Reality Magazine May 2022

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE

�� THE HUMAN FACE OF GOD

The poignant new reality for Redemptorist communities in Ukraine

By Tríona Doherty

18 “PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SO GENEROUS”

Over €500,000 has been raised by the Irish Redemptorists for Ukraine

By Tríona Doherty

22 MAKING A FUSS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

A historic letter by Christian leaders

By Kevin Hargaden

26 THE SPARK THAT LIT THE FIRE

Pauline Jaricot was an important missionary figure

By Julieann Moran

30 BLESSINGS

An integral part of the life of the church – but what do they mean?

By Maria Hall

32 LETTER FROM THE PHILIPPINES

Death, where is thy sting?

By Colm Meaney

34 THE SOUNDCHECK SERIES

Nick Cave in the theology classroom

By Michael Sherman

36 IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL

The peace legacy of Fr Alec Reid CSsR

By Eimear Crawford

38 KEANE BY NAME. KEEN BY NATURE.

John B. Keane was a shrewd observer of Irish society

By John Scally

VENERABLE ARMIDA BARELLI A “MODEL” FOR CATHOLIC WOMEN

Armida Barelli, due to be beatified in Milan Cathedral on April 30, has been described by Pope Francis as a “model of a woman” who “contributed decisively to the promotion of young Christian women in the first half of the 20th century”.

The pope wrote a book preface commending the example of Venerable Armida Barelli (1882-1952), a lay leader who encouraged generations of Catholic women, including the pope’s grandmother, to be civically engaged in the early 20th century.

A biography written by the vice postulator for her sainthood cause was published in Italian on March 29. La zingara del buon Dio (‘The wanderer of the good God’), by Ernesto Preziosi, tells the story of how Barelli “changed an epoch”.

Born to an upper-class family in Milan in 1882, Barelli came of age at a time when Italy’s first secular feminists emerged from the women’s suffrage movement.

She served as president of the National Girls

Youth of Catholic Action for more than three decades, helping young women to be formed in “a Eucharistic spirituality” and to recognise their equal “baptismal dignity” with men, according to Preziosi.

Barelli went on to help found the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, collected a fund to open an orphanage in northern China, and founded the Secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ together with Father Gemelli.

Pope Francis’ grandmother Rosa Margherita Vassallo met Armida in 1924 at a Conference of the Women’s Union. In his preface to the book, Pope Francis said Barelli “fostered the conscious participation of women in social and political life, making a decisive contribution to the establishment of democracy in Italy.

“The Church now points to her as a model of a woman who in her own humanity, with the intelligence and gifts that God gave her, was able to bear witness to God’s love.”

NEW VATICAN ROLE FOR CARDINAL TURKSON

Cardinal Peter Turkson has been appointed the new chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Pope Francis accepted Turkson’s resignation as prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development last December. Turkson served as archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, before he was called to Rome in 2009 to be president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

The 73-year-old cardinal, who speaks six languages, became the first president of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human

Development in 2016 after his pontifical council was merged into the new body along with three others.

Turkson’s departure from the dicastery in December left the Vatican with no African leaders among the heads of its dicasteries for the first time since 1977.

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences traces its roots to the Accademia dei Lincei, one of the world’s first exclusively scientific academies, founded in Rome in 1603. The short-lived academy’s members included the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.

The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

Barelli’s cause for sainthood was opened by the Archdiocese of Milan in 1960. Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed her Venerable in 2007 in recognition of a life of heroic virtue. In February 2021, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to Barelli’s intercession, paving the way for her beatification.

was established in 1994 by Pope John Paul II, with the aim of “promoting the study and progress of the social sciences, primarily economics, sociology, law and political science, thus offering the Church those elements which she can use in the development of her social doctrine”.

Perdersoli, via Wikimedia Commons

Richter Frank-Jurgen, via Wikimedia Commons

CATHOLIC PRIEST AMONG 45 ABDUCTED IN NIGERIA

A Catholic priest serving in the Diocese of Minna in Nigeria was among 45 people kidnapped after Mass on Sunday March 27. According to Nigeria Catholic Network, Fr Leo Raphael Ozigi, a priest of St Mary’s Catholic Church in the town of Sarkin Pawa, was abducted by terrorists who also captured 44 other villagers.

The priest was returning from Sunday Mass in Sarkin Pawa to his home in Gwada when the incident occurred. Gwada is about 40 miles to southwest of Sarkin Pawa. Both

towns are located in the central Nigerian state of Niger.

Fr Emeka Amanchukwu, the diocesan chancellor, issued an appeal to the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, which read: “Kindly assist us to inform our bishops and priests about the ugly incident and our request for prayers and the celebration of the Holy Mass for the safe release of Rev. Fr Raphael Leo by the abductors.

“At the same time, assist us with prayers for the safe release of our numerous brothers and

sisters who have been held hostage by the rampaging bandits attacking communities and villages in Niger State,” he added.

Across Nigeria, at least 60,000 Christians were killed in the past two decades. Kidnappings, killings and destruction of property have become a hallmark of terrorist groups, often Islamic extremist groups, with clergy increasingly being targeted. Fr Ozigi is the third Catholic priest to be kidnapped in March in Nigeria.

DON’T TAKE PEACE FOR GRANTED, SAY ARCHBISHOPS

The Catholic and Church of Ireland archbishops of Armagh said the war in Ukraine offers a lesson for Northern Ireland to “never take our progress in peace for granted”.

In a joint message for St Patrick’s Day, Archbishop Eamon Martin and Archbishop John McDowell offered prayers for the people of Ukraine, and emphasised the importance of solidarity with those fleeing the war.

“We pray for the Ukrainian people who already share this island with us, and for their families and friends who are trapped in the horror of destruction and bloodshed at home,” they said.

“We pray that our land of welcomes will continue to offer compassionate respite to our sisters and brothers in their time of need. This is the light of the Gospel shining through the darkness: the outpouring of prayer, charity and solidarity across Ireland towards the people of Ukraine has been heartening.”

They encouraged the people of Ireland,

inspired by the witness of St Patrick, to be “reconcilers and peacemakers”.

“Our community reflection here in Ireland on what is happening today in Europe should help us learn lessons for our own peace process, about the importance of never taking our progress in peace for granted, never giving up on dialogue and the building

of bridges and mutual understanding across historical divides,” they said.

“The tragedy of what we are witnessing in Ukraine during these days impels us again here in Ireland to work for a genuine human fraternity as the only way to resolve differences and conflicts.”

REALITY BITES

MEXICO

FOR

The Diocese of Nuevo Laredo in Mexico appealed to people to “pray for peace in our city” after a day of violence along the border between Mexico and the United States.

During the early morning hours of March 14, shootings, explosions, fires and roadblocks occurred in different parts of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas. The area near the US consulate was also affected. In addition, two international bridges were temporarily closed.

The previous week, on March 5, Mexican church leaders condemned a brawl between fans at a soccer match in the central Mexican city of Querétaro. A melee between the supporters of rival teams Querétaro and Atlas left 26 fans injured.

The Mexican bishops conference said in a statement that it “categorically reproaches any episode of violence, however minimal”.

“We exhort sporting clubs, the authorities and civil society to make football and any sport an opportunity to create spaces of integration and not of confrontation (for) reconstructing the social fabric, so damaged and in need of dialogue, respect, comprehension and tolerance,” the bishops said.

Auxiliary Bishop Alfonso Miranda of Monterrey said, “Mexico urgently needs to stop and reconcile. No more hatred, no more physical or verbal aggression.

“Let’s be silent, take a pause, a truce, say a prayer. We cannot continue like this.”

CHINA

The supporters of prominent Christian human rights activist Li Qiaochu, who has been imprisoned in China for more than a year, are concerned that she is being mistreated while in detention.

Li Qiaochu was accused of working to overthrow China’s socialist system and charged with inciting subversion of state power, a charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The indictment charges that she posted ‘subversive’ writings of her (also imprisoned) boyfriend Dr Xu Zhiyong, a leading figure in the New Citizens’ Movement, online in September 2019.

However Li’s supporters say this charge is fabricated and that authorities are using it to frame her.

Human rights advocacy group PEN America say she was prosecuted because of her relationship with Xu and for refusing to be silent about the abuse she and Xu have suffered while in detention.

Summer Lopez, senior director of Free Expression Programs at PEN America, said, “We are particularly concerned about Li’s health, and we fear that Li may be experiencing abusive and degrading treatment as we speak. We call for Li’s immediate release, and for Linyi officials to reverse this unjust decision.”

CONCERN THAT IMPRISONED HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST IS FACING MISTREATMENT

CALLS

PRAYERS FOR PEACE ON MEXICOUS BORDER

Li Qiaochu

POPE CONSECRATES RUSSIA AND UKRAINE TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Pope Francis has consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with a prayer asking for peace in the world.

At the end of a penitential service in St Peter’s Basilica on Friday March 25, the pope carried out the act, saying: “Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love.

Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.”

Seated before a statue of Our Lady of Fatima from a shrine in central Italy, Pope Francis said: “The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice, and poverty.

“Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the

POPE FRANCIS MEETS CANADIAN INDIGENOUS LEADERS

Pope Francis has met with representatives of the Métis and Inuit Indigenous peoples and a First Nations delegation at the Vatican, during a week-long visit of Canadian Indigenous leaders. The visit was originally planned for 2020 but was rescheduled in the wake of outrage in 2021 over the reported discovery of unmarked graves at the site of former residential schools in Canada.

Addressing all three groups on Friday April 1, Pope Francis expressed his “sorrow and shame” for the role Catholics have played in the abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada, especially in residential schools.

He said he would like to visit them in their native lands, indicating that he hopes to travel to Canada this year for the July 26 feast of St Anne.

Cassidy Caron, Métis National Council president, said the meeting was “just one step forward in our journey… We’re looking forward to whatever [Pope Francis] intends to do when he comes to visit us in Canada,” he added.

Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said after the meeting: “The pope was welcoming and very thoughtful and very engaged throughout the entire encounter. We

POWERFUL FILM FOCUSES ON FRANCIS IN IRAQ

of the Christians of Iraqi-Kurdistan and Nineveh. Pope Francis was the first pope to visit Iraq and called the trip “a duty to the land that has been martyred for so many years”. While the documentary offers footage from his trip, more than that it highlights the plight of Christian minorities who have endured church bombings, suicide attacks, genocide and war.

gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days.”

In his homily at the penitential service, the pope said that the consecration “is no magic formula but a spiritual act.

“It is an act of complete trust on the part of children who, amid the tribulation of this cruel and senseless war that threatens our world, turn to their Mother, reposing all their fears and pain in her heart and abandoning themselves to her.”

were very pleased with the way in which the meeting unfolded.”

Canadian bishops described the meetings as “a listening time” and thanked delegates, who included former students of Canadian residential schools, for their graciousness and honesty with the pope.

Some 150,000 children attended residential schools in the approximately 100 years that they operated. The schools, many of them run by Catholic institutions, were a governmentled programme to suppress the native language and cultural practices of Indigenous peoples.

A new documentary, Francis in Iraq, about Pope Francis’ historic visit to the country in March 2021, has premiered in New York.

The work of Stephen Rasche, it tells the story

Francis in Iraq premiered on March 22 at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York. The event was attended by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Archbishop

Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer at the United Nations. Cardinal Dolan noted that though the world’s attention is rightly focused on the war in Ukraine, the plight of innocent people in other parts of the world who are persecuted for their faith must not be overlooked. He said the film shows Pope Francis bringing the Gospel message and the “healing balm” of Jesus’ mercy to one of those places.

The film is expected to be taken on tour for education and conversation.

SAINTS IN THE CELTIC TRADITION

ST BEDE THE VENERABLE MAY 25

St Bede is not only recognised in the English and Irish church calendar but also at universal level. He is cherished as ‘The Venerable Bede’, author of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and recognised as the ‘Father of English History’. Bede was English, not British. Let me explain. In pre-Christian and early Christian times, the people inhabiting most of our neighbouring island were Britons. Then about 450 AD, Britain, their homeland, was subjected to the Invasions, wherein pagan Germanic peoples – Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Mercians and the rest – crossed the North Sea and overran the country leaving centuries of chaos in their wake. Gradually, the newcomers were converted to Christianity and it was from one of these families that Bede sprung.

He was born about 672 in Sunderland in the old Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, not far from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. At the age of seven, Bede was sent to be educated at the local Benedictine monastery of St Peter at Wearmouth, but probably in his early teens he was transferred to the newly built monastery at Jarrow where with his good singing voice and his love of music and poetry, he fitted comfortably into the Benedictine spirit. For the rest of his life it was in Jarrow that he studied, prayed, taught scripture, trained students and wrote the History of the English People; and when he died in 735, he was buried within two miles of his birthplace. His reputation was such that his bones were stolen by the monks of Durham and were buried in Durham Cathedral, where they remained undisturbed until 1541 when the tomb was looted by the Reformers. However, it is probable that the relics were quietly reburied somewhere within the cathedral precincts.

From Bede we have come to know many things about the British, the English and the Irish, about the Roman conquest of Britain, about the first Christian martyrs there, and about Colmcille coming into Britain and being described by Bede as “a monk both in habit and in manner”. And it was Bede who described the mission sent by Pope St Gregory the Great for the conversion of the English. But Bede wasn’t right in everything. Although he acknowledged the generosity of the Irish monasteries in receiving foreign students and giving them free board and tuition, he also considered the Irish church to be heretical, a bone which he gnawed incessantly. That is why some Irish scholars refer to him jokingly as ‘The Venomous Bede’.

On a beautiful day in early summer, I had the privilege of spending some time in Jarrow’s original Benedictine church – the place where Bede prayed and sang the psalms, where he was ordained and lived out his life. And to crown it all, the Anglican priest was just about to celebrate Mass. Afterwards, he showed me around this 7th-century church and pointed out the spot which Bede himself regularly occupied. I think it was Bede’s little gift to me. Maybe he isn’t so venomous after all.

