INTRODUCTION

We are gathered here, at Our Lady’s Shrine, to celebrate the Feast of
Divine Mercy.  That is the mercy which God the Father bestows on each
one of us through Jesus Christ – Son of God and Son of Mary. 

Today we take time to think about the Passion, Death and Resurrection
of Our Lord as the greatest revelation of God’s mercy for us.  It is
the Risen Christ who brings us the great message of God’s mercy.  He
did so when he appeared and said to the apostles: 

“Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me – so I also send
you….Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any – they
are forgiven”.

Today’s feast is meant to be a refuge and a shelter for all – but
especially for poor sinners.  There is only one way of drawing graces
from the well-spring of God’s mercy.  That one way is the way of trust
in Jesus.

HOMILY

‘The stone which the builders rejected, has become the corner stone.’
My sisters and brothers in God’s mercy,
These words, taken from today’s psalm, take us to the very heart of the Easter mystery. Jesus whom the world thought irrelevant and contemptible has become the very source of our hope. Jesus, rejected and condemned has risen victorious over death. He is the cornerstone of a new creation. Each of us, through our baptism, is called to be part of that new creation. We are called to be living stones bearing witness to God’s love by what we say and what we do.
Love is the foundation of our lives. Love is what gives the deepest meaning to our lives. By love we are healed. By love we are strengthened. By love we are made whole. The wonderful truth we celebrate today is that God’s love for us endures for ever. Mercy is sometimes called love’s second name, that is, love understood in its deepest and most tender aspect.

In the words of St. Paul, ‘nothing can separate us from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus’. This is why He is the cornerstone. The cross he bore, the death he endured, the wounds he continues to bear in his risen body, these are the eternal reminder to us that ‘though we are sinners’, we can ‘trust in God’s mercy and love.’  They reveal to us the face of the Father: ‘the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation’.

This image of Jesus as the revelation of God’s loving mercy was brought home to me very vividly a couple of years ago when I visited Poland and the city of Krakow. I saw there for myself the magnificent basilica which the Polish people have built in honour of St. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy. The period between the First and Second World Wars was a time of great turmoil and suffering for the people of Poland. In the words of St. Peter in our second reading, it was a time when the people of Poland were ‘plagued by all sorts of trials’ and their faith ‘tested like gold in the furnace’.
It was also during this time that St. Faustina received the revelation of the image of the Divine Mercy. As I listened to our Gospel being read that image came immediately to mind. The Risen Lord, standing before his disciples, in a peaceful radiance of light, the wounds in his hands and his feet still visible, reminders of the depth of God’s love revealed to us on the cross. The posture is that of the priest in blessing and absolution. Through a blessing, of course, comes God’s strength and consolation. Through absolution comes God’s forgiveness and mercy. ‘Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven.’ What incredible words. What consoling words. The mercy of God is completely available to us. It is willingly and generously offered. This is part of the joy of Easter.
That so many people choose not to accept God’s mercy in our world today is both a mystery and a challenge. The challenge is to tell others the good news of God’s mercy. Perhaps there have been times when we have spoken too much of the just demands of God without speaking also of his infinite love and mercy. Perhaps we have allowed others to think of our Catholic faith as defined by prohibitions and devoid of joy. We will lead others to God’s mercy by being first immersed in that mercy and gentleness ourselves. We will bring others to the joy of Easter by knowing Christ’s freedom and joy in our own hearts and manifesting it to others. In the words of the Psalm, ‘the Lord is slow to anger and rich in mercy’. Let us pray that we will be living witnesses of that mercy to others. That is the challenge.

The mystery is harder to define. It is clear that for a significant number of people Confession has become all but a forgotten sacrament. It is as if there is a lack of trust in God’s mercy. Those who say it is sufficient to tell God that they are sorry for serious or repeated sins without recourse to the ministry of the Church have only to read today’s Gospel to know that this is not what Christ intended. On the one hand, we all know the folly of trying to judge ourselves and our culpability for our own conduct. On the other, there is the importance of being reassured that we are truly forgiven. Only the sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation can offer that absolute assurance, not because of the worthiness of the priest, but because Christ is always true to his word, his word given unequivocally, generously and willingly in today’s Gospel.

This is why the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation, as well as participation in the Eucharist, is central to the celebration of the Divine Mercy. I ask you all to pray that those who, for whatever reason, have lost touch with this irreplaceable sacrament of God’s mercy and love, will rediscover its beauty, its power and its peace.
There is a deeper dimension to this mystery which it is also important to mention. It takes places at the social and cultural level. Some people speak of a spiritual crisis in our society. Others describe it as a crisis of values. What is increasingly clear is that whatever way it is described the consequences are becoming increasingly evident. We are becoming a more heartless, less forgiving and a less merciful society. You see it in an increasingly aggressive and competitive attitude, in the more frequent resort to violence, in the relentless pursuit of the vulnerabilities of celebrities and public figures, for entertainment rather than for legitimate public interest and in the merciless culture of image compliance, not least among the young. All of this is probably linked to our increasing departure from the practice of faith. All of this is connected to our loss of a sense of our being created and therefore dependent on a Creator other than ourselves.  We are made to worship but when we cease to worship God, we can lose the sense of direction and of purpose in life.  The problem cannot be addressed by social or political initiatives alone. Our society needs a change of heart about God, about the Church, about living, enjoying and sharing a faith which makes us more loving and human. The human heart has a natural yearning for God but when we lose that yearning and set our hearts on other things, that are not God, then we find ourselves, as God warned us, in an increasingly miserable state.
We often wring our hands over the loss of social cohesion, over lack of respect for property, health, life, over substance abuse. Yet we ignore the spiritual, religious and moral remedies that are staring us in the face, the remedies offered to us by God.
Perhaps the problem is that some in Irish society are vainly seeking a substitute for the role once played by the Church. As a community of faith the Church must always ensure that it is a faithful mirror of the mercy and love of God. But the truth is that Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life. The truth is that Jesus has entrusted to his Church the ministry of the sacraments of his mercy and love. There is no alternative to Jesus, to the Gospel, to the Church, to the objective moral order. Those who are waiting for something else to replace Jesus and his Church will always be disappointed. The challenge for every Christian is to ensure that their lives and their witness to the faith is authentic, humble and humanising. We are called to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful.
The Gospel of John reminds us that it is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter and the Spirit of Truth, who guides us along the ways of Divine Mercy. The Spirit convinces the world “concerning sin and righteousness and judgement” (Jn 16:8). The Spirit enables us, individually and collectively, to acknowledge sin, every sin, ‘in the full dimension of evil which it contains and inwardly conceals.’ (cf. Dominum et vivificantem, 32). On the other hand, the Holy Spirit permits us to see the merciful and forgiving love of God.

The stone which the builders rejected, may be rejected by some in our own society, but is still the cornerstone! Let us pray today that no-one will allow any human failing on the part of any member of the Church to get in the way of their personal commitment to Jesus and the community of believers. As we pray in every Mass, ‘look not on our sins but on the faith of your Church and grant us the peace and unity of your Kingdom.’

