Reality Magazine Jan/Feb 2019

FRANK CORR

CELEBRATE

MEMORIES OF THE LIMERICK ARCHCONFRATERNITY

CHRISTIAN UNITY WEEK

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

PETER McVERRY IS TOO MUCH MONEY BAD FOR US?

Informing, Inspiring, Challenging Today’s Catholic

ART THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL

TOWARDS A SPIRITUALITY OF EDUCATION THE CHANGING FACE OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

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WALKER PERCY THE FAMOUS CATHOLIC CONVERT

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IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE FEATURES �� ART IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL A Redemptorist priest describes how he uses his artistic skills and those of local communities to proclaim the Gospel.

By Fr Jan Haen CSsR

�� BEING ONE IN CHRIST CELEBRATING CHRISTIAN UNITY WEEK Sharing some ideas as to how to celebrate this special week

By Sarah Adams

�� TOWARDS A SPIRITUALITY OF EDUCATION

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During Catholic Schools Week we reflect on the changing face of Catholic schools in a pluralist Ireland.

By John Scally

�� 'HAPPY WE WHO THUS UNITED’ MEMORIES OF THE LIMERICK ARCHCONFRATERNITY A Limerick man recalls growing up in the shadow of the Redemptorists of Mount St Alphonsus

By Frank Corr

�� THE AGONY OF OUR LORD IN THE GARDEN Reflecting on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.

By Fr George Wadding CSsR

�� WALKER PERCY WHAT ELSE IS THERE? Walker Percy was one of the outstanding American writers of the 20th century and also one of the best-known converts to the Catholic faith.

By Fr Richard Tobin CSsR

�� THE POPE'S A THIEF Mercy, especially towards the weakest and most vulnerable, is the ‘beating heart’ of the call to holiness.

By Mike Daley

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40

OPINION

REGULARS

11 BRENDAN McCONVERY

04 REALITY BITES

18 JIM DEEDS

07 POPE MONITOR

31 CARMEL WYNNE

08 SAINT OF THE MONTH

44 PETER McVERRY SJ

Front cover image is a mural at the 'Ace of Clubs', St Mary's Redemptorist parish, Clapham, London

09 REFLECTIONS 40 TRÓCAIRE 42 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE 45 GOD’S WORD

REALITY BITES SEPARATING CHURCH AND STATE IN GREECE ATHENS PRIME MINISTER PUTS PRESSURE ON CHURCH

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Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens announce the new agreement

Greece’s ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party looks set to move forward plans for the separation of church and state as part of a constitutional review. Greece is the least secularised country in Europe. Its constitution begins “In the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity.”

When he came into power in 2015, Prime

Minister Alexis Tsipras, an atheist, declined to take the religious oath of office, traditionally taken on the Book of the Gospels in a ritual presided over by the Archbishop of Athens.

He stated that he wanted separation of the church and the government, but has held back after challenges from some outspoken bishops and church leaders. The Orthodox

Church has strongly opposed some of the attempts at change, including changes in the school curriculum and a liberal gender change law. Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos agreed in November to end the status of church employees, including nonmonastic priests, as civil servants. Some 10,000 church employees will come off the state payroll, although their wages will still be paid through a state subsidy of around €200m, which will remain stationary if the number of such employees changes. In return, the church will not oppose moves to make the state "religion neutral" and drop outstanding claims to property taken over by the state. This property dispute dates back to 1952, and in their agreement, both sides said they would set up a joint fund to manage and develop sites claimed by both church and state. Revenues and bills would be split 50-50. Although the government has tried to impose a more liberal curriculum in religious studies which has been opposed by the church, pupils at Greek schools still start their day with a prayer and continue to be taught religion throughout their 12-year mandatory education. Greek courts have a religious icon hanging above the judge's seat, and the Greek constitution begins, like the Irish, with an invocation of the Trinity.

OLD CHRISTIAN SCROLL DISCOVERED IN JAPAN OISO

LINKS TO EARLIEST MISSION

A Christian scroll found in a Japanese museum is believed to be from the earliest days of Christianity in the country. Measuring about 10.5 feet long by nine inches high, it depicts 15 scenes from the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The pictures include religious figures wearing traditional Japanese garments, and Latin prayers are spelled out in Japanese phonetic letters throughout the scroll.

The scroll was discovered in a museum in the town of Oiso, which collects REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

historical Christian items. An inscription on the scroll reading “1592 years since His Birth” suggests that this was the year the scroll was created. Carbon dating has dated the scroll as having been created prior to the year 1633. If this dating is accurate, the scroll would be from a period of cruel and violent persecution of Christians in Japan as depicted in the 2016 film, Silence, based on a novel by the Japanese Catholic author Shūsaku Endō. The Jesuits arrived in Japan with St Francis Xavier in 1549.

Martyrdom in Nagasaki on February 5, 1597

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SECOND MIRACLE FOR BLESSED JOHN HENRY NEWMAN VATICAN CITY

CANONISATION SOON?

A second miracle attributed to Blessed John Henry Newman has reportedly been approved by the Vatican, fuelling expectation that his canonisation could occur as early as next year. Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth said he had received a copy of the official report, about the second miracle, and “It looks now as if Newman might be canonised, all being well, later next year,” he said.

According to Fr Ignatius Harrison, the postulator for Newman’s cause, two steps need to be taken before Newman can be canonised. Firstly, a commission of bishops has to approve of the canonisation, and Pope Francis must declare him a saint. Fr Harrison also thinks that this might occur in 2019.

The second miracle concerned the healing of a pregnant American woman. She had prayed to Cardinal Newman when she received a life-threatening diagnosis, and her doctors have been unable to explain how or why she was able to suddenly recover. The miracle was investigated and confirmed by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The first miracle which allowed Newman's beatification to take place involved the complete and inexplicable healing of a deacon from a disabling spinal condition.

“BUILD YOUR OWN CHAPEL” MANILA

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FILIPINO PRESIDENT’S ONSLAUGHT ON CHURCH

Fr Picardal, a Redemptorist critic of the Filipino President, on protest walk

The president of the Philippines encouraged Catholics to build their own chapels, rather than attending Catholic churches. “When someone is baptised, you have to pay…when

someone dies, you have to pay,” President Rodrigo Duterte said in a speech on November 26. “Build your own chapel in your own house and pray there. You don't have to go to church

to pay for these idiots.”

Though president of a predominantly Catholic country, Duterte has a record of criticising the Catholic Church in public. On All Saints’ Day, the president said, apparently joking, that Christians should display his picture on church altars instead of depictions of “drunkard” saints. “Who are those stupid saints? They’re just drunkards,” Duterte said, according to The Philippine Star. “Just stay with me. I’ll give you one patron saint so you can stop searching for one. Get hold of a picture of mine and put it on the altar. ” Duterte is accused of human rights abuses amid a brutal crackdown on drug trafficking in the Philippines. Earlier this year he ordered the deportation of Sr Patricia Fox, in response to her criticisms of government tactics. After a legal battle, Fox returned to her native Australia, but says she will appeal her immigration case in the Philippines. In August Fr Amado Picardal, a Redemptorist who criticised Duterte, went into hiding, saying that “death squads” had targeted him for assassination. continued on page 6

REALITY BITES SANCTUARY IN HOLLAND CHRIST AMONG THE HOMELESS IN HOLLYWOOD?

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A Dutch church has been holding a continuous service to prevent an immigrant family from being deported. Dutch law forbids police from entering places of worship while a service is in progress, so Bethel Church in the Hague began the service at 1.30 pm on October 26. It is trying to protect the Tamrazyan family, with three children, who fled Armenia in 2010, CBC and CNN reported. The family has three children.

They were granted conditional asylum on entering the Netherlands in April 2010, but the government rejected their application for full political asylum status. Four hundred pastors from around the country have volunteered to keep the service going. Rev Joost Roselaers, one of the pastors, said: "We will go on and on until it's clear that this family can stay."

Blessed Sacrament procession along Hollywood Boulevard

Famous as the capital of cinema and as the home of its stars, Hollywood, California has a serious homeless problem today. Homelessness in Los Angeles County is estimated to have risen by over 20 per cent in the past year. Tourists are shocked

CONSECRATED VIRGINS: THE LITTLE-KNOWN VOCATION It is estimated that there are more than 4,000 consecrated virgins in 78 countries. According to a 2015 survey, the largest number (1,220) live in France and Italy. There are relatively large numbers in the USA, Mexico, Romania, Poland, Spain, Germany and Argentina. It is estimated that there are about twelve in Ireland.

A formal rite of consecration and the giving of a veil was the oldest form of religious life for women, and it did not require living in a religious community. With the development of women’s monastic life, profession of vows and life in community became the accepted form of women’s religious life. Some monastic orders, particularly the Carthusians, retained aspects of the rite of consecration. The Consecration of Virgins gradually fell into disuse. There were calls for its restoration for women living in the world and practising a profession in the 1920s. According to the 1970 restored Order for the Consecration of Virgins, women may receive public consecration: "if they have never married or lived in open violation of chastity" and give evidence of being able to persevere in this way of life, dedicated to the service of the church and of their neighbour and are approved by their bishop.

Although they have a formal bond with the local diocese, consecrated virgins do not wear a religious habit, apart from a ring. They live either with family or alone. They commit to reciting some parts of the daily Divine Office, and usually undertake some work for the church in addition to whatever professional commitments they have. The best-known consecrated virgin is probably Sister Wendy Beckett, once a member of a religious community, but now pursuing her life of prayer and writing on art as a consecrated virgin.

Jessica Hayes being consecrated as a virgin

Congregation attending service at Bethel

AMAZON’S AWARDS TO CATHOLIC CHARITIES Three Catholic charitable organisations were named as winners of $5 million grants from the charitable organisation of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, the founders of the online retailer Amazon.. They had arranged to distribute a total of $97.5 million among selected organisations, in grants awarded in tranches of $5 million or $2.5 million. Catholic charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Archdiocese of Miami, and Catholic Community Services of Western Washington were three of the 24 organisations selected to receive grants from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund. Bezos explained that the selected organisations “are working on a number of initiatives that support families in need”, including the administration of homeless shelters and assistance with finding permanent housing. “We hope these grants provide the additional resources these leaders and their organisations need to expand the scope and impact of their efforts.”

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

to find themselves stepping over people draped in filthy blankets or begging on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Blessed Sacrament Church, on Hollywood Boulevard, has been the home parish of many Catholic stars. Today it serves an urban, multiethnic community, and is known for its outreach programmes, including those to assist the poor. Its annual Eucharistic procession on the Feast of Christ the King highlighted the presence of Christ among the urban poor and homeless. This has given birth to Beloved Movement, a forum for partnerships in poverty-related discipleship and spirituality.

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POPE MONITOR KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS HAND YOURSELVES OVER TO JUSTICE: POPE TELLS CLERICAL ABUSERS “To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice,” Pope Francis said during his annual meeting with the cardinals, bishops and other members of the Roman Curia. Originally intended as an opportunity to extend Christmas greetings, under Pope Francis it has become a hard-hitting end of year look at issues facing the church.

This year’s meeting focussed on the issue of child abuse. He promised

that the church leadership will never again cover up abuse or treat such cases lightly. “Let it be clear that before these abominations the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes. The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case.” He thanked journalists who shed light on the cases of sex abuse within the church, “who were honest and objective and sought to unmask these predators and to

make their victims’ voices heard.

Even if it were to involve a single case of abuse (something itself monstrous), the Church asks that people not be silent but bring it objectively to light, since the greater scandal in this matter is that of cloaking the truth.” He appealed to them and other commentators to help the church in its difficult task of distinguishing real cases from false ones, accusations from slander, grievances from insinuations and gossip from defamation.

POPE TO VISIT MUSLIM STATES

In a message to a conference called 'Doesn’t God dwell here anymore? Decommissioning places of worship and integrated management of ecclesiastical cultural heritage', held in Rome at the end of November, Pope Francis admitted the need at times to decommission church buildings that are no longer required but urged that it be done sensitively.

Churches which are no longer being used for worship, he said, can still be preserved and witness to the faith of the community that produced them in the past, and so continue in their own way instruments of evangelisation.

“I strongly recommend that every decision they make be the fruit of a concerned reflection conducted within the Christian community and in dialogue with the civil community. Decommissioning must not be the first and only solution to be considered, nor must it be carried out with the scandal of the faithful. Should it become necessary, it should be inserted in the time of ordinary pastoral planning, be proceeded by adequate information, and be a shared decision, as far as possible.”

Pope Francis will travel to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates from February 3-5 to participate in an international interfaith meeting. It will be the first visit by a pope to the Arabian Peninsula. The theme of the Abu Dhabi conference is 'Make Me a Channel of Your Peace', a line taken from a prayer by St Francis of Assisi, with a focus on how people of goodwill can work for peace, according to the Holy See Press Office. The invitation was issued by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in consultation in the United Arab Emirates. Catholics in the UAE are under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate of Southern Arabia, which also includes the countries of Oman and Yemen and it is headed by Swiss-born Bishop Paul Hinder OFM who has served as apostolic vicar since 2005. The vicariate was first established in 1888 by French Capuchin Franciscans. The UAE has a Sunni Muslim majority. It is estimated that 89 per cent of the population are not citizens of the country. According to the vicariate office in Abu Dhabi, there are more than two million Catholics in the Arabian Peninsula. It is composed of large groups of Filipinos, Indians, South Americans and Lebanese workers, and is served by about 100 priests and 80 religious sisters.

