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father frank's log...

25/12/2021

FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 19th DECEMBER – 9th JANUARY

There will be no Father Frank’s Log for the next few weeks. I wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas, with every blessing for the coming year. None of us knows what 2022 will bring but, whatever it brings, God will be in the midst of it with us.

If there is a purpose to Father Frank’s log, it is quite simply this, that, in all the various circumstances of life, the rough and the smooth, the serious and the silly; the happy and the sad; the sublime and the ridiculous; the expected and the unexpected; God is there, God is in all things, and God is present at all times. I have always found that, and, in my own stuttering way, that is what I try to convey in the log, in a light-hearted way. Faith sometimes has to be lived with a smile on its face.

Thank you for reading the log, whether that’s weekly on the website or monthly in the Flourish; and thank you for the affirmation and encouragement I receive. I will look forward to resuming the log very soon as life goes on, and so does God.

Meantime, and, more than ever in these Omicron times; protect yourself, protect your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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Father frank's log...

18/12/2021

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

Last Saturday, 11th December, we Passionists celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Saint Charles of Mount Argus, the Passionist saint noted for his ministry of healing, hope and reconciliation. To mark this, the Vatican department, known as the Apostolic Penitentiary, has, by decree of Pope Francis, granted a Jubilee Year, and I quote: “by which St. Charles will be better promoted, so that in these times of great need, many will seek his intercession and intervention to find healing and hope in their difficulties, illness and suffering, through the power of Christ's Passion, which gave strength to Father Charles' life and nourished his ministry”. It’s a great privilege to receive this, especially as it overlaps with the jubilee year already granted to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Passionist Congregation.

When I became rector and parish priest of Mount Argus in 2001, I inherited the role of Vice-Postulator of the cause of Father Charles, who at that time was Blessed, having been beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988. It was a role I carried lightly for some years until suddenly, quite out of the blue, word came that a second miracle, attributed to the intercession of Father Charles, had been approved by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, so paving the way for his canonization. I went into panic mode, this being totally new territory for me, and way out of my comfort zone. This was in 2007, and in the February of that year I made the journey to Rome with Father Paul Francis, where we would attend the consistory at the Vatican, at which Pope Benedict would announce the date for the canonization. This was very important information as I had people in Dublin, such as pilgrimage organizers, printers, publishers, media, and others, waiting for a phone call, so as to move into action to get all the things organized that needed to be organized. As an aside, when I had arrived in Rome the previous evening, having turned off my mobile phone on the flight, my mind had gone blank, and I couldn’t remember my pin number to turn it on again and, after three failed attempts, it locked. With the help of one of my confreres back at Mount Argus, I managed, after a period of anxiety, to get it unlocked again. I expected that the canonization would be at the end of the year, if not into the following year but, to add to my anxiety, Pope Benedict announced the date as June 3rd, Trinity Sunday, just a few short months away. Those few months were just a whirlwind of activity but, thanks to a great team of helpers, and despite torrential rain on the day, both in Rome and in Dublin, everything went well and according to plan. One of the benefits being experienced now was that I decided to have a streaming service installed in Mount Argus Church, so that devotees of Father Charles all over the world, unable to be in Rome or in Mount Argus for the occasion, could at least avail of the streaming service from wherever they happened to be. Little did I know that, thirteen years later, a pandemic would result in the streaming service being more valued and more availed of than ever.

After the Canonization, I spent a couple of years on the road as an itinerant preacher, trying to promote devotion to Saint Charles and make him better known, further afield. I also had a great team helping me organize pilgrimages to Father Charles’ birthplace at Munstergeleen in the Netherlands, where the shrine, at what was formerly his family home, has also, along with the shrine at Mount Argus, been granted a jubilee year to celebrate the bi-centenary. He was a good, simple, humble man of prayer, and a very willing instrument in God’s hands, to bring God’s forgiveness and healing to so many people, both during and after his lifetime. I could not commend him more readily, to add to your list of intercessory saints. Meanwhile, out at Bishopbriggs, we are all well, as we gently work and pray our way towards Christmas.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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father frank's log...

9/12/2021

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 5th – 12th DECEMBER
Last Sunday we began to put our crib up in the church. At the moment it’s just an empty space waiting to be filled, which is a good image for ourselves during this season of Advent, as we try to unclutter our lives a bit from all that needs to be done at this time of the year, and create a space within ourselves to welcome Christ. Our crib in St. Mungo’s is fairly simple, which I think is what most people prefer. I remember some years ago, when I was parish priest at Mount Argus in Dublin, we caused quite a stir by doing something different with the crib. At the time there was a lot of media coverage around the number of people sleeping rough in shop doorways, on makeshift beds, made out of cardboard boxes. A local artist, a member of our parish, designed a crib made out of cardboard boxes to create a link between these poor people, and Mary and Joseph, who were homeless at that first Christmas, finding nowhere to stay, and eventually giving birth to their child in a cave cum stable behind an inn. The reaction was extraordinary. Many people got the link and were deeply moved, and greatly challenged by it. Other people saw this as an insult to Mary, Joseph and Jesus, and protested vehemently. At the very least it raised a debate and, while we didn’t repeat it after, returning to a more traditional crib, I believe to this day that it was well worth the doing.

