Reality June 2017

MILER MAGRATH ENIGMA OF CASHEL

JUNE 2017

THE AMERICAN DREAM

CANDIDATE SCORNED FOR HIS BELIEFS

THE DEVIL AT DANCES

THE FAMOUS 1950s ARTICLES

Informing, Inspiring, Challenging Today’s Catholic

DEDICATED TO OUR LADY THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CHAPEL OF ST MARY’S, CLAPHAM

SURRENDERING TO THE SPIRIT FIFTY YEARS OF CHARISMATIC RENEWAL

www.redcoms.org

BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN

CELEBRATING DUBLIN’S BELOVED PRIEST AND TEACHER

Redemptorist-Communications @RedComsIreland �2.50 �2.00

REDEMPTORIST SOLEMN NOVENAS TO OUR MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP JUNE 2017 ESKER NOVENA

Tuesday June 6 - Wednesday June 14, 2017 Daily Sessions:

8.00am, 10.00am, 4.00pm, 6.00pm, 8.00pm & 10.00pm Novena times for Sunday June 11:

8.00am, 10.00am, 12.00noon, 4.30pm, 6.00pm & 8.00pm Preachers: Brendan O’Rourke, CSsR, Denis Luddy, CSsR, and Derek Ryan, CSsR Confessions will be heard before and after each session of the Solemn Novena, with the exception of Sunday Blessing of Babies & Children will take place after each Mass on Sunday June 11 Novena session for the Sick & the Infirm: Saturday, June 10 at 12 noon

CLONARD NOVENA

Wednesday June 14 - Thursday June 22, 2017 Daily Sessions:

6.45am, 8.15am, 9.30am, 11.00am, 12.45pm, 4.30pm, 6.00pm, 7.30pm, 9.00pm, 10.30pm (The Candlelight Session - except Saturday & Sunday) Novena times for Saturday & Sunday, June 18 & 19

6.45am, 8.15am, 9.30am, 11.00am, 12.45pm, 3.00pm, 4.30pm 6.00pm, 7.30pm Novena Session with Sign Language each day at 11.00am Novena session for the Sick & the Infirm: Saturday, June 17, at 11.00am, 12.45pm & 3.00pm Blessing of babies & young children - Sunday June 18 at 3.00pm without Mass Special Youth session with Mass on Sunday June 18 at 7.30pm The Sacrament of Reconciliation (No Masses) will be celebrated on Friday, June 16 at 9.30am, 4.30pm, 6.00pm & 9.00pm Ministers from other Christian Churches - Monday June 19 at all sessions

For more information/to see the novena go to: www.clonard.com

LIMERICK NOVENA

Friday June 16 - Saturday June 24, 2017 Daily Sessions (including Sunday):

7.00am, 8.00am, 10.00am, 11.30am, 1.10pm, 4.30pm, 6.00pm, 7.30pm, 9.00pm, 10.30pm Novena session for the Sick & the Infirm: Saturday, June 24 at 11.30am Novena celebrations for children: Blessing of babies & young children - Sunday June 18 at 4.30pm Celebration for First Communion classes - Monday, June 19 at 11.30am

See this year’s Novena streaming live on the Internet. Go to www.novena.ie

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE FEATURES 12 VISUAL MARIOLOGY? The Lady Chapel in Clapham celebrates Mary as mother and advocate

By Brendan McConvery CSsR

18 BREAD FOR THE WORLD In June we celebrate what it means to be a Christian community

By Sarah Adams

20 ALFRED SMITH: THE AMERICAN DREAM FULFILLED… ALMOST The US presidential candidate who faced prejudice for his beliefs

By Mike Daley

22 THE DEVIL AT DANCES A look back at the famous 1950s series of articles on the evils of modern dancing Reviewed by Brendan McConvery CSsR

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26 BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN: MAN OF GOD SENT AMONG US AND FOR US Beloved priest and teacher beatified in Dublin

By Donal Neary SJ

28 SURRENDERING TO THE SPIRIT An invitation to join in the celebration of fifty years of Charismatic Renewal

By Sr Bridget Dunne

34 IN THE EYE OF THE STORM: TUAM AND THE IRISH CHURCH In the midst of the hurt and anger, there is hope

By Gerard Moloney CSsR

22

34

36 BEING AND DOING God revealed his name as “I AM WHO I AM.” What does this mean for us?

By Richard Goodison

OPINION

REGULARS

11 TRÍONA DOHERTY

04 REALITY BITES

38 ARCHBISHOP MILER MAGRATH: THE ENIGMA OF CASHEL

17 DAVID O'DONOGHUE

07 POPE MONITOR

31 CARMEL WYNNE

08 FEAST OF THE MONTH

The man who served as both a Catholic and Protestant bishop in Irish dioceses

By Patrick J Ryan CSSp

41 TIME WITH THE MASTER The new book by Seamus Devitt CSsR reflects on various events in the life of Jesus Reviewed by Kate Green

44 PETER McVERRY SJ

09 REFLECTIONS 32 PRAYER CORNER 42 TRÓCAIRE 45 GOD’S WORD

REALITY BITES SCIENCE AND RELIGION UNITE IN VATICAN CONFERENCE VATICAN CITY

SEARCH FOR TRUTH

Science and religion must be united in the ongoing quest to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos. That’s according to director of the Vatican Observatory, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, as he welcomed attendees to a scientific conference entitled ‘Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Space-Time Singularities’. The event saw experts from around the world come together at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo from May 9-12.

“The search for truth is what unites us. Those of us who are religious will recognise in the truth

The Vatican Observatory

the presence of God, but you don't have to make that theological leap to have a desire to know truth,” said Brother Consolmagno.

Dr Alfio Bonanno, an Italian cosmologist at the National Institute for Astrophysics, said

the conference aimed to dispel the ‘myth’ that religion fears science, because the search for truth “will bring us to God”. One of the main topics for discussion was the discovery in 2016 of the existence of gravitational waves, predicted nearly 100 years ago by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity. The discovery could open a new chapter in understanding celestial events and black hole regions in the universe. The conference also will celebrate the scientific legacy of Msgr George Lemaitre, one of the fathers of the theory that the expanding universe could be traced to an origin point, also known as the ‘Big Bang theory’.

IRISH AMERICAN CAPUCHIN ON ROAD TO SAINTHOOD 4

DETROIT

BELOVED FRIAR KNOWN FOR MERCY

Born to Irish immigrant parents and fondly remembered as “Detroit’s beloved friar”, Capuchin Father Solanus Casey is on his way to sainthood. Pope Francis announced on May 4 that Fr Casey, in addition to 11 others, is to be declared ‘blessed’. Fr Casey (1870-1957) will be only the second US-born man to be beatified.

Born Bernard Francis Casey in Wisconsin, the sixth of 16 children, he was ordained in 1904 as a ‘simplex priest’ – unable to preach or hear confessions as he had not performed well in his studies. He spent most of his ministry in St Bonaventure Monastery, Detroit, where he carried out humble tasks such as monastery porter or doorkeeper. He became known for his care for sick and downtrodden people, and his gentle approach and compassion for all those who sought out his help and counsel.

He conducted well-attended services for the sick, and devotion to him had grown so much by the time of his death, on July 31, 1957, that more than 8,000 people attended Fr Casey’s funeral. Healings have been attributed to his intercession, both during his lifetime and since his death. His beatification will take place in Detroit later this year.

REALITY JUNE 2017

Provincial minister of the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St Joseph in Detroit, Fr Michael Sullivan, said the friars were elated with the news: “Long before we knew and loved Pope Francis, we had the example of Father Solanus, who lived the Gospel

of mercy… Rather than call attention to himself, he taught people to thank God for their blessings.”

Fr Casey helping in a soup kitchen in 1941.

Insert: Fr Solanus Casey

N E WS

CATHOLIC SCOTLAND? EDINBURGH

REACHING OUT

Census figures for Scotland show that the number of Christians attending church every Sunday has halved in the past three decades. The decline in Catholic Mass attendance, however, is smaller than for other Christian denominations. Figures from the 2016 Scottish Church Census show that the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland (Presbyterian and traditionally the largest church in the country) both make up 35 per cent of the church-going population— but the Catholic share is expanding. The report found 135,600 weekly Catholic Mass attendees compared to 136,910 attending Church of Scotland services. The total of weekly attenders of all Christian churches

amounted to 389,510. The compiler of the survey said he expected the Catholic Church eventually to have the most Sunday Massgoers if trends continue but he also issued a warning: “The Catholic Mass-attending population has dropped. If you look at Glasgow it was 480,000 in 2002; it’s now 38,570. The numbers have gone down, but not as much as other populations.” Catholic congregations are also younger. The average age of Church of Scotland service-goes is 60, and for Catholic Mass-goers it is 47.

Much of the reason why Catholic numbers are higher is because a lot of immigrants have come into Scotland in the last 10-15 years and the Catholic Church has reached out to them, supplying Masses in their native languages.

The Catholic population of Aberdeen has increased in the last five years, due largely to the incoming Polish population.

THREE IRISH COLLEGE DEACONS ORDAINED

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin with the three newly ordained priests outside the Redemptorist church

ROME

CHURCH OF ST ALPHONSUS

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin ordained three seminarians of the Potifical Irish College, Rome as deacons on Easter Tuesday. Rev James Daly (57), a former parish pastoral worker and teacher from Midleton, Co Cork, and Rev Robert Smyth (32), a former management consultant from Knocklyon in Dublin, were ordained for the Archdiocese of Dublin, while Rev Seán Mulligan (46), a former intellectual disabilities nurse from Knockatallon, Co Monaghan, was ordained for the Diocese of Clogher. All three are

transitional deacons, meaning they will be ordained to the priesthood at a later stage. The ceremony took place at the Church of Saint Alphonsus on the Via Merulana, which is in the care of the Redemptorist order and houses the original icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Congratulating the deacons, Rector of the Irish College, Monsignor Ciarán O’Carroll said, “May they experience God’s grace anew in their lives so that they may courageously proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, generously serving the people of God in their various dioceses with care and compassion.”

A DAY OF LAY-LED LITURGIES LIMERICK

NEW CHALLENGES

St John's Cathedral, Limerick

The morning of Tuesday April 25 marked a new departure for the Diocese of Limerick, with 150 lay people standing up in 60 parishes across the diocese to lead morning liturgies. With priests away for the day on in-service formation, Bishop Brendan Leahy requested that every parish host a lay-led liturgy of the Word. In a letter read out at Masses the previous weekend, he explained that, following discussion at the Diocesan Synod a year previously, the diocese needed to “prepare for a time when, even though priests are not available, each local community will be prepared to arrange for moments of public prayer for various occasions”.

The initiative was the first of its kind for an Irish diocese, and also the first time that morning Mass was not celebrated in any of the diocese’s churches.

The liturgies did not include the distribution of communion, as is common practice all over the world when priests are not available. “There is a risk that as we move forward in thinking about lay-led liturgy, we will automatically simply try to maintain a certain status quo by having an ‘alternative’ to Mass that really could end up being seen as a miniMass. And that could lead to great confusion,” said Bishop Leahy. “There are new challenges facing us. This is only one small step that we are taking to help us all recognise the change and prepare for it. Change is never easy. However, I’m sure this experience will actually deepen our awareness of the gifts the Church has to offer.” continued on page 6

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REALITY BITES HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POPE BENEDICT The retired Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, reached his 90th birthday on Easter Sunday but celebrated it the following day. A small group of friends gathered to celebration the occasion with him, including his 93-year-old elder brother Monsignor Georg Ratzinger. The retired pope lives in a former monastery within the Vatican, called the Mater Ecclesiae, which was created by St John Paul II as a residence for cloistered nuns who would pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Pope Francis visited his predecessor a few days earlier to wish him a happy birthday. The Vatican stamp and coin office celebrated the occasion with the release of stamps marking important

events in the life of the church spanning almost 2,000 years.

Msgr George Gänswein, his former secretary, said that although Pope Benedict can no longer see out of one eye and has some difficulties walking, he is otherwise is in good health. “Certainly, he’s an old man by now,” Msgr Gänswein said. “It’s tough on him to walk, and he uses a walker. He can’t work on specialist theological texts like he used to do, but he still writes, and a lot. He has an enormous amount of correspondence from all over the world. He gets books, essays and letters, and he replies. Naturally that takes time and effort, but he thinks about every response, it’s never something done casually.” The Monsignor added that the most important activity for the retired pontiff is prayer.

Birthday greetings from Pope Francis

Stamps to commemorate the pope's 90th birthday

VATICAN CITY

90TH CELEBRATION

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HIGH NUMBERS ENTERING THE CHURCH IN AMERICA USA

WELCOMED AT EASTER VIGIL

The US Catholic Church welcomed thousands of new members at this year’s Easter Vigil.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest diocese in the United States, welcomed 1,756 catechumens and 938 candidates, while the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston reported 1,667 catechumens and 708 candidates.

(Catechumens receive all the sacraments of initiation – baptism, confirmation and first communion, while candidates who are already baptised are confirmed and welcomed into full communion). The Archdiocese of Seattle had 679 catechumens and 409 candidates, the Archdiocese of Miami had 524 catechumens and 214 candidates, and the Archdiocese of Washington reported 483 catechumens and 698 candidates. Not far behind was the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, which reported 387 catechumens and 528 candidates. Individual parishes also recorded high numbers of new members. The Redemptorist parish at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn received 52 catechumens and an additional 25 candidates were welcomed into full communion.

FIRST SOUP KITCHEN OPENS IN CHURCH BUILDING BELFAST

HOPE FOR THE HOMELESS

A Belfast city centre parish has responded in a very practical way to Pope Francis’ call to reach out with concrete acts of mercy. St Patrick’s Church in Donegall Street, Belfast, in the Diocese of Down and Connor, has opened a soup kitchen to provide a lifeline to those in the city experiencing homelessness or poverty. The initiative is a direct response to Pope Francis’ focus on mercy and compassion for those in need, and is the first to be established in a Catholic church in Northern Ireland. The service operates every Friday and Saturday night from 7-11pm, and organisers hope it will be expanded to reach more people who are going through difficult times. A Mass of Hope was held on April 26 to mark the opening, featuring REALITY JUNE 2017

testimonies from people who had experienced homelessness, and music from Belfast City Gospel Choir. Fr Dominic McGrattan of St Patrick’s Church, commented: “We wanted to highlight the issue

[of homelessness] and start an initiative to do something practical to help. It is fairly unusual to use a church space for such a facility, but we feel it is important to throw open the doors of our church."

© Courtesy of Irish News

Fr Dominic McGrattan gives a helping hand in the kitchen

N E WS

POPE MONITOR KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS POPE FRANCIS ORDAINS NEW PRIESTS

TRIBUTE TO MARTYR WITH LOUGH DERG CONNECTION

Pope Francis invited some of the new priests to join him in giving the traditional Sunday Angelus blessing at the window of the papal apartments overlooking St Peter’s Square

Pope Francis ordained ten men to the priesthood on May 7, the Fourth Sunday of Easter and Good Shepherd Sunday. It is also kept as Vocations Sunday, a day of prayer for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. On three occasions, he departed from the prepared text of his homily.

These impromptu remarks are often particularly witty and well focussed. The first was to tell the candidates that the priesthood is not a ‘career’ in the usual sense, and ought not be lived as a path to advancement within the church. “These men have been elected by the Lord Jesus not to make their own way, but for priestly service.” Later he gave them a bit of practical advice: “Do not give homilies that are too intellectual or elaborate. Be simple, as Our Lord spoke, who reached hearts. Finally he said, “A priest who has perhaps studied much theology and has achieved one or two or three advanced degrees, but has not learned to carry the Cross of Christ, is useless: he will be a good academic, a good professor, but not a priest. Please, I ask you in the name of Christ and of the church to be merciful, always: do not saddle the faithful with burdens they cannot carry (nor ought you so burden yourselves).

