Newsletter of the Holy Family of Bordeaux in Britain and Ireland

Family LinksGlory to God Alone in Jesus Christ, through Mary and Saint Joseph

May 2018 Volume 4 Issue 5

In this issue

1 Editorial

2 Leader’s Message

3 AT LAST…

4 WMOF Icon in Newbridge

5 Human Kindness = Human Crisis

6 Beginning a new chapter…

8 An Táirseach (2)

9 Portlaoise’s New Religious

10 Book Review

11 Upcoming Events

Editorial

https://thepopevideo.org/en.html

Sr. Eileen Murphy, Bishop Nulty and friends from DP

In a constantly evolving world, where change and newness are the norm, wemay wonder how to reconcile these two Scripture quotes:

There is nothing new under the sun. (Eccl 1:9)See, I am making all things new. (Rev 21:5).

It may seem simplistic to say there is no real problem when we consider the GoodNews which all Christians have a duty to share. This Good News is “ever ancient,ever new”. The Vatican ll document, Dei Verbum, portrays revelation as anongoing reality which is constantly being actualised and so, has to be lived andpresented in the here and now.

It follows that, in our time, we have no option but to consider the use of SocialMedia in our ministries. Social Media will not, nor should they, replace face-to-facepastoral care but, they are here to stay and cannot be ignored.

If you are reading this online, you might like to look at this video of Pope Francistalking of the Internet

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Sr. Gemma,Apostolic Sisters

Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Exhortation,published on 19�� March 2018 has been re-ceived positively for the most part. The Ex-

hortation is hailed as a rich reflection on theuniversal call to holiness – a call addressed to every-one, from our next door neighbour to the homelessperson on the street.

The Exhortation has five chapters covering a widerange of themes: a reiteration ofVatican II’s insistence that holiness isfor all, without exception; a richreflection on the Beatitudes, which iflived faithfully in our everyday livesare a sure path to holiness; a warningabout the obstacles to holiness; theneed for discernment of spirits inanswering the call to holiness withspecial emphasis on the reality of evilin our world.

Pope Francis also expresses specialconcern for valuing and promotinglife at all levels, from the unborn childin its mother’s womb to the life ofthose on the margins of society – the migrant, thedestitute, the abandoned and the enslaved, to thevulnerable, infirm and elderly exposed to coverteuthanasia. “We cannot uphold an ideal of holinessthat would ignore injustice in the world” (101)

If I encounter a person sleeping outdoors on a coldnight, I can view him or her as an annoyance, anidler, an obstacle in my path, a troubling sight, aproblem for politicians to sort out, or even a piece ofrefuse cluttering a public space. Or I can respondwith faith and charity, and see in this person a hu-man being with a dignity identical to my own, acreature infinitely loved by the Father, an image ofGod, a brother or sister redeemed by Jesus Christ.[82]

Perhaps one of the moststriking aspects of theExhortation is the prominenceFrancis gives to women whoare examples of holiness.From the beginning we areasked to bring to mind thewitness of our mothers andgrandmothers who shaped our faith. He cites women

such as Josephine Bakhita (32);Theresa of Calcutta (100); StsScholastica and Monica (142).He makes particular mention of “thegenius of women” to describewomen who made a significantimpact throughout history, includingHildegard of Bingen, Catherine ofSiena, Teresa of Avila....Thesewomen “produced new spiritualvigour and important reforms in theChurch”. But, he says we must notforget that there have been manywomen who are now forgotten andwho have “transformed families andcommunities by the power of theirwitness (12).

However alongside this elevation of women, we noteexpressions and examples that some commentatorsof the exhortation say, point to a stereotypical viewof woman as “other”. For example, what exactlydoes Pope Francis mean by the “genius of women”– an expression that was also used by Pope John PaulII? And what are “feminine styles of holiness”? (12).Then, by giving the example of a woman who takesa step forward along the path of holiness byeschewing “gossip”, some question Pope Francis’apparent association of women with gossip. “Awoman goes shopping, she meets a neighbour andthe gossiping starts...” (16). He once warned acommunity of contemplative nuns about the dangersof gossip saying that a gossiping nun is a terrorist.“Gossip is like a bomb. One throws it; it causesdestruction and you walk away tranquilly… know that

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the best remedy against gossip is to bite yourtongue”. (Tina Beattie: Catholic Women gossipabout Gaudete et Exultate)

Then there is the Pope’s reflection on humility andhumiliation that for me is problematic. “Humility canonly take root through humiliations. Without themthere is no humility or holiness… Humiliation makesyou resemble Jesus” (118). As some of us possiblyknow from our personal experience, humiliation isan overwhelming experience of being shamed anddegraded by another and is painful and harmful toone’s sense of self. Humility, on the other hand, is ajoyful acknowledgement of one’s place in the earthcommunity and the acceptance of one’s limitations

as part of the great web of life. Such acceptance isoften accompanied by feelings of peace and surelyleads to holiness.

