MASS OF WELCOME
WORLD YOUTH DAY CROSS
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
13 NOVEMBER, 2003
HOMILY BY
MOST REVEREND SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

There is a story told of a crowd of students who were coming home from an night of partying and revelling. Their drunken leader noticed on the steeple of a church, a cross, lit up by the moonlight. He shouted, “Ye mathematicians, look at God’s plus sign”. One of the students could not sleep that night.

Towards morning he stepped into the leader’s room to tell him that the vision of the Cross, as God’s plus sign, had made him decide to uphold that Cross as the symbol of God’s abundant love for human kind. Seven other university men very soon took the same step.

The Cross has that sort of power; that is why it is a joy to welcome the World Youth Day Cross here to St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh. This Cross is also known as the Holy Year Cross – the Jubilee Cross – the Pilgrim Cross.

I have met and seen this Cross before – in Rome in the Jubilee Year of 2000 and in Paris in 1997 at the Twelfth World Youth Day. It was during the Holy Year of the Redemption, 1983, that Pope John Paul II felt that there should be a Cross, the symbol of our faith, near the main altar in St Peter’s Basilica. There it could be seen by everyone. And so this large wooden Cross, 3.8 meters high, was placed there according to the Holy Father’s desire.

At the end of that Holy Year the Pope entrusted this Cross to the youth of the world. He said,
“My dear young people…… I entrust to you the sign of this Jubilee, the Cross of Christ. Carry it throughout the world as a symbol of Christ’s love for humanity. Announce to everyone that only in the death and resurrection of Christ can we find salvation and redemption”. (Rome 22 April 1984).

Only by being united to Christ, crucified on the Cross, can we be saved and set free.

The young people responded magnificently to the Holy Father’s request. And for the next three years they took it to Munich, in Germany, Lourdes, Paray-le-Monial, Prague and several other countries. In 1986 the Cross was present in Rome for the celebration of the First World Youth Day. I remember the preparation ceremonies which took place outside the Basilica of St John Lateran, the Pope’s Cathedral, within sight of the Basilica of the Holy Cross. This is a church built by the Helena, mother of Constantine to house the Relics of the true Cross which she brought from the Holy Land. I remember well the young people walking from St John Lateran’s to St Paul’s, outside the walls, to the spot which marks the burial place of St Paul. There, a memorable prayer vigil took place. Confessions went on late into the night and the early hours of the morning. At dawn a band of young people set out to carry the Cross, on their shoulders, along the banks of the Tiber up to St Peter’s Basilica for the first World Youth Day 1986.

Since then the Cross has literally ‘gone around the world’. In 1987 to Buenos Aires in Argentina, the first time it went to the American continent. In 1988 the Cross travelled to Germany and France and across the Atlantic again to the United States. In 1989 it went to the Fourth World Youth Day, which was being held in Santiago de Compostela in Spain and in October of that year it made its first visit to Asia where it was present at an International Eucharistic Congress in Korea. Following a visit to Canada where it was transported by dog sleigh, it travelled to the Philippines and around the various islands by boat. In New York it made a special visit to Ground Zero in the aftermath of September 11. In the year of the Great Jubilee in Rome the Cross was carried along the Way of the Cross through the Roman Forum to the Coliseum. What is the purpose of it all you may ask?

Let’s listen again to the Holy Father:

“The pilgrim Cross passes from one continent to another, and young people everywhere come together to witness together that Jesus Christ is the same for each one, and that his message is always the same. In him there are no divisions, no ethnic rivalry, no social discrimination. All are brothers and sisters in the family of God.”

On Palm Sunday this year the Pope introduced a new element. Henceforth, the Cross will be accompanied, on its pilgrimage, by the Icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani – Salvation of the People of Rome – The Holy Father went on to say:

“Today I also entrust the Icon of Mary. From now on it will accompany the World Youth Days, together with the Cross. Behold, your Mother! It will be a sign of Mary’s motherly presence close to young people who are called, like the Apostle John, to welcome her into their lives.” (Angelus, 18th World Youth Day, 13 April 2003).

Mary watched her son die on Calvary. No parent expects to see their child die. But Mary did not run away, she stood at the foot of the cross, inconsolable in her grief, inspirational in her example.

Throughout its journeys and pilgrimages, young people have come to touch the Cross, to embrace it, and to pray fervently. There have been many testimonies from people who have been touched by their contact with the Cross. These have become more numerous in recent years, or maybe they have just become more publicised, thanks to the Internet.

People sometimes ask how two pieces of wood can have such an effect on a person’s life. Wherever it travels, the people ask if it can return again. They see a symbol of the presence and love of God in that Cross. Through it, many young people come to a better understanding of the Resurrection, and some find that it gives them courage to make decisions about the course their life should take. One of the young people from Canada had this to say:

“This cross has had a tremendous impact on all of the nations where it has been present. This was evident to me during the ceremonies when we received the cross from the Italians. They were extremely emotional, crying tears of sorrow because they did not want to give it up. We, on the other hand, were crying tears of joy because we were receiving a powerful symbol that we know will impact our nation.”

This evening we welcome the Cross and the Icon to Armagh where it is on pilgrimage to Cologne in Germany for the 2005 World Youth Day. I wish to refer to the logo which has been devised for the 2005 Youth Day which we can make our own this evening. It is a composition of a Cross – a star, a comet’s tail, a twin-spired Cathedral, not unlike our own and the sky.

The encounter with Christ is represented by the Cross which dominates the logo. It is Christ’s presence that brings us here this evening. The colour red symbolises the love, passion and the pain. It indicates God’s love and Jesus’ death on the Cross, but reminds us of the pain present in our lives and all over the world. The Cross is the main symbol of Christian hope and of redemption in Jesus, which is greater than pain.

Young people also know pain. “You’re young and have no worries”, is not always the case. You know the pain of broken relationships, sometimes of family strife, confrontation with parents and teacher, of being misunderstood, of failing, of feeling cheated or hard done by. We are also conscious of the way we all unnecessarily and sometimes unintentionally hurt one another over matters which are not important. This brokenness we bring to the Lord this evening.

The star of the logo symbolises divine guidance. It provides a sense of direction. It shines as the divine indication of the place in which Jesus was born. According to the Bible, it showed the wise men from the East, the Three Magi, the road they should travel to reach Jesus. After wandering for a long time, they encountered Jesus and returned home changed men. Just as it shone then, on the stable in Bethlehem, today the star shines on God’s house in Armagh. The star wishes to lead the young from all over the world to the Lord. We rejoice that is has led us here this evening and we open our treasures to the Lord – not gold and frankincense but our love and commitment.

The comet’s tail represents the star’s route: it comes from above, from God. Hence, it crosses the limited horizon of our earthly world. The golden colour is a reminder of God’s heavenly light, which lights up the darkness of this world.

The twin-spired Cathedral represents Cologne Cathedral, but also our own. Indeed anywhere or any space where two or three persons gather in the name of the Lord. For centuries, the relics of the Three Wise Men have been venerated in Cologne cathedral. The Cathedral’s red colouring unites the Church with the Cross: Christ and the Church are inseparable. It is through the Church that Christ, Crucified and Risen, is present in the history of the world.

The stylised letter C of the logo stands for Christ, but also for Church and Communion. The arc, which it forms, represents God’s protective embrace. The sky, representing God’s mercy, embraces and saves the Church and the whole world. This idea is also expressed by the arc’s blue colouring. The arc is projected towards the cross while simultaneously opening to it. The Logo’s global dynamics derive from the Cross:

Christians must turn to the Cross, young people too must orienate themselves towards Jesus, Crucified and Risen, in adoration, as one can read in the motto for the 2005 World Youth Day: “We have come to worship Him” (Mt, 2, 2).

I hope many of you will have the opportunity to travel to Germany the year after next. In the meantime, however, we worship the Lord this evening. He undoubtedly is very glad that we have come together in his name. We commit ourselves anew to him and to one another in brotherly and sisterly love. We remember that He is our real and only hope. The world with its inviting bright lights and designer labels cannot satisfy. Only the Lord satisfies in the long term. He is our sure hope and foundation. In him we rejoice.