John J. Ó Ríordáin CSsR

Reality

Volume 88. No. 4 May 2022

A Redemptorist Publication

ISSN 0034-0960

Published by The Irish Redemptorists, St Joseph's Monastery, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk County Louth A91 F3FC

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REFLECTIONS

The month of May is the pleasant time; its face is beautiful; the blackbird sings his full song, the living wood is his holding, the cuckoos are singing and ever singing; there is a welcome before the brightness of the summer.

LADY GREGORY

Too often we are not present to the beauty, love, and grace that brim within the ordinary moments of our lives. The secret to prayer is not to try to make God present, but to make ourselves present to God.

RON ROLHEISER

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

ST FRANCIS DE SALES

We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers. Our abundance has brought us neither peace of mind nor serenity of spirit.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

When

JIMI HENDRIX

In this house, all must be friends, all must be loved, all must be held dear, all must be helped.

ST TERESA OF AVILA

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

Adults are always asking children what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.

PAULA POUNDSTONE

Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow internet service to see who they really are.

WILL FERRELL

We can no longer let the people in power decide what is politically possible. We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action. And hope always comes from the people.

GRETA THUNBERG

If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.

TONI MORRISON

It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realise just how much you love them.

AGATHA CHRISTIE

Indifference is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor - never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.

ELIE WIESEL

When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.

MAHATMA GANDHI

The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.

BRANDON SANDERSON

Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out

DR MAE JEMISON, FIRST AFRICANAMERICAN FEMALE ASTRONAUT

the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.

Praying the Rosary

MEDITATING THE GOSPEL STORY WITH THE MOTHER OF THE LORD

By Fr George Wadding CSsR

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said that when we pray the rosary in a prayerful, contemplative manner, it lifts us into a world where “we see and enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known.” Fr George Wadding CSsR is well-known for his thoughtful but simple and imaginative style of writing. In this little book, he invites us to explore the twenty scenes from the story of Jesus our Redeemer that make up the Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous and Glorious mysteries of the Rosary. Walking and praying with Mary, we accompany the Lord along his way. This beautifully illustrated book is for beginners, as well as those who have been praying the rosary for many years. It can be used by the family or a prayer group. It is ideal for those who wish to pray the rosary tranquilly, resting in the mysteries, like Mary, ‘who pondered them in her heart.’ It is well-bound but still small enough to slip into a handbag or a pocket, and the colourful images for each decade will long stay in the memory. May God’s Spirit be with all who seek comfort in its pages

MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP

Reflections on an Icon

The icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help is probably the best known of all the images of our Blessed Lady.

In this beautiful booklet, Fr George Wadding CSsR leads us into meditation on the various messages contained in the icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help and suggests a simple prayer after each meditation. Read each meditation slowly and in an atmosphere of prayer. You will find yourself drawn closer and closer to the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

THE ROAD TO HEALING

Itwould have been difficult not to be moved by the footage of journalist Charlie Bird reaching the summit of Croagh Patrick on April 2.

The former RTÉ journalist was joined by hundreds of hikers for Charlie’s Big Climb, a fundraiser for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and suicide prevention charity Pieta. Charlie was diagnosed with MND in 2021 and has all but lost his voice, but took on the challenge of climbing Croagh Patrick while still mobile enough to do so. Tens of thousands of people also took part in almost 200 separate fundraisers across Ireland and several other countries.

In the weeks leading up to the climb, he said he had “found peace” and had been buoyed by the wave of support from the public. “I’m not a deeply religious person. But this has awakened something in me. Croagh Patrick and its history has lifted me spiritually,” he reflected.

“I have found peace. I really have. When you meet people, they lift you. At the beginning I cried every day [since being diagnosed] – I don’t cry now. I’ve realised that for me it may be the end of my journey, and in one sense I’m not as afraid now as I was when I was first told I had a terminal illness.

“I was a broken person, but I want to do something, not for me, but for other people.”

Many generations of people have climbed Croagh Patrick and experienced healing in different ways on ‘Ireland’s holy mountain’. In Charlie’s case, the companions who gathered around him on his journey carried him along, offering hope and healing in the face of his devastating diagnosis.

His story brings to mind the many others who are on their own painful journeys, and perhaps only taking the first steps in a long process of healing.

I recently attended an event in an old school building. Several former pupils were in attendance and they exchanged stories

about their school days in the 1950s, with many recalling experiences of physical and psychological abuse. There were smiles and many tears. Sadly, so many people in our country carry the wounds of similar experiences. Facing such memories can be extremely daunting. But there was a sense at this particular event that the exchange of stories had been helpful, that there had been some element of healing and support in the acknowledgment of shared suffering.

In this vein, but on a broader scale, a step was taken in Northern Ireland recently to acknowledge and apologise to victims of historical institutional abuse. On March 11 in Stormont, public apologies were offered by five ministers representing the main political parties, and by representatives from six institutions that ran facilities where abuse took place.

Fiona Ryan, the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse, said it was important to be clear on what was being apologised for. “We are talking about the systemic abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect of children for decades in residential institutions in Northern Ireland. For this abuse to succeed on this scale requires not only individual abusers and institutions to perpetrate the abuse, but failed oversight and accountability on the part of the public authorities.”

Commenting afterwards, Archbishop Eamon Martin said: “The misuse of power and status within the Church; the prevailing culture of judgement, guilt and shame surrounding sexuality; and a lack of Christian empathy and compassion towards the poor and those less fortunate, blinded many in the Church to the shocking neglect, sins and crimes being perpetrated in their midst. Shame on us.”

The apology was welcomed by some but condemned by others as too little, too late. Margaret McGuckin from Survivors and

Victims of Historical Institutional Abuse said: “The way we have been treated all these years has hurt us so much... I’m a broken wreck. This has caused much more pain and trauma for ourselves and life will never be the same.

“The apology was more than welcomed, but we had to…demand and lobby and even threaten with more legal action.”

Healing is never straightforward. Apologies, sincere though they may be, cannot undo pain that has been caused; there is no instant fix when it comes to hurt and trauma. The journey to healing starts with a first step, but we cannot say what form, or how long, it will take.

We are all in need of some sort of healing, whether physically, psychologically or spiritually. It can come in the most unexpected ways – as it did for Charlie, who couldn’t have imagined when he got his diagnosis that the entire country would be cheering him on as he reached the summit of Croagh Patrick. It can be as simple as knowing that someone else has been through a similar experience and is walking the journey alongside you.

Our world needs healing too. There is so much war and injustice, so many people in prison, so much abuse. Above all, our world needs healers, people who will accompany others in their dark times, carrying their hurt, encouraging and loving them, restoring them to life.

Tríona Doherty Editor

THE HUMAN FACE OF GOD

THE POIGNANT NEW REALITY FOR REDEMPTORIST COMMUNITIES IN UKRAINE

A REDEMPTORIST MONASTERY IN BESIEGED UKRAINE IS FUNCTIONING AS AN AIR RAID SHELTER, REFUGEE CENTRE AND DISTRIBUTION HUB FOR HUMANITARIAN AID. ITS RECTOR FR ROMAN LAHISH SPEAKS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES FACING HIS COMMUNITY

BY TRÍONA DOHERTY

“Last night there was no air-raid alarm. When we don’t have an alarm three or four times during the night, we are so happy in the morning. We praise the Lord that the night was not as busy as usual. In our new reality, when you have a more-or-less normal night, when you have a shower and a quiet morning, you are more than successful.”

The opening words of Fr Roman Lahish CSsR to me, on a Zoom call in early April, highlight just how precarious a situation he and his community have found themselves in.

Fr Roman is rector of St Peter and Paul Redemptorist Monastery in Novoiavorivsk in western Ukraine. On February 24, life changed irrevocably when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, triggering Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. Located just 35 kilometres

from the Polish border, near the city of Lviv, the monastery is perfectly situated to act as a stopover for people fleeing the escalating violence.

The upshot of this is that Fr Roman’s monastery is now functioning as an air raid shelter and refugee centre, as well as the epicentre of a network of voluntary organisations providing assistance to displaced civilians.

“We are a border town, and people come here who are waiting to go to the border. They might stay two or three nights with us. It’s like a railway station. Every morning I don’t know how many people are in the house because it might have changed during the night,” says Fr Roman.

“My duty as rector is to make sure everyone has a pillow, everyone has a place to sleep, everyone has tea or coffee and something to eat – and then it’s

A child sits on a swing outside a building damaged by Russian rocket in a residential area of Kyiv

Fr Roman Lahish CSsR, rector of Monastery of St Peter and Paul, Novoiavorivsk

The aftermath of a Russian attack near Novoiavorivsk

okay.”

The Redemptorists have been ministering in Novoiavorivsk for more than 30 years and are one of the largest religious communities in the region. There are seven priests in the community; Fr Roman has been there for six years and has been rector for the past two. There are several Redemptorist communities in Ukraine including Tschernihiv in the north and Berdyansk in the east, which is now occupied territory. In Ivano-Frankivsk, also in western Ukraine, the Redemptorist monastery currently houses an orphanage and a bakery.

“Our provincial told us that the rector in each place can decide what they are able to do in their particular region. So, we have different tasks in different places. The last few months, we have been trying to minister as much as we can. We believe that God has a human face; this is our ministry,” says Fr Roman.

CONNECTING PEOPLE

When the conflict began in late February, the community at Novoiavorivsk found themselves in unchartered territory. Initially, when refugees started flooding into the

region to try to cross the border into Poland, the priests travelled to the border to deliver food to people who were waiting in cars. Later, they developed a volunteer centre and shelter in the monastery where people can take refuge before crossing the border. Because the church is one of the few local buildings with a basement, people from the local area also come to the monastery when the air raid sirens sound, day or night.

The Redemptorists also arrange to meet

to look for supplies, as most of the military formations are currently in the forests because military buildings were destroyed a few weeks ago. There is a network of volunteers who know where help is needed; we also have two shelters here in the city so we bring food to them also. We are like a platform connecting people,” says Fr Roman.

Many people staying in the monastery assist with the manufacture of camouflage, an exercise that Fr Roman feels is particularly beneficial for those who are distressed by their experiences.

humanitarian aid coming across the border into Ukraine, some of which is used to cater for the growing numbers of refugees at the monastery, while the rest is packed and distributed to other places in need of supplies. As a well-known religious organisation, they have a lot of contacts throughout the country.

“We deliver to other places, for example we work with communities in eastern Ukraine because we have contacts through the church. Sometimes army chaplains come here

“It is mostly women with children coming here, because men are not allowed to cross the border to leave Ukraine. They are so traumatised. They are happy when they can sleep normally for one night. But for the first two or three nights they cannot sleep at all, because when they hear any noise they just jump up immediately. It’s very tough to see.

“For the women making this camouflage, it works like therapy. Can you imagine a woman who has fled with her kids, and her husband has gone into the military or been kidnapped? Every day they are receiving different messages. And when people only read the

Women in the Redemptorist monastery in Novoiavorivsk work together to make camouflage

“My duty is to make sure everyone has a pillow, everyone has a place to sleep, everyone has tea or coffee and something to eat – and then it’s okay.”

news, they become so stressed and depressed. Doing something by hand helps them.

“In our ministry, when people arrive we make sure they are in a safe place, have something to eat and a place to sleep and whatever they need. Then later, we try to find them something to do. For example, we have a doctor in our house who has come from Kyiv. I found him a place in our shelter to practise as a doctor, and now he’s happy because he takes his bag and goes to do his duty.”

NEW REALITY

Fr Roman says he could never have predicted that he and his community would be dealing with such a chaotic and heart-breaking situation.

“Since I became rector two years ago, the first year it was Covid and the second year it’s a war. You could never even imagine this. From February 24, everything has changed completely, we’ve gone from normal life to abnormal. But we need to minister, we need to help others and to do as much as we can in this situation.”

The monastery at Novoiavorisk is more than 500 kilometres from the front line of the war, and while the intense fighting has so far been

confined to the eastern part of the country, there have been some bombings locally of military bases and factories.

“We live in this new reality; when we hear the air raid alarm we say ‘Oh okay, air alarm,’ and we go straight to the basement,” says Fr Roman. “It’s constant. It could be five times a day, three times a night, you never know. People are under so much stress and dealing with this instability. You don’t know what will happen in a few days. We try to think in a normal way, because people really need help.”

From a small community of seven, the monastery now houses up to 100 people at any given time, with more people in nearby centres – but the numbers are constantly changing. The priests have had to quickly become proficient in everything from arranging deliveries of humanitarian aid, to networking with other voluntary organisations, to liaising with the city council. Fr Roman says every day is a steep learning curve.

“During a war, all your experience in management doesn’t work. All your previous knowledge is preparation for normal life, but when normal life is completely broken you just have to start from nothing. I feel like I have just entered university and need to study

everything so quickly. One week is like one year of university. Before, I didn’t work with logistics, with trucks, with ambulances or any of these things; we just needed to learn.

“There are 20-25 people working with me as a team. Somebody will go to the border –often women go to the border because they are allowed to cross and can transport humanitarian aid – somebody is responsible for food, somebody is responsible for clothes, somebody is going to city council to help somebody else with papers.

“At present, western Ukraine is working like a shelter or a safe place for the whole country. Refugees are coming here, the hospitals are working here, everything from the west is coming here through Poland.”

HOPE

How do the priests and volunteers cope with the volume of work and the emotional toll it surely takes? Fr Roman says he is conscious that an important part of the Redemptorist ministry is to bring light into the darkest of situations.

“Everyone who works with refugees needs to conduct themselves in a very appropriate way. You cannot be like a mother, because you will be crying all the time and nothing will get

Damaged buildings in Makariv, near Kyiv

War refugees in Ukraine

done,” he says. “For priests, our ministry is to bring light and faith to others, to the refugees and the people we support and to the volunteers.”

