Homily of Bishop Donal McKeown for Ash Wednesday, St Mary’s Church, Chapel Lane, Belfast

•    There are many weaknesses in the traditional assumption that over indulgence is good, that the poor are mainly responsible for their own situation and the denial of the reality of sin – Bishop McKeown

In a culture that promotes consumption and the ultimate virtue of deserving to be pampered, Ash Wednesday, Lent and the idea of penance, fasting and repentance can seem meaningless.  But, despite the cultural bias against self-denial, we have chosen to gather here to be marked with ashes on our faces at the start of a period of 45 days – one eighth of the year – when we commit to practice fasting, almsgiving and a prayerful acknowledgement of our sinfulness.  Are we mad?

However, despite the cultural bias against self-denial, this Lent is coming at a time when our society is actually coming to recognise that there are many weaknesses in the traditional assumption that over indulgence is good, that the poor are mainly responsible for their own situation and the denial of the reality of sin.  We have recognised how a culture of greed and self-interest has done huge damage to our economy.  But this Lent also comes at a time when we in Church know that we too have been very blind to the need for repentance in how we have been Church.  There is no merit in us preaching about the faults of others until we have humbly acknowledged our own individual and communal guilt and done penance for that.  As Jesus said, we have to take the log out of our own eye before we take the splinter out of someone else’s.

That is where our Lent has to start.  It is first and foremost a divine call to us for personal repentance and an increased commitment to prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  But this is not some sort of individual guilt trip nor is it just a spiritual self-help course.  It is based on the belief that God wants to renew us – and that we have to at least make space for his healing grace. Lent is me saying, “Lord, I’m ready to walk with you through Calvary to Resurrection.  In my penance and prayer, prepare my heart to walk with you through Calvary to Resurrection for there is no other way to salvation.”  So Lent is not about the miserable face but about the search for life.  It is a protest against the depressing consumerist philosophy that tells me that I am only what I eat, wear and achieve.  Our call as disciples is to pilgrim together in prayer through the uncomfortable desert of our liberating weakness – and to let the Lord do the leading.  Our plans for Church renewal in his name are guaranteed to be pathetic besides God’s dream for us.  Just as Jesus was laughed at for His lifestyle, so too his followers will be mocked for taking on the board the challenge of Lent yet again. But, in doing so, we are in good company.

And Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of the Trócaire Lenten campaign.  It is by far the most successful annual campaign in Ireland and that is due to the great energy and generosity of so many people.  I am particularly happy to be at this year’s launch as the focus is on Trócarie’s work to rebuild communities and specifically in Northern Uganda, which – like ourselves – is trying to build a future after a terrible period of violence and death.  My particular interest lies in the fact that I had the chance to visit the Barlonyo district of Uganda where Daniel – the face of this year’s Trócaire box – lives with his family.  Barlonyo is a remote area near Lira in Northern Uganda which faces many challenges.  And it suffered in a particularly terrible way eight years and one day ago when, on 21 February 2004, the refugee camp in their village was attacked by the LRA rebels and over 200 civilians shot, burnt and hacked to death.  They are still trying to recover.

Trócaire in Barlonyo – under the leadership of Sean Farrell, who will speak to us briefly after Communion  – is seeking to help this and other communities to rebuild the past on the ruins of their past.  That means supporting farmers, schools and communities in generating hope, despite so much pain and trauma.  Trócaire is not one of the big disaster agencies who specialise in coming in after floods or earthquakes, helping the injured and then moving on to the next disaster area.  Trócaire is focused on on-going quiet work with local people to enable them to take responsibility for making things better for all the young Daniels who deserve dignity and a future.  That is how Barlonyo will get back on its feet again.

Yes, the Irish are generous.  But we need to look at how generous we actually are.  I saw figures recently that the Irish beer market is worth about €2.5bn – and that is part of a total alcohol market of about €6.9bn[1].  That means that, while Trócaire would be very glad to achieve last year’s Lenten collection figures of €8.2million, in the six and half weeks till next Easter, the Irish will have spent €800 million on alcohol.  The 2011 Lenten Trócaire campaign for the world’s neediest parts took in the equivalent one half of one day’s drinking money in Ireland.  That does not seem to me to be an awful lot.  Per head of the population the five million Irish spend more on drink that the Ugandan economy has to spend on everything – health, education, roads etc.  There is something wrong there.

So much of the Trócaire money is collected in schools and in families, thanks to the generosity of young people and their families.  But can we as a national Church ensure that the Lenten collection is never seen as just something that the children do, pestering parents, grannies and neighbours – but rather become a time when the whole Irish Church actively takes seriously the need to redistribute wealth from the excesses of the developed countries to the desperate needs of the developing world?  They do not ask for charity, just support and encouragement.  They do not ask for pity, just for solidarity. If the Irish could cut just 10% their drinks bill for Lent that would increase Trócaire’s collection nearly 10 fold.  If every Irish family could cut back on the  €1,000’s worth of food that we throw out each year, that would be both a boon for our pockets and a blessing on the 20,000 who die of hunger, disease and violence around the world.  And the Lord knows that it takes prayer and fasting to generate the energy to break our self-indulgent habits.

So, this year, as we approach the International Eucharistic Congress in June with its theme of Communion with God and Communion with one another, this seems an ideal opportunity to pray that our Lenten observance will make us not just slimmer but more compassionate.  And we ask the Lord that he will use us to respond to the hundreds of millions around the world who still beg in vain for crumbs from the rich people’s table – and use the superb channels of Trócaire to ensure that the wonderful people of Barlonyo know that the world of tomorrow can be so much better than the terrible one that they have known in recent years.  A divinely-inspired growth in our capacity for love, compassion and generosity will be a benefit both for us and to Barlonyo.

