Chris McDonnell 2013 articles 2012 articles
Oct
31: Hey
Jude!
There are many instances when we face situations that trouble us,
occasions personal to our families, and our own life story, when faith is
tested and the consequences of the experience asks questions that take us
out of our comfort zone. Then those oft repeated words “Do not be
afraid” take on a whole new meaning.
Oct
24: A Dusty Cardboard Box
As we sift through the collection of faith experiences of a life
time, we can get the same sense of surprise and wonderment. Different
experiences are treasures at different times. They help us on our way,
we grow because of them, we value the opportunity they gave to each of
us. And we move on.
Oct
17: The deadwood of trees
Fragmentation
in the West proceeds at a pace. We see it in the breakup up of political
parties where smaller groups are emerging representing a narrow platform
of opinion. We see it in a society where often those who are already poor,
get poorer and those who have wealth increase their considerable fortunes.
We see it when smaller parts of a Nation seek independence, pursuing an
ethnic or language based identity.
Oct
10: A prophetic voice - Hans Kung
(also posted at ACP
site)
A most significant and charitable action towards Kung would be for Francis
to restore Kung’s credentials as a Catholic Teacher who, throughout
these difficult years has remained a priest in good standing. The
restoration of Teilhard de Chardin came after his death. It would be a
pity if history were to repeat itself
Oct 3: Waiting
There have been those who have expected an instant response from Pope Francis to the
major problems we face. Instead, we have been offered indications of a changed
life style, the odd phrase here or there, the open hand. And we are having to be
patient
Sep
28: Open
Hands
When someone is down, our first instinct is to help
them up, to care for them and to re-assure them. Time enough for the
discussion as to the why’s and wherefore’s of their predicament.
Isn’t this exactly what Francis has done? He has extended his hands to
those who are in need of his care
Sep
21: A Theology of Liberation
What
has slipped under the radar has been the meeting in
Sep
14: A thorny issue - priestly celibacy
Posted at PrayTell,
with many comments
Sep
11: Reflection on 9/11- The
sound of silence
with YouTube link to Paul Simon singing The
Sound of Silence at Ground Zero
Also from Chris,
for today's 40th
anniversary of the Chilean-Pinochet coup:
The
Chilean Coup of September 11, 1973
Sep
4: Death of a poet (published
also at
PrayTell, with comments)
Not many live lives that, in their passing, are so noticed and admired as
that of Seamus Heaney, who died last week. The greatness of his poetry was
recognised internationally and he was rewarded with the Nobel prize in
1995, acclaimed as
August 30: Dream On -
like Martin Luther King:
Our church, with all its current
problems, could do well to reflect on the trust and hope in those fateful
words from that time, We shall
overcome, for that is what the
Spirit of Pentecost is all about
August 23: The Coptic
Church
In this time of
stress, we owe our Coptic sisters and brothers our concern and our prayers
as we do all the peoples of Egypt
August
15: Sorry, no
Mass today
(this article posted
on Pray Tell,
with more than 70 comments!
Somehow, somewhere there must be a resolution of the crisis in
priesthood that we presently face or we will have failed future
generations. Let’s be realistic. More of the same is no answer for a
pilgrim church
August 8: This Feast of
Light
- a reflection on the common date of the Transfiguration and Hiroshima
August
7: A contraceptive mentality?
To imply that acceptance of
artificial contraception has a direct link with the gay marriage issue is
mind-blowing.
There is no connection
July
31: So
we got married
With the many pressures on our lives,
marriage has not escaped the questioning of a changing world. We need not be
judgemental whilst we personally adhere to a Christian view of a sacrament that
is not a one-off morning in a dressed-up church but is a continual life
experience, ever changing and adapting, both joyous and sorrowful
July
24: A place apart
We should take great care with our own ‘holy places’, be
they public within our community or within the privacy of our own homes. The
image, the crucifix, the icon, the candle that help locate such a place, become
tokens of our presence where we can listen to the Lord and enter into his peace
July
17: The Bread is
Broken
For many years in our Parish, at weekday masses when smaller numbers were
present, we gathered round the altar at Communion time. We shared the Sign
of Peace with each other and each of us with the celebrant as we stood
round him at the altar. That has now unfortunately been stopped and an
action that had significance has been lost
July
10: A Date to Remember
"He
did not operate by great exposition of ideas but by gestures and a certain
personal style".
Yves Congar's
words about Pope John XXIII apply to Pope Francis
....and apply to every Christian
July
3: A pertinent question
Brendan
Hoban’s book is an honest and open attempt to look at the current reality.
One would hope that it will be read by many, including our Bishops. When you
are given warning of a likely train crash, it is prudent to adjust the points
in good time. Read the book, it’s worth reading. It is available through the
ACP website in Ireland.
