Holy Water

Today's Irish Times carries at least three stories related to subjects dealing with the Catholic Church.

It reports on Fr Eamonn Conway heading up the European Society for Catholic Theology. There is a news item on numbers enrolling for priesthood and Patrick Claffey writes the 'Rite and Reason' column. And last evening's RTE main news carried a segment on an increase in young men signing up to enter seminaries.

Yesterday morning an elderly lady stopped and asked me if the Dominican church in the city centre still dispenses St Vincent Ferrer Holy Water? I was stopped in my tracks. Positive and negative thoughts ran through me head. With all the thoughts that arose maybe the predominant one was, what about the men who bless that water. What is their faith, their opinion, their understanding. and then I went on to wonder if the elderly lady, who spoke to me sat down and chatted and listened to the men who bless that water how would the conversation go? Would the priest be open and honest, would he speak his mind to the elderly lady and tell her exactly what he believes?

Does priesthood allow men speak their minds in a totally open and honest manner.

And with all that has come to light in recent years is there still an absence of clarity and honesty when it comes to theology.

What does it mean when we say Christ rises from the dead, when we say that Christ is really present in the Eucharist. What is Holy Water?

That elderly lady who stopped me has a profound belief in Holy Water. Is her faith represented or parallelled in the faith of the man who blesses it? Does that matter?

Does orthodoxy/conservatism 'force' people to 'hide' behind ideas and lifestyles to which they really do not subscribe? Does that end up in being able to compartmentalise a way of living?

There has been much talk, outrage, anger directed towards the Irish Catholic institutional church. But is there any serious analysis at looking at a theology that makes sense across the wide and varied membership of the church?

Before any shouts of Alleluia re the upsurge in priestly vocation, is there not an urgent need for an honest and serious debate about priesthood. If, as it now seems, there is an increase in priestly vocations, is there a real possibility of more fudge, more pious words? Worrying.
This morning on RTE Radio 1 an ex CIA operative spoke about wrong actions that have been performed by CIA people since 9/11. He pointed out that it had been the 'small people' who had been outed for their misbehaviour. He argued that it was important to ask how come such an environment was created in the first instance.

He would make an excellent contributor at a church organised conference.

And please don't misunderstand me. Like my father before me, I too begin my day by blessing myself with Holy Water. Why? Tradition, custom, superstition, faith, respect, being fooled? Who knows?