Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B: 14.07.24
10.00am Mass – Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, Myshall
Introduction:
“Take nothing for the journey”[1] … on this fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary this message speaks very much into our time, our world, our lives. I observed yesterday morning, there were several matches in Netwatch Cullen Park, young lads were arriving for an Under-14 hurling match, every one of them had a phone in one hand and a hurl in the other, like limbs attached to their body. It’s simply very hard to take nothing.
The sending out of the twelve, their working in pairs, their ministry of presence are superbly addressed by St. Mark. They could be in no doubt as to what was expected of them. Every phrase is nuanced and parsed: “take nothing for the journey”[2].
I am delighted to join you in Myshall this morning to speak of the wonderful event that will take place in exactly one years’ time, this weekend next year – the International Columbanus Day – the weekend of 12th & 13th July 2025 – which we will host in Kildare & Leighlin on behalf of the Universal Church.
Myshall is the reason we are the hosts. It was Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich and other notable historians who put the lens on Myshall as the place of birth of Columbanus in the year 543AD. It’s up to us to develop that lens and introduce people to the person St. Columban or St. Columbanus was.
I look forward to many events here during this coming year. I encourage all of you to do your bit to make Myshall the heart of our Columban celebration next year.
The Columban Way or Turas Columbanus is already well rooted in these parts and so as we set out on any journey we pray …
- Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – You are the wellspring of mercy: A Thiarna, déan trócaire.
- Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – You are the way of Truth: A Chríost, déan trócaire.
- Bí linn i gconaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – Be with us always, showing us the way. A Thiarna, déan trócaire.
Homily:
Why Columbanus, why bother ourselves with a seventh century Irish monk, thirteen hundred years later? Mark in today’s gospel offers us a brief account of the sending out of the twelve by Jesus. Columbanus would leave Myshall at a young age and make his way up north, where he would eventually leave from Bangor with twelve monks in 591AD on a quest to re-evangelise large areas of a continent where the first fruits of Christianity were at risk of being lost. Pope Francis in a message for the most recent Columban Day I was privileged to attend in Piacenza spoke of “the life and labours of (those) Columban monks proved decisive for the preservation and renewal of European culture”[3].
We are walking in the footsteps of St. Columbanus. I recall blessing the Cairn on the Nine Stones at Mount Leinster on February 19th, 2022, acknowledging it as starting point of the Turas Columbanus or Columban Way. Last year, as part of the International Columban Day, we had the signing of the Columban Charter of Partnership, a public declaration to promote pilgrimage, cultural and scientific activities relating to St. Columbanus and to his travels. This partnership, like the Columban Way, now includes Ireland, Britain, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy. So you see why Myshall holds a central place in the Charter, in the Columban Way and most importantly in the story of Columbanus himself. If he wasn’t born here, he would never have travelled and become the first European!
You see Columbanus’ vision for Europe was one based on cooperation between people, to live in peace and unity. His monasteries attracted many young people at a time when Europe needed re-evangelisation. Pope Benedict XVI saw Columbanus as one of the ‘Fathers of Europe’. Columbanus reminds us we have been intimately connected with the rest of Europe throughout our history. He was the first to use the phrase “all of Europe” in a letter to Pope Gregory in 600AD and later in a letter to Pope Boniface in 613AD he wrote “we Irish”, so Columbanus wasn’t afraid to wear the green jersey while also appreciating we were part of something much greater.
Hosting the International Weekend in Carlow allows us an opportunity to reintroduce Columbanus to the Irish people. Politics and discourse has become polarised, not just in the United States but across Europe. We hear of the rise of the ‘far-right’. Creating fear is their mantra. The language of fear, of anger, of hate has no place in civil society and not in the Europe we strive to live in. The European project was launched with the objective of “no more war on European soil” and sadly we see what is unfolding in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
Recently in Luxeuil a plaque was unveiled to honour Robert Schuman, the French statesman known as the ‘Father of Europe’. He described Columbanus as “the patron saint of all those who now seek to build a united Europe”.
We must use this time of preparation for July 2025 as a special ‘Year of Prayer’ to reintroduce ourselves to the person, the saint, the man, who was St. Columbanus, one of the greatest missionaries of the early Irish Church and hear, maybe for the first time, his message for today. What might we think of organising locally? Maybe hold a public meeting, bring a group together to begin that reflection. The Columban Way or Turas Columbanus, beginning at that Cairn on Mount Leinster is a great starting point. I was privileged to be joined by PJ & Brigid, Patsy & Letitia, Damian & Elaine, all from this parish at last year’s International Day in St. Gallen. We will be putting a diocesan group to oversee the preparations for next year and it is important that the voice of Myshall, that place that gave birth to St. Columbanus is in that group
The twelve were told by Jesus in our gospel to “take nothing for the journey”[4]. It was a radical call then and now. I have no doubt that the Columbanus who left Bangor with his companions took nothing with them, depended on the generosity of benefactors as they travelled. Sometimes they were welcomed, often not. And like in Mark’s gospel, if they had time to do it, they would have shook off the dust from under their feet as they moved on.
Today places like Luxeuil, Annegray, St. Gallen, Bregenz and of course Bobbio stand out as testaments of the great welcome Columbanus received, and where his message is still today celebrated. Next year we will show by the celebrations in Carlow Cathedral and here in Myshall that Columbanus is also very much owned, treasured and celebrated in these parts.
[1] Mk.6:8
[2] ibid
[3] Pope Francis, Message for XXV Columban’s Day 2024, Piacenza, 2-23 June 2024
[4] Mk.6:8