Jesus reproved the doctors of the law for this, and called them hypocrites.” A particularly concrete act of mercy was visiting the sick. “Do it, all of you.

Yes, it is well that the lay faithful should do it, and deacons, but do not forget to touch the flesh of the suffering Christ in the sick: this sanctifies you, it brings you closer to Christ.”

Pope Francis leads a prayer service at the Basilica of St Bartholomew in Rome, wearing the stole of Fr Ganni

Pope Francis celebrated a prayer service for modern martyrs while wearing the stole of an Iraqi martyr who spent time working at Lough Derg. The move was a touching tribute to Chaldean Fr Ragheed Aziz Ganni, who was murdered in Mosul, Iraq, in 2007. Fr Ganni was a student of the Irish College in Rome and lived there from 1996 to 2003, spending some of his summers at Lough Derg pilgrimage centre in Co Donegal.

The service held to honour Christians killed under Nazism, communism, dictatorships and terrorism was celebrated in Rome’s Basilica of St Bartholomew, a shrine to modern martyrs, on April 22. Fr Ganni’s stole is among several items that belonged to men and women martyred in the 20th and 21st centuries which are on display on the side altars in the basilica.

Speaking at the prayer service, Pope Francis 7 said the church needs courageous witnesses who will stand up for their faith – “even to the point of death”.

LAUNDRY FOR THE HOMELESS A new ‘Pope Francis’ Laundry’ has been opened near the Vatican to enable homeless people to wash, dry and iron their clothes and blankets. According to Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, administrator of the papal charities, “One of the greatest difficulties for those who live on the road, along with that of finding food, a place to spend the night and public baths, is to wash and dry the clothes they wear, in many cases the only ones owned.” The laundry room is located within the People of Peace Centre of the Community of Sant’Egidio, at the old hospital complex of San Gallican. The community has been active for more than ten years in providing hospitality and care of the poor. In the coming months, it is intended to provide showers, a barber, a wardrobe, medical services, and distribution of essential goods, similar to what already happens under the colonnade of St Peter. The laundry room is equipped with six latest models of washing machines and six dryers, along with several irons. The Whirlpool Corporation donated everything. Procter & Gamble, which for two years has been providing razors and shaving cream to the barber for the poor of the colonnade of St Peter’s, has undertaken A homeless man checks on his clothing at the Pope Francis laundry facility in Rome to supply the detergents for the laundry.

FEAST OF THE MONTH ST MOLING

8

June 17

th

A visit to St Mullins in the south of Co Carlow has left me with happy memories for the past half century. I was taken there by a kind and thoughtful parishioner during a mission in the locality.

It was my first time laying eyes on this arcadia on the banks of the River Barrow. Among the archaeological remains can be seen a mediaeval church, the stump of a round tower, an oratory, and a small decorated high cross. There is also a Norman motte and the cemetery which was a traditional burial ground of the McMurrough Kavanaghs.

St Moling’s sixth century monastic foundation is known as Tigh Moling (Moling’s House). The tradition is that when an ancient yew tree had fallen, Moling acquired the timber to build a cell or oratory. Nor was he alone at the job because we are told that he got a helping hand from the Gobán Saor; and anybody who knows anything about Irish folklore will know that there was no more skilled builder in the country than the Gobán.

Perhaps I should have begun by telling you that while St Moling’s father was a Leinsterman, his mother was a farmer’s daughter from the Sliabh Luachra side which encompasses the hill country of East Kerry and Western Duhallow in Co Cork. He is said to have been educated in the famous school of Glendalough, not indeed by Kevin himself but shortly after his day. Tigh Moling is situated above the high-water mark where the fresh waters coming down from the Slieve Bloom Mountains meet the tidal waters of the lower Barrow. The saint is also credited with digging out a mill-race by his own hand, but whether it was the work of Moling or his successors, a mill has been part of the landscape down to this day.

We are told in the Lives that Moling fasted until sunset each day except Sundays, unless people came seeking hospitality. Like Colmcille and Kevin and other monastic founders he had a quiet retreat for prayer some little distance from the hustle and bustle of the monastery; and there was a designated person to visit him at set times to keep him informed on any matters of moment.

That practice of having such an attendant derives from the Egyptian monastic tradition but was much appreciated by later abbots.

Moling is thought to have been bishop of Ferns formerly occupied by St Aidan (alias Máedoc/ Mogue); and since in those days Ferns enjoyed a particularly high standing in Leinster, Moling achieved something forever remembered in the popular mind, the abolition of the Borumha.

That was a heavy and controversial tax which the kings of Tara exacted from the Munstermen in revenge for past grievances.

In ancient Ireland Moling was regarded as one of the four national patrons but particularly a beloved patron of Leinster. He enjoyed the reputation of being a poet of standing, and in a collection of 24 poems in the Brussels library one of them is ascribed to Colmcille and the others to Moling.

The kindness of Moling is remembered too. At the Battle of Moyra, Co Armagh in 637, King Suibhne lost his mind at the sight of so many slain. For years Suibhne, known in tradition as Suibhne Geilt (mad Sweeny), wandered through the woods until eventually he found refuge at St Mullins and died in the arms of Moling. Centuries later this touching story finds a parallel when the outcast scholar Peter Abelard found shelter in the great Benedictine monastery of Cluny and died in the arms of the gentle abbot Peter the Venerable.

On a lighter note the Book of Leinster, records a curious tale of an encounter between Moling and the devil. The latter presented himself as Jesus: “I am Christ the Son of God”. Moling wasn’t convinced and testing him further, asking him to kneel down and pray. “I can’t,” replied the demon, “I am unable to bend my knees forward because they are turned backwards.” I often had fun when asking a church full of primary school children to kneel – just to be sure, to be sure.

John J O’Riordan CSsR REALITY JUNE 2017

Reality Volume 82. No. 5 June 2017 A Redemptorist Publication ISSN 0034-0960 Published by The Irish Redemptorists, Unit A6, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin 09 X651 Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Web: www.redcoms.org Email: sales@redcoms.org (With permission of C.Ss.R.)

Editor Tríona Doherty editor@redcoms.org Design & Layout David Mc Namara CSsR dmcnamara@redcoms.org General Manager Paul Copeland pcopeland@redcoms.org Sales & Marketing Claire Carmichael ccarmichael@redcoms.org Administration & Accounts Michelle McKeon mmckeon@redcoms.org Printed by Nicholson & Bass, Belfast Photo Credits Catholic News Service, Shutterstock, Trócaire, RollingNews.ie 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, Unit A6, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin D09 X651 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.

REDEMPTORIST COMMUNICATIONS Unit A6, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin D09 X651 Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Email: sales@redcoms.org Web: www.redcoms.org

Redemptorist Communications is a ministry of the Irish Redemptorist Province in which lay people and Redemptorists collaborate to communicate the Gospel message – to inform, inspire and challenge through pastoral publications and other media

REFLECTIONS Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes.

Patience obtains all things Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.

What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?

This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous.

THOMAS MERTON

ST TERESA OF AVILA

Leaps over walls – especially when taken late in life – can be extremely perilous. To leap successfully, you need a sense of humour, the spirit of adventure and an unshakable conviction that what you are leaping over is an obstacle upon which you would otherwise fall down.

MONICA BALDWIN

It was a magic carpet – woven with the coils and ringlets of a wondrous peel of limber plastic, whose filaments carried the genetic code of all the arts of man, and from which the abracadabra of science conjured up the hopes, the fears, the dreams of man the magic carpet of FILM! FRANK CAPRA

Not everybody has a genuine sense of humour. That calls for detachment from oneself and a mysterious sympathy with others which is felt even before they open their mouths. Only the person who has also a gift for affection can have a true sense of humour.

A good laugh is a sign of love; it may be said to give us a glimpse of, or a first lesson in, the love that God bears for every one of us.

KARL RAHNER

God’s love does not protect us from suffering. God’s love protects us in the midst of suffering.

HANS KUNG

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.

AMELIA EARHART

To pull a friend out of the mire, don't hesitate to get dirty.

If the Word truly became flesh, then God had not only a mother, but also a grandmother, cousins, great-aunts, and weird uncles. If the Word truly dwelt among us, then he was part of a family that, like most, was fairly dysfunctional, a mix of the good and bad, the saintly and the sinful, the glorious and the not so glorious. And this is such good news for us.

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON

To my surprise, my 70s are nicer than my 60s and my 60s than my 50s, and I wouldn't wish my teens and 20s on my enemies.

LIONEL BLUE

The immigrant's heart marches to the beat of two quite different drums, one from the old homeland and the other from the new.

The immigrant has to bridge these two worlds, living comfortably in the new and bringing the best of his or her ancient identity and heritage to bear on life in an adopted homeland.

MARY MCALEESE

Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past.

LEWIS MUMFORD

BAAL SHEM TOV

She had lost the art of conversation but not, unfortunately, the power of speech.

You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.

When I heard, Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, I thought, “Did he fall or was he pushed?”

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

LEYMAH GBOWEE

PD JAMES

9

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EDI TO R I A L UP FRONT TRÍONA DOHERTY

CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE

Have

you ever been in a busy house with TV or radio blaring, baby crying, children playing loudly, perhaps a fan whirring or washing machine finishing a cycle? It can be hard to hear yourself think. I sometimes find it is only when I sit down in the evening and all devices are switched off, that I am able to think clearly or hold a conversation.

Any parent will tell you that nothing compares to the relief of that moment when a baby stops screaming or toddler calms down after a tantrum. Noise is a part of life, and in a busy household much of what we hear is happy noise. Our working lives, too, can be filled with chatter, phones, machines, engines. It is sometimes difficult to switch off.

There are other sorts of ‘noise’ too that can fill our heads and interfere with our peace of mind. I spend a fair bit of time online and on social media. The never-ending stream of information, analysis, and opposing points of view can be confusing and difficult to digest.

I sometimes find myself drawn into reading opinions and disagreements in the comments section after a news article or thinkpiece; often I have to drag myself away for my own sanity.

British comedian Dave Gorman calls these comments after articles “the bottom half of the internet” – that virtual place where people work themselves into a frenzy over all sorts of issues. He even fashions some of the comments into amusing poems, highlighting their absurdity.

This online ‘noise’ can be just as powerful and all-consuming as any real-life distraction.

While there is plenty of uplifting material and many supportive communities online, unfortunately it’s just as common for insults and labels to be tossed carelessly around. In the absence of any context, it is all too easy to judge each other based on one or two comments. If someone supports a certain view, they are labelled as liberal, conservative, backward, radical, unintelligent, intolerant,

or whatever seems to fit at the time. These encounters are far from authentic, but they can get under our skin nonetheless.

The problem with this kind of discourse is that it appears to be seeping more and more into ‘real’ life. We are seeing increasingly polarised views in the media and in noisy protests on our streets, increasingly dirty political campaigns, and brutal spats between public figures. Sadly, this nasty discourse seems to apply particularly to the church.

For every positive story about the church, there is an article about how much more it should be doing, or why none of it matters anyway because of the church’s past failings.

When Archbishop Eamon Martin spoke recently about how decades of service by the church in education and healthcare are being “almost obliterated by a revised and narrow narrative that religious ethos cannot be good for democracy”, the reaction from many quarters was predictably scathing. For all the predominance of ‘liberal’ attitudes in the media and society, there is often little tolerance for those with definite religious convictions. However, we all need to listen to the views of others, even when they are sometimes expressed in noisy and prejudiced terms.

It is a challenging time to be a Christian and a Catholic, and it can be difficult to keep practising our faith in the midst of all this overwhelming background noise. With so many voices and opinions jostling for our attention, to defend or share our beliefs can seem an impossible task. How can we cut through the noise and centre ourselves again?

Everyone needs time to regroup and gather their thoughts. Priests and religious take time out every year to go on retreat. The proportion of lay people who do the same is significantly lower – though the growing interest in meditation and mindfulness shows there is an appetite for practices that encourage

relaxation and time out. One type of event offering space for reflection are the annual novenas which take place across the country.

This month sees Redemptorist novenas in Belfast, Esker, Ballinasloe and Limerick, when nine days of prayer are celebrated in the presence of the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. These thought-provoking occasions invite participants to deepen their relationship with Jesus, and to reflect on their lives in the light of the Gospel. They are opportunities to temporarily escape the ‘noise’ of our daily lives, to reset ourselves and centre our lives on Jesus. This year the focus is on family life, as we prepare for next year’s World Meeting of Families in Dublin.

Last year these four novenas attracted more than 300,000 people – perhaps you were one of them, or you plan to attend this year’s event.

For those not in a position to attend, there are other opportunities. Retreat centres all over the country offer day, weekend, or week-long programmes, while there are adoration and prayer groups in many parishes. Private prayer is important too – making time each day, even for a few minutes in the morning and evening, to centre ourselves and to ask for guidance.

While it is important to be informed and to listen to the many different voices and opinions out there, we also need space and time to nurture our own faith and to remind ourselves what we stand for. Even Our Lord took time away by himself to pray and recharge the batteries! We pray for those involved in organising and leading this year’s novenas, for those searching for answers or respite, and all who offer solace to weary travellers.

Tríona Doherty Editor

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VISUAL MARIOLOGY? THE LADY CHAPEL OF ST MARY’S REDEMPTORIST CHURCH, CLAPHAM

WITH IMAGES, TEXTS AND MOTIFS DEVOTED TO OUR LADY, THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CHAPEL IN CLAPHAM HAS BEEN TENDED BY THE LONDON REDEMPTORIST PROVINCE FOR MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS.

BY BRENDAN McCONVERY CSsR

The

Lady Chapel is the jewel of the Redemptorist Church of Our Immaculate Lady of Victories, better known as St Mary’s Clapham, London. It is also one of the masterworks of its architect, John Francis Bentley.

Bentley used traditional material and images, but many features of the chapel, not least the use of liturgical texts and hymns in honour of the Virgin Mary in the decoration, are a witness to his own faith.

As it was dedicated to Our Lady, the church did not need

a separate Lady Chapel. Spread of devotion to the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help among Redemptorists following the gift of the icon to them by Blessed Pius IX in 1866 led to the dedication of altars or chapels to Mary under this new title wherever there were Redemptorist monasteries. St Mary’s Clapham was originally built at the expense of Fr Edward Douglas. He later bore the cost of the Redemptorist Roman church of St Alphonsus where the icon was exposed for veneration. The Clapham community received

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its copy in December 1867 and exposed it for veneration on St Joseph’s altar. In 1883, John Francis Bentley was asked to design a new Lady Chapel, the cost of which was borne by Mrs Jane Louis, in memory of her husband William John Louis, whose copy is enshrined on the altar of the chapel.

THE ARCHITECT John Francis Bentley (18391902) is best known as the architect of Westminster Cathedral, London. Recovery from a serious illness, which he

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Portrait of John Francis Bentley by William Christian Symons, (1902) British National Portrait Gallery

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ascribed to the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, hastened his conversion, and he was baptised by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman of Westminster in 1862 at the age of 23. Shortly after his marriage, Bentley came to live in the parish of Clapham, where he became well known to the Redemptorists. His daughter, Winefride de L'Hôpital, in her study Westminster Cathedral and its Architect, attests her father’s St Mary's Redemptorist church in Clapham

devotion to Clapham and its community: “The passing of the years was to bring an ever growing intimacy with St Mary’s and on which for as long as the building may endure, his seal is now indelibly impressed.”

The chapel is situated off the south aisle of the church and is partly enclosed by an iron grille, designed by the architect.

