MATT TALBOT NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE
KNOCK
HOMILY BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
SUNDAY, 16 JULY 2006

The name Matthew means Gift of God. The year 1856 linked two men bearing the name of Matthew. In 1856 Fr Theobold Matthew, the Capuchin priest known as the Apostle of Temperance died in Cork. That same year Venerable Matthew Talbot was born in Dublin. Both of these men were outstanding gifts sent by God to the people of Ireland – gifts sent by God to help us in the struggle for freedom and independence. I am not speaking of the struggle for political freedom and national independence from foreign oppression but rather of the struggle for personal freedom from slavery to drink and of the journey to independence in place of dependence on alcohol. Now, 150 years later, it is calculated that almost nine out of ten public order offences committed in Ireland are linked to alcohol. Obviously Ireland is now facing a new struggle for freedom.

Freedom from its reputation for the abuse of alcohol,
Freedom to enjoy, rather than be destroyed, by this gift of God’s creation.

In an Ireland where one quarter of the cases treated in Accident and Emergency units of our hospitals are as a result of alcohol abuse, is it not time to plead with the people of Ireland to give priority to addressing the serious problem that stems from the abuse of alcohol in our society?

Fr Theobold Matthew was an inspiration in the struggle for temperance. Venerable Matt Talbot succeeded in giving up his excessive drinking – thanks to the pledge movement, begun by Fr Matthew. Subsequently Matt Talbot became in himself a bright beacon of hope to people caught in the toils of addiction to alcohol. At the age of 28, Matt Talbot had become a seemingly hopeless alcoholic. At the tender age of 12 he got a job as a message boy for a firm of wine merchants. He quickly fell into the habit of drinking too much, a habit, which lasted some 16 years.

At the age of 28 Matt Talbot came to his senses. His own money had run out. His friends refused to buy him a drink. That day Matt took the pledge, went to Confession, the next day he received Holy Communion for the first time in years. At first he took the pledge for 3 months, then for 1 year and finally for life. The struggle to break the habit was not easy but with the help of a life of prayer and penance, Matt Talbot succeeded gloriously. He slept for only three and a half hours per night on two wooden planks and a wooden pillow, got up at 2 am to pray and went to 6 o’clock Mass. He ate no meat for 9 months of the year and at midday he ate a slice of dry bread and a cup of cold tea. Matt Talbot decided to replace the bad habit of drinking too much with the good habit of temperance.

Those who are moderate in life are admired for two important qualities, their freedom and their strength of character, freedom from slavery to excess and freedom for the things which lead to real joy and fulfilment, freedom from the demons which block and destroy wholeness, freedom for the journey to genuine happiness and maturity.

“There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength” says St. Paul (ph.4.13).

The greatest strength of all is strength of character – the strength of self-control. The recent World Cup has often shown how costly loss of self-restraint can be.

People need help to resist the temptation to drink too much. They must be convinced with information on the potential damage to their health, physical, mental and moral. People must be helped to become confident and so secure in themselves that they don’t need to turn to alcohol to get Dutch courage. They need time and attention to know that they are loved, first of all by their parents and families. The first call must go to young people themselves to take responsibility for their lives and for the consequences of their actions. They must be called and helped and motivated. They can be given self-confidence through the abundant love of their parents, which will give them the strength of character to live lives of sobriety and self-control.

At the marriage feast of Cana, Mary, the Mother of Jesus said, “They have no wine”. Her son, Jesus, responded by working his first miracle. But in the midst of the mindset in which John wrote those words they refer not to the wine of the grape, but to the wine of the heart of Christ – that is compassion for all. Today in Ireland the growing drinks crisis calls for a major and concerted response from the people and from their leaders. Compassion for the plight of our young people – ‘drowning in an ocean of drink’, as one politician described it, should move the minds and hearts of all to action.

What can parents and guardians do? In the first place they can offer to each other and to their children an example of sobriety and/or abstinence. In this way they would be doing their best to convince their children of the damage that results from becoming addicted to alcohol. They could decide to spend more time talking to their children, praying with their children and relaxing with them.

They could meet with other committed parents from the extended family or neighbourhood to explore together the chief influences on their children, their own best hopes for their children and the support and assistance, which they need as, parents. They might even consider exploring together why drink, drugs, gambling and even vandalism sometimes seem more attractive than the challenge of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ.

Irish young people have the right to grow up in a society free from pressure to consume alcohol. Leaders in that society have a responsibility to help parents in keeping childhood and early adolescence alcohol-free in our present culture of indulgence. Could those with influence in society, clergy, teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, journalists, police and media, pool resources in order to create a more effective counterdynamic against intemperate consumption and behaviours? The problem is so serious that its remedy must become an issue of public priority. It deserves the same focus and determination from all the leaders of our society as we give to the peace process, to road safety or to the economy. The peace of so many homes, the health of so many of our young people and the happiness of our society are at stake.

Surely there is an excellent case to be made for the provision of more ample facilities and activities for young people which are drink-free. The efforts of the Pioneer Association, the No Name Club and responsible youth clubs in this regard are to be highly commended.

The questions must be asked,
How do the various vested interests subvert the efforts to address the drink problem?
Why do the images of “the good life” so often give the false message: – “You have to drink alcohol if you want to really enjoy yourself”?

The fact is that it is irresponsible and illegal to serve alcoholic drink to minors. It is immoral to serve drink to people who are already drunk. It is a grave dereliction of duty to fail to try to dissuade a person, with too much drink, from driving a motor vehicle on the public highway. The widespread promotion, in various guises, of cheap drink to students, is especially reprehensible. The result is behaviour that can adversely effect their future in a wide variety of ways.

It is always better to light the candle than to curse the darkness. Those many generous people who help the addicted and their dependents deserve greater support. The example of Venerable Matt Talbot gives inspiration to all of us to give more support to those helping the rehabilitation of those addicted to alcohol and drugs.

At his death, Jesus shouted out, “I thirst.” This is not thirst for a drink of beer or spirits. It is the thirst for what Jesus bestowed on each one of us, the Holy Spirit of love. Our greatest fear should be of ever losing that precious gift of God’s love. Unfortunately if we abuse the gifts of the Creator we run the risk of losing the love of the Creator.

The stakes are high, very high indeed. A significant part of Irish contemporary society is deeply wounded in its relation to alcohol – alcohol, which is something good in itself but which if used to excess is anything but good. Alcohol – wine is something good, created by a good God to give joy to the human heart. The temperate person masters the excess to which nature invites. Only when wine is not used properly but abused in a misplaced exercise of human freedom does it become a problem. The primary cost of this misplaced exercise of human freedom is borne in the home by the family.

At the marriage feast of Cana, Mary said to her son, Jesus, “They have no wine”. Today it is not a question of having no wine; rather it is a question of not having the ability to deal with the temptation to excess. It is a question of not having enough moderation, enough temperance and enough self-control, ultimately it is a question of knowing how to use the goods of the earth properly.

A temperate person gladly avoids any useless and intemperate use of the goods of this earth. Venerable Matt Talbot, with his outstanding life of prayer and penance, gives hope. May his life inspire all who are troubled by their use of alcohol.
Amen.

ORDINATION OF PRIESTS TO THE
MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF ST PAUL
AT
GWAGWALADA, ABUJA, NIGERIA
HOMILY GIVEN BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
SATURDAY 24 JUNE 2006

It is at this point in the ordination the Church asks the Bishop to explain what exactly is taking place to these men who are now about to be ordained priests. Let us pause for a moment to consider what exactly a Catholic priest is.

It is true that at our baptism God has made His entire people – that is, each one of us, and not just the ordained Deacons, priests and bishops, but all of us, a royal priesthood. Jesus Christ has called us – all of us – to the glory that has made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart.

And yet, it is also true, that Jesus chose some of his followers – not all – to carry out publicly – not in private – but publicly – for all to hear and see – the work of a priest – in His name and on behalf of humankind. And we, we priests and bishops, do our best to act, not in our own name, but in the name of Jesus, that is, the holy name by which all people must be saved.

