Gerry O’Hanlon Church Reform

+Willie Walsh Reflections from a Cocooning Space

Neil Xavier O’Donoghue Redeemably Awful

Bridie Stringer The Ecclesial Mystery Shopper

Chris McDonnell Journey Time

Hugh McMahon Finding the Way Back

Patrick McGoldrick Always and Everywhere to give you Thanks – Eucharist

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Pádraig Corkery Editor Volume 71 Number 6 June 2020 The Furrow –––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Articles

Gerry O’Hanlon, SJ Church Reform: Taking Stock 323 +Willie Walsh Reflections from a Cocooning 333 Space Neil Xavier O’Donoghue Redeemably Awful: The 340 Paschal Mystery Bridie Stringer The Ecclesial Mystery Shopper 344 Chris McDonnell Journey Time 350 Hugh McMahon Finding the Way Back 351 The Christian Message and the Shape It Takes Patrick McGoldrick Always and Everywhere to 361 Give You Thanks – Eucharist Paul Clayton-Lea Homilies for July (A) 369

News and Views Margaret Hickey From Bethany to Jerusalem, 373 prayer in a time of pandemic

New Books

Neil Xavier O’Donoghue Households of God 377 Paul Clayton-Lea Our Dog Red 378 P.J. McAuliffe The First Ten Professed 379

Index

ISSN 0016-3120 © The Furrow Trust The Furrow

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A pastoral monthly founded 1950.

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Gerry O’Hanlon

One of the positive side effects of this sad time of Coronavirus/ Covid 19 is that those of us well enough to do so have time to take stock. We tidy our rooms, sort through papers, ask ourselves what is important in our lives. And we do so at a communal level too: does our world need to change direction (for example to take the challenge of climate change more seriously), does Ireland (for example to move to a single-tier health system), does the Church (so that it can become a more effective, humble and authentic herald of the Good News to our world)? Francis is already seven years into his project of reform of the . He characterises this reform in terms of a paradigm shift towards a synodal church1 and announced to the at their 2015 synod in that ‘… it is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church in the third millennium’. This synodality is to be expressed at all levels of the Church’s life – local, regional and universal – and is to involve not just the Pope and Bishops, but all the baptised, male and female. There has already been considerable development along these lines – not least in the gradual creation of a more open culture of debate, discussion and discernment within the Church. The latest decision to list Francis himself simply as of Rome in the Vatican Yearbook (the ) and to refer to titles like ‘Vicar of Christ’ as ‘historic titles’ is just one more symbolic indication of the desire of Francis to demystify the papacy. This involves locating his office and papal primacy – as well asthe – at the service of wider ecclesial and inter-ecclesial service and unity. But has this cultural and symbolic shift from a centralised, monarchical church towards a more participative one in which, as Francis says, ‘what affects all should be discussed by all’ quod( omnes tangit ab omnibus tractari debet) been complemented by

1 Gerry O’Hanlon, The Quiet Revolution of – A Synodal Catholic Church in Ireland?, Dublin: Messenger Publications, 2018/9 Gerry O’Hanlon, SJ, is author of The Quiet Revolution of Pope Francis: A Synodal Catholic Church in Ireland?, published by Messenger Publications, Dublin. _____ 323 THE FURROW the necessary juridical, institutional and structural elements in order to make the change effective? Austen Ivereigh2 draws attention to the 2018 formal document Episcopalis Communio (an of Pope Francis with legal effect on the Synod of Bishops) which is one such attempt: it mandates consultation of all the faithful before any meeting of the Synod of Bishops and allows the proceedings of the Synod, subject to papal approval, to become part of the Church’s teaching, its ‘ordinary Magisterium’ (art. 18, par 2). This means that the Synod of Bishops could now finally become, as Francis put it in this 2015 speech, ‘an expression of episcopal collegiality within an entirely synodal church’, as opposed to being what historian John O’Malley3 refers to as ‘an instrument of papal primacy’. And, Ivereigh goes on to say, papal approval would be forthcoming if a consensus had emerged at the Synod, reflected in a vote of more than two-thirds on each paragraph of the final report. This is surely progress in the direction of making the Synod of Bishops – one, albeit key, element in an ‘entirely synodal church’, a ‘synodal church at all levels’ – more dynamic and effective. However the Amazon Synod and its contested reception by the Pope (he didn’t rule on married or female ) have dented confidence in some quarters, sharpening on-going issues and emerging questions. In particular what more precisely is the relationship between papal primacy and episcopal collegiality, and how can the ‘sense of the faithful’ be given effective voice within church teaching and governance? amazon synod

In October 2019 around 185 bishops and up to 80 lay auditors gathered for the Amazon Synod in Rome. The participants were from the region and from the Roman Curia. The Amazon region is vast and spans 9 different countries in South America, including Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. There had been a consultation process leading up to the synod involving over 87,000 people. The main recommendations of this non-binding synod had to do with ecological conversion and the rights of indigenous peoples. On the way the Synod looked at some intra-church issues, including the possibility of a more inculturated liturgy for the region; the re-opening of the issue of female deacons and the designation of non-ordained men or women as leaders of local communities 2 Austen Ivereigh, Wounded Shepherd, Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2019, 86-89 3 John W. O’Malley, When Bishops Meet, An Essay Comparing Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II, Harvard University Press, 2019, 80 _____ 324 CHURCH REFORM: TAKING STOCK through a ritual act with a fixed term mandate presided over by the bishop; and a recommendation that married deacons be ordained as priests, a reversal of the model of celibate priesthood dominant in the Church for the last 1000 years. This whole topic on ministry, in the context of Eucharist, was prefaced by the most interesting phrase in the Final Document that it is ‘urgent for the Church in the Amazon to promote and confer ministries for men and women in an equitable manner’ (n. 95) The Pope said he would reflect on the recommendations of the Synod and issue his own conclusions in an . He committed himself at the time to reconvening the stalled Commission on the female diaconate with the inclusion of some new members. papal response – apostolic exhortation ‘querida amazonia’, ‘beloved amazon’.

The Pope’s formal response to the Synod, dated Feb 2, was made public on February 12, 2020. Described by Massimo Faggioli4 as a ‘love letter’, a kind of St Valentine’s Day card to the region of the Amazon and its peoples, it is a powerful and lyrical defence of the region and its peoples against the predatory forces which seek to exploit it for profit only. In a series of four dreams Francis outlines his hopes for the region – social (the human rights of indigenous peoples and the implications for all of us of ecological depredation), cultural (respect for and dialogue between cultures, native and surrounding), ecological (the natural beauty of the area, the threat to bio-diversity, the mysticism of the indigenous people, often expressed by poetry) and ecclesial (a church and a holiness with an Amazonian face, native liturgies, a lay church with commissioned ministries of women and men). The text was enthusiastically received in Amazonian civil society. However, Francis did not give a direct answer to the issues of married priests or women deacons. Indeed, this was the main focus of media in our part of the world. Even mainline media reported that Pope Francis had ‘dismissed’, ‘rejected’, ‘ruled out’, ‘done a U-turn on’ the ordination of married men and the diaconate for women. Many of us were, understandably, disappointed, while others rejoiced. What was going on here? I think, first, it needs to be said that the media reports, taken at face value, are misleading. Although the Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation is somewhat ambivalent and even contested on these issues I think two of his close confidants (Cardinal Michael Czerny

4 Massimo Faggioli, Not on the Same Page?, Commonweal, February 16, 2020 _____ 325 THE FURROW and of Civilta Cattolica)5 have it right when they focus on nn. 2 and 3 of the document. There Francis makes it clear that his response is to be read as part of a continuing dialogue, listening, reception and discernment, and not as a definitive ruling. This means, as Czerny noted at the press conference introducing the document, that these particular issues of ordination ‘remain on the table’. In this sense, unlike , with its famous footnote on the possible admission of divorced and remarried people to full communion, this document is unique in that it does not claim to offer a definitive response to the Bishops’ Final Document and in particular to the issues raised around ordination. Indeed it does not quote the Bishops’ Final Document at all, but instead recommends it, ‘officially presents it’, asks us all to read it, notes that it emanates from the ‘participation of many people who know better than myself or the Roma Curia the problems and issues of the Amazon region’. There may be several reasons for this reluctance to offer a more definitive response on these issues. I would say, first, that it is very likely that for Francis the ecological thrust of the Synod and his response is more important that the intra-ecclesial aspects and he judged that media attention would always focus more on the latter than the former, so why feed that particular beast? In this he seems to be at one with civil society in the Amazon region which has expressed irritation at what they perceive as a Eurocentric and Western focus on the contested issues of ordination (of less importance for them). Faggioli and others may also well be correct in supposing that (unlike in the case of the contested issue of the divorced in the Synod on the Family) Francis finds himself in some disagreement with the majority of the bishops on these particular issues. His instincts are to value clerical celibacy (even if, as Robert Mickens writes,6 Bishop Erwin Krautler, an Austrian-born missioner in Brazil, remains convinced that Francis is willing to approve the ordination of married priests, something the pope told him back in 2014). And he wants to find a different ‘non-clerical’ mode of leadership for women (which, ironically, many advocates for the promotion of women in the church endorse). Hence, despite his admission that Eucharistic provision is so vital for the life of the Church and everything must be done to urgently provide it, he can still reach for solutions like praying for more vocations, sending missioners, forming more inculturated priests, and a widening and deepening of lay ministries. This seeming impasse brings into focus the relationship and tension between papal primacy and episcopal collegiality in the project of a more synodal church: the bishops ought to have effective authority 5 Antonio Sapadaro SJ, ‘Querida Amazonia’: Commentary on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, La Civilta Cattolica, 12 February, 2020 6 Robert Mickens, Deciding not to decide –for now, La Croix International, February 13, 2020 _____ 326 CHURCH REFORM: TAKING STOCK ‘cum et sub Petro’, but how understand this complex relationship further? While, as a regional synod albeit held in Rome and with curial participation, the Amazon Synod is not technically covered by Episcopalis Communio and so its intra-church recommendations have no legal binding, still they have moral force. This leads one to suppose that Francis, in not immediately accepting them, is also very conscious of his role as Pope in maintaining church unity and of the likely domino effect of a ruling on these issues that could hardly be restricted to the Amazon only. He may prefer to wait on the upcoming deliberations of the German ‘binding synodal process’ on the same set of concerns (and others), and of the Australian Plenary Council, the upcoming Synod in Liverpool and take into account the findings of many Assemblies of local churches and dioceses (including Killala and others in Ireland) which have expressed views on these topics. Austen Ivereigh7 and Spadaro have laid great store on a section in the document entitled Expanding Horizons beyond Conflicts (nn.104-105), in which Francis, characteristically,8 hopes to find a way of transcending two conflicting approaches, ‘better ways, perhaps not yet even imagined’: ‘Similarly, in this historical moment, the Amazon region challenges us to transcend limited perspectives and ‘pragmatic solutions’ mired in partial approaches, in order to seek paths of that are broader and bolder’ (n.105). These ‘better ways’ might reveal themselves in the discernment process as ‘a greater gift that God is offering’ (n.105). This reminds us that beyond the horizon of the secular media Francis is inviting us to consider not just reason, sociology, rights, organizational effectiveness, but, above all,the will of God. However Francis is also far too astute not to recognize that the will of God is most often found through ordinary human means calmly evaluated in the light of theological opinion and the sensus fidei fidelorum, that the solutions he himself is proposing have already been tried and failed, and that the Holy Spirit may indeed be leading us (as Peter was led in Jn 21) in a direction he himself may not have preferred to go. Francis, then, does not yet discern the peace and consensus required for radical change in these areas. Ivereigh and others note that the narrow votes in favour of change at the Synod issued from a fractious debate and fixed positions which remained entrenched, unlike the considerable movement which occurred in the Synod on the Family on the issue of the divorced and remarried. Such a lack 7 Austen Ivereigh, Pope Francis discerns ‘third way’ for the Amazon, The Tablet, 12 February, 2020 8 See Massimo Borghesi, The Mind of Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Intellectual Journey, Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2017, especially chs 2, 3 and 6 _____ 327 THE FURROW of movement is untypical of a communal discernment which has matured to the point of decision. But neither is he shutting down discussion – rather, the opposite – and his overall position may best be summed up by his injunction earlier in Beloved Amazon: ‘let us be fearless; let us not clip the wings of the Holy Spirit’ (n.69). This is confirmed by his recently announced (April 8th, 2020) decision to reconvene the Commission on the female diaconate, with new membership, doubtless in the hope that it may come up with more conclusive findings than the first, stalled Commission. I want now to examine a recent ecumenical document which may throw more light on the relationship between papal primacy and episcopal collegiality, as well as the role of in a synodal church. arcic iii: walking together on the way. learning to be the church- local, regional, universal

The third phase of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) signed off on its first document in 2017 and published it in 2018 under the title Walking Together on the Way. It looks at ‘instruments of communion’ and chiefly synodality at local, regional and universal levels. It does so through the lens of ‘receptive ’ – a methodology and process ‘which involves being prepared both to discern what appears to be overlooked in one’s own tradition and to ask whether such things are better developed in the other tradition’ and to be open to learning through this (n. 18). Through this process it became clear to the Anglican side, conscious of its own proclivity to insularity, provincialism and fragmentation, that it valued the Catholic achievements of universality and unity, rooted in the papal charism and felt it could learn from the Catholic stress on discernment which its own rather parliamentary procedures sometimes failed to allow. Equally, the Catholic side admired the Anglican respect for diversity and open debate, as well as the ways in which (through weighted majorities and other procedures suited to the kind of topic being discussed), the voice of the faithful was allowed deliberative rather than just consultative force. Similarly it felt, in the light of the learnings received, that the Synod of Bishops could be grated a deliberative role and that the authority of Episcopal Conferences needed fuller articulation. (nn.157-8). When we drill down a little into these conclusions some important shared insights and nuances emerge. From a common reading of the New Testament and post-apostolic period there is agreement that episcope, synodality and primacy are enduring and necessary, _____ 328 CHURCH REFORM: TAKING STOCK gifts of God for the unity and mission of the Church (n.72). It was noted that the past tendency (now changing) in Roman to distinguish between the participation of the ordained in the three-fold office of Jesus Christ (as , prophet and king) as primarily ordered internally towards the Christian community, and that of the laity as primarily directed externally towards the world, led to the reality that lay participation in ecclesial governance has remained predominantly at the level of consultation and under the rubric of clerical discretion (nn.83; 94). It seems quite possible within Catholicism to give a more deliberative role to laity ‘even while recognising the need to preserve the executive role of bishops within dioceses and priests within parishes’ (n.94). Along these same lines it is clear that while a more deliberative role for laity is common at all levels of Anglican life, nonetheless there are safe-guards built in to preserve the unique authority of the bishop – so, for example, at synods there are three ‘houses’ (of bishops, clergy and laity) and rules governing decision-making varies according to the nature of the resolution presented, with issues of doctrine and worship requiring more stringent levels of agreement in order to be approved – ‘A significant change may require voting at two successive synods with significant majorities (two-thirds or three-quarters) and additional diocesan consultations and/or approval between the synods. A house of bishops has particular responsibility as no resolution may be enacted without its agreement. Voting separately by orders is in most cases required to ensure that episcopal oversight is protected’ (n.112). Finally, there is the suggestion that Roman Catholics might learn from Anglicans to live with more modest and provisional truth claims by its authorities and with testing and discernment by the sensus fidelium (148). reflections

