Great Irish Dominican Thomas Burke op
If you ever find yourself wanIdering around the Claddagh, where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay, you’ll find there an imposing statue of a Dominican friar in a dramatic pose, his arm held aloft, with a Bible in his hand. The name on the plinth is that of one of the most famous preachers of modern times, Thomas Nicholas Burke OP.
Burke was a Galwayman, born in 1830, and reared in Kirwan’s Lane at the heart of the city. At the age of 17 he joined the Dominicans, whom he had got to know in the Claddagh, and he travelled to Italy for studies. He was rapidly identified as a man of special intelligence and discipline. Even before he was ordained a priest, he was appointed master of novices in Woodchester in England at the age of 21.
Four years later, he was assigned to Tallaght, to the small house which the Order had just bought to function as a novitiate. It was a makeshift setup there was no church and worship took place in a converted barn. For the next decade, he was dedicated to instilling spiritual discipline in the young men who came to Tallaght, before they went on to Rome or Cork or Esker for further studies.
During this time, though, he began to preach charity sermons on a regular basis. He had lived through the Famine in Galway, and for the rest of his life he was
always ready to labour for the cause of feeding the poor. Very soon people began to notice his talent as a preacher, and his fame grew when he was assigned to Rome, and then to St Saviour’s in Dublin. One contemporary writes of his preaching: ‘He electrified his congregation … His dramatic power was marvelous and as a word painter I have never seen his equal’.
He began to draw huge crowds wherever he preached. 50,000 people heard him preach at the reinterring of Daniel O’Connell’s remains in Glasnevin Cemetery. And it wasn’t just Catholics who came to hear him preach. In one of James Joyce’s stories in Dubliners, one of the characters recalls, ‘There used always be crowds of Protestants in the chapel when Father Tom was preaching’.
When Burke returned to Rome, as a theological expert at the First Vatican Council, his English-language sermons drew many of the Council Fathers, as well as the American poet Longfellow, who came to hold the Galwayman in great affection.
Outside of the pulpit, he was a big and loveable personality. One who knew him wrote that he was ‘the humblest and most childlike of men’. He was a lively character too, and some speculated at the time that the only reason he wasn’t made a bishop is that he was too much of a joker. He was disci- plined, but a free spirit too. During the First Vatican Council he man- aged to get himself invited to a gathering of bishops from the Arab world, and an Irish bishop found him there, sitting cross legged on the floor, smoking a hookah and drinking coffee!
An American Hero
His fame really took off in 1871, though. He travelled to America, initially for a few weeks, but invitations to preach began rolling in, so that two years later he was still Father Thomas Nicholas Burke’s statue, Galway, by John F Kavanagh
in America, having delivered some 700 sermons and lectures. He gave secular addresses too, to mixed audiences, on the Catholic Church in modern America, on the Catholic Church and science, on the value of Ireland’s traditional music, and in defence of the Irish national cause. One collection of his lectures from that time was entitled ‘English Misrule in
Ireland’.
A great deal of this preaching work involved fundraising for local charities he raised some £80,000 for charity on that American visit, an immense sum. Importantly for his confrères in Tallaght, he also raised. £2,000 for the priory, sin- single-handedly clearing the debt on the new priory building, which stands to this day. It was clear, though, that he was by that time a sick man, and his famous voice could hardly be heard above the wind. Ever since his trip to America he had been prone to chest infections and stomach ulcers, and his punishing schedule left no time for recovery.
Near the end of June 1883, he rose from his sickbed here in Tallaght to preach a charity sermon in Gardiner St. It was in aid of children suffering hunger in Donegal, and he felt he simply couldn’t refuse the invitation. A man who was in that congregation later described him leaning heavily with both hands on the pulpit, struggling to raise his voice in his last cry for the poor. ‘Many wept outright, and even strong men were deeply moved’.
A few days later, the great preacher went to his reward. Pope Leo XIII sent a personal message to be read at his funeral: “The death of this great orator and excellent religious has placed in mourning not only his order and all Ireland, but the universal Church’
Sing To The Lord- Eternal Rest
Ray Hughes
We have a Very particular tradi- The next time you read a death We have a very pad. When I notice, or hear the announcements explain it to some of my friends from abroad, they find it peculiar. As a nation we very frequently check death notices. Once upon a time this was confined to the newspaper. With the coming of local radio, most radio providers broadcast death notices once or twice a day.
Technological advances have also added another channel for this activity, with many websites providing information on the passing of our brothers and sisters. These messages give details of funerals, and requests, and while to those on the outside it may seem like a peculiarly dark habit, it is a very important part of our social fabric. It is no stranger than the practice you can see on the continent where death notices, with photographs, are past- ed to the walls of buildings.
on the radio, take notice of how a funeral Mass is described. Sometimes it is simply called the funeral Mass. Sometimes the Mass of the Resurrection, but often the Mass is referred to as a Requiem Mass. This is the proper title given to the Eucharist celebrated for the dead. The title Requiem Mass comes from the very first words of a short hymn in Latin, Requiem Aeternum.
This basically means eternal rest, and it is the beginning of the prayer that I’m sure you are familiar with “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.” The word requiem is very much associated with our reverence for the dead. The letters R.I.P. stand for Requiescat in Pace, which in English translates as “Rest in Peace.” Going back to the early Church,
death was seen as sleep before the resurrection of the body at the end of time. In ancient Rome, the dead were buried in a ‘necropolis’ which literally means ‘city of the dead.’ This did not suit the Christian understanding of death. Slowly, a new word was introduced – cemetery – a place where someone slept. After the toil and struggle of life, a time of rest was prayed for. Another element of the hymn is perpetual light: “may perpetual light shine upon them.” Scripture is filled with references to light.
