CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2004
VATICAN RADIO
Friday 24th December 2004

The Divine Child whose birth we celebrate at Midnight is Prince of Peace. We pray that peace will come from him to peoples all over the world; for, as the prophet tells us, “wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end” (Isaiah 9: 6-7). His very name is Peace. So we Christians all over the world should be joining in intense prayer at our Christmas Morning Mass and throughout the Christmas season for peace in the whole world.

In his Message for the World Day of Peace on 1st January next, our Holy Father pleads with us, in St Paul’s words: “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good”. The Pope speaks of the appalling evils and injustices inflicted on the poor and the innocent of the world by war and violence. He refers in particular to the millions of victims of wars and conflicts in many countries in the “beloved continent of Africa”; to the lethal spiral of violence and reprisal in Palestine; to the tragic drama in Iraq; and to the scourge of terrorist violence which “appears to be driving the whole world towards a future of fear and anguish”. We in Ireland will be praying also for the consolidation of the fragile peace we now enjoy in Ireland, a peace which will remain brittle until there is agreed devolved government, winning allegiance from all political factions and until there is universal political acceptance of the police force.

“To attain the good of peace”, the Pope tells us, “there must be a clear and conscious acknowledgement that violence is an unacceptable evil and that it never solves problems”. To reinforce this statement, the Holy Father quotes from his historic address in Drogheda in 1979. The twenty-five years which have elapsed since then have given us in Ireland abundant proof that indeed “violence is a lie” and that it destroys what it claims to defend, “the dignity, the life and the freedom of human beings”.

Human Passions
St James gives us something of a shock when he asks us where these wars and conflicts come from and replies that ultimately they arise from uncontrolled passions and desires fighting inside our own selves. (James 4: 1) and from the “bitterness of jealousy and ambition” in our relationships with others. In Northern Ireland we have good cause to examine our own feelings and attitudes towards those people and communities from whom we differ politically and religiously. We all deplore sectarianism and denounce bigotry and we have good reason to do so, for these are detestable facts of life in Northern Ireland. But perhaps there are traces of sectarianism in some of our own ways of thinking about “the other sort”, as we sometimes call them. We can easily identify sectarianism in others; we are slower to recognise it in ourselves.

St.  Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians that as Christians we are called to a new way of living and to new ways of thinking and speaking about others. These new ways come from the Holy Spirit, sent to us by Jesus Christ from the Father. The Spirit of Jesus prompts us to avoid harmful words and to use only helpful words, the kind that build up and do good to those that hear us.
And do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God’s mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. Get rid of all bitterness, passion and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ. (Ephesians 4: 29).

That’s the true message of Christmas. May the Holy Spirit help us to hear that message this Christmas and to live it.

A holy and peaceful Christmas to you all. May the Holy Spirit remove all bounds to your love and your ho

YOUTH 2000 RETREAT MASS
GREENHILLS SECONDARY SCHOOL, DUBLIN
HOMILY GIVEN BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
SATURDAY 15 DECEMEBR 2007

I thank Youth 2000 Ireland and its national leader Paul Rooney for the invitation to come here. It enables me to share in your Christmas Retreat in Greenhills. I want to praise God for the existence and work of Youth 2000 in Ireland today. By this point you should then know them.

Before leaving Armagh I spoke to Sister Mairead in Siena Convent in Drogheda where two former Youth 2000 girls have entered as novices. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I met another former lady from Youth 2000, originally from Belfast.

I have been asked to speak on how Our Lady helps us to come to know Jesus. We could begin by reflecting, for a moment, on how Our Lady helped Jesus to come into the world. Let us see how Our Lady and her mother, Anne, must have cared for the baby Jesus when he came into the world as he was growing up. Perhaps we could reflect on how our own mothers and grannies looked after us when we were young and taught us to pray and cared for our every need. I want you to thank God for the love which they brought to your life; for the care which they took of you and the sacrifices which they made. I am sure that they often deprived themselves of things so that you might have enough. I want you to remember maybe some Christmas when your mother or your father had to do without something which they themselves could have used, so that you could have the wherewith to celebrate Christmas – to get Christmas presents or Christmas toys.
From the beginning the Church has been attracted to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. That attraction continues to the present day. Just think of the crowds that go to Marian Shrines – to Lourdes; to Fatima; to Knock; to Skovoa. The people of God, time and time again, turn to Mary because she is an example of someone who lives in response to the Word of God. Mary is the model of the One who listens for the Word. When she hears it, she responds in trust and in faith; in silence and in wonder; in generosity and in hope. In responding to the Word she becomes the first disciple of her son. So, from the very beginning of the Church she has a central place among the disciples. She is called the Mother of Disciples. There are many in today’s world who wish to receive the Word of God as Mary did. I think you are among those who seek to have Mary as your model and your inspiration.

Three times the Gospels speak of her as receiving the Spirit:
· Firstly, at the Annunciation.
· Secondly, at the foot of the cross;
· Thirdly, at Pentecost.

The Spirit came upon Mary when she responds to the word of the annunciation. In response to her acceptance of the word, Mary is told that a “Spirit will come upon you”.

From that moment, Word and Spirit work hand in hand in the drama of salvation. This will be the constant feature of the Gospel story as it unfolds – Spirit and the Word working hand in hand. Note also her ability to listen and discern. We too have received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prompts us, inspires us to listen to the Word and to think about what Jesus said and respond to it. Her ability to say yes, adds to the mystery.
Then we have her silent and sorrowful presence at the death of her son, Jesus. This shows her final surrender to God’s will. Here is the climax of her life – lived by one who lets it be done unto her, according to the Word.

Just as Eve, the woman of the Garden of Eden, became mother of all the living, so Mary, the woman of Cana, becomes the mother of the beloved disciple and so becomes the mother of all disciples. As Jesus, on the cross, leaned his head forward and handed over the Spirit to the infant Church, so his mother is at the foot of the cross. She is at the centre of the new community, formed by his Spirit.

Recently a well-known American singer/song writer* was interviewed on radio. The interviewer noted that all her songs were love songs. “Do you know love?” he asked. “I know heartbreak” was her reply. How true. To know the heartbreak is to know love. To know the pain of love it to know its depth and its price. To know the depth and price is to know self-giving and loss. Christmas speaks to us of love. It is the love of God for us. “For God so loved the world that he gave us his only son” (John 3:16). And the baby speaks of the heartbreak of God, of the self-giving of God, of the emptying of God to become human. “His state was divine…He emptied himself to become as humans are, taking on the condition of a slave, and he was humbler yet”(Phil 2:6). And the wood of the manger would one day be exchanged for the wood of the cross, the price of love.

Lastly, we have Pentecost. The Spirit came upon the disciples as they were gathered around Mary at Pentecost. The Word of the Lord calls forth the community that is shaped by the Spirit. To welcome that Word we need both the Spirit and the community.

Mary is the model of faith, of trust and enquiry. In the first chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, Mary as a young woman, is open and ready to respond to God’s invitation to surrender to an unknown future. She listens to God speaking through the angel. Her faith and trust show themselves in her obedient welcome as she responds: “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word”. She shows us the way of honest enquiry as she wonders anxiously how can this be? Answering the question, she discovers the depth of her faith. In the same way, I understand that many of you are undertaking courses of study at Maryvale Institute and other similar institutes. It is continuing that spirit of enquiry, of asking questions about the faith.

Mary sets out to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. It is a sign of her compassion for her cousin but Elizabeth, in turn, declares Mary ‘blessed’ for believing that the word spoken to her would be fulfilled. Years later, when he was told that his mother and brothers were close by, the answer of Jesus was to emphasise the centrality of Mary, the real reason for her blessing. He said: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it”.

Here we see, once again, her ability to listen for the Word of God, to discern what is God’s will and to carry out God’s will. Listening to the word, followed by discernment and leading to action, that is the process which those who are in authentic relationship with Jesus all follow.