Picked out in gilt letters is the Latin inscription: Sancta Maria, succurre miseris, iuva pusillanimes, refove flebiles (Holy Mary, succour the miserable, help the faint hearted, cheer those who weep). On the inner side of the grille, a corresponding inscription reads, Salve regina, mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo et spes nostra salve (Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, hail our life, our sweetness and our hope).

The deep blue colour of the walls is striking. The artist’s daughter, probably drawing on her father’s notes, has stressed that this deep colour is symbolic of the deep waters of pain through which Mary learned to understand and sympathise with human suffering and which is the key to the title of ‘Perpetual Help’. The sombre tone of the colour is relieved by alternating gold decorations, the gothic letters MR with a crown (heraldic monogram for Mary), and the pomegranate, a symbol of new life and resurrection.

GOLD What is most striking is the golden reredos on the end wall of the chapel. At its centre is the icon. In contrast to the golden colour of the rest of the reredos, the background is a

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deep Persian blue with patterns in a lighter blue and gold creating the impression of tapestry. The picture is set within a three-part frame (triptych). When open, the inner surfaces of these sidepanels represent angels swinging thuribles towards the icon, a sign of veneration and respect.

When they are closed, on the outside is an annunciation scene.

Immediately under the picture are seven angels, each carrying one of the instruments of the

Passion, with the cross at the centre.

The mensa, or table of the altar, is made from Derbyshire marble.

What is most striking about the altar is the design on its front.

The frontal is painted onto slate.

Its predominant colour picks up the gold of the reredos. It contains three scenes. The mode of depiction and the costuming of the main characters reflect the style of medieval Flemish art. The first depicts the birth

Picked out in gilt letters is the Latin inscription: Sancta Maria, succurre miseris, iuva pusillanimes, refove flebiles (Holy Mary, succour the miserable, help the faint hearted, cheer those who weep) Our Lady's Chapel, Clapham

The front of the altar

of Christ. Mary and Joseph stand near the manger, hands raised in ecstasy, while an angel in a blue dalmatic kneels in adoration.

The central image is a pietà, or as it was known in medieval England, Our Lady of Pity. Mary holds the bleeding body of her son, while on the ground are the instruments of the passion – the crown of thorns and the nails.

The central place given to this image suggests it is the fulfilment of the scene prophesied by icon, when Mary held the child in the comfort of her arms as he looked with terror on the cross and crown of thorns which still lay in the future. The third scene depicts the presentation in the temple, when Simeon took the child in his arms and predicted that a sword would pierce the heart of Mary (Luke 2:35). The old woman, the prophetess Anna, looks on from the side.

THE OLD TESTAMENT AND MARY The chapel is lit by three decorated windows. Stained glass often darkens a church with the predominance of blues and reds, but this glass is so tinted that it allows a silvery-golden light to enter. The theme of the windows is the women of the Old Testament, who were regarded as prototypes of Mary. Here they

are in order – Eve (‘Mother of the Living,’ just as Mary is ‘Mother of the Redeemed’), Sarah (mother of the people of Israel, just as Mary is Mother of the New Israel), Rebecca, Rachel and Deborah, Ruth, Abigail, Esther (who saved Israel by her prayers), and Judith (who risked her life to slay Holofernes, the enemy of Israel). Many of those Old Testament prototypes would have figured in traditional Mariology, including the Glories of Mary of St Alphonsus, founder of the Redemptorists, who uses them to illustrate Mary’s role in the history of salvation.

The decoration of the ceiling is detailed and systematic. It is divided into 18 panels. The panels immediately above the altar area depict the six seraphim, each with six wings (cf. Isaiah 6:2-6), wearing stoles crossed in front and highlighting the sacredness of the altar area, just as Isaiah’s vision of the seraphim took place near the altar of the temple from which one of them took a burning coal to prepare him for his prophetic ministry.

This heightens the sense of the sacredness of the altar and the space around it. For Bentley, the altar was where the divine presence was made real through the Eucharistic elements, and where the mystery of

Redemption was daily renewed through its daily representation in the Mass.

In the remaining 12 panels, the predominant symbols are roses with other plants and leaves, set against a light coloured background. Each panel contains one of the titles of Mary from the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

This litany is associated with the Italian Marian shrine of Loreto, from where it spread throughout Europe and featured prominently in Marian devotions. The Marian titles of the litany are arranged in a number of sets. One set invokes Mary as Mother (12 invocations), another as Virgin (six invocations), another on biblical symbols (for example Tower of David, drawn from the Song of Songs). Mary is invoked as

helper of the faithful (four titles, including Health of the Sick) and finally, as Queen (13 titles, for example Queen of Angels).

The litany continues to provide the inspiration for the decoration of the walls of the chapel, particularly the upper arcades formed by the arches. Here the colour is lighter, relieving the sombre blue that predominates in the lower part of the walls.

ARCHITECTURE, HERITAGE AND FAITH One of the functions of the Lady Chapel was to provide a quiet place for personal prayer and meditation, and to heighten this sense of ‘holy space’ by its colouring and decoration. The predominant theme to which Bentley returns repeatedly in his decoration is that Mary is, above

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all, mother and advocate. The use of verses from familiar hymns and prayers such as the Salve Regina and the litany underline that teaching.

The Salve Regina has a special place in the spirituality of Redemptorists.

Religious profession began with the processional chant of the litany, and concluded with the Salve. Their founder devoted more than half of his classic book of Mariology, The Glories of Mary, to a commentary on it. Most of the religious observances each day concluded with its recitation.

These prayers would also have been familiar to the congregations of St Mary’s where Marian devotion was a regular feature of the weekly round, especially with a short prayer service and sermon each Saturday, while the major Marian feasts were prepared by a novena or triduum.

Bentley has not chosen many

images of Mary to decorate his chapel. Apart from the icon itself, there are only the three small Gospel scenes on the altar frontal. What may be theologically more striking is how he has made its dominant motif that of redemption. The symbols of the passion on the reredos pick up the similar theme from the high altar of the church. These also are present in the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and remind us that its Byzantine title is Theotokos of the Passion. The phrases from the traditional hymns show the architect’s familiarity with them. His healing as a result of prayers to Mary which resulted in his entry to the Catholic Church probably left a life-long devotion that was shaped and deepened by his friendship with Redemptorists.

The Clapham Lady Chapel is part of a worldwide Redemptorist heritage

of beautiful churches that is in danger as numbers decline. St Mary’s has been cared for by our confreres of the London Province for more than one hundred years. It raises the larger question of who cares for the

Brendan McConvery CSsR is editor of Reality.

patrimony of the congregation in the widest sense – books, libraries, art, buildings – as provinces grow older and numbers decline, so that the precious witness of the past not be permitted to decay or be lost.

COM M E N T THE YOUNG VOICE DAVID O’DONOGHUE

TRANSFIGURATIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS

WE NEED BOTH THE MIRACLES AND THE MISSIVES TO ILLUMINATE OUR FAITH A number of years ago, when my relationship with Scripture was evolving from mere childhood affection for the Goliath-slaying King of whom I am a namesake, I found myself utterly transfixed by particular parts of the Gospels. I would gravitate to certain scenes, words and images, as though tracing the brightest stars in a newly discovered constellation, loving the illumination of some more than others and gaining a greater understanding of the whole shape by training my eye on the most beautiful pinpricks of light.

One of these scriptural moments was the Transfiguration, where Christ’s divine nature is radiantly confirmed and his position in the legacy of Hebrew figures such as Moses and Elijah is gloriously affirmed.

Up to this point I had been most attracted, as many secular thinkers before me, to the image of Jesus of Nazareth as merely an important and wise moral thinker. I had fixated myself on the radiant light of the Sermon on the Mount, a passage which, in my mind, makes as good a socio-political manifesto today as it did millennia ago.

As I stumbled and sauntered in my journey from adolescent secular agnosticism to the first flutterings of Christian metaphysics, the Sermon on the Mount seemed to be the perfect entry point. Here I didn’t need any miracles or resurrection, only the reasoned, academic analysis of philosophical points and the commitment to social justice philosophy that were second

nature to my then secular self.

But in my later discovery of the Transfiguration I found the fulfilment of the images of beauty and transcendence, which through my love of the work of artists like William Blake had led me to reconsider and reconfigure my childhood faith in the first place. And to an adolescent young man with a love of radical political action, this imagery of transcendent and immediate transformation was one I could immediately latch on to. I sat and meditated with the scene on countless occasions, even copying the passage continuously into an empty notebook until I had all but memorised it.

In the end all faith is about transformation of a kind, of both the self and our society, and about our desire to experience and spread grace and beauty as we understand it. These moments with the Transfiguration were my first moments of linking the divinity of Christ with my own desires for beautifying and immediate transformation of society and myself. I began to embrace the metaphysical miracles of Christ as representative of the same kinds of glorious and spontaneous betterment that I deeply desired. In this context I found myself wrestling with the Epistles, where I saw change, theology and community formation as much messier than the startling and powerful images I had encountered in the Gospels. The narrative of Christ’s

life was one I had enjoyed and absorbed as a child and it was a pleasure to build on it and deepen my understanding and application of it in later life. But I simply failed to find the same beauty and rapture in what were, to me at the time, a series of dry missives to outposts of a fledgling faith written by exactly the kind of elders and authorities that most teenage boys have a fraught relationship with.

But my u n d er st an d i n g of the Christian desire for transformation has changed since and so have my attitudes to the Epistles. I began to read these stories and letters not as dull, centuries-old arguments about the strictures and rules to be laid down for the church, but as documents of a lively conversation about divinity, grace and the Christian social project. As my growing Christianity ran parallel with my increased involvement in political activism, I discovered that my adolescent desire for immediate and fier y political change to mirror the Transfiguration had been naive to say the least. I saw that change in increments and through warm conversation, and that the real source of political pleasure and the struggle for societal justice comes through the bonds and communities we form in these supports.

and illuminate the continued presence of the divine. I began to see that the Gospel of Christ and the fumblings and foibles of the early church were not to be read in opposition, but as totally complementary in their divine character.

I soon came to realise that if we as Christians are to desire, as we should, both a social and personal transformation resulting from grace, we had to keep in mind both the miracles and the missives. We had to be standing on the mountain, utterly transfixed with awe, and also working through the little blessings and love of community formation, conversation and persistent struggle. At different times I have felt myself more in love with the mountain or with the missives, but only in bearing in mind the divinity of both can we achieve that change which is representative of Christian faith: totalising and glorious, yet only requiring faith the size of a mustard seed to transform us anew each day.

All of a sudden I saw a young church, in Acts and the Epistles, desperately scrambling through the darkness of persecution and violence, to discover itself

David O'Donoghue is a freelance journalist from Co. Kerry. His work has appeared in The Irish Catholic, the Irish Independent, and The Kerryman. He is the former political editor of campus.ie and holds an abiding interest in all things literary, political and spiritual.

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In Tune with the Liturgy A series that highlights some of the features of the Church’s worship in the month ahead

BREAD FOR THE WORLD THE FEAST DAYS WE CELEBRATE IN JUNE HAVE COMMUNITY AND COMMUNION AT THEIR HEART.

BY SARAH ADAMS

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‘June is bustin' out all over! All over the meadow and the hill!’ sings the chorus of Rogers and Hammerstein’s famous musical Carousel. May gives way to June, as the world, at least in the Northern hemisphere, comes alive with warmer weather, more frequent blue skies, and a general sense of joie de vivre.

Life can feel particularly good in June as we head towards much earned holidays, family days out, picnics, free time, and rest. Spirits are often lighter and rich with hope and joy.

Within our churches, fired up by the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, our attention turns to the younger members of our communities who will receive Communion for the first time and our older young ones who will be confirmed in their faith through the Sacrament of Confirmation. Within the church there is a very strong communitarian feel to June as we celebrate the Feasts of Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and the Sacred Heart. Each REALITY JUNE 2017

of these feasts has at its heart a deep sense of what it means to love and be community.

In California giant sequoia trees line many roadsides. What is interesting is that the sequoia tree has roots just barely below the surface. We might think that this would be impossible for such large trees. Normally we think of roots growing deep into the ground so that strong winds will not blow the trees over. The sequoia tree, however, only grows in grooves and their roots intertwine under the surface of the earth, so when the strong winds come they hold each other up.

It could be said that the Christian community is like the giant sequoias. When life gets difficult the community will hopefully reach out to those who are struggling and offer the support that is needed to hold them up in the face of adversity. Some issues can seriously undermine a community’s confidence and in some parts of the world

that has been particularly difficult, especially when we think of the many communities damaged by war and terrorist activity. For the most part however, particularly when there is a tragedy such as the death of a child, the desire of the community to support the grieving family unites everyone in acts of love and compassion.

Vine trees only produce good fruit when the branches are strong. The branches can only be strong when they are connected to the vine. Each feeds the other. It is the same in the Christian community. To function as a community of believers we need the strength of Christ at the centre of our lives. We depend on Christ so that we may have the life within us that leads us, not only to acknowledge the presence of others, but to reach out to them in their need. Faith is often seen as something personal and not communal, but as the poet John Donne once wrote, “no man

is an island”, and to live fruitfully we need one another. Coming together as a community is an expression of our interdependence.

We come together to feed one another, to support one another, to love one another, and to bear fruit with one another.

and praise when we sing our Eucharistic acclamations and then we are fed, with the food of life. As we process for Communion, we are joined in song so that, what may have been our private prayer at the beginning, now becomes a communal act of faith. When we receive the body of Christ we are, in the words of St Augustine, called to “become the body of Christ” and then to be the body of Christ in our world.

Communion chants and songs are sung to enhance our sense of communion with one another. Some are simple chants which we can all sing as we move forward, together.

Others are songs which remind us of the beauty of what we are becoming, such as ‘One Love Released’ by Bob Frenzel and Kevin Keil.

One bread, one body, one cup, one call, one faith, one Spirit, present in us all, One prayer, one blessing, one hope, one peace, one Church one people, one love released.

Our receiving of Eucharist unites us so that, when we are sent out at the end of Mass, we leave as one church ready to ‘release’ the love we have received.

Pope Francis reminds us that “Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor”, and he warns us, “We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities, when so many people are waiting for the Gospel!”

We come together to feed one another, to support one another, to love one another, and to bear fruit with one another COMMUNION OF LOVE The Feast of the Holy Trinity reminds us of the interconnectedness of God, Jesus and Spirit, a triangle of love and communion. They are three, yet one. Our communities are made of many but when we come together in prayer we become one, united with each other. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, we celebrate the great gift that Jesus has given us when he gave his body for us, broken and poured out so that we might live. It is a beautiful feast of giving, but it is challenging too. In John’s Gospel the giving of self is not the Last Supper, but the washing of feet. When Peter objects to having his feet washed, Jesus makes it clear that Peter can have no share in his life. Afterwards Jesus says to his disciples: “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you”.

In John’s Gospel this is Jesus’ mandate to his disciples: “Do this in memory of me”.

Week in week out, we gather as community so that we can be restored, reminded, and sent out once more. Coming together for Mass engages us in a journey. We may arrive as disparate individuals, with our own concerns, joys and sorrows, energised or weary, but we as pray together we become one, a body, a community joined in Christ.

Liturgically we are helped to do this through the different rites which form our Mass. As we come before God we acknowledge our weakness and our need for God’s loving compassion. We listen to God speaking to us through the Word. We offer our lives, flawed and incomplete as they are. We give thanks

REMEMBERING THE DANCE There is a story that comes from the Hassidic tradition. In the days of the Baal Shem Tov, the saintly founder of the particular tradition of Hassidism would take his disciples to a quiet spot in the forest. There they would make a fire, and dancing around the fire the Baal Shem Tov would lead his disciples in deep prayer. After the death of the saint, the disciples continued to go to that spot in the forest, to light the fire, to dance. But they could not remember how to pray, and

their excursions were not the same. Over time they forgot to dance and later they no longer lit the fire. Eventually even the place of encounter was forgotten. An era had passed and an experience was lost.

