'Discover ever more deeply the joy of being united with Christ in the Church.' Sunday Reflections, 5th Sunday of Easter, Year B

 

The Red Vineyard

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel  John 15:1-8  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Jesus said to his disciples:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Antiphona ad communionem  Communion Antiphon (Cf John 15:1,5)

Ego sum vitis vera et vos palmites [dicit Dominus];

I am the vine and you are the branches, [says the Lord].

qui manet in me et ego in eo, hic fert fructum multum, alleluia.

Whoever remains in me and I in him, bears fruit in plenty, alleluia.

Vineyards with a View of Auvers

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Today’s gospel was the one used by Pope Benedict when he celebrated Mass in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on 22 September 2011. In his homily the Pope used these striking words [emphases added]: In the parable of the vine, Jesus does not say: 'You are the vine', but: 'I am the vine, you are the branches' (John 15:5). In other words: 'As the branches are joined to the vine, so you belong to me! But inasmuch as you belong to me, you also belong to one another'. This belonging to each other and to him is not some ideal, imaginary, symbolic relationship, but – I would almost want to say – a biological, life-transmitting state of belonging to Jesus Christ. Such is the Church, this communion of life with Jesus Christ and for one another, a communion that is rooted in baptism and is deepened and given more and more vitality in the Eucharist. 'I am the true vine' actually means: 'I am you and you are I' – an unprecedented identification of the Lord with us, with his Church.

So many are caught in a ‘Jesus and me’ mentality, which ignores the reality of the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation, words from the Second Vatican Council that Pope Benedict quotes.

As I was reading the Pope’s homily I was thinking that he could have been speaking directly to the people of my native Ireland where there is a deep crisis in the Church. He says to the congregation in Berlin, Many people see only the outward form of the Church. This makes the Church appear as merely one of the many organizations within a democratic society, whose criteria and laws are then applied to the task of evaluating and dealing with such a complex entity as the ‘Church’. If to this is added the sad experience that the Church contains both good and bad fish, wheat and darnel, and if only these negative aspects are taken into account, then the great and beautiful mystery of the Church is no longer seen.

It follows that belonging to this vine, the ‘Church’, is no longer a source of joy. Dissatisfaction and discontent begin to spread, when people’s superficial and mistaken notions of ‘Church’, their ‘dream Church’, fail to materialize! Then we no longer hear the glad song ‘Thanks be to God who in his grace has called me into his Church’ that generations of Catholics have sung with conviction.

The Virgin of the Grapes

Pierre Mignard [Web Gallery of Art]

I sometimes feel discouraged at happenings in Ireland. I sometimes feel discouraged at happenings in the Philippines, where I spent most of my life as a priest, especially within the Church.

But Jesus tells us clearly that separated from him we can do nothing. Each of us has to decide whether or not we wish to remain united to the life-giving vine who is Jesus himself. Pope Benedict says, Every one of us is faced with this choice. The Lord reminds us how much is at stake as he continues his parable: ‘If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned’ (John 15:6).There is nothing of the ‘meek and mild’ in these stark words of Jesus.

Yet the Gospel, the Good News’ is by definition a message of joyful hope, as the Pope reminded the people in Berlin:

The decision that is required of us here makes us keenly aware of the fundamental significance of our life choices. But at the same time, the image of the vine is a sign of hope and confidence. Christ himself came into this world through his incarnation, to be our root. Whatever hardship or drought befall us, he is the source that offers us the water of life, that feeds and strengthens us. He takes upon himself all our sins, anxieties and sufferings and he purifies and transforms us, in a way that is ultimately mysterious, into good branches that produce good wine. In such times of hardship we can sometimes feel as if we ourselves were in the wine-press, like grapes being utterly crushed. But we know that if we are joined to Christ we become mature wine. God can transform into love even the burdensome and oppressive aspects of our lives. It is important that we ‘abide’ in Christ, in the vine. The evangelist uses the word ‘abide’ [‘remain’] a dozen times in this brief passage. This ‘abiding in Christ’ characterizes the whole of the parable. In our era of restlessness and lack of commitment, when so many people lose their way and their grounding, when loving fidelity in marriage and friendship has become so fragile and short-lived, when in our need we cry out like the disciples on the road to Emmaus: ‘Lord, stay with us, for it is almost evening and darkness is all around us!’ (cf. Luke 24:29), in this present era, the risen Lord gives us a place of refuge, a place of light, hope and confidence, a place of rest and security. When drought and death loom over the branches, then in Christ we find future, life and joy. In him we always find forgiveness and the opportunity to begin again, to be transformed as we are drawn into his love.

