Reality Magazine October 2021

WORLD MISSION SUNDAY ����

OCTOBER 2021

FRATELLI TUTTI AND THE WAY OF PEACE

FR JAMES MARTIN SJ MY EXPERIENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Informing, Inspiring, Challenging Today’s Catholic

SOCIAL MEDIA

AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATING ��� YEARS OF THE LEGION OF MARY

www.redcoms.org Redemptorist-Communications @RedComsIreland �2.50 �2.00

Advent Resources

from Redemptorist Communications

A helping hand in this time of expectant waiting

Diary 2021 Through the year with The Saints Fr Denis McBride CSsR This stunning hardback diary features a beautiful painting each month and a thought-provoking reflection that accompanies the saints throughout the year.

Our 2022 diary is A5 in size and has a practical full week to view across a double page spread; each week includes either a prayer, quotation, insight into the artwork for the month or a detail of the beautiful image that will help you to see it in a different way.

Included in the diary is an introduction from Fr Denis, year planners for both 2022 and 2023, key dates and feast days, notes pages, and a ribbon page marker. All of these features make it the ideal faith companion, €8.95 appointment organiser and thoughtful gift. plus P+P

Advent Extra Your journey to Christmas We’ve all known dark and light moments during 2021. We’ve longed for an end to face masks, social distancing and Covid tests. We’ve loved sunshine, meeting friends and family, freedom after lockdown…

Advent Extra, with its theme “From darkness to light”, celebrates the Light of the World, who transforms even the darkest moments. Through articles and daily reflections, a famous painting reveals the birth of that light; birds and the world’s biggest choir sing through Covid. London’s rough sleepers find hope.

A retired Royal Navy Commander watches for dawn whilst at sea.

A Jesuit astronomer stargazes and finds God. Katie Piper €3.00 supports others through presenting Songs of Praise… plus P+P Advent Extra celebrates unquenchable light!

Celebrate: Advent Follow the Star to Christmas A magazine for Catholic kids full of cool activities and fun quizzes. Perfect for 7-12 year olds it will encourage them to think about and grow in their faith while they have loads of fun! Twenty-two pages jam-packed with puzzles and facts – adults might learn something too! Celebrate: Advent comes with our bestselling Advent calendar and activity sheet for even more things to do. This year there’s an easy way to refocus on the real meaning of Christmas as we Celebrate: Advent.

Christmas Day Message Christmas Day Message is a full colour A3 sheet containing the Mass text for Midnight Mass, Dawn Mass and Mass during the day. An original exposition of the Gospel is provided, along with a short reflection encouraging the reader to relate it to their life; learning points, €7.60 suggestions for action and original per100sheets prayer material are also included. plus P+P

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Christmas Card Pack A pack of twelve cards and envelopes, six designs produced and printed in Ireland.

Journeying towards Jesus in Advent Fr Denis McBride CSsR In this insightful and inspiring book, Fr Denis McBride guides us through the Advent season towards the celebration of the birth of Christ. Suitable for private reading or for use in groups, this book invites us to journey together towards a deeper appreciation of the true €12.95 meaning of Christmas. plus P+P

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IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE FEATURES �� SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE The digital world offers great potential as a means of evangelisation

By Tríona Doherty

�� ��� YEARS OF THE LEGION OF MARY Celebrating a remarkable organisation that was far before its time

By Salvador Ryan

�� AMEN AND ALLELUIA! The meaning of these liturgical words

By Maria Hall

��

�� PEACE IS THE WAY Pope Francis argues that a future without war depends on the foundation of truth combined with justice and mercy

By Michael Daley

�� LESSONS FROM THE POOR It is an eye-opener to cross the doorways of the poor and sense, even fleetingly, the abasement within

By Fr Colm Meaney CSsR

�� A DELICATE BALANCING ACT The Catholic Church and the War of Independence

By Dr Daithí Ó Corráin

��

��

�� MISSION POSSIBLE World Mission Sunday 2021

By Julieann Moran

�� THE LEGEND OF A SAINT St Gerard in the context of his world

By Fr Brendan McConvery CSsR

OPINION

REGULARS

11 EDITORIAL

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

19 JIM DEEDS 31 CARMEL WYNNE 44 PETER McVERRY SJ

REALITY BITES DUBLIN

VATICAN CITY

POPE: EUTHANASIA LEGISLATION IN EUROPE IS SIGN OF 'THROWAWAY CULTURE'

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Increasing calls to legalise euthanasia in several European countries, as well as the disregard for vulnerable people and the unborn, are signs of a "throwaway culture" that is gaining ground across the continent, Pope Francis says.

"What is (deemed) useless is discarded.

Old people are disposable material; they are a nuisance. Not all of them, but of course, in the collective subconscious of the throwaway culture, the old, the terminally ill, and unwanted children, too; they are returned to the sender before they are born," the pope said in an interview with COPE, the radio station owned by the Spanish bishops' conference, broadcast on September 1.

"This throwaway culture has marked us. And it marks the young and the old. It has a strong influence on one of the tragedies of today's European culture," he said.

In March, Spain's parliament passed a law legalising euthanasia, making it the fourth European country to legalise physician-assisted suicide after Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

REALITY OCTOBER 2021

Other European countries, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland and Norway, allow for what is known as "passive euthanasia," in which patients, under strict circumstances, can elect to not receive treatments, such as nutrition or hydration, that would prolong their lives.

Recently, in Italy, 750,000 people signed a petition to abolish a clause in the Italian criminal code that makes assisted suicide punishable by five to 12 years in prison.

Pope Francis also lamented "the demographic winter" in Europe, particularly due to increased cases of abortion. The pope said that while he does "not like to enter into discussions" on whether abortions are "possible up to here or whether it is not possible up to there," what is indisputable is the existence of human life.

"Any embryology manual given to a student in medical school says that by the third week of conception, sometimes before the mother realises (that she is pregnant), all the organs in the embryo are already outlined, even the DNA. It is a life, a human life," Francis said.

DEATH OF FR GEORGE WADDING CSsR

The late Fr George Wadding

On August 24, 2021, Fr George Wadding CSsR died in Dublin. Fr George had a strong relationship with Redemptorist Communications going back over 50 years. As a young moral theologian, he wrote a monthly column for this magazine, which addressed topical moral questions. He contributed many articles on a range of subjects over the years. Fr George also was the author of several hugely popular booklets, such as his reflections on the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and a guide to Praying the Rosary.

A warm, generous man, deeply loved by all who knew him, we entrust Fr George's soul to the mercy of the God he served so faithfully.

N E WS

THURLES

ARCHDIOCESE OF CASHEL AND EMLY LAUNCHES PASTORAL PLAN A four-year listening process to bring about a church that will better serve the people and communities of the Archdiocese of Cashel & Emly was initiated on September 12, with the launch of the diocesan pastoral plan, 'Seeds of Hope'.

The blueprint for transitioning the church to this new era of inclusivity is set out across five 'Seeds of Hope' – Faith & Spirituality, Youth & Family, Community Engagement, Participation in Liturgy and Leadership & CoResponsibility – that will guide the church in the years ahead.

Some 2,500 people from representative demographics across the archdiocese were consulted in the consensus-focused plan. The plan confronts some of the key issues facing the church, not least in the area of Leadership & Co-responsibility, where it acknowledges that "Leadership into the future is a challenge for all of us and it should be seen as such."

The plan emphasises the respect for the work many priests have done in the past. "But the church is changing now and the priest-led church of the past will need to embrace a partnership approach with people into the future," it states.

The plan recommends training for both priests and laypeople so that they move towards this new model of co-responsibility. Specifically, the plan addresses some of the biggest issues the church has faced over recent decades, not least the failure to recognise the role of women in the church.

"The inclusion of women in leadership roles as equal members of the church is a priority into the future. Women must be enabled to fulfil their role in developing the mission of the church," it states.

The report acknowledges that minority groups – from divorced or separated people to LGBT+, migrants and the Travelling Community – should all feel they belong to the parish faith community. So, too, should those who consider themselves 'cultural Catholics.'

5 Care of the environment also has a strong focus, with a recommendation to establish an eco-justice group with children and their parents to support eco-spirituality development.

It acknowledges that communication at diocesan and parish levels has become a challenge. "All avenues of communication, especially the positive aspects of social media, need to be utilised, particularly with young people, so that they can make their contribution to the future direction of the church."

DUNDALK

REDEMPTORIST ORDINATION The ordination of Fr Ryan Holovlasky CSsR took place on Sunday, September 5, in St Joseph's Redemptorist Church Dundalk.

Archbishop Eamon Martin was the ordaining bishop. This was an important day in the life of Fr Ryan and a day of great joy for the Irish Redemptorists. For more information on the Redemptorist way of life, contact our vocations director, Fr Brian Nolan CSsR, at vocations@cssr.ie

Newly ordained Fr Ryan Holovlasky and Archbishop Eamon Martin

REALITY BITES VATICAN CITY

VATICAN RELEASES GUIDANCE ON SYNODS The Vatican has issued a 'handbook' for dioceses as part of the global church's preparation for the 2023 assembly of the Synod of Bishops, discussing the theme, 'For a synodal church: communion, participation and mission.'

"Pope Francis invites the entire church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission: 'It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the church of the third millennium,'" the new document said.

"The purpose of this synod is not to produce more documents. Rather, it is intended to inspire people to dream about the church we are called to be, to make people's hopes flourish, to stimulate trust,

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to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission," the preparatory document said.

The handbook offers guidelines for bishops and those helping facilitate the synodal process locally on how they can best listen to and consult with Catholics and the wider community, particularly those on the margins of society, as well as Christians and non-Christians.

The materials were released on September 7 at a news conference at the Vatican and online in English and Spanish at the synod's official website: synod.va/en.html and synod. va/es.html.

MEXICO CITY

Pope Francis is scheduled to formally open the synod process at the Vatican on October 9-10. The bishop of every diocese should open the process in his diocese on October 17. The diocesan phase runs until April.

The materials present several questions to help prompt reflection, input and ideas from as many people as possible.

The questions fall under ten general themes, and people can address what is most pertinent to their situation and "share with honesty and openness about their real-life experiences, and to reflect together on what the Holy Spirit might be revealing through what they share with one another," the document said.

MEXICAN SUPREME COURT INVALIDATES SECOND STATE LAW AGAINST ABORTION The Mexican Supreme Court has invalidated a clause in a state constitution that provided protection of life "from the moment in which an individual is conceived … until their death," arguing that no state government could determine when life begins; only the federal constitution could determine that.

The unanimous September 9 decision also denied any legal rights to the unborn, with the decision stating, "For the court, it is inadmissible to establish that the embryo and foetus deserve the same legal protection as born persons."

The court also said in its ruling, "Although the product of pregnancy deserves protection that increases over time as the pregnancy progresses, this protection cannot ignore the rights of women and pregnant people to reproductive freedom and, in particular, their right to interrupt the pregnancy in certain cases."

After the court decision, the Mexican bishops' conference tweeted: "Those of us convinced of the value of life have no need for a murderous law such as the one that is being approved … We hope that your option for life is not conditional on an ideology, rather is motivated by faith, hope and love."

REALITY OCTOBER 2021

N E WS

POPE MONITOR KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS POPE MEETS UNUSUAL PILGRIM CARRYING MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR REFUGEES

HOLINESS DOESN’T COME FROM FOLLOWING RIGID RULES Redemption is the work of God, not of human beings, so be careful and don't listen to "fundamentalists" who claim holiness comes through following certain laws, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.

The belief that holiness comes by observing particular laws "leads us to a rigid religiosity, a rigidity that eliminates that freedom of the Spirit which Christ's redemption gives us. Beware of this rigidity that they propose," he said on September 1 to those gathered in the Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican.

God's saving grace is received through faith in the Gospel message of Christ's death and resurrection, and God invites people to rejoice in the righteousness received through that faith in Christ, he said.

The pope continued his series of talks on St Paul's Letter to the Galatians by looking at the apostle's explanation of justification by faith and of graces flowing from the Spirit, not from works of the law.

7

VACCINATION IS AN ACT OF LOVE When pilgrims pass through Rome, they don't always get to meet Pope Francis, much less get an 'undersized' handshake.

But 'Little Amal', an 11-foot puppet who is on a 5,000-mile pilgrimage from Syria through eight countries to the UK, got to offer the pope her enormous hand, which he welcomed by grasping one finger.

Supported by her puppet masters and surrounded by hundreds of children in the Vatican's San Damaso Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, Little Amal arrived in Rome on September 10 after leaving the Syrian-Turkish border on July 27. She is due to reach Manchester in early November.

Little Amal represents an unaccompanied nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl who is looking for her mother and hoping to start a new life.

"Will the world let her?" "How will you welcome Amal?" are some of the questions being asked of those who encounter her, according to organisers who want to highlight the vulnerability and the potential of displaced children and unaccompanied minors fleeing war or hardship.

According to the project's website, WalkWithAmal.org, she is 11 feet tall "because we want the world to grow big enough to greet her. We want her to inspire us to think big and to act bigger," said Amir Nizar Zuabi, the artistic director of this unique outdoor public art project called 'The Walk' and starring Amal, whose name means 'hope'.

According to the website, the aim is to tell the stories of those who are often marginalised, feared or pitied and help promote dialogue and collaboration.

When each individual makes a small act of charity, like getting the COVID-19 vaccine, every gesture added together can transform the world, Pope Francis says in a global ad campaign.

"Being vaccinated with vaccines authorised by the competent authorities is an act of love. And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love — love for oneself, love for one's family and friends, love for all people," he said in a public service announcement released on August 18 in Rome.

The video message was part of a global effort by the US-based nonpartisan, nonprofit Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative's 'It's Up To You' campaign to increase people's confidence in COVID-19 vaccines by reminding them that the vaccines are safe, effective and save people's lives. The Vatican's Dicastery for Integral Human Development also cooperated with the educational initiative.

The three-minute video in Spanish with English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles features Pope Francis and six cardinals and archbishops from North and South America.

The 'It's Up To You' campaign has been inviting "trusted messengers" to deliver "fact-based and life-saving information to populations hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccines, helping them to make informed decisions for themselves and their families," it said in a joint news release with the Ad Council.

FOREVER YOUNG SAINTS WHO DIED YOUNG

ST GERARD MAJELLA 1726-1755

8

Gerard Majella was born in a small village called Muro in the south of Italy in 1726. He was the only boy in a family of three girls. His father Dominic, a tailor, died when Gerard was about 12. His mother, Benedetta, had little alternative but to take him out of school and send him to work when his father died.

Gerard was a sensitive lad. Some of the other apprentices bullied him in the workshop, and the master tailor was a short-tempered man. When he was about 15, Gerard took a job as a servant boy to a bishop who lived some distance from Muro. The bishop, too, was a short-tempered man. It was a lonely time for Gerard, far from his mother and sisters, yet he never complained.

On the bishop's death, he returned to Muro and set up his own tailor's shop. He was kindly, and when a poor customer couldn't pay, he often did not look for payment or took much less than was due. Mamma Benedetta wasn't happy with this way of running a business. "Charity is all very well," she would say, "but you have to realise that we are just as poor as they are!"

Gerard combined an intense life of prayer with his work. He felt called to the religious life, but the Capuchins refused him on the grounds of poor health.

A few years later, a new religious order came to preach a mission in town. Gerard was captivated by the preaching of the Redemptorists and spent a lot of time talking to the brother who kept house during the mission. Benedetta was beginning to get worried that he might try to join them. The mission leader assured her that Gerard was too sickly but recommended nonetheless that she lock Gerard in the house the day the missioners were leaving.

When she returned to the house, to her horror, she found that Gerard had let himself down through the window using his bedsheet as a rope and leaving her a note telling her he had gone off to become a saint.

