Occasional homilies from the Bishop and other senior clergy
Homily of Bishop Michael Duignan on the occasion of his installation as Bishop of Galway
1 May 2022, Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven & St Nicholas, Galway
"On the cover of your booklets, you will see that we have gathered here this afternoon for my “installation” as Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora. Some weeks ago, when I used the word “Iistallation” in conversation with my mother she simply replied: “could they not have got a better word for it? Installing something … that sounds like getting a new washing machine or a fridge freezer”. While the word Installation is rightly used to describe the technical and canonical aspects of today’s ceremony another less common but perhaps a more personal description is simply the “Reception of
the New Bishop” or even the “Welcome of the New Bishop”.
A “Threshold Moment”
It is customary that this ceremony of reception or welcome takes place in the Cathedral Church – which takes its name from the Latin word “Cathedra” or “Chair” – that place where the bishop sits, the mother Church of a diocese. What a striking and majestic Cathedral we have here on the banks of the Corrib in the heart of the City. It has surely lived up to Bishop Browne’s dream that it would be “solid, dignified and worthy of Galway”. It stands as a testimony to the faith of the people of this locality and a visible daily reminder to raise our minds and hearts towards God. I am conscious of the passing of the years since it was built and the fact that I am the first Bishop of Galway to be born after it was consecrated in 1965. Today’s reception and welcome began at the great west door. As I crossed over its threshold, I could not but think that this is in a very real sense a “threshold moment” – a graced moment of transition from the past to the present to the future.
A Truly Historic Development
I am both honoured and humbled to be formally received and welcomed in this way by the priests and people of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora. Established by Pope Gregory XVI in 1821, Galway is the youngest diocese in Ireland. The first bishop was George Joseph Plunkett Browne. Coincidently, before his appointment, he was the Parish Priest of my home parish in Athlone and like me was a priest of the Diocese of Elphin. In 1883, Pope Leo XIII joined the Diocese of Galway with the Diocese of Kilmacduagh and appointed the Bishop of Galway Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora in perpetuum. I am conscious that today marks yet another historic milestone for the people of faith in these parts. For, as we have heard in his letter to us, Pope Francis has appointed, for the first time, one Bishop to
serve the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora and the venerable and ancient Diocese of Clonfert. This is a historic development, not just for the Church communities in the parts of the counties of Galway, Clare, Mayo, Roscommon and Offaly that comprise the two dioceses, but also for the Catholic Church on the island of Ireland as a whole.
A New Journey Has Begun
Not only have we entered this “threshold moment”, but with the reading of Pope Francis’s Letter and the seating on the chair, we have already crossed over and our new journey together has begun. We set out against the backdrop of the First day of May – my favourite month of the year – when all of nature so vividly comes to life after its annual winter sleep. As a Christian people, we also set out on this journey together in the full light of Easter and with the hopeful message of new life and infinite possibilities echoing in our hearts. Our first port of call has been to sit and listen to God speak to us through the scripture readings of this Mass for the Third Sunday of Easter.
Back to Galilee
The Gospel, we have just heard, takes us out of the highly charged atmosphere of Jerusalem and back to the relative tranquillity of Galilee. For Jesus and His first disciples – Galilee was home. It was the place where they had first met Him. Where, He and His message had captivated them. After the Resurrection, Galilee
was to become a place of new insight. There, they were to come to the realisation that the ordinariness of their humble lives had intermingled in an extraordinary way with the life of God Himself. Peter announces “I’m going fishing” and the others follow (Jn 21). They spend all night out without catching even a single fish for their trouble. As morning breaks, a man on the shore calls out. He advises them to cast out once more but this time in a different direction. In no time, the nets are full to breaking point. John cries out: “It is the Lord!” Peter, overcome with excitement, jumps into the water and swims ashore. As the others pull in and unload the catch, Jesus invites them to “Come and have breakfast.” With a flash back to Holy Thursday and a flash forward to our celebration of the Eucharist; He takes the bread and He takes the fish and shares it with them.