To abide in Christ means, as we saw earlier, to abide in the Church as well. The whole communion of the faithful has been firmly incorporated into the vine, into Christ. In Christ we belong together. Within this communion he supports us, and at the same time all the members support one another. We stand firm together against the storm and offer one another protection. Those who believe are not alone. We do not believe alone, we believe with the whole Church of all times and places, with the Church in heaven and the Church on earth.

Pope Benedict finished his homily in Berlin with these beautiful words: Dear Sisters and Brothers! My wish for all of you, for all of us, is this: to discover ever more deeply the joy of being united with Christ in the Church, with all her trials and times of darkness, to find comfort and redemption amid whatever trials may arise, and that all of us may increasingly become the precious wine of Christ’s joy and love for this world. Amen.

Still-life

Sébastien Stoskopff [Web Gallery of Art]

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Fourth Sunday after Easter 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 5-2-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: James 1:17-21.  Gospel: John 16:5-14.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

Beethoven's 6th Symphony, 'The Pastoral', 2nd movement

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela 

Conducted by Manuel López-Gómez

The 'Pastoral' Symphony of Beethoven has probably been for many their introduction to symphonic music. For me it is very much in harmony with spring, especially the Second Movement above.

Below is the complete symphony played by the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, conducted by Claudio Abbado.

'You do not leave a child at a time like this' (Janusz Korczak). Sunday Reflections, 4th Sunday of Easter, Year B

 

The Good Shepherd

Early Italian Christian Painter [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel  John 19:11-18  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Jesus said:

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Janusz Korczak

(22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942)

 

When St John Paul II canonised St Maximilian Kolbe OFMConv on 10 October 1982 he cited Janusz Korczak, a Jewish writer and teacher, who went to his death with a group of orphans in his charge although he had been offered the chance to be spared. He was also a paediatrician.

There were similarities between the sacrifice of of Fr Kolbe and Dr Korczak, both Polish. Fr Kolbe offered his life in exchange for that of Franciszek Gajowniczek,  a young Polish soldier interned in Auschwitz who was to be executed with nine others chosen at random because three of their companions had escaped. The Franciscan friar heard the young soldier cry 'My wife and my children'. His offer was accepted and he and the other nine were put in a cell and left without food or water. After two weeks the Franciscan priest was the only one still alive and was given a lethal injection on 14 August 1941.

Almost a year later Janusz Korczak was to die in Treblinka extermination camp along with nearly 200 Jewish orphans who had been living in the orphanage that he had set up in Warsaw in 1911-12. However, when the Nazis took over Warsaw they forced the orphanage to move to the Ghetto that they created in a district of the Polish capital in late 1940.

German soldiers came on 5 or 6 August 1942 to collect the orphans and about 12 staff members to take them to Treblinka. Dr Korczak had already turned down offers of sanctuary for himself before this and turned down an offer at this point.

A witness described the scene: Janusz Korczak was marching, his head bent forward, holding the hand of a child, without a hat, a leather belt around his waist, and wearing high boots. A few nurses were followed by two hundred children, dressed in clean and meticulously cared for clothes, as they were being carried to the altar.

At the point of departure for Treblinka an SS officer recognised Dr Korczak as the author of a book that was a favourite of his children and offered him a means of escape. Once again this remarkable man turned down this offer and went with the children to the camp where their lives were soon to end in the gas chambers.

Janusz Korczak could not save the lives of the children under his care but he made sure that they left the orphanage with dignity, wearing their best clothes and each bringing an item that was special to him or her. He chose not to leave them but to die with them.

