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  PassionistsGlasgow

FATHER FRANK'S LOG...

24/11/2017

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:FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 19th – 26th NOVEMBER

A few years ago, while I was still based at Mount Argus in Dublin, I was in the middle of a meeting with our accountant when he suddenly took ill with an angina attack, and we had to phone an ambulance. The ambulance came quickly and it was agreed that I would follow behind the ambulance to St. James’s Hospital. He gave me his car keys and asked me to get his coat and bring it with me, and also to phone his son and let him know. I went to my room, phoned his son, and came down to where his car was parked. It was a fancier car than anything I had ever known, and when I pushed a button on his key fob, expecting it to unlock the car doors, it put the lights on inside the car instead, and the doors remained locked. With some uncertainty I used the key, but as soon as I opened the driver’s door the alarm started to go off. I grabbed his coat from the back seat and closed the door again, but still the alarm continued and grew even louder. Then all the lights began to flash as well. I stood there looking at it, wondering what to do next. Passers-by looked at me suspiciously and I began to feel irrationally guilty, even more so when a police car came along. Thankfully it was the police who helped me to switch the alarm off and get on my way.

I was reminded of this because of another car incident we had this past week. Last Monday, around 2.30 p.m., someone phoned the office to tell me that a car had parked across the gates into our yard at St. Mungo’s so that no one could either get in or get out. When I went down to see what was happening I found three members of staff from the St. Mungo’s Old Folks Centre for Wellbeing and one member of staff from AGAP (Archdiocese of Glasgow Arts Project) wondering how they were going to get home, as their cars were parked in the yard, and indeed two of them were wondering how they were going to collect their children from school. I was also wondering how I was going to get out myself, as I had an appointment to get to later in the afternoon. We had no choice but to phone the police and the traffic wardens who attend the local parking meters.

The traffic warden came first and took photos of the car, the “Keep Clear” signs; the “No Loading at any Time” sign, and the double yellow lines, then slapped a ticket on the car. He then phoned for a tow truck, only to inform us that none would be available that day, so we would have to wait for the driver to come back – God knows when. He left, and a little while later the police came. They said they would have a tow truck within half an hour. During that time Father Gareth arrived and we swapped cars so I could get to my appointment. Later on, I discovered, the tow truck came as promised and took the car off to the pound.

The final episode was some hours later, when Father Gareth set out for home at 8.45 p.m., having returned from Youth 2000 in St. Andrew’s Cathedral. As he drove out of the gates a woman jumped in front of the car so that he had no choice but to slam on the brakes, even though the gate was closing behind him and ended up scratching the back of the car. She demanded to know where the car was that had been parked there. When Father Gareth informed her that she had parked illegally and that the police had towed it away, her only concern seemed to be how much it would cost to get it back; there was certainly no remorse, and no apology for any trouble she had caused by what could only be described as a very selfish and irresponsible act, but before any of that could be said to her, she walked away.
​
The Gospel that day (Luke 18:35-43) showed Jesus healing a man who was blind. Perhaps that lady needed to be healed of her blindness; of her inability to see the selfishness of her actions. “What do you want me to do for you”, said Jesus? “Lord, that I may see”. We might also want to reflect on Matthew 7:12, the Golden Rule: “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you”. Why not take a moment some time to pray, and ask the Holy Spirit how you might exercise this teaching in your own life, and where might it be lacking?

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November 16th, 2017

16/11/2017

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 12th – 19th NOVEMBER

On 8th November Brother Antony and myself travelled over to our Passionist Retreat House in Crossgar, County Down, to take part in a reflection day for our Passionist Province. We had taken advantage of a 20% discount on Stena Line to get priority boarding on the Cairnryan to Belfast Ferry, and a place in the Stena Plus Lounge where there would be comfy seats, newspapers and nibbles, and, we presumed, a little more peace and quiet than throughout the rest of the boat. Unfortunately, this didn’t turn out to be the case.

It was the day of the first leg World Cup Qualifier between Northern Ireland and Switzerland, and in the Stena Plus Lounge there was a businessman of some kind, perhaps a sales rep, who spent the whole sailing on his mobile phone talking very loudly to clients to whom he had promised hospitality tickets for the match at Windsor Park. The gist of his call to his clients was that there was good news and bad news, and did they want the good news or the bad news first. It seemed that they all went for the good news first, because this call was repeated many times, and often more than once to the same client as the mobile phone reception on the ferry kept cutting out, and he would have to redial and start the whole conversation all over again.