A Faith Rekindled
Such events mark a truly “threshold moment” in the lives of those early disciples. Not only do they rekindle their shattered faith but they also bring increasing clarity to the belief that in Jesus God Himself in all his glory was lovingly present to humanity. However, this is not all; those events of that first Easter ushered in a new sense among the early Christians that this transformed resurrected Jesus was now really present to anyone who might turn to Him in their hearts. This is not some farfetched idea from centuries past. Down through the ages countless numbers of Christians have sensed in their experiences, in their prayer, in the sacraments and at Mass that same Jesus alive and present to them. Deep in the recesses of their hearts, they have listened to His voice and received wisdom that has, in many instances, turned their lives around and helped them to achieve far more than they ever could on their own. Such friendship with Jesus enlightens us when it comes to the deep down questions of life: Why do we exist? How should we live life well? Where do we go when we die? Such friendship with Jesus has inspired generous hearts to work for the betterment of the least well off among us and to endeavour to transform ourselves, our families, our communities and our world for the better.
A New Energy and a New Focus
In the First Reading from Acts – we see Peter and the Apostles brought before the menacing Jewish authorities of their day. Their recent encounters with the risen Jesus seem to have totally transformed them from the confused, cowering, faltering, fearful men they were. They have a new energy, a new focus. It seems impossible to dampen the hope that had been enkindled in their hearts. Impossible to silence the Good News they had to tell or to lock up their faith in Jesus Christ.
In a Different Direction?
By contrast nowadays, at times, you might be inclined to think that faith in God, or friendship with Jesus or the living out of Christian Wisdom is something that will soon be a thing of the past. For a variety of reasons, many no longer believe the message. Many of our parishes are struggling, on so many levels, to support a vibrant faith community. Despite the great work done by generations of priests, religious and lay people now, at times, it feels like we have been out all night without a single catch. We can no longer ignore the fact that much of what the Church has built up in Ireland over the last two centuries is crumbling before our eyes.
The more and more I see, the more and more I am convinced that much of our infrastructure, our systems, our pastoral practices that were beneficial in the past, now hinder rather than help the life of faith. Here too we stand at a “threshold moment”. Inevitably, there will be a sense of genuine mourning in letting go but these Easter days tell us that out of such death comes new hope and new life. Perhaps the Lord is asking us to throw out our nets in a different direction. In the direction of a new and profound re-evangelisation of ourselves. As individuals and as a community, perhaps we now need to focus on rediscovering that living presence of the risen Christ among us. We need to experience again the joy and excitement that His message gives. We need to rekindle our confidence in its ability to transform our oft broken lives and transfigure our suffering world for the better. We need to sense anew that, this joy, like all joy, is a joy that calls out to be boldly talked about and respectfully shared with our fellow travellers on life’s journey.
A Renewed Faith Community
It is clear that in the future, we will be a smaller faith community, but with the help of God we will be a more faith-filled, vibrant, welcoming, grounded community. A faith community that is aware of our individual human weakness while, at the same time, ever striving to overcome such weakness with the merciful healing help of God. A faith community that lives the message of Jesus in a way that better speaks in equal measure to the lives of our fellow women and men. A faith community that builds bridges not barriers and that reaches out in compassion to aid those who find themselves in need. A faith community that is less afraid of those who see life differently from us. A faith community that finds its appropriate place within Irish society and an Irish society that finds a fair place for people of faith. A faith community, that is filled with the sound of young voices and that is inspired by their idealism and urged on by their energy. A faith community, where people, priests and bishop walk side by side in a truly synodal manner as companions on the great adventure that is the Christian way of life.
