Tony Flannery

“You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
See and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse.”

That is taken from the prophet Isaiah, and quoted by Jesus in the gospel of today’s Mass readings. Reading it, I couldn’t help but feel how apt it is for Ireland at the present time.
Our public discourse has become increasingly coarse over recent years. This is very obviously so in our national parliament, so much so that a committee is now being brought together to see if there is any way of putting some rein on what is being said under privilege in the Dail chamber and in the committee rooms.

I wonder do many people, in their later years, stand back a little from their lives, from the way they lived, and they values and beliefs they espoused, and take a more objective look at them than they have done previously. In the traditional religious training that I got in my youth it would be seen as ‘losing your faith’, or so we were told. But then we were told a lot of strange and even daft things.

The plans of our group to hold an event in Cork in two weeks time have, I’m afraid, been put on hold.
At a meeting this afternoon we realised that, by holding an event on Sunday 23rd in Cork, we would be clashing with either one or two major hurling games in Parc Ui Chaoimh, which is very close to our proposed venue.
Also, we concluded that it would be too soon for us.