Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
Showing posts with label Peregrinatio pro Christo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peregrinatio pro Christo. Show all posts
‘Will any one of you who has a servant ploughing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, “Come at once and recline at table”'? (Luke 17:7; Gospel).
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
Readings(English
Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)
GospelLuke 17:5-10 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time:
The Apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you
had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree,
“Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.
‘Will any one
of you who has a servant ploughing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come
in from the field, “Come at once and recline at table”? Will he not rather say
to him, “Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat
and drink, and afterwards you will eat and drink”? Does he thank the servant
because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you
were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our
duty.” ’
And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you' (Luke 17:6; Gospel).
In the summer of 1964, after my third year in the seminary, I spent a couple of weeks working in theMorning Star Hostel in Dublin. It was within walking distance of my home. I had been in the Legion of Mary for most of my five years in secondary school and used to rejoin my praesidium (the basic branch of the Legion) during summer vacations. In the summer of 1963 I spent a week on Peregrinatio pro Christo in a parish in Liverpool, England, and in 1965 did the same in a parish in Paisley, Scotland. My last experience of Peregrinatio was in Pewsey, Wiltshire, in the southwest of England in 1966.
Morning Star Hostel has a small number of 'indoor brothers' taking care of the men who stay there. These are laymen, Legionaries who devote themselves full-time to this work with the help of male legionaries who work there for a number of hours each week. I remember two of the indoor brothers from 1964, Tom Doyle and Sid Quinn. The old webpage about the Morning Star - the page doesn't seem to be there anymore - gave a short biography of Tom, along with a photo. It describes him in these terms: Tom Doyle was the manager of the hostel for about 50 years and he is regarded as an unknown saint by most if not all the people who knew him.
Tom Doyle (1905 - 1992)
I didn't get to know Tom or Sid well, certainly not their inner lives, though I did join them at prayer, which is central to the lives and work of members of the Legion of Mary and at all meetings. Sid knew my father as they had grown up in the same working class neighbourhood where I also grew up. I saw the utter dedication of Tom and Sid, or 'Brother Tom' and 'Brother Sid' as they were known within the hostel. During Legion meetings and Legion work members address and refer to each other as 'Brother' and 'Sister' but not outside of that.
As Pope Francis might put it, Tom and Sid well knew 'the smell of their sheep'. That might be the smell of alcohol, the smell of unwashed bodies. Sometimes for Tom it might be the smell of his own blood: Rows and scuffles and fist fights were regular occurrences and poor Tom had the responsibility of calming every storm. No doubt Tom who was small in stature was on the receiving end of some of those blows and it is well known that near the end of his life one of the residents very badly beat him up so that he had to spend time in hospital but when he came out he made himself the best friend of that resident!
Things have changed somewhat for the better in the Morning Star since I worked there during the summer of 1964, as you can read here. The dedication of the members of the Legion of Mary who look after it is still very much there.
When I read the words We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty in today's gospel I thought of Tom Doyle and Sid Quinn. The words of Jesus seem to be in contrast with what he says elsewhere, especially in St John's Gospel, where he calls us friends, where he asks Peter, Do you love me? Feed my lambs.
When I used the material above six years ago Liam Hayden, a friend who was my classmate in primary school and who was deeply involved all his adult life with the Legion of Mary along with his wife Moira, some of their children following in their parents' footsteps, posted this comment: I was very close to both men and they had a profound effect on my development as a person and as a legionary, especially in 1969 when I took leave from my job to volunteer as an indoor brother for a year. I went on holiday with both on separate occasions and they were, to my mind, saints of the Church and both are interred, at their own insistence, in the Morning Star plot in Glasnevin cemetery Dublin.
Thanks for reminding me of a priceless interlude in my life.
Liam wrote a chapter on Tom
Doyle for a book published last November in Ireland, The Rock from Which You Were Hewn; International edition by Ignatius Press. (I have a chapter on the seven Columban priests killed in the Korean War who, with others, are being proposed for beatification as martyrs by the bishops of Korea.)
Liam died of Covid on Holy Saturday 2021. May his generous soul rest in peace.
There are 'unknown saints' like Tom Doyle and Sid Quinn throughout the world, many of them for example taking care of aged parents or of their children with severe disabilities, who gladly say We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.
