Sunday Newsletter
Masses Today
11.00: Bernard & Elizabeth Coyne, (Anniv); Brendan O'Donnell (Month's Mind).6.30: Kate Folan, (1st Anniv).
- Masses next Sunday, April 15th: 6.30: Christina O'Halloran; John Burke; 11.00: John & Margaret O'Mahoney; 6.30: Una & Michael Beatty.
- COLLECTION: The collection last Sunday was €1,080.00.
- MONDAY: Since Monday is a public holiday, there will be no 8.30 Mass here and the Priory Office will be closed all day.
As I Was Saying...
This year is the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the Easter Triduum by Pius XII in 1957. Before this the Holy Week liturgies were celebrated early in the morning on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sparsely attended, the 'official' Church ceremonies were little understood or appreciated. As far as the people were concerned, the Easter Triduum was a non-runner. It was far too complex and best left to the experts!
The general public found ceremonial high points elsewhere: Tenebrae, at which 15 candles were extinguished gradually as Psalms and Lamentations were sung; the three hours of sermons on Good Friday afternoon; further sermons that night on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. There was no Easter Vigil as we understand it today. Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday morning and it was almost an anti-climax, bringing life back to normal again. It is not today or yesterday that the people began to absent themselves from the Easter Ceremonies!
Right from the beginning, there has been a strong ambiguity surrounding the Holy Week-Easter event. Jesus had been executed as a criminal, and this was an embarrassment. St. Paul said as much, referring to the cross as 'a scandal'. Other 'secular' images have recently served a similar function. The photos of the abuse of detainees in Iraq highlighted the brutality of some US soldiers. The pictures of the brutalised opposition leaders in Zimbabwe portrayed powerfully the oppression of Mugabe's regime. The cross became a symbol of Roman cruelty.
The oppressor of course is keen to clean up such images. Just three hundred years after Jesus' death, Christians were also tempted to do so. The Roman Emperor Constantine brought Christianity to the heart of the Empire. The unjust enemy that Jesus exposed on the cross was suddenly a best friend. It wasn't long before the cross became a symbol of righteous crusade. Christians had to take part in the slavery, war and inequality of the Empire, and soon found justifications for it. Covering up the scandal of the cross runs the risk of legitimising injustice.
From Constantine to the 12th century, Christian writers tended not to dwell upon the Passion. However, the 13th century saw an enormous cultural shift, with a new focus on the humanity of Christ. This was one precondition for a growing focus on the Passion. The other was probably the Black Death. This is the world of Francis Assisi, the first stigmatist. Passion Plays become popular, and the Stations of the Cross are introduced. The Stations ended with the placing of Christ in the tomb. And the Christian is invited to follow with devotion 'the Man of Sorrows'. A feature common to all these practices was the neglect of the Resurrection.
The reform of the Easter Liturgy was an attempt to redress this balance, to restore the Resurrection to the centre of Christian liturgy. The 'new' emphasis falls on our dignity in Christ, and a less pessimistic assessment of our role 'here below'.
Nevertheless, Easter attempts to engage us with raw reality: death and the hope of resurrection. Christmas, on the other hand, is popular precisely because it avoids reality by suspending it for a few days! Consequently, Easter never had, and never will have the same popular appeal.
-Dick Lyng
Items of Some Interest
- Congratulations: For the first time ever, we had an adult baptism and Confirmation during the Easter Vigil last night. We congratulate Helen Ibhijie, a native of Ghana, and we are delighted to welcome her into the Catholic community of St. Augustine's here.
- Easter Water: You are welcome to take the Easter Water, blessed at the Easter Vigil, to your homes. It is customary to use this water as a reminder of our own baptisms, and to replenish the holy water fonts in your homes. By the way, all the water used during the Easter Services was painstakingly boiled beforehand.
- Easter Dues: A big 'thank you' to all those who have already handed in your 'Easter Dues'. Those still 'shy in the pot' can hand them in at the Priory Office at any time.
