Dear Cardinals and Members of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity,
Could it be that Gabriel Daly, O.S.A. in “How can this Man give us his Flesh to eat?” is a prophet for our time within and without the church?
Would we be wrong to think this?
Peace,
John J. Shea, O.S.A, M.P.S., Ph.D., MSW
Pat Rogers has supplied additional commentary of Ss Anna and Joachim and the Protevangelium of James. Link: https://biblical.ie/page.php?fl=Apocrypha/ProtevangeliumJas
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Gabriel must be chuckling, as his words on the Eucharist have been resurrected (by John Shea). We do miss him. He always enjoyed being provocative. If only he could now take part in the banter of ideas exchanged, his enthusiasm would lift us all. His thoughts on the Eucharist challenge us to stretch our thinking and expand our understanding. We still need him.
This is absolutely wonderful. Thank you, John for sharing it.
Since I have been in Scotland— I wasn’t aware of the issue before that—I have always thought that it’s a scandal that we refuse to invite our Christian brothers and sisters to our table. I always held that view during my years as chair of our Archdiocesen Ecumenical Commission.
In his wonderful book “Eating Together, Becoming One” on this very issue, Tom O’Loughlin calls our refusal to invite our Christian brothers and sisters to our table “an ongoing ulcer” and describes how he cringes when at Mass, just before communion, he hears the priest begin to say “ Now if you are a Catholic…….If you are not a Catholic come forward with your hands across your chest for a blessing.”
I also cringe.
In fact, in our parish our priest now says, “If you are a practicing Catholic…”
I keep coming across quotations from Gabriel in other eminent scholars’ works. Just recently I have read a truly wonderful book, “Christianity in Evolution” by the late Jack Mahony SJ and there are many references to Gabriel’s views on various issues.
He was such a wonderful scholar.
The theme at the Tarsus Scripture School at Maynooth in May this year — founded by Kieran O’Mahony, who sadly was too unwell to join us this year — was Blessed are the Peacemakers and much was made of how Jesus used table fellowship.
Sadly, and obviously, we Catholics are rather deficient in that department.
Thank you again, John.
I was present at the ‘Glenstal Ecumenical Conference’ at which he gave his address on “How can this Man give us his Flesh to eat?” It was a memorable occassion. An Anglican Canon said to me that he could listen to Gabriel Daly all day long. It is very sad that the annual Glenstal Ecumenical Conferences ended a few years later. We have lost a great priest and theologian when Gabriel died.