CHAPTER SEVEN
When Grandfather was a young boy, the priests in the parish
travelled either on horseback or on foot. If somebody was in
danger of death, a relative or friend was sent to call out the
priest to administer the Last Rites ( Extreme Unction ). The
person who went to summon the priest usually waited and travelled
back with him, as people believed it was better if the priest was
not left to make the journey alone. Back in those days, people
were of the opinion that, because the priest was carrying the
Blessed Sacrament, or Sacred Wafer, while on a sick - call, he
would surely be attacked by the Devil, who would try to prevent
him from reaching the dying person. They believed Satan would
make every effort to prevent the priest from hearing the person's
confession, forgiving his sins, administering Holy Communion, and
preparing him for the journey to the next life.
It was also believed that while on these sick - calls, the priest
could hear the voices of the 'holy souls' in Purgatory, crying
out from under the eaves of the houses, asking him to say Masses
for the repose of their souls, thereby hastening their release
from the place of suffering.
Many people were of the opinion that if their loved ones who
had died were not at rest they remained nearby, and that if the
person had died at home their presence remained in the house,
especially in the room in which they had died. So it was common
practice in the Quarry to ask a priest to say Mass in the house,
for the repose of the soul of the person who had died. The priest
would then go from room to room, praying and sprinkling holy
water, thereby 'releasing' the soul of the deceased from the
house, freeing it to go to its eternal destination.
But there was a firm conviction that the souls of the dead
would return to the house again, at least once each year. In many
homes, on 'All - Souls' Night', in the month of November, the
table was set at bedtime for whatever number of deceased family
members they expected to return during the night. Bread and water
were left on the table, and the key was left in the door, as a
means of assuring the expected visitors that they were welcome.
The departed souls also returned, it was believed, when a
family member was dying. The old folks were of the opinion that
when the departed souls entered the room they would hover around
the bedside, being recognised by the person whose life was ebbing
away. It was felt they had come back to help their loved one to
make their final journey.
People very much depended upon The Blessed Virgin's
intercession on behalf of those who had died. In the Common Mass
for the Dead, the following prayer was included:
"O God, the bestower of forgiveness and the lover of
human salvation, we beseech Thee of Thy tender love to grant that
the brethren of our congregation, with their relations and
benefactors who have passed out of this life, by the intercession
of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, and all Thy saints, may come to the
fellowship of eternal bliss."
Because many of the people believed they could not go directly
to Heaven when they died, but would have to spend some time in
Purgatory, suffering in flames for their sins, they made every
effort to ensure that the duration of their stay in that place
would be as short as possible. When making their last will and
testament, some people ensured that a certain amount of money
would be given to the priests, who would say Masses for the
repose of their soul. Others depended upon the prayers their
family would say for them after they had died. But, above and
beyond everything else, most peoples' confidence was ultimately
in the Blessed Virgin's intercession on their behalf.
As another means of shortening the duration of their stay in
Purgatory, many people depended upon earning Indulgences. An
Indulgence could be described as a certain amount of merits a
person can earn by performing various religious activities. For
example, the Church promises that each time a person goes to
confession, receives Communion, and says the Rosary, the merits
of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints, will be
offered to God on their behalf, resulting in a lessening of the
amount of suffering that person will have to do for his sins in
Purgatory. This is officially stated as follows: "The
Church, in granting an Indulgence, offers to God, for the
remission of the temporal punishment deserved for our sins, the
infinite superabundant merits of our Lord, and also, in Him and
through Him ( though only secondarily ), the merits of the
Blessed Virgin and the Saints."
According to the Church, not only the living, but the dead,
could benefit from Indulgences. People were, therefore,
encouraged to offer up some of the Indulgences they had earned,
for the souls in Purgatory, asking God to relieve their
sufferings.
It was believed that many Indulgences could be earned through
the recitation of the Rosary. The Holy Rosary consists of
reciting, in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 150 Hail Marys,
which are divided into 15 Decades, each one beginning with an
'Our Father' and, after 10 Hail Marys, finishing with the 'Glory
be to the Father.'
Lucia, one of the visionaries of Fatima, testified that Our
Lady appeared to her on December 10th. 1925, with the child Jesus
at her side. She stated that Mary said, "My daughter, look
at my heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men
pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude.
You, at least, try to console me, and say that I promise to
assist at the hour of death with All the Graces necessary for
Salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five
consecutive months, go to confession and receive Holy Communion,
recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a
quarter of an hour, while meditating on the mysteries of the
Rosary, with the intention of making Reparation to me."
As a means of encouraging them to say the Rosary, the people were reminded of Flammin, and other Roman Catholic writers, who told the following story: "A young girl was miraculously converted, and enrolled in the 'Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary', by St. Dominic. After her death, she appeared to him and told him that she had been condemned to seven hundred years in
Purgatory, because of her own sins, and the sins others had
committed through her influence. She pleaded with him to ease her
pains by his prayers, and to ask the Confraternity members to do
likewise. St. Dominic did as she requested. Two weeks later, she
appeared to him again, but this time more radiant than the sun,
having been delivered from Purgatory as a result of the prayers
of the Confraternity members. She informed St. Dominic that the
Holy Souls in Purgatory had given her a message to ask him to
continue preaching the Holy Rosary, and to plead with their
relations to offer up the Rosary for them, assuring them that
they would reward them abundantly when they came into
glory."
Such stories were used to great effect, and certainly resulted
in many families making the recitation of the Rosary a priority.
As far as my grandparents were concerned, the recitation of the
Rosary was the chief means by which they could earn Indulgences,
which would be of great benefit to themselves, to their children,
and also to the holy souls in Purgatory.
