AS I WAS SAYING...
So, from the 14th of July on, there will just one Mass in the Augustinian on Sunday mornings. There are two schools of thought (if that is not too grand a concept) operating in the Irish Church today. Members of one school will throw up their hands in horror, bewail the shortage of vocations, and view the scarcity of same as God's judgement upon an errant, godless world. 'God has withdrawn his favour because the world never properly appreciated that favour!' The discontinuation of the 9.00 and 12.15 Sunday Masses in the Augustinian are simply the particular localised manifestation of a more general divine displeasure. It is all part of the one theological jig-saw!
There is a 'sub-set' within this theologically pessimistic if belligerent school. They not only localise the problem; they personalise it too. "What are the immediate consequences of this unfortunate -but inevitable- development?", they will ask. They will answer it (to their own eternal dissatisfaction) along the following lines. First of all, I always had the 9.00am offered annually for my late Granny. In fact I used book it a year in advance. That was 'my Mass!' What is going to happen to Granny now? Will she have to 'share' a Mass with someone else? How healthy is that development? Worse still, what if she has to share that Mass with a crowd she never liked, and we still do not like? Where does that leave us? (If you think I am being flippant, well, you may think again. Because I encountered all of the above -and much more besides- in the course of the week gone by!)
There is a clerical version of this besieged mentality, but it is concealed behind a mask of 'service to the people'. This school of thought would argue as follows: it's a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sundays and Holydays. Therefore priests have an obligation to provide as many Masses as possible, thereby minimising the opportunities that people have for sinning. In other words, the more Masses you have, the less people will miss Mass.
Let's be realistic: as cities go, Galway is very small indeed. Indeed one will get around it much more easily and much faster on foot than by car. Yet there are over 70 Sunday Masses in Galway city every weekend. Even after rationalisation, there are still 70 Masses. Many of these will be poorly attended, a few souls scattered around behind pillars, trying to avoid each other. Such 'celebrations' undermine the faith. They militate against participation. They fracture the community. They should be discontinued.
So, far from complaining about the reduction of Masses in Galway, I believe the bishop didn't go near far enough. Ten to fifteen Masses would be more than adequate to serve the needs of the Catholics of Galway. The President of the National Conference of Priests in Ireland made a similar point during the week. John Littleton argued that many of the Masses now being celebrated by priests are entirely unnecessary. He continued, "In fact, I believe that Ireland today is seriously over-Massed."
So the Irish Church should look upon present circumstances as an opportunity rather than a crisis. It is an opportunity for us to re-examine our approach to the Sacraments in general, but especially our approach to the Eucharist. Our understanding of the Eucharist requires serious revision.
-Dick Lyng.
EVENTS THIS WEEK
- MID SUMMER FESTIVAL (A): Our Mid Summer Festival was a great success, thanks to all who put so much time and effort into organising it. As always things fell nicely into place (even if some elements did wait until the last minute!). Once again we were blessed with the weather, one of the elements that waited until the last minute to fall into place! But when it did come, it came good.
- MID SUMMER FESTIVAL (B): We had a fabulous entry for the Children's Art Competition. While our Adjudication Team were thrilled with the very high standard of the submissions, they were rather critical of the categories determined by the organisers. They suggested that the following categories would make more sense: (1) Toddlers; (2) 4/5 years; (3) 6/7 years; (4) 8/9 years; (5) 10/11 years; (6) 12/13 years; (7) 14/15 years. Thanks very much to all who submitted entries, and congratulations to the winners. Thanks to Janet who chaired our panel of judges.
- MID SUMMER FESTIVAL (C): We seem to have had a greater level of participation this year than ever before. Thanks to the encouragement of Tony Freeney, local businesses were very generously involved this year. As a result, we had to buy very little for the feast! Most of you will probably agree that the outstanding innovation this year was the actual Barbecue itself. The smell of turf and the aroma of cooking creates its own atmosphere. Thanks very much, Peter and Larry.
- MID SUMMER FESTIVAL (D): Finally, thanks to our ever-faithful 'Regular Crew', those who decorated the church in such a stunning fashion, those who prepared the Car Park, Forthill, and so on. Without you, the Festival would not have been possible. Thanks.
GOBÁN SAOR
The Cast will meet as usual on Monday night at 8.00 for rehearsals. The Producer will be absent (talent-spotting) for the greater part of the proceedings but he has invested one of the leading Actors with Executive Powers!
ODE TO AUTUMN
(An Extract)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'erbrimmed their clammy cells.
-John Keats.
JOHN O'CONNOR O.S.A.
John O'Connor is now away on a sabbatical break (to do some historical research). In mid-July he will celebrate with his family the Golden Jubilee of his Ordination and he asks you to join him in prayers of thanksgiving. He would like any Jubilee gifts intended for him to be directed instead to the Simon Community or the Samaritans in the city, in whom he has had a personal interest while in Galway. Fr. O'Connor served in the Augustinian during the following terms: 1966-71; 1974-81; 1997-2002.
Ad Multos Annos.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
- "The physician can bury his mistakes but the architect can only advise his clients to plant vines." - Frank Lloyd Wright.
- "It's hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place!" -H. L. Mencken.
- "I'm furious about Women's Liberationists. They keep getting up on soapboxes and proclaiming that women are brighter than men. That's true, but it should be kept very quiet or ruins the whole racket." -Anita Loos.
- "True, God made everything out of nothing. But the nothingness shows through.." -Paul Valery.
- "Most women are not so young as they are painted." -Max Beerbohm.
- "Dublin is a city where you can see a sparrow fall to the ground and God watching it." -Conor Cruise O'Brien.
NEW MASS PROGRAMME
(July 14th onwards)
VIGIL MASSES (SATURDAY)
5.30: Salthill 6.00: Cathedral 6.30: Bushypark Knocknacarra Ballinfoyle St. Augustine's 7.00: Ballybane St. Joseph's Castlegar 7.30: Mervue Renmore Sacred Heart St. Francis St. Ignatius Claddagh St. Patrick's SUNDAY MORNING:
7.00: Claddagh 8.00: Salthill (Summer only) 8.30: Cathedral 9.00: Jesuits (Gaeilge) 9.30: Salthill Knocknacarra Sacred Heart Mervue 10.00 Claddagh Ballinfoyle Cathedral Renmore Bushypark 10.30: Ballybane St. Patrick's Jesuits St. Joseph's 10.45: Knocknacarra 11.00: St. Augustine's Coolough St. Francis Sacred Heart Salthill 11.15: Cathedral 11.30: Mervue Ballinfoyle 12.00: Ballybane Renmore St. Patrick's Knocknacarra Claddagh Jesuits St. Joseph's Bushypark 12.15: Castlegar Sacred Heart 12.30: Mervue St. Francis Cathedral Salthill 1.00: Ballinfoyle SUNDAY EVENING:
5.30: Jesuits 6.00: Salthill Cathedral Ballinfoyle 6.30: St. Augustine's Sacred Heart 7.30: Claddagh St. Patrick's
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