June
26: I bow my head
The prayer of the people, heads bowed under the slanting rain that Wednesday
evening in March, must continue for the man who bowed his own head,
seeking blessing
June
19: A worthy place We
have, in our small parish church, the seven volumes, all now commercially
available, of the
June
12: A
meeting place
Every so often, some event, some
person, some meeting reinvigorates us, and the sun shines. Francis has had that
effect on the Church since his election in mid-March. He has shown us another
way of doing things. He is a person who respects people
June
5: The
Parish Community
"The parish is a holy place. I take off my shoes."
What finer, yet
simple, summary of the place that you and I call home, our Parish?
The image that heads this posting, of the Mother and Child
collecting water in a pitcher, should be a reflection of our parish, a
place of sustenance and refreshment. Like our family home, our parish is
indeed a sacred dwelling. We disturb its balance at our peril
May
29: Spirit of Freedom
The dove, being released by Papa Francesco, is gaining again the freedom of the
skies and there is immense joy on the face of Francis that he is giving the dove
its liberty.
2013-05-22:
Open
Hands
But
apart from the month of May, we should take time in the stillness of
prayer to reflect on the
significance of Mary and allow our own favourite image to instill
in us the tranquil peace and, at the same time, challenge, that
Epstein achieved in his Mother and Child
2013-05-15:
On
the margin
Nouwen then poses a question “Why do I avoid
silence?”, a challenge that asks us to face up to our difficulties.
As we approach the feast of Pentecost may we be open to the Spirit
and may we help and sustain each other on the journey
May
8: The
shadow of the Cross
It is the
shadow of the cross that has hovered over
May
1: A Birthday Celebration
It would be good if Pope Francis was able to
publicly recognise and proclaim the value of de Chardin’s life of faith,
his prophetic writings and the bridge he built between science and belief
The Mass on the world La Messe sur le monde Teilhard de Chardin, 1923
April
24: Community
or isolation?
I went to the tomb and rolled back the stone.
Out came the poor and destitute,
the prisoners, the old and forgotten,
blinking in the sunlight,
all ready for a new birth
April
17: Prayer
aint easy
There are times when the words aren’t
there, when the feeling has gone and there is an aridness of spirit that
seems overwhelming
April
10: Opportunity
for renewal
Reflection on the anniversary
of Martin Luther King
Recently I have used the word ‘exhilaration’ to
describe these early days of Francis, for the Church seems to be emerging from a
dark night.
April
3: And so
it happened
Dare
we think that the vision of the Church that came from the Council is at
last being considered, a Church that is open to the world rather than
inwardly turned to its own structures?
March
27: An
intimate act of love
This ritual of washing feet made its modern
appearance with the reform of the Easter Liturgy in 1956. It
had not been seen since the Middle Ages.
March
20: The
Joy of Morning
But
from the moment that a simply clad, white figure emerged on to the
balcony, there was the realization that something significant had
happened. This man was going to be different.
March
13: Out
of Solitude
Now is a time of
rebuilding, a time to come out of the dark tunnel of forest undergrowth and seek
again the vision of a
March 6: Light
in the Shadows
How much do
we need a light in the darkness! These could be, should be, transformative days
for the Church.
The days of a centralised structure must surely be numbered as
the need for a real collegiality becomes self-evident.
Feb
27: The
Empty Chair
Mistakes have been made across the world, people
have been hurt. It must not happen again. Throughout this time, the regression
of power to a central Roman Curia has continued apace as the open vision offered
by the Council has been severely limited
Feb
20: Do
not be afraid
But maybe the
cardinals should remember the words of Yogi Berra when he spoke about baseball managers,
"If you do what you have always done, you are going to get what you
have always got."
Feb 13: And so Lent
begins
Maybe
we should all enter this period of Lent anxious to learn where the Spirit
is leading us and help each other on the way.
Feb
6: Praying
the Psalter
The
Psalms are rich and fertile ground wherever we find ourselves of our
journey. They speak of joy and suffering, success and failure, life and
death. The words of the Psalms have been read and prayed through the
centuries and are still at the core of the Liturgy of the Hours
Jan
30: On
the Lower East Side
But in the
end, fine and inspiring though they might be, buildings are not the
Church. It is we, the people who walk through the doors, sit in the pews
or kneel in prayer, who are the Church. That is why, with all our present
difficulties, we should respect those with whom we differ and seek to be
along side each other as we try to resolve our differences
Jan 23: We,
the people
Re
the case of people like Fr Tony Flannery: We, the people,
who are voiceless need their voices to speak on our behalf. They must not be
allowed to stand alone, for if they are silenced after so many years of faithful
service to their Christian calling, then so too are we. This is not an issue of
dissent, but a matter of freedom to speak, to discuss, to be heard and to seek
together a way through difficulties.
Jan
16: Our
Baptism
We celebrate, each year, our birthday, the occasion when we achieved
independence from our Mother’s nurturing care and brought joy to our
family.
Jan 9: The Didache
It is
mentioned by the Early Fathers and then appears to have been lost. It was only
re-discovered in
Jan
2: The
space between words
Silence is precious and necessary for a Christian.
So
as we welcome another year maybe we should seek those silent spaces more
often, when we might listen for the Lord and he in turn might find us,
waiting, in silent expectation