Padre Pio and Our Lady

Padre Pio had a great love of and devotion to Our Lady, especially of Our Lady of Graces which the Friary of San Giovanni Rotondo is dedicated to.  He spent long hours in conversation with her and her Divine Son, Jesus. To him, Mary was the best way to approach Jesus and there is no better prayer than the Rosary to connect with her and the mysteries that comes from the life of Christ. You may have heard some of the stories of Padre Pio and his devotion to the Rosary which he called his ‘weapon’. 

Padre Pio always wore the Rosary around his arm at night. A few days before his death, as he was getting into bed, he said to the friars who was in his room, “Give me my weapon!” And the friar, surprised and curious, asked him: “Where is the weapon? We cannot see anything!” Padre Pio replied, “It is in my habit, which you have just hung up!” After having gone through the pockets of his religious habit, the friars said to him: “Padre, there is no weapon in your habit! . . . we can only find your rosary beads there!” Padre Pio immediately said, “And is this not a weapon? . . . the true weapon?!” Padre Pio instructed: “Recite the Rosary and recite it always and as much as you can.” To Padre Onorato Marcucci, grabbing the Rosary that he had just placed on the nightstand he said: “With this, one wins the battles.” He prayed many rosaries each day and people, including friars, were amazed at the number of rosaries he recited. In February 1954, at 9:00 p.m., speaking to Father Carmelo he said: “I still have 2 rosaries to pray today. I said only 34 so far. Then I will go to bed.”

Padre Pio is a saint for our time. He was photographed, he was recorded in film and in voice. I have lived with Capuchin friars who met him personally and recalled to me conversations they had with him. One Friar, Fr. Peter Dempsey, now gone home to God, told me that during WWII when the friars studying in Rome couldn’t travel home, they would be sent to San Giovanni Rotondo or some other Italian friaries. There Fr. Peter, who was a post graduate theology student, would sit beside Padre Pio and he said Padre told him speaking in Italian that he often prayed for the Irish Church and for the great missionary endeavour of the Irish who travelled to distant lands to spread the gospel. 

When we think of saints, naturally we remember the saints our parents introduced us to like Saint Anthony, Saint Therese the little flower, or Saint Francis of Assisi, St. Rita of Cascia etc. Let’s not forget the Saints of Ireland too, and Irish Diocese. Many of these lived centuries ago and perhaps its hard to identify with them today. But remember, Saint John Paul II reminds that we are all called to sanctity. It is the vocation of all of us to aspire to holiness. Pope Emeritus Benedict once said we are not made for comfort, we are made for greatness! Sanctity! But we can identify with saints who lived closer to our time and as we see how they lived, perhaps we can see ourselves that we can do it, we can imitate Christ in our time, in our families, and in our communities. Sanctity is the art of the possible. 

Padre Pio suffered most of his life. He endured misunderstanding for a time while the Holy See investigated the spiritual phenomena associated with his life, yet he remained obedient to the church and the Holy Father throughout. He also suffered because he was famous in a sense. Many people wanted to see him, and to go to confession to him. Often to the point of exhaustion would he have a word of challenge or of encouragement for someone or a prayer for an intention. Again, always with Mary’s rosary between his fingers. 

He bore the stigmata, the bleeding wounds of our Lord on his hands, feet, and on his side for 50 years. The friars and his doctors dressed them daily with a bandage and covered them with a fingerless mitten. The pain was bad enough, and horrific especially on Fridays. But the experience was excruciating and humiliating all the time because he was an object of curiosity. He said himself “I only want to be a poor friar who prays.” 

Padre Pio often suffered from bad health and once about 10 years before he died, he was very ill, and it coincided with the visit of the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima to some diocese in Italy. It wasn’t scheduled to visit San Giovanni at all, instead Our Lady was scheduled to stop in the large city of Foggia. While the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo is within the Foggia diocese, it is a good distance from Foggia.  Padre Pio was severely ill with pleurisy, unable to even celebrate Mass from May 5 let alone go to Foggia. The statue of Our Lady was to arrive at the beginning of August and Padre Pio remained bedridden. Somehow the scheduled got changed. The statue would not go to Foggia now but go to San Giovanni Rotondo instead. Joy filled the air as people gathered by the friary. With the help of a loudspeaker, Padre Pio was able to prepare them for their ‘mother’s’ arrival on August 6. That morning, Padre Pio struggled to get down to the church. He managed to get before the statue of our Lady — “but had to sit down because he was exhausted — and he gave her a gold rosary,” observed Bishop Carta. “The statue was lowered before his face, and he was able to kiss her. It was a most affectionate gesture.”

