'The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light . . .' Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Neubrandenburg, Caspar David Friedrich [Web Gallery of Art]

The people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death    
light has dawned (Matthew 4:16, NRSVCE).

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Matthew 4:12-23 [or 12-17]  (NewRevised  Standard Version, AnglicisedCatholic Edition) 

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

 ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
    on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
    light has dawned.’

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

 [As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.]

Missa Brevis in G Major, Kyrie, Mozart
Lumen Choir, conducted by Jooyoung Kim
'Once upon a time', 5th Annual Concert (1 December 2012)
Moonjeong-dong Catholic Church, Seoul, South Korea

Last Sunday here in the Philippines was the the Feast of the Santo Niño (Holy Child). The gospel was Matthew 18:1-5, 10 in which Jesus tells us Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I saw his words come to life at the end of Mass in Holy Family Home for Girls here in Bacolod City where I live.

In January 2014 four new girls came to the home. One, whom I'll call 'Josie', was aged 14 and profoundly deaf. Her main way of communicating was Sign Language. The Sisters, staff and some of the girls began to learn some Sign Language. The other three new girls included two aged ten and one aged six.

At the end of Mass I saw 'Josie' sitting and quietly crying. I wasn't quite sure why. One of the ten-year-old new girls, rather small for her age but very lively and whom I'll call 'Grace', went over to 'Josie' and put her arms around her to comfort her. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The majority of the girls in Holy Family Home have had horrific experiences, in most cases within their own family circle. They truly have sat in darkness.

['Josie' was able to go home last year. We discovered that she had some hearing and, with hearing aids, she has improved her speech and hearing considerably. The other three girls are still at Holy Family Home].

The Virgin and Child with St Martina and St Agnes, El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

I will celebrate Mass again in Holy Family Home on Monday evening to mark the feast of St Agnes, 21 January. Each year in the Home we combine a celebration of St Agnes the Martyr (c.291 - c.304), patron saint of chastity, of young girls and of rape victims, and Blessed Laura Vicuña (1891 - 1904), a patron of abuse victims who offered her life for the conversion of her mother and whose feast day is 22 January. (We moved the celebration this year to 23 January for liturgical reasons). 

Each year I tell the girls that the life of Blessed Laura, whose father died when she was young, was so like their own and that she became a saint in the midst of and through her sufferings, especially the cruelty of her stepfather who wasn't married to her mother. Despite her young age she had the maturity, generosity and holiness to offer her life so that her mother would return to the Lord. She told this to her mother when she was dying. It was the physical abuse of her stepfather that led to her death. Laura's prayers were answered.

Blessed Laura Vicuña aged 10 [Wikipedia]

Laura understood the stark reality of the words of Jesus in today's gospel: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. She also understood the power of God's mercy. Repentance and God's mercy are central to the preaching and teaching of Pope Francis. Since Blessed Laura, born in Santiago, Chile, and died in Argentina he must be familiar with her life that embodied what he has spoken about so many times.

Holy Family Home exists because of the sins of adults against girls, some only small children. It is a place where most of the girls have sat in the region and shadow of death. I have brought many visitors there and the one word they nearly all have used to sum up their experience is 'joy', a joy they find among the girls and among the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family and the staff. Those who live there are a testimony to the truth of the words of Isaiah that we listen to in the First Reading and the Gospel this Sunday and that we listened to at the Mass During the Night at Christmas: 

The people who sat in darkness    

   have seen a great light,

and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death   

   light has dawned.

+++

Call of the Sons of Zebedee, Marco Basaiti [Web Gallery of Art]

The second part of today's gospel tells us of the call of the first disciples who were later called to be apostles, the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. Though Immediately they left their nets . . . Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him we know from the gospels that they continued to fish from time to time and to encounter stormy weather.

Here in the Philippines most fishermen are poor and go to sea in very small boats. In some countries larger boats go far from land and often encounter very dangerous weather. And a very large percentage of international seafarers - the largest group, I think - are Filipinos.

