Moving to a new site!

Hello everyone and Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Emerald Isle! The House of Brigid has begun the process of launching a new website with more information about our community and our ministry, as well as ways for you to be become involved in our work. The new site is www.HouseofBrigid.org. Our blog will be continuing, but we have begun the process of moving it to that site so look for more stories of our time here in Ireland at the new House of Brigid website: www.HouseofBrigid.org!

Because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world...

     Last night the community led the parish in the celebration of Stations of the Cross. In talking with the pastoral staff here at the parish about preparations for Lent we were told that they have never really done Stations on a regular basis. On Good Friday they have a ceremony called "Prayer around the Cross" which includes elements of the Stations, but we felt that having a more regular celebration of the way of the Cross would be a nice addition for this Lenten season. We decided to go as simple as we could so that the congregation could engage in the prayer slowly. Carolyn knew of a setting of the Stations which she brought from her time as an undergrad in Kansas and this formed the basis of our prayer last night.
     I put together the order of prayer using Carolyn's version ("Everyone's Way of the Cross" by Clarence Enzler) and a version that we found from Liturgical Press called "All of You Drink of This" which is an adaptation of an old Latin version of the way of the Cross. "Everyone's Way" is set out in the form of a dialogue, with the first part being written from the point of view of Christ as He walks the way of the Cross. In the "Christ" section we are called to understand a lesson based on each station; in the first station this takes the form of Jesus submitting to the legal rule of Pilate out of obedience to the earthly power he holds and thus our lesson that we too must submit to those who are legally placed in authority over us. The second reading is from our point of view and responds to Christ's challenge by accepting the lesson we have been taught and asking for Jesus' help in fulfilling that challenge. From the "Drink of This" version I pulled closing prayers for each station which summed up the lesson and asked God to give us the strength to persevere in our way.

     Here in Clonard the Stations are stained glass windows which line the back of the church, thus making it hard for people to focus on the station if they are seated. To fix this we projected pictures of each window onto the wall at the front of the church, along with verses to the Stabat Mater which we sung after every other station. In my head I tried to make our celebration a simpler version of the celebration at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which I found very edifying during my time at Notre Dame. Although the congregation was considerably smaller, and the singing was considerably less, I got the sense throughout the service that everyone was being drawn into the journey. For the first time in a long time I was able to personally sink into the prayer that is the Stations of the Cross and all around me I could feel that prayer coming from the congregation. Following the service it was great to hear from some of the parishioners that they had enjoyed the service and had felt a real connection to the Way of the Cross. We will be continuing these Stations services every Monday of Lent at 7pm and I hope that through this prayer we can help the people of Clonard join more fully in the march to Calvary and beyond to the Resurrection.

O God, you willed that your only Son should suffer and die on the Cross for us.

As we now glory in honoring that same holy Cross,

Grant that we may rejoice in your loving care

So that we may experience the glory of your Son’s Resurrection.

This we ask of you through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Wednesday Nights

Every Wednesday night I come home around half-nine after back-to-back choir rehearsals, and for the rest of my night, often even into the next morning, I have the same song stuck in my head. Every single Wednesday night, without fail. It's the well-known hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth," sung to the tune Dix, and it's how we end each and every rehearsal with our Vigil Choir.
The practice is one that we've brought with us from our days with the Folk Choir, and we've retained those traditional songs as well, beginning our communal Evening Prayer every Tuesday night by singing Chrysogonus Waddell's "Hail, Holy Queen." When we began working with our own choir, though, we decided that we wanted to end our rehearsal with a hymn that was uniquely us, a hymn that, many years from now, will bring us back to the many evenings spent rehearsing in the Day Chapel alongside the tapestry of St. Brigid.
There were two main criteria in choosing the hymn. 1) It had to wear well, to hold up after being sung week after week. 2) Its text had to pray well, to express something timeless and universal while still being able to resonate with our experiences on a day-to-day basis.
I believe that "For the Beauty of the Earth" fulfills both criteria gracefully and beautifully; its melody is simple and elegant, with harmonies that are inexplicably evocative. We sing this hymn in E-flat major (one of my favorite keys), and in this range, sung at a relaxed tempo, it sounds like a lullaby. Its text contains many verses, but I believe the four that we chose enable us to have a completely different prayer each time that we sing it. The text conjures up (at least for me) memories of recent events, interactions, conversations, and intentions -- whatever is taking place in my life at the time. The refrain allows me to take a moment and acknowledge all of the unique ways God has been present and active in my life, and to simply be grateful.
On this Ash Wednesday, I invite you to pray with the House of Brigid, to recall, even as we begin Lent by acknowledging our sinfulness and our need for mercy, that God continues to bless us with countless gifts -- that God will never be outdone in generosity if we but give our lives in grateful praise.

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love that from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow'r,
Sun and moon and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best Gift Divine,
To the world so freely giv'n;
Word Incarnate, God's design,
Peace on earth and joy in heav'n;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.


St. Cecilia, pray for us.
St. Brigid, pray for us.

Teach Bhríde 2010-11

It seems impossible to believe that the community has reached the point when it has become necessary to think about next year. Some days, it seems like Chris, Martha, and I only just arrived in Wexford last week! However, that time indeed has arrived, and so I spent this past week conducting interviews with several candidates who applied for a place in next year's House of Brigid community. All of the applicants were incredibly qualified, which made the final decision very difficult, but after a period of intentional prayer and discernment, the selection committee reached its conclusion.

We've had a running joke in the House these past few weeks, with Chris and Martha accusing me of callously replacing them, casting them aside after they've so selflessly given a year of their lives. I, of course, reply that they're irreplaceable, but that I'm going to do my best and try to replace them anyway. Joking aside, though, it's more like finding successors than replacements, because each member of Teach Bhríde will have brought something utterly unique as the community hopefully continues year after year, and it is with that joy and hope of continual renewal that I introduce the three young people who have committed to serving with me in Teach Bhríde beginning this coming September.

Jessica Mannen, House Director-in-Training. Jessica graduated from Notre Dame in 2009 with Bachelor's degrees in Music Theory and Theology, and has spent this past year working as the music intern in the Office of Campus Ministry. She has sung with the Notre Dame Folk Choir for several years now, served as Music Director for NDVision (2009-10), and has spent the past year or so starting a program that teaches music to teenagers at the Juvenile Justice Center of South Bend. Jessica has committed to two years in Wexford, and will take over for me as House Director for 2011-12.

Clarisa Ramos, Volunteer. Clarisa will graduate from Notre Dame this year with her Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance, and has been a member of the Folk Choir since her freshman year. She has also been a featured soloist on the University of Notre Dame PrayerCast, as well as the most recent Folk Choir recording, Songs of Saints and Scholars. Clarisa has a great deal of experience with liturgical planning, and as a high school student, she took on the challenge of increasing student participation at school Masses. She has served this past year as Folk Choir President, was also involved in NDVision as a musician (2008), and spent last summer in Peru teaching music to children in grades 3-5.

Patrick Duffey, Volunteer. Patrick will graduate from Notre Dame this year with a Bachelor's degree in English and a supplementary major in History. He has been a bass in the Folk Choir since his freshman year, and is also an excellent guitarist. This year he serves as Folk Choir Secretary, and was involved as well in Jessica's music program for the Juvenile Justice Center. Patrick has planned on applying to Teach Bhríde since before the community even had a name; he has followed its development very closely, and cannot wait to come to Wexford. He has spent previous summers teaching math to underprivileged children, working at a camp for children with cancer, and was a musician for NDVision in 2008 alongside Jessica and Clarisa.

