SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATION
PARISH OF ST JOSEPH, DUNDALK
SUNDAY, 18 FEBRUARY, 2001, 12.30PM
HOMILY BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
OF ARMAGH

“O Israel, Hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast Love
And with Him is plenteous redemption” (Psalm 129.7)
Every anniversary gives an opportunity to look back and see how the Lord always cares for His people with steadfast love. Every anniversary enables us to look forward and renew our hope in the plenteous redemption of the Lord, so clearly professed, lived and preached by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

As we look back at the history of the Church here in Dundalk we realise how fortunate it has been, especially over the last 150 years in attracting religious congregations:

The Sisters of Mercy came in 1847
The Marists in 1861
The Christian Brothers in 1869
The De La Salle Brothers in 1899

Of course the Dominicans came much earlier and the Rosminians, St Louis Sisters, Franciscan Missionary Sisters and Sisters of Our Lady of the Mission came a bit later. The Redemptorists came in 1876. The presence of so many communities, dedicated to the glory of God and to the following of Christ in a special way, is a great blessing for any town. They are an outstanding sign in the Church of the glory which we all hope to enjoy in heaven. They remind us, very powerfully, that we have not here, on earth, a lasting kingdom but we seek one that is to come.

REDEMPTORIST LEGACY

It was on 9 November 1732 that St Alphonsus Ligouri and his companions dedicated themselves to the Most Holy Redeemer. They decided to dedicate their lives to preaching the Gospel to “the most abandoned souls”. This dedication took place in the village of Scala in Italy, near the beautiful City of Naples. So the Redemptorists were “born”.

The Congregation grew rapidly. In 1853 they came to Ireland, a country that was still recovering from the trauma of the Great Famine. Their first foundation was in Limerick. Parish Missions were conducted in Dundalk by the Redemptorists in 1859 and in 1867. At that time the Redemptorists were eager to extend their ministry in Ireland. They were conscious that Dundalk was an important juncture in the country’s train system. They knew that from Dundalk they would have easy access to several parts of the country. They were also well aware that while Dundalk enjoyed much prosperity as a centre of trade and commerce, a lot of poverty existed there. So the Redemptorists, truly guided by God, decided to found a house in this town.

This they did in 1876 in Park St, where Dunnes Stores now stands. Five years later in 1881, under the leadership of Fr Henry Harbison, the community moved to the present monastery in Alphonsus Road, appropriately named after the founder of the Congregation. Father Henry Harbison was ordained for the Archdiocese of Armagh but later felt called, by God, to leave the diocese and join the Redemptorists. One year later in 1882 Archbishop McGettigan opened and blessed this Church of St Joseph. In his dedication homily on that occasion Bishop Healy of Clonfert expressed the hope that the new church would be a worthy successor of the great Abbeys of Mellifont and Monasterboice. We thank the Lord that his prayer was heard and that his hope was not misplaced.

FOUNDATION OF ST JOSEPH’S PARISH

Exactly a century after the foundation of the Redemptorist community in Dundalk, on Sunday, 15 February, 1976, Cardinal Conway came to inaugurate the new Parish of St Joseph and to install Fr Michael Clancy as the first Administrator. The Redemptorists, eager to mark 100 years of their arrival in Dundalk and to answer the call of Vatican II to all Religious Congregations to share their charisms and resources as generously as possible with the People of God and within the diocesan system, had offered to take pastoral responsibility for that portion of East Dundalk in the vicinity of their monastery. This offer Cardinal Conway prudently accepted. In 1976 the new Parish had 600 families. This has now more than doubled to 1,300 families and the Parish continues to grow.

St Joseph’s we could consider as a beautiful and successful marriage between a religious congregation and a parish. This church is renowned in Dundalk and its large hinterland for the traditional Redemptorist devotion to St Gerard Majella and to the Mother of Perpetual Help. None of us can exaggerate the inestimable blessing which the 10 daily sessions of the annual St Gerard Novena, catering for the 12,000 daily participants, bring. St Joseph’s, Dundalk, has been for several generations a great source of grace for the people of the North-East, a spiritual oasis, a place of pilgrimage and spiritual help and consolation, an occasion of confession and sacramental healing. Long may it continue to be so.

St Joseph’s Parish has built upon this rich Redemptorist legacy and has become a most vibrant Christian community. A strong spirit of partnership between priests and parishioners, what we sometimes call collaborative ministry, prevails. An appropriate emphasis on excellence in the liturgy exists with the active participation of the laity. Readers, Ministers of the Eucharist, Collectors, Ushers, Altar Servers, Choirs, junior and senior, and Folk Groups, all play their role to make the liturgy what it should be – a glorious hymn of praise to God, a spiritual encounter between humanity and our Creator, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. This church has an active ministry to youth – I think of your Growing in Faith Programme, Peer Ministry Programme and Children’s Liturgy Group. You also have a committed Pastoral Council who have worked very hard in preparation for today. You have several pastoral groups and activities – Martha Ministers, Weekly Envelope Collectors, Senior Citizens Group, St Joseph’s Young Priests’ Society, Dues Collectors, St Brigid’s Community Centre, St Vincent de Paul Society – to mention but some.

You have been blessed in your administrators, Fathers Michael Clancy, Brian McGrath and John McAlinden, in your Curates, currently Fathers Cathal Cumiskey and Dan Bray. I also wish to pay tribute to the Superiors and Sacristans, currently Fr Michael Cusack and Br Dermot McDonagh, respectively, and to your parish secretaries, Nuala Begley and Teresa Power, of whom more anon.

SUNDAY AS RED-LETTER DAY

Today, the silver jubilee of the foundation of this parish, is a “red-letter day” in the history of St Joseph’s, Dundalk. Each Sunday, however, is a “red-letter day” for the Christian community. On this day the Church celebrates Christ’s resurrection. It is our weekly Easter. It is the Lord’s day. The Lord’s day is the lord of days. The Psalmist’s cry is rightly applied to Sunday: “This is the day which the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad.” (Ps 118:24). It is extremely appropriate that we should give thanks to God for the past 25 years at a Sunday Eucharist.