Individuals belonging to non-Islamic faiths are permitted to worship in private without government interference, but practice of their religion in public is restricted. They may import religious material for their own use, but attempts to spread Christianity among Muslims are not permitted.

Other papal visits scheduled for the first half of 2019 include Panama from January 23-27 for World Youth Day, Morocco March 30-31, and Bulgaria and Macedonia from May 5-7. Morocco has a largely Muslim population, while Bulgaria and Macedonia are former Communist countries with Orthodox majorities.

Image courtesy of atlasobscura.com

DECOMMISSIONING CHURCH BUILDINGS

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REDEMPTORIST SAINT OF THE MONTH BLESSED PETER DONDERS 1809 - 1887

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Peter Donders nearly did not make it to beatification because he smoked! When a cause for beatification is being considered in Rome, an official known as the Promoter of the Faith, or more popularly, “the Devil’s Advocate”, is required to present the objections against the case being made in favour of the Servant of God. In the case of Peter Donders, an exemplary humble missionary who worked among indigenous people and lepers, his only apparent weakness was his fondness for a nightly pipe of tobacco or an occasional good cigar on a feast day. It was argued that, due to this nightly pipe after a hard day’s work, Peter could not be considered a mortified man. Wisely, the committee found that Peter’s life of sacrifice and humble goodness was not weakened by his fondness for his pipe.

Peter Donders was born in Tilburg, a traditionally Catholic part of Holland, on October 27, 1809. Because his family was poor, there was little money for schooling, and the children had to start work at a young age. From a very early age, however, Peter dreamed of becoming a priest. Eventually, with the assistance of some friendly priests, he was able to find a job in the minor seminary, and so, at the age of 22, to take some classes with boys much younger than himself. Progress was slow as he balanced work and study, and he was eventually ordained at what was then regarded as the advanced age of 32. Peter tried in turn the Redemptorists, the Jesuits and Franciscans but without success.

During his theological studies, the seminary superiors suggested that he should apply to go on the new Catholic mission in the Dutch colony of Surinam on the north-eastern tip of South America, then known as Dutch Guiana. He arrived in Paramaribo, principal city of the colony, on September 16, 1842, and became actively involved in the pastoral works that were to occupy him until his death. His first duties included regular visits to the plantations along the rivers of the colony, where he preached and ministered the sacraments, mainly to slaves. Writing back to his family, he gave vent to the indignation he felt as he observed the brutal treatment meted out to the African peoples who were forced to work as slaves on the sugar plantations.

In 1856 he was sent to the leper station of Batavia. He would remain there for the rest of his life with very few interruptions. Leper stations were lonely places, cut off from the rest of the world. Not only did he provide the benefits of religion to the patients, but he often tended those who were unable to look after themselves while campaigning quietly to persuade the authorities to provide adequate nursing services.

In many ways he was able to improve the conditions of the lepers through his energy in bringing their needs to the attention of the colonial authorities.

The Surinam mission was given into the care of the Redemptorists in 1866. Rather than take the opportunity to return to Holland, Peter and one of his fellow priests applied to join the Congregation.

The two candidates made their novitiate under the Vicar Apostolic, Bishop John Swinkels, who at one time had been responsible for the Redemptorists in Ireland when he was superior of the Anglo-Dutch Province. They took their vows on June 24, 1867, and Father Donders immediately returned to Batavia.

Because of the help he now had from the Redemptorists, he was able to devote time to a work he had long wished to undertake, and turned his attention to the indigenous peoples of Surinam. He continued with this work, which had been neglected due to lack of personnel, almost until his death. He began to learn the native languages and to instruct the people in the faith, until failing strength compelled him to leave to others what he had begun.

In 1883, Bishop Swinkels, anxious to ease his burdens in his advancing years, transferred him to Paramaribo and later to Coronie. Peter returned, however, to Batavia in November of 1885. He resumed his previous occupations until weakening health finally confined him to bed in December of 1886. He lingered for two weeks until his death on January 14, 1887 at the age of 78. His reputation as a holy man spread far beyond Surinam and his native Holland. His cause for canonisation was introduced in Rome and he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 23, 1982. His memorial day is kept by Redemptorists on January 14.

Brendan McConvery CSsR REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Reality Volume 84. No. 1 January/February 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 dmcnamara@redcoms.org Sales & Marketing Claire Carmichael ccarmichael@redcoms.org Accounts Dearbhla Cooney accounts@redcoms.org Printed by Nicholson & Bass, Belfast Photo Credits Shutterstock, Catholic News Agency, Trócaire, the London Redemptorists, Irish Redemptorists Archive 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.

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REFLECTIONS Never be too hard on someone who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on him.

VENERABLE MATT TALBOT

But I didn’t realize then that the consequence of sin is that you have to trample on other people.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

GEORGE ELIOT

I prefer that homosexuals come to confession, that they stay close to the Lord, and that we pray all together.

You can advise them to pray, show goodwill, show them the way, and accompany them along it.

But in order to have an adult faith, most of us have to outgrow and unlearn much of what we were taught about religion.

KATHLEEN NORRIS

It is possible to argue that the true business of faith is not to produce emotional conviction in us, but to teach us to do without it.

POPE FRANCIS

RONALD KNOX

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm: as you get older, remember you have another hand. The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.

Abolish religion if you like.

Throw everything on secular government if you like. But do not be surprised if a machinery that was never meant to do anything but secure external decency and order fails to secure internal honesty and peace.

We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.

AUDREY HEPBURN

G K CHESTERTON

Diplomacy is a way of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they’ll ask for directions and look forward to the trip.

There are things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind.

SIGRID UNDSET

WINSTON CHURCHILL

FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else.

JOHN WAYNE

Speak words of hope.

Be human in this most inhuman of ages. Guard the image of man, for it is the image of God. THOMAS MERTON

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.

It is Christ himself, and not the Bible, who is the true word of God. The bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to him.

We must not use the bible as a sort of encyclopaedia , out of which texts can be taken for use as weapons.

CHARLES DICKENS

CS LEWIS

STAN LAUREL

JK ROWLING – HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

I don't have ugly ducklings turning into swans in my stories. I have ugly ducklings turn into confident ducks.

MAEVE BINCHY

Humour is the truth; wit is an exaggeration of the truth.

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DIVINE MERCY CONFERENCE 2019 RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

Saturday/Sunday 23rd & 24th February 2019

“Let us not be put to the test.”

Fr Hayden Williams OFM (Cap) (International speaker from Malta)

Fr Patrick Cahill (Holy Family Mission, Glencomeragh House)

Fr Eunan McDonnell SDB (Irish Provincal)

Dr. Diarmuid Martin DD (Archbishop of Dublin)

Fr Brendan Walsh The Pallotines Thurles

Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo (Papal Nuncio to Ireland) Ms. Niamh Uí Bhriain (Pro-Life Speaker)

Tickets available in advance from: Divine Mercy Apostolate, 22 Castle Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 and by PayPal online.

Fee: Saturday €30; Sunday €20; Weekend €35. Early booking advisable. Thank you for your prayer support.

Friday 22nd February -Youth Night:Young people 18 yrs+

www.divinemercyconference.com divinemercyconference@gmail.com

Phone/Text: 0860669203 (9am - 5pm only please)

EDI TO R I A L UP FRONT BRENDAN McCONVERY CSsR

MARTYRS TODAY

Every

two years, the Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need, issues a report on religious freedom. Its most recent edition in November 2018 judges that a surge in aggressive nationalism in many parts of the world is to blame for the increase in violence and other forms of intimidation against religious minority groups. In its survey of 196 countries, the report details how ultra-nationalism, inspired in some cases by governments and in others by groups closer to the nation’s grass-roots, has caused a notable increase of resentment towards, and intimidation of, religious minorities. Places that have attracted particular attention include the Middle East, India, Pakistan, China and Myanmar.

The report analyses a wide spectrum of ways in which religious freedom can be compromised, from relatively casual intolerance to persecution and, in its most extreme manifestation, genocide.

Persecution can include murder, detention, kidnapping, slavery, confiscation of assets and buildings, or severe curtailing of freedom of expression by draconian laws.

The report is critical of how “most Western governments have failed to provide urgently needed assistance to minority faith groups, especially for displaced communities wanting to return home”. As a result, religious minorities suffer behind a wall of silence or a “curtain of indifference”. A particularly tragic case are the Christian churches in Iraq. A few years ago, the Christians of this land whose origins go back to the Christian mission of apostolic times, numbered more than 1.5 million. By 2013, after the troubled years of war, they had dwindled to one third of that number. Now, after the rise of extremist Islamic groups such as ISIS, it is estimated that they now number only a quarter of a million, and continue in freefall. The majority of believers now live far from their traditional homelands, and have been offered little encouragement in their efforts to return there.

The report also claims that media coverage of militant Islam has concentrated almost exclusively

on the struggle against Daesh and its affiliate groups in Iraq. As a consequence, it has largely ignored the rapidly advancing spread of militant Islamist movements in parts of Africa such as Nigeria or Sudan, elsewhere in the Middle East and in some Asian countries. There is widespread persecution of Christians in Pakistan, orchestrated by radical Islamic groups that have flourished, thanks to the encouragement of some political parties, and to the blind-eye policies of the army and the government. It has been estimated that 700 Christian girls and women are abducted in Pakistan annually. Many have been sexually abused, forcibly converted to Islam and forced to marry Muslims. Others have been imprisoned, condemned to death, and even murdered by casual violence on accusations of blasphemy. In June 2009, Asia Bib was accused of blasphemy after an argument with women fellow workers. The following year, she was sentenced to be hanged by a local court, a verdict subsequently upheld by a superior court. The only Christian member of the Pakistani Government and a Muslim governor were assassinated for advocating leniency on her behalf. Last October, she was acquitted by the supreme court but the government, bowing to extremist pressure, still refuses to allow her and her family to leave the country although several states have offered asylum. According to the American Open Doors evangelical website, a Christian sewage worker died in a hospital in June 2017 because three Muslim doctors refused to touch him, lest they make themselves unclean during the Ramadan fast.

The rise of Hindu nationalism in India has made some states places of fear for Christians. Ten years ago, Human Rights Watch noted that “Christians are the new scapegoat in India's political battles” and warned that without decisive action by the government, “communal tensions will continue to be exploited for political and economic ends.”

A total of 195 incidents of anti-Christian violence were documented in the state of Uttar Pradesh between January and October 2018.

States that were professedly founded on nonreligious, or even anti-religious principles are often to the fore in persecuting religious groups.

According to the Aid to the Church in Need report, for example, “repression of religious activity in China has intensified over the past five years …

Between 2014 and 2016, authorities in Zhejiang Province forcibly removed thousands of crosses from churches and destroyed part or all of some church buildings. Conservative estimates claim that between 1,500 and 1,700 churches were affected, and some estimate as many as 2,000,” while an increasing number of Christian clergy have been arrested and sentenced to prison terms. In April 2018, it was forbidden to see the Bible online, and the two official state-controlled Protestant bodies announced they would be producing a new “secularised” version of the Bible, compatible with socialism and Sinicisation (the cultural adaption of Christianity to Chinese norms). One wonders what kind of a Bible that might be. A United Nations Commission of Inquiry on human rights in North Korea declared: “the state considers the spread of Christianity a particularly serious threat, since it challenges ideologically the official personality cult and provides a platform for social and political organisation and interaction outside the realm of the State.”

What can we do? First of all, we can offer them the solidarity of a remembrance in our prayer, especially our public prayer as a Christian community. Secondly we can remind our politicians of their obligations to safeguard the human rights of vulnerable, peace-loving people.

Brendan McConvery CSsR Editor

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COVE R STO RY

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T R A

IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

JAN HAEN IS A DUTCH REDEMPTORIST WHO USES HIS SKILLS AS AN ARTIST TO PROCL AIM THE GOSPEL .

MUCH OF HIS WORK CONSISTS OF L ARGE SCALE MUR AL PAINTINGS TO DECORATE CHURCHES WITH THE HELP OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES – A MODERN INSTANCE OF A VERY OLD TRADITION OF CHRISTIAN ART. HE BEGAN IN SOUTH AFRICA BUT HE HAS DECORATED CHURCHES FURTHER AFIELD.

BY JAN HAEN CSsR 13

Art,

whether it be dance, music, song, poetry, architecture, literature, sculpture, drawing, painting, opera, or ballet, evokes feelings. Pleasant feelings, revulsion, or at times feelings we cannot find words for, but which nevertheless touch our inner being with fondness and perhaps a desire for more.

I am a Redemptorist priest. I live in the Netherlands. My mission is to bring Good News, particularly to those who are most in need of Good News. My medium is not only preaching, but drawing, painting and particularly mural painting.

The mural painting was a late development.

I have always made drawings, paintings. Even as a student I provided my confrères with drawings, paintings and collages as visual aids for the catechism classes they gave.

