Realityapr15online

CATHERINE OF SIENA: REBEL & MYSTIC

April 2015

FIRST WITNESSES WOMEN IN THE EASTER NARRATIVE

MINDFULNESS AND CHRISTIANITY FRIENDS OR FOES?

Informing, Inspiring, Challenging Today’s Catholic

WE ARE AN

EASTER PEOPLE ARE WE LIVING AS

HOPE-FILLED COMMUNITIES?

COUNTDOWN TO THE LIMERICK SYNOD A DIOCESE PREPARES FOR THE 2016 CELEBRATION

MENTAL HEALTH KEEPING THE DOORS OF DISCUSSION OPEN

PLUS BISHOP DONAL McKEOWN ON OUR CONFIRMATION PROGRAMMES PETER McVERRY ON MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE FOR POLITICIANS

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Want to get more out of the Sunday Readings?

The Three Faces of Christ READING THE SUNDAY GOSPELS WITH THE LITURGICAL YEAR

BY BRENDAN McCONVERY C.Ss.R & CIARÁN O’CALLAGHAN C.Ss.R.

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They cannot hear the readings, they say, or they don’t understand them. If you are one of those people, then this book is for you! The Three Faces of Christ provides reflections on and insights into the Sunday Gospels for the three-year liturgical cycle. Written in a warm, accessible style by scripture scholars Brendan McConvery, C.Ss.R. and Ciarán O’Callaghan, C.Ss.R., this book will encourage you to become more active in preparing for Sunday Mass and give you a few tools to help. It is ideal for individuals, families, lectors, and Bible study groups who want to deepen their understanding of God’s Word.

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IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE FEATURES 12 WE ARE AN EASTER PEOPLE What difference does the resurrection make?

By Jane Mellett

19 MINDFULNESS AND CHRISTIANITY: FRIENDS OR FOES? Keeping God at the heart of meditation

By Martina Lehane Sheehan

22 BREAKING THE SILENCE ON MENTAL HEALTH Learning to build supportive communities

By Owen Finnegan

24 FIRST WITNESSES: THE WOMEN AT THE TOMB

12

The story of the Easter women

By Máire Byrne

28 SISTER TO SISTER DIALOGUE Lessons from the Apostolic Visitation of US women religious

By Elizabeth Cotter IBVM

31 COUNTDOWN TO THE LIMERICK DIOCESAN SYNOD Journeying together towards spring 2016

By Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon

34 IRISH SYNODS: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW The preoccupations of synods past

By Salvador Ryan

36 CONFIRMATION: SACRAMENT OF INITIATION OR RELIGIOUS DISNEYWORLD? Equipping our young for the Christian life

By Bishop Donal McKeown

40 I JUST CAN’T FIND THE RIGHT TIME! When is the best time to volunteer overseas?

By Mary Anne Stokes

22

28

OPINION

REGULARS

11 TRÍONA DOHERTY

04 REALITY BITES

18 KATY DOBEY

07 POPE MONITOR

27 CARMEL WYNNE

08 FEAST OF THE MONTH

39 PETER McVERRY SJ

09 REFLECTIONS 42 UNDER THE MICROSCOPE 44 GOD’S WORD 47 TRÓCAIRE: DEVELOPMENT IN ACTION

REALITY BITES 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ

CANADIAN SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS LAW ON ASSISTED SUICIDE CANADA

Concentration camp survivors walk out of the entrance of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp

POLAND

4

BRAVE PRIESTS OF WW II

Research conducted for the archives of Yad VaShem, the holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, has revealed that more than 1,000 Catholic priests in Poland risked their lives to save Jewish people during the Second World War. Another 30 priests were killed for the same reason. The Nazi governor general of Poland during the German occupation had decreed on 15 October 1941 that anyone helping a Jewish person to escape would be put to death. Despite the threat, thousands of Poles, including priests, risked their lives to save Jews from camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka. Before the war, Poland had the largest Jewish community in the world.

The Jewish population of Europe in 1933 stood

at 9.5 million people. More than three million of them lived in Poland. In the course of the war, three million Jews and three million Polish Catholics lost their lives.

The research involved over 180,000 documents from archives, libraries and museums. In his book, I Will Give Them an Everlasting Name: Poles Saving Jews in the Area of Treblinka, the historian Antony Polonsky claims that between 40,000 and 60,000 Jews were saved thanks to the help of Poles. The “protection network” included between 160,000 and 360,000 people, and priests were part of the network. Of the 16,000 priests in Poland during the Nazi occupation, 4,000 were imprisoned in concentration camps and 2,000 were sent to the gas chambers. In some dioceses almost half the clergy were put to death.

BISHOPS SPEAK OUT

In a unanimous decision on 6 February, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that doctors may help adults with severe and incurable conditions to die, so overturning a 1993 ban against assisted suicide. It ruled that two articles of Canada's Criminal Code violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the constitution. The federal and provincial governments of Canada have a year to adapt their laws to the ruling. The traditionally Catholic French-speaking State of Quebec had already passed an assisted suicide law in June 2014.

The president of the Canadian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec, said that “Catholics are called by their faith to assist all those in need, particularly the poor, the suffering and the dying. Helping someone commit suicide, however, is neither an act of justice or mercy, nor is it part of palliative care. The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada today does not change Catholic teaching.” Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver, Columbia, said he was “deeply troubled by the court's decision” and urged Catholics to join with other advocates for vulnerable persons in responding to this new challenge urgently.

STATE FUNDING OF CHURCHES SLASHED IN LUXEMBOURG LUXEMBOURG NEW RULES FOR SALARIES According to the constitution of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the salaries and pensions of ministers of religion are paid by the State and regulated by law. In order to qualify for state funding, religious groups must establish an official representative body for their dealings with the

Government. The Roman Catholic Church (the largest religious community), Reformed, Anglican and Orthodox Churches, as well as the Jewish community all receive state support.

Earlier this year, the religious communities agreed with the Government on a new funding plan. It will severely restrict state funding for the Catholic Church but will include the Muslim community for the first time. All ministers who are currently paid by

REALITY APRIL 2015

CATHOLIC BURIAL FOR ENGLISH KING?

the state will continue to receive their stipends, but those appointed in future will have to be supported by their respective religious communities. Catholic religious education in schools will be replaced with an ethics and morals course, including units on world religions. Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich acknowledged that the agreement would hurt the Catholic Church financially but that it would not be damaged.

N E WS

HOW LONG SHOULD THE HOMILY BE? VATICAN CITY

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

The new head of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Robert Sarah, has launched the Homiletic Directory to offer guidance to bishops, priests and deacons on preparing and writing their homilies. The directory recommends that a homily be “neither too long nor too short”.

Determining exactly how many minutes it should be, the Cardinal said, depends on the people at the Mass, their culture and the occasion. “Clearly in the West, going over 20 minutes seems too much,” he said. “But in Africa, 20 minutes isn't enough because people travel a great distance to hear the word of God. How to nourish the people of God depends on the culture." The Cardinal also recommended keeping homilies interesting by using stories.

The directory reminded preachers that a homily is not a mini catechism class, but an opportunity to explain church teaching using the Scripture readings and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “In the broadest sense, the homily is a discourse about the mysteries of faith and the standards of Christian life.”

It also reminded preachers that while their personal experience can help illustrate a point, the homily should express the faith of the church and not simply tell the priest's own story. It contains an appendix of passages from the Catechism coordinated with the three readings for Masses on Sundays and major holy days, as well as notes for preaching at weddings and funerals, when many in the congregation may not be regular churchgoers.

5

SHOWERS FOR THE HOMELESS VATICAN CITY

HELP FOR HOMELESS PILGRIMS

A homeless person sleeps outside the Vatican press office near St. Peter's Square.

Public restrooms in St Peter's Square have been renovated to include showers so the homeless can wash. Dozens of homeless people live within sight of the Vatican.

Hot showers, shaves and haircuts are now available for those whom the Vatican calls “our homeless pilgrims”. Thanks to charitable contributions from Pope Francis and private donors, the Vatican has finished remodelling and expanding a public bathroom just a few steps from the famous colonnade that surrounds St Peter's Square. The updated bathrooms include three showers and a barber's chair. The showers will be open every day except Wednesdays (the day of the general audience in the square). In addition to a shower, homeless pilgrims will receive a complete change of underwear and a kit with a towel, soap, toothpaste, razor, shaving cream and deodorant, according to their individual needs.

While most of the supplies are donated by businesses and

individuals, they will be topped up by the Vatican almoner's office.

The money for this will come from the offerings made for parchments certifying a papal blessing. Free haircuts will be offered every Monday by volunteer and apprentice hairdressers. Most hairdressing salons are closed on Mondays in Italy, making it the day hairstylists are easily available to volunteer their services.

Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner responsible for the Holy See’s charity work, said they wanted to help people recover their dignity. "When a person has no means of washing themselves, they are rejected by society, and we all know a homeless person cannot enter a public establishment such as a bar or a restaurant and ask to use the bathroom because they will be told to go away." continued on page 6

REALITY BITES FR THEODORE HESBURGH – EDUCATIONALIST, CIVIL RIGHTS WORKER AND PRIEST USA ACTIVIST WITH IRISH ROOTS

6

Fr Theodore Hesburgh, who died on 26 February 2015 at the age of 97, was a towering figure in Catholic education in the United States during the second half of the 20th century. He was a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. In 1949 he was appointed vice president of the University of Notre Dame, run by his congregation, and its 15th president in 1952, a position he held for 35 years. Better known in earlier days for its football team (the Fighting Irish), during his presidency it became one of the leading American institutes of learning. Student numbers increased from 4,979 to 9,600 and the first women were admitted in 1972. He oversaw its transference from the exclusive governance of the religious of Holy Cross to a mixed board of lay and religious trustees and fellows.

Fr Hesburgh played an influential role in American and international affairs during and after his presidency. He held 16 presidential appointments, tackling major social issues including civil rights, immigration reform, peaceful uses of atomic energy, campus unrest, treatment of Vietnam draft evaders and development in the world’s poorest nations. He was a founder

During the Cold War, Fr Hesburgh was ac tive in making informal contact to unite internationally known scientists and religious leaders in condemning nuclear weapons.

He organized a 1982 meeting at the Vatican for 58 scientists from around the world who called for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Pope Paul VI asked him to build an ecumenical centre Fr Hesburgh with Martin Luther King at a civil rights demonstration near Jerusalem. It is still run by Notre Dame at Tantur, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. He served as head member of the US Commission on Civil Rights when it was created in 1957 by President of the Vatican delegation attending the 20th Eisenhower and chaired it from 1969 until 1972 anniversary of the United Nations’ human when President Nixon dismissed him over his rights declaration in Teheran, Iran in 1968. criticism of the administration’s civil rights record. He also served as a member of the Holy See's His work led to the creation of the Center for Civil UN contingent in 1974. Fr Hesburgh was and Human Rights at Notre Dame Law School. proud of his Irish roots. He was granted Irish Leading a tribute for Fr Hesburgh on his 96th citizenship by Taoiseach, Enda Kenny during birthday, Vice President Joe Biden said he ran for his visit to Notre Dame in 2012. Fr Heburgh public office at the age of 29 in 1972 because of was awarded 150 honourary doctorates and Fr Hesburgh’s passion for civil rights; “You're one was the first priest elected to the Board of of the reasons I’ve been so proud to be a Catholic.” Overseers of Harvard University.

HOMELESS MAN BURIED IN VATICAN CEMETERY VATICAN CITY

DEVOUT BELGIAN

Willy Herteleer was a Belgian who had made his home in Rome. He was also a homeless man who spent much of his days and nights around the colonnades of St Peter’s Basilica.

It was a good spot for begging, but Willy was also a devout and pious man, who went to Mass twice a day in the little chapel of St Anne just inside the gates of Vatican City. In addition to begging from pilgrims, Willy would often encourage them to go to confession. People who worked in the Vatican tried to help him find a permanent place to live but he would soon tire of it and REALITY APRIL 2015

go back to join his friends in the street. He died at the age of 80 on 12 December. When his body was discovered, it was brought to the Roman morgue where it remained unclaimed for several weeks. A monsignor who worked in the Vatican noticed Willy’s absence from his usual haunts and made some enquiries. When he found that he had died, he claimed his body and organised a burial in the German Cemetery just behind St Peter’s Basilica, one of the most exclusive cemeteries in Rome, being normally reserved for those who have given long service to the Vatican or who belong to the German community

The casket of Willy Herteleer is lowered into the ground in the Teutonic cemetery.

Insert: Willy Herteleer

ST

N E WS

POPE MONITOR KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS POPE’S SURPRISE VISIT TO IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY

Pope Francis is greeted during a surprise visit to an immigrant settlement in Rome

Pope Francis made an unannounced visit to a community composed largely of South American immigrants on his way to celebrate Sunday Mass in a Roman parish. When he walked through the gate surrounding a group of shacks and makeshift houses, it took some time for anyone to notice him. When a couple of people looked out of their doors, the pope's chief security guard waved to them to come over. Eventually, someone noticed who the visitor was and called out in Spanish, “Papa Francisco!” and dozens of others came running.

Situated on the north-eastern fringe of the city, the settlement was once a Roma camp. It is now mainly inhabited by Latin American immigrants, unable to find any other place to live. They greeted the Holy Father warmly and took photos of him on their mobile phones. When he asked them how many could speak Spanish, “All of us,” they responded, so he led them in the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.

At the parish, he handed over 100 sleeping bags for the use of the homeless who are assisted by the parish and the Sant'Egidio lay community.

YOU WON’T FIND GOD ON THE COUCH People won’t find God by sitting at home on the couch or surfing the net, according to Pope Francis. Speaking during morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pope said we will only encounter God if we are prepared to strike out on the road, taking risks and overcoming fatigue and doubt. “Whoever does not go on a journey will never know the image of God, will never find the face of God. Armchair Christians, lethargic Christians will not know the face of God,” he said.

In a homily focused on the meaning of Christian identity, he said God’s image is not to be found on the computer or in encyclopedias, because “there is no catalogue” with God’s image printed inside. The only way to get to know this image is to embark on a journey with “that restlessness that God himself put in our heart and that carries you forward to seek him”. “In the Gospel, Jesus encounters people who are afraid of embarking on a journey and who content themselves with a caricature of God. It's a fake ID. These un-restless people silenced the restlessness in their heart, depicting God with commandments and forgetting about God.”

NEW DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Pope Francis has agreed to a proposal by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints to declare an Armenian monk and poet, Saint Gregory of Narek, a Doctor of the Universal Church. St Gregory is widely revered as one of the greatest figures of medieval Armenian religious thought and literature. Born in the city of Narek in about 950, he received his early theological education from his father, Bishop Khosrov.