So, responding to the word, Mary journeys to meet her cousin. Her meeting with Elizabeth is the occasion of her magnificent song of praise which we call the Magnificat.

The word that she has received becomes a witnessing proclaiming and praising and thanksgiving word. Mary made the word her own as she speaks the prophetic word of truth about what Jesus is doing in, and through, her life. “My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my saviour. The almighty does marvellous things for me”. There is nothing wrong with enjoying ourselves when we give praise to God. Rejoice was the command of the angel to Mary. Enjoyment is one of the reasons for us being here.

Mary ponders over the various happenings in the early life of Jesus. They are happenings which will cast long shadows over the unfolding of her personal story. We are told that Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. She is a woman of silence. She has an inner life – a spiritual life. She is one of those who has been taught wisdom in the secret of her heart. From that place of stillness and reflection and suffering, Mary receives the strength to do, in loving surrender, what God asks of her when a sword would pierce her own soul.

St John’s Gospel describes the signs which Jesus did so that we might have life in his name. The first of those signs took place at the wedding feast of Cana. We are told that the mother of Jesus was there. She performed a central role in the miracle.

She is a bridge between the Old and the New Testament in this highly significant wedding feast. At the wedding feast she is the one who is alert. She recognised the plight of her neighbours. Out of a sense of charity and compassion she takes action as she declares, to her son, “They have no wine”. Today she is also the one who sees the spiritual need. She issues the directive: “Do whatever he tells you”. She puts her total trust in God’s plan and the result is that Jesus performs his first sign.
The Word of God needs to be listened in the lives of believers in every age. The world in which we live is a noisy world. It militates against hearing God’s word or perceiving the presence of God in ourselves. But this Gospel picture of Mary as a model and mother of listening to the Word of God is compelling. In times of personal ill-health; family problems; bereavement or other trials, many men and women are sometimes at a loss to understand why their burdens are so heavy. They often ask the question: Why is this happening to me? And as they struggle to understand, they accept with courage and generosity, like Mary, and say: “Let it be done unto me according to your will”.

In the midst of modern injustices, whether they be those concerning the displacement of persons – migrants, poverty issues or the exploitation and trafficking of children or women for the sex industry, the life and values of Mary provide inspiration. There are many religious congregations that have Mary as their patron who campaign bravely for issues of justice – both locally and globally.

It is often said that we must go through Mary in order to reach Jesus – to know Jesus – to love Jesus – to serve Jesus – to model and embody in our own lives the virtues which Jesus lived and exemplified.

We hear the Word of God but we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to understand the word and to apply it wisely and correctly to our own lives. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to see and know and understand ourselves as God’s Holy Spirit sees and knows and understands us.

Mary was in the middle of the community that received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. It was the infant Church really. It is interesting that it was to a community and not to an individual that the Holy Spirit came.
May your community be always open to receiving God’s word and ready to meditate on it with the Holy Spirit and willing to discuss it and to respond to it as a community.

AMEN

MONTH’S MEMORY MASS FOR THE LATE TOMMY MAKEM

FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2007

ST. PATRICK, CHURCH, KEADY

HOMILY BY

ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

I welcome you to this Month Memory Mass for the late great Tommy Makem.

At the Months Memory Mass we recall the memory of the person who has died. We sing his praises and remember his gifts. But I think that Tommy himself would be the first to remind us that on an occasion like this, we pray for the eternal rest – for the repose of the soul – of the person who has died.

Yet, many ask,

· What could prevent someone who has died from enjoying eternal rest?
· What could possibly keep perpetual light from shining upon the souls of the dead?
· What could possibly prevent them from resting in peace?

The answer – sins and sins alone is the only thing that keeps us separated from God. So, at this Mass we ask God to pardon Tommy all his sins; and to take away any debt of punishment that may yet remain to be paid.

Tommy Makem was a very gifted man – he had the gift of music and song in abundance. He was a Master of Kindness. He was always generous with his time, his talent and, most of all, he was kind with his good humour.

All of life is a journey, a journey of going back, going back home to our God and to our Creator. Because we are human, sometimes we grow tired and weary along the way. We need help to make our trail easier, to give us strength and to enable us to find meaning in life.

Tommy found meaning first of all in his faith, in his family and in his Irish heritage. He expressed that meaning in his stories and in his songs. Tommy was well aware of the great gift of faith in his life. He was thankful for that gift of faith and for the gift of music. He was thankful for the gift of music given to him by his parents, especially his mother, Sarah; a gift that was developed in Keady choir under the watchful eye of Canon Pentony.

Tommy Makem was grateful to God for his wife Mary and for his daughter Katie and for his three sons: Conor, Rory and Shane. That grateful heart made him a happy man. He expressed that happiness in his music and in his song and, in the process, he brought happiness to many others. That is why, at the great Irish Fest in Milwaukee two weeks ago, people stood in their thousands to bear their tribute to Tommy Makem – a tribute that was repeated on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at a festival that attracts some 90,000 patrons.

You see, deep in the depths of the human heart, there is this hunger for beauty and truth and love. The music and song and story of Tommy Makem went some way to satisfying that hunger but ultimately that hunger will only be satisfied fully in God.

Tommy Makem knew that and that is why, a couple of years ago, he spearheaded the efforts in his parish of Dover, New Hampshire, to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the building of the Church of St. Mary.

It was a church built by emigrants, for emigrants, from Keady and Armagh who simply could not, and would not, live their lives in a situation where they could not attend Sunday Mass. They so felt the need to be nourished with the Word of God and the Body of Christ and the Bread of Life that they simply were not prepared to carry on – no matter what the wages were – without being sustained by the Bread of Life. They were going to give it all up and come back home rather than do without the Mass. Luckily they did not have to do so. They built their Church, they got their priest and they stayed on.

Tommy was so impressed with the beauty and the truth and the love in that story that he composed a special Mass to commemorate that anniversary and to give praise to it. His grand-daughter was confirmed that weekend and it was a great celebration.

Singing, dancing, laughing and even weeping, all expressed the meaning of Tommy’s faith in God. In song and story he expressed his faith in God and in this goodness of other people, encouraging them to work together for peace and justice in the world. “He sang not to have a life of leisure” – his Parish Priest said at the funeral Mass, “but to give joy to people and to give them something that would strengthen their minds a little”.

He was once asked if he planned to retire. “Yes, of course” he said “I retire every night and in the morning I realise how lucky and privileged I am to be able to continue to do the things I love to do”. The Parish Priest told that one at his funeral and he went on to say. “They say they have choirs in Heaven and we can be sure that they make beautiful music there all the time”.

Tommy Makem did retire one last time on Wednesday the first day of August. When he woke up the next morning we can be sure that he found himself in Heaven and that he was all ready to join the heavenly choir and to be with his dear wife Mary and his mother and father, Sarah and Peter, and all who have preceded him on the journey of faith.

Embraced in God’s love, we can pray that Tommy Makem will continue to be lucky and privileged in Heaven. We can hope that he will be adding his deep baritone voice to sing with the saints throughout eternity. It is our prayer that Tommy will be able to do the things he loved to do all through his earthly journey with his music to bring joy and happiness to the lives of others.

If we desire to honour the man we admire, let us each try to live and care for one another as Tommy did. I believe that he followed the advice that St Augustine give us in the 4th century:
Love God first, then love your neighbour

St Augustine tells us that
· “many may sign themselves with the sign of the cross
· All may say Amen,
· Many may sing Alleluia,
· Others may come to church and line the walls of the basilicas
But there is nothing to distinguish the children of God from the children of evil

Except unselfish love
It means that we must love and reverence the God within ourselves and in each other and that is what Tommy Makem did when he used his talents of music and song on his journey of life.

