Hi, just in from morning Mass in Kilmovee.  Lovely to see so many people there and what is certainly a wet and dreary Sunday morning.

There were one or two lines from the readings that I wanted people to take away with them.  One was from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians; “I would like to see you free from all worry” (7:32)  I think there’s great consolation and hope in that line.  Paul, expressing his belief in God’s wish for us, would like us to be set free from worry.  If that’s God’s wish for us, and surely it is, then He will help us towards that end if we allow Him.  I think there’s something there about letting God help us sort out and move away from our worries.

The other line is central to the Gospel today where Jesus makes a lasting impression on his hearers because he teaches/speaks “with authority”. (Mark 1:21-28)  Authority doesn’t necessarily mean control or power or booming voice but authenticity.  What he was saying and how he was saying it was rooted in authenticity.  He was what he was about.

Last night I attended a function in St Aidan’s National School, Monasteraden.  It marked the retirement of the School’s Principal Teacher, David O’Gara and, in a way,  the handing over of the “reigns” to the new Principal Teacher, Anne Moriarty.  I’m happy to say I consider both to be good friends of mine and I was glad to be there.  David has been in the school for thirty-five years and more.  He was a good Principal and best summed up in the closing comments of the Chairman of the Board of Management, Fr Joseph Gavigan, when he said “we came here tonight to pay tribute to David O’Gara, teacher and gentleman”.

David O'Gara with his wife, Maria

Geraldine striking a balance between "daddy" and "sir"

There were fine tributes paid to David and deservedly so.  The night was, in some ways, stolen by his eldest daughter Geraldine in her words.  She spoke of her father with love and admiration.  She said that for twenty of his thirty five years in the school there was at least one member of his family attending as pupils.  She talked of travelling to the school with “daddy” and travelling home again with him.  For the hours in between he was “sir”.  It could have been a confused relationship.  Travelling to school in the family car, your father at the wheel and maybe the odd argument to be sorted out along the way and then school and classroom.  Daddy as teacher – principal – the one to whom you might be sent if you misbehaved and the one certainly on whom you were depending for the teaching of lessons that would last a lifetime.  Geraldine, together with her sisters and brothers managed this relationship.  How?

I think the answer lies somewhere in authority.  Not control or fear but authority such as Jesus is admired for in the Gospel passage.  There was authenticity.  David knew his role as father and teacher and lived both with authenticity.  For this he is remembered in the words of a thankful and proud daughter.

There’s something of this in our relationship with God.  Maybe at times we see Him as teacher – a bit removed, authoritarian, laying down commandments and curbing our freedom.  We see Him as one wanting us to learn the lessons of life.  There are other times He is “daddy” – close to us and for us.  Indeed Geraldine said the only exception to the weekly routine of daddy before and after school and “sir” in between, came on a Friday at lunchtime when the children went to the local shop to buy a few sweets.  He was “daddy” then, as she went to him for a few pence to do just that.  The father in him overtook the “sir” and she was not denied.  That’s surely a fitting image of God.  That balance between the one wanting what’s best for us through His teaching and the one who allows us root in His pocket for small change!

Handing on the "authentic" voice - David O'Gara and Anne Moriarty

Authority and authenticity go hand in hand.  They leave and make a lasting impression.  Rightly so.

On Monday of this week, I visited with a friend from home who now lives in Donegal.  Two years ago he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and though, adamant in his conviction that he is, “not SICK”, he lives each day with this condition.  It was one of the most humbling experiences I have had in a long time.  I sat beside him while he wrote his words and thoughts on a little white board.  He erased the words but the thoughts and their message remain.  The little board he used was, he told me, bought in a local shop in Ballaghaderreen. I thought afterwards that I’ve most likely walked past that little board so many times in search of other things.  It would not even attract my attention.  Now it is a central part of his daily communication.  How easily we can miss the important things or fail to see their potential to be important.  He spoke to me of his condition and his awareness of his journey.  He spoke volumes and though, as I said, the words were quickly erased, their memory lingers.

He spoke to me – like the Jesus of today’s Gospel passage – with authority, authenticity because he totally knew what he was talking about and where he was talking from.

I have a lot to think about after this week.  Certainly I want to be able to speak to people with “authority” – with “authenticity” and, to do that, I need balance and example.  I observed and was touched by both in a Monasteraden School and a Donegal kitchen.  God Bless all who come to me – come to us – to make us think again ….