Along with two brothers he entered a monastery at a young age. Gregory was also a student of music, astronomy, geometry, mathematics and literature. He spent most of his life in the monastery of Narek, where he taught at the monastic school.

One of his best known works was a commentary on the biblical book, Song of Songs. He also wrote a number of letters, theological discourses and religious poems. Many of his prayers are included in the divine liturgy of the Armenian Church.

The Armenian Church is one of the oldest Christian communities in continuous existence. Reasons of distance and differences of theological opinion made communion with other churches difficult. As a result there are two branches of the church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (independent of Rome) and the Armenian Catholic Church, in union with Rome but preserving its distinctive forms of worship and religious culture. Cardinal Gregory Peter Agaganian, head of the Armenian Catholic Church, was Papal Legate for the celebration of the 1,500th anniversary of the coming of St Patrick to Ireland in 1961-1962.

This year, the centenary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, during which over a million people died, is significant for Armenian Christians belonging to both communities. Declaring St Gregory a doctor of the Church will be seen as an important gesture of solidarity.

The Armenian Divine Liturgy (Mass)

7

FEAST OF THE MONTH ST CATHERINE OF SIENA

(With permission of C.Ss.R.)

Catherine’s parents, Giacomo and Lapa di Benincasa, were cloth dyers in the city of Siena and of the 25 children born to them, Catherine was the 24th. Her twin died, as did many of her siblings, from the Black Death which terrorised Europe during her childhood.

From her earliest years Catherine was a mystic, enjoying a special relationship with Jesus.

Grief invaded her teenage world with the death of her much-loved sister Bonaventura, and to compound that grief her parents wished her to marry the widower; however Catherine refused to entertain the idea under any circumstances. She went on a hunger strike and cut off her hair in order to lessen the attentions of any would-be suitor.

Recognising his daughter’s stubbornness Giacomo soon gave up his attempt to influence her, but Mama Lapa clung to the hope that Catherine might be persuaded to follow the conventions of the day by getting married or becoming a nun. Neither option appealed to Catherine. She felt that her call was to stay single and live an active, prayerful life. Hoping that Catherine would change her mind, Lapa shepherded her to a health resort where the waters were reputed to be of special benefit, but Catherine suffered a lot of pain, broke out in a rash and got a bout of fever. At this point her mother abandoned her dreams for her headstrong daughter. Catherine became a member of the Third Order of St Dominic, a lay association, and with their assistance she learned to read.

At the age of 21 Catherine entered what she termed a mystical marriage with her beloved Jesus. Soon afterwards her divine spouse told her to get out and mix with people, and that she did, visiting the poor and the sick in their homes and in hospitals. So enthusiastic was she that a circle of both women and men joined her in this good work.

Catherine’s short life coincided with the Great Western Schism in the church, during which two or even three high-level clerics were claiming to be the lawfully elected pope.

She did not remain silent, travelling throughout Italy proclaiming the need for reform of both clergy and laity, advocating fasting and a return to loving God with all one’s heart and soul. Indeed fasting was an important feature in her spirituality. Not only did it play its part in urging the pope to return from Avignon to Rome but it was part of her spiritual armoury in attempting to bring an end to the scandal of the Schism.

Although learning to write relatively late in her life, Catherine left a legacy of hundreds of letters, prayers and her great work The Dialogue of Divine Providence. The mystical content of the ‘dialogue’ earned her a prominent place in the mediaeval church and among the great theologians of the church tradition.

While in Rome in April 1380 Catherine suffered a stroke and died, aged 33. She was canonised in 1461, proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1970, and named among the patrons of Europe in 1999. It was largely due to the example of Catherine’s chosen way of life that the Second Vatican Council re-established the evangelical life as a special vocation within the church.

John J. Ó’Riordáin CSsR REALITY APRIL 2015

Volume 80. No. 3 April 2015 A Redemptorist Publication ISSN 0034-0960 Published by The Irish Redemptorists, 75 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Republic of Ireland Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Fax: 00353 (0)1 4927999 Web: www.redcoms.org Email: sales@redcoms.org

BORN: 25 MARCH 1347 DIED: 29 APRIL 1380 FEAST DAY: 29 APRIL

8

Reality

Publisher Séamus Enright CSsR Editor of this issue Tríona Doherty Design & Layout David Mc Namara CSsR Business Manager Paul Copeland sales@redcoms.org Circulation Claire Carmichael ccarmichael@redcoms.org Finance Administrator Veronique Coller vcoller@redcoms.org +353-1-4067272 Administration Michelle McKeon mmckeon@redcoms.org +353-1-4922488 Printed by Turners Printing, Longford Photo Credits Catholic News Service, Limerick Diocesan Office, Photocall Ireland, Shutterstock REALITY SUBSCRIPTIONS Through a promoter (Ireland only) €18 or £15 Annual Subscription by post: Ireland €22 or £18 UK £25 Europe €35 Rest of the world €45 Please send all payments to: Redemptorist Communications, 75 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Republic of Ireland ADVERTISING Whilst we take every care to ensure the accuracy and validity of adverts placed in Reality, the information contained in adverts does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Redemptorist Communications. You are therefore advised to verify the accuracy and validity of any information contained in adverts before entering into any commitment based upon them.

When you have finished with this magazine, please pass it to another reader or recycle it. Thank you.

REFLECTIONS All in the April evening, April airs were abroad; I saw the sheep with their lambs, and thought on the Lamb of God. KATHERINE TYNAN The great gift of Easter is hope, Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.

BASIL HUME April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE There is a time for fasting and a time for pheasant.

ST TERESA OF AVILA Where man sees but withered leaves, God sees sweet flowers growing.

ALBERT LAIGHTON Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

OLIVER GOLDSMITH Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

MOTHER TERESA

If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need.

CICERO An autobiography usually reveals nothing bad about its writer except his memory.

FRANKLIN P. JONES One of the advantages of being disorganised is that one is always having surprising discoveries.

A.A. MILNE Die when I may, I want it said of me, by those who know me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower when I thought a flower would grow.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN Overcome the notion that you must be regular. It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.

UTA HAGEN You must not lose faith in humanity.

Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

MAHATMA GANDHI Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are your own fears.

RUDYARD KIPLING

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.

HARPER LEE Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.

ROBERT FROST Lord, deliver me from the man who never makes a mistake, and also from the man who makes the same mistake twice.

WILLIAM J. MAYO There’s nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child.

FRANK A. CLARK I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.

OSCAR WILDE Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

HOWARD THURMAN

9

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E DI TO R I A L UP FRONT TRÍONA DOHERTY

A RIVER OF LOVE

ou to:

P)

“Why does Gramps have to be in heaven? I wish he could come back.” My four-year-old niece sometimes has a knack of putting into words what we are all feeling. My Dad passed away just over a year ago, after a long year of illness. And now, as my husband and I prepare to welcome our first baby, I find myself missing him more than ever. For months, my default setting whenever I thought of Dad was ‘he should be here’. I was deep in the darkness of grief, and I couldn’t seem to get past this one thought; it regularly stopped me in my tracks.

Every experience, every decision, everything new that happened was framed in this context.

Unsurprisingly, last Easter passed me by in a bit of a blur, but as Easter comes around this year the mysteries of death and new life are very much to the front of my mind.

Experience is everything. I didn’t know what it meant to bear an illness bravely until I witnessed my Dad’s incredible good humour, thoughtfulness, and hope, after months of being confined to bed and even in his final days. And I never really thought about what it meant to welcome new life until I began to feel my little one’s kicks for the first time.

Death and life have begun to take on a new, more tangible meaning for me.

Dad was a big gardener and ‘fixer’, always pottering around, coming up with new solutions to all sorts of niggles and problems.

It was February when he first went into hospital, and because he used to ask about the garden I started to take photos for him of the things that were growing and changing – the flowers blooming as the months went by, from snowdrops to daffodils and crocuses and later fruit on the apple trees. The photos provided a record of the changing seasons in his beloved garden, but I always felt a sadness

at all this life carrying on as normal while his own seemed to be on hold.

This time of year these signs of new life are everywhere. Easter cards remind us of this with their cheerful scenes of spring flowers and lambs. Our Easter celebrations are alive too with images of water as a symbol of cleansing and new birth. Psalm 103, which is read at the Easter Vigil, talks of this great gift of life which comes from God: “From your dwelling you water the hills; earth drinks its fill of your gift.” And another of our scripture readings promises: “with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).

During his illness Dad penned several poems and ‘musings’. His condition meant he didn’t have the use of his hands, so he would compose them in his head and dictate a verse or a few lines to some of us when we’d visit. One of his poems pondered whether his sufferings were part of his “stairway to heaven”. Another talked about how “a river of love runs through” the corridor outside his room, referring to the love with which he was cared for while in hospital. He had an awareness of the goodness and the many gifts which were part and parcel of this painful time – he was an ‘Easter person’, able to glimpse light in the darkness.

Celebrating the Easter Vigil in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the “the fresh spring that gives life, the great river from which life comes forth”. There is a river of love that runs through all our lives. It connects life with death, and death with new life, and it connects us all to the heart of the Easter message and the mystery of the God who died so that we would live. It is that river of

love that joins our soon-to-arrive baby with my Dad, my husband’s Dad, and all our lost loved ones. Our little one is arriving a little downstream of his or her Gramps, and of course I wish I didn’t have to come to terms with that; but I look forward to filling him or her in on this wonderful man whose life is part of their story. We believe that in death our loved ones are transformed and are now with God, and that is only possible because Jesus has risen from the dead. They have not gone far; God is very near.

The latest wisdom from my niece: when the wind was blowing outside, she announced that it was her Gramps talking to us from heaven. Death is no obstacle to her sense of the connectedness of this life and the next; she has allowed herself to dive head first into the mystery of it all. In her poem Dawn, the poet Emily Dickinson wrote: “Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.”

Dawn will always emerge from darkness. If we want to be ‘Easter people’, we must find a way to throw ourselves into the ups and downs, the sufferings and the joys of life, always open to experiencing resurrection and hope in all their forms.

Tríona Doherty Editor

11

C OV E R STO RY

WE ARE AN

EASTER PEOPLE

ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO WHILE VISITING AUSTRALIA, POPE JOHN PAUL II DECLARED “WE ARE AN EASTER PEOPLE AND ALLELUIA IS OUR SONG!” – A SAYING OFTEN ATTRIBUTED TO ST AUGUSTINE. BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE EASTER PEOPLE; WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THE RESURRECTION MAKE TO US AS INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES?

BY JANE MELLETT

12

I

work as a parish pastoral worker in two parishes in West Dublin: Ballyfermot Assumption and Cherry Orchard parish.

Every year I am amazed that Ash Wednesday is still so popular, as countless people come to receive ashes. There is something about a very practical, tangible ritual that helps people to connect (or re-connect) with their faith. Lent seems to hold an appeal for people, a time of spring cleaning or as some call it a sort of ‘self-improvement month’. There is still a determination to make sacrifices for Lent, to examine our lives and see what needs to be aired out or changed. You could argue that motivations for this vary on a spectrum from weight loss to real spiritual journeying. Good Friday

REALITY MARCH 2015

also still has a draw, as people come to venerate the cross or don’t eat meat on that day.

Yet when it comes to the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, I wonder where people stand? Do we prefer to linger on those Ash Wednesday or Good Friday moments? ‘We love the suffering!’ Has the significance of the new life of Easter Sunday – the empty tomb where Jesus Christ is now experienced in a whole new way– been lost on us? Many would think the ‘Resurrection’ has passed many Irish Catholics by, even though in our living we may experience those moments of light and hope. Have we that sense of a Risen Jesus living amongst us; what does resurrection mean, if anything? Are we still

moving along in our faith out of some sense of reparation for the sacrifice made for us on Good Friday? Or maybe we just prefer the darkness.

EMERGING FROM WILDERNESS Having emerged from a sort of ‘wilderness’ recently, I can say that experiences of resurrection are all around us. Very often we see them in people who are coping with bereavement, getting over a broken relationship, recovering from an illness or who are consoled in some way. My own recent experience involved more of a misadventure.

I really love the mountains. There is just something deeply peaceful and wonderful

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about them. It was almost safe to say that I would enjoy skiing down one of them, were it not for the powers of gravity and ice. It was St Patrick’s Day and my first time ever to put on a pair of skis. To cut a very long story short, I ended up going over the side of a nursery slope and discovered mid-air, and much to my surprise, that there was a 10-foot drop on the other side. I landed full force on my hip on the ice below, fracturing my hip socket and suffering multiple fractures to my pelvis. What I thought would be an 8-10 week recovery time turned into 12 months and counting. It is an odd place, when you are quite an active person, to suddenly be flat on your back for many months; a definite wilderness. One conversation stands out

during that time where someone asked me when my accident had occurred: “Ah, so it was a gift from St Patrick.”

“What?” I replied. “A gift?! Well he can take the gift back, thanks.”

They went on to suggest that perhaps these months of recovery were an opportunity for growth. They recalled a story about St Francis Xavier who never enjoyed going too long without a traumatic event in his life.

He would pray to God “Why God, why only this much suffering?” Xavier knew that real growth only comes through tough times and that there are many things to learn from such experiences. I was not totally convinced however. What realisations or blessings could possibly be found in such a space?

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“He’d ask to see me, chaplain would phone me and in I’d go – waiting my way through detectors, steel doors and gates.

Prison moves at a different pace.

I’d manage to smuggle things in like compassion, belief and hope.

The shadows in the corridors and cells were faithful companions.

The Good News was important to him. Time passed and one day the news about him spread: “He was discovered dead in his cell last night. No foul play suspected.

Arrangements are being made.

There is nothing more to say.”

I’ve been back to that prison cell where the unbelievable happened. It was empty. For some, there is nothing more to say while for others neither life nor death will ever be the same again.”

Seán Duggan, CSsR REALITY APRIL 2015

Even though I felt like I was in some sort of ‘wilderness’ I began to realise that I was not alone there. It was full of those I can now call ‘Easter People’. They carried me along the various stages of recovery, bringing ‘good news’ in various ways: a patient in the hospital in Switzerland who was a great comfort to me in the first few days, returning to visit once she had been discharged, bringing flowers and books because she knew I was alone; the physiotherapists who demanded that I get out of bed, even though I felt broken in two; the consultants who said that next week would be better, and then the week after, when in fact they really meant months; the nurses who knew what the other two groups were doing and consoled me again and again; parents, friends and family who cocooned me in a bubble of kindness and care, guiding me through the ‘wilderness’ with a sense of assurance and hope.