The leader of the mission band had no alternative but to give Gerard a letter to give to the superior of the Redemptorist monastery. It could scarcely be called a warm recommendation.

It said simply, "I am sending you a useless brother!"

Gerard proved to be one of the most useful members of his new community. He worked as a tailor, a gardener, and a fund-raiser.

One of the girls he had helped enter a convent left after a few weeks. She needed to explain her failure and so concocted a story: Gerard, the holy brother, had sexually abused her. When Gerard's superior, St Alphonsus, heard this, he decided he had to act. Gerard was forbidden to receive holy communion.

When the girl eventually told the truth, Alphonsus asked Gerard why he had remained silent. Gerard reminded him that he had written in his Rule for Redemptorists that they should imitate Jesus, who was silent, even when accused in the wrong.

Gerard was now beginning to show signs of tuberculosis, but he continued his intense life of prayer and work. One of his last works was a fund-raising tour for the monastery.

During it, he left his handkerchief behind. One of the daughters of the family brought it to him. "Keep it," Gerard said, "it might be useful someday." Some years later, she had a hard labour with her first child. She asked for Gerard's handkerchief, and the baby arrived safely and with little pain.

Gerard died at the age of 29 on October 16, 1755. His feast day is October 16.

Brendan McConvery CSsR REALITY OCTOBER 2021

Reality Volume 86. No. 8 October 2021 A Redemptorist Publication ISSN 0034-0960 Published by The Irish Redemptorists, St Joseph's Monastery, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk County Louth A91 F3FC Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Web: www.redcoms.org Email: sales@redcoms.org (With permission of C.Ss.R.)

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

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REFLECTIONS I took my car into the garage.

The guy said, "Your belt's knackered, mate." I said, "How do you know?" He replied, "Your trousers are on the floor."

Any fool can criticise, condemn, and complain, and most fools do.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Faith doesn’t get you around trouble, it gets you through it.

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

CARL BARD

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.

HENRY FORD

When you give up your own truth to win at someone else’s game everyone loses.

STEPHEN C. PAUL

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

JOHN WOODEN

I have learned that sometimes ‘sorry’ is not enough.

Sometimes you actually have to change.

CLAIRE LONDON

There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you.

The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace?

THE PEACE PILGRIM

To me, wholeness is the key to aliveness. It is more than just physical vitality, it is radiance, coming from being at one with yourself and your experience. Life then flows through you.

RICHARD MOSS

If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

If wrinkles must be written upon our brow, let them not be written upon the heart.

The spirit should not grow old.

JAMES A. GARFIELD

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

MICHELANGELO

Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport.

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

POPE FRANCIS

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

It takes great courage to faithfully follow what we know to be true.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’.

They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.

SARA E. ANDERSON

DOLLY PARTON

JOHN LENNON

HENRY VAN DYKE

Let that day be lost to us on which we did not dance once.

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.

ROBERT FROST

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Included in the diary is an introduction from Fr Denis, year planners for both 2022 and 2023, key dates and feast days, notes pages, and a ribbon page marker. All of these features make it the ideal faith companion, appointment organiser and thoughtful gift.

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A Look of Love In A Look of Love – Witnesses to Jesus, Jim Deeds brings the stories of Jesus and his early followers to life. Jim’s love of the Gospels shines through, while his gift for storytelling imbues each of these unique stories with emotion and gentle humour.

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EDI TO R I A L UP FRONT GERARD MOLONEY CSsR

MAKING THE MOST OF THE INTERNET

Earlier

this summer, when England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties, social media went into overdrive. While most England supporters congratulated their team on getting to the final, others weren't so forgiving. Frustrated that football hadn’t in fact come home, they focused their anger on the players who failed to score. These three players happened to be Black, and each was subjected to horrific racist abuse.

One of the downsides of social media is that it brings out the worst in people. We can fire off a tweet or post a comment in the heat of the moment, which we might never do if we had to go to the trouble of writing a letter and buying a stamp. People post anonymous statements who otherwise wouldn't have the courage to express their true feelings in public. Social media facilitates the harassment and bullying of people, as we saw some months ago when a leading newspaper columnist lost his job after he was found to be behind an anonymous Twitter account that attacked those who disagreed with him.

Social media has been a boon to racists, xenophobes, and political extremists.

Platforms like Facebook and Twitter facilitated the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote in the UK. They have become a valuable recruiting tool for terrorist organisations, and have made it easier for pornographers and paedophiles to do business. The big social media companies have developed sophisticated strategies to attract and hold the attention of users. The more time people spend online, the more money these companies make, so they have devised algorithms or addictive techniques that prey on our psychological weaknesses to keep us logged on, to keep us coming back.

Experts call this 'brain hacking.' Arguably, social media have done more to drive

people apart than foster a sense of family and community, which Facebook claims is its mission. Anyone who has been the target of the online mob knows how damaging and destructive social media can be.

Of course, when used well, social media is a wonderful tool. This was never more apparent than during the COVID-19 lockdown. Apps such as Zoom, Skype and FaceTime enabled schools and businesses to function, families to remain connected, and liturgies to be celebrated. Without the world wide web, classes would have had to be suspended, business activity curtailed, and liturgies abandoned or postponed. Virtual parishes blossomed as people from across the globe discovered liturgies they liked or that were celebrated at a time that suited them.

More people tuned into the online Mother of Perpetual Help novena in Limerick this year than attended in person in previous years.

Good as its online presence has been, the church still hasn't figured out the best way to use the internet as a tool for evangelisation.

At a time when more and more young people (and their parents) have abandoned religion, the COVID-19 lockdown has opened our eyes to the tremendous potential of social media as a way of connecting with people – if only we have the imagination, enthusiasm and resources to do so.

What does not help are the very public disputes Catholics are having online. There is a viciousness to the culture wars now being fought on social media as well as in the pews.

Those on the 'right' attack those on the 'left' and vice versa. Bishops, some American bishops especially, are not immune. They are not shy about using Twitter or Facebook to attack Catholics with whom they disagree.

The vitriol heaped on those deemed to be too soft or too liberal is extraordinary. Pope Francis' tweets are as likely to be attacked by 'defenders of the faith' as by militant atheists.

Jesuit Fr James Martin, interviewed for this issue, is constantly targeted by Catholic trolls upset by his outreach to the LGBTI+ community and others on the margins of the church. Sadly, social media seems better at dividing Catholics rather than uniting them.

It has become a scandal.

Of course, no matter how well parishes or dioceses engage with social media, the internet can never be a substitute for face -to-face interaction. Online celebrations can never replace in-person liturgies. Virtual congregations are not the same as flesh and blood parish communities gathered as one family round the table of the Lord. Real is always best.

Still, the virtual world is going to encroach more and more into our everyday lives. While being aware of its many downsides, we need to harness what's best in it to reach out to as many people as possible. We need to figure out how to make it an optimal tool for evangelisation.

Gerard Molonry CSsR Acting Editor

11

C OVE R STO RY

SOCIAL MEDIA

AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE

NOTWITHSTANDING ITS DOWNSIDES, THE DIGITAL WORLD OFFERS GREAT POTENTIAL AS A MEAN OF EVANGELISATION AND OF BUILDING COMMUNITY

BY TRÍONA DOHERTY 12

In

the Gospel of John, when the first disciples ask Jesus where he is staying, he invites them to "come and see." They stay with him for the day, getting to know him.

The disciple Philip then extends the offer to his friend Nathaniel: "We have found him…

Come and see." Later, the Samaritan woman who encounters Jesus at the well issues the same invitation to others. With these simple words, people are invited into relationship with Jesus.

"Come and see" was the theme for the 2021 World Communications Day. In his message for the occasion, Pope Francis talked about how these words of Jesus serve as "an inspiration for all communication that strives to be clear and honest, in the press, on the internet, in the church's daily preaching and in political or social communication." Rather than making assumptions about others, we are to go and "see them for ourselves, to spend time with people, to listen to their stories and to confront reality, which always in some way surprises us."

It is more than 30 years since the world

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wide web came into being. During that time, the online world has revolutionised how we obtain information, communicate, do business, learn and socialise. It is hard to believe that social media platforms Facebook and Twitter were launched just 17 years and 14 years ago respectively. Instagram is 11 years old, and TikTok a mere five. Yet, for so many, these sites are an integral part of life. Almost 4.5 billion people worldwide are social media users, connecting with others all over the world at the tap of a phone screen.

Social media is still in its infancy. It is hugely challenging to keep up with an area that evolves so rapidly. In a sense, our human behaviour is always a step behind the advances in communication. The 'rulebook' is not yet clear, and we are only beginning to talk about the ethics and responsibilities of this mode of communication. The church, too, has begun to engage with this challenge.

Pope Francis often speaks about social media, noting, "It is not technology that determines whether or not communication is authentic, but rather the human heart

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Almost 4.5 billion people worldwide are social media users

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and our capacity to use wisely the means at our disposal." His 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti addressed many aspects of the digital environment. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference released an excellent statement in 2019 entitled Making it Real: Genuine human encounter in our digital world, and earlier this year, Archbishop Eamon Martin issued 'Ten tips for engaging on the digital highway,' encouraging people to use the internet to "establish connections and build communion."

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'TWO-EDGED SWORD' Social media has brought many benefits.

It allows people to stay connected with family and friends over great distances, and to make new acquaintances. Online platforms connect people with similar interests, allowing us to share information, explore ideas and engage in debate. Social media also can call communities to action in the face of humanitarian crises and natural disasters. Movements such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter that had their roots in social media have been instrumental in highlighting issues of injustice and promoting solidarity.

During the pandemic, social media played an important role in alleviating isolation. It was warmly embraced by parish communities, who used tools such as Facebook Live to allow people to participate in Masses and other services. As virtual congregations welcomed people from a variety of geographical settings, there was a renewed sense of the 'universal' church.

Parish priest of Abbeyleix, Co Laois, Fr Paddy Byrne, was one of social media's 'early adopters,' and he continues to use both Twitter and Facebook in his ministry.

"Social media is part and parcel of culture.

It has huge potential and it has enhanced my ministry by allowing me to reach out to a wide circle of people," he says. "During Covid in particular, I tried to communicate a message of hope via the parish webcam and a daily message on Facebook Live. I don't believe for a minute that faith is dead in Ireland – belief in the institution perhaps, but overall belief is still strong and powerful."

Arising from his positive experiences online, Fr Byrne says the church needs to work on how it approaches social media. "As a church we need to be more honest and real.

Social media posts can often be superficial;

SOCIAL MEDIA PRAYER Christ has no online presence but yours No blog, no Facebook page but yours, Yours are the tweets through which love touches the world, Yours are the posts through which the Gospel is shared, Yours are the updates through which hope is revealed.

Christ has no online presence but yours, No blog, no Facebook page but yours.

Meredith Gould in The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways

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we shouldn't be tweeting about what we are doing – 'I'm on the way to bless a well,' for example – but about real-life issues. As church, our voice is relevant and we have lots of good things to say about justice and about life. Tweeting to a very small group of like-minded people and getting 'likes and shares' – God's Kingdom is bigger than that."

Dr Suzanne Mulligan, lecturer in theology at St Patrick's College Maynooth, says that social media offers an extraordinary opportunity for access to knowledge. "Social media is a very broad term, and we cannot say it is either universally good or bad. It can be used in a very positive way as a source of important information for people. We in Ireland live in a culture that is very open; we have huge freedoms that we often take for granted. But for many people around the world, social media is a vital source of information, particularly for those living under regimes where freedom of information is suppressed.

"And social media has a role to play in holding individuals, governments and organisations to account. It is not the same as a one-to-one conversation but it is still a conversation of sorts, and is a way of getting information out."

However, for all its potential for good, the online world can be a place of loneliness, exploitation and intimidation. Author Fr James Martin SJ, who has a prominent presence on social media, describes social media as "the classic two-edged sword."

The downsides are well documented.

Cyberbullying in the form of offensive comments, abusive messages and spreading rumours is widespread. Young people are especially vulnerable, and the impact on mental health can be devastating. In addition, platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can be used to spread misinformation and lies, an issue that came to the fore during the 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections.

"Fake news and propaganda are nothing new," says Dr Mulligan. "But thanks to social media, fake news can circulate more quickly and to a greater audience. And with the pace at which technology is developing, governments and social media organisations are playing catch-up when it comes to hate speech, racist remarks, homophobic sentiment, and so on.

"Social media can be one tool utilised to inform ourselves about an issue. But we have to be savvy and not take things at face value, just as we wouldn't with something reported in a newspaper or on TV. We must think critically about what we read or hear."

Pope Francis develops this point in Fratelli Tutti, remarking, "True wisdom demands an encounter with reality. Today, however, everything can be created, disguised and altered… Things that until a few years ago could not be said by anyone without risking the loss of universal respect can now be said with impunity, and in the crudest of terms, even by some political figures."

'ECHO CHAMBER' An 'echo chamber' refers to an online environment where we only encounter information or opinions that reflect and reinforce our own. In the social media world, we can choose the people with whom we wish to interact. We 'follow' individuals and media outlets whose views we approve of, and we have the power to 'block' anyone

we find disagreeable. Our online patterns allow computer algorithms to target us with more and more material, so we encounter more of the same. The danger of these 'echo chambers', or 'closed circuits' as Pope Francis calls them, is that we become shielded from debate and isolated from the real world. Without necessarily being aware of it, users are pushed to more concentrated and extreme positions. The content they encounter appeals to social prejudices and exploits emotions such as frustration and anxiety. Clearly, this process does not encourage healthy discussion.

British Rabbi Jonathan Sacks reflected on this idea in his 2017 TED Talk, 'How we can face the future without fear, together.' In it, he highlights the danger of social media in reinforcing our biases about others: "The trouble with Google filters, Facebook friends and reading the news by narrowcasting rather than broadcasting means that we're surrounded almost entirely by people like us whose views, whose opinions, whose prejudices, even, are just like ours… if we surround ourselves with people with the same views as us, we get more extreme. I think we need to renew those face-to-face

On social media you don't have to deal with the responses or consequences of what you have said. There is no accountability; you can walk away and don't have to see the hurt or the damage caused by your remarks

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Social media interaction is not a substitute for face-toface gatherings and the daily sharing of life 16

encounters with the people not like us. I think we need to do that in order to realise that we can disagree strongly and yet still stay friends. It's in those face-to-face encounters that we discover that the people not like us are just people, like us."

WHAT KIND OF DIGITAL HIGHWAY? Far too often, the digital world can bring out the worst in people. Topics become divided into dramatically opposing views, and everyone must pick a side – right or left, liberal or conservative, pro-life or pro-choice.

Insults are traded, and anyone on the 'other side' of an argument is labelled as deluded, stupid or worse. Dr Mulligan notes that the comment sections on social media have given everyone an outlet for their opinion.

"Every 'Joe Soap' has a comment, and this is presented alongside expert opinions. It allows people to say things in a way that is more remote and distant than were they sitting in a room with someone, and this adds to the sometimes toxic nature of social media," she says.

"If you give an opinion in person you have to defend it there and then, but on social media you don't have to deal with the responses or REALITY OCTOBER 2021

consequences of what you have said. There is no accountability; you can walk away and don't have to see the hurt or the damage caused by your remarks."

The Australian bishops warn that online relationships can become "inhuman" as digital spaces have a way of blinding us to the vulnerability of others. "The fundamental question is whether we will choose to use digital technology to make faceless, nameless and soulless the human beings on the other side of our devices or whether we will choose to authentically encounter and honour their humanity, and our own," they say.

"A vital step to realising this encounter is to ask ourselves what kind of 'digital highway' we are on. Just as we would not accept a highway built of rubble, that leads us nowhere we want to go, so too we cannot accept a digital world designed to exploit our weaknesses and bring out the worst in people."

