Homily of Bishop Kevin for the Dedication of the Oratory at Coláiste Chiaráin, Athlone

Homily of Bishop Kevin Doran for the Dedication of the Oratory at Coláiste Chiaráin, Athlone

Monday 9^th September 2024  – Feast of St Ciarán of Clonmacnoise

We had originally intended holding this celebration in May, but ….”the best laid plans …”. Sometimes, when things don’t work out, it can be providential. So, we gather today on the Feast of Saint Ciarán, our College patron saint. I think it is good for us to look back for a moment to Clonmacnoise, not as we know it today, but to what it was then, in its prime; a place of learning and a place of prayer. Perhaps to the traveller, approaching the river on foot, Clonmacnoise might have come at the end of a long day of walking through hostile territory. It would have been seen as a place of sanctuary and peace, where a traveller could feel welcome and rest a while.

In our planning for Colaiste Chiaráin, we wanted to achieve something similar. We knew that it would be a busy place of learning, with people coming and going, with bells ringing and with all the technology of school in full swing. God’s work is being done in every classroom, in every office, in the canteen and out in the grounds, if we are using the gifts we have been given, to serve him and to serve one another. That is what the two Scripture readings are about today; the different gifts God gives us, for all sorts of different service.

God can be found in all places, but it seems important that, in the midst of all these other things, we have one dedicated space that speaks to us more particularly of the presence of God among us. What we are going to do here is about blessing and consecration. Blessing is about saying thanks to God for the gift that he has given us of this beautiful oratory. Consecration is about setting this place apart as a sacred space. The altar symbolises sacrifice. In the Old Testament times, people offered the best of what they had – the animals and the produce of the land – as a way of saying thanks to God for his blessings. In the New Testament, the focus is on the Sacrifice of Jesus; his gift of himself. He gave himself generously throughout his whole life, but in a particular way he offered himself in sacrifice on the cross to show how far God was prepared to go to be close to us and to draw us close to him. Jesus gave the same gift of himself at the Last Supper, but in a different way, when he took the bread and said “this is my body which is given up for you”, and likewise the wine.  We will re-enact that same sacrifice on this altar, not just today but in the years ahead, so that gift of Jesus continues to be given in our time and so that we are gathered as into one his people.

The altar is not, therefore, just like any other table. It will be consecrated with the oil of Chrism, just as you were consecrated when you were Baptised, and again when you were Confirmed. The Chrism is used for the dedication of people and of sacred object for God’s service. As it happens, today at Mass, I will be using a chalice that was presented by Count John McCormack, a great musician and singer of the last century. He presented it to the then Bishop in 1910, as an expression of appreciation for the education he received from the Catholic School to which he went in Athlone as a child and subsequently at the College of the Immaculate Conception, Summerhill, Sligo. Just last year, I passed that chalice to Fr. John, because I felt it should be here in Athlone.

I want to say a few short words of thanks to all who have made today possible:

• To ICS of Dromod, Co Leitrim, the Contractors who developed this space so beautifully for us.
• To the young people and their teachers who spent many long hours preparing the beautiful mosaic. I know that the work required great dedication from them, and it is proof, if proof were needed, that what is worth doing always involves some sacrifice.
• To the people in Clonmacnoise who prepared the two reproductions for us, one depicting the laying of the foundation stone of Clonmacnoise.
• The Sisters of Mercy and the Knights of St. Columbanus, who supported the project so generously.
• To Mr. Seamus Gannon, Ms. Aine Fallon, Ms. Lucy Nally, Deacon Tony and all the Religious Education team. At the end of the Mass, with the kind agreement of the Principal Mr. Brendan Waldron, I will be handing the Oratory over into to the care of the chaplain and the Religious Education team.