That same afternoon. Between two and three o’clock, Our Lady of Fatima was again in the helicopter ready to travel to the next stop. Taking off from the Casa for the Relief of the Suffering the helicopter circled three times around the monastery before flying away to its next stop. Afterwards, the pilot could never explain why that circling happened. Bishop Carta described how “From a window Padre Pio watched the helicopter fly away with eyes filled with tears. To our Lady in flight Padre Pio lamented with a confidence that was all his own: ‘My Lady, my mother, you came to Italy, and I got sick, now you are going away, and you leave me still ill.’” But as the helicopter was circling, he felt a shudder, a jolt, through his body. The bishop repeated what Padre Pio would say for the rest of his life: “In that very instant I felt a sort of shudder in my bones which cured me immediately.”

As I said, Padre Pio had a filial devotion to Our Blessed Lady. He was always communicating with her. The main reason is that she it is who brings us to her son Jesus. Mary always points to Jesus. This has always been Mary’s mission; she turns to us, and she says, as she said in few words at the wedding at Cana; “Do whatever he tells you.” 

Our Blessed Lady came here to Knock in 1879, eight years before Padre Pio was born, to bring hope to a suffering people. She came with St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist.  On the Altar was the Lamb, the Eucharistic Lord who gave himself totally for us. On that wet August evening, as she appeared to give hope, she also reminded us that her Divine Son, Jesus comes to us bearing the message of eternal life. That night, Mary appeared in silence. She never said a word but as Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who was here in 2018, and after that elevated Knock Shrine to an International Sanctuary of Special Eucharistic and Marian Devotion said; “…in her apparition at Knock, the virgin says nothing. Yet her silence is a language; indeed, it is the most expressive language we have. The message that comes from Knock is that of the great value of silence for our faith.” 

Padre Pio is with us today. He has been praying to the Blessed Virgin for us during the pandemic. He knows suffering and he helped to build the Casa Sollievo Della Sofferenza. He reminds us today that he continues to pray for us to Our Lady of Knock for all our needs. But he asks us to listen to Mary because in silence she points to Jesus, her Divine Son. Because he alone has the message of eternal life. Amen. 

The Legion of Mary 1921 - 2021

My family have a history with the Legion of Mary. Both my parents were members of the Legion in the 1950’s and 60’s before they married. My mother’s sisters were Legionaries too as well as many of my father’s cousins. One of the cousins, Brendan Shortall was a Legion of Mary Envoy to East Africa and his picture hangs in the Legion of Mary Headquarters, De Montfort House on Morning Star Avenue in Dublin’s North Inner City.

As a boy, I joined the Legion of Mary in the Parish where we lived in 1980 and ’81. We were part of a Junior Praesidium attached to Benedicta House on the South Circular Road. We met on Tuesday evenings and part of the routine was all Legionaries would be allocated Legion work, an apostolate where we would do some works of charity or service to the church. The older members maybe would visit homes, or work supporting poorer people etc.  There were others who we heard would undertake a protracted trip on what was called PPC (Peregrenatio Pro Christo) where a group of Legion of Mary members would go to a parish for example in the U.K. and promote the Legion at the invitation of the parish priest. I remember we younger members stood at the ‘Book Barrow’ selling Catholic Truth Society literature. Others would be involved in distributing religious goods like Rosary Beads, Medals, and holy pictures.

There were on occasion, Legion events like reunions and social evenings where Legionaries would meet from other places. It would always begin with the Rosary and conclude with the Legion prayers. Prayer was and is the bedrock of all of the meetings and social occasions, big and small.

