Good News from Ireland
By Father Brendan Williams
The summer of '96 brought us on a new adventure in evangelization as
the team from Good News International and I set out for Dublin, Ireland
to conduct our first School in the Emerald Isle. In March I had returned
to my native land to preach the Youth Conference in Cork and the positive
experience there was a great confidence builder for me to answer another
call in the service of the
Gospel.
My sister, Sr. Mary B., had done all the organizational work for the School to begin on Sunday, July 7th at St. Patrick's Training College in Drumcomdra, which is across the street from All Hallows College where I was ordained. We flew out from Newark on July 4th in an atmosphere of joy and excitement as we looked forward to what would be an historic week in Dublin. When we settled in at St. Patrick's we had time for prayer, relaxation and a trip downtown to the legendary city that has been acclaimed over the centuries by her literary and artistic sons and daughters. With Pat Egan, a native Dub, and myself as guides, our group received a courier's introduction to the history and topography of the Fair City.
On Saturday we traveled to the Midlands to visit friends in County
Offaly.Since we were close by, we decided to go to Clonfert, the site
of St.Brendan's famous sixth century monastery. In recent years a Spiritual
Center has been established there with a beautiful circular chapel that
captures a sense of the past in its architecture and art. We arrived
there at three in the afternoon and the staff and visitors were delighted
to learn that a priest was available for Mass. As we began our prayer
with the Divine Mercy chaplet, I could not help but wonder if our being
at Clonfert was not indeed part of God's plan to usher in a new age
of evangelization in Ireland. It was here that St. Brendan established
one of Ireland's greatest schools. His own navigational exploits for
the spread of the Gospel are legendary and are handed down to us in
Navigatio Brendani,
which was widely circulated in the whole of Europe throughout the middle
ages. It is possible that Brendan reached the coast of Florida, judging
by his descriptions of a land luxuriant with fruits and flowers. One
exploration scholar, Tim Severin, convinced that Brendan was writing
about real navigational experiences,decided to construct a boat to the
exact specifications found in Navigatio,and successfully sailed across
the Atlantic to North America in 1976 (The Brendan Voyage, 1978).
In 1492 Columbus sailed to Galway to research the records and traditions of Brendan. This visit, together with the names of Irishmen on the roster of the Santa Maria on the voyage to America, is recorded in the National Archives of Madrid.We are told that the communities of Brendan reached about 3000 monks who looked to him for inspiration and guidance. This was undoubtedly a splendid charismatic age in the Irish Church. The Gospel was preached with power and was accompanied by many miracles. The very name Clonfert in ancient Irish |emdash Cluan Fearta |emdash means Field of Miracles. In these monasteries spirituality and learning went hand in hand. Students from Europe came in great members to this sanctuary of spirituality and civilization to bring back to their homes what had been lost in the Dark Ages. A flood of missionaries went out to establish monasteries and universities so that the light of reason, blessed by the light of faith, might begin a new day in the life of a devastated Continent.
Church historian, Daniel-Rops, on reflecting on this age, calls it "The Irish Miracle" which he said is "the second setting out of Christianity, from a country which had just been baptized, and which was immediately dreaming of giving Christ back to the world. Ireland, between the 5th and the 8th century, was like a second Palestine, a new cradle of the Christian faith".
As we celebrated Mass in this restored Spiritual Center, I marveled at how appropriate it was to begin our week of evangelization here.I sensed the presence of my patron, and all the holy men and women of the age of saints and scholars, gather round the altar to invoke the Holy Spirit's anointing on our Gospel venture. The same Spirit who sent forth a torrent of light from Ireland to the world was now bringing back the recipients of that light to help renew the Irish Church.
After sharing the hospitality of the wonderful people at the Center
we went on to Clonmacnoise, another famed seat of spirituality and learning
which also sprung up in the sixth century, under the direction of St.
Kieran. Of this the Irish
bard, O'Gillan (finely translated by Rollaston) would write:
In a quiet watered land, a land of roses,Stands St. Kieran's city fair;
And the warriors of Erin in their famous generations Slumber there.
With Clonfert, this "city fair", with its famous Scripture
crosses and round towers, would for centuries educate Europe's students
and serve as an artery of scholars and evangelists to Europe and beyond.
As I sat amid these hallowed ruins on this pleasant summer day I prayed
that our team of seven would be blessed and anointed as Kevin's seven
were when they arrived at Clonmacnoise on a cold January day in 545
A.D. to begin their awesome mission. This visit afforded us some very
precious moments to bathe in the light and imbibe in the spirit of another
charismatic age in the life of the Church. It was a good feeling to
share such a noble mission with the great men of ages past. Slowly I
rose to meander toward the exit. As I gazed at the great Scripture cross
for the last
time before we began our return journey to Dublin, the words of Longfellow's
I(Psalm of Life) began to scroll across my consciousness:
Lives of great men all remind us
We must make our lives sublime;
And in departing leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
We were ready now to begin our first school of Evanglelization in Ireland.