MASS OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF
BLESSED TERESA OF CALCUTTA
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
HOMILY BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER 2003 AT 7.30 PM

Seven years ago, Mother Teresa came here to this City of Armagh and to this Cathedral. Cardinal Daly had given her permission to open a house of the Missionaries of Charity. Although Mother was then eighty-six (86) years of age, and had already suffered several heart attacks and was confined to a wheelchair for part of the visit, she was determined to share the joy of that happy occasion with her beloved Sisters and with you, the people of this City.

Of course the joy of giving was one of the great lessons which she has left us. The joy of giving, giving simple things like a smile, was something upon which she insisted. But we now know from documents, which have emerged since her death, that, in fact, she herself did not always feel like smiling. One of the great crosses of her life, which she carried with great patience, was that of feeling that she was far away from God and rejected by God. Precisely because she talked so much of giving with a smile, a professor from the United States once asked her: “Are you married”? “Yes”, Mother Teresa replied, “and I find it sometimes very difficult to smile at my spouse, Jesus, because he can be very demanding”.

Mother Teresa died on 5 September 1997, in the same week as Princess Diana died. I had the privilege of attending her funeral in Calcutta, which was one of the most moving experiences of my life. The Indian Government gave her a State funeral – something unheard of for a person who was not an Indian but especially for a woman.

People lined the streets in their tens of thousands. I remember the young ones especially, poor and barefoot and raggedly clad, racing alongside the cortege as fast as they could, to pay their last respects to Mother who really cared for and really loved them.

And now, six years later, Mother Teresa is Blessed Teresa. Beatified by her great friend, Pope John Paul II, in a wonderful ceremony in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday last. The rite began with a simple request from the Archbishop of Calcutta to the Holy Father:

“Most Holy Father, the Archbishop of Calcutta, humbly asks, Your Holiness, to include the venerable servant of God, Teresa of Calcutta, among the number of the Blessed”.

There followed a short account of her life. She was born in Macedonia of Albanian parents; her father was a successful and well-known contractor, her mother a housewife. She herself was the youngest of three (3) children. Mother Teresa was fond of repeating:

“The family that prays together, stays together.
Love begins in the family.
Peace begins in the family”.

Clearly her own devoted Catholic family, that prayed everyday and went to Church often, had a huge influence on her life. From them she learned generosity and care for the poor and less fortunate.
The second great influence on Mother Teresa was the Church. As a teenager she joined a Society of Our Lady in her local parish. There she deepened her prayer and her faith.

Early on she decided that God wanted her to spend her life on the missions in India, helping the poor – not just physically – but spiritually too. She told her Parish Priest, who was a Jesuit, about this desire. He directed her to the Loretto Nuns, the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rathfarnham in Dublin, because the Irish Loretto Sisters had Sisters on the missions in India. Obviously they welcomed this young Albanian girl and a few months later helped her on her way to Calcutta to join the Irish Sisters of Loretto who were teaching there. That was January 1929. For the next seventeen (17) years of her life, she lived and prayed and taught in the Loretto Convent school at Entally in Calcutta, called St. Mary Bengali. The school was attached to the Convent where they took in orphans and sick children.

I stayed with those Irish Loretto Sisters in 1997 when I went to Calcutta. I met some of those who had been Mother Teresa’s companions in the early days. I found them to be some of the most remarkable women I have ever met – women who had given all their lives to the service of Christ in the person of those Indian pupils and those Indian poor and who were then, in 1997, in the autumn years of life. They had stepped aside to let the native born Indian Sisters take over the running of the school while they stayed on to support the Apostolate with their prayers and their sacrifices.

Then on 10 September 1946 something happened which changed Mother Teresa’s life forever. She was travelling by train to the mountain town of Darjeeling to rest and recover from suspected tuberculosis when she heard the voice of Jesus speaking to her interiorly. Over the next few months Jesus spoke to her again, granting her inner visions and asking her to found a religious order which would be dedicated to the service of the poorest of the poor.

Once Mother Teresa had received the permission, which she required to leave her Order, she did so and moved out to the slums of Calcutta. Soon the permission of the Holy Father was given to create a religious order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity. Their mission is, as she said when she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, to care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the leper, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people who have become a burden to society and are shunned by everybody.

Today the Missionaries of Charity number more than 5,000 in 700 houses in 130 nations. They are made up of five branches –
Active and contemplative Sisters;
Active and Contemplative Brothers; and
twenty-five missionary priests.

All of Mother Teresa’s life and labour bore witness to the greatness and dignity of every human person. She had immense respect for everyone. Her closest friend was an Indian Hindu woman, to whom she never once mentioned the question of conversion to the Catholic faith. She used to say,

“We should help
a Hindu become a better Hindu,
a Muslim become a better Muslim,
a Catholic become a better Catholic.

Quoting the words of Jesus she was fond of saying: “As long as you did it to one of these little ones” she would say, “You did it to me”, tapping out the words on the fingers of her left hand, ‘You did it to me’.
Mother Teresa was famous for arriving into a convent late at night and setting about rearranging the furniture and the layout of the rooms. Once, when this had gone on late into the night, all the other Sisters were wrecked the next morning but Mother Teresa was up bright as a button and ready for action at the usual time. When asked where she got her energy from she said, “from the Eucharist”.

Of course she would never allow her Sisters to set up a convent in a place where they could not have daily Mass and adoration of the Eucharist. That was the food and contemplation from which she, and they, got their energy. This point was brought out very powerfully in the programme, which the Missionaries of Charity organised in preparation for the beatification. On Friday night last there was solemn adoration with, and for priests in Rome. All present were invited to thank God for the gift of the priesthood. They were urged to pray for the holiness of priests and to ask the Lord for new vocations. Mother Teresa never tired of reminding her hearers that without priests, who make Jesus present and alive in the Eucharist, the world cannot live and neither we, nor our families, can grow into holiness. She would also insist that holiness is not the luxury of the few but the simple duty of all.

A journalist once asked Mother Teresa if she agreed with Time magazine’s description of her as a ‘living saint’. “Oh no”, she said, “you mustn’t say that. Everyone is created to be a saint. The world is full of living saints”. When the interviewer objected by saying it wasn’t that simple, Mother Teresa insisted, “Yes it is simple. Your work is to write? Now then, if you don’t print lies and you don’t write things that depress people, you can become a saint. Because every job can be transformed into a prayer. Holiness is not the luxury of the few but the calling, the vocation of the world”.

In addition to the joy of giving and her recognition of the dignity of every human person, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta teaches us the value of little acts of kindness done faithfully and with love, even to the point of loving until it hurts. This she had learned from her mother who had told her, “if you don’t do an act of charity with love, I ask you not to do it at all. For you must be the hand of the Providence of God – when nobody is looking – so that those who are helped will be thankful not to you but to God”.

Yet Mother Teresa must not be reduced solely to her work for the poorest of the poor. Her service to the poor came only at the end of a long process, a process which begins with silence, a silence that makes space for prayer. Her prayer deepened her faith which bears fruit in love and out of that love came her service and her care and her respect for the poor and for the deprived.

An Indian Government minister for Social Affairs summed it up well. She said, “We are doing the same work but with a difference. We do it for something, the Missionaries of Charity do it for someone”.

Mother Teresa made herself one of the poorest of the poor, not just to share their lifestyle but in order to identify herself with Jesus who died to show his love for each one of us. She said, “I heard the call to give up all and follow Christ into the slums to serve Him among the poorest of the poor”.

Mother Teresa was called by God to respond to the love of Christ thirsting on the Cross. Her response took the form of serving the needs of the poor but her example challenges each one of us to consider what our response is going to be to that same thirst. Her lifestyle challenges each one of us to examine our own lifestyle and our attitude towards the goods of this earth.

