Capuchin Franciscan Vocations Ireland: March 2012

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Seven Last Words: "Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit"

(Luke 23: 44-48)

I am sorry…..
    …for the times when I doubt your wisdom.
   …for the times when I feel that you have forsaken me.
   …for the times I have questioned that you know my pain and you journey with me.

I am sorry…..
    …for the times I ask for my cup to be taken from me and demand, “Let my will be done, not Yours”.
…for the times I covet the cup of my neighbour.
…for the times I water my spirit and give nothing God-given to my body.

I am sorry…..
   …for the times I refuse to entrust my whole spirit into your hands.
   …for the times I fail to truly see you and allow you to convert my soul.
   …for the times I refuse to ‘beat my breast’ and acknowledge and repent of my sins.

Prayer for the week:

Lord, God, may this deeper sharing in your love through the Sacrament of Reconciliation help us to break out of all that separates us from you and from others.

May it lead us from anger to forgiveness, from despair to joy, from selfishness to serving our brothers and sisters, from fear to trust, from the wilderness to your fountain of eternal love, from resistance to a sincere offering of our spirit.

May we continue to plant seeds of Unity and Reconciliation in Your garden of life. Amen.

Come and Join us....

If you live in Dublin why not come and be present for our 'Seven Last Words' Lenten Reflections? The above reflection will be part of a 30 minute meditation held at the Our Lady of the Angels Capuchin Church on Church Street each Friday of Lent beginning at 8:00pm. This week a number of priests will also be available for the Sacramanet of Reconcilation during the meditation. Music for these reflections will be provided by the CYC chamber choir. You can read the previous weeks reflections here: week one, week two, week three, week four and week five.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Seven Last Words: "I Thirst"

(John 19:28-29)

During the seven weeks of Lent we invite you to come and stand with us at the foot of the Cross as we listen to the 'Seven Last Words' spoken by Jesus. Each week we will post a reflection which will seek guidance from these words as we, his Church today, like him, experience betrayal, criticism, abandonment and disownment.

In this fifth weekly Lenten Reflection we shall listen to Christ's call from the cross which demonstates his willing acceptance of his role in God's plan of Redemption and reflect on how we respond when we encounter this same thirst.

Reflection:

Only some hours before his crucifixion, Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, had asked his Father three times to, “take this cup away from me, but let your will be done, not mine”. In the garden Jesus experienced intense sorrow, terror and anguish; his sweat falling to the ground like drops of blood. His human nature had made him very afraid and unsure of what God’s will was for him. Now, scripture is fulfilled, as nailed to the cross, he declares, “I thirst”.

Having asked for the cup to be taken from him only a short time before, Jesus now appears to ask for the cup. Aware of his role in God’s plan of salvation his fifth words from the cross demonstrate a renewed recognition and trust in God’s will. Accepting his role he boldly confirms, “I thirst; let me drink from this cup you have offered me; I ask for this cup; I trust in Your plan and I will fulfil Your will for me”.

Each of us here tonight has been offered a cup by God. Like Jesus, the cup that God asks us to drink, the cup of God’s will that he asks us to trust and fulfil, can make us look at our lives and feel intense sorrow, terror and anguish. And we, like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane overwhelmed by these human emotions, can ask for this cup to be taken away.

When life seems unbearable for you, when you fear for the future and you struggle to make sense of God’s will where do you turn? (short pause)

Do you question God’s Will and ask for your cup to be taken from you? (short pause)

Do you wish for the cup of your neighbour? (short pause)

Or do you say, “Let Your will be done, not mine”, notwithstanding the personal pains and persecutions which often must be endured? (short pause)

Jesus, on the cross, accepted his cup and boldly asked for God’s will to be hastened - let me drink from this cup, “I thirst”, bring it to me now. We need to be able to discern God’s will for us. We must open our eyes and our ears to God in order to see and hear the will of God as it unfolds around us and then with courage and conviction, regardless of what situation we find ourselves in, we too can trust in God and declare, “I thirst”; let me drink from this cup; bring it to me now; I am ready to fulfil your will.

Prayer for the week:

Lord Jesus, my soul aches at the mere mention of Your name. My heart leaps for every rumor of Your coming, and each possibility that You will manifest Your presence. I’m not satisfied with mere spiritual dainties. I’m ravenously thirsty for You in Your fullness, desperate to quench my thirst with the wine of Your Spirit.

Come and Join us....

If you live in Dublin why not come and be present for our 'Seven Last Words' Lenten Reflections? The above reflection will be part of a 30 minute meditation held at the Our Lady of the Angels Capuchin Church on Church Street each Friday of Lent beginning at 8:00pm. Music for these reflections will be provided by the CYC chamber choir. You can read the other weeks reflections here: week one, week two, week three, week four and week five.

