Jubilee Year of Mercy - A Pastoral letter from Bishop Brendan Leahy to the Diocese of Limerick

As you probably know, Pope Francis has called for a Year of Mercy that will begin this Tuesday, Feast of  the Immaculate Conception, and will last until the Feast of Christ the King next year, 20 November 2016.

Mercy is one of the great themes of Pope Francis’ life and teaching. Just a few days after he was elected Pope, half-jokingly but also making a serious point, Pope Francis told of a conversation he once had with a woman well over eighty years old. It was just after he had become bishop in Argentina and was at the end of a long day of hearing confessions. As he was leaving the Confessional, the woman approached him. He looked at her and asked if she wanted to go to Confession. When she replied she did, he said, “but if you haven’t sinned…”. The woman replied, “We all have sins”. The then young bishop continued, “But perhaps the Lord does not forgive them” to which the woman replied with conviction: “The Lord forgives all things”. Bishop Bergoglio as he then was went further and said, “But how do you know that?”. He was amazed at her reply: “If the Lord did not forgive everything, the world would not exist”. On the basis of this conversation that he recalled just a few days after being elected Pope, Francis said, “Let us never forget this word: God never ever tires of forgiving us! The problem is that we ourselves get tired. He never tires of forgiving, but at times we get tired of asking for forgiveness”.

So the first thing the Pope wants from this Holy Year of Mercy is that we all rediscover the immense merciful love of God. God’s mercy is there uniquely for each one of us – for you, for me, for the person next to you. No one, no situation, no family is outside God’s mercy.

In our Diocese we will have a programme of events for the Year of Mercy. I will write each month on some aspect of it. As part of our Diocesan celebrations, I will be opening a Holy Door of Mercy in St. John’s Cathedral at the 12 noon Mass next Sunday, December 13^th. You are welcome to attend. The Door will be open for the duration of the Year of Mercy. I hope that during the Year many will come on pilgrimage to the Cathedral and pass through that Holy Door. Let’s remember, of course, that it opens both inwards and outwards! We are called “in” to God’s great mercy in order to go “out” to show mercy to the world in our day-to-day relationships with others. I will write again on the Holy Door next month.

The Pope has provided us with a motto for this year: “Be merciful like the Father”. These words come from Jesus himself (Lk 6:36) when he asks us to reflect God the Father’s immense mercy in our words and actions.

Pope Francis remarks that sad to say, we must admit that the practice of mercy is waning in the wider culture. In some cases the word seems to have dropped out of use. This year ahead gives us a chance to focus on mercy and open our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society: fringes which modern society itself creates. The “fringes” of society aren’t just those far away from me. Each of us can create “fringes” in our own family, neighbourhood or Diocese.

Blessed Pope Paul VI - UPDATED

Pope Paul VI
Source - Wikipedia

On Sunday 19th October at the closing Mass of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, Pope Francis will beatify his often castigated and ignored predecessor Pope Paul VI who was pope from 1963 to 1978. This follows on from a decision on 20th December 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, to declare that the late pontiff had lived a life of heroic virtue, which means that he can now be called "Venerable". A miracle attributed to the intercession of Paul VI was approved on 9 May 2014 by Pope Francis. His liturgical feast day will not on the date of his death as is usual, but it will be celebrated on the date of his birth, 26 September.

Biography of Pope Paul VI from the Vatican website HERE

Analysis of Pope Paul's contribution to the church and to the world and the road to beatification:

Vatican Radio - Pope Paul VI: of miracles and relics

John Predmore SJ - Pope Paul is almost a saint: Here are four of his biggest legacies

Russel Shaw - Giving Pope Paul his due and Paul VI: The Long-Suffering Servant Pope

Thomas Williams - The case for the sainthood of Pope Paul VI

Whispers in the Loggia - The Blessed Montini – Paul VI To Be Beatified Oct. 19

The Irish Catholic - Paul VI beatification highlights the importance of dialogue 

Pray Tell - My favourite story about Paul VI

 

 

UPDATE

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone"... at least, of the current pontificate. @roccopalmo

 

 

Pope Francis' homily at the beatification Mass:

When we look to this great Pope, this courageous Christian, this tireless apostle, we cannot but say in the sight of God a word as simple as it is heartfelt and important: thanks! Thank you, our dear and beloved Pope Paul VI! Thank you for your humble and prophetic witness of love for Christ and his Church!