The Gospel of John tells us that blood and water flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross.  In the image of the Divine Mercy they are represented by the two streams of light flowing from the wounded heart of Christ. These streams of light shower outwards to embrace all. They break through the moral and spiritual fog which surrounds so much of our lives and guide us toward the source of all mercy and love.
The heart of Christ is vast. There is no one is this Basilica today who’s heart is not wounded in some way. There is no one in this Basilica who cannot be healed in their heart, in their mind, in their emotions by the encounter with the love and mercy of Jesus present in the Eucharist and in the sacrament of reconciliation. In the words of Pope John Paul II, ‘the Cross is like a touch of eternal love upon the most painful wounds of our earthly existence.’
As he consecrated the Shrine to the Divine Mercy in Krakow, he would no doubt have also been aware that the foundation stone of that great Basilica had been carved from stone taken from the hill of Calvary. Because of Calvary, we can trust the stone which the builders rejected. On Easter Sunday, it became the corner stone. In the words of our psalm – this is the work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes – we rejoice and are glad!
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy –
Hail our Life, our sweetness and our hope.
May our pilgrimage here today to Mary’s Shrine lead us unerringly to Her Divine Son.
May it lead us to imitate His merciful ways.
For, in the final days of sorting sheep from goats
The measure by which all people will be judged by God will be their compassionate actions to relieve the sufferings of those in need.
Mercy is the way God acts towards people. 
Mercy is the way God expects us to act towards others.
Within the Christian community – people who perform acts of mercy enrich the entire Christ –
The Body of Christ – Compassion and mercy inspire people to be united in love and heart and thoughts.
It is the direct opposite of attitudes of self-interest, self-importance and status seeking.

St Peter sums it up well when he says:  “Once you were no people but now you are God’s people.  You had not received mercy – but now you have received mercy Amen”.

On Monday – 14 January last – it was a joy to celebrate Mass for all of you in a very special place.  On that day it was my great privilege to celebrate Mass at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.  I felt it was something awesome to be there changing bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at the exact spot where that same body was laid to rest after his death on the cross. 

To actually get into the Tomb of the Holy Sepulchre you have to stoop and bend down low.  It was 6.30 am on a cold January morning.  As we hurried along those same streets, I thought of Mary Magdalene and the other women and of Peter and John, hurrying to that same spot on that first Easter Sunday.

I thought of those women rising very early and hurrying down those same streets – after the Sabbath – at the dawn of the first day of the week.  It was still dark but it was not just the dawn of a new day!  It was, in fact the dawn of a whole new era really.  It was, I am sure, a dawn of sadness for these women, after a night of great darkness and sorrow. They had been present, on Calvary, and had watched Jesus die a most painful death.  It was a death reserved for slaves only.  It was a most shameful death for it was the death of a criminal.  Afterwards they had partially prepared his body – but only partially – for the onset of the Sabbath had interrupted their work and the law would certainly not tolerate them breaking the Sabbath – even to carry out the work of preparing the dead for burial. 

On the Friday evening – when we arrived, we ourselves experienced that same reaction when the minibus in which we were travelling was thumped angrily by someone who disapproved of our travelling on the Sabbath.

These devout women wanted to properly honour and mourn the one they loved so dearly.  So they were up early, at the crack of dawn, once the Sabbath was over to complete the anointing for burial.

There was one problem to which they had no solution.  How would they roll back the huge stone which had been placed at the entrance to the tomb?  Today, there is no stone at the entrance but there are usually a couple of hefty clerics are in attendance whose job it is to ensure an orderly access to this tomb.  They are there to ensure that nobody stays too long in prayer lest others be deprived of the opportunity to visit and to venerate this holy place.

So those women were not really expecting to find any great joy.  They were going to do what had to be done and then get on with their lives as best they could. Yet, what they discovered was totally different.  Not only was the stone rolled back – the tomb was empty.  Jesus had risen, as he had said he would.  Not only the darkness of night but the darkness of the world had disappeared – for death had been defeated. 

There was no human witness who could tell them what happened.  For that they must rely on heavenly witnesses to explain what had taken place.  This illustrates the fact that when we come face to face with the resurrection – we literally are in a different world. 

In a sense, at this Easter Vigil, we enter into that other world.  The magnificent Exulted hails this truly blessed night – the only night that deserves to know the time and hour when Christ rose from the realms of the dead.  Truly blessed are you who appreciate the meaning of this night.

We are in the world of saluting Christ – that morning star which never sets.  The star who came back from the dead and shed his peaceful light on all mankind.  I simply love that phrase – the morning star which never sets. 

Did any of you notice the full moon last night and tonight? It is, of course, the first full moon after the March Equinox – the one which determines the date of Easter.

We live in a world that loves its stars – stars of varying degrees of brilliance and permanence and excellence, it has to be said.  But here in this other world, we meet Christ the star which never sets – the star whose light burns brightly in the hearts of all who love – the star who came back from the dead.

We all love someone who makes a come-back – especially against all the odds.  But what about someone who came back from the dead and shed his peaceful light on all mankind.  

There are many places where the peaceful light of the Risen Christ will be especially needed and welcomed this Easter.  I think it is very important that we keep them all in our prayers.

Recently I had a visit from a Lithuanian priest who spent twenty two years in Soviet prisons.  He had come to say thanks for the prayers of the Irish for Lithuania and its people in their hour of need.
And so tonight, I want you to remember, in a special way, the Holy Land where there is, at present, terrible tension and terrible trouble.  I was there in January and I hope to go again, in the near future, with the other Church Leaders from Ireland, to show our support and accompany, with our prayers, the people who suffer there.

I want to you to pray also, for Iraq.  Recently the Archbishop of Mosul was found dead after being abducted.  Last year one of his priests – Father Ragheed Ghanni, a past student of the Irish College in Rome, along with three sub-deacons, was taken out and shot.  Iraq and its people need our prayers in a special way just now.

Finally, there are many Irish missionaries in Kenya.  I think of them and their worries and troubles and I pray that the Risen Christ will shed His light and His love, in a special way, on this troubled land and its people this Easter.

But, above all, I pray that the Risen Christ will shed his peaceful light on another category of people this Easter.  I pray that the peaceful light of the Risen Christ will come into the hearts of those people so filled with anger, hatred and envy that they do not hesitate to shed the blood of those with whom they come into conflict. 

The message of Easter is ever ancient, ever new.  By His dying, the Risen Christ has destroyed our death.  By His rising, He restored our life.  Yes of course, we shall all have to face death but we do so now with new courage and new confidence.  We face death with new hope – the hope that after death, the righteous will live forever with the Risen Christ.  The hope that Christ will raise us up on the last day

In the meantime, we believe that every life is precious, every life is sacred, and every life is fragile.  And we are all to respect and protect and take care of every life – our own life, first of all and the lives of others. 

The Risen Christ has promised to make one more come-back and he does keep his promises.  He has promised to come back again to gather his chosen ones into the glory of his fold.   So, never again will the word ‘tomb’ mean the same.  From now on, because of Jesus, the tomb is the home of resurrection and of life. Henceforth every grave is the promise of new life.

Christ is Risen – Alleluia –
God be praised – Alleluia.