The most difficult and heart-wrenching task, according to Fr Roman, is arranging and carrying out funerals for soldiers, of which there can be up to four or five a week. “It’s very tough to organise these funerals for young men. But it’s also part of our ministry. And depending on the situation on the frontline of the war, it can be difficult to deliver a coffin from a long distance. Sometimes we are waiting several days.”

In addition, many soldiers come to the priests for blessings. “Faith is part of our culture here,” he explains. “People are deeply religious. When they are called to the army they come to us for a blessing and for confession, so we need a member of the community to be on duty in the church because there is always somebody coming.”

While it is impossible to guess what the outcome of the conflict will be, Fr Roman trusts that God is guiding their efforts. “God will guide us. As a humanitarian organisation,

we 100 per cent know that we will have too much work in the future, because huge cities have been completely destroyed. Refugees will be a reality for a long time. As religious we may also be called to other places where diocesan priests have moved and parishes are without priests, so this will be a new field of ministry in the future. The congregation understands that our life is changed,” he says.

IRISH CONNECTIONS

Having spent time studying in Limerick, Fr Roman has close connections with the Redemptorist congregation and others in Ireland. He describes Ireland wistfully as “a beautiful green small country… like a nice movie from the past!” He is in regular contact with Fr Séamus Enright, the rector at Mount St Alphonsus in Limerick, and other members of the community, who have been coordinating fundraising and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

“Fr Seamus will call me from time to time in the morning and it’s like having morning coffee with him, some normal reality,” says Fr Roman. “All of these beautiful connections,

they are like God’s hands for us. They do collections for us and they send us humanitarian aid. I praise the Lord for them and I am so thankful that I know them.

“To all the Irish people who are helping us in different ways, even if they say a prayer, it is so helpful for us because it gives us power and strength. To all the readers of Reality, thank you so much, and please keep us in your prayers.”

“When soldiers are called to the army they come to us for a blessing and for confession, so we need a member of the community to be on duty in the church because there is always somebody coming.”

A residential building damaged in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv

SECOND CHANCE

SOMETIMES WE NEED A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION

As readers will know, I am the owner of four dogs. I have two big dogs, Mac and Cody, and two small dogs, Charley and Jenny. Jenny is old and unwell and so she very, very rarely leaves the house. The other three boys take me for a walk a couple of times a day. One day last week, I was out for one of my daily danders around our district, and across the road from where we were I could see a man walking a lovely collie dog. He was looking intently at my dogs and smiling. I sensed that this man wanted to meet us. As it turned out, my sense was right, because when he came to the traffic lights ahead, he pressed the button, crossed the road and began walking towards us. He stopped a little way away and called out, “Can we meet your dogs?” My reply was “Of course!” and we waited for him to approach.

As soon as he got within three feet of us, his dog began to bare its teeth, barked and lunged forward at my dogs. Now, we have been in this situation before, and thankfully my dogs are not reactive at all. They simply stared at the snarling dog in front of them, almost disinterested. I reassured my dogs with a “you’re ok, dogs” command I use when they are confronted with a situation that has the potential to unsettle them. The man with the collie dog got himself a bit worked up and yanked on the lead. He backed off and apologised. He explained that his dog, a girl by the name of Lucy, had been attacked by a dog not long ago and it had left her a bit unpredictable when she

met other dogs. He thought she would have coped with my pack, but he got it wrong. I told him that there was no harm done and not to worry, because my dogs had, by this stage, turned away from Lucy, having concluded there was no fun to be had anyhow. I said goodbye to Lucy and her embarrassed owner who assured me that “she’s not always like this”. I assured him that I understood. I wasn’t so sure my dogs believed him though!

and began to pull on the lead a little to go towards Lucy. I trust their instincts and went with it. We moved at speed towards Lucy. I called out to her owner that I thought this meeting would be different and he exclaimed “it seems so!” with a big smile. Well, the dogs ran up to each other and greeted each other like long-lost friends. No snarling or barking, only sniffing and panting and general doggy happiness. We spent a few minutes together

deprived themselves of the joy of that encounter and they would have deprived Lucy of the joy as well. And that leads me to the second lesson. Lucy taught me about the ability we all hold to change and overcome obstacles. Lucy took the chance that our second meeting gave her to be who she really was; a sociable and happy dog, who enjoyed the company of other dogs. Sure, she had had difficult experiences in the past, but she did not have to be defined by them. And that led me to the third and most powerful lesson. Life can be difficult for all of us. It can leave us wounded. It can change how we respond to life and the world around us. However, given the right set of circumstances (selfbelief and the reinforcement of that self-belief by the generosity of others around us), we can overcome those difficulties and rediscover joy in encounter.

We walked on around the district for another half hour or so, meeting people and dogs and having a grand time altogether. Near the end of our walk, just before we turned off the road and into our street, who did we see coming towards us, but Lucy and her owner? What happened next took me by surprise. Lucy and her owner both saw us coming. Her owner began to look nervous. But Lucy? Lucy stopped for a moment and then began to hop up and down on the spot. She panted and whined a little. She was calling out to my dogs! My dogs, seeing her reaction, responded favourably

before bidding farewell, thankful for the redemption of the second meeting. These two encounters have stayed with me since. It strikes me that they hold a few lessons for me and I would like to share them with you.

How often we form our opinion of others on our first meeting. We even have a saying for it: first impressions count. It is true. But should it be? My dogs’ first impression of Lucy could have been that she was a nasty dog who wasn’t worth bothering with. Imagine if they had approached the second meeting with that attitude? They would have

So here’s to the redemption of the second meeting. Let’s think this month about who we might need to meet again with a bit of empathy or even forgiveness. Let’s also think about the possibility of self-belief and the possibility of finding new possibilities and new life. We are in Easter season after all.

WITH EYES WIDE OPEN JIM DEEDS

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

“IRISH PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SO GENEROUS”

THANKS TO THE STRONG LINKS BETWEEN REDEMPTORISTS IN IRELAND AND UKRAINE, AID CAN BE TARGETED TO WHERE IT’S NEEDED MOST

BY TRÍONA DOHERTY

There have been strong ties for many years between the Redemptorist communities in Ireland and Ukraine, but these bonds have grown even closer in recent months ever since war was unleashed by Russia on the people of Ukraine.

An appeal by the Irish Redemptorists has raised more than €500,000 so far, which is proving a blessing for the priests looking after refugees, orphans and soldiers in war-ravaged Ukraine.

There are Redemptorists in nine locations in Ukraine, including in areas which have come under attack, and the refugee crisis is widespread. In each location, the Redemptorists have opened their houses, halls and churches as sanctuaries and shelter for vulnerable and fleeing families.

In the border region of Novoiavorivsk, close to the Polish border, the Redemptorists have opened care centres to offer accommodation and other services to fleeing families.

In Ivano-Frankivsk, the Redemptorist

community has welcomed more than 80 orphan children and their carers who have fled the besieged city of Kharkiv. On any given night there are 40-70 families staying, and many more on nights when there is bombing. The monastery kitchen is preparing meals and high-energy biscuits for elderly and disabled people who cannot leave their homes, and baking fresh bread daily for families gathered in halls and public buildings.

In Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, the Redemptorists are stranded for large parts of the day in basements as their city and local communities are bombarded. When possible, in the intervals between attacks and bombing, they offer food and supports to people who cannot move from their own basements or shelters.

The needs of each community and region differ greatly, but the network of monasteries across Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia, and the strong links with Ireland, mean aid can be targeted where it’s needed most.

SPECIALISED REQUESTS

Fr Gerry O’Connor CSsR, a Cork-based Redemptorist, says the strong relationships already in place enable them to receive firsthand requests for what is needed. “The Redemptorists have a strong presence in Poland and Slovakia, so we were allowed to hit the ground running as we already had infrastructure in Ukraine and two border countries. We are also working with the Spanish and German Redemptorists,” he explains.

Several convoys of vans and trucks loaded with supplies have already travelled from Ireland to Ukraine. Fr Gerry explains that the requests for aid are quite specific.

“We try to send more specialised items,” he says. “Some of the requirements are hygiene kits, medicines, bandages, blood pressure monitors and blood pressure tablets. The requests give us a sense of the issues people are facing. They need first aid kits for war zones, which we have managed to procure in

Carefully loaded humanitarian supplies, labelled in Cork for Redemptorists in Ukraine

Frs Brian Nolan and Gerry O’Connor CSsR (third and fourth from left) receiving gifted humanitarian supplies into the donation centre in Cork

New arrivals at the Redemptorist centre in IvanoFrankivsk

Fr Adrian Egan CSsR with Detective Garda Ken McGreevy from Malahide Garda Station, organiser of the convoy, and Chief Superintendent Mark Curran, division officer, Ballymun Garda Station

Socks purchased by direct transfer of funds from Ireland. The socks are for volunteers, frontline personnel and families living underground and in shelters.

Redemptorist community living underground in the besieged city of Chernihiv. They minister to families in the intervals between attacks.

Large generator on its way to St Joseph’s monastery in Ivano-Frankivsk

Germany. There are requests for flak jackets [a type of body armour] as some Redemptorists are military chaplains and there are young parishioners going off to war without proper equipment.”

Fr Gerry has also been working to source an ongoing supply of flour for St Joseph’s Monastery in Ivano-Frankivsk so its bakery can keep producing the food required.

On March 29, an aid convoy left Dublin for Ukraine, which included generators funded by the Irish Redemptorist Solidarity Fund for Ukraine. The largest was bound for IvanoFrankivsk to support the orphanage project and bakery there. The generator will be integral to the emergency response being implemented by the Redemptorists if, as expected, Ivano-Frankivsk experiences heightened attack. They are already experiencing problems with electricity. Further generators in the convoy were funded by Gorta, and members of An Garda Síochána accompanied the convoy and covered the cost of transport. Fr Adrian Egan CSsR, who represented the Redemptorists as

the convoy departed, said it was a “lovely, moving occasion… Thanks to our personal contacts with our colleagues in Ukraine, people are very glad to hear their donations are going directly to people in need. Sincere thanks go to all involved for their generosity.”

A German congregation, the Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer, have requested items from Ireland such as blood pressure monitors and anti-inflammatories. The Sisters are also visiting centres to do activities and games with children so are in need of supplies to help them carry out this ministry.

GENEROSITY

Of the half million euros raised to date, a large proportion of the donations have come in through the Redemptorist community in Mount St Alphonsus, Limerick. Many Ukrainian Redemptorist priests have spent time studying and living with the community there, so people feel a personal connection with the appeal. In Dublin, in Assumption Parish Ballyfermot alone, €9,000 was raised during three Masses in the parish. While

some very large donations have been made, the majority are smaller amounts like €10, €20 or €50.

“People have been very generous,” says Fr Gerry. “This is the third really large response we’ve had to a fundraising campaign. We raised a lot of money in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake when a lot of children died at a Redemptorist school – I was in Haiti at the time – and again in 2013 when typhoon

Volunteers prepare soup for families waiting for days at bus stops in Kyiv

Bread baked by Redemptorists in Ivano-Frankivsk for vulnerable citizens.

“Some of the requirements are hygiene kits, medicines, bandages, blood pressure monitors and blood pressure tablets. The requests give us a sense of the issues people are facing. They need first aid kits for war zones.”

Haiyan hit the Philippines and our church became a centre for lots of different agencies. Where Redemptorists are present on the ground, people have a lot of confidence in where their donations are going.”

Although most of the funds raised are targeted at essential items and services, it has also been possible to transfer some money into bank accounts in Ukraine. “We trialled a small amount and managed to get funds into certain bank accounts in Ukraine. For example, Fr Roman in Novoiavorivsk was able to purchase some items such as warm socks for volunteers and frontline personnel. But of course, it is more difficult in other areas in the east of the country,” says Fr Gerry.

“We are also working on securing funds through Irish Aid and the Irish Government and we are working with a group on support from the UN.”

TENDER MOMENTS

Coinciding with the humanitarian efforts, Fr Gerry says he has been deeply affected by stories from his Ukraine confrères about

“tender moments” in the midst of the crisis.

“They are telling us about mothers who have sons going to war, who are bringing their sons to the priests for a blessing before they go. Many soldiers are not fully trained and they are heading off without the equipment they need; it doesn’t bear thinking about. Redemptorists are playing a significant role in this companionship. You can hear in their voices the impact it is having on them.

“Because I have worked through war in Sudan and the Rwanda genocide of 1994, I know how exhausting it can be. It can leave you dispirited, and you are running on artificial energy. But it is part of our Redemptorist spirituality that we stay close to people.”

There is an added focus now on assisting refugees leaving Ukraine. In Poland and Slovakia, Redemptorists are working at border points and preparing centres to welcome fleeing families. In Ireland, the congregation is using its contacts to support newly arriving refugees. Two Ukrainian

Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer congregation, themselves refugees, are coming to Limerick to work with families arriving there. There are also efforts being made to source children’s books and games in the Ukranian language for children arriving here.

HOW CAN I HELP?

Anyone who would like to support the Redemptorists’ Solidarity with Ukraine campaign can send a donation by post to Ukraine Appeal, Redemptorist Solidarity Office, Scala, Castle Road, Blackrock, Cork T12 YV52; or donate online at www.africaredemptorists.com/ get-involved/donate

Tríona Doherty is editor of Reality and co-author, with Jane Mellett, of The Deep End: A Journey with the Sunday Gospels in the Year of Luke

Cork volunteers leaving for the Ukraine-Poland border with humanitarian supplies in March

Generators on their way from Dublin to Ukraine. Pictured are Fr Adrian Egan CSsR and Martha Hourican of Gorta Self Help Africa.