ENDS

•    Bishop Donal McKeown is Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Down and Connor, and is chair of the Council for Vocations of the Irish Episcopal Conference.

Further information:
Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444

The liturgical Rite of Ash Wednesday gives two formulae for the imposition of Ashes.  One is the classical formula: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”.  It is a reminder of the fragility of human life.  It reminds us that there are things we came into this world without and without which we will leave this world and so we are challenged to reflect on what our life means and to put aside the superficial and the glib and seek what it means to be truly human.

The other formula is “Repent and believe the Good News”. The term repentance finds it hard to carve out its place in our contemporary vocabulary.  It is not something ritualistic.  It is about a change in life, a turning round.  Repentance is also about returning to what is essential in human life and not putting our trust in a self-made comfort-zone which in the long term turns out just disillusionment and emptiness.

This appeal for conversion, for a genuine return to God, dominates today’s liturgy.   The first reading calls us to: “Come back to [God] with all your heart”.  The Prophet Joel urges us to return to the Father “with your whole heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning…. For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment” (2: 12-13).

The Responsorial Psalm asks the Lord to create within us “a clean heart” and to renew in us “a right spirit”.  In the Gospel reading Jesus warns us against a vanity which only leads to ostentation and hypocrisy, to superficiality and self-satisfaction.  The Gospel reasserts the need to foster uprightness of heart.   Repentance is not just about a life marked by fasting, weeping and mourning:  it is about discerning what integrity and uprightness of heart really mean.

Lent in the history of the Church is the time when those who have come to the faith for the first time undergo a catechumenate in order to be baptised at Easter.  There also a sense in which Lent is such a time for all of us.  It is a time to reflect on our lives and on the faith into which we were baptised.

Lent is popularly remembered as a time when we take on fasting or penance and dedicate what we save to some good work.  In the tradition of the Church Lent is a time of fasting and prayer and works of charity. But these are in a certain sense just the instruments which the Church proposes to attain the real purpose of Lent, namely, to attain uprightness and integrity in our own hearts through a coming back to God.   The principal architect of our Lenten practice is not us, but God himself.

This repentance and this turning back to God is not an easy one.  It is certainly not an easy one for the young men and women of your generation who live in a culture in which God is mentioned less and less.  Where do I go to find God?  How can I reconcile in my life what goes on day by day and a God who seems to be in another compartment.  There is a radio programme called: “The God Slot”.  I think that we are all tempted, even those who unhesitatingly believe in God, to keep God in “the God Slot” and to turn to him on occasional moments but moments perhaps that are more and more rare.

Where does the young man or women of your generation begin to find God?  How do you move from the image of God of your childhood to an adult faith which touches who you are and what you do?   I would not be honest if I did not also ask you and ask myself, do you find God in the Church or do you rather find the Church a hindrance to finding God?

The first thing that I would say is that you can only find the path of return to God through asking the right questions.  These questions are not first of all about God, but about you yourself.   They are the deeper questions about what it means to be a person, about why am I here, what does human freedom mean?  What can I do with my life and what should I do with my life?  The answer is more than a question of what job or profession I am interested in.

The more we reflect on human freedom and on ultimate truth the more we will have to face a sort of contradiction:  our search for the meaning of our humanity inevitably leads us beyond that humanity, towards something new, towards transcendence, towards a mystery. Our search for the meaning of our humanity must lead us at least to confront ourselves about the question of the transcendent.   There is a sense that all our attempts to define ourselves in terms of our own self-sufficiency, will eventually lead us to see that that self-sufficiency needs something other, something which takes us outside and above our own limited capacities.

How do we answer?  There is the inevitable temptation to create our own absolutes.  Some will create an absolute of unbelief.  Others will create a god of our own making.  But such a god would curiously lead us to the same conclusion as the absolute of unbelief:   a God of our own creation will inevitably lead us to end up only where we started: with ourselves.

The God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is not a God that we create, but gratuitous gift. Being fully human means accepting that gift and recognising yes our dependence on an absolute beyond ourselves, but that absolute is person, Jesus Christ, who gratuitously shows us how to be ourselves and wishes us to be fully ourselves. Lent is a moment in which we use the instruments of prayer, penance and work of charity to purify our self perception in order to be more fully ourselves.

These are complex questions and I would love to be able to enter into dialogue with you on some other occasion about what they mean for you and for the Church.  I would be less than honest not to recognise that that dialogue between your generation and the Church is not working well.  The Church needs change and renewal, but that renewal is not about outwards structures or the banalities or externalities of the day.  I cannot help thinking that there is something askew when even Catholic media become so preoccupied about “Vatican Embassy yes or no”, while, as it were, “Rome burns”, while the real crisis questions about the Church and about faith are not being addressed.

I encourage you to use Lent to develop for yourself and your life that real reflection on what the Christian faith is and remain open to the call to come back to that God who will create within you a clean hear and a right spirit.