In Britain and Ireland the members of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) mostly volunteers, and their counterparts throughout the world, often put their lives in danger to save those in danger at sea. Irish Lifeboats covers both the RLNI in Ireland and Community Rescue Boats Ireland (CRBI). Last September Caitriona Lucas (41) a volunteer in the Irish Coast Guard and mother of two, died during a search-and-recovery operation off the west coast.

Irish musician and songwriter Phil Coulter, who lost a brother in a drowning accident, wrote a wonderful song about those who risk their lives at sea to save the lives of others, Home from the Sea. Here is a video of the song with Phil Coulter's musicians, a choir of members of the RNLI and the late Irish singer Liam Clancy, than whom there was no one better to put across a ballad.

In our prayers today let us remember our fishermen, our seafarers and those involved in rescue work at sea. Let us remember too the members of a number of European navies who have saved countless refugees in the last couple of years travelling in unsafe boats from north Africa to southern Europe. Tragically, many refugees never made it.

Home From the Sea

On a cold winter's night, with the storm at it's height,
A lifeboat answers a call.
They pitched and they tossed, 'till we thought they were lost,
As we watched from the harbour wall.
'Tho the night was pitch black, there was no turning back,
For someone was waiting out there,
And each volunteer had to live with his fear
As we joined in a silent prayer.

Chorus:
Home, home, home from the sea,
Angels of mercy, answer our plea.
And carry us home, home, home from the sea,
Carry us safely home, from the sea.

As they battled their way past the mouth of the bay
It was blowing like never before.
As they gallantly fought everyone of them thought
Of loved ones back on the shore.
Then a flicker of light and they knew they were right.
There she was on the crest of a wave.
She's an old fishing boat and she's barely afloat.
Please God, there are souls we can save.

Chorus.................

And back in the town, on a street that runs down
To the sea and the harbour wall.
They had gathered in pairs at the foot of the stairs,
To wait for a radio call.
Then just before dawn, when all hope was gone,
Came a hush, and a faraway sound.
'Twas the coxswain, he roared, 'All survivors on board,
Thank God, and we're homeward bound'.

Chorus....................

+++

Then just before dawn, when all hope was gone,
Came a hush, and a faraway sound.
'Twas the coxswain, he roared, 'All survivors on board,
Thank God, and we're homeward bound'.

The people who sat in darkness    

   have seen a great light,

and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death   

   light has dawned.

'I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ Sunday Reflections, 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Madonna and Child with the Lamb of God

Cesare da Sesto [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel John 1:29-34 (New Revised  Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) 

The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’  And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

Sunday Reflections for the Feast of the Santo Niño (Philippines) are here.

San Alfonso de Liguori Parish, Rome, 6 January 2014.

Some wonderful photos of Pope Francis with the lamb here.

My friend Frances Molloy in England, founder and project manager of Pastoral Care Project, a ministry in the Archdiocese of Birmingham to persons with dementia and to their carers, told me a beautiful story in an email just after Christmas:

Behold . . . My granddaughter aged 4 was playing with 'Jesus' family', as they are known to her, our hand-knitted nativity set, and she noticed the empty manger. A little later she came to me and said, 'Grandma, I've put the lamb in the manger'. Quite a moment . . .

The Lamb of God is one of the names of Jesus, pointing towards his sacrificial death on Calvary. St John the Baptist, who introduces Jesus to us with the words Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! was to be martyred not long afterwards. The purpose of the mission of St John the Baptist was that he [Jesus] might be revealed to Israel. This is the mission to which each of us is called.

In his letter to the ten new cardinals he announced in January 2014 Francis writes: And, although this may appear paradoxical, the ability to look further and to love more universally with greater intensity may be acquired only by following the same path of the Lord: the path of self-effacement and humility, taking on the role of a servant.

St John the Baptist followed that path: After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me. His mission was to lead people towards Jesus. One of the ten new cardinals was Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo OMI of Cotabato where just more than half of the 12,000,000 plus people are Catholics. Most of the others are Muslims.