The good news was that he had managed to acquire tickets for them. The bad news was that they weren’t hospitality tickets, they were just ordinary tickets, and they weren’t even the best ordinary tickets as they were way up in a corner at the top of one of the stands, although he wanted to assure them that the view would be okay. They were also e-tickets and so when he got to his office he could either email them to his clients or, if they preferred, they could come and collect them. He would be at the office until 5 o’clock.

By the time we got to Belfast we, and everyone else in the lounge, knew his name, his business, his mobile phone number, and the names of his clients, and we hadn’t had a minute’s peace and quiet the whole journey. I’m sure many people have had the same experience on planes, boats and trains, and perhaps Brother Antony and myself are not alone in finding it quite frustrating and annoying.

The Province Day went well. It’s always good to meet up with fellow Passionists from around the province, to catch up on all the news, to find out how everyone is doing, to have good conversations about how we feel things are going in each of the communities, and how the plans we agreed at the last Provincial Chapter are taking shape, and then to feed that back to the men back home who had to hold the fort, or who weren’t able to go to the gathering for age, health or other reasons.

Our return journey was thankfully more relaxing, although there was a strong wind and heavy waves that caused the ferry to rise and fall quite in the sea quite dramatically. At one point my glass of apple juice went skimming across the table, and there was a poor lady who, along with her friends, had been taking serious advantage of the bottles of wine freely available in the lounge to drink to her heart’s content, but who then, with the violent and stomach churning motion of the boat, had to recycle her Sauvignon Blanc into a brown paper bag. Not a pretty sight.
Brother Antony will be repeating the journey this weekend as he is bringing two Scots lads over to Crossgar for a Vocations Retreat, where they will join other lads from Ireland, north and south, who would like to find out a bit more about the Passionists, and about our way of life and ministry. These weekends are held a few times a year by way of helping young men on their faith journey, and in the discernment of how Christ may be calling them in their lives and in their own personal vocation. Just now and again it may happen, by the grace of God, that some of them feel Christ is calling them to become Passionists themselves.  Here is our Prayer for Passionist Vocations:

Jesus, you gave your life on the Cross so that we could share in God’s own life and know his love for us. May the love that flows from the Cross transform our hearts, so that we can bring your love and compassion to those whose lives we touch, especially those who are suffering. Give the light of your Holy Spirit to those young people who have received the grace of a Passionist vocation. Inspire them to give their lives as Passionist priests, brothers or sisters, keeping the Memory of your Passion alive in their own hearts and in the hearts of others. May Mary, who stood by the Cross, be their example, and may Saint Paul of the Cross be their guide. Amen.

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FATHER FRANK'S LOG...

8/11/2017

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 5th – 12th NOVEMBER

It has been said by Scripture Scholars that in St. Luke’s Gospel Jesus always seems to be going to a meal, at a meal, coming back from a meal, or telling stories about meals, and that has certainly been true this past week when the weekday Gospels for just about every day were about meals. Of course, in the Gospels meals are to do with much more than just food, they are about fellowship, friendship, forgiveness, reconciliation, conversion and love.

I was thinking about the meals I’ve shared in myself, just during this past week. Last Saturday I collected my younger brother and we went to a surprise party being thrown for our sister-in-law’s 70th birthday; this despite the fact that for the past 6 months she has been telling her husband, our Hugh, and all her family that she didn’t want any kind of party at all, and that especially she didn’t want a surprise party. The celebration was being held in my niece’s house, and alongside all the adults there were her six grandchildren and all her grand-nieces and grand-nephews. There were kids running around everywhere and the noise was deafening, but, somehow, they were quietened down for Janet’s arrival, only to reach new decibels when she walked in the door. Janet took it in her stride and, if she was annoyed, she didn’t show it. We then went on to enjoy some beautiful food and, when we could hear ourselves over the kids, very enjoyable conversation; catching-up, telling stories, sharing memories, strengthening family ties, and generally having a good time.

On Sunday I thought I wouldn’t eat very much at all, as I was still feeling a bit stuffed from the night before. After celebrating the 12 o’clock Mass I went back to Bishopbriggs for a bit of a rest before coming back in again for the evening Mass. In the course of the afternoon I caught some very evocative aromas coming from the kitchen as Brother Antony was putting together a lovely stew, and Father Gareth was producing his signature dish, chocolate truffles – most of which he eats himself. So, when we came back from Mass later on we sat down and enjoyed more good food, conversation and laughter, winding down after a busy day, and strengthening our Passionist community bonds.

