family, 2022).

Thank you Jesus, Mary and Joseph for my family.

Recommended Reading The Spiritual Journey of St Patrick Aidan J.Larkin SSC 176pp €14.95

Aidan Larkin uncovers a wealth of references to the Church Fathers, neglected until now, in the writings of St Patrick. He encourages us to recognise and engage with Patrick’s deep spiritual legacy to the Church.

Dancing with Loneliness José Maria R. Olaizola SJ 160pp €12.95

Celebrated author José María R. Olaizola SJ says that if we can accept loneliness as a normal emotion, we can learn to listen to it and embrace it as a creative emptiness within which something new and life-giving can develop. In a perceptive, imaginative and down-to- earth style, Olaizola conveys his wisdom through literature, poetry, cinema and personal anecdotes.

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For Credit Card Payments: Phone 01-6767491 Email sales@messenger.ie WWW.messenger.ie APRIL 2023

4th SUNDAY OF EASTER Vocations Sunday

PALM SUNDAY

4

Tuesday

17

16

They told their story Lk 24:13–35

Believe in the one God sent Jn 6:22–29

St Fidelis of Sigmaringen

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23

3rd SUNDAY OF EASTER

We know you come from God Jn 3:1–8

I am sending you Jn 20:19–31

2nd SUNDAY OF EASTER

St Mark

Proclaim the gospel Mk 16:15–20

25

You must be born from above Jn 3:7–15

18

Why are you weeping?

Jn 20:11–18

They were filled with joy and awe at the tomb Mt 28:8–15

EASTER SUNDAY

He must rise from the dead Jn 20:1–9

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11

They decided to kill Lazarus Jesus was troubled Jn 13:21–33. 36–38 Jn 12:1–11

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Monday

10

My soul is sorrowful Mt 26:14–27:66

2

I am the gate Jn 10:1–10

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Sunday

HOLY THURSDAY

He is above all others Jn 3:31–36

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That they may have eternal life Jn 3:16–21

26

I am the bread of life Jn 6:35–40

Hear the Father Jn 6:44–51

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19 St Peter Canisius SJ

Why are doubts rising?

Lk 24:35–48

13

Jesus washed their feet Jn 13:1–15

6

Thursday

So slow to believe Lk 24:13–35

12

Not I Lord?

Mt 26:14–25

5

Wednesday

Calendar

April 2023

GOOD FRIDAY

St Anselm

Ss Peter Chanel & Louis Mary de Montfort

My blood is real drink Jn 6:52–59

28

They saw the sign Jn 6:1–15

21

It is the Lord Jn 21:1–14

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The Lord’s Passion Jn 18:1 – 19:42

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Friday

St Ceallach

Mary, Mother of the Society of Jesus

St George

HOLY SATURDAY

St Catherine of Siena

Intolerable language Jn 6:60–69

29

It is I do not be afraid Jn 6:16–21

22

They did not believe Mary Mk 16:9–15

15

He has risen Mt 28:1–10

8

Better for one man to die Jn 11:45–56

1

Saturday

Photograph by Liam O’Connell SJ

I am the new dawn each day, the promise of new life for now and eternity.

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