Poverty is not confined to Calcutta nor to the developing world. Black spots of deprivation and poverty can still be found in our own backyard. Earlier this month in the Republic, the Combat Poverty agency published its Report for last year. It found that in the Republic 71,000 households or 5% of the total, were living in consistent poverty, lacking basic necessities such as food, clothing and heat. So much for the myth of the Celtic Tiger and the rising tide lifting all boats. I am aware that there are certain quarters where it is no longer acceptable to draw attention to such poverty. Some people even speak rather disparagingly of the “poverty industry”. In the eyes of such commentators, wealth-creating entrepreneurs might be more welcome candidates for beatification than Mother Teresa. Of course there is a place for people of enterprise who are prepared to take risks simply to produce wealth and create jobs. What is not acceptable is the monumental greed of the kind of people from whom the Revenue Commissioners estimate that they will reclaim up to one billion Euro from their tax evasion.

If she were here tonight, Blessed Teresa might ask us to do very simple things. For example, to call to visit the neighbour living alone; to smile more often at others; to call people by name; to speak words of praise and encouragement and love; to talk to our children and grandchildren; parents and grandparents; brothers and sisters. She would certainly remind us to take time to pray and to remember that we are all brothers and sisters because we are all children of a loving God.

Mother Teresa is now Blessed Teresa. That means she is now enjoying the blessed life to which we all aspire. The response to her beatification was one of immense joy and praise to God, especially at that magical moment when the curtain was pulled back and her face was revealed, full of gentleness and kindness. Yes, creased and wrinkled with compassion and care, shining with the glory that reflects the glory of the face of the Risen Christ.

I heard of Lithuanians who walked for three months to be there for that moment. I sat beside a Missionary of Charity who asked me to pray that he may be able to give his life to Jesus.

Obviously, the message of Blessed Teresa continues to evoke a response in generous hearts. The reason is that she is a living and tangible sign of the merciful love of God, revealed in the mystery of the Cross and in the resurrection of Christ.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.
AMEN

A DAY TO REMEMBER
REFLECTIONS OF CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY ON
THE BEATIFICATION OF MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA
ROME – 16 OCTOBER 2003

The sun shone majestically on St. Peter’s Square on Sunday morning 16 October 2003 after the torrential rain of Saturday night. The dome of Michael Angelo and the colonnades of Berene were splendid in that soft clear sunlight for which October mornings in Rome are famous. At 4.00 am a student left the Irish College and, in true pilgrim fashion, walked the whole way to the Vatican to take his place among the hundreds of thousands of faithful from around the world who had gathered for that day.

The ceremony itself had been preceded by a number of days of preparation. On Friday night in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the Pope’s Cathedral, a huge crowd gathered to adore the Blessed Sacrament with, and for, priests. The ceremony consisted of readings from the works of Mother herself on the Eucharist and on the priesthood, and some recordings of her voice speaking about this same subject.

At the end of it I asked a young man from Africa whether he was a Missionary of Charity. He said he was. When I told him I was from Ireland he said that his Parish Priest was from Ireland and had asked him to greet the Pope on his behalf when he got to Rome. Before we parted he asked me to pray that he would be able to give his life to Jesus.

Going back to the ceremony itself, I met an old classmate from my student days who had come from India. I congratulated a bishop from Albania on this historic day for his nation. Earlier that morning I had celebrated Mass with two young priests from Slovakia who are studying at the Irish College and they too were rejoicing because a daughter of a Slav nation was being honoured.

While the crowd waited patiently for the appointed time of 10.00 am we were given a catechetics on the writings and prayers of Mother Teresa. There were at least three choirs- Sistine Choir, a choir composed of Missionaries of Charity, and a choir composed perhaps of co-workers. Punctually at 10.00 am the ceremony got under way.

One very important moment early on was when the Archbishop of Calcutta asked the Holy Father to include Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta among the ranks of the ‘blessed’. The Holy Father may have been rather broken in voice in recent days but he certainly mustered up enough strength and determination to say those all-important words.

Certainly I am sure many people were moved to tears when the curtain was pulled back and the portrait of Mother was revealed beaming down on the crowds from the façade of the great Basilica of St. Peter.
The Introduction to the booklet for the ceremony repeated again the four great lessons of her life:

1. The joy of loving;
2. The greatness and dignity of every human person;
3. The value of little things done faithfully, and
4. The supreme importance of friendship with God.

In his homily, which was read out for him by an Archbishop of the Curia, Pope John Paul spoke of Mother Teresa as being an icon of the Good Samaritan. We were reminded of what she said on the occasion of her receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, “Give me the children who are not wanted and I will give them love”.
The resume of her life, which was read out before the beatification, included a reference to her stay and her time of training in Ireland which was a proud moment for all those from Ireland who were present. Somewhere during those days we were reminded that, hidden from all eyes, her interior life was marked by an experience of deep pain and lasting feeling of being separated from God, even of being rejected by God.

I was particularly struck when I read in some of the literature how dozens of voluntary workers turned up at the doors of the dying offering their services. She was at once a mystic and an active person – a contemplative in action.

“I live one day at a time” she would say. “We must leave every project for the future in the hands of God”. She has defended life with courage; she has served every human person with respect. She has told people that it is not important what they do but how they do it – with love and patience and respect. “I am giving you the prospect of doing something beautiful for God” she told Malcolm Muggerage a long time ago.

She once said, “the people who write about me, know more about me than I know about myself. When a visitor said, “I could not do what you do if you gave me a million dollars”. She replied, “neither could we, we can only do for the love of Jesus”. It was pointed out that all she possessed were two saris, with blue borders, and the basin she used to wash them regularly.

Her life inspired in those who knew her or met her the hunger for God which, whether we want it or not, dwells in the heart of every human being. “Come be my light” was the theme of the preparation for that great, marvellous day which will bear much fruit of prayer and faith and love and service and peace.
AMEN

CELEBRATION OF THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUPREME PASTOR OF OUR CHURCH
POPE JOHN PAUL II
HOMILY BY
MOST REV. SEÁN BRADY
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
14 OCTOBER, 2003

On Friday, 29 September 1979 – a lovely sunny day – Pope John Paul II came to Ireland. At Dublin airport he expressed his happiness at being in the land of St Patrick by reciting the Breastplate of St Patrick,

Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me.

That the Pope should come to Ireland was something wonderful and the people recognised this and turned out in their millions to welcome him and show their love for him. But that he should come so early in his Pontificate, making Ireland only the second country he was to visit after his native Poland, was really remarkable. It was meant as a tribute to the fidelity of the Irish in the face of persecution.

That the Pope should come to Ireland in the first full year of his reign as Pope and that on his first day in Ireland he would set foot in the diocese of Armagh, was a great honour and a great privilege. He flew North to Drogheda. The original plan was for him to come to Armagh. Archbishop George Simms, of the Church of Ireland, had warmly invited him to do so. The invitation of Archbishop Simms had been taken up and repeated by leaders and members of other Churches, including many from Northern Ireland. But fear of violence had made those who were planning the trip, settle for Drogheda.

Everyone has their favourite story of the Pope’s visit to Ireland. I was fortunate enough to be involved in organising some of the transport for the Holy Father. I flew in the helicopter with the Holy Father from Drogheda back to Dublin. On Sunday morning, before the Holy Father left, there was a bit of a crisis when fog prevented the helicopters flying into the Nunciature to take him down to Maynooth and then on to Limerick and Shannon. As he waited for the arrival of transport I was introduced with the words, “This is the man responsible for the helicopters”. The Holy Father responded immediately saying, “Oh, he is not responsible for the helicopters, it is the weather”.

This Thursday, the Holy Father is set to celebrate 25 years as Supreme Pastor of our Church. This makes him the fourth longest reining Pontiff in history, after St Peter, Pius IX and Leo XIII. So this evening we give thanks to God for our present Holy Father and especially for the pastoral care and love, which Jesus Christ always gives to His people. He promised that care to Simon Peter when he had praised his faith. Jesus asked him, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said, “Simon, son of Jonah, you are a happy man, for it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. I say to you. You are Peter, upon this rock I will build my Church.”

