IIG in Inis Oirr

Coláiste Iognáid’s Ignatian Identity Group (IIG) held a highly successful retreat for some of its core members on Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands, on 21-23 May. One of the group, Mary Madec, has just had her debut book of poetry, In Other Words, published. Her considerable talents were well employed on the retreat, as she facilitated a workshop on creative writing, or ‘listening to your inner voice’. Many of the group, made up of parents, Jesuits and teachers, had never written anything before and were amazed to find themselves writing poetry, songs and dialogue within a few hours. This rich spiritual experience, while surrounded by the rugged and vibrant beauty of the island, gave the group new energy and inspiration for their work in promoting the Ignatian charism.

Some boy racer!

“It was the toughest race of my life, truly the ultimate challenge!” So said Padraig Swan, Director of Slí Eile, the Jesuit Outreach to Young Adults, on completing a 56-mile run through the hills and hollows of  Durban, South Africa, on Sunday 30 May. It was one of many marathons that he has completed over the last year, raising funds for various Slí Eile projects, including their work with prisoners and the homeless. But according to the seasoned runner, this one was the toughest, beginning at five thirty in the morning. “But it had its compensations: it was 56 miles of African hospitality, crowds cheering and supporting us, and the entire route lined with people and food, drink, music and drumming all the way.”  He finished the race in 10 hours, 33 minutes. To sponsor Padraig or read more about his trip click here.

Short notices

• Crescent College Comprehensive recently collected two awards: Best Rugby School in Munster 2010, and Best Girls’ Hockey School in Munster 2010. The trophies were in recognition of the achievements of both sports at all age levels including  numerous league wins and the Munster Senior Hockey Cup and the Munster Junior Rugby Cup. Photo attached: Shane O’Brien (left) and Sean O’Callaghan (right) presenting trophies to Ms Karin Fleming (Deputy Principal)
• The Pastoral Coordinators of the Irish Jesuit schools met in Coláiste Iognáid (the ‘Jes’) on Monday and Tuesday, 17-18 May. They discussed staff formation, RE programmes, retreat programmes for students, staff and parents.
• Two Jesuits are among the special ‘visitors’ to Ireland appointed by Pope Benedict. Terrence Thomas Prendergast, Archbishop of Ottawa, has been appointed as ‘visitor’ for the Archdiocese of Tuam, and Rev Gero McLoughlin SJ is ‘visitor’ to the religious congregations.
• Former Provincial Joe Dargan SJ gave a breakfast seminar on ‘Leadership and Ignatian Spirituality’ in the Milltown Institute on Wednesday 26 May as part of the leadership and management training workshops organised by the Partners in Mission Office.

Team players

The Jesuit educational aim: “Becoming men for others” was given a new and topical flavour at a hugely successful gathering in the new rugby stadium at Lansdowne Road on 17 May. Four outstanding rugby players, all graduates of Clongowes, gave their views on the pressures and commitments of modern professional rugby; they were Gordon D’Arcy and Rob Kearney (both on recent Lions tour). Fergus McFadden (10 Irish caps) and David Kearney (Irish Under 21). They stressed how their time in Clongowes had instilled in them the values of commitment and team work (Being men for others) which had played a major part in contributing to their professional rugby careers. They continued to answer questions from the audience of over 300 Old Clongownians. Our picture shows Mrs Kearney with her two sons.

Slí Eile Jamaica trip in jeopardy

The dark side of life in Jamaica has featured recently in the news, with gun battles on the streets after gang members resisted attempts to apprehend a leading criminal. Prominent in despatches was the parish area of West Kingston, where Slí Eile volunteers have been working with local children for the last three summers. The parish priest is a Canadian Jesuit, Fr Peter McIsaac. When he visited Dublin last October, Slí Eile presented him with funds they had raised for his work. The volunteers hope to go to West Kingston again this July, but the events of the last week have put the trip in jeopardy. Some of the worst of the fighting between the army and the gunmen took place just a short distance from the school where the volunteers work. Read Fr Peter’s full account below. He has also been interviewed for RTE Radio’s Drivetime.
Read more »

Forthcoming events

• 3-11 June: Sacred Heart Novena will be held in Gardiner Street Church at 11am and 7:30pm each day, 11am and 3:30pm on Sunday
• 8-17 June: Nine-day pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. For details, contact Caitlin or Seán at 01 8625345
• 8-17 June: Eight-day retreat will be held in Manresa House, Clontarf Road, Dollymount.  For details, contact 01 8331352
• 17 June: Todd Morrissey SJ book entitled Thomas F. Ryan SJ: From Cork to China and Windsor Castle will be launched by Ciaran Kane SJ in Belvedere College, Great Denmark St. For details, contact 01 6768409
• 20 June: Ken Roe (financial controller of the Sacred Heart Messenger) will be ordained to the diaconate by Church of Ireland Archbishop John Neill, in Christ Church Cathedral: at 3.30pm
• 30 June: Kevin Laheen SJ’s book entitled The Jesuits in Tullabeg: The final curtain will be launched in Milltown Institute. For details, contact 01 6768409

