October Messenger: The little way
“We are affected in many areas of life by encouragement”, says the editor Donal Neary SJ in his opening article in the October Messenger. The piece is a reflection on the “fruits of encouragment” that Donal received throughout his life and the impact it had on him. Donal also quotes Saint Paul: “He preached a lot but with words of encouragement also: ‘I am being completely frank with you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with consolation; I am overjoyed in all our affliction. (2 Cor 7:4)”.
The Pope’s intention for the month of October is the focus of Kevin O’Gorman SMA’s article. Pope Leo asks us to pray that “Believers in different religious traditions might work together to defend and promote peace, justice and human fraternity”. Commenting on the intention Kevin notes “The call to collaborate in making and maintaining peace is the primary moral challenge for the contemporary world. With peace it is possible for peoples and politicians throughout the world to perceive that the existential questions of climate change, famine and migration are shared realities that can be solved by pulling together and pooling materials and technological resources.” Father O’Gorman concludes with a prayer: “Holy spirit show us your beauty, reflected in all the peoples of the earth, so that we may discover anew that all are important and all are necessary, different faces of the one humanity that God so loves.”
Father Gerard Condon is Director of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of Cloyne. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is the focus of his article ‘The Little Way’. Father Condon shares that “Thérèse might well have been forgotten were it not for her older sister, Pauline, who was a prioress of the convent at Lisieux. She got Thérèse to record her memoir during the final months of her illness. The Story of a Soul first published in 1898 became a bestseller. Readers took to the Saint’s direct language and could identify with her insights and spiritual life, including doubts about God’s existence, freely expressed but always resolved by her faith”.
Saint Thérèse calls herself “the little flower of Jesus”. This doctrine of the ‘little way’ affirmed that holiness does not depend on performing extraordinary or heroic deeds, but rather doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. Father Condon explains that “Pope John Paul II declared Saint Thérèse a Doctor of the Church, only one of four women to be given this accolade and in 1927 Pope Pius XI named her the patroness of missions.”
Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy looks back on sixty years of Vatican II. He reminds us “This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. I was five at the time, and I have no direct recollection of it except for a vague memory of seeing some clip on TV. It would be some years later when I was studying Theology when I realised how significant it was. The council changed the way Catholics and others saw the Catholic Church. The bishops at that time emphasised in a new way the Church’s mission as a call to be an instrument of close-knit unity with God and among humankind. The bishops recognised in a new way the role of the Holy Spirit, prompting them to go out and engage with the world within which the Church lives.” Bishop Brendan continues “Pope Leo referred to the importance of the path of renewal launched by the council just two days after his election. ‘That we renew together complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council’.”
Father John Cullen works with the homeless in London and is a priest of the Diocese of Elphin. His piece ‘Landscapes of Hope’ focuses on the agricultural practices in Jesus’ time, including the sowing of seeds by hand, a common sight in the fields of Galilee. Father Cullen says “Jesus transformed this sowing scene into a parable about the challenging work of growing the reign of God, like a field of wheat. (Mk 4:1-20).” The sower (Jesus himself) sowed the Word, the “good news” of God’s reign. Then he used the landscape to describe the “hearers”. Father Cullen explains “Some hearers were hard of heart, like the hard beaten paths, the rocky ground, the thorn patches, but God’s word gives life in the most unlikely places. Jesus is the seed himself that falls into the ground (Jn12:24) and becomes bread that feeds the five thousand. He continues to plant his Word and presence in our hearts.”
Other stories this month include ‘Dublin’s Good Samaritan’ by John Scally, a piece focused on Brother Kevin Crowley who died six months ago. “He lived his life to serve a simple mission: to feed and house the poor”. Father Peter McVerry in his article ‘The Option for the Poor’ writes “Jesus came, as he said to ‘bring good news to the poor’. In my view, the Church, if it is to be true to Jesus’ mission, must take sides with the poor. By that I do not mean that the Church is for the poor and against those who are not poor”. Author Andrea Hayes asks “How do we stay connected to the spirit in a digital age?” in her piece ‘AI and the Spiritual’.
The Messenger has all its regular features as well, – reflections, scripture, cookery, crosswords, children’s pages, nature focus, and RE:LINK.