I am sure we can all think of Easter People who came to us and journeyed with us in times of need. But what about the experience of resurrection? Can we connect the many rituals and celebrations of Holy Week and Easter time with this ongoing cycle of death and new life in our communities and in our daily lives? We are very good at hearing ‘turn away from sin’ on Ash Wednesday but do we hear the rest of that statement: ‘Believe the good news!’? So, I asked a number of people what they thought of when they heard the phrase ‘We are an Easter People’.

“I see Easter as the completion of the cycle of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and being an Easter People we are always in that cycle in our own lives and in the lives of the community on a daily, monthly, yearly basis. Jesus is forever living, dying and rising within us and the mystery is that I cannot always be sure which aspect of the cycle is

happening at any one time. The mystery is one of integration,” suggests Anne Keating of Cherry Orchard parish.

It is the integrating aspect of this mystery within all of us that perhaps makes it so difficult to explain. Often, it is only months after a particular exp erience that we can really look back and identify where we were in that cycle at any given time, perhaps totally heartbroken and in a place from which we thought we would never recover.

The first time we knowingly go through such a cycle gives us some sort of assurance for the times we will experience this in the future, and they will be numerous. It is because of this ‘remembering’ that we can

look ahead, even if our hearts take some time to catch up with our heads. We can know about resurrection and learn about resurrection, but only the raw experience of the cycle can really help us to grasp the mystery.

Can we connect the many rituals and celebrations of Holy Week and Easter time with this ongoing cycle of death and new life in our communities and in our daily lives?

NO EASTER WITHOUT GOOD FRIDAY Resurrection is often not possible without going through the Good Fridays. In the midst of my own physical trauma I began to realise that pain demands to be felt and there was no denying the journey that had to be made to recovery. This made every new stage and every corner turned a real ‘Alleluia’.

When six-year-old Sean Scully was shot in Cherry Orchard, Dublin in June 2014, shock and disbelief echoed around the community. People were horrified, in total anguish and despair that such a thing could happen. In the aftermath of such an instance of violence a little light shone through. The children in Sean’s class organised a ‘sale of work’ for him on their street. Into the darkest of situations, these children had woven something of God’s light. Brother Sean Becket from Cherry Orchard notes that “Easter People journey with others in their struggle for meaning, for hope, for solutions and consolation. Easter People spend ‘time in the tomb’, in the tomb of poverty, in the tomb of starvation, in the tomb of conflict and crime. There they have seen the face of Christ in people suffering victimisation and exploitation. They have witnessed the agony, hopelessness and despair of people made poor and disenfranchised. They have listened to the songs and cries of a forgotten people and generation.”

People need to cry, desire and dream before hope becomes a possibility. “Only then can there be an Alleluia that has cried

The Weaver I weave into my sore distress His peace and calm and no less I weave into my steps so lame Healing and helping of His name.

I weave into the darkest night Strands of God shining bright, I weave into each deed done Joy and Hope of the Risen Son David Adam

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with people, that has listened to people, that has prayed with people in their prayers of anguish, survival, desire and dreams. This Easter Alleluia does not forget the painful journey and memory of what it was to feel

works in inner city Dublin and lives in Cherry Orchard, speaks of resurrection as solidarity, partnership and community. This is sustained “within a web of connectivity and care. This gift is part of the DNA of a

Resurrection is a sense of ‘we belong here together’ and we are not alone in the struggle.

With whispering hope we can keep going isolated, marginalised and betrayed. This Easter Alleluia is carried, for and with those in struggle, to a place of understanding, support, acceptance and hope,” says Brother Sean. The journey through Holy Week reminds us of this ongoing cycle in the world of isolation, loneliness, turmoil, betrayal, confusion, healing, forgiveness and compassion.

Martin Byrne, a Christian Brother who

north inner city upbringing, an unmerited grace, for which I am grateful. On any given week I am a witness to heroic grit, resilience and love on the streets, while at the same time there are the sighs and the cries of desperate, anguished people. In this context, resurrection is a sense of ‘we belong here together’ and we are not alone in the struggle. With whispering hope we can keep going.”

LIFE AND DEATH WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN Revd Christine O’Dowd reflects on Mary Magdalene weeping, bereft at the tomb, the dead body of Jesus gone. “She turns away, being barely conscious of someone standing there who she thinks is the gardener. She is so low, so steeped in death that she fails to recognise Jesus. But Jesus is risen, with a transformed, resurrected body. Those of us who have had a near death experience, who have been bereaved, who have watched a loved one nearly die, we too are transformed, changed - we do not come back from a brush of death the same as before.

We too are not instantly recognisable. The Risen Jesus doesn't say Come. He says, Go, tell them!”

For Gerry O’Connor, a Redemptorist priest living and working in Cherry Orchard, being an Easter people brings reflections on the experience of accompanying people through terrible loss and tragedy: “I swing from desolation

Some years ago, while attending an evening class in Belfast, I met a lady whom I noticed had difficulty walking as a result of a leg injury.

One of the members of the class told me that this lady had lost one of her legs in an IRA bomb. She had been having coffee in a café when the explosion happened. I realised that there was nothing to suggest that she had any bitterness or resentment, nor was there any sign of self-pity. The cross that she had been asked to bear was great. She seemed to accept this cross, not only the physical implications but more remarkably she appeared to have been able to forgive the people who had inflicted this suffering. I sensed that there was a quality of deep contentment and peace in her. That evening I reflected on a passage from scripture: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body” (2 Cor 4: 8). This lady carried both the death and the life of Jesus in her body. The loss of a limb was her death; her faith and ability to forgive and be at peace her resurrection. Although she never uttered a word to me about her traumatic experience, she spoke to me about Jesus’ death and resurrection in a powerful way that no words could ever convey.”

Claire McKiernan DC

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REALITY APRIL 2015

and the sense of an absent God, to moments of an alive hunch, that God is real and present.

Often, the most reassuring experience of God takes place when the Scriptures are listened to together and the images stir up hope. There is a stillness in the listening, there is a searching together, often focused on the same questions.

In these moments, I have been privileged to be a part of a community that journeys from despair into hopeful words and outlook. The Word seems to lead us to imagine resurrection.

The respectful listening guides us to a place of reassurance. The hard questions unite us. The invisible God becomes just a little clearer. In these moments, I think that we really are an Easter People.”

HOPELANDIC Through my months of recovery there was a constant assurance urging me on. I knew it would take time. Whether we are going through a physical or emotional recovery, being an Easter People means that we know in our heads and

in our hearts that despair, pain and grief will not have the last word.

There is a famous band from Iceland called Sigur Ros. Their music is sung in a language that they have created, called Hopelandic. No one really knows what they are singing about most of the time. Is resurrection not a bit like this – the language we Easter People sing but cannot quite explain? We are consoled and hope-filled by its presence and it brings us through the darkest times. We are not left untouched by the cycle of death and resurrection; like Mary Magdalene at the tomb we are transformed, we are urged to Go and Tell as we watch this cycle continue in our communities day after day. We hope that those with whom we journey also hear this ‘good news’.

As Easter People we continue to move to the sound of the hopelandic, daring to shine the light of hope and wholeness into the empty tomb.

Jane Mellett is a parish pastoral worker in Ballyfermot Assumption and Cherry Orchard parishes in Dublin.

CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF MERCY

“A Call to be a

Compassionate Presence

in our world”

Can you see yourself being a compassionate presence by giving yourself to the joy and challenge of being a Sister of Mercy?

For information and contact details go to:

www.sistersofmercy.ie

COMMENT THE WAY I SEE IT KATY DOBEY

DECISION MAKING

LEARNING TO TACKLE THE HARD CHOICES HEAD ON

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Children often have very little independence of choice. Parents choose food, clothes, and activities and many children are happy with those choices and don’t question them. Often they start school with little or no experience of decision making.

Recently, in my junior infant classroom, I’ve been challenging the children to make their own choices. This has come to the fore during play-time. Playtime in the infant classroom is the centre of their day, and always incites the same joy and excitement despite being almost exactly the same every day of the year!

Each day, there are five play areas set up around each of the five table groups, varying from sand to stories, from cars to crafts. For the first term, the children play with their table group. There are five different activities and five groups. Each group plays with each activity once during the five-day week.

That way everyone gets a chance to play with everything and it’s all happy and fair. Later in the year, however, I introduce more choice. Children don’t like every activity equally. Some children love playing with sand and could stay there all week, while others dislike the feeling of grit between their fingers and try to avoid this as much as possible.

To reflect these differing tastes and to give children a chance to explore their individual preferences, each child is given a choice about where they want to play each day.

REALITY APRIL 2015

There are advantages and disadvantages to this plan. Of course, everyone can’t play with the same thing. If they all choose Lego, for example, we don’t have enough to satisfy 32 children.

There has to be a limit to the number of people at each play area. However, there are always some activities more popular than others, and not always what I predict. Often I put lots of time and effort into a new Easter art project for one of the play areas. I show the children all the great materials. I explain that this craft is available this week only. Yet, still many of them flock to the bricks and blocks that are available every day! At least those children know what they want!

There are others, however, who really struggle with the challenge of choice. They are stunned by their newfound independence. According to philosopher Ruth Chang, what makes a choice hard is the way the alternatives relate. In an easy choice, one alternative is better than the other. In a hard choice, one alternative is better in some ways, the other alternative is better in other ways, and neither is better than the other overall.

So a decision about where to live can constitute a hard choice. Likewise a decision about whether to eat a chocolate bar or a chocolate biscuit. Or where to play. If neither decision is clearly better overall, then the choice presents complexities that are difficult to assess.

For the first few weeks of this

new play-time arrangement one little girl, Amanda, was utterly overwhelmed. She would retreat into herself, tucking in her chin and staring at the ground. Her hands fumbled worriedly as she waited her turn to make her decision. Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn’t know what to say. Taking her out of her misery was tempting over the first few days. I would suggest something to her and she would clutch onto this idea with the joy of certainty. With my help, she had a particular direction to follow and no need to make the difficult decision alone.

However, this was not the aim of the lesson and I was torn between a desire to challenge the child into increased independence and an attempt to avoid unnecessarily raising her stress levels. Luckily, Amanda got through this trial through her own personal strength.

After a few tense days of this new system, Amanda was a changed girl. She suddenly went from a shy decision-maker to a confident one. She raised her voice shouting “art” on Monday morning and was full of pride as she made her way over to the appropriate table. The challenge had been worth it. A couple of days of uncertainty led to the joy of overcoming the difficulty and a new understanding of her own taste.

Adults, like children, make thousands of decisions every day.

According to Ruth Chang, hard choices are not reasonable ones.

Sometimes, there is no rational reason for choosing a chocolate biscuit over a chocolate bar. The rational world of comparatives being better than, equal to, or worse than do not necessarily apply. Sometimes, outcomes are on a par with each other. “When alternatives are on a par, it may matter very much which you choose, but one alternative isn't better than the other. Rather, the alternatives are in the same neighbourhood of value, in the same league of value, while at the same time being very different in kind of value. That's why the choice is hard.”

In Amanda’s case, there was no best alternative. She had to decide who she was going to be and what choice she was going to stand behind. Was she going to be story-teller, a Legoconstructer, an artist? Just as Chang outlines, Amanda realised she had the power to create reasons for herself and in so doing to become the distinctive person that she is.

If you agree, disagree or just want to add your own thoughts to our comment pieces, email: editor@redcoms.org or write to: The Editor, Redemptorist Communications, 75 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6

MIND A N D B O DY

MINDFULNESS AND CHRISTIANITY: FRIENDS OR FOES?

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REDISCOVERING THE RICH CHRISTIAN TRADITION OF MYSTICISM AND MEDITATION

BY MARTINA LEHANE SHEEHAN

Most

of us can identify with what it feels like to go into a room and then wonder what we actually came in for, or find ourselves in the middle of a conversation only to discover we have completely lost track of what has been said. These situations demonstrate how we tend to live in habitual auto pilot mode, caught in mental activity, and unavailable to the present moment. Furthermore, our attention span is becoming reduced because of living in a culture which places such a high emphasis on speed, multi-tasking and instantly available information. When our minds are busy, ruminating over the past

or worrying about the future, we lose sight of the gift of the present moment. This, alongside our over-dependence on multiple stimulants has consequences for our mental health.

Over the past number of years, neuroscience and psychology have done much research into how a regular practice of mindfulness can ‘pattern interrupt’ excessive mental activity, even leading to changes in brain structure (neuroplasticity). Perhaps all of this has contributed to the recent upsurge of interest in mindfulness – both as a meditative practice and a way of life. Pioneer of contemporary mindfulness programmes,

Jon Kabat-Zinn, advises how you can “walk along the path of your own life with your eyes open, awake instead of half unconscious, responding consciously in the world instead of reacting automatically and mindlessly”.

He says you can do this by recognising that while you have thoughts, you are more than your thoughts. He compares the psyche to the ocean, where the mind is like the frothy spray while underneath there lies a stillness.

Similarly, while there may be agitation in your thoughts, you can nonetheless discover a peaceful centre at the core of your being.

You can return to this peace, not just during designated meditation times, but

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when you are doing the ironing, driving the car or waiting in a supermarket queue. Christian mystic St Teres a of Avila discovered something similar; she tells us “the faculties of my soul are calmly absorbed in the remembrance of God while my thoughts, on the other hand, are wildly agitated”. She discovered this to be true both in her prayer times or while washing the pots and pans.

Many assume that mindfulness is a new phenomenon and exclusive to Buddhism and would therefore be surprised to learn that Christian contemplatives such as John of the Cross, Catherine of Sienna and Julian of Norwich, to name but a few, were speaking of similar concepts. While written in the language of their time, they were very much writing about practicing many of the central ingredients of mindfulness.

that there comes a time when “self knows that self is not enough. The deepest well becomes exhausted”. It is a great pity that though people are sipping from a variety of wells, many have never heard of the rich tradition of meditative practices inherent in the Christian tradition.

RE-DISCOVERING THE TREASURE In the early Christian Church, the desert fathers and mothers set up communities of silence and meditation.

They practiced what they called ‘watchfulness’, which, similar to mindfulness, was a process of being aware of those mind states which can lead us away from peace.

In the early 1970s the Cistercian monk Thomas Keating revived and systemised this ‘desert spirituality’ through a method of contemplation, employing the use of a ‘sacred word’, now known as ‘Centering Prayer’. Likewise, John Main, Benedictine monk and teacher of Christian meditation, developed a method of contemplation using the prayer phrase Maranatha (Aramaic for ‘Come Lord Jesus’).

