By Jim Thompson
Experiences of encounter, art and healing made a
recent visit to Knock memorable for me. My first moment of healing came sitting in the powerful silence in the small Apparition Chapel. This chapel is built on to the gable end of the Parish
Church. It is a peaceful space for prayer and
contemplation. The white Carrara marble carvings placed near the altar represent in statue form what the witnesses of the apparition experienced in 1879. The four figures of Mary, Joseph, John, and the lamb, gave me plenty of room for thought and healing. Mary was one of the poor and downtrodden people. Her poverty is shown in Luke by her distressed circumstances around the time of Jesus’ birth. In Luke’s gospel, Mary gives birth in a stable. When she goes to the temple for her purification and to present Jesus, she
makes the offering of the poor, two pigeons. (Luke 2: 22). Joseph took the unmarried pregnant girl into his home where she could have her baby with some dignity “he brought her to his home”(Matthew 1:18).). The presence of John recalls for us the
words from his gospel: “By this love for one another everyone will know you are my friend.”(John 13:35). The lamb with the cross reminds us of all broken people. Mary was silent in her appearance at Knock. In her silence she communicated powerfully with the group of downtrodden people who witnessed her appearance.
Luke places the ancient Jewish canticle, the Magnificat, on the lips of Mary. I experienced the canticle anew: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord/and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; /because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant/...../He has filled the starving with good things.......” (Luke 1:46-53).
The second moment of healing was reacquainting myself with
Raftery the poet who was born nearby. Poverty, evictions and
emigration were the order of his day. Raftery was the only
surviving child of nine. He eked out a living by playing music and
singing ballads. He was dependent upon the generosity of those
hardly better off than himself. Yet he could sing “Mise Raiftairí
an file, lán dóchas is grá/I am Raftery the poet, full of hope and
love”. Douglas Hyde, our first president, lived nearby in
Frenchpark. Hyde’s role in collecting Raftery’s songs and poems from the “uneducated” people of the West should not be forgotten. He too plays a part in my healing. Over seventy years ago the Christian Brothers encouraged us to learn Raftery’s poems off by heart. I still remember “Mise Raftearaí an file lán dóchas is
grá”, and the beautiful one about his own townland near Knock, Cill Aodáin: “Anois
teacht an earraigh/Now, with the coming of spring”.
Today we are experiencing a new spring in the Church and there are many signs of new growth. It will take many years and generations for it to come into full bloom. Over sixty years ago the Catholic Church rediscovered that the Church is the whole “People of God” (Lumen Gentium Ch. 2). We started then on the journey of walking
together with hope in our hearts. Pope Francis by his example almost daily encourages us to continue on the Synodal Pathway - the pathway to healing the world.
In the Ferns Diocese submission to the document Synodality – Towards October 2024 , we are reminded that there are many approaches that can help communities “to creatively imagine a brighter future”. The first approach listed in the document is
“prompts from art, literature, scripture, local lore etc to inspire shared possibilities.”
In Knock I was inspired by so many possibilities in the work of visual artists and writers. In the entrance passage to the Basilica we find the large windows depicting the journeys of pilgrims. The windows are the creation of Róisín de Buitléar. We are invited to stand in
silence and place ourselves among the pilgrims in the painting.
In the open space outside the Apparition Chapel there are eighteen holy water fonts. These were created by Imogen Stuart. The carvings on the fonts show scenes involving water from Scripture and from the lives of the saints. The beehive meditation cell in the Chapel of Reconciliation represents 6 th century monastic cells, such as those on Skellig Michael. The cell was designed by Imogen Stuart and it was made by the students of Moyne College in Ballina. Sitting in the cell, I experienced another sacred
healing moment.
A mosaic composed of one and a half million pieces of coloured glass forms a perfect representation of what the ordinary poor people of Knock experienced on 21 st August 1879. How their hearts were full of joy. The work dominates a wall in the Basilica. It is based on the creative work of Irish illustrator PJ Lynch and crafted by Travisanutto Mosaics in Spilimbergho, Italy. In bringing
these many small pieces of glass together to create this
wonderful image, the mosaicist has achieved for each of them a valuable purpose.
The statues of Ireland’s four patron saints by Timothy Schmatz are found in various locations in the spacious grounds of the shrine. They made me think about two other sculptures by the same artist.