In Genesis, God says, “Let there be light, and there was light.” (Gen 1:3) After Moses met God face to face on the mountain, his face shone like light, so much so that he had to cover his face. (Ex 34:29-35) In St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, he says that God lives in “unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16) If you read the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, St. John describes the new heaven. He says that there is no need for the moon or sun, because God Himself will be the light.
(Rev 21:23) God is the source of light, and those who live in God live in His light. The prayer that our loved dead should live in the light of God is indeed very beautiful. It gives us hope, especially when we are grieving.
Writing these words in dark November, I think of all the people who have now gone before us with the sign of faith. Bring your own to mind. There is nothing we can do for them now, except pray for them. Even today a new set of death notices is being prepared.
There will be another one tomorrow, and another one the day after that. So it will continue until the end of time. We will join that number, tragic as that may sound. We, too will then desire the eternal rest and perpetual light that we have wished to so many over the years. Life will be changed, not ended.
Our faith gives us the promise of eternal life. Until then, we pray the Requiem may eternal rest be given, and perpetual light shine upon them.
Irish Dominican Martyrs: FR Peter Higghin Op
Fr Peter Higgins OP is not to be confused with Fr Peter Higgins OP, who featured in this section of our magazine in May and who was Prior of Naas. Fr Higghin Op was a member of the Dublin Community of Dominicans.
The Medieval Dublin Castle. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. The roots of this uprising derived from the colonisation that followed the Tudor conquest of Ireland, and the alienation of the Catholic gentry from the newly-Protestant England state in the decades that followed.
Plantations in 16th and 17th-century Ireland saw the confiscation of Irish-owned land for the purpose of resettling people from Great Britain. The English Crown regarded the plantations as a means of controlling, anglicising and ‘civilizing’ Gaelic Ireland.
Those involved in the uprising demanded an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance and a return of confiscated Catholic lands. Unfortunately, the number of sectarian atrocities committed against the Protestants has led to a debate among historians as to whether this may have been due to a loss of control among the leadership.
Contemporary pamphlets published in London contained lurid details of the rebellion massacres and suggested over 200,000 Protestants (more than the entire settler population) had lost their lives. Reports like these intensified existing sectarian animosity on both sides. Fr Higghin was a victim of the religious violence which flood- ed the country.
The unfortunate priest was imprisoned in the Castle of Dublin on trumped-up charges simply because he was a Catholic clergyman. On three occasions, his prior visited the prison in disguise with some necessities and gave him absolution. The charges against Fr Peter could not be proved and it was a sign of his known virtue that many Protestants declared that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
On the day of his mock trial and execution he declared publicly that he was innocent of any crime, and he openly professed his adhesion to the Catholic faith. His constancy in the midst of his sufferings and the joy on his face moved many to tears. He was hanged on 23 March 1642 and after death his skull was broken with the blow of the butt of a gun. The 1641 Rebellion was the first significant sectarian rebellion in Irish history and gave rise to a decade of war and the vengeance of Oliver Cromwell.
The celebration of a person’s birthday and the attainment of one more year in our lives is something many of us have in common. Today, we consider birthdays as happy occasions to be celebrated with the receiving of birthday cards and presents and a gathering of family and friends to mark the occasion. However, looking back in his- tory we can see that birthdays were not always a day to celebrate. It is believed that the custom of marking a person’s birth date can be traced way back before the rise of Christianity and has its origins in ancient mystical beliefs and customs.
Ancient Beginnings
In Europe, thousands of years ago people believed that evil spirits were attracted to people on their birthdays and would try to harm
them. A way to keep them at bay was to surround one’s self with family and friends who would bring good thoughts and would attempt to protect their friend or loved one by blowing horns, banging drums, and making as much noise as possible to scare off any evil spirits lurking about.
In other early civilisations, such as that of Ancient Egypt, the marking of birthdays was linked to astrology and the casting of a person’s horoscope, particularly that of the ruling Pharaoh, his successors and rivals.
It was deemed important to foretell what their futures were because what happened to them would affect the entire society, and so their birthday omens were meticulously examined. There is no documented evidence to suggest that early common
citizens of this time marked their birthdays with any kind of celebration. However, it is well-documented that the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt would mark the occasion with a great feast for his courtiers
and followers. However, the Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh’s birthday marked the day he became a god, not the day he was born as a human.
In ancient Greece, birthdays were also linked to deities. The Greeks believed that each person had a protective spirit that watched over them from birth. They would make offerings of cakes to Artemis, the goddess of the moon, which they would shape to resemble the moon. The candles placed on the cakes symbolised the light of the moon and served as a form of com- communication with the goddess, with the hope that the smoke from the candles would carry prayers to the deities.
In Ancient Rome, the birthdays of prominent individuals, especially those of political importance and status, were celebrated. These celebrations, known as dies natalis, were marked with festive gatherings, food, and gifts. The emperor would hold a huge celebration, which included parties, parades, circuses and even gladiators fighting against each other to honour the emperor’s birthday. By the
fourth century it had also become common practice for ordinary wealthy citizens of Rome to celebrate their birthday too.
Religious Skepticism
In the early centuries of Christianity, birthday celebrations were not widely observed among Christians. The Church was initially skeptical of such celebrations because of their association with pagan customs, astrology, and superstitions, which the early Church sought to distance itself from.