These have fanned into flame the gift of God, to use the words of St Paul in today's Second Reading.
Ave Stella Matutina – Hail,
Morning Star
El Carmen
Traditional Latin Mass
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful (Benedict XVI).
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 10-05-2025 if necessary).
Epistle: Ephesians 4: 1-6. Gospel: Matthew 22:34-46.
For thus says the Lord:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing
stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:12-13).
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelLuke 10:1-12, 17-20 [or Luke 10: 1-9] (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)
After this
the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them,
‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of
the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I
am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no
bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter,
first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in
peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to
you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide,
for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever
you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God
has come near to you.”
[But whenever you enter a town and
they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust
of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet
know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”I tell you, on that day it will be more
tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the
demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven
like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on
snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will
hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to
you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’] Note: Some translations mention 70 disciples, others, such as the Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible, 72.
The current issue of Magnificat, a pocket-sized monthly magazine that is a prayer book and Missal that I highly recommend, has this story of St Justin Martyr who died c.165. He was a philosopher who attached himself to philosophical schools in different places.
One day, while walking along the beach in Ephesus, Justin met an old man who told him of the teachings of the Hebrew prophets and their fufilment in the person of Jesus Christ. 'My spirit was immediately set on fire,' Justin wrote later.
I remember the late Columban Fr Cyril Hally, a New Zealander, pointing out to us in the seminary that when the Apostles went to their different mission fields they found some Christians there before them. Christians who travelled, such as merchants, spoke about Jesus Christ to those they met and many a spirit was immediately set on fire.
Columban Fr Joseph Hogan from Dublin, where the Legion of Mary was born, introduced the movement to China, where it later produced many martyrs. He died in Shanghai on 6 July 1946. And Columban Fr Seán Savage who died on 7 July 1994 is credited with introducing the Legion to Korea. May they both rest in peace.
During some summer vacations in my seminary years I went onPeregrinatio Pro Christo- Pilgrimage For Christ - with
theLegion of Mary.
'PPC', as Legionaries usually call it, was partly inspired by the spirit of
Irish monks such as St Columbanus (Columban) and St Columcille (Columba) who
left Ireland for other countries, Columban to the European mainland
and Columba to Iona, Scotland, in the modern Diocese of Argyll and the Isles
where I spent two months in parish work during the summer of 2013. I also spent
two short periods working there in the summer of 1997.
Legionaries
go to another country or to another region in their own country for at least a
week, usually at the invitation of a particular parish. In 1963 I was in a
parish near the centre of Liverpool, St Anthony's, I think, around the time The Beatles, from that
city, were becoming known throughout the world. Two years later I was in St Fergus' Parish, Ferguslie, Paisley, very near Glasgow, and in 1966 in Pewsey, a lovely village
in rural Wiltshire in England's beautiful West Country. I arrived there on the
day England won the World Cup in football against Germany and watched the game
in a cafe in Bristol.
On PPC most
of the Legionaries have never met each other before but they establish a close
bond very quickly. Instead of a weekly meeting, as they have in their own
praesidium, as a branch is called (the Legion takes its terminology from the
ancient Roman Legions), they meet daily. Each meeting includes prayers at the
beginning, the middle and the end, a reading from the Handbook, reporting on
work done, a short talk or allocutio from the spiritual
director, and assignments for the coming week, two hours for senior members.
On PPC this takes place every day, as
does the work. And it is usually much longer than two hours. Most of those
taking part give up part of their own vacations and pay their own way, though
they are usually hosted by local families, just like the 72 (or 70) in the gospel.
Just like the disciples in today's Gospel, Legionaries work in pairs.
They may never work alone. If one doesn't turn up the assigned work can't be done.
One of the central works of the Legion of Mary is to visit homes. In Liverpool
the parish priest asked us to do a parish census. This served two purposes. It
helped the parish update its list but, more importantly, it was an opportunity
for personal contact with parishioners, especially with those who had lapsed.
I remember one particular home that I visited with my assigned partner.
The parish index card noted that the family who lived there had become quite
bitter towards the Church, why, I didn't know. But I felt nervous when I
pressed the doorbell. A man opened the door and one of us said that we were from
the Legion of Mary and that we were visiting on behalf of the local parish.
