Reality Magazine January/February 2022

50 YEARS SINCE BLOODY SUNDAY

CRISIS IN GAZA

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

FR EAMON GOWING’S HALF CENTURY IN BRAZIL

Informing, Inspiring, Challenging Today’s Catholic

THE CHURCH I’D LIKE TO SEE MARY MCALEESE BISHOP BRENDAN LEAHY BRIAN D’ARCY MARY KENNY PETER MCVERRY MARIA HALL

PETER MCVERRY

ON GREED AND THE MISUSE OF POWER GERARD MOLONEY

ON A CHURCH IN CRISIS

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IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE FEATURES �� THE CHURCH I’D LIKE TO SEE Synodality: A new way of being church?

By Mike Daley Time to recognise the fundamental rights of church members

By Mary McAleese A garden with many flowers

By Bishop Brendan Leahy Consultation? Yes, but let the professionals also do their job!

By Mary Kenny

A church not clerically led

By Brian D'Arcy CP

Courtesy of Eurosport

A church of service

By Peter McVerry SJ

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Seven tips towards a transformed church

By Maria Hall

26 LETTER FROM THE PHILIPPINES A land rich in fruit of the earth

By Colm Meaney CSsR

30 ME AND MY GOD My knowledge of God has but scratched the surface

By Patrick Courtney

32 SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY The 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, one of the Troubles’ darkest days

By John Scally

34 THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD LITURGY The liturgy is the jewel and future of the church

By Maria Hall

38 A POOR CHURCH FOR THE POOR Fr Eamon Gowing reflects on half a century in Brazil Interview: Anne Staunton and Pat O'Sullivan

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OPINION

REGULARS

11 EDITORIAL

04 REALITY BITES 07 POPE MONITOR 08 FOREVER YOUNG 09 REFLECTIONS 41 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE 42 TRÓCAIRE 45 GOD’S WORD

28 JIM DEEDS 36 CARMEL WYNNE 44 PETER McVERRY SJ

REALITY BITES ATHENS

POPE ASKS PARDON FOR SINS THAT DROVE CATHOLIC, ORTHODOX APART

4

Like John Paul II before him, Pope Francis apologised to members of the Orthodox Church of Greece for the ways Catholics over the centuries had offended them, and he told Catholic leaders that they must embrace their minority status with humility.

"Here, today, I feel the need to ask anew for the forgiveness of God and of our brothers and sisters for the mistakes committed by many Catholics," Pope Francis told Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and all Greece.

Under heavy grey skies, Pope Francis made his way on December 4 from the Vatican nunciature to the archbishop's office in Athens' old city. He was driven to the nearby Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St Dionysius the Areopagite only after he met with Archbishop Ieronymos, the spiritual leader of the majority of Greek Christians.

While Catholics and Orthodox have the same roots in the preaching of St Paul and

the teaching of the early church theologians and first ecumenical councils, "tragically, in later times we grew apart," the pope said.

"Worldly concerns poisoned us, weeds of suspicion increased our distance and we ceased to nurture communion," Pope Francis said. "Shamefully — I acknowledge this for the Catholic Church — actions and decisions that had little or nothing to do with Jesus and the Gospel — but were instead marked by a thirst for advantage and power — gravely weakened our communion."

Pope Francis acknowledged there are some Christians who are not thrilled about ecumenism and its efforts to pray and work for the restoration of Christian unity and as the pope arrived at the archbishop's residence, an elderly Orthodox priest repeatedly shouted, "Pope, you're a heretic."

But convinced that communion is the path willed by Jesus, who prayed his followers would be one, the pope told the Orthodox

archbishop: "Let us fearlessly help one another to worship God and to serve our neighbour, without proselytism and in full respect for the freedom of others."

To those who would object that evangelisation is more central to the church's mission than ecumenism is, the pope replied, "How can we testify before the world to the harmony of the Gospel if we Christians remain separated? How can we proclaim the love of Christ who gathers the nations, if we ourselves are not united?"

VATICAN CITY

LAST SURVIVOR OF ALGERIAN MONASTERY ATTACK DIES AT 97 Trappist Father Jean-Pierre Schumacher, the last survivor of the 1996 attack on the Tibhirine monastery in Algeria, has died at the age of 97.

In a message released on November 21, the Trappist community of Midelt, Morocco, said Fr Schumacher died shortly after receiving the anointing of the sick at the start of a Mass for the feast of Christ of the King.

"Ten minutes later, he gave his soul to the Lord. He left in peace, as he has been all his life," the statement said.

Born in 1924, Fr Schumacher first joined the Marist Fathers. After his ordination in 1953, he joined a Trappist monastery in his native France. In 1964, he was sent to the Monastery

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

of Notre Dame de l'Atlas in Tibhirine, Algeria.

Fr Schumacher and another Trappist monk were the only survivors of a massacre when members of the Armed Islamic Group murdered seven Trappist monks at the Algerian monastery.

The seven monks were beatified in 2018 along with 12 other martyrs who were killed between 1993 and 1996, while Algeria was locked in a ten-year armed conflict between government forces and extremist Islamic rebel groups.

In an interview with Avvenire, the Italian bishops' daily newspaper, published on the eve of the beatification, Fr Schumacher said he survived the attack because he was

carrying out duties in a porter's lodge located outside the monastery.

"I heard noises. I thought they had come to take the medicine, as it had happened before. Then when silence returned, someone knocked on my door. I was a little scared, then I opened. It was (Father) Amédée, who told me, 'They took our brothers away. We are all alone, you and I,'" he said.

The Trappist monk told Avvenire that he always wondered why he and Fr Amédée survived the attack and whether God had considered "me worthy enough" to die with his fellow monks.

N E WS

BAHRAIN

VATICAN OFFICIAL CONSECRATES LARGEST CATHEDRAL IN PERSIAN GULF REGION Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, head of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, consecrated Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral in Bahrain, the newest and largest cathedral in the Persian Gulf region, on December 10.

Until now, Bahrain only had one church in the capital, Manama, and a chapel in the suburbs to serve the country's more than 90,000 Catholics.

This necessitated 25 weekend Masses to be celebrated in the Manama parish from Friday through Sunday.

Cardinal Tagle joined the choir in singing "Spirit, wash over me, cleanse me, refresh me, and fill me anew," as he sprinkled holy water on the clergy and parishioners and sanctified the cathedral for its service.

"Dear family of God, please come home often to this church, to meet and converse, talk with our merciful Father. God eagerly awaits you.

It would be a pity to have a beautiful house with no one living there," the cardinal told

Bahrain skyline

international congregants during his homily.

"But with your frequent spiritual gatherings here, anyone who enters will feel, breathe, and touch the love and warmth of God's family. …

While the construction of a building comes to an end, the construction of the church as a community never ends," Cardinal Tagle said.

He encouraged parishioners to care deeply for one another, listen intently to God's word and apply it, and provide charitable services to those in need.

Bahrain, a tiny, predominantly Muslim island nation — smaller in area than London — built a significant monument to the Christian faith in response to the Gulf region's increasing Catholic population, now estimated at 2.5 million.

Catholics in Bahrain hail mainly from the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. South Americans, Europeans and Arabs from the Levant region account for the rest of the island's Christian population.

SINGAPORE

FESTIVAL CLOSES BICENTENNIAL OF CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SINGAPORE Catholics in Singapore are marking the close of year-long celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the church's presence in the city-state with activities in a part of the city with historic Catholic roots.

The bicentenary celebrations, known as the Catholic200SG Festival, began on December 4 and ended with concurrent Masses in all 32 Catholic churches in Singapore on December 11, said the Singapore Archdiocese.

On the festival's final day, Archbishop William Goh of Singapore celebrated the main Mass in the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the oldest Catholic church in the country. The simultaneous ringing of the church bells across the island for one minute marked the closing of the jubilee year.

Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore

5

REALITY BITES HONG KONG

HONG KONG'S NEW BISHOP PROMISES HEALING The newly installed Catholic bishop of Hong Kong has promised to heal Catholics and the wider society, divided because of the Chinese action to suppress a two-year protest seeking democratic freedoms.

Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan, 62, also stressed the church's role in the formation of young people in the city, which has witnessed pro-democracy protests led by university students in the past two years. He said he would work harder to foster the next generation of Catholics.

"It is my desire to be a bridge between the government and the church in Hong Kong and between the Catholic Church, fellow Christian denominations and other religions," he told some 550 people gathered for the December

4 consecration ceremony at Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

Through understanding, respect and trust, collaboration can become a living culture in the community, he said.

Some 400,000 Catholics in Hong Kong Diocese witnessed a rift among themselves when Beijing imposed a tough new national security law last year to help security forces to suppress the mounting pro-democracy protests. A section of Catholics openly opposed the Chinese administrative action, saying it smothered democratic freedoms, while others supported it as being essential to maintain social order and peace, reported ucanews.com.

Bishop Chow's first address as bishop of the city also stressed the role of formation.

The Stand News, via Wikimedia Commons

Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan SJ

"A church without young people has no future, and a church without spirituality becomes too dogmatised and formalised," he said.

He also asked for "prayers, support and collaboration" to help him "carry out this mission" and promised his best with "all his heart, his soul and his mind."

6 TORONTO, CANADA

FIRST NATIONS DELEGATION TELLS OF HOPES FOR MEETING WITH POPE In a proposed meeting with Pope Francis, 13 Assembly of First Nations delegates plan to lay down heavy burdens and raise up the hope of nations. "Our hope is that this visit and a potential visit from the pope on our home territories will provide some measure of dignity and respect to the survivors and the intergenerational survivors of the residential schools," Dene Regional Chief Norman Yakeleya told reporters at a news conference to announce the assembly's delegation to go to Rome.

The visit, which was due to take place in December 2021, was postponed due to the worsening COVID-19 crisis. However, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops emphasised that the trip has been “postponed and not cancelled” and will be rescheduled to the earliest opportunity in 2022.

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

A delegation of Indigenous leaders, accompanied by several bishops, will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican to share their experiences of how they and their people have been treated by Catholics in Canada, with special attention to the impact on the Indigenous communities of Canada's residential schools, many of which were run

by Catholic religious orders or dioceses. The schools separated children from their families as well as from their language and culture.

Separate meetings will take place between Pope Francis and Inuit and Métis delegates.

"This trip has been a long time coming," said Yakeleya, who has been asked by National Chief RoseAnne Archibald to lead the First Nations delegation.

Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, will lead the Inuit delegation.

Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron will lead her delegation.

"We seek to hear the words on our lands by the pope. We seek justice. It is only then that we can begin walking truly on the healing path of reconciliation," Yakeleya said. "I also ask every Canadian to stand with First Nations as we continue this painful but important work."

Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir hinted that she would be asking Pope Francis to visit the site in Saskatchewan where 215 unmarked graves were discovered in May. "That, too, would be extremely significant to visit this part of Canada and to have that opportunity to meet with the survivors," she said.

N E WS

POPE MONITOR

KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS

LOOK AT THE FACES OF MIGRANTS; HELP THEM, POPE SAYS

POPE ENCOURAGES YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE THE CRITICAL CONSCIENCE OF SOCIETY

Syrian migrants arrive on an overloaded dinghy from Turkey to Molyvos, Lesbos

Pope Francis told young people that, with Jesus, they can find the courage to swim against the current, to be free and authentic, and to stand up for their dreams and ideals of truth, love, justice and peace.

"Be the critical conscience of society. Don't be afraid to criticise.

We need your criticism," he said, citing, for example, the disapproval coming from many young people about environmental destruction.

"Be passionate about truth, so that, with your dreams, you can say, 'My life is not captive to the mindset of the world. I am free, because I reign with Jesus for justice, love and peace!'"

Celebrating Mass on the feast of Christ the King in St Peter's Basilica on November 21, the pope directed much of his homily to the world's young people. This was the first year that the world's dioceses were celebrating World Youth Day on the local level on the feast of Christ the King rather than on Palm Sunday. Pope Francis announced the change last year.

As the church begins its journey toward the next intercontinental celebration of World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023, the pope asked that young people reflect on the image of Jesus standing before Pontius Pilate and declaring, "I am a king."

"We are struck by Jesus' determination, his courage, his supreme freedom," the pope said, because he could have tried to defend himself or compromise to avoid being condemned to death.

Instead, Jesus did not hide his identity, and he took responsibility for his own life and for his mission to testify to the truth, he said.

The best way to overcome indifference to the suffering of migrants and refugees is to look in their faces, Pope Francis has said.

"In Cyprus, as in Lesbos, (Greece), I was able to look into the eyes of this suffering. Please, let us look into the eyes of the discarded people we meet, let us be provoked by the faces of the children, children of desperate migrants," the pope said on December 8 after reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St Peter's Square.

"Let us allow ourselves to be drawn into their suffering in order to react to our indifference; let us look at their faces, to awaken us from the sleep of habit," the pope said.

Pope Francis thanked the governments and churches of Cyprus and Greece for their hospitality during his trip to the countries on December 2-6.

He also shared with the crowd in the square what he considered the highlights of his trip: his meetings with the heads of the Orthodox churches of the two countries and his meetings with migrants and refugees.

Pope Francis said he was particularly "moved" by Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus, who "spoke to me about the 'mother church:' As Christians we follow different paths, but we are children of Jesus' church, which is a mother, and accompanies and keeps us, that keeps us going, all as brothers and sisters."

In Greece, he said, "I experienced the gift of embracing again" Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and all Greece, with whom he had visited the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016.

"I entrust to the holy Mother of God the many seeds of encounter and hope that the Lord has scattered on this pilgrimage," the pope said, asking those in the square "to continue to pray that they may germinate in patience and flourish in trust."

POPE SETS DATE FOR CANONISATION OF BLESSED DE FOUCAULD Blessed Charles de Foucauld and six other candidates for sainthood finally will be canonised on May 15, 2022, the Vatican has announced.

The final stage in the sainthood process — a gathering of cardinals in Rome to affirm that church law had been followed in preparing for the candidates' declaration of sainthood and a formal request "in the name of Holy Mother Church" that Pope Francis set a date for the canonisations — took place in early May. But no date for the ceremony was set because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with Blessed de Foucauld, the spring ceremony will see the canonisation of the Indian martyr Devasahayam Pillai and five founders of religious orders.

7

FOREVER YOUNG SAINTS WHO DIED YOUNG

ELLEN ORGAN 1903–1908 (LITTLE NELLIE OF HOLY GOD)

8

Ellen Organ, better known as 'Little Nellie of Holy God,' was the youngest of four children born to William Organ and his wife, Mary Ahern. Mary died of TB in 1907 when the family resided in the military fort in Spike Island, where William was soldiering. Following the mother's death, the children were taken into care.

Nellie was placed in the orphanage run by the Good Shepherd Sisters in Sunday's Well, Cork. The child was delicate and suffered physical impairment due to a fall in infancy. As a result, most of her days with the nuns were spent in the infirmary.

Yet, Nellie, not yet four years old, was a happy, cheerful, uncomplaining little girl.

The Sisters soon observed that Nellie had an exceptional spiritual and prayerful attitude of mind. She loved the chapel, "the home of Holy God." The statues, the tabernacle, the stations of the cross intrigued her. The story of the Passion of Christ drew a tearful response – "poor Holy God, poor Holy God" – and after her carer went to Holy Communion, Nellie asked her for a kiss on the lips as a sort of spiritual communion because she loved Jesus in the "lock-up" – the tabernacle.