We act in the name of Jesus and on behalf of mankind – not in our own interest – not on behalf of our families but on behalf of the whole human race. For Jesus Christ himself, sent by the Father has sent, in turn, his apostles, Peter, James and John and all the others, out into the world. Out to the ends of the earth. Through the apostles and through their successors who are the bishops, Jesus continues and carries on His work, His work of sending people to the ends of the earth.

The readings for today’s ceremony have been well chosen. The focus, first of all, is on God’s call. In our ceremony these men will be asked a series of questions. These questions are pointers to the meaning of priesthood. They will be asked:

Are you resolved, to discharge, without fail, the office of priesthood in caring for the Lord’s flock?
They will each answer, “I am”.

Then they will each be asked:
Are you resolved to celebrate the mysteries of Christ faithfully?
Again each will answer, “I am”.
Then the third question:

Are you resolved to exercise the ministry of the word worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and confirming the Catholic faith?
They will answer, “I am”.
Then the really challenging question:

Are you resolved to consecrate your life to God for the salvation of his people?
This time they will each answer, “I am, with the help of God”.

That is the key to today’s ceremony. It is all done with the help of God. Every priest realises that very well. His vocation is from God and the living out of that vocation is with the help of God.

These men have been called as Jeremiah was called. Jeremiah hesitated. He asked:
“Lord God, I do not know how to speak; I am a child”.
But the Lord replied:

“Do not say ‘I am a child’. Go now to those to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid, for I am with you to protect you”.

That is the consolation and comfort offered in our ceremony today.

It is a happy coincidence that this ordination ceremony falls within the shadow of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – a feast, which the Church celebrated on yesterday. For the heart of Jesus is the source of all graces and blessings. From its fullness, these men are about to receive the wonderful gift of priesthood.
So, our first prayer today is a prayer for all priests – for those being ordained today and for those ordained over the years;

Give us O Lord, a pure heart that fully loves you.

A heart that loves with joy and with the depth of love which you alone can give.
Lord God, give to your servants a heart made strong with their careful training and with their long preparation.

For the servants of the Lord need a great heart, a heart that is open to the thoughts of God and closed to all small ambitions and petty rivalries.

A heart that can find its joy in pondering the things of God and expressing them to the people of God.
Today these men are called to the priesthood at a challenging time in the life of the Church. At the beginning of the new millennium the late Pope John Paul II issued a letter to the world “Novo Millennio Ineunte”. He took for his text that well-known story of the sending out of the first disciples – when he said to Peter: “Put out into the deep: pay out you nets for a catch”. His message was a simple one. He said we had celebrated Jubilee 2000 with great fervour. It was a special moment in the life of the Church. It was a deep spiritual moment for many people. But now it was time to build on that; time to accept the real challenge of discipleship.

In your ministry you will be called to speak the Word of God to people’s real hopes and fears, their joys and their sorrows. You will be called to bring a message of hope to people’s lives. You will be called to be near those who suffer, to minister to brokenness in their lives. Much of it you will do without headlines; much of it will be hidden; it may never be recognised. But that is your ministry – discrete.

During his lifetime, Jesus went about teaching and preaching. He prayed often and long and fasted and towards the end of his life, at the Last Supper, he took bread and wine and changed them into His Body and Blood and asked the apostles to do likewise in his memory. He said, ‘I am the good shepherd who leads the flock to grass and water and protects them from the attacks of wild animals’. That is the kind of work which clergy – bishops and priests who are co-workers – that is the kind of service which we try to offer to you, in God’s name and to you, who are God’s people.

Of course the study is only one part of the course, an important part yes, but not the most important part. The prayer, the reflection, the spiritual direction, the counselling, the pastoral work, helping out in parishes over the summers, learning from other priests, this is by far, the most important part.

Remember these men were prepared, and are now about to begin, to serve Christ. Christ – who is all the time present and active and at work in the Church. For the Church is the body of Christ. And Christ is at work in His people to help us grow into the People of God. Christ is always present, building us up into a Holy Temple and each one of us is a building block in that Holy Temple.

And so, these young men being ordained today, like every priest and every bishop, are called to grow and become more like Christ. They are called to take on more and more the values which Jesus had and make their own, the attitudes which Jesus showed to friends and foes alike.

Today these men are being set apart, to preach and explain the Good News – to sustain, support, encourage and console God’s people in their efforts to live that Good News. They are set apart to pray with and for people, to forgive them their sins and, above all, to celebrate the Holy Mass.

You are now to be ordained priests. As you know well, you are called to apply your energies to preaching and teaching in the name of Christ – to writing sermons – preparing talks – explaining the Readings – preparing people to celebrate sacraments worthily and fruitfully. The faith formation of your people is a number one priority. Faith comes from hearing. So, share with all the people at every opportunity, the Word of God, which you yourself have received with joy over all these long years of preparation. Give interesting and attractive examples from your own experience of life and of study and meditation. Take time to meditate on the Law of God. Jesus did not come to abolish that law but to bring it to completion.

Pray constantly for the gift of believing what you read because, after all, God is the one and only infallible truth which can neither deceive nor be deceived. And, teach in turn what you yourselves believe. Try your best always to practice what you preach.

The Roman Pontifical says that the doctrine you teach should be true nourishment for the people. Make sure they can digest it and that it gives inspiration and consolation. Flavour it with real-life examples. The examples of your own life will be crucial. People are most impressed by those teachers who model in their own lives what they advocate in their sermons.

When all is said and done, every priest is called to make people holy – not with his own power – but in the power of Jesus Christ – who is the Holy One. So, when you offer Mass and you raise up the host and the chalice – the body and blood of Jesus Christ – the fruit of His sacrifice on the Cross on Calvary. Remember you are also offering up the countless sacrifices of the people – their pains, their sufferings, their hurts, their crosses. Listen to them as they tell you about them and unite them and your own sacrifices to the perfect and all-powerful sacrifice of Jesus Christ. At every Mass the one great sacrifice which each one of us is called to make is to die to sin in our own personal life and to try to rise up living the new life of Christ.

When you baptise you will bring men and women into the People of God. In the sacrament of Confession, you will forgive the sins in the name of Christ and the Church. In your preaching, remind the people of their need to have their sins forgiven. With Holy Oils you will offer praise and thanks to God throughout days you recite the Divine Office, praying not only for the people of God but for the whole world. Remember that you have all been chosen, from among God’s people and appointed to act for them, in relation to God.

Finally, always try to bring people together in God’s family and to lead them effectively to Christ and in the Holy Spirit to God the Father. Always remember the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served, but to serve and to seek out and rescue those who are lost.

The good shepherd is the one who has loved your and chosen you. He is now commissioning you to go out and bear fruit – fruit that will last. He is the one who brings joy to the world and to you and to your families on this holiest of days. May God guide and bless you always as you travel the road of life.
So today, after much prayer and relying on the help of the Holy Spirit, these men present themselves for ordination. Of course they are not taking the honour onto themselves of their own accord. They are doing so because they believes they have been chosen, chosen by God. As the letter to the Hebrews puts it, “Every high priest has been taken from among mortals and is appointed to act for them in their relations with God”. The first action of every priest is to tell people about the God who is present in their lives, the God in whom they live and move and have their being, the God who is nearer to us than we are to ourselves.

To try and make sense of what is going on in the world and in the life of each one of us, Christ has set up in His Church various ministries, priests, deacons, Ministers of the Word, Ministers of the Eucharist. He did so for the continual increase of the people of God. These Ministers are meant to work together for the good of the whole body – the Church.

These men will preach when they celebrate Mass but not only then. They will preach when they baptises people. And as they write their sermons and scratch their heads wondering what they are going to say, they will remember why they are giving the sermon in the first place. They will recall that they are preaching to people to get a response out of them, to move them to respond to the words of God’s good news. These ten new priests will be trying to help all who listen to their sermons. I am sure if you ask them why they became priests, they will say that they wanted to help people.

Every High Priest is appointed to act for people in their relationship with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. So we can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because we too live in the limitations of weakness. So every priest is appointed to act for people in their relationships with God. It is a tremendous honour to be chosen to do that – to act for people in this very special way. Can you tell me anything that is more privileged, more important, more honourable. Every priest offers gifts and sacrifices in every Mass but also everyday he offers the sacrifices of his own life. He begins by offering sacrifices for himself, because he too is a sinner.

