Category: news

Rev Ruth Patterson one of the speakers at St John the Baptist College, Portadown

Thursday June 15th 2023.

RESTORATION MINISTRIES EASTER 2023

Dear Friends,
As people of faith we have a song to sing. What is it? Sometimes it is lament; sometimes it is a love song; sometimes it bursts forth in praise; at other times it comes from the fearful pit of despair and hopelessness. The psalmist urges us repeatedly to sing our song and to join our voices with all of cre-ation in praising God. All of these songs coming from the hearts of these people long ago had a gold-en thread running through them – that of trust, trust in God despite all evidence to the contrary. The only point where we have recorded for us that that trust faltered and stifled the song was when the people were in exile in Babylon and were taunted by their captors to sing one of the songs of their homeland. And they respond, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in an alien land?” So they hung up their harps and the melody was stifled. Yet this was the point where to sing was crucial; to sing out the wonder of a God who was not confined by national boundaries, or by their status in life or by earthly power and control, a God who was not overwhelmed by disaster and unimaginable suffering but who was right there in the midst of all their chaos and mess; to sing a new song in the present moment, arising out of where they found themselves; a song of love and trust and assurance and hope. They were not urged to sing once they had been released from their captivity, but to do so in the present dark reality of where they were; living the future they longed for in the now.
Restoration Ministries, among many others, had a song to sing about reconciliation, a song that has an unfamiliar melody still to many because, to their untried ears, the harmonies come across as harsh discords and the lyrics of a shared future are forgotten by those who are meant to lead the singing. The other day I came across the phrase ‘death by silence’. And I began to think of all the little deaths I perhaps had contributed to because I had been silent (either in word or action). I thought of all the silences from church and state and individuals during our 30 year conflict. I think of that conflict’s aftermath and of a peace agreement whose 25th anniversary we ‘celebrate’ at Easter. What song will we sing then? Yes we will sing of how far we’ve come and thank God for it and all the remarkable people who have sung their new song of hope. But there are still harsh discords because of death by silence – the silence of the good people. Am I contributing to death by silence? What is the song I have to sing?
What a challenge for us as to where and how we place our trust. We desperately need to awaken, to see things differently (the real meaning of repentance), to recognise that right at this moment God is
doing a new thing. Trust is so easily shattered, especially when we feel betrayed by those whom
we loved or even revered, or see that which once gave us a sense of belonging and a means of expressing
our faith or our political dreams being reduced and distorted. But when such disorder
happens it’s almost as if we have to make a conscious decision to trust again and to stand in that
affirmation in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. This is the hard lesson of Lent. Our leaders may
fail us; the fiery furnaces of betrayal of trust may threaten to consume us; the horror of suffering in
the world may almost overwhelm us; death by silence may cause us to despair. We may feel that
only the stump of what was once vibrant faith and witness remains, but the promise is that the
stump will be a holy seed that will grow again. Lent and Good
Friday do come to an end and a new day follows – the holy seed,
the resurrection life of Jesus emerges from the fiery furnace of
crucifixion and flourishes. And as we choose to trust, then
through the power of the Spirit we see things differently, we
recognise the lights that are already shining in this present darkness
and we know, in a place beyond all formal knowing, that
we have a new song to sing, right where we find ourselves. As
we allow the song to be heard, we begin to live the future we
long for in the present moment. In a deeper way than perhaps we have ever done before we can
turn to one another and say with confidence, “He is risen.”
He is risen indeed! A joyous Easter-tide to you all.
Ruth

NEWS
Watch out for Ruth’s article on the commemoration of the
Good Friday Agreement in the April Presbyterian Herald
magazine.

Please pray for Ruth as she continues with spiritual direction,
and preparation for reflection days with different groups.
Ruth will be facilitating the Mercy Sisters on their reflection
days in Cork and Limerick after Easter.

Ruth will also be facilitating retreats in Wexford
in June and Dromantine in September.