Regrettably, this assessment can be as true of Christian and Catholic social media as it is of other arenas. In many ways, the church has embraced the digital realm as a forum for evangelisation and the promotion of justice and peace. Yet behaviours that go

against these values are often evident in online spaces that represent religious news outlets or communities. Heated debate tends to concentrate on 'hot button issues' such as abortion or questions around relationships and sexuality. Topics such as immigration, world hunger or the death penalty do not provoke the same response, though they are equally important and integral to the Christian life. The manner in which questions and alternative views are shot down or scoffed at is alarming. A version of the remark 'If you don't like it, you know where the door is' appears in countless exchanges on Catholic sites. This lack of compassion detracts from the fraternity and solidarity demanded by our Christian faith.

Archbishop Eamon Martin warns that this "scandal of disunity" among Christians can be exploited or exaggerated. "Therefore, we must seek to share resources so that we can have a powerful Gospel witness. Wouldn't it be wonderful if people started noticing online: 'See how these Christians love one another'," he suggests.

Instead, as Fr James Martin reports, people are more likely to lament, "See how they shove one another."

'OUR DIGITAL COMMON HOME' Society is beginning to ask questions about how we use technology and to recognise the damage that its abuse can do. Legislators are developing regulatory controls and examining the responsibility of the organisations that provide our social media platforms. All of this is positive. In addition to these broader tasks, everyone who inhabits the digital world has a role in building 'online neighbourhoods' that promote genuine human encounter. Christians have a particular responsibility to espouse an attitude of openness, welcome, warmth and patience in all our online activities, embracing the dignity of every person with whom they come into contact.

It is difficult to say whether social media is the best place for what Pope Francis terms a "culture of encounter." While it can be a powerful tool for fostering friendships and strengthening community, social media interaction is not a substitute for face-to-face gatherings and the daily sharing of life. Meeting and listening to people who are different from us can be a more effective way to break down stereotypes. "Social media is not everything," says Fr Paddy Byrne. "Our faith is incarnational; it is about the physicality of encounter.

Nothing can compare to empathetic listening, meeting for a cup of coffee or gathering at the Lord's Table for Eucharist."

Notwithstanding, there is great potential for the digital world to be an environment rich in humanity – in the words of Pope Francis, "a network not of wires but of people": "Every tool has its value, and that great communicator who was Paul of Tarsus would certainly have made use of email and social messaging. Yet it was his faith, hope and charity that impressed those of his contemporaries who heard him preach or had the good fortune to spend time with him.

For two millennia, a chain of such encounters has communicated the attractiveness of the Christian adventure. The challenge that awaits us, then, is to communicate by encountering people, where they are and as they are." (Pope Francis, message for World Communications Day 2021)

Archbishop Eamon Martin's ten tips for engaging on the digital highway 1. Be positive and joyful. Offer 'digital smiles' and have a sense of humour. Remember that it is the 'joy of the Gospel' that we are communicating, so, as Pope Francis says: no 'funeral faces' or 'sourpusses'!

2. Strictly avoid aggression and 'preachiness' online; try not to be judgemental or polemical – goodness knows, there is enough of this online already! Instead, try Pope Francis' approach of 'tenderness and balm'.

3. Never bear false witness on the internet.

4. Remember 'Ubi caritas et amor.' Fill the internet with charity and love, always giving rather than taking. Continually seek to broaden and reframe discussions and seek to include a sense of charity and solidarity with the suffering in the world.

5. Have a broad back when criticisms and insults are made – when possible, gently correct.

6. Pray in the digital world! Establish sacred spaces, opportunities for stillness, reflection and meditation online.

7. Establish connections, relationships and build communion. Church has always been about 'gathering.' In this, it is worth considering an ecumenical presence for the Christian churches online. The internet tends to be a place of ethical and intellectual relativism, and often of aggressive secularism. The scandal of disunity among Christians can be easily exploited and exaggerated.

Therefore, we must seek to share resources so that we can have a powerful Gospel witness. Wouldn't it be wonderful if people started noticing online: 'See how these Christians love one another'?

8. Educate our young to keep themselves safe and to use the internet responsibly.

9. Witness to human dignity at all times online. Seek, as Pope Benedict once said, to 'give a soul to the internet.' We are well aware of the pervasive prevalence of pornography on the internet which can 'pollute the spirit', destroy and degrade human sexuality and relationships, reduce persons to objects for gratification, draw millions into the commodification and commercialisation of sex, feed the monster that is human trafficking.

10. Be missionary, be aware that with the help of the internet, a message has the potential to reach the ends of the earth in seconds. In this regard, let us foster and call forth charisms in younger committed people who understand the power and potential of the net to bear witness. www.catholicbishops.ie/2021/05/06/resources-for-world-communicationsday-2021/

continued on page 18

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WE NEED RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE AMERICAN JAMES MARTIN SJ IS ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT CATHOLIC PRIESTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. IT IS, HE SAYS, A TWOEDGED SWORD.

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As someone who is active on social media, do you find it useful in terms of evangelising and building community?

Social media is the classic two-edged sword. On the one hand, it can promote a world of superficiality, misinformation and anonymity. And that last attribute – anonymity – can, in turn, promote hateful comments and vicious attacks. On the other hand, it's a great way to share information, engage people with new ideas and even build community. Since the pandemic began, for example, I've been doing a faith-sharing event on Facebook Live (that is, streaming live on my Facebook page) every Friday. Five hundred or so people (twice as many during the height of the pandemic) gather to reflect on the Gospel reading for the coming Sunday, and share their insights. And, to my great surprise, it's become a real community, with people knowing one another and praying for one another. That's been a complete surprise.

You've been subject to abuse on social media for your ministry with LGBTQ+ people. Where does the negativity come from, and how do you handle it?

Most of the negativity comes from fear, which breeds hate. The New Testament says, "Perfect love casts out fear." I would add, "Perfect fear casts out love." So people are afraid of LGBTQ people as the 'other,' and that breeds hatred and homophobia.

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But the most intense hatred seems to come from people who are 'ex-gays' or 'recovering gays.' Over the past few years, I've spoken to several psychologists who say most of this rage comes from people's discomfort with their own sexuality. How do I handle the attacks? By ignoring most of them. And by remembering that not everyone can love, like or approve of me. Our model is Jesus, and even he was attacked. If they did that to him, why not to me?

In the run-up to your talk at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Dublin, an online campaign called for your removal from the programme. What are your reflections on this incident?

It was ironic that even a Vatican-approved talk (whose theme – Showing Respect and Welcome in Our Parishes to LGBT People – was chosen by the Vatican itself) wasn't sufficiently orthodox for people. There was even an "alternate WMOF meeting" organised as a result. Honestly, I thought it was just sad. Here is a talk about welcoming people who may be different from you, and people didn't want to hear it. What would they have said to Jesus when he met the Roman centurion, the Samaritan woman, tax collector or the leper? Well, as we saw, they called for his removal too. But again, he is our model, so why should we expect anything different?

Heated interactions often take place on Catholic social media. Are the online battles between 'right' and 'left' becoming more pronounced, and do they reflect the church on the ground?

I find them very sad. "See how they shove one another," as a Jesuit friend of mine says.

The amount of anonymous, hateful and really

cruel attacks on people are mind-boggling.

And I think we also have to reintroduce an underused word into our discourse: mean.

You can talk all you want about the political, spiritual, theological, ecclesiological or even sociological reasons behind these attacks, but, in the end, the answer is that some people are just mean, Catholics included.

It's like what you see sometimes on the playground at school: mean kids bullying other kids. By this point, I've been called every name in the book, and am attacked on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. So I'm no longer surprised. But the cruelty makes the church look like a very dark place.

How can the church promote a culture of respectful dialogue on social media, as spoken about by Pope Francis?

First, never to engage in ad hominem attacks (that is, on the person). Disagree with what they say, but don't attack (or judge them). Second, always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Finally, if someone seems just purposely cruel or completely uninterested in dialogue, don't engage them.

It's something of a waste of time. Be open to their changing, but if they cannot control their cruelty, shake the dust off your feet, as Jesus said.

Tríona Doherty is a freelance journalist and editor and is a regular contributor to Reality. She is co-author, with Jane Mellett, of The Deep End: A Journey with the Sunday Gospels in the Year of Luke, available from www.messenger.ie.

COM M E N T WITH EYES WIDE OPEN JIM DEEDS

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE UNEXPECTED KIND

GOD IS TO BE ENCOUNTERED IN THE MOST UNEXPECTED PLACES – EVEN IN AN OPERATING THEATRE I developed a lump on the tip of my nose a few months ago.

When it didn't go away, I did as we all are well-advised to do; I paid attention to it and sought advice from a doctor. I am grateful that, even in these busy times for doctors, I could get an appointment with my GP. Having examined it, my GP felt it was worthy of a referral to a skin cancer surgeon for a closer look.

After a few weeks, I got the call to see the surgeon to have some (very) minor surgery to remove the lump and take a biopsy.

The results will be back in a few weeks' time. You might keep me in your prayers as I wait to hear.

But let me tell you something of the experience and how it turned out to be another good reminder that we encounter God in the most unexpected places.

At the hospital in Belfast, I was greeted by a lovely secretary who put my mind at ease while I waited to see the surgeon. This was my first brush with any type of appointment with the word 'cancer' in the title, and I was (and still am) understandably nervous.

When it came time to be seen, I went into the consultation area to meet the surgeon. He was in his late 60s, I would say, and he was a very personable man.

In between some practical questions about the changes to the skin on my nose, we had a good chat. Recognising a Southern Irish twang to his partly Northernised accent, I asked him where his accent was

from. He told me he was from Galway. Oh, says I, I'm about to undertake a piece of work with one of the religious orders in Galway. I named the order. Well, says he, I know that order well.

Lovely, says I. And that was that.

Chit chat over and not much to be remarked upon. Until...

Once I was ensconced in the operating theatre, all prepped and head wrapped in blue surgical towel with eyes covered in white wet wipe-type things to protect them from the glare of the strong light the surgeon was using to see the offending patch of skin, he began another conversation with me. Now, I'm sure he wanted to put me at ease (as an aside, he told me that the local anaesthetic injections would hurt "a bit" before spearing me with what felt like a four-foot lance! "A bit," says I? "That's a new calibration for the term 'a bit'." "I suppose so," says he, with a giggle. I didn't quite manage a giggle, although I did manage a snort through a semi-frozen nostril.

But I digress). Yes, I'm sure he wanted to put me at ease, so he started a conversation. But what a conversation!

He talked to me of his love for the religious orders and the rich history the religious orders of Ireland were leaving behind.

He spoke of how society, in its rightful search for progress and for justice, too, in the face of injustices, was moving away from the idea of religion and

spirituality as a good thing and how this made him sad. He told me there was a rich wisdom that needed to be preserved.

Most of the time, due to the fact that he either had a needle or a scalpel (although the nurse referred to it as a blade – I prefer scalpel – sounds less... well... violent!) hard at work on my nose, I could only grunt or 'hmmm' in recognition of what he was saying. That said, the more he spoke, the more I realised he was speaking to me. Or, to put it another way, the more he spoke, the more I realised what he was saying was important for me to hear. Even in this cold, clinical, uncomfortable space, I felt I was actually in a sacred space.

This was true for two reasons.

First, the conversation put me at ease in a very uncomfortable situation. I can talk about spirituality, religion and the meaning of life all day! Paradoxical to the situation I found myself in, it is my comfort zone. His words helped me to relax. Second, it held a meaning for the work I am about to undertake in Galway. It connected me to the purpose of it and reminded me that it is important work. That was important for me to hear and gave me great consolation about the work.

The whole scenario (is that the right term for what happened?) felt like a true encounter. I say this because it was not only that it impacted on me. I think the

surgeon got to say some things that were really on his mind and in his heart. I think my presence gave him permission to say things he wouldn't normally have said to patients. There was a truth and honesty in his words and his voice. And I got to hear some valuable things, which helped me feel God's presence in what was a bit of a scary experience. That seems to be a familiar pattern – when we encounter each other, we also encounter God. And when we encounter God in each other, there are benefits for all of us.

All of this reminds me that God is with us in all things – in the good and in the bad. We all go through times of illness, worry or loss. It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that God has abandoned us in those times. Let us be reassured, though, that is never the case.

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

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F E AT U R E

The

f o s ar e Y

y ar M f o Legion

THIS YEAR MARKS THE CENTENARY OF A REMARKABLE ORGANISATION THAT IN MANY WAYS WAS FAR BEFORE ITS TIME

BY SALVADOR RYAN 20

This

year marks the centenary of the foundation of the Legion of Mary by Dublin civil servant Frank Duff. Since far fewer Irish Catholics have had experience of Legion membership in the past quarter of a century or so than when praesidia (local units) could once be found in parishes up and down the country, it is perhaps more important than ever to take time to appreciate just what an extraordinary organisation Duff established.

From its first meeting in Myra House on September 7, 1921, a century later, it would have some 10 million members in over 170 countries, with a claim to be the largest apostolic organisation of lay people in the Catholic Church. Its aim? The glory of God through the holiness of its members, developed by prayer and active co-operation in the

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work of Mary and the church.

Legion members take as their priority the spiritual and social welfare of every individual they encounter. This is borne out in a weekly commitment to the active apostolate, in the form of home visitation, visitation to the sick, prison visits, work with the homeless, those suffering from addictions, etc, but also a commitment to speak about faith matters with those they encounter; to listen to them, and to provide the space for conversations about God that might not otherwise arise.

We often speak about certain individuals as being "before their time.” There are few for whom such a claim could be more fitting. It should be noted, for instance, that the first president of the Legion of Mary was a woman – Mrs Elizabeth Kirwan, a New Zealander of Irish parents

who moved back to Ireland when she was 13. She held the position until 1930. But Duff was prescient in other ways. Patrician meetings (in which various faithrelated topics could be openly discussed after some input from a guest speaker) were the Alpha courses of their day. Long before the universal call to holiness was the rallying cry of Vatican II's Lumen Gentium, Frank Duff wrote that "every person that is born is called to be a saint."

He clarified this statement by noting that "few make a serious attempt to answer the invitation.

The cause for this is to a large extent discouragement, due to a misunderstanding of what a saint really is." For Duff, a saint was "one who, with the object of pleasing God, does his ordinary duties extraordinarily well. Such a life may be lived out without a single wonder in it, arouse little

notice, be soon forgotten and yet be the life of one of God's dearest friends."

ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE Duff's efforts at ecumenical dialogue by means of the Mercier Society (inaugurated after a lecture invitation to Duff from Trinity College), and dialogue with the Jewish faith through the Pillar of Fire Society, would soon attract the suspicion of ecclesiastical authorities who were simply not ready for such radical steps. It was fitting, then, that Duff's later attendance at the fourth session of the Second Vatican Council as an invited lay observer would coincide with the approval of the Declaration on non-Christian religions, Nostra Aetate, as well as that on the Lay Apostolate.

Duff foresaw that the Legion would attract people of all social classes, and moved quickly to level

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Every person that is born is called to be a saint Frank Duff

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any distinctions based on social hierarchy by insisting that members referred to each other as "Brother" or "Sister." Gifted with a meticulous mind and a superb organiser, he recognised the movement's global potential from the outset.

This led him to steer clear of naming the new organisation as "Irish." His universal vision saw the Legion spread across the world at remarkable speed; within 10 years of its foundation, it had already reached Oceania. For someone who himself rarely left Ireland – and was an early promoter of the 'staycation' in times of economic necessity – Duff's global reach was through Legionaries themselves and especially the many Legion envoys who committed to prolonged periods in foreign lands to establish the organisation. Some

of these figures became household names – Edel Quinn (1907-44), who travelled to East Africa; Alfie Lambe (1932-59), who travelled to South America; and, later, Fr Robert Bradshaw, who worked from 1976-1991, establishing the Legion in Iceland and, after that, in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. With his sense of history, Duff regarded such envoys as 20th-century Columbanuses embarking on a new Peregrinatio pro Christo. This title, in fact, would give its name to a special kind of Legion work (PPC) in which members would devote some of their summer holidays to travelling overseas where they would stay in a city parish, engage in house-to-house visitation and, wherever possible, offer those they encountered a space to speak about God.