Instead, early Christians placed greater emphasis on celebrating the anniversaries of saints and martyrs, known as feast days, rather than the birth anniversaries of ordinary individuals. For the Church, the day of a saint’s death was seen as their true “birthday” into eternal life, a con- cept that underscored the Christian focus on the afterlife rather than of the nineteenth century. Victorian earthly life.
However, as Christianity spread and evolved, the idea of personal birthday celebrations began to gain acceptance. By the medieval period, it became more common for Catholics to acknowledge birthdays, though it was still not a major focus within the faith, but was seen as milestone in one’s spiritual journey, marked by God’s continuous presence and guidance.
Medieval Europe To Modern Day Traditions
For much of early European history ry, baptism was the primary celebration associated with birth and it was still rare for the working man to celebrate with a birthday feast. However, by the Reformation in the sixteenth century, celebrating one’s birthday became more common. Over the following centuries, the marking of one’s birthday developed into a significant annual event in people’s lives, particularly in Europe and America. The industrial revolution played a significant role in this shift, as increased prosperity allowed more people to afford such cel- celebrations.
Many of the traditions we associate with birthdays today began to take shape in the Victorian era Birthday traditions were influenced by a variety of cultural, religious, and social factors from earlier periods, particularly in Europe. One of the strongest influences came from Germany, where children’s birthdays, or “Kinderfeste,” had long been celebrated. The idea of baking a cake with candles to represent the child’s age and making a wish while blowing them out likely originated from here and spread throughout Europe and eventually to America.
Queen Victoria herself had elaborate birthday celebrations, which helped popularise the idea of celebrating birthdays on a grander scale. Her public birthday festivities and those of her children set a tone for what was fashionable, influencing the middle and upper classes to follow suit. These festivities often included organised games and activities, many of Kinderfeste by Ludwig Knaus, 1868. Kinderfest was one of the strongest influences on Victorianera birthday parties.
which had roots in older traditions but became more formalised and widespread during this time. The Victorian era also saw an increase in gift-giving on birthdays, influenced by royal traditions. Previously, gifts were exchanged mainly at Christmas, but Victorians started making birthday presents an important part of the celebration.
The Twentieth Century And Beyond
In the twentieth century, birthday celebrations became a global phenomenon, transcending cultural and social boundaries. The commercialization of birthdays, driven by marketing and media, introduced new elements like themed parties, decorations, and the iconic “Happy Birthday” song. Although this song isn’t anywhere near as old as birthday cakes and candles, being only just over a hundred years old, it is sung at every kind of birthday celebration across the world.
The Song Is Believed To Be
The joint work of two American sisters, Mildred J. Hill, who was a school teacher, and Dr Patty Smith Hill, who was Principal in the same school. Originally entitled Good Morning to All, it was first published in 1893 in the book Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Today, the song is one of the most popular songs in the English language, has been translatedinto dozens of other languages, and is sung all over the world
Birthday celebrations have come a long way from their ancient origins as exclusive rituals for gods and rulers. These days, people of every race and social status celebrate birthdays globally. Customs may vary from one country to another, with each of us marking it in our own unique way, depending on our traditions and beliefs. But whether it’s a large organised event or a small family gathering, it’s a day for having fun with loved ones. And, if it’s your birthday today…
On 13 October 1936, a forty-four-year-old man named Saunders Lewis stood in the dock of a court in Caernarfon, Wales. He was a rather short man with dark hair and piercing eyes. He was there on the charge of burning down government property. An Air Force training school for bomber pilots, which had been under construction in a deeply historic area in Wales, had been set ablaze. The defendant didn’t deny burning down the building. In fact, he and his accomplices had immediately alerted the police themselves.
Saunders Lewis’s plea was that the act was one of civil disobedience, rather than criminal vandalism.
Lewis was no hooligan, but an eminently respectable man. He was a lecturer in University College, Swansea; a husband and a father; a veteran of the First World War, who had served with distinction, and the leader of a political party, the National Party of Wales, which he had helped to create.
As well as all this, he was a very devout Catholic. Although he had only been received into the Catholic Church four years before, he had been drawn towards it for many years prior to that. He had married a Catholic woman from Ireland in 1924- much to the disapproval of his father, who was a Methodist minister. Catholicism was viewed with great suspicion in Wales at this time. Lewis would eventually resign from the leadership of the National Party of Wales, fearing that his Catholicism was losing support for the party.
Lewis’s performance in the courtroom that day has been called a masterpiece of oratory. Admitting that they had caused two thousand pounds worth of damage, he asserteded that the building of the bombing school would do much greater damage to Wales. The site on which it was being built had many historical associations, inncluding being a home for poets and Christian pilgrims. Thousands of Welsh people had already protested the proposed construction but had been ignored.
This is how Lewis put it: “The loss that this bombing range, if it be not withdrawn, will cause to Wales is not a loss that can be estimated in thousands of pounds. You cannot calculate in figures the irreparable loss of a home of literature, of a tradition of rural Welsh civilization stretching back fourteen hundred years. These things have no price. You cannot pay compensation for them… We were compelled, therefore, to do serious damage to the bombing school buildings. Only serious damage could ensure that we should appear before a jury of our fellow countrymen in a last desperate and vital effort to bring the immorality of the Government’s action before the judgement of Christian Wales.”
On that day in Caernarfon, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The case was tried again in London, where all three defendants were found guilty and sentenced to eighteen months in Wormwood Scrubs prison, London. Saunders Lewis lost his job at the university. The construction of the bombing school went ahead.
The morality of bombing the bombing school might reasonably be considered a matter for debate. It’s clear, however, that the men acted out of idealistic motives. When they returned to Wales, they were greeted as heroes by a crowd of fifteen thousand people.
