ECUMENICAL PRAYER SERVICE
IN
ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
31st DECEMBER 1999
ADDRESS BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

There is a lovely story told about King Edwin of Northumbria. In the year 627 he was trying to make up his mind whether to accept the Christian message or not. One of his counsellors stood up and said:
“Your Majesty, when you sit at table with your guests, in the winter when the fire burns warm and bright, and the snow storm is howling outside, it sometimes happens that a little bird flies into the hall. For the few moments that it is inside the hall it doesn’t feel the cold, but as soon as it leaves your sight, it returns to the dark of winter. Now it seems to me that the life of each one of us is like that. We do not know what went before, we do not know what is going to follow. If this new doctrine about Jesus Christ can speak to us with certainty about these things it is well for us to follow it”
The king followed the advice of his friend.

Over the last 2000 years countless millions have asked the same question: Who am I? What is the meaning of life? What is this creature that comes into the brightness and warmth of this human day, hurrying from the mystery of its origins to the mystery of its destiny?

And, over the past 2000 years Jesus Christ has certainly spoken clearly about these things. He has told us that, out of the fullness of His love, God the Father, created us. He sent His Son into the world that we may have access to the Father through him, and become His friends and share His everlasting life, and happiness.

Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. He is waiting for us to open that door. This is beautifully illustrated in Holman Hunt’s famous painting – Christ, the Light of the World. Christ stands with a lantern outside a door that has no handle. The handle is on the inside. It is up to each one to decide whether to open the door or not.

The beginning of a new millennium is a time for hopes and dreams. My hope is that we all become so convinced of God’s love for us and so secure in that love, that we will be able to reach out to others and assure them of our love for them. My hope is that when we realise that Christ has already reconciled us to the Father and to each other, we will see that he is calling us to become a community of reconcilers.
My dream is the dream of the prophet Isaiah, which we are about to hear in the next reading. He speaks of the nations of the world, coming to the light of Jerusalem. Jesus is the light, not only of Jerusalem, but also of the world. And yet, only one third of the world’s population believe in the name of Jesus. My dream is of a new springtime of missionary activity so that many more faces may grow radiant, and hearts throb with delight, at the name of Jesus.

My other dream is that the new millennium will see the great religions of the world join hands to help the developing countries so that the people there can live their lives in dignity and peace.
As we move into the new millennium we rely on the Risen Christ, to calm our fears and give us hope. Love drives out fear. May God’s love be with you, all and always, during this New Year.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
BBC RADIO ULSTER
BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
WEDNESDAY, 29 DECEMBER, 1999

One of my late father’s favourite prayers was, Thanks be to God. Being a farmer those words were often on his lips around harvest time as the last load of hay was pitched into the hay shed, as the last stack of corn was built in the haggart or as the last potato pit was sealed against the rain and the frost. I suppose they were an expression of gratitude to a bountiful God who each year repeats the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes on the farms and in the oceans of the planet.

Of course not all endings in this life are happy. The end of a friendship, the end of a marriage, the end of a life are often sad and sometimes bitter. Endings remind us of our frailty and of our mortality. Yet there are also many endings in life which are happy. We can all remember the joy of the end of the school term, the end of waiting for results. The rejoicing at the birth of a newly-born baby comes at the end of the mother’s pregnancy.

With God, with Jesus, endings are never final, for God and love last forever. He tells us that at death, life is changed, not ended, for those who believe in Him. As we approach the end of this year and this decade, I am trying to remember some of the things for which I have to thank God over the past year and indeed over the past decades. There are the obvious things, like the historical accommodation reached between unionists and nationalists in recent times. It’s rich in promise for a society more happy in itself, more reconciled to its differences and more accepting of the benefits of working together for the common good. Each one of us will have our own reasons for being grateful. Personally I am forever thankful that during my years working in the Irish College in Rome, it was my privilege to officiate at a huge number of weddings. It is always a special moment when a couple say to each other those marvellous words, I take you for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health, all the days of my life. I like to say to them that none of us knows what the days of our life will bring. One thing, of which we can be absolutely sure, however, is that they will always bring us the unchanging love of God. It is this thought which gives me most strength and consolation as I face into the new millennium. Jesus Christ, the Lord of life and history, came to reveal the Father’s love. All time belongs to him and all the ages. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He will lead us safely into the Third Millennium. Have no doubt about that.

