Saturday 24 March 2012

Mass in St. Abban's Doonane, February 2012






On 24th February, 2012, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated in the Gregorian Rite by Fr. Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist., in St. Abban's Parish Church, Doonane, Co. Laois. It was the first time in 50 years that Mass had been celebrated in the Gregorian Rite in that Parish. After Mass Fr. Edmund gave the first blessing of a newly Ordained Priest.

More pictures of the Church are available here.

St. Abban of Doonane, pray for us!

Strawberry Hill in Kildare and Leighlin - Johnstownbridge

It's our Catholic heritage and we want it preserved!

Monday 19 March 2012

Te, Joseph, celebrent



Te, Joseph, celebrent agmina caelitum,
te cuncti resonent Christiadum chori,
qui, clarus meritis, iunctus es inclitae,
casto foedere Virgini.

Almo cum tumidam germine coniugem
admirans dubio tangeris anxius,
afflatu superi Flaminis, Angelus
conceptum puerum docet.

Tu natum Dominum stringis, ad exteras
Aegypti profugum tu sequeris plagas;
amissum Solymis quaeris et invenis,
miscens gaudia fletibus.

Electos reliquos mors pia consecrat1
palmamque emeritos gloria suscipit;
tu vivens, Superis par, frueris Deo,
mira sorte beatior.

Nobis, summa Trias, parce precantibus;
da Ioseph meritis sidera scandere,
ut tandem liceat nos tibi perpetim
gratum promere canticum.
Amen.

Joseph! to thee by hosts on high
and choirs of Christians, laud be paid!
saintly of life, by purest tie
joined unto her, the glorious Maid.

When thou didst doubt thy wife's repute,
and mark her great with motherhood,
the angel taught thee that her fruit
came from the Holy Ghost of God.

To clasp the Son, the Lord, was thine,
to share His flight to Egypt's shore,
with tears, to seek in Salem's shrine
Him lost, with joy, to find once more.

Death brings to other Saints their rest;
through toil they win the victor's place;
thou happier, like the Angels blest,
alive, hast seen God face to face.

Spare us, O Trinity most High!
grant that, with Joseph, we may gain
Thy starry realm, and ceaselessly
there raise to Thee our thankful strain.
Amen.

Saturday 17 March 2012

Dóchas linn Naomh Pádraig



Dóchas linn Naomh Pádraig
Aspal mór na hÉireann,
Ainm oirearc gléigeal,
solas mór an tsaoil é.
D'fhill le soiscéal grá dúinn
d'ainneoin blianta i ngéibheann.
Grá mór Mhac na páirte,
d'fhuascail cách ón daorbhruid.

Sléibhte, gleannta máighe,
's bailte mór na hÉireann,
Ghlan sé iad go deo dúinn,
míle glóir dár naomh dhil.
Iarrmaid ort, a Phádraig,
guí orainne Gaela,
Dia linn lá 'gus oíche
's Pádraig Aspal Éireann.

Dóchas linn Naomh Pádraig
Aspal mór na hÉireann,
Ainm oirearc gléigeal,
solas mór an tsaoil é.
D'fhill le soiscéal grá dúinn
d'ainneoin blianta i ngéibheann.
Grá mór Mhac na páirte,
d'fhuascail cách ón daorbhruid.

Our hope, O St. Patrick,
Great Apostle of Ireland.
A bright and splendid name,
The great light of the world is he.
It was he who defeated the druids
Their hard hearts of wickedness,
Brought down the proud,
Through the strength of God, our powerful Lord.

The hills, the glens and plains
And the towns of Ireland
He cleansed them for ever for us,
A thousand glories to our beloved Saint
We ask of you, O Patrick,
To pray for us, the Irish,
May God be with us day and night,
And Patrick Great Apostle of Ireland.

Saturday 10 March 2012

The Cistercians of Kildare and Leighlin - Introduction

In arranging Latin Masses in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin one is hit by a number of obstacles, not least the physical impossibility of such celebrations that seems to be a key element of the "liturgical requirements of Vatican II" as interpreted by the local ecclesiastical architects and authorities, as well as clerical intransigence. However, we are making best efforts to make pilgrimages to sites in the Diocese that bring us closer to various elements of our Catholic heritage. One of those themes has been the former Cistercian houses in the Diocese. We were blessed to have our annual retreat directed this year by a monk of Heiligenkreutz, who also celebrated Mass in Doonane, and we have been blessed to have organised Mass in Duiske Abbey, one of the few restored Cistercian Abbey Churches in Ireland, which is towards the south of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. This series is going to trace those Cistercian houses in the Diocese.


Prior to the Norman Invasion of Ireland in 1169, the Cistercian Order had established 15 houses in Ireland: Mellifont, Bective, Inislounaght, Dublin, Monasteranenagh, Baltinglass (K&L), Newry, Kilbeggan, Abbeydorney, Boyle, Jerpoint, Holycross, Aghamanister. Of those, Baltinglass and is within the boundaries of the present Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. Only St. Mary's at Dublin was not a filiation of Mellifont.

In the years following the Norman Invasion, 9 'Norman' Cistercian Houses were established: Inch, Dunbrody, Grey Abbey, Comber, Tintern, Graignamanagh (KNL), Abington, Abbeylara, Tracton. Of those, Graignamanagh (Duiske) was within the boundaries of the Diocese.

