AS I WAS SAYING...
The past leans heavily upon us at all times, but especially at this time of year. Instinctively we look back. We are much more at home with the backward glance than the forward gaze. This is perfectly understandable; the former merely exercises our memory; but the latter makes demands upon our imagination. For this reason, the past will always be more manageable (and more popular!) than the future. The 'known' will always have a stronger pull than the 'unknown'. However, there are dangers inherent in these neat distinctions. One of the obvious dangers is the adoption of a fatalistic passivity regarding the future: 'The future is in God's hands; there is not a thing we can do about it!' sort of attitude.
There is an element of truth in this, obviously. None of us can predict what the future will bring. But we are not completely powerless. Just as surely as we are creatures of the past, we can be architects of the future. We can make provisions; we can lay plans. I have referred here before to the writings of Dr. Mark Patrick Hederman in this regard:
The future is not something out there that we step into as an already designed space. The future is ourselves as we choose to become, melded with the world as we inherit it and as we choose to arrange it. The future is alive with possibility to the extent that we are open to change.
These words express a profound truth about the future. The future is in our hands. It is a precious gift that we can squander, abuse, exploit, distort or discard. But Hederman's sentiments are particularly apt for Augustinian Church here as we enter a new year. 2003 will be a very special year for us. As you know, work will begin shortly on a restoration and a re-ordering of this building. But, thanks to our Renovations Committee, hundreds of hours have already been devoted to shaping the future of the Augustinian, literally. Through a series of workshops, the larger community was also drawn into the process. A fairly precise shape eventually emerged. No doubt this will be honed further under the influence of our architect Richard Hurley.
Some expressed misgivings about the nature of the proposed changes. 'Preservation' and 'conservation' are now 'sexy issues'. There is a shrill cry to 'leave everything as it is!' Hurley has an impressive track record in this area. His experience embraces both the academic and the pragmatic: he has built, he has restored, and he has written. He has explored the distinctions between 'conservation' and 'preservation'. The former is concerned with re-creating rather than preserving; and it sets out to reveal the latent possibilities in that which is recreated; the latter, on the other hand, regards churches as primarily museums, static prisons of the spirit. Hurley has addressed this specific issue as follows: "We should return to the original concept of conservation in architecture as something that revitalises the old by sensitive and relevant change, and be assiduous in correcting those who use the word to mean preservation." That may give us some idea of how he will approach his work here. This should be an interesting year indeed. Wishing you all health and happiness.
-Dick Lyng.
Noel Hession
We were in touch with Noel Hession during the week. He is in great form and spent most of the Christmas season with his parishioners in Pavon. (which, appropriately enough, is the Spanish for 'turkey'!). The takings from the recent Table Quiz brought the amount in his Bank of Ireland account here up to €16,000.00. He requested that €12,000.00 be withdrawn in US $ Bank Draft and dispatched to him via DHL couriers. This was for the purpose of completing the Parish Centre. We send the money away on Friday last. €4,000 now remains in the Ecuador bank account here.
CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS:
Out of sheer curiosity, I returned to the Christmas Mass statistics during the week and ran the comparative grid over them. (For Dues, see below). To facilitate comparison, I converted the €s into £s. Again, we should be cautious when equating 'takings' with attendance, but it's the only yardstick we have! Another matter to be noted is the fact that we have now got only two Christmas Masses (Midnight & 11.00am). In former years we had the 9.00am and the 12.15 in addition. Despite this reduction, there has been an increase of 4.56% in the overall Christmas collection. The most dramatic increase is to be seen in the Midnight Mass. As you will see from the chart below, the popularity of the Midnight Mass declined in recent years vis a vís the 11.00 Christmas morning Mass. Given all that has happened in the Irish Church recently, this turnout was truly remarkable.
