EVENTS THIS WEEK
- THANKS: Thanks to all of you who rallied around for Pearse's 'leave-taking' . As a community, we were quite proud (but not surprised) at the reaction to his passing. Thanks to all who gave of their time so generously: to the choir, the singers, and those who prepared both liturgies. Many thanks to those of you who brought along sandwiches and assorted 'goodies' , to the ladies who prepared the Church and the house, and those of you who looked after 'domestic arrangements' . A very special word of thanks to Gearóidín and Annemarie who accompanied Pearse in such a gentle way in his decline. As you know, he appreciated it very, very much.
- ADVENT MEETING: Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Interested parties will gather in the Priory on Monday night at 8.00pm to plan the Advent and the Christmas celebrations. A big attendance would be very much appreciated since a great deal of work needs to be done.
- THE TAIBHDHEARC CONCERT: The returns from the concert for Noel Hession's mission in Ecuador came in during the week: €5,590.00. That was fantastic. Thanks very much to THE TAIBHDHEARC committee for their generosity, to Jimmy Mannion who was the main organiser, and of course to the singers and musicians who gave so generously of their time and talents. It was very much appreciated. Incidentally, Noel should be arriving in Ireland next week.
- WORLD AIDS DAY: A Christmas Carol Service is being held in St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church on Monday, December 1st at 8.00pm as part of a World AIDS day fund-raising venture. Please support this worthy charity.
PEARSE O'MAHONEY, O.S.A.
1919-2003
Pearse O'Mahoney passed away peacefully on Wednesday afternoon last. After a nine-month battle, he eventually succumbed to cancer.
He had two focal points in his life: Nigeria and Galway. He devoted 40 of his best years to Nigeria, but he always regarded Galway as his home. Of course he was born in Belfast, but his roots were deep here in this city. His grandmother was a Connemara woman who worked as a midwife. His mother was born in Bohermore and, at four years of age Pearse and the family moved back there. Pearse regarded himself as a true Galwegian and he regarded those of us who were not born in Galway as an inferior life form of life.
He returned to this place on holidays ever two or three years and he renewed his links with the town. He walked every highway and byway in this town and he spoke to anything and everything that moved. He pointed to the houses in which particular characters were born or lived, or to the points under which the old Clifden railway passed. He knew the place intimately and he delighted in its people.
He was laid-back, easy-going, unflappable. Among the Augustinians, the stories and legends about him are legion. Mind you, not many of them would survive rigorous scrutiny.
However, the fact that such stories exist does say something about the character and spirit of the man himself. Pearse was very mild in his judgements, but he was nobody's fool. Those who tried to climb up his back inevitably landed on their backs. Justice might be slow in coming, but come it did.
Pearse joined the Augustinians in 1939. These were harsh times, in the religious life as well as everywhere else. Those in authority were very conscious of the fact that they were in charge. Challenges were not entertained. The voice of the superior was the voice of God. Now Pearse wouldn't dream of challenging that conviction. But he did try to make sure that he was well out of earshot when the superior was vocalising his divine dimension.
Apparently a journey to Nigeria was interrupted with a 6 year sojourn in Australia. And he had no regrets whatsoever about the digression. He loved Australia too.
In fact Pearse was contented wherever he went. He loved the life he opted for, the priesthood, and particularly the missionary dimension of it. He never for a moment doubted the value or the importance of priesthood. In fact he could be puzzled and confused by those who did. Yet he escaped the suffocating clericalism that ensnared many of his contemporaries, remaining to the end an admirably free spirit.
He lived out Matthew's missionary mandate in a rather literal way. "See I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals."
Pearse lived up to that injunction in a very Spartan way. He had nothing to call his own. We were going through his effects two nights ago in search of something to lay him out in. It was difficult to find anything suitable for that purpose. He had none of those thing the rest of us would regard as essential to our needs, like a suit of clothes, or a jacket, or an overcoat. However, hanging on the back of his door was his old threadbare missionary habit that was once white.
One part of that missionary command fell on deaf ears: "Greet no one along the road." Pearse would have seen no point whatsoever in walking the road if he weren't to warmly greet those you met along the way. He was comfortable enough with the remaining instructions: "Whatever house you enter say, 'Peace to this house.' Remain in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer, for the labourer deserves his wages."
