Chasing Shadows

Chasing Shadows

“My Lord God” he prayed “I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.”

About 400 years before Jesus  was born, the Greek philosopher Plato, told a story about a group of people who spent their whole lives imprisoned in a cave. They were chained together, facing the wall of the cave, and the wall was the only thing they’d ever seen. The light outside the entrance threw some light on to the cave’s back wall. Whenever people walked between the light and the cave entrance, their shadows appeared on the back wall of the cave. That was all the prisoners had ever seen moving shadows. They presumed that the shadows were real people, and there was nothing more to be seen.

Then, one day one of the prisoners broke free from his chains, and staggered out into the sunlight. To his amazement he saw the real world for the first time. He saw it in three dimensions and in living colour, the real people, whose shadows he’d been watching on the wall for years. Over- joyed, he returned to the cave to share with his friends the news that the real world was a lot bigger, and more wonderful, than they’d imagined. But they would- n’t believe him they insisted they’d already seen all there was to be seen. They stayed in their chains and refused to venture out into the light, and eventually, they died in their prison, looking at shadows, and calling them real. That’s a sad ending to a story that should have ended happily with everyone throwing off their chains and walking into the light. Is the story true? All stories are true. Some are made up!

True or False?

There are no right answers to a wrong question. If we ask the wrong questions we never get the right answers. The right questions, in this instance is not, whether Plato’s story is true, but what does it mean? And who am I in Plato’s story? Often we are like prisoners in the cave, chasing shadows instead of living in the real world. We claim to seek the truth that sets us free but often what we chase is a poor reflection of the real thing.

Fear Factor

The truth that sets us free is often the truth we do not wish to hear because it disturbs our peace of mind. We are afraid it might cost too much; we fear we might have to act on it. Like the prisoners in the cave, we settle for what is
less, what is a poor reflection of the real thing. Either we over- come fear, or fear overcomes us.

Lesson for the Learning

Fr Rose, a character in Maeve Binchy’s book, Circle of Friends, is looking sternly over his glasses and saying, “If we all understood the way the universe was run, what would there be left for God to tell us on the last day?” So much depends on the God we believe in. When it comes to God none of us is short of an opinion. Whatever we think, someone else thinks differently. The atheist in the Victorian cartoon declared “I did not believe in God until I discovered that I was he.” Perhaps we can learn from Garfield the Cat. Garfield had two theological principles: “There is a God” and “I, Garfield, am not he.” The great mystic Meister Eckhart cried out, “I pray that God will rid me of my false gods.”

A God too Small

As humans we find it next to impossible to break out of a human way of thinking. When we play God the result is always the same confusion and chaos. God is mystery not puzzle. A puzzle has a solution. If we have the right words we can solve the crossword.

Paschal, the great philosopher and poet wrote: “God made man in his image and man returned the compliment.” When we make God in our image, God becomes one of us, with the same limited vision of life, with the same ideas and values, with the same hang- ups and idiosyncrasies. God did not intend us to be little gods. We are much better being human beings with our frailties and flaws, limitations and imperfec- tions. We do well to heed the warning of the inspired writer, “They carry around their false gods and pray to a God who cannot save them,” (Psalm 94).

Prayer for Enlightenment

The Trappist contemplative monk, Thomas Merton, is very honest about his uncertainties but emphasises, that the uncertainties are within and about himself, not God. For him God is the ultimate reality, behind and beyond all our questions and doubts. “My Lord God” he prayed “I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will, does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from your desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost, and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

Question Box

Question 1.  When was Christmas first celebrated?

Answer:

Christmas was first celebrated on 25 December in the 4th century in the time of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. Just a few years later, Pope Julius I declared that Jesus’ birth would be celebrated on that day every year.

Question 2.  We are being asked by the children what colour Jesus was. Can you give me a definite answer?

Answer:

We do not know what Jesus looked like. We can presume he looked like the young men of Palestine today. He would probably be olive skinned on the darker side. Angels are happily colour less. Most images and pictures for centuries came to us from Europe, especially from Italian artists, and so we got the Holy Family and saints with the complexions and sometimes the garments that the artists knew. The only colours the Lord will look for in us are fidelity, humility, faith and love. May God bless you and your family.

Question 3.

What is the meaning of the word Covenant? I often hear it in Church and I am never too sure of the precise meaning of it.

Answer:

The word Covenant in the Bible means a pact or agreement or an alliance of friendship between God and His people. God made a covenant with Moses and the 10 commandments sumarised the corresponding duties of the peo- ple of Israel. God agreed to be their God, to care for them. The people’s part of the agreement was to accept and keep the 10 commandments. When Jesus the son of God came into our world, He made a new covenant (agreement) with all people. He sealed this covenant (agree- ment) with His blood by dying for us on the cross. He loves us and cares for us and He asks us that we, for our part, believe in Him and make Him and His teaching the guiding force of our lives.

Question 4. Why is St. Stephen’s Day called Boxing Day?

