Daily Lenten Thought March 11th

Daily Lenten Thought March 11th

“Well Tony?”  I think that’s as much as I said to him.

It was last Monday, just after the funeral of Jack Roddy (mentioned in another daily thought) and I was walking back to the sacristy.  Tony was walking towards his car, having prayed with me and many others for Jack’s Soul.  He nodded to me and I spoke briefly as I went past.

A few months ago Tony came to see me to arrange his wife’s Anniversary Mass.  As he often did, he came in and sat down for a while.  He chatted about the Mass and then wondered if he could ask a favour.  I assured him he could.

“You like to sing”, he told me “and I love to listen to you.  Now at Bernie’s Mass, would you do something for me?”  Preparing myself I wondered what song (from my all too limited repertoire he might want) and wondered if the song would be a song or a hymn. Would it be appropriate?  I knew, were it possible, I’d not say no to anything he might have asked.

“Your friend, Fr McDonagh, he does a mighty job on the Waves of Kilkee.  Could you play that on a CD for me?”  Alas, my repertoire would not be required after all:)

I told that story the night of the Mass and gave McDonagh his moment – well nearly six minutes to be more accurate.  Tony was right, he and his accompanying musicians do a fine job on that tune.  Tony was happy.

On Tuesday evening I was at a meeting and someone told me Tony was in hospital.  I said I hadn’t heard.  The news was not good.  I called his son and, sure enough, Tony had been given 24 hours.  He was dead in less, R.I.P.

I’m glad we played The Waves of Kilkee.  I’m glad Tony felt he could ask me that. I’m sorry I didn’t say a bit more to him on Monday last.  Had I known it would be the last opportunity, I’m sure I would have done so.

The thought then … when you meet your friends and loved ones, spend time with them, talk to them, waste and pass time with them.  Someday it might be too late.

Daily Lenten Thought March 10th

Daily Lenten Thought March 10th

Today the 32nd Dáil assembles in Dublin for the first time.  A Ceann Comhairle has been elected by secret ballot.  His role, a crucial one, seeks to oversee discussions that take place and decisions that will be taken during the lifetime of the Dáil.  He is “speaker” or “chairman of the council” and no doubt will have some difficult and tense moments in that role.

We need someone to put shape on things and situations in life.  Who do we look to for guidance?  Are we truly willing to accept that guidance?

Is Christ the “ceann comhairle”? Is his word final?

As we look at the makeup of the new Dáil we cannot but see the diversity therein. Please God this will be a good thing.  We need people of honour and commitment who bring to the table the needs and hopes of those who elected them.  It is crucial that our government in its very diversity recognises the diversity of people in the country and not allow its agenda be drawn from any particular geographical or ideological starting point. It’s interesting that it’s the 32nd Dáil in this centenary year.

Daily Lenten Thought March 9th

Daily Lenten Thought March 9th

“Let sleeping dogs lie”

This is a photo of Alpha – my dog and “good friend”!  I’m not sure about him being my best friend but we get on fairly well most of the time.  The little caption isn’t really as much to do with the photograph as maybe a bit of advice for the day – sometimes we might do well to let sleeping dogs lie.  Digging up, rooting out, dwelling on bad memories or feelings may serve only to hurt us and others in the long run.  The sleeping dog has his place.

A second thought around dogs …. It’s not original but heard a man speak once about the Religious Examiner visiting a school.  The teacher relied heavily on three girls in the class to answer any questions of a religious nature and knew that any of them would be well able to meet, head on, any issues the priest might care to surface.  She wasn’t ready for the priest’s selection though and he turned to a young lad in the class called Tony and asked him to stand up.  The teacher feared the worst and remembered Tony, on another occasion, finding “four” Gods in the Trinity.  Just as the priest began to speak, Tony made reference to the dog he could see on the front seat of the priest’s car.  The story goes that the priest left aside his text book, looked at Tony and asked “Did Jesus have a dog Tony”.  “No”, came the reply “because if he had it would have been with him on Calvary”.

We’re told the boy went home with the prize for the best answer.  The three girls went home feeling there was “no justice in religion”.

Tony was on the button – the “friend” in the dog would have brought him to Calvary.

The thought for today – how far will we travel for our friends?