Just over 2,000 years ago a motley group of disciples were given the daunting task of continuing the dance that Jesus had danced for them. It wasn’t going to be easy but the fact that the church still exists today is testament to the tremendous zeal and commitment they had to fulfilling their mandate. Unlike the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov, Peter, James, John, Paul and all the others did not forget the dance. Jesus may have ascended into heaven but his presence continued on in their hearts and minds.

They did not forget the place of encounter; instead they became the place of encounter for others to come to know Jesus.

We might ask ourselves – will the church still exist 2,000 years from now? We can be sure that the times that the original disciples lived in were no less challenging than they are now. In the early days of the church there were those who had known Jesus personally, people who had encountered him, people who had initially rejected what he offered.

Today the world will only come to encounter Christ by our witness, prayer, love, and our desire to share it with others. We must be, in the words of composer, Bernadette Farrell, “bread for the world”. Receiving communion is never about us. We receive so that we may share it with the world, and in doing so meet the needs of those who hunger and thirst for love, for justice, for hope in a world where there is so much suffering and deprivation.

Bread for the world, a world of hunger, wine for all peoples, people who thirst.

May we who eat, be bread for others.

May we who drink, pour out our love.

When we celebrate Corpus Christi this June, we might reflect on how we can do this better in the year ahead.

Sarah Adams studied liturgical theology at Maynooth. She now lives on a farm in Devon, working for the Diocese of Plymouth as a Religious Education adviser. She enjoys hiking on Dartmoor and the surrounding countryside.

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ALFRED SMITH

THE AMERICAN DREAM FULFILLED… ALMOST THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WHO CAME FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS BUT FACED PREJUDICE FOR HIS BELIEFS

BY MIKE DALEY

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The

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was closing for the day on Saturday, March 25, 1911, when the fire started around 4.40pm. The material used to make the garments was highly flammable. An inadvertently thrown cigarette butt quickly ignited some scraps of fabric laid at the foot of a worker’s table. Flames soon engulfed the eighth floor sweatshop eventually moving to the upper floors of the ten-story Asch Building in New York City.

Fear and panic overwhelmed the workers.

Tragically, most of the exits were inaccessible or locked. Supposedly, this was done to deter theft and to discourage unauthorised breaks. The doors that were accessible opened to the inside, which with bodies pressed up against them made them practically inoperable. Others waited for an elevator that in time, due to the heat, became unworkable.

Some tried to flee on a fire escape outside.

Unfortunately, it broke loose from the building and threw workers to the ground. In desperation, with the fire department’s ladders reaching only to the sixth floor and no other options available to escape the flames and smoke, several workers

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jumped from windows to their deaths below on the sidewalks. In all 146 people died due to burns, asphyxiation, or blunt trauma. Most of them were women, Jewish and Italian immigrants, some still children.

In response to one of the deadliest workplace fires in United States history, the state of New York formed a Factory Investigating Committee.

As co-chair of it, Al Smith, then head of the New York State assembly, interviewed hundreds of people and examined numerous factories. Lasting four years, it brought Smith great visibility and credibility. It concluded with groundbreaking, progressive legislation mandating workplace safety.

As described by journalist and author Robert Caro in a documentary on New York City: “The reformers had gone up to Albany [the capital of New York] for years and had never gotten these proposals for child labour laws or women’s labour laws, for wages and hours laws, for factory compensation, for disability compensation passed. Now they sat up there in the galleries of the assembly and down there on the floor was this man they despised, fighting for them and

getting these things through. And for the years to come after that Al Smith was the weapon of reform in New York. He was the red-faced, loudvoiced, paunchy Tammany henchman who got through the dreams of social welfare reform for which reformers had been dreaming now ever since the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Alfred Emmanuel Smith was born in 1873 under the shadow of the soon to be completed Brooklyn Bridge. Though romanticised today, it was a hardscrabble life. Smith’s family lived in a sea of tenements—narrow, cramped, low-rise apartment buildings that were poorly lit and ventilated, and often lacked proper sanitation— in the city’s Lower East Side.

Life became more difficult; in 1886, when Alfred was 12, his father died. Two years later and right before graduation, teetering on the brink of poverty, Smith was forced to leave St James Parochial School to find work to support his mother and younger sister. This included several years as a messenger for a trucking company and later a stint as a boiler worker. Perhaps most

A DREAM WITHIN REACH After serving four terms as New York’s “whip smart and leather tough” governor, Smith won the Democratic presidential nomination for 1928. Unfortunately, unlike today, Smith’s nomination created a firestorm such that he already had three strikes against him. He was from the city in a nation that still identified itself by its rural values; he was Catholic in a land fearful of agents of Rome; and, finally, he was a “wet” in a country that had a constitutional ban against the production and consumption of alcohol.

Prejudices long buried surfaced.

Robert Slayton, author of the book Empire Statesman: The Rise The Good Citizen magazine depicting the Pope blowing up Smith's and Redemption of Al Smith, notes Presidential balloon (November 1926) several of the most outlandish ones.

A school board in Florida passed out formatively was the time he spent as a clerk at a cards to students that read: “We must prevent the fish market. Though Smith was to some degree self-conscious about his lack of formal education, election of Alfred E. Smith to the Presidency. If he is in later years he would boastfully say to colleagues elected President, you will not be allowed to have when asked about his educational pedigree that or read a Bible.” In a picture making the rounds, he had a degree from F.M.M.— Fulton Fish Market. Smith was shown at the still under construction In 1900, Smith married Catherine Dunn. Holland Tunnel. Rather than connect New York Together they would have five children. This also City to New Jersey it led to Rome. Suffice to say, led Smith to search for employment that was as his rival’s campaign slogan did, if Smith were more lucrative. Given his flair for the theatrical, elected it would indeed be “Rum and Romanism” long practiced since his parochial school days, which would lead to America’s ruin. politics was a natural fit. Ironically enough, given the Irish stereotype, he found it through Tom Foley, a local saloon keeper. As local gathering places, saloons were the proving grounds for up and coming politicians. Under Foley’s patronage, Smith became a process server for the commissioner of jurors.

Tammany Hall was the Democratic political machine in New York City. Most closely associated with the Irish and their political ascendancy, if you wanted to get anywhere, you needed its blessing.

With its support, Smith was elected a state assemblyman in 1903. Over the years, surprisingly without a hint of corruption, he served in a variety of positions always placing himself on the side of “the plain people”. In doing so, Smith emerged as a socially progressive leader.

To Smith’s credit, he did try to address the issue in a reasoned way. In a letter to The Atlantic Monthly, Smith addressed concerns about possible conflicts between his faith and politics: “[Y]ou imply that there is conflict between religious loyalty to the Catholic faith and patriotic loyalty to the United States. Everything that has actually happened to me during my long public career leads me to know that no such thing as that is true. I have taken an oath of office in this State nineteen times.

Each time I swore to defend and maintain the Constitution of the United States. … During the years I have discharged these trusts I have been a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church. If there were conflict, I, of all men, could not have escaped it, because I have not been a silent man, but a battler for social and political reform. These battles would in their very nature disclose this conflict if there were any.”

Unfortunately, Smith lost soundly – even his own state. He was hurt deeply, not by the loss so much as the discrimination he, his family, and his faith experienced. As Oscar Handlin states in Al Smith and His America: “A lifetime of effort had brought him, in 1928, to a height from which he glimpsed the promised land of equal opportunity about which generations of Americans had dreamed.

From his downfall, millions of his countrymen concluded that it had been only a dream.” John F. Kennedy would fulfill Smith’s and Irish Catholics’ dreams of full acceptance in America when he became president in 1961.

After the defeat, Smith’s activity and influence in politics waned while business opportunities broadened. Smith died on October 4, 1944.

Though overshadowed by his victorious countryman some decades later, Smith’s life was testament that one could be both a Catholic and a patriot.

Mike Daley is a teacher and writer from Cincinnati, OH where he lives with his wife June, and their three children. He is a frequent contributor to Reality. His latest book is Vatican II: Fifty Personal Stories (Orbis).

21

FROM THE ARCHIVES A series from 1953

THE DEVIL

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A series of articles by Bill Gerard, the pen name of the Redemptorist, Fr Liam Gerard O’Carroll, editor of The Redemptorist Record, on the evils of modern dancing was published in the magazine in the early 1950s. The articles were later published in pamphlet form by the Record. The title, allied to a rather lurid cover in black and red, made this one of the more memorable pamphlets of a period when religious pamphlets were sold in churches up and down the country. By today’s standards, the moral view of dancing as represented in the article is severe, and this in a period when the moral message of the Redemptorists was regarded as rigorist. It would be softened a decade later by the theological revolution of Vatican II which was to touch every aspect of Catholic life, including company-keeping and the preparation of marriage which were the real targets of Bill Gerard’s onslaught. If the Redemptorists have been singled out as the leading proponents of a severe moral message in Ireland during this period, it might be read as a back-handed compliment of the success of their parish missions through which the Redemptorist habit became familiar in virtually every pulpit in the country.

Continued on the extreme right of page 23

REALITY JUNE 2017

AT DANCES It would be a mistake however to see Bill Gerard as leading a one man war on “the ballrooms of romance". Changing patterns of entertainment, and the arrival of the motor car, had led to a flourishing of the dance hall culture in Ireland in the years following the Civil War. According to an editorial in The Irish Times in 1935, “the clergy, the judges and the police are in agreement concerning the baleful effect of drink and low dancing upon rural morals.

Further restrictions on the sale of drinks, a remorseless war on the poteen industry, the strict supervision of dance halls and the banning (by law if need be) of all night dances, would abolish many inducements to sexual vice.” A “Public Dance Halls Act” was passed in 1935, controlling for example the opening hours and more importantly the closing hours and the sale of alcoholic drinks. Bill Gerard’s articles are an interesting window into the social life of Ireland in the 1950s. An alternative view of this society, especially the loneliness of men and women faced with poverty and emigration and for whom the weekly dance held out some hope of freedom, can be seen in the justly applauded film, The Ballroom of Romance, based on the short story of William Trevor.

Brendan McConvery CSsR

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FROM THE ARCHIVES 1953

24

REALITY JUNE 2017

25

F E AT U R E

BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN MAN OF GOD SENT AMONG US AND FOR US

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© Courtesy of Jesuits.ie

ON MAY 13 THIS YEAR, THE BEATIFICATION CEREMONY OF BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN TOOK PLACE IN GARDINER STREET CHURCH, DUBLIN – THE FIRST EVER TO TAKE PLACE IN IRELAND. HIS REMAINS LIE IN A SHRINE IN THE SAME CHURCH, WHERE PEOPLE HAVE LONG SINCE COME TO PRAY AND BRING THEIR PETITIONS. WHO EXACTLY WAS THIS MAN AND PRIEST, WHOM THE CHURCH NOW RECOGNISES AMONG THE ‘BLESSED’?

BY DONAL NEARY SJ

The

final words of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the Dáil came from a little-known Jesuit, beatified on May 13 last: “Be always beginning. Take life in instalments. This day now, at least let this be a good day.

Let the past go. Now let me do whatever I have the power to do.”

Blessed John Sullivan SJ, baptised an Anglican, left behind him the memory of a life dedicated to the sick and poor in Co Kildare, and of prayer practised regularly REALITY JUNE 2017

and deeply. God, at work with him with his full-hearted cooperation, has made him a man of great holiness. Little did he, son of the last Lord Lieutenant in Ireland, think he would be quoted in the Irish parliament!

For he began with different loyalties. Born in Dublin in 1861, fourth and youngest son of William and Elizabeth Sullivan, he grew up in the affluence of Dublin society in the early 20th century. Making a then unusual journey from south to north, he

was educated in Portora College, Enniskillen. An excellent scholar, he graduated with a Classics degree from Trinity College and made another journey, this time to London, where he studied for the bar but never practised as a barrister. He spent some time as a religious searcher, and thought of joining the Mount Athose monastery, but was dissuaded from this by the monks. He was received into the Roman Catholic Church in the Jesuit Farm Street Church, in

London’s Mayfair, in December 1896. A further discernment and reflection on God’s calling in his life brought him to the Jesuit novitiate in Tullabeg in 1900.

Because of his age, a shortened Jesuit formation followed, with ordination to the priesthood in 1907. Apart from four years in Rathfarnham Castle as Rector of the Student House, he spent the rest of his life in Clongowes College, until his death in St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin on February 19, 1933.

In family life, he was close to his brothers and especially to his mother. With her he suffered the ache all his life of his ‘missing brother’, who was drowned in Killiney Bay trying to save others on a boating trip. Maybe we can address him as a patron of the families of the missing?

“TAUGHT BY A SAINT” A Jesuit life hardly known by any except the boys and the sick – so why the beatification, a title which indicated his heroic living of the following of Christ and a unity with Christ beyond the ordinary?

Suffice to say he was not a good teacher. The boys gave him the awful time the incompetent teacher can receive. He took this with humour: not all was high seriousness – he had sent a boy to stand in the corner for some ill behaviour, and the headmaster’s arrival could be heard by his jangling keys. When the headmaster came in, the boy in the corner, fearing some punishment, took the duster and wiped the board. When the headmaster left, Johnny-O, as he was called by the boys, said –“Most audacious fellow! Go back to your place. Use the wit God gave you for useful things.”

“Gratefully ashamed,” the boy later explained, “I returned to my place, while he rewrote what had been rubbed out.”

He had a concern for the young lad lonely in school in first year. As spiritual father in the school, he befriended and advised students at tough times of their life, away from home in a boarding school. They knew he was special: after his funeral a boy wrote home –"mother, isn’t

it unusual to say we’ve been taught by a saint". He reached the souls of the young, often with tales of his travels and of the saints, on long walks on free days. Many of us know a teacher who taught a lot of life while not being the best in the professional role. Our young people need both. Johnny-O, was one of the better of the first, though he would be the last either to know this or say it!

Known also for his care for the sick, he spent many hours cycling or walking to nearby or faraway houses and hovels around Kildare, even cycling also to Dublin to pray for and with the sick person. John’s motivation was to gather the family to pray with him for the sick. One has a memory of an hour’s prayer with the sick family member, way longer than was expected!

He prayed for their health and for their acceptance of illness, sometimes leaving with the words, "he’ll die peacefully this night" or with the beginnings of

a cure. Maybe he is the patron blessed now of the hospital chaplain.

This was his motivation, continuing the saving work of Christ; a motivation begun in the Anglican Church and brought to fruition in the Roman Catholic.

He spoke the Gospel not with many words, and he spoke too on prayer: "In prayer don’t mind the scaffolding, get at God".

Fr John Looby SJ in his book to mark the beatification, A Man Sent by God (Messenger Publications), writes: “Is he an example for modern people?

Perhaps he anticipated Vatican II’s closing message to the poor, the sick and suffering: ‘you are the brothers of the suffering Christ, and with Him, if you wish, you are saving the world.’”

Blessed John’s life highlights our concern for those on the periphery, so dear to Pope Francis – the forgotten boy in the school, and the sick poor. He highlights also the way the path to spirituality and to sanctity

Fr Sullivan's simple room in Clongowes. Inserts: Fr Sullivan's memorial card and A Man Sent By God by John Looby SJ

takes time, and may be a patron too for the spiritual searchers of our age.