The greatest model of mindful living can be seen in how Christ lived on earth. We see him at the busiest times of his life creating space to go off into silence; “in the morning before dawn, he left the house and went to the lonely place and prayed there” (Mark 1:35). He invited others to espouse a way of living which transcended the catastrophic anxieties of the mind; “do not worry about tomorrow…” (Matt 6:25). He invites us to live in the present moment rather than ruminating on a past we cannot change or worrying about a future that may never

They come in search of something to help them in lowering stress or sometimes they are simply seeking a time of rest from the speed and treadmill of their competitive worlds

THE ‘GOD THING’ A lady rushed into Ennismore Retreat House. She asked me to direct her to the meditation course. I explained how there were two courses running concurrently; one on mindfulness meditation, the other on Christian meditation. “Oh, I just want meditation and not the ‘God thing’,” she abruptly answered.

Her remark stayed with me, leaving me wondering why one would perceive God to be an obstacle, rather than an invitation, to meditation. She later explained her reluctance to the ‘God thing’, describing how she had felt burdened all of her life by an image of God as a corrective figure. She explained how this image was etched deep in her psyche, and further endorsed by her REALITY APRIL 2015

experience of organised religion as something structural and hierarchical. She had decided therefore, to search elsewhere for her spiritual nourishment.

Many people come through the door of the retreat centre looking for mindfulness, personal development courses, and the like.

They come in search of something to help them in lowering stress or sometimes they are simply seeking a time of rest from the speed and treadmill of their competitive worlds. While these courses and programmes might not be considered ‘spiritual’ per se, they often open up a journey where people discover a thirst for ‘something deeper’.

In scripture, we meet the woman of Samaria who came to the well merely for domestic needs, and not for any spiritual reason, yet this was the kairos moment when Christ encountered her. It can be in exploring our many human needs that we come to discover our thirst for the transcendent. Perhaps the poet Brendan Kennelly, in his poem Connections, puts it best when he tells us

happen. When Jesus rebuked Martha for worrying about “so many things”, he was directing her to imitate Mary in living contemplatively (Luke 10:42). His whole mission seemed to flow from this contemplative centre, and so even his preaching was filled with an inner authority. This authority was defined from the inside, and not from people pleasing.

We could all find the ability to be mindful and detached when we are sitting ‘Buddha like’ on a cushion, but it is not so easy when we are stuck in traffic or juggling a variety of roles and expectations.

Perhaps, the real test of mindfulness comes when we are faced with obstacles and adversity. When Jesus was alone in the desert, he was tempted by all sorts of false promises, stimulants and instant gratification. He resolutely relied on, and stayed present to the presence. His times spent in silence were not a mere returning to the self, but to a deep communion with his Father. Perhaps here

have to join the cause on every new trend and see it as our total salvation, neither do we need to reject every new discovery. In my own ongoing search for spiritual nourishment, I have found the concepts of mindfulness to be a healthy appetiser, but I would not be satisfied if it were the whole meal.

We can, as scripture advises, “bring out from our store rooms things Ennismore Retreat Centre, Cork both new and old” (Matt 13:15). We need to listen and discern what mindfulness can teach us, yet stand confident and grounded in Christian faith. Perhaps if we excavated our rich Christian mystical tradition there would lies the subtle difference between Christian be fewer people inclined to delete ‘the God contemplative prayer and the practice of thing’. mindfulness meditation.

Two people could be sitting in a room, one engaged in Christian prayer, the other It is a presence, then, in mindfulness meditation. To the observer, whose margins are our it would seem that both are engaged in the same practice (allowing thoughts to pass, margins: resting the body, attending to the breath that calls us out over our and the present moment). However, despite the many similarities, the intention can own fathoms. What to do be entirely different. In Christian prayer, but draw a little nearer to while one engages in similar disciplines, the intention is to enter more deeply such ubiquity by remaining into relationship with Christ. The ‘I-thou’ still? dimension lies at the core of contemplative prayer; it is intrinsically relational between R.S. Thomas, But the Silence in the Mind the creature and the creator, the saviour and the saved.

It is a great pity that though people are sipping from a variety of wells, many have never heard of the rich tradition of meditative practices inherent in the Christian tradition

Martina Lehane Sheehan

THE CHALLENGE OF OUR TIME It is a great challenge for our church to journey with people who are at the cusp of a contemplative journey. While we do not

Martina Lehane Sheehan is director of retreats and programmes at Ennismore Retreat Centre in Cork and is an accredited psychotherapist and spiritual director. She is the author of Seeing Anew: Awakening to Life’s Lessons and Whispers in the Stillness: Mindfulness and Spiritual Awakening, both bestsellers with Veritas Publications.

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BREAKING THE SILENCE ON

MENTAL HEALTH

HOW CAN WE SUPPORT PEOPLE IN OUR FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES AND PARISHES?

BY OWEN FINNEGAN

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In

Ireland, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. That’s quite a lot of people. Think about it. That’s enough people to fill Croke Park 14 times over; it’s six times the number of students enrolled in all our universities and ITs combined right across the country, and it’s more people than the combined population of Cork, Clare, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. One in four means that mental health problems touch us all in some form or another. It could be your Dad, your cousin, your sister in Australia, the nice

do if one of those people told you they had a mental health problem? How would you react?

I have faced discrimination as a result of having Bipolar Affective Disorder. I have had people cut me out of their lives and had a family who had no idea how to react to me when I was sick. It was so new to them to have me mentally unwell. Despite their concern for my well-being, however noble it was, they still had no idea what to say or even what to do. And this sadly made me feel isolated from my entire family.

Mental health problems are nothing to be frightened of; they’re part of the ups and downs of life.

Yet lots of us who experience mental health problems are too scared to tell our friends, family and colleagues for fear of

Research shows that one in two Irish people wouldn’t tell anyone at all if they experienced a mental health problem.

That’s a lot of people not talking woman who always remembers your coffee order, or your best friend. What would you REALITY APRIL 2015

how they might react. In fact, research shows that one in two Irish people wouldn’t tell anyone at all if they experienced a mental health problem. That’s a lot of people not talking. This is a sad reality.

To put it simply, the silence we tend to impose on our mental health turns something that can easily be managed into something difficult to resolve. It is better in the long run to seek out help as soon as possible, and I can speak from experience on the importance of this.

A CULTURE OF OPENNESS The church as a community has a considerable role to play in creating a culture that is open to understanding the mental health difficulties we can all go through. This isn’t just a job for the mental health ‘experts’ or our clergy, but for all of us. Every member of the community has their part to play in breaking the silence on mental health or at least leaving the door open for conversation.

As a Christian, I can vouch for the importance of having a faith to support you. My faith helps me

on a daily basis. I know that God watches over me; he has a plan for my life and he hears my prayers.

No matter what I go through I know God is with me and this helps me when I get sick, whether it is depression, delusional thinking or mania. Having this faith in God, my understanding of scripture and constant daily prayer helps me on a day-today basis to live a life full of hope, no matter what I go through. Prayer is a powerful tool and for me personally, it has been a healing experience.

families; often if one person finds themselves in a bad place it can affect the whole family. Fear of saying the wrong thing or not saying anything at all can really add to every family member’s stress.

Leave the door open for conversation. You don’t need to be an expert to start talking about mental health, nor do you need to have all the answers. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is to let someone know that you are there for them, and simply listen. Although you can’t solve someone else’s problems, knowing how to support someone can really help you – and them.

fall into the trap of jumping straight in with something positive or wanting everything to be okay, but what the other person really needs is to be listened to. It’s okay not to have answers, and to say that you don’t.

It doesn’t always have to be a big conversation about mental health. There are lots of small ways of showing support – just be yourself and listen.

Send a text or just ask someone how they’re doing – and mean it. Little things can make a big difference.

Try avoiding clichés. Phrases like ‘Cheer up’, ‘I’m sure it’ll pass’ and ‘Pull yourself together’ most likely will not help the conversation! Being open minded, non-judgmental and listening will.

WHAT DO I SAY? Take your lead from the person themselves and ask how you can help. And be patient as it may be difficult for them to share what they are thinking or feeling.

If you think that someone might be experiencing a difficult time, make it clear that you’ve noticed that they don’t seem like their usual self and suggest that if they ever want to talk you’ll be there. If you know someone has been unwell, don’t be afraid to ask how they are. They might want to talk about it, they might not. But just letting them know they don’t have to avoid the issue with you is important.

Take the pressure off yourself by not trying to rush to find solutions or comparisons. We often

A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY So what can the church as a community of faith do to help anyone among us who may be going through a tough time? It’s very simple. Members of the community can open up time to talk with their fellow parishioners and offer a listening ear.

During Mass or services it would be good to offer up a community prayer for those affected with mental health problems.

Another thing we can do is speak positive selfaffirming words to those who are going through a tough time. Hearing positive words spoken reaches deep into the darkness of depression and helps those affected see a glimmer of light.

I recall the first time I went into hospital to be treated for a manic mood and members of my church community visited me, brought food and drink, and sat and listened to me despite my being unwell. It is important to show support in any form and simply being there for someone is a very positive experience.

To sum up, it is hard to put it better than Jesus himself: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).

We often fall into the trap of jumping straight in with something positive or wanting everything to be okay, but what the other person really needs is to be listened to. It’s okay not to have answers, and to say that you don’t The silence around mental health can stop people from reaching out or seeking help. The fact that it's difficult to talk about mental health problems can be one of the hardest parts of having a mental illness. It can, as I mentioned earlier, lead to the loss of friendships, feeling isolated and slower recovery. It doesn't have to be this way.

Every one of us can do simple things to play our part in breaking the stigma.

The chances are that you or someone you know will go through a tough time at some point, so why not talk about it and learn how to support one another? This is particularly relevant for

Owen Finnegan is an ambassador for See Change, the national movement to encourage conversation about mental health problems and end the associated stigma and discrimination.

He is the author of The Psychotic and Disorder Manual detailing his own experiences of bipolar affective disorder.

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E A ST E R

FIRST WITNESSES

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THE WOMEN AT THE TOMB THE WOMEN WHO VISITED JESUS’ TOMB WERE THE FIRST TO HEAR THE EASTER MESSAGE: HE HAS RISEN!

BY MÁIRE BYRNE

Visiting

theplacewhereloved ones are buried is a source of comfort for countless people. The writers of the gospels tell us this poignant tale.

Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” were at the tomb for Jesus’ burial (Matthew 27:61), and that they both returned to the tomb later and found an angel who informed them that Jesus had risen from the dead (Matthew 28: 1-8). The “other Mary” is not Jesus’ mother, but rather the mother of James and Joseph (Matthew 27:56). The same two women are present at the tomb in the Gospel of Mark and Luke as well. John’s Gospel whittles the group down to Mary Magdalene alone. Mark’s Gospel features in the readings of the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday and its

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text is a beautiful narrative of the wonder of the Resurrection.

THREE WOMEN The reading begins with three women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome going to the tomb. The first Mary is known by where she is from (Magdala), the second Mary as the mother of James, and unusually for the New Testament, Salome is not identified by her place of origin or by her husband’s name. Matthew calls the third woman “the wife of Zebedee” and harmonising the two accounts would identify Salome as this woman. Listening to the text you can imagine how close the women were. They would earlier have travelled with Jesus, listening and learning, praying and witnessing the miracles

that Jesus performed. They had heard Jesus talk about his death but no one quite understood what he was talking about. Doubtlessly they would have loved and admired him so much that they could not conceive of his death. It would have been unbearable to think of him dead, killed in such a cruel and degrading fashion.

They had heard that Joseph of Arimathaea, Nicodemus and others had buried Jesus in keeping with Jewish customs, which was to wrap the body in sheets of linen cloth interspersed with spices, but presumably they wanted to take additional spices. They were not thinking it could delay the body’s deterioration. It was an act of love and respect for their friend and possibly a way of dealing with such an abrupt death. Remember that these women had come into Jerusalem with Jesus. They had witnessed that all the people seemed to love him. The crowds had shouted his name, waved palm branches as they called him their king. They had celebrated the Passover with him and their friends. Then, it was over.

The crowds who had declared him their king

soon as they could the next morning they set out for the tomb.

now wanted him crucified. Think how hard it would have been for them to understand, listening to the shouts of anger and scorn towards someone they loved. They would have been scared, both for Jesus and for their group. Then the agony of the crucifixion came, and the endless hours of dying.

These women never deserted their Saviour and they never stopped serving him, even in death.

The Sabbath for Jewish people begins at sunset on Friday and finishes at sunset on Saturday evening.

Burial sites are not visited on the Sabbath so we can imagine the women performing their usual rituals, with the thoughts of their dead friend utmost in their minds. On Saturday, after sunset, they had gone out together to buy the spices.

They were immensely practical, remembering the huge rock, but they couldn’t figure out what to do about it. The disciples were afraid that they were going to be captured and killed. They were in hiding. So the women didn’t ask for help. They made their purchases and returned home. As

HE IS NOT HERE As they reach the tomb, the dilemma of the stone returns. They are unsure who will move back the stone, but their concern is fleeting as the stone is moved back and the tomb is open. Another moment of fear grips them. Were the High Priests’ guards here or the Roman centurions? This fear is quickly replaced by anger. What new defilement is being done to the body of Jesus? The women bravely enter the tomb.

A young man, dressed in white robes (and therefore divine), looks to have been waiting for them. He welcomes and comforts the women. He reassures the women that they did not get lost and inadvertently come upon an empty tomb. This was the tomb of Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified.

This Jesus, he tells the women, “He has been raised; he is not here.” Look at the place where they laid him; he isn’t there. The women’s response speaks practical volumes “Where is he?” They are then told to inform Peter and the disciples that Jesus will meet them.

A NEW BEGINNING The resurrection story in Mark’s Gospel culminates with the women retuning home and being too

frightened to tell anyone what they had heard and seen. Some of my students have viewed this as a bit of a disappointment. Here are three strong and faithful women who suddenly decide the events are too scary for them to even recount what happened.

Matthew’s narrative recounts them leaving with a mixture of emotions; fear and joy. They are the first to see the risen Jesus and the first to spread the gospel – the Good News that Jesus had risen.

The women coming to tend to the body of their teacher and friend plan to mark his end with one last caring act. What they find however is a new beginning.

These women have journeyed with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and are the first witnesses to his resurrection. It is these women, who stood at the foot of the cross and who did not shirk from the danger of being connected with Jesus and refused to abandon him, who are rewarded with the first sight of their risen Lord. They bear witness to his teaching and healing. They bear witness to his torture and death. They are witnesses to his victory over death. He stands before them, as he does us at Easter, with his body transformed, and gives them the mission to tell the world what they have seen.

