December Reality 2019 by Redemptorist Communications

Confraternity: Growth and Decline

DECEMBER 2019

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Modern Martyr

Matthew's Genealogy of Jesus

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A DOSE OF REALITY By Fr Peter McVerry SJ

“There is something profoundly wrong when, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we have a record number of people homeless, children going to school hungry, and many, many people struggling to make ends meet and provide even basic necessities for their children.” For the past 40 years, Fr Peter McVerry SJ has lived and worked with some of the most vulnerable people in Irish society. His experience with those who are homeless, poor and marginalised has given him a unique perspective on the issues facing Irish society, and their underlying political, economic and social roots. This book contains a selection of articles from Fr McVerry’s monthly column in the Redemptorist magazine, Reality. They offer a reflection on issues from homelessness and drugs to justice and faith, as seen from the perspective of the poor. Inspired by the Gospel and the Catholic Church’s social teaching, Fr McVerry challenges us all, from politicians to ordinary citizens, to listen with compassion, to examine our attitudes, and to attack the causes of inequality. To order, contact Redemptorist Communications St Joseph’s Monastery, St Alphonsus Road Dundalk, County Louth A91 F3FC

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IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE FEATURES 12 VENITE ADOREMUS DOMINUM FRA ANGELICO’S ADORATION OF THE MYSTERY The wonder of Fra Angelico's faith-inspired paintings was recognised by St John Paul II who declared him patron of Catholic artists. By Fr Michael Dunleavy OP

18 CELEBRATING THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS Why are the feasts during this season so special? By Maria Hall

22 WOMEN’S CONFRATERNITY II: GROWTH AND DECLINE The Clonard women’s confraternity flourished for more than three quarters of a century. By Fr Brendan McConvery CSsR

25 DIETRICH BONHOEFFER: OPENING A WINDOW ON A MODERN MARTYR The Christmas prayer of a young German theologian who was executed for his faith-centred opposition to National Socialism. By Bishop John McAreavey

26 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? MATTHEW’S GENEALOGY The list of Jesus’ ancestors is asking the question “Who do you think he is?” By Dr Jonathan Burroughs

32 RUBEN The story of the death of a poor man might be read against the story of a baby who was born in a stable and proclaimed a message of justice for the poor. By Fr Colm Meaney CSsR

34 HOLLYWOOD’S BIBLICAL EPICS They may be old, but especially at Christmas time, they still have power to attract the viewer on boxed sets or seasonal re-runs. By Joe Cushnan

OPINION

REGULARS

11 BRENDAN McCONVERY

04 REALITY BITES

17 JIM DEEDS

07 POPE MONITOR

31 CARMEL WYNNE

08 REDEMPTORIST SAINTS

41 PETER McVERRY SJ

09 REFLECTIONS 38 TRÓCAIRE 40 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE 42 GOD’S WORD

REALITY BITES HOLY SEE IN FINANCIAL MELTDOWN? VATICAN CITY

MISMANAGEMENT RIFE

An Italian journalist claims in a new book that decades of mismanagement, shady deals and decreasing donations will leave the Vatican no choice but to default. Gianluigi Nuzzi, in his book Giudizio Universale ('General Judgment'), includes 3,000 pages of confidential documents he claims to have collected since 2013. He recounts how a meeting of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy a meeting in May 2018, was told that “the recurring and structural deficit has reached worrying levels and risks leading to default in the absence of urgent action.” Without radical change, Nuzzi claims, the Vatican will be in default by 2023 and,

as a result, Vatican employees will lose their pensions. The book claims that the Vatican’s financial miseries are due, in part at least, to the mismanagement of its investment portfolio and its real estate holdings by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA). According to Nuzzi, the documents showed that, of the 3,000 properties owned by APSA, 800 buildings are empty while some others are rented free of charge. This mismanagement, he claims, resulted in a loss of €22.6 million in 2018. The president of APSA responded however that there is no threat of collapse or default here. There is only the need for a spending

INTRODUCTION OF BRITISH ABORTION LAW BELFAST

OVER THE HEADS OF LOCAL CITIZENS

A law passed by the British Parliament in London went into effect in Northern Ireland on October 21 which removes all explicit protection for unborn children up to the 28th week of pregnancy. Northern Ireland’s Catholic bishops said the introduction of abortion into the province was a “a tragic day for the unborn children who will now never bless our world with their unique and precious lives". The bishops called on people to hold their elected representatives “accountable” for the development. “The unavoidable truth is that our locally elected representatives had the time and the power to prevent this draconian Westminster abortion legislation being introduced over the heads of local citizens but chose not to do so. It is the duty of citizens to hold their elected representatives accountable for the decisions they have made.” Parties that claim to represent the Nationalist/ Catholic community, Sinn Féin and SDLP, made little effort to counter the British Government action. REALITY DECEMBER 2019

E L A S FOR review. And that is what we're doing. I can prove it to you with numbers.” Nuzzi claims that the sexual abuse crisis has slashed donation sto the Vatican from $112.7m in 2006 to $56.9m today. He also

claims that an estimated 58 per cent of the donations to the annual worldwide Peter’s Pence collection were used “not for works of charity, but to fill in the (financial) gaps of the (Roman) Curia".

VISA HEADACHE FOR VISITING RELIGIOUS DUBLIN

TOO MUCH RED TAPE

Priests and religious from outside the European Community applying to come to Ireland for the purposes of ministry or study are faced with a stringent, and often rigid system when they apply for visas for a longer period of time. The department stopped issuing Minister of Religion (MoR), Stamp 3 visas for almost four months from January 2018 while they reviewed their scheme. The new rules which were then introduced have proved difficult, provoking the claim from missionary orders that they were far too stringent and unworkable. They speak of delays and even denial of visas. The Government body in charge of the MoR visa

says that the new procedures were meant to “streamline” the process. Religious intending to take part in the popular international formation programme at Loreto House in Dublin, for example, cannot apply for a student visa, as Loreto House does not issue a Government-certified qualification. Sisters accordingly have to apply for a Minister of Religion visa, which requires preclearance. Rules for preclearance require a full colour copy of the applicant’s current passport, and all former passports with all the pages included. This can cause difficulties for older people who may not have retained copies of all their former passports.

N E WS

CLICK TO PRAY THE E-ROSARY VATICAN CITY

PRAYER IS 'COOL'

As part of the programme for Mission Month in October, the Holy See has launched a 'Click To Pray eRosary'. It is an interactive, smart and app-driven device that serves as a tool for learning how to pray the Rosary. It can be worn as a bracelet and is activated by making the sign of the cross. It is synchronised with a free app of the same name, which allows access to an audio guide, images and personalised content about the praying of the Rosary. It is aimed especially at young people who have a fondness for gadgets. It consists of ten consecutive black agate and hematite Rosary beads, with a 'smart cross' which stores all the technological data connected

to the app. When it is activated, the user can choose to pray the standard Rosary, a contemplative Rosary or choose from a selection of thematic Rosaries that will be updated every year. Once the prayer begins, the smart Rosary shows the user’s progression throughout the different mysteries and keeps track of each Rosary completed. Shortly after it was launched, some glitches were found that left it open to being hacked for access to the user’s personal details. This has now been corrected. To buy an eRosary, visit www.clicktoprayerosary.org. It is rather expensive (£99), so maybe it is better to stay with the regular beads.

FIRST THE AMAZON, NOW SYNOD ON WOMEN VATICAN CITY

CALL FOR RECOGNITION

Sr Birgit Weiler, a member of the Medical Sr Birgit Weiler Mission Sisters who works as a missionary in the Amazon, attended the Synod on the Amazon. She has called for a synod specifically dedicated to the role of women within the church. Official recognition of women’s ministry would allow women in the Amazon to strengthen their commitment to the church and to faith, thus providing the pastoral presence required by the region, yet which remains largely scant. “The Church needs to make the conscious step and to make it possible for women to be in positions of leadership where they have the gifts, the skills, the knowledge, and not simply prefer men over women,” she said. “It is the women that find it easier to connect to other women of other communities that are not Christian and remain firm in their own beliefs, finding common values that bring them together.” She sees the Amazon as an example of the necessity to put Laudato si’ into practice. She repeated an earlier call that women within the synod be able to vote. Although non-ordained religious brothers have been given a vote, women general superiors of religious congregations have been denied an effective say in the summit’s decisions.

The eRosary

ST VALENTINE MEDAL SCAM DUBLIN

A HOLY HOAX

The Carmelite church in Whitefriars Street, Dublin has held the relics of St Valentine for over a century and the shrine is a popular place of prayer for couples. The community has issued a statement regarding medals being sold on the internet which claim to contain soil from the saint’s shrine: “No soil has been taken from beneath the shrine and neither has any soil been taken from the environs of the church and, therefore, their 'Certificate of Authenticity' is fake. The medals being sold do not come from Whitefriars Street Church and are not being sold on our behalf.”

The Carmelite church in Whitefriars Street, Dublin

continued on page 6

St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh

REALITY BITES RED WEDNESDAY FOR MODERN MARTYRS Aid to the Church in Need has asked Catholics to observe a ‘week of witness’ by praying for those persecuted for their faith. On Wednesday November 27, Red Wednesday, many churches and other buildings will be illuminated in red to recall Christian martyrs and those who have died for their faith. Archbishop Eamon Martin will lead a special prayer service in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, at 7.30pm on the evening. The archbishop dedicated a new statue of St Oliver Plunkett, depicting him at the moment of his martyrdom and commemorating the martyrs of today’s church. People in Armagh are invited to wear something red (a sweater, cardigan, jacket, scarf or tie) as a symbolic reminder of all those Christians who witnessed, suffering and dying for their Christian faith.

PARISH CELLS GATHERING

MOTHER CABRINI GETS HER STATUE

A national seminar of the Parish Cells movement was held in Leixlip on the theme of 'The Good News Story.' It was attended by Bishop Fintan Monahan priests and laity from parishes throughout the country. Bishop Fintan Monahan of Killaloe spoke on the value of small faith groups in the light of Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel. Joanne Hession of Leading Ireland’s Future Together (LIFT Ireland), a group that promotes the importance of positive leadership in Ireland, spoke on leading by example and stressed the importance of integrity, honesty, truth and empathy as desirable qualities in leadership. Cell participants from around the country brought good news stories of the growth of parish cell groups in their area. There was time for Eucharistic Adoration and Mass was celebrated on Saturday evening by Bishop Raymond Field and a family Mass on Sunday was followed by lunch. For more information on parish cells, email leixlipparishcells@gmail. com, visit www.parishcellsireland.ie, or phone Bridie 086 3807917 or Donal 087 9277971.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the state will erect a statue of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, patron of emigrants. The announcement comes two months after a New York City public arts program decided they would not build a statue of Mother Cabrini, despite the saint topping a poll organized by the program (see Reality Bites October 2019). Mother Cabrini received 219 nominations--more than double the number received by the candidate who received the second highest nominations in the She Built NYC competition. “I welcome the assistance the Governor is promising in erecting a statue for Mother Cabrini, which we hope is a monument to her for her work on behalf of immigrants,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn.

REALITY DECEMBER 2019

St Frances Xavier Cabrini

CATHOLIC CENTRE FOR FORGOTTEN CHILDREN The St Rachel Centre in Jerusalem serves a kind of immigrant unique to Israel: those born in the country but living there illegally. Many immigrants, mostly women, from places like the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India and Eritrea come to Israel in search of jobs as housekeepers, carers of the elderly, or maids in hotels. The state of Israel admits them only under very strict rules: they cannot bring family members and they are forbidden to get married or to have children while in Israel. Violating any of those terms would immediately void their visas and would make them eligible for deportation. Many immigrant women who get pregnant opt to remain illegally in the country, despite knowing

that their children, who are ineligible for Israeli citizenship, will be living in a legal limbo. To respond to this need, the Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Jerusalem started the St Rachel Centre in September 2016. It aims to provide safe, healthy and nurturing day care for the children of immigrants. Each school day, parents drop off around 30 children early each morning, picking them up again in the evening. An additional 40 children come to an after-school programme for another four or five hours. This programme is especially important, since most of their parents are not sufficiently familiar with Hebrew, the language of education, to assist their children with homework.

N E WS

POPE MONITOR

KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS

Madonna of St Priscilla

HOW THE POPE SPENDS ALL SOULS' DAY On the afternoon of All Souls’ Day, Pope Francis went to the Catacombs of Priscilla, in Via Salaria, Rome, to celebrate Holy Mass. Catacombs are underground burial places cut into the soft tufa rock. There are about 40 known catacombs in the city of Rome. Although commonly associated with Christians, there are Jewish and pagan ones as well. Some of the earliest Christian art survives in the decoration of tombs and wallpaintings in the catacombs. Seven early popes and many martyrs were buried in the Catacombs of Priscilla which has earned it the title the 'Queen of the Catacombs'. It is tended by a community of Benedictine nuns.

In his homily, Pope Francis confessed it was his first time to visit a catacomb. He drew a parallel between the persecuted Roman Christians and Christians in many parts of today’s world. “In so many, so many countries where being a Christian is a crime, it is forbidden, they have no right". Just as the Christians in the catacombs worshipped in secret, so too these modern Christians who “even have to pretend to have a party or a birthday in order to gather for the Eucharist. Today there are more persecuted Christians than there were in the first centuries. This – the catacombs, the persecution, the Christians – and today’s readings, make me think of three words: identity, place and hope.” He told

GOLDEN JUBILEE OF POPE FRANCIS’ ORDINATION Pope Francis will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination on December 13. The Vatican post office has issued two commemorative stamps to mark the event. The first has a picture of young Padre Bergoglio, with a representation of his favourite Madonna in the background, 'Our Lady, the Undoer of Knots'. The second features a smiling Pope Francis, against the image of the Divine Mercy, which has been one of the guiding principles of his pontificate.

the story of a priest in Albania during the time of persecution when it was forbidden to baptise. A mother brought her baby but the priest “didn’t have a glass, something to put water into… He did it with shoes: he took water from the river and baptised with water from his shoe.” After Mass, he went down to the catacombs below the chapel for a brief visit, pausing briefly in prayer before the representation of the Madonna dating back to the midthird century, probably the oldest surviving image of the Madonna. On his return to the Vatican, the Holy Father went to the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica for a short time of private prayer for his predecessors who are buried there.