Nationalism And Faith
It was perhaps the most dramatic moment in the existence of Saunders Lewis. But this man’s whole life was dedicated to his ideals, especially his dream of restoring the Welsh language as the ordinary spoken language of Wales.
(Some say that one BBC Radio lecture he gave almost single-handedly- ly saved the Welsh language from extinction.) Lewis had grown up in a Welsh-speaking household, even though he was born and raised in England, near Liverpool. His father was a minister in the Calvinistic Meth- odist church. At this time, Christianity in Wales was predominantly “Nonconformist”, a term for all those Protestants who didn’t belong
to the established Church of England. Nonconformist churches emphasised the Bible, hymn-singing, and a personal (often very emotional) relationship to Jesus.
Lewis fought in France in World War One and was actually converted- ed to the cause of Welsh nationalism- ism through reading books by French and Irish nationalists while he was in the trenches. After the war, he embarked on an academic career, becoming a lecturer in Welsh literature in Swansea in 1922. He married his long-time sweetheart Margaret in 1924. She was herself a convert to Catholicism. Lewis’s father was opposed to him marrying a Catholic, and only gave his blessing after some persuasion from Lewis’s aunt.
Other than the court case, Lewis is today most famous as one of the
founders of the Welsh Nationalist Party, nowadays known as Plaid Cymru. It didn’t have much success in his lifetime, but today has four seats in the UK parliament and twelve seats in the Senedd, the Welsh Assembly.
Although Welsh nationalism was the central cause of Lewis’s life, it was impossible to doubt the importance of his Catholic faith. Many of his literary works have Christian themes; for instance, his poems “Mary Magdalene”, “Ascension Thursday”, and “The Last Sermon of Saint David”. He was also known for his plays.
Lewis admired medieval Wales as an era when Welsh people shared in the common Christian faith of Europe, which was Catholicism. He considered Catholic doctrine to be more solid than the Welsh Nonconformism of his time, which he held to be excessively based on emotion. He died in 1985, aged ninety-one.
The Broom Behind The Door
To coincide with the Visit of the Relics of St. Bernadette to Ireland we have replaced Evangelium with an article celebrating this young French girl who achieved a fame she never wanted, but who was cho- sen by Our Lady to make a little township at the foot of the Pyrenees one of the most important centres of pilgrimage in the Christian world. On a cold dark February day, a beautiful lady, who would in 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, left her home in search of firewood. In the company of her sister Toinette and her friend Baloum, she headed for a rocky outcrop known as Massabielle.
There she became separated from her companions. Attracted by the sound of rushing wind she looked towards a niche in the Massabielle grotto, where she saw a soft light and a white figure. Bernadette later described the figure as a
time, proclaim herself to be the Immaculate Conception. Thus did the story of the Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes begin. A total of 18 visions took place spread over more than five months. Details of the conversations between Bernadette and the lady spread like wildfire and captured the public’s imagination. It was revealed that the lady had smiled at Bernadette, prayed with her,
Taught her a special prayer, disclosed secrets, helped identify a previously unknown spring, asked that a chapel be built at the site, and declared who she was. She also told Bernadette that she did not promise to make her happy in this world, but in the next. These words proved very true.
Leaving Lourdes
After her experiences in Lourdes, Bernadette entered the convent of St. Gildard in Nevers, about 310 miles from Lourdes. It was in July 1866, 8 years after the First Apparition that 21-year-old Bernadette bade farewell to Lourdesnever to return. She looked across the river gave at the grotto for the chair that Bernadette died in.
final time. Her life from now on would be marked by physical and emotional suffering, a stark contrast to the miraculous events that had unfolded in her hometown.
The convent of St. Gildard was a place of strict religious discipline and austere living conditions. Bernadette, accustomed to the simple life of a peasant, found the transition difficult. She struggled with the rigorous routine, the unfamiliar food, and the constant surveillance of the nuns.
She had always been delicate as a child and when quite young had contracted cholera. She was plagued with asthma all her life. At least 3 times she received the last Sacraments. She was gradually struck by other ailments as well as asthma: among them, tuberculosis of the lung and a tubercular tumour on her right knee While bravely battling her physical ailments, Bernadette remained devoted to her religious vocation.
She took vows as a sister of Charity on April 8, 1866, and dedicated her life to serving God and the poor. However, her suffering continued. She endured excruciating pain from her illnesses, and her body became increasingly frail. One of the most significant challenges Bernadette faced during her time in Nevers was
the constant scrutiny and skepticism she endured from the public and the Church. Many people doubted the authenticity of her visions, and some even accused her of being a fraud. The pressure to prove the truth of her claims was immense, and it took a toll on her emotional well-being.
Despite the hardships she endured, Bernadette remained steadfast in her faith. She believed that her sufferings were a part of God’s plan for her life, and she accepted them with humility and resignation. She continued to pray and to perform acts of charity, even as her health declined.
Many have wondered why Bernadette never returned to Lourdes. Some people have speculated that she was afraid of the attention and adulation she would have received;
Others believe that she simply wanted to escape the turmoil and controversy that had surrounded her experiences there.
Bernadette always felt that she was the special messenger of Our Lady was made known and passed to all who listened and came in procession to Lourdes. “The Virgin used me as a broom to remove the dust. When the work is done, the broom is put behind the door again,” was a phrase she often used
Any desire she had to return to Lourdes she offered as part of her suffering for the salvation of souls. She also said, “I came here to hide myself.” In Lourdes, she was Bernadette, the visionary. In Nevers, she became Sister Marie Bernard. It was according to the hidden life of Nazareth, especially St. Joseph, that she would live the remainder of her life.
