Daniel Berrigan's 'Ten Commandments'
The American Jesuit Daniel Berrigan, now aged 92, is a name that will be familiar to some people. A priest, poet and peace activist, he came to prominence particularly during the Vietnam War when he and his brother Phillip, a
Josephite priest at the time, were prominent in the peace movement. They
achieved a certain notoriety in 1968 when they were put on the FBI’s Most
Wanted Fugitives List. In 1980 they founded the Plowshares Movement,
which was also committed to peace activism. Along with people like Thomas
Merton they came to epitomise a very definite type of post-Vatican II Catholicism, socially and politically committed but with a strongly contemplative side.
Berrigan’s more contemplative side was well reflected in the ten spiritual rules from his book, Ten
Commandments for the Long Haul (1981). He clearly understood that neither the world nor the
church could be changed in a day and those who were committed for ‘the long haul’ needed a spiritual foundation to see them through. They still sound like good guidelines.
1) Call on Jesus when all else fails. Call on Him when all else succeeds (except that never happens).
2) Don't be afraid to be afraid or appalled to be appalled. How do you think the trees feel
these days, or the whales, or, for that matter, most humans?
3) Keep your soul to yourself. Soul is a possession worth paying for, they're growing rarer.
Learn from monks, they have secrets worth knowing.
4) About practically everything in the world, there's nothing you can do. This is Socratic wisdom. However, about of few things you can do something. Do it, with a good heart.
5) On a long drive, there's bound to be a dull stretch or two. Don't go anywhere with someone who expects you to be interesting all the time. And don't be hard on your fellow travellers. Try to smile after a coffee stop.
6) Practically no one has the stomach to love you, if you don't love yourself. They just endure.
So do you.
7) About healing: The gospels tell us that this was Jesus' specialty and he was heard to say:
"Take up your couch and walk!"
8) When travelling on an airplane, watch the movie, but don't use the earphones. Then you'll
be able to see what's going on, but not understand what's happening, and so you'll feel right
at home, little different then you do on the ground.
9) Know that sometimes the only writing material you have is your own blood.
10) Start with the impossible. Proceed calmly towards the improbable. No worry, there are at
least five exits.
"Because we want the peace with half a heart and half a life and will, the war, of course, con-
tinues, because the waging of war, by its nature, is total - but the waging of peace, by our own
cowardice, is partial." (Daniel Berrigan)
Contacts:Fr Fachtna McCarthy, Administrator, Fr Patrick Claffey svd C.C., Fr Michael Collins C.C..
Tel 01-6600075
Website www.stmaryshaddingtonroad.ie email: [email protected]
The Annual Collection for CROSSCARE Youth Services—Social Support Agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin will be at all
masses NEXT weekend 24th&25th May 2014. It will replace the
normal SHARE collection.
CROSSCARE provides a wide range of focused supports and programmes aimed at empowering
people to achieve their own potential. Our work is person centred, rights based and supports peer
initiatives that give people the power to make changes in their own lives.
Community support for our Annual BBQ
Our very active BBQ Action Committee is working very hard to
organise this year’s summer event, which wil take place on 10
July at the Lansdowne Hotel. At this point we are appealing to
the parish community for support in three key areas:
1.
Sale and distribution of tickets. We have brought the
price down to €20 this year in order to make it more
broadly affordable. Last year we sold about 350 tickets
and this year we would lie to get that to 400. Please invite
a few guests and sell a few tickets, it’s a great night
2.
Have you any spare bottles of wine lying around the house? We would be very grateful to
get them as we need about 150 bottles for the night. We are hoping to get some from suppliers but a community contribution would be great. Please drop them off at Sr Margaret’s office in the Parish Centre.
3.
We will need desserts for the night. This worked very well last year when parishioners gav a
very nice selection. Make them, buy them, all contributions welcome. Community is what it
is all about, THANKS
Enjoy the ‘Bishop’s Garden’
One of the very nice features of our parish is the small park known as
‘the Bishop’s Garden’. This is a lovely green public space in the middle
of the city and much used by the local community, especially during
the summer. We are very grateful to a parishioner who takes a special
interest in the garden and has done much to maintain and improve it
over recent years and whose gardener, Andrew Mulligan, comes regularly to look after it. We are also very grateful to Phillip Godwin who
does all the regular work and has it looking really well at the moment.
Enjoy and help to keep it free of litter! Thank you.
“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he
ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” (Victor Hugo)
Recently Deceased
Michael Wallace
Gerard Wynne (5pm Sunday)
Sheila Walsh
Anniversaries
Elizabeth and John Lynch (6pm Saturday)
Maeve Mulligan (9.30am)
Robert Mooney (11am)
Masses and Confession
Sundays: Vigil, 6pm (Saturday), 9.30am, 11am, 5pm
Weekdays: 8am, 10am, 12,40pm
Morning prayer before 10am masses
Rosary after 10am mass daily
Confession 12.30 Tuesday and on request before and
after all masses
Communion for Coeliacs: Please take Holy Communion
from the chalice.
Last Weeks’ Collections
First collection: N/A Share collection N/A
Contacts:Fr Fachtna McCarthy, Administrator, Fr Patrick Claffey svd C.C., Fr Michael Collins C.C..
Tel 01-6600075
Website www.stmaryshaddingtonroad.ie email: [email protected]