The Latin for Sunday is “dies Domini”, day of the Lord. The Irish word, Domhnach, derives from this. On this day we celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death through the power of his resurrection. St Jerome once said: “Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, it is the day of Christians, it is our day”. It is right and proper, therefore, that we should come to Mass each Sunday to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Dying he destroyed our death. We come to praise God, to honour and to thank Him for His majesty and for His outstanding kindness to us. We open our hearts and our lives to Him. We open our time to Him. We commend the week just completed to Him and beg His protection and blessing for the week just beginning.

In the story of creation in the Book of Genesis we are told that God rested on the seventh day. On Sundays we too are invited to rest a little from our daily toils and to re-discover “God’s joyful gaze”.

SPIRITUAL CHURCH

A beautiful church, an impressive building like this is not enough. St Peter reminds us that we must become a spiritual church, a spiritual house. When St Peter was preparing candidates for baptism he reminded them:

“(Christ) is the living stone ….; set yourselves close to him, so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifice which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. ….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. Once you were not a people at all and now you are the People of God.” (1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10).

It takes much longer to build the living house of God which is the parish itself than it takes to erect the visible church building; it is the work of a lifetime. But the architect, the builder, the artist is God Himself. We must open ourselves to His power at work in our lives. The final result is something of a beauty that far outshines the beauty of this splendid building, a beauty that nothing in this world can ever surpass.
We must work tirelessly in becoming the Body of the Christ which is the Church. Prayer and love will be our main tools as Our Lord tells us in today’s Gospel (Luke 6:27 – 38). We must grow in virtue and diminish in vice. As individuals and as a community here at St Joseph’s we must become visible signs of God’s presence and power at work in our lives.

HYMN OF THANKS
Today we thank God for His loving care for all of His people. We thank God for always raising up in the Church people who will be signs of that love, who are, like the apostles, leaving their fishing nets and boats, prepared to leave all in order to follow Christ more closely and to preach his message in season and out of season, who have the generosity of spirit and the courage to say, ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who treat you badly’. That is often not a popular message but it is the only basis for true peace and happiness.

Thanks be to God for St Joseph’s Parish, Dundalk and for the Redemptorist Community. Thanks be to God for the faith, hope and love of the past twenty-five years and for the hundred years before that. We give glory for the generosity of so many people who have made St Joseph’s Parish, past and present, possible and who have been the channels of His graces and blessings. Long may the people of Dundalk come here to listen to the Word of God and to ponder it, like Mary, in their hearts. We can truly make our own today the Psalm for this Sunday’s Mass:

“My soul, give thanks to the lord,
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
And never forget all his blessings.” (Ps. 102)

In the spirit of today’s Gospel may all associated with this church and this parish be rewarded both in this life and the next – “a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into (their) lap”. For dear friends, the amount we measure out is indeed the amount we will be given back.

ST JOSEPH

I pray that under the patronage of St Joseph, chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin and loving foster-father of Our Lord, this community of St Joseph’s, Dundalk, may add and increase in the love and presence of God.

BENEMERENTI MEDAL

The Holy Father was last year informed of the Silver Jubilee of St Joseph’s Parish, to be marked today. Pope John Paul II deemed it appropriate that someone closely associated with St Joseph’s should be honoured in celebration of the occasion. Very prudently the Pope has decided that Teresa Power, faithful secretary of this parish over the past twenty-five years, be awarded the Benemerenti Medal. Benemerenti translates from the Latin as well-deserved and no one of us today can dispute that Teresa is not deserving of this singular honour.

TERESA POWER

Teresa Power, daughter of the late Lawrence and Mary Ellen Power, was born in Ballycotton, Co Cork. Her father worked as a lighthouse keeper. Like many others in public service he was transferred a number of times, so that the Power family lived in various coastal locations over the years. Very fortuitously the Power family moved to Dundalk and it was in Dundalk that Teresa spent most of her youth and settled permanently. Her working career began in the Accounts Department of Hallidays’ Shoe Factory and she retained that post when Clark’s took over that company. During those years at Clark’s Teresa became increasingly involved in the various activities and organisations connected with St. Joseph’s Church. 25 years ago, when St. Joseph’s Parish was first established, Father Michael Clancy, the first Administrator of the new parish, wisely employed Teresa as a full-time Parish Secretary. Teresa has retained that post to this day!

As parish Secretary, Teresa has been very much a part of the overall development of the parish. She has served under three Administrators – Fathers Michael Clancy, Brian McGrath and, now John McAlinden. She has served them well and has left them greatly in her debt.

She has served the whole parish with remarkable dedication. A truly selfless worker, Teresa has made a lasting impression on us all by her constant and untiring efficiency and her remarkable grasp of detail. In addition to her work as Parish Secretary, Teresa has been Receptionist for the local Redemptorist Community. Redemptorists have come and gone over the years, as priests do. Teresa has stayed, however, and has been an anchor, a very useful and necessary link with the past on whom the Administrator and Superior have always so heavily depended.

The parish of St. Joseph’s is profoundly grateful to you, Teresa, for the past 25 years you have given to this parish and to its people. The Priests of the parish, past and present, join with the parishioners in rejoicing at the great honour being bestowed on you by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.

HISTORY OF MEDAL

In 1925, the concept of awarding the Benemerenti as a mark of recognition to persons in service of the Church, both civil and military, lay and clergy alike, gained currency. The medal has since been conferred on people who have given extraordinary service to the Church.

The medal which will be conferred on Teresa today portrays the image of Christ on a gold Greek cross. It represents Jesus Christ, who is the same today as he was yesterday, as he will be forever. The Saviour, depicted in radiant splendour, has his hand raised in blessing. The last visible action of Christ on earth which he bestowed on his Church is his blessing. A blessing is a gift from God which touches our lives. It is a gift expressed in words and our prayer today is that the Lord may continue to bless Teresa abundantly.

On the left of the transverse arm of the Cross is a modern depiction of the tiara and crossed keys, symbol of the papacy. On the right, the shield of John Paul II and his motto, Totus Tuus, Totally Yours. On the reverse of the Medal is the word, Benemerenti. The insignia is suspended from a ribbon of the papal colours, yellow and white.

The citation of the diploma which Teresa receives translates from the Latin as follows:
“Pope John Paul II, Supreme Pontiff, has deigned to bestow this gold medal on Miss Teresa Power for singular merit in the Christian state and declares her worthy of being decorated with this insignia. Given at Rome, 21st December, 2000.”

