Ireland can overcome troubles with authentic Catholic renewal, nuncio says

Last updated on: August 23, 2012 at 10:12 am by CNA Daily News

Ireland can overcome troubles with authentic Catholic renewal, nuncio says 2012-08-23T10:12:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dublin, Ireland, Aug 23, 2012 / 04:12 am (CNA).- Just as 19th-century Ireland experienced Christian renewal after the apparition of Our Lady of Knock, modern Ireland can likewise undergo an “authentically Catholic” renewal despite decades of troubles, says Archbishop Charles Brown, the apostolic nuncio to Ireland.

“Brothers and sisters, the future of the Church in Ireland begins now,” Archbishop Brown said in his homily at the Aug. 22 closing Mass of the National Public Novena honoring Our Lady of Knock at the Knock Shrine in County Mayo.

“Certainly, the road ahead is not an easy one, but the road ahead for Catholics in Ireland did not look very easy in 1879 when Our Lady appeared here on that rainy evening in August. And yet her appearance was followed by one of the most fruitful periods in the 15 centuries of Catholicism on this Island.”

On Aug. 21, 1879, the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist appeared to 15 witnesses at the Catholic church at Knock. The apparitions were near an altar with a cross and a lamb, around which angels hovered. The apparitions remained silent as the witnesses watched and prayed for two hours in the rain.

Archbishop Brown reflected on the situation of Ireland in 1879, noting that the country was not yet free and independent. Thirty years before, almost a million people had suffered and died during the Great Famine, while many more had been forced to emigrate.

“And so it was that, in those very bad times, Mary appeared, to comfort and to console and – although she never spoke a word – to lead her people, to direct her children to the Lamb on the altar, the Lamb who was slain but who now is alive, the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’”

The century that followed the apparition witnessed an “extraordinary flourishing” of the Catholic Church, with “huge numbers” of priestly and religious vocations.

“Such a flourishing would have seemed impossible in 1879. But the night is often darkest before the dawn,” Archbishop Brown said.

He noted negative trends in contemporary Ireland, including “two decades of scandals, crimes and failures.”

“Certainly, there are reasons for discouragement,” he acknowledged.

However, he also pointed to signs of hope.

Tens of thousands of people attended the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in June. At a recent ordination of a young man to the priesthood, Archbishop Brown witnessed a small country church “filled with people young and old” with a beautiful liturgy and hymns in the Irish language.

On Reek Sunday, the July commemoration of St. Patrick’s fast, the archbishop saw “thousands of pilgrims” climbing Croagh Patrick and hundreds going to confession. In Clonmacnoise, he saw “literally hundreds of young people” in Eucharistic adoration, praying the Rosary, confessing their sins and “rejoicing in the liberating love of God.”

“That, my brothers and sisters, is the future of the Church in Ireland,” said the archbishop.

He urged authenticity in the Catholic faith with firm attention to “the reality of salvation,” citing Pope Benedict XVI’s insistence that Christians must deepen their understanding of their faith.

“We need to propose the Catholic faith in its fullness, in its beauty and in its radicality, with compassion and with conviction. We need to be unafraid to affirm the elements of the Catholic way which secular society rejects and ridicules,” he said.

Europe

Previous Post

August 23, 2012

Pope to proceed with Lebanon trip despite Syria violence

Next Post

August 23, 2012 Balearic Islands to propose law assisting pregnant women

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who interpreted the "writing on the wall" for King Belshazzar?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ezekiel Jeremiah Daniel Isaiah