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  PassionistsGlasgow

father frank's log...

27/11/2020

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 22nd – 29th NOVEMBER
​

Last Sunday morning, at our community house in Bishopbriggs, we switched on our laptops, expecting to watch the inauguration of the Jubilee Year to mark the 300th anniversary of the Passionist Congregation, beginning with the opening of the Holy Door at the beautiful
basilica of Saints John and Paul, adjoining our Passionist Monastery and Mother House in Rome, of the same name. The ceremony was scheduled to start on YouTube at 10.15 a.m. Rome time, and 9.15 a.m. our time, but cometh the hour nothing happened. Around 9.30 a.m. we switched to Facebook and managed to get the procession from the monastery to the church, and the solemn opening of the door, but then gave up on it.
 
At 10.15 a.m. Father Gareth said that he and Father Antony were going out for a walk along the canal and would I like to join them.  Against my better instincts, I said I would. We set out shortly afterwards with Father Gareth leading the way. The weather was very pleasant, but there were some ominous black clouds overhead. Now, you may know, I am around
5 foot 6 inches small, and both of those guys are well over 6 feet tall. This meant that, for every two strides of theirs, I was taking at least three strides. They were also walking at a faster rate than I normally would, so I felt like a wee Scottish highland terrier trotting along behind them, trying to keep up with the pace. Father Gareth, preferring to walk on solid ground, also chose a different, longer route, to get to the canal than I would, leading us by
major roads almost into Torrance. Even then, when we reached the path leading onto the Forth and Clyde Canal, Father Antony suggested that we continue on and take the path along the River Kelvin, as it would be quieter, to which we all agreed. I grew up beside the Kelvin, in Partick, but I had never been this far along its flow. This turned out to be a rather narrow, muddy path, not to Father Gareth’s liking at all. But it was quiet, and it was beautiful, and part of the way along we were delighted to see, arcing in the sky above us, a double rainbow. We stopped and pondered for a few moments, and then the heavens opened. There was little shelter to be had and so we just kept going. Thankfully it was only a shower and it passed over quickly. Eventually, we arrived at a path that would bring us through Cadder Golf Course, the main artery of which would take us back towards the canal, and then home.
Unfortunately, there was a steep and treacherous mud slide to be negotiated to get on to this path. This was even less to Father Gareth’s liking, which I could understand as, being a big man, he could have done himself some serious damage if he went crashing down. With
mumblings of never listening to Father Antony again, he let the two of us go on ahead. With some difficulty Father Antony and I made it safely down. We were afraid to look back, but when we did, there was Father Gareth striding along a totally different part of the golf course, in search of concrete and clay beneath his feet, instead of mud. Eventually, he joined us along the main artery where the greatest danger was from flying golf balls as there were a number of players out enjoying a Sunday morning round. When we crossed over the canal and drew nearer to home, Father Gareth sent us on ahead while he made his way to Poundland in the retail park. I think he needed a remedial dose of Turkish Delights to recover.
 
Arriving home, I decided to try YouTube again. The broadcast had started around 10.30 a.m. our time, and began at the Gospel of the Mass. I watched it from there to the end, delighted by some stunning shots of the basilica, and especially of the ceiling, as the camera spanned around during Holy Communion. The basilica is built over the house of the early Christian martyrs, John and Paul, but happily, the founder of the Passionists (Paul of the Cross) and his brother (John Baptist), considered by many as the co-founder, were also called John and Paul. So, now the Jubilee has begun, and we are hoping and praying for a blessed year ahead, for ourselves and for all of our Passionist Family, all of you who are connected to us in any way, one in the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray with us and for us and, as always, protect yourselves, protect your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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father frank's log...

19/11/2020

1 Comment

 
FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 15th – 22nd NOVEMBER 2020
​

Last Wednesday I was all set to have my molar removed. I left the church in the early afternoon and drove home. I deposited the car at the house and walked to the dentist in the village, wet and cold as it was, just in case I couldn’t drive after. I wasn’t looking forward to the extraction, but I was all geared up for it, and looking forward to it all being over. I even had some nice soup on standby as I imagined I wouldn’t be eating solids for a while. I arrived at the dentist and took my solitary seat in the waiting area. While I was waiting someone appeared at the door with a delivery. It may have been a delivery of false teeth from what I gathered of the conversation, but thankfully they weren’t for me. I couldn’t help but listen to more of the conversation between the courier and the dental receptionist, about how the practice would be affected by level 4 lockdown. The dental practice, I gathered, was still waiting for clarification from the British Dental Association, but was expecting to remain open for essential services, but not for non-essential services, which I took to be the more cosmetic side of things. I always have trouble explaining to our auditors that when Facial Beauty, or some such term, comes up on my credit card statement, that it was only a dental check-up, or a filling, and that it would take more than a dentist to make this face beautiful.
 
