- The collection last Sunday was € 913.00.
- The outdoor collection is for the Irish Kidney Association.
- The Month's Mind for Eilish O'Brien is this weekend.
AS I WAS SAYING...
Galway was in the news over the past few days. I saw three TV camera crews outside the offending tavern on Thursday evening last. Obviously, the world has grown tired of the war in Iraq! There is something far more exciting afoot in Eyre Square. (In its present condition, the said camera crews could be forgiven for mistaking the square for a battlefield).
The publicity is set to continue with the launching of the Galway Arts Festival tomorrow. This festival has now emerged to rival even Race Week as the Premier Annual Event in the city. Like the Galway Races, it is generally seen as a 'festival for the common man and woman.' There is something for everyone, a tremendous variety. And without widespread popular support it could not possibly have survived. Artists do not play (or display) to empty houses. They are a temperamental lot! The Arts Festival, then, is a true communal celebration, not the mere indulgence of the eccentric few.
I have written more than once here on the relationship between the Church and the artist. Historically, they enjoyed a close relationship. The Church was the great patron of the arts. That close relationship has left Europe a rich cultural legacy in the form of ecclesiastical art and architecture, of which Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is probably the prime example.
In fact, the artist and the Church worked hand-in-hand to create what we know today as 'western civilisation'. This is the reality which the Pope had in mind recently when he called in vain for the Christian heritage of Europe to be acknowledge in the new European Constitution.
But we don't have to go as far as Paris for evidence of this co-operation. The building of St. Brendan's Cathedral in Loughrea (1897-1902) coincided with the beginnings of the Celtic Revival. The glory of the Cathedral is in the interior, in the combination of the creations of some of the best Irish artists and craftspeople expressed through sculpture, stained glass, metalwork, and woodcarvings. A visit to the cathedral on a sunny Summer's afternoon is an unforgettable experience. There the sun streaming through Michael Healy's stained glass would lift the heaviest of hearts and warm the coldest spirit. The point is that, for the purpose of worship, art need not be 'churchy' or explicitly devotional. Beauty carries it own justification.
For centuries, the Church and the artist shared a concern for 'the things of the spirit'. But, with rare exceptions, that 'community of interest' has broken down. Five years ago, Pope John Paul attempted to heal the rift. In his 'Letter to Artists', he described artistic beauty as "epiphanies of God in our world." His letter continued, "Even in situations where culture and Church are far apart, art remains a bridge to beauty and truth." Not only are art works kinds of sacraments, but artists have a specific priesthood. He then quotes Dostoyevsky's strange saying with approval: "Beauty will save the world." We never heard that from a modern Pope before. The Arts Festival Week seems to be an opportune time to highlight this enthusiastic endorsement. Obviously, the local Church has a lot to learn from the Bishop of Rome in this regard. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the process has even begun.
-Dick Lyng.
EVENTS THIS WEEK AND LAST
- SUMMER FESTIVAL: We have now taken the children's works of art down from the display area in the church. They are available for collection in the Priory Office, and in the dining room after Mass today.
- MIKADO: The curtain will finally rise on this much-awaited production at 9.00 tomorrow night, Monday July 12th, and will continue for another two nights. (See notice across for details) Obviously, we would be delighted to see you there on one of the nights. Spread the word. Don't forget to bring along your friends (and indeed your enemies too. This is 'pay-back' time!). We will need help in a few areas. The stage will be dismantled after each performance. So we would very much appreciate some assistance with that. We also need a couple of people to collect the money from the audience (audience will pay, or refuse to pay, on the way out!) So, break a leg!
ST AUGUSTINE ON THEATRE
"To Carthage then I came, where the cauldron of illicit loves leapt and roiled around me. I was not yet in love, but I was in love with love, and from the depths of my need, I hated myself for not more keenly feeling the need. What I needed most was to love and be loved. Most of all, however, I enjoyed the voluptuous body of my lover. I rushed headlong into love, longing to be snared. I wrapped myself around with those bonds that made me suffer; and sure enough I would be whipped with the red hot iron rods of jealousy, suspicions, fears, by angry outbursts and raucous rows.
I then discovered theatre, a world that mirrored my own unhappiness, fuel to my flames of passion, where I loved to watch how lovers parted, and wallowed in my own unhappiness, yet longed for more that I might weep again."
-(Confession of St. Augustine)
THE MIKADO
in Puppet & Mime format
(A Gerry Ferguson reduction)
in
Augustinian Church
3 nights only
12, 13, & 14 July
commencing at 9.00
No charge, but you may make a contribution as you leave the performance.
PARISH LIFE
"For many, the parish is similar to a petrol station. People attend service on Sunday, and what happens in the parish during the week is none of their business. Of course, the parish is much more than a petrol station. If the influence of the parish is confined to the parish, it then becomes inward-looking and boring. The parish has to be a place where its members are trained, supported and nourished 'outwardly, for service towards others'. John Wesley once said, 'The world is my parish; the parish is not my world.'"
-Michael Ruane, The Furrow, April, 2004, Page 247.
ALL TIME FAVOURITES
(The English Catholic journal, The Tablet, asked its readers to nominate their 20 favourite hymns. The results are given below. I wonder would an Irish congregation's selection differ greatly?)
- How great thou art, Carl Boberg (1850-1940) K. Hine.
- Dear Lord and Father of mankind, John Whittier (1807-92)
- My song is love unknown, Samuel Crossman (1624-83)
- Praise to the Holiest in the height, John Newman (1801-90)
- Amazing grace, John Newton (1725-1807)
- Be still, for the presence of the Lord, David Evans (b. 1957)
- Be thou my vision, Irish (8 c.) trans. Mary Byrne (1880-1931)
- Abide with me, John Henry Newman (1801-90)
- Christ be our light, Bernadette Farrell (b. 1957)
- He who would valiant be, Percy Dearmer (1867-1936)
- When I survey the wondrous cross, Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
- Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer, W. Williams (1717-91).
- Hail, Queen of Heav'n, John Lingard (1771-1851) ,
- I, the Lord of sea and sky, Daniel L. Schutte SJ (b. 1947)
- Immortal, invisible, W. Chalmers Smith (1825-1908)
- Let all mortal flesh keep silence, G. Moultrie (1829-85)
- Soul of my Saviour (anon)
- Shine Jesus shine, Graham Kendrick (b. 1950)
- Now the green blade riseth, J.M.C. Crum (1872-1958)
- Thine be the glory, Edmond Budry (1854-1932).
A CELTIC TIGER?
According to some latest research from the University of Kentucky involving 19,000 people it seems that some stress is good for us. Stressful situations lasting only short periods of time seem to tap into a primeval "fight or flight" response.
It puts me in mind of the story of the two British students spending a gap year in India. Foolishly they were walking from one village to another even though they'd been told that a man-eating tiger was in the neighbourhood. After a while there was a rustling noise nearby.
They stopped, and one of the students took a pair of running shoes out of his rucksack and put them on.
"I don't know why you're doing that," said his companion. "You'll never be able to outrun a tiger."
"I don't need to outrun the tiger," was the curt answer. "I only have to outrun you."
-The Rt Rev. Tom Butler, (BBC 4 Thought for the Day)
Home