Who Do You Say that I Am?
By Father Brendan Williams
March, 1996 -The road from Patrick's Well to Mallow was winding and
unfamiliar. It was only my second time making this trip, and as I motored
past lush farmlands, already displaying some of Ireland's legendary
shades of green on this late-March morning, a flood of memories began
to return. My last journey along this route was sixteen years earlier
almost to the day, when Sister Brenda and I were returning for our mother's
funeral. Mom had died peacefully at Mercy Hospital in Cork on March
20, 1980 while she was in for a check-up. Our sister, Sr. Mary B., was
a nurse
there for many years and, as it turned out, was a real blessing to my
parents in their old age. That in itself was an irony. After I was born
my mother was told that she should have no more children since another
pregnancy would seriously jeopardize her health. Five years later the
child "who should not have been" was born on the Feast of
Our Lady of Lourdes and was given the
name Mary Bernadette. She would be with my parents in their joys and
their sorrows. She was present with them through their every illness
and was with both when they died. How wonderful are the ways of the
Lord for those who trust in Him!
As we made our way through town and hamlet, Sister Brenda and I awakened
many pleasant memories of home that centered around our beloved mother.
I recalled the summer of '79 when I last visited with her. Now, in retrospect,
that visit became all the more precious and all the more poignant. One
of the gifts I brought my mother was a white shoulder shawl which one
of my
parishioners had made for her. When I presented it to her she was overjoyed.
She paused for a moment and then said jubilantly: "This is so beautiful.
I will not wear it now, but will keep it for my glorious day."
What a beautiful way to speak about death, I thought. My mother was
a
deeply spiritual and prayerful woman throughout her life. I recall her
Holy Hours and other devotions, her love for the Rosary and most especially
the Eucharist. As long as I could remember, our home was consecrated
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As
with most Irish homes, A red vigil light burned before the picture of
the Sacred Heart to constantly
remind us - and the visitor - Who it has who reigned in our home. My
mother was overjoyed that three of her children would devote their lives
to the service of the Church, even though it meant seeing very little
of them for the rest of her earthly life. The joyful gatherings were
all too
short, only to be followed by painful good-byes. Yet she never complained
but always looked forward with patient longing to the next reunion.
Mom had very few worldly possessions, and what she had, she had given
away prior to her death. That summer she called me to her room one day
and said that she wanted me to have her crucifix with which she had
prayed throughout the years. It would become my fondest possession and
a daily reminder of the heritage of faith and love that she had left
me. Now that she was gone to her eternal reward, the significance of
the previous summer visit became all the more important. Did my mother
know that it would be our last earthly reunion? Was the Lord preparing
her and me for this "glorious day" that seemed to come so
suddenly? At Mercy Hospital we would find her earthly remains beautifully
laid out in the Convent Chapel, surrounded by family, friends and the
many Sisters of Mercy who had come to know and love her over the years.
The Eucharistic celebration, before we began the journey home to Kerry,
was an intensely warm and a truly joyous experience of heavenly love.
This was undoubtedly the beginning of Mom's "glorious day"
that would
never know ending. She had experienced her final birth, the ultimate
healing, the reunion with departed loved ones, the end of an exile,
the beginning of the final purgative process that would adorn her soul
for transition into Eternal Bliss. In that Eucharist we thanked the
Lord for the gift that she was to us and we lovingly surrendered her
back to Him, to live in His Heart forever. Today, when I look to the
Sacred Heart I sense my mother's presence adoring and interceding. What
a wonderful mystery our faith is!
Now, sixteen years later I was retracing that journey to Cork to preach at a Charismatic Youth Conference. Over the years I had come to know some wonderful people in this City by the Lee, and had occasion to speak and celebrate Mass there for the Charismatic community on a number of occasions. I felt honored that the young people had asked me to be the speaker at their conference and wondered how the Lord would use me on that special weekend.
In preparation, I called upon all my friends in faith to intercede
for a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon me and on all those
who would attend the conference. For several weeks some friends and
I gathered on Tuesday afternoons at St. Mary's Mission Church in adoration
and intercession before the Blessed Sacrament. People sent in encouraging
and insightful words they had received in prayer that were helpful in
preparing my talks. Sister Mary B. and the organizing committee were
busy on the other side of the Atlantic attending to details and waiting
in prayer. Now the time had finally arrived and I was coming ever nearer
the beloved City of St. Finbarr
which had so many special memories from the past.
Cork had over the years made its own significant contribution of great
leaders to Church and State since St. Finbarr decided to make her his
place of resurrection. At the present time two of her notable sons were
brother Bishops in the United States. Bishops Kevin and Raymond Boland
were fellow alumni of All Hallows College in Dublin. Before I left for
Ireland I asked them both to write letters to the young people at the
Conference that would be encouraging and inspirational.
They graciously responded with letters that would later receive thunderous
applause when read on the weekend. These beautiful letters provided
a connectedness between hierarchical and lay, between the Church at
home and abroad, between the missionary spirit of past generations and
a new level of evangelical and spiritual fire that was now being ignited.
The new road from Mallow to Cork eased the final leg of my journey and before long I was greeting Sister Mary B. in Mayfield at her apartment, which is nestled among the city's poorer and more marginalized citizens. My sister was excited and filled with cautious enthusiasm. She shared with me the details of preparation and the air of excitement that prevailed among the organizing committee. I was happy to be back in Cork and looked forward to yet another glorious day in the marvelous plans of our God.
