If These Windows
Could Talk
What A Story they'd Tell
|
Last Monday evening we received into St. Peter's,
the remains of a Vincentian priest, Fr Dermot O’ Dowd. Dermot was one of
our own, for he grew up on Shandon Drive in this parish and first heard
the call of God as a young boy in this church. It was here that he came to
know the person of Jesus Christ and St Vincent de Paul’s call to preach
the Gospel to the poor. As the funeral cortege processed into St Peter's,
Dermot's body passed two newly erected stained glass windows.
 The
first window tells the story of the vocation of St Vincent de Paul
and how he came to understand what God wanted him to do with his life.
From an early age Vincent knew he was called to be a priest. When he was
ordained at the age of nineteen, he saw priesthood as a means to social
advancement; he was what we might call today a career priest.
Inserted in one of the panels, is a scene depicting the French port of
Marseilles. It was from here that Vincent's life was to take a turn. In
his own words he says he was captured by pirates and sold into slavery for
two years. He describes that time as a 'Babylonian experience.'
Having lost everything, he came to trust in God and discovered what he was
called to do. Escaping from captivity he found himself back in Paris and
took the first steps that were to lead him to a life of commitment to
preaching the gospel to the poor.
 The second window depicts St. Vincent's dream for the people of Ireland.
St Vincent sent a small group of priests to Ireland to nourish the faith.
After initial success, the dream appeared to die, with the death of the
first Vincentian martyr,
Thady Lee CM. at the Seige of Limerick, His fellow priests,
fleeing for safety, made their way to a small group of islands off the
coast of Scotland. It seemed the dream of St. Vincent for Ireland, had no
sooner begun, than it ended in failure and tragedy. This too, could have
been termed a 'Babylonian Experience'
As with most things in life, things aren’t always what they seem. The seed
that Vincent planted in Limerick was to take root two centuries later,
when a group of priests from Maynooth, committed themselves to preaching
the Gospel in the spirit of St.
Vincent. One of the
places where the dream took root was here in St Peters.
Most of us, at some stage of our lives, go through a 'Babylonian
experience'; a time when we feel lost and question the meaning of life
and where we are going. This may be brought about by the loss of a loved
one, the break up of a relationship, redundancy, addiction or illness.
Whatever the cause, it can trigger feelings of hopelessness, darkness and
despair.
These are the moments when we need help and inspiration. The image from
the gospel this weekend is the call for us to be a light to the world.
There are people and place that can act as a light to us in times of
darkness. I hope these stained
glass windows will act as a source of inspiration to
us and
future generations. St
Vincent learned to trust God in his search for the truth and the story of
the Irish Vincentian is that even in an apparent failure there is still
hope that our dreams can come through. Let these windows lighten our way
as we strive to make St Peter’s a place of inspiration for others who are
searching for meaning in life.
Fr.
Sean Farrell, CM
10th February, 2002
Back Issues of editorials
|
