The Relics of St. Anthony of Padua come to the Capuchin Friary, Church St, Dublin.

Gathering to pray before the Relics

 

 

Venerating the Relics

 

 

 

Huge crowds queue all along central Dublin's Church St to venerate the Relics of St. Anthony of Padua, the Patron Saint of Lost Things, and miracle worker.

Giovanni Paolo II - Jesus Christ You are my life

October 22nd 2013. Feast of Blessed Pope John Paul II. It's the last time we will celebrate his feast as Blessed. Next Year he will be canonized 'Saint' John Paul II on April 27th along with Blessed Pope John XXIII. Here we have two magnificent saints of our time who, in their ministry and by their own lives, called us out of fear and to launch out into the deep. They also showed us how it is possible to be saints too. The saint is just the sinner who never stopped trying. Do not be afraid!

Pope's Mass: Guard your feelings and thoughts. Don't engage with the devil

Pope's Mass: Guard your feelings and thoughts. Don't engage with the devil

Who are we?

Capuchin Franciscan Vocations Ireland: Capuchin Franciscan Vocation Experience 22nd - 24t...

Capuchin Franciscan Vocations Ireland: Capuchin Franciscan Vocation Experience 22nd - 24t...: You are invited to join the Friars in our Kilkenny Friary for this opportunity to experience what life is like as a Capuchin Franciscan F...

St. Matthew the Tax Collector

Today is the Feast of St. Matthew. He was once Levi, the Tax Collector who Jesus saw collecting his taxes at the customs house. Zefferelli brilliantly portrayed the dynamic between Peter and Matthew in his film Jesus of Nazareth. Peter held Matthew in contempt for taking his hard-earned money and giving it to the Roman coffers. Things haven't changed that much between then and now because taxes have still to be paid in order for the machinery of the state to keep moving. And certainly people feel it in their pockets more and more when the exchequer seems to ask people to pay more.

All of us dislike when the official envelope comes through the mail box asking for taxes to be paid or when we see it deducted from the pay cheque. Here in Ireland there is a dislike for the 'clamper vans' and parking attendants who fine cars for being illegally parked or parked over the allotted time. I once parked in south county Dublin near the sea-side to go in to buy an ice cream. I pulled the car up onto the pathway and off the road so as not to cause an obstruction. There were about 15 or 20 cars all parked in the same way. I came back to the car and there was a parking fine on the windscreen. The parking fine attendants were making their way along the row of cars fining all of us. Now, I was parked illegally, I hold my hands up, no arguments there. But that ice cream cost me €80.00. In fairness these people are only doing their jobs and they have to pay taxes too.

With the contempt for the tax collector in the gospels, the one who got his more than his fair share of criticism had to have been Zacchaeus. He was described dishonest in his dealings and even more he was 'low sized' so that he had to climb the sycamore tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. Yet, Jesus comes into his life and calls him to a better way. We can see the results of an encounter with Jesus. Matthew too is called to be a disciple and goes on to write a beautiful gospel.

Today, we are called by Jesus as powerfully as he called Matthew. Even though Matthew was seen as a sinner and a tax collector he went on to bring the good news of Jesus to the world. To all who might ask the question 'Why would Jesus bother with the likes of me?' Look at the gospels read the accounts of Matthew or Zacchaeus. There are people who hardly ever pick up the bible or the gospels and read the words of life within, but we are called to be the bible others will read. We are called to reflect Jesus Christ by our example.

Padre Pio's Mitten today

Padre Pio is a saint for our time. He was been recorded on tape, filmed, and photographed by many people. I’ve known and spoken to people who have met him, talked to him, and been to confession to him. I lived with a friar who, while a theology student in Rome, spent the summer months during World War II sitting beside him at table in the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo. He has enormous appeal and while he was alive, over the years, people flocked in their droves to meet him, to be blessed by him, and to listen to what he had to say.

Part of his mystique was the supernatural dimension to his everyday life and these examples are well known. Among them was his ability to be in more than one place at once, his power to read souls, his gift of healing, and of course the stigmata.

The stigmata, the visible wounds of Christ crucified on his body caused him great physical pain and more than that, great emotional pain. It meant that he was an object of curiosity, and ridicule by some. He prayed for the physical marks to leave him but for the pain to remain. Each day friars used to bind the wounds with fresh bandages and cover them with a mitten, a fingerless brown or black glove which he removed for Mass.  The visible wounds appeared on his body in 1918 and for 50 years they were a daily source of pain and embarrassment for him. Medical experts were at a loss as to why the wounds continued to bleed over the years. They began to disappear in the months prior to his death in September 1968.

Today, people find great consolation in the mitten of Padre Pio. We get a lot of calls enquiring about the mitten or relics of Padre Pio and asking for them to be brought to hospitals or to those sick and in need. While the friars do their best despite their other work to help those who ask for the mitten, we need point out there are important protocols for visiting a patient in hospital. I say this from some years’ experience as a hospital chaplain.

Sometimes the only power the sick person has is the desire to be left alone. I remember a patient in hospital say to me; “Nice to see you visit me, but even nicer to see you go.” They were simply too ill for visitors.  Does the patient or their next-of-kin know or have they agreed to be blessed by a relic? Is the ward manager or nurse-in-charge aware that someone from outside is calling to see the patient? Is the visit within the visiting hours of the hospital? Are there other restrictions in the hospital which should prevent visitors like MRSA or norovirus etc.? It may be that the patient is in an isolation ward or restricted for visiting.

The main pastoral outreach in hospitals today is the Chaplains. These are appointed by the diocesan bishop/ church authority to the hospital authority, are trained and police vetted, and thus lawfully provide for the spiritual and the sacramental need of the patient.  Be aware that there will be further protocols in the care of sick children.  It is necessary and courteous for the hospital chaplain on call, day or night, to be asked if it’s okay for an outsider to come on to administer pastoral care to a patient, especially with relics of saints. 

There is no doubt that the power of prayer can add to the healing and recovery of patients at home or in hospital. Though there are many stories of help through the intercession of saints by praying with their relics, it is the Lord alone who heals. God heals the sick through the great skills of the medical doctors, surgeons, nursing, and other care staff.

When he was alive, St. Padre Pio spearheaded the building of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering) in San Giovanni Rotondo. Today, it is one of the finest hospitals in South Eastern Italy. He knew the hardships of the sick and also what their families go through. Padre Pio would say that while he will always pray for the sick, he would offer every support to the great work of those whose skills are put at the service of patients.