‘A living event’ to Our Lady of Lourdes in West Belfast
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It was early autumn in 1987, when a Catholic couple, named Mary and Joseph, approached their Parish Priest in Belfast with a request – which, looking back, was clearly an inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The couple had been married on February 11, 1950, the Feast of our Lady of Lourdes, and wished to express their gratitude for almost three decades of married life. Would Fr Toner be agreeable to having a Novena in her honour at St Agnes’ Church? “Certainly,” he replied.
The Marley’s, along with other parishioners, took responsibility for organising the Novena, not knowing just how significant it would become. “Would anybody come?” was Joseph’s biggest concern, unaware that the Parish was about to be plunged into deeply traumatic events.
The first Novena was barely over when, on the Feast of St Joseph, 1988, two British army corporals drove into a funeral of a murdered republican as the cortege was leaving St Agnes’ Church, in Andersonstown, and headed to the cemetery. This was three days after a deadly loyalist attack on another funeral in the area – and, in a time of terrible fear and confusion, the soldiers were confronted. The IRA seized them. An iconic image of Redemptorist priest Fr Alec Reid, kneeling in prayer over their bodies on waste ground, helped sow the seeds of the peace process.
Peace
As the peace took root, so did the Novena, which for many years was led by members of the Redemptorist order; indeed, it grew into an annual event, as part of a parish mission in a very wounded city. “The Novena goes back a long way, and has been a grace-filled event,” said PP Fr Raymond McCullagh. “An event where people have gathered and deepened their faith. It has been very much part of our liturgical fabric.”
“People are very proud of St Agnes’ and where they come from and we have all been wounded by the Troubles and it was a very difficult time and a time when people turned to their faith for help.”
“The Church has been very important and a rock for them and a place to come and find refuge and strength and togetherness and a God who never deserts them.”
“The Church has journeyed with the people through their struggle and difficulties and that is something which is unchanging – God’s presence with them and God’s love for them.”
Forty years on, with fading vocations, the role of the Redemptorists has dimmed – enabling the laity to take up an enhanced role. Speakers this week include Belfast author and pastoral worker, Jim Deeds, Bridgeen McNicholl, who has worked in faith development with the Redemptorists, as well as YouthLink chief Executive Joe McKeown, and his wife Paula McKeown, a volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity in Ireland.
This Novena has been woven into a significant milestone in the life of St Agnes’ – its 70th anniversary. Previous milestones have been marked with a book and or a glossy magazine revealing the parish’s colourful past – the church was originally built from a converted aircraft hangar.
‘The Call of the Good Shepherd,’ said Fr McCullagh, ‘is not just a call for nine days but a call to follow him every day and to follow Our Lady and her example’”
Fr McCullagh said the parish council chose to focus the celebrations on the Novena – “a living event” with music from the local school choirs and the parish’s music ministry team.
The theme is ‘The Call of the Good Shepherd’ and the different aspects of the call: baptism, marriage, prayer, holiness, repentance, service, even the call in sickness. “The Call of the Good Shepherd,” said Fr McCullagh, “is not just a call for nine days but a call to follow him every day and to follow Our Lady and her example of being a disciple in good times and difficult times.”
As well as two masses a day, this year’s Novena – which runs from February 3-11 – features an extra session, focussing on young people this Sunday at 7pm. “Part of that is encouraging our young people to fill in the petitions beforehand. A lot of young people journal today as part of their prayer – writing something down and saying, ‘This is my prayer. This is my concern.’”
“The petitions are quite personal. Family or friends in need of healing, maybe difficulties in families and praying for reconciliation and praying for community as well. Praying for peace and thanking God for peace at the moment and realising there is a deeper peace we are all called to work for and contribute to.”
He said petitions and thanksgivings provide an interesting and moving backdrop to the Novena. “The faith is still very strong here in West Belfast and people are very committed to one another and committed to the Church as a place of refuge.”
Important
He said novenas and other devotions are important to the faithful. “It is that personal interaction,” he said. “We celebrate our faith and our concerns and our struggles, trusting in God who is there for all of us.”
The Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Down and Connor, Fr Conor McGrath, will address the youth at this Sunday’s evening service, encouraging them to think about their own calling in life. “We are called…to be instruments of the Good News,” said Fr McCullagh. “Called to be faithful and to allow God to speak to us and speak through us and that would be my prayer for the Novena – that we would be able to hear God’s call in many different ways.”
There is a very healthy curiosity among our young people today about God’s call and what it can mean for them”
While Mass attendance is no longer what it was when the Novena first began, Fr McCullagh says the hunger for faith remains, particularly among the young. “Jesus is calling many of our young people to a new depth of faith and they come without the baggage of previous generations, and they are genuinely searching for meaning in their lives. I know that from my time working in the University (of Ulster) and looking for something more than just a qualification.”
“There is a very healthy curiosity among our young people today about God’s call and what it can mean for them.”
The Legion of Mary is very active in St Agnes’ parish, which boasts an outdoor grotto in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes. “Mary is a symbol of faithfulness and fidelity and goodness and love,” he said, “so people feel they can come to her, no matter what.”
Fr McCullagh said he hopes that, through our Blessed Mother, many will come and reconnect with Jesus, the Good Shepherd. “There is a solidarity in our brokenness and in our vulnerability and there are people who are going through similar struggles and support each other in prayer and Our Lady helps us, in a sense, to entrust everything to the Lord knowing that all things will be well.”
(L/R) Anne Friel, Sean and Geraldine McIlwee at the Novena
***
I met a Catholic friend for lunch the other day, who would describe himself as socialist. We often banter over faith without falling out – and last week he started in about the Church’s treatment of women. In particular, Mary Magdalene – who he claimed had been cut out of the narrative by men. “Really?” says I, “What men would that be – men like St Luke whose Gospel account makes her the first witness to the Resurrection?” He was silent for a moment and then complained she had been made out to be a prostitute. “Now,” says I, “and that is a whole other argument!” So we got into that one before he finally sputtered. “I’m just a lapsss…no.. unfaithfff …fffffrustrated. I’m just a frustrated Catholic!”
‘A living event’ to Our Lady of Lourdes in West Belfast
It was early autumn in 1987, when a Catholic couple, named Mary and Joseph, approached their Parish Priest in Belfast with a request – which, looking back, was clearly an inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The couple had been married on February 11, 1950, the Feast of our Lady of Lourdes, and wished to express their gratitude for almost three decades of married life. Would Fr Toner be agreeable to having a Novena in her honour at St Agnes’ Church? “Certainly,” he replied.
The Marley’s, along with other parishioners, took responsibility for organising the Novena, not knowing just how significant it would become. “Would anybody come?” was Joseph’s biggest concern, unaware that the Parish was about to be plunged into deeply traumatic events.
The first Novena was barely over when, on the Feast of St Joseph, 1988, two British army corporals drove into a funeral of a murdered republican as the cortege was leaving St Agnes’ Church, in Andersonstown, and headed to the cemetery. This was three days after a deadly loyalist attack on another funeral in the area – and, in a time of terrible fear and confusion, the soldiers were confronted. The IRA seized them. An iconic image of Redemptorist priest Fr Alec Reid, kneeling in prayer over their bodies on waste ground, helped sow the seeds of the peace process.
Peace
As the peace took root, so did the Novena, which for many years was led by members of the Redemptorist order; indeed, it grew into an annual event, as part of a parish mission in a very wounded city. “The Novena goes back a long way, and has been a grace-filled event,” said PP Fr Raymond McCullagh. “An event where people have gathered and deepened their faith. It has been very much part of our liturgical fabric.”
“People are very proud of St Agnes’ and where they come from and we have all been wounded by the Troubles and it was a very difficult time and a time when people turned to their faith for help.”
“The Church has been very important and a rock for them and a place to come and find refuge and strength and togetherness and a God who never deserts them.”
