Attending an Online Summer School

Once again, as good Dominicans we are preparing through communal study to celebrate our Founder's feast next week (8th August). We are in the middle of a two week Online Summer School run by the Priory Institute. 

The course is called "Communion - The Church's Self-Understanding"  and it is excellent. We strongly recommend it to anyone reading this. It is given by Fr John Harris OP and deals with "the central teaching of the Second Vatican Council." It is a series of 10 lectures over two weeks and because it is online we can watch the lecture at any time of the day, and if we have to skip a day we can just watch it the next day. 

For more information, or to register, visit the Priory Institute's Summer School page - here.

Novena to St Catherine of Siena, 2013 - Day 1

During the Novena to St Catherine, each evening before Vespers a sister shares a reflection or some extracts from her writings. We are happy to share these with our readers during the coming days.

Day 1

Recently we experienced the great joy of the Election of Pope Francis following the Retirement of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and as today we begin our Novena in preparation for St. Catherine’s Feast day, I was reflecting on her deep concern and zeal for the Papacy in her particular time of the Church’s history.

For many eras, the Church has been truly blessed with wonderful Popes, each with his own personality and God given gifts has been one hundred per cent dedicated in responding to his high calling from God.   Pope Francis, no less than his predecessors faces  so many difficulties in our own particular historical situation both in the Church and in our world.  Surely we can with great confidence invoke the powerful intercession of St. Catherine to plead for the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit which our Holy Father Francis, needs in his daily ministry.. 

Each successive Pope has had to face much criticism not only by the media but sadly at times from his own flock for what he has or has not done, or what some people think he has or has not done..  Yet at the same time, I think it is true to say, that the Popes of our own times have been deeply appreciated and looked up to by a great majority of people of all races, colours and creeds.  They have been very prayerful Shepherds whose hearts have bled for suffering humanity, for the peoples suffering war, violence of so many kinds, abuse, disease, poverty, grief  – the list is endless – they have ministered to bring God’s healing love to every anguished situation

Whilst St. Catherine was called upon to admonish the Pope of her time, she also gave firm but gentle encouragement.  I quote just part of a letter she wrote to Pope Gregory XI in 1377 when he was on his way back to Rome from Avignon in France..

'Most holy Father’, she writes, ‘open the eye of your understanding and see that if virtue is so very necessary to all peoples so that each may save his soul, how much more does one in your position, whose responsibility is to feed and care for the mystical body of holy Church, your bride, stand in need of such constancy, fortitude and patience – now you are Christ’s Vicar , you must toil and struggle for the honour of God, the salvation of souls and the reform of holy Church; all these mean pain and suffering for you’. 

Well you know, holy Father, that when you took holy Church as your bride, you took on the task of toiling and striving on her account and of facing up to many cross-winds, much pain and suffering.  Go out to meet these dangerous winds with fortitude, patience and long-suffering    Let your heart rejoice, for the many adverse situations that have and will come about, God’s work was never done in any other way.  Imitate the meekness and patience of Christ, sweet Jesus, whose Vicar you are.  I am confident in our Lord Jesus Christ, that in this and in other things he will be so much at work in you.  Be comforted and trust in the prayers of God’s good servants who are praying for you.  Abide in the sweet and holy love of God.  Sweet Jesus, Jesus love’

How applicable this reflection is to our own times – let  us be among those ‘good servants’ of whom St. Catherine speaks, and support Pope Francis  untiringly with our prayer and any sacrifice we can make for him, let us really listen to his teachings and put them into practise in our daily lives, and as far as we can, with God’s ever present Grace, imitate his humility and simplicity of life.

St. Catherine pray for the Church, pray for Pope Francis, pray for his world-wide flock.

Dreaming with God

Some weeks ago now,  there was held in Dublin, a vocations day for the Dominican Family, at which one person from each ‘branch’ (i.e. friars, sisters, nuns and lay Dominicans) – spoke a little on their path to where they now are. One of the nuns (this one) I don’t know what happened to her, but not to be remembered if at all possible. It caused one of the listeners to ask ‘Are you happy?’ and I don’t know if I even answered the question – rather helplessly, I’m afraid. Something along the lines of ‘our life is needed’! Very lame, like a saturated sponge, pretty awful.