Friday, March 16, 2012

The Spirituality of St. Patrick's Lorica, 'The Cry of the Deer'

Storytelling and mythology flourished during the Golden Age of the Irish (Celtic) Church but it wasn’t until the arrival of the Vikings in the 9th Century that scholars began to transcribe these stories into books to save them from being lost. It is in one of these wonderful books, the Book of Armagh, that we encounter the Lorica of St. Patrick (known also by its Irish title Cry of the Deer (Faed Fiada).

In this Lorica we see a strongly incarnational spirituality. In it we experience God as flowing in and through, what can be described as, a family. At the center of this family is the divine presence and power of God; the three-in-one. This divine presence and power flows in and through the strength of Christ, through his Church and its sacramentality; from the Cherubim and angels to the great Holy men and women of the early Christian community, and right down to the natural elements themselves. We see in this Lorica a spirituality in which God is experienced everywhere, everyday in and through any and all of these varied embodiments; a spirituality in which the kinship felt with the angels and saints is completed by the kinship with one another; a spirituality in which there is a closeness and immanence between the natural and supernatural worlds. This Lorica tells the tale of a wonderfully life affirming and exuberant kind of spirituality which clearly owes something of its spirit to the pre-Christian religious thought of the Celts, and those even before them.

Yet, the Lorica depicts a spirituality of an age which was soon to be over as Church reforms were imposed from Rome and the island was further invaded by the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. As we celebrate the presence of St. Patrick in Ireland let us spare a thought for the early Christian Church that he gave birth to. Let us not forget the model of those early Christian communities which flourished in the centuries following St. Patrick. And today, as we experience great upheaval and renewal in the Church in Ireland, let us pray that we will witness the dawn of a renewed vision and approach to both the spiritual and the material world; a dawn which will bring to light, once again, the essence of something less authoritarian, more spiritual, more holistic, more ecologically sensitive, and more inclusive and egalitarian; a dawn which will resurrect the Spirituality of St. Patrick’s Lorica.

NB. The first full text of this Lorica comes from the Liber Hymnorum manuscript of the 11th century.

St. Patrick's Lorica / Cry of the Deer (Faed Fiada)

I arise today
   Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
   Through the belief in the threeness,
   Through confession of the oneness
   Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
   Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
   Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
   Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
   Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
   Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
   In obedience of angels,
   In the service of archangels,
   In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
   In prayers of patriarchs,
   In predictions of prophets,
   In preaching of apostles,
   In faith of confessors,
   In innocence of holy virgins,
   In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
   Through the strength of heaven:
   Light of sun,
   Radiance of moon,
   Splendor of fire,
   Speed of lightning,
   Swiftness of wind,
   Depth of sea,
   Stability of earth,
   Firmness of rock.

I arise today
   Through God's strength to pilot me:
   God's might to uphold me,
   God's wisdom to guide me,
   God's eye to look before me,
   God's ear to hear me,
   God's word to speak for me,
   God's hand to guard me,
   God's way to lie before me,
   God's shield to protect me,
   God's host to save me
   From snares of devils,
   From temptations of vices,
   From everyone who shall wish me ill,
   Afar and anear,
   Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
   Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
   Against incantations of false prophets,
   Against black laws of pagandom
   Against false laws of heretics,
   Against craft of idolatry,
   Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
   Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
   Against poison, against burning,
   Against drowning, against wounding,
   So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
   Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
   Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
   Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
   Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
   Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
   Christ in every eye that sees me,
   Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
   Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
   Through belief in the threeness,
   Through confession of the oneness,
   Of the Creator of Creation.

And, as it St. Patrick's Day, why not enjoy an Irish Dance performed by the Novices!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Seven Last Words:"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

(Mark 15:34)

In this fourth weekly Lenten Reflection we shall listen to Christ's cry from the cross; a cry which offers us hope in our times of abandonment and desperation.

Reflection:

Jesus had hung on the cross for more than three hours enduring the rejection, ridicule and mockery of the crowds, the abandonment of his disciples, and even the taunts of one crucified with him. Yet, he didn’t curse the Jews who accused Him, nor Pilate who condemned Him, nor the soldiers who crucified Him. Instead, seemingly depleted, he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

These are words which, in fact, were written some several hundred years before Jesus’ own birth. They are words which would have been etched upon Jesus’ soul through years of synagogue worship and private prayer. They were words from Psalm 22. In them Jesus had found a way to express the cry of his heart. He takes the prayer of the psalmist and makes it his own; the prayer of an innocent one who is suffering because of his fidelity to God’s will. Yet, this prayer is not one of despair but, rather, an expression of faith. As a learned Rabi Jesus would have known that Psalm 22 foreshadowed the crucifixion, spoke of the vindication of the one who suffered, and ended with a strong statement of God’s kingdom.

In this the fourth word, could Jesus have been confessing, not only his desperation, but also his unbroken faith in his Heavenly Father?

Did his use of Psalm 22 show his conviction that, in due time, he would be vindicated and God’s rule established over all creation?

Does the fourth word, the word of deepest agony, contain within it a tiny seed of Easter faith?

Did his quotation of Psalm 22 signal something beyond despair?