Máire Byrne is a Religion and English teacher in Coláiste Rís, Dundalk

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LE

COMMENT CHRISTIAN PARENTING CARMEL WYNNE

WHEN EXPERTS DISAGREE

A HEALTHY DOSE OF SCEPTICISM IS SOMETIMES NECESSARY I have a slightly jaundiced view of experts who set out to tell people what they should and shouldn’t do. Expectant mothers could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by so much advice on how to have a healthy pregnancy. Doctors, psychologists, midwives and pregnancy guidebooks offer expert advice, but there is a problem for the first time mum.

These experts disagree on what is best for mother and baby. Every pregnant woman is told that what she eats affects her baby. The lack of definitive information on what to eat makes it difficult to make decisions on what is nutritious and what is harmful.

It’s confusing when one person says eat this and another says don’t eat that. One expert says the developing foetus needs omega 3 oils: “Eat seafood, it is an excellent source of nutrients.”

Another expert says the opposite and issues alarming warnings about the danger that seafood may contain mercury which is linked to developmental delays in children who are exposed to it before birth.

Women who seek guidance on how to stay healthy during pregnancy get conflicting advice.

Imagine the unfortunate woman who needs a caffeine fix first thing in the morning so she can face the day. One health professional tells her to avoid coffee because studies show that caffeine is linked to miscarriages.

She is prepared to make the sacrifice but when she goes on

Google to research she finds that the information on the effects of caffeine in pregnancy is not well documented. She checks out the foods she likes to eats and finds that most of them have additives and may not be good for her.

When my first daughter Aileen was born I bought in to the widely held belief that parents contribute to the problem when a child is a fussy eater. Given a choice she always picked savoury over sweet. She loved fruit and vegetables. Under the illusion that our family doctor was an expert on how you get children to enjoy healthy snacks, I passed on his advice to envious friends whose kids always went for the sweets.

When my second daughter Niamh was a toddler I learned that what works with one child won’t always work with another. She loved sweets, hated savouries, and never slept.

Bringing up four daughters I learned that there is no one way to parent. Children have very different personalities.

They have different preferences and the approach that worked

well with one child was often ineffective with the others.

No parent can escape the guiltinducing warnings about how the happiness and well-being of children is affected by how they are parented. From the small library of books I read on babies and parenting I learned that parenting is a huge responsibility and one of the most challenging jobs that anyone can undertake.

There is no doubt that we can benefit from the research that psychologists, social workers and other professionals undertake.

And I believe we also need to have a healthy scepticism about trusting the validity of published findings.

Some doctors say heart disease runs in families. It’s in the genes, the DNA you inherit from your parents. Other doctors say it’s a lifestyle disease. They claim that it is affluence, a sedentary lifestyle and rich food that lead to heart disease. A British physician named David Barker disagrees.

After comparing the adult health of 15,000 individuals with their birth weight he found that

the poorest regions of England and Wales had the highest rate of heart disease. When he investigated he discovered a link between low birth weight, which was often an indication of poor prenatal nutrition, and heart disease in middle age.

He presented these findings to his colleagues and was scoffed at because he challenged the widely held beliefs that said heart disease had to do with genetics and adult lifestyle factors. Another study involving 120, 000 individuals set out to disprove his hypotheses. It found that taking into account the socio-economic status and adult lifestyle of the participants, the relationship between low birth weight and cardiovascular disease remained robust.

We now have a new science named foetal origins which says conditions encountered in utero shape our susceptibility to disease, our appetite, intelligence, temperament, even conditions associated with old age. It’s fascinating that experts tell us they can trace adult health from womb to tomb. Life experience has made me sceptical of this new science but I’m also curious about future discoveries.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to discover that my susceptibility to scepticism began during gestation and had little to do with my life experience?

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

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C H U R C H LI F E

SISTER TO SISTER DIALOGUE 28

IN 2009 THE VATICAN ANNOUNCED AN APOSTOLIC VISITATION OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS IN THE USA, A PROCESS WHICH CONCLUDED WITH THE PUBLICATION OF A FINAL REPORT LAST DECEMBER. DESPITE A SHAKY START, LESSONS WERE LEARNT ON BOTH SIDES.

BY ELIZABETH COTTER IBVM

Visitations

are a familiar act of governance in the Church, with long historic roots. Bishops ‘visit’ parishes on a regular basis.

Religious congregations include visitation in the ‘job descriptions’ of major superiors. The Holy See, too, will authorise a visitation to evaluate a particular situation or issue in order to assist a group to improve the way in which it carries out its mission in the Church.

While history shows this instrument to be a disciplinary act, Pope Paul VI described it in terms of “an act of the apostolate, not a bureaucratic inquiry, not a juridic formality but a life-giving event”, a pastoral description reiterated in the Directory on the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops and in the Code of Canon Law.

REALITY APRIL 2015

However, several facts made the Apostolic Visitation of Religious Women in the USA, which took place between 2009 and 2012, different: •Despite its stated aim “to look into the quality of the life of religious women in the USA” the visitation was directed at a particular section of women religious – apostolic women; •There are two conferences of religious in the USA; the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR). Only members of LCWR were visited; •A particular unit within a congregation – a province – was singled out; •There was no consultation with the Union

of International Superiors General in Rome (UISG) or any representative body (many of the religious belonged to international congregations); •The level of anger and hurt it caused was unprecedented; •Mother Mary Clare Millea ASCJ, a member of CMSWR, was appointed to carry out the visitation - the first time a woman was delegated with apostolic authority to carry out such a service in the church; •The Final Report was to be made public.

In addition, a “doctrinal assessment” was instigated in 2008 for the theological arm of LCWR, and three bishops (non-religious) were appointed to “supervise” its work and to police its conferences, topics and publications for a period of five years.

According to Pastor Bonus (No 79) which describes the functions and roles of offices of the Curia, the Congregation for Bishops has the authority to call for an Apostolic Visitation since its role relates to “the correct exercise of the pastoral function of the bishops”. This makes sense in that bishops are responsible for the co-ordination of pastoral care in their

The lack of transparency of its origins created unnecessary barriers which could have militated against its eventual effectiveness. However, the Final Report issued by CICLSAL on 16 December 2014 went a long way towards healing those hurt by the circumstances which gave rise to the visitation.

dioceses. So, one could understand Apostolic Visitation as an examination of the pastoral responsibility of the US bishops too.

WHY A VISITATION? Some mystery surrounds the reason for the LCWR Visitation. Popular theory suggests it came as a result of anonymous complaints made to the Holy See by “concerned faithful”, a fact reinforced by Cardinal Rode, then Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of

WHAT WAS INVOLVED? The visitation took place between 2009 and 2012.

The methodology used included the issuing of questionnaires, personal interviews and other written documentation, a process familiar to those audited by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland. Mother Clare chose a team of American religious to assist her. Congregations involved in the visitation agree that despite a shaky start, Mother Clare’s personal approach and charisma, together with those of her assistants, allayed some of the apprehension.

There were four phases: General Leaders were invited to share their hopes and concerns with the Visitor; questionnaires were issued to General Leaders concerning the spiritual, community and ministerial life of the congregations; teams of religious visited a representative group of 90 institutes; and a Final Report, based on the information gathered, as well as information specific to the institutes concerned, was given to CICLSAL and, contrary to general practice, was to be made public.

The areas examined included the “essential elements” of the consecrated life, namely charism and identity; the life of members including prayer and the vows, especially obedience; financial stewardship; mission; and the “glue” that holds all together, ecclesial communion. While recognising the great contribution of American religious to the life and mission of the church in the past and present, the Report called for renewal and selfevaluation. In particular, in relation to ecclesial communion, religious were asked, as stated in Vita Consecrata 46, to be “true experts of communion and to practice the spirituality of communion as witnesses and architects of the plan for unity which is the crowning point of human history

Many religious expressed a desire for greater recognition and support for the contribution of women to the church by clerics.

Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL), when he said he had been listening for many years to the concerns expressed by American Catholics, religious, laity, clergy and hierarchy about the welfare of religious women and consecrated life in general. He described visitation in terms of a means to assess and constructively address these concerns. Mother Clare spoke of visitation in terms of “a dialogue with the church”.

in God’s design”. Ecclesial communion, while a goal to which religious aspire, and in which many share, is experienced and expressed in different ways. Many religious expressed a desire for greater recognition and support for the contribution of women to the church by clerics. They noted the need for honest dialogue with bishops and clergy and for input into pastoral decisions which affect them or about which they have considerable experience or expertise.

The Report recognised the apprehension and suspicion with which some greeted the visitation. The response was to invite those concerned to “respectful and fruitful dialogue” to work together “to transform uncertainty and hesitancy into collaborative trust”. Indeed the Report went further, repeating Pope Francis’ oft quoted appeals about the “indispensable and unique contributions of women to society and the Church” and CICLSAL pledged its willingness to help realise Pope Francis’ resolve that “the feminine genius” find expression in the various settings where important decisions are made both in church and in social structures.

The Report was received with a great sense of relief by American religious women. Appreciation for who they are, and their immeasurable contribution to the American church in the past and which continues in a different way now, were indisputably recognised. This positive affirmation enabled religious to accept the challenges posed and the naming of those areas that require attention.

LESSONS FROM THE VISITATION So what can we learn from the experience of American religious? Their experience shows clearly what happens when relationships with bishops in particular break down. The Holy See has recognised the need for the revision of Mutual Relations – the Vatican II document that deals with relations between religious and bishops.

Significantly, it was CICLSAL who were given this task, “in close collaboration with the Congregation for Bishops”. Because many religious function in a collaborative, inclusive way in relation to governance, this almost inevitably causes conflict with those who operate from a hierarchical, patriarchal mindset. Despite the reforms of Vatican II, this mindset is more widespread than

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C H U R C H LI F E

Mother Mary Clare Millea speaks at a Vatican press conference for the release of the Final Report of the Vatican-ordered investigation of US communities of women religious

30

one would hope or expect.

Pope Francis calls for dialogue but dialogue takes the engagement of both parties in a mutually respectful way. While this happens sometimes, for example representatives of the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Irish Episcopal Conference meet occasionally since the Reports on institutional abuse were published, regular dialogue about other areas such as evangelisation would not appear to be common practice.

In the case of the US, why would bishops who are responsible for pastoral provision not engage directly with those religious with whom they had problems? Why put so many religious through the process of visitation when the problem was with

some? Why is dialogue so difficult for women and men who are engaged in the same task, namely the evangelising mission of Jesus Christ, albeit with different functions? Are Irish bishops and religious any different? It must be said that the planning and execution of the Apostolic Visitation of Ireland in 2010, at least as far as religious were concerned, showed that many lessons had been learned and the fruits implemented.

ROLE OF WOMEN AND RELIGIOUS In relation to the role of women in the church, successive popes have indicated the need for change. This must begin in the local church. In how many Irish parishes and dioceses are women

involved in decision-making? Does it happen with one bishop or parish priest and cease when that person moves on? Because the church functions in a hierarchical way, there is no immediate solution to this particular problem.

The Apostolic Visitation in the USA brought into the open some of those issues which are essential to the authentic living of the consecrated life in the church and the world today. If its origins in pain and suffering bring about resurrection in terms of a greater understanding of the mission of consecrated persons in the life and mission of the church and the place of that mission within the pastoral vision of the bishop, then it will have contributed enormously to the evangelising mission of Jesus in the church and world today. As the Report pointed out, this Year of Consecrated Life provides “a graced opportunity for all within the church – religious, clergy and laity – to take those steps towards forgiveness and reconciliation which will offer a radiant and attractive witness of fraternal communion to all”. The question is – has this made a difference to the relationships between religious and bishops? That is a question for another time.

Sr Elizabeth Cotter IBVM is a canon lawyer and Vicar for Religious in the Dublin Archdiocese.

“The Visitation process sought to convey the caring support of the church in respectful, ‘sister-to-sister’ dialogue, as modelled in the Gospel account of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth.”

“May the self-assessment and dialogue sparked by the Apostolic Visitation continue to bear abundant fruit for the revitalisation and strengthening of religious institutes in fidelity to Christ, to the church and to their founding charisms. Our times need the credible and attractive witness of consecrated religious who demonstrate the redemptive and transformative power of the Gospel.”

Final Report on the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious in the USA

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C H U R C H LI F E

COUNTDOWN TO THE LIMERICK DIOCESAN SYNOD 78% St John's Cathedral, Limerick

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LOADING...

WITH A YEAR TO GO UNTIL 400 MEN AND WOMEN GATHER TOGETHER FOR THE LIMERICK SYNOD, PREPARATIONS ARE WELL UNDER WAY.

BY FR ÉAMONN FITZGIBBON

Last

September Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy announced his intention to hold a Diocesan Synod in spring 2016. This is a very significant announcement as there has not been a synod in the Limerick diocese since 1937, or indeed in Ireland since the 1950s.

The actual meaning of the word ‘synod’ is ‘journeying together’, coming from two

Greek words (syn hodos) that mean ‘with (someone) and road’.

It is a long-established practice in the church to use this term for meetings held every now and then where members of the church come together to review things and make decisions. Pope Francis describes a synod as a “wonderful experience”, “an intense moment of growth”.

Essentially, a synod is a time and a process of walking

C H U R C H LI FE

Bishop Brendan Leahy holds the Decree of Convocation of the Synod at the official launch

Immaculate College. Many matters of relevance to life in this diocese will be discussed, enabling the wisdom and experience of all, inspired by the Spirit, to be spoken and heard.

The official launch of the synod took place on 7 December 2014 with a liturgy in St John’s Cathedral and the actual meeting of the synod will take place in spring 2016.

Between the launching of the synod and the 2016 gathering, we are engaging in a process of reflection and sharing, catechesis and prayer. It is my hope that this process leading up to the synod over the next year will involve as many as possible throughout the diocese.

Community and other minority and migrant communities, youth ministry groups and ecclesial communities such as Muintearas

The delegates will engage in a process of listening and discerning, together with those they represent, to determine what exactly our needs, concerns and possibilities are at this time

32

together, that is firstly an event or a destination, and secondly a process or a journey to get us there. Thus, we get the sense of our diocesan community travelling together upon the same road. This experience of church is congruent with one of the most powerful images of church from the Second Vatican Council as a pilgrim people, journeying in a foreign land.

