SÉAMUS AHEARNE: WRITE FOR THEM THE POEM OF THE GOLDFINCH AND THE WHOLE EARTH SINGING. John F Deane

RUSSELL BRAND: Was baptised in the Thames recently. Sceptical observers smiled with disbelief at his conversion. There was an easy suggestion that this conversion might be very convenient. I kept thinking of May. She was a smiling parishioner. She was indeed a ‘sacrament.’ ‘A smile on the face of God.’ (Schillebeeckx). May died recently and we miss her. She would occasionally quote her mother as she saw her family become disinterested in Religious matters. “They must have been baptised in dirty water!” Poor Russell has had his problems. The Thames water was classified as ‘too dirty’ for the Oxbridge Boat Race. So. Brand was christened in ‘dirty water’ in a very literal sense. Whatever about any other interpretation. I thought of May on First Communions Day. 

BAMBIE THUG: She/He/They lit up the Eurovision for Ireland this year. I don’t know whether it was being non-binary, being a magnificent theatrical performance or being such a beautiful singer that impressed. I am totally ignorant on all counts. Doomsday Blue apparently was a magnificent artistic display. The devil was warded off. The victory of good over evil occurred. Or so it was explained to me. As someone who saw nothing of the Eurovision and only read a little, I was educated by our local Theatre Director and Therapist Betty (now at the Gate) who realised how inadequate I am in such matters and she took pity on me. How was I to know? I had been led astray by many who told me that the Song Contest was no longer about music or song but a forum for the weird. Betty gently and very quietly said to me that this was very similar to what we do in Scripture and in Liturgy. We have to go beyond the obvious and the literal. We delve into  the depths. We use all forms of artistic expression to get across a serious message. Language alone is never sufficient. Myth has to be carried and suggestive. This age has become too factual; too simplistic;  too ordinary. Yes. I was told. I am too old to learn, and am very limited. Something beyond us is always happening. Big and awesome imaginations are essential. 

FIRST COMMUNIONS: Saturday was the final celebration with us for the year. I had warned the children that I would start on time and did. I told them to wear their school uniforms which they didn’t. I mentioned that any fat dress would be scissored which I didn’t. It was good fun. Those children enjoy shouting me down. However, I did wonder at how some parents imposed on the children such enormous dresses. If they were short-taken it would have been disastrous. A few of the poor little ones seemed like a juggernaut trying to turn and move and read and sing. What utter craziness! But I go back to the little ones. They were a delight. Their spontaneity. Their exuberance. The participation. Their whole-hearted singing. How on earth did they manager to learn so much in such a short time? They even included the Confiteor, which is a very badly constructed and expressed prayer. (I don’t know it and don’t want to know it.) We had a lovely celebration. However, I think at times the adults weren’t as aware of the wonder as were the children. I see the children as a Sacrament of God’s present. A hint of mystery. An enticement into beauty and communion with God; with nature; with friendship; with family and history; with gratitude; with the preciousness of life; with wisdom. I think some adults have slipped out of that language, that wonder and that element of the sacred. I use Pádraig Daly’s line again: ‘ Who can disbelieve a world drenched in miracles?‘ Our culture now lacks the religious underpinnings. There is our new task. 

AGE AND TRAVEL: I reached the sea this morning. My footsteps were the only ones on the beach. I met no one. I saw no one. Not even a car passed me on the hour’s journey to the water. Two foxes welcomed me along the path. I heard then the sound of the waves as I reached the sea. A few birds wandered towards my feet. The odd plane set out for and from Faro. The sea whispers and occasional screams of the waves, and myself, communed. I smiled as I recalled the journey from Finglas to the Algarve. Those early flights. Those automated check ins. (I’m very stupid and needed help). The security. The long walk to the Gate. The landing. The Passport check which took an hour. The baggage collection. I got to base and found I had the wrong bag. Finding the real owner of the case took some time. But eventually worked out with the mother’s number appearing in a side pocked. Checking back to the airport. Being helped to get an Uber (costing almost nothing!) Of course I had no App!  Being admitted to the secure area and thoroughly searched. Getting my case and finally returning to base. Everything in place with the case but something was missing. I smiled. I had brought teabags! These had been removed. Clearly these were dangerous. Or might have terrorist possibilities. It was a great story. It was good to see how thorough everything was. But tea bags for those women could have landed me in real trouble. I must be much more careful with women! I lack guile and trust them too much. 

SPORT IS TROUBLESOME: Scottie Scheffler was arrested on his way into Valhalla for the PGA tournament. Tyson Fury felt the full onslaught of the Ukrainian war effect (or so he says). Davy Fitzgerald shook the clay off his roots as he disputed the last 65 against his Waterford team. Man City completed their Premiership with yet another win. Everton and Nottingham Forest suffered deductions but Man City fight on, and the little ones feel aggrieved. ‘I am the Greatest,’ continues as the strangest phenomenon  of all, in his linguistic bombast. He is of course, the most abused person ever in the political witch-hunt. Donald Trump. He is silenced while Cohen is accused of lying as the serial faker fights for his truth. Scottie is in handcuffs while Donald is above the law and lacks the insight to know anything of himself. His supporters are a sad lot. What does Donald say about leadership and politics today? 

MAKE A DIFFEENCE DAY (AER LINGUS): A hundred strong squad turned up last Friday at St Finian’s Primary School in Finglas South. They were welcomed with enthusiasm by the staff and children. Even the school Orchestra turned out. They got to work. A new play-area emerged. It is beautiful. People gave their experience and expertise (their off time) to the school. The school itself could never have afforded to create this special area in the outdoor space. It is wonderful. This was a celebration of generosity and altruism. It was a Eucharist of a different hue. The result is a covered area for play; it was definitely a Presentation of Gifts. Everyone was thrilled even the workers. Giving is always receiving too. The community was blessed. This group blessed everyone and were blessed. God was very much alive that day.

Seamus Ahearne OSA 

21st May 2024.