Daily Lenten Thought March 8th

Daily Lenten Thought March 8th

 

A common happening! We can be so slow to involve ourselves in events, situations and people’s lives. There is, all too often , the feeling that someone else will do it. Sometimes this is the case. Alas sometimes, not!

We need at times to name names, assign tasks, put the shoulder (maybe even “my” shoulder) to the wheel. This is the only way the task in hand will be tended to. It is the only way the job will be done.

The apostles decided, in the earliest days of Church, that the task was too much for them. The demands were many and varied, the time was pressured and ill-fitted the needs. What did they do? They prayed, they talked, they gathered the believers and they sought help. They named names, assigned tasks and saw to it the work would be done.

It’s a lesson for our time too. We must listen to one another. Hearing what is really being said is crucial. Help is essential and the vital ingredient of help is the helper.

Maybe it’s you. Do you, at times, think somebody else is doing it? Maybe you are right but maybe too, you are wrong. If something needs doing, it should be done and not left to chance.

Looking around the parish, do you see things that need doing? Do you sometimes lament that not more is happening? Do you , in honesty, involve yourself or settle for leaving it to others?

Daily Lenten Thought March 7th

Daily Lenten Thought March 7th

Jack Roddy was buried today.

He was a quiet and inoffensive man who lived a quiet life.  He’ll be missed.  I’d like to share a few thoughts around the words I spoke at his Funeral Mass.  Chances are you didn’t know him but chances are too, he’s like someone you do know.

Took the gospel of The Beatitudes.  In fairness, he ticked many of the boxes; merciful, pure in heart, poor in spirit, peacemaker …. going on that list, it seems more than likely that he’s numbered among the “blessed” or the “happy”.

He appreciated what was done for him and those who did it.  The kindness of neighbour and the support of family was never taken for granted.  My own visits too, on the monthly First Friday Calls, were welcomed and acknowledged.

Jack seemed to be happy in his own skin.  He didn’t feel the need to try to be anybody else and seemed content with his surrounds.  In the past few years his small house was renovated and he was very proud of that and happy to show me around.  I’d describe him as a man who lived simply and loved silently.  By that I mean, I don’t think he’d have been the type to buy cards or flowers for people but he had a deep love for his family, not least nephews and nieces and appreciated all they did for him.  His sisters, too, were important and though he might not have used the word very often, I feel certain his love for them was solid.

He used to have horses and donkeys at his house from time to time.  They were not his own, in latter years, but owned by people who had the bit of land rented.  He was in his element when these were there and I used to enjoy pulling in beside the house and seeing a donkey stick its head out over the gate to see who had arrived.  Horses too! They were lovely and he enjoyed them.  One man told me that they’d leave the wildest of horses with Jack and within a few days it would be quiet as a lamb. People recognised this “gift” in him – perhaps more than he recognised it himself.  I was reminded of the phrase “Horse Whisperer” and am not fully sure what that is.  So when you’re not sure of anything now you go to Google!!  I Googled:) and found this definition of a Horse Whisperer:

Horse whisperers spend years studying the horse and its behaviour in natural surroundings. They learn to read the silent but incredibly powerful communication we call body language. From the most subtle changes in facial expressions, drooping lower lips, ear movements, the flick of a tail, stamp of a foot, to rolling eyes and rearing, the horse’s entire language of communication is expressed in clear terms, for those who learn to interpret it.

 

Jack may not have formally studied this art but he had what it took to live the life and I think much of that was rooted in patience.  St Francis loved animals and they seemed to call him to a lasting desire for peace.  I think the same is true of Jack.  He had a great fondness for the donkey I think and we can’t help but recall Jesus’ connection with this sometimes stubborn but always helpful animal.  We have visions of Joesph and Mary making their way to Bethlehem on the donkey and again of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the donkey’s back.  Some say the donkey has the track of the cross on its back.  Be this true or not, there’s a connection there that calls us to respect and Jack had that respect in plenty.

He was a man of Faith.  I know that we can say that easily and throw the phrase around a little but I believe it to be very accurately used today.  Jack believed in God.  He believed in the parish, our local church and welcomed me as the local priest.  He was very supportive and encouraging at all times.  Come time for the Priests’ Collection, he’d point me to the kitchen window and say “there’s something there for you”.  I appreciated that and even more-so, the truth that lay behind it.  He believed in my ministry and wanted to support Fr John and myself in our work here in this parish.  I hope I never took his kindness for granted.