Ordination gives, to the new priest, new powers but it doesn’t take away our weakness, our humanity. Every priest lives and operates and works and functions within the limitations of his weakness. After ordination the priest is still a man, though a man of God. While in earlier days he had been perhaps seeking glory in other ways, now he is going to apply his discipline and intelligence in seeking glory for God and salvation for humanity.

I read a story recently of a mother who was dying. Around her hospital bed was a small group of friends, relatives and medical personnel. But they did not hear her last words, only her youngest daughter, Sheila, was close enough. When they heard Sheila cry and saw her kiss her mother’s lips, then they knew their loved one was gone. “What did she say?”, they cried out, but Sheila couldn’t answer immediately. Her eyes brimming with tears, her voice cracking in grief, Sheila eventually told them: “Mum said, don’t ever lose the magic”. She had said that many times before.

I suppose we priests could say that to each other on an ordination day, on the day on which we welcome a new priest into our fraternity. We could encourage each other never to lose the magic and the mystery. Let us never stop gasping as what God has done for us each and every day. We can only lose the magic when we start to take Him and His gifts for granted. Certainly we must try never to take the priesthood for granted.

I wish all of you many graces and blessings as you begin your work for the good of the body of Christ here in this diocese and abroad on the mission fields in many parts of the world even in my own native country – Ireland.

Finally, I would like thank your Superior General, Father Hyacinth Egbebo for his invitation to be here today at this very special ceremony and I pray God’s choicest blessings that the strong links which have been forged between our countries over the last number of years will continue to grow. I also wish to thank the Missionary Society of St. Paul for providing young priests to serve in Ireland and in particular in my own diocese of Armagh, over the last number of years, where they have shared their many talents and gifts.

YOUTH MASS – ST JOHN’S CHURCH, PORTADOWN
HOMILY GIVEN BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER – 30 APRIL 2006

So, Chelsea and Mourinio have won the Premiership, back to back. Big deal, so what, you may say. Will it make life any easier for the rest of us? The man who threw his medal away in the stands, when asked was he fully happy, very often he didn’t look happy, he admitted honestly that ‘no, he wasn’t happy and he should be happy’, and he couldn’t figure it all out. One of the players was not going to throw his medal into the stand but he wasn’t happy either. He wanted to hold onto the trophy and win it again next year. All of this proves for me a couple of things.

We all long for happiness and real happiness is not easily come by and it is not always to be found where we think it is to be found. We often have to work hard to arrive at a situation which we think can make us satisfied. And so, students study hard to get their exams, athletics train hard to win matches, business people work hard to meet their targets. And yet, sometimes, as seems to be the case with Morinio, a strange thing happens. You have been looking forward to something for a long time – holiday – weekend away – a new suit. You have been preparing for it all and yet, when it comes, we are still not satisfied and we begin to plan something else. What is the explanation?

The explanation is that we often set our sights on the appearance of happiness rather than the essence of happiness. We go after the superficial and the passing, the false the superfluous instead of concentrating on what is real happiness that would satisfy us.

There is a thirst for happiness in each and everyone of us – that is our experience. Everyone of us looks for satisfaction of this deep desire – desire to have life – the fullness of life, in the same way that the hungry man looks for food, the thirsty looks for drink and the person with questions looks for answers.

I believe that it was God that placed, in each one of us, this deep desire for happiness and this feeling of dissatisfaction with so much of life. We are aliens here, this is not our real home, for God has made us for himself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. I believe another thing, that God would not plant that seed, that desire, in the heart of each one of us, unless God wants us to reap the harvest of happiness as well. Unless God could make it possible for us to achieve that. But how can that come about? That is the question.

It can come about if we pause for a moment and take a good look at where the source of this yearning is to found. If you do that, you will find you will come to the conclusion that the hunger for happiness is nothing else than a hunger for God, God, God. and we will all be perfectly happy only when we find God. find Him ultimately in the happiness of Heaven where that reaches perfection, but it must find its beginning here on this earth. The God that I know would not be so cruel as to place in our hearts this desire for happiness unless, at the same time, God offers us the possibility of reaching that happiness. God has made us for Himself – our hearts are restless until they rest in God. But how can we reach God and find there the fulfilment of all our desires? The rest that we long for; the peace we yearn for.

There is one word that comes up in all three Readings today and it is the key that will open the door to the corridor that leads to happiness and that word is ‘repent’, conversion – change of mind; change of heart.

I am going to Portadown in the afternoon. Now, if I head out towards Killylea or Middletown or Keady, I would be going in the wrong direction. And, I would continue going in the wrong direction, until I would come to my senses, turn around and head back to Portadown. As I am digging a hole for myself, there is only one solution – stop digging. Easier said than done of course. If we are heading in the wrong direction and there are no signposts, or I don’t read them, and no-one to give directions, it can be difficult. If I wander onto the quick sands of sin, I can flay and lash all around me, but I am doomed unless somebody pulls me out. Of course the Good News is that Jesus Christ is the one who pulls us out. He pulls us out of the bog hole of sin and puts us on the right road.

I am going to call three witnesses to prove my case.

First of all, Jesus himself. The First Reading is to his disciples ‘Peace be with you’ and they were alarmed and guilty, I would say, ashamed of how they had abandoned him in his hour of need but now they were tortured with real doubts. Was he really risen? Was this a ghost they were looking at? And he showed them his wounded hands and his feet – vivid reminders of his love for them and then, the miracle. Their doubts dissolved. Their alarm and fright gives way to joy and wonder and amazement.

When I, myself, begin to feel afraid and alarmed or to experience doubts, I try and count my blessings – the blessings of families and friends. At the end of every day and every week, I try and remember all the good people I talked to and all the people who have helped me, and so many of them tell me they are thinking of me and praying for me – then my fears begin to fade.

Jesus reminded his disciples of his love for them – a love which lead him to suffer for them and so fulfil what is written about him. And they are to be his witnesses to that. And maybe that is what frightens them. And they are to witness that repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations, of all ages. The royal road to happiness begins with each one of us repenting of our sins.

The second witness I am going to call is talking to the people of Jerusalem. By this time Jesus had ascended into Heaven, the Holy Spirit had come, and Peter speaking of his great courage. And he tears into the people for disowning Jesus, not a word about his own denial of course. He rebukes them for handing him over to Pilate and demanding that Jesus be put to death. But, he says, “God raised him up” and Peter can testify to this and Peter goes further. He challenges people to repent and turn to God.

My final witness is John, the beloved disciple. In the Second Reading he writes ‘to stop us sinning’ but he is wise enough to know that we are all sinners and we do sin. In which case, he reminds us that we have our lawyer to plead for us – Jesus Christ – he is the One who takes our sins away. We are here on this earth to know and be known by God.

I got a long unsigned letter last week from a very lonely person who says that we do not pray in church for single people and some single people live very lonely lives and find it hard to make friends and sometimes take to drink. Well, one friend that is always available is Jesus who came to tell us that God loves us. St. John reminds us that the only sure sign of knowing God is if we keep His commandments. St John finishes off saying when anyone obeys what God has said, God’s love comes to perfection in Him.

That is a beautiful promise. God’s love comes to perfection within him. That is the solution to our problem.
Tomorrow – 1st May – the Month of Mary – and God’s love came to perfection in Mary because she said ‘yes’ to God. In our May devotions we try to say yes to God.

Someone asked me recently what does Mary mean to you? The first thing I had to say was she is the cause of our joy. She brought joy into the world when she brought Jesus into the world.

There was a very moving ‘Ceremony of Lights’ in the Armagh City Hotel last Wednesday for people touched by suicide. Church people gave reflections along with other people who are trying to cope with the challenges of suicide, which is so widespread.

I think that if we all could touch the wounded hands and feet of Jesus well then our agitated hearts would get peace and the doubts in our minds would disappear. Jesus said, whenever we help a poor person, a person in trouble, a person in need, we help Him, we are doing it to Him. Whenever we think that our cross is the heaviest, let us take a look at the cross others have to carry.