There are several pertinent reflections on this stock-taking. First, with regard to the relationship between primacy and collegiality as newly focussed by the Amazon Synod, John O’Malley notes that while it is clear that in the Catholic Church governance is shared by the pope (the primatial pole) and the collective authority of the bishops, the practical implementation of this sharing ‘will by definition always be untidy. Church governance, like the governance of every institution that is not a dictatorship, consists of lines that are sometimes blurred’ (81). In this context O’Malley goes on to suggest that the question facing the Catholic Church today is not the theoretical question of who is in charge, but rather what ‘are the appropriate instruments for making the collegial _____ 329 THE FURROW (synodal) tradition of church governance practical and effective’ (81). Since the ultimate purpose is the discernment of God’s will (and not some more simple counting of votes, the ‘parliamentary procedures’ of ARCIC III) then one can understand the reluctance of Francis to simply accept tout court the recommendations of a regional synod which were themselves deeply contested and which were also being addressed in other fora. On the other hand perhaps ARCIC III also has it right in recommending a more deliberative role for the Synod of Bishops and a fuller articulation of the authority of Episcopal Conferences. Ladislas Orsy,9 for one, had already proposed as much concerning Episcopal Conferences in his revised 2009 reflection on the 1998 Apostolos suos of John-Paul II limiting their authority to affective and not effective collegiality. He proposes that ‘… the can and should retain ultimate supervisory authority over the conferences but more in the manner of a court of appeal (which is very traditional) than in the way of an ever-present director in various continents’ (30). By offering a more deliberative status to the Synod of Bishops and indeed to Episcopal Conferences Francis would be building in positive foundations for a more shared ecclesial governance, coupled with a kind of mutual veto to avoid simple head-counting as a means of settling disputed issues and to preserve the value of discernment. This leads us to the second issue raised by the Amazon Synod, the role of the laity in church teaching and governance. O’Malley again is interesting in noting how, without formal deliberative voice, the laity nonetheless succeeded in different ways in exerting considerable influence on the three major Councils of his study – Trent, Vatican I and Vatican II.10 Indeed it is worth noting that, somewhat ironically, it was a predominantly lay (French) initiative in the 19th century which led to the issues of papal infallibility and primacy being accorded such prominent treatment in Pastor Aeternus of Vatican I. And so if the ‘lay voice’ can be effectively heard through widespread consultation today then one can see how this would be a great help towards a more reliable discernment, even with bishops and pope still exercising pole position. This would, of course, be practically more realisable if lay people felt that they had a voice in the process of selecting bishops. However in an age which values participation as of right and in which the share of the baptised in the 3-fold office of Jesus Christ (including governance) is more and more acknowledged, it would

9 Ladislas Orsy, Receiving the Council, Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2009, 16-34 10 See O’Malley, op cit, 126-146 _____ 330 CHURCH REFORM: TAKING STOCK seem sensible to move in the direction that ARCIC III proposes and offer a more deliberative role to laity in the Catholic Church, with all the caveats around properly safeguarding the unique role of bishops. This more deliberative role – of both bishops and laity – is foreign to the Ignatian background of Francis which allows for widespread consultation but reserves executive power to the leader (‘’), but even in Jesuit circles decisions are increasingly arrived at in a more participative way and, in any case, Francis has by now moved far beyond the comfort zone of his Ignatian background. Thirdly, I think it is worth re-emphasizing the value of the sensus fidei fidelorum in both church teaching and governance, not least as an antidote to the often unconscious clericalism which Francis himself often criticizes and has identified as an obstacle to the creation of a synodal church. It is the ‘sense of the faithful’ in regions like our own which is most sensitive to such neuralgic issues as the role of women in the Church, the unhelpful nature of some church teaching on sexuality, and the harsh treatment of people like Tony Flannery and others by a church process that is scarcely fit for purpose. All these matters amount to a realcredibility crisis for the Church in ways that Francis himself, coming from a different cultural context, may not fully realise. This, as Michele Dillon11 among others points out, is precisely where the synodal process, with its focus on on-going open discussion and debate and the listening to all voices, shows its strength. Francis is human like us all and has his own strengths and weaknesses at a personal level. But it is precisely the value of the synodal process that (unlike the model of monarchy which immediately preceded it) it locates the office of pope within a more inclusive process in which the tastes and opinions of one man are not wholly decisive, in which new ideas which are at first rejected may be reintroduced, in which, in short, ‘the cat is out of the bag’, as Dillon pithily summarizes the on-going search for a truth that is not simply found by magisterial fiat or decree. This is now a process which has gained sufficient momentum within the Church to allow us to hope that it can endure beyond the time of this reforming papacy. conclusion

It is most interesting that Francis has chosen the topic of synodality for the next Synod of Bishops meeting in 2022. By that point the

11 Michele Dillon, Postsecular Catholicism, Oxford University Press, 2018, 163-166: ‘Thus, any lost opportunity, such as the silencing of women’s ordination, is not lost forever, it can be recovered’ (164). _____ 331 THE FURROW ‘binding synodal process’ of the German Church may well be complete, the Australian Plenary Council will have met, the Synod in Liverpool will have concluded and many similar exercises elsewhere in the Catholic world will have taken place. The bishops will, in other words, have plenty of lived experience to draw on as they reflect on the issues which I have raised here, as well as on other issues which arise. For the moment it is clear that while we may lack a precise road map, the sense of direction is becoming clearer, as we move towards what Orsy12 has called ‘better balances without damaging vital forces’. The turmoil of Covid 19 and its social and physical distancing etiquette will, rightly, involve some logistical challenges as ‘we along the road together’. But the deeper sense of direction is clear in this transitional period – from a discretionary, consultative voice for both bishops and laity to something that is more mandatory and deliberative. And all this, it bears emphasizing, not for the sake of organizational reform in itself, but so that the conversion which God is calling us to as Christians bearing good news for our world may be realised. This conversion, as Francis reflects in his musings on the Coronavirus crisis and what it is teaching us,13 means that we must ‘go down into the underground, and pass from the hyper- virtual, fleshless world to the suffering flesh of the poor’. And it is a conversion that must take institutional shape in a new paradigm of church, a synodal church suitable for our ‘change of era’.

12 Orsy, op cit, 12 13 Pope Francis in Interview with Austen Ivereigh, The Tablet, 11 April, 2020, 6-8 at 7

Different Questions.Faith and science are not mutually exclusive. They are not competitors. The reason is simple. Faith and science answer different questions. It is therefore not surprising that among great scientists you find both believers and non-believers. The inventor of the theory of the Big Bang, Georges Lemaître, was a learned professor and a Catholic priest.

– Nikolas Sintobin, SJ, Did Jesus really exist? 2020. (Dublin: Messenger Publications). p. 16. _____ 332 Reflections from a Cocooning Space

+ Willie Walsh

I recall the immediate weeks and months after my retiring as and the predominant feeling of being done without. It is common to many retirees to sense that loss of relevance amid days that are no longer filled with work-related activity. It comes as a bit of a shock to the system if you have been engaged in some sort of work for 20, 30, 50 years and it suddenly ceases. A large part of that shock is the realisation that the life you left behind goes on perfectly well without you. Less than two months into Covid-19 restrictions and in my case that time spent cocooning, I have been reflecting on what all this means in particular for priests and my bishops as they are engaging in what might be described as a form of forced early retirement. The future lifting of restrictions is unsure and the future will be a future in which the effects of Covid -19 will still play a controlling role. The grim reality is that it won’t go away overnight. The present with its restrictions and the uncertain future is something that is challenging to us as priests. It is something that worries a lot of priests and why wouldn’t it? How are priests coping with the present reality of closed churches, no , no weddings and a general shut down of usual liturgical events? It would seem that on the surface after a slightly shaky start priests are coping reasonably well. One must welcome the use of modern technology to broadcast and other church-related activity. Covid-19 has caused many of us to shake off our lethargic approach to modern technology and words like Zoom, Webcam, Skype, Facebook, Twitter etc. are now part of our everyday lives. Many of us are surprised at how well we have adapted to this and realise that any previous reluctance to get involved stemmed more from fear of the unknown than our sense of incompetence. Social media is serving the Church well at this time and it is up to us to serve it well. We must be careful however that in promoting God’s word we don’t reach saturation point which often happens due to the proliferation of material on these media.

Bishop Willie Walsh is the retired Bishop of Killaloe. _____ 333 THE FURROW christian action

Beneath the surface things may not be as bright or liberating for priests and I have thought a lot about this these past weeks. The first thing that strikes me is that (like the experience of the newly retired) people appear to be coping quite well without us. The world of faith and religious practice hasn’t stopped. Dare I suggest that the – whom we always see as the Church – are doing very well thank God. There appears to be more real Christian work going on at the moment than in so called normal times. We need only witness the heroic work being done by our health care workers, the work of neighbours looking after neighbours, younger people shopping and doing essential errands for us older folk and the thousands of individual acts of kindness happening on a daily basis.What message is all this giving to us as priests? It is certainly telling us that we don’t have a monopoly on promoting Christian action. Christ regularly preached that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. I sense that the Kingdom of God is very close at hand when I see so many people acting in a Christian loving way towards each other. I have a sense too that the Kingdom of God is happening among us more intensely than I have experienced in my short 85 years of life. challenges

I feel that Covid-19 and its ongoing restrictions has given us time to ourselves more than anything else. We talk casually of this as a time for reflection, but first of all, we need to come to terms with the aloneness, the loneliness and all that being home alone with ourselves means. Someone said to me that it is hard to occupy one’s time and that “there is only so much Judge Judy, or episodes of The Chaser one can take!” Reflection comes only when we are at ease with this new reality of being by ourselves. Then and only then will we have peace, because as Yeats puts it, “for peace comes dropping slow,” The subject for our reflection will have to be what ourpriesthood is all about in light of a much pared back life. I have as it were kept my hand in at various liturgical activities since retirement: Daily mass with a group of retired , weekend Mass in a parish setting and involvement in sacramental preparation with a local Gael Scoil. I enjoyed it and found it very fulfilling, but even that scaled down version of ministry has now disappeared and I have had to readjust myself to life without it as well as adjusting to the reality of cocooning. I feel I am long enough retired to be able to cope reasonably well and I can say that thank God I find cocooning _____ 334 REFLECTIONS FROM A COCOONING SPACE to be a tranquil space. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my life of that seeming eternity – two months ago. I miss the camaraderie of friends, I miss the excitement of the games of hurling long been part of my summers’ down the years. How is it though for the heretofore active and fully engaged priest whose pastoral life never left him a minute’s peace? How is he coping with the crash-landing that lockdown etc. has been for everyone? Granted, he may still celebrate Mass and have it broadcast over webcam or radio. My experience of this is that it is a wonderful facility, but there is little sense of interaction, or visible sense of community worship at work. Just as we are rightly warned off touching these days, I think priest and people are deprived of the tangible when it comes to liturgy right now and somehow I think its absence will be more difficult for the priest. I foresee a future time when priest and people will see that one of the most lasting memories of this time will be the closure of Churches. I think it has raised lots of difficult issues for us as priests and we have been railroaded into thinking about them. Chief among these issues is the likelihood that churches will remain closed for a long time yet and then priests worry will people come back at all. This of course opens up that need I spoke of earlier, the need to reflect seriously on what our priesthood is all about, and it is that I have been thinking about a lot of late. Most of us priests down the years have been occupied to varying degrees of busyness in serving people’s spiritual needs as we perceive those needs. Certainly since Vatican Two the emphasis in our pastorates has been on serving, doing things for people – celebrating Mass, doing Baptisms, doing weddings, doing funerals, visiting schools, always doing, doing and also of course we look after the material side of things such as looking after the plant that is parish. It is worth asking the question whether in our pre- occupation with “doing”, do we appear to have given little time for reflection on our own priesthood and its true meaning. I think many of us priests and bishops have found our niche in the service model of priesthood. We are comfortable or at least content to be busy with doing things for people and parish. It keeps us busy and creates its own kind of administrative demands that keep us further busy. I have heard some priests say “I have never been as busy” as they go about getting to grips with the demands of this crisis time and there may be the temptation even now to busy oneself with hitherto neglected administrative chores in order to keep us busy. Am I being unfair to ask whether we might be substituting one set of busyness for another? I think before Covid -19 and since, we tend as priests to emphasise the “doing things” side of our ministry. This pause on the service _____ 335 THE FURROW side of ministry frustrates a lot of the would-be doers and indeed it worries them too as they sense their fading significance. I would rather that we see this pause as an opportunity and perhaps even an invitation to reflect a bit more deeply on the witness side of our priesthood. A fundamental part of a priest’s calling is to witness to God in the World and now is a good time to reflect on that aspect of our priesthood. In these lockdown days in the solitude of my cocoon I ask myself the questions, who is Christ and who is Christ for me in my everyday life? My answers cannot be definitive and binding for anyone but myself, but I will share them with you. I am finding that my answer tells me that it is not what theologians are saying about Christ and it is not about various doctrinal positions in regard to Christ. who is christ for me?

Christ has to be personal to me. He has to be at the centre of my life and at the centre of my faith regardless of how weak my faith is at any given time. Christ for me is the Christ of Peter who answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” I believe that Christ is the risen hope of all humanity and it is Christ who is my saviour and my model. Furthermore, I want to deepen my friendship with Christ every day in the knowledge that this true friend will love me despite my weak faith, despite my sins and failures. I don’t think our faith is only about praying to or worshipping God. It is about the Christ who walked the roads of Galilee and who has a special care for the sick, the poor and excluded. Christ challenged us to respond to the poor, sick and outcast with respect, care and love. Christ didn’t build places of worship and he wasn’t an administrator seeking efficient ways and means. He simply met people where they were in their lives, he didn’t lecture them about morality and he didn’t judge them. Christ tried to ease their pain through healing, mercy, forgiveness and love. These are the basic Christian challenges for us as priests: mercy, forgiveness and love. In this time of pause we might reflect again on the person of Christ in our lives – the model for our priesthood. public and private dimensions

All people struggle with the private and public dimensions of their lives. The priest in particular lives with this very well defined duality. His public life is the self he presents to people in doing what he thinks people expect of him. We tend in our public persona to live up to others’ expectations of us: to be respectable, _____ 336 REFLECTIONS FROM A COCOONING SPACE conventional, good mannered and well behaved. As priests we often express this with the maxim: being all things to all men and women. The private self is the one we don’t present to the public. It is often the self that is less confident, the self that struggles with faith, life and so many aspects of our humanity. We don’t show the side of us that carries fears and other burdens of worry and doubt. We don’t want people to even think we might be feeling lonely, angry, embittered, unloved and unappreciated. Likewise, we don’t want to make any public display of our own goodness and idealism which we see as part of that private self. This dichotomy between the public and private self is common to all and I am not suggesting that we are somehow insincere when we hide our private self from public view. The tragedy is that often we hide it from ourselves. I am suggesting (painful as it might be) that these days of lockdown are days when we are more in on and aware of the private self. It is an opportunity for us to reacquaint ourselves with our private inner life and to accept it for its intricate weave of darkness and light. conclusion