I feel humbled by the selflessness and inspired by the talents of these young people, and look forward to the new ideas and perspectives they will bring to the community and its work in the parish. True, life in Teach Bhríde will never be the same next year without Chris and Martha, but their work will provide the foundation for the work of next year's community, and we can all say a prayer of gratitude that Jessica, Clarisa, and Patrick followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit in offering to spend the next year (or two) of their lives in service to the Irish Catholic Church. May St. Brigid continue to intercede for all of us as we continuously strive to inspire all whom we encounter with a greater love for Christ and His Gospel.

From Ashes to the Living Font: A Pilgrimage through Lent

Yesterday, the three of us presented our final workshop for this year on music for Lent. Around 55 people attended the event, including Mary Prete of World Library Publications and her husband Peter, who flew in from Chicago to find out more about life in the House of Brigid.
We presented a total of 12 pieces to the participants: All Will Be Well (S. Warner), From Ashes to the Living Font (text: A. Hommerding, tune St. Flavian), Kyrie from Mass of Redemption (S. Janco), Psalm 51: Have Mercy on Me O Lord (S. Warner), Psalm 16: Harbor of My Heart (S. Warner), Where Charity and Love Prevail (M. Hill), Psalm 146: Whenever You Serve Me (S. Janco), Tree of Life (A. Thompson), Draw Near (S. Janco), I Received the Living God (Anon., arr. E. Coman), There's a Wideness in God's Mercy (Tune: In Babilone), and What Wondrous Love is This (Tune: Wondrous Love). While some of the pieces were specific exclusively to the Lenten season, we included several that would also be appropriate at various points throughout the Easter Triduum, as well as throughout the rest of the liturgical year.
I spoke at length about incorporating intentional silence into the liturgy during Lent, which is not only an odd thing to speak about at a workshop on music, but it's also a concept that often makes congregations uncomfortable; however, during a season of penitential introspection and conversion, silence can provide an apt moment for reflection that may not be possible or even welcome during any other time of the liturgical year. Silence provides a chance to let the liturgy breathe--to allow the congregation a moment to focus and listen intently and pray more intentionally. I also spoke about the use of alternate texts with traditional hymnody, presenting several texts that worked with one tune so that choirs and congregations could get more mileage from their music, so to speak.
I was so proud to see Chris and Martha take on more substantial portions in their presentations for this session: Chris spoke at length about the importance of singing the Kyrie during Lent, and Martha presented the three pieces we chose to highlight as appropriate selections for the Preparation Rite (Where Charity and Love Prevail, Whenever You Serve Me, and Tree of Life), speaking once again about helpful cantoring techniques. Both of them had wonderful insights and demonstrated just how much they've grown in their understanding of music ministry in the past five months. Not only that, but the participants themselves showed an increased enthusiasm for cultivating congregational participation at their parishes, and several directors told me afterward that they had successfully introduced all of the music from the Advent workshop to their parishes. It was once again an incredibly gratifying experience: the feedback from the evaluations was positive overall, and it was humbling to read how many people were moved and inspired not just by the music presented, but also by the fact that it was being presented by young people who were unafraid to witness to their faith. Following the workshop, the wonderful volunteers of Clonard Church once again laid out a meal for the participants, and between 20 and 25 of them were able to join our Vigil Choir to sing for the 7pm Mass.
All in all, it was once again a successful event, and we are so blessed to be working in a place where people are so welcoming to our presence and our thoughts on music ministry. We had a wonderful visit from Mary Prete throughout the week as well, and had a great time showing her and her husband some of our favorite aspects of living and working in Wexford. We are grateful to the staff of World Library Publications for providing the music for yesterday's session, and for their continuous support of our work here. We hope that we will continue to provide new resources for the music ministers of the Diocese of Ferns, and we pray that our workshops next year will be as successful as these have been.

Feast of St. Brigid

This past Sunday marked the culmination of weeks of preparation as Chris, Martha, and I participated in the annual celebration of St. Brigid at Clonard Church. The celebration took place on the eve of Brigid's feast day, and we had been charged with planning the entire evening's events, with the help of Sr. Mary, a parishioner who had helped to plan past celebrations in honor of Brigid. In the initial stages, we were given a large stack of material to sift through: stories, legends, poems, blessings--all having to do with the woman we pray to as our community's patroness on a daily basis. All of us had a cursory knowledge of Brigid's biography when we arrived, but I don't think any of us realized just how much she means to the people of Ireland.
We wanted to honor Brigid, but we also wanted to honor the entire sense of the Celtic spirituality that surrounds her and permeates the culture. The prayer and poetry of Ireland is saturated with rich imagery and parallel language; St. Patrick's Breastplate is the classic example: "Christ with me. Christ before me. Christ behind me." If you read the entire prayer, you'll find that the language conveys the belief that is deeply-rooted throughout the Celtic spiritual tradition: God is present everywhere, in every thing, in every person, in every place. The entirety of creation reflects the perfection and beauty and majesty of the Creator.
So how do you capture Celtic spirituality in an hour? Oh, and honor the patroness of Ireland?
We found our answer and our inspiration in the incredible tapestry that graces a wall of the Day Chapel at Clonard Church, partially visible in our group picture at the top of the blog. Brigid is the central image, with her cloak miraculously growing the cover the lands of Kildare, and each side of the border depicts the four elements of creation: fire, water, air, and earth. Our celebration of St. Brigid viewed these elements through the lens of her life and her faith.
The emcee began with a description of the element itself, then a reader proclaimed a passage of Scripture pertinent to each element. Following the Scripture, Fr. Denis blessed the element, which was then shared with the congregation through ritual action (i.e. distribution of fire, sprinkling rite). Music focusing underscored each ritual, after which the reader concluded with a story from the life of St. Brigid highlighting her kinship with each element, ending finally with a poetic prayer for her intercession.
There were so many facets to this celebration that it was almost theatrical (in the best sense of the word): the parish staff constructed a beautiful shrine that provided the focus for the evening, pyrotechnics helped us create drama for the blessing and distribution of fire, readers proclaimed Scripture and story with energetic enthusiasm, and images of nature and the Brigid tapestry projected on the wall provided the backdrop for the entire evening.
After reflecting on each of the four elements, the evening concluded with the blessing of Brat Bríd, or Brigid's Cloths. These strips of cloth are to be tied to a tree branch on the eve of Brigid's feast day, and she blesses them as she passes through the lands of Ireland during the night. The cloths are then traditionally placed under a pillow or mattress, or in a sickbed, so that Brigid might intercede for protection or healing. In addition to the cloths, Fr. Denis also blessed the Brigid crosses that had been distributed to the congregation, which had been lovingly made from rushes by several women of the parish. Chris, Martha, and I even learned how to make them!
Looking back, there were so many things that could have gone wrong with this celebration, but nothing did. Each person performed his or her task perfectly and reverently, and the result was truly a celebration that engaged all of the senses, that paid tribute to the heroine of Ireland, and that embodied the richness of Celtic spirituality.
The following is the closing prayer from Sunday night's celebration:
May the wisdom of earth open us to mystery.
May the simplicity of air capture our hearts.
May the gentleness of water soften the tensions within us, and
May the flame of the Spirit that inspired St. Brigid give us hope, courage, and strength as we continue our pilgrim way.
St. Brigid, our patroness and patroness of Ireland, pray for us.

For the full photo album from Sunday's celebration, please click here.