Answer:

There is no clear answer to this question. There are a few different explanations given by historians. One plausible ans-wer is that because servants of wealthy families had to work on Christmas, they were given the day after Christmas as a holiday and on the morning of that day their employers gave them boxes of food or other gifts.

Another theory is that the “poor box” kept in churches, in which parishioners placed coins as alms for the poor, was opened on this day and the contents were given to the poor.

Question 5. Why do accounts in the Gospels differ in some details?

Answer:

The Church of those early Christians was teaching and preaching the word of God before the Gospels were written. The Gospels are inspired summaries of Christ’s teachings. Some people, in any event, remember details in different ways and when we narate a happening (quite truthfully) any four or five of us in 2017 would differ in emphasis. Even though they were inspired, the Evangelists were real human beings writing in a human way and getting information from other friends and disciples of Jesus. If all the accounts were the same word for word one might doubt the honesty of the reporters. You ask about a scripture class. Check with your parish. They may have one or, if not, should be able to tell you where you will be able to find one.

No sooner the trick or treaters of Halloween stopped ketcking at the door, than its time to prepare for that most important Christian celebration Christmas.

During the Christmas season one of the most common tradi- tions is the singing of Christmas carols, whether it is with family and friends or as a group singing around the neighbourhood. It is one of the oldest folk traditions and dates back to the time of the beginnings of Christianity and the Christmas season.

Songs of Praise and Joy

The singing of carols did not originate with Christianity, but with pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced around stone circles (The word carol originally meant circledance, or song of praise and joy). The Winter Solstice celebration generally took place around the twenty-second of December. It was this time of the year that Christians claimed for their own celebration of the birth of Christ and early Christians replaced the songs with Christian ones.

There’s no way of definitively proving what the first Christmas carol was; however, there are historical records of songs written specifically for Christmas celebrations from as early as around 100 AD. These Christmas songs were primarily written in Latin, and were not called carols, but hymns, and were used as musical prayers in church to commemorate the nativity, or birth of Jesus Christ.

Many sources say that the first of these was sung around AD 129, when Telesphorus, the Bishop of Rome at that time, urged his people to sing Angels Hymn to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Another early Christmas hymn was written by Comas of Jerusalem in AD 760 for the Greek Orthodox Church. Soon many composers all over Europe started to write Christmas hymns. However, they were all written and sung in Latin, a language that most ordinary people couldn’t understand.

This changed in 1223, when St. Francis of Assisi started his Nativity Plays in Italy. The people in the plays sang songs or ‘canticles’ that told the story during the plays. Sometimes, the choruses of these songs were in Latin; but normally they were all in a language that the people watching the play could understand. Until this time, it was only church leaders who could sing them, but now the congregation was urged to join.

The Medieval Carol

During the 1300s, Christmas carols were primarily deeply spiritual songs about the Christ child and the Virgin Mary and were solemn, religious compositions. It was during the 1400s in Renaissance Italy that lighter, more joyous Christmas songs were introduced and started to sound more like the carols we know.

It is thought that the first people to sing Christmas songs or carols in public places or going from house to house, (carollers) were wandering minstrels who went from castles to hamlets at Christmas time performing them. Singing these lighter carols spread to France, Spain, Germany, Britain and other European countries becoming a popular part of the celebration of Christmas. However, in the 1600s, the Protestant Reformation gained prominence and Christmas carols were seen as inappropriate for the solemnity of the church. In Britain carolling and other Christmas celebrations were abruptly stopped in 1647 when Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans came to power. From 1649 to 1660, carols were Institution of the Crib at Greccio by Giotto di Bondon (c. 1270-1337) banned, but people still sang them in secret, and the music survived

Revival

By the 1700s, new freedoms were coming to the common people, including the right to worship as they chose, and to sing music how, when and where they pleased. The joy of music filled England once again, and spread throughout Europe (and eventually to the New World). Old and new songs of Christmas trees and holly wreaths; presents and stockings were freely celebrated, and elaborated upon.

However, although some carols were written and sung in the 1700s’, it wasn’t until the Victorian era in England in the 1800s, that singing Christmas Carols became as popular as it is now.

During that period books were published containing collections of Christmas songs, old and new. People began singing on the streets, in homes and from door to door. Carol services were created in the churches, and carolling became a Christmas ritual, not only in Europe, but also in America.

Modern Christmas Carols

Hundreds of Christmas carols have since been penned with some ‘golden oldies’ still popular today. Most carols in use now are less than 200 years old. Only a handful, such as I Saw Three Ships, or The Holly and the Ivy, remind us of more ancient yuletides. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is probably one of the oldest that is still very popular today. While the standard lyrics come from the nineteenth century, variations on the song go back to at least the 1650s. A century later, in 1739, we have the first published version of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, with lyrics by Charles Wesley, and Music by Felix Mendelssohn.

