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)

Daily Lenten Thought March 5th

Daily Lenten Thought March 5th

The Prodigal Son, having come to his senses, returns home to a waiting father.  The prepared and rehearsed speech is surplus to requirement.  “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you ….”, yes he delivers it but it’s by the way.  The father has already made up his mind. He is happy to have his son home, orders that he be dressed in the finest and fed with the best.  Happy story.  Well not quite!

The other brother can’t share the joy.  Before he gets the chance to encounter the joy, he is given the “breaking news” by one of the servants.  “Your brother has come home. Your father killed the calf we had been fattening because he got him back safe and sound. He’s celebrating the return with a massive party …..”

Enough said!  There’s no going in for the other brother.  He cannot share the joy for or enthusiasm around this moment.  When the father comes to plead with him to come in and join the celebration, he leaves the father in no doubt.  He wants nothing to do with it. He points out the shortfalls in the father’s treatment of himself.  No celebration even though he stayed “down on the farm”.  But when this “son of your’s” (not brother of mine) comes back after squandering your money “he and his women” the fattened calf is killed.

Two problems here, I think.  Jealousy and gossip.  Equally dangerous.  The brother’s jealousy of his brother allows not for the meeting of hearts.  The news report from the servant, admittedly asked what was happening, inflames anger.

Jealousy and gossip should be kept at arm’s length all the time.  Jimmy McCarthy has a fine song about gossip.  He calls it “the carrier of scandal”.  I don’t know all the words but it goes something like this:

“The first to arrive

The last to go,

the last you’d tell

and the first to know …..

So keep one eye open

wherever you go

for the carrier of scandal

and his travelling show

keep your heart in your pocket

and a lock on your tongue

for the carrier of scandal”

People like that should be kept at arm’s length.  They’re up to no good and out for nobody’s good.  I’m reminded of “The Bird” in John B. Keane’s “The Field”

The thought for today … avoid jealousy and avoid gossip.

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Daily Lenten Thought March 4th

Daily Lenten Thought March 4th

“Which is the first of all the commandments?” the scribe asked Jesus.

It’s strange how we all have questions and maybe think, in their answering, that we will have all we need for the journey.  I’m not convinced it always works like that.

Back to the question though, and the answer.  For Jesus it boiled down to love of God and love of neighbour – “There is no greater commandment”, he told the scribe “than these.” Love of God and love of neighbour; how is that going for us, what does it mean for us? What is expected of us when we love someone?  I think it’s something to do with acting in a way that shows absolute respect for the person, for God.  Respect that is rooted in wanting to do your best by what is loved and who is loved.

Love, St Paul tells us, “does not come to an end”  So what about people who no longer “love God”, no longer believe in His presence.  Even more importantly, what about those who ridicule Him?  It all, seems to me, to be rooted in lack of love.

God’s love for us is certain.  I was talking earlier today to some children in Second Class who are preparing for their First Confession next week.  I read the words of absolution for them and the other children in the room.  I asked them to listen out for the words they liked.  I was pleased that the key words were found; “The Father of Mercies”, “Resurrection”, “Ministry” and I told them there were two words in particular I wanted them to listen out for.  They heard them and with hands raised, wanted to tell me what they’d heard; “pardon and peace”.

I wonder how many of us hear those words in the moment of absolution.  We can be caught up in “pardon” and lose sight of “peace”.  It’s not accident they’re linked in this celebration of God’s forgiveness, God’s love for us all.  He pardons; certainly.  He wants us to be at peace too.  Peace with God and peace with neighbour.

It’s not always easy and there are great sadnesses in relationships.  Unfathomable sadness at times but the call remains, the twin commandments; “love God and love your neigbour”.

I’m convinced the world would be a better place if this happened more often.  I know I’d be a better person if I could do this more often.

Sacrifices are one thing but genuinely wanting to be a better person – a loving person – one who has lasting respect for God and those around us and far away, is and remains the key.

The scribe saw this and Jesus saw in the scribe one who was “not far from the Kingdom of God”.

How close are we?

Daily Lenten Thought March 3rd

Daily Lenten Thought March 3rd

Next Saturday I’m due to lead a Lenten Retreat at the Galilee Centre, Boyle. I’ve been there before and it’s a very special place – lovely location overlooking the lake.

The nearest landmark to it is the “GAELIC CHIEFTAIN”, that noble horse and horseman overlooking the Curlews.  I like that piece of art a lot, not least because I know the man who created it – Maurice Harron.  Maurice lived in Cloonloo for a number of years and was a family friend.  Though we’ve lost contact in recent years, I still number him in that category and know that were we to meet tomorrow there’d be plenty to speak about.

The Community in Galilee asked me for a theme for the day and one of Leonard Cohen’s songs came to mind.  It’s called “COME HEALING” and there’s a powerful line in there that says: “The splinters that you carry, the cross you left behind” and that struck me as a good title for the day.

Now to put something with that title!  I wonder would any of you be willing to offer a few suggestions?  I won’t publish them if you don’t want me to but maybe they’d help me to focus on what people might want, having taken a day out of their lives, to come to Galilee.

So the thought for today: The “horseman” is a landmark, made all the more real and meaningful because I know the hands behind it.  We need landmarks in life and we need to know “The Creator” too.

__________________

These are Cohen’s Lyrics for “COME HEALING”

O gather up the brokenness
And bring it to me now
The fragrance of those promises
You never dared to vow

The splinters that you carry
The cross you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
The cruelty or the grace

O solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

O see the darkness yielding
That tore the light apart
Come healing of the reason
Come healing of the heart

O troubled dust concealing
An undivided love
The Heart beneath is teaching
To the broken Heart above

O let the heavens falter
And let the earth proclaim:
Come healing of the Altar
Come healing of the Name

O longing of the branches
To lift the little bud
O longing of the arteries
To purify the blood

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

___________________________

A fine version with “The (Sublime) Webb Sisters”

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