Notwithstanding, Gaudete et Exultate is a challengingcall to us all to undertake the journey to holinessmodelling our lives on that of Jesus.

“God impels us constantly to set out anew, to passbeyond what is familiar to the fringes and beyond....if we dare to go to the fringes, we will find Godthere… indeed Jesus is already there, in the hearts ofour brothers and sisters, in their wounded flesh, intheir troubles and profound desolation. God isalready there.”(135)

Ireland has moved into the 21�� century. Wehave come of age as a country and havethrown off the last shadow of the nation’s

conservative past. We have takenour place among the modernnations of the world; we have joinedthose progressive democracieswhere abortion is no longersomething to be ashamed of, butrather can be freely talked about assomething that is every woman’slegal right and is part of her “medicalcare”. In Leo Varadkar’s words “We have becomea more tolerant, more open, and morecompassionate and caring society.”

But have we?

For some time now, the whole process ofnormalizing abortion has been relentless. The useof euphemisms cloaks the ugly reality of abortion.Abortion is called health care. This is deception,pure and simple. In fact, it is the opposite ofhealth care. It is the intentional killing of a livingindividual in the uterus. It is an attack on healthand life. The child in the womb is dehumanised– it is foetal matter, the product of conception, amere bundle of cells with no rights to life. The

killing of babies can be tolerated evenchampioned as long as we shroud it witheuphemisms and avoid calling it what it really is.

The “right to choose” is anothereuphemism and has been therallying cry of the “yes”campaign. This soundseminently reasonable. Of course,we should all be free to choosewhat is best for us. But the rightto choose must always betempered by its impact on the

rights of others. And here the right of the unbornchild to life, which has already begun is completelydenied. Medical science has shown that at everystage of development, the unborn child is a uniqueseparate living human being that needs ourprotection.

A society that allows abortion is denying the mostbasic human right – the right to life – to one groupof human beings, unborn children. Both thewoman with an unplanned pregnancy and herbaby within the womb are of equal importanceand need love and genuine support. Only a societythat balances these two can be called acompassionate caring society.

Sr. Gemma Corbett

AT LAST…

Medical science has shownthat at every stage ofdevelopment, the unbornchild is a unique separateliving human being thatneeds our protection.

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Bishop Nulty led abeautiful ceremony towelcome the Icon for the

World Meeting of Families to St.Conleth’s Parish ChurchNewbridge on the eve of St.Conleth’s feast day. The Iconfor the WMOF was in our parishfrom 3 - 7 May.

In his homily Bishop Nulty spokeabout family and mentioned thefact that in Newbridge we arevery lucky to have four religious family groups, theHoly Family Sisters, the Patrician Brothers, theDominicans and the Daughters of Mary and Joseph.

Prayers were said and thecongregation was invited tovenerate the Icon. Therewas a beautiful atmospherein the church helped in nosmall way by the CaeloChoir.

The Sonas Chriost LayAssociates attended and weall wore our Holy Family LayAssociate pins. We all feltuplifted by the experience

and look forward to the WMOF in August and thevisit of Pope Francis.

Edel Mulligan, Lay Associate (Sonas Chriost)

Link to Explanation of and Reflection on the Icon

Sr. Eileen Murphy and Asylum Seekers from the DirectProvision Centre who attended the ceremony

Two were given the privilege of closing the door of the Icon as it wastaken to the next Parish

Lay Associates, Sonas Chríost, with Sr. Dominica,Edel seated on right

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The Red Cross is an International charityorganisation, working in many parts of theworld. The help provided includes food parcels

and medical aid as well as cash grants to the mostdesperate people in crisis. In Yorkshire the Red Crossis working for all kinds of destitute people - asylumseekers, refugees and homeless. In Bradford we havea drop-in centre on Tuesdays where we try toconnect human kindness with human crisis throughthe way we help and support our service users.

Each week, we deal with 40-45 people who come tous with various needs and expectations. Sometimesit is not easy to meet all their expectations but wetry to do what we can to make their suffering a bitless. The services which we provide in our drop-incentre include, emergency provisions, food parcels.toiletries and bus tickets to go to see the solicitors

or to go to the Home Office for further submissionsto claim asylum or residency. The majority of thesepeople are from Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Africancountries. Many of them risk their lives to come here,leaving their homeland, family, friends and evenchildren. They live in constant fear of being deportedor detained which leads to a lot of mental healthissues and attempts at suicide.