O Come, All Ye Faithful (originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles) is a Christmas Carol which has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711-1786), John Reading (1645-1692) and King John IV of Portugal (1604-1656), with the earliest manuscript of the hymn bearing his name, located in the library of the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa in Portugal. The English translation of O Come, All Ye Faithful by the English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley, written in 1841, is still widespread in most English speaking countries today.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is believed to have its roots in eighteenth-century England, as a memory and forfeit game sung by British children. One theory, however, believes that the carol was a catechism song for Catholics to learn “the tenets of their faith,”.

One of the most beloved carols sung today is Silent Night, written by a young priest from Oberndorf in Austria, Father Joseph Mohr. He had written the lyrics of the song Stille Nacht in 1816; but the melody composed by Franz Xaver Gruber- a schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf wasn’t added until 1818. They performed the new carol together for the first time during mass on Christmas Eve, 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf.

By the mid-1800s, a number of the Christmas carols we know and sing today start to appear such as; Good King Wenceslas (1847); We Three Kings of Orient Are (1863) and Away in a Manger (1885). However, many of today’s most popular Christmas carols are less than 70 years old; Winter Wonderland (1934), White Christmas (1942), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1949) and Joy to the World (1956) to name but a few.

Today, Christmas carols are not only to be heard in Christian homes and churches, but also from elevators and skate parks, shopping malls, on street corners, or even outside your front door.

No matter what style of music a person may choose to enjoy the rest of the year, Christmas Carols break through musical preferences and barriers, to be universally recognised as the most beloved music of all people; of all times. Happy Christmas

Earthquake! Nature’s Destructive Power

Bill McStay

In March 2011 an earthquake took place in the Japanese Sea in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It originated forty three miles off the Japanese coast, caused an upheaval in the sea, and created a moving wall of water called a tsunami, which left many dead, and much destruction in its wake. This natural disaster was reckoned to have caused the worst havoc in the region since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima which ended World War Two in 1945.

No part of the earth is earth- quake free, with as many as sixty large cities around the world considered to be at risk. Northern Europe is reckoned as the region of least risk, though minor damage was caused to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in 1580, and to the Westminster Houses of Parliament in 1884. I have never heard of an earthquake in Ireland. They were known in pre Christian times, for ancient Greece believed they were signs of anger from Poseidon, god of the Sea, and there were reliable reports of earth tremors in China in 780 BC. Shakespeare in the six teenth century knew about these convulsions of Nature, writing that “diseased Nature oftentimes breaks forth in strange eruptions.”

The major quake which devastated the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, happened on All Saints’ Day-1 November 1755. From the reports of horrified visitors, we know that the previous day was considered unusually warm for the season, and that a loud roaring sound came from the sea. Along the coast, the expected high tide was two hours late, and a thick fog rolled in from the Atlantic. It was noticed as well that animals became unusually agitated.

Shortly after nine in the morning of All Saints, buildings in the city shook in three separate tremors, which recurred throughout the day.

Churches and other large buildings collapsed. Fires broke out in different quarters of the capital. A tsunami raced up the River Tagus Estuary, with the wall of water reaching a height of forty feet. It was estimated that Lisbon lost 30- 40 thousand of its inhabitants. Some compared the destruction to that of the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and saw it as waves in the earth’s surface set up by shift- ing masses of rock miles below the surface. This study marked the beginning of seismology the scientific study of the origin and effects of internal earth movements.

San Andreas Fault

Modern investigation has confirmed that the crust of the earth is made up of seven enormous “tec- tonic plates” of rock, some as thick as sixty miles. Scientists have named them, for example, the North American, Eurasian, and Antarctic Plates. Where these plates meet, are called “faults”, and it is along these weaknesses, or fault lines, that earthquakes occur when the plates collide. The best known fault in the world is the San Andreas Fault in California, a clearly visible scar running for miles across the landscape.

As to the belief that animals can detect approaching earth tremors, seismologists accept that this seems to be the case, though they cannot fully explain why. They note the creatures’ unease before tremors occur, such as in Portugal in 1755, where wild birds flew into houses, and in Liaoning Province, China, in 1975, where mice deserted their underground nests before the earth- quake struck. Recognising that human beings in similar circumstances would instinctively wish to make for safety outdoors, seismologists firmly declare they would be wrong to do so. They point out that in the 1975 Chinese quake, the safest place was underground. “Earthquakes don’t kill people, “they say, “buildings do.” This advice seems to be followed in Tokyo, the best prepared of all world cities. Conscious of their city’s vulnerability, the citizens regularly practise orderly evacuation drills from buildings, and are fully aware of the location of their nearest underground shelter.

Emmanuel: God Is With Us

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” Jn 1:14

There is a story about a good and upright man who thought that Christmas was about a lot of fool- ishness. He wasn’t a scrooge; he was a very kind and decent person. He treated people with respect, but he didn’t believe in all that stuff about an “incarnation”, which the church celebrated at Christmas. “I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer, “but I simply cannot understand the claim that God became Man. It just doesn’t make sense to me.” On Christmas Eve his wife and children went to mass at midnight, but he did not go, “I would feel like a hypocrite”, he said, “I’d much rather stay at home”. Shortly after they left it began to snow. He went to the window to watch it fall. “If we must have Christmas,” he thought, “then let it be a white one.” Then he sat down by the fire for warmth. A short while later while sitting on his armchair he heard a thudding sound on the window. It was quickly followed by another, and by another. It sounded as if someone was throwing snowballs at the window of the living room. He went to the door to investigate. There he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm, and in their desperate flight for shelter, had seen the light and flew into the window.

