Rev John Wesley

"I do not wonder the Gospel runs so swiftly in these parts. The people in general have the finest natural tempers which I ever knew; they have the softness and courtesy of the Irish, the seriousness of theScots and the openness of the English" - John Wesley, from The Journal of the Rev John Wesley, April 1767

Dungiven Priory

Today I visited an interesting site in the town of Dungiven County Derry. The site contains what is believed to be an 11th Century Augustinian priory. It contains the tomb of O'Cahan (Cooey na Gall O' Cahan), laid to rest in 1385. A thicket of thorn bushes hung with rags conceals a bullaun stone, visited for wart cures.

A Trip To Knock The National Shrine

Last Friday during a sojourn in the pleasant County of Mayo I visited the National Shrine of Ireland in the little village of Knock. It was a most interesting experience not in a spiritual sense but in a social and cultural sense. I also attended Mass at the Shrine which was a most empty experience.

The little village itself is flooded with Catholic gift shops of the most extreme kind. Plastic statues of the Saints and Our Lady, and all sorts of cheap and nasty items. I did purchase a knock medal as a memento of the visit.

The Mass was awful, it must have lasted twenty minutes at most and it was conducted by a Priest who clearly had no interest in what he was doing. Imagine if you will during a Church service that a Priest continually says "whatever" while praying. For example "We pray for the members of the Cork MS Society and whatever". It was incredibly empty. The Priest also said something that rocked the very fibres of my theological intellect. He exclaimed that if anyone had bought a Holy Picture, Rosaries, Statues, Holy water etc that they should hold them up now to be blessed. The items he said did not have to be taken out of their plastic bags for if it was your intention that they should be blessed then they would indeed be blessed. From that moment on those items would bestow graces to all who used them. How awful. Also during the Mass there was the odd impromptu singing of a Marian Hymn, it started as wail and lead me to think that someone was having a fit.

I have to say that it was not nice at all. It give me an experience of how the Roman system can be so very empty and lacking in theology. It also lead me to question the circumstances of the alleged visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The social and historical context of rural Ireland at the time of the vision are more interesting than the vision itself. It was tumultuous period in Irish History, at least twenty years after the famine and apparently there had been a bad harvest prior to the vision that brought about fears of a second famine. So it seems to me that Irish Catholics needed some sort of sign and seal of their faith to help them through their lives in an ever changing society. I do not doubt the credibility of the witnesses I  am sure that they were all very sincere people, but I can't help but think that there is more to this than meets the eye. When we compare it with Fatima and Lourdes there are striking similarities with the social and cultural backgrounds surrounding the vision. It would provide for an interesting discussion.


I have never really been in tune with the extreme Marian devotion in Ireland and I know many Roman Catholics who don't bother with it. I can't help but feel that there is something amiss when a Priest says " all our intentions we ask to Mary through Jesus Christ Our Lord". To me that simply does not make sense when you think about it. Why ask Mary through Christ? We are told  that no one comes to Father except through the Son. Anyway moving on....

The Basilica at Knock is horrid except for the Stations of the Cross inside which are quite beautiful. One noted the vomit inside that had not been cleaned up, which to me summed up the whole affair. The Old Parish Church has been changed inside ever so slightly and  I did not like it either.


It is worth a visit and you can make a judgement on what you see yourself. 

Trying to find the middle ground.

I don't normally bother to write about controversial subjects and believe me this is certainly not the start of controversial posts. I am just sick, sore, and tired of the rabid voices that are heard on the radio, that are spoke on the television, and that project their thoughts via the letters pages of local newspapers. I for one feel that no one is speaking on behalf of the people they profess to represent in either their staunch defence or their rampant attack. I am of course talking about the whole "gay" issue within the Church of Ireland.

I do not agree with the so called spokesman for Changing Attitudes Ireland, I feel that he has some sort of agenda and indeed I also feel that the organisation as a whole is destroying the relationship of the Gay individual with the Church as a whole. Not all Gay people want such a rabid, out and out attack on the fundamental traditions of the Church. Indeed there is a silent majority within that scion of the Church, that is not being heard. It is not that they don't want to be heard, they simply do not wish to be soiled by Changing Attitudes Ireland. Neither do they want to be seen as being in league with this extremist pressure group.

