Reflections on the XXVII Columbanus Day in Lodi (Italy)

A year ago the weekend gone by, Carlow hosted the XXVI Columbanus Day. It was a huge venture, an enormous undertaking, a coming together of so many working together to make it a most successful weekend. Perhaps you attended some part of the festivities a year ago?

I think of the opening in Carlow County Museum, and the welcome from the late and much loved Museum Curator, Dermot Mulligan. The biodiversity conference in Carlow College stands out as do the different receptions hosted at the college. Maybe you walked the Columban Way from Mount Leinster to Myshall and enjoyed the splendid July weather that Saturday morning. I think of the most hospitable lunch served by the local ladies in Myshall and the talk that afternoon by former President Mary McAleese on ‘Columbanus, the Man from Myshall’. And then the reception of the relic and that walk from the Adelaide Church to the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. That splendid concert in the Cathedral on Saturday evening culminating with Mass to honour the XXVI Columbanus Day on Sunday morning. The weekend concluded with the customary ‘Pilgrims Lunch’ in the Dolmen Hotel.

I returned last week with a group who flew the Carlow flag high at the XXVII Columbanus Day celebrations in Lodi, in the north of Italy. We had a wonderful weekend, with many pilgrims still commenting so favourably on last year’s celebrations.

The event this year began on Friday evening with a visit to San Colombano al Lambro to see the parish church of San Colombano Abate where we stepped into centuries of history and faith. The church is permanent home to a splendidly ornate reliquary of Saint Columbanus consisting of two ribs and a vertebra of the saint. While there we took time to pray and bring to the fore the intentions of our pilgrimage. Also we admired the more contemporary paintings depicting the life of Columbanus, including one where he with his twelve companions set sail from Bangor and another one of the saint and his monks planning the construction of the famous monastery at Bobbio. Our evening was to have concluded with an Irish Night in the Piazza del Populo, but a delayed start suggested our bus journey back to our hotel was a greater priority. We needed a good sleep for Day II.

On Saturday we walked the 13km walk, beginning at the church in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, to San Colombano al Lambro on the Italian stretch of the Columban Way. How proud we were to think that the route we walked began on the side of Mount Leinster in Myshall.  Pope Leo XIV had been to Sant’Angelo Lodigiano a few weeks earlier to honour the birthplace of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first US saint and patroness of migrants. Many of the shops and businesses were still festooned in papal colours and memorabilia recalling that pastoral visit. One message caught my eye: “Anche oggi un Leone guida la Chiesa e una Colomba continua a indicare la strada del cuore” giving the title to this reflection ‘Today too a lion (Leo) guides the Church and a dove (Columbanus) continues to show the way of the heart’. The Columban Way is indeed the way of the heart across Europe. Our walk was made enjoyable by the many fellow pilgrims we encountered along the way. It may not have been Mount Leinster but it was equally spectacular!

Later that evening the relics of St. Columbanus were brought from Bobbio and welcomed to Lodi Cathedral. It was such a moving moment to be present as the relics were carried shoulder high up the main aisle to be placed in the sanctuary. The man from Myshall had travelled far indeed. The brief ceremony was followed by a concert in the Piazza della Vittoria, the Piazza in front of Lodi Cathedral. Piazzas in Italy are great places for people to congregate, gather and celebrate; the Piazza della Vittoria did not let the side down.

On Sunday morning our group travelled the one hour journey to Bobbio, nestled in the Trebbia Valley, where Columbanus founded his last monastery and where he died and is laid to rest. We had a simple but moving prayer moment in the crypt of the Abbey of St. Columbanus around his resting place as our pilgrim group circled the splendidly ornate sarcophagus, realising we had travelled from the womb to the tomb of this sixth century saint.

That afternoon in the searing heat of Lodi we attended the welcome reception, hosted by Bishop Maurizio Malvestiti, along with several ecclesial and civic leaders. This was followed by the Mass honouring XXVII Columbanus Day. In a letter from Pope Leo to the Bishop of Lodi, Pope Leo prayed that “the days dedicated to the Saint help bring together people of different languages and nations, inviting them to rediscover together the values of the Christian tradition in order to respond to the challenges of our time”. He highlighted Columbanus’ emphasis on mercy, describing it as indispensable.  A proud moment for our Carlow pilgrims was when a number of our pilgrims had a prominent role during the Mass, including one of them reciting an intercessory prayer as gaeilge: “Guimid go spreagfaidh Naomh Columbán sinn chun Críost a leanúint, aire a thabhairt don bpláinéad agus síocháin a chur chun cinn. A Thiarna, éist linn” (We pray that St. Columbanus will inspire us to follow Christ, to take care of our planet and to promote peace, Lord hear us). And then the announcement, greeted by all of us with great joy that next year we will gather in Bangor and Belfast from 11 to 13 June 2027 to celebrate the XXVIII Columbanus Day. The formal announcement concluded that from Bangor, which for centuries was one of the foremost schools of monasticism throughout Europe, will resound, “with renewed vigor, the message of peace, of universal fraternity, and of unity that brings light to the darkness of present-day Europe”. The Pilgrim lunch was relished afterwards. And so the curtain fell on a most enjoyable XXVII Columbanus Day.

The celebration of these Columbanus Days is not an exercise of historical memory. They are a reminder at this time, as Ireland holds the six month Presidency of the European Union, that Columbanus was the first to write of a “totius Europae”, it didn’t matter if you were Turk, Frank or Irish, you were European. He crossed borders, literally and figuratively, and was the first to speak of a European identity; that is why the concept of these ‘Columbanus Days’ is so important.

X Denis Nulty

13 July 2026

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Loughcrew – Mass @ 3pm

Introduction:

We have come to Loughcrew, the birth place of St. Oliver Plunkett. Born here on the Feast of All Saints, November 1st 1625. From his birth he was destined for sainthood!

His father John Plunkett, was Baron of Loughcrew. His mother Thomasina Dillon was granddaughter of Sir Lucas Dillon, the Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. The Plunkett/Dillon families were well connected, and so are all of us to a saint beatified in May 1920 and canonised in October 1975, the first Irish person in almost 700 years. We are this afternoon on holy ground.

We are connected to St. Oliver through our faith. Perhaps we remember his canonisation? Maybe we were there? Possibly we were in Oldcastle on November 1975 as the relic of his ‘left femur bone’ was gifted from Downside Abbey? Maybe the name Oliver is in our family? 

St. Matthew on this Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time reminds us of family, Oliver Plunkett’s and ours, and the place of the cross in our hierarchy of preferences. “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me in my footsteps is not worthy of me”[1]. Oliver would meet the cross many times in his life, but his footsteps began here, on this sacred ground that is Loughcrew.  

His message of forgiveness at a time of persecution, written most powerfully in his final letter from his cell in Newgate to Michael Plunkett on 22 June 1681, is a message of hope, resilience and mercy in a world that is briste agus brúite. And so we pray …

• Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – you are the wellspring of mercy: A Thiarna, déan trócaire 

• Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – you are the way of Truth:  A Chríost, déan trócaire

• Bí linn i gcónaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – be with us always, showing us the way: A Thiarna, déan Trócaire

Homily:

My associations with Oliver Plunkett go back a while. In November 2011, I buried an Oliver Plunkett in Calvary Cemetery, Drogheda, a son of Ballinlough, next door! They weren’t related to the Loughcrew folk, as Oliver’s brother discovered researching the family tree many years earlier. We all want to be related to saints; it’s the sinners we find it hard to shake off the family tree!

