Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30 (Vigil) Margaret & Michael Mitchell, (Anniv).
11.00: Pierce Murray, (Anniv).
6.30: Mary Moran, (Anniv)

As I Was Saying...

The world is small. Terror in London reverberates. Airports crammed, holidays delayed, meetings missed, and the prospect of more queues to come. Where will it all end? Frustrating, for sure, but a small price to pay if a plot to commit mass murder has indeed been thwarted.

Even if we've no intention of flying anywhere, and have no anxieties about family or friends being in danger, the whole scene is unnerving. We might rightly be grateful that an immediate threat has been averted, but knowing that can paradoxically make us feel more itchy, less secure. What else is out there, that might not be intercepted in time? For how long can the hare stay ahead of the hound? That sense of brooding unease might be less spectacular for the terrorists' purposes than a series of mid-air explosions, but it can still do significant damage. Thursday last affected everyone.

It can rob us of a sense of proportion. Compared with the risk of falling victim to a bomb, I am more likely to be killed or injured as a result of sitting into my own car. I take my life into my hands every time I cross the road, or get up on a bicycle (or worse still, a motorbike!) or walk a few hundred yards to the local shop. And with bodies piling up day by day in Iraq and Lebanon and Israel, and with hunger and disease still taking a massive toll in other countries, we must in these parts be among the safest people on the planet.

These statistics will be of no comfort whatsoever for someone who has been maimed for life by a bomb, or for those whose relatives have been snatched away in such atrocities. And it's not an argument against vigilance, and proper resourcing for police and intelligence services at a time of great danger.

But a disproportionate fear of terror can easily lead to the demonising of particular individuals and groups, and undermine important values and liberties. Once again, the Guilford Four and the Birmingham Six come to mind. It's not only for the bombers that we need to stay alert.

We know that there is no such thing as absolute security. We are reminded of this every day of our lives. Savings disappear, investments collapse, relationships disintegrate, illness reduces the fittest to a shadow. And death can strike without warning.

Our existence is insecure, and the Christian faith assumes this. It sets out a vision of a world without conflict, suffering and pain, and it mandates believers to strive to bring such a world closer. But it offers no illusions that the nasty bits can be avoided. What it promises is a protection which remains robust even when the very worst comes to the worst. Come trouble, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, even death, says Saint Paul, "there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord."

It was a bad week for humanity; but it could well have been so much worse. We should thank God, and the cops, that we were spared the carnage this time!.

-Dick Lyng

Items of Some Interest

Iraqi Christians Flee Anarchy

Half of Iraq's Christian population has left the country in the last five years, according to Bishop Andreas Abouna of Baghdad. In an interview with the Catholic charity "Aid to the Church in Need," which supports persecuted Christians around the world, Bishop Abouna said that the number who have fled Baghdad could even be as high as 75 per cent.

Speaking during a visit to London last week, the bishop described how the state of anarchy in Iraq was driving away his flock. "What we are hearing now is the alarm bell for Christianity in Iraq. When so many are leaving from a small community like ours, you know that it is dangerous - dangerous for the future of the Church in Iraq," he said.

The bishop estimated that 600,000 Christians had left since 2002 - most of them going to Turkey, Jordan and Syria, where they sought sanctuary, initially on a temporary basis. The signs of them returning in the near future, however, were "increasingly bleak".

While stressing that Christians were not being targeted any more than other groups, Bishop Abouna spoke of how the faithful felt especially isolated and vulnerable as their numbers dwindle. Those left behind were the most vulnerable and had been too poor or too weak to leave. Many were out of a job and lacking food and other vital supplies.

A year ago Bishop Abouna lobbied hard to ensure that the freedom of Christians was enshrined in Iraq's constitution, but now, he says, the political process has failed and he describes a situation of complete turmoil. "Everyone is asking: when will the violence stop? They want to rest. They cannot live like this - every day there are these terrible things."

-The Tablet, August 12, 2006.

Still In Harmony!

Congratulations: Warm congratulations Jimmy & Nellie Dooley who are celebrating 60 years of wedded bliss on this very day! At a time when Hitler was bombing the hell out of Europe, Jimmy was 'love-bombing' Nellie Nestor as he cutely cooed himself into her affections during those dreary months of 1942! Appropriately enough, they first met in the Junior Choir.

They were married on August 13th, 1946 by Father Michael Connolly, Provincial of the Irish Augustinians at that time. Incidentally, Jimmy and Nellie were the only couple ever married by the said Father Connolly. (Perhaps he decided to quit while winning!).

As you know, Jimmy and Nellie are still hale and hearty, and Jimmy is still a very valued member of the Augustinian choir here. They are the parents of seven children. Jimmy and Nellie, have a wonderful, joyful day. The parishioners of St. Augustine's wish you many more happy years together.

The Late Willy Fahy

Willy Fahy, a great friend of the Augustinian here, died on Monday evening in University College Hospital, aged 89. He was born in the Temperance Hall (close to St Patrick's NS today), where his parents were caretakers. Willy was the second youngest of 13 children of whom Agnes (Wade), John (lives in London) and Frank (Australia) are still living. He was a keen sportsman, and loved boxing. He was the Connacht Boxing Champion.

Despite being born in the heart of the city, he spent most of his long adult life abroad. After a short time in London during the war, he emigrated to America. He was drafted into the army where he was trained in science and research. On his release he worked with Shell Oil Company. When Shell decided to leave New York, Willy bid them farewell and joined Bord Fáilte as publicity officer there.

When he retired from Bord Fáilte in New York in 1982, he divided his year between America and Galway. Returning every April, he was a familiar figure at the county shows, races, regattas and festivals until he left for the sunnier climes of San Antonio, Texas, after the Oyster Festival at the end of September. But once back in the States, Willy travelled thousands of miles, the length and breadth of the States, visiting every travel agent conference he could possibly squeeze into his busy schedule, and promoting holidays in Galway. Many of his journeys were taken at his own expense.

In the 1960s Willy famously escorted Bishop Michael Browne when he went to America to collect funds for his cathedral. When the Augustinian Church here was being reroofed in the late 1970s, Willy came to the rescue again. The Prior of the day, Bernard Carolan went to America on a fundraising trip, and Willy proved to be a very effective chaperone.

He was at Mass in the Augustinian most Sundays every Summer and he had a greeting for everyone. He was a generous, warm man who contributed to the many communities in which he lived. But Galway was his first love. May he rest in peace.

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