I received the following earlier today from a friend who has some “questions” about Faith.  Currently he is working with some men who obviously have Faith and have heard his questioning.  One of them shared this with him and he passed it on to me …

See what you think!  It might start a “conversation”.  It appears to have taken place in a lecture hall and, as you’ll see in the very last line, some considerable time ago.

__________________________________________________

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student :Yes

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smell your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theatre became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

By the way, that student was EINSTEIN

"Baptism - the gateway to the Sacraments"

This is the title sometimes given to Baptism.  It is a   deeply meaningful title that reminds us that baptism opens the way for the other Sacraments and, without it, the other Sacraments cannot be celebrated.  It is then, in truth, the way into Sacramental Life and Union with Christ.  As such it is a very important step and one not lightly taken.  We might do well this weekend to give some thought to our Baptism and, for those among us, who have had children baptized, some thought to how we have followed through on that initial step.

The only reason to open a gate is to gain access to a place otherwise off limits.  If we cross the gate or get around it in some other way we are, it’s fair to say, trespassers.

We are not called to trespass but rather to move freely in a place left open to and for us.  It is then important that we acknowledge this “open gate” and express gratitude for it through our response to the freedom of travel – the “right of way” offered to us.

When we were baptized our parents and sponsors took on responsibility to hand on the Faith to us in word and fact.  This was to be done through good example, bringing us to Church, teaching us our prayers, helping the school in its Sacramental preparations for our First Penance, Holy Communion, Confirmation etc.  They were to teach us of “God Our Father, Christ our Brother and the Holy Spirit”.  Today we acknowledge the efforts they made to do this and so much more for us all.  As parents now yourselves, the question is being posed “How are you doing?”  Chances are, if you’re reading this bulletin, you’re not doing too badly.  You are in Church with your family and continuing to   answer the call to hand on the Faith in the home.  May God bless you in that and more.

If, for any reason, there’s been a bit of slippage on the Practice of the Faith, this is surely a good day to re-commit and, as a New Year begins, to renew every effort and to bring to the fore what is certainly good within.

The Church isn’t intended to be a place for the lukewarm but rather a place warmed and refreshed by the lived Faith of its people.  We are those people!  The gateway has been opened to us.  We are not trespassing.

Traditionally this is the “twelfth night” – the last of the Christmas Season and candles are placed in windows to let the passing traveller know there’s a welcome inside.  This links us with the journey of the Wise Men and the following of the Star of Bethlehem.  They arrive at the end of the Christmas Season to remind us that as their journey concludes ours begins.  Determined to find the Lord, they left palaces and attendants and the trappings of power and royalty to declare to all the need for the presence of the King of Kings in our lives.  A timely reminder perhaps for governments and those in authority!

As a lover of technology I, like many, have become quite dependant on Satellite Navigation.  I think it’s amazing and the technology’s ability to take me to previously unvisited places is always reassuring and welcome.  It remains the case that the more accurate the information you can input before setting off on the journey, the better.  This effectively means we need to have some fairly concrete notion of our destination.  Like the Wise Men, we need to know where we are going so that we know what to follow.

I think the most reassuring thing about Sat Nav is that it will eventually take you where you need to go, even if there are a few mistakes along the way.  Veer off the given course, there’s usually a little voice that says “re-calculating” and another version of the route is presented.  This might happen more than once but all the re-calculations are rooted in the final destination and that’s where we aim for and ultimately reach.  Occasionally too, we might get it completely wrong and face in the wrong direction – another prompt says “make U-Turn when possible”.  We can never get to our destination if we turn our back on it.  Often the “U-Turn” is the only way to go.

There’s surely a metaphor here.  As we come to the Twelfth Night and stand at the crib with the Three, we realise their journey called for re-calculation and, quite likely, the occasional U-Turn.  Indeed the most basic re-calculation they had to make was to decide to go home “by a different way” to avoid the treachery of King Herod.

Their journey is now our journey and their commitment to that journey is our challenge.  Enter the destination details “I want to meet Christ” and the directions will follow.  Yes, there may be wrong turns and denials along the way but listen for the “re-calculating” and the “make U-Turn when possible” promptings found in Liturgy and Prayer and the rest will fall into place ………..