I believe this is what Frank Duff and the other members of the very early association had in their hearts when they met for the first time on this day in 1921. The first meeting of the ‘Association of Our Lady of Mercy’ took place 100 years ago in Myra House on St. Francis Street in Dublin’s south inner city. The first work proposed by the group was to make a visitation of the hospital for the poor known as the Dublin Union. There were around four thousand residents. The Nuns were supportive to the members in their making this visitation for charitable purposes.

Frank Duff had a devotion to St. Louis-Marie De Montfort (1673- 1716) who was a priest and preacher who in his time impressed Pope Clement XI. He was canonized in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Rosary. On of his most notable works was his book on Our Lady called ‘True Devotion to Mary.’ The Legion of Mary handbook, well known to all Legionaries and used at each meeting is influenced by the writings of De Montfort.

From its humble beginnings, this Association of our Lady of Mercy developed to become the Legion of Mary and like a pebble being dropped into a pool, the ripples spread from Francis Street in Dublin to its base off North Brunswick Street, all around Ireland, and across the world. For me, the Legion emphasises the vocation of the laity by virtue of their baptism. From Day one, September 7^th, 1921, Frank Duff and the men and women of the fledgling Legion took the initiative to work for the spread of the gospel, under the banner of Mary, from their own lived lives, in their families, among their fellow worker and neighbours. Zealous Legionaries, lay women and men, journeyed to far-flung places to witness to the mission of the Legion working on the ground with others to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. The Legion is like an army – an army of gospel people, equipped with zeal for the message of Jesus Christ under the protection of Mary.

Legion of Mary members chosen as envoys like Tullamore native, Alphonsus Lambe went to South America. It is hoped that Alfie will be beatified one day. Well known envoy, Venerable Edel Quinn who hailed from Kanturk, Co. Cork, and went as Envoy to Nairobi. Edel died out there as a relatively young woman out there is someone else who the Legion hopes will be raised to the altars of the Church. Frank Duff’s cause for Beatification is also open. There are many heroic Legionaries, lay men and women across the world, who did great work where they were at, and who many would honour as models of zeal and charity.  For example, I have spoken to many people who remember Tom Doyle, a Legionary who worked with the homeless men of the Morning Star Hostel. Tom was a great example of kindness, charity, and patience with all who stayed in the hostel.

I learned about these men and women when I was in the Legion and these people are the ones the many members across the world look up to. Sanctity should be the art of the possible and when we look at the lives of lay women and men who from their own families and homes spend themselves to live the gospel of Jesus by their example, it is a labour of love. It is a mission that is worth highlighting in the 21^st century.

May the Legion of Mary continue to be missionaries of the gospel of Jesus Christ under the mantle of Mary in our country and our world for the next 100 years and beyond.

“Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?”

 

 

"Down to Nana's." - When we visited our Nana and Grandad. World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly 2021

Pope Francis has named this Sunday, World Day of Prayer for Grandparents and the Elderly. In the liturgy we thank God for our parents and grandparents and their love and faith which they generously passed on to us. Since the Pandemic began, Grandparents and Great-Grandparents have suffered greatly not being able to see and hold their grandchildren. Pope Francis reminds us of how much he loved his grandparents and sets all grandparents and elderly persons up as examples of faith and living links to the past to strengthen us. 

I clearly remember the day my mother sent myself and my brother Kevin on the bus for the first time on our own. We must have been nearly nine and nearly eleven years old. We got the 19A Bus from the County Bar in Rialto village to the Stadium (the National Boxing Stadium on the South Circular Road). It was a short trip as the Bus went on into town as we called it and out over to the north side. I remember it must have been the summer time as we weren’t in school. We generally went down to our Nana's on Tuesday's and Saturday afternoons.  This was more or less a routine all my life and the older of us siblings will remember this well.

