May 2018 E-Chronicle
The young adults group participated in a number of activities in the very active month of May, so a bumper e-chronicle is in order.
May Outing
The weekend began on Friday evening with Mass in St. John’s followed by a quick and tasty dinner. Afterwards we headed to Comhaltas in Monkstown for a night of lively Céilí dancing.
Saturday was the feast of St. Pius V, the pope who codified the Mass of all time, and during the sermon at 9 AM Mass, we heard a little bit about some of his works. As pope, he excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I for persecuting the Catholics while releasing her subjects from their allegiance to her, showing that authority loses its power to bind when it is abused. He also praised and promoted the study of the works of St. Thomas Aquinas to restore Catholic philosophy and thought.
Following Mass, we left for Phoenix park to play a game of rounders. After a near sabotage by some of the long-awaited players, we began our tournament. With the help of our trained rounders instructor and park navigator, we played a couple of fast-paced, heart-racing, finger-spraining games.
We then headed to the Alex hotel for A Great Appeal for the Unborn conference, hosted by the SSPX. We heard from Fr. Leo Boyle with his years of experience in America and the devastating effects abortion has on a country; Dr Toni Brandi, founder of ProVita Onlus Italy, a pro-life organisation which works relentlessly to protect the unborn in a society that no longer values life; and Gianna Jenson, who survived an attempted abortion and how that has physically impacted her whole life, how she’s developed a relationship with God, and how she continues to live everyday with purpose through God’s love and forgiveness.
The conference was followed by a showing of the Archbishop Lefebvre documentary, and we finished the day back at the parish hall with dinner, dessert and a few songs.
On Sunday, after Mass and a short conference on the life of St. Kevin given to us by Kevin, we headed off to Glendalough for a long drive followed by a lovely picnic on arrival while basking in the sunshine. Fed and watered, we set off on the Spinc Hillwalk around the lake, through the Miner’s Village ruins and up the mountain, taking in the spectacular Co. Wicklow scenery as we went. 9km and 4 hours later, we made it back to our starting point and treated ourselves to some well-deserved ice-cream cones.
And so it was, somewhat burnt and much fatigued, we ended an eventful outing with a fulfilling and much prolonged evening meal.
Chronicle by Helen Jennings and Dominic Sherry.
Study days in May
Over the last few weeks we have had a series of interesting study days held at St. John's, Dun Laoghaire. We have started studying "Theology and Sanity" by Frank Sheen with Fr. Ockerse presenting a chapter at a time and thus launching what can become an in-depth discussion. In chapter one, we examined the higher faculties of the soul: the intellect and the will. The intellect having reality as its object must recognise the existence of God as part of that reality in order to attain sanity. Secondly, the will has the good as its object.
Chapter two presented one of the lower faculties of the soul: the imagination. The imagination can get in the way of the intellect in three ways. It can distract us. It can censor a concept we are trying to understand and if it cannot form a picture of it, refuse to accept it. This is a danger we face when trying to understand the mysteries of God. Instead we must study and contemplate what appear to be two opposing factors in a mystery and thus come to a better understanding of both. Finally, imagination can sometime substitute an image in place of reality. It is therefore something to be used carefully.
On another occasion, Father Gallagher gave us a conference on the history of the Catholic Church in Ireland and its place in the history of Catholic Europe. Much emphasis put on the fact that two of Ireland's greatest monasteries were in the wee north! Finally, we have started listening to a CD on Protestant errors, the Bible being the only source of Faith being the first one dealt with. All this contributes to a lot of learning which helps a lot in our daily struggle to remain faithful Catholics, so we hope to see more attending the study days over the months to come.
Synopsis by Therese McKeown.
Chartres Pilgrimage
For the Honour of Our Lord Jesus Christ
This was the theme for this year’s Chartres pilgrimage which took place from the 19th-21st May. Considering the pilgrimage fell but a few days prior to the subsequently ill-fated Irish abortion referendum, it is thought that many of the thirteen Irish participants carried with them a mutual prayer. Such thoughts however did not detract from the spectacular display of traditional Catholicism which was the Pèlerinage de Tradition. Event organisers estimated attendance to be over six thousand pilgrims.
The pilgrimage commenced with Mass on the morning of the 19th in the bishopric gardens of Chartres Cathedral. Early on the route, newcomers to the pilgrimage picked up the traditional chants as well as the great tales of horror and woe which the Chartres veterans were eager to recant. The premature scoffing of the pilgrimage’s first-timers was quickly silenced as the heat and humidity began to deconstruct the mettle of even the sanest of pilgrims. Knees wobbled, and perspiration began to resemble tears as the procession ground out the twenty-fifth mile of the first day.
The second day saw another twenty miles covered with the pilgrimage concluding that evening with Holy Mass being offered by Bishop Bernard Fellay in a small encampment on the outskirts of Paris. Despite the sore joints and blisters, His Excellency’s sermon on the humanity of Christ, which was relayed in three languages, was well received by all.
On the final day of the pilgrimage, pilgrims made their way through the illustrious streets of Paris. Although most walked that day with a mysterious limp, on a personal level I found it to be the greatest open display of Catholicism I have ever participated in. Mass that evening on the Parisian streets reaffirmed in many minds the importance of this pilgrimage for the future survival of Catholicism.
The logistical calculations by the pilgrimage organisers ought to be highly commended and praised for its safe and efficient delivery of pilgrims.
Chronicle by Colm Ó Begléighinn.