God, who called him to sanctity by a strange path, was the centre of his life and motivation. His life was simple: simpler than those he ministered to. Fr Brian Grogan SJ writes: “He challenges us to explicitly choose the path of loving as against the path of greed. It is remarkable to know of someone who actually lived out a life of radical simplicity: bread, porridge, water, poor clothes, an old bike…. Gandhi and John perhaps have much in common.”

Both were men of God sent into the deepest needs of people to bring the love and care of God among them.

Fr Donal Neary SJ is editor of the Sacred Heart Messenger. He was formerly parish priest of Gardiner Street parish, Dublin, and chaplain at Mater Dei Institute of Education. He first wrote for Reality in 1968.

27

F E AT U R E

SURRENDERING TO THE SPIRIT CELEBRATING FIFTY YEARS OF CHARISMATIC RENEWAL

BY SR BRIDGET DUNNE

This

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year we celebrate 50 years of what has come to be known as Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. In 1967 a group of students from Duquesne University in the States gathered for a weekend retreat. They were reading the first few chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and there was an expectation that the Holy Spirit could make himself felt that day. They were not disappointed. Something happened and their lives changed. They surrendered to this outpouring of the Spirit and experienced his working in and through them in a new way.

This new opening to the Holy Spirit spread rapidly across the world, with prayer groups springing up almost everywhere. Today in Ireland there are many such groups, some big, some small, but all striving to live a renewed

Christian life through the power of the Spirit, giving witness to the fact that Jesus is truly alive today.

NEW PENTECOST During the Second Vatican Council we were given a prayer and in it we asked the Lord to give us in our day “a new Pentecost”. And God answered our prayer. In various place around the world small groups of people gathered to pray and experienced a moving of the Spirit that energised them in a way not experienced before. He poured out his gifts, the gifts we have come to call “charismatic gifts”, especially the ones we read about in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. We received the Spirit at Baptism and then again when we were confirmed, but for some of us he remained hidden, almost forgotten, his gifts to us lying

dormant. And what was now happening was an awakening in us of his presence and power.

This was a renewal, not really something new; it had been there all the time, and he had been present and waiting in us. Now we opened ourselves to this presence and surrendered our lives to him, wanting to live more according to his way, which is, of course, the way of the Gospel.

In time this new movement of the Spirit came to be known as Charismatic Renewal.

It is not a movement in the usually accepted meaning of the word. It is not an organisation, though there are groups and people who serve so that good order is achieved. There is no membership, no rules to be followed, we are already members of the church and follow her guidelines. People who want to live in this renewed way usually like to

We received the Spirit at Baptism and then again when we were confirmed, but for some of us he remained hidden, almost forgotten, his gifts to us lying dormant

REALITY JUNE 2017

So today what is Charismatic Renewal? It is a grace for everyone, a grace for the church, a grace for the whole world. We are called by our Baptism to witness to Jesus and the truth of the Gospel, to be evangelisers in our time.

We have learned that if we are open to the power of the Spirit he can and will help us in this task. He can and will gift us, give us the charisms, for the task.

The Holy Spirit retreat at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh in1967. This So we reach out to others and 'Duquesne Weekend' is the acknowledged beginnings of the Charismatic Renewal in the United States invite them to surrender their lives to the Holy Spirit and walk gather together to pray and praise the Lord, with Jesus in a renewed way of life. How do we to support one another, to learn more about do this? our faith and what it means to live in and through the Holy Spirit. Our faith comes LIFE IN THE SPIRIT alive. We find and deepen an ever-growing One of the ways that has developed over the relationship with Jesus. The Bible comes years, since very near the beginning of Charismatic alive for us – God speaking to us through Renewal, is the running of Life in the Spirit his Word. The Sacraments and the Eucharist Seminars. This is a course lasting for seven weeks become ever more important to us. And we in which the basic truths of our faith are presented. find that the Spirit gifts us in new ways, gifts We look at the love of God for each one of us; how of prayer and of service to others. he sent his Son to save us from the darkness, to This is how the word 'charismatic' came to save us for himself, the Light of the world; how be used. Another word for gift is charism. he gifts us to live in a new way in the power of his As the Spirit renewed his gifts within and Spirit; what we must do to reach out and ask for through us, we saw the importance of the gift of the Spirit, repenting and turning again moving in his power, not our own. Those to the Lord. Then we ask very specifically for the gifts – charisms – had always been available, gift of the Spirit, to be immersed in the Spirit, to but now they needed to be found again, to allow the Spirit to be released in us. We look for a be renewed, and we needed to exercise them fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our for his glory and the good of others - hence personal Pentecost. This has come to be known as the phrase Charismatic Renewal.

‘Baptism in the Spirit’. We surrender and let God The word ‘renewal’ is an important one. As be God. He cannot refuse the gift of the Spirit to I open myself more to the Holy Spirit and those who ask. Jesus tells us that. Then we look surrender to his holy will I am challenged to at what we must do to grow in this new life and renew my thoughts, my own spirit, indeed live it to the full; what are the means we have to my whole life. It is a very personal decision. do this? Finally, we are encouraged to continue to But I am weak and fail often. I do not become grow and reach out and become better Christians, an instant saint! It is a lifelong adventure of more Christ-like. During the seven weeks there discovery and effort, of falling, being forgiven, is a programme of personal daily prayer to be and getting up and pressing on, running the followed, and encouragement to read the Bible, race to the finish, as St Paul says. And I have the Word of God. Of course there is more in the brothers and sisters to help and encourage programme than this short summary. me. I, in my turn, try to help and encourage The Life in the Spirit Seminar has touched and them. changed the lives of many people all over the

world. One of our tasks today is to offer it to all, not just a few. But, of course, the Holy Spirit is not limited to just that. He can and does work in so many ways. I have witnessed this and would need to write a book instead of a short article! Perhaps one day I will.

There are prayer groups all over the country who meet usually every week. From time to time some of them run a Life in the Spirit Seminar. There are days of renewal, conferences, retreats, and other ways to gather and give praise to God and receive teaching and encouragement. We like to sing. We pray and sing in tongues. What is that? A very short explanation is that it is our baby talk to our loving Father God. We try to be open to the prophetic word and part of our calling is to be a prophetic people. Our expectant faith has seen healing and miracles through the power of the Spirit. There really is no limit to what God can do.

This year our Holy Father Pope Francis has invited Charismatic Renewal to come to Rome to celebrate Pentecost with him. He has been very encouraging of Renewal, as have the popes before him. We will gather in our thousands and celebrate and give glory to God. There is quite a large contingent going from Ireland.

May we continue to love and serve the Lord and our brothers and sisters in any and every way we can.

You are invited to come and celebrate 50 years of Charismatic Renewal at a national event being held in the RDS, Dublin on Saturday June 24. The day opens at 10am and concludes with Mass at 6.30pm celebrated by Archbishop Eamon Martin. Speakers include Fr Pat Collins CM, and tickets are €20. For further information see www.ccrireland.org or contact Sr Bridget Dunne, The Haven, Bachelor’s Quay, Cork; call (021) 4251100 or email nsc@iol.ie.

Sr Bridget Dunne is a La Retraite sister, working in The Haven, a Christian resource centre in Cork. She is chairperson and secretary of the National Service Committee for Charismatic Renewal in Ireland.

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COM M E N T FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS CARMEL WYNNE

CHILDREN CHANGE THEIR PARENTS’ RELATIONSHIP

THE EARLY YEARS OF PARENTING BRING A WHOLE NEW SET OF CHALLENGES. COMMUNICATION IS KEY TO NAVIGATING THIS NEW TERRITORY. Hardly any couple dealing with young children is prepared for the alterations in their lifestyle and changes in their relationship that becoming a parent brings. Usually the parenting aspirations mum and dad start off with change rapidly and often in unexpected ways as the baby develops and his or her needs take priority over theirs.

Even the best matched and happiest couples are in for some shocks in those early years. Most begin with unrealistically high standards for how well they intend to manage parenthood. People who are used to feeling efficient and in control can find it incredibly difficult to come to terms with the myriad changes that continually happen when a toddler begins to assert him or herself.

While it is true that having a baby may be the most wonderful thing that can happen to a couple, that is not the full truth. There is a common belief that all women instinctively know how to be a mother. They don’t. Many women bond immediately, some don’t.

No two people respond in the same way to parenthood. Feeling like a parent changes how you see yourself. A mother who had a difficult birth may feel scared that she doesn’t immediately feel a strong loving bond to her newborn. Learning to feel comfortable with being a mum can be a long slow process.

In the weeks after giving birth when baby comes home it’s not unusual for a mother to feel constantly tired and hormonal; emotionally vulnerable. So much is going on

that she doesn’t know who she is any more. There are major upheavals in the father’s life too. Mothers usually take on the main responsibility for day to day care, although that is beginning to change too.

The changes involved in becoming a parent will alter the balance of the couple’s relationship. It would be foolish to deny that change is stressful and adjusting to parenthood is likely to be both joy-filled and challenging. Caring for an infant can arouse mixed feelings, feelings that that may be unexpected and unwanted.

It is not uncommon for new parents to experience feelings of jealousy and envy that they don’t talk about. Dad may be jealous watching the love and attention his partner lavishes on the baby, and which he no longer gets. Mum may so jealously guard her role as mother that she does everything for the child and he feels useless and emotionally excluded.

Intellectually we all know that there are no perfect parents and there are no perfect children. Yet despite this knowledge we still aspire to wanting our family life to be almost perfect. Daily life brings problems and opportunities.

Couples benefit from sharing their thoughts and feelings about ways of coping when there is an assertive or sleepless toddler in the home.

Honest communication is one of the most important elements in enduring relationships. Parents are powerfully affected by their own childhood experiences. Ideally a couple would discuss whether they want to parent the way they were parented or whether they plan to do things very differently.

Difference in parenting styles will often create tension and uncertainty for a child whose security is threatened by inconsistent parenting. Ideally a couple would sit down and talk about these

differences before they develop into problems. Going through any transition, people need support to adapt to new routines.

One thing that makes it incredibly difficult to look for support or ask for the emotional reassurance we need is that we don’t even know what it is we want. It’s said that God gave us two ears and one mouth because we should listen twice as much as we speak. Our relationships are as good as our communication, our communication is as good as our ability to listen, and good listening starts with how I pay attention to what I need for myself.

In many families it’s the people closest to us who bear the brunt of our negative feelings. It’s easy to blame others for being insensitive or uncaring. It’s hard to admit that when we don’t ask for what we need, we contribute to our own feelings of dissatisfaction.

Isn’t it true that you can really love someone but feel insecure in the relationship and withhold information to avoid conflict? A simple formula to communicate respectfully about why you feel as you do is; When you talked loudly I felt intimidated because I’m reminded of how my father shouted.

The child whose parents model how to communicate honestly will grow up knowing that when you truly love someone you can trust them with the truth. What an amazing gift to receive.

Carmel Wynne is a life coach, cross-professional supervisor and author based in Dublin. For more information go to www.carmelwynne.org.

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P RAYE R

In this series, Fr George Wadding invites us to take an imaginative look at some familiar Gospel stories, imagining how the characters might have told their story if they were alive today. Using the imagination can be a powerful way of entering into reflective contemplative prayer. Find a quiet corner, read the article slowly a few times, think about it and pray as the spirit leads you.

prayer corner

Pentecost

(Continued from May’s reflection on ‘Ascension’): It was a time of prayer and reflection for the disciples who gathered in the upper room after Jesus had left them for the last time – until they were filled with the Holy Spirit and emboldened to go out and share the Good News.

Read this meditation and keep your Bible handy, open at Acts of the Apostles 1:12 to 2:47.

[Some days later, the disciple returned to me. ”Well, Silas,” he said, “are you ready for another bit of dictation?” “Am I ready? I am looking forward to it. So let us begin while there’s daylight.” I reached into a drawer and pulled out a new papyrus and stylus. I also had scribbled some questions to ask him on pieces of broken pottery. I never had to refer to them.

So I began: “You ended your story about the Mount of Olives in these words: ‘We were a bedraggled-looking lot as we made our way back to the upper room and pondered what the future might bring’. Take it from there…”]

Yes – he said – we were a bedraggledlooking lot. But back in the upper room Peter, a new man since his meeting with the risen Lord on the shore of Lake Genesareth, began to emerge quickly as a leader. We were still brooding over Judas’ betrayal and the havoc it caused. There were rumours circulating that he had come to a bad end. I don’t know how trustworthy these rumours were. Anyhow, Peter said it was time to move on. “Leave Judas to the mercy of God. We must find a replacement for him.”

So, he arranged for a group of 120 of us to come together to elect a replacement.

These were made up of those of us who were staying in the ‘upper room’ plus other believers who were staying near us

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REALITY JUNE 2017

in Jerusalem. We were conscious that this was the beginning of something radically new in the story of salvation so we must give it sufficient time and reflection. We were not starting a new religion; we were not breaking with our beloved Jewish past.

No, Jesus was the fulfilment of everything our fathers hoped and prayed for. He was the promised Messiah. Our task was to show our fellow Jews that this was so. We Christians, as we came to be known, were the bearers of a message which was in continuity with our Jewish tradition.

NEW BEGINNING Aware that we were making a new beginning, our thoughts went back to the first beginning of Temple worship. King Solomon, we thought, was a ‘type’ of Christ in that he was the son of David. He built an earthly temple made by human hands, and Jesus (also a son of David) was building a different temple not made by human hand (Hebrews 8:2). When the young Solomon had built the Temple he assigned 120 priests to perform the required rituals of purification (2 Chronicles 6). We too had chosen 120 faithful followers of Christ to make our first official decision in this new spiritual temple.

And why was it so important to replace

Judas, you might ask. In our Jewish tradition, twelve is considered a perfect number, and symbolises God’s power and authority. That power and authority had been invested in Jesus by the Father. So now, twelve was the perfect number to symbolise Jesus.

The number twelve also serves as a perfect foundation for government. It was the foundation on which our nation was built.

Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons, each of whom was head of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Christ likewise chose twelve men (apostles) to bear witness to what he did and to spread the good news of salvation to the entire world. That tradition had been ruptured by Judas and we felt it only right to restore the complete number which Jesus had intended.

But by what criteria should we choose a replacement? We had so many good men to choose from. In the end we decided as a minimum (i) that he must have been a disciple like us from the beginning when we were still followers of John the Baptist; (ii) and that he must himself have witnessed Christ’s resurrection to be an effective witness for others. We debated, we prayed, we weighed the pros and cons. Two outstanding names emerged: Joseph, called Barsabbas (also known as the Just One) and Matthias. After further prayer, we utilised our people’s traditional method for determining the will of God: we cast lots. We have a proverb (Prov 16:33) that says: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” That was how we chose Matthias. Come to think of it, after the Holy Spirit came on us we never again used this traditional method of discerning God’s will.

Apart from choosing Matthias we spent a lot of the following days praying and worshipping in the Temple. Our favourite meeting place was the Portico or Colonnade of Solomon. This was a ‘covered walk’ along the eastern wall in the Court of the Gentiles; its roof was supported by a double row of beautiful columns – sadly, now all vanished since the Romans levelled it in 3829 (70AD). I remember Jesus preaching there on the Feast of Dedication (John 10:23). It was where Peter and John later healed the man crippled from

birth (Acts 3). In fact, it was where many of us preached and worked miracles in the months after the Coming of the Holy Spirit.

But I am ahead of myself again.

INEXPRESSIBLE JOY The days passed quickly enough. Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit “not many days hence”. Was that literally days – or was it weeks or months? We were a bit edgy. A week passed.

On the first day of the following week we were in the upper room having breakfast and praying before going to the Temple. Someone said, “Listen, the wind is rising!” And sure enough it was. Within minutes it seemed it might blow the building away. Still wondering whether to stay or get out, what seemed like tongues of fire appeared over us; they broke up and one landed on each person in the room. It was the Holy Spirit. We hadn’t expected anything so dramatic. Speaking only for myself, I will try to describe, however inadequately, what happened at that moment!

