Palm Sunday Homily

Could there be a greater contrast between the two gospels we hear today? In the first, Christ is welcomed joyfully into Jerusalem as Messiah; in the second, he is hauled outside the city to be crucified as a common criminal. And in that second Gospel – the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Luke – practically every sort of human weakness is to be seen.

We see:

• The apostles bickering at the table of the Last Supper
• The proud boasting of Peter
• The drowsiness of the Apostles who would not watch with Christ
• The traitor Judas betraying his beloved Master with a kiss.

We see:

• The disciples strike out with violence
• The rough treatment given by the guards
• The three-fold denial of Christ by Peter
• The cruel teasing of the soldiers
• The vengeance of the Chief Priests
• The cowardice of Pilate who passes Christ off as someone else’s problem.

We see:

• The mockery of Herod
• The refusal of Pilate to give an honest judgement
• The blood-thirsty fickleness of the mob, a crowd of ordinary people like you or me
• The callousness of the executioners as they go about their work and as they toss dice for Christ’s clothes
• The taunting of the thief who hung alongside Jesus.

And so Christ dies.

And yet, all is not darkness. We also see the compassion of the women of Jesusalem, the repentance of the Good Thief and the conversion of the Centurion. We see the courage of Joseph of Arimathea who claims Christ’s body and the tenderness of the women who lay Him in the tomb.

In the midst of all the darkness, Christ’s will is not broken, and he inspires some few to keep following Him. As the suffering servant foretold by Isaiah, He makes no resistance, but in fidelity to the Father carries out His mission to the end. And by carrying out this mission He offers healing. Christ first heals the ear of the High Priest’s servant. Christ inspires the women of Jerusalem to compassion at a time when the public mood is still baying for His blood. His sufferings bring conversion to the Good Thief and to the Centurion and after His death, Joseph of Arimathea steps forward with courage and the women remain faithful to Him by honouring His dead body.
Christ endured all manner of darkness, all manner of punishment and violence in order to heal us of that same darkness and in order to draw some goodness out of us. We read and re-read the Gospels so that our hearts may be softened by His grace, His teaching and His example. We ask Him, by His Passion and Death, to make us humble and faithful to His saving words.

This week is the most important week of the year. During our Holy Week and Easter ceremonies we walk with Christ step-by-step, hour-by-hour through the events which bring us salvation. We enter Jerusalem with joy, we share a meal with Him at the Last Supper, we follow Him to the Cross with our own burdens and struggles and then we wait at the tomb with hope, awaiting the victory of His Resurrection.

I ask you to do this with minds and hearts fully prepared. I appeal to each and every one of you to make the most of this week by making a good confession. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been away for a long time. It doesn’t matter whether you have something big on your conscience or if it’s just that there are lots of small things which have built up over a while. There’s no good reason to put it off Christ’s forgiveness, and every reason to make a good Holy Week. May Christ, by His Passion and Death, lead us to the Glory of His Resurrection, Amen.

Dolan on the Lord's Day

The Church Ladies publish a nice and punchy St Patrick's Day letter from Archbishop Dolan of New York about keeping the Lord's Day holy.

Many of you reading this St. Patrick’s Day message already are keeping the Lord’s Day holy. Keep it up.

How about giving this message to someone who no longer does, especially if he or she has stopped going to Sunday Mass? Get ready for the excuses:

– “Sunday is our only free time together.” (Great, what better way to spend that time than by praying together at Mass).

– “I pray my own way.” (Nice idea. But, odds are, you don’t).

– “The sermon is boring.” (You may have a point).

– “I hate all the changes at Mass.” (see below)

– “I want more changes at Mass.” (see above)

– “Until the church makes some changes in its teaching, I’m staying away.” (But, don’t we go to Mass to ask God to change us, not to tell God how we want Him and His Church to change to suit us?)

– “Everybody there is a hypocrite and always judging me.” (Who’s judging whom here?)

. . . and the list goes on.

And the simple fact remains: the Eucharist is the most beautiful, powerful prayer that we have. To miss it is to miss Jesus — His Word, His people, His presence, His Body and Blood.

Pope's Letter to the Catholics of Ireland

Full text available here.

To be quite honest, apart from welcoming it whole-heartedly and repeating the Pope's own request that Irish Catholics read it themselves, I think that too much comment is superfluous. Just let it be read prayerfully, seriously and repeatedly. It would be naive to think that the problems of the past and present can be sorted out within the space of a few short media cycles. However, that's not the impression one gets when watching the news or reading the papers. There seems to be an assumption that problems can be dealt with swiftly - a hurried resignation here, a statement of apology there, and then mission accomplished. Not so! Any meaningful kind of healing, purification or renewal is going to be a long and deliberate process, and if we claim to be Christians, then the healing process must involve a turning back to Christ and a willingness to offer penance.

Press Release from Catholic Communications Office

This useful note clarifies what happened in 1975 and the then Fr Brady's role in the investigation into the activities of Fr Brendan Smyth.

Note from the Catholic Communications Office to clarify media reporting on Cardinal Seán Brady – 16 March 2010

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The State’s first Child Abuse Guidelines came into effect in 1987 and the Church’s first guidelines Child Sexual Abuse: Framework for a Church Response, were published in 1996.
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In late March 1975, Fr Seán Brady was asked by his bishop, Bishop Francis McKiernan, to conduct a canonical enquiry into an allegation of child sexual abuse which was made by a boy in Dundalk, concerning a Norbertine priest, Fr Brendan Smyth.
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Fr Brady was then a full-time teacher at St Patrick’s College, Cavan. Because he held a doctorate in Canon Law, Fr Brady was asked to conduct this canonical enquiry; however he had no decision-making powers regarding the outcome of the enquiry. Bishop McKiernan held this responsibility.
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On 29 March 1975, Fr Brady and two other priests interviewed a boy (14) in Dundalk. Fr Brady’s role was to take notes. On 4 April 1975, Fr Brady interviewed a second boy (15) in the Parochial House in Ballyjamesduff. On this occasion Fr Brady conducted the inquiry by himself and took notes.
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At the end of both interviews, the boys were asked to confirm by oath the truthfulness of their statements and that they would preserve the confidentiality of the interview process. The intention of this oath was to avoid potential collusion in the gathering of the inquiry’s evidence and to ensure that the process was robust enough to withstand challenge by the perpetrator, Fr Brendan Smyth.
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A week later Fr Brady passed his findings to Bishop McKiernan for his immediate action.
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Eight days later, on 12 April 1975, Bishop McKiernan reported the findings to Fr Smyth’s Religious Superior, the Abbot of Kilnacrott. The specific responsibility for the supervision of Fr Smith’s activities was, at all times, with his Religious Superiors. Bishop McKiernan withdrew Brendan Smyth’s priestly faculties and advised psychiatric intervention.