He will bring light into our darkness, joy into our sorrow, hope into our hearts and his special peace into our world. A very happy and peaceful and blessed new year to you all and to all who are dear to you.

EASTER 1999
MESSAGE BY
ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

The Resurrection is the crowning truth of our faith in Jesus Christ. Some people are surprised by the statement that Easter is the most important of all Christian festivals. After all, they ask, does not that distinction belong to Christmas?

Of course, Christmas is a very significant feast because it celebrates the birth of Jesus. But Easter marks the most significant event of all, when Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead.

He passed from death to life. He set the world free from the slavery of sin and from the fear of death. He led us all into a freedom that will last forever. He is the Saviour of the world. St Paul’s frank assertion to the Corinthians proclaims a compelling truth: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain”.

Easter means that through the Son, God the Father stoops down to every woman and man and offers each one of us the possibility of freedom from sin and liberation from everlasting death.

When we celebrate the Easter ceremonies, commemorating the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, we are placing our own bodies and sufferings under the sign of the cross. It is our way of saying to Christ: “We want to share in the mystery of your bodily dying and rising”. It is our way of expressing the hope that one day God will raise up and transform these poor, sick bodies, and our divided world as well.
Easter is a time of new life and new hope. The earth is waking from its winter slumber; buds are on the trees and the flowers of spring are in full bloom.

The light of the Easter candle is a powerful reminder to us of the sure hope that the Spirit of the Risen Lord continues to act in our lives and in our world. This is a time when we realise that what we yearn for in the depths of our hearts can become a reality.

We long for a safe and peaceful world where people can live in peace with God and with each other. A world where people can live with dignity, free of fear and intimidation. A world where everyone is made welcome – especially the sick, the weak and the old. At Easter, we do not simply commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as an event which occurred many years ago. The Risen Christ is with us here and now. His victory over death gives real grounds for hope that our deepest human hungers can be satisfied. One of the challenges of Easter is to confront honestly the weaknesses inherent in the human condition. At Easter we name the forces of darkness present in our world and in our own lives. We ignore these dark forces at our peril.

But we must not let these forces determine and control the course of our lives. Our prayer must be that the light of Christ, rising in glory, may dispel the darkness in our hearts and minds. Only the light of Christ is powerful enough to drive out hatred and anger from our hearts, hatred and anger nourished on the memory of ancient wrongs powerful enough to sour and embitter us. Only the light of Christ can enable us to move hearts hardened by bigotry and prejudice.

At Eastertide we celebrate the victory of Christ over those very forces of darkness. We celebrate that victory with joy because it points to God’s final triumph over the power of evil. Only Christ gives hope that does not deceive.

The light of Christ can help us to see ourselves as we really are. It can also help us to see and respect others as they are, not as we would wish them to be. They, like us, are equal and precious in the sight of God. We are all sinners, sinners to whom the real possibility of becoming saints is offered.

In the tomb Jesus conquered death with death. The continents of our planet are constantly being studded with fresh tombs. The culture of death would have us believe that death is the end; that there is nothing beyond the tomb which awaits each one of us. But all who look to the empty tomb of Jesus Christ, and the stone rolled back, are filled with resurrection faith.

