October Messenger: Pockets of hope
In his opening article in the October Messenger, entitled ‘Pockets of Hope’, editor Donal Neary SJ tells us that Pope Francis has named hope as the main theme for the Jubilee Year in 2025. Commenting on the theme Fr Neary says, “No Matter what our life can be like, there is always hope, based on the truth that we are loved by God and saved in Jesus”
Who Are We Supposed to Be? is the title of Father Liam Kelly OFM’s article. In it he recalls being asked this question by a group of giddy teenagers that weren’t familiar with seeing men dressed in brown habits wrapped in cords. He recalls that the late Father Philip Dean responded to the question by saying, “We are supposed to be ourselves!” Father Liam explains that this is a very good answer and a very Franciscan answer. The Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi takes place on 4 October 2024 this year. Father Philip quotes early Franciscan Saint John Duns Scotus: “We are not merely copies of one another, and we are not even copies of some ideal human being. Each one of us is a unique once ever creation”
Art is a prominent theme in this month’s Messenger. Jesuit Author Fr Brian Grogan SJ dedicates his article to his friend Imogen Stuart. Stuart was a renowned German-Irish artist and sculptor who died at the age of 96 on 24 March 2024. Her work, influenced by 19th-century Expressionism and early Irish Christian art, made a powerful impact on the Irish liturgical scene. Father Grogan tells the reader that, “She wanted her work to be ‘used’ she called art ‘an essential public good which would not only be accessible not only to the eye but to the touch'”
Former Jesuit and Art Therapist Colm Brophy’s write up is entitled Deep Down Things. Colm has taken inspiration from the language of renowned Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins in his poem ‘God’s Grandeur’ » and created a series of paintings based on various quotes from the poem. In this article the focus is particularly on the line “Nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things”. You can view the painting in the article too!
Patrick Carberry SJ reminds us of the Pope’s intention for the month of October in his article ‘For a Shared Mission’. He says “The Pope asks that we pray that the Church continues to sustain in all ways, a synodal lifestyle as a sign of co-responsibility, promoting the participation, communion and mission shared among priests, religious and lay people”
Young Adult John Gallen is part of a group from the Jesuit Young Adult Ministries. He recently travelled to Rome In the Footsteps of Saint Ignatius of Loyola which is title of his article, in which he looks back in depth at his journey and it’s profound impact on him and the group. “Joining together to celebrate Mass in the room where Ignatius died was moving and a chance to contemplate what it means to live as Ignatius did, a life of service to God”
Advocate and activist Father Peter McVerry SJ works with the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. In his piece All Lives Matter he discusses the issue of drug-related deaths and homelessness. He notes that “In 2021 there were 607 drug-related deaths in Ireland but no promises of action or increasing the number of drug treatment programmes.” He asks readers to consider their attitudes to addiction noting that “When I judge drug users, I am actually judging myself, because I know that if I had been born into their circumstances I might be exactly the same and if they had been born into my circumstance, they might be the priest coming up to visit me in prison”.
The Messenger has all its regular features as well, – reflections, scripture, cookery, crosswords, children’s pages, nature focus, and RE:LINK.
