Sunday Newsletter
Masses Today
6.30: Martin & Kathleen Coleman, (Anniv).
11.00: Patrick, Nora & Pauline Nolan, (Anniv).
6.30: John Joe Conneely, (Market St.), (Anniv).
- Masses for next Sunday, January 17th: 6.30 (Vigil) Roderick Carr; 11.00: Bridget, William and Bernie Mulkerrins;
- COLLECTIONS: The collection for last Sunday, January 3rd was €1,507.00. The collection for the Holy Day on Wednesday last, January 6th, was €616.00.
- OUTDOOR COLLECTION: The Notre Dame de Lourdes, Galway, annual church gate collection takes place this weekend, January 10th.
As I Was Saying...
Swine flu is on the wane, it seems: down from 27,000 patients in November to 919 last week. Great efforts were made by the general community to minimise its impact. Churches developed their own precautionary practices, or suspended risky ones: we actively discourage 'Communion on the tongue', receiving from the chalice, and we have suspended the 'Sign of Peace.' The HSE encouraged priests and ministers of the Eucharist to wash their hands with alcohol rubs before and after distributing Holy Communion. Holy water was removed from the fonts.
However, even the ill wind of pestilence is capable of filling some sails! Italian entrepreneur Luciano Marabese invented a high-tech Holy Water dispenser for use in churches. This instrument is equipped with an infra-red beam. When a hand is passed under the sensor, the machine dispenses holy water! Obviously, this eliminates the need to dip the hand in the stagnant stoup, leaving the germs to bathe there undisturbed!.
These are practical solutions to a public health issue. But it can feel odd - or perhaps even offensive - to associate infra-red beams and alcohol rubs with things that we consider sacred. "If I am afraid to receive from the chalice or to bless myself from the font, then my faith must be very weak indeed!" This is quite a common reaction from some devout Catholics.
This 'naïve spirituality' arises from a false dualism. We divide our lives into two distinct areas: the physical and the spiritual. The physical area is the 'space' in which we eat, drink, watch football, mind the children, and risk sharing our germs in crowded offices or classrooms. The spiritual 'space' is somewhere else entirely; it is ring-fenced and sanitized from the physical.
We can deposit in this 'storage space' all that stuff that gives our world coherence: why we're here, what we're for, together with our religion and all that pertains to it. All of this is somehow insulated from 'the real world'. Hence, 'holy items', such as holy water, chalices and communion breads, and so on, can hardly be the bearers of germs from the 'real world'!
But wait a minute! All the major world religions challenge us to connect what we believe with how we live. We are not constructed in such a way that we can successfully live our lives in two separate compartments: the physical world, which we often regard as 'the real world', and the spiritual world, consisting of what goes on in our heads and hearts, our values and beliefs. We know very well that everything impacts on the rest: heart, mind, body, and spirit all coexist in the same melting pot.
Any threat to our physical well-being is a reality that must be addressed. It exists in the same world as the things that we consider sacred. We can't separate our beliefs from the rest of what we are. As Dr Rowan Williams of Canterbury has written: 'Only the body saves the soul. The inner life needs the gifts that only the external life can deliver'.
-Dick Lyng
Items of Great Interest
- PRIORY OFFICE PLANS: Some months ago we alerted you to plans we had for the revamping of the Priory Mass Office. The present structure is deficient in a number of ways. To begin with, it is far too small. If a mother with one buggy enters, the office is suddenly full! It is also too cold and exposed to the prevailing winds! So we are relocating to the adjacent Children's Liturgy Room. (The children have been using the large dining room in the Priory for their Sunday liturgical exercises since last September). An opening will be made from the present office into the old Liturgy room and the present office will continue to serve as an entrance-cum-storage space. The liturgy room will be equipped as an office. The work will take from three weeks to a month.