A Future of New Possibilities and New Opportunities
I thank you, the priests and people of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora for your generous welcome. I thank you for receiving me and accepting me as a travelling companion on the journey of life. I pray, and I ask you to pray that I, though flawed in so many ways, may with God’s help do some good among you. Pray also that we will renew our confidence in the presence of the risen Jesus with us on the way. Pray that we will discuss, dialogue and discern together what he is calling us to do in our today. Pray that we will commit ourselves to action and work towards a future of new possibilities and new opportunities.
As the month of May begins and we bask in the warming hope filled light of these Easter days, let us not forget as Saint Paul reminds us to “give glory to God who working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20).
Saint Nicholas, Saint Colman, Saint Fachanan, Saint Brendan, Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted, pray for us.
Amen.
Homily of Bishop Dermot Farrell at Mass of Thanksgiving on the Occasion of his Installation as Archbishop of Dublin
“Today, I stand before you more than aware of my own inadequacies. But you and I also stand before God, the giver of gifts … faith asks us to see life’s difficulties as a time of grace” – Archbishop Farrell
Today’s Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is the story of a young woman and a young man who give thanks to God for the gift of their child. It is also the story of two prophetic figures – an older woman and an older man – who recognised the significance of what was unfolding before their eyes. It is on this day that I embrace the ministry which has been entrusted to me by the Church: this morning I assume my role as Bishop of this diocese.
Today, I stand before you more than aware of my own inadequacies. But you and I also stand before God, the giver of gifts (see Matt 6:25–33), who is our hope and our help (see Pss 61:5, 26:1). It is a daunting task, but I am sufficiently acquainted with the calls of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Mary and others to realise that the enormity of the challenge is more than matched by the power of the One who has called me. Like Mary and the prophets of old, in the depth of my shortcomings, I also am called to trust the words of Abraham, our father in faith: “God will provide” (see Gen 22:8, 14). The God who calls us all can be counted on to empower us to respond generously to the call in this local Church.
I am happy to embrace this new mission. I come to you with hope in my heart. It is not a naive hope that everything will be better tomorrow, but a hope born of a conviction that transcends these difficult days through which we are living, and a hope that transcends the limits our own capabilities. Faith is not an invitation to put up with life’s difficulties and frustrations. Rather, faith asks us to see these as a time of grace. This time – both in the crisis that is the global pandemic, and in the many crises confronting the Church – this very time, with all its frustration and fear, is rich with possibilities, already carrying the future, overflowing with Christ (see Walter Burghardt, Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus, p. 36). What we do in the coming months and years, how we live out of these challenges and opportunities, will define who we really are as a people of faith. We must embrace the future: after all, today and tomorrow are God’s gift to us. Christ goes before his disciples: we follow. Rooted in our heritage, rooted in who we have become, Christ calls us forward (see Matt 4:19, Mark 1:38, John 21:15–18, Gal 1:15–16). The living “Church is always on the move, always going out and never withdrawn into itself. Jesus did not come to bring a gentle evening breeze, but to light a fire on the earth [see Luke 12:49]” (Pope Francis, Homily at the Opening of the Amazon Synod, October 6, 2019).
Today is also the day that the Church celebrates the World Day of Consecrated Life, an occasion to thank the Lord for the gift of lives given to God – lifetimes of service, of commitment to the service of the Gospel and the mission of the Church, and of prophetic witness to the presence and significance of Jesus.
I am particularly happy to take up this new role on the World Day of Consecrated Life. The women and men who dedicate their lives to the call of the gospel are at the heart of life of our Church. Without their service, without the presence of their communities, our church would be a very different Church. They have been at the forefront of renewal in the Church, taking bold initiatives, and making significant sacrifices, putting flesh on the hope that was within them (see 1 Peter 3:15). This is not a mission that belongs to the past. In another age, they were at the forefront of addressing the educational, social, and health of those who risked being left behind. Today they continue their prophetic ministry in the service of those whom our society might prefer not to see: those who suffer from addiction, those who struggle to put food on the table, women trafficked, those without a roof over their heads, or a front door of their own. They make bold to assert that Christians “must realise that their responsibility within creation and their duty toward nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith” (Saint Pope John Paul II, Message for the World Day of Peace, 1st January 1990).
