I have an abiding memory of coming here to St. Patrick’s Church, Dungannon over the years for ceremonies and seeing the worn door step at the main  entrance to the Church.  The door step was worn down by the footsteps of time. Over generations that step was worn down by the feet of parishioners and visitors as they came to Mass day after day, year after year, generation after generation. That step was the footprint of time and faith of this community. Today we celebrate all of that as we rededicate the Church here after the magnificent work of restoration and renewal. Today this renewed Church brings back memories of the commitment of previous generations and of this generation. It also calls us to reflect on our own continued commitment to our faith.

The readings we just listened to make a striking analogy between the building of the Church and the building of the faith in the community. St. Peter reminds us that Jesus Christ is the keystone, the reason and foundation of our faith. In his time Christ’s  message and call to faith was listened to by some. It was also ignored by others. Peter calls the people to faith. He says “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”.  It is a message that has a particular relevance for us on a day like today.

The restoration of this Church is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on renewal of faith in our own lives. For two years now the architects, the builders, the contractors have worked hard to ensure that the Church is restored to its original beauty and integrity so that this building is a worthy place for the worship of this community. We watched as the scaffolding was erected, the inch by inch restoration, the pile driving to ensure stability, the renewal of the sanctuary area and the attention to every detail of redecoration. It has all been a magnificent work. Today as parishioners and as a community we are proud to see this wonderful achievement. Today we rejoice in all of that. I congratulate Dean Curry, the priests of the parish and you the parishioners together with the architects, contractors and all associated with this wonderful achievement. We now have a splendid Church, a building fitting for the worship of this community.
That is the first step.  The second step is even more challenging. It is the call to renewal of faith, to put Christ at the centre of our lives – to be builders of his kingdom of justice, love and peace. In today’s world it is not an easy call.

There was a time when it was relatively easy to be a committed Catholic. It was part of the air that we breathed. Our following of Jesus Christ was supported by family and  community. In recent times those supports are not as obvious. Today I believe that we are Christian by personal commitment. In some ways we have to swim against the tide of aggressive secularism, of materialism and of lethargy. A recent report by Fr. Micheal McGreil based on the findings of a national survey on attitudes to religion in Ireland tells us that today’s generation is not so much opposed to the practise of the faith but is more indifferent  than previous generations towards religion. The survey shows that there is a relatively strong level of support and commitment to the faith by the majority of people. That is a consoling message. However we cannot and should not be complacent about those findings.

St. Paul in his letter to the Romans said;
“They will not believe in him if they have not heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent”

The call of our day is to be part of a whole new evangelisation involving all of the people of God.   

For some years now the Archdiocese has been engaged in addressing this new situation. Something that began as a modest attempt to address the issues of our day at the annual assembly of our priests has grown into an elaborate tapestry where priests, religious and laity together have begun to take on their own particular role in the spreading of the Kingdom of God. The core message is a simple one. It is to answer that call expressed in the Our Father – the call to making our contribution in building God’s kingdom of justice, love and peace.

The process involved has led us down unexpected ways.  We have been heartened by the response of many and we continue to support and listen to those who find it all somewhat difficult to understand. The process has involved considerable consultation with priests, religious and laity. An extensive consultation involving face to face meetings with over one thousand lay people took place with the focus on addressing the needs of our diocese.  The result was the setting up of working groups  covering key topics like what it means to be a Catholic in the twenty-first century, formation in prayer, building up support for family, addressing the needs of young people, liturgical renewal, outreach to the marginalised, ecumenism and the life of the priest.   Today those groups continue to meet and address the needs of our time. You may have heard of some of this work. You may well be involved in that work yourself. My hope is that slowly but surely more and more people will be involved in what is going on.  

Through all these discussions we began to identify critical areas for the Church of our time, not least the whole question of the need to look at parish structures and see how all of us can contribute to renewal. We saw the need to involve lay people more in the mission of the Church and to give a real voice to all in the support of family life, addressing the needs of youth in our time and particularly addressing the pastoral needs where lay people may be involved in parish councils, in catechesis for young people at parish level and in administration at inter–parish level.

In 2008 we began yet another consultation to look at parish structures and identify in greater detail the needs of our time. The consultation has been long and detailed. Every priest in the diocese and every religious priest in parish work in the diocese has been invited to join this programme for renewal. There has been consultation with parishioners in every parish and with young people in our post-primary schools and the feed-back has been very positive. The way forward we believe is through the formation of parish pastoral areas. Eighteen areas have been identified every one will have a priest as Vicar Forane to direct the programme of renewal in the pastoral area. To allay any fears about parishes losing their own identity the guarantee is given that every parish will retain its own independence and its financial integrity. The reason for new pastoral areas is precisely for more effective pastoral outreach and the rationalisation of pastoral work.  In time the rationalisation of Masses and the duplication of church services will be addressed.

Hopefully 2009 will go down in the history of our diocese as the year that gave direction to a new pastoral approach opening up new opportunities for lay people, religious and priests working together to be part of a comprehensive approach towards renewal of faith.

The tableau carved into the front of the altar represents Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. The story is familiar to all of us. Jesus said to his disciples “I have given you a model to follow so that as I have done you should also do”. He called us to a way of life centred on the Eucharist but he also called us to live as he lived, to love as he loved and to care as he did. That I believe is the call of our day – to build a community centred on the Eucharist and to live our lives as he did. This involves us in addressing the issues facing people in their everyday life, to support them in their need and to encourage them in their quest for answers to their searching.

Hopefully our programme at diocesan level will help us to do all of that. As part of this approach people will be offered opportunities for their own personal formation. That is already under way through the various courses organised in the diocese under the aegis of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre in Dundalk. Already courses under the title “Soil for the Seed” are being held in Cookstown, Dundalk and Drogheda. This year we are going one step further and have got accreditation to develop and enhance these courses under the aegis of the Mater Dei Institute in the Archdiocese of Dublin. This will mean that slowly but surely we will build up a resource of trained lay people to certificate level. These in time will hopefully spearhead the work of renewal in the diocese.

These are exciting times. I believe we live in difficult times but I believe we have people willing and able to accept the   challenges presented.  I began with the image of this Church here renewed, restored and majestically completed. The work of personal renewal continues. In the Gospel reading we were told that Jesus stood up in the Synagogue and read from the Prophet Isaiah;

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me
He has anointed me
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor
To proclaim liberty to captives
To the blind new sight
To set the downtrodden free
to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour”

Then he said; “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen”. The text is indeed fulfilled when we commit ourselves again to renewal of faith.  It is the charter for renewal of faith in our time.  With God’s help and the help of this community I pray that we may answer that call to renewal generously.  

Earlier this afternoon I planted a tree at Mary Immaculate College.

It was planted to mark the International Conference of the European Society for Catholic Theology. Over the last few days almost two hundred theologians from many countries and continents have gathered at the College. They have come to discuss ecology and the economy, under the lovely title of “The Eager Longing of Creation”. I say lovely title because it reminds us that all of creation eagerly longs for the fullness of life which Jesus came to bring. As St Paul tells us:
“From the beginning till now the entire creation … has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free’ (Rms 8:22);

The letter to the Ephesians puts it this way: “For all of creation is to be brought into unity in Christ” (Eph. 2:10).