AMEN

Last January it was my privilege, and my joy, to visit the Holy Land.  There I walked the streets of Jerusalem from the house of Pilate to the Hill of Calvary.  As I did so, I thought of Jesus carrying his cross along those numerous hilly streets and out the gate and up onto the mountain of Calvary.  At Calvary, I knelt at the foot of the cross and gazed, in wonder, at the rock which split miraculously at the moment when Christ died.  At that moment I thought of Mary, and of many people.

•    I thought of the way Peter had denied ever knowing Jesus;
•    of Judas betraying him for thirty pieces of silver, 
•    of the other disciples who ran away –
•    Only the women – those brave and good and strong women – stood by him through it all.

    Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and
    Mary of Magdalene and
    the other Mary, and
    Veronica who wiped his face, and
    the women of Jerusalem who wept for him, and
    John the Beloved Disciple, and
    Simon of Cyrene, who helped him carry his cross –

The Hill of Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre are now contained in the one great basilica of the Holy Sepulchre – under one roof.   It is just amazing to stop and see the continual stream of pilgrims – speaking different languages – from all the ends of the earth.  I got the privilege of saying Mass one morning – bright and early – at 6.30 am – at the Holy Sepulchre.  Once again the pilgrims were from the four corners of the earth with one particularly large group from the Philippines. 

Today we are all once more confiding with the cross of Jesus Christ.  In a moment we will go to the back of the Church and take the cross and hold it up for us all to look at, to bend before and to honour and to kiss.  Let us be quite clear why we do all of this.  We do so in order that we may share in the power of the cross to redeem and to save and to set us free.  We are invited to think about the mystery of a God who suffered in Jesus but a God who continues to suffer in millions of people. 

We can say that Jesus is nailed to the cross today
    In the millions who are starving and dying – especially children – because they are undernourished and hungry. 
    Jesus is nailed to the cross today in the men and women imprisoned for the cause of justice.
    In the people living on the side of the road, or sleeping rough in the cities,
    Jesus is nailed to the cross in the thousands nailed to substance abuse –or drugs and alcohol.
    In the meaningless of empty lives of many who are devoid of any love or respect.

As we venerate the Cross today, it might be good to remember that the cross – the crucifix – has, for centuries, helped millions through their darkest hours.  Think of the Penal Crosses in our own country.  By His bruises we are healed. 

Good Friday is, first and foremost, about the sufferings and death of Jesus.  It is about the love which brought Jesus to lose his life that we might save our lives.  Good Friday is also about us and our share in his sacrifice on behalf of others.  It is about our sharing in the blessings that result from the suffering of Christ and about how we can share in those blessings.  It is about how we make sure that we do not contribute to or allow other people to be destroyed.

The heart of the story of Holy Week is that Christ entered the glory of His Resurrection through his suffering, death and burial. 

For the followers of Christ – the way of the Cross leads to the glory of the Resurrection.  Today we all need silence to examine our own lives and to make sure that we are in no way allied with those who kill or who profit from the death and suffering of others.

Today we remember all those who are broken, all those who fall into the clutches of their enemies and of their persecution.  We promise, with God’s help, to do our best to rescue them by standing with Jesus. 

In the Second Reading we are reminded that Christ suffered and yet offered prayers – all through his agony – to God.  His prayer was heard because of his reverence and obedience to God. 

We are sons and daughters of God, our Father – brothers and sisters of the Crucified.  We learn obedience from our suffering.  Some suffer very little – others suffer terribly – sometimes without support from those who claim to be friends of Jesus. 

Suffering can destroy those without faith, but suffering – united to Jesus – can save and give dignity and restore others to life and holiness.  For all the pain and suffering of the world is bound up in the flesh of Jesus – for once we are tied to his body and blood – we too can disappear into the wounds of Jesus.  We too will see light in the fullness of days. 

The focal part of the liturgy today is the image of the Crucified Christ.  It brings home to us the true seriousness of human misery.  It drives home the gravity of humankind.  Yet, the Crucified Christ has always been seen as an image of hope and consolation.

One of the most moving paintings of the crucifixion was located in a hospital that cared for victims of the terrible plagues that raged in the Middle Ages.  The crucified Jesus is depicted as one of those victims – his whole body is disfigured by boils of bubonic plague – the most terrible of that particular time.  Today one would think of HIV or AIDS perhaps. The painting made the victims realise that precisely because of their sickness, they were identified with the Crucified Christ.  That Christ, by his suffering had become one with all those who have suffered in history or who are suffering now.

They felt the presence of the Crucified One in their cross.  They knew that in their pain and suffering and distress, they were in union with Christ and so were drawn into the ocean of his Eternal Mercy.  They experience the Cross of Christ as their Saviour.  My prayer is that all who suffer now will experience the cross as their consolation. 

Today, the Cross of Christ is the focus of our celebrations.  Our thoughts – our gaze – our prayers – are centred on the Cross.  We go forward to honour the Cross because, by it, the world was saved.  As we kiss the cross, we show our love for Christ and our absolute dependence on him.

MASS OF THE LAST SUPPER
ST PATRICK’S CARTHEDRAL, ARMAGH
THURSDAY, 20 MARCH 2008
HOMILY BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this Mass of the Last Supper and a special welcome to those
good and generous people who have agreed to have their feet washed
during this Mass. They thereby allow us to remember, in a graphic and
vivid way, what Jesus did.

He is about to be betrayed into the hands of those who will kill him.
He has tried his best to touch the heart of Judas and turn him away
from his murderous plan but Judas remains stiff-necked and
hard-hearted. He has heard Peter protect that he is ready to die with
Jesus. He sees the disciples lukewarm enough despite all the signs
they had seen.

Jesus knows that his enemies are baying for his blood and hatching
their plan so he plays his last card. He leaves four wonderful gifts:

1. A new commandment of love,
2. An outstanding example of love,
3. A Sacrament of Love – namely by body and blood, and finally
4. The priesthood so as to continue the Eucharist.

We have a huge amount for which to love and thank Jesus in this Mass…

HOMILY

It is Holy Thursday – otherwise known as Maundy Thursday – and Queen Elizabeth II came to the City of Armagh earlier today to distribute Maundy Money officially called Maundy Pennies.

The word ‘Maundy’ comes from the word ‘Mandalum’ a Latin word meaning commandment – mandate. On the first Holy Thursday Jesus said to his disciples: “I give you a new commandment, love one another as I have loved you’

This is the one and only commandment that really matters for, on the last day, we shall all be judged, without exception, by the same standard.

How did we love one another? Especially how did we show our love for the other person – who was hungry or thirsty or naked or sick on in prison?

At the Maundy Service in the Church of Ireland Cathedral I was asked to read a passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew. This passage describes the last judgement when Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.

As I read those words I was glad that BBC was carrying those words out to a wider audience because it is a message that we all need to hear and heed since this appointment with the Lord, on the last day, is one that none of us can ignore.
Of course this Mass of the Last Supper is always a deeply emotional experience for the followers of Christ. We are trying to commemorate, in one solemn ceremony, all that the Lord did and said on that fateful evening. Above all, we are here to give thanks for the four magnificent gifts which Jesus gave us on that occasion.

Jesus did not only give us a new commandment – the commandment to love one another – although that, in itself, is something wonderful as it forms the basis of the whole civilisation of life and love which He had come to bring – replacing, as it does, the civilisation of death and hatred which are the harvest of sin and selfishness.