May Christ’s victory over death fill you with resurrection faith this Easter. May the greeting “Peace be with you”, pronounced by the Risen Christ on Easter morn, become a powerful reality in your life now.
March 31, 1999

CHRISTMAS 1999 AND THE NEW MILLENNIUM
MESSAGE FROM CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ARMAGH

Dear People,
We are about to celebrate the greatest Christmas of our lifetime. May it also be, for everyone, the happiest. This Christmas, we thank God for the coming, 2000 years ago, of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world. For 2000 years he has inspired countless millions of people, and influenced, more than anyone else, the course of history. The calculation of the passing years begins with the year of his coming into the world. It is very pleasing that so many people are accepting the Church’s invitation to rejoice and to celebrate. There is a lot to celebrate. We have a lot to be grateful for. We celebrate, not just what has been done in the name of Jesus, we celebrate Jesus himself. We celebrate the One who came from God to reveal to us the truth and to show the Father’s love for us.

To mark this special occasion Pope John Paul II has announced the Great Jubilee. This coming year will be a holy year. It will begin in every parish with the solemn lighting of the special Jubilee Candle at midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. That lighting will take place with a candle brought from Bethlehem on the occasion of the recent Diocesan Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The little light of Bethlehem reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. He offers us light to see God’s loving plan for all of us. He gives us strength to return that love and so become what he has created us to be.

On New Year’s Eve the sun will set for the last time this century. It will be a thoughtful time, tinged with some sorrow, rich in memories and hope for the future. Thoughts will inevitably turn to other endings, to our own frailty and mortality. My hope is that the light of the millennium candle in the home will remind us that for Christians, endings are never final, life changes but does not cease. The Risen Lord proves that God and love last forever. Let His light shine brightly in our hearts and have us know that He is God among us.

In a special way the joy of the Jubilee is that of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is probably easier to forgive than to accept that we need forgiveness and to ask for reconciliation. Forgiveness is, of course, a great grace, but in the love of God there is something more. Reconciliation opens the door to deep joy and freedom. It repairs damaged relationships and restores friendships. I hope that the Sacrament of Reconciliation will, this year, play an important part in preparing for the coming of Jesus.

Many celebrations will be organised for the year 2000 in the Archdiocese. The Jubilee is not a series of functions to be held. It is an experience to be lived. It is an inward journey to be travelled. That journey moves us away from whatever is contrary to God’s law. It enables us to accept Christ fully, live our faith in him and receive his abundant mercy.

I invite you all to pray fervently to the Lord for a gracefilled celebration of the forthcoming Jubilee. I ask, both priests and people, to open their hearts to the promptings of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not fail to arouse enthusiasm and lead us all to celebrate the Jubilee with renewed faith and joyful hope.

The recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land ended with Mass on Mount Carmel in the Star of the Sea Basilica on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Two thousand years ago Mary of Nazareth offered to the world the Word made flesh. May she now be the star that leads us towards her Son, who is the true light that enlightens everyone.

STATEMENT FROM CARDINAL SEAN BRADY,
ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH

AT THE FUNERAL OF MRS. MARY GRIMES, BERAGH, CO. TYRONE

WEDNESDAY, 19 AUGUST, 1998, 11.30AM

Today, once again, our hearts go out to the Grimes family as we gather for the funeral of Mary, loving wife, devoted mother, and outstanding grandmother. We are all here to offer our sympathy and the support of our prayers as they struggle to cope with this tremendous loss. The death of a beloved wife and mother always brings great pain and sorrow but when that death coincides with the tragic killing of her daughter, Avril, and grand-daughter, Maura, the pain becomes unbearable, the grief incredible. If this triple tragedy were due to natural causes or an accident it would be already immensely sad. But this is the work of fellow human beings and our hearts are filled, not only with sadness but with anger and outrage. That it was carried out under the pretext of patriotism, adds shame to that outrage and sorrow.

We are here to pray with you and for you. We are joined by hundreds of thousands of people who are thinking of you at this time and asking God to give you the strength which you need during these terrible days. We pray especially that your pain may be eased and your sorrow lessened and your memories healed.

