My Jimdo Geocities Lifeboat
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After the Battle of Monongahela on July 9, 1755, a 23-year-old soldier wrote a letter to his brother in which he said, “But, by the all-powerful dispensations of God, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation, for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side.”
That soldier was none other than George Washington, America’s first president.
“I shouldn’t be here,” Donald Trump told the crowd on the first day of the 2024
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Reflect;
Our Lady gave us the Green Scapular through Sister Justine Bisqueyburu of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. After several visions, Our Lady presented the Green Scapular on Sept. 8, 1840.
Our Lady appeared with her heart engulfed in flames in one hand and the scapular in the other. The scapular consisted of green cloth attached to a green chord.
One side of the scapular displayed her apparition. The other side depicted a heart set ablaze and pierced with a sword, “with rays more brilliant than the sun and clearer than crystal.
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Peace
No one does this kind of work alone. I know of two young women whose examples may help. Young. Imagine that.
Anne Frank was a young girl in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. She kept a diary that has been an inspiration to the world. As a teenager she wrote, "I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart." The family was apprehended in 1944, and Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. She was 15 when she died .
Amanda Gorman was the first person named to be National Youth Poet Laureate in April 2017.
She delivered her poem "The Hill we Climb" at the 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden. From her experience as a young Black woman in America came the lines that will never be forgotten: "The new dawn blooms as we free it. / For there is always light, / if only we're brave enough to see it. / If only we're brave enough to be it." And she was only 25.
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World Vision
Pulling up the roots of poverty and planting the seeds of change.
Building relationships. Listening. Planning and working alongside local leaders. Together, finding solutions that will change the future for children. Here's just some of what we accomplished in 2023 in partnership with donors like you and the communities we serve.
==================
Folklore of the Sea - Tom Dillon
Thursday, 12-1 at the Castle Green July 2024
Historian Tom Dillon will explore the folklore and legends associated with the sea around Ballybunion and the wider North Kerry area.
From tales of mystic islands, sea horses and mermaids to place names and the role of the sea in telling the weather, this fascinating talk will unlock a greater appreciation of the majestic Atlantic coast right here on our doorstep.
Tom Dillon has researched many aspects of Kerry history from the county's Big House families to the First World War and 1916 Rising. Throughout the recent Decade of Centenaries, he delivered numerous public lectures, published articles and spoke on TV and local radio on these subjects and more. In 2020 and 2021, he served as the Kerry County Council historian-in-residence.
A graduate of the University of Limerick, he holds an MA in History of the Family and a Certificate in Local History. Tom is a tutor with Kerry ETB at An Tóchar Further Education Centre in Causeway delivering courses in Local History, Genealogy, Folklore and History & Heritage.
18July 2024
https://www.ballybunionartsfestival.ie/whats-on
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BLANK CANVAS: Dozens of global companies, several of them British, are involved in Neom's construction. The area where Neom is being built has been described as the perfect "blank canvas" by Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. But more than 6,000 people have been moved for the project according to his government - and UK-based human rights group ALQST estimates the figure to be higher.
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The Science of Gratitude: Increasing Health and Happiness
A number of scientific studies have documented the gratitude effect:
Martin Seligman, from the University of Pennsylvania, designed an experiment comparing behavioral interventions that would improve people’s happiness. Writing and delivering a letter in person to someone who had not been properly thanked for their kindness boosted the participant’s sense of happiness more than any other positive psychology intervention.
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They’re family members, coworkers, friends, and fellow parishioners. In the United States alone, an estimated 40 million Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder, and another 16 million have clinical depression, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). When the numbers of people with other mental illnesses are added in, the figure represents about 20 percent of the US population. Think of five people you know: One of them is likely dealing with a mental health condition.
The stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the collective mental health of our society.
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BRIDEWELL: Step back in time with us at Tarbert Bridewell. Built in 1831, for more than 100 years Tarbert Bridewell stood as the county’s courthouse and jail. Symbolic of the harsh and inefficiently cruel justice system of 19th Century Ireland, Tarbert Bridewell now houses an informative and immersive showcase of what is was like to live in 1800’s Kerry.
https://www.tarbertbridewell.com/
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HAWTHORN has beautiful scent at present
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=hawthorn+in+flower&iax=images&ia=images
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REFLECT: Always keep HOPE in your heart. As the sun rises with each new day so must we wake up, keep going and stay strong. Let hope shine brightly even during the hardest times.
Be strong enough to stand alone, be yourself enough to stand apart, but be wise enough to stand together when the time comes.
Don’t put your life on hold – there is no better time than now.
LAST WORD: Sometimes the best way to appreciate something is to be without it for a while.
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A NOTE FROM FR JIM.Lenihan
‘I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.’
John 15:11. The English comedian Jimmy Carr (Normally not my cup of tea when it
comes to humour) made a few very interesting comments on a podcast recently. He
mentioned hot showers. Hot showers are available to most of the earth’s
inhabitants in these times. Yet only the elite enjoyed such luxuries a hundred
years ago. He said of all the 117 billion people that ever walked this planet in the
last two hundred thousand years we the people of the west today have it better
than all who came before us. He said so ‘I think that we suffer in the west a little
bit from ‘Life dysphoria’. We hear a lot about body dysphoria or gender dysphoria.
But I believe we suffer from ‘Life dysphoria’. Even though we live in a time where
we never had it as good. Look at our calorific intake that we just take for granted.
The fact that our children don't die in the first year as they did in the past. Our
modern medicine and science. Think of all the modern conveniences. Think of the
entertainment that we get, we're living like kings. So objectively we should be the
happiest and joyful generation ever and yet we’re subjectively the saddest. Our
desires are memetic which means our happiness and joy is calculated from: Our
quality of life, minus envy of others. It’s not about what we have but what we don’t
have.’ Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the unconditional love of
God. An eternal giving away of self. It’s a love all about the ‘Other’ not the self.
Let’s ask ourselves, have we got the Holy Spirit? Simply put, are you joyful?
Because if the Holy Spirit is operating within you no matter the circumstances of
your life you’re joyful. If you’re not joyful ask yourself are you looking for joy in
all the wrong places
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Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the prospect of never owning a home and becoming a forever renter is a liberating experience.
Gondek, who owns two properties in Calgary, made the comments during a discussion with the development company RNDSQR.
“We’re starting to see a segment of the population reject this idea of owning a home, and they’re moving towards rental because it gives them more freedom,” said Gondek.
“They can travel to different places, they can try out different communities, their job may take them from place to place and so people have become much more liberated around what housing looks like, and what the tenure of housing looks like.”
https://tnc.news/2024/04/18/gondek-never-own-a-home-freedom/
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Alaska judge strikes down state’s cash payments to families using correspondence school programs
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Athea News
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
The Stardust tribunal took centre stage this week and it was great to see those families get justice at long last. That they had to wait this long is nothing short of disgraceful and serious questions must now be asked about the original enquiry that found in favour of the owners by claiming that the fire was started deliberately and there was no evidence of chained emergency exits. This meant that all those who died on the night had the finger of suspicion pointing at them which must have caused untold hurt to their families. How did they get it so wrong? The evidence was there so why did it take over forty years to have it made public? Of course the doors were chained. It was common practice in many ballrooms and big halls to prevent people from opening them from the inside and letting their friends in for nothing. I have seen it myself in many, many places and I am now sorry that I didn’t give it enough thought at the time and report it to the Gardaí. To add insult to injury, the people who were really responsible for the deaths were awarded €600,000 in compensation as a result of the first findings. This would amount to over two and a half million in today’s money. In the light of the latest findings should that money now be returned and those people prosecuted for unlawful killing? The state is apologising but the people in power now weren’t there at the time. Those who were also have question to answer. I hope that this will bring some closure to the families but of course it will never bring their loved ones back or take away the suffering from the injustice they had to endure for so long.
As I write, I can hear the sound of lawnmowers in the distance. At long last we have a bit of fine weather and it was a joy to be able to play golf at the weekend in shorts. We badly need a couple of weeks of this especially for the farmers, many of whom are running out of fodder for the cattle locked up since the fall of the year. I did notice that people were in a far better mood since the sun came out and I suppose we are all deficient in vitamin D for the lack of it. Anyway, it is good to hear announcers on radio reminding us to use sunscreen again.
I was in the village of Brosna lately, visiting the graves of my relatives, and a mural on a house caught my eye. It was a painting of the late Curtain brothers, famous fiddle players who were raised near where my father came from, a place with the delightful name “Two Gneeves”. A Gneeve was 10 to 20 acres, depending on who measured it. The village of Gneeveguilla in Kerry would have 30 to 40 acres (Gníomh go leith; a gneeve and a half). Con was the more famous of the Curtains and he was the inspiration for the Con Curtin traditional festival which is held in Brosna every summer. Con spent most of his life in England where he worked for a while as a foreman on the tunnels in London. This was a very well paid job and Con eventually bought a pub in South London called The Big Balloon. It became a Mecca for all musicians and lovers of traditional music. To say Con was a character would be an understatement. He was never stuck for words and had a ready comment for any occasion. In the pub there was a small glass cabinet on the wall with a tobacco pipe in it. There was a sign on which read “Michael Coleman’s Pipe”. Michael Coleman was Sligo fiddle player who emigrated to America and made some of the first recordings of traditional music in the early part of the last century. He is still regarded as one of the best fiddle players of all time. Anyway , one day, a visitor from America was admiring the pipe and offered to buy it off Con. He was slow to part but when enough money was on offer, he sold the pipe. A couple of weeks later one of the locals noticed that Coleman’s pipe was back on display in it’s cabinet and he said to Con, “I thought you sold that pipe” “I did” said Con. The man asked how it was back up there so to which Con replied: “do you think or imagine a famous man like Michael Coleman had only one pipe.” I don’t know how many times the pipe was sold but it always appeared again. He could be witty as well. He was adjudicating at a fleadh Cheoil when a young lad who was in the early stages of learning to play the fiddle performed his two pieces. When the competition was over, the lad’s mother asked Con what did he think of him. Con replied; “he’s the nearest thing to a fiddle player I ever heard”. The woman was happy and con had a twinkle in his eye. On another occasion, at a fleadh in Ballydesmond, Con was adjudicating along with Denis McMahon when an old mountainy man came on stage with a fiddle. He proceeded to play a slow air very badly out of tune. It was like a cat screeching and when Denis said to Con; “what will I give him”, the answer came back: “jail”. As the old man was departing Con called him and asked him how much he would charge to haunt a house! I have enough stories about con to fill the newsletter but I will save them for another day. He eventually returned to his native Brosna and bought a pub in the village. Alas, like many other such establishments, it is now closed but while it was open, it attracted musicians from all over the world. There is an awful change in Brosna village since I first went there with my father. Unfortunately it has gone the way of most rural villages and towns where nearly all the shops and businesses are gone. They might call it progress but I think we have lost a great deal and we are never going to get it back.
=-------------------------------------------------
Templeathea Holywell: It is customary for people to visit the Holy well in Templeathea on the last Saturday in April. I believe the tradition is to say a rosary. The first decade in front of the well and the statue of Our Lady. Then move to the right and say the second decade then move right again to say the third and so on around the well and say the last decade in front of well and statue again
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I have been very lucky in my life to have had the opportunity to live in or visit many countries in the world. Some of this was through necessity when work was very scarce in Ireland, especially during the many recessions we had in the second half of the last century. Emigration was normal for anyone born in the middle of the ‘90s and there was hardly a house in the parish that was not affected by it. Thankfully, things have changed and even though people still emigrate, they choose to do so to gain experience or a better pay scale in their chosen profession. Most of my visits to foreign parts were, however, through music. I was part of the Comhaltas concert groups that began in the early ‘70s touring Ireland, England and North America. It was a fantastic experience, especially going to America and meeting people who had emigrated from Ireland many years before. They really appreciated the old tunes, songs and dances that brought back memories of their own youthful days at home. In those days they also had a far better standard of living in America than we had though I think we have caught up with them since then. I made many friends on those trips because we didn’t use hotels or guest houses, we stayed in people’s homes. I spent many an hour talking to our hosts about all sorts of things and often forgot about the time as the night slipped away. It was the same story in England where again we experienced that great hospitality that comes so naturally to Irish people. I have great memories of those days. My playing took me to many strange places but I think that North Korea was probably the one that stands out in my memory. You might ask; what were you doing playing Irish music in North Korea?. Well, this was in the ‘80s and Thomás MacGiolla’s Working Mens Party had a bit of clout in the government at the time. They were associated with socialist and communist groups and countries all over the world and they persuaded the Dept. of Foreign Affairs to send a concert group to the Spring Festival in North Korea. This festival attracted groups from communist countries all over the world like The Soviet union, China and parts of South America. I was president of Comhaltas at the time so I was asked to do the dual role of leading the group and also playing. We had no idea what North Korea was like but it was an adventure and we left Dublin Airport in great form. We had a stop over in Moscow and we should have been confined to the airport because we had no visas to enter the country, however, the officials took us in a bus to St. Peter’s Square, a place surrounded by majestic buildings with beautiful domes. We were fascinated and some of the group decided to mark the occasion by playing a few tunes and dancing a few steps for the many tourists who were there. It didn’t go well because the police came and broke it up. The dancers had been performing in front of Lenin’s tomb and this was considered and insult. It took me all my time to talk my way out of it especially since the police didn’t understand any English and I didn’t have any Russian. Luckily, a prominent official appeared who had perfect English and when he heard we were headed for North Korea he allowed us to get back on the bus with a warning not to leave the airport again before our outbound flight. On the following morning I looked out of my hotel window and saw two lads playing hurling on a lawn. It turned they were from Clare and worked in the duty free at the airport which was part of the Shannon set up.
Our arrival in Pyongyang eventually happened and there was a welcoming party and a bus waiting for us. I. however, was led away to a chauffeur driven, top of the range, Mercedes and taken to the penthouse suite in the hotel. I’m sure they thought that I was actually the president of Ireland! We were all in the same hotel and they had a bar laid on for us. There was a TV crew from RTE travelling with us, covering the event and we all had a great time because the drinks were so cheap. A bottle of whiskey was €2 and a bottle of champagne was only €5. They also had an assortment of local drinks that only cost about 40 cent a bottle. The food was very good but we soon realised that this was not the norm in the country. Despite the greyness of the city and the look of poverty on the people, the theatres we played in were huge and the best equipped I have ever seen. They could seat thousands of people and the stage facilities were second to none. During rehearsals for the first show there was an orchestra on stage and, as they finished, the curtains closed. No more than 30 seconds later they opened again and there was choir of 250 members ready to perform. I couldn’t understand how they got the orchestra with all the instruments off so quickly until I was shown the setup. To the right of the stage was a space the same size. The choir were ready to go on this side. The section with the orchestra went down like a lift and moved sideways while the one with the choir moved right above them to take their place. Back stage there was a choice of 57 different backdrops. They didn’t spare the pennies when it came to culture. Young people who showed musical talent or other artistic abilities were sent to special schools to be trained by professionals. We were taken on a tour of these and I was really impressed by their professionalism. We were not allowed to wander outside the official routes but that didn’t stop a couple of our members who did so in secret and saw how poor the ordinary people really were. The Festival had several competitions and we actually won an award for a piece we did on tin whistles called “The Mason’s Apron”. Anyway, I eventually had to leave my penthouse suite and get used to not being treated like royalty anymore but I was glad to be coming home to a land where ordinary people matter. Through music, I have had many opportunities I would never have otherwise so I would encourage any young person who wants to do so to take part in music classes. They are available all over the country and there is a very good one here in Athea. Who knows, it might be your turn to represent your country on foreign stages.
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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Poem from Ger White’s book “Celtic Visions”
Put the kettle on
The solution to every problem
The hiss of building steam
Once that kettle is boiling
A solution will appear.
I’ve seen it used at funerals
It’s the backbone of all Wakes
For every heartache ever had
That kettle eased the pain.
No science or medicine can compete
When everything looks wrong
The tried and true solution
Is to put the kettle on!
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God's Presence
The liturgy is not manmade but something revealed by God. Through the liturgy, the Lord dwells with his people.
Reflect
Shakespeare once said – “I cried when I had no shoes, but I stopped crying when I saw a man without legs.” Life is full of blessings, sometimes we don’t value them.
There are moments when troubles enter our lives, and we can do nothing
to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.
Since it does not cost anything to dream, you will never shortchange yourself when you stretch your imagination.
It is amazing what you can do when you stop worrying.
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You come into this world with nothing, and the purpose of your life is to make something out of nothing.
LAST WORD: Sometimes when you get all that you wanted, you realise its not necessarily all that you needed.
--------------------------------
Reflect
JUST A THOUGHT
‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ ~ Matthew 6:21
There are different meanings to the word treasure. It can mean wealth such as money, jewels or precious metals like gold all stored up and hoarded away. It can also mean something of great worth or value or someone who is rare and precious. Jesus used both meanings to get across an important message. He says there is little to be gained by storing up lots of treasure in the form of money and wealth. Trying to mind it brings worry and stress and it is well known that lots of money does not guarantee happiness. Instead, Jesus reminds us that real treasure is to be found within. We have a most beautiful line that Jesus shared: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When a person is full of kindness, love, generosity and shares lots of blessings they are such a treasure. And we know it too. We sometimes say of a person: “They are such a treasure.” What a beautiful complement. Jesus was a man full of wisdom. He knew so well that many people were searching in the wrong place for happiness. Getting rich and wealthy is no guarantee of happiness. So many still search in the wrong place for happiness today. The key message is that real treasure is to be found within. Can you go within to find your treasure? Can you begin to believe in your goodness, in your kindness, in your love and in the beautiful difference you make to our world each day? Because if you can, you have found real treasure!
James McSweeney
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REFLECTION
On Giving (Kahlil Gibran)
Then said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving.
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep
and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog
burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims
to the holy city?
And what is fear of need by need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full,
the thirst that is unquenchable?
FINAL BLESSING
May you have an unshakeable confidence in God’s love for you.
May you be convinced that nothing can separate you from that love.
And may you be good witnesses for the Gospel by the love and joy you radiate.
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DIOCESAN PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit, we worship and praise You.
Father, through the Holy Spirit you give to every Christian a unique calling
as you provide and care for the needs of your people.
Hear our prayers for our needs as parish communities. Bless our efforts to strengthen lay ministry.
In our diocese and in all our parishes give to each person the grace
to discern, follow and live their calling.
Call forth from among us vocations to the diocesan priesthood.
Fill the hearts of our priests and deacons with renewed Peace and Joy.
Father, in all things ‘Thy will be done’.
We entrust our prayers to you through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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A NOTE FROM FR. JIM Lenihan .....
Recently I heard Matthew Kelly quoting from his book ‘Life is Messy’. He said,
‘There are some situations in life that need to be dealt with.
They require action. There are other things in life that we simply need to wait out.
This can be excruciatingly difficult. It is much easier to do something, anything,
than it is to patiently do nothing. Knowing when to act and when to wait something
out begins simply by being aware that there are two options. Our instinct is to act;
we have a bias toward action. This bias blinds us to every other possibility. We
often don't even consider doing nothing as an option. Bold action is beautiful when
action is what is needed. Any action is clumsy when what is needed is inaction.
Learning to wait things out is one of life's greatest lessons’. I think this point is
beautifully demonstrated in today’s Gospel when Peter in his usual clumsy way said
‘Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ And in Luke’s Gospel it follows ‘He
did not know what he was saying’. The famous quote ‘Fools rush in where angels
fear to tread’. My late father always said ‘to keep your powder dry’. Waiting
things out can be very wise in a lot of situations. Staying calm and realising that
God is God and we are not. Having
faith to surrender the situation
and allow the Holy Spirit to work.
So let us today think of how we
should wait out things in the
future and resist the temptation
to speak or do and wait patiently
to allow the Lord to act
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Be one of Life’s encouragers—for you may never know
The difference you have made to someone feeling very Low.
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Persevere in Prayer
The key to intimacy with God is daily prayer. When you listen to God's voice in prayer and Scripture, the Lord will disclose his heart to you.
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On a recent Wednesday evening, 250 members of Washington’s conservative intelligentsia packed into a ballroom at the Catholic University of America to hear a speech by the political philosopher Patrick Deneen. As the audience took their seats, Deneen — a salt-and-pepper-haired professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame — sat quietly at the front of the room, shaking the hands of the Hill staffers, think-tankers, opinion shapers and academics who approached him to introduce themselves. A few minutes before the event was set to begin, the ballroom doors opened to reveal Sen. J.D. Vance, the first-term Republican from Ohio, who strode into the room, made a bee-line for Deneen and wrapped him in an enthusiastic hug.
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Who are the Jews of Tunisia?
Jews have lived in Tunisia since ancient times. Archaeological evidence has shown that there was a Jewish community in the area that once surrounded the Roman city of Carthage, and Jewish life continued to exist there as the territory was conquered by Muslim empires, France and Nazi Germany. During the Holocaust, the Nazis seized Jewish property, put thousands of Jews in forced labor camps and persecuted them in other ways.
Tunisia gained independence in 1956. During and after Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War in 1967, Jews endured an increasingly hostile environment, including antisemitic riots and the torching of a synagogue in Tunis. In the years that followed, the vast majority of the country’s Jews emigrated, shrinking a Jewish population that once may have numbered more than 100,000 to around 1,000-1,500 today.
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By Walter Sanchez Silva
Vatican, 10 May, 2023 / 7:52 pm (ACI Africa).
Men from more than 40 countries joined together May 6 for the worldwide Men’s Rosary, praying on their knees before the Virgin Mary so that men would once again be valued in society and for the conversion of the entire world.
The general coordinator of the Knights of the Rosary apostolate in Mexico, Paco Páez, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that by praying the rosary, the participants “want to bear witness, not because of our virtues, but by getting on our knees asking for the intercession of our Most Holy Virgin Mary, so that she would grant us the conversion of sinners, our own conversion, that of our families, and that of the whole world.”
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Argentina
Speaking to Hungary’s Jesuits, Pope Francis recounted his interactions with Jálics after his release.
“Jálics immediately came to me and we talked. I advised him to go to his mother in the United States,” the pontiff said.
In just two years, more than 30,000 people were killed by the junta. The dead included both left-wing guerilla fighters and innocent civilians.
The situation in Argentina was “really too confusing and uncertain,” Pope Francis told the 32 Jesuits gathered at Budapest’s apostolic nunciature. “Then the legend developed that I had handed them over to be imprisoned.”
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What is the Living Well Programme?
Living Well is a free group self-management programme. Self-management is what a person does every day to manage their long-term health condition. This may include making choices to improve your health such as becoming more active, eating more healthily and stopping smoking. It may also include more complex tasks such as taking medication, monitoring your symptoms, coping with the emotional aspects of the condition and communicating with healthcare professionals.
https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/hl/selfmanagement/living-well-programme/living-well-programme.html
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The 2nd International Day of Celtic Art Conference, Downpatrick.
Where: St Patrick Centre, Downpatrick
When: 8-11 June 2023 (Thursday to Sunday)
Who: Celtic artists, craftspeople and scholars from USA, Canada, Scotland, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland speaking about their work, displaying artworks and doing demonstrations.
Details of conference speakers and events:
Day 1 (Thursday 8th June) Ed Rooney (Philadelphia) on using vector-based programs to create Celtic art; Aidan Breen (Dublin) on Celtic art in silver; Steve O’Loughlin (Los Angeles) on contemporary imagery in Celtic art; Brian Davis and Katie Hobson (Michigan) on Celtic ceramic art; Opening of display of Celtic Art at the Centre’s Art Gallery; Megan Henvey (Northern Ireland) on interlace decoration on the Carndonagh crosses, Donegal; Tour of Down County Museum, High Cross and Celtic Art collection.
Day 2 (Friday 9th June) Michael Carroll (Chicago) on The development of key pattern in Insular early medieval art’; Ruth Black (Scotland) on Celtic knotwork in felt; Stephen Rynne (Republic of Ireland) on his international search for the Celtic art of Michael O’Connor; Hamish Burgess (Hawaii) on storytelling in Celtic art; David McGovern (Scotland) on new Pictish monumental stone sculpture; Tour of Down Cathedral and St Patrick’s Cross;
Conference dinner and show (additional £20).
Day 3 (Saturday 10th June) Thomas Keyes (Scotland) on making the Book of Kells; Donncha MacGabhann (Republic of Ireland) on the Book of Kells and its artists; Nicola Dixon (Isle of Man) on her artistic journey inspired by the art of Archibald Knox; Stephen Walker (Andover, NY) on weaving the folklore of the Celtic Revival; Cynthia Thickpenny (Scotland) on weavers, embroideresses and key pattern in Insular Art; Michael Carroll (Chicago) leading a workshop in key patterns, knotwork and the five-dot grid; Jeff Fitzpatrick Adams (Republic of Ireland) giving a demonstration of his Celtic wood-carving.
Day 4 (Sunday 11th June, additional £20) Day bus tour to Early Christian sites in Lecale, starting from St Patrick Centre: Struell Wells, Saul Church, St Tassach’s Church, Raholp, Inch Abbey, Nendrum monastery. Lunch stop, but lunch not included.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2nd-international-day-of-celtic-art-conference-tickets-569770467807
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When I came across comments from Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman who is a high official at the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The article read: “Levine, the U.S. assistant secretary for health, said that clinics are proceeding carefully and that no American children are receiving drugs or hormones for gender dysphoria who shouldn’t.”
I felt stunned and sickened. It wasn’t true. And I know that from deep first-hand experience.
So I started writing down everything I could about my experience at the Transgender Center. Two weeks ago, I brought my concerns and documents to the attention of Missouri’s attorney general. He is a Republican. I am a progressive. But the safety of children should not be a matter for our culture wars.
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While Hayes echoes leftist talking points from his studio perch, Woodland Park continues teaching classic literature that educates its students about respect with writings from Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and more, according to Illingworth. Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” will replace “Between the World and Me” in school curriculum.
“The district will not simply replace one divisive, racist document with another,” Witt said.
==============================
In her work with the Jesuit Refugee Service in South Sudan, Noelle Fitzpatrick has encountered ‘a lot of hard, dark and heavy challenges’. In recent months, one source of real challenge has been the serious flooding experienced in the area. For Noelle and others on the JRS team, this has been a time for accompanying, witnessing, and responding to the most critical needs. ‘There is so much beauty and so much need,’ Noelle says of South Sudan; ‘We are the ones blessed to experience it.’ Reda her full update below.
https://jesuit.ie/news/jesuits-serving-as-witness-in-south-sudan/
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Athea News Dec 2022
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I can’t believe it is Christmas week already and another year is gone by. It seems like only yesterday I was getting used to ‘22 instead of ‘21 and now 2023 is knocking at the door. “Tempus fugit” as they used to say in Latin and when I was young I couldn’t understand it because every year seemed to be so long. We couldn’t wait for various times of the year to come and Christmas always seemed to be so far away. As you grow older the years go by at a faster pace all the time and I feel like shouting “stop the world, I want to get off”. There have been great changes since my earliest memories of Christmas. When I was born, in 1945, there was no electricity in our area and, as the war was just ending, there was very little money or employment around. That did not stop people celebrating and enjoying Christmas. It wasn’t about possessions or spending sprees, it was more spiritual and meaningful. Because there wasn’t electricity, the only light was from oil lamps and they were only used in one room. It wasn’t a strong light but it seemed like a warm glow that was barely visible from outside. On Christmas Eve, and not before, the decorations were put up, Holly and Ivy were placed around the kitchen and on the mantlepiece next to the Christmas cards that the postman had been bringing for a week or more. Some people who had relations in America got “streamers” in a parcel. They were coloured paper that folded up like a concertina and were hung diagonally across the ceiling. Christmas trees were unknown to us at this time, they became popular a few years later when the electricity came. Tall candles were prepared for each window. My mother would get empty jam jars to put the candles into and they were solidly secured by packing sand around them. Our job was to put holly and ivy around the base of the candle to “show it off”. When darkness came the candles were placed in each window and lit. As each flame sprang into life, my grandmother would say, “the light of heaven to the poor souls”. We would run outside to see the lights shining brightly in the darkness and then we would look around at neighbouring houses and across the river to Toureen and Ballaugh with all their windows alight and it was, as the great story teller Eamon Kelly once described it, “as if the world was upside down and all the stars were on the ground. We would then all kneel down to say the rosary and on this special night it was somehow more profound. We never liked having to say the rosary and we paid more attention to the black clogs running across the floor than the prayers we were supposed to be saying but on this holy night all the words had a special meaning for us. The same could be said for Christmas Mass. We didn’t go to midnight Mass, we always went to 8 o’clock Mass in the morning in Abbeyfeale. Every one was dressed in their very best and some people, who had got the parcel from America, wore clothes that couldn’t have been bought in the local shops. The priest, who normally rebuked us for our sinful ways, took a softer tone and spoke about the importance of the birth of Our Lord and wished us all a Happy Christmas. When Mass was over, everybody lingered outside the church door, shaking hands and wishing each other the best for the festive season and the New Year. Home then to play with the “purties” Santy had brought and to look forward to the Christmas dinner. Most people had a goose in those days but we always had turkey and you could smell it cooking over the fire. We might get a bottle of orange or lemonade and it was such a treat. As the bottle emptied until there was just a small sip left, we would put it into our mouths, not swallow it, and let it flow back into the bottle again just to prolong the experience. We always ate too much at dinner and felt like sleeping but this was the time for family games and even the odd song or two. All too soon the day was over and we had a whole long year to wait for the next one. Maybe that is why time goes so fast now because there is very little to look forward to. Most people are well off compared to days long ago and there is a good dinner every day. I miss the magic of those days, the awe, expectation and sheer enjoyment of a time that was special. There are those in our community who will be struggling at Christmas and we should be on the lookout for them and give them a helping hand if we can.
There are a few photos of presentations to Betty Cotter, Top of the Town, in this issue. The Top is closing after Christmas and many organisations wanted to show their appreciation to Betty for her great service over the years. Herself and Johnny made us very welcome and they were great financial supporters of our fundraising events. We wish them a long and happy retirement. The good news is that the Top is not closed for good. After some refurbishment it will open before St. Patrick’s Day and we wish the new owners every success in the future.
That is me finished for another year so there is nothing left for me to do except to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a bright New Year. Sure we won’t miss it ‘till next year!!
-- https://www.athea.ie/
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Listowel Connection 15 Dec 2022
My All Time Favourite Christmas Short Story
The Christmas Coat
Seán McCarthy 1986
Oh fleeting time, oh, fleeting time
You raced my youth away;
You took from me the boyhood dreams
That started each new day.
My father, Ned McCarthy found the blanket in the Market Place in Listowel two months before Christmas. The blanket was spanking new of a rich kelly green hue with fancy white stitching round the edges. Ned, as honest a man as hard times would allow, did the right thing. He bundled this exotic looking comforter inside his overcoat and brought it home to our manse on the edge of Sandes bog.
The excitement was fierce to behold that night when all the McCarthy clan sat round the table. Pandy, flour dip and yolla meal pointers, washed down with buttermilk disappeared down hungry throats. All eyes were on the green blanket airing in front of the turf fire. Where would the blanket rest?
The winter was creeping in fast and the cold winds were starting to whisper round Healy’s Wood; a time for the robin to shelter in the barn. I was excited about the blanket too but the cold nights never bothered me. By the time I had stepped over my four brothers to get to my own place against the wall, no puff of wind, no matter however fierce could find me.
After much arguing and a few fist fights (for we were a very democratic family) it was my sister, Anna who came up with the right and proper solution. That lovely blanket, she said was too fancy, too new and too beautiful to be wasted on any bed. Wasn’t she going to England, in a year’s time and the blanket would make her a lovely coat!. Brains to burn that girl has. Didn’t she prove it years later when she married an engineer and him a pillar of the church and a teetotaler? Well maybe a slight correction here. He used to be a pillar of the pub and a total abstainer from church but she changed all that. Brains to burn!
The tailor Roche lived in a little house on the Greenville Road with his brother Paddy and a dog with no tail and only one eye. Rumours abounded around the locality about the tailor’s magic stitching fingers and his work for the English royal family. Every man, woman and child in our locality went in awe of the Tailor Roche. Hadn’t he made a coat for the Queen of England when he was domiciled in London, a smoking jacket for the Prince of Wales and several pairs of pyjamas for Princess Flavia.
The only sour note I ever heard against the tailor’s achievements came from The Whisper Hogan, an itinerant ploughman who came from the west of Kerry.
“ If he’s such a famous tailor,” said Whisper, “why is it that his arse is always peeping out through a hole in his trousers?”
Hogan was an awful begrudger. We didn’t pay him any heed. Tailor Roche was the man chosen to make the coat from the green blanket. Even though it was a “God spare you the health” job, a lot of thought went into the final choice of a tailor.
The first fitting took place of a Sunday afternoon on the mud floor of the McCarthy manse. The blanket was spread out evenly and Anna was ordered to lie very still on top of it. Even I, who had never seen a tailor at work thought this a little strange. But my father soon put me to rights when he said, “Stop fidgeting, Seáinín , you are watching a genius at work.” Chalk, scissors, green thread and plenty of sweet tea with a little bit of bacon and cabbage when we had it. A tailor can’t work on an empty stomach.