Every creature, every species, every ecosystem and the entire expanding universe display the grandeur of God. Touched by God’s hand, our world is holy.
Each of us therefore has a responsibility towards creation. We face up to that responsibility by taking certain decisions – the sort of decisions that show a real appreciation and respect for the environment. The natural environment is a gift of God – not a personal gift but a gift to everyone – a gift to rich and poor alike, to past, present and future generations, in fact to all humankind.

The particular focus of the Conference at ‘Mary I’ has been ecology and the economy. Some would say we hear a lot about the economy and little about ecology! Respect for the natural environment or rather the lack of respect for the natural environment is a pressing moral problem in the world today. There is a crisis and most people would accept it is a crisis of our own making. It is yet another example of the consequences of greed. It comes from our failure to ensure a sustainable, just and integral approach to human development and the global economy.

The fact is that nature is much more than mere raw material to be manipulated solely for our profit or our pleasure. Nature is to be used wisely, not recklessly exploited. Pope Benedict made this point clearly in his Encyclical ‘Caritas in Veritate’ when he said: ‘In nature the believer recognises the wonderful result of God’s creative activity, which we may use responsibly to satisfy our needs, material or otherwise, while respecting the intrinsic balance of creation. If this vision is lost, we end up either considering nature an untouchable taboo, or on the contrary, abusing it. Neither attitude is consonant with the Christian vision of nature as the fruit of God’s creation.’ (n. 48)

We are very grateful to the European Society for Catholic Theology for drawing our attention to this pressing moral issue and helping to ensure that the Christian vision of nature is not lost. We welcome whole heartedly to Ireland all who have come for this important Conference. It is the first to be held by the Society outside the mainland of Europe.

The role of theologians is to explain what God reveals to us in faith.

They help us to interpret the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like St Francis of Assisi the theologians at this Conference have decided to put across their message about care for creation by actions as well as words. In fact for the first time at a theological conference in Ireland the total carbon footprint of the event has been calculated. It is estimated to be 56.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide. To counteract the potentially destructive impact of this carbon footprint on the environment a tree will be planted in every University across the world which is represented at this Conference in Limerick. This will mean a total of 72 trees will be planted in all.

Those attending the event have also made a donation to the – Trócaire irrigation scheme in the Manchanga District of Mozambique. There Trócaire will plant 30,000 eucalyptus and casuarinas trees. These practical steps will ensure that the Conference is ‘Carbon-neutral’.
Hopefully these steps will offset the potentially damaging impact of this Conference. The fact that they are being taken internationally makes them a timely and powerful example to us all. If we are ever to ensure a sustainable environment for future generations it will require global solidarity in taking small, practical steps at a local level.

Planting trees is only one practical action that people can take.

Every Parish and Church organisation could usefully undertake an environmental audit, and calculate their carbon footprint. We could all implement a wide range of carbon off-setting and other practical initiatives to maximise the environmental efficiency of our activities. Ecology is certainly one aspect of theology where orthodoxy – thinking the right thing – and orthopraxis – doing the right thing – are inseparable!

The consequences of not addressing the questions of climate change and environmental sustainability could be catastrophic at this critical time for the world. As in all times of challenge and crisis, it is a time for careful discernment, discernment about the right thing to do – not alone about the natural environment but about related environments as well.

As Pope Benedict has often pointed out, ‘the book of nature is one and indivisible: it takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations: in a word, integral human development. Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others. It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment and damages society’(Caritas in Veritate n.51).

Now most people are willing to accept, and most legislators to legislate for the hard ethical choices we need to make to ensure the well-being of creation.

However, this willingness is less evident when it comes to safe-guarding other aspects of the integrity and well-being of creation such as:
– respect for human life in all its stages;
– respect for marriage between man and woman as the natural cradle of life, love and formation in society;
– and the right of every person to an adequate share in the goods of the earth.

When these aspects of our ‘human ecology’ are respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits.

This poses a particular challenge for Ireland at this time. The advent of embryonic stem cell research indicates just how attractive a morality of the end justifying the means can be. This same utilitarian approach to morality underlies the present ecological crisis. It is the attitude which says that creation and life are there solely to serve me and my needs and that man is the master of creation rather than its steward. To plunder human life at its genesis, without respect for its inherent dignity reflects the very moral attitude which has put our created world in jeopardy. If we cannot respect our own inherent dignity from the moment of conception, what hope has the rest of creation of receiving our care and respect? If we afford more protection and respect to other forms of life and creation than we do to ourselves, then by any standards we have inverted our moral priorities completely.

Pope Benedict has spelt out clearly the impact on the overall moral tenor of society.

‘If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology’. (Caritas in Veritate n. 51).

In any time of crisis and challenge, such as we now face with the natural environment, there are always fundamental decisions to be made. Sometimes in the life of Christians, as in the life of the chosen people, the covenant has to be renewed. There are times when we have to choose either to stand clearly on the side of Christ, or depart from Him. This can come about not only in moments of personal crisis but also at certain moments in the life of an entire society.

Such a moment will soon confront the people of Ireland. During the next Dáil and Seanad term politicians and citizens will debate and be asked to make a fundamental choice about the future of marriage and the family in Ireland. They will be asked to approve legislation and policy which, among other things: will make same-sex partnerships equal in status to marriage, with the same benefits in tax and welfare as married couples – the only difference being the right to adopt children; will give cohabiting same-sex, or opposite sex, partners the same status as marriage, after they have lived together for a short period; will remove ‘marital status’ from key legislation and public documentation and replace it with ‘civil status’, thus directly challenging the Constitutional recognition that marriage is ‘a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law’ (Article 41.1.1).

Furthermore it will challenge the article of the Constitution which says that ‘the State, therefore, guarantees to protect the Family in its Constitution and authority, as the necessary basis of social order and as indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and the State’ (Article 41.2).

By refusing to officiate at what could probably become known as same-sex ‘weddings’, any Registrar of Marriage who, in conscience, declines to officiate at such ceremonies, will be guilty of an offence. This is an alarming attack on the fundamental principle of freedom of religion and conscience. The legislation also leaves the door open for individuals and religious organisations to be sued in a variety of ways for upholding their belief that marriage is an institution exclusively for a man and a woman.

How one approaches an issue like this will, of course, be “coloured by our belief in the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end, each one of us and humanity in its entirety” (Spe Salvi n. 31).

Whatever authentically promotes the common good can be proposed in terms that find an echo in every human heart. There is a duty on every Christian to judge legislation like this in light of the teaching of Divine Revelation and the natural law. This duty falls, in a particular way, on politicians who are responsible for amending or approving such legislation. The right of politicians to debate and vote, in accordance with their conscience, must be respected. Respect for the right to freedom of conscience and religion is the mark of an authentic democracy.