Father James, Mary’s brother-in-law, has prayed for forgiveness for the people who carried out this terrible atrocity. This prayer is yet another example of the wonderful courage and dignity which the Grimes family and so many other families have shown over these days. As we re-echo that prayer, we know that there are people who cannot find it in their hearts to share those sentiments at this time. We also know that God pardons those who turn to him with a sincere heart, no matter how terrible the sin. But we mortals find it more difficult to forgive. It would make it easier if those responsible were to show remorse and indicate a change of heart.

The efforts made in recent days to offer an explanation show that the bombers realise that something went terribly wrong. They need to go further, much further. They need to realise that their whole campaign is utterly wrong and totally evil and completely devoid of justification.

How could the murder of baby Maura, of baby Brenda Devine, of eight year old Oran Doherty, of nine teenagers, of twelve adult women and of four adult men, all of them innocent victims, be other than something very evil? If those responsible will not listen to the voice of the ballot box, let them at least listen to the voice of revulsion, expressed so clearly and so powerfully and so consistently. Let them listen to the voice of their own conscience and ask: Is this the kind of person I really wish to be? Are these the kind of values I wish to live by? Let them answer those questions honestly and end this senseless campaign of violence permanently now.

Last Saturday’s tragedy has once more brought home the lesson of the dreadful horror of violence. That is the sort of thing which bombs, once primed and planted, do. They kill and they maim; they wreck and they destroy. The experience must galvanise all of us to reject the path of violence totally once and for all.

The Omagh bomb has united a community in grief. Let it bring us all together to work to ensure that the hopes of peace are not ruined. Let it unite us all in praying and hoping that the worst atrocity may in fact prove to be last. We must continue to pray and to hope and to work. We do so in the belief that lasting peace is ultimately a divine gift as well as a human task. To do anything else other than to work and to hope and to pray for peace is to yield to despair and to give in to the temptation to believe that such peace is impossible. That would be the final surrender to those who instil terror and inflict violence. We owe it to the memory of those who have died to make sure that this does not happen and to do all we can to guarantee that they have not died in vain.

In the early Church the day of the death of a saint was regarded as her real birthday – the day of her birth into real and everlasting life. Mary Grimes was called from this earthly life on her birthday. We commend her, and Avril and Maura to the Lord, that the Lord may receive them into his place and raise them up, restored and renewed on the last day. As we do so I offer to her husband, Mick, to her family, to Father James, to all her relatives and friends, my sympathy, the sympathy of Bishop Clifford and of the priests and people of the Archdiocese of Armagh.

May she rest in peace.

CATHOLIC YOUNG MEN’S SOCIETY IN IRELAND
150th ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDATION
DUBLIN
ADDRESS BY ARCHBISHOP SEAN BRADY
SATURDAY, 6 NOVEMBER, 1999

I have been asked to say the traditional “few words at the dinner”. I am happy to do so. I gladly congratulate the Catholic Young Men’s Society of Ireland as it celebrates the 150th anniversary of its foundation in 1849.

As the Society looks back it sees much to be thankful for. It can be proud of what it has done to help and prepare lay people to assume and carry out their responsibilities in the Church and in society. As the constitution approved in 1994 indicates the Society intends to continue to do so. For that constitution presents the challenge of the Gospel of Christ. It shows how the Society helps its members to match that challenge. In a spirit of service it helps and encourages young men, and maybe sometimes not so young men, to strive towards those high ideals.

I am very pleased that so many representatives of so many other voluntary organisations have joined you for this happy occasion. The Young Men’s Christian Association is particularly welcome. CYMS is the oldest Lay Catholic organisation in the country. Dean O’Brien was a man of great vision. The Society spread rapidly throughout Ireland. It was soon set up in Britain, Australia and South Africa and I suppose the secret of its success was that it recognised the abiding needs of young people and tried to meet those needs in a deep, not superficial way.

It has been stated that, since about 1950, CYMS has been in decline in terms of the number of branches. But happily in terms of the activities of those branches the Society is very much alive. It provides a safe, drug free environment where young people can relax. It offers guidance and formation. I know the Society is of great help to the local community in lots of ways.