CONFERRAL OF MEDAL

Teresa Power, I now ask you to come forward to receive this award:
Brothers and Sisters, we gather here this afternoon to acknowledge and honour our friend, Teresa, for her outstanding service to the Church. St Paul reminds us that all good gifts come from God who distributes them as he wills to build up the Body of Christ.

Eternal God, source of very gift and talent, through your Son, Jesus Christ, you grant us your blessings that the Church might be nourished and strengthened.

Bless Teresa and confer upon her the gifts of your Spirit that she may remain humble in heart as she serves your household, the Church.

Bring us all into the peace of your Kingdom where all honour and glory are yours, Lord our God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Congratulations, Teresa! Well done, good and faithful servant…..

RESPONDING TO RACISM CONFERENCE
SPONSORED BY THE IRISH COMMISSION FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE
GORT MHUIRE, DUBLIN
8 FEBRUARY, 2001
OPENING ADDRESS BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

I welcome everybody to this Conference. I hope it will be a fruitful experience. The organisers intend it to be a contribution to the evolving response of the Catholic community in Ireland to the challenges of welcoming and living with people of different backgrounds, cultures, race and religion.

The purpose of the Conference is twofold. Firstly, it intends to deepen the reflections of the Catholic community in Ireland on the question of racism. Racism is a matter which touches the heart of our faith. Secondly, it is meant to help develop an appropriate answer to the question: How can we, how should we, respond concretely as a faith community to the racism which confronts us in our society? Yes, of course, words and denunciations are necessary. They are not enough, however. We have to develop a comprehensive pastoral response. Racism needs to be named as sinful wherever it occurs.

Some may ask why the title of the Conference emphasises the Catholic community in Ireland. Well, the reason is straightforward. It is simply to acknowledge the fact that we should look to our own house and examine our own conscience, as well as working with others in building a more inclusive society. As many of you already know there exists a strong body called the Churches’ Asylum Network. That Network meets regularly. It includes representatives of seven different Christian Churches in Ireland.

The Many Forms of Racism

Racism can take many forms. It is not true to say that there was no racism in Ireland prior to the arrival of refugees and asylum-seekers. It is salutary to realise how widespread racism is. Racism can be directed against members of the Travelling Community in our midst. In 1972 a travellers settlement committee, in a provincial town in Ireland, had this to say: “We who burn with righteous indignation at the lack of civil rights in the North blindly ignore the fact that in our own town nearly 200 Irish men and women and children are being denied their human and civil rights which are guaranteed and enshrined in our constitution under God. In our courts they are condemned to prison and to payment of exorbitant fines for offences of a comparatively minor nature while members of the settled community, coming from good homes, are treated with kid gloves”.

Racism can also be directed against Irish citizens whose skin colour is not white. It can take the form of anti-semitism. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has noted a number of generic forms of racism in its examination of the question.

One form of racism is ethnocentricity. This has been defined as “a widespread attitude whereby a people has a natural tendency to defend its identity by denigrating that of others to the point that, at least symbolically, it refuses to recognise their full human quality”.

Another form of racism is the denial of minority rights. When these are not respected ethnic conflicts can take place. The new European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights addresses a broad range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and seeks to protect people more effectively against discrimination, particularly racial discrimination.

The acknowledged weakness of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of minorities eventually led to the formulation of the European Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities in 1994. This has been ratified in both jurisdictions in Ireland. Both the Irish and British Governments have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The most important rights of members of minority communities under the Framework Convention are:

· to full and effective equality in all areas of economic, social, political and cultural life;
· to maintain and develop their culture and to preserve the essential elements of their identity, i.e. their religion, language, traditions and cultural heritage;

· to practise their religion and use their language;
· to be taught or educated in their distinctive language; and
· to participate effectively in public affairs, especially on matters affecting them.

Yet another form of racism is that of social racism within a country. “There is no great difference”, says the Pontifical Council, “between those who consider others their inferiors because of their race, and those who treat their fellow citizens as inferior by exploiting them as a work force”.

Spontaneous racism is another expression of racism. The analysis of the Pontifical Council of this form of racism is particularly pertinent to our current situation where we aggressively seek immigrant workers to help us maintain our high level of economic growth. It says:

“The prejudices which these immigrants frequently encounter, risk setting into motion reactions which can find their first manifestation in an exaggerated nationalism. This is a nationalism which goes beyond legitimate pride in one’s own country or even superficial chauvinism. Such reactions can degenerate into xenophobia or even racial hatred. These reprehensible attitudes have their origin in the irrational fear which the presence of others and confrontation with differences can often provoke.”

Finally, eugenic racism arises when people yield to the temptation to push the genetic manipulation of the human species to unethical lengths.

Responding in the light of the Bible and of Catholic Social Teaching

Once upon a time travellers were seen as a problem, a social problem. Of course the real social problem lies in the consequences of discrimination against travellers.

In the same way asylum-seekers and refugees are now seen as a “problem”. The real challenge is to see how the needs of asylum-seekers can be addressed alongside the needs of host communities. There is need to respect one another’s dignity rather than pitting people against the other. There is need to value our differences, as gifts that can enrich our lives. There is the need to be welcomed into one another’s lives. There is a need to be understood both in terms of language and in terms of the human heart. There is need for work and activity. There is need to accept that we have responsibilities on a global, not just on a national level.

The response of the Catholic Church is made in the light of the bible and of Catholic social teaching. All Christians hold dearly their conviction about the dignity of every human person and the unity of the human family. That conviction has come from biblical revelation as its main source. From the beginning the Christian community has reflected on this source. It did so in order to deepen and enrich its response to the challenge of contemporary life. It is important to keep doing so.

The first paper today, by Fr Kieran O’Mahony, OSA, is just such a reflection. It contains biblical insights into St Paul’s approach to communal inclusion. Fr O’Mahony is the author of “What the Bible says about the Stranger”, one of the titles in the Ecumenical Adult Study Guide series, What the Bible says about. This series is produced jointly by the Irish Council of Churches and the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace. It is yet another welcome sign of already well-established ecumenical endeavours in the response to the changing face of Ireland.