Rahan: the final curtain

The Rahan Parish Hall was full for the launch of Kevin Laheen’s The Jesuits in Tullabeg: the final curtain. Solicitor Michael Byrne gave an excellent, scholarly introduction to the book, which tells the story of Tullabeg from 1914 to 1991 when Fr Brendan Murray, the last Rector, closed the front door for the last time and handed over the keys to the purchaser. The house moved from being a noviciate to a house of philosophy to a retreat house for lay people. It touched the local community through the ministry of priests like John Hyde. In the 1940s Rector Donal O’Sullivan commissioned Evie Hone’s wonderful stained glass, and many other works of art. Kevin has written an unexpectedly rich history, with splendid illustrations. You can read Michael Byrne’s address here.

Green shoots in the Messenger

The Sacred Heart Messenger has the biggest circulation of any religious magazine in Ireland and the second highest of any magazine, outdone only by The RTE Guide! “And that’s in no small measure due to the large number of volunteer promoters who distribute the magazine monthly, through hail rain and snow,” says Marketing Manager Triona McKee. This June, the month of the feast of the Sacred Heart, special Masses for the promoters will be celebrated in every Province. And in Dublin, the Slí Eile Gospel Choir will provide the music. The Messenger has been significantly rebranded over the past two years, resulting in an increase in younger readers. Four new writers have joined the team this year, including well-known TV gardener Helen Dillon. Read below for a list of proposed Masses. Read more »

Ricci resources

After his lecture at the Matteo Ricci Conference in Gonzaga on 8 May, Antoni Üçerler SJ was asked if he could make his text available. He went one step further and prepared an elegant slide presentation, which allowed him to combine his own voice with the images he used at the conference. The result can be viewed on the homepage of Jesuit.ie. In this presentation Fr Antoni explains the great significance of Ricci, particularly on account of the depth of his ‘inculturation’, hundreds of years before that word had general currency. Also available now is the text of the introductory text of Patrick Claffey SVD, who used his own missionary experience as a basis for reflecting on Ricci’s iconic importance and on issues relating to mission in China today. Read the PDF here.

Cameras rolling!

EWTN (Eternal Word TV Network) is America’s largest religious (Catholic) cable network with 146 million viewers in 127 countries. Last week they sent a production team to Ireland to make a film on the history of and devotion to the Sacred Heart, with Irish Jesuit Barney McGuckian. Among other venues, they visited Gardiner St Church, The Messenger Office (see photo) and the taxi rank on O’ Connell Street, watched over by the iconic statue of the Sacred Heart. Barney has made his own DVD on the Sacred Heart and had hoped to interest  EWTN in screening it last year. “I was in the US doing an interview with them on the Pioneers and afterwards I spoke about my film. I couldn’t believe it when they offered to come to Ireland and make their own programme with me instead.”  The programme will be aired later this year.

JESUITICA: Bellarmine jugs

The face of St Robert Bellarmine, the 16th century Jesuit theologian, became known all over Europe, but not in a holy picture. Protestants in the Low Countries, stung by Bellarmine’s critique of the Reformers, originated a design for a drinking jug in ridicule of their great opponent. He was described as ‘short and hard-featured,’ and thus he was typified in the corpulent beer-jug shown here. The Cardinal’s face, with the great square-cut beard then peculiar to ecclesiastics, and termed ‘the cathedral beard,’ was placed in front of the jug, which was called a Bellarmine. It was so popular as to be manufactured by thousands, in all sizes and qualities of cheapness; sometimes the face was delineated in the rudest and fiercest style.

Keeping faith on the map

Faith Maps: Ten Religious Explorers from Newman to Joseph Ratzinger is the latest book by Michael Paul Gallager SJ.  Just  published in London, it  translates the voices of  leading thinkers like Karl Rahner, Dorothee Sölle and Charles Taylor into a series of reflections on faith, imagination and contemporary life and culture. “Each chapter takes a major religious thinker and asks how he or she points us in the direction of Christian faith,” says Michael Paul. “My hope is to capture their vision in today’s language and in a non-academic way. In most cases I create an imaginary monologue: what would this ‘giant’ say to us today? Here I try to speak to many honest friends who tell me that God is not so much incredible as unreal – simply off their map.”