YEAR 12.00am 11.00am OTHERS TOTALS 1987 £520 £485 £305 £1310 1988 £588 £665 £345 £1598 1989 £622 £590 £334 £1,546 1993 £762 £910 £327 £1,999 1994 £713 £850 £398 £1,961 1995 £589 £776 £350 £1,715 1996 £800 £760 £546 £2,106 1997 £768 £1,272 £283 £2,323 1998 £1,050 £2,053 £226 £3,339 1999 £995 £1,583 £289 £2,867 2000 £1,005 £2,070 £292 £3,367 2001 £1,188 £2,050 £289 £3,527 2002 £1,539 £2,149 (None) £3,688 Increase+ (+29.54%) (+4.82) (None) (+4.56%)
CHRISTMAS DUES
We never made much of the Christmas Dues here. Our Parish is very small geographically, and our main source of income is the Priory Office and the shrines in the church. Traditionally, the Christmas and Easter Dues have gone straight into the trouser pocket of the Parish Priest. That was the practice in the diocesan system and I suppose we inherited the practice when we inherited the parish. Since I came to this job I have put the money to a variety of uses: funding parish projects, helping the odd lame dog over a particularly intimidating stile, and of course I have always financed my annual holidays out of this same source. I'm sure you will agree that it is not entirely wasted!
I had time on my hands during the week, so once more I went back over the finance books for the last eleven years. Below you will find the results of that research. The figure in brackets represent the percentage increase or decrease on the year previous. A clear pattern is visible, with a glitch in 1999. The reason for that glitch is simple enough: Anne Marie Kennedy was snowed under in the Office during the two weeks prior to Christmas. She normally addressed the envelopes, enclosed a calendar, together with a Christmas message and a 'Programme of Events' for the Christmas period. It was a huge undertaking. As you probably know, she resumed working in the Priory this year and she also resumed organising the Dues! I am very grateful to her for doing this work. The 1999 glitch I referred to is explained simply enough: Anne Marie simply didn't get around to doing that. But a clear pattern has emerged: a rising graph is obvious. (The slight decrease this year is probably explained by the fact that I am reporting a week earlier than usual. All Dues are not in yet). I guess it reflects a strong measure of support for what we have been trying to do here over the past five years. (Again, to facilitate ready comparison, I have converted the Euro into Punts.)
1991 £3,003.00 1992 £2,595.00 (-13.58%) 1993 £2,445.00 (-5.78%) 1994 £2,525.00 (3.27%) 1995 £2,275.00 (-9.90%) 1996 £2,715.00 (19.34%) 1997 £2,918.00 (7.47%) 1998 £5,068.00 (73.68%) 1999 £3,203.00 (-36.79%) 2000 £5,531.00 (72.68%) 2001 £7,538.00 (36.28%) 2002 £6,895.00 (-8.5%)
Thank you very much for your great generosity.
Identity Crisis in the Outpatients, St Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park
Do I really exist? Will I wake with a scream
And find I was dreaming another man's dream?
Are all my thoughts theological lumber?
Why has God got an unlisted number?
Or was Nietzsche correct? Is God really dead?
Earthly existence - is it all in the head?
Where am I going? Where do I come from?
Has Saddamh Hussein got a nuclear bomb?
Life after death - is it all a great lie?
What is humanity and - what am I?
'Ah yes,' said the nurse, scanning her list,
'you're the infected sebaceous cyst.'
-Michael Hartnett.
"Quote, Unquote........ "
- "Mirrors should think longer before they reflect." -Jean Cocteau.
- "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas Edison.
- "Beware the conversationalist who adds 'in other words'. He is merely starting afresh." -Robert Morley.
- "There is no cure for birth and death, save to enjoy the interval." -George Santayana.
- "The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another." -Quentin Crisp.
- "The world degenerates and grows worse every day. The calamities inflicted on Adam were light in comparison with those inflicted on us." -Martin Luther.
- "When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen." -Samuel Lover.
- "When men grow virtuous in old age, they only make a sacrifice to God of the devil's leavings." -Alexander Pope.
Home