Nelly had memories of Spike and prisoners being placed in the lock-up.

Having visited her in Sunday's Well, the bishop of Cork attested to her holiness and had her confirmed. Nellie would not qualify for Holy Communion for another six years but having waived all the technicalities, the bishop ensured that the saintly little invalid would have Holy Communion.

The story of Little Nellie of Holy God so impressed Pope Pius X that it influenced his decision on the appropriate age for First Holy Communion, and he might have canonised her but for death overtaking himself.

Reality Volume 87. No. 1 January/February 2022 A Redemptorist Publication ISSN 0034-0960 Published by The Irish Redemptorists, St Joseph's Monastery, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk County Louth A91 F3FC Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Web: www.redcoms.org Email: sales@redcoms.org (With permission of C.Ss.R.)

Acting-Editor Gerard Moloney CSsR editor@redcoms.org Design & Layout Tanika Design Sales & Marketing Claire Carmichael ccarmichael@redcoms.org Accounts Dearbhla Cooney accounts@redcoms.org Printed by W&G Baird Printers, Belfast Photo Credits Shutterstock, Service, Trócaire, The Stand News, via Wikimedia Commons REALITY SUBSCRIPTIONS Through a promoter (Ireland only) €20 or £18 Annual Subscription by post: Ireland €25 or £20 UK £30 Europe €40 Rest of the world €50 Please send all payments to: Redemptorist Communications, St Joseph's Monastery, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk County Louth A91 F3FC ADVERTISING Whilst we take every care to ensure the accuracy and validity of adverts placed in Reality, the information contained in adverts does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Redemptorist Communications. You are therefore advised to verify the accuracy and validity of any information contained in adverts before entering into any commitment based upon them.

When you have finished with this magazine, please pass it on or recycle it. Thank you.

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Promoters: We keep all of our promoters in our prayers and thank them for their loyal service in selling Reality.

We remember in our prayers sick and deceased promoters and their families.

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

REFLECTIONS A man entered a local newspaper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns, hoping that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.

The small-town policeman pulled up next to a man who was unloading rubbish out of his van into a ditch. "Why are you dumping that rubbish?" the policeman asked. "Didn't you see the sign?" "Sure," the man replied, puzzled at the policeman's reaction. "That's why I picked this spot. It says, 'Fine for dumping rubbish.'"

To paint a fine picture is far more important than to sell it.

PICASSO

The one who forgives restores, even though it may seem only on a small scale, the integrity of being.

JOHN M. OESTERREICHER

Small boy on phone: "You must have the wrong number. My big sister is not beautiful."

Advice is like snow – the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon and the deeper it sinks inside the mind.

COLERIDGE

Live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship can survive.

Don't insist on your rights, don't blame each other, don't judge or condemn each other, but take one another as you are. Forgive each other every day from the bottom of your heart.

Have you heard of the terrible family They, And the dreadful venomous things They say?

Why, half the gossip under the sun, If you trace it back, you will find begun, In that wretched House of They.

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

ELLEN WILCOX WHEELER

Write in your hearts that every day is a good day.

If God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.

R. W. EMERSON

What can't be loved has no existence. The only mistake and misfortune in the world is the failure to love.

GEORGE BERNANOS

The mind is an iceberg. It floats with only one-tenth of its bulk above water.

SIGMUND FREUD

Friendship needs no words. It is a loneliness relieved of the anguish of loneliness.

DAG HAMMARSKJOLD

When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it's longer than any hour – that's relativity.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

C.S. LEWIS

When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand.

HENRI NOUWEN

If there was nothing wrong in the world there wouldn't be anything for us to do.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

9

EDI TO R I A L UP FRONT GERARD MOLONEY CSsR

THE SLEEPWALKERS

C

hristopher Clarke's seminal work, The Sleepwalkers, tells how Europe went to war in 1914. The Cambridge history professor demonstrates how the statesmen of that time were "sleepwalkers, blind to the reality of the horror they were about to bring into the world." The preventable catastrophe cost 20 million lives, destroyed three empires, and planted the seeds for an even more destructive war a couple of decades later.

Today, as we survey the state of the church in Europe and the western world (and indeed the state of Christianity generally), it can seem as if we are also sleepwalking towards disaster.

We are well acquainted with the collapse in religious vocations and church attendance; we know about the greying of the priesthood, the closure of convents and monasteries, the amalgamation of parishes and dioceses, the heavy burdens placed on an exhausted clergy. We have felt the impact of rampant secularisation and a hostile press. We know the trends.

Actual statistics spell out just how bleak the situation is in Ireland and many other countries. The average age of diocesan priests is now over 70. Within a decade, few clergy will be under pensionable age.

To plug gaps, priests will feel obliged to die with their boots on. The great religious orders of men and women are planning for a soonto-be-realised future where they will have to severely curtail their current ministries and close big houses. Winter is upon us.

None of these facts surprise us. The writing has been on the wall for quite a while. And even though we have prayed for vocations, and bishops have encouraged perpetual adoration in an attempt to get God to do something about vocations, it is evident that this strategy has failed. God isn't listening; God has decided that other solutions are required. And still, it has seemed as if those

in leadership haven't been listening but are intent to keep on sleepwalking.

Many people will be sceptical, with some justification, that the synodal process currently underway will negotiate a path out of this crisis. They have lost faith in Romeled, men-only synods to achieve anything tangible.

Of course, the process is different this time. There is a sincere effort to consult with ordinary church members, to hear from people in the pews. There is an acknowledgement that the crisis will only deepen unless action is taken. But unless there is a willingness to discuss difficult and contentious issues, unless there is real and meaningful lay participation, unless Rome is genuinely prepared to acknowledge the voice of the faithful; unless the church imitates rather than opposes the synodal model currently underway in Germany, for example, then little will change, and the fateful sleepwalk will continue.

As I sign off as editor for the last time, I offer my modest proposals for the church I long to see in my lifetime: 1. That the church will remove any structures, laws or traditions which now hinder rather than facilitate its mission to proclaim the Good News. Our world needs to hear the Gospel message as urgently today as at any time in the last 2,000 years. Nothing manmade should stand in the way of this task.

2. That the church will be experienced as truly the People of God. The church teaches that it is made up of all the baptised, but many do not experience this to be the case. They see it instead as an elite club for celibate male clerics, who appear determined to preserve the medieval structures of the institution.

3. That women will be given actual ownership of the church and be enabled to exercise ministry at all levels.

4. That Catholics will have a real say in choosing their leaders at the local and diocesan levels. Bishops should not be foisted on people and priests as a result of some secret Roman manoeuvrings but should emerge out of an open and transparent selection process.

5. That the church at every level will identify with and not be afraid to speak out on behalf of the weakest and most vulnerable in society, as Pope Francis insists. The church must not only be prophetic but be seen to be prophetic.

6. That the LGBTI community, many of whom are alienated from organised religion, will feel welcome in the family of church.

7. That divorced and remarried Catholics, many of whom find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own, will be offered a means to be fully reintegrated into the worshipping community.

8. That the Gospel will be proclaimed and heard as Good News. Too often, in the church's teaching and preaching, people do not hear God's word as good news. They hear it as something that enslaves rather than liberates, as a series of forbidding rules and regulations (especially around sex) rather than as a truly joyful and life-giving message.

9. That priests and religious who have left the ministry will be invited to return to it, if they so wish, thus enriching the church with the wealth of their gifts, talents and experiences.

10. That the 2011 translation of the liturgy will be replaced by one that’s easier to pray, theologically coherent and uses inclusive language.

Gerard Molonry CSsR Acting Editor

11

C OVE R STO RY

THE CHURCH I’D LIKE TO SEE 12

THE CONSULTATION PROCESS FOR THE SPECIAL SYNOD OF BISHOPS ANNOUNCED BY POPE FRANCIS IS NOW WELL UNDER WAY ACROSS THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. WHAT SHOULD THE OUTCOME BE? WE ASKED SOME CATHOLICS TO TELL US THEIR DREAM FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, WHILE MIKE DALEY EXPLAINS HOW THE SYNODAL PROCESS WORKS.

St Magdalena Church in Val Di Funes Valley, Italy

COVER STO RY

SYNODALITY: A NEW WAY OF BEING CHURCH? THE CHURCH HAS RECENTLY BEGUN A TWO-YEAR SYNODAL PROCESS OF ENCOUNTER, LISTENING AND DISCERNMENT. BUT HOW WILL THIS PROCESS WORK, AND WHAT IS THE THINKING BEHIND IT?

BY MIKE DALEY

Y

ou'd be forgiven if you haven't heard of the 'big' word making the rounds in high church circles yet. Other ecclesial expressions like apostolicity, collegiality, infallibility, magisterium, and transubstantiation may more readily come to mind. The word in question is synodality.

Though you may be unfamiliar with the term, it has become an essential building block of Pope Francis' vision for the church.

Speaking on the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, Francis said: "The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve, even with its contradictions, demands that the church strengthen cooperation in all areas of her mission. It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the church of the third millennium."

Helping the church come to a better understanding of synodality, the International Theological Commission in 2018 published an overview of synodality, describing it as "an essential dimension of the church." It went on to state: "First and foremost, synodality denotes the particular style that qualifies the life and mission of the church, expressing her

nature as the People of God journeying together and gathering in assembly, summoned by the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel."

Speaking to the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops on synods and the process of synodality, Timothy Radcliffe, Dominican priest and former Master of the Order, remarked that both "depend upon both having the confidence to speak and the humility to listen. Listening is daring to open yourself to people who've got views other than your own, views with which you may disagree with strongly. Our society fears difference. Google and Facebook have algorithms which steer us towards the likeminded. So, we're tempted to live in bubbles of people who think the same thing."

Synodality, then, invites the church to unity through difference. It asks for the participation of ordained, lay and even non-members alike.

Surprisingly, it allows us to consider a church that we may have not yet imagined or dared risk becoming. This is not done by any one person, but by all the faithful, through the lens of Scripture and Tradition under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

13

C OVE R STO RY

Synodality represents the main road for the church, called to renew herself under the action of the Spirit and by listening to the Word. challenge its usefulness: "Today, as we begin this synodal process, let us begin by asking ourselves – all of us, pope, bishops, priests, religious and laity – whether we, the Christian community, embody this 'style' of God, who travels the paths of history and shares in the life of humanity. Are we prepared for the adventure of this journey? Or are we fearful of the unknown, preferring to take refuge in the usual excuses: 'It's useless' or 'We've always done it this way'?"

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A LISTENING AND CONVERSATIONAL CHURCH? The church has recently begun (October 2021) a two-year synodal process of encounter, listening, and discernment. The first part takes place locally at the diocesan level. What is desired here is to capture through sharing sessions the lived experience of faith — what questions, what struggles, what tensions, what gifts do the Pilgrim People of God have to share with the church and the wider world?

Echoing the words of Pope Francis, the preparatory document for the synod stresses that the purpose of this consultative process "is not to produce documents, but 'to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands.'" (#32) Following the diocesan level meetings, there will be continental gatherings from September 2022 to April 2023. The process REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

culminates in October 2023 in Rome with a gathering of the world's bishops centred around the theme 'For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.'

HISTORY OF CLERICALISM At this point, some of you may be smiling cynically. Mindful of the church's history of clericalism, this newfound appreciation of the laity may elicit more scepticism than encouragement. The church of 'Pray, Pay and Obey' now asks for greater involvement and co-responsibility from the laity? The church of 'Rome has spoken, the case is closed' is flipping scripts and wants to have sustained conversations? Speaking recently at a webinar, Redemptorist Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, USA, respected this possible response: "Sometimes cynicism is very well merited, but sometimes cynicism could be an escape mechanism that allows me to escape from my reality and responsibility."

Pope Francis appeared to anticipate this reaction in his homily at the Mass which began the synodal process. He also wanted to

A STORY OF CONVERSION In the preparatory document, the encounter between Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10) is used as emblematic of the synodal process.

Cornelius, a pagan yet God-fearing soldier, is told by an angel of God to bring Peter back to his home.

Meanwhile, in the midst of hunger pangs, Peter has a vision. In it, he is commanded by the Lord to eat meat: "Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat." To this, Peter exclaims, "Surely not, Lord!" He is adamant that he has not and will never eat anything profane or unclean.

Peter's whole worldview is being challenged.

Naturally, he resists.

Eventually, Peter goes to Cornelius and accepts his hospitality, eating food that he had once considered forbidden. In the process,

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15 Twilight view of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Diocese of Chanthaburi, Thailand

The preparatory document for the synod stresses that the purpose of this consultative process "is not to produce documents, but to plant dreams.”

Peter has the theological breakthrough that will change Christian history: "God shows no partiality."

The preparatory document sees the story of Peter and Cornelius modelling what synodality is all about: "Both Cornelius and Peter involve other people in their journey of conversion, making them companions in their journey. The apostolic action accomplishes God's will by creating community, breaking down barriers, and promoting encounters." (#24) Communities are frayed, however. A global pandemic has kept us from one another.

In their confusion, some people search for answers in secularism and religious fundamentalism, while others, feeling

betrayed by religious authorities, walk away.

The walls of discrimination and prejudice remain, preventing our encounter with each other and with the earth.

Yet, as the preparatory document makes clear, "synodality represents the main road for the church, called to renew herself under the action of the Spirit and by listening to the Word. The ability to imagine a different future for the church and her institutions, in keeping with the mission she has received, depends largely on the decision to initiate processes of listening, dialogue, and community discernment, in which each and every person can participate and contribute. At the same time, the decision to 'journey together' is a prophetic sign for the

human family, which needs a shared project capable of pursuing the good of all. A church capable of communion and fraternity, of participation and subsidiarity, in fidelity to what she proclaims, will be able to stand beside the poor and the least and lend them her own voice." (#9)

Michael Daley is a teacher and writer from Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. His latest book, coedited with Diane Bergant, is Take and Read: Christian writers reflect on life’s most influential books (Apocryphal Press: Berkely, 2017).

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TIME TO RECOGNISE THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF CHURCH MEMBERS WITHOUT A CHANGE OF COURSE, THERE IS LITTLE LIKELIHOOD THE FORTHCOMING SYNOD ON SYNODALITY WILL DELIVER THE URGENT CHANGE THE CHURCH NEEDS

BY MARY McALEESE

(extracts from an address delivered at the Root & Branch Synod, Bristol, September 2021)

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ou put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions." (Mark 7:8) It wasn't so long ago that the big S-word in the Catholic Church was Scandal. It enveloped the church in an ecclesial winter. Today another big S-word – Synodality – promises an "ecclesial springtime," to quote recent words of Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops. Many faithful would like to see that springtime, but their hopes are tempered by the belief that the church is at a critical crossroads in its history, and if it fails to choose the right path, it risks an enduring permafrost.

Pope Francis seemed to understand this predicament and the surge tide of distrust of a culpable episcopacy when, shortly after his election, he said the future lay with developing a synodal church at every level. It would be a listening church, whose members would walk and talk together with freedom of speech and where what affects all would be discussed by all, as was the case in the early church. Those words brought optimism, and new energy seemed to break through the pervasive demoralisation.