At St. Patrick's Training College sixty five enthusiastic participants
from many parts of Ireland were ready for the week's encounter.Cardinal
Daly, Primate of All Ireland, wrote a most encouraging letter of welcome
to us and sent his blessing to all the participants. When Sr. Mary B.
read it to the group it was received with great joy and somehow set
the tone for the week that this was an event not just of a small group
but indeed an experience that connected the whole Irish Church. The
response was wonderful and the Holy Spirit was present in a very powerful
way. Judging from the letters we have received since we returned, it
was an intensely spiritual experience for all. Here is a letter from
a couple from County Leitrim which reflects the spirit of other mail
we received:
"I just had to write to you to thank you for the wonderful five
days we had with you and your team of men who came to Dublin. It was
the most blessed week of our married life. I felt so close to God through
all of you and especially on the night of our anniversary. I had felt
from the first moment I heard of the school of evangelization that it
would be a lovely way to celebrate our anniversary. But it completely
surpassed any dream I had. We experienced a beautiful healing in so
many ways throughout the five days. I also feel that it is only the
beginning as we got so much that we have food for thought and spiritual
growth for a long time to come..."
Though it came from just one source, we also experienced intense anger that was directed toward the Church. We never like to encounter such negative forces, yet it was nonetheless a blessed oportunity for us to really deal with hurt and anger and move toward reconciliation, forgiveness and healing.The recent problems in the Church in Ireland have only intensified what is endemic to every community emdash hurt, bitterness, rage, rejection,antagonism, jealousy, resentment. Our School is very sensitive to these realities and carefully ministers to them. What could have been disaster for the unprepared, turned out to be a great moment of deep healing and liberating spiritual renewal. At the heart of conversion to the Church is the painful yet indispensible process of repenting of our sins against the Church and forgiving the Church for all the hurts we have received from those who represent the Church. We offered that moment of healing grace when I stood before the group and in the name of the Church asked them to forgive me.
Some of our team members who have been in the ministry for several years said that this was the most intense and powerful week that they had ever experienced. Without a doubt, we were all spiritually and emotionally renewed by the Dublin experiece and returned glorifying God that He had visited the Irish Church and had used us as His instruments.
Sister Mary B. has organized a spirituality day for the group in Dublin in October to continue the spirit of the week and plan for future ventures for the spread of the Gospel. Already a School of Evangelization is being planned for July '97 in Cork. May the Good News continue to spread throughout the Land!
Our School of Evangelization is open to and encourages all of the spiritual
and charismatic gifts. We believe that these gifts were given to be
used for personal sanctification and for the spread of the Gospel. It
is clear that when the Irish Church was a powerhouse of evangelization,
it was blessed with saints who were powerful preachers, great scholars
and miracle workers, driven
by the Spirit, as Jesus was, to bring the Gospel to every creature.
During our schools we will pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
on all present. We explain the charismatic gifts and encourage an openness
to the full complement of gifts that are bestowed in our Baptism and
Confirmation. We explain that many of our gifts lay dormant until we
consciously surrender to the Holy Spirit for their awakening. The degree
to which we are open to and take owmership of our baptismal gifts, will
determine the degree of fruitfulness we will enjoy in celebrating the
other sacraments and in living out our Christian vocation. This is why
we see Baptism in the Holy Spirit and crucial to the renewal of the
Church and to the spread of the Gospel in our times.
The Irish Bishops in their 1993 pastoral on Catholic Charismatic Renewal,
have recognized the wonderful blessings it has brought to the Church:
"The Irish Bishops have seen many fruits of the Charismatic Renewal
during the past twenty years. Thousands have found deeper commitment
to Christ, a deep love for the Holy Scriptures, an openness to the gifts
of the Holy Spirit, profound gifts of prayer including spontaneous prayer,
greater understanding of the Eucharist and of the Church, a fruitful
love of their brothers and sisters". They go on to strongly endorse
the Life in the Spirit Seminars: "These (seminars) prepare people
to open their hearts to God, to turn from sin, to embrace the cross
in daily life, to hope for the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
These seminars have been for millions throughout the world a most graced
means of bringing people into the conversion experience of the Outpouring
of the Holy Spirit. They have been used for conversion and evangelization
even outside the Charismatic Renewal".
It was most gratifying to learn that the Irish Bishops had already endorsed just about everything our School represented and desired to achieve. As servants of the Church in the mission of evangelization we will continue to answer the Holy Spirit's call, under the guidance and direction of the Magisterium, to spread the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This article may be reprinted for personal use.