FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 10th – 17th NOVEMBER 2024
The topic for this week’s log was more or less decided for me. Last Friday, the Solemnity of All Saints, and a Holy Day of Obligation, St Mungo’s church was full to the brim, due to the attendance of St Mungo’s Primary, and around two thirds of St Roch’s Secondary, the other third having gone to Mass in St Roch’s along with St Roch’s Primary. At the end of the Mass in St Mungo’s the deputy head got up to say a few words, in the course of which he made reference to Father Frank’s Log, of which he is obviously an avid reader, the poor soul, and suggested to the pupils that they might find themselves included in the Log the following week. So, just in case any of them do look up the Log, I thought I’d better greet them and mention them in dispatches, and thank them for their attentive presence on that day.
While Holy Day Masses are pretty much compulsory for the schools, we also celebrate Mass for staff and pupils of St Roch’s Secondary School, just about every Friday in the school oratory. This Mass is very much a voluntary affair, and it means people sacrificing a good chunk of their lunch hour to be present, so I’m always impressed by just how many come, and especially the number of pupils who come. Of course, it took me back to my own secondary school days at St Mungo’s Academy, which I attended from 1963-69. My first two years were in the Duke Street Annexe; then it was up to the Martyrs School for 3rd and 4th year. This school was designed by Rennie Mackintosh, something I didn’t appreciate fully at the time, and was situated in Parson Street, which is the street in which Rennie Mackintosh was born. Crossing over the footbridge from St Mungo’s, heading towards the Cathedral and the Royal Infirmary, the windows at that side of the old school building are easily recognisable as Mackintosh, and I still remember the magnificent atrium in the school as well. There was an attempt in recent years to turn the place into a Mackintosh Museum, but it didn’t really take off. For my 5th and 6th year it was a short hop across the road, still in Parson Street, to the main Academy building. That whole side of Parson Street contained St Mungo’s Church, St Mungo’s Retreat (the Passionist Community house), the Marist Brothers Community house, and the school. Nowadays it’s only the church and, the now sadly empty Retreat, the rest having made way for the motorway.
From 3rd to 6th year, we were regularly taken to St Mungo’s Church, not just for Masses and regular Confessions, but also for retreats and missions, which was the main ministry of the Passionists at that time. I was introduced to a whole variety of Passionist priests from Ireland and Scotland, each with different styles of preaching. Some of them I remember to this day. I remember one missioner being very dramatic, bringing with him symbols of the Passion, and producing very impressive sound and visual effects recalling the scourging, the crowning, the nailing, and the death of Jesus on the cross. I later came to know this man very well, especially during my days as Rector in Mount Argus. He was, in some ways, an eccentric character, not always reliable, as he could be walking in the Dublin mountains, or trekking through the famous monastic site at Glendalough in County Wicklow, his favourite place, forgetting he was supposed to be celebrating the evening Mass. But he was also wonderfully creative, a beautiful poet, and a very gifted sculptor, carving crucifixes and statues, especially of Our Lady, using pieces of wood he had randomly picked up during his mountain treks. A number of his works adorn the new monastery at Mount Argus, although he died just a few days before we were scheduled to move out of the old monastery and into the new monastery, which was probably serendipitous, as he loved the old monastery so much, and it was breaking his heart to leave. He died on 14th November, the Feast of St Laurence O’Toole, one of his favourite saints, and I will think of him on that day during this coming week.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
The topic for this week’s log was more or less decided for me. Last Friday, the Solemnity of All Saints, and a Holy Day of Obligation, St Mungo’s church was full to the brim, due to the attendance of St Mungo’s Primary, and around two thirds of St Roch’s Secondary, the other third having gone to Mass in St Roch’s along with St Roch’s Primary. At the end of the Mass in St Mungo’s the deputy head got up to say a few words, in the course of which he made reference to Father Frank’s Log, of which he is obviously an avid reader, the poor soul, and suggested to the pupils that they might find themselves included in the Log the following week. So, just in case any of them do look up the Log, I thought I’d better greet them and mention them in dispatches, and thank them for their attentive presence on that day.
While Holy Day Masses are pretty much compulsory for the schools, we also celebrate Mass for staff and pupils of St Roch’s Secondary School, just about every Friday in the school oratory. This Mass is very much a voluntary affair, and it means people sacrificing a good chunk of their lunch hour to be present, so I’m always impressed by just how many come, and especially the number of pupils who come. Of course, it took me back to my own secondary school days at St Mungo’s Academy, which I attended from 1963-69. My first two years were in the Duke Street Annexe; then it was up to the Martyrs School for 3rd and 4th year. This school was designed by Rennie Mackintosh, something I didn’t appreciate fully at the time, and was situated in Parson Street, which is the street in which Rennie Mackintosh was born. Crossing over the footbridge from St Mungo’s, heading towards the Cathedral and the Royal Infirmary, the windows at that side of the old school building are easily recognisable as Mackintosh, and I still remember the magnificent atrium in the school as well. There was an attempt in recent years to turn the place into a Mackintosh Museum, but it didn’t really take off. For my 5th and 6th year it was a short hop across the road, still in Parson Street, to the main Academy building. That whole side of Parson Street contained St Mungo’s Church, St Mungo’s Retreat (the Passionist Community house), the Marist Brothers Community house, and the school. Nowadays it’s only the church and, the now sadly empty Retreat, the rest having made way for the motorway.
From 3rd to 6th year, we were regularly taken to St Mungo’s Church, not just for Masses and regular Confessions, but also for retreats and missions, which was the main ministry of the Passionists at that time. I was introduced to a whole variety of Passionist priests from Ireland and Scotland, each with different styles of preaching. Some of them I remember to this day. I remember one missioner being very dramatic, bringing with him symbols of the Passion, and producing very impressive sound and visual effects recalling the scourging, the crowning, the nailing, and the death of Jesus on the cross. I later came to know this man very well, especially during my days as Rector in Mount Argus. He was, in some ways, an eccentric character, not always reliable, as he could be walking in the Dublin mountains, or trekking through the famous monastic site at Glendalough in County Wicklow, his favourite place, forgetting he was supposed to be celebrating the evening Mass. But he was also wonderfully creative, a beautiful poet, and a very gifted sculptor, carving crucifixes and statues, especially of Our Lady, using pieces of wood he had randomly picked up during his mountain treks. A number of his works adorn the new monastery at Mount Argus, although he died just a few days before we were scheduled to move out of the old monastery and into the new monastery, which was probably serendipitous, as he loved the old monastery so much, and it was breaking his heart to leave. He died on 14th November, the Feast of St Laurence O’Toole, one of his favourite saints, and I will think of him on that day during this coming week.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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