Young partners

Three initiatives this summer reflect the vital importance of our partners in mission:

JVI: Fr Liam O’Connell, who directs Jesuit Volunteers International, sent us word of two new volunteers, Josephine Kehoe from Gorey, and Dermot Bradley from Rochfordbridge, Co. Westmeath. They are going to work for one year at Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC), near Lusaka, Zambia. Josephine will manage the construction of ten Eco- friendly farmers’ houses, made from special bricks which use only 5% cement, have efficient water collection during the rainy season, use biodigesters (see below) for the creation of propane gas, and will be equipped with energy-efficient stoves. Read more »

Bart rides the tide

Fifty years ago Fr Bart Kiely SJ, now professor of psychology at the Gregorian University, won the Lee swim as a 16-year-old. It is a different race now, 1700 metres downstream through the middle of Cork, helped by a turning tide. This year Bart set his sights on breaking 60 minutes. Scorning a wet suit (that would have put him into a different, sissy category) and braving hypothermia, he has just repeated the swim, and front-crawled the distance in 55 minutes, twenty minutes better than in 2007. Beside the water he bumped into a rival swimmer from his youth, Mary Wylie, now a grandmother. She was the fastest girl in Munster when Bart was the fastest boy. Bart would not confirm that he is organising a swimming race down the Tiber for the Prefects of Vatican Congregations.

World Youth Day

The young Irish who represented Sli Eile at the World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, wrote these reflections while still fresh from the experience:

Conor: In Australia the ‘I’ bowed gracefully and took a step backwards to cede primary focus to the ‘We’ and the ‘Us’. A strong feeling of community reigned supreme. Will we carry that sense of community in our bones back to homes across the earth? Can we turn it outwards and light a stronger flame under our Social Spirituality? Will we breath new life into this, a spirituality that ‘takes its focus beyond ‘me’ and how ‘I’ feel, and looks sideways, downwards, upwards…….toward society, and the world, and all its gifts and all its injustices? Read more »

Figures in a landscape

How many readers will recognise these three distinguished figures and the landscape behind them? On 7th August five Irish Jesuits (Paul Andrews, Paddy Heelan, John Moore, Jimmy Hurley and Hugh O’Neill) celebrated together the golden jubilee of their ordination. Here are three of them, Hugh, John and Paddy, in the Grapery at Emo, looking at the weedy stream that feeds the sadly overgrown lake. Hugh has long been the Province’s liturgical mentor. John, emeritus professor of Botany in UCD, is teaching New Testament in Harare to young Zimbabwean Jesuits. Read more »

Fatima Fiesta

The quinquennial world assembly of the Christian Life Community was held this August in Fatima, on the theme: “Journeying as an apostolic body: our response to the grace of God”. Each country sent two delegates along with its ecclesiastical assistant. Our Irish trio, pictured here, are Mary O’Meara, Michael Gallagher SJ and Fionnuala Howard. The international flavour, the uplifting effect of so many good people, and the human dimension of joy, laughter and deep sharing, all worked to confirm the gathering (some 200 strong) in the giftedness of their vocation to CLC. Fr General graced us with his presence, and gave strong support in confirming that the CLC has a special place in the Jesuit world. There are about 5000 CLC members worldwide. To have heard first-hand accounts of problems in countries like Zimbabwe, Ruanda and Cuba helps to strengthen concern for our fellow CLC members in such places.