St Maximilan Kolbe chose to give his life for someone he did not know because that man had a family and he hadn't.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

Cell where St Maximilian Kolbe died, 14 August 1941

[Wikipedia, source of photo]

[The hired hand] flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep (John 10:13-15).

Monument to Janusz Korczak, Warsaw

[Wikipedia, source of photo]

Three years ago on this Sunday I told the story of Janusz Korczak in my homily at a Mass in a parish in Dublin. It was a few weeks before a referendum in the Republic of Ireland to change an article in the Constitution so that abortion on demand could be legalised. I hoped that the congregation would make the connection between the sacrifice of Janusz Korczak and what we would be voting on. Some certainly did, because they told me so after Mass. Rightly or wrongly, I had decided to speak on the matter of the right to life of the unborn child in the form of a 'parable', even though this story really happened. But I sometimes ask myself if during those days - I addressed the matter similarly in other Sunday homilies at that time - I was somewhat cowardly.

Sadly, two-thirds of those who voted wanted change. The legislation that followed, allowing for abortion on demand up to 12 weeks, but with restrictions thereafter, came into effect on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 1 January 2019. That year 6,666 human beings were legally aborted in the Republic of Ireland. There are no figures yet for 2020. 

The nearly 200 Jewish orphans, their nurses and Janusz Korczak were also 'legally' killed as were St Maximilain Kolbe and his nine companions.

Surrexit Pastor Bonus

Setting by Orlando di Lasso

Sung by Vox AngelorumChoir, MBK, Jakarta

At St Paul’s Within theWalls, Rome

Antiphona ad communionem

Communion Antiphon

 

Surrexit Pastor Bonus, 

The Good Shepherd has risen,

qui animam suam posuit pro ovibus suis,

who laid down his life for his sheep

et pro grege suo mori dignatus est, alleluia.

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Third Sunday after Easter 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 4-25-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Peter 2:11-19.  Gospel: John 16:16-22.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

Never Again: A Song to Remember The Holocaust

Words and music by Stephen Melzack

The words ‘B’YomHaShoah yikatevun’ in the song mean ‘On Holocaust Day it is Written’. 

In memory of Dr Janusz Korczak, the twelve nurses from his orphanage and the nearly 200 orphans murdered in Treblinka for the sole reason that, like Jesus, Mary and Joseph, they were Jewish.

'The disciples recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, alleluia.' Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B

Kitchen Scene with the Supper in Emmaus

Diego Velázquez [Web Gallery of Art]

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:35).

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 24:35-48  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

  

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Christ in the House of Mary and Martha

Diego Velázquez [Web Gallery of Art]

It is clear from many gospel readings, most especially the accounts of the Last Supper, that God reveals himself to us in the intimacy of a meal. If the family meal or meals with close friends are not part of our lives, how can we understand the meal aspect of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? In the Mass, in which we unite ourselves with the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, he gives himself, the Risen Lord, body, blood, soul and divinity, as the Bread of Life, as so many of us learned when we were young. It is not a symbol of himself that he gives in Holy Communion, but his very self, carrying the scars of Calvary and giving us the strength to do the same.

But God also reveals himself to us in our ordinary meals, sometimes even over a cup of tea or coffee. I remember one person who was close to me who for many years had carried a resentment towards someone who had since died, a resentment that was the result of a painful experience. Over a cup of tea with a family member she recalled what her father, long since dead, had said to her many years before: Never carry a grudge against anyone. Over that cup of tea she finally let go of her self-inflicted pain, forgave, and moved on with a new lightness in her heart. I have no doubt whatever that it was Jesus the Risen Lord who spoke to her that day through the words of her father. It was a kind of Resurrection experience over a cup of tea.

The three readings both speak of God's mercy and the call to repentance, something the person in the story above experienced over that cup of tea. Acts 3:18-19 reads: But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out. 1 John 2: 1-2, 5 tells us But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world . . . but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.

Jesus tells us in the Gospel: Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:46-48).