Bernadette’s decision to remain in Nevers was a testament to her strength of character and her commitment to her religious vocation. She lived a life of quiet suffering and selfless service, and her legacy continues to inspire people around the world. Here in the Saint Martin Apostolate, we are blessed to have a First Class Relic of St. Bernadette and a most unique copy of her incorruptible body. See page 26 for more information.
These lines come from a song written by Leon René and first recorded in May 1940. It was a tribute to the annual springtime return of the cliff swallows to Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California. This is a local tradition that has captured the imagination and hearts of people around the world. It is a celebration of nature, history and community deeply rooted in the traditions of the past.
Mission San Juan Capistrano was permanently founded by the Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra on November 1, 1776, as the seventh of 21 missions to be established in California by the Spanish, all supposedly separated by the distance of a day’s walk. The purpose was to expand the territorial boundaries of Spain and to spread Christianity to the native peoples of California.
Missions and presidios (forts) were the twin forces in the efforts to spread Spanish rule. Missions were to be agents of assimilation, convincing the native people to become Catholics and teaching them the fundamentals of Spanish agricultural and village life. The aim was to transform them into self-sustaining Spanish subjects and members of the colonial order. Presidios were to protect
the missions from hostile natives and also to protect the territory from potential incursion by Russia or other European powers.
Beginnings and Decline Mission San Juan Capistrano’s establishment in 1776 meant many changes and challenges for the indigenous Acjachemen. The Spanish people brought with them new types of technology, clothing, food, animals and ideas. The mis- sionaries encouraged the Acjachemen to learn about the Catholic faith and be baptized to join the Mission.
However, officially joining the Mission meant the Ac-jachemen had to transform almost everything about their life. They were required to change their culture, language, religion, work, clothing, food and even their daily schedule. By 1806, Mission San
Juan Capistrano had a population of over 1,000 people, over 10,000 herd of cattle, and a completed architectural gem, the Great Stone Church. Records from 1811 reveal a prosperous year, with the Mission producing many tons of wheat, barley, corn and beans, and thousands of head of cattle, sheep and horses.
However, after 1812, the mission began to decline. Many factors were responsible, including the earthquake in December of that year, which caused the Great Stone Church to collapse; the decline in birth rate; the increasing mortality rate of the population due to dis- ease and the inability of the Spanish government to adequately protect and supply the Mission with Mission San Juan Capistrano, California, 1806.
needed goods. By 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain which brought a new era to San Juan Capistrano. By 1834, the Mexican government decided to end the mission system entirely. A Secularization Act was passed in 1833 to divest Mission lands.
Instead of going to Indians as envisioned, land grants more often went to political appointees. These land- holdings began the Rancho system of large ranches owned by a few powerful men and families.
Governor Pio Pico even sold the Mission itself at auction to his brother-in-law for $710, when it was valued to be more than $454,000. For the next 20 years, the Mission was a private ranch property- ty of the Foster family.
Revival
The President of America, James K Polk, was a radical expansionist, believing in the divine duty of Americans to expand further westward. This led to the Mexican-American War in 1848, which the United States won. Following their victory the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded a gigantic region of the west coast to America, include California, Nevada, Utah, and most of New Mexico in exchange for a nominal payment.
With the Gold Rush beginning and millions of Americans moving to California, Mission San Juan Capistrano would see another great change. Only a few years after acquiring the territory of California, the United States declared it a state in 1850
Many Californian dioceses and parishioners wanted the government to have mission buildings and lands returned to the Church. The new state’s Catholic bishop, Joseph Alemany, petitioned the U.S. government on the topic. A number of people had expressed sadness at the state of the missions.
Some mission buildings had been turned into stores, bars, inns, or even stables. Most were falling apart and abandoned. In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln responded- ed to the petitioners by giving the missions back to the Catholic Church.
The Legend Of The Swallows
Mission San Juan Capistrano is located near two rivers which made it an ideal spot for swallows to nest because of the abundance of insects on which they feed. These birds are about five inches long, dark brown except for a white forehead and orange-red cheeks. They make mud nests, stuck against a cliff or wall, usually in colonies The swallows have long considered San Juan Capistrano their home. Every year, thousands of the birds have made their way from wintering grounds in Goya, Argentina, to the mission to nest under the eaves and archways of the historic building – a 6,000-mile one-way journey.
In his book Capistrano Nights, Father John O’Sullivan, Pastor of Mission San Juan Capistrano (1910 -1933) tells the story of how the swallows came to call the Mission home.
One day, while walking through town, Father O’Sullivan saw a shopkeeper, broomstick in hand, knocking down the conically shaped mud swallow nests that were under the eaves of his shop. “What in the world are you doing?” the priest asked. “These dirty birds are a nuisance, and I am getting rid of them!” the shopkeeper replied.
“But where can they go?” “I don’t know, and I don’t care…but they have no business here destroying my property.” Father O’Sullivan then said, “Come on, swallows, I’ll give you shelter. Come to the Mission. There is room enough there for all.” This act of kindness sparked a lasting relationship between the swallows and the Mission, marking the beginning of an annual celebration that would grow to attract attention far beyond the local community.
Each year, around March 19, the Feast of St Joseph, swallows return to the Mission. Visitors began to come to San Juan Capistrano to witness this from the early 1930s.
Bells are rung and there is a fiesta and Parade. This celebration is more than just an ornithological- cal event; it is something deeply embedded in the cultural fibre of the community symbol izing hope, the renewal of Spring and the enduring bond between humans and the natural world.