Catholic Social Teaching

The Church, of course, has in every age had to confront and dialogue with the society, with the cultures in which it lived and lives. So there has been a continuous interaction. The Church is simultaneously challenged by and challenging the values and experiences of different ages and different peoples. In recent centuries the response of the Church to many such issues has been stated in what we call Catholic social teaching. This is a very rich, organic, and it has to be said, often untidy growth, reflecting as it does the Church’s immersion in the daily business of living and of history. Rev. Dr Kevin Doran, in the second paper of the morning, will discuss the implications of the modern Catholic teaching on solidarity in a single human family for our response to racism. He will ask the question, how it can or should be further developed and applied to our evolving situation in this island? The Second Vatican Council expressed with great clarity and without any equivocation the elements of a considered Church judgement. It said, “Forms of social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, colour, social relation, language or religion must be curbed and eradicated and are incompatible with God’s design”.

The Task of Making Our Response Real

The second half of this day is given over to examining how the Catholic Church in Ireland can develop an increasingly effective and well-rooted pastoral response.

In his Message for World Day of Peace this year, Pope John Paul II issued a challenge to all of us. It is “to combine the welcome due to every human being, especially when in need, with a reckoning of what is necessary for both the local inhabitants and the new arrivals to live a dignified and peaceful life.” The rights of both the local inhabitants and of the new arrivals must be respected. Words must be accompanied by appropriate action.

The thrust of the afternoon session will be, hopefully, to generate the raw material from which an eventual Code of Good Practice regarding Racism will be developed for the Catholic Community.
Such a code would provide a checklist against which to assess our conduct, pastoral practice and institutional provision. Developing such a code may also, I suggest, act as an examination of conscience for us all.

Areas in which a Pastoral Response is indicated

The Church is challenged to develop its pastoral response in many areas. An appropriate response will be called for at parish level. Schools will be receiving children from many different backgrounds. Our catechesis will have to promote acceptance of difference, respect for the stranger and the practical demands of the Gospel in a multi-ethnic society. Differing liturgical traditions may have to be accommodated. I cite these merely as examples. No doubt the discussions will draw attention to others.

The Church has the sublime vocation of realising, first of all within itself, the unity of humankind. Racism in any of its forms is the negation of the community desired by Christ. Any ethnic, national, social or other divisions are now obsolete because they have been abolished by the Cross of Christ. This demand is stark and radical and asks a great deal of us as individual Christians and of the Church as an institution. If I were asked to summarise what response Catholics should make to those who differ from them in culture, race and tradition, I would say, firstly, they should actively welcome, secondly, listen and dialogue, thirdly, reflect and adapt where necessary in the light of the Gospel.

Let me end by quoting the Irish Times editorial of yesterday: “Our own experience as a people, which saw generations of poverty-stricken Irishmen and women forced abroad to make a living and to subsidise their families at home, should make us particularly sensitive to the needs and rights of asylum-seekers”.
Of course the Government has the right and the duty to protect the common good of its citizens.

Nevertheless they should be aware that asylum-seekers are experiencing various forms of exclusion. Under the direct provision benefit regulations asylum-seekers are in general not allowed to work (apart from those who came in a particular year) and are not entitled to employment training. State-funded language training is being introduced and this I warmly welcome.

One has to wonder – if the generations of Irish people forced to go abroad to make a living in the past had experienced similar exclusion – would they have made the contribution to the land of their adoption which we like to recall and of which we are so proud?

The Irish Times editorial says there is need to be generous to the dispossessed of the earth and to ensure that racism will not be tolerated. There are very many generous initiatives being conducted at present by religious orders and parishes throughout the country.

I am happy to recount a couple of initiatives which reflect the generosity required. One World Spirit is the name of a Dundalk refugee support initiative. It has established groups to offer services like computer training, counselling, English language training, legal advice to asylum-seekers and refugees. It intends to hold a social gathering on the last Saturday of each month and “Open Meetings” on the second Thursday of each month.

I was speaking recently to a Parish Priest who has a number of Russians and Ukrainians in his parish. Last month he organised a special welcome for them at the Sunday Liturgy. They were welcomed by name. Special places were reserved for them. They were greeted in their own language. They were invited to say a few words to the congregation. They were treated to a meal in a local restaurant. The response of the host community was warm, spontaneous and very generous.

I would encourage you today to listen carefully, and to contribute actively, so that others can benefit from your insights and experience. I know that the Commission for Justice and Peace together with the Bishops’ Refugee Project, the Council for Social Welfare and Trocaire, who are supporting this conference, intend to work up the input from the afternoon workshops into a draft Code of Good Practice for the Church. I look forward to the outcome, and wish God’s blessing on the day.

LARAGH CAMOGIE DINNER
HOTEL KILMORE
ADDRESS BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
FRIDAY 2 FEBRAURY 2001

I am very thankful to Laragh Camogie Club for their kind invitation to come here tonight, and to Louise Reilly, for passing on the invitation. I am very pleased to be here and to have the opportunity of meeting and greeting so many friends.

I think it was an excellent decision of the Club to honour the 1951 team, on this, the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of their first historic winning of the County Championship. That team went on to win three more Championships in 1952, ’53 and ’54 and that was quite an achievement.

I congratulate the Club on producing The Golden Years. It is a well researched account of the history of camogie in part of the parish of Laragh. I say part because we mustn’t forget that Stradone had won the Championship in 1948, ’49 and ’50. This book spans the history of the Laragh Camogie Club over the last 50 or 60 years. I think a special word of congratulations is due to the Editorial Committee of nine ladies and two gentlemen. As the headings of the chapters indicate, with titles like: Stars Through the Years, the Good Old Day, The Early Years, Memories, Looking Back, As I Look Back, Fond Memories, this history is, of course, a journey down memory lane.

I must say that I found it quite moving. It brought back a lot of memories of my own youth when we, at Caulfield School, were very proud to have, I suppose, the foundress of the second Laragh Camogie Club, Annie Gallagher, as she was then known, as our teacher. She was the full-back on that Championship winning team of 1951, ’52, ’53 and ’54. I suppose we all basked in the reflected glory of that all-conquering side.

I found the photographs fascinating. There is one photograph where there are only two people identified but I am sure there will be people who will be able to put names to these faces before very long. The spark that was ignited in Shann’s field in 1944, developed into a flame in 1951. I think anyone reading these pages will see that Laragh Camogie Club has served the girls, and indeed much of the parish, very well over these years.