In terms of cocooning I am not at ease with the image that I am spending all my days worming away in my mind and seeking answers to questions that some of us never meant to ask ourselves. Yet, it is an opportunity not to be wasted and I would urge all priests regardless of their ages to take some time in creative solitude. Listen to the deeper thoughts and see the possibilities that lie in your own heart for a renewal of your priesthood at this difficult time in the history of our world. It would be a misuse of this time to simply see it all as a temporary aberration that we should sit out and eventually we will return to the way things were in the not so distant past. There will be no going back to the way we were. Please God in time, a lot of the good things of our past will be restored. As priests though we have to live with the knowledge that we cannot go back to the way things were. This is why I am saying that this is a valuable time to reassess much about the service side of our ministry, but we should begin to do it from within and move forward by working with our lay sisters and brothers and in consultation with them. It would be a pity to make the mistake of seeing our outward shifting of church furniture as an adequate response. A new world lies ahead of us and we are called to be brave in facing it. The image of the worm in the cocoon persists and perhaps in time we will walk clothed in raiment of new silk spun from within these cocooning and other spaces. We live in hope of a better day. _____ 337 THE FURROW postscript

Some weeks after I penned these reflections, my last remaining brother died. John was in a nursing home and sadly caught the Covid-19 virus. As a family, we therefore faced the dreadful experience which so many other families have undergone in recent times with its attendant pains, especially not being able to visit the loved one, or accompany them on their journey out of this life. In our case, it meant that his closest and immediate family could only visit him from a distance and this, in reality, was to stand outside the window of his ground-floor bedroom. They “visited” on a near fulltime basis during the final days of his illness. Sadly, due to “cocooning” I was unable to visit him at all and this added greatly to my own and my family’s upset. Celebrating his funeral Mass under the now familiar safe and necessary conditions was a very difficult experience. I admit to being taken aback at the first sight of his immediate family, undertaker and pall-bearers all wearing gloves and masks. It was not what one expected ever to see in the context of celebrating a funeral Mass. The face masks in particular fulfilled the correct safety protocols but also created a sense of strangeness and an impersonal atmosphere we don’t associate with any Church Liturgy. I felt no physical connection between my family and myself from my position on the altar. On a personal level, I felt the disconnect left me feeling very alone and unsure as to whether anyone was even hearing me – the usual body language of eyes and faces that show connection, interest and empathy were simply not there. That was from my viewpoint. My family told me that it was quite different for them. They did not have my feeling of disconnection. Unlike me, the face masks were not what they saw. No, their view was of the altar and celebrant as in any normal celebration of the Mass. They were grieving their husband, father, uncle and friend and the funeral liturgy brought them its own unique modicum of comfort as it does to anyone who is bereaved regardless of circumstances. I found comfort in that. Funerals in the atmosphere of Covid-19 restrictions are not easy but people are adapting with grace and composure as they express their sorrow at the time of losing a loved one. There is never a good time for such loss and people rise as best they can to the immediate tasks of bereavement – funeral arrangements, the funeral and all the tasks that accompany it. Covid-19 leaves a mark by perhaps putting a brake on the accustomed expression of grief and how we “do” funerals in this country. It can only be temporary but perhaps a longer temporary _____ 338 REFLECTIONS FROM A COCOONING SPACE than we imagine. I look forward to a post-Covid 19 time when there may be a day set aside on a National basis to remember all who have died from this terrible virus. It will be a good mark of respect for all of the dead, those who are bereaved and the many care providers. It would also coincide with the great amount of individual remembrance ceremonies that will be taking place in the aftermath of these times. May all our dead rest in peace.

Jesus and Fasting. The gospels bring new insights into the relation between food, feast and fast. As in the case of Jewish religion, fasting is present in the story of Jesus and his disciples and in the Acts of the Apostles, but is not featured prominently. While Jewish contemporaries had a tradition of fasting on two days of the week, Mondays and Thursdays, Jesus appears to have had a detached or even a critical attitude towards that aspect of the religion to which he belonged. Matthew’s gospel recounts the incident of the disciples picking ears of corn and eating them as they passed through the cornfields on the Sabbath (Mt 12: lff). Luke’s account brings out the breach of the Sabbath prohibition of manual work; they were rubbing the heads of grain in their hands. (Lk 6: 1). The important detail, only in Matthew, is that they were hungry, it was not a casual violation of the Sabbath law against work. So Jesus defends them against the criticism of the Pharisees by referring to the precedent of David who, when he was hungry, took the sacred ‘bread of the presence’, which was forbidden to all, except the priests. Jesus – who in Matthew’s gospel was a defender of the Law – now reformed it by quoting the example of the breaking of an important law by those who were hungry.

– P. Fintan Lyons, OSB, Food, Feast and Fast. 2020 (Dublin: Columba Books) p. 41. _____ 339 Redeemably Awful: The Paschal Mystery

Neil Xavier O’Donoghue

What exactly are we celebrating when we go to Mass? Over the last few decades it has become fashionable to give themes to our Sunday liturgies. Sometimes observances like Catholic Schools Week seem to almost become the main focus of our liturgy. While certain of these observances last for a week or longer, others, like World Missions Sunday, take place on a single Sunday. If we are not careful these non-liturgical observances can take over the Sunday liturgy. Some parishes go overboard when the whole altar space is crowded with giant Trócaire boxes and displays about relieving poverty in less-fortunate countries. This is not to mention the custom of filling the altar with children’s artwork for weeks around the First Communion date or even pumpkins or some other seasonal bric-a-brac to mark an autumn fair or Earth Day or some other observance If a celebration does not feature in the General Roman Calendar (as inculturated by the ) or to a lesser extent in the Roman Martyrology, then it shouldn’t receive anything more than a cursory mention in the liturgy such as a simple announcement or mention in the General Intercessions. Perhaps these intrusions into the liturgy become most problematic when they deal with money. We have all seen examples of the November devotion to the Holy Souls getting out of hand with money envelopes with the names of the deceased being placed on the altar or before the tabernacle. It goes without saying that the problem is not praying for the dead , but any hint of commercialization or simony must be avoided at all costs. The Church has always needed money and charity is part of the essence of Christianity. The problem is when this becomes central to the liturgy. In the second century St. Justin gives us the oldest description of a celebration of Mass, where he explains how at the end of the celebration “those who are well-to-do and willing give as they choose, as each one so desires. The collection is then deposited with the presider who uses it on behalf of orphans, Neil Xavier O’Donoghue is a Lecturer in Systematic Theology at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. _____ 340 REDEEMABLY AWFUL: THE PASCHAL MYSTERY widows, those who are needy due to sickness or any other cause, prisoners, strangers who are traveling; in short, he assists all who are in need” (Apology 1.65). Here the collection takes place after everything else has happened. Christian charity is understood to be a fruit of the celebration, and not a constitutive element of the celebration itself. Some people used to consider the Offertory (and the offertory collection) as being one of the highpoints of the Mass. They think that by contributing financially we are participating in the sacrifice. Yes, it is true that offering or sacrifice is an integral part of the Eucharist. However, in the liturgy there are different types of offering. It was not by mistake that the word Offertory has been removed from the third edition of the Roman Missal to describe what is now properly called “the preparation of the gifts.” However, the principal offertory is that of Christ who gave himself for us, unworthy as we are, on the Cross. This same offering is now manifested as the Resurrected Christ intercedes before his Father in heaven on behalf of humankind. The second offertory is that which belongs to us, giving ourselves totally to God the Father by joining our whole being to Christ’s primordial self-giving (in response to his grace). The Christian is called to a total gift of self to God and neighbour. The Bread and Wine come as a distant third in the order of importance. Then the necessary evil of “unrighteous mammon” for the support of the poor or the Church is just about included in the “also ran” category of offering. So, to answer the question what the Church is meant to celebrate we turn to a relatively new theological concept. The Church celebrates the Paschal Mystery of Christ when she gathers to celebrate the Eucharist. This is the primordial reason for Christian celebration and is the theme of every liturgy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church outlines for us how central this concept is at the start of the section on liturgy: “In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present. During his earthly life Jesus announced his Paschal mystery by his teaching and anticipated it by his actions. When his Hour comes, he lives out the unique event of history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father “once for all.” His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past. The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is – all that he did and suffered for all men and women – participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times _____ 341 THE FURROW while being made present in them all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life. (CCC 1085)” Both Cross and Resurrection have to be at the core of each and every liturgical celebration. In the search for “relevance” and our tendency to give in to the all too easy desire to be trendy and popular, we can easily forget what the real theme of the liturgy is – Jesus Christ. If Christ is not the central message, then something is gravely wrong. For this reason, the liturgical year and the feastdays of the ought always to bring us to a deeper meeting with Christ. The paschal mystery is like a cut diamond whose facets flash in the sunlight, the legitimate feasts are like these facets that turn the diamond in the rough into a beautiful cut stone that sparkles in the divine Taboric Light revealing the true beauty of Christ. What I am saying might ruffle a few feathers or make some uncomfortable. However, I would suggest that in the long term we are shooting ourselves in the foot by overemphasizing non- liturgical observances that are alien to Christian liturgy. It is fine to emphasize certain social questions and call attention to worthy causes in other contexts. The Vatican even dedicates full years to deepen our appreciation of the priesthood or some other aspect of the Faith. However, these observances ought to take place somewhere other than during the Sunday Eucharistic assembly. I would suggest that the above reflections reveal an often- undiagnosed crisis facing the Church today. Our problem is not the many people who consider themselves “Catholic” but rarely come to church. I propose that a much greater problem is that many of those who do attend Mass on a regular basis have an extremely limited contact with the parish and their faith often consists of only going to Mass. These have little or no institutional interaction with the parish other than a half an hour on a Sunday morning, and if we don’t catch them there, there is very little chance that they will attend another parish activity. Additionally, for many of the regular Mass-goers, their attendance is no longer weekly, particularly among the younger generations, many consider coming to Mass once or twice a month to be more than enough. The true problem is not a lack of interest or that modern people are too busy to give more time to the parish. To be a of Christ entails taking up our personal cross each day and following Christ to Calvary, so that we can share the triumph of his Resurrection. Simply put, today we are facing a crisis of faith. The solution is not to cram everything into the Sunday Mass. In the short term, this might work as the best way to draw people’s attention to some cause or other, or even to gather a few Euro in _____ 342 REDEEMABLY AWFUL: THE PASCHAL MYSTERY a collection, but will the children of those who today are hanging on by a thread continue to attend the Eucharist? Only a true evangelization of adults can help an adult faith to mature in them. The liturgy is not the full solution, but it is part of it. Any fruitful evangelization in the Catholic Church must be accompanied by a living liturgy. If the paschal mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Christ is not front and central to the liturgical experience in a parish, it is impossible to find Christ’s promised fulness of life in the liturgy.

Forgiveness. Forgiveness is not cowardly, on the contrary it requires that you dare to face up to the evil that the other person has done to you. That’s why forgiveness can hurt, but forgiveness is above all liberating. Not only for those who are forgiven but especially for the victim who can forgive. Forgiveness means that you can finally let go of anger, resentment and other negative feelings. Without forgiveness, these feeling threaten to grow deeper and take up more and more space. This is why forgiveness fosters inner healing, makes new life possible and gives hope. Forgiveness means that you can really turn the page on any evil in your life.

– Nikolas Sintobin, SJ, Did Jesus Really Exist? 2020. (Dublin: Messenger Publications). p. 76. _____ 343 The Ecclesial Mystery Shopper

Bridie Stringer

We have become familiar with the concept of ‘mystery shoppers’ those who are tasked with evaluating products or services on behalf of a service provider. They are, in effect, pseudo-customers who feed back their evaluation as part of corporate quality assurance. I have never been cast formally in the role of ‘mystery shopper’ but, by nature, tend to be one who might ask challenging questions and be an advocate for those who are unsure about how to proceed. In the supermarket, I will not ignore the spillage of goods on the floor in case they become slipping hazards for those who might be seriously injured in the event of a fall. What has this to do with theological reflective practice? Quite simply, since the ‘product range’ provided in the name of local Church includes the compassion and pastoral pragmatism of the parish priest, the quality of the liturgical celebration, the effectiveness of safeguarding systems and the upkeep of the building and facilities, evaluation of these aspects of ministry should be part of diocesan oversight and ongoing reflection. The reflections of the ‘mystery parishioner’ might therefore be a more accurate litmus test of parish life than the visitation of the bishop for which preparations of people and presbytery are undertaken assiduously to his well- advertised arrival. This article is constructed in the light of my experience as a type of ‘mystery parishioner’ over a number of years i.e. as a visitor to parishes in the UK, Ireland and the USA. I have omitted the names of the parishes so that the comments are not received uncharitably by those directly concerned. geography and ecclesiology

These two disciplines are not normally associated, but we are now more attuned to social and cultural characteristics which are reflected and honoured in the way worship is presented and received. We are aware of chaplaincies within parishes dedicated to preserving the liturgies of diaspora communities in our midst. One of the most obvious examples of this is the blessing of Easter Bridie Stringer, formerly an associate lecturer in Pastoral Theology in St. Mary’s University. _____ 344 THE ECCLESIAL MYSTERY SHOPPER food which is a hallmark of the Easter celebration within Polish communities. Masses are celebrated in the vernacular of immigrant groups who wish to preserve their own ecclesial identity whilst being also absorbed into the faith life of the places where they have now settled. My own observations in this article relate to my experience as a ‘mystery parishioner’ over a number of years, noting the differences and nuances and how I have responded to them. my irish experience

When I visited four different parishes. I was struck by the significant differences between my life as a parishioner in south-eastern England and the liturgical ethos of the Irish Church in the places I visited. Clearly, the specifics of the four parishes cannot fairly be extrapolated to the entire Catholic Church in Ireland, but there may be some aspects of my experience which resonate elsewhere. I was very aware of the absence of any parish Welcomers at the Sunday Masses I attended. Parishioners picked up their bulletins/ newsletters from the porch or at the back of the church as they entered but there were no designated people to ensure that they were welcomed or given the leaflets. There were no Mass books, laminated Ordinary of the Mass cards or weekly ‘missalettes’ – (a priest friend calls them “rustlettes” as the sound of the turning pages at key points in the Mass irritates him!) to ensure that the members of the congregation could respond during the liturgy. As it happened, many of them didn’t. There were also no hymn books for congregational singing. In two of the churches, there were small groups of singers who ‘performed’ the hymns very ably while the members of the congregation were cast in the role of audience. In one of the churches, the priest sang the Communion Hymn with a few additional sporadic supporting voices – those who knew the words off by heart. As he was leaving the sanctuary, he sang one verse of Abide With Me as the Recessional Hymn and no one in the congregation sang along. St Augustine’s aphorism of singing and praying twice was not realised in any of the four parishes I visited. It was also very noticeable that the lay faithful received Holy Communion in the form of the sacred host only. The Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion received the Precious Blood from the chalice but the rest of the congregation did not. Perhaps this is an issue about the cost of providing large quantities of altar wine or the logistics of ensuring that there are no spillages. However, this deficiency, together with the lack of inclusion in the singing and the inability to articulate the responses delivered a rather impoverished celebration. I did not find these _____ 345 THE FURROW Masses good exemplars of ‘full, conscious and active participation’ and was pleased to return to my own parish with its welcomers, Mass leaflets, hymn books, Communion ‘under both kinds’ and a reflective Sunday Eucharist that lasted longer than 35 minutes. across the pond

This part of my reflection relates to an experience of Solemn High Mass celebrated in an American setting by former Anglicans who are now Roman Catholics in the of the Chair of St Peter. The information leaflet on the church explained that in 1987 the Holy Father had approved the Anglican Usage of the for those former Anglicans who had become Roman Catholics. The Mass was a hybrid of Tridentine traditional vestments, Cranmer vernacular of the ‘liveth and reigneth’ variety, prayers from the Sarum Missal, the , the Gallican Sacramentary and the hymns of William Byrd. The faithful did not actively participate in any of the liturgical ministries in the manner of my parish church at home but this was their celebration. Communion was dispensed by the celebrant from a combined ciborium/chalice which enabled him to intinct each communion wafer in the chalice and then place it directly on the tongue of the communicant. There was no opportunity to receive the consecrated host in the hand or to drink from the sacred vessels. The Altar Servers Guild, featured on the parish website is described as:

“… a of men and boys of the parish dedicated to the service of the Altar and graced with the privilege of assisting the Pastor and clergy in the conduct of public worship, the celebration of Holy Mass, and the performance of the Divine Office.”