Fr Nelson Javellana OMI

'Martyr of clean and honest elections', 3 November 1970 [Source]

The first Oblates came to the Philippines in 1939 from North America and included Canadians and Americans. They went to parts of Mindanao with a large Muslim population. Like the Columbans, to which I belong, they have their martyrs, as Fr Eliseo Mercado Jr OMI writes: The OMIs have had their share of martyrs in their 70 years in the Philip­pines. The first martyr was election-related. Fr Nelson Javellana and his volunteers of the first Philippine move­ment for clean and honest elections were ambushed near Tambunan, Cotabato on 3 November 1970. Three martyrs shed their blood in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. They are Bishop Benjamin de Je­sus on 4 February 1997, Fr Benjamin Inocencio on 28 December 2000 and Fr Jesus Reynaldo Roda on 15 January 2008.

Bishop Benjamin de Jesus OMI

'Martyr of Jolo', 4 February 1997 [Source] 

Cardinal Quevedo, who has been deeply involved in Christian-Muslim dialogue in Mindanao for many years, would have known those four men very well. He knows what is is to follow the same path of the Lord.

Below is an article published in MISYONonline.com, the Columban magazine I edit here in the Philippines, in May-June 2008, the first online-only edition. The author, Fr Roberto C. Layson OMI, whose ordination on 10 December 1988 I attended, was working with Bishop Benjamin de Jesus when he was murdered in 1997. Here he writes about his friend and confrere Fr Jesus Reynaldo A. Roda OMI whose life and death proclaimed Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 

^{They Too Mourned For Him}

by Fr Roberto C. Layson OMI

Fr Jesus Reynaldo A. Roda OMI, ‘Father Rey’, expected it all along. But not the people of Tabawan, whom he had served for ten years before his brutal murder on 15 January at the hands of his abductors. One of Father Rey’s Muslim scholars described the immediate reaction of the local people: ‘It was as if a big bomb was dropped in our midst and we got the shock of our lives. The whole island mourned. Some lost their appetite. Some kids don’t want to go to school anymore’.

Father Rey

'Martyr of Jolo', 15 January 2008

Desecration of Sacred Grounds

Tabawan is one of the beautiful islands of Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost province of the Philippine archipelago. It is inhabited by peace-loving Samals and prides itself on being a peaceful and tolerant society. That is why the brutal murder of a missionary priest in this island is hard for the local inhabitants to accept. Ultimately, they saw it as a desecration of their sacred ground.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a missionary congregation, started to establish mission stations in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Cotabato, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in 1939. Since then, they have been living with Muslims while serving the minority Christian population of the islands.

After World War II, the Oblates put up Notre Dame Schools in the islands to respond to the increasing demand for education in the region. These were welcomed by the local Muslims. Not only that. Over the years, the local people also started to develop strong affection for the missionaries. This was especially true in the case of Fr Leopold Gregoire OMI, a Canadian.

Fr Gregoire was the director of Notre Dame School in Tabawan for 20 years until his death. He died many years ago but until now, not only the Notre Dame community celebrates his birthday every year but the entire island. The celebration is called ‘Father Gregoire Day’ and goes on for three days with a lot of fanfare. The town has a population of more or less 20,000, with only thirty Christians.

For Love of Others

It was around 7:30 in the evening. Father Rey was praying inside the chapel, as he used to do after supper, when he was taken forcibly by his captors. When he refused to go with them, they shot him dead. The Oblates in the Vicariate have agreed among themselves not to go with the attackers in the event of a kidnapping attempt. The reason is that in many kidnapping incidents in Mindanao, the subsequent military operations usually take their toll not only among the combatants but also among the civilians. Father Rey chose to sacrifice his life in order to prevent the loss of more lives.

There were some students at the campus at the time of the killing. They were taking a computer class. The class is held in the evening because it’s the only time that the school generator is running. There is no electricity on the island. When the armed men left, they took Mr Taup, a Muslim teacher, with them.