Staying with Drogheda there we find the Shrine to St. Oliver in St. Peter’s Church on West Street, recently restored to mark last year’s quatercentenary celebrations of his birth here in Loughcrew. The attraction and focus is clearly on the relic there, of the head, on permanent display since June1921.

Growing up in Slane, from childhood I was intrigued by the heavy oak door of the Newgate Prison cell where Oliver spent six months in solitary confinement before his sham trial. Apparently the door was a gift from the Mayor of Wrexham in Wales to St. Peter’s Church, Drogheda, over seventy years ago.

That vulgar padlocked door, is a keen reminder of those who live behind such padlocks today. Not just prisoners on their journey towards rehabilitation into society; but more keenly those living in domestic abuse situations; those trafficked to Europe under a false pretence; those languishing in IPAS centres, those turned back at borders or ports or boarded onto planes because documentation is incomplete. 

St. Oliver Plunkett stirs up many emotions. The brutality of martyrdom “hung, drawn and quartered” at the gallows in Tyburn, around three kilometres from Newgate. Even that language carries a grotesque image. What exactly does quartered mean? It reminds us of the many who continue to be martyred for their faith across several continents. Religious freedom is not a privilege, it is a fundamental human right.

In 2013 I was appointed Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin, I left the banks of the Boyne for the banks of the Barrow, the longest of the three sisters, the Barrow, the Nore and the Suir. Once again I would cross paths with St. Oliver Plunkett. Our Kildare & Leighlin diocesan historian Comerford reminds us it was Plunkett who united the two dioceses of Kildare and of Leighlin in 1678.

It might be reasonably asked why was Plunkett so keen on amalgamation. Was it simply for very practical economic reasons? Kildare then was amongst the poorest dioceses in the country with about fifteen priests. In a letter Oliver Plunkett sent to Cardinal Colonna[2] in Rome, he tells him that Bishop Forstall would have to get a subvention from the Congregation. But if he enjoyed the administration of Leighlin which had around fifteen or sixteen priests with a similar income to Kildare, united they could pay enough to sustain a Bishop! I say today thank God for Oliver Plunkett!

Oliver held Bishop Forstall of Kildare in the highest esteem and Comerford reminds us “more than once (Plunkett) recommended to the Holy See that he (Forstall) should receive also the administration of the Diocese of Leighlin”^[3]. On Forstall’s death Edward Wesley was appointed Bishop of Kildare and Administrator of Leighlin, which was already vacant, despite the fact that twelve Leighlin priests petitioned that it align with Ossory under Bishop Phelan at the time. Diocesan realignment is not just a conversation of this twenty-first century! Two years post Tyburn, Plunkett had sown the seed of amalgamation and the Holy See was not for turning.

Of 162 Primary Schools under my patronage in Kildare & Leighlin, only one carries the dedication to St. Oliver Plunkett. That school is in the Killina end of Carbury Parish; home today to 88 pupils who are very happy in their Catholic Primary School and for us are our nod to St. Oliver Plunkett’s passion for education. Opened in 1955 it originally was called after Blessed Oliver. A fitting patron for any school – archbishop, educator and martyr. The River Boyne rises in Carbury parish, before reaching the Irish Sea at Drogheda.

In Drogheda, Oliver established a number of schools, one being a Jesuit school. Catholic education was a critical priority for him. While the schools had varying levels of success, they didn’t last long. In one of his letters from Drogheda dated 26 April 1671 he spoke of these Jesuit schools “where they train up to 150 boys and twenty-five priests.”^[4] Catholic education remains critical today. At a time when divestment is under consideration, remaining schools must be unapologetically Catholic.

One of my priests is a descendant of the Plunkett  family. He tells me that two grandnieces of Oliver, two sisters married two eligible young lads from Clonaslee, at the foot of the Slieve Blooms in  Laois. One was a Dunne, the other a Corbett, his mothers people. The Plunkett of Loughcrew family name features prominently in his grandparents generation. 

For a significant birthday in recent years I was treated to a tour of Dunsany Castle, so much associated with the Plunkett name. St. Oliver Plunkett’s portrait has pride of place in Dunsany. But more importantly his episcopal ring and the crook of his travelling crozier. Both ring and crozier date back to 1669 when at the age of forty-four, he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh.

The late Cardinal Tomas O’Fiaich reminds us “Plunkett was only three months in Ireland when he succeeded in bringing the bishops of the country together”^[5]. There is no doubt but that his management style ruffled feathers. The restoration of the Church in Ireland was his greatest challenge. Many dioceses were then vacant. There was tension between secular and regular clergy; interreligious disputes between orders. The training of priests left a lot to be desired. Oliver Plunkett came trying to undo the damage and stench left by a more notorious namesake. A persecuted faith left a very fragile and divided Church. There was much to do and Oliver didn’t waste any time.

He found himself travelling extensively across six or seven dioceses doing huge backlogs of Confirmations for many adults. It is estimated he confirmed 10,000 in the first six weeks. These were penal times. By 1673 his own records show that he would have personally confirmed 48,655 candidates^[6].

Desmond Forristal puts heavy emphasis on the fact that Oliver Plunkett was a Bishop who stayed close to his people: “by word and example, he hammered home the principle that a Bishop’s place was with his people, that a bishopric was a service to be rendered rather than a benefice to be enjoyed”^[7]. Just a week before his own martyrdom he wrote: “Bishop Forstall of Kildare would have departed but yet I hindered him, for if the captains will fly, tis in vain to exhort the single soldier to stand in battle”[8]. Ultimately staying close to his people would cost Plunkett his life. A phrase much associated with Pope Francis that bishops “needed to be shepherds living with the smell of the sheep”^[9].

St. Paul’s words this afternoon always puzzled my father, how does baptism bring us back into a tomb? It does if we live our baptism fully. We are baptised, not we were baptised. Baptism isn’t a standalone event. We live our baptism every day by taking up our cross and following Christ fully. It was the baptism Oliver celebrated here in Loughcrew that sustained him as he was challenged by a faith that was outlawed and suppressed. He encountered fellow clergy and brother bishops who were less certain of their mandate and mission and he was unjustly condemned and brought to the scaffold at Tyburn.

All of us are called to live our baptism. Oliver’s story reinforces our own. Pope Leo, preaching to 1.2M at the Corpus Christi Mass  in Madrid reminded them that Spain’s historic Church was not a folklore museum to be visited but a school of faith for the building of a better society. He said that the Eucharist was not just about “bringing out the monstrance, but of allowing ourselves to be brought out of our selfishness and indifference, of a comfortable, private faith, so as to respond to his invitation to conversion, to change our perspective, and to welcome his presence which transforms us and makes us builders of a new world”[10]. St. Oliver Plunkett achieved this, by living his baptism fully. We are called to do no more or no less.

[1] Mt.10:38

[2] Comerford, Michael: ‘Dioceses of Kildare & Leighlin’ Volume 1, 1883, pg. 37-38.