Teach Bhríde 2009 in Review

Yesterday, Fr. Martin and the three of us traveled the short distance to Ballyvaloo retreat center for a day of reflection. Mostly, we wanted to look back on the past five months and reflect on what we’ve accomplished this year so far. But also, we were looking ahead to the next five months, deciding what we can accomplish before the year is over. It was a beautiful day and we’re so grateful to Fr. Martin for facilitating such a wonderful, and productive day. It was great to put into words the ways in which we have been blessed these past few months and the ways we have been able to give of ourselves to this community. So I thought I would share with you a little “Teach Bhríde 2009 in Review.” Here goes:

-Provided music for many beautiful liturgies at Clonard including the Stepping Out Into Secondary School Liturgy, an Advent Penitential Service, and a parish Remembrance Service.

-Started an Adult Choir to sing Saturday Vigil Mass. We plan liturgies and rehearse with our small, but loyal group on Wednesday nights. We had a big responsibility for music during the Christmas season, and are very gradually getting the congregation used to being lead by a cantor.

-Assisted the Children’s Liturgy Group and have attended the Family Mass on Sunday mornings. We’ve been teaching some new repertoire to the children’s choir and helping with youth catechesis.

-Sang with the Folk Group who sing at 11:15 Sunday morning mass. We also assist at the Folk Group liturgy planning meetings and have been exploring ways to enhance the liturgy overall.

-Prepared and successfully executed a very well attended Advent Workshop.

-Accompanied the Parish Pilgrimage to Knock and provided music for the pilgrimage masses.

-Were commissioned by Bishop Brennan at the Folk Group 30th Anniversary/ Teach Bhríde Commissioning Mass.

-Assisted in numerous capacities, the two primary schools associated with Clonard Parish, Kennedy Park and Scoil Mhuire. I would say we are most proud of our work with these schools. We have shared so many moments of prayer as well as laughter with our new friends there. We assisted both schools with their Opening of the School Year Liturgies and with their Christmas Carol Services. The carol services (a previous tradition at Kennedy Park, but new to Scoil Mhuire) were huge successes and lots of fun. Also, at Kennedy Park, we’ve initiated a new program of Class Masses where we planned a month long curriculum to work with individual classes preparing a mass. We choose themes, pick readings and songs, write prayers of the faithful and gifts, and take volunteers to be lectors, cantors, and gift bearers. This year we’ve gotten to work with the fourth and fifth classes, and they seem to love this program. Working in the schools is our favorite part of the week!

Photos from the Schools' Carol Services:

It has been a busy fall, and we’re looking forward to an eventful spring! We have some exciting prospects on the horizon including: the St. Brigid Feast Day Celebration, Lent workshop, Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes, Clonard Parish Mission, Sacrament preparation with Communicants and Confirmands from both primary schools, Stations of the Cross throughout Lent, the Triduum and Easter. As always, we ask that you keep us in your prayers. The next few months will be filled with hard work, exciting visits from loved-ones, and a new Teach Bhríde team in place for next fall! The rest of the year is going to fly by, I’m sure. We’ll keep you posted!

A Jesuit, Some Dominicans, and the IVE...

     On Sunday the 17th of January, Carolyn and I were able to do a little bit of travel outside of Wexford as we headed up to the small village of Kilmyshall (roughly translated as "the middle church on the plain") in the parish of Bunclody. The church in Kilmyshall is run by the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE), a small religious congregation of priests and sisters founded in Argentina. We had the pleasure of meeting Fr. Gabriel, the curate, and a few of the sisters when we attended the Ferns youth festival back in August and they have been trying to get us up to Kilmyshall for a while now. We were finally able to schedule the visit for this weekend to assist with a retreat that their parish was holding all of last week. The final session of the retreat was entitled "The Importance of the Holy Eucharist in our Creed" and was centered on adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Fr. Gabriel asked us to provide the music for the afternoon as a way to accompany the adoration and the talks.
     Our visit began when we were collected at our house by one of the Sisters, a professed member from Alabama who we also met back in August. The drive to Kilmyshall took about an hour and passed through some of the most beautiful landscapes. The village of Kilmyshall is in the foothills of the mountains, and to get there we had to drive through the valley from the cathedral town of Enniscorthy with beautiful views of the Slaney and of the surrounding fields. Our conversation in the car was one of the most enjoyable parts of the day as we were able to discuss with another American missionary the challenges that are being faced in the Irish Church right now. It was great to hear a new perspective and to get some ideas on things that have worked for her and some things that she is still struggling with. The final part of the journey was a little rough because the road up to the village was not paved very well and there were plenty of potholes and uneven surface. When we came into the little village she pointed out the old cemetery, the town water pump, and finally the church. There really isn't much more to the town as there are only about 100 people resident in the village.
     Once we arrived at the parish we were greeted by Fr. Gabriel and were able to set up our keyboard and make sure everything was ready to go. Carolyn put together a great program for the afternoon so that all of the participants could join in with the music. Since the theme of the retreat was the Eucharist Carolyn wanted to put a Eucharistic image on the cover and boy did she hit a home run with this one. We're still unpacking all of the imagery that is present in this one icon!
     The retreat began with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and some moments of quiet prayer. The church was a very simply decorated, but the altar area was prepared beautifully and the served as a good focal point for the afternoon. Following the opening period of prayer the first session of the retreat began. The retreat was preached by Fr. James Swetnam, a Jesuit from Missouri who has been on the faculty of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome since 1962. While we were talking with him after the retreat we found out that he is an avid Notre Dame fan and was classmates with Notre Dame theology professor Fr. Brian Daley, S.J. Father Swetnam has been studying the Letter to the Hebrews (which he claims is in fact a Pauline letter) for almost 50 years now and in the hour and half that he talked we covered just 21 verses of the letter. The retreat was a fairly academic look at Hebrews 13:1-21 and the way in which those verses correspond to the liturgy of the Catholic Church. There is still a lot that I need to process from his talk, but the main gist that I got out of it was the following: (The Eucharist is important in our Creed because the Eucharist was and is the protocreedal statement. When Christ said, "Do this in memory of me," He gave the Apostles their first creed. By our continuing celebration of the Eucharist, we are constantly affirming our belief in that moment when Christ instituted the Sacrament and in all of the beliefs that come from that moment.) Like I said, there is still a lot processing which I need to do to fully understand his talk, but I thought that it was a great reflection on the Eucharist as the center of our faith, especially as we sat in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