OUTREACH TO RUSSIA My own first encounter with the Legion of Mary was as a child, growing up in the early 1980s in Moneygall, County Offaly. At our local national school, we were afforded a window on a much wider (and more exciting) world than our own quiet village. This was provided by our local curate, Fr Seán Moriarty, a stalwart member of the Legion for many years and a frequent traveller to the Communist USSR. A Kerryman, who grew up in County Clare, the son of a primary school inspector, he was a tall and striking figure who, in those days, still wore the long priest's cassock or soutane when he made school visits.

His trips to the USSR began in 1967 when Fr Moriarty, then a curate in Clarecastle, County Clare, travelled with a couple of other Legionaries

as a tourist on a Russian cruise ship. It was an exercise in what was termed "symbolic action." The idea, popularised by Frank Duff, was that if a situation seemed impossible, or a difficulty insurmountable, one might respond by taking even the smallest action in faith (and it had to be an action, not merely a good intention), confident in the assurance that God would honour it and accomplish the rest.

To engage in the lay apostolate in Russia certainly seemed to be one of those "impossible" tasks. As it happened, the initial results were positive. Fr Moriarty made contact with a Lithuanian Catholic onboard and encouraged him to engage in the active apostolate. He was also allowed to celebrate Mass in a room on the cruise ship. Upon reaching Leningrad, he met with a local

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Beautiful Sorrento

Catholic priest there, which gave the priest great encouragement.

This first (unofficial) Peregrinatio Pro Christo (PPC) to Russia led to the establishment of an annual summer trip to the USSR by the Legion of Mary two years later, in 1969. Members prepared in advance by taking classes in conversational Russian. They were also fortunate to be accompanied by a linguistically gifted English legionary who had studied Russian at Oxford. The Irish Legionaries routinely teamed up with fellow Legionaries from the UK, travelling out as a group of 2530 tourists on any one trip.

After celebrating Mass in their hotel and holding a daily Legion of Mary meeting, Legionaries were to make contact with people in casual encounters on the street or in city parks and to speak of the existence of God and of his love, particularly to those who had grown up with little or no religion. If their contact was interested in pursuing this question further, he or she could speak with one of the priests who travelled with the group. The person would also always be offered a 'Miraculous Medal.' The Legion was insistent that the law of the land be respected at all times, and, since the Soviet constitution guaranteed freedom of religion, it saw no reason for Legionaries not to speak of God while on their travels (as long as no criticism of the government was made).

One unexpected encounter took place in a park in the Black Sea city of Sochi in 1973. The Irish priests who travelled on these trips always wore their clerical garb so they would be easily recognised. On this occasion, a man nervously approached one of the Irish priests, Tipperary native, Fr Robert Bradshaw, as he sat on a park bench. When he ascertained

Famous Legionaires: Edel Quinn and Alfie Lambe

that it was not a secret police trap, he told Fr Bradshaw that a cousin of his, a Lithuanian Catholic priest, was sitting, dressed in civvies, at a safe distance. Contact was established, and the two priests – one Irish, the other Lithuanian – spoke together in Latin and a smattering of Russian.

Fr Bradshaw produced a chalice and gave it to the priest for his church.

"Where did this chalice come from?" the priest asked Fr Bradshaw. "My friend, Fr Moriarty, brought it over with him," Fr Bradshaw explained.

At this, the priest's cousin's eyes widened: "My goodness! This is the same priest that I met on the Russian cruise ship six years ago!" he exclaimed. Little incidences like these gave Legionaries heart that God was honouring their "symbolic action."

SIMPLE CONVERSATION Legionaries who travelled on these trips to the USSR in the 1970s and 1980s recall how a typical simple conversation with members of the public in cities such as Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Yalta, Tbilisi and Batumi usually went. City locals were always interested in chatting to tourists and engaged willingly in conversation about culture and, indeed, religion. When the question of God's existence was

raised, a common response was, "But we know that there is no God; they sent cosmonauts up into space – and there's nothing there!"

For Legionaries who did not have much Russian, some key phrases were used again and again, none more so, perhaps, than Bog lyubit vas ("God loves you").

Fr Moriarty approached his conversations with dramatic flair.

A keen film critic, and a regular adjudicator at the Cork Film Festival, he was proud of his Kerry roots and, in particular, his family connection to the Hollywood actor, Gregory Peck (to whom he bore a striking resemblance). If his Hollywood links didn't impress, he would turn to discussing Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels. "Have you heard of Sherlock Holmes' arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty?" he would ask, and, if this elicited a response, he would triumphantly declare, "Well, I am he!" More often, though, the younger generation asked whether the Legionaries knew the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. Members of this age group were very curious about religion and had often been told stories of Christ by their grandmothers. Babushkas were inclined to be far more open about their Christian belief.

Fr Moriarty would return from

Russia to us, fifth and sixth class children in Moneygall National School, full of dramatic tales of peril, intrigue and subterfuge, all in the name of bringing Christ to those who hadn't yet met him. We were encouraged from a young age to become involved in the work of lay evangelisation, long before this was to become a buzzword. I can still see him writing a coded action plan for Lent on the blackboard: CTR (Conversion, Talk religion). We were to minister to our peers, pursue a radical path of personal holiness and to evangelise our parents and wider families if this was necessary – all at the age of 10 and 11 years! If we were ridiculed or laughed at, we were not to be discouraged. After all, Christ and the apostles suffered long before us, and it would inevitably contribute to our burgeoning sanctity.

With such tales of spiritual heroism, and the insistence that, even at our young age, how we lived our lives could have real – eternal – consequences for ourselves and others, it was little wonder that I joined the local Legion of Mary praesidium as soon as I was old enough. I never did get as far as Russia, though; the extent of my outreach work was two weeklong trips to Antrim and Belfast, respectively, in 1992 and 1993.

Nevertheless, the Legion of Mary had a hugely formative influence on my early faith life and brought me into contact with some extraordinary people. I will always be enormously grateful to it for that.

Salvador Ryan is Professor of Ecclesiastical History at St Patrick's College, Maynooth.

23

AMEN AND

LIT U RGY

THE MEANING OF THESE TWO ANCIENT LITURGICAL WORDS TRANSCENDS TIME AND THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN TRANSLATED

BY MARIA HALL

Saints 24

and sinners have prayed Amen and Alleluia through the centuries. They have accompanied words of hope, joy, sorrow, and praise, uttered countless times, a reminder that we should trust the Lord, knowing that he will always be with us. We say and sing them constantly during the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. Their meaning transcends time and is far greater than any single utterance; their continual use is testimony to the significance they hold. Through time, the liturgy has been celebrated in Aramaic, then Greek and Latin, but during all those 2,000 years, these words have never been translated.

AMEN! The incarnation of Jesus Christ is God's 'Yes' to mankind and the fulfilment of all his promises and that through Jesus we say our Amen,' to the glory of God. This is how Pope Benedict described the shortest and most frequently used word in the liturgy. Its use dates back over 400 years BC. In the Book of Chronicles, it is used as a response to a blessing: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said 'Amen' and 'Praise the Lord.'"

The Hebrew meaning of Amen is 'so be it,' sometimes translated as 'verily' or 'truly.' Jewish law required it to be used as a response to oaths and blessings in a variety of settings. Islam uses it in the same way.

In the Old Testament, it appears up to 30 times, to affirm statements, blessings and prayers. It is a

REALITY OCTOBER 2021

word of steadfastness and faith. A two-fold Amen is found in the Psalms: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.” (Ps 41:13) In the New Testament, it is used more frequently. Jesus would have grown up praying it in the synagogue. As an adult, he spoke it in a new way, using it to affirm statements at the beginning of sentences: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). In speaking like this, he was emphasising an absolute spiritual truth and was signifying that the listener should pay attention.

In the Book of Revelation, the heavenly Jerusalem is revealed through the visions of St John. Our earthly liturgy should always strive to reflect the song of the angels and saints: All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures.

They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying: Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!

(Rev. 7:11-12) At the end of the Book of Revelation, many translations of the Bible conclude fittingly with the word, “Amen.”

EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH The early Christian Church soon embraced Amen.

Justin Martyr gives the first account of its use in a liturgical setting when the domestic church gathered for the Eucharist. The faithful joined in and assented to the prayers of the bishop with their 'Amen.'

The martyrdom of St Polycarp (155 AD) is a detailed and dramatic account. Both during his capture and at his martyrdom, the 86-year-old Turkish bishop was allowed by his executioners to pray (such was the esteem in which he was held!).

He was allowed to say his 'Amen' before his death: “I give you thanks that you count me worthy to be numbered among your martyrs, sharing the cup of Christ and the resurrection to eternal life… May I be received this day as an acceptable sacrifice…

To you, with him, through the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and forever. Amen.”

In the fourth century, St Jerome described the fervour of the Amen of the Roman church: "Where else can we see so fervid a concourse to the churches and the tombs of the martyrs? Where does the 'Amen' thus resound like the thunder of heaven, and shake the temples of the idols?"

The voice of the faithful in the liturgy was restored thanks to Vatican II. There are at least 11 Amens in the Mass, and two of them deserve particular attention. First, there is the Amen Justin Martyr would have recognised, what we call the 'Great Amen.' It concludes the Doxology at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer. Second, there is the Amen we say when receiving Communion.

The 'Great Amen' comes alive when we sing it.

A I U L ALLE The word Alleluia is so perfect in the original form that it has never been translated

Music has the power to elevate words beyond everyday experience. It is our response to the source and summit of the Eucharist, our participation in the truth that Christ is now present in the form of bread and wine; it is the Mystical Body joining together in one voice, saying, 'so be it,' 'it is true.' The doxology should be proclaimed with great joy and praise, and its Amen needs an equally resounding response. But we must mean it.

The Communion Amen is different in character.

It is a personal response to receiving the Lord. St Augustine's instructions are as relevant now as they were in the early church: "Believe what you see, see what you believe and become what you are: the Body of Christ. You are the body of Christ and its members. You say 'Amen' to what you are and in saying 'Amen' you subscribe to it. For you hear the words 'The body of Christ' and you answer 'Amen.'

Be members of the body of Christ then, so that your 'Amen' might be authentic."

We say Amen so frequently that it often loses its potency. It has become a throwaway word, its recitation lacklustre. Our lack of enthusiasm would mystify the early Christians. We would do well to regain some of the fervour they had and once again let the word resound like heavenly thunder.

ALLELUIA "A Christian must be an Alleluia from head to foot. " (St Augustine) The word Alleluia is so perfect in the original form that it has never been translated. It means 'Praise the Lord.' It exudes a sense of joy, delight, and exaltation.

We are recognising the goodness of God and telling

God how God is good.

In the Jewish tradition, Hellel (praise) and Yah (Yahweh) are used frequently in Psalms 113-118, which are known as the 'Hallel' psalms, and Psalm 136 is known as the 'Great Hellel.' Christ may have recited these on the night of the Last Supper as they formed part of the Passover ritual.

In the New Testament, Alleluia only appears in the Book of Revelation. The angels sing four dramatic Alleluias, which sound like the roar of a large crowd: "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honour and power belong to the Lord our God!" (Of course, it also inspired Handel to write the Hallelujah Chorus.)

It took a while for Alleluia to be used widely in the liturgy. It is the liturgical form of Hallelujah. It was first used in the liturgies of Jerusalem. Then Pope Damasus (d 384) included it as a regular part of the Mass. Originally it was part of the Easter Season, but Pope Gregory widened its use to the whole year. From that point, we have a rich history of its liturgical use and, in particular, its relationship with music.

Singing Alleluia became popular. St Jerome praised mothers who taught their babies to say Alleluia as their first word. Farmers, tradesmen and even Roman oarsmen sang it as they worked. St Augustine said, "Let Alleluia be our sweet rowing song!" Bishop Apollinaris (c390), a poet, said that the riverbanks and shores of Gaul resounded with the Alleluia song of the boatmen. Roman soldiers sang it as a battle song, and the Venerable Bede reported that Christian Bretons sang an Alleluia in their victory over the Picts and the Scots.

The tradition of omitting Alleluia during Lent

dates to the fifth century, although in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it is sung more often during this season. Orthodox prayers and liturgies for the dead also use Alleluia to beautiful effect: Deacon: Blessed are they whom Thou hast chosen and taken unto Thyself, O Lord.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Deacon: Their memory is from generation to generation.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Omitting the Alleluia during Lent is a powerful way of preserving its vitality.

(Maybe we should also refrain from Amen to revive its energy.) On Holy Saturday, along with the Paschal Light and Baptismal Water, Alleluia returns with a vibrancy and freshness that brings the liturgy alive. And that is precisely what it's supposed to do.

How amazing that one word can convey so much joy and exultation! Alleluia should always be the song of the people. In Dogma and Preaching, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote: "Singing indicates that the person is passing beyond the boundaries of the merely rational and falling into a kind of ecstasy; the merely rational he can express in ordinary language now singing finds its climactic form in the Alleluia, the song in which the very essence of all song achieves its purest embodiment.”

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

25

F R AT E LLI T UT TI

PIS THEE WAY ACE IN CHAPTER 7 OF FRATELLI TUTTI, POPE FRANCIS ARGUES THAT A FUTURE WITHOUT WAR DEPENDS ON THE FOUNDATION OF TRUTH COMBINED WITH JUSTICE AND MERCY

BY MICHAEL DALEY

It 26

should surprise no one to see a woman religious kneeling in prayer. To see one doing so in front of riot police, however, may come as a shock. Yet this is what Sister of St. Francis Xavier Ann Rosa Nu Tawng was pictured doing in Myanmar this past February and March. The images quickly gained international

attention and went viral.

In February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup arresting the country's top democratically elected representatives, including the nation's highest elected civilian and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. For weeks, pro-democracy protests followed in the majority

There is also a need for peacemakers, men and women prepared to work boldly and creatively to initiate processes of healing and renewed encounter REALITY OCTOBER 2021

Sr Ann Rosa Nu Tawng

Buddhist country. The junta's response was one of escalating violence – tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, physical force and, finally, live ammunition.

At one point, a crowd of protesters found themselves in front of the medical clinic where Sister Nu Tawng worked in Myitkyina, the

capital city in Myanmar's Kachin State. It was then, wearing her black veil and white habit, that Sr Nu Tawng placed herself between the junta's security forces and the protesters. Nonviolently engaging the police, she pleaded with them, "If you really need to kill, please just kill me here, I can give my life."

In response to the oppression that surrounds her, Sr Nu Tawng is determined to continue her protection of, as she calls them, "the children." Speaking to the press while calling for international assistance, she said, "I can't stand and watch without doing anything, seeing what's happening in front of my eyes while all Myanmar is grieving."

PATHS OF RENEWED ENCOUNTER As evidenced in Fratelli Tutti (Chapter 7), Pope Francis wholeheartedly agrees with Sister Nu Tawng: "In many parts of the world, there is a need for paths of peace to heal open wounds. There is also a need for peacemakers, men and women prepared to work boldly and creatively to initiate processes of healing and renewed encounter" (#225).

A quick scan of the globe sees numerous domestic (Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Venezuela) and international (Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Iran and United States, Russia and the West) conflicts.

According to Francis, resolution won't be found in empty diplomacy, dissimulation, double-speak, hidden agendas, and good manners. Those only mask reality.