[3] Comerford, Michael: ‘Dioceses of Kildare & Leighlin’ Volume 1, 1883, pg. 68.

[4] Hanly, John: ‘The Letters of Saint Oliver Plunkett: 1625-1681’, Dolmen Press, 1979, Letter #79, pg. 186.

[5] O’Fiaich, Tomas, ‘Oliver Plunkett Ireland’s New Saint’, Veritas, 1975, pg. 48.

[6] Donnelly, Frank: ‘Until the Storm Passes – St. Oliver Plunkett’, 1993, pg. 4.

[7] O’Fiaich, Tomas & Forristal, Desmond: ‘Oliver Plunkett: his life and letters’, Our Sunday Visitor, Indiana, 1975, pg. 257.

[8] Hanly, John: ‘The Letters of Saint Oliver Plunkett: 1625-1681’, Dolmen Press, 1979, Letter #226, pg. 577.

[9] Pope Francis, Chrism Homily, 28 March 2013.

[10] Pope Leo XIV, Homily at Holy Mass, Procession and Eucharistic Blessing, Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid, Sunday 7 June 2026

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St. Patrick’s Church, Rathvilly – 27 June 2026

St. Paul’s words this evening always puzzled my dad, how could baptism bring us back into a tomb, he would ask? The symbol of our faith is a cross, the cross is an instrument of death, it’s the sign we mark ourselves every time we pray. Why this Christian fascination with death? With our faith in Christ who has died and is risen, we are ourselves free from the fear of death to walk with courage and live fulfilled lives. The tomb reminds us to live baptism every day.

We are baptised, not we were baptised. The Irish Synodal pathway reminds us baptism isn’t a standalone event. We live our baptism every day by taking up our cross and following Christ fully, as emphasised in Matthew’s gospel.

All of us are called to live our baptism. The Final Document of the Universal Synod ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission’ said “Baptism is the foundation of Christian life. This is because it introduces everyone to the greatest gift. This is to be children of God, that is, to share in Jesus’ relationship to the Father in the Spirit. There is nothing higher than baptismal dignity”[1]. And I suggest this Jubilee evening, Msgr. John McEvoy fully lives out this baptismal dignity in the way he ministers as a priest among us all.  

Priesthood is about celebrating the Eucharist and as celebrant or presider been sustained and nourished by Eucharist ourselves. Priesthood is about generosity as demonstrated by that “woman of rank”[2] towards the prophet Elisha in our first reading from the Book of Kings, generously giving our celibate lives over completely to Christ. Priesthood is about taking up the cross, maybe every day and not losing heart or becoming despondent to our sense of calling, as perhaps one cross is followed too quickly by another.

Ordaining priests in Rome last April, Pope Leo reminded the ten newly ordained that the communities, the parishes to which they are appointed are not empty or passive, but already marked by the presence of the Risen Christ. He told them “these communities will also help you to become saints”[3].

John McEvoy’s education journey began in the Brigidine Convent School in Ballyroan, before moving to the Boys’ Primary School there and then going to Knockbeg. As a seminarian his studies were divided between Maynooth and Rome. He was ordained in Ballyroan by Bishop Patrick Lennon on this day in 1976. But a much more important sacrament took place in the old church in Portlaoise years earlier on 15 April 1951, when at 5 days old John McEvoy was presented for baptism. He has been living his baptism every day since.

Living it out in every one of his appointments as Professor of Moral Theology in Carlow College, forming seminarians who remember his days there with great fondness; serving as College bursar there for the past forty years and Vice-President over the past thirty years. John has given sterling service to the College and to the Diocese taking up appointments in Tinryland, Paulstown-Goresbridge and here among you in Rathvilly-Kiltegan. He wears his gifts lightly. Other hats he dons includes leading the team charged with the promotion, formation and ongoing support of our Permanent Deacons. I welcome the many deacons and their wives who join with Deacon Liam, the Parish deacon, here this evening. He also serves on the Council of Priests, the Delany Archives as well as numerous other bodies and boards.

John is passionate on the causes of different saints. He has a keen love for St. Fintan from his home parish, St. Columbanus, St. Patrick, St. Brigid and St. Tegan to mention but a few. He features in a number of publications, writing an excellent chapter on the cause of Fr. Andrew Mullen (1790-1818), a son of Daingean, among the first students at Carlow College, who died in Clonmore at the age of twenty-eight. John’s chapter in the publication ‘The Rock from Which You Were Hewn’[4], published in 2024, is well worth a read for those who would like to know more about the only Kildare & Leighlin cause on the desk of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome. Better still start praying through Fr. Andrew’s intercession.    

John’s book ‘Carlow College 1793-1993’ was written as a tribute to all Carlovians on the occasion of the college’s bicentenary telling the story of the college, the ordained students and teaching staff; it remains today a splendid resource. He continues to update the list of alumni on either side of the Atlantic. He edited the very useful ‘Churches of Kildare & Leighlin 2000 AD’[5], very much the ‘go to’ book for me when making a parish visit. He appears occasionally in the Africa Magazine, writing a little while back on the 400^th Anniversary of Propaganda Fide[6].

Recently my eye was drawn to details of the Rome launch of ‘Luke Wadding. A Life: Religion, Politics and Culture, 1588-1657’ written by Benjamin Hazard. Msgr. John would be quick to remind me he was the only Irishman who received votes in two successive papal conclaves (1644 and 1655) even though he was not a cardinal, probably the greatest of all the Irish College founding intellectuals, guardian of St. Isidore’s where the recent launch took place.

John loves detail – years, dates, events. He has a propensity for the minutia and a lack of tolerance for inaccuracy!  Having spent a good while as a student in both the Gregorian University and in the Irish College, Rome; even the professional tour guides in the eternal city have been fact checked on occasion. And of course John would always be right!

We are watching on our screens the unfolding harrowing story of the deadly earthquakes in Venezuela. 50,000 people are missing; 920 confirmed dead but it’s very early days. I have no doubt we will respond hugely generously as we always do, as soon as safe ways are determined for getting aid into the country and distributing it to those most affected. For now we very much hold them in the heart of our prayers.

This evenings Peter’s Pence Collection allows us here in Rathvilly, in Talbotstown, in Tynock and throughout the diocese to be part of Pope Leo XIV’s global mission of peace, hope and charity. All of that so badly needed in Venezuela at this critical time.  

Propaganda Fide, close to the heart of John’s own priesthood, reminds us of the importance of preaching the gospel in the most isolated parts of the world. And I leave the last word to John from that Africa Magazine four years back as he wrote: “that the Word of God is the same yesterday, today and forever”[7], whether that word is proclaimed in Rathvilly or Rio, in Talbotstown or Tasmania, in Tynock or Tigray. To Msgr. John, who on my request in 2021, was honoured with the title of Chaplain of His Holiness, with great affection we say this night “ad multos annos”. 