In his personal journal, the great helmsman of the Council wrote, at the conclusion of its final session: "Perhaps the Lord has called me and preserved me for this service not because I am particularly fit for it, or so that I can govern and rescue the Church from her present difficulties, but so that I can suffer something for the Church, and in that way it will be clear that he, and no other, is her guide and saviour" (P. Macchi, Paolo VI nella sua parola, Brescia, 2001, pp. 120-121). In this humility the grandeur of Blessed Paul VI shines forth: before the advent of a secularized and hostile society, he could hold fast, with farsightedness and wisdom – and at times alone – to the helm of the barque of Peter, while never losing his joy and his trust in the Lord.

 

 

The Eucharist: The Source and Summit of the Christian Life

One of the recommendations for the Year of Faith is to study the documents of the Second Vatican Council.  The Council document on the Church described the Eucharist as the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium 11). This means everything we do should come from and lead to our celebration of our Sunday Mass. 

The Eucharist is the summit, the high-point, of the Christian life; because through our celebration of Mass we offer God the Father praise and thanksgiving through His Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1407).  When we come to celebrate Mass, we offer our whole lives to God.  During the preparation of the gifts, the priest adds a little drop of water to the wine.  When I’m helping to prepare the altar servers, I ask them to especially watch out for this moment of Mass.  This little drop of water represents all of us and all our daily lives – our joys, our worries, our concerns, our hopes, our dreams and our whole humanity.  As the priest adds the water, he prays: “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”  In other words, we pray that, through the power of the Holy Spirit during this Mass, God will transform our lives and help us to become more Christ-like in everything we do and say and think. 

 

The Eucharist is the source of the Christian life.  During Mass we are nourished in a number of ways.  Firstly, by God’s Word through the First and Second Readings, the psalm, the Gospel and also the homily, where the priest helps us to better understand God’s Word and apply God’s Word to our lives.  We are nourished as a parish community, by coming together to support each other and pray for each other and the whole world.  In receiving Holy Communion we are nourished by the Body of Christ.  Holy Communion is not blessed bread or holy bread; it is the Body and Blood of Christ.  Normally when we eat food, the food is broken down so that our bodies can change the food into ourselves.  However, when we receive Holy Communion, we receive Christ Himself (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324).  The process is reversed, because we don’t change Holy Communion into ourselves, the Lord changes us into Himself[1].  This doesn’t mean that we are suddenly perfect or sinless… our journey towards holiness takes a lifetime of co-operating with God’s grace!  Receiving Holy Communion strengthens our communion with God and with the parish community.  Receiving Holy Communion forgives our venial sins and strengthens us to resist the temptation to commit grave sins (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1416).  If we regularly attend Mass and receive Holy Communion it will have an effect on the way we live and love.

At the end of Mass each of us is given the mission to “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” or to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life”.  In the old translation, the priest used to say: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord”.  How do we fulfil this mission?  We can only do this because we have received Jesus in Holy Communion.

We announce the Gospel as lay people by living the Gospel message.  St. Francis of Assisi was said to have commissioned his friars to “preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words”, meaning that we primarily preach the Gospel by living by Gospel values. 

We can also announce the Gospel by standing up for Christian values in the public arena, by not being afraid to give a defence of our faith, what we believe in and why.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that we will have to stand up and preach in the middle of a market square or go house-to-house evangelising, but it means speaking honestly and openly about our faith and what our faith means to us when we are asked.

 

How do we love and serve the Lord?  Pope Benedict, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, described the Eucharist as a ‘Sacrament of Charity’ (Sacramentum Caritatis 1; cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, q. 73, a. 3), a Sacrament of Love.  God loved the world so much that He gave Himself to save us (cf. Jn 3:16).  After receiving Jesus in Holy Communion we are asked to follow His example… to give ourselves to the love and service of others.  If we reflect on it, most of us are living this way already.  As parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, children, teachers, volunteers working in the community… we are already sharing our love with our families and members of the community.  We are already living eucharistically.  In receiving Holy Communion we are asked to go even further… we are challenged, as Pope Benedict says, “in God and with God… [to] love even the person whom I do not like or even know” (Deus Caritas Est 232; Sacramentum Caritatis 88). 

Loving strangers, in a sense, is easy.  I don’t know enough about them to dislike them, but to love the person who drives you nuts, you know that person that you duck down an aisle at the supermarket to avoid or cross the street so they don’t see you… or that person who is at home or at work or at school whom you find difficult to get on with… that takes the grace of God that we receive through the Eucharist.  Christian love is not about feelings.  We don’t have to like every person we meet, but we do have to love them.  We love these people especially, as Pope Benedict says, ‘in God and with God’.  In other words, God loves them through us, if we allow Him to and He helps us to love them with Him. 

