Frank feels the heat

Frank Doyle SJ (left in photo) recently exchanged the green and leafy delights of Gonzaga for the humid heats of Manila, where there has been no rain for a long time and it is extremely hot, exceeding 30C and going up to 36, with humidity to match. After years in Hong Kong, Frank served Chinese exiles in many parts of the world, including Dublin. His ease with groups of diverse languages and cultures will stand to him in his new job as spiritual director to Jesuit students from at least twelve different countries. On arrival he joined a team directing the spiritual exercises in an upcountry retreat house. He lives on the large (Belfield-size) campus of the Jesuit university, Ateneo de Manila, and is praying for some cool rain. See Frank’s photos here.

Ten years of song

Ten years ago Kevin Kelly, the young organist in Gardiner Street church, suggested to Fr Edmond Grace that they set up a Gospel Choir. It was a new notion, to have a choir at the altar, and with music that would set feet tapping. Edmond and Kevin persuaded the parish to have a special Gospel Choir Mass at 7.30 p.m. on Sundays. From the start everything seemed to fall into place, and there is now a two-year waiting list to join the 40 singers and eight-piece band that make up the Gospel Choir. On its tenth birthday the parish priest, Donal Neary, used his homily to thank the choir for the life it has brought to the church over the years.

Heart speaks to heart

Dermot Mansfield, invited by Veritas to write a study of Newman, started work last October. In March, when he found himself approaching Newman’s death, he was stuck for days, as though he could not bear parting with someone who had been so close to him through the winter. The theme of the book  is Newman’s motto: Heart speaks to heart. Threads running through it include Newman’s Jesuit connection; his warm relationships with women; his bond with his Anglican friends, happily resumed towards the end of his life; the myth, fostered by Manning, that he was difficult and hypersensitive; and his experience of Ireland and Cardinal Cullen (Newman once wrote to Hopkins: “If I were an Irishman, I should be at heart a rebel”). This is an original perspective by a scholar who loves his subject. Veritas accepted his draft without alteration and will publish this year.

The Curia moves

Three years after the fire in Eglinton Road, Fr Noel Barber reports on the Provincial Curia’s new migration this week – a move still incomplete, as this view of the reception area shows:  “Before the current economic woes descended on us, there were plans to build the Curia in the Gonzaga garden. It would have cost, I have been told, four times the cost of our actual offices; it could not possibly have been four times superior – whatever that means – and almost certainly it would not have been as good. A blessing of the recession which I am sure is being replicated throughout the country and contains a salutary lesson!” Read the rest of Fr Barber’s reflection below: Read more »

JESUITICA: Robotic virtues

Readers may be aware that able-bodied Irish Jesuits are fewer on the ground than they used be; but lawns still have to be mowed. One of the biggest lawns that we tend is beside our R and R house in Blainroe, Co. Wicklow, where the grass grows vigorously over some forty metres square. Richard O’Dwyer confronted the problem a couple of years ago by purchasing a robotic lawn-mower, a marvellous machine, pictured here. Electrically powered, it moves over the lawn following its own plan, does a lovely job quietly, and when tired crawls back into its little kennel where its batteries are automatically recharged. So far it is the only robot substituting for Jesuit manpower.

Fumbles of our funny God

On 10 June, before a crowd of over a hundred, Seósamh Ó Murchú, the principal editor of An Gúm, the state-funded Irish language publishing house, waxed enthusiastically when he launched Cá bhuil Walsingham? The fumbles of our funny God by Frainc Mac Brádaigh SJ. Frank has taken his subtitle from a Seán Ó Riordáin poem about the unexpected workings of Providence: “We yelled our love incontinent / For all things strange, fantastic, odd, / The crooked things of accident, / The fumbles of our funny God”. The book is an account of a pilgrimage Frank made in 1981 from Holyhead to Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk. With design help from the Messenger Office, Foilseacháin Ábhair Spioradálta (FÁS) has produced a handsome softback. Purchase this book from Messenger Publications and enjoy the characteristic quirkiness and elegant Gaelic of our man (at the moment) in Ballymun.

All the cups

Clongowes Wood College S.J. was triumphant in all three of the Leinster schools senior rugby competitions this year. (Pictured left to right: Leinster schools Senior Seconds Cup, Leinster schools Senior cup, Leinster schools Senior Thirds cup). The senior cup was won on St Patrick’s day at the RDS when Clongowes defeated St Michael’s 38-20. The senior seconds lifted the seconds cup, defeating Blackrock College 24-14 in the final. The Clongowes Thirds won the thirds cup defeating Belvedere 10-9 to compete the treble. This is the fist time Clongowes has achieved this feat. Clongowes Senior rugby coach Noel Murray hopes and believes that this trend will be continued.

“Crumbling childcare system” – McVerry

“Daniel was still a child, he should not have died”.  So said Peter McVerry SJ, officiating at the funeral of  Daniel McAnaspie on Tuesday 9 June in the Church of the Annunciation, Finglas. The seventeen-year-old had been in the care of the HSE, and his body was found dumped in a field. Mourners listened as Fr McVerry told them that a contributing factor in Daniel’s death was the neglect of the State, which “bailed out bankers” while presiding over a “crumbling system of childcare”. He said that Daniel’s death, however, had created a momentum for changing that system, and “all of us, his family and friends, have a responsibility to ensure that the momentum is maintained until no child is at risk and every child’s needs are properly met”. To listen to Peter McVerry with Pat Kenny, click here; to read the Sunday Tribune’s profile of Peter, click here.

Summer ‘Studies’ on the shelves

‘Clergy, writers and intellectuals’ is the theme of the latest edition of the Jesuit periodical Studies, Summer 2010, just published this week. There are articles on the Reverend Ian Paisley, on Vatican Two, and on the influence of ‘the Mother’ on writer John McGahern. Also, Tom Quinn of DCU examines ‘The Female in Four Writers of the Great War’. In his article on Ian Paisley, Neil Southern, a facilitator involved in community peace building in the North, examines anti-Catholicism in the light of Protestant fears. He looks at Paisley the politician as well as Paisley the minister and concludes that whilst he does not fall into the classic model of a ‘peace builder’, his recent actions nevertheless allow him to qualify as a ‘peace–contributor’. Read the full press release below.

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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.