[1] XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Second Session; ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission’, (2-27 October 2024), Final Document, 26 October 2024

[2] 2K.4:8

[3] Pope Leo XIV, Homily on Day of Prayer for Vocations, St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, 26 April 2026

[4] Kenny, Patrick & Hogan, John: ‘The Rock from which You Were Hewn – the lives and legacy of Holy Irish Men and Women’, Cenacle Press, Silverstream, 2024, pgs.223-229

[5] McEvoy, John: ‘The Churches of Kildare & Leighlin 2000 A.D.’ with drawings and research by John Duffy, Editions du Signe, 2000

[6] Africa Magazine, November 2022, pgs. 6-8

[7] ibid, pg. 8

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Mass @ 12noon – Holy Family Church, Askea

Golden Jubilee of the Church

Introduction:

It’s the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. The sun rose this morning at two minutes after 5am and is due to set at four minutes ahead of 10pm! That’s 16 hours and 54 minutes of daylight, of sunlight. We thank God for blessing us on this Golden Jubilee day with such splendid weather.  

Holy Family Church here in Askea is one of only two churches in the diocese dedicated to the Holy Family. The other is Holy Family Church in Kilshanroe in Carbury parish in the northern end of the diocese. Kilshanroe was built just a year ahead of Askea.

Our year is 1976. And todays celebration marks the Golden Jubilee – 50 years of Holy Family Church, Askea. What happens later outside the church with our parish picnic and all the other activities is nourished by what happens inside here as we celebrate these sacred mysteries. And there has been fifty years of such nourishment that brings us all here today.

Matthew’s gospel carries the instruction to the twelve, opening with the reassurance: “Do not be afraid”^[1]. Fear can be very discommoding. Sometimes we can’t put our finger on the fear, but we know it’s there and it’s very real.

On this Day for Life we realise every human life has dignity because every human life is created by God, loved by God, held by God and forgiven by God and so on this Golden Jubilee day we pray …

• Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – you are the wellspring of mercy:

A Thiarna, déan trócaire 

• Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – you are the way of Truth: 

A Chríost, déan trócaire

• Bí linn i gcónaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – be with us always, showing us the way.

A Thiarna, déan Trócaire

Homily:

Today is June 21st. The longest day of the year. Our year is turning. Nothing stands still. The poet Jadine Lydia reminds us:

“as the world spins

into her longest, lightest day

we celebrate the laughter

and the joy along the way”[2]

Jubilee moments allow us momentarily to stand still as the world spins into her longest, lightest day. The Nationalist and Leinster Times of May 4^th, 1973 carried a front page photograph of Bishop Patrick Lennon digging the first sod for the site of the new church, we know today as Holy Family or simply Askea. Bishop Lennon, surrounded by scouts and guides, said then “it’s not just a building or a church, it is for the people”[3]; even in its infancy it was destined to be a place where families felt welcomed, where young people felt at home.

In the planning and those early days of construction it was called the Church of St. Joseph the Worker. Before that sod was ever turned it attracted no small amount of controversy in the letters section of the Nationalist, as a debate ensued on what Carlow town needed most. It would eventually be called Holy Family Church. Such was the curiosity around the design of the church that even the Irish Times[4] carried a photograph of the then novel elliptical frame that was the roof, a roof which would be problematic in time and indeed replaced as Fr. Tom Little and those around him well know at a later date.

In ‘The Churches of Kildare & Leighlin 2000AD’, John McEvoy writes that this“church is of unique architectural style, inspired by the Old Testament moving tent, which contained the Ark of the Covenant, during the period after the Exodus”[5]. Everyone has their own favourite feature in the church, perhaps it’s the baptism motif on the wall at the baptistry or maybe the fact that there are no obstructing pillars blocking views of the sanctuary or it could be the Stations of the Cross painted directly onto the brickwork. We might even have our favourite seat or the shrine where the lit candle never lets us down.

Every church is a Teach an Phobail, ‘The House of the People’, as Bishop Lennon reminded us on that sod turning day that the people were centre, not the building. And they have remained so, since the first Mass here on April 4^th 1976, as the church heaved with people. I love celebrating Mass here and do so regularly. If the church walls could speak, what stories would they tell? It could be about the thousands of people who have come through the church doors over the past fifty years for Sunday or weekday Masses, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, weddings and requiems, or simply to light a candle or say a prayer.

Matthew on this Twelfth in Ordinary Time allows us to eavesdrop into an intimate teaching moment of Jesus with his disciples. He was hardening them for mission, for witnessing to Him in the public square. He knew their road ahead was tough as ours is tough, declaring for Christ in a world that might prefer we kept silent or at least quiet, out of the way. They and we are told “Do not be afraid”^[6]. A phrase repeated 365 times in the bible. Fear is something we find it hard to cope with. Unlike other emotions, there is no release valve for fear. More often, there is nothing we can do to lighten or release it. The more someone tries to reassure us that “it will be all right and you’ll be fine”, the greater the paralysis fear becomes, robbing us of our strength to overcome it.

The image of buying two sparrows for a penny, is taken up a few verses later with the reassurance that “you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows”^[7]. Scripture commentaries remind us the sparrow was the cheapest bird to be sold in the market, as food for the poor. Denis McBride suggests “two for a penny and five for two pennies. The fifth was thrown in for nothing”^[8]. Basically they had no value, they were of no worth. And here Jesus tells the disciples they are worth something, they are valued, they are appreciated.

What a beautiful simple message on this ‘Day for Life’! Your real worth before God is a more powerful force than any fear that might grip you. All of us are valued. On this Day for Life all life is valued, all life is of worth. In this age of huge uncertainty with wars on so many fronts and truces and accords lasting no longer than a day, fear can take hold. Into this fear, Jesus speaks. Every human life has immeasurable worth from the life of the most defenceless unborn child to the accompaniment of those seriously ill, from the dignity of those living with disability to the place of the elderly in society. Every human life matters. Every human life deserves and is worthy of protection. The true measure of a country is not the power of the strong, but the protection of the weak – the unborn, the elderly, the less-abled, those close to death. The next six months as we assume the Presidency of the European Union allows us a space to forge this very narrative, to take the lead in this very discourse.

So what challenge might we take on ourselves for the next fifty years? Collaborating with others it would be great to see a ministry to families emerging from Askea. The parish prides itself in offering early childcare and supporting senior citizens. The fear that can grip families who fall between the stools of not having childcare concerns and not being classed as a senior citizen, who fall neatly into neither category, can at times can be paralysing. Teenagers need people to work with them; parents need support structures; marriages need accompaniment in the early years. What kind of family ministry might emerge, only time will tell, but what I do know is it is badly needed today and might be our way of turning a new sod fifty years on, after all Holy Family, Askea is about the people not just about the building.    

On this Jubilee Day we acknowledge and thank the priests who were here during construction and at the opening of the Church, Fr’s Tom Brophy, Jack O’Leary, Frank MacNamara, John Fingleton, Willie O’Byrne and the forever young Tommy Dillon. Great that Fr. Frank and Fr. Willie are back this day, as indeed are other men who served here, all most welcome. I commend people like Michael Shannon, who in the footsteps of his dad served as sacristan here for many years. I commend the late and much missed Norah Holohan. I commend people like Clare Cashin who has been leading music ministry here since the day the church opened. I commend Sr. Joan Pierse who followed Sr. Anne Codd. I commend the many more involved in the life and heart of this church and parish too numerous to mention, particularly Fr. Tom and Fr. Tommy. I thank the Golden Jubilee Committee who organised all aspects of this celebration.  

