Province of Isles December 2015

7/23/2019 Province of Isles December 2015

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F r i a r S e r v a n t s o f M a r y - P r o v i n c e o f t h e I s l e s

PROVINCIAL NEWSLETTER No. 36 21 December 2015

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St ColumcilleBenburb bronze

Dear brothers, sisters and Servite family,

warm greetings to you on this fourth Sunday of Advent. Early in this season of hope I stumbled accross a very surprising article in the National GeographicMagazine for December 2015 in the common room of our Servite Priory in

Kersal Manchester. It was written by a journalist Maureen Orth and it's title wasMary the Most Powerful Woman in the World. It’s a beautiful, reflectiveexploration of the presence of Mary in faith and culture in our contemporary world, expressed across geographical boundaries and expressive of a deepuniversal love of this woman who still lives in people's hearts and minds.

With Christmas Day now almost upon us, it's amazing all these centuries on that Mary's “yes” still speaks so powerfully in giving life to Jesus in that Bethlehem

stable.

Thank you to each of you who have given life to others in your Servite community life and ministry in

2015. As Joyce Rupp often says: compassion is never convenient, and yet you live this compassion sogenerously in the sharing of your gifts day in day out, in a world that needs our Servite vision of life somuch.

Pope Francis intuits this so clearly in his invitation to all of us to walk through our doors of mercy for the coming year and to open our hearts to all in need of this mercy as compassionately and ascreatively as we can.

With 2016 just around the corner, the words of the American poet Jack Gilbert in 1925 quoting Whitman ring out: “We must risk delight ...we must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in theruthless furnace of this world”

In this spirit I wish each of you enormous delight.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRIOR PROVINCIAL

Nativity window, north aisle Great MalvernPriory Church 14c © PMA

May you be blessed with the

MERCY of CHRIST and great joy for a

HAPPY CHRISTMAS2015



QUOTE FROM PRIOR GENERAL’S

LETTER

FOR THE YEAR OF MERCY

H elp me, Lord, make my eyes merciful.May I never be suspiciousand never judge on outward appearances.May I know how to perceive what is beautiful in the soul of my neighbour and may I be helpful to him.H elp me, Lord, make my hearing merciful.May I be open to the needs of my neighbour.Let my ears be open to the suffering and groans of my neighbour.

H elp me, Lord. Let my tongue be merciful.May I never speak ill of my neighbour.May I always have a wordof comfort and pardon for every one.

H elp me, Lord. Let my hands be mercifuland engaged in good work.May I only know how to do good things for my neighbour and take upon myself his difficult and painful burdens.

H elp me, Lord. May my feet be merciful.May I be quick to come to the aid of my neighbour and overcome my own inertia and fatigue.My true rest must be my willingness to help my neighbour.

H elp me, Lord. May my heart be merciful.May I share in all my neighbour’s sufferings.

Let me close my heart to no one.

L et me be sincereeven with those who would abuse my generosity; let me find refuge in the merciful heart of Jesus.I will not speak of my own suffering.May your mercy find a home in me, O Lord.

Y ou command me to practice three degrees of mercy. First I must perform actions of mercy of all sorts.Second I must speak with mercy – what I cannot do with actions I must do with words. Third: prayer; I must extend my prayer

to reach even those places I cannot visit physically.

O my Jesus transform me into yourself because you can do everything.”

From Servite Prior General’s 2015 Christmas Letter quoting Walter Kasper,Mercy: the Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life

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Christ the Merciful OneIcon in Recklinghausen Museum, Berlin

Perhaps Portia in is the nearest that Shakespeare

was able to come, in seemingly mercilessElizabethan times, to displaying Our Lady, the Lady of Mercy from

Six centuries and more had passed since the chant of began ringing around the churchesand monasteries at the end of each day. Believershad come to value the of the God of Mercy as displayed in the Holy Queen, the Lady of her Servants.

It was through her that the Mercy of God wasbrought into humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. That is why his mother is called ,because Jesus Christ is the personification of theMercy of God. He is the one who opens up the

for believers.From Mercy and the Motherliness of God,

Paul Addison OSM 2015

Mother of Mercy frescoSubiaco, Italy 14c



FRIARS TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER…

Fr Pat O’Connell our oldest friar, is failing in health, while

still always checking on Servite and World News. He cannot

get down to church any more, and celebrates Mass with Fr

Philip Allen (also quite poorly) in a little chapel next to his

room.

Fr Paul Addison has had major surgery in late November,

which has been successful after two years of various operations

to re-stabilise his inner workings. He is recovering well.Fr Steve Naughton celebrated his 91st birthday recently. He is

lively but frail. A recent fall left him in more pain.

Fr Colum McDonnell is now residen in Ashbrook Care Home

and doing well.