It was like a mild bolt that rushed from the crown of my head to the extremities of my toes and fingers. It wasn’t painful – rather, spinetingling, exhilarating. A warm glow engulfed my whole being and inexpressible joy flooded my soul. I seemed to understand for the first time the things that Jesus had been teaching us – about service and suffering and dying to self. Like never before I saw my sins in all their vileness against the backdrop of God’s infinite purity. At the same time, like never before, I knew I was forgiven and loved by God. At that moment I was willing to die for the Lord. All fear was gone. I knew with uncanny certainty that Jesus was truly the Messiah and, though once dead, he was now alive in me. And I yearned to spread the good news to the ends of the world. You know, it was like being born again, a new beginning. I remembered how Nicodemus once told me that Jesus had used those very words when speaking to him about entering the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). The Spirit enabled me to forgive wholeheartedly anyone who had hurt or offended me. I got new eyes to see into the future, to grasp hidden things, to have my thoughts fixed on heavenly things. I was dancing with the angels.

[The disciple was overcome with emotion at this point and was about to leave. I persuaded him to stay a little longer. “Is there more to tell?”

I asked. “O Silas,” he said, “so much more, I might never end.” “Just a little longer, then,” I pleaded, and he agreed. He went on …]

Before he ascended to the Father, Jesus sent us to preach his good news to all nations. He told us that one of the signs that would accompany those who believed was that they would speak in new tongues (Mark 16:17). What on earth could this mean? How could we learn the languages of ‘all nations’? On that morning of the first day of the week, our question was answered in dramatic fashion.

Jerusalem was always full of Jews from all over the world. Many of these had heard the sound of the great wind and gathered outside in curiosity. Amazingly, when we spoke to them in our Galilean dialect they each heard us in their own language – was that why the Spirit chose to come upon us in the form of fiery tongues? If we who knew the promise of Jesus were amazed at its fulfilment, imagine the astonishment and confusion of the faithless crowd. Some thought it was an hilarious piece of magic; others went away in disgust saying we were all drunk. We were drunk, alright – not on alcoholic spirits, though, but on the Divine Spirit of God. Later in the day, Peter – the fisherman – under the inspiration of the same Spirit, preached a very long sermon, liberally quoting our Scriptures and proving to his audience that Jesus, whom they had crucified just seven weeks previously, was their promised Messiah. He made a moving appeal to them to repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. There will always be cynics and apathetic people in every crowd and that crowd was no exception; still many were cut to the heart and about 3,000 people were baptised that very first day.

There’s much more I could tell about those days and weeks before we went our separate ways to bring the good news to all the nations.

Father George Wadding is a member of the new Redemptorist Community, Dun Mhuire, Griffith Avenue, Dublin D09 P9H9

33

F E AT U R E

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM TUAM AND THE IRISH CHURCH

34

THE FALLOUT FROM THE TUAM REVELATIONS AND OTHER SCANDALS HAS HAD A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON THE IRISH CHURCH. YET MANY CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY AS CATHOLICS AND TO STICK WITH THE CHURCH.

BY GERARD MOLONEY CSsR

In

early April 2017, one month after the report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission was published, the first results of the 2016 census were also released. These showed that while Ireland remains a predominantly Catholic country, the numbers identifying as such on the census have fallen from 84.2 per cent to 78.3 per cent in five years. Even though the figure of 78 per cent represents a major decline from the extraordinary highs of yesteryear, many commentators were surprised that so many people still registered as Catholic.

Prior to census day 2016, there had been an active social media campaign encouraging marginal or non-practising Catholics to say they REALITY JUNE 2017

have ‘no religion’. So much conflict and scandal had continued to engulf the church since the previous census had taken place that it was reasonable to assume there would be an even sharper fall in the numbers identifying as Catholic. Given the recent history of the Catholic Church in Ireland and the rapid secularisation of the country, 78.3 per cent didn’t seem such a bad result after all.

But I wonder if the census had been taken in April this year rather than last, if it had been conducted in the midst of the fallout from the Tuam Babies report and the controversy over the site for the new national maternity hospital, how different would the results have been? I suggest that we might be looking at a figure in the mid to low 70s.

The Commission on Mother and Baby Homes was set up three years ago following reports of the discovery of a mass grave of children and infants in the grounds of a former institution for unmarried mothers run by the Sisters of the Bon Secours in Tuam, Co Galway. Excavations of the site revealed that remains of infants and children had been found in structures designed to contain sewage. These deaths had taken place between 1925 and 1960 – an average of just over 22 a year.

What horrified people was not just the number of little ones who had been buried without ceremony, but also the claim that their remains had been “dumped” in a septic tank.

It evoked powerful images of evil nuns dragging

young mothers from families and callously allowing children to die from neglect or malnutrition before coldly throwing their lifeless bodies into a rancid cesspit. It would be hard even for its most vociferous opponents to come up with a more cruel and sinister depiction of the church.

There were some efforts to put the Tuam Babies scandal in context, to compare it with what happened in similar non Catholic-run institutions overseas, to point out that an average of 22 deaths a year during those years might not differ greatly from national or international child mortality rates during that same period, but such voices were few and the public’s reluctance to entertain them was understandable. Whatever about the circumstances surrounding their deaths, it was

again. Comments on social media reveal the depth of their antipathy.

No one doubts that a growing anti-Catholic element exists in Irish society, and that it finds expression especially in our national media. But the church has provided its opponents with weapons of mass destruction. It has no one to blame but itself.

For ‘professional’ church people like myself, there is also a tremendous feeling of shame.

It’s the shame of being an official representative of the institution caught up in yet another storm. The shame of seeing church leaders once more having to express regret; of outside agencies once again having to step in to uncover sordid truths about the church’s sinful past.

There is the sorrow we feel for those who suffered in Tuam and elsewhere, young women and children who were the victims of a dark culture obsessed with sex and sin and shame; who were damaged or destroyed by what was done to them in the name of God and keeping up appearances.

There is sorrow, too, for the nuns who are left to carry the can. Most, if not all, of the sisters who ran the home in Tuam, and others like it, are dead now. It is those few who came behind them who are left to face public opprobrium for what their predecessors did or did not do. It is a brave sister who would walk along Grafton Street today proudly wearing her veil.

I also feel sorry for myself. The home in Tuam closed before I was born. The church-related scandals of the last quarter century had nothing to do with me. The abuse and cover-up were not my fault. The culture of moral rectitude and dark secrets that facilitated such behaviour can’t be blamed on anything I did or said.

But self-pity is pointless. It won’t win me or the church any sympathy, and it doesn’t lead anywhere.

Still, I can’t avoid feeling a little self-pity right now.

Tempting though it is to take off my religious habit and just walk away, I still stick with the church.

I stick with it because when it comes to safeguarding children and the vulnerable, the church, like the rest of society, is different from 30 years ago.

Though some critics will never believe it, and no

The cumulative effect of all the scandals means that each new one has a more devastating impact than the one that went before the gruesome image of the remains of innocent children being cast in a sewer that made this scandal all the more revolting – and indefensible.

When a story as awful as this breaks, it’s like déjà vu all over again for the Irish church. Just when we thought the worst was over, and the church could begin the slow process of recovery, a new storm erupts (or an old one is revisited), and it’s as if we’re plunged back to the beginning – except it’s worse now. The cumulative effect of all the scandals means that each new one has a more devastating impact than the one that went before.

Anger is the predominant emotion. People are angry at the church. They wonder how these things could have been allowed to happen; how such a culture could develop in an organisation committed to following in the footsteps of Jesus and yet nobody said stop.

Church people are angry too. It’s easy to say that was then and this is now, that society was different 50 years ago, but one expects the church to operate to a higher moral standard, irrespective of time or place.

There is also the gleeful anger of those presented with another opportunity to crucify the church.

They are genuinely outraged by the Tuam report, but they are thrilled that the church is on the rack

institution can ever be perfect, the church is a far safer environment now for the vulnerable than ever before, arguably the safest environment in the country.

I stick with it because it’s a humbler church. A humble church is an authentic church. You don’t need to read the letters of John Charles McQuaid to know there was too much fear, arrogance and control in the Irish church in the time of Tuam.

A poor church for the poor is what Pope Francis advocates. A church not interested in power or privilege, but that is out on the streets, on the margins, where its founder was to be found. A church more interested in love than in people’s bodies and what they do with them.

I stick with it because of the example of so many in the church who show me the true meaning of Christianity. Clergy who are there for people in their despair, whose doors are open all hours. Religious who live in difficult housing estates, present to those in most need. Advocates, like Peter McVerry and Sean McDonagh, who point to the importance of social justice and of care for the earth. Groups like the St Vincent de Paul who demonstrate practical Christianity every day and night of the week.

I stick with it because of so many ordinary Catholics who have stuck with it despite all the times the church has let them down. Like those in parishes in Leixlip and Rathgar, where I have served.

And those who attend the church of Mount St Alphonsus in Limerick, where I work now.

They have been disappointed in the church enough times, but still they stay, because they do not confuse belief in God with faith in the church. They know that every institution is made up of broken people, and they find sustenance and strength in gathering as part of a believing community to worship and pray.

These are the people who keep me going when I begin to waver, as I have this past while.

The support we offer each other and the loving service we provide to anyone in need – these are the foundations on which we can build a Christian community of which all in the church can be proud, and which would show that the lessons of Tuam have indeed been taken on board.

Gerard Moloney CSsR is former editor of Reality, and is now a member of the Redemptorist Community in Mount St Alphonsus, Limerick.

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F E AT U R E

GOD REVEALED HIS NAME TO MOSES AS “I AM WHO I AM.” BUT WHAT DOES THIS MYSTERIOUS LANGUAGE SAY ABOUT GOD, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US?

BEING DOI

BY RICHARD GOODISON

I

36

was a young man employed in the Income Tax Office in Dublin when I read the beginning of Frank Sheed’s book, Theology and Sanity. It was then that I had one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life.

It gave me an overwhelming consciousness, perhaps an intuition, of God as 'Being'.

'Being', as I then realised, is dynamic and in the present moment with God at the heart of 'being', reality. 'To Be' is of God's Nature.

Other beings have come to be and can cease to be. God just 'Is'. He 'Is' constantly. He 'Is' eternally. Some would say that 'To Be' is God's Nature as this is a way we can glimpse the mystery of God. It is the best, if inadequate, way of describing the 'Truth' involved. Being is something dynamic but also mysteriously restful. All things that exist, exist in the present moment. There is nothing outside the present moment. Nothing exists outside the being of the present moment. The past is over though things endure finitely; reality continues in the being of now into the future. But 'being' is now!

Only now! Is that not a fantastic, even slightly frightening idea?

St Thomas Aquinas, the Christian philosopher, recognised a distinction between 'being' and 'essence' (nature) in beings not God. The Greek thinker, Aristotle, had an appreciation of ‘esse’- 'to be'. But a consciousness or perception of 'being', 'existing', as such must go back and must have anticipated its inclusion in every ancient language that had within it a verb 'to be' or words denoting existence. Some scholars, when treating of the story of Moses before REALITY JUNE 2017

the burning bush, make the point that God did not say: “I AM WHO AM.” but: “I AM WHO I AM.” – thus, they say, intentionally shrouding Himself in mystery. Some would say that while God reveals Himself mysteriously, there is a kind of refusal of a name too. One can see the point being made but a point overlooked is that, one way or the other, the word used in translation is 'AM' and this is a flag of 'being' and God's dynamic 'being', though shrouded, is very much there. This is not negated by the fact that the first person, singular, present tense of the verb 'to be', ie 'am', is not found in Hebrew. It is said that the word in Hebrew for existence is a form of the name of God and it is not used as it is in English. It is simply omitted – out of reverence, perhaps. But it is understood in context and in translation. One interpretation says: “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.” but accepted have been: “I AM THAT I AM.” or “I AM WHO I AM.” or “I AM WHO AM.” and “I AM I AM.” The divine name is: “I AM.” or “I AM THE BEING.” The hidden God, the uncreated Creator, gives this as His name. He ‘Is’ ever close to His people to save them, even from their sins. He ‘Is’ always, eternally. God is a mystery and so His name, “I AM.”, is mysterious, expressing what He is, independent of and above all else, and being eternally.

The Dominican Fr Ignatius O'Brien made a telling point when he taught that 'being' is not perceived in an idea but in a judgement: things ‘are’, things ‘be’, God ‘Is’. This may not be taken absolutely. But I emphasise that ‘being’ is only in the present moment. All lesser beings of the

G AND ING

universe depend for their ‘being’ now, their present existence, on the Supreme, Dynamic Being that is God. Being, I repeat, is now. And really there would be no ‘now’ if it were not for the present ‘being’ and there would be no lesser present ‘being’ if it were not for the Supreme Being, “I AM.”.

But God is not only a God ‘being’; He is also a God ‘doing’. This is very evident in both Testaments, and in the Gospels we see that, where faith is essential, the doing of good in charity or love that flows from being and grace is also a part of the matter of living. Jesus repeatedly lauded ‘faith’ but he showed us the way of ‘doing’ also. The Epistle of James also makes this clear. Just to simply exist and even to believe are not sufficient. We can only do our best of course, and only in accordance

‘be’; we are also called to 'do' what we can in our limited way. Some philosophers would say, with a certain amount of truth, that love cannot be commanded, yet God has the gall to command it: “To believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another.” And if we sin we depend on the being Mercy of the One Who Is for our salvation. A Trinity of Persons, One mysterious God is there for us always.

So even prayer is a ‘doing’ is it not? And how important it is! But even prayer need not be overdone. St Catherine of Siena and St Teresa of Avila say that prayer should be left only for charity to one’s neighbour. Jesus recommends an ‘Our Father’ said in the hidden privacy of one’s own room. There is an incident in a film about the lives of St Francis of Assisi and St Clare, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, in which one of Francis’ brethren, having seen through a window a woman baking bread for her family and felt a nostalgic longing for the home life, then thinks that he has sinned and sits down on a doorstep mumbling over and over: “God be merciful to me a sinner! God be merciful to me a sinner!”

Francis approaches and gently comments: “He heard you the first time.” This is a real insight into the mercy of God and should comfort those inclined to anxious, frenzied prayer. Of course some repetitive prayers like the Rosary, calmly done, are a help to the person praying, just as our thanks to God are of benefit to us rather than to God Himself Who lacks nothing. To conclude let me quote words that can sum up our position in the being of now: Carpe diem! – “Seize the day!” Grateful for our ‘being’ let us do what we can.

Some scholars, when treating of the story of Moses before the burning bush, make the point that God did not say: “I AM WHO AM.” but: “I AM WHO I AM.” – thus, they say, intentionally shrouding Himself in mystery with our capabilities, circumstances, and the graces given us at any given time. We can only do what we are capable of doing in accordance with our station, our calling, our situation in life. Age, health, lack of initiative, imagination or opportunity, even financial situations, may determine what is possible or not to us; and to rest, to recreate, is also a ‘doing’. But even if we cannot do much we can pray and participate in the Sacrifice and Sacraments of the faith. As members of a priestly people, by prayer too, in union with the infinite merits and offering of Christ, we can offer our very being, our lives, our work, our illnesses, our sufferings, our weaknesses, our doubts, our humiliations, our repenting, and our little ‘doings’ as if in a continuous hidden ‘Mass’ to adore, to glorify, to bless, to praise, to petition, to thank God, and to make reparation for our own sins and those of the whole world. Prayer then is a great ‘doing’ flowing from the grace of our being and our faith. Indeed we are not called simply to

Richard Goodison is from Cork. He joined the Dominican Order and received a licence in theology at the Angelicum University in Rome in 1969. He retired from the Order in 1972 with a health problem, and worked for several years with the Revenue Commissioners. Now retired, he teaches piano and plays the organ in church and has had work published in Mayfield Matters, the Cork Holly Bough, and Dominican periodical Spirituality.

