by Vincent | Oct 8, 2016 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, homily
Firstly I want to say thanks to all who visited the blog in the past few days. I just did a count and more than 5600 views of the previous post have taken place. This is undoubtedly the biggest flow of traffic I’ve had and I’m not naive enough to think it’s likely to happen again soon!! I am thankful to the website www.balls.ie who kindly picked up on the piece I posted last Sunday and asked if it could be re-posted on theiir website. Needless to say, I was happy for that to happen since the words were born of a sports event and to think that lovers of sport, especially GAA, might get to read them was special for me. I was told by the site that more than 75,000 views of the post had taken place and the man added “that’s a conservative estimate” and that more than 10,000 shares had taken place on Facebook.
Before the post, there’s an acknowledgement to be made as well; because I’m not sure it would have happened at all had a man not spoken to me after Mass in Urlaur. I spoke more or less the same words at Sunday Masses in Kilmovee and Urlaur – focusing on the two photos featuring Andy Moran, his daughter Charlotte and Bernard Brogan. The man seemed teary eyed (I hope it wasn’t just a cold) and he said he felt very sorry for Mayo though, like myself, he’s not a native of the county, and added “your words were meaningful and helpful”. Then he said “Thanks for them”. That’s all he said but as I came home from Urlaur I thought he’d said a lot. I decided to try to remember the words and put them on the blog. So it’s likely had that man not spoken to me after Mass, the post might never have taken place. So thanks to him as well.
In any case, I don’t live in a place where posts of mine go “viral” but it was a nice place to be for a few days because I truly meant those words. The photos (not mine of course) painted a thousand and more words and the few I added were just that – a few added.
So thanks again to all mentioned above and to YOU who are reading these words. Chances are you’re one of the regulars and, as such, you’re my audience and friend. Thanks for the loyalty.
Now I want to share some words that a priest sent to me during the week. I’ve just put them on the front of our Parish Bulletin for this week. The priest, Fr John Cullen, was recently appointed Parish Priest of Roscommon and he is editor of The Angelus (Diocese of Elphin publication). Fr John writes some very meaningful reflections and this, to me, is among the best of the best. It’s as timely as it’s sad and as necessary as it’s timely. He calls it “Refugee Prayer”.
I believe it’s important to acknowledge words that are meant to help, heal and provoke a thought. So thanks John for sending me this prayer.
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REFUGEE PRAYER
On the wide open seas
our small boats drift.
We search for land
during endless days and nights.
We are the flotsam
floating on the vast ocean.
We are the dust,
wandering in endless space.
Our cries are swamped
and lost in the howling wind.
Our stinging tears, one by one
float into the vast ocean.
Without food, family and friends
our children lie exhausted
until they cry no more.
We thirst for our land,
but are turned back from every shore.
Our distress signals rise and soar
to the open sky and beyond.
The passing ships do not stop.
How many boats have perished?
How many people are beneath the waves
of the open seas, now in a watery grave?
Lord Jesus, do you hear the prayer of our hearts?
Lord, do you hear our weeping sobs of wordless prayer
from the abyss of death?
O welcoming shore, we long for you!
We pray that the bread of mercy
a crust of compassion and
a few crumbs of loving friendship
be given to us today,
from any land to
nourish and sustain us.
Amen.
by Vincent | Sep 18, 2016 | General Interest, Reflections
It’s All-Ireland Sunday. I’m just in from Mass with a heavily depleted congregation. I wasn’t surprised of course. Many of the locals have begun the journey to Croke Park in the hope of being there “on the day Mayo won the Sam Maguire” for the first time since 1951. A lifetime (literally for many) has passed in the hope of this day being realised. As a Sligo man living in Mayo, I hope – truly hope – this is their day.
I borrowed a Mayo Jersey with the firm intention of wearing it to Mass today and, at the end of Mass, removing my vestments to reveal my support for the county. I even thought of having a sweeping brush at hand and saying that Rochford wanted me as a “sweeper” (I know …..) I believe people should smile everyday and, in particular, on a day when there’s an expectation of something special in the air. My hope was that people would go home smiling and that the smile would evoke a memory and the memory would include Church and that “church” would be a reminder of faith and that faith would do the rest ……
I looked at the the Mayo Jersey this morning and I couldn’t put it on. It’s not that I haven’t respect for the Jersey or the Green and Red of Mayo but they’re not my colours. I grew up with the Black and White of Sligo and though we haven’t had much success, the roots are there and the hope remains that someday it might, just might, happen! I left the Mayo Jersey where it was. In truth the colours belong to the county and its people and, much and all as I support and wish the team well today, they didn’t seem to be at home with me.
It’s incredible this loyalty to the county. There’s none of the rivalry that has potential for fights or tension but there remains nonetheless a healthy rivalry. When the Championship started and Sligo was in the mix, my absolute hope was that they’d get to and win the Connaught Title.
That didn’t happen. When Galway beat Mayo in that final, I can’t pretend that I was smothered in grief for I thought the change was no bad thing. When Mayo made it back through the qualifiers I was glad for the team and am 100% behind them today. The roots are there though – in the “Land of Heart’s Desire”.
It will be quite a spectacle later with more than 80,000 people in Croke Park and millions watching at home and around the world. There will be handshakes and photographs, jostling and heaving, pushing and shoving all in the name of sport and in the pursuit of a dream. The dream of an All-Ireland Medal and the glorious satisfaction that comes with knowing you’ve made it to the top of your game. I’ve never played football, well never in anything resembling a serious game, but I admire those who give so much of their time, talents, energy and commitment to a sport that enthralls so many.
So I’m “up for the match” and hope it will be a great day for Mayo and the West. I don’t think I’ll wear the jersey but I have the “Green and Red” plaited cord a child handed me in school the other day. I’ll keep that in the car:)
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PS: Let it be very clear, I have nothing against Dublin. It’s certain the present team is out on its own but I think a loss today wouldn’t set it back “light years”!!!
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Just decided to give it a go!! This is how I’d have looked. Do I manage the Mayo Look??
by Vincent | Sep 20, 2013 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion
Where will you be this week Sam??
On Sunday the cameras will focus on you several times before and during the All-Ireland Final. We’ll see you shined and polished, ready for the road and draped in the colours of Dublin and Mayo. You’ll just sit there, the prize waiting to be claimed – the destination point of a country – but focus will shift from you to the teams and officials on the pitch. There will be commentary and analysis, statistics and facts and at game’s end, you will be handed to either the captain of Dublin or Mayo – he (Andy!!!) will hold you high to a cheering crowd and give thanks for your presence, thanks to all who have supported the team through “thick and thin”, good days and bad and, in a special way, to the generations who have kept the faith and held strongly to the belief that this day would come. Come it has. The hour is here.
You’ll not force yourself on anyone Sam but remain there, centre stage, for the hands that have been proved worthy of lifting you on high. You are happy in the colours of any county and willing to go where invited so that a people may feel upbeat and renewed. You’ll stay as long as you’re welcome, go wherever you’re brought and be there for anyone that approaches you. You will be a prized possession, a certain friend and a reminder that all is possible.
In ways Sam, you could remind us of Jesus. He is our goal, our prize and our intended focus. Sometimes we allow our focus drift from him to the game on the pitch but even if we do, we know that it’s only when he’s taken in hand, lifted on high and invited to join us on our journey that he’s fully alive in our hearts and forever treasured.