But a commandment on its own would not be enough. So Jesus accompanies his commandment with his own personal example. After he had supped with his disciples and had eaten with them the Paschal meal – he got up from the table and proceeded to wash the feet of each one of them.

Washing someone else’s feet was the most menial of tasks. Peter was so appalled at the very idea of Jesus – his master – stooping so low – that he protested – in the strongest possible terms. But Jesus is quite uncompromising – this is non-negotiable – He is going to insist on carrying out this act of humble, lowly service. Having loved his disciples to the end – Jesus wants to drive home the lesson of how important all of this is. He wants to show how perfect his love is.
‘Love one another as I have loved you’. It is a matter of life and death. Firstly, because Jesus is going to actually give up his life – by dying on the cross for love of his friends – and what greater love can you imagine than that? Jesus is prepared to suffer the most ignominious death imaginable rather than disobey the will of His Father.
Later on, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he will pray to His Father:

“Father, if it is possible to let us chalice of suffering pass me by – please let it be – but if not – I will drink this cup of suffering. It is not my will” Jesus is saying “that must be done but the blessed and holy will of my Father”.

I was surprised to hear that the Editor of the Irish Catholic had launched an attack on the Church this week in response to a call from me for people to go to Confessions in preparation for Easter. This gentleman says that the Church should repent of its sins first before calling others to confess their sins – apparently. ‘

By the Church’ he means the bishops and clergy but I thought that ‘by the Church’ we mean nowadays all of the followers of Christ. of course bishops and clergy should set the good example of repenting and confession their sins but I make no apology for repeating the call for one and all to avail of this great sacrament in order to gain pardon for our sins and to set ourselves at rights with God.

Yes Jesus suffered and died for love of us to set us free from our sins but we don’t automatically qualify for a share in that victory. Jesus will not take us by the scruff of the neck and ram forgiveness for our sins down our throats against our will. No, we have to play our part by recognising that we have sinned and we must bring our sins to be washed in the blood of Christ.

Jesus left us a new commandment – the commandment of love. He set us an example – an outstanding headline – the headline of love in action – the example of the humble foot-washing of his disciples. But this is not all.

The fact is, we could hear the commandment and we could see the examples and yet, we might not have the strength to obey the commandment and to be willing to follow the example.

So Jesus has another gift in his storeroom to give us. He gives us his own body and blood – to be our food and drink – to be the food and drink of our soul – to be the food of eternal life.

He confers that gift in the context of the Passover Meal. This was at the meal on the sacred night when Jewish families gathered to hear the story of their people and to eat the Paschal Lamb – who had saved them from destruction and won for them freedom from the slavery of Egypt and the tyranny of Pharaoh.

Jesus knows that he is the new Paschal Lamb who, by his suffering and death, will set all people – of all nations – and of all ages – free from this tyranny of sin and the slavery of Satan.

So that is the reason why we ring bells and put on a general atmosphere of joy and celebration tonight. That is why I invite you to go and spend some time, if possible, before the altar of repose to venerate this memorial of Christ’s love for us.

There is one more gift in the magnificent quartet of gifts, given to us by Jesus this evening. After he had taken bread and wine and changed it into His body and blood, Jesus then said: “Do this in memory of me”. In other words, he gave to his disciples, the same power, the power to change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

He ordained them priests. So, we priests are all celebrating the anniversary of the institution of the Sacrament of Priesthood. It is a case of Happy Anniversary all round.

On this holy night our hearts well up with love. Love for Jesus. Love is returned for there is no greater love than that which He has shown us. There is no greater love possible than that someone should die for his faith.

INTRODUCTION

I welcome you all to this Chrism Mass and a very special welcome to the
priests of the diocese who, with Cardinal Daly and Bishop Clifford, are
here to celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ has made us a Kingdom of
Priests to serve His God and Father.

On our ordination day we were moved by the Spirit of God to take on the
responsibilities of being a priest. We were reminded that, yes, God
has made His entire people – a priestly people – a Royal Priesthood in
Christ by baptism. But we were also told that Jesus chose, and
continues to choose, some of his followers to carry out publicly, in
the Church, a priestly ministry in His name on behalf of humankind. We
rejoice in that call and today we rededicate ourselves to hearing that
call.

I welcome all of you faithful who have come here today. We rejoice in
seeing you here and ask you to pray that we may be worthy of serving
you as priests and that many others may follow in our footsteps in this
service of the Lord.

Some people find this Mass a little hard to follow. After the homily,
the priests, in answer to a series of questions, will renew their
commitment to the responsibilities of being a priest. They promise to
do this by united themselves more closely to Christ. by celebrating
the sacraments with sincere devotion and by teaching the Christian
faith. Then we move on to the Blessing of the Holy Oils and the Sacred
Chrism.

The reason is that anointing with oils occupy a central place in the
worship of the Church. Oils are used in anointing to do at least four
things:
1. To cleanse
2. To heal
3. To protect and
4. To make beautiful

God sent Jesus to heal the world. The Church and the priests carry on
that work of healing – by forgiving and consoling – advising and
guiding. By praying and blessing.

The oils are used in Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick,
Ordination of priests and Bishops and in the consecration of altars and
Churches.

So, as we bless these oils, we ask God to send the power of the Holy
Spirit, the Precious One, so that the oil may be a remedy for all who
are anointed, healing them in body and soul…

HOMILY

The First Reading today deals with being a Prophet of God. It has a particular relevance in this Mass when, later in the ceremony, we hear the question: Are you resolved to imitate Jesus Christ – the head and shepherd of the Church – by teaching the Christian faith – without thinking of your own profit – solely for the wellbeing of the people – you were sent to serve?

By our baptism, and by our priestly ordination, we priests have been given a special share in the work of Christ, the Prophet. The prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God. It is not, and never was, an easy task – as the prophet Isaiah clearly tells us. The prophet is watched carefully to see if his own life-style corresponds to what he teaches and what he preaches.

But that is not the only problem. The teaching and the preaching meet immense resistance and indifference. The prophet, Isaiah says it well: “I was thinking, I have toiled in vain. I have exhausted myself for nothing”. He is deeply upset – bordering, at times, on despair – at the poor reception that is given to his message.

It has been commented that the prophets belong to no people or nation because they are sent to all peoples. Their whole identity is rooted in God. The very name means someone who speaks on behalf of God. So, before the prophets presumes to stand up and speak, he should first listen and consider carefully what God might want said. The job of the prophet is to interrupt the lives of others – to pierce through shallowness and superficiality and to expose ruthlessly what is evil and what is shame and what is hypocrisy. Isaiah uses the powerful image of the sharp arrow – that cuts though the flesh to the bone.

When we hear prophetic words they disturb us. One frequent response is to seek the death of the prophet – by a sort of character assassination or ridicule. But the fact is, that it is the prophet who will be the death of us unless we admit the truth of what is said and repent and change our ways. Every prophet is sent by God, to speak for God, a loving God – to a stiff-necked people. And yet, the faith of the prophet is strong. They know that God is their ultimate strength. If God is on our side – who can be against us? No-one can hold out against God because no-one can prevail against God for very long.