Mam coached us as to what to say as we boarded the bus, a CIE black-and-white Atlantean type bus. “Two halves to the Stadium please.” “He will let you out beside the Spar”, she said. The memories are coming back as I write. The hiss of the doors as we got on. The black and grey fleck floor-covering. The blue rope bell that went along the ceiling and the button bell on the wall with the instruction to ‘push once’ “Ná ghabh thar an líne ban go stada an bus.” was the warning to all passengers waiting to get off. In those days there were bus conductors with a silver ticket machine which printed the chit on blue ink in Irish and English. The smell of the ticket paper was the same smell as the paper that wrapped up the fish and chips. They also had a leather satchel with the money in it to give back the change. If downstairs was full you would hear the conductor announce “Seats on the top.” There was no smoking downstairs on the bus, but people were allowed to smoke upstairs on the bus. The thick stench of smoke found its way onto everyone’s clothes. On a wet day, the smell of cigarettes on the upper deck seemed to be even more toxic and even sticky. In the 21^st century it is almost impossible to imagine that people were allowed to smoke on busses, trains and even in aircraft once upon a time. Perhaps in the future it will be hard to imagine that one-time people even smoked.

Myself and my brother Kevin travelled the five stops or so, up to Dolphin’s Barn and along the South Circular Road by the old Player Wills cigarette factory and up to the Stadium. We got off the bus at the Spar and walked down Greenville Terrace and around onto Dufferin Avenue and on to Petrie Avenue and to O’Curry Road. Mam followed along later and Dad would meet us there after work.

We arrived at no 33 and blew into my poor Nana’s house. Herself and our grandfather, we called him Grandpop or ‘Grompop’, were sitting by the fire.  The fire would be lit off the embers of last night’s fire. He would be smoking his pipe filled with Condor tobacco and she smoked John Player Red. He would be waiting on the Evening Press newspaper to be delivered into the letter box where he would glance at the headlines but quickly get stuck into crossword. He had a well-thumbed copy of the Collins Gem Dictionary in the famous press to his left hand. Their cat, Cola, would be looking for her ears to be scratched while purring loudly. Grampop would be called for his dinner and he would sit up from his arm chair and sit at the table. Lamb Chops and peas and buttery mashed potatoes. Tinned pears or peaches and custard or ice-cream for dessert. When I was very small, Nana’s Bachelor bother, Tommy lived in the house. He was known as Uncle Me-Me. He had a nick-name for myself and Kevin. I was 'Johnny Banger' and Kevin was ‘Two Ton’ He died not long after my sister Gráinne was born. He sat over on his own armchair and read the paper and often compare notes with my grandpop.

Nana had a picture of the Sacred Heart over on the wall as many homes did in the past. The family would be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and signed by the priest. Nana would burn a little lamp under the picture and I’m sure she remembered all of us in prayer each day. It is probably fair to say that nearly all grandchildren love their grandparents. Someone said that God couldn’t be everywhere so that’s why he created grandmothers. The Catholic Grandparent’s Association holds up Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of Our Lady as patrons and also Louis and Zélie Martin, the recently canonized parents of St. Therese of Lisieux. I am confident that my four grandparents are in heaven and the main reason I believe this is that they passed on the faith, no questions asked, to our parents. Also, Pope Francis had a great love for his grandparents and often holds up grannies and granddads as models of faith.

Nana’s master piece was her stew. I acknowledge that Irish grannies will be remembered for generations for the ability to make something out of nothing and therefore feed the neighborhood and for the flavour of their stews and coddle. Our mam will readily agree that she could never quite get the hang of the unique flavour of her mother’s stew and coddle. I can still taste every bit of it and it is almost sacramental to me. There was goodness, and love, and generosity in it.

Nana was a natural grandmother with stories and tales of her own childhood and she grew up in tough times where there was very little money and those in authority really were in authority, state and church. It was hard to be a young person and a young married couple in the 1930’s and 40’s. We look from the prism of today and all that we have in our lives in terms of progress and technology. But in our Nana’s day and even in our Mother’s Day, life was often hard. Nana’s sister, Auntie Chrissie, had an old friend, who was a member of the Church of Ireland who died, and Chrissie attended the funeral service even though it was forbidden at the time for a Catholic to enter a Protestant Church. That rule seems so crazy today yet Chrissie was afraid to tell the priest she went to the funeral. Thank God those days are gone. When I read of old Dublin and old Ireland, I know we learned about much of it from school but thank God we also learned about it while sitting on her knee.