Interestingly there was also a quotation ascribed to Bernard Cardinal Griffin of Westminster :

“To serve at the altar, as to sing in the choir, is next to the priesthood the highest privilege which a human can enjoy. He represents the faithful and takes a most intimate part in the rich treasures of the church’s liturgy and ceremonial. Those sacred ceremonies should be carried out with devotion, dignity and attention to detail.”

Cardinal Griffin’s undated citation might be understood to come from a contemporary prelate in the Church in England and Wales _____ 346 THE ECCLESIAL MYSTERY SHOPPER but in fact he died in 1956, three years before Pope St John XXIII convoked the . Overall, what I experienced here was a radical ecclesiology in terms of the reconciliation of some former High Anglicans with the Holy See. However, in terms of gender inclusivity, cultural accessibility and a celebration of the priesthood of all the faithful, this worship reflected a spirituality which was certainly pre-Vatican II, if not indeed pre-Vatican I. The architectural notes on the design of the church stated that the rood beam above and the communion rail below served to delineate sacred space, distinguishing the nave from the chancel and framing the sanctuary with its high altar raised on steps in the apse. According to the notes, these marked ‘the ancient tripartite structure of Christian churches and reflect the three parts of the Jewish Temple with the nave corresponding to the Inner Court, the chancel representing the Holy Place, and the sanctuary imaging the Holy of Holies’. Of the faithful gathered together for Solemn High Mass on that June day I may well have been the only discomfited member of the congregation. The church was packed with families in their Sunday best (no casual clothing, although the outside temperature was in the mid 30sC) and some of the women wore black lace mantillas. Here was an assembly of former Anglicans who had been welcomed into the Roman Catholic fold and could retain what they most venerated from their own traditional form of liturgy. They took pride in a carefully crafted liturgy which honoured both traditions in a most reverent manner. This was radical worship – radical in its newness but ultra-conservative in its liturgical and content. The assembly clearly venerated Pope Benedict. Not only was much of the homily taken up in praise of the Pontiff but also the weekly newsletter had the banner ‘Long Live Pope Benedict XVI’ across the top. More recently, in the pontificate of Pope Francis, I attended Mass in two Roman Catholic American churches. One was celebrated in Lithuanian and since I have no linguistic ability when it comes to Indo-European languages, I spoke the responses in English and the faithful around me did not seem to mind. I was conscious that in the long prayers the tone of the celebrant’s voice indicated exactly when I needed to respond. The language of heart and spirit was sufficient to make my presence meaningful and prayerful. The second Mass was celebrated in English and I was somewhat surprised by the choice of sacred music. The celebration began with an organ instrumental set which included The Stars and Stripes, God Save the Queen and the Battle Hymn of the Republic, so I felt that, in terms of national identities, all bases were covered. The sung recessional hymn was God Bless America and this too intrigued me as I wondered which version of America was being _____ 347 THE FURROW prayed for - the country which gave succour to those huddled masses yearning to break free or the one building a stout wall to keep out its neighbours. back home

The final testimonies as ‘mystery parishioner’ again flag up some significant ecclesiological differences in terms of inclusion and priestly identity. The first celebration took place on what was termed ‘Name Badge Sunday’. On arrival at the church, the welcomers invited the worshippers to write their first names on a adhesive label which was then displayed on their lapel all to see. This enabled those attending to give the sign of peace to their neighbour, using their actual first name. Similarly, at communion time, the priest used the communicant’s name when ministering the consecrated host. ‘Body of Christ, Bridie’ was for me a breath- taking moment. To be acknowledged in that manner by a celebrant who actually looked me in the eye was moving, personal and powerful. My second experience could not be more different. This Mass was celebrated by a priest whose seminary formation had been undertaken in Central Europe. His clerical persona indicated that, like the carefully delineated sanctuary in the American Church, the sanctuary in his parish church in England was very much his domain and that the lay faithful were perhaps not really welcome there. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion did not cleanse the sacred vessels, despite the fact that they had held them reverently as they ministered to the communicating congregants. I noticed that they also did not bring the ciborium of reserved sacramental hosts from the tabernacle to the altar as I had seen in other churches. After the Communion Rite, the cleansing of the sacred vessels was undertaken assiduously by the priest, who used his finger, rather like a bottle brush, which he dipped into the water in the chalice to cleanse the rim before turning the tipped vessel round to ensure that the water touched every part of the interior. This was then poured into the next vessel and the process repeated. This cleansing activity added about ten minutes to the Mass. This liturgical fastidiousness, together with the exaggerated pronouncement of the words of consecration left me with the impression that the sacred power (potestas) of the priest was the dominant theological value in evidence rather than a gathering of the People of God, with Christ, not only present in the priest, but also in the gathered people, in the word proclaimed and in the sacred species – quite simply Christ at the table, round the table and on the table. Having been made aware of similar situations in _____ 348 THE ECCLESIAL MYSTERY SHOPPER other parishes as a result of an influx of clergy who have received their seminary formation in a very different ecclesiological setting to that of the contemporary Church in England and Wales, my ‘mystery parishioner’ message to episcopal leaders would be that, in the event of a presbyter shortage, any priest will not do. Robust contextualised preparation, ongoing spiritual direction and a respect for a theologically-savvy lay faithful are key factors in providing inspirational parish leaders who listen to their people, value and respect lay ministry within the parish and cherish their presence as leaven in the loaf for feeding the world beyond the confines of the church. They have, after all, been urged to go out and glorify the Lord with their lives. conclusion

In concluding my reflection, may I suggest that one of the roles of Diocesan Pastoral Councils might be the deployment of some ‘mystery parishioners’ from time to time as one way of reflecting upon the quality of the pastoral care of individual parishes and to contribute to the development goals of incumbent clergy, particularly those for whom supervision, pastoral appraisal or ongoing spiritual direction may be unknown territory. I recall some years ago when clergy appraisal systems were being discussed, one of the priests at the meeting wondered who was qualified to appraise him. I think he took the view that he was above and beyond those types of secular evaluations. I would respectfully suggest that those ‘qualified’ to evaluate him as a servant of the living God, would be his peers in sacred orders, those to whom and with whom he ministers, the bishop to whom he has made a solemn promise of obedience and the law of the land. Perhaps the lines of Tennyson’s Ulysses sum up the dynamics of what I have tried to express here:

I am a part of all that I have met; Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’ Gleams that untravell’d world whose margin fades For ever and forever when I move.

It is a complex journey and yet a simple one, back to the God who created us. Wherever we are in the world, our liturgy should offer us refreshment stops along the way, to meet with other travellers, to rest a while, to take nourishment and receive helpful direction if we need it and to raise our hopes that we will arrive safely and joyfully at journey’s end. Ecclesiology and geography do indeed go together. _____ 349 Journey Time

Chris McDonnell

Out of all this must come laughter and the gradual drying of tears, fears diminish as the finish, slow to show at first is seen -after all this is done and gone.

When raging hurt swells and finally breaks composure surely born, when worn by passing days you reach that no-more time -after all this is done and gone.

When dull deep ache, easing drifts away, nights in sleep return, when much is lost in distance, just as day is chased by dusk and only birds remain -after all this is done and gone.

When night-wrapped world has turned and night lights that burned are blinded by the sun to nothingness, when dawn dispels those darkened hours and day flares in brilliance -after all this is done and gone.

Then indeed comes morning awakening, time for rebuilding, remaking, reshaping, as sunlight breaks, dreams stream between blinded windows, fingering hands open in expectant greeting -after all this is done and gone. Chris McDonnell, 1 High Chase Rise, Little Haywood, Staffs ST18 0TY, England. _____ 350 Finding the Way Back – The Christian Message and the Shape It Takes

Hugh MacMahon

It is hard to know which is the most urgent challenge facing the Church today. Is it celibacy, the shortage of clergy, married priests, the fragility of marriage itself, the role of women, democratic governance, a new attitude to sexual morality, falling Mass attendance? Others might see it as a seeming inability to relate to young people among whom are high rates of depression and suicide, increasing violent crime and a disinterest in organised religion. What about the Church’s role in ensuring a greater sharing of wealth among all the citizens, combatting the deterioration of the environment and addressing the causes and results of mass migrations? Commentators usually view the present weakening influence of the Church in terms of human, scientific and economic progress. They suggest that religion does best among poorer and less educated people but fades in the face of economic prosperity and greater scientific knowledge. However, religion survived while empires rose and fell and while its expressions can change from age to age, often influenced by economic and scientific factors, it exists on its own energy. If its influence diminishes in any one period, it is because the forms its message took failed to inspire and nourish people. Here in Ireland the Church is facing a critical moment but if the causes, and solutions, are to be found it will only be done by exploring them from a religious standpoint. My own appreciation of the steps by which a religion inspires, or fails to inspire, a people came from my involvement with Christian communities in Korea and Ireland. At first look the two Churches may seem to have little in common, one is new, the other old. In 1964 there were only 500,000 Catholics in Korea, today there are 5.8 million. During much the same period in Ireland the number of Sunday mass-

Hugh MacMahon is a priest of the Society of St. Columban. Address: St. Columban’s. 67 Castle Dawson, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. _____ 351 THE FURROW goers dropped from 91% in 1973 to 30%. Despite their seemingly different fortunes, it is from theirsimilarities that something can be learnt. As a companion of mine used to say about a certain type of person, ‘He was an inspiration, and a warning, to us all.’ How the Churches in Korea and Ireland got to where they are today can be an inspiration and a lesson for us all. a modern miracle

Modesty aside, the significant contribution of foreign missionaries to the dramatic development of the Korean Church was not due to any well designed and executed missionary plan. The Church we brought to Korea was transplanted straight from the West with little consideration for the religious and cultural heritage of the people. The liturgy was Roman, and in Latin till the late ‘60s. Key words used in the sacraments and catechetics were transliterated from the Latin or created from Chinese characters. Outside the Church they had no meaning. The Western theology which the words articulated was accepted on faith but with little understanding. why then did the church flourish?

We did not fully understand the reasons at that time but many people, uprooted from their traditional world by war and poverty, wanted to preserve their contact with the spiritual world and found the Catholic Church met many of their needs. It was not its complex doctrines that attracted them but the symbols, stories, rituals and moral code which echoed their historic understanding of the sacred. Catholicism had what they were looking for and further explanations could wait. The reverence and order in churches, which lasted in Korea after Vatican ll, echoed the respectful formality at the heart of Confucian ritual. There they could sense a presence and a power, immerse themselves in mystery, find union with past generations, be part of a wider community, seek blessings, be refreshed and be guided in leading a moral life. What impressed them was not theological discourse but the bible stories they heard, the symbols they saw, the rituals in which they joined and a moral code they could easily grasp. the spiritual media

The symbols that made this possible were those of the pre-Vatican ll Church: statues and pictures of Jesus, Mary and the saints; _____ 352 FINDING THE WAY BACK the crucifix, scapulars, holy oils and holy water, and a Pope as intermediary with God. For the people these images were not novelties, they were familiar religious elements steeped with sacred energy. Even the missionary priest, perhaps not fluent in the language or culture but a celibate and serving the people without hope of financial gain, mirrored in their memory of Buddhist . In such a sympathetic symbolic world the Korean people felt continuity with their ancestors’ efforts to approach the invisible reality that moves the universe. They were used to books as sources of learning. The stories that kept meaning in their lives were from the old and new testaments, and tales of ancient saints heard during Mass and catechetical sessions. They listened approvingly to how the Church had been brought to Korea by their own people, not by foreigners, and how many hundreds of their ancestors had died as martyrs. The rituals that gave a rhythm to their activities were not just baptisms, weddings and funerals but the joy of feast days, seasonal reminders of the Christian mysteries, novenas, fasts, processions, vigils, candles, incense and blessings for everyday matters. When it came to knowing what was right and wrong, the timeless Ten Commandments affirmed much of what they already accepted. The new directive to love God and neighbour was based on a more personal vision of the creator they had known from childhood but it appealed to their instincts. This was the spiritual world in which Korean Catholics developed their understanding of Christianity and nourished their faith. Its influence continued even in the decades after Vatican ll when the Korean Church enjoyed its greatest expansion. Later, as life improved in the 1970s and ‘80s, people’s confidence in their heritage revived and they might have begun to question the Church’s dependence on Western concepts to express its deepest insights and its slowness to respond to the questions raised by the new sciences. A crisis was delayed by the emergence of some outstanding figures in the Church: Cardinal Stephen Kim of Seoul, Victorinus Youn of Kwangju and Bishop Danial Ji of Wonju. Their stand for democracy and human rights made them national figures at a time when others were intimidated into silence. Catholic prestige soared and young people flocked into the churches. This rapid growth continued until early in the new millennium when social stability returned and the Church’s slowness to respond to newly-felt spiritual needs became more apparent. Today, Sunday Mass attendance has dropped to 18%. The questions already troubling the Church in Ireland and elsewhere are now being faced.