As the Society looks around it, I believe that it will see that there is today as great a need as ever for the CYMS and for similar societies. Despite the Celtic Tiger there are still some people very short of material goods. Perhaps because of the Celtic Tiger there are plenty of young people whose parents are very short of time to spend with them. There are lots of young people who, for various reasons, are insecure and sometimes depressed and discouraged. There are statistics there to prove that. There are very many parents who, would, I imagine, welcome the kind of help which the CYMS can offer. I know the help is on offer, the problem is getting it accepted. Take the long summer holidays for example, where young people have less to do and greater expectations than ever. The challenge is to devise programmes of activities which will contain elements of formation, maybe of meditation, as well as recreation. There is an undoubted hunger there for spiritual growth. Only societies which have tried to remain faithful to their own spiritual ideals can even begin to think of how to meet that spiritual hunger. Let us never forget the basic needs of the human person are the same today as they were in Dean O’Brien’s day, 150 years ago.

I know that all voluntary organisations are meeting difficulties in recruiting new members and in retaining the loyalty of existing ones. There is a wide range of voluntary organisations here with a proud record of generous service and a wealth of practical experience.

Perhaps you have already come together to discuss your common problems, to see how, in this very individualistic age, you can persuade people of the values of voluntary work undertaken on behalf of the community. If not, I suggest you start to do so. You can persuade them, and only you can do it, of the satisfaction that such work brings to the person concerned. You can get people to look within and find that there are motives pulling them to get involved in such work as well as the motives which tend to attract them to avoid it. I would suggest that the success of this society lies in its fidelity to its ideals.

At the recent Synod in Rome on the Church in Europe, the example of Christ walking with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus was often mentioned. It was pointed out that he did not rebuke them for having abandoned Jerusalem. Rather he walked the road with them. He shared their concerns and was able to lead them to a new faith and to a new hope. Today the Church is called to walk and talk with people of all faiths and of no faith. To bring hope we have to be prepared to go into lots of situations. The often hidden but extremely important example given by Christian men and women in ordinary daily life is invaluable. Without fuss or noise they bring the message of God’s love and mercy to those in need through all kinds of humble and valuable service. I salute the service given by the CYMS over the last 150 years and I wish them a new lease of life, lots of fresh energy and vitality, plenty of creative ideas as they begin another chapter in their existence.

ST JOSEPH’S YOUNG PRIESTS SOCIETY
CELEBRATION MASS
INTRODUCTION

Today we concelebrate Mass to mark the conclusion of a special year of prayer for an increase in vocations to priesthood and religious life. We congratulate Armagh Provincial Council of St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society who took the decision to have this special year of prayer. We welcome those members of the Society who have come to Armagh today. They are led by their National President, Eileen Sparling, on her last day in office and last official duty and by Hubert Reynolds, the incoming National President.
A special word of welcome to

Bishops MacKiernan, Boyce, Brooks and Clifford;
to Mgr. Farrell, President of Maynooth College;
to Father Ferris representing Bishop McAreavey.
We welcome all who have come from St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society –

The National Chaplain; The National Vice Presidents; National Officers; Members of the National Executive Committee; Representatives of the other three Provincial Councils; The officers and representatives from the Armagh Provincial Council; The officers and representatives from branches of the Society within the Archdiocese, led by the Diocesan Chairman, Dan McCann; The officers and representatives from each other eight Diocesan Councils in the Province.

I also welcome Vocations Directors, Priests from other dioceses, Clerical students,
The representatives of religious communities and other religious and apostolic organizations.
We praise and thank God for the gift of life and especially for the call to be holy. We recognise the fact that we haven’t always lived up to or answered that call faithfully and we ask pardon for our sins.

ST. JOSEPH’S YOUNG PRIESTS SOCIETY CELEBRATION MASS
ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH
HOMILY BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
SUNDAY OCTOBER 31, 1999

This is not an easy Gospel to preach: especially for people who have grand titles and who wear mitres and fancy robes, who get more than our fair share of places of honour and front seats. And yet, preach it we must and above all we must try and practise what we preach.