We face the formidable task of ‘preparing the way of the Lord’ (see Mal 3:1—the First Reading of today’s Mass) for the next generation, of discerning what is life-giving in the faith patrimony of the Church, and most of all, of appropriately and effectively bringing good news to the people of our time” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 40). This will not happen unless people of faith are capable of dialogue with society and culture. This dialogue is vital for the life of the Church that calls itself “Catholic.” How blind we would be to ignore the world! Are not “the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted,” are these not “the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ?” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium §1). Are they not the joys and hopes, the griefs and worries of Christ himself? (see John 15:11, Luke 24:11, John 11:35, Matt 26:38, Matt 27:46). Through the working of the Spirit, through the Church – the community of believers – Christ continues to come into our history, into our time; it is women and men who are “capable of speaking with God, of entering into God’s mystery” who make Christ accessible to the culture, and extend the reality of Christ into the world (see, Pope Francis, Homily on Feast of St Joseph, 19th March 2020). We still need the wisdom and experience, the generosity and prayer, of those whom the Lord has called to consecrate their lives in love of Him and in the service of their sisters and brothers. We need your guidance and example in finding the right balance between word and silence, between action and acceptance.
I look forward to your ongoing collaboration and support, as together we continue to serve the people of the Diocese. “How important it is to dream together… By ourselves, we risk seeing mirages, things that are not there. Dreams, on the other hand, are built together” (Fratelli Tutti, 8). Everyone in this diocese – laity, priests and deacons, religious, all who embrace apostolic charisms, as well as the women and men called to a more contemplative way – has something essential to contribute to the future of the faith in Dublin.
It is the future of the faith that calls us. “If everything remains as it was, if we spend our days content that ‘this is the way things have always been,’ then [God’s] gift vanishes, smothered by the ashes of fear, and by the anxiety of defending the status quo” (Pope Francis, Homily at Opening of the Amazon Synod, October 6, 2019). Rather than being focused short-sightedly on the glory of the past, and the magnificent institutions which our sisters and brothers before us built – old wineskins, to use the Lord’s phrase – we need to accept the responsibility of mission as we experience it now.
It is how we embrace this mission that is going to make the difference. We can only do this together. Walking together is the way of community. “Walk[ing] together is the constitutive way of the Church” (Pope Francis, Address at the Opening of the 70th General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, May 22, 2017). It was the way for the disciples who followed Jesus in Galilee: they walked with him (see Mark 3:14). It was the way for the disciples on the road to Emmaus – who walked with the stranger in their day of disappointment and confusion (see Luke 24:18). And walking together is the way for the Church in our time. We walk with each other and we walk with our Lord. We need his presence and his word “in order to know what the Spirit, the ‘Spirit of Truth’ (John 14:17), ‘says to the Churches’ (Rev 2:7)” (Pope Francis, Address during the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Institution of the Synod of Bishops [17 October, 2015]).
Hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches is no easy matter. There is no infallible way. But there is a clear way, a tried and trusted way. That way is a way with each other – slí le chéile. The Church of the future, the living Church of the future, will [have to] be a synodal church, or it will not be at all. We will have to be “a Church that listens to the faithful people of God, the priest, the bishop, the Holy Father; all listening to each other; all listening to the Holy Spirit [Pope Francis, Address to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, 17th October 2015]. It is an illusion to envisage a plan of evangelisation which is carried out only by clergy while the rest of the faithful are merely onlookers. The mission of the Church, the work of God, is not just the responsibility of a group of professionals; it is the call and responsibility of every baptised person whose active participation in the mission of the Church is to be considered indispensable and necessary (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, Ch. 2). In this light, the active participation of the laity becomes essential. They constitute the vast majority of the people of God. Indeed, as Saint John Henry Newman, remarked perceptively, “The Church would seem foolish without them” (On the Consultation of the Faithful on Matters of Doctrine). In this light, leadership in the Church is not about telling people what to do; rather it is about promoting co-responsibility and overcoming the mindset which runs the risk of relegating the baptised to a subordinate role, effectively keeping them on the edges of Church life. That is what we mean by a synodal Church—a church on the way with each other. The very first place synodality is expressed is at parish level. If it doesn’t happen in the parish, it will not happen at all!
