Here we are at the beginning of another Holy Week.  I suppose we can begin by congratulating each other on our surviving the winter – and what a winter it was!  Holy Weeks begins, as always, with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the Readings of the Passion, according to St Matthew.

Today we retrace the entry of Jesus into the Holy City.  It is a glorious occasion which sees Christ heralded as the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord.  This really gives us only a foretaste of the glory and royalty of Christ because he must pass through the Passion in order to reach final and lasting glory.

Jesus comes riding on a donkey:

Rejoice, rejoice, People of Zion
Shout for joy – you people of Jerusalem
Look your King is coming to you.
He comes triumphant and victorious
But humble and riding on a donkey
On a colt – the foal of a donkey.

All through his Passion – Jesus rejected violence.  He orders Peter to put away his sword.  Many times, during this week, we will be invited to come together to hear the story of what Jesus suffered for us.  
•    To pray in praise and thanks in response.
•    To celebrate Mass – so as to find the Body of Christ, given for us, and to drink His blood.
•    These are days of suffering for the Church which relives in itself the sufferings of Christ.
•    Days of recollection and silence as we see God’s plan unfolded.
•    Days of hope – death has been conquered. There is life beyond the grave.
•    Days of serenity and of joy – as we discover the power of love to triumph.

God comes, battered and beaten, covered with insults and spits.  He does this for us and to take our sins upon his shoulders.

He could ask the Father and get legions of angels to set him free but that is not his way.  It is not the Father’s way.

He comes surrounded by the people who had been there when he called Lazarus and raised him from death.  They had reported what had happened – that was why the crowd met him.  They are the little people of the world.

He gives them His Body and Blood.  Then afterwards mentions the traitor and that they would all run away.

The way Jesus enters Jerusalem is important.  The story of the entry of Jesus gives us the key to understanding all that subsequently happened to Jesus.  So, thinking about this story is an excellent start to Holy Week.  

To understand the story we need to remember the words of the prophet Zachariah – who foretold that God’s chosen ones would come to save his people humbly – riding a donkey.

Jesus knew that by banishing chariots and horses and all the armour of war, he was fulfilling the prophesy.

Today we thank God for all the great public leaders of our time – Ghandi Martin Luther King and the leaders of our own Peace Movement here in Ireland – who have chosen the way of non violence.

Suffering is one of the great mysteries of life on this earth.  

•    Why do innocent people suffer so much?
•    How can a good God allow so much suffering?

I don’t have the answers to these questions.  I can only say that I find it helpful to pray this prayer every day:

O my God – I offer you all my thoughts, words, actions and sufferings of this day in union with those of my Saviour, Jesus Christ  I believe that by uniting my sufferings to the sufferings of Christ helps me to accept those sufferings and hopefully to endure them in the same spirit as Jesus endured his suffering.

I have also come to appreciate the following prayer, more and more.  

Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord
Your grace into our hearts
That we to whom the Incarnation of Christ
was made known by the message of an angel
May by his Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.

Like everyone else I believe that I am made for glory – a glory that lasts for ever and ever. The kind of glory that Christ proved is possible by rising from the dead.   But I also believe this:  I can only reach that glory by the Passion and Cross of Jesus.  

But what does that mean?

I think it means that we will reach Eternal Glory if we approach suffering and death in the same way that Jesus approached his passion and death.  We see how Jesus went to meet his death  in the Gospel – how he made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem humbly – obediently – willingly – riding on a donkey – praying that if it could be possible to skip, to avoid, the cup of suffering – let it be but if not – let the Will of the Father be done.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.  We are blessed as we come together in the Name of the Lord Jesus.  We are here to listen once more to what Jesus suffered for love of us – and to let it touch our hearts as we hear how he entered Jerusalem.  We are amazed at his humility.  He comes, riding on a donkey.

At the Last Supper Jesus is well aware that:

1.    One of the twelve will betray him.  
2.    Peter, their leader, will deny him,
3.    All of them will fall asleep and run away leaving him alone with Mary and John and the women.  

What is his reaction?

He is not concerned for himself but for them and their faith.  He gives them his Body and Blood. He washes their feet as an example.  He ordains them priests.  He gives them the gift of the great commandment – Love one another as I love you/

Jesus comes humbly – but he does not travel to Calvary alone.  He is in constant conversation with His Father – in prayer.  He meets his mother Mary on the way to Calvary and what a meeting that must have been!  He is consoled by the women of Jerusalem who wept for him!  But he is more concerned for them and, above all, for their children.  He begs them to weep for themselves and their children that they may never be deceived by Satan and may never turn away from God.

On the cross, Jesus is, at all times, thinking of others – not about himself.  He answers the prayer of the Good Thief –‘you will be with me in Paradise’. He gives his mother and his beloved disciple into the care of each other and, most wonderfully of all, he pardons his executioners:  ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do’.

There is a powerful lesson here for us too.  None of us need carry our cross alone.  God carries our cross with us as he carried it with His Son.  Jesus actually accepts his cross.  It is a lowely moment to accept a cross:  

•     When you know that you are terminally ill,
•     When you know a loved one has really left you,
•     When you know the loss of bereavement – the pain of failure and rejection.
•     When you allow yourself to enter into loneliness and grief,
•     When you suffer through mistakes you have made.