Our Dad would pull up outside around 6.00 p.m. in his red Mini Traveller, or his Renault 12. He had a special type of knock which is hard to describe in writing. It was that classic tune ending; “Shave-and-a-haircut. Bay Rum.”  Or the Ronnie Drew version; “How-is-your-auld’-wan? -game-ball. He would come in, pipe in his mouth, and have a fill (a smoke) with grampop and soon we’d be piled into the car, no seatbelts, because there were no seatbelts, and back home again. When we lived in Kilnamanagh, near Tallaght, we’d stop at the shops for smokes for my mother on the way. And this was the routine as we grew up.

Nana died in February 1991. She was still relatively young at 74 years old. While she hadn’t been well, we never really wanted to believe she would die. She worried about death and like many God-fearing people of her generation, some priests filled their people with more scruples than mercy. I mean, week- in and week-out, she and Grampop went to Mass and even met Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta on the street in the Parish where she lived. She baptized her children, my mother and my aunts, and brought them up to believe in God. They did the same for us. All her life Nana and Grampop, Granny Gretta and Grandad, practiced their faith and yet many of their generation lived with some fear that God was not a god of mercy and forgiveness.  She introduced me to Saint Padre Pio who she loved, and we walked years later up to the Irish Office for Padre Pio which was on Dufferin Avenue till 2018. Nana often said to me when she died and she met Jesus she would grab on to his tunic hold on tight to him so he couldn’t let her go (to hell?) I feel angry when I reflect on this. Where did she get this from? I would be angry with any theology or homily which frightened her like that. I am critical of any attitude that would lay that burden on a person who, in great difficulty and with a hard life, kept the faith through thick, and thin, and even did so often with a sense of humour. I'm convinced I'll meet my grandparents again. 

Those ordinary parents and grandparents, were a heroic generation who built our nation because they were, to paraphrase Pope Francis, the heart of the family and provide a link to the past. Their strength and faith fortify us in our lives today. Their love runs through our veins. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not natural, it's supernatural.

Some people don’t get why a person will consider religious life or priesthood as a way of life. I believe this is true for several reasons but perhaps the main one is because of the profession of the vow of celibacy. As human beings you see, most people are meant to find a life partner. Relationships are what make the world go around. So unlike what Tom Jones says; it IS unusual. One of our late Capuchins; Fr. Godfrey Mannion once said; “It’s not natural but it’s supernatural.”

So we religious always try to keep one eye on the next world while we go about our daily lives. This is also true of many others who are not monks, nuns or priests, but we religious have promised to daily or even more regularly check in with Jesus Christ in prayer.  So we look to the next world because after all, we believe that we’re going to be there an awful lot longer than we are here on planet earth.

So why did I choose to be a Capuchin? Or as so many people have asked me; what made me become a Capuchin? Well, it took a long time percolating as a young person Breakdancing, Dee-Jaying on our Kilnamanagh Summer Project Radio, and going out with two or three girls. And then joining in 1987 and being professed in 1994 and continuing until my ordination in 1997.

Between the years I studied, was involved in pastoral ministry, laughed, cried, fell in love, felt lonely, and got scared, wondered, and struggled. But deep down too, it felt right, it fit. Just like you, my life can be a day-to-day rollercoaster. But unlike you maybe, few people understand the choice of religious life and that can be hard. Don’t get me wrong, people are very kind.

People sometimes ask; why stay in an organization that some have little time for today and perhaps people are angry with (especially in Ireland for example?) To tell the truth, sometimes in our world it isn’t easy to be identified publicly as a priest or a religious. When was the last time you saw a priest in a collar or a nun in a habit on the streets? (outside of Rome)

A few years ago, I was crossing Stephen’s Green in my habit one evening to go to Loreto College to speak at a fundraiser on behalf of Br. Kevin and the Capuchin Day Centre. I couldn’t get parking near that side of the Green so I parked a bit of a walk away. In the middle of the Green I walked right into a load of teenagers. Suddenly they were calling to their mates to come and see this real monk. I was surrounded and mobile phones were out. Could they have a picture? I stood in with some of the group for the picture – I imagine I was all over Snapchat or Instagram in the days after.