MASS OF THE CHAPTER

ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH

HOMILY GIVEN BY

ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

SUNDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2007

Jesus has come into our world. He came, and he still comes, in different ways. But he always comes to seek out and save what is lost. In other words, he comes to save people, people who have turned away from God, people who are neglecting God, people who are living their lives as if God did not exist. Jesus came to bring them back – the kind of people who, if they don’t change their ways, will be lost. In other words, Jesus came to reconcile people through the mercy of God.

I read a marvellous story of reconciliation recently. It happened at a murder trial in Green Street Court House, Dublin. Two young friends fell out in a drunken brawl. One pulled a knife and stabbed the other fatally. All four parents gathered in the courtroom for the murder trial. Two in one corner, two in the other. An old Kerry Garda came in and saw the scene and said to a barrister friend I am going to try and reconcile these people. You haven’t a hope. “Well, I can only try” he said. So he approached them in turn. At first they stiffened and bristled at the idea but then they approached and hugged each other and burst into tears. “How did you know it would work”? asked the barrister. “I didn’t” said the Garda. Somehow or other the mercy of God was already at work in the hearts of all concerned there to bring about this reconciliation. It just needed the courage and concern of the Garda to trigger it off.

I have received many messages in recent days. One of the most pleasing came from a past student to whom I taught Latin in the 1970s. He was a high-spirited young man and high-spirited young men were wont to get into trouble sometimes and secondary school. But he wrote now he said because I counselled him once when he needed counselling, although he probably would have been slow enough to admit it at the time. He now says that I stuck up for him at times but, he says, and this is the important bit, it all came out right in the end. He married an understanding wife twenty years and they have three wonderful children.

Now let us come to Zachaeus, the rich tax collector. I think it is hard for us to realise how despised tax collectors were in ancient Israel. Probably as despised as drug dealers are today. First they were collecting on behalf of the Romans, the foreign power who were occupying the country. Secondly, they competed and tendered for the contract to lift the taxes. But once the contract was signed they were more or less free to exhort as much as they could. So it wasn’t exactly the most popular profession but it certainly was one of the most lucradic

Zachaeus was the senior tax collector. He had been around for a long time. Fairly tough-skinned, I would say and definitely seriously wealthy and yet, definitely not very happy. Not at all a happy man. Why do I say that? Well he was anxious. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was. So anxious, in fact, that he was prepared to run the risk of ridicule if he was noted. Could you imagine anyone of us climbing a tree down on the Mall the night President Bill Clinton was here so that we could see what kind of man he was. And yet, that is how it was with Zachaeus. Despite all his financial security, all his vast property, his second home; his stocks and shares; Zachaeus was not a happy camper.

I just wonder how many people are there like Zachaeus in the world today? How many in our world today, despite all the tearing around from post to pillar, are anxious people? Maybe they don’t know what they are anxious about but, what they do know is that there is something missing. They have achieved all they set out to achieved but there is still something missing.

Zachaeus stumbled on it when he noted the desire he had in his heart to see what kind of man Jesus was. But I wonder how many of our successful young people experience some similar sort of desire. The desire to have a relationship that will last with something or some person that is not temporary, that is not fragile, that is not going to break up. I wonder how many people there are who, like Zachaeus, really want to see the kind of man Jesus is but they don’t realise that that is what they need.
Anyway, Zachaeus stumbled on it and decided to do something about it. Of course there will always be obstacles to be overcome when you want to make a move like that. Zachaeus was too short. The rest of us can think we are too short of time for that kind of thing. Zachaeus ran on ahead over and climbed a tree, partially out of curiosity, partly out of a response to something deeper. He found a spot on the sycamore tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus and, hopefully, nobody would catch of glimpse of him. A glimpse of Jesus would do him. But that was what Zachaeus, despite all his shrewdness and cuteness, got all wrong. He got it all wrong through no fault of his own. How was he to know that when Jesus reached the spot he would look up and see him. Not alone that, Jesus could have winked at him and passed on but not at all, horror of horrors Jesus spoke to him. Spoke to him by name – Zachaeus. He gives him an order: “Come down out of that. Hurry for I must stay at your house today”. Amazing isn’t it. Jesus is inviting himself to stay. Inviting himself along. Zachaeus hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. Now all the anxiety and depression is gone. There is joy and welcome.
Zachaeus found Jesus there waiting for him and Jesus, who knew him by name, who, in fact, was searching and looking for him also because he was a Jesus who has come to look for those who have lost their way.

Greed for money has caused a lot of people to lose their way in life. They lose their respect for people but his meeting with Jesus set Zachaeus free from his slavery to greed. He is going to turn over a new leaf – give half his property to the poor and pay back four times to the people he had cheated.

There is a great note of humility there in recognising the fact that he had cheated people. How often do we find that in people? There is a bit of Zachaeus in all of us – anxious to know more about Jesus yet not always prepared to pay the price or make the effort. And yet, when we do so, we find that Jesus is already waiting for us.

One person who was certainly single-minded in his searching for Jesus was St Malachy. We celebrated his feast yesterday. St Bernard, who knew him, says ‘Malachy was acceptable and well-pleasing to God’ and that is what we are all trying to do. He was poor towards himself but rich to the poor. He was a father to the orphans and a husband to the widows, the protector of the oppressed. A cheerful giver, he never asked for anything and it embarrassed him to receive. It was with deep concern and great success he laboured to restore peace between enemies.
· Who was as tender as he in compassion?
· Who was as ready with help?
· Who was as fearless in correction?

While he could be weak with the weak, was, nevertheless, mighty with the mighty. He withstood the proud, he beat down the tyrant, he was a master at director of kings and princesses. As if he were the father of all, so did he live for all. He made no distinction between persons. He never failed anyone for his heart overflowed with sympathy for them all. Malachy was like that because he not only knew the kind of person Jesus was, he knew Jesus personally and he tried, with the help of Jesus, to be Christlike.

Introduction

Even though the whole world is like a grain of dust, in God’s eye, the Lord is merciful to all.
· The Lord can overlook our sins so that we can repent.
· The Lord spares all things because, in the long run, all things belong to God.

This is the Good News we hear today. St Paul prays that God will make us worthy and fulfil all our desires for goodness.

We also hear a man admit that he is a cheat but he promises to repent.

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. Malachy – native son of this City – patron of our diocese.

We welcome the Canons of the Cathedral Chapter who have joined us for this Mass.

MASS IN THE CATHEDRAL OF ST PATRICK & FELIM, CAVAN

HOMILY GIVEN BY

CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

SUNDAY 16 DECEMBER 2007

I said at the beginning, that the predominant note of today’s Mass is one of joy. Rejoice always in the Lord the Church tells us. We are waiting in joyful hope. The Lord is near. And joy, in the life of Christians, is something special. As followers of Jesus Christ we rejoice. We are glad that God so loved each one of us that he gave his only Son. We are delighted that God so loved the world that He sent His Son, Jesus into the world. The cause of our joy is the realisation that Jesus so loves each one of us that he suffered and died for us. That is the reason for our Christmas joy. Whenever God is revealed as our Creator and especially as our Saviour, a tremendous joy is aroused in our hearts. It is good for us to get in touch with that joy and to give it expression.

The first word of the Angel Gabriel to Mary is: Rejoice. Rejoice so highly favoured one. When we think about it, are we not all the highly favoured ones of the Lord? The Almighty has, in fact, done great things for each one of us. We all need to take the time occasionally to count our blessings so as to realise just how favoured, how blessed we are. Of course to rejoice in the midst of suffering puts a strain on our ordinary idea of joy and of enjoyment. Perhaps that is why Mary emphasises the fact that she rejoices in “God, my Saviour”. In the midst of all our trials and tribulations, she invites all of us to put our trust in the God who loves us, no matter what. She invites us to remember that our God is a saving God, rich in mercy and slow to anger.