That was the promise of Jesus and Jesus always keeps his promises. He always fulfils his promises. He fulfilled that promise to Peter, after the resurrection. Before that there was another important meeting with Peter when he said, “Peter, Satan wanted to have you and to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. And you, once you have been converted, must confirm your brothers in the faith. Thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren”. Jesus fulfilled his promise, after the resurrection. Before his ascension into heaven, he turned to Simon Peter and he said, “Do you love me more than these?” Three times he asked that question. “Do you love me more than these?” And then He said to him. “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.”

This week, and tonight in particular, we give thanks to God for Pope John Paul II. He continues, in season and out of season, to strengthen the faith of God’s people with his words but above all, with his example. Last week as we began our celebrations of this Jubilee – with the celebration of the Day for Life – we were reminded of this central idea of his pontificate.

Over the last 25 years Pope John Paul has often spoken about suffering. He has experienced, and is experiencing, suffering in his own life. He encourages the sick and has an amazing love for those who are ill, especially sick children. He never tires of encouraging those who are sick and those who look after them and care for the sick; to try and see every human situation had especially suffering, in the light of everlasting life. We are all travelling on a journey towards that ever-lasting life and sometimes the road is rough because of the sickness and the problems and trials which we endure.

Pope John Paul has given a lot of his energy over the last twenty-five years to teaching the Gospel of Life. He does so because he sees life as such an amazing gift. He has spoken out against all those who deliberately destroy or irresponsibly endanger life. He has condemned those who abuse the limited resources of this earth as if they could never be exhausted. This is irresponsible behaviour because it threatens the quality of life of future generations.

Next Sunday is Mission Sunday. The Holy Father has already sent us a message. He reminds us that the number of those who do not know Christ and who do not belong to the Church is constantly on the increase. There is a longing in all men and women – no matter how poor they are – to have their deep thirst for God and for His mercy sated and satisfied. We who already know Christ can help others in various ways to come to know Him also.

In 1996 Pope John Paul reminded the whole Church that the consecrated life of religious men and women is a great gift. On Sunday next the Holy Father is going to beatify Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She was a great missionary and great religious. She is Foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa came to our city one year before she died – in a wheelchair – to open the House of her missionaries here in Armagh. We rejoice with, and congratulate the Missionaries of Charity on what will be a wonderful occasion for them.

Tonight we give thanks to God for his gift of the papacy to the Church and for Karol Wojtyla. The Pope is the successor of Peter. He is the source and foundation of the unity of the people of God. We are to remain united with him for he is the one who takes the place of Jesus Christ. United with him we are united to each other and to Christ.

Pope John Paul has travelled the world in over 100 pastoral visits to cement and strengthen and reinforce that unity. ‘Do not be afraid, put out into the deep. Open your hearts to Christ and to His love’. This is his constant message.

The millions of young people who travel to World Youth Days show that Pope John Paul knows how to strengthen their faith also. He has written inspiring words to the families of the world inviting them to walk in the Spirit of Nazareth. In 1988 the Pope was writing to the lay-faithful of the world asking them to obey the command of Christ to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation.

It has been noted that every great reform in the history of the Catholic Church involved the priesthood. Pope John Paul II, would, I think, share that view. Every one of his pastoral pilgrimages around the world included a meeting with local priests. Through his annual series of letters to priests, issued on Holy Thursday, he has tried to strengthen the priesthood. John Paul sees the priesthood as a unique sharing in the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

To be a priest – in the eyes of Pope John Paul II – is not to perform a task or play a role but really to become another Christ. Ordination confers a solemn obligation to serve the Christian people after the model of Christ, the Good Shepherd. Our leadership in the Christian community, is not defined by power, but is by service. The priest is someone who makes a total gift of himself to the Church following the example of Jesus Christ. May our celebration of this Jubilee make us priests and bishops ever more generous in that service.

Tonight we ask God to continue to bless abundantly Pope John Paul II – the Vicar of Jesus Christ – teacher – priest and shepherd. We ask Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he has dedicated his whole service of her son Jesus, to watch over him and protect him. AMEN

ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
RITE OF DEDICATION
25 MAY, 2003
MOST REVEREND SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

INTRODUCTION

Distinguished guests, brothers and sisters in Christ from across the Archdiocese, idir cléir is tuath. It is both a privilege and a pleasure for me to welcome all of you to this Rite of Dedication. Welcome also to the City of Armagh where, according to the poet Lynn Doyle, “heaven spills its brightest green on rounded hills and smiles impartial on two peoples …” This splendid cathedral crowns the summit of one of the most beautiful hills in Ulster and overlooks the old City where Patrick, our National Apostle, once preached, and where King Brian Boru now sleeps.

I welcome the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese and her husband, Dr Martin, and thank them most sincerely for honouring us with their presence. I welcome Mr James Grew, Deputy Lieutenant for Co. Armagh, and Mrs Grew. The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, representative of the Holy Father in Ireland, as always is most welcome. Through the Apostolic Nuncio, I wish to thank the Holy Father for his gracious message of encouragement and good wishes which will be read later. I welcome Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster and Cardinal Desmond Connell of Dublin, both making their first visit to Armagh since being appointed by the Holy Father to the Sacred College of Cardinals. Cardinal Daly sadly cannot be with us today. I gladly pass on today his congratulations and best wishes to the priests and people of the Archdiocese.

I welcome too Mr Paul Murphy, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, as well as the Mayor of Armagh City and District, Mrs Anna Brolly. I welcome also Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow, and Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, along with the Rector of St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, Monsignor Eugene Clark.
We are very honoured and grateful for the presence of Bishop Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher, along with Dr John Dunlop and Dr Edmund Mawhinney of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in Ireland, respectively. We are honoured by the presence of so many colleagues, past and present, of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, coming from the four civil and ecclesiastical provinces.

To one and all – Céad Mile Fáilte

DEDICATION OF ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
25 MAY, 2003
HOMILY
MOST REVEREND SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

In his opening commentary, Father Paul Clayton-Lea referred to the story of the deer and the fawn. It is depicted in the great east window of this Cathedral behind me. The fawn is said to have leaped from the bushes on Sally Hill, that is, the other hill where the Church of Ireland Cathedral now stands and where Patrick built his first principal church. That Patrick carried it to this hill, Sandy Hill, to be joined with its mother, is fondly construed as a prophecy of the building of this Cathedral in his honour some 1,400 years later and of the intertwining of these two hills in the history of this island and of the traditions which they represent. In fact the two Cathedrals appear elegantly represented, side by side, in the stained glass window at the top of the western nave.

There is an old saying: “Those who drink the water should remember with gratitude those who dug the well.” Today, we gladly remember and thank God for those who were instrumental in the building of this great Cathedral. We appreciate and applaud the imagination and vision of the architects and artists of the 19th century who designed this sacred place. We remember with gratitude, the engineers, the builders, the craftsmen and women, the workers of stone and of wood, of mosaic and brass, who had the skill to create, carve and shape something beautiful for God. It is difficult for us to imagine and appreciate the generosity, the courage, the determination, the love, the hope and the faith that were poured into these very walls, walls built at a time when this country was on its knees in despair. What marvellous and generous people our ancestors were. How privileged we are to occupy their places and enjoy the fruits of their self-sacrificing labours. For truly, this cathedral of St Patrick, is a monument to the faith of people, past and present.

The work, begun in 1840 when Archbishop William Crolly blessed the foundation stone, lasted until 1904. During the Great Famine, funds were diverted to a more pressing need: the relief of hunger. In 1849 the dreaded disease of cholera claimed the life of the Cathedral’s founder, Archbishop Crolly. He was visiting the town of Drogheda at the southern tip of the diocese during Holy Week of that year when he became ill. Archbishop Crolly is buried right here in a vault under the sanctuary of his then, unfinished Cathedral.