     The music which we chose for the afternoon were drawn from the traditional hymns used during adoration, as well as Eucharistic hymns which are fairly common. For the opening hymn we used a piece that the Folk Choir knows well, "Jesus, My Only Desire", which sounded beautiful and haunting in the old church. I had to stop myself multiple times from slipping into the bass part and for some reason this made me focus on the words more than I have in the past. It is truly one of the most beautiful hymns that we use and I just love the opening of verse 3 where we declare, "Jesus the hope of my soul." What an amazing thought, especially in the world we live in today and in the suffering we are seeing in places like Haiti, to be reminded that our soul has only to look at Christ to see renewed hope. We also used two reflection pieces: the antiphonal "Now We Remain", and an amazing setting of the "Adoro te Devote" called "God With Hidden Majesty". The remaining pieces were all traditional adoration texts, O Saving Victim, Tantum Ergo, and O Sanctissima, all of which sounded amazing.
     Following Benediction and the closing of the retreat we were all invited over to the community center for tea and coffee. We did not want to leave our gear in the church so we decided to carry it the 100 meters to the center. We had just a few too many things to carry but there were three Dominican novices attending the retreat and one of them kindly got up from saying vespers to help us carry our things. We were told that to get to the building you take a right out of the church, then a left, then another right. You would think that in a village of less than 100 people you would be able to follow those directions quite easily. As it happened we missed the second right and kept moving up the road. We were having a great discussion with our new Dominican friend Connor about our work here in Ireland and his studies as a novice, and we thought we were heading in the right direction. When we got to the end of the village and were looking out at fields and mountains we decided to turn around and head back. Luckily once we arrived in the center of the village one of the priests was standing there laughing at us. He said it was pretty funny to see me walking down the street carrying a full keyboard on my shoulder.
Tea was a great chance to talk with some of the people who had attended the retreat, including Fr. Stephen who has just recently been reassigned to Santa Clara, California. I told him that if he wants to come to a football game at ND next year to just shoot me an email and I'll try and set him up with tickets. I've already rambled on for a while and am trying to curb my verbosity a bit, so I think I will wrap it up here. All in all it was a great afternoon and we were glad to be able to minister to a new community. We were told that the music added much to the celebration and have been asked back whenever we want to visit. We thank the IVE's up in Kilmyshall and all of the parishioners there for their warm hospitality. I leave you with a few more pictures that I took of the afternoon. Continue to pray for the people in Haiti and consider making a donation to the Red Cross or Catholic Relief Services. I've installed the Red Cross link on the right side of the page which will take you right to the Haiti Relief Fund donation page. Every little bit helps. Have a great week everyone!

 

Nollaig Shona Dhuit!

Happy Christmas from the House of Brigid!
It's been far too long since our last posting, but I wanted to extend warm wishes for a blessed Christmas season from all of us here in Wexford. We have had many letters from friends and family at home, and all of them seem to begin by saying something like "We're sorry you won't be celebrating Christmas at home this year." While it is true that being away from friends and family can be difficult during the holidays, I can assure everyone that the three of us have been more than well taken care of, from both sides of the pond.
In addition to Christmas greetings from our own friends and families, we received as a community a wonderful surprise from our friends in the Folk Choir: a new board game for the house, and Christmas ornaments decorated with pictures of each individual choir member. I wish I could recreate the moment when Martha and I opened the box and realized what was inside it--each of us saw different Folkheads smiling up at us, and we just... well, yelled, really. It was hilarious. The ornaments look great, and it was so moving to know that everyone took time out of their busy schedule of preparing for finals to make sure the three of us knew that they were thinking of us at Christmastime.
Here in Ireland, the Christmas spirit has been non-stop. We received numerous Christmas cards and goodies, as well as several beautiful keepsake ornaments that are sure to conjure vivid memories of our Irish Christmas as we hang them on our trees many Christmases from now. We've enjoyed many new traditions such as mulled wine, mince pies, Christmas crackers, and flaming plum pudding, just to name a few!
Liturgically, the season afforded us the opportunity to learn some new carols, teach some new carols, and sing the old favorites with full heart and voice. Through our carol services and working with the Clonard Family Liturgy Group, we learned a couple of Irish traditional carols. One is called Don Oíche ud I mBeithil, which we were told is a beloved carol throughout Ireland. The title means "I sing of a night in Bethlehem," and it tells of how the first Christmas night was as bright as the dawn. It is a beautiful, haunting tune (as only the Irish can write!); it's one of those that lingers in your head long after you hear it, and one that I will always remember. The other tune is called "A Mhuire Mathair," or "To Mother Mary." It's a combination of Irish and Latin, and it's a Christmas greeting to Our Lady, praising her as the mother of the Infant Jesus, and acknowledging her place as our mother as well, and the text is set to a lyrical tune that reminds me of a lullaby. It was so moving to hear these songs sung by young children, hearing them participate so beautifully in their tradition and heritage.
Within our own vigil choir, we were able to teach several new pieces this year. Since we had the first Vigil Mass of Christmas Eve at 5pm, we decided to begin preludes at 4:30 with a carol sing. The line-up included old favorites like "Joy to the World" and "O Holy Night," but it also included "From East to West" and the chant "Unto Us a Child is Born," both by Chrysogonus Waddell. I was so proud of the choir--they sang "Unto Us a Child is Born" a capella, and even sang the refrain in four-part harmony. It was beautiful! We were also able to teach "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" and "Of the Father's Love Begotten," both of which were very warmly received by the choir members.
I think my personal favorite carol of this season has been "The Wexford Carol." I had been familiar with this piece for a while through various carol services back in the States, so when I realized I was moving to its place of origin, I knew immediately that we'd be using it at Christmas. Through researching the carol's history, I discovered that it was not written in Wexford town, that it actually originated in Enniscorthy, which is about 20 minutes northwest of Wexford. Some people call it "The Enniscorthy Carol," but the name "Wexford Carol" actually refers to County Wexford, not Wexford Town. Geographical technicalities aside, it is a beautiful piece of music, and it was great to introduce it to Chris and Martha, to use it in the Scoil Mhuire carol service, and to sing it on Christmas Day at Mass.
Look for future posts with pictures and videos from the Christmas carol services of Kennedy Park and Scoil Mhuire, and once again, many thanks again to all who have written to us from home and abroad, and most especially thanks to everyone here in Wexford who made sure that we felt as much at home here at Christmas as we would have in our own country. We are so grateful to have the prayers and love and support of so many wonderful people here in Wexford and back at home. May God bless all of you this Christmas season with the peace and joy the Christ-Child brings, may your families and friends know success and prosperity throughout the New Year, and may all of us strive to bring the love of God to all we encounter in all that we do.
Happy Christmas, everyone!

Christ Our Light: The Journey Through Advent

November 6 marked another major milestone for the House of Brigid: our first major workshop for liturgical musicians of the Diocese of Ferns. The event was weeks in the making: we mailed press kits introducing the community and advertising the event to every Parish Priest in the Diocese, out into the wonderful vagueness that is the Irish postal system, with the certitude that, somehow, our letters intended for such specific destinations as "Fr. So-and-So, Parochial House, Bunclody, County Wexford," would find their way to the addressee. Not a single letter was returned unopened; our faith in the Irish postal system with its Harry Potter-esque addresses was entirely justified. In fact, a few weeks later, enquiries and reservations began to surface; the letters had been forwarded on to the choir directors and musicians. Word was getting out.
Our expectation for the number of attendees was guardedly optimistic; we thought we were being overly cautious by requesting more octavo packets than we would need from World Library Publications and GIA, who had graciously agreed to provide repertoire for our event. In the end, both publishers responded with generosity and unbelievable speed, and we had 50 complete packets of 9 titles ready for distribution. We ended up needing almost twice that many.
One week out, our workshop had around 70 confirmed reservations from all over the Diocese, with the promise from our parish supervisors that more would turn up without having contacted us, and turn up they did. A 2:30pm start time meant that most people showed up to register around 2:45 (in Ireland, all times end with "ish"), bu soon we had everyone sorted, and Fr. Denis began his introductions of the community shortly before 3:00.
Considering I was leading my first diocesan workshop, and considering this was the first official diocesan event sponsored by our fledgling community, I was nervous, wondering how the Irish would respond to us, and to the information and music we would present. In the end, all we could do was stand in front of them, and share with them the knowledge and experiences that have nurtured in each of us a real passion for liturgy done well, especially when enhanced by beautiful music. I needn't have been nervous. The groups was incredibly receptive, not only to the music itself, but also to my comments on liturgical music planning, Martha's comments on cantoring, and Chris's comments on the origins of certain Advent texts. I explained that, when you come down to it, our job as music ministers is to help the congregation pray well, in a way that brings beauty to the liturgy and honor to God. We can accomplish this by choosing music that reflects the liturgical action and season, music that is beautiful and worthy of a place in the Mass, music that inspires the congregation to participate with full heart and voice.
Following the workshop, the wonderful ladies of the Clonard Parish community served a meal to the participants, and after that, we adjourned to prepare for our own Vigil Mass, where we were astonished to see that nearly 30 people had stayed to join us in song. It was overwhelming to see such enthusiasm, to meet and converse with so many people who want so badly to improve their liturgical music. There is a real hunger in this country for rejuvenation and renewal.
Most of the participants wrote encouraging compliments on the evaluations we asked them to complete. Nearly all of them found the information useful and the music accessible. A few stated that implementing our suggestions would be very difficult, given the small size of most parish choirs, the lack of people confident enough to cantor, and most of all, the fact that many people in music ministry here in Ireland don't actually read music. While these are difficult obstacles that we ourselves continue to encounter in trying to help others improve their liturgical music, I don't see them as insurmountable. Rather, I found many reasons to be hopeful in coming away from our first diocesan workshop: there are many people in this area who want to learn, who want to grow as musicians, and who want to be inspired in their ministry so that they, in turn, can inspire others to learn and grow in faith, hope, and love. Ultimately, I believe that it is their desire for inspiration that continues to inspire us in our own ministry as we strive to bring a renewed sense of joy to all whom we encounter here in Ireland.