C OVE R STO RY

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College in Bonn: preparing the school walls for the mural

STARTING IN SOUTH AFRICA The mural painting began when a confrère in South Africa, where I was at the time, showed me the shack in a village that served as parish church. He asked me if I could do something to make it more appealing. I said "Yes". The following Sunday I invited parishioners to join me on Tuesday to paint the church. That Tuesday armed with paint, paintbrushes and pencils, I separated the children from the grown-ups, the teachers from the older parishioners. I asked each group to decide which particular gospel story they would like to see illustrated. That done, I drew in

My medium is not only preaching, but drawing, painting and particularly mural painting

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outline the stories they decided on, on the exterior of the corrugated iron walls of the shack that was the church. I gave them paint and brushes and they set to work, each group giving colour to their chosen story. The result was a delightful and colourful expression of

faith in this impoverished village with dull shacks serving as homes.

Having seen what was done in this village, confrères and other priests asked if I could do something for their simple churches with their drab interiors. That was the beginning

Church in Bapong, before the community started painting

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College in Bonn, with mural completed

of more than 20 years of mural painting projects, not only in South Africa, but also in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, France, the Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland, Sardinia, England and Ireland. The Collaboration Art Projects International Foundation, otherwise

known as the Collart Foundation, was set up to organise the funding of these art projects. This foundation came to an end at the end of 2017 when it became obvious that I was no longer able to climb up and down scaffolding.

I do not paint for people, but with people

Bapong church, completed Jan and his many helpers

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The story we painted, was truly the story of my life, and what I long for

The Lethabong project before...

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PAINTING WITH PEOPLE I always made clear to those requesting mural painting projects, that I do not paint for people, but with people. Those asking would decide which themes for instance should be depicted. I would make a concept. They would discuss it, make changes, etc. Eventually we would come to an agreement. Then I came to put the designs on the designated wall(s).

The local community would do the actual painting. And I would see to it that the final product was ‘satisfactory’.

The Lethabong project completed

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It wasn’t just churches and chapels that were painted. Church halls, schools, a university hall, subways, a prison, old age homes, an orphanage, community centres amongst other things received colourful and creative interiors and exteriors.

I remember a particular painting project, which illustrates very well the words, ‘Art is the language of the soul'. Exodus is the name given to residences in the Netherlands, where exprisoners are helped to reintegrate into society.

In Den Bosch is such a house. Kees (not his real name) saw nothing in the painting project that

was to be painted on the walls in the garden.

Reluctantly he agreed to take part because all the other residents were going to take part.

After the painting project had been completed, Kees confided to me that participating in the painting was one of the most beautiful things that had ever happened to him. "I became very calm inside of me. That was so wonderful, and the story we painted, was truly the story of my life, and what I long for. I never expected something like this could ever happen to me."

Such experiences were often shared with me.

Not all of the murals have survived. Buildings have been torn down or passed into new hands, functions have changed. But most murals have withstood the passage of time. And from what I have picked up here and there, most murals continue to be source of inspiration, addressing the soul, the inner being of many people who come into contact with them. They give rise to questions of who, what, why, when, and/or a sense of peace, tranquillity, of satisfaction that does not require nor allow for further words, explanations.

You can well imagine that I very grateful that such an talent was entrusted to me and that it enriched my vocation to the priesthood and the Redemptorist mission. I am very grateful that so many participants in the mural projects experienced and discovered the enormous wealth of art as the language for their own and others' souls. I am grateful that it has encouraged them to use art as the language of the soul as they continue their journeys through life. Without a doubt, art is the language of the soul. All one has to do is to learn to use this language and continue to exercise it actively or passively.

The Embrace by Jan Haen

Father Jan Haen CSsR was expelled from South Africa by the apartheid regime in 1978 . He was permitted to return in 1994 where his artistic talents flourished with the decoration of churches and other community areas in deprived townships.

COMMENT WITH EYES WIDE OPEN JIM DEEDS

TEN NEW YEAR MESSAGES TO CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING BOMBARDED BY SOCIETY AND THE MEDIA, ESPECIALLY SOCIAL MEDIA. WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES ARE THEY RECEIVING? WHAT SHOULD THEY BE RECEIVING?

We

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live in a world where we are bombarded each day with a level of visual and aural information the likes of which the people of even just one generation ago would never have anticipated. Much of this information is delivered with a particular message or another in mind.

The message is often designed to shape our opinions or our behaviour. We can be influenced by these messages in terms of our shopping habits, our consumption habits or even our voting habits as we have seen recently. The messages are delivered across various media– social and traditional. No matter how hard we try, it is very difficult not to be subjected in some way or other to the media and to the messages they put across. This is not to say, by any means, that I believe that there is nothing good about the traditional and social media; quite the opposite really. I think the media has the power to do tremendous good and it often does.

That said, I’ve been reflecting a lot about the messages our children receive and may be influenced by. My own are all adolescents and young adults by this stage and are well fit to make up their own minds, of course, so I want to make a contribution in a clear and concise way to the messages they read and hear.

The following are ten of the key messages I’d like them to be exposed to:

building others up. Go for it and tell others to go for it too. Set the world on fire!

8 No class, creed, colour, identity, sexuality, nationality, political opinion, ability or disability separates us. Deep down we are one people united in our creation as children of a loving God. Don’t let yourself be sucked into ideologies of separation.

1 You are unique - there simply is not another you in the whole world.

The mix of qualities, skills, thoughts and imagination you have has never been seen before and will never be seen again. With this great gift comes great responsibility. We need your gifts in order to make this world a better place.

2 You were created - you didn’t just appear. You were brought into being.

In this way, you are a miracle. From conception to death, life is a wonder.

Spend some time each day thinking about this. It’ll change how you feel about everything.

3 There is usually someone else worse off than you - go find them and help them out. You’ll see what life is all about when you do this.

4 When the bad times hit, don’t be too surprised - this is part of the journey. Embrace the bad times, reaching out for help from those who love you. Don’t allow yourself to get too dismayed either. All things pass.

5 Life is not all about you. Now, this might sound a bit tough, but

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it is true. There’s no doubt you are simply wonderful. But it’s easy for any of us to get caught up in our own needs and desires. When we do, we find that this is the road to unhappiness– we can always want more and more. Live for yourself, of course, seeking only what you really need and accepting everything else as gratuitous gift. But live for others too. Seek out what they need and help provide it if you can. You’ll feel more satisfied than you think.

9 Forgiveness is the way to go.

Holding onto hurts will eat you up and holding onto guilt will do it quicker. Always give forgiveness and always ask for it. This is the right way to go.

6 There is a God (I’ve put this one in the middle so that you didn’t read it first, roll your eyes saying, ‘here he goes again’ and stop reading!). I hold this as a certainty and I invite you to as well. As you grow older you’ll begin to see the importance of this one– in your life and in others’. Say a wee prayer every day. Just have a word with the Big One upstairs, asking God to bless you and those around you. Church on a Sunday wouldn’t hurt either ;)

10 If you hold love in your heart, you will never go wrong - real love that is; deep heart love for all people, all things and all creation– love that is selfless and true. Remember faith, hope and love are the essential ingredients of a good life, with love being the main ingredient. Go cook a great life!

As I write these messages I realise that not only am I writing to our children, I am also writing to remind myself of the central truths in my own life. And in this way I realise another truth: that when we engage with the children, the adolescents and the young adults in our lives we always grow ourselves. Happy New Year!

7 No-one is better than you. Noone is worse than you. You never build yourself up doing others down and you never do yourself down

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

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

BEING ONE IN CHRIST

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CHRISTIAN UNITY WEEK IS CELEBRATED FROM JANUARY 18-25, 2019. IT IS IMPORTANT TO PREPARE OUR CONGREGATIONS FOR ITS CELEBRATION AND TO OFFER SOME IDEAS ON HOW IT MIGHT BE CELEBRATED.

BY SARAH ADAMS

At

least once a year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (see John 17.21). It is a time when Christians come together to pray for unity. Congregations and parishes all over the world exchange preachers or arrange special ecumenical celebrations and prayer services. The event that starts this experience

is the ‘Week of Prayer for Christian Unity’, which in 2019, in the northern hemisphere takes place from January 18-25. In the southern hemisphere it often takes place around Pentecost.

WHY CHRISTIAN UNITY WEEK? Anyone new to the concept of a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity may be forgiven for

thinking that the point of it is to pray that all the issues which divide us as Christians may be resolved. It can lead people to not engage with the week because such an outcome seems too huge a task. How can we ever agree on theology, doctrine and practice?

Is it possible for us to be just one body, believing the same things, praying the same way, sharing the same table? If these are the

In Tune with the Liturgy

division and strife, lead us to engage in the conversation with mutual respect. If unity is our ‘goal’, we will want conformity to our own personal view as to how things should be done. Basing our unity on such ‘things’ unwittingly divides us from other Christians who believe or practise things differently.

It can stop us from seeing other Christians as our brothers and sisters, members of God’s family, part of the body of Christ. Even if we do have disagreements over ‘things’ we can still have unity because it is based not on ‘things’ but on a person, namely Jesus Christ.

If we accept this way of looking at Christian Unity, then when we come to our week of prayer, we will not need to worry about who, where, when or how we do things because we can focus on what it is we are being asked to pray about and for what.

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When we seek love rather than unity, there is a much greater chance of bringing about unity questions we are asking it is not surprising that the task seems insurmountable. Perhaps there is a different way of looking at Christian unity. When unity is our goal we risk doing things to try and discourage disunity. This has the potential to stifle or stop the conditions required for true unity. We may end up with peace, but will we find true unity? So where do we start? It seems logical that we might start with God. What type of unity does God long for us to have? In the Gospel of John, the words of Christ express it beautifully: I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:20-23) How radical is the desire of Jesus – that we might be united with one another as he is with the Father! Can we do this? Well, not by our own human efforts! Only by being REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

united to Christ and making Christ both the starting point and the end point of our unity, can we have any hope that we will see the body of Christ joined together to express Christ to the world. The more we seek to align ourselves with Christ the greater our chance of bringing about unity.

MORE LIKE CHRIST How do we become more like Christ? By following his commandments to love God with all our heart, our mind and our soul, and then to love our neighbour as our-self.

In this way we can see that love is at the heart of true unity. When we seek love rather than unity, there is a much greater chance of bringing about unity.

True love is seen in our capacity to forgive when we have been wronged. True love overlooks disagreements about behaviour.

When we truly love, we can have different opinions and views which, rather than cause

THIS YEAR’S THEME Each year a different group of people from around the world help us to do this. The theme for 2019 is ‘Justice and only Justice you shall pursue’. The words are comes Deuteronomy 16:20 and speak powerfully of the situation and needs of the Indonesian Christians who have prepared the materials.

They are few in number, only 10 per cent of a predominantly Muslim population. They come from various Christian traditions.

The concerns that have led to their theme this year stem from a threat to the fragile harmony which currently pervades Indonesia. The nation is founded on five principles called Pancasila, with the motto Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

Across the diversity of ethnicity, language and religion, Indonesians have lived by the principle of gotong royong which is to live in solidarity and by collaboration. In more recent decades, economic growth has been built on a system that has competition at its heart. It infects politics and business. It undermines justice and the implementation of the law. Very often those who are meant to promote justice and protect the weak, do the exact opposite. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing daily.

Whilst the theme for Christian Unity Week

comes from this particular context, injustice has a nasty habit of growing in all kinds of ways in communities around the world.

When we gather as Christians to pray for justice, we begin by naming the injustices in our own society. We pray for Indonesia and we pray for our own communities. We pray that we will not be party to injustice, that we will seek to overcome it wherever we find it.

parents. It would be welcome, too, if each church or venue offered some hospitality following events. Often it is the meeting after the meeting that bears much fruit.

Christian Unity Week is not an opportunity for different traditions to ‘put on a show’ of what they are good at. Rather it is a time to make what we do as inclusive as possible with the focus on being the body of Christ. This is not the time to assume that the only way Catholics can pray is by celebrating Mass! There are many ways to pray – this is a time to take the resources and be creative with them.

Focus on the theme of justice and look for rituals and prayer

Christian Unity Week is not an opportunity for different traditions to ‘put on a show’ of what they are good at

TAKING PART January can be a dark and cold month.

Leaving a warm and cosy house to travel to a strange church, to be with people we do not know, can be challenging. For the elderly or those who have young children especially, it’s a step too far. That is why it is important to prepare the week of prayer with every sort of person in mind. It might be helpful, for example, to think about arranging transport/lifts, or providing a crèche for

times which can reflect this. A service in the style of Taizé is one specific way Christians pray reflectively together. Young people will be only too happy to get involved in creating a sacred space and sacred silence. Consider using an adapted version of the prayer of the church, perhaps a morning prayer (after the school run) and an evening prayer or night prayer.

Have some discussion groups which reflect on particular passages of scripture, contained with the resources. Remember that children

Christian Unity Week January 18 – 25, 2019 and young people often have a strong sense of justice and are very able to talk and pray about these issues. Give them the space and opportunity to create artwork which reflects their thinking and concerns, then allow them to express their hopes and dreams for justice in the context of prayer. Another way to pray is to have a music night of hymns and songs of justice with prayers in between. Different denominations will have different music to offer. It can be enriching and enlightening. A non-sacramental service of reconciliation can bring about healing and comfort for those who have been harmed by injustice. Praying for forgiveness and the capacity to forgive those who harm us is never wasted time.