In good faith responses to Pope Francis' words, some diocesan synods have been held or are planned. National episcopal synodal processes are currently underway in Germany, Australia, South America, Italy and Ireland. There is this uniquely lay-led Root and Branch Synod which has no geographical boundaries. In addition, there was Francis' surprise initiative when he announced in October 2021 that a synodal

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process would commence throughout the universal church culminating in a Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2023, with the theme: 'For a synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission.' It has been dubbed the Synod on Synodality. Pope Francis and the Synod office have set out the terms on which we church members will participate. Now we set out ours, for theirs are missing important basics.

HUMAN RIGHTS I want to make the case that while there is real value in developing a new culture of synodality in the church, synodality will only work – the future church will only work – if it is set in a context where there is unequivocal acceptance that church members are entitled, within the church and all its laws and processes, including synods, to the inalienable human rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. Those rights include the equality of men and women, and their intellectual rights to freedom of expression, speech, thought, opinion, belief, conscience and religion, including the right to change religion. Canon law currently imposes limits and restrictions on all those rights. Regrettably, it is already clear that in Francis' notion of synodality, these things are not likely to be up for discussion.

Yet they urgently need to be.

Synodality is a concept that is not referred to, much less defined, in any document of Vatican II or the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Pope Francis

has admitted that it is easier to name than explain, while the International Theological Commission pointed out in 2018 that the very word synodality "is a linguistic novelty which needs careful theological clarification." There has been little theological clarification, but there has been a welter of hastily constructed legal clarification, including from Pope Francis as well as a rambling preparatory document from the Office of the Synod of Bishops which, while telling us "that we are at a crucial transition in the life of the church, which cannot be ignored," remarkably ignored fundamental questions about our rights as church members which are at the heart of this "crucial transition."

Without a change of course, there is little likelihood the forthcoming synod on synodality will deliver a measurable ecclesial thaw. Greater hope lies in this lay-led [Root and Branch] synod and the German synod, both of which offer a progressive model of synodality based on principles which on current form will be absent from the Synod of Bishops' Synod on Synodality, namely, equality of all church members, freedom of speech and agendas that are fully open to discussion of contentious issues.

We have to hope and pray that enough faithful in every diocese, including laity, religious, priests and bishops, will find the courage to insist that the recognition in church law of the equality and intellectual freedom of all church members must be a priority in the national episcopal reports that will go to Rome for the 2023 Synod.

It will be the most important reset button the church has ever hit.

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Pope Francis celebrates a Mass for the closure of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon region

IRRELEVANCE Pope Francis' notion of synodality, which once seemed to have captured the zeitgeist favouring an all-inclusive church debating structure, now seems bent on preventing it at worst, or micro-managing it into irrelevance at best.

Unless and until the magisterial church acknowledges the full equality of all members as church citizens, unless there is an acknowledgement of members' inalienable rights to freedom of speech, expression, opinion, conscience, belief, religion and right to change religion, then all official church synods – whether diocesan, national or synods of bishops – will be as anodyne and embarrassingly ineffectual as every Synod of Bishops has been since its inception in 1965. That includes Francis' four synods, which, though extravagantly hyped, despite their large clerical carbon footprint, have all been expensive, protracted and inconclusive anti-climaxes testifying only to the hopeless inadequacy of the church's official synodal model.

CULTURE OF INVITATION The church will continue to haemorrhage members and experience a lessening of both external and internal impact unless it shifts from a culture of imposed obligation to a culture of invitation. In such an open culture, the divine baptismal graces can flow liberally.

In our magisterial control culture, they are blockaded, and we are spiritually infantilised while the magisterium tells us they have all the

answers and we have no right to ask questions.

Yet more in hope than expectation, we meet in this Root and Branch Synod in a good-faith response to Pope Francis' call for a more synodal church because somehow we still believe in miracles.

Lay-led synodal processes like this can showcase to the church in general and the magisterium in particular what it is to be an equal citizen of the church, how to respectfully embrace freedom of speech, how to listen to, hear and trust the voices of lay men and women who care about the church and who are open to guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Their fresh wisdom may yet provide answers to problems a decomposing hierarchical infrastructure cannot face.

GREAT COMMANDMENT The only way this synod is able to offer real freedom of speech and an open agenda dedicated to the best practice of the great commandment to love one another is by ignoring the constraints imposed by the magisterium and insisting our human rights are not trumped by church law but are in fact violated by it.

By drawing that reality to the attention of the forthcoming Synod of Bishops, there is even at this last minute some hope of vindicating Cardinal Grech's claim that Pope Francis' synods have a new style "marked by a real freedom of speech." Pope Francis has warned of a false synodality that wants to tidy up the church. If ever an institution needed tidying up, Holy Father, it is our church, for we

face an unholy mess created by the systemic dishonourable abuse of grandiose clerical power. It has flattened the faithful. We should be glad of the miracle that there are people still willing to pick themselves up, stand up and help tidy up that magisterial mess, not with unchristian episcopal cover-ups but with Christian candour.

Our kind of synodality can lead to a new kind of communion, finally worthy of Christ, who is, after all, the very author of our inalienable human rights and fundamental freedoms, who stands four-square with us as we use the voice and the freedom he gave us to demand of the magisterium that it fully honours them and him, as we do here at this synod in his holy name.

It is time to dream big, said Pope Francis, and it is. We invite the pope and the magisterium and our brother and sister faithful to enter into our dream.

The eighth President of Ireland, Mary McAleese has a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University Rome.

She is chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin.

Root and Branch Synod The Root and Branch Synod was set up as a contribution to the Bishops’ Synodal process inaugurated by Pope Francis.

Members seek comprehensive reform in the institution of Catholic clericalism, and believe the People of God must lead the way towards an inclusive, safe and loving Catholic Church.

President McAleese was one of the experts who addressed a meeting of the synod in Bristol in September 2021.

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A GARDEN WITH MANY FLOWERS

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IT HELPS ME TO KEEP REMEMBERING THE CHURCH, ABOVE ALL, IS THE UNIVERSAL PEOPLE OF GOD, BORN FROM THE GOSPEL, LOVING ONE ANOTHER AND EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT

BY BISHOP BRENDAN LEAHY

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time will come, the Acts of the Apostles says, when "young men shall see visions" and "old men shall dream dreams." At this point in my life, I'm more on the "dream" than the "vision" side. Nevertheless, here goes my mixture of dreams and visions of 'the church I'd like to see.' I'm presenting them in the form of short one-liners. Apologies if they are too pithy.

First, though, I'd like to offer a word about the church. The image of the church as a wonderful garden with many flowers is one that strikes me. Admiring not just this or that flower but the beauty of the garden's many flowers will, I hope, be a vibrant feature of tomorrow's church.

So often, we end up thinking the church is just about us as individuals and the religious department of our lives. Or we think it's the parish structures and the diocese, religious congregations, associations and movements or the Vatican; or we limit it to the spiritual moments of Sunday Mass, Confirmation ceremonies, novenas or consoling funeral services. Or we think of the church almost as an NGO with its social projects and initiatives.

But it helps me to keep remembering the church, above all, is the universal People of God, born from the Gospel, loving one another and empowered by the Spirit.

Continuing Jesus' mission in history, each of us personally and all together is endowed with gifts of faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these gifts is love. Love has eyes to help us look around and see the wonderful garden the church is with many flowers to be admired and appreciated. Love brings balance and harmony, and simplicity.

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o here goes my list of dreams and visions.

I hope that out of a synodal process that I believe won't just be for the next few years, I'll see a church that is more…

Dynamic – energised through the rediscovery of the Gospel and its art of love, sharing and communicating our experiences of the Word of God. United – striving to be one in and through the inevitable tensions.

Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary, Slovenia

Trinitised – women and men, young and old, clergy and lay, moving to the rhythm of the mutual indwelling of Father, Son and Spirit, the Trinity, unity in diversity, our true home.

Centred on Christ – recognising the church is born from and constantly generated by love of Jesus and him crucified.

Missionary – going forth living the New Commandment in missionary service and with global perspective, doing and speaking the truth in love in our world even if not of it.

Pilgrimaging – seeking, finding and accompanying Christ in and with others, not least in the social and existential peripheries where he has already taken up residence 'outside the camp.'

Attentive to the voice of the Spirit – recognising ourselves as friends of the Spirit, soul of the church, exercising communitarian discernment especially in the family, the domestic church.

Beyond the wounds – trusting in God's mercy, facing up to the realities of the pain we've caused and caring enough to offer hope.

Poor – disarmed of the desire to identify ourselves in terms of self-preservation and securities, humbly recognising that we are not in charge. God is.

Contemplative – looking on our world not in judgement, but watching out for the signs of the Resurrection calling forth seeds of a new

world and moving us to care for our planet.

Charismatic – recognising and fanning into a flame the charisms with which the Spirit has embellished the People of God. Good humoured – not succumbing to eternal griping but helping the world to smile.

Grateful – acknowledging appreciatively to God the gift of the pillars that sustain us as church: the Word of God and sacrament, hierarchy and prophecy, community and charity.

Holy – shining with a saint-next-door type of holiness that we also remember witnessing in our relative 'saints' lying in the cemeteries, reminding us of the Communion of Saints.

Cenacle-like – gathered in the Upper Room just like Mary and the apostles, building ourselves up in prayer.

Marian – radiating a greater lay and less clerical profile, with Mary as our model, letting Christ the Way be the wayfarer among us when two or more of us gather in his name.

Reforming – always beginning again, knowing reform is a constant along our journey through time.

Dr Brendan Leahy is Bishop of Limerick.

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CONSULTATION? YES, BUT LET THE PROFESSIONALS ALSO DO THEIR JOB! AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE DELIBERATIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERATIONS OF MATERNAL HEALTH

BY MARY KENNY

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’m not a great one for committee meetings, and I’m afraid I have little enthusiasm for churchy invitations to 'get the laity more involved' with running the parish. I once sat on a parish council, and I found it frustrating and tedious. Procedure ('through the chair') is not my strong point either. Perhaps this is due to what the French call 'professional deformation' – that one has been influenced too much by one’s professional training. Thus doctors see only disease, and lawyers see only the torts of the law. Journalists in my youth were formed by the quick decision and the decisive leader – 'the editor is always right, (even when he’s wrong!)' – and we bear in mind that a camel is a horse designed by a committee.

Democracy is all very well and dandy, and voting is indeed an organised consultation with the people. But total democracy would be 'the dictatorship of the proletariat' and that usually ends badly. Or just chaotically. In a professional capacity, I look to leadership.

ISSUE OF CLERICALISM I’m the kind of person who likes a professional to do their job. Sometimes, when I attend a hairdresser who I’m not familiar with, and he/ she says, “what way would you like your hair done,” I reply, “you decide! You’re the coiffeur!”

And, although I take on board the many people who object to 'clericalism', and think it regretful if a church is overly dominated by its clerics, nevertheless I also expect a priest to

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do his job, just like the doctor, the lawyer or the hairdresser. Perhaps that’s also partly because I’ve had experience – no names, no pack-drill – of a parish priest who didn’t always do his job properly. He kept his phone on voicemail, could seldom be contacted, farmed out the parish newsletter to a willing hand and seemed to be generally pretty idle. His homilies seemed to consist of the first notion that came into his head and struck me as blatantly unprepared.

So this is where I’m coming from, to some degree, on 'consultation'. Yes, the laity who wish to be pro-active are entitled to be involved, even if – as Stephen Bullivant writes in his excellent study of post-Vatican II, Mass Exodus – such endeavours do tend to attract bossy middle-class types who like putting their oar in anyway. Good luck to them! But please don’t ask me to be more engaged in parish life, with all its administrative detail and organisational chores. I have enough on my plate already, as do so many women, for that matter. Women in middle life are often caring for two generations – elderly parents, and young-adult offspring. Women in later life are often putting in grandmother care as well as not unusually still working, if only part-time, themselves.

BEST SCENARIO What I want from parish life is a priest who does his job – and that includes pastoral care, and taking an interest in his parishioners. In

an active parish, it should also include other activities, both devotional and cultural. I’m impressed by the way parishes in France often run art exhibitions or provide musical performances, such as cello or violin concerts.

In the Middle Ages the church was the centre of cultural life, and in the Renaissance it was the main prompt for the arts. An accomplished pastor should be able to organise such events.

It should be part of their job. Listening to what the parish wants is also part of the job. In the best scenario, a formal 'consultation' shouldn’t be necessary. As the old Irish motto has it: “listen to the river and you will catch the fish!”

On a macro scale, if invited to say what reform I would suggest the Vatican might consider, I would say that they should revisit Humanae Vitae, issued in 1968, and they should put at the forefront of their deliberations considerations of maternal health. Health and healing are very much part of the Gospels and if responsible contraception enhances the health of mothers, especially poor mothers, then surely it has a place. Perhaps, as I am able to make this point on secular platforms, I don’t need to put it into a formal 'consultation' which, for the most part, I leave to other voices.

Mary Kenny is a journalist, broadcaster and playwright. She has been described as "the grand dame of Irish journalism.”

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A CHURCH OF SERVICE WHAT IS NEEDED IS A CHURCH OF SERVICE RATHER THAN JUST A CHURCH OF SERVICES

BY PETER MCVERRY SJ

T

he only thing we can say with certainty about the church of the future is that it will be totally different from the church we are familiar with today.

CONTEXT The church does not exist for itself. It exists only to continue the mission of Jesus. How we see the church of tomorrow depends on how we understand its mission.

We could define that mission in this way: it is to reveal to the world the God that Jesus revealed, namely the God of compassion. Jesus healed the sick, ate with sinners, and was a friend and companion to the poor. We, the community called church, can only reveal the God of compassion by being the compassion of God to others, particularly, like Jesus, to the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised.

Alternatively, we could define its mission in the prayer that Jesus himself gave us, "Thy kingdom come ….on earth, as it is in heaven." In heaven, God's will is always done, and so it should be on earth.

These two ways of defining the mission of the church are actually identical.

CHURCH AS PEOPLE OF GOD Those who wish to become members of the church, then, must commit themselves to a service of the poor and needy,

thereby building the Kingdom of God on earth and revealing the God of compassion to the world. Hence, I would abolish infant baptism and only baptise those who are able, and willing, to make such a commitment. Infant baptism comes from an outdated theology that says infants who die without baptism will not go to heaven.

The church of the future, then, would be much smaller and with an unwavering concern for those on the margins of society, and so it would probably be a persecuted church. For example, it would support the right of Travellers to housing, often incurring the opposition of some in the settled community. As at the time of Jesus, the God whose passion is compassion was not acceptable to some religious leaders, who believed that God's passion is the observance of the law. Today, this same conflict continues between Pope Francis' vision of a church of compassion to those on the margins and some bishops who believe that Pope Francis is leading the church astray by not strongly condemning those who break the law.

The church, today, is seen by many as a provider of services: Masses, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, weddings, funerals. The church is one big yawn for young people as long as church involvement concerns itself primarily with church involvement! It appears

to them as a church that is inward-looking, focused on itself.

Unless the church rediscovers the centrality of social justice to its mission, it will become increasingly irrelevant. It must, therefore, become primarily a church of service, and only secondly a church of services.

The church should be at the forefront of serving the poor, homeless, refugees, Travellers, immigrants, drug users, the sick, the elderly, and the lonely.

