Brothers and Sisters in the Risen Lord,

Today, we celebrate the 4th Sunday after Easter. It is also the Feast of St. Philip and St. James, but because it is a Sunday of the Easter liturgical season, that feast is cancelled, this year. However, we do have a very particular reason for this afternoon’s Eucharistic celebration. The Pallottine Family of Ireland is gathered here today to mark the 100th year of presence here in Thurles. I am grateful for the invitation to share some thoughts with you all on this memorable occasion. I feel I am speaking in-house to the family that was my home up to a year ago, an apostolic family in the Church that will continue to be my primary spiritual reference point.

In 1909, two important events took place within the Pallottine community of priests and brothers. Firstly, the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, founded by St. Vincent Pallotti in 1835, was structured into four Provinces, a change necessary for more efficient administration. One of the four new Provinces was the Irish Province, and so, we celebrate with gratitude today, the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Irish Province of the Pallottine Fathers and Brothers. The second event is more relevant to our liturgical celebration here in the Cathedral of the Assumption today, that is, the establishment of the Pallottine Fathers and Brothers in Ireland, especially the establishment of a house in Ireland. Regarding the details, it is better to let the historical chronicle speak for itself:

“Father William Whitmee, former General  of the Society writes from San Silvestro in Capite in Rome to Father Patrick O’Grady in Argentina, on the 15th May 1906. He writes:

“I am going to Ireland in July to see if we can open a house there in order to get vocations as we are now becoming so few. I don’t know or course if I shall succeed but I have been asked to write to you and ask for Fr. Thomas O’Grady to be sent in charge of it ... I leave for Ireland at the beginning of July.”

Due to illness, it was to be September 1907 before he got to Ireland, and the result of his visit is set out in a letter dated September 28th, 1907 and addressed to Fr. Patrick O’Grady. He writes:

“I am glad to tell you how better I am for my trip to England and Ireland – I was very pleased with Ireland, my first visit. I found it as I thought, beautifully green and a mild climate. The short time I was there, two weeks, did me a great deal of good ... Now I must tell you about the Irish house. I went to see a place in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. I got the permission of the parish priest and went to get the permission of the Bishop in Carlow. Dr. Foley received me very kindly and after talking for about an hour told me of a much more suitable house in the diocese of Meath. The Jesuits have a novitiate there at Tullabeg, near Tullamore ... but they are obliged to leave it and go to Dublin so that their young men may matriculate in the University there. I think we shall take it.

However, from a subsequent letter we come to know that: “The General of the Jesuits has forbidden them to sell the College.”

The search continued and in a letter dated 6th July 1908, writes again to Fr. Patrick O’Grady. We read:

“I am leaving about the middle of the month for Ireland to see if we can succeed in opening a house for the reception of boys and young men. I hope this time to go to Thurles and try to get the Archbishop of Cashel to let us open a house there and we could send the young men to the schools of the Brothers and to the Seminary for Philosophy and Theology. I shall try, if I get permission, to hire a house, and afterwards we can buy. The President of the Seminary, The Reverend J. Ryan, is a friend and he has approved of the idea ... Ireland must be the recruiting ground for the English speaking missions ... .”

The visit took place and Fr. Whitmee secured the permission of Archbishop Fennelly, for the foundation. On the 23rd March 1909, the first Pallottine members arrived in Thurles, thus initiating a relationship of solidarity and friendship with the Local Church and people of this Archdiocese that continues to this day.

The “Reverend J. Ryan” mentioned in the chronicle, is better known to us today as the Monsignor James Ryan who was President of St. Patricks College, who had a residence in Cabra, 3 km from Thurles. He holds a very particular place in Irish Pallottine history. He was instrumental in bringing our community to Thurles. Besides, he left us his Cabra residence in his will. It served for many generations of Pallottines as the place of initial formation of priests and brothers.