In today’s First Reading the message of Isaiah develops. It comes from gathering up the scattered flock of those who believe. They are gathered up so that they can become the light of the nations. God’s plan will not be frustrated. God’s saving word will reach the ends of the earth. God’s word simply cannot be blunted by the response of indifference or disinterest.

Today the Gospel is no less disturbing. It deals with betrayal and denial
• The betrayal of Jesus by Judas, and
• The denial of Jesus by Peter.

Once again it can come close to the heart.
Jesus was troubled in spirit.
 He is troubled at the prospect of being betrayed by one of his chosen twelve.
 He is troubled by is vision of the presence and power of Satan.
 He is troubled by the power of darkness and death that has already taken possession of Judas.

This Jesus solemnly announces: “I tell you solemnly, one of you will betray me”. This causes a certain amount of confusion among the disciples. Whom could Jesus mean?

It seems that the disciples are so wrapped up in themselves and in their own business that they don’t know what is happening. I find it can happen to me. I can become so obsessed with my own problems that I forget what is happening to the Body of Christ in other parts of the world. How often have we prayed for the Church in Kenya in recent months of for the Church in Iraq in recent days?

Peter asks John to find out more. “It is the one” replied Jesus “to whom I shall give the piece of bread that I shall dip in the dish!” He takes a bit of food and dips into a dish and gives it to Judas.

It was a sign among tribes to take a piece of food and dip it in oil or wine and feed it to the other as a sign of closeness, of honour, of kinship. Judas takes the food but, even bound as close as that to Jesus, he still intends to betray him!

Judas eats the food from the hand of Jesus and goes out. It was night. Once again Jesus tries to explain what is going on. Now is the Son of Mary glorified and God is glorified in him.

The hour of Jesus has come. In suffering and in dying with patience, with dignity, with forgiveness, God will be glorified.

Of course there will be sadness and anguish at the separation and the death and the loss, but God will be glorified. God’s ways are not our ways.

Peter insists that he will be able to come with Jesus and will, in fact, lay down his life, if necessary, for Jesus. Can you imagine Jesus looking at Peter? Peter who really does not know himself at all. Peter, who is really unaware of his own limitations and weaknesses and is totally unaware of the power of the Evil One arrayed against Jesus. Within hours, Peter’s “cock sure” attitude of self-confidence is shattered by his statement of utter betrayal – ‘I know not him’.

The Reading ends with the words: “Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times”. Here we are left to deal with our own thoughts and emotions. Where do we really stand with Jesus in these days before his death?

Are we close to him –
 in prayer,
 in parish
 in our relationships with other priests,
 with other people,
 with family?

Or, are we blissfully unaware of our shallowness and our betrayals? Do we insist on clinging to our strong egos and self-reliance rather than humbly listening to the weak who challenge us to reassess our motivation and our priorities?

Today we are called, by Jesus, to repent of our betrayals – whether they be big or small – and to move from them to intimate friendship. If truth be told, we are all betrayers at least. We have betrayed the Good News by refusing to forgive others, though we ourselves expect forgiveness from God over our betrayals.

We are like Peter – brash and blindly trusting in our strengths which have often be shown to be pitifully inadequate. We can sometimes be even like Judas, intent on our own agenda and forcing the hand of God. But, more often, we are disciples, sitting at table with Jesus, content in our relationship with God but not really willing to hear to change- afraid to stand with Jesus – on the side of the poor and the weak.

Today, we are all invited to unite ourselves more closely with Jesus Christ – the Jesus who never gives up on any of us as he never gave up on Judas, even to the end.

Today we are urged to try to become more like the Jesus who gave his all – body – blood – life – example – commandments – Jesus the washer of feet. By this, will all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

We are beginning the Week of the Disciples.  The prophet Isaiah says:  ‘the Lord gave him the tongue of a disciple so that he could give an answer to the wearer’.

There seems to be a lot of people around who are getting tried of following Christ.  Perhaps you – who like the prophet – have had more than your share of suffering – are being called by God to give an answer to these three disciples.  You who have faithfully, every year, honoured the memory of your beloved disappeared.  You have been called to share, in a special way, in the passion of Christ and you have not shirked that suffering. You have not allowed that suffering to drive a wedge between you and God.

Perhaps you often wondered why a good and loving God can allow such atrocious things to take place – and that is a great mystery.  God made us of love.  He did not make us a race of puppets or robots to dance to his command.  Instead he gave us a certain amount of freedom.  Some people choose to abuse that freedom and do evil.  But God has such respect for our freedom that He would not overrule that freedom.  But this does not mean that God approves of all that is being done.  Because you accept patiently, like Christ, all the suffering you had to endure, they you too shall enter into God’s kingdom.

Today we begin the celebration of Holy Week.  It will reach its climax on next Saturday night – Sunday morning – when we remember the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. 

During the month of January it was my privilege to visit the Holy City of Jerusalem and to visit the Garden of Gethsemane and to offer holy Mass there.  I was able to walk the route that Jesus walked as he carried his cross to Calvary.  At Calvary I knelt and prayed and gazed upon the rock that was split on the first Good Friday.  Then I moved on to the Holy Sepulchre – where the body of Jesus lay until the stone at the door was rolled back – and I said Mass there too. 

You know, as I travelled along, I asked myself, with which of those characters do I identify most closely as we listen to the story of the Passion?  We would all love to think that we are choosing Jesus or his mother or Mary Magdalene, or John the beloved disciple.  Maybe that is not how Jesus sees us.

Many of you have suffered.  Like Mary you have lost a dearly beloved member of your family at a young age.  Like Jesus, he was unjustly taken away and tortured and killed.  Like Mary, you have experienced all of this with disbelief.

Mary stood at the foot of the cross.  Mary met Jesus on the road to Calvary.  She did not have to but she met him because she wanted to meet him.  She stood there to the bitter end.  She listened to her child as the nails were hammered home. 

What a sword of anguish that must have pierced her heart as he looked on helplessly as one of the soldiers ran his lance through the side of her beloved son – Jesus.  How she must have shuddered to hear him say: “I thirst” and instinctively would have moved to satisfy that thirst.  But obviously, the Roman soldiers were not going to allow anything like that to happen.

Simon of Cyrene was enlisted to help Jesus carry the cross.  His sons, Alexander and Rufus were known to the disciples and perhaps Simon himself had met Jesus.  But I often wonder what he was doing in the city that day?  Was he selling fruit or vegetables or eggs perhaps?  Was he in a hurry home to his dinner and maybe he was ready to be caught. I would say the virtue of the cross chose Simon of Cyrene.  I would say he was never to see again.  From a task it became a privilege and a joy to help the Saviour of the world carry the cross – the instrument with which he saved the world. 

I pray today that those who have a heavy cross to carry in life right now may see that, in fact, they are helping Christ to carry his cross and filling up what is missing in the sufferings of Christ. 

Is it not amazing that among the twelve disciples – chosen and specially trained by Jesus – one betrayed him – another denied he ever knew him.  The others ran away.  There is no point in speculating why they ran away.  Would we have done better?

But I am sure Mary was pleasantly surprised to hear son say:  “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”.  It took some courage and love – first of all – to have those feelings towards his executioners and then to put them into words. 