_____ 353 THE FURROW where the cracks began Vatican ll was welcomed in both Ireland and Korea for the new possibilities it opened but it also had unanticipated consequences. The theological relaxation it ushered in was an essential part of the search for relevance but it led to questioning some of the basic assumptions on which many people had based their lives. The question of was thrown wide open. If the Church, with its sacraments and moral teaching, was no longer essential for salvation, why be subject to its severe discipline? Ireland responded with an enthusiastic openness to ecumenism but missionary vocations nosedived. Why go abroad if the people in non-Christian countries have their own paths to salvation? The thrust of the Church’s overseas activity turned more in the direction of justice, peace and poverty issues. The ‘non-directive’ counselling approach of Carl Rogers became popular in Catholic circles at that time and had long- lasting effects on the formation of clergy and laity. People were urged to find answers within themselves rather than in the wisdom and instruction of others. In the background, TV was showcasing attractive alternative lifestyles that seemed quite acceptable in other countries. In the face of these challenges, the symbols, stories and ritual of previous years no longer offered the same support or direction. It was not that such underpinnings had become obsolete but they needed to be readjusted to express a renewed understanding of what Christianity stood for. As Pope Francis stated in his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of , ‘The biggest problem is when the message we preach seems identified with those secondary aspects which, important as they are, do not in and of themselves convey the heart of Christ’s message.’ (34). The typical parishioner was caught between the appeal of new freedoms and concern that the Church was throwing out the baby with the bathwater. They waited for a fresh demonstration of the uniqueness and relevance of the Christian message and for new stories, symbols and rituals that would stir their interest and imagination. But no one seemed able to provide what they were looking for. If a solution is to be found, where should the search begin? discovering the core Pope Francis states in The Joy of the Gospel, ‘The message has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary. The message is simplified, while losing none of it depth and truth, and _____ 354 FINDING THE WAY BACK thus become all the more forceful and convincing.’ (35) He goes on to say, ‘In this basic core, what shines forth is the beauty of the saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead.‘ (36) The concept of ‘love’ has long intrigued humans and is still a key theme for novels, movies, TV dramas, songs and art. Yet not everyone is thinking of the same thing when they sing, ‘All you need is love.’ Love can be romantic, erotic, affection, platonic, generosity, self-love or unconditional. It is the latter, unconditional love, that which expects nothing in return, that Christian tradition sees as closest to that of God the Father. The Greek term agape was used to describe it. It was the love of parents for their children, of teachers for their disciples, of benevolent rulers for their subjects, of friends who helped with no expectation of repayment. In a culture which promotes self-love, the idea of putting other’s interests before one’s own will be regarded with suspicion. Such altruism is explained away as either a covert form of seeking self- satisfaction or a world-denying stance peculiar to Christianity. Yet, the concept of agape was highly regarded long before Christianity came into being and in civilizations far beyond those of Europe. In China, Confucius called it Ren, the ‘Love due to people’. The ability to go beyond self-interest for the sake of others was seen as the highest human achievement. It is the glue that still holds society together in the Confucian world of China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and elsewhere. In describing Ren as the essence of humanity, Confucius stated, ‘I treat the aged in my family properly and extend this to the aged in other people’s families, treat the young in my own family properly and extend this to the young in other people’s families.’ The values associated with it were respect, responsibility, genuineness and knowledge of self. To help people practice Ren on a daily basis it was embedded in the stories, symbols and rites that are still at the heart of life in East Asia. Agape, though a Greek word, expresses a universal human experience which even today few fail to admire. Among the various varieties of love, it is a natural or God-given gift to all of humanity, reflecting the very nature of God himself. The message of Jesus brought this insight to a new level. the christian contribution

Even his compatriots had difficulty understanding what Jesus said and did. His counter-cultural parables and actions challenged their understanding of God, themselves and society. _____ 355 THE FURROW Matthew Chapter 5 spells it out in stark terms: love your enemies, if someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer him the other cheek; if someone sues you in court for your shirt, let him take your coat as well; if someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. God’s treats those who come to him late in life just the same as those who followed him for many years at great cost. (Mt 20:1) He rates people, not by how much they own, but on how much love they showed for others. (Mt 25:31) His love is offered equally to those who appreciate it and those who will reject it. (Mk 4:1) He gives so generously that there will be always be more than enough. (Mk 6:42) He tells people that if they want to be great they must be servants. (Mk 9:35) The most important rule and law is to love God and others. (Mk 12:33) John’s gospel summed it up with the account of the last supper and Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. The Acts of the Apostles trace the efforts of the early Christians to live out this vision. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, Ch. 13, we have his memorable description of what it means in practice. The image of Jesus sacrificing himself on the cross became the symbol of Christian identity and mission. the spirit/body tension

For the early Christians, the persecution and contempt they had to endure seemed inevitable because of their counter-cultural beliefs and lifestyle. But when the Church became politically acceptable, and even privileged, pressure to conform to society’s expectations of immediate gratification increased. It led to a significant number of Christians leaving the cities for the emptiness of the desert in order to explore the Christian way without distraction. There they asked themselves, ‘Who am I, and who is God?’ In line with the thinking of that time, they viewed themselves as being part spirit, seeking what was authentic and lasting, and part body, attending to the more immediate and earthly demands of a nervous system. Between the two stood free will with the task of deciding which would get priority. They decided that if they were to make any progress in nourishing their spiritual side they would have to be able to limit the demands of their emotions and bodily appetites. To develop their spiritual capability the desert seekers _____ 356 FINDING THE WAY BACK developed a program of scripture studies, meditation and prayer. They restrained their bodily appetites though fasts and vigils, minimising personal possessions and avoiding sensual distractions. Some spent their whole life in the wilderness engrossed in this task while others returned to city life believing they would now have something to offer as teachers or leaders. A number of contemplatives described their experience of God’s love in mystical and emotional terms, drawing on the imagery of the ‘Song of Songs’. Despite the time devoted to scriptural study and reflection, life in the desert was not meant to be an austere mental exercise. Its goal was to raise the emotions to the highest possible level and turn people into genuine ‘men and women, fully alive and for others’. As one of the Desert Fathers stated, ‘While the desire of the spirit does not allow the mind to be dragged into unbridled license, neither does the weakness of the flesh allow the spirit to be drawn on to unreasonable aspirations for holiness.’ These heroic efforts of the ‘Desert Fathers and Mothers’ were widely reported, admired and imitated. Eventually their example took root even in faraway places like Ireland. Soon hospitality and giving without expectation had added meaning in Irish life on all levels, often accompanied with the aspiration of ‘offering up’ the effort spent in helping others. practical christianity Undeniably, the high level of self-awareness and self-giving achieved by the desert scholars was seldom realised by the majority of Christians, either then or in later centuries. Even monks experienced how difficult it is to avoid seeking the consolation of some personal possession, looking for praise or bending the rules to assert individuality. Good deeds inspire gratitude in some form or another and few can resist the glow of being appreciated. However, at such times monks were expected to consider whether they were acting just to get such affirmation or whether they would have been so self-giving anyhow. The majority of people lived in villages and cities where daily life provided more distractions and temptations than in the desert. What the monks, from their deserts or Skellig rocks, contributed to society was a reminder that there was more to life than what immediately attracts attention. For centuries in Ireland and elsewhere, amid cattle raids and territorial wars, the monks were a silent but visible reproof. They kept alive the hope that as long as a person retained in their hearts the desire to follow Christ, sooner or later, despite temporary lapses or distraction, they would be able to return to what was lasting. _____ 357 THE FURROW Today the challenge to stir consciences is as great as ever. The consumer society in which we live is based on belief that the only important needs are those that come from bodily appetites and they can be instantly gratified if one has the money. Acquiring wealth, or the appearance of it, has become the priority. In such circumstances, practising self-denial to enable one’s spiritual ability to grow is likely to be viewed as time-wasting, repressive, unnecessarily demanding and out of touch with innate needs. However a reflection on human reality challenges this modern myth. In China, where people have long practiced restraint for the sake of others (Ren), they are able to enjoy themselves as much as anyone else. Ren has humanised the life of a vibrant, hardworking people, making the Asian experience an alternative and worthy challenge to the West’s. In the desert life was not inhuman or unbearable. Many of the practitioners lived contentedly to a ripe old age. Fasts and other ascetical practices were not goals in themselves, they were means to experiencing the presence and love of God at a deeper level. That the monks appreciated the beauty of creation and rejoiced in the unique satisfaction of spiritual progress was attested by visitors. Strangers and the poor were welcomed with the generosity the monks themselves experienced from God. Tales of the monks’ learning, humanity and heroic efforts were shared widely across the western world. meeting the challenges

To return to the list of demands facing the Church today, most are closely related to the Church’s ability or inability to challenge society with its counter-culture message of selfless love, based on belief in God as loving Father Creator. It is only in that light that the Church’s attitude to celibacy, marriage, priesthood, Religious life and service in society have meaning. These commitments demand both restraint and a constant focus on expectations. The Desert Fathers’ first question to newcomers was, ‘Why? Why did you come here?’ Today they might ask, ‘Why do you wish to be a priest or Religious, get married, assist in the church, volunteer or join the public service? Is it a hope for respect, power, riches or love? If that is so, there are other paths you should think about. Just be careful they don’t become your entire life.’ Such expectations are demanding but reducing the Christian message to what is culturally acceptable serves neither the Church nor the people. In offering hope and purpose to the younger generation, the _____ 358 FINDING THE WAY BACK message of agape will find resonance in their idealism and help them find their place in a wider world. Sharing their concern for the environment is an opportunity to explain why it is a religious issue: our relationship with God’s creation should be based not just on what we can take from it but on how we can protect it even at some cost to ourselves. As to the role of the Church in society, the prevailing values of consumerism need to be challenged by a counter message. If enough followers of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, selfless volunteers and dedicated public servants are true to their commitment, people will get the message. At present those benefitting most from the economic system are those who lend money and for them the thought of giving something with no hope of return is anathema. We have forgotten that for centuries the practice of lending for profit was considered a sin in Western civilisation. Human progress calls for a re-centred world, based on restricting self-interest. managing the means

Finally, what about the rites, symbols and stories that traditionally embedded the Christian message? Can those we knew so well be revived or do we need new ones? Solving that might be the easier part. Once the message has clarity, and is being implemented in society, the rest should follow. That is what happened in the early Church. Jesus left words and an example but no authorised religious structure. As the early Christians sought to follow him they developed the ritual, words and symbols they needed to remind them of him, refresh their faith and bolster their efforts. The early Irish Church, in a different time and place, cultivated the monastic rather than the diocesan system, its own way of calculating the date of Easter, a distinctive monastic tonsure, a unique penitential system and the ideal of going abroad as ‘an exile for Christ.’ Each practice expressed how the Church viewed its counter- cultural role at a certain time, how it prayed and who were its exemplar-heroes. The forms chosen had their origins in Judaic and Roman usages, Irish customs and the example of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. It was not a planned process, it evolved naturally. Today, in a different age and culture, the challenge continues of finding ways in which we can experience and practise the unlimited love of God for his world and pass this on to others through words, ritual and symbols that will enlighten, move and nourish. Much will depend on the celebrant of liturgical events ensuring that the Bible message of agape will be clearly reflected in word _____ 359 THE FURROW and signs. Scripture scholars, theologians and liturgists can help in taking wise choices, avoiding pitfalls and maintaining a sense of direction. Yet, keeping non-selfish love at the centre of Church life is never a rational or academic exercise but a coalition of heart, soul, body and mind. The great achievements of the Church in the past – in Ireland, Korea and elsewhere – are an inspiration for all but the situation of those Churches today is a warning we cannot ignore.

Courage. The experience of fear in our hearts doesn’t mean we cannot be courageous. Being really brave means embracing the Cross in the midst of fear, even while we are fighting against it, like Jesus in the Garden of Olives. That’s the kind of courage the martyrs showed. The Lord is never closer to his own than at these moments. That kind of courage-in-the-midst-of-fear is the greatest witness to belief in God and the power of his love for our healing and our good.

– Sister Mary David, The Joy of God (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. 90. _____ 360 Always and Everywhere to Give You Thanks – Eucharist

Patrick McGoldrick

In his autobiographical work The Seven Storey Mountain Thomas Merton recounts an experience he had while in New York in late August and early September 1939. It was a time of great tension and foreboding, he recalls, even in that “toughest of cities”, as Europe moved ever closer to war. On his way to Mass on the first Friday of September he heard the news that German planes had bombed Warsaw. What struck him about the Mass (it was a High Mass) was that at the heart of it, even on that day, the priest still sang: “Vere dignum et iustum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere ...” “Always and everywhere to give you thanks.” Why is this so? Why is the central prayer of the central act of the Church always one of thanksgiving, even in such a dire situation, even in the circumstances in which I write this today, as the whole world struggles to deal with the inexorable spread of the coronavirus? eucharist

The basic answer is that at the Last Supper Jesus gave thanks over the bread and wine and that, ever since, this is what the Church has done in imitation of him and in obedience to his command: “Do this in memory of me.” In the course of the Mass, as it has developed, the Church makes a solemn declaration of its thanksgiving to God in the eucharistic prayer. ‘Eucharist’ of course means thanksgiving, but from early times the word came to be used more widely also, both of the whole service with the eucharistic prayer at its core and of the bread and wine over which it was proclaimed. They had been ‘eucharistized’. With its connotation of thanksgiving the word ‘eucharist’ took very firm root in Christian discourse, a word of great richness for us Christians, a word that, together with the action it denotes, joins in one communion all the generations of God’s people right from the Lord himself. Patrick McGoldrick is a priest of the Diocese of Derry and Emeritus Professor of Liturgy at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. _____ 361 THE FURROW But the Church gives thanks in the eucharist not just because that is what Christ did, as if its imitation of him might be largely of a formal or external kind or little more than an accident of history. From its imitation of the Lord and his words and actions it has developed a deep conviction about and a profound insight into the centrality of thanksgiving in its worship and its life, a conviction and an insight that continue to inspire and sustain its practice. The Church gives thanks because it must, because it knows that it must. the eucharistic prayer

What form does this thanksgiving take? We have our answer in the eucharistic prayers themselves. For most of its history the greater part of the Church in the west has used only the Roman Canon, in which the theme of thanksgiving is stated emphatically in the Preface but with very little development there or later. Eastern Churches have had a much richer tradition, and it was the great eucharistic prayers of this tradition that provided the model for what is now our Eucharistic Prayer IV, composed in the early years after the Second Vatican Council. ‘Thanksgiving’ is not to be understood in an exclusive or narrow sense, because in these prayers we see that it flows over into and expresses itself in praise and blessing and glorification and acknowledgment and confession of God. For what do we give thanks? Eucharistic Prayer IV begins with the mystery of God in himself: “... you are the one God living and true, existing before all ages and abiding for all eternity, dwelling in unapproachable light.” This calls to mind the words of the Gloria: “We give you thanks for your great glory.” It’s an acknowledgment simply of the transcendent reality of God in all its fullness, of the divine holiness and glory, and, faced with this mystery of God and what he is, we human beings can only express our admiration before him, our acknowledgment, and our gratitude that such indeed is our God. The prayer continues with its proclamation of God’s creation and his great plan for all that he has made, a plan traced in the account of salvation history, the story of God’s interaction with his people, right up to the incarnation of Christ in the fullness of time, then on to his life, death and resurrection and his sending of the Holy Spirit, and finally up to its climax in the Lord’s second coming and the glorious fulfilment of all and of everything in him at the end of time. This history is one both of human response to God’s action and of repeated human failure too, but God never abandons his plan or his people or his creation; he remains present there, in all the _____ 362 ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE TO GIVE YOU THANKS world and in the ongoing life of humanity. It’s an active presence of God, seeking to make known his great design and to advance it in spite of all human sin and of the continuing human failure to work towards its final fulfilment. God remains faithful to his purpose and he will accomplish it even in and through and in spite of the ongoing history of human resistance and rejection. our response of thanksgiving

What God has done reveals something of what God is in himself and of his great project in creation; it reveals his love for us, his presence to us and his unceasing work on us and in us. We owe everything to God: we can claim no credit for any of it, not for creation, not for our own existence, not for our salvation at work all around us and in us, not for the hope it gives us. All is God’s gift. Confronted with this realization, we can only give thanks in response – thanksgiving expressing itself explicitly and in a whole range of forms and attitudes. Thanksgiving isn’t just a prayer or formulary of words. It invites us to a deeper level of understanding, it seeks to enter the heart and to become a disposition of soul and an attitude of life. It’s for us to be in harmony with what it proclaims, to grow into it and to express it in ourselves and by our way of living, as people of grateful minds and hearts and souls and lives. Such thanksgiving brings us to God and it helps us to recognize more and more clearly the immense range and the profound depths of God’s blessings and to return love for love in responding to them. the eucharist in the history of salvation

