A Monk's Life

I've just finished reading "The Monk Cardinal" by Anthony Howard, a biography of Cardinal Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 until his death in June 1999.

Here is one of the highlights; it describes his domestic arrangements soon after moving in at Westminster:

"Yet, from the start at Westminster, there was perhaps a hint of strain in Basil's custom of having two boiled eggs and a choc ice before going straight up to his "cell" (bedroom) as soon after 10.30pm as could be managed. (There was only one exception to this rule: in the winter when Match of the Day was on BBC1 on Saturday nights, Basil postponed his bedtime and insisted on watching right through to the end.)"

New Bishop of Ferns appointed

A new Bishop of Ferns has been appointed, Monsignor Denis Brennan. The official press releases are here.

What seems to me to be the most interesting part is this paragraph from the state ment of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin:

"Archbishop Martin takes the occasion also to restate his appreciation of the
extraordinary contribution Bishop Walsh has made during his time as Apostolic
Administrator of Ferns, while not in any way neglecting his intense ministry
as Auxiliary Bishop in Dublin. The Archbishop feels certain the Archdiocese
of Dublin will benefit enormously from the experience and expertise which
Bishop Walsh acquired during his ministry in Ferns."

Two thoughts: firstly, this marks a significant step in moving on after the publication of the Ferns Report; the impression I got was that everybody in Wexford likes Bishop Walsh, yes, but everybody also felt that he was there temporarily to clean up the mess left by the two previous bishops. The RTE news item today emphasised that Monsignor Brennan is the first "local man" in a generation to become Bishop of Ferns.

Secondly, this means we can all resume a favourite sport of many, which is speculating about reshuffling bishops. There was a front-page story in last week's Irish Independent with rumours that Diarmuid Martin will shortly be off to a job in Rome, which may be the reason why he didn't get a red hat last week; and also that Bishop Eamonn Walsh will (or might) be the next Archbishop of Dublin.

I have met Bishop Walsh a few times and he is, honestly, a very nice and holy man. Suffice to say that if Diarmuid Martin does go back to the Vatican, then Eamonn Walsh will be the bookies' favourite to move into the big house in Drumcondra.

More bad news for the Welsh!

I've just gone to Catholic Ireland and looked at the Liturgical Notes in the top right hand corner; because it's Ash Wednesday, "St David is not celebrated this year". Poor Wales! And this after getting beaten at Lansdowne Road last Saturday.

Come to think of it, I have never been in Wales on St David's Day; nor have I ever been to the city of St David's - at least not yet!

But in March 2000, when Ash Wednesday occurred in the week before the Cheltenham Festival, I went over early on Ash Wednesday morning on the boat to Holyhead, and journeyed by bus to Aberystwyth. I really wanted to have a look at the National Library of Wales.

That evening I went to Mass here and there was a good crowd; Aberystwyth is a university town, and I guess the average age was about 20 or 21 - and I heard a lot of Irish accents.

I haven't been back there since. One day. . .

Everybody needs prayers

This story is from the excellent Catholic Ireland website.

An armed robber on a bus in Brazil, asked an Irish priest to pray for him after he discovered that he was a priest.

Please Officer; Can I Go Back To Jail?

There was a reference to this story in today's Racing Post and it literally made me laugh out loud.

A RECENTLY-RELEASED prisoner carried out a robbery at a betting shop because he wanted to return to jail, a court was told.

And yes, it did make me feel a bit sorry for him.

Memo to readers on the Western side of the Atlantic

Last September, I went to Italy, San Marino and Vatican City for my holidays (See Archive September 2005 on the left bar). This year I will go to America and Canada, and it will be after Easter.

I will be visiting New York, Boston, Chicago, St Louis, Detroit, Montreal and Toronto, though not necessarily in that order.

If anybody has any ideas for places to see, or tips on where to get Mass, or anything exciting, or places to avoid, the Comments box is below.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again!

If anybody ever denies the existence of God, tell them to listen to Mozart.

If anybody ever tells you that human beings are simply the product of a random evolutionary process over millions of years, tell them to listen to Mozart.



A very happy birthday: Wolfgang Chrysostomos Johannes Theophilus Mozart! May you take your rightful place composing for and conducting the Heavenly Choirs!

As soon as I read this. . .

. . .I knew I simply had to write it down and preserve it forever. Now I am putting it up online.

About a week ago I was reading a book from the library called "Turn Left At Greenland" by Mark Little, who was RTE's Washington Correspondent from September 1995 to January 2001. Obviously, Bill Clinton features prominently.

In an early chapter, Little writes about Clinton's home town of Hot Springs, Arkansas; and he tells this story about the future President and his mother, Virginia:

During the 1992 campaign, a good friend of mine interviewed Virginia. While the cameras were on, she gave the approved text of the Clinton biography but when the cameras were turned off, she kept talking. One day, she told my friend, she was baking cookies while young Billy worked on his homework at the kitchen table. She put the cookies out to cool on a baking tray and then left the house on an errand. When she came back, Billy had finished his homework and the cookies were gone. She turned angrily to her young son and asked what had happened. "What cookies? You never baked any cookies", he replied. Billy kept talking until he had persuaded his mother that she had not baked that night. "That's when I knew he would be a politician", Virginia said.