The way forward – "to break this cycle which seems inescapable" – must be built on the foundation of truth combined with justice and mercy, and what Francis enigmatically calls "a penitential memory." Building on Francis' words, Emily Reimer-Barry, professor of Christian ethics at the University of San Diego, explains that "penitential memory" is "an honest recognition of how the past has shaped us and our communities, for better or worse. Pope Francis says we should not ignore the past; this is important,

especially as we come to better understand the long-term impacts of personal and generational trauma.

The caution here is that we are called to live in the present. So how can we accept the past, live in the present, and look with hope towards the future? The church has struggled to embrace this form of dialogue/ encounter because platitudes are easier. A dialogue rooted in mutual vulnerability takes hard work, and is especially risky for those in power."

The building of peace – its art and architecture – does not desire a society that is "blandly uniform."

Rather, Pope Francis welcomes a wide variety of proposals and diverse experiences which will lead to social unity. Here he stresses, "Working to overcome our divisions without losing our identity as individuals presumes that a basic sense of belonging is present in everyone" (#230). What is essential on the part of all is action and involvement or, as Francis has stated before, "dirty hands." This is captured well when he says, "Great changes are not produced behind desks or in offices" (#231).

In the midst of building social friendship, it is easy to focus energies and resources on reconnecting and re-engaging groups who at one time were at political, even violent, odds with one another. To this, Francis adds the necessary reminder that we must begin with the least; a renewed encounter must also listen to and include "the most impoverished and vulnerable sectors of society."

FORGIVE BUT DON'T FORGET History has witnessed and continues to see horrible acts of violence – the Shoah, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the slave trade, ethnic cleansings and persecutions. These past and

continuing wounds on the human family cry out for reconciliation.

Yet, justice demands memory – "forgetting is never the answer." Pope Francis challenges us to admit that "silence can lead to complicity in grave misdeeds and sins. Authentic dialogue does not flee from conflict, but is achieved in conflict, resolving it through dialogue and open, honest and patient negotiation" (#244).

In this regard, Reimer-Barry remarks that "here Francis suggests a dialogical approach that begins by meeting people where they are, including in the messiness of real conflict. But he expects a kind of emotional maturity – that people can engage in difficult conversations and share grievances and pain without the situation deteriorating to violence. This is a very hopeful understanding of the human condition. He is emphasising listening, accompaniment, and solidarity as virtues of peacemakers in daily life."

As deflated and despairing as one may become in the face of historic and current injustice, Francis highlights not only "the need to remember the atrocities, but also all those who, amid such great inhumanity and corruption, retained their dignity and, with gestures small or large, chose the part of solidarity, forgiveness and fraternity. To remember goodness is also a healthy thing" (#249).

WAR AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT What at first glance appear to be solutions to acts of violence – capital punishment and war – Pope Francis emphasises "ultimately do no more than introduce new elements of destruction in the fabric of national and global society" (#255).

Concerning capital punishment, Francis draws on the teachings of his papal predecessors and extends it, stating that it is "inadmissible."

The reason being, despite whatever someone has done to another, all human beings possess an inalienable dignity, even the worst criminals.

As for war, Pope Francis calls it "not a ghost from the past but a constant threat" (#256). In light of ever more destructive weapons and technologies, Francis states powerfully, "We can no longer think of war as a solution, because its risks will probably always be greater than its supposed benefits. In view of this, it is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a 'just war.' Never again war" (#258).

Reimer-Barry perceptively notes that rather than speak of revising the Just War tradition, "Pope Francis invites readers to consider a rejection of war and an approach to peacemaking as a more authentic Christian approach to the moral life.

As a Christian who is also a citizen of the world's dominant economic and military superpower [America], I must ask myself how I am complicit in the baptising of militarism. This section may seem quite radical but when we see how war intersects with other issue – care for refugees, care for the environment, trauma of PTSD and the cycle of violence – we can see how Francis has been building towards this statement."

Michael 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 (Apocryphal Press: Berkley, 2017.)

27

LESSONS FROM THE POOR 28

IT IS AN EYE-OPENER TO CROSS THE DOORWAYS OF THE POOR AND SENSE, EVEN FLEETINGLY, THE ABASEMENT WITHIN

BY COLM MEANEY CSsR

I

sometimes reflect that, whatever benefit people experience through my presence in their lives, I often meet people of exceptional humanity suffused with Christian greatness. Setoy became blind as an infant when he was not treated promptly enough after contracting measles. Now in his mid-20s, he is the guitarist in one of the mountain villages, playing at their weekly worship (led by a layman). When I visited there, we had a prayer meeting each night in a different house.

Setoy would make his way from his home unaided, even crossing a river, because the pathways are familiar to him. But going to the houses for our nightly prayer meeting along unfamiliar paths, he would sling his guitar over his shoulder and with his right hand on the shoulder of Matt, the layman, he would make his way to the house, barefoot. Upon arrival, all he needed was water to wash away the REALITY OCTOBER 2021

carabao dung and mud he splashed through en route. I've seldom met a person not only so content with his lot in life but so positively light-hearted.

Setoy was absolutely dependable during my short stay there. He would hear a new tune twice and could accompany on the guitar effortlessly. After three or four listens, he would memorise the lyrics.

Each evening we'd gather in a house and, as there was no electricity, would light up the Manila paper lyrics of the hymns with our rechargeable flashlights.

With a fitting combination of solemnity and relaxed humour, we would worship the God of life and strengthen the bonds of faith among us.

In a neighbouring mountain village, I visited a house that was more like a 'hovel of unhappiness.'

Those scare quotes are not an exaggeration, but any unhappiness in the place is my interpretation,

not the family's testimony. This was misery incarnated, although, as I say, any discontent is my own perception. From my brief visit, the family seems to be 'coping' mightily. The parents are in their mid-50s (I'd guess). The father was taciturn, and I was correct in my private prediction that I wouldn't be seeing him later that evening at our gathering. But the mother was more effusive. She had lost three infant children, and (if I understood correctly), a married child of hers who had fallen down a step soon after giving birth and had been killed along with her child. The mother also had a son, about 20, who lay behind a curtain. He was severely handicapped, physically and mentally.

Another married daughter said she wouldn't be able to attend the meeting as she had an aching foot. That evening we gathered at 7 p.m. outside the house (due to the crowd). We projected the songs onto the house wall, using a bed-sheet as a screen.

All worked perfectly. Anyway, our gospel story that night was the Lord's healing of the paralytic who had been lowered through the roof. A few people shared. Then I gave my 'few words.' In the course of my sharing, I mentioned that this gospel's healing was somehow miraculous, but what about those who look after the long-term sick or terminally ill? I

asked if the mother I had visited earlier was present (I couldn't see clearly in the dark). She was, and so I spoke directly to her. I said that the (long-term) care of the sick is a Christ-like action, citing Matthew 25.

I'm almost sure I saw some kind of recognition in her face. At least, I hope I did. Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, "This seeing the sick endears them to us, us too it endears” ('Felix Randal'). I often find the anointing of the sick to be a very moving occasion.

It is a time when those concerned (the sick person, the family, etc) are truly present, where their hopes and fears are tightly concentrated in this simple, poignant sacrament.

That particular house was dreadfully inadequate, yet the family was coping. There is no serious poverty or widespread indigence in the hills of Jimalalud, but there is nothing that you would call 'wealth' or 'magnificence' either. Through hard work and good fortune, the family makes ends meet and enjoys the occasional luxury. Not 'luxury' as we understand the term, of course, but nonetheless an extravagance for them, according to their place in society's range from pauper to prince. If your regular fare is dried fish, then fresh fish is something of a treat! Their lives have a bareness and simplicity. They just don't seem to have the interest, and certainly

not the wherewithal, to accumulate possessions.

But in the cities, pockets of squalor are not difficult to find. I was exposed to them during the parish missions in Cebu and Mandaue: people living on next to nothing, trying to make do in a squalorspace where you couldn't swing a cat, let alone a kitten. I think it's this experience of such lack, this passing acquaintance with such deprivation and need that gives me a horror of waste. When I see food wasted, when I see money being spent recklessly, when I see animals being treated better than humans, my reaction is almost visceral.

Enclaves of destitution are not far from any of our monasteries, and it is surely an education and an eye-opener to walk along the pathway and cross the threshold and touch and sense, even fleetingly, the abasement.

"Here is your footstool and there rest your feet where live the poorest, and lowliest, and lost.

When I try to bow to you, my obeisance cannot reach down to the depth where your feet rest among the poorest, lowliest, and lost.

Pride can never approach to where you walk in the clothes of the humble among the poorest, and lowliest, and lost.

My heart can never find its way to where you keep company with the companionless among the poorest, the lowliest, and the lost" (Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali #10).

2013 was the bi-centenary of Blessed Frederic Ozanam, founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, whose members are resolved to giving personal service "to God in the persons of the poor, whom they are to visit at their own dwellings and assist by every means in their power." Ozanam said, "Ten times a day a sister will visit the poor, ten times a day she will find God there" and "knowledge of the poor is not to be obtained from books or studies, but by visiting him in his upstairs garret in coldness."

A native of Limerick city, Fr Colm Meaney first went to the Philippines as a student and has spent most of his priestly life there.

29

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COM M E N T FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS CARMEL WYNNE

WHEN FEELINGS OF LOVE WEAR OFF

CONFLICT IS INEVITABLE WHEN TWO PEOPLE LIVE TOGETHER

It’s

said that the search for romantic love and the perfect relationship has filled the space where religion used to be. We live in a secular society.

Fewer couples who marry opt for a church wedding. Couples getting married today are more likely to have the wedding and reception in the same venue.

It's not uncommon for people to co-habit, to live together for a trial period to see if they are compatible before they consider getting married. The belief that it is easy to move on from a couple relationship that doesn't work out is a fallacy.

Nobody walks away unscarred when a couple relationship ends.

Whether it's a bad marriage that lasted decades or a student romance that ended before graduation, break-ups are painful. The perception that people move on with their lives and find other loves needs to be challenged.

It is not unusual for young adults to have more than one long-term monogamous relationship before they feel ready to get married. Statistics from the CSO (Central Statistics Office) in Ireland show that the average man is 36.8 years old when getting married while the average woman is 34.1 years old.

The age is higher for same-sex marriage.

Studies show that couples who marry from their late 20s onwards have a better chance of making the marriage work. With

maturity, people recognise how easy it is to believe they are in love when, in reality, they are experiencing a passing physical attraction, which they mistake for true love.

Two people can see each other across a crowded room and fall instantly in love at any age. By its very nature, the belief that you have found your soulmate generates very powerful and real emotions. In that magical moment of instant attraction, there is a dramatic intuitive knowing. Fate has intervened.

This is going to be 'the one,' the soulmate of your dreams.

Being newly in love is a blissful experience. Nearly always, there is a strong element of fantasy involved. Those who believe in the myth of romantic love are more likely to fall in love at first sight. Someone who is in love is completely besotted by the other person, experiencing an intoxicating, exclusive and exciting oneness.

These exhilarating feelings are temporary, lose their intensity and inevitably fade.

Teenagers who fall passionately in love for the first time believe this is 'the real thing.' 'In love' feelings are incredibly intense.

Usually, first romances don't last but dealing with the heartbreak when a relationship ends is an important life lesson.

A break-up is inevitable when the couple has differences of opinion and either person discovers that their beloved cannot give them what they

want, value and need in a couple relationship. It's amazing how quickly the wonderful explosion of excitement and exhilaration can burn itself out like a magnificent firework.

As soon as the 'in love' feelings wear off, the bliss of being in love wanes. Once the romantic energy is lost, disillusionment sets in, and the couple must decide how committed they are to making the relationship work. To remain in a happy, fulfilling, committed relationship with another person is challenging and demands a lot of hard work. Marriages are probably the toughest and most rewarding of all relationships to keep emotionally healthy, happy and mutually satisfying.

Happiness in a relationship does not depend on harmony.

Conflict is inevitable when two people live together. Rows have the potential to either strengthen the relationship or end it. 'Partner' is the word journalists use when they don't want to specify whether they are talking about a couple who is married or living together. It's a fitting word for the creative developing partnership that keeps a marriage vibrant and alive.

There is a widespread belief that living together before marriage will show whether two people will be compatible and enjoy deeper intimacy after marriage, but this isn't necessarily so.

Some people need to be in a relationship so much that

they are hardly ever not in one.

Serial monogamy is the practice of having one exclusive sexual relationship after another. Many serial monogamists start each new relationship optimistically with great expectations of how their partner is or will be. When the partner doesn't measure up, they gradually lose their attraction and liking, fall out of love and set out to find someone more handsome, beautiful or sexy, only to meet disappointment again.

Romantic energy wanes, and problems, differences and disagreements arise in every couple relationship. The legacy of pain, heartache and emotional damage after a passionate relationship ends always leaves a scar.

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

31

FE AT U R E

A delicate balancing act

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

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AFTER 1916, THE CHURCH CONSISTENTLY OPPOSED POLITICAL VIOLENCE BUT NOT THE GOAL OF IRISH INDEPENDENCE

BY DR DAITHÍ Ó CORRÁIN

The

Catholic clergy and their episcopal leaders were not immune from the radicalisation of political opinion between the 1916 Rising and the 1918 general election, which saw home rule jettisoned in favour of a popular demand for an Irish republic.

Championed by Sinn Féin, that goal was pursued politically and militarily during the War of Independence. An underground counterstate in the form of Dáil Éireann challenged British rule and claimed public allegiance. At the same time, the IRA engaged in guerrilla warfare, principally against the overwhelmingly Catholic Royal Irish Constabulary. Responding to these developments posed a dilemma for the institutional church, which traditionally abjured political violence and respected the authority of the legally constituted government. The bishops and clergy were nationalist and supported Irish self-government, but during the 1916-21 period,

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there was a variety of political stances among them. Some retained their loyalty to the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) and home rule and were never reconciled to the separatism of Sinn Féin. Believing a republic unobtainable, Cardinal Michael Logue, Archbishop of Armagh, favoured dominion status. Others travelled at different speeds towards Sinn Féin. After 1916, the church consistently opposed political violence but not the goal of Irish independence. This required considerable political dexterity, not to mention moral and theological ambiguity on the matter of rebellion. Bishops and clergy were sensitive to the shifting political landscape, the transformation of public opinion occasioned by coercive British policy, and a paramount desire not to alienate the laity.

A further preoccupation for the church, particularly in Ulster, was the spectre of partition and the danger this posed to Catholic education

in the north-east. This was ever-present during the third home rule crisis of 1912-14, but after 1916 it contributed directly to a breach between church figures and the IPP. A tipping point was reached with Lloyd George's ill-fated attempt in the summer of 1916 to introduce a home rule settlement based on partition. All of the northern bishops, with the exception of Patrick O'Donnell of Raphoe, a confidante of the IPP leadership and a party trustee, publicly disavowed the proposals.

Famously, Cardinal Logue declared that it would be "infinitely better to remain as we are for fifty years to come under English rule than to accept these proposals."

APPEAL AGAINST PARTITION Loss of confidence in the IPP and a growing distaste for home rule did not translate into automatic or swift clerical support for Sinn Féin. Over an 18-month period from early

1917, the new party was transformed from a loose coalition into the dominant political force.

Many churchmen were initially uncertain and remained aloof. Significantly, Archbishop William J. Walsh of Dublin, the preeminent prelate, did not. Neither did junior clergy who actively participated in a series of by-election contests in 1917. Walsh was cautiously supportive of Sinn Féin moderates, many of whom were staunch Catholics.

