PassionistsGlasgow
  • Welcome To Saint Mungo's
  • Parish Newsletter
  • Parish Office / Visiting Saint Mungo's
  • Passionists Young Team
  • Universalis Mass Readings for Today
  • Website Links
  • St.Paul of the Cross
  • St. Paul of the Cross for Children
  • St.Charles of Mount Argus
  • St Mungo Patron Saint of Glasgow
  • St. Mungo's Parish
  • Photo Album
  • Safeguarding (Updated Oct 2022)
  • Archdiocese Privacy Notice
  • Father Franks Log
  • Synodal Path
  • Welcome To Saint Mungo's
  • Parish Newsletter
  • Parish Office / Visiting Saint Mungo's
  • Passionists Young Team
  • Universalis Mass Readings for Today
  • Website Links
  • St.Paul of the Cross
  • St. Paul of the Cross for Children
  • St.Charles of Mount Argus
  • St Mungo Patron Saint of Glasgow
  • St. Mungo's Parish
  • Photo Album
  • Safeguarding (Updated Oct 2022)
  • Archdiocese Privacy Notice
  • Father Franks Log
  • Synodal Path
  PassionistsGlasgow

father frank's log...

24/11/2022

0 Comments

 
FR. FRANK’S LOG: 27th NOVEMBER – 4th DECEMBER 2022
​

Last Monday we Passionists celebrated a little piece of history when, as I have previously mentioned, the Passionist Province of England and Wales, previously known as St. Joseph’s Province, became formally and fully integrated into Saint Patrick’s Province, with the subtitle of “The Passionists in Ireland and Britain”. At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, our time, on that day, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, the brethren gathered by Zoom. We were joined by our General and his Council from Rome, as well as the Provincials of the Netherlands and Australia, because of strong links between us, two Passionist Contemplative Nuns, two Cross and Passion Sisters, and some lay representatives from the wider Passionist family. We began with a time of prayer which, despite the usual technical hitches, was very moving. Towards the end, the decisive moment came when our Superior General issued the formal decree transferring all of the religious, priests and brothers, as well as all the houses and assets of St. Joseph’s Province, to St. Patrick’s Province. He concluded with these words: “Entrusting the new reality of St. Patrick’s Province to the prayers of St. Paul of the Cross, we remember and thank God for the passion and perseverance of all those Passionists who faithfully kept alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus as the power, wisdom and love of God. In these times, we continue the journey with creative fidelity to the charism, and with hope and confidence in God’s promise and plans. May the Passion of Jesus be always in our hearts”.
 
The Feast of the Presentation of Mary was deliberately chosen for this occasion. St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionists, had a special love for this Feast because he considered it to be the anniversary of the day on which he first donned the Passionist habit, given to him in a vision by Our Lady, before entering into the 40-day retreat during which he wrote the first Passionist rule. That was in 1721. In 1737, he also named the first ever Passionist Monastery at Monte Argentario, north west of Rome, the Retreat of the Presentation of Our Lady and, in 1775, the year of his death, during his last Chapter as Superior General, Mary, under the title of her Presentation, was declared the first and principal patroness of the Passionists. St. Paul of the Cross always dreamt of establishing the Passionists in these islands, but it never came about in his own lifetime. His dream was later taken up by Dominic Barberi, who established the first Passionist house at Aston Hall in Staffordshire in 1842. Three years later he would receive John Henry Newman into the Catholic Church. Newman had specifically requested Dominic to do this. Newman is now a saint, and we hope that Dominic, now Blessed Dominic, will also be a saint before too long. Later that same year he gave a mission in Dublin that paved the way for the Passionists to spread throughout Ireland, then Scotland and Wales. Sadly, during that same year, he suffered a heart attack and died. At that time the Passionists in these islands were known as the Anglo-Hibernian Province. It remained that way until 1927 when, because of an increase in numbers, it divided into the two provinces of St. Joseph and St. Patrick and so, this new integration, because of a decrease in numbers, is, in a way, a return to what existed before.
Out at Bishopbriggs we celebrated our new province with pizza, while watching Wales scrape a draw with the USA in the World Cup. Father Gareth had to leave the room when Wales got the penalty. He only came back in when we told him they had scored – and I thought I was bad! We have also been ordering the various bits and pieces for our Christmas dinner online, just starter and main course, to be collected on December 23rd. I was told if we didn’t order now, it would all be out of stock, and I could see that this was true. It will be a joint effort (no pun intended) to cook it on Christmas Day. We will be missing our main chef of these past few years, Father Antony. God knows how it will all work out but, just in case, we are going to go out for a bite to eat together on St. Stephen’s Day. Have a blessed Advent!

As always, protect yourselves, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

0 Comments

father frank's log...