When non-Christians look at the church, they should be amazed at the church members' love and care for the unwanted and rejected.

CHURCH AS ORGANISATION In the church of the future, leadership will be exercised predominantly by laypeople.

Unlike at the time of Jesus, gender equality today is seen as a fundamental justice issue, so women must play an equal role in leadership. Decisions in the parish will no longer be taken by a parish priest. The primary role of the priest is to preside at the Eucharist, the centre of church life. At the Eucharist, we recall how this church started, namely, through Jesus' self-sacrifice on the cross for us. We recall Jesus' words, "This is my Body which will be broken for you; this is my Blood which shall be poured out for you." And then we hear Jesus' instruction: "Do this (yourselves) in memory of me."

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Peter McVerry SJ is a social activist and founder of the Peter McVerry Trust www.pmvtrust.ie

A CHURCH NOT CLERICALLY LED

MY DREAM IS A CHURCH THAT WILL BE A COMMUNITY OF EQUALS, NURTURED FROM THE GROUND UP 22 BY BRIAN D'ARCY CP

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don't know the future. All I know is that there will be a future and we will determine it consciously or otherwise. There is no single solution other than that God will guide us to the future God wishes us to have when we learn to discern God's will.

And we can dream.

We wouldn't be in this mess if we'd read the signs of the times. A common pattern with human institutions is to Deny, Delay and Defend.

We should have learned by now that with the Holy Spirit, a crisis becomes an opportunity. It is God's way of telling us God is in charge.

The sexual abuse of children by priests and Religious is a scandal. One of its most obvious legacies is that it gave people, who were already disillusioned with clerical power struggles, a legitimate reason to quit.

Like it or not, since COVID-19, the people have learned to exist happily without the kind of 'god' we clerics offer. They no longer buy into our distortion of the saving Word

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St Peter's Basilica in Rome

of God; they no longer trust us.

As a result, fewer people appreciate the precious gift of the Eucharist – the summit and the source of the life of the church.

This saddens me greatly. However, on those special occasions when people choose to share Eucharist, they experience comfort if they are sincerely welcomed.

In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis expresses my dream: "Everyone can share in some way in the life of the church; everyone can be part of the community… nor should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason… frequently we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators.

But the church is not a toll house; it is the house of the Father where there is a place for everyone with all their problems."

INCLUSIVE PROCESS Pope Francis is preparing us for a synodal model of church, a genuinely inclusive process where there will be free and open debate and consultation – the very opposite

of our dictatorial hierarchy.

The new paradigm of collegiality means the faithful share in the priestly, prophetic office of Jesus Christ. If we listen, we will discover we have no shortage of vocations, just a shortage of male celibates.

My dream is a church that will not be clerically led – by men or women. It will be a community of equals, nurtured from the ground up, where the special gifts of women will lead us to a spirituality of compassion.

The era of the macho male is gone forever.

The sin of the clerical club has been to make God less and less accessible.

The Sadducees were beyond redemption.

They constructed a world of legalism which worked for them, a paradigm that confirmed their sense of safety and comfort. Then as now, forgiveness, empathy, justice – the signs of the Spirit of God – cannot be limited by human arrogance.

Jesus sets the stage in the Sermon on the Mount. He begins with a simple message which is the key to everything else – "Blessed

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In the church I'd like to see, the evil of clericalism will be exposed for what it is – a major obstacle to meaningful reform, a prime reason for the lack of trust in church leadership and the root cause of the depressing hopelessness which permeates our church. are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs" (Matthew 5:3). What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It means an inner emptiness, leading to genuine humility. It is to be able to live without the need for personal righteousness and reputation.

Love is the foundation and the means.

God's love is planted inside each of us as the Holy Spirit. Love is who we are. Richard Rohr wrote: "Only God in you can know God…you cannot know or love God with your mind alone." (From the Bottom Up) Have we clerics ever thought of what we do to people when we insist you can come to God only through us? Do we not realise

we are attempting to tell God who God is allowed to love?

Karl Rahner reminded us that "the number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim Him with their mouths and deny Him with their actions is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable…In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic (one who has experienced God for real) or nothing at all."

leadership and the root cause of the depressing hopelessness which permeates our church.

The baptised laity, despite their best efforts, will be forced to remain second-class citizens continuing to 'pay, pray and obey,' having their dignity trampled on by arrogance and ignorance.

If the synodal approach is to have any effect, it must immediately be wrestled from the control of the clerical club.

Those are just a few dreams for today.

Tomorrow they might be different.

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams" (W.B.Yeats).

EVIL OF CLERICALISM In the church I'd like to see, the evil of clericalism will be exposed for what it is – a major obstacle to meaningful reform, a prime reason for the lack of trust in church

A well-known writer and broadcaster, Brian D'Arcy is a member of Passionist community, The Grann, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

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SEVEN TIPS TOWARDS A TRANSFORMED CHURCH EVEN THOUGH THE CHALLENGES ARE GREAT, THERE ARE REASONS TO HOPE 24

BY MARIA HALL 1. A CHURCH OF REAL COMMUNITY One of the most memorable Masses I ever attended was in the humblest of surroundings in Kitwe, Zambia, in a shanty town church called St Anthony's, built of bare breeze blocks with a tin roof. Inside were simple wooden benches to seat about 100 people, homemade musical instruments, a plain altar table and a lone, battered picture of Our Lady on the wall.

The liturgy was profound and moving. It was spoken in Bemba, the local language, and was full of vibrant music with everyone swaying naturally to the beat. The Mass lasted two hours, and the priest had three other churches to attend. But no one was in a hurry.

This was the opening of my first article for Reality in 2019. My experiences in Zambia were some of the most profound and memorable in my life. The link is ongoing (I'm helping my friends out there to build an orphanage and school). I constantly REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

compare life between the two countries. It's very frustrating. I look at how much we have, and despair at how selfish and greedy we are.

But the emotion serves me well and motivates me to help as much as I can.

You could easily tell Sundays in Kitwe.

Everything stopped for church. The roads were quiet except for people walking along clutching their bibles and prayer books.

Everyone was in their Sunday best, many dressed in the identical outfit of their guild, choir or other parish organisation. The women wore printed wraps with images of Our Lady or the Sacred Heart. They dressed the same.

And it struck me that they didn't want to stand out but show that they belonged. The sense of community was massive.

We have lost that sense of togetherness.

We all want to do our own thing – football, shopping, staying in bed! I heard a young friend say she didn't have time for going to church because Sunday morning was family time. We all know that the best thing you can do is go to church together as a family.

It's easy to see the negatives in poor places like Kitwe, and we must be careful not to stereotype or patronise our brothers and sisters. But they have much to teach us. Here at home, people don't go to church because their friends don't. In Zambia, everyone goes.

How wonderful!

2. A CHURCH THAT IS RELEVANT AND RESPECTED It's always fabulous to see the pope on the news or TV. His presence and words command huge respect around the world, and he attracts bigger crowds than pop stars. Yet much of the church struggles to be heard and is seen as irrelevant in modern life. But every day, a tremendous amount of amazing work takes place. The early Christians gathered to worship and care for the poor and sick, and that work has continued down to the present day.

The church is the world's largest charitable organisation and the largest non-governmental provider of health care and education. I'd love people to see what the church really does. The media focuses on scandal (for which we must be ashamed) but ignores all the positives. These days, good news is no news. I'd like to see a church that openly shares what it does. This isn't showing off; it's evangelisation.

3. A WELCOMING CHURCH If we are to grow as a church, we must strive to be more welcoming. In an increasingly secular world, we can't presume that everyone who attends (especially weddings and funerals) is a Catholic. I wonder how many visitors have a positive experience? Are they greeted with a smile, guided into the building and given an

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order of service? Does the priest give a warm welcome and give gentle explanations and directions? Are those who take an active role given guidance? I've seen this done wonderfully well, and I've seen no acknowledgement at all.

Many of our buildings are architecturally stunning, containing beautiful artwork. That's not a bad start! We need welcoming signs, places to socialise, outreach to the community, lots of social media and advertising.

We must also remember to welcome each other. During the pandemic, I had the opportunity to be part of the Ministry of Welcome as a steward for daily Mass. It was such a privilege and a pleasure. It turned out that receiving a personal welcome (a hello, a smile and a chat) was greatly appreciated by many.

4. A CHURCH THAT INVOLVES THE LAITY If the church (hierarchy) ignores the serious and necessary role of the laity in the future, then that future will be grim. In the West, we are becoming a smaller community. So it is even more vital that the laity must be given a real and not merely consultative role. I'd like to see a proper inclusion of laypeople (especially women) in administration, decision-making, and pastoral roles. Parish councils are rarely effective in things that matter. We should take a leaf out of the Anglican book where the parish council is at the heart of parish life. The role of everybody in the Mystical Body can't be left to chance.

5. A CHURCH WITH A REFRESHED ORDAINED MINISTRY The decline in the number of priests is a major problem. It's clear there won't be enough clergy to meet the needs of the faithful if things stay as they are. My uncle spent his priestly life as a missionary in Nigeria. He died there 30 years ago. Now, Nigerian priests are serving in several parishes in my own hometown! The situation has turned full circle. Welcoming such priests is one solution, but there are others. We already have married priests who had been Anglican clergy, so the precedent is established. In fact,

celibacy in the Catholic Church only became mandatory in the Middle Ages. (The Second Lateran Council of 1139 adopted celibacy mainly due to a decline in morality amongst the clergy!) This is a hot potato and deserves lengthy discussion, but it needs urgent attention. Another option is to have more permanent deacons. They already exist in many places and perform various pastoral roles which could be extended.

Recently Pope Francis shared the 'Beatitudes of the Bishop.' Modelled on the biblical beatitudes, they are a challenging and encouraging vision of priesthood in the future.

I think they are inspiring. They show what is expected of a pastor of souls in the modern world. Pastors are called "to serve, to dirty one's hands, to wipe tears and work for justice, peace and reconciliation and to find goodness even in the worst situations."

The challenge is, what kind of people can attain those things? The blessings the church would receive from both celibate and married clergy would be great.

6. A CHURCH THAT CELEBRATES GOOD LITURGY St John Vianney said that if we really understood the Mass, we would die of love.

What a wonderful and sobering thought!

I see the liturgy compromised so much, especially at weddings and funerals: unapproved additions to the liturgy, improvisations by the priest, pop songs, secular texts and untrained lectors. Pope Francis has criticised such 'idiosyncrasies.' The liturgy is an opportunity for evangelisation, and misguided adaptations don't help. The liturgy defines us, inspires, guides and changes us. We must do it properly, be faithful to the books, and not be ashamed.

A new book by Fr Paul Turner reminds us of the importance of ars celebrandi (the art of celebrating). He highlights several principles: less is more; do what it says, don't do what it doesn't say; offer sacrifice and share communion; be intentional; involve the people.

Liturgy gives us our identity. It's not entertainment or self-serving. It is a corporate act, an expression of Christ's saving love for

us, into which, by way of our baptism, we are invited, and visitors especially should be allowed to experience it at its best. How blessed are we! We must rediscover the joy that the liturgy brings and learn to understand it and share it in modern ways.

7. A CHURCH OF HOPE Before we can move forward, we must acknowledge the past. The church faces a long journey of acceptance and healing regarding historic abuse. We must be humble and recognise failure, and we must be seen to do this.

I know Catholics who are in a state of despair about the future of the church: falling numbers of priests, lack of seminarians, congregations declining, churches closing. Of course, it's a worry, but let's not forget the presence of the Holy Spirit amidst all this. Despite what some people say, the church was never perfect in the 'good old days.' In the West, it will be smaller but hopefully stronger, and in other places, it will thrive.

We must be a people of trust and hope.

That means embracing the future. We need to become a digital church, meeting people where they are through all aspects of modern and social media. (I've even heard a suggestion that the digital world should have its own bishop!) We need to reach out to people who are searching, and the technological possibilities are endless.

CatholicsComeHome.org has produced a brilliant TV commercial which is a fantastic example of how to reach out in a modern way, showing the positives of the church.

I look to my friends in Zambia to see the future. Their faith is rock steady. There is so much good taking place. There should be such hope and joy. The Holy Spirit is in charge! Let's pray and go forward in hope.

Maria Hall is music director at St Wilfrid's Church, Preston, England. A qualified teacher, she has a Master's degree from the Liturgy Centre, Maynooth, and is a consultant on liturgical matters for schools and parishes. www.mariahall.org

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A LAND RICH IN FRUIT OF THE EARTH THE ABUNDANCE OF THE PHILIPPINE SOIL IS A REMINDER BOTH OF THE RICHNESS OF THE EARTH 26 AND THE SCANDAL THAT SO FEW FILIPINOS BENEFIT FROM IT COLM MEANEY CSsR

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s I was planting sweet pea early last summer, I noticed that of the many sticks we had used the previous year as supports for the plants, three had actually sprouted themselves. Well, this was incredible. I mean, those sticks were almost dead twigs, used simply as short frames along which the sweet pea could lean for support, and yet, they had brought forth new life. I was reminded once again of the fecundity of nature. As the great poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, after describing how humans had become increasingly distant from nature: "and for all this nature is never spent / There lives the dearest freshness deep down things."

So I thought I'd put pen to paper regarding the richness of the Philippine soil and the great fruitfulness that the hard-working Filipino can bring from it, year after year.

In a previous column entitled 'Bayanihan' (meitheal in Irish), I described the two basic crops for domestic consumption, rice and

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corn. But I neglected to mention one of the fantastic natural wonders created by a tribe in the country's north.

Because rice needs constant irrigation, flat land is required. But Filipino ingenuity has converted very hilly terrain into terraces of rice fields. It is a task requiring the correct level in each of the terraces so that the water will slowly flow down from the highest to the lowest. The elevation of each terrace and the tiny adjustments in slope among the terraces have to be exact so as to ensure that the irrigation is unimpeded. These terraces were originally created 2,000 years ago by a tribe called the Ifugao in the northern island of Luzon. The result is an amazing exhibition of human creativity, a panoply combining a marvel of engineering, precision design and natural beauty. Indeed, in 1995, the terraces were declared a UNESCO world heritage site, "a living cultural landscape of unparalleled beauty."

SUGARCANE Another widespread crop in the Philippines is sugarcane. It has a decidedly shady connotation or background. Trucks are needed to transport sugarcane to the factory, so it is almost inevitably the crop of the wealthy. And indeed, there are plantations of many hundreds of acres. Yet, it must be said that the workers' quality of life varies quite a bit, depending largely on the character of the owner and of his managers. Yes, there are some who are very caring towards their workers and seek their best interests. But there are others where the living conditions are just a step above a hovel.

This is true especially of migrant workers who travel from one island to another to partake in the sugarcane harvest. They often have to endure primitive surroundings in 'dormitories' or 'bunk houses,' no better than the standards suffered by Dickens' Oliver Twist.

Sugarcane takes nine months to mature. It grows to about nine or ten feet, a long stalk

Where does one begin to enumerate the choice, the lushness, the mesmerising tastes, even the incandescent sheen on the fruits as they are piled high for buyers to survey them? about three inches thick, with leaves along the sides. To remove the leaves and somehow increase the sugar content, plantations are often deliberately torched before harvest.