Fr Benjamin Inocencio OMI

'Martyr of Jolo', 28 January 2000 [Source]

Losing one of their own

Ordained on 10 May 1980, Father Rey had deep compassion for the poor. He was in the forefront of justice and peace work in the Diocese of Kidapawan during the Martial Law days. Prior to his assignment in Tabawan, he was a missionary in Thailand where he interacted with Buddhist society. In Tabawan, he not only directed the school and supported many scholars but also implemented several socio-economic projects for the poor in close coordination with a number of NGOs and government agencies. In 2003, he was actively involved during the surge of deportees from Sabah, Malaysia, providing them with food and shelter.

The death of Father Rey brought back to my memory that fateful day, 4 February 1997, when Bishop Benjamin de Jesus OMI was murdered in front of Mt Carmel Cathedral in Jolo. This was followed nearly four years later by another tragedy when Fr Benjamin Inocencio OMI was murdered at the back of the same cathedral on 28 December 2000.

Just like what happened after the deaths of Bishop Ben and Father Benjie, the Muslims mourned. They also mourned Father Rey’s death, especially the people of Tabawan whom he had learned to love. They literally had lost one of themselves.

One in Sorrow

I saw Samud being interviewed by Ces Drilon on ABS-CBN TV. He is the same convento boy, a Muslim, whom I met when I was based in Bongao from 1990 to 1994. The day after the killing, Fr Raul M. Biasbas OMI, a classmate of Father Rey on another island in Tawi-Tawi, called Samud by cellphone to ask what had really happened. ‘I’m very sorry, Father, I was not able to protect Father Rey,’ he answered in tears.

I spoke to Wija, one of Father Rey’s scholars, also a Muslim. She called him ‘Tatay’, ‘Dad’. During the commotion at the convento with the armed men, she rushed to help him but he shouted at her, ‘Anak, tumakbo ka na!’, ‘Run, daughter!’ She accompanied the body of Father Rey from Tabawan to Cotabato on board a military helicopter provided by the Philippine Air Force. She brought with her an album containing pictures of Father Rey and herself, which she keeps with fondness.

In Bongao island where Father Rey was waked for two days, Muslims and Christians filled Holy Rosary Church. The Muslims even brought food during the wake. In Cotabato City, Muslims and Christians were crying along the highway as Father Rey’s remains were transported from Awang Airport to a funeral parlor in the city. Many Muslims also came during the wake and attended the burial at the Oblate cemetery in Tamontaka.

This was very consoling. While we grieved for the death of Father Rey, we found solace not only in the support of fellow Christians but also in the support given by Muslims, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and several NGOs, through their personal condolences and public condemnations of the murder.

Boundaries Transcended

To me, this outpouring of support reveals that human goodness transcends even religious boundaries. Indeed, it is possible for Muslims and Christians to work together to create a peaceful society if only we learn to shed our human biases and focus on doing God’s will for his people.

We do not exactly know what Father Rey was telling God when he was praying inside the chapel. Perhaps, he was telling Him about his many dreams for the people of Tabawan. Now that he is gone, only the memory of Father Rey remains in the hearts of the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of this island.

Father Rey [Source]

Father Rey would have turned 54 on 5 February, less than a month after his murder.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29), Authorized [King James] Version). From Handel's Messiah.

Sunday Reflections, Feast of the Santo Niño (Philippines). Third Sunday of January, Year A

Santo Niño de Cebú [Wikipedia]

The original image enshrined at the Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño de Cebú.

First Reading Isaiah 9:1-6

Second Reading  Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18

Gospel Matthew 18:1-5, 10

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

Sunday Reflections for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A (outside of the Philippines) are here.

The Sleeping Sto Niño 

(There are many versions)

THE SLEEPING GOD

by Simeon Dumdum, Jr.