MAKING A FUSS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: A

HISTORIC LETTER

WHILE IT IS NOT THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH TO SUGGEST CONCRETE POLICY SOLUTIONS TO THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY, CHRISTIAN LEADERS HAVE PENNED HARD-HITTING DOCUMENTS ADDRESSING GOVERNMENTS AND EVERY ONE OF US

BY KEVIN HARGADEN

Late last year, the Ecumenical Patriarch (of the Eastern Orthodox Church), the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Francis issued a joint statement. This might sound like the beginning of a particularly poor joke but it was actually a historic moment in the history of Christianity. These three leaders together represent 1.6 billion Christians and they had never spoken in unison on a topic before. The issue that brought them together was not liturgical reform or some weighty doctrinal matter; it was care for our common home. Their declaration is called ‘A Joint Message for the Protection of Creation’. It is just six pages long, but it packs a considerable punch. It begins with their admission that their reflections are informed by the experience of the pandemic. With the outbreak of COVID-19, it quickly became clear

that “no one is safe until everyone is safe.” The sudden transformation of our societies in the face of the threat of the virus reminded us that we can still change our course of action. The church leaders suggest that the risk posed by the novel coronavirus is dwarfed by comparison to the prospect of climate catastrophe and biodiversity collapse. Quoting Scripture (Deut 30:19), they urge their readers to “Choose life, so that you and your children might live.”

The letter consists of three major messages:

• Instead of obsessively pursuing short-term profits, the three church leaders advocate a more sustainable approach to our economic activity, one less destructive of creation and other creatures.

• They draw attention to the grave injustice of our environmental crisis: that those who

contributed the least will suffer the most and those who are most to blame will be insulated from the consequences of their actions by their wealth. They warn that the extreme weather conditions we are already experiencing are evidence that the climate models are correct, but they are clear that the future will bring even more devastation.

• But their message is not without hope. They propose that we consider “humanity as a family and work together towards a future based on the common good” and in so doing “we could find ourselves living in a very different world.”

In their conclusion, they emphasise that this message is not meant as some sweet little reflective aid for particularly committed Christians. They seek to address the political

and industrial leaders of the world. They published this letter just weeks before the COP meetings in Glasgow, which was an opportunity to intensify every nation’s response to the crisis. The patriarch, the archbishop and the pope conclude by stating that “all of us – whoever and wherever we are – can play a part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and environmental degradation.”

THE CONFERENCE OUTCOMES

Almost 200 countries gathered for more than two weeks of negotiations at this conference in Glasgow last November, which over-ran by three days in an effort to secure deals. Many of us have become increasingly alert to the need to care for our common home in recent years

and have made efforts to “reduce, reuse, and recycle”.

But we can understand why these international meetings matter when we consider the bigger picture. The wealthiest 10 per cent of people make up for more than a third of the carbon emissions globally, while the bottom half of the world’s earners together contribute just 15 per cent of emissions. Small lifestyle changes by individuals in affluent countries should be welcomed, but we need large-scale, system transformations to address this crisis. This is very much the case for Ireland, where our government often says the right things but fails to back them up with action. We were the second country in the world to declare a ‘climate emergency’ but it has not slowed our support for contentious investments in polluting industries or modes of transport. Our politicians say they understand the unique role that farming communities will play in Ireland’s adaptation to this age of climate catastrophe. But years fly by and no real progress is made on financially rewarding them for engaging in the risky and complicated shifts in practice that are recommended.

It was hoped that COP 26 would be a decisive meeting where the foundations for these big decisions could be made. In reality, most participants were disappointed by the outcomes. My colleagues, Dr Ciara Murphy and Martina Madden represented the Jesuit Province at the conference, and they were less than energised by the experience. Both committed environmentalists, they felt that the powerful countries still did not recognise the harm already being done to those who are

most vulnerable. But they were hugely encouraged by some of the activists and spokespeople they encountered from the southern hemisphere, who were thrillingly articulate in their hope for change.

The big achievements that were secured at COP could be summarised as:

• The establishment of a huge $130 trillion fund to invest in renewable energy and the technologies needed to leave fossil fuels behind.

• New rules for large corporations which mean they must develop plans to become ‘carbon neutral’ and then publish their progress. Since 71 per cent of emissions are produced by 100 large, highly polluting corporations, even if it seems very technical, this is not an insignificant achievement.

• An intensification of the previously agreed ‘Paris Protocols’ that required countries to set targets for reductions in carbon emissions by 2030. Now governments will be prompted to strengthen these targets and high-level meetings will be regularly scheduled so that peer nations can hold each other to account.

None of these measures get the heart-rate pulsing. They are all quite technical and niche. This is one of the great problems with discussing the environmental crisis. It takes real skill to be able to talk about it without slipping into scientific or policy jargon and getting lost in the intricacies. But here’s one way to think about it: for all the progress represented by these steps, it was widely agreed that COP 26 failed at its basic goal. It was hoped that at the end of the conference there would be a clear agreement to at least end the burning of coal, which is hugely polluting, not very efficient and increasingly expensive.

The failure to keep coal in the ground, and the refusal by some very wealthy nations to end subsidies to fossil fuel industries mean that it is likely that global warming, which is already above 1°C, will eventually double. The likelihood now is that if all these commitments are kept (which is not guaranteed), the average global temperate will rise by 2.4°C. This will devastate huge populations around the equator, generate more and more extreme weather events, and may set off chain reactions in our environment that we cannot

We were the second country in the world to declare a ‘climate emergency’ but it has not slowed our support for contentious investments in polluting industries or modes of transport.

predict. But an optimist might point out that this still a lot better than how things would have been had we not gathered to meet in Glasgow.

A GENERATIONAL CHALLENGE

It hasn’t just been global church leaders who have commented on the need for environmental care in recent months. The newly appointed Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell, has published a pastoral letter entitled The Cry of the Earth – The Cry of the Poor. Too often, documents published by figures in the church hierarchy take on a conciliatory tone that makes them hard to read and harder still to implement. This is not the case with this letter, which is bracing. He has hard words for those depressing environmentalists who paint such a dire picture that they neuter any possible attempts for progress: “Discourses built on guilt and baths of nostalgia are not constructive.” He is rigorous in his thinking, recognising for example that while the “shift to electric vehicles is rightly flagged as a game-changer in automobility” they are no magical resolution of our problems and come with

their set of challenges. But mostly he is crystal clear on the shape of the crisis – it was made by previous generations but will be suffered most by those who are now young. As oceans rise and the climate changes become more severe, it “will impact on the lives of our young people with increasing severity.”

Archbishop Farrell shares with the patriarch, the pope and Archbishop Welby an understanding that it is not the churchleader’s role to suggest concrete policy solutions. He is a spiritual leader and his counsel flows from that. His advice, echoing Pope Francis’ famous words in Laudato Si’, is that ordinary Christians should pursue an “ecological conversion” so that we go beyond “a half-hearted acknowledgement of a crisis” and start acting for change. The actions he calls start internally in the soul and then move outwards.

First, we must cultivate our own sense of gratitude and wonder for the glories of God’s good creation. Then we must start recognising the goodness of limits and our own finitude. This is a particularly counter-cultural call in an age when we are pressed on all sides to pursue our own interests without limit. These two

changes in our internal soul-environment then generate external action – prayer first, for creation and society – and then community action. He lays out a series of steps every parish can practically take to make their contribution, echoing the Joint Statement’s insistence that we all have a part to play. Interestingly, he sees children as central to this endeavour, calling on adults to listen and heed their advice and setting up a fund and competition to encourage their initiatives.

The climate catastrophe is a global challenge; one the global church is responding to. We can’t leave it all up to the leaders; COP 26 reminded us of that again. And that challenge becomes real at the parish level, in a multigenerational effort to renew our environment that may just be used by the Spirit to also renew our churches. As Archbishop Farrell suggests, “make a fuss” as we start to make amends.

Kevin Hargaden is the director of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, where he works as a social theologian. Along with his colleague, Dr Ciara Murphy, later this year he is publishing a practical guide to help Christians care better for their common home called Parish as Oasis (Messenger Publications).

PAULINE JARICOT: THE SPARK THAT LIT THE FIRE

ON MAY 22 THIS YEAR, THE BEATIFICATION OF PAULINE MARIE JARICOT WILL BE CELEBRATED IN LYON, FRANCE. BUT WHO IS PAULINE JARICOT AND WHY IS THIS AN IMPORTANT OCCASION FOR THE WIDER CHURCH AND FOR MISSION?

BY JULIEANN MORAN

Pauline Jaricot is one of our most important missionary figures. Not only is she the inspiration behind the worldwide Pontifical Mission Societies (known as Missio in Ireland), but her witness continues to provide a missionary impetus and challenges all of us to become, and remain, missionary disciples. Her story begins with the founding of a small union of prayer for the missions. Little did she know it would become the largest aid agency for the missions in the entire history of the Catholic Church. Today she would probably be seen as an enlightened businesswoman, but Pauline was much more than that. She was an agitator, an agent of change, a fundraising genius, a philanthropist, an entrepreneur, an advocate for women and young girls, a pioneer of workers’ rights, a spiritual writer and visionary, a woman of great faith, love, and action, and above all a missionary.

Pauline was born in 1799 in Lyon, France into a new republic emerging from revolution, counter-revolution, and a coup d’état with Napoleon as its First Consul. Her parents, Antoine and Jeanne, were devout Catholics. The Catholic

Church in France had been greatly weakened in the wake of the revolution and its civil constitution. A wave of dechristianisation had swept across the country along with a rise in anticlericalism. Divisions had also risen between clergy; between those who had taken the oath of loyalty to the state and those who refused the oath and remained loyal to the Holy See. However, the Concordat (1801)

between Pope Pius VII and Napoleon Bonaparte established a modus vivendi. It resolved some of the hostility that devout Catholics had towards the revolutionary state, and many clergy returned from exile (or from hiding) to resume their ministries. Pauline’s childhood and adolescence would be marked, too, by a newly emerging entrepreneurial spirit that corresponded to the growth of industrialisation in Lyon and other French cities.

Living in a time of great civil instability and profound social and economic change, as well as having a childhood filled with love and the living faith of her family, perhaps it is no accident that Pauline would one day carry out work that would become crucial to the activity of evangelisation in the Catholic Church. As the daughter of well-to-do parents who were silk merchants and factory owners, Pauline attended the social gatherings and dances that reflected her social status. She frequented the fashionable cafés of Lyon, was admired and courted, but she was also drawn to moments of intense prayer and devotion and would spend hours before the Blessed Sacrament. At the age of 15 she suffered a tragic accident in the home, falling from a stool while cleaning. The fall seriously damaged her nervous system and speech, which led to a long period of depression. Her mother worried so much about her daughter’s illness that she too became ill.

When Pauline’s older brother Narcisse died suddenly that same year, both women’s health deteriorated. Sadly, her mother Jeanne died in November of 1814, and this compounded Pauline’s suffering.

A true servant of God, Pauline modestly once said, “I lit the match that lit the fire.”

VISION

It was a homily that she heard while attending Mass one Sunday in 1816 that radically changed her life. She began to feel a profound closeness to God. She chose to dress more simply, sold her jewellery to give money to the poor, and began to deepen her prayer life. In 1817 she set up Reparation, an association of those who would make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That same year, while praying, Pauline had a vision of two lamps. One had no oil, but the other was overflowing and pouring into the empty one. For Pauline, the drained lamp signified the faith in her native France, still reeling from the turbulence of the French Revolution. The full lamp was the great faith of Catholics in the missions, which she believed could help revitalise the faith of her homeland.

Having learned of the critical situation of the missions from her brother Philéas, who was training for the priesthood, she decided to contact some missionaries, make known their needs, and support them through prayer and material help. In her mind the simplest and most effective way was through organised prayer and action. In 1818 she began organising a weekly collection among the female workers in her family’s factories, effectively launching the first social missionary network. She organised groups of ten who pledged to pray daily and to donate a sou (penny) a week to provide financial support for the missions. One group would lead in time to the formation of another, eventually spreading throughout France and later

Europe and America. She combined, perfectly, the spiritual impulse with concrete action. The idea inflamed people’s hearts and the project spread like wildfire. The substantial funds raised were divided and sent all over the world. This was the first fruits of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which she officially founded on May 3, 1822 and which will celebrate its 200th anniversary this year.

Today it is one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies which make up the charity known as Missio here in Ireland. It supports young churches throughout the developing world, responding to the needs of the local communities. This is a large remit and varies from building churches and parish centres and providing assistance for priests and sisters, to funding faith formation programmes and providing lay catechists who play a pivotal role in developing the faith and fulfilling many of the duties usually done by priests.

EVANGELISATION

The society was not the only ‘brainwave’ of this exceptional woman with a heart on fire for mission. Pauline believed that the rosary could revitalise a society whose

faith was in decline. In 1826 she founded the Living Rosary to re-evangelise people in groups of 15. Each person committed to praying a decade every day for the intentions of the pope, the evangelisation of peoples, the conversion of sinners and for the preservation of the faith of the church. Pauline’s Living Rosary soon became a worldwide phenomenon. In 1831, she wrote, “The groups of fifteen continue to multiply with incredible speed in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, England, and in various parts of America. The Rosary has spread its roots to the Indies and especially to Canada.” By the time of her death in 1862, there were more than two million devotees of the Living Rosary in France alone.

Concerned for the wellbeing of young girls in Lyon, Pauline then founded a community that she called The Daughters of Mary in 1833 and established a home for them in Fourvière. Maison de Lorette (named after the home of the Holy Family) still welcomes pilgrims and visitors today.

In 1835, Pauline’s health began to worsen. She took a pilgrimage to Rome but became quite ill while she was there. Confined to her bed in a convent near the Church of the Trinità dei Monti at the top

While praying, Pauline had a vision of two lamps. One had no oil, but the other was overflowing and pouring into the empty one.

of the Spanish Steps, Pauline was visited by the Holy Father, Pope Gregory XVI, who encouraged her to continue her work of evangelisation and gave her his blessing. Having recouped, Pauline made a pilgrimage to Magnano in the south of Italy to ask the intercession of St Philomena. She returned to Lyon in full health and oversaw the building of a church in honour of St Philomena at Fourvière.