Copies of “A Traveller passing Through” are
still available here in our office at 19 Harmony
Drive, Lisburn. Telephone No 02892 675783

RESTORATION MINISTRIES EASTER 2023

Dear Friends,
As people of faith we have a song to sing. What is it? Sometimes it is lament; sometimes it is a love song; sometimes it bursts forth in praise; at other times it comes from the fearful pit of despair and hopelessness. The psalmist urges us repeatedly to sing our song and to join our voices with all of cre-ation in praising God. All of these songs coming from the hearts of these people long ago had a gold-en thread running through them – that of trust, trust in God despite all evidence to the contrary. The only point where we have recorded for us that that trust faltered and stifled the song was when the people were in exile in Babylon and were taunted by their captors to sing one of the songs of their homeland. And they respond, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in an alien land?” So they hung up their harps and the melody was stifled. Yet this was the point where to sing was crucial; to sing out the wonder of a God who was not confined by national boundaries, or by their status in life or by earthly power and control, a God who was not overwhelmed by disaster and unimaginable suffering but who was right there in the midst of all their chaos and mess; to sing a new song in the present moment, arising out of where they found themselves; a song of love and trust and assurance and hope. They were not urged to sing once they had been released from their captivity, but to do so in the present dark reality of where they were; living the future they longed for in the now.
Restoration Ministries, among many others, had a song to sing about reconciliation, a song that has an unfamiliar melody still to many because, to their untried ears, the harmonies come across as harsh discords and the lyrics of a shared future are forgotten by those who are meant to lead the singing. The other day I came across the phrase ‘death by silence’. And I began to think of all the little deaths I perhaps had contributed to because I had been silent (either in word or action). I thought of all the silences from church and state and individuals during our 30 year conflict. I think of that conflict’s aftermath and of a peace agreement whose 25th anniversary we ‘celebrate’ at Easter. What song will we sing then? Yes we will sing of how far we’ve come and thank God for it and all the remarkable people who have sung their new song of hope. But there are still harsh discords because of death by silence – the silence of the good people. Am I contributing to death by silence? What is the song I have to sing?
What a challenge for us as to where and how we place our trust. We desperately need to awaken, to see things differently (the real meaning of repentance), to recognise that right at this moment God is
doing a new thing. Trust is so easily shattered, especially when we feel betrayed by those whom
we loved or even revered, or see that which once gave us a sense of belonging and a means of expressing
our faith or our political dreams being reduced and distorted. But when such disorder
happens it’s almost as if we have to make a conscious decision to trust again and to stand in that
affirmation in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. This is the hard lesson of Lent. Our leaders may
fail us; the fiery furnaces of betrayal of trust may threaten to consume us; the horror of suffering in
the world may almost overwhelm us; death by silence may cause us to despair. We may feel that
only the stump of what was once vibrant faith and witness remains, but the promise is that the
stump will be a holy seed that will grow again. Lent and Good
Friday do come to an end and a new day follows – the holy seed,
the resurrection life of Jesus emerges from the fiery furnace of
crucifixion and flourishes. And as we choose to trust, then
through the power of the Spirit we see things differently, we
recognise the lights that are already shining in this present darkness
and we know, in a place beyond all formal knowing, that
we have a new song to sing, right where we find ourselves. As
we allow the song to be heard, we begin to live the future we
long for in the present moment. In a deeper way than perhaps we have ever done before we can
turn to one another and say with confidence, “He is risen.”
He is risen indeed! A joyous Easter-tide to you all.
Ruth

NEWS
Watch out for Ruth’s article on the commemoration of the
Good Friday Agreement in the April Presbyterian Herald
magazine.

Please pray for Ruth as she continues with spiritual direction,
and preparation for reflection days with different groups.
Ruth will be facilitating the Mercy Sisters on their reflection
days in Cork and Limerick after Easter.

Ruth will also be facilitating retreats in Wexford
in June and Dromantine in September.