NO MORE SECRET ARCHIVES The Vatican has often been accused by researchers of concealing important historical documents in a ‘secret archive’ to which access is very carefully restricted. Pope Francis, in a motu proprio (a document issued on his own initiative) has declared that the Vatican Secret Archive has changed its title to Vatican Apostolic Archive, in order to avoid the negative associations of the word 'secret'. All public archives have regulations to restrict access to documents, for reasons such as privacy or because the issues they treat are still current. The Vatican Secret Archive has preserved, since the beginning of the 17th century, documents and books of historical and cultural importance to the church and to the world. It originated from the private archives of the popes – hence the title ‘secret’. Since 1881, it has been open to qualified researchers on request. According to the new regulations, access is free of charge and open to qualified scholars with a five-year university degree (doctorate) or equivalent research experience. Access for the present is only allowed to documents up until the end of the papacy of Pius XI (February 1939). One of the most contentious points surrounding the Vatican archives has been the restricted access to material from the period of Second World War, relating to the role of the Holy See’s negotiations with states on both sides and particularly relations with the Jewish people.

REDEMPTORIST SAINTS ST GERARD MAJELLA

St Gerard Majella died at the age of 29. He is well-known as the patron saint of mothers and babies and of people trying to make a good confession. He could equally be regarded as the patron of people who have been wrongfully accused of sexual abuse. Gerard suffered in silence a false report that he had abused a young woman. Gerard Majella was born in a small village called Muro in the South of Italy in 1726. He was the only boy in a family of three girls. His father Dominic, a tailor, died when Gerard was about 12. His mother Benedetta had little alternative but to take Gerard out of school and send him to work when his father died. Gerard was a sensitive lad. He was bullied by some of the other apprentices in the workshop, and the master tailor was a short-tempered man. When he was about 15, Gerard took a job as a servant boy to a bishop who lived some distance away from Muro. The bishop too was a short-tempered man. Far from his mother and sisters, it was a lonely time for Gerard, yet he never complained. On the death of the bishop, Gerard returned to Muro and set up his own tailor’s shop. He was a kindly young man. When a poor customer could not pay, he either did not insist on payment or took much less than was due. Mamma Benedetta was not happy with this way of running a business. “Charity is all very well," she would say, “but you have to realise that we are just as poor as they are!” Gerard combined an intense life of prayer with his work. He felt called to the religious life, but the local Capuchins, where he first applied, refused him on the grounds of poor health. A few years later, a new religious order came to preach a mission in Muro. They were the Redemptorists. Gerard was captivated by their preaching and spent a lot of time talking to the brother who kept house during the mission. Benedetta was beginning to get worried that he might try to join them. The leader of the mission assured her that Gerard was too sickly, but recommended nonetheless that she lock Gerard in the house the day the missioners were leaving. When she returned home, Bendetta found to her horror that Gerard had let himself down through the window, using his bed-sheet as a rope and leaving a note telling her he had gone off to become a saint! The leader of the mission band had no alternative but to give Gerard a letter for the superior of the Redemptorist monastery. It could scarcely be called a warm recommendation: it said simply “I am sending you a useless brother!” Gerard proved to be one of the most useful members of his new community. He worked as a tailor, a gardener, and fund-raiser. One of the girls he had helped enter a convent left after a few weeks. She needed to explain her failure and so concocted a story: Gerard, the holy brother, had sexually abused her. When Gerard’s superior, St Alphonsus, heard this, he decided he had to act. Gerard was forbidden to receive holy communion. When the girl eventually told the truth, Alphonsus called Gerard again and asked why he had remained silent. Gerard reminded him that he had written in his Rule for Redemptorists that they should imitate Jesus who was silent, even when accused in the wrong. Gerard was now beginning to show signs of tuberculosis, but he continued his intense life of prayer and work. One of his last works was a fund-raising tour for the monastery. During it, he left his handkerchief behind. One of the daughters of the family brought it to him. “Keep it,” Gerard said, “it might be useful someday.” Some years later, she had a hard labour with her first child. She asked for Gerard’s handkerchief, and the baby arrived safely and with little pain. Gerard died at the age of 29 on October 16, 1755. October 16 became his feast day. Brendan McConvery CSsR REALITY DECEMBER 2019

Reality Volume 84. No. 10 December 2019 A Redemptorist Publication ISSN 0034-0960 Published by The Irish Redemptorists, St Joseph's Monastery, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk County Louth A91 F3FC Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Web: www.redcoms.org Email: sales@redcoms.org (With permission of C.Ss.R.)

Editor Brendan McConvery CSsR editor@redcoms.org Design & Layout David Mc Namara CSsR Sales & Marketing Claire Carmichael ccarmichael@redcoms.org Accounts Dearbhla Cooney accounts@redcoms.org Printed by W & G Baird Printers, Belfast Photo Credits Shutterstock, Catholic News Agency, Trócaire REALITY SUBSCRIPTIONS Through a promoter (Ireland only) €20 or £18 Annual Subscription by post: Ireland €25 or £20 UK £30 Europe €40 Rest of the world €50 Please send all payments to: Redemptorist Communications, St Joseph's Monastery, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk, County Louth A91 F3FC ADVERTISING Whilst we take every care to ensure the accuracy and validity of adverts placed in Reality, the information contained in adverts does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Redemptorist Communications. You are therefore advised to verify the accuracy and validity of any information contained in adverts before entering into any commitment based upon them. When you have finished with this magazine, please pass it on or recycle it. Thank you.

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REFLECTIONS For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself. CHARLES DICKENS

When we were children, we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? GK CHESTERTON

Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world. CS LEWIS

Christmas is joy, religious joy, an inner joy of light and peace.

A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.

It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you ... yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother or sister and offer your hand.

Arise, nobles and peasants! Mary invites all, rich and poor, just and sinners, to enter the cave of Bethlehem, to adore and to kiss the feet of her new-born Son. Go in, then, devout souls; go and see the Creator of heaven and earth on a little hay, under the form of a little Infant, but so beautiful that he sheds all around rays of light. Now that he is born and is lying on the straw, the cave is no longer horrible, but is become a paradise. Let us enter; let us not be afraid.

ST TERESA OF KOLKATA

ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI

Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.

And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans – and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused – and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.”

GARRISON KEILLOR

A little child, a shining star, a stable rude, the door ajar. Yet in that place, so crude, forlorn, the Hope of all the world was born. ANON

THOMAS MERTON

POPE FRANCIS

Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long. And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad. The nights are wholesome. Then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallowed and so gracious is that time. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (HAMLET)

The simple shepherds heard the voice of an angel and found their lamb; the wise men saw the light of a star and found their wisdom. ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN

SIGRID UNDSET

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone, and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” JR ROWLING

Partners in Peace Two men of God – Intrinsic to the Irish Peace Process – Convinced of their path – Spurred on by their faith

For the first time, the personal stories and political struggles of Redemptorists Alec Reid and Gerry Reynolds are told, highlighting their underlying influence in gaining peace on this island

ONE MAN, ONE GOD

UNITY PILGRIM

Fr Alec Reid made an extraordinary contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process. As a member of the Clonard community for over 40 years, Fr Alec’s peace ministry emerged from a religious community deeply rooted in west Belfast. Fr Alec saw himself as a servant of Christ in a situation of political conflict. He felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to reach out and work for peace. His contribution to peace in Ireland is immeasurable, and there would not have been a peace process without his hard work and determination. This unique book by Fr Martin McKeever CSsR. explores the extraordinary work of this good and simple priest.

When Limerick-born Redemptorist priest Fr Gerry Reynolds first arrived in Belfast in August 1983, it was to a city starkly divided by conflict and violence. His instinct to reach out to those who were suffering, on both sides of the community, would develop into a lifelong devotion to the cause of peace and Christian unity – a pilgrim of peace. He believed the church could be ‘God’s peace process in human history’, and that dialogue and friendship would open hearts to the mutual understanding and trust that are the foundations of true peace. Above all, Gerry was a pilgrim, struggling in his faith, always striving towards the goal of Christian unity, one small step at a time. This book by Gladys Ganiel draws on Gerry’s own words and writings, and the recollections of his family and friends, to uncover the story of this gentle priest, pilgrim and peacemaker.

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EDI TO R I A L UP FRONT BRENDAN McCONVERY CSsR

THE WORD BECAME FLESH, AND THE FLESH BECAME WORD

Last

September, Pope Francis announced in a special apostolic letter Aperuit Illis ('He Opened their Eyes') that a special Sunday each year, beginning in 2020, would in future be dedicated to the Word of God, to give the faithful the opportunity to take time to appreciate the riches of God’s ongoing dialogue with his people in the Scriptures. It is the practical working out of an idea he had first proposed in his letter marking the end of the Year of Mercy in 2016. For the future, the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time will be the Catholic ‘Bible Sunday'. It falls this year on January 26. There is a profound connection between the Christmas mystery of the Incarnation and the mystery of the Word in the life of the church. At Christmas we celebrate how the eternal Word of God took human flesh and dwelt among us. The narrative of that dwelling among us in human form is contained in the Scriptures, especially the four gospels. Catholics have often had something of a struggle with the Bible. Unlike our brothers and sisters of the Churches of the Reformation, we tended to put the Bible in second place. This year, we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Roman Lectionary, the book of readings for the Mass that re-introduced us to the riches of the Bible. Among some of the gems of that renewal were the Sunday readings that guided us through the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) over three years, while reserving the fourth, John, for the seasons of Christmas, Lent and Easter. It was probably less successful in introducing us to the riches of the Old Testament by means of a rather randomly selected first reading on Sunday. It was more successful at daily Mass where we were invited to savour something of the complete books of both Old and New Testament. We were a bit like the Ethiopian

whom St Philip met reading the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in his chariot. “When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' He replied, 'How could I, unless I have someone to guide me?'” (Acts 8:3031). Many of our clergy of the pre-Vatican II generation had received at best a fairly basic biblical formation, so guiding a congregation in its reading was a challenge sprung on them with little preparation. In the intervening time, the situation has improved vastly. Not only have priests received a richer biblical education, but the laity have been invited to join it. There is still much to be done. Pope Francis recommends a number of ways of putting the Bible centre stage on the day. Firstly he suggests, “It is important, however, that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word.” For that we require a large beautiful book that can be seen and admired and brought to the sanctuary with lights and incense. “On this Sunday, it would be particularly appropriate to highlight the proclamation of the word of the Lord and to emphasise in the homily the honour that it is due.” That should not be too difficult! “Bishops [and local clergy] could celebrate the Rite of Installation of Lectors or a similar commissioning of readers, in order to bring out the importance of the proclamation of God’s word in the liturgy … and renewed efforts should be made to provide members of the faithful with the training needed to be genuine proclaimers of the word.” I have often noticed that ministers of holy communion seem to be given more careful training than readers. The very minimum readers require should be how to use a microphone properly, how to pace the reading and to read audibly so that it is a proclamation of God’s living Word.

“Pastors can also find ways of giving a Bible, or one of its books, to the entire assembly as a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with sacred Scripture, especially through the practice of lectio divina.” Now that is an interesting one! Many families may have a beautiful ornamental Bible which rightly serves as the family record book recording births, marriages and deaths, and what better place to record our life’s momentous events than in the Bible. Few of them however, make for easy reading. Better a paperback that is dog-eared from regular use. The pope mentions lectio divina or sacred reading. That is a way of reading scripture slowly and prayerfully, pausing to allow the words to captivate us. It will nourish us from the second table of the Word. As the church prays in its evening prayer: Stay with us, Lord Jesus, for evening draws near, and be our companion on our way to set our hearts on fire with new hope. Help us to recognise your presence among us in the Scriptures we read, and in the breaking of bread. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year from all of us at Redemptorist Communications.

Brendan McConvery CSsR Editor

C OVE R STO RY

Venite Adoremus FRA ANGELICOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ADORATION OF THE MYSTERY

Fra Angelico, The Nativity, c. 1450, tempera on panel, 38.5x37 cm., detail from the doors of the 'silver chest', Museo di San Marco, Florence.

BORN IN A SMALL TOWN IN THE HILLS ABOVE FLORENCE IN 1395, BROTHER JOHN OF FIESOLE WAS A DOMINICAN FRIAR WHOSE FAITH-INSPIRED PAINTINGS OF GOSPEL SCENES WON HIM THE NAME OF FRA ANGELICO, THE ANGELIC FRIAR. HE DIED IN 1455 IN ROME. HE WAS BEATIFIED BY ST JOHN PAUL II ON OCTOBER 3, 1982, AND IN 1984 WAS DECLARED PATRON OF CATHOLIC ARTISTS BY MICHAEL DUNLEAVY OP REALITY DECEMBER 2019

Dominum The

Christmas carol, Adeste Fideles (O like Thomas [Aquinas] enunciated them Come All Ye Faithful) is among the with theological language.” Highlighting most popular in the repertory of Christmas Fra Angelico’s unique spirituality, the pope songs. Its popularity was confirmed in 2018 likened him to a prophet of sacred imagery: when Classic FM’s audience voted for the “He was a ‘prophet’ of sacred imagery who 'Thirty Greatest Christmas Carols of All Time' knew how to reach the summit of art by and placed Adeste Fideles at number six in drawing inspiration from the mysteries of the top 30. The refrain, Venite adoremus faith.” This exceptional characteristic had Dominum, which is repeated three times, already been noted by Pope Pius XII in his exhorts adoration of the new-born Jesus, speech at the opening of the first major Christ the Lord. Pope John Paul II, referring exhibition of Fra Angelico’s works in the to Fra Angelico’s profound spirituality, Vatican in 1955: “As he narrates or expounds noted that “With his whole life, he sang the divine mysteries to his audience, Fra the glory of God, which he carried like a treasure in the depths of his heart and expressed in his works of art.” Accordingly, Fra Angelico re-echoed the exultant hymn of praise which the angels sang at the first Christmas – Gloria in Excelsis Deo. This extraordinary celestial performance, which followed the annunciation of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, is recorded in Luke’s Saint Pope John Paul II Gospel (2:13-14): “And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing: Angelico is ever the ‘skilful’ preacher, ‘Glory to God in the highest and peace to seeking to elicit an immediate response with those who enjoy God’s favour’.” descriptive and decorative elements in order to speak more quietly to the innermost soul.” Patron of All Artists, Especially The 'adoration of the mystery' was Painters fundamental in the spiritual life of the One of the highlights of the Jubilee of Artists, Dominican friar/artist, and following a which took place in Rome in 1984, was the long Dominican tradition, Fra Angelico proclamation by Pope John Paul II of Blessed is renowned for his dedication to the Angelico as 'Patron before God of all Artists contemplation of the mystery. The fruit of especially Painters'. In his homily, the pope Angelico’s contemplation is mirrored in all referred to Angelico’s oeuvre as his “summa his painted narratives, while his 'Song of the of divine mysteries”: “With his paint brush Glory of God' resounds particularly in his he expressed his summa of divine mysteries, visual narratives of the Birth of Our Lord and

He was a ‘prophet’ of sacred imagery who knew how to reach the summit of art by drawing inspiration from the mysteries of faith

C OVE R STO RY

the subsequent adoration of the Magi. For our reflection, I have selected three images by Fra Angelico, two contrasting images of the Nativity and one of the Adoration of the Magi, which clearly demonstrate the fruits of Fra Angelico’s contemplation and adoration of the mystery. The panel paintings are details of scenes from the Life of Christ, which are part of a series of panels commissioned for the doors of the ‘silver chest’ in the sacristy of the church of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence, and were painted about 1450 by Fra Angelico and assistants. The third image of the Nativity is a fresco, which was painted by Fra Angelico about 1448 for one of the friar’s cells in the Dominican observant convent of San Marco in Florence. The gospel account of the birth of Jesus is given by Matthew in 1:18-25, and Luke in 2:1-20. Matthew recounts the virginal conception of Christ and the annunciation to Joseph, and also refers to the prophecy in Isaiah: “The virgin will conceive and will give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel” (7:14). He concludes the section with: “she gave birth to a son; and he named him Jesus” (v 25). Luke, on the other hand, narrates the birth of Jesus, the annunciation to the shepherds and their subsequent visit to the new-born Christ: “So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger” (2:16).

