I had a stimulating chat with a man who spends half of each year doing humanitarian work in Africa, and the other half back here in Ireland. Having told me about Africa, what motivates him, how much he loves the people there, and what he is involved in, I asked him about the contrasts between his life in Africa and back home in Ireland.
“They must be two very different realities”, I said.
After forty years of being on the altar celebrating Mass, I have now had four years of attending Mass, like any ordinary believer. It has been an experience not without its difficulties. Often I find myself as if I was standing outside the event, as a spectator, and not really being part of what is going on. I know that is not the way a person should participate at Mass, but it can be a struggle for me to get involved.
We still do not know what exactly, if anything untoward, was going on in the seminary in Maynooth. All sorts of rumours and insinuations were thrown around and published in the newspapers, and of course in social media. I suspect most people feel that this particular smoke had at least some fire at it’s base. Maybe so.
Clearly Diarmaid Martin thought so, and took his well publicised action of removing his students from the place and sending them to the Irish College in Rome.