Harvesting is thus easier (no leaves to impede progress) but also extremely dirty, as the stalks are covered in ash. A large truck is parked near the field, and the workers cut the cane using razor-sharp machetes. They then carry as many stalks as they can to the truck and ascend on what is for all the world like a gangplank. Another worker's job is to arrange the canes so that is no wasted space on the truck. Trucks can carry up to 22 tons.

MANGO The variety of fruits in the Philippines is extraordinary but not unique in a tropical climate. Where does one begin to enumerate the choice, the lushness, the mesmerising tastes, even the incandescent sheen on the fruits as they are piled high for buyers to survey them? The mango is the national fruit of the country, a most delicious food. One tree can produce up to 2,000 fruits in a season.

In the olden days, the early buds would be encouraged by smoke emitted by fires lit at the base of the tree. Today it's done by spraying various chemicals.

Such is the fecundity of the mango tree that parents can send their children to school solely on the income from its plentiful harvest.

It comes in two varieties, sweet and sour.

The flesh of the former is yellow and can be exceptionally sweet. The latter is eaten more as an appetiser, flavoured with salt and soy sauce. Either is tantalising, yet the more bitter variety is definitely an acquired taste.

COCONUTS Possibly the Filipino plant with the most uses is the coconut tree. Every part of the tree, except the root, is used in various ways. The tree, which grows to the height of a telegraph

pole, is ubiquitous on the islands and serves many purposes. The long fronds of the leafy branches are used for roofing (as we would use thatch); the wood from the trunk is used as a low-cost timber. But the fruit itself is amazingly prolific. On one coconut tree, there may be upwards of 100 coconuts grouped in bunches.

Each coconut consists of an outer husk, an inner shell, and the meat/fruit inside. With a residue of coco-oil, the outer husk is used to polish native floors (mahogany, teak, acacia) to bring up the sheen. The actual labour is done by placing a foot on the husk and pacing up and down along the floorboards. The residue of oil in the husk brings a nice lustre to the floor, though it is almost a forgotten skill at this stage.

The inner shell is 'fired' and then used as a high-quality kind of charcoal, extremely popular in the Philippines. The meat or flesh inside has two possible uses. The flesh of a young coconut is soft and juicy and is scooped out to produce a tasty snack (as in the Bounty bar). The older meat (inedible) is scooped out and dried under the sun or in kilns. Then it is transported to the factory, where it is transformed into coconut oil.

Apart from all that, the sap of the coconuts is often tapped by the farmer, who shimmies up the tree to attach a container to catch the juice as it drops during the night. It will have begun to ferment during the night, and by morning will be mildly alcoholic and quite sweet. As the hours pass, the juice gets stronger and begins to lose its sweetness. This is a more satisfying drink for those who like a kick in their beverage. By the third day, it will have become vinegar, no longer potable on its own, but extremely popular as a condiment.

Such fruitfulness, such prodigality! No wonder the prophet Isaiah saw the Reign of God as a grand party, served with succulent meats and choice beverages. "On that mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a

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feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines" (Isaiah 25:6). The abundance of the Philippine soil is a daily reminder both of the richness of the earth and the scandal that so few Filipinos benefit from it. The first we should rejoice in. The second we should seek to rectify.

A native of Limerick city where he went to school in St Clement’s College, Fr Colm Meaney CSsR first went to the Philippines as a student and has spent most of his priestly life there.

COMMENT WITH EYES WIDE OPEN JIM DEEDS

A YEAR OF INDISCRIMINATE LOVING

IN 2022, LOVE AS JESUS WOULD HAVE YOU LOVE – INDISCRIMINATELY

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efore I begin, I know that this title sounds like I'm inviting you back to 1967 and the year of love with flowers in our hair. I am not, although if you want to wear flowers in your hair, I say go for it! No, I am inviting you (and myself) to something altogether more meaningful and important.

To do this, let me tell you a story from my travels around the streets of West Belfast, where I live. And as is invariably the case, I was walking with my dogs; well, two of them. It was a few months ago, and I was with my big St Bernese, Cody, and my even bigger Great Dane, Mac. It was morning, and the world around us was waking up. The sun was shining brightly and the air was crisp and cold.

School children were beginning to emerge from their homes, sleepy-eyed and either dreading or looking forward to another day in the classroom.

As we walked, we came across a mummy and daddy pushing their son out of their house in a wheelchair and then moving towards a van, converted to accept a wheelchair ramp. They were across the street from us, and the dogs were curious about the wheelchair and the ramp sitting out from the van. Mac stopped in his tracks to take a closer look. Now, Mac weighs over 13 stone, so when he stops, I stop!

The parents of the young man in the wheelchair noticed us, and I called over to tell them my dogs were very curious and had never seen a wheelchair going into a van. They smiled and told

their son, "Look at those lovely big dogs." Seeing that they were dog-friendly people, I offered to bring the dogs over to their son if he would like it. They responded enthusiastically that he would.

It seemed that Mac and Cody were keen to meet them, too, because they pulled me speedily across the road and moved excitedly up to the family. Once we got there, the young man's face lit up, and he became just as excited as Mac and Cody. He couldn't speak as such but could communicate with sounds. The sounds he made expressed his happiness just fine. His arms were flailing all over the place as he tried to reach the dogs.

Not put off by the flailing arms, Mac and Cody moved right in towards the young man. Mac put his face up to his, almost nose to nose, and had a good look at him.

The young man had to get to school, and I had to get home to go to work. We parted company amid smiles all round and made our way back home. I hope we brightened the family's day. I know they brightened mine.

We might be inclined to ask if the dogs reacted to the young man in the way they did because they knew he was disabled or 'different' in some way. Did they see his vulnerabilities and seek to care for him? Maybe. Who knows for sure?

H

owever, I think they reacted the way they did because they knew he was not different but that he was the same – the same as his parents, the same as me, and no different from any other person. He was just another person, wonderful in all his glorious excitement, and they love

Imagine what sort of a world we would build if we suspended our judgements about who is worthy of being loved or, as is often the case, who is not.

The young man's arms were now able to reach Mac, and he got a good pet. Cody then nudged Mac out of the way and put his head on the young man's shoulder, and nuzzled into him, to the young man's delight. His parents were amazed at how affectionate the dogs were. Knowing my two dogs, I wasn't surprised, but it reminded me how remarkable dogs are.

I think Cody would have stayed on the young man's shoulder all day, but soon our time was up.

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all people without discrimination.

What a lesson they teach us – one of indiscriminate loving of all those we meet.

Now, wouldn't that be a great way to walk the path of life?

Imagine the difference we could make to the world around us if we adopted that stance. Imagine what sort of a world we would build if we suspended our judgements about who is worthy of being loved or, as is often the case, who is not. It might just

be the world that Jesus would have us build. After all, when he walked the earth, did Jesus not go around showing love to all he met? I am minded here to recall that he often showed love to those who most people in society had decided not to love or, even worse, those they felt God did not love. But how could that be so?

We are told that God is love.

And so, as 2022 begins, I invite you to make it a year of indiscriminate loving. This will begin best if you begin with loving yourself. See yourself this year as God sees you – the apple of God's eye, loved and forgiven and cherished. From that place of God-inspired self-love, look around you to those you meet daily and ask yourself how you might show them some love in how you think of them, speak to them and act towards them. If you find yourself making a list of who is worthy of love and who is not, catch yourself and stop.

Love as Jesus would have you love – indiscriminately. If we all do this, 2022 will be a year of building up the Kingdom of God. Happy New Year!

Belfast man Jim Deeds is a poet, author, pastoral worker and retreat-giver working across Ireland.

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F E AT U R E

ME & MY GOD

MY KNOWLEDGE OF GOD HAS BUT SCRATCHED THE SURFACE

BY PATRICK COURTNEY 30

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n rural Ireland of the 1940s, there was just one rule to follow. Sunday Mass, weekly confession and deference to teachers and clergy, especially the latter. Parents lived in fear of God and indirectly passed that fear on. My earliest memories are of the stained glass windows in our local church. One in particular haunted me. It looked to me like the image of a very stern Jesus.

Later, I was exposed to the Redemptorists, Passionists and Franciscans in the annual parish mission. I was the chosen altar boy to be present at every session, male and female.

I could perceive the missioners' anger, yet was too young to really know what was being said. They did make an impression in the wrong way. They instilled an unwanted fear into a sensitive being. God had a ledger.

Everything was written down. God was stern, strict and somewhat unforgiving. The word 'love' didn't enter the equation. We had to do everything to avoid hell, and sexual sins were high on God's don't do list.

Confessions were dreaded, especially when the PP roared out at what you did or didn't do. Anything remotely sexual, be it thought or action, raised his blood pressure.

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I can look back now and see its utter stupidity. As the years went by, this fear of hell took on an even greater grip. Domestic circumstances and the dread of going to the local Christian Brothers school pointed me to look elsewhere. Was I called by God? Did I have a vocation?

INTO AFRICA I joined the Society of African Missions in 1958. With all the propaganda leaflets pouring into primary schools, I have no idea why I chose them. With hindsight, I made the right choice. Africa was my great learning curve. Six years of theology did not offer proper preparation for work abroad. Nothing was ever questioned. It was in Africa that I began to question.

I was not involved in pastoral work. I was a science teacher, and I loved it. However, at weekends, I helped out in the local parish.

Celebrating Mass with three interpreters was a bit too much for me. I began to see a different God from that of my youth. I gradually became a free spirit. I ignored canon law. Avoidance of hell was no longer my motive for priesthood. I knew these local people had a belief in a deity long before Christianity arrived.

I lived in a small rural town for over a year, the first European to live there. In the rainy season, I was cut off for months. My only companion was my pagan cook. We often sat

In this series, contributors reflect on their understanding of God and how it has evolved.

on the veranda in the dry season, shared a drink and looked up at the stars. I thought of Juno and the Peacock. I asked my cook what are the stars. Without hesitation, he replied, "Fadda, they are my ancestors." He wasn't a philosopher, yet there was a grain of truth in what he said. We are all made from the dust of stars.

I never liked how missionaries ignored local customs, traditions and rituals. My notion of God was expanding. I buried the medieval teaching that outside the church, there is no salvation. I devoured de Chardin's writings. I ended up with more questions than answers.

NO CHANGE AT HOME I worked in Nigeria for about 14 years. For a number of reasons, I left the priesthood and married in 1980. I was teaching in London.

The chair of governors (a priest) found out.

He gave me 24 hours to get out. That single action angered me. I concluded that all these legal trappings had little to do with the God that was evolving in my mind. I refused to sign papers. I refused laicisation. I worked in London until 2007.

It was only when I returned to Ireland that the God issue raised its head again. I had been away for years. I witnessed many changes, yet I was shocked that so many Catholics had the same notion of God as I had in my youth. My wife and I did radio

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broadcasts, and we had a 30-minute slot every week. Unfortunately, there was no feedback. We chose Gospel stories and expanded them in a Lectio Divina style. The broadcast station was ecumenical. Catholic members on the committee didn't like what they heard. We were told to adhere to the magisterium. We made 50 broadcasts but left as we could not agree to outside censorship.

I never saw myself as one who writes. I just wrote down ideas and expanded them.

I read widely, thought deeply, and gradually concluded that we haven't a clue as to who God is. A far cry from my youth. Certain incidents strengthened my conviction. An erstwhile evangelical friend informed me there were no Muslims in heaven. Moreover, there were no Jews either unless they were messianic. Needless to say, I walked away.

HERESIES I live in a very rural parish. Things are done as before. No need for blow-ins to tell us how to be Christian. Their belief in God and Jesus is frightening. Here are some examples: "Baby Jesus was a wee Catholic." "Adam and Eve really existed." "Protestants are living in sin

and are hell-bound." "God is a Christian."

"God is white." "Hell exists for those who are not baptised."

Where does one begin to change these heresies? The more I pray and meditate, the more I feel so distant from them. There is no room for dialogue. At this juncture, I need to express my present understanding of God. Quite often, I use a mathematical equation, as follows: Who God is = Who is God? Both of these statements appear to express an equal equation, but they do not. There are four elements on the right-hand side, but only three on the left. So many Christians are on the left-hand side. They seem to know the mind of God. Moreover, they are so certain of this that they enforce it on others. They put God in a box and are convinced that God thinks as they do. They don't understand that beautiful statement from Isaiah: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor my ways your ways."

analyse, explore and do not take so-called sacred doctrines for granted. To do so is to challenge a most powerful organisation. I will never know the mind of God. God is simple in God's complexity and complex in God's simplicity. Our knowledge of God has but scratched the surface.

I will now live and die, knowing that God is one Being of intense love for all, be they the wheel turners in Nepal, the Muslim on his Friday mat, the Hindu who bathes in the Ganges, the so-called perfidious Jew who celebrates the Pesach, the innocent tribal pagan who knows more about nature than we do. I have come a long way from the frightening icon of my youth. I sense God's presence.

ASK QUESTIONS I, like many others, am on the right-hand side of this equation. We ask questions. We think,

I had been away for years. I witnessed many changes, yet I was shocked that so many Catholics had the same notion of God as I had in my youth.

Patrick Courtney is a retired science teacher and former SMA missionary priest.

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SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY THIS MONTH MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY, ONE OF THE DARKEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF THE TROUBLES. RICHARD MOORE RECALLS THAT TERRIBLE ATROCITY AND THE EVENT FOUR MONTHS LATER THAT WOULD CHANGE HIS LIFE FOREVER

BY JOHN SCALLY

32 Richard pictured with the Dalai Lama

M

emory plays tricks with the brain, but it seemed that every morning of my childhood in the 1970s, the first story on the RTE news always began: "A parttime member of the UDR has been murdered by the IRA." Of course, these attacks triggered reprisal killings along sectarian lines.

One of the worst atrocities occurred on January 30, 1972 when British paratroopers shot 13 people dead on the streets of Derry. The day became known as Bloody Sunday. Television images captured the crowd's shock, disbelief and distress when the shooting started and their terrible sense of helplessness as the number of casualties increased.

The Troubles have produced many unforgettable moments, such as the late Gordon Wilson's

words of forgiveness after the death of his daughter Marie in the Remembrance Sunday massacre in Enniskillen in 1987. In the highly charged atmosphere that followed the atrocity, his words diffused a volatile situation.

Another defining image will always be that of Fr Edward Daly on Bloody Sunday, waving a white, bloodstained handkerchief, as he led a group of men carrying a teenager's limp body amidst a hail of bullets.

FATEFUL DAY This month marks the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

For some, it is a wound that will never heal. On that fateful day, British paratroopers shot at antiinternment marchers on the streets of Derry, killing 13 and

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Richard Moore

wounding many more. Those killed were: Gerard Donaghy (17); James Wray (22); Gerard McKinney (35); William McKinney (26); John Young (17); William Nash (19); Michael McDaid (20); Michael Kelly (17); Kevin McElhinney (17); Patrick Doherty (31); Jack Duddy (17); Hugh Gilmore (17) and Bernard McGuigan (41).

Shortly afterwards, John Johnston died of a brain tumour. His family is convinced that the trauma of Bloody Sunday contributed significantly to his untimely death.

That evening the sound of silence was heard all over Derry. A heavy stillness filled the air, but it couldn’t obliterate the pungent scent of fear. Where would the reprisals be?

