Séamus Ahearne: KINGS, LIFE, DEATH, BREATH AND AMBASSADORS…
KING CHARLES AND CONGRESS:
I was reared in the shadow and the embrace of The Big House. The Estate was an idyllic playground for us young ones. The gentry too were benign and friendly. We were very blessed. However, I have a residual conviction that Lords and Ladies are not proper landowners in a Republic. Nor do I have any lingering Royalist tendencies. I was quite dismissive and argumentative when my companions on holidays in Portugal spent the first day of holidays watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth! And yet somehow, I was surprised and almost enthralled by myself, last evening, when I remained watching King Charles deliver his speech to Congress. He did well. He was at ease. He made his points. He wandered back in history. He smiled at the disagreements.
He mentioned NATO, the Ukraine, the Middle East, Europe, climate change and nature’s economy, the independence of the Judiciary, the Checks and Balances essential in a democracy, and trade. There was no craven language being used, as we have seen previously, in some who humour poor Donald Trump. (Matthew Syed in the London Times, did a very colourful article in this genius!) I was indeed amused at all the standing ovations and such a display of unexpected unity. (Did they understand what he had said?) Charles was good.
FIRST COMMUNIONS, CONFIRMATIONS AND EVEN FUNERALS:
We are in the season of Confirmations and First Communions. Most of us say the same thing – these are events, and not a commitment to the Community of Faith. Some of us question the energy and time we put into the preparation and the celebration. However, what still remains remarkable is the extraordinary work done by our teachers for those celebrations. The tension in ourselves is between what those ceremonies should mean and what they actually mean. That does gnaw at our inners.
But it isn’t only those occasions, we continue to reflect on Masses for Funerals. Very few have any connection with Church or any commitment or understanding of Eucharist. However, something very special and serious does happen. Death stirs the depths of humanity, and hints of the mystery of God lurking around. Even if Mass is meaningless (for many or even most); the opportunity for all of us to be fed and nourished by God does occur. Our own continuing discussion is that we simply cannot cope with 300 funerals each year. The quick official reply is to get Lay Ministers to take over much of the work: Go to the homes. Prepare the Service. Lead a Service of the Word (instead of a Mass). Go to the Grave or Crematorium.
The age profile among the clergy is very high. There is a similar age profile among our lay members. I think we will have to move towards combining funerals in the near future. Funerals on two days in the week – and however many deaths there are, all can join with each other. Well something like that – as we all say: We cannot continue to do what we always did in the way we always did them. We have to also moderate other people’s expectations and our own.
THE BREATH OF GOD IN THE MORNINGS:
These mornings are especially lovely. The light has come. The birds are still noisy. The music is catching. The river flows gently. The ducks wander on the pathway and know that this is their home; I am the intruder. The herons have become a constant. Their stillness speaks. They ignore the passers-by. Two swans have come again on the Pond at the Tolka after a long absence but they disappoint when they go missing some days. There are no cygnets to be seen, which is a pity. The Weeping Willow is always demanding a chat. The rising sun smiles encouragingly. The breeze still reminds us that there is cold in the air. It is good to be alive. I often look at the birds and wonder. It is a source of amazement for me – when I leave out something for the birds to eat, and somehow they know. They appear from nowhere. There must be a watch-bird on duty who calls in the rest of them. It is great. I think all the time of Mary Oliver: “I have only to stand where I am, to be blessed.” Or Elizabeth Barrett Browning: “Earth is crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God.”
A little passing thought:
Peter Mandelson continues to take over the news in the UK. The sacked Ambassador to the US. How could Keir Starmer have appointed him? Why didn’t someone stop him? In some ways, Billy Shakespeare helps: This is much ado about nothing. Or is it? A bag of wind. Moral indignation abounds. Mandelson was appointed for the very reason of who he is and was. The Prince of Darkness. Devious. A fixer. A foil to the Donald. Suitable and as devious. That seems very obvious. The guilt by association with Epstein – that is understandable but hardly the full story. Trump was also an associate of Epstein. As were many of the most high profile people in the States. Knowing Epstein doesn’t make anyone morally corrupt. If they saw what was actually going on or participated – that is very different.
Shalom
Seamus Ahearne osa 29th April 2026.