Jesus is devastating in his criticism of the religious leaders of his day. Yes, he says, people must listen to them and do what they say, for they occupy the chair of Moses. They are the official teachers. Unfortunately they did not practise what they preached. Unfortunately, instead of lightening people’s burden they made them heavier. Instead of drawing attention to the only one Master, the Scribes and Pharisees drew attention to themselves. Instead of pointing out that we are all brothers and sisters, children of the One Only Father, and therefore equal in His sight, they managed to give the impression that they were superior and deserving of special honour. Instead of pointing to the one and only Teacher, the Christ, they set themselves up as THE TEACHERS and were happy to be greeted with great deference and respect.

Before he ascended to the Father, Jesus left clear teaching to the Apostles to be carried out:

Go, announce the Good News to the ends of the earth.
Baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven.
Do this in memory of me.

By carrying out those commands they were to lighten people’s burdens, the burdens of guilt and shame for example which is the result of our sins. They were to take away the burden of fear with the Good News that all the baptised are called to holiness of life. That all are called to follow Christ and to lead others to him and to be happy with him forever in eternity.

In other words the Good News is that everyone has a God-given vocation. For each one of us is called to share God’s life and to live that life to the full and to live up to our dignity as children of God.
Gradually it became clear that there were other, more specific vocations to be found among the people of God. The apostles soon realised that if they were going to do all that Jesus left them to do, they would need help. They saw that they would need priests to help them preach the Good News and celebrate the sacraments and bring God’s pardon and peace to sinners. They realised that God calls people to specific roles in the Church as priests, as religious nuns and brothers. Down through the centuries that call has been answered generously and gladly. Down through the centuries there have been people who have been particularly attentive to the command of Christ, to pray to the Lord to send labourers into his harvest.

Today we are very happy to welcome one such group of people to Armagh. The St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society was founded just over 100 years ago by Olivia Taaffe from the parish of Ardee in this Archdiocese. By their prayers, their sacrifices, their financial contributions, the members of the Society help young men to hear the call of God to priesthood and follow that call to ordination.
Today we thank God for St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society. We thank the Society for all they do. We thank them and we thank God for the decision of the Armagh Provincial Council to have a special year of prayer for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Your prayers, your sacrifices, your help, are a wonderful sign of hope for the Church and especially for the Church in those countries that are now regaining their freedom after years of suppression and persecution. During the Synod, the Bishop of Banska Bystrica in Slovakia, came to the Irish College to thank the Irish Bishops for the help which the Irish Church gives to him in the work of educating his seminarians. He has something like 120 seminarians for one diocese and obviously his needs are great. He is very grateful for the help received. I sat beside a Bishop from Romania. He told me that there are some 500 seminarians in that country and obviously they have great needs.

I ask that you continue this wonderful apostolate throughout your 480 branches. I urge you to remember that your prayers are heard and are bearing fruit somewhere in the world because they are in accord with the wishes of God.

Today we celebrate this concelebrated Mass to mark the end of that year of prayer. We thank God for all the vocations of the century and of the millennium that is ending. They have been outstanding witnesses to Christ. They have been a sign of great hope to the people to whom they ministered especially those who live and work in difficult circumstances.

The members of St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society are well aware that God has not stopped calling young men to become priests. I am sure they get requests for help all the time. In fact at the end of 1997, there were 2,647 more seminarians in the world than there were one year earlier in 1996. Yes, 2,647 more seminarians, making a total of 108,000. But, the sad fact is that in Europe there were 788 less.
I have just come back from the Special Synod of Bishops in Rome. It dealt with Jesus Christ – the Source of Hope for Europe and the one word that crept cropping up was crisis. Europe itself – not just vocations, not just the faith, but Europe itself is in crisis. Europe is tired. In more than 90% of European countries the population is in decline. The Italian President Ciamp, visited Pope John Paul ten days ago. He spoke of the sadness of “empty cradles”. Europe is in crisis. It is tired. It is even too tired to vote at times.