At this point we should ask the question: is Eucharistic Prayer IV and the tradition on which it is modelled just an extended prayer developed to enhance the celebration of the eucharist, to highlight the sacredness and the solemnity of the occasion, or is it truly eucharistic in a deeper sense, in that what it expresses and develops and celebrates is the mystery at the very heart of the eucharist, arising out of that mystery and not just added from the outside to our liturgical celebration? To pose the question in a different way, do we learn something more about the eucharist itself from the great sweep of such prayers as Eucharistic Prayer IV? Certainly we do. The history of salvation outlined there isn’t merely a sort of prelude but it enters into the eucharist as part of it. To put it the other way around, in celebrating the eucharist we are celebrating not only the Lord’s actions at the Last Supper and the death and resurrection which followed. This is indeed the core _____ 363 THE FURROW of the eucharist, but in Christ’s paschal mystery, anticipated by him sacramentally in what he did at the Last Supper, his whole life is summed up and completed. All his mission, all the direction of his life, all that motivated and inspired him right through from the beginning, all of that has brought him to this moment and is somehow present there in him now, in his body on the cross and in his actions at the Last Supper, in which he anticipated this in mystery. But Christ has a still wider role in the divine plan. The whole history of salvation was directed to him. From the beginning God was making ready for the incarnation, working on the conditions that would lead to it. In his own time and his own way he prepared the Jewish people to produce in Mary one who could be the mother of his Son. It was a long and tortuous history, with many failures through human sin and many setbacks. But God persevered throughout and in the fullness of time all was ready for the coming of his Son among us in our nature. In God’s design and by his grace all his immense labour came to its fulfilment in Christ, and in that sense continues to be present in him. In himself Christ sums up and embodies all that God has worked to accomplish. This means that in the eucharist as Christ gives it to us the whole project of God, the whole history of creation and of salvation as proclaimed in Eucharistic Prayer IV, is somehow present. And not just present – active too. Because that project of God will not reach its full accomplishment until Christ’s second coming. In the meantime God’s work in the world and in his people goes on, as it did all through the Old Testament and before it, and the eucharist celebrates this and looks forward to it; it confirms our place in it; it commits us to it and itself advances it. The heart of the eucharist is not a timeless, unchanging, other-worldly mystery but one that sweeps us up in its forward dynamic march towards the consummation which God is ceaselessly at work to achieve. What Eucharistic Prayer IV presents to us so fully as reason for our thanksgiving, all of that we enter into every time we come together for the eucharist; as the Church and as individual Christians we are caught up in it, with all that it demands of us in our prayer, our motivation, our daily living. Can we take a step further? By Christ’s gift, the bread and wine, sanctified by the Lord’s own words and by the Holy Spirit, become his body and blood. Here the dynamic driving the eucharistic prayer forward reaches a new and higher level: in these eucharistic gifts, held up for our veneration and offered to us for our consumption, there is manifested a sacramental expression and recapitulation of the divine-human interplay of salvation up to and including its first climax in the event of Christ. This dynamic will continue to drive _____ 364 ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE TO GIVE YOU THANKS the prayer forward, because, under these signs of his sacrificial death, it is the Lord as he is now who is present, the Lord in the fullness of his resurrection and ascension. In him God’s great plan is completed already – but not yet in us, his brothers and sisters, not yet in all of creation. And so in the eucharistic body and blood present before us there is also a sacramental anticipation of the long course of this salvation history that still remains to be lived, and of its final consummation in Christ when he comes again in his glory. May we say that the eucharistic gifts themselves embody all that the prayer with its magnificent breadth and sweep proclaims and celebrates? thanksgiving, offering, petition

For the most part, it is true, it is only in the first half of the prayer that this theme of thanksgiving is explicit. But indeed the prayer is eucharistic throughout, up to the final Great Amen. In the second part of the prayer our thanksgiving expresses itself in offering and petition. The momentum of the prayer carries us beyond words of thanksgiving into the very presence of that for which we give thanks, but thanksgiving is still the frame of mind and spirit in which we seek to enter these deeper riches of this mystery. And if we recall the universal extent of the effects of the mystery, right to the limits of creation and to the whole of humanity and to the end of time, then it is right that our thanksgiving for God’s gift should also take the form of petition, petition that these effects be realized everywhere in Church and world through the transforming and renewing and perfecting power of the Holy Spirit, petition that they be realized in the world to come among the faithful departed and all who have died in God’s mercy, petition that all of us be united one day with Christ and with one another in God’s new creation. And indeed, however skilfully and beautifully our expression of thanksgiving may be composed, however deep the faith with which we proclaim it, however fully we may be living it in our hearts and in our lives, this expression of our thanksgiving isn’t our final word. Eucharistic Prayer III, remembering Christ’s death and resurrection, and looking forward to his second coming, says: “... we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.” The memorial that the Church makes is of such depth and power as to give rise to an offering, and the offering that we make is not our own in its core but Christ’s. Even our thanksgiving in its highest expression is itself given to us as a gift by God, and so it surpasses all that we of ourselves could ever say or do. It calls to mind the _____ 365 THE FURROW words of one of our Common Prefaces: “... although you have no need of our praise, yet our thanksgiving is itself your gift, since our praises add nothing to your greatness but profit us for salvation, through Christ our Lord.” thanksgiving in the face of evil and suffering

To return to Thomas Merton at Mass that day in New York. “Always and everywhere to give you thanks” – must we then give thanks to God for all the evil in the world, all the injustice and exploitation and violence and abuse, all the illness, the coronavirus, and natural disasters of every kind? When I was a young altar boy, the parish priest used to quote from time to time in his sermons a simple poem. It thanked God for all his blessings, for this and for that, and the last line was: “Thanks be to God that what is is so.” Can we agree with this? If it is our duty as Christians to seek to overcome evils of every kind in the world, if this is part of the work God expects of us for the fulfilment of his plan, what truth can there be, if any, in the last line of this poem? Confronted with the supreme reality of God and his mystery, human affairs and human understanding must take their proper, subordinate, place. We believe that God is present in all our human situations, even in ills of all kinds. And when the happenings of life or our own actions place us there, that is where we must seek God, actively seek him, and that is where we shall find him. Evil and catastrophe are part of the world created good by God. From the beginning God allowed for this, and, if God permits it, then he must have a purpose even there. If this is so, it must have a role to play in the outworking of his design, a design that is always one of love. God is there, even in the midst of such evil, and he can use this too in the fulfilment of his will, working on us his people to prepare us for the good that he has always intended for us. The history of the Old Testament makes this very clear, and history is still on its way to the goal God has for it. Nothing is wasted by God or beyond his transforming power. In his skilled hands, even such things become means by which he will achieve his purpose: the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth, the new humanity, the new you and I. With an understanding such as this, the Church can thank God that what is is so, while all the time striving to change what is but should not be so or, if this isn’t possible, engaging with the situation as it is in whatever ways it can. It can thank God for what he is in himself, for his active presence with us and his love and his higher purpose, right there touching us, even in circumstances of disaster and evil, working to turn these to our good. _____ 366 ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE TO GIVE YOU THANKS Suffering is an iron law of life. It was so in Jesus’ life and he confirmed for his disciples by his words and his example. We give thanks in suffering but do we give thanksfor suffering? What disciple, present that afternoon on the hill of Calvary, could have found anything for which to give thanks to God? And yet, ever since, what took place there has been at the heart of the Church’s thanksgiving. We do give thanks to God for what Christ suffered or at least we come very close to it. We give thanks for all that his passion and death achieved for us, but this is not for the suffering considered in itself. It is for the presence of the Father to Christ, despite appearances, in and all through it; it is for that suffering as accepted willingly by Christ out of his obedience to the Father and out of his love for all the world. It is for that suffering thus transformed, given its redemptive power and made life-giving, by the faithfulness with which he embraced it and lived it right to the end. St Paul has his own specifically Christian insight of faith to share with us. He speaks of his completing in his own flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. That is the privileged role that God in his wisdom and love has assigned to us in the realization of his plan – and not just for the good of the Church but for the well-being and the salvation of the whole world. In the circumstances of the coronavirus as it spreads, we are being reminded frequently that we are all in this together. This is a truth of much wider application, because even as individuals we are always part of the wider communion that makes us one. Suffering willingly borne is part of the contribution that God invites from all of us and each of us. It will bring its pain and its sorrow, but true understanding together with firm faith, hope and trust can find comfort there and can draw a response even of thanksgiving. By his endurance of his own suffering Christ has made this possible for us and he has given the example for us to follow. I was struck by the account of the martyrdom of St Paul Miki and his companions in the Office of Readings on 6 February. Facing their imminent death by crucifixion and the spear, three of them are explicitly recorded as giving thanks to God, thanks that clearly came from the heart. + + + “Always and everywhere to give you thanks.” No doubt from another starting point and using different words and categories of thought one could also present this mystery in all its fullness. But the Church has not been mistaken in placing thanksgiving at the heart of its prayer and so of its life, and in continuing to insist on it. _____ 367 THE FURROW We started with the experience of Thomas Merton in a church in New York on a day of anxiety and fear. But from there our theme of thanksgiving has brought us into the immensity of God, his holiness, his glory, into the richness of his inner life, into the love, the abundance, the generosity, the wisdom of his plan; it has brought us into the great whole of which we, all together and each individually, are part; it has brought us into the process of growth and transformation that God is always overseeing and directing and correcting and moving forward on its course to the great fulfilment. By God’s grace and power all of that is somehow made present in the eucharist and draws us into it. In what better way could we begin to respond than by giving thanks?

Hoping for Heaven. Why are images of heaven so often boring? Why are few Christians attracted by images that after all wish to portray a fulfilled life with God and the saints? Hallelujah- singing baroque angels, static images of silent gardens, peaceful alpine mountaintops, and stable cloud formations nowadays enthuse few people to contemplate the afterlife. Joining inner- trinitarian movements and communities somehow does not offer a more wonderful perspective for many Christians either. The Christian Bible does not provide much help here. The gospels portray Jesus addressing his contemporaries using the language and religious imagery of the time. However, rather than alluding to the afterlife, Jesus proclaimed the arrival of God’s reign in this world. Consequences of his proclamation for a life after death only appear very sporadically in the gospels. For Jesus, the end time has already begun, and it finds concrete shape in his ministry and in the response of his disciples and the people he meets on his way. Nowhere in the gospels do we encounter static images of an afterlife. Rather, the gospels point to a conflict in this life in terms of how best to respond to God’s invitation to join in the dynamics of his arriving reign.

– Werner G. Jeanrond, Reasons to Hope. 2020. (London: T. & T. Clark) p. 135. _____ 368 Homilies for July (A)

Paul Clayton-Lea

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 5 Zec 9:9-10; Ps 144:1-2, 8-11, 13-14, R/ v 1; Rm 8:9, 11-13; Mt 11:25-30

One of the reasons we sometimes feel under terrible pressure is because we believe that we have to handle our problems alone. We may even begin to think that no one else can do it properly except ourselves and that can lead to the greatest mistake of all - thinking that we’re indispensable. As a teenager working on a farm in Australia I can remember a popular member of the community leaving to take up a new job and people saying; we can’t do without him. Then an old cowhand took a nearby bucket of water, stuck his hand into it, then removed the hand saying as he looked at the displaced water returned; that’s how much he’ll be missed. The cowhand was the man’s friend and was not being deliberately mean. He wasn’t suggesting that his friend hadn’t done a great job or that he wouldn’t be missed as a person. He was simply acknowledging the reality that life goes on and that there really is always someone else who can take our place. That should liberate rather than upset us. Sometimes we just have to let go and if we have faith in God then we put the future in his hands. If we are stressed or troubled we can take up Jesus’ invitation from today’s Gospel to lean on him and find rest from our burdens. Pope John XXIII wrote in his diary how every night before he went to bed as pope he would visit the Blessed Sacrament to pray and then as he was preparing to leave would finally say to God; “Lord; I’ve done as much as I can today. I’m going to bed now – it’s your church, you can look after it until I wake up.” For many of who juggle many responsibilities each day the thought of letting go is really challenging especially if we’re caring for others or responsible for important decisions or projects. Yet resting from responsibility is an essential part of recharging the Paul Clayton-Lea is a priest of the Archdiocese of Armagh. He is priest-in-residence, Woodside, Strand Road, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth. E-mail: [email protected] _____ 369 THE FURROW batteries. No one does this letting go process better than children. When they play they forget everything else. I was invited to bless a new playground recently and it was interesting to see how, as the children laughed and played and lived very much in the present moment, most of the young parents were checking their iphones on a lovely afternoon in case they had missed a call. Life, as they say, is a marathon not a sprint so we need to take the longer view.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 12 Is 55:10-11; Ps 64:10-14, R/Lk 8:8. Rm 8:18-23; Mt 13:1-23

Make poverty history was a great slogan some years ago and in recent decades there was greater hope that this was a real possibility. Yet no one could have anticipated how widespread deprivation and hunger could become in the 21st century in the face of a global pandemic and accelerating climate change. Radical change in attitudes and behaviour on behalf of humanity seems required. We would all love to see hunger and poverty a thing of the past as well as an end to war and hatred, bigotry, racism, cruelty, inequality, environmental destruction and everything else that brings suffering and unhappiness into human lives. We also know in our hearts that radical change can only come about if we begin that change within ourselves. The author of ‘War and Peace’ Leo Tolstoy wrote: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” The Gospel has been telling us this for two thousand years with its message of repentance, its call to radical change in human living in order to transform this world with its, mostly man made, cruelties and injustices as well as prepare ourselves for eternal life. Today we picture Jesus sitting in a boat talking to the crowds on the shore about this new radical world – the kingdom of God, where God held first place in people’s hearts. Once God came first he said, everything else would fall into place. Justice, peace between old enemies, respect for creation, all these things could happen he said. The people then as now wanted to know when and how? So he told them a familiar story even for us today. Seeds sown in the earth grow in different ways, some fail to grow because of bad soil or other obstacles but some yield an amazing crop. Seed scattered by God is never wasted, “the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty without succeeding in what it was sent to do.” Radical change comes with each little effort. Showing patience under provocation, holding out against temptation, teaching the next generation about God’s love grows the kingdom. It’s said, “We plant a tree that our children can sit in _____ 370 HOMILIES FOR JULY (A) the shade.” We may not see the results but what matters is that we plant those seeds, that we don’t just let things happen to us or our world but make them happen too. By his desire and design we are co-creators with God of our world and our destiny.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 19 Wis 12:13, 16-19. Ps 85:5-6, 9.10, 15-16, R/v 5. Rm 8:26-27. Mt 13:224-43

At this time of year gardeners know all about the tedious job of weeding and lazy gardeners like myself are tempted by Jesus’ advice to his disciples in the Gospel this weekend to let the weeds grow with the wheat till harvest time! But of course Jesus wasn’t merely speaking of growing things. He was talking about good and evil, of people who are cruel and dishonest, who hurt and disregard others and also of people who build rather than destroy, who are willing to make sacrifices for their families and friends – their community. Yet in the world we live in it does appear that evil triumphs a lot more often than it should and some real ‘baddies’ seem to get away scot free and die sleeping peacefully in their beds. Ruminating on this the poet Charles Bowen wryly wrote; “The rain it raineth on the just And also on the unjust fella; But chiefly on the just, because The unjust hath the just’s umbrella.” Since at least the time of long-suffering Job the question has been asked that if God is all powerful why he doesn’t simply rid the world of evil and badness? In today’s parable Jesus seems to suggest that if God did just that then a lot of good people might also get hurt in the process. Perhaps he meant that even evil people have loved ones or families who are perfectly innocent and would suffer if they were suddenly removed. Or it could be that in a deep way God can actually turn the badness of some people to help for others. Sometimes people who have done wicked things come to their senses, seek forgiveness and take a new path. In the 18th century a man called William Wilberforce engaged in the evil of slavery until a moment of enlightenment turned his heart around and he became a central figure in abolishing the slave trade. Closer to home here in Ireland some former paramilitaries, once imprisoned during the tragic years of ‘the troubles’, went on later to work successfully as peacemakers among the young and the wider community. The evil of past lives can’t be erased but God can turn sorrow for that evil into a force for good which may achieve even more. The patience _____ 371 THE FURROW of God is greater than that of human beings and in God’s own time Jesus implies, justice will be done, goodness will prevail and the mercy of God will be seen to have been the wisest and fairest way of all.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 26 1 Kg 3:5, 7-12. Ps 118:57. 72.76-77, 127-130, R/v 97. Rm 8:28-30. Mt 13:44-52

