Séamus Ahearne: More Little Thoughts…
The Parades Commission said YES. The Courts said YES. The Garvaghy Road Residents said NO. The Orange Order Members waited in Drumcree Church, impatiently. To the rest of us, as outsiders, it all seems such a farce. Is there a way forward? Would anyone entertain a simple thought: That Michelle O’Neill, Emma Little-Pengelly, Breandán Mac Cionnaith and an Orange Order Representative walk down the road together? Wouldn’t that be a hint or whisper of a way forward? If they could stop after the walk, and have tea together in one of the houses; wouldn’t that be the compromise that could show maturity, and an appreciation of how far Norther Ireland has come? The sharp YESSES or NOES have been too much part of the rigidity in the thinking of the North. We never imagined the Chuckle Brothers working together. There is more to happen and it can. And it needs to now.
Ivan Illich’s Centenary was in early September. He was such an inspiration. He stepped outside conventional wisdom. On Schooling. On Medicine. On Theology. His courage in stretching his mental muscles, beyond how things were understood in those days; or how most were imprisoned in one-way-thought; or were captured or controlled by how things had been done, and must be done. It is surely blasphemous in the light of a new day to let ourselves be caught in the rigidities of the past. It isn’t just the Orange Order; or the Green or Orange. We are all caught up and limited by inflexibility. So many now look at others and speak of entitlement. It is a curse. But we need everyone to break out into the song of excitement and the adventure of the poets who enrich our lives. We can celebrate what we have and who we are rather than focus on what is missing. Where are the Ivans now to call us out of ourselves?
The News these days is off-putting. Why is everyone so angry? Why is there so much aggression on the airwaves and in politics? Why does everyone want more? Why is there so much screaming as the Budget is awaited? The cake is small. The needs are great. Others need help. Many don’t but want more. Is the world full of moaners and groaners and whingers? I think it is poisonous to let that me-me disease seep into our souls. It sometimes seems to me that we are suffering from psychological constipation. We hold onto the manure within.
Christ was very unusual. Many of the little snippets of his life are celebrated around the Table. Babette’s Feast too tells something similar. The food and feast lifts the hearts. The frivolity comes in. The fun is back. There is gratitude in the relationships. That Religious Group wake up to the ‘more’ and the ‘good’ and the ‘wonderful.’ Of Gods and men– also illustrates that bottle of wine around the Table, and the hilarity evoked despite the likelihood of approaching death. Now I go back to Christ – the Feast. The Table. The Sharing. The Communion. The Eucharist. Gratitude. The Feast. Heaven as a big meal. How can we recall and relive that illustration of the Kingdom? We sometimes squeeze the life out of our Mass. It is strangled by formality. The awe. The mystery. The reverence. The holiness. The extraordinary in the ordinary. Hearts lifted. Voices shared. Stories told. And God invited into the dance of the everyday. This is the counterculture supposedly of Faith. I think Pope Leo is attempting to do some of this. We cannot allow our lives be ruined by the coarseness of everyone living ‘the poor me’ culture. We are better and bigger than this.
Seamus Ahearne osa
29th September 2026.