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.
_________________________________
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 | Oct 2, 2016 | General Interest, Reflections
I really thought this was Mayo’s year. I am a Sligo man but when Sligo’s out of the equation, I believe our next loyalty lies with the province and when the county representing the province is one in which I’ve spent most of my years as priest, it’s obvious my loyalty was rooted in Mayo in the lead up to yesterday’s game. I truly hoped (and believed) victory would come the way of the Green and Red. Alas!
I never played football at anything approaching a meaningful level and certainly have no concept of what it means to wear the Club Colours, never mind the County Colours. I know there’s pride in the wearing and that it is hugely significant to those talented enough, dedicated enough, honoured and picked to wear the team’s jersey. In more recent years my admiration for such people has increased to a degree that shocks me. Unlike others, I can’t name teams or follow the game at the intense pace that comes so naturally to some but I totally respect those involved.
Truth told, at times I envy the dedication shown to the team and the willingness to do whatever one is told by management in terms of training, food intake, alcohol avoidance etc. I sometimes wish we could harness that degree of commitment and bring it to my own area of involvement in the lives of people. practice of the Faith and commitment to parish life. That’s an aside though and maybe something to think about for another day.
It was such an intense game yesterday (as indeed was the drawn game) and nail-biting to the end. It was not to be Mayo’s day and Dublin achieved the “back to back” so desperately wanted. I suppose nobody can blame the team or county for that. Their dedication too in undoubted as is their obvious skill.
A few photos emerged last night – many photos but two caught my attention. Both were of Andy Moran in the company of his young daughter. I celebrated Andy and Jenny’s Wedding Mass and feel something of a connection though we don’t meet very often. There’s no denying Andy’s passion for the game and I’ve no doubt he’s deeply disappointed that another year has come and gone.
Together on a field of dreams
In the photos, one shows Andy sitting on the grass of Croke Park. and his daughter sits on one of his outstretched legs. There’s something healing in that photo – something that says the Metal of Sam Maguire may be sought after but it’s cold comfort when compared with the flesh and blood you shaped, nurtured and nourish. The little girl sits with one who is not judged on which side he was on at the sounding of the final whistle but on one who is her “father”, provider and one who loves her unconditionally. The love is likewise returned. She is undoubtedly more crucial and cherishedl than a cup to be passed from hand to hand, team to team, year to year. In this child, in this picture is life and all that is meaningful therein.
Photo taken by www.advertiser.ie (Galway Advertiser)
The second photo is of Dublin’s Bernard Brogan,reaching out to place his open hand on the top of the little girl’s head. Andy is now standing, smiling as he watches this gesture. To me, the Dublin man is saying “be proud, very proud of your father. I’ve given everything I have over the last seventy and more minutes to hold him back, to beat his team but you have a father to be proud of there.” I’d like to think that somewhere deep within, he might even feel a tinge of regret for Andy and his team mates but more than that, it’s a gesture that says when the game is over, life goes on and must be cherished. It’s moment that speaks of a respect between players, even when on opposite teams, maybe especially when on opposite teams.
At Mass today, St Paul tells Timothy to “fan into a flame” the gift God has given him. He’s told it’s not a spirit of “timidity” but one rooted in love and self-control. I’d like to think the Mayo team might hear those words and recognise deeply the gift so obviously given to its players. May the fanning into flame commence and may “the fans” breathe life into that flame.
“A year til Sunday”
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.