The conversion went apace through Christmas and into the New Year. Snip snip, stitch, stich, sweet tea and fat bacon, floury spuds. I couldn’t see much shape in the coat but there was one thing for sure – it no longer looked like a blanket. Spring raced into summer and summer rained its way into autumn. Hitler invaded Poland and the British army fled Dunkirk, the men of Sandes Bog and Greenville gathered together shoulder to shoulder to defend the Ballybunion coastline and to bring home the turf.
Then six weeks before Christmas disaster struck the McCarthy clan and to hell with Hitler, the British Army, and Herman Goering. We got the news at convent mass on Sunday morning the Tailor Roche had broken his stitching hand when he fell over his dog, the one with the one eye and no tail. Fourteen months of stitching, cutting, tea drinking and bacon eating down the drain. Even a genius cannot work with one hand.
Anna looked very nice in her thirty shilling coat from Carroll Heneghan’s in Listowel as we walked to the train. Coming home alone in the January twilight I tried hard to hold back the tears. She would be missed. The Tailor was sitting by the fire, a mug of sweet tea in his left hand and a large white sling holding his right-hand. I didn’t feel like talking so I made my way across the bed to my place by the wall. It was beginning to turn cold so I drew the shapeless green bindle up around my shoulders. It was awkward enough to get it settled with the two sleeves sticking out sideways and a long split up the middle. Still, it helped keep out the frost. Every bed needs a good green blanket and every boyhood needs a time to rest.
The ghosts of night will vanish soon
When winter fades away.
The lark will taste the buds of June
Mid the scent of new mown hay.
==========================
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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Poetry
Hallowe’en
By Peg Prendeville
The veil is thin at this time of year
And our dead are hovering near
The quiet and stillness suits the mood
And calms the simmering fear.
But children have the happy knack
Of making it seem like fun
When they don masks and ghostly dress
And all their fears they shun.
“Trick or treat”, they sing their song
As they visit all the neighbours
Gathering sweets and apples
As a reward for all their labours.
At home they play snap apple
Or dive for coins in water
They carve faces out of pumpkins
And double up in laughter.
While adults think of loved ones
On the far side of the veil
Whom they hope to meet again some today
And exchange some merry tales.
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Knockanure GAA Pitch
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Tom Coffey Listowel Connection.
Tom, pictured at the back right between Mick Relihan and Pat Mc Elligott is remembered. I asked Marie Shaw if she remembered him and this is what she wrote:
“I can’t claim to know him personally Mary, I didn’t even remember his first name until you mentioned it, but I did take a commercial course with him at the Tech. What I remember vividly is his “Movie Star” good looks. There wasn’t a teenager in the town of Listowel at the time who wasn’t madly in love with him. Makes me smile just thinking of him. He was probably teaching at the Tech for two years. I left Ireland in 1958 and I would guess that he was in Listowel in 1956 and 1957.”
(I hope his family Google him and find out this forgotten corner of Tom’s life)
The lady who was doing the Googling was Tom’s granddaughter and she wrote
Hi there,
I found your posts about Tom Coffey—he was my grandfather. (I’m his son, Brian’s daughter.) I found the photo and sent it to my dad and grandmother. Thank you so much for posting about him; we all miss him very much, and it’s lovely to read about the other lives he touched. (I saw you hoped his family found the article, so I wanted to mention that, yes, we did.)
Thanks again,
Katie Coffey
The backstory: Junior Griffin gave me the photo and he told me that Mr. Coffey taught him Irish in the Tech. now Coláiste na Ríochta. Here is what Junior wrote in 2014
Having a look at this week’s Kerryman I see an obituary on page 20 for the late Tom Coffey, very sorry to read about his recent death. You will see him in the back row of your recent photo.
They write about his time In Kerry but no mention of the time he spent here in Listowel. Now I started work in McKenna’s in Sept. 1953 and as time went by struck up a friendship with 2 work colleagues, Willie Barrett and Pat Somers. Indeed, Pat who lived in Billerough, just before the Six Crosses, used to call for me in the morning and give me a bar up on his bicycle, a fine strong lad he was.
It must have been the following year that we decided to do an Irish evening class in the old tech and our teacher was none other than Tom Coffey. Irish dancing was another one of his subjects and those ladies in the front of your photo were also involved.
The Kerryman obituary mentions his first play called Luiochan, Irish for Ambush, and it seems it won an Oireachtas award.
In actual fact, it was a group of us that put on that play first. We did it in Moyvane, Ballybunion and Listowel, hence our presence in that photo. He decided to enter it for the Limerick Drama festival and we were highly commended by the judge, who happened to be a brother of Gay Byrne but we did not receive a prize due to the fact that we were the only Irish play taking part that year and we were not in competition with anyone.
I honestly believe he was here in Listowel for 2 years, maybe the school terms of 1954 and 55. The obituary says he was in Dingle in 1955 so, if correct that could be starting the school term of ’55.
I did learn a good bit of Irish dancing from him but I most certainly did learn that I had 2 left feet.
He was a lovely man, I never met him after he left Listowel.
May he Rest in Peace
https://listowelconnection.com/2022/09/
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
The Listowel Races are over, the Wrenboys have had their night and there are definite signs of change in the weather as we move into Autumn or “Fall” as they say in America. Days are getting shorter, nights longer and leaves are dying and falling from the trees. All growth is coming to an end for the next few months and I, for one, won’t miss the constant cutting of lawns, strimming weeds and cutting back hedges. It is one of the saddest times of the year, especially from here to Christmas but at least we have Halloween to look forward to. This has become a bigger festival than it used to be, driven by American customs that we have adopted such as the use of pumpkins that are hollowed out to make grotesque faces with lights inside. I say it was imported from America but in actual fact that custom was brought across the ocean by Irish emigrants who used turnips instead of pumpkins. There is a great emphasis on ghouls and goblins with an unhealthy obsession with death and ghosts. “Trick or Treat” is definitely American and is tantamount to begging from door to door. Long ago Halloween night was known as “snap apple night” because that was one of the games that was played in kitchens up and down the country. It was quite simple; an apple hanging by a string and we had to try and get a bite of the apple without using our hands. Sounds easy but in actual fact it was a very difficult thing to do as the apple moved away at the slightest touch. Getting it from a basin of water was a lot easier but, of course, you had to get wet in the process to the joy of all the others in the room. They were simpler days but we did have a lot of fun and enjoyed the nuts that were bought for the occasion. Getting a sweet, in those days, was a big thing as we very seldom strayed from the ordinary daily diet. Sweets are nothing new to today’s youngsters who are spoiled for choice. At the end of the day it is all harmless fun and something to look forward to before the cold of Winter really sets in. As evenings lengthened and temperatures dropped it was important to have enough turf for the fire and oil for the lamp. I am going back to a time before electricity, not really that long ago, when most houses had just a fire in the kitchen. It was a kitchen but it was also the living room, dining room and sitting room where all activity took place and where even the sow might be brought in just before she was allowed to have bonhams.
The fire was the centrepiece and it was used for cooking as well as heating so a good supply of turf was essential. That was one of my jobs in the evening, to bring in a bag of turf from the shed and leave it behind the scullery door. The lamps used paraffin oil and that could be bought in most shops of which there were plenty in the countryside at the time. Our nearest shop was owned by Johanna Woulfe and we would go across the fields for the oil. She kept it in a shed by the shop and I can still remember the strong smell when she opened the door. The oil was kept in a big barrel and was poured into a measure to give us a pint or two and of course there was a little spillage which accounted for the strong smell. In truth the light was not great from those oil lamps but it was enough for us at the time. Some lamps had double wicks which gave more light and then some had a mirror behind the globe that increased the glow a great deal. The globe, made of glass, was very delicate and would crack at the slightest pressure so it was treated with great care when taking it off to light the wick. At that time there was very little in the way of entertainment. Radios were only just coming on the market and even those houses who could afford them and were lucky enough to have them would only use them for the news or a special programme so as not to waste the batteries. Some houses had gramophones which, more often than not, had come from some relation in America. These had to be wound up with a handle and an arm with a needle attached placed on a 78 record on a turntable. In the beginning the turntable rotated at great speed but as the spring wound down it slowed and the handle had to be turned again. The records were mostly of Irish traditional music recorded in the US by musicians like Michael Coleman from Sligo, The Flanagan Brothers, Patsy Tuohy and many more. They provided the music for many dancers during the long evenings, indeed I took my own first steps on the floor to the sound of the gramophone at Cusack’s next door. The girls had great patience with my first clumsy attempts but I eventually became good enough at it and I have enjoyed dancing ever since. Those records also gave me an appetite for music and I wanted to be able to play the tunes I heard as soon as I learned how to play the tin whistle. This was also achieved during the long evenings. We used to ramble to Dave Connors’ house in Knocknaboul and it was there we learned how to play cards, another great winter pastime. Mick Connors and myself were the same age so we coaxed Mick’s father, Dave, to teach us a few tunes on the whistle. The method was very simple. As soon as we had learned to cover the holes, Dave sat in front of us and, as he played a tune very slowly, we mimicked the movements of his fingers. After that it was just a case of practice and I was playing away in no time. So, the long evenings weren’t wasted and people were very happy rambling from house to house bringing news, playing cards, playing music, singing and dancing and all without the use of even one electric socket. With the way the price of gas and electricity is escalating we could be going back to those days sooner than we think.
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
The rising cost of living is the talk of the day and the night. Everything seems to be getting dearer with the cost of energy going through the roof. Not only that but the cost of renting a flat or a house is prohibitive especially for those families who have students at third level colleges who are being offered sub-standard accommodation at astronomical money. Heating, cooking, travelling and shopping are so expensive that people are opting to sit in the cold and cut back on food just to survive. It is easy to blame the war in Ukraine but government planning has been absent for the past few years leaving us as the only country in Europe without a gas reserve to fall back on. Despite this they intend to press ahead with a carbon tax in the next budget. At a time when people are put to the pin of their collar, it is obscene to saddle them with a further outlay especially when it is done by a government that is supposed to be helping them. This is a prime example of the tail wagging the dog. The smallest party in the coalition, The Greens, have been pushing this agenda and both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have given in to them despite opposition, not only from Sinn Féin and others on the opposition benches, but also some rural government back benchers who know that people will only put up with so much and will turn on them at the next election. I have nothing against a carbon tax in principle, especially if it helps to finance the retro-fitting of houses throughout the country making them safer and easier to heat but now is not the time to be adding to peoples worries and putting them in more debt. The Greens have no idea what it is like to survive in rural Ireland. We can’t all walk or cycle to work and public transport is confined to the towns and villages on the major roads. We might switch to electric cars if the cost of buying one was not so high. Even if we did all get electric vehicles there simply aren’t enough charging points to service them. There isn’t even one in Athea to date and I’d say the same applies to most small towns and villages throughout the country. For the foreseeable future we are going to need fossil fuels, if only as a back-up. Despite this there is no guarantee that the proposed gas terminal on the Shannon Estuary will get the go-ahead because of objection from the Greens and others. Surely common sense will prevail and those in government with a conscience will ensure that we will have a reserve of gas going into the future. In an ideal world it would be great if we left no carbon footprint but it is not an ideal world and even if we did have one, it would make very little difference in the big scheme of things while some of the major nations in the world are still building plants powered by fossil fuels. We are a tiny island on the west coast of Europe so let us not bite off our nose to spite our face. Everything in good time when we are in a better position to deal with the consequences but now we need to concentrate on making life easier for people, not harder.
Social media is a great means of communication and information but it is wide open to abuse by those who think it is a good idea to shock people. Not a day goes by that I don’t get cartoons and videos, mostly harmless jokes, but some are not fit to be on the screen. One I received recently takes the biscuit. It was taken by somebody in Lisdoonvarna, at the match-making festival last week, on the public street, possibly just after closing time. There are quite a few people about, eating chips and burgers and just walking along and suddenly there are two people making love, oblivious to their surroundings. The woman is sitting on a window sill with her panties around her ankles and I don’t have to tell you what the man was doing. This went on for some time while young men nearby offered crude remarks and encouragement to the couple. It was, to say the least, sickening and shows just how depraved some of us have become.. Animals would not do that; even a dog would go down a laneway but the couple involved didn’t seem to care who saw them. People will offer the excuse of being drunk or on drugs but that doesn’t wash. That excuse has been used in the past to justify men who come home from the pub drunk and physically attack their partners. “Ah sure, ‘twas the drink made him do it”. People do things when they are drunk that they don’t have the courage to do when they are sober; the drink or drugs just remove the inhibitions. The fact that the people who witnessed this event thought it was a great joke shows how standards have fallen. If it happened a few years ago somebody would have approached the couple and asked them to stop or take it elsewhere but I suppose this is the world we now live in. There seems to be no shame anymore. I am not a prude and the last thing I want to do is to prevent consenting adults from enjoying themselves but, love-making is not a spectator event and should not be performed in public and it certainly should never be videoed and posted world wide on social media.
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Queen Elizabeth, who turned 96 in April, is England’s longest-serving monarch, having acceded to the throne in 1952 at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI. In June, the United Kingdom celebrated Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years as monarch.
Here is a look back at the five popes whom she met in her lifetime:
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Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://durrushistory.com/2022/08/02/1939-compulsory-purchase-order-for-labourers-cottages-bantry-castletownbere-clonakilty-dunmanway-schull-skibbereen/
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In May 1521 Ignatius was recuperating in his family’s castle at Loyola after his legs were damaged by a cannonball at the siege of Pamplona. Bored, he began to read a life of Christ and the lives of the saints. And so his conversion to a life of imitating Christ began. That was 500 years ago this year. Jesuits all around the world celebrate this conversion over the coming year, beginning on 22 May 2021 and finishing on 31 July 2022, the anniversary of his canonisation.
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July 2022
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Burma ’44- By James Holland
“James Holland is a master of spinning narrative military history” (BBC History). In early 1944, British troops in Burma dealt a shocking defeat to Japan’s most elite soldiers. This page-turning read provides “a thrilling blow-by-blow account of the fighting” (The Times).
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On Saturday, September 10, 2022, Priests for Life will again co-sponsor the annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children, calling on pro-life Americans to gather at the gravesites of our aborted brothers and sisters
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Canadian NBA All-Star Andrew Wiggins says he regrets taking the Covid-19 vaccine after feeling like he was forced to do so by the NBA.
In an interview with Fansided, Wiggins said that despite having a career year, becoming an NBA All-Star and winning the NBA Championship, he still regrets getting vaccinated for Covid-19.
“I still wish I didn’t get it, to be honest with you, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” said Wiggins.
https://tnc.news/2022/07/20/wiggins-vaccine/
===========================
She flew to Australia with a Subway sandwich. She was fined $1,844.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/07/20/subway-sandwich-australia-tiktok/?utm_medium=email
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It is not for me to forgive him. It is for the relations of Eva Martin and Peter Flanagan. And I certainly wouldn’t forgive him if I were in their shoes.
But it’s possible to explain his wicked acts of unspeakable violence, without justifying them. He was brought up in County Kerry, with an IRA father and uncle. At 15, he enlisted in the IRA, replacing school with bomb-making lessons. He carried out his murders when he was 19. By the age of 25, he had understood the catastrophe of his ways, and turned informer.
To understand all is not to forgive all. But to see this tormented figure and discuss his past frankly, was to understand more.
https://catholicherald.co.uk/harry-mount-the-most-tortured-soul-i%e2%80%88ever-met/
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Finland’s War of Choice
By Henrik O. Lunde
In the early 1940s, Nazi Germany and Finland came together against the USSR — but their coalition was doomed from the start. This “solid operational analysis” from “an established scholar of the Scandinavian theater” (Publishers Weekly) provides an in-depth look at an often forgotten World War II alliance.
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On May 2, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports was about to ignite severe food shortages throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.
For nearly 7 million people in Lebanon — about half of them Christians — a hunger emergency was already gaining momentum.
Archeparch Charbel Abdallah, the Maronite Bishop of Tyre, recently reported to Aid for the Church in Need (ACN) that soaring inflation, plummeting wages, and devalued currency are making most foods unaffordable.
“The average salary now does not exceed $40 per month,” the bishop said in his update, shared by ACN. “For this reason, families can no longer buy necessary food products such as meat and vegetables and fruit, because the prices are always rising, especially meat, since 1 kilogram now costs a quarter of a salary.
“From this, we are now facing a malnutrition problem, which affects children, who are forced to eat exclusively rice or other kinds of grains.”
Now, Russia’s Black Sea blockade is taking a toll on Lebanon’s scant wheat supplies. Human Rights Watch and UNICEF both report that Lebanon in 2020 got 80% of its wheat from Ukraine, a worldwide supplier of grain, vegetables, and other agricultural products.
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The Presbytery, Abbeydorney. (066 7135146; 087 6807197)
abbeydorney@dioceseofkerry,ie
2nd Sunday of Easter, 24th April 2022 (Divine Mercy Sunday).
]Dear Parishioner,
You will, possibly, recall reading in ‘Dear Parishioner’ at
some time that things that I read in newspapers and magazines, hear on
the radio and see on TV, touch me in a particular way, make me curious to
find out more, make me a bit sad and almost depressed! You may have
seen or heard a recent report about the huge salary increases being given
to chief executives of Ireland’s top-listed company
es. One newspaper gave the following report: ‘Building materials giant
CRH’s chief executive, Albert Manifold, received a total pay package of
€13.9 million last year. That was up 24% on 2020 and sets a new record for
a head of a Dublin-listed company. The increase was driven by a share
bonus payment, tied to an awards policy set up three years ago......Mr.
Manifold’s’ remuneration was 289 times the median €48,200 pay last year
of CRH’s UK employees, who account for 13% of the company’s total
workforce. The ratio was up from 207 times in 2019!’
News from Kenya: In the past few days, heavy rain has fallen in some parts
of Turkana Desert but, here in Lodwar, we only got a very slight amount of
rain. We hope that the heavier rain will come our way in the near future.
Today, the death was announced of our third President in Kenya, Mwai
Kibaki at the age of 90. He will be remembered for the development that
took in our country during his years as president – like construction of
roads and making primary education more accessible to poorer families.
(Sr. Hannah Ngugi, Lodwar Town, 22nd April 2022)
Queues: We are not directly affected by the war in Ukraine but we are
having a fuel crisis. It has gone on for the most part of a month now. Fuel
rationing is taking place and the worst affected areas are those, which are
remote, and there prices have doubled. Even here in Kericho Town, there
are long queues of cars and, after being in the queue for a few hours, the
word comes that the supply has run out. Two weeks ago, the Government
assured us that everything would be fine but that has not happened.
New School year: As you know, the school year in Kenya usually begins in
January but, due to the upset caused by Covid, the 2022 school year will be
shorter than in other years. It should be back to normal in 2023
(Fr. Ibrahim Nyangate, Kericho Town, 20th April 2022.)
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A Prison Without Bars
For Many Prisoners, Their Exclusion From Society Begins Long Before
They Go To Prison
John served a five-year sentence for a sexual offence. In prison, he did all
the therapy courses available to him. On release, he got his own
apartment, began a degree course in university and got a part-time job
delivering pizzas to help pay for it. However, a tabloid newspaper tracked
him down, printed a two-page article, complete with photographs of him
leaving his apartment, delivering pizzas and attending college. He had to
give up his apartment, the pizza company let him go, and he was too
embarrassed to return to college. Prison is a form of social exclusion,
separated from the rest of society, but for many, like John, their exclusion
is not just for the duration of their sentence, but for life. A person, who
has been in jail, faces huge barriers to employment and accommodation.
Society does not allow their crime to be forgotten. Their imprisonment is a
community-sanctioned rejection of them and becomes a permanent,
socially acceptable, devaluation of them as human beings. For many, that
exclusion from society began long before they went to prison. The majority
of prisoners are born into deprived neighbourhoods, characterised by
poverty, chronic unemployment, drug abuse, family disruption, poor and
overcrowded housing, and severely curtailed opportunities for social and
economic advancement. Sadly, most prisoners are resigned to the fact
that, on release, they will return to the same deprived circumstance of
poverty, unemployment and homelessness. As many say, “being out of
prison is the same as being in prison, except there are no bars.”
Ironically, prison for some may be the first period of stability and routine in
their entire life, which permits access to education or training. Prison could
be a time when the chances, that were never offered when they were most
needed, are provided but the opportunities within prison are very limited.
Most people in prison want to do more for themselves but the sense of
exile that they feel, and their sense of hopelessness at what awaits them
on release, may undermine even the few rehabilitative efforts the prison
may offer. There is real public fear of being a victim of crime, and it is
matched by outrage at those who visit that fate on other people. Many
today strive not just for economic security but for prosperity. Our culture
persuades us that we deserve whatever gains we have achieved but
conversely, it tries
to persuade us that others also deserve their failures and, if they happen
to be law breakers, there is precious little room for sympathy to their
plight. The experience of many prisoners leads them to believe that society
doesn’t care. “If society doesn’t care about me, why should I care about
society?” may be the unexpressed resentment of the prisoner. Indeed, it
is not lost on prisoners from deprived backgrounds that prison is the only
public service available to them for which there is no waiting list!
Every prisoner has dreams, desires and hopes like the rest of us, but the
opportunities to pursue those dreams are limited or non-existent. Many
people get involved in crime in order to fulfil those desires which they
cannot fulfil in other ways. Crime appears to open doors that are
otherwise locked, but for the vast majority of prisoners, the underlying
reason for their crime is never addressed. Was it drugs, desire for money,
anger, the ending of pain or sheer desperation? If the reasons are not
addressed, they remain a problem, both for the prisoner and society, no
matter how long the sentence served. The criminal justice system is not
designed to address that problem. It seeks only to answer three
questions: What law was broken? Who broke it? What is the appropriate
punishment?
Every prisoner has enormous potential. A person is not defined by their
crime. Prison officers and chaplains have the responsibility to remind
prisoners that their crime does not take away their humanity, and many
do. We all come to learn who we are through the love and care of others.
It is this belief that we are of value that brings the possibility of
transformation. If prisoners do not experience that while in prison, how
can we expect them to change? (Fr. Peter McVerry Reality April 2022)
Having just read Fr. Peter McVerry’s article, did you feel any desire to read
it again! I, certainly, felt I had to read it a second time. As I often do, I
highlighted some phrases and sentences, because they seemed to merit
another look. Imagine that John, the one released from prison, was your
brother, son etc. Would you feel angry, like me, that the tabloid
newspaper tracked him down, printed the article and photographs of him,
that led to his being sacked from his job and resulted in a situation, where
he was too embarrassed to continue his university course! What a pity
that many of those, who try to change for the better, are stopped from
doing so! Did the journalist and editor of that paper have any regret? (Fr.
Denis O’Mahony)
Seeing your Life through the Lens of the Gospel John Byrne OSA
1. ‘Peace be with you’ was the greeting of Jesus on meeting his
frightened apostles. Who has come to you bringing peace at times
when you were afraid? To whom have you been able to bring
peace?
2. Thomas, doubting and questioning, is possibly a person with whom
we can identify. What positive part have doubting and
questioning played in your life? How have such moments helped
you to know that your life is worthwhile? How have questions and
doubts strengthened your faith?
3. Note the way that Jesus dealt with Thomas. He did not give out
because he doubted. He accepted how he felt and led him along to
see the truth of his resurrection. Who has been that kind of
teacher for you, gently taking you where you were and leading
you to a deeper knowledge of some truth about life? For whom
have you been that kind of teacher?
4. ‘Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believed’. That
requires great trust. During the recent pandemic there were times
when one wondered if we would ever see the end of it. Where did
you find hope as the pandemic continued month after month?
(Intercom April 2022)
Points to Ponder, Intercom Magazine, April 2022.
The natural thing to do, when we are The Presbytery anxious or
threatened, is to hunker down and lock the door, to become focussed on
our own security rather than the risky mission to which we are called. The
promise of this text is that Jesus cannot be stopped by locked doors. Jesus
comes to us as he comes to the first disciples, right in the midst of our fear,
pain, doubt and confusion. He comes, speaking peace and breathing into
our anxious lives the breath of the Holy Spirit. What is more, he keeps
showing up!
As he came back a week later for Thomas, Jesus comes back week after
week among his gathered disciples – in the word, the water, the bread and
the wine – not wanting many to miss out on the life and peace he gives. He
keeps sending us out of our safe, locked rooms, into a world that, like us,
so desperately needs his gifts of peace and love.
==============================
Rathmore Parish
https://www.rathmoreparish.ie/the-wandering-padre/
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
There was a man on the radio the other day being interviewed on a book he had written. Some of it had to do with the relationship between success and happiness and whether one was responsible for the other. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time as I watched people strive for what they thought was success by accumulating more and more money. The problem was, no matter how much they had, it wasn’t enough to make them happy. There are people in this world who are so rich that they could alleviate poverty in most of Africa but they spend their every waking hour trying to increase their already massive bank balances. What is success anyway? It can come in the form of a victory on the track or playing field, the winning of an Oscar but most of us see it as having a good career or making loads of money. Money, as one of my friends said one time, isn’t everything but it is very handy when you go shopping. As long as we have enough to survive and keep ourselves clothed and warm, the material things we crave will not make us ant happier. I remember when I was young I wanted to have a bike of my own. Eventually I got one from my mother who had used it for years and I was happy for a while. I wanted to get a “man’s” bike with a crossbar to look more “manly”. Eventually I got that but then I wanted to get one with a three speed gear. Eventually I got the top of the range, a racing bike with the handlebars turned down and I was on the pig’s back for a while. The novelty soon wore off and I turned my eyes to motorbikes. I started off with a small one but, as with the bicycles, I wanted bigger and better until I got a 650 AJS, the biggest bike on the market at the time. I had the misfortune to crash on that bike at 120 mph and luckily am alive to tell the tale. That ended my fascination with two wheel vehicles and I wanted to get cars. The same pattern ensued, always wanting bigger and more powerful until I realised that it was the dream that was important, not the reality. If you get a new car it is wonderful at first and you think everybody is looking at you with envy but, after a while it is just another vehicle to take you from A to B. Life is like that. Young people today are obsessed with exam success that will give them enough points to get their desired University course in the hope that they will have successful careers. It is great to see that they now have that opportunity, unlike my generation, but getting to the end of that line is not guaranteed to bring happiness. If they are lucky enough to work in a profession they love they will be happy but there are a number of people who are very well paid jobs that they hate. The man who wrote the book said we should ask ourselves what three things we would do differently if we had our lives over again and what three things made us happy. If we think about it carefully, I bet most of us will not mention the accumulation of wealth. Relationships, family and health are where the real success stories lie and we should embrace every opportunity we get to enjoy them. There is so much beauty around in the fields and woods, on the beaches, in the boglands yet we mostly ignore it and fly off to places like the Costa del Sol for our holidays to fry on the beach each day and get drunk in the club at night. In my own case I look on my family as my wealth. I take great delight, and a bit of pride too, in the successes of my children and the love and affection of all the grandchildren. I look forward to their frequent visits and of course they are never far away now with face time on the smart phones. It is also great to visit them in Denmark and America and the fact that myself and Noreen created this family makes us a definite success even if we are not millionaires!
Boris Johnson’s government has decided to send illegal migrants who reach Britain to Rwanda for processing. This is a very cynical way of getting rid of the problem. Their reasoning is that many of those who have risked their lives crossing the seas to reach the country are economic migrants rather than refugees from war zones. Of course there will be a small number who want to get a better life for themselves but the vast majority are genuine refuge seekers who will now be put on a plane and shunted off to Africa. Johnson hopes that after a while they won’t bother coming at all and his objective will be achieved. What a huge difference between what we in Ireland do for those in need and what the British regime do. I wouldn’t expect any better from Boris Johnson, a man who, if he had any shred of decency, would have resigned when he was found out to have lied through his teeth about having parties in 10 Downing Street. He lied to the public in the lead up to Brexit and then shafted a decent woman, Theresa May, who had secured a good deal with Europe but not enough for Boris and his Tory hard liners who still think they rule the world. He lied when he accepted the Protocol on Northern Ireland using it as a delaying tactic and always had the intention of backtracking at a later date. He has been found guilty and fined for breaking his own lockdown rules; any other leader in a democratic state would have resigned but he will hang on to the bitter end. There must be a few level headed members of the Tory party who have to realise that he is gone past becoming a liability and should be told to go. He has brought politics to a new low and will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. He will not be remembered fondly by those unfortunate victims of war throughout the world who now find that in Britain there is no room in the inn.
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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Forgiveness is a Grace
Dr Sheila Cassidy an English born medical doctor who worked in Chile in the 1970s was
imprisoned and tortured for offering medical assistance to an opponent of the Pinochet
government. After her release from prison and when she had returned home she wrote about her
journey of forgiveness. She said “I can only say however justified our hatred, if we cherish it, it
will poison us. Hatred is a devil to be cast out, and we must pray for the power to forgive, for it
is in forgiving our enemies that we are healed.” For most of us our personal journey of
forgiveness is forged in daily living, where petty resentments, old wounds and hurts, if not dealt
with, fester and gnaw, robbing us of joy. Forgiveness is a grace, a blessing of God, the love and
mercy of God poured into our hearts, setting us free from poison and the darkness of resentment.
Lord during this Lent help me to imitate you by living a life of love and witnessing to your
mercy, grace and forgiveness in my daily life
The New Gift
Jesus offers us a radical gift that we do not deserve: forgiveness of sins. However, we must respond to this forgiveness with a renewed effort to live for Christ. As Paul reminds us, a life centered on the crucified Lord will reap greater rewards than anything the world can offer.
Prophetic Prediction
As others plot against him, Jeremiah identifies himself with a lamb being led to slaughter. This echo of Isaiah points forward to Christ, the Lamb of God who emptied himself for us. Through his sacrificial love, Jesus teaches us be lambs in his flock, not prowling lions of the world.
The Just Judge
The story of Susanna and Daniel brings the final judgement to mind. It reminds us that God vindicates the righteous. With this divine justice in mind, let us strive to cling to Christ every day, even through our trials. Only by following him, the light of the world, can we navigate this world that is consumed by the darkness of sin.
The Power of the Cross
As we get closer to Holy Week, the readings focus more on Jesus. In the First Reading, the Israelites are healed by looking upon the raised bronze serpent. Israel is not the only one who has been bitten; all of humanity has been poisoned by the ancient snake, the devil. The only answer to the poison of sin is found in Jesus, who raised upon the Cross, heals us from the sting of death.
Sin's Chains
In the contemporary world, many view the Christian life as restricting. However, as today's Gospel reminds us, sin is what enslaves and belittles us. Abiding in Christ, on the other hand, liberates us. In our Savior, we find the glory and freedom we were made for.
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Carman Deck's execution date for May 3, 2022.
Carman Deck is a person who faced immeasurable violence, abuse, and neglect as a child
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Christ and Covenant
In today's Gospel, Christ promises that those who follow him will not suffer a spiritual death. They will remain in communion with God, the source of all life. When the Jews ask Christ how he can say such things, he reveals his divine identity. He is the I AM, and he fulfills the covenant he made with Abraham, our father in faith.