Further information:
Communications Office Tel: 01 8630723 Email: communications@dublindiocese.ie Web: www.dublindiocese.ie

Lent 2012:

As Ireland begins preparing for the Eucharistic Congress 2012 the theme of ‘community’ is to the fore of many people’s minds. In the context of social justice, far too often, we are unaware of our mandate as followers of Christ to work towards a common good within our world. ‘Common’, meaning it will be shared amongst everybody equally and not just experienced by the individual and ‘good’, meaning that all will prosper from our actions. Anyone can ‘do good’ in our world; but as Christians, we are called to do ‘common good’. As a large community of believers we are set a directive to do common good by following Christ’s message of ‘Love thy neighbour’. ‘Common good’ implies that the good of each individual human being is in some way connected to the good of others, that is, that human beings can only truly prosper in the context of a community.

Trócaire invites you to journey through this Lenten season in solidarity with the community of Bar Kawach in northern Uganda. This particular community has been brought together by Trócaire’s work with them. Theirs is a unique story of returning home after conflict, and the struggles faced by them in order to rebuild their lives, families, livelihoods and community.

Community of Bar Kawach:      

The war and violence inflicted upon the families of Bar Kawach is unimaginable, having survived one of the most vicious massacres of the war as recently as 2004. The bravery and determination it took for families to return to their homes and try to rebuild their lives is inspiring. They are fathers, mothers, children, farmers………. survivors. Luckily, the ceasefire of 2006 continues to hold, and most of the displaced people have now returned to their original homes but as some have been away for fifteen years, they are now, with the help of Trócaire, having to rebuild their lives from scratch.

Uganda Brief:

Uganda has shared the problems seen across much of Africa including poverty, HIV/AIDS and war. In the aftermath of a brutal conflict that affected northern Uganda for more than 20 years, many families have returned to their original homes to begin a new life. Conflict, child soldiers, sexual assault, and political instability have plagued the people of northern Uganda. However, despite the horrific past and the challenges they meet daily, all that these families now want is to look ahead to building a better and brighter future for themselves.

Trócaire’s work is about helping people in northern Uganda to return to hope from the times of war and conflict, supporting them to achieve the potential of future generations and to fully recover after 20 years of violent conflict which caused much unnecessary death, massive internal displacement, destruction, and trauma.

Meet Daniel:

Daniel Okweng is 9 years old and lives with his mother Betty, his father Joel and his brothers and sisters in the small rural village of Bar Kawach, Northern Uganda. Daniel was born into a civil war which spanned over twenty years. In 2004, soldiers attacked his village and community, forcing the family to flee from their home. 300 people died during this attack. Daniel’s family knew they were lucky to survive but were left with nothing. The family moved into a camp set up by the government to protect civilians. These camps were bleak places where extreme poverty, poor sanitation and depression were rife and lead to a very poor quality of life, especially for children like Daniel.

In 2006, when it was deemed safe enough, Daniel and his family moved back to their family home. It was at this point that their biggest struggle began – to begin life again. With your support, Trócaire and our Ugandan partners were there, helping this family readjust to life back home. Working together with the community, we have provided training and support groups to help people cope with the trauma they have experienced. Agricultural training and the provision of seeds, tools and livestock have helped families to start farming again and support to build a bore hole has provided clean, safe, drinking water.

Message from Uganda:

Sean Farrell is the country Representative for Trócaire in Uganda.

    “Since I first came to Uganda some 4 years ago the north of the country has been transformed. When I first went there people were living in squalid, disease-ridden camps. These have now gone, and instead are replaced by people who have returned home, gone back to making their communities vibrant and full of life. Trócaire’s work is vitally important as people make this massive transition all across northern Uganda. In many ways our work says that hope is here. Our work in agriculture for example, helps people to rebuild their lives; providing them with the tools, seeds and technology to help improve their livelihoods and increase food production to tackle widespread malnutrition whilst our work in human rights funds local organisations to organise and rally local communities so that they can demand services from their government which had for the most part abandoned them to a war inflicted existence for 20 years.

    By helping people to rebuild their families and communities Trócaire is giving them the support to provide for themselves in the future, and take a stand against the injustice and corruption that threatens to keep the next generation poor. First and foremost people needed to begin farming their land again so that they could grow enough food for the family and try to earn enough money to get their children back to school. As a community, Bar Kawach has been supported to rebuild their farms, but more importantly to rebuild their lives. Through group training and support Trócaire’s partner has used the farms as a way of rebuilding families and communities. The community has been given regular training on everything from agriculture, healthcare and sanitation to domestic violence, human rights and family communications.

    Family farms are improving, but more than that, community life is also improving; people feel safer in their homes, families help and support each other to strengthen their farms even further. With the support of a community families can do more than just survive, they can look beyond today and make plans for the future.”

Let’s Live Lent 2012:

Trócaire invites you to journey with us through the season of Lent and to welcome the people of Bar Kawach into your homes and community. In the spirit of the season of Lent season we encourage you to make use of the Parish Liturgy and Homily resources provided in this year’s Intercom magazine and to Live Lent to it’s fullest potential in your community. We hope you find the resource of much use and of help to you in your various ministries and we look forward to supporting you on this Lenten journey.

By using this resource as well as Trócaire’s many other Lenten resources, you can enhance your Parish liturgies, stand in solidarity with the people of Bar Kawach, broaden the minds and heart of young adults in your community by sharing Daniel’s story, educate  school-goers by using our online education resources and encourage your own local community to take action through our online e-action. Though we are many, we are one body, one body of change, one body of love and one Body of Christ.

For more information, please visit http://www.trocaire.org/lent.

In response to published comments today by Baroness Nuala O’Loan concerning the reviews undertaken by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, the Catholic Communications Office wishes to clarify that this review process has already begun to publish reports; that it is continuing with its work and that it will continue until all of Ireland’s dioceses and religious congregations are reviewed.