"Last Friday" masses with Kennedy Park

One of the most rewarding parts of our work here in Wexford so far has been our involvement in the two primary schools of Clonard Parish. At Kennedy Park school we’ve begun a program of “Last Friday” masses with individual classes. The three of us go into Kennedy Park once a week to meet with this month’s class to prepare them for a mass on the morning of the last Friday of every month. This allows us to pick a theme related to the month and help the class plan every aspect of the mass according to that theme.

October is the month of the Rosary, so with the first of the two fifth classes we planned and prepared a Marian themed mass. We worked with them to compose Prayers of the Faithful that were all related to qualities we find in our Holy Mother. For example: “Mary went to take care of her elderly cousin Elizabeth before John the Baptist was born. She took care of everyone in need around her. We ask that Mary will watch over our friends and family who are sick, and that we may be like her and help to care for them.” The class also presented gifts to the altar that represented things they wanted to thank God for in their lives. This included everything from an Irish jersey to schoolbooks to the Bread and Wine.

Each student had a special job during the mass either as a reader, a gift bearer, or a cantor. It was so wonderful to see Irish ten-year olds so excited about the mass! Giving them responsibilities really seemed to help them find ownership of the mass and of the entire congregation’s experience of the mass. Some of them were “a little nervous” but they all beautifully and reverently read the readings from the Book of Judith and the Psalms and sang their hearts out on some of the great Marian hymnody we’ve found in Ireland like “As I Kneel Before You.” The regular daily-mass goers also seemed to enjoy a little change of pace and some young life in the church and at mass.

In November we’re working with the other fifth class on a mass in honor of the saints, and we’re looking forward to many great “Last Friday” masses to come!

Commissioning

     The apex of our American invasion week came on Saturday, October 24th. A couple of celebrations converged together on that weekend and the parish had a blowout celebration. The evening began with the normally scheduled Saturday vigil Mass, which is the one where we are in charge of the music. For this Mass though, the parish was celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Clonard Folk Group and so all past members of the group were invited back to join with the current group in providing music for this Mass. The folk group is a dedicated group of singers and musicians who provide music for the 11:15 mass on Sunday mornings. They use everything from traditional hymnody and Irish "folk tunes" to recent compositions from Marty Haugen and our very own Cookie! It has been a great pleasure of ours to sing with this group since we arrived and to help with the planning of these masses, so it was an even greater pleasure to share this evening with them. Our commissioning and their 30th anniversary, all rolled into one massive liturgy (pun fully and unabashedly intended).

     Because this was both an anniversary and a commissioning, invites were extended to clergy from throughout the diocese as well as people connected to the liturgical scene in Ferns. The Mass was celebrated by the Most Rev. Denis Brennan, Bishop of Ferns, who just the day before had blessed our home. There were also six priests concelebrating, a choir of about 30 (including 2 of our guests), and one of the largest congregations we've seen since arriving here! The music stretched out over the 30 year history of the folk group, pulling from the early days of the group and from the more recent pieces that are used. The choir sounded amazing, there were all four parts present, and the congregation was singing along (not something we're used to over here). It was a great celebration of the ministry that this group of talented musicians has cultivated for three decades, and we are proud to be members of this beautiful tradition at Clonard.
     Following the homily (which was also amazing), we proceeded with the actual commissioning of the three of us and our mission here in Ireland. The Bishop invited us to come forward and then Mr. and Mrs. Calcutt came forward as the officers of 'The House of Bridget Inc.' to offer testimony to the Bishop of our willingness and ability to serve the Church in Ireland. The part that I loved the most was their testimony that the hardships we faced in coming over only served to make this program all the stronger and toughened our resolve to carry out this mission. Bishop Denis then asked Fr. Denis if the parish was willing to take us on and support us in our mission. (What would have happened if he said no? We'd already been here two months!) The questions that Bishop Denis asked were not just of a liturgical and musical nature, but also that the parish would help to actually immerse us in the culture of this place so that we can better serve the people of Wexford and the Irish as a whole. It was a subtle and powerful reminder that we are not here to just come in and take over like Americans are sometimes want to do. Instead, just as we discussed when we formed in the spring, we are here to meet the Irish where they are and then to guide them to a fuller understanding and appreciation of the Church through music, liturgy, and friendship. Upon receiving the parish's consent, the Bishop then asked us if we were willing and ready to take on this responsibility. I would like to share with you all the promise that we made in front of God, the Bishop, and our family and friends:

I promise to offer my time, talents, and skill, for the enhancement of sacred music and liturgy,
in the parish community of Clonard, for the good of all God's people and to the Glory of God.

Having made this promise, the Bishop blessed us and our mission, sending us out to serve the people of this parish, the Diocese of Ferns, and the Church in Ireland. We were then presented with a beautiful copy of the Book of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. This is one of seven volumes that are being put out by St. John's College in Minnesota and they are the new "St. John's Bible". It is a truly amazing project and we are grateful to the parish for presenting us with this volume, which now occupies a spot in our prayer room at our house.

     I'm getting very good at epicly long blog posts, so I should probably wrap this one up soon. The rest of the Mass was fairly normal, although the parish also had the Bishop bless two new stained glass windows "since he was here already." These windows commemorate the Wexford martyrs, a group of fishermen and bakers who were killed for refusing to sign an oath recognizing the British monarch as the head of the church. They are very beautiful windows and depict the martyrs as butterflies and doves, two Christian symbols for eternity. Following the mass there was a reception in the community centre with tea and biscuits, as well as a cake for both the folk group and ourselves. It was a great way to wrap up the evening and say thank you to everyone who has made our first few months here so much easier.
     Now the evening didn't entirely end there. It was after all, still the Opera festival, and during the festival they have a series of singing competitions called "Singing Pubs" which are held all throughout the town at the various pubs. Saturday just happened to be the night for Simon's Place, our establishment of choice and so following the reception we headed down for some good times at Simon's. It was insanely crowded and I spent most of the night standing in the entryway blocking access through that door (the bouncer was appreciative because he didn't want anyone going in that door anyway!) The singing was great, we were able to spend some quality pub time with the Calcutts and the London crew, and we even kept tabs on the ND-BC game on Mr. Calcutt's blackberry. Once we knew the final score of that, it was a celebratory round of Guinness, and then back home for the night. I want to personally thank Mr. and Mrs. Calcutt, Cookie and Mrs. Cookie, Hayley, Steph, Claire, and Dan for coming and sharing various parts of the week with us. You all contributed in such distinct ways to making this one of the greatest weeks, not only of my time in Ireland but in recent memory. And now that we're official...Clonard is stuck with us. What a beautiful relationship we have begun, may it continue to grow and bear fruit for many years to come.

