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Pope Francis’ Homily on Holy Thursday 2013- the call of a priest.
Pope Francis’ Homily for Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday 2013: speaking about
Later on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis washes the feet of young people in a detention centre: he washed the feet of women and of Muslims also.
the call of a priest among all of God’s people in the world
Dear Brothers and Sisters, This morning I have the joy of celebrating my first Chrism Mass as the Bishop of Rome. I greet all of you with affection, especially you, dear priests, who, like myself, today recall the day of your ordination.
The readings of our Mass speak of God’s “anointed ones”: the suffering Servant of Isaiah, King David and Jesus our Lord. All three have this in common: the anointing that they receive is meant in turn to anoint God’s faithful people, whose servants they are; they are anointed for the poor, for prisoners, for the oppressed… A fine image of this “being for” others can be found in the Psalm: “It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down upon the collar of his robe” (Ps 133:2). The image of spreading oil, flowing down from the beard of Aaron upon the collar of his sacred robe, is an image of the priestly anointing which, through Christ, the Anointed One, reaches the ends of the earth, represented by the robe.
The sacred robes of the High Priest are rich in symbolism. One such symbol is that the names of the children of Israel were engraved on the onyx stones mounted on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, the ancestor of our present-day chasuble: six on the stone of the right shoulder-piece and six on that of the left (cf. Ex 28:6-14). The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were also engraved on the breastplate (cf. Es 28:21). This means that the priest celebrates by carrying on his shoulders the people entrusted to his care and bearing their names written in his heart. When we put on our simple chasuble, it might well make us feel, upon our shoulders and in our hearts, the burdens and the faces of our faithful people, our saints and martyrs of whom there are many in these times…
From the beauty of all these liturgical things, which is not so much about trappings and fine fabrics than about the glory of our
God resplendent in his people, alive and strengthened, we turn to a consideration of activity, action. The precious oil which anoints the head of Aaron does more than simply lend fragrance to his person; it overflows down to “the edges”. The Lord will say this clearly: his anointing is meant for the poor, prisoners and the sick, for those who are sorrowing and alone. The ointment is not intended just to make us fragrant, much less to be kept in a jar, for then it would become rancid … and the heart bitter.
A good priest can be recognized by the way his people are anointed. This is a clear test. When our people are anointed with the oil of gladness, it is obvious: for example, when they leave Mass looking as if they have heard good news. Our people like to hear the Gospel preached with “unction”, they like it when the Gospel we preach touches their daily lives, when it runs down like the oil of Aaron to the edges of reality, when it brings light to moments of extreme darkness, to the “outskirts” where people of faith are most exposed to the onslaught of those who want to tear down their faith. People thank us because they feel that we have prayed over the realities of their everyday lives, their troubles, their joys, their burdens and their hopes. And when they feel that the fragrance of the Anointed One, of Christ, has come to them through us, they feel encouraged to entrust to us everything they want to bring before the Lord: “Pray for me, Father, because I have this problem”, “Bless me”, “Pray for me” – these words are the sign that the anointing has flowed down to the edges of the robe, for it has turned into prayer. The prayers of the people of God. When we have this relationship with God and with his people, and grace passes through us, then we are priests, mediators between God and men. What I want to emphasize is that we need constantly to stir up God’s grace and perceive in every request, even those requests that are inconvenient and at times purely material or
downright banal – but only apparently so – the desire of our people to be anointed with fragrant oil, since they know that we have it. To perceive and to sense, even as the Lord sensed the hope-filled anguish of the woman suffering from hemorrhages when she touched the hem of his garment. At that moment, Jesus, surrounded by people on every side, embodies all the beauty of Aaron vested in priestly raiment, with the oil running down upon his robes. It is a hidden beauty, one which shines forth only for those faith-filled eyes of the woman troubled with an issue of blood. But not even the disciples – future priests – see or understand: on the “existential outskirts”, they see only what is on the surface: the crowd pressing in on Jesus from all sides (cf. Lk 8:42). The Lord, on the other hand, feels the power of the divine anointing which runs down to the edge of his cloak.