For the next five years very little happened by way of advancing the cathedral project. Then in 1854 Primate Joseph Dixon declared Easter Monday, Resumption Monday, and work was resumed. Generous financial support was secured from Montreal, Quebec, New York, Brooklyn, Halifax, St. John’s and other friendly cities. But of course, the locals contributed too as they always do! In 1865 Armagh’s famous “First Bazaar” was organised. It was famous, not only for its financial success, raising in excess of £7,000 sterling, but also for the unique character of some of the prizes. From the Vatican, Pope Pius IX despatched a carving of Raphael’s “Madonna Di Foligno”. The Emperor of Austria sent a table of rare inlaid work, especially designed for the occasion, while Napoleon III chose two precious vases of Sevrés porcelain.

The solemn dedication took place in August 1873. By that time Daniel McGettigan was Archbishop. His successor, Cardinal Michael Logue, was also a Raphoe man, a native of Donegal, who worked unceasingly over the following years to decorate the interior of the Cathedral. And so it was that, with great pride and with the work of decoration complete, this stately twin-spired Cathedral was solemnly consecrated to God in July 1904.

The Cathedral was, and is, a statement of faith by those who built it in the first place, and now, once again, by the people of the present generation who have restored it. But, it is also a beacon of hope. Visible for miles around, it speaks of a hope based on the promise of the Risen Christ, to be with his followers, until the end of time. At every corner it is crowned with a cross – the cross of Christ – who is our only hope.

But, as well as being a statement of faith and a beacon of hope, I like to see our restored Cathedral as a statement of intent. I view it as a declaration, as Patrick himself declared in his Confession, that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, who will make return to all, according to what they have done.

¨ I see it as a kind of pledge on our part to help build an earthly society based on the values of Christ’s kingdom, the values of truth, justice and freedom;
¨ A pledge to reflect the life of Christ in our own lives, –
¨ A pledge that in and through our relationships, we will show His face to others.

The work of restoration is inspired by the desire to see and reveal the face of the Risen Christ. The contemplation of Christ’s face has to be inspired by all that we are told about Christ in the Scriptures. In the Gospel procession earlier ,the book of God’s word was carried by the deacon, bearing the symbols of the four Gospel writers.

Matthew signified by the man.
Mark signified by the Lion.
Luke signified by the ox.
John signified by the eagle.

These four symbols, representing all that is noble in creation, are beautifully reproduced on the new mosaic that is here at my feet, around the ambo, from where the Word of God is proclaimed and preached.

The new altar, like the ambo, is of Tunisian limestone. It has been inspired by the great high Celtic crosses of the 9th and 10th centuries, of which we proudly have some in our own diocese – Ardboe, Donaghmore Monasterboice and Armagh – to mention but a few. It has imagery of Christ (Crucified, Risen, Returning in Glory), flanked by Apostles, on three sides. The fourth side, visible from the main body of the Church, shows Our Lord with four Irish saints, all with close association with this diocese: Malachy, Brigid, Patrick, and Oliver Plunkett.

The faces of those journeying with Our Lord on our altar are abstract faces. They do not represent a Grecian face, or a Roman face, or an Irish face or a British face, but a human face. They remind us that God does not have favourite faces but that “everyone of whatever nationality, who reveres God and does what is right, is acceptable to God”. (Acts 10: 34-35).

This new altar, in a few minutes time, will be anointed, incensed, clothed. Each day from now on when Mass will be celebrated, it will be approached, bowed to and touched with reverence. All of these gestures make sense only in the light of the symbolic meaning of the altar, for the altar is a symbol of Christ. It is “a sign of Christ…a table of joy…a place of communion and peace”. It is “a source of unity and friendship and the centre of our praise and thanksgiving”. To contemplate Christ involves being able to recognise Him wherever He manifests Himself but, above all, in the living sacrament of His body and blood.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it”.

The sanctuary design is inspired by the notion of pilgrimage. The visitor, whether coming specifically to pray, or perhaps seeing himself or herself simply as a tourist, is called to praise and worship the Lord, and therefore is a pilgrim in the real sense of the word. The new ambulatory invites journey right around the sanctuary which has the altar as its centre and focus. The pilgrim passes the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, on axis with the altar, and pauses to pray in a quiet, separate and beautifully adorned space. The new bronze tabernacle, flanked by two angels, is a representation of the arc of the covenant, while also being inspired by the 9th Century Book of Armagh. The pilgrim continues behind the sanctuary to the Marian Shrine, again separated by a brass screen – in this case incorporating at both ends the two pairs of gates from the original sanctuary in this Cathedral. Here again he or she is invited to stop and reflect and pray a while. The new floor mosaic of the Virgin and Child is based on an original and unexecuted design for this Cathedral of over one hundred years ago.

The pilgrim continues his journey marvelling at the new Spanish marble and Italian porcelain sanctuary floor, the original floor mosaics, and the oil-painted ceiling throughout. At the back of the Cathedral the pilgrim journey ends with a visit to the restored baptistery with its beautiful baptismal mosaics. In the opposite porch a new Evangelarium has been erected, allowing the visitor ready access to the Word of God. The Book of Revelation inspires its design where we read that the clarion call at the end of time will be the sound of trumpets.

My thoughts go back to St Francis of Assisi who, in 1205, in the crumbling ruins of the little Church of San Damiano, while praying before the crucifix there, heard the voice of God charging him to “repair my house”. When Francis had it rebuilt, he discovered that he was being called to rebuild the faith of the Church.

My hope today is that this restored and renovated cathedral will provide the inspiration for a profound renewal of faith for all who come to visit and worship here. For here within these walls there are no distinctions, no discriminations. All find welcome here – welcome at the baptismal font. welcome to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and welcome as they are carried in for the last time. This space is a sacred space where you can be still, know silence and find a space where God can make His home in you. Here in this sanctuary you will find the deepest listening of God.

This cathedral holds forever the secret of God revealed to us in the Child of Bethlehem, born in a lowly stable over 2,000 years ago. The secret is that we are sacred stones, making a most beautiful home for God. We are a cathedral far more magnificent and precious than any building of the finest stone.

“This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!”

Today we rejoice in the faith and fidelity of a previous generation which built this House of God. We also rejoice in the courage and magnificent generosity of the present generation who are making this great gift of the restored cathedral to the people who come after them.

Today we rejoice in the faith and fidelity of a previous generation which built this House of God. We also rejoice in the courage and magnificent generosity of the present generation who are making this great gift of the restored cathedral to the people who come after them. I would like here to express my heartfelt thanks to the priests and people from each of the sixty-one (61) parishes in the diocese whose generosity to our recent capital campaign, Vision for the Future, made possible this work and also makes possible the greater development of lay ministries in the Church and provision for retired priests. We rejoice in the 2,000 plus volunteer helpers who took part in the campaign organisation. We rejoice and are glad in the craftsmanship and skill, tenacity and energy, of those who designed, managed and actually executed the repairs and the renovations.

I have often admired the workers’ patience and their courage as they erected the scaffolding, plank by plank, and bolt by bolt and removed and replaced the slates, tile by tile. In so doing they have enhanced and extended the work of the Creator and provided an extraordinary service to the people of this parish and of this diocese. By their labours they have improved access to this great place of worship, art and architecture. May they always realise the dignity and the worth of their labour.

“You alone are my heart’s desire, I long to worship you”

The words of that beautiful hymn, which I heard sung at a Confirmation ceremony on Friday last, have stayed with me all weekend. The reason probably is that they were inspired by what Jesus said in today’s Gospel: “If you remain united to me in love, my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete”. Jesus rejoiced as his Father revealed himself humbly through him, but Jesus goes to the Father through the Cross and his followers must not be surprised if, at times, they too are called to travel the same road. One side of this altar shows the compassionate face of Christ – the Christ who walks the road of life alongside each one of us, to nurture and to heal, to counsel and console us in our struggles and in our grief.