We value each person who comes to our drop-in andtry to help make their life a little better by listeningto their stories and personal experiences. There aresome service users who just come to socialise, so weprovide them the space and atmosphere to sit, todrink tea or coffee and meet their friends. Whateverthe cause, the Red Cross refuse to ignore people incrisis. Kindness is a simple thing but, in times of crisis,there is nothing more powerful.

Mariam had to leave her country becauseof an abusive husband who used to abuse

her daily. She met another man and ran awaywith him. She has two children from herprevious husband. Marrying another man forlove is not acceptable in Islamic countries. If shewere caught by her previous husband or hisfamily she could be killed. For this reason, shecame to the UK with her children and the newhusband and got asylum.

They were given permission to stay and to workon a temporary basis. Mariam and her husbandworked hard and were well-to-do for some yearsand her children got a good education. Whenthe period of time allotted them was due toexpire, Mariam submitted an application to theHome Office for Indefinite leave to remain (ILR),but it was refused. She appealed in the court onhumanitarian grounds but was again refused.

Now Mariam and her family are totally destitute,without accommodation or money. They areliving in utter poverty, on the charity of generouspeople and charitable organisations. Mariamcomes to the Red Cross where she is helped withfood parcels, hygienic packs and food vouchers.She is also given emotional support. The moneyshe gets from the charity is used for electricity,gas and food.

This situation has created a lot of mental healthissues for her husband. He is in deep depressionand this situation creates family problems andfrustrations for Mary and her children. They areliving all the time in fear of being caught,detained and deported by the Home Office.Mariam is more than an asylum seeker. She is agraduate, a teacher and a mother. She is afriend, or a neighbour or someone you pass onthe street.

Mariam’s Story

Nasreen Nazir (Bradford

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Our Matron, Mary Catherine Grogan, retiredon 27 April 27 after twelve years ofdedicated service to the Sisters in Rock Ferry.

It was a day both of joy and sadness for Sisters andStaff as all knew how committed she was to all.

Sisters from Bradford, Provincial House, Selby Road,Magherafelt and Wrexham joined us. At 10.30am wehad prayer together with our Staff for MaryCatherine and some of her family, from both Irelandand England, who joined us. After the prayer, Sr.Carmel Morrissey presented Mary Catherine with agift from the Sisters.

At 4pm we hadMass in our chapelfor all staff,Sisters, past staffand someparishioners. Fr.Bernard, ourParish Priest,officiated. Both

chapel and corridor were full. Fr. Bernard began bywelcoming all and congratulating Mary Catherine onher dedicated service to the Holy Family Sisters overso many years. She was also, he said, a great witnessby her prayerfulness, care and compassion to all.Maria, former deputy Matron, is now our Matron soFr. Bernard congratulated her on her new post and

hoped she would be veryhappy with us.

At the end of Mass Sr.Carmel Bateson spoke onbehalf of Sr. Gemma andSara Hopkins from St. Johnof God as neither was ableto attend. After Mass allwent to the dining roomfor a buffet tea. MaryCatherine left at 6pm, obviously sad, but also happythat so many had shared her day. Many people whoknew her called to wish her well throughout the day.She knows that, like Annie our retired deputyMatron, she isalways welcomefor a cuppa.

We, the Sisters,cannot finishthis without avery big “thankyou” to all ourwonderful staffwhose hard work on the day, and for many daysbefore, made this, not a sad, but a memorable dayfor Mary Catherine and all of us.

Rock Ferry Community

In the unavoidable absence ofSr Gemma, it is, indeed, anhonour and a privilege for meto be here in Rock Ferry topay tribute to you on theoccasion of your retirementas Matron of our Care Unit.I have known you for manyyears

In 2006, the Holy FamilySisters decided that a CareUnit was necessary in RockFerry to provide for our

sisters, who were growing old and requiring nursingattention. We and our Sisters have been blessed tohave you as Matron.

You have eased and guided the transition intoeternity for many of our sisters, attentive to theirevery need and ever respectful of their dignity. Youhave offered comfort and consolation to theirfamilies and friends and our community in thecertainty that their needs, physical, emotional andspiritual were fully met.

You had a special rapport with Sr Tess, my mentor,and predecessor as Bursar, and I am well aware of

Mary CatherineCarmel proposes a Vote of Thanks on behalf of Gemma

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how she admired, respected and relied on you. Iappreciate your perception, concern and care as herhealth unexpectedly and rapidly deteriorated. And,I personally witnessed your care and kindness whenone of our sisters was in her last days in this life. Yourgentleness was appreciated by all around at thattime, family, friends and our sisters.