Not all of Pauline’s projects were successes, however. She was very sensitive to the conditions of workers in Lyon and believed that improving their working conditions and lives would provide the necessary environment for evangelisation. During the Canut Revolts of the Lyon silk workers, Pauline had prayed and ministered to the wounded, at times putting herself in harm’s way between the rioters and the troops. In 1845, using her remaining fortune and borrowing from other investors, she bought an industrial site in Rustrel in the Vaucluse area of Lyon and established a prototype Christian village with a factory, dwellings and education for workers and their families. She called it Our Lady of the Angels. She placed the management of the project into the hands of businessmen, who, unfortunately, defrauded her and brought about the collapse of the whole enterprise. Pauline travelled France raising funds to repay those who had invested, and she almost succeeded in clearing her debts completely. Sadly, Pauline fell into a state of complete poverty and was forced to join the list of the poor of Lyon, the same poor she had worked so hard to serve. Pauline Jaricot died peacefully, but destitute, on January 9, 1862. Her love for God, for Our Lady and for the missions never wavered.

GLOBAL IMPACT

In 1922, Pope Pius XI made the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (along with two other societies) a pontifical society

under papal patronage. In 1926 he paid homage to the missionary genius of Pauline and introduced her cause for beatification. For the first time, the whole church was called to celebrate what became known as World Mission Sunday, which takes place on the second last Sunday of October each year in every parish in the world. Pauline was proclaimed Venerable by Pope John XXIII on February 25, 1963, and on May 26, 2020, Pope Francis authorised the recognition of a miracle attributed to Pauline’s intercession, clearing the path for her beatification. The miracle approved by the decree took place in 2012 on the 150th anniversary of Pauline’s birth. Three-year-old Mayline Tran became unconscious due to suffocation from food. Hospitalised and on artificial life support, Mayline’s neurological condition was considered irreversible and her death imminent. But her family refused to end life support and began a novena to Pauline Jaricot. Shortly after, the little girl woke and, against all hope, completely recovered.

The witness of Pauline Jaricot challenges many of our perceptions of vocation, mission, ministry, evangelisation, the contribution of women to church and their spirituality. Her legacy is a global network of prayer, formation and charity at the service of the pope. It is a legacy of 120 charitable agencies reaching out across five continents to support more than 1,100 mission dioceses and a legacy of more than 12 million devotees praying the Living Rosary every day. A true servant of God, Pauline modestly once said, “I lit the match that lit the fire.”

As we journey towards her beatification and celebrate 200 years of her fundraising and faith-raising genius, may Pauline continue to inspire each of us to offer the same solidarity and support to those in need, and may we remember the countless missionaries and millions of people that have benefited from Pauline’s pennies and prayers to date.

Julieann Moran is a member of the team at Missio Ireland. She works with schools, parishes, and other organisations to increase awareness and raise funds for the Holy Father’s Universal Solidarity Fund, which supports mission dioceses and parishes in mostly Asia, Africa and South America.

Missio Ireland logo featuring Pauline Jaricot

FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS CARMEL WYNNE LONELINESS

WE ALL EXPERIENCE LONELINESS FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS

The first Report on the Social Implications of COVID-19 in Ireland set out a range of issues impacting the general population including a lack of social interaction, mental health problems and loneliness. Cut off from our loved ones, loneliness emerged as a key public health challenge for the Irish population during the pandemic.

Loneliness is often assumed to be an issue that predominantly affects the elderly. But according to Professor Roger O’Sullivan from the Institute of Public Health, loneliness increased more among 18-34-year-olds than for any other age group.

In 2018, data from Prof. O’Sullivan showed that 3 per cent in the 18-34 age group said they were lonely all or most of the time. By November 2020, this figure had risen to 28 per cent. Extreme loneliness increased for all bar the over 70s who remained at 5 per cent – from 3 to 9 per cent among 35- to 44-year-olds; from 3 to 15 per cent among 45- to 54-year-olds; and from 3 to 7 per cent among 55- to 69-yearolds..

It’s hardly surprising that more people than ever reported feeling lonely during the past two years. The reasons are obvious. Lockdown was incredibly difficult for everyone, but especially for people who were living alone, single-parent families and those who were not allowed to visit their terminally ill loved ones in hospital.

There are no words to describe

the emotional pain, suffering and sense of abandonment that many lonely, socially isolated and terminally ill patients had to endure alone. Window visits were of little consolation to family members whose only wish was to sit by the bedside and hold the hand of a loved one in what might be their final days.

Different people need different amounts of social contacts. Some people can spend a lot of time alone and suffer no loneliness. Others can feel lonely in a crowd. Prof. O’Sullivan wisely said that “Not everyone who is lonely is socially isolated and not everyone who is socially isolated is lonely.”

There are good reasons why so

the unprecedented stresses and anxieties of an uncertain future, alcohol consumption increased for many who could no longer socialise in pubs and restaurants. A couple of glasses of wine or a few beers in the evening helped people cope with the loneliness. Some believed alcohol helped them get a good night’s sleep. A study by Drinkaware found that in the 30-day period leading up to April 24, 2020, 52 per cent of adults were drinking on a weekly basis and the frequency of consumption of alcohol had also increased.

We will never understand the loneliness and sorrow of people who did not get to say their goodbyes in person. Bereavement is always difficult, but for people who were deprived of the emotional support given and received at a traditional wake and funeral, the grieving process will continue to be arduous and painful.

SUBJECTIVE

No two people experience loneliness in the same way because loneliness is subjective. It can and does affect everyone at some time in their lives. Left unchecked, it can have as serious an impact on our health as alcohol, smoking or obesity.

many of us put on weight –jokingly referred to as the ‘Covid stone’ – during lockdown. People who rate themselves as lonely are more likely to sleep fitfully and this may cause them to feel tired the following day. Lonely people are more likely to eat unhealthily, drink more and fail to exercise.

A meta-analysis of nearly 150 studies showed that a lack of social interaction had the same negative effects on risk of death as smoking, alcohol, lack of exercise and obesity. Both alcohol and loneliness increase the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety, stress and depression.

The most cited reasons for drinking are to ease boredom, relax and unwind. In the face of

One of the most underreported and ignored health problems in Irish society is the perceived isolation of lonely people who stay at home and assuage their loneliness by lolling in front of the television with junk food, overeating and rationalising that an alcoholic drink will cheer them up.

Technology has changed the way we shop, work, socialise and maintain personal relationships with family, colleagues, classmates and friends. People wrongly assume that social media should be an antidote to loneliness but there is research that suggests that heavy users of social media are lonely people. The jury is still out on whether social media generates loneliness or lonely people use social media more.

Carmel Wynne is a life coach, crossprofessional supervisor and author based in Dublin. For more information go to www.carmelwynne.org

BLESSINGS

BY MARIA HALL

We frequently say “God bless” to people. We even hear it on TV as some celebrities say goodbye (which I love!). And when life is going well, we often say how blessed we are. But as with many aspects of our faith, a closer look reveals deeper meanings and gives us the opportunity to think of the act of blessing in an enlightening way.

OLD TESTAMENT ORIGINS

Throughout the Old Testament there are examples of God bestowing blessings on his people. This should be very comforting to us because, from the beginning, God is reassuring us of his love and showing us that with his blessing, all will be well.

In the act of Creation, God blessed all living things. He also blessed Moses and the Israelites with words which are so well known and are the oldest biblical inscription in existence:

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

May the Lord be kind and gracious to you;

May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

(Num 6:24-26)

God blesses his people when they obey him. In Exodus, he says, “If you worship me, the Lord your God, I will bless you with food and water and take away all your illnesses.”

Deuteronomy contains a similar theme of God rewarding faithfulness with blessing:

The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake.

And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.

(Deut 28:8-12)

The Psalms contain some beautiful phrases of blessing. Psalm 1 begins: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or sit in the seat of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and ponders the law, day and night.”

The Psalms illustrate that we can also bless God in thanksgiving and praise for his goodness: “Bless the Lord my soul, all my being bless his holy name… Bless the Lord my soul, Lord God how great you are, you are clothed with majesty and glory…” (Ps 103-104)

The Book of Daniel contains the most beautiful poem of blessing and praising God: Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our ancestors, and to be praised and highly exalted forever; And blessed is your glorious, holy name, and to be highly praised and highly exalted forever.

Those who are blessed in the Old Testament are people whom God has chosen, has singled out to do his work. It has made them holy. And this is what happens to someone or something that is blessed. It singles them out, sets them apart as an instrument of God.

CHRIST’S EXAMPLE

Jesus taught lessons by the blessings he gave. After telling his disciples to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” he instructed them to “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Lk 6:28). On his final journey to Jerusalem, he blessed the children that people brought to him, and he touched them. This act redefined an old custom where Hebrew fathers blessed their children (including Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). But touching was something the scribes and pharisees did not do; they believed touching would defile them. This simple action, whilst telling people “The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these,” was an important message, even to the disciples.

Jesus also blessed food, including the loaves for the feeding of the five thousand and most significantly the bread and wine at the Last Supper.

For the early Christians, the blessing was the heart of the Eucharist. Edward Foley says the “ berakah (blessing) attitude and intention is at the heart of Jesus’ table ministry.” Jesus expected his disciples not only to imitate his actions of blessing, but they were “to continue living in the spirit of blessing. It was this spirit of gracious acceptance for God’s initiative… that Christian Eucharist emerged and flourished.”

St Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has

BLESSINGS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH. BUT WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SAYING THAT GOD BESTOWS BLESSINGS ON A PERSON OR SITUATION?

blessed us with every spiritual blessing.” He also echoed the Lord’s command when he instructed the Romans to “bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them” (Rom 12:14).

St Peter urged that each time we are on the receiving end of evil, we should return “a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing” (1 Pt 3:9).

When Christians could finally celebrate their faith without fear of persecution, blessing themselves and each other with the sign of the cross became commonplace in everyday life and in the liturgy.

WHO CAN BLESS?

Every baptised person is called to be a ‘blessing’ and to bless. Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 1669

Traditionally it has been those in the ordained ministry who have had the authority to bless, and priests who are the ordinary ministers of blessing. The Rite of Ordination includes the words “whatsoever they bless may be blessed”. But Vatican II increased the role of the laity, with the restored belief that by way of our baptism we are all part of the universal priesthood. The church invites us to bless our children, our families and each other. This kind of blessing is known as an ‘invocative blessing’. We are asking the goodness of God in a temporary way.

Other occasions where lay people can bless include at mealtimes (there is a large and useful collection of meal prayers in the Book of Blessings) and blessings connected with farming, animals and work. We should be careful to follow the prescribed wording and remember that making the sign of the cross

at blessings is reserved for a priest or deacon.

When an ordained minister blesses, it is a ‘constitutive’ blessing. This means the person or object is permanently sanctified and dedicated for sacred use, for example an altar or chalice or when someone takes their religious vows.

Various blessings are assigned to deacons, priests and bishops and then of course there is the papal blessing given only by the pope.

IN THE LITURGY AND BEYOND

At all times and in every situation, the faithful have an occasion for praising God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, for calling on divine help, and for giving thanks in all things.

Book of Blessings

Blessings are an integral feature of the life of the church known as sacramentals. They bestow God’s favour on people or objects.

In a liturgy they are accompanied by outward signs including the outstretching of hands, the sign of the cross, laying of hands, incense and holy water. But they extend far beyond the liturgical sphere into every aspect of our lives and the church encourages this. The Book of Blessings is a rich resource and provides a short formula for the blessing of just about every human situation, including: blessing of the elderly; a mother after miscarriage; parents; those suffering from addiction; victims of crime; adopted children; before and after childbirth; and departing pilgrims. The list is long!

There are blessings for buildings and human activity including: a new home, a new shop, an athletic event, boats and fishing gear, work tools, animals, fields, technical equipment.

There are blessings for articles of piety and also for various events during the liturgical year, such as a Christmas tree, throats, ashes and visiting a cemetery. In taking a fresh look at the categories for blessing, I was struck at

what an underused resource it is. So many people say that religion is irrelevant in today’s world. But there is huge potential for sanctifying people and situations where God’s grace is needed the most. Let’s not ignore them and let’s delve into the Book of Blessings!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BLESSED?

It’s a phrase we use so frequently: “I am blessed.” When life is going our way, with family, work, money, good friends, are we blessed? Does God bless with material luxuries or nice experiences? What we mean is that we are thankful to God. But with so much poverty in the world, is that right? Does God deprive some people of his grace and mercy? Of course not! God’s blessings go much deeper. So, it’s worth looking at the language we use and reflecting on what God actually does give us that we may be overlooking!

In the Old and New Testament, all blessings were spiritual gifts, not material ones. Think of the Beatitudes. God imparts his love, strength and grace in times of greatest need, in situations of despair and to those who are suffering. These are true blessings! So rather than think we are blessed when things go well, we should see God’s help when life tests us. Then he is truly with us.

So, when are we truly blessed? When we live in the certainty of God. When his love overpowers us. When we feel his mercy. When we don’t need material possession because we are filled with hope and assurance. Let’s thank God for what we have, and share what is ours, but see God’s blessings in a new and exciting way; God loves us and has a place waiting for us in his kingdom. The promise of that should make us truly blessed!

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

There are blessings for buildings and human activity including: a new home, a new shop, an athletic event, boats and fishing gear, work tools, animals, fields, technical equipment.

DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING?