In fact the evangelist could well have had Pearse in mind when drawing up those instructions. Pearse was most himself when moving unhindered among people, enjoying their company, comparing notes and trading stories. He drew his energy and his joy from that sort of lifestyle.
Two years ago last July he returned here. He was deeply and justifiably loved by the people in this place; they looked out for him and they looked after him. He looked forward to Sunday morning, to the choir at the 11.00 Mass, and to the gathering of the people in the Priory for the tea and coffee afterwards. When he was in the whole of his health, he would make his way after the Mass down to Busker Browne's pub where he listened to the jazz and enjoyed his pint of Guinness.
He was amazing in that he retained sense of humour and mischief up to the end. He was a very vain man in a harmless sort of way. Despite his lack of possessions, he loved to dress up and to cut a bit of a dash. He bore a remarkable resemblance to Spike Milligan, the famous British Goon, and he actually dressed like him, with that white báneen and little sailor's cap worn in a very deliberate style. When Spike died two years ago, there was a special night of tribute in Padraig's pub on the Docks. A few people got together and informed the organisers that Spike's brother Desmond would be in attendance. Like Pearse, Spike also had a brother called Desmond. He made a grand entrance surrounded by four sturdy minders. He graciously accepted the condolences, but made a hasty exit when the expectations of the crowd outstripped his ability to deliver.
Pearse was a lucky man. He enjoyed life, and he enjoyed good health up to his 84th year. He accepted his rapid decline with great grace. "For everything there is a season...a time to be born, a time to die." Pearse was fortunate also in having two very caring women looking after him. Gearóidín and Annmarie never let him out of their sights for the last seven months. They fussed over him, they dressed him, they got him out of bed, they put him back to bed, but above all they ensure that his tablets were taken at the right time and in the right quantity. They treated him with great respect and great love. I know it is Desmond and Ita's wish that your great care for Pearse should be publicly acknowledged. But, as you well know, nobody appreciated your care and attention more than the man himself.
So he has gone to God now. We will miss him greatly around this place. As a community and as a parish we felt blessed by his presence. We leave him go with reluctance, but I think we are all glad that we rubbed shoulders with him as we walked along the road.
-Dick Lyng.PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS
- THE JESSE TREE: The Tree of Jesse was a common iconographic subject in medieval and Renaissance art. It represented the royal genealogy of Christ, from Jesse, father of David (Mt. 1:1-17). The image of the tree was taken from Isaiah 11:1 "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom." The shoot has been regarded as Our Lady, and Christ as the blossom. In the 11th century the tree began to appear in German art, and then throughout Europe in stained glass, sculpture and manuscripts. We will discuss the preparation of this at our meeting tomorrow night.
- MASS OF GIVING: As you already know from your parish calendars, the annual Mass of Giving will be held on Sunday, December 14th. Things will be done a bit differently this year. We have already been in contact with people who are in need. Each has named an item that they would like to have for Christmas. The various named items are being written down on cards. These cards will be hung on a 'Giving Tree'. A person will take away that card and take responsibility for that person. They will bring back the item named, together with the card. Thus, the exercise should be more personalised, while at the same time the anonymity of the receiver will be protected. You are not confined to the items named. But, out of respect for the dignity of the receivers, nothing second-hand or obviously 'cheap' should be offered. A good rule-of-thumb is the following: 'Would I give this to my own children, or to my own parents for Christmas?' We will begin work in earnest on this during the week.
- CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS MASS: This will be celebrated at 11.00 on Sunday December 21st this year. The general idea is that the small children should present the Liturgy of the Word in Pageant form. The 'action' would be interspersed with appropriate songs or hymns. If you can help, get in touch with Maeve Heaney-O'Neill.
REFLECTIONS
- "My habitual feeling is that the world is so extremely odd, and everything in it so surprising. Why should there be green grass and liquid water, and why have I got hands and feet?" -John Chapman.
- "Youth is not properly definable by age. It is a spirit of daring, creating, asserting life, and openly relating to the world." -Malcolm Boyd.
- "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." -Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- "The purpose of all prayer is to find God's will and to make that will our prayer." -Catherine Marshall.
- "We should employ our passions in the service of life, not spend life in the service of our passions." - Richard Steele.
- "We make our friends. We make our enemies. But God makes our next door neighbour." -G. K. Chesterton.
- "Only love can bring individual beings to their perfect completion as individuals, because only love takes possession of them and unites them by what lies deepest within." -Teilhard de Chardin.