On Tuesday Father Gareth, Brother Antony and myself, took up an invitation from one of their former lecturers at Heythrop College in London, who is now the new parish priest at St. Aloysius, Father Michael Holman. We walked into town and joined Father Michael and the Jesuit community for lunch, along with the two Spiritans from St. Columba’s, Father Ambrose and Father Dominic; and Father Paul Gargaro from St. Patrick’s in Anderston. Together we are meant to form a cluster of parishes in the Archdiocese. Once again we enjoyed good food and conversation, and explored some ways that we could support each other in the cluster, and also reach out to others, especially to the young people in our parishes, as we have been trying to do here in St. Mungo’s with our Passionist Young Team, and with Brother Antony’s developing chaplaincy ministry in the City of Glasgow College; Strathclyde University and Caledonian University. Once again, around the table, we strengthened ties and created new friendships in the Lord.

Three meals in four days, all very different, but, as with the meals in the Gospel, they were to do with much more than just food, and without a doubt, Christ was the unseen guest at the table on each occasion. Every table can be an altar. Every meal can be a supper at Emmaus.

They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity - all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.
​

Acts of the Apostles 2:26-27
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FATHER FRANK'S LOG...

3/11/2017

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 29th OCTOBER – 5th NOVEMBER

On the Feast of All Saints I was recalling my very first day as a postulant with the Passionists. I was 24 years of age, and it was October 4th 1975, the feast of my name saint, Francis of Assisi, when myself and another Glasgow lad left from the Retreat House the Passionists then had at Coodham in Ayrshire. We were driven by a member of the community to Ardrossan, and then sailed on a boat called The Lion to Belfast. All the belongings we were asked to bring easily fitted into the boot of the car. These included wellies and dungarees as we were told we would be doing a fair amount of manual work in the monastery and in the grounds. Our destination was The Graan in Enniskillen, the place where, until recent years, every Passionist from Ireland or Scotland began their journey of formation. I remember that the route from Belfast to Enniskillen took us through the three Tyrone villages of Augher, Clogher and Fivemiletown, until we eventually drove up the avenue to this very imposing monastery three miles outside of the town of Enniskillen where we were greeted, a bit sternly I thought, by our Postulant Director, and introduced to our four classmates, one from County Clare; two from Belfast, and the other from Nigeria.

After a cold supper and an introductory lecture to lay down the rules, I was shown to my room, which in monastic terms is called a cell. My cell comprised of an ancient single bed with a lumpy mattress; a single wardrobe with two wire hangers, a small desk, a rickety chair, a small rug on bare wooden floorboards, and a ceiling light without a shade. I immediately wondered what, in God’s name, I was doing there. After unpacking, I went along to the wash hall to brush my teeth, and on the way back I became aware of something whizzing past my head. It turned out to be a bat, and it wasn’t even Halloween yet.

The only other item in the room was a huge portrait in an old gilt frame of someone that turned out be St. Gemma Galgani, who lived in Lucca in Italy from 1878-1903, and who, even though because of poor health she never actually joined the Passionists, is numbered among the Passionist saints. She was a very pretty looking girl and I looked at her and said; “Well Gemma, it’s not much of a room, but if I’m going to share it with you for the next year or so, I’d better find out who you are”. I then tiptoed along to the monastery library and found a book on her life, written by her spiritual director, the Passionist, Father Germanus.

Still a bit overawed by my surroundings, and with so many thoughts and questions going around in my head, I realised that I wouldn’t sleep a wink that night, and so I spent the whole night reading Gemma’s story. By morning time, she had become one of my favourite saints, and ever since she has been one of my constant companions and soul friends on the rocky road of faith. I have visited her shrine at Lucca on three occasions, as well as her shrine at Madrid where her heart is kept in a reliquary; I carry her picture constantly in my breviary, and I even now have a niece called Gemma. Canonised in 1940, St. Gemma is now very much revered as a true mystic, and is called the Daughter of Passion, because of her profound imitation of the Passion of Christ, including being one of those saints who received the stigmata. Here are a few thoughts from Gemma, the mystic of the Passion, to leave you with:

“Why did you suffer for me, dear Jesus? For love! The nails…the crown…the cross…all for the love of me! For You I sacrifice everything willingly. I offer You my body with all of its weakness, and my soul with all of its love.”
 “See, oh Jesus, even at night, those hours, those hours! I sleep, but Jesus, my heart does not sleep. It watches with Thee at all hours.”
“Can You see that as soon as the day breaks I think of You? As evening comes, I am near You. I am near You at every moment. I love You, Jesus…”

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    FATHER FRANK KEEVINS C.P.

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