In response to erroneous reports in the media last July, the National Board for Safeguarding Children stated that it has had “no refusal to cooperate by bishops with the audit.  Rather there is a commitment to the Board, by the bishops, to support this process and to go forward in partnership to foster, throughout the Catholic Church, best practice child safeguarding.”

Baroness O’Loan also expressed a view that the National Board for Safeguarding Children “is understaffed and under resourced”.  Last March, as part of the bishops’ response to mark the first anniversary of the Pastoral Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland, bishops and religious congregations publicly committed financial support for safeguarding children and young people in the Church and for the ongoing care of those who have been abused by way of supporting:
•    The National Board for Safeguarding Children and related safeguarding activities at diocesan and national level; and,
•    A five-year €10 million fund for the Towards Healing helpline and professional counselling referral service (formerly known as Faoiseamh).

In response to the reported comments of Baroness O’Loan “that there may today still be men in active ministry, against whom allegations were made, which were never investigated,” the Catholic Church in Ireland has guidelines and procedures for addressing concerns, suspicions, allegations and disclosures of abuse and this involves referral to An Garda Síochána/PSNI and the Health Service Executive/Health and Social Services.  It is the duty of anyone with any such concerns to bring these to the attention of the appropriate civil authorities.

ENDS

Further information:
Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678

“Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” (Heb 10:24)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity. This is a favourable time to renew our journey of faith, both as individuals and as a community, with the help of the word of God and the sacraments. This journey is one marked by prayer and sharing, silence and fasting, in anticipation of the joy of Easter.

This year I would like to propose a few thoughts in the light of a brief biblical passage drawn from the Letter to the Hebrews: “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works”. These words are part of a passage in which the sacred author exhorts us to trust in Jesus Christ as the High Priest who has won us forgiveness and opened up a pathway to God. Embracing Christ bears fruit in a life structured by the three theological virtues: it means approaching the Lord “sincere in heart and filled with faith” (v. 22), keeping firm “in the hope we profess” (v. 23) and ever mindful of living a life of “love and good works” (v. 24) together with our brothers and sisters. The author states that to sustain this life shaped by the Gospel it is important to participate in the liturgy and community prayer, mindful of the eschatological goal of full communion in God (v. 25). Here I would like to reflect on verse 24, which offers a succinct, valuable and ever timely teaching on the three aspects of Christian life: concern for others, reciprocity and personal holiness.

1. “Let us be concerned for each other”: responsibility towards our brothers and sisters.

This first aspect is an invitation to be “concerned”: the Greek verb used here is katanoein, which means to scrutinize, to be attentive, to observe carefully and take stock of something. We come across this word in the Gospel when Jesus invites the disciples to “think of” the ravens that, without striving, are at the centre of the solicitous and caring Divine Providence (cf. Lk 12:24), and to “observe” the plank in our own eye before looking at the splinter in that of our brother (cf. Lk 6:41). In another verse of the Letter to the Hebrews, we find the encouragement to “turn your minds to Jesus” (3:1), the Apostle and High Priest of our faith. So the verb which introduces our exhortation tells us to look at others, first of all at Jesus, to be concerned for one another, and not to remain isolated and indifferent to the fate of our brothers and sisters. All too often, however, our attitude is just the opposite: an indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for “privacy”. Today too, the Lord’s voice summons all of us to be concerned for one another. Even today God asks us to be “guardians” of our brothers and sisters (Gen 4:9), to establish relationships based on mutual consideration and attentiveness to the well-being, the integral well-being of others. The great commandment of love for one another demands that we acknowledge our responsibility towards those who, like ourselves, are creatures and children of God. Being brothers and sisters in humanity and, in many cases, also in the faith, should help us to recognize in others a true alter ego, infinitely loved by the Lord. If we cultivate this way of seeing others as our brothers and sisters, solidarity, justice, mercy and compassion will naturally well up in our hearts. The Servant of God Pope Paul VI stated that the world today is suffering above all from a lack of brotherhood: “Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations” (Populorum Progressio, 66).

Concern for others entails desiring what is good for them from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual. Contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil, yet there is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail, because God is “generous and acts generously” (Ps 119:68). The good is whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion. Responsibility towards others thus means desiring and working for the good of others, in the hope that they too will become receptive to goodness and its demands. Concern for others means being aware of their needs. Sacred Scripture warns us of the danger that our hearts can become hardened by a sort of “spiritual anesthesia” which numbs us to the suffering of others. The Evangelist Luke relates two of Jesus’ parables by way of example. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite “pass by”, indifferent to the presence of the man stripped and beaten by the robbers (cf. Lk 10:30-32). In that of Dives and Lazarus, the rich man is heedless of the poverty of Lazarus, who is starving to death at his very door (cf. Lk 16:19). Both parables show examples of the opposite of “being concerned”, of looking upon others with love and compassion. What hinders this humane and loving gaze towards our brothers and sisters? Often it is the possession of material riches and a sense of sufficiency, but it can also be the tendency to put our own interests and problems above all else. We should never be incapable of “showing mercy” towards those who suffer. Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor. Humbleness of heart and the personal experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy. “The upright understands the cause of the weak, the wicked has not the wit to understand it” (Prov 29:7). We can then understand the beatitude of “those who mourn” (Mt 5:5), those who in effect are capable of looking beyond themselves and feeling compassion for the suffering of others. Reaching out to others and opening our hearts to their needs can become an opportunity for salvation and blessedness.

