Church Newsletter
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After 10 years it is with sadness I hear that
Geocities is closing down shortly, new site at newtownsandes.jimdo.com For Church News and Notes http://newtownsandes.jimdo.com/
A CHEILIURADH AG
POBAL DE
MAIGHE MHEAIN & CHNUIC AN IUIR
13u La Me�n F�mhair, 2009
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Please pray for the following whose anniversaries occur and for whom Holy Mass
will be offered as follows:-
Sat. 12th Sept. 8.00pm Jackie Enright
Sun. 13th 10.00am For the People of the Parish
11.00am Danny Walsh, Leitrim Middle
Mon. 14th No Mass in Moyvane
Tues. 15th 8.00pm Hanna & Michael Galvin & the deceased
members of the Galvin Family, Barragougeen
Wed. 16th 9.15am Private Intention
Thurs. 17th 8.00pm Private Intention
Fri. 18th 9.15am Private Intention
Sat. 19th 8.00pm Nellie O�Connor, late of Glin Rd
Sun. 20th 10.00am Jack Leahy, The Nurseries
Confessions on Saturdays from 12 - 12.30pm and on request.
Adoration Moyvane Sun. 4.00pm to 5.00pm
No Adoration in Moyvane on Wednesday 16th September.
Knockanure Tues. 10.00am to 6.00pm
Readers:- Vigil �na Fitzmaurice & Elaine Hudson
11am Paul & Anthony Kiely
Knockanure 10am Mary Flaherty & Siobhan Fitzgerald
A Suggestion has come to leave the Vigil Mass on Saturday nights at 8pm during the Winters Months. Any suggestions or comments from the Parishioners?
Community Bulletin
Knockanure Community Centre
Modern Dancing Classes will commence at Knockanure Community Centre on Monday 14th September, 2009 between 7-8pm. Enquires (068) 49799/ 086 8392787.
Aerobic Classes will be commencing at the centre on Wednesday 30th September, 2009.
Yoga Classes will commence at Knockanure Community Centre on Thursday 1st October, 2009 at 8pm. Enquiries on 068 49799 or 086 8392787.
Drama Classes for National School Children will commence at Knockanure Community Centre on Friday 25th September, 2009, between 6-7pm. Enquiries on 068 49799 or 086 8392787
Afternoon Dance at Knockanure Community Centre on Sunday 4th October, 2009 2.30 -5.30pm. Admission free. Raffle will be held on the day. Music by Stevie Donegan. Enquiries on 068 49799 or 086 8392787.
Knockanure Fun Club
Modern Dance Classes every Monday 7pm-8pm. Only �7 per person per class, learn all the latest dances with Madeline Mulqueen. Madeline is a member of Limerick Panto Society, Dynamic Dancers and Midas. She has also participated in �Limerick Does Celebrity Come Dancing�. Contact Grainne on 087 3199716 to book or for more information.
Knockanure Fun Club Go-Karting Trip on Saturday 3rd October 2009. Bus leaves Community Centre at 1pm. Bus returns approx. 6pm, only �20 per person. Contact Siobhan McElligott on 087 9384751 for more information. Strictly over 8�s only.
Fun Club Meeting Return on Monday 21st September 5pm until 6pm. Only �1 per child. All welcome.
ST. MARYS CHURCH LISTOWEL
Church notices have to be in 2pm. every Thursday. Baptisms: 1st & 3rd Sunday of every month 2 weeks notice required. Funerals take place: Weekdays 11.30am. Sundays & Holy Days 10.30am.
DEATHS: Mossie Galvin, late of Craughtoosane died in Kent, England.
Thomas Enright, late of Craughtoosane died in New York.
Peggy Hartnett, Trieneragh, Duagh.
ANNIVERSARY REMEMBRANCE: Luke Slowey, Deceased Members of the Listowel Races Supporters Club, Hannah Buckley, Mary Relihan, Nora & John Healy, Pat Healy, Denis Dalton, Sean Diggin, Julia M. Stack, Thomas Fitzmaurice, Geraldine Daly, Sheila Ryan, Ben Landy, Jerome Murphy, Tom Lyons, Paud Guerin, Mai McMahon.
Eternal Rest Grant to them O Lord, May they rest in peace.