We need to “go out”, then, in order to experience our own anointing, its power and its redemptive efficacy: to the “outskirts” where there is suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil masters. It is not in soul-searching or constant introspection that we encounter the Lord: self-help courses can be useful in life, but to live by going from one course to another, from one method to another, leads us to become pelagians and to minimize the power of grace, which comes alive and flourishes to the extent that we, in faith, go out and give ourselves and the Gospel to others, giving what little ointment we have to those who have nothing, nothing at all.
A priest who seldom goes out of himself, who anoints little – I won’t say “not at all” because, thank God, our people take our oil from us anyway – misses out on the best of our people, on what can stir the depths of his priestly heart. Those who do not go out of themselves, instead of being mediators, gradually become intermediaries, managers. We know the difference: the intermediary, the manager, “has already received his reward”, and since he doesn’t put his own
skin and his own heart on the line, he never hears a warm, heartfelt word of thanks. This is precisely the reason why some priests grow dissatisfied, become sad priests, lose heart and become in some sense collectors of antiques or novelties – instead of being shepherds living with “the smell of the sheep”, shepherds in the midst of their flock, fishers of men. True enough, the so-called crisis of priestly identity threatens us all and adds to the broader cultural crisis; but if we can resist its onslaught, we will be able to put out in the name of the Lord and cast our nets. It is not a bad thing that reality itself forces us to “put out into the deep”, where what we are by grace is clearly seen as pure grace, out into the deep of the contemporary world, where the only thing that counts is “unction” – not function – and the nets which overflow with fish are those cast solely in the name of the One in whom we have put our trust: Jesus.
Dear lay faithful, be close to your priests with affection and with your prayers, that they may always be shepherds according to God’s heart.
Dear priests, may God the Father renew in us the Spirit of holiness with whom we have been anointed. May he renew his Spirit in our hearts, that this anointing may spread to everyone, even to those “outskirts” where our faithful people most look for it and most appreciate it. May our people sense that we are the Lord’s disciples; may they feel that their names are written upon our priestly vestments and that we seek no other identity; and may they receive through our words and deeds the oil of gladness which Jesus, the Anointed One, came to bring us. Amen
Holy Saturday
I love Holy Saturday. It has a strange kind of feeling for the disciples of Jesus. We are between times,- between the death and burial of Jesus yesterday, Good Friday -’good’ for us, but not good for Jesus, in his suffering and dying- and the Resurrection from the dead tomorrow.
It’s an empty time. Empty tabernacles; no Mass at today; empty holy-water fonts waiting to the Easter water to fill them again. Empty hearts, waiting for the return of the Lord to us. It’s a time of waiting.
A good space to be in, today,- getting in touch with our hearts again, in touch with an sacred emptiness within us, a longing. It is beautifully expressed in a recent hymn, much loved by many: ‘There is a longing in our hearts’. Click here for same on you-tube: Lyrics below:
There is a longing in our hearts, O Lord,
for you to reveal yourself to us.
There is a longing in our hearts
for love we only find in you, our God.
1. For justice, for freedom,
for mercy, hear our prayer.
In sorrow, in grief,
be near, hear our prayer, O God.
Refrain: There is a longing in our hearts, O Lord,
for you to reveal yourself to us.
There is a longing in our hearts
for love we only find in you, our God.
2. For wisdom, for courage,
for comfort, hear our prayer.
In weakness, in fear,
be near, hear our prayer, O God.
Refrain: There is a longing in our hearts, O Lord,
for you to reveal yourself to us.
There is a longing in our hearts
for love we only find in you, our God.
3. For healing, for wholeness,
for new life, hear our prayer.
In sickness, in death,
be near, hear our prayer, O God.
Refrain: There is a longing in our hearts, O Lord,
for you to reveal yourself to us.
There is a longing in our hearts
for love we only find in you, our God.
