Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: (Vigil) Jim Reddington, (Anniv).
11.00 John Crean (Long Walk), (Anniv).
6.30: Frank Barrett, (Anniv).

As I Was Saying...

As if we didn't have enough problems at the moment, news comes through from America of a mysterious disease decimating its colonies of bees. Beekeepers there have been struggling with the mysterious bee disappearance of the last few years, now being called colony collapse disorder, or CCD. Sounds trivial? Not according to Albert Einstein who is reported to have said, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only 4 years of life left"!

While Einstein may have indulged in hyperbole, there is no denying that if the honey bee disappeared, life would change radically. Nearly 100 crops, including apples, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, herbs, strawberries, soybeans, almonds, avocados, melons and pumpkins, all depend utterly on honey bee pollination.

CCD took a turn for the worse this year, killing off 1.1 million bee colonies across the States - that's 35 percent of the nation's colonies, more than ever before. So far, the disease has baffled experts. Is it caused by pesticides, or parasites within the bee colony itself? Most researchers now believe that these may be just two of several causes, including multiple suspicious viruses, working together to form a lethal combination that kills off bees. One way or another, agriculturalists here believe that it is only a matter of time before the disease reaches this part of the world. As with economics, no country is immune from international agricultural trends and diseases.

The bee is a beautiful example of the connectedness we find in nature. The 17th century English poet George Herbert captured this perfectly:

Bees work for man; and yet they never bruise
Their master's flow'r, but leave it having done,
as fair as ever and as fit to use;
So both the flower doth stay and honey run

You couldn't get a better definition of that rather overworked word; sustainability! The bee feeds off the nectar and produces food for us. Not only does he not destroy the flower but pollinates another along the way. Here is nature showing us how to make a profit without there always having to be a loser! It's the sort of lesson that we have yet to learn when it comes to the money markets. What's happening at the moment both to honey and to money speaks of a world that's out of kilter.

The poem by George Herbert is called 'Providence' - all 38 verses flow from a faith that everything is a gift, that all is connected and exists for the praise of God. When that particular thread is pulled the whole fabric eventually unravels.

One of the ironies of the present money crisis is that printed on the back of an American 10 dollar bill are the words "In God we Trust". But all the talk is about 'lack of confidence' and everything being 'out of control'. Maybe it's time for politicians to listen to poets, for our leaders to learn from nature, and for the managers of money to learn from the makers of honey the art of creating wealth without others having to suffer loss.

-Dick Lyng

The Professional Cleric

I recently read a slim and inexpensive book with the arresting title, "Clericalism: the death of Priesthood" by George B. Wilson, SJ. It is a well-researched volume based on extensive pastoral experience of priesthood in America. I am indebted to it for much of the theory and theology of clericalism and in this article.

The professional cleric gives thanks every day that he became a cleric, and just not a priest. It is not easy to define a professional cleric, he is easier to describe. Texans sometimes refer to Texas as not just a state, but also a state of mind. The same is true of the genus clericus clericus. It is a unique species. It has many subspecies, and it has, I believe, a deadly stranglehold on the priesthood in Ireland. It has many adherents, a substantial number among the ordained. A high price has been paid, the near-death of the priesthood in Ireland.

There is little or no evidence of clericalism in the life of Christ. It is more a social factor than anything else. It is found in all professions, but most of all among the ordained. Auctioneers speak of location, location, and location. When describing clerics, you mention suspicion, suspicion, and suspicion. Suspicion towards the laity, the media, and towards mere priests. There is a hankering after the good old days, and a wish that this newfangled concept 'laity' would go back into the woodwork, and concentrate exclusively on their three traditional duties of paying up, praying up, and particularly, shutting up. There is a hidden animosity towards the media, on whom almost all our problems are blamed. They have, after all, taken our rightful and traditional place; they are now the arbiters of public taste. There is resentment towards priests who will not upgrade themselves to clerics.

The black suit and the black collar from neck to waist are an added weight to his authority. He practically sleeps in it. The courts keep their wigs and gowns, look at the respect the judges get. It's all we have left! Is it not time we consign such apparel to the museums? If something was needed to identify us as priests, could we not have a universally recognised symbol or badge? Do clerics not look like black beetles in their colour of mourning? In his heart of hearts the professional cleric has no time for Parish Councils. He is wired only for transmitting, not for receiving.

-Fr Joseph McGuane, The Furrow, Oct. 2008, Pages 553-562.

Pending Events

Choir CD on Thursday Next

Don't forget the launch of the Augustinian Choir CD at Kenny's Bookshop on Thursday evening next, October 9th at 6.00. The launch will be performed by our good friend Rev. Patrick Towers. Much work has gone into the preparation of this and it would be great to see a full house. Take this notice as an open invitation! Posterity deserves (requires?) your presence! The wine will be excellent and the company still more excellent. It should be a very good evening.

Top

Valid HTML 4.01 Strict