The Cloister Garden
Frater Fiachra
Chrysanthemum
The Chrysanthemum, the queen of Autumn Flowers, is called after the Greek prefix “Chrys”, signifying golden, referring to its original colour and “anthemion”, which means blossom.
A Native of Japan, where the flower symbolised the radiant sun, the Japanese consider the orderly unfolding of the chrysanthemum’s petals to represent perfection, and Confucius even suggested they be used as an object of meditation because of their beauty. The chrysanthemum- mum blooms in bright colours during chilly autumn, a time
when most flowers wither. Facing coldness and a tough environment, it blooms splendidly without attempting to compete with other flowers. This unique aspect of the chrysanthemum makes it a symbol of strong vitality and tenacity in the eyes of gardeners. For many of us, the Chrysanthemum symbolises death due to its use in floral tributes at funerals. However, the blooms will survive for up to two weeks if kept in a vase, so perhaps we could adopt the flower as a patron of longevity rather than the END.
A German legend tells about the origin of the white chrysanthemum. One cold, snowy Christmas Eve in Germany’s Black Forest, a peasant family was sitting down to a meagre supper when they heard wailing. At first, they thought it was the wind, but after hearing the
sound repeatedly, they opened the door and found a beggar. The poor man was blue with cold. They took him in, wrapped him in blankets, and shared their food. Afterwards, the blankets were shed, revealing a man in shining white clothing with a halo around his head. He explained that he was the Christ child and left. The next morning, outside the door where he had stood, were two white chrysanthemums.
Chrysanthemums or Mums are hardy plants well suited to Irish gardens and available in many colours from September. They enjoy the sun and will brighten up any border in these darker days. Cut the blooms freely and feed yearly, and they will grow on your head!
All Saints
Fr. John Harris OP
What do you say to a young Church? Was it because he wanted a lady in her early twenties who had given up the practice of the faith? That was the situation I faced when a friend of mine asked me to speak with her daughter who had given up going to Mass. We talked around the subject, but eventually I asked her directly why this had happened. Her answer was simple if somewhat surprising. She told me she had given up going to Mass because she couldn’t be Pope.
I asked her she had ever wondered why Jesus had founded the Church to make us all Popes, chief executives, powerful, successful, or was the highest calling in the Church to be saints? She laughed rather nervously at the suggestion that Christ founded his Church in order to make us saints.
And yet this is not simply a suggestion it is the deepest reality of the Church. Everything about the Church is at the service of this high calling, holiness. In his letters to the early Church St. Paul often refers to the members as saints. The great cry of Vatican II
was the universal call to holiness. The Pope is only Pope in order to assist each of us to become true Christians, therefore he is “the servant of the servants of God”. The sacraments are all celebrated in the Church so that the life of God can flow freely into our lives and transform them.
Jesus, the Lord, tells us in St. John’s Gospel that he came that we may have life and have it to the full. This life he offers is to share in his life with his Father, to be part of the embrace of the Most Blessed Trinity.
This calling is not simply something that has to wait for the future when we are dead; now is the time to take our Christian vocation seriously. Now is the time to live our close friendship with Christ, a friendship which will achieve its true fulfilment only in heaven.
In his letter to the Church, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI tells us that the true Christian is one whose heart Christ has con- quered with his love. So, in our prayer-life, which is basically our inner friendship with God, and in all we say and do we should be open to the activity of God’s grace in our lives.
We should allow his love to possess us. His love for us must penetrate all aspects of who we are. We allow his love to conquer us when we live the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity daily.
Living Them Out In his Encyclical, the Pope tells us how it is we live these theological virtues. He teaches us that Hope is practiced through the virtue of patience, which continues to do good even in the face of apparent failure and when we accept God’s mystery and trust him even at times of darkness.
When we live by Faith, we live by the victorious certainty that God truly loves us and has given us his Son. Thus, our impatience and doubts are transformed into the sure hope that God holds the world in his hands and that in spite of all the darkness which surrounds us God will ultimately triumph in glory.
Mary Our Example
This faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross gives rise to love. This awareness that we are loved by God allows us to love in our turn. “The love of Christ urges us on”, by our accepting of his love for us and by filling our days with acts of love for him. Love is possible and we are able to practice it because we are created in the image of God, who is love.
Towards the end of his encyclical the Pope presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as the true model of Christianity and thus of how to be a saint since she is the mirror of all holiness. The Blessed Virgin’s
whole life was one which left space for God. Mary is a woman of hope because she believes in God’s promise and waits for God to fulfil his promise. She never doubts God, even at the foot of the Cross.
Mary is a woman who loves because she is so at one with God and so open to his will in her life. We see her love in the quiet ges- tures in the story of Christmas, in her delicacy in coping with the cri- sis at the wedding feast of Cana, at her standing faithfully beneath the Cross as her beloved son dies and finally as she gathers the Apostles around her as they prayerfully await the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Making It Real
This also is our Christian calling to live in love the sure hope of God’s Truth. This can only happen by our meeting the person of Jesus. As the Pope teaches us, “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a deci- sive direction”.
This is the real vocation of a Christian. Where do we meet him? We meet the true Jesus in the Bible, in the prayer-filled reception of the sacraments, and in the love we have for one another in the community of the Church.
The young lady laughed rather nervously because she thought that to be a saint was beyond her and that it was meant only for the few special people. But surely this can not be true. To be a saint is to know Christ and to feel his love in our lives. Is that not what we all desire? Have you not at times felt the presence of the Risen Lord in your life? To constantly live in the presence of the Lord is to be a saint. This is the Christian struggle as we try to allow the Risen presence of the Lord to be ever more active in our lives.