Opera Festivus for the Restivus

Let me add a hearty "ditto" to everything Martha and Chris have said recently about the incredible generosity of our Wexford hosts, and the wonderful opportunity we've had recently to pay that generosity forward, playing hosts ourselves to our American guests. The week that was was truly the "Best Week Ever." The food, the friends, the festival, the craic, and especially the prayer--everything that we experienced in that incredible week was literally underscored by music of every imaginable style. Even when it's not festival time, Wexford is an incredibly musical town. At the center of this, of course, is the opera house, but there are also several other places in town where music lovers flock to hear wonderful talent, and we've gotten to experience several of these "Fringe" events over the past couple of weeks.
The Monday after our first wave of visitors arrived, we wandered in to Green Acres while giving the first of many great tours of downtown. Green Acres is one of my favorite places--a wine store and bistro, which also has an attached two-floor art gallery. We wandered up to the second floor gallery, and there was a group of instrumentalists rehearsing Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, one of the greatest Classical pieces ever. It was so random to stumble into such a beautiful performance, but it was also another example of our randomly beautiful Wexford experience--we've found ourselves (often inexplicably) in the midst of some pretty amazing things since moving here, and every time it happens again, all I can do is revel in it and be grateful for the chance to be here.
Probably the best example of this random, beautiful, inexplicable Wexford experience happened last Sunday, when we attended the Festival Mass at Rowe Street Church of the Assumption. It's rare that we have a Sunday morning off, but since we had just had our Commissioning/Folk Group Anniversary/Stained Glass Window Mass the night before, we had the morning free. We hadn't even known about the Festival Mass until dinner at Fr. Denis's on Friday, when Fr. Martin and several other priests insisted that we had to make attending the Festival Mass a priority. Fr. Martin even promised to reserve seats for us, since this liturgy is always standing-room only.
By reserved seats, he meant pretty much the best civilian seats in the house.
We arrived with the Calcutts on Sunday morning, met up with Fr. Martin, who ushered us to the fourth row, right next to the chamber orchestra, with a perfect view of the 30-voice choir and 4 soloists. In the three rows ahead of us sat: the Lord Mayor of Wexford herself (wearing her formal mayoral garb), an Italian dignitary (who didn't say much, but looked practically regal wearing a sash bearing his nation's colors), members of the Irish Parliament (also decked out in their official garb), and people we surmised to be the producers of the festival's featured operas.
Mayor of Wexford, foreign dignitary, Parliament members, opera producers, and us.
Like I said, stumbling backwards into an experience so incredible it was almost laughable for the sheer good fortune and good people that brought us there. More than once Martha, Chris, and I found ourselves looking at each other with that joyfully bewildered "what are we doing here?" expression on our faces.
Not only were we more than a little humbled by being seated in such a place of honor, but I think all of us were overwhelmed to varying degrees by the sheer beauty of the liturgy itself. Once again, Bishop Brennan presided and delivered yet another eloquent homily, capturing the occasion perfectly. The soloists, choir, and orchestra provided the music for the elements of the Mass Ordinary: the director had chosen Franz Joseph Haydn's Theresienmesse, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the composer's death. "All Creatures of Our God and King" was the processional hymn, and "Thine is the Glory" was the recessional--the beautiful tune from Handel's Judas Maccabeus. Tucked in amidst all the fanfare was Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus as the Communion hymn, which never ceases to bring me to the verge of tears.
All in all, it was one of the most incredible culminations of music and worship it has ever been my privilege to witness. It would have been impossible for anyone to remain apathetic in the midst of such a Mass. The music lifted the hearts and souls of all present, inspiring the congregation to offer more heartfelt worship to the One God whose beauty was reflected in every note and present in every prayer.

Good Craic...

     One of my personal highlights from the week that was, was the dinner which was held on Friday night at the home of Fr. Denis. The evening began at our home where our community, our guests, members of the parish, and the Most Rev. Denis Brennan (our local bishop) gathered for a house blessing. Bishop Denis began the brief service by asking God to bless the house and then Mrs. Calcutt gave a short reading. Bishop Denis also invoked the patronage of St. Brigid and blessed the house with holy water. One of the lines in the blessing which struck me the most was when the bishop asked God to bless "the family which occupies it [the house]." We always talk about the Notre Dame family, and the Folk Choir family, but here we are as the Teach Bhride family. We live, we eat, we pray, we argue, we laugh, and we love together, just as any family does. We are not a "traditional" family, but we are a family none the less and it was great to hear those words used by the bishop. The blessing was followed by the obligatory pictures outside with everyone who was in attendance.

     Following the blessing we all traveled down the road to Fr. Denis' house where we were joined by some other members of the parish, a few local priests, and representatives of the parish Folk group. Fr. Denis had gone to great lengths to ensure that the Americans and the Irish were mixed in together, even going so far as to make name plates and assign seats for the dinner. Carolyn and I were seated with Fr. Aodhan, one of the priests assigned to the downtown parishes and Fr. John-Paul, the director of catechetics for the diocese. Fr. John-Paul was the one who guided us on our trip up to Dublin to visit the ND kids. Dinner was an amazing event, with a salad, soup, three different options for the main course, tons of sides, and some great dessert to finish it off. Most of the food was also homemade by Fr. Denis and his staff chef Carolyn [not our Carolyn, their Carolyn]. The food was amazing and the wine flowed freely, usually poured by one priest or another who was up making the rounds with the bottles. The conversation was great as well, Fr. Aodhan is a chaplain for one of the secondary schools in Wexford and so we talked about his work there and how we might become involved in those places. Mid-way through the meal three more folks joined us, friends from Notre Dame who are in the London program this fall and decided to spend the last weekend of their fall break in Wexford. After quick reunions they settled in for their dinner, which they claimed was the best food they had eaten since arriving in the Isles last month.
     Dinner was followed by a few speeches, first from Fr. Denis, as the official welcome to us and to all of the Americans who were over visiting. He was followed by Bishop Denis, a man who every time he speaks I am enthralled by what he says. Requests have been made for hard copies of his homilies, which we hope to receive at some point this year. Then it was time for the Americans to be put on the spot. Mrs. Calcutt got up and gave a brief word of thanks on behalf of the corporation and everyone backing this project, touching on some of the difficulties in getting this off the ground but reveling in now seeing the great works coming out of it.  Madam House Director followed with a few words of thanks for all of the support we have received from both sides of the pond in the last few months. It was amazing to be sitting in a room with people who we have known for years and people we have just met, all of whom are dedicated to seeing this project work. We've received so much support from the people back in the States, but we've also received so much support from the pastoral staff and parishioners of this, our new home.
     With dinner and the speeches done, the three of us and the Folk group members had to run off to the parish for our weekly rehearsal, which was larger than normal due to the large liturgy that would happen the next night. Not only were we being commissioned by the Bishop, but the Folk group was celebrating 30 years of ministry in the parish, and we were dedicating two new stained glass windows which had been made for the church. The rehearsal was great, but back at Fr. Denis' the party had gone on without us. By the time we returned the party had moved into the sitting room where a "session" or sing-along was in full swing. There were guitars, a few whistles, a mandolin, even an accordion, as well as the combined voices of the Irish hosts and the American guests. We sat in that room for hours, going back and forth from genre to genre. There were plenty of American favorites from John Denver, Bob Dylan, and others. Fr. Denis whipped out a few of his classics, including the rebel songs which talk about the Wexford rebellion of 1798. We even had a rousing rendition of "How Much is that Doggy in the Window."
     By the end of the night we all were pretty tired and it was time to head off to bed. The session had capped off a great day for everyone. We introduced our American friends to the ways of the Irish, we had a lot of singing, and eating, and drinking. It was a night filled with good craic, the Wexford term for having a great time. These two groups of people whom we have come to love were finally joining together and experiencing each other as we experience them. For us, this week was when we officially stopped being visitors and started being people who live here and work here. We hosted people, we showed them around the town which we now call home, we took people to our favorite pub and to our favorite coffee houses. And in many ways that night of good craic in Fr. Denis' sitting room solidified the relationship between the Americans of Teach Bhride and the Irish of Teach Bhride. We all know each other now, everyone has talked face to face, we can have a better understanding of where everyone is coming from in this project. And I think because of that we have made this project all the stronger for the future. We are no longer a loose group of people who are trying to make something work, we are two unified groups on either side of the Atlantic who know that this project is worth the effort and will yield amazing fruit in the years ahead.