No one that Numenorian Exile knows, (people who would be classed as Gay) wants to redefine marriage, no one is asking for that. There are people who seem to think that the Church needs to change at once. It is a disgrace and all the while the only voices that are being heard are these media whores, who give cheap theological sound bites at the expense of the individual within the church.

There is a great level of arrogance within Changing Attitudes Ireland, and also in the extreme Evangelical wing of the Church. All the while the quiet contemplative Christian suffers. There is no talk of love from either side, certainly not the love of Christ, the love of God, none of this. It is baseless arguments that result in a merry go round of emotions, with emotive language being bandied about. No one is talking to the individual.

Quite simply no one is asking for marriage to be redefined, no one is asking for the Prayer Book to be changed, no one believes, or indeed, has believed this to be an issue. The only reason this has come about is because certain individuals want it brought to bear. 

In truth, the people on both sides have got it wrong. They claim to speak on behalf of certain groups within the Church, they do not. They claim to have all the support of the Church, they do not. No one is taking the middle ground, no one is dealing with the issue on a rational level. One thing that really annoys me is that outsiders of the Church of Ireland feel the need to flex their theological muscle as it where. We have converts from the Roman Church, hypocrites, proclaiming messages on behalf of Anglicans, and we also have converts to Rome from Anglicanism giving us their half penny theology. This infuriates me. On the other side we have rabid Evangelicals from the non-conformist churches giving us their exegesis on scripture. They should all be silent. Silent !

There needs to be a middle ground, there is no issue. The matter should be closed. Ideally CAI should disband, and also the Evangelical wing should remove their pressure on the Bishops. Things need to return to the way they once where. Other wise the Church will eat it's own head.

  

Titanic Trash !



It would seem that at long last the madness that satirised the media and the people of Northern Ireland is finally coming to an end. With all the hype and the hysteria propagated by the television and the newspapers over the last three weeks one might be forgiven for thinking, what on earth was the point of it all and what useful purpose did it actually serve.

The grand structure that dominates the Titanic Quarter in the old "Yard", is finally open. It is a glorious sight, so I am told, yet I will reserve judgement until I actually visit the so called masterpiece. I am not convinced that it was worth the millions it cost to build it. Is it more profitable to the people of Northern Ireland that a man should die on a hospital trolley in the Royal Victoria Hospital, (part of a litany of problems within the NHS in NI), or to have this beautiful building that is simply a delight to the senses?

On Sunday last we had the pleasure of watching the so called great and good of Belfast City Council unveil the "new" Titanic Memorial Garden. What was wrong with the old one is beyond me, but frankly it must have been very important to flutter Belfast Rate Payers money away on this, rather than deal with the social housing shortage in the city. Oh it twas a grand affair, I daresay Ismay, Captain Smith, Thomas Andrews and the faithful departed would have been proud to have Brian Kennedy sing "You raise me up" in the hallowed hours of a Sabbath Morning. I am not a member of the Lord's Day Observance Society, but if I would join if they are against Brian Kennedy singing on a Sunday morning.

Then we had the delightful Noel Thompson, of BBC Newsline fame, prancing about on stage, his last "Hurrah" I suspect before he is replaced by a younger model, although Mark Cruthers hardly qualifies.

A simple affair would have sufficed, not this mockery that we had to endure on Sunday. I use the term mockery for that is what it was. Memories of tragic events are often kept deep within the soul and that is were they should stay. Rather than using it as the "flagship" to advance the image of Northern Ireland World Wide. Perhaps in another 100 years we will have commemorations of the bombings and shootings of the conflict, indeed they could host the MTV Music awards in the Bogside on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday !

It's not all doom and gloom, a load of Titanic Enthusiasts or should that be sycophants went to the grid coordinates of the sinking. How charming. How repulsive. Hopefully this is the end of the end of the matter and we can all get on with the rest of our lives.

St Patrick's Day : A Reflection

Riots in the Holy Land area of Belfast during  2009 (so called celebrations)



Not so long ago on this very day I happened to wander into Belfast City Centre , from the east I travelled via the Ravenhill Road, through Ormeau Park and across the infamous Ormeau Bridge, and walked through the Holy Land area, and then onto the Lisburn Road. Why I chose this route was very simple, I wished to see the "celebrations" that the students of Queen's University, Belfast were taking part in.