Yet, we have to reflect on what they mean.  What is God like? – I was asked earlier today on a radio interview.  I had to think.  No-one has ever seen God but He has spoken to us through his prophets and, above all, through is son.  So, when we look at Jesus and listen t o his words and see what he suffered for love of us, we know that is what God is like.  A God who forgives – on the grounds of ignorance or on the grounds of his youth as in the case of St. Patrick.

WELCOME

I welcome you all this morning to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh.

I wish you a happy St. Patrick’s Day.

I welcome listeners to RTE Radio, especially those who are sick and housebound.

When Patrick first came to Ireland as a slave at sixteen years of age,
his great consolation was that he came to know and love God better. A
God who took pity on him and kept watch over him and consoled him.

May this Mass help all of us to know God better and his son, Jesus Christ.

We now confess our sins that God may have pity on us also and give us pardon and bring us consolation.

HOMILY

Once upon a time the preacher stood up on St. Patrick’s day and said:
“St Patrick was one great saint. I was baptized in the Church of St. Patrick,” he said, “educated in St. Patrick’s College, Armagh, and ordained a priest in St. Patrick’s, Maynooth. I volunteered to work with St. Patrick’s Missionary Society. They sent me to Nigeria, where, surprise, surprise, I found myself in St. Patrick’s Parish. Eventually I came home to St. Patrick’s Dundalk. I salute St. Patrick”.

Today we all salute St Patrick. Today, Irish people, across the world celebrate the blow-in saint who brought us the Good News of Jesus Christ. Today, because of Patrick, millions of people are proud to say: “I am Irish”.

St Patrick has no hesitation in telling us Who he is and where he is from.

“I, Patrick, a sinner” he writes – “a most simple country man, the least of all the faithful, am held in contempt by many. I had for my father the Deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest who belonged to the village of Bannavem Taberniae”

Nowadays most scholars agree that Bannavem Taberniae was an early Christian settlement in modern-day Britain. Patrick came from Britain. It is worth remembering.

There, in his native Britain, Patrick received his early education. From his father and mother, and grandfather, he learned those virtues which would help him all his life. They enabled him to endure his captivity and survive slavery in the Hills of Antrim. Patrick proves to us that our first, and often most important teachers, are our parents.

Yet, when Patrick arrives in Ireland, he has a confession to make. Despite his religious upbringing he had, in fact, turned away from God and wasn’t keeping his commandments. It is a humble, honest assessment of his situation. Yet, by the time he escaped back to Britain, some six years later, there had been a complete change in his life. Listen to his own words again.

‘There in my captivity the Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief, in order that, I might remember my sins and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God’.

Then, in words remarkably similar to what we heard from the prophet Jeremiah earlier, Patrick says God did five things for him.
• God took note of his humility, took pity on his youth and his ignorance.
• God was watching over him before Patrick even knew God.
• God strengthened and consoled him as a father consoles his son.

So, Patrick, makes a remarkable discovery.
 Even when he did not believe in God, God had continued to believe in him.
 Even when he was living his life carelessly, God was all the time caring for him. Patrick might have given up on God, but God certainly hadn’t given up on Patrick.
Sometimes we underestimate the capacity of young people to know and love God. Yesterday I was visited by a group of sixty pupils from De LaSalle Secondary school in Belfast. They told me that they were part of a Prayer Group which meets twice a day to pray. They were not afraid to say what prayer means to them and that God loves them. They are just some of the many, many fine young people I meet around this country all the time. We have much to learn from the young. Ireland has many reasons to hope because of her young people. But, an Ireland which undervalues the Christian faith in its culture and public life, is really undermining hope, eroding an essential source of meaning and betraying its young disgracefully.

The lesson of the young St. Patrick is that we can all make the journey from forgotten faith, to repentance, to friendship with God. Patrick reminds us that God is forever young, forever open to each one of us and full of compassion.

My hope, on this St. Patrick’s day, is that more and more Irish people, who have lost their connection with the faith, will rediscover it and rediscover what St. Patrick called: the joy and love of faith.

This year we have a rare occurrence – St. Patrick’s Day comes at the beginning of Holy Week. During Holy Week parishes in Ireland will he holding services of reconciliation. These services will give all of us the opportunity to make our peace with God by going to Confession. If we do so, I am quite sure we too will discover a God who takes pity on us and who consoles us and who will help us to turn back, with all our hearts, to the Lord our God.

I want to make a special appeal to young people to renew their faith in God’s mercy and to take up this unique opportunity to be enfolded in God’s grace by availing of the opportunity for confession. Have no doubt, God will welcome you with open arms. Don’t let a busy life or disappointment with the Church, or the fear of coming to confession, after many years keep you away. Yes we have the enthusiasm to celebrate the life of Patrick, do we have the courage to imitate his humility? Patrick said: “I, Patrick, a sinner”. Do we have the courage to say the same?

Where are we from? We are from Ireland but we are also from God. God is our first beginning. But what is our final destination? Yes, of course, we rejoice in our culture and heritage, but we also rejoice in the fact that our names are written in Heaven. Faith, brought by Patrick, tells us that Heaven is our real homeland.

The events we celebrate in Holy Week have opened the road for us to our real home, Heaven. May St. Patrick help us all to travel that road to our real home, now and always.

AMEN

POST-COMMUNION

What can I give to the Lord for all the things that he has given to me?
What shall I say or what shall I promise to my Lord for I see nothing that is mine, except what he has given to me.
I pray God to grant me perseverance and to think fit that I may prove myself a faithful witness to Him until my passing away for the sake of my God.
Without any doubt, we shall rise again in the gory of Christ, Jesus our Saviour. As children of the Living God.
For Him and by Him and in Him are all things.
To Him be glory forever.
For in Him we shall reign.

AMEN

FINAL BLESSING

As we bow our heads for God’s blessing, I pray for the blessing of a Happy St. Patrick Day and a really joyful and gracefilled celebration of Holy Week and Easter for us all.

I pray that listeners who are sick and suffering may be able to join their pain, their sufferings, to the Passion of Jesus Christ on the cross in the sure hope that they are, in that way, filling up what is wanting in the sufferings of Christ and so entering into the glory of the Risen Lord.

I congratulate the Peadar Ó’Doírnín Club on the provision of this excellent Clubrooms.  I am sure that the whole community owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Officers and Committee.  They have given very generously of their time and their talents to make this day possible.  I know that people appreciate the achievement.

I know that this has been a total Club effort but the Chairman, Mickey Treanor deserves a huge amount of praise and credit.  I understand he was ably assisted by Bernard Boyle. 

The idea goes back to 2000.  To Forkhill -The Cold Wood – previous home to Armagh’s fourth oldest Gaelic Athletic Club – has now become a warm welcoming place for young and old. 

I am pleased to have been invited here today to call down God’s blessing on these splendid new Clubrooms of Cumann Peadar Ó Doírnín Luthchleas Gael, Forkhill.

It is a particular pleasure to have Uactaráin Cllg – Nioclás Ó Braonáin here on this occasion.  I also join in welcoming him to this diocese and to County Armagh.  I am also delighted to see ar Uactaráin Peter Quinn- ar Uactaráin Cumann Luth Cleasgael

I am delighted that the Club has asked the blessing of Almighty God.  It is a sign of wisdom and goodness.  When we pronounce a blessing on a Clubroom we do two things:

1.    We praise God for the people who provided the facilities and those who will use these clubrooms, and
2.    We ask God’s loving care on them.