A LOCAL CUSTOM REFLECTING THE GATHERED WISDOM OF GENERATIONS PROMPTS DEEPER QUESTIONS ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH

BY COLM MEANEY CSsR

I was assigned for a few weeks to a parish in the hills. After long months in the poorer parts of Cebu city, it was a blessed relief. Apart from a few storeowners and teachers, almost everybody is involved in farming, tending their own lots or as tenants of the city-based landowners. After more than three years conducting missions in Cebu city, it was certainly a pleasant change to be back again in a bucolic setting: the clean, clear air, the softly undulating hills stretching into the distance, the view of far-off Mount Canlaon towering into the sky above Negros (a neighbouring island), the hillsides dotted with lights as darkness falls when the lovely silence becomes even deeper. However, the simplicity of rustic life also has its downsides. An obvious drawback is the absence of any decent medical services. Perhaps that explains the strange scene I witnessed on Good Friday. As I sat in one of the chapels waiting for the neighbors to gather for our procession to the main church, I noticed a group of people in a nearby copse. I wondered what they were doing, so I went to investigate. I knew some of them, having visited the area a few weeks previously; others I didn’t recognise. They were cooking oil from coconut meat in two big pans, while young children were chopping and separating various roots. Intrigued, I asked what it was all about. The oil was to be mixed with the roots which had been

gathered in various caves in the nearby hills and it was effective against itch or other minor bodily pains. I wondered if there was more. Yes, it’s also good to ward off and combat evil spirits. It’s difficult for me to know what to make of this. Undoubtedly, the oil and root mixture indeed has healing properties, and probably reflects the gathered learning and wisdom of many generations. And for people who live in somewhat remote regions, and with the exorbitant expense of many commercial medicines, it makes perfect sense for them to make use of local resources. But is there not a questionable angle to it too? When we were in Siquijor (an island noted for black magic) on mission in 2000, people climbed a particular hill specifically on Good Friday to mix their oily concoctions. And the oils of Siquijor are not always used for beneficial or healing purposes! The healing balm of medicinal oil on a sprained leg or even wounded spirit is one thing; surely different is the use of the same oil conjoined with diagnoses of diabolic possession and applied with invocations of bog-Latin and other gibberish designed (or perhaps not, maybe just unconsciously) to both impress and mystify the ‘client’. It’s a pity that the obvious benefits of native herbal wisdom should become entangled in mentalities and practices which strike me as more imprisoning than liberating. The man I asked didn’t know why they were

gathering specifically on Good Friday. As he stirred the oil and separated it from the dregs, people approached with their various containers and filled them; the roots had already been placed in the bottles.

PWERTING BUANGA!

I’m pretty sure that Paddy Martin, God be good to him, would agree with me on this. A native of Dundalk, he did Trojan work in the Philippines for many years, being especially active in the AA movement. I recall him telling me about a priest who saw devils and demons everywhere and who would perform an exorcism at the drop of a hat (or maybe if he saw a black cat). Typically, in recounting this, Paddy raised his eyebrows (and eyes) to heaven, pursed his lips as only he could, and then proclaimed his famous two-word commentary on all such antics: pwerting buanga! (roughly translated: pure craziness). Pwerting buanga was Paddy’s response to what he saw as the various tomfooleries and shenanigans that we all, high and low, bright and slow, can get mixed up and messed up in. The history of holy mother church is replete with evidence of attitudes and actions meriting the riposte pwerting buanga – even more so is the history of civil society. Pwerting buanga refers to actions and happenings which, while undoubtedly causing pain or discomfort, are in themselves

merely parasitic, producing no good fruit, just hollow forgeries. As I thought further of Paddy’s death, I concluded that the event most deserving of the commentary pwerting buanga is actually death itself.

Death most certainly causes pain and can sometimes be callous and brutal (in the case of murder), often achingly sad (the death of the young), but for the believer should never be an occasion of despair. True, we may sometimes despair of converting those who order or perpetrate murder but death, no matter how poignant or heart-rending, should never be hope-quenching. The invincible victory of Christ at Easter should instill in us a completely justifiable triumphalism: he has destroyed the power of death, released all those held in her futile captivity, torn asunder the gates of hell, and the glory of his risen life enlightens even the grey shadows of the hospice and the morgue. Death is indeed pwerting buanga and, in the Resurrection, is shown up to be the intruder she is; she may bequeath temporary sadness, but ultimately this imposter has been given a cosmic kick in the pants! “Death, where is thy sting?”

A native of Limerick city where he went to school in St Clement’s College, Fr Colm Meaney CSsR first went to the Philippines as a student and has spent most of his priestly life there.

REDEMPTORIST PARISH MISSIONS

BREAKING THE WORD IN MAY 2022

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE REDEMPTORIST TEAMS WHO WILL PREACH THE WORD AND FOR GOD’S PEOPLE WHO WILL HEAR THE WORD PROCLAIMED THIS MONTH IN:

ST GERARD’S CHURCH, BELFAST

30TH APRIL - 8TH MAY

Novena in Honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help

PREACHERS:

Fr Laurence Gallagher CSsR & Fr Gerard Moloney CSsR

NOVENA TIMES:

Saturday: 9.30am & 6.30pm

Sunday: 9.30am, 11.30am & 7.00pm

Monday - Friday: 9.30am & 7.30pm

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Wednesday 4th May 7.30pm Service of Reconciliation (No mass)

Thursday 5th May 9.30am & 7.30pm Mass with Anointing of the Sick

ST PATRICKS MONASTERY, ESKER, ATHENRY, CO GALWAY

31ST MAY - 8TH JUNE

Novena in Honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help

PREACHERS:

Fr Dan Baragry CSsR, Fr Brendan Callanan CSsR, Fr Brendan O’Rourke CSsR & Mr Dermot Kelly

NOVENA TIMES:

Monday - Saturday: 8.00am, 10.00am, 4.00pm, 6.00pm & 8.00pm Sunday: 8.00am, 10.00am, 12noon, 6.00pm & 8.00pm

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Saturday 4th June 12 Noon Celebration for the Sick.

Sunday 5th June

Special blessing of Children at the following sessions 10am, 12 Noon & 6.00pm

CONTACT DETAILS FOR BOOKING A PARISH MISSION OR NOVENA

Fr Laurence Gallagher CSsR, Email: largallagher@gmail.com Telephone: (+353) 061 315099

“SOME KIND OF PATH…”

NICK CAVE IN THE THEOLOGY

CLASSROOM

BELIEF AND DOUBT SIT SIDE BY SIDE IN ONE OF MUSICIAN NICK CAVE’S MOST LOVED SONGS

BY MICHAEL SHERMAN

An important aspect when it comes to teaching theology in the contemporary classroom is placing the students at the centre of the enquiry. The teacher does not explore theology on behalf of the students but with them, and, as much as possible, enables them to lead the exploration. Theologians, according to Pope Francis, should not be content with a “desk-bound theology”. When students are invested in their classroom experience, and when they recognise something of themselves in theological enquiry, the subject opens up for them and the possibilities are endless. For me, one of the best ways to introduce first year students at third level to theology is to explore with them theological themes in and through the creative arts (cinema, literature and music). Approaching theology in this way opens it up for students in a context that is familiar and inclusive, and it allows students to appropriate and interpret theological themes in a way that builds on and incorporates their prior learning and life experiences. This is essential because it elevates thinking from a single-axis mode of enquiry that fosters an ‘either/or’ position, to an interdisciplinary mode that fosters a ‘both/ and’ approach. This requires practical and relatable applications of concepts to everyday life, and to social and religious structures.

I’m going to explore here the themes of belief and doubt in the music of Nick Cave, as I would do when teaching in the classroom. I will focus on one song, ‘Into My Arms’, while discussing each verse in light of the development of his own religious journey which he frequently references throughout his works. I will conclude by briefly looking at Cave’s creative process and his approach to prayer. One might well ask: what have Nick Cave and his songs got to do with theology? I take my cue here from Karl Rahner when he says that ordinary songs “help people to

But I know, darling, that you do/ But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him/ Not to intervene when it came to you.” Here Cave is rejecting the Judaeo-Christian belief that God plays an active role in human experience. In his 20s, Cave was fascinated with the Old Testament and was particularly drawn to stories where God dealt out to suffering humanity punishments that had him “jawdropped in disbelief at the very depth of their vengefulness”. He describes himself as having had a burgeoning interest in violent literature accompanied with an “unnamed sense of the divinity in things”.

express their own nature to themselves in all its facets and depths and to the mystery of their existence, which we call God… It is very easy to run something down as sentimental, spoiling it for oneself and others.”

BETWEEN FAITH AND DOUBT

Released in 1997 on The Boatman’s Call album, ‘Into My Arms’ is an extraordinary song. With only two instruments used, piano and bass guitar, Cave’s trademark deep baritone voice takes centre stage. The opening line is particularly striking for a so-called ‘pop’ song: “I don’t believe in an interventionist God/

In his audio lectures The Word Made Flesh, he describes how he found the God of the Old Testament to be a “cruel and rancorous God” and he “loved the way he would wipe out entire nations at a whim”.

In the opening lines of ‘Into My Arms’ Cave clearly rejects belief in a God who intervenes. However, belief in God at all remains open for him and, in the chorus, he implores this interventionist God with a moving request (or even prayer) to guide his beloved to him: “Into my arms, O Lord/ Into my arms, O Lord/ Into my arms, O Lord/ Into my arms.” It seems that through his experience of his beloved’s faith, the possibility of God’s intervention is kept alive for Cave. This song is sung from a place that is between faith and doubt, and he

Through his experience of his beloved’s faith, the possibility of God’s intervention is kept alive for Cave. This song is sung from a place that is between faith and doubt, and he moves between both comfortably.

NICK CAVE

moves between both comfortably.

In the second verse, Cave proclaims that he does not believe in angels either, and again this is immediately followed with another qualifying “but”: “And I don’t believe in the existence of angels/ But looking at you I wonder if that’s true/ But if I did I would summon them together/ And ask them to watch over you/ To each burn a candle for you/ To make bright and clear your path/ And to walk, like Christ, in grace and love/ And guide you into my arms.” In his Introduction to The Gospel of Mark, Cave writes about the “growing up” and “mellowing out” he did around religion. This happened for him as he read and re-read Mark:

Your rage ceases to need a name. You no longer find comfort watching a whacked-out God tormenting a wretched humanity as you learn to forgive yourself and the world. That God of Old begins to transmute in your heart, base metals become silver and gold, and you warm to the world.

Mark’s Jesus has an intensity about him that is emphasised by words like “straightaway” and “immediately” linking one event to the next in the gospel. Everyone around Jesus “runs”, “shouts” and is “amazed”. This hype inflames Jesus’ mission with a dazzling urgency for Cave, and he remarks that Mark’s Jesus “spoke” to him through his isolation, “through the burden of his death, through his rage of the mundane, through his sorrow”. He sees Jesus

as a victim of humanity’s lack of imagination who was “hammered to the cross with the nails of creative vapidity”. Mark’s Gospel has continued to shape Cave’s life as the root source of his spirituality and religiousness. It is Jesus’ essential humanness that Cave finds most appealing for it provides a blueprint for our own lives, so that “we have something that we can aspire to, rather than revere, that can lift us free of the mundanity of our existences, rather than affirming the notion that we are lowly and unworthy.”

In the third and final verse of ‘Into My Arms’, Cave states clearly that he and his beloved believe in love and that they have a future journey to make together in that belief: “And I believe in Love/ And I know that you do too/ And I believe in some kind of path/ That we can walk down, me and you.” But before the final chorus, he turns again to the angels holding their candles and earnestly tells them: “So keep your candles burning/ And make her journey bright and pure/ That she will keep returning/ Always and evermore/ Into My Arms, O Lord/ Into My Arms.” This final verse replaces doubt in God for faith in love. Regardless of creed or belief, it is hard not to be moved by this song.

CREATIVITY AND PRAYER

Cave has often discussed the spiritual and prayerful dimensions to his musical creativity. As an artist he maintains that he must remain in a state of open-mindedness where

he can receive information and inspiration. Remarking on how he wrote songs in his 30s, he says that “I myself did nothing. I just pointed a damning finger and let the Holy Spirit do the rest!” Discussing the topic of prayer on his website, The Red Hand Files, where he often converses with his fans (which was a great source of comfort to fans during the recent lockdowns), he says that:

The act of prayer is by no means exclusive to religious practice because prayer is not dependent on the existence of a subject. You need not pray to anyone. It is just as valuable to pray into your disbelief, as it is to pray into your belief, for prayer is not an encounter with an external agent, rather it is an encounter with oneself.

From his place of ‘in-between’, Cave maintains that there is as much chance of our prayers being answered by a God that exists as a God that doesn’t. And this is not an issue for him. It is about a readiness to begin a journey of exploration. He pays meticulous attention to the journey, knowing that the destination will look after itself. What is important for Cave is that we remain open to the possibility of being prayerful, whether we believe in God or not. That is a great place to start a conversation in a classroom.

Michael Sherman teaches theology at Carlow College, St Patrick’s.

IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL

THE PEACE LEGACY OF FR ALEC REID CSsR

ANTRIM STUDENT EIMEAR CRAWFORD WAS THE IRISH WINNER OF THE 2022 COLUMBAN SCHOOLS MEDIA COMPETITION ON THE SUBJECT

‘ANYONE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE: 21 ST -CENTURY CHANGEMAKERS’. WE ARE DELIGHTED TO PRINT HER ESSAY ON THE ROLE OF REDEMPTORIST PRIEST FR ALEC REID (1931-2013) IN THE NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE PROCESS

BY EIMEAR CRAWFORD

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9)

Northern Ireland in the 21 st century is a blessedly different place than it was in the century that preceded it. I think of my own childhood, devoid of the bomb and the bullet, and the shocking stories told by my relatives, growing up during the 70s and 80s, stories about shootings, burning cars and harassment.

The Good Friday Agreement heralded a new dawn for Northern Ireland, leading us towards the path of peace, bringing an end to the Troubles. There were many key people involved in the creation of the Agreement, but one figure that particularly stands out to me is Fr Alec Reid, a Redemptorist priest of Clonard in Belfast.