In that light, the only viable pastoral plan for the future will be the plan which comes from a genuine dialogue and discernment between the people, clergy and religious. That will involve not only working together in new ways, but getting to know each other anew. If I may turn L.P. Hartley’s famous phrase on its head: “the future is a different country, we must do things differently there!” This is not to forget the past, and especially not the painful past where so many were hurt because our Church lost its hunger for the Kingdom and its justice (see Matt 6:33) We must never again put what we consider the needs of the Church before the needs of the little ones (see Matt 18:3–7). Whenever that happens, “the Church is living for itself, instead of being a sign of salvation for all” (Karl Rahner, Faith in Wintry Season [1990]).
But the future is God’s gift to us. I come to Dublin knowing very few of you. But such is our experience all through life: we come to new places, we meet new people, and we are changed, we are enriched. We live in new ways. There is no pre-packaged plan to address the reality in which we find ourselves. There is a direction; there are way markers, we know them well: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Gal 5:22–23). They call us to build, or to re-build parishes marked by welcome, openness, forgiveness, resilience, and courage. They call to the service of communities which put flesh on new ways of living in our common home (see in particular, Laudato Sì §2), and of praising the One who gives us life (see John 6:33). We pray today for all those who have responsibilities in the Church, for clergy, religious and contemplatives, for members of our faith communities, for all those involved in Catholic education and the social mission of the Church, that they receive the same graces: listening and hearing, accompanying and serving.
I am grateful to His Excellency, Archbishop Jude Okolo, the Holy Father’s representative in Ireland, for his kindness, his humanity, and his infectious spirit of joy. Archbishop, please convey our gratitude to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for the ministry of unity that he humbly and faithfully performs for all in the midst of the contradictions of the world.
To Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, I publicly and sincerely express gratitude. Throughout my years working in Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth – of which he is a Trustee, and as a member of the Episcopal Conference, and more recently in preparation for today, he has been most supportive, and fraternal. I want to reiterate, what I said on December 29th: you saw profoundly the woundedness of the Body of Christ, and provided forceful and unambiguous leadership, especially in the safeguarding of children where you took courageous positions. The Church and wider society owe you a profound debt of gratitude. We must do everything “never to slip back.”
I began this, my first homily as archbishop of Dublin, by acknowledging my gratitude to the clergy, religious and lay faithful. I close it by thanking God for all those who have been part of my vocation journey. I owe a debt of gratitude to my late parents, Carmel and Dermot, my brother and sisters, neighbours, friends, teachers, the people of the parishes of Castletown-Geoghegan, Mullingar, Tullamore and Dunboyne, the students and staff of Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth and the Pontifical Irish College, Rome, and to the people, priests and bishops of the Dioceses of Meath and Ossory and my brother bishops. In multiplicity of ways, each of you has formed me for this new ministry and witnessed for me what true priestly ministry could and should be.
Like Mary, the Mother of the Lord, we have to find our place in God’s story. I entrust my episcopal ministry to the motherly care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and patroness of this Pro-Cathedral.
Be assured of my prayer for you even as I ask for yours for me. Saint Laurence O’Toole, pray for us. Saint Kevin, pray for us. May God bless our Archdiocese of Dublin. Amen.
+ Dermot Farrell
Archbishop of Dublin
Bishop Farrell's installation can be viewed at https://www.dublindiocese.ie/watch-listen-live/ (choose the 'Recordings' tab and select the ceremony).