What the government is planning will hugely change peoples’ concept of the family. Nevertheless, marriage between a man and a woman will always remain the ideal environment in which to raise children. Any government that undermines such an environment could hardly be said to be promoting the common good.
Precisely because Christian marriage and the family answer the deepest needs of the human heart, to be loved and cherished, Pope Benedict recently called on governments to enact policies that protect marriage. He calls on them to enact policies that protect the centrality and integrity of the family. In other words he wants to keep the family at the heart of society. He wants governments to do what they can to keep the family intact and safe from destruction. It is a family based on marriage, marriage between a man and a woman, which is the vital cell of society. I repeat that call of Pope Benedict, here today, because this is one of the fundamental choices that Ireland has to make and make soon.

Today’s readings describe two dramatic moments when God openly demanded choices from his people. The first reading tells how God had chosen the Hebrew people. They had been showered with blessings. Now they were about to enter the Promised Land. God asks for a decision – will they choose Yahweh or the other gods?

In the Gospel we hear of another moment of definitive choice. Jesus had chosen His disciples. He had become, in a sense, father to them all. There comes the moment when they too have to choose – do they stay or do they go? What Jesus says to them is ‘a hard saying’. They are free. Some go, some stay. Followers of Jesus cannot be afraid to echo his hard questions as well as his overwhelmingly merciful and consoling message. We must be faithful to the whole Gospel, not just the popular bits!

Today’s second reading also calls for commitment and selfless choices.

St Paul urges husbands and wives to love, respect and commit themselves to each other as Christ has loved His body, the Church.

The commitment of Christ is total. His giving of His flesh and blood, to be our food and drink, is a sign of His total self-giving on our behalf. It is a sign to us that what he has done for us, we should do for others. Perhaps that’s what makes it a hard saying, not only hard to believe but especially hard to imitate.

Thirty years ago, here in Limerick, Pope John Paul II famously threw out the following challenge – “Ireland must choose”, he said. The choices are just as real and urgent today. Do we choose:
Personal greed or the common good?
A culture of death or a culture of life?
Reckless exploitation or responsible stewardship?
A civilisation of selfishness or a civilisation of love?

These are the stark choices which confront us. In our response we face the same fundamental choice which confronted Peter in our Gospel this
evening: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life!’ Whom do we choose – Jesus or another?

Amen.

At this stage in the ordination, the Church asks the ordaining Bishop to address you, the People of God, and the man who is being ordained on the duties of a priest.  This address takes the place of the homily.

Before we speak of duties – we could usefully recall perhaps what a priest is.  A priest is someone who is intimately connected to Christ and his saving work, someone who is dependent on Christ – someone who models his life on Christ.

Francis, your brother and friend, is about to be ordained a priest.  Francis was ordained a deacon earlier this year and now he is to be raised to the order of priest.  It is good, especially in the Year of the Priest, to consider carefully what this means.

God has made all of you, His entire people – a royal priesthood.  By baptism we were all given a share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ and therefore a share in His work as priest, teacher and king of His people.  Jesus is the great High Priest.  He chose some of his followers, not all, for another role in His Church.  They are chosen to carry out, in public and in the Church, another role, another task and another function.  They are to perform and to carry out the work of the priesthood in the name of Jesus, on behalf of mankind.

After He was sent by His Father, Jesus in turn sent the apostles out into the world.  The apostles have died and have gone but their successors have not gone away.  The successors of the apostles are the bishops.  Through the bishops and their co-workers, the priests, Christ continues His work: as a teacher, who teaches; as a priest who prays with and makes holy His people; as a shepherd who directs and guides people to their eternal glory in heaven.  Priests and bishops are joined in serving in this work.  We are all called to serve.

Francis has been considering the idea of becoming a priest for a long time.  He wants to serve Christ through you, his people, the people of the diocese of Armagh.  He was, for many years, a teacher here in the College of Further Education.  He is now resuming that role of teaching but now teaching the most important subject of all – the subject of eternal life with God.  Francis is now going to serve Christ, the teacher, the bringer of Good News.

Francis is going to serve Christ, the priest.  He will pray, on behalf of you, at Mass and when he prays the Divine Office, prays the Rosary and celebrates the sacraments. He will pray for himself, his family and extended family.  Francis will serve Christ, the good shepherd, the shepherd who knows his people and stays with them and leads them to pastures, fresh and green.  The shepherd who does not run away from hard work or hard decisions;  The shepherd who, by his sermon and advice, tries to lead people away from the wolves into the safety of the sheepfold, which is the Church of Christ.  The Church is the Body of Christ.  Christ wants the Church to grow into the people of God, a Holy Temple.

Francis is called into the priesthood of the bishop.  He will be, from today, be a co-worker with the Archbishop of Armagh and with the other priests of the diocese.  He and I, and all of the priests, are to model ourselves on Christ, who is the Supreme and eternal priest.  His priesthood lasts forever.
By our ordination we priests are called to preach the Gospel, in season and out of season.  To preach it with love always but also with integrity, whether the message is popular or unpopular, it is always a message of God’s love and mercy.  We are to prepare ourselves as best we can to carry out this arduous task.  We prepare by study and reading, by devoting the time to preparing the sermon, but we never forget that we also preach the Gospel by the way we live our lives.

We clergy are to sustain God’s people spiritually.  Life is a journey and we all need food for that journey – spiritual food, advice, guidance, instruction, direction, pardon, forgiveness and prayer.  The Church has all of these in abundance and she relies on her clergy to dispense these to her people generously and faithfully.  This is done permanently through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Church and, above all, by the Mass which is the Lord’s sacrifice.

We clergy pray for you our beloved people.  It is our privilege to be called to serve you.  I in turn ask you to pray for Francis and for all of us, especially in the Year of the Priest, that we may be less unworthy servants of the Kingdom.

Now Francis the instruction turns to you.  As a priest you are to apply your energy to the duty of teaching in the name of Christ, the chief teacher.  You already know what it is to be a teacher.  The challenge here is to keep fit and well so that you will have the health and the energy for the job.

The church gives five direct commands at this stage. 
1.    Share with all mankind the Word of God which you have received with joy.  You have received the message joyfully.  Hand it on joyfully.
2.    Meditate on the law of God which is the law of love, the law of eternal life.  Give the time every day to meditation, otherwise you won’t accomplish much.
3.    Believe what you read! It comes to us on good authority.
4.    Teach what you believe.
5.    Put in to practice what you teach.

The modern world heeds only those teachers who actually bear witness in their own private lives to that which they teach in public.

Let the doctrine you teach be true nourishment for the people of God.  The food must be prepared well and presented attractively, otherwise it may be left on the plate and remain undigested.  Let the example of your lives attract the followers of Christ.  People are attracted by what is good, by what is true and by what is beautiful.  Some who may not share our ideas of what is good and true, rarely reject what is truly beautiful.

Francis, you are aware that in addition to the task of teaching; as a priest you receive a mission of sanctifying – the mission of making others holy.  There is a basic principle which says that nobody can give what he has not got.  So the text says that you must carry out this part of your mission – in the power of Christ.  Hence the advice at the beginning, that every priest is connected to and dependent on Christ.

By your ministry you are to perfect the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful.  I think it is very useful for all of us priests to remember that.  We sometimes hear it said that the life of the priest is lonely.  It does not have to be lonely.  In all of 45 years of priesthood, thanks be to God, I have never felt lonely.  The fact that our job is to see and recognise the many and great sacrifices which the faithful people make is one sure way of not being lonely.  We are to perfect the spiritual sacrifice of the people by uniting it to Christ’s sacrifice.  To do that we have to really know the people and be close to them – in their joys and their sorrows, in their victories and their defeats, in their hopes and disappointments.