The Church has a precept which says that we are to go to Confessions at this time of year. That is the time to get rid of our sins. The big message in today’s Gospel is the first road on the happiest is repentance from our sins.

EASTER VIGIL
BROADCAST BY RTE
HOMILY BY
MOST REV. SEÁN BRADY
ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
15 APRIL 2006

One year ago – during these days – the attention of the world was fixed on St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. We were waiting for news; the news that came in these words, “We have a Pope”.

Tonight the world looks towards another basilica and another city – the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Built on the site of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus, it is, for Christians, the most sacred place on earth. For, from that sacred place, on that first Easter morning, there came news of the greatest joy the world has ever known; “You are looking for Jesus. He is not here. He is risen. Come and see the place, then go and tell His disciples.” Jesus, Light of the World, has scattered the darkness of our hearts and minds. Death has been defeated, life and love have triumphed.

I once had the privilege of celebrating Mass at the Holy Sepulchre. It was the experience of a lifetime. Like the women of Easter, we were out very early in the morning. We had to be, because today the Holy Sepulchre belongs to three different communities – the Catholics, the Orthodox and the Armenians. They all celebrate there at different times. If you miss your slot, you miss the boat.

The high point of our pilgrimage was, without doubt, the Mass celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre within yards of the Hill of Calvary. The music and the singing, led by the Franciscan Friars, were majestic. There we knew we were at the wellspring of our faith. The words of St. Paul came flooding into my mind like a mantra. ‘If Christ be not risen, then our faith is in vain’. But Christ has risen and the empty tomb was a prominent element of the resurrection story.

The Italian painter, Caravaggio, has painted a marvellous picture of Jesus being buried in the tomb. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are holding the body, lovingly and reverently. Mary, the mother of Jesus, gazes intently on her Son, her right hand stretched out towards him, as if in a last fond farewell. She is determined to accompany him, with a mother’s love, to the end. John, the beloved disciple, raises his eyes and hands to Heaven as if to ask: ‘Heavenly Father what exactly is going on? What is the meaning of all this?’ Well, it wasn’t the last farewell and the meaning of it all was soon to begin to appear.

For three days later, on Sunday morning, Jesus rose from the dead, despite the fierce efforts of his enemies to prevent him from rising. They had asked Pilot to place a guard at the tomb because they were afraid that his disciples would come and steal his body and then proceed to say that he was risen. Well, their precautions were all in vain. Jesus rose, not withstanding their every effort. No one saw him rise but there were extraordinary signs, a sudden earthquake and the angel rolling back the stone.

The tomb was not deserted for long. The women, who had not succeeded on Friday evening in embalming the body, were out very early on Sunday morning. They had work to do. They found the tomb empty and an angel sitting on the rock. Their faith was rewarded because they got the honour of announcing the news to the disciples ‘Come, see the place where he was laid, go and tell’

I suppose the amazing thing is that each one of us is called to do exactly as the women did. For the Resurrection is at once an invitation and a challenge that faces every follower of Christ of every nation in every age. We are to carry out, with real joy, the work of, first of all, coming to see that Jesus is truly risen, then of going and telling that news to all who will listen. We do so by the kind of New Life that we lead.

Like the women, we too have got our orders – ‘Come and see, go and tell’. We got those orders on the day of our baptism. Baptism unites us to the death of Christ. It gives us a share in the victory won by Christ.

I am so happy we have a baby boy for baptism later in this ceremony. I congratulate his parents, Bernard and Orla Conlon, on the birth of their son, Daniel Matthew. Later on in life, with their help, please God, he too will be a great witness to the fact that Christ is Risen. As St Francis of Assisi once told his friars, “Tell the news with every means possible. Use words if necessary”.

And this is exactly what the Church has been about, down through the centuries. St Patrick rose to that challenge magnificently. Exiled in Ireland on the slopes of Slemish, he discovered the Risen Christ as a real friend, alive and present in his life, especially in the midst of his troubles.

Every time I go to Dublin, I pass near to the Hill of Slane. I often think of Patrick bravely lighting the Paschal fire there to proclaim his faith in the Risen Christ. He had to do so in defiance of the edict of the High King Laoghaire, who always lit the first fire in honour of the Spring. By lighting the Paschal fire there Patrick ran the risk of being put to death, but his courage and his faith won him his admirers. On the walls and windows of this Cathedral you can see many scenes of Patrick teaching and baptising. In fresco and stain glass you can see Patrick baptising Eithne and Fidelma, the Princess daughters of the same King Laoghaire. Obviously Patrick’s earlier brush with the authority of their father did not prevent them from listening to his message and believing in the Risen Saviour whom he preached.

For centuries missionaries have left our land and gone to the ends of the earth to tell the news that Jesus is risen and we are the witnesses. The Resurrection is the fundamental argument and foundation of our faith. It is the light that shines out on the holy mountain, for all nations, until the end of the world.
So with his resurrection, Jesus has given, to every believer, the power to rise with Him. So Easter is not just a commemoration of the resurrection of Christ. The Risen Christ provides the hope and the reason for our own resurrection with Him. A happy and blessed resurrection for those who believe, and an inglorious and shameful resurrection for those who refuse to believe.

What will our own resurrection be like? That depends on the choices we make, the values we hold and the life we live. To gain a blessed resurrection, a happy resurrection, we must die, day by day, to ourselves and be buried with Christ. We must die to selfishness and pride, to over-attachment to the goods of this earth. We must seek, with greater devotion, the things that are above. What things? you may ask.

Prayer; Truth; Justice; union with God; loving service of our Brothers and Sisters and, above all, we must treat all as we would like them to treat us. A Happy Easter to you all.

FINAL BLESSING

As we bow our heads and pray for God’s blessing on this Easter morning. I pray a special blessing – the blessing of Real Easter Joy – on all of you and on all those whom you love. The entire Parish of Armagh – Tullysaran and Knockaconey – have excelled themselves these days.

This Holy Week – the days of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ – were made very special by the presence here of the RTE personnel and by their work of broadcasting the ceremonies.
I thank Father Dermod McCarthy, and the Director General of RTE and all involved in the decision to broadcast from Armagh this year. I thank the wonderful staff, who are doing such a splendid job of transmitting these broadcasts with such dedication and professionalism. Long may this excellent example of public service broadcasting continue.

May the Risen Christ bless and reward you all.

Will this Easter bring new life to many? I hope so. I hope that I have learned the lesson that it is because Jesus is mocked and wears the cross of suffering that he is seen as a true king. Jesus, the True King, does not reign by throwing his weight around, or by bullying, but through a love that suffers for us and with us. He – now risen and alive – continues to take up the cross – our cross – and helps us carry it, especially in our darkest and most difficult moments.

Pilate let his fear of what others might think of him and suppressed the voice of conscience and, as a result, he ended up doing what he did, not really wanting to. I wonder how many are there who would do the same? I wonder how many are there – boys and girls – who would like to show their faith in Jesus and their love and appreciation of what he suffered – by going to Church regularly – and yet are afraid of what others might think of them if they did so? They need our encouragement.

AT SIGN OF PEACE

Here in St. Patrick’s Cathedral we are about to offer each other the sign of peace. But, before doing so, I want to say to those of you who may be participating in our ceremonies, if you are alone that you are very much included in our gesture of peace tonight.
I offer you the Peace of Christ.

5TH SUNDAY IN LENT – 2nd APRIL 2006
1ST ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
HOMILY GIVEN BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH

INTRODUCTION

Last week I received an e-mail from a young Polish priest who last year was studying English in our diocese and comes from Krakow and who is now a missionary in Tanzania. He sent me the text of a poem he composed after his return from Rome and the funeral of Pope John Paul II. I will quote some of this to you.

Today, throughout the world, the Catholic Church is commemorating the First Anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. Here in Armagh we do so with this special Mass.

Some of the Readings will be in Polish and some of the Prayers will be offered by Polish people. It will be an opportunity for all of us to welcome them to our country and to express our sympathy to them, once more, on the death of their great compatriot – Pope John Paul II.