Fra Angelico, Adoration of the Magi, c. 1450, tempera on panel, 38.5x37 cm., detail from the doors of the 'silver chest', Museo di San Marco, Florence.

as a miniaturist. The Nativity scene is set in a typical Italian cabin or capanna, and recounts the arrival of the shepherds, who are portrayed outside on the left, as they make their way in to visit Mary and Joseph, who are depicted in the act of adoring the infant Jesus. Above, the angelic chorus, which performed earlier for the shepherds, continues to sing of the glory God in a mood of contemplative prayer. Angelico’s painted narrative is grounded in Sacred Scripture, and to demonstrate this, he includes relevant biblical texts from the Old and New Testaments in the form of scrolls above and below the scene. The text on the upper scroll is the well-known messianic

Angelico’s painted narrative is grounded in Sacred Scripture, and to demonstrate this, he includes relevant biblical texts from the Old and New Testaments in the form of scrolls above and below the scene Mature Work

Fra Angelico’s panels for the doors of the 'silver chest' are among his final works and are prime examples of the painter’s excellence REALITY DECEMBER 2019

prophecy from the Prophet Isaiah, which is fulfilled in Christ (9:6): parvulus enim natus est nobis filius datus est nobis et factus est principatus super umerum eius ("For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders"); while the lower scroll bears a quotation from the Gospel of Luke: 2:6b-7: impleti sunt dies ut pareret … et peperit filium suum primogenitum (the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born"). The visit and adoration of the Magi is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel 2:1-12, and again in this panel Fra Angelico includes biblical sources. The upper scroll bears a verse from Psalm 71:10, which is viewed in both Jewish and Christian tradition as a reference to the future messianic king: Reges Tharsis et insulæ munera offerent: reges Arabum et Saba dona adducent ("The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will pay him tribute: the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts"). The lower scroll bears the text of Matthew 2:11, which narrates the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem, the presentation of

their treasures and their act of adoration: et intrantes domun invenerunt puerum cum Maria matre eius et procidentes adoraverunt eum, et apertis thesauris suis obtulerunt ei aurum thus et myrrham ("And going into the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense, and myrrh"). In the San Marco fresco, the Holy Family are joined in adoration of the Christ child by St Catherine of Alexandria and St Peter of Verona, two highly regarded saints in the Dominican Order, and each a Christian martyr. It would seem that Angelico included them as a reminder to the viewer (a Dominican friar) of their fidelity to Christ and the ultimate price they paid in receiving the crown of martyrdom.

Revelations of St Bridget of Sweden

Apart from the accounts of the Nativity recorded in scripture, artists, including Fra Angelico used other literary sources to highlight their narratives. The revelations of St Bridget of Sweden was a popular source, and her vision of the birth of Jesus had a great influence of depictions of the Nativity. Shortly before her death in 1373, Bridget described a vision of the new-born Jesus as he lay on the ground, while a radiant celestial light emanated from his body. She saw the infant Jesus “radiating such an ineffable light and splendour that the sun was not comparable with it, nor did the candle that Saint Joseph held there shine any light at all, the Divine light totally annihilating the natural light of the candle.” Bridget saw the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph kneel in silent adoration of their new-born son. In the Nativity paintings Fra Angelico depicts the infant Jesus lying on the ground with a radiant light emanating from his body as described by Bridget of Sweden, while in the Adoration of the Magi, the Holy Family are placed outside the cabin, while Mary presents Jesus to the Magi, who each in turn come forward to pay him homage. The feast of the Epiphany was marked in Florence with enormous pomp and ceremony. One of the most powerful and effective confraternities was the Compagnia dei Magi, the

Fra Angelico, The Nativity, with Ss Peter Martyr & Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1438-40, fresco, 193x164 cm, Cell 5, Museo di San Marco, Florence.

confraternity of the Magi, which was founded in 1417. Later, Cosimo de’ Medici transferred the confraternity’s meetings to San Marco. The Compagnia dei Magi was responsible for the organisation of the procession through the streets of Florence on the feast of the Epiphany. Pictorial representations were hugely influenced by the great Epiphany procession – the cavalcade of the Magi (la Cavalcata dei Magi), and the subsequent adoration of Jesus. The Adoration of the Magi was among Angelico’s favourite themes. One of his renowned frescoes decorated the cell, which was reserved for Cosimo de’ Medici in the Dominican convent of San Marco. Moreover, when Pope Eugene IV dedicated the church of San Marco on the feast of the Epiphany in 1442, he stayed overnight in Cosimo’s cell where he would have seen Angelico’s fresco of the Adoration of the Magi. Pope John Paul II highlighted the feast of the Epiphany as a manifestation of divine light: “Today, the light that appeared on Christmas extends its rays: it is the light of God’s epiphany.

It is no longer only the shepherds of Bethlehem who see and follow it; it is also the Magi Kings, who came to Jerusalem from the east to adore the new-born King. With the Magi came the nations, which begin their journey to the divine light.” Fra Angelico is regarded as a painter of light – pictor lucis – the light in his paintings were described by Pope Pius XII as “a celestial light”. Christmas is a celebration of light – we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World – whose radiance continues to shine through the darkness. Enlightened by Fra Angelico’s luminous paintings, may we be guided on our journey towards the divine light.

Fr Michael Dunleavy OP is an Irish Dominican friar who has written a doctoral thesis on Fra Angelico, entitled 'Epiphanies of Beauty'.

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COM M E N T

WITH EYES WIDE OPEN JIM DEEDS

INCARNATION– SUSTAINING US ON OUR JOURNEY

A VANDALISED PLAY AREA IN A PARK COMES TO LIFE AND IS A KEY TO THE MYSTERY OF CHRISTMAS About ten years ago the children’s play area in my local park became a space for young (and not so young) people to gather with tins of cider and beer as well as bottles of brightly coloured spirits. The area itself was in a secluded part of the park, well away from the main gates and also well away from the office of the park attendants. The combination of alcohol and a secluded play area never works out well and, over time, there was damage to the play area as well as behaviour that put off the children and families who had heretofore been using it. Sadly, it became a no-go area for most park users and there were some very worrying incidents of damage to property and to people as well, with fights regularly breaking out. A decision had to be taken to close the play area and locate it in a more open part of the park. This was, happily, a good move in that the new play area has thrived and is still well used (for the right reasons) to this day. What, then, to do with the old play area? By now it was dirty and dangerous with broken metal bars and swings. The decision had to be taken to remove it completely. At first, it was left as a non-descript piece of land, with no grass for cover. It was a mess and a reminder of the difficulties of the past. Over time, though, wisdom prevailed, and it was re-seeded with grass and then planted with bushes and trees. I have enjoyed watching these bushes and trees grow over the years. Today they stand tall and strong. In the summer they are green, luscious and beautiful.

incarnate on that barren piece of parkland on the Falls Road in Belfast; namely, All is not lost- ever. Desolation is never the end. Transformation is our hope and an inevitability. God is present in all things

And at the end of summer this year, as I walked through that part of the park, I noticed for the first time that there are several small apple trees in amongst the bushes and other types of trees. Upon investigation I saw that the apples on the trees were ripe. The sight of this beautiful new growth and fruitfulness on land that had once been the scene of troubles was very consoling. I picked an apple from a tree as well as some blackberries from a nearby bush and ate them. They were sweet and pleasing to the taste and sustained me on my onward journey. All of this beauty, consolation and sustenance is made incarnate (flesh, real, among us) on land that had once been barren and before that had been the scene of desolation and destruction. With wisdom and purposeful action this land was transformed. Truth! What seemed like a death (the demolishing of the play park) was

simply a precursor to resurrection (the new and more beautiful life of the fruit trees). The soil that contained the possibility of resurrection was always there. God, it seems, is always in the mess. Even now, as the seasons have changed and winter is upon us and the trees have given up their leaves and their precious bounty of fruit, our minds are drawn once more to contemplate the incarnation of beauty, consolation and sustenance for our journey of life – Jesus, truly human and truly divine is made flesh among us this Christmas time. However, unlike the trees that have seasons of fruitfulness and of barrenness, Jesus’ incarnation is not just for one day or one season. What we choose to celebrate on December 25 is an eternal reality; and so we can cry, "Emmanuel- God is with us! Alleluia!" every day of the year. The message of Christmas, or so it seems to me, is similar to the message of transformation made

Into the barrenness of this world and, indeed, into the barrenness of our lives, Jesus is born anew this Christmas time and all time. His presence is writ large in all things. We only have to look around at the beautiful world God has given us to see and feel his presence. This Christmas time and New Year I invite us all to take a walk in or a look at the world around us and allow ourselves to be amazed at the story of birth, death and resurrection made incarnate in the land. Old disused play parks re-seeded and flourishing. Old buildings replaced with new. The plants that bloomed in the summer taking their winter break, readying themselves for new and vibrant colours as spring becomes summer again. And as we do so, let us thank God for all that is good, made incarnate in the world around us, in each other and in the Christ child born anew and eternally this Christmas.

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

C H RI STM A S

CELEBRATING THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS THE SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY IS FOLLOWED BY A SERIES OF FEASTS THAT APPEAR TO HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH THE CHRISTMAS SEASON? WHY ARE THEY SO SPECIAL? BY MARIA HALL

Christmas

and Easter are the only feasts followed by an octave or eight days of celebration. The number eight is said to represent perfection. Jesus rose from the dead on the eighth day and in early Jewish times, the Feast of Tabernacles and Feast of the Dedication of a Temple lasted eight days. Over the history of the church, octaves have been significant. The Christmas Octave has been kept since the fourth Century and at one time, there were up to 15 octaves of saints. As Christians we try to avoid too much of the festive season till it actually begins. Commercial and liturgical notions of Christmas couldn’t be more different.

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Advent is a wonderful distraction from the outside world, but by December 27, we are all slightly jaded with it all and ready to get back to normal. THE LONG FEAST OF CHRISTMAS But Christmas is much more than a day! In fact you could celebrate eight days, or up to the 12th night or even till the Presentation of the Lord on February 2. With the octave, the church allows us eight days of serious celebrating and over the centuries has adopted feast days to help us. Here are the saints and celebrations of the Octave of Christmas! The first three days of the octave

commemorate saints who tradition has named as ‘the Comites Christ’ – the companions of Christ. St Stephen, St John and the Holy Innocents don’t seem the most likely of Christmas feasts. The feast days have evolved over centuries and these ‘Companions of Christ’ are like a guard of honour for the Infant King. They share something unique with Christ in that they suffered unjustly. DECEMBER 26 ST STEPHEN St Stephen holds an honoured place in history as the first Christian martyr. He was a Greek Jew who converted to Christianity.

Christmas is much more than a day! In fact you could celebrate eight days, or up to the 12th night or even till the Presentation of the Lord on February 2 Considered trustworthy, he was one of seven deacons, appointed by the Apostles to distribute money to the poor. His skill as a powerful public speaker was eventually his downfall, being accused of blasphemy and stoned to death without any trial. In 415 a priest called Lucian had a dream that Gamaliel (who is named in the Acts of the Apostles) told him where the lost tomb of St Stephen was located. After putting off Gamaliel’s instructions several times for fear of being seen as a fool, Lucian prayed for guidance and led the Bishop of Jerusalem to where he had been instructed. Remains of Stephen and several other martyrs were found and many who witnessed them were cured. This event took place on December 26, 415. A church was built on the site and still exists as St Stephen’s Dominican Church in Jerusalem. In Ireland this is the ‘Day of the Wren’. In the UK it is Boxing Day. In Nordic countries the ‘St Stephen’s Day’ sleigh ride takes place. Horse owners have extra reasons to celebrate as St Stephen is the patron saint of horses!

In many countries horses, hay and oats are blessed. In some places the oats are hurled as an imitation of the stoning Stephen endured. As a culinary treat, try cooking St Stephen’s Day Stew! (See resources) DECEMBER 27 ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST St John is the disciple "whom Jesus loved". This alone would be enough to earn him such a prestigious feast day. Its actual origins are obscure. John and his brother James were fishermen, nicknamed by Jesus as "Sons of Thunder". He was with Jesus through his public ministry, was at the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden, and Jesus handed to John the care of his mother Mary at the foot of the cross. John is said to have endured persecution, one story being that in Rome he was put into a cauldron of boiling oil, only to emerge unharmed. Another tale is that he was handed a cup of poisoned wine, but as he blessed it, the poison rose out as a snake! Unlike the other apostles, he wasn’t

martyred, but lived well into his 90s and died peacefully. The Medieval tradition of the ‘Love of St John’ is a special blessing of wine which has largely gone out of fashion (but well worth restoring!) Traditionally the wine is kept to drink on a couple’s wedding day. Travellers have drunk it before a long journey and it has even been drunk as a last drink before departure from this life! DECEMBER 28 HOLY INNOCENTS It was also known by its medieval name of ‘Childermass', and marks the murder of innocent lives at the decree of King Herod. These young souls are the flores martyrum the infant martyr flowers; they didn’t just die for Christ but in his place. St Augustine of Hippo describes them as the church’s first blossoms. The feast is closely linked to those whose lives have ended because of abortion. Amidst the octave celebrations, this is a sobering reminder of the evils of the modern world and if we have neglected a church visit since Christmas Day, this is a good time to return!