You unite the spiritual sacrifice of the people to Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary – which is offered through you hands sacramentally every time you will offer the sacrifice of the Mass.  Here the instruction is quite direct.  Know what you are doing, imitate the mystery you celebrate.  It is not just a case of putting on the vestments and reciting the words properly.  It is that, of course, but much more.  It is a case of imitating the mysterious reality that lies hidden therein.

Here the words of the Rite:

•    In the Mass, which is the memorial of the Lord’s death and resurrection: Make every effort to die to sin – hence the confession of sin at the beginning of every Mass. 
•    Make every effort to walk in the New Life in Christ.  It is not enough to talk the talk we must also walk the talk as they say.
•    When you baptise you will bring men and women into the People of God. 
•    In the sacrament of Penance you will forgive sins in the Name of Christ and the Church

The sacrament of Penance is being neglected at present by some people – it is a great pity because it is absolutely essential for all who want to really walk the New Life in Christ.  We priests must lead the way – by ourselves preaching, practicing and providing opportunities for all.  Where that happens, e.g. the centres of pilgrimage – the practice is still fairly strong.  This morning at 5.00 am in Knock I am told there were lots of people waiting for confessions.

With Holy Oil you will relieve and console the sick. 

You will celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours in the Divine Office.  In so doing you will be offering thanks and praise to God through the various hours of the day.  In so doing you will also be praying not just for yourself, not just for your parish but for the whole people of God and, in fact, for the whole world.

Remember that you did not choose this on your own.  You have been chosen from among God’s people you are being appointed to act on their behalf.  You are to act on their behalf – not about some foolish things but in relation to God.  It is quite a responsibility, but be of good heart.  You will be sustained in that responsibility by the prayers of so many – not just in your native County Tyrone or your adopted County Armagh but, I am sure, by your wider circle of friends, so well represented here today.

The Church tells us priests to do our part in the work of Christ with genuine joy and love.  For that to happen we must make sure that we always keep in contact with the sources of genuine joy and love.  They are not necessarily the same as what the world calls love and joy. 

Attend to the concerns of Christ – the Rite says – before your own.  That is something that I think you would wish to do in any case. 

Finally, the Church reminds us that the priest shares in the work of Christ – the Head and Shepherd of the Church.  The shepherd guides the flock away from danger towards pastures and safety.

Here there is great emphasis on unity.  It is a work carried out in unity with, and subject to, the bishop.  It is therefore done in unity with the rest of the clergy and indeed with the religious and lay-faithful of the diocese.  The solo run is practically banned.  The idea is to bring the faithful together.  They are to live in communion as in a unified family.  The idea is to lead them effectively through Christ and in the Holy Spirit.  It all happens through the working of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of the Risen Christ. 

The Instruction ends with a reminder to be ever mindful of the example of the Good Shepherd.  He came not to be served but to serve.  He came to seek out and rescue those who were lost.  May you, in all your work, Francis, do likewise.

En France, le quinze aout est votre jour patronal, comme ici le dix-sept mars, parce que votre patronne est Notre Dame, assompté au ciel.  Votre Sanctuaire a Lourdes est un grande lieu de pélerinage pour les Irlandais et il y a un vrai lien entre les francais et nous a cause de cela.  La visite du Pape Benoit XVI a Lourdes pour célébrer le centcinquantieme anniversaire des apparitions a Bernaette était impressionante pour nous!

The ordination ceremony is taking place on the beautiful Feast of the Assumption of Our lady – body and soul – into the glory of Heaven.  There is more than a hint of that beauty and glory in Musillo’s painting of the Assumption which is shown on the front of your Ordination booklet. 

Where Mary has gone – we hope to follow for we are all made for glory.  But we will not go there on our own.  May this ordination help all of us on that journey towards eternal glory and may the work, life and example of our newly ordained priest, with the help of many, lead many on that path to glory.

AMEN

Today is a day of great joy for many, many people.  I welcome all of you to share in the celebration of that joy and the celebration of the Ordination ceremony.

It is a day of great joy for Francis Coll and for his sisters, Anne and Margaret, his aunts, Agnes and Annie Coll and for the extended Coll family.

I welcome all who have helped Francis to reach this day of ordination. 
•    His former teacher, Vincent McGill,
•    Staff members of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth;
•    The President and Vice-President of St Joseph’s Young Priests Society, Marie Hogan and Pat Denning;
•    Seminarians of this diocese and other diocese from Maynooth and Rome;
•    Members of the Committee for Perpetual Adoration of the Most Blessed Eucharist at national and diocesan level.

Cet après-midi nous acceuillons aussi une groupe des dix-sept francais, le plupart Breton, dans notre cathedral de St. Patrick.  Nous vous remercions pour cette acte de communion entre les eglises de la France et I’Irlande, unis sous l’autorité de notre Pape, Benoit Seize.  C’est tres gentil venire en ce moment pour l’ordination a la pretrise de Francois Coll. 
We also have people from Kenya and Nigeria to underline the university of the Church and, of course, a strong contingent from the parish of Drogheda – where Francis completed his priestly formation over the last year and where he will serve after ordination. 

I am pleased to see the clergy of this diocese and of this parish well represented as we welcome into our ranks a newly-ordained priest.  What a blessing this is for the Year of the Priest.

Today we thank God for the decision of Francis Coll to offer himself for ordination and service as a priest of Jesus Christ.

We give thanks for the many generous people who have helped in so ma y ways to sustain Francis in his resolve and on the long journey to becoming a priest.

We ar here to pray for Francis that he may, at all times, model himself on Jesus Christ – the Great and Eternal High Priest.

On this day, August 14th, 68 years ago, Maximilian Kolbe, journalist publisher, broadcaster and intellectual was executed.  His death took place in the death camp of Auschwitz.  His crime was that of setting up a refugee camp for some three thousand Poles and two thousand Jews.  Possibly he was also accused of taking an independent line, critical of the Third Reich.  In the same camp a young husband and father was about to be sent to the notorious Cell 13.  Cell 13 was a place of torture and death.  Kolbe stepped forward and offered to take his place with the words “I am a Catholic Priest.  I wish to die for that man.  I am old.  He has a wife and child”.

After two weeks of starvation and thirst Kolbe was still alive.  The guards were outraged not only because he was alive but also because he was so serene and cheerful.  So they promptly dispatched him with an injection of carbolic acid.  His death was, in the words of one survivor, “a shock, filled with hope, bringing new life and strength”.

In 1982 Maximilian Kolbe was declared a Saint by Pope John Paul II, the Polish Pope, formerly Archbishop of Krakow, the diocese which contains Auschwitz.  Present at the ceremony was Sergeant Francis Gajowniczek whose life had been saved.  We celebrate St Maximillian’s feast today.

