Meathman's Diary: Can faith of the past guide our future?

JIMMY GEOGHEGAN

They came from near and far in the kind of numbers that would be unimaginable these days for a religious event of it's kind.

In the summer of 2000 a massive crowd of 15,000 showed up for a mass on the Hill of Slane; yes 15,000, making it one of the best attended events of the year in the Meath.

Would it happen now? Would so many people show up for a mass on the Hill of Slane or indeed elsewhere? You would have to say no and that reality is another indication of how our society has changed over the years - and particularly how people view the Catholic church.

The Mass was held on a July day to celebrate the 'Great Jubilee of 2000.' According to a report in the Meath Chronicle the "day was a feast of colour, music, craft and prayer and the pilgrims heard messages from John Paul II and the President Mary McAleese."

The President in her message pointed out how "the Hill of Slane has always held a very special in the hearts of Irish people and in the religious traditions of all the Christian Churches of Ireland."

The day began early for the 1,200 or so walkers who took part in "two official walking pilgrimages" one of which started off from the Hill of Tara at 9.30am while another began in Mornington at the mouth of the Boyne river where St Patrick's is said to have landed before he travelled to Slane.

"The walkers came from places as far away as Mountbolus in Offaly, Kingscourt, many places in Westmeath and even from Co Clare and stopped several times for short periods of prayer and reflection during the journey," added the Meath Chronicle report.

In his message to the congregation the Rev. Dr. Michael Smith, the Bishop of Meath said that the flame lit by St Patrick had "spread all over Europe." He added that modern western society "too often sought to trivialise the sacred." He added that human life had been reduced to a disposable commodity and "the believer must uphold Christian truths and values, especially when it involves going against current fashion."

The way people have fallen away from the Church over the past 20 years or so is one of the great social movements of our time; a huge shift in attitudes and outlook; the exodus no doubt speeded along by the many scandals.

As we face into what promises to be a winter filled with more challenges than usual - what one commentator I heard described morosly as our "winter of discontent" - many people could do with the consolation of a faith that, in the past, sustained their ancestors through difficult times.

In the absence of that faith those people, particularly those burdened by mental health issues, must find the resources and resilience within themselves to make it through the next six months or so. Somehow.

Jimmy Geoghegan