19/11/2022

0 Comments

 
FR. FRANK’S LOG: 20th – 27th NOVEMBER 2022

Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of St. Margaret of Scotland. From 1996 until 2001, I was parish priest of St. Gabriel’s in Prestonpans, in East Lothian. They were very happy years for me. On an occasional day off, one of the places I liked to go to was Dunfermline, the Royal Capital of Scotland, which was given city status last May as part of the late Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations. St. Margaret is buried there, in what was once an old Benedictine Abbey. However, even more poignant than a visit to the abbey, I loved to make my way through the town to St. Margaret’s Cave which, according to tradition, was here favourite place to go and pray. When I would go there, I was always reminded of the old Joni Mitchell song, the Big Yellow Taxi, which had, as part of the chorus, the words – they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. St. Margaret’s cave is entered through a small stone building that quietly sits in the corner of what is now a city centre car park. When you enter the building, you can enter a passageway that winds down 87 steps, deep below the surface. As you descend, as memory serves me, there are some wall paintings depicting her life, and you are accompanied by some Gregorian Chants being piped through the system. When you reach the bottom, there is a statue of St. Margaret, and a prayer book, recreating the scene of her praying there. I always enjoyed those visits, and it got me to thinking about favourite places to pray.
 
My first thought was to remember visits to St. Ninian’s cave at Whithorn. When I was living in Ireland, and coming home to Scotland for summer holidays, I would come off the ferry at Cairnryan and, instead of heading straight to Glasgow, I would occasionally take the detour to Whithorn and visit this special place of prayer. At the little car park there is an inscription with one of my favourite Celtic prayers - Deep peace of the running wave to you. Deep peace of the flowing air to you. Deep peace of the quiet earth to you. Deep peace of the shining stars to you. Deep peace of the Price of Peace to you. You then pass through a wooded area which suddenly and spectacularly opens up onto the shore and, in the distance, across a very stony beach, you can see Ninian’s Cave. It was certainly a place of solitude, and a perfect hideaway to be alone with God. There are 10 crosses cut into the cave wall, and lots of little stone cairns, which I assume represent the prayers of pilgrims over the years.
 
I then remembered my own diaconate retreat, back in December 1982. I was studying at the Gregorian University in Rome at the time and, after completing faculty exams, I was due to be ordained a deacon before Christmas at the Passionist Monastery of Saints John and Paul. I received permission to go and make my retreat at Monte Argentario, at the Passionist Retreat of the Presentation of Our Lady, high up on a hill on a peninsula, north east of Rome, on the Mediterranean coast, which was the first ever Passionist Retreat established by the founder of the Passionists, St. Paul of the Cross. It has been said that, if there is anywhere on earth which was dear to St. Paul of the Cross, it was Monte Argentario. He had initially lived there as a hermit, withdrawing into solitude, but later it became the home of the first companions of the founder, and therefore the site of the first ever Passionist Community, and it was, for me, a very special and privileged experience to make my retreat there.
 
What is my own favourite place to pray? I have had to move house quite a lot during my time as a Passionist, and in each location I would find a spot that was conducive to my own way of praying. Being back in St. Mungo’s, but living in Bishopbriggs, our little oratory there is the place of my day-to-day encounter with God. Apart from that, I am glad to have Schoenstatt not too far away. I have made a couple of retreats there and I like the little chapel, the beautiful walks within the grounds, out along the river, along the disused railway lines, and up into the Campsies. But at the end of the day, God is everywhere, and in all things. Where I am, God is, and, in any given moment, that can be my favourite place, wherever it may be.
​

As always, protect yourselves, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
0 Comments

father frank's log...

11/11/2022

0 Comments

 
FR. FRANK’S LOG: 13th – 20th NOVEMBER 2022
​

Last Monday I was interviewed in connection with a short documentary film that was being made on the life of St. Thenew (also known as Thenog or Enoch), the mother of St. Mungo. Our church here at Saint Mungo's has one of the only remaining statues of St Thenew and the film makers were keen to come face to face, as it were, with the statue, in the making of the documentary. As part of my preparation, I read an extract from an archive concerning the Dedication of the High Altar in St. Mungo’s, which took place on the 16th September, 1877. The church itself was dedicated on the 12th September, 1869. As far back as then, on what was at that time a very ornate high altar, this beautiful statue of St. Thenew was high up on the sanctuary alongside other saintly statues filling a number of decorative niches. There is a picture of the high altar in the centenary booklet – The Passionists in Scotland – that was produced back in 1965. Now, of course, post-Vatican II, that High Altar is much simpler. The main aim of this documentary is, as I understand it, to highlight strong women who helped shape the City of Glasgow, and the person who interviewed me is keen on petitioning the City Council to instal some kind of commemorative plaque to St. Thenew in St. Enoch Square, which is named after her. Records from the fifteenth century show that the bones of St Enoch were believed to lie in a chapel, which stood in the midst of a burial ground, which occupied the ground now forming St Enoch Square. There is a modern-day interpretation of St Enoch and her baby, whom she called Kentigern, by Australian street artist Sam Bates (aka Smug) on the corner of High Street and George Street. Later, St. Serf, would give the young Kentigern the pet name of Mungo, which means the Dear One of God.
 