“I can’t let these little creatures lie there and freeze to death, but how can I help them?”

Then he remembered the barn where the children’s ponies were kept. It would provide a nice warm shelter for them. He put on his coat and made his way through the snow to the barn. There he put on the light but the birds wouldn’t come in. “Food will bring them,” he thought. He hurried back to the house and got some breadcrumbs. So he scattered a trail of bread crumbs all the way to the barn. But to his dismay, they ignored the breadcrumbs and grouped helplessly in the snow. Then he tried to shoo shoo them into the barn by walking around them and waying his arms at them. But they took fright and scattered in all directions. Then he said to him- self, “they find me a strange and terrifying creature. And I can’t think of any way to let them know that they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for only a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety.” Just at that moment the church bells began to ring. He stood silently as they rang out the glad tidings of Christmas “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

Then he sank to his knees in the snow, and looking at the terrified birds, he said, “now I understand why You, God, had to become one of us, he whispered, now I see why You had to do it.”

His Present is His Presence.

Yes God became flesh so that we might no longer consider God to be a strange and terrifying creature but a friend, father, mother, someone we can trust. God became one of us, in Jesus, so as to lead us to a safe place, to the shelter of his love, to a whole new sense of our worth and dignity, to a new
found freedom as children of God.

His present to us at Christmas is “his presence”. Becoming one of us was the highest compliment God could have given the human race. God took on human flesh so that we might know that it is ok to be human, with our strengths and weaknesses, with our abilities and disabilities, with our mixture of light and darkness, with our finitude and vulnerability. We’re ok! But more than that, it is a beautiful thing to be a human being. If it is ok for God then it is ok for us. God wants us to feel at home in our skin. We are more than grains of sand on the seashore; are more than specks of dust on the ground; we are precious sons and daughters of God.

The Wonder of our Humanity

Notice how God comes as a baby, in littleness, vulnerability and fragility. What we see in the baby Jesus is essential humanity, bare humanity, naked humanity, without any trimmings or wrapping paper. No power, no strength, no prestige- no achievements, nor accomplishments, nor influence. No lavish surroundings here, just the simplicity and starkness of the stable. God is reminding us that our true worth and dignity lies in our humanity; not in what we have, not prestige, nor status, but in who we are – precious sons and daughters of God. Christmas is a great levelling off, not by lowering us but by lifting us up, by raising us all to a true appreciation of our shared human worth and dignity. That is why Christmas is par- ticularly good news, great news, for the poor and lowly, those who are looked down on, or forgotten or marginalised in our world. No wonder the good news of the birth of Jesus was first announced to the lowly shepherds on the hill- side above Bethlehem. Oh, that our outreach and attention to the poor and vulnerable at Christmas were to become the hallmark of our Church, our country and our world, all year round!!

Emmanuel: God with us – always!

God became one of us in the weakness and fragility of a baby so that we might know that we are not alone in those places where we experience our littleness and limitations in sickness, in grief, in addictions, in darkness, in our fears and anxieties, our prisons, our vulnerability and pain. He comes among us as a baby to reveal to us, “I am with you; always with you no matter how difficult the circumstances you find yourself in; and I will bring you safely home”.

As the Irish poet and playwright Hugh Leonard once wrote: “God is with us all year round, but at Christmas he pops up and digs us in the ribs.”

All God’s Creatures

Francis MacNamara OP

Thousands of people come each year to visit the beautiful Moving Crib of St. Martin’s Apostolate. The Good News of the birth of Christ is presented vividly to eyes and heart. Many will notice the place of honour given to a stuffed dog, ‘Fred’, once the pet dog at the priory. Animals help us in many ways, enhance and enrich our lives and give us their loyalty and friendship. Dogs have been faithful friends down the ages. One writer remarked how a companion dog may cause us to walk much more among the parks and countryside and open wide our eyes and praise our Maker and Creator who loves all His creation.

‘All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things bright and wonderful, The good Lord loves them all.’

There is a moving example of the loyalty of dogs in the story of the Highland Scottish terrier ‘Grey Friars Bobby.’ The dog was deeply attached to an old shepherd. When this man died the little dog lived on or close to the grave for fifteen and a half years and was fed by local children. There is a special monument in Edinburgh to the faithful dog and the city conferred a special civic honour on ‘Grey Friars Bobby’ some years before his death.

Saint Martin would appeal to all not to give dogs or any animals as gifts to people or children who will not care for them or people who are unfit to care for them. All too often dogs and other ani- mals are cruelly abandoned and starve to death or eventually have to be put down. They are God’s creatures worthy as such of our love and care. We intercede with God for our friends the animals and their welfare. St. Martin help us always to love, respect and care for all pets and animals.

