Sacred Music

I have a friend in England who is a gifted musician. On the Sundays when he was scheduled to play the organ, I was always delighted because I knew that at the end of Mass he would let loose! The ancient organ’s mechanisms would be put to the test, century old dust would be expelled from the pipes as sacred music filled the air. And as the first few notes of the theme to Star Wars sounded our hearts stirred and our spirits quickened and the presence of God filled the church for the second time that morning. 

There were other theme tunes to great movies in his repertoire, each with its own mythology and the same story line. The battle of good vs evil. This is what stirs the hearts of men. 

Most churches will tell the story, outline the plot, the villain, the hero; we hear of the great adventure He lived, the battles He fought, the sacrifice He made and the victory won. 

But how can the hearts of men be awakened (or recovered) to know that they also have a part to play in this unfinished saga and more importantly how to equip them to go out into the world to meet that task head-on ?

Unplanned

An orthodox monk concluded, ‘in every age, and above all in this present deeply uneasy, tired and restless age, nothing is more essential than repentance’.

In the spring a movie is set to be released called “Unplanned”. It’s the story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood abortion clinic Director. It was only when she assisted at an abortion  herself that the light dawned on her.

She was pregnant herself at the time and was watching the ultrasound monitor that was being used to guide the abortionist. As the implements of abortion were inserted into the womb of the mother; the baby could be seen scrambling away, seeking safe haven... running for its life. But to no avail, it was crushed and suctioned out of the womb. She was horrified and quit soon after. (She has since become a Catholic and runs a charity that helps abortion workers exit the industry.)

This will be a very special movie. From the beginning of filming there are already conversions taking place. The actress playing the part of Abby told her mother about the role she was playing and was met with a flood of tears. Her mother had been pregnant with her at a young age and had gone for an abortion; backing out only minutes before it was to take place; perhaps She was saved to play this special role.

It’s an independent film from the makers of “God’s not dead” so hopefully it will be screened widely.

America seems to be turning a corner when it comes to abortion, with the partial defunding of planned parenthood and other positive policy changes following the scandals of sales of body parts from aborted babies; let’s hope Ireland will learn more quickly the horror it has unleashed on itself and repent and turn back before the nation loses its soul altogether.

A thought in the eternal mind of God

The other day I declared that ‘I was a thought in the eternal mind of God’ to which my wife rolled her eyes as if to say ‘what was He thinking?’

But it’s true; no one is here by accident, not one is unplanned. We do not realise our significance in the plan of God, that we were created to be co-heirs of His kingdom and even though we have no idea what that might look like; it sounds good to me.

It is easy to lose sight of it though, if our lives on earth are not particularly thrilling or important in the eyes of the world or ourselves. But in a way that’s the point; it’s not earned, it’s given and the degree of glory is only measured by the degree of sacrifice or love, not performance in some heroic enterprise or worldly achievement.

St Therese of Lisieux made sanctity available and within reach for all with her discovery of the ‘Little Way’ where every moment of life, pleasant or otherwise, could be sanctified and translated into an act of love by dying to oneself and going against our nature or ‘natural’ responses. 

I thought of a good example the other day; when your spouse wants you to go for an evening at the opera, to dress up like a penguin and listen to a 2-hour screaming contest whilst missing the match on telly. What an amazing opportunity to obtain everlasting glory! Instead of going with a face like a galley slave chained to his oar whose vessel is about to be rammed; just bear up and endure it with a smile.

The ladies can make use of their husbands’ faults (if they have any) in the same way and bear sweetly and quietly with them offering any irritation to God for the sake of the kingdom. It’s simple but not easy!

To walk the road to holiness, that is our task, our trial, and only when we become what we were created for will we understand the why, of it all.

Crisis of Leadership

 I’ve noticed that there are lots of men with beards these days; but few of them are philosophers. 

It’s an unusual epoch. On the one hand technological marvels are rolled out thick and fast, whilst self- knowledge and the search for true meaning and purpose in life seems to be regarded as trivial or at best a relic of a darkened age. 

Padre Pio gave this advice to a family with young children: - ‘Take care, not so much of their scientific as of their moral education... As you educate their minds with good studies, assure the education of their hearts, along with that of our holy religion; one without the other causes a mortal wound to the human heart.’ 

This would certainly seem to sum-up the current situation in many nations, reflected in their choice of leaders whose behaviour or attitude mirrors their own. Can anyone identify even one good world leader in our day? A real leader looks at the role as sacrificial; it is to love and care more for those you serve than for yourself. That is the depth of character which enables one to die for his people. 