When would they happen? The grieving families felt an anguish almost impossible to describe.

Bloody Sunday marked a milestone in the history of the North. It was one of the watershed moments in Anglo-Irish history.

Nationalist Ireland's anger was reflected in the torching of the British embassy in Dublin. The events of that Sunday seemed to touch a deep nerve with everybody, bringing to the surface a wellspring of latent anti-English feeling, with all sorts of grievances, real and imagined, about English involvement in Irish history. The burning of the British embassy starkly illustrated the ambivalent attitude of many Irish people to political violence.

Bishop Edward Daly subsequently said, "What really made Bloody Sunday so obscene was the fact that people afterwards at the highest level of British justice justified it."

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ANOTHER TRAGEDY As a boy, I could make no sense of the Troubles. On both sides, there seemed to be unbearable pain and horrific cruelty. Most times, I winced when I heard about yet another casualty. Yet, occasionally, stories emerged of extraordinary heroism, courage and compassion.

When, as an adult, I heard of one man's story, I felt I had to make my first ever trip to Derry to meet him and hear his tale at first hand.

Richard Moore was ten years old when his family was directly affected by Bloody Sunday. His uncle, Gerard McKinney, was going to the assistance of a wounded man when he saw a British soldier in the alleyway. He raised his arms and shouted, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" McKinney's autopsy report supported the eye-witness claims that he had his hands in the air when shot. He left behind seven young children. A week after his funeral, his wife, Ita, gave birth to their eighth child, a boy she named Gerard.

Quite unbelievably, William McKinney (26) ran to Gerard's aid and was also shot dead as he bent over his namesake (they were not related). Richard has vivid memories of that terrible moment.

"I remember the silence that fell on Derry that day. It was something out of the ordinary. I was out playing with my friends, and suddenly I noticed my uncle calling to the house and then more relatives.

Then I saw my mother crying, and she told me that her brother Gerard had been shot. It was very hard on her, but I don't think any of us will ever appreciate precisely how tough the whole thing was for Gerard’s wife, Ita. "The other thing I remember most about Bloody Sunday was

Bloody Sunday Memorial March in Derry on January 30, 1994

the funerals. I don't think I'll ever forget coming into the church and looking up to see the 13 coffins laid out side by side. It is a sight I will take with me to my grave."

DEEPER SHADOW Four months later, on May 4, 1972, the Troubles cast an even deeper shadow on Richard's young life.

"I was walking home from school and, as I walked past a British Army look-out post, I remember passing it, and that's all I remember. I found out later that a soldier let off his gun, and I was struck by a rubber bullet in the head from about ten feet. I got hit in the bridge of my nose. I lost one eye, and the other was rendered useless. I was taken away and laid out on a table in the school, and a teacher who knew me very well saw me and didn't recognise me because my face was so badly damaged. I remember being taken away and the siren of the ambulance. My father was with me in the ambulance. He wouldn't let my mother see me because he didn't want her to see me in that condition.

"I'm sure when my mother heard

about Bloody Sunday and Gerard, she thought that was probably the end of it for her family. Then, four months later, the Troubles landed right smack back in the middle of her living room again and I was blinded for life by that bullet. My mother and father were good, God-fearing people. They went to Mass every day. They never talked about politics, and all of a sudden they had to face this double tragedy.

My parents prayed a lot and it must have been prayer that got us through it. It could have been nothing else. When I learned that I was blind, I cried that I would never see my Mammy and Daddy again."

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Richard did not give in to bitterness.

"I'm not bitter. I bear no ill will towards the soldier who shot me, and I met him and told him that.

Bitterness is a destructive emotion and only hurts the one who is bitter.

"Make no mistake, I have paid a heavy price for what happened to me on that day in 1972. I am married and have two daughters.

I was there for their births and I would have given anything to be able to see what they looked like.

Likewise when they made their first Holy Communion. I was there for them but I would've loved to have been able to see them. I would love to be able to see the smiles on their faces as they open their Christmas presents. All those pleasures have been denied to me. I have lost a lot but I can forgive that soldier."

BUILD BRIDGES In partnership with Concern International, Richard established and directs the ecumenical Children in Crossfire organisation to build bridges between the two communities. Rather than remaining a prisoner of history, he is at the frontier of shaping a new future on this island where the traditional enmities are redundant.

"No family has better reason to remember Bloody Sunday than mine. No one knows better the damage the Troubles have caused than me. I carry it with me every moment of my life in a very real way.

If I can forgive, why can't others do the same?"

A native of Roscommon, John Scally lectures in Theology in Trinity College Dublin.

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F E AT U R E

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD LITURGY

THE LITURGY IS THE JEWEL AND FUTURE OF THE CHURCH

BY MARIA HALL

I 34

s liturgy important? Oh my goodness, yes!

But you would expect a liturgist to say that.

It wasn't until I studied at the National Liturgy Centre in Maynooth that I realised how much there is to know and how much most of us don't know about the liturgy of the church.

The biggest revelation for me was learning about the evolution of the Mass through a journey of 2,000 years to the major reforms of the 20th century. The story fascinated me.

After all, we need to know our history, for it gives us our identity.

Seeing how the liturgy had been dominated by the clergy for so many centuries made me realise how tremendously privileged we are to live in the post-Vatican II church. We have the opportunity that our forebears never had to immerse ourselves into the full mystery of the Eucharist. Their worship depended on blind faith and a certain amount of fear, but we can enter into the liturgy in a way that, for 1,500 years, Christians could not even have imagined.

Someone said that it takes at least 100 years for church reforms to take effect, so we have a way to go. It's a pity that so much effort and foresight went into Sacrosanctum Concillium (Vatican II's document on the liturgy), yet its implementation has been lacklustre. There is work to do.

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

SOURCE AND SUMMIT: GOOD LITURGY BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD. "In the earthly liturgy, we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims… Liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed; at the same time, it is the font from which all her power flows." (SC 10) Taking part in the Eucharist is the most important thing we can do as baptised Christians. It is the greatest source of our sanctification and is the pinnacle of our Christian lives. It has the power to sanctify, transform and change. That's all we really need to know. God does not expect us all to be theologians, but the more we immerse ourselves in the liturgy by understanding it, listening, singing, praying and offering ourselves, the more graces we will receive, and the more we will become like Christ.

MYSTAGOGICAL CATECHESIS: GOOD LITURGY IS A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN "Faith grows when it is well expressed in celebration. Good celebrations foster and nourish faith. Poor celebrations may weaken and destroy it." (Music in Catholic Worship 6) When we gather, we are the mystical Body of Christ, and we become one with him through signs and symbols perceptible to the senses. In the liturgy, Christ is present, doing

his saving work for us. Good liturgy teaches us in mystagogical ways, so it absolutely matters that we pay attention to every aspect of the liturgical action and the environment. If we hide or clutter signs and symbols, their meaning may be weakened, lost, or even changed.

The altar is the most essential and significant symbol because it signifies Christ. Therefore, it must be made of worthy material, be permanent and not cluttered or concealed by any other objects. Flowers (real, not artificial) should add beauty but not dominate. Vessels, vestments and artwork should add beauty. Incense and candles speak of prayer, holiness and help create a sacred space. Music is essential and 'greater than any other art.'

The ambo should be suitably dignified, reflecting its importance as the place of proclamation. The Book of the Gospels should be carried high in procession, reminding us of the importance of what we are about to hear.

The choreography of the liturgy also matters.

During Mass, the processions, the incensations and general movement all need practising because they create a dignity, drama, and sense of the sacred to the ritual action. It isn't everyday action; it is unique and should reflect the glories of the heavenly liturgy. These signs and symbols in our buildings and our liturgies are a foretaste of heaven.

F E AT U R E

MYSTICAL BODY: GOOD LITURGY GIVES THE CHURCH ITS IDENTITY "Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy…this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else." (SC 14) Twentieth-century liturgical reforms centred around the understanding that we are members of the mystical Body of Christ. Christ calls us to gather, and when we do so, we make the church visible. For well over 1,000 years, the faithful were only permitted to 'hear' Mass (in fact, we probably struggled to do that!). It was seen as the private prayer of the priest. The renewed desire to see the church as described

by St Paul means that we have an active role to play; we aren't spectators at Mass. We will be the Mystical Body at its best if we all play our parts to their fullest, preparing carefully, using our gifts well with a conscious understanding.

In Mystici Corporis, Pope Pius XII reminds us that when we celebrate the Eucharist, we are fulfilling Christ's will for us. Part of that will is to evangelise. We should always remember to be outward-looking. Thomas O'Loughlin puts it brilliantly when he says, "Our liturgy is a shop window to those who are not yet disciples of Jesus." Our welcome and openness to share the joy of the Gospel and the riches of good liturgy with others have the power to transform souls.

GO IN PEACE! GOOD LITURGY GIVES MEANING TO LIFE Liturgy is intrinsically linked to everyday life and gives it meaning. When we hear the Word of God proclaimed well, it should inspire us to live good lives, look after the poor and needy, speak out against injustice, strive for peace and enjoy the wonders of creation.

The words of dismissal at the end of Mass are deliberate: Go in peace. Go and announce the Gospel; go glorifying the Lord by our lives. When our senses have been immersed in a sacred environment enhanced by candles, incense and music, when we have listened to the Word of God, offered ourselves to be transformed and received Christ in the Eucharist, then we are

ready to live out the message of the Gospel, evangelise and help others. This is the goal of our lives as Christians. Though we are human and so are flawed, we should do the very best we can.

NOBLE SIMPLICITY: ATTAINING GOOD LITURGY "To celebrate the liturgy means to do the action or perform the sign in such a way that its full meaning and impact shine forth in a clear and compelling fashion. Since liturgical signs are vehicles of communication and instruments of faith, they must be simple and comprehensible.

Since they are directed to fellow human beings, they must be humanly attractive. They must be meaningful and appealing to the body of worshipers, or they will fail to stir up faith, and people will fail to worship the Father." (Music in Catholic Worship 7) All those involved in the liturgy have a responsibility to understand their role fully.

Communication, cooperation, formation and humility are required. Good liturgy must be welcoming (especially at weddings and funerals) and inclusive.

Most importantly, we must be faithful to the liturgies of the church. Edmund Bishop once described the Roman Rite up to the 8th century as having a "noble simplicity." (After that, the text and symbolic action went on a long journey of embellishment.) The post-Vatican II Mass has regained some of that simplicity and beauty, and we must be careful to uphold its integrity.

The liturgical texts are full and rich. They have a rhythm and poeticism that takes them beyond everyday language. They stand on their own without the need for adaption or improvisation.

"Pastors of souls must therefore realise that… it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take

part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects."

(SC 11) Formation cannot be left to chance. Until the church recognises that a concerted effort is needed, it will continue to limp along. Bishops and priests must lead by example and insist that lay and ordained ministers receive proper liturgical training. The new formalisation of Lector and Catechist Lay Ministries is a positive development and will help emphasise their importance. The Sunday homily is a good place to catechise the faithful, gradually revealing the glories of each part of the Mass in an understandable way.

The modern world and good liturgy are at odds. Liturgy requires us to submit ourselves to corporate activity. The modern world encourages us to do our own thing and to have what we want. In The Spirit of the Liturgy, Romano Guardini explains how we need humility to submit to communal prayer. Doing anything with other people requires some compromise.

If we can be in this frame of mind, the joys of the liturgy will reveal themselves in remarkable ways.

The liturgy is the jewel and future of the church.

The more we experience Christ through good liturgy, the more our hearts will grow in love for Christ and the more we will become the person God created us to be!

Useful reading Sacrosanctum Concillium Music in Catholic Worship Mystici Corporis. Pius XII The Spirit of the Liturgy, by Romano Guardini The Rites and Wrongs of Liturgy. Why Good Liturgy Matters, by Thomas O'Loughlin.

101 Liturgical Suggestions, by Columba McCann OSB Why Not? How to bring the Liturgy About, by Turlough Baxter

35

COMMENT

FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS CARMEL WYNNE

WHY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FAIL

THE RATIONAL PART OF OUR BRAIN USUALLY WANTS SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM THE EMOTIONAL PART

T

36

he beginning of a new year is the time for many of us to make plans to shed the weight gained over Christmas. But people who believe that willpower and self-control are all that is needed to change habitual eating patterns will not reach their weight goals.

Psychologists have discovered that self-control is an exhaustible resource. It's not unlike bench presses. The first one is easy when your muscles are fresh. But with each additional repetition, your muscles get more exhausted until you can't lift the bar. Willpower is a finite resource. Resisting the temptation to eat chocolates can use it up.

Over the last 30 years, developments in neuroscience have revolutionised our understanding of the brain. People don't stay on diets because, when it comes to changing behaviour, we all act as if we are slightly schizophrenic. The rational part of our brain usually wants something very different to the emotional part.

For example, Eva was determined to do something about her weight but faced a huge temptation when she saw the last mince pies on the plate. Her rational part said, "Don't, you're looking at a calorie bomb."

Her emotional side encouraged her, "It's a sin to let it go to waste.

Why not use up the last of the brandy butter too?" Her internal dialogue was exhausting. One part of her said, "You'll regret it if you do." The other part said, "You'll regret it if you don't."

you're caught up in a tug of war.

Haidt explains that when our best efforts to stay focused on the goal fail, it's because the rider can't keep the elephant on the road for long enough to reach the desired destination.

W M

ost of us are familiar with the internal conflict when one part of us wants to do something, and the other part doesn't like doing it. The conventional wisdom in psychology is that the brain has two independent systems at work at all times. The rational side deliberates, analyses and looks to the future. The emotional side looks for the instant gratification of eating the mince pies over the long-term goal of coming down a dress size.

Most of us treasure those last few minutes in bed in the morning after the alarm goes off. If our diets didn't work in the past, the goal for the new year might be to burn off calories by making an exercise plan. The logical part plans to get up at 6.30 am to allow plenty of time for a jog before going to work. However, waking up in the dark of a freezing cold morning, our emotional part desires nothing in the world so much as a few more minutes cuddling under the duvet in a warm bed.

If we choose the quick payoff

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of an extra couple of minutes in bed over the long-term payoff of a slimmer and healthier body, our exercise plan is bound to fail. In his book, The Happiness Hypothesis, psychologist John Haidt, from the University of Virginia, compares our emotional side to an elephant and our rational side to its rider.

The rider seems to be in charge when he holds the reins, but if the six-ton elephant and the rider disagree about which way to go, the elephant wins.

The elephant's hunger for instant gratification is the opposite of the rider's strength to plan for the future. The problem when the rider and elephant have different mindsets about which way to go is the rider can only tug on the reins hard enough to make the elephant submit for a short time.

He won't succeed in the longer term because the rider will simply get exhausted in a tug of war with the elephant.

If your rational side is motivated to change behaviour, but your emotional side is not ready,

hen we feel disheartened and think that our best efforts are not good enough, it's probably because our willpower to resist impulses is depleted and our self-control is exhausted.

More than 50 per cent of people make new year's resolutions to lose weight or exercise more.

Virtually every study tells us that around 80 per cent of these resolutions will be abandoned

by February, possibly by people who are exhausted from trying too hard.

If you're mentally and emotionally ready to make a short-term sacrifice (leave the mince pies) for a long-term goal (feeling slimmer and healthy), you'll feel energised by success. When you give in to temptation, don't take that to mean that you've failed. Let success build on success, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you will succeed in making changes easily.