Pope John Paul II died in 2005 – in Easter week.  Two weeks from now he will be declared ‘Blessed’.  That means the Church will formally declare that he is now Blessed in Heaven – where he sees God, face to face.

He achieved this because he accepted all the suffering that came his way in life – and it was huge – from the loss of his parents and brother at an early age to the invasion and the persecution of his beloved Poland by the Nazis and then the Communists.  Then there was the attempt by an assassin to shoot him and finally the terminal illness which saw him lose his voice.  All through this he united his sufferings to those of Jesus.  He frequently flung himself on the floor of his chapel in the form of the cross to show his acceptance of his suffering and his union with Christ.  

We too will be blessed if we accept our sufferings and offer them up in union with Christ to the Father.

This evening we have a very interesting and different element in our celebration.  We have in our midst a number of people who are preparing to be initiated, that is, to be introduced into the Sacramental Life of the Church this Easter.  In other words, they are adults who have been preparing to be baptised, confirmed and make their First Confession and First Holy Communion this Easter.

This evening two of them come to ask that their names be officially enrolled among the candidates for these sacraments.  It is up to all of us – the Christian community – to give our approval to their admission to our Christian community but we are also expected to give them good example and to support them with our prayers on the journey they are making.  

You may say: Why do they want to be baptised and to be confirmed and receive Holy Communion?  Are they not OK as they are – as so many others appear to be – who have, in fact, been baptised and confirmed and nourished by their First Communion but who unfortunately no longer bother to approach the table of the Lord.  The answer to that question could take a lot of time but briefly we can say that these candidates for initiation in the Christian Life, have felt the need to share in the fruits of the victory won by Christ over temptation and sin.  They want to have the help of Jesus Christ in their struggle against Satan.  Satan, sin and temptation are at the centre of this evening’s Mass. 

At the beginning of Lent, the Church summons all of us to take a closer look at our lives.  Sin is always at work here on this earth.  The danger of our faith being undermined is always present.  The temptations which Jesus met in the desert never go out of date.  Those temptations concern all of us.  They come to the good Christians and the not so good.  The devil is real.  The devil is dead set against Christ and His kingdom.  Therefore, we should not be surprised that Satan – the Great adversary and his minions, do all they can to upset Christians who are trying to build up the Kingdom of God.  Satan and his servants stir up opposition to Christ and his followers.  They multiply difficulties.  They put up plenty of road blocks.  

Christ was led by the Spirit out into the desert to be tempted.  Temptation is not sin.  Christ is the spotless lamb – the new Adam – who had not sin.  And yet, he experienced temptation.  Christ was invited by the Father of Lies to disobey the will of the Father.  Naturally, he refused point blank.

As followers of Christ, we should expect nothing less.  We too will be tempted.  But by battling against temptation, we grow in our love for God.  We show our love for God and, in fact, we give God glory.  By his all-out attack on Christ – the devil shows his hand.  The three temptations put to Jesus expose the devil’s favourite tricks.

To turn us away from God’s way, the devil will appeal to our desire for comfort and pleasure.  ‘Turn these stones into bread or into chocolates or into jelly donuts’.  I have to confess that this afternoon I was often tempted to watch the rugby match in comfort and leave the sermon to the last minute.  

We are all obliged to do penance, each in his or her own way.  Days of penance are laid down.  On these days we are to devote ourselves to prayer and works of charity or piety.  We are also to deny ourselves by carrying out our duties more faithfully and we are to observe fast and abstinence.  Now the days and times of penance are every Friday and the season of Lent and if we ignore them we are, in fact, giving in to that first temptation.

The second temptation is to give in to our desire for recognition and fame and popularity.  For Jesus it came in the form of an invitation to do a swan dive off the top of the temple.  That will impress them.  For the preacher it could be the urge to always say what is popular and pleasing; and to avoid, at all costs, anything that is not welcome.

The third temptation is our desire for greatness.  Just go ahead and do it.  It will make you rich and powerful.  Our desires for comfort, fame and influence run deep.  They are powerful, but they are not all-powerful.  To be able to resist them successfully we have got to set our hearts on something even greater.  That is what Christ did.  He met every one of them with the words of Holy Scripture – the words of His Father in Heaven.  He advises us to do the same.  ‘Set your hearts on His kingdom first and then everything else will fall into place’.

The three temptations are really variations of the same temptation – the temptation to ignore God and to put our trust in ourselves and, in the process, to become self-seeking, self-absorbed and self-indulgent.  

Even in our prayer we can become self-absorbed. That is why in the Mass we pray, in a special way, for the people in Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami yesterday.

This week we celebrate the Feast of our National Apostle.  St. Patrick was often tempted by Satan but rejected temptation and turned to Christ.  

This year it is special because on the afternoon of St. Patrick’s Day we welcome, into our midst, the Bell which has been chosen as the logo – the emblem – the symbol – of the International Eucharistic Congress.  

On 17 March it will be blessed in Dublin by Archbishop Martin and then it will be despatched post haste to Armagh where it will stay in our diocese for two weeks.  While it is here we will consecrate an icon which will form part of the of the base on which the Bell is carried.  It is an icon representing Jesus dying on the cross – watched by his blessed mother and beloved disciple.  His side is pierced by the soldier’s lance from which poured blood and water.  The blood and water are symbols of the Holy Spirit and the sacraments which our two candidates seek from the Church.  We wish them God’s blessing in their preparation and we hope that our prayers and example will both inspire and support them on their way.