So, as you celebrate the Feast of All Saints, don’t see them as a group apart from yourself. You are meant to be one of them. The Church by honouring them, reminds us that we are to be with them in heaven. Now is the time of grace for you to receive Christ into your life, by receiving him in the sacraments, listening to him in his Word, being with him in prayer and loving him in your neighbour.
Mary, Mother Of Consolation
Dom Aelred Magee Ocso
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. So St Paul begins his Second Letter to the Corinthians- ans, a letter which is characterised by the portrait of the human person as fragile, and by means of those cracks of fragility, turned towards and receiving from the inestimable fountain of the Father’s loving compassion.
This knowledge from experience which St Paul offers also points us to Mary and her role as the gateway to the Father’s con- consolation in the gift of the Spirit, bond of love between the Father and Son. The most striking feature of God’s relationship to his people in the Old Testament is one of a Comforter. We recall the words
of Second Isaiah, which support us as a refrain through our Advent journey: ‘Console my people, console them (Isaiah 40:1). And later, in words which Christ him- self will use about himself and his mission: ‘The Lord has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken’ (Isaiah 61:1-3). Mary, as a true daughter of Israel, is recipient of this comfort which God offers, just by being herself. But as Mother of Christ and chosen vessel of God’s election, she becomes the mirror of God’s consolation in an altogether unique way.
The Preface assigned to this votive Mass shows us the way for our consideration of how Mary comes to be Mother of Consolation. It is evident that she learns through suffering how to understand and respond to the sufferings of her children. This is a life lesson which we would all do well to accept! Suffering is a
pathway to compassion for our brothers and sisters – its mystery goes beyond the physical, mental, psychological, social. Precisely because it addresses and accompanies and marks the human person and the societies to which the human person belongs, so suffering is intimately and inseparably tied to the mystery of personhood, and has for itself the quality of mystery. We cannot, even if we most earnestly desire, come to know the depth of the mystery of suffering in our lives and the lives of others. And yet, it is never far from our shared experience.
Faith And Trust Unfold
Is this the starting point for Mary? The moment of her assent to God’s will and acceptance of the mystery of the Incarnation cannot have been a moment of complete understanding on her part! The gift of her Child, and the mission of her Child, is entirely the Father’s will for the consolation
The Life Of Saint Martin
Martin made regular visits to Limatambo, and one morning, as he was about 2 miles away, he saw 3 ragged little children playing in the roadside. They were Africans whose parents probably lived in the mud huts that studded the vast plains of Limatambo like mushrooms. Martin, who had intended to take a break and partake of the bread and fruit he had packed before leaving the convent, could see how thin they were and said, “I have some food here. Would you like to have some with me?” Overjoyed, they assented and the 4 sat down under an old palm tree that lifted its dusty green arms into the brilliant sunshine.
The children, Pedro, Maria, and Clara, were very hungry, and Martin pretended he had no appetite after all and urged them to eat everything themselves. Six-year-old Maria said, “You are very kind, Martin, but why are you wearing clothes made out of white wool?” “Because I am a Dominican, Maria.” “What’s that?” Martin smiled into the dark eyes, looking up into his own. “A Dominican, Maria? Why, a Dominican is a person who gives his life to God so he may help himself and others to go to Heaven.” The Dominicans are a great religious family founded by St Dominic, a wonderful man who loved God and little children too. Tell me, do you know anything about him?” Pedro and the girls shook their heads. “Tell us about him”, they begged. “And about God too, Martin. We like to hear stories so much!” After this, during the rest of his stay Martin gathered these little ones together each day with other children and passed many happy hours telling them the thrilling sto- ries of the Gospels.
Green Fingers
When Martin was finished with Limatambo, he would occupy his time with his own special branch of horticulture, the growing of shrubs and trees – the plants for medicinal purposes, and the trees for their fruit. He had more than the proverbial ‘green thumb’: God blessed his plantings with miraculous growth. Many who worked with Martin in the gardens and fields, like Brother Laureano de los Santos, would later testify under oath to these happenings at the Apostolic Process.
The principal garden plant utilized by Martin was camomile, whose leaves and bitter aromatic flowers were used to make stimulating tonics and medicinal poultices. Powdered rosemary, alfalfa tops, and the heavily scented rue, hierba gracia, were first imported then afterwards planted, but the best results were obtained from the camomile plant. This herb would grow almost anywhere in the fertile soil of that land; Martin planted it profusely: on the farm, in the monastery garden, and along the roadsides where it would be available to the poor for their sick.
One time when Martin asked Juan Vasquez Parra to help him plant the camomile in a cow pasture on the farm Juan protested, “But Brother Martin,” he said, “it will be useless for us to plant it. When the camomile grows, the cows will eat the flowers and trample the plants!” “Juan, please do not fret: replied Martin, “I will tell the cows they must not go near the plants!”
Another time a foreman consulted with Martin in Juan’s presence. “Brother Martin,” he said “when the workmen have finished sowing the fields, do you not think it would be a good spot in which to plant an olive grove?” “Yes”, answered Martin at once, “It is a good place for trees. We do not have to wait for the workmen to finish. We will plant them tomorrow.
Martin and his helpers planted the required number of tree shoots the next day. On the following day, to the amazement of the planters who were still sowing grain by hand, the shoots were already sprouting. These same workers also saw a greater growth when Martin cut off a branch of a fig tree and planted it at the top of a hill. Two weeks later the branch was a full-grown tree and in bud!