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
A man died last week who brought joy and happiness to people in rural Ireland for most of the last century. His name was Tom Duffy and he was born in a field, as he said himself, in 1929 while his father was supervising the erection of the Big Top for the Duffy’s Circus performance that day. He learned his trade, as did all his relatives, while growing up with the touring group who visited towns all over the country with the exception of a couple of months in the wintertime. In his early days he performed as a trapeze artist but he was adept at all the disciplines and eventually took over the running of the circus. Back in the last century, at a time when there was no electricity, it was a major feat to come into town in the morning, erect the big top, perform two shows, take it all down again and get ready to move on to the next venue the following morning. At the time, animals played a great part in the circus life and all these had to be fed and cared for as well as the crew who did all the manual work as well as the artistic performers and musicians who supplied the entertainment. They had it down to a fine art and it was a joy to see them go to work. As a young lad I watched them erecting the tent in a field across from where the NCT station is now situated in Abbeyfeale. Large pegs were driven into the ground to hold the stay wires that connected to the poles. I watched as four men hit the peg with four sledge hammers in turn so that it was hit four times while one man swung the hammer. It was synchronised to a fine art and it fascinated me. It created great excitement at school when we first found out that Duffy’s circus was coming to town. In those days we did not have e-mails, messenger, instagram or indeed any of the social media platforms; we didn’t even have phones, so it was usually a big poster that someone saw in a shop in town or news that travelled from the creamery. Anyway we were on high doh waiting for the day to arrive and we saved up our few pennies for the great day. We usually got a half day for the circus and, looking back on it, the teachers did not try to do too much with us that day, there was no point as our minds were on one thing only, the circus. Eventually we were left out and ran home as fast as we could. The journey home that normally took 40 minutes was covered in half that time and we hurried to put on our “Sunday” clothes and make our way to town. People walked, cycled, rode in horses and traps, with a few in cars but there was always a throng of people approaching the field for the matinee. It is hard to describe the atmosphere but there was a sense of excitement in the air and we could hear the music and find the strong smell from the animal enclosures. Eventually we got in and seated ourselves on the wooden seats that surrounded the ring that was the main area of activity. There was an entrance at the back of the tent above which was a platform where the band were situated. They played music that was upbeat and exciting and filled us with anticipation for what was to come. Then Tom Duffy appeared with his red swallow-tailed coat and top hat to introduce the show. From then on we were treated to a feast of performances from acrobats, tumblers, clowns, horses, lions, elephants and tigers. There was also a bucking mule and a challenge was thrown out to the audience for anyone who dared to try and ride it. There was one lady in Abbeyfeale who always took up the challenge and, in hindsight, it was easy to see she was in cahoots with the circus. She was fitted with a safety belt around her waist which was attached to a rope from one of the high poles. When she was thrown from the mule, a man pulled on the rope and she was sent flying through the air displaying her bloomers to all and sundry. Harmless enough but we thought it was great craic. During the show a girl would go through the crowd selling ice cream. This was one of the great things about the circus because this was not the usual penny or two-penny ice cream we got in the shops; this was ice cream in a tub with a little wooden spoon to scoop it out. It had a different taste to all the other ice creams and we scooped up every last bit, even resorting to licking the inside of the tub. All our emotions were challenged from the fear that the man on the flying trapeze would fall to the ground or the lion tamer would be eaten to the happiness the clowns brought with their ridiculous outfits and uproarious behaviour. All too soon it came to an end and we made our way home with our heads full of what we were after experiencing. That was the matinee and there was another show that night after which Tom Duffy and his crew started the huge job of dismantling the big top with all the furnishing, loading them onto wagons ready to roll on to the next town the following morning. The circus experience was special and I will always be grateful to Tom Duffy and his band of performance who brought a bit of magic into our lives when there really wasn’t much to celebrate. May he rest in peace.
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I wonder if the government have found a magic forest with trees that produce an unending supply of banknotes instead of leaves. We have been told that since the great bank collapse there isn’t enough money to build the necessary amount of houses or to pay a proper wage to health professionals who are leaving in their droves for foreign shores where their skills will be suitably rewarded. The big bail-out we got from Europe still has to be paid back yet people have been paid to stay off work for two years, some at a great deal more than they were getting when they were actually at work, due to the Covid pandemic. Millions of vaccines have been purchased and administered at great cost and there has been less money coming in. Despite this lack of money the government decided to give €1,000 to those who operated on the front line and now we hear a proposal to give €100,000 each to families of those same workers who died from contracting Covid while on duty. €200 is going to be paid off every electricity bill in the country, regardless of means and, just a few days ago, there was a reduction on the tax on petrol and diesel of 20 and 15 cents respectively to counteract the rise in oil prices due to the war in Ukraine. There are also redress schemes for those who suffered abuse in state and religious institutes in the middle of the last century. I am not saying any of these are wrong but where is the money coming from? We act as if we are a world power but the truth is, we are a small island off the coast of Europe with a population that would fit into a suburb of most of the major cities in the world. Some of the schemes are not very well thought out. Take the subsidy on oil prices at the pumps. Why have a bigger amount to petrol instead of diesel? It is common knowledge that the number of petrol vehicles on the roads has been declining in recent years while diesel is the fuel of heavy vehicles, commercial and agricultural. A transport company with a fleet of trucks is now faced with astronomical fuel bills which in turn have to be passed on. This will inevitably mean higher prices in the retail outlets driving the cost of living higher still. It would have made more sense to give a higher rate to diesel but then I suppose the Greens wouldn’t like that. The rush to get rid of fossil fuels is foolish as we will be dependent on them for many decades to come. Independent TD, Michael Fitzmaurice, speaking on the radio the other morning, suggested that the bogs should be opened this year, as a temporary measure, so that people would have some form of heating for next winter but a member of the green party was totally against this quoting the danger to the planet. To quote Michael, “it is time to live in the real world, not the dream one”. This is again where we have an exaggerated opinion of our own importance. If we all got rid of our cars, blocked up our chimneys, killed all the cows and reduced our carbon emissions to zero, it would not make the slightest bit of difference as long as China, India, Africa, Russia and the America’s continue to produce fossil fuels and use them for homes and industry. Of course we should be doing our bit but not at any expense and the welfare of our citizens should be our first priority. When the big powers move, we can move with them but, in the meantime we should act in a sensible way in these very turbulent and unpredictable times.
How long more is the world going to stand by and watch Putin destroying Ukraine and committing war crimes against its citizens. I know all the arguments against escalating the war and the dangers of nuclear conflict but he mustn’t be allowed to act with impunity just because that threat is there. I think his bluff should be called. Will he be mad enough to launch a nuclear missile knowing that there would be one coming straight back at himself?
The last time we came close to such a war was in the reign of Cruschev and John Kennedy when there were ships loaded with nuclear missiles on their way to Cuba. Kennedy stood his ground and the Soviets had to turn around and go home. You have to stand up to bullies but I suppose there are mad men everywhere. During that Cuban crisis, a high ranking American general in the Pentagon wanted Kennedy to declare war on the Soviet Union. The President pointed out that millions of people would be killed if he did that to which the general replied that if there were only three people left on the planet as long as two were American it would be a win. Kennedy said: “If that is the case you had better hope that the two Americans are a young man and a woman”. One of the biggest casualties of war is truth. Russia has banned all independent TV and radio stations from broadcasting what they call “fake news”. For example the official line is that Russia is not at war but trying to free the Ukrainian people from Nazis who were put in power by the West. That is what is now being told to the Russian people by the only broadcasters, all owned and operated by the state. They also deny bombing civilian areas and hospitals even though the evidence is plain to be seen. Their latest absurdity is the claim that America is developing chemical warheads in Ukraine. The idea is to use this as an excuse to “defend” Russia by launching their own such attack. There seems to be no trick too low for them to stoop to and the world looks on. At some stage Putin has to be stopped. Sanctions are ok but they take time and the people they really affect are the ordinary citizens of Russia who have no say whatsoever in what is going on in their name. This is obvious in Afghanistan where the people are starving and dying because of the sanctions imposed on the Taliban regime there. Do we really want to make ordinary people suffer for what their rulers have done? The world is in a bad place at the moment and it is difficult to see a way out of it while we have dictators like Putin who put their own ambitions above all else and don’t mind who suffers as long as they achieve what they perceive as their rightful place in history.
From Athea News.
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Retirement
Fr Brendan will be leaving the parish on Easter Sunday after nearly six years with us. We will be sad to see him go and want to wish him the best for the future as he takes up a new position with his own religious congregation in Rockwell College, Co Tipperary. Fr Tony and Fr Denis will be taking over responsibility for the parish from Easter Sunday onwards.
We will be having an extra special mass on Easter Sunday to ‘Thank’ Fr. Brendan for his time with us and will be making a presentation to him on behalf of the parish – however if anyone wishes to make a personal donation to Fr. Brendan you can place your envelope in the offertory box and it will be passed onto him.
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Mar/22
News-29/03/2022
by DomhnallDB under News
The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
“There’s no show like a Joe show” was a slogan used for the great Joe Dolan and I thought of it last week while listening to the Liveline programme RTE radio. The previous day in the Dail saw a heated exchange between Michael Healy Rae and Leo Varadkar concerning the proposed development of a gas terminal in the Tarbert/Ballylongford area. They both were accused of looking down their nose at each other, Leo Varadkar stating that, just because he spoke with a different accent, was middleclass and came from Dublin, did not mean that he did not understand the people of Ireland. Michael Healy Rae took exception to the fact that Leo said he might not have understood what was said and eventually he said “off with you now with the airy-fairies an see how far that will get you”. Leo said it was not a nice thing to say and asked him to contemplate on it overnight and comment on it the following day. Joe Duffy then rang Michael Healy Rae and had him on Liveline where he tried every trick he knew to get Michael to admit to some type of homophobia. He asked him if he had ever attended a gay rights gathering and if he approved of gay marriage and even asked him how he voted in the same sex marriage referendum. This, to my mind, was taking it a bit too far. How a person votes is a private matter and is not an indication of their overall thinking. Many people who might have been inclined to vote yes in that referendum did not do so for religious reasons because the Catholic teaching is that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. I voted yes myself, even though I had reservations but I felt that those who were already committed to each other and in loving relationships deserved the rights and protections that marriage would bring them. Live and let live is my motto and Michael Healy Rae said the same thing. Joe Duffy continually shouted him down and would not let him finish a point but he held his own and, to my mind, came out of the debate much better than Joe did. The crux of the matter was the use of the word “air-fairy”. I looked it up and it means “fanciful and unrealistic” but because the word “fairy” is sometimes used to describe homosexuals Joe Duffy had his mind made up that Michael Healy Rae was alluding to Leo Varadkar’s homosexuality which I don’t think he was. The word “fairy” has always been used in this neck of the woods to describe a naughty or mischievous child. I remember my own mother calling the cat a “right little fairy” and I’m certain she wasn’t referring to its sexuality! “Away with the fairies” was another well used expression to describe a person with daft notions but now, any mention of fairy will be taken as an insult. Liveline is a great programme and has been instrumental in exposing wrongdoing and injustice over the years. Marion Finucane was at the helm for many years and was very good at dealing with callers. She acted as an impartial referee and let the public have a fair debate. Joe Duffy seems to want to push his own ideas and he can be quite rude to people he doesn’t agree with. He can also be sickeningly condescending at times and in general it has become the Joe Duffy show rather than Liveline. He has the ability to do great service to the public but acting like he did with Michael Healy Rae may put would-be callers off fearing they might be subjected to the same abuse. I hope Joe learns a lesson from the encounter and acts in a more professional manner in future.
Last week I wrote about the circus and I thought of a joke the late great Paddy Fallon used to tell when he was with us on tour. It went like this: The circus came to town and both the shows went well. In the middle of the night an elephant escaped from his enclosure and wandered out of town. Tom and Mary Murphy lived nearby and as it was the middle of Summer and they had a small farm they were early risers. Mary got up first and looked out the upstairs window. “Tom, Tom” she shouted, come here”. “What’s wrong with you woman”, he said. “There’s the quarest looking yoke you ever saw outside in the vegetable garden”. “What’s he doing there” said Tom. I’ll tell you”, she replied, “he’s picking up cabbages with his tail and I’d hate to tell you where he’s stuffing them!”
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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By Carrig Side-29/03/2022
by DomhnallDB under By Carrig Side
By Tom Aherne
Since Saturday, March 19, Cahermoyle House, Ardagh is home to over 90 Ukrainian refugees. The historical house belonged to the O’Brien family and William Smith O’Brien was a former Irish nationalist MP and leader of the Young Ireland movement. The present building dates from the 1870s and is surrounded by over 40 acres of grass land. The 30-bedroom house was lastly a nursing home, and the present owners are from Cork (caretakers in place) and have big plans for its future.
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This Friday is April 1st. – FOOLS DAY. What fun we used to have in days gone by fooling each other with Lies and Pranks. It’s one day I won’t forget in a hurry, it was the day my daughter Michelle was born. No one at home called on our great neighbour God rest her Peg O’ Connor who went down for Bill Casey to transport me to hospital. Bill was doing Hackney at the time. Bill wouldn’t come the first time he thought being Fools Day it was a joke-it was far from it. After a 2nd trip down he came and off we went with nurse Jane Desmond at the Helm and me in a state. Had to divert on the road to Limerick knew we wouldn’t make Limerick, was carried in to St Itas in Newcastle by 2 elderly men in a chair where nurse Bernie Ambrose, nee Stack, from Athea delivered a bouncing baby – talking of mortification on my part, that is my lifelong memory of Fools Day – anyway thank you Bill Casey I am indebted to you.
By Kathleen Mullane- 29 March 2022 Notes
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The Presbytery, Abbeydorney. (066 7135146)
abbeydorney@dioceseofkerry.ie
20th February 2022, 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Dear Parishioner,
Sometimes, I try to ask myself challenging questions.
What kind of questions might they be?
How would I feel, if I found I had only a few weeks to live?
How would I feel if somebody spread a false story about me?
On a less serious level, ‘How would I feel if I met a crowd at the door of
Abbeydorney Church on a Sunday morning, holding placards saying, Stop
printing Dear Parishioner. Most of what is in it does not concern us.’ I am
not afraid that this will happen but I ask myself, now and then, ‘I wonder
do those who read ‘Dear Parishioner’ feel that articles about people and
places other than Ireland, will be of little interest to them! I would like to
feel that this is not the case. This week, you have a chance to read about
an Irish priest, Fr. Eamon Gowing, a native of County Laois, who has spent
the most part of 50 years, working as a missionary priest in Brazil, South
America. I feel that the answers given by him to the two questions from
Anne Staunton and Pat O’Sullivan have a relevance to our lives.
I think I have said, before now, that one of my favourite programmes on
RTE 1 TV is Nationwide, shown at 7 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays. I see it fairly often on Mondays and Wednesdays but miss it on
Fridays, because I celebrate Mass every Friday (except the First Friday) in
Ballyheigue at 7.30 p.m. Not every programme might interest me but
many of the programmes show activities and projects undertaken by urban
and rural communities, small groups of people and even one or two peo-
ple. I am always impressed when I hear about or see a programme telling
how a particular project started in a small way because of a felt need.
One person might have thought of an idea, shared it with somebody else
(Two heads are better than one.) and, after a bit of research etc. something
small is started and, contrary to the expectation of the originator of it, it
gets off the ground.
The final sentence in the response to the first question is: ‘When the
Oxfam project ended, all four team members continued their involvement
in community activities voluntarily.’
The final sentence.........the second question is: Women for Amnesty grew
in importance nationally and was a decisive factor in the final defeat of
the dictatorship. (Fr. Denis O’Mahony)
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Poor Church For The Poor
Redemptorist Fr Eamon Gowing From County Laois Has Spent Almost 50
Years Living Among The Poor Of Brazil.
It has been, he says, ‘An Incredible Privilege’
Interview: Anne Staunton and Pat O'Sullivan
In the early 1970s, in Sao Raimundo Parish in Fortaleza, a team of lay-
women and laymen with you in the parish. Tell us about their work.
My first assignment in Brazil was to the parish of St Raimundo in Fortaleza.
I was given charge of Bela Vista, the poorest area of the parish. At that
time, Bela Vista was a shantytown of unpaved streets, improvised shacks
and no sanitation. Beside my priestly work (my first Masses were said un-
der a mango tree), I began organising the people to look for ways to im-
prove their living conditions and fight for their rights. One of my earliest
memories is of inviting the mayor to visit the community. It was the rainy
season, and the streets were a sea of mud. I had great satisfaction in
meeting him at the entrance to the neighbourhood and telling him he
would have to leave his car there and walk the rest of the way, which he
did, trudging through muck almost up to his knees. A problem aired at
most of the community meetings was the number of children not going to
school. We decided to set up a little school with young people from the
community as volunteer teachers.
The project went well, and a visiting Oxfam representative was duly im-
pressed. He suggested setting up a team of young people to work full-
time in developing the community. Two of the volunteer teachers were
selected, and later on, two young men involved in community activities
were added. The team surveyed the community and found that inade-
quate housing and lack of health services were the most urgent needs.
Housing: In looking around for ways to help, we discovered that a Redemp-
torist brother, in a neighbouring state, had invented a system for making
cement blocks that were much cheaper than the regular blocks on the
market. Basically, he used less cement and vibrated the mixture, which
produced a block slightly weaker than the regulation block but adequate
for simple, one-storey houses. The team received a grant from Oxfam and
set up the system in the community. Poor families could come at any time
of the day or night to make blocks. For every 1,000 blocks made, 800 were
theirs, and 200 were retained by the project and sold to restock cement
and sand. In this way, a considerable number of families improved their
houses, which gradually changed the appearance of the neighbourhood.
Basic medical services: A chance meeting with a professor at the medical
department of the local university resulted in her bringing medical students
under her supervision to attend the community. So now, the poor had ac-
cess to basic medical care. A later development was the setting up of a
nutrition centre. The professor was struck by the large number of mal-
nourished children in the community. With the help of the team and a
grant from Oxfam, she set up a nutrition centre to help recuperate the
most severely malnourished children. This centre undoubtedly saved the
lives of many children and gave many more the chance of a healthy future.
During a period of five years, the team developed many other activities,
such as adult literacy classes, vaccination campaigns, training courses for
electricians, plumbers, and so on. When the Oxfam project ended, all four
team members continued their involvement in community activities.
Do you still remember the night in 1976 when you celebrated a prayer
vigil for the families of political prisoners in St Raimundo church while the
federal police were driving around the church with all sirens blazing? Can
you paint of picture of what it was like and why you were supporting
Women for Amnesty in a dictatorship?
Late one September night in 1976, a group of women appeared on the
doorstep of the parish house in Fortaleza. They were members of a recent-
ly formed organisation, ‘Women for Amnesty’, and were asking permission
to hold a prayer vigil in our church. This would not have been problematic
in normal circumstances, but of course, the circumstances were anything
but normal. The military dictatorship (1964–85) was in full swing, and any
sign of opposition was brutally repressed, with arbitrary arrests, torture,
assassinations, and 'disappearances.' ‘Women for Amnesty’ was one of the
first signs of organised civil opposition in Fortaleza. Their leader, Nildes
Alencar, was a teacher and sister of Frei Tito OP, who was in jail for or-
ganising an underground escape route for political activists on the run. As
it was a women's organisation, there was a guarantee of a little more tol-
erance on the part of the regime but the only way they could organise a
public meeting was under the protection of the church. Hence the pro-
posal of a prayer vigil. (Continued on back page.)
This proposal posed quite a challenge for our Redemptorist community
(Frs. James Duggan, Pat O'Sullivan and myself). The women told us that
several of the city's more central churches had turned them down for fear
of reprisal and we, as foreigners, would be particularly vulnerable. We
withdrew to think and pray about it and decided to give it our support. The
atmosphere throughout the vigil was very tense. Police cars were passing
by with sirens blazing at full blast. At some stage, two men joined the vigil
– obviously very out of place – and whispered alerts were passed around
asking us to be careful about what was said as the men were believed to be
taping the proceedings but, fortunately, the vigil passed off without inci-
dent. For some time afterwards we walked about and lived in fear of re-
prisals, but luckily there were no serious consequences. ‘Women for Am-
nesty’ grew in importance nationally and was a major factor in the final
defeat of the dictatorship.
Seeing your Life through the Lens of the Gospel John Byrne osa
1. Our natural tendency when attacked is to self-protection and when we
are attacked, we attack back. We respond to an angry word with another,
or to a blow by hitting back. Here Jesus suggests that at times there may be
another way to act. What has been your experience of retaliation? Has it
been life-giving? Have you experience of another way of acting?
2. When we do good to another, it can sometimes be in return for what
we have received. At other times it can be done in the hope of getting
something back. Or we may do it simply for the sake of doing good without
any strings attached. Jesus suggests that this is when we are at our best.
Recall your experience of these different ways of giving and celebrate the
occasions when you gave without expectation of return.
3. Jesus proposes the generosity of God as a model for our generosity, and
says that the generous will be rewarded. Perhaps you have experienced
rewards, even in this life, from generous behaviour.
Intercom February 2022
What can’t be loved has no existence. The only mistake and misfortune in
the world is the failure to love. (George Bernanos)
If there was nothing wrong in the world, there would be nothing for us to
do. (George Bernard Shaw - Both pieces in Reality, Jan/Feb 2022)
=======================================
Thou, Not I
The readings today are all about confidence. Today, we often think about confidence as being self-assured. Both St. James and the Psalmist, however, remind us that true confidence comes from living according to God's law and trusting in providence.
The Divine Outlook
The divine perspective teaches us that those who give are truly blessed as today’s readings speak about the dangers of hoarding our wealth. The Scriptures tell us that our money does not go with us to the grave. However, Jesus tells us that what we give does go with us when we die. Consider what you have and what you have given.
A Compassionate God
Today, the Psalmist proclaims that the kindness of the Lord is far vaster than the cosmos. In other words, our sinfulness is never bigger than God's mercy. This praise is echoed by St. James, who reminds to persevere in our relationship with our compassionate Father.
=================================
Moved with Pity
A good king is someone who is wise. Solomon, striving to be a good king, asks God for wisdom so that he might govern his people well with an understanding heart. The True King, Jesus, is moved with pity at the sight of the crowds. In response, Jesus teaches them the ways of God. Emulating Jesus’ response of love, teach those around you the truth of who God is.
Duc in Altum
In the First Reading, God brings Isaiah up to the heavenly temple and then sends him as a messenger to Israel. Then, in the Gospel, we find the calling of St. Peter. Like Isaiah, Peter is also brought into the presence of God—but in Jesus Christ—and sent to proclaim the Gospel. In these two readings, the Sacred Scriptures depict what it means to be called by God.
God with Us
Throughout salvation history, God has made himself present to his people. In the Old Testament, God dwelt in the Arc of the Covenant and the Temple. In the New Testament, he visited his people in the person of Jesus. He has not abandoned his Church; he is still present to his people today in and through the sacraments.
The Glory of God
Today’s readings explore the theme of the Temple. As wonderful and majestic as the Temple is, the sacred writers point us toward a more beautiful reality in their musings on the Temple, God himself. Be like the sacred authors today, reflecting on God’s splendor and beauty.
The Power of Scripture
King Solomon, known for his incredible wisdom, serves as a model for which we should strive after. The wisdom he had is not something out of our reach. Rather, as the Psalmist tells us, by studying God’s word and law, we too will grow in both contemplative and practical wisdom.
You can stay informed and educated with the latest news and truth on abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide and the culture of death.
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Our Need for God
The First Reading today tells us that Solomon gradually drifted from the Lord. As a result, Solomon fell victim to sin and division. Contrary to Solomon, the Syrophoenician woman in the Gospel draws near to the Lord, approaching him with a humble heart.
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Using Blessings for God's Glory
King Solomon took God's blessings and used them in many selfish ways. This abuse of power brought about division, just as Abijah prophesied. This same series of events is observable in more recent times. The Reformation can be seen as a result of sinfulness within the Church.
=======================
St. Brigid’s Blessing
May Brigid bless the house wherein you dwell
Bless every fireside every wall and door
Bless every heart that beats beneath its roof
Bless every hand that toils to bring it joy
Bless every foot that walks its portals through
May Brigid bless the house that shelters you.
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St Brigid – Feast Day: 1st February. Saint Brigid is the Secondary Patron of Ireland
and is renowned for her hospitality, almsgiving and care of the sick. She was born c
454 AD in Faughart near Dundalk, Co Louth. When she was young her father wished
to make a very suitable marriage for her but she insisted in consecrating her virginity
to God. She received the veil and spiritual formation probably from Saint Mel and
stayed for a period under his direction in Ardagh. Others followed her example and
this led her to found a double monastery in Kildare with the assistance of Bishop
Conleth. The tradition is that when Brigid approached a local chieftain in Kildare
looking for a piece of land on which she would build a monastery he refused her.
She then asked him if he would give her as much land as her cloak covered. He had
no problem with this and more or less laughed at her as she placed her cloak on the
ground. However, miraculously, her cloak expanded to cover a huge area! The
chieftain was a man of his word and gave her this land – enough for a double
monastery! The Saint Brigid’s Cross, in legend used by Brigid to explain the Christian
faith, remains a popular sign of God’s protection. The tradition regarding the Saint
Brigid’s Cross comes from the story that she was at the bedside of a pagan chieftain
who was dying. To pass the time she started to make a cross from the rushes on the
ground of the room where the chieftain and herself were. When he asked her what
she was doing, she replied that she was making a cross and explained how Jesus
died on a cross before rising from the dead and thereby saved the human race.
When he heard this, the pagan chieftain decided to become a Christian before he
died. Saint Brigid died in 524 AD and devotion to her is widespread not only
throughout Ireland but throughout the world.
---------------------------------
ST BRIGID'S DAY
St. Brigid's Day, 1st February, marks the beginning of Spring, a season of
light and hope. The history of St. Brigid's Cross lies in the story that St.
Brigid was once nursing a non-Christian Chieftain who was dying. As she
sat by his bedside she picked some rushes off of the floor and begin to
plait them. She made a cross and used it to explain Christ's passion and
death. Before dying the Chieftain became a follower of Jesus Christ.
St. Brigid, pray for us.
WHAT I NEED
I need strength to keep me true and straight in everything I do;
I need power to keep me strong, when I am tempted to do wrong;
I need a grace to keep me pure, when passion tries its deadly lure;
I need love to keep me sweet, when hardness and mistrust I meet;
I need an arm to be my stay, when dark with trouble grows my day;
And naught on earth can there afford, but all is found in Christ my Lord.
============================
Reflection
Grant O Lord, that each day
before we enter the little death of sleep,
we may undergo the little judgement of the past day,
so that every wrong deed may be forgiven
and every unholy thought set right.
Let nothing go down into the depths of our being,
which has not been forgiven and sanctified.
Then we shall be ready
for our final birth into eternity
and look forward with love and hope
to standing before you,
who art both judge and saviour,
holy judge and loving saviour.
Everyday Excellence
While on the run, David relied on the Lord and showed greatness of heart. However, as David's earthly might increased, he became idle. His eyes began to turn toward temptation. Learning from David's mistake, let us always focus on growing in the spiritual life and working well in our daily lives!
Everyday Excellence
While on the run, David relied on the Lord and showed greatness of heart. However, as David's earthly might increased, he became idle. His eyes began to turn toward temptation. Learning from David's mistake, let us always focus on growing in the spiritual life and working well in our daily lives!
=========================
Seeing your life through the lens of the Gospel 24 October 2021 • World Mission Sunday
1. In this story Jesus cures the blind man, Bartimaeus. Recovery of sight in the Bible is often a
metaphor for coming to faith. Perhaps during your life, you have had moments of insight, of deeper
understanding, of appreciating who Jesus is for you. What was it that helped you to see more
clearly?
2. Who has the ‘Jesus person’ who helped you to see more clearly? Perhaps, as a parent, a teacher,
or a friend, you have also been a ‘Jesus person’ for another and helped her or him to a clearer
understanding of the meaning of life, love, and faith.
3. To get to Jesus, Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak so that he would not be impeded. What have
you had to discard to be able to see more clearly (e.g., an assumption, a prejudice, a rigid opinion)?
4. ‘Your faith has saved you’ Jesus said to Bartimaeus. Recall situations in which you have been
grateful for the faith that is yours because in some way it saved you.
SPIDERS:
we could ascribe spider lives with value based on rational calculations – such as their function within an ecosystem. So we could try reminding ourselves that arachnids kill around 400-800 million tons (363-726 tonnes) of prey each year, and in doing so help to keep certain insect populations in check, including those that cause disease in humans.
Alternatively, we could avoid killing spiders because of their abilities and biology – arming ourselves with facts about the ingenuity of their brains, which are capable of remarkably complex decision-making, though they're tens of thousands of times smaller than those of mammals.
But there's also another way.
"I think people assume that some forms of life are worth more than others... but they don't think about it. They don't ask themselves those questions," says Geraldine Wrigh
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Recognising Jesus
The disciples have spent some time now with Jesus. The time has come to declare clearly: Who are they following? What is it that they find in Jesus? What do they grasp of his life, his message and his project? Ever since they’ve joined him, they go about questioning his identity. What surprises them most is the authority with which he speaks, the power with which he heals the sick, and the love with which he offers God’s forgiveness to sinners. Who is this man in whom they feel God so present and so close as a friend of life and of forgiveness?
Among the people who haven’t been walking with him, there are all kinds of rumours; but Jesus is more interested in his disciples’ position: “But you, who do you say I am?”. It’s not enough that among them are various opinions, some more and some less certain. What is fundamental is that they who have committed themselves recognise the mystery of Christ’s life. If they don’t, who will keep his message alive? But the question is also vital for his disciples.
It radically affects them. It’s not possible to follow Jesus in an unconscious and casual manner. They have to know him all the more deeply. Peter, recalling the experiences that they have shared with him up to this point, answers in the name of all of them: “You are the Christ”. Peter’s confession is still limited. The disciples don’t yet know about Jesus’ crucifixion at the hands of his enemies. They can’t even suspect that he’ll be raised up by the Father as the Beloved Son. They don’t have any experience that lets them grasp all that is enfolded in Jesus. They just follow him closely, gradually discovering this with growing faith.
------------------------------
SEASON OF CREATION : On Thursday 16th of Sept, the Diocese of
Kerry Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee invite you to
‘Restoring Our Common Home... Webinar, Caring for God’s Creatures’
as part of Season of Creation 2021. To register for this free hour-long
webinar please log on to www.dioceseofkerry.ie
Leaflets titled “Cultivating Hope: Caring for God’s Creatures, Restoring
our Common Home” have been prepared for the Season of Creation and
are available at the Church doors. It looks at the areas of biodiversity, the
gift of food, plastic pollution, the climate crisis, and ideas for home, parish
and community.
This is an appropriate time to look again at Pope Francis’ encyclical
“Laudato Si” on the care of God’s gift of creation. Here are some quotes
from the papal encyclical (the full text is available online):
• “I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care
for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and
authentically.” (Paragraph 10)
• “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after
us, to children who are now growing up? This question not only
concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be
approached piecemeal.” (Paragraph 160)
• “Saint Therese of Lisieux invites us to practise the little way of love,
not to miss out on a kind word, a smile or any small gesture which
sows peace and friendship. An integral ecology is also made up of
simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence,
exploitation and selfishness.” (Paragraph 230)
• “When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor
person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities – to offer just a
few examples – it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself;
everything is connected.” (Paragraph 117)
That is the template for our own following of Christ. At no time do we possess the full story of Christ or experience the full depth of his presence. This gradually comes to us with life’s experiences.
But first, we must recognise Jesus as ‘The Christ
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
Can anyone explain to me what is happening with our water supply? We live in a country that is surrounded by water, has hundreds of lakes and miles and miles of rivers that are constantly filled with all the rain that tumbles from our skies, sometimes day after day. One would think that the last thing we should be short of is water but, hey, four or five days of constant sunshine and suddenly there are water shortages leaving my neighbours with no means of washing, showering or flushing toilets. I am one of the lucky ones because, as well as being tapped into the mains supply, I have my own water source. I discovered it by accident when I was in the process of building my house. At the bottom of the garden, behind the house, a stream runs along the boundary fence. I decided to build a trough for water, by the stream, which would feed into it, to supply enough for washing and flushing toilets. I had a JCB at the time and Noreen’s father, Jack Hannon R.I.P., was directing operations. When he thought we had enough room to build the trough, he said “take one more bucket so that we will be able to stand outside the wall”. As I did so a great gush of water burst up through the ground. He shouted to me that I should cap it straight away as it was spring, which I duly did. We built the trough and let it settle. Eventually, my mother and myself got a concrete pipe and pushed it into the ground over the spring. As the water started to rise, we plastered mud around the pipe until eventually the water rose high enough to be transported by a short 2” pipe into the trough which took a couple of days to fill up. Now I had a fine supply of the best spring water you could find anywhere. It was sheer luck but am I glad it happened. In recent years I have added a filtering system and a light that zaps all harmful bacteria It is serviced yearly at a cost of €140, money well spent.
To get back to the problem, we have seen a lot of money spent on Irish Water over the past few years and were given guarantees that we would have a state of the art system. If they had their way we would all be paying through the meters they installed throughout the country. It took the people of Dublin to put a stop to their gallop and, as we all know, Dublin rule the roost. As one wise man once said “Ireland finishes at the Red Cow”. Consultants were paid millions to set up Irish Water which took over from the local authorities. They are pouring money into replacing pipes that are obsolete and they are only playing catch-up because more than half the water is being lost into the ground. Maybe it is a bit unfair to blame them because the problem has been kicked down the road for decades and not enough was invested in upgrading the system. How do they fare out in countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, etc where they have constant sunshine for most of the summer yet they are able to fill their pools, water their lawns and use as much as they like without restrictions?. Can we learn something from these countries or will we set up another committee who will hire more consultants to eventually tell us what we already know. The system is broken, let us fix it. Plans are already afoot to pipe water from the Shannon to Dublin and this will solve one problem but it will not stop places like Athea and Abbeyfeale running dry in a week. Water is the most vital commodity we have and should be available to everyone who wants it. I don’t agree with those who think it should be free to all – I don’t mind paying for a service if it is properly delivered and if it needs investment, the money has to come from somewhere. I think we should adopt something like the system they have in the North of Ireland. Each household pays a services charge which includes water, bin collection and property tax. Down here we have to deal with private bin collectors who can charge what they like to make a weekly collection. We still have to pay property tax but we get nothing in return – welcome to Ireland! It is time to alert our politicians that they represent us and we will have the power at the next election. At the moment, both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are running scared of Sinn Féin who are steadily gaining in the polls. If they cannot give us the basics, like constant running water, then may it is time to give Sinn Féin a go or any other party who will at least try keep some of their promises.