37

R E FOR M AT I O N

38

Archbishop Miler Magrath THE ENIGMA OF CASHEL

CAUGHT UP IN THE TURBLUENT BEGINNINGS OF THE COUNTER-REFORMATION, MILER MAGRATH’S CAREER INCLUDED STINTS AS BOTH A CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT BISHOP IN IRISH DIOCESES.

BY PATRICK J RYAN CSSp

Almost

50 years after the first impact of the Protestant Reformation in Europe, Miler Magrath made his appearance on the public stage in Ireland.

Miler (Maol Muire in Irish) was born about 1522 and, living until 1622, he witnessed in his long life some of the greatest changes ever in Western Europe.

He was descended from an old Gaelic family of tenants and managers of church lands, who

REALITY JUNE 2017

also had a stewardship role at St Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg in Co Donegal. Miler became a Conventual Franciscan and proved himself an able student, proficient in Latin, English, Irish and probably Spanish. Through his work in Spain and the Spanish Netherlands he gained wide experience of the Reformation.

When Miler was appointed bishop of Down and Connor in 1565 by Rome, he was considered an ideal agent of

the Counter-Reformation by the curia and especially by the top-ranking Jesuits in Rome. His new mission was to promote the Catholic Church’s own brand of reform and renewal to counteract the Protestant Reformation movement of the Church of Ireland, which had its origins in Henry VIII’s breach with Rome when Henry declared himself head of the Church in England in 1535.

Back in Ireland in 1566 Miler

quickly ran into trouble with the newly appointed primate Archbishop Richard Creagh.

With his cousin Shane O’Neill he accused Creagh of heresy.

When O’Neill was defeated in 1567 Miler submitted to Lord Deputy Sidney and took the oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth I. A year after the assassination of O’Neill, Miler went to Rome to seek a transfer to Clogher diocese but without success. On the

return journey to Ireland in 1569 he was captured and imprisoned in London for several months.

Threatened with torture, he submitted to the crown and took the oath of supremacy accepting Queen Elizabeth I as head of the church and rejecting the pope. Refusal to take the oath was looked on as treason,

MIXED LOYALTIES Miler began his ministry in Cashel as Protestant archbishop with a great show of enthusiasm, visiting the parishes and overhauling the finances. All the senior clergy had accepted the Protestant Reformation, at least nominally, while most of the parish clergy, it appears, carried on celebrating Mass and administering the sacraments as their predecessors had done. As for the laity and the elite, gentry and merchants, they had already shown in 1568 that their allegiance lay with Rome when they ousted Miler’s Protestant predecessor, Archbishop James MacCaghwell, in favour of his Catholic rival, Archbishop Maurice MacGibbon.

In the enthusiasm of his first year he imprisoned the Dominican provincial superior and a companion for preaching against the Reformation. His action drew on him the wrath of James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, leader of the Desmond Rebellion, who threatened him with death and destruction. The friars were released by Edward Butler, Catholic brother of the Earl of Ormond. Miler’s handling of the whole affair, however, won him the praise of the administration in both Dublin and London and gave him credit which lasted many years.

There is a real possibility that the affair was a set-up, used by Miler to find out how Rome reacted to his defection. Miler, however, had proved himself deserving of his promotion and settled down to the administration of his dioceses.

Henceforth, he was in the middle of the many regional conflicts which

Threatened with torture, he submitted to the crown and took the oath of supremacy accepting Queen Elizabeth I as head of the church and rejecting the pope punishable by death. In spite of submitting to the crown, he was kept for a year under house arrest. In September 1570 he was appointed Protestant bishop of Clogher. His education, ability and confidence must have impressed the authorities for on February 3, 1571 he was appointed Protestant archbishop of Cashel and Emly, which was looked on by the Reformers as the second most important diocese in the country.

James FitzMaurice FitzGerald

marked the Tudor re-conquest process in the 16th and 17th centuries.

He became one of the foremost providers of intelligence on Irish affairs to Dublin and London, and began a career of diplomacy and intrigue as a partner in the English re-conquest of Ireland.

Rome took no action against Miler for ten years, but eventually excommunicated him for being a heretic. In spite of that there is reason to believe that he may not have been a sincere Protestant. He was, however, a sincere anglophile and a firm believer in the English legal system and system of landholding.

Shortly after arriving in Cashel he married Annie O’Meara, who was a staunch Catholic, and all their nine children were baptised as Catholics and confirmed by friendly Catholic bishops. To provide livings for his children Miler purchased huge tracts of land in north and west Tipperary. All his children later married into committed Catholic families of the gentry.

A SHEPHERD WITHOUT SHEEP The Reformation, however, made little or no headway. Twenty years after his arrival, Miler had to admit that there was no Protestant community in Cashel. Not one of the gentry or merchant families in his jurisdiction had accepted the Reform, while the inhabitants of the episcopal towns of Cashel and Fethard refused to attend Protestant services. No candidates emerged from the families that traditionally supplied clergy to both dioceses, a further indication that there was no Protestant community. There were complaints that the people going on pilgrimage to nearby Holy Cross were "obstinately adhering to the religion and superstition of their forefathers". By 1593 Miler

had ordained only four ministers of the Reformed Church and there were reports that there were no more than four copies of the Book of Common Prayer in the dioceses.

Added to those factors was the tough opposition Miler experienced in his early days from the leader of the Franciscans, Fr Eoghan O’Duffy, whose biting satire castigated Miler and his fellow Protestant bishops.

However, the greatest obstacle to his ministry came from Catholic Counter-Reformation clergy educated in Europe, who began to arrive in his jurisdiction in the 1580s and 1590s. These were highly trained and highly motivated. They were formed into teams led by Miler’s supposed cousin, Bishop Dermot Creagh, born near Cahir, who became Catholic bishop of Cork and Cloyne in 1580. Bishop Creagh was a brilliant theologian and organiser and, in the decade following his return to Ireland, he developed a whole new strategy for maintaining and renewing the Catholic Church according to the ideals of the Council of Trent.

Miler was powerless to halt their activities since they were maintained by the Catholic lords, gentry and merchants. Beginning in the 1590s the Catholic churches, which officially belonged to the Established Church, were gradually abandoned by priests and people, who now attended Mass in the houses of the gentry and merchants throughout east and south Tipperary. Miler appealed for help to the authorities in Dublin to have Bishop Creagh arrested, but his appeal fell on deaf ears. It is well known that Miler, in spite of all his appeals and complaints, was on friendly terms with several of the Counter Reformation clergy, including, as letters show, Archbishop Dermot

39

R E FOR M AT I O N

The headstone of Miler Magrath at St Patrick's cathedral, Cashel

O’Hurley. When such friendships aroused concern Miler did not hesitate to have some of them arrested and imprisoned to save his own skin. However, he turned a blind eye to the activities of Creagh and foiled several

attempts to have him arrested.

Miler had no comparable body of clergy trained in the tenets of Protestantism who could fill the vacancies in the parishes until Trinity College was founded in 1592.

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RECONCILED TO ROME When it came to enunciating policy and making wide-ranging practical proposals to London for Reform, Miler fared better. In 1592 he wrote a detailed report on the religious and political situation in Ireland.

He made a strong plea for having the Bible in Irish and for upgrading the quality of teachers and preachers of the Protestant faith.

His most sensible suggestion was for the reduction of the number of dioceses to 16. A few years earlier he had demanded that the authorities compel all public office-holders and principal lords to take the oath of supremacy. The authorities wisely advised against it. No matter, Miler had said the right things.

cooperate with the investigators then and again in 1615. The huge range of dilapidated and ruined churches, however, was not entirely Miler’s fault. Neither he nor most of the other Protestant bishops had much success in creating Protestant communities, while the Catholics by and large had abandoned the old churches. Those who received the tithes failed to care for the churches.

Attempts to get rid of Miler failed. He was tolerated because of his usefulness as a source of intelligence, and feared because of his great influence among the Irish of Ulster and his ability to do harm, especially in exposing the corruption of government officials.

Miler’s epitaph in St Patrick’s cathedral, Cashel, highlights his desire to be remembered as Catholic bishop of Down and Connor, and expresses regret that he was not a better pastor. He mentions nothing of his ministry as a Protestant archbishop, but emphasises his 50 years of service to the state. During the course of his life he had made several attempts to be reconciled to Rome.

It is certain that he died a Catholic and that he had been reconciled to Rome.

He was tolerated because of his usefulness as a source of intelligence, and feared because of his great influence among the Irish of Ulster and his ability to do harm, especially in exposing the corruption of government officials Towards the end of the 16th century reports reached London that all was not well in Miler’s dioceses of Cashel and Emly along with Lismore and Waterford which had been added to his care. In January 1601 he was rebuked by Robert Cecil for keeping the churches in his dioceses like pigsties. Miler’s authority was ignored everywhere and there was only one Protestant in the town of Cashel in 1603.

A thorough investigation in 1607 revealed the appalling state of all four dioceses. Miler refused to

Fr Patrick J Ryan is a Holy Ghost (Spiritan) missionary priest from Co Tipperary. He has worked in Tanzania and in the Dublin diocese.

He is now retired and one of his main interests is Irish Reformation history. He is author of Archbishop Miler Magrath: The Enigma of Cashel (2014).

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE TIME WITH THE MASTER: REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE OF JESUS REVIEWED BY KATE GREEN

SUMMER

The book opens with the invitation Jesus gave his first disciples to “Come and see.” Then a question is posed: is Jesus a fool, a fraud, or for real?

There follow 34 reflections , all but one prefaced with the author’s own poems, each focusing on some aspect or event in the life of Jesus. We embark on a literary pilgrimage which asks us to consider the personal consequences if we decide He is ‘for real’. Reflection 1 has four sections, each exploring the historical evidence of Jesus’ life, pre- and post-Resurrection. We read the words of Pliny, Tacitus, Josephus, and Lucian of Samosata. The remaining reflections lead us creatively and imaginatively to spend “time with the Master”, to see and hear him with fresh eyes and listening hearts, and ultimately to offer our own personal ‘Credo’.

The poems are at once deeply spiritual and joyous in tone, and personally challenging in focus. Fr Devitt’s ambiguous use of words and phrases serves to stimulate thought and to unveil the true meaning. In ‘Curtains!’, he leads us from the street-slang for death, to the torn veil of the Temple, to the veil of spiritual blindness that can afflict all in the journey of faith and in our relationship with Christ. ‘The Arms Race’ speaks of love, not war.

In ‘Outrageous Grace’ and ‘This Man is wild’, we meet the crazy God whose radical plan for us turns the world’s judgements on their head. And in this beautiful but broken world of drowned and rejected refugees, aborted children, the neglected, abused, starving, and trafficked, he writes ‘Throwaways’ to reassure and comfort.

Each poem contains an invitation, a question or a challenge, and sometimes all three. Put first to the author himself and then to the reader, they forge an affinity, a sense of oneness and kinship as God’s beloved children.

The reflections follow on naturally from the poems. The sources and references are many and diverse: the words and writings of Pope Francis; the thoughts of Martin Luther on Mary the Mother of God and on his own unworthiness; the wisdom of the Peanuts cartoons; the letters of Ignatius of Antioch. But over and above these are the Gospels, the many-faceted accounts of the works and words of Jesus and His unconditional love and mercy for all humanity. They form the source and springboard of the reflections, and teem with energy and opportunities for contemplation.

Ennismore Retreat Centre

Friday 2nd June - Sunday 4th June Meditating with the Breath.

Fr. Louis Hughes OP Cost: Res - €175/ Non Res €100 (Option of coming Saturday only is available - Please enquire at office) Sun 25th June – Thurs 29th June “So few things necessary, indeed only one” ( Luke 10:42) – Discerning the heart’s desire.

Martina Lehane Sheehan Cost: Res: €385 N/Res: €300 Due to numerous requests, we are delighted to offer a number of places for a 2-Silent day retreat on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th June 2017. The retreat, which is being led by Martina Lehane Sheehan interweaves meditation, scripture, inputs on spirituality of wellbeing, stress release etc. – these

ST DOMINIC’S

two days which can be taken on their own – 10.00am – 5.00pm will cost €100 (includes lunch both days). You may if you wish attend the full retreat.

Sat 1st July – Thurs 6th July “The Three from Nazareth and their message for today”.

Fr. Benedict Hegarty OP Cost: Res: €400 Sun 16th July – Fri 21st July Centering Prayer Intensive Retreat.

Sr. Fionnuala Quinn OP Cost: Res: €460 Sun 23rd July – Sat 29th July Individually Directed Retreat Sr. Peggy Cronin Cost: Res: €465

Sat 5th Aug – Fri 11th Aug “A meditative retreat on the Trinity: God’s self-giving” Fr. Stephen Cummins OP Cost: Res: €440 Ennismore Retreat Centre is set in 30 acres of wood, field and garden overlooking Lough Mahon on the River Lee. It’s the ideal place for some time-out, reflection and prayer.

For ongoing programmes please contact the Secretary or visit our website Tel: 021-4502520 Fax: 021-4502712 E-mail: ennismore@eircom.net www.ennismore.ie

Repeated use of words and phrases such as love; come; wonder; glory; dancing; delight; rapture; rhythm of grace; crazy with love; lavish life; uncork the wine, give a sense of joyous celebration, affirmation and hope. It is heart speaking to heart in faithfulness.

An exciting and inspiring companion in prayer and meditation, this collection will appeal for its lightness of touch and depth of belief.

Time With The Master: Reflections On The Life Of Jesus Seamus Devitt CSsR Messenger Publications, 2017 ISBN: 9781910248584 Price: €7.95

D E V E LO P M E N T I N ACTION

MILLIONS FACE STARVATION AS AFRICAN DROUGHT TIGHTENS ITS GRIP WITH SEVERE DROUGHT GRIPPING MANY PARTS OF EAST AFRICA, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE FACING POSSIBLE STARVATION IN THE COMING MONTHS. DAVID O’HARE FROM TRÓCAIRE RECENTLY RETURNED FROM NORTHERN KENYA WHERE HE SAW THE IMPACT OF THE CRISIS ON PEOPLE THERE.

BY DAVID O’HARE

The

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Turkana region of northern Kenya is a dry and unforgiving land at the best of times. It is difficult to grow crops and many people are ‘pastoralists’ who rely on their animals – goats and camels mostly – to eke out a living.

With the failure of successive rains and a prolonged drought (made worse by the effects of climate change) having taken hold of the region, survival has now become the challenge facing the people of Turkana. Millions of people in the region are facing starvation.

The crops have failed and animals are dying because of a lack of grazing and water.

I saw the reality of life on the ground when I visited in May. Trócaire has been working in Turkana with our main partners on the ground, the Diocese of Lodwar and Caritas

Lodwar, for many years. The diocese is the main provider of support for people in the absence of any significant government investment or infrastructure.

The first stop on my journey was to visit an emergency food distribution near the centre of Lodwar town. This vital aid was targeting particularly vulnerable groups including the elderly, people with disabilities, and those living with HIV. Some of the people had walked for hours in the burning sun to get to the distribution point. There they waited patiently to receive 1kg of maize and 1kg of beans. The people living with HIV received some fruit as well – without it their medication would make them violently sick.

I met one very elderly lady who was blind.