St John's Love (Mulled wine) 1 bottle red wine 2 whole cloves 1 cardamom seed 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 cup sugar 2 two-inch cinnamon sticks Pour the wine into a large saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Boil for five minutes (removing much of the alcohol). Strain the wine and serve hot, declaring the toast "Drink the love of St John!"

St Stephen’s Dominican Church in Jerusalem

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This Christmas

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CHRI ST M A S

Salisbury Cathedral

he is said to have disliked the water and so struck his crosier on the ground where ‘Becket’s Well’ appeared. It still survives. Watch or read Murder in the Cathedral by T.S.Eliot or watch the 1964 film Becket staring Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole and continue to enjoy feasting. As with most films, it’s not altogether accurate, but a good watch!

There are many local customs celebrated today involving adult-child role reversals and prank playing. From the 11th century, the Feast of the Boy Bishop was set to December 28. As a holiday for choirboys and students, a boy would be dressed in the robes of the bishop and be required to preach a sermon. If he died in this role, he would receive full honours. In Salisbury Cathedral there is a small tomb of a boy who is believed to have died in such a way!

DECEMBER 30 HOLY FAMILY (OR 1ST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS) This is the newest of all feasts, being declared by Pope Leo XIII in 1893. Its purpose was to set the family of Jesus, his Mother Mary and his step-father Joseph as a model for all family life. It is the perfect day for families to plan activities, spend time together and thank God for all their blessings.

DECEMBER 29 ST THOMAS BECKET Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury became a medieval hero when he was martyred on December 29, 1170. Becket had stood up to the authority of King Henry II and defended the rights of the church even when some of his bishops didn’t. His story is well documented and the accounts of his murder are gruesome! Due to his popularity, he was canonised within three years and his anniversary became his feast day. Pilgrims visited his shrine from all over Europe and the site was the destination of the pilgrims of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Becket was a man of legends. It is said he gave the inhabitants of Strood, Kent, tails when they supported the king and cut off the tail of Becket’s horse. In another village in Northamptonshire

DECEMBER 31 ST SYLVESTER Pope Sylvester’s papacy saw the end of Christian persecution during the reign of Constantine in the fourth century. A legend says that one night Saints Peter and Paul appeared to Constantine and commanded him to call for Pope Sylvester, who would cure him through baptism. Another story is that Constantine was baptised on his deathbed by Sylvester. During his pontificate, the first of the great Roman churches were built including the Lateran Basilica and the original St Peter’s. The first Roman Martyrology was compiled during his papacy. Given that his papacy saw a new peace for Christianity, it is appropriate that his feast is celebrated on December 31,

the anniversary of his death, when we all hope and pray for a peaceful new year. In many countries, New Year’s Eve is called ‘Silvester Night'. One custom is that in Belgium, maidens who do not finish their work by sunset on this day, will not marry in the following year! Celebration on New Year’s Eve needs little encouragement! But if you fancy something symbolic, try lentil soup and sausage for lunch! They are said to represent coins which will bring good luck for the coming year. If you own a pig, taking it for a walk today will also bring you good fortune! JANUARY 1 MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD The church has celebrated all week by reciting the Gloria, and saying the Chrismas Evening Prayer daily. Now, the Christmas Octave ends as it began, with a solemnity, marking the holiness and devotion of Mary, Theotokos, God-bearer, Mater Dei, Mother of God. This is a twentieth century feast and so doesn’t possess the customs of centuries past. On the first day of the new year, it is fitting to ask for Mary’s intercession as we pray for peace, health and happiness in the coming year.

More Christmas food ideas at : fisheaters.com/customschristmas catholiccuisine.blogspot.com restoredtraditions.com Reflections on each day of the octave at: catholicculture.org For school and parish liturgy resources, videos, artwork and links to more Christmas Octave customs (including St Stephen’s Day stew) visit: www.mariahall.org/Mary Advent and Christmas

Maria Hall is music director at St Wilfrid's Church, Preston. A qualified teacher, she has a master’s in liturgical theology from the Liturgy Centre, Maynooth and is a consultant on matters liturgical for schools and parishes.

F E AT U R E

THE WOMEN’S CONFRATERNITY PART II

GROWTH AND DECLINE THE CLONARD WOMEN’S CONFRATERNITY FLOURISHED FOR MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF A CENTURY UNTIL THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF BELFAST CONTRIBUTED TO ITS DECLINE. BY BRENDAN McCONVERY CSsR 22

Part of the congregation at Mass for Centenary of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 1965

The

last Mass in the ‘wee tin church’ was said at 11am on Sunday, October 11, 1911, the feast of the Holy Rosary. At the end of the Mass, the door was locked, and the congregation arriving for the 12 Mass was directed to the new church, where the first Solemn High Mass was to be celebrated at 12 noon. With the larger space of the new church, the confraternities were free to expand. In time, Our Lady’s had three divisions (second division in 1927, third in 1947), meeting on the successive Sundays of each month, for communion at the 8am Mass and the confraternity devotions in the afternoon, at 4pm. MAKING HOLY WOMEN The primary purpose of the confraternity was "the sanctification of its members". Pope Francis has spoken appreciatively of what he calls "the saints next door". A woman goes shopping, she meets a neighbour and they begin to speak,

REALITY DECEMBER 2019

and the gossip starts. But she says in her heart: "No, I will not speak badly of anyone." This is a step forward in holiness… Later, at home, one of her children wants to talk to her about his hopes and dreams, and even though she is tired, she sits down and listens with patience and love. That is another sacrifice that brings holiness. Later she experiences some anxiety, but recalling the love of the Virgin Mary, she takes her rosary and prays with faith. Yet another path of holiness. Later still, she goes out onto the street, encounters a poor person and stops to say a kind word to him. One more step. [Gaudete et Exsultate 1.16] He might have been describing many a member of the Clonard Confraternity! What makes saints is not an overload of prayers but the practice of daily love and virtue. The confraternity aimed at laying down the foundations by giving its members clear

instruction in the faith through sermons intended especially for the women, whether they be mothers of families, women working the mills or in shops and offices in town. Regular sacramental worship was also part of this. When the confraternity was founded, frequent communion by the laity was rare. Many excellent Catholics contented themselves with the minimum of the 'Easter Duty', communion once a year at Easter, and perhaps also at Christmas. Receiving monthly was regarded as excessive, yet that was the ideal the confraternity held out to all its members and it was usually preceded by confession the day before. To keep the fervour of the women alive, there were two retreat periods each year. In the autumn (September/October) there was a full week’s retreat from Monday until the following Sunday, the day of the regular meeting. There was a daily morning Mass with a short instruction at 6.30am and an evening service with a special sermon at 8pm.

There was a ‘general communion’ on Sunday morning and the final sermon with the renewal of baptismal vows in the afternoon. The second ‘half-yearly’ was held in May, with meetings on Thursday and Friday and encouragement to go to confession. Sadly, no statistics have been kept on the members who entered religious life, but they were far from rare and were to be found in a wide variety of religious orders – as contemplatives, teachers, nurses or foreign missionaries. Ordinary holiness however was more the mark of the Clonard women who slipped quietly into the church to pray for a sick neighbour, who visited the sick, quietly doing acts of kindness and expecting no reward. YEARS OF SPECIAL GROWTH Between 1942 and 1967, the apostolates of Clonard Church saw an extraordinary growth. First among them was the arrival of the Perpetual Novena thanks to the preaching

of an American Redemptorist, Fr Matthew Meighan. Fr Meighan was a chaplain to the Americans who had landed in Belfast. He had been invited to preach the novena for the Immaculate Conception and described the weekly novena celebrated by the Redemptorists in their American churches. The rector of Clonard invited him to establish it in Clonard while he was there. In the dark years of rationing and the blitz, the novena was a god-send to the Catholics of Belfast. Extra sessions had to be added within a few weeks. According to the monastery chronicle, “the corridors were crowded to the refectory door with men [women to enter the monastery part of the corridor due to the enclosure rule]. Sometimes at community supper, we were without a chair as all had to be used for the convenience of the people. The enthusiasm stirred up by the novena is the greatest ever seen in Clonard. The perpetual novena has come to stay.”

That last statement was prophetic, and it became a permanent feature both as the weekly Thursday novena and the more splendid annual celebration. A few years later, Clonard launched its Mission for Non-Catholics, and the ecumenical apostolate which still flourishes was born. The confraternities continued to grow. In 1947, they celebrated their 50th birthday when both confraternities walked in procession to the large field in front of Our Lady’s Hospital, Beechmount where benediction was given by Archbishop Dalton of Armagh (later Cardinal). A film of the event was made by British Movietone as a short newsreel item for cinemas throughout Britain. The same field was the location a few years later for the Rosary Crusade of the Irish-American Fr Patrick Peyton, to mark the Marian year of 1954. The Diamond Jubilee of the Confraternity was celebrated by a high Mass in the

View of crowd at Jubilee Mass – picture taken from roof of hostel, Clonard Gardens

F E AT U R E

One of the processional cars for the 1958 Lourdes Centenary Procession from Clonard to St Mary’s, Chapel Lane

monastery garden at which the surviving first members were awarded special medals to mark the event. The next year, the Lourdes Centenary of 1958, saw yet another procession, this time to St Mary’s in Chapel Lane. Three beautiful floats representing Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Mother of Perpetual Help and Our Lady of Fatima were the highlight of the procession. YEARS OF DECLINE Three things contributed to the decline of the Clonard confraternities from about 1965 onwards. The first was the Second Vatican Council. By placing renewed emphasis on Mass celebrated in the language of the people with full participation, singing and a homily at every Mass, it appeared to devalue ‘nonliturgical devotions’ including confraternities and novenas. The Mass was more inclusive and therefore more family-oriented than the male or female only confraternities. From a theological point of view, Sunday Mass was the visible expression of the parish. The second thing was the reconstruction of the Belfast urban landscape. Belfast had virtually exploded in the later years of the 19th and opening years of the 20th century in a rush to build houses for the workers of the city’s REALITY DECEMBER 2019

new industries of linen and engineering. The century-old narrow streets of ‘two up, two down’ houses along the Falls that had been built for millworkers were being replaced with tower blocks and new houses. In order for the construction to take place, people were being moved out to the suburbs. Those who had been ‘St Peter’s’ or ‘St Paul’s’ or ‘Clonard people’ for several generations were now cut off from their roots and transferred their allegiance to their new churches. Some still came to Clonard for the novena and confraternity, but the times were changing. Worse was to come with the civil unrest of ‘the Troubles’ from 1969 onwards. Clonard, and indeed the whole of West Belfast, were plunged into 40 years of bombing, killing, hijacking and constant military presence. Often, members who had remained faithful to the confraternity found it impossible to get to Clonard on ‘their Sunday’ because of ‘trouble on the road’, when public transport could be suspended for an entire afternoon. It is little wonder that many of the members of the confraternity now living in other parts of the city were reluctant to return for their ‘Clonard Sunday’. The confraternity had depended for its membership on mothers and aunts bringing daughters and nieces to their section as teenagers. As the range of social

options available on a Sunday increased, the confraternity held little attraction to the smart young ladies wanting something to brighten their Sunday! By about 1979, the decline was patently visible. Commenting on the numbers attending the annual retreat that September, the house chronicler noted that “where we spoke in terms of thousands thirty years ago, we now speak in terms of hundreds, but for what we have we are grateful.” Less than a decade later (1988), the same retreat was considered as “well attended” when 560 members were present for the close, usually the best attended event of the retreat. In the three decades since then, the decline has continued. After the last Sunday of November, the Clonard Women’s Confraternity will be no more. Not altogether true, for the spiritual bond that bound women to the Clonard Redemptorist, and the Redemptorists to them, is stronger than that. The biblical book, the Song of Songs says, “Love no flood can quench, no torrents drown" (8:7). That affection and the sharing in a deep spiritual friendship will continue.

Fr Brendan McConvery CSsR is a 'Clonard boy' and at present editor of Reality.

F E AT U R E

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER OPENING A WINDOW ON A MODERN MARTYR THE CHRISTMAS PRAYER OF A YOUNG GERMAN THEOLOGIAN WHO WAS EXECUTED FOR HIS FAITH-CENTRED OPPOSITION TO NATIONAL SOCIALISM. BY BISHOP JOHN McAREAVY

a seminarian in the late 1960s, I acquired Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison. Among the concepts that made an impact on me then were ‘the God of the gaps’, ‘religionless Christianity’ and ‘cheap grace’, the final one perhaps more associated with his mentor, the Swiss theologian Karl Barth. Born into an academic family in Breslau in 1906, Bonhoeffer began to study theology in Berlin. After a period as a pastor in Barcelona (1928-29) and a year’s study at Union Theological Seminary, New York, he began teaching theology in Berlin and continued until he was forbidden by the National Socialists in 1936. Prior to this, he had taken charge of German congregations of St Paul and Sydenham in London from 1933-35. He received a call from the Confessing Church in Germany to lead an emergency seminary in Pomerania. The Confessional Church was formed in protest against the compromises of the Lutheran Church with the political forces that were rampant in Germany in the 1930s. On a visit to the United States in 1938, friends urged him to remain there. He refused and took one of the last boats to Germany before the war. During the war he was

associated with the Resistance movement and was arrested in April 1943. The discovery of incriminating documents in the aftermath of the unsuccessful attempt on Hitler’s life on July 20, 1944 sealed his fate; he was executed in Flossenburg on April 9, 1945, shortly before the end of the war in Europe. The editor of his letters and papers, Eberhard Bethge, writes: [In these papers] we can see the intimate details of an individual life fused into a striking unity with the disastrous events, which were going on in the world outside, a unity produced by an outstanding mind and a sensitive heart (page 10). Bonhoeffer’s heritage, his editor writes, "may lie dormant, but it can never be lost". His commitment to justice and his compassion for his fellow-prisoners has earned him a hallowed place among the martyrs of German Christianity associated with the Second World War along with Edith Stein, Maximilian Kolbe, Franz Jagerstatter, the Lubeck martyrs and many others. A scan of the Amazon catalogue shows that the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer have remained

constantly in print. In another way too, his legacy continues: a prayer he composed for fellow prisoners at Christmas 1943 is included in the Taizé book of chants and hymns. It is sung to a moving melody in German, as chant n. 137. You can hear it on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=6BNnDQCall) Lass mein Gedanken sich sammeln zu Dir. Bei Dir is das Licht Du vergisst mich nicht. Bei Dir ist die Hilfe; bei Dir ist die Geduld. Ich verstehe deine Wege nicht, Aber Du weisst den Weg fur mich. In English: Let my thoughts gather themselves before You. With You is light. You do not forget me.