I welcome you to this Mass of the First Sunday of Lent.  In Lent we are invited to join Jesus in the desert.  There he is tempted to disobey his Father. He has to choose between human means and the means of being at the disposal of God, His Father.

The First Reading describes the first sin – of our first parents – the sin of pride, the pride of setting oneself up against God – the refusal to admit that we depend on God.  Sin entered the world through one man and through sine, death.  
•    By one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners.  
•    So, by man’s obedience, many will be made righteous.

We are called in Lent to seek God’s will for us more clearly and to follow it more nearly.

My dear friends,

We gather today to pay our respects to Constable Ronan Kerr.  We have prayed that Ronan will know the peace of God’s eternal love in the home that Jesus has prepared for him. We are here to sympathise with his mother Nuala, his sister Darina and brothers Aaron and Cathir.  May you find comfort and strength in Christ’s promise that one day you shall see Ronan again and enjoy his friendship and love.

May you also be helped and consoled by the presence of this congregation – representing as it does, so many strata of society, civil and religious alike.  May the support and admiration, expressed for Ronan and for all of you, at national and international level, over these days, ease the burden of grief and sorrow which you feel at this time.

Fifteen years ago, almost to the day – 9 April 1996, I had the privilege of confirming Ronan here in this Church.  He took the name Paul, in honour of the Apostle Paul, as his Confirmation name. The same Paul who said that “nothing can come between us and the love of God, made visible in Christ Jesus”.  The same Paul who said that “God co-operates with all those who love Him by turning everything to their good” (Rms.8:28).   That is the challenge now for all of us who remain.  To co-operate with God in transforming the evil of Ronan’s murder into the good that Ronan’s life represents.

Guided by the Spirit of the living God, Ronan proceeded on the journey of life.   He went from here to Omagh CBS and to university.  He did so many other things as well.  He played Gaelic games; he became a respected young man in the community.  As so many of his family and friends have testified in recent days he was a person who was happy, friendly and concerned for the welfare of others. Then the opportunity came his way to play his part in building the peace.  He was offered the possibility of joining the PSNI, a profession charged with the safety, welfare and protection of the rights of all in our society.  Imbued with the family spirit of public service Ronan took that opportunity.  Of course he knew the risks involved but one of the gifts he received on the day of his Confirmation was courage.

Ronan Kerr was obviously a man of exceptional courage. Today I pay tribute to the courage, and noble ideals of people who work in the public service – in the Police Service, in the Health Service; and in the Fire and Rescue Service and many others.  They deserve our gratitude and our support. We offer that to them today with admiration and respect. You are the protectors of our safety and the guardians of our peace.  Guard our peace carefully for the well-being of society depends on your professionalism, integrity and dedication.  

Unfortunately there are some people who do not believe that Ronan should have joined the PSNI.  They have a right to hold that view. But the freedom to hold that view also brings with it a great responsibility. It brings the duty to respect the will of the overwhelming majority of the people.   And the people have said no, never again, to the evil and futility of violence. They have said an empathetic no to the murder and mayhem of the past. Let there be no doubt that the killing of Ronan Kerr, was totally unjustified.  It was an evil deed, an offence against God and a complete rejection of the belief that human life is sacred.

There have been many defining moments in the ongoing journey towards reconciliation and peace.  No doubt there will be many more.   That is the nature of a process. But today, as we honour the courage of this valiant young man, may we all resolve to make this a defining moment in our own lives. We must never become complacent about choosing good and rejecting evil. Let us resolve to do everything in our power, to bring about the brighter future which the young people of this land deserve.

Of course there is now a whole generation of young people who have no memory of the troubles and the sufferings of the past. We should resist the temptation to glamorise the dreadful pain and sorrow of that past.  Parents and grandparents, I beg you, plead with your children and with your grandchildren, not to get involved with violence.  Never let them be deceived by those who say that Ireland will be united or the Union made more secure by war.  They are wrong.  It is an illusion. Violence has nothing, absolutely nothing, to offer except misery and destruction. Choose life, I say, choose goodness, choose peace. That is what God is asking of you. That is what the people of all traditions have been saying to all of us, loud and clear, since the moment of Ronan’s tragic death on Saturday last.   “We do not want this”. “You do not act in our name”. In God’s name stop – and stop now!

The presence of so many politicians here today is very much appreciated.  Your united and decisive response to Ronan’s death has given us all great inspiration and hope.  I believe that Ronan would have been very proud to see political leaders united with such determination to honour and uphold the peace which he gave his life to preserve.  Many believe and sincerely hope that a better future is possible for all.  Standing shoulder to shoulder together now is the surest way of overcoming those who would rob us, and future generations, of that hope.

The widespread expression of disgust and the rejection of violence in recent days – not just in Beragh and Omagh – but throughout the length and breadth of this land, and indeed further afield, strengthen the hope of us all.

Sometimes, however, condemnation and rejection are not enough to free hearts and minds held captive by hatred and bitterness.  That is a task to which only the power of the Spirit of the Risen Christ is equal.  He has conquered sin and death so that life and peace and harmony might flourish.  That process of transformation and change is still in progress.  May the memory of Ronan Paul Kerr and the dignified witness of his grieving mother Nuala and her family continue to guide and inspire our journey towards lasting justice, peace and reconciliation.  Then we will truly be able to say that his death has not been in vain.