John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, was really put to the test. Deprived of his freedom, facing death in a lonely prison cell, you would think that he had nothing more to lose. And yet, in fact, yes there was something else to lose, his dreams – his dreams of a particular type of Saviour. In his prison cell, John began to wonder about Jesus. For Jesus wasn’t exactly measuring up to John’s idea of a Messiah – a Saviour who would produce the anticipated axe and cut down the trees that bore no fruit – a Saviour who would produce the threshing flail that would separate the wheat from the chaff. And now, it was John himself who was left threshing with doubts and his difficulties. But fair play to him, he had honesty to face them and to recognise them and to do something about it. He had the humility to seek help, so he sent some of his followers to Jesus to ask, was he the One that was to come or should they wait for somebody else. What does Jesus do? He quotes the prophesy of Isaiah – the blind see; the lame walk; the poor have the Gospel preached to them.

Jesus knew that this was enough. He knew that John’s great holiness and his knowledge of the Scriptures would carry him through this storm of faith. The answer of Jesus is gentle and it is calculated to draw John’s mind back to the light of God’s goodness. Then Jesus goes on to praise John – the greatest of the prophets.

Jesus makes one thought provoking statement there where he said: “Blessed are those who do not lose faith in me”.

That phrase is sometimes translated

‘Blessed are those who do not take offence at me.
Blessed are those who are not scandalised in me’.

The commentators go on to say that those people are blessed who do not lose faith in Jesus because of his modest origins, his humble beginnings, his poverty, and who are not scandalised, even by his style of public ministry.

Perhaps there is a certain providence that we gather for this Mass of Thanksgiving on the third Sunday of Advent. It allows us to rejoice and be glad for the many people I know who did not lose faith in Jesus Christ.

Today I rejoice at the great blessings God has given me in my life. I give thanks for the members of my family, my many friends and teachers who did not ever lose faith in Jesus Christ. Today I rejoice at coming home, and I give thanks for all that family and friends, faith and the gift of priesthood have meant in my life. I have been very humbled by your kindness, overwhelmed and uplifted by your outstanding encouragement and support. So today I want to give thanks to God for the great things he has done for all of us.
A vocation to the priesthood is not just the work of divine grace. It is the fruit of a believing community. It is the result of inspiration received and encouragement given from the people around us – our parents, our teachers, the priests and religious in our community, those who serve the needy, those who serve the community in so many ways, those who are quiet, humble witnesses to faith and goodness. These are the witnesses to God’s goodness and love who inspire faith and service in others.

In his recent Encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI said:
Life is like a voyage on the sea of history, often dark and stormy, a voyage in which we watch for the stars that indicate the route. The true stars of our life are the people who have lived good lives. They are lights of hope. Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history. But to reach him we also need lights close by—people who shine with his light and so guide us along our way.
Today I thank God that this diocese of my birth, formation and early priesthood has such people in abundance. There have been many John the Baptist’s in my life, witnesses to the goodness of God who prepared the way of the Lord in my mind and heart. Without them I would not be here today. That it is why it is appropriate that I return to this, my first home, to the people of my birth and clan and give thanks with you and for you.
Our world today needs witnesses to hope. We need prophets to guide the profits of recent years. We need people who can check the balance of our economic and technological growth, against our growth in civility, community, faith and human kindness. We need people who can build up the civilisation of love, witnesses to solidarity and communion with God who can develop growth and prosperity with a generous faith.

I thank God for the gift of growing up here. It was here amidst the myths and legends of Breifne that I learned to hear the calm of that still small voice of God. It was here that I learned of the hope that faith can bring. Today that voice repeats to all of us:
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
‘Courage! Do not be afraid.
AMEN

MASS FOR THE DEAF
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
MISSION SUNDAY – 22 OCTOBER 2007
HOMILY GIVEN BY
ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

HOMILY

I begin by welcoming you all to this beautiful Cathedral of St. Patrick. – built in honour of St. Patrick. It was built between 1850 and 1875 because there were people of faith here who wanted it built. They were your ancestors. They wanted it built in order to give glory to God.

They wanted this Cathedral built, big and beautiful, so that people coming in here would have their minds turned to God, who is the beginning of all beauty. They wanted it built so that people could come here and pray because Jesus said that we must pray always to remind people that here on earth we are meant to know God. We are meant to know Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We are meant to become like Jesus by living as Jesus did. We are meant to follow Jesus. And, if we do that, then we will discover that there is real joy to be found in life, not just in Heaven, in the next life, but actually here on this earth. If we put our trust in Jesus Christ then we will discover that there is real happiness and meaning to life lived in the love of Jesus Christ.

The people who built this wonderful Cathedral, this beautiful Cathedral, built it in honour of St. Patrick. Why St. Patrick? Because he was the first one to come to tell us about Jesus. He left his family, his parents and his friends, and came back to Ireland. Patrick knew that he had something precious and valuable to give to us, the people of Ireland, his faith in God. His faith in One God in whom there are three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That is why he used the shamrock. Patrick used the shamrock to explain to us – just as there are three leaves on the one shamrock – there are three persons in God. Father – Son – and Spirit. God is a community of persons.

Have you ever noticed how Jesus was a great man for asking questions? He asked people what did they want – today he asks a very important question. When the Son of Man comes, that is, when He himself comes, will he find any faith on earth? Notice it is not IF he comes again will He find faith? The question is WHEN he comes, because he is certainly going to come, will he find faith?

The answer is, of course, he will find faith if he finds people who have faith. And he will only find faith if the faith is handed down from one generation to another. He will only find faith in every country of the earth if there are missionaries, like St. Patrick, who are prepared to go to every country of the earth. When Jesus comes again, he will only find faith if there are missionaries like St. Patrick who are prepared to make sacrifices. To leave behind their families and go to the ends of the earth. Faith comes into the human heart when people hear the Word of God. But they must hear the Word – the message – from other people.

This is Mission Sunday. We remember today all those went to Africa and China and India and to many other countries to tell the people of Jesus Christ. They went from all over Ireland – priests and nuns and religious. But they went for one reason only – they went because Jesus asked them to go. After Jesus had suffered and died, for love of us, God raised him up from the dead. Then, after forty days Jesus went back to his father in Heaven. Before he went back he called his friends together. He said: “You won’t see me anymore but that does not mean that I am abandoning you. That I am leaving you alone”. Jesus said: “I will be with you always until the end of time”.

Jesus is with us always. He is with us here in this Blessed Sacrament when we eat his body and drink his blood. He is with us here in his word which is communicated to us to tell us about himself. To tell us what he wants us to do.

He is with us here in his Holy Spirit whom he sent to each one of us at our Baptism, at our Confirmation. The Holy Spirit comes to remind us of all that Jesus said and did.

One of the last things Jesus said before he left was: “Go and make disciples of all nations”. That is, go and make pupils, followers, in all nations of the world, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Go and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Today those words ring out to the ends of the earth because there are still hundreds of millions of people who never heard the name of Jesus Christ. It is very sad to think of it because there is no other name on earth by which we may be saved. They are waiting for people to come to tell them. They are waiting like the way our ancestors waited before Patrick came to bring them Good News – to tell them there is hope. There is no reason to despair. God has great plans for them.
Each one of us must be a missionary at heart. The patroness of the missions – that is, the one under whose protection all the missionary work is – St Therese of Liseuix. She is known as The Little Flower. She lived in France. She never went to the missions but she prayed every day for the missions and the missionaries. She prayed for the men and women who were on the mission fields. By making her the patroness, protecting saint of the missions, the Church is saying: ‘Listen, everyone can be a missionary. We can offer up our thoughts, our words, our actions, our sufferings and our prayers, to help those priests and nuns and brothers, who are on the missions, who are preaching the Word of God, who are trying to persuade people to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

I ask you to find somebody from your own parish or county or diocese, who is on the missions. I want you to make a decision to pray to God for that missionary. Pray every day asking the Lord to protect them and promise the Lord that you will offer up your own sufferings and your prayers in order to help that missionary.

