I have good memories of coming to this parish and to the Church of St Malachy.  I am particularly happy to come today we begin the celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the opening of this Church in 1810.  So, for the last 200 years – you and your parents and grandparents and great-grandparents have come here to worship God and so carry out the greatest act that anyone can do on this Earth – How did it all come about?
I was in the Servite Priory in Benburb recently.  I go there occasionally to experience the peace and quiet and to go to Confessions.  I was delighted to see that they have, for sale, lots of very interesting CDs.  They deal with important topics such as prayer and faith.  I bought one by a certain Italian gentleman called Father Cantalamessa.  He is the man who preaches to the Pope and his household. 

On the CD in question Father Cantalamessa says that if you have been praying for a long time asking someone to come to visit, when that guest comes, don’t go on saying ‘Come, come’ as if the guest had not come.  But he says that is exactly what happens as regards the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit has come into our world and into our lives.  So instead of continuing to issue invitations, we should instead be thanking the Holy Spirit for having come to us, and to generations before us.  We should be thanking the Holy Spirit for all the good which the Spirit has inspired and enabled to take place in our lives and in our parishes. 
This Church of St Malachy is a good example of an inspiration of the Holy Spirit.   This Church was built in 1810.  That was twenty years before Catholic Emancipation.  It was built at a time when the Penal Laws were still in force penalising Catholics and others for practising their faith.  And yet the Spirit must have inspired a number of people to say ‘We need a new Church here’.  The Spirit would have inspired others to agree with that proposal and to say ‘Come on – let us work and make the sacrifices involved’.

The people had suffered under the Penal Laws.  They had seen how important their faith was to them.  They had come to realise that it was important to have a Church in which to gather and do what Jesus did at the Last Supper and on Calvary – ‘in memory of him’. 

But that is not the only fruit of the building of this Church.  I can think of many others.  Last year I paid a visit to St Ciaran’s High School, Ballygawley.  I was there to celebrate the magnificent outreach of St. Ciaran’s, Ballygawley to the Mission Territory of the SMA Fathers in Africa.  Once again it was a splendid example of a school that thinks of others.  Of course the school is really the staff and the students and, to a certain extent, the parents of the pupils.  Anyhow that generous response was a wonderful example of a fine team of people, led by Paschal Canavan – doing great things for people less well off than themselves. The inspiration for things like that, goes back to the Holy Spirit and to the fact that the people of this area have a fantastic devotion to the Mass.

The Holy Spirit, who comes to us at Baptism, works in different ways at different paces.  One of the first people I met or knew from this parish was Sister Ciaran of the McGinley family who died recently. She was a great example of love for Christ and His Church but also love for the family.  I believe she kept in contact with all of them to the end.  She suffered a lot in recent years but she did so, never complaining or murmuring or grumbling.  I think that that is also a fruit of what is celebrated here in the Mass, where we unite our sufferings with the sufferings of Jesus Christ and we offer them each day in the morning offering to God our Father to the glory of Jesus.

So I salute and congratulate you, Father Seery and Father MacRaois.   It is very important that we recall the goodness of God to his people especially at this time when the Church is reeling under the aftermath and effects of the publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports.  It is important to realise that Christ is with his Church and the Holy Spirit has certainly not abandoned it and neither has God.  I ask the healing love of Christ to come to all victims of abuse.

Of course the first time I came to this Church was for the ordination of Father Peter McAnenly.  That was a great occasion and I have very happy memories of it.  Once again Father Peter’s vocation and work as a priest of the diocese is the fruit of the faith which he inherits from his family and which he is doing so much to pass on through his own life and through his work in Dungannon to the next generation. 

I remember the first time I came to St Ciaran’s, Ballygawley after I came here.  I went there for prize-giving.  I remember very well the Head Boy of the school on the night was one Emlyn McGinn.  I am delighted that in the years since he has progressed to be a priest of our diocese serving up young people in the Dundalk Institute of Technology.  Again Father Emlyn would be the first to admit his vocation comes in part from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit through himself but also, I suppose, through the inspiration of the good example which he got from his parents, his family and his neighbours and you, the community, here.

That faith is nourished and enhanced by the faith of the community that gathers here every Sunday to hear the Word of God; to listen attentively to it as we heard it described there in the First Reading.  That faith is our treasure which must be nourished.  Otherwise it will grow weak and anaemic.  I am sure there are many of you who are Readers of the Word of God here and I would like to compliment you and thank you for that work. 