During the health crisis besetting the world this year governments and medical staff have had to face stark choices. Should economies be shut down or should a certain level of death be accepted as inevitable to keep them open? With the shortage of medical equipment at different critical points in the tragedy should some patients have priority at the expense of others? You would have needed the wisdom of Solomon it seems to make the right choice. Almost everyone knows the story of the two women who came to King Solomon with a baby that both claimed belonged to them and Solomon ordered the baby to be cut in two. Immediately the real mother offered to give up the baby rather than see it die and Solomon had his answer. Solomon had chosen the gift of wisdom over money and power from God in order to help him rule, which both pleased God and was of benefit to his people. Similarly, Jesus tells the story of a man who had found something special – hidden treasure. But in order to keep the treasure he must give up everything else that he had to possess it. His listeners quickly realised that Jesus wasn’t just talking about gold or jewels. He was illustrating the choice that we face when it comes to priorities in life.and suggested that we should be prepared to sacrifice things that were important to us in order to achieve the most precious thing of all, which was our place in God’s kingdom. He taught that what mattered most even before wisdom, wealth or power was faith in God and his kingdom. Everything else would pass away he said but God’s kingdom would endure. At different points on life’s road we face choices – some trivial and others life changing. The poet Robert Frost talked about two roads that diverged in a wood. “I took the road less travelled”, he wrote “ and that made all the difference.” The important choices we make will affect our lives for a long time and sometimes the lives of others too. The message of God’s Word today is to choose carefully and with due thought for the effect that our choices may have on others, to realise as a Christian writer once said “ in the end if we haven’t chosen God then it wont really matter what other choice we have made.” _____ 372 News and Views

From Bethany to Jerusalem, Prayer in a time of pandemic. Margaret Hickey, Castleowen, Blarney, Co. Cork writes:

Not many months ago plagues and pestilence were largely the stuff of distant history and biblical narratives. Nothing to dread in the context of modern, western medicine and sanitation, or so we tended to think. Yes, there was the ‘Spanish ‘flu’ of 1918 but that happened in a world devastated by war and its attendant privations. And yes, we were aware of more recent threats like Ebola and SARS but they were in the developing world, lumbering clouds on our horizon, someone else’s storm. Today, those dark clouds of menace and fear lie directly over us. Some of the most developed, most affluent parts of the globe have found their defences to be far from equal to the task of even mitigating the effects of the viral onslaught. To say covid-19 is a leveller that can lay low prime ministers and princes as mercilessly as ordinary folk carries some truth, though of course it is not so simple. As with all crises, some of us have advantages that others don’t. Footage from Europe and the United States shows the daily, unremitting drama in ICU units and the ongoing struggle to source protective wear for doctors and nurses. There are few if any such reports from Africa or South America where the front lines are often in makeshift hospitals that can’t even offer what western medicine would consider the most basic standard of safety and care for either staff or patients. In his Easter Day address to the world, Pope Francis reminded us of those for whom covid-19 is just one more calamity on top of what they are already suffering. He drew our attention away from our own plight to those who live in war ravaged countries like Yemen and Syria, to those in refugee camps in Lesbos, Turkey and Lebanon. He spoke of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. He made us realise how covid-19 has not replaced all the bad and cruel things that were happening in our world. It has simply removed them from our news bulletins. At times like this, it is understandable that we focus on the dangers to ourselves and our families. We have not lost our altruistic instincts. The self-giving of our medical carers and those _____ 373 THE FURROW who support them continues to draw deep gratitude and admiration from the communities they serve all over the world. The Pope’s words, however, challenge us to consider who comes within the ‘we’ of our altruism and who does not when danger hits close to home. It is not surprising if we look to ourselves first when everything from our lives to our livelihoods is under threat, We are fighting against the great foe of mortal life. We are together confronting the perennial enemy that normally comes for us one at a time. Collectively, we are responding in a way that is not very different to how we respond when serious threat to life arises within the more intimate sphere of our personal lives. Those of faith, no less than those who describe themselves as atheists or agnostics, know the same shudder of terror, the same determination to resist, when the human organism is confronted by something with the power to destroy it. To engage fully with our world demands, at some level, that we file way what we know about the frail and finite nature of our earthly lives. In his poem, The Wreck of the Deutchland, Gerard Manley Hopkins describes the awakening to the truth of our vulnerability within the apparent stability and constancy of the framework that attaches us to the world:

I am soft sift In a hourglass- at the wall Fast, but mined with a motion, a drift, And it crowds and it combs to the fall; I steady as a water in a well,to a poise to a pane, But roped with,always,all the way down from the tall Fells or flanks of the voel, a vein of the Gospel proffer, a pressure, a principle, Christ’s gift’

Jesus, who shared our humanity, empathized with the very human desire to cling to this world, the only habitation we have known despite the restlessness and unease that marks our relationship with it. He raised to life the widow’s son, the centurion’s servant, the little daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. Most significantly of all, he raised his friend Lazarus in Bethany. The other miracles showed his compassion for the grief of others. For Lazarus, Jesus himself wept, and in weeping showed how he loved him to the bystanders. Bethany was close, some two miles, from Jerusalem, the place where Jesus would very soon meet his own death, the most proximate cause of which was, according to St John’s account (11:47), this very miracle, the raising of Lazarus. The miracle of Bethany and Easter are drawn together not just to highlight how they are different but how they are entwined in our _____ 374 NEWS AND VIEWS human experience as people of faith. Knowing the world, living in it, embracing it, clinging to it while knowing that it is neither our destination nor our destiny, nor even our most natural abode in the end, is often an unexamined tension that we try to turn from rather than resolve. Pope Francis, in his Extraordinary Urbi et Orbi address on March 28th spoke of our attempts to ‘ anesthetize (ourselves) with ways of thinking and acting that supposedly “save” us but instead prove incapable of putting us in touch with our roots’ and leave us without ‘the antibodies to confront adversity.’ The tension between Bethany and Easter, between life restored to what it had been, frail and finite, and life transformed for eternity and death defeated forever can be traced too in the tension between the sisters of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. It is Mary who is more in touch with her ‘roots’ as she listens to Jesus. Martha is immersed in the busyness of life. It is Martha too who runs to meet the Lord after the death of Lazarus and gently upbraids him for not arriving in time to save her brother. While Mary speaks the same words as her sister, it is only after she is sent for by Jesus. It is as if she is allowing him to make the first move. Later, it is Mary who defies worldly prudence by anointing Jesus with costly nard on what must have been his last visit to Bethany, ‘six days before the Passover’ (John 12:1-8) while Martha again serves at table. We can so readily engage with the perspective of Martha at this time when there is so much to be done by frontline workers and their many support systems. We pray for life as we knew it to be restored to us. Those who pray and those who don’t work towards that end together. It is right and natural that they do. Pope Francis prayed for our deliverance by the cross that was carried through Rome many centuries before during another time of pestilence. The tension between the perspectives of Mary and Martha is not a contradiction. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, like Gerard Manly Hopkins a Jesuit priest, acutely observed that ‘ we find Jesus in pain and loss only after we have tried our best to find him in work that is good’. That work takes many forms, physical like the exertions of Martha and more spiritually directed like the anointing of Mary. The ministrations of healing at this time of pandemic need to be both. The attitude of faith when God’s will thwarts ours is vividly set out in the story of King David’s loss of his infant son. The King stormed heaven in prayer for the life of the sick child but, following his death, accepted without reproach the divine will and swiftly re-joined the current of life with renewed not diminished faith. Pope Francis pointed out in his Extraordinary Urbi et Orbi address, that ultimately as believers we know that ‘with God, life never dies’ whatever happens. Martha, no less than Mary, believed _____ 375 THE FURROW her brother would be restored to life ‘on the last day’. Developing this theme further in his Easter Urbi et Orbi message, Francis said, ‘the resurrection of Christ is the victory of love over the root of evil, a victory that does not bypass suffering and death but passes through them, opening a path in the abyss, transforming evil into good. This is the unique hallmark of the power of God’. This is how faith leads us to see God’s goodness in the unfolding of events. It is in one sense an act of submission but at a deeper level an epiphany and an act of recognition when we meet the Risen Lord in the place of loss and grief and, like the other Mary at the tomb of Jesus, hear ourselves call out ‘Rabboni,’ Master. Teilhard de Chardin, wrote, ‘if we believe the power with which we clash so agonizingly ceases to be a blind or evil energy, hostile matter vanishes and in its place we find the divine Master’. In this time of testing, we go to Jesus with our prayer like the centurion, the widow, the ruler of the synagogue, the sisters of Lazarus and we wait. Their encounters with Jesus are our encounters too. Trusting in his power and compassion must mean we leave things in his hands finally. In the midst of what we are living through at this time and the great suffering and sacrifices demanded of both the sick and the well and, most of all, the poor and those already dealing with their own personal or national crises, we rush to Jesus like Martha did in Bethany. The faith that leads us to Bethany is also the faith that tells us that there will be a time when we, like Him, may be called to set our face towards Jerusalem or seek him there like Mary and, like her, find he is risen and triumphant and calling us to follow him along the path he has opened ‘in the abyss’.

Holiness. Holiness doesn’t lie on the other side of our shortcomings, trials and temptations: it’s given in the midst of them. What remains to us is to learn to recognise, accept and abide in weakness, full of faith and confidence in utter surrender to God. It’s there that we open ourselves to God's grace and power.

– Sister Mary David, The Joy of God (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. 106. _____ 376 New Books

Households of God: The Regular Canons and Canonesses of St Augustine and of Prémontré in Medieval Ireland. Martin Browne & Colmán Ó Clabaigh, eds. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2019. ISBN: 978-1- 84682-788-4.

Many studies have been published on religious life in Ireland. The Irish contribution to early monasticism has been the subject of publication for over a century. Likewise the role of the and the in medieval Ireland has produced a good number of publications. However, the role of the Canons and Canonesses has been neglected. Despite the fact that the regular canons and canonesses were the most widespread and numerous form of religious life in medieval Ireland, very little has been written about them. This is partly due to the fact that the movement is somewhat difficult to define, there are different orders and observances within it and the Irish sources, while by no means non-existent, are somewhat difficult to access and require comparatively more research to access that those of other religious movements. Additionally, as many of these observances fully died out in Ireland and don’t have a strong presence in Ireland today, they lacked the dedication of modern confrères to encourage academic work on their medieval past. So it has fallen to the Benedictine monks of Glenstal to take up the torch for this important part of Irish religious history. This beautifully produced book will be a welcome addition to any bookshelf on Irish religious history. The volume contains the proceedings of the 2017 Glenstal History Conference which was dedicated to The Augustinian Canons and Canonesses in Medieval Ireland. The different chapters treat the various aspects of the canonical movement in Ireland from the twelfth century, the dissolution of the monasteries during the and the continued presence of the canons until they eventually disappeared in the early nineteenth century. The collection as a whole provides a good overview of the phenomenon The introduction by Browne and Ó Clabaigh and the first chapter by Bhreathnach give a good historical overview of the regular canons and canonesses in Ireland. The other chapters provide case studies of different aspect of the life of the movement from the perspectives of archaeology, architecture, material culture, liturgy, pastoral work, etc. This multidisciplinary perspective is a welcome introduction to the field. The book has a good index and a very helpful general bibliography to the field. Nearly all the individual chapters suggest further avenues of _____ 377 THE FURROW research, but each of them provides an interesting essay on a particular area in its own right. Specialists will benefit from the collection and, likewise, the general reader interested in a good book on the history of the Church in medieval Ireland will find this book to be an informative and interesting read.

St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth Neil Xavier O’Donoghue

Our Dog Red. Edward C. Sellner. 2019. Oregon:Resource Publications. ISBN: 9781532695667.

Mark Twain noted; “Heaven goes by favour; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” These sentiments are likely shared by Edward C. Sellner, professor emeritus of theology and spirituality at St.Catherine’s University, St.Paul Minnesota and author of ‘Our Dog Red’, a brief (95 pages), poignant memoir of the bond the author and his son Daniel and family shared with their female cocker spaniel Red for almost 12 years. The experience of loving companionship shared with his beloved canine ultimately brought Ed after the animal’s death on Good Friday in 2007 on a longer spiritual journey towards a new and more inclusive theological vision of the welfare and destiny of the other creatures with whom we share our planet. ‘Our Dog Red’ is mostly taken up with the story of Red’s happy puppyhood and daily life and adventures in the Sellner household. It’s a tale very familiar to those who have shared our homes with animals and especially dogs. The puppy mischief and growing pains, medical emergencies, the guilt, fun and wonder which life lived closely with an animal companion can bring are warmly depicted. For Ed there were also moments of spiritual illumination which Red provided for her human friend. More difficult perhaps for non-animal lovers to empathize with is the sense of loss and devastation that comes when the all too short lifespan of our animal companion comes to a close. In Ed’s case it led to a period of shared grief with others who had suffered similarly accompanied by the development of a ritual to help cope with the loss and manage the transition. Examples of such rituals are helpfully provided for readers. Grief also caused him to question the part animals and creation play in the story of redemption and to reject the Augustinian and Thomist utilitarian view of animal and other life forms which have contributed so significantly to the cruel forms of abuse and exploitation of non-human creatures up to the present day. He appeals to the scriptures, saints and mystics like St.Francis and Meister Eckhart as well as other non-Christian sources of wisdom and his own vast Celtic Christian knowledge to support his thesis that animals enrich our lives and proffer us an example of living (and in Red’s case suffering and dying) in ways without which our human existence would be greatly impoverished. Recent church leaders like saint John Paul II and Pope Francis in particular with both Laudato _____ 378 NEW BOOKS Si and Querida Amazonia have shown a greater openness to this vision. The awareness of potential environmental catastrophe and the growth of animal rights activism have also reinforced church teaching for humanity to act as stewards more than rulers of creation. It has been said that a dog has three legs in nature’s world and one in ours and this little publication explores beautifully some of the wonder and joy that the bridge created by animal companionship brings to everyday human life.

Termonfeckin, Co. Louth Paul Clayton-Lea

The First Ten Professed: Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary. Catherine KilBride. Dublin: Messenger Publications, 2019. [Available from [email protected] ] Price 10 euro.