Best Week Ever- Wexford Opera Festival

Alright, prepare yourself for a flurry of blogposts. Our community was just graced by a slew of visitors and special events this past week and we have lots to report. Affectionately referred to as “The Best Week Ever” (circa popular VH1 program from a few years back), this week was full of opportunities for fun, prayer, reminiscing, and celebration.

It was also conveniently the week of the Wexford Opera Festival, arguably the most exciting week in Wexford over the whole year. The festival is renowned throughout Europe and brings in some amazing talent to our little town. The town is noticeably more crowded as visitors come in to see one or all three of the operas performed over the eleven-day festival. The streets of the town are all lit up like Christmas, and you can just feel the excitement. One of the most wonderful things about working for the church in a small town is the incredible connections and opportunities we’re given. The “head of house,” Alfred Lacey, helped the three of us get tickets to the dress rehearsal for Ghosts of Versailles the day before our visitors arrived. And when our visitors did arrived we all went down to the quay to watch the spectacular fireworks shot out over the water to mark the opening of the festival. Then we were able to go see the opening night of the “double billed” opera later in the week with Steve and Michele warner, and my parents. We are very grateful to Paul Hennessey, the chairman of the festival, and his wife Angela for helping us get those tickets! We are consistently blessed by the generosity and graciousness of our Clonard parishioners.

The Opera was a great experience for us all. We all got dressed up and went to see some world-class talent. The “double bill” is two shorter operas performed in the same night, so we saw both Une Éducation Manquée and La Cambiale di Matrimonio. However, the fun definitely continued afterwards when we took our “American visitors” down to our favorite local pub, Simon’s. (yes, still in our formal-ware). We had a great night introducing our friends and family from the states to our newly made friends here in Wexford.

Silliness and Spirituality

This past Monday I had the opportunity to work with two classes of third-year students at Kennedy Park primary school, leading two sessions focusing on music and singing as part of Arts Week. We as a community have been fortunate enough to work with two of Kennedy Park's fifth classes, teaching them new music for their Opening Mass for the school year, and working with one fifth class in planning a special, individual class liturgy, so I was excited to have the chance to work with some of the younger students. The fifth class teacher approached me about the Arts Week sessions last week, saying that her previous presenter had canceled, and is there any way I would be willing to spend two blocks of 45 minutes perhaps teaching a song or two to third-year students? I had to give it about 2 seconds of thought before I was willing to commit.

Since the intent of Arts Week was not to prepare any liturgical music but just to have fun and get young children interested in and excited about music, I wasn't quite sure what to teach them. However, the approach of Halloween provided a great answer. I decided to teach a ridiculous, fun Halloween song (complete with motions), and then, in order to provide the sessions with a little substance and spiritual depth, I would explain the liturgical roots of Halloween, and teach them a song appropriate for the feast of All Saints Day.

We began with warm-ups, as all good singers should, practicing our vocal scoops and sighs, lip buzzes, stretches, and other amusing forms of vocalizing. After that, I began teaching the classic Halloween ditty "Five Little Pumpkins." It was massively entertaining to teach the students words and motions to phrases like "There are witches in the air." (The motion for this is to look up at the sky, point, and move your finger across the air as though you're following a witch on a broomstick.)

Naturally, the kids had a blast learning this classic in the repertoire of Halloween songs, and they picked it up very quickly. After promising them that we would sing it again at the end of our time together, I began a new series of questions with: Does anyone know what we're really celebrating on Halloween? (Answer: "Devils and witches!" Not quite.) I explained the concept of celebrating important feasts with vigils, like Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve, and that Halloween is really the "Eve" of All Saints Day, when the Church remembers all the men, women, and even children who lived holy lives. I then asked: Can you name any saints? Hands shot up as children called out their favorites: Patrick, Brigid, Columba, Aidan, Santa Claus (the student forgot his real name), on and on. I introduced the next song, "Sing with All the Saints in Glory," and explained the meaning of the text phrase by phrase, clearing up slightly confused answers like: "The Resurrection is when Jesus rose from the dead on Christmas." So close... so endearing!

The students learned the familiar Ode to Joy tune almost instantly, and were even able to grasp the more formal text. Of course, by the end of each session, both classes were ready to sing "Five Little Pumpkins" again, but it was great to see their enthusiasm for the All Saints Day hymn as well, and was happy that I was able to combine the fun and silliness of Halloween with the beauty and joy of All Saints Day. Once again I found myself grateful for the opportunity to work with children. It has proven to be one of the most rewarding facets of our ministry here, and I pray that it may not only continue, but also grow in scope and depth as this year passes.

O'Connell House Fellowship

     On Friday, the 9th of October the community was invited to Dublin by Fr. John-Paul Sheridan who is the director of catechetics for the Diocese of Ferns. He is also one of the chaplains for the Notre Dame study abroad program in Dublin based at O'Connell House on Merrion Square. The O'Connell House hosts fellowship nights once a month for students, alumni, and friends of Notre Dame who are based in Dublin. Officially these are "ACE Fellowship" nights, connected to the Alliance for Catholic Education and give educators and students a chance to gather and discuss topics surrounding Catholic education.
     Fr. John-Paul collected us on Friday afternoon and we proceeded up the old Gorey road, which he claims is quicker than the motorway. (Unless you get stuck behind slow moving trucks like we did!) To pass the time Fr. Sheridan introduced us to an NPR show that he listens to called "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me". It's a quiz show based on the news of the last week and I found it quite hilarious. It's now one of my regular podcast downloads. Highly recommended. On the way we stopped for a cup of coffee, but as it was after 5 on a Friday in Ireland, the shop was already closed. Undeterred by our lack of caffeine we continued on to Dublin, accompanied by the NPR podcast and then my introduction to Garrison Keillor and "The News from Lake Wobegon". Again, highly recommended for those of you who have not heard him.