We will also be reflecting on his life and the lessons which we can draw from it in the light of the suffering death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

HOMILY

Today we celebrate the First Anniversary of the death of the great Pope John Paul II. We pray for his eternal rest and happiness. We also pray for his beatification and eventual canonisation. As we do so we remember how Pope John Paul lived his life and especially how he faced his death – something which each one of us must do. We recall how courageously he carried the cross of suffering, right to the end. We know how faithfully he led his people – even dragging his sick and feeble body to the window of his apartment three days before his death for one last inspirational farewell. We recall the courage of his defence of the truth at all time – whether it was popular or unpopular – in season or out of season. We remember the inspiration of his life – lived to the end out of love for God and love for people.

I believe that Pope John Paul II was able to do this because of his intense faith in Jesus Christ and his friendship and knowledge of Jesus Christ. He certainly didn’t rely on his own strength – it came from the time he spent in prayer and meditation – especially on the passion and death of Christ. The challenge to each one of us is to do likewise. His strength also came from his daily celebration of Mass. There he ate the Bread of Life and drank the Blood of the New Covenant.

The prophet Jeremiah tells how God planned to make a new covenant with his people. A covenant that would be written, not on slabs of stone but on the hearts of people. Written not in ink but in blood. ‘I will be their God and they shall be my people’ God said. The New Covenant will reveal a merciful God – a God that is slow to anger and willing to forgive. ‘I will forgive their iniquity and never call to mind their sins’.

Jesus came to establish this new covenant between God and His people. On the night before he suffered, he took the cup, filled with wine and changed it into the cup of his blood. For his blood would be the blood with which the new covenant would be sealed. His blood would be shed on the cross, for love of us.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus foretells all of that. He says, ‘Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain’. He is talking about his death – his death will yield a rich harvest.
Naturally he was troubled at the thought of his approaching death. He was even tempted to ask the Father to remove the prospect this death but then he said, no, he wouldn’t pray like that because it was for this very reason that he had come. It was for this hour that he had come into the world
Jesus said, ‘When I am lifted up from the earth’ – he meant lifted up on the cross – ‘I shall draw all men to myself’. He means that he will draw all people away from their sins. He will lead them on the road of conversion. He will ask them to do penance for their sins and they shall be forgiven and rejoice in the mercy of God.

Pope John Paul II explained all this in a marvellous series of talks which he gave on sin, conversion, penance and mercy in preparation for the new millennium. He began by emphasising the need that each one of us has of acknowledging our sins. He also warned against the craftiness and deception of the devil. The devil – the Spirit of Darkness – is quite capable of showing God as an enemy of his own creation.

The devil – the Father of Lies – the Pope said, ‘Would like us to believe that God is our enemy and God is the source of danger’. The devil tries to sow in our hearts the seed of opposition to God. In other words, the devil tempts us to become the enemy of God. Satan tempts us to sin. Of course the devil does not put it as starkly as that, instead he dresses up sin as something that appears to be good. Satan tempts us to replace love of God with love of self.

Jesus refutes that argument very powerfully in today’s Gospel when he says, “Anyone who loves his life, loses it’. St. John the Apostle, who stood on Calvary to the bitter end and who saw the result of our sins and what Jesus had to suffer and endure, wrote years later ‘If we say we have no sins, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins’.

To see ourselves as being sinners, not only capable of sin but actually inclined to sin, that is the first step and it is an essential step on the journey back to God on the road to conversion. Pope John Paul II was convinced of this – that people of our time find it harder than ever to recognise their mistakes. We get it very hard to turn around and retrace our steps and to begin again after changing course. We seem very reluctant to say ‘I am sorry, I made a mistake, I have gone the wrong way, I am lost’.

‘Modern man’, the Pope said, ‘seems to refuse anything that is penance in the sense of a sacrifice, accepted and carried out for the correction of sin’. Yes, of course we accept the sacrifice of dieting and physical exercise for the sake of our health, for the sake of our figure, for the sake of our fitness or sport and that is fair enough. But the idea that we should do penance for the sake of our sins, that, apparently, is not at all acceptable and therein lies the tragedy. “The Church’s penitential discipline’ the Pope goes on, ‘even though it has been softened for some time, cannot be abandoned without serious loss to our own spiritual life. Yes, of course, Christian penance will only be authentic if it is inspired by love and not by mere fear. It takes, as its model, Christ, who, though he was innocent, chose the path of poverty, patience, austerity and one can say, a penitential life.

Recourse to the sacrament of penance – the sacrament of Confession – is necessary, when even only one mortal sin has been committed. However, the Christian who believes in the effectiveness of sacramental forgiveness has recourse to the sacrament even when it is not a case of necessity. People find therein a source of peace, a help in resisting temptation; and a sight of the life that responds more and more to the demands of the Lord and the love of God.

In the final analysis, everyone must take responsibility for what they say and do themselves. So, the practice of individual confession, going to confession, in a personal act of sorrow with the intention to make amends, to amend our ways and make satisfaction, that practice defends the right of every follower of Christ to meet his crucified and forgiving Saviour. Christ also has the right to meet each one of us in that key moment and to say to us, ‘your sins are forgiven’.

The secret of the life of Pope John Paul II was love. His love for Christ and his love for Mary, the Mother of Christ. His coat of arms says it all: ‘Totus Tuus ‘Totally Thine’. These words were addressed to Mary. He felt especially protected by Mary, especially on the 13th May, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima – the day on which he was shot in St. Peter’s Square. He loved to go on pilgrimage to shrines of Our Lady in his own beloved Poland and throughout the world. Remember the purpose of his coming to Ireland was to visit the national shrine of Our Lady at Knock.

Mary, as the mother of the Church, was given to us to be our mother by Christ, as he died on the cross. It is Mary’s dearest wish that we should all turn away from our sins and put our trust in the mercy and love of her son, Jesus Christ.
AMEN

150TH JUBILEE CELEBRATION OF THE SMA
SMA HOUSE, WILTON, CORK CITY
ADDRESS GIVEN BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
SUNDAY 19 MARCH 2006

I feel very honoured to have been invited by Father Fachtna and the SMA Irish Provincial Team to be Principal Celebrant at the special con-celebrated Mass today. I thank you for that honour. That Mass marked the formal launch of your Jubilee celebrations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Society at Lyon in France. I congratulate you on reaching this historic milestone. It is a milestone that provides an excellent opportunity to pause and reflect and give thanks –
To give thanks to God for what has been achieved over the last 150 years.

To recognise and applaud and salute the noble generosity and heroic enthusiasm of generations of SMA missionaries, and
To acknowledge the outstanding loyalty of very dedicated cohorts of lay co-workers.

The Jubilee also provides an occasion to assess the prospects of the future, and the potential for the consolidation, giving careful attention to the signs of the times and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
I congratulate you on the really impressive Programme of Events which you have planned for the year. I wish it great success. I know it will bring many blessings as you study and pray and go on pilgrimage to the various shrines and sanctuaries that are precious to SMA history. I am quite sure that the year will bring many fruits and graces.

Personally I have nothing but the best of memories of my associations with the SMA. Your Vocations Promotions people came to St. Patrick’s College, Cavan during my time there in the fifties. They put before us a clear and attractive picture of the missionary, reminding us of how Patrick himself had come as a missionary to Ireland. Later, as a young priest, I had the good fortune to go to Dromantine on various courses e.g, Parish Renewal; Marriage Encounter type weekends; and also, of course, courses for young priests. I remember being there in the midst of a mighty frost with temperatures way below zero but the warm welcome which the SMA gave made up for it all. Another thing that has always struck me is the very strong desire, on the part of the SMA, to help the local church in any way they could here in Ireland.
Later on, during my time on the staff of the Irish College in Rome I had occasion to renew once again my acquaintances with many SMA people and it was always very pleasant and happy. Father Pat Harrington was your Superior General then and Father Kieran, the present Superior General, was immersed in his post-graduate studies then. I then came to know Father Michael McCabe from my own native county of Cavan.
Since coming to Armagh eleven years ago, I have come to know Dromantine and appreciate the treasure that it is. I call it the ante camera of paradise. I thank you for the decision taken some years ago to invest substantial resources in Dromantine and I salute how well that has been achieved. I salute also the efforts of Father Eamon Finnegan in that matter and all those who helped him.