On the odd occasion that I have missed Sunday Mass, I truly felt as if something was missing from my life.  You know the phrase: “There, but for the grace of God, go I”.  I need God’s grace to be a Christian.  I cannot do it without Him.  I am a worse version of myself when I neglect my prayer life or I miss going to Mass.  Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: “We cannot separate our lives from the Eucharist; the moment we do, something breaks.”  Our attendance at Sunday Mass is intimately related to every part of our daily lives.  Attending Sunday Mass is a precept of the Church, not because the Church likes burdening us with rules and regulations and obligations, but because regularly receiving Jesus and spending time listening to His Word brings us closer to the Holy Trinity.  Celebrating Mass together as a parish community each Sunday is a fountain of grace for us (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium 10)… It makes us better people and better Christians.  It is a well spring where we are nourished and renewed so that we can go out again refreshed to love and serve the Lord during the coming week.

 In the Eucharist, Christ fulfils His promise to stay with us always (cf. Mt 28:20; Mane Nobiscum Domine 16), to give us His love and grace and help (cf. Mane Nobiscum Domine 15).  Perhaps during this Year of Faith one little promise we could make to ourselves is to spend a little time each week reflecting on the mystery of God’s love for us in the Eucharist and how we are called to live the Eucharist in our daily lives.  

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[1] Cf. http://www.iec2012.ie/media/TheEucharistmakestheChurch1.pdf

Second Vatican Council - A trip into history

Some video clips of the opening of the Second Vatican Council from Conciliaria. If you would like to see some historic documents and analysis of the Council check out the Conciliaria blog.

7th October 2012 - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) - A Busy October Get Involved!

On this weeks programme we catch up with a few people around the diocese for up and coming events that are being held to celebrate the Year of Faith which starts on the 11th October 2012.

This weeks podcast is available HERE.
 
Public Lecture Series - The Legacy of Vatican II: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Opening of the Council

Fr Eamonn Fitzgibbon joins us at the start of the programme to tell us about the public lecture series which is being hosted by Pobal Neasáin Pastoral Area entitled "The Legacy of Vatican II - Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Opening of the Council" Each lecture costs €5 and will begin at 7.30p.m. except for the lecture by Cardinal Murphy O’Connor which begins at 6.30p.m.

 

v  Friday October 5^th:  Vatican II: An Eyewitness Account,

by Bishop Michael Smith in The South Court Hotel.

Bishop Michael attended all 168 days of the Second Vatican Council. He and eleven other young priests prepared the official record, having been appointed as a recording secretary to the Council. Bishop Michael Smith will reflect on his time taking shorthand in Latin and working at the Second Vatican Council.

 

v  Tuesday October 9^th – 6.30p.m.: The Enduring legacy of the second Vatican Council,    by HE Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor  in The South Court Hotel.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor is the Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster. He was Co-Chairman of the Anglican and Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), one of the Apostolic Visitors to Ireland and he continues to serve on many Vatican dicasteries.

 

v  Friday October 19^th: Mediating God’s Revelation: Vatican II’s Teaching on the Role of Scripture,   by Diane Corkery in Mary Immaculate College.          

Diane Corkery is Head of Religious Studies in St Patrick’s College, Thurles. She lectures in Sacred Scripture and is a member of the Irish Biblical Association.

 

v  Friday October 26^th: The Noble Obligation: The Role of the Lay Faithful

by Bishop Donal Murray in Mary Immaculate College.             

Bishop Donal Murray lectured in Moral Theology in Mater Dei Institute and in Holy Cross College from 1969 to 1982. He was Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin from 1982 to 1996 and then Bishop of Limerick until 2009. He is now retired. Author of many books and articles; this year he published, Keeping Open the Door of Faith: The Legacy of Vatican II

 

v  Friday November 2^nd: The New Evangelisation – In Continuity with Vatican II?  

by Rev Professor Eamonn Conway in Mary Immaculate College.

Professor Eamonn Conway is a priest of the Tuam diocese. He is Head of Theology and Religious Studies at Mary Immaculate College since 1999. Prof Conway served as President of the European Society for Catholic Theology 2009- 2011. Professor Conway has been appointed as an expert advisor to the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme of ‘The New Evangelisation’.

 

v  Friday November 9^th: From Peritus to Pope: Benedict XVI and the Council

by Philip Cremin in Mary Immaculate College.