     Upon arrival at O'Connell House we were greeted by the director Kevin Whelan (a native Wexfordian), program coordinator Joe Stranix (a fellow '09 grad), and a young couple Elaine and John who are involved with ND and Catholic education in Ireland. Seeing as we were early we took a little walk past St. Stephen's Green in search of the American Embassy, aka STARBUCKS!! We've had coffee and tea since we've arrived in Ireland, but we all marveled at being able to walk into a place and order exactly what we wanted just like we were back in LaFortune. We got it to go and walked back to the centre past Trinity College and arrived at the front door, one of the many Georgian doors in Dublin. Martha spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get  a good picture of the door, which in the end turned out to be one of the coolest pictures I've seen.
     Joe met us at the door and gave us a great tour of the house which includes ground floor offices and study space, a chapel, library, and tons of classroom space. Martha remembered her time as a study abroad student and how she was quite jealous of the Dublin students and their amazing facilities. The centre is run through the generous contributions of the Keough family (who also donated my dorm at ND) and Naughton family. The space is a great asset to the students of the Dublin program!
     The fellowship kicked off with a great Mass in the house, celebrated by Fr. Sheridan with music on the guitar by Elaine. We joined with some regulars, the staff of the house, and current students in celebrating the Mass. When the three of us talked about the Mass later we all agreed that for some reason this Mass felt like home. It may have been the music, the other American accents responding with us, or just the sense of being back with Notre Dame people, but for some reason we all felt very refreshed by the Mass at O'Connell House. Fr. Sheridan gave an excellent homily and there was a beautiful communion reflection provided by Elaine which served to cap the Mass off nicely. Following Mass the fellowship continued with a great meal and great conversation. I was able to forget for a moment that I was no longer a student and I sunk right back into the joking conversation and banter that flew around the table. I'm not sure how long we sat at the table, but the conversation and the food continued flowing until they began to put tables and chairs away. Our end of the table finished the night off with a series of pretty funny religious jokes, many of them having to do with the Jesuits. (Fr. John-Paul, a product of two Jesuit institutions, had some of the best Jesuit jokes)
     The ride home was just as great as the ride to Dublin. After some great conversation about the state of the Church and the state of American politics, we turned back to the iPod for the rest of the ride. There were some great classics like the Biebel "Ave Maria" which brought us back to Glee Club concerts, a haunting song which I recognized from my favorite show "The West Wing", and finally the short stories of Oscar Wilde as read by Stephen Fry. To accompany it all we were able to watch the nearly full moon off the Irish coast during the entire drive. I wouldn't say it was a spiritual experience, but it was a very relaxing and comforting drive. The entire trip lasted about eight hours, but it was eight hours of music, fun, laughter, old friends, new friends, good liturgy, and food. After two months in this country we are finally beginning to settle into it as home and this little touch of familiarity helped to remind us that wherever home is there is always the Notre Dame family. We look forward to welcoming more of that family in the next week as some guests drop in for a visit. Cookie and Mrs. Cookie arrive on Monday and that's just the start of things. I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about after next week. Hope all is well with everyone back in the States. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

Labs

P.S. GO IRISH!!!! BEAT SOUTHERN CAL!!!!

Irish Music Session

Tonight I was invited over to the house of one of the ladies in the folk group, Stacia (sp?), for an Irish music session. This is a fairly regular event at her house and Martha and Carolyn attended one back in June when they were over. Tonight was apparently a small crowd, but it was great to hear these people play the songs they've grown up hearing. We had Stacia, Maureen, and Hugh on whistles and flute, Maureen's mother Maureen on piano, John on bodhran, flute, and harmonica, Jim on banjo and guitar, Tom on guitar and flute, and Matty who was the main vocalist. All of the men also threw in vocals from time to time. There was everything from jigs, reels, and airs, on to traditional Irish ballads and made up renditions of Elvis, as well as a guest appearance by yours truly with a little Folk Choir favorite. Unfortunately I ran out of the house without grabbing my camera, but I will be sure to have it with me in three weeks when the next session rolls around.

For me, this was something that I had been missing in the first month here, music purely for the sake of playing music. There always needs to be that time when you're not playing because you need to, and unlike Martha and Carolyn I do not have the skills to sit down and play piano or guitar or ukulele whenever I need that. I was really craving just enjoying music for a night, and I'm so glad to have had that.

First Vigil Choir Rehearsal

Last night marked another Teach Bhríde milestone: we held our first meeting/rehearsal for the choir we're forming to sing at the 7:00pm Vigil Mass every Saturday. I have to admit, after cold-calling around 20 local singers recommended by our organist, leaving many voicemails, and hearing a fair few say, "Thanks but no thanks," I was a little nervous as to what we would be faced with when 8:30pm rolled around. It turns out I had no reason to be nervous. By 8:45 we had welcomed around half a dozen women, and two very brave guys: a secondary school student who had encouraged his dad to come along.

After introducing myself, Martha, and Chris, I explained a little about the background of the House of Brigid project, as well as what our goals were now that we were living in Wexford and working at Clonard. With that, we delved into the music--singing a few warm-ups, determining voice parts, and outlining the music for their first liturgy, which will be Saturday, October 3. I was amazed at how everyone just jumped right in to learning a hymn they had not yet encountered: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. The hymn tune, called Hyfrydol, is one of my all-time favorites: simple, elegant, with lots of room for reharmonization, and I was delighted to hear everyone learn it so quickly, and to hear a very positive reaction to the new tune.

Within 10 minutes or so they were ready to move on to the evening's next selection, a piece familiar in the Irish Catholic Church as well as the American, especially within the community of the Notre Dame Folk Choir: Set Your Heart on the Higher Gifts. We had selected this piece primarily because its adaptation of the 1 Corinthians 13 text fits the marriage imagery of the Scriptures for that particular Sunday, but also because it is included in the Irish hymnal, In Caelo. As I explained to the choir, part of the difficulty with moving to a new country and beginning work as a liturgical musician is the fact that you really have very little sense of what music the congregation might already know. While this experience is as much about learning from our Irish hosts as it is imparting knowledge of new (or at least different) repertoire, it's great to discover what music we have in common with one another. By the evening's end, the choir had learned the SAB harmony to the refrain for Set Your Heart (we don't have any tenors quite yet!), and their sound was absolutely beautiful.

To cap the night off, we ended with a review of another piece common to both Ireland and the States due to its inclusion in In Caelo, a setting of the St. Patrick's Breastplate called Christ Be Near at Either Hand. Most of the choir members were already familiar with this piece, and were delighted to learn that it had been chosen as the recessional hymn for the choir's induction Mass.

After over a month of being in a country that seemed familiar yet still foreign, learning my way around the winding streets of Wexford town, remembering to look right first before crossing the street, and feeling with varying degrees of keenness the fact that I am not in Kansas anymore (no, it's not a cheesy movie reference--it's where I'm actually from), I felt at home in front of that choir last night. I felt comfortable being back in front of a group, leading warm-ups, giving pitches, playing through parts, offering direction on phrasing and breaths, and hearing it all begin to take shape as one part combined with another.

I may not be able to drive a stick shift on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road, I may not be able to understand the different phrases and forms of expression, and I may not be able to dial an Irish phone number without being very confused, but I am able to stand in front of a group, teach music, and talk about the liturgy, because those two things are constant wherever I go. Wherever I have music, and more importantly, wherever I have the liturgy, that's home. And, as we all know, there's no place like home.

(Okay I couldn't resist that one.)

Kennedy Park Opening of the School Year Liturgy

This Tuesday, was the Opening of the School Year Liturgy for Kennedy Park (one of the two primary schools of the parish we'll be working with this year). We worked specifically with the Fifth class (so ten-year olds) to prepare an Offertory piece for the mass. They're great singers and did a beautiful job singing "I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light." It was wonderful to get into the schools and to start getting to know the students. We're excited to continue working with the Fifth class for our first couple of "Last Friday" masses we'll be doing with individual classes at Kennedy Park over the course of the year.