Thank you very much, Mary Catherine, for all you

have done for us. We shall miss you!

On behalf of all our sisters, and on my own behalf,and Sr Gemma’s, I wish you a long and well-deserved retirement, good health, happiness,enjoyment and fulfilment in the years ahead.

Thank you, again, Mary Catherine, and God blessyou in the future.

Mary Catherine takes her leave

In her goodbye, Mary Catherine outlined how, when she was about to retire from nursing, shewas offered the post of Matron of the Holy Family Care Unit in Rock Ferry, a place she did notthen know existed. Over 12 years, she was instrumental in setting up the Care Unit, hoping,

she said, “my leadership was challenging and rewarding for all, - always putting the needs of theSisters first”. As she described all that this involved she mentioned her courageous struggle withcancer of which we were all aware and held her in our prayer.

Mary Catherine acknowledged the part played by all the staff in making the Rock Ferry ConventCare Unit “the wonderful place it is today. She listed all the Sisters and many of the staff who hadbeen part in the house during her time there, a list too long to include. Her special thanks wereextended to Srs. Gemma, Carmel Batson and Catherine for their support. “The Holy Family willalways be a part of my life,” said Mary Catherine. Sarah Hopkins of the St. John of God servicesalso came in for special mention for guidance and support.

Her concluding words: “There is never a good time to retire so I wish you all great success withyour new Matron and that you will all be supportive, be a happy, caring and united team. Pleaseremember me in your prayers as I will remember you all.”

God bless you and thank you.

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Easter Sunday,1 April, saw all the participantsback in An Tairseach, looking forward toanother 6 weeks of input, reflection and action

on ‘the greening universe’ and all that it implies.

The weatheragain turnedpretty coldbut it did notprevent usfrom ourw e e k l yWednesdaya f t e r n o o ntreks tod i f f e r e n twoodlands,

experiencing the Cosmic Eucharist with Fr. MichaelRodgers. We walked under the cathedral-canopiedtrees of Kilmacurrain and Devil’s Glen, trekked thebeautiful grounds of Avondale and Mount UsherGardens, admiring the beauty of nature showingforth the presence of the divine.

The fifteen minute ritual meditation, guided by Sr.Pauline McGrath in the Cosmic Garden each morningat 9.30 a.m., set the tone for the day.

During the inputs we were inserted more deeply intothe New Universe Story through the capable handsof Bro. Mark McDonnell, a brilliant science teacher.He helped us to grow in our understanding of therelationship and deep connection between religionand science, not religion versus science, as we onceunderstood it. His development of the Powers of theUniverse as the last component of his input, over the10 weeks of the course, brought us closely in touchwith the 12 Powers as Jesus lived them and theirconnection with the Eucharist.

Donal Dorr deepened with us the how the ‘ecologicalconversion’ spoken of by Pope Francis in Laudato Si,influences the way we express our faith in God, in

Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, and in the Earth Community:a new look at the Creed.

Diarmuid O’Murchu, speaking on ‘Changing WorldViews and its impact on Spirituality and Theology’,addressed the evolutionary shift that this entails onevery dimension of life and experience.Catriona Russell gave us a very enlightening talk onEcology, Theology and Gender centring on inequalityand biodiversity loss in a changing climate.

Aspects of Celtic Spirituality given by Pat Murphy, atpresent working with Fr. Michael Rodgers in theTearmann Spirituality Centre, Glendalough,augmented by the input from Una Agnew on thepoetry of Patrick Kavanagh, were for me a realintroduction to the faith of the Irish in the belief ofGod in nature and the whole realm of CelticSpirituality. I had often heard of this being spoken ofby some of our sisters but had never taken aninterest to deepen my knowledge of it. It has givenme a desire to know more.

Art work, Sacred Dance and Dreams also gaveimpetus to the Universe Story as our own storiesemerged and merged with the information given.

Session on sharing Dreams

For me, the whole course has been a revelation ofGod’s presence in my life, inviting me to enter into

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this part of my life, after leaving Pakistan. I wasenabled to come in touch with this through a dreamI had, which I shared with others attending a ‘shareddream’ session. This was an optional group who mettogether each Tuesday evening. As the group workedon my dream, I came to realise the wisdom ofdreams. We learned the skills of entering into theworld of the other through asking questions and thensharing the dream, (not interpreting it), saying, “If itwere my dream’...” These sessions became verytherapeutic also for those involved.