The Life Of Margaret Ball: An Open-Hearted Response To The Gospel

David Bracken BA, BD, MESL, MA

Ten of Dublin’s famous statues have been given voice by a team of well-known Irish writers and actors in an imaginative initia- tive called ‘Talking Statues’. Swipe a smartphone on a nearby plaque and take a call from James Joyce or Oscar Wilde telling the story of Dublin. The great and the good, they are all men, with the exception of winged Fidelity who sits on O’Connell’s plinth with her faithful dog. There are also two women, resting on a bench, in con- versation deep; the subject of a sculpture on Lower Liffey Street entitled, ‘Meeting Place’. The deficit is perhaps understandable when you consider how few living, breathing Dublin women are com- memorated in bronze or stone on the city’s streets, leaving aside the mythical Anna Livia or the fiction- al Molly Malone. Only four imme- diately come to mind: Veronica Guerin, in the gardens of Dublin Castle; Countess Markievicz, St Stephen’s Green and Tara Street; Catherine McAuley, Baggot Street and Margaret Ball, on the grounds of the Pro-Cathedral.

If statues could talk

Conall McCabe’s statue of Margaret Ball one of seventeen Irish martyrs beatified by St John Paul II in 1992 is a strong yet prayerful presence at the entrance to St Mary’s. If this statue could talk it would tell the story of a fearless woman of faith, a leader and protector of the local church and a Christian witness to the end. Margaret Ball (née Bermingham) was born in Skreen, County Meath about 1515. In 1530 she married a leading Dublin merchant, Bartholomew Ball who was city bailiff in 1541-2 and mayor of Dublin in 1553-4. Both the Ball and Bermingham families were supportive of the Catholic Reformation. Indeed the Berminghams of Corballis played a prominent role in opposing the Tudor administration in the Pale in the mid-sixteenth century.

A choice: conform or refuse to obey

The excommunication of Queen Elizabeth by Pope Pius V in February 1570 cast a thirty year long shadow on Ireland. The pos- sibility of a crusade against a heretical queen was an ever present reality. Indeed in July 1579 James Fitz- maurice landed in Kerry under such a ban- ner. Added to this, was the spiritual threat posed to the fledgling established religion by a church renewed following the Council of Trent. As Patrick Corish observes, people now had to choose in matters of faith, either to go along with the state religion or give their loyalty to a revitalized Catholic church. These choices were played out in individual families in sometimes very painful ways. Like his father before him, Margaret’s son Nicholas was mayor in 1582-3 and represented Dublin in the parliament of 1585. He lived and died a Catholic. However, her eldest son Walter, who also served as mayor for a term, conformed to the Protestant faith despite his mother’s pleadings and prayers.

An open house and an open heart like Lydia

Bartholomew Ball died in 1568 and Margaret’s home became an important centre for the recusant Catholic community in the Pale. She provided for the education of Catholic children, establishing a school in her house where the young people, ‘profited by becom- ing accomplished scholars… and very often heirs and followers of Christ’. It was at once a school- room, a house church and a refuge for Catholic clergy on the run. In a slightly later period, Joan Roche of New Ross and Anastasia Walsh established similar open houses for Catholic clergy and the poor. Margaret came to the attention of the authorities in the late 1570s and she was arrested in the company of a priest who was celebrating mass in her house and imprisoned for a short period. We are told that she ‘was released by money and with the aid of noble persons’. Margaret’s ministry echoes that of Lydia in first century Philippi who opened her house and her heart to the teaching of St Paul. As Acts 16:14 recounts, “The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message’.

Arrest and martyrdom at the hands of her son

In 1580 Walter Ball was elected mayor of the city of Dublin. A convinced Protestant, he was a promoter and benefactor of the newly established Trinity College and for his efforts was congratulated by Queen Elizabeth. He left monies in his will for the support of four scholars and two of his sons were among the College’s first students. Ciarán Brady suggests that out of embarrassment at his mother’s activities against the backdrop of conspiracy and rebellion against the Dublin government in 1580 – Walter had his mother arrested. She was dragged ignominiously through the streets of Dublin on a hurdle and thrown into jail where she languished for three years. Her death sometime in 1584 resulted from the poor conditions of her imprisonment. In addition to her statue on the corner of Marlborough Street and Cathedral Street there stands a second monument dedicated to her memory in the Dublin suburb of Santry, a chapel which was blessed and formally opened in the parish of Larkhill, Whitehall and Santry on 14 December 1994. The leadership provided by Cath- olic women such as Margaret Ball and the influence that they exer- cised within their respective religious communities in sixteenth century Ireland is revealing, recalling the church’s early Christian roots and perhaps a prophetic word for the future church in Ireland.

The Garden This Month

Deirdre Anglim

Purple osteospermum opens its petals on mild days. Primroses peep out from under the forsythia bush. Winter jasmine spills tiny yellow flowers along spindly stems at the wall.

