Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: Michael Francis Flaherty, (Anniv).
11.00: Larry Carter, (Anniv).

As I Was Saying...

The sporting season is approaching its climax. On Sunday last, little-known Young E. Yang caused one of the great sporting upsets of the year by defeating Tiger Woods for the 2009 PGA championship. The GAA season too approaches its glorious summit. The Tour of Ireland provides Lance Armstrong, the most successful cyclist ever, with an unfamiliar parochial platform! Meanwhile, the Athletics World Championships saw Usain 'Lightening' Bolt deliver astounding performances. But there was no shortage of controversies. Did a man win the women's 800 metres?

But for every winner there has got to be losers, and the ones you really feel sorry for are those who almost but didn't quite make it to the medals. Our own Dervla O'Rourke fell into that category. To win is to set the seal on fame and immortality, or if you lose early on, no one's quite sure whether you were an outclassed 'also-ran', or merely a world-beater on an off day. But to fall short of the medals, to give everything you've got, and to find that this is not quite enough - that's tough. Of course, for a few (like O'Rourke, we hope), it is just immortality delayed. It is just a matter of time before they take the crown. For others, it was this time or never. They have lost their only chance.

It's a fairly common experience - the jobs we almost but didn't quite get, the horse we backed heavily (and confidently!) to be beaten by a short head; the brilliant politician who, through a quirk of timing or circumstance, didn't quite make it to the top job, and ever after was known as one of 'the best leaders we never had.' (Denis Healey in the UK is a good example).

We've got patron saints for many human activities. I think runners-up deserve a patron saint of their own. How about St Peter? I know of only one race in the New Testament, and Peter lost it. He raced to the opened tomb to find out what had happened to the body of Jesus. But 'the other disciple' beat him into second place. However, in the end it was Peter, by no means the most gifted of the disciples, who was entrusted with the chief responsibility for carrying on Christ's work.

Many sports began as religious rituals. In fact, of the five-day program of the original Olympics, athletics occupied just two and a half days. The remainder was devoted to religious ritual. Athletes offered oaths, prayers, and sacrifices to Zeus and they presented gifts at the statues of past Olympic victors who had been deified.

However, the earliest Christians didn't go in for sport. In the Roman arena, they were the sport! In any case, early Christianity was a religion for losers. St Paul said there was no point in looking for the wise, the noble or the powerful amongst his followers. But, comparing life to a marathon race, he assured them that though they might not win a champion's crown, if they stuck it out to the end, they would get a prize of immeasurable worth - a place in God's kingdom of love, peace and joy and a seat at the victory banquet. It is of course my dear wish that Derval O'Rourke will ultimately get this 'prize of immeasurable worth' but not before she lands a few Olympic gold medals first! Paul tended to set his sights rather low!

-Dick Lyng

The Augustinian Order

How it Works and Where it is?

There are 2,845 Augustinians in 47 countries around the globe.

420 members (16 per cent) are in United States/Canada

814 members (28 per cent) are in Latin America

1245 members (43 per cent) are in Europe

216 members (7 per cent) are in Asia/Pacific

150 members (6 per cent) are in Africa

The Prior General today is Robert Prevost, from Chicago. Having spent the greater part of his priestly life on the missions in Peru, he was elected as Prior General, the world leader, on 14th September 2001. By happy or unhappy coincidence, that day happened to be his 46th birthday!

The Augustinians have their most pronounced presence in the following locations:

The governance of the Augustinian Order is possibly best described by beginning at the local level. Each community is a fraternity, with a leader who is called a Prior. This word is taken from the Latin phrase, prior inter pares, meaning that he is "first among equals". In some older orders such as the Benedictines, the leader is the "superior", that is, the one who is "higher". In the Augustinian tradition, the leader stands not "higher", but as an equal in the middle of the circle on the same level as all other community members.

The communities in a number of Augustinian houses form a district called a Province. Just as each house has a Prior, each Province has a Provincial. The one who secures an absolute majority of the votes of the Province is elected Provincial. The Provincial appoints a Council of four. The Provincial and his Council are the usual agents of moving members from one house to another, but within the Province.

The Prior General and his Council have an ambassadorial role between the Augustinian Order and the Vatican, assist in maintaining a positive spirit among the brethren, propose and facilitate initiatives that are international in scope, and generally facilitate communication and coordination among the Augustinian Provinces.

The local Prior and the Provincial are in office for four years, which are renewable (through re-election, in the case of the Provincial, and through re-appointment in the case of the Prior) for one more term. The Prior General has a term of six years. He can be re-elected for another six years. But then he must take his place at the end of the queue, to begin the climb of the greasy pole again! Not really! Unlike Kilkenny's great D.J. Carey, no Prior General was ever allowed make a come-back!

-Dick Lyng.

Community Changes

Our Prior, Niall Coghlan falls victim to the changes resulting from the recent Provincial Chapter. He is moving to Dublin to work as Curate in our parish in Meath Street in Dublin's Liberties. Niall worked there before, and he looks forward to resuming where he left off 12 years ago! Besides, as a Dubliner and a keen student of zoology, he is well aware that even aging elephants go back to the valley of their birth.

Niall will be missed around the place. He will be missed particularly in the 'Bish' where he was a faithful and effective full-time chaplain over the last few years. I don't think anyone was more surprised than himself when he grew to like the job!

He initiated the lovely practice of encouraging the individual classes to come up to the Augustinian here and to approach the regular morning Mass here as their 'class Masses'. There they organised the readings, composed their prayers and sang a few songs, much to the edification of our regular congregations. He also introduced the Sunday evening 'Youth Mass' every other Sunday. This was specifically directed at the Senior Cycle secondary school students of both sexes in the city. It was quite a vibrant Mass and it evoked a good response.

Niall came here as Prior and Director of Formation for the Province. The latter appointment is widely regarded in Augustinian circles as the religious equivalent of rugby's 'Hospital Pass'! He put three aspirants through his hands - two of whom are still standing: Colm O'Mahony will begin his second year in Rome in September and Turlough Quinn has already gone to the States to do his Novitiate.

Again, Niall applied himself to that task with admirable dedication. Strangely enough, scarcity of candidates doesn't lighten the burden. In fact, the contrary is the case. It is far easier to look after ten novices than two! (To revert to the zoological world for a moment, any cattle drover will tell you that it is much easier to drive an entire herd than to cajole and coax an individual beast! Of course that metaphor is just that!)

We wish you every happiness in your new appointment, Niall, and we will miss your pleasant presence in the community.

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