“Being concerned for each other” also entails being concerned for their spiritual well-being. Here I would like to mention an aspect of the Christian life, which I believe has been quite forgotten: fraternal correction in view of eternal salvation. Today, in general, we are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This was not the case in the early Church or in those communities that are truly mature in faith, those which are concerned not only for the physical health of their brothers and sisters, but also for their spiritual health and ultimate destiny. The Scriptures tell us: “Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more” (Prov 9:8ff). Christ himself commands us to admonish a brother who is committing a sin (cf. Mt 18:15). The verb used to express fraternal correction – elenchein – is the same used to indicate the prophetic mission of Christians to speak out against a generation indulging in evil (cf. Eph 5:11). The Church’s tradition has included “admonishing sinners” among the spiritual works of mercy. It is important to recover this dimension of Christian charity. We must not remain silent before evil. I am thinking of all those Christians who, out of human regard or purely personal convenience, adapt to the prevailing mentality, rather than warning their brothers and sisters against ways of thinking and acting that are contrary to the truth and that do not follow the path of goodness. Christian admonishment, for its part, is never motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination. It is always moved by love and mercy, and springs from genuine concern for the good of the other. As the Apostle Paul says: “If one of you is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should set that person right in a spirit of gentleness; and watch yourselves that you are not put to the test in the same way” (Gal 6:1). In a world pervaded by individualism, it is essential to rediscover the importance of fraternal correction, so that together we may journey towards holiness. Scripture tells us that even “the upright falls seven times” (Prov 24:16); all of us are weak and imperfect (cf. 1 Jn 1:8). It is a great service, then, to help others and allow them to help us, so that we can be open to the whole truth about ourselves, improve our lives and walk more uprightly in the Lord’s ways. There will always be a need for a gaze which loves and admonishes, which knows and understands, which discerns and forgives (cf. Lk 22:61), as God has done and continues to do with each of us.

2. “Being concerned for each other”: the gift of reciprocity.

This “custody” of others is in contrast to a mentality that, by reducing life exclusively to its earthly dimension, fails to see it in an eschatological perspective and accepts any moral choice in the name of personal freedom. A society like ours can become blind to physical sufferings and to the spiritual and moral demands of life. This must not be the case in the Christian community! The Apostle Paul encourages us to seek “the ways which lead to peace and the ways in which we can support one another” (Rom 14:19) for our neighbour’s good, “so that we support one another” (15:2), seeking not personal gain but rather “the advantage of everybody else, so that they may be saved” (1 Cor 10:33). This mutual correction and encouragement in a spirit of humility and charity must be part of the life of the Christian community.
The Lord’s disciples, united with him through the Eucharist, live in a fellowship that binds them one to another as members of a single body. This means that the other is part of me, and that his or her life, his or her salvation, concern my own life and salvation. Here we touch upon a profound aspect of communion: our existence is related to that of others, for better or for worse. Both our sins and our acts of love have a social dimension. This reciprocity is seen in the Church, the mystical body of Christ: the community constantly does penance and asks for the forgiveness of the sins of its members, but also unfailingly rejoices in the examples of virtue and charity present in her midst. As Saint Paul says: “Each part should be equally concerned for all the others” (1 Cor 12:25), for we all form one body. Acts of charity towards our brothers and sisters – as expressed by almsgiving, a practice which, together with prayer and fasting, is typical of Lent – is rooted in this common belonging. Christians can also express their membership in the one body which is the Church through concrete concern for the poorest of the poor. Concern for one another likewise means acknowledging the good that the Lord is doing in others and giving thanks for the wonders of grace that Almighty God in his goodness continuously accomplishes in his children. When Christians perceive the Holy Spirit at work in others, they cannot but rejoice and give glory to the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:16).

3. “To stir a response in love and good works”: walking together in holiness.

These words of the Letter to the Hebrews (10:24) urge us to reflect on the universal call to holiness, the continuing journey of the spiritual life as we aspire to the greater spiritual gifts and to an ever more sublime and fruitful charity (cf. 1 Cor 12:31-13:13). Being concerned for one another should spur us to an increasingly effective love which, “like the light of dawn, its brightness growing to the fullness of day” (Prov 4:18), makes us live each day as an anticipation of the eternal day awaiting us in God. The time granted us in this life is precious for discerning and performing good works in the love of God. In this way the Church herself continuously grows towards the full maturity of Christ (cf. Eph 4:13). Our exhortation to encourage one another to attain the fullness of love and good works is situated in this dynamic prospect of growth.
Sadly, there is always the temptation to become lukewarm, to quench the Spirit, to refuse to invest the talents we have received, for our own good and for the good of others (cf. Mt 25:25ff.). All of us have received spiritual or material riches meant to be used for the fulfilment of God’s plan, for the good of the Church and for our personal salvation (cf. Lk 12:21b; 1 Tim 6:18). The spiritual masters remind us that in the life of faith those who do not advance inevitably regress. Dear brothers and sisters, let us accept the invitation, today as timely as ever, to aim for the “high standard of ordinary Christian living” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 31). The wisdom of the Church in recognizing and proclaiming certain outstanding Christians as Blessed and as Saints is also meant to inspire others to imitate their virtues. Saint Paul exhorts us to “anticipate one another in showing honour” (Rom 12:10).