At the end of the Great Jubilee, Pope John Paul II wrote ‘that the Church’s joy was great that year as she devoted herself to contemplating the face of her bridegroom and Lord’. ‘Gazing on the face of Christ’ he says, ‘the bride contemplates her treasure and her joy for how sweet is the memory of Jesus, the source of the heart’s true joy’. Heartened by this experience the Church today sets out once more on her journey in order to proclaim Christ to the world at the dawn of the third millennium for he is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Heartened by today’s experience the Church of Armagh sets out once more on her journey. But this is not a time for any form of triumphalism. It is a time of celebration – yes – of thanksgiving and of hope and of renewal of trust in God’s constant and abiding presence among His people with the acknowledgement of the need all of us, weak human beings have, of the saving love of God. It is a time to seek forgiveness of God and of each other for the many times we have failed. It is time for reconciliation and repentance and of reaching out again the hand of forgiveness and renewal of friendship as we face the next stage of our pilgrim journey together.

At the end of his Confession, Patrick implored all those who would read his writing, not to attribute to a person like him, any little thing he may have done or any guidance he may have given, according to God’s will, but to consider that it may have been rather the gift of God. I think Patrick would wish us all to know and remember that this Cathedral, built in his honour, is indeed a gift of God. “Not unto us O Lord, Not onto us but to your name be the glory.”

I think Canon Tomas Ó Sabhaois, a retired priest of this diocese, speaks for all of us when he wrote last week the letter regretting his absence today:

Guím grásta Dé, coimirce Mhuire gan smál agus Comaoin na Naomh, go mór mór Naoimh Ardmhacha ar gach duine a bhéas i láthair De Domhnaigh agus gni freastail ar an Ardteampall ins na blianta le teacht.
I translate:

“I pray that God’s grace and the protection of Mary Immaculate and the communion of the saints, especially of the Armagh saints, may be with all those in Armagh on Sunday and with all who will visit the cathedral in the years to come”.
AMEN

DEDICATION OF ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
25 MAY, 2003
THANKS
MOST REVEREND SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

There are such a great number of people to be thanked so I have decided not to thank people individually. They themselves know who they are. God knows who they are and will reward them and that is what is important. So, my sincerest thanks go to one and all.

The Diocesan Restoration Committee, under the leadership of Canon McGrane, in the administratorship of Fr Richard Naughton, with its many sub-committees, completing the excellent foundational work done by the Armagh Parish Finance Committee, met often and long, and has been outstanding in the planning and execution of this whole enterprise. The Committee was meticulous in its attention to detail and superb in its commitment to the tasks undertaken. At the end of your booklet you will see listed the architects, the contractors, sub-contractors – the Chairman of the Armagh Diocesan Pastoral Council has already spoken of this in his words earlier today. All personnel involved in this project were outstanding in their dedication to their tasks and in their professional excellence.

I thank all those involved in today’s liturgy. I think that the joint choir, from the Cathedral Choir and St Malachy’s Choir, Armagh, was particularly delightful. But, most of all, I thank priests, religious and lay people of the Archdiocese of Armagh. Your faith and confidence has made all of this feasible. Your goodness and generosity are ensuring that it was carried out and is being carried to the highest standard of excellence. I thank those who advised and helped in the capital campaign at diocesan and parish level.

My dearest wish is that people will come here in their thousands, whether to worship or to pray or simply to see and to admire. Whether they read from the Book of the Gospels or visit the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, or meditate at the Marian Shrine, may their minds be drawn to God, the source of our beauty, author of all truth, origin of all goodness. May they be led to know His Son, Jesus Christ. May they remain in His love by keeping His commandments so that His joy may be in them and their joy may be complete. May they go out from here and bear fruit, fruit that will last.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY
17 MARCH, 2003
PRESS RELEASE
ST MALACHY’S CHURCH, ARMAGH
MOST REV. DR. SEAN BRADY,
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH AND PRIMATE OF ALL-IRELAND.

· Calls on participants in the peace process to share the qualities of St Patrick – sacrifice, belief and persistence.
· “Winning without winners – only a peace between equals can last”.
· “Once swords are hammered into ploughshares we can begin the tillage – the most difficult task of all , the management of everyday life and the cultivation of a fair, equal and just society”
· We pray that even at this late stage war in Iraq may be averted. May talk of war not become a self-fulfilling prophecy, an irreversible and irrevocable dynamic.

On this, the Feast day of our National Patron, I extend warm personal greetings and good wishes to Irish people everywhere. Whether at home or abroad, I wish all of you a very happy, joyful and faith-filled St Patrick’s Day and I pray God’s grace and blessings upon you and your families and loved ones.

On this day of celebration, it is interesting to note how much St Patrick is interwoven into Irish society. His symbol, the shamrock, adorns our aeroplanes, tourist brochures, Irish-made goods, and the jerseys of some sporting teams.

Today, we all recall how St Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. I believe that the life of St Patrick illustrates a trinity of virtues – those of sacrifice, belief and persistence. He left behind his family and sacrificed his home life to be with us. His belief and faith helped him endure here. His persistence ensured that today, over fifteen hundred years later, we continue to share in that very same belief.

On this day, more than any other, we are reminded of the wider Irish community around the world. Over the last few centuries, their story has been that of St Patrick – the sacrifice of exile, the belief which moulded their distinct identity, and the persistence which allowed them to prosper down the generations. The parades and celebrations we see all around the world today are the fruits of the Patrick virtues.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Amidst today’s festivities, it is regretful that a final resolution to recent difficulties in the peace process in our country, has not yet been reached. Since the signing of the Belfast Agreement on Good Friday 1998, great gains have been made and we continue to move, whatever the pace, irrevocably in the right direction. A lengthy peace process is preferable to the long war! I hope that, at this critical juncture in the peace talks, Irish people around the world will join me in wishing the virtues of St Patrick – namely, sacrifice, belief and persistence – on all the participants in our peace process. I urge everyone over the coming days and weeks to pray earnestly for a successful outcome to our present difficulties and for the full flowering of peace on all who call Ireland their home.

We are in the middle of Lent, a time of personal sacrifice, a time to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us. Equally, the forging of peace requires sacrifice on all sides – it involves winning without winners.
Many global commentators, in another context, are fond of citing the League of Nations as an example of failure in peacemaking. The principal reason for the League’s failure was that the participants in the peace process after the First World War ignored the wise advice of the League’s founder, US President Woodrow Wilson – incidentally a man with Northern Irish roots. Wilson warned that a successful peace “must be a peace without victory. Only a peace between equals can last”.

Let us hope that the participants in our own peace process can avoid the temptation to look for short term advantage and are willing to make the compromises and sacrifices that are necessary from all sides to create a permanent peace.

Sadly, the current talks seem stalled on the question of sanctions and disciplinary measures. The issues of policing, decommissioning and demilitarisation may no longer be the central difficulty. In other words, the present stumbling block may not be the tangible – guns or watchtowers – but rather the intangible. The current obstacle reflects a lack of belief – a lack of faith in the future and trust in each other.

Given the sad history of Northern Ireland, this is understandable. Unfortunately trust and respect for each other cannot be manufactured or legislated for. Nevertheless, just as St Patrick’s faith sustained him far from home, I would urge all those participating in the talks to have faith in their adversaries and to trust in whatever agreement is reached.

Peace is not simply the absence of war; that is too narrow a definition. Whenever I think about “peace”, I am reminded of Isaiah’s vision for peace: “The peoples will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles” (cf Is. 2: 4). Like many images from scripture, it contains a deeper truth. With the ploughshares and sickles comes the burden of tillage. Peace is not simply the absence of war but involves the most difficult task of all – the management of everyday life and the cultivation of a fair, equal and just society. Peace is the result of what is experienced when people live in right relationship with each other.
While the talks were taking place in Hillsborough at the beginning of this month, the Director of Childcare in Northern Ireland announced that a third of children living in the North are living in poverty. These are Catholic and Protestant children. When it comes to educational disadvantage, poor housing and ill health, there is no sectarian divide. Let us all redouble our efforts for peace.