Fr Reid did not claim allegiance to any political party or ideology. Instead, he explained what

motivated him: “I used to say that I don’t belong to any political party, but I represent the next person who is going to be killed in the Troubles. The church has a moral obligation to get stuck in when people are suffering and to try and stop it.”

Not only was this a viewpoint that was all too rare during the

became known as the corporal killings, two British soldiers who accidentally drove into a republican funeral were beaten and shot by the IRA. Fr Reid was warned to stay away by the assailants, and even threatened with death, but courageously went to help the soldiers.

When nothing could be done

him a bloodstained envelope from Gerry Adams, to be given to John Hume, leader of the SDLP. Fr Reid was instrumental in bringing Sinn Féin into the political dialogue, a process that would eventually culminate in the 1994 IRA ceasefire. These talks helped to change Sinn Féin’s policy, moving away from armed struggle against Britain towards a focus on self-determination and achieving their aims through non-violent, political means.

bloody days of the Troubles, but it also exemplifies the teachings of the Catholic Church: we are all part of one human family, regardless of our racial, ethnic, economic or ideological differences.

Perhaps one of the most haunting images of the conflict depicts Fr Reid, knelt over the body of a British soldier. In what

for them, he performed the last rites. This simple act of human decency evokes another teaching of the Catholic Church: everyone has a fundamental right to life, and we each have a responsibility to do what we can to uphold that.

What was not known at the time Fr Reid’s picture was taken is that he was carrying with

Following the success of the talks, Gerry Adams acknowledged that peace would not have been possible without the efforts of Fr Reid: “there would not be a peace process at this time without [Fr Reid’s] diligent doggedness and his refusal to give up.”

The negotiations set up by Fr Reid paved the way for the Good Friday Agreement, and he acted as Sinn Féin’s contact person with the Irish government from 1987 to the signing of the

EIMEAR CRAWFORD

Fr Reid was warned to stay away by the assailants, and even threatened with death, but courageously went to help the soldiers.

Agreement in 1998.

The conversations between Hume and Adams were held secretly in rooms in Clonard Monastery. It was a fitting location for the negotiations to take place; the monastery had been a centre of peacemaking and reconciliation and had strong links with the local Presbyterian church.

The Hume-Adams talks were not the only important discussions to take place at Clonard; other interfaith talks held at the monastery also played a vital role in brokering the 1994 ceasefire. Pope Paul IV taught “if you want peace, work for justice.” Fr Reid worked for both, creating an atmosphere where people of all religions and beliefs could come together and try to build a better future.

Fr Reid’s contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland did not end with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. In 2005, he was one of the witnesses to the decommissioning of IRA weapons, a critical hurdle in the peace process. Everyone recognised how difficult the struggle for peace had been, and it was essential to preserve it, however fragile it was. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reads, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here.”

The bad old days of the Troubles had gone, but the new, peaceful creation birthed by the Agreement would have to be nurtured. Fr Reid’s presence, along with Methodist minister Harold Good, was vital, as he was a trusted figure and a known peacemaker and helped to assuage the fears of those

sceptical about the republicans’ intentions.

Fr Reid was far from the only person involved in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. What stands out to me about him is that, unlike some of the other architects of peace, he was wholly unmotivated by a desire for constitutional change or his

own political beliefs. Instead, he simply valued the sanctity of human life, and wished to see an end to the atrocities that stole so many innocent lives.

Journalist Brian Rowan summed up the impact that Fr Reid had on the Northern Ireland peace process in the BBC documentary 14 Days: “I

think when the journalists look back on the 30 years of conflict here, and on the journey of war to peace, the story will not be told without the name of Alec Reid right in the middle of it all.”

Eimear Crawford is a student at St Louis Grammar School, Ballymena, Co. Antrim.

The late Fr Alec Reid CSsR

KEANE BY NAME. KEEN BY NATURE.

THE QUIET SAINT

KNOCK SHRINE AND THE CENTRAL ROLE OF ST JOSEPH A SHREWD AND HONEST OBSERVER OF IRISH LANDSCAPE AND SOCIETY, JOHN B. KEANE WAS ALSO A GREAT BELIEVER IN COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS AND LIVING THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL

BY JOHN SCALLY

For years Reality magazine has provided an important forum for the discussion of new ideas about the role of the church in Ireland. However, it has a special place in my affections because it was responsible for bringing me to the attention of John B. Keane. His good friend Brendan Kennelly passed on a piece of mine in the magazine to John B. and the great playwright sent me a note in response. With his note was a poem about Christmas focusing on the fact that for people who were in poverty it was a difficult time, and essentially there are two types of people: those who are able to celebrate Christmas and those who are not because they are too poor.

This began a friendship formed on a mutual interest in both Gaelic football and religion. This May marks the 20th anniversary of the death of John B. Keane. He was born in 1928 in Listowel, Co. Kerry and it was here that he spent his literary career, running a pub which provided him with inspiration for his characters and ideas. His first play, Sive, was presented by the Listowel Drama Group and won the All-Ireland Drama Festival in 1959. It was followed by another success, Sharon’s Grave, in 1960. The Field (1965) and Big Maggie (1969) are widely regarded as classics of the modern Irish stage and jewels in a crown which includes such popular hits as Many

INSCAPES

John B. put the Kerry landscape onto the literary stage. Yet while he had no peers when it came to writing about landscapes, his real genius is the world of inscapes. The ‘inscape’ describes the world inside each one of us, the secret world of our memories, dreams, feelings, hopes, fears and emotions. It is our inscapes which determine whether we feel confident or vulnerable, valued or inadequate, happy or sad. It is through our inscape we encounter our real selves, other

Young Men of Twenty, The Man from Clare, Moll, The Chastitute and The Year of the Hiker.

Statue of the late writer and playwright John B. Keane in the town of Listowel, Co. Kerry

people and God. If Ireland is to be changed, our inscapes must be changed. Never has our country needed attention to inscapes more badly than it does today.

John B. once told me: “I am obsessed with all the people I had lost.” He was not alone. His greatest achievement was to take the traditional ingredients of the Irish novel –love, loss, family, religion and death – and serve them up in a new and wonderful dish. Although he was a fantastic writer, when I met John B. what struck me most was that he was a brilliant social commentator. He didn’t give sermons. Instead, he recalled incidents from his life which highlighted some of our

problems as a people. One story I will never forget was about a boy he went to school with.

“Don’t talk back to me about poverty. I remember a time when there was nothing anywhere. Only the very few had more than enough to eat. Only half the population had barely enough. The rest were simply hungry and broke. One of the saddest memories of my youth was the national school. The teachers were, for the most part, caring but often caring with too much force. The sad part of school was the hunger of small boys who came from impoverished backgrounds. I remember when I was first elevated to the

upper classes, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, I was approached by the smallest scholar on the upper floor. ‘Keane!’ he called listlessly, ‘any chance you’d bring us a cut of bread and jam.’

“This was during the morning break. Every so often I would bring him something to eat. He died from diphtheria in the late 1930s. He was a lovely soul. His emaciated face is still with me. He had a voice like a lark and a spirit that was pure and free but he was no match for poverty and indifference.”

COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS

John B. also shared the story of another of his school friends with me. “At the time there was a saying ‘he’s out of all books now’ which meant that the garsún in question would have gone through all the classes in the national school, first book, second book, third book and so on. ‘He’s out of all books now,’ the mother of an aspirant would say proudly to a prospective employer as she tendered him for the inspection of a grocer or a hardware merchant or a draper.”

To this day whenever I hear the Gospel story of the widow’s mite, I think of another story John B. told me about a widow he knew.

“There was a joke circulating at the time about a poor widow who was sometimes given to grandiose actions. She had seven children. Each morning she would boil an egg and distribute it between the seven before they went to school. The egg, of course, would be soft boiled so that the yolk could be spread over the faces of the offspring in order to give the impression at school that there were eggs galore at home. The reason I recall these incidents is to highlight the degrading, debilitating poverty forced upon a long-suffering people and to show

“He was a lovely soul. He had a voice like a lark and a spirit that was pure and free but he was no match for poverty and indifference.”

how infinitely better off we are in the new millennium.”

John B. was a great believer that we should count our blessings: “The simple truth at the end of the day is that the people of this country never had it so good but like all people in such a position they don’t know when they’re well off. They lose weight so that they can put it on again. I decided that I was not going to walk into the new millennium nor was I going to run or gallop or tiptoe. Instead, I was going to dive in and fervently hope that I surfaced in another world surrounded by friends who were my enemies and without that accursed pain in my back.

“There’s a man in this town who goes to bed in the early afternoon of Christmas Eve and does not rise until the following night. He does it, he once told me, because he doesn’t want to be happy. He mistrusts happiness because it always fizzles out on him and leaves him sick and sorry. Now I’m a man who wishes to be happy and a man who wishes happiness on everybody and this, remember, is the very same man who has hurled wild abuse at innocent football referees merely doing their job. Towards the end of the last millennium, I desisted from abusing referees because of age and reduced voice power.”

HOPE

Above all John B. was a beacon of hope. “As I look around me I don’t despair. The good in us marginally outweighs the evil so there is hope for the future and here to cheer you up is a

quote from St Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians: ‘Take a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and for thy frequent infirmities’ and as my late and great friend Roger O’Sullivan used to say, ‘What profit it a man to gain the whole world and be wet in his shoes.’ A sobering thought my friends, a sobering thought, but one that reminds us that we should look for the antidote of humour when we are threatened with evil.”

John B. took inspiration from a man who lived 2,000 years ago – “the son of a poor carpenter who came to reveal to us the true meaning of life. I mean the all-powerful, all-loving God who came among us, not as a mighty king, with power and wealth, expecting to be served nor as a famous religious guru with a mass following, but as an unknown powerless infant totally dependent on the love and care of those around him. The memory of that man still inspires a group of followers who try to commit themselves to the same selfless generosity as Jesus himself.

“Are there no solutions then to the evil procedures which governed us? I believe that the first place to look for a solution to injustice and inhumanity is deep within one’s own heart, or better still look to the

Happy are the poor in spirit:

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Happy are the peacemakers:

They shall be called sons of God

Happy are those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I imagine John B. winking down at me from heaven because he believed that Jesus gave us a wonderful lesson to really bring joy to the world.

“The Son of God never said it would be easy but claimed it was the pathway to goodness:

For I was a stranger and you gave me welcome,

I was naked and you gave me clothes, I was hungry and thirsty and you gave me food and drink,

I was in pain and you gave me comfort.”

Sermon on the Mount according to Matthew beginning with:

A native of Roscommon, John Scally lectures in Theology in Trinity College Dublin.

“Now I’m a man who wishes to be happy and a man who wishes happiness on everybody and this, remember, is the very same man who has hurled wild abuse at innocent football referees merely doing their job.”

WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

THE FATE OF WOMEN AND THE FATE OF THE EARTH ARE INTIMATELY RELATED

BY DAVID O’HARE

An audience has heard that the effects of climate change are disproportionately affecting women and that this needs to be recognised if the crisis is to be effectively tackled.

Dr Carmody Grey, assistant professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Durham, and Lucy Vokhiwa, chair of the Catholic Women Organisation in Malawi, were the joint speakers at the Annual Trócaire Lecture which took place on International Women’s Day. The lecture, which was jointly hosted online by Trócaire and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, was titled ‘How women of faith are responding to the ecological crisis’ and nearly 300 people attended.

Dr Carmody Grey told the audience that “Catholic teaching has very consistently recognised that to live the truth of human dignity requires taking environmental care seriously.

“The way we interact with and modify the natural environment is directly an issue of justice in which we must take responsibility for others. Catholic teaching requires that we not separate what is good for one from what is good for another. Unequal resource use totally contravenes the justice of God’s plan. So climate change is a moral problem as well as a technical, economic and scientific one. Pope Francis has highlighted the justice dimension of environmental ethics and he gives definitive priority to the vulnerable by using the very poignant expression ‘the vast ranks of the excluded’,” Dr Grey said.

“Entrenched discrimination, inequality of opportunity and unequal representation is still the reality for many women in the world. Women are far more likely to be poor and are more vulnerable to, and more likely to be impacted by, the effects of climate change because of the roles they play in their families

and their communities. This flies in the face of the basic principles of natural justice and Catholic Social Teaching.

“Women are on the frontline of climate change. Being a mother is vastly more difficult in situations of climatic stress. Women skip meals so that other members of the family can have enough to eat. In Kenya, some women have to spend eight hours every day walking to fetch water for their families. The fate of women and the fate of the earth are intimately related and this reality has never been more evident than in today’s world,” said Dr Grey.

Lucy Vokhiwa spoke about the realities of life for many women in Malawi, which is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world in terms of the effects of climate change.

“The majority of the population in Malawi relies on agriculture to survive. Unfortunately, we have seen a huge increase in the degradation of our forests because of this.

Only around 10 per cent of the population have access to electricity so most women have to spend many hours now searching for firewood in order to be able to cook food for their families. This makes them very vulnerable and puts them at risk of violence including sexual violence. Wood is so scarce that there have been cases of women having to exchange sex for firewood,” Ms Vokhiwa said.

“There is a knock-on effect to women

spending so much time away from their homes. It often falls on the young girls in families to look after the house – cooking, cleaning and taking care of their siblings. Many young girls cannot attend school because of these responsibilities. These things are putting huge pressure on females in Malawi.

“As a Catholic women’s organisation, we are doing various things to try to make things better. Firstly, to help combat the effects of climate change we are planting trees. We have been doing this for the past five years and have now managed to bring corporate partners on board to support this. Secondly, we are teaching women to use better and more environmentally sustainable farming methods; and thirdly, we are supporting women to implement cooking techniques which rely less on firewood and charcoal. We have also started a project in schools that aims to educate our children on the impacts of climate change and how we can combat these. If we can get our children involved in initiatives such as tree-planting, then our

forests may be replenished in the future. We believe that with these initiatives we can make a real difference in Malawi,” Ms Vokhiwa said.