Recently someone encouraged me to watch a film called ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’.  I am glad I did.  It tells the story of the friendship between two small boys who lived on either side of the fence of such a death camp.  The film reminded me of the day I visited Auschwitz.  I will never forget the moment I stood in grim silence at the threshold of Cell 13.  As the number 13 suggests, it was a place of no hope and yet from it came forth this amazing story of sacrifice and hope.

The theme of our novena this year is “Seeds of Hope”.  Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a beacon of hope in the midst of the most unspeakable evil and darkest despair.  His heroic offering of his life to save that young husband and father, was the culmination of a life of hope.  It was a life modelled on the life of Jesus Christ.  Kolbe had dedicated himself to spreading the message of Jesus as a journalist, as a broadcaster.  He had cared for the weak and oppressed, especially the refugees.  He finally sacrificed himself to save the life of an innocent man after the example of Jesus on Calvary.

Maximilian Kolbe had a hard life.  Two of his brothers died in infancy.  His father was executed by the Russians.  He himself contracted tuberculosis after ordination and struggled with it all his life.  As he said himself “he lived under the constant shadow of death”.  To all appearances, he hadn’t much reason for hope.  So it is timely and important that we reflect today on where he found his hope so that we too may find our hope. 

Since this time last year, as we are constantly told, there has been a dramatic downturn in the economy.  That downturn has raised many new and disturbing challenges to hope.  I imagine, for example, that some people here today may be worried about their job, their finances or the future of their home.  This is something that was quite unthinkable a short time ago. 

Some of you may be still struggling to cope with the death of a loved one or the breakup of a treasured relationship.  Other may be worried about ill health or failed exams or a change of plans and prospects.  Or perhaps you are here to pray for the well-being of loved ones, either here or abroad.  Maybe your concern is for someone you love who is suffering from depression or blighted by addiction to alcohol or drugs.

Lots of things tend to dash our hopes.  Whatever it is that causes you to struggle with hope at this time, I pray that this Novena will be a source of healing and renewal of hope for each one of us and for our country. I pray that today may be a powerful occasion of grace, mediated through Our Lady of Knock, the Mother of all Hope. May it help each of us to rediscover the unshakable hope that comes from knowing Her Son, Jesus Christ, and the power of his resurrection – that is, the power of his victory over all suffering, all evil and all death.  I pray especially that it will be a time of healing and renewal for those whose lives are broken or wounded in any way.

Research suggests that in difficult times we can do a number of things to improve our sense of hope. They include having a deep inner faith, maintaining a positive outlook, having goals or plans, finding meaning in life, being open to new possibilities and being connected to others.

Young people are likely to place more emphasis on finding hope in having clear goals and plans than older people. It suggests that the older we get, the more likely we are to draw hope from having a deep inner faith.  I believe this is because the older you get the more you realise, in the words of the poet Robbie Burns, that ‘the best laid plans of mice and men, gang oft agley, And leave us naught but grief and pain, for promised joy!’

God, on the other hand, does have a plan. It is a reliable plan – a trustworthy plan. – a plan for our fulfilment and joy.  God says to each and everyone of us, through the prophet Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have in mind for you – plans for peace, not for disaster!’

Being saved in Jesus Christ is about trusting in this plan of God.   It is about trusting in it every moment of every day. It is about believing, ‘that in all things God works for good with those who love him’ (Rms 8:28).

Absolute trust in this plan allowed Maximillian Kolbe to remain a bright star of hope in the midst of the dark despair of cell 13.  In a rare letter to his mother while in the death camp he wrote: “Do not worry about me or my health, for the good Lord is everywhere and holds every one of us in his great love. Mary gives me strength. All will be well.” These are the words of a man who had discovered the truth of God’s eternal plan for each of us and found the deepest meaning of life. They are the words of a man whose life had been utterly saved and redeemed by his confidence in God’s promise to be faithful.

And this brings me to a dimension of hope which I believe is at risk in Ireland today. In the 70’s and 80’s it was quite common in Ireland for religious leaders to express concern about a loss of the sense of sin, even though good and evil were still such evident realities among us. Today the issue is even more fundamental. Fewer and fewer people understand what it means to be saved, even though more and more would seem lost in a meaningless cycle of escapism and emptiness.

It reminds me of the story of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll back down again. His life is a metaphor for those who live without hope, without meaning, or without purpose. I suspect more and more people are finding themselves in sympathy with Sisyphus as the full impact of the global economic turmoil of recent months bites deeper.

In the Gospel today, Jesus reminds us that we can do something to break this cycle of hopelessness and despair. He reminds us that hope is bolstered by action. When he reached down to heal the man with the withered hand, try to imagine the scene. Imagine how much that poor man must have suffered because of his disability, but he comes, full of hope, that this famous wonder-worker from Nazareth, might pour out some healing power on him.  And Jesus, full of the surpassing love that God bears towards all his children, obliges.  Jesus broke through the hardness of heart of those around him to reveal the God of all consolation. He reached out to heal by bringing to that man, the gentleness of God. This is how we, in turn, can bring healing and hope to the broken and the wounded. We too can become the hands, the face, the voice of the God spoken of by St Paul in the second reading – a God, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can, in turn, offer to others, in their sorrows, the consolation we ourselves have received.

Like St Maximillian Kolbe, we too can be witnesses to hope in our own generation, in our own time and in our own circumstances. We too are called to heal others and our country with our compassionate healing love. We can do so in lots of different ways:
•    We can examine our consciences about how we have been living our lives in recent years.  I can ask myself honestly: what values have been driving my life, my time and my use of resources in recent years and how will I act differently in the future?
•    We can try to reconnect with others around us and to improve the quality of our relationships with spouses, children and our wider family? This is one of the most valuable things we could do to rebuild a culture of hope.
•    We can seek ways of working with others to create strong and inclusive local communities, communities rooted in care for others, especially those left most vulnerable by the economic downturn.  Here the attitudes which influence our behaviour should be the attitudes of the compassionate caring Christ.
•    We can rediscover the apparently lost art of forgiveness and put that forgiveness into practice. Jesus once asked the Pharisees this very important question: do you not know the meaning of the words – I want mercy, not sacrifice? When we forgive someone, we show them mercy. We liberate them, and ourselves, from the burden of past wrongs and hurts. This, in itself, opens up the possibility of hope, the hope of a better future free from the darkness and bitterness of the past.

Evidence suggests that those who are constantly exposed to negativity, cynicism and despair are more likely to become negative and despairing themselves. Of course, if we want to be realistic and build a genuine culture of hope, we should not ignore the prophets of doom.  However, we would do well to limit our exposure to them. We should try to achieve a balance by being more careful and discerning about the type of literature we read and the amount of television programmes we watch.

This begs the question: How do I nourish hope? For a start we could take more time to reflect and to pray. To help us, each of us has available to us exactly the same resources, in fact far more resources, than were available to St Maximillian Kolbe.  Here I am talking about the vast resources of modern technology and communications. There we can find the Sacred Scriptures, the lives of the saints, the teachings of the Church,   These are all living springs of encouragement which nourish and sustain our hope.

Pope Benedict’s most recent encyclical is called Charity in Truth.  In it he discusses economic activity around the world.  It is a subject that has received quite a lot of attention in recent times and in many quarters.  For his part, Pope Benedict calls for economic activity “carried out by subjects who freely choose to act according to principles other than those of pure profit”!  There he would include economic entities that draw their origin from both religious and lay initiatives.  I would love to see some of our many serious and distinguished economic analysts reflect upon and tease out the implications of what the Pope has said. 