This first appeared in Cebu Daily News four years ago. It is used here with permission. Simeon Dumdum, Jr, known to his friends as 'Jun', is a retired Regional Trial Court judge, a writer and a poet.

Not too long ago, a couple gifted us with a wood carving of the Child Jesus. It has the size, curls and royal garments of the Santo Niño of Cebu, as well as its crown, globe and scepter. Except that the globe lies on a seat and the figure reclines on it, sleeping – the scepter resting on a leg.

The statue, which has apparently gained popularity, goes by the name Sleeping Santo Niño.

In the house we give pride of place to a copy of the standard, the official representation enshrined in the basilica. It occupies the center of a table that serves as altar, together with the crucifix and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But I am unsure as to where to put the Sleeping Santo Niño. My decision on the matter would almost certainly depend on whether it is a holy object or a mere artistic item – an objet d’art. I have since been inclined to the latter, having dragged my feet towards having it blessed (terrified of the priest’s refusal or ridicule), and for the moment having installed the statue above a console together with a paper weight portraying the head of a plumpish baby angel.

How did the first Sleeping Santo Niño come about? Did the one who carved it, true to his restless, artistic soul, make it purely for the purpose of creating something different, just as others have come up with their own different versions of the Holy Child, many of them clearly out of character, such as a Santo Niño holding a saw, a sight that would have terrified good St. Joseph himself.

Did the carver want to make such a statement? By the way, the official statement of the official representation of the Santo Niño is of the universal Kingship of Jesus, who is God, who became man, and is shown as a child to stress the need in the kingdom for the childlike virtues –dependence, trust, simplicity.

Someone, who apparently was losing in his grapple with faith, wrote about the Sleeping Santo Niño being a revelation of the “real” character of God – detached, indifferent, unconcerned with human problems.

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston [Web Gallery of Art]

This was exactly what the disciples felt when, while aboard a boat on the lake, a storm arose and the waves began swamping them, and Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. Mark tells us that they woke Jesus up, saying, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?”

Jesus got up and rebuked the wind, commanded it to stop, and then turned towards the disciples to chide them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?”

I doubt that the originator of the Sleeping Santo Niño had this episode in mind when applying chisel to wood. Likely as not, he thought of a tender human scene – Baby Jesus, like any infant elaborately dressed up by its parents for a pageant and unmindful of adult concerns, succumbing to sleep, the thing that infants most need and yield to no matter the occasion.

But subconsciously the carver has conveyed to me the message that Mark gives in the incident about the storm on the lake. It was not accidental that Jesus slept on a cushion at the stern (neither was it inconceivable – it was evening, and as usual Jesus must have had a full day). His rebuke being proof, he gave the disciples a lesson on faith – of reliance on the protection of the Father so complete that like him they should have slept the storm away, as well as that his mere presence among them should have been assurance enough of safety. After all, he had power at any time to tell off the wind and the waves.

People who complain that God does not intervene enough in human affairs really want Him to do the work for them. But really with full faith in God they should first act, carry out their roles, let the play of their lives unfold, and not always whine for the Author to appear. Incidentally, C. S. Lewis tells us, “When the author walks on the stage, the play is over.”

Perhaps the Sleeping Santo Niño deserves a second look. It does no more than remind, not of a divine pastime, but of the proper human attitude – trust. The God who appears to sleep is really an unsleeping God – as watchful as a parent is of an infant that is learning to walk, and coming to its aid only when necessary.

+++

I love Jun's reference to the sight of the Child Jesus holding a saw as something that 'would have terrified good St Joseph'! As the son of a carpenter named Joseph myself I felt embarrassed the first time I tried to use a saw and didn't have a clue. I still don't!

Pope Francis in Manila speaking about his statue of the sleeping St Joseph.

Prayer Intentions of Pope Francis for January 2017

Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople

Jerusalem, May 2014

Universal Intention

Christian Unity: That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.

 Reflection on the Pope's Universal Intention

This Reflection is from the website of The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer) USA.