In the First Reading there is great emphasis on the reading of the Word of God.  I think it is important to remember that when you stand up to read, you are not just remembering something that has taken place for the last 200 years in this Church and participating and sharing in something that goes back thousands of years, more than 2000 years.  It goes back to the Old Testament times when people stood up to read the Word of God and read it for a long time apparently, from morning to noon and the people listened attentively.  It was read in such a way that they understood and where they didn’t understand, he explained it to them. 

I know that apart from the example of St Ciaran’s High School, the other examples I have given are very churchy and clerical but I am sure you all have your own stories to tell of how the Holy Spirit has inspired you in this Church at some ceremony or other.

Perhaps you came here for a funeral – a sad occasion – and you were heart-broken but somehow or other you got the grace and the strength to carry on.  Or maybe you came for a joyful occasion – a baptism – a first communion – a confirmation – marriage.  Thank God there are more joyful occasions in our religion than sad ones.  On all these occasions you got a sense of the Spirit being alive in yourself, in your neighbours, in your families, suggesting good things that could be done and moving good people to do them.
I believe there is a Mission planned for this Jubilee Year – this anniversary year.  I congratulate Father Seery and Father MacRaois and whoever else is responsible for this mission and I hope it will go well.  I hope it will provoke a real renewal of faith in everyone. 

We are each and everyone called to be bearers of Good News – the Good News of God’s love for us, revealed in Jesus Christ.  We are called to bring the Good News not so much in words but in actions. We are to play our part in bringing freedom to the captive – to the prisoners.  Am I talking about Magilligan and Maghaberry?  Not necessarily, we can be enslaved in many ways.

The Holy Spirit comes to tell us that we do not have to remain enslaved by bad habits of any kind.  It is possible to be set from addictions to sinful ways and to overcome temptations and to cope with our weaknesses.  Jesus came to bring the freedom of forgiveness.  Jesus came to cure blindness and to allow us to see that we are all children of the one God – equal in his eyes and therefore brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

We can be blinded in many ways – blinded by passion or greed or jealousy or pride or prejudice.  Jesus came to set the down trodden free.  We can be downtrodden in many ways too – with worry, with fear.  Love drives out fear and if we get a clear idea of how much God loves us – we can be set free from fear.  If we really trust God to care for us, then there is not much point in us worrying. We can also be downtrodden with guilt or shame or remorse.  That is fairly common and of course that is why Jesus left us the sacrament of Confession.

We are in the month of January, called after the Roman God, Janus.  Janus was the God for the Door of the House and of the Gate of the City.  To enter the House or the City you had to pass through the Janua.  So, Janus was seen as a God of beginnings.  He is represented by the Gate – or a double-faced head – one face looking back to the outside, one looking to the inside; one face looking to the past – one looking to the future.

So today we look back with thanks at the past 200 years of the Church of St Malachy but we also look to the future.  I look to the future with great hope for the simple reason that the very same Holy Spirit is at work today as he was here 200 7ears ago.  Of course the very same evil spirit is also at work.  We would not need to be naïve about that.  By reason of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit – which each one of us received at our Baptism and our Confirmation – it is our great joy and dignity to be called to play our part in continuing the work of Jesus Christ.

I thank the Knights of St Columbanus here in Armagh for the kind invitation to be here.  It gives me a very welcome opportunity to thank and pay tribute to the Order for its outstanding dedication to the service of Christ.  That service is given in daily life; in the workplace and in the market place.  Of course it provides an excellent meal and very enjoyable social friendship too.

I am very pleased and proud to know that there are so many Catholic men in our community who are willing and able to offer their talents, time and skills to the service of Christ and of his body – the Church.  In an age of rampant individualism it is heartening to find many people wholeheartedly committed to the promotion of Christian values – men who do so for the good of society and for the greater glory of God and not for individual gain or pleasure.  In an age of so much open hostility to religion, it is delightful to experience your courage and your willingness to stand up and be counted for the cause.  I congratulate you and rejoice with you in all you do.