It is probably an understatement to say that confidence in many commercial banks is declining and that disillusionment has set in.  Has the time not come for responsible Catholic economists to take the lead in developing some, not for profit, systems of lending, saving and insurance, built on an ethic of authentic human development? Such initiatives would certainly increase the hope of a more humane and ethically robust economy.

The Credit Union is one such initiative.  The Knights of Columbus Ethical Investment Programme in the U.S. is another.  It would be tragic if nothing is learned from this recession.  There is one thing we could all learn – a certain wariness.

Pope Benedict recommends being wary of “a speculative use of financial resources that leads to the temptation of seeking only short-term profit, without regard for the long-term sustainability of the enterprise”. 

The culture of hope is enhanced by building a culture of respect for life, from the moment of conception to natural death. All true charity begins with valuing human life. That means welcoming each new human life and sustaining our concern for the well-being of every person throughout that person’s life, up to the moment of natural death.

The continued effort of individuals and groups to introduce abortion to Ireland and the increasing pressure to accede to legalised euthanasia are a fundamental threat to human hope.  They threaten the inherent dignity of us all.

Respect for life is a pre-requisite of hope. “Openness to life is at the centre of true development,” Pope Benedict reminds us and “the acceptance of life”, he continues, “strengthens moral fibre and makes people capable of mutual help.” When we speak of bringing healing to the broken and the wounded there are few more vulnerable and exposed than those  at either end of the unbroken continuum of human life – the infant and the elderly.

And yet there are some important signs of hope beginning to emerge. Recent research from the United States suggests that for the first time since Roe v. Wade, the United States of America is now a pro-life country. On May 15 of this year, Gallup announced that 51% considered themselves pro-life. It is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking the question in 1995. Subsequent polls have confirmed that there has been a significant shift among Americans to the pro-life position.

There are many reasons for this shift.  However, there can be no doubt that the concerted effort of Christians from all denominations, and of others, to promote, explain and defend a consistent ethic of life from conception to natural death, played a vital part. This gives real cause to hope that a similar ethic of life can be sustained in Ireland and progressed across Europe if we have the courage and patience to promote and explain it. 

Finally, to contribute to a culture of hope, we should all take practical steps to protect the environment and ensure the well-being of our planet for future generations. The way we have plundered the resources of our planet in recent years is disgraceful.  The impact of human activity on the climate threatens to jeopardise the very viability of our earthly home. Not only is humanity broken and wounded, our planet itself is broken and wounded. This beautiful planet is God’s creation and his gift to us. We have a responsibility to care for it. Everybody can play their part. These are the seeds of hope which can be nurtured by every one of us. These are some of the signs of hope which are already present among us.  There are many others.

Last week two young men in County Cavan, Simon Delaney and Matthew Gibbons, lost their lives tragically when they gallantly went to try to save some people who had got into difficulties.  These young men totally forgot about themselves and were concerned about saving others.  I extend my sympathy to their grieving parents and families.

•    That there exist such people in our midst is, for me, a sign of great hope.  It is also a great consolation to their parents and families.
•    There were many young people gathered recently here at Knock for the Youth Fest, giving of their time to draw aside and to reflect – I see that as a sign of hope.
•    There is a Youth Festival coming up in the diocese of Clonmacnois soon. And many young people have been going to Lough Derg,
•    Groups of young people are going out abroad to help build houses for those in need in programmes like Habitat for Humanity.  These are all seeds of hope.

There is also the hope of the peace process in the North. There is the hope of greater encounter and understanding between religions and cultures than ever before because of our new means of global communication. These are all solid grounds for hope for humanity and for our future.

Ultimately, however, our earthly hopes are limited. If we do not have an eternal future of love and joy with the Blessed Trinity and with all those who have gone before us, then all our hopes are in vain. This is why St Paul implores us ‘not to rely on ourselves but only on God, who raises the dead to life’.

The God who raises the dead to life is the greatest source of our hope. This is the reason why Maximillian Kolbe and so many other martyrs of our faith could go to their deaths with such serenity and hope. This is why in this novena we turn to the Mother of all hope.  We ask her to restore our trust in God’s promise to be with us always, even unto the end of time. It is why we proclaim with Elizabeth: ‘Blessed is she who believed God’s promise to her would be fulfilled.’ It is why we pray with such confidence, Holy Mary, Mother of God – Mother of Hope – pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

I am very honoured to be asked to open the 40th Summer School of the Irish Church Music Association (ICMA).  I don’t use the word ‘honoured’ lightly or casually because it is an honour to be in the company of talented musicians who have further enhanced their reputation by giving of their time to place their gifts at the service and glory of God by training choirs whether it is in schools or parishes or communities up and down the length and breadth of this country.  So I wish you a happy, joyful Ruby anniversary under the guest directorship of Kevin O’Carroll. 

I say it is a privilege to be asked to open this School. 
•    Firstly, because of the dignity and richness of the topic being studied. 
•    Secondly, because of the calibre of the people involved.
•    Thirdly, because of the seriousness and purpose and generosity with which the subject is being addressed
•    Fourthly, because of the huge difference which each and every one of you is making to society.

I am well aware that the Association was founded in 1969 to respond to the needs and vision of liturgy as set out in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council. On behalf of the Catholic Church in Ireland I want to thank you, and thank all those who attended previous Summer Schools, for the magnificent response which you, and those who went before you, have given to the needs and that vision of the liturgy over the last forty years. 

I suppose I am well positioned to express that thanks for this reason.  In my work within my own diocese and in the various engagements I fulfil throughout this country, it is my privilege and my joy to be present, take part in and celebrate a great number of wonderful liturgies where the music is superb.  That situation has come about largely as a result of the work of the Irish Church Music Association.  So, I gladly put on record, my thanks.

Last September Pope Benedict XVI went to Lourdes to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the apparitions there.  On his way he stopped over in Paris and addressed representatives of the World of Culture.  In that Address, which was not widely publicised in this part of the world I am sure, he said some things which I think may be of interest to people like yourselves, immersed as you are, in the culture of Church and its music and worship; especially people who have chosen Fauré’s Requiem for one of your celebrations. 

The Pope was speaking in the College des Bernardines.   Of course he was well aware that the monasteries were the places where the treasures of ancient culture survived and where, at the same time, a new culture slowly took shape out of the old.  It strikes me that you, yourselves, are often concerned with preserving ancient musical treasures while, at the same time, creating new compositions and works of art.  But, says Pope Benedict:  ‘really the monks were searching for God in the face of the collapse of the old order and its certainties’. 

Of course that also has a certain relevance to what is going on in the world today.  Because they were Christians, he said ‘God had marked out a path which was theirs to find and to follow’.  This path was his Word – the Word of God – which had been disclosed to them in the Books of the Sacred Scripture’.  He goes on to say:  ‘We ourselves are brought into conversation with God by the Word of God for it is the God who speaks in the Bible, who teaches us how to speak with Him ourselves’.  Especially in the Book of Psalms God gives us the words with which we can address Him so that life itself becomes a movement towards God. 

