FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 3rd – 10th NOVEMBER 2024
Recently, on the evening of 18th October, we celebrated, in the church, the Transitus of St. Paul of the Cross, that is, his passage from earthly life into everlasting life. I, unashamedly, pinched this idea from the Franciscans. Being named Francis, and having had many associations with different branches of the Franciscan family over the years, I had attended a number of times the Transitus of St Francis of Assisi, celebrated on the evening of 3rd October, with his feast day being on the 4th October. On one such occasion I asked if I could have a copy of their text, and if they would be agreeable to me adapting it for our own founder. I knew there were some beautiful accounts surrounding the death of St Paul of the Cross, and I could readily see the potential in it. Kindly, they agreed, and we have celebrated it in St Mungo’s now, every year, since 2018, with the exception of 2020, due to Covid. However, this year, I began to wonder if it had run its course, as there were only half a dozen people in the church, plus four Passionists. Granted, there were a few people unable to be there who would normally be there and, unfortunately, our live stream wasn’t working that night. Still, it was a very small number. St Paul of the Cross had always said that he wanted to be unknown, so long as the true meaning of the cross, and the power of Christ’s Passion were not unknown, and I think that is largely the case, he is not the best known, or the most venerated of saints.
I was taken back almost 50 years, to my student days at Mount Argus in Dublin. I had arrived in the September of 1976, having completed my postulancy year at the Graan in Enniskillen. During my postulancy year, because I could play the guitar, my director had got me involved with charismatic prayer groups in the Graan, and in various places around Fermanagh and the surrounding counties. At that time charismatic prayer groups were becoming very popular and prevalent. Hardly was my foot in the door in Mount Argus, when my director asked me, together with a more senior student who also played the guitar, much better than me, to start up a prayer group in the monastery. This particular director had credited charismatic prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit, with enabling him to give up, almost overnight, a 60-cigarette-a-day smoking habit, without a single withdrawal symptom, so he was very driven.
And so it was, one Thursday night, having advertised it for a few weeks in the parish newsletter, and after a great deal of preparation, we gathered in one of the big meeting rooms in Mount Argus for our first ever prayer meeting. In attendance were the aforesaid director, myself, and the other student, guitars at the ready, and just one other person. We were mightily disheartened and were ready to give the whole idea up immediately. However, we prayed for a time, just the four of us, and decided we would keep it going for a week or two, and then decide on the best course of action. The following Thursday night, 60 people turned up, and the prayer group was up and running, and continued to be a feature of spiritual life and growth in Mount Argus for many years following, long after myself, the other student, and the student director, had moved on. Jesus words, that whenever two or more would gather in his name, he would be there in their midst, never seemed truer, certainly on that first night, but thereafter, the mustard seed took over, that tiny seed that becomes a great shrub, stretching out its branches as a shelter for all. My prayer life has changed over the years, and is now much more silent, but I will always cherish those charismatic years as a real blessing.
I doubt very much that 60 people will turn up next year for the Transitus, but perhaps for the few who do, and for we Passionists commemorating the life, death and charism of our founder, it’s worth keeping going, and I imagine, come next year, that’s what we will do.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
Recently, on the evening of 18th October, we celebrated, in the church, the Transitus of St. Paul of the Cross, that is, his passage from earthly life into everlasting life. I, unashamedly, pinched this idea from the Franciscans. Being named Francis, and having had many associations with different branches of the Franciscan family over the years, I had attended a number of times the Transitus of St Francis of Assisi, celebrated on the evening of 3rd October, with his feast day being on the 4th October. On one such occasion I asked if I could have a copy of their text, and if they would be agreeable to me adapting it for our own founder. I knew there were some beautiful accounts surrounding the death of St Paul of the Cross, and I could readily see the potential in it. Kindly, they agreed, and we have celebrated it in St Mungo’s now, every year, since 2018, with the exception of 2020, due to Covid. However, this year, I began to wonder if it had run its course, as there were only half a dozen people in the church, plus four Passionists. Granted, there were a few people unable to be there who would normally be there and, unfortunately, our live stream wasn’t working that night. Still, it was a very small number. St Paul of the Cross had always said that he wanted to be unknown, so long as the true meaning of the cross, and the power of Christ’s Passion were not unknown, and I think that is largely the case, he is not the best known, or the most venerated of saints.
I was taken back almost 50 years, to my student days at Mount Argus in Dublin. I had arrived in the September of 1976, having completed my postulancy year at the Graan in Enniskillen. During my postulancy year, because I could play the guitar, my director had got me involved with charismatic prayer groups in the Graan, and in various places around Fermanagh and the surrounding counties. At that time charismatic prayer groups were becoming very popular and prevalent. Hardly was my foot in the door in Mount Argus, when my director asked me, together with a more senior student who also played the guitar, much better than me, to start up a prayer group in the monastery. This particular director had credited charismatic prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit, with enabling him to give up, almost overnight, a 60-cigarette-a-day smoking habit, without a single withdrawal symptom, so he was very driven.
And so it was, one Thursday night, having advertised it for a few weeks in the parish newsletter, and after a great deal of preparation, we gathered in one of the big meeting rooms in Mount Argus for our first ever prayer meeting. In attendance were the aforesaid director, myself, and the other student, guitars at the ready, and just one other person. We were mightily disheartened and were ready to give the whole idea up immediately. However, we prayed for a time, just the four of us, and decided we would keep it going for a week or two, and then decide on the best course of action. The following Thursday night, 60 people turned up, and the prayer group was up and running, and continued to be a feature of spiritual life and growth in Mount Argus for many years following, long after myself, the other student, and the student director, had moved on. Jesus words, that whenever two or more would gather in his name, he would be there in their midst, never seemed truer, certainly on that first night, but thereafter, the mustard seed took over, that tiny seed that becomes a great shrub, stretching out its branches as a shelter for all. My prayer life has changed over the years, and is now much more silent, but I will always cherish those charismatic years as a real blessing.
I doubt very much that 60 people will turn up next year for the Transitus, but perhaps for the few who do, and for we Passionists commemorating the life, death and charism of our founder, it’s worth keeping going, and I imagine, come next year, that’s what we will do.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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