I stay in religious life because I’ve no choice. I can’t leave – I don’t want to. That’s what a vocation does when it’s internalised, in other words when I try to understand it on the inside. It’s a love relationship with Jesus Christ that’s fuelled by prayer. And I need your help too and I’m glad when you say you’ll pray for me and you often do.

So here we are on Vocations Sunday, this year in the teeth of a Global Pandemic, when we can’t meet up or invite you to ‘come and see’ I still invite you who are considering what do with their lives to consider what it might be like to be a member of a religious order or a priest. It’s all about serving – maybe you can handle it. 

Easter 2021

Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who has been crucified. He is not here; he has been raised. Look, there is the place where they laid him.

In Mark’s Gospel, as in each of the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection, there is an invitation to all of us to enter the story. There is an invitation to see the empty tomb and to believe that Jesus Christ is Risen. This invitation is first issued by a young man dressed in white robes to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome in tonight’s Gospel who are sent to tell the Disciples and Peter this great news.

This invitation is fundamentally a call to faith, and it begins to change things profoundly. It changes the way the disciples see Jesus and it calls them to go out and preach this good news fearlessly. They have no more business harping back to the past and trying to resuscitate the way things were before. It is a new time now and things will never be the same again.

We are witnesses to this great news too. We can see that the stone has been rolled back and inside the darkness of the empty tomb there is no sign of the body. Therefore, believing Christians have no business in the darkness of the tomb. Like the women who fled from the tomb when they learned that Jesus was gone on ahead of them, we must hurry too, there is not a moment to lose.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a new beginning. The disciples fortified by the Holy Spirit, enthusiastically go about the world preaching this great news that Jesus is alive. As the Gospel is preached, it reaches the ears and hearts of many. Our own people received this good news in their lives, in their turn, and they passed it on to us.

There are always risks in embracing something new, but Jesus had challenged the disciples to believe. And the two on the road to Emmaus were reminded of the new mission belonging to those who follow Christ. The Church before the passion and death of Christ is completely different to the Church following the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We are called to faith.

The world has been in the throes of Covid-19 for over 12 months. In this once-in-a-century pandemic, we have painfully witnessed people suffer, become severely ill, and even die. Europe is enduring a fourth wave and here in Ireland, NPHET are working hard to make sure we are safe. Last year, we were confined to celebrating the Easter liturgies behind closed doors and online and on social media because of the Lockdown restrictions. We had no idea that we would be in severe restrictions again this Lent and Easter.

The immediate aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus meant that the disciples fled and hid themselves away. Locked in the upper room with the windows and doors bolted they feared the same fate as Jesus. On the morning of the third day as the women went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, they found that the stone had been rolled back and seeing a vision of angels they were told that Jesus was not there. They were reminded that Jesus has said this. They were called to action and to go and tell the Disciples that Jesus was going on ahead of them. The two walking on the road to Emmaus also encountered the risen Jesus but they were prevented from recognizing him until he opened the scriptures for them and broke the bread at table. Then their eyes were opened, and their faith was rewarded so much that it spurred them on to action.

In our time in a sense, Covid 19 is confining us to stay apart and away from people in those ‘upper rooms.’ There is darkness and fear around and not being able to gather and meet in church is hard for people of faith. We understand the dangers of groups of people being indoors together, especially given these dangerous variants of the disease. But still to gather safely in church and to pray at a social distance and wearing masks is a source of strength and consolation to so many people. Going to the church in solidarity with our neighbor is also a powerful way of minding our mental health at a time of great stress and fear for all. Again, we pray that we will be permitted to safely worship together soon.  During this darkness, the risen Jesus comes to look for us and while right now, we are unable to fully emerge from the locked rooms of our fears, the light of the risen Lord is coming. We hold out a hope that the time will soon be right thanks to our compliance with the public health guidelines and with the further roll out of the vaccines.