A blessing will not change the clubrooms.  We are asking God to care for the people who use this space and who will use it for God’s greater honour and glory.  We praise God for the people who have worked so hard to provide these facilities.  We pray that the people who use these facilities will respect the property and the character of this place and ensure that it is used in keeping with the ethos and ideals of the Association.

It is not often we find a Club named after a poet or teacher.  Peadar Ó Doírnín was both.  It is a sign of the sensitivity to the values of knowledge and poetry that the people of this community esteem their native son so highly and wish to perpetuate his memory in this very appropriate way.

The location is significant.  A parish near the Gap of the North – associated with both Cuchullian and St. Brigid.  The new peace monument is going to be built nearby.  The Spirit of Cuchullian has brought a lot of pain and sorrow to many families on this island.  The Spirit whom St. Brigid worshipped brought healing and joy and peace.

The GAA with its high emphasis on nobility of conduct and fair play and generosity of spirit is playing, and continues to play, its part in healing the wounds of the past.  A Club, dedicated to the memory of a teacher and an artist, is well placed to be in the forefront of those who wish for a lasting peace.

Can I explain three hopes for this Club and Clubrooms:

There used to be a line or tune which said:  “It matters not who won or lost but how you played the game”.  That philosophy seems to have slipped away in many quarters in recent times.  Now one gets the impression that winning is everything.  Do the business – that is all that appears to matter.  A Club, dedicated to a teacher and a poet, might just be the place to revisit the proposition that how you played the game does matter, and matters a lot.

Secondly, a Club bar seems to be a sine qua non – the indispensable part of every Club nowadays.  Some say money is the root of all evil. 

I heard a BBC commentator say “The Muslims see alcohol as the root of Allie!  Social life is an important action but I hope that this Club, and every Club, will do its best to ensure that vulnerable young people are not damaged seriously through abusive consumption of alcohol on Club premises.  I have every confidence that this Club will put their minds to this and achieve it. 

My third hope is that this Club house, perched here in the Gap of the North, will do all it can to take the bushes out of the Gap and make it a place of welcome and friendship for all – no mater what their politics or religion, their race or their colour.  In other words, a place of peace.  Genuine peace is built on good relationships with one and all – Kilt and Kin – but rival and competitors – are relationships built on respect.
In the Blessing we asked God’s loving care on all who come here.  That would imply, in my opinion, that those with power to do so, officials and administrators, would respect the fact that Club members and players and officials have relationships with their families and their faith – community.  For those relationships to survive and flourish they will need sacred spaces for time and places which should not be invaded.  In other words, time for weekly worship and family festivities.  These also are deserving of their time and place.  They are the pillars of every secure society.

A Uachtaráin na hÉireann, Minister Hanafin, distinguished representatives and guests of the Irish Primary Principals Network.

Let me begin by thanking your President, Larry Fleming for his generous introduction. I am very honoured by the invitation to be here. I thank your Director Seán Cottrell for his impeccable efficiency. It has kept me so well informed in the run- up to this important event. I commend all those who are involved in organising this Conference. This is a hugely impressive programme of speakers, expos and displays. Truly the IPPN Conference is a worthy celebration of all that is best in the Irish education. Your generous and professional leadership continues to inspire and direct our Irish School system at Primary level. It is not possible to exaggerate the critical role you and the teachers in your schools play in the life of our young people and ultimately in the religious, social, moral and economic formation of our nation.

That we are celebrating all of this in the beautiful kingdom of Kerry, of course, is an added bonus!

I am also particularly pleased to have this opportunity to pay tribute to you. Today I thank the countless generations of teachers – principals and assistants – who down through the years have helped parents discharge their sacred obligation to educate their children. Perhaps it is timely to underline the fact that teachers and schools help parents in educating their children. The relationship should be, at all times, one of co-operation not confrontation.

I once heard it said that we learn:

10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we both hear and see
70% of what is discussed
and 80% of what we experience personally.

This was brought home to me recently. Among the letters I received congratulating me on my appointment as a Cardinal, there was one from a pupil I taught in St. Patrick’s College Cavan over thirty years ago. We had not met since. But in his very thoughtful note he reminded me that in school I had once defended him when others were speaking of him in more negative or pessimistic terms. I had no recollection of the event. But I was reminded again of that great maxim of teaching: ‘If you are lucky, children will remember 10% of what you taught them. But they will always remember the type of person you were!’ ‘

I am sure many others of my past pupils would have less inspiring stories to tell, not least those I tried to shape according to my dreams of a future All-Ireland winning Cavan team on the football field. For a teacher in Kerry those ambitions would have been a little more realistic!

There is a weight that bears on every teacher’s shoulders. You are the artisans of the hopes and dreams of future generations. It is humbling and always timely to be reminded of this fact that those generations will remember us for how we treated them and what they experienced of us personally, more than for the facts or formulae we taught them.

This is why there is no more rewarding vocation than teaching the young, whether as a parent or a teacher. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that something you said or did or taught continues to be valued by someone today, continues to shape their life and bring their life some added quality and meaning.

This is also why the greatest danger for any Government, Board of Management, Principal or teacher, is to forget that education is about more than communicating information. It is not confined to preparing children to contribute to the economy or securing qualifications. Yes, education is all of these things, but the ultimate function of education and schools is something else. Its aim is to support parents in the formation of the ‘whole person’ that is the gift and mystery of every child.

When we lose sight of this responsibility to the ‘whole person’ we can so easily become lost. Lost in a functional, administrative or even utilitarian approach to what we do. This can happen at the level of education policy, the management of the school or in the classroom. It is so easy, not least in the current environment of ‘money counts for everything’ and ‘science is the only knowledge worth knowing’, to lose sight of the magic and mystery – even the fun and satisfaction of teaching and educating the young.

I believe that as Principals this challenge has become particularly acute for you. Even in my ten years as President of the Bishops Conference I have become aware of the ever increasing pressures that are bearing upon those who lead and manage our schools.

As Principal teachers you are chosen precisely because you are among the most imaginative and visionary, highly motivated and pupil-centred teachers we have. You are innovators and inspirers, people who have proved yourselves capable and creative in the classroom.

Yet if my experience of visiting schools is anything to go by, I suspect that many of you are feeling increasingly isolated. You may feel disconnected from that which energises you most. The work of inspiring and forming the mystery of every child: the challenge of creating a warm, effective learning community in the school, while supporting and encouraging parents in their sacred duty to educate their child can be daunting at times.

This should be a matter of concern to us all, especially those with responsibility for resources and policy.

As Principals you are seen as the vision setters, staff developers, Chief Executives and that is fair enough. You expect all of this in a sense when you apply to become a Principal. But what happens when you are also expected to be the quantity surveyor, the legal consultant, the financial director, the personnel officer, the strategic planner and a wise counsellor and supporter to all of your staff, pupils and even to the local community.

By any standards this is a huge burden to bear. That so many of you bear it with such effectiveness and skill is a tribute to your personal resources and commitment.

As the title of your Conference suggests these internal pressures are added to by the rapidly changing external environment in which we all live and work,. The school is not isolated from societal change. In many respects it is the first point at which so many of these changes converge and are experienced.