I am not a stickler for detail and I don’t claim to be an expert on the English language but, there are some things that annoy me when I hear them on the airwaves. One of them is the use of the word “first” by sports commentators both in Gaelic Games and others. As soon as somebody scores in a match the commentator will say something like, that is so-and-so with the first score. This is grammatically incorrect as it cannot be the first score until a second one has been recorded. First, second, third etc are all relative to each other and none of them can stand alone. Ger Canning, veteran commentator on GAA matches, has a habit of saying “that is his first ever goal in championship football or hurling. Now, if it is his first then, that’s it, the “ever” is superfluous and has no meaning. Some soccer commentators will make up a sentence like “they are doing all the pressing in this half, Arsenal”. I know I am being picky but we should expect more from people who are paid big bucks to get it right. Here endeth the lesson!
If the recent heat wave taught us anything, it is that we are extremely lucky to have a fairly mild climate in this country. We are not used to the high temperatures we experienced so imagine what it would be like having it for the whole summer. I found it very difficult to sleep at night and walk for any length of time and trying to do any kind of physical work was exhausting so I was glad to see a reduction even if it meant the rain was back. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy the sunshine as much as anyone but just a few degrees cooler would be nice. Can’t please us all I suppose.
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
I recently wrote about the dangers of making assumptions, but little did I know I would fall foul of it myself so soon after writing the article. Last week we published a photograph of the cartwheel at the Community Hall lying on the stone in bits. It had been put there by John O’Halloran when he was supervisor of the then FAS Scheme and had been in bad repair. The Community Council had plans to replace it so when I saw it, I assumed, wrongly, that it had been vandalised. The Tidy Towns Committee also have plans and they were in the process of removing it so, I got it wrong, and I apologise for that. I am glad that it wasn’t vandalised because that would mean we had a problem with some people in Athea so, happy days!
I often wonder if we aren’t losing the run of ourselves like what happened at the time of the big boom before the bank collapse. Everything seems to be getting more expensive nowadays, especially the cost of accommodation. I know that the hotels and B&Bs have had a lean time over the past year and a half but that does not excuse the huge hike in costs they are foisting on people who have decided to holiday at home. It depends on where you want to go. There is still good value out there but stay away from the well-known destinations, especially along the Wild Atlantic Way. If people are prepared to pay whatever is necessary, there will be no change. On that topic, I could not believe my ears, while listening to the news the other night, to learn about the existence of a “super loo” in Clifden, Connemara. This is a privately owned enterprise that charges €3.50 to pay a visit and €15 if you want to have a shower. It is well looked after and cleaned after every visit but who, in their right mind, would pay that much to either use the loo or take a shower. Suppose a family of four, visiting the area needed to go, it would set them back €14 without a shower. I thought the local authorities had a duty to supply public toilets and look after them. I remember, long ago, it cost one penny to gain entry to a toilet at railway stations and other public places, hence the term “going to spend a penny”. Those days are long gone and all toilet facilities at railway stations, airports etc are free. Public toilets in towns and cities are not as easily found as they used to be. There are a couple of reasons for that. When they were available, people did not appreciate them and look after them properly and they were also a Mecca for drug addicts and pushers. There is however a need to cater for the public, especially during the holiday period when they may find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings.
I heard an expression the other day, “we muddled through”. It is a great word and a perfect description of what most of us do throughout our lives. The beginning of life is not too bad and we are looked after by our parents and teachers until we reach the age of puberty. Now all of a sudden our cosy little world is turned upside down by conflicting emotions, sometimes adult, sometimes childish, that drain our confidence. Nobody understands us and we are unsure of how we are going to get through this phase in our life but, we muddle through and eventually we enter the adult world, or so we think anyway. Next comes relationships. Unlike my time long ago, children know a lot more about physical relationships today but nothing prepares you for your first love affair. Despite all you have been told and seen in films and TV, you think you are the only one in the world to feel like this. Most first loves end in disappointment and heartache and we are left feeling rejected and unworthy of being the object of someone’s affection but somehow we recover, get back into the game and, yes, we muddle through. Then there is marriage. When you have found the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, the future looks rosy but, there is an old saying; “if you want to know me come and live with me”. That person you’re madly in love with and seems so perfect may have annoying little personal habits that drive you to distraction. You, of course, put up with them because you do not want to do anything that would hurt or upset until one day you come to realise that maybe you have some habits yourself that may be annoying your partner. Nobody is perfect and it is in accepting each others faults that we learn to live together. It may not be easy but we muddle through. Then, if we are lucky, the children come along. You can prepare all you want for the arrival of the first baby but nothing else in your life will make such a monumental change. The baby takes over the house and needs constant attention. You worry if it is too hot or too cold, if it is eating enough, getting enough sleep, if it is crying for no apparent reason and all the time you are not getting enough sleep or rest yourself. That baby is your whole life and though, at times, you are completely lost as to what to do, you muddle through. The children eventually grow up and everything is ok until they become teenagers. Now, all of a sudden, you know nothing, in their eyes, and your only function in life is to stop them enjoying themselves. You try to shield them from making the same mistakes that you did at that age but you are now dealing with moody indifference and it is an ongoing battle. Nobody knows exactly how to deal with this phase in life but , in the end, we muddle through. It now gets easier as you watch them getting married and having their own kids. Now your muddling days are over and you are full of advice on how to deal with all problems. You have been there and done that, bought the t-shirt, as it were. You can now spoil the grandchildren and hand them back to their parents full of fizzy drinks and sweets. There might yet, though, be a bit of muddling to be done. Now the end is approaching and we don’t really know what, if anything is facing us on the other side. Some believe in a life in Heaven, or even Hell, while others believe that we are reincarnated and will return in a different state. There are all kinds of beliefs and none at all so, at the very end, we will just have to MUDDLE THROUGH.
From Athea News
https://www.athea.ie/category/news/
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The Presbytery, Abbeydorney. (064 6632912)abbeydorney@dioceseofkerry.ie13thSunday in Ordinary Time, 27thJune 2021.Dear Parishioner, I wonder do you remember the name of the book that I wrote about two weeks ago -‘The World’s Best Catholics’-the result of a lot of interviews and research done by the Irish Times German correspondent, Derek Scally. When I looked through the piece on the front of ‘Dear Parishioner’, I saw that there was one sentence that did not make sense because a word had been left out and one phrase included twice. Just in case you kept that D.P., the sentence was the last one in the first half of the page. It should have read ‘Of course, the two countries have vastly different experiences of religious institutions and faith. ’I haven’t got to the end of the book yet but I would like to include a little bit from a chapter entitled ‘Stopping the Sacred Heart’. The opening sentence of the chapter gives a clue as to how the book title was chosen. ‘Once upon a time, Ireland went to great effort –particularly in Rome –to present itself as ‘the most Catholic country in the world’. Later, Scally writes ‘Some still talk of the strength of the faith in a vanished Ireland, but I hear little reflection today on what that faith meant either then or now. Religion was never discussed in my home when I was growing up, let alone personal faith. Like many families of a particular era, Sunday Mass was a given –at least until we were teenagers –but there was no practice within our four walls. Things were different in rural Ireland but my parents, who moved to Dublin in the 1960s, seemed happy to have left the Angelus and the family rosary behind them. At some time in the last forty years, a quiet shift began. Collectively, quietly, Ireland took down its Sacred Heart pictures, papal marriage blessings and holy water fonts –and kept them down. Frequent attendance at ‘devotions’ shifted to the duty Mass on a Saturday night or a Sunday morning, which in turn became a monthly excursion to the church. Such private gestures were part of a more significant secularising transition: realising that many of your neighbours were, as you were, simply going through the motions was freeing. Eventually people believed that, in their unbelief, they were now in the majority, were able to walk away without much thought –or social cost. ‘As I have done on many occasions before now, I would love if readers might write a short comment on what Derek Scally has written. Like me, you might have found yourself agreeing with some of what he has written but not with all (e.g. taking down papal blessings etc.)
Fr. Denis O’ Mahony
Trócaire Partners Respond To The Covid Crisis (David O’Hare - Trócaire's support has made a tremendous difference to people in countries like Ethiopia and Kenya during this uniquely challenging time. Over the last year, Trócaire and the partner organisations, the agency works with in the developing world, have been adapting programmes to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the additional challenges the pandemic has created for people. Two examples of this adaptation and the difference it has made to people's lives can be seen in Ethiopia and Kenya. For 23-year-old Wubit Abelo, whose family of three has been hit hard by pandemic restrictions in Ethiopia, support for an innovative mask-making project is beginning to offer a glimmer of hope for the future. When coronavirus reached Ethiopia, Wubit began to despair. Access to basic household items was reduced, transport shut down and the ability to buy and sell changed dramatically as local markets closed. Wubit lived in fear of the health risks to her three-year-old son Anania and what might happen if her family was left with no income. There is no government support for them, but in this time of worry came an un-expected opportunity. A market that was previously unavailable –mask-making –plus training and sewing machines to use, gave Wubit and her family a glimmer of hope. For the past five months, the TLH mask-making project has become a modest but vital source of income to Wubit. Scared: Like so many around the world, Wubit is scared that Covid 19 will prevent her from living her life to its fullest and while she can't afford a sewing machine of her own (in Ethiopia, they cost around €600 each), her dreams are firmly set: to have her own business making cultural dresses by her own hand, to make sure her son can have a good education and to provide for her family. Wubit knows she has the chance to be part of the TLH project because of the generosity of Trócaire's sup-porters, and she's very thankful for that fact. Meanwhile, in Kenya, a Trócaire partner is giving hope to other women and girls. LVCT Health had been working with Trócaire to educate girls and ensure they were able to attend school. When the Covid pandemic hit, they were quickly able to transition that project. Dr Lilian Otiso is the CEO of LVCT Health. "I think the key lesson is that whenever restrictions on movement are put in place, we have to think of the most vulnerable, the most marginalised, so that we're coming up with approaches that really meet their needs," she says. "I remember hearing a lot about should I spend money
on buying a mask or buying food? People are starving. So, as you're giving instructions like ‘buy masks’ or ‘do hand washing’, we have to recognise that people may not be able to afford that. "We responded to the pandemic in different ways. We sustained the HIV and gender-based violence services that we were providing. We provided community education on COVID-19 through our one-to-one toll-free hotline and bulk SMS messages. We also trained and retrained peer educators and community health workers to be the frontline to reach community members and give psycho-social support for the health workers who we knew were facing huge challenges. We also used some of our resources to provide basic nutrition support because people could not afford to buy food or could not get access to care. This went along-side ensuring that those facing gender-based violence actually got services and the HIV clients were able to get their medical supplies delivered to them or find a way of gaining access to the services.” Help With Education" We already had 560 vulnerable girls in the Trócaire-funded Imara project, and when schools were closed, they went home with nothing to do. Our staff thought through quickly what could happen, and we trans-formed our safe spaces into formal learning centres where they could get online classes. So, we were able to make sure that our poorer community members in informal settlements and rural settings would be able to go to those centres and receive some educational support. One example is the story of Lois, who is a single mother of four and whose daughter is a beneficiary of the Imara Project. Her daughter had initially struggled to get into a secondary school after she completed her primary school education. The project had been able to take her back to school. She also benefitted from the online classes that were structured to suit the different courses. Because Trócaire allowed us to actually adapt and respond to Covid based on the needs of the community, we have been able to really address the emerging needs.” (Reality June 2021)The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted. (Bertrand Russell) There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of. (Nelson Mandela)Lead me not into temptation. I can find the way myself. (Rita M. Brown)(The three quotations above are taken from Reality, June 2021.)Seeing your Life through the Lens of the Gospel (John Byrne OSA)1.Like this woman, have you had the experience of a cure, an improvement, a success, after a long period of nothing happening? What was that like for you? What made the difference? On that occasion was there anything different in you, in others, in the circumstances –something that paved the way for the change or improvement?2.‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. It seems a strange request with crowds milling around. Many people brushed against him, but the woman made contact in a different way. The same can happen in our relationships. We brush against many people but make real contact only with a few. Who are the people you have touched, and who has touched you? What difference has this made to you and to them? 3. Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has made you well’. What difference does it make to you that you have faith? In what ways does your faith make you well? 4. When Jairus asked Jesus to come and cure his daughter, some thought there was no point. Sometimes a situation can look like a lost cause. Has it ever happened to you that subsequent events showed there was hope where you thought there was none? (Intercom June 2021)The Deep End -Jane Mellett -Intercom June 2021In today’s Gospel we hear two healing stories: Jairus’ daughter and the woman with a haemorrhage. At first glance these stories might not seem to have a lot in common. The woman is a complete social outcast because of her condition, yet Jesus calls her ‘daughter’. He does not let social convention dictate who can be called a child of God. Jesus reminds the people of this woman’s true identity. The synagogue official surprises us, pleasantly, with his faith in Jesus and his message. What these two characters have in common is faith against all the odds as they reach out to Jesus in faith-filled action. Jesus’ healing breaks down the barriers that isolate us from one another and from God. We can all recall times when we were struggling. We needed something to move us, to help us forgive, to help us walk away or to relieve us of physical pain. In the end it can be the simple gestures that save us: a kind word, someone praying for us, a gentle touch or we reach out to some-one and like the woman with the haemorrhage we suddenly feel within ourselves that we are healing. These accounts show us something of how God’s grace can enter our lives and transform situations
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Life between winnowing and withering
By Russell E. Saltzman
Old age is the most unexpected thing that can happen to a person. Leon Trotsky is said to have said that or something very much like it. It’s the only thing I remember of the many things he is reputed to have said. There’s much I no longer recall at all.
Until lately old age and me, we were actually were getting along on fairly good terms. I thought we were growing comfortably cozier as the fat years of life gently turned lean. Until, oh, 14 months ago.
My wife noticed a few odd things, then one really big thing.
https://catholicherald.co.uk/outliving-oneself/
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20 June 2021; Let us go on pilgrimage together!
Each of us is called to be a pilgrim and to search out the holy places and spaces where we are met by the Divine Presence. This weekend, why not visit a holy place in the diocese as a family, and remember those who went before us, sustained by the presence of God? Our diocese is sprinkled with places of holy remembrance, Mass rocks and holy wells, ancient places of pilgrimage.
Prayer of St. Brendan the Navigator
Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You.
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The Presbytery, Abbeydorney (066 7135146)
abbeydorney@dioceseofkerry.ie
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2nd May 2021.
Dear Parishioner,
If you cast your mind back to this time three months ago, I think you may recall that there was very little growth. It is hard to believe, then, that three months later (Friday 30th April,) there are fields that are bare, not because there has been no growth but because silage has already been made from the grass that grew so quickly in recent weeks. I want you to cast your minds back to a month ago, when the Easter Sunday ‘Dear Parishioner’ carried an article from Reality magazine by Fr. Gerard Moloney with the title ‘What future for the Irish Church?’ Having read it and seen that it gave food for thought and might have seemed to look at the half-empty glass rather than the half-full one, I decided to give you a bit of homework. I think I can say that the majority of readers felt that homework was for those going to school and not for adults. I thank the ‘count on one hand’ number who took the time to send a response to the questions I put.
In this month’s issue of Reality, Fr. Moloney writes on the same subject in an article entitled ‘A Post-Pandemic Church’. As many people have been doing in recent weeks, he wonders how different life will be in the ‘Church’ context, when we have said goodbye to the pandemic. He then goes on to say something, which you and I have said in the course of the past year. “Even though people are grateful for online liturgies, something impossible even twenty years ago, there is no substitute for the real thing. Closed church doors have been a source of pain for priests and people alike. It has been a time of hardship from which recovery will be slow.” He poses a few questions that will have to be answered if the numbers attending, when weekend Masses resume, are smaller than before the pandemic. ‘How does one maintain or build a sense of parish and Christian community if regular church attendance has collapsed? How does a community hand on the faith? How will parishes and dioceses get on with sharply reduced income?’
The author of the main article in this ‘Dear Parishioner’, Kate Liffey, is a member of the ‘Council for Life’ of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, which is concerned with promoting respect for life ‘from the womb to the tomb.’ (Fr. Denis O’Mahony)
The Council for Life
A space for dialogue, a space to hear stories,
a space to learn together and to listen.
A few years ago, I visited a friend of mine in hospital who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Like me she was a young mother with two small children. I sat beside her on her hospital bed, and she took my hand, ‘Kate, it’s gone into my spine. I’m finished’. In shock, and without thinking, I said, ‘No, no, don’t worry, you’ll get through this. It’s not as bad as maybe they think it is or you think it is’. The conversation is cut short. I had cut it short in my desire to cut past the pain and shock of her diagnosis. I simply couldn’t face what was happening. It was most definitely not my finest hour. I was reminded of that moment as I prepared to interview Seamus Mulconry, General Secretary, of the Catholic School Management Association, who was born in a Mother and Baby home. We were to speak about what it means to be pro-life in Ireland today, particularly following the publication of the Mother and Babies Homes Report earlier this year and the loss of the referendum on the repeal of the 8th amendment in May 2018. These are painful and challenging times; and the only way to grow through them is to stop and listen. My conversation with Seamus was to be a fascinating one.
Writing or speaking about being pro-life in Ireland in 2021 is not for the faint hearted. The referendum results of 2018, undoubtedly, had a chilling effect on many of us, lay and clergy alike. In the days, weeks, months and now years since the result, greeted by scenes of jubilant celebration by many in Dublin Castle, being pro-life has felt different. I had a baby in January 2018, after a very difficult pregnancy, one that coincided with all the campaigning. Now, with the result, I couldn’t get my head around the celebrations of the referendum result. Here I was with a five-month-old baby, asleep in my arms, looking at these scenes of jubilation. These were my fellow citizens, some of them my friends. How could so many of them feel so differently on this fundamental issue? How could the pro-life movement in Ireland pick up the pieces and continue the difficult work that had to be done? I don’t know why but suddenly every baby felt that bit more vulnerable to me. For me at least, it felt when we went to speak publicly, or indeed privately even within our own families, our right to do so had been diminished in some way.
So, to my conversation with Seamus Mulconry. From the outset, we both agreed that the reality of being pro-life in Ireland – if we are going to be real about it – has of course, also being made more complicated by the unfolding of our relatively recent social history. The story of the treatment of women in Ireland who didn’t live their lives by the ‘rule book’ is a national shame to which we must face up with honesty and courage. Seamus is a historian and is clear, ‘We can have a discussion all we like about history and context but there is an honesty also required on our part as Catholics and as pro-life. More broadly, as a society, we have to remember together that that was us, not just as a Church, not just as a society, but as a people.’ Seamus was born in the mid 1960s. Very matter of factly, he shares, ‘The local curate came to my father. A girl was in trouble. Would my father like a son?’ The answer to the question was an emphatic ‘yes’. Seamus shares what he knows about his mother. ‘I know what age she was, the colour of her hair, the name she gave me and some details about circumstances attending my birth.’
Seamus speaks with great fondness for the local curate and appreciation for Sr. Hildegaard. He speaks with real gratitude about the woman who gave birth to him. “I am very grateful for the gift of life but I don’t feel any need or desire to search her out”. Throughout our conversation he emphasised the importance of acknowledging that every adopted child’s story is different. He also acknowledges that his birth mother has her own story. This is his story, and it was fascinating to hear. Seamus describes his childhood in Clare. ‘I had a really wonderful childhood in Clare. I had a lovely family and extended family. We lived by the beach; it was idyllic. I had total security; that was the dominant feeling for me. My parents were always there, I felt completely safe. The picture he paints is of summer swims, farm visits, working in the shop, playing with numerous cousins, a picture that is as normal as it gets. He was told from an early age that he was adopted but it wasn’t an issue for him at all. ‘The fact of my birth didn’t change my sense of who my parents were; no more could have been done for me. I felt totally loved’. He movingly describes his father, a very gentle man who loved gardening and his mother, a sociable woman who loved having visitors to the house. He recalls fun-family gatherings. All of these people helped gently form him.
(Kate Liffey, Intercom, May 2021. To be continued next week.)
The Deep End (Triona Doherty May 2021)
Have you ever visited a vineyard, with its rows of vines, heavy with clusters of ripe grapes? If you're not familiar with vines, think of an apple tree laden with apples, or a fruit bush ripe for picking. In today's Gospel, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine to describe his relationship with his disciples. He tells them that he is the vine, and they are the branches. The life of Jesus flows into us and sustains us, and this is the reason our lives can bear fruit in love, in kindness, patience, compassion and welcome. The symbolism of the vine works on many levels. If a branch is separated from the vine, it cannot flourish on its own. It must be connected to the vine from which it gets its nourishment. Each of us must be firmly rooted in Jesus and nourish that relationship. He invites us to 'remain' in him - to rest in him, to be part of him. If you look at a vine plant, often its branches are so entangled, it can be hard to know where one ends, and another begins. We note that Jesus is addressing the disciples as a group rather than as individuals: 'you are the branches'. We are a community, and we grow together, bound together by the love of God. Today, we reflect on what it means to be so intimately connected with Jesus, the true vine. We bring to mind the many gifts he has given us, and the ways in which his love bears fruit in our lives.
Seeing your Life through the Lens of the Gospel (John Byrne)
1. In a relationship, connectedness is important. Relationships cannot be taken for granted and need time and care to be life-giving. What does your experience tell you of the truth of this in your relationships?
o with God
o with your friends
o with your family
o with communities or groups to which you belong?
2. Over the past year our usual relationships have been disrupted by coronavirus restrictions on social gatherings. How has this impacted on your family, parish, and other groups to which you belong? What creative ways have you, and others, devised to keep your social life alive?
3. In ‘THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL’ Pope Francis wrote 'I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.' He suggests that when individuals, or groups, focus on Jesus there is an increase of energy and vitality. Have you seen this happen?
4. The parable also reminds us that we are not the source of our own life. It is a gift from God, from our parents, and from all who have nourished us. Give thanks for those who have been a source of life for you.
(Both items above are taken from Intercom, May 2021)
WORDS OF ST. PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE – I arise today, through the strength of heaven, the light of the sun, the radiance of the moon … I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me and God’s shield to protect me.
SAINT JOSEPH – You belonged to a family searching for a home of refuge. Make us a Church that welcomes the lost, befriends the least and offers sanctuary to the lowest. SAINT JOSEPH …. You formed in Nazareth a family for Mary and Jesus. Make us a Church that avoids returning to former securities and certainties. Give us voices to sing a new song of freedom into God’s future. SAINT JOSEPH …. You taught Jesus to engage with the excluded and marginalised. Make us a Church that listens and learns with a new vision of hope, to welcome with enthusiasm the new beginnings of promise and possibilities.
REFLECTION FOR LENT
May the door of my inner home be wide enough
to receive those who are hungry for kindness,
those who are lonely, or isolated from friendship.
May it welcome those who have cares to unburden,
and pain to express.
May the door of my heart be narrow enough
to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity.
May the door of my heart be closed to harshness
and indifference.
May the threshold of my heart be for all who enter
the doorway to understanding, acceptance and compassion.
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Mission Talk - Olive Foley
https://www.facebook.com/KerryDiocese/videos/460494475334825
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STATEMENT FROM BISHOP RAY BROWNE, REMEMBERING THOSE WHO HAVE DIED, AND THOSE WHO ARE GRIEVING“ To our departed brothers and sister, and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom. ”Many groups in our country have sought over the past year to identify and respond to the needs of senior citizens. Aware has provided a 24-hour helpline, County Councils have brought together representatives form local bodies and formed local ‘services committee’. In recent weeks there has been detected among older people a sadness and concern surrounding dying and funerals. So many deaths have occurred in the past month. Up to Christmas Day 85,000 people were diagnosed as having the virus, a month later this has risen to 187,000. By Christmas Day 2,000 had died, a month later that figure is 3,000 and will rise further. May they rest in Peace. It is understandable. In their homes, in residential care and in hospital in the final days before death the presence of loved one at the bedside has been severely restricted. How sad! Funerals are so different, only ten at a funeral Mass. Grieving loved ones unable to have the company of relatives, neighbour, and friends. While there have been so many negatives there have also been positives: The kindness of so many, especially nursing home and hospital staff The technology that allows face time with those in homes or hospitals, People at home and abroad being able to join in funeral liturgies via webcams etc. People sympathizing and sending messages of comfort via the internet sites. On the way to church or cemetery, people standing outside their homes What can we do in response to any among us who are in need of spiritual support in the area of dying, death and mourning? I propose that at all Masses next Sunday the final Sunday of January, we remember all who have died having contracted COVID-19, especially in recent weeks. Remember, honour, and pray for them. Entrust them to God’s goodness and mercy and promise of eternal life. Comfort the bereaved. Give assurance and comfort to those concerned that their own lives might be soon be at risk. Think of other things you can do to support people in the coming weeks. Remember our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the Resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face.
+Ray
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A Prayer to the Creator Lord, Father of our human family, you created all human beings equal in dignity: pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter, dialogue, justice and peace. Move us to create healthier societies and a more dignified world, a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war. May our hearts be open to all the peoples and nations of the earth. May we recognize the goodness and beauty that you have sown in each of us, and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects, and shared dreams. Amen
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Heavenly Father, walk through my house and take away all worries and illnesses, and please watch over and heal my family and friends. Bring quiet where there is chaos, bring light where there is darkness and put love in our hearts. In Jesus’ name. Amen
I pray because I believe in the power of prayer. I pray because I have no doubt that God has answered my prayers. I pray because God allowed me to wake up to see another day. No matter what others think or say… I will continue to pray.
Weekly Bulletin
The Most Holy Name of Jesus
3rd January 2021
Dear Friends of Sacred Heart Church,
As I wish you a very happy and holy New Year I am aware of all the turbulence in the world and particularly here in Ireland. We are confined yet again to a further lockdown, which sees the continuation of church closure for public worship. This seems to fly in the face of common sense for where else can we go to receive healing and wholeness except to the God of mercy and all creation? But in spite of this attack on our freedom to worship and the negation of our constitutional right, my fervent wish for each of you is that you grow every day in the path of holiness.
The New Year is traditionally a time for resolutions. This lockdown may be the very springboard to strengthen your resolve to be faithful followers of Christ and grow in love of God and neighbour, true witnesses to Him. If ever there was a time for a new resolution, that of being His witness, it is now. So many seem to have lost sight and sound of God. He needs us to turn, face Him and let His light shine on us and through us to the world.
So my people, be holy. Pray for a speedy end all the disruption it brings including the closure of our churches and freedom to attend the public celebration of Holy Mass. Like St. Paul, let it be said of us “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”. (2 Timothy 4:7). To be really true to Christ we must witness in both truth and love. We too can be transformed into people of holiness.
Today is the First Sunday of the New Year. It is also the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. We are reminded again by St. Paul, the infinite power that resides in His Holy Name “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippines 2: 10-11). We keep our focus on Him in these days to give us the stamina and Grace to remain faithful in all things.
Have you ever noticed the IHS in the stained glass windows in our church? I talked about it in one of my sermons during the year. This name means ‘Saviour’. No name has more authority attached to it. And again St. Paul tells us that ‘by His Name you shall be saved’ (Romans 10). Let us venerate and repeat the Holy Name of Jesus often in our hearts with reverence and love.
I am always humbled by the generosity of people especially at Christmas time. We received so many gifts of food, both cooked and uncooked, that we celebrated the great feast in gourmet style. A big thank-you to everyone who contributed such delicacy to our table.
Yesterday was the last day of the Novena of Masses offered for all the people and intentions you requested. God’s grace flowed in abundance in answer to your need.
2020 was a particularly financially difficult year for our community. We were put to the pin of our collar to make mortgage repayments, ongoing church and house maintenance expenses, not to talk of insurance and other incidental costs. I don’t know how we would manage if the priests received a salary? We can look forward in hope that somehow our financial situation will improve next year.
Next Wednesday is 6th January, the feast of the Epiphany. There will be 6pm Mass, which will be live streamed on the YouTube channel.
If you still wish to receive a copy of the Institute calendar, please follow the link here and insert your contact details.
Please check the church opening for this week.
Next Thursday, 7th. January the church will be CLOSED all day.
Wishing you a blessed week,
Canon Lebocq
Prior of Sacred Heart Church, Limerick, Ireland.
From: Sean Sheehy <frlistowel@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2020, 13:17
Subject: Christ the King
To:
Advent begins using Cycle B in the Lectionary.
Heaven or Hell?
Years ago, while driving to Atlanta, Georgia, I saw an airport sign that read: “Whether you’re bound for heaven or hell you must change at Atlanta.” Jesus’ Church enters the last week of her liturgical year and calls us to reflect on whether we’re bound for Heaven or hell. Since Heaven is the enjoyment of total happiness and hell means total misery, our choice would seem to be easy. The problem is that while everybody wants to go to Heaven, no one wants to die. Therein lies the problem. Dying isn’t only about physical death, it’s also about dying to selfishness. Everybody wants to go to Heaven but nobody unconsciously wants to put others’ needs before their own. Since Jesus provides the only way to Heaven, namely the Way of the Cross, that must also be our way to get there. This means we must sacrifice our life by sharing with others in their need. People try to avoid this by looking for easier ways to Heaven. However, all ways, other than Jesus’, lead to a false heaven, which is hell. Many deny the existence of hell questioning how a loving God could create it. He didn’t; Satan did. Satan pleased his ego rather than humbly submitting to God, thereby creating a loveless world. He tempts us to choose selfishness thinking we’re choosing Heaven when in fact we’re choosing hell. He tempts us to focus on what looks good rather than on what’s truly good.
Jesus’ Church begins the week by proclaiming Him as King of the Universe. As King everyone, believer and non-believer, is accountable to Him. Since men and women had succumbed to Satan’s temptation to glorify selfishness, promising that it would bring them happiness, God decided to personally come and show that only He could save mankind. “I am going to look after my flock myself …I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will pasture them and give them rest. I will seek out the lost and bring back the stray, bind up the injured and heal the sick, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.” (Ez 34:11-17) The “sleek and the strong” are those who, in glorifying selfishness as heaven, are creating their hell. Those who let God rescue them are on the way to Heaven. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when He came to personally call sinners to “repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15) in order to put their selfishness aside and embrace the virtue of generosity.
Jesus commands us to, “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48) Full perfection can only be achieved in Heaven, but it begins here on earth. How? We must examine the criteria Jesus revealed as His standard for judging who enters Heaven and who doesn’t. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory … all the nations will be assembled before Him. He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Mt 25:31-32) Who will be judged worthy of Heaven and receive God’s blessing of total happiness? Those who served Jesus. How? By physically and spiritually giving food to the hungry … drink to the thirsty … welcoming the stranger … clothing the naked … caring for the ill … visiting the imprisoned. Jesus’ Church call these charities the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. We show our love for Jesus’ by participating in them. “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one for these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me.” We become perfect like our Heavenly Father when our faith in Jesus leads us to bring physical and spiritual help to those in need. Thus we “love in deed and in truth and not merely talk about it.” (1 Jn 3:18)
Does God send people to hell? No. We sentence our self to hell by our attitude and actions. If we die as Jesus’ servants we’ll be with Him in eternity. If we die as selfish people we’ll be eternally lonely and tormented, like the rich man who ignored Lazarus. Those bound for hell ignore the physical and spiritual plight of their needy brothers and sisters and in the process reject Jesus’ call to love. “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for these least ones, you did not do for me.” These are all sins of omission. Many people will say at their death, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name …exercised demons by your power? Did we not do many miracles in your name as well?” and Jesus will say, “I never knew you. Out of my sight, you evildoers.” (Mt 7:22-23) They omitted to care for the needy.
