‘Holy' and ‘Sacred' can easily be misused word

This week’s Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column

Michael Commane

Paddy Cullen, no, not the former Dublin goalkeeper but a retired chemistry lecturer in Dublin’s Bolton Street, now part of TU Dublin, died last week. He was born in Screen in Wexford in 1939, the year World War II began.

I first briefly met him in the late 1960s in Tallaght. He was heading off on his Honda 50 to Dunsink Observatory, where he was studying astronomy. Even in that extremely cursory exchange of words I was greatly impressed with him. There was something gracious about him. He made me feel at ease.

At the time Paddy was a newly ordained Dominican priest.

It was 50 years before we met again. This time under different circumstances. Soon after our first encounter Paddy left the Dominicans, retiring from priestly ministry and began his career in chemistry.

 

This time around we got to know aspects of each other and again I was greatly impressed with the man. I felt I was in the presence of a wonderful human being, a gracious and wise person. He had time to listen to me. I always got the impression there was no game playing, no spoof, no trotting out any sort of party line about anything. And he also had a lovely smile.

I’m nervous about using the word ‘holy’ because I think it is a most misused word. In some ways the same applies to the use of ‘sacred’. 

Far too often they come across as fake. But the moment one meets genuine holiness they know immediately they have encountered something real, something holy and indeed, sacred.

I saw a sign in a church telling people to be quiet because they were in God’s house. Some days later I saw another sign on a sacristy door informing people entry was only for priests and staff. Both those signs came across to me as profoundly unholy, un-sacred too. I consider those who put those signs in place are establishment apparatchiks, doused in clericalism.

I can’t help but think there are forms of religion that simply alienate people. The sacred and the holy are not the exclusive possession of any group or any specific place. We can encounter the holy and the sacred stopping and talking to the person on the street, whether they be the powerful or the powerless. 

Breaking down all the suspicious and dark ideas we might have about others, realising that they too suffer fear and dread, helps us communicate with the other. Surely then we are close to the holy and sacred.

Jesus spent his time engaging with people. The breaking of bread was a powerful sign of the union between people and between Jesus and people. It was so deep a sign that it had a whole new reality to it. 

The breaking of bread or the Eucharist goes hand-in-hand with our deep love and respect for each other. Christians believe the Eucharist is at the pinnacle of friendship and respect. There can never be anything anonymous about the Mass.

Holiness and sacredness are sublime words. They cut through so much nonsense. Isn’t it ironic they can be used in such fake and insincere ways.