Bishop Brendan Kelly preached the following sermons in Galway Cathedral on Friday 17 August 2018 at the funeral of Fr James Max Mitchell and Saturday 18 August 2018 at a Mass of reconcilliation and remembrance of the Maamtrasna murders.
17 August 2018: Funeral of Fr James (Max) Mitchell
Fr Max died peacefully and without fuss on the vigil of the great Harvest feast, Lá Fhéile Muire sa bhFomhair, the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven, the feast of the dedication of this Cathedral.
The gospel today is the gospel the church gives for that solemn feast of the Assumption.
The Assumption is a feast brim-full of Hope and reassurance about our destiny. Where Mary has gone, we hope to follow.
The story of the Visitation is a very simple and very beautiful story, rich in faith, in hope and in love: Faith: ‘Blessed is she who believed…’, Hope: ‘that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled’, and Love: ‘Mary went as quickly as she could to the hill country to help and support Elizabeth, and God has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Rich too in joy, the child in the womb even ‘leaping for joy’; and Mary’s Magnificat, rich above all in praise and gratitude.
And I think it’s true to say, that though there is sadness and loss at Fr Max’s unexpectedly quick departure in the end, - and particularly for you his loved ones, - the dominant sense for us now is one of deepest gratitude for the long, fruitful and contented life with which he was blessed, and the positive and alert way in which he lived his every day, right to the end. Yes, his was a blessed life. Blessed too in long and faithful friendships – family, friends, colleagues in the diocese and in academic life, and none more so than Ann, blessed along with Sheila to be with him at the end.
He was also a very private man, who never sought limelight nor notice. However, he was a superb lecturer, kind and helpful always to his students, and quietly very generous with his resources He privately helped many people and supported many good causes.
Born on the 13th of Jan 1924, James Max Mitchell was ordained in Maynooth in 1948. His two uncles, Mgr Joe and Canon Michael were prominent priests in the diocese already. He returned to Maynooth and did post-graduate studies there for three years, gaining a Doctorate in Canon Law. History however, and local history in particular, was his great passion. Meticulously researched and judicious in his appraisals, his often long articles on aspects of the history of Galway and of the University appeared regularly in journals right through his life. On that very day he was taken to hospital, in one of his last lucid moments he was telling that the article he was completing for Martin Whelan and ‘New Horizon’ diocesan magazine was on his desk!
After his post graduate studies, he was appointed teacher in St Mary’s College in 1951, and remained there till he gained a lectureship in the Education Department of what was then UCG in 1966. He remained there for 23 years till retirement in 1989. But he continued to teach for sometime after that in the University and was going there right to the end almost, diligently researching and writing. Seeking the true story, often debunking distortions and myths. He served and sought the truth above all else…a necessary, noble and holy pursuit. Though he spent his life somewhat outside the diocesan life of most of us priests, he wanted to hear all that was going on in the diocese, the news and even the gossip! Despite the academic discipline and rigour that marked his life, there was a lighter side and he had a great sense of humour. There was nothing dull about him, his friends will testify. As a teacher and lecturer he was kind and diligent, ordered and clear. He was discreet and direct in his comments. He inspected me as a student teacher in the classroom. Afterwards, his only comment to me was that if you say a prayer at the beginning of class, very much our practice in those days in Coláiste Éinde, then it must be said with care and not rushed! -A lesson I never forgot!!
So now, we commend Max to the Lord to whom he gave his life in the priesthood all of those 70 long years ago. It is for us who gather around him today in this Eucharist of farewell and of faith to give thanks to the Good God who gave him to us, and to this city and diocese that he served so faithfully all during his long life.
And now, with Mary Assumed into Heaven as our guide, we pray that Fr Max be received into the eternal peace and joy of life eternal that we all hope for when our pilgrim journey on this earth is completed.