Later that same day we went out for a celebration meal to mark the platinum jubilee of Father Justinian’s 1st Profession as a Passionist, as mentioned in last week’s log. We were joined by his two brothers and one of his sisters-in-law, and, by a happy coincidence, our Provincial was able to join us, having arrived in Glasgow from London earlier in the day. We went to a local restaurant in Bishopbriggs and had a thoroughly enjoyable time to mark the occasion, and indeed, it was an occasion well worth marking.
 
The following night we heard of the sad death of Archbishop Emeritus, Mario Conti, after a short illness. I was never stationed in Glasgow during his time as Archbishop, but I know that he had a deep love for St. Mungo’s Church and, in many ways, was the driving force behind the renovations that took place over twenty years ago. Not long after I came here, Archbishop Conti joined us for the Feast of St. Mungo on 13th January 2017. Afterwards, we had some refreshments in the hall, during which he expressed his love for St. Mungo’s, but also, with a wry smile, apologised for leaving us with such a big debt on the church as a result of those renovations, which we are still trying to pay off. However, it was a job well worth doing.
 
We also heard of the sad death of an American Passionist, Fr. Don Senior CP, who was one of the finest scripture scholars that the Passionists, and indeed the church, ever produced, especially in relation to the New Testament. His speciality was the Gospel of St. Matthew. He was mainly associated with the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was appointed by Pope St. John Paul II to serve on the church’s Pontifical Biblical Commission. He was also a lovely, humble man, whom I had the privilege of meeting, and listening to, on a number of occasions, and my bookshelves at home, as well as my Kindle, contain a number of his writings, especially on the Passion of Jesus in each of the Gospels. He will be greatly missed. May both of these good men rest in peace.
 
As always, protect yourselves, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
0 Comments

father frank's log...

3/11/2022

0 Comments

 
FR. FRANK’S LOG: 6th = 13th NOVEMBER 2022
​

Five years ago, in December 2017, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of Father Justinian’s priesthood. We had a simple celebration of Mass in the church with some members of his family, and then headed out to a local restaurant to share a meal, during which the owner of the restaurant, who knew his family well, and who also knew the occasion we were there to celebrate, came over and presented Father Justinian with a magnum of champagne. It was a lovely evening and, by any measure, a wonderful landmark to reach. However, I think he may be overtaking it this weekend. This Sunday 6th November, Father Justinian will celebrate the 70th anniversary of his Profession as a Passionist. In November 1951, the year I was born, he entered the Passionist Novitiate at the Graan in Enniskillen. Prior to that he had been in the Passionist Junior Seminary at a place called Wheatfield in North Belfast. He had to retake an exam and so he was six weeks later joining the Novitiate than his classmates, one of whom was the late Father Eustace Cassidy, well known, loved and remembered here in St. Mungo’s. Father Eustace was professed at the more normal time of 25th September that year but, so as to fulfil the norms of canon law, Father Justinian had to wait until November, and so he made his First Profession, all on his own, on the Feast of All the Saints of Ireland, 6th November.
 
You may remember I mentioned a few weeks ago that Father Justinian always begins conversations with people he is only meeting for the first time by saying that he is the oldest man in our Province. He is now 91. The second part of his introduction would always be to add that he is the oldest by age, but not by Profession. The oldest man in our Province by Profession is his great friend, Father Ralph Egan, whom some of you may know. Father Ralph made his own First Profession in the Graan in Enniskillen, where, until very recently, everyone started their Passionist life in our Province, on 12th September 1951, and he is still going strong, but then, he is a meagre 89 years of age, and still doing his bit at Mount Argus in Dublin, his native city. However, as mentioned before, all that will change on 21st November this year, when the Saint Joseph’s Passionist Province of England and Wales becomes fully integrated into Saint Patrick’s Province, with the subtitle of “The Passionists of Ireland and Britain. The new Saint Patrick’s Province will have 3 members who will be senior to Father Justinian by age, and to Father Ralph by Profession - interesting times!
 
Thinking back to my own First Profession, things had changed a great deal from Father Jus’s time. In the early 1970’s, instead of going straight into the Novitiate, a year of Postulancy was introduced, also in Enniskillen, which was followed by Philosophy studies in Dublin, and then Novitiate in Crossgar, Co. Down. This was, in theory, to allow a more gradual process of entry into the Congregation, and to a greater sense of the kind of commitment that was required, and to a more mature decision to embrace religious life. In my own case, having joined the Passionists in 1975, it would be 1980 before I made 1st Profession. This reason for this was that, after my Philosophy studies, I also did a year of Theology, while I waited on my classmates to finish their Philosophy studies as, me being older, and having acquired an accountancy qualification, I did a 2-year Baccalaureate, while they did a three-year university degree. Even then, we started novitiate a bit later than we should have, as Pope John Paul II was in Ireland from 29th September to 1st October 1979, and we were involved in events in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, and in the Diocesan Seminary in Maynooth. So, our Novitiate, which should have begun in mid-September, didn’t begin until early October 1979. Canon Law usually requires a full year’s novitiate but we were allowed to anticipate slightly, and me and my classmates made 1st Profession on 28th September 1980. Have I lost you! Anyway…

As always, protect yourselves, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

0 Comments
    Picture

    FATHER FRANK KEEVINS C.P.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed