May 6, 2007
in
From Father Frank
For so many years I have wanted to travel to Ireland, the mystic land of poets, tribal custom and brooding weather. I finally got my chance to visit the emerald isle last week and I return with all my expectations met and then some. The tour took us from Dublin to the west coast, visiting such cities as Waterford and Galway. The weather was fantastic with only one day of rain and temps in the 60’s. One of the surprising things I learned about Ireland was how affluent the country has become, as well as,
multi-cultural, in just the last 10 years. The countryside is dotted with construction cranes and trucks creating new subdivisions for a booming housing market. And it is very expensive to live in Ireland.
The one disappointment in the trip was what I learned about the condition of the Catholic Church. Once a powerhouse, the Church has been relegated to being irrelevant to most of the people. The youth have all but abandoned the Church and have given in to the same materialistic lifestyle that has captured so many of us here in the States. To complicate matters, the sexual abuse crisis hit extremely hard in Ireland which has caused many of the people to lose confidence in the Church, not to mention the anger at the Bishops. There are hardly any vocations to the priesthood, in a country that used to send out thousands of priests to other countries needing priests.
What can be learned from the Church in Ireland, as in other European countries, is that once the Church becomes too aligned with the government, trying to dictate policy and law, it will pay the price. One of the blessings of being Catholic in America is that our history has prohibited such an arrangement,
preventing Bishops, or any religious leader, with dictating or forcing policy positions. To
end this reflection on a positive note: the Irish are great COOKS!!!! Every meal I had was fantastic and tasty….and those scones…..
What a great weekend here at St. Eulalia’s: welcoming our children to the Eucharist for their First Holy Communion. Special thanks to Sam and all catechists involved in their preparation. We need to set an example for all our children by bringing them to Mass each week, showing them how much we love the Eucharist. How sad it is that many of our children receive their First Communion and don’t return until Christmas. We have to show them how important it is to participate in Mass on a regular basis, so that worship becomes a part of their lives, forming them as disciples. But it starts with us who are parents, leaders, catechists and worshippers. We have to be witnesses to the faith, knowing our Catholic faith and articulating it to our young in such a way that our young will want to participate.
What’s happening in the parish:
The PARISH COUNCIL meets tomorrow (Monday) at 7:00P.M. in the Parish Center.
The FINANCE COUNCIL meets Tuesday at 7:00 P.M. in the Parish Center.
The LITURGY COMMITTEE meets Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. in the Parish Center.
Blessings to all of you for continuing to make this a vibrant community….Fr. Frank