I want to pay tribute this evening to the excellent work done by local Councils of Knights of St Columbanus in various parts of the diocese and elsewhere.  For example

•    I am thinking of the contribution which you make to the celebration of the Feast of St Oliver Plunkett each year in Drogheda. 
•    I am thinking of the part that Brother Knights played in the visit of the Relics of the Little Flower last May to Ely House.
•    Next April, to honour the Year of the Priest – relics of the Cure of Ars – St Jean Marie Vianney will be brought to Ireland and to Armagh.  My hope is that you will, once again, be willing to help out with the organisation of that event.
•    I salute Council 9 for their Lenten Series of talks in Portadown last February.

Earlier this week the priests of Armagh gathered for their Annual Assembly in Bundoran.  In a review of his 51 years as a priest of this diocese, Father Bobby McKenna of Camlough, identified the challenge of Family Faith Formation as one of the greatest facing us today.  So initiatives like Lenten talks or Life in the Spirit Seminars, are most timely and welcome.

Speaking of the Year of Vocation, I must compliment you on your initiative in extending Christmas greetings to all in ordained ministry in December of last year.  That was a very inspired gesture which was very much appreciated.

Of course I am well aware that most of your work goes on unheralded, unpublished and unrecognised.  I am sure that is the way you would want it, but God sees it.  Perhaps we could honour one particular Brother Knight here tonight, David O’Neill – who joined the Order in 1970. 

Over the last 39 years Brother David has been outstanding in his work for the unemployed; for young people through the Catholic Boy Scouts and Girl Guides and for the older young people of the parish through training centres.  We salute his part in helping to set up PACE – Protestant and Catholic Encounter – a cross-community project which is still going strong and which has been an inspiration to other community groups across the country.  He has played an important part also in the Craigavon Catholic Development Society.  We think also of his initiative in Radio Housebound, a CB backed initiative broadcasting of the Church Service to the housebound, despite opposition.

His latest mission in life is setting up ‘Good Morning Lurgan’, providing valuable contact with the housebound in the parish and surrounding areas.   We wish him well as he receives the Medal of St. Patrick.

In honouring Brother David we are, in a sense, honouring the Order as a whole and we are acknowledging the huge amount of invaluable work that goes on to imbue our society with the values of Christ.

You are, I know, well aware of how much the family, based on marriage, means to our society.  In every culture there exists a certain sense of the dignity of the marriage union.  This dignity must be respected and protected.  It must be safe-guarded against any attempt to undermine it.  You will be aware, I think, of the various efforts undermine marriage and I hope you will play your part in resisting them.

I am delighted to tell you that spirit of St Columbanus is alive and well in the world. I am sure you all rejoiced at the release of that valiant Columban missionary – Father Michael Sinnott.  When I rang Dalgan Park the other night to share my joy with the Columbans there, I was speaking to Father Peter O’Neill of Donaghmore and, of course, they were all thrilled.  Thank you for the prayers for his release.

This very evening, as I was preparing to come here, I got a telephone call from the town of San Colombano al Lambro.  As the name indicates, this town named after St Columbanus and is a town in Northern Italy.  The caller was one Mauro Steffenini.  Now Mauro is, without doubt the most dedicated follower of St Columbanus that I know with all due respect to the Knights of St Columbanus, he is out on his own.  He is leading a campaign to have St Columbanus declared ‘Patron of Europe’.  He also organises, each year, singlehandedly, Columbanus Day.  It takes place at the end of June or beginning of July in a different town each year, sometimes in Italy, sometimes in Switzerland, sometimes in Germany, sometimes in France.  Next year it is coming to Ireland because his group, from his town, are coming on the Thursday and going away on the Tuesday or Wednesday and they will be accompanied by their bishop.  Some of you have already been involved in the preliminary preparations but, hopefully, it will be a big event on the weekend of 26, 27 of June, located here in Armagh and also in Bangor.  I congratulate you.  so, as we salute the achievements of the past – I wish you and the Order well for the future.

To restore all things in Christ is a most noble ideal indeed.  To permeate our society with the values of Jesus Christ.   this is God’s plan for the world and I urge you to continue to do your best to bring it about. 

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light
on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
You have made their joy increase.
For there is a child born for us – a son given to us
This is the name they gave him.
Wonder, Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father,     Prince of Peace

These words never fail to lift my heart, especially at Christmas.  The truth is that we all need a lift– at some time or other.  At some time or other we all find ourselves living in a land of deep shadow in the darkness of doom and gloom. The darkness of despondency and despair, knock at everybody’s door at some stage or other.

These words of hope are especially welcome this Christmas.  We are at the end of year that has brought a lot of darkness.  I don’t have to list it all but in Ireland many are experiencing a fullness of difficulties this Christmas.