As the session came to a close, we had time toprocess our journey through the expertise of JoeNewman who led us for one session on Endings. Shewas to have given us a session at the start onBeginnings but this did not take place. Celebrationshowever took place throughout. The celebrations ofthe Spring Equinox, belated though it was, andBealtaine helped us to touch the very depths ofnature as also did the lowing of the cattle who couldnot get out to the fields, due to the inclementweather. The pigs delighted us with additions to thefamily.

Bealtaine Celebration - The Onset of summer

The close of the course came on 11 May as wegathered for breakfast in the dining room, all packed

up and ready to leave to our various stations.Somewhat saddened by the feelings of ‘loss’ aftersharing such a long time together and becoming afamily, nevertheless I was consoled and heartenedby the thought that I have much to share with allwhom I shall meet on my journey forward.

Sheila Griffiths

In December, four Indian Sisters, Ursulines ofMary Immaculate, came to our parish inPortlaoise. We invited them to our house for a

welcoming meal. We began with a started in our

sitting room and then proceeded to the dining roomfor a variety of Indian food which we all enjoyed.During a lovely, relaxed evening we got to knowmore about them. Their Congregation was foundedin Piacenza, Italy, around 1649. Their charism is toidentify with the ‘Crucified’ and they do that now inIreland.

Two of the sisters are qualified nurses, one is ateacher and the other is finishing her NursingTraining in Cork. Three of them had been in thenovitiate together and they talked very openly abouttheir Congregation, life in Kerala, and Sr. Brigid, whostarted the foundation there. They were originallyfounded to educate young girls and they cherish thememory of a Sr. Celine whom they hope to seecanonised soon.

We feel this is part of our call to collaborate withother Congregations and with the laity and is verymuch part of our Holy Family hospitality.

Portlaoise CommunityFront row: Srs. Catherine HF, Jasmin, Sheila R. (HF), Julia

Back row: Srs. Sybil, Anne (HF)

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The sub-title of this short book tells usimmediately what we may expect to find init. We are invited to reflect on the

formulations of Christian truths in the light of theevolution of scientific knowledge, Biblical studiesand human consciousness. While Divine Truth isabsolute and unchanging, these formulations werecomposed at a particular time, in a particular cultureand for a particular purpose so there is a gapbetween them and the way we understand religioustruths today.

From the point of view of clarity and simplicity ofexpression, the book is very easy to read. From afaith perspective, it is very challenging as itencourages us to think outside the box.The thirty short chapters cover the central truths ofour faith. Very helpfully, at the beginning of each

chapter we find two expressions of Christian belief.The first is a familiar, traditional understanding andthe second, a contemporary understanding. Thetext that follows develops the second expression.

The book is extremely useful for both personalreflection and group work and discussion. There areguidelines at the end for using the material in groupsand there is also a comprehensive list of suggestionsfor further reading.

As Fr. Smith himself says, “It is a matter of integrity,not of disloyalty to the Church community, toendeavour to re-express the traditional manner ofstating Christian truths” at this present time whenthe way in which truths are stated no longer ringstrue with the experience of so many reflective,committed people.

TOMORROW’S FAITH: A New framework of Christian belief

TOMORROW’S CHRISTIAN

This slightly longer work by the same authorcould be regarded as a companion volume tothe one reviewed above. In thirty-six brief

chapters, it deals with a new framework for Christianliving and describes the committed Christian of the21�� century in a challenging and thought-provokingway.

Its aim is to help Christians to bridge the gapbetween their experience of the contemporary

world and traditional Christian belief and practice,especially those who are struggling to bring togetherin a meaningful way conventional Christianity and acontemporary, nourishing understanding andexpression of it.

This book is written from the same perspective andwith the same clarity as Tomorrow’s Faith and canbe used in the same way.

Áine Hayde (Integrated Spirituality Team)

Tomorrow’s Faith (2005) and Tomorrow’s Christian (2005) are both by Adrian B. Smith M. Afr. They are publishedby O Books and are available in Paperback from amazon.co.uk.

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June 2018

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1Foundation of tContemplativeSisters (1859)

2Final Profession

of the threeFoundresses

18223 4

The first threeFoundresses

made their Actof Consecration

1820

5Ordination of

Pierre BienvenuNoailles (Eve ofthe Trinity 1819)

WorldEnvironment

Day

6Fr. Noailles’first Mass

(Trinity Sunday1819)

7 8 9

10 11 12Our Lady ofAll GracesWorld Day

against ChildLabour

13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20World Refugee

Day

21 22 23

24 25 26 27UN International

Day againstVictims of

Torture

28 29Feast of the

brothers, PierreBienvenu and

Amand, Noailles

30