[1] Mt.10:26

[2] Lydia, Jadine ‘Summer Beckons’

[3] The Nationalist and Leinster Times, Friday, May 4, 1973, Vol. 90, pg. 1.

[4] The Irish Times, December 3, 1974, pg. 1.

[5] McEvoy, John: ‘The Churches of Kildare & Leighlin 2000AD’, pg. 14.

[6] Mt.10:26

[7] Jn. 10:31

[8] McBride, Denis C.SS.R.: ‘Seasons of the Word’, Redemptorist Publications, 1991, pg. 239.

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St. Patrick’s Church, Rathoe

Mass @ 7pm

Introduction:

We gather in St. Patrick’s Church, Rathoe to celebrate Fr. Jim O’Connell’s Diamond Jubilee. Jim is not a man who would want to attract accolades or even to draw attention, so evenings like this, go hard on him, because he is a priest to his fingertips. However, much and all as he mightn’t like it or want it, we are all glad to be around him this evening to encourage, affirm and wish him abundant blessings.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us the Lord has his eye on us before we are even born, in other words our pathway in life is well and truly set out, we mightn’t know it but He does! St. Paul speaks of the variety of gifts there are. Priesthood brings to the fore that variety, every priest is different, every priest is needed.

In the many appointments Jim has held and continues to generously hold, St. Matthew reminds us seed will fall on a variety of soil. There are people here tonight in Rathoe whose lives have been profoundly impacted by Jim. A priest mightn’t appreciate the power of his words, the effect of his action or the import his presence made at a moment in time, but it had and you are here.

And so as we begin to celebrate these sacred mysteries, we call to mind our sins and pray for forgiveness …  

Homily:

In the Maynooth class of 1966 there were 60 students, two donning the Kildare & Leighlin colours, Pierce Murphy and Jim O’Connell. I noted the only Meath man of that time was the late Paddy Keary, my next door neighbour from my Drogheda days. We all know Pierce went to his eternal rest in those harsh couple of weeks in the Spring of 2019 that robbed us also of the young John Cummins.

1966, sixty years ago, was not only a very different Ireland, but a world apart from the Ireland of today. Spieling off ordination numbers might seem a little trite nonetheless it helps to paint a picture. There were 6 ordained from Rome; 28 from St. Patrick’s College, Carlow; 20 from St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny; 17 from Waterford; 15 from Thurles; 12 from Wexford; 28 from All Hallows and 8 from Clonliffe College. In all there were 194 Diocesan Priests ordained, most of them for ministry on this island; more of them generously ministering in dioceses across the States and England.

In 2026 there are four ordinations. The projected numbers of seminarians studying for the priesthood at the National Seminary in Maynooth next September is 40. Kildare & Leighlin have one seminarian, but there are a further two at the Inquiry Stage, hopefully both may enter Propaedeutic Programmes in the next while.

In Fr. Jim’s day there was no such thing as Inquiry, Propaedeutic or even Discipleship, you kind of ‘got on with it’, but then again it was a different world, a different Church. For a young lad to put his hand up and say he wants to pursue a religious vocation today is not only brave and adventurous as it was then sixty years ago, but today it’s also very courageous and intentionally swimming against the current tide. I’m convinced vocations are out there and we need to do all we can as parents, grandparents, siblings and friends to do our bit to sow a seed. God alone knows the fertile ground that seed might land on, like in the life of the young James O’Connell from Clonaghadoo!

Vocations are critical for the life and vitality of our Church, our faith, our diocese. As we continue to get accustomed to a new language of church, parish and ministry; priests remain central to our mission. A parish without Eucharist is a parish without a lung. Lay Pastoral Ministry, volunteering is at the heart of every parish, all essential in the parameters of co-responsibility but it is the Mass that gathers us together, sustains us and nurtures us. I’ve said before and repeat again on these significant and momentous Jubilee moments, be reasonable in any requests made of the local priest; he will not and cannot be expected to reach on everything.

Our church in Rathoe is dedicated to St. Patrick. It reminds us of our mission, to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While circumstances change and the way we communicate continues to evolve, we only have to think of Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas’, today more than ever we need to know Jesus Christ and to experience His power, to appreciate His presence in our lives.

The creation of ‘Pastoral Areas’ is not just a pencil exercise on a page, it is exploring and embracing new models to sustain a viable and vibrant future for the 56 parishes of the diocese. A Pastoral Area seeks to build collaboration and community rather than competition and conflict within the group of parishes within the Pastoral Area. A Pastoral Area is not about obliterating the identity of an individual parish or a particular faith community but in fact enhancing both by offering ministries that allow lay people to flourish. A Pastoral Area allows us to view ministry through a fresh lens.

I purposefully haven’t over focused on Jim, he wouldn’t want it! However it is his Diamond Jubilee evening and you know him as well and maybe better than I do. The Longford writer, John Connell’s latest book is titled ‘The Wisdom of Farmers – What We Can Learn from the Land’ offering as usual practical guidelines that can be applied to any field or discipline. Things like getting up early in the morning, slowing down to observe the hawthorn bush in bloom, recognising that the past is closer than we think. Connell writes “if we take time to savour joy, we can discover our inner smile. That smile resides within us, but at times we must work hard to stoke its flames”[1]. Fr. Jim is the happiest priest I know, he even laughs at his own jokes! I could imagine John Connell writing a book ‘The Wisdom of Priests – What We Can Learn from the Parish’. In every parish, in every appointment, Jim brought people with him and they took him to their heart.

Like John Connell, like the late and much loved Manchán Magan, Fr. Jim O’Connell has ministered and continues to minister on the edges, so approachable, so commendable and so reachable. A present I often receive from my siblings at birthdays or at Christmas are there three packs of socks, you’re all familiar with them. Maybe they are still in their packs in the drawers! I’m not sure if Jim owns many pairs of socks, but those tan-lined sandaled feet have walked, have cycled and have driven to many places of Kildare & Leighlin ministering most effectively to God’s people. Jim, may God bless you, now and always.

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Mass – Lullymore Graveyard – Rathangan Parish

Introduction:

A year ago, on June 15^th, I celebrated Mass on a Sunday afternoon at a Penal Rock in Ballyteague in what was known as the Priests Corner in Penal Days. Exactly one year later I have come to Lullymore to continue exploring the sacrifices those before us made for their faith in a time where terror reigned.

Here in Lullymore we stand on sacred ground, ground associated with the disciple of St. Patrick, Erc, whom Patrick appointed Bishop of Lullymore. Predecessors of my own are associated with Lullymore including Bernard Dunne, James Gallagher and James Keeffe, Penal Bishops who remained steadfastly close to their people.

Matthew’s gospel remind us the “the harvest is rich, but the labourers are few”[1]. In 2026, in this third millennium, we may think we are living in challenging times with an aging and overburdened clergy and perhaps a less commitment laity, where even finding volunteers at parish level presents real challenges.

What we are living through pales into insignificance when compared to the 17^th and 18^th centuries. So then and now we must remember its God’s Church, not ours, so we place it in His hands as we pray for God’s love and mercy, for falling back too readily on our own meagre resources and not relying on His bountiful gifts …

• Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – you are the wellspring of mercy:

A Thiarna, déan trócaire 

• Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – you are the way of Truth: 

A Chríost, déan trócaire

• Bí linn i gcónaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – be with us always, showing us the way.