With you is help, with you is patience; I do not understand your ways, But You know the way for me. This simple, heartfelt prayer has the urgency and directness of a psalm – a request to be able to concentrate thoughts in prayer, an acknowledgment that God is light, help and patience, an admission of the individual’s confusion and lostness and, finally, an act of faith in the provident love of God. Perhaps understandably, this particular chant in the Taizé canon is not widely known to English-speaking believers or sung by them. It deserves to be known and prayed.

Bishop John McAreavy is emeritus bishop of Dromore.

C H RI STM A S

WHO

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

IN THE TELEVISION SERIES WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? PEOPLE GO IN SEARCH OF THEIR ANCESTORS. THEY OFTEN DISCOVER SOME REMARKABLE FIGURES AND STORIES FROM THEIR FAMILY’S PAST AND DISCOVER SOMETHING ABOUT THEMSELVES IN THE PROCESS. THE LIST OF JESUS’ ANCESTORS IS ALSO ASKING THE QUESTION “WHO DO YOU THINK HE IS?” BY JONATHAN BURROUGHS

a surface level, a genealogy does not appear to be an exciting way to begin a story. Yet, by opening his Gospel with a genealogy that lists the ancestors of Jesus (1:1-17), this is the way that Matthew chooses to begin his story of

REALITY DECEMBER 2019

Jesus. When you dig beneath the surface of the list of names in Matthew’s genealogy, some stimulating and thought-provoking dimensions begin to appear. In particular, the women mentioned in the genealogy are both surprising and remarkable. While the

ancestral list is dominated by men, Matthew refers to four women in his account of Jesus’ genealogy: Tamar in 1:3, Rahab in 1:5a, Ruth in 1:5b and the wife of Uriah in 1:6b (that is, Bathsheba). Why does Matthew choose to mention these four particular women?

What is he communicating to his readers by referring to these four female ancestors of Jesus? MATTHEW’S GENEALOGY The list of names in Matthew’s genealogy offer a retrospective review of the broader history (or story) of Israel. They situate the origin (or genesis) of Jesus in relation to the broader story of God’s people contained in the Old Testament. The names listed in the genealogy are drawn mainly from 1 Chronicles 2-3 and Ruth 4:18-22. Despite the influence of those two texts, the names in the last segment from Abiud to Jacob (1:13-15) are not found in any genealogical list in the Old Testament. This hints at an important aspect of the genealogy: it is to be understood as a narrative-theological device rather than a historical source. In other words, the genealogy is to be analysed for its significance within Matthew’s story of Jesus (or Matthew’s narrative world). The genealogy begins by introducing Jesus as the “Messiah, Son of David, Son of Abraham” (1:1). There is a double emphasis in the use of these “sonship” titles: the title “Son of David” identifies Jesus as the one in whom the Jewish people will find blessing, while the title “Son of Abraham” points to Jesus as the one in whom the Gentiles (non-Jews) will attain blessing. By introducing Jesus as “Son of David” and “Son of Abraham”, Matthew links him to the two great covenantal promises of God to his people: God’s promise to David to raise up his descendants and establish “the throne of his kingdom forever” (see 2 Sam 7:12-16), and God’s promise to Abraham that “all the nations of the earth” will be blessed through his seed (see Gen 12:3; 22:18). Right from the beginning of the Gospel, Matthew hints at the inclusive nature of Jesus’ mission. Many passages throughout Matthew’s Gospel show that being Jewish or Gentile is not the determining factor when it comes to who constitutes God’s people. Representative examples of people who are part of God’s people despite not being Jewish include: the Magi (2:1-12), the centurion who Jesus tells

that “in no one in Israel have I found such faith” (8:10-12), and the Canaanite woman to whom Jesus says “Woman, great is your faith” (15:24). Although Jesus sends out and restricts the mission of the Twelve to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:6), in the Great Commission the risen Jesus sends

while Ruth is a Moabite. Bathsheba is a little more complex. Significantly, Matthew does not mention her by name, rather, he refers to her as “the wife of Uriah” (1:6b) drawing attention to her marriage to a non-Israelite. The outsider status of these women signifies the universal and inclusive nature of God’s

The title “Son of David” identifies Jesus as the one in whom the Jewish people will find blessing, while the title “Son of Abraham” points to Jesus as the one in whom the Gentiles (non-Jews) will attain blessing out his eleven disciples to “make disciples of all nations” (28:19). The double emphasis in the opening line of the Gospel—Son of David and Son of Abraham—is indicative of the inclusive nature of Jesus’ mission. The four women of the genealogy also have an important role in this. FEMALE ANCESTORS OF JESUS Some commentators critique Matthew’s genealogy for its androcentric (man-centered) and patriarchal orientation and wonder why there are only four women mentioned in the list. While that may be a valid criticism, it is worth exploring why Matthew has drawn attention to these four particular women. To a certain extent, Matthew’s use of these four women is surprising. The great Jewish matriarchs (such as Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel) are omitted from the genealogy, while the relatively unexpected figures of Tamar (1:3), Rahab (1:5a), Ruth (1:5b), and the wife of Uriah/Bathsheba (1:6b) are included. Commentators on the Gospel of Matthew argue whether to interpret these four women in a unified way or to analyse them on an individual basis. Although distinctive characteristics may be drawn out in reference to each of the four, there are certain unifying themes that bring them together. First, these women share “outsider status”. Tamar, Rahab and Ruth are non-Israelites (or Gentiles). Tamar and Rahab are Canaanites,

salvation. Second, all four women were involved in seemingly scandalous sexual activities: Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced her father-in-law [Judah in Gen 38]; Rahab was a prostitute [Joshua 2]; Bathsheba committed adultery with David [2 Sam 11:2-5]. The virtuous Ruth might seem at first sight to be the odd one out—yet even she made sexual advances to Boaz and risked scandal, in order to persuade him of his duty to marry her [Ruth 3]: moreover, the very fact that she was a foreigner would have seemed scandalous to some Jews (Morna D. Hooker, Beginnings: Keys that Open the Gospels [London: SCM, 1997], 28). Third, a common denominator of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba is the nature of their marital unions: The union of Judah and Tamar was an ‘abomination in Israel’ (T. Jud. 12:8). Solomon was born because David his father took another man’s wife. Ruth was a Moabite. And, although the Bible says nothing about Rahab’s marriage to Salman, she was both a Canaanite and a prostitute. (W.D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary of the Gospel According to Saint Matthew [Volume I; ICC; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988], 171-72). continued on page 29

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CHRI ST M A S

While each woman had a certain unconventional nature to their marriage union, each union contributes to and progresses the ancestry of Jesus. These women show that in the biblical texts, God sometimes works in mysterious and disconcerting ways and that his chosen ones are sometimes unexpected and surprising. In the context of Matthew’s story of Jesus, the above themes taken together have the function of preparing for and offering some justification for the circumstances of Jesus’ birth by Mary. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Matthew chooses to mention these four women as their stories foreshadow that of Mary. Mary is also involved in seemingly scandalous sexual activity and having an unconventional nature to her marriage union, that is, being betrothed to Joseph but not living with him and being found with child (1:18). Although the four women of the genealogy presage Mary’s situation, their situations are not precise parallels with hers. By ascribing the origin of Jesus to the Holy Spirit (1:18, 20), Matthew shows that Jesus is

taking Mary as his wife and naming the child (1:24-25), in essence, becoming Jesus’ legal father and bringing him into his ancestral line of the genealogy.

This ancestral list only becomes applicable to Jesus due to the events of the annunciation, in particular, due to Joseph’s legal adoption of Jesus on account of him taking Mary as his wife and naming the child different from his ancestors. The role of the Holy Spirit in Matthew’s annunciation story is a radical interruption of what preceded it in the genealogy. Unlike his ancestors, Jesus is not the result of a physical act between a man and woman. Near the conclusion of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus in 1:16, it says that “Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born.” This indicates that the ancestral list is Joseph’s and not Mary’s. This ancestral list only becomes applicable to Jesus due to the events of the annunciation, in particular, due to Joseph’s legal adoption of Jesus on account of him

For the 2017 December issue of Reality, I wrote an article entitled 'Meet the Parents: Matthew’s Annunciation Story (1:18-25)', which explored what Matthew tells his readers about the parents of Jesus: Mary, Joseph, and, of course, God the Father. In a sense, the current article is a prequel to that one and we are meeting some of the ancestors of Jesus. The television series Who Do You Think You Are? revolves around a person tracing their ancestral line and uncovering some remarkable figures and stories from their family genealogy, which usually results in them discovering something

about themselves. Similar to the family stories contained in the television series, some revelatory features emerge when you dig beneath the surface of the list of names contained in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus and uncover the stories behind the names. Family stories tell us who we are and, maybe, who we will become. At Christmas, a time when families traditionally come together, it may be worth reflecting on what our family names and stories tell us about the person we are and the person we are becoming. In other words, it may provide time and opportunity to reflect on the question: who do you think you are?

Dr Jonathan Burroughs is a lecturer in theology and religious studies at Mary Immaculate College, St Patrick’s Campus, Thurles. He is the husband of Elaine and father of Faye and Jake.

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COM M E N T FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS CARMEL WYNNE

IS IT THE THOUGHT OR THE GIFT THAT COUNTS?

IS CHRISTMAS PROOF OF THE GROWING MATERIALISM AT EVERY LEVEL OF IRISH SOCIETY? If I asked you, "Do you want a happy Christmas?" I’m guessing that you would immediately answer "yes". If I asked you, "Which would you prefer, to earn €50k a year and see others earn €25k a year or to earn €100k, a year and see others earn €250k a year?" How would you answer? The majority of the participants in a research experiment who were offered these two scenarios selected the first option. All other things being equal they would prefer to be absolutely poorer provided they were relatively better off than everyone else. Viewed from one perspective you can understand why a person might get a certain status and feel-good factor from being perceived as very successful. However, happiness that depends on how well a person is doing in life is bound to be transient. Author of the book Affluenza, psychologist Oliver James said "It’s a mistake to attach your sense of worth and wellbeing to something transient, like your looks, your job, money or fame, because these things may not last forever." One might question, how could knowing that you are better off financially than your neighbours be regarded as more important than earning a higher salary? I don’t have an answer, but I have some personal observations. The expression ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ appears to reflect the mindset of people for whom maintaining social status is important. It’s possible that it could reflect your own mindset too. As soon as Halloween is over, products for the Christmas

market are on display. None of us is immune to the advertising and brand endorsement that we see everywhere, on the sides of buses, in television advertisements, in the larger-than-life sized photographs displayed in shop windows and on street hoardings. They are everywhere and unbeknown to us, adults and children alike are being influenced to believe that the advertised branded goods are desirable and owning them will make us happy. Branded goods offer the feel-good factor. Young children are susceptible to advertising and toy advertisements that are incredibly effective. If a playmate is bragging that Father Christmas is bringing him or her the most desirable and expensive toy, other children will feel they must have it too. Parents always have choices about how they deal with a child’s gift list. Most boys and girls will accept the explanation that Santa’s elves could not keep up with the demand for a particular

toy. They will be happy to get the surprise that Mrs Claus picked out especially for them. There is no denying that values have changed and there is a growing materialism in Irish society. Children’s expectations of their gifts from Santa Claus reflect these changes. Rather than disappoint a child, a significant number of parents will spend money they can’t afford, knowing that when the bills come in January they will be drowning in debt. Regardless of age, any sense of happiness that has its origins in what gives a sense of status will always be transient because it can so easily be taken away. If what you have or don’t have determines your sense of wellbeing, you will miss out on so many opportunities for joy and happiness. Not everybody is happy about the good fortune of others. The good feelings a person gets from giving the most desirable gifts, wearing the

latest fashion or driving the most sought-after car may boost the ego. It may even generate a high level of feel-good factor in the short term but those superior feelings can disappear in an instant. If somebody else brings in a celebrity-endorsed, branded, more expensive gift their status is diminished, their sense of wellbeing vanishes. Why do people go for the expensive gifts that put them into debt? Does it suggest that the monetary value of a gift matters more than the thought? When we don’t have what others have it will have an impact on us for better or worse. Let’s say you have €40 to spend on a gift. Would you spend €20 in a chain store and have €20 to give to charity? Or would you prefer to give the branded version at €40 because you think it will be more appreciated? If a person is disappointed with a present does it suggest that it’s the gift not the thought that counts? When a person celebrates Christmas by opening their heart and communicating unconditional love and acceptance s/he gives a gift that money cannot buy. The excited reaction to expensive presents is transient. The emotional response that comes from knowing that you are loved and lovable generates a more enduring happiness, selfacceptance and sense of joy May you be blessed with a Christmas full of peace, joy and happiness. Carmel Wynne is a life and work skills coach and lives in Dublin. For more information, visit www.carmelwynne.org

RUBEN

THE STORY OF THE DEATH OF A POOR MAN MIGHT BE READ AGAINST THE STORY OF A BABY WHO WAS BORN IN A STABLE AND PROCLAIMED A MESSAGE OF JUSTICE FOR THE POOR.