Some face a Christmas where a loved one is seriously ill; at home or in hospital, perhaps having had news that a certain treatment has not been successful and maybe facing into a New Year feeling hopeless or despairing.

In Ireland this Christmas there are many people who face great challenges to hope this year.  The economic recession; the repossession of homes; the return home of so many migrant workers; the loss of jobs.  All of these have left many people anxious and despondent right now.  Perhaps some of you are struggling to make ends meet or to keep your business afloat.  Perhaps you are mourning over the death of a loved one and there will be an empty chair at the table this Christmas day in your house.  Maybe you are lonely and really missing someone who is absent this Christmas.

For some weeks now our country and our Church have been reeling.  Reeling over the contents of the Murphy Report which describes the hurt and damage done to children abused by priests and the mismanagement by Bishops and Religious Superiors in dealing with reports of allegations of abuse.  Perhaps you are feeling angry with Church leaders who put the reputation of the Church before the safety of little children. 

Once again I apologise to the survivors and their families.  I declare my abhorrence at the breach of trust and the crimes that have been committed.

Yes, there are many reasons to feel angry and let down.  There are many reasons to feel sad and ashamed.

Yet, there are also many reasons to rejoice and be happy.  There are many reasons to give thanks and praise to God.  There are many reasons to hear again the words of the Angels to the shepherds. 

Listen, I bring you news of great joy,
A joy to be shared by the whole people.
Today in the Town of David – a Saviour has been born to you
He is Christ the Lord.
There are reasons to rejoice and be glad for it is precisely into this agonising world, into the here and now of our country and our Church that Jesus first came.  He continues to come, with His blessing.  He too comes to bring us news – Good News of great joy – the Good News that our God is not a distant, lonely God but a God of love and compassion – a God who is slow to anger and rich in mercy – a God who is ready to pardon and forgive.  For Jesus is, in fact, the Word made flesh – God’s word of ever-faithful and healing love who comes to bring us fresh joy and new hope.

You may ask: 

•    How can the light of Christ dispel the darkness?
•    How can this birthday of Christ be, in any sense, joyful and happy in the circumstances?

To discover the answers to those questions.  You may have to ask another couple of questions:

    How did he come?
    Why did He come? And
    How was he received?

I never cease to be amazed at the story of that first Christmas.  I have travelled, by car part, and only part, of the journey, that Mary and Joseph had to make from Nazareth in the north to Bethlehem in the south.  It took us hours by car, up some steep hills and down into some deep valleys – so you can just imagine the hardship of that long journey and the time it took. 

I have visited the actual grotto or cave or stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.  Today it is covered by a Church that has been built over it.  You go down steps into it – there are several lamps lighting it – but you still see the bare rock and it is very small – very tiny.  You get a great idea of the simplicity and the poverty of the place where Jesus was born.

Jesus – the Saviour – was born into a world that couldn’t have cared less.  Let us face; that is how it was.  Except for a handful of shepherds – not exactly the most influential members of society in their day – and a few wise men from the East – the world was too distracted and busy to even notice.  But you have to admit that the Lord of Heaven really confounded the pundits.  For them a much grander arrival might have seemed more appropriate.  Instead, he made his entrance as a tiny baby.

So Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the Son of God who chose anonymity and obscurity in preference to pomp and ceremony.  The fact is that he wanted to be one of us in a most ordinary way.  In Bethlehem he made the point powerfully.  By being born homeless and cold in the filth of a stable – far more dispossessed and marginalised than anyone could have imagined.

Jesus came poor and powerless – to be our Saviour – a Saviour who would free us from our foes and from the hands of all who hate us.  He came to show us the kindness and love of God, Our Father.  In response we have to give up everything that does not lead us to God. 

So who are these foes? 
Anything or anyone, who does not lead us to God, but leads us to one of the other gods. 

How can a poor, powerless baby save us from anything?
Yes it is a great mystery.  It is hard to believe that all of God’s infinite power or majesty is wrapped in a few strips of swaddling clothes and sleeps helplessly in his mother’s arms or sleeps soundly on the straw in the manger.

No wonder the world despises a Saviour like that!  What good is a savour like that?  To the eyes of those who have no faith, such a Saviour is absolutely useless.