In Ireland today there are many positive aspects to this change for which I think we should be grateful. These include:

• Growing prosperity in our society;
• Greater opportunities to travel, to experience other cultures and peoples;
• Higher levels of opportunity and choice, not least in education and training;
• Immigration on a scale never seen before resulting in greater cultural diversity;
• Improvement in communications technology opening up whole fields of information, learning and experience for teachers and children which could not have been dreamt of even ten years ago.

All of these changes are potentially very positive and enriching for our society. However there are also potential downsides which we need to be aware of. These include the:

• Increase in materialism and consumerist attitudes in our society;
• Growing secularisation of society, even at times a hostility to religion;
• Evidence of a growing culture of aggression, not least in young people;
• Less respect for institutions in general and for traditional sources of social and moral authority;
• Greater strain on parents because of the necessity for both to work;
• Increasing problems in families due to many factors – absence of parents, abuse of alcohol, drugs, single parent families etc.
• Increasing challenges to the rights of parents to have faith based schools;
• Less coherence between home, parish and school;

The impact of this new context can be seen in some of the statistics relating to the percentage of Catholics in the population and the percentage of the school-going population attending Catholic schools.

The percentage of Catholics in the population is 86.8%. The percentage of Catholics attending Mass once a week or more is 61.6%. Yet the number of schools in the country which are Catholic is 91.8% and the percentage of pupils attending Catholic Schools 94.8%.

This would suggest that in our new context a disproportionate part of educational provision is being shouldered by the Catholic community. However, it should also be said that many who have only a very nominal affiliation to the Church still want their children in Catholic schools. The reason is simple, they feel they will get a good education there. Similarly, many parents of other religions are happier to have their children in Catholic schools than in non-faith based schools.

This is a situation of which the Bishops and Religious Trustees of Catholic Schools are acutely aware. This brings me to another issue that looms large in education today and which runs through the theme of your Conference: How should the Irish education system respond to the increasing pluralism in our society?

In our recent publication, ‘Catholic Primary Schools, A Policy Provision into the Future’, the Irish Bishops’ Conference set out its response to this and related questions. One of the key points we made is this ‘the Catholic Church accepts there should be choice and diversity within a national education system, so it believes that parents who desire schools under different patronage should, where possible, be facilitated in accessing them.’ We also said that where ‘circumstances may have changed and an existing Catholic school may no longer be viable as a Catholic school…. an evaluation will have to be made, in consultation with parents and teachers, about the future of such a school’.

I think it should be said, because it is not said often enough, that Catholic schools and schools in general throughout Ireland have done a magnificent job in supporting the integration of new individuals and groups from diverse national, religious and ethnic backgrounds into local communities across the country. Our schools have often taken the lead and set the standard for the rest of our society in terms of welcome, tolerance and integration. That is in no small part due to you the Principals of our schools. It is due in no small part to the Christian ethos which already pervades our Catholic and other denominational schools and which is deeply valued by so many parents.

This is why I admit to no small frustration when I hear the superficial allegation made that faith based schools are of their very nature divisive and inconsistent with a pluralist society. We are seeing here more a rejection of religion, or a caricature of religion than with education per se. When set against the evidence, whether here or in Northern Ireland, the charge that Catholic or other faith based schools are intrinsically divisive and inconsistent with pluralism, is an ill-informed caricature which simply doesn’t stack up. In fact, it is unjust and offensive to the excellent work and commitment of teachers and others who work in Catholic and other Christian schools. No school can ever become complacent about its Christian and civic obligation to promote tolerance, inclusion and understanding as one of its first priorities. We should even be creative in exploring ways in which we can promote greater cooperation and sharing between all our schools, including different denominational, faith or other forms of school.

There is a lot of competition between schools. It is found in both its open and in its more subtle forms. This includes social advantage. In reality, this can be a more potent source of social or psychological division between children and parents in a local community than anything to do with religion.

Our fundamental concern should be different; the provision of schools in every sector which are inclusive, cooperating, socially engaged and making an active contribution to the cohesion of the local community. I believe these are the qualities which people from every background in our society want to see and will be anxious to support.

For my part, I make no apology for defending the right of Catholic parents and others, a right recognised in our Constitution and in international instrument of human rights, to ensure such education and teaching for their children as is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions. I defend the right of the Church, in a free society, to spread the Gospel of freedom, justice and love to parents and to children who in turn freely assent to be members of the Catholic community. I defend the right of the Catholic Church to create communities of faith around that intrinsic bond between families, parish and the Catholic school. I unapologetically call on Catholic parents to support their Catholic schools as an inseparable part of their baptismal call to bring their children up in the atmosphere and ethos of the Catholic community, rooted in the Gospel of justice, truth, tolerance and love.

None of this is inconsistent with the principles of a diverse and pluralist society. In fact, it is the defence of all that I have presented here which is the mark of a genuinely pluralist and diverse democracy.

One Catholic commentator recently describes the Catholic school ‘proposes itself as an educational community that not only frames itself within a determined set of values – those of the Gospel – and transmits them, but also seeks to live them and make them alive through an experience of communion’ which takes the form of building cohesive, caring and life giving local communities which may not even be Christian in their belief.

It is for this reason that a Catholic vision of education is always and everywhere an education that can only truly be carried out in a relational and communitarian context, beginning with the family and then with the parish and the school. No other system of education offers this essentially community and communitarian approach to formation of our most precious and treasured gift of our Creator – the child.

There is a famous saying in the Book of Proverbs – it is part of the Wisdom literature and every teacher is in need of wisdom! It says that – ‘Without a vision, the people perish’.

If I am unapologetic, if I am passionate about Catholic education, it is because I believe with every part of my being that it presents the vision of the whole truth of the human person in relation to God, to each other and within our deepest personal existence. For those of you who share that vision, who work within it as leaders in your schools, my hope is that you will find time to reflect, recapture and rekindle that vision in all its significance for your schools. We need to create more opportunities to come together like this to explore and deepen our shared understanding and common commitment to the ethos and values which animate all of our schools. I note and welcome the fact that the Department has supported your participation in this conference with funding for supply teachers. I hope that more funding might be made available to give principals and other teachers the opportunity to come aside, to find rest for your souls, time to reflect and pray, so that you can keep your vision alive and share it with the children in your care. The danger of burn out for principals and for teachers should be a real concern.

For those who work in other sectors, I hope you will understand the vision of education and the child that animates Catholic education and challenge us continually to live it in reality. I hope that together we will finds ways to maximise our cooperation for the common good.

Pope Paul VI once said that the first aim of Catholic education is to make the civilisation of love a reality. There is a lot to challenge all of us in that.

In conclusion let me say, in absolute sincerity, how much I admire, appreciate and respect the vital work you do for the children in your care and for our society. To paraphrase Aristotle: The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, rather – they make all the difference. That is the importance of what you do.

Or let me illustrate in the words of another philosopher, a young man who after the leaving Mass at his school went up to one of teachers and gave her a big hug. When she asked him ‘What was that for?’ he simply turned to her and said, ‘because Miss, over these last few years, you gave me wings!’.

I wish you every blessing and the gift of renewed energy and vision over the rest of your Conference. Thank you for inviting me and thank you for listening.

ENDS.