BY COLM MEANEY CSsR

first met Ruben a week before he died. He was 43 years of age, single. His 'house' (not an entirely satisfactory word) was on the edge of a middle-class housing estate. He was crouched outside his hut, obviously unwell. His skin and eyes were yellow. He had stopped working on a building site and had had a check-up at the public hospital, but the jargon-filled doctor’s report was impossible to decipher. One of my lay companions brought Ruben to see a doctor friend of the Redemptorists, at our parish clinic. She read his medical reports, examined him and correctly diagnosed that he wasn’t long for this world. I went to see the Missionaries of Charity at their house for the dying in Cebu, called 'Gift of Love'. Because Ruben had living relatives there were some minimal requirements to be fulfilled, but the nuns were willing to accept him, and agreed to come to the mission area within the next

REALITY DECEMBER 2019

few days to see Ruben and bring him to more comfortable and comforting surroundings. NO ROOM IN THE CHAPEL On Wednesday I went to the village hall and collected the certificate of indigence and prepared the social worker’s recommendation (two of the nuns’ requirements). The requirement which was proving difficult was locating Ruben’s brother and sister, so that one of them could sign a waiver in the case of his death – thus freeing the nuns from any legal complications afterwards. From what I picked up from the few locals who knew him, Ruben wasn’t the easiest to get on with, so there was minimal contact between the three siblings. Eventually his sister, Alicia turned up and we made contact by text with his brother Danilo. He promised to turn up

on Friday morning when the nuns were due to arrive. This was the time of a typhoon. All day

Ruben wasn’t the easiest to get on with, so there was minimal contact between the three siblings Tuesday and Wednesday, Ruben sat against the outer wall of the newly-built chapel of the housing association. He said he was drier there than in his many-holed hut. We bought him some prescribed pain-killers, for all the slight comfort they were to give him. On Thursday evening he was in severe discomfort and was still sitting, leaning against the wall of the locked chapel. The chapel was entirely financed by one of the local families, the husband working

abroad as a high-ranking officer on board a ship. Alicia requested that Ruben be allowed inside the chapel to rest more comfortably and securely. Her request was denied. In fact, the owners wanted Ruben to move to the local gymnasium, but apart from what seems such callous indifference, it was out of the question for him to make his way there, since the path were flooded.

blanket. Alicia, my mission companions and I tried to help Ruben to lie down. I whispered “pahulay Ruben” [rest], assuring him of the nuns’ arrival in the morning. DYING ALONE He never saw the sun rise again. When I passed that way at 8am next morning Ruben was half-covered with a sheet, a candle burning near his head. His face was uncovered. Neither Alicia nor Danilo appeared at the chapel on Friday morning. I met Danilo that night, expressed my condolences and wondered why he had not come to the chapel on hearing of the death of his brother. He said, “What was the point, now that Ruben is dead?” Although it was hard to argue with the logic, it was somewhat lacking in feeling. If you, gentle reader, discern a tone of judgment in these notes, then you discern

No sleeping mat could be found for Ruben’s final hours, just some cardboard; not even a blanket. It’s difficult to imagine a more pitiful sight than dying Ruben slumped outside the chapel. I passed that way at 9pm coming from a prayer meeting. I suggested it would be proper to let him sleep in the chapel. No sleeping mat could be found for Ruben’s final hours, just some cardboard; not even a

entirely perspicaciously. Hopefully you or I would have acted differently in the same circumstances – or would we? The point is that we can recognise and identify attitudes and behaviour lacking in some fairly basic human qualities. Because no relative was present on that morning, and none of the locals was showing much initiative beyond contacting the funeral home, the two lay workers and I spent much of that day arranging things for Ruben’s funeral, going from one office to another (social welfare, funeral home, city councilor’s office) – we arranged for Ruben to have a 'pauper’s funeral'. Ruben was buried on the following Monday. RIP.

Fr Colm Meaney is a native of Limerick. He has spent most of his priestly life in the Philippines.

Fr Colm Meaney blessing palms on Palm Sunday

F E AT U R E

HOLLYWOOD’S Biblical Epics

THEY MAY BE OLD, BUT ESPECIALLY AT CHRISTMAS TIME, THEY STILL HAVE POWER TO ATTRACT THE VIEWER ON BOXED SETS OR SEASONAL RE-RUNS. BY JOE CUSHNAN

This

year sees the 60th anniversary of the release of Ben-Hur, one of the most successful movies on in Oscar terms, winning eleven in all and holding that record from 1960 to 1997 when Titanic sailed in to equal the tally. It was one of many films in a fascinating genre.

movies, and studio executives were willing to spend eyewatering sums of money on producing lavish spectaculars in telling fairly simple stories in often very long films. What is intriguing is the fascination with religious stories told on monumental scales. Did these

Did they start a stampede for Bible buying? Or were they just seen as amazing screen entertainments, no different from westerns or war pictures? Here are some examples of the films made during this twodecade period. QUO VADIS? In 1951, MGM advertised Quo Vadis (‘Where are you going?’), directed by Mervyn LeRoy, as "the biggest film success since Gone with The

The dialogue is theatrical, the acting often wooden and morals are all over the place Hollywood in the 1950/1960s had a fixation with Bible-related REALITY DECEMBER 2019

movies help or hinder religion? Did they turn people off religion?

Wind". It starred Robert Taylor as Marcus Vinicius, Deborah Kerr as Lygia and Peter Ustinov as Emperor Nero. The core focus was Roman Marcus’s infatuation with Christian Lygia, and a run-in with neurotic Nero. It boasted a cast of 30,000, deployed in crowd scenes, marches and decadent banquets. For nearbankrupt MGM it was a huge gamble. But Quo Vadis brought in a welcome $6 million profit. It attracted mixed reviews, with one critic calling it "a staggering

combination of brilliance and banality, of visual excitement and verbal boredom, of historical pretentiousness and sex"’ while another said, ‘no picture ever produced matches Quo Vadis". Religious tensions are woven into its fabric but, in essence, it is a traditional love story spiced up by an evil villain, a pantomime of sorts, although cinematically very impressive. It ran for three hours. In the same year, 20th Century Fox released David and Bathsheba (‘A Goliath of a Motion Picture’),

starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward, and directed by Henry King. Its running time was two hours. The trailer: "The story of the all-conquering Lion of Judah, and the woman for whom he broke God’s own commandment." It is a story of adultery and subsequent severe consequences including the unleashing of God’s wrath resulting in drought and famine. The dialogue is theatrical, the acting often wooden and morals are all over the place. Getting the balance right in

Deborah Kerr and Robert Taylor in Quo Vadis

such a production was vital, blending philosophy with the right amount of drama and action. David and Bathsheba did respectable business bringing in $7 million. If its message was whittled down, it would be that sin is tempting but sin at your peril. Henry Koster directed The Robe for 20th Century Fox in 1953. It starred Richard Burton as Marcellus Gallio ("the man who took whatever he wanted"), Jean Simmons as Diana ("the beauty whose fame was legend") and

Victor Mature as Demetrius, a Greek slave. It was claimed to be the first Cinemascope film. In Judea in the first century, Roman tribune Marcellus is ordered to crucify Christ. He wins Jesus’ robe in a dice game, is overcome with guilt and has a nervous breakdown. Eventually, he finds peace in his love for Diana. But, alas, both of them are executed by Emperor Caligula. The Robe had all the expected ingredients, and, at two hours and 15 minutes, it managed to tell its story without too much

Susan Haywood and Gregory Peck in David and Bathsheba

F E AT U R E

drag in the script. One of the lessons within it is that you can take all you want in constant selfishness but not everything will bring satisfaction to the head, heart and soul. The Robe was a hit. THE MOST EXPENSIVE MOVIE EVER MADE The Silver Chalice is a turkey of the genre. The Warner Brothers budget was $5 million but box office takings were only $3 million. It was directed by Victor Saville in 1954 and starred

REALITY DECEMBER 2019

Virginia Mayo as Helena, Jack Palance as Simon, the villainous magician and, in one of his first big screen roles, Paul Newman as Basil. The blurb: "The adventure that began 2000 years ago and may not end for 2000 centuries â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the quest for the lost cup of the Last Supper". It was an overacted mess. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as if the studio jumped on a bandwagon only for the wheels to fall off. Paul Newman called The Silver Chalice "the worst motion picture produced during the 1950s". In 1956, Paramount created

cinema magic with The Ten Commandments, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Charlton Heston as Moses, Yul Brynner as Rameses and Anne Baxter as Nefretiri. It tells the story of Moses from baby to adult, his involvement in freeing Hebrew slaves, leading the Exodus to Mount Sinai and receiving two stone tablets on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments. It is a powerful film and, probably, the most religious of all such biblical spectaculars. It was a huge success, bearing in mind that it had the potential at a running time of over three and a half hours to be bottomnumbing. It had a budget of $13 million and brought in nearly $20 million in profits. A critic summarised it thus: "The largest and most expensive film ever made, a striking story of freedom rising in a man, under the divine inspiration of his Maker". The most famous scene, the parting of the Red Sea, is a tremendous special effect. The Ten Commandments

Jeffrey Hunter as 'Jesus'

won four Oscars for direction, effects, cinematography and set decoration. No other epics in this twodecade period, with the exception of Ben-Hur could match the splendour of The Ten Commandments. Columbia and director Richard Fleischer tried with Barabbas in 1961, with a scene-chewing performance by Anthony Quinn in the title role. In 1961, MGM tried valiantly with King of Kings, directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Jeffrey Hunter, surely the most handsome Jesus ever. It was a 'This is Your Life of Christ' movie that was good in parts and contained most of the miracle stories.

The largest and most expensive film ever made, a striking story of freedom rising in a man, under the divine inspiration of his Maker

THE END OF THE LINE? By the mid-1960s, large-scale productions were becoming too expensive, risky investments that could easily cripple a studio financially. In 1965, MGM and United Artists combined to make The Greatest Story Ever Told. With shared direction between George Stevens and David Lean, and with Max von Sydow as a sombre Jesus, this four-and-a-half-hour cinematic behemoth told the story from

the Nativity through to the Ascension. Some found famous faces in cameo roles distracting, including the ludicrous casting of John Wayne as a Roman centurion at the Crucifixion: "Truly, this man was the son of God" spoken in a western drawl. Yup. The last major effort in the 1960s was The Bible: In the Beginning from 20 th Century Fox, directed by John Huston: "The first adventure story, the

Charlton Heston as he appeared in Ben-Hur

first love story, the first murder story, the first suspense story, the first story of faith". This threehour film covers part of Genesis featuring Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Cain and Abel and Nimrod. It is a plodding series of chapters filled with an all-star cast, including Huston himself as Noah, Richard Harris, Stephen Boyd, George C. Scott, Ava Gardener and Peter O’Toole to name a few. It is a spectacle for sure but dragged down by tedious reverence. One critic remarked that this was an example where the book is definitely better than the movie. And so, on its 60th anniversary, we return to Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. MGM hired topnotch director William Wyler, several brilliant writers, an expert second-unit stunt coordination team, a cast of thousands, including Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins and Martha Scott. It is, as with most such epics, a story of conflict and revenge set in Jesus’ time, Romans versus Jews. It boasts probably the greatest action scene in any film, notably the thrilling chariot race between Judah Ben-Hur and his fierce rival, Messala. The budget was $15 million, and its takings were ten times that amount. Apart from a few dull periods in its 212 minutes, the movie is rare in its genre in that it got most things right from script to behindthe-camera teams to casting,

drama, action, romance, and it is still revered as one of cinema’s greatest achievements. RELIGIOUS VALUE? I posed some questions at the beginning. Did these movies help or hinder religion? I don’t think they did either. They are cinematic depictions of cherry-picked events from the Testaments, stories often embellished for entertainment purposes. Did they turn people off religion? It is hard to say, but, perhaps, they certainly made people wary of the stamina needed to watch three-hour films. Did they start a stampede for Bible buying? I doubt it. Or were they just seen as amazing screen entertainments? I think a definite yes here. Hollywood was and is a huge business. It is primarily about making money. The films are tapestries, drawing from the Bible and related historical events, never intended as recruitment productions for the church. A few made an impact. Charlton Heston said: "You can be sure that they’ll be showing Ben-Hur somewhere for a long, long time to come." And lo, he was right.

School Kit Gift 38

The Gift of Trees

This Christmas

GIVE A GIFT THAT REALLY MATTERS H OW YOUR CHR ISTM A S SHOPPING CAN HELP CHANGE THE WORLD BY DAVID O’HARE

Something

as simple as soap can save a life in war-torn South Sudan where it can stop the spread of deadly disease. A beehive in drought-stricken Kenya can turn around the lives of farmers struggling to grow enough food to feed their families. And hot school lunches for children in Somalia can be the difference between receiving an education or constantly being on the move in search of food and survival. These life-changing gifts offered by Trócaire

REALITY DECEMBER 2019

this Christmas will help real families in some of the world’s poorest countries to build a better future. With 15 to choose from, ranging from €5 (£5) to €1,000 (£1,000), each Trócaire gift will support critical work across the developing world. SHOP LOCAL The Gifts range 2019 includes Soap, South Sudan €5 (£5); Chicks, Kenya and Ethiopia €8 (£7); Seeds and Tools, Worldwide Gift €15 (£10); Solar Lamps, Worldwide Gift €15 (£10); School Lunches, Somalia €25 (£15); School Kit, Somalia €30 (£20); Goats, Kenya and Ethiopia €50 (£40); Support for Grandparents, Worldwide Gift €50 (£40); Baby Kit & Maternity Care, Somalia €55 (£45); Honey Bees, Kenya €65 (£55); Trees, Worldwide Gift €85 (£75); Water, Worldwide Gift €100 (£85); A Safe Home, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua €150 (£125); Ox

Plough and Farming Tools, South Sudan €200 (£170); and Fix a Well, South Sudan €1,000 (£1,000). Your gift will be sourced locally in the country where it is needed. This means that the gifts not only improve the lives of the families and communities that receive them, they also benefit the local businesses and farmers that supply them. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A GIFT MAKES! Here is the difference some of the gifts you can buy will make: Shine a light: Sixteen-year-old Chance lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the sun sets at 6pm every day. With no electricity, families are forced to use dangerous kerosene or oil lamps which produce harmful fumes and are a fire risk. But thanks to the simple

gift of a solar lamp from a Trócaire supporter, Chance’s home is now much safer and she can continue her schoolwork into the evening. In one academic year, Chance’s average school marks have improved from 55 per cent to over 70 per cent – all thanks to the gift of a solar lamp. Terrific trees: Your terrific ‘Gift of Trees’ will help families and communities plant trees native to their country helping to protect trees and land for future generations. Trees not only provide a fantastic source of food and nutrition, they can also help to generate an income and protect the environment from climate change. This is truly a terrific gift for families this Christmas.