Birds feast on bright berries of pyracantha. Cotoneaster now clothes the wall nearby, fully recovered from that severe pruning of a few winters ago. Snowberries have withered and died.

It is hard to leave the cosy kitchen and venture out to see what else is stirring. You want to maintain your garden and prepare it for spring planting. Wrap up warmly.Decide which essential jobs should be tackled and when you can do them.

Lift weeds from between those daffodil/tulip bulbs you planted during the last two months. Bend your knees. Plant those extra bulbs you found in the shed. Dig up the soil in beds, add compost if you have some. Frost will break down the clay. Check that any stakes/supports on climbers, shrubs and roses are secure. Tighten where necessary. Stormy days can wreak havoc on vulnerable plants.

Get someone to help you clear gutters and drainpipes of debris. Don’t take risks on wobbly ladders. Just in case this month brings icy weather buy a bag of road salt/sand to spread over the path/driveway. You don’t want to spend weeks on crutches, unable to go out into your own garden!

Ireland may experience snow this month. Be prepared to shake off the snow from tops of hedges/ shrubs to prevent branches breaking under the weight.

As for rainfall, well, that does happen here so gather rainwater in buckets, tubs, old barrels, to use later when water is in short supply. Do cover those containers when grandchildren are due to visit.

Mallow bushes have been cut back. Storm damage left huge branches strewn across the path up to the house. I miss the pink blossom. Luckily I had taken lots of cuttings which are rooting in pots in a sheltered part of the back yard.

I bought a white amaryllis bulb at a garden festival this summer. There was a magnificent display of similar plants in a vase nearby. I’m looking forward to my own glorious specimen whenever it decides to flower.

Alexander Selkirk Monarch Of All He Surveyed

Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe written in 1719 is
based mainly on the experience of Alexander Selkirk who was cast away on an uninhabited island in the South Seas for four years and four months. Who was Selkirk and what brought about him being so heartlessly abandoned and marooned by his shipmates? Alexander Selkirk was born in 1676 at Largo, Scotland the son of a cobbler. In his twenties and against his father’s wishes he went to sea to begin a career as a buccaneer which he felt sure would bring him much wealth. In 1703 Selkirk was appointed master of the priva- teer ship Cinque Ports which left Kinsale, Ireland in September that year with the intention of its crew plundering French and Spanish ships off the coast of South America. Relations between Selkirk and the ship’s captain gradually developed into a state of bitter dis like for each other.

Challenged

Selkirk constantly ridiculed the captain’s ability particularly his lack ofleadership. Selkirk’s standing with the rest of the crew was also at a low ebb as a result of his constant quarrelling.

In August, 1704 the Cinque Ports anchored close to the desolate island of Juan Fernandez some 800 miles off the coast of Chile so that repairs to the ship could be carried out. Selkirk and the ship’s captain, Thomas Stradling constantly argued as to the ship’s capability to continue its voyage. Matters reached a peak when the captain gave the order to raise anchor. Selkirk made clear that he would not sail on an unseaworthy vessel. Captain Stradling ordered that Selkirk be given a firelock, some powder, bullets, tobacco, a hatchet, a knife and a bible before the Cinque Ports sailed leaving Selkirk on the unihabited island. As it turned out Selkirk was correct in relation to the Cinque Port’s condition. It sank shortly after leaving the island with few survivors.

Devoid of human contact was a challenge Selkirk tackled with skill and determination. During his years as a castaway he built two huts, killed wild goats for food and used their skins as clothes and bedding. He created fire by rubbing together stones and sticks of dry wood. He studied the Bible and began upon a routine of daily religious exercises which included singing psalms and reading the scriptures aloud to retain the use of speech. To distinguish the sabbath he kept a calendar. There were times however when he considered suicide. A dramatic change to his situation took place on 1st February, 1709 when two British ships sailed into Juan Fernandez for fresh water supplies. A landing party came across an un- recognised human, incoherent with emotion who spread his arms and said in a weak voice “Marooned”.

Brought back to London he told all and sundry about his time as a castaway before travelling to meet with his family and relatives in his native town of Largo. However the sea beckoned him and in 1720 he was enrolled as master’s mate on HMS Weymouth. The following year close to the coast of Guinea he contracted a fever and died on 13th December, 1721. He was buried at sea. He left behind two ladies who fought over his capital which amounted to be in the region of £800. Sophia Bruce claimed she married Alexander Selkirk in 1717 at Largo, Scotland. Frances Candies claimed she married Selkirk in 1720 at Plymouth. The court de- clared in favour of Frances Candies. In the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh there is a small cup, six inches high on display made from thin shells of a nut. It bears the inscription: ‘The cup of Alex- ander Selkirk whilst on Juan Fernandez”. Also in 1885 a bronze statue of Selkirk was erected on the site of his former home in Largo.