Suaimhneas síoraí tabhair dó, a Thiarna, agus go lonnra an solas bhuan mharathanch air. Faoi shíocháin chaoin i bhflaitheas na naomh go raibh sé.
AMÉIN.
18 August 2018: Mass of Reconciliation and Remembrance of the Maamtrasna Murders
‘Beidh tú in éineacht liom inniu i bparthas’ - ‘This day you will be with me in paradise’
There are no more beautiful words in all of Sacred Scripture. From Calvary to Paradise, crucifixion transformed to happiness and peace, death to new life…
Scéal iomlán na Críostaíochta!- This is the entire story of Jesus Christ and this is what Christian faith is…transformation, forgiveness, healing. Seo bonn agus barr an creidimh críostaí – athmhuintearais, leigheas, sonas síoraí. [The Passover from death to life, crucifixion to Resurrection is the climax and summation of the life of Jesus Christ]
We come to Mass to celebrate and re-live these things…and so be renewed and restored in hope, peace and joy…paradise awaits us all.
The Holy Eucharist is the Passover of Jesus Christ, achieved for all who follow, and believe in him. Passover, life transformed, the horrific sin-steeped slavery and sin that is Calvary and the Cross to the healing, forgiveness, the peace and the joy of Paradise begun now and fulfilled beyond the grave. All that Jesus revealed in the Resurrection. ‘He is not here. He is risen!’ the women were told on finding the tomb empty.
Nothing is more important that forgiveness. To make the move out of slavery… There is an African proverb which says ‘Not to forgive is to destroy the bridge that we might need ourselves’. It has taken 136 years for that poor man Maolra Seoighe to be exonerated…but the day has come…and we thank God for it.
The people of Israel took 40 long years of desert wandering before they at last had Egypt out of their system and entered the Promised Land
Johnny Joyce who wanted this mass for his murdered forbears wanted it equally for all the people who were caught up, on whatever side, innocent or guilty, in the unspeakable human atrocity and tragedy that was Maamtrasna in 1882. All of them impoverished. For this healing and transformation, we have gathered around the altar today. Remembering and renewing the great passage through the Cross and Calvary to the glory and joy of Resurrection. ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again’.
And, look where are we now as we celebrate? On the very site, in the very place where the three men who had been convicted of the murders were imprisoned and hanged, one of them entirely innocent. Surely for all three a Calvary, and particularly for the innocent one. Now at last, 136 years later, the terrible wrong done to Myles Joyce is in some way righted at last. Paradise, as it were, too long lost at last regained in some fashion. Like for the Israelites of old, the Passover at last achieved after the long years of slavery in Egypt and wandering in the desert.
The foundation story of the people of Israel, is that Exodus from the slavery of Egypt to the freedom of the land of Promise ‘over-flowing with milk and honey’.
The foundation story of our Christian faith community is the Passover of Jesus Christ from the horrific travesty of the Crucifixion to Resurrection and New Life, from the slavery of sin and death to freedom and joy, reconciliation and peace.
Just as Galway gaol with its high walls, forbidding locked gates and harsh confinement for those within has passed over into this glorious Cathedral with its open doors, and no outside walls, house of God, centre of healing, forgiveness, freedom and peace.
We have gathered today freely, willingly, full of hope, some come from afar to ponder, commemorate, pray and yes, give thanks to God. We make Eucharist together for the sake of the poor people, your ancestors who suffered such terrible pain, and appalling injustice.
Go sábhálfaidh Mac Dé na Croise Ceásta muid fhéin agus ár sinnsir…sinsear uilig eachtraí uafáis agus éagóir Mhámtrasna…agus go dtabharfaidh sé neart dúinn in gcónaí coinneáil orainn ar bhóthar an athmhuintearais agus na síochana go sroisfimíd, go h-umhal bhuíoch, Parthas na ngrás. Trí Chríost ár dTiarna.
AMÉIN.