WINTER

The Gift of Soap

Kit out a student: For 15-year-old Sundus from the Gedo region in Somalia, going to school is a dream come true. The war in Somalia means that many children do not have access to an education. Sundus now attends a Trócaire

funded school with over 800 students. Thanks to Trócaire supporters, the community has been able to build some of the classes in the school, train teachers and pay their salaries, and provide desks, books and school bags for the students. Despite living through the hardship and fear of conflict, Sundus is looking forward to completing school and becoming a lawyer. This, she says, is so that she can speak on behalf of the rights of girls to attend school. Grandparents support: When children are orphaned as a result of illness, accident or war, loving grandparents often have to step in. Your ‘Gift of Help for Grandparents’ will help grandparents provide for and raise their grandchildren in a secure and loving environment.

To make a donation or find out more about Trócaire’s work visit www. trocaire.org

Ennismore Retreat Centre

January 18th 2020 Mid- Winter Spirit Benedict Hegarty, o.p. 10am-4pm Cost €75 January 25th 2020 Spirituality of the 12 Steps Patricia Coyle 10am-4pm Cost €75 February 1st 2020 Desire and Morality Stephen Cummins, o.p. 10am -4pm Cost €75 February 8th 2020 Wellness Day Patrick Sheehan 10am -4pm Cost €75

ST DOMINIC’S

February 21st 2020 Wood you believe Fr. Jim Cogley 10am -4pm Cost €75 All day retreats include a full lunch–booking is essential

Wishing all our friends a happy Christmas and a peaceful 2020

Ennismore Retreat Centre is set in 30 acres of wood, field and garden overlooking Lough Mahon on the River Lee. It’s the ideal place for some time-out, reflection and prayer. For ongoing programmes please contact the Secretary or visit our website Tel: 021-4502520 Fax: 021-4502712 E-mail: ennismore@eircom.net www.ennismore.ie

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

BOOK REVIEW BY MICHAEL BENNETT

CHRISTMAS READING: LIVING THE MYSTERY "Our being is a mystery never to be understood" Living the Mystery is a scholarly and thoroughly engaging book. Mark Patrick Hederman expertly explains and explores his view that ‘our being is a mystery never to be fully understood". Humankind has, from earliest commerce with the universe, been hooked on asking and answering questions that try to explain and define the mystery: in so doing, we have developed increasingly specialised forms of knowledge, each with its ‘ways of knowing’ and testing ‘truth’.

SCIENCE IS NOT EVERYTHING We vacillate in our bias so that, over centuries, some forms of knowledge take precedence and others are relegated or become merely vestigial. Whilst fully acknowledging that "science has worked wonders at every level of our wellbeing", Hederman is concerned that our bias towards scientific method "sees existence as reducible to a number of universal laws". With science and technology driving priorities in economics and education, "we have been irretrievably shunted 'beyond belief' and there is no going back" but "it is still necessary to know that science is not everything"; there are truth-bearing forms of knowledge and ways of knowing that go beyond atomic weight and spread in the physical universe. A FELT ABSENCE OF SOMETHING FOR WHICH WE YEARN BUT TO WHICH WE CANNOT RETURN The author warns that if "the only world we know is the one prescribed by the Department of Education", we could come to resemble the Gradgrind children in Dickens’ Hard Times. Like them, we might suddenly discover that "we have been educated out of the circus ring and the realm of fancy" to experience a felt absence of something for which we yearn but to which we cannot return. We need a "way of knowing which can open horizons beyond the world of facts, events and measurable data". REALITY DECEMBER 2019

The author argues for increased resort to "an older brain, where thought and feeling intersect and where our lives reverberate to the pulse of the heart". He advocates accessing the vast experience and wisdom in ancient myth, imagination, symbol, ritual and religion which amplify "patterns and echoes from more distant horizons". Christianity, says Hederman, the "profoundest contemplative experience of the ancient world" is purified and completed in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN AND THROUGH MYSTERY "Even if adherence to religious institutions is in decline, our essential religious attitude has been maintained" and the "all-embracing catholicity of Christianity" offers us "dual citizenship" between temporal existence and eternity. To "become rooted in both realms", is to be better able to integrate the varied dynamics of life and find "a way to live our lives in and through mystery"; to live the mystery is more life-enhancing than trying to explain it or explain it away. Throughout Living the Mystery, we are aware of the author’s regard and respect for all forms of knowledge. These are evidenced in a range of highly apposite and always enlightening quotations from scientists, novelists, poets, philosophers and theologians. A quotation from John Moriarty, for example, suggests that "our desires only serve to muffle and hide our deepest yearning from us – and having recognised our deepest yearning, we then go on and so set ourselves up that we can live from it and with it." Hederman’s book is about recognising and responding to exactly this – our deepest yearning. "Crossing the divide between youth and age has become for our culture a journey of mythic proportion. We are facing as never before a spiritual crisis." ‘Spiritual puberty’ may not be solely a function of chronological age but, later or sooner in life,

"everything that we have, everything that we do, everything we are, has to be transported to another plane and the language for this is mythological and the world we enter is symbolic." Living the Mystery is an intriguing exposition and explanation of how and why this is the case. BETWEEN AND ‘BEYOND’ SCIENCE AND RELIGION Classification of this book probably lies – as the subtitle suggests – between ‘Science and Religion’ but the book has direct relevance for many areas beyond its likely categorisation in bookstores or its library class-mark. Certainly, schools of education, teacher training institutions, academics, student teachers, principals and curriculum co-ordinators should read it; Government Departments of Education need to read it.

Living the Mystery – What lies between Science and Religion By Mark Patrick Hederman Columba Books, Dublin 2019 Hardback, 200 pages. €19.99 ISBN-978-1-7821835-6-3

COM M E N T REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ

THE VALUE OF A LIFE

PLAYING TO THE FEAR OF THE 'OTHER' HAS CHARACTERISED EMERGING POLITICAL PARTIES IN MANY COUNTRIES, WHETHER THE 'OTHER' IS MUSLIM OR MIGRANT OR LGBT OR A PERSON OF COLOUR. InAugust2019, a young first-year university student died after taking a substance at a music festival. His death was widely reported in all the newspapers and was the first item on many radio and television news programmes. His death was a tragedy for his family and a devastating loss for his community. This was a bright young man who had his whole life ahead of him. His use of a drug that killed him was an unfortunate accident. He did not deserve to die this way. In February 2019, a young homeless man was found lifeless in his sleeping bag in a lane in Dublin. People in the neighbourhood complained that the area was regularly used by rough sleepers using drugs. They wanted more gardaí to patrol the area and move 'these sort of people' on. His death was just a statistic in the media next day. Although his death was a tragedy for his family, no-one else expressed much sympathy. To many people, this was just another 'junkie' who had brought his untimely death on himself. We value different lives very differently. We divide people into 'them' and 'us'. We often value those who are like 'us', sharing our attitudes, behaviour and social class, far more than we value those who are from a different social class, whose attitudes and behaviour may not be similar to our own.

In 2018, 147 people died in road traffic accidents, the lowest since records began in 1959. Road safety regulations and new traffic laws are regularly introduced to make our roads safer. The public demand that the Gardaí be adequately resourced to detect motoring offences. Politically, a lot of priority is given to reducing road traffic deaths. In 2016 (the last year for which I can find figures) there were 736 drug-related deaths. Apart from services working with drug-users, there is no pressure from the public for more drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes, and more supported accommodation for people coming out of rehab, all of which are essential for reducing drug-related deaths. In 2018, the Minister for Justice received 77 letters from the public on the subject of sentencing. Thirtyseven were critical of the courts for being too lenient with offenders. However, 40 of the letters related to the sentencing of a doctor to 16

months imprisonment for evasion of €100,000 tax. These letters asked the Minister to pardon the doctor or grant remission or commute the sentence to community service. Dozens of people expressed their shock on national radio at the severity of the sentence. There is no question but that the doctor is a caring, compassionate man who works hard for his community. But tax evasion is a crime against those who are homeless, poor and needy as it reduces the resources which the Government has available to alleviate poverty. To all those who wrote to the Minister, it would appear that he was one of 'us' and should not have been in prison with 'them'. In many countries, populist politicians have built their base on this division between 'us' and 'them'. In the UK, USA, France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Sweden and other European countries, the fear of the 'other' has defined

emerging political parties, the 'other' being Muslims or migrants or LGBT or people of colour. 'They' are seen as a threat to 'our' way of life, our values, and our economic wellbeing and comfort zone. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, with the support, sadly, of the Catholic Church in Hungary, built a fence to keep out migrants in order “to protect our Christian identity.".He has also made it a criminal offence to be homeless! Such a perversion of Christianity is hard to understand. However, in our own smaller ways, too many of us have built fences to keep out social housing, or drug or homeless services, or accommodation for refugees , seeing them as a possible threat to our security and well-being. The 'fear of the other' is alive and well in each of us. Pope Francis is very clear that our Christian faith requires us to see God in every person, without exception. Those who are unwanted, rejected and excluded are particularly to be respected, valued and welcomed, precisely because they are unwanted. No one said being a Christian is easy. For more information or to support the Peter McVerry Trust: www.pmvtrust.ie info@pmvtrust.ie +353 (0)1 823 0776

GOD’S WORD THIS SEASON DECEMBER

STAY AWAKE, YOU DO NOT KNOW THE DAY WHEN YOUR MASTER IS COMING

There are two almost contradictory images FIRST SUNDAY for Advent in today’s OF ADVENT liturgy. The prophet Isaiah speaks of a pilgrimage of all of humanity to a holy mountain. That pilgrimage will end in a universal commitment to peace as the nations replace war with agriculture and development, beating their swords into plough-shares and their spears into pruning hooks. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of how the flood came unexpectedly to the people of Noah’s generation. They were going about the ordinary business of life when suddenly the cataclysm of the flood came on them. Waiting can stir mixed feelings in us. There can be a certain expectancy and eagerness for the one who is coming. At this time of year, parents often wait and get the house ready for a returning son or daughter. Waiting can be an anxious time: have we missed them? Is the plane delayed? Have they had an accident on the icy road? Advent is a time for waiting for God. An

Irish poet, Denis O’Driscoll, who died on Christmas Eve 2012, speaks of the apparent absence of God in much of contemporary Ireland. With our modern science and technology, it seems we can get on fairly well without God. But there are still times when we sense there is something missing A civil wedding can be beautiful, but “we wait in vain/ to be fed a line containing words like ‘everlasting’ and ‘divine’.” God’s absence can be painful, as when “we stumble on

the breast lump for the first time and an involuntary prayer escapes our lips; when a shadow crosses our bodies on an x-ray screen.” As we wait in Advent this year, may it be a time for rediscovering that presence of the missing God.

John invited his hearers to be baptised as a pledge of their repentance. John’s baptism was not a symbolic pouring of a few drops of water but total immersion in the river Jordan. He is devastating on the self-righteous religious types like the Pharisees or the self-serving priestly aristocracy. When they come to him for baptism, he challenges their sincerity: is baptism for them just a kind of religious ‘fire insurance policy’, a rite that does not require any change of heart? If they want to repent, he tells them, they must abandon their easy slogans that they are descendants of Abraham. In the times that are coming, that will count for nothing because God can raise up children of Abraham from the very stones!

John uses the image of threshing after a harvest to describe the work of the future Messiah. Threshing was the final act of the harvest time. Bundles of corn were laid on a stone floor and the grain beaten out. The grain was saved for human consumption, while the rough straw and the husks were burned. The image of a final judgement by fire will return several times in Matthew’s Gospel.

Today’s Readings IS 2:1-5; Ps 121; ROM 13:11-14; MATTHEW 24:37-44

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REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS COMING John the Baptist is a SECOND SUNDAY major figure in the OF ADVENT Advent liturgy. In today’s Gospel, we meet John the Preacher. John was something of a rough diamond. His clothing and food were rough and ready. His audience might have recognised in him some of the features of the prophet Elijah: like him, John was a tough-talking prophet with no fear of authority. Matthew summarises John’s message very briefly: "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand." Later, he will summarise Jesus’ preaching in the same terms (Matthew 4:17). REALITY DECEMBER 2019

Today’s Readings IS 11:1-10; PS 71; ROM 15:4-9; MATTHEW 3:1-12

ARE YOU THE ONE WHO IS TO COME? In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist is in prison. With John off the scene, THIRD SUNDAY Jesus and his preaching OF ADVENT are attracting attention. What John has heard makes him wonder if this man he baptised in the Jordan is really the one whose coming he had heralded. Jesus replies that his deeds can speak for themselves. He tells John’s messengers about his acts of healing and preaching good news to the poor. One group at the time of Jesus had a list of 'Works of the Messiah'.

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DO NOT BE AFRAID Poor Joseph, religious art has not been kind to him! It makes him look like a great grandfather in a society FOURTH SUNDAY when the first baby arrived OF ADVENT AY while the father was still in GAUDETE SUND his teens, or early 20s. How many sleepless nights did this young man spend trying to solve the riddle of Mary’s unexplained pregnancy? Joseph is the forgotten one in the Christmas story, but the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel are very much Joseph’s story. And a bleak, hard story it is. Joseph is a great model for men, especially young Catholic men. 1. Joseph is a strong man. He was probably well used to handling heavy planks of timber. He was strong in the sense that he could make tough decisions. Taking Mary as his wife when the whole village knew she was pregnant demanded strength of will. Taking off to Egypt as a penniless migrant with a wife and small baby demanded strength of character. Matthew calls him “a just man”: what he means by that is probably a man with backbone who knows what he should do and is not afraid to do it. 2. Joseph is a loving man. He must have had a deep love for Miriam, Mary, and for the child

The genuine Messiah would “liberate the captives, restore sight to the blind, straighten the bent…he will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor.” It is very close to the message Jesus sends back to John. What drew people to John? John was no reed, blown this way or that by the fashions of the day. His rough cloak and belt were hardly at the top of the fashion range. A prophet then? That is closer to the mark, but it still does not get to the heart of the mystery of John. John was more than a prophet. Jesus quotes a verse from the last of the prophets, Malachi: “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me,

and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1). If John was the messenger, then the one whose coming he announced must be the Lord and the new age has truly begun. The signs of this new age are apparent in the work of Jesus. In this new age, even the lowliest of believers will consider themselves as more fortunate than John.

Today’s Readings IS 11:1-10; PS 71; ROM 15:4-9; MATTHEW 3:1-12

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she bore that he allowed his life to be shaped by them. He goes off as an emigrant or a refugee. When it is time to return home, he is told not to go back home to the place of his family and friends, but to go into a town almost a hundred miles away. If that is what is required to keep the child safe, then Joseph will do it. 3. Joseph is a dreamer. There is another Joseph, in the Bible who is also a dreamer. They are not day-dreamers, but they are wise young men who know that life is more complicated then they will ever realise.