Needless to say, I saw nothing that reminded me of Ireland's Apostle and Patron, what I did see was loutish behaviour of the highest degree. I witnessed young people drinking, openly on the streets, I saw paramilitary flags being waved from houses, I saw a multitude of drunks singing songs that some would find offensive. As I tarried a little, I found myself feeling very intimidated, and I thought, I wonder what Blessed St Patrick would make of this, if he were to return on the very day?

I wonder what sort of reception he would have received by these young scholars in the Holy Land? I think that St Patrick would have been chases away for being some sort of "God botherer" , and as he fled he would have had a tear in his eye.

Personally speaking, it does not much bother me what people want to celebrate, after all celebrations are always a bright spot in an otherwise mundane month. I just wish that people would be more respectful of the Saint that they are supposed to be celebrating. The dogs in the street know that in Belfast the celebrations have been high-jacked by political ideologies who seek to pass it off as some sort of Ultra Irishness. Which is quite unfair. I am Irish, but even I can't tolerate what goes on in Belfast on that day. Perhaps Dublin offers a better example of a St Patrick's day festival, for what is being done in Belfast is nothing more than a political stunt.

St Patrick of Ireland: Apostle and Patron of Ireland

Collect

O almighty God,

who in thy providence didst choose thy servant Patrick

to be the apostle of the Irish people,

that he might bring those

who were wandering in darkness and error

to the true light and knowledge of thee;

Grant us to walk in that light,

that we may come at last to the light of everlasting life;

through the merits of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord.

Post Communion

Hear us, most merciful God,

for that part of the Church

which through your servant Patrick you planted in our land;

that it may hold fast the faith entrusted to the saints

and in the end bear much fruit to eternal life:

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(From the Book of Common Prayer, Church of Ireland, 2004)

O GOD, who for the preaching of Glory

unto the heathen was pleased to 

send forth blessed Patrick,

thy Confessor and Bishop:

grant by his merits and intercession;

that we may through thy mercy be enabled to accomplish

what thou commandest us to do.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(From the English Missal for the Laity, 1958)

Deus, qui ad praedicandam gentibus 

gloriam tuam beatum Patricium

Confessorem atque Pontificem,

mittere dignatus es:

ejus meritis et intercessione concede: ut,

quae nobis agenda praecipis, te miserante

adimplere possimus.

Per...

(From the Roman Missal for the Laity, 1931)

Theft of the Heart of St Laurence O'Toole, Patron Saint of Dublin

The Heart of St Laurence O'Toole, Patron Saint of Dublin, born 1128, the first Irish born Archbishop of Dublin 1162.

Reading the Irish News recently I noted that the relic held in Christ Church Cathedral, (Anglican), Dublin had recently been the victim of a rather serious crime. Thieves have stolen the Heart of Saint Laurence O'Toole, even though we are lead to believe by Cathedral staff and clergy that the heart has no monetary worth whatsoever, indeed the Dean of the Cathedral has been quoted as saying, " It has no monetary value but we have loads of silver. It’s the last thing we thought would be stolen.” (The Very Rev Dermot Dunne, quoted from The Irish Times, 06/03/2012)

I think however that the Cathedral staff are not looking at this theft correctly, to assume that it was stolen for the purposes of making money, is a just one, yet I daresay it is not the whole motive. The Stealing of relics goes back to the Middle Ages, indeed clergy were once the instigators of such crimes, relics in those halcyon days were a source of  income, indeed it can be argued that they formed the basis of the European Economy, and of course Chantry Masses also backed up the economy of the two pillars, Mass and Relics.

To say that the heart is worthless in a monetary sense is a rather foolish statement, there are still, much like the Elector of Saxony Fredrick the Wise, hoarders, (I suppose they prefer the term collectors), of such things. There is indeed a vast market for such things. I don't think this is a simple act of cultural vandalism against the Church of Ireland, I believe that it is part of a serious crime spree in the whole Church Community, the Roman Catholic Church, (Or as it styles itself "The Church in Ireland), has also been the victim of nefarious relic hunters.