Speaking after the event, Trócaire CEO Caoimhe de Barra said: “Both contributions were insightful, thought-provoking and very clearly delivered. The content was grounded in the reality of life for women in Malawi and challenged us in our understanding of church teaching and in the need to take stronger action to address climate and gender justice issues.”

FIND OUT MORE

To find out more about Trócaire’s work visit www.trocaire.org

ALL DONATIONS MADE BY THE PUBLIC IN NORTHERN IRELAND TO TRÓCAIRE’S LENTEN APPEAL WILL BE MATCHED POUND FOR POUND BY THE UK GOVERNMENT UNTIL JUNE 1.

“Being a mother is vastly more difficult in situations of climatic stress. Women skip meals so that other members of the family can have enough to eat. In Kenya, some women have to spend eight hours every day walking to fetch water for their families.”

Thandekile, from Zimbabwe, was the face of this year’s Trócaire Lenten Appeal. She and her family are facing drought due to climate change.

A LETTER TO OUR JUDGES

SENDING SOMEONE TO PRISON TO ‘TEACH THEM A LESSON’ IS COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE AND A WASTE OF RESOURCES

Dear judges, A recent report has highlighted a significant increase in the number of people being sent to prison. This has been partly caused by the increased number being given short sentences in the district courts. So, what will their life in prison be like?

If you got a tour of an Irish prison today, you would be amazed at the improvements in the conditions in prison over the past 20 years – in-cell sanitation, TVs and kettles in every cell, excellent school facilities and a range of training workshops.

But what you wouldn’t see is what goes on underneath this glossy exterior. Several recent discoveries of large quantities of drugs being smuggled into Irish prisons suggests, correctly, that drug use within most of our prisons is widespread. Despite the best efforts of the Irish Prison Service, drugs are just as readily available within our prisons as on the streets outside – though more expensive: capitalism in practice! About 70 per cent of those who go to prison have an addiction and many will continue to source their drugs within prison. Indeed, the demoralising and meaningless day-to-day existence in prison life is the ideal environment for drug use and dependency to thrive. A significant number of drug users I know have told me that they went into prison never having taken drugs but left with an addiction.

As you move through the prison, you may meet prisoners with scars on their faces. These scars have

been inflicted for real or perceived slights. It could be an unpaid drug debt which they incurred before coming into prison, or as trivial a matter as being accused (often wrongly) of robbing someone’s TV remote control, or just being associated with the wrong faction in prison. Two blades, wrapped closely together, will inflict two scars, which, while only millimetres apart, cannot be stitched, leaving a permanent facial scar. Prison today is a very violent place, with multiple

thus provides a steady trickle of new, younger, more vulnerable members for the various drug gangs.

Before sending someone to prison, you should be aware of the environment into which you are sending them and its potential for harm. The vast majority of people going into prison are damaged by their experience and come out with less respect for society than when they went in. Some lose their accommodation due to imprisonment and are

that fact. But their task, to provide a safe and caring environment which promotes the rehabilitation of prisoners, is almost impossible in the current circumstances.

The Whitaker Report in 1987 was the most comprehensive report into the Irish prison system ever undertaken. Its key recommendation was that imprisonment should be reserved “for serious offences against the person and major property offences where substantial damage is caused… short prison sentences should be eliminated… imprisonment is of limited deterrent or corrective value, (and) an expensive sanction.”

feuding factions. Many prisoners choose to go on protection for their own safety, which means spending 22 or 23 hours a day in their cell watching television, with no access to education or training. In the main prison in Mountjoy, almost a third of the prisoners have chosen to go on protection. Others seek protection by aligning themselves with one of the feuding gangs in the prison. But then, when they are released at the end of their sentence, they are obliged to continue working with that gang on the outside. Prison

homeless on release. Others find relationships with their partner and children weakened, or even destroyed. They are not deterred by their experience of imprisonment, as evidenced by the high recidivist rate.

Most prison staff – but unfortunately not all – are caring, compassionate people and want to do their best for the prisoners in their care, despite the difficult environment within which they work. During the pandemic, they, too, are frontline workers, but they never get any recognition of

You should not send someone to prison ‘to teach them a lesson’. Sending someone to prison to deter them, or others, from offending is a waste of time and prison resources. Homeless people, and those with mental health issues, who are disproportionately represented in our prisons, are mostly people who have been failed by society. Our courts should be courts that dispense justice, not just narrowly focused on what law was broken. I know many of you – but unfortunately not all – are caring and compassionate and try to do that, but I appreciate that the system, and public pressure, make it difficult for you.

For more information or to support the

|Peter McVerry Trust:

www.pmvtrust.ie info@pmvtrust.ie +353(0)1 823 0776

REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ

GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH

THE POSTSCRIPT

MAY 1

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

The passage today from John’s Gospel is known as the ‘Johannine Appendix’. The narrative proper obviously ended with the previous chapter, but the material here is clearly part of the tradition, so is included in the text. We have the appearance of Jesus to seven male disciples in Galilee and a miraculous catch of fish after obeying Jesus’ instructions, in spite of all the previous evidence, the first part culminating in a Eucharistic meal shared by the risen Jesus and his disciples. We find the catch of fish

elsewhere in the Gospel story during the ministry of Jesus, and Peter’s getting out of the boat and walking across the water, at least to begin with, which is used to teach a lesson to those who hear or read it.

The mention of the “charcoal fire” reminds us of the earlier scene in the palace of the high priest, where Peter is put on the spot and denies knowing Jesus. He is now offered the chance to redeem himself and cancel out his three-fold denial by a three-fold declaration of love for Jesus. It may be that Jesus is asking Peter whether Peter loves him more than he loves the other disciples. Once Peter has made that clear, then Jesus gives him the pastoral care of the flock. The

mention of sheep and shepherding is an echo of Jesus’ teaching about the model (or good) shepherd which we found previously in the Gospel. Jesus is always to be the pattern and ideal of leadership among the disciples. After indicating Peter’s fate, Jesus issues once again his command “Follow me,” which is a term for being a disciple.

Today’s Readings

Acts 5:27-32. 40-41; Ps 29; Apoc 5:11-14; Jn 21:1-19

THE REAL PRESENCE

MAY 8

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Today’s gospel extract comes from a discussion between Jesus and his opponents during the winter festival of the Feast of Dedication, and is set within the Temple in Jerusalem. The others have demanded that Jesus tell them plainly whether he is the Messiah or not. Jesus replies by giving them a description of the true believer, the kind of person who can accept Jesus’ message because, unlike the people he is talking to, that individual will accept Jesus on his own terms. The others cannot receive him because their understanding is limited to their own ideas.

The true believer, one of the “sheep” Jesus is talking about, hears (and listens), follows (becomes a disciple) and thus receives eternal life, which means never being lost.

The Feast of Dedication celebrates the reconsecration of the Temple and its altar after it had been desecrated by pagan soldiers, and the building represented the presence of God among the people. Jesus, however, says, “The Father and I are one.” We remember that

elsewhere Jesus tells his disciple Philip that to see Jesus is to see the Father. There is now a different way to understand how God is present, not in a building, no matter how sacred, but rather in the person of Jesus. To believe in Jesus will then bring the disciple close not only to Jesus, but also to God. In this way, Jesus is, in himself, replacing the Temple as the focus of God’s presence.

Today’s Readings

Acts 13:14. 43-52; Ps 99; Apoc 7:9. 14-17; Jn 10:27-30

MAY 15

GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH

NEW COMMANDMENT, NEW COVENANT

In the Gospel according to John, there is no account of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper as we find in the versions of the Synoptic writers Mark, Matthew and Luke. The Eucharistic text is that of the feeding of the crowds. At John’s Last Supper scene, the symbolic act is the washing of the disciples’ feet.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

In the other accounts, Jesus talks about the new covenant. Part of the covenant ritual was the imposing of commandments and, in our Gospel text today, Jesus tells the disciples that he is giving them a new commandment, which suggests the idea of a new covenant. This instruction will demand a great deal of those who accept the new relationship with God – it is to love one another, just as Jesus has loved them – but the message is directed also at those reading or listening to the Gospel.

God will be glorified in the crucifixion of Jesus, where God’s love for the world will be finally revealed and Jesus will leave his disciples in the form that they have known him up to now. However, their being his disciples will continue, and the sign of this will be their love for one another. This will be the best witness to those among whom they live.

Today’s Readings

Acts 14:21-27; Ps 144; Apoc 21:1-5; Jn 13:31-35

A FAREWELL GIFT

MAY 22

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

As Eastertide draws near to its close, our Gospel reading today introduces the theme of Jesus’ departure, his return to the Father. But the disciples will receive two gifts, distinct but related. First, the Paraclete will come from the Father and will continue Jesus’ mission of teaching the disciples, leading them into an ever-deepening appreciation of his message as they remember all that Jesus has said to them. The Paraclete will maintain Jesus’ presence among the disciples. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will be the second Paraclete, just as Jesus was the first, so that might help us to understand the role of the Spirit once

Jesus is no longer physically present. The second gift is that of peace, but it is Jesus’ peace, something that the world cannot match. It is connected with the gift of the Spirit, the Paraclete, and is from God. It is not the absence of strife in human relations, but rooted in the Spirit of truth, and Jesus goes on to talk about how the disciples should not be distressed at his leaving them, as he is going back to the Father, an idea which we find only in the Fourth Gospel. Jesus’ departure may be marked by violence and malice on the part of his opponents, but he accepts this as his way of returning the Father’s love for him. This should not be a cause of fear for the disciples, but rather one of joy.

Today’s Readings

Acts 15:1-2. 22-29; P s 66; Apoc 21:10-14. 22-23; Jn 14:23-29

ONLY THE BEGINNING

Luke tells us in today’s Gospel reading of Jesus’ final meeting with his disciples. Once again Jesus reminds them that all that has happened to him was written down in the Hebrew Scriptures and therefore was the will of God. During his ministry, Jerusalem was the focus of his journey, the place where his destiny and God’s salvation would be accomplished. Now, the holy city will become the hub from which the Gospel will spread out to the world, and the disciples will be responsible for this. Jesus promises them the gift of the Spirit which they will receive when Jesus sends it.

When they go to Bethany, Jesus confers on them the blessing which Zechariah was unable to give to the people in the Temple at the beginning of Luke’s narrative, then we are told simply that he “was carried up to heaven”. The disciples do not see any reason to break with their ancestral religion and practices and continue to frequent the Temple for worship. Thus ends Luke’s Gospel; but this is by no means the end of the story. Jesus’ outreach and ministry will continue, but now through his disciples, empowered as they will be by the Holy Spirit. The last report we have of them is that they are “continually in the Temple, praising God”. We have heard throughout Luke’s narrative that this is the proper reaction to Jesus’ works of power; it is therefore a fitting conclusion to the entire earthly life and ministry of Jesus.

THE REALITY CROSSWORD

NUMBER 4 MAY ����

SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 2

Across: 1. Mau Mau, 5. Tahiti, 10. Rag week, 11. Recruit, 12. Unit, 13. Anvil, 15. Fake, 17. Dip, 19. Aegean, 21. Tonics, 22. Jericho, 23. Parrot, 25. Enamel, 28. Sod, 30. Oboe, 31. Aaron, 32. Brag,

Winner of Crossword

ACROSS

1. A small notebook for rough work. (6)

5. Place in a grave, bury. (6)

10. Facially expressing sullen discontent. (7)

11. One is usual before 5A. (7)

12. Draft animals. (4)

13. People of South Africa’s largest ethnic group. (5)

15. Read hastily. (4)

17. Government demand. (3)

19. Mobile direction provider. (3-3)

21. Deliberately pay no attention to a region. (6)

22. Cowboy film. (7)

23. Famous Giza statue. (6)

25. Even more disturbing or frightening. (6)

28. Appropriate or suitable in the circumstances. (3)

30. A tramp or migrant worker. (4)

31. English town famous for racing and salts. (5)

32. A fictitious story, person, or thing. (4)

35. Seductive female demons. (7)

36. Amount in excess of what is needed. (7)

37. Mythological women who lured sailors to their death. (6)

38. A wildly foolish act. (6)

DOWN

2. Wealthy, rich, or affluent. (7)

3. Being one of a pair, identical. (4)

4. A well-seasoned meat or fish stew. (6)

5. A flowing in. (6)

6. A circular coil of anything flexible. (4)

7. African country, capital is Rabat. (7)

8. Ghosts and spies. (6)

9. Fall precipitously. (6)

14. Portable computers. (7)

16. Chess pieces. (5)

18. Get familiar with Mrs. Brown. (5)

20. Annoy or provoke. (3)

21. Anger, fury. (3)

23. A formal division within a religious body. (6)

24. A portable barbecue. (7)

26. Charmingly simple or rustic. (7)

27. Make over already used material. (6)

28. Small enemies of farmers and gardeners. (6)

29. There’s no silt at the back of the mouth. (6)

33. The longest of the four Gospels. (4)

34. A romantic name for Ireland. (4)

Entry Form for Crossword No.4, May 2022

Name: Address:

Dundalk, County

35. Plateau, 36. El Greco, 37. Stalin, 38. Radius.

Down: 2. Angling, 3. Meek, 4. Unkind, 5. Turnip, 6. Hock, 7. Tsunami, 8. Trauma, 9. Athens, 14. Visitor, 16. Major, 18. Boone, 20. Net, 21. The, 23. Prompt, 24. Riot act, 26. Marceau, 27. Lagoon, 28. Saturn, 29. Dog-ear, 33. Heal, 34. Aged.

No. 2 Aoife Longe, Kilnamona, Co. Clare.

Duccio di Buoninsegna, via Wikimedia Commons