Instead of speaking angry words or slamming the door in our faces, the man gave us a big smile and said, 'O, you're from Ireland!' He then told us of vacations that he and his family had spent there and that they had received a warm
welcome wherever they went.
I took this as a cue to speak of the hospitality and friendliness of the
Irish people as being an expression of their Catholic faith. We had a long chat
in which the man who had, as I recall, called his wife to meet us, expressed no
bitterness at all towards the Church and it was clear when we were leaving that
he was very grateful for the visit.
I don't know if he and his family went back to the Church but he had
experienced a welcoming Church through our visit. In a very real way we had
done what Jesus had asked the 72 (or 70) to do: Cure the sick who are there, and say
to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you' The sickness in question wasn't a
physical one but a spiritual one.
Our faith is a precious gift from God
that must be shared. Otherwise it will die. In the gospel the 72 (or 70) are
given a specific mission. That is what happens on PPC. But we're on mission all
the time and we may never know how we can lead others to the faith.
A
few years ago when visiting Canada I was invited to give a talk to a prayer
group. Afterwards over coffee I was chatting with one of the members, an immigrant
from Germany. She had been a Lutheran but for years had been thinking of
becoming a Catholic. However, she couldn't take the final step. One day she was
passing a Catholic church and felt drawn to go in. As she was trying to share
her hesitation with the Lord in prayer a group of teenage boys came in,
genuflected to the Blessed Sacrament, spent a couple of minutes in silent
prayer, got up, genuflected again and went on their way. This for her was the
moment of grace when she let go of her hesitations. She didn't know who the
boys were and they had no idea of the powerful impact their visit to the Lord
had made on this woman.
The
young future martyr Justin learned of Jesus Christ from an old man. The elderly
woman I met in Canada, who did know Jesus Christ, found her way to becoming a
Catholic Christian through the example of the teenage boys whom she didn't know
nor they her.
Whether
we're 'on duty' as missionaries, as the 72 (or 70) were and as I was on PPC, or
'off duty' the lives we lead can truly remind others that the kingdom
of God has come near to you. The people that the Liverpool family met in
Ireland, bus drivers, waiters, waitresses, newspaper vendors, so many
others, probably weren't aware that they were gentle reminders of God's love to
them. When we honestly try to follow Jesus despite our sinfulness and weakness
we can take heart in the words he spoke to the 72 (or 70) as they reported what
had happened during their mission, rejoice that your names are written
in heaven.
Antiphona
ad introitum
Entrance
Antiphon Cf. Ps 47[48]: 10-11
Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio templi
tui.
Your merciful love, O God, we have recevied in the
midst of your temple.
Secundum nomen tuum, Deus, ita et laus tua in fines
terrae;
Your praise, O God, like your name, reaches the ends
of the earth;
iustitia plena est dextera tua. your right hand is filled with saving justice.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelMark 6:7-13 (New Revised Standard
Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)
Jesus called
the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over
the unclean spirits.He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a
staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;but to wear sandals and not to put
on two tunics.He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter
a house, stay there until you leave the place.If any place will not welcome you
and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your
feet as a testimony against them.’So they went out and proclaimed that
all should repent.They cast out many demons, and
anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Green Drove, Pewsey, with the Pewsey White Horse, south of the village [Wikipedia]
Today's gospel reminds me of
experiences as a seminarian while on Peregrinatio pro Christo with the Legion of Mary, in St Anne's Parish, Edge Hill, Liverpool, in 1963, in St
Fergus' Parish, Paisley, Scotland in 1965 and in Holy Family Parish, Pewsey,
Wiltshire, England, in 1966. Peregrinatio pro Christo, or PPC, is a programme of the Legion of Mary that began in
1958 or 1959. Legionaries give up a week or two of their summer vacation to do
full-time Legion work in another country. The name comes from the motto that
inspired St Columban and many Irish missionary monks, Peregrinari pro Christo, 'to be a pilgrim
for Christ'. Saint Pope John XXIII quoted this in a letter to the
Irish Hierarchy in 1961 on the
occasion of the Patrician Year, commemorating 1,500 years of the Catholic faith
in Ireland. In the same letter he specifically referred to the involvement in
this spirit of the Society of St Columban in Latin America. (Thanks to Shane for the
link).