The psalms also contain frequent instructions about how they should be sung and accompanied by instruments and from this the Holy Father reaches this remarkable conclusion.  ‘For prayer that issues from the Word of God, speech is not enough, music is required’.  Let me repeat that again, ‘for prayer that issues from the Word of God, speech is not enough, music is required’. 

He went on to remind his listeners that there were two chants which were very familiar to all of us:  The Gloria and The Sanctus and which comes from biblical texts in which they are placed on the lips of angels.  As we all know, the first Gloria was sung by the angels at the first Midnight Mass while the Sanctus, on the other hand, according to the Prophet Isaiah, (Chapter 6) is the cry of the Seraphim, who stand directly before God. 

Christian worship is an invitation to sing with the angels and Church music, is part of the worship of God – part of the praise we give to God.  St Augustine tells us that praise of God should be the object of our dedication in this life because in the life to come, it will be forever the object of our rejoicing.  This is what he had to say:

“No-one will be fit to receive the life to come unless he has prepared himself in this life to receive it”

And so, in this life we not only praise God, we also petition to God.  Our praise is expressed with joy.  We are back again to the theme of your Conference:  Waiting in Joyful Hope. 
In a special way the Easter season reminds us of the happiness which, hopefully, will be ours hereafter.  That is the meaning of the Alleluia which we sing with gusto in paschal times.  For our songs we often turn to the Old Testament –

Psalm 95 tells us

Sing to the Lord all the world
Sing to the Lord and praise Him

The words of Psalm 95 have been heard and honoured, thanks be to God, in various ways, down through the centuries in the history of the Church.  The reason is this.  Music is found, in every era and in every culture.  Music has great power to open up our spirits.  Down through the ages, music has been connected with the experience of the sacred.  Of course, across many different cultures, music is a symbol of the mystery of being – of life itself.  As such, music becomes the natural medium for story and for myth.  It has power to evoke experiences that surpass and transcend the natural and to reach deep into the supernatural.  Many musical composers have stated that all their creative efforts of composition of music were only a prelude to something greater than themselves – something that was to come.

We know well that music makes a special contribution to our prayer and worship and praise of God.  Music expresses the depths and the heights of reality – the depths and lengths of emotion.  It has been often said that worship without emotion, is worship without truth.  I think Church music must be connected with the congregation.  There is a place for a solo, for choir but also from congregational singing.

The greatest hymn of praise of all is the Te Deum.  It has been sung every Sunday, except in Advent and Lent – since the 6th century.  It is the foretaste of the chorus of Heaven and it goes like this:

We praise you, O God,
We acclaim you as the Lord.
Everlasting Father,
All the world bows down before you
All the angels sing your praise.
The hosts of Heaven and all the angels
All the cherubs and serpentines 
call out to you in unending song.
The glorious bond of apostles
The noble of prophets
The white robed army who shed the blood of Christ
All sing your praise.

Your Association is, as is well known, is a response to the Second Vatican Council, especially the reform of the liturgy which took place then.  The Church knew it was doing something great when it reformed the liturgy over forty years ago.  Then you could read statements like this.  “It was in the provision of the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy more than anywhere else that the aggiornamento which Blessed John XXIII had demanded – assumed visible and incisive form”.  Well perhaps, after forty years, it is time to ask how comprehensive has the aggiornamento actually been?  Is it a case of a lot done and a lot to do?  There was a lot of astonishment at the Council that, in the Constitution on the Liturgy a chapter almost as long as the chapter devoted to the Mass, was given to sacred music.  The reason is that no branch of the liturgy was affected in its roots to such an extent by the reform as sacred music.  We have to recall, also that sometimes the greatest resistance to the changes came from Church choirs and from experts in Church music.  They argued that if the vernacular language and popular hymns were introduced, then this would automatically mean the decline of Gregorian Chant and eliminate modern masterpieces of sacred music.  The Council reacted to this and placed strong emphasis on the pastoral aspect of the music in the liturgy.

Yes, music gives the prayer of the Church a more dignified form and it strengthens the feeling of unity and solidarity among the congregation.  So it must be connected to the congregation in some way, whether it is a solo piece or a choir piece.  It must connect with the congregation.  Yes, it involves a necessary part of the solemn liturgy, not just an optional extra, and the participation of the people, in some shape or form, is paramount.  For the people to participate, does not mean that they are actually singing, but they must be listening and deriving benefits from it.  It must be a piece with which they can identify.

Recently I met a man who shared, with me, his love and passion for going on pilgrimage to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus as a means of achieving greater union with Jesus. 

That same man shared with me his sorrow that despite his best efforts, his children now don’t bother with the Church.  He and I found that very sad.  Here was a man who all his life had tried to keep the great commandment, “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve”, and yet, his own nearest and dearest are turning their back on the worship of their religion of their parents.  What is to be done?  The remedy is for more committed Christians, like you, to be so outstanding in your praise and worship of God that other are attracted to it.  Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and give joy to their Father in heaven. 

I, myself, have had many spirited debates with young people on this subject.  They frequently refer to the liturgy, as celebrated so often today as not experienced by many people as life-giving.  Therefore, people are turning away from it and the Church should do something about it. 

Yet I seem to recall a reflection by Karl Rainer where he says:  “That too often people expect, from the Church, and specifically from the priest, something they cannot get, namely bread, solutions to social problems, happiness on this Earth.  For the priest goes on repeating words, words, words, words, which are sometimes boring words and that is what the priest has got to do.  But, I suppose, the words could be interspersed with delightful music which would break the monotony and attract people and that is the challenge”. There is also the famous statement Qui bene Cantat – bis orat ‘Whoever sings well, prays twice’.

What I am trying to say is that music – sacred music especially, gladdens the heart, heightens spiritual experience and enables us to access the sacred.  But it has to connect.  If it is too esoteric or not connected to congregations, it has no real role.  At funerals music heightens emotions, and enables people to express, to get in touch, with their sorrow and express it.  At weddings it helps people access their joy.

Inviting people to sing along with the choir is desirable if the appropriate opportunities are created.  If you invite people to sing along, with the choir in a difficult piece which the congregation hasn’t practiced, you create a shambles.  The challenge is to create the opportunities to balance solo, choir and congregational singing.  If you insist on only singing what the congregation can sing, you are reduced to the lowest common denominator.  If you avoid the beautiful, but difficult pieces, you deprive the congregation of the opportunity to hear inspirational and uplifting music.  Then there is such a thing as over enthusiastic music.  I heard somebody say that his church had been converted into a rock-and-roll church.  Silence has to be recognised as having a place also. 

People crowd to midnight Mass because it has lots of beautiful pieces.  The end product is beautiful but it involves a huge amount of foot slogging.  For that I pay tribute to you and I thank you.  Now I am told that the relationship established has a great value for choir members, involving, as they do, delight in shared activities, and that, in this individualistic age, is a treasure.  I am told it is getting harder and harder to hold choirs together because there is a big temptation to quit.  It requires Directors and Organists who are prepared to turn up in season and out of season. 