I thank all concerned with the organisation of the Pope John Paul II Awards in this diocese this year and especially Dermot Kelly, the new Youth Director.  

A couple of years ago I was invited to Derry to present the Awards there and I was greatly impressed by the enthusiastic up-take – the energy that was invested and the whole-hearted response.  

I was sorry to have missed last year’s presentation.

We had to choose a separate Awards for Co Louth and the name Muredach Award came to the rescue for a number of reasons.  

St Muiredach is the first saint we all meet as we enter this magnificent Cathedral of St Patrick  here in Armagh.

When I was planning my coat of Arms – the Cross of Muredach was included.  The Muredach Awards take their name from the Cross of Muiredach – one of the famous crosses.  One of the scenes of that cross is called the Ecce Homo – its west face depicts Christ being presented to the Jews after his scourging.
Muiredach is the Patron Saint of the Diocese of Killala    
Muredach – Abbot and Steward of Armagh

I thank all those who took part.  I hope you found the experience fulfilling and satisfying.  

It is more blessed to give than to receive

In an age where the predominant instinct is to grasp as much as one can, the Church in Armagh relies on you to bring the true face of Christ to your peers and your contemporaries – to your classmates and your teams.  Faith in Jesus Christ faces tough challenges in Ireland just now and there is much work for all of us.

My sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ,

In the reading we have just heard, St. Paul speaks of having finished a race. Hinting that it hadn’t always been easy, he goes on to declare ‘I have kept the faith!’ This evening, we come together to mark the beginning of a journey. It is also a journey about faith. It is the beginning of the pilgrim journey of the Eucharistic Congress Bell around all of the Dioceses of Ireland. We are very honoured and proud that the Bell is beginning that journey here in the See of St. Patrick on this the feast of our National Patron. Over the next ???? days it will travel to other Parishes in the Diocese before moving on to the Diocese of Dromore. From there it will go on to Down & Connor and the other Dioceses of the Country. It will leave Ireland for a short time to go to Lourdes and to be part of the World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid in August.

The Annals of Ulster record a long association between St. Patrick and sacred bells. The Annals mention in particular the ‘Bell of the Testament’. This was said to be one of the treasures buried with St. Patrick. It is said to have been later willed to St. Colmcille who gave the Bell to the Church in Armagh. So it is very fitting that the Bell of the Congress should start its journey here in Armagh. The tradition of Patrick also has it that he would leave a small hand bell in every new Church he consecrated as a Bishop. An example of a lam-chlog of that time can be found today in the National Museum of Ireland. So, in his work of evangelisation, of bringing the joy of the Gospel to the Irish people, the bell had an honoured place in the mission of our National Apostle. It called the people to pray. It invited them to pause from their busy and distracted lives and to turn to what gives life to the spirit and the soul. It beckoned people to meet Jesus himself in his Word and in the Eucharist.

The Eucharistic Congress Bell has a more recent history but its purpose is still the same. Originally from the Dominican Convent School in Portstewart it was used to usher in the new millennium in Glendalough in the Jubilee year 2000. It was used to summon us to what Pope John Paul II called the new evangelisation that is the mission of the Church at the beginning of the third millennium. That call to a new evangelisation will continue to ring out in every parish the bell will visit. It will ring out in memory of Patrick who, in spite of his personal weakness and the many obstacles that came his way, burned with zeal for the hope, life and love that the message of Christ offered to the people of Ireland. The bell will call every one of us to take up that mission from Patrick and make it our own in living out our baptismal call.

These have been turbulent times for the people of Ireland. I am conscious that some commentators have said it is not a good time for Ireland to have a Eucharistic Congress. The wounds from the child abuse scandal in the Church are still too raw, the economic situation of the country is still too difficult. People are too distracted with other important things. All of this is true. Yet, the fact that we have been invited to host the 50th Eucharistic Congress out of all the countries of the world is itself a great vote of confidence in our country. It is a mark of the high esteem we continue to enjoy across the world and the trust others place in our heart, our hospitality and our ability to overcome the obstacles that confront us at this very challenging moment in our history. Others have confidence in us. My hope and prayer this evening is that as the journey to the Eucharistic Congress begins we will have confidence in ourselves and all that is best in our Church and in our country. The success of the Congress will depend in no small measure on every parish and every parishioner becoming involved in actively supporting the Congress and participating in its preparation and events with confidence and with faith.

I believe the Eucharistic Congress will also play a critical part in the ongoing healing, reparation and renewal called for by Pope Benedict XVI in his Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland published this time last year.

The theme of the Congress is ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another.’ We need communion with Christ and with one another if healing and renewal is to become possible. We need to rediscover the value of good neighbourliness, of working for others, of being part of and contributing to building vibrant communities. The Eucharistic Congress and the journey of the Congress Bell around the country is an opportunity to do all of these things. They are events for everyone in our society, not just members of the Catholic Church. That is why I would like to take this opportunity to invite all people of good will to become part of the journey of reflection and renewal of community that is at the heart of the Eucharist Congress and the visit of the Congress Bell to every Diocese in the country. It is an opportunity to take time to reflect on where we are going as a country and the values that unite us as a people. My hope is that people from the other Christian Churches will also hear the call of the Bell and join us in remembering the Biblical faith and evangelical zeal of Patrick that we share as sisters and brothers in the one Lord. I also hope that for those who, for whatever reason, have grown distant from the Church and from the practice of their faith in recent years, the visit of the Bell will be an opportunity to rediscover the peace and love that Christ can bring to our lives.

