Dominican Fathers
Sunday - June 17, 2001
Call to Holiness (Part 1 of 2)
Can you remember the old catechism question: Why did God make us? and the answer: God made us to know love and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever in the next? Some spiritual writers have suggested that we have the right answer to the wrong question. The right question being: Why was Christ baptized in the river Jordan? Why was Vincent baptized in St. Coleman・s Church, Cloyne, Co Cork. The ultimate purpose of baptism is the same for us as it was for Christ. When Jesus was baptised a voice from above proclaimed, :You are my beloved Son.; When we were baptised we were proclaimed beloved sons and daughters of God. No one has yet been born who can fully understand this great truth. It is a mystery to be lived. Mystery means that we don・t try to explain everything. There・s a nervous desire, even a compulsion, in modern life to explain everything. I have done a fair bit of flying. I am planning to fly to Vancouver. I have learned a long time ago not to flap my wings like Peter Pan and take- off. I found out as a child that gravity is a greater power than me. I have boarded many planes because there is a force called jet propulsion. Jet propulsion is a power greater that gravity. How much do I have to know about the workings of jet propulsion before I board a plane to fly to Vancouver and back? None! How much better, faster and safer would the trip be if I knew the workings of jet propulsion? None. I can use this power before I understand it. I have spent my life trying to understand God and have discovered what I don・t know is more important that what I do know. Yet, all I have to do to have a relationship with God is to have faith in Him. All I have to do to fly to Vancouver is buy the ticket, board the plane, and have faith in jet propulsion! I was talking to a group of people about prayer. When I pray, I pray the way my parents taught me. I don・t have to understand how prayer works in order to do it. I don・t need someone to tell me how prayer works technically and how it is measured. There are so many mysteries out there, and we don・t have to see them as threats to our understanding. I think that is the religious point of view. You don・t have to understand everything. You can live by faith, and when you do the soul comes more into play. If you don・t, religion becomes secular and I think there has been a great deal of secularization of religion. Once you get away from mystery, you・re deifying your own ideas and your own agenda. Without mystery life is all prose and no poetry. We are going through the motions. The great christian mystery is, to quote St. Paul, that through baptism we are called to be :other Christ's.; This is a call to holiness. Once we have been raised to the dignity of children of God there is no other way to live. To ignore the call to holiness is not to be serious about living the christian life. I・ll end on a happy note. We・re supposed to end on a happy note when we talk about holiness and becoming the human beings we were meant to be when God made us. A little old lady dressed to the nines said to me: :Are you the priest who is going to celebrate the 10a.m. Mass?; :Yes,; I replied. :What are you going to talk about?; :Baptism.; :Is it going to be any good?; :Lady, I・m going to do the best I can.; :Father, to do the best you can - that・s what Saints are made of. to be continued.

Though Provoking

The day a person is baptised is more important that the day when a person is ordained priest and Bishop. Raymond Browne On earth we are wayfarers, always on the go. This means that we have to keep moving forward. Therefore, be always unhappy about where you are, if you want to reach where you are not. If you are pleased with what you are, you have stopped already. If you say, .It is enough,・ you are lost. Keep on walking, moving forward, trying for the goal. St. Augustine. If you can・t fly, run. If you can・t run, walk. If you can・t walk crawl, but by all means keep moving. Martin Luther King. :Honey,; a woman asked her husband, :I don・t look 40, do I?; :No,; he replied. :But you used to.; The young want to change the world and the old want to change the young. Teacher: Why is it necessary to be quiet in Church? Child: Because people are sleeping.

Notice Board

IN STEP WITH GOD: Fr. Vincent has a new book in the pipeline. All going well it will be published in the late Autumn and on sale before Christmas. The book is aimed at young people (and not so young and young at heart!) in the 18 - 40 age group who are searching for a spirituality to live christian lives in today's world. SUNDAY MORNING IRELAND: Log in to this religious programme going out to the world website audience from St. Saviour・s, Bridge Street, Waterford, every Sunday morning. Sunday Morning Ireland is an attempt on my part to reach out to and continue ministering to the people who have touched and enriched my life at different times and in different places. It is, also, an attempt to reach those who haven・t left the Church, who are hanging on by the finger tips, but have stopped going to mass. Please pass the website address to anyone who might be interested. E-MAIL: Note our e-mail address. If you have any comments, criticisms, insights or suggestions, we would be pleased to hear from you. We are grateful and encouraged by the responses we have received. PLEASE NOTE NEW MASS SCHEDULE: Masses for Sunday are as follows: Vigil: 7.30pm (Saturday evening) Sunday: 7am 11am & 7pm. ST. MARY・S BALLYGUNNER: The Annual Summer Mass in St. Mary・s Cemetery, Ballygunner will take place on Thursday 21st June at 7.30pm.

Church Schedule

MASS SATURDAY: 7.30pm Vigil Mass SUNDAY: 7.00am 11am & 7pm Weekdays: 8.00am & 10.30am CONFESSIONS SATURDAY: 10.10 - 10.25am 11.00 - 12 noon 4.00 - 5.00pm Weekdays: 10.10 - 10.25am All correspondence to: Fr Vincent Travers O.P. Bridge Street, Waterford. Tel: 875061 Fax:858093. Website: www.vincenttravers.org E-mail: vincietrav@eircom.net


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