Velázquez in the two paintings above puts the central events in the background. In the kitchen scene in Emmaus it seems that the servant has a sense that her humble work is part of something extraordinary. And it is. In the kitchen scene in the house of Mary and Martha the servants are preparing a meal for our Saviour Himself, without being aware of it. 

Highlighted in this scene are fish. The fish was later to become a symbol of Christ and of the Holy Eucharist for Christians in times of persecution under the Greek name Ichthys. And in today's gospel we read: “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Ichthys

[Wikipedia]

Two great deprivations at the moment because of the pandemic is that in many parts of the world Catholics have no access to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to Holy Communion. And even more people cannot visit their families and friends, cannot meet up for a meal, for a drink, for a chat over a cup of coffee. However, though it is not the same as meeting others face-to-face, we can keep in contact by phone, by Skype, by Zoom and similar programmes. And while following Mass on the internet or on TV is not the same as being actually present, it is an occasion of grace, of meeting the Lord. And we can make a Spiritual Communion.

Even when we're not talking about profound things at a meal, when we see them as occasions when we most experience our humanity, when we see the link between the family or community meal, or a meal to which we invite someone living alone, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we can more readily understand the implications of the closing words of today's gospel, You are witnesses of these things.

And a final word. If the two disciples who told how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread, had not invited Jesus to eat with them they would never have recognised him. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them (Luke 24:28-29). 

Peasants at the Table

Diego Velázquez [Web Gallery of Art]

Sung by the Choir of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, France

Antiphona ad communionem  Communion Antiphon (Luke 24:35)

[Alleluia] Cognoverunt dicxipuli Dominum Iesum in fractione pahis, alleluia.

[Alleluia] The disciples recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, alleluia.

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Second Sunday after Easter 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 4-18-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Peter 2:21-25.  Gospel: John 10:11-16.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba

George Frideric Handel

Played by the English Baroque Soloists

Conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

This must be one of the most delightful pieces of music ever written and has been arranged for all sorts of instruments and combinations thereof. I chose this recording because Tuesday 20 April is the 78th birthday of the conductor, Sir John Eliot Gardiner. 

We were born on the same day, he in Dorset, England, and I in Dublin, Ireland, where Handel's Messiah was first performed on 13 April 1742.

'These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us.' Sunday Reflections, 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B

 

From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville

John 20:19-31

This Sunday is also known as Low Sunday and as Divine Mercy Sunday

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 20:19-31  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Christ and Doubting Thomas

 Andrea del Verrocchio [Web Gallery of Art]

I carry a scar on one of my hips from surgery when I was 17. I can't even remember which hip, without checking. But the scar is there, along with a couple of smaller scars from accidents when I was young. I hardly ever think about them. But they are there.

St Thomas's instinct was right: Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. He knew that if the Lord was truly risen he would carry the scars of his suffering. And he carries them for all eternity.

Scars are reminders of wounds that were. The Risen Body of Christ carries the scars of his Passion and Crucifixion but they are no longer wounds.

But the Body of Christ that is the Church is being wounded daily. The world that God created is being wounded daily. In the first reading during the Easter Vigil (Genesis 1:27,31) we heard these words: So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them . . . God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. 

But today we see much that he had made and that was very good destroyed or being destroyed. We see countless persons created in his image, in the image of God, being killed in endless conflicts.

In 1 Cointhians 6:19-20 we read: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

On Easter Monday 2017 four members of a Catholic family were shot dead in Quetta, Pakistan, by members of the so-called Islamic State. The victims were Pervaiz Masih, Tariq Masih, Imran Masih and Firdous Bibi. They were killed because each was a temple of the Holy Spirit, a follower of Jesus, a Christian.

Pope Francis: Easter Sunday, Mass and Urbi et Orbi

In his Urbi et Orbi message last Sunday Pope Francis said [my emphases], The witnesses report an important detail: the risen Jesus bears the marks of the wounds in his hands, feet and side. These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us. All those who experience a painful trial in body or spirit can find refuge in these wounds and, through them, receive the grace of the hope that does not disappoint.