At the end of the week, let us be honest, it is unlikely that the different denominations will have merged into one glorified unity. Please God, however, Christians of all denominations will be united in a desire for justice in our world and local community. Out of it may come a desire to work together on other initiatives to bring about communities of justice. This would then truly show how Christians are united with one another.

Sarah Adams has been recently appointed Director of Adult Education and Evangelisation for Clifton Diocese, England

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E D U CAT I O N

TOWARDS A SPIRITUALITY OF EDUCATION

Who are

AS WE MARK CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK, IT WILL BE USEFUL TO REFLECT ON THE CHANGING FACE OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN A PLURALIST IRELAND.

BY JOHN SCALLY

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Every

year, as regular as clockwork, radio chat-show phone-ins are dominated by the shockingly high prices of First Holy Communion dresses. After three tearful days of heart-breaking stories of families suffering severe financial hardships, the conversation invariably starts to flag and extends to other topics including Catholic education. To anyone with any level of exposure to the realities of contemporary Catholic education it is clear that in many of these contributions, old stereotypes abound. In fact many are describing a form of Catholic education that was last seen in the 1950s.

CHANGING FACE OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION We are living in a world that is

changing too fast to be easily understood, and that poses a challenge to everybody in the coming years, not least those involved in our schools. There has been much public discussion about Catholic education in recent years. Sometimes the media discussion has done more to confuse than enlighten, particularly in light of the frequent failure to adequately distinguish between the differing contexts in primary and postprimary education.

Two fundamental questions we must face are: Who are we?

How do we explain ourselves as Catholic schools? The 1998 Education Act recognises the importance of the spiritual development of the student.

Public perceptions of Catholic schools sometimes remain in

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the realm of the 1950s when more authoritarian attitudes prevailed across all spectrums of Irish society. We live and educate today in accordance with the new realities where there has been a dramatic shift from the experience of authority to the authority of experience.

Our schools are Catholic schools not of the 1950s but of the 21st century.

The Education Act also recognises the value of the ‘founding intention’ of the school and the importance of maintaining its ‘characteristic spirit’. So an ongoing challenge will be to ensure that both the founding intention and characteristic spirit are retained in an ever changing web of social, economic and educational contexts. It is easy to pay lip-

service to this but the challenge is not just to talk the talk but to give real witness in our schools to the narrative that we belong to and ought to be participating in.

EDUCATING FOR A PLURALIST SOCIETY In recent years we have faced new challenges. Historically, Irish society was very homogenous but today we find ourselves in a more pluralist and secular society and our schools have been forced to respond to this new Ireland. Pope Francis argues that an authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it.

January is the month we mark

e we?

How do we explain ourselves as Catholic schools?

23 Catholic Schools Week. The former abbot of Glenstal Abbey, Dom Mark Patrick Hederman, is keen to present Catholic education in positive terms.

The current public debate is an opportunity for all concerned to reflect on the nature of Catholic education. As a step on this journey I spoke to Mark Patrick Hederman, one of Ireland’s best-known intellectuals and most insightful commentators on education, on the education system of today and tomorrow.

Our schools are Catholic schools not of the 1950s but of the 21st century

"The soul of any society is in their system of education, which elaborates the values they wish to promote. It is said that all schools paint a picture of the world. The dangers and the pit-falls of socalled 'Catholic education' are

not the vision statements or the inspired people who are behind these, but rather the negative historical circumstances and erroneous perceptions of a contemporary population.

What people think, and what the

media portray, is quite different from the project as outlined in the various manifestos," suggests Dom Mark Patrick.

"We have to face reality. The difficulty for us is that the word 'Catholic' can have a bad press

ED U CAT I O N

The Catholic Church, for the pantomime which the press is keen to promote, is the wicked stepmother of every fairytale

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Dom Mark Patrick Hederman

in the 21st century thanks to catastrophic revelations in the recent past, with an ensuing overall lack of trust in the institution as such. As Pope Francis said to the members of the Curia: 'Priests are like planes: they only make news when they crash. How much evil a single priest who "crashes" can do to the whole body of the church.' Even where such

negative connotations are not immediately associated with any church-run groups, there can be quite legitimate expectations that whatever is Catholic is likely to be hidebound and conservative; fearful, guilt-ridden, puritanical and suspicious of success. For many in our society the very notion of 'Catholic education' can conjure up images of sectarianism, of initiation to a cult, of some form of brainwashing to a particularly hard-line Catholic worldview."

A CARICATURE OF CATHOLICISM? Mark Patrick believes that we are living in a new reality.

"It is vitally important not to allow the perception of a reactionar y ghettoised minority to be foisted upon us by the media and some hostile public opinion. The media work on banner headlines,

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cartoons and caricatures.

The Catholic Church, for the pantomime which the press is keen to promote, is the wicked stepmother of every fairytale, Cruella de Vil, or the strict governess in General Montgomery’s autobiography who used to get up every morning and say: 'Go out and see what that child is doing and stop him!'

"Our schools must not appear to be sectarian and supportive of values and lifestyles which have been rejected by the majority of 21st century families in this country. Otherwise we are categorised as out-of-date leftovers from a previous era, such as the Amish communities in America and Canada .

Founded in the 17 th century, they refuse on principle to move into the 21st. They use horses for farming and transportation, dress in a traditional manner

and forbid electricity or telephones in the home. Church members do not join the military, nor do they apply for social security benefits, take out insurance or accept any form of financial assistance from the government. They value rural life, manual labour and humility, and they discontinue formal education at the age of 14.

"We have to show people that ours is another way: the way of freedom for the person. Our job is to anticipate the surmises and make our schools into the living proof of an alternative vision. This word 'person' in the Christian context is unrecognisable from its normal usage in any other context. This is what we have to explain and promote. The person, in our understanding, whether divine or human, is unrepeatable, unique, original, sui generis, matchless, peerless, exceptional and eternal."

A NETWORK OF RELATIONSHIPS In this perspective relationships are critical.

"There are other relationships which make up the web of successful education. Relationship with God, relationship with family, relationship with peers. But the essential relationship with the teacher is paramount. It is a contact rather than a content. The 'supreme artistry of the teacher' sees the full being of the child, recognises what stands between the child and such fullness, and knows the secret of how to remove these obstacles.

We need to nurture people who can move effortlessly between the arts and science, between technology and design, between creative writing and business. We need to open a space for experimentation at

every level. Each child should have every opportunity to explore every possibility available. There is no end to their talent and to the variety of their skills. We have to make sure that they develop fully and totally at every level, the physical, the emotional, the intellectual, the intuitional and the spiritual.

"There has to be a massive shift in culture. Deeper learning and learning together. Not a search for facts but an understanding of the whole picture, the concept behind the facts. Not one person who is an expert teaching us the way things should be done; but every single one of us together learning every day how to be a human being for the rest of our lives.

"Unless we put the child and the child’s growth towards wholeness at the centre of our vision, our

philosophies of education are askew.

But even then, unless our vision of what each person is called towards, is capable of, is created for; unless this vision is aligned with the way in which God Almighty has planned the destiny of each one of us, then it is likely to be myopic and it is likely to short-change those who have been entrusted to our care."

ROLE OF THE CATHOLIC EDUCATOR What then is the role for the Catholic educator?

"When we say that this person is a God-bearer we mean that out of every population, certain people are called by the Holy Spirit to lead us out of bondage and into freedom. The task of the truly humble educator is to stand in the temple until such people

are presented to us and then, like Simeon and Anna, to have the humility to recognise the one so much greater than ourselves that we are called to educate. Not everyone, of course, is called either to be such a person or to recognise them, but the special humility of the educator is to be aware of that possibility and to allow for that potential in every child who is placed in our care.

"Our role as educators is to establish the rights of every child to have direct personal contact with God’s Holy Spirit. These are God’s children and we have to leave open the call from God to each one of them. Our schools must be a living example of the words of Jesus: 'I came that they should have life and have it more abundantly.'"

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‘Happy We Who Thus United’ MEMORIES OF THE LIMERICK ARCHCONFRATERNITY

A LIMERICK MAN RECALLS GROWING UP IN THE SHADOW OF THE REDEMPTORISTS OF MOUNT ST ALPHONSUS

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BY FRANK CORR

The

Archconfraternity of the Holy Family was based at Mount St Alphonsus in Limerick, just across the road from where I lived. Its front yard was our playing ground where we chased, acted out cowboy scenarios and played football. The pillars of the church tower provided a natural goal, and the large Mission Cross at one end became a starting and finishing point for races.

The Redemptorist Fathers who lived in the monastery were our nearest neighbours and several of them would drop over occasionally for a cup of tea. One rather solemn priest presented my mother with a formal portrait of himself which he placed on our piano. My mother soon grew tired of his severe gaze and slipped a family photograph into the front of the frame.

The Redemptorists were also good customers of my father’s printing business and had prayer leaflets for their many

missions printed there. These were small four-page leaflets designed to fit under a slit in the Confessional grill. On the front page was a somewhat gory image of the crucifixion with the legend ‘Souvenir of the Mission in Ballybofey’ (or wherever) and inside were Acts of Contrition, Faith, Hope and Charity, prayers for the deceased and one to St Joseph "for the grace of a happy death". I have been saying that prayer now for almost 70 years and I hope that it has been heard!

As a member, your ‘day’ was dictated largely by where you lived in the city. Each division was divided into sections, also named after saints, whose names were painted on ‘section signs’. Members from a street or locality would be allocated to a section in the division

THE CONFRATERNITY At its peak, the Archconfraternity of the Holy Family had close on 10,000 members, and was the largest organisation of its kind in the world. It was run on military lines and presided over by a spiritual director. He headed three senior ‘divisions’ named after saints but known throughout Limerick as the ‘Mondays’, ‘Tuesdays’ and ‘Wednesdays’.

representing a broader area. Each section was presided over by a prefect and sub prefect who collected a ‘roll book’ from the office before the service, and marked those in attendance or absent. It was the duty of the prefect to visit members whose absence was noted over successive weeks and to call upon them to ascertain the cause. Those who were ill would be then visited by a priest.

Its front yard was our playing ground where we chased, acted out cowboy scenarios and played football

The monastery yard where Frank played circa 1940s

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The section posts were rotated around the church each week so that all members had an equal opportunity of sitting ‘under the pulpit’. The signs were, however, showing their age, and my father was contracted to repaint each one by hand. He did a magnificent job and I remember our house being full for a few months with an array of brightly coloured signs– all the same but each one different. When the new signs were installed, and much admired, the spiritual director announced at a confraternity meeting that there would be a special collection to cover the cost. I totally embarrassed my father by saying in a loud stage-whisper: "Daddy – this collection is for you."

The Boys Confraternity met on a Friday evening and attracted more than a thousand young lads for a service of prayer, hymn-singing, a rousing sermon on evils like stealing apples or bullying, and Benediction. Later I moved up to the Junior Mens’ Division which met on Thursdays. The formula was the same, but the sermons became more interesting (or in my case mysterious) as the Redemptorists shouted about the great sin of masturbation, or ‘self -abuse’ as they liked to call it. They also loudly condemned kissing, touching and any other form of contact with members of the opposite sex in which you might ‘take pleasure’. These admonitions generated a large volume of sins to be confessed on the following Saturday (if you were lucky).

When I finally joined my father in the St Theosophus Section on Tuesdays I really felt ‘grown up’. I was issued with an oval medal on a green ribbon, and before long I often deputised as sub prefect and prefect and got to wear a medal with a brass chain.

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RING OUT, YE BELLS The tower of Mount St Alphonsus housed a fine peal of bells which were rung by the local Bell Ringers Society (or ‘campanologists’). They were donated by John Quinn, a wealthy Limerick wine merchant who also donated the high altar to the church. He was remembered by a ditty which was sung to the peal of bells and ran: "God Bless John Quin and all his men, who gave us these fine bells to ring". Every Sunday the campanologists rang peal variations for half an hour before the noon Mass, and on

A mission leaflet produced by Frank's father

hour, but the two final hymns were fixed in stone.

Second last was ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ and the final hymn was the Confraternity anthem ‘Happy We Who Thus United’ The lyrics continued: Join in cheerful melody Praising Jesus, Mary and Joseph In the Holy Family.

The joy-bells of Mount St Alphonsus were among the most memorable sounds of my early school days. They would wake me up with a start when they rang out for 7am Mass during the annual retreats, but later they served as a kind of alarm clock, when as a teenager I would be heading for the cinema. Then we got so used to them that we didn’t hear them at all.

RETREATS Those confraternity retreats were a major event in our family calendar. Each division had a weeklong retreat with Mass each morning and a service in the evening. Thousands of men would congregate in the church and a majority would park their bicycles in the yard. The confraternity had orderlies who looked after the bikes and could direct members to their particular vehicle in the dark after the service had concluded.

Special Redemptorist preachers were brought in for the retreats, usually in a ‘good cop - bad cop’ pairing. The ‘good cop’ would preach about the love of God and the Blessed Virgin, while his partner would bang the pulpit and threaten Hell on liars, drunkards, gamblers, stealers and particularly on those who might even

each evening one of their members played hymns on the carillon system for 20 minutes before the confraternity meeting.