That was a while ago, and obviously not far from my mind since, but here during our retreat, I was dreaming with the Lord in the garden – which is not unusual – and in God it was that my answer was found.

We don’t ‘go out’ as such; our whole life here is lived here, for the most part lived within the walls and garden of the monastery. If you were to ask many of the sisters here, they would tell you that they all have a missionary heart within them. To go where there is need and bring the Lord with them, to the poor and the sick and the troubled in whatever way. It’s in a sense peculiar, but there it is – true none the less.

I am not God, nor am I like Him – even remotely – but I love Him and through baptism, I am in Him. My whole life here is lived in God, in the heart of the Lord – He is everywhere, at every moment. I was smelling the sea, and we are very far from the sea here; but the breeze carried it to the garden, and that sense came over me, which has done so before – a realisation that I don’t have to be everywhere; only here, in God. I can’t go everywhere for God, but if I remain in Him, and He is with me, He makes everywhere to be where I am. He brings everywhere to me.

My favourite place in all the world is off the west coast of Ireland, so whenever He brings the sea to me, I am there – out in the middle of the ocean, on a small little island that nowhere can compare to. Out in the middle of the wild, unpredictable ocean – often disturbed and stormy; very often restless and even angry. It depends on the weather.

If you are still with me … it made me wonder about ‘we Irish’; even not only Irish, but ‘we who live on the land of Ireland’ – we are used to unpredictable, disturbing, angry, restless weather, are we not? I think we could easily translate the weather outside to the history of the country through which we are living now – even in the Church. The storm is quite violent, and it seems to be attacking us at our very roots; even deeper – on the floor of the ocean – down there where it’s as though the earth’s plates are rubbing against each other, wreaking chaos.

And that seems to me to be the answer to the question asked those weeks ago – a part of the answer – about our life here; for us who so so love the Church, and long so much more than can be put into words, for her unity and healing – our life is to be the offering of our living blood, that it may sink into that foundation, to fall between the plates in a sense, the blood that can fill in the cracks and join them, if that makes sense. As we were reminded during the week; we belong, as a Church, out in the middle of the storm, not safely tied up at the harbour (I’m not a sailor, don’t know the language, sorry) – if we stay faithfully there, Jesus will come to us, as He did to the disciples: ‘It is I: do not be afraid’.

Col. 1:24 – 26 (making up all that has still to be undergone by Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the Church) - I don’t think you could call it a question of happiness; definitely an aching desire that the world may come to know the joy of Christ; the wonder of His mercy and love.

There is nowhere in the world I’d rather be. For Him. …. and for you.

Novena to St Catherine - Day Nine

We have come to the final reflection of our novena in preparation for the feast of St Catherine. By happy co-incidence today is also what has come to be known as Good Shepherd Sunday when we pray for the Church and in particular for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

The readings at Mass this morning reminded us of the immensity of God’s love for each of us– St John in his first letter reminds us that we are the beloved children of God and in the Gospel Jesus tells us no less then five times that he freely lays down his life for us.

In a letter to Daniella da Orvieta Catherine reminded her of the love in which we were created and the even greater love by which we were redeemed in the precious Blood of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Love of this immensity calls for our response.  Catherine’s whole life was given for the glory of God and the salvation of her brothers and sisters and she encouraged others to follow her example – she continues to speak to us today through her letter to Daniella:

“I Catherine, long to see you bathed and drowned in the blood of Jesus Christ crucified.  There you will find the fire of divine charity; there you will experience your soul’s beauty and its great dignity.  For God, when he looked within Himself, fell in love with the beauty of His creature and like one drunk with love, created us in His own image and likeness.  ……  how right that we should immerse ourselves in the Blood of our Saviour in order to better conceive love for God’s honour and the salvation of souls……...

Now is the time to take souls as your food at the table of the most holy Cross.  Every time is the time, but never have you or anyone else seen a time of greater need.  Be moved, my daughter by bitter sorrow for the darkness that has come over holy church!  Human help seems to be failing us; you and the rest of God’s servants must call on His help.  See that you are not guilty of unconcern; this is a time of watching, not a time for sleep.  You know well that when the enemies are at the gates they will most certainly destroy the city if the guards and the rest of the people are asleep.  We are surrounded by many enemies.  In the case of our soul, you know that the world and our weakness and the devil with all his suggestions never sleep but are always ready to see whether we are asleep so that they can enter in and like thieves rob the city of our soul.

And the mystic body of holy Church is also surrounded by many enemies.  So you see that those who are appointed to be pillars and sustainers of holy Church have in the darkness of heresy become her persecutors.  This is no time to sleep.  We must defeat them with vigils, tears and sweat, with grieving and loving desires, with constant humble prayer.  And see to it that, as a daughter faithful to Holy Church, you insistently beg the most high and gracious God to take care of her in this need.  Ask God to strengthen the Holy Father, Christ’s vicar on earth, and give him light…….

Hide in the cavern of the open side of Christ Crucified, where you have discovered His overflowing blood – keep living in God’s holy and tender love - have a hungry longing for His honour.  Gentle Jesus! Jesus love!”

St Catherine of Siena

The following is a reflection shared by one of our sisters as part of our Novena in honour of St Catherine:

Looking for inspiration and guidance in the face of the recent upheavals in the Church that have left us all a bit bewildered and shocked I turned to Catherine of Siena. The Church in her time too was in crisis and Catherine could in fact take her stand among the ranks of present day journalists exposing the sins of the Church, so strong and forthright is her condemnation of any one from Pope to pauper who was causing scandal and discrediting the Church of Christ. Indeed very few of the Church’s present critics could equal her when it comes to plain speaking. An extract from one of her letters says it all

In whatever direction you turn among secular and religious priests, clerics and prelates, small and great, you see nothing but offence against God. They all exhale the stench of grave sin.

This was the Church that Catherine saw when she looked around her. Catherine a young woman as she puts it herself ‘restless with a tremendous desire for God’s honour and the salvation of souls’ could have been forgiven if she had become totally disillusioned and had walked away from such a travesty of the ideal but she didn’t walk away. She remained faithful to the Church which was so plainly failing in its mission and which bore little resemblance to Jesus its head and founder. Not only did she not walk away but it was within that very Body of Christ disfigured wounded and broken as it was, a Church whose ‘limbs were rotting’ that Catherine became a Saint. That is why I think Catherine is in a privileged position to speak to us.
How and why did Catherine remain faithful to the Church? How does Catherine differ from so many modern day critics of the Church? The answer to that is very simple but very profound. Catherine loved the Church. Faith gave her eyes to see past the Church’s sin into its heart. Catherine viewed the Church not as a human institution that depends on human approval and can be overthrown or collapse but as the Body of Christ, made such at the price of Christ’s own blood. She realised what so many of our contemporaries seem to forget- the Church is Divine in its origin and that the way to Christ is through the Church that he loves. In one of her letters she writes

no one can enter into the abyss of the Trinity to savour the beauty of the Godhead except through the Church it’s spouse-since we must all pass through Christ Crucified, and his gate is found only in Holy Church. I saw this bride offering life, for she has so much life within her that no one can kill her. And she was bestowing strength and light; nor can anyone intrinsically weaken her. And I saw that her fruit never fails but is always increasing.

She kept her eyes fixed on the Cross and there she saw how loved and lovable the Church is.

Christ loved the Church and gave his life for her to make her holy and to bring her pure holy and spotless into his presence.

For Catherine that was enough. This is I think an extremely important insight to hold on to. Let us too look to Jesus in faith and learn from him as He hangs on the Cross how to love the Church as He loves it.

Catherine also gave me three very direct answers to questions I’ve been asking as I see our beloved Church being attacked from within and without. Those questions are- where do I fit in to all of this and what is God asking of me as we live through this time of tribulation?