MATTERS MEDICAL: Survival
Fr Christopher Vincent Gault op
It is a common enough occurrence to witness a flock of seagulls descending on some scraps of food discarded onto the ground. The event can be quite dramatic, with each bird swooping down at the first hint of anything which may be grabbed, and even forcefully (sometimes viciously) attacking each other. Seagulls, of course, are not rational and therefore cannot be held morally accountable for their actions in the same way a human being can.
However, their frantic hurry to swipe food from unsuspecting hands indicates their struggle for survival. They do not think twice if they see a stray scrap falling to the ground: they simply go for it. And since they are not rational, we know that they are not reflecting on whether their behaviour is right or wrong, Therefore, it must be the case that each bird has had an instinctual desire to survive imprinted on their very being. If this were not done by God, then why would the birds behave this way?
Human beings have this instinct also. A famously holy Dominican was visited by one of the brethren as he lay dying. This well-meaning brother consoled him by saying he was fortunate to be going to meet the Lord. The holy Dominican responded, “Life is sweet, brother”.
Even with the comfort of faith, we find it difficult to let go of this life.
It is natural for us to seek to survive and thrive in our earthly lives, since our own desire to do so has been given to us by God, just as with those seagulls. Indeed, we see many instances of how heroically people can behave when existence is threatened.
The faith teaches us that such heroic behaviour is good and noble, but that human beings are capable of even greater acts when their spiritual lives (or those of others) are threatened. The martyrs give witness that there is a greater world beyond the earthly, where we are called to live with God forever.
Though our drive to survive is implanted by God, the more we progress in the spiritual life, our drive to become perfect (in love) overtakes this. Far from despising our earthly lives, we instead seek to let the Lord transform them by His grace into true life, that lived with Him in eternity.
Saint Martin Replies
MONAGHAN I have to thank St Martin for his help and for sorting everything out on my behalf. I had a biopsy taken from a lump on my nose and I prayed that all would come back clear which it did.
ANON I am writing to say many thanks to St Martin for the support he has given us throughout this year. Our son had turned to drinking at the weekends, while under strain from work. He and his girlfriend broke up and that combined with the pressure of the job resulted in him having to take sick leave. With the intercession of St Martin and the family’s support he was able to find a job better suited to him and he has not had a drink for a year which we were delighted to celebrate. His relationship did not resume but he realised that it was part of the problem. I will continue to pray to St Martin, as will my family. I love reading your magazine and pass it on to others.
GALWAYI would like to thank St Martin for helping me through a difficult time last year. I had a very bad fall and broke my wrist. It was a miracle that I did not sustain a serious head injury. I was in agony and was told I had to have surgery; a metal plate inserted in my hand to allow more flexibility. I was very nervous and anxious about what lay ahead. Thank God the procedure was a success. I had a long road afterwards with physiotherapy and trips to the consultant. However, St Martin was there for me. He is a great saint, and my mother is devoted to him.
ANON
Dear St Martin, I wish to thank you for your intercession with regard to an almost impossible favour received recently regarding nursing care and financial help. Without your help I do not know what would have happened. I am very grateful also for the fact that my grandson did so well in his exams.
GALWAY Please publish my sincere thanks to St Martin for his intercession regarding so many favours received, including good health results and work for my son. St Martin never lets me down. He is my best friend, and I pray to him every day. I love the magazine.
NORTHERN IRELAND Many thanks to St Martin for all his help over the years and there are so many to mention. Therse have been recent answers to prayers, including a new baby in the family and help with an illness. I am presently waiting on an answer to something which will I know take a while but am sure will be sorted when the time is right.
DUBLIN I was staying with a friend in the UK and on the day I was due to fly home there was no trace of my purse. We searched all over the rooms and in every bag. I was in a terrible panic and asked St Martin to intervene to help me. Then suddenly I caught sight of it sticking out from beneath the wardrobe. Had it been any further underneath, we would never have found it. Thank you St Martin.
CORK Every opportunity I have I sing the praises of St Martin. I say his Novena each morning and night and I get the magazine each month. I am writing in thanks for good results (mammogram) for a sister- in-law, and for resolving the fol- lowing for me: a lawnmower that would not start, a water leak, mice in my attic, bad reaction to a wasp sting and getting a place on a Course which I had never expected. My message is that St Martin is the one to turn to for he never fails.
CHESHIRE, UK Will you please publish my thanks to St Martin and St Jude. In June my great-nephew was informed that he would be made redundant in July because his employers were ceasing to do business. I prayed and prayed to both saints for their intercession and was delighted when the company who took over agreed to keep him on. I am so grateful that they interceded for this favour.
CORK I would like to give sincere and heartfelt thanks our Blessed Mother, St Martin and St Faustina for looking after my son. I was praying earnestly for him to find suitable employment and my prayers were answered. Against great odds, he found a lovely job in a very suitable location, and he is doing well truly an answer to prayer. Thank you, St Martin. I am so grateful for this intercession.
LIMERICK I would like to thank the Sacred Heart, Our Lady and St Martin and all the saints I pray to for their intercession when my husband was sick. I am also grateful that all went well for my son’s wedding. LIVERPOOL, UK I prayed to St Martin because I was very worried about my son who was unhappy in
school and also finding the learning aspect of things difficult. I made a Novena to St Martin and shortly afterwards, we found out that he has dyscalculia. There is more understanding of this condition now and we have been able to get him help. The change in him is miraculous and I am most grateful to St Martin for his intercession.