The Congress Bell is not a megaphone shouting for attention above all the other noise of our lives. It is not even a special ring tone designed to stand out from the crowd. It is a simple bell that tolls softly. It invites each one of us to quietly think again about the faith that brought courage, peace and hope to so many generations of Irish people at home and across the world. For those who have forgotten or rejected their faith, it is a gentle call to give faith in Jesus Christ and in His Word another chance. My hope is that the journey of this bell will bring about a reawakening of faith in each of our Parishes. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, my hope is that it will ‘inspire a new springtime of holiness and apostolic zeal for the Church in Ireland.’

ENDS.

Sixty-three years ago – 1948 – two young Irish men, James Doyle and Joe O’Brien set out on a long journey from Navan, Co Meath.  Like the seventy-two others of today’s Gospel, they too had been appointed – for they were newly ordained priests.  Like the seventy-two they too also were sent – for they were missionaries.  They travelled east and the came to a particularly beautiful land – a land of spectacular volcanoes and the most beautiful gardens in the world.  They came to Japan – the land of the rising sun.

Obviously some people made them welcome because the following year they opened their first Church in Japan.  Because they had came in the spirit and faith of St. Patrick, they named it the Church of St. Patrick.

Today that Church, located in central Tokyo, is part of a vibrant parish, made up of people from more than twenty countries.  This morning, through the wonders of the internet, I sent greetings from all here to the parish community in St. Patrick’s Tokyo on this St. Patrick’s Day.  

We want to express our deep concern and spiritual closeness to you.  In the midst of all your sufferings you are in our thoughts and prayers.  We pray for all those who have been killed or injured.  We feel close to those who lost loved ones and treasured possessions.  We pray especially for those affected by what happened at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.  
Yesterday I spoke, by telephone, to the Parish Secretary – Ken Hiraga, at St. Patrick’s, Tokyo.  I assured him that this St. Patrick’s Day, Irish people across the world, would be thinking especially of the people of Japan.  I asked him to let his parishioners know that we would be united with them in this Holy Mass. I invite all those listening to offer it, with me, for the consolation and hope of all the people of Japan.  

Today the Catholics of St. Patrick’s Tokyo are deeply grateful to Father James Doyle and Father Joe O’Brien and to all the other thirty Columban priests.  Today when other Irish people come to Tokyo, appointed by their Government or sent by their County Councils, they welcome them.  That same gratitude is felt today in many places to the thousands of Irish men and women who left the love and beauty of their own land to bring the love and beauty of the Good News of Jesus Christ to the rest of the world.

That gratitude is shown in many ways – in parades and processions, in meetings and Masses, in banquets and concerts.  To this day Ireland continues to benefit from this legacy of respect and goodwill.  

Today when Irish people go abroad – whether in search of employment or investment – they are often welcomed precisely because they are seen as the sons and daughters of the Emerald Isle.  When Irish people are received and honoured around the world on St. Patrick’s Day that is in small measure due to the network of goodwill already created for their beloved homeland over the centuries.

That goodwill has been created by people who left Ireland for various reasons.  Some left to make a living and give their work and their sweat to make a home and found a family.  They became celebrated ambassadors, community builders and social entrepreneurs.  But others went as religious sisters and brothers and priests to teach and to nurse and to pray.  They too are remembered today with affection and gratitude.  

I sometimes wonder what St. Patrick himself makes of it all now.  He once described himself, with typical humility, as a sinner and a most uncultivated man, greatly despised by many.  He said he was like ‘a stone that had fallen into a deep drain – and He who is mighty came’.  They are the words of Patrick himself. – ‘and in his mercy picked me up and indeed lifted me high to place me on top of the wall’.  

I imagine that Patrick is pleasantly surprised.  But I imagine that his surprise would soon give way to praise and thanks.  In his own declaration of faith he said “I cannot remain silent about the great favours and graces which the Lord deigned to grant me”.

Today unfortunately the historic link between the Christian legacy of Patrick and Irish identity is often ignored, if not out rightly denied.  This is evident in the increasing disconnect between so many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and the faith and hope which Patrick came to bring.  It is part of a wider European problem.  Despite the fact that the roots of European and Irish culture are profoundly Christian there are those who would prefer to deny this reality.

Of course there is no contradiction between confident expressions of Christian faith in the public square and a society that is tolerant of other faiths and philosophies of life.  Religious faith is very important to very many Irish people.  This fact deserves due recognition and respect in public life and policy.

Yes, in Ireland confidence in many institutions – including the Catholic Church has been profoundly shaken in recent years because of our failures.  We must try and rebuild that confidence.  For the Church it means a humble discernment of the path to renewal.

One year ago Pope Benedict ‘Encouraged the Catholics of Ireland to remember the rock from which you were hewn”.  For Patrick that rock was his personal immersion in the compassionate and faithful love of Jesus Christ.  In his hour of need on the slopes of Slemish, Patrick discovered that love through prayer. “More and more” he says “the love and fear of God came to me and faith grew and my spirit was exercised until I was praying up to a hundred times a day”.  