There is a big harvest to be harvested. Jesus Christ is the Lord, the owner of the harvest. He is with us and He continues to guide His people.

AMEN

MASS FOR THE DEAF
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
MISSION SUNDAY – 22 OCTOBER 2007
HOMILY GIVEN BY
ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

INTRODUCTION

I welcome you all to St. Patrick’s Cathedral this afternoon. I welcome your chaplains. It is a joy for us to be able to celebrate this Mass of Mission Sunday with all of you. We are very happy to be with ou.

Mission Sunday is a Sunday in October, the month of the missions, on which we remember that we are all meant to be missionaries at heart. That is, we are all sent by God, to one another, to play our part in spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ.

There are millions and millions of people who do not know the name Jesus Christ. Today we thank God that we know the name of Jesus Christ. That we know Jesus Christ.

This is St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I want you to take a moment to look at the beauty of it. See how beautiful it is. It is called St. Patrick’s Cathedral in honour of St. Patrick. St Patrick was a great missionary, sent by God, to Ireland, to bring us the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Today we pray for all missionaries and that there may be more and more missionaries who will be willing, like Patrick, to go to the ends of the earth. We begin our Mass as always by confessing our sins………

Following Christ in 21 st Century Ireland
A sermon by Archbishop Seán Brady
On the feast of the Queenship of Mary,
Knock Shrine, Wednesday 22nd August 2007

It is a great happiness to be her in Knock and a great blessing to be here at Mary’s Shrine. Today we honour Mary as our Queen and as our Mother – the cause of our joy. Every son and every daughter loves to honour their mother. They love to sing her praises. They were delighted to recall her virtues and to admire her beauty and to salute her success.

What a privilege then to be here on this final night of the wonderful Novena. It began on the Feast of the Assumption – body and soul of Mary into the glory of heaven. Where she has gone we hope to follow.

This Novena included the Feast of Our Lady of Knock which was yesterday. It reminds us that we stand on holy ground – ground made holy by the feet of those fifteen privileged witnesses. On the 21 August 1879 it was their privilege to see the Blessed Virgin, St Joseph and St. John appear on the south gable of the parish church.

We stand on holy ground – ground made holy by the feet of millions of pilgrims – pilgrims who came here for many reasons:
To weep for their sins
To beg for mercy
To give thanks for favours received.

We all have our own reasons for being here. They are known to God alone. Perhaps you have come to say thanks – thanks for a favour received – an exam passed; a job secured; an illness healed; for a return to the practice of the faith and to the sacrament of confession either by yourself or by someone you love. Perhaps you are here begging and imploring Our Lady to come to your aid – to assist you in a return to better health either spiritually or physically. Whatever the reason, we are all here because we love Mar, our Mother and our Queen and we love Jesus Christ. We are here because we have great belief in the power of Mary to intercede for us with her son as she once interceded for a newly wed couple on their wedding day and came to their rescue by asking her son, Jesus to come to their aid.

I have been asked to speak to you today on the theme of ‘Following Christ in 21st century Ireland.’ In a different place, on a different day, this would have been a huge undertaking. The list of issues which face those who seek to follow Christ in the Ireland of today is very long. It includes the challenge of keeping our lives focused on Christ amidst the distractions of increasing prosperity. It includes bearing witness to Christ and his Church in an increasingly secular, sometimes hostile culture. It certainly includes the challenge of declining Church attendance, fewer vocations and the restructuring of Parishes and other Church resources which we all took for granted for so long.
Yet, as we gather here at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, as we celebrate the Queenship of Mary at the end this Solemn Novena, the scale of these challenges seems so much smaller. Before the example of Mary, they become only one – to say yes at every moment, of every day, to following Jesus. To say yes to putting our complete trust in God’s word and in His plan and in His power.
The challenges may change in their detail, the culture in which we live might alter from one generation to the next, but the fundamental call of the Christian disciple remains the same in every age – to say ‘Fiat, voluntas tua’ – ‘Be it done unto me according to thy Word!’
Today we ask Mary to help the Church in Ireland to reach out to those who have lost touch with it. Our great consolation, therefore, that as we face the myriad of challenges of being a disciple in 21st century Ireland, Mary is the perfect disciple today .Mary has always been the perfect disciple through the first two millennia of the Church’s existence. As she aided the Church in its birth, so she remains our Mother and Protector in the trials and tribulations of our own time. She constantly reminds the Church here on earth that ‘nothing is impossible to God’. Mary calls us to trust that, in spite of the twists and turns of human history, ‘God’s promise will be fulfilled.’
Mary reveals to us the essential virtue for those who wish to follow Christ in the Ireland of the 21st century. That virtue is Trust. Trust in the power of God to do all things. Trust that the Word of God is still alive and active in his Church in spite of the many earthly challenges which confront us in human terms.
Trust is the opposite of fear. Trust is the fruit of perfect love, because perfect love casts out all fear. This is why the call of every disciple, begins with the call – ‘do not be afraid!’ ‘Do not be afraid Mary; you have won God’s favour!’
It has been said the land of saints and scholars has become better known as the land of stocks and shares, of financial success and security. We thank God for that success. Tragically it has also become a land of increasing stress and substance abuse. And all of this has occurred as the external practice of faith has declined.
I believe many Irish people have not so much rejected their faith as become distracted from their faith. Some people are seeking to control their future rather than entrust their future to God’s promise and plan. The result is an increasing culture of insecurity and fear. What often appears to be a culture of confidence and certainty, not alone in Ireland but in Europe, is, in reality, a façade. More and more Irish people are becoming stressed out because of their efforts to bring a security to their lives that only trust in God can give. They are trying to control a future that is ultimately in God’s hands.
One of the most subtle but disturbing signs of this underlying fear in Irish life is the increasing reliance of people on practices which falsely claim to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, tarot cards, have recourse to clairvoyance and mediums conceal a desire for power over time and a lack of trust in God’s providence. They are the new Irish superstition. Those who put their trust in them or take them seriously are colluding with an illusion, promoting a fiction. Tragically this has become a whole industry in Ireland – on the internet, on premium telephone lines, on digital television, in the newspapers and even at family parties! The fact is, people who spend money on these pursuits would have more influence on the future if they gave their money to those in need. This would make a real difference to someone’s future instead of wasting money, time and energy on what is at best a dangerous form of entertainment.

In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: ‘All forms of divination are to be rejected…. They contradict the honour, respect and loving fear we owe to God alone… A sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it.’ (n. 2115/6)
Underlying this trend of ‘future telling’, is a fear of the future. It is a symptom of the insecurity that lurks behind the seeming confidence of modern Irish culture and life. It is evidence of the absence of a life without God which would address the deepest needs of the human spirit.
What more and more Irish people are discovering is that a life without God is a heavy burden to bear. This is why Jesus told us that his yoke is easy and his burden light. This is why he invites those who labour and are overburdened to come to him so that he would give us rest.
The big questions of people’s lives still remain: why am I here? What will bring me happiness? What will happen to me when I die? It is the Church which still holds the answer to these questions. The answer is Jesus – the way, the truth and the life! As Saint Peter said when others were walking away from Jesus; ‘Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the message of eternal life!’
This is why Mary always directs us to Christ. She knows that he alone can gives us everything we need. Everything we need as disciples in the Ireland of the 21st century. Everything we need as a Church.
Mary abandoned herself to God’s will. She did not ask the Angel to tell her what the future would hold. She simply trusted God’s promise minute by minute, day by day. She trusted in the midst of the joys and her sufferings. This is the attitude of the Blessed. This is the attitude which every disciple of Christ is called to imitate. It is the attitude of a perfect love, a love sustained by the Eucharist and prayer, a love which casts out all fear. This is the perfect love shown by Mary.
The truth of Jesus remains the same yesterday, today and forever! Our challenge is to bear witness to that truth more authentically, more convincingly, more faithfully. In this, as in all aspects of Christian discipleship, it is Mary who is our example and strength.
On this earth, in this time, we continue as disciples to wait ‘in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ’. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim people of God. (n. 972)
Our Lady of Knock, pray for us.
Mary, cause of our joy
Queen of heaven, pray for us.
Hope and comfort of the pilgrim people of God… pray for us.