That flame has continued to burn brightly for many years as the article says, even if it did dim a little from time to time. When it dimmed there were always people to revive it as Annie Gallagher did in the mid-forties, as Rose McKenna, Teresa Colhoun (King), Nancy O’Rourke and Brigid Brady, did in 1969. It was revived later still by Bridie Smith (now Bridie McCahey) in 1979 along with Brigid Brady and Rose McKenna.

Brigid Brady writing in her article ‘Fond Memories’ says: ‘Little did I think starting my camogie career back in 1951, that five decades later I would still be involved’. Looking back, she says she has enjoyed every moment of it. I think that is a tremendous record of voluntary service. It is a marvellous example of dedication and it is that kind of spirit that has kept camogie alive in Laragh Club.

I think tonight we celebrate, not just the championship wins and the league wins and the many distinctions like playing in the Ulster Club Final or playing in Croke Park, but the deeper things that were required. Whether it was on Laragh rock or Shann’s field, I suppose you could call this club ‘The Institute or the University of Technology of the 50s’, where friendships were formed and loyalties were developed.

One thing playing on a team teaches is that you have to depend on others. No one person is a team in himself or herself. I can see that the qualities and the virtues which these girls learned as they played with each other and for one another, helped them immensely later in life as they came to become outstanding spouses, mothers, and I suppose, grandmothers now.

I am delighted to see that their daughters, and I suppose now, granddaughters, in some cases, are carrying on the tradition of loyalty to their club, friendship and fidelity with one another and that is something really worthy of praise.

Another club, which brought distinction to our parish in the early 1950s, was the athletic club. Its fame is not sung very often but I would hope that at some stage they too, will have a Golden Jubilee celebration in this decade because they have a lot to celebrate.

There is a programme on Radio Ulster called ‘Your Place and Mine’. I suppose the reason we are all here tonight is because this Laragh Camogie Club has got to do with ‘your place and mine’. It gives us a sense of who we are and where we belong. It builds bonds of friendship and interest and history. Teresa King (Colhoun) speaks about her mother playing in Drumboe. It was funny. It brought back memories of my own mother telling about her playing in Upper Lavey around the same time, at the beginning of the last century.

Tonight we celebrate everyone associated with the Laragh Camogie Club, whether they won a medal or whether they didn’t – it doesn’t really matter. They did have that experience of belonging to a team, of depending on each other, of playing for each other. That is the important part. They belonged to an organisation that gives of its time for the good of the community, for the good of the society in which they live, of handing on the skills, passing on the tactics, building understanding and respect for each other, on and off the field.

So tonight, I gladly salute the ladies of Laragh Camogie Club from its start in 1935 right up to the present day. I wish them continued success and hope that success will come every year, whether they win championships or leagues, because it will call forth great dedication, devotion, loyalty to each other and to their club and bind them together in striving for a common goal.

I hope the Club will forgive the wiseacre, the literary genius whoever he was – who once described the team to Nancy O’Rourke as being “like a batch of pigs on a pan looking for a sup of milk”.
I am sure the ladies are big enough and generous enough to ignore remarks like that now and that the person concerned is now wise enough to know that the ladies have come a long way since then.

THE APPOINTMENT OF ARCHBISHOP DESMOND CONNELL
AS CARDINAL
STATEMENT BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

I welcome the news that Pope John Paul II has chosen Archbishop Desmond Connell to become a member of the College of Cardinals. I congratulate Archbishop Connell on his appointment.

He has given outstanding leadership to the Catholic Church in Dublin over the last thirteen years and I am confident that he will provide excellent assistance to the Holy Father in his new role.

January 21, 2001

APPOINTMENT OF BISHOP DIARMUID MARTIN
AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HOLY SEE TO THE UNITED NATIONS
STATEMENT BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

I am delighted to hear the news that Bishop Diarmuid Martin has been appointed as Representative of the Holy See to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva.

The outstanding work which he has carried out in Rome for many years, first at the Pontifical Council for the Family and more recently as Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, means that Archbishop Martin is ideally prepared to be the Permanent Observer of the Holy Father in this important post. I wish him success and God’s blessing.

17 January, 2001

ST PATRICK’S HERITAGE ASSOCIATION & THE ULSTER SOCIETY
ST PATRICK PUBLICATION
CONTRIBUTION OF CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

It is a great privilege for me to contribute to this publication. I commend this timely initiative and thank those spearheading it.

Few countries honour the person or persons responsible for the Christian evangelisation of their country the way Ireland does. The people of this country are particularly fortunate and privileged in knowing so much about and sensing such a special bond with St Patrick who brought the Good News of Jesus Christ to our shores. In recalling the pivotal role which he played in the redemption and salvation of our people we honour St Patrick; much more importantly, however, we honour the message which he brought and the God which he preached. St Patrick could not have arrived one day too early to share the Good News of the one true God, the God who is one and three at the same time. Indeed 400 years after the death of Christ seems an unbearably long time for our forebears in this land to have lived in the darkness of not knowing their true God and Creator. With the Prophet Isaiah we can joyfully if belatedly proclaim: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.” (9:2)

When I consider St Patrick I think particularly of his wonderful sense of God. He was extremely aware of the presence of God with him. He knew the Lord in a very personal way. He sought the glory of God in all things. He knew that he himself was just an instrument. His own glory he did not seek but the Kingdom of God in all its fullness and riches he was eager to build in Ireland and to share its bounty with the Irish.

I also think of Patrick as a man of peace and reconciliation. He willingly forgave his captors. While his heart could easily have been destroyed by hatred and bitterness after his humiliating experience of enslavement, he was ready to forgive. Had his heart become hardened the self-abandoning generosity necessary to preach Jesus Christ would not have been possible for him. Rather in the Lord all things were reconciled for him. In his own life he experienced in a very real way the fruits of the death and resurrection of Jesus. He felt an irresistible compulsion to share this with others, even those who had earlier held him in bondage.

Here in Armagh where Patrick founded his first “stone church” in 445 the St Patrick’s Day celebrations are special. It is traditional for the Archbishop to celebrate Mass in the Cathedral of St Patrick and to distribute shamrock afterwards to the boy scouts and to the girl guides. Two years ago it was a great privilege for me to preach at Evensong in St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral on St Patrick’s Day.