I heard recently a proposal that the Catholic Church in Ireland should designate the next decade as the decade dedicated to the new evangelisation and were that to happen, I am sure Dromantine would have an invaluable role to play.

In agriculture, farmers often talk of re-seeding fields that have become tired and yield less than their true potential. The Church in Ireland is in need of a certain amount of re-seeding at the moment and we need all the help we can to achieve that.

Last Friday we welcomed to Armagh a group of pilgrims from a town in northern Italy called San Colombano al Lambro. The town is named after St Columbanus of course who stopped there on his way to Bobbio. Isn’t it marvellous to think that, 1,500 years later, there are people willing and able to make a pilgrimage of gratitude to Ireland for the gift that the great Irish missionary brought to them so long ago.

I am delighted to learn that the small seeds sown by Bishop Marion de Bresillac 150 years ago have grown into a huge tree with so many branches with roots in Africa and America, Asia and Europe. Today we thank God for the 944 members working mainly in Africa of course, but also in the Americas, Asia and Oceanica. We salute the courageous decision taken some years ago to accept members from Africa and Asia and we rejoice in the people who have joined the Society from the eleven African countries as well as from India and the Philippines.

I am delighted to know that there are currently 236 members of the Irish Province. We are proud that the Province has given four (4) Superior Generals to the Society and that twenty-one (21) have been called to serve the Church in Africa as successors to the apostles. We all take pride in this contribution to the marvellous story of the SMA.

‘Sons of Mgr Bresillac go forward – Africa has great need of you’ those stirring words of the late Pope John Paul II to you in 1983 are still relevant and inspiring today.

Prospere Procedite indeed. May the SMA celebrations here in Ireland this year remind all of us of Ireland’s proud missionary record. May the glorious example of countless SMA missionaries, dedicating their lives to the glory of God, inspire Irish people to appreciate the faith that motivated such self-sacrifice and may we all live that faith to the full.
Thank you

ST PATRICK’S DAY MESSAGE – 2006
FROM
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

Last week a group of the Holy Spirit Congregation came to Armagh on pilgrimage in preparation for the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Among the prayers they offered was Patrick’s own famous prayer for perseverance in Ireland. It begins with the immortal words: “My only prayer to God is that it may never happen that I should lose His people which He won for himself at the end of the earth” (Confession of Patrick N. 58). These words remind me of the question posed by Jesus in the Gospel, “When the Son of Man comes again will he find faith?”

St. Patrick’s Day unites Irish people all over the world. For. Patrick has become at once a symbol of Irish history and of Irish heritage. But simply to reduce Patrick to a symbol of that kind, worthy as it may be, without any reference to his own christian faith distorts the truth and in no way does justice to the real stature of the man.

Patrick was a migrant, not once but twice, to our land. Despite his rather scary first experience, amazingly Patrick did return but he himself makes it quite clear why he did so. “Before God and His holy angels I solemnly and gladly swear that I had never any motive other than the Gospel and its promises to go back to that nation from which previously I had only barely escaped” (Confession N.61)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the promises which that Good News contains brought Patrick back to Ireland. I believe that any authentic celebration of St. Patrick’s Day must somehow remember and celebrate that fact. A celebration that belittles or ridicules the values of that Gospel surely offends the man whose memory it is meant to honour.

Patrick describes himself as a ‘rustic’, an ‘untaught refugee’. But mysteriously in the providence of God, this ‘rustic’ was chosen in preference to many others who were apparently better prepared. His choice had nothing to do with his culture or his education but it had everything to do with his own personal faith and with the fact that Patrick’s God meant everything to him.

Next week, Intercultural Week is being celebrated. It is being organised by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in conjunction with the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism in Ireland. The week will focus on encouraging a greater involvement and a greater sense of belonging for people from minority ethnic backgrounds. The civil law lays down the basic standards but something more is needed to build a society that is truly inclusive, a society that is welcoming and respectful of people of different cultures, languages and traditions. I would venture to suggest that what is really needed is the proclamation and the living of the truth of Christ – a truth brought by Patrick to our land – the truth of Christ who educates consciences and teaches the authentic dignity of every human person. The golden rule from Christ was: ‘treat others as you wish them to treat you’. Is there any better recipe for building an inclusive society?

MIDNIGHT MASS – CHRISTMAS EVE 2005
HOMILY GIVEN BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH
IN ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH

CHRISTMAS AND THE FAMILY

When he came among us, the Son of God was born and lived in a family – the holy family of Mary and Joseph. By so doing he conferred a great value on family and on marriage. The example is there for all of us to ponder.

I gladly and warmly welcome all who have come home to Armagh for Christmas. Is it not amazing how Christmas always turns our thoughts to home? Surely one of the loveliest things about Christmas is that people make a huge effort to get home to be with their families at this time of year. If this is not possible, we still turn our minds to home – we write and phone – send cards and gifts. For those without a home or family, Christmas can be difficult. But usually there are good and generous people who rally round to ease the pain.

But Christmas is a time when we see what our family really means to us. We realise the importance and centrality of the family as the cradle of life and love. We realise that it is in our families that we first learn what it means to love and be loved, to trust and to be trusted. In our families we get our first ideas about truth and goodness, we develop our talents, become aware of our dignity and prepare to face our unique individual destiny in life

No wonder, therefore, that institutions, such as marriage and the family, which fulfil an important and irreplaceable role for the individual and society, have traditionally been honoured and cherished and supported. It is very important that the family be given all the assistance it needs to fulfil its responsibilities as the most stable and loving context for raising children, and that marriage, the foundation of the family, should continue to have a special position in the social and legislative framework. The legal recognition of marriage reflects the social commitment which husband and wife make for the good of society and for the procreation and education of children. That good needs to be promoted and supported rather than eroded and undermined.

Jesus was born poor, lived and died poor. But it is also true that he was born into a family that was rich in love, outstanding in its dedication, fidelity and willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of others. These are the values, which Christmas invites us to consider and to cherish.

COMMEMORATING IRISH MISSIONARIES WHO DIED OVERSEAS
HOMILY GIVEN BY
ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY
MOUNT ARGUS, DUBLIN
SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER 2005

INTRODUCTION

I welcome you as we come together to remember Irish Missionaries who have died overseas. We do so in the context of the Mass. We remember that Jesus celebrated the First Mass at the Last Supper. There, he too was remembering – remembering the liberation of His people from slavery. In every Mass Jesus is present, offering himself totally and giving hope for the future. He is the true Paschal Lamb who sacrificed Himself once and for all on the Cross. Jesus is the One who can set us free forever.

We remember today truly generous women and men. They sacrificed their all to set people free from the darkness of unbelief to bring the light of faith and the fire of love.

We come before a God of Mercy who bends close to hear our prayers and who relieves us of the fears that make us hide ourselves from God’s sight.
We confess our sins in sorrow.

HOMILY

Last Sunday, the 11th Synod of Bishops ended in Rome. It ended with a Mass celebrated by the Holy Father and the delegates to the Synod. At that Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict canonised five new saints. In his homily he described a saint “as someone fascinated by the beauty of God” – the beauty of the love of God – the beauty of the truth of God.

The Synod had been discussing the Eucharist under the title Eucharist – Source and Summit of the Life of the Mission of the Church. The whole discussions will now be handed over to the Pope and, from that, he will issue a document to the whole Church. Indeed, he said, at the end, that he thought so much had already been said about the Eucharist that there was hardly anything left to say. But he said that some new things had emerged and there are a number of practical things to be said.

One thing that came out loud and clear was that a Church that is authentically eucharistic must also be a Church that is missionary; for the Eucharist is the source of mission.