A Thiarna, déan Trócaire

Homily:

Ballyteague is on the path to Lullymore. It was through Ballyteague that Patrick and Brigid walked to see their friend Erc here at Lullymore. Years later this area of Kildare would become a refuge for bishops in Penal times. Bishops associated with these parts include Bernard Dunne (1724-1733); Stephen Dowdall (1733-1737), James Gallagher (1737-1751) and James Keeffe (1751-1787). I recall at the Ballyteague Mass Rock celebration, a year ago, using a Penal Chalice, discovered some years earlier, perfectly preserved in the Bog of Allen. 

Bogs are renowned for preserving articles of antiquity. As I held that chalice my mind went back to those who would have held the same chalice hundreds of years earlier, hurriedly celebrating the sacrifice of the Mass for fear of the red coats coming over the hill yonder. As a Protestant poet wrote:

“Oh! Weep those days – the penal days

When Ireland hopelessly complained.

Oh! Weep those days – the penal days

When godless persecution reigned.

They bribed the flock, they bribed the son

To sell the priest and rob the sire.

Their dogs were taught alike to run

Upon the scent of wolf and friar”^[2].

I also think of the Prosperous Crozier found in these parts in 1839 during a regular turf cutting, a crozier dating from the late 9^th to the early 11^th century. It was cared for, over many years by the Jesuits in Clongowes before being loaned to the National Museum in 2018. The tangible links us with the proud heritage of our past.

And here in Lullymore we are surrounded by stones, headstones, some legible, some illegible, that mark a burial site, more stones, thanks to the local Heritage Committee that are reminiscent of a monastic site. One large boulder bears the footprint of St. Patrick. We are walking this afternoon in the footprints of Patrick, of Erc, of those gone before us who sowed the seed of faith in this little religious oasis and sanctuary that is itself completely protected by the Bog of Allen. Just like the chalice at Ballyteague, the Crozier at Prosperous, this whole island is itself a tangible link to a faith-filled past.

Every cemetery reminds us of a past, a sacred past. On some headstones we may no longer be able to trace names, like I did with a group visiting Old Killaderry Cemetery in Daingean a week ago or at Cross Patrick in Allen last year, but we know they were here and they are now looking on Him face to face. The diocesan historian Comerford reminds us Lullymore is an “oasis surrounded on every side by the bog of Allen”[3].

It was here that Erc who came from my native parish of Slane, to Lullymore; it was here he founded a monastery and a school. Erc was the pagan druid who acknowledged Patrick in the standoff with King Laoghaire. Every ancient monastery makes a claim to have been the largest on the island of Ireland. We will never know, safe to say, we are here today, while many other monastic settlements have become rookeries for crows and sanctuaries for jackdaws!

Centuries after St. Erc, because of the bog providing a natural barrier to those enforcing penal laws, Lullymore offered a safe haven once again for priests and religious communities and indeed the aforementioned bishops who shepherded their people from these parts. I have no doubt that the words of Matthew resonated well with those then in these parts who looked on the crowds who were “harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd”[4].  Except they never were without a shepherd, because their bishops and our Lord and Shepherd never left them.

Our translation of lectionary texts is currently being revised, the word “sorry”[5] is not seen as a good translation, “compassion” is a much stronger translation. The Lord had compassion for his people, and those who sought refuge in Lullymore over the years too had compassion on those who surrounded them. To have compassion is to see another.

Pope Francis in introducing us to synodality reminded us seeing one another was a first step before we judged or acted! In 2019 he said “compassion allows you to see reality; compassion is like the lens of the heart: it really makes us take in and understand the true dimensions”[6]. Pope Leo reminded migrants in recent days in Tenerife: “God’s love knows no borders, makes no distinctions, is given to all and brings us together in unity”[7]. He implored receiving communities to integrate those fleeing war, poverty and climate change, sparing them from the ‘silent shipwreck’ of abandonment.

The harvest is rich indeed. Lullymore is rich indeed. Let us work harder at removing the borders, the distinctions that inhibit us fully living the gospel this day, as we not only walk in the feet of Ss. Erc and Patrick; of Bishops Bernard Dunne, James Gallagher and James Keeffe; of the many other legible and illegible names written years ago on these sacred stones and of those early disciples called by name in Matthews text, to fully live out our baptismal calling. If we all live out fully our baptismal calling, the harvest will be rich indeed for priestly and lay vocations! Amen.    

[1] Mt.9:37

[2] Hayden, Augustine OFM, ‘Ireland’s Loyalty to the Mass’, Sophia Institute Press, 2023 pgs. 137-138

[3] Comerford, Michael: ‘Collections relating to the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin’, Vol. II, Diocese of Kildare, James Duffy & Sons, Dublin, 1883, pg.47

[4] Mt.9:36

[5] ibid

[6] Pope Francis, Homily in Santa Marta, 17 September 2019

[7] Pope Leo XIV, Address in Migrant Centre, Tenerife, 12 June 2026

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Anointing of the Sick @ 2.15pm, Mass @ 3pm

Introduction:

Kildare & Leighlin diocese have returned to Knock. I welcome warmly all who have travelled the journey on this the Feast of Corpus Christi. Our pilgrimage is already blessed with our presence here in this International Marian and Eucharistic Shrine on such a beautiful Eucharistic feast. A particular welcome to altar servers from across the diocese who have travelled with us this year.

Every pilgrim to Knock comes for a reason, with a request, with a prayer of thanksgiving, with an intention. We use many words this day. Our Lady said nothing when she appeared at the gable wall on that wet August evening in 1879. 15 people, varying in age from 5-74 witnessed the apparition; millions of pilgrims like us have come ever since.

As we gather our thoughts, our hopes, our intentions for this pilgrimage, let’s turn to the Lord who is a God of tenderness, compassion and mercy …

• Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – you are the wellspring of mercy:

A Thiarna, déan trócaire 

• Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – you are the way of Truth: 

A Chríost, déan trócaire

• Bí linn i gconaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – be with us always, showing us the way.

A Thiarna, déan Trócaire

Homily:

It is believed that St. Paul was the earliest writer about Eucharist. It transports us back to a text familiar to us from Holy Thursday evening: “the blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ”[1].  When we receive, it is Christ we are receiving, not a symbol, not a token, not something akin to Christ, but Christ himself.

I read in one of our parish newsletters this weekend a reflection: “you look at me, but you do not see me. You see a thing, but I am not a thing. Perhaps its easier for you to handle anything than to meet a person, but please look and see that I am really a person who loves. Is that what makes it difficult for you – that I love you, that I accept you and do not judge you?” The writer puts it very well writing two thousand years after St. Paul.

St. Ignatius of Antioch who it is believed to be the little boy in Mark’s gospel that Jesus held in his arms and said “for to such as these the kingdom of God belongs”[2], he called the blessed bread broken and shared “medicine of immortality, the antidote that prevents us from dying and causes us to live for ever in Jesus Christ”. Bishop Erik Varden suggests “to be worthy is not to be blameless: The Eucharist is not a prize for good behaviour. To be worthy is to assent to the realisation of Christs example in my life – to commit to the newness of it”[3].