Many of us in the seminary, including some of the
priests, used to go for a week or two during our summer break. Like the
apostles, we depended on the hospitality of parishioners for board and lodging.
In my three experiences I was in parishes and the main work was going from
house-to-house in pairs, rather like what the Apostles were sent by Jesus to do
in today's gospel. Legionaries never work alone. Occasionally people would
close their door once we announced who we were but very few were impolite. Some
would give us a warm welcome.
I remember one family we visited in
Liverpool. They were lapsed Catholics and the parish records showed they were
rather hostile to the Church. However, when the man who opened the door heard
our Irish accents he began to tell us about his pleasant experiences on visits
to Ireland. I spoke of this as an expression of our faith. We had a very
friendly conversation with hi and when we leaving seemed to have let go of his
hostility to the Church.
Garrard County Courthouse, Lancaster, Kentucky[Wikipedia]
As a young
priest studying in the USA I had similar experiences in Lancaster, Kentucky,
during the summers of 1969 and 1970. The parish priest, Fr Ralph Beiting, had college students from other parts of the USA work on
various projects in his parish that covered nearly four counties and that had
very few Catholics. There was still lingering prejudice against Catholics. One
of the projects was to visit each home, in pairs, just as the Legion does, and
introduce ourselves as being from the Catholic Church, and telling the people
about our programmes. Again, the response was generally positive. In some rural
homes we'd meet older people sitting on their rocking chairs on the veranda.
They'd invite us to sit down and relax and would sometimes share a bit about
their Bible-based faith. As we'd leave we'd hear the friendly farewell so
common in the area, 'Y'all come back!'
Some of the programmes we invited
children to were summer Bible schools and five-day vacations for poor children
in a summer camp, boys one week and girls another week. Black and white
children would be together at a time when this was rare in that part of the
USA.
Only God knows what can result from
going from house to house as a way of carrying the mission that Jesus gave to
the Twelve and that he gives to us. He doesn't guarantee 'success' but simply
sends us out in trust.
One of Father
Beiting's summer apostolates for many years was street-preaching, very often
with seminarians. On one occasion years ago he was driven out of one town at
gunpoint but returned the next day, not to preach but simply to show himself.
He was eventually not only accepted but welcomed. He, a Catholic priest, was
continuing an old tradition in the area, that of the travelling preacher. He was one of
the very few left. Fr Beiting,born on 1 January 1924, was
ordained in 1949 and up to his late 80s he was still going strong. Here he is
preaching during the summer of 2011. He died the following summer on 9 August
2012. What a wonderful example he was as a disciple of Jesus and as a Catholic
priest!
For thus says
theLord: I will extend prosperity to
her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing
stream; and you shall nurse and be
carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees. As a mother
comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:12-13).
After
this the Lord appointed seventyothers and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to
every town and place where he himself intended to go.He said to them, “The harvest
is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into his harvest.Go
on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals;
and greet no one on the road.Whatever house you enter, first
say, ‘Peace to this house!’And if anyone is there who
shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will
return to you.Remain in the same house,
eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid.
Do not move about from house to house.Whenever you enter a town and
its people welcome you, eat what is set before you;cure the sick who are there, and say to them,
‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’But whenever you enter a town and they do not
welcome you, go out into its streets and say,‘Even
the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against
you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’I tell you, on that day it will be more
tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
The seventyreturned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the
demons submit to us!”He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a
flash of lightning.See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you.Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that
the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
During some of my summer vacations in my seminary years I went on Peregrinatio Pro Christo - Pilgrimage For Christ - with the Legion of Mary. 'PPC', as Legionaries usually call it, was partly inspired by the spirit of Irish monks such as St Columbanus (Columban) and St Columcille (Columba) who left Ireland for other beautiful countries, Columban to the European mainland and Columba to Iona, Scotland, in the modern Diocese of Argyll and the Isles where I spent two months in parish work during the summer of 2013. I also spent two short periods working there in the summer of 1997.
Legionaries go to another country or to another region in their own country for at least a week, usually at the invitation of a particular parish. In 1963 I was in a parish near the centre of Liverpool, around the time the Beatles, from that city, were becoming known throughout the world. Two years later I was in a parish in Paisley, very near Glasgow, and in 1966 in Pewsey, a lovely village in rural Wiltshire in England's beautiful West Country. I arrived there on the day England won the World Cup in football against Germany and watched the game in a cafe in Bristol.