Copies of “A Traveller passing Through” are
still available here in our office at 19 Harmony
Drive, Lisburn. Telephone No 02892 675783

December 3 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

€30

Margaret Aylward Centre

Advent is about waiting and listening in order that we may hear the Divine whisper that contains the promise of something more.  This is always an adventure that keeps us on tiptoe in our spirits.  So let’s wait and listen and share together at this…

BOOK NOW

Contact

The Margaret Aylward Centre for Faith and Dialogue,    

Holy Faith Sisters, Glasnevin, D11 TC21

Tel : (01) 797 9364 | Mob: 087 664 9862  Email:  info@macfd.ie

Ruth Patterson’s book: A Traveller Passing Through

Brendan McManus SJ

Thanks for inviting me to launch this book, it is a real pleasure as I know Ruth from her work and the topic interests me greatly.

As a writer myself, I guess I’m interested to learn from someone of her experience and wisdom.

As a Jesuit priest, I’m amazed at the overlaps with Ignatian Spirituality, mainstream Christian theology I guess, it’s so real, earthy, fully human, and discerning; it’s more than just a guidebook for the Holy Land, rather it’s a synthesis of prayer, spirituality and social action/reconciliation.

As I write on similar themes, here are 10 reasons I wish I had written this book:

1. What it means to be a pilgrim, in the introduction she defines it as ‘passing through (Colmcille)’, not holding on, free (losing bag at the airport); we are pilgrims in this world, passing though on the way to our real home (p. 104), coming home to out true selves (p.111).  A key part of this is identifying with the poor and marginalised (e.g. Peter McVerry, Br Kevin, p. 106), crossing over to the ‘other side’, we are drawn out of our narrow ‘strait-jackets’ or ‘slavery (Like N. Ireland)’ to live in freedom and awareness.

• Every place is a Holy Land; Everything speaks to us of God, but it is about awareness or ‘inner transformation (p. 94)’, to be awake to the divine possibilities in the ordinary; rejecting the ‘dualistic mindset (p. 95)’ to be more present to a God of reality, of the present moment trying to break through. Everything in our lives demands a response from us. Even the context of peace and reconciliation work in N. Ireland (p. 74), the courageous work of bridging the divide, building bridges, overcoming fear and hostility, and unmasking false religion.

• The use of scripture as a living text, her familiarity with it, ability to draw on relevant texts; ‘The scripture of our lives’, how to apply it to our lives. It tells of a human experience, e.g.. the shepherds at the nativity p.91, where people encounter God and live transformed lives; which indicates to us about how we might live. She fills out biblical stories for us, e.g. The Good Samaritan (the inn as a place of welcome), Zaccheus in the tree (welcoming Jesus in his home), and draws out the ‘message’ or implications of human encounter with the divine.

• The ‘composition of place’, the ability to recreate scenes, to see Mary at the well (p. 66), being visited by the angel, the use of the imagination, ‘seeing what’s not there’, bringing a scene alive and bringing it home. It’s beyond physical sight, but seeing with minds and hearts (p. 67), the real significance and meaning

• Asking questions of us, bringing it home, inviting us into personal engagement with the theme/text, examining our spirituality, applying it to ourselves, asking ‘who do you say I am?’ Use of questions to involve the reader, get them to be on pilgrimage, on the journey, implications for my life, opening the way to God

• Faith as a personal relationship, an intimate journey of love, a two way communication and a progressive opening up to mystery (p. 76). We see this in terms of several personal vocation journeys, like those of Peter and Abraham, the process of becoming, “His long journey of growing faithfulness and revelation as to who God is…” p.34, the reality of the ‘storms (p. 76)’ that come into our lives, that threaten us but also stretch us and allow us to grow;  but more importantly she also applies it to herself, she talks of ‘an inner nativity’ p. 63, the slow process of letting go control and letting God work within me.

• Introducing us to Jesus, getting to know him, watching and learning from him, relating to him, getting to love him. Crucially, she presents the face of God as one of mercy and compassion, one who is close, intimately involved, cares passionately and invites transformation (living the beatitudes; p. 140). This is someone enormously attractive that we get drawn into; the ‘God of Surprises (title of a Jesuit classic p. 65)’, who gives us enormous freedom yet invites a response, a collaboration.