Reverence isn’t just about how we receive but how we are after we have received. The stillness, the quietness, the peace that allows us to be sent out binding hearts that are broken, living as Christ would ask us to do. He told the Jews in John’s gospel and tells us “I am the living bread which has come down from heaven”[4]. We must become that living bread to others.  

In 2021 the Shrine of Knock was designated as an International Marian and Eucharistic Shrine. We know it for years as a Marian Shrine, as we know Lourdes, Fatima or Medjugorje. But the Eucharistic dimension of Knock is perhaps less well appreciated.

For a moment let’s remember the Apparition on that wet August evening in 1879. The figures, all robed in white, were raised a couple of feet above the perfectly dry ground. Our Lady was in the centre, to her right was St. Joseph, slightly bowing towards her; to her left was St. John the Evangelist, holding an open book in one hand and pointing heavenward with the other. In the centre of the gable wall was a simple altar with a young lamb standing in front of a cross with angels encircling the altar. Look behind me, you can follow the apparition mosaic, made up of 1.5M individual pieces of coloured glass and do as I‘ve done, count the visionaries who were then aged from 5-74!

Mary McLoughlin was the first to notice the mysterious light on the gable wall. She called her friend Mary Byrne and the two women were the first witnesses to an event of heavenly proportion. The news brought out neighbours, and the small group ranged in age from six-year-old John Curry to seventy-four-year-old Bridget Trench. She must have had Kildare connections with a name like that! All of them human agents in the communion of heaven and earth. Yes, you might be counting those visionaries and are ending up with more than fifteen, some beyond the wall are already in their heavenly realm. I’m always intrigued by the red ginger haired boy and the picnic basket!

It was a silent apparition here, not a word was spoken. The vision spoke louder than words uniting earth and heaven. Ordinary people encountering an extraordinary event. Our Lady came to Knock with her family. And we come with our diocesan family. Families always have a special place in the heart of Knock and its message. The family of diocese, the family of parish, the family of pastoral area. Our focus always must be on God’s Word, on prayer and on being Christs body in our very broken world, “the living bread which has come down from heaven”[5]. We must be that living bread to others. 

I wrote a letter in late April to First Communicants, Parents and Families. I reminded them then and repeat it now, that the gift of Jesus in Holy Communion is the most precious gift of all. And I invited them to keep coming for this gift. I reminded parents and families that they are important members of the family of God and of this parish. All of you are loved, you are wanted, you are needed and when you are not here, you are missed.

The feast of Corpus Christi is not just an invitation to gaze and look, but to worthily receive His body and blood, and once we’ve received to become the body & blood of Christ to the wider world. The revised text for the Mass, in the words of ‘Invitation to Communion’ says: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb”^[6]. And the congregation respond: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”^[7], echoing the humble Centurion whose servant was ill in Matthew’s gospel^[8]. ‘As gaeilge’, the same sentiments were always used long before a revision of the English text was ever considered: “A Thiarna, ní fiú mé go dtiocfá faoi mo dhíon, ach abairse an focal agus leigheasfar m’anam”^[9].

May Our Lady of Knock, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist and those wonderful visionaries of the Apparition nearly 150 years ago and help us to see Christ not just in communion but in one another. Amen.

[1] 1Cor.10:16

[2] Mk.10:14

[3] Varden, Erik: ‘The Shattering of Loneliness’, Bloomsbury, 2018, pg.94

[4] Jn.6:51

[5] Jn.6:51

[6] Liturgy Office of England & Wales, Excerpts from the Order of the Mass – The Peoples Parts, pg. 11.

[7] ibid

[8] Mt. 8:8

[9] An Leabhar Aifreann, Sagart, 1973, pg. 182

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Mass @ 11am – Duiske Abbey, Graignamanagh

Presentation of Benemerenti Papal Honours:

• Kathleen Fenlon
• Bridget Flood
• Nicholas O’Carroll
• John & Mary O’Neill
• Mary Hayden

Introduction:

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

and the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

be with you all”[1].

… this morning’s second reading signs off, words that are familiar to all of us, as they shape the Introductory Rite in every celebration of Mass. It is Trinity Sunday. The Ordinary of Church time recommenced last Monday. Trinity Sunday interrupts the early flow of the Ordinary, to remind us of the essentials of our faith.

The ‘Sign of the Cross’ is that first prayer we learned at home, maybe on a parent’s lap before we ever stepped inside Baby Infants class. The ‘Sign of the Cross’ is the last prayer prayed over us as we are laid to rest.

It is always a great joy to visit and celebrate Mass here in the splendid Duiske Abbey. Thanks to Fr. Mark for the very kind invitation to join you this morning. On this Feast of the Most Holy Trinity we take a moment to honour six parishioners who give sterling service to the parish communities of Graignamanagh and Skeaghvosteen  – Kathleen Fenlon; Bridget Flood; Nicholas O’Carroll, John & Mary O’Neill and Mary Hayden.

Like Moses in that Exodus Reading, we stand on holy ground, we pray in silence in the knowledge that our Lord is “a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness”[2] …

• Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – You are the wellspring of mercy:

A Thiarna, déan trócaire. 

• Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – You are the way of Truth: 

A Chríost, déan trócaire. 

• Bí linn i gconaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – Be with us always, showing us the way. A Thiarna, déan trócaire. 

Homily:

In the dark of night, a cautious diplomat from Jerusalem meets an outspoken prophet from Galilee. Nicodemus has a lot to consider, he is unwilling to be seen with Jesus, it risks his potential career pathway, tainted by association. Jesus understands his hesitancy and addresses it not with more subterfuge but with a powerful affirmation of love. God loves everyone, including Nicodemus and his ilk and Jesus tells him so. The Trinity relationship is rooted in love.

Trinity Sunday invites us, like Nicodemus, into a relationship with God, Father, Son and Spirit. It’s a relationship that allows us, no matter who we are, to meet the Father and His compassion and understanding for us, even when we feel completely beyond such an encounter. He is full of mercy, always awaiting the prodigals return. It’s a relationship that allows us to meet the Son and recognize ourselves in His pain and story of sacrifice. And it’s a relationship that encounters the Spirit, breathing new energy, new life into our tired and very often broken and bruised lives.

The ‘Sign of the Cross’ we make several times everyday reminds us how much God actually loves us! Pope Francis suggested that today’s feast calls us to spread God’s love throughout the world. We are to become intentional missionaries, with a message going out from this twelfth century Abbey, from every church, chapel or wherever Mass is celebrated this Sunday morning, that no matter who you are, you are invited into this relationship.

The “Sign of the Cross” is the prayer I start and end each day. In fact several times I bless myself. I bless myself last thing at night and first thing in the morning. Passing any church or cemetery. Passing the home where my deceased parents lived, I bless myself, thinking of the faith they passed on. Standing on the street as a hearse passes. Passing the place where there was a road accident or a spot on the Barrow where someone has just left fresh flowers. The blessing is a prayer in itself, someone remembered, someone missed, someone loved.

Every parish community is blessed with volunteers, often their work goes hidden or unnoticed. Graignamanagh and Skeaghvasteen have an abundance of volunteers who work for the parish. There is the danger with conversations around larger Pastoral Areas and clustering, that the narrative can be one of retrenchment, focusing at times on what is being lost  or will have to change, there is also a good story of so many who help in life of every parish.