The feast of Christ the King is a good time to ask our self, “Am I bound for Heaven or hell?” While we can’t earn the right to enter Heaven, we’ve a responsibility to do what Jesus tells us in order for Him to judge us as worthy of His promises. To that extent we hold our eternal destiny in our own hands. Our biggest concern must be, not just repenting the sins we’ve committed but also the sins of omission. At every Holy Mass we ask for forgiveness for “what we have done and what we have failed to do.” For most of us what we’ve failed to do constitutes our sinfulness more than what we’ve done. Why? Because we’re conscious of what we’ve done but remain unconscious of what we should be doing but aren’t. Let’s examine Jesus’ criteria for judgment so we can see “what we have failed to do” that we should be doing. Then, like the Nike ad, “Just do it!” with a generous spirit, of course. (frsos)
===================================================
Music from Claire while she was on Chemo 2020
TRANSPLANT PLAYLIST
Abba, Dancing Queen (M)
Ascension, Beauty in All Things (L)
Elisa Almeno, tu nell’universo (V)
Louis Armstrong, It’s a Wonderful World (C)
Aurora (W)
Allegri, Misere Mei Deus (A & C)
Joan Armatrading, Love and Affection (C)
Beatles, Here comes the Sun (J)
Beatles, I Wanna Hold Your Hand (P)
JS Bach, Goldberg Variations (U)
Bach, B Flat Partita played by Dinu Lipatti (P)
Bach, double violine concerto (P)
Beethoven, piano sonatas 30, 31 and 32 played by John Lill (P)
Beethoven, C sharp minor late quartet (P)
Andrea Bocelli, Nelle tue mani (A)
Brahms, Requiem soprano solo 5th movement (T)
Brahms, violin concerto (P)
Dave Brubeck, Strange Meadow Lark (A)
Sarah Blasko, All I Want (I)
Beatles, Something (I)
Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah (P)
William Byrd, Descendit de Caelis (Cardinall’s Musick) (P)
Brahms, Academic Festival Overture Op 80 (B)
Jacques Brel, Le plat pays qui est le mien (M)
JS Bach, Jesu Meiner Freude (V)
Brahms, Second Symphony first movement (vintage recording) (D)
Billy Bragg, Jerusalem (S)
Beethoven, Cavatina (M)
Arnold Bax, Mater ora filium (C)
Pablo Casals, The Song of the Birds (T)
Mama Cass, Make Your Own Kind of Music (S)
Chopin, Polonaise in A flat major (S)
Chopin, Nocturne in D Flat Op 27 no. 2 played by Lang Lang (A)
Petula Clark, Don’t Sleep in the Subway (M)
College and Electric Youth, A Real Hero (J)
Eva Cassidy, Songbird (L)
Eva Cassidy, Over the Rainbow (L)
Chopin, Prelude in E Minor (R)
Leonard Cohen, Alleluia (E)
Leonard Cohen, You Want it Darker (C)
Debussy, Clair de Lune (A)
Delius, Sea Drift (sung by Bryn Terfel) (A)
Alfred Deller, Never weather-beaten sail (P)
Desire, Under Your Spell (J)
Elgar, Where Corals Lie (L)
Elgar, Dream of Gerontius (M & T)
Elgar, The Kingdom (S)
Everything but the Girl, Missing (L)
Faure, Cantique de Jean Racine (F & J)
Fifth Dimension, Wedding Bell Blues (J)
Finzi, Dies Natalis (G)
Fireball XL5 (M)
Ella Fitzgerald, Summertime (A)
The Five Stairsteps, O-o-oh child (L)
Ella Fitzgerald, Every time we say good bye (P)
Kathleen Ferrier, The Keel Row (L)
Kathleen Ferrier, Blow the Wind Southerly (M)
Finzi, Clarinet Concerto (G)
Jan Garbarek Officium (C & I)
Philip Glass, Passages (C)
Philip Glass, Satyagraha (L)
Gluck, Che Faro Senza Euridice (both Kathleen Ferrier’s and Janet Baker’s) (P)
Charlie Gracie, Wandering Eyes (M)
Norman Greenbaum, Spirit in the Sky (L)
David Gray, Please Forgive Me (L)
Gregorian chants (A)
The Gloaming, Rolling Wave (P)
Grieg, Piano Concerto in A Minor (R)
Handel, Ombra mi fu (M)
Handel, Hallelujah Chorus (M)
Handel, Zadok the Priest (E)
George Harrison, My Sweet Lord (P)
Haydn, Creation (J)
Haydn, Clock Symphony (M)
Roger Hodgson in Concert Stuttgart 2013 (P)
Hummel, Piano Concerto in B Minor (Stephen Hough) (N)
Rupert Holmes, Escape (The Pina Colada song) (J)
The Isley Brothers, This Old Heart of Mine (K)
Karl Jenkins Benedictus (E)
Chaka Khan, Sleep on it (S)
Liberty Bell (J)
Lighthouse family High (L)
Friend singing the Lord’s Prayer (T)
Lighthouse family, Ocean Drive (L)
Paul Lovisoni Prati Bagnati Dei Monte Analogo by aymenlove (S)
Madonna, Hung Up (A)
Mahler 2, The Resurrection (Janet Baker) (S)
Alanis Morrissette, Thank You (K)
Mozart, Cassation in B Flat Major K 99 Menuet (L)
Mozart, Clarinet Concerto (C)
Mozart, Clarinet Quintet (J)
Mozart, Cosi Fan Tutte (P)
Mozart, Requiem (M)
Sarah McLachlan, Blackbird (L)
Mahler, Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen (J)
Mahler, Ich bin der welt abhanden (Janet Baker and Barbirolli) (N)
Myfanwy (both Welsh songs) (P)
Ennio Morricone, Gabriel ‘s Oboe (P)
Johnny Mathis and Neil Diamond, Everything (C)
Monteverdi, Orfeo (V)
Mahler, Fifth Symphony Adagietto (C)
Mahler, Symphony no 5 (Leonard Bernstein’s interpretation) (JF)
Chris Montez’ Let’s Dance (R)
Nache Guevara, de Noche (T)
Only Boys Aloud, Calon Lan (N)
Only Boys Aloud, Gwinhoddiad (N)
Beccy Owen, Lullaby (V)
Arvo Part, Passio (C)
Dolly Parton, Here you Come Again (F)
Pergolesi, Stabat Mater (Natalie Stutzmann and Philippe Jaroussky) (I)
Purcell, An Evening Hymn (L)
Pearl Fishers Duet (C)
Les Poules a Colin, La Fleur du Bois (0)
Peter and the Wolf (narrated by Wilfred Pickles) (H)
Queen, The Show must go on (A)
Queen, Don’t stop me now (P)
Rachmaninov, Rhapsody on Theme of Paganini (S)
Joshua Radin and Sheryl Crow, Beautiful Day (L)
Renegade Soul, Everybody’s free (L)
Schubert, Fantasie in F Minor for 4 hands (Radu Lupu's and Murray Perahia) (H)
Schubert, Trout Quintet (H & P)
Schubert, Sonata in B flat D 960 (J)
Schubert, String Quartet in C Major (M)
Schubert, Fifth Symphony, first movement (M)
Schubert, An die music (R)
Shostakovich, string quartets (P)
Sibelius, Intermezzo from Karelia Suite (J)
Simon and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water (I & S)
Bruce Springsteen, Dancing in the Dark ((P)
Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road (S)
Stanford, The Blue Bird (D & J)
Cat Stevens, Morning Has Broken (A)
Suo Gan (P)
Nina Simone, I wish I knew how it would feel to be free (H & P)
John Sheppard, Libera nos, salva nos, justifica nos, O beata Trinitas (M)
Richard Strauss, Four Last Songs (D)
The Shins, Saint-Simon (M)
Strauss, Rosencavalier final aria (F)
Labi Siffre, Something Inside So Strong (C)
Jake Thackray, The Blacksmith and the Toffee-maker (S)
Tchaikovsky, Violin Concertos (C)
Jethro Tull, Bouree (A)
Charles Trenet, La Mere (C)
Tallis, Spem in Alium (J)
Tallis, If Ye Love Me (Rutter’s arrangement) (S)
Van Morrison, Cypress Avenue (L)
Vaughan Williams, Fantasy on a Theme of Thomas Tallis (E)
Victoria, O Vos Omnes (not Tenebrae) (S)
Verdi, La Traviata (C)
Pharrell Williams, Happy (A)
Jackie Wilson, Your Love Keeps Lifting me Higher and Higher (K)
Bill Withers, Lovely Day (L)
Bill Withers. Lean on Me (S)
Vaughan Williams, Lark Ascending (A)
Westlake, Compassion (N)
BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE
The most destructive habit - Worry
The greatest joy Giving
The greatest loss Loss of self- respect
The most satisfying work Helping others
The ugliest personality trait Selfishness
The greatest “Shot in the Arm” Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome Fear
The most effective sleeping pill Peace of Mind
The most crippling failure disease Excuses
The most powerful force in life Love
The most dangerous act A Gossip
The world’s most incredible computer The Brain
The worst thing to be without Hope
The deadliest weapon The Tongue
The two most powerful filled words I can –
The greatest asset Faith
The most worthless emotion Self-Pity
The most beautiful attire Smile
The most prized possession Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication Prayer
The most contagious Spirit Enthusiasm
Life ends when you stop Dreaming. Hope ends when you stop Believing.
Love ends when you stop Caring. Friendship ends when you stop Sharing.
LAST WORD: Time waits for no one, so love what you have before life teaches you to love what you lost….
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by Domhnall de Barra
One of the first things we learned to do at school was the art of writing. We struggled with our pencils trying to imitate what the teacher had drawn on the blackboard, keeping our strokes within the guidelines. My first teacher, Mrs. Collins, who not only taught all my family but all my mother’s family as well, had s great method of making it easier for us by making the numbers we were trying to draw relevant to familiar objects. The number 1 was described as a stick, the number 2 as a walking cane with a line back and so on. We continued on to letters and eventually were able to put words together. Writing was very important because it was the only means of distant communication for most people at the time. In the 1940s there was very little employment, outside of farm work, in rural Ireland so most of the young population emigrated mainly to the UK and America but others went to countries all over the world. I can only imagine what it was like for those early emigrants, arriving on foreign shores without a clue as to what was going to happen to them. In some countries there was even a language barrier but that did not deter them. They did not get the best of jobs to start with but gradually they worked their way up and made good lives for themselves in their new surroundings. There was no such thing as holidays and even if there was, there is no way they could have afforded to come home so writing letters was the only way to keep in touch with the families they had left behind.
As soon as they found accommodation, they put pen to paper and sent on their addresses to those at home. When they got on their feet they always put a bit of money in the envelope to help with the rest of the family. Those letters, and the occasional parcel, were eagerly looked forward to and we kept an eye out for the postman when one was expected. I remember well watching our postman, Jack Mahony from Knocknasna, coming up the road with his basked in front of the bike laden with parcels. There was great disappointment when he turned at Cusack’s and freewheeled away down the road. Eventually the letter or parcel would come and it was like Christmas all over again. The letters brought us news of strange places and wonderful things, things we could only dream of. Those letters were a vital link between those away and the ones at home. There were those, of course, who went away and never wrote home. Some of them were unable to write having skipped most of the days at school or had left after a bitter argument and wanted no more to do with the family. That was sad, especially when they got older and had no one to care for them.
The writing of letters followed certain rules. You always started by asking the recipients how they were and explaining that you and yours were in good health, or not as the case may have been. The body of the letter contained whatever message you need to convey and the end contained more good wishes and loving phrases. This is how we were taught to do it and was the only way we knew how. Though the grammar and spelling wasn’t always the best, nobody noticed or minded; it was just great to hear from them. On the other hand some people were very good writers whose handwriting was exemplary. Mairéad McGrath R.I.P. who wrote many articles for the Parish Journal, had beautiful handwriting. Another man who has mastered is Tom O’Keeffe. As for myself, I can hardly read my own scrawl. When I was in secondary school, the headmaster, Jim Kelly, said of my writing; “I hope you have leanings towards the medical profession, Mr. Barry, because that is the only place your writing will be understood”!!
The advent of the telephone brought better communication because now we could hear each other talking and were able to ask questions there and then. The only trouble was the scarcity of telephones for many years and the high cost of international calls. Back in the 1970s, when I took up a job as a national organiser for Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann, I needed a phone for work but there was a long waiting list. Even though the President of Comhaltas at the time was also a member of the Senate and was championing my cause, I had to wait nearly three years to be connected. It was only when Albert Reynolds got the ministry that he did a big upgrade and got telephones for anybody who wanted them. It also became less expensive and opened up another avenue for those abroad.
Fast forward to today and the sky is the limit. We can converse with anyone in the world and see them on our screens at the same time. We take it very much for granted but when you think about how far we have come in such a short space of time, it is mind boggling
BALLYHEIGUE: September for Ballyheigue means Pattern Day. Bishop Ray Browne celebrates the annual Pattern Day Mass at the Grotto in Ballyheigue on 8th September at 11.00am . Please come and join us on this historical day in our Parish as we celebrate Our Lady’s birthday . You are all most warmly welcome .
ABOUT THE WELL
The Well is located near the village, in the townland of Dirtane, a place which is closely bound up with the social and spiritual life of the parish. The well has long been a place of pilgrimage,
and the statue and grotto were installed in the 1940’s by a local group. The initiative was inspired by the gratitude of a Ballyheigue nun in Australia who said she had received her vocation
there. Fr. Behan was enthusiastic in support of the improvements and celebrated mass there for the first time, on 8th September 1935.
More improvements were carried out by Fr. James Enright in the 1960’s. The site was landscaped, and paths and sunken gardens added, with religious symbolism linked to specific locations. The
sunken gardens represented the Garden of Eden, and the raised flower beds represented Mount Sinai and Mount Tabor. Shelters were built and an altar of Valentia slate was provided as a gift from
the people of Fr. Enright’s previous parish of Valentia Island.
Water from the well is regarded as having special properties and a cup or bowl is left there for people to drink from. The water is also used to bathe the face or hands and rub on injuries. There
is no doubt that people have been affected in different ways by visits to this well, and the continuing popularity of the Pattern Day, testifies this. It is a place of meditation, consolation and
thanksgiving which has brought hope and strength to people at times of crisis. Many small personal miracles have occurred there-and occasionally one that made the news. In May 2011, an 85-year
old Dublin man named Jack Leonard made newspaper headlines when he found that a visit to Our Lady’s well resulted in him recovering from a respiratory illness.
To the Glory of God | and in loving memory of | Captain HENRY THOMAS | RICHARD SOMERSET WRIGHT | 2nd Manchester Regiment | Killed on active service | at DIBBIS SOUDAN | on Decr. 24th 1916 | Aged 32 years. | "He suffered and was buried" | "Awake thou that sleepest.
CONFIRMATION PRAYER:
Spirit of God, grant me:
The gift of wisdom
To see the world through your eyes,
The gift of counsel
To make difficult decisions,
The gifts of knowledge and understanding To use my mind to know you and to love you, The gift of fortitude
To have the courage to live in the faith Despite the difficulties and disappointments, The gift of piety
To be able to express my special love And commitment to you,
And the right kind of awesome fear That makes me pause to wonder and revere God’s Love.
Amen
A DAILY PRAYER FOR YOUR CONFIRMATION:
O God, I pray that you give me a right heart, that I may come to know you in Jesus. Lead me to know the sinfulness of my own heart, and your great love for me,
in Christ Jesus.
Help those who teach me,
to give me the teaching I need.
Grant that, on my Confirmation Day,
I may be ready to give myself to be your faithful soldier
and servant to my life’s end;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
by Domhnall de Barra
The signs are looking good that we may be able to return to some semblance of normality in the near future. I have problems understanding some of the rules however, especially the travel limits. I can go anywhere within my own county but only 20 kl from home if I am crossing county bounds. That means I can go all the way to the Tipperary border, a journey of over 70 miles, but I can’t go to Castleisland or Ballybunion. I know that rules have to apply to the whole country but a third of our population live in Dublin city and county and they are in congested areas. Some TDs are calling for more liberalisation in rural areas where there are no, or very few, cases of the virus. They have a point but will some businesses survive with all the regulations that will have to be observed if they are to open? Before the advent of Covid 19 many pubs were barely surviving and were considering closing even then. I can ‘t see them making a living with the new restrictions so another way of life will be changed. There are those who will say they are no loss but the pub played a very important social role in rural Ireland. It wasn’t about the drink, as any regular will tell you, it was about the company. Of course there are those who are addicted to the drink but they do not depend on pubs to get their fix. It is far cheaper to buy alcohol from supermarkets. I love the small, intimate pub where everyone in the bar is involved in the conversation. It was a place to discuss sport, politics, cattle prices, women, weather, local scandals and gossip with the odd lie thrown in for good measure. It provided an outlet for people who lived on their own, some in remote places where they might not see anyone, except the postman/woman, from one end of the week to the other. It was also a great place for the session of music and sing-song. The Guinness goes down much better to the strains of “The Mason’s Apron” or “The Battering Ram” and good singers, who normally would be too shy to contribute, would burst into song after a couple of creamy ones. Cards was another great event in the small pub. 41 was the favourite game around this neck of the woods and it was approached with deadly seriousness. Every move had to be calculated and woe betide the person who took a trump card off his partner with a rash lead. We learned to play cards at Dave O’Connors in Knocknaboul (I hate the name “Coole West”) and I must say he had great patience with us youngsters as we picked up the finer points of the game. A halfpenny in 5 sticks was the gamble and very often it was hard to come by the stake. I don’t know if young people play the game anymore but, if they are not, they do not know what they are missing. No, life will not be the same and I am afraid the rush to urbanisation will now be accelerated. Small shops are in danger as are other local services. We are lucky in Athea to have as much as we have. it is up to us to make sure we keep as many as we can. We must use the services or they will disappear.
As is the generation of leaves, so to of men:
At one time the wind shakes the leaves to the ground
but then the flourishing woods
Gives birth, and the season of spring comes
into existence;
So it is with the generations of men, which
alternately come forth and pass away.
—Homer, The Illiad, Book Six
The principle use of Mom’s apron was to protect the dress underneath
because she only had a few.
It was always because it was easier to wash the apron than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken coop the apron was used for carrying eggs and sometimes half hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden it carried all sorts of vegetables.
When unexpected company called it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that old time apron that served so many purposes.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don’t think we ever caught anything from that apron- but LOVE.
Too well loved to ever be forgotten by your loving husband Thady and family.
Reflection
Barbara Gregory
16 hrs · Public
TONIGHT'S FUNNIES. Keep safe.
[In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods.]
On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom) -- "Do not turn upside down." (well...duh, a bit late, huh!)
On Sainsbury's peanuts -- "Warning: contains nuts." (talk about a news flash)
On Boot's Children's Cough Medicine -- "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication."
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those bulldozers.)
On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding -- "Product will be hot after heating." (...and you thought????...)
On a Pifco hairdryer -- "Do not use while sleeping." (That's the only time I have to work on my hair.)
On a bag of Doritos -- "You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside. (the shoplifter special?)
On a bar of Dial soap -- "Directions: Use like regular soap." (and that would be???....)
On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving suggestion: Defrost." (but, it's just a suggestion.)
On packaging for a Rowenta iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body." (but wouldn't this save me time?)
"DO YOU BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH?" THE BOSS ASKED ONE OF HIS EMPLOYEES.
"YES, SIR," THE NEW EMPLOYEE REPLIED.
"WELL, THEN, THAT MAKES EVERYTHING JUST FINE," THE BOSS WENT ON. "AFTER YOU LEFT EARLY YESTERDAY TO GO TO YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S FUNERAL, SHE STOPPED IN TO SEE YOU!"
I was explaining to my wife last night that when you
die you get reincarnated, but must come back as a
different creature. She said she would like to come back
as a cow. I said, “You obviously haven't been listening." *
My wife has been missing a week now. The police
said to prepare for the worst so, I had to go down
to the charity shop to get all of her clothes back.*
The class teacher asks students to name an animal that begins with an E. One boy says, Elephant.
Then the teacher asks for an animal that begins with a T. The same boy says, Two elephants.
The teacher sends the boy out of the class for bad behavior. After that she asks for an animal beginning with M.
The boy shouts from the other side of the wall: Maybe an elephant!
Now that I'm older here's what I've discovered:
1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.
2. My wild oats are mostly enjoyed with prunes and all-bran.
3. I finally got my head together, and now my body is falling apart.
4. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
5. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
6. If all is not lost, then where the heck is it ?
7. It was a whole lot easier to get older, than to get wiser.
8. Some days, you're the top dog, some days you're the hydrant; the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
9. I wish the buck really did stop here, I sure could use a few of them.
10. Kids in the back seat cause accidents.
11. Accidents in the back seat cause kids.
12. It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.
13. The world only beats a path to your door when you're in the bathroom.
14. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he'd have put them on my knees.
15. When I'm finally holding all the right cards, everyone wants to play chess.
16. It's not hard to meet expenses.... they're everywhere.
17. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
18. These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter, I go somewhere to get something and then wonder what I'm "here after".
19. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
20. HAVE I SENT THIS MESSAGE TO YOU BEFORE.... ?
PRAYER FOR HEALING AND HOPE IN THE FACE OF THE CORONAVIRUS. Jesus, you travelled through towns and villages “curing every disease and illness”. At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love. Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through quality medical care. Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together and neighbours from helping one another. Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders.Jesus healer of all, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow. Be with the families of those who are sick or have died. As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair. May they know your peace. Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace. Jesus, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of anxiety, give us your peace. Jesus heal us.
Reflection
The fact that we may have a strong faith
doesn’t mean that life will be plain sailing for us.
What faith does is to give us bearings
thus enabling us to live in a topsy-turvy world
without getting lost or giving in to despair.
Just as swimmers trust that if they don’t panic
then the power of the sea will uphold them.
So believers entrust their lives
to a power greater than themselves.
That power is the power of God
who brought his Son Jesus back from the dead.
Blessing
By his holy and glorious wounds, may Christ ou Lord guard us and keep us.
May his wounds help us to find healing for our own wounds.
And may we not be afraid of anything the world can throw at us
because Christ has overcome the World. AMEN
God Our Father, Creator of the world, almighty and merciful, out of love for us You sent your son into the world as the doctor of our souls and bodies, look upon your children who, in this difficult time of confusion and dismay in many regions of Europe and the world, turn to you seeking strength, salvation and relief, deliver us from illness and fear, heal our sick, comfort their families, give wisdom to our rulers, energy and reward to our doctors, nurses and volunteers, eternal life to the dead. Do not abandon us in the moment of trial but deliver us from all evil. We ask this of Thee, who with the Son and the Holy Spirit, live and reign for ever and ever. AmenMary, mother of health and hope, pray for us!
Angry dad replies to demanding solicitor's letter
https://www.mummypages.ie/blogs/angry-dad-replies-to-demanding-solicitors-letter
Evan Hansen Broadway cast to sing “You Will Be Found.”
Have you ever felt like nobody was there?
Have you felt forgotten, in the middle of nowhere?
Have you ever felt like you could disappear?
Like you could fall, and no one would hear.
Oh, someone will come running and I know,
They’ll take you home.
Even when the dark comes crashing through,
when you need a friend to carry you,
and when you’re broken on the ground,
you will be found.
-------------------------
My heroine in Heaven St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote: “I am not always faithful, but I never get discouraged. I abandon myself into the arms of Jesus and there, find again all that I have lost and much more besides.”
The Two Words
Through late-night television, the Lord gave me the two words that I know He wants me to pray during this trial: find me.
When I am anxious, hopeless, and despairing,
find me.
When I worry that I will live a shorter earthly life than I had hoped,
find me.
When I fear that those I love most will suffer and leave me for God’s arms,
find me.
When I despair that I’ve loved Him well enough to merit eternal life,
find me.
And with everything I am, everything I have, and from the deepest core of my being I know, He will find me.
Theresa Sullivan is the digital media strategist for the Diocese of Pittsburgh
http://www.hourofourdeath.org/corona-stories-you-will-be-found/
March 2020;
OPINION PIECE
By Tom Aherne
UNITED WE STAND: Last Saturday during my early morning walk my thoughts began to wonder as they often do. The rain was falling softly, and it was calm, and I was struck by the stillness, and the “Sound of Silence” song by Simon and Garfunkel came to mind. Our Emerald Isle will be a lot quieter in the coming weeks, as the country goes into retreat due to the COVID-19 virus. All sporting, cultural, entertainment, and leisure activities have been called off, and churches, and public buildings have been closed.
These are worrying and stressful times for everyone, especially for the elderly, and for those who are vulnerable to the virus due to underlying conditions. Our prayers and thoughts are with those who care for these people and for the healthcare workers who are so courageously out there on the frontline. Time and patience are called for, and just as Saint Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, we will survive this national emergency and latest threat to our population.
Elvis Presley recorded “Home is where the Heart Is” song so we will have to remain more at home, and take care of ourselves, and look out for the welfare of others. We must put our shoulder behind the national effort to protect the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. Communities are coming together and organising themselves to look after the more vulnerable members. A group has been set up in the Saint Kieran’s catchment area to deliver groceries, and medicine, and all households will receive an information letter with contact numbers this week.
The panic buying since last Friday recalls “The Winner Takes It All” song by Abba. I am old fashioned, and I find it hard to understand this craze, as we survived with little, and were happy with our lot. The bulk buying up of essential items during a time of emergency is selfish and issues the message “I am alright (name) and to Hell with you”. The older members of our society (which I have joined) find it hard to compete and can end up losing out and without the items they need maybe far more than the younger generation. The supply chain will continue and there is enough for all if people are fair minded and only take what they need.
My native townland Glensharrold and its people has survived the great Famine, infamous Evictions during the 1880s, two great wars, Spanish flu, the Emergency, TB, Foot and Mouth, Oil crisis, storms, recessions, deep snowfalls in 1963 and 1981 and come out the other side. Since October 31 we have lost five fine people associated with Glensharrold Johnny Kennelly, Trish Aherne, Michael Geoghegan, Bridget Doody, and Jack Mulvihill. The many storms have battered the land which is saturated from rainfall since last August, and the White River has overflowed on to the land on several occasions. These are dark and depressing times for many in all communities, but stay safe and secure, as the darkest hour comes before the dawn.
The wheel always turns, and nature continues to provide enjoyment with bird song more prominent in early morning and later evenings. The early flowers are adding colour to our gardens and hedgerows, and the clocks are getting ready to move forward. April will bring the Swallows and Cuckoo, and hopefully warmer and drier weather. It is better to embrace the sunrise rather than the sunset, and as I return to my gate the words of Gloria Gaynor’s song “I Will Survive” comes to mind.
St Louis High School is a post-primary school providing post-primary education to pupils (girls) from First Year to Leaving Certificate Year.
https://www.stlouishighschool.ie/
The Kavanagh Centre is closed for refurbishment.
https://patrickkavanaghcountry.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Kavanagh
The recently-published Journal of the Knocklyon History Society 2017-2019, of which Éilis Ni Thiarnaigh SSL is its Secretary
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sisterssl/49525137532/in/album-72157713079080528/
Official Rules. I highly recommend getting a copy for yourself — it makes for an incomparable bathroom book.
“If there’s no alternative, there’s no problem.”
James Burnham
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
C. Northcote Parkinson
“Don’t worry about your enemies; it’s your allies who will do you in.”
James Abourezk
“A rumor will travel fastest to the place where it will cause the most harm.”
Gustavo N. Agrait
“Don’t readily ascribe to malice what can be more easily ascribed to incompetence.”
James Akre
“Troublesome correspondence that is postponed long enough will eventually become irrelevant.”
Mark Albrecht
“Help a man who is in trouble and that man will remember you when he is in trouble again.”
Paul Alexander
“Favors granted always become defined as rights.”
Saul Alinsky
“The strength of one’s opinion on any matter in controversy is inversely proportional to the amount of knowledge that the person has on that subject.”
Patrick J. Allen
“A parent will always worry about the wrong child.”
Don Alt
“You can’t believe anyone but yourself, and don’t trust yourself too completely.”
Jim Amis
“Those whose approval you seek the most give you the least.”
Rozanne Weissman
“Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it.”
Russell Baker
“The world is divided between victims and predators, and you have to defend yourself against both.”
Florenz Baron
“When someone is kicking your ass, at least you know that you are out in front.”
Donald Bartel
“When you’re up to your nose in sh*t, keep your mouth shut.”
Movie character Jack Beauregard, played by Henry Fonda
“1) Blessed is he who has reached the point of no return and knows it, for he shall enjoy living. 2) Blessed is he who expects no gratitude, for he shall not be disappointed.”
W.C. Bennett
“One begins to lose interest in any given task and slacks off just as one is beginning to get somewhere in accomplishing the task.”
Richard Bernstein
“There are only two kinds of people who fail: those who listen to nobody . . . and those who listen to everybody.”
Thomas Beshere, Jr.
“As a grown man you should know better than to go around advising people.”
Bertolt Brecht
“At some point in the life cycle of virtually every organization, its ability to succeed in spite of itself runs out.”
Richard H. Brien
“Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance.”
Sam Brown
“1) People always find time to do the things they want to do. 2) People always find the money to get the things they want to get.”
Vincent Budri
“If you’ve been in the game thirty minutes and you don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.”
Warren Buffett
“Find out what you don’t do well, then don’t do it.”
Myles Callum
“A sinner can reform, but stupid is forever.”
Lt. Col. William P. Campbell
“The pessimist thinks the old days were better; the optimist thinks things will get better. Both are wrong.”
Don Caron
“Improving something is admirable, but inevitably five times zero is still zero.”
Dean Travis Clarke
“Assumption and presumption are the parents of all foul-ups.”
E. Staley Clements, Jr.
“Each problem solved introduces new unsolved problems.”
Found at the U.S. Department of Labor
“Some folks say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but others point out that it is the first one to be replaced.”
Harold Coffin
“Businesses exert the tightest controls over the easiest thing to control, rather than the most critical.”
Kenneth B.Collins
“Just because the industry leader does it that way doesn’t mean it’s the best way of doing it.”
Ernest F. Cooke
“Morality moves down the corporate ladder, but seldom up.”
Rae Andre and Peter Ward
“When a person says ‘I’m as good as you are!’ it means that he thinks he’s better.”
Jerry Cowan
“For every simple solution there are a number of complex problems.”
Lloyd Craine
“Every advantage has a corresponding disadvantage.”
Charlie Czusak
“If you have to take it or leave it, leave it.”
Mike O’Neill
“The fury engendered by the misspelling of a name in a column is in direct ratio to the obscurity of the mentionee.”
Alan Deitz
“To beat the bureaucracy, make your problem their problem.”
Marshall L. Smith
“When you are on the bottom you can’t afford to look like you belong there.”
Mike Downey
“If they say they love you, trust their behavior. If they say they don’t love you, trust their words.”
Dr. John H. Dickey
“One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.”
Will Durant
“Anyone nit-picking enough to write a letter of correction to an editor doubtless deserves the error that provoked it.”
Alvin Toffler
“That which we call sin in others is experiment for us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.”
Susan Ertz
“Long-range planning works best in the short-term.”
Doug Evelyn
“Don’t ask the barber whether you need a haircut.”
Daniel S. Greenberg
“Regardless of how good we are in bed, our relationship is entirely dependent on how good we are out of bed.”
John E. Eyberg
“You may never reach a solution, but you’re never absolved from the responsibility of trying.”
Millicent Fenwick
“The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.”
K.C. Flory
“There is no exception to the rule that everybody likes to be an exception to the rule.”
Malcolm Forbes
“Nobody ever got rich under-tipping waiters and stiffing cab drivers.”
Fred Friendly
“By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day.”
Robert Frost
“The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”
John W. Gardner
“The worse the society, the more law there will be. In Hell, there will be nothing but law, and due process will be meticulously observed.”
Grant Gilmore
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no use making a fool of yourself.”
W.C. Fields
“When a kick in the ass doesn’t work, create envy.”
Rev. Frederick G. Gotwald
“You want it bad, you'll get it bad.”
Richard C. Savage
“There is an inverse relationship between front-page media coverage and getting things done.”
Bill Harris
“No one asked you to write. And no one will care if you stop. If you succeed, no one will notice. It’s a rough, heartless business.”
George Higgins
“People will take tough decisions only when not taking them is tougher.”
Walter Hoadley
“It is impossible to overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”
Clark Holloway
“If you can’t tie good knots, tie plenty of them.”
From a Dewar’s scotch ad
“When a person with experience meets the person with money, the person with the experience will get the money. And the person with the money will get the experience.”
Leonard Lauder
“Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this: that you are dreadfully like other people.”
James Russell Lowell
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you treat everything like a nail.”
Abraham Maslow
“'Be yourself!' is about the worst advice you can give some people.”
Tom Masson
“A fool in a high station is like a man on the top of a high mountain: everything appears small to him and he appears small to everybody.”
Professor Leader W. Matsch
“One of the worst things that can happen in life is to win a bet on a horse at an early age.”
Danny McGoorty
“Success is when your mother reads about you in the newspaper.”
Mike Nichols
“Someone else probably has the same ideas so a) get started, b) plan to do it better.”
Paul Obis
“Stand on any street corner in any city of the world. Close your eyes. Stick out your arms. You will touch a schmuck.”
William Marks
“After all is said and done, a hell of a lot more is said than done.”
Clark Olmstead
“The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist knows it.”
J. Robert Oppenheimer
“You don't win wars by dying for your country; you win wars by making the other poor bastard die for his country.”
George S. Patton
“In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.”
“If you’re coasting, you’re going downhill.”
L.R. Pierson
“The first person to spot and chastise a phony is either a big phony or a bigger phony than the one he’s passed judgment on.”
Randall L. Koch
“The secret to happiness is to let the other fellow do the worrying.”
A.J. Reach
“If it feels good, do it. If it doesn’t feel good, do it anyway. It will feel good when it is over with.”
James D. Haviland
“Luck is the residue of design.”
Branch Rickey
“Before I got married, I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories.”
Lord Rochester
“You never destroy the 'establishment'; you simply replace it. If you do take over, you become the establishment.”
Bruno Rolark
“The world is full of sane people taking medicine to enable them to cope with all the insane ones who should be using medications but refuse to do so.”
Dr. Donald J. Rosato
“Never characterize the importance of a statement in advance.”