The Pope gave a lunch at the end of the Synod to those taking part. I found myself sitting beside the Archbishop of Edmonton, Western Canada. His name is Thomas Christopher Collins. He told me the Collins family came from Drogheda where there is still a shop front bearing that name. He also told me that he is a cousin of the late Father Declan Collins of Termonfechin, whose name is numbered among those we celebrate here this afternoon. And, because the Church of Christ is at once a people of brothers and sisters, this marvellous communion in God, here I find myself gathered, one week later, with the other branch of the Collins family in Eucharistic fellowship and unity. What unites us is our faith in Christ and our faith in the Eucharist – the source and summit of the mission of the Church. It is, of course, a mission given to it by its founder, Jesus Christ.

All of today’s Scripture Readings talk about the position of the priest among the people of God. In that sense they follow on from much of what we have been hearing and reading over the past week. I am sure we are all deeply affected by what has happened. It is not easy to come to terms with it all. So, we are left confused, bewildered, ashamed, concerned and upset. Of course we would love to be able to put it all behind us but before we do that, let us try to figure out what is being said to us in all of this. What are the lessons that we must learn? And so we ponder those Readings again. They are the words of God – a God who can draw some good out of every situation – for those who love Him – no matter how desperate that situation may be.

We are in the presence of the Lord who accompanies us on every step of the journey of life as he accompanied the missionaries on their journeys. He is a Lord who, in his love, transforms our sufferings when we unite them to His sufferings. For those who love God, all things work together unto good.

In today’s Gospel we have the bad example of the teachers of the Law and of the Pharisees. Yes, they teach the law of God but they don’t practice what they preach. They place awful burdens on the people but they themselves don’t lift a finger to help carry them.

The Church of Christ is meant to be ONE people, a people of brothers and sisters in Christ – a family where there is ONE Lord and Father, and ONE teacher – The Christ. Christ has founded His Church on Peter and on the apostles. He has given to that Church certain powers but they are powers to be used for the service of his brothers and sisters.

At the Last Supper Christ gave four great gifts to His Church –

The gift of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, and
The gift of the priesthood – to make sure that the Eucharist could be celebrated to the end of time.

But he accompanied those marvellous gifts with two other wonderful presents:
The new and great commandment – Love one another as I have loved you and the last gift was
The washing of the feet.

It is as if he were saying – This is the way the Eucharist and the gift of priesthood are to be welcomed and celebrated among you – for the service and the well being of the rest of the people of God.
That is why it is so despicable when people use their position as a priest, to serve their own interests and not to serve the interests of the people. Many may feel very disheartened by the events of the past week. Yet we must resist the temptation to allow ourselves to become preoccupied with our own pain.

For our first concern must always be for the victims and those who have suffered the horror of child abuse, whether by priests or by others. Nevertheless, it is disheartening to feel that trust in priesthood has been so damaged and that the ministry to which we believe Christ has called us is in some way tainted.

I am sure the question sometimes suggested will be, “will this ever end”? It may help to remember the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemane, “Father, if it be possible let this chalice pass from me” and yet the chalice did not pass. Jesus drank it to the dregs, humbling himself and becoming obedient – obedient until his death on the cross. That is why God raised him up to the glory he had with the Father when the world began. The fact is that when we are weak, then we are strong. Yes, weakness is painful, but that is where we find our real strength. When we feel helpless, we are much closer to the truth and much stronger than when we labour under the illusion that we can cope on our own, or on our own resources alone.

We are here to celebrate the memory of those missionaries who have died overseas. They came from many different counties – women and men – religious, priests and lay people. I would say that they had many things in common. They had a deep humility, which caused them to rely, not on their own powers, but on the power of Christ working in them. I would say they had a deeply Eucharistic spirituality. They too were people fascinated by Christ and by the message of Christ. From their hearing of the Word of God at Mass they had experienced an encounter with Christ. They had come to know Christ in the celebration of the Eucharist, particularly at Holy Communion.

This meeting with Christ, which each of them experienced, would have awakened in them a tremendous desire to go out and to communicate to others what they themselves had heard and lived. And so, they went to many distant parts, far away places, to lead those people to meet Christ and to experience His love. For the missionary is someone who has met Jesus Christ and has been fascinated with the beauty of that experience, so fascinated and transformed, in fact, that they become almost obsessed with the desire to tell others of their experience. They are on fire with the urge to share that experience with others so that they may lead others to Christ and arouse, in others, the desire to know and hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

From their deep Eucharistic spirituality, the missionary gets the ability to make generous sacrifices for the sake of others. They get the strength to leave family and friends, home and homeland, for the sake of a greater good. They put their trust in a loving God who is over all, as Jesus put his trust in that same Father. They get the courage to announce that there is only one Saviour of the world – Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “anyone who humbles himself will be exalted”. But tp the early ears of the pagan this was a nonsense. It still is a nonsense to those who are pagans. For them humility meant something servile, abject, ignoble. But it was not so with the Jews. They knew from their faith and their experience that on their own they could nothing. They knew themselves to be weak and sinful and so they accepted trials and tribulations as a means of repenting of their sins. Their experience also told them that God rejects the prayer of the proud but stoops down to help the poor and humble of heart. So, when Jesus said, “learn of me because I am meek and humble of heart” the Jews could understand what he meant. But Jesus didn’t just say it, he lived it. He humbled himself, becoming obedient – obedient unto death – even death on a cross and therefore God, for this reason, has raised him up to glory.

These were the words and the example which inspired brave missionaries to leave all and go – go to the ends of the earth – to leave and go and meet death, sometimes alone and violently and far away from home and family. That is what we are celebrating here as we ask God to raise those who have died up in glory and to sustain those still in the mission fields in their need. But God will sustain them, have no doubt about that. For these are humble people who know themselves as they are but also know the huge potential there is in each one of them and, with the help of God, they realise that potential.

Today we give thanks for all Christian missionaries working throughout the world. At the Synod we heard of some of the immense difficulties, which they face – open persecution, misunderstanding, prejudice intimidation. I spoke to someone who told me that in Hippo in North Africa, birthplace of St. Augustine, Christians are not even allowed to open a Church.

“Everyone who humbles himself will be exalted”. St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercise places the meditation on the virtue of humility immediately before the mystery of the Eucharist. He is saying to us, this is the heart of the following of Christ. Ignatius spells out what the perfect giving of ourselves to Jesus Christ involves. It involves not only the firm resolution to avoid sin at any price but also choosing freely whatever is most perfect for the service of God.

The brave missionaries whom we honour today were prepared to prefer poverty to riches; shame to honour; sickness to health, for the love of Jesus Christ. That is the high road to holiness and an example that can give us great inspiration in our present difficulties.

We give thanks to God for the splendid example of their lives and we ask God to raise up many, many more Irish men and women who will be prepared to follow their inspiring example. Like St. Patrick, they too are imbued with this burning desire to be a pilgrim for the sake of Christ. They too have become fascinated with the beauty of Christ’s love and Christ’s truth.

AMEN

PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF VENERABLE MATT TALBOT
18 SEPTEMBER 2005
HOMILY GIVEN BY
ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY
SEÁN McDERMOTT STREET, DUBLIN

Why be envious because I am generous?
Are you jealous?

Jesus told the wonderful story we have just heard to show us what the Kingdom of Heaven is really like. It is a kingdom where the king is good and generous beyond belief. A king so good and so generous in fact that people thought it was too good to be believed. And that is the message today. God is good. God is generous. If we could remember to repeat that over and over again to ourselves or out loud – God is good – as we breath in. God is generous – as we breath out. It would, in itself, be a wonderful prayer.

I hope you enjoyed the journey down to Dublin today. Wasn’t the countryside looking simply gorgeous? The hills of Armagh and Tyrone, their apple trees and their forty shades of green. The cornfields of Louth with their bales of straw and their church steeples. The plains of Meath with their herds of cattle and sheep and race horses – not to mention the beautiful River Boyne with its splendid new bridge and gentle waters flowing slowly, but surely, to the Irish Sea at Drogheda. It reminds us of the journey of life. And finally, there was Dublin, County and City with so much variety, so many different nationalities, so much beauty. All of this has been given to us by a good and generous God – a God who provides for all our needs. I suppose it was this deep conviction that God is good and generous beyond belief that moved our parents to teach us prayers like The Morning Offering.