MASSES
Monday: Luke Slowey Birthday Remembrance 10.30am
No Evening Mass ----------
Tuesday: Deceased Members of the Listowel Races Supporters Club 10.30am
No Evening Mass ----------Wednesday: Hannah Buckley 10.30am
No Evening Mass ----------
Thursday: Mary Relihan 10.30am
No Evening Mass ----------
Friday: Nora & John Healy / Pat Healy 10.30am
No Evening Mass ----------
Saturday: Denis Dalton 10.30am
Sean Diggin / Julia M. Stack / Thomas Fitzmaurice Vigil
Sunday: Geraldine Daly 8.00am
People of the Parish 10.30am
Sheila Ryan Birthday Rem. / Ben Landy / Jerome Murphy 12.00pm
MINISTRY OF PERMANENT DEACONS: Is being introduced in the Diocese of Kerry on this Sunday 13th September by Bishop Murphy. Married men who are interested in applying must be between the ages of 35-60, single men between 25 - 60. Applicants should be men of faith and of good character, disposed and willing to give the required time and effort to the Diaconate Formation Programme. If you feel the Lord is calling you to the Diaconate please discuss the matter firstly with your local Priest. More information can be found on the diocesan website: www.dioceseofkerry.ie
KERRY MISSION OUTREACH CHURCH DOOR COLLECTION: Will be taken up at all Masses this weekend 12th & 13th of September.
SAINT PIO PRAYER GROUP: Will take place on Thursday 24th September. It will begin with the Rosary at 7.15pm. which will be followed by Mass and exposition of Blessed Sacrament & Benediction.
BAPTISMS: Normally take place on the 1st & 3rd Sunday of every month. For the Month of October only they will take place on the 1st & 4th Week. 2 weeks notice required.
24th SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME 13th SEPTEMBER
Prayer for Our Priests
Almighty God and Father, we prayerfully ask You to give Your Church holy priests, men of charity, goodness and prayer. Good Shepherds, like Your Son, Jesus. Through the prompting of Your grace, may they always realize that they are Your chosen ones, called by name. Comfort them more dearly when they are discouraged, lonely, or greatly beset by the temptations of the evil one. Help them in their troubles to know that they are Your holy anointed ones; that with You they can do all things. We ask these favours for Your priests in the world, through Your Son Jesus Christ, the first and eternal priest. Amen.
RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY: Theme: The Changing Face of Ireland �Who do you say I am ?� Mark 8:29. Today, the 24th Sunday of the year is Racial Justice Sunday. Today we are invited to engage with issues of racial justice both in how we worship and in the witness we give. As we gather today on Racial Justice Sunday, let us open our hearts that we might learn to value and enjoy the diversity in all of God�s creation and in the human family, and hear the invitation to show our faith through good works.
WEEKLY ADORATION OF BLESSED SACRAMENT: Will not take place during this coming week.
ENABLE IRELAND KERRY ANNUAL CHURCH GATE COLLECTION: Will take place at all Masses next weekend 19th & 20th September. The organisation would appreciate your support. Enable Ireland provides a service to children with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spinal bifida and development delays. The organisation has recently opened a �4 million new children�s centre in Tralee.
ARDFERT RETREAT CENTRE: Saturday 26th Sept. day (10am. � 5pm.) with John Feehan, (wonderful presenter who is much sought after to give talks and workshops) �Rocks are His written word� �.. God�s revelation in the early history of the earth. 066 7134276.
LISTOWEL BRANCH OF KERRY HOSPICE ANNUAL: Coffee Morning or evening anyone wishing to host one in their own home please contact Kay 0876975682 or Julie 0876210742. Coffee & Biscuits provided. Thank you for you�re on going support.
COMMUNITY I.T. ACCESS: Will be commencing their Autumn Computer Courses on Monday 21st September. The schedule of courses will be as follows: Basic Computers, Intermediate Computers, Advanced Computers, Internet/email, Pre-ECDL, ECDL Advance ECDL, Equalskills, eCitizen, Computerised Accounts, Personal Development, Career Coaching, Digital Photography and Web Design. 1 to 1 tuition is available in all our centres or in youth own home for those with limited mobility. Special rate apply for the unemployed another disadvantaged groups. Places are limited, so it is advisable to book early, as we operate strictly on a come first basis. For further information, please call us on 068-21999/068-36938 or email us at [email protected]
SIAMSA T�RE AUDITIONS FOR TALENTED YOUNG PEOPLE: Friday 