Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: St. Rita Triduum Mass.
11.00: Tom Tierney, (Anniv).
6.30: Eamon Lynskey, (Anniv).

AS I WAS SAYING.....

Young Michael McIlveen has joined "the long, sad litany of those murdered by sectarian hatred", the Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor, Most Rev Patrick Walsh, told mourners at the funeral of the 15-year-old boy in Ballymena, Co Antrim, on Wednesday.

Ballymena, in the home patch of Ian Paisley, was always regarded as a sectarian blackspot. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 28,717, 75% of whom are Protestant and 25% Catholic. These statistics partly explain Paisley's unassailable electoral success there since the 1960s. If a social engineer were to select a 'laboratory' in which to conduct experiments in sectarianism, he need look no further than Ballymena! Conditions there are ideal for such an exercise.

Speaking of those who bludgeoned the teenager to death, the Bishop Walsh said, "A young person's heart very soon becomes a storeplace for hate if exposed to a culture of intolerance, aggression and violence, a culture of sectarianism." This exposure often began, he said, "when the young person is forced to listen to hate-filled words". Such words fuelled "weapons of murderous intent", he said, and quoted Psalm 57:
"their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords."

The bludgeoning to death of this young kid highlights the fact that, despite the best efforts politicians and church people, the sectarianism that has bedevilled Northern Ireland for several centuries remains. The Good Friday Agreement is a mere beginning.

Research carried out four years ago by the University of Ulster in neighbourhoods divided by the so called 'peace lines', those physical barriers erected to keep neighbouring communities apart, indicated that the gap between the two communities has grown wider since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. This they found especially among the eighteen to twenty-five year old age group, 68% of whom claimed never to have had a meaningful conversation with anyone from the other side.

Jews, Moslems and Palestinian Christians have the same problems: cultural and ethnic rivalry, grievances real or imagined, rival claims over the same land or sacred turf, all contribute to a poisonous sectarian environment that can rob a young man of his life, and an entire community of its health.

But I fear the root of problem goes even deeper. When Karl Barth, the great Protestant theologian, read a manifesto supporting the Kaiser's war efforts in August 1914 that was signed by all his theology professors, he was shocked. It made him realize that all of them had in fact lost sight of the true nature of God. Barth believed that religion would only cease to feed sectarianism and conflict when people learned to worship a God who couldn't or wouldn't be tamed or domesticated in the service of their human desires, ideologies or religion. In light of what's going on in the world today it's an insight that's relevant and much needed.

-Dick Lyng

Items of Interest

Posture in Church

Within the diocese of Galway there is uncertainty about when to stand, kneel, or sit during Mass. (This is particularly true for us here in the Augustinian, with our recent history of disruption and restoration.) This is especially evident at times like the celebration of Marriage or at Funeral Masses when people gather from different parishes and diocese even. In order to introduce a common policy on posture within the diocese the following outline is presented:

Obviously, we will have to make exception (in the case of kneeling) with those people in our two front rows. As you see, great ephasis is placed on standing as the normal posture throughout the greater part of the Mass. Standing expresses the readiness for action of an Easter people lifted up to greet its risen Lord. We will begin this weekend. The 'common' practice will also apply on weekdays.

Fundraising Report

Our Fundraising Team, charged with the task of collecting of funds to finance recent restoration work, has been remarkably successful to date. The fundraising team consists of: Anthony Ryan, (Chairman), John Coyle (Vice Chairman), Brian Colgan, Cathal Cunningham, Robert Deacy, Des Kavanagh, Michael O'Hare, Phyllis McNamara, Dermot Murray, Liam O'Connell, and Tom O'Connor.

We are deeply grateful to them for taking on this most intimidating task in the first place, and for the commitment and stamina they have displayed over the last year!

As you can see from the figures below, we are well on the way to achieving the €3.7 million target we set for ourselves last July, a mere 10 months ago. So far, 193 people have contributed. The success of the Project is due entirely to the generosity of these people. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our vision possible.

Thanks also goes to those volunteers who have worked hard following up on the letters we mailed to parishioners and patrons, and to many others with Augustinian connections. There were many generous responses as a result of their work. In fact, the 'general phase' has brought in €170,000 so far, and this particular phase is far from over.

From calls, and talking to visitors to the Augustinian, we know there are many people who might wish to assist with the project but for whom we have no contact details. If you wish to make a donation to help us achieve our goal, please: let one of the priests know, telephone 091 567942 or just fill in your name, address and contact details and post it to:

The Augustinian Project
1st Floor Hynes Building
St Clare's Walk, Merchants' Road
Galway

Details and donations are treated in the strictest confidence

The €570,000 still required sounds enormous (and indeed it is!), but, given the road we have already travelled, it is quite manageable. We will keep you informed regularly.

Target: €3,700,000

Already Raised: €3,130,000

Still required: €570,000

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