There is a lesson for us in this story. New beginnings are never easy. Alone, it is rarely possible to succeed. But, when a person and persons come together and are enthusiastic about an evangelical project, success is only a matter of time. And if at first you do not succeed, try and try again. There is also need of great perseverance, and where there’s commitment there is perseverance and where there is perseverance, the best way is found - is revealed. “Everyone who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Lk. 11:9).

The story of our presence here in Thurles was never confined to just a presence of priests and brothers. From the beginning, family members and friends and associates from throughout the Archdiocese and beyond became a very potent spiritual and material support for the evangelical objectives of the new community. Many of these people became and continue to be co-missionaries of the Pallottine charism both for the Local Church and the Universal Church.

The beginning of a Millennium is a good time to begin a new apostolic endeavour. There’s a particular enthusiasm at the beginning of a millennium that helps us to “launch into the deep” and succeed. These words remind us of the words of Pope John Paul II, as he launched the Church into the third millennium. He proclaimed: “These words (launch into the deep) ring out for us today, and they invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm, and to look forward to the future with confidence” (NMI, 1).

Firstly – “To remember the past with gratitude”! It is important that all of us reflect on these words today. What we celebrate today is very much a local story. The Pallottines came to Ireland, Thurles, in 1909. This was the only house of the Institute in Ireland until the 1960’s. For almost 60 years all the Pallottine priests ordained in Thurles went abroad. First they went to countries where there were already some Irish Pallottines – Italy, England, Argentina and Chile. Then the Province began to make new foundations – the USA, Tanzania and Kenya, and to work in collaboration with Pallottines in other countries – especially Brazil. There were individual initiatives in Venezuela, Columbia, and Wales, two no longer operative, but Columbia is flourishing. There was also a time when some priests of the Archdiocese helped for a time in some Pallottine parishes in England. All this mission service went out from the Pallottine College, Thurles, in the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Today is an opportunity to thank the Archdiocese, its priests and people for facilitating this missionary endeavour. Thanks to the Professors and Formators of St. Patricks College for the philosophical and theological formation that generations of Pallottines received there. Thanks to the Christian Brothers (CBS) for the Secondary Education that generations of Pallottine postulants received there. The ongoing support of the local people was the fundamental hidden leaven for the success of our mission and missions.

On an occasion like this, the prayer of gratitude is a very important prayer. It renews our spirit and it helps us to recognise that we are not alone, that we depend on the help of others. It is good to renew our gratitude always. It keeps us humble - feet on the ground, living in the real world.

Secondly – “To live the present with enthusiasm”! I think the Pallottine community can be enthusiastic about two developments. Firstly, since the 1960’s, the Pallottine Provincial House has moved from London to Dublin; a Studentate has been established in Dublin and Pallottines are involved in the Pastoral service of three parishes of the Archdiocese of Dublin, and though vocations are few in Ireland, there’s never been a gap. The present is also today, this wonderful occasion to meet each other, and to “give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 106:1).

Thirdly – “To look forward to the future with confidence”! The world is changing more rapidly than ever before, and there is every reason to believe that such rapid change is going to be the dominant trend for the immediate future. The word “mission” has undergone a radical change. In the past the word “mission” really meant “foreign missions”, missions were “over the seas and far away”. And then you had the “parish missions” of the Redemptorists and others. Today, the word mission is applicable everywhere, from within my very self to the ends of the earth. This concept of the universal call to mission was, from the beginning, at the very heart of the intended foundation of St. Vincent Pallotti in 1835. Every person, made in the image and likeness of God is called to be an exemplar and a missionary presence, reminder, of God’s infinite love and mercy. The Pallottine Family can really look forward to the future with confidence because, as a result of a very long process of the re-evaluation and re-appropriation of the original charism, as called for - by the Second Vatican Council – recently came to a very significant conclusion. In October of 2008, the Holy See, through the offices of the Pontifical Council of the Laity, recognised the Pallottine Family throughout the world as a Public and Universal Association of the Faithful, with the name of the Union of Catholic Apostolate. The mission of this Association is to evangelise everywhere, and to involve every person in the mission of the Church. Every person is called to be a faithful believer in the Risen Lord, and every believer is called to be an apostle of the Risen Lord. The word “apostle” is not reserved to the successors of the twelve Apostles. By Baptism, all are called to be apostles, called and sent out to others, and to care for their every need, human and spiritual – “to be with Him and to be sent our” (Mk. 3:14).

