SÉAMUS AHEARNE: HOW GOD, OR THE GODS, ARE INVISIBLE, QUITE UNDERSTANDABLE. BUT HOLINESS IS VISIBLE, ENTIRELY (Mary Oliver)

(Walking along in the rain, noticing everything, including the clouds Drifting).

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT:

Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Cosby, Max Clifford, Rolf Harris, Jimmy Savile, Huw Edwards, Brendan Smyth, Mohamed Al Fayed. Many more could be mentioned in that elite group. These are individuals, who were big characters in life. And somehow their behaviour was missed or unseen. And then there was the case of Blackrock College. After that there was the Scoping Inquiry into schools run by Religious which was shocking in its conclusions. The question always is: Who knew? And if they didn’t – how was that possible? I recall Diarmuid Martin responding to the Blackrock documentary by saying, “It must have been known.” I’m not sure that is the case. We all want to believe that such depravity has to be obvious. But it isn’t.

The very nature of such behaviour is the secrecy and the devious nature of the offender. And the paralysis in the victim. However, the Inquiry on Religious Schools is yet another unbelievable revelation. We are all contaminated by the news and by the behaviour. We must hold onto the work done in education by Religious and forensically unveil and reveal the hidden stories of every kind of abuse. All of us can remember the physicality in education in the culture of the past and note how different school is now. However, abuse is abuse and the widespread nature of it, is beyond our comprehension. How do we explain it? And what are we learning from the past, which forces us to examine what is happening now, which might explode in the future? There are many victims.

KEIR STARMER:

Despite those expensive glasses; Keir has managed to miss the obvious. I do wonder what he can see, (more than the rest of us) given the expense of those glasses. Would all of us be more clear-sighted if we paid that much for our spectacles? (If only we could get those freebies). And then there was the need to find proper dresses for Victoria. And of course he couldn’t afford the cost of designer couture dresses suitable for a PM’s wife. But there are ways and means. A rich man willing to fund such essentials. How was it possible for a man waiting all those years to lead Labour into Government, could be foolishly caught out, in such trivial matters? He did need glasses of a different kind!   

Oh Roy Keane was right, those many years ago when he talked of Champagne Socialists and the Prawn Sandwiches Brigade. (Original to ‘Blind Alleys’ with Eggleston). It is no wonder that Keir glided into a mistake with the word ‘sausage’ rather than ‘hostage’ in his Conference Speech. We wish him well. He had every opportunity to shine. The Tories had messed up everything and then this happens. It almost felt that Storm Boris had come back to scuttle everything.

THE SYNOD AND TOMAS HALIK:

Tomas Halik’s talk to the European Delegates for the October Synod is adapted and published in a recent Tablet  (14th September 24). He paints a dramatic and familiar picture of a Church grappling with a world, which seems to be running away from the God influence. He talks of a Church searching as a Religion (his use of the word), ‘to read anew’ the God story. He sees Resurrection as continuing to happen in the life of individuals, but also in the collective life of the community. He attacks the heresy of triumphalism and the disorder of clericalism. He wants to see the life of the Trinity as the model of relationships. Where we listen and learn. Where we share. Where we humbly find courage. Where we move from the static to the dynamic. Where we no longer shackle the Spirit. Where traditionalism and fundamentalism and clericalism are all seen as heresy. Where the excitement in the daily adventure in the life of everyone, sees God (Word becoming Flesh) in the most unexpected places and in the most unlikely people. Not everyone agrees with Tomas but he is enlightening. I think he is very refreshing.

WHAT DO WE SAY ABOUT EVIL?

My distant cousin Augustine was a brilliant man. He hadn’t an unwritten thought. He left us a huge legacy. Sometimes people don’t like what he said or wrote. But everyone has to remember Augustine due to his influence. He was a busy man. He responded to the daily questions of life. He argued with all the greats of his time. However, his main stance was, ‘Hear me out. Listen to me. I will listen to you. We may not agree but we must struggle with language to express the inexpressible.’ (De Trinitate). That was his life story. He wasn’t just an orator or a master of rhetoric. He liked words. He liked to debate. That was his professional background. He was the ultimate exponent of a theologian – faith seeking understanding. Some of us don’t like his thoughts on what became the notion of Original Sin. It seems crude. It actually seems wrong. However, these days, I am tempted.

When we recall what happened on October 7th. When we see what has happened in Gaza. When we see what is going on in Lebanon. When we see what Russia is doing in the Ukraine. When we hear what is happening in the Sudan. When we see how China treats some of its citizens. When we see what Russia does to anyone who might question the policies of the leaders. When we see the criminality in our country. When we see the damage and destruction of drugs and those who import them. When we hear of stabbings and shootings. When we see riots happening and immigrants being treated badly. When we hear of the lies on social media. Surely we come towards an explanation which borders on evil in some people. A form of original sin! In so many ways, our world cries out for the values that Christ has given us. Where is the Good news?  

AUTUMN:

The leaves are turning. The colours are beautiful. Autumn is magnificent. It is the last hurrah and the farewell music of the season. I don’t like winter. The cold invades my bones. But I have to smile at the encore from nature’s stage as the darkness of life descends.

Shalom

Seamus Ahearne osa   25th September 2024.

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