In the years following the Invastion there were also 10 'Irish' Cistercian foundations: Assaroe, Midleton, Corcumroe, Killeny (K&L), Kilcooley, Monasterevin (K&L), Abbeyleix (K&L), Abbeyknockmoy, Abbeyshrule, Macosquin. Both Abbeyleix and Monasterevin lie within the bounds of the Diocese.

To be exact, the Abbeys of Baltinglass, Killeny, Abbeyleix and Graignamanagh are in the Diocese of Leighlin and the Abbey of Monasterevin is in the Diocese of Kildare.

Baltinglass (1148) was a daughter house of Mellifont (1142) and mother house of Jerpoint (1160).

Killeny (1162), which was just to the north of Graignamanagh, was suppressed in 1228 at the time of the visitation of Stephen of Lexington.

Monasterevin (1172) was a daughter house of Baltinglass. It was a continuation of the monastic life of St. Evin at Rosglas.

Abbeyleix (1183) was established thanks to a grant by Conor O'More, Prince of Laois and, according to Sir James Ware (The Antiquities and History of Ireland), was a daughter house of Baltinglass.

Graignamanagh (1204) was a daughter house of Stanley in Wales.

Discipline in the Cistercian Houses in Ireland was a concern of the General Chapter, which, in 1216 sent the Abbot of Clairvaux to investigate the situation at Mellifont, its filiation. He was met by closed gates and rebellious monks. The same was true of the visitation of Jerpoint, where the abbot was supported in his dissent by the abbots of Baltinglass, Killeny, Kilbeggan and Bective. These houses were later to be involved in what was known as the Conspiratio Mellifontis. The Chapter General deposed the abbots of Mellifont and Jerpoint and new visitors were appointed but the issue of discipline in certain Irish houses continued until 1228, when the Abbot of Clairvaux appointed Stephen of Lexington, the Abbot of Stanley (mother house of Graignamanagh) as his deputy for the visitation. Stephen was to be elected Abbot of Clairvaux itself in 1249. He held a colloquium of abbots at Graignamanagh and a chapter of abbots at St. Mary's, Dublin.

Stephen reported to Pope Gregory IX that everything of Cistercian life had disappeared from the Irish monasteries except the wearing of the habit: "Nam in abbiciis Hiberniae censura et ordo noster excepto habito vix in aliquo seruabitur."

One of the outcomes of the visitation was that most of the Irish monasteries were given new mother houses outside Ireland. Baltinglass, (Jerpoint) and Monasterevin were to be daughter houses of Fountains Abbey in England, where Eva, the daughter of Diarmuid MacMurrough, was patroness and was buried. After his visitation, French and Latin were to be the two languages of all Cistercian houses in Ireland. While discipline markedly improved after 1228, the Chapter General of 1271 referred to the "quaestio taediosa" of Irish indiscipline and by 1274 the houses in Ireland had been returned to the supervision of their original mother houses.

St. Malachy of Armagh, pray for us!
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us!

Sunday 4 March 2012

Revd. Fr. Desmond Flanagan, Ord. Carm., R.I.P.

Of your charity pray for the repose of the soul of the late Father Desmond Flanagan, Ord. Carm., who died today.





















ECCE sacerdos magnus, qui in diebus suis placuit Deo, et inventus est justus: et in tempore iracundiæ factus est reconciliatio. Non est inventus similis illi, qui conservavit legem Excelsi. Ideo jurejurando fecit illum Dominus crescere in plebem suam. Benedictionem omnium gentium dedit illi, et testamentum suum confirmavit super caput ejus. Agnovit eum in benedictionibus suis: conservavit illi misericordiam suam: et invenit gratiam coram oculis Domini. Magnificavit eum in conspectus regum: et dedit illi coronam gloriæ. Statuit illi testamentum æternum, et dedit illi sacerdotium magnum: et beatificavit illum in gloria. Fungi sacerdotio, et habere laudem in nomine ipsius, et offerre illi incensum dignum in odorem suavitatis. Eccles. xliv, 16-27; xlv, 3-20

Friday 2 March 2012

The Standing Stone: Kilmanman Church, Co. Laois.

Apologies for my absence. Life has been very busy and still is. Here is a small church near Clonaslee in Co. Laois. The original article can be found here.

Location – Not far from Clonaslee in the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
OS: N 305 124 (map 54)
Longitude: 7° 32' 38.26" W
Latitude: 53° 9' 40.49" N
GPS: N 30474 12351 (Accuracy – 5m)
See map at the bottom of the page.

Description and History – Named after St. Manman this church was the centre of a late medieval parish and the ruin dates to the late 16th century. It’s fairly large for a parish church and is nearly 20m in length and 10m wide. The church is largely featureless but does have the remains of a bellcote. There is a small barrel vaulted chamber which appears to be much later in date than the original construction.  This is a very picturesque church. There was a holy well nearby also dedicated to St. Manman but I could not find this. It was disused in the 19th century so I think all traces of this well have disappeared.

Difficulty – Easy enough to find and get to.



 The remains of the bellcote.



View The Standing Stone in a larger map