The message of Patrick is clear.  Genuine renewal will only come about through a deep and intensely personal renewal of our faith and love of Jesus Christ.  Yes, debates about the structures of the Church are important – nevertheless, genuine renewal will always take us back to the message of Patrick – his favour and zeal were hewn from his intimate and personal love of Jesus – a love learned through suffering, sacrifice and prayer.  Patrick’s advice still holds good:  ‘Trust in the Lord my God and turn to Him with all your hearts since nothing is impossible for Him”.

AMEN

With great joy, we welcome Archbishop Bashar Warda, from Erbil in Iraq, which is home to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities. But this is a community now under dire threat of extinction.  For the Christian population is now a mere 200,000 – a decrease from some 900,000 over the past ten years.  There are estimated to be 1.6 million Iraqi refugees living abroad of whom 640,000 are thought to be Christian.  Archbishop, we welcome you, we offer you our support, our sympathy and admiration.  The courage of you and your people inspires and humbles us.

The persecution and oppression of individual believers and the community of faith is a consistent theme in the Old and New Testament.  It is present all the time.  Of course in the New Testament Jesus is the model and inspiration for those who suffer persecution for their faith in the Gospel.

In the Old Testament to have faith in Yahweh, means one must have the courage to stand up for that faith and be loyal and faithful to the demands of the covenant in the face of tough opposition.

I am very grateful to Aid to the Church in Need for their 2011 edition of Persecuted and Forgotten.  It is a report on Christians oppressed for their faith in some thirty-two (32) countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.  It alerts us to the fact of so much persecution of Christians in the world today.

Archbishop Bashar comes to us on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day – Patrick had been persecuted in many different ways.  In the opening lines of his Declaration of Faith – Patrick says:  “I am greatly despised by many”.  

At age sixteen he was carried off into captivity in Ireland – a disaster which he eventually saw as well deserved and something that turned into an occasion of great grace.

Carrying the cross lies at the heart of Christian life.  All too often, and in many places, Christians suffer verbal abuse, discrimination at work, taunts in the media and threats.  The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem says:  “being a Christian in those lands is no accident of birth but is part of their vocation – a vocation that calls them to go deeper into their experience to see that pain and misery unites them to Christ.  

Archbishop Bashar is a Redemptorist Father, who did part of his studies here in Ireland with his Redemptorist Confreres.  We are pleased that he has come to Dundalk and will celebrate the Vigil Mass in St Joseph’s this evening.

‘Why are you still here?’ – A reflection on the persecution of Christians in Iraq and the World

On the 3rd June 2007, Fr Ragheed Ganni, a former student of the Irish College, Rome, who visited this diocese, and three sub-deacons were assassinated by militant Muslims as they left Sunday Mass in Mosul, Northern Iraq. Before killing Fr Ganni, one of his attackers was overheard to scream  “I told you to close the Church . Why didn’t you do it? Why are you still here?”   The question:  “Why are you still here?” immediately calls to mind St Peter’s great injunction that Christians should be ever ready to give account for the Faith that is within them.

By simply professing their Faith in public, Iraqi Christians are being  persecuted physically, socially and economically, their lives and livelihoods are under continuous threat. The overt and aggressive private and public anti-Christian sentiment so evident in Iraq however is not limited to Iraq. It is to be found throughout the lesser and greater Middle East, throughout Asia. It is to be found also in Africa and increasingly it is being found within the once-Christian lands of Western Europe.

The evidence is clear and it is persuasive, Christianity is being aggressively uprooted from the Middle-East, the very lands from which its first sprang. The evidence may be less clear and the aggression may be less blood-stained but the reality remains that Christianity is under threat in Western Europe and throughout the Western World by aggressive Atheism. Not the old style heavy-handed militant Atheism and tyranny such as was evident in the former Soviet Union but by a more recently-fashioned nihilism which insistently denies the existence of any God-given Truth.

Notwithstanding the fact that the ‘roots’ of European culture are profoundly Christian, an element of the culture of contemporary secularised Europe not only denies this reality but seeks to have Christianity eliminated, or failing that, ‘ghettoised’. Christian culture, Christian values and the Christian faith are under sustained attack in many quarters.

Throughout Europe, and throughout the Western World, Christians are being asked “Why are you still here?”

This fundamental question which was screamed at the about-to-be murdered Fr Ganni four years ago in Northern Iraq has not gone away.  It is the same one which challenges each and every Christian at all times and in all places: Christians are required to “apologise” (in the true sense of the word) to give an account for what they believe.

Self-evidently professing one’s faith and giving an account of it is more “life-threatening”, at least from a physical perspective, in present-day Iraq as compared to present-day Ireland. But does the same hold true from a spiritual perspective? Could it possibly be the case that it is more difficult to be a Christian believer in Ireland than in Iraq?

I also suggest that we should recognise that there is a culture war being fought in the West just as much as there is one being fought in the Middle East. It may be largely bloodless and there may be different rules of engagement but the stakes are the same, namely, the rights of all Christians to gather in public and profess their faith in word and deed.

And here let us be clear, Christians have every right to be “here”,
•    to gather in the public square,
•    to hand on their faith to their children and
•    proclaim to the world the Christian truth about the dignity of every human being and the infinite love of our merciful God.   

