Getting in a rut...

St Rita of Cascia.  Friday, 22nd May, 2020

I am almost getting in to a rut.

Each morning I focus my iPad on the Augustinians of O'Connell Street, Limerick in Ireland. Their Masses are at 7.30, 8.30, 10.00 and 4pm. I home in on the 8.30am. There is a variety of priests and I have noticed myself hoping that a particular one will be presiding. I have no idea why I prefer him and find his service more uplifting and I have no idea why I have taken against some of the others! Is it to do with the voice, with the manner of talking, the manner of presiding and celebrating? What is it that puts me slightly off priests I have never met?

Utterly bizarre and without foundation.

The one I 'like' was presiding this morning. He always starts early so sometimes I miss the introduction. He has an extraordinary voice with sudden flourishes of intonation and intensity and lilt. He bursts in to singing sometimes. He reads in a particular manner and not always appropriately! He leans heavily on the lectern in a slumping way. He spends ages with some mechanical device which causes canned music to sound after he has announced that we will have X or Y. Much time is spent fiddling with the machine. Yet at other points he rushes and gushes and gives no time for response. He will sit down as some Byzantine sound or trendy 1960s voices burst forth in Latin, English, Gaelic and even Greek and Russian. He adds his own words to the text off and on. Today he gave a sermon but forgot the 'bidding prayers'. He spoke about connectedness: connectedness to God and each other and to our selves. He emphasised the fear was more deadly than the virus. The 'negative way of thinking' needs to be banished as it is of the devil.

He must have mentioned St Rita of Cascia a dozen times and also some obscure saints, including St Corona, who are Patrons of the 'plague'. I am not entirely sure what a Patron of the Plague means or does. 

After the service and after reading the speech yesterday of Ms Sturgeon on the let up (gosh, I wish she had heard the sermon as she seemed to me to exude fear ) I turned to find out about St Rita. An extraordinary life with an abusive husband, two sons who become like their father (and died in a plague almost as an answer to her prayers) and finally she became an Augustinian nun. Her incorrupt body is viewable in Cascia. I did not quite understand the logic of how the answers to her prayers which resulted in the death of awkward people could be claimed as from God. I am confused often by sanctity. 

Looking at her life was interesting. I discovered that she was the Patron Saint of sterility, abuse victims, loneliness, marriage difficulties, parenthood, widows, the sick, those with bodily ills and wounds. I may have a word with her about my catheter and postponed operation! 

I wonder what she would pray about for today and how God would react. Of course a more pertinent question is what do we pray for and how do we react to today's challenges.

Whatever I hope we fight fear. 

#plague #fear #strita #limerick #onlinemass #cascia