We’d talk for a while when I visited.  He was hard of hearing and the voice would have to be raised more than a little.  We’d talk about town, about his having a pint in Creatons’ Bar, about bits and pieces but as soon as the talk turned to prayer, he’d reach up and take off his cap.  Off it stayed until the final Amen.  That’s the Faith I’m talking about. It is the belief that God deserves our attention and respect.  The bare head, cap in hand, faith in the heart and the strong “AMEN” spoke this faith in volumes.

There’s a story I like to tell.  I’ve told it for years and think it will stay with me.  I’ve had the privilege in recent years of being involved in some diocesan priests’ retreats in Ireland and I’ve told the groups I met about Jack.  I didn’t tell the story and I don’t tell it to make fun of him but rather to make the point that we priests are blessed to be welcomed into people’s homes, to be trusted there and important there.  It’s something we should never and must never take for granted.

When I came to the parish, I began to visit the sick and housebound as we do.  The priest before me spread his visits over two days – Thursday and Friday.  I found I could visit the houses on Friday and started to do that.  After a few months of visitation on the First Friday of each month, I talked with Jack one day.  I asked if he went anywhere and he said “NO”.  I asked if he visited his neighbours much or them him and he said “NO”. I said to him; “You must enjoy your own company?” and he said “I do, thank God.”  “You’re a lucky man”, I told him.  He agreed.  Then I said; “Is there anything you’d like to ask me Jack?”  He looked at me and said “Could you call on a Thursday?”  The man who was going nowhere found that Friday didn’t suit!!  I loved that moment.  I continued to call on Fridays and it was never mentioned again.

Last week I decided in the morning that I’d go to visit Jack.  It was late enough in the evening when I got to it.  They told me in the hospital that he’d been moved into a room on his own.  I knew this wasn’t a good sign but thought I’d have the chance to speak with him.  Sadly that wasn’t the case.  When I walked into the room, I could see immediately that the end was near.  He was a big man but sickness had worn him down.  I said a few prayers with him, spoke the Act of Sorrow into his ear, said an Our Father and Hail Mary, blessed him and left.  In the car, I had second thoughts so I went back in and anointed him.  As I placed the Oil of The Sick on his forehead and hands, he reached up and took hold of the tie string on my hoodie.  He just held it for a while.  I said the Our Father again and, as I blessed myself, he moved his hand in an attempt to make the Sign of The Cross with me.  I left, knowing that his time was very short.

The next morning his nephew phoned to tell me Jack had just died.  It was Friday morning.  The penny didn’t drop then but later in the day, I thought again of our conversation in his kitchen and thought to myself – “It may have taken me nearly seven years Jack, but I did call on a Thursday”!!

May he rest in peace.  Amen.

 

Daily Lenten Thought March 6th (Mother’s Day)

Daily Lenten Thought March 6th (Mother’s Day)

“Mum, we’ll get you flowers, arrange a meal for two
we’ll come round for a visit like we used to do
don’t say it’s too much trouble or a lot out of our way
for everyone is doing it, since today is Mother’s Day.”

“But I don’t need your cards or flowers or a meal for two
you’re welcome for a visit, today and all year through
to me, you are my child, a gift from God above
the truth that always matters, is our lasting love.”

“Oh, mum, don’t talk like that, read this lovely card
to find it in the card shop was nothing less than hard
shelves were tipping over, but this one seemed so true
and says all the lovely things, I need to say to you …..”

“Oh the card is lovely, the verse is lovely too
though, in truth the words I’d prefer to hear from you,
it’s not that I’m not grateful, I know you picked it well
but a kindly word from you, it’s joy I cannot tell.”

“The words are here today, as throughout the years
I’d speak them freely mother, but am afraid of tears
for I know you’ve given all, that my life may be
and I’m ever thankful, that you’re a mum to me!!”

“Ah now my child you’re talking, even through your tears
you’re always on my mind, always in my cares
so thanks for cards and flowers and all you give to me
I’ll enjoy the meal for two but sit down and we’ll have tea!!”

(VS 29/3/14)

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