This latest work by Catherine KilBride is a valuable contribution to the emerging history of women religious and their contribution to the lives of people at home and abroad. The Preface is written by Professor Deirdre Raftery of University College Dublin, who co-authored with Catherine Kilbride earlier works on Irish women religious including The Voyage Out: The Infant Jesus Sisters Ireland and The Benedictine Nuns and Kylemore Abbey. The structure of the book is very straightforward – it follows the lives of the first ten professed sisters who started their formation process in Killeshandra in the 1920’s, initially under the care of the Dominican Sisters, before they set out to Nigeria and elsewhere in response to the call of the Gospel. The legendary Bishop J Shanahan CSSp played a decisive role in the establishment of the new congregation and its location in Killeshandra, County Cavan. The first ten professed sisters came from the four corners of Ireland and brought with them a wealth of experience, including teaching and nursing. The chapters dedicated to each of the ten are full of detail and some wonderful pictures. They capture the energy, enthusiasm and dedication of these pioneers as they set out in service of humanity to remote areas of Nigeria and elsewhere. Their accomplishments were enormous, particularly in health care and education, and they left a legacy that was successfully built on by later generations. This is an important book because it reminds us that women religious – their dedication, creativity and perseverance – have made an enormous contribution to the life of the Church and society over many centuries. This history has often been ‘written out’ of official histories of the Church. Publications like this will help address that omission by making religious women and their heroic lives visible and accessible.

Cork P.J. McAuliffe

_____ 379 Index

Volume 71, Nos. 1 – 6 (January – June 2020)

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Articles

Always and Everywhere to Give you Thanks – Eucharist.. Patrick McGoldrick ...... 361 Atheist, the Archbishop and the Saint, The. Billy Swan ...... 233 Catholic Church and Homosexuality, The. Michael G. Lawler and Todd A. Salzman ...... 94 Church Reform: Taking Stock. Gerry O’Hanlon, SJ ...... 323 Commitment: An Exploration. Johanna Merry ...... 10 Community and the Holy . Richard Buck ...... 156 Despite the Dark. Kenneth Steven ...... 93 Distance and Desire: From Mission to New Evangelization. Michael A. Conway ...... 82 Do Not Lead Us Into Temptation ̶ Jesus in the Desert (Matt 4:1-11). Luke Macnamara, OSB ...... 143 Early and Forced Marriage. Orla Treacy ...... 67 Easter Elegy. Kevin O’Gorman, SMA ...... 284 Ecclesial Mystery Shopper, The. Bridie Stringer ...... 344 Exegesis and Incarnation – Towards Recovering a biblical Perspective on . Mary T. Brien ...... 220 Featured Review: Revised New Jerusalem Bible. Neil Xavier O’Donoghue . . . . .50 Theology and Ecology. Sean McDonagh ...... 308 Finding the Way Back – The Christian Message and the Shape it Takes. Hugh MacMahon ...... 351 First Eucharist Revisited. Aidan Ryan ...... 137 Food and the Environmental Crisis: The Christian Approach. Fintan Lyons, OSB...... 202 From the Commandments to the Virtues – Changing Emphases in the Christian Moral Life. Bill Cosgrave ...... 20 Fundamentalism: Putting it into context and Finding a Response. Edmond Cullinan ...... 30 Give the Spirit the Mic!. Brian Grogan, SJ ...... 259 Holy Well as a Window onto Irish Life ̶ Pre-Christian, Christian and Post-Christian (Part 1 and 2), The. Philipp W. Rosemann . . .131/195 Homilies: February (A) Martin Whelan ...... 43 March (A) Vincent Sherlock ...... 114 _____ 380 INDEX April (A) Edmond Cullinan ...... 167 May (A) Brenda Dolphin ...... 241 June (A) Dermot McCarthy ...... 304 July (A) Paul Clayton-Lea ...... 369 In Search of Belonging: Cultivating Community in a Diverse World. Paula Downey ...... 210 Journey Time. Chris McDonnell ...... 350 Last Week, The. Gerry McFlynn ...... 219 Ministry of Consolation: Parish Funeral Teams. Carmel Ryan . . . .37 News and Views: 2020 A Year of Vision or Myopia? Pat Courtney ...... 120 From Bethany to Jerusalem: Prayer in a time of pandemic. Margaret Hickey ...... 373 Minimalist Practitioners of Religion. Reg Naulty ...... 47 Pope Francis, Ecology and Climate Change. Pádraig McCarthy . .48 Touch in . Tom Grufferty ...... 173 Paul VI Roman Missal at 50: ‘Redeemably Awful’. Neil Xavier O’Donoghue ...... 151 Redeemably Awful: The Christian Altar. Neil Xavier O’Donoghue . .228 Redeemably Awful: Active Participation. Neil Xavier O’Donoghue . 292 Redeemably Awful: The Paschal Mystery. Neil Xavier O’Donoghue .340 Reflections from a Cocooning Space.+ Willie Walsh ...... 333 Religious Spaces in Transition: Challenge and Opportunity. Myra Hayes ...... 269 Remembering and Giving Thanks as Christian Practice. Lizette Larson-Miller ...... 102 Renewal of Priestly Promises. Patrick H. Daly ...... 160 Saintliness and Politics – Pius XII and Gandhi. Reg Naulty . . . . .175 Sunday of the Word of God – 26 January 2020. Liam Tracey, OSM . .17 Ten Covid-19 ‘Outcomes’ for the Church. + Brendan Leahy . . . .285 To Tear Down and to Build Up: insights from Jeremiah for the Irish Church. Jessie Rogers ...... 75 Two Interconnected : A Catholic Reflection. Michael G. Lawler/Todd A Salzman ...... 276 What are Priests for? Edmond Cullinan ...... 296 Wrestling for a blessing – is there a place for touch in the Church today? Chris Monaghan ...... 3

New Books

A Personal Perspective on Irish PEN (J. Anthony Gaughan) Fergus O’Donoghue, SJ, 63; Alive in God (Timothy Radcliffe) Kevin O’Gorman, SMA, 59; Baptismal Ecclesiology and the Order of Christian Funerals (Stephen S. Wilbright, CSC) Malachy McKeever, 317; (Building Bridges in Sarajevo: The Plenary Papers from CTEWC 2018 (eds. Kristin E. Heyer, James F. Keenan, Andrea Vicini) Suzanne Mulligan, 181; Bursting out in Praise - spirituality and mental health (Gavin Thomas) Michael Collins,61; Called to Freedom (ed. Gesa Thiessen) Fintan Lyons,OSB,254; _____ 381 THE FURROW Connecting Lives (ed. Patricia Kieran) John-Paul Sheridan,148; Dom Eugene Boylan (Thomas J. Morrissey, SJ) Henry O’Shea, OSB, 190; Eating Together – Becoming One (Thomas O’Loughlin) Padraig McCarthy, 254; Even Though I Walk (Magda Heras and Ignasi Fossas) Luke Macnamara, OSB, 64; For Us and for Our Salvation (Declan O’Byrne) Neil Xavier O’Donoghue, 186; Freedom from Evil Spirits (Pat Collins, CM) Henry O’Shea, OSB, 188; Glenstal Abbey – Through the Seasons, John-Paul Sheridan, 127; Good Work: Meditation for Personal and Organisational Transformation (Laurence Freeman, OSB) Stefan Gillow Reynolds, 191; Hearers of the Word (Kieran J. O’Mahony, OSA) Kevin O’Gorman, SMA, 180; Households of God (eds. Martin Browne & Colmán Ó Clabaigh) Neil Xavier O’Donoghue, 377; Introduction to Catholic Theological Ethics (Todd A. Salzman & Michael G. Lawler) Patrick Hannon, 315; Joy of God, The. (Sister Mary David) Henry O’Shea, OSB,189; Madness of Crowds, The. (Douglas Murray) Margaret Hickey, 179; Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church: Responsibility, Accountability and Transparency, 21 – 24 February 2019, Michael Collins, 125; Newman: A Short Biography (Michael Collins) Gaven Kerr, 62; Newman at Littlemore (Bernard Basset, SJ) Henry O’Shea, OSB, 187; Our Dog Red (Edward C. Sellner) Paul Clayton-Lea, 378; Pass it on! – Ronan Drury 1924-2017 (Compiled by Paul Clayton-Lea and Maria Flood) Noel O’Sullivan, 56; Pastoral Ministry in Changing Times: The Past, Present & Future of the Catholic Church in Ireland (Aidan Ryan) Malachy McKeever, 56; Religion and Education (ed. Gareth Byrne and Leslie J. Francis) John-Paul Sheridan, 248; Rome: A Pilgrim Guide (Michael Rear) P. J. McAuliffe,62; The First Ten Professed: Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary (Catherine KilBride) P. J. McAuliffe, 379; Thomas Finan – Collected Writings (ed. D. Vincent Twomey) Andrew Smith, 183; Unfinished Business Jerome Connolly) Patrick Hannon, 251; Way of St. Benedict, The. (Rowan Williams) Luke Macnamara, OSB, 185; Well of Living Water: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (Magdalen Lawler, SND) Ronan M. Sheehan, 250; With Him: Listening to the Underside of the World (Bruno Cadoré) Gearóid Dullea 58; Wind, the Fountain and the Fire, The. (Mark Barrett) Martin Hogan, 127.

Varia

Amen. Erik Varden, The Shattering of Loneliness (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. 95 ...... 295 Benedict and the future of Europe. Rowan Williams, The Way of St. Benedict (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. 66 ...... 81 Changing Times. Joan Freeman, in Modern Culture and Well-Being, ed. Catherine Conlon (Dublin: Veritas) p. 42 ...... 201 Courage. Sister Mary David, The Joy of God (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. 90 ...... 360 Different Questions. Nikolas Sintobin, SJ,Did Jesus really exist?, (Dublin: Messenger Publications) 2020, p. 16 ...... 332 Ecumenical conversations. Rowan Williams, The Way o f St. Benedict (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. 63 ...... 283 _____ 382 THE FURROW Enabling Discipleship. Alan Abernathy, The Jewel in the Mess (Dublin: Columba Books) p. 133 ...... 46 Engagement. Jim Malone and John McEvoy, Mystery and the Culture of Science (Cambridge Scholars Publishing) p. 9 ...... 172 Eucharistic Adoration. Tom Mulligan, Behold the Lamb of God (Dublin: Veritas) p. 8 ...... 247 Fasting. P. Fintan Lyons, OSB, Food, Feast and Fast. (Dublin: Columba Books) 2020. p. 249 ...... 268 Fear and freedom. Gesa E. Thiessen (ed), Called to Freedom (Dublin: Wordwell Ltd.) 2019. P. 168 ...... 113 Forgiveness. Nikolas Sintobin, SJ, Did Jesus really exist? (Dublin: Messenger Publications) 2020, p. 76 ...... 343 From Gratitude to Healing. Chris Alar, MIC and Jason Lewis, MIC, After Suicide (Stockbridge, MA: Marian press) p. 153 . . . . . 240 Future Challenges. John Sweeney, in Modern Culture and Well-Being, ed. Catherine Conlon (Dublin: Veritas) p. 96 ...... 232 Holiness. Sister Mary David, The Joy o f God (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. l 06 ...... 376 Hope and Europe’s future. Werner G. Jeanrond, Reasons to Hope. 2020. (London: T. & T. Clark) p. 173...... 384 Hoping for heaven? Werner G. Jeanrond, Reasons to Hope (London: T. & T. Clark)2020, p. 135 ...... 368 Hospitality. eds. Kristin E. Heyer, James F. Keenan, Andrea Vicini, Building Bridges in Sarajevo (Maryknoll: Orbis Books) p. 174 . . 16 Institutionalised Selfishness. Catherine Conlon, ed.Modern Culture and Well-Being (Dublin: Veritas) p. 125 ...... 256 Irish Monasteries. Clemens Galban in Households of God (eds. Martin Browne, OSB and Colmán Ó Clabaigh, OSB) Dublin: four Courts Press, p. 266 ...... 119 Jesus and Fasting. P. Fintan Lyons, OSB, Food, Feast and Fast (Dublin: Columba Books) 2020, p. 41 ...... 339 Lenten Call, The. Mark Bennett, OSB, The Wind, the Fountain and the Fire – The 2020 Lent Book (London: Bloombsbury) 2019, p. 35 . .74 Meeting God. Nikolas Sintobin, SJ, Did Jesus really exist? (Dublin: Messenger Publications) 2020, p. 20 ...... 275 No-to rugged individualism! eds. Kristin, E. Heyer, James F. Keenan, Andrea Vicini, Building Bridges in Sarajevo (Maryknoll: Orbis Books) p. 140 ...... 9 Open to the Spirit. Michael Knowles, The Meeting that changed the World (Durham, England: Sacristy Press) p. 311 ...... 42 Politics. eds. Kristin E. Heyer, James F. Keenan, Andrea Vicini, Building Bridges in Sarajevo (Maryknoll: Orbis Books) p. 120 . . 36 Prayer and Transformation. Mark Barrett, OSB, The Wind, the Fountain and The Fire – the 2020 Lent Book (London: Bloomsbury) 2019. p. 6 ...... 29 Revelation and Art. Aidan Nichols, OP, In Search of the Sacred Image (Herefordshire: Gracewing) p. 262 ...... 319 Stability. Rowan Williams, The Way of St. Benedict (London: Bloomsbury Continuum) p. 27 ...... 124 _____ 383 THE FURROW Stranger, The. eds. Kristin E. Heyer, James F. Keenan, Andrea Vicini, Building Bridges in Sarajevo (Maryknoll: Orbis Books) p. 175 . . 55 Towards Healing. Chris Alar, MIC and Jason Lewis, MIC, After Suicide) (Stockbridge, MA: Marian Press) p. 142 ...... 166 Transparency. St. Veronica Openibo, SHCJ, ‘Openness to the World’ in Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church (Dublin: Veritas) p.110...... 227 Word of God, The. Aidan Nicholls, OP, The Word Invites (Herefordshire: England: Gracewing) p. 27 ...... 19

Shorter Notice

Behold the Lamb of God: Praying Before the Blessed Sacrament (Tom Mulligan) 256; Return to Me with All your Heart: Daily Reflections for Lent (Gerard Gallagher) 192; Did Jesus Really Exist? And 51 Other Questions. (Nikolaas Sintobin SJ) 320.

Hope and Europe’s future. Christians are people of hope. They nurture expectations and look to the future. They are political beings. They experience a call to build a culture of love in which they can articulate their expectations for the future, in our case for the future of Europe in a globalizing and pluralist world. A culture of love offers the necessary relational framwork for dealing constructively with otherness – the otherness of my neighbours, the otherness of our created universe, the otherness of our own emerging self, and the radical otherness of God. According to Christian wisdom and experience, love represents the only way forward when approaching this interlinked fourfold manifestation of otherness.

– Werner G. Jeanrond, Reasons to Hope. 2020. (London: T. & T. Clark) p. 173. _____ 384 MA in Theology and World Religions Taught by staff with international reputations in their fields, this programme welcomes students from varied religious and secular backgrounds.

Key topics explored on the programme include: ● Ecumenical perspectives on key theological questions ● Sacred texts and languages like Hebrew, Greek and Arabic ● Interreligious dialogue between Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism ● Politics and Religion in the 21st century ● Literature and World Religions

A flexible programme delivered over one or two evenings per week to suit those with careers and other commitments.

PAC Codes: DC693 (One Year, Full-Time) DC694 (Two Years, Part-Time) Partial Scholarships available, please contact: Dr Joseph Rivera E [email protected] dcu.ie/DC693 dcu.ie/DC694 SCOIL NA DIAGACHTA, NA FEALSÚNACHTA, AGUS AN CHEOIL AGUS NA FEALSÚNACHTA, NA DIAGACHTA, SCOIL AND MUSIC PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY, SCHOOL OF The Furrow

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