In the Vatican, Angels Unaware depicts a diverse group of migrants and refugees huddled together on a small boat, including the figures of Mary and Joseph. In Dublin, Schmatz’s sculpture Homeless Jesus depicts a man almost hidden in a blanket lying on a bench. It is only the holes in his feet which reveal his identity. These sculptures prompt us to reflect on the plight of migrants, refugees, and
homeless people, and on our response to their needs.
The book Creation Walk: The Amazing Story of a Small Blue Planet by Brian Grogan SJ is a guide to the Garden of Creation within the grounds of the Shrine. As I set out on the walk two images came to mind. The first was that of Earthrise, the famous photograph of our planet rising above the moon. This photograph was taken by astronaut Bill Anders in December 1968 as the Apollo 8 spacecraft orbited the moon. The other image I thought of was Yoko Ono’s poster I LOVE YOU EARTH. In October 2023 on the Feast of St Francis and eight years after the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si ‘, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Exhortation on caring for the earth. In this Exhortation, Laudate Deum, he stresses that love
of God, love of neighbour and love of the earth are all intertwined. He draws on a statement by the Bishops of the United States to elaborate on this point: “our care for one another and
our care for the earth are intimately bound together” (LD, 3). Neglecting to care for the earth is “a tragic and striking example of structural sin” in the “bluntly” expressed statement of the
African Bishops (LD, 11). Our little planet is ill and needs healing.
The warm hospitality received from Grace in the museum next to the Creation walk would bring healing to anyone. The model of Knock village as it was in 1879 is impressive. It was obviously a very poor place in which to live. The apparition brought sunlight into people’s very dark lives. The painting Mass in a Connemara Cabin by Aloysius O’Kelly hangs on the wall just inside the entrance to St. John’s Welcome Centre. Painted in 1883, it captures the kind of Church that Cardinal Cullen created in Ireland after the Synod of Thurles in 1850. Following his return from Rome in 1849 Cullen became Archbishop of Armagh. He saw as his mission the reform of the Irish Church on a Roman model. In keeping with this view, he insisted that priests set themselves apart from the people, and that the rituals of the traditional Mass be observed. Priests were to be addressed as ‘Father’, and to stand out by the clothes they wore: tall hats, Roman collars and cloaks. O’Kelly’s painting captures this style of dress and behaviour. The young priest stands above the kneeling people. He wears Roman vestments and his hat and folded cloak are placed neatly on the only visible chair. The layout and objects on the altar reflect a strict adherence to the rituals of the
traditional Latin Mass.
Sixty years ago Vatican II started a reform of Cullen’s model of Church. Today the Synodal pathway launched by Pope Francis in 2021 continues to invite us to carry out our mission as baptised Christians. We are called upon to build a Church in which all
are welcomed. In Knock I spent a couple of days with others exploring the meaning of the Synodal pathway for the Church in Ireland. In St John’s Welcome Centre I felt truly welcomed by the warm reception and by the layout of small tables and chairs which facilitated conversation. I experienced healing in my encounters with others who were sharing their dreams and anxieties about the
Church. I was reminded of Pope Francis’ words at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica when he launched the Synodal process. He told us that we should strive to “become experts in the art of encounter.” He encouraged us to make “time to look others in the eye
and listen to what they have to say, to build rapport, to be sensitive to the questions of our sisters and brothers, to let ourselves be enriched by the variety of charisms, vocations, and ministries.” Every encounter, he reminded us, “calls for openness, courage and a willingness to let ourselves be challenged by the presence and stories of others.”
Each person in every parish in Ireland had been invited to
come to Knock to explore Synodality. As well as “ordinary
parishioners” there were clergy, bishops, and periti, experts
who could inform the meetings. Cardinal Mario Grech,
General Secretary of the Synod in Rome, shared his experience
of the Synodality process and his insights into its importance
and its complexities. Professor Eamon Conway of Notre Dame
University Australia and the Archdiocese of Tuam, who facilitated the conference, believes that a stark choice exists in relation to Synodality: “If Synodality doesn’t work we will have schism in the global Church. If Synodality doesn’t work in some of our local churches – like Ireland – we won’t have schism, but we will have decay.”
My experiences at Knock made it very clear to me that we are all on a journey of learning and discovery. My encounters with others, the time spent in sacred spaces and engaging with nature and art, all filled me with a new sense of hope for the Church.
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