So apparently I am not a fan of Shakespeare. I found this out this evening as I was dragged along when my novitiate group all went to see the production at the Cork Opera House which is right across the river from the priory.
It was the first Shakespeare production that I ever went to and although I have to admit that the props and effects were pretty cool, the language used in the script made it quite hard to keep my attention. At certain points I found myself completely lost.
I mean seriously... there was a point where a woman gave a 10min monologue just to say that someone died, (something that could have taken 10 seconds).
So to all of those who love classical theatre and all that, hats off cuz I am definitely not one of you.
I took the time to shoot a short video giving a tour of my room. Apologies for the poor sound as I had to speak quietly as some of the brothers were taking their afternoon siesta.
After the ending of the Fatima Novena, Fr Joe, our prior decided to take Fr Fergal out for pizza and beer as a sort of thank you for all the work he put into it. Fr Solomon Ho (from Taiwan), Murchadh and myself decided to tag along.
We stopped off to order the pizza and then walked to the bar called the 'Franciscan Well'. The pizza was to be delivered to the bar. Little did I know that Fr Joe ordered three pizzas for the five of us to share. The thing is that at the end of the night there were only like 2 slices left back...not bad huh...
That night I also tried apple cider for the first time and boy is that thing a creeper, but I loved it.
Yeah a typical night out with the boys...
From September 24th to October 2nd, the St Mary's Priory in Cork hosted a Novena dedicated to our Lady of Fatima.
It was preached by Fr Fergal Mac Eoinin OP, the prior of the Dominican house in Galway. Fr Fergal really got things rolling in high style and continued with a lot of energy for the entire week. One main thing that really struck me was that unlike most priests I've seen here in Ireland, he opted to not preach from the lectern but walked down the aisle of the church preaching. This showed a real ability to connect with the people which was also reflected in the content of his homilies.
It was basically nine days where special masses were dedicated to the Novena. Before each mass the rosary was said and the novena prayers were offered during each mass and Fr Fergal was the main celebrant.
On the Tuesday, there was a reconciliation service and the format of the mass on that day showed just how liberal Fr Fergal was (it was pretty cool tho). People came up individually and had a kind of abridged confession and were given absolution by the priests present.
The Thursday was dedicated to healing and as Fr Fergal made clear during his homily that day, it did not necessarily mean physical healing but could have also encompassed spiritual healing which so many ppl seem to need. Again, persons were given the opportunity to come up individually for the sacrament.
During the course of the Novena, the church saw mainly older women in the congregation and although there were more people present than at weekly mass, it was not as packed as years before (according to my sources). On the last day, however, the church was packed almost to capacity but, nonetheless, with old women, a few old men and just a handful of persons under 40.
I however still enjoyed it. I managed to befriend the few young ppl who came in between and even some of the older ppl. It was truly an experience.
Today after the Novena mass I was speaking to an Indian family (father, mother and two daughters) who were there for the entire novena thus far and they were telling me about a youth group that the older daughter is involved in called "Jesus Youth".
Not having ever heard about it before Janet (the daughter) invited me to come down that very afternoon to check out their monthly prayer meeting. So I decided to leave lunch early and head down to St Francis Church to check it out and boy was I glad I did.
The group was mainly, well entirely made up of young Catholics from India who were now living in and around Cork and their enthusiasm was unbelievable.
It also just happened to be the day that the national coordinator for Jesus Youth, Sijo, was visiting the Cork group so I had a chat with him. He was telling me that the group has been in Ireland for about five years and in Cork for about 2 of those years. Apparently, the movement has a presence in other counties as well including Sudan and Congo.
The prayer meeting was actually a lot of fun with praise and worship having not only singing and clapping but also dancing. They did a bit of lectio, played a little game (which the team I was in won!), and had a little sharing on the life of St Therese of the Child Jesus, whose feast was today. They invited me to come back next month when they meet again and I'm pretty sure that I will.