Some time ago, there was a cultural moment which was commonplace and largely accepted that,
•    tomorrow’s world would be better than today,
•    technological and scientific advances would solve humanity’s most  intractable problems,
•    mankind’s reason would triumph and subdue its baser instincts and by dint of it
•    a city would be built on a hill where people would happily live in well-fed peace and harmony.
Genuine, well-intentioned efforts to create such “New Harmonies” in both the new and old world did not succeed.  Efforts to radically reshape, “improve” society seemed almost pre-destined to founder upon the flawed nature of the human condition.

One hundred years ago, Europe was the cultural, economic, social and scientific powerhouse of the world. Today, Europe has become eclipsed as a global ‘superpower’. Europe is, in the opinion of many, rapidly becoming a socio-economic ‘has-been’.

Any healthy sustainable vision for a New Europe must embrace, not deny its Christian roots and in this what applies to Europe applies to Ireland.
In a nutshell, my central proposition here is that
•    Europe is floundering because of its failure to warmly embrace its Christian heritage,
•    it is declining because of its failure to respect the God-given dignity of every person and the revealed truths of Christian faith.

I would suggest that when one takes the Christian leaven out of any society, that society’s development is greatly impaired. Indeed I would go so far as to argue that society’s development will regress. We should not forget that
•    It was a Christian ethic which strove for and succeeded in eliminating slavery.
•    Freedom of conscience was formulated from the Christian mindset.
•    Forgiveness for human failings is a supreme Christian imperative.

What type of world would we have when people are not free and where transgressions are never mercifully forgiven?

In all of this it should be clear that the Christian view of the world is founded on the understanding of both the greatness and brokenness of the human person; a greatness and brokenness which is reflected in every individual life and in every human community – from the smallest to the largest.

It is also founded upon the central belief that there is a God, a loving God of infinite mercy who wants what is best for every human being. For the Christian, every life is worth living from the moment of conception to natural death because every life is a gift from God.  

2,000 years ago, Christ’s healing mission on earth was to reconcile man to God. His Church’s enduring mandate is to continue this mission, this process of reconciliation and healing of broken spirits and broken societies. The earthly mission of Christ’s church is to heal the world, to bring people and peoples into the light of God’s kingdom.

That’s why the Church is still here in Ireland. That is why the Church is still in Iraq. That is why Father Ganni and countless others offer up their lives as martyrs, to bring the beauty of Truth, to shed the light of Faith into the dark recesses of the human heart.

This Gospel presumes that we are all going to do something for Lent.  The question is ‘What’ and ‘How’ and ‘Why’?  I take your presence here as a sign that you wish to do something this Lent.  Your decision to come here and have ashes placed on your forehead is already a sign.  It is a sign that you want to use this Lent as a time when you will try and follow Christ more faithfully and more consistently.  There are two possible formulae of words which are used when the ashes are placed on the forehead.  One is: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”  And the second: “Remember man, you are dust and to dust you will return.”

The first is based on the words of Jesus himself.  The second comes from the Old Testament.  So I think I will stick to the first today: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”  That is how Jesus began his preaching.  It would be a good way for us to begin Lent.

Turn away from sin – that was the theme of the First Reading – come back to the Lord with all your heart.  Turn to the Lord, your God again, for he is all tenderness and compassion.  He will take pity on us, his people.

I must say that in a sort of way I dread Lent.  I know that it is a time of grace, a time when we go out into the desert as Jesus went to fast and be tempted.  I know I begin full of good and generous intentions but I often find that it is a case indeed of ‘the spirit being willing but that the flesh is weak’ and yet it is a time when the words of St Paul come to my mind often: “I chastise my body and bring it into supplication, in case that having preached to others, I might myself become a castaway.”  I do like the sound of that word ‘castaway’.  It reminds me of castoff.  Castaway – it suggests being cast out of the presence of the Lord forever – too terrible to even contemplate and yet contemplate it we must.

For Lent is that time of year when we stop and take stock.  We are all on the journey of life, one year older than we were last Lent.  One year nearer our final destination.  Lent is the time when we stop and contemplate what that final destination is: it is a time when we contemplate that other journey – the journey of self-discovery – who we are – where did we come from? Where are we headed to?  How much progress are we making?  I came across a book recently with the title: The Interior Voyage – The Journey.  It begins with these challenging words: “The question of prayer haunts the heart of everyone always, no matter what the level of their spiritual life.”  For prayer is the link to that mysterious place which holds the key to authentic peace of heart.

It is worth noting what happens immediately after the Baptism of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit drove him out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  St Mark simply says: “He was with the beasts and angels looked after him.”

In the wilderness Jesus must make the basic choice to trust God, no matter what.  Under very great pressure, he is hungry and weak, he makes his choice.  And we could ask ourselves, who does Jesus remind you of at this moment of decision?

The story of Jesus in the wilderness is told as a journey in three stages.  Perhaps we could try and recall times when we felt in a wilderness.  Maybe we were led there by the Spirit of God to be tested and grow strong.  

Do we sometimes go into the wilderness not led by the Spirit, and what happens then? Do we sometimes seek out ourselves the places and occasions of temptation and what happens then?  It can be disastrous.

The second stage of the journey is the actual temptations.  They are actually three sides of the same temptation – not to trust God.  It is the temptation to follow the way of achievement on our own steam, rather than place our trust in the help of God.  