Amen.
In the meantime we try to know Jesus better and we try to embody, in our lives, the values of Jesus. Those values are to be found in the Beatitudes
· The value of putting our trust, not in riches but in His Kingdom
· The value of comforting and healing those who mourn and need healing
· The value of showing mercy.
Last Sunday I was in Milwaukee. We had to get from A to B for a celebration. Nobody knew the way – then someone said: “Follow that white van”. We did that and we got there but we sure kept our eyes on the van!
To get to eternal life and happiness there is only one way – ‘Follow that man Jesus’. That is why tonight’s Gospel is so brief. We will indeed be blessed and happy forever if we can embody in our lives the trust and the mercy of Jesus.
Hail, holy queen….
After their own exile…
Show unto us that man Jesus
I sometimes stay with the Cistercian monks in Collon. The last thing they do at night is to put out all the lights, except the one which lights up the sanctuary. They stand and say the Hail Holy Queen –
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy.
After this our exile show unto all of us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus, Amen

GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

OF GORMANSTOWN FRANCISCAN COLLEGE, CO MEATH

& RE-DEDICATION OF ASSEMBLY HALL

HOMILY GIVEN BY

CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

WEDNESDAY 12 DECEMBER 2007

I am pleased to be here as you draw down the curtain on the year of celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee of the foundation of this great College – for the glory of God and the honour of Ireland. I also look forward to the ceremony of re-dedicating your new Assembly Hall.

During the past year I am sure you often celebrated and thanked God for the privilege of belonging to a school community like that of Gormanstown Franciscan College. It is a real privilege to belong to a school community which travels together on the journey in the spirit of the Good News, brought by Jesus Christ. You do so within the tradition of the Catholic Church and specifically within the tradition of that outstanding follower of Jesus Christ, the poor man of Assisi – St Francis. I can think of no greater antidote or cure for one of the predominate ills of our society and our age – that of greed.

I did my Leaving Cert in 1957 the year the Franciscan College, Gormanstown was opened. During my time as a student in St. Pat’s in Cavan, I was vaguely aware of a place called Multi Farnham College somewhere amidst the lakes of Westmeath but that was all.

It was when I went to Maynooth in 1957 to study for the priesthood that I began to know real Franciscans. It was then I began to benefit a great deal from their wisdom and their holiness. Father Colman O Huallacháin taught us Ethics for three years and Fr Paraic O’Sulleabháin lectured in Irish. They were both men who dedicated their lives to the glory of God and, in the process they brought great honour to Ireland with their love of all things Irish and of Ireland, and honour to the Franciscan Order.

In 1960 I went to study at the Irish College in Rome to continue my studies for the priesthood. Then a new chapter in my knowledge and friendship with the Friars began. I soon learned that the Irish College had been founded by one of the greatest Irish Franciscans ever, Father Luke Waddings. He had done so soon after he had founded St. Isadores – the Irish Franciscan College in Rome. And there in St Isadores I found a group of Irish Friars whom we visited in their College for concerts and entertainment and against whom and with whom we played Gaelic football, hurling and soccer Around the corner from where I lived there was the Antonianum called after St Anthony of Padua, where hundreds of Friars lived and studied and prayed and continue to live and study and pray.

I was in Poyntzpass, Co Armagh last night, at a function. There I was reminded that the first Armagh man to lift the Sam Maguire on the Hogan stand was, in fact, Joe Lennon, formerly of the staff of this College.

That reminded me of times some thirty (30) years ago when I used to come here occasionally with football teams from St. Patrick’s College, Cavan to play challenge matches. All of that set in motion a whole train of thoughts which brought back memories of my contacts with the Franciscans and their great tradition.
It reminded me of:

v An Irish American Friar – Father Theoplan Larkin was once our Spiritual Director when I was on the Staff of the Irish College.
v Father Beniginus Millett and his phenomenal love and knowledge of Irish ecclesiastical history.

The list goes on and on: Father Edmund Dougan, Bishop Fiachra O Cealliagh

Someone may ask, what has all of that got to do with our Mass in honour of the Holy Spirit in this new academic year. Just this much. At Baptism and at Confirmation, the Holy Spirit of the Risen Christ descended on each one of us – on you and on me. That is a gift. It has happened, it cannot be undone. God is love and love is God’s first gift containing all other gifts. God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. The Holy Spirit introduces us to this wonderful thing called the Communion of Saints, which is not just a union of holy people but also a sharing of sacred things, like friendships and scholarship and education and religious orders. The kind of things that I have just been listing as they happened in my life.

One of those sacred things is the season of Advent. A time when we prepare for the coming of Christ. Christ was born when the Virgin Mary conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now this Advent, the Lord is coming once more. 2,000 years ago he surprised many people by being born in a stable instead of a palace. A lot of people failed to notice.

Because we are dead, or at least have been wounded, through sin, the first effect of the gift of love, brought by the Holy Spirit, is the forgiveness of our sins. John the Baptist who was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, belted out that message, loud and clear. ‘Repent’ he said, ‘because the kingdom of God is at hand’.

The fire of the Holy Spirit blazed in the heart of John the Baptist and made him the forerunner of the Lord. He completed the work of preparing for the Lord. He desperately wanted to have his people ready when the Lord would come. His message was blunt but clear – repent because the kingdom of Heaven is near at hand. This message was blunt, clear and relevant. Lots of people travelled out into the wilderness to listen to him.

This Advent, the Lord is coming again – in a hidden way – in a surprising way. Unfortunately, many will miss the message. This Advent the Lord will come to those who take time to pray. Now, as then, the Lord needs precursors – forerunners – to prepare the way – to get ready for his coming. He wants you to be his forerunner because he wants to come into the hearts of everyone in this parish this Christmas. It will not happen without the help of your prayers and your example. It is as simple as that.

We are all busy preparing for Christmas – the birth of Christ – but how much thought or place do we give to the Birthday Boy himself. Could you imagine going to a birthday party, where nobody remembered to invited the guest of honour?

· How could you and I help to prepare for the Coming of Christ this Christmas?
· How did John the Baptist do it?
He said that he was simply a voice that prepared the way. He was the voice of the Holy Spirit. John was the voice of the Consoler who is coming. There are a lot of people in our world who are in need of some sort of consolation. There are a lot of lonely people and they are not elderly or living alone but young and ignored and crying out for respect. Maybe that is why they turn to cocaine and alcohol to get relief from their pain of loneliness. John the Baptist came to bear witness to the light – the light of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist came to point the way to Jesus Christ – to be a signpost. There are a lot of people who are cut off from Jesus Christ. They do not darken the door of the Church, they don’t approach Jesus to have their sins forgiven. But maybe they are searching, maybe they need signposts. Maybe what they need is an act of kindness, an act of love; an act of consideration.

The season of Advent invites us to come to Christ, to confess our sins. I regard a good confession as the single most important ingredient for a happy Christmas. It costs nothing. Well that is not exactly true. It costs the effort to prepare and we need to invest some time in preparing for a good confession.