Charles G. Ross
Trip to Ireland, Scotland, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Kathleen Kennedy, others, 1937: July-August
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/KFC/006/KFC-006-020?image_identifier=KFC-00719N
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy visits the Pontifical North American College (also known as American College of the Roman Catholic Church of the United States) in Rome, Italy. Mrs. Kennedy is accompanied by the Rector, Monsignor Martin J. O'Connor
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHP/1962/Month%2003/Day%2011/JFKWHP-1962-03-11-A
Saint Marianne Cope
Saint of the Day for January 23
(January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918)
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODJan23.mp3
That Time of Year; By Domhnall de Barra
Coming up to Christmas, my mind always wanders back to days of yore when the world was indeed a different place. There are huge changes since those days, most of them for the better, but there are also some good things that have been lost along the way. The biggest difference between the middle of the last century and today is how more well off we are now. Today, thank God, there is little or no poverty in our area. Back then it was an entirely different story. The years after the 2nd world war were lean ones indeed with no employment and a real scarcity of money. Families were usually big; 9 or 10 children being the norm but some were much bigger. Small farms were dotted around the parish, most of them with 10 or 12 cows to milk, and they barely survived. The farm was handed on to the oldest son so all the other siblings had to find work. The only employment available was to work for bigger farmers, most of whom lived on the good lands down the County Limerick, or working for shopkeepers and publicans in the village or nearby towns.
There was only so much of this to go around so, as soon as they were old enough, the boys and girls from Athea emigrated to England or America to find a better life for themselves. There was many a tear shed at the railway station in Abbeyfeale or Ardagh as young people, who had never seen the outside world, embarked on the long trip to some foreign city, not knowing what they were facing. There was hardly a house in the parish that was not affected by this mass exodus of our finest young people. It was however the saving of this country because those who found work with McAlpine, Murphy, and the likes sent home a few pounds every so often to help the family left behind. The postman was a welcome visitor bearing the letter with the English or American stamp. People would also send home parcels, especially coming up to Christmas. You didn’t have much growing up in that era. You had two sets of clothes, one for weekdays and one for Sunday, well, when I say Sunday I suppose I really mean for going to Mass because as soon as you got home the clothes were taken off in case they got dirty!. The ordinary clothes were often hand-me-downs from older brothers and sisters and might have been repaired and altered many times. The mothers, in those days, were deft with sewing, darning and mending. When a shirt collar got frayed it would be “turned” and it looked like a new garment. The socks were made of thick wool and worn all the week. Naturally they got damp in the wellingtons, our main type of footwear, so we hung them over the fire at night . In the morning they would be stiff as pokers and we often had to beat them off the floor or a nearby chair to make them pliable enough to put on. There was no such thing as an underpants in those times or indeed belts for the trousers. A pair of braces did the trick and kept the trousers from falling down. That is why the parcel from abroad was so welcome. The new clothes they contained transported us into a different world and we felt like kings in our modern outfits.
The food was also simple but wholesome. Bacon and cabbage or turnips was the norm at dinner but sometimes we would make do with a couple of fried eggs and mashed potatoes or “pandy” as we used to call it. The eggs were from our own hens and had a taste you will not find today. Sausages were a rare treat and of course we looked forward to a bit of pork steak and puddings when a neighbour killed a pig.
Education was basic national school level, except for the few who could afford the fees for secondary school so, all too soon, childhood was over and the next group took to the emigration trail. There was great excitement at this time of the year because most of those who emigrated, especially to England, came home for Christmas. Their arrival at the station was eagerly awaited on the last few days before the festive season and we were in awe of their demeanour as they stepped down from the train dressed in the most modern of clothes with their hair in the latest fashion. There was much rejoicing and a nearby hostelry was visited where the porter flowed freely as those who came home were very generous to those who had stayed behind and had no disposable income. It was now time for a change of diet because nothing was too good for the visitors and we gorged ourselves on fresh meat from the butchers and “town bread”.
Midnight Mass was a special occasion with the church full of people all wishing each other a happy Christmas. The crib was a great attraction for the children who looked in awe at the baby Jesus in the manger. There was a solemnity about it and a sense of celebration at the same time. The Christmas dinner was a real feast with a goose or a turkey filling the middle of the table surrounded by spuds, Brussels sprouts and other vegetables. Jelly and custard followed and it was like manna from heaven! I don’t think many of today’s youngsters will be as excited as we were or cherish every moment in the company of family members who would soon take the lonesome trip back across the seas. Even though, today, we have more than enough I would give anything to go back to that time when I was a boy and experience the magic once more.
A group of 30 bishops from 18 different Churches in 14 countries met in Northern Ireland last week to explore the depth of collaboration between Christians here.
It was the first time the annual international ecumenical meeting, which is organised by the Focolare Movement, has come to the north.
Daniel Rudd- Calling a Church to Justice
by Gary B. Agee
In May of 1890, the Christian Soldier, an African American newspaper, identified the Catholic journalist and activist Daniel Arthur Rudd as the "greatest negro Catholic in America." Yet many Catholics today are unaware of Rudd's efforts to bring about positive social change during the early decades of the Jim Crow era. In Daniel Rudd: Calling a Church to Justice, Gary Agee offers a compelling look at the life and work of this visionary who found inspiration in his Catholic faith to fight for the principles of liberty and justice. Born into slavery, Rudd achieved success early on as the publisher of the American Catholic Tribune, one of the most successful black newspapers of its era, and as the founder of the National Black Catholic Congress.
JULIA GREELEY BOOK FOR SALE
The Julia Greeley Guild is selling the book Julia Greeley: Denver’s Angel of Charity, written and illustrated by the 2018-2019 Annunciation Catholic School 5th Grade Class, as a fundraiser. The cost of the book is $15.00, and monies raised will assist in the process of the Canonization of Servant of God Julia Greeley. For additional information or to order a book, please contact Mary Leisring at the Cathedral Basilica 303-831-7010 or email: maryl@denvercathedral.org.
The Church has given us the gift of the saints to show that God does great things in people’s lives. The saints, after all, were ordinary people, too. They needed to call on the Lord for help.
By actively praising God and giving thanks, our hearts will find the resting place that we so desire. Saint Teresa of Avila said this:
“Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you.
All things are passing away:
God never changes.”
The Story of the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
The Church has encouraged prayer for the dead from the earliest times as an act of Christian charity. “If we had no care for the dead,” Augustine noted, “we would not be in the habit of praying for them.” Yet pre-Christian rites for the deceased retained such a strong hold on the superstitious imagination that a liturgical commemoration was not observed until the early Middle Ages, when monastic communities began to mark an annual day of prayer for the departed members.
In the middle of the 11th century, Saint Odilo, abbot of Cluny, France, decreed that all Cluniac monasteries offer special prayers and sing the Office for the Dead on November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints. The custom spread from Cluny and was finally adopted throughout the Roman Church.
The theological underpinning of the feast is the acknowledgment of human frailty. Since few people achieve perfection in this life but, rather, go to the grave still scarred with traces of sinfulness, some period of purification seems necessary before a soul comes face-to-face with God. The Council of Trent affirmed this purgatory state and insisted that the prayers of the living can speed the process of purification.
Superstition easily clung to the observance. Medieval popular belief held that the souls in purgatory could appear on this day in the form of witches, toads or will-o’-the-wisps. Graveside food offerings supposedly eased the rest of the dead.
Observances of a more religious nature have survived. These include public processions or private visits to cemeteries and decorating graves with flowers and lights. This feast is observed with great fervor in Mexico.
Mission Prayer:
Heavenly Father, when your only begotten Son Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He commissioned His followers to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ and you remind us that through our Baptism we are made sharers in the mission of the Church. Empower us by the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be courageous and zealous in bearing witness to the Gospel, so that the mission entrusted to the Church, which is still very far from completion, may find new and efficacious expressions that bring life and light to the world. Help us make it possible for all peoples to experience the saving love and mercy of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen
Reflection:
Mission Sunday is a day for us to reflect on the contribution we, as Irish people, have made to this mission in the past and how we live it today. Mission was understood as going abroad, to countries where the Church was not yet strong or to places where people suffered from poverty or conflict. This is indeed still necessary and valid today and we pray people will continue to give their lives to mission in this way.
Mission was also seen as the task primarily of priests and religious, with some few lay missionaries, and their work was very much supported by the generosity of the Irish people. Pope Francis today is encouraging all the baptised to more actively assume their responsibility as ‘missionary disciples’. Many Catholics in Ireland, especially among our youth, see little relevance of the faith in their lives. Hence, a challenge for all of us as Catholics is to take the time to seriously reflect on our faith experience, seek to become more knowledgeable about the Scriptures and some of the teachings of the Church, ask ourselves questions about it and seek to articulate it meaningfully to ourselves and others, and then base our action on our experience of the faith. Mission is essentially faith in action, and to this we as baptised are all called to be committed.
There are many ways in which people live mission today, both in Ireland and overseas. These include being involved in action to prevent trafficking, various kinds of social and community work with the poor and marginalised, reaching out to refugees and migrants and action to care for the earth. Some of those people who are engaged in these activities may not profess a formal Christian faith, but it is evident that their activities are inspired by Gospel values and they are promoting the reign of God.
A couple of years ago, I read about three women at an online magazine. These women were all very successful, secular career women, but each expressed a deep discontentment with her life. One said she wanted to just go bake bread, another said she wanted to plant a garden, and the third said she wanted to leave everything behind and just go raise a mess of children. What was going on with these women and how is it that they were pulled so strongly by these desires despite appearing to “have it all,” as judged by the world?
The lace pieces on display were all the work of local lacemaker, Nora Moriarty. Nora, who passed away in 2018, was a native of Listowel. She lived in Church Street before her marriage to Tadhg Moriarty. When Nora retired from teaching she pursued her dream of a life in craftwork, particularly lace making. She studied at Mallow College of Design and Tailoring. She received a City and Guilds Diploma in Dress Design. Carrickmacross lace was her passion and she became a member of the Guild of Irish Lacemakers.
Mary Shields from that guild told us a bit about lace in general and Carrickmacross lace in particular. Two of the characteristics of this lace are its scalloped edge and its shower of hail design. Nora was a master craftswoman and took great pains over design and execution of her lace projects. She produced a huge body of lacework in her lifetime. On display were dresses that could be worn from the cradle (a Christening gown), a wedding dress and many handkerchiefs and presentation pieces.
Nora's son, Eugene told us of the family's pride in his mother's work. He drew our attention to some of the pieces that told the story of Nora's involvement with local organisations. She was the first honorary secretary of Listowel Writers' Week and she belonged to three different drama groups. She was a member of the Listowel Singers and the church choir. Members of all of these groups testified to Nora's generosity in making logos, pin cushions and keyrings for them.
(From Listowel Connection May 2019)
A Time for Action
By Domhnall de Barra
We never seem to learn in this country. Wouldn’t you think, after the financial ruin that resulted from the last boom and burst, that we would be prepared and determined never to go down that road again but no, we are making the same mistakes all over again. It is frightening to think that renting a flat in Dublin is now more expensive than paying off a mortgage but that is the reality. It is all down to a shortage of housing we are told and, if that is so, why aren’t building sites springing up all over the country. It takes far too long to get planning permission for a start. I know of one man who applied for planning permission to build a modest bungalow on his own land. He submitted his plans and waited for months. Eventually he had a visit from an official who looked at the site and went away again. A couple of weeks later he got a letter telling him that planning permission could not be granted and outlining the problem. He was invited to re-submit his application with new plans so he had to go back to his architect and fork out a few hundred Euro to incorporate the changes. He was contacted officially to say that there was a further problem as the house was facing the wrong way. Another trip to the architect and more plans submitted. To cut a long story short this happened on no less than five occasions. When he eventually got the planning permission it was almost identical to the first set of plans except that the roof had to be six inches lower. I know we have to have planning laws but surely there is a better way of doing things.
Objections are another problem. A friend of mine, back in Kerry, applied to Kerry Co. Council for planning permission to build a house on his land next to his existing house which was getting a bit run down. After jumping through the usual hoops he was successful but that wasn’t the end of the story. A man, living in Foxrock in Dublin, who hadn’t even seen the site of the house, objected to An Bord Pleanala on the grounds that the proposed building was in a scenic area and would be a blight on the landscape. His appeal was successful and the decision by Kerry Co. Council was overturned. I’m sorry but I don’t think that is either fair or desirable. Another problem is the NIMBY factor. If there is a proposed housing scheme of social houses objections come in thick and fast. We all agree that there should be housing for the less well off and the travelling community but not in my back yard!. If the government are serious about providing housing then they must relax some of the rules that are causing huge delays and get building as soon as possible.
There is another problem. There aren’t enough tradesmen to fill the vacancies that exist at the moment, never mind if we get a building boom. They are all working in Australia, and Canada, The US and other countries where they are earning good money. Why should they return to Ireland to work on a building site in Dublin where they will have less pay and have to fork out over €300 a week for some place to stay. Just because there is a shortage of rental properties doesn’t mean that owners are justified in charging the maximum the market will allow. There should be a ceiling for rents that will be fair to all. In the meantime many families are homeless with no light at the end of the tunnel. Is this government really capable of delivering the goods? Recent events are not in their favour. For a start there was the mismanagement of the tendering for the children’s hospital which resulted in massive over-runs. Then we have the broadband fiasco where a bidding process ended up with just one bidder who has been awarded the contract to provide fibre optic broadband to every premises in the country at a multiple of what the original cost was. The government propose putting in 3 billion as oppose to less than 300 million by the private contractor. To add insult to injury, when it is completed, the state will have no ownership or no return from the project. There is a semi-state body called the ESB who already have the infrastructure in place and could surely be able to deliver this project at a fraction of the proposed cost. The government however seem to favour private enterprise. Should we have sold off Eircom a few years ago? If they were still state owned we wouldn’t have the problem and they could be funded, again at much less than the 3 billion. One would think that there is no shortage of money but the reality is that we are still up to our neck since the bail out and there is still the housing crisis, the health crisis and many more projects that need capital.
Providing broadband is appealing to politicians, especially those in rural Ireland who see it as a vote getter in future elections. That is fine but the price is too high. There is only so much to go around so some projects will suffer, we don’t know which ones yet. It is time to draw up a list of priorities and deal with them one by one. Providing housing for our people and looking after their health should be top of the list and should be dealt with before any project and if that means raising taxes – so be it!
Pieta- by Susan Spear - May 2019
Your gown falls fold on fold, Mary, full
of shadows softening your odd proportions.
You sit all wrong, holding Jesus’ body,
his large frame draped across your too-wide lap.
Your over-sized right hand supports his shoulder.
You turn your left hand upward, open, empty.
On the rocks of Golgotha you cradle
his figure—still, and warm. You do not cry.
You do not rage. Softly, you gaze downward,
your marble visage youthful and untroubled.
Tears blur my vision. Your face, forever calm,
bobs up and down. Anger burns my throat.
Or grief. When I faced my son’s bent, cold frame,
I hurled thunder at the heavens.
Mother of God, wail. Grieve the death
of this, your son, as I have for mine.
Or, give me peace, your sacred mystery.
Give me grace. Let it be unto me.
—Susan Spear
From Holy Week through Divine Mercy Sunday — and beyond — we should try not to miss out on these indulgences for ourselves or for any soul in purgatory who might get the chance to reach heaven in time for Easter and well beyond.
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/holy-weeks-plenary-indulgences
Fr. George P. McKenna 1919 – 2019
Feb 5, 2019
Written almost 7 years ago, Fr. George didn’t realize that Our Lord was not finished with him yet. This is the second of two posts that Uncle George wanted at his wake and funeral last week. His Blog will remain active for some time, with less frequency (monthly?), until his old writings have been depleted. All who have met our Uncle, either in person, or through his written word attest to the fact that he was a Good and Faithful Servant of God. We are all blessed to have had him in our lives. He lived and died in the Peace of Jesus of Nazareth. He was a saint among us, and we thank God for his 99+ years! We thank each of you for your love and support throughout his rich and rewarding life, and we thank all his students, friends, old parishioners, volunteers, care givers and followers of his blog and books that came out last Thursday and Friday to pay your respect and share your wonderful stories with us. Your comfort and love warmed our hearts.
Fr. McKenna’s Family
Palm Sunday April 17, 2011
As I celebrate the 9:00AM Mass at Midway Airport Chapel, for some 50 people, little did I realize that would be the last public Mass of my Priesthood of 67 years.
Palm Sunday April 1, 2012
I concelebrated Mass with brother priests. The last eleven months have been the most trying of my 92+ years. I have been in the hospital four times for no special sickness, just a general weakening of the body. I have spent the past 10 weeks in our nearby nursing home, Holy Family Villa. I hope to return to Bishop Lynne Retirement Residence for Priest in a short time.
This is my first writing since April 17, 2011. What can I tell you? Be sure to make a place for prayer while you are still in good health. I found conversing with the Lord difficult while I was in poor health. My prayer these days through difficult times is this: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, help me to have the courage to live today.” My poor vision keeps me from any kind of writing. No more driving for me. As I sit in my room and see people hurrying across the roadway, I wonder to myself, “Are these people offering to God the gift of good health they are enjoying?” The ability to walk unassisted is a gift to be prized.
In 2012, my consolation is my blog on the internet at fathermckenna.wordpress.com. I have not been able to answer any letters. On the Blog, people can find a weekly bulletin that I wrote in the past every Saturday evening. We have been enjoying much success by means of the Blog. Tell others about it. God has been good to me. This is the name of the Blog – God is Good!
Even if I die soon, the blog will continue to go on due to Joe Tucker, my blog administrator and nephew. Enjoy our ordination class photo, there are only four of us left as I write this. God bless all who make known to others my Blog. I will remember you and yours in heaven. Hope I make it!
Fr. George McKenna
Readers
May 1, 2014
Unc George 44All is well. My name is Joe Tucker and I help Fr. McKenna with his Blog on a weekly basis. I am fortunate to be related to Uncle George through marriage. He is thrilled with the success of this Blog and that his message of Christ’s love for us has spread across the world – now having over 16,000 views in 111 different countries.
This Tuesday, May 6, Fr. McKenna celebrates the 70th Anniversary of his Ordination. Each week Fr. George’s family shares with him the stats and the comments that come through God Is Good! If you have the time, and the inclination, please drop a note to Father through a comment on this blog. Look through his old posts – I am sure there is a message that will touch your heart. Each comment and note will be read by and enjoyed by Fr. McKenna.
Share a story, let him know how he has touched your life, or the lives of those you’ve shared his stories with. He does not know that I have put this request out, but I do know how special this Servant of God is to my life and the lives of hundreds, probably thousands of people across the world. And I do know that each of you have a story to share. God Bless.
God Is Good & So Are YOU!
Jan 29, 2019
I felt this was a fitting picture. Fr. George’s Wake and Funeral Mass will be held at St. Barnabas.
I have had the pleasure for the last 8 years to bring to you the life and wisdom of one of the greatest men I have ever known. Through his writings we all came to know him just a little bit better, and in that process, our lives – if we followed his simple suggestions – became better too! The old saying, “they broke the mold when they made. . . ” amply applies to George Patrick McKenna.
8 years ago, Uncle George wanted to put out a 5th book, and when he got an idea in his mind, believe me, it was hard to change it. His nieces (one is my beautiful wife), would visit him every Saturday and Sunday, and weekly they would hear about his plans. Understandably, we had doubts. He was 92 years old, and at the time was going through some health issues. Would a book make sense at this late time in his life? My daughter suggested a blog as a means for him to reach even more people than a little paper back would, and the cost would be nothing but the time spent typing out the page. In a short time, Uncle George agreed to give this new technology a try and his little Blog – which has now reached 147 countries and has been viewed more than 53,000 times, was born.
Each week became routine. The blog for the week would be created from his treasure trove of writings, he would review the finished project, it would be published, and then his nieces would read to him each and every comment that was sent in. It not only brightened his day, but it gave him the hope and will to keep moving, keep living, and keep looking forward to tomorrow. I can confidently say that YOU, each and every one of YOU who sent in your thoughts, your love, and your gratitude – kept this humble servant of God, not only living, but thriving up to the end.
Through these 8 years, I have marveled at the love, admiration and gratitude of the comments that you have all written about Fr. McKenna. As his family, we knew he was special, but that took on new meaning when you all confirmed what we already knew.
I continue to be amazed at the memories you have shared. These stories were sparks of hope and life for Fr. McKenna. You might not realize this, but this little blog and YOUR response, YOUR acceptance, YOUR love and most importantly, YOUR COMMENTS kept him going these last 8 years. We all need to be loved and appreciated. Without this beautiful gift, our lives would be lonely, despondent and bleak. Uncle George’s existence was supported and nurtured by the outpouring of love you showed each and every week through your comments.
This Thursday and Friday we will be saying our earthly good byes to our Uncle, Friend, Priest, Confessor, Teacher and Spiritual Guide. Thank you, to each of you for giving us these extra 8 years to live and love this remarkable man. You made a difference in his life, more than you know.
Joe Tucker
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/25783819/posts/2733
Catholic News Article
Catholic education should be celebrated – Kate Liffey
The year before last, my now-96-year-old father, Robert McQuillan, decided to take a little trip down memory lane.
He made contact with his old secondary school, the former Christian Brothers’ secondary in Dundalk.
He received a warm welcome from the current principal of Coláiste Rís, Padraig Hamill.
The old roll books were taken down from a dusty shelf somewhere and my dad’s name and the names of his fellow students were mulled over; memories flooding back for my father and the story of the school’s pivotal role in the education of the youth of Dundalk since 1869 unfolding once again as the two men talked together.
Listening to my dad reminisce about his education, I imagine his story as a fairly common one for his generation and the generations after his.
He was born in 1923, the third son of seven children. His father was a master blacksmith who worked on the Great Northern Railway but it was primarily from his mother that the wish for a good education came.
He started primary school in 1928 with the Sisters of Mercy and then moved in 1929 and went to the Christian Brothers’ primary, in the 60th year of the school’s founding.
His first teacher was a Belfast man, Johnny Barnes. My father remembers him fondly as a great soccer player – something with which the Brothers at the time were not too enamoured.
Robert McQuillan still remembers the names, and personalities, of most of the teachers, the laymen and the Brothers, who taught him.
He remembers the exact fee for the education he received – 30 shillings a term, with the third boy and following boys free.
My father tells me very matter-of-factly that without the Christian Brothers and other Religious Orders like them in the town, there would have been no education at all for boys like him.
He doesn’t ‘sugar coat’ it either, acknowledging the complexity of the history of the Brothers in Ireland.
But for my dad, he will always be grateful for the rich educational experience he received from them and what it empowered him to do with his life.
Four of the six boys in my father’s family – one little boy, Danny, sadly died from diphtheria as a child – went on to sit their Leaving Certificate.
His sister and two of his brothers sat the Intermediate Certificate, now the Junior Certificate. This was no mean feat in terms of academic achievement for those times.
One of my father’s happiest memories was the day the Leaving Certificate results were published.
Brother Sullivan came out to the family home and the envelope was handed over with very matter of fact words of congratulations; he had come in the top four candidates in the town.
The results were published in the Dundalk Democrat and my grandfather carried the newspaper cutting to show his friends at work. That was in 1941.
A number of years later and all of my uncles who achieved their Leaving Certificate results read at university, with one going on to gain a PhD in mathematics.
My dad graduated as a mature student with a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from University College Dublin.
It is worth remembering, of course, that all of this happened in my father’s family well before the introduction of free education.
Fast forward to this year, and having helped prepare many thousands of young people for the world in which we live, my dad’s old school in Dundalk will celebrate, with a certain very justifiable pride and satisfaction, 150 years of its existence in 2019.
Across every town in Ireland, north and south, similar schools were set up by large numbers of religious men and women. They were founded to serve the needs of local communities.
In the case of the Christian Brothers, founded by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice in the early part of the 19th century, ‘the local’ mattered a great deal.
Local needs around education were met locally. Well over 100 schools were established up and down the country, the most recent one in Bray, Co Wicklow in 1956.
The history of these schools is obviously mixed – and that of course, must be remembered – but that they sought to serve local communities, especially poorer communities, is significant.
One of Blessed Edmund Rice’s most famous sayings is: “Were we to know the merit and value of only going from one street to another to serve a neighbour for the love of God, we should prize it more than silver and gold.”
The theme of Catholic School’s Week in 2019 – which is being celebrated this week – is ‘Celebrating the Work of our Local Catholic Schools’.
For all of us who benefited from a Catholic education, it is worth reflecting that when we talk about the characteristic spirit or ethos of our local Catholic schools, we are not just talking about the faith context of the school, although that is important; rather, we are also referring to the school’s history, and geographical and social context.
All of this will hopefully make for a rich, honest and very real celebration of all that has been achieved in Catholic education in local communities and in the lives of thousands – even hundreds of thousands – of young people.
Among that number my dad, Robert McQuillan, is very happy to count himself.
Kate Liffey is the National Director for Catechetics and co-ordinator of the National Faith Development Team Council for Catechetics of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
This article appears in the Faith Matters column of The Irish News newspaper of 31 January 2019 to coincide with the celebration of Catholic Schools Week 2019.
This content is provided by www.catholicnews.ie, the news source for the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. All queries relating to the article should be directed to bdrumm@catholicbishops.ie.
Timothy J. Williams teomatteo • 5 days ago
It's all in the "empowerment" language they use, which is the basis of feminism. They view any notion of "modesty" as part of the male "hegemony" over women. It makes no earthly sense. They rail against pornography - rightly so - but at the same time refuse to acknowledge the sexualization of women in the extreme immodesty of contemporary fashion. The irrationality of their positions makes any dialogue impossible.
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/what-modesty-is-and-isnt-and-why-it-matters
Stopes
Perhaps unsurprisingly Stopes admired Hitler. In 1935 she attended the Nazi-sponsored International Congress for Population Science in Berlin. On the eve of the Second World War, she sent the Führer a gushing letter with a copy of a slim volume of love poems she had composed. A poem of hers from 1942 has this to say:
Catholics…
The Jews and the Russians,
All are a curse,
Or something worse…
Abortion in GB
The profile of those seeking abortions is also telling. Although women seeking abortions were chiefly aged between 20- and 24-years old, the figures show that in the past years the demand from this age group has been decreasing while at the same time it has risen among women aged over 30-years old. The abortion statistics for 2017 also show a rise in repeat abortions from 73,582 in 2016 up to 74,204 in 2017. In 2017, therefore, 38 percent of all UK abortions were repeat abortions.
The PSPO in place in Ealing not only prohibits peaceful witness outside the facility but also specifically any prayer near it. This is ironic given the history of the building in question. It was once an Anglo-Catholic convent. For years, a group of devout Christian women prayed in its chapel, in what was a place of healing for troubled souls; later, it was to become a maternity home. In short, the building’s current use is the very antithesis of what it once was.
Seamrog • 6 hours ago
"Another London abortion facility at Richmond, where 5,877 abortions took place in 2017, was once a convent run by a Catholic order of nuns, the Daughters of the Immaculate. Within the building there was a chapel where they celebrated Holy Mass. Today, a very different sacrifice takes place."
samton909 • 5 hours ago
An outstanding essay today at The Catholic Thing about a new book by Daniel J. Mahoney that talks about how "humanitarianism" came to replace God in the twentieth century, and how Pope Francis, perhaps unwittingly, ends up being on the humanitarian side at times.
https://www.thecatholicthin...
In times like these, when so much is deeply unsettled in both the Church and the world, there are few reliable guides to our predicament. But one has just appeared: Daniel Mahoney’s brief but powerful book: The Idol of Our Age: How the Religion of Humanity Subverts Christianity.
TomD Folake Vaughn • 8 hours ago
Let us not forget Cardinal Sarah's 2017 speech on the Vendean revolt during the French Revolution:
"...Gender ideology, the contempt of fruitfulness and of fidelity are the new slogans of this revolution. Families have become the new Vendées to exterminate. Their disappearance is being methodically planned, as was that of the Vendée in the past...These new revolutionaries are worried by the generosity of large families. They mock Christian families, because these embody everything that they hate. They are ready to attack Africa with new infernal columns in order to pressure on families and to force on them sterilization, abortion and contraception. Africa, like the Vendée, will resist! Families everywhere must be the joyous spearheads of revolt against this new dictatorship of egoism!..."
http://todaysmartyrs.org/pd...
TomD james david • an hour ago; Never forget that in the Netherlands during the public euthanasia debate of the 1980's and 1990's real anti-Nazis - people who had risked their lives to fight Nazis in the 1940's - were slandered as Nazis in the media for opposing euthanasia.
Michael Paterson-Seymour Michael Dowd • 3 hours ago
I once chanced on an article by Sir Dugald Baird, a staunch eugenicist and Neo-Malthusian (the two tend to go together), written when he was the Regius Professor of Midwifery at the University of Aberdeen. He went on to become the President of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists
“In India, though Nehru (Times, 11th December 1963) and his Government recognized the dangers of population increase and supported a policy of birth control, in practice in the second five-year plan for India only $10 million was allocated for population control as against $14 million for malaria control, a measure which, by lowering death rates quickly, could further aggravate the population crisis and reduce the standard of living, in that more capital, skills, and experience are absorbed in looking after children and young people and less is available for industrial development.”
Why, I wondered, did a person holding such views not only choose medicine as a profession, but midwifery as his specialty?
Needless to say, he was a strong supporter of the 1967 Abortion Act and his students went on to fill many chairs of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Motorcade vehicles and personnel
The following lists the order of the vehicles in the Nov. 22, 1963 Dallas Presidential motorcade, along with their occupants
(Break)
Funeral
Main article: State funeral of John F. Kennedy
The state funeral took place in Washington, DC during the three days that followed the assassination.[153]
The body of President Kennedy was brought back to Washington, D.C. and placed in the East Room of the White House for 24 hours.[154][155] On the Sunday after the assassination, his coffin was carried on a horse-drawn caisson to the U.S. Capitol to lie in state.[156] Throughout the day and night, hundreds of thousands lined up to view the guarded casket.[157] Representatives from over 90 countries attended the state funeral on Monday, November 25.[158] After the Requiem Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral, the late President was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_John_F._Kennedy_assassination
Sr. Cecylia was born Maria Roszak on March 25, 1908 in the town of Kielczewo in west-central Poland. After graduating from trade school at the age of 21, she entered a cloistered convent of Dominican sisters in Krakow, at the "On Gródek” monastery, as it is commonly called.
In 1938, she traveled with a group of her sisters to Vilnius (now in Lithuania, but at the time a part of Poland) where the nuns were hoping to establish another convent. However, the outbreak of World War II prevented them from doing so.
St. Francis and US Veterans
Many don't realize that St. Francis of Assisi was a veteran—one who likely suffered from PTSD. Today, military veterans are finding a relatable figure in Francis. The story of the soldier who became the eminent figure for peace has been especially transformative for those involved with veterans programs at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Arizona.
“I consider him my 800-year-old friend,” says Terry Araman, a combat medic in the Vietnam War and a leading advocate for veterans in Arizona. “He’s still very much alive to me.”
A Prayer For Deceased Veterans
O God,
by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest,
look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their
lives in the service of their country.
Grant that through the passion, death, and resurrection of your Son
they may share in the joy of your heavenly kingdom
and rejoice in you with your saints forever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Many don't realize that St. Francis of Assisi was a veteran—one who likely suffered from PTSD. Today, military veterans are finding a relatable figure in Francis. The story of the soldier who became the eminent figure for peace has been especially transformative for those involved with veterans
Listowel Memorial Day 2018
Denver deacon recounts miraculous story of surviving the Holocaust
https://denvercatholic.org/denver-deacon-recounts-miraculous-story-of-surviving-the-holocaust/
Brendan Kennelly talks about his great love for Patrick Kavanagh as a person and as a poet.
In conversation with Theo Dorgan, Kennelly describes Kavanagh as ‘disgruntled, hard to talk to, and yet totally genuine’. He further comments ‘I am very attracted to the kind of person who can write so beautifully and yet be inarticulate’.
A Waste of Time
by Domhnall de Barra
Now that the dust has settled on the presidential election and the referendum on removing blasphemy from the Constitution, we can look back with a cold eye on possibly the least inspiring election for years. It was clear from the word go that Michael D. Higgins was favourite and that it would take something exceptional to oust him. Unfortunately, none of the other candidates gave any indication to the voters that they had what it took to accomplish that task. Instead, they zoned in on the expenses at the Aras and tried to back Michael D into a corner, especially with the use of the government jet to go to the North of Ireland. It was petty to say the least and wily old fox that he is, he managed to sidestep most of the questions. The government has that jet for emergency flights for its ministers and officials who may need to be in Europe or elsewhere at a moment’s notice. The President is the leading citizen of our country so why should he not be allowed to avail of it if necessary if he was so advised to do so on security reasons. It isn’t as if he could lift the phone and say “I am going to Belfast and the drive is very tiring so would you ever send over the jet tomorrow about nine” I have no doubt that the man is not given to extravagance given his background and his political life in the politics of the left so let us park that one.