Today, we hear and share in Christ’s anguish of abandonment and we too in the Church today cry out, “my god, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We can wonder if God was present during the years of abuse and betrayal and struggle to find his presence now amidst the present exodus from the Church. Some may ask us, “where is your God now?” And we may be terrified to find that we have nothing to say. All the pious words that come to our lips sound worse than empty.

Today, more than ever we must listen to God in light of Psalm 22. Jesus wished to send us a message from the cross. In the "why" of Jesus there is no feeling of resentment, there is no criticism towards God. Jesus’ why is the expression of the experience of weakness, of solitude, of abandonment to himself. Similarly today, we must not despair if the Church experiences weakness, solitude, and abandonment. We, as the hands and the feet of his church, are asked to respond like Jesus did from the cross. Like him, we are not asked to complain about those who accuse us, condemn us, or crucify us. We are simply asked to put our response in faith. We must cry out with the same trusting abandonment that Jesus did. All we can do is be present and to trust that God is present too. Jesus asks us to listen and know the words of Psalm 22; that if we trust, we will not be put to shame. That even though the Church is scorned and despised and mocked and taunted, it will be kept safe. That the Church shall eat and be satisfied. That if we seek him, we shall praise him in great congregations. Today, more than ever we must trust that the words of Psalm 22 will be fulfilled.

Prayer for the week:

Read and reflect on Psalm 22.

Come and Join us....

If you live in Dublin why not come and be present for our 'Seven Last Words' Lenten Reflections? The above reflection will be part of a 30 minute meditation held at the Our Lady of the Angels Capuchin Church on Church Street each Friday of Lent beginning at 8:00pm. Music for these reflections will be provided by the CYC chamber choir. You can read the other weeks reflections here: week one, week two, week three, week four and week five.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Seven Last Words, "Women behold your son . . . behold your mother"

(John 19:26-27)

In this third weekly Lenten Reflection we shall listen to Christ's plea for us to lovingly embrace one another as family; considering these words in the context in which Jesus spoke them and questioning how they affect our perception of Church and our place in it today.

Reflection:
The presence of Mary and the beloved disciple at the foot of the cross remind us that Jesus was a real human being; a man who had once been a boy, who had once been carried in the womb of his mother, who had once been a dear friend. A man who had laughed, cried, and loved. Even as he was dying on the cross as the Son of God, Jesus remained a son, a brother, and a friend. And there, in the midst of this injustice, inhumanity, and brutality, flickers another moment of love and tenderness; a heartbroken mother and a distraught friend remain near their beloved Jesus. With what little strength he had left, Jesus entrusts each to the other. Selfless to the end his love and concern for them reveals itself.

Mary and the beloved disciple brought the love of a mother and that of a friend to the foot of the cross and from the cross Jesus commissions them to become one family. We witness no competition or rivalry between them for the love and favour of Jesus. They love Jesus and in response to him they offer their love and concern to each other. Similarly today, each of us is brought to Christ by a different manner of love. Often we do not recognise our God in the love of another person. We can dismiss their faith as traditional or progressive, as too pious or as too intellectually removed. We may see it as a threat to strict Catholic Orthodoxy to be silenced or expelled. How different from Jesus’ message from the cross; to unite in our love of Jesus as one family. Today, we are given the task of reaching across all the boundaries and hostilities that divide human beings and saying, ‘behold my sister’, ‘behold my brother’, ‘behold my mother’.

Do you dismiss the love that others have for Christ or maybe see the love that others have as of more value than your own? (short pause)

Do you see the Church as existing in just four walls or within certain structures? (short pause)

Do you allow yourself to take responsibility for your role in the Church? (short pause)

Do you focus all your love towards Christ on the cross and refuse to see your neighbour beside you as your sister, your brother or your mother? (short pause)

It goes to the very roots of our Christian belief that through our baptism we are adopted into the family of God. Jesus, by making Mary mother of the beloved disciple, was making himself our brother and asking us to become sisters, brothers and mothers to each other. To be a Christian is to recognize that at the foot of the cross is born our family, from which no one who loves Jesus can be excluded. That family, that living-church that Jesus commissioned, does not just exist in Rome, or Drumcondra, or Armagh, or among the Bishops, or the priests, or the brothers, or the sisters. Yes there, but not just there; Church belongs to every one of us and every one of us is Church – we, as disciples, sisters, brothers, and mothers of Christ gathered here tonight make up this Church; we are Church and are responsible for our Church as much as any other group of men or women. Today, in our broken and fragmented situation we can do no greater service to Jesus than listen to and act upon His words to re-embrace our church as a loving-family-community.

Prayer for the week:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.

Come and Join us....

If you live in Dublin why not come and be present for our 'Seven Last Words' Lenten Reflections? The above reflection will be part of a 30 minute meditation held at the Our Lady of the Angels Capuchin Church on Church Street each Friday of Lent beginning at 8:00pm. Music for these reflections will be provided by the CYC chamber choir (you can read the reflection for week one here and for week two here).