Before I could get too relaxed, my sister informed me that I was due
at Cork Radio and Television Studios for an interview with Ger Canning,
well known sports announcer and media personality. The interview was
brief and rather superficial, yet it was an important sound bite promoting
the
conference throughout Cork and South Munster.
The Conference was a wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The fervor of prayer and praise; the openness to the Word; the anointed music ministry; the intensity of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday night; the powerful witnessing of young people whose lives had been transformed as they gave their hearts to Christ; the glorious celebration of Mass on Sunday afternoon; the rejoicing in song that continued long after Mass; the stories of healings during the weekend - all manifested to us very clearly that the Lord had indeed visited His beloved people by the Lee. Despite the scandals that rock the Church in Ireland today and reports of widespread departures of young people from the practice of their faith, it was really encouraging to see so many young and old alike openly expressing their love for God and for His Church. As we rejoiced together in the Lord I recalled a section of Evangelii Nuntiandi that I had highlighted:
"We live in the Church in a privileged moment of the Spirit. Everywhere
people
are trying to know Him better, as the Scripture reveals Him. They are
happy to
place themselves under His inspiration. They are gathering about Him;
they
want to let themselves be led by Him. Now if the Spirit of God has a
preeminent place in the whole life of the Church, it is in her evangelizing
mission that He is most active. It is not by chance that the great
inauguration of evangelization took place on the morning of Pentecost,
under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit" (par. 75).
From this experience it was abundantly clear to me that Ireland needs what every other local Church needs: a new revival in the Holy Spirit, a new Pentecost. The daily media blitz of Church scandals could not dull the force of the Spirit that rocked Neptune Stadium that weekend. The Lord is raising up some wonderful young people in Ireland whose depth and sincerity of faith is truly inspiring. If the nation as a whole follows the lead of the Spirit, Ireland will become once again the Island of Saints and Scholars and will feature boldly in bringing the Good News to a world that is mired in sin and darkness.
My two journeys to Cork were in a way symbolic of the two Irish worlds
that I
have known. I grew up in an Ireland that was rich in active faith, strong
in
family and community life, protected by mores that were prized and respected
by all, sharing an identity that was undoubtedly Catholic where history,
culture and religion intersected. The Ireland I grew up in was spiritually
and
culturally rich but materially poor. Hard work and frugal living combined
to
make ends meet. This was the Ireland that my mother represented: it
was an
Ireland that was quickly changing. With modernization, industrialization,
entry into the European Community, with a media that became enveloped
in the
modernistic, hedonistic and decidedly anti-Christian worldview, with
an affluence
that Ireland had not known before, the face of Ireland would change
dramatically.
The dragnet of prosperity brought with it all the pitfalls of modern
society which
would now serve as corrosive agents on the spirit of young and not-so-young
alike.
We would now see major drops in Church attendance and in vocations to
priesthood
and religious life; increases in crime, drug and other addictions, marital
infidelity and
break-up, and sexual permissiveness. Now we would see a powerful lobby
clamoring
for divorce and abortion. To top it off, clerical scandals would light
the airwaves and bring
a new depth of anger, disillusionment, cynicism and despair, to a Church
already
reeling from a hedonistic invasion.
This was the back-drop for my second trip from Shannon to Cork. It
was into
this arena that the Holy Spirit would descend once again and bring new
life, joy,
healing, and a burst of enthusiasm for the Risen Christ and for His
Gospel.
This was the renewed Church that the Holy Spirit has been carefully
restoring
since Pope Leo XIII dedicated the twentieth century to Him. With the
Vatican
Council the Church would reflect on her nature and purpose and recognize
that
she was missionary at heart. She was called to bring the Good News of
Christ's
transforming love to the nations. Theologian, Father Avery Dulles, describes
this
evolution: " With Vatican II a major shift took place. The Catholic
Church in a true
sense became evangelical. The Council spoke frequently of the gospel
(in Latin, evangelium,
157 times) and of evangelization (31 times). It taught that every Christian
has a
responsibility to evangelize. Paul VI followed this up in many ways.
He took
the name of Paul in honor of the apostle to the Gentiles and engaged
in long
apostolic journeys to distant continents. At the climax of his pontificate...
he composed his great apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi
("Evangelization in the Modern World," 1975). In this he described
evangelization as the deepest identity of the Church, which exists,
as he put
it, in order to evangelize.
"Pope John Paul II has carried this evangelical shift further. Summarizing the main orientation of his pontificate he declared in Mexico City on May 6, 1990: "The Lord and master of history and of our destinies has wished my pontificate to be that of a pilgrim pope of evangelization, walking down the roads of the world, bringing to all people the message of salvation." (Evangelizing Theology: First Things, March, 96)
While we often complain about the ills of humanity and the ills of the Church, and are at a loss to find a remedy, let us remember that the answer is the Holy Spirit. Let us recall again the words of Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi: "It is in the "consolation of the Holy Spirit" that the Church increases. The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church. It is He who explains to the faithful the deep meaning of the teaching of Jesus and His mystery. It is the Holy Spirit who, today just as in the beginning of the Church, acts in every evangelizer who allows himself to be possessed and led by Him" (par 75).
Let us therefore follow the Spirit's lead this Pentecost.