Urgent Intention

Homeless People Affected by the Cold: That in these days of such great cold that we think of all the people living on the streets, affected by the cold and by the indifference of others. We pray for them and ask the Lord to warm the hearts of others to help them.

Homelessness in Dublin, Ireland

January is the coldest part of winter in the Northern Hemisphere in regions that do not have a tropical climate.

Columban Fr Keith Gorman RIP. 'Having breakfast with Jesus on the shores of eternity.'

Fr Keith Gorman

(21 January 1920 - 19 December 2016)

Keith Francis Gorman was born in Brisbane, Queensland, on January 21, 1920, an only son between two sisters. In 1937 he came to St Columban’s, Essendon, where he did his Spiritual Year and Philosophy. Then in 1940 he went to St Columban’s Seminary in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, to do Theology as WWII prevented him from travelling to Ireland. He was the first Australian Columban seminarian to do this but he was joined by others the following year. He was ordained in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Buffalo, New York, USA, on 18 December 1943 by Bishop John Aloysius Duffy. 

Church of the Assumption, Yakatamachi, Wakayama City [Source]

In 1944 Father Keith returned to Australia and worked in a number of parishes until 1948 when he was appointed to China but this was changed to Japan after a few months in Shanghai. He studied the Japanese language in Yokohama and was then appointed as pastor at the parish of Chigasaki, Diocese of Yokohama. After vacation in 1955 he was appointed pastor at Yakatamachi in Wakayama City.

Fr Barry Cairns, a New Zealander, writes about his experience as a young priest in Yakatamachi with Father Keith here.

In 1964 Father Keith was appointed to the Australia - New Zealand Region, stationed at first at the Columban House in Toowong, Brisbane. Then he did parish supplies for three years and Columban promotion in the Archdiocese of Perth.  This was followed by a few years as Bursar at the seminary in Turramurra, New South Wales, and then as Vocations Coordinator in the state of New South Wales.

Father Keith the gardener

In 1975 Father Keith began a ministry to the aged as chaplain at Nazareth House Aged Care, Turramurra. After a sabbatical and some studies in the subject of ageing he continued in this ministry as chaplain to the retired Presentation Sisters at Windsor in Melbourne.  Around the same time he helped to found ROTA - Religious of the Third Age - a social and spiritual organisation for retired Religious. During this period he wrote a number of articles on the theme of ageing, some of which were printed in The Far East.

Embracing the 21st Century

Read Father Keith's Old Age, a Gifted Time.

Father Keith himself retired to St Columban’s, Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, in 1997 and was a lively and cheerful presence there until a fall in September 2012 resulted in hospitalisation and a subsequent move to Mercy Place Aged Care, Parkville.

'A humble man with time and respect for everyone'

He is remembered as a humble man who always had time and respect for everyone. He excluded no one. He was fun-loving and always ready to laugh, share a joke – even one on himself – and join in whatever was going on. In one of his articles he wrote that his idea of heaven was having breakfast with Jesus on the shores of eternity, following the scene in John 21.  May he be enjoying that breakfast now. 

'Having breakfast with Jesus on the shores of eternity' [1:57 - 2:50]
From The Gospel of John directed by Philip Saville.

You may read some of Fr Gorman's Reflections here.

St Columban's, Essendon

I met Father Keith on my first visit to Australia in May 1990 in St Columban's Seminary, Turramurra, near Sydney, which is now closed. I was struck by his delightful personality and sense of humour. I remember him laughing when I quipped that he had been ordained so long ago - the year I was born - that the ceremony had been in Aramaic! I met him again in Essendon in 2009 when I was doing mission appeals in Melbourne. While I was there he won a very large TV in a raffle in a nearby Anglican parish and his delight was utterly childlike when it was delivered.

And what a beautiful image of heaven he had: Having breakfast with Jesus on the shores of eternity. 

The light of heaven upon Father Keith  - and may we all join him with Jesus for breakfast on the shores of eternity when our time comes!