I have heard that the church before Covid and the church that will emerge, around the world, and particularly here in Ireland will be different. We are challenged to imagine new ways of listening to and inviting women and men to take part in church by virtue of our baptism calling. Like the early church after the resurrection, many disciples did not feel comfortable with the newness. Returning to the safety of the old and familiar was preferable. But the Holy Spirit was powerfully at work urging the disciples to preach the Good News. I believe this is happening again today and while this may be scary, it is also exciting and to be part of what will emerge with God’s help. This is what the Risen Jesus is calling us to going forward. Let us be part of the endeavor – it’s the work of the Spirit.

“All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, yes to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 18-20)

 

The time has come

Jesus understands suffering.

Jesus gets how people suffer. He gets it

We can confidently place our fears at his feet.

Jesus knows the heartache we feel being separated from loved ones because of the virus. He understands.

He feels the pain of all who miss someone.

Jesus is conscious of the exhaustion of our healthcare workers, nursing, and medical staff.

Jesus holds all of us who are afraid and comforts all who are worn-out with it all.

Jesus will stay with us for the duration of any further lockdown. He is with us every step of the way.

We know this because Jesus was led into the desert -to a place of danger, extremes, and foreboding.

Jesus understands what we are going through.

All through his public ministry the most wretched found a listening ear, a non-judgmental heart, and healing and forgiveness of sins. And those who were written off by the established church leadership of the time were called by name; “Come follow me.”

He himself stood at the frontier of suffering and crossed the border right into pain, shame, and rejection.

When we walk, as we are, through this Covid ‘valley of death’ we have Jesus walk with us, and like the poem ‘Footprints’ carrying us.

Jesus is telling us, despite social distancing, we still have each other.

And there is hope.

We are moving through it.

Daylight is coming.

The time has come.

People have been asking about Ash Wednesday. We do not have a supply of ashes this year as the church suppliers have not had much business since the churches have been closed to congregations for much of last year. Ashes are made by burning the palm from the previous Palm Sunday. We still have that supply of palm as we were closed to congregations last year. Our Paschal Candle from 2020 still has a lot of wax in it when it would normally be burned down by now. Because of Level 5 restrictions we are unable to have people come and queue for blessed ashes.

We went into Lockdown last March during Lent and the churches closed all through the remainder of Lent, into Easter and over Eastertime. We celebrated Holy Week, the Paschal Triduum, lit the Paschal Candle, and celebrated Easter time with empty churches.

A journalist was ringing around different clergy asking about our online ministry and what of the future? I told her our Facebook Mass each day since last March has been very well supported and our Rosary at 8.00 p.m. each night, also on the Priorswood Parish Facebook page is a spectacular success. We are blessed to have upwards of 220 different accounts on with an average of 2 thousand plus views. She asked me about Easter, and I said it may be that we will not have the congregations back unless its safe. As Archbishop Farrell has said, “Everything we do must always be in accord with NPHET guidelines.”

Christmas was difficult for parishes with Covid 19 volunteers, social distancing, and sanitizing before and after Masses. We were constantly on guard in case the guidelines on numbers would be breached. And yet by and large all our Churches were safe places. I hope we never have a Christmas like it again – it was completely stressful.

This year, Lent begins in two days’ time with Ash Wednesday. Wearing ashes traditionally reminds me and others that we are going to do something special for Lent. We will try to be more charitable, or less selfish, or be more moderate and sober, perhaps giving up alcohol or tobacco. Self-denial is a powerful way to get into the spirit of Lent. On Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday we are called to fast and abstain. To fast from food, eating one meal and two collations (small portions of food) and to abstain from meat and alcohol. However, we need to be sensible also too. If one does not have good health, and is on medication, or one is older, there is no obligation to fast.

In a way we have been living a kind of Lent with the pandemic since last March. All of us have struggled with the restrictions or have feared contracting Covid. Too many have been sick, and sadly, many have died. Our medical front line heroes have really suffered. Just look at the huge numbers that have been hospitalised. Businesses and jobs have suffered greatly. We pray for the continued success for the roll out of the vaccines and please God we pray for a safe return to the time when we can meet and hold our loved ones again.

We will bless any ashes you may have during our Mass on Facebook live on the Priorswood Parish page. Taking our lead from St. Mel’s Cathedral Parish, Longford, we invite you to use some cold ash from the fireplace or some soil from the garden which we will bless remotely.