Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: Teresa O'Connor, (Month's Mind).
11.00: Raymond Moloney, (Anniv).

As I Was Saying...

The Catholic Church pulled out all the stops for the two-and-a-half hour funeral send-off for Senator Edward Kennedy's during the week.

This was understandable. The Kennedys were seen in many quarters as the secular wing of the Catholic Church. They wore their Catholicism on their sleeve, but, Republicans would argue, it never penetrated beyond that superficial level!

Predictably, the theological lynch-mob was out in force. They were outraged at the honours given to the late Senator. They found ample outlets for their spleen in various blogs such as this: The Funeral Liturgy today was canonization of Kennedy. The Intercessory Prayers seemed to be bulletpoints lifted from one of his Convention speeches! Our Catholic leaders should be ashamed of themselves for allowing such hypocrisy to have taken place in a Catholic church. (I won't comment on a certain notorious pro-abortion President who was allowed to eulogize at a Catholic Mass for a notorious pro-abortion "Catholic" Senator.)

The central and only issue for this lynch-mob was Kennedy's failure to support the pro-life cause. They took particular exception to the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, presiding at the funeral Mass. O'Malley responded with a neat piece of verbal shin-kicking. Warning against overzealousness, he said that "changing hearts, not ostracism, is vital to the spread of the Catholic faith".

To those who objected to the Church providing a Catholic funeral for Kennedy, he responded, "In the strongest terms I disagree with that position. These attitudes do irreparable damage to the Church. If any cause is motivated by judgment, anger or vindictiveness, it will be doomed to failure." Cardinal O'Malley pointedly reminded his accusers that Jesus has told us to love one another as He loves us.

On February 17, 1673, the ill French actor and dramatist Jean Moliere followed the conventions of his profession, 'The Show Must Go On.' When the play was over he had to be carried home, where he died unexpectedly.

Relations between the Church and the theatre in France were poor. In fact, if a dying actor did not formally reject his profession before death, burial in consecrated ground was denied. Moliere's sudden death prevented this formality. Appeals to the archbishop of Paris were fruitless. Moliere's widow sought the aid of Louis XIV, then reigning gloriously. Louis enquired of the Archbishop how deep consecrated ground may run. Back came the clear answer: "Fourteen feet." "Very good," said Louis. "Let Moliere's grave be dug in the churchyard sixteen feet deep, beneath consecrated ground, two feet below the wrath of God and the scorn of the clergy!"

Kennedy's funeral and the ultra-Catholics come to mind!

Integrity is essential if society is to remain even moderately functional. Yet we can sympathise with the writer who defined hypocrisy as 'the tribute that human weakness pays to human ideals.' Kennedy, by his own admission, was a very flawed person. Yet he had more humanity in his left thumb than you would find in the entire theological lynch-mob.

-Dick Lyng

Flu Guidelines

Quite a few people approached us suggesting that we take some basic precautions in our Church in the light of the present flu pandemic. The virus is typically spread via coughing, sneezing or touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the nose or mouth. Certain liturgical practices present their own obvious dangers. Our common practice of blessing ourselves from a common stagnant Holy Water font comes immediately to mind. So, until such time as this emergency passes, we will remove the Holy Water from all fonts.

For the time being also, we will cease the practice of shaking hands at the Sign of Peace. In addition, we offer you the following guidelines regarding the reception of Holy Communion

  1. We recommend that communion be taken in the hand only. Given the manner in which the virus is primarily passed on (above), reception of Communion on the tongue is discouraged in the Augustinian for the present.
  2. We recommend that you do not drink from the chalice, except for people whose special health conditions require it, such as coeliacs.
  3. If you do decide to receive from the chalice, we recommend that you do it by 'intinction', that is, you receive the host on your hand from the priest or the minister, you then proceed to the chalice on the altar and you dip the host into the chalice before receiving it in your mouth. We anticipate your kind co-operation.

AN AUGUSTINIAN MOMENT.

The Rolling Stones put it well many years ago in their famous song, "I can't get no satisfaction". While we mightn't admire the grammar, we understand the sentiment. John O'Donohue described that song as the Stones "Augustinian moment." What O'Donohue meant was that the same thought was expressed more famously by St Augustine when he wrote many centuries ago, "My heart is restless, O God, until it rests in you."

These words are not an effort to shuffle my readers back into the fold now that things generally are going belly-up all around us. Or that to paraphrase the words of the poet TS Eliot, 'in times of recession (and depression) we seek out the Temple'.

No, this is about simply stating a well-worn truth: those who have a religious faith tend to live happier lives. For the simple reason that when we arrive at the point when we realise how little holidays or sport or shopping actually deliver, we get huge solace from a hinterland of faith and worship that provides a framework or a scaffolding that helps us to deal with the Big Questions that every thinking human being has to address: What's it all about? Is this all there is? Is there a God?

- BRENDAN HOBAN, Times and Seasons, p. 27.

Day for Ministers & Leaders

This 'Formation Day' was originally intended for readers only. But, at the suggestion of the Director, we have expanded our 'target audience' (!) to include all those in positions of leadership within the parish. (see below). It is essentially a Retreat Day for the parish as it embarks upon another pastoral year.

Most people at Mass on Sunday hear the Word of God only in that formal setting. Their only regular exposure to Scripture is from the lips of the reader and the preacher there. That lays a heavy responsibility on the reader, as well as the preacher. That responsibility has two elements:

  1. an appreciation and understanding of the scriptures generally, and of the passage being proclaimed in particular; and
  2. some familiarity with the 'technical' skills involved in public reading, like voice projection, proper use of the microphone, and so on.

We have now completed the task of organising a Training Session for both Sunday and Weekday readers, and for other groups and individuals involved in Leadership roles in the Parish. I would have in mind in particular members of the Steering Committee, Liturgy Group and perhaps Choir members. We have secured a venue:

The Sacred Heart Retreat and Conference Centre, Rosary Lane, Taylor's Hill. We have decided on a date:

Saturday, September 26th, from 10.00 to 4.30. Refreshments will be supplied.

Father Michael Gilroy, Lecturer in The Newman Institute, Ballina, and priest of the Killala Diocese, has kindly agreed to act as Director for the day. Michael's area of expertise is Liturgy.

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