In a world which demands of Christians a renewed witness of love and fidelity to the Lord, may all of us feel the urgent need to anticipate one another in charity, service and good works (cf. Heb 6:10). This appeal is particularly pressing in this holy season of preparation for Easter. As I offer my prayerful good wishes for a blessed and fruitful Lenten period, I entrust all of you to the intercession of the Mary Ever Virgin and cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.

As Lent begins tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, the Bishops of Ireland have asked the faithful to offer up their fasting, prayer, reading of Scripture and works of mercy* during Lent 2012 for the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland.  Drawing particular attention to the “concrete initiatives” proposed by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in paragraph 14 of his Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland of March 2010, the bishops specifically encouraged the faithful:

•    to discover anew and to avail more frequently of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession);
•    to organise periods of Eucharistic adoration in parishes;
•    through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist “make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm”;
•    to renew their practice of Friday Penance by undertaking some of the following:
-    abstain from meat or some other food
-    make a special effort to participate in Mass on Fridays (in addition to Sunday)
-    make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament
-    abstain from alcoholic drink or smoking
-    make a special effort to spend time together in family prayer
-    make the Stations of the Cross
-    fast from all food for a longer period than usual and give what is saved to the needy
-    help someone who is sick, old or lonely.

Bishops asked that the faithful to use Lent as a special time “to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church” in Ireland, as part of the spiritual preparation for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress which will take place in Dublin between the 10 – 17 June next.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

•    The Catechism of the Catholic Church states (n.2447): “The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbour in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently.  The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God” (cf. James 2:15-16; 1 John 3:17).

•    Penance is an essential part of the lives of all Christ’s faithful.  It arises from the Lord’s call to conversation and repentance, Christians do penance: in memory of the Passion and death of our Lord; as a sharing in Christ’s suffering; as an expression of inner conversion; as a form of reparation for sin.  See Friday Penance leaflet on www.catholicbishops.ie.

•    This Standing Committee of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference met in Maynooth this week.

Further information:
Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444

Bishop Freeman will launch upcoming Seminars in the Ossory Diocese. The two seminars are being held on 7 March at 7.30pm in St Patrick’s Parish Community Hall, Kilkenny and Piltown Parish Community Hall Co Kilkenny. The evenings will include presentations from parishes who form part of our initiative, as well as presentations on how parishes can best help prevent substance misuse in their community. For bookings or enquiries please contact 01-5053044 or email ibdi@iecon.ie.

On 3 and 4 March next a major conference will be hosted by ACCORD in Belfast to mark its 50th year.  Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, will celebrate Mass for participants and conference speakers will include Bishop Christopher Jones, Bishop of Elphin and President of ACCORD; Bishop Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor; Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Ms Frances Fitzgerald TD; the Ombudsman for Ireland, Ms Emily O’Reilly will be the keynote speaker; Mr Mickey Harte, Tyrone GAA senior football manager; and, Mr Gerard O’Neill, director of market research firm Amarach Consulting.

To view the full conference programme please click here.

To mark World Day of Social Justice on 20 February, the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 (IEC2012) is emphasising the essential connection between Communion and Social Solidarity by launching a themed programme of events and liturgies for Thursday 14 June 2012.

At the upcoming Congress in Dublin’s RDS a diverse programme of events will take place during the fifth day of the programme, 14 June, centering on the theme of the day: ‘Exploring the Challenge of Restoring Communion through Justice and Reconciliation’.

The penitential liturgy will be celebrated at the RDS Arena by Cardinal Peter Turkson, President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Rome. This celebration will be a timely acknowledgement of the fact that sinful personal actions and attitudes not only impact on our relationship of ‘Communion with Christ and with one another’ but also contribute to the creation of unjust social structures.

Reflecting on this Fr Kevin Doran, who has responsibility for the planning of the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress 2012, said: “In so far as we need to seek forgiveness, it is from God and from one another. It includes people close to us and even people whom we have never met. It includes the generations coming after us who will be affected by what has been done in our time. While we cannot re-write history, we can, with God’s help, be reconciled.”

Already, in advance of the Congress, an ‘Inclusive Parishes Programme’ has been developed to help parishioners all over the country to reflect on how parishes can be more welcoming and inviting to people who have experience of being excluded or left on the margins.

On 14 June, the Congress programme will include a wide range of workshops and talks, aimed at promoting reflection and discussion on the key issues regarding equity, reconciliation and social justice in Ireland and throughout our world today.

One of the keynote addresses in the RDS Arena on Thursday afternoon will be given by Richard Moore, founder of ‘Children in Crossfire’, who was blinded by a rubber bullet when he was a child but has since sought out and befriended the soldier who fired the shot.  In this way, his personal experience has motivated both reconciliation and action for justice.

Among the workshops, will be one entitled: ‘Globalisation and its impact on Human Society’ facilitated by Prof Vincent McBrierty, Trinity College, Dublin.  Also on Thursday, Sr Brigid Reynolds, Social Justice Ireland, will deliver a workshop on ‘Social Justice and Inclusion’ and Justin Kilcullen, Director of Trocaire, will give a presentation on ‘Communion and Solidarity in World Development’.

Fr Gary Donegan, Holy Cross Parish, Ardoyne, Belfast, will lead a workshop on ‘The Eucharist in Peace and Reconciliation’. Later in the evening, Mary Mangan (SHJM), Sheila O’Gorman (RSM) and Catherine Dunne (SSHM), representing Act to Prevent Trafficking (APT) will together deliver a workshop on ‘Broken Lives: the hidden crime…human trafficking’.

