AS I WAS SAYING......
We have seen it so often now; yet it is a relatively recent development: following on a tragedy or an atrocity, ‘shrines’ seem to spring up spontaneously as near as possible to the location. The composition of these ‘shrines’ are invariably uniform: flowers, a collage of teddy bears and soft toys, hastily-scrawled messages of sorrow, or childlike protests of undying love. These shrines are now part of the paraphernalia of tragic death. I have always felt uneasy about this phenomenon. And I am not quite sure why. I wouldn’t for one moment question the sincerity of those who erect such shrines. But my experienced unease may have its source in the obvious incongruity between the image and the reality: the location of a horrible murder, or tragic accident, is marked by the presence of a cuddly teddy bear or a soft toy. The image does little justice to the cruel reality commemorated. Or, to paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘the shrine is out of joint’. Many will remember that inner London was transformed into a single, massive shrine -after the fashion described above- on the death of Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales. The overwhelming majority of those who shed copious tears at her passing can never have met her in person. I could never understand that phenomenon: how could the loss of one I never met move me to tears of grief? Whatever the emotions surfaced by that undoubtedly sad event, surely there was something other than personal grief at play? Perhaps mass hysteria whipped up by the popular press? Or did isolated individuals find solace in a communal ritual, even if the object of that ritual never touched them personally? Group dynamics have always baffled me!
The Irish Times carried an article by Fintan O’Toole on related matters during the week. He is writing in the context of the State funeral for Kevin Barry and his companions. But his attention is soon diverted, and his entire article becomes a digression on the Holy Angels plot for infants who died before, during or shortly after birth. There O’Toole finds replicated the development I have referred to above:
Hanging from every tree is an exotic harvest of tawny teddy bears, Day-Glo tigers, meekly smiling My Little Ponies and cuddly monsters. ...Just as striking as what is there is what is not. There are hardly any angels or crucifixes, madonnas or plaster saints. Religious trappings have been almost entirely replaced by the intimate, immediate symbols of childhood. ..The prevailing culture has become more civilised, more tender, more respectful, not as a result of official institutions, but in spite of them.
Sunday next, October 28th is the feast of St. Jude. Despite the fact that he is hidden away at the back of the church, St. Jude has quite a considerable ‘following’ here in the Augustinian. We will mark his feast this year with a Triduum, beginning on Thursday October 25th, and continuing each evening at 5.30. The Service will consist of scripture readings, reflection and prayers. The feast itself will be marked with a Mass in honour of the saint on Sunday at 5.30pm.
You are not as near the others as it would console you to believe: there are distances between you and everything else. You are separate.
Often what you call beliefs and values are only frenzied ways of forgetting that you are alone in the world. Work and activities fill up the emptiness - and so you avoid the danger of going any deeper within yourself. If the distances sharpened and stiffened around you, then insanity might be too near. This is why friends are sent to you - to help you to survive and celebrate life. They are part of a secret Providence looking after you, weaving your ways and days together, gently.
We are made of clay. Our bodies are as old as the clay of the world itself. And when friends discover each other, it is as if clay which was once all of a piece and became separated, now recognises itself again. Some ancient presence which time split up, and for millions of years wandered with no name or home, has found itself again. No longer does its memory mourn for its lost life. This is why friendship is a deep recognition - friends are not just made - they are recognised as lost parts of each other which belong together. Others will only see you through a blur of barriers and images, a friend will see clearly the special shape of your soul. A friend will see you as you are. She will not reduce you to what you do, to what others think of you, or even to what you think of yourself. You are not judged at all.
And often when the dark wind rages around your trembling mind, her voice will calm your heart. Blessed is your friend!
-John O’Donoghue.
No European historical figure of the past centuries is so well known in China as Li-ma-teu, more familiar in the West as Matteo Ricci, the 16th century Italian Jesuit missionary. He was an extraordinary man, mathematician, astronomer, painter, and pioneering missionary. A trained lawyer, he joined the Jesuits in 1571. He was ordained in 1580 and set sail for China in 1582. He immersed himself immediately in local culture and became proficient in a short time in the native languages. He was quickly accepted by educated Chinese.
This astute man and his Italian companions refrained entirely from preaching the gospel overtly. Instead they introduced the mandarins to the products of European science: clocks, astronomic and musical instruments, art, literature and maps.
Within five years Ricci felt sufficiently secure to begin the production of a small Catechism.. This ran to four reprints before his death. This year marks the 400th anniversary of Ricci’s entry to Peking in 1601. To commemorate this event, Catholic scholars are gathering in that same city for a conference to review early East-West encounters brought about by this pioneering missionary.
Matteo Ricci was one of those rare individuals who had proved himself acceptable to both Beijing and the Vatican.
The Church in China is impoverished today. Most bishops can scarcely afford to train their own young men and women who feel called to the religious life. Every year, Aid to the Church in Need supports the studies of hundreds of sisters and seminarians. Such are the eleven young men who live in hiding with a poor, rural Catholic family. Every day they must travel to the local school, then come back in time to pursue their pre-seminary studies. And distances are great in China.
The immense size of China has in fact always been a problem for the Church. The majority of Catholics come from rural areas where churches are scarce, and one priest may be serving dozens of widely scattered parishes. When there is no priest available, the people gather together nonetheless and prayers are led by elderly parishioners. The majority of these people go to Mass and receive the sacraments four times a year Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and the Assumption. The congregations travel from their far-flung homes by bicycle, by bus and train. Once there, they remain several days, staying in hostels and shelters in the church grounds, receiving the sacraments and celebrating the Eucharist.
-Cecilia Bromley-Martin.