This custom was passed on to their children, and I remember my
mother gathering us all together, and kneeling down with us in
the kitchen, leading us in the recitation of the Rosary.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
During their Summer holidays from school, one of the things the
children who lived in the Quarry looked forward to with great
excitement was the prospect of going on an excursion. On most
Sundays during the summer months, either C.I.E., the Irish Rail
Company, or the local bus company, organised day - trips to
various parts of the country. Children could travel at half -
price fare, so the women with large families would take two or
three of the youngsters at a time, on one of the trips. Your
selection for the journey depended a lot upon how well behaved
you were at home or at school so, as soon as an excursion was
advertised, a remarkable change could be noticed in the behaviour
of many of the children.
Trips to the seaside were always the favourite. The home -
made, hand - sown, sometimes knitted swimwear, of various
textures and designs, was packed on Saturday night. Then, after
early Mass on Sunday morning, the sandwiches were made, and the
'real' flasks filled with hot tea. But the only 'flasks' some of
the folks had were 'Johnny - Jump - Up' cider bottles. Some of
these were filled with milk, while others were filled with cold
tea, the milk and sugar having been already added. These were
then carefully packed, and carried in the standard net message
bag. On the bus trips, the boys always preferred to occupy the
back seats, where singing, joking, and storytelling were the
order of the day. Tramore, in County Waterford, was the nearest
seaside resort to Thurles, and the sixty miles trip did not take
more than a couple of hours. The journey to the beach in
Salthill, in County Galway, usually took about three hours.
Excursions to places of religious interest, like Saint
Patrick's Purgatory, on Lough Derg, and Croagh Patrick, in Mayo,
were also catered for. A day - trip to the village of Knock, in
County Mayo, was the highlight of the year for many people.
Sometimes a special train was laid on to carry the large crowd of
pilgrims from the Thurles area to this remote village set in the
rugged countryside of the west of Ireland.
In 1879, on August 21st., it was reported that The Blessed
Virgin Mary appeared in the village of Knock. The following
excerpts are from one of the many accounts which have been
written concerning this event:
"The Apparition may be easily re - constructed from the
accounts of the various witnesses. The central figure, holding
prominence of position, slightly in advance of the others, and
somewhat taller in appearance, was recognised as our Blessed
Lady.
But there were others; and they were seen. As the witnesses
looked, they saw to the left of Our Lady, and inclined before
her, one whom they had no difficulty in identifying as St.
Joseph; actually he was on the right. On her left there was a
figure clothed in priestly vestments with whom there was a little
difficulty. But one of the witnesses identified the figure as
that of St. John the Evangelist. The only way in which she could
do this, on her own avowal, was by a comparison with a statue of
him already seen. But there was a difference; she noted it. The
person in the Apparition wore a mitre, not the usual kind but a
short - set kind of one which we know to be the characteristic of
the Eastern Church. She it was who whispered that it was St.
John; the others were satisfied that it could only be he.
To the left of St. John and somewhat behind him there was an
altar, a full - sized altar without ornaments of any kind, and
upon the altar stood a lamb of some five or six weeks old; behind
the lamb and away from him, standing erect upon the altar, was a
large cross without any figures on it. The lamb seemed to be
looking towards Our Lady. Between this altar and Our Lady stood
the Evangelist, St. John, whose right hand was raised and
inclined in the direction of our Blessed Lady; in his left hand
he held a book, 'the lines and letters' of which the little boy
saw; and he seemed to be preaching and impressing something upon
the audience.
Everything in the apparition points to the fact that our
Blessed Lady is the central figure. She wore white robes,
fastened at the neck, and there was a golden crown upon her head,
a crown that seemed high, the upper parts of it being alive with
sparkling crosses; immediately beneath the crown, where it fitted
her brow, was a rose. The spontaneous gesture of the old woman of
seventy five was to throw herself at the feet of Our Lady to
embrace them. But her sense of touch was not gratified. She
returned to her place; 'I continued to recite the Rosary on my
beads while there, and I felt great delight and pleasure in
looking at the Blessed Virgin. I could think of nothing else.'
Such is the true account of that memorable evening of August
21st., 1879, when some fifteen people or more were privileged to
find themselves in the presence of our Lady of Knock."(
Father James, O.F.M. Cap. )
There was at least one major difference between this reported
Apparition at Knock, and the ones at Lourdes and Fatima.
Bernadette reported that our Lady spoke during the Apparition at
Lourdes. Lucia testified that at Fatima, the Blessed Virgin spoke
to her, telling her 'secrets', which she was to communicate to
the world at a later date. But at Knock, each of those who
testified to having seen the Apparition, said that our Lady did
not speak. Neither did St. Joseph, or St. John.
The scene of the reported Apparition soon became a place of
pilgrimage, and people from all over the country travelled to the
hamlet in Co. Mayo. As the news spread, visitors from many
different countries made the journey to Knock. In later years, an
airport was built near the now rapidly expanding village. A large
Basilica was built in honour of Our Lady of Knock, and thousands
of visitors who made the pilgrimage each year worshipped Mary on
the very site of the reported Apparition.
By some of the statements he made when he said Mass at Knock,
during his visit to Ireland, Pope John Paul 11 confirmed, as far
as many Irish people were concerned, the Roman Catholic Church's
official recognition that the Apparition on that rainy day in
August, 1879, was a genuine visitation by the Blessed Virgin
Mary. It really delighted Mary's faithful Irish worshippers to
hear the Pope refer to her as "Queen of Ireland", and
"Our Lady of Knock."
Click here to read the next 2 chapters