A beautiful feature of the city of Montevideo, Uruguay, is that the city lies along the bank of a river. There is a promenade of over 20 kms, where one can walk, or cycle, along the edge of the river, with several public parks along the way. About five years ago a group of lay people began to organize a public Rosary, on the 4th Saturday of January, in one of these parks. It was timed to coincide with sunset. From small beginnings the numbers grew. Last year an estimated 10,000 attended. This is something unusual in Uruguay where the Catholics are reserved in their religious expressions and practice their faith out of the public eye. A statue of Our Lady is carried through the crowd and as the light fails everyone lights their candle. The Archbishop, Cardinal Sturla, attends. The gathering is called “The Rosary of blessings for the Family’. Two years ago it was decided to request the City Council for permission to erect a statue to Our Lady on the spot. Many people supported the petition, including the Cardinal. Most people were taken by surprise by the storm which broke. For over a century all religious symbols are forbidden in public spaces. There is no cross over the graves of the Dominicans. The park is a public park owned by the City. All sorts of accusations were made against the Catholic Church, prejudices, resentments, fears which people believe were long since dead came to the surface. The matter was for the City Council to decide, Parliament had nothing to do with the case, yet there was a four hour heated debate on the subject. Political parties were divided. A former president of the country, an agnostic, went so far as to say that giving permission for the statue was equal to giving permission for an open air church in a public space. The Catholic Church was accused of looking for power in society and going against the laws of the country. Support came from other sectors, not all believers. The Chairperson of the City Council was in favour but after long debate it was voted down.

Statue to Voodoo goddess in public park

A strange feature of the incident is that, since 1992 there is a statue to the voodoo goddess of the sea, in a public park, facing the river. Her name is Lemanjá. The devotion was brought from Africa and is followed by people who practice Umbanda: an African cult that came to Uruguay through Brazil. They have no large temples but rather meet in their own homes. There is no organization, or institution. Groups can be seen on the beach singing, praying and baptizing in the river. Lemanjá’s feast day is February 2: the Catholic feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple, previously called the Purification of Our Lady. The Africans who came to South America adopted Catholic saints and appeared to have devotion to them but in fact they were worship- ping some god of their own. Thousands take part on the feast day. There are many African ritu- als. Little paper boats with lighted candles are pushed out into the river but most of all, offerings of jewellery are thrown into the water. She is considered to be very vain and wants lots of jewellery. So the question many people asked was: Why, if a statute to a voodoo goddess is permitted, why not a statue to Our Lady? Why is a statue to Confucius permitted, why not a statue to Our Lady? Or, why a monument to a famous footballer, and not a statue to Our Lady? Or, to Gandhi and not to Our Lady?

Devotion to Lemanjá is not backed up by any institution. The petition to erect a statue to Our Lady brings up the whole history of church and state in Uruguay. It touches the secularist nature of the state. It raises the question of how liberal and democratic Uruguay is. Offence was taken by the petition. Political nerves were touched. The Archbishop has expressed his sad- ness that Uruguay has not adopted a more tolerant, liberal, less fearful, attitude to religion. The matter is closed for now.

An Australian Hero

Gerry Breen

Father Matthew Gibney, who was born on 1st November, 1835, in Killeshandra, Co. Cavan, played a heroic role at the siege of Glenrowen, Victoria, which marked the final episode in the career of the legendary Australian bushranger Ned Kelly.

Kelly was subsequently hanged at Old Melbourne Jail following a number of years of extraordinary notoriety. He was only twenty five years old when he died, but this young outlaw in his home made armour is still one of the best known characters in Australian his tory and he and his gang are featured in numerous books, plays, films, paintings and ballads.

After studying for the priesthood in Ireland, Matthew Gibney was ordained in 1863 and arrived in Perth, Western Australia, later that year. He was a person of fine physique and tremendous energy and in 1873 he was appointed vicar-general to Bishop Martin Griver. In 1868, Dean Gibney had opened the Catholic Girls’ Orphanage in Perth and in 1871 the Clontarf Orphanage for Catholic boys at Subiaco.

Because of damage to the boys’ orphanage, Dean Gibney had set off for the eastern colonies to raise funds to rebuild the orphanage. In Victoria on 28th June, 1880, he was travelling by train from Benalla to Albury when he learned that Ned Kelly and his gang had been surrounded at Mrs. Ann Jones’s Glenrowan Hotel and were involved in a shoot out with the police. As soon as the train arrived at Glenrowan station, Dean Gibney left for the scene of the shooting.

His first thought was to reach the hotel and use his influence with the besieged outlaws to get them to surrender and avert further blood- shed. At this stage, Ned Kelly had moved out in front of the hotel, obviously feeling invincible in his heavy metal armour. He shouted defiance at the police, but his armour failed to protect him and he was shot in the foot, forearm, elbow and hand. After further shots were exchanged, Ned Kelly was captured by the police and taken to the railway station.

Dean Gibney tended the seriously wounded outlaw, heard his confession and administered the lastrites. Meanwhile, the siege of the hotel was still in progress. Dean Gibney was confident the outlaws would not open fire on a priest, but he was held back by the police, who didn’t share his confidence. They emphatically refused to allow him to place his life in jeopardy by entering the hotel.