Fr Camillus McGrane has been in and out of hospital. He has

had surgery and is recovering in Caritas (Dublin). He is well

cared for by his Prior fr Liam Tracey while he is much missed

in the parish of Divine Word, Marley and by his Parish Priest

ever stalward Fr Jim Mulherin.

Peregrine’s Priory, Grangewood after completing a renewal

break. At the time of writing this, he is in Craigavon hospital

for heart tests and treatment.

A REFLECTION

FROM JAMAICA

Sister Rose Chang OSM, former Prioress General, recently

produced a reflection and meditation on Listening to the Word

of God. Here is a quotation:

“ Happy those who hear the Word of God and keep it”.

Jesus spoke these words in response to the personwho praised his mother for having borne a son likehim.In other words, according to Jesus, Mary’s truegreatness was her ability to LISTEN, HEAR and DOGod’s will as it was revealed to her at every moment of her life.Is it not the deep desire of each of us to be truly happy,to be content and at peace with ourselves andeveryone else? This desire can become reality if we

only LISTEN attentively to God’s word spoken in our daily life and then ACT on it. However, if we are to dothis the “Mary-way”, we need to take the time andspace to PONDER the Word.How does one “ponder” a word, a thought, an event?First, one must hold the word, i.e. not just let it “comein through one ear and go out the other”. Our oftenbusy and noisy lives does not help us to listen like this – so we need to cultivate this art of listening attentively.This kind of listening opens us to the deeper meaningand appreciation of ourselves , of others and of all of life… and with this level of awareness, it is very likelythat we will meet God right there in the “yaad” of our ordinary (and maybe not so ordinary) lives.

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SERVITE FRIARS PROVINCE OF THE ISLES

ELECTIVE CHAPTER June 2016 Election Committee The Council discussed the appointment

of the Election Committee for the 2016 Elective Chapter. It

was pointed out that the Benburb Community had looked after

this in past elective Chapters and this seemed to have worked

for us. It was decided that the election committee should be:

frs. Ray O’Connell, Gabriel Bannon, Bernard Thorne.

Election Start: The date of 25th

February is * proposed as thedate for elections in the Province. Fr Colm McGlynn will

write this request to Rome for approval of this as a

dispensation of the Provincial Directory.

Library Project BenburbFr Gabriel Bannon gave and update on the Library Project. A

new code for volunteers has been formulated and accepted by

the board. Works on the building should begin around the

beginning of December and finish sometime in July. A

branding for the Library project has been discussed by the

community and agreed. This will appear on

all materials going out from the project.

Blessing New House Grangewood,

St Peregrine’s PrioryThe Blessing of the new house in

Grangewood took place on 25th November and was attended

by the Council members and Fr Jim Mulherin from the Marley

community. It was a very enjoyable celebration and gratitude

was expressed by all Council members for the hospitality

shown and for the great meal prepared by Bro Joe Whelan and

work done by whole community.

Extract from Blessing Prayers

Introduction by Prior:In Latin a Priory is known as Conventum the word Conventummeaning Where people come together. And this priory, dedicated to

Saint Peregrine, is the home and the gathering-place for the Friar Servants of Mary. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit to build up thecommunity of friars and this holy place of gathering in divine grace

and peace.

All: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,and you will renew the face of the earth!

1. We praise you, Loving God, Creator of all that is:

because from the communion that is your Blessed Trinityyou sent you Son to gather together your scattered children.

2. He found a home of enthronement

in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady,and shared our humanity in everything but sin.

3. Risen from the Dead,

he has poured out the Spirit of Eternal Life upon us,gathering us as brothers and sisters

to form his Living Body, the Church.

4. Today we renew our consecration to Him

as Servants of Mary together,and we bless and dedicate this house to youin honour of Saint Peregrine, our brother in heaven.

5. Stay with us always in this place.

Gather us in your Spirit in our vows of consecration.

6. Open our ears to hear your Word.

Open our hearts to love your People.Open our lips to sing your praisesas a community of prayer and joyful praise.

All: Grant this, loving Father, in the Holy Spirit,

through Christ, our Lord. Amen

Fr Dermot MacNeice has been assigned to the community in St



IN HONOUR OF REFUGEES AND NOMADS

AT CHRISTMAS 2015

NO ROOM AT THE INN?

Colette Cullen Christmas 2015

(sister of fr Paul M. Addison OSM)

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An amazing French illuminated manuscript 14c

depicting Joseph holding the Baby, while Mary is

“reading in bed”! It is a sign that she hears and

welcomes the Word of God.

Christ born of Marymeans that God is in our midstin our very humanity!His divine lifemakes us wonderfully new!Something wonderfulto celebrate with joy!

prior provincial provincial secretary

Province of Isles December 2015

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