But crisis can also be a positive event in life. It can help us to see the truth about what is in crisis. The crisis of Europe in general is in the difficulty which people experience in living up to their vocation – whether that vocation be to priesthood or to married life or to religious life. Fewer men feel called to the priesthood nowadays for the same reason that fewer feel inclined to get married. Both vocations demand generosity and sacrifice and life commitment. Both demand the courage to give oneself for others. God does not stop calling. Today men don’t seem to have the freedom to respond to that call. It is a crisis in responsibility. I ask your prayers for all of us priests and bishops that we may be faithful in our efforts to respond
So, the Synod is proposing that all that is possible should be done to support families to be true domestic churches, that is

· families where there is faith, a faith that is valued and guarded as a treasure;
· A faith that is nourished by prayer;
· A faith that is strengthened by generosity and self-sacrifice.

It is from the midst of families like that, that both the call to holiness in the world and the call to holiness in priesthood and religious life will be heard. It is important that parents be helped to be open to the possibility of their children responding to the call to the priesthood or religious life.

Vocation is a free gift of God Cardinal Suard once said. It passes through the hearts of mothers, it is this that will make them great in eternity. I was appalled to hear of a mother recently who said she would not allow her son to think of becoming a priest.

The Synod calls for constant prayer in parishes and in families for a growth in the number of vocations.
One of the happiest days of this year for me was a Sunday in July when my next door neighbour, Andrew Tully, was ordained a priest. I was happy for the young man himself, for his family and for the people of the parish. There was a particular pride and joy at the fact that God had given this gift of priesthood to one of themselves, that this young man had been chosen to be a living sign of Christ, who gave up his life for love of us.

If prayer and the graces that come from prayer do not find fertile soil then the Lord’s call will not be heard. Young people need encouragement. They will get encouragement if we priests have the courage to say that yes, we are happy as priests, if we have the courage to talk about the beauty of being able to stand before a congregation and remember and reenact the story of Christ: Do this in memory of me. They will get encouragement if we are willing to talk about the joy of bringing peace and pardon to those who have been upset and feel guilty. They will get encouragement if we priests have the courage to talk about the challenges of being a priest – the challenges of trying to find answers to the deepest questions in life. The challenges of wrestling with the word of God, knowing that only Christ has the words of eternal life.
We are about to celebrate the beginning of a new millennium. The millennium itself is measured from the birth of Christ because the birth of Christ is the most important event in the history of the world. It is so because the coming of Christ into the world is the supreme proof of God’s love for humankind.

My hope is that our celebration of the millennium will lead to a renewal of faith and hope in God’s love. That is the kind of renewal that will enable us to overcome every crisis. May Mary, the mother of Jesus, the great high priest, help us to know that we have only one Master and we are all brothers and sister, that we have only one Father and he is in Heaven, that we have only one Teacher, the Christ, to whom we must listen. Let her protection also inspire the work of St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society into the next millennium.

AMEN

PUNISHMENT BEATINGS
STATEMENT BY CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
1 SEPTEMBER, 1999

Everyone should be presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of justice where the evidence has been heard. Where this does not happen there is a serious risk of mistaken identity and of a miscarriage of justice. There is also the danger of the punishment being totally out of all proportion to the alleged crime. Those who received death-threats, punishment beatings or have been ordered to leave the country are victims. They are victims of a system that is totally unacceptable. Like all victims they deserve sympathy and support.

Those who have suffered the effects of criminal activity are also victims. They too deserve help and understanding. They should be helped to seek redress in the proper quarters. Those who have the power and the responsibility to do so, should deliver that redress swiftly and effectively. In this way people will see the folly of turning to private individuals and inviting them to take the law into their own hands, setting themselves up as guardians and administrators of law and order. The solution lies rather in the promotion of the efficient administration of a few and an acceptable system of justice for all.