An Arab leader born at the turn of the last century gives a good example of this: Auda Abu Tayi, was always found in the heart of battle with his men, permanently poor as his generosity and hospitality were legendary. He was described as a ‘river to his people’ which in the desert means life–giving. 

A more familiar example would be Sir Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer and exemplary leader whose expeditions all failed in their original objectives but whose men would follow him anywhere because they knew he would get them through. He gave his last biscuit to one of his men when they were both on the verge of starvation, and his mittens to another despite the certainty of frost bite. 

We have lost the way. Western leaders preach a gospel of selfishness and nationalism while the leaders of the developing world cling to power long enough to fill their pockets and make a run for it and the Arab states, confused and frustrated, turn to Islamic fundamentalism. Meanwhile the Chinese embark on a quiet invasion of the world, enslaving nations through the propagation of debt which cannot be paid. 

It’s only the education of the heart, the growth in the Spirit, grounded in the Christian faith, which enables us to love and sacrifice for others. This can draw out true leadership, strength and goodness in our societies.

'Taken out' by the enemy

A friend of mine has a great-grandson now, a splendid little chap, and I noticed how bright his eyes are. Not only because they are brand new; but it’s as if the light shines from within out into the world; this is seen in the newly Baptised.

Similarly it is seen in the passion and idealism of youth. Often though the promise of youth gives way to the mediocrity of middle-age, compromises made, troubles mount up, and overwhelmed by the cares of this world we can easily be ‘taken out’ by the enemy of our souls with his menu of false gods and quick fixes. So many men fall into alcoholism, pornography, adultery, gambling, etc. and it’s a growing trend.

There are many reasons for this but what is central I think is forgetfulness. In our age particularly we have forgotten that we have an enemy and that the devil is devoted 24/7 to our eternal destruction by whatever means he can use. By ourselves alone we are quite powerless against such a being. We also forget that we were never designed to live independently from God.

We cannot live independently anymore than a baby in the womb can without its mother providing all the nutrients it needs to grow and arrive safely into the world. Our Prayer life is rather like an umbilical cord connecting us with God. Our time on earth might be likened to gestation in the womb, growing as we are fed. At death we are delivered into heaven.

We really need to get back to prayer, so we can be open to God’s grace which is sufficient for the days’ troubles. Our reliance on God and growing relationship with Him, only achievable through daily prayer, is the only thing that can keep the enemy of our souls at bay and enable us to triumph.

Suffering Behind Every Door

 We visited some friends in a town where a recent typhoon gave rise to extensive landslides on the mountain roads and many deaths as a result. The biggest loss was when 30+ people ran into a 5 story concrete government building, ironically for safety, and the whole mountainside slid off, destroying the structure and bringing it down on top of them. The townsfolk were in shock and many in mourning. 

Where nature’s fury had done its worst, the gentle hand of God was there in its wake. Only a few days had passed and most of the townsfolk were involved in helping to find the dead and cleaning up the town. The men dug, the women brought them food and water. There were Novena prayers in the homes of the dead in the evenings attended by many; and there was no recrimination; there was worship and praise, thanksgiving and prayers for mercy for their loved ones. As they pulled together in necessity, the mercy of God soothed the weariness of their hearts. 

It is a praying community, used to clinging to God in good times and bad and this is their anchor and strength. 

It was quite a privilege to be present to witness this.

Healer of Souls

This week the relic of the Incorrupt heart of St (Padre) Pio was at Manila Cathedral on its way around the country.  Crowds, too numerous to count braved the weather in long queues to venerate the relic.

He is very much loved; a saint for our times as he was such a contradiction to the ways of the world.  It seems that his incredible gift of being able to read souls was matched only by his capacity to suffer; with both the stigmata and enduring the constant attacks of the devil. Perhaps that was the price of such a gift in that he had to suffer in order to set his penitents free from bondage, to obtain for them the gift of conversion.

One wonderful story, told by a lady who confessed to him, was about a hidden sin she had. She went to confession to him and after she had finished he asked if she had anything else she wanted to tell. She said ‘no’ and he asked her to return the next day. She confessed other sins and was asked if there was anything else ; again she responded ‘no’ and was asked to return the next day. On the last day, he mentioned the date and time when she had an abortion, and then he told her what her aborted son would have been had he lived, the destiny that was lost when his life had been extinguished. That revelation showed her the gravity of the sin and she was repentant and reconciled with God.

St. Pio reveals to us the gentleness and mercy of a God so much offended but always willing to forgive at the slightest opening of a repentant heart.

The wonderful thing about our saints though is that their mission does not end in death, it is ramped up a notch; the miracles abound all the more when they are born into heaven.