- TEMPORARY LOCATION: Meanwhile, our temporary office will be located in the sacristy area, adjacent to the Mother of Good Counsel Shrine. We will arrange to have notices to that effect made up and posted at appropriate locations. We apologise for any inconveniences caused for the duration of the works.
- CONGRATULATIONS: Our own Jimmy Duggan marked a milestone in his already distinguished history with the celebration of his 80th birthday on Saturday night in the Westwood Hotel. We wish you many more years, Jimmy.
Fruits of the 'Giving Tree'
Dear Dick,
Just a short note to express our gratitude here in Doughiska for the contribution received before Christmas from your parish 'Giving Tree'. Each year we use your contribution for different needs, for example part of your contribution went towards helping parents from Brazil to visit their son who lost a limb in an accident.
Many thanks again, I wish you and all your community every grace and blessing for 2010.
Yours Sincerely,
Martin Glynn, PP.
Dear Fr Dick
We wish to thank the Augustinian Community and your wonderful congregations for the marvellous generosity they displayed once again this year by way of your Christmas 'Giving Tree'. Our service users were most thankful and appreciative of the gifts received. Distribution of the gifts formed a central part of their Christmas lunch at 'No 4' on December 16th.
Very best wishes for 2010.
Yours sincerely,
Mary MacLynn
CROI NUA SPRING TERM 2010
Croi Nua provides a study course on the Bible. This term will continue on John's Gospel and it's message for our times. It is led by Patsy Kelly MSC and Michael Screene MSC. Morning Mass follows the course for those who wish to stay. This will take place every Tuesday, from January 12th 2010 to March 23rd 10.15 -12.15 and repeated from 7.30-9.30 in the evening.
GOOD NEWS EACH SUNDAY
A group of people prayerfully reflect on the call of the Sunday Mass Readings and their wisdom for our lives. Facilitators: Patsy Kelly MSC and Michael Screene MSC. This session takes place every Thursday from January 14th to March 27th, between 7.30-9.30p.m. For more information, call 520960 or 087 6833195.
Clerical Child Abuse Report
Madam,
- Niall O'Donohoe (Irish Times, December 7th) referred to Prof Neil O'Doherty's lecture in 1980 concerning sexual abuse of children and the resulting severe criticism Prof O'Doherty received for even suggesting such things were happening in Ireland of that time.
Now I feel strongly that it is in the context of that time and later that this issue should be studied and not the partially media driven witch-hunt and scapegoating of auxiliary bishops of Dublin past and present. Truth and justice is not served in such scapegoating.
As was revealed, of course serious errors of judgment were made by the church authorities, but they were made in the context of the time. This is not by way of making excuses for the great damage that so many suffered by these crimes of depravity committed by men who totally betrayed the scared trust given to them at ordination.
Less than 20 years ago most educated people had never heard of the word paedophilia. As far as I am aware, professional and statutory bodies did not know how to deal with the problem when it arose. The judiciary would give out suspended sentences with a warning to offenders. The social services and Garda would often ignore information given to them of allegations in their area. They were extremely hesitant to intrude into the privacy of a family where such abuse might be happening.
The psychological professions sent offenders on treatment programmes and would often certify such people back to their location, or ministry in the case of priests, not realising that a very high percentage reoffended.
Finally, the Department of Education more often than not ignored very abusive teachers in primary and secondary schools throughout the country for decades and Teachers' Unions likewise did very little to remove such teachers.
It was only about 15 years ago, when survivors of abuse felt free to tell their stories and be heard in the process, that it finally dawned on society - and not just the church - how appalling a crime sexual abuse is and the great damage it has caused.
Of course one can say the leaders in the Catholic Church should have known better, but in the context of the time they unfortunately did not. They failed - as other professions likewise failed. If bishops have to resign, then, in justice, leaders of other professions and statutory bodies who made serious errors of judgment in this matter should likewise resign.
- Yours, etc,
DR GP LEWIS,
Ramleh Park,
Milltown, Dublin 6.