To address the basic needs of their constituents, it is important that all participants in the peace process persist in reaching agreement. Resolving the current impasse will take perseverance. To return to the biblical image of “hammering swords into ploughshares”, the swords can be broken, the ploughshares can be built and the deeds to the field are in their hands.

IRAQ

It would be wrong, on St Patrick’s Day, 2003, if we were to concentrate only on Ireland and the Irish. We are all God’s children, whether American or Iraqi, Muslim or Christian, white or dark. Today we think in a special way of the international community and especially of Iraq, where Patrick is not well known. We pray that even at this late stage, war may be averted. We pray that talk of war may not become a self-fulfilling prophecy, an irreversible and irrevocable dynamic. We pray for those who have to make very serious and far-reaching decisions at this time. We recall those on the frontline- civilian and non-civilian, alike. May peace and justice for all in our world become a reality in our time, and in the meantime may this hoped-for reality be actively pursued.

On this St Patrick’s Day, I urge people everywhere, with and without Irish ancestry, to work without ceasing for that justice which brings true and lasting peace. “Happy the peacemakers, they shall be called the sons and daughters of God” (cf Mt. 5: 9).
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir.
-ENDS

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FOR R.T.E. – 2002
MOST REV. SEÁN BRADY, DCL
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH
PRIMATE OF ALL-IRELAND

I am delighted to welcome Archbishop Eames here and all of you who have joined us. We appreciate this opportunity of once again sending you Christmas greetings from Armagh.

One of the most popular stories at this time of year is a A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. It is a story of a man who has forgotten how to be happy. He is too busy making money, doing deals, getting as much as possible for as little as possible. But he has forgotten why he is doing all of this. Then he remembers once again his childhood days and begins to relive the family warmth, the friendship and the sharing. He wonders how he ever lost this spirit. It was, of course, because he had turned his back on love. Then one day he saw a small, sick child. The sight of this child turned his heart to flesh once more from the stone it had become, and helped the miser to see himself with new eyes and made him care again. The Christmas Child has come to help us all to see again.

Talking of sick children and the need to see anew reminds me of Malawi and Zimbabwe. Recently a delegation from Trócaire visited there. One of them told me he was moved to tears at the sight of the children and of their matchstick legs, bare ribcages and tired, listless eyes. We think of them and of their families on this Christmas day and pray earnestly that the threat of famine, which they face, may be averted.

The children of our own country have a hunger of a different kind. Not so much a hunger for material things, though that still exists, but more a need for values, for ideals, which will guide them to find personal happiness and make their contribution in life. In their search for fulfilment the young look to adults for role models and examples.

This year, in Armagh, the arrival of Sam Maguire has provided outstanding inspiration for a new generation of aspiring champions. This historic victory has renewed the energies of those who dedicate themselves to the discipline of sport.

Last July, many young people travelled to Toronto for World Youth Day. There they met and prayed with Pope John Paul II. They came away inspired and refreshed in their faith.

But this Christmas, failures of Church and State and of the wider society to children, both in terms of care and example, are keenly felt by many. The Church especially, by command of the Lord, who said “suffer little children to come to me” should be to the forefront in the care and regard for the welfare of young people. We are deeply sorry for our failures in the past but where we have failed, we will learn for the future. We continue to pledge our support to those whose childhood has been disfigured or taken away.

As we reflect on maimed childhood, we think of those whose bodies continue to be maimed in assaults, stabbings and punishment beatings. Let there be an end this Christmas to the on-going brutality of such deeds. Apart from the pain and suffering involved, there is also the message that it sends – that violence is the way to resolve conflict, and brute force the means of providing order.

This may have been the way of Herod, but it is not the way of the Prince of Peace.

In Northern Ireland the political parties have much to reflect upon this Christmas. Once again they hold the future stability of society in their collective hands. It is a great responsibility and our prayers and hopes are that they find the wisdom and the courage to discharge this responsibility.

I love Patrick Kavanagh’s poem, Christmas Carol 1942. It captures for me something of the renewing power of childhood and of the Christ child.

Sing of the Childhood
That renews for us all –
Banker or farmer
Or soldier in armour –
The laugh of the soul.
Sing the Child in the stall.
May you, and all those whom you love, enjoy a peaceful Christmas and a New Year of health and happiness.

ACCORD
RSE – LAUNCH
5 DECEMBER 2002
ADDRESS BY MOST REVEREND SEÁN BRADY, DCL
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

I thank and congratulate all associated with the production of this Report and Teachers’ Resource Book. These materials have been produced under the aegis of ACCORD. ACCORD, as you probably know, is the Catholic Marriage Care agency. It is tasked with helping couples who are preparing for marriage. But, ACCORD also helps people who are seeking to enrich their marriage, or who are experiencing difficulties in their marriage relationship. I thank especially, Fr John Hannan and Ms Deirdre O’Rawe, respectively National and Regional Directors of ACCORD.

ACCORD is a voluntary, predominantly lay organisation. I gladly avail of this opportunity to thank most sincerely the hundreds of ACCORD counsellors. They are attached to the fifty-seven (57) ACCORD centres throughout Ireland. Up and down the length and breadth of this country these marvellous people provide a voluntary, yet most professional, service in the promotion of a better understanding of marriage. They do so at considerable inconvenience to themselves. Their work involves a huge investment of time as they generously help people to initiate, sustain and enrich their marriage and family relationships. People in difficulty seek their help. The ACCORD counsellors patiently and confidentially offer counselling and support in a non-threatening, non-judgmental way. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. The marriage relationships and the family life of a huge number of people, would be so much the poorer without the wonderful help of ACCORD.

ACCORD also offers help to schools. In June 2001 ACCORD Northern Ireland secured funding from the Community Fund of the National Lottery. I thank the Community Fund in the person of Professor Kearney for this funding. The purpose of this funding was to appoint an Education Officer. His name is Michael McGowan. Michael’s brief is to formulate a Catholic approach to teaching relationships and sexuality education at post-primary level.

(That same summer, the summer of 2001, all schools in Northern Ireland received a circular from the Department of Education calling for the provision of relationships and sexuality education. So, the task of the Education Officer is to ensure that such a programme will be developed for the Catholic Post-Primary sector).

ACCORD therefore aims to produce a programme that will help to meet many of the needs in this area. ACCORD works in partnership with parents, teachers, pupils, Diocesan Advisers, education bodies and other professionals.

The first step in the provision of this programme is the publications which are being launched today.
A major piece of research has been carried out by Dr Catherine Loughrey, who has examined the attitudes, the beliefs and experiences of the Catholic community in the area of relationships and sexual education. Another part of that first step is the publication of a Teachers’ Resources Book, written by Michael McGowan himself. It is first and foremost a summary and an analysis of the research, which has been undertaken. It explains the reasons why RSE should be taught in schools as well as in the home. It sets down the parameters of the programme. It suggests an approach to sensitive issues while addressing the practicalities of implementing the programme.

I thank and congratulate Dr Loughery and Michael McGowan and all who assisted them.
Step two is the provision of video pack with materials for teachers and pupils.

Step three is a training programme for parents and for teachers delivered by ACCORD personnel. This training programme for parents is most important. Parents are the first teachers of their children. This training programme will show how the school can assist and support parents and guardians as they discharge this important responsibility.

The title of the resource book is, Love Rejoices in the Truth. The challenge that faces every parent, every educator, every teacher, is to speak the truth. It is to speak the truth about human relationships and to speak the truth about human sexuality. The truth is that sexuality is a very important part of every human person. It is a gift given to us by our Creator, something good therefore. The Christian vision is that human sexuality has been seriously wounded by sin, but sin no longer has the last word because Christ has redeemed us and has redeemed our sexuality.