My uncle Mick Cooke was a bell ringer and often carried The confraternity celebrations me up the rickety stairs to the 'ringing loft' where he and his colleagues would pull heavy ropes in perfect choreography to produce a continuous, undulating series of scales. On some midweek evenings, he would also play the hymns, and across the road, we always knew when ‘Uncle Mick’ was pulling the levers, because he inserted little ‘grace notes’ and ‘runs’ into the melodies. The dozen or so hymns were played over half an

in Limerick, 1968

contemplate illicit sex. You knew what the tone of the sermon would be from the text c h o s en b y the preacher.

After a few p re l i m i n a r y remarks, he would remove his biretta and intone something along the lines : "Woe to the Scandal Giver– it is better that a millstone be tied around his neck and he be cast into the sea’ ... or "It is appointed to every man that he shall die – and after death – the Judgement".

You did not need the gift of prophesy to know what was coming down the line!

On the final evening of the retreat, the joy-bells would ring out, and brass, fife and drum and pipe bands would march up O’Connell Street to the monastery. During this session 2,000 men held lit candles in an otherwise darkened church and would answer shouted questions like ‘Do you renounce Satan ?’ with lusty cheers of ‘I do’ which would be heard quite clearly in our kitchen. Then after the service, the bands played a few marches outside the monastery door for the entertainment of the preachers and confraternity men.

A BROADER AGENDA I should add that not all the confraternity sermons were blood and thunder affairs. They also included interesting lectures on health and social matters and in later years on the Second Vatican Council.

Nor was it entirely sexist, for the ‘Reds’ also ran a Women’s Sodality whose titular was ‘Saint Gerard’, a patron of motherhood.

After my Confirmation I joined the Redemptorist

Choir. This was a formidable musical ensemble comprising tenors, baritones, basses, boy sopranos and altos, accompanied by an organist. The choir master was a Father Tormey, who might have been better named ‘Father Thorny’, but he managed to get us to memorise and sing our parts in Masses

by Palestrina, Mozart and Schubert.

When I started working as a journalist, my confraternity attendance suffered, but I stayed in touch and often ran stories in the Limerick Weekly Echo based on sermons of the director. I was also honoured to write and produce a magazine telling the story of the Archconfraternity during its centenary year of 1968.

And I can still be heard singing ‘Confraternity Men to the Fight’– in the shower.

A journalist by profession, Frank Corr grew up in Limerick where his family had close associations with the Redemptorists of Mount St Alphonsus.

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COM M E N T FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS CARMEL WYNNE

CELEBRATE SMALL ACHIEVEMENTS

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU ASKED YOURSELF QUESTIONS TO WHICH YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS? ‘WHY DON’T I HAVE A HEALTHY DIET? WHY DON’T I EXERCISE MORE? WHY DON’T I PRACTISE MINDFULNESS WHEN I KNOW IT HELPS TO BRING DOWN MY STRESS LEVELS?' You tell yourself that you want to feel healthy and fit. You desire to have a better quality of life. But despite your best efforts, what you are doing is not working. When you’re demotivated by a lack of success, it’s hard to focus on making the necessary changes to improve your quality of life.

It’s stressful to live with disappointment, to experience the stress and dissatisfaction of feeling unhappy with yourself. ‘Why?’ invites you to ask, ’What is wrong with me that I can’t do what I know I need to do?’ It invites explanations and excuses that sound plausible.

It should be obvious that you are over-committed and time poor.

The stress involved in changing would put you under so much pressure that you shouldn’t try.

That sounds reasonable but it’s not the full story.

It’s easier, more palatable to accept things as they are than to reflect on what you do to maintain what you believe you don’t want.

Take a closer look at why you fail to have the quality of life you desire.

You may be pleasantly surprised.

You will have to give up certain things but the sacrifice involved will not be what you fear.

The biggest impediments are the harsh self-judgements people make about themselves, judgements they would immediately challenge if they were said about anyone else.

It is comfortable to accept the rationalisation and excuses we

give when we explain why we don’t do what we say we want to do.

People who feel stuck don’t hear the challenging part that asks, ‘Why don’t you reflect on why you are so hostile, angry and frustrated with yourself all the time?’

Only you have all the answers.

You know what you need to do to achieve the results you desire. If you are asking questions that focus on the wrong issues and you wish to enjoy the quality of life you desire, there is one thing you really need to know. Be aware that you have many distinct but different parts in you that are in conflict. When you pay attention to your own internal dialogue you will understand that a part of you is full of explanations and excuses. That part doesn’t really want to change. It has a rational excuse for, ‘Why don’t I do what I believe I want to do?’

A different part knows that you

are capable of doing anything you set your mind to doing. It will ask gentle rhetorical questions such as, ‘Are you willing to do the work you need to do to get the results you want?’ Another part might answer, ‘Yes, I’m willing but I’m also weak and hate the idea of all that I will have to give up. I’ll try to do better’.

Keep listening to your own inner voices and you will be amazed at the amount of conflicting dialogue that arises in you and usually passes almost unnoticed. You know that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get the same results. You live with the lifechoices you make.

Parts of you are only too ready to tell you what bad choices you have made. They will demotivate you by reminding you of all the times you have failed despite your best efforts.

They will say things like, 'The best

predictor of future experiences is past experiences. You’re overcommitted and time poor. Don’t stress yourself. Stay as you are.

Anyway you don’t know how to go about making the changes needed for a boring but healthier lifestyle’.

Kinder and gentler parts will encourage you more. 'There are honest and sound reasons for why you didn’t succeed in what you felt motivated to achieve. It will be necessary to make changes. You do need to engage in better selfcare, be more honest about what you decide not to do.'

Would you achieve a better quality of life if you stopped being frustrated, angry and disappointed with yourself? Would your life change if you validated yourself for making more of an effort to do the things you want to do? Rather than beat yourself up for what you are not doing, could you celebrate achievements like: you did ten minutes of meditation; you took the stairs instead of the lift; you bypassed the chipper?

A change of focus would allow you to see from the perspective of loving and accepting yourself exactly as you are. You can be confident that when you treat yourself with kindness and compassion you will feel happier.

Make 2019 a happy new year.

Carmel Wynne is a life and work skills coach and lives in Dublin. For more information, visit www.carmelwynne.org

31

Praying with the Rosary – The First Sorrowful Mystery prayer corner

The Agony of Our Lord

IN THE GARDEN

OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, FR WADDING WILL LEAD US IN REFLECTING ON THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY. WE BEGIN WITH THE LORD’S AGONY IN THE GARDEN. YOU CAN MARK THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS IN MT 26:36F; MK 14:32F; LK 22:39F; AND JN 18:1-12.

BY GEORGE WADDING CSsR

Thank 32

you for your willingness to accompany me though the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. There will be much pain for me and, because you love me, there will be much pain for you. As we retrace our steps together, I hope you will discover how much I love you, how deeply and sincerely I love you. So great is my love for you I would willingly endure again every moment of my passion for you. Let us set out together.

I left the supper room with Peter, James and John with a heavy heart. I would never see the disciples again in this world. Without me, they would be frightened and lost. All except my dear cousin, John.

He had the courage and generosity of youth. I could count on him.

We walked in silence for about half a mile to the other side of the Kidron Valley which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. There, in the quiet of an olive grove belonging to a friend, I often went to pray. The area is known as Gethsemane from the oil press close by. Sometimes, as I walked the road, a verse of a psalm reflecting my mood would come to mind. Tonight it was Psalm 42 (v.5): "Why are you cast down my soul, why groan within me? I will still praise him, my Saviour and my God." IN THE GARDEN When we got to the garden I invited my friends to sit and wait for me while I went to my favourite spot to pray. “Friends,” I said, “my soul is drowning in sadness; stay with me, please, and pray with me.

You must pray for yourselves too that you may not succumb to the challenges ahead. So, stay alert.

Keep watch with me.”

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

As I prayed, the residue of love and joy and tenderness that still remained in my heart since our last supper together, was draining away. I so longed to give myself to souls who would welcome me and love me in return. I saw the millions who would be nourished by my Body and Blood and produce oceans of love and justice. I saw great sinners renounce their wicked ways and come to me seeking strength in the Bread of Life. But I also experienced deep desolation when I saw millions more who would receive me into hearts mired with sin and feel nothing for me at all. In that time and place I was overwhelmed by the knowledge that I carried in my person the sins of the world and I stood before my Father and asked forgiveness. Isaiah’s words burned into my brain: “He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed… The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

I had lived for 30 years in a Roman colony. I had seen their satanic cruelty. In my humanity I shook with terror at the horrors they were planning for me.

In my divinity I was convulsed when my Father let me see the sins of generations to come. I was here to give them true freedom, to enlarge their capacity for love, to show them the path of peace; yet so many would return my love with hostility; war and terror would replace my peace; the innocence of childhood would be debased; my presence in the Eucharist would be profaned and denied; weapons of mass destruction would be stockpiled in a crazy rush to mutually annihilate each other and it went on and on, like a huge crusher pressing me little by little into the ground. I collapsed on my face.

I begged my Father that this intense spiritual agony should end there and then. Take away this cup, this fearsome and most difficult task. But deep down my thoughts and my Father’s thoughts were one. We both knew that I must complete my mission. I must drink the cup of human suffering to the dregs. Not to do so would be like not having come at all. So be it, Father, so be it! Unknown to me, throughout this ordeal, my sweat had become like heavy drops of blood.

My three friends were finding it hard to keep awake. Their intentions were honourable but they were just weak human beings. That would all change when, fired by my Spirit, they too would sacrifice their lives for my gospel.

ARREST Just then, my nightmare was about to begin.

“Come on, let’s go, I said, “the betrayer is here!” A detachment of Roman soldiers and some Temple guards were rattling the gate at the other side of the garden. I expected a mob of thugs, but I wasn’t really surprised that the Jewish leaders should have sought the help of the Roman troops at this early stage, since they had already planned – what in fact they eventually did – to denounce me to the Romans as a trouble-maker and have me executed. In the pale light of the full moon, we saw their shadows move towards us through the olive trees., carrying torches and shouting obscenities like excited hunters moving in for the kill. Judas, with a swagger, waved to them to follow him straight to their prey.

I took the initiative, thus stealing Judas’ thunder.

“Who are you looking for?” I asked. “Jesus of continued on page 34

The Arrest of Jesus as seen in the Church of All Nations, Jerusalem.

Mosaic donated by the people of Ireland

33

prayer corner Nazareth,” an officer replied. I stepped forward. “I am he!”I said. Now, ‘I am’ is the response that God gave to Moses when Moses asked for his name.

The directness and unexpectedness of my answer seemed to stun them. Maybe the Jews among them caught the divine association in my simple answer.

They stepped back a pace, knocking over those behind them. It happened again and was beginning to look more like a farce than a formal arrest. That did not suit Judas. He stepped forward quickly to kiss me as a signal for the arresting party. I whispered to him, “Dear friend, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” I’d had hopes for Judas but he sold me and sold his own soul for thirty pieces of silver, but the psalm had prophesied: “Even my friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has turned against me.”

Suddenly Peter erupted. He swung his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant. I stepped in quickly before mayhem took hold. “Peter,” I commanded, “stop it. Put your sword away. Can you still not see: If resistance is offered the Scriptures will not be fulfilled; the reign of God will not be

established in the way God intends?”

I discreetly healed the servant’s ear and addressed the Jewish authorities in the arresting party: “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come with swords and clubs? And what’s all this about secrecy and a night-time arrest. How come you never laid a hand on me when I was preaching openly in your Temple?” I knew the authorities did not want a daylight spectacle because of the public sentiment towards me. Fearing any more delays a few rabblerousers quickly drowned out further argument. As the soldiers moved in to arrest me, I said, “You have what you came looking for; now let these others go their way.”

They arrested me then and the others fled. I looked steadily into the eyes of the priests and said, “This is your hour – darkness begins to reign.” And they dragged me away unresisting . They pushed and dragged me about, rained blows on my head, spat on me, made mocking faces at me, they pulled my beard and twisted my arms and kneed me in the groin and whenever I fell, two of them picked me up by the hair.

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This is how I was dragged to Annas, as corrupt an official as you’ll ever find. He was the father-inlaw of Caiaphas, the High Priest. When I cleansed the Temple I had threatened the various moneymaking rackets Annas was running there. Now I was at his mercy, or so he thought. The only power he had over me was what my Father permitted him to have. He gloated as he savoured his sweet revenge before sending me on to Caiaphas who owed his position, not to merit, but to his fatherin-law’s patronage. He would be my judge. The priests sought and found many false witnesses but none of them could supply evidence that might convict me. At last they found two witnesses who swore that I said I would destroy the Temple – a blasphemous boast. What I’d actually said was, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.” And, of course, I was referring to the temple of my own body. It didn’t matter. They had the ‘evidence’ they wanted and so my trial began before a compromised judge in a prejudiced tribunal.

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F E AT U R E

WALKER PERCY

WHAT ELSE IS THERE?

35

WALKER PERCY WAS ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING AMERICAN WRITERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY AND ONE OF THE BEST-KNOWN CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC FAITH.