As I go through life I become evermore grateful to my mother who taught me to say the Morning Offering:

O My God I offer you all my thoughts, words, actions and sufferings and works of this day in union with those of my Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We learn prayers like that so that we might direct the core of our life – our thoughts, our words, our actions, to God. If we do that, in other words, refocus our whole life on praising our good and generous God then we are likely to make good choices. We are more likely to make decisions that are in harmony with that fundamental desire to praise God. The result would be that our choices and decisions will bring us some measure of peace and strength and tranquillity, here on this earth. Surely that is something greatly desired.

I have just mentioned a wide variety of scenery to be seen in the countryside at this time. But just think of the huge variety of food and drink which is produced every day for our use to nourish us, to sustain us, to keep us healthy and well and alive. Just go into any supermarket and look at the shelves and see the wonderful variety of food and drink, made available by the work of farmers and those involved in the food and drinks industry. One more proof – if proof is needed – of a good and generous God. But, if we allow the core of our being, our thoughts, our words, our desires, to be turned away from God and become focused solely on the food and drink, they become focused firstly and mainly on the creature, on the created things instead of being focused on the Creator. Well then we have a problem on our hands. The ways of our good and generous God are not our ways God has a plan for all of us. God does not want any of us to become so obsessed with any created thing that it is in danger of becoming the God of our lives. God gives to each one, as he or she needs.

If the rivers become polluted, the fish die.
If the system become intoxicated – human life decays and dies.

Take the way the landowner behaved in the story. Just imagine paying the worker who did only one hour’s work as much as the man who did eight. Sure that is no way to run a business. Equal pay for equal work, otherwise you are going to get yourself into trouble with the Trade Unions, the Equality Commission and then where would you be. But that is not the way God sees things. God sees the need of every person. He realises that the man who worked one hour had to feed his wife and family, the same as the man who worked eight hours. Even though it may have been his fault that he only worked one hour – God overlooks that fault. God doesn’t consider what we deserve but rather what we need. That is important point here.

One of the things we need, at all times, is a proper approach to the use of food and drink and the sexual power, given to us by God to bring new life into the world. There is a right way and a wrong way of using His goods. There is a temperate way and an intemperate way. The temperate way is the better way. The intemperate way is the way that leads to disaster, but people don’t see it like that unfortunately. The temperate way is possible. There are some who exercise tremendous self-control and moderation in their lives. Let me give you an example.

Over the summer people from our diocese have come here to Dublin many times. They came here not just in their thousands – but probably over 100,000, to watch the footballers of Tyrone and Armagh. They saw something great a good – they saw some 40 players in all, plus managers, put on three great games. They were games which were full of excitement and intensity. Games, which gave great enjoyment to all who watched. Games, which were a source of pride to all the people of Tyrone and Armagh I would say.

These players did so with a lot of respect for themselves, respect for their own bodies, for their minds and respect for their opponents. They were inspired by great determination to succeed of course. They showed great concentration and commitment to the business in hand. They were willing to play by the rules in a fair and sporting manner. They had trained rigorously for months. Sacrificed their free time with family and friends; denied themselves food and drink for months; pushed themselves to amazing levels of fitness and strength. There you have an example of self-control of the virtue of temperance. And that is all done for the sake of a medal and a cup, which we cannot bring out of this life, which must be left behind at death.

There is another side to life in Ireland today. The intemperance side. We live in a society where increased alcohol consumption is having a very destructive effect on the health, social life and academic performance of third level students. Those are not my words. They are the words of the Chairperson of the National Working Group on Alcohol in Higher Education in the Republic. He did not comment on the moral life and the moral harm that was being done. We can readily conclude that the moral life also suffers and suffers serious damage too.

In April of this year the Department of Health and Children published a Report on a National lifestyle survey among students carried out three years ago. Three major concerns emerged:
Mental health,
Sexual health and
Alcohol related harm caused to students.

All of these issues impact on students’ well-being and welfare. They have the potential to undermine students’ academic performance. The key findings were:

First of all, as regards mental health, “in coping with the anxiety or depression – over half of all students said they would sort it out alone; one in three would try to ignore it; one in ten would take drugs or get drunk. Some would pray. One in twenty would do nothing”. All of these are poor coping strategies.
As regards sexual health, one in ten students engaged in unsafe sexual practices. What the Report finds, but does not comment on adversely is the fact that almost three-quarters of the students said they were sexually active.

As regards alcohol related harm, three out of four drinking occasions were binge drinking sessions for male students and three out of five were binge drinking occasions for female student. The result is, regular binge drinkers were twice as likely to have missed lectures, to have felt alcohol effects while in class and reported that their studies were harmed in comparison to other student drinkers. They were three times more likely to have had money problems, to be involved in fights and accidents. They were twice as likely to have been smokers or cannabis users. They were three times more likely to have drugs and got drunk to cope with the anxiety and depression. They were less likely to consider positive coping strategies to cope with the anxiety and depression. Regular binge drinkers spent fewer hours studying and more hours in paid employment.

The Report came up with ten recommendations but nowhere does the virtue of temperance feature among them. There is a lot of talk of structures and frameworks and organisations and programmes and, of course, they are very necessary. But we must bring religion and God into this because without the Lord, the task of remaining healthy and sober and sane finds its centre and meaning in the human person alone. But, if we bring religion into the equation, we find that there are two pillars – God – the good and generous, who created us and the human person – man or woman.

We are here on pilgrimage this weekend to the Shrine of Venerable Matt Talbot in Seán McDermott Street, Dublin. Matt Talbot worked and prayed and fasted for the gift of temperance. He had experienced, at first hand, in his own body, the havoc and the ravage wrought by his drinking alcohol to excess. He had felt the horrors of hangovers and saw its effects on his work and on his relationship with his friends and with his family. In fact, he saw that he was slowly but surely destroying himself.

Somehow or other, by the grace of a good and generous God, he got the strength to give it all up and to go sober. He began to see that our hunger and thirst for food and drink is something good – given to us by a good and generous God, to encourage us to eat and drink to keep ourselves alive and strong and well. But he saw also that it was something to be used in moderation.

The Gospel and the Readings we have just heard tell us the ways of God are not our ways. The thoughts of God are not what we think. We would think that the person who works a full day should get a whole day’s wage and the worker who works a half day should get a half day’s wage. But God does not think like that. The worker who worked only one hour is to get a full day’s wage because he has a wife and family to feed. He needs a full day’s wage even though he has not earned it.

God gives to each of us what we need if we ask it, not what we have earned or what we deserve. We all need temperance. We need it in our lives and in our families and in our country. We need it now. We need help. We need self-control in every aspect of our life – in the kind of language we use; in the way we use the goods of this earth. I know many of you spend time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. I ask you to beg the Lord, who is good and generous, to give to our country and to our young people and to all of us, the gift of temperance – the gift of self-control. We must show and point up the benefits of a life of self-control and warn people about the dangers of intemperance.

People talk about the dangers of passive smoking but are apparently totally unconcerned about the effects of passive drinking. You may ask what do I mean by that. I am talking about the risk of driving with a drink-driver, of living with a drunk and violent spouse. I mean the many examples of battered wives and battered children and the deprivation that can come from too much money being spent on drink and not enough money left for food, clothes and other essentials. We must also show positively the way of moderation. It is the way of happiness. It is the way to lead a full life – fully alert and alive to the beauty all around us.

It is well known and generally accepted that we cannot become, or remain, self-controlled and temperate without self-knowledge and self-discipline. We must realise that we all have certain weaknesses and we must guard against them. We must launch a counter-attack against our evils by freely giving up the enjoyment of certain things, which are harmful in themselves. So we have the practice of fast and abstinence from alcoholic drink at special times of the year like Lent.

“Christ will be glorified in my body whether by my life or by my death
Christ will be glorified in my body – by my exercising control over my appetite. I give praise and glory to God”.

Venerable Matt Talbot is an outstanding example of prayer and fasting and mortification. We badly need a miracle so that he can be beatified and set before us as a model. Let us hope and pray for that miracle soon.

AMEN