John the Baptist gave short shift to the Pharisees when they came to see Jesus. The reason was that, in their smugness, they hadn’t slightest intention of changing or repenting. But they weren’t going to pull the wool over John’s eyes. What they were looking for was cheap grace. In other words, they wanted forgiveness without real repentance; they wanted communion without confession; and absolution without personal confession; its grace without the cross. John was having none of it. ‘If he says you are repentant’, he said, ‘produce the appropriate fruit. Any tree that fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire’.

These are strong, hard words from John the Baptist. But he was the voice of the Holy Spirit and he is still the voice of the Holy Spirit, calling us to open our hearts to the coming of the Christ, the One and Only saviour of the world.

We are the temples of the Holy Spirit:

Come Holy Spirit

It is a simple most effective prayer. It is a prayer we use as we prepare for big occasions or big decisions like examinations or when making the choice of a career. Let me recommend to you, not only on these important occasions but also when making important decisions like choosing a career or a partner for life.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, you and I – children of God that we are – we can bear much fruit. For he who has grafted us onto the true vine, will make us bear the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It would be quite a Christmas hamper that would contain all those gifts. And yet, they are available to all of us. They are there for the asking if only we have the wisdom and the humility to do so. A happy Christmas to you all.

AMEN

FAREWELL MASS

TO DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS SISTERS

DONAGHMORE CONVENT

HOMILY GIVEN BY

ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

WEDNESDAY 10 0CTOBER 2007

In the Church there are no less than seven (7) Religious Congregations called Daughters or Sisters of the Cross. They are to be found in Italy, in France, in Spain, in Switzerland, in Mexico and, of course, in Liege in Belgium.

What that tells me is, that down through the ages, women of strong faith and generous and loving character, have seen the Cross of Jesus Christ as their only hope. For, on the Cross of Calvary, Jesus showed how much he, the Son of God, loved each one of us. That love has, in turn, inspired, down through the ages, religious women to imitate Christ in a special way by giving their own lives in the service of others. So, in 1920, when Canon Joseph O’Neill of Donaghmore decided to invite a religious congregation to this parish, he turned to the Daughters of the Cross of Liege in Belgium.

Liege is an industrial city in the eastern part of Belgium not far from Maastricht. We had the Maastricht Treaty some years ago. Canon O’Neill had bought a house which originally belonged to the Lyles, that is, the Lyle half of Tate and Lyle, the sugar people.

The house was in bad shape so the first four Sisters – Sister Mary Walters from Kerry; Sister Mary Hedwia from Germany; Sister Mary Sgiberg from Abbeyfeal; and Sister Hildelidd from Lancashire didn’t wait until the carpets were down and the curtains on all the windows before they moved in. They had a bed each plus one chair. They carried the chair from bedroom to dining room to chapel and to the kitchen table. But, there was no shortage of friends.

Mr Donnelly of Carland gave the Sisters two cows which bcame the nucleus of a small farm. It supported the community until 1946. Miss O’Neill, who lived opposite the Convent, gave chickens; Other kind friends made presents of bread, vegetables and butter until the pioneering Sisters could support themselves.

Originally the intention was to open a hospital and six beds were donated by the Sisters of Mercy in Dungannon. The first patient was received by torchlight procession for the simple reason that the electricity plant had failed.

They were stirring times. On one occasion the old Police barrack, opposite the house, was burned down. The next night, the opposing forces came into the grounds, firing shots. It made the Sisters feel there was really no use in renovating as they might be burned out at any time.

Dr. Campbell, father of the late Dr Tommy Campbell, helped the Sisters with advice and a decision was taken to open a Boarding School in 1922. The first Principal was Sister Mary Hyacinth with Sister Bernard Mary as her Assistant. The school was a success from the start. Numbers increased and so additions were made to the building. In the meantime, classes were held in the parlour and sometimes even in the byre where the donkey was an interested onlooker.

The new school was completed by 1929. Sister Mary Hyacinth died that year and was not there to welcome the pupils to the new school. One month later Canon O’Neill also died. They were heavy blows to the fledgling community.

In February 1930, the school got recognition under the leadership of its new Principal, Sister Mary Xavier. Further building was made – the new red- brick building comprising of the Chapel, dining room and dormitories. They were completed and blessed by Cardinal Mac Rory in 1935. To we owe not only the buildings but the wonderful spirit of tradition which characterised Donaghmore.

It was Sister Mary Merciedles, ably assisted by Sister Mary Brogan who built the present school. Sister Merciedles was succeeded by Sister Mary Bastl who was Principal until 1984. Her successor, Mrs Helen McCrory, Principal from 1984 to 2000 had to cope with the decision to close the Boarding School in the late eighties and the retirement of Sister Patricia, the last teaching Sister in this school.

Now we are gathered here tonight to give thanks to God, in this Mass, for all the Sisters who have lived and served in Donaghmore over the last eighty-five (85) years.

We give praise and thanks for past and present Principals and staff. We bring before the Lord tonight all past and present pupils with all their gifts and virtues and needs. We remember with gratitude, the generous service of past and present members of the Boards of Governors. We give thanks also for past and present priests who served the Sisters here and who celebrated Mass for them and ministered the sacraments down through the years.

And now, as they prepare to depart, the Sisters would wish to remember with affection, all those generous young women who came into the Congregation. They came in and joined the Daughters of the Cross because of the example they saw given to them by the Sisters here in Donaghmore tonight. They saw them not just as excellent teachers, good administrators and mature women. They were all that, but they were something more. They were a sign of another world – the world that is to come. The Daughters of the Cross have been, for all who wish to see it, a sign that we have not here a lasting kingdom but we, all of us, seek one that is to come.

Tonight the Daughters of the Cross dare to ask God to inspire others to follow their example. For that to take place, girls contemplating such a step would need help. They would need to be helped to see that the Daughters of the Cross did not lose their freedom, instead they chose to exercise their freedom- to give their lives to the service of God who is totally free.
Recently I was given a book entitled: Art in Prison. It contains pictures painted by prisoners all over the world. I was particularly struck by one entry. It was a painting made of soap which came from Hungary. It depicted a jail, a bar, a casino and a road with a question mark. That picture suggests. to me at least. that there are various ways of losing our freedom besides being placed behind prison bars. In his resignation speech, Tony Blair, said that one way of resisting enslavement by the lust for power, is to give power up. We can all be enslaved by material things. But I think the presence of the Daughters of the Cross in this community has shown that we put our freedom to its highest use when we devote it to the praise and glory of God.

Tonight we give thanks not just for good education but for educators who were also good people – people who served the community in many ways. I am thinking of Sister Carmel’s wonderful apostolate to the deaf, to the deaf not just in Donaghmore and all of Tyrone but all over this part of the country.

Tonight we are celebrating the presence here of valiant women who came, not to become rich or famous or powerful. They came here because they believed that by so doing it was the only way they would remain in the love of Jesus and that was the only thing that mattered.

We are celebrating the presence of people who brought joy to the community because they were joyful people. They showed their love for one another and for all those they met by laying down their lives in the hard grind of teaching, administering the school, saying their prayers, and going about their business.

By so doing they became friends with Jesus and so were able to become friends with anyone who wanted to become friends with them. Yes, they have borne fruit – fruit that will last. The challenge is for us who remain to appreciate them properly and adequately. To appreciate the kind of people they were – the kind of faith they had – the kind of hope they had and to take that heritage and make it available to all those who come after us.

AMEN

COMMEMORATION OF
ARCHBISHOP DOMINIC MAGUIRE
Irish College, Paris, Sunday 16th September 2007

Sermon by
Archbishop Seán Brady

We have come together today to celebrate the memory of Archbishop Dominic Maguire, the immediate successor to Saint Oliver Plunkett as Archbishop of Armagh. His death in 1707 brought to a close one of the most tumultuous and decisive centuries of Irish history.