On PPC most of the Legionaries have never met each other before but they establish a close bond very quickly. Instead of a weekly meeting, as they have in their own praesidium, as a branch is called (the Legion takes its terminology from the ancient Roman Legions) they meet daily. Each meeting includes prayers at the beginning, the middle and the end, a reading from the Handbook, reporting on work done, a short talk or allocutio from the spiritual director, and assignments for the coming week, two hours for senior members.
On PPC this takes place every day, as does the work. And it is usually much longer than two hours. Most of those taking part give up part of their own vacations and pay their own way, though they are usually hosted by local families, just like the 72 in the gospel.
Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool[Wikipedia]
Just like the disciples in today's Gospel, Legionaries work in pairs. They may never work alone. If one doesn't turn up the assigned work can't be done. One of the central works of the Legion of Mary is to visit homes. In Liverpool the parish priest asked us to do a parish census. This served two purposes. It helped the parish update its list but, more importantly, it was an opportunity for personal contact with parishioners, especially with those who had lapsed.
I remember one particular home that I visited with my assigned partner. The parish index card noted that the family who lived there had become quite bitter towards the Church, why, I didn't know. But I felt nervous when I pressed the doorbell. When the door was opened one of us said that we were from the Legion of Mary and that we were visiting on behalf of the local parish.
Instead of angry words or having the door being slammed in our faces, we got a big smile from the man who had opened the door when we introduced ourselves and he said, 'O, you're from Ireland!' He then told us of vacations that he and his family had spent in Ireland and that they had received a warm welcome wherever they went.
I took this as a cue to speak of the hospitality and friendliness of the Irish people as being an expression of their Catholic faith. We had a long chat in which the man, who had, as I recall, asked his wife to meet us, expressed no bitterness at all towards the Church and it was clear when we were leaving that he was very grateful for the visit.
I don't know if he and his family went back to the Church but he had experienced a welcoming Church through our visit. In a very real way we had done what Jesus had asked the 72 (or 70) to do: Cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you'The sickness in question wasn't a physical one but a spiritual one.
Our faith is a precious gift from God that must be shared. Otherwise it will die. In the gospel the 72 (or 70) are given a specific mission. That is what happens on PPC. But we're on mission all the time and we may never know how we can lead others to the faith.
A few years ago when visiting Canada I was invited to give a talk to a prayer group. Afterwards over coffee I was chatting with one of the members, an immigrant from Germany. She had been a Lutheran but for years had been thinking of becoming a Catholic. However, she couldn't take the final step. One day she was passing a Catholic church and felt drawn to go in. As she was trying to share her hesitation with the Lord a group of teenage boys came in, genuflected to the Blessed Sacrament, spent a couple of minutes in silent prayer, got up, genuflected again and went on their way. This for her was the moment of grace when she let go of her hesitations. She didn't know who the boys were and they had no idea of the powerful impact their visit to the Lord had made on this woman.
Three years ago in St Mun's Church, Ballachulish, where I spent some time during the summer, I concelebrated Mass with Bishop Joseph Toal of Argyll and the Isles - he is now Bishop of Motherwell - as he baptised and confirmed James Campbell MacPherson and gave him his First Holy Communion. Campbell, as he is known to everyone, is married and his wife Mary and their children are Catholics. I've no doubt that it was their influence and that of the parishioners in this small parish that gently led him to the faith.
Whether we're 'on duty' as missionaries, as the 72 (or 70) were and as I was on PPC, or 'off duty' the lives we lead can truly remind others that the kingdom of God has come near to you. The people that the Liverpool family met in Ireland, bus drivers, waitresses, newspaper vendors, so many others, probably weren't aware that they were gentle reminders of God's love to them. When we honestly try to follow Jesus despite our sinfulness and weakness we can take heart in the words he spoke to the 72 (or 70) as they reported what had happened during their mission, rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Antiphona ad introitum
Entrance Antiphon Cf. Ps
47[48]: 10-11
Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio templi tui.
Your merciful love, O God, we have recevied in the midst of your
temple.
Secundum nomen tuum, Deus, ita et laus tua in fines terrae;
Your praise, O God, like your name, reaches the ends of the earth;
Farmer in a Field