I thank God today for the great people who continue to respond like Jesus.  They put their trust in the Word of God and its promises.  No doubt Satan is tempting them also, but they get the power to resist.  

The final stage of the journey is when the devil left Jesus and angels came and looked after him.  This is the moment when someone who has remained faithful through a long temptation experiences the love and care of God to whom she or he has been faithful.  And we could ask ourselves: Where are the angels that God sends to look after his faithful ones?  Are they our parents, our teachers, our friends, those who really love us?  In each of our lives Lent can be the start of this second journey.  

It is a time to regain the freedom of my tongue, to praise God and stop bad-mouthing others.  It can be a time to tame my appetite for food, sex, drink, sleep or whatever I feel has too much of a hold on me.

I hope that your Lent, while it might be tough, may be good and challenging and filled with grace.  And if your enthusiasm wanes, have the courage to pick yourself up off the floor and start again.

Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Good News.  That is our intention this Lent.  It also happens to be God’s intention and together we can form a powerful combination.

I am very pleased to be able to celebrate this Mass of Ash Wednesday with you today.  I welcome you all, but especially, I welcome Rev Sandie Prichnell.  It is good for us to be here together as we begin the great season of Lent.

I also rejoice to celebrate this Mass with Fr Clem McManus and I wish him well as Catholic Chaplain of this illustrious Institute of Technology.  Fr Clem has two great advantages going for him.  He is a Dundalk man and he is a Redemptorist.  

The Redemptorists were founded to give glory to God mainly by preaching the mercy of God and celebrating the forgiveness of God in the sacrament of Penance.

We begin Lent, with the words of the Prophet Joel thundering in our ears: “Come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.  Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn, turn to the Lord again and say, ‘Spare your people, Lord.’ ”

Thank you all for attending today here in the RDS in Dublin as we formally launch the 50th International Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Ireland next year.  Most of the week-long celebration will be based on this historic campus and Fr Kevin Doran and his planning team have relocated here.

The 49th International Eucharistic Congress took place in Quebec City, Canada in 2008. Pope Benedict’s announcement that Ireland had been chosen to host the 50th Congress was broadcast live from Rome as part of the final Mass of that Congress.

I, along with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Fr Doran and other Irish pilgrims who were attending the Congress in Canada at the time, felt honoured, excited and humbled that the Holy Father had chosen our country to host the next International Eucharistic Congress in 2012.

But our excitement soon gave way to a keen realisation of the logistical demands that such a large-scale and important week-long project places on the Catholic Church in Ireland.  More will be said on that issue by others here today.  What I would like to highlight this morning is the purpose of the Eucharistic Congress, and my hopes for it.

The purpose of every Eucharistic Congress is to deepen understanding of, and devotion to, the Holy Eucharist which is central to our Catholic faith.  That devotion holds a special place in the affection of Irish Catholics.

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the life of every follower of Jesus. The hosting of the Congress in Ireland serves not just our local Church, but it will be an international event.  The celebration will attract thousands of pilgrims and will enable Catholics, at home and abroad, to meet and participate in daily Masses, discuss issues of faith, take part in workshops, witness reflections, and take part in adoration of the Eucharist.

Of course this is the second time that the International Eucharistic Congress has been hosted in Ireland. The 1932 Congress in Dublin was considered an organisational success and it publicly showcased Catholic faith in the newly established State.   But we live in different times now.  I know that the Organising Committee will seek to reflect those different times in next year’s Congress.   

It is our hope that the 2012 Congress will assist renewal in the Catholic Church in Ireland by reflecting on the centrality of the Eucharist at the heart of our increasingly diverse community, and give renewed impetus to the living of faith.

Last Thursday at Confirmation in Dromintee, Co Armagh, I met a 90 year old man who proudly told me that he had been at the Eucharistic Congress in 1932 and that he hoped, with the help of God, to be at next year’s as well.  I know that hope is shared by tens of thousands of people throughout Ireland.

Since 2008 much preparation has already taken place for the Congress and this has concentrated on catechesis on the Eucharist for parishes and encouraging volunteers to support the many activities of the Congress.  This year a National Eucharistic Congress will take place to coincide with Feast of Corpus Christi on the last weekend of June.

This National Eucharistic Congress will involve workshops and liturgies and will be celebrated in Knock and in all 26 dioceses on the island.   As part of this Congress, in June this year, we are holding an International Conference on prayer in Armagh.  It is entitled Spiritfest and will have many speakers from abroad.  Bishop Richard Clarke, Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare and Rev Ruth Patterson, of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, will give it an ecumenical dimension. This National Eucharistic Congress will mark the beginning of the final year of preparation for the International Eucharistic Congress in 2012.  

Today is about putting the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland “on the map”.  I especially wish to acknowledge the valuable involvement of the media in this task.  Please continue to take an interest in this important Church initiative.

In a few moments we will hear the story of the Congress Bell and I look forward to hearing the wonderful Eucharistic Congress hymn “Though We Are Many” sung by the choir from the Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney.  In Armagh too a special hymn has been composed for Spiritfest.

Finally, this morning I ask that the faithful pray to the Holy Spirit to lead us all to a greater appreciation of the presence of Jesus in our midst, for love of us, in the gift of the Eucharist.                            Thank you