Delving into the past

I've just finished reading A History of the Irish Church 400-700AD written by Fr. John R Walsh and Thomas Bradley; the former is a priest of the Diocese of Derry, and a former teacher in St Columb's College, one of the most renowned secondary schools in the region; the latter-named is one of his past pupils, and is now a history teacher in the same establishment.

It's relatively short at only 192 pages, and I can recommend it for those interested not only in early Irish Christianity, but early British Christianity as well.

One part I found particularly interesting was what they had to say about St Brendan; his father's name was Findlug, and his mother was named Cara. He worked in Wales and Scotland, and the authors credit him with establishing churches in Perthshire and the Isle of Tiree. Let me quote from the book:

His place in history is secured because a medieval document, the Navigatio (The Voyage), bears his name. Some people hold that this odyssey is based on an actual voyage which Brendan made to North America. The Voyage was a most influential work in medieval times. Its text survives in some one hundred and twenty manuscrpts, some of them in Latin and the others in early forms of modern continental languages. The earliest surviving manuscript dates from the late tenth century. The Voyage is usually, and probably correctly, ascribed to a late ninth-century Irish peregrinus ("pilgrim" or "missionary exile") working in the Netherlands or Germany. A fascinating conglomeration of fact, fantasy and plagiarism, its popularity on the Continent in the Middle Ages led to a cult of Saint Brendan there and means that the name of a comparatively obscure sixth-century Irish monk survives in the name of a thriving city in Germany, Brandenburg.

So next time you hear one of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, think of an Irish monk braving the elements of the Scottish climate to bring the faith to the Picts.

So the evidence points to the fact that it was not St Brendan who made that legendary trip across the Atlantic - if anybody did! But I can't help feeling that if the story was so relatively widespread across Europe, surely it must have had an influence on others and inspired them to seek to explore new worlds.

Another section deals with St Canice of Aghaboe, who is remembered as the patron of the city of Kilkenny, which bears his name, and is home of St Canice's Cathedral (Anglican). The authors tell us that he worked for a while in Scotland with St Colmcille (of Iona fame), and state: "He is remembered in Scotland to this day as Saint Kenneth and is credited with founding churches on the islands of Coll, Tiree, Mull and South Uist."

Which means that if you have a friend named Kenneth, then his name is not really Kenneth - it's Canice.

So allow me to pay tribute to the distinguished football player, Canice Dalglish; the late actor, Canice More; and the tenor Voice of Scotland, Canice McKellar; does that sound all right?

So who'll be the next Pope then?

Please. Listen. I'm not trying to be morbid or pessimistic; I'm not asking for or hoping for a new Pope; I'm quite happy with the one I have now.

You all may remember in April of 2005 the Irish bookmaker firm Paddy Power received miles of free publicity for the Next Pope market. But in fact, the nature of the business is that this market will, frankly, last as long as the Barque of Peter sails the stormy oceans of this world.

So here are their market leaders, and a few other names selected by myself. And I am not making any tips or predictions as to who the next Pope will be. But let's face it: George Pell should be far shorter than 66/1.

Angelo Scola (Venice) 6
Christoph Von Schoenborn (Austria) 7
Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga (Honduras) 7
J M Bergoglio (Argentina) 9
Francis Arinze (Nigeria) 10
Tarcisio Bertone (Italy) 10
Dionigi Tettamanzi (Italy) 10
Claudio Hummes (Brazil) 12
Francisco J E Ossa (Chile) 14
Karl Lehmann (Germany) 16
Camillo Ruini (Rome) 20

Wilfred Napier (South Africa) 20
Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (England) 40
Dario Castrillon Hoyos (Colombia) 50
Keith Patrick O'Brien (Scotland) 50
J-M Lustiger (Paris) 66
George Pell (Sydney) 66
Francis George (Chicago) 80
Bono (Ireland) 1000

On Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

This looks like the best online resource for information. It's worth remembering that she lived and studied in Dublin for several years!!

A new Catholic publication worth checking out

The print edition is just over a year old, but now the online version of The Voice Today is up.

The newspaper itself costs €1.00 and is published weekly, exactly the same as The Irish Catholic. The Irish Catholic, first published in 1880-something, did have a website with articles some years ago, but no longer.

The current editor of The Voice Today, Simon Rowe, used to be Editor of The Irish Catholic. However, I do not detect any kind of rivalry or animosity between them, and I buy both every weekend; I suspect others do too.

Christmas Vigil Mass with a Cardinal

Last night, Christmas Eve night, I decided to go to the Vigil Mass at 9.00 pm in Iona Road church. It was a very nice way to welcome the Saviour. And a very large crowd.

Our retired Archbishop, Desmond Cardinal Connell, was present to co-concelebrate, and he said a few special words after Communion. He started by admitting that he never expected to take part in a Conclave, because he expected Pope John Paul II to outlive everybody, and also because the man himself is approaching 80.