The synod event itself will be a large three-day meeting with around 400 representatives of the life of faith in this diocese. These representatives – or delegates – are drawn from parishes and different communities around the diocese, bringing together the many strands of life in the Limerick diocese. They have already had their initial meeting on 15 November in Mary

Bishop Leahy encouraging youth leaders to partake in the Synod

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Íosa and Charismatic Renewal, the Irish, Polish and other language speaking communities, and representatives of the city of Limerick, regeneration areas, and

The official launch of the Synod at St John's Cathedral, Limerick

PREPARING FOR THE SYNOD A first step in the coming months is to identify and recruit delegates who will attend the synod event in 2016. They will be drawn from, and in turn represent the various strands of life in our diocese.

To be truly representative, the approximately 400 delegates will come from parishes, schools (primary and secondary), third level colleges, health care communities, the Travelling

the worlds of business, arts, sport and other areas of culture.

Once we have recruited the delegates they will need to receive some training and formation to enable them to undertake their task of listening and discerning.

Throughout the process they will engage in regular in-service.

What a wonderful resource these delegates will be for their own communities and the life of the diocese!

The inaugural gathering of delegates for the Synod at Mary Immaculate College

Synod Prayer WHAT WILL THE SYNOD DISCUSS? The delegates will engage in a process of listening and discerning, together with those they represent, to determine what exactly our needs, concerns and possibilities are at this time. Once the material which has surfaced is gathered together, the Preparatory Commission will need to prioritise and group these into themes that will form the basis for the discussions at the synod in 2016.

They will also hopefully provide background study material on each theme that will inform and enrich the discussion at the synod proper.

We don’t live in a vacuum, so what we discuss at the synod and also on the journey towards the synod will need to take account of the major issues that are focusing the mind of the church around the world at this time, especially the topics of family, A wall full of ideas

young people and social issues.

Most importantly, all of this work takes place under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and so prayer will be an integral aspect of all that we do.

It is vital also that we deepen our knowledge of the faith during this year ahead in order to inform our deliberations and reflections. For that reason, the diocese will engage in a programme of catechetical updating for all of us.

The gathering in spring 2016 will bring the delegates together to draw conclusions. As a result of the synod we will work out a Pastoral Plan that will clarify and articulate the policies and guidelines that guide our work, and take us forward into the challenging years ahead.

Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon is director of the Limerick Diocesan Synod. For more information see www.synod2016.com.

We stand before you, Holy Spirit, conscious of our sinfulness, but aware that we gather in your name.

Come to us, remain with us, and enlighten our hearts.

Give us light and strength to know your will, to make it our own, and to live it in our lives.

Guide us by your wisdom, support us by your power, for you are God, sharing the glory of Father and Son. You desire justice for all: enable us to uphold the rights of others; do not allow us to be misled by ignorance or corrupted by fear or favour.

Unite us to yourself in the bond of love and keep us faithful to all that is true.

As we gather in your name may we temper justice with love, so that all our decisions may be pleasing to you, and earn the reward promised to good and faithful servants. Amen

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C H U R C H LI F E

IRISH SYNODS: AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW THE FORTHCOMING LIMERICK SYNOD TAKES PLACE AGAINST A BACKDROP OF HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF SYNODS IN IRELAND, ALL OF WHICH ATTEMPTED TO TACKLE THE BURNING ISSUES OF THEIR DAY.

BY SALVADOR RYAN

When

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Bishop Brendan Leahy announced last September that a synod for the diocese of Limerick would be held in 2016, few would have realised that it has been over 50 years since such an event has occurred. Since then, both the church in general, and the Irish church in particular, has changed beyond recognition, not least owing to the seismic effects of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Whatever can be said about the forthcoming Limerick Synod, one thing is certain: it will be a very different affair from any of its predecessors. For one thing, its 400 delegates will be drawn from all strands of life, and Bishop Leahy’s description of the event as “an opportunity to open up, look around us, see things from other points of view ... to dialogue with people” clearly takes its cue from the language of Vatican II. On the face of it, this looks like a radical departure from the sort of dry canonical legislation enacted

by Irish ecclesiastics at diocesan synods over the centuries – legislation which bore little relevance to the daily lives of most men and women. And yet, while we may be inclined to draw an absolute contrast between what is to come and what went before, perhaps such a judgment is a little unfair to those who participated in such synods in the past. For, if we look a little more carefully at the preoccupations of some of these earlier Irish synods, they were not without either pastoral

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application or concern for the well-being of priests, religious and laity.

TACKLING CONTEMPORARY ISSUES Although there were earlier synods held in Ireland, perhaps the most well-known of the medieval synods were those of Cashel (1101), Ráith Bressail (1111) and Kells-Mellifont (1152). These laid the foundations for both the reform of the church in Ireland – asserting papal and episcopal authority and tackling issues such as simony, hereditary clerical dynasties and clerical concubinage – and the establishment of the diocesan system. There were, in fact, at least 12 national or provincial synods held between the years 1101 to 1179, many of which we know little about. But some glimpses that we do get are quite interesting indeed. One report concerning the synod of Cashel in 1172 records it as outlawing the practice of baptising children at home without recourse to a priest, in addition to a curious custom in which the rich were accustomed to baptising their children in milk (perhaps as a status symbol) while the poorer families used water. At this time, baptism was routinely performed by full immersion (three times), a practice which would survive in Ireland up until the 17th century when it was proscribed by the synods of Dublin (1624) and Tuam (1631) respectively.

The legislation which diocesan synods enacted

often provides a good snapshot of what were regarded by the higher clergy as the most pressing contemporary issues concerning priests, people and parishes. For instance, the provincial synod of Cashel in 1453 (held, incidentally, at Limerick) stipulated that every parish church was expected to possess a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a crucifix and a statue of the patron saint of the church, suggesting that many churches had not already fulfilled this minimum requirement. It also strongly stated that priests should, under pain of excommunication, abstain from thefts, plunder and violence – which raises questions of its own!

Proper procedure regarding the administration of the sacraments was also to be observed: when carrying the Eucharist to the sick, priests were to wear an alb and be preceded by a bell “in order to stimulate the piety of the faithful”. Likewise, the sacred vessels in churches were to be of fitting quality and the churches themselves kept neat and clean.

In the wake of the decrees of the Council of Trent (1545-63) and decades of war and turmoil in Ireland, the provincial synods of the early 17th century demonstrate an effort to implement the reforms of Trent in an Irish setting, while also allowing for the turbulent nature of the times. In this period, simply legislating for the celebration of the sacraments in a parish church was not always practical. Therefore, the synod of Dublin in 1614

admits that “because the awful circumstances of the times oblige us frequently to celebrate the divine mysteries under the open air” only the most suitable locations are to be selected and the altar should, in so far as possible, be sheltered “from the inclemency of the weather”. It also allowed for a scarcity of priests when it stated that prisoners who desired the Eucharist could have it brought to them by a layman; however, if the prisoner himself was a priest, he should handle the host himself.

At this synod, too, the number of godparents was reduced to two (in line with Trent). Before this, multiple godparents were routinely chosen by the Irish who sometimes saw baptism as a means to establish key social and political alliances, often with quite unhappy results, as christenings could often turn violent – and, indeed, fatal. Synods at this time made every effort to promote a more spiritual approach to the sacrament. It recognised, however, that baptism was not always possible in a church and, therefore, legislated that a font should be provided at the house where the priest usually resided. It also ruled that priests who charged the poor for the performance of baptism would be fined four times the amount by his bishop.

The synod also encouraged priests to catechise wherever they went and, even when on a quick visit to a parishioner, to make sure to teach them the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer or a point of doctrine.

This was crucial, for it also laid down knowledge of the articles of faith and basic prayers such as the Our Father and Hail Mary as prerequisites for the reception of the sacrament of penance.

‘DRINKING AND SILLY STORIES’ Many synods of this period also attempted to address aspects of popular piety or, indeed, popular ritual, that they considered to be superstitious, injurious to the faith, or unfitting in a Christian. The synod of Dublin in 1614 condemned as superstition the practice of lay people carrying

relics and dipping them into water or sprinkling them over humans and animals for protection.

The provincial synod of Armagh in 1632, in a broadside against sorcery, magic, demonic pacts and fortune telling, also mentions the practice of “superstitious prayers”. Likewise, it condemned inappropriate behaviour at holy wells and stated that such devotional visits are no excuse for not attending mass on Sundays. A synod of Ossory in 1676 legislated that inappropriate “images or statues with unpleasant or disfigured appearance” be destroyed.

Rituals surrounding the dead – especially customs at wakes – also came in for censure. In 1676 a synod of Waterford and Lismore condemned “drinking and silly stories” at funerals; a synod of Dublin in 1686 likewise ordered that parish priests punish those who sing “disgusting songs” on these occasions and that they must not “allow buffoonery to advance and the memory of the dead to be made light of”. Levels of alcohol consumption had become so high that a provincial synod of Armagh in 1670 prohibited the attendance of anyone but family and close friends at funerals to reduce the levels of disorder.

However, some synodal legislation could be remarkably even-handed. For instance, an earlier synod of Armagh, held in 1642, some months after the outbreak of the 1641 rebellion, declared “all murderers, thieves, unjust plunderers, robbers and extorters ... and their patrons, harbourers and ... assistants” excommunicated and, in addition, “all usurpers of either Catholic or Protestant land”.

teachers in line with the norms of Trent. A diocesan synod of Waterford and Lismore in 1677 stated that they should abstain from “alcohol, taverns, gambling ... and secular pursuits”, administering the sacraments with “an intelligible voice and distinct pronunciation”. The diocesan synod of Meath of 1686 legislated that priests who failed

The synod of Dublin in 1614 condemned as superstition the practice of lay people carrying relics and dipping them into water or sprinkling them over humans and animals for protection

HIGH STANDARDS But if synods held the laity to account, they expected even higher standards of the clergy.

Priests were expected to be model pastors and

to catechise their parishioners on Sundays and feast-days would be fined five shillings for a first offence, would be suspended if this occurred three weeks in a row, and if he failed to exercise his duty over six weeks, he would forfeit his parish. It also stated that regular catechesis was necessary in order “that the sheep may not hunger”. Priests were expected to remain in their parishes and not to leave them for more than three days without the permission of their bishop.

Ultimately, for all the synodal legislation that was passed over the centuries, much of it was too difficult to enforce, and some of it fell on deaf ears.

The proof of this, of course, is seen in how often the same or similar issues appear in subsequent legislation through the 19th and 20th centuries.

But this should not take away from the genuine efforts of those involved to create a better church in their own day.

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

35

S AC R A M E N TS

CONFIRMATION

SACRAMENT OF INITIATION OR RELIGIOUS DISNEYWORLD?

36 IS SIXTH CLASS THE BEST TIME TO CELEBRATE THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION, OR ARE THERE OTHER OPTIONS WHICH WOULD BETTER ENCOURAGE FAITH DEVELOPMENT IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE?

BY BISHOP DONAL McKEOWN

One

of the lessons that a Bishop has to learn very early on is that, once you have published the dates for confirmation ceremonies, you try to change those arrangements at your peril! Hotels will have been booked; relations are coming from

There are advantages and disadvantages to how we currently do things. On the positive side, the parish gets a huge crowd of people in the church for a significant event. The priest or bishop has a chance to proclaim the Gospel to them all, and good memories or links can be created for some people. It celebrates the unity of the community as they gather round their young members. And the preparation provides a useful focus for both faith community and school.

But there is also much criticism of what happens. What takes place can, for many, be little more than an attractive liturgical Disneyworld that brightens up a spring day. You

In the task of handing on the faith, the school can do much to support the parish’s catechetical role – but it cannot replace it far away or have arranged to take days off work.

The confirmation ceremony still has huge drawing power – and very many people are genuinely attached to what it offers.

REALITY APRIL 2015

can have a nice occasion, get photographed with the guy with the funny gear, give cards and money and have a great party afterwards.

For lots of people it has become a social event with a conveyor belt approach to sacramental administration that requires little sign of either commitment or conviction.

So how can we assess confirmation in Ireland today? We have two new contexts to help us review current practice. Firstly, Share the Good News: National Directory for Catechesis in Ireland asks us all to look at how we structure our church so that we provide a structured catechesis for everybody, at all stages in their lives, so that they can grow as disciples of Jesus Christ within the community that is the church.

Secondly, Pope, Francis has clearly underlined

how we are a missionary church. That means that everything we do is about calling people to know God in Jesus, and about building up the church at the service of the world’s liberation from sin and its effects. St Pope John Paul II told us in Knock in 1979 that “every generation, with its own mentality and characteristics, is like a new continent to be won for Christ”. That is even more relevant today. We just failed to understand it 35 years ago.

BUILDING UP THE PARISH COMMUNITY On the basis of our core documents, it seems to me that the core question to be asked in regards to confirmation is: how does our celebration of this key sacrament of initiation serve the building up of the parish community on its journey of faith?

Firstly, our schools do tremendous work. Our celebrations of first Eucharist and confirmation are examples of that. But too often, the parish community and the families have sub-contracted the task of formation in faith to school teachers, increasing numbers of whom have little faith experience of anything more than teaching the RE syllabus in schools. In the task of handing on the faith, the school can do much to support the parish’s catechetical role – but it cannot replace it.

Thus, if confirmation is to be a stage on a journey rather than the end point, there is a crying need for the development of parish-based preparation alongside what the school can and cannot do.

Secondly, we run the risk of going from industrial scale confirmation to the other extreme of excessive individualism.

Some voices rightly emphasise the need for a person to be of a certain age in order to make the personal commitment of faith that confirmation implies. A degree of maturity is important, but people, of whatever age, swim in a sea of attitudes, assumptions and acceptance norms that they share with other people. Community is not just part of the context for handing on faith. Belonging is also part of the content of the faith transmitted and lived.

Thus, the core question is not how old a person is when we celebrate the sacrament of confirmation with them. The key element is whether they are being confirmed from within a community of faith and into an ongoing community that will continue to support them in their growth in faith.

Share the Good News is clear about this: “Catechesis for confirmation should ‘awaken a sense of belonging to the church’. It should strengthen one’s bond with one’s bishop and with the whole Christian community.”

The same applies for believers of all ages. Statistics suggest that, among those who have undertaken the RCIA programme and become adult believers, many cease to practice because the community support is not there. Unless all the sacraments are seen in the context of an ongoing discipleship from cradle to grave, then confirmation – like baptism, first Eucharist, matrimony and perhaps even ordination – risk being seen as ends in themselves rather than wellsprings at which we can drink on our personal and communal Exodus journey.