BY RICHARD TOBIN CSsR

It

took Walker Percy a long time to come to the faith, but once it had captured him it became, and remained, the governing reality in his life and work. Not that it was ever plain sailing: he had his times of struggle and crisis. But his faith became deeper and stronger with the years.

Percy was born in 1916 in Birmingham, Alabama. The Percys were prominent and prosperous Southerners, but a strain of

melancholy ran in the family. In nearly every generation, one or other of them committed suicide.

When Walker was only one year old his grandfather shot himself. When he was 13, his father did the same.

Two years later, his mother died in a car accident. Walker more than suspected that this also was suicide.

UNCLE WILL He and his two brothers were then adopted by their Uncle Will, a scholarly Southern gentleman who

looked after them and inspired them as they grew to manhood.

Will's mother had been a Catholic, and had him tutored by nuns and a priest. When he was only ten, he had a profound spiritual experience which led him into years of intense practice of the faith. "I wanted so intensely to believe ... in God and miracles and the sacraments and the Church and everything. Also I wanted to be completely and utterly a saint."

Furthermore he wanted to be a

priest. But when he was 15, he was sent away to a non-Catholic college on top of a mountain in Tennessee, in keeping with family tradition. The nearest Catholic church was ten miles away. So one Sunday a month, he rode on horseback down the mountain to Mass.

In his second year word came that his youngest brother had been killed in a hunting accident. The next Sunday Will rode down the mountain to Mass as usual, but when he reached the church he found his

F E AT U R E

Young Walker

36

faith was gone. "I knew," he said, "that it was over, and forever." And so it was. He never married and lived a noble and exemplary life, but a wistful yearning for the faith always lingered.

He gave a home and education and fatherly care to his three nephews who thought the world of him. "He was the most extraordinary man I have ever known," Walker said, "and I owe him a debt that cannot be paid…What he was to me was a fixed point in a confusing world."

MARRIAGE AND CONVERSION Walker underwent extensive psychoanalysis to help him cope with his family tragedies. It helped, but long years later he could still say to a friend, "I guess the central mystery of my life will always be why my father killed himself." The possibility of doing the same seems to have occurred to him once or twice in dark moments; he too suffered from the family tendency to melancholy.

He studied and qualified to be a doctor, but while doing an autopsy as an intern, he caught tuberculosis. Instead of practicing medicine he had to go to a sanatorium. He was there for two

Wife 'Bunt' and Walker

years before the TB cleared up, though it recurred worryingly a few times during the rest of his life.

During those two years he read all the books he could lay his hands on, especially books of literature and philosophy. He pondered the deepest questions about life: What is it all about? What is the self? How should we live?

What’s wrong with the world? He explored science, psychology and philosophy, believing they would yield the answers he was seeking.

On leaving the sanatorium, he began work as an assistant pathologist in a local clinic. One of the technicians in the clinic was an attractive, confident 20-yearold girl named Mary Bernice Townsend who went by the petname of ‘Bunt’. She and Percy hit it off. But it would be some years before they were able to marry.

Two disasters kept their path of true love from running smooth.

One was Pearl Harbour and America’s entry into World War II. The other was the recurrence of Percy’s TB (again caused by his pathology work) and his return to the sanatorium for another two years.

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Meeting with Saint Pope John Paul II

THERE'S A DIVINITY THAT SHAPES OUR END With hindsight we can discern Providence at work in his situation.

Continuing his wide reading and pondering of the human predicament, he came to see that neither science nor philosophy adequately addressed the problems that troubled him – his own unhappiness as a human being and the deep distress of the world. And he had his first real encounter with Catholicism.

It came in the person of a fellow patient, a young, educated Catholic man named Arthur Fortugno.

Arthur was more than a match for Percy in their debates about the meaning of life. To better himself in argument, Percy began to read St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas and was surprised to find them so appealing. Here were minds as penetrating and as comprehensive as you could wish for. The Catholic faith began to make sense. He even attended Mass with Fortugno, to get the feel of the faith in practice.

Percy also realised during this time that he was not cut out to be a doctor. His calling was to search, by his intelligence and intuition, for an understanding of human existence.

He also knew that he wanted to write.

After a few years of indecision Percy and Bunt Townsend got married. A year later they both took instruction and were baptised into the Catholic Church. As they approached their first confession Bunt was nervous but Percy was elated. "This is one of the main reasons I’ve become a Catholic," he said. He always had a deep sense of his own unworthiness.

Marriage to Bunt and their entry into the church began one of the happiest periods of Percy’s life. His wife and his church were the rocks of his existence for the rest of his days.

WRITER Becoming a writer took a long time and hard work. Fortunately he found a generous and exacting tutor in Caroline Gordon, herself a novelist, a brilliant teacher and critic.

Also she had become a Catholic just a month before he had. She believed that all good writers, whether they knew it or not, drew on the Christian myths for their plots. Catholics were more attuned to these myths than anyone else, their great advantage being their constant exposure to the lives of the saints. "The saints, the mystics, are the proper companions

SPRING

of the fiction writer," she wrote, "they alone know what is in the human heart." With her sharp and exacting guidance Percy honed his writing technique and found his voice as a novelist.

Over the next 30 years he produced six remarkable novels, many articles and reviews, and a couple of reflective books on the state of the world. All of them are marked by a distinctly Catholic sensibility. He was a moralist and a diagnostician with regard to our human situation, sharp and funny and outspoken, and somewhat gloomy about the state of the world and the way things were going. Frequently asked by interviewers how such a well-read, sophisticated man like himself could possibly remain a Catholic, he would reply in mild exasperation, "What else is there?"

In his 50s Percy hit the doldrums, a lengthy period of ‘the noon-day devil’ as the desert fathers called it.

Lethargy, despondency, emptiness took over, and brought on a crisis in his life and faith. He took to drinking heavily and became cranky and even nasty in his moods. One of his daughters – he had two – reprimanded him severely, warning him not to let go of his faith. He asked her what she could do to help him with his drinking. "Nothing," she replied. "You’ll just have to crawl out of that bottle on your own." He eventually did, and emerged from this phase with his faith stronger than ever. Daily Mass became habitual, his public commitment to the church more vigorous, his defence of the faith more trenchant.

Normally his experience of the faith was level-headed and unemotional.

But he recounts in a letter to a friend an occasion when he was deeply moved, a kind of ‘mystical’ moment that left him somewhat frightened and at the same time pleased. It was during Mass at Christmas. "The Mass was going on, the homily standard.

A not-so-good choir of young rock musicians got going on 'Joy to the World', the vocals not so good but enthusiastic. Then it hit me: What if it should be that the entire Cosmos had a creator and what if he decided for reasons of his own to show up as a little baby, conceived and born under suspicious circumstances?

Well, Bob, you can blame it on Alzheimer’s or hang-over or whatever, but – it hit me. I had to pretend I had an allergy attack so I could take out my handkerchief."

In 1989 Percy was found to have prostate cancer. Months of the usual

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treatments proved ineffectual, so he discontinued them. He wanted to stay at home and be as little a nuisance as possible. The end came peacefully on May 10, 1990. Bunt and the family were with him. He was buried two days later in the nearby Benedictine abbey cemetery.

"Life is a mystery," he had written once, "life is a mystery and love a delight. Therefore I take it as axiomatic that one should settle for nothing less than the infinite mystery and the infinite delight, i.e., God. In fact I demand it. I refuse to settle for anything less."

Fr Richard Tobin CSsR is a member of the Redemptorist Community in Esker, Co Galway and is an experienced mission and retreat giver.

The Call to Holiness in Today’s World

THE POPE ’S A THIEF MERCY, ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE WEAKEST AND MOST VULNERABLE, IS THE ‘BEATING HEART’ OF THE CALL TO HOLINESS.

BY MIKE DALEY

Pope

38

Francis…a thief? When I first heard it mentioned, I smiled faintly in disbelief. If anyone knows not to break the seventh commandment–You Shall Not Steal–it’s this guy. Yet, come to find out, it’s true.

The pope’s a thief.

At a gathering in Rome a while back, Pope Francis, as he is wont to do, departed from his prepared text and shared the story of his blessed burglary. From his days in Buenos Aires, Francis came to know a beloved priest and famous confessor, Father Aristi.

On Easter morning some years ago, Pope Francis received a fax stating that Father Aristi had died the previous day. After lunch with a group of retired priests, Francis decided that he was going to pay his respects at the church.

Upon arriving he proceeded to go down to the crypt. There he saw two elderly women praying beside Father Aristi’s coffin. At which

point, Pope Francis said to himself: “But this man, who has forgiven the sins of the entire clergy of Buenos Aires, also mine, does not have even one flower.”

From there Francis went to a local florist shop.

Returning to the coffin, he began to arrange the flowers. That’s when he saw it – Father Aristi’s rosary – and “that robber that is in each of us came out.” The future pope took hold of the cross of Father Aristi’s rosary and pulled it from his dead hands saying, “Give me half of your mercy.”

THE GREAT CRITERION For Pope Francis mercy is “the beating heart of the Gospel”. It also is at the heart of his ministry to the church and the world. Echoing Jesus’ call of discipleship to the despised tax collector Matthew (Mt 8:9-13), Francis chose mercy– Miserando atque Eligendo (“Having had mercy,

Those who want to wipe out poverty from the face of the earth must use other weapons; weapons other than kindness Nelson Mandela

REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

he called him”)–as his episcopal motto. Francis knows firsthand that he is a “loved sinner” who, like St Matthew and ourselves, having received God’s mercy, has been called to be a co-creator with the Lord.

From his previous consideration of the Beatitudes, Pope Francis sees holiness and mercy most explicitly practiced in Matthew 25. “Holiness,” Francis declares, “is not about swooning in mystic rapture,” but about feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick, and visiting those imprisoned. He goes further in On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World (Gaudete et Exsultate) stating that the Judgment of the Nations (Mt 25) “is ‘not’ a simple invitation to charity”…but one of the “uncompromising demands of Jesus”.

With this being said, many of us still at times see the poor and marginalised, as Francis references, as annoyances, idlers, troubling sights, obstacles, politicians’ problems, even rubbish to be thrown away. Here Pope Francis raises the uncomfortable, yet essential, rhetorical question: “Can holiness be understood apart from this lively recognition of the dignity of each human being?”

This recognition involves going beyond good works or charity; it demands social action. In this regard, Francis quotes the Canadian bishops with respect to the biblical understanding of the jubilee year: “For later generations to also be released, clearly the goal had to be the restoration of just social and economic systems, so there could no longer be exclusion.”

Writing to his son Makgatho from his prison cell on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela, the great South African anti-apartheid activist, said much the same thing: “It’s a good thing to help

Many of us still at times see the poor and marginalised as annoyances, idlers, troubling sights, obstacles, politicians’ problems, even rubbish to be thrown away a friend whenever you can; but individual acts of hospitality are not the answer. Those who want to wipe out poverty from the face of the earth must use other weapons; weapons other than kindness. This is not a problem that can be handled by individual acts of hospitality. The man who attempted to use his own possessions to help all the needy would be permanently ruined and in due course himself live on alms.

Experience shows that this problem can be effectively tackled only by a disciplined body of persons, who are inspired by the same ideas and united in a common cause.”

HARMFUL IDEOLOGIES Despite the best of intentions to bring forth a kingdom of mercy and justice according to Matthew 25, Pope Francis warns of ideologies that can lead us astray from the Gospel. The first one is evidenced in “Christians who separate these Gospel demands from their personal relationship with the Lord, from their interior union with him, from openness to his grace.”

The other one “is found in those who find suspect the social engagement of others, seeing it as superficial, worldly, secular, materialistic, communist or populist. Or they relativise it, as if there are other more important matters, or the only thing that counts is one particular ethical issue or cause that they themselves defend.”

While affirming the church’s teaching on behalf of the “innocent unborn”, Pope Francis also makes clear that “[e]qually sacred…are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.”

Following the example of Jesus, Catholics must

become ever more responsive to the stranger, whatever their state or stage of life, knowing that when we welcome him or her we welcome Jesus.

This is not to diminish the importance of worship and prayer, or the practice of an ethical life. It does highlight, however, “that the ultimate criterion on which our lives will be judged is what we have done for others.” For Pope Francis mercy and accountability are inseparable.

WORSHIP MOST ACCEPTABLE TO GOD Like other spiritual guides before him, Pope Francis remarks that “the best way to discern if our prayer is authentic is to judge to what extent our life is being transformed in light of mercy.”

Speaking of mercy, Jesuit James Keenan, professor of theology at Boston College, describes it as "the willingness to enter into the chaos of another”. He goes on to say that this is considered “scandalous” by others as well. Consider, for example, the recent

I’m just trying to follow the example of Jesus who said that every person is worth more than their worst act Sr Helen Prejean

chaotic, scandalous, and merciful announcement Pope Francis made in calling the exercise of capital punishment “inadmissible". Hearing of this development in church teaching, many people had a hard time seeing the decision from anything other than through the lens of punishment. I’m reminded of a scene from the film Dead Man Walking. The movie chronicles the life-changing ministry of Sister Helen Prejean to death row inmates. Frustrated at Sr Helen’s compassionate care to the murderer of their daughter, one slain girl’s parents ask, “Why?” Sr Helen says, “I’m just trying to follow the example of Jesus who said that every person is worth more than their worst act.”