The Mass on Thursday afternoon at 4pm, in the RDS Arena, will also have a particular focus on reconciliation and will be celebrated as Gaeilge, (in our native Irish language) by Cardinal Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh.

Ends

Further information:

• Aisling Harmey, Media Relations Manager, 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012,

Tel: 00353 (01) 234 9903        Mob: 00353 (0) 87 137 2447 Email: press@iec2012.ie

• Aoife Connors, Media Officer, 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012,

Tel: 00353 (01) 234 9940        Mob: 00353 (0) 87 628 0580   Email: pressofficer@iec2012.ie

Notes for Editors:

• The 50^th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 will take place in Dublin from 10 – 17 June 2012 with up to 25,000 pilgrims expected to attend each day at the RDS, including 12,000 international pilgrims representing 95 different countries.
• IEC2012 will transform the RDS into a Eucharistic Village for an eight day festival of faith and culture. The Eucharist will be celebrated in the Liturgy and adored in the Prayer Space.
• The Congress is an international gathering of people, every four years somewhere in the world, which aims to promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church; to help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy and to draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist. These aims are achieved through a programme of pastoral preparation in the years leading up to the Congress and a programme of liturgical and cultural events, lectures and workshops over the course of one week.
• The theme of the Congress is ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one Another’(Communion – like Solidarity – means a relationship of mutual love and self-giving).
• On 17 June, more than 80,000 people are expected to gather and celebrate the Final Mass of the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 at Croke Park Stadium.
• There will be 18 keynote addresses by international speakers.
• The full programme is available at:
  http://www.iec2012.ie/media/IEC2012ProgrammeofEvents1.pdf
• Previous Congresses took place in Quebec (2008) and Guadalajara (2004)

• For more information: www.iec2012.ie

Registration for the Congress is now live on http://www.iec2012.ie/registration

In our ceremony this morning we call to mind Archbishop Brown’s mission as the representative of the Holy See in Ireland:  his task is to witness among us, within the Church and within society in Ireland, to the mission of the successor of Peter – a mission to foster deeper communion in the life of the Church and to foster communion, harmony and peace in the human family that is so often fragmented.

We wish you God’s blessing as you begin your ministry.   We wish you personally fulfilment and happiness and we assure you of a warm welcome and support.   We welcome the help of Pope Benedict in leading our wounded Church towards repentance and healing.  We desire to work together to build a different, more humble Church, but also a renewed Church, confident of the contribution of the teaching of Jesus Christ for the Ireland of tomorrow.

Some have noted that Archbishop Brown is an American and a native English speaker, as if that were something new.  Archbishop Brown is actually the fourth Apostolic Nuncio to come to us from the United States.  The first Nuncio in Dublin, Archbishop Paschal Robinson, though a native of Dublin grew up in the United States and worked there as a journalist before becoming a priest.  Archbishop Gerald O’Hara, who was Nuncio in the 1950’s, and Archbishop Joseph McGeough, who was here in the 1960’s were also both Americans.  Archbishop Emanuel Gerada, born in Malta and Nuncio in the 1970’s was also a native English speaker.

What unites us here this morning and what distinguishes your ministry is not our native language or our ancestry but the common Catholic faith we profess in Jesus Christ and our common commitment to ensure that the Church of Jesus Christ be truly a sign of the unity of humankind bound together through the presence of God’s love among us.

The Holy See and Ireland have deep-rooted links, which go back long into our history.  Irish people have profound bonds of affection for the Holy See.   The diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Ireland have been fruitful in fostering the interests of Ireland, of the Holy See and of our common interests in the good of the human family.  International relations and diplomacy are concerned not just with the political and economic challenges of the day, no matter how vital, but with the fundamental values and aspirations of people which must then shape relations between peoples and States and in this context the Holy See plays a vital role.

Homily of Archbishop Charles John Brown, Apostolic Nuncio

Dia libh go léir!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is an honour and a joy for me to celebrate Holy Mass with you this morning here in this historic Pro-Cathedral.  I am deeply grateful to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin for his kind invitation and for his very gracious welcome.  I would like to begin by thanking the priests, as well as the men and women religious here today, and the many members of different Catholic organizations and associations.  In a particular way, I am grateful for the presence of representatives of other Christian communities.   I thank the representative of the Lord Mayor for coming and the members of the diplomatic community, my colleagues.  I am appreciative also of the presence of a representative of the Government of Ireland, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and all the other public authorities here present. Thank you for welcoming me.

This Mass is my first public celebration of the Church’s liturgy since I was received by the President of Ireland last Thursday, and delivered to him the Letter from Pope Benedict XVI appointing me as Nuncio – which is the first public act of any new ambassador.  I was grateful for the very warm welcome accorded me by the President and by the members of the Government who were there with him.

Having presented my credentials to the President, I must say that I can think of no better way of marking the beginning of my service in this country than by celebrating Mass in this place, the Pro-Cathedral of this diverse and dynamic Archdiocese.  I stand before you this morning as someone who represents various realities: I am the descendent of men and women of Ireland, who emigrated from this island, possessing little more than the treasure of their Catholic faith, which they, through the generations, have passed on to me.  Were it not for the faith of Ireland, I would not be a Catholic today.  I am someone who worked for many years in the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church, where I had the privilege of working with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI; I am a newly-ordained Bishop of the Catholic Church and as such, with all my limitations and defects, a successor of the Apostles.