Described as at once tragic and magnificent, it was a century of war and want, persecution, and plantation, martyrdom and magnificent heroes. It began with the departure, to the continent, in 1607 of the Earls Hugh O’Neill and Hugh O’Donnell soon after their submission in1603. It ended after the Jacobite war in Ireland had culminated in the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, a Treaty which guaranteed freedom of worship and confirmed Catholics in the enjoyment of their civil rights. The Church then set about binding up the wounds of exiled Irish soldiers and their dependents on the European continent and to the comforting of the bereaved and hungry at home.

The legacy of that century resonates to this day in the cultural, political and religious dynamics of Ireland and other parts of Europe. Its significance is reflected in the number of celebrations across Europe of the 400th anniversary of the flight of the Earls.
Last Sunday I attended one of those commemorations in Dungannon, County Tyrone. Today I am here in Paris to commemorate the death of Archbishop Dominic Maguire who died here in France in 1707. He is one of a long list of Archbishops of Armagh who died in France beginning with St. Malachy,
· Roger Wauchope who died in Paris in 1551 followed by
· Edmund O’Reilly who died in Saumur in 1669 and
· Dominic Maguire who died in 1707 and, of course,
· Cardinal Tomas Ó Fiaich who died in 1990.

By the unforeseeable twists of history and fate, it was the consequences of the flight of the Earls which led to the untimely martyrdom of St. Oliver Plunkett and subsequently to the appointment of Dominic Maguire as his successor.

That the flight of the Earls is better known and more celebrated than the death of Archbishop Maguire, should not distract us from the significance of his legacy. While relatively few of his words are recorded, what we know of the difficult circumstances in which he found himself as Archbishop of Armagh, suggest we have something important to learn from him today.

I thank Fr Declan Hurley and all those associated with the organisation of this event for providing this timely opportunity to reflect on that legacy.

What emerges is that, above all, Archbishop Maguire was a reconciler. Confronted with the deep distrust, anger and division which followed the betrayal of Oliver Plunkett, he stands out as a ‘healer of memory’. He was a man who set people free from hatred, revenge and suspicion. Following the trauma of the martyrdom of St. Oliver, it was he who set about the task of restoring the unity and hope of the people and clergy of Armagh. This was no easy task. As the Seanchas Ard Mhacha explains, ‘The execution of St. Oliver Plunkett, and especially the sad reflection that he had been betrayed by his own, left the Irish Church appalled.’ As a result, when appointed to Armagh in December 1683, he had to contend, as he explains himself, ‘with the almost infinite distractions and innumerable difficulties in which the clergy of Armagh are caught up and tossed about… I could not tell you,’ he goes on, ‘how I have daily tried by the sweat of my brow to restore the primitive decorum and beauty of this diocese from the disturbed and almost schismatic state to which it had been brought by the sad loss of its leader.’ ‘This, with God’s help’, he went on to say, ‘I hope to achieve.’

By all accounts, before his untimely exile after the Battle of the Boyne, he had gone a long way to fulfilling this hope. Morale and unity among the clergy had been significantly restored. The threats to religious liberty which had led to Oliver Plunkett’s martyrdom were redressed in large part by his efforts and good standing with James II. That he played a significant role in negotiating the Treaty of Limerick is testament to his commitment and skill at resolving conflict.

His legacy resonates to this day. Events of that time, such the battle of the Boyne, continue to affect politics in Ireland today. This is testament to the living power of memory. The use of memory has a critical role in the healing of conflict. The reason is that all conflicts leave an indelible mark on the memory.

Without memory, we cease to be ourselves, we lose our identity. How that memory is celebrated determines whether the power it unleashes is directed positively or negativity. In the words of holocaust survivor Elie Weisel: ‘It is important not only that we remember, but how we remember – with love or with hate, seeking reconciliation or going after revenge. Salvation,’ he goes on to say, ‘does not lie simply in memory; it lies also in what we do with our memory.’

As Christians, it is the Eucharist which cements and sanctifies our memory. The capacity of our memory to become a source of destruction is transformed in the Eucharist. It is here that we experience the immensity of God’s mercy. It is here that we encounter what St. Paul described in the second reading as the ‘inexhaustible patience’ of the ‘love that is in Christ Jesus.’ It is here that we encounter the one who seeks out the lost sheep, who searches relentlessly for the drachma, who rejoices over the repentant sinner.

It is in the encounter with the boundless mercy and compassion of God that the healing of our most destructive memories becomes possible. Confronted with the boundless mercy of God we are reoriented towards the liberating power of mercy. We too can forgive. That forgiveness, even when it is not asked for, can set us free from the destructive power of the memories which hurt us and compel us towards anger and revenge.

This liberation, this healing of the destructive power of memory, can take place at both the personal and the collective level. This is why, in the Eucharist, we confess our sinfulness as an individual and as a community.
This invites us to look again at how we celebrate our memories of the past. Do these commemorations encourage a constructive and healing approach to our historic identity or do they deepen the sources of division and distrust? Do they say what we want to say about ourselves, our values and our identity at the beginning of a new millennium and what we hope will be an era of greater understanding and peace?

These questions take on a particular importance as we prepare to celebrate the centenary of the Easter Rising and the Somme offensive. They were determining events in the memory of the people of Ireland. It is important how we tell these stories to a new generation. The fact is that people, especially young people, are greatly influenced by the imagination and by experiences which are handed down from one era to another.

I am asking that we be sensitive and sensible about how we conduct these commemorations. It will hardly do for us to totally avoid telling our stories. It certainly won’t do to say it was all about religion, because it was certainly not all about religion. The danger is that if we leave these stories untold or if we tell them in a superficial, triumphalist, selective or partisan sort of way, the hurtful experience of the past may live on. It could then become a deep well of hate and bitterness. In that case, that hate and bitterness, will simply wait for future generations to tap into its destructive power.

We all have a responsibility to try and repair the disasters of the past. As followers of Christ, we know ourselves to be citizens of a broken world. But we are to play our part, here and now, in healing that broken world. We can do so with such things as our love, our respect and our pardon – our respect for each other. That respect entails us seeing ourselves and each other as children of the One Father. Of being willing to pardon and forgive in the sure knowledge that there are areas of our own lives that need pardon.

For many of the countries of western Europe there are also the new stories of those who have recently migrated to our respective lands. They too have become part of our national memories. Their story, the story of how they have come to our countries, will be in the future. All of that is going to be of huge significance. Our ability to both hear and believe these stories, of migration and settlement, will have consequences for our societies. For, who we will be, and what we will look like, in ten years, as a country, as a European Union, will depend to a large extent on how we conduct these conversations and these celebrations now.

What strikes me about the life of Dominic Maguire was that it was one of persistent uprooting and migration and travel and turbulence. I imagine that he often offered this sort of prayer:

God, our Father, your son knew what it was to be excluded from his homeland,
Be mindful of those who must live far from the family and their country.

We are reminded from this of the need to have sensitivity, to have compassion, for the millions of people who are uprooted and displaced in the world today. The Maguires and the O’Neills and the O’Donnells are today’s Sudan and Darfur and other oppressed regions of our world.
Today I give thanks to God, to the people in Spain and France, London and Brussels, who welcomed Dominic Maguire and Irish people like him down through the ages and continue to do so today.

With courage and trust in God’s mercy, Dominic Maguire took on the challenge of dealing with the hurt, division and anger that followed the despicable events which led to the Martydom of St. Oliver Plunkett. I am sure his Dominican brothers of former days from Coleraine and Goa would have offered this prayer for him:

Lord bless Dominic, our Bishop.
We pray that his faith may not fail and that he may strengthen his brothers and sisters.
In order that they can draw good out of every situation,
No matter how disastrous.

In commemorating what God has done in the life of Dominic Maguire, let us all learn from the past, from our successes and our failures, and live very much and very realistically in the present. Because of God’s infinite mercy towards all of us, let us look forward to the future with confidence and hope.