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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 23rd FEBRUARY – 2nd MARCH 2025
Every religious order has, from time to time, its own unique celebrations that are not marked in the same way by the universal church. It may be the feasts of founders or of other particular saints belonging to the order, or it may be other occasions and events that mean something to the order in question, in the light of their own history, but not so much across the board, except to those who have a special affiliation to them, such as Third Order members or lay associates and companions. Such celebrations can be marked with great festivity, in other words a good feed, and would have been something, especially in days gone by, for the members to look forward to, and enjoy, in what would likely have been an otherwise austere and frugal life. Orders who didn’t eat meat, for example, might be allowed the luxury of eating meat on such days, and no doubt a wee glass of something to go with it. When I was rector of our Passionist Retreat at Mount Argus in Dublin, a city in which, at that time, there were many religious orders, although a number have now disappeared, there was a particular member of our community, a good priest and a great character, who made it his business to know when all such celebrations were taking place in the various religious houses and churches across the city. Usually, such occasions would begin with a solemn Mass, and he would turn up with his alb and stole, congratulating them on whatever auspicious occasion was being marked, and humbly asking if it would be possible for him to concelebrate the Mass with them. After the Mass he would then use his not inconsiderable charm to wangle an invitation into the festivities afterwards. As a result, in the course of any given year, he would have enjoyed many a good feed with great relish. I lost count of the number of occasions I met religious superiors at meetings and they said to me, “Did you know we had Father so-and-so with us recently for our big feast day?” There was no need for me to be embarrassed, as I think many religious orders had similar characters in their own communities. I bring this to mind because, on the Friday of this week gone by, the Friday before Ash Wednesday, we Passionists celebrated the feast from which our Passionist Congregation takes its name, the Feast of the Solemn Commemoration of the Passion of Jesus Christ. This feast is unique to Passionists. It was instituted by St. Paul of the Cross himself, the founder of the Passionists, back in the 18th century. The Solemn Commemoration of Our Lord’s Passion may sound as if it should be a rather sombre occasion, but in fact our founder wanted it to be the very opposite. He saw it as a very happy occasion, and a very joyful celebration of the mystery of Good Friday, focusing on the Passion of Our Lord as, in his own words, well known to anyone who frequents a Passionist church, “the most overwhelming sign of God’s love for us.” It was to be celebrated as a Gaudeamus, a Latin word that means “let us rejoice”, or even “let us take pleasure in”, because what could be worth celebrating more than such a wonderful love – love so amazing, so divine. A Gaudeamus also meant that there would be a good feed. However, as it would be inappropriate to celebrate in such a festive way on Good Friday, a day of fast and abstinence, which of course is the ultimate commemoration of Our Lord’s Passion, Paul instituted this feast on the Friday before Ash Wednesday, so that the members could prepare for entering into Lent, knowing that, while Lent itself would be a serious and sombre journey, with much fasting and abstaining, it was ultimately rooted in this most overwhelming expression of God’s love for us, and that this awareness should be with us like a shining light throughout the whole season. Reflecting on this feast, the Passionist Bishop Vincent Strambi, a contemporary of St Paul of the Cross, once wrote, “Happy is the person who reflects on the life-giving Passion of our Lord. He will be humble, trustful, thankful and loving towards Jesus who is our justice, our sanctification and our redemption.” I invite you to remember this as you begin your Lenten journey. As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 16th – 23rd FEBRUARY 2025
Welcome back to the log, after a bit of a break, while we dealt with the death of our beloved Passionist community member, Father Justinian McGread. He died around 2.15 a.m. on Sunday 2nd February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which was also the church’s Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. As Father Justinian had spent over 72 of his 93 years as a consecrated religious, it seemed like a very appropriate day for him to peacefully slip away. I won’t go into the details of his long life and his very varied ministry here, as we will publish the homilies from the reception of his body, and his Requiem Mass, on the website. At this time, I have come to a renewed appreciation of what is involved for families in organizing a funeral when a loved one dies. Normally, for us as priests, we come to know of the death of a parishioner or, as is often the case with St Mungo’s, someone who is not now a parishioner, but who has had some connection with St Mungo’s in the past. It may be that we have attended that person while they were sick, and given them the last sacraments of the church, or it may be that we didn’t really know them that well at all. We will then enter into a 3-way conversation with ourselves, the family, and the funeral director, to arrange a date and time for the funeral, and then meet with the family to help put things together for the services, before then celebrating the rites with them, up until the burial or cremation takes place. With the death of Father Justinian, however, we also had to do, in collaboration with his family, all the practical things that other families have to do, like registering the death, contacting all those family and friends who needed to be contacted, of which there were many, as Father Justinian had lived a kaleidoscopic life and had a capacity for forming bonds and keeping contact with people, either directly or through various social media platforms. We also had to contact our other Passionist houses and let the brethren know. We had to organize the music and musicians for the reception and the Mass, put together the orders of service, arrange for the grave to be opened up, choose the coffin and also what he would wear in the coffin, and then bring his attire to the funeral director, which in Father Justinian’s case would be his Passionist religious habit and sign. We then had to book a venue for a meal afterwards, and decide on how many cars were needed. We also had to contact his doctor’s surgery; the social services, the district nurses, the rehab team; and arrange for the collection of his wheelchair and other mobility aids; cancel credit cards, mobile phone, anti-virus, and other contracts. Not all of that is yet fully complete. I have to say that I have found it all quite consuming and stressful, while still having to do all the other things that have to be done in the two parishes and in the care of my brother. I was thinking back to Father Lawrence’s death in March 2020. It was during Covid, and everything was so different. Many of those same things had to be done, of course, in collaboration with Father Lawrence’s family. But the day after Father Lawrence died was the day that all the churches had to close because of Covid. But while, in one sense, it made things much simpler, and less frenetic, as I wasn’t pulled in all the other directions, and the funeral and burial itself would require to be a very simple, muted affair, I would happily have borne the stress of all the other stuff, just so that all the people; family, friends and Passionist brethren, who would have wanted to be there, so as to pay their last respects to Father Lawrence, could be there. As it was, it was a long time afterwards before we were able to gather his family and friends together and have a service in his memory, and that in itself was a very poignant affair. Thankfully, we didn’t have those problems with Father Justinian. And so, may Fr Justinian’s good soul now rest in peace, and may he enjoy the fruits of the heavenly banquet. As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives. |
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December 2025
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