I was recalling too, during the time I was novice master in North Europe, that I had to attend a meeting in Bavaria during Advent. I think the temperatures were well below zero, down around minus twenty. The Passionists in Bavaria were extremely welcoming and, on one of the days, during a break in the meetings, I was brought by one of the priests to the town of Bamberg, which is apparently known as the Nativity Town. It is, in fact, a UNESCO World heritage listed town and, throughout the city you’ll find an extraordinary collection of nativity scenes. I was brought by my colleague to a place called the Krippenmuseum. This museum belongs to a man who developed an obsession with nativity scenes at an early age, and has been collecting ever since, from all over the world, reflecting every country and culture you could think of, made out of every material imaginable, as well as designing his own Nativity scenes. It was an amazing experience. I think our cardboard box crib may have fitted in well.

We, Passionists, also have quite a unique take on the crib. Saint Paul of the Cross, our founder, often spoke about a link between Bethlehem and Calvary, the Crib and the Cross. When he would build the Crib each Christmas at Monte Argentario, the very first Passionist foundation in Italy, and the place where, during Advent 1982, I had the privilege of making a retreat to prepare for my diaconal ordination, Paul would place a cross behind the child in the Crib to remind those who would pray there of the true meaning of Christmas: “for us and for our salvation he came down from heaven”. As with our cardboard crib, such a take on the Nativity can help rescue us from an overly sentimental approach to Christmas, because we realise that even in the poor stable at Bethlehem, where a homeless family birthed their first child, the love of God is revealed as a sacrificial love, a love that lays down its life. I was delighted to discover that this tradition, begun by our founder almost 300 years ago, had continued down the years.

We haven’t put our crib up at the Passionist Community house in Bishopbriggs yet. We tend to wait until Advent turns around on December 17th when the liturgy, from focussing towards the future coming of Christ, starts to prepare us to celebrate His first coming. We are all well.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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December 04th, 2021

4/12/2021

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FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 28th NOVEMBER – 5th DECEMBER

I have just celebrated a rather varied and interesting Saint Andrew’s Day. It began on the eve of the feast. During this jubilee year to celebrate 300 years of the Passionist Congregation, which, by the way, the Vatican has extended until next May, our Passionist Province has been gathering by Zoom to pray and chat together on the Vigil of certain feasts. Different Province communities were invited to lead the prayer, depending on the occasion, and so we at Saint Mungo’s, the only community in Scotland, were asked to lead on the eve of Saint Andrew. There was a good turnout, and, as our first gathering since the post-Chapter changes had taken place, it was strange to see members zooming in from their new locations. Father Gareth, of course, was zooming in from Holy Cross, Ardoyne. He was sitting there alongside Father Terence, whom many of you will remember from Saint Mungo’s many years back. Also, Father John Varghese, was zooming in from Holy Cross, still awaiting Home Office approval to come to St. Mungo’s. The prayer and the chat were good, as they always are. A couple of hours later I had to record an Advent reflection for teachers. Father Antony set up the room and the recording and then, once it was over, sent it to the Education Department.

On the Solemnity of Saint Andrew, I celebrated Mass at 10 o’clock and then, after some work in the office, I headed off to Bishopbriggs. My first stop was at Saint Dominic’s as I had been on call for the Royal Infirmary the previous night, and now had to drop off the pager to the parish priest there, who always follows on from us. My next stop was at the dentist, where I was due to have a tooth extraction. This would be my second extraction since Covid began. I seem to have suffered from not being able to have regular check-ups, as it had been many, many years before since I last had an extraction. This time the procedure seemed to be quite straightforward, the previous one having been more complex. After that it was up to my brother’s house to make him a meal, and then back to Saint Mungo’s to prepare for what would turn out to be a very special night.

Since first seeing the show in London, in the early 1990’s, I have been a massive fan of the musical, Les Miserables. Since then, I have acquired the DVD of the 10th anniversary show, and the CD of the 25th anniversary show. I play them often. I think the story, from Victor Hugo’s 19th century novel, the production, and the music, are simply wonderful. The new version of the show came to Glasgow last week and, thanks to the great kindness of a family of regular Saint Mungo’s patrons, Father Antony and myself were presented with two tickets for Saint Andrew’s night. The tickets included some hospitality but, unfortunately, because of my tooth extraction, I was unable to avail of that. But that did not matter one jot. We had great seats in the stalls, about seven rows behind the orchestra pit, and we were dead-centre stage. Described as a production for the 21st century, this show was able to make use of new technology, but it was still essentially the same show that I had seen 30 years ago. It was, without doubt, absolutely fantastic. For Father Antony, it was his first time seeing it, and he was blown away by it as well. Of course, going to and from the theatre we got drenched. The rain was torrential, and, on the journey home, four lanes of the motorway were closed due to flooding. However, we made it back safely, very happy and grateful for a wonderful night.

So, now we continue with our Advent journey. Since last Sunday, Masses in Saint Mungo’s are back to pre-Covid times. However, we still have restricted Confession times, being still totally dependent on volunteers for cleansing and other duties. Thanks, as always to them.

As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.

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father frank's log...

Father frank's log...

father frank's log...

December 04th, 2021

FATHER FRANK KEEVINS C.P.

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