4. Lord save us, take pity,
light in our darkness.
We call you, we wait,
be near, hear our prayer, O God.
Final Refrain: There is a longing in our hearts, O Lord,
for you to reveal yourself to us.
There is a longing in our hearts
for love we only find in you, our God.
Good Friday 2013
'There stood by the cross of Jesus...' (John 19:25). Installation at St. Clement's Redemptorist College, Limerick, Ireland: by S. Devitt C.Ss.R.
‘There stood by the cross of Jesus…’ (John 19:25)
For Reflections for each day of Holy Week 2013, click here
Death of Fr. Paddy Breen, C.Ss.R.
Death of Fr. Paddy Breen, C.Ss.R.
The death has occurred on Wednesday March 27th of Fr. Paddy Breen, a Redemptorist much loved among his confreres and by so many among whom and to whom he ministered over his long life. May he rest in peace. The following is the text of an announcement by his community in Limerick.
The Redemptorist Community at Mount St. Alphonsus, South Circular Road, Limerick regret to announce the death of their confrere, Fr. Patrick Breen, C.Ss.R.
Fr. Paddy died on Wednesday, 27th March in the loving care of the Sisters and staff at Carrigoran House, Co. Clare.
Fr. Paddy’s remains will lie in repose in the parlour in Mount St. Alphonsus
Monastery from 3.00pm, Saturday afternoon, March 30th.
The removal to Mount St. Alphonsus Church will be on Easter Sunday Evening at
6.30pm, followed by 7.15pm Mass.
Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 11.30am on Monday, April 1st, followed by
burial in the new Redemptorist burial plot at Castlemungret Cemetery.
A native of Athlacca, Co. Limerick, and one of eleven children, Fr. Paddy was born on June 29th, 1925 and ordained a Redemptorist priest in August, 1950. His older brother, Joseph, was already a Redemptorist priest, and six of his sisters also entered religious life.
After 16 years ministering in the Philippine Islands, Fr. Paddy returned to Ireland in 1969 and was appointed Superior of the Redemptorist Student House, Cluain Mhuire, Galway; in Galway he was also Director of Students.
Having also worked as a parish missioner Fr. Paddy was elected Consultor Vicar of the Irish Redemptorists in 1978-1982 and then as Provincial Consultor 1982-1985. He later spent four years working in the Redemptorist Retreat House in Limerick until its closure in 1989.
After this he trained as a Hospital Chaplain and was for a number of years Chaplain in Mount Carmel Hospital, Dublin. During this time he also engaged in mission preaching. He retired to Mount St. Alphonsus, Limerick in 2002 where he has lived ever since and was engaged in the church apostolate until ill health intervened.
A gentle, humorous, kind and ever-affirming member of the community, Fr. Paddy will be greatly missed by his Redemptorist confreres in Limerick and throughout the wider Irish province, also by his sister, Sr. Una in Birmingham, and by his many nephews, nieces, grand-nephews, grand-nieces, and extended family, most of whom still live in Athlacca, Co. Limerick.
Holy Thursday 2013
Holy Thursday 2013:
John 13:1 ’Jesus…having loved those who were his own in the world, loved them to the last.’
The Washing of the Feet: Installation in St. Clelment''s Redemptorist College, Limerick, Ireland: by S. Devitt C.Ss.R.
For Reflections for each day of Holy Week, click here: Holy Week Reflections
Lent – a Feast of a Fast !
A Lent of Opportunity for a Hungry Adults & Young Adults, in a Faith Community: or A Feast of a Fast: (Source unknown)
Lent 2013,- Journeying together towards the Light!
Fast from judging others; Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; Feast on the unity of all life.
Fast from apparent darkness; Feast on the reality of all light.
Fast from thoughts of illness; Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; Feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; Feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; Feast on God’s providence.
Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; Feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures;Feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; Feast on non-resistance.
Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; Feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragement; Feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; Feast on verities that uplift.
Fast from suspicion; Feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; Feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow; Feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from idle gossip; Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that sustains.
Media Statement from the Provincial Leadership Team of the Irish Redemptorists
Media Statement from the Provincial Leadership Team of the Irish Redemptorists
Sunday 20th January 201
The Irish Redemptorist Community is deeply saddened by the breakdown in communication between Fr. Tony Flannery C.Ss.R. and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)
Fr. Tony Flannery is highly regarded and respected by many in Ireland, both within and outside of the Redemptorist Congregation. He has been an effective parish missioner all over the country since the mid 1970s and from this context has raised matters which he believes need greater dialogue, debate and consideration. Within the Dublin Province of the Redemptorists there exists a very lively spirit of debate and dialogue; we are and over many years have been, committed to mature discourse. Although not all Redemptorists would accept Fr. Flannery’s views on all matters, we do understand and support his efforts to listen carefully to and at times to articulate the views of people he encounters in the course of his ministry.
As Irish Redemptorists we appreciate the difficulties this situation has created for others, especially for our Superior General in Rome, Fr. Michael Brehl. He has made every possible effort to resolve the matters which have emerged between the CDF and Fr. Flannery.
Our Redemptorist Constitutions require us to be obedient to God’s call to us as religious in the Church. Following our founder, St. Alphonsus, for whom thinking with the Church was a important criterion of missionary service, a further key element of our Church mandate is to listen and stay close to God’s people; to engage in missionary dialogue with the world while endeavouring to understand people’s anxious questionings; to try to discover in these how God is truly being revealed.
It is of immense regret that some structures or processes of dialogue have not yet been found in the Church which have a greater capacity to engage with challenging voices from among God’s people, while respecting the key responsibility and central role of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
We sincerely hope and pray that even at this late stage, some agreed resolution can be found to this matter.
Ends
Media enquiries: through Wally Young at Young Communications: youngcom@eircom.net and/or 087 2471520.
Note 1:
The Redemptorists:
For many Irish people, especially of a certain generation, the word Redemptorist is synonymous with ‘parish mission’. There are few parishes in Ireland that have not experienced at least one Redemptorist parish mission in the last 160 years. Parish missions traditionally have been the flagship apostolate of the Congregation since the first mission was preached in Limerick more than a century and a half ago.
Parish mission work isn’t the only ministry in which Irish Redemptorists have been engaged since 1851. The ‘explicit proclamation of the Word’ has taken on many forms: the annual solemn novenas have had extraordinary success in recent decades and continue to attract young and old in their thousands; the ministry to young people has developed very significantly over the years; Redemptorist retreat house, church ministry and parish work continue to serve the needs of the Irish Church. Individual Redemptorists now minister with migrants, travellers, in schools, universities, prisons and hospitals and to many other groups and communities.
From the very beginning, “overseas mission” has been an integral component of the Irish Redemptorist story. Redemptorists down the decades have engaged in other important work too, not least of which has been the peace ministry, which helped in no small way to bring about a resolution to the Northern ‘Troubles,’ and the ministry of ecumenism which has helped build bridges and forge links with members of other Christian communities in Ireland. Redemptorist Communications has also been a significant ministry of the Irish Province.
Note 2:
Fr. Tony Flannery, C.Ss.R.:
Fr. Tony Flannery, C.Ss.R., is a Redemptorist for over 40 years. He studied from 1965 to 1969 in Cluain Mhuire in Galway; from 1969 to 1971 he was a student in Marianella in Dublin. From 1971 to 1973 he worked in Limerick as a teacher and from 1973 to 1975 he was a student once again in Marianella (Dublin). After ordination as a priest, he worked as a parish missioner from 1975 to 1983 out of the Esker Community in Athenry in Co. Galway. From 1983 to 1996 he was based in our Limerick Community as a parish missioner. From 1990 to 1996, Fr. Flannery was Rector of our Mount St. Alphonsus Community in Limerick. After a period of sabbatical time between 1996 and 1997, Fr. Flannery returned to Esker and has remained there as a parish missioner since then.
ENDS.
Homily given at Esker Cemetery Sunday Mass, Sept. 9, 2012
CEMETERY SUNDAY 2012: A great number of family members of Redemptorist Brothers and Priests, buried in our community Cemetery here 
, travelled to Esker for our annual Cemetery Sunday. The weather was not kind to us, the Mass was celebrated in the Church, and the prayers said, as it was raining too heavily at the time. It was great to welcome so many who came, some from long distances, to honour their deceased relatives, many long since dead.
The following homily was given by the Rector of Esker, Fr. Brendan O’Rourke
Cemetery Sunday, Esker, Athenry, Sunday, September 9th 2012
In a lovely new book on the Irish Redemptorists (The Redemptorists in Ireland 1851-2011, by Brendan McConvery, C.Ss.R.) we read that among the first community of Redemptorists in Esker in 1901 were two men, Father Patrick Sampson and Brother Casimir O’Gorman, and they are buried in our cemetery. So our Cemetery Sunday celebration connects us with the very beginnings of the Redemptorists in Esker!
The first Irishman to be professed as a Redemptorist Brother was James McVeigh. Father McConvery writes: “He was an Irish-speaker from County Tyrone, born in 1829, the year of Catholic Emancipation. He had been apprenticed to a shoemaker in Omagh, where he assisted at one of the earliest Redemptorist missions in 1852. During the renewal of the mission the following year, James approached Father van Antwerpen, the leader of the mission, to ask if he might be accepted as a brother candidate. His delicate health told against him and he was refused. James was insistent. He took off to Bishop Eton, the Redemptorist house in Liverpool, the following year, to renew his request. Again, the answer was far from encouraging. He was directed to the Passionists, but his poor health forced him to leave after a short stay. He returned to Liverpoor and took up his trade near the monastery. His persistence was repaid when he was eventually accepted. He was admitted to profession in 1860. As is often the case in monasteries, James, now Brother Stanislaus, never got the opportunity to practise his trade again. He served in the various Irish communities, dying in Esker in 1909.”
I looked for Br. Stanislaus McVeigh’s grave over in our cemetery. It isn’t there. I wondered where was he buried? And I emailed Fr. McConvery and he referred me to the chronicles of Esker. There, in the first book of the chronicles of Esker, I found the description of Br. McVeigh’s death. It also described how, given that they had not yet developed a cemetery in Esker, his body was escorted to Athenry train station. The community, all wearing their habits, walked beside his coffin, and then sent his remains in a train car specially set aside, for burial in the crypt of Mount Saint Alphonsus, Limerick City.
So in Brother Stanislaus McVeigh we are connected to the roots of Esker even before the days of a cemetery here! As many of us walk around the cemetery, and read the names of friends, family, and characters we will find some we liked or loved, and maybe some whom we found to be heavy going!! We are clear, I hope, that none of us are perfect, nor were any of the men buried in our cemetery. But they were good enough for God to work with and through!
And so are all of us, good enough for God to work with and through. And usually in ordinary ways.
A woman mystic of the Middle Ages said that while it is true to say that God is love it may be even more true to say that love is God! In other words, while the idea of God may be a struggle for some of us in our lives. Our understanding of God may change throughout our lives. But this mystic is saying to us, I think, that we should just keep our eyes, mind, heart and soul open to the presence of kindness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, fairness, justice, caring, compassion in life and then we will have met God
So, today, we honour and connect with all those who have gone before us. They invite us, from their colourful or their black and white lives, from their great and small achievements, and even from their mistakes and sins…they call us to let God’s Spirit flow through us, to live fully, to not fear making mistakes, and to not postpone living, loving, connecting, and caring.
August 17th, 2012,- New Irish/Brazilian Redemptorist Mission to Africa.
AUGUST 17TH, 2012 will be remembered for the Formal Opening of the New Irish/Brazilian Redemptorist Mission in Mozambique and Malawi:
‘Plant an acorn, wait for an oak.’
Ever heard of ‘Chechewa’ ? Across Mozambique and neighbouring Malawi, it is the native language of 15 million people! And two Irish Redemptorists, Fr. Brian Holmes from Cork, Fr. John Berminham from Co. Kildare, have been learning Chechewa over the past two years, in Mozambique.
The formal inauguration of this new Redemptorist Mission in Mozambique/Malawi will take place on this August 17th at 9am in the Parish of Christ the King (Furancungo, Macanga, Diocese of Tete) Dom Inácio Saure, Bishop of the Diocese of Tete (which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year) has agreed to preside.
This new Mission is a joint project of the Irish Redemptorists of the Dublin Province, and the Redemptorists (Irish and Brazilian) from the Vice-Province of Fortaleza in N. East Brazil, – a Mission begun 51 years ago from Ireland. This new Gospel outreach will, please God, be staffed by Redemptorists and co-workers, men and women, working as partners with our new African friends.
Fr. Eridian (Vice-Provincial Superior from Vice-Province of Fortaleza) and Fr. Michael Kelleher ( Provincial of the Dublin Province of the Redemptorists) plan to attend this formal opening. Having surmounted a health hurdle or two, Fr. Brian Holmes and Fr. John Bermingham are doing fine, thank God. They have a motor bike and have just invested in a second hand Hilux Surf car. They are now able to celebrate Mass in the local language (‘Chechewa’) in the communities of the district; their new means of transport will further facilitate their missionary outreach. Meantime, they have begun to put roof, doors and windows in the extension to the little house they live in, beside the chapel in Furancungo. Recently, they wrote:
“Day by day learning a few new words, and phrases, learning how the people survive here and understanding a bit more each day their way of life. We are happy. Last week we climbed one of the mountains near the town and you can see here the beauty of the region and have some idea of the town below. Today we are in Tete, the provincial capital, on the banks of the Zambeze River. At sundown it can be beautiful too. Thinking of you. Keep us in your prayers. John and Brian.
During the African journey from mid August to early September, Frs. Michael and Eridian hope to travel with Frs. John and Brian to see Bishop Emmanuel in Dedza, Malawi, to discuss having a foundation in that country also. After that meeting, a Network gathering of the Conference of Redemptorists of Africa & Madagascar will be held in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Please pray for this new venture;- for the Redemptorists, it is like Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on water, after Jesus had said ‘Come !’ It is a great act of faith when our own numbers seem very small. Do any of you hear Jesus saying ‘Come’- and give your life ministering for the Gospel among the 15 million people who speak Chechewa ?
‘Glory be to God who by his might power at work within us is able to do far mare than we could ever dare to ask or even dream of,- infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.‘ (Ephesians 3:20)
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.
‘Copiosa apud Eum Redemptio’ -the Redemptorist Motto.
‘Copiosa apud Eum Redemptio’ -the Redemptorist Motto. On the Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Third Sunday of July each year, -and this year on July 15th- , a short reflection on the motto of the Redemptorists since the time of their founder, St. Alphonsus Liguori.
The phrase is taken from Psalm 130, v.7. and is often translated as ‘With Him is plentiful Redemption’. That is what Redemptorists are called to proclaim to the world,- the wonderful, generous, lavish redemption of our God.
‘Copiosa‘ means abundant, plentiful, prodigal, overflowing, lavish, princely,- and in Irish, ‘flaithiúil‘ meaning the quality of princely generosity and lavishness..
‘Apud Eum‘ is Latin for ‘With Him’,- ie. with God.
‘Redemptio‘, or Redemption,- setting free, healing, opening eyes, leading out of exile and slavery of any kind, leading home, lifting hearts, giving ‘life to the full’ (John 10.10).
‘Tá slánú fíor-flaithiúil i nDia!’ There is a truly princely liberation and wholeness from God.
Isn’t that worth proclaiming to all the world?
Seamus Devitt, C.Ss.R., Esker.
A Redemptorist Ireland Website