This will involve a serious look at how we are parish. And that is precisely the ‘pastoral conversion’ to which what Pope Francis has called us. What worked in a different time will not work now. As diocesan and parish communities we are asked to discern how all that we do “can be suitably channelled for the evangelisation of today’s world rather than for [the church’s] selfpreservation” (Evangelii Gaudiem).

Thirdly, that raises the question of how we could put in place a ‘cycle of care’ that can respond to the need for a restructuring of how we actively adopt the ‘missionary option’. In that context we are blessed to have a huge resource in our returned and retired missionaries who have spent their life in a missionary church – where, through the grace of God, they have shown spectacular success. Can we talk to them and learn from them?

Furthermore we have a range of programmes available as well as the structures proposed by Share the Good News. Chapter 7 of that document is quite explicit about what the parish needs to

become if it is to be “the prime mover and preeminent place for catechesis”.

GOOD NEWS FOR YOUNG HEARTS So what do we have as parish-based contexts for faith development for young people?

For preparation for first communion and for confirmation at 11/12 years of age, Ireland has developed parish-based programmes such as Do This in Memory and You Shall Be My Witnesses.

Building on that, some places in Ireland have developed the GIFT (Growing In Faith Together) materials. This can be used as a parish- or even school-based structure to offer belonging and growth for 12-16 year olds. For 16-17 year olds many dioceses now offer the opportunity for young people to share their energy and develop their talents through the Pope John Paul II awards.

World Youth Day can also be built into a strategy for faith formation. And all of this can be complemented by a range of other organisations – such as Youth 2000 – that offer growth in faith in a communal context.

There is no shortage of resources. But the use of those in a strategic way will require a real paradigm shift for local and diocesan leadership.

The sacrament of confirmation is a divine resource, not just a human event. If we can “undertake a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform” (Evangelii Gaudiem) we can allow the Good News to grow in young hearts – and enable them to be used

by God’s Spirit to renew the faith of the earth.

This is the God-given time of decisions and for action.

Donal McKeown is Bishop of Derry.

37

Prayer and reflections for moments of the day & moments in life!

Breaking the Word...

April 2015

Popular collection of prayers and meditations collected

by Redemptorist Fr John J. Ó Ríordáin.

This is the booklet to have in your pocket or handbag for any moment in the day or to use as a basis for your own prayer life.

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: LATTIN, CO. TIPPERARY 18th – 24th April 2015 Parish Mission preached by Derek Meskell CSsR and Ms. Niamh O’Neill BALLAGHAMEEHAN, CO. LEITRIM 18th – 25th April 2015 Parish Mission preached by Laurence Gallagher CSsR, Ciaran O’ Callaghan CSsR and Ms. Sarah Smyth

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COMMENT REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ

THE PARTY WHIP SYSTEM

UNETHICAL AND UNDEMOCRATIC TDs should be given a free vote in the Dáil on matters of conscience, such as the right to life of the unborn and abortion-related issues, according to Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett.

He drew on his experiences as government chief whip in the Fine Gael-Labour coalition between 1982 and 1986 which dealt with the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, giving equal rights to the mother and the unborn, when referring to voting on matters of conscience. “I often felt that on issues like that, the whip system doesn’t do any good.”

I agree with Sean Barrett – TDs should be given a free vote in the Dail on matters of conscience.

However, his understanding of “matters of conscience” is outdated.

In an era when the Catholic Church had a dominant position in Irish society, morality was primarily understood in terms of personal, sexual morality. Although Jesus, a moral teacher par excellence, talked passionately about wealth and the abuse of power and said very little about sex, the Church becomes passionate on issues of sexual morality, such as contraception, abortion, gay relationships and divorce, but is relatively silent on issues of wealth and power.

Consequently, the spirituality most of us have inherited emphasises a private morality but is very weak on other moral issues. Today morality and matters of conscience need to be understood in a much broader way.

Every decision we (or the Government) make, or choose

Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett

not to make, which impacts on the lives of others has a moral dimension and is a matter of conscience. This is particularly true of budget decisions.

For example: •Reducing child benefit for the poorest families, which increases child poverty, is a matter of conscience.

•Cuts to Traveller education, which undermine young Travellers’ future life prospects, are a matter of conscience.

•Reducing the number of special needs assistants, which affects the development and future quality of life of children with special needs, is a matter of conscience.

•Reductions in the Back to School and Footwear grants, which force families to cut back on essentials such as heating or food, are a matter of conscience.

•Cuts in respite care grants, which add an extra burden on those who provide full-time care to a family member, are a matter of conscience.

•Reducing the top rate of tax at a time when homelessness is increasing is a matter of conscience.

Admittedly, many of the decisions that governments have to make are not simple, black-and-white, moral decisions. They may involve conflicting values. There will be economic or social factors to be taken into account. But political factors – “what will help us get reelected?” – have no place in moral decisions.

All our politicians should do a course in the Catholic Church’s social teaching (I am more than willing to teach that course to them!)

At the centre of that teaching is the affirmation of the unconditional dignity of every single human person. Anything we do, or fail to do, which affirms or denies the dignity of other people is a moral act. It was John XXIII’s encyclical in 1962, Mater et Magistra, which sought to relate that dignity to the complex structures of an economically and politically interdependent world.

For John XXIII, the protection of the common good of all is the fundamental principle which defines how the dignity of the person is to be

affirmed. The ‘common good of all’ was not just a vague phrase for John – it meant a ‘set of social conditions’ (which today we would call ‘a set of structures’), which facilitates the realisation of the personal good of each individual.

He insisted that it is the role and function of government to organise the social conditions (‘structures’) which allow the realisation of the common good of all. Since those who are better off in society are more able to achieve their own good, the role and function of government is primarily to create structures which can enable the poor to achieve their good. Thus John, back in 1962, strongly supported the welfare state model of society (although it was then under attack) as the only set of structures available at that time to support the good of the poor.

Hence, any government decision which makes life more bearable or unbearable for those who are poor and marginalised is a matter of conscience.

The party whip system seems to me to be both unethical and undemocratic: decisions are made because a majority of TDs say that they agree with the decision, even if they don’t. A more democratic system would make decisions because a majority of TDs actually do agree with the decision. This would ensure that TDs take responsibility, and are accountable for the decisions which they have supported. While this would undoubtedly make life more difficult for the parties in power, it might be the kiss of life for a political system that is showing signs of rigor mortis.

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V O LU N T E E RING

I JUST CAN’T FIND THE RIGHT TIME! OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOLUNTEERING OVERSEAS

BY MARY ANNE STOKES

One

40

often thinks of volunteering as the preserve of the student suffering wanderlust, the teacher on their summer break, or the ‘gap year’ type who pops up on British TV shows. Many of us regularly consider volunteering overseas ourselves, inspired by an uncle on the missions in Brazil, or the neighbour who has just returned from a house building expedition in South Africa. The question that stumps us, however, is “when?" Finding the right time to volunteer can be tricky but perhaps there are windows of opportunity that we have yet to consider.

With most of us having only 22 annual leave days per year, it can be hard to fit a decent volunteering

spell into these precious days. However, many employers offer unpaid leave for such ventures and are often very supportive of staff members sharing their skills in the global south. In an era where ‘corporate social responsibility’ has become a buzz-phrase, many companies agree to match amounts fundraised too, further supporting a volunteer’s endeavours.

CAREER BREAK OR REDUNDANCY Vincentian Lay Missionaries (VLM) have had some effective and efficient volunteers who are on a career break or just after taking a redundancy package. For them, it was good timing and they were all pleasantly surprised by how useful their professional skills were. VLM offers a variety of placements, not just for the traditional teaching or medical roles. There is a growing need for people with report-writing skills or with experience in business leadership, management or general administration. Volunteers have also taught VLM partners about labour-saving apps such as Skype, Viber, Dropbox and Mailchimp, making life in the office much easier for many.

UNEMPLOYMENT For the unemployed, The Volunteer Development Worker Scheme, administered by Comhlámh on behalf of the Department of Social Protection, is designed to protect the social welfare and pension rights of volunteer development workers while they are overseas. This scheme is unique to Ireland and gives the volunteer security, allowing them to make the most of their unemployment, redundancy, career break or retirement. More information is available on www.comhlamh.org.

Kathleen Conlon, a retired primary school teacher from Sligo, with Mahari (8) from Atse Primary School, Addis Ababa

REALITY APRIL 2015

NEWLYWEDS The months after getting married are often

a surprisingly carefree time in life and perhaps the ideal opportunity for a couple to travel together, experience another culture and share their professional skills. Many volunteer-sending organisations welcome couples and even offer two-for-one deals on placement fees. In the past two years VLM has had three recently married couples volunteer in Ethiopia. While these couples had much to offer, they also gave their hosts a good witness experience, as Christians in the global south are often dismayed when they hear of low marriage rates in Europe.

A FAMILY AFFAIR Family volunteering is becoming a trend within the overseas volunteering sector. Mums and dads are taking six to twelve months off work to relocate the family in the developing world, share their skills with the local people and give their children an interesting experience of school and community life in a different culture. This is not something VLM has yet facilitated but there have been a number of enquiries in the past few years.

ACTIVE RETIREMENT Then there are the stalwart volunteers who are recently (or not so recently) retired. VLM volunteers have had the privilege of working with a lady from Northern Ireland who, at the age of 85, celebrated her 25th consecutive year of volunteering with the Daughters of Charity in Ethiopia!

Finding the right time to volunteer overseas can still be a challenge but if it is something that you have always aspired to do, find your window of opportunity and jump through it. As the writer Elizabeth Andrew once said: “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”

Finally it is recommended that potential volunteers make themselves aware of Comhlámh’s Code of Good Practice for volunteer sending organisations.

Organisations which sign up to this code are obliged to offer ethical volunteering placements that meet genuine need in host communities while providing suitable training and support for all volunteers before and throughout their placement. Look out for this logo on an organisation’s website or flyer.

Patrick MacEntee, VLM capacity building volunteer, with Sr Medhin Tesfay DC, coordinator of social projects in the Tigray region of Ethiopia

Mary Anne Stokes is projects coordinator for Vincentian Lay Missionaries, a faith-based volunteer sending organisation.

VLM works in partnership with the Vincentian Fathers and the Daughters of Charity in Africa to support various community and educational projects. For more information visit www.vlm.ie or call 01-8102570/ 087-1397069.

“My own background is in finance and my work there was writing funding proposals, helping with financial management, administration and teaching several English classes. Volunteering in Ethiopia was a wonderful experience. I came here with my wife Emer, who is a doctor, and she worked in some clinics as well as the city hospital. We have made many new friends and got to experience a culture very different to our own.”

Patrick MacEntee from Co Meath took a career break to work in Ethiopia as one of VLM’s capacity building volunteers.

Volunteer Overseas with a Faith-Based Organisation Since 2002 Vincentian Lay Missionaries have been making a difference to the lives of communities across Ethiopia. In 2015 we are announcing an exciting new project in Ghana.

We welcome retired people, those considering career breaks and volunteers for our annual 4-week summer programmes.

Visit www.vlm.ie

or contact Mary Anne Stokes on info@vlm.ie or 01-8102570/087-1397069 Photo: Volunteer Aoife Ní Ríordán with Tsion & Fikerte at Atse Primary School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Volunteers Needed: •Teachers •Educators •Administrators •Community development workers •Individuals with leadership skills to share

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING REVIEWED BY PAUL CLOGHER

Eddie Redmayne

42

Biopics often produce mixed results. From Jesus of Nazareth to Abraham Lincoln, the ability of a filmmaker to capture the life’s work of any one figure poses numerous challenges. Does the need for drama and empathy overshadow the character and complexity of the central figure? Or, alternatively, does the recounting of events from someone’s life produce an all too episodic, laconic experience?

The life and work of Stephen Hawking illustrates many of these difficulties but James Marsh’s reflective exploration, adapted from Jane Wilde’s memoir of their relationship, avoids many of these pitfalls by focusing on a romance that blossoms in unusual environs.

Looming large, however, is the shadow of Hawking’s own work as a physicist. A film about academic success does not necessarily make for exciting viewing but against the backdrop REALITY APRIL 2015

of his extraordinary life story, The Theory of Everything is a moving and hopeful reflection on the triumph of human endeavour in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Marsh concentrates, primarily, on the early part of Hawking’s career, from his postgraduate days at Cambridge to the release of A Brief History of Time – the book that propelled his work to popular acclaim. At its core this film is a love story, and a moving one at that, about the difficulties and pitfalls Stephen and Jane face

Felicity Jones

as they come to terms with both his progressive illness and the challenges of maintaining their commitment to one another. The film opens with Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and Wilde (Felicity Jones) meeting for the first time at Cambridge. As their romance blossoms, Hawking is diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21. He goes into seclusion, refusing to come to terms with either the disease or his love for Jane. She refuses to leave him and eventually they are married.

Initially given just two years to live,

Hawking defies expectations (and continues to do so) and becomes a leading figure in cosmology, that fascinating and perhaps most challenging aspect of physics which deals with the origins of the universe. His progressive illness, however, leaves him paralysed and eventually his speech deteriorates.

At the same time, his fame grows, leaving Jane to care for both him and their growing family. Her mother suggests joining the local church choir, where she meets Jonathan Jones (Charlie Cox), an organist and latterly family friend.

Their friendship grows but Jane remains faithful to her husband.

This, however, is no ordinary story of romance and triumph.

Hawking’s illness places an inevitable, and eventually terminal, strain on their marriage.

The subject matter of this story could easily lead to an overly sentimental, romanticised film.

The impressive performances of the lead actors, however, ground this film with a sense of reality and unpretentiousness. Eddie Redmayne’s moving portrayal of Hawking’s physical decline and academic ascent avoids the pitfalls of mimicry. Indeed, his depiction of profound physical disability is perhaps the most moving aspect of the film. He plays the role with a sense of the shyness, self-deprecating humour, and brashness of character so often associated with the ‘real life’ Hawking. Felicity Jones gives an equally impressive portrayal of Jane Wilde’s struggles as she attempts to maintain a semblance of sanity in the face of her husband’s defiance of all medical predictions, increasing fame, and

Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as Stephen and Jane

SPRING

need for constant care. Her own academic career takes a back seat as her family dominates all aspects of her life. It is a compliment to both actors and their director that the film offers a genuinely moving and largely unsentimental account of Hawking’s life and times.