In May 1917, an appeal against partition was organised by Bishop Charles McHugh of Derry and signed by 16 Catholic (including Walsh) and three Church of Ireland bishops. This coincided with the South Longford by-election campaign, during which Walsh made a spectacular intervention when he suggested in a letter to the press that those not alive to the dangers of partition were "living in a fool's paradise" and added his belief that "the country is practically sold." The timing of the letter had the effect of linking the partition issue to the Sinn Féin cause and contributed to Joe McGuinness' narrow victory. This was followed by a victory in East Clare for a largely unknown senior surviving Irish Volunteer and political novice named Éamon de Valera. His campaign was aided immeasurably by the endorsement of Bishop Michael Fogarty of Killaloe and the majority of younger clergy in that diocese. In September 1917, Fogarty celebrated the funeral Mass for republican hunger-striker Thomas Ashe and bestowed on him the status of martyr. The Irish Catholic Directory noted that a large body of priests marched in the funeral procession behind the honour guard of Irish Volunteers. Fogarty, Walsh, and the late Bishop Edward O'Dwyer of Limerick represented one end of the political spectrum. At the opposite end were prelates such as Patrick Foley of Kildare and Leighlin, who, following Ashe's funeral, warned adherents of Sinn Féin that "rebellion … was absolutely unjustifiable from the point of view of Divine Law." CONSCRIPTION PROTEST The massive protest campaign against conscription in April 1918 witnessed the alignment of church and majority nationalist opinion. The hierarchy issued a statement declaring conscription "against the will of the Irish nation" and calling on Catholics

to resist "by all means that are consonant with the law of God." An anti-conscription pledge was taken after Mass on April 21, 1918, and clergy were actively involved in raising an anticonscription fund of which Archbishop Walsh was a trustee. The wholehearted involvement of the church prevented widespread disorder, but, as the authorities quickly realised, the clericalnationalist collaboration ended any prospect of conscription being applied in Ireland.

Sinn Féin took the credit for averting conscription. Its network of branches developed rapidly in advance of the 1918 general election.

Priests regularly chaired Sinn Féin public meetings and sat on local constituency executives. Others were prominently involved at a national level.

Fr Tomas Wall, one of the two priests at the centre of the post-Rising duel between Bishop O'Dwyer and General Sir John Maxwell, was a member of the Sinn Féin national executive. Fr Michael O'Flanagan was a vice-president and key propagandist. His clerical status contributed to his renown, but his political activism led to a number of suspensions by his bishop.

GENERATIONAL DIVIDE While there were exceptions, a generational divide was evident, with parish priests tending to support the IPP but younger clergy more inclined towards Sinn Féin. The archdiocese of Dublin offered a fascinating perspective on the differing stances within the hierarchy. Bishops Brownrigg of Ossory, Codd of Ferns and Foley of Kildare and Leighlin published letters in support of the IPP. The latter had "no faith in Sinn Féinism as a policy nor in abstention from parliament as a means of political salvation." Walsh differed from his suffragan bishops and openly backed Sinn Féin, which swept to victory on the promise of establishing a parliament in Dublin, abstaining from Westminster, and bringing the case of Ireland to the Versailles Peace Conference.

Ireland was not suddenly plunged into warfare.

For two years before 1919, there had been a steady increase in drilling, arms raids, and defiance of the authorities. The shooting of two Catholic policemen on January 21, 1919 in Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary, caused outrage. The

archbishop of Cashel denounced the shootings as cold-blooded murder, while a local curate suggested that to invoke the name of patriotism to cover such a deed was to desecrate that sacred name. The coincidence of Soloheadbeg with the meeting of the first Dáil cemented its place, in retrospect at least, as the opening scene of the War of Independence. In the escalating campaign to come, that clerical condemnation did not dissuade the IRA. FEARFUL During the War of Independence, the hierarchy feared lending moral sanction to either side in the deepening conflict. In their public statements, the bishops stopped short of formally recognising the Dáil while affirming the right of Irish people to selfdetermination. The attendance of most of the hierarchy at a reception in the Irish College in Rome in May 1920, hosted by Seán T. O'Kelly, to mark the beatification of Oliver Plunkett, was widely interpreted as semiformal recognition of O'Kelly's position as representative of the Irish Republic. Some prelates made clear their support for the Dáil. Fogarty, for example, acted as a trustee of the Dáil loan, while at a parish level, many priests acted as collectors.

Steadily, the scale of violence increased: 18 policemen were killed in 1919 but 22 in the first four months of 1920 alone and

After 1916, the church consistently opposed political violence but not the goal of Irish independence almost 200 by the end of that year. No statement was issued on the state of the country by the hierarchy at its meeting in October 1919. By January 1920, however, its position was more settled. On January 27, the bishops denounced violence, blamed failed British policy for the disturbed state of the country, and called for an undivided Ireland to be allowed to choose its own form of government. The British government viewed its Irish problem as a policing one.

When sufficient police recruits could not be found in Ireland, unemployed veterans

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of the First World War were deployed to form the infamous Black and Tans and the Auxiliary Division, which was recruited from former officers. They neither looked nor acted like policemen and quickly alienated Irish and later British public opinion on account of their ill-discipline, drunkenness, indiscriminate shooting, brutality, and casual violence.

BRUTAL PHASE The War of Independence entered a more brutal phase after the implementation of the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act in August 1920. An unofficial system of reprisals was tolerated in response to IRA attacks.

Homes and businesses were burned or looted; parochial houses, seminaries, and religious houses were attacked, including the home of Bishop Fogarty in Ennis; beatings and mock executions became commonplace, as did extra judicial killings. While bishops and clergy condemned republican violence,

there was an increasing emphasis on the excesses of the Crown forces and the terror this engendered. This was evident in a joint pastoral in October 1920, which counselled self-restraint among Irish Catholics.

The killing of priests during the War of Independence was rare, but the impact of the deaths of three clerics in 1920/21 at the hands of the Crown forces was profound.

The murder of Fr Michael Griffin in Galway in mid-November 1920 stands out for its gruesomeness and for the universal outrage that it occasioned. The killing generated headlines at home and abroad. It epitomised the breakdown of law and order. In midDecember 1920, Canon Thomas Magner, parish priest of Dunmanway in Cork, was shot on the roadside by a member of the Auxiliary Division who was later deemed insane. In May 1921, Fr James O'Callaghan was fatally wounded during a raid on the home of Liam de Róiste TD, where he rented rooms. Many nationalists concluded that if

priests were not safe, then no one was.

During 1920 and 1921, episcopal statements addressed the Government of Ireland Act, which made partition and a Northern Ireland government a reality.

Bishop McHugh deemed it a "perpetual Coercion Act." Widespread inter-communal violence, particularly in Belfast, led the hierarchy in April 1921 to rank the rule of the Northern government "more nearly with the government of the Turk in his worst days than with anything to be found anywhere in a Christian state." Joseph MacRory, bishop of Down and Connor, helped instigate the Belfast boycott to hurt unionists financially and economically and thereby compel them to re-admit expelled Catholic workers. It failed completely. MacRory was in the invidious position of seeking to end sectarian violence while at the same time being unwilling to give formal recognition to the Northern Ireland government.

In December 1920, the Tablet demanded

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The 'Black and Tans'

35 that Cardinal Logue excommunicate members of Sinn Féin and those who associated with it. Only Bishop Daniel Cohalan of Cork took such an unpopular and ineffectual step against the IRA in his diocese.

Yet, the same bishop presided at the funeral of Terence MacSwiney in October 1920 after his death on hunger strike in Brixton Prison.

In his February 1921 Lenten pastoral, Cohalan sought to refute theological justifications for the IRA campaign. His brother bishops were more circumspect. They condemned the reprisals of the Crown forces while supporting the people, in the words of Bishop Coyne of Elphin, "in their desperate attempt to recover their political rights as a nation."

DAILY CHALLENGES In a brilliant study of parish clergy during the War of Independence, Brian Heffernan has captured in vivid detail the daily challenges that they faced. The majority of priests of a republican disposition supported Sinn Féin rather than the IRA. Some clergy served

as judges in the Sinn Féin or Dáil courts, a key aspect of the Dáil counter-state, and proved a useful means of bolstering Sinn Féin propaganda around reprisals by the Crown forces. Heffernan lists 61 priests who gave material support to the IRA. Others provided spiritual assistance in the form of hearing the confessions of IRA men or celebrating Mass, and in effect ignoring the direction of their bishops. Dr Michael Louis Henry, a former World War I chaplain and curate at Curry in Sligo, was a rare exception. He supported the IRA in the Tubbercurry area in Sligo spiritually and with advice on military matters; he was believed to have taken part in at least one ambush. As Heffernan demonstrates, the majority of clergy tried to avoid involvement in the War of Independence.

At the end of 1920, Archbishop Thomas Gilmartin of Tuam lamented bitterly that instead of peace, there was war, murder, and reprisals; instead of order, there was disorder, vengeance and destruction; instead of content, there was grave fear, insecurity and heartbreak. This was even more apparent

during 1921 until a truce brought the War of Independence to an end in July. The cessation of violence allowed a relieved Catholic hierarchy to bestow moral sanction on Sinn Féin as the representatives of Catholic Ireland. This was a pragmatic move ahead of peace negotiations. Unsurprisingly, the bishops welcomed the Anglo-Irish Treaty and favoured its ratification. Even those closest to the republican movement backed it. In his Lenten pastoral in February 1922, Bishop Fogarty declared: "The terror is gone and with it the foreign power that held our country in destructive grip for seven hundred years.

It is gone and let us hope gone forever. Even though we have not achieved all that we should wish to reach, we have established this supreme thing at all events – Ireland is now the sovereign mistress of her own life."

Dr Daithí Ó Corráin teaches in the School of History and Geography, Dublin City University.

MISSION

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MISSION POSSIBLE WORLD MISSION SUNDAY 2021

MISSION SUNDAY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL TO SUPPORT MISSIONARIES' INCREDIBLE, LIFE-CHANGING WORK

BY JULIEANN MORAN WHAT IS WORLD MISSION SUNDAY? World Mission Sunday is the Holy Father's annual appeal to continue the life-giving work of overseas mission. Similar to the Good Friday collection for the Holy Land and Peter's Pence, it is one of three yearly universal church collections. It takes place in every single parish where the church is present. This includes not just Ireland and other Western countries but also parishes in the so-called developing world.

World Mission Sunday is far more than an appeal for financial help. Missionaries also need spiritual support. Being on mission can be incredibly isolating, intimidating and at times dangerous. On World Mission Sunday, REALITY OCTOBER 2021

missionaries take great strength in knowing that the faithful throughout the world are keeping them in their thoughts and prayers.

This is what makes it such a special day – it is a moment of universal solidarity when each member of the church family, regardless of location or background, can do their part to support and celebrate missionaries' incredible, life-changing impact.

WHY IS WORLD MISSION SUNDAY IMPORTANT? All offerings and donations made for World Mission Sunday become part of the Holy Father's Universal Solidarity Fund. This fund offers a lifeline for missionaries and

Sr Veronica Onyeanisi and Rahila Goodwin

the communities they serve across Africa, Asia and Latin America, where more than 1,100 mission dioceses are found. Often these young dioceses are in remote areas devastated by war and natural disasters or where suppressed communities are just opening up to the life-saving message of Jesus Christ. As they grow, so do their needs.

World Mission Sunday gives missionaries the financial and spiritual assistance they require to provide these communities with the skills and tools to develop and thrive.

WHAT DOES WORLD MISSION SUNDAY SUPPORT? The Holy Father's Universal Solidarity Fund allows missionaries to continue to go where others fear to tread to serve some of the world's most marginalised people.

Missionaries like Sr Veronica Onyeanisi, a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA), and people like Rahila Goodwin.

After an attack on her village in Nigeria, Rahila thought she would never see her little daughter Peace smile again. Rahilia survived the attack but with horrific injuries and emotional scars that will last a lifetime. She lost part of her arm. Her daughter Peace lost her laughter.

Rahila sought help from Sr Veronica, who is involved with the 'Mothers for Peace' initiative in Kaduna, north-western Nigeria. 'Mothers for Peace' provide more than just practical help for victims like Rahila. They also offer psychological support to help overcome trauma. Sr Veronica organised safe shelter and a prosthetic arm for Rahila. With her support and encouragement, Rahila set up a stall where she now earns a small income. Today Peace goes to school to learn and play with other children. Rahila is filled with joy because her little girl's laughter has returned.

Rahila is just one of endless others who suffer horrific atrocities due to violence and conflict.

Thankfully, missionaries like Sr Veronica mean that they have somewhere to turn.

WHO ORGANISES WORLD MISSION SUNDAY? Missio Ireland coordinates World Mission Sunday on behalf of the church in Ireland. You

may be familiar with Missio Ireland under its previous name 'The Pontifical Mission Societies.'

It is the Holy Father's official charity for overseas mission, and is part of a global network serving the church in more than 120 countries. Through the generosity of ordinary people, they can continue to support overseas missionaries while also helping the faithful in Ireland understand and respond to the call of mission.

WHEN IS WORLD MISSION SUNDAY? World Mission Sunday always falls on the second last Sunday in October, meaning it is celebrated this year over the weekend of October 24, 2021.

This year's theme, 'We Cannot Remain Silent – We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard' (Acts 4:20), is twofold.

It is a message of hope: Jesus Christ is risen, and we cannot keep his compassion, love and mercy to ourselves. It also challenges us to stand up and speak out on behalf of those whose voices are too small to be heard. Jesus needs willing hearts that will go to places where others may fear to tread.

But this isn't the sole responsibility of overseas missionaries. Each of us has the potential to be champions for those who are weaker. We cannot remain silent.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Last year, health guidelines meant that congregations could not meet to celebrate Mass on World Mission Sunday. A repetition of this situation in 2021 would have a devastating impact on the collection for a second year in a row.

However, if the plea of our overseas missionaries resonates with you, you can still help: Please remember that World Mission Sunday is more than an appeal for financial support. If you're not in a position to give financially, you can still help by keeping missionaries in your prayers and by bringing the meaning of World Mission Sunday to others. You can make a donation by calling Fiona on 01 497 2035 or online at www.missio.ie You can also donate €4 by texting the word MISSION to 50300 (Missio Ireland will receive a minimum of €3.60. Service provider Like Charity. Helpline 076 680 5278. Republic of Ireland only)

37 Julieann Moran is national secretary of the Society of Missionary Children, World Missions Ireland, 64 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin, DO6 N2H1

SAI N T H O O D

The Legend of a Saint THE STORY OF GERARD MAJELLA

IN THE YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH IN OCTOBER 1755, THE LEGEND OF GERARD MAJELLA DISPLACED THE LIFE STORY OF A YOUNG MAN WHO WAS SHAPED BY THE RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL WORLD IN WHICH HE LIVED. IT WOULD BE SOME TIME BEFORE IT BECAME POSSIBLE TO PUT GERARD BACK INTO THAT WORLD AGAIN, TO SEE HIM AGAINST ITS BACKGROUND OF POVERTY, PIETY AND FAITH

BY BRENDAN McCONVERY CSsR 38 It

was more than half a century after Gerard's death before the first printed account of his life appeared. Not that he had been forgotten for those 56 years. Indeed, within a few months of his death, Fr Gaspar Caione had put together an outline of Gerard's life, noting the things he wanted to check up on or develop in greater detail. He worked on it for another ten years or so, for a longer work was incorporated into the manuscript of another Redemptorist, Fr Giuseppe Landi.

Fr Landi was writing a history of the Redemptorists and dedicated chapter 42 to Gerard. This book was never published, but the manuscript was probably completed about 1783.

It was left to a third Redemptorist, Antonio Tannoia, to prepare Gerard's story for publication. He tells us he did it in thanksgiving for recovery from a severe illness, which he believed was due to Gerard's prayers. Tannoia took Caione's and Landi's manuscripts as his

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primary sources and expanded on them by talking to others who had known Gerard during his lifetime.

Unfortunately, Fr Tannoia died before his book was published.