I would certainly wish to see St Patrick’s Day celebrated throughout Ireland by all traditions. First and foremost we should seek to honour Patrick by the worship due to our common God. Afterwards we are enriched by our secular celebrations, rejoicing in that which is best in our peoples and in our country and in that to which we justly and happily aspire. It would be wonderful if St Patrick’s Day were for all our people a day apart, a day of prayer and worship, colour and festive music, rest and national pride.

That St Patrick’s Day should be an occasion of division in our land seems to involve a serious contradiction. St Patrick is a symbol of unity pointing all in the direction of the same Father and Saviour recognised by all Christians. None of us must seek to monopolise the faith he brought us. None of us should feel excluded from the celebrations in his honour. We should all become acquainted with his powerful writings, his Confession and Letter to Coroticus; this would seem a very valuable and necessary beginning in a deepening understanding of our shared Patrician heritage.

Go dtaga Ríocht Dé inár measc mar ba thoil le Aspal na hÉireann.

May the Kingdom of God come among us as the Apostle of the Irish wished.

12 January, 2001

WORLD PEACE DAY
HOMILY BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL ARMAGH
1 JANUARY 2001

Prayer for peace never ceases in the world. It goes on all the time. The reason is that people long for peace from the depth of their hearts. Today, the Church celebrates the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. It is also the World Day of Peace. Today we unite with Catholics around the world to pray for the gift of peace and to say “Deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our days”.

2000 years after the birth of Christ there is not peace in the world. In Bethlehem, the place where the Prince of Peace was born, Arab and Jew, fight each other in a deadly struggle. There are many other places of conflict. Obviously the paths which men and women follow in order to obtain peace are not always the ways of God. We must turn to Jesus Christ and listen once more to God announcing the gift of peace in him. Jesus, is our bond of peace with our brothers and sisters. He became the brother of all men and women. He constantly reminds us that we are all children of the same Heavenly Father.

In his message for the World Day of Peace, Pope John Paul II sees a growing hope at the dawn of the New Millennium. The hope is that relationships between people will be increasingly inspired by the ideal of a truly universal brotherhood. When people begin to realise, more clearly, that we are all brothers and sisters, children of God, our Father, then there is a basis for a stable peace.

In Northern Ireland, seeds of hope continue to be sown. The past year has been one of slow, but steady progress. Steady progress on the journey towards peace. The fact that the Assembly was reactivated after a period of suspension is encouraging. A programme for government has been agreed and published, a budget has been approved. Parties are engaged in the democratic process. The importance of having a local administration to deal with the day-to-day business of government is appreciated. These are the signs of hope. Confidence is growing. There is a feeling abroad that the corner has been turned. The prospect of a bright new future has been sighted. Hopefully the tide of trust will continue to flow and grow. Could we live with the shame of letting the prize of peace slip through our fingers because of something we failed to do? Unfortunately, some clouds overshadow these bright hopes. The threat of violence, indeed the reality of violence, persists in our divided society. Killings and feuding, exclusions and explosions prove once again how hard it is to settle differences when ancient hatreds create a climate of anger and exasperation. The lack of progress on the issues still to be resolved is alarming. Good faith is being called into question.

The road to a lasting peace is long and hard and torturous. There are often obstacles and many setbacks. Yet it is the road which we must all take. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers”. Peacemakers know that they themselves depend on God. They are God’s agents at work in the world. They try to carry out God’s agenda. At the top of that agenda is the creation of a world in which the goods of the earth are fairly distributed, a world where no-one is forgotten or left out or left behind. A world in which nobody rests satisfied until the hunger of all has been satisfied.

In his message for peace today the Pope invites believers in Christ and all men and women of goodwill to reflect on the theme of dialogue – dialogue between cultures and nations. He says that this dialogue is the obligatory path to the building of a reconciled world. Of course the peace process here is the fruit of long and patient discussions and negotiations. It is in fact the fruit of dialogue. The United Nations has declared 2001 The International Year of Dialogue Among Nations.

Continuing his reflection, the Pope points out that people need to accept their own culture. Being firmly linked to one’s roots is important. It gives a balanced development. In this way people get a sense of their nationality. The Pope says, “Love for one’s country is a value to be fostered”. It is a value to be fostered without narrow-mindedness. It must not be such a narrow love of one’s own country that it excludes love for the whole human family as well. It is important to recognise the value of one’s own culture certainly but at the same time every culture is something human. It has its limitations. Our sense of belonging to one culture should not turn into isolation. To prevent this happening, knowledge of other cultures is also important. Then it will emerge that all cultures have a lot in common. There are values that are common to all. In the past, cultural differences have been a cause of conflict. What cultures have in common was often forgotten.

Pope John Paul II addresses another vexed question in today’s message, namely the challenge of migration. He reminds us that the movement of large numbers of people, from one part of the planet to another, is often a terrible odyssey for those involved. How migrants are welcomed by receiving countries and how well they become integrated in their new situation, is an indication of how much effective dialogue there is between the various cultures. The Irish experience is one of migration in all sorts of ways to many different countries. It brought new growth and enrichment. The Holy Father regrets that there are situations in which the difficulties involved in migration have never been resolved and tensions have become the cause of outbreak of conflict. It is clear that there are no magic formulas. However, some basic moral principles must be kept in mind. Refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants of any kind, must always be treated with the respect due to the dignity of every human person. The challenge is to combine the welcome due to every human being, especially to someone in need, with respect for the common good of the local inhabitants. Governments have the right and duty to control the influx of immigrants, since they have to protect the common good of their people, but at the same time they have to show the respect and welcome due to every human being.

I gladly pass on to you the appeal of Pope John Paul II in today’s message that we all become witnesses and missionaries for forgiveness and reconciliation. We have here in Northern Ireland a tragic heritage of war and conflict, violence and hatred. That heritage lives on in the memory of people. There is only one way to break down the barriers and that is by forgiveness and reconciliation. The Pope concedes that many will maintain that this is naïve but he insists, that from the Christian point of view, it is the only way which leads to the long desired good of peace.

The Holy Father bases his confidence on what happened in Calvary. Shortly before dying, Jesus, said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”. The man crucified on his right, hearing these words, opens his hearts to the grace of conversion, welcomes the Gospel of Forgiveness and receives the promise of eternal happiness. The Holy Father is adamant that the example of Christ makes us certain that the many impediments to dialogue between people can indeed be torn down. For when we gaze upon the Crucified One we are filled with confidence that forgiveness and reconciliation can become the normal practice of everyday life.