Then, in the first week after Easter, this year, a new President of the Union of Catholic Apostolate was elected by its General Coordination Council, and confirmed by the Holy See. He could not be here with us today. He is a native of Cork, Fr. Jeremiah Murphy. We wish him every grace of the Lord, and the inspiration of the Prophet Jeremiah in his new and challenging service.

Spiritual gratitude, enthusiasm, and confidence! How do we maintain these so very important ideals in our everyday obligations and service? There is no magic answer to this question. There is no magic and permanent recipe. There is the nourishment we receive from the daily celebration of the Eucharist, and the inspiration of the Word of God. In every Eucharist celebration we hear many divinely inspired words. However, when you hear a barrage of words, you hear no word at all. How can we hear “a relevant word for me now”. I think we have to prepare ourselves to listen to the Word. When we call to mind our sins at the beginning of Mass, it is good to dwell on one sin, or defect, or fear, or one spiritual yearning that we need most. Keep one such thought in your mind as you listen to the Word of God and wait for a word that strikes you, and hold on to it for the day, or for the time being, or for as long as is necessary. Waiting is part of mission, maybe the essential part. But, it must be a “hands-on” waiting, waiting that is energised yearning, a knowing that you will receive.

I now wish to share with you the phrase from today’s readings that claimed my attention as I was preparing this reflection. The phrase is from the first reading, Acts of the Apostles, readings most emphasised during this Easter Season. Peter is the speaker, and he is fearless, filled with the Holy Spirit. He says: “Rulers of the people, and elders! If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us how he was healed ... then I am glad to tell you all, that it was by the name of Jesus Christ ... by this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in your presence, today.”

There are two phrases here that can be a sure guide for any member of the Union of Catholic Apostolate. I will just mention them briefly and then invite you all to make an application of the message to wherever you live and have your being. It’s up to me to do the same.

“questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple”

There are two concepts, at least, here. “Questioning us” ... The world will question us. We should not fear that, and we will never fear it if we understand the second concept in the phrase, namely, “an act of kindness to a cripple”. This is the act of charity, the act of care. We all need such charity. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to regard ourselves as people who are continually in need, somehow “crippled”. When we reach such humility, we become more free, more available, less fearful. We feel the need. We look for the Lord for help. The Lord in others can reach us too. That is how I see that phrase, now.

“I am glad to tell you how he was healed ... that it was by the name of Jesus ... by this name and by no other”

The questions are many but the name of Jesus, and no other name, is the only answer. With such faith, St. Vincent Pallotti gave as motto for his new foundation – The Union of Catholic Apostolate – the phrase from St. Paul 2 Cor. 5:14: “The love of Christ impels us”. Bishop Drennan’s translation would be: “The love of Christ engages all our energies”. This is the year of “Vocation” and the great vocation of every baptised person is contained in those words: “The love of Christ engages all our energies”. Therefore, as we enter a new century, the decision of the Irish Province to place its life and apostolate under the patroness of Mary Mother of Divine Love, is a prophetic choice. Divine love is the love that reaches out to wherever there is need. Mary is the mother of Divine Love whereby, she appeals constantly to all of us to “do whatever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5). What does he tell us to do? He asks us; “Just as I have loved you, you should love one another” (Jn. 13:34). How did Jesus love us: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:13). Love is our mission and there are no favourites. The love of Christ is the ongoing outreach of healing and caring, of every need and wound of people everywhere. This mission is the responsibility of every “image and likeness  of God”.   

We give thanks for your presence here today, members of the Family of St. Vincent Pallotti, and may he intercede for all of us the graces we need at this time. May Mary, the Mother of Divine Love, accompany us in life in all our efforts to love as Jesus loved. Amen. 

+ Séamus Freeman, SAC

Bishop of Ossory

03 May 2009