Eventually, I was summoned to the treatment room, and settled myself in the chair. The dentist poked around for a while and then asked had I seen my scans from the previous visit, which I hadn’t, so she asked me to come and have a look. To cut a long story short, she was a bit anxious about carrying out the procedure, as she was the only dentist there on that particular day. Her expectation was that this would be a tricky extraction as there was more filling than tooth. The likelihood was that the molar would crumble when extraction began and, in such circumstances, she preferred that the lead dentist be also there to assist if the need arose. Having had a previous bad experience, as described in an earlier log, I was willing to agree to a postponement, just to be on the safe side, after being assured that this would be considered essential surgery, and not fall victim to lockdown. So, now I have another appointment for two weeks hence. I’m sure the soup will last, and I had a combination of pizza and haggis pakora instead, followed by a big bar of Whole Nut.
 
Of course, in Saint Mungo’s, we had to make plans for level 4 lockdown as well. With only 20 people allowed in the church for Mass, or for any other form of prayer or worship, at any one time. It will be difficult to manage. Many of our regulars, as well as many of our volunteers, come from other local authorities and they are not supposed to travel into Glasgow, so we will have to see how that works out. Even myself, Father Gareth and Father Antony, have to travel from another local authority, but we are permitted to do so. In the event, we have put on some extra Masses, and we will just do our best to have a fair process to help as many people as possible to attend Mass, who wish to, at least once in the week.
 
On this Sunday, 22nd November, we Passionists begin our Solemn Jubilee Year to commemorate and celebrate the 300th anniversary of our Congregation. On imparting his Apostolic Blessing upon the entire Passionist Family, Pope Francis has entrusted us to Mary, the Mother of the Crucified One, a figure of the Church, a Virgin who listens, prays, offers, and generates life; and who is the permanent memory of Jesus, especially of his Passion. He also invoked the intercession of St. Paul of the Cross, our founder, and of all our Passionist Saints and Blesseds, and included in his Apostolic Blessing, all who will participate in our various celebrations throughout the Jubilee. We are very conscious of all who are involved with us, in so many ways, as being part of our Passionist Family, and so grateful for the encouragement and support you give us. We will keep you informed as to how you can celebrate with us throughout the year. Meantime, as we enter into a new phase of lockdown, protect yourselves, protect your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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father frank's log...

12/11/2020

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 8th – 15th NOVEMBER 2020
​
The first reading for today’s mass (Thursday) was from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon, and I was struck by the verse in which Paul makes the point that he is writing this letter by his own hand. I suppose, by that, he meant that normally he would have dictated his letters to Luke or to some other scribe, but that he wanted this letter to be more personal. It made me think of how, back in the day, I used to be quite a prolific letter writer, by my own hand, to family and friends, but then I acquired, in turn, a typewriter; a word processor; a computer and, finally, a mobile phone, so that, now, writing by my own hand has become almost a thing of the past. 

Even writing personal letters has become a thing of the past, having mostly given way to texts and emails. Long gone are the days of going to W.H. Smiths to buy Basildon Bond notepaper and envelopes – blue, cream or white – and enjoying the feel of a good Parker pen in my hand; letting the words flow from the heart, to the head, to the pen, and then on to the paper, before affixing the stamp, popping it into the post box, and then patiently waiting. How long would it take to get there? How would what I had written be received by the family member or friend to whom it was addressed? How long would it take the other person to reply? When would I receive the reply? What would their news be? There was something of value in that, I believe, in the grace of waiting, of not expecting everything to happen instantly, in the anticipation, the expectation, and then the joy of receiving the response.

I also used to take great care to ensure that my writing was neat and legible but now, whenever I do write by my own hand, I get a shock to seek how much I struggle to make it out myself, never mind expecting anybody else to make it out. In the early days of my religious life and priesthood, and for quite some years afterwards, I would write out my homilies, mission sermons, retreat talks and class lectures to students, by my own hand. Even though it took much longer, I always felt that there was a greater connection between what I was trying to say, and what I felt was important to say, when I put it down longhand, and that there was a disconnect, something less satisfactory, when I did this by more mechanical means. I was also less inclined to make mistakes. I remember the first portable typewriter that I acquired, which I am ashamed to say was not an Olivetti, even though I happily worked for Olivetti for 5 years, during the development of the golf ball typewriter; but, I went instead for a Brother with a black and white ribbon, the white being a corrector ribbon because I knew I was prone to errors, as indeed I still am, especially when composing texts on the mobile phone. Reluctantly, over the years, I gave way to more modern means of communication, but I was always the last of my peers to surrender, and I still have the feeling that something has been lost in the process, and that I remain a bit of a luddite with regard to technology.