What became clear during the TV debates between the candidates was that they had very little knowledge of what the office was about. Liadh Ní Riada got caught out trying to deny she had contacted her children’s school to stop them being vaccinated when she had already admitted it on a previous radio programme but her biggest mistake was trying to tie the presidency to a united Ireland. Of course Sinn Féin want a united Ireland, as do most of us in this country, but it has to be achieved through dialogue and consent. It will come eventually due mainly to the fact that the nationalist population will outnumber the loyalists and the promised border poll will sort that out but it is not the job of the president to take sides and interfere in politics. The “dragons” seemed to have nothing to say that mattered until Peter Casey brought up the issue of travellers refusing to move into houses in Tipperary because there was no grazing land for their horses. He was roundly condemned by the others but whatever he said hit a chord with the electorate and catapulted him from being the lowest in the polls to coming in second to Michael D. He has been interviewed many times since and I think it has gone to his head a bit. He is talking about standing for the Dáil in the next elections and, showing an ignorance of how the system works, said he would run for Fianna Fáil. He also said that he would top the poll and go on to be Taoiseach and that if Fianna Fáil did not want him he would form his own political party. He is beginning to sound a bit like a certain individual in the White House and maybe he is adopting some of his style. He is a decent man who has created great employment in his native Donegal and I am sure he would get great support so he does not need the bluster; it makes him less attractive.
Joan Freeman seemed to think she could use the presidency to further her good works with Pieta House and did not understand the limits of the office. They all let themselves down in the debates by descending to petty bickering and trying to damage each other. My immediate reaction was: none of you have shown me any presidential qualities and certainly nothing that would entice me to vote for you. The big loser was Sinn Féin. They caused this election in the first place but underestimated the support of their followers in this state who did not blindly follow the party but voted for Michael D instead. It is a lesson to their leaders that they cannot take support for granted. No doubt most of their members will return to the fold in the next general election and that is good because, whatever Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael say, the country needs a strong opposition of the left to keep a balance. All in all it was a forgettable campaign.
The referendum on the removal of the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution was completely overshadowed by the presidential race. Many voters were surprised to be handed a second voting paper and had to ask what was it for. It got little attention in the lead up and was not really debated at all. It passed by a big majority as was to be expected because in a modern society church and state should be separate and should not favour any one religion. Too many countries, particularly in the Arab regions, are controlled by religious groups who have no tolerance for any freedom of speech. Nobody has ever been convicted of blasphemy in this country so taking it off the constitution won’t make any difference. What we need to do now is ensure that the laws against incitement to hatred are strengthened and that something is done about what is happening on social media. People think they have the right to be racist and abusive on line in the most foul manner and that it is ok. It must be stopped so that we can all live our lives in peace. Anyway the whole election was a complete waste of time and money and should never be repeated.
Sisterhood of Saints: Margaret of Scotland
Circa 1045–November 16, 1093
They say it was love at first sight, the beautiful, educated, pious English princess and the rough and tumble warrior, widower, and Scots king twenty years her senior.
Margaret was devoted to the Lord; Malcolm III, not so much, though he considered himself a believer. Despite all their differences, Margaret and Malcolm proved to be exceptionally well yoked.
In addition to her royal household duties, which included raising their eight children and two sons from the king’s first marriage, Malcolm involved Margaret heavily in matters of state. It was through Margaret that Catholic traditions were integrated into court life, specifically through a synod that resulted in rules regarding the Lenten fast and Easter communion and challenged clerical abuse. She also lived her faith in seemingly small but very visible ways: she washed the feet of the poor and orphans. At meals to assist the needy, she made sure others were served before her. She set aside time for prayer and devotions, a practice Malcolm so admired (though he did not emulate it) that he had some of her books covered in gold and silver. It is said that while he never learned to read them, he was known to hold them and kiss the pages she had been reading.
The couple also founded a number of churches, including the Abbey of Dunfermline, where they are both buried. Margaret died just days after Malcolm and their oldest son were killed in battle. On her deathbed, she mourned them both; blessed their other children; and made a final prayer to the Lord.
It’s not always a bad thing when opposites attract. Margaret’s love for and influence on Malcolm helped Scotland mature into a well-run, compassionate land. May we seek to find the commonalities with those whose upbringings or worldview are different from our own. It may be an evangelization opportunity.
INSPIRATION
“O, my children, fear the Lord; for they who fear Him shall lack nothing, and if you love Him, He will give you, my darlings, prosperity in this life and everlasting happiness with all the saints.”
Saint Margaret of Scotland
CHALLENGE
Talk with your spouse or a close friend about your seeming differences and the similarities that lie underneath. Pray together about ways your strengths can be united to serve God.
Rediscover the Joy of Giving
To do good without counting the cost, even when unasked, even when you gain nothing thereby, even if it is unpleasant. That is what God wants. He, who became small for our sake, asks us to offer something for the least of his brothers and sisters. Who are they? They are those who have nothing to give in return, the needy, the hungry, the stranger, the prisoner, the poor (cf. Mt 25:31–46). We give a gift pleasing to Jesus when we care for a sick person, spend time with a difficult person, help someone for the sake of helping, or forgive someone who has hurt us.These are gifts freely given, and they cannot be lacking in the lives of Christians. Jesus reminds us that if we only love those who love us, we do as the pagans do (cf. Mt 5:46–47).Today let us look at our hands, so often empty of love, and let us try to think of some free gift that we can give without expecting anything in return.
—Pope Francis, as quoted in Believe in Love: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis
Chickens Home to Roost
Once upon a time, not that long ago, the job of Air Hostess (“cabin crews” hadn’t been invented yet) was thought to be a very glamorous one indeed. There was great competition for places and only those with exceptional looks and personalities were considered for a position. In those days only women were considered, men did not start doing the job until much later. Air travel was expensive as well so passengers, who were not short of a bob or two, were very well looked after. I remember the first time I travelled by plane after winning a few bob on the horses. It was from Birmingham to Cork in the ‘sixties and it cost a small fortune. Ordinary working people couldn’t afford the luxury of air travel so they travelled by boat to England and before that to America. Aer Lingus had it all to themselves in Ireland so the fares remained high until Ryanair started operating. They brought a whole new model to the industry with cheap flights available for the first time. It opened up the market and soon other airlines began to lower their prices to compete for business. Ryanair continued to grow and eventually became what it is today; the biggest airline in Europe. They had low fares, at least at face value, but they maximised their profits by getting the last ounce out of their employees. Turnaround time was cut to the minimum and cabin crews had to act as cleaners as well as looking after the passengers. Their wages, which were fairly low, also depended on the amount of sales they made during a flight. Under no circumstances would unions be recognised so workers had no protection. Passengers were not treated very well either. The basic cost of a ticket might be low but then the add-ons started; extra money if you had a bag too big for the cabin, very low weight allowances, extra money if you wanted to choose your seat or get priority boarding at gates where there were no seats so passengers had to stand for long periods in a cue. On board, the cost of food and drink was excessive but they had to make money some way to satisfy the shareholders who, at the end of the day, financed the airline. It is the ugly side of capitalism where workers are exploited to make money for investors. I always thought that some day the bubble would burst when Ryanair employees would be pushed too far and would organise themselves. With what is happening at the moment, it seems that day has arrived. There is unrest among pilots and cabin crews throughout Europe and we are witnessing strike action by a quarter of the pilots in Ireland which is having a very bad effect on business. Share prices have dropped and people are cautious about advanced bookings because of the uncertainty. Eventually management are going to have to recognise trade unions and it is their own fault. They were making great profits for years but instead of treating their employees in a decent manner they sought to get more and more out of them. Now the chickens are coming home to roost and life in Ryanair will never be the same again. We have to be grateful to them for making air travel more affordable but we should also condemn their management style which is nothing short of dictatorial. I hope common ground can be reached and that everyone will be satisfied.
The problem of worker exploitation is not confined to airlines. Big supermarkets use the same tactics to maximise their profits. So called “zero hour” contracts mean that workers only work when required and have no protection. The government have promised to move on this and I hope they do it soon. Every worker is entitled to some type of job security and should have the protection of the state. Having somebody on a beck and call basis is not on. With a job like that a person will never be able to get a mortgage for a house or a loan to buy a car because they do not know from week to week how much, or how little, they might earn. Supermarkets are “cleaning up “ in Ireland, especially the multinational ones. In the trade they refer to Ireland as “treasure island” because they can get away with charging much higher prices than they do in mainland Britain or the North of Ireland. They will not reveal what their profits are in this country but we know that they would not be here unless it was worth their while. I am not a communist and I saw, fist hand, in England how trade unions became so powerful that they practically ruined the car industry, but there is no doubt that good workers deserve decent pay. Treat people well and they will pay you back in kind. There would then be no need for trade unions but I am afraid that many companies cannot be relied on to do the decent thing so it is inevitable that workers will try to defend themselves. We need Ryanair to keep the cost of travel down and to provide destinations for us that other carriers do not. They should not drag out negotiations but grasp the nettle and deal with the dreaded unions, even if it does give Michael O’Leary apoplexy !!
By
Domhnall De Barra
ALQOSH, Iraq - After the Islamic State was driven out of the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq in 2017, the scale of destruction left behind in a chain of historically Christian villages was staggering. This is one case in which numbers do, more or less, tell the tale.
1,233 Christian houses totally destroyed
3,502 Christian houses burnt
8,217 Christian houses partially damaged
34 Church properties wiped out
132 Church properties burnt
197 Church properties damaged in some way
To rebuild the Christian presence here meant that more than 13,000 structures would have to be restored in whole or part.
Abortion
All human beings possess an equal and inherent worth simply by virtue of their humanity, and not on condition of their possessing other qualifications such as size or mental capacity. The Eighth Amendment saves lives. Without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless.
Euthanasia
Many of us face challenges at the end of our lives. To create an ethos of equal respect, we must encourage in our lives, and that of our family, community and in government a society that supports and cares for the weakest and most vulnerable among us.
Gendercide
100 million baby girls are missing. The mission of the Stop Gendercide Now Campaign is to highlight the fact that so many baby girls have disappeared through abortion, infanticide, or neglect and to work for political change to remedy this.
https://prolifecampaign.ie/main/
The Cross: Your Highway to Heaven
There’s a saying that “Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die!” God created us for life, not death. However, Adam and Eve, by rejecting God, the Source of Life, doomed mankind to eternal death. But God, in His unconditional love, sent His Word – Jesus – to become human and show mankind how to conquer sin and overcome suffering and death. Jesus didn’t want to die but He chose to enter it in order to conquer it, thereby making possible the hope of a happy life beyond the grave. Facing His death He prayed, “My soul is troubled now, yet what should I say – Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this that I came to this hour.” (Jn 12:27) Death is the greatest obstacle to human happiness. Jesus cleared the highway to Heaven when by His holy Cross He redeemed the world.
Easter celebrates the victory of life over death. However, it must never be separated from the Cross. Why? The Cross is the prelude to the Resurrection. There’s no resurrection without a crucifixion. The Cross is only way to Heaven. Jesus tells us, “The reason I was born, the reason I came into the world, is to testify to the truth. Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice.” (Jn 12:37) What is the truth? It’s the fact that the sin of Adam and Eve has stained human nature and made every human being, except the Mother of Jesus, prone to selfishness and sinfulness from which we can’t free our self. Only the creator knows how to restore the creature’s integrity. So it is with God and us. God alone, in His unconditional love, has the power to lift us up and save us from our sinfulness by giving us a new self. The Holy Spirit revealed, “You must put on the new self created in God’s image, whose justice and holiness are born of truth.” (Eph 4:24) God gave us that “new self” the day we were baptized into His Church and became a “new creation” as His adopted son or daughter, and Jesus’ adopted brother or sister. The task then was for each of us to enable our new self – Christian self – to grow and mature by faithful living the Christian life as a member of Jesus’ Church healed and nourished by Him in her Sacraments.
The life which Easter celebrates comes only after suffering and death. Even nature herself attests to this reality. Just as spring’s new life encourages us through winter, so Easter makes suffering and dying bearable. It assures us that the best is still ahead. While we don’t choose to die physically, there’s another death that we must choose if we want to mature, namely the dying to our selfish and sinful nature. This involves the Cross which Jesus, through His Church, first imprints on us at our Baptism and lastly on our dead body before burial. Signing our self with the Sign of the Cross reminds us that the Way of the Cross is Jesus’ way to Heaven. This is why Jesus tells us, “If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny His ego, take up his cross, and begin to follow in my footsteps. Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 16:24-25)
Shakespeare’s Hamlet queried, “To be or not to be – that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to rake up arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.” The Cross isn’t the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” that may befall us in life like disease or failure. Rather, the Cross is being faithful to God’s will in the midst of and despite what happens to us whether it’s good, bad, or ugly. Thus the Cross calls for the death of our ego, our greed, lust, sloth, hostility, envy, jealousy, pride, lack of justice and mercy, and an obtuse spirit. Dying to these has to be a personal choice if we’re to be freed from their spiritually death-dealing effects on our soul and spirit. This dying – our Cross – has to be a daily occurrence since our ego and our proneness to sin constantly want to influence our decisions. This means we must shoulder the Cross of trusting in Jesus every moment of our life on earth. Jesus guaranteed each of us of His help when He assured Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life: whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life; and whoever is alive and believes in me will never die.” (Jn 11:26)
The Cross is about making Jesus the centre of our life, no matter what. How? By being a faithful member of His Church discerning, developing and deploying our gifts for the glory of God and the enrichment of others. It’s this Faith that makes physical death bearable, consoles the bereaved, and conquers our ego. We’re assure by the Holy Spirit that, “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we are also to live with Him.” (Rom 6:8) Take up the Cross – it’s your highway to Heaven and Easter joy. Happy Easter to you! (frsos)
St Idé - St Ita - Patroness
Saint Idé - or St Ita - was known as the foster mother of the saints of Ireland. Her name - idé - meant a thirst for holiness, and her feast day is on January 15th (next Monday).
Idé was born Deirdre, to noble parents in Deise, Waterford. She rejected an arranged marriage, instead professing vows to God. She left her father’s safe home and set out with some companions for the Ua Conaill territory in the West of Munster, the present Co. Limerick, to a place called "Cluain Creadhail" which some interpret to mean "Meadow of Faith" and which is now called Kileedy. Here she founded a convent and remained for the rest of her days.
When she decided to settle in Killeedy, a chieftain offered her a large grant of land to support the convent. But Ita would accept only four acres, which she cultivated intensively so she became known as a patron saint for small holders.
The convent became known as a training school for little boys, many of whom later became famous churchmen. One of these was St. Brendan, whom Bishop Saint Erc gave to Ita in fosterage when he was a year old. St. Ita kept him until he was six. The great Navigator revisited her between his voyages and always deferred to her counsel. He once asked her what were the three things which God most detested, and she replied: 'A scowling face, obstinacy in wrong-doing, and too great a confidence in the power of money'. Brendan also asked her what three things God especially loved. She replied, "True faith in God with a pure heart, a simple life with a religious spirit, and open-handedness inspired by charity."
St. Ita died in approximately 570. Her grave, frequently decorated with flowers, is in the ruins of Cill Ide, a Romanesque church at Killeedy where her monastery once stood. The people of Kileedy always celebrate Ita's feast day with dance and song.
She, along with St Munchin and St Senan, is a patron saint of Limerick diocese.
Sean Sheehy, Nov 1 2017
Humility: Key to Practicing Christianity
A young musician asked a taxi driver in New York, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The taxi man replied, “Practice man, practice!” How do we get to be Christian? Practice man/woman, practice! The dictionary tells us that practice is “to follow or to carry on a profession.” To practice Christianity is to follow Jesus the Christ and profess His teaching in our own life as well as to the world. Why would you or I embrace Christianity? Because we see that Jesus is God-become-human, the ultimate source of our meaning, value, power, purpose, happiness, and destiny. The true Christian is able to say with utter conviction, in the words of the Psalmist, “Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me.” (Ps 131:1-3) In other words, Jesus is the source of my mental, emotional, and spiritual peace. Practicing Christianity is about striving to unite with Jesus in His Church.
It isn’t easy to be Christian just as it isn’t easy to love. Christianity is about love, and love is about sacrifice. This is why there’s so little Christianity in pain-phobic world that advocates selfishness, not sacrifice. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine! G.K. Chesterton observed that “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” Jesus set the ideal for Christianity when He said, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and He gave His life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:28, Mk 10:45, Jn 13:1-17) To serve is to put God and neighbour first and believe that’s the best way in which you and I can take up our cross and follow Jesus’s way to Heaven. It’s in giving that we receive, but our reason for giving shouldn’t be determined by what we receive. When we focus only on receiving we’re concerned primarily with our ego. When we focus on giving we concentrate on others’ needs. Jesus made the needs of others His mission. What motivated Him to do that? His humility. The Holy Spirit revealed that Jesus, “emptied Himself and took the form of a slave … He humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!” (Phil2:7-8)
The virtue of humility is the key to practicing Christianity. It’s the realistic acceptance of who we truly are, why we’re here, and what we need. It’s humility that brings us to Jesus. How? Jesus revealed, “I have come to invite sinners to a change of heart.” (Lk 5:32) Humility lets us see our addiction to sinfulness so we seek Jesus to free us. Humility is the antidote to pride. Humility opens our eyes to the reality of our weaknesses while pride blinds us to our flaws and sinfulness. The anthem of the prideful is: “O Lord it is hard to be humble when we’re perfect in every way.” We see the tragic effects of pride even among those who claim to be Christian when they separate from one another. God challenges all Christians, especially the leaders, when He warned, “You have turned aside from my way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction …Have we not all one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another …?” (Mal 1:8-10) Disloyalty and disunity in Jesus’ Church are caused by a lack of humility. We can’t practice Christianity without humility because we need it to admit how much we need God and one another, and how undeserving we are of His love. Humility makes us eternally grateful.
Jesus strongly condemns Church leaders who’re hypocritical and prideful in His Church. “They preach but they do not practice … all their works are performed to be seen.” (Mt 23:4-5) Titles of “Rabbi,” Father,” or “Teacher,” call people to be humble servants, not Lords. There’s only one Lord who reminds us that, “The greatest among you will be the one who serves the rest. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Mt 23:7-12) Jesus called the Pharisees, “blind guides,” (Mt 15:14) because they exhibited a superiority complex rather than humbling themselves to see and hear Jesus presenting God’s Truth, God’s Way, and God’s Life.
Humility shows us that we’re far from perfect. Someone put it like this, “There’s so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that none of us has room to criticize the rest of us.” The Holy Spirit brings us back to reality by revealing that, “If we say, ‘We are free of the guilt of sin,’ we deceive ourselves; the truth is not to be found in us.” (1 Jn 1:8) If the truth isn’t in us, then we can’t be with Jesus since He personifies truth. Without recognizing and accepting the truth we can’t be free. The purpose of Christianity is to free us by embracing Jesus as our Teacher and Model present in His Church. This requires humility to profess that the word of Jesus’ Church “is not a human word but, as it truly is, the Word of God which is now at work in you who believe.” (1 Thess 2:13) Humility is the key to the unity and practice of Christianity. (frsos)
Sean Sheehy, Nov 8 2017
Be Wise
The rotting leaves and denuded trees are visible signs that death is in the air as winter approaches. Jesus Church dedicates November to the memory of all who have died. It’s a reminder that nothing in this world lasts forever. It makes sense, then, to reflect on the fact that we too will leave this world. Therefore it’s wise to prepare for our death so that it doesn’t catch us when we’re not ready. The best preparation for death is to live today knowing we mightn’t have a “tomorrow.” Jesus alerts us to this reality when He warned, “Stay awake, for you know not the day nor the hour”. (Mt 25: 13) This is why we should never put off till tomorrow what we should do today. What we should do today is decide to live wisely knowing that in the end everyone comes face-to-face with Jesus as their Judge. We must make sure that He doesn’t say to us, “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.” (Mt 25:13)
We live in a world overloaded with information. Our laptops and smartphones expose us to practically everything that’s going on in the world. We become jaded by all the knowledge that’s heaped upon us by the various media outlets. Of course there’s lots of false information, fake news, and opinions promoted as truth that have to be filtered out to get to the truth. Yet, despite all the information our stupidity knows no bounds. Obviously knowledge isn’t wisdom.
Wisdom is the trait that enables us to use our information and experiences with common sense and insight. It’s the ability to judge what’s real, true, good, and beautiful. We can given information but we can’t be given wisdom. It has to freely come from within our soul. How often do we feel in our soul that something isn’t right but do it anyway? Wisdom comes from listening to our deeper self – our soul - where God speaks to us in our conscience, where we hear Him in the Holy Bible as interpreted by Jesus’ Church in her teaching, guided by the Holy Spirit. Wisdom is knowledge in action.
Common sense – sadly too uncommon today - tells us that we need our Creator to direct us to our true purpose, which is essential for happiness. The wise person knows his or her true purpose. The Holy Spirit tells us that “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Prov 9:10) The wise person fears losing the Lord’s friendship. Fear is a basic emotion which God gave us for our safety. The wise person’s fear energizes him or her to reflect on what’s needed to be secure. The ultimate security is experiencing God’s love. God revealed that “For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence, and he who for her sake keeps vigil shall quickly be free from distress.” (Wis 6:15) Prudence is about making good judgments. A good judgment means we gain much more than we lose, especially in the long term. We’re prudent when we understand that our greatest gain is being united with Jesus Christ in His Church. In wisdom and prudence we’re able to publicly proclaim, “O God, You are my God whom I seek; for You my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless, and without water … You are my help, and in the shadow of Your wings, I shout for joy.” (Ps 63:2, 8) God alone fulfils our deepest physical and spiritual needs.
Jesus contrasts wisdom with foolishness the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Mt 25:1-13. Wisdom is actively preparing our self to meet Jesus when He comes to judge us at the moment of death. Aesop’s fable tells of the cricket spending the summer singing while the ant prepared for winter. The winter killed the cricket while the ant survived. Wise people prepare for all eventualities while fools take things for granted. The fool’s sin is presumption. The wise person’s virtue is readiness. We’re wise when we take full responsibility for doing what’s needed in order to personally know Jesus through prayer, His Church’s Sacraments, service, and especially through participation in the Holy Mass. Then we won’t face death “like those who have no hope.” (1 Thess 4:13) Why? Because, in the words of St. Paul, “if we believe that Jesus died and rose, God will bring forth with Him from the dead those who have fallen asleep believing in Him.” (1 Thess 4:14)
The wise man or woman always uses common sense. That’s what led the Magi to follow a star that led them to Jesus. It leads us to Jesus who alone rose from the dead and promises to raise those who believe in Him. He awaits us at the end of our days and “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and manifests the intentions of hearts. At that time, everyone will receive what he or she deserves.” (1 Cor 4:5) Wisdom is knowing, in the words of Job, that God “requites men and women for their conduct …” Job 34:11) The fool “says in his or her heart, ‘There is no God,’” hence no need to think about death. (Ps 14:1) Be wise, not foolish! (frsos)
July 2017
ROAD Deaths: July 22, 1987 TEL AVIV (Jul. 21)
Agudat Israel MK Avraham Shapira claimed Monday that pornographic pictures were the cause of Israel’s alarming highway accident rate and suggested that a day of fasting and prayer be declared to “appeal to God’s mercy to stop the awful slaughter on the roads.”
Punishment to Fit the Crime
Domhnall de Bara
Once again, drink driving is to the fore with Shane Ross’s bill to change the punishment for those who are detected with between 50mg and 80mg of alcohol in their system. As the law stands, transgressors who fall into this category are fined heavily and have three penalty points added to their driving licence. Shane Ross’s bill proposes to scrap this and have zero tolerance for anyone caught over 50mg. This means automatic disqualification and everything that follows on from that. According to the supporters of this change, it will save lives and many statistics are trotted out to support this claim. Over 700 accidents last year were attributed to drivers with between 50mg and 80mg in their system. It is immediately assumed that this level of alcohol was the cause of the accidents. It is difficult to say for definite. On Saturday last I was a front seat passenger in a vehicle just leaving Killarney on the way to a golf match in Kenmare. The driver is a very experienced man who was a commercial traveller in his day and travelled the roads of Ireland. He had no alcohol of any kind in his system. As we were driving along in a line of traffic he was distracted by a very pretty, scantily dressed female on the pavement. The vehicle in front of us suddenly braked and if I hadn’t shouted at him to brake we would have ploughed into the car in front with God knows what consequences. Fortunately he braked on time and we avoided a collision by a couple of inches. If I had not been with him there would have been a nasty accident. Now, suppose for a minute this did happen and the guards were called to the scene and let us suppose further that my friend was just over the legal limit. Drink would have been blamed for the accident even though it would have had nothing at all to do with it. Like one American said “there are lies, damned lies and statistics”. Statistics can be very misleading. More accidents are caused by people who do not drink alcohol than those who do. Does that mean it is safer to have a few before driving? Of course not. Likewise one might say that a high percentage of accidents involve those who smoke. It does not follow that smoking is the cause. I am not trying to make an excuse for drink driving. Anyone caught should be punished, especially someone who deliberately drives when they know they are well over the limit but bringing the ultimate sanction down on somebody just over the limit seems to me to be very unfair. How can it be that someone with 50mg in the system is deemed a safe driver and somebody with 51mg is such a danger that he/she must be taken off the road. Remember it is not so long ago that it was deemed perfectly safe to drive after three pints or the equivalent. Before that there was no limit as such. You could drink as much as you liked and if you were stopped by the Gardaí you were asked to walk a straight line to prove you were not intoxicated. To be fair those were different days with very little traffic about and cars that were not capable of the speeds that the modern ones are. Drink driving should never be condoned and down through the years the Gardaí did a good job of getting offenders off the road. Local guards had the knowledge and would know those who were a danger to themselves and other road users. They caught them and they were taken out of the system .There are still those who “take a chance” and have a few drinks before driving home. Personally I don’t think that someone with two pints is a danger on the road but it depends very much on the individual and the tolerance for alcohol. In some cases even one pint will impair that person’s judgement while others are capable of consuming much more without any visible effects. So we can’t have different laws for each individual so it is what it is. Let those who are over the limit be dealt with. What I am arguing for is to keep the system as it is at the moment. Most people who are just over the limit don’t think they are incapable of driving and probably don’t even realise they are until breathalysed. I think it is enough for them to be fined and have the penalty points added. I would, however make a change. If somebody is caught between 50mg and 80mg for a second time, the fine should be doubled and if they are then foolish enough to be caught for a third time, their licence should be taken away. Common sense should prevail or else we could go down the route of some Middle Eastern and African countries where punishments like cutting off the hands of thieves is the norm. The death penalty was thought to be the ultimate deterrent but how many innocent people were deprived of their lives. If the death penalty had not been revoked, the Birmingham six and the Guildford four would all be dead. Let the punishment fit the crime.
Yad Vashem
Last Letters from the Holocaust: 1942
30 August 1942
Les Milles Camp, France
"I can hold my head up high"
Anne Meininger's Last Letter
Anne Meininger wrote these words in her last letter, sent from France to her daughter, Hilde Garti, in Bulgaria.
Eugen Meininger and Anne née Stern lived in Göttingen, Germany. Eugen was in the cattle business. In 1913, their daughter Hilde was born, and their son Franz-Josef was born about 8 years later. In October 1935, Eugen was informed that his trade license had been revoked, and that he had to stop working immediately. Eugen died of heart failure at home the same day. He is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Göttingen.
Hilde married Robert Garti, a Bulgarian Jewish dentist who came to Germany to study, and moved with him to Bulgaria , where their daughters Renée (later Rina Lavie) and Jeneline-Jenny (later Gila Ofir) were born. In 1937, Franz-Josef immigrated to Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine) with the Youth Aliyah, and settled in Kfar Yehezkel.
My darling, darling children,
Today, on your birthday, my thoughts are intensively focused on you. My dear Musch, I hope that you had a good time today, given the circumstances. What wouldn't I give to be with you? We must be patient, that day will yet come. We have been in the camp since Wednesday, and I am truly all right. You at home don't need to worry about me. I am together with many acquaintances, but we will not be staying here although I don't know when we will be leaving. In any event, write to me at Gusty: 7 Rue St. Francois Le Sales, Annecy (Haute-Savoie). She will send the mail on to me.
I hope that you are all right, my loves. Just don't worry about me unnecessarily. The main thing is that we can receive news from each other. Keep writing to me diligently, and send me sweet pictures. It's the mischievous one's [Anne's son, Franz-Josef] birthday the day after tomorrow. This year these are not happy days for me, but I can hold my head up high. You know your mother, she's brave like that. I would love to go to my friends, Otto and Marta, as then I would have pleasant, good people around me. They would definitely be able to help me. Maybe I'll visit Tiltchen. The weather is very good, and I'm in the fresh air all day. You probably have a lot of work. If I was with you, I could be very busy and helpful. When I see you, I will open wide, surprised eyes. I wish it would already happen.
I'm finishing for today. My four dear ones, stay well, and keep writing to me conscientiously.
I kiss you,
Your loving Mutti [Mother]
Remarkable People
It has been my privilege over the years to come across some very clever, witty and artistic people who did not have the benefit of any except the most rudimentary education. Some got there education through reading while others learned from the university of life. They had a wisdom that sometimes is missing in some who have the highest honours from the finest universities. Some of the knowledge they gained was very necessary in an era before weather forecasts on the radio or television. They had to rely on nature’s signs to foretell what the weather would be like. This was vital before they cut the hay because, in those days, everything was done by hand and silage hadn’t been invented. One great judge of the weather was my neighbour Mick “Phil” Woulfe. There were nine families of Woulfe in Cratloe so we knew them all by nick names. Mick was an older man when I was a boy but that didn’t stop him talking to me as he passed the way to the fields up the road. If I asked him about the weather he would stick his thumbs into his braces, examine the sky and would then say something like, “we’ll get rain tomorrow but not ‘till after dinner time”. He was right more often than not. He also gave me one of the best answers I ever got from any question. As a young lad I was mad about football and spent most of my leisure time kicking a ball against the gable end of the house and trying to field it as it rebounded. Mick often stopped to watch me for a few minutes and we would end up discussing football. More than once his daughter Nora would have to come for the cows as they were all waiting for Mick to bring them home for milking. Football was more important to a man who was a gifted footballer himself in his day. An ex footballer called Eamon Mongey wrote a book on Gaelic football and how it should be played. I asked Mick what he thought of it and he replied: “do you know, you can read forever how to ride a bicycle”. Of course he was right. There is no substitute for learning and honing skills by endless hours of practice. There are too many “gurus” around today. I see it especially in the golfing world where young golfers ape the pros they see on television while neglecting to put in the time on the range and the putting green.
Another very interesting man was the great Sliabh Luachra fiddle player, Pádraig O’Keeffe. He was a schoolmaster in a small rural school outside Castleisland. Like many another musicians he was ”fond of the drop” and of course the music gave him plenty opportunities to visit the local hostelries in Castleisland and Scartaglen especially. Eventually, he began to lose time at school and the inspector gave him an ultimatum: the school or the fiddle. Patrick chose the fiddle. He was a great teacher of music and developed his own method of writing for the fiddle. It was based on the four strings with numbers for the fingers. It was simple but effective. One day while working with a group in the bog he was whistling a tune he was composing. One of the men with him, who was also a fiddle player, said he would like to get the tune. There was no pen or paper to hand and Pádraig was afraid he might forget the tune if he waited ‘til the end of the day so he got the four prong pike and drew four lines along the bank of turf and then filled in the notes with his finger. The tune became known as “the bank of turf” and is played to this day. On another occasion he was in Mrs Lyons’ pub in Scartaglen. He hadn’t eaten for a good while and the drink was getting to him. He felt weak and eventually toppled over. Mrs. Lyons came from behind the bar with a fine glass of brandy to revive him. It was doing the trick and he was coming back to himself when one of the lads asked him for a sup. Spirits were much more expensive than porter in those days and would only be consumed on very rare occasions. That is why our man wanted “a sup”. Pádraig looked at him for a minute and turning his head away said, “ If you want brandy, go away and get your own weakness”. Pádraig, through his classes, left a great musical legacy that is unique to Sliabh Luachra to this present day.
I have nothing but admiration for the people who lived long ago and had to use their ingenuity to survive. We have many valuable lessons to learn from them as some of their lessons are relevant to us today. You won’t find as good on twitter or facebook!
Domhnall de Barra
The Cross Is Steady While the Earth Is Turning
by Friar Jeremy Harrington, OFM
Those words really hit me. They are the motto of the Carthusians, a Roman Catholic order of monks founded in 1084 by St. Bruno in Chartreuse, France. The monks leave family, friends, and jobs to live completely for God in contemplation and silence. They come together for prayer and a midday meal, but each monk spends most of the time in his own cell. They talk when they take hikes for three or four hours. Twice a year, there is a daylong community recreation, and the monks may receive an annual visit from family members. There are 25 active Carthusian monasteries on three continents. Roughly 350 men and 70 women presently live this lifestyle.