Catherine’s immediate response in the face of the grave sin within the Church is that of one who from her knowledge of her own sinfulness realises that her sin is part of the sinfulness of the Church. She sees herself as part of the problem and believes herself responsible for the contradiction between the purity the Church should have on the one hand and the sin that in fact poisons it. If only her prayer and sacrifice were more in earnest the Church would reform. ‘It is my many sins that prevent the Church’s renewal,’ she laments over and again.

Catherine doesn’t stand over and against the Church judging and condemning it but stands alongside and within it knowing herself to be a sinner every bit as much in need of God’s mercy as anyone else. Is it not the same for us?
Then from the knowledge of her wretchedness and the weakness of the Church springs her intercession. Her life becomes one long plea to God for mercy, a plea culminating in her self offering on behalf of the Church.

I offer my life to you Eternal Trinity for your sweet spouse unworthy though I am. I ask only to see the renewal of that sweet spouse your Church. This I beg of you

God hears her plea and to aid her intercession reveals to her the true state of the Church in graphic detail. He then goes on to say

I have told you all this to give you more reason for bitter weeping over the blindness of my ministers, and to give you a deep knowledge of my mercy. In this mercy you can find trust and security, offering to me these ministers of holy Church and the whole world, and begging me to be merciful to them. The more you offer me sorrowful and loving desires for them, the more you will prove your love for me. For the service neither you nor my other servants can do for me you should do for them instead. Then I will let myself be constrained by the longing tears and prayers of my servants, and will be merciful to my bride by reforming her with good and holy shepherds.

He also explains to her and to us how she must both practice virtue and serve her neighbour to truly advance the reform of the church. In the Dialogue he says to her

You recall that I have already told you that I would satisfy your anguished longings by reforming holy Church through good and holy shepherds. I will do this, as I told you, not through war, not with sword and violence, but through peace and calm, though my servants sweat and tears. I have set you as workers in your own and your neighbours’ souls and in the mystic body of holy Church. In yourselves you must work at virtue; in your neighbours and in the church you must work by teaching and example. And you must offer me constant prayer for the Church and for every creature giving birth to virtue through your neighbour. For as I have already told you every virtue and every sin is realized and intensified through your neighbours. Therefore I want you to serve your neighbours and in this way share the fruits of your own vineyard.

Such was Catherine’s wisdom shared with me these past days and I think she would be very happy if we could all take to our hearts, as a special gift from her spoken directly to each of us today, the Father’s word’s to her

To this work I have appointed you - devote, then your life and heart and mind wholly to that Bride for me, with no regard for yourself.

Response to Pope Benedict's letter to Irish Catholics

In reponse to Pope Benedict XVI's letter quoted below, we, as a community, are setting aside each Friday of this coming year as a day of prayer and fasting for the renewal of the Church in Ireland.

Those of you who live close by our monastery are welcome to join our community for a silent holy hour each Friday of the coming year between 4.45 and 5.45 PM



Each day our chapel is open from 7 am until 7 pm and all who wish are welcome to join us for the celebration of the liturgy, Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration.

Extract from the Pope's pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland

I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.

Particular attention should also be given to Eucharistic adoration, and in every diocese there should be churches or chapels specifically devoted to this purpose. I ask parishes, seminaries, religious houses and monasteries to organize periods of Eucharistic adoration, so that all have an opportunity to take part. Through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm, at the same time imploring the grace of renewed strength and a deeper sense of mission on the part of all bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful.

I am confident that this programme will lead to a rebirth of the Church in Ireland in the fullness of God’s own truth, for it is the truth that sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32).

Back on Line!

We are happy to announce that our internet connection is functioning again after more than two weeks - hopefully there will be no further disruption.

Today we begin our novena in preparation for the feast of St Catherine of Siena. This year we are remembering in a special way the needs of Pope Bendedict XVI and the universal Church and more particularly our Irish Church - for the victims of sexual abuse and those members of the Church who have failed them, as we pray for the mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation which are so much needed. As we know, St Catherine of Siena prayed, suffered and worked tirelessly for the Pope and the Church of her day.

Before Vespers each evening during these nine days of novena one sister reads an extract from Catherine's writings - this year we will focus mainly on her writings related to the Church and the abuses of her times. During the coming days we hope to share some of these with you.