This Advent Sunday we remember especially young fathers and young men who will soon be fathers. May they have Joseph’s strength of character and love as well as his capacity to dream dreams and to think outside the box.

Today’s Readings IS 11:1-10; PS 71; ROM 15:4-9; MATTHEW 3:1-12

GOD’S WORD THIS SEASON THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US Depending on the time of day, there are three different sets of Mass texts for Christmas Day. They all tell CHRISTMAS DAY the same story of the birth of Jesus. For many people, the Midnight Mass of Christmas has a special charm, and people who may not often attend Mass throughout the year make a special effort to come for the midnight Mass or for one later on Christmas Day. The Gospel of the Midnight Mass tells the story of the birth of Jesus among the animals in a stable, because there was no room for them in the inn. Despite school Nativity plays, it says nothing about hard-hearted inn-keepers. Ancient inns were not like modern hotels with private rooms. Travellers shared a public sleeping space, unrolling their sleeping mats wherever they could find a space. When the inn was full as it was on this night, space was at a premium. It was hardly an ideal place for a

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REALITY DECEMBER 2019

woman to give birth to a baby, so one can imagine Joseph and Mary seeking privacy and quiet in the part of the inn were the animals were. The birth of their child is announced to shepherds on the hillside by the heavenly choir. “Today [one of St Luke’s favourite words] is born for you a saviour and you will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” The Dawn Mass is sometimes known as the Mass of the Shepherds. Looking after animals was regarded as a rather disreputable trade, yet shepherds are the first to hear the good news, but they are also the first Christian ‘preachers’ who tell the good news of the birth to anyone who will listen to them. Luke has a particular place for Mary in his story of Jesus. Here, she "treasured these things and pondered them in her heart". She is her son’s model disciple. After Jesus’ Resurrection, she will be found with his disciples in the Upper Room waiting in prayer for the coming of the Spirit (Acts 1:14). The third Mass, celebrated in the full light of day, contains the majestic prologue of the Gospel of John which announces that the eternal Word

of God became flesh and entered fully into our human story. The birth of Jesus is a deep mystery, overshadowed by the cross, but that fragility is best expressed today in the fragility of a new born. An English poet asks: And is it true, and is it true, this most tremendous tale of all, Seen in a stained glass window’s hue, a baby in an ox’s stall? He brings us at last to the heart of the mystery, the link between the Incarnation and the Eucharist: God was man in Palestine and lives today in bread and wine. (John Betjeman)

Today’s Readings Midnight: IS 9:1-7; PS 95; TI 2:11-14; LUKE 2:1-14. Dawn: IS 62:11-12; PS 96; TI 3:4-7; LUKE 2:15-20. Day: IS 52: 7-10; PS 97; HEB 1:1-6; JOHN 1:1-18

ESCAPE TO EGYPT Today’s Gospel opens with a dark note. The excitement of the visit of the Magi is over. Joseph receives another FEAST OF THE heavenly message in a HOLY FAMILY dream: the child is under a death threat. He once again responds with an act of humble submission, and the family immediately set out for Egypt. There they will live as exiles until the death of the wicked king. Matthew once again relates this event to a prophecy from the Old Testament: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hosea 11:1). It refers to God’s action in bringing his children, the people of Israel, from the captivity of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The second dream takes place after the death of Herod. Joseph responds as instantaneously and selflessly to the angel’s command as he did to the earlier ones. Archelaus, who succeeded his father as king of Judea, had almost as bad a reputation for cruelty as his father. Joseph is warned in another dream to avoid Judea and to go instead to Galilee.

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Nazareth today

WORD MADE FLESH The Gospel according to St John does not contain a story of the birth of Jesus. Instead, it opens SECOND SUNDAY with a majestically flowing OF CHRISTMAS poem on how "the Word was made flesh" and dwelt among us. These verses may originally have been a hymn to be sung in Christian worship. Its opening looks back to the beginning of another book in the Bible, the very first one, Genesis, that describes creation: in the beginning God created the universe by his word. The word John uses for the Word’s dwelling among us means something like ‘he pitched his tent'. It emphasises the fragile nature of the Incarnation. A tent is a temporary dwelling place. It is fragile and vulnerable. In pitching his tent among us, Jesus takes

Joseph and his family settle in Nazareth, a small quiet backwater of a village. Matthew once again uses a ‘fulfilment quotation’ to show how this was part of God’s plan and foretold by the prophets. It is difficult however to locate the precise source of the quotation, "he will be called a Nazarene". Matthew may be alluding to several prophetic texts that use a similar sounding word. Nazareth as a place is not mentioned in the Old Testament. A Nazarite was a person who had taken a vow: the

JANUARY

on all our weakness and limitations. In Jesus, God knows what it means to be hungry or thirsty, to suffer loneliness or a broken heart. A tent was God’s first dwelling place with his people. On Mount Sinai, he instructed Moses to set up the Tent of Meeting. It was the forerunner of the great Temple of Jerusalem. A tent has an advantage over a

best-known Nazirite was Sampson. Another word with a similar sound is neser meaning ‘branch,’ which was used by both Isaiah (11:1) and Jeremiah (23:5) to refer to a future king descended from the line of David. Today’s Readings SIR 3:2-6, 12-14; PS 127; COL 3:12-21 or 3:12-17; MATTHEW 2:13-15, 19-23

temple. A temple is a permanent structure, a tent is a moveable one. As the people moved onwards on their trek to the Promised Land, the tent accompanied them, ready to be pitched wherever they made their camp. John captures with his phrase ‘pitched his tent’ the way in which God follows his people and is close to them. John rounds off his great hymn to the Word by remembering what we have received from him – grace in return for grace. What we have comes from the fullness of God’s gracious love in Jesus. He contrasts the gift of grace with the gift of the Law. It was the great boast of Israel that it had received the Law directly from God through Moses. Today’s Readings SIR 24:1-2, 8-12; PS 147; PH 1:3-6, 15-18 JOHN 1:1-18

GOD’S WORD THIS SEASON THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED The earliest Christians were familiar with John the Baptist. They knew Jesus had come to John for baptism. As THE BAPTISM their sense of who Jesus was OF THE LORD deepened, the question why he came to John to be baptised began to trouble them. If he was the Son of God and the Messiah, why was he baptised by John, who was his messenger? He surely did not need to repent of sin, did he? It is this riddle that Matthew answers in his account of Jesus’ baptism. John, Matthew tells us, recognised who Jesus was and tried to persuade him that their roles should be reversed. If Jesus was the one whose coming John was heralding, then Jesus should be baptising John. Jesus replies for the moment, the two of them set an example of righteous behaviour. Righteous is one of Matthew’s favourite words. It means the kind of attitude and behaviour that is required of a person who wishes to be faithful to God. It has no suggestion of smug self-righteousness or being ‘holier than thou'. The second part of the account tells us what Jesus experienced at the baptism. He saw "the heavens opened". This phrase occurs several times in the Old Testament, and usually refers to a moment of

special revelation. Ezekiel saw the heavens opened, allowing him a glimpse of God’s splendid throne (Ezekiel 1:1). Isaiah prayed that the heavens would open, so that God might show himself to the dwellers of the earth (Isaiah 64:1). What Jesus sees is the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove. The prophet Isaiah looked forward to a day when God would pour out his spirit on his people like water on thirsty ground (Isaiah 44:3). That time has arrived when the Spirit is poured out on Jesus. Jesus also hears a voice of God from heaven that proclaims

him as God’s Son, the Beloved on whom his favour rests. The importance of the baptism for Jesus is not that he is cleansed from sin but that he recognises his calling as Son of God. Remembering the Lord’s baptism reminds us also of our own baptism and of our share in the Spirit.

THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD John the Gospel writer faced the same problem 2ND SUNDAY IN as Matthew (last Sunday): ORDINARY TIME if Jesus was the Son of God without sin, why was he baptised? John’s solution is quite simple: he omits any explicit description of the actual baptism, but he retains an account of the association of Jesus and John. John the Baptist says three important things about Jesus here. First, he is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This language was inspired by the language of sacrifice in the temple. Two lambs were

sacrificed in the temple in Jerusalem each day. The most important offering of a lamb took place at Passover, when the lamb’s blood was used to mark the house while its flesh was eaten at the Passover meal. John will draw many parallels between the death of Jesus and the paschal lamb. Jesus dies close to evening time, when the lambs were being sacrificed in the temple. The soldiers do not break the bones of his legs to hasten death: it was forbidden to break any of the bones of the paschal lamb while it was being prepared. Instead, they pierce his side causing blood and water to flow. St Paul also calls Jesus the Passover lamb that has been sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). The second important thing he says about Jesus is that he is the one about whom he was

preaching even though he did not know him beforehand. The third is that Jesus will baptise, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit. This means that Jesus will plunge us into the depths of God’s life, just as surely as John plunged those who came seeking baptism into the waters of the Jordan. Plunging a person into the depths of God is not something external. It opens them to a new depth of relationship with God. Later in his Gospel, Jesus will express that in even simpler language when he says that he is come that we might have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).

JANUARY

REALITY DECEMBER 2019

Today’s Readings IS 42:1-4, 6-7; PS 28; ACTS 10:34-38; MATTHEW 3:13-17

Today’s Readings IS 49: 3, 5-6; PS 39; 1 COR 1:1-3; JOHN 1:29-34

THE REALITY CROSSWORD NUMBER 10, DECEMBER 2019

COME FOLLOW ME! The centre of Jesus’ preaching was around the Sea of Galilee. Matthew wants to show how Jesus is fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah. The words quoted are taken from Isaiah 9:1-2. Zebulun and 3RD SUNDAY IN Napthali were two of the 12 tribes of Israel whose ORDINARY TIME territory bordered on the Sea of Galilee. The Way of the Sea was a great ancient road from Damascus in Syria to the Mediterranean coast. In the time of Isaiah, Galilee was considered Gentile or pagan territory. Like Mark before him, Matthew sums up the preaching of Jesus in one short phrase: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand." Repent means turn away, to adopt the new mind and heart that will be needed if people are to see the kingdom. The two call stories of the disciples are brief. The men who are called are two pairs of brothers who are all engaged in the fishing business which was the source of the wealth of this part of Galilee. Matthew may be intending to suggest there is a comparative difference in background between the brothers. Peter and Andrew seem to be casting their net directly into the lake from the shore while the Zebedee boys, James and John, have a boat and are part of a family fishing business. What is striking is the abruptness with which Jesus enters their lives with little by way of introduction and makes an astonishing claim on them. It recalls the way in which the prophet Elijah entered the life of the young Elisha while he too was preoccupied with the family farm (1 Kings 19:19). The final sentence summarises the work of Jesus in three activities – teaching, proclaiming (preaching) the Good News of the kingdom, and healing.

JANUARY

Sea of Galilee at sunset

SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 8 ACROSS: Across: Abbeys, 5. Hamlet, 10. Legends, 11. Lazarus, 12. Adam, 13. Aesop, 15. Étui, 17. Maw, 19. Sayers, 21. Poncho, 22. Mutters, 23. Zagreb, 25. Yellow, 28. Den, 30. Tuba, 31. Cedar, 32. Magi, 35. Epistle, 36. Hymnals, 37. Slight, 38. Sonnet. DOWN: 2. Big Easy, 3. Etna, 4. System, 5. Hollow, 6. Maze, 7. Erratic, 8. Altars, 9. Eskimo, 14. Sautéed, 16. Armed, 18. Moses, 20. Sub, 21. Pry, 23. Zither, 24. Gabriel, 26. Leakage, 27. Whimsy, 28. Deceit, 29. Nachos, 33. Stag, 34. Omen.

Winner of Crossword No. 8 Marie Nohilly, Tuam, County Galway

ACROSS 1. A raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. (6) 5. The last Catholic reigning family of Britain. (6) 10. Slip-one shoe that is worn indoors. (7) 11. Nonsense from a pig. (7) 12. Type of double reed woodwind instrument. (4) 13. Gestures used to convey information. (5) 15. Frame on which a coffin is placed before burial. (4) 17. A Roman peace. (3) 19. A person who rents from a landlord. (6) 21. He wrote The Pilgrim's Progress. (6) 22. City and country with 100% Catholic population. (7) 23. Old Testament leader who derived his strength from his uncut hair. (6) 25. He was the first on earth to be a might man. (Genesis) (6) 28. Spherical green seed. (3) 30. Stringed instrument used in ancient Greece. (4) 31. Wails in grief for a dead person. (5) 32. He is generally considered the youngest Apostle. (4) 35. Archangel who led God's armies against Satan in the Book of Revelation. (7) 36. Stone which proved the key in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. (7) 37. Inclined, tilted. (6)

38. High waterproof boots used by anglers. (6) DOWN 2. Mythological horse with a single horn. (7) 3. The vicar of Christ. (4) 4. Plant cultivated for human food and livestock feed. (6) 5. The oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt. (6) 6. A strong desire or impulse. (4) 7. You're in it, and reading it! (7) 8. Group accompanying a person for protection. (6) 9. The ferryman of Hades in Greek mythology. (6) 14. Sea where Jesus walked on water. (7) 16. A messenger, especially one on a diplomatic mission. (5) 18. Loose sleeveless garment worn in ancient Rome. (5) 20. Golden-brown shade of skin after exposure to the sun. (3) 21. Officially prohibit something. (3) 23. She asked for the head of John the Baptist. (6) 24. Extraordinary event considered as a work of God. (7) 26. Bird mentioned by Jesus at the Last Supper. (7) 27. Relating to teeth. (6) 28. Rang out, like bells. (6) 29. He was the first disciple of Jesus. (6) 33. The first son of Adam and Eve. (4) 34. Second hand. (4)

Entry Form for Crossword No.10, December 2019 Name:

Today’s Readings

Address:

IS 8:23-9:3; PS 26; 1 COR 1:10-13, 17; MATTHEW 4:12-23

Telephone:

All entries must reach us by Tuesday, December 31, 2019 One €35 prize is offered for the first correct solutions opened. The Editor’s decision on all matters concerning this competition will be final. Do not include correspondence on any other subject with your entry which should be addressed to: Reality Crossword No.10, Redemptorist Communications, St Joseph's Monastery, Dundalk, County Louth A91 F3FC