Last year Hawking was quoted as declaring himself an atheist. Much

The real Stephen and Jane

of his work deals with the origin of the universe we live in and so (at least tangentially) touches the question of existence itself and its meaning. A recurring thread in the film is Hawking’s methodological atheism contrasted with Jane’s sense of faith. There is more than likely some dramatic license employed here, but it does tap

into one of the core themes of the film; namely, how does one find purpose in life in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges? Indeed, do such circumstances suggest that there is no meaning at all? Hawking has not only managed to overcome his physical imprisonment but in the process has become a

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leading figure in his field. By the same token, Marsh’s depiction of this couple’s struggles suggests that even great success cannot account for the complexity and sometimes unpredictability of human relationships. Whether or not Hawking’s work proves or disproves the existence of a creator seems an unanswerable question, but Marsh’s compelling exploration of his life provokes genuine reflection on the question of how love thrives and changes in extraordinary circumstances, a definitive theory for which has yet to be found.

Paul Clogher teaches religious studies at the Waterford Institute of Technology. He has a special interest in film and theology.

GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH EMPTY TOMB It is early on the Sunday morning before dawn when Mary Magdalene sets out to visit the tomb in which Jesus’ body had AY EASTER SUND been placed. According to the Fourth Gospel, she is the first witness to the resurrection and to proclaim the good news of Easter. When she reaches the tomb she notes that the stone has been rolled away. Her interpretation of this is that someone has stolen Jesus’ body, for this is what she reports to both Peter and the Beloved Disciple after she hurries back to inform them of her discovery. Her haste in running suggests urgency. Note that she says “we do not know”. She is not just expressing her own puzzlement at the empty tomb, but also that of all Jesus’ disciples.

Once Mary has made her report, the focus

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REALITY APRIL 2015

shifts to Peter and the Beloved Disciple. These two disciples now set off for the empty tomb. Suddenly we learn that they break into a run to get there. It is a vivid detail that underscores haste and urgency. The Beloved Disciple wins the race and waits for Peter to catch up. But he does look into the tomb and sees the linen wrappings. Peter, always impulsive, has no hesitation and goes straight into the tomb. He notes the linen wrappings and the place of the head cloth.

The Gospel writer has offered us a dramatic progression in what has been seen. Mary saw the stone rolled away. The Beloved Disciple saw the linen wrappings. Peter saw the wrappings and the head cloth. Mary’s fear that the body was stolen is resolved. When stealing a body, grave robbers would never leave the burial garments behind. The implication is that no one has stolen Jesus’ body away. Rather, he has stolen away from death.

It is only now that the Beloved Disciple enters the tomb. The Gospel tells us that “he saw and believed”. What did he believe? Is it Mary’s report or is it faith in the resurrection?

What he believes in is the evidence of the empty tomb. He believes not simply that the tomb is empty, but that its emptiness bears witness to the resurrection. These disciples have not yet met the Risen Lord and so scriptural faith in the resurrection as such still awaits them. They will only come to full faith in Jesus’ resurrection when they encounter the Risen Lord and he sends the Holy Spirit.

Today’s Readings Acts 10:34, 37–43; Ps 117; Col 3:1–4; John 20:1–9

I’M A BELIEVER It is evening on the first Easter Sunday and the disciples are behind closed doors full of fear. They SECOND SUNDAY clearly have not believed OF EASTER Mary Magdalene’s report, and have shut themselves away “for fear of the Jews”.

Jesus’ greeting is one of peace. It is an ordinary greeting, still used in Israel today. Yet Jesus reminds this fear-filled group that, with his peace, there is no need to be afraid of the Jewish authorities. Jesus then shows them his hands and side. They break into rejoicing as the reality of his resurrection dawns on them.

Jesus repeats the greeting of peace. But this is not mere repetition. The disciples have finally come to recognise him as Risen Lord and the

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YOU ARE NOW WITNESSES The travellers have rushed back to Jerusalem after meeting the Lord on the way to Emmaus, and are breathlessly telling the other disciples their story when suddenly Jesus appears among them. They are afraid, but he reassures them. It is really Jesus: they can see him, they can hear him, they can even touch him – there is no need for them to fear. Their fear gives way to an awestruck joy, and he brings them back down to earth with a request for food, which he eats: further evidence, if any were needed, that he is no ghost as they had feared.

Then he teaches them, reminding them of what he said before: all that had happened to him was fulfilling the prophecies of old, and that in him repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations. He emphasises that they are witnesses to all this: they have heard it, they can testify to it, and they must tell it to others. They have been given a new task – to work with the risen Christ, proclaiming the Gospel of forgiveness and peace to all who will listen.

peace that only he can give. Jesus offers them peace and now sends them out to continue God’s work. He breathes on them. The Holy Spirit is the breath of the new life offered by God to all who believe in Jesus. It is this believing community, filled with the Holy Spirit, which will now continue God’s work begun in Jesus.

Thomas is not present when Jesus appears to the disciples. When they tell him the good news of the resurrection, he does not believe.

In fact, when they themselves had heard Mary Magdalene’s report of meeting the Risen Lord, they didn’t seem too eager to believe either. It took Jesus’ appearance before they believed.

So in asking to see and touch Jesus, Thomas is acting like the other disciples and is simply asking for the same proof they have been given.

Jesus appears again a week later and offers Thomas the proof he is seeking. Pay particular

attention to how verse 27 is translated in the reading. The Greek text reads: “do not be unbelieving, but believing.” There is nothing about “doubt” here and Thomas does not deserve the moniker of “Doubter”. Jesus is inviting him to move from unbelief to belief, and offers himself as the basis for this. Thomas’ response to Jesus is profound – “My Lord and my God!” Thomas recognises not only that Jesus is risen, but that Jesus now shares God’s glory. Thomas and the other disciples have come to faith because they have seen Jesus.

Now Jesus offers a blessing to future believers, including you and me, who have come to faith without seeing.

Today’s Readings Acts 4:32–35; Ps 117; 1 Jn 5:1–6; John 20:19–31

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Today’s Readings Acts 3:13–15, 17–19; Ps 4; 1 Jn 2:1–5; Luke 24:35–48

God’s Word continues on page 46

THE REALITY CROSSWORD NUMBER 3, APRIL 2015

SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 1 ACROSS: Across: 1. Angola, 5. Ceylon, 10. Lanolin, 11. Nirvana, 12. Ruts, 13. Simon, 15. Aida, 17.

Den, 19. Septic, 21. Agenda, 22. Auberge, 23. Arcane, 25. Enacts, 28. Irk, 30. Lilt, 31. Ensue, 32.

Area, 35. Bermuda, 36. Acerbic, 37. Stuffy, 38. Te Deum.

DOWN: 2. Nonstop, 3. Oslo, 4. Aeneid, 5. Canyon, 6. Yarn, 7. Ovation, 8. Glares, 9. Canada, 14.

Meteors, 16. Piano, 18. Agent, 20. Cue, 21. Age, 23. Ad-libs, 24. Culprit, 26. Caribou, 27. Scarce, 28.

Infamy, 29. Kuwait, 33. Gulf, 34. Mend

Winner of Crossword No. 1 Elaine Masterson, Co. Offaly

ACROSS 1. Cause to become worse. (6) 5. Optical illusion in the desert. (6) 10. Went back on a promise. (7) 11. Decisions made by a judge. (7) 12. City of Helen and the Iliad. (4) 13. The first pope. (5) 15. A profession al rhymer. (4) 17. Feel unwell or off colour. (3) 19. Ordained religious ministers collectively.

(6) 21. His egg was good in parts. (6) 22. The bone that extends from the shoulder to the elbow. (7) 23. Short high-pitched sound from a toy. (6) 25. A state of uproar in an old madhouse.

(6) 28. Squeeze into an awkward situation. (3) 30. The trickster god of Norse mythology. (4) 31. It was formerly Dahomey. (5) 32. Social insects. (4) 35. A commercial business. (7) 36. Hampers, impedes. (7) 37. Walk in a leisurely way. (6) 38. A person without any religion, a heathen. (6)

DOWN 2. Opening leading down to a sewer or drain. (7) 3. The ship used by Jason in search of the Golden Fleece. (4) 4. It separates Saudi Arabia and Sudan. (3,3) 5. Something that causes wonder. (6) 6. To annoy, anger or irritate. (4) 7. Venetian flat-bottomed boat. (7) 8. A professional judge of art, music, etc. (6) 9. Bloodsucking African fly. (6) 14. Nationality of a resident of Lhasa. (7) 16. Old Irish stone writing. (5) 18. Tricks meant to deceive. (5) 20. An exclamation indicating dislike. (3) 21. The young of a lion or bear. (3) 23. Comfort in misery or disappointment. (6) 24. Dishevelled, ungroomed. (7) 26. Portable light in pre-electric times. (7) 27. To treat badly or improperly. (6) 28. Mr. Hyde's transformed personality. (6) 29. An unlucky accident. (6) 33. Irish county and a shortened creamy dressing. (4) 34. An unexpected drawback. (4)

GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH continued from page 45

SHEPHERD AND SHEEP In today’s Gospel Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. It is one of the most beautiful and endearing images of Jesus.

AY D N SU H It is an image that would have resonated with RT FOU OF EASTER Jesus’ listeners. Shepherds with their flocks were a common sight in the Palestine of 2000 years ago. They still are today. The sheep stayed close to the shepherd and the shepherd stayed close to his sheep.

In describing the relationship between himself and his flock, Jesus says that those who truly belong to him show this by certain signs: * They listen to his voice: Jesus’ first demand of any would-be follower is faith. To hear his voice means accepting Jesus and his message. Those who do not submit in faith are like sheep that refuse to be guided by the shepherd. * They know him: The word ‘know’ in the language of Jesus has a deep meaning. It is more than knowledge of someone. It means union of personalities, a kind of identification. Jesus is saying that his followers are intimately united with him, and share his ideals, attitudes and concerns. * They follow him: Christ is the Way. He leads those who follow him faithfully along the narrow path to the rich pasture of eternal peace.

As disciples of the Good Shepherd, we are people who listen attentively to his voice, who know him intimately, and who follow him faithfully.

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Entry Form for Crossword No.3, April 2015 Name: Address:

Today’s Readings

Telephone:

Acts 4:8–12; Ps 117; 1 Jn 3:1–2; John 10:11–18 All entries must reach us by April 30, 2015 One €35 prize is offered for the first correct solutions opened. The Editor’s decision on all matters concerning this competition will be final. Do not include correspondence on any other subject with your entry which should be addressed to: Reality Crossword No. 3, Redemptorist Communications, 75 Orwell Rd., Rathgar, Dublin 6

DEVELOPMENT IN ACTION THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE OF IRELAND

A

photograph crossed my desk that made me stop in my tracks. It was of a young Irishman on his bike climbing a steep slope. The road behind him stretched for miles. You can almost feel his calf muscles burning.

The road on which this young man was travelling was in Alaska, and for him it would not end until Argentina. The young man in question – Billy Lavelle from Blackrock in Dublin – had set himself the challenge of cycling from the most northerly town on the American continent to the most southerly.

It was a journey that took two years and saw him cycle 28,000 kilometres across 15 countries, all to raise money to support Trócaire’s work in Latin America.

It is an example of the extreme lengths people in Ireland go to in order to support vulnerable communities overseas. We regularly hear tales of wonderful fundraising events where entire communities come together to support families thousands of miles away.

Ten-year-old Oran McCafferty from Lurgan was another Trócaire supporter who went to great lengths to raise money last year. The pupils of St Francis’ Primary School wanted to devise an unusual way to gain sponsorship, so their teacher set them the task of pulling the principal’s car.

When that proved too easy, they turned their attention to the school minibus. Again, this task was completed with ease, and so after a few phonecalls from their teacher, they were presented with a 52-seater bus.

After the entire class had pulled the bus, up stepped Oran, who volunteered to pull it all by himself. The video of this 10-year-old boy pulling a 13-tonne bus featured in the local media and was viewed around the world.

At the other end of the island, the students of Presentation Secondary School in Ballyphehane, Cork, were also dreaming up ways to support the work of Trócaire. After learning about the long walks endured by

BY EAMONN MEEHAN

people in Malawi to get water each morning, 300 students from the school decided to walk six times around the nearby lough – the equivalent of the daily six kilometre journey to get water faced by Enestina Muyeye, the young girl from Malawi featured on last year’s Trócaire box.

SOLIDARITY ACROSS THE MILES Every week we receive letters from people around the country, telling us what they have done to contribute to the battle against extreme poverty and injustice. It is the €10 and €20 raised through these initiatives that make a real difference to the lives of people who have no water, no shelter and are often denied the most basic human rights.

The remarkable thing about these efforts is that they are made by people in Ireland to support people thousands of miles away, whom they will never meet. Such selfless acts are the true meaning of charity and the true illustration of compassion and solidarity.

The Trócaire centre on Dublin’s Cathedral Street is an oasis of calm in the bustle of the city centre. Located just yards from O’Connell Street and beside St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, it’s a place for people to drop in for information, to make donations or simply for a chat.

It’s an education to sit with the people who walk through the door; to listen to their questions and their comments on some of the biggest challenges facing the world today – challenges such as hunger, inequality and the changing climate.

While the nature of Trócaire’s work often takes me further afield, I find my trips around Ireland equally inspiring. Meeting with teachers, parish groups and others concerned about the future of our planet fills me with hope and motivation.

Ireland has a proud tradition of working to alleviate poverty and injustice in the poorest countries in the world. That tradition comes from a strong sense of compassion and solidarity that is so evident when I meet with

people up and down the country.

School visits are a particular highlight of my job. As a former teacher myself, I always relish the opportunity to get back into the classroom. Trócaire works with schools all over Ireland. Last year, we provided development education resources and workshops to 2,000 teachers and 5,000 children.

LIGHTENING THE LOAD It is often said that the sense of justice is strongest in young people. Children have an ingrained sense of what is right. Standing in front of a class of expectant young faces, you can sense their empathy and compassion when telling them of the challenges faced by people their age in other parts of the world – young people who often sit in empty classrooms unable to afford pens or books.

One Irish student – 11-year-old Padraig Power from Tipperary – wrote a poem based on the difference between being a young person in Ireland and a young person in the developing world.

Entitled Heavy Load, the poem describes a young Irish student dragging his heavy schoolbag into the classroom. He puffs and pants as he finally reaches his desk, where he sees the Trócaire box. Padraig’s last verse sums up the feelings of compassion so evident in our young people: “On the Trócaire box he sees the girl, carrying water from the well, she is about his age, about his height, suddenly his bag seems light”.

Trócaire’s Lenten campaign runs from Ash Wednesday, to Easter Sunday, 5 April 2015. To find out more visit trocaire.org/ lent or call 1850 408 408

Eamonn Meehan is executive director of Trócaire.

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CHRIST COMMUNITY COMPASSION THINK ABOUT IT

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