As poet and author Dr Maya Angelou said, "When you know better, you do better."

Carmel Wynne is a life coach, crossprofessional supervisor and author based in Dublin. For more information, visit www. carmelwynne.org

THE BEST COMPANION BOOK FOR THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR

FA I T H

Aglow with the Spirit Irish Saints in the Ordo

Aglow with the Spirit offers some ready-to-hand material on Irish saints celebrated in the Ordo, that is, the Liturgical Calendar for Ireland. Aglow with the Spirit also has a word on certain other saints of Ireland, North Britain and beyond, in whom the author has found inspiration from having lived and worked and prayed in places evangelised by them.

Among the saints featured here are the national patrons, Patrick, Brigid and Colmcille. Featured, too, are such regional guardians as Ita and Gobnait in Munster and Moninna whose remit reaches from Slieve Gullion in Armagh to the Cooleys and the Mountains of Mourne. True, biographical information on many saints may be sparse, but there is nearly always enough to fire the imagination.

Redemptorist John J. Ó Ríordáin writes in a popular and readable style, suitable for sacristy and private use. Covering over 80 Irish saints, this book is rich in our cultural and religious heritage.

To order, contact Redemptorist Communications St Joseph’s Monastery, St Alphonsus Road Dundalk, County Louth A91 F3FC

€9.95 (plus P+P)

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37

F E AT U R E

A POOR CHURCH FOR THE POOR FR EAMON GOWING REFLECTS ON HALF A CENTURY IN BRAZIL Aerial view of Fortaleza, Brazil

REDEMPTORIST FR EAMON GOWING FROM COUNTY LAOIS HAS SPENT ALMOST 50 YEARS LIVING AMONG THE POOR OF BRAZIL. IT HAS BEEN, HE SAYS, AN INCREDIBLE PRIVILEGE INTERVIEW: ANNE STAUNTON AND PAT O'SULLIVAN In the early 1970s, in Sao Raimundo parish in Fortaleza, a team of laywomen and laymen worked with you in the parish. Tell us about their work.

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M

y first assignment in Brazil was to the parish of St Raimundo in Fortaleza. I was given charge of Bela Vista, the poorest area of the parish. At that time, Bela Vista was a shantytown of unpaved streets, improvised shacks and no sanitation. Besides my priestly work (my first Masses were said under a mango tree), I began organising the people to look for ways to improve their living conditions and fight for their rights. One of my earliest memories is of inviting the mayor to visit the community. It was the rainy season, and the streets were a sea of mud. I had great satisfaction in meeting him at the entrance to the neighbourhood and telling him he would have to leave his car there and walk the rest of the way, which he did, trudging through muck almost up to his knees.

A problem aired at most of the community meetings was the number of children not going to school. We decided to set up a little school with young people from the community as volunteer teachers. The project went well, and a visiting Oxfam representative was duly impressed. He suggested setting up a team of young people to work full-time in developing the community. Two of the volunteer teachers

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were selected, and later on, two young men involved in community activities were added.

The team surveyed the community and found that inadequate housing and lack of health services were the most urgent needs.

Housing: In looking around for ways to help, we discovered that a Redemptorist brother in a neighbouring state had invented a system for making cement blocks that were much cheaper than the regular blocks on the market. Basically, he used less cement

and vibrated the mixture, which produced a block slightly weaker than the regulation block but adequate for simple, one-storey houses.

The team received a grant from Oxfam and set up the system in the community. Poor families could come at any time of the day or night to make blocks. For every 1,000 blocks made, 800 were theirs, and 200 were retained by the project and sold to restock cement and sand. In this way, a considerable number of families improved their houses, which gradually changed the appearance of

the neighbourhood.

Basic medical services: A chance meeting with a professor at the medical department of the local university resulted in her bringing medical students under her supervision to attend the community. So now, the poor had access to basic medical care. A later development was the setting up of a nutrition centre. The professor was impressed by the large number of malnourished children in the community.

With the help of the team and a grant from Oxfam, she set up a nutrition centre to help recuperate the most severely malnourished children. This centre undoubtedly saved the lives of many children and gave many more the chance of a healthy future.

During a period of five years, the team developed many other activities, such as adult literacy classes, vaccination campaigns, training courses for electricians, plumbers, and so on. When the Oxfam project ended, all four team members continued their involvement in community activities voluntarily.

Do you still remember the night in 1976 when you celebrated a prayer vigil for the families of political prisoners in St Raimundo church while the federal police were driving around the church with all sirens blazing?

Can you paint of picture of what it was like and why you were supporting Women for Amnesty in a dictatorship?

F E AT U R E

Late one September night in 1976, a group of women appeared on the doorstep of the parish house in Fortaleza. They were members of a recently formed organisation, Women for Amnesty, and were asking permission to hold a prayer vigil in our church. This would not have been problematic in normal circumstances, but of course, the circumstances were anything but normal.

The military dictatorship (1964–85) was in full swing, and any sign of opposition was brutally repressed, with arbitrary arrests, torture, assassinations, and 'disappearances.'

Women for Amnesty was one of the first signs of organised civil opposition in Fortaleza. Their leader, Nildes Alencar, was a teacher and sister of Frei Tito OP, who was in jail for organising an underground escape route for political activists on the run. As it was a women's organisation, there was a guarantee of a little more tolerance on the part of the regime. But the only way they could organise a public meeting was under the protection of the church. Hence the proposal of a prayer vigil.

This proposal posed quite a challenge for our Redemptorist community (Frs James Duggan, Pat O'Sullivan and myself). The women told us that several of the city's more central churches had turned them down for fear of reprisal. And we, as foreigners, would be particularly vulnerable. We withdrew to think and pray about it and decided to give it our support.

The atmosphere throughout the vigil was very tense. Police cars were passing by with sirens blazing at full blast. At some stage, two men joined the vigil – obviously very out of place – and whispered alerts were passed around asking us to be careful about what was said as the men were believed to be taping the proceedings. But, fortunately, the vigil passed off without incident.

For some time afterwards we walked about and lived in fear of reprisals, but luckily there were no serious consequences. Women for Amnesty grew in importance nationally and was a major factor in the final defeat of the dictatorship.

I remember when Fr James Duggan and yourself moved to a shantytown in 1978.

It was a monumental shift in pastoral vision for the Redemptorists at that time, and I know that it was something you had always wanted to do. What was driving you towards living the option for the poor in those years?

Why was it such a significant move?

In 1978, the chapter of the Vice-Province of Fortaleza made a decision that involved a significant change in the pastoral vision of the Irish Redemptorist missionaries in Brazil. A resolution was passed that two confrères would be designated to open a new community in a slum for a period of five years. Until then, the missionaries lived in sizable communities (three members or more) and were mainly engaged in running parishes along the lines of traditional parish ministry. This move envisaged the religious living a poor lifestyle among the poor and working exclusively for the poor on the lines of basic Christian communities.

To my surprise and joy, I was one of the two chosen. The other was Fr James Duggan, RIP, from Blarney. We took up residence in an abandoned mud house in Palmeiras, one of the poorest communities on the periphery of Fortaleza. James was the cook, and I was the washer-up!

Palmeiras consisted of about 1,000 mud huts, no sanitation, unpaved streets, no public transport, precarious electricity and no public water supply. We began our ministry with Masses on street corners and a series of house meetings which started with a Bible reading and discussion, followed by a survey of community problems and how to tackle them.

On the religious front, there was a great demand for First Communions and Confirmations, so a series of catechism classes and a youth group were set up. On the social front, volunteer groups were organised to dig wells and construct primitive outdoor toilets.

Materials were supplied by a grant from a voluntary group in Brasilia. Transport was a big problem, especially for health emergencies during the night. That question was partially

solved by the archbishop donating an old car to the community, but it created another problem for the padres as they were the only drivers available. We were constantly being called out to do emergency runs to the hospitals and maternity (Three babies were born in the car!)

At the end of the five years, the Redemptorists withdrew from Palmeiras, but the original project continued on two fronts. First, by a stroke of luck, two Italian priests took over Palmeiras and continued the work along much the same lines. Second, the Redemptorists opened new communities in slums on the periphery of Fortaleza and Teresina, and this style of religious life and work has continued to this day.

I was posted to our Redemptorist parish in Teresina and assigned the task of finding a poor area in the city in which to found a community among the impoverished.

Soon afterwards, in Fortaleza, two more communities were opened in poor neighbourhoods in Sao Miguel and Serviluz.

In 1996, the present community of Luxou was founded, where Fr Martin Murray and I have been labouring for the last 25 years.

On a personal level, I am grateful to superiors and confrères for giving me the privilege of being able to dedicate myself to the poor for practically all my 50 years on the mission in Brazil.

Fr Eamon Gowing

39

C OVE R STO RY

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UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

BOOK REVIEW BY EAMON MAHER

FINDING PEACE

BY SR STANISLAUS

T

here is hardly an individual on the face of the earth who hasn't been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, and that is surely unprecedented in our lifetime at least.

The tiny, silent, obnoxious killer that is the coronavirus crept into all our lives and will colour our existence for the foreseeable future.

Suddenly, Disney was out of magic and New York was asleep. Hugs had suddenly become weapons, and not visiting grandparents became an act of love.

The virus struck the world with the ferocity of a tsunami. Apart from the global trail of illness, economic devastation and death, it sparked a tidal wave of fear. It struck at something deep inside us and shattered many of our cherished certainties. We thought we were in control, but nature reminded us of our fragility, vulnerability and mortality not with a gentle whisper but with a primaeval scream. It had echoes of a medieval plague, but our 21st-century world struggled to find an adequate response to it.

The writer Ernest Hemmingway claimed that the world breaks everyone, and afterwards, many are stronger in the broken places. One of Ireland's leading campaigners against homelessness, Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, has

come through this crisis stronger in the broken places.

The evidence for this is in her new book Finding Peace. She decided that a good crisis should not go to waste. So she reached out to a number of prominent Irish people, including President Michael D. Higgins, Miriam O'Callaghan, Johnny Sexton and Joe Duffy. This beautifully designed and illustrated book seeks to provide answers to the question: 'Where and how do you find peace in your life?'

It's so easy to find yourself trapped inside a never-ending cycle of negativity these days.

Stress and anxiety seem to have become the familiar trademarks on a journey that so many people feel they have no control over. It is very worrying, more so because it's almost impossible to find a way to step back from it and reclaim a sense of who you used to be before it all became such an uphill struggle.

The book beams shafts of light into the darkness that so many people grapple with on a daily basis and provides prisms of hope into the despair people regularly feel watching the news.

As the coronavirus illustrated so vividly, today's world can be both disconcerting and disconnecting. However, Sr Stan seeks to

offer connections, community and common sense. It is a rich vein to be mined of insight, imagination and inspiration. This book can be a sanctuary of rest, renewal, and reassurance when we have an aching heart. Long before the terms 'mindfulness' and 'well-being' were coined, the Christian tradition offered pathways to peace of mind and serenity. Sr Stan offers literally a new chapter in that respect.

But just as the Celts were happy to borrow wisdom from everywhere, this volume is happy to do the same. Sr Stan has sought out stories, wisdom, poetry and prayers which resonate with the modern sensibility.

Like a Celtic magpie, she borrows wisdom from a wide variety of sources. When the world is too much with us, and our way forward is obscured by confusion, these inspirational thoughts will be a ray of light to beam peace into stressful lives and focus us forward with renewed hope and serenity in our hearts.

Sr Stan knows intuitively that laughter is the best medicine. I hope the collection will bring a few smiles as well as lift our spirits.

Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, Finding Peace, Columba Press, Dublin, 2021

41

THE CRISIS IN GAZA COVID-19 AND CONFLICT ARE HUGE CHALLENGES FACING THE PEOPLE OF GAZA

BY DAVID O'HARE

42

A member of staff from Caritas Jerusalem, a Trócaire partner, surveys the devastation in Gaza. Photo: Michelle Hough, Caritas

T

he Gaza Strip is a narrow sliver of land, spanning 365 square kilometres (141 square miles), bordered by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Its two million residents, half of them under the age of 18, live in one of the world's most densely populated territories.

Electricity is only available for about half the day, and many people do not have regular access to clean water. More than 70 per cent of Gaza's population relies on humanitarian aid to meet basic needs.

For almost 14 years, Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the entry and exit of goods and people to and from Gaza.

The vast majority of residents do not meet Israel's stringent criteria for travel permits

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

and therefore have severely limited ability to travel outside the Strip, including for employment and education, or to visit or reunite with family members living in Israel, the West Bank, or farther afield.

Gaza's inhabitants have also been subjected to four wars in the last 13 years in which thousands of civilians have been killed or forced from their homes, with homes and workplaces demolished. This has left a deep psychological impact on the children, women and men who call Gaza home. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep across the Strip, with transmission made easy by the crowded living conditions and low number of vaccines available. During the

fighting in May 2021, the sole laboratory in Gaza that processes COVID-19 test results became inoperable due to damage sustained in an Israeli airstrike.

BURDEN ON WOMEN The ongoing blockade and the COVID-19 outbreak have severely impacted Gaza's women and girls. They have led to increased caregiving and household responsibilities such as caring for sick family members and handling additional childcare demands due to the closure of schools and daycare centres. This, in turn, limits women and girls' access to services, including critical health services. Increased caregiving responsibilities

agency in the Gaza Strip, Caritas Jerusalem, an organisation led by Sr Bridget Tighe, a Sligo native.

The brave women and men who work for Caritas' mobile medical teams in Gaza have been delivering life-saving primary healthcare and medical interventions in the northern Gaza Strip, an area heavily affected by the 11day fighting in May. As citizens try to rebuild their lives, Trócaire and Caritas will continue to help families by providing medical care, emergency water, cash distribution and psychosocial support.

also restrict access to and time available for education and livelihood activities.

Women, girls and vulnerable groups are at increased risk of gender-based violence during such epidemics due to limited involvement in decision-making within the household and negative shifts in social safety nets, mobility and access to services to respond to violence against women.

Since 2002, Trócaire has been privileged to work with local church and Palestinian organisations to help address the challenges facing the most vulnerable in Gaza.

In response to the bombardments of Gaza last May, Trócaire has been able to support the activities of its local partner and sister

ROOT CAUSES While it is imperative to respond to such needs in the Gaza Strip, particularly after the destruction and devastation that these wars leave behind, it is also vital that we work to address the root causes of such injustices.

These humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip have arisen not as a result of natural disasters but due to man-made actions and decisions that have led to these cycles of violence that leave the most vulnerable even worse off.

That is why Trócaire advocates with decision-makers in Ireland for the protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip and across Palestine by raising awareness of the living conditions and denial of basic rights endured

by Palestinians.

The cycle of violence continues due to a lack of accountability for ongoing human rights violations. These stem primarily from Israel's 54-year occupation of Palestinian land, facilitated by the construction of illegal settlements that the International Criminal Court said last year are tantamount to war crimes. Israel's systematic denial of Palestinians' rights has not been challenged in any meaningful way by the Irish government, European Union or US government, which continues to trade with and provide financial support to the illegal settlements constructed on Palestinian land.