• The reality of the incarnation, that Jesus was fully human, (fully divine), living an earthly existence, but crucially that we are invited to walk that same road, to not only follow Jesus but to ‘be’ Jesus in living that same tension, divinity in humanity. Thus the focus on the humanity of the scripture figures like Elijah , powerful prophet and fearful itinerant; also the tendency to present Mary as an “idealised perfection (p. 61)” as unhelpful. In that sense also, the book is sacramental, God works through concrete signs and symbols, ‘the sacrament of encounter (Pope Francis)’ p. 82

• Her willingness to take risks, to be vulnerable, show her humanity, something of her struggles, faith life, personal journey; we get to see the two sides, the professional exterior and also the honest, real, humble human being trying to do God’s will; we also get to see the vulnerability of the biblical figures, Elijah, Mary etc.Being reflective,  looking back on experience,  seeing the meaning

1. Speaking into the background of the pandemic, the seriousness of the crisis, using the Gospel text of the ‘storm (p. 76)’ that beset our lives and the damage caused, but also the invitation to let go, to simplify, to prioritise what was important

Launch 0n the – 1st September 2022

At Wynn’s Hotel Dublin -6pm

Rev Ruth Patterson will be speaking at all Masses on these dates at Clonard Monastery Belfast.

“Sing O Barren one!”  This is the word God speaks to the beleaguered people of Jerusalem whose hope had gone and who felt that all they had dreamed of and striven for was over.  In this powerful message, (Isaiah Chapter 54,) they are told, “The Lord has called you back from your grief, as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband.  For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back.  The mountains and hills may crumble but my love for you will never end.”  God is urging his beloved to sing.  It may seem to us at the moment that we are barren, that what we have known, dreamed of and striven for is over.  The world lives under the threat of devastation and destruction.  What seemed as secure and eternal as the mountains and hills is crumbling and we are powerless to stop it. But the one indestructible force, more powerful than any other, is love, God’s love for us, for humankind.  So, in this present moment, God urges us to sing.  What sort of song can come from such a barren place?  The way ahead is uncharted but we are returning to Love, to God.  At the moment, we are on the very cusp of stepping over the threshold, out of that liminal space we have experienced during the pandemic, not back to what we have known, but into an unknown future, into a wilderness journey.  It will require of us a huge refocussing of trust, an ever expanding vision of who God is, a willingness to let go, and, above all, a remembering who we are.

But we start with gratitude.  That must be part of the essential rhythm of our song; gratitude, overflowing wonder and praise to the God who continually calls us out of darkness, who rescues us, challenges us, moulds us and shapes us for a purpose far greater than we can ever know or even imagine.  As I reflect on that I remember David, called from being a humble shepherd boy tending sheep to become a King.  At one point, when David is established in Jerusalem, Nathan the prophet shares with the King God’s covenant promise for the future.  David’s immediate response is to worship. He begins his prayer with these words of gratitude and praise, “Who am I, O Lord God, that you have brought me thus far?”    And he ends his prayer, “When you grant a blessing, O Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”  In this moment he has a heightened awareness of who God is, of his loving purpose, and, in all humility, of who he is.  There follows a refocussing of trust, for no matter what happens or how many times he wanders from that covenant promise, having feet of clay like the rest of us, God’s love draws him back and God’s calling of him will urge him on.  Can we see how it is so important at times to pause, and remember the infinite love that first drew us and we found ourselves on a journey that you could never have planned or engineered?  In these days, whenever I pause to remember, these words of David come to me loud and clear, “Who am I Lord that you have brought me thus far?”  It is somewhat overwhelming.  It follows that if we believe that it is God who has brought us to this very time that we find ourselves in now, as part of humankind, as a person of faith, then we have no option but to affirm and trust that when God grants a blessing, it is forever.  That does not necessarily mean that the blessing is a neat package that would secure our comfort and keep things the way we would like them to be.  God is a God of surprises.  The blessing may often be shrouded in mystery or disguised as something less, even anguished, but it is my limited experience that enough of it unfolds at those times when it is desperately needed to keep us trusting and hoping.  Our song has to be one of gratitude for that ‘love unknown’ that has brought us thus far.

Ruth