In his message Pope Francis spoke to a world deeply affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic that has turned our world upside-down in so many ways. Here, for example, are his words to young people: The risen Jesus is also hope for all those young people forced to go long periods without attending school or university, or spending time with their friends. Experiencing real human relationships, not just virtual relationships, is something that everyone needs, especially at an age when a person’s character and personality is being formed. We realized this clearly last Friday, in the Stations of the Cross composed by the children. I express my closeness to young people throughout the world and, in these days, especially to the young people of Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully, in the knowledge that hatred can be dispelled only by love.

These words about the importance of experiencing real human relationships resonates very strongly with me. A good friend who read these Sunday Reflections every week and occasionally posted a comment died unexpectedly on Holy Saturday. His name was Liam Hayden and we first met when we started in O'Connell Schools, Dublin, in 1951, in Second Class (Grade Two). We were both in the B section.

Liam Hayden

Liam and I were in different sections for most of the ten years we were in the school, and were friendly with each other, but not pals. I really came to know him as a friend after an unexpected encounter with him and his wife Moira in 1976 while home from the Philippines. I had spent a week with the Legion of Mary in Pewsey, Wiltshire, England, in the summer of 1966, when I was still in the seminary, and Moira was in our group. Liam and Moira met some years later through their involvement with the Legion of Mary and were utterly dedicated to the work of the Legion in Dublin, especially in the two hostels of the Legion in Dublin for people who are basically homeless, Morning Star Hostel for men and Regina Coeli Hostel for women.

Though Liam and I became close friends only as adults, the foundation of that friendship was our being classmates at the age of 8. So many youngsters throughout the world today are missing out on that experience, being wounded by that lack. Yet the scars that Jesus carries for all eternity are the everlasting seal of his love for us, as Pope Francis put it. And the pain of loss that Liam's wife, his six children and 30 grandchildren - and so many others - are now feeling will become in time scars which will be a reminder of the love of Jesus for them in this life through Liam as a husband, as a father, as a grandfather and as a friend especially of those on the fringes of society. Please remember Liam and his family in your prayers.

Perhaps we can consciously unite the wounds we presently carry with the wounded Jesus on the Cross and unite the scars we carry from previous wounds with the Risen Lord Jesus whom Thomas recognised by those very scars. And we can join St Thomas in that great act of faith, My Lord and my God.

The Incredulity of St Thomas

Caravaggio [Web Gallery of Art]

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

The Octave Day of Easter (Low Sunday) 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 4-11-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 John 5:4-10.  Gospel: John 20:19-31.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

All in the April Evening

Words by Katharine Tynan Hinkson

Music by Sir Hugh S. Roberton

Sung by the Glasgow Orpheus Choir conducted by Sir Hugh S. Roberton

The Glasgow Orpheus Choir had its origins in a working men's club in Glasgow, Scotland, and existed from 1901 until 1951 when Sir Hugh Roberton, its conductor for 50 years, retired. It was succeeded by the Glasgow Orpheus Choir. Sir Hugh wrote, The Orpheus was a real choir of real people, people big enough to dedicate themselves selflessly to a noble purpose, and it never took its audiences cheaply, nor did it ever descend to tricks or exhibitionism. 

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band was formed in 1917 in South Yorkshire, England. Most of its members were full-time coal-miners. The colliery closed in 1992. The members now, as far as I know, are full-time musicians. There were many bands in Britain, like the Grimethorpe, connected with mines and with factories.

Sir Hugh, in his introduction to the song above, says of his own composition: I think the music fits the words, if it does not match them in excellence. It does indeed match them in excellence and can stand on its own, as the beautiful performance of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band shows.

I learned the original poem by Katharine Tynan Hinkson in Fourth Class (Grade Four) and the same year learned to sing it in our school choir under the direction of Mrs Agnes Boylan, the mother of Dom Eugene Boylan OCSO, the well-known spiritual writer. Mrs Boylan was in her 70s then and was like everyone's favourite grandmother, a person who took great delight in us and in the large flamboyant hats she always wore, like the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother of England.

All in the April Evening

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band