Mary Nakodos Lokerian told me she had walked

Mary Nakodos Lokerian, who is blind, at an emergency food distribution funded by Trócaire near the centre of Lodwar town in northern Kenya.

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for 13km to get there. Mary has eight family members that she cares for. She told me that her whole family is hungry. The drought has killed their animals and because she is blind there is no other work she can do to earn money for food like gathering firewood or making baskets.

Charles Iria is the deputy director of Caritas Lodwar and he told me that the hope was that with more funding the emergency food distribution could be widened to include more people and that the food could be delivered to people where they live rather than them having to walk such long distances to collect it.

I also visited St Mary’s Primary Healthcare Centre in the town of Kalokol. The centre is supported by Trócaire and is being used as an emergency clinic for young children suffering the effects of malnutrition.

There were dozens of mothers there with their babies and youngsters. Again many had walked for hours to get there. What I saw was heart-wrenching. Many of the children were very obviously malnourished and this was just the tip of the iceberg – it is estimated that half a million children under five years of age in Kenya are at risk of starvation in the coming months.

The clinic weighs and examines the children.

The mothers of those who are identified as high-risk are given ‘Unimix’ to feed their children. This is a high-protein, high-vitamin supplement. The children are brought here once a month and this will continue until they are five years old so their progress can be monitored and any necessary support given.

One of the mothers I met there was Florence Asimtai (29). Florence is a single mother with four children and is among the most vulnerable experiencing the impacts of the drought in Turkana. She was at the clinic with her baby Esinyen. The baby was weighed at the clinic and he was around 7.5lbs – the weight I would associate with a typical newborn here at home. I asked Florence what age Esinyen was and she told me he was eight months.

Both Florence and the baby are HIV positive and have been receiving medical support at the centre. She lost her husband three years ago and has since become destitute with no

means of earning a living for her four children.

The health of both Florence and the baby had deteriorated drastically when they were first brought to the health centre but the lifesaving medical support they received made a great difference. Their health has improved since then but the current drought is threatening to undo that progress.

Emergency feeding programmes and health centre support are two very obvious illustrations of the dire situation facing the people of Turkana but I also saw some of the more tangential effects of the food crisis.

I visited a home for street kids where children with no one else to care for them are given shelter and food. There were 200 children there. Some were orphans but others had been sent away to the town by their families in the rural areas because they simply didn’t have enough food to feed them. I also visited St. Lwanga Nakwamewi Primary School which normally has 1,400 pupils. Only around half have returned to school after the recent holiday. Children are having to tend what animals are still alive while parents search for food or work.

What I saw when I was in Kenya was only a snapshot of what has been described by the United Nations as the greatest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. Drought is also affecting South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia,

and Yemen. In Kenya alone there are 3 million people requiring humanitarian aid and this is expected to rise to 4 million by July.

However there is hope. I saw the difference that donations made by people here at home can make on the ground. In the coming months in northern Kenya, Trócaire is hoping to reach hundreds of thousands more people with emergency food, water, and droughttolerant seeds.

There are two images from my trip that will particularly stick in my mind. One was the quiet dignity I witnessed as people waited for food aid. The other was the carcass of a camel which had died because of a lack of food and water – one of the locals told me that when the camels start dying you know the situation is critical. The people of Turkana, and the other affected regions where Trócaire works, need and deserve whatever support we can give them.

To make a donation or to find out more about Trócaire’s response to the food crisis in Africa visit www.trocaire.org/eastafrica

Florence Asimtai (29) with her baby Esinyen (8 months) at the Trócairesupported St Mary ’s Primary Healthcare Centre in Kalokol in northern Kenya.

David O’Hare from Trócaire with the carcass of a dead camel in Nayuu in northern Kenya. Pastoralist people are seeing their animals perish because of a lack of water and grazing due to the prolonged drought.

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CO M M E N T REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ

THE HIDDEN SUFFERING

BEHIND ALL THE TALK OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND GROWTH, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE LIVING WITH PAIN AND DISTRESS. THE FIGURES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. Ireland’s economic growth is one of the highest in the EU. In 2016, there were 83,100 millionaires in Ireland, 5,000 more than in 2015. For the past two years, we have repeatedly been told that the economy is in recovery.

However, there are a large number of people in this country who are suffering, but whose suffering and distress is mostly hidden, out of sight.

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Homeless: In January this year, there were officially 7,167 people homeless in Ireland, including 2,407 children. This is the highest number of homeless people since the famine.

However, even this number does not include all those, probably several thousand, who will not go into homeless emergency hostels, but sleep on friends’ floors until they wear out their welcome. Nor does it include hundreds of foreign nationals who are provided with emergency homeless accommodation by a separate agency. Nor does it include those living in refuges who are fleeing domestic violence, still less those who are forced to return to an abusive home because the refuges are all full.

A feature of homelessness today is that it is accompanied by hopelessness – people see no way out, which only adds to their suffering. Many of the homeless people whom I meet every day are seriously depressed, and most have considered suicide from time to time.

Social Housing waiting list: There are almost 100,000 households (about 250,000 people) living in accommodation which has been classified as unfit. Some are living in overcrowded houses REALITY JUNE 2017

dealers live close by. But they cannot report the intimidation to the Gardaí, nor highlight it in the media, as they fear even worse retaliation. Their pain is completely hidden from all but their friends and neighbours.

(sometimes three generations living in the same house) or poor quality accommodation. Some have been living in such conditions for ten or fifteen years and still don’t know when, if ever, they will be housed by the local authority.

House repossessions: There are 50,000 households (about 150,000 people) living in homes which have mortgage arrears of more than two years. Those living there are under serious stress, unable to plan their future, not knowing when their home will be repossessed and they will face eviction. Many will not be able to afford rented accommodation, as rents are now higher than mortgage repayments, and most will not be eligible for social housing as their income exceeds the social housing limits.

Slum accommodation: Although the large, very visible, local authority slum estates have now been

demolished or renovated, tens of thousands of people continue to live in slum accommodation. But this is now in the private rented sector, hidden out of sight behind the respectable frontage facing on to the street. Some apartments have mould on the walls, appliances not working, mice or cockroaches, front doors that won’t lock, and landlords who will not carry out repairs. The tenants cannot complain for fear that the landlord will evict them and they will find themselves homeless on the street.

Families of drug users: There are an estimated 20,000 heroin users in Ireland and probably twice as many regular cannabis users. Some get into debt to drug dealers, who will then demand payment from their families.

These families live in constant fear.

They face intimidation, assault, having their windows smashed repeatedly, and children in the family being threatened. Often these drug

Hospital waiting lists: Some 630,000 people, one in eight people in the Republic, are waiting for access to a public hospital. Some, like Megan Halvey-Ryan, who has been waiting 18 months for an operation to correct the curvature on her spine, and has had her operations delayed several times, are in extreme pain. Others are in pain or distress to varying degrees.

Their distress is hidden from all but their families and friends.

Young people on social welfare: Young people, under 24 years, who cannot find a job receive €100 per week welfare. If they are homeless, they will pay €30 per week for a hostel bed each night, which leaves them with €10 per day for their food, clothes and bus fares. Their bus fare into the city centre and back again, perhaps to look for work, will cost them €5 per day. If they do not look for work, their €100 welfare will be stopped altogether. They are unable to escape from homelessness as no-one could afford to live in independent accommodation on €100 per week.

There are two Irelands living side by side, one visible, the other invisible; the Ireland of economic growth, increasing profits and multi-millionaires, and the Ireland of unnecessary, and mostly hidden, pain, suffering and distress.

GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH A NEW KIND OF LANGUAGE I am not good at languages. I find it hard to master them. They are PENTECOST not my thing.

SUNDAY So I wonder how I would have got on at Pentecost when the apostles were given the gift of tongues. Today’s first reading describes how the apostles were gathered behind closed doors full of fear after the events of Holy Week. Then the Holy Spirit descended on them, filling them with new life and confidence, and giving them the gift of tongues so they could speak other languages.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, they poured out of the room, no longer afraid, and began to preach the Good News of the Gospel to everyone.

Jerusalem was a cosmopolitan city, with people of many different nationalities speaking many different tongues, and yet when the apostles preached, everybody understood them. It was as if they spoke to each person in his or her own native language.

At Pentecost the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and with it, the gift of tongues. What was that gift? Was it that they suddenly become polyglots, able to speak everything from Swahili to Swedish? Or was it something different?

What happened that first Pentecost was that they were given the ability to communicate in a new kind of language – the language of the Holy Spirit, the language of love. That language can transcend any barrier of race, or tongue, or nationality. It’s a gift, a language we have been given also, as members of the church.

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Today’s Readings Pentecost by G. B. Trotti (1555 - 1612)

Acts 2:1-11; Ps 103; 1 Cor 12:3-7.12-13; John 20:19-23

God’s Word continues on page 46

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GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH GREAT MYSTERY REVEALED The Trinity can sometimes appear like a complicated mathematical puzzle of fitting three persons into one SOLEMNITY OF God. Like Jews and Muslims, THE MOST Christians believe in one God. HOLY TRINITY Yet the God that Jesus reveals to us is an infinitely rich God who does not dwell in some remote part of the solar system. “In him we move and live and have our being,” St Paul once preached in the city of Athens. That God has drawn near to us in the human form of Jesus his Son and Word, and continues to be present to us through his Spirit.

Today’s Gospel is part of a longer story of a meeting between Jesus and a Jewish leader called Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a good man searching for the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ message to him was quite simple. It is not a question of whether human beings can find their way to God, 46 but that God has found the way to come near to them and to give them a mysterious rebirth

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through the Spirit. “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not be lost but have eternal life.”

The secret mystery of the Trinity is that God is Love, a love that needs so much to express itself that it takes a human body and identifies with us in our weakness. The cross is the sign of how deep that love goes and when we sign ourselves

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FEAST OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

SOUL FOOD In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the living bread that has come down from heaven, and says that anyone who eats this bread will live forever.

Jesus’ statement that he is the bread of life is difficult for his hearers. They have no trouble with heavenly bread: their ancestors were sustained with manna, the bread from heaven, while they travelled REALITY JUNE 2017

through the wilderness for 40 years. Their difficulty comes when Jesus identifies the bread he gives with his own body and blood.

We sometimes use abstract words like ‘personal existence’ or personality to try to seize the deepest truth of what it means to be human. The bible uses more concrete language. When it speaks of body, it means more than a collection of flesh and bones.

with it, we do so in the name of Father, Son and Spirit. When we were brought into the new birth of baptism, it was in the name of that same Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Spirit.

Today’s Readings Ex 34:4-6.8-9; Ps Dn3:52-56; 2 Co 13:1113; John 3:16-18

When it speaks of blood it means the vital element that sustains life.

When people offered a sacrifice, the most important part of the offering was the pouring out of the blood on the altar. When Jesus is talking about his body and blood, then, he is talking about his total human presence. His body will be stretched to breaking point on the cross. His blood will be poured out in sacrifice. The life of Jesus is absolute gift. Another way of saying it is that it is utter love.

To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus means to enter as fully as it is possible for human beings to do into the depths of the mystery of his self-giving love. And that is the gift that is laid out for us at every Mass.

This feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is an opportunity to think about the Eucharist and what it means, and for each of us to ask God for a deeper love for this great Sacrament of Love Today’s Readings Dt 8:2-3.14-16; Ps 147; 1 Co 10:16-17; John 6:51-58

THE REALITY CROSSWORD NUMBER 5, JUNE 2017

IT'S NOT A BED OF ROSES! The whole chapter 10 of Matthew's Gospel defines what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. And the definition is not for the faint hearted.

When travelling around the countryside driving out 12RD SUNDAY IN demons and spirits and healing the sick, a true disciple ORDINARY TIME must travel light and leave all money and possessions behind. No bag or extra sandals and each disciple will be sent out like sheep among wolves.

Today's Gospel passage continues in similar vain with a warning to the disciples. When they preach the Word of God, they will encounter bitterness and hatred. Jesus has already experienced adversity in his ministry and is very aware that the same animosity awaits his followers. But the key statement from Jesus is one of hope: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."

The future trials of the disciples are being predicted by Jesus and in many ways the same warnings are applicable for the church today. We face many trials in the form of decreased numbers attending mass, our teachings and beliefs are under constant challenge and scrutiny by an increasingly secular world and there are many conflicting proposals as to the future direction our church must take in order to survive. But amidst the adversity that Jesus and his disciples will face, he says to his followers, "Do not be afraid." True disciples of Jesus are always ready for the difficulties that will come. We are supported by a compassionate and loving Christ who cares for us and encourages us through uncertainty.

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SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 3 ACROSS: Across: 1. Mirage, 5. Hamlet, 10. Aphasia, 11. Thieves, 12. Ally, 13. Herod, 15. Gobi, 17.

Sag, 19. Dorcas, 21. Fiasco, 22. Minimum, 23. Gluten, 25. Rosary, 28. Elm, 30. Adam, 31. Adieu, 32.

Cowl, 35. Tidiest, 36. Unaware, 37. Angler, 38. Albion.

DOWN: 2. Inhaler, 3. Apse, 4. Erases, 5. Hot dog, 6. Mail, 7. Envious, 8. Hazard, 9. Eskimo, 14.

Ravioli, 16. Cameo, 18. Simon, 20. Sin, 21. Fur, 23 Giants, 24 Ugandan, 26 Avocado, 27 Yelped, 28 Editor, 29 Medusa, 33 Reel, 34 Lamb.

Winner of Crossword No. 3 Ríona Leydon, Roscommon

ACROSS 1. Chaotic din caused by a crowd of people. (6) 5. Bible book of travel. (6) 10. A state of great confusion or commotion. (7) 11. A round, shaved area on top of a monk's head. (7) 12. A home for a wild animal. (4) 13. The poorest country in the Middle East. (5) 15. Free from moral fault or guild. (4) 17. A male Irish tree. (3) 19. The basic monetary unit of Israel. (6) 21. Author of 'The Pilgrim's Progress.' (6) 22. A plain ad hides of knightly champion. (7) 23. Eavesdrop on a conversation. (6) 25. Cause someone to be unable to see for a short period. (6) 28. A Polynesian garland of flowers. (3) 30. A set of questions used to evaluate a person's performance. (4) 31. A pleasing view. (5) 32. A small object used by actors. (4) 35. Bloom at the fete game. (7) 36. Snacks for heated canines. (3,4) 37. Worshipped, venerated. (6) 38. Reduce something in quality or value. (6) DOWN 2. Republic in South Central Europe, capital Kiev. (7)

3. A hard kick from an item of sturdy footwear. (4) 4. An acceptance, without proof, that something exists or is true. (6) 5. The sole book in the Bible that does not explicitly mention God. (6) 6. The characteristic grunting sound of a pig. (4) 7. The only country with the same letter three time in its first five letters. (7) 8. Ring-shaped reefs formed of coral. (6) 9. Sea between Greece and Turkey. (6) 14. Optical illusions in the desert. (7) 16. Reddish-brown colour of early photographs. (5) 18. Relating to the Moon. (5) 20. Fail to keep up on a computer. (3) 21. Offer a price at an auction. (3) 23. A thing with distinct and independent existence. (6) 24. Red emus began again after an interruption. (7) 26. Substitutes for expensive diamonds in jewellery. (7) 27. Reveal the true, objectionable nature of someone or something. (6) 28. Reptile with scales for skin. (6) 29. Wanted to scratch. (6) 33. A rough and bad-mannered person. (4) 34. The remnant of a pencil after prolonged use. (4)

Entry Form for Crossword No.5, June 2017 Name:

Today’s Readings

Address: Telephone:

Jer 20:1-9; Ps 68; Rm 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33 All entries must reach us by June 30, 2017 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. 5, Redemptorist Communications, Unit A6, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin 09 X651

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