In picturing holiness and mercy in light of the Judgment of the Nations (Mt 25), Pope Francis seeks to remind us that the “powerful witness of the saints is revealed in their lives, shaped by the Beatitudes and the criterion of the final judgment.

Jesus’ words are few and straightforward, yet practical and valid for everyone, for Christianity is meant above all to be put into practice.”

It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that like so many other areas of life, holiness and mercy are all about practice–practising becoming more like Jesus Christ.

Mike Daley is a teacher and writer from Cincinnati, Ohio, where he lives with his wife June and their three children. His latest book, co-edited with Diane Bergant, is Take and Read: Christian Writers Reflect on Life’s Most influential Books.

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

THE TRAGIC HUMAN FACE OF SOUTH SUDAN CONFLICT A TRÓCAIRE TEAM RECENTLY RETURNED FROM NORTHERN UGANDA WHERE THEY MET PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO FLEE THEIR HOMES BECAUSE OF THE ONGOING CONFLICT IN SOUTH SUDAN. 40

BY DAVID O’HARE

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of thousands of South Sudanese have fled over the border to Uganda in the face of fierce fighting and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians at home.

Their stories are absolutely harrowing and most have arrived with just the clothes they are wearing.

HEAD OF THE FAMILY AT 17 The area of Palabek in northern Uganda is close to the border with South Sudan and has become one vast refugee camp. There are 33,000 refugees there currently and the number is increasing every day. One young man I spoke to has gone through hell. Richard Mwaka is just 17 years old, but has become the sole provider and carer for his five younger brothers and sisters.

“We come from Puge in South Sudan – it’s near the border with Uganda,” Richard said.

“Our father died of disease two years ago. In August last year when the war got too much, our mother gathered us together and we headed for the border on foot. I remember people dying.

Mother left us to go to try to find some food and ran into the rebels. They killed her. Other REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

people on the road told us. We continued travelling to the border with our aunt but she wasn’t allowed to cross. I crossed alone with the smaller children.”

Richard’s younger siblings are aged between five and 14 years of age. He says it is difficult being the head of the household. “Our mother used to provide us with everything we needed – clothes, shoes, food. Now I have to try to do this but we have very little. We brought some seeds, two chickens and the clothes we were wearing – that’s all. We planted the seeds and are growing some okra. We cook for ourselves.

Mother taught me how to cook.”

“We all have to work, even the youngest – breaking soil, weeding, etc. It is very hard work.

We depend on relief aid to survive. We have gone hungry because sometimes the food doesn’t last until the next aid shipment. We try to go to school but sometimes I leave very early to work and have to miss school. We usually have to alternate between work and school,” Richard said.

“I want to study hard and get a job to take care of my family but it is difficult to get to school. I

want to be a mechanic or driver. We are afraid a lot of the time. I have to be the protector. We stay at home when we are not working or at school. We are afraid that we will be bullied or worse. A child was abducted recently and found murdered nearby,” Richard said.

Every one of these children has what is sometimes known as the ‘thousand yard stare’ – they have seen things that no child should have to witness. Their aunt paid for the construction of a rudimentary hut that the children now call home, but it is extremely basic with no protection against mosquitoes. Richard says the children get sick a lot with malaria.

A MOTHER’S STORY Amdo Paska (28) is a mother of four who is also caring for her brother’s child and her own little brother. She and her family also had to flee the fighting and travelled to Palabek.

Amdo told me their story. “I come from the village of Abwo in South Sudan. I left because of the war. There was a lot of fighting. Life was good before the war. I have four children aged from six weeks to seven years. I am also looking

after my brother’s child (14) and my own little brother. I have been here for 11 months with my husband and children.

“We were very afraid in South Sudan. The rebels were killing civilians. My brother-in-law was killed.

Three people were killed in my village. I witnessed the violence first-hand. We had a motorbike and my husband loaded the family on and we fled.

He had to do several runs. We arrived with just the clothes we stood up in. When we arrived here we were totally traumatised. We thought the rebels would follow us. I thought my children might be killed.

“I have family back in South Sudan but I have no way to contact them and only hear now and then how they are from new arrivals. Life was

easy for us before the war. My husband drove a road-roller. We had a house and land. We left it all. I hear someone else is living in my house.

“The children are in school here in the settlement and I would like them to finish school before we even think about returning.

When we arrived here there was just bush and my husband could not find work. But we were given goats from CESVI (Trócaire’s partner organisation) and have been helped to plant a kitchen garden where we grow cow peas, okra, onions and pumpkins. These supplement our diet and we are able to sell some. My husband built our house and most of our neighbours are from South Sudan – different tribes but that means nothing here. We have good relations

Amdo Paska tends her kitchen garden she has been allocated at the Palabek Refugee Settlement Camp

with the local Ugandans. Our lives would have been really difficult without the help we have received from Trócaire.”

The stories of these young families are unfortunately all too common in the region.

In South Sudan, more than four million people have had to leave their homes. More than seven million people are still in need of food aid. The vicious civil war has been going on for over five years and unless those involved in the fighting can find the will to reach a lasting peace the suffering of innocent civilians will continue.

To find out more about Trócaire’s work or to make a donation visit www.trocaire.org or call 0800 912 1200.

Amdo with her family in Palabek refugee camp, Uganda, supported by Trócaire.

Photos by Mark Stedman.

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UNDER THE MICROSCOPE FINDING GOD IN A LEAF: The Mysticism of Laudato Si'

42 Finding God in a Leaf: The Mysticism of Laudato Si' By Brian Grogan SJ. Messenger Publications, Dublin 2018 Paperback, 64 pages. €4.95 ISBN-10: 1788120043

Well-known author and spiritual director, Fr Brian Grogan SJ, has subtitled his publication The mysticism of Laudato Si', referring to the encyclical in which Pope Francis challenges all peoples, but particularly Christians, to begin anew to cherish, nurture and preserve this planet, our common home, and all the living creatures that inhabit it. The first part, 'The Doors of Perception', is a quotation from poet William Blake: "if the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is, infinite." We would look at our world with fresh eyes, seeing every molecule as created by a loving God, beautiful and amazing and each fulfilling its individual purpose for which God called it into being. The author calls this new way of seeing the mark of a true REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

contemplative, and in this he is at one with Pope Francis, whose theology links care of the earth with care of our neighbour, particularly the poor.

The book is a collection of 30 short reflections, one for each day of the month, and concluded with a postscript. Each daily reflection ends with a challenge to the reader to recall, reflect, to share or to do something practical to "put flesh on" what they have read. Like Laudato Si', these reflections do not shy away from the devastation we have wrought on this our home and the creatures co-habiting with us, but all is not lost–yet.

If we learn to see everything as "a caress of God", as God's fingerprint as it were, surely we would each play our part in the work of restoring and revering.

The titles of the reflections, for example, 'The Divine Womb'; 'Finding God in our world'; 'Deep Incarnation'; 'The Eucharist' work together like a seamless garment to highlight the core of the pope's theology: that all of nature comes from the express will of God, is infused with divine presence and is "projected towards divinisation".

The second part, 'Repair my House!' borrows its title from the Lord's words to St Francis in the ruins of San Damiano, and concentrates on the damage we have inflicted on people (particularly the poor), on the earth, on the oceans and on water sources.

Pope Francis stresses the importance of an emotional response to the plight of "Sister Earth", a response which will translate into making life-giving decisions and choices. In section 24, Fr Grogan uses the Passion of Jesus to illustrate the suffering of the earth today, ending with the Resurrection as a hope-filled conclusion. He comforts us with "We are not threatened with punishment for our ravishing of the divine handiwork but are challenged radically to reform our lives and collaborate with God in restoring the world to its intended beauty. There is hope for the restoration of all things." He presents us with practical challenges emanating from Pope Francis' words. In 'Glorious Fulfilment', he finally gives us the pope's vision of eternity:

"Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place."

This little book is an invaluable asset to those who are familiar with Laudato Si', but also provides lyrical and concise illumination of its main points for those who have never read the encyclical. A must for everyone who shies away from 'dusty tomes', and ideal for individual or group reflection.

Reviewed by Catherine Green

TO DARE THE OUR FATHER: A Transformative Spiritual Practice

To Dare The Our Father: A Transformative Spiritual Practice By John Shea.

Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota: 2018 Paperback, 186 pages, £12.99 (Amazon) ISBN: 978-0814645604

John Shea, a former priest and current theologian, has written many books, with To Dare the Our Father being his most recent.

At Clonard Monastery Belfast, we read this book in a new pastoral initiative, the Clonard Book Club. We read one chapter a week and then gathered to discuss it in small groups. It turned out to be a heavy jewel, very beautiful and very weighty! The book is commended

by Bishop Barron to those who wish to cultivate a more intentional relationship with God. My favourite chapter is on our mission in this life. To Shea, our mission is to “carry heaven into the affairs of the earth” (p. 92).

He cites the following meditation text which we found poignant: So within yourself let grow A boundless love for all creatures.

Let your love flow outward through the universe To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity (p. 95).

Many of us agreed with Shea when he

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wrote, “staying awake to this universal love consciousness is a difficult task” (p.

96). Shea explains: “To live the kingdom of God is to be committed to the second half of the following pairs: first/last, exalted/ humbled, dominate/serve, revenge/forgive, punishment/mercy, exclusion/inclusion, ignore/help, violence/peace”. Thankfully, we find strong cases for the second halves in the Gospels. Speaking of the Gospels, Shea has also written a quality series of commentaries on the Sunday Gospels for Years A, B, and C, and a companion volume for Feasts, Funerals and Weddings.

Shea has a wonderful way with words. He is a great storyteller, collecting stories from different cultures and faiths, and using them to illuminate a topic. The stories he cites, 'Finding New Eyes' by Remen and 'Turning the Wheel' from the Sufi tradition, are memorable and helpful.

Shea cites another author’s translation

of the Our Father from the language Jesus spoke, Aramaic (p. 51). This translation is so different and so powerful. Discovering this was a main highlight of the book for the group. It begins as follows: O Birth-er! Father-Mother of the Cosmos, Focus your light within us – make it useful: Create your reign of unity now …

Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, As we release the strands we hold of others’ guilt …

Shea writes about this world as a place of forgetfulness. He warns that forgetting God results in “enslavement to whatever is happening” (p. 100). Conversely, hallowing God is “not allowing (Him) to be sidelined by either the best or worst of what befalls us” (p. 101). Wise words to hold on to as we embark on a new year.

Reviewed by Fodhla McGrane

Breaking the Word in February 2019

Please pray for the Redemptorist Teams who will preach the Word and for God’s People who will hear the Word proclaimed this month in:

GALWAY CITY (18th – 26th February 2019) Solemn novena preached by Denis Luddy CSsR, Tony Rice CSsR Gerry O’Connor CSsR and Mr Neil Foley Galway Cathedral Times: Weekdays: 7.30am; 11.00; 1.10pm; 3.30; 7.30; 9.00 Sundays: 9.00; 10.30; 12.30; 4.30; 6.30; 8.00 Community Celebration of Sacrament of Reconciliation: Thursday, February 21st at 7.30am; 1.10pm; 9.00 (Masses at 11.00; 3.30; 7.30) Anointing of Sick: Saturday February 23rd at 11am Mass Blessing of Babies: Sunday, February 24th, after all sessions Candlelight prayer before the Blessed Sacrament: Wednesday 20th and Monday 25th at 10pm

Ballina, Co Mayo (22nd – 24th February 2019) Tridiuum to Padre Pio preached by Laurence Gallagher CSsR The details above are accurate at the time of printing. If you have any views, comments or even criticisms about Redemptorist preaching, we would love to hear from you. If you are interested in a mission or novena in your parish, please contact us for further information. And please keep all Redemptorist preachers in your prayers.

Fr Laurence Gallagher CSsR, Email: missions.novenas@redemptorists.ie Tel: +353 61 315099

CO M M E N T REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ

PLEASE, MAY I HAVE SOME MORE?

WE LIVE IN A CULTURE THAT PERSUADES US WE NEED TO ACCUMULATE STILL MORE MONEY, BECAUSE THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE THINGS WE WANT TO BUY, OR THERE MAY BE UNFORESEEN FUTURE EVENTS WHICH WILL REQUIRE MORE MONEY.

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Why, in a world that has never been wealthier, are there one billion people going to bed hungry every night and millions of children dying each year from lack of affordable medicines?

Why, in the wealthiest cities in the world like San Francisco and New York (not to mention Dublin), are there thousands of people sleeping on the street? Why, in wealthy Ireland, do 600 people queue up every day at Br Kevin’s food centre to get something to eat, and the number of homeless people reaches a new record high every month?

The obvious answer is lack of money. People do not have enough money to buy food or medicines, or to pay for their accommodation.

Why do they not have enough money? We live in a global culture where money is king.

Our culture tries to convince us that accumulating more money is one of the central aims, if not the most important aim, in life.

Of course we all need to have enough money to look after our families, to pay the bills. But how much is enough? No-one ever thinks they have enough money.

This culture persuades us that the prudent course of action is to accumulate more money, because there are always more things we want to buy, and there may be unforeseen future events which may require some, as yet unknown, amount of money. We

have been persuaded that money is our security, our comfort blanket, and there is no other.