This morning, however, I stand before you principally as the representative of the Bishop of Rome, the successor of the Apostle Peter, Pope Benedict XVI.  In his name, I greet you all and I bring you his best wishes for all the people of Ireland, for the government, and all the members of the diplomatic community.  As I mentioned, I have worked for many years very closely with the Holy Father and I can tell you from my personal experience that he has always had – and he continues to have – a great love for the people of Ireland and a high regard for the Catholic Church in Ireland, with its history of missionary richness and tenacious faith.  Pope Benedict knows as well that these recent years have been difficult for Catholic believers in Ireland.  Again I speak from my own experience when I tell you that Pope Benedict was scandalized and dismayed as he learned about the tragedy of abuse perpetrated by some members of the clergy and of religious congregations.  He felt deeply the wounds of those who had been harmed and who so often had not been listened to.  From the beginning, Pope Benedict was resolute and determined to put into place changes which would give the Church the ability to deal more effectively with those who abuse trust, as well as to provide the necessary assistance to those who had been victimized.  Pope Benedict has been relentless and consistent on this front, and I assure you that he will continue to be.

In our Gospel for today’s Mass, Jesus encounters a paralyzed man who is brought to him in Capernaum.  The friends or family of this man bring him to Jesus in order to be healed physically.  Indeed, they go to great trouble in carrying their friend to Jesus, lowering him down from the open roof above.  Yet the curious thing about this miracle story is that Jesus does not heal the man from his paralysis in his first exchange with him.  Instead, he says to him: “My child, your sins are forgiven”.  The scribes who were present take exception to these words of the Lord.  They accuse him of blasphemy, because only God can forgive sins.  The Lord is aware of their thoughts (as he is aware of ours), and says to his critics: “But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”, he turns to the paralytic and says: “I order you, get up, pick up your stretcher and go off home”.  At that moment the paralyzed man stands up, picks up his stretcher and leaves the house, walking through the crowd.  Pope Benedict himself commented on this Gospel passage during his Angelus talk in February 2009, and he explained that this “Gospel account shows that Jesus has the power not only to heal a sick body but also to forgive sins; indeed, the physical recovery is a sign of the spiritual healing that his forgiveness produces.  Sin is effectively a sort of paralysis of the spirit from which only the power of God’s merciful love can set us free, allowing us to rise again and continue on the path of goodness”.

The reality of physical paralysis is used by the Lord as a way of teaching us what sin (which we can understand as separation from God or as rejection of God’s path for us) does to the human person.  It is not the case at all that Jesus is saying that the physical paralysis of the man before him was caused by that man’s sin; instead, paralysis and subsequent healing become visible signs of the invisible reality of the effects of the Lord’s grace in our lives.  Sin should not be understood primarily as a breaking of a rule or as violating the regulations.  Sin is not, in the first instance, something legal.  Sin is better understood as separating ourselves from God, who is life itself, or rejecting God’s path for us, the path that gives us life and grace, spiritual energy.  And so, paralysis becomes an appropriate visual symbol of the spiritual state produced by sin, by this separation from God.  Sin, of course primarily affects individuals.  It is a spiritual disease which afflicts us, which can paralyze us.  It is the encounter with Christ which begins to heal us of this infirmity, and that encounter, for us, takes place in his Church, which is his body, through our proper and fruitful reception of the sacraments, principally the Holy Eucharist.  One of the most ancient texts of the Church, written just several decades after the death and resurrection of the Lord, the Letter of Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians, speaks of the Holy Eucharist as medicine, “the medicine of immortality”.

But this separation from God or this rejection of the kind of life that he proposes for us is not only a reality that affects us as individuals.  It also affects our relationships with others and the wider community.  The Church herself is wounded by the sins of her members.  And just as sin produces a kind of spiritual paralysis in the individual, a radical lack of the spiritual energy which is grace, so too there can be a kind of spiritual paralysis in sections of the Church, where that energy seems to have disappeared, enthusiasm is dissipated, liturgical life grows cold.  When this happens in the Church, in a certain sense, we need to do exactly what an individual does – come again into the presence of the Lord, of Christ himself, so that he can heal and restore us to life.  The Church, my friends, does not live because of offices, committees and structures (as important as these may be).  She lives by the presence of Jesus Christ – our way, our truth and our life.  And his presence is experienced in many ways, but most powerfully in his word and in his sacraments – above all, in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

We need to deepen our understanding of this reality and this is the reason for the important gathering which will soon take place “close to home” we might say – here in the cosmopolitan city of Dublin.  I refer, of course, to the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress which will be held from June 10th to the 17th of this year, a very significant event not only for the Catholic Church in Ireland, but for the universal Church.  It has been carefully and creatively organized and prepared.  What is the point of such a gathering?  It is to renew our faith in the reality which is at the absolute center of Catholic life – the real presence of Christ himself in the Eucharist.  Ultimately, it is renewed faith and love for the Lord in the Eucharist that will renew our lives and renew the life of the Church.  It is his true presence in the Eucharist which can heal our own spiritual paralysis, which fills us with light and joy, which gives meaning to our lives, and which prepares us for the life of the world to come.

It is a great joy for me to be in Ireland, beginning my time here as Pope Benedict’s representative, especially in this year of the International Eucharistic Congress.  Something new is indeed happening.  I am convinced that the Lord is preparing something beautiful for his Church.  May I ask your support and your prayers for my mission, as I thank you from the heart for being here with me today.  Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, to intercede for us and for Ireland as we strive to follow her son more closely.