Destination Dublin for webmasters

The European Jesuit Webmasters group meets in Dublin from 22 to 25 April 2010. The meeting will take place in Manresa Jesuit Centre of Spirituality and will involve some twenty-five people from around Europe. The participants are involved with a range of initiatives that include websites podcasts, newsletters and online magazines. The meetings provide a chance for members to share expertise and insights and to learn from each other about strategies and opportunities. This year’s meeting – the sixth annual such gathering – will continue to consider emerging trends on the web and will give attention to the use of the web in the Jesuit intellectual apostolate.

A gospel apart

Phil Fogarty SJ’s second book in the series Navigating the Gospels, just published by Columba Press, examines the Gospel of John the Evangelist, whose account of the Passion of Christ is read every year in the Good Friday ceremony. In an interview for Religious News Network, (RNN) the author explains how the Gospel of John seeks from beginning to end to preach the divinity of Christ. Unlike the other three gospel accounts there is no ‘agony in Gethsemane’ but rather a portrayal of Jesus acting in full knowledge of what is about to happen to him and why. In John’s account of the resurrection, various types of faith response to the risen Christ are recounted as John underlines the insight that intimacy with Jesus is closely related to resurrection faith. Below is the chapter on Resurrection (20:1-21:25) and a podcast of the RNN interview. [The image published here, with permission, is The Resurrection and the Empty Tomb by David Begley, commissioned by the Church of The Most Holy Trinity, Bunclody, Co Wexford.] Read more »

Short notices

• Clongowes Wood College SJ ended a 10-year wait when they won the Leinster Schools Senior Rugby Cup for the seventh time on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March. They defeated St Michael’s College (38-20), to whom they had lost three years earlier, in the 2007 final.
• Forty young adults from Slí Eile, the Jesuit Outreach to Young Adults, will spend Holy Thursday through to Easter Sunday on retreat in Ballintubber Abbey, Co Mayo. They will spend their time walking, praying and in reflection, and they will celebrate Mass at sunrise on Easter Sunday morning.
• Padraig Swan, the ‘Forrest Gump’ of Slí Eile, will continue his series of marathon runs to raise funds for homeless, prison outreach and other Slí Eile projects, in Connemara on 11 April with a 40-mile jaunt around the hills and valleys of Leenane.
• Joe Mallin SJ recently featured on Joe Duffy’s ‘Spirit Level’ programme on RTE 1 television speaking about his father’s role in the Easter Rising. To watch a video of the interview, go to the homepage of www.jesuit.ie.
• Michael Paul Gallagher is Andy O’ Mahony’s first guest on a new series of ‘Dialogue’ on RTE Radio 1, Sat 3 April at 7pm. He talks about the transitions in his life, about writers and film directors he has known, and about his forthcoming book, Faith Maps: ten religious explorers from Newman to Joseph Ratzinger.

Forthcoming events

• 1 April: Gardiner Street, Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7.30pm followed by Prayer in the Garden 8.45pm
• 2 April: Gardiner Street, Good Friday Stations of the Cross at 12 noon. Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 3pm. Followed by Prayer around the Cross at 7.30pm
• 3 April: Gardiner Street, Holy Saturday Easter Vigil at 9.30pm
• 3 April: Michael Paul Gallagher with Andy O’Mahony, RTE Radio 1, 7pm
• 11 April: Sli Eile Director Padraig Swan running in the Connemara Run
• 13 April: Gerry O’Hanlon SJ Book launch in Ozanam House, 53 Mountjoy Square, 1.30pm

‘It’s a wrap’ for Gonzaga student!

Gonzaga student Sean Conroy featured on The Ryan Tubridy Show on Thursday 24 March when his film won the top prize in the Fresh Film Festival Young Filmakers competition. Based in Limerick, the Fresh Film Festival has been running for the last 13 years and recognizes the work of filmakers ages 18 and under. There were over 200 entries in the competition from young filmakers all across Europe.The sixteen year old received the accolade for his imaginative fifteen-minute film ‘Dystopia’, set in Ireland in the year 2013, dramatising the rise of a dictatorship following economic collapse across the country. In an interview with Irish Independent journalist Barry Duggan, the young director said he wanted “to show the fragility of democracy coupled with the effects of economic stability and how that can cause people to have blind faith in those who promise enlightenment”.

‘Suffering is surrendering’….

Des O’Grady SJ and Myles O’Reilly SJ attended a day of reflection for priests given by internationally renowned spiritual writer Ron Rolheiser OMI. Over 150 priests from around the country attended the event organised by The Irish Catholic. The Canadian theologian spoke about the current sexual abuse crisis in the Church. He also shared some of his own insights into the events of Holy Week. He said that often too much emphasis was placed on the physical details of crucifixion, whereas the real meaning of the ‘passion’ was better understood as ‘passio’ or  ’passivity’, and a surrendering on the part of Jesus. ’Passio’, that inabilty to do anything to help oneself (which many really sick people experience), is the source of true power, healing and resurrection, when offered to the Father.

Past pupils revived

RTE’s Lorcan Murray, past pupil of Crescent College Comprehensive SJ, was Master of Ceremonies at the Sacred Heart College SJ and Crescent Past Pupils Union celebration dinner in the college on Saturday 6 March, 2010. It was an evening of celebration and thanksgiving for the sesquicentenary year, which is now closed. The occasion also marked the launch of the Union website (www.crescentpast.com) by the acting President, Ms Helen Kelly-Holmes. The Headmaster, Mr. Nicky Cuddihy, toasted the Jesuit community, where he acknowledged the huge debt owed by both colleges to the order in general and to the community in particular. Pictured here, left to right, are former headmasters Dermot Cowhey, Pat O’Connell, Todd Morrissey SJ, Liam O’Connell SJ, and Dermot Murray SJ. Read more »

‘Theology in the Irish Public Square’

Gerry O’Hanlon SJ’s latest book, Theology in the Irish Public Square, will be launched in Ozanam House, 53 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1, on Tuesday 13 April at 1.30pm. It consists of a compilation of articles exploring the connection between faith and life in today’s Ireland. Aimed at a wide audience of believers and non-believers, the author uses the rich resources of Christian humanism to shine a light on areas of darkness and crisis. A staff member of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Gerry O’Hanlon reflects on issues such as equality, crime and punishment, our health system, and inter-faith dialogue, focussing particularly on the Muslim faith. Published by Columba Press, it will be lauched by Jim Corkery SJ, who, like Gerry himself, is an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Milltown Institute.

A Mass in Wayne County

Edmond Grace SJ recounts his experience in Utah last summer.

The red sandstone cliffs on my left stretched toward the horizon and they would accompany me for the remaining twenty miles of my journey. John and Pam would not be home till near midnight, but the door would be open and I knew what room I was staying in. I had first met Pam in a Benedictine monastery in New Mexico – Christ in the Desert. She had arrived just before me and was planning to stay for a month. So was I and, when she heard this, she was pleased: “We’ll get to know one another!” Read more »