Speaking in Naples recently, Pope Leo paid tribute to the “everyday heroes, men and women who work quietly for justice, truth and dignity. Their efforts must never remain isolated”[3].  Similarly, speaking to the Italian bishops conference on Thursday last, Pope Leo said “Jesus, looking on the crowd, does not see a problem to solve; He sees a harvest … A synodal church is one in which everyone, according to his/her vocation, can offer the gifts received from the Holy Spirit for the common building up of the church. Participation is not optional, it is a requirement of communion and mission and must therefore become our method, our responsibility and our accountability. God does not measure the fruitfulness of the Church according to numbers, visibility or influence. God enters the world day after day and “scatters” in people’s hearts the desire for the infinite, for a life fulfilled. Thanks to God the “harvest” is abundant“[4].

Lots of people help in the life of the parish community, in liturgical moments, in the  Mass, in finance, administration, safeguarding, organising and most especially, we all can exercise our vocation in prayer. So many join in the work of God through their prayer, attending Mass. Helping in the parish can span a wide spectrum from a few hours a year to many, many years of countless hours as we celebrate today. Each hour, each minute, is precious, is vital to God’s work and is seen by God. Circumstances in life often influence how much time/help we can give, e.g. work commitments, family circumstances, health etc. But it all so important. The Church/our faith gives us all a way of sharing in the work of God through the Eucharist, being united with the Lord here in prayer in our Churches, Skeaghvasteen and Duiske Abbey. Here this morning we are all doing the work of God in gathering at this Mass. Today, our Benemerenti recipients are honoured for their many years of service to the parish. For the most part in the background of parish life. Often unnoticed, unexpected, called upon at all hours to help. 

Mary Hayden, Registrar of Our Lady of Lourdes Church cemetery at Skeaghvasteen for over 25 years. I understand Mary is in hospital today and can’t be here. Bereavement is always a sensitive time, turmoil, upset. Practicalities come to the fore, Mary dealt with parishioners over the years with sensitivity, compassion, understanding and discretion. Callers to her house seeking her help in their loss. Keeping the records of the graves etc, an unseen and often unacknowledged work. The new committee that has taken up the work she did is in place. It has taken four to replace her!

John & Mary O’ Neill. Mary as Skeaghvasteen Church sacristan for over 40 years. John leading the Skeaghvasteen choir for over 30 years. Both helping with maintenance and care of the church also, people for whom the word “No” is not in their vocabulary. It’s far too easy to take for granted the work of people, especially in our rural churches. 

Bid and Kathleen Flood, Duiske Abbey Altar Society. Leading the care of the Altar area for about 26 years, and so much else in church – recently volunteered as part of the Sacristy volunteer sacristans, also helping with the Funeral Refreshments in the Abbey Hall after funerals – a marvellous service to bereaved families- baking and cooking for hours before hand. A parishioner remarked during the week that “Kathleen’s Car – a Toyota Yaris – knows its way to Abbey Street, all she has to do is sit in and turn the key” it has done the journey so many times for so much work here! 

Nicholas O’ Carroll, St Vincent de Paul Conference member for over 40 years. A lay – led organisation in the church that works in the background helping, listening, supporting, representing. Secretly, quietly, unnoticed but not by God.

The total years of service of all six to the Parish community is about 160 years. Thank you all for that work. I always take this opportunity to thank all who help, it’s not possible to give Benemerenti’s to everybody. Many deserve them. Today, Skeaghvasteen and Graignamanagh’s  hidden team are acknowledged. But so many others are involved. Mass today is a time of thanksgiving for them all. Today is also an occasion to make an appeal to the wider parish, if you can help, do not be afraid to volunteer. Do not worry if you can only give an hour or two, as Pope Leo said, it’s not about numbers. So don’t be afraid now, or sometime in the future if you see some way you can help, have some suggestion or are asked directly to assist, don’t miss the moment.

On this Trinity Sunday, in the oldest church in our diocese, let us think for a moment back to the Cistercian monks who traced the Sign of the Cross on the foreheads of the destitute and the poor who made their way up to this Abbey. On Trinity Sunday we gather to remember. To speak of the mystery of God as Trinity is to speak of a God who relates, who reaches out. As the Croatian writer Miroslav Volf writes “the Christian God is not a lonely God, but rather a communion of three persons … communion with this God is at once also communion with others who have entrusted themselves in faith to the same God”[5]. As our predecessors gathered here in a time of persecution, they too realized their God was not a lonely God, and they weren’t either. Christian hope is not some idle optimism, but something rooted in the belief that Christ has risen, as we said on Easter Sunday “Christ has truly Risen!”

As we celebrate the God who is love, let us also remember this morning those who first traced the sign of the Cross on our forehead – our parents, the priest who baptised us, our first teacher in Junior or Baby Infants. Many now in eternity. May they this day enjoy the understanding of the Father, the forgiveness of the Son and rest in the communion of the Spirit. And may our six Benemerenti recipients be richly rewarded. Amen.

[1] 2 Cor. 13:13

[2] Ex. 34:6

[3] Vatican News, 23 May 2026

[4] Vatican News, Address to Bishops of the Italian Episcopal Conference, 28 May 2026

[5] Volf, Miroslav: ‘After Our Likeness; The Church as the Image of the Trinity’, Eerdmans, 1998, pg. 173.

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Earlier this morning I lit a candle during Mass in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow, to remember all of you as you sit your State Exams.

No exam, no matter how important, defines you as a person. I am so conscious of all of you at this time. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. I also think very much of your parents, guardians, siblings and friends. I especially think of your teachers, your Year Heads, your Principals and all who have accompanied you on your education journey.

No matter what result you get, you will do your best. Rest a little over these days, keep perspective. Take one exam at a time. When an exam is over, no post mortems, move on, put the exam behind you. While State Exams are an important step in a chosen pathway, they are not the only pathway. Holding all of you in my prayers, not just these days, but throughout the summer and always.  

+Denis

Bishop Nulty’s Prayer for those sitting Exams

Lord, as I prepare to sit my exams
send your Holy Spirit to guide me and be with me.
Thank you for the many talents and gifts you have
given me and for the opportunity of education.

Keep me calm.
Help me to do the best I can on the day of my exam.
Help me to remember all that I have studied,
to express it clearly and to answer the questions
as best that I can.
Give me peace, understanding and wisdom and
be with me today and always.

Amen.

As Gaeilge:

A Thiarna, agus mé ag ullmhú do mo scrúduithe,
cuir anuas chugam do Spiorad Naomh
chun mé a threorú agus a bheith liom.
Gabhaim buíochas leat as na tallana
agus na buanna go léir a thug tú dom
agus as gachdeis oideachais a fuair mé.

Coiméad suaimhneach mé.
Cabhraigh liom mo dhícheall a dhéanamh
i rith na scrúduithe.
Cabhraigh liom tabhairt chun cuimhne
gach atá foghlamtha agam, é a chur
trasna go soiléir agus na ceisteanna a
fhreagairt chomh maith is is féidir liom.

Tabhair dom síocháin, tuiscint agus gaois.
A Thiarna, bí liom inniu agus i gcónai,

Amen

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