“The Church has journeyed with the people through their struggle and difficulties and that is something which is unchanging – God’s presence with them and God’s love for them.”
Forty years on, with fading vocations, the role of the Redemptorists has dimmed – enabling the laity to take up an enhanced role. Speakers this week include Belfast author and pastoral worker, Jim Deeds, Bridgeen McNicholl, who has worked in faith development with the Redemptorists, as well as YouthLink chief Executive Joe McKeown, and his wife Paula McKeown, a volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity in Ireland.
This Novena has been woven into a significant milestone in the life of St Agnes’ – its 70th anniversary. Previous milestones have been marked with a book and or a glossy magazine revealing the parish’s colourful past – the church was originally built from a converted aircraft hangar.
Fr McCullagh said the parish council chose to focus the celebrations on the Novena – “a living event” with music from the local school choirs and the parish’s music ministry team.
The theme is ‘The Call of the Good Shepherd’ and the different aspects of the call: baptism, marriage, prayer, holiness, repentance, service, even the call in sickness. “The Call of the Good Shepherd,” said Fr McCullagh, “is not just a call for nine days but a call to follow him every day and to follow Our Lady and her example of being a disciple in good times and difficult times.”
As well as two masses a day, this year’s Novena – which runs from February 3-11 – features an extra session, focussing on young people this Sunday at 7pm. “Part of that is encouraging our young people to fill in the petitions beforehand. A lot of young people journal today as part of their prayer – writing something down and saying, ‘This is my prayer. This is my concern.’”
“The petitions are quite personal. Family or friends in need of healing, maybe difficulties in families and praying for reconciliation and praying for community as well. Praying for peace and thanking God for peace at the moment and realising there is a deeper peace we are all called to work for and contribute to.”
He said petitions and thanksgivings provide an interesting and moving backdrop to the Novena. “The faith is still very strong here in West Belfast and people are very committed to one another and committed to the Church as a place of refuge.”
Important
He said novenas and other devotions are important to the faithful. “It is that personal interaction,” he said. “We celebrate our faith and our concerns and our struggles, trusting in God who is there for all of us.”
The Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Down and Connor, Fr Conor McGrath, will address the youth at this Sunday’s evening service, encouraging them to think about their own calling in life. “We are called…to be instruments of the Good News,” said Fr McCullagh. “Called to be faithful and to allow God to speak to us and speak through us and that would be my prayer for the Novena – that we would be able to hear God’s call in many different ways.”
While Mass attendance is no longer what it was when the Novena first began, Fr McCullagh says the hunger for faith remains, particularly among the young. “Jesus is calling many of our young people to a new depth of faith and they come without the baggage of previous generations, and they are genuinely searching for meaning in their lives. I know that from my time working in the University (of Ulster) and looking for something more than just a qualification.”
“There is a very healthy curiosity among our young people today about God’s call and what it can mean for them.”
The Legion of Mary is very active in St Agnes’ parish, which boasts an outdoor grotto in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes. “Mary is a symbol of faithfulness and fidelity and goodness and love,” he said, “so people feel they can come to her, no matter what.”
Fr McCullagh said he hopes that, through our Blessed Mother, many will come and reconnect with Jesus, the Good Shepherd. “There is a solidarity in our brokenness and in our vulnerability and there are people who are going through similar struggles and support each other in prayer and Our Lady helps us, in a sense, to entrust everything to the Lord knowing that all things will be well.”
Novena
***
I met a Catholic friend for lunch the other day, who would describe himself as socialist. We often banter over faith without falling out – and last week he started in about the Church’s treatment of women. In particular, Mary Magdalene – who he claimed had been cut out of the narrative by men. “Really?” says I, “What men would that be – men like St Luke whose Gospel account makes her the first witness to the Resurrection?” He was silent for a moment and then complained she had been made out to be a prostitute. “Now,” says I, “and that is a whole other argument!” So we got into that one before he finally sputtered. “I’m just a lapsss…no.. unfaithfff …fffffrustrated. I’m just a frustrated Catholic!”
On that we could agree!
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