But then it all depends on what sort of Saviour you expect, and what the Saviour expects of us.  St John draws our attention to a slightly unexpected lesson which we perhaps too often ignore.  He comes to those who have been created in his image and they did not know Him.  Jesus came to those who had received preparation and they did not accept him.

When God himself decided to dwell among us and give us the answer to some important questions about the meaning of life, you would think we would welcome him gladly and eagerly.  But the way he indicated would have led people out of their comfort zone.  As a result, many turned their backs on the Saviour.  The fact is, we are all tempted to hang onto the darkness and flee the light. Overcoming this temptation can be harder than we think.

Another fact worth noting – God will not force faith upon us.  Christ did not come to bring Heaven to Earth.  He came to lead those who would accept him, from Earth to Heaven.  We had all gone astray and he came to point that out and to set us on the right road again.

I find the Christmas sermons one of the hardest to write and preach.  There is just so much to say – in the Readings of the three Masses.  I am always intrigued that it was the shepherds who were the first to see and honour the new-born Jesus.  Shepherds at that time would not have been noted for their piety.  In fact, they had a bad name for thieving and stealing.  They lived in the fields with their flocks.  They took turns in watching over the sheep.  I suspect, however, that they were close enough to God.  They knew better than most how much they depended on God – for the size of the flock of new lambs each year, for the growth of the grass, and the availability of water and for security from the wild animals.  They were well aware that they themselves were not saints.  They were probably open and honest about that. 

The Gospel tells us that the shepherds were terrified at the approach of the Angel of the Lord and at the experience of the glory of God.  That is worth noting because I would say that those men, who slept in the fields and faced wolves and robbers, were not easily terrified.  It is often recorded in the Scripture that terror is the normal, natural reaction of human beings at the approach of God.

So maybe it would be no harm to check our own feelings tonight – at the approach of this Christmas.  If we feel totally self-satisfied and self-sufficient it might not be such a good sign.  It might be a sign that, like so many on that first Christmas night, this Christmas is not going to touch our lives in any significant way.  But if tonight you find yourself just a little apprehensive about what God might be asking of you – rest assured that you are in good company – in the company of the shepherds for example – in a better place than if you felt complacent – not that the angels asked anything of the shepherds. 

The shepherds were simply told where they would find their new-born Saviour.  But fair play to them – they did not dismiss or scorn the idea of a Saviour – who would be found in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  Instead they said to each other – ‘let us go and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us’.  They found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.  So whatever else you may find in your Christmas stocking or at the foot of the Christmas tree, I hope that in some real sense, like the shepherds, you too will find Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus – and if you do – I am quite sure you too will go back glorifying and praising God for all you have heard and seen.  If you do so then I can assure you that you will have a happy Christmas.  If you don’t somehow catch that spirit of praise and glory – then I am afraid you will not have caught the Spirit of Christmas.

You sometimes hear it said that the true spirit of Christmas has disappeared.  Now maybe I am fortunate but I came across a lot of what I would consider the true spirit of Christmas this Advent.  It reminded me of why Jesus came into the world in the first place. 

One example comes from the Parish of Monasterboice near Drogheda.  They have an Annual Parish of Monasterboice Award.  This year that award went to a married couple – Mr & Mrs Briscoe and their adult son who has special needs.  The parish was thrilled to acknowledge the heroic efforts of the parents to care for their son, Gerard, despite his cerebral palsy and total deafness.  They were happy to honour Gerard also who responds so magnificently to the love which his parents shower upon him. On the night, Gerard was the life and soul of the event – smiling radiantly at all who had come to share the joy of the occasion.  In that family’s care for each other – there was, for me, living proof that the Spirit of Christmas is alive and well. I could quote many other examples but one will be sufficient. 

St Patrick’s Primary School, Armagh had a lovely Christmas play this year.  It was the famous story of Scrooge and the part of Scrooge was played by a very accomplished young lady.  The moral I took away was that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

I believe the real joy of Christmas lies in discovering the Saviour who comes to give so much –

Life to the full in body and soul; 
Pardon for all our faults and failings if only we are willing to ask; and
Hope in our darkest moments.

May that be your experience of Christmas this year.

AMEN

On the morning of 15 February, following a brief introduction by the Holy Father, each of the Irish Bishops offered his own observations and suggestions. The Bishops spoke frankly of the sense of pain and anger, betrayal, scandal and shame expressed to them on numerous occasions by those who had been abused. There was a similar sense of outrage reflected by laity, priests and religious in this regard.