It seems almost common sense to say that more is better, and to have more is better again. Some people will do almost anything to get more money, like the college student in Nebraska who sold his forehead for advertising space!

Some people are able to accumulate more money than others. A 24-year-old unemployed person will get €100 per week, while the Irish banks cannot find a CEO who is prepared to work for €10,000 per week. Some people become millionaires (there are 50,000 millionaires in Ireland, 5,000 more than last year), some become billionaires, and some multibillionaires. It is estimated that by 2030, one person on this planet

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will have accumulated US$1 trillion. To spend $1 trillion, you would need to spend $1 million every day for 3,000 years! Some people do not possess money, money possesses them.

We are all infected, to different degrees, with this virus. The Taoiseach last November announced that if Fine Gael leads the next government, he will give middle income earners up to €3,000 more in their pockets in tax cuts. No mention of the housing crisis, or of the crisis in the health service, or children waiting years for a mental health or disability service. No, he promised that he will give people more money in their pocket.

Because the Taoiseach knows that we all want more, and promising more is guaranteed to win votes.

How do we cure ourselves of this virus? More than half the parables

of Jesus concern money, wealth and poverty. Indeed, they do not address so much the problem of poverty, but rather the problem of prosperity. They challenge the almost idolatrous commitment to wealth, and the ceaseless hunger for more, which our culture promotes. The parables talk, not about accumulating money, but giving it away. The culture of the kingdom of God is in direct contrast to the culture of our age. It is focused on the needs of others. It is about generosity, feeding the poor, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked.

The Gospels tell us, unequivocally, that the riches we carry slow us down as we try to follow Jesus.

They call us to question the false promises of consumerism. The total hold that our culture has on our behaviour, and even on our mind-set, makes the parables of Jesus appear to be absurd, idealistic, and unrealistic.

In our world today, some have too much while some have too little.

The Gospels call us to recognise that the unceasing pursuit of more is, in reality, a form of idolatry. They call us to freedom, freedom for God, by letting go of what we do not need, and freedom for others, by generously sharing with them what we have.

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

GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH Jesus Teaches in the Synagogues by James Tissot 1894, Brooklyn Museum

GOOD NEWS FOR THE OUTCAST Today’s Gospel continues the story of Jesus’ inaugural sermon in Nazareth that we began reading last Sunday. Luke does not tell 4TH SUNDAY IN us exactly what Jesus said in his ORDINARY TIME sermon. He notes the positive response of the congregation at the beginning. As often happens when a local boy has done well, some people are only too eager to recall his background – the son of Joseph the local carpenter.

Jesus senses the opposition. He quotes the proverb, ‘Physician heal yourself.’ They were interested because they expected him to perform some sign or miracle. Rejection was a constant feature in the lives of the prophets. During a prolonged drought that lasted for three and a half years, Elijah did not provide miraculous food for Israelites, but for a pagan widow and her son in a foreign town. Elisha did not cure the lepers of Israel, but he did cure Naaman, a Syrian general.

This talk of divine favours to foreigners proves to be the last straw. The whole congregation is seized with frenzy and rises up to bundle him out of the synagogue towards a cliff edge with the intention of throwing him over and leaving him to die. In the disorder, Jesus manages to slip away from the crowd and withdraw.

This short episode sums up the message of Luke’s Gospel in miniature. The opening words from Isaiah are not just an idealised vision of a wonderful time in the future: they are the programme of what Jesus the Messiah will do during his ministry. He will bring good news to the poor that God casts down the mighty and raises up the lowly.

He will proclaim a new kind of freedom to people trapped in sin, in poverty or in abusive, hypocritical relationships.

He will give sight to people who are literally blind, but his preaching will also open eyes blind to the goodness and favour of the God who loves them.

The reason why his townsfolk want rid of Jesus is because his view of God is not narrow enough. Like the prophets he quotes, the God of Jesus heals, provides food, and welcomes those at the bottom of the heap. Luke is not anti-Jewish: but he is anxious to insist that the church’s mission includes non-Jews, like Theophilus to whom he has dedicated his Gospel.

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Today’s Readings Jer 1:4-5, 17-19; Ps 71; 1 Cor 12:31-13:13; Luke 4:21-30

God’s Word continues on page 46

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GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH “DEPART FROM ME FOR I AM A SINNER” This scene takes place on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret (one of 5TH SUNDAY IN three or four names for ORDINARY TIME the large lake also known as the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias). It supported a thriving fishing industry vital to the economy of Galilee. Jesus’ first followers included people who made their living from it, like his fishermen disciples and Mary Magdalene, from Magdala, one the lakeside towns where fish was smoked for export.

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

The second and most important part is the story of the call of the first disciples. Jesus has already met Simon and healed his motherin-law (4:38-39). Mark and Matthew begin

their story of Jesus’ ministry by describing the call of the disciples. Luke has deferred it until now, and his version is slightly different. The opening of the story might suggest that Jesus is about to reward Simon for the loan of his boat as a pulpit. As an experienced fisherman, Simon probably smiled at a well-meaning gesture from a man with little experience of fishing. The fishermen preferred to fish at night, but last night they had caught nothing.

To please the preacher, he declares himself willing to lower the nets. To his surprise, the nets soon bulge with so many fish that they are close to breaking point. The catch is so abundant that even two boats cannot hold it without running the risk of sinking.

Simon recognises that there is something holy about this teacher, and falling to his knees, he confesses that he is "a sinful man".

So far, we have no evidence of how he might be. Later events, like as his denial of Jesus on the eve of the passion, will confirm him to be a weak man. Jesus responds "Do not be

afraid." This is not simply intended to restore Simon’s self-confidence. There are echoes here of the Old Testament stories of the call of Moses and the prophets. Each of them recognises how unfit he is for the task to which he is called, and has to be reassured by a sign from God. In Simon’s case, the sign came first in the abundant catch, but only now does its significance dawn on him. Jesus tells him that he is to become a catcher, not of fish, but of human beings. Peter and his companions James and John (and also probably Andrew, Simon’s brother whom Luke does not mention) become the first disciples, leaving "everything" to follow him.

The abundant generosity of Jesus’ gift of fish is matched by the generosity of the response of the fishermen.

BLESSINGS OR WOES? Instead of a 'Sermon on the Mount' Luke has a much shorter ‘Sermon on the Plain.’ Matthew began his 6TH SUNDAY IN ‘Sermon the Mount' with ORDINARY TIME nine great beatitudes. Luke has only four, but they are matched by four ‘woe’ sayings. Beatitudes are common in both Testaments. They always begin by declaring someone ‘blessed’ , or fortunate or happy. Elizabeth, for example, declared Mary blessed for believing that the word spoken to her would be fulfilled (a beatitude we still retain in the ‘Hail Mary’).

The people Jesus signals out for praise are certainly not those society rates as fortunate – the poor, the hungry, people who are in mourning, those who are hated, driven out and denounced as criminals because they are followers of the Son of Man (another name for Jesus).

Luke matches his beatitude with a series of

‘woe-sayings’ – "woe to you (or ‘alas for you’) who are rich… have your fill … laugh now … who are spoken well of". To understand what Luke is doing here, we need to turn back to the prophets of the Old Testament. The prophets often condemned the people to whom they preached by using woe-sayings: there is an example of this in today’s first reading: “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD” (Jer 17:5). Just as the beatitude sayings are using a different standard to judge people as fortunate, the woe sayings use a different standard to measure misfortune. One might expect the rich, those who have enough to eat, those who enjoy good times, those the world considers to be fortunate, to be happy.

Why does Luke draw this sharp contrast?

One key is to be found in the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). The mother of Jesus praises God for overturning the social and political order of the world – toppling the thrones

of the powerful and lifting up the people at the bottom of the heap, filling the hungry, sending the rich away empty. For Luke, reversing the oppressive order of the world is part of the work of the Messiah. If we look around, much still remains to be done.

There are still hungry people, the poor still weep bitterly, those who fight for justice are opposed and imprisoned. Is it all a dream?

Or is it a challenge to rethink the values we live by, especially in a time that has seen so many of the mighty and powerful fall?

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Today’s Readings Isa 6:1-2a, 3-8; Ps 138; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

Today’s Readings Jer 17:5-8; Ps 1; 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20; Luke 6:17, 20-26

THE REALITY CROSSWORD

NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

GIVE TO EVERYONE WHO ASKS YOU There are two major, but closely related, themes in FEBRUARY today’s Gospel – love of enemies and a call to imitate the compassion of God the Father. The first section is marked off by a repetition of the command to "love your enemies … and do good" (verses 27 and 35). In 7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME between, the details of enemy-love are spelled out in four practical examples. The first is how to respond to verbal abuse. A curse should not be met with another curse but with a blessing, even a word of praise. When badly treated, you should respond by praying for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on the cheek, do not retaliate but turn the other cheek. Christians are called to practise forgiveness in the area of property. Jesus takes a very basic example – the theft of one’s clothes. Clothing was relatively simple – a strip of cloth for a loin-cloth over which was worn a tunic or long shirt, tied at the waist with a belt. The loose ends of the garment could be tucked up when at work. In cold weather or when travelling, a heavier woollen cloak was needed which doubled as a blanket at night. If a robber demanded the cloak, the disciple was not to fight to retain it, but even to offer the tunic as well. The fourth example is that of borrowing and lending. Disciples are to give to anyone who asks and not even to expect the return of stolen property.

It is at this point that we hear what has been called ‘the Golden Rule’ – “treat others as you would like them to treat you.” This is a universal teaching. Rabbis, before Jesus’ time, taught a version of it. It was known to religious teachers in China and India, and to philosophers in Greece and elsewhere. It is probably the highest pinnacle of human wisdom and its common sense cannot be doubted. The teaching of Jesus, however, takes an extra step. The call is not so much to treat people in the way you expect to be treated but to imitate the utter compassion of God for his creation. The Gospel ends with a symbol of plenty – a full measure that runs over and is not stinted awaits those who dole out a similar measure.

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SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 9 ACROSS: Across: 1. Quartz, 5. Novena, 10. Ensuing, 11. Miracle, 12. Ibex, 13. Aaron, 15. Here, 17.

God, 19. Fossil, 21. Sacred, 22. Jesuits, 23. Zealot, 25. Yonder, 28. Nun, 30. Node, 31. Jesus, 32.

Waif, 35. Torment, 36. Cruiser, 37. Pastor, 38. Ordeal.

DOWN: 2. Ulsters, 3. Ruin, 4. Zigzag, 5. Nimrod, 6. Verb, 7. Nuclear, 8. Belief, 9. Aeneid, 14.

Romulus, 16. Dijon, 18. Jason, 20. Let, 21. Sty, 23. Zenith, 24. Andorra, 26. Dead Sea, 27. Reform, 28. Nectar, 29. Nuncio, 33. Pelt, 34. Rued

Winner of Crossword No. 9 Noreen Moynihan, Berrings, Co. Cork.

ACROSS 1. Place of Marian pilgrimage in Portugal. (6) 5. Claim that someone has done something.

(6) 10. An area of fairly level high ground. (7) 11. Small travelling bags. (7) 12. The Greek mythological equivalent of Eros. (4) 13. Marian shrine in Mayo. (5) 15. Soft, mild creamy cheese with a firm white skin. (4) 17. Frozen water or informal diamond. (3) 19. Festival celebrating the Resurrection. (6) 21. Colourful gem. (6) 22. Place of Marian pilgrimage in SW France. (7) 23. A strategy carefully planed to achieve a specific result. (6) 25. Sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. (6) 28. A coloured fluid for writing. (3) 30. Unwilling to give or share things. (4) 31. A practical joke or mischievous act. (5) 32. A total failure. (4) 35. Small pieces of paper or cardboard showing you have paid for entry. (7) 36. Expelled someone from a property. (7) 37. Makes someone feels frightened. (6) 38. Jets of fine liquid particles from an atomiser. (6)

DOWN 2. Fierce female warriors of Greek mythology. (7) 3. A thought or suggestion. (4) 4. Former students or a school of college. (6) 5. Guidance offered with regard to future actions. (6) 6. A woman's name and a flower. (4) 7. Of the stomach. (7) 8. A round solid figure. (6) 9. Towards the rear of a ship. (6) 14. Inca oar hides an egg shaped wind instrument. (7) 16. An object venerated because of its association with a saint. (5) 18. Someone who wants more money and hates to spend it. (5) 20. Gigantic mythical bird of the Arabian Nights. (3) 21. Japanese sect of Buddhism which aims to achieve enlightenment through meditation. (3) 23. Entices some to something they consider unwise. (6) 24. The part of a church near the altar. (7) 26. He wrote War and Peace. (7) 27. A fast-flowing and turbulent part of a river. (6) 28. Showy plants and eye membranes. (6) 29. Positions the body to pray. (6) 33. The was the father of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. (4) 34. A platform on pillars into the sea. (4)

Entry Form for Crossword No.1, January/February 2019 Name:

Today’s Readings

Address: Telephone:

1 Sam 26:2, -23; Ps 103; 1 Cor 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38 All entries must reach us by February 28, 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.1, Redemptorist Communications, St Joseph's Monastery, Dundalk, County Louth A91 F3FC