Drink less for Lent

The Pioneer Association has launched a Lenten campaign this year, urging Irish people to abstain from alcohol during Lent or at least to reduce their consumption. Speaking on Temperance Sunday, 22 February, Padraig Brady, CEO of the Pioneers, noted the devastating impact which alcoholism is having on Irish society. He identified crime, accidents, absenteeism and the cost of healthcare as some of the damaging effects of our drink culture, and he suggested that Lent would be an ideal opportunity to address the problem. The Pioneers have just launched a new website, www.pioneerassociation.ie, which was built by the Jesuit Communication Centre. More information about their current campaign can be found there.

Happy Birthday, Sacred Space

Ash Wednesday, 25 February, marks the tenth anniversary of Sacred Space, the online prayer website set up by the Jesuit Communication Centre in Leeson Street. It has been a phenomenal success. Today it is available in nearly twenty different languages, and up to 20,000 unique visitors come to the site every weekday. In more recent years it has extended beyond its core purpose of guiding visitors step-by-step through prayer and reflection; it now also offers scripture commentaries, e-mail greeting cards, novenas and podcasts – all “very much in line with the Jesuit approach to prayer,” according to Piaras Jackson SJ, director of the site, “…helping people find engaging and imaginative connections with the gospel”. The Jesuit community in Leeson Street marked the birthday with a lunch-time party on Tuesday – the feast before the fast.

President receives Japanese students

President Mary McAleese gave generously of her time and attention this week to a group of students from the Jesuit Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Accompanied by two Jesuits, Donal Doyle and Mike Milward, the students are currently on a visit to Ireland as part of their Irish Studies course. The trip is designed to give context and to add texture to their reading. The President spoke informally with the students in a wide-ranging discussion which covered such topics as the need for hope in a time of recession . ‘Life’, she told them, ‘is about a lot more than the economy’. Apart from visiting Áras an Uachtaráin, they have also been to the Mansion House, where they were received by Councillor Eibhlin Byrne, Lord Mayor of Dublin.

A great giver

When Barney, Michael and Alan McGuckian, three sons of Pauline McGuckian and all three Jesuit priests, were at their mother’s death-bed this week they started to recite Vespers together when they saw that she was near the end. They had just reached the antiphon: “The bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him”, when old Pauline did just that, and quietly gave her soul to God. She ranks, above any cheque-signers, among the greatest benefactors of the Province, along with ten other mothers. Read on… Read more »

Progress on Milltown Residence

The future of Milltown Park is still full of question-marks, but one item is clear. The community will be moving into a building which is being constructed on the site of the old Cherryfield. This picture shows the present state of the building, viewed from the new Cherryfield. You can see the outlines of three storeys, and a fourth will be added. Despite slight weather-related delays, it is rising according to plan, and should be ready by November.

Novena of Grace

The typically Jesuit Novena of Grace, begun in 1643 by an Italian devotee of St Francis Xavier, still draws crowds in many Dublin parishes from 4 to 10 March. The Novena of Grace originated in Naples, Italy in 1643. A Jesuit was cured through the intercession of St Francis Xavier, who promised that those who made the nine days of prayer in preparation for the anniversary of the canonisation of the saint would receive many graces and favours. Thus the name, Novena of Grace. It was first held in Dublin in 1712, in the church at Mary’s Lane, now in Halston St parish. Since then it has been held continuously in Dublin and began in Gardiner St church in 1831, the year the church was built. Read below for a fuller account of this great tradition. At the end of the article is a list of the parishes in Dublin where the Novena will be held this year.  Read more »

JESUITICA: Masters in education

Before their suppression in 1773, the Jesuits had been called the schoolmasters of Europe. Back in 1605 Francis Bacon, the philosopher and Lord Chancellor of England, had advised:  “For education consult the schools of the Jesuits. Nothing hitherto in practice surpasses this.” – The Advancement of Learning: Book 1 (1605)

Short notices

• Last  May Edmond Grace SJ appealed for funds to buy desks for a school in Syngonya, Zambia. The response was amazing:  the desks, as you see from the photo, are now in place, and Edmond extends his sincere thanks to everyone who contributed so generously and promptly.
• Brian Lennon’s book on forgiveness – So you can’t forgive…? Moving towards freedom – will be launched on Thursday 26 February at 12.30pm in the Ignatian Room, Church of St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street. It will be launched by Dr Maureen Gaffney, Chairperson of the National Economic and Social Forum.
• Sli Eile invites people to a relaxed, low-impact day of silence and sharing in the Ignatian Tradition of The Spiritual Exercises, on Saturday 28 March 10:30am-4:30pm at Hampton Retreat Centre, Grace Park Road, Dublin 7. Contact Debbie Moore. E-mail: debbie.moore@sli-eile.com or 01 8943165.
• Andrew Pierce, of the Irish School of Ecumenics, will present a paper on ‘Religion and the Enlightenment: Whither the Twain might meet’, on Wednesday 25 February 2009 at 7pm in the Milltown Institute.
• Carl Hession, music teacher in the Jes (Coláiste Iognáid) in Galway and accomplished composer, was in New York last week with the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their US tour. As well as doing many of the musical arrangements, Carl also played piano for them on their tour performances.

Fin-again

The country, the Society of Jesus, the Irish Province and the Gardiner Street community combined beautifully and joyously to celebrate the first Irish Jesuit to reach the venerable age of one hundred years. Forty Jesuits gathered on 18 February to toast Proinsias O Fionnagain, our “great gift of grace”, as Derek Cassidy, Superior of the Gardiner Street community, said in his warm, welcoming words. What were the messages and gifts? Read more: Read more »

A saint in the making

Over five hundred people attended the annual mass of thanksgiving and prayer for the canonisation of  Fr John Sullivan SJ in Gardiner St Church on Saturday 21 February. Fr Tom Morrissey SJ gave a  fascinating account of the life of the Jesuit whom many people believe is a saint. He spoke of  Fr John Sullivan’s love of the poor, his life of prayer and fasting, and his care of the sick. He recounted how the nephew of Michael Collins, as a child, had a miraculous cure from polio after Fr Sullivan prayed with him in hospital. Fr Conor Harper SJ was the main celebrant and  is also the vice-postulator for the canonisation cause. Fr Tom Morrissey’s biography of this rare man will be launched in April. A special John Sullivan mass is celebrated in Gardiner St church at 1am on the third Saturday of every month.