Ultimately, a political solution has to be shaped by Palestinians and Israelis through dialogue and compromise, but this can only happen if a level playing field exists between both parties. This factor was glaringly absent

The cycle of violence continues due to a lack of accountability for ongoing human rights violations from the Trump administration's failed attempts at a peace deal.

As it stands, Israel has no reason to change its actions and policy towards the Palestinians that live under its control. This is why there is an urgent need for the Irish government, EU and US to play an essential role by, amongst other actions, insisting on the application of international law as a way to ensure respect for the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis in the region, and challenging Israel's impunity through appropriate economic and diplomatic responses.

These calls are what Trócaire hears from our years of working with local organisations and representative groups that we engage with across Israel and Palestine. Despite the hardship they face, there is an enduring resilience and courage that Palestinians continue to display in the hope that their situation will one day improve. It is incumbent on us all to act to help make that a reality.

Trócaire's Christmas appeal focused on the hardships women and girls face in war-torn Gaza. You can find out more about Trócaire's work in the region or make a donation by visiting www.trocaire.org

Children in lockdown, Gaza.

Photo: Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor

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CO M M E N T REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ

THE TWO GREAT SINS

GREED AND THE MISUSE OF POWER ARE THE TWO GREAT SINS IDENTIFIED BY JESUS OF NAZARETH

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n the Gospels, Jesus warns his followers to avoid the two great sins. The first was – no, not sexual misconduct! – but the selfish accumulation of wealth in the midst of widespread hunger. The second was the misuse of power for personal self-interest. Both are in conflict with the fundamental value which Jesus required of his followers, namely solidarity.

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FIRST GREAT SIN Then: At the time of Jesus, about 8 per cent of the population lived a very wealthy lifestyle. As an agricultural society, wealth consisted of the possession of large estates, which were divided up and rented out to peasants who often had to pay the landlord up to 50 per cent of the produce they harvested, leaving them with insufficient food for their own needs. If the harvest was bad, or the rains came late, they might fall into debt just to get something to eat. Some of Jesus' parables express the anger of the tenants and their efforts to fight back against their exploitation by the wealthy (c/f Luke 16:18). More than half the parables in the Gospels are about how wealth in the midst of poverty is incompatible with the Kingdom of God (c/f Luke 12:13–21/Luke 16:19-30/Matt 18:23-35), and is an obstacle to our relationship with God. Today, that sin is still very much alive. The recently leaked Pandora Papers (following the leak of the Paradise Papers in 2017 and the Panama Papers in 2016) reveal

View from homeless tent in Dublin

hidden wealth, tax avoidance and money laundering on a massive scale by some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people. All while millions live in poverty, with no access to healthcare or education, children die of starvation, and refugees have no place to live. Some 330 politicians from 90 countries, including kings and prime ministers, are named.

In wealthy Ireland, 190,000 children still live in households experiencing poverty. Thousands of renters are paying over 50 per cent of their monthly wage to a landlord, leaving them with insufficient money to feed and clothe their family and pay their bills. Despite a good salary, they are effectively living in poverty.

We live in a society where many people seek not just financial security but prosperity. Many of us have more than we need,

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while many others have less than they need.

Today, Jesus might say, "Live simply, share generously," or, to paraphrase St Teresa of Calcutta: "Share till it hurts and then share a little more."

SECOND GREAT SIN Then: At the time of Jesus, most rulers, like King Herod, were brutal and uncaring. They used their position to further their own self-interest, to retain power and become rich. When the people in Sepphoris rebelled against Herod, he destroyed the city, crucified 2,000 of its inhabitants and forced the rest into exile.

By contrast, Jesus ordered his followers to follow the example he himself set: "You know that among the pagans, their so-called rulers lord it over them and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among

you. No, anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant" (Mark 10:42–45).

Today, in many parts of the world, leaders abuse their power, ignoring the needs of the people in order to cling to power and make themselves rich. From Donald Trump in the US, to Russia, China, Belarus, Myanmar, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan and many other countries, dictatorships, military coups, or rigged elections are common. Corruption by those in leadership is rampant.

In Ireland, racism towards Travellers, hostility towards immigrants and domestic violence all come from an abuse of power or status, and we are called to challenge it, both within ourselves and in others.

At the time of Jesus, solidarity within the family and community was taken for granted. But today, we live in a culture that emphasises an excessive individualism and personal morality, to the point where we might miss the social dimension of the Gospel. The Gospel is not just about how we, as individuals, should live our personal lives. It is about how we should live together as the people of God, in solidarity with each other, caring and sharing, especially with the poor and vulnerable.

For more information or to support the Peter McVerry Trust: www.pmvtrust.ie info@pmvtrust.ie +353 (0)1 823 0776

GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH CALLED AND CHOSEN The scene in today's Gospel takes place on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret. This is one of 5TH SUNDAY IN three or four names for ORDINARY TIME the large lake in Galilee, some 500 feet below sea level. It was an important part of the economic life of Galilee. It supported a thriving fishing industry from the little harbours around its edge. It figures much in the story of Jesus. His first followers included people who made their living from it, like his fishermen disciples and Mary Magdalene, from Magdala, one of the small lakeside towns.

The first part of the Gospel describes how Jesus got into a boat the better to be seen by the crowd and also perhaps to use the natural amplification of the water to carry his voice.

The second and most important part is the story of the call of the first disciples. The

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opening of this part of the story might suggest that Jesus is about to reward Simon for the loan of his boat as a pulpit. As an experienced fisherman, Simon probably smiled at what he thought was a well-meaning gesture from a man with little fishing experience. The fishermen of the lake preferred to fish during the dark. The previous night had brought in nothing, as he tells the preacher. Not wishing to offend his good intentions, Peter declares himself willing to lower the nets. To his surprise, the nets begin to bulge with so many fish that they are close to breaking point. They signal to their partners in the other boat to come and help them save the precious catch.

So wondrous is the catch that even the two boats cannot hold it without running the risk of sinking.

Simon's response is to recognise that there is something holy about this teacher. He falls to his knees and confesses that he is "a sinful man." So far, we have no experience of how

he could be a sinful man. Later events, such as his denial on the eve of Jesus' passion that he knows him, will undoubtedly confirm Simon to be a weak man. Jesus responds, "Do not be afraid." This isn't intended simply to restore Simon's self-confidence. There are echoes here of the stories of the call of Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament. As each is called, he recognises how unfit he is for the task but is reassured by a sign from God. In Simon's case, the sign came first, but it is only now he is made aware of what it means when Jesus tells him that he is to become a catcher, not of fish, but of human beings.

Peter and his companions James and John (and probably Andrew, Simon's brother) become the first disciples, leaving "everything" to follow him.

Today’s Readings Is 6:1-8; Ps 137; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11

View from Galilee Mountains to the Sea of Galilee (Gennesaret)

God’s Word continues on page 46

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GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH HAPPY ATTITUDES In the Old Testament, Moses came down a mountain to announce God's word – the ten 6TH SUNDAY IN commandments – to ORDINARY TIME his people. In today's Gospel, Jesus also descends a mountain to announce his word to his disciples and the assembled crowd. He preaches the beatitudes and woes. (Luke's account of the beatitudes is different to Matthew's. In Matthew's Gospel, there are nine beatitudes. Luke has only four beatitudes but also includes four woes.)

For anyone who is poor, hungry, who weeps, or is hated, Jesus has comforting words. He calls these people blessed. But he has harsh

words of warning for those who are rich, full, laugh, or are honoured. Woe to you, he tells them.

Jesus' words can seem puzzling and harsh.

They turn our commonly accepted notion of what is good and bad upside down. Jesus seems to be saying that it is a good thing to be poor, hungry, weeping and hurt. And that it's a bad thing to be rich, well-fed, able to laugh or be spoken well of.

But this is not what he is saying. Jesus is not lauding poverty, or hunger or hurt as something to be desired in themselves. They should be avoided, if at all possible. Nor is Jesus condemning a social class. As he knows only too well, virtues and vices do not belong to any particular group.

Jesus' beatitudes are addressed to his disciples, to those involved in building God's

kingdom. And they are words of consolation and promise. Jesus knows that things will not be easy for them. They will suffer for preaching the Gospel. They will face rejection, betrayal, hurt, and tears. But the promise is of better things to come. Jesus is assuring his disciples that a life dedicated to God will bring difficulties and hardships but that God will overcome them. So long as they remain faithful, their weeping will turn to laughter, and they will be blessed.

THE GOLDEN RULE Last Sunday, we began Luke's version of Jesus' great sermon, called 'the Sermon on the 7TH SUNDAY IN Plain.' Today and next ORDINARY TIME Sunday, we will continue reading from it. While it has much in common with Matthew's 'Sermon on the Mount,' it is only about onequarter of its length (33 verses compared to Matthew's 112 verses).

There are two major but closely related themes in today's Gospel. The first is a teaching on love of enemies and the second is a call to imitate the compassion of God the Father. The first section is marked off by a repetition of the command to "love your enemies … and do good." Repetition is a way of highlighting the key idea of a text. In between, the details of how Christians can love their enemies are spelt out in concrete terms.

Jesus gives four practical examples of love of

enemy. The first is how to respond to verbal abuse. If someone calls down a curse on a disciple of Jesus, they should not meet it with another curse but with a blessing, perhaps even with a word of praise. When they are poorly treated, they should respond by praying for those who mistreat them. The examples now consider physical ill-treatment: if someone strikes you on the cheek, do not retaliate but turn the other cheek.

The third area in which Christians must practise forgiveness is in relation to property.

Jesus begins with a basic example – the theft of one's clothes. In Jesus' time, clothing was relatively simple. Underwear consisted of a strip of fabric used as a loincloth. Over this was worn a light garment, like a long tunic or shirt, tied at the waist with a belt or sash so that the loose ends could be tucked up when at work. In cold weather or when travelling, a heavier woollen cloak was worn which could double as a blanket. If a robber demanded the cloak, the disciple was not to fight to retain

it but offer even the tunic as well. The fourth example has to do with borrowing and lending.

Disciples are to give to anyone who asks and not to expect the return of stolen property.

At this point, we hear what has been called 'the Golden Rule' – treat others as you would like them to treat you. This teaching is not exclusive to Christianity. Rabbis, even before Jesus' time, taught a version of it. It was known to religious teachers in China and India and to philosophers in Greece and elsewhere. It is probably the highest pinnacle of human wisdom, and its common sense cannot be doubted.

But Jesus' teaching goes a step beyond it. The call is not so much to treat people in the way you expect to be treated but to reach into the utter compassion of God for his creation and to imitate that.

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Today’s Readings Jr 17:5-8; Ps 1; 1 Cor 15:12.16-20; Lk 6:17.20-26

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Today’s Readings 1 Sam 26:2.7-9.12-13.22-23; Ps 102; 1 Cor 15:45-49; Lk 6:27-38

THE REALITY CROSSWORD

NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY ����

A SOUND HEART Today's Gospel contains a series of one-liners – very brief sayings of Jesus. Depending on how we count them, there are about six or seven short sayings that can be divided into two sets.

8TH SUNDAY IN The first is about right seeing. It begins with a ORDINARY TIME short parable of one blind person leading another.

Unable to see a deep pit in their path, both will fall into it. In the same way, a student who parts company with her teacher too early will make mistakes that a little more humility and time devoted to learning might have prevented her from making.

The third parable is about someone who notices that his companion has a splinter in his eye but fails to recognise that there is a whole plank in his own eye.

The second set of sayings is about the need for wholeness if we are to produce good fruit. Only a fool would go looking for figs on a thorn bush or for grapes on thistles. All of this points towards the theme of the good heart. In the Bible, the heart is not just an organ for pumping blood. It is the source of wisdom and of right intentions.

If the heart is sound, then its soundness will be manifest in good deeds. The opposite is equally true: if the heart is evil, it will exercise an evil influence on the rest of a person's life.

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SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 9 ACROSS: 1. Bishop, 5. Recant, 10. Abraham, 11. Brahman, 12. Ajar, 13. Jacob, 15. Abel, 17. Sly, 19.

Absorb, 21. Tabard, 22. Retreat, 23. Nimrod, 25. Geiger, 28. Ice, 30. Wage, 31. Bosch, 32. Agog, 35.

Succubi, 36. Eritrea, 37. Alcove, 38. Ailing.

DOWN: 2. Inroads, 3. Ha-ha, 4. Pampas, 5. Rob Roy, 6. Cram, 7. Namibia, 8. Mañana, 9. Angled, 14.

Clerics, 16. Error, 18. Eaten, 20. Bed, 21. Tag, 23. Newest, 24. Magical, 26. Gagarin, 27. Ragtag, 28.

Iodine, 29. Eczema, 33. Juno, 34. Mill.

Winner of Crossword No. 9 Mary Warde, Tuam, Co. Galway.

ACROSS 1. Site of an ancient colossus. (6) 5. Colourful birds of the parrot family. (6) 10. Biblical city with problematic walls. (7) 11. A state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts. (7) 12. A list that shows who must do a certain job. (4) 13. Old Irish alphabet. (5) 15. A small piece of something removed in the course of chopping or breaking. (4) 17. Vegetable often confused with a sweet potato. (3) 19. Plundered a city and fired an employed. (6) 21. A small wave on the surface of a liquid. (6) 22. Another name for Jesus Christ. (7) 23. An official language of Israel. (6) 25. Cowboy of the South American pampas.

(6) 28. Appraise the animal doc. (3) 30. The second letter of the Greek alphabet. (4) 31. One of the Great Lakes between the U.S. and Canada. (5) 32. He sold his birthright for stew! (4) 35. Provoking a person playfully. (7) 36. She left only Hope in the box. (7) 37. A line connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure. (6) 38. Am expression of sharp disapproval or criticism. (6)

DOWN 2. A person who publicly dissents from the officially accepted dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. (7) 3. Device for charging mobile phones or laptops.

(4) 4. Heavy, dull or uninteresting food. (6) 5. She danced and sang after the Pharaoh's army was drowned. (6) 6. A natural underground chamber. (4) 7. Vessel intended for combat. (7) 8. Long, deep, narrow inlets of the sea between high cliffs. (6) 9. A building for religious practice. (6) 14. Pet with ever-growing front teeth! (7) 16. The only republic in the Arab peninsula. (5) 18. A fight against the enemies of Islam. (5) 20. Water droplets of the morning. (3) 21. Low quality newspaper and an old cloth. (3) 23. Recurrent, often unconscious patterns of behaviour. (6) 24. Delivers to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty. (7) 26. Full-length garment worn by certain Christian clergy. (7) 27. Of or relating to the eye. (6) 28. Not having or showing good manners. (6) 29. Lethargy, a state of physical or mental inactivity. (6) 33. Arm, leg or large branch. (4) 34. Treat someone as if they are not there. (4)

Entry Form for Crossword No.1, January/February 2022 Name:

Today’s Readings Eccles 27:4-7; Ps 91; 1 Cor 15:54-58; Lk 6:39-45

Address: Telephone:

All entries must reach us by Friday February 25, 2022 One €35 prize is offered for the first correct solutions opened. The Editor’s decision on all matters concerning this competition will be final. Do not include correspondence on any other subject with your entry which should be addressed to: Reality Crossword No.7, Redemptorist Communications, St Joseph's Monastery, Dundalk, County Louth A91 F3FC