7 minute read
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
WHEN JOHN SCALLY INTERVIEWED ARCHBISHOP EAMON MARTIN RECENTLY, THEY ENJOYED A ROBUST DISCUSSION ON EVERYTHING FROM EDUCATION TO THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL. THE MEETING HAD AN ADDED SIGNIFICANCE FOR JOHN AS HE RECALLED AN ENCOUNTER FROM HIS STUDENT DAYS
BY JOHN SCALLY
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Archbishop Eamon Martin
The first flinty hint of autumn’s breath was on the breeze, and after the quiet countryside of my home in Roscommon, Maynooth College’s waves of noise and movement seemed clamorous to me.
It was my first day in university. That morning, like so many students, I walked through the hallowed gates for the first time. All around me there were little dramas playing out. In all the faces I saw depths of intensity and unfulfilled longings.
I knew nobody. Worse, I knew nothing. I had no idea where I was meant to be and I found myself lost, literally and metaphorically. I felt the bitter taste of panic forming in my mouth. In desperation I asked a passing priest for help. I would come to know him later as an icon of intellectual life in Ireland, the late Professor Ronan Drury who was editor of the influential journal The Furrow for many years. He listened patiently to my tale of woe and sensed the anxiety in my voice.
FRIENDLY FACE
A young seminarian was passing by and Professor Drury called him over and instructed him to ‘look after me’. This clerical student was clearly a veteran of Maynooth College life, and my anxiety quickly faded away like snow melting in a thaw. He brought me to the theology department and waited outside for me while I was registering. Then he took me to meet Mrs Kelly in the student accommodation office and I got my digs sorted out. From there he brought me back to his room and made me a lovely cup of tea with biscuits. We chatted away for a few hours. He told me about his upbringing in Derry during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He expressed his hope that, as a priest, he would be able to bring a little light to the darkness. One sentence of his sticks with me to this day: “If only people got elected for doing acts of kindness, then politics would be very different.”
I quickly saw that he combined a deep sense of justice with an equally deep sense of compassion. It was impossible not to respect his judgement and integrity. For my part, I told him about my childhood on a small farm in Roscommon.
As it was approaching lunchtime, he brought me over to the refectory in the seminary and treated me to a delicious meal. Then it was time for a thrilling tour around the college. Suddenly I felt I was at home.
We shook hands and said goodbye like old friends afterwards. The time with him had given me the space to clear my head, and I returned to start my college adventure with renewed energy.
Such is the nature of college life that in my four years in Maynooth our paths barely crossed again. But I never forgot his kindness to me on that scary day. To this day, whenever I think of Maynooth, it is the kindness of that stranger that first comes to my mind. Although we didn’t keep in touch, I never forgot him.
NEW PRIMATE
Many years later I was watching the news and the announcement was made that the Catholic Church in Ireland had a new Primate. His name was Eamon Martin from Derry. He was that young seminarian I had met on my first day in Maynooth.
Recently, I was delighted to have the opportunity to spend some time again with the man whose kindness had left such an enduring impression on me. This time around, our conversation covered some serious themes. As a former teacher and school principal, Archbishop Martin has a particular interest in education and he was eager to highlight Pope Francis’ recent reflections on the challenges facing young people.
“Pope Francis cautions parents – and by extension, I expect, also teachers and schools – against being ‘obsessive’ in wanting to control their children’s every experience and movement. Much more important, he says, is ‘the ability to lovingly help them grow in freedom, maturity, overall discipline and real autonomy’,” the Archbishop reflected.
“It is a challenge for any parent or teacher to strike the correct balance between freedom and surveillance. With so many risks out there – alcohol, drugs, unhealthy relationships, the perils of the internet – striking the balance between being too strict and too lenient is not easy. How much should we hold on – keeping an eye on them, wanting to know their every movement and location? How much do we let go – trusting them to make their own decisions and giving them space to develop into the person God wants them to be?”
LOVING GUIDANCE
Archbishop Martin believes loving guidance is crucial for young people as they grow and mature, and that this is an area where parents and schools can work together. “At times, families and schools will need to offer what Pope Francis calls ‘loving correction’, pointing out what is right and what is wrong, and where young people might be going astray. Schools can assist families in helping young people to develop good habits, sound interior principles and ways of thinking, an awareness of boundaries, and the selfdiscipline of sometimes just saying ‘no’.
“As Pope Francis explains: ‘Responsible freedom is more than the capacity to choose this, or that. It includes the instinct to weigh up what is right and wrong, what is wholesome and healthy, what is in harmony with God’s will for our long-term happiness and the happiness of others. Responsible freedom helps young people to think beyond themselves and develop a heart which is moved with love – to see the world as Christ sees it – and to put themselves in the shoes of the least fortunate.’”
Archbishop Martin has often spoken of the importance of the family as a source of joy and hope, something that was reflected in the theme of the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Dublin, ‘The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World’. He continues to reflect on the witness of Pope Francis who attended the event.
“Not long before he came to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis met with couples celebrating significant wedding anniversaries. He told them about how he once asked a couple celebrating their diamond anniversary, ‘Are you happy?’ To his surprise they replied with great emotion, ‘We are in love!’ And the Holy Father said to all those gathered: ‘See, love is possible! You can live your whole life in love, … despite the problems that come your way… This is beautiful.’”
CHRIST OUR HOPE
When asked if he is dismayed that so many young people seem to have deserted the church, Archbishop Martin again takes inspiration from Pope Francis.
“He cautions us about reducing the Gospel to something dry, joyless, distant and separate from the reality of the lives of young people today. He says: ‘Let us ask the Lord to free the Church from those who would make her grow old, encase her in the past, hold her back or keep her at a standstill. But let us also ask him to free her from another temptation: that of thinking she is young because she accepts everything the world offers her, thinking that she is renewed because she sets her message aside and acts like everybody else. No! The Church is young when she is herself, when she receives ever anew the strength born of God’s word, the Eucharist, and the daily presence of Christ and the power of his Spirit in our lives. The Church is young when she shows herself capable of constantly returning to her source.’
“We need to take this opportunity to ‘return to the source’ – to God who is love; to Jesus Christ our Saviour who died on the cross out of love and mercy for us, sinners; to our Risen Lord who is alive and who is the answer to the confusion and shallowness that bombards all of us nowadays – and especially our young people.
“Only a committed witness to the joy of love will attract young people to faithful, lifelong commitment and service of any kind. As Pope Francis says to young adults: ‘Christ is alive! He is our hope … and he wants you to be alive!’”
Eamon Martin lives a very different, more high-profile life now to that day we first met as young students. The one thing, though, that has not changed is that he remains that same kind and hope-filled man.