Tonight I want to compliment that commitment, heroic commitment I would say, of the willingness to make sacrifices which comes from a great vision of what the final product is.  It has its rewards:  it is good for health; it is beneficial to use the talents you have and sometimes the talents you do not realise you have, and develop them.  There is great satisfaction to be derived from all of that – a contentment; a loyalty; esprit de corps; which brings people to put the choir before other things.  It also means that you all have to go to the same Mass and that implies a certain discipline.

As somebody said it to me as he listened to his daughter singing on an important occasion, he said:  “I realise there is no finer sound in the world than a voice raised in praise of God”.

God has no need of our praise.  But our desire to thank God is, in itself, God’s gift – a gift given to us for our benefit.  The fact is that our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to God’s greatness but it makes us grow in God’s grace. 

My wish for you, as you begin this Summer School, is that you continue to provide this wonderful service to the Church in Ireland today.  May you inspire other people to join you and help you and sing with you because in so doing you are turning the minds of others to God who is the source of beauty and harmony and truth and love.

Thank you

I am very pleased to be here in Beragh to celebrate 25 years of your Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I thank Fr McAnerney and the Parish for the invitation to do so.  It is a great sign when a parish wishes to celebrate something like this.

Fr Arty says the Church has been very satisfactory and much appreciated by the people.  This celebration is proof of that. 

In 1984, the late Fr Quigley, and Fr Peter McParland, who was then curate here, thanked you, the parishioners, who over the previous two years had sacrificed much time and effort to make the new church a reality.  At that time Cardinal Ó Fiaich noted that it took a short time to build this church, less than a year and that it was virtually paid for on the day it opened.  He described that as a monument to your faith.  He expressed the hope that you would return here often to celebrate the sacraments with your families and friends. 

It has been my privilege and joy to come here and celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with you, on many occasions, during fifteen of these past twenty-five years.  Of course I have come for other less happy occasions too, such as funerals.  While these were definitely very sad occasions, they were also occasions that were filled with hope, despite the sadness.  They were filled with hope because they put us in contact with Jesus Christ, who died, but who rose from the dead, and who promised that we will rise from the dead, despite our dying.  There were also occasions when our celebrations in this church were extended with some refreshments in the Hall and these were also memorable and happy occasions.

One of the Confirmations I remember best was an evening when the late, lamented, Fr Frank Quigley was sitting to my left.  Somehow or other he began to feel that the response from you, the congregation, was not as enthusiastic as he would have wished.  So he began to gesticulate, like the conduction of an orchestra, urging us all, I suppose, to become more involved.  When I think of it, perhaps we all are sometimes inclined to be over casual and relaxed in our response to God’s Word to us.  Well our ancestors certainly did not take the arrival of God’s Word into their ears and hearts too casually.  Fr McAnerney has kindly supplied me with some notes on the history of Christianity in this area and I find them very helpful.

I find it very interesting that the oldest religious site in this parish is at Donaghanie.  There, St Patrick is said to have founded a monastery.  Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. 

Patrick founded a monastery because there was a demand for a monastery, because there was need for a monastery.  Some people from here were obviously asking for this monastery.  Remember, at this stage there were no Christian Churches, or parishes, or dioceses, but obviously there were people who, once they heard the Message brought by Patrick, thought, “this is exciting stuff, this is important, this could give some sense to my life, give new hope to my existence.”  I want you to give more time to this, to think about all of this.  Of course words like those we have just heard in the Gospel are fairly heady stuff.  “You did not choose me,  I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, the kind of fruit that endures.” 

The people who flocked to Patrick at Donaghanie from places like Clogherny Upper and Clogherny Lower, Drumduff, Roscavey and Seskinore, must have had the deep conviction that they too were being called to a big undertaking. 

Nowadays when you hear of someone entering a monastery you may have visions of them being cut off from family and community, and there always has been that side to it.  But, in the days of Patrick, obviously people entered monasteries to find out more, and to better understand, what God’s plan for them was and to put those plans into action.  That is why monasteries very soon became great centres of learning and centres of excellence.  They were also sometimes centres of healthcare and hospitality, for the sick, for the poor and for the traveller.  They were there to change the society of the day, into a better society.  And so you see the Monks stepped aside from the bustle of life because they knew they had found the pearl of great price in Christ.  They wanted to get to know Christ, at all costs, and so they were prepared to leave all behind to take on this utterly important work.  They went aside to the monasteries and their lives bore much fruit, and without them we would not be here today, doing what we are doing.
Far from the monasteries I imagine missionaries went out to the rest of the countryside bringing the Good News that the Kingdom of God was near and calling people to repent of their sins and to believe the Good News. 

It is interesting to notice that the next item to be seen is the notes on the history of the Church of the Parish of Beragh is that Donaghanie was, for many years, a place of pilgrimage.  There large crowds used to assemble on the first Sunday of August to do certain penances down through the centuries.  It is a feature of the life of the followers of Christ that when we hear the Good News, when we find the pearl of great price, Christ; we are prepared to sacrifice everything in order to grow in friendship with Christ.  This involves examining our lives honestly and seeing in what direction we are headed.  It involves recognising the fact that we are sinners.  It means repenting of those sins, confessing them and doing penance for them.

The next item of history worth recalling is that throughout the dark century of the Penal Laws, Mass was celebrated at a number of altar stations or Mass Rocks in this parish.  There is evidence that there were two in Clogherny and one in Drumduff.  The sites were marked on the ordinance survey map as Mass Hills. 

Then there was the murder of the Parish Priest, Father Henry Corr.  This foul deed is said to have taken place sometime before the year 1800 either in the townland of Roscavey or Deroaran.

There could be a temptation to note these events as historical facts without pondering their deeper meaning.

Again what is the lesson?  Just consider that these were your ancestors – your great-great grandparents who were prepared to make such huge sacrifices in order to be able to assist at the celebration of Mass on windswept hillsides – in hail, rain, sleet and snow.  They knew that it was the Mass that mattered.  They had heard the words of Christ and put their trust in them.  Words like these:

I am the Bread of life
Those who come to me will never be hungry.
Those who believe in me will never be thirsty.
I will never turn away anyone that comes to me.
If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood
You will not have life in yourselves…
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me and I live in them.
Those who eat this bread will live forever.

The building of Beragh Chapel began in 1800 and was dedicated by Archbishop Curtis sometime between 1819 and 1832.  In 1834 it was described as crowded despite the fact that it could accommodate about 1,000 persons.  This was probably the decisive factor in the decision of Father Bernard McAleer (1834-37) to build chapels in Seskinore and Drumduff.  Then, of course, Mass has been celebrated in the Oratory attached to the Parochial House since 1926. 

Again, what conclusions can we come to out of all of this?  Here we have a people who put a lot of value on coming together to hear the Message of the Lord and to pray and praise God – to receive His pardon – to be fed and strengthened with the Bread of Life – the Body of Christ.

It is a people that get their strength to go out and work to build up the kind of community that the Kingdom of God is meant to be.  A community built on justice and fair play – on honesty and truth – as the only basis for real peace and genuine harmony.

There are big lessons for all of us as we try to heed those values about building up God’s community in an age where the loudest message often seems to be – Everyone for himself and to hell with the community.