St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionists, wrote thousands of letters in his time, many hundreds of which remain, and have been gathered into a three-volume collection. At one stage his handwriting was submitted for graphological analysis, without the handwriting expert knowing who they were analysing, and these are some of the things that were said: “The writer thinks with his emotions, more than reason; is determined, compassionate, expressive and has a responsive personality; open-minded, with a high degree of perception; is intuitive; difficult to understand at times because logic is disregarded and the heart of the matter is taken out of sequence; careful, loyal; very introspective; sometimes melancholic; experiences some mental conflict regarding his own self dignity; is analytical, sensitive, and secretive, in that he reserves facts and keeps confidences… a man you could depend on”
From what we know of St. Paul of the Cross, that is very accurate. It would be a pity if graphology also became a thing of the past because people no longer write by their own hand.
Back in Bishopbriggs all are well, thanks be to God, with nothing to report. So, as always,
protect yourselves, protect your loved ones, protect others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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father frank's log...

6/11/2020

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 1st – 8th NOVEMBER 2020
​

I’m sure many people will know that popular children’s song, accompanied by actions – head and shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes), eyes, and ears, and mouth, and nose, head and shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes). I was thinking that Father Frank’s Log has been a bit like that at times. I’ve written about my feet; my back; my eyes; my ears; and even my prostate. Old age, as they say, doesn’t come on its own. This week it’s my teeth that are the topic. On one of the very first days of lockdown, way back in March, I was heading out to the car to come into the church when, suddenly and unexpectedly, I could feel in my mouth, that a big chunk of filling had come out of one of my molars. Normally, I would have called my dentist right away to have it seen to but, with lockdown underway, that wasn’t an option. So, for the past seven months I have been trying to nurse this tooth along, conscious of the big gaping hole that I could excavate with my tongue, very conscious of occasional pain and tenderness, and wondering what damage was being done.
 
Then, just last Thursday, I had a text from my dentist, informing me that dental examinations were resuming this week, and so I made an appointment for the following Tuesday, the earliest appointment available. Unfortunately, the damage was done, and the tooth was beyond redemption. I’m sure there is a moral lesson in there about decay, and postponing for too long those things in our lives that should have been put right much sooner but, in this instance, Covid-19 and lockdown had made that impossible. Root canal treatment was ruled out; there wasn’t enough tooth left to rebuild; leaving it and doing nothing would be too big a risk, and so, reluctantly, my dentist recommended extraction, and that’s what will happen in a couple of weeks from now. As Oor Wullie or the Broons would have said, “Help ma boab!”. It’s a long time since I had a tooth out and I’m not looking forward to it. Memories of the Broons extracting aching teeth by tying one end of a piece of string around the tooth, and the other end to a door handle, then slamming the door shut, crossed my mind as an option. Needless to say, I have had offers from Father Gareth, Father Antony and others, to get the pliers out and do a homer but, wisely I think, I have declined all such offers.
 
The last time I remember getting a tooth out was when I was still working in Olivetti in the early 1970’s. The tooth had an abscess, very painful, so I phoned my dentist. However, no appointment was available for a couple of weeks and I was advised to make my way to the Dental Hospital and School in Sauchiehall Street. My boss at the time told me to get going, and I vaguely remember filling in forms and waiting in a queue until I was eventually taken. Once again, extraction was the only option. I’m not too sure who actually carried out the surgery, but I do remember a number of students gathered around and observing. It was a great relief to get the tooth out, but afterwards I contracted an infection that required remedial treatment and antibiotics, with the pain for a time even worse than the toothache. So, as you can imagine, I am a little bit anxious. However, I have great trust in my dentist, and I’m sure all will be well. I will just need to learn to chew on the other side of my mouth.
 
Yesterday, I received delegation from the Archbishop to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on the children from St. Mungo’s and St. Stephen’s who were scheduled to receive the Sacrament last March, and who have now moved on to various secondary schools. For the same length of time that I had to wait to get my tooth examined, they have had to wait for their Confirmation. Despite the Coronavirus restrictions again making the celebration very different from what would have expected and hoped for, at the end of the day, these young people will have received the fullness of the Holy Spirit for the living of their Christian lives, and it will be a privilege for me to confer that upon them. Otherwise, all are well out at Bishopbriggs with nothing much to report. No news is good news. So, as always,
protect yourselves, protect your loved ones, protect others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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    Picture

    FATHER FRANK KEEVINS C.P.

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