Philip Cremin lectures in Theology & Religious Studies in Waterford Institute of Technology. His post-graduate dissertation is on an aspect of the theology of Joseph Ratzinger entitled ‘Joseph Ratzinger’s Idea of God as dia-logos: A Contribution to Contemporary Society?’  and was recently presented to Pope Benedict by Fr Vincent Twomey at the annual 'Ratzinger Study Group' a gathering of the former doctoral and post-doctoral students of the then-Professor Joseph Ratzinger.

Limerick Diocese celebrates the Year of Faith

 

Noirin Lynch from Limerick Diocesan Pastoral Centre joins us again on the programme to remind people of what is coming up in Limerick in October to celebrate the Year of Faith. You can listen and read back to our programme earlier in September 2012 where we discussed what the Year of Faith is about HERE.

 

To learn more about what is coming up:

• a Diocesan Launch for the Year of Faith - details HERE

There are not one but two conferences to celebrate:

• 'Religion and the public good', in Mary Immaculate College HERE,
• 'Making space for God' Charasmatic conference HERE

Not one but two talks series to reflect and celebrate:

• Pobal Nessain Pastoral Area: The legacy of Vatican II - HERE
• Dominican Biblical institute, Limerick: 'Catholicism in a fresh light'. HERE

 

Gospel - Mark 10:2-16

 

 

 

Reflections for this weeks gospel:

 

Sunday Reflections

Word on Fire

English Dominicans

Centre for Liturgy

 

 

Liturgical Odds and Ends

 

Divine Office - Week 3

 

Saints of the Week

 

October 8th - St Pelagia the Penitent

October 9th - Bl John Henry Newman

October 10th - St Leo the Great (Pope)

October 11th - Bl John XXIII (Pope)

October 12th - St Cyprian

October 13th - St Edward the COnfessor

 

 

The Legacy of Vatican II - Talk series in Limerick

 

Pobal Neasáin Pastoral Area is happy to host a Public Lecture Series

The Legacy of Vatican II - Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Opening of the Council

(Each lecture costs €5 and will take place in The South Court Hotel. Lectures begin at 7.30p.m. except for the lecture by Cardinal Murphy O’Connor which begins at 6.30p.m.)

Friday October 5^th: 

Vatican II: An Eyewitness Account,

by Bishop Michael Smith

 

Bishop Michael attended all 168 days of the Second Vatican Council. He and eleven other young priests prepared the official record, having been appointed as a recording secretary to the Council. Bishop Michael Smith will reflect on his time taking shorthand in Latin and working at the Second Vatican Council.

Tuesday October 9^th – 6.30p.m.:

The Enduring legacy of the second Vatican Council,

by HE Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor

 

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor is the Emeritus Archbishop of Westminster. He was Co Chairman of the Anglican and Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), one of the Apostolic Visitors to Ireland and he continues to serve on many Vatican dicasteries.

Friday October 19^th:

Mediating God’s Revelation: Vatican II’s Teaching on the Role of Scripture, by Diane Corkery

 

Diane Corkery is Head of Religious Studies in St Patrick’s College, Thurles. She lectures in Sacred Scripture and is a member of the Irish Biblical Association.

Friday October 26^th: The Noble Obligation: The Role of the Lay Faithful

by Bishop Donal Murray

 

Bishop Donal Murray lectured in Moral Theology in Mater Dei Institute and in Holy Cross College from 1969 to 1982. He was Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin from 1982 to 1996 and then Bishop of Limerick until 2009. He is now retired. Author of many books and articles; this year he published, Keeping Open the Door of Faith: The Legacy of Vatican II

Friday November 2^nd:

The New Evangelisation – In Continuity with Vatican II?

by Rev Professor Eamonn Conway

 

Professor Eamonn Conway is a priest of the Tuam diocese; Doctorate in theology in 1991 and taught Systematic Theology at All Hallows College, Dublin; Head of Theology and Religious Studies at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick since 1999. Prof Conway served as President of the European Society for Catholic Theology 2009- 2011 and will be serving as a theological advisor at the Synod of Bishops in Rome during October 2012.

Friday November 9^th:

From Peritus to Pope: Benedict XVI and the Council

by Philip Cremin

 

Philip Cremin lectures in Theology & Religious Studies with the Waterford Institute of Technology. His post-graduate research is on the writings of Joseph Ratzinger and recently his thesis was presented to Pope benedict by Fr Vincent Twomey at the annual 'Ratzinger Study Group' a gathering of the former doctoral and post-doctoral students of the then-Professor Joseph Ratzinger.