A deepening of faith with the Messenger
St Mel’s Cathedral in County Longford adorns the March issue of the Sacred Heart Messenger, showing its impressive columns and striking steeple on a clear spring sky. As the magazine’s 130th year anniversary continues, this most recent issue offers its readers a wide range of articles covering decision-making, social justice, art, sainthood, and more.
In his article on Letting God take charge, Brian Grogan SJ uses a story to help us look at our personal decision-making and how it can lead us to work successfully in communal discernment. He supports the Pope’s monthly intention: That the Church may appreciate the urgency of formation in spiritual discernment, both on the personal and communitarian levels. Brian writes, “St Ignatius used to say that we should make no decision without asking counsel of God as of a wise and loving father… Jesus did not ‘go it alone’. He tells us that he always did what would please his Father (John 8:29). That is to be our aim too”.
In Tracker Mortgages, Kevin Hargaden notes: “Those with longer memories will recall how the rogue AIB trader John Rusnak lost €691 million back in 2002, how Irish banks encouraged tax evasion in the 1990s, how the Irish state had to bail out the Insurance Corporation of Ireland in 1985 and how the Irish Trust Bank collapsed in 1976. We might say that in Ireland, certain things can be depended upon: rain showers, warm welcomes and banking crises. Every new decade brings a new scandal”.
Eileen Kane continues her series on Christian art with The Mocking of Christ painting by Titian. She expertly recounts how Titian portrays the intensity of the suffering of Christ, and contrasts the gentleness of Christ and the severity of Tiberius, Roman emperor at the time of the crucifixion. To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, John Scally presents a piece on Saint Patrick: “Patrick was unequivocally taking the side of the downtrodden, the oppressed and the marginalised, regardless of the personal cost or threat to his physical wellbeing. Can the same be said of his followers in Ireland today?”
See the Sacred Heart Messenger online for a video from editor Donal Neary SJ.