The police decided to set the hotel on fire. It was a dramatic scene, and watching the smoke and flames pouring out, Dean Gibney, who was renowned for his fearlessness in ministering to his flock, could be restrained no longer.

Showing extraordinary bravery, he entered the fiercely burning hotel to minister to the remainder of the gang, only to find their dead bodies. The heat inside was almost unbearable and the roof was ready to collapse.

Dean Gibney just about managed to get out. He reported to the police that the outlaws were dead and that was the end of the siege.

The Newspaper’s most Dramatic he was closely associated with the Story

Not surprisingly, the news of the siege caused a sensation in Melbourne, and The Argus newspaper brought out a series of special editions to cover what was probably the most dramatic story the newspaper ever published. Ned Kelly recovered from his wounds, and stood trial at the Central Criminal Court in Melbourne. The jury took only thirty minutes to find Ned Kelly guilty of murder and he was sentenced to death. In a short time, his supporters managed to collect 60,000 signatures on a petition seeking his reprieve. On the day of his execution, 4,000 men, women and children assembled outside the goal. Before walking to the gallows, Kelly said there was no need to tie him, he would go quietly. However, they bound him up just the same. Apparently, he died with dignity.

Following the siege, Dean Gibney returned to Perth where he received a hero’s welcome. He became the third Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth, serving from 1886 until 1910.

During his episcopate, there was a huge expansion in the number of churches, primary schools, superior schools and other church related institutions. Bishop Gibney was a staunch friend of the aborigines in the North-West, at a time when they were being very badly treated, and political and social aspirations of his fellow Irishmen.

Sadly, his episcopate was marked by a number of poor investment decisions, and, as the debts of the diocese mounted, he was forced to resign as Bishop in May, 1910. He died of cancer on 22nd June, 1925. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Perth.

Saint Martin Replies

• Mayo: I want you to know that my dog was healed by St. Martin. He is ten years old and the poor thing was dying for days. When he was blessed with the relic he got up and walked and is now better than ever. Thank you for this miracle.
• Carlow: For as long as I can remember I have known and loved St. Martin. It is all down to the great devotion both of my parents had to him. He has been such a help to me and never once has he failed to intercede on my behalf; maybe not always the way I had requested but much better in the end. Thank you my dear St. Martin, you are my ‘Forever Friend’.
• Anon: Please publish my grateful thanks to St. Martin, Our Lady of Knock, Our Lady of Fatima, St Padre Pio, St. Bernadette and all the Saints for restoring our daughter to good health. And for all favours received over the years. Sacred Heart of Jesus we thank you especially for all your blessings.
• Cork: Please publish my long overdue thanks to St. Martin, the Sacred Heart and St. Pio for so many favours over the last forty five years. Most recently with a neck operation for cancer that I had to undergo and for looking after my son and daughter and wonderful grandchildren. for helping my husband who was ill at the same time as myself. St. Martin has always been there for us
• Derry: I want to say a Big Thank You to St. Martin for favours granted to me with regard to good health and money worries. I asked St. Martin to help me and he did. To all you people who need help turn to St Martin. He will not let you down.
• Clare: I want to thank St. Martin for his powerful intercession in bringing my two small cats safely home, and for all his other favours.
• Tipperary: I have been meaning to write this thanksgiving for a long time now for the birth of my daughter. My husband and I prayed daily to St Martin all the years prior to her birth. He did not let us down and she is our daily delight and has brightened our lives. Dear St Martin keep our dear daughter always in your loving care and keep your arms around us always.
• Cumbria: Please publish my sincere thanks to St. Martin, the Sacred Heart and Our Lady for all the favours I have received in the past, the most recent being a successful driving test and a job for my son. I am now praying for three medical matters which I know will be heard. Once again thank you for all your help.
• Galway: Dear St Martin, you are my best friend, you never let me down. I have asked you for many favours from health issues to challenges in life when I had to face many people and make decisions. Thank you so much for listening and being there for me. I love and trust you.
• Cork: My grateful thanks to St. Martin and the Sacred Heart and Our Blessed Lady for so many favours received over the past fifty years. I am presently praying for a relative who is in bad company but I trust St Martin will guide her in the right direction. He has already sorted problems that seemed impossible.
• Donegal: I wish to publish my sincere thanks to St. Martin for helping me and my family in so many ways. I prayed to him for help with exams, job seeking and many other favours and he has never let me down.
• Kilkenny: I would like to thank St Martin for answering all my prayers over the past year, in particular the safe delivery of my grandson. Although he arrived early and under emergency circumstances he is doing well and my faith and trust in St Martin means I know he will continue to grow up to be a healthy and happy little boy.
• Offaly: I want to thank St Martin in whom I have great faith. I pray his novena continuously. I am putting my grandson in his special care as he has autism and is finding school hard to cope with. We love him very much and know St Martin will look after him.