Obviously, our way of life is totally different. We are called to share our lives with family and community, and to make a better world. Life can be busy, which is why “the cross is steady while the earth is turning” has meaning for us. God, our creator, keeps the earth turning, but, to me, our world seems to be spinning at a terrific speed. Life for us is changing so rapidly that we can easily lose our balance and perspective.
Technology has brought many benefits to us, but also some hazards. For example, computers, e-mail, smartphones, TV, social media, and Skype dramatically increase our ability to communicate. We can send messages around the world almost instantly to promote knowledge and scientific research, but they can also spread falsehoods and lead people away from God. We can become so engrossed in the Internet that we neglect in-depth conversations with family and with God.
Each of us, in our personal world, experiences love and joy, but also suffering and death. Our lives can spin out of control, but the cross is always steady. This helps us keep our balance.
The cross is a rich symbol. It quietly and powerfully proclaims that God so loved the world that he sent us his son to become one of us. Jesus willingly gave his life on the cross to save us. He defeated sin and evil and death. By rising from the dead, he brought us new life that can be enjoyed forever. The cross communicates love, victory, and hope. The cross also reminds us that when hardships, suffering, and injustices come into our lives, we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus. He helps us carry our crosses.
No matter how out of balance our lives can be—or how off-kilter the world is—the cross is steady. God’s love endures forever. In our frantic, busy world, we need the witness and the prayers of contemplatives, much like the Carthusians. A little bit of silence can also help!
REFLECTION 2
Tom Fitzgerald Moyvane
A ROLE MODEL
by Tom Fitzgerald, Parishioner
Fr. Kevin arrived in our parish on 23rd July replacing Fr. John who had been with us for quite a long spell. Speculation was buzzing before his arrival. Would there be long masses, short masses, long homilies, short homilies. Mass changes and so on. However it didn’t take Fr Kevin all that long to find his feet as it were and settle things down. We have noticed that he likes to communicate (and damn good he is at it too). We had a nice gathering in the Marian Hall on 22nd September and he got a good exchange of views and some very positive ideas. When it comes to listening to homilies from the Pulpit or the Altar, I suppose many of us are like the student in the classroom, looking out the window instead of listening to the teacher, however from time to time some little snippet or some few words will set our bit of grey matter ticking. Fr. Kevin in his little address in the Marian Hall mentioned the value of every human being and the contribution they are able to make. This got me thinking of one such person from our neighbourhood as we were growing up who was an example to all of us.
GIFTED:
Jack Flaherty, RIP, was born into this world with what was called at that time a deformity. Fully grown, Jack hardly reached 4ft tall. There is little doubt that he had to face and tolerate all the problems and prejudices as a child growing up and going to school. Though small in stature, Jack grew physically strong and very agile. The Lord also gifted him with an equally agile mind, he quest for knowledge, skills and understanding never waned until his death in his seventies.
Hard physical toil was the norm in the small holdings around our area, before the arrival of any of the modern methods or machines. In this Jack was more than able to compete with any of his able bodied cohorts. It amazed many people that he could walk the three miles or so to Mass on Sundays, keeping pace with other walkers and not allowing them to slow down. At the journey’s end he would probably have done three times as many steps as the others.
MANY TRICKS AND SKILLS:
It was, however, his many tricks and skills that fascinated youngsters like us growing up around him. He could often be seen walking with his sheepdog beside him which he had mischievously called (Hitler). The loop chain of a pocket watch would be seen extending from one waistcoat pocket and in the other pocket; he always kept a little notebook and a stub of a pencil. This he would produce from time to time to scribble something or divulge a snippet of interest.
AN EXPERIENCED TRADESMAN:
Fixing and repairing bits of machinery, farm implements, leaking milk churns (which he expertly soldered) clocks, watches and so on, were tasks all carried out by him at different times, free of charge except where a bit of new material was required. I once saw him presented with a timber barrel, the bottom of which had been damaged beyond repair, Jack expertly tapped out the three lowest hoops, removed the broken bottom which he used as a template cutting around it to form a new one, then fitting it neatly into the original groove, he then tapped the hoops back into place.
This little task would surely have tested an experienced cooper.
THE KING OF ROLE MODELS:
Moving into his late sixties, Jack’s mobility was deserting him and he would often sit beside his door reading, perhaps this was part of the secret of his success. He was an insatiable reader of books big and small, magazines and newspapers. In fact anything that had print on it.
Even then, Jack had one trick that really mesmerized us. Late in the evening as we played noisily, he would tell us to be quiet, he would then stretch out his walking stick in front of him, at the same time poking into his pocket with his other hand, he would produce a little fistful of breadcrumbs, then low and behold a little robin or wagtail would appear from nowhere and perch on his stick, then slowly move his hand and stick together and the little wild bird would peck the crumbs from his hand.
If the term role model was in vogue in Jack’s lifetime, he would surely have been the king of role models. Ar dheis Dé raibh a Anam dilis.
In November when we remember all our Faithful Departed, it is nice to recall Jack’s story and the blessings he shared with our Parish by using his talents wisely. Many thanks Tom.
Mary Martin Diary http://dh.tcd.ie/martindiary/
Big Bang http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00yqszk/Heart_And_Soul_Father_of_the_Big_Bang/
The 1908 dollar would be equal to $22.60 (1997 dollars)
In 1908 the common labourer might have earned $1.00 for a 12 hour day, making his hourly wage at 8 cents per hour.
St Bridget’s Church; http://www.marshallco.net/stbridget/SB_History.html
"I will not judge a person to be spiritually dead whom I have judged formerly to have had spiritual life, though I see him at present in a swoon (faint) as to all evidences of the spiritual life. And the reason why I will not judge him so is this -- because if you judge a person dead, you neglect him, you leave him; but if you judge him in a swoon, though never so dangerous, you use all means for the retrieving of his life." John Owen
There is no labour where one loves, or if there is, the labour itself is loved.
Augustine
January 28th, 2011 by Charles Colson Print This Article ·ShareThis
You have probably never heard of Lothar Kreyssig—I hadn’t until recently. Yet, after hearing his story, I realized Kreyssig was a hero for our times: a man whom, at almost unbelievable risk, stood up for the sanctity of human life.
In October, 1939, the Third Reich created what came to be known as the “Action T4” program. In furtherance of what the Nazis called “racial hygiene,” Reich bureaucrats, working with doctors, were authorized to identify and kill those deemed to be “unworthy of life,” that is, institutionalized patients with “severe disabilities.”
Of course, expressions like “unworthy” and even “severe” are subjective. In reality, they were a license for mass murder. Hitler called for at least 70,000 people to be killed under this program, so doctors and officials set about meeting the Fuhrer’s quotas.
Fearing domestic and international reaction, the Nazis tried to hide what was going on: they lied to patients’ families and, fore-shadowing Auschwitz, they disguised the gas chambers as showers.
When I think of what happened to those people, especially the children—some like my autistic grandson, Max—it breaks my heart—horrifies me.
The Nazis also took pains to provide a patina of legality to the murders: Hitler personally ordered German judges not to prosecute doctors for killing their patients. And that’s where Kreyssig comes in: He was a highly regarded judge in his native Saxony.
But he was more than a judge—Kreyssig was a leader in the Confessing Church, which resisted the Reich’s efforts to “Nazify” protestant churches. To be a Confessing Churchman, never mind a leader, was to live with a bull’s-eye painted on your back.
As more and more death certificates for mentally ill people crossed his desk, Kreyssig realized that something terrible was happening.
He wrote the Reich Minister of Justice protesting not only the Action T4 program but also the treatment of prisoners in concentration camps. He then charged a doctor with murder in connection with the deaths of his patients.
When he was called into the Minister’s office, where he was told that Hitler himself had authorized the program. To which Kreyssig replied: “The Führer’s word does not create a right.”
The courage to say that to a government official in Nazi Germany was extraordinary. Kreyssig was forced to retire. Although the Gestapo tried to get him sent to a concentration camp, fears over drawing attention to the T4 program probably saved Kreyssig’s life.
He spent the rest of the war at home tending to his farm and, oh yes, hiding Jews on his property.
The only judge to stand up to the Nazis outlived the “1000-year Reich” by forty-one years. Twenty years after his death, Germany held a memorial honoring his bravery and compassion.
In a culture where “go along to get along” was literally a survival strategy, Kreyssig refused to be silent. When the majority of German Potestants adapted the faith to the demands of the Reich, he refused to go along and made it clear that there was a higher law.
Thankfully, defending the sanctity of life nowadays doesn’t require anything like Kreyssig’s courage. But it does require courage. And it requires, as well, as an understanding of Whose Word does create a right.
Imagine if we had the courage of this bishop who opposed the Third Reich
by Chuck Colson
Wed Jan 26, 2011 18:09 EST
Comments (7)
Tags: clemens august graf von galen, nazi, third reich
Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen opposed the Nazi regime head-on.
January 26, 2011 (Breakpoint.org) - Earlier this week, I told you the story
of Lothar Kreyssig, the Protestant German judge who defied the Third Reich’s
program to rid Germany of what it called “lives unworthy of life.”
But while Kreyssig was exceptional, he wasn’t alone.
Clemens August Graf von Galen was the Bishop of Muenster. He became bishop
in 1933, the same year Hitler came to power, and from the start he made life
difficult for Nazi officials.
He opposed Reich policies in education and its attacks on religious freedom.
When others were bending over backwards to avoid provoking the Nazis, von
Galen went on the rhetorical offensive: He mocked Nazi ideology and defended
the authority of the Old Testament against Nazi attacks.
But von Galen’s most important confrontation with the regime came over the
Action T4 program — the Nazi effort to eliminate the physically and mentally
disabled. By 1941, Nazi persecution of Catholics, which included sending
thousands of priests to concentration camps, had caused leading German
prelates, as historian Richard Evans put it, to “[keep] their heads down.”
But as more and more disabled patients were being murdered, keeping one’s
head down became tantamount to complicity with evil. What’s more, as von
Galen realized, it was futile — because the Nazis were going to persecute
the Church, anyway.
So, in July and August of 1941, he delivered a series of sermons that
denounced the Nazi regime. He told the German people that if the disabled
could be killed with impunity, “then the way is open for the murder of all
of us, when we become old and weak and thus unproductive.” If a regime could
disregard the commandment against murder, it could do way with the other
nine commandments as well.
The sermons caused an international sensation: Copies were sent to German
soldiers at the front lines; the BBC read excerpts on the air. The local
Nazi leader demanded that von Galen be executed. The bishop’s sister, a nun,
was arrested and locked in the nunnery basement, from which she escaped by
climbing out the window.
Von Galen himself expected to be martyred. But something extraordinary
happened: The Nazis backed down. The bishop’s sermons had galvanized the
public: nurses and orderlies began to obstruct the program. So Hitler issued
an order suspending the gassing of disabled adults.
While the Nazis did continue to kill the disabled, especially children, they
killed fewer and they took pains to hide it. As Evans has written, but for
von Galen’s actions, the Nazis would have continued unhindered in their
quest to rid German society of “those they continued to be a burden to it.”
Von Galen outlived the Third Reich but not by much: shortly after being made
a Cardinal in 1946, he died from an appendix infection. But he wasn’t
forgotten: in 2005, he was beatified by the Catholic Church. In Catholic
terms, that makes him the “Blessed Clemens von Galen.” But it is we who are
blessed by examples like his and that of Lothar Kreyssig. They stood up for
life in circumstances we can’t imagine and forced a demonic dictatorship to
back down.
Imagine what we could accomplish today with their kind of commitment and
courage.
This article reprinted with permission from www.breakpoint.org
http://marysaggies.blogspot.com/search/label/Quotes
G.K. Chesterton on religion, truth, and what we have in common:
There is a phrase of facile liberality uttered again and again at ethical
societies and parliaments of religion: “the religions of the earth differ in
rites and forms, but they are the same in what they teach.” It is false; it
is the opposite of the fact. The religions of the earth do not greatly
differ in rites and forms; they do greatly differ in what they teach. It is
as if a man were to say, “Do not be misled by the fact that the Church Times
and the Freethinker look utterly different, that one is painted on vellum
and the other carved on marble, that one is triangular and the other
hectagonal; read them and you will see that they say the same thing.” The
truth is, of course, that they are alike in everything except in the fact
that they don’t say the same thing. An atheist stockbroker in Surbiton looks
exactly like a Swedenborgian stockbroker in Wimbledon. You may walk round
and round them and subject them to the most personal and offensive study
without seeing anything Swedenborgian in the hat or anything particularly
godless in the umbrella. It is exactly in their souls that they are divided.
So the truth is that the difficulty of all the creeds of the earth is not as
alleged in this cheap maxim: that they agree in meaning, but differ in
machinery. It is exactly the opposite. They agree in machinery; almost every
great religion on earth works with the same external methods, with priests,
scriptures, altars, sworn brotherhoods, special feasts. They agree in the
mode of teaching; what they differ about is the thing to be taught. Pagan
optimists and Eastern pessimists would both have temples, just as Liberals
and Tories would both have newspapers. Creeds that exist to destroy each
other both have scriptures, just as armies that exist to destroy each other
both have guns.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
"To the extent that religion becomes a purely private affair, it loses its
very soul."
- Pope Benedict XVI
"People who take the question of human truth, freedom and meaning seriously
will never remain silent about it. They can’t. They’ll always act on what
they believe, even at the cost of their reputations and lives. That’s the
way it should be. Religious faith is always personal, but it’s never
private. It always has social consequences, or it isn’t real. And this is
why any definition of “tolerance” that tries to turn religious faith into a
private idiosyncrasy, or a set of personal opinions that we can have at home
but that we need to be quiet about in public, is doomed to fail."
- Archbishop Chaput
"Faith is not a contract. Faith is surrender. If no other relationship in
our experience is one of self-surrender, if it’s all contractual, people won’t
know how to believe."
– Francis Cardinal George
"The greatest mistake is in not being aware that others are Christ. There
are very many people who will not discover it until their last day."
- Archbishop Van Thuân
"We must open our eyes to admire God who hides and at the same time reveals
himself in things and introduces us into the realms of mystery... we must be
pure and simple like children, capable of admiring, being astonished, of
marveling, and being enchanted by the divine gestures of love and closeness
we witness."
- Pope John Paul II
"Ever since the days of Adam, man has been hiding from God and saying, 'God
is hard to find.'"
- Archbishop Fulton Sheen
"Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls."
-Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you
wish."
-Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which
we live."
-Venerable John Paul II
"Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ."
-Venerable John Paul II
"The human person is a good towards which the only proper attitude is love."
-Venerable John Paul II
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do
what we ought."
-Venerable John Paul II
In my opinion, the most quotable Catholic of all time is G.K. Chesterton -
so I have not included any of his here, there are too many.
Posted by Marcel at 3:52 PM 10 comments
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"I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life." Jn 8:12
This is the verse before the Gospel at Mass yesterday and also happens to be
on the front of my Bible, so I figured that it was a sign from God that I
blog about it.
John Henry Cardinal Newman quotes
"We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to
believe."
"Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into
what they are not... We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change
them. We must use them."
"It is often said that second thoughts are best. So they are in matters of
judgment but not in matters of conscience."
"To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often."
Dostoyevsky
“If God does not exist, then everything is permitted”
“The secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live
for.”
“What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love”
“It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them -- the
character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas.”
"Beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and devil are fighting there,
and the battlefield is the heart of man."
"The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at
least once a month."
"There are things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every
decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind."
Christianity is Important?
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite
importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
-CS Lewis
He once heard Benedict say, “The church is all about yes, yes, not no, no.”
“And I thought, Bingo! You know, the church is the one who dreams, the
church is the one who constantly has the vision, the church is the one that’s
constantly saying ‘Yes!’ to everything that life and love and sexuality and
marriage and belief and freedom and human dignity—everything that that
stands for, the church is giving one big resounding ‘Yes!’ The church
founded the universities, the church was the patron of the arts, the
scientists were all committed Catholics. And that’s what we have to
recapture: the kind of exhilarating, freeing aspect. I mean, it wasn’t
Ronald Reagan who brought down the Berlin Wall. It was Karol Wojtyla. I didn’t
make that up: Mikhail Gorbachev said that.”
…“I guess one of the things that frustrates me pastorally,” he adds, “is
that there’s this caricature of the church—of being this oppressive,
patriarchal, medieval, out-of-touch naysayer—where the opposite is true.”
Padre Pio
"Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will
hear your prayer." - St. Pio
"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in
doing it."
-G.K. Chesterton
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do
what we ought."
-John Paul II
"If there is no hell, we have no true freedom."
-Me
St. Josemaria
"Student" explicitly means 'one in school', implicitly 'all'.
"If you are to serve God with your mind, to study is a grave obligation for
you."
- St. Josemaria Excriva
Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Probably the most quotable American Catholic ever - Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
A sample:
"The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host."
"Never measure your generosity by what you give, but rather by what you have
left."
"Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius."
CS Lewis...
On learning:
"The proper motto is not "Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be clever,"
but "Be good sweet maid, and don't forget that this involves being as clever
as you can." God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than any other
slackers."
On love:
"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will
certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of
keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an
animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all
entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It
will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.
"
On pain:
"We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities, and anyone who
has watched gluttons shoveling down the most exquisite foods as if they did
not know what they were eating will admit that we can ignore even pleasure.
But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our
pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his
megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
On character:
"Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence
for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time
to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are
most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does
not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the
suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only
shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the
cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover
before you switch on the light."
JPII
"Even though you are young, the time for action is now! You are ready for
what Christ wants of you now. He wants you – all of you – to be light to the
world, as only young people can be light. It is time to let your light
shine!"
-JOHN PAUL II - TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE AT THE KIEL CENTER St. Louis, January
26, 1999
"Christianity is not simply a doctrine: it is an encounter in faith with God
made present in our history through the incarnation of Jesus."
MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II TO THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD ON THE
OCCASION OF THE XIX WORLD YOUTH DAY 2004
"It is true: Jesus is a demanding friend. He points to lofty goals; he asks
us to go out of ourselves in order to meet Him, entrusting to Him our whole
life : 'Whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save
it' (Mk 8:35). The proposal may seem difficult, and, in some cases,
frightening. But – I ask you – is it better to be resigned to a life without
ideals, to a world made in our image and likeness, or rather, generously to
seek truth, goodness, justice, working for a world that reflects the beauty
of God, even at the cost of facing the trials it may involve?"
-JPII - MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER TO THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD ON THE OCCASION
OF THE XII WORLD YOUTH DAY
Friends
"When friendship disappears then there is a space left open to that awful
loneliness of the outside world which is like the cold space between the
planets. It is an air in which men perish utterly."
-Hilaire Belloc
Living in Christ
"Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy
the heart?"
-St. Gerard
"Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer
suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws
into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven."
-St. Ephraem
"We cultivate a very small field for Christ, but we love it, knowing that
God does not require great achievements but a heart that holds back nothing
for self."
-St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
"My confidence is placed in God who does not need our help for accomplishing
his designs. Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work and
to be faithful to him, and not to spoil his work by our shortcomings."
-St. Isaac Jogues
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"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is
not there. There is no such thing."
- C.S. Lewis
"Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those
who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into
closer connection with you."
-St. Augustine
St. John Vianney
Happy feast day of St. John Vianney. Pray for our priests and for more
vocations.
If people would do for God what they do for the world, what a great number
of Christians would go to Heaven!
-St. John Vianney
My little children, your hearts, are small, but prayer stretches them and
makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of
heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us
without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all
things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the
sun.
-St. John Viann
"The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an
evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion, but, on the
contrary, of its liberality and humanity. It is shorter to state the things
forbidden than the things permitted: precisely because most things are
permitted, and only a few things are forbidden." - G.K. Chesterton
MarkShea
The Immaculate Conception: Enter the Subtle Doctor: Duns Scotus
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/the-immaculate-conception-enter-the-subtle-doctor-duns-scotus/
by Mark Shea Friday, November 16, 2012 12:59 AM Comments (1)
Bernard, Thomas, Albert the Great, and Bonaventure were participants in what proved to be a very long and complex theological argument. To boil that argument down, some argued Mary was purified of sin before her soul was infused into her body. Others, like Bernard, et al., insisted she was purified of sin after her soul was infused into her body (but well before her birth).
In the end, a guy named Duns Scotus finally resolved the problem by addressing two questions: 1) Why would God preserve Mary from sin? and 2) How did God do it?
Scotus’ answer as to why God would do this is telling, because it again shows Mary as a) a living commentary on the saving power of Christ who is totally referred to him and b) a kind of icon or archetype of the whole Church, whereby God does first in her what he will one day do for all his saints.
Duns Scotus said that since Christ is a perfect savior, there must be at least one instance of somebody who is perfectly saved by Jesus—saved from top to bottom and from beginning to end— saved so perfectly that they were saved, not by being pulled out of the pit of sin, but by being kept from ever falling in at all. And the fitting candidate for that perfect gift of preventative salvation is Mary:
He who is the most perfect mediator must have a most perfect act Of mediation in regard to some person on whose behalf he exercises the mediatorial office. Now Christ is the most perfect . . . and he had no more exalted relation to any person than to the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . This could not be if he had not merited for her preservation from original sin.( Duns Scotus, Commentarium in Sententiarum, III, 3, 1, 4)
Notice the logic here. The point is not ultimately Mary’s glory, but Christ’s. Mary’s absolutely perfect salvation—a salvation so perfect that sin never got its hooks in her in any way—is a witness to the perfection of Christ’s saving power. It’s a sign of hope to all sinners—even the most wretched—that Christ’s saving power displays complete dominion in any human circumstance.
Note also that it’s fittingness, gauged in relationship to God’s sovereignty, and not some idea of exterior restraints on God, that Duns Scotus has in view here. Mary is a fitting recipient of this singular gift, just as a fine wine is most fitly served in a golden goblet and not a styrofoam cup. I mention that because it has become common among some Catholics to claim that the Immaculate Conception was not fitting in the sense Scotus uses, but truly and actually necessary since, according to them, “In order to be a worthy vessel for the all-holy God, she had to be utterly holy.”
From Sean Sheehy
to me
Divine Justice: No Escape
St. Thomas Aquinas noted that we’d have to invent divine justice if we didn’t know it existed. Why? The good of society requires that every person be held responsible for his or her actions and know that good is properly rewarded and evil justly punished. Since justice is often flawed due to sin expressed in prejudice, ignorance, greed, revenge, and lies, divine justice is needed to assure just treatment for everyone. Much of the secular, and some religious media contribute to injustice by false and self-serving reporting on situations and events in people’s lives disregarding facts and human dignity. What’s justice? Dictionaries define it as “the exercise of authority in vindication of right by assigning reward or punishment.” It’s the quality of being fair and impartial by awarding everyone what is due him or her. We’re all deserve reward for the good we do and punishment for the evil we do. God is the final arbiter of justice and the ultimate Determiner of reward and punishment. Jesus is the final Judge. “The lives of all of us are to be revealed before the tribunal of Christ so that each one may receive his/her recompense, good or bad, according to his/her life in the body.” (2 Cor 5:10) No one escapes God’s justice. He holds each of us accountable for all our thoughts, words and actions.
Jesus’ Church proclaims God’s word from the Prophet, Malachi, “The day is coming … when all evildoers will be stubble … but for you who fear my Name, there will arise the Sun of Justice with all its healing rays.” (Mal 3:19-20) God is just and merciful. But God’s mercy is only beneficial to those who seek it in repentance and confession of sin by trusting in His Name, with a commitment to changing their life in accord with His will. He promises, “And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. Then you will see the distinction between the just and the wicked; between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him.” (Mal 3:17-18) The Psalmist foretells the coming of the Son of God, “…the Lord … comes to rule the earth; He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity.” (Ps 98:9) The day we’ll be confronted with God’s justice is the day we die. On that day you and I will have to pronounce judgment on ourselves vis-a-vis God’s justice – His Commandments and Jesus’ Beatitudes - whether we lived according to them or followed what we decided was just. At the end of time God’s judgment will show that His justice has rewarded or punished everyone according to his or her deeds. It’s God who rewards us for the good we do, but it isn’t God who condemns us for the evil we do. We condemn ourselves because we’ll have to take responsibility for our behaviour when faced with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Because Jesus is the just judge, He alone teaches us how to be just in our dealings with one another. His Church teaches that there are four kinds of justice: Distributive or economic justice assuring fairness in distributing goods and care; Procedural justice assuring fairness in how goods are distributed; Restorative justice assuring restitution for harm or deprivation; and Retributive justice assuring that punishment is proportionate to the crime. History shows that many try to set themselves up as the arbiters of justice following the flawed principle that “might is right.” There are nations’ courts of justice who render decisions that are destructive to mankind, like abortion, euthanasia, etc. What’s legal isn’t always what’s morally right.
Human justice should mirror God’s justice. That’s why we must follow Jesus’ teaching in order to love goodness, act justly, and walk humbly in God’s sight. (Micah 6) Jesus warns us, “See that you are not deceived, for many will come in my Name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and ‘The time has come!’ Do not follow them!” (Lk 21:8) As the Judge of the living and the dead, Jesus is the only true arbiter of justice and the only Teacher with the authority to tell us what’s right or wrong, good or bad, just or unjust. His teaching through His Church is the standard against which you and I must measure our morality so that we will be prepared for His judgment on the day we die. God’s Law reflects God’s justice. God’s justice reflects God’s love. We reflect our love for God by being obedient to His law. Obedience to His Law means that we’ll strive for justice and fairness in all our endeavours. Then we’ll have the peace that only Jesus can give; a peace that flows from justice – peace of mind, heart, soul, all of which relaxes our body and saves us from distress. When we act justly we’ll “keep busy and not act unruly like busybodies.” (2 Thes 3:11) Following Jesus as our Teacher and Judge, led by the Holy Spirit present in His Church, we know that we “will never grow weary of doing what is right.” (2 Thes 3:13) Injustices won’t discourage us because we know that no one escapes God’s justice. (frsos)
Thy Kingdom Come
Who is your king? To whom or what do you rely on to give your life ultimate meaning, value, power, purpose, and a joyful destiny? Your answer identifies your king and the kind of kingdom to which you choose to belong. Will your king enable you to belong to a kingdom that’ll fulfil your yearning for what’s real, true, good, and beautiful? There are many “kings” in the world promoting kingdoms that promise to satisfy all our needs, but they focus only on satisfying the three blind desires emanating from our brain stem, namely eat, drink, and reproduce. They ignore the desires of our soul which is what makes us human. They create the illusion of satisfying our basic need to belong, be free, be powerful, and be joyful. Since these are spiritual qualities they can be met only by the God who created them in us at the moment of conception. We want these qualities permanently, not just temporarily. The only one who can empower us, free us from sin, make us joyful, and offer us a happy future is Jesus Christ. This is why Christians call Jesus their King and ask Him to bring them into His Kingdom.
Who is Jesus? He is “… the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mt. 16:16) Peter recognized Him as God’s Son, not on the basis of his own observation, but through God the Father’s revelation. “Simon, son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in Heaven.” (Mt 16:17) Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation … For in Him were created all things in Heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible … all things were created through Him and for Him … He is the Head of the body, the Church.” (Col 1:15ff) When questioned by Pilate if Jesus was the King of the Jews, He replied, “My Kingdom does not belong to this world … Yes, I am a King. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.” (Jn 18:36-37) Ironically, in mocking Jesus by writing “King of the Jews” on the cross, His persecutors were unwittingly speaking the truth.
Jesus came to establish God’s Kingdom on earth so that every human being would have a chance to enter that Kingdom. He taught His disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Mt 6:10) He gave His Kingdom visibility by founding His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church on Peter. Jesus’ Church is the visible sign of the presence of God’s Kingdom on earth. Baptism is the door to that Kingdom and His Church’s Sacraments are His actions in and among His people. The characteristics of God’s Kingdom on earth, as it is in Heaven, are the values Jesus established for everyone to embrace, namely freedom from the slavery of sin, justice in relationships, mercy toward the weak, forgiveness for the repentant, love for all, and peace to people of good will.
The Psalmist proclaimed, “I rejoiced because they said to me, ‘We will go up to the house of the Lord.’ And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem.” (Ps 122: 1-2) Jerusalem symbolized God’s worshipping Old Testament people. Jesus’ Church symbolizes God’s Kingdom on earth where His people pray, worship, and serve Him. By belonging to Jesus’ Church He makes us heirs to His Kingdom. “If we are God’s children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing His sufferings so as to share His glory.” (Rom 8:16ff) Because Jesus is present in His Church “until the end of time”, we can be joyful because, “you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.” (Mt 28:20;1Peter 1:8-9)
God’s Kingdom on earth invites everyone to embrace Jesus as their King by uniting with Him through, with, and in His Church’s Sacraments. Jesus is guiding His Church by the power of the Holy Spirit, leading her to perfection by calling her members to do God’s will “on earth as it is in Heaven.” Through Jesus in His Church God the Father has, “delivered us from darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His Beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:12ff) Jesus transferred the repentant thief from darkness into light when he humbly prayed, “Jesus remember me when you come into Your Kingdom.” He responds similarly to us when we repent and seek forgiveness, “Indeed, I promise you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:42-43) Every time you pray the Lord’s Prayer and say “Thy Kingdom come” remember you’re acknowledging Jesus as your King and committing yourself to promoting His Kingdom on earth, as a member of His Church, by practising freedom from sin, justice in relationships, charity towards the neighbour, forgiveness, and peace of mind, heart, and soul. Jesus is the only King within whose Kingdom our deepest hopes and dreams are fulfilled. (frsos)
Advent: God’s Wake-up Call
A new year of Jesus’ Church as the visible sign of His Kingdom on earth begins this Sunday. It’s a new year of grace when God bestows His ever-loving Spirit on people of good will. The coming of a new year reminds us that an old year is about to end. Jesus’ Church gives us a wake-up call in the inspired words of St. Paul, “It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.” (Rom 13:11-12). We’re another year older, closer to death, and deeper in debt to God and to those who care for us. It’s time to get ready for death and prepare for eternal life.
Why do we need a wake-up call? Because we tend to take things for granted and act as if this world were ours. Often it’s only when we lose something like health, friends, home, wealth, etc., that we realize we don’t own anything. Also we tend to doze our way through life satisfied with being mediocre. Studies show that even at our most active we’re only about 20% conscious. That means that at our best we’re 80% unconscious. Imagine what it’ll be like at the moment of our death when we’ll have total consciousness and see everything! So we need to become more conscious of who, what, where, and why we’re in this world. The less conscious we are of why we’re here and where we’re headed the more likely we are to become immersed in “the deeds of darkness.” Satan is the prince of darkness and he wants to keep us out of the light. That means he wants us to live a life without Jesus who is “the Light of the world.” (Jn 8:12) St. Paul identifies dark actions as “carousing, drunkenness, promiscuity, lust, quarrelling, and jealousy”. (Rom 13:13) Catering to physical desires and ignoring the needs of the soul lulls us into a kind of stupor from which we need to be awakened. These dark deeds kill relationships and create an obtuse spirit.
How are we awakened? By listening to and heeding Jesus’ Church as she instructs us in His ways. She urges us to, “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in His ways.” (Is 2:3) So Jesus’ Church, God’s house, teaches us to realize our purpose, know God’s ways, love and serve Him here on earth so that we can live with Him in eternal joy in Heaven. Therefore, “Let us live honourably as in daylight … put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the desires of the flesh.” (Rom 13:13a-14) Jesus is the “armour of light” that shines on our darkness exposing our sinfulness, not to condemn us but so that we can repent, seek forgiveness, and receive absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This requires us to become consciousness of our need to free our soul of what deprives it of God’s grace so that we can be graceful in our relationship with Him and with one another. The Church’s liturgical purple colour signifies a spirit of penitence in preparation to celebrate both Jesus’ first and second coming.
The Holy Spirit reveals, “Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:25-26) You and I haven’t experienced death yet. It’s our last enemy because it brings our life on earth to an end. It’s our enemy because it causes us and those who love us much suffering. Jesus has conquered death by His Resurrection, but it remains for each of us to conquer our own death. It’s the final curtain and we won’t be there to accept the bouquets. Christianity prepares us to face death because it shows us how to live with Jesus Christ who alone can raise us up from the grave.
Advent is Jesus’ wake-up call to us through His Church. It’s the season when we prepare ourselves anew to welcome Jesus into our life. Through prayer, fasting and acts of charity we prepare ourselves to meet Jesus at the moment of our death hoping to be welcomed by His words: “Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the place prepared for you since the foundation of the world.”(Mt 25:34) So that Jesus’ welcome may ring in our ears, He warns us to, “Stay awake, therefore! You cannot know the day your Lord is coming.” (Mt 24:42) It’s the season when we clarify our identity, purpose, and destiny, realizing they’re in our hands. How do we do it? The words of a Mexican Prayer helps us: “I am only a spark/Make me a fire. I am only a string/ Make me a lyre. I am only a drop/ Make me a fountain. I am only an anthill/ Make me a mountain. I am only a feather/ Make me a wing. I am only a rag/ Make me a king.” Happy Advent! (frsos)