The question is often asked what can the Churches do in addition to praying? We can work together to promote the awareness that a relationship with God the Father of all beings, brings about a greater sense of solidarity among people, when they see themselves as Children of God.

Secondly, we can engage more seriously in dialogue to discover the many and important elements which we have in common. We can also address more fully and more earnestly, what divides, what wounds and what hurts. We can work together to help people address the difficulties of immigration and we can unite in calling people to be witnesses and missionaries of peace and reconciliation.

The prayer for peace and the work for greater understanding among people of different backgrounds must continue. The St. Oliver Plunkett Peace and Reconciliation Movement is based in Drogheda. Last October the Committee initiated a National Day of Prayer to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the canonisation of St. Oliver. They phoned every Parish Priest in the country to ask their help. They were very pleased with the response and they are convinced that hundreds of parishes joined in prayer on that day.

The Pope ends his message with an appeal to young people to become men and women capable of solidarity, peace and love of life with respect for everyone. He asks them to become craftsmen of a new humanity where brothers and sisters, members all of the same family are able at last to live in peace. The challenge is not confined to young people; it is one for all of us.

REMEMBRANCE MASS FOR ALL VICTIMS OF THE TROUBLES
ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL ARMAGH
Sunday, 25 November 2001
HOMILY BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

Christ the King: “Do this in memory of me”.

On his way to his crucifixion Jesus called those people who would renounce their wealth his disciples. When he died he hadn’t a single possession to his name. He was naked but he had other wealth, which he bestowed lavishly on people – his humanity. He made a lot of Nathaniel and won his friendship. He cured the Roman official’s son. He had room for Mathew, the tax collector, among his friends, in his intimate company. He had room too in his heart for Simon the political zealot. He joked playfully and affectionately with the Syro-Phoenician woman. He never forced his power on anybody. He was a noble person. He promised paradise to the criminal beside him on the cross.

On Calvary, one of the criminals hanging there abused him. “Are you not the Christ?” he said. “Save yourself and us as well”. But the other spoke up and rebuked him. “Have you no fear of God at all?” he said. “You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong”. “Jesus” he said, “remember me when you come into your kingdom”. “Indeed, I promise you”, he replied, “today you will be with me in paradise”.

Look how intimately and directly the wrongdoer speaks to ‘The Christ’. He has just met him and is on first name terms without any qualification. He calls him ‘Jesus’. Yes, Jesus was human to the core. He was a proper king, not a king of earthly power, control and wealth. He was the lowly Galilean, near to the worries and problems of ordinary people whom he came to serve and not to be served. He was the wandering preacher who healed the sick and proclaimed good news to the poor. The good shepherd who mingled with the outcasts and sinners in order to bring back those who seemed lost. He did not gain his victories for his kingdom by military conquest or by violently crushing his enemies. On the contrary, it was through his suffering and death that he fulfilled his mission and conquered evil. In Irish spirituality he is appropriately call Ri na gCréacht, ‘King of the Wounds’.

Over the past thirty years nearly four thousand people have died in our conflict, in Ireland and Britain, and some on the continent. We are remembering them now. We are calling them to mind, not to cause renewed distress to their relatives and friends gathered here, but to meditate spiritually on their human lives. When the news of each death was broken, families and friends reacted with shock and grief.

Neighbourhoods and communities showed their sympathy. Relatives can still feel the pain. Sometimes emotion comes back again. You knew them as individual persons, and experienced at first hand, the very texture of their lives. Their characters were absorbed into yours. You knew the depth, the very flavour of their needs and aspirations. We would want them to be happy for all eternity. That is our prayer – simple, intimate and human. “Jesus remember them in your kingdom”.

When we recall the mercy of Jesus from the cross our emphatic answer is ‘No, they are not dead forever’. This evening’s commemoration and the story of the ‘good thief’ is a reminder that paradise lies beyond the grave for all who seek God’s mercy. Every human person is important and unique to God. After all, he is our Father and we are His children. The individuals whom we have loved in time, have conversed with, eaten with, drank with, travelled with, played with, lived with – they are loved eternally now by God.

But this evening is not only a loving remembrance of those who died and who now see God face to face. It is a remembrance for all of us. We come here to exchange among ourselves a kiss of peace – the peace of Christ the king. The peace the world cannot give. The world too often offers us pain and death, tears of the bereaved, a mountain of sorrow and suffering. We come here today for peace, God’s gift to us, peace even in worry and anxiety, peace in bereavement and healing. We come to pray for peace and tolerance and understanding in our country – peace in our communities. Peace in the most beautiful of all communities – the family. An old Irish Gaelic prayer expresses this desire beautifully.

Peace between neighbours
Peace between kindred
Peace between lovers
In the love of the King of life.
Peace between person and person
Peace between wife and husband
Peace between women and children
The peace of Christ above all peace
Bless, O Christ, my face
Let my face bless everything
Bless, O Christ, mine eye
Let mine eye bless all it sees.

Ours is a world that knows need and distress, hatred and strife, inequalities and injustice, prejudice and discrimination. All these things and many more are contrary to God’s will. We pray in the Our Father ‘thy kingdom come’. We beg for the manifestation of God’s kingdom in its fullness. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom. He manifested his own kingship when he cured the sick, called sinners to repentance, showed concern for the poor and the outcasts, comforted the bereaved and preached the law of love. Now, as the ‘firstborn from the dead’ as today’s Second Reading calls him, we ask him to bring all those who died in the ‘troubles’ into the kingdom of Heaven. Having returned to the Father he has left the work of building up that kingdom to his followers, that is, to us. As St Teresa put it ‘Christ has no body now but ours, no hands but ours, to advance the kingdom of truth, honesty, justice and love which the preface in today’s Mass speaks of. We pledge that we too will play our part in His kingdom.

May the God, who created you and recreated you in baptism, strengthen you in holiness and grace to be witnesses of love and peace of truth and honesty.

May the human Christ who leads you with gentleness and love, give you mercy and consolation on this Remembrance Day.

May the humble king, whose reign shall never cease, receive into paradise all who died in the conflict in our country and unite them with him in glory and everlasting peace.