- Trócaire Fast Box: The same applies to your Family Fast Box. If you haven't already handed it in, you may leave it in to the Priory Office during the week, or bring it along with you on Sunday next. I will leave two weeks elapse before counting it and sending it off to Trocaire.
- Seder Meal: Thanks to all who prepared the Seder Meal on Tuesday night last. Over fifty people sat down to dine and it really was a very enjoyable and very educational celebration. But of course there was a lot of preparation involved. This was done by a group drawn from both churches.
- Thanks: Thanks to all who helped out with the Easter Ceremonies. What you see is of course but the tip of the iceberg. An enormous amount of work behind the scene goes into their preparation. Thanks in particular to Gerry, Cathal, Bernadette for planning the ceremonies and organising the 'props'; a word of gratitude to Margaret Cunningham, Mary O h-Ici and Margaret Cunnane for the wonderful floral display; to our Altar Servers, Sam Ashmore and Georgia Ryan for their graceful liturgical antics; and we thank our teenagers for 'stepping up to the plate' at the eleventh hour! Finally, of course, thanks to Sonny, Pat and the choir without whom our liturgies would not be the same.
- Workshop & Retreat: St. Angela's College, Sligo is hosting two gatherings: (1) a one-day seminar on Practical ideas for Liturgy with young people on April 21st and (2) an overnight retreat for those involved in education, titled "Finding Jesus in a Busy Life" on April 27th. For more information, contact 071-9143580.
Having it both Ways with the Church
Madam, - Patsy McGarry (March 28th) writes: "It is to be hoped the Catholic Church will conduct funerals for those who have lost faith with the same warmth and generosity shown in Aughawillan on April 1st, 2006".
It is unfortunate that Mr McGarry, in his piece about John McGahern's funeral, should use the death of an obviously good man to try to bully the Church into conforming to the needs of secular Ireland. The following comments are intended in no way to reflect on John McGahern or the goodness of his life. Rather my focus is on some media commentators, and some in political life, who speak about Ireland today as secular, pluralist and mature, which often translates as not influenced by or adhering to the Catholic Faith.
Is it not reasonable that in a mature, secular state a citizen who lives without the Church should die without it? Is it not unreasonable for a citizen who gives no support, no time and no energy to a religion and in some cases actively undermines it throughout their life, to expect that religion to conduct that person's funeral using some of its most sacred rites?
Surely if as a State we are mature we should respect Catholicism for what it is, a religion, and not expect from the Church, as if it were an arm of the State, a funeral or any other service, no more than we would expect the Muslim or Jewish Community to look after us on the basis of a phone call from an undertaker.
The Catholic Church will continue, I'm sure, to serve the people of Ireland to the best of its ability in the future, but with rapidly diminishing numbers (there is a death notice for a priest almost every day) and fewer resources, the days of regarding what the church has to offer as your right as a citizen because you are Irish are long gone.
It is time to grow up. It is time for the journey inward. And if you dissociate yourself from the Church in life, be consistent in death and leave the Catholic Church to pursue its mission in serenity and peace.
- Yours, etc,
Fr. GREGORY O'BRIEN, P.P, New Cabra Road, Dublin 7.
An Aphorism For Every Crisis
- Indecision is the key to flexibility.
- You cannot tell which way the train went by looking at the track.
- You cannot tell which way the train went by looking at the track.
- Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
- Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world.
- Friends may come, and friends may go, but enemies accumulate.
- All things being equal, fat people use more soap.
- If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone you can blame.
- There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
Helpers Needed
Accord, the group that prepare couples for Marriage in the Catholic Church, require co-workers urgently. The organisation is looking for people who:
- Are married or have been married for at least 5 years.
- Have the ability to convey a positive attitude to Marriage.
- Have an openness and commitment to work with a Catholic organisation on a voluntary basis.
- Relate easily to people.
- Are able to be part of a team.
- Are sensitive, warm, caring and accepting.
You are invited to an Information Evening on the 25th April 2007 @ 8 pm in The Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Arus de Brun, Newtownsmith, Galway: 091-562331