The happiness and the quality of our lives here on earth depends to a large extent, on the quality of the relationships which we manage to build with other people. That takes time and effort and understanding and patience. Above all, it takes respect, respect for the other person. I suggest that to understand human sexuality and its place in our lives and in our relationships with other people, we need to refer to the Maker’s manual, the book of instructions. Fortunately, we have got that in the revelation which God, the Creator of each one of us, has given to us. We find it in the Church, which has been given the task, by Jesus Christ who is the fullness of God’s revelation, to go teach all nations.

The truth is that human sexuality concerns the innermost being of the human person. Sexual activity is one of the most intimate forms of bodily behaviour. That behaviour is, or should be, the expression of a profoundly intimate personal relationship, and should take place within marriage, which is the most profoundly intimate human relationship. In marriage, two people commit themselves to being close to each other in all circumstances until death. Obviously such a union should be built on an intimate form of friendship and love. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Three years ago Columba Press in Dublin published a book called When Strangers Marry. It is a study of marriage breakdown in Ireland. It is based on the experience of eighty marriages that ended in separation. Now you might think that strangers marrying is a thing of the past. However, the facts suggest otherwise. We may not have progressed, as much as we would like to believe, from the days of the matchmaker. In those days couples sometimes met for the first time at the foot of the altar. And of course it doesn’t rest easily with our concept of modern living, that a man and a woman would marry without knowing each other.

When Strangers Marry, shows two lovely young people, dressed in their wedding gear, stepping up to the altar, blindfolded. It is suggesting that couples can still stand side by side in the presence of God, family and friends and commit themselves to a life long relationship with someone they do not know – a stranger. This study of eighty marriages, which ended in separation, looks at the couples’ childhood, their courtship, their married life, their unhappiness leading to separation. By finding common elements in the experience of these couples it aims at a fuller understanding of why marriages fail. The author, Albert McDonnell, found that most of the couples married without actually giving much serious thought to what they were doing.

And so the marriage, which depends on an inter-personal relationship, was always at risk due to the failure to create a close inter-personal union in courtship. “The most striking factor in every case” he says was “the pain and the suffering that separation had brought to the couples themselves and to so many others”.

I hope that those of you who are teachers will find this material very useful as you go about your noble work of helping young people grow into maturity. You don’t need me to remind you that education is about developing all the talents of the pupils entrusted to your care. Yes, it is about developing the physical gifts, hence the importance of PE and games, and of course it is also about preparing for and passing examinations in order to develop intellectual gifts. It is also about developing their moral talents.

That involves giving people a sense of responsibility and teaching them how to use their freedom wisely and well. In other words, it is about the formation of conscience and the formation of character. We form character by directing our freedom to loyalties outside of ourselves. Christian character, for example, is formed by directing our freedom to the life and words of Jesus Christ. But education is also about the formation of conscience. Conscience is formed in dialogue with several sources of human wisdom. As human beings we consult our own human experience as well as the experience of others. Hence the value of surveys. As Christians we turn to the Scriptures and to the lives of people who led outstanding moral lives. As Catholics we pay attention to our rich heritage of stories and practices as well as to the official teaching of the Church. Pope John Paul repeats the teaching of the Vatican Council – “In forming their conscience the Christian faithful must give careful attention to the sacred and certain teaching of the Church”.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus taught with authority. He also taught with courage and love. One day someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life”? Jesus said to him, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments”. As we walk the path of life there is always an echo of that question. What good must I do to have eternal life? Each one of us must address that question to the good teacher. To make the encounter with Christ, the good teacher possible, God willed His Church.

The Church exists so that each one of us may be able to find Christ and know Christ in order that He may be able to walk with each one of us the path of life and answer our questions. He is the only one who can answer them with the fullness of truth. When Christians ask Him that question, which rises from their conscience, the Lord now replies in the words and wisdom, which he has entrusted to his Church. May we all strive to teach with authority and win for ourselves not only the title ‘good teacher’, but also the prize of eternal life.

I warmly congratulate all concerned on these fine publications. They will, I know, prove to be invaluable resources for post-primary school teachers. I am convinced that they will contribute to many young people becoming more responsible, confident and mature in their approach to relationships and sexuality. A wonderful service has been done.

MESSAGE FOR GAA COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION
ARMAGH ALL-IRELAND VICTORY 2002
MOST REV. SEÁN BRADY, DCL
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, PRIMATE OF ALL-IRELAND

The delayed victory is perhaps the sweetest! To succeed after having experienced much disappointment, to achieve your objective after much toil and tears and a century and more waiting, is perhaps the greatest success of all!

Many non-Armachians would scarcely have been aware in the past that Armagh had never secured a senior All-Ireland title. That such a strong footballing county should be deprived of the ultimate prize seemed unjust. But sport, like life in general, can be unfair. Memories of 1953 and 1977 were deeply embedded in the minds of Armagh people, from Crossmaglen to Lurgan, from Middletown to Newtownhamilton. The wounds of defeat on All-Ireland Day do not easily heal, especially when the cup has never been lifted.
But healing would come. 2002 was the year when the dream would come true, the young men in saffron and white would do the business in Croke Park and “The Boys from the County Armagh” would be sung the length and breadth of the Orchard County and well beyond, with a gusto and pride as never before. An irrepressible hunger had been sated, a gaping vacuum had been filled.

To congratulate Joe Kernan and his assistants, Paul Grimley and John McCloskey, and their mighty band of thirty men, while obviously appropriate, seems completely inadequate. Our first word should in a sense be one of thanks. For the unmitigated joy which they have brought, for their resolute generosity and commitment to their kinsmen and -women, we are truly grateful. They carried our fragile dreams and hopes with the greatest of care and attention and realised them for us with a skill and finesse well beyond our wildest anticipation. I heard of one woman in Armagh who watched the match on television with her 93 year-old grandmother. After the game they toured Armagh City to imbibe the atmosphere, to soak in the joy. What one old woman lived to see and perhaps thought she would never live to see, several others died without having witnessed. To complete the work, not just of this generation but of several previous generations, is quite an achievement.

Very soon after All-Ireland Sunday I had the privilege of attending in Coalisland, Co. Tyrone, a youth alcohol and drugs awareness rally. Benny Tierney, the Armagh goalkeeper, was present and spoke. His presence and words obviously resonated with the young people in a way mine couldn’t. To the Armagh players for being such wonderful role models in so many ways to young people, indeed to us all, we say thanks.
Sport is a wonderful gift from God. It demands all that is best in the human heart, the greatest to which the human being can aspire. To the Lord and to all who have made a 2002 an unforgettable year in Armagh we say thank you.

The Archdiocese of Armagh is comprised of territory from four counties – Armagh, Derry, Louth and Tyrone. While I pray that Armagh may continue its winning streak, I hope that Tyrone will also soon experience the irreplaceable and irrepressible joy of lifting the “Sam Maguire”!

ARMAGH OBSERVER
SPECIAL SOUVENIR SUPPLEMENT
COMMEMORATING ARMAGH REACHING THE ALL IRELAND FINAL
WORDS OF CONGRATULATIONS AND ENCOURAGEMENT FROM
MOST REV. SEÁN BRADY
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

Armagh people, and our friends everywhere, are overjoyed to know that their senior football team has reached the All Ireland Final. Their credentials to be there are excellent. Three Ulster Titles in four years, a Championship Campaign which saw them oust the current league-title holders and friendly rivals and neighbours, Tyrone, excellent victories over plucky Fermanagh, a gallant Donegal side and a much under-rated Sligo team plus two replays ……. this championship has had everything, or almost everything. One thing it has not had is dirty play or un-sportsmanlike tactics.

Granted that en route to the Final the Armagh team has on occasion exercised the cardiovascular mussels of their supporters to a great extent but it was all for a good purpose. It was in preparation for the dream final. The orchard verses the Kingdom, the apple verses Puck, the pride of the North verses the jewel of the South.

This Armagh team has given outstanding sporting displays. They are great Ambassadors for their county and for their province. I wish them well and am confident they can carry the day.

So, roll on September 22. Samuel Maguire prepare yourself for a diet of Ulster fry and apple tarts over the next twelve months!

September 10, 2002