AMEN

MIDNIGHT MASS – CHRISTMAS EVE 2001
HOMILY BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH

I love the story about a little boy playing the part of a shepherd in the school nativity play. He had just one line to say, “Behold, the Saviour of the world”. He had practised for weeks but when the day came, unfortunately, his mind went blank. He couldn’t remember the line but he did remember what his mother always said when she saw a new baby, “He is the image of his father.” Of course the little boy was quite right. The Christ-Child is the image of his Father. In him we see our God made visible. As a result we are caught up in love of the God we cannot see. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. That explains the great outburst and outbreak of goodwill we experience every year at this time as people express their love for each other by giving gifts, sending cards, spending money to help other people. So our response is, “Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son”.

The Christ Child is the image of his Father. This is why his coming is Good News- a God who comes to us, not in power or in wealth, but in poverty, in humility, in weakness. The result is that, whether we like it or not, we are caught up in a love of the God we cannot see.

The love in question, of course, is not our love for God but God’s love for us and whether we like it or not we have got to make some response – to give some answer to that offer.

Sometimes we hear people say, “Isn’t it terrible what’s happened to Christmas”, meaning if only we could get back to the real meaning of Christmas. Of course the true meaning of Christmas can certainly be lost in the mad rush of selling and buying. We must guard against that. But the truth is that God entered the real world, the world of flesh and blood in Jesus Christ – the working-world of people with jobs to do, animals to feed and lots of worries. Otherwise the Good News of Christmas would not be the Good News which it really is.

It is Good News because the line, which the little boy forgot, is also an important one, “Behold the Saviour of the world”, for the Christ-Child is indeed the one and only Saviour of the world. He has made salvation possible for the whole human race.

You may ask, why did the Son of God have to come to save us? From what are we being saved? You see originally God had this dream of sharing His life and His happiness with each one of us but God’s plan was sabotaged – man refused to go along with the plan, refused to play his part. Our first parents refused to believe and refused to obey. The result was that a fatal flaw was introduced into the heart of the human condition. The consequences are to be seen straight away. Cain murdered his brother, Abel. The tower of Babel introduces division and confusion. These results are still with us. We find ourselves threatened from within and from without. For all our good intentions we are tempted, even the best of us, to destroy what is perceived to be ‘enemy’, to divide by ‘taking’ rather than unite by ‘sharing’.

So God had another plan – a rescue package. He sent His Son to remedy the fatal flaw. It was for you and for me, and for each one of us, that God was made man. Eternal death would have awaited us had Christ not been born in time. Our misery would have been everlasting had he not performed this act of mercy. We would never come to life again if He had not come to die our death. We have our part to play – give up violence.

The prophet Isaiah talked about people who walked in darkness, seeing a great light. He was talking about a particular kind of darkness, the darkness experienced by the citizens of Jerusalem, who had been defeated in war by an enemy invader. As they were being led into exile and captivity to provide slave labour for their conquerors, they had their eyes plucked out to make sure they would not escape. Well God never intended His sons and daughters to treat each other in that way. That is the darkness that Christ came to dispel.

What is the darkness and the oppression of our times? Perhaps it is the tragedy of 80% of the population of the planet is trying to survive on only 20% of the income or the fact that one million, two thousand million people have to struggle desperately to try to survive on less than a dollar a day. This is happening at a time when, more than ever before; humanity has the capacity for a just sharing of the world’s resources. Again what about the plight of the world’s 22 million refugees and displaced persons? Because of war, political oppression, or economic discrimination, they have been forced to flee their homeland – some never to return. They have often endured torture or atrocity, brutality and violence. Cain continues to raise his hand against his brother, Abel. They have often lost, or just simply had to leave behind, all their possessions. They come in search of employment. They hope to find peace.

Tonight in Bethlehem there is certainly no peace. For the second consecutive year all celebrations of Christmas have been cancelled. Jesus came to tell us that this is no way for us to treat one another. That kind of behaviour does not lead to God and we must give up everything that does not lead to God. It is as simple as that. It is not a question of Christianity having failed but rather that it is a matter of it not having been tried.

We live in a world that is often fearful and fretful, especially after the events of 11 September last. The power of evil often seems to triumph, darkness threatens to eclipse the light of the Bethlehem Child. The message of Christmas is that darkness will never prevail – goodness and virtue will ultimately be victorious in our world.

We are fearful because from the human point of view the power of evil often seems to triumph. Yet, to the eyes of those who have faith, the love and the mercy of God are far stronger than the power of evil. Jesus came to tell us about that mercy and that love. He not only told us, he showed us. That is what matters.

To ensure that evil does not triumph is not enough that we just sit back and fold our arms and say, ‘sure God will take care of it’. No, God relies on us to play our part, to make sure that mercy and love get the upper hand and not hatred and bitterness. Here in Ireland a new light has dawned with the prospect of peace. But that peace has not yet fully arrived despite the beacon lit by the Good Friday Agreement. In fact the past year has been, in some parts of Northern Ireland, quite difficult. Yet there are definite signs of hope for better things to come. We must continue to strive for the establishment of right relationships with each other, which offer the only solid basis for a lasting peace. We must, above all, deepen our relationship with God, the source of all lasting peace on whom we depend at every moment. The God who so loved us that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ. He is our peace and the real hope of the world.

We also live in a world that sometimes seems to have lost its sense of reverence and respect for life and for the author of life. Christmas tells us there is joy at every child born into the world. I am sure that every parent here present can testify to that. But there is also a sense of wonder and responsibility. For every life is something given on trust, something to be preserved with a sense of responsibility and to be perfected in a spirit of generous service to God and neighbour.

Every life is to be protected from that which threatens to destroy or diminish it – from abortion, euthanasia, violence of any kind, from abuse of drugs and alcoholic drink, from reckless behaviour of any sort. Every life is a combination of body and soul and the life of the Spirit is also to be nourished and cared for and protected from dangers that threaten it.

The Gospels tell us that Mary treasured all the words spoken about her new-born son and pondered them in her heart. Those of you who are mothers will remember how you felt when you first set eyes on the face of your firstborn. You probably gave thanks for the safe arrival and wondered what the future might hold. Like Mary, we would all do well to ponder the crib this Christmas and see there the loving kindness of the heart of our God. He comes to set us free from fear and to save us.