The Life of the Servant of God, Gerard Majella, Lay Brother of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer finally appeared in 1811. The superior general of the Redemptorists, Peter Paul Blasucci, had ordered that it be published without further delay. Peter Paul's older brother, Dominic, who had died at 19, had been a close friend of Gerard's. The Blasucci boys were natives of Muro, Gerard's home town. Besides, a piece of folklore was circulating among the Redemptorists that Gerard had predicted that Peter Paul would one day be the superior general.

Gerard had died with the reputation of a saint. Yet 88 years were to pass before the process of collecting the evidence for his beatification would begin. There are several reasons for this. While Gerard

was probably more popular among the ordinary people than Alphonsus, it was considered more appropriate to start with the canonisation of the founder. Alphonsus had died in 1787. His cause began within a few months of his death but was delayed by the widespread unrest throughout Europe after the French Revolution. He was declared blessed in 1816 and a saint in 1839. The way for Gerard's cause for canonisation was now clear, and it was introduced in 1843.

COMPLEX LEGAL PROCESS A cause for canonisation is a complex legal process that seeks to establish that a person's reputation for holiness is well-founded and that they have practised virtue to a heroic degree. It is carried out in the places where the candidate lived. It begins with a close examination by theologians of everything that they wrote. In Gerard's case, this didn't amount to very much.

The next stage was taking evidence

from those who knew the candidate during their lifetime. By the time the process for Gerard's canonisation began, most of those who knew him were dead. The majority of witnesses were passing on what they had heard from others who had known him – a grandmother, an uncle, the older sisters in a convent.

More difficult still was the weighing of claims of having received miracles through Gerard's intercession. The first stage in Gerard's cause closed almost 50 years later with his beatification by Pope Leo XIII in 1893. His canonisation followed in 1904.

The word 'legend' comes from a Latin word meaning 'something that is read.' It was applied originally to

response to Gerard Majella's prayers during his lifetime and in response to prayers addressed to God through his intercession after his death.

The official way the story of the saint is transmitted is through the preached word. Preachers are not the only transmitters of the stories of the saints. They are passed on also by their devotees, by those who have a story to tell of how such a saint helped them 'when they were sick,' as Chaucer's pilgrims tell of St Thomas à Becket. Young mothers today (and young fathers) probably learn about Gerard Majella through their mothers and grandmothers, their aunts and their sisters.

the lives of saints that were to be read in the divine office of the church for the edification of the faithful. In time, the legends tended to adopt certain common features.

The most important of these was to show how the saint had been a perfect disciple by following the way Jesus had mapped out for his followers in the Gospel. A saint was someone who had practised love of God and neighbour to a high degree. Including miracle stories was a way of proving that the candidate for canonisation was someone approved by God and who continued, even after death, to pray for the faithful.

There is little doubt that unaccountable things happened in

WORD OF MOUTH Passing on the story of a saint by word of mouth happens especially in a society where few people can read or write. This was the case in Gerard's rural Italy. Stories passed on by word of mouth usually contain few details one might expect to find in a newspaper or a book.

Storytellers are not very interested in exact dates or places. A modern Redemptorist historian, Fr Francisco Chiovaro, who has taken an interest in St Gerard, reminds us that the process to gather the evidence for Gerard's canonisation lasted almost 13 years. Gerard's devotees were avidly interested in its outcome.

Many volunteered to give testimony, but, as one of the leading officials (the so-called 'devil's advocate') remarked, none contributed much by way of eyewitness testimony to the events they were describing.

What they were testifying to was how deeply the story of Gerard Majella had entered into the soul and the imagination of ordinary people.

Striking, too, Chiovaro continues, was the social makeup of the

witnesses. As might be expected, clergy and Redemptorists came out in force to give evidence but the number of women, religious and lay, who did so also was striking, as was the number of people from the lower middle-classes, from the trades and the farming community. Chiovaro concludes that Gerard would seem, above all, to be the saint of nuns and women in general, of small farmers, country folk and tradespeople. This would confirm what we know already from the main lines of his life – and people like these remained the first beneficiaries of his miracles. Many of Gerard's miracles are about the things that bring grief to such people – controlling an infestation of mice or rats, stopping wine from going bad in the cask, recovery from illness, and especially protection in a difficult childbirth.

When we try to write the life of Gerard, the dates for things only become relatively clear once he entered the Redemptorist order. It

for example, the people of one place or another may claim its glory for themselves. Some accounts of Gerard going into ecstasy are associated with certain places, but did they always happen there?

Or could the same story be told in several places as though it had happened 'over there' or 'in the church nearby'?

It is also true that the same story can be told about different saints.

If one saint can be in two places at once, then it seems almost to be a rule that so can every other saint.

There are a few examples of this in St Gerard's life. Fr Tannoia says he heard it said that Gerard was seen one day in Muro. He was also seen in ecstasy before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel of the Franciscans in Caposele, although on neither occasion had Gerard left Materdomini. Unfortunately, Fr Tannoia doesn't say who saw him in these places, so the evidence isn't convincing.

The process to gather the evidence for Gerard's canonisation lasted almost 13 years isn't hard to see why. In a religious congregation, certain things need to be recorded – the dates when new members enter, receive the religious habit and make their profession.

Before that, it is hard to track down specific facts of Gerard's life with any precision. When did his father die? How long did he attend school?

When did he enter the bishop's service? Much of that is vague, and the best we can do is guess. But for Gerard's Redemptorist years – 1749 to 1755 – we are on firmer ground.

It is the same with places. When an edifying story is told of a saint,

CLOSE EXAMINATION One of Gerard's modern b i o gr ap hers , the It alian Redemptorist Fr Nicola Ferrante, has closely examined many of the stories about Gerard.

Sometimes, for example, the same story might be told in several versions of his life, but it can grow in the telling. Here is one example. Gerard was travelling one day when he came across a crowd of people dragging a large log to build a new church. Fr Caione gives us the earliest version of the story,

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St Gerard's hometown, Muro

40

written just a few months after Gerard's death. Despite being weakened by the onset of his final illness, Gerard helped drag the beam until they reached the church. Fr Caione's point was that Gerard was always willing to do something for the glory of God, no matter how poorly he felt.

The second version gives more attention to the details. It stresses the size of the beam and the impression Gerard made on the people by the energy he put into the operation. By the time we reach Fr Tannoia's account 50 years later, we begin to find the miraculous. Now there is not one beam but several. Gerard selected the largest one that even the oxen couldn't move, tied a rope around it and dragged it to the church as if it were a wisp of straw. A witness at the beatification process, an old man of 90 who had heard the story through local folklore, claimed Gerard fastened his handkerchief to the largest of the beams and

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dragged it after him as though it were a stick. Which is the true account? Fr Caione was closest to the event. The elderly witness was probably telling a version that had been embellished by many retellings, an earlier form of which may have even reached the ears of Fr Tannoia.

One of the witnesses at the beatification process, Antonio di Cosimo, recounted many miracle stories about Gerard. Antonio had been a Redemptorist brother, then left the congregation and entered a Benedictine monastery. He seems to have had a vivid imagination. He claimed to be 89 years old, but, in reality, he was only 62. He told, for example, how during the pilgrimage to Monte Gargano, Gerard had cured the chaplain's mother and, like Peter's mother-in-law in the Gospel story, she rose immediately from her sickbed and waited on them. But there is no mention of the chaplain's mother in the earliest accounts

of the pilgrimage. Antonio would have known nothing about the pilgrimage first-hand as he only entered the Redemptorists half a century after it had taken place.

SAINTS, LEGENDS ... AND THE GOSPEL Around the time of Gerard's beatification and canonisation, and for many years after, his life story began to appear in all the main European languages, including English. Since the purpose of these lives was to increase devotion to Gerard, they tended to stress the miraculous, the heroic nature of his life of penance and the mystical quality of his prayer.

In the main, they drew on the life by Fr Tannoia and the stories about Gerard collected during his canonisation process. What was happening was that the legend of Gerard was displacing the life story of a young man who was shaped by the religious and social world in which he lived.

It would be some time before

it became possible to put him back into that world again, to see him against its background of poverty, piety and faith.

Something similar may have happened in the telling of the life of Jesus. The four Gospels came into existence about 40 or 50 years after the death and resurrection of the Lord. That did not mean the end of the writing of the Christian story.

Many other stories about Jesus came into existence. Some were specifically intended to shed light on the 'hidden years' of his childhood. The writers had little information to go on. Instead, they invented the details. If Jesus worked miracles during his public ministry, the reasoning went, then he must have done the same during the 'hidden years.'

Some of these unofficial lives still exist. All without exception stress the miraculous. There are, for example, stories of how Jesus and St Joseph stretched a piece of timber that was too short for the job they were doing.

On another occasion, Jesus fashioned clay into a row of little The legend of Gerard pulling a log

birds and, when he clapped his hands, they came to life and flew away! Another version of this story tells of a naughty little Jesus who struck one of his playmates dead for wrecking his little birds.

The irate parents complained to Mary and Joseph, and Jesus was forced to bring the boy back to life, something already familiar from the Gospel stories of raising the dead.

MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE GOSPEL It is easy to see how such stories emerged in early Christian folklore.

In one sense, they are intended to give edification and delight to children and simple people, but they are based on a misunderstanding of what the Gospel means by miracle.

Most Gospel miracles stories are

short. They stress God's compassion for the human condition. Abundant gifts of bread and wine, of fish, of sight or hearing restored, of release from demonic powers that bind and limit the human condition are all symbols of the abundance of the gift of eternal life and the plenty of the kingdom of God. Similar stories were told about Gerard, the tailor – how he stretched the cloth he was given to make a veil for a ciborium or for a habit for one of the brethren. There wasn't enough to make one veil or habit, but with prayer and a bit of stretching, Gerard managed to make two! His efforts to feed the poor during the winter famine of the year he died were remembered in the popular tradition of the Caposele region as gift miracles like the multiplication of the loaves in the Gospels. Did

it happen like that, or was Gerard simply one of those people whose trust in God's goodness will always find a way and whose kindness was profoundly Christ-like?

Telling miracle stories is not the purpose of the Gospel. At its heart is a narrative of redemption through the ministry and the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the same way, the lives of saints are not displays of miraculous power or of stupendous penance or the ability to rise above the earth in ecstasy while at prayer. The heart of the narrative of their life is how this man or woman of flesh and blood responded to the call to follow Jesus through self-forgetfulness and compassion for his or her brothers and sisters.

Trying to get back to the real Gerard doesn't mean ignoring any

of these aspects of his life, but it does mean putting them into context.

Gerard's prayer, for example, was probably at its most heartbreakingly intense when he had to live for weeks on end without the Eucharist, and he experienced the dark night of Gethsemane, rather than when his concentration on God came so naturally that he appeared wrapped in ecstasy. His imitation of the crucified Jesus was more real when he suffered false accusations in silence than when he scourged himself even to blood in imitation of the Lord scourged and crowned with thorns.

This is an extract from Saint Gerard Majella: Rediscovering a saint, by Fr Brendan McConvery CSsR, published by Redemptorist Communications.

Saint

Gerard Majella Rediscovering a Saint

Gerard Majella’s name is familiar to many Catholics. But sometimes those who pray through Gerard’s intercession know relatively little about him. Even the holy pictures of Gerard, either the larger ones that hung on the wall of so many homes or the smaller ones we slipped into our prayer books, did him no favours.

This book is an introduction to Gerard’s life, especially for those who might not be familiar with it.

Gerard was born and raised in a poor family in the South of Italy almost 300 years ago. He never travelled more than fifty miles from his home town; he wasn’t a famous theologian or writer or preacher; he died before he was thirty years old. But his outstanding holiness and love of people made this Redemptorist brother not only a saint of his time, but also very much a saint for our time too.

This book, by Fr Brendan McConvery CSsR, gets behind the man and the myth to offer a modern take on a saint for mothers, fathers and the rest of us.

Redemptorist Communications, St Joseph’s Monastery, Dundalk, Co. Louth A91 F3FC

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SOMALIA’S COVID CHALLENGE A SHORTAGE OF COVID-19 VACCINES AND VACCINE RESISTANCE IS THREATENING TO COLLAPSE SOMALIA'S FRAGILE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

BY DR ABDI TARI ALI

Less 42

than 1 per cent of Somalians have been vaccinated, but lessons can and should be learned from the polio eradication campaign. The vaccination rollout in Somalia is nowhere near European success rates – we have a limited supply.

There is also a growing vaccine resistance driven by misinformation and a lack of public awareness.

Wealthy nations struck deals with vaccine manufacturers, securing a disproportionately large share of early supply, leaving vulnerable nations like Somalia in a more precarious situation. This has undermined the ability of COVAX (the system which aims to provide innovative and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in the developing world) to distribute shots equitably and has widened the vaccination gap between Africa and other parts of the world.

Despite the challenges, COVAX has delivered more than 31 million doses to 46 countries in Africa. It aims to supply 520 million doses to the continent by the end of 2021. According to the African Union (AU), Somalia received 716,000 doses, but this is against a population of almost 16 million.

We need to borrow from lessons learned in mass vaccination campaigns such as the polio eradication campaign to make the rollout as effective as possible. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) estimates that vaccination efforts saved more than 1.5 million lives and prevented 16 million people from polio-induced paralysis. The success of

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the polio eradication campaign comes down to several key factors which can be adopted in Somalia's COVID-19 vaccination efforts for an effective outcome.

The polio eradication campaign had a large team of trained community and health workers (vaccinators) available to reach as many children as possible. There was also strong commitment and goodwill from the government, partners and health care workers throughout. The campaign integrated robust data systems and analysis, which supported more accurate, data-driven decision-making in response efforts.

The incorporation of a strong monitoring

network that reached urban and rural areas was geared towards first detecting acute flaccid paralysis in children, supported by testing to confirm diagnosis and identifying the target area for vaccination efforts.

WHAT BARRIERS ARE THERE TO MASS VACCINATIONS IN SOMALIA? One of our biggest challenges in Somalia is a limited supply of vaccines. We need more vaccines. We need support to ensure we have enough healthcare workers to strengthen our vaccination efforts. We need support to promote uptake of the vaccines amongst hesitant communities. Only 35 per cent

of our supply has been administered so far. Unfortunately, we haven't adequately dispelled misinformation on COVID-19 vaccination.

COVID-19 vaccines have a short shelf life and require ultra-cool storage. We don't have enough refrigerators to store our limited supply. Each vaccines dose is a chance to save a life, and we need to rebuild trust amongst our communities to inspire them to get vaccinated.

We need to develop a plan that decentralises our vaccination efforts. Most vaccinations are happening in urban areas and are not targeting populations in hardto-reach places. We need to end the control of vaccines by armed opposition groups.

Somali people living in areas controlled by armed opposition groups (AOGs) will have to choose between taking the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines or face the risk of defying AOGs directives.

The AU, through the African Vaccine

Acquisition Trust (AVAT), has signed an agreement to purchase 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine, with the potential to order an additional 180 million doses. It was hoped that around six million would be delivered this August, but funding to purchase doses through the AU facility remains a challenge for many countries like Somalia.

COVID-19 threatens to weaken the health care system further and exacerbate the effect of current crises, leading to more deaths and an increase in the number of people needing assistance. The most up-to-date figures here report a total of 16,103 daily cases of COVID-19. This, on top of the reduction in aid funding, threatens to exacerbate the humanitarian situation on the ground.

We are calling for a more equitable distribution of vaccines which we urgently need, and an increase in bilateral supply to African states to prevent inequalities that will effectively delay global recovery efforts.

HOW DID THE GLOBAL VACCINE ROLLOUT GO WRONG IN AFRICA? With most African governments unable to buy vaccines themselves, they have relied on GAVI, the global vaccine alliance behind COVAX, to deliver vaccines for various illnesses, including COVID-19.

However, wealthy nations secured a disproportionately large share of early supply.

This has undermined the ability of COVAX to distribute shots equitably.