Obviously, Cardinal Connell did not reveal any of the secrets of the Conclave (OK, everybody, stop groaning!), and said he has been in Rome twelve times during 2005. (OK I admit, I'm a little jealous!!)

He described Benedict XVI by using a word I haven't heard anybody use before: "bouncing".

Cardinal Connell said that he recently went to one of the Wednesday General Audiences. He said that when anybody meets the Pope, he always asks them one thing: "Pray for me."

This morning, I watched Urbi et Orbi on the box, switching between both RTE and EWTN. My favourite part was when he stepped out onto the balcony to hear what sounded like screams of teenage girls at a Boyzone concert.

Seven Good Reasons to Celebrate Christmas

Excellent stuff recently posted on Catholic Exchange.

Diary of a trip to North Korea

Margaret Ward, a reporter with RTE, Ireland's broadcasting network, recently made a trip to North Korea with Concern, a third-world development charity. For some reason, the North Korean authorities allowed her in with a cameraman. The results will be shown tonight on Prime Time, RTE's main current affairs-analysis programme.

Here is the link which leads to her diary, including a description of going to Mass on Sunday morning. After the programme is broadcast, you'll be able to download it.

OK. Now I'm going to make you all a little bit jealous

You wake up. You get out of bed. You walk out of your large white villa to the terrace for breakfast. And what do you see?


This.





Do you ever, ever want to leave this place?


This is the view from the Villa San Michele, Capri; home of Dr Axel Munthe, author of the classic "The Story of San Michele". If you haven't read it, I suggest you check your local library asap!

And sorry! The house ain't for sale!

More evidence to show how clever Swiss people are

I get by e-mail the monthly newsletter from Swiss Federal Railways, and today brings news that will please lots of people.

Effective 11th December, all public transport in Switzerland will be smoke-free.

Good news. And also, in order to get the message across, they will gradually remove all the ashtrays from all rolling stock, so as not to tempt anybody to light up - a job which they state will take around six months.

But it's the last paragraph of the above-linked news item which is most interesting.

After all, what can you do with hundreds (thousands?) of ashtrays?

Recycle the metal? Or perhaps create a sculpture with them?

No; the clever Swiss are going to try and sell them.

As "a piece of Swiss railway history".

Hurry! Hurry! While stocks last!

"We live in a pluralist Ireland. Pluralist, however, does not mean secular."

Here is more common sense from my Archbishop, Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin. This was a lecture at the National College of Ireland, which is a newer institution attached to Dublin's Financial Services Centre. The subject was "Leadership and the Church".

But it's the anecdotes and stories from his experiences in Italy and Geneva that I think are especially interesting.

Rest In Peace, George

Quite special earlier this evening watching Sky Sports showing the ceremonies at Old Trafford. United are, as I write, leading West Brom 2- 0, and, fittingly, number 7, Ronaldo, scored the first goal.

I'm too young to remember him playing (honestly); but at work today, I was reminded that George Best played three games for the now-defunct club Cork Celtic in the League of Ireland. Read more here: one thing that this article does not mention is the strong rumour that George was offered strong financial incentive to play for the club.

I think it's quite important to understand the context of the previous week's events: the death of George Best invites us all to directly compare the game of football in 1968 with 2005; there are the obvious issues of television coverage, players' wages, money, and the related changing economics of the sport; but to the hardcore United fans (and I admit I am not one of these), it also makes the Glazer takeover slightly harder to bear.

Frankly, the boardroom events this summer mark an important watershed in the club's history; the club has been taken over by a family who seem to have no real interest in the game for the game's sake, or for the fans' sake; one good thing about the ceremony this evening was that the Glazer family were nowhere to be seen. If any of them had turned up on the pitch with the 1968 legends, they would have been booed off by the fans.

I confess . . .

Jamie has tagged me with the Confiteor meme, so here goes:

I confess that I am a Manchester United fan, but I have never visited the grave of Liam Whelan, although I could walk to it in less than half an hour.

I confess that I once got Lester Piggott's autograph, and I have lost it!!

I confess that years ago I started reading St Louis Marie de Montfort's Treatise on the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, but stopped about a quarter way through.

I confess that I have dozens of books on the shelves which I have not read.

I confess that, on the evening of April 2nd this year, I was in an Edinburgh hotel and watching TV and following the news; I turned on Ceefax, saw the Newsflash, and my first thought was disappointment; because it meant that I wouldn't get to see him again on my trip to Rome in September.

I confess that, if I was watching the Cheltenham Festival on the box next March, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup was about to start, and if the phone rang and if it was Papa Benedetto asking for my advice on something, I would probably say: "Er, sorry Your Holiness, but can I call you back?"

I confess that I am inspired by Marxist philosophy; that is, the philosophy of Groucho, Chico & Harpo!

I confess that I have travelled around Scotland; Stranraer, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen, John o'Groats, Orkney Islands, Skye, Iona, Fort William, Melrose, Kelso, Stirling, Oban, but I have never been to St Andrews.

There. Any tabloid newspapers want to put me on the front page now??