COVAX also depended on the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine producer, for its supply. But, with soaring COVID-19 cases in India, vaccine exports were halted, disrupting COVAX efforts in 36 African countries.

For more information on Trocaire’s work, visit www.trocaire.org Dr Abdi Tari Ali is deputy country director and head of programmes for Trócaire in Somalia.

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Almost 300 years ago St Alphonsus Liguori published his Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, which became, and remains, a classic of devotional writing.

An Irish-language edition of Visits to the Blessed Sacrament for the 21st Century is offered in continuity with the spirit of that great work.

Translated from the English by Fr Clem McManus and with additional material, it contains 32 visits – reflections and prayers – that draw us ever deeper into the mystery of God and God’s love for humanity, plus an Irish-English glossary.

It is a wonderful companion for all Irish-speakers who take part in Eucharistic Devotion and for those who like to make the occasional visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Beautifully presented in full colour throughout, this is a devotional gem you will treasure for years

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CO M M E N T REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ

A LEFT-WING GOVERNMENT?

IF THE GOVERNMENT FAILS TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING CRISIS, THERE WILL BE A POLITICAL REVOLUTION IN IRELAND

For

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the first time in Irish history, we could see a left-wing government after the next election. The reason: housing. For the past 15 years or more, buying and renting a home has become unaffordable, and successive governments have been unable and unwilling to remedy the problem.

Housing experts agree that we need to build at least 35,000 homes every year just to keep up with the expanding population.

But, even before the pandemic, we were only building about 21,000 homes per year. So the gap between demand and supply is getting bigger every year – which is pushing up house prices beyond the reach of most people. As a result, many are forced, unwillingly, into the rental market. Again, the failure of successive governments to build social housing (in 1975, this country built 8,500 council houses, in 1985, we built 6,900, and in 2015 we built 75!) has forced many low-income households into having to rent, with the aid of the Housing Assistance Payment. This further increases the demand for renting and pushes up rents.

In desperation, the government introduced policies, such as the First Time Buyers subsidy and the Shared Equity Scheme, which help a small number of people to secure a mortgage, but which push up house prices even more, since they increase demand without increasing supply.

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WHO ARE THE WINNERS AND LOSERS IN THIS SYSTEM? THE WINNERS – OWNERS OF CAPITAL First, the large international investment funds. They love to see house prices going up; if they buy a house and sell it some years later, they increase their profits. And if they buy to rent, then, again, rising rents increase their profits. They have billions of euros available to invest, so they can easily outbid Irish people who have had to save for years to build up a deposit. The government sought to attract them to Ireland with a range of extremely generous tax exemptions. In May, we saw the consequences of that decision when they bought up the majority of houses in several housing estates for rental, thus reducing further the supply of houses for first-time buyers.

These investment funds now own over 15,500 residential properties in Ireland and consider Ireland one of the most attractive countries in which to invest.

Second, the banks. They benefit from rising house prices because if they sell 'distressed' mortgages to large international investment funds or repossess a house in mortgage arrears, they make more money. If there is conflict between the needs of banks and the needs of ordinary people struggling to pay a mortgage, government policy has always sided with the banks.

Th i rd , m o st l an d l o rds .

The huge demand for rental accommodation, far outstripping supply, has pushed rents to outrageous levels, leaving many people, even those on good salaries, in effective poverty, as they may pay 50-60 per cent, or even more, of their wages to the landlord.

As in other European countries, the government's reluctance to regulate the private rental market results in people having the worst of all worlds, high rents with little security of tenure.

THE LOSERS – LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME PEOPLE First, young Irish people who are forced to live with their parents because they cannot afford to buy, or who struggle to pay the rent, or who experience homelessness because they can neither afford to buy or rent.

Most of these young people will never own their own home, will be renting all their lives, living in constant fear of eviction. They have done everything asked of them. They studied hard, went to college, got a job but now find they may have to emigrate to have a decent life.

Second, parents of children who cannot leave the family home. At a time when they hoped to live a quiet life, they find their children (and sometimes their grandchildren!) still living with them.

Third, older people. Many of them are watching their life

savings slip away as they have to help their children with a deposit. As house prices rise, they have to put aside more and more money, sometimes at great sacrifice to themselves.

Unless the government changes sides, from supporting the owners of capital to supporting struggling homeowners and renters, the anger and frustration of a large section of Irish society could usher in a political revolution in Ireland.

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 WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER Some Pharisees question Jesus about divorce.

They probably know 27TH SUNDAY IN his position already ORDINARY TIME but want to show him up as opposing Jewish law, which allowed for divorce. If you read Deuteronomy 24:1-4, you will notice that Jewish law only permits a man to divorce his wife. It doesn’t permit a wife to divorce her husband. The law regulates divorce, but doesn’t state explicitly what the grounds for divorce actually are. It makes a vague reference to the man finding something “objectionable” about his wife. So it was that Jewish teachers argued over the precise grounds for a divorce.

Jesus is ready for the Pharisees. He asks them what Moses “commanded.” They reply that Moses “allowed” for divorce. So Jesus gets the

Pharisees to admit that divorce was allowed

by Moses, but not commanded by him. In simple terms, Moses had accepted that divorce was a fact of life and then regulated it to protect the woman’s rights. For Jesus, divorce is a concession that Moses tolerated due to the man’s “hardness of heart.” But the Kingdom of God is opposed to any hardness of heart.

Jesus then offers his teaching based on the original will of the Creator as found in Genesis. For Jesus, the law of Moses did nothing more than minimise the harm done to the wife in a hard-hearted process biased in favour of the husband. Against this, Jesus understands the marriage relationship as an indivisible relationship willed by God from the dawn of creation.

Later on, back in the house, he offers a private teaching to the disciples. He tells them that divorce and remarriage violate the commandment against adultery. Notice that

he refers also to a situation where a woman divorces her husband. This could not happen under the Jewish law, but could under Roman law, which operated in Mark’s day. This is Mark’s way of taking Jesus’ teaching and applying it to the changed context of the Christian community 40 years later.

Jesus’ teaching remains as demanding and countercultural today as it was in his own time. But in giving it, Jesus is showing that everything he has been teaching his disciples about the cross, service and discipleship is not just theoretical, but something that is required in one of the most fundamental of human relationships.

PUTTING GOD FIRST A man approaches Jesus, and asks him what he needs to do “to inherit eternal life.” It’s the wrong 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME question. The man believes he has to do something to enter God’s Kingdom and that Jesus will tell him what this is. Jesus doesn’t answer his question, but addresses it at a much deeper level. He tries to get the man to move away from thinking he has to do something to gain the Kingdom and to focus instead on God’s generosity.

Jesus lists some of the commandments.

Notice that they are all social commandments which deal with a person’s relationship with the neighbour. They are commandments the rich might be tempted to ignore. While the man has kept them all since his youth, he now wants to do something more. Mark tells us that, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” Jesus doesn’t love him because he has kept the commandments.

Rather Jesus loves him with a Godly love because

he is about to call him into a more intimate relationship with God. Jesus invites the man to go further. He calls on him to sell all he owns, give the money to the poor and follow him. Jesus invites him to let go of false security (his wealth) and trust himself to God’s total generosity. It’s an invitation to move beyond the Jewish law, with its emphasis on fulfilling commandments, to a life centred on relationship with Jesus. But the man is trapped by his wealth and he knows it. He cannot let it go, so he goes away “grieving.” Ensnared by his wealth, he lacks the freedom to choose Jesus and the Kingdom.

Jesus lets him go because he doesn’t coerce people into discipleship. Instead, he uses the event to point out that wealth creates huge difficulties to entering God’s Kingdom. The disciples are “perplexed” when they hear these words. They were brought up to believe that wealth was a sign of God’s favour. Now Jesus tells them it is an obstacle to God. Then he astounds them with his highly amusing image. A camel will get through the

eye of a needle more easily than a wealthy person can enter heaven! The disciples can only conclude that salvation is impossible. This allows Jesus to make his fundamental point. When the Kingdom of God is looked at from a human perspective, the whole thing seems impossible.

But nothing is impossible for God, since God will give to those who wish to enter the Kingdom everything that they need.

Peter reminds Jesus that the disciples have left everything to follow him. Jesus lists what they have left behind and then what they will receive back a hundredfold. Look carefully at the two lists. The word “father” occurs in the first list. It doesn’t occur in the second. As Jesus’ disciples, they now have a single Father: God. Notice too that Jesus adds “persecutions” to the second list. This would have struck a chord with Mark’s original readers who were suffering terrible persecution as followers of Jesus.

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Today’s Readings Gen 2:18-24; Ps 127; Heb 2:9-11; Mk 10:2-16

Today’s Readings Ws 7:7-11; Ps 89; Heb 4:12-13; Mk 10:17-30

God’s Word continues on page 46

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GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH OCTOBER

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29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

SERVANT LEADER Today’s Gospel ends with one of the most important statements in the whole of Mark. Pay particular attention to verse 10:45. Jesus offers himself as an example of

LET ME SEE AGAIN Bartimaeus is determined OCTOBER to recover the gift of sight.

The blind beggar has heard about Jesus and is desperate to meet him.

30TH SUNDAY IN So when he finds out the ORDINARY TIME route along which Jesus will be leaving town, he positions himself strategically by the side of the road. This is his chance to meet Jesus. He knows he may never get it again.

As Jesus passes along, Bartimaeus grabs his opportunity. He cries out as loud as he can, “Son of David, have pity on me.” People tell him to keep quiet, but he shouts all the louder. And Jesus hears his prayer. He tells the bystanders to bring the man to him. When Jesus asks him: “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus answers, “To see again.” Jesus compliments him on his great faith that has saved him, and restores his sight. And Bartimaeus follows him along the road.

The wonderful thing about Bartimaeus is his faith in Jesus. He believes in Jesus’ power to heal him. He has an absolute, total trust in Jesus. The ironic thing is that even though he is blind, Bartimaeus is able to see Jesus for who he really is. He has a deeper faith than the disciples and others who have two good eyes. The one apparently blind “sees” more than those claiming sight.

We celebrate World Mission Sunday 2021 with the following theme: “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Bartimaeus witnessed to Jesus. Like him, we also are called to be missionaries of the Gospel in our time and place.

how leadership must be exercised. He has come not to be served but to serve and he will do this most explicitly by giving “his life as a ransom for many.” The Greek word for “ransom” means the price paid to free those held unjustly against their will (slaves, prisoners of war, or kidnapped people). Jesus will free people ensnared by evil through his death.

He is not the Messiah of conventional Jewish expectation. He is God’s Suffering Messiah. Those who wish to be his disciples need to learn this in order to follow him.

Today’s Readings Is 53:10-11; Ps 32; Heb 4:14-16; Mk 10:35-45

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REALITY OCTOBER 2021

Today’s Readings Jr 31:7-9; Ps 125; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52

THE REALITY CROSSWORD NUMBER 8 OCTOBER ����

ONLY LOVE Jesus’ journey from Galilee to Jerusalem is over and in today’s Gospel he finds himself in a debate with a scribe. Previous controversies between Jesus and the Jewish scribes were bitter. But this 31ST SUNDAY IN one is friendly. Since the Jewish law had 613 ORDINARY TIME different commandments, the scribe wants Jesus’ opinion on which is the greatest. He doesn’t quite answer the scribe’s question, but quotes from the Jewish scriptures.

He identifies the “first” commandment as the one to love God (Deuteronomy 6:4b-5) and the “second” as the commandment to love the neighbour (Leviticus 19:18). When Jesus quotes Deuteronomy, he is referring to the great Jewish prayer known as the Shem‘a Yisra’el or 'Hear O Israel'. It is such a fundamental prayer that Jewish people recited it daily, in the morning and in the evening. In quoting this prayer Jesus declares that love of God is an absolute religious value because God first loved all people and the only response people can make to that fact is to love God. This was a fundamental value for Jewish people of the first century AD and now Jesus establishes it as an essential value for his disciples.

Love of neighbour (as oneself) implies healthy self-esteem and self-valuing. By placing this commandment alongside that of loving God, Jesus makes love of the neighbour into another way in which God is loved.

The scribe reacts positively to Jesus’ answer, welcomes it and adds that both these commandments are “much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” In saying this, the scribe recognises that Jesus now replaces the entire Jewish law, along with the Temple and is rituals. It is because the scribe is able to recognise what Jesus is doing that Jesus declares him to be “not far from the Kingdom of God.” Jesus is making an important point. Jewish people are not excluded from God’s kingdom. Along with the Gentiles, they too are called to hear the Word of God and accept it. However, Mark doesn’t tell us whether the scribe became a disciple or not. At the end of the encounter his critics no longer challenge Jesus’ authority. Some will return later in an effort to do away with him, but they will be ultimately defeated by his resurrection.

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SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 6 ACROSS: 1. Scrimp, 5. Relish, 10. Raccoon, 11. Borscht, 12. Evil, 13. Jacob, 15. Luke, 17. Shy, 19.

Toting, 21. Racism, 22. Lourdes, 23. Soiled, 25. Xanadu, 28. ATM, 30. Inca, 31. Dryad, 32. Coup, 35.

Tunisia, 36. Auditor, 37. Medusa, 38. Armies.

DOWN: 2. Cyclist, 3. Icon, 4. Pandas, 5. Rob Roy, 6. Lore, 7. Succubi, 8. Priest, 9. Stream, 14.

Charity, 16. Inlet, 18. Masai, 20. God, 21. Rex, 23. Saints, 24. Incense, 26. Apostle, 27. Uppers, 28.

Armada, 29. Masada, 33. Esau, 34. Adam.

Winner of Crossword No. 6 Ali Bracken, Bray, Co. Wicklow.

ACROSS 1. The study of human values and moral conduct. (6) 5. Spicy Japanese condiment. (6) 10. A person who walks in the countryside for pleasure. (7) 11. Day of rest and religious observance. (7) 12. The Bard's river. (4) 13. Once an angel, now joined with Satan. (5) 15. The longer of the two bones in the human forearm. (4) 17. The most common family name in Korea, (3) 19. One who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their ideals. (6) 21. Put money or time into something with an expectation of a return. (6) 22. The state of being married. (7) 23. The sheen on furniture produced by age and polishing. (6) 25. Very happy. (6) 28. Stop living. (3) 30. Members of a religious community of women. (4) 31. A Roman father ministering in the Army. (5) 32. A large, thick, flat piece of stone. (4) 35. Cause someone to get the wrong impression. (7) 36. Ancient document copiers. (7) 37. Totally bewilder or perplex. (6) 38. Items intended to attract and deceive. (6)

DOWN 2. Revolving drum raffle at fetes and fairs. (7) 3. Spend time doing nothing. (4) 4. Utter a high-pitched piercing sound or terror or excitement. (6) 5. Book and talent of Solomon. (6) 6. Cries noisily, making convulsive gasps. (4) 7. The language of raised dots. (7) 8. An artificial and inferior substitution or imitation/ (6) 9. Crosspiece forming a seat for a rower. (6) 14. Lost temporarily. (7) 16. Population centres. (5) 18. Joint between the foot and the leg. (5) 20. It can be black, green, white or oolong. (3) 21. The solid form of water. (3) 23. Hat, canal and country. (6) 24. Country bordered by Algeria and Libya. (7) 26. Double chest of drawers for a lanky youth.

(7) 27. Reduce something in quality or character. (6) 28. Take your time, tarry. (6) 29. Rubbed out. (6) 33. Turn over the pages of a book quickly and casually. (4) 34. Short aquatic reptile. (4)

Entry Form for Crossword No.8, October 2021 Name:

Today’s Readings Dt 6:2-6; Ps 17; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12:28-34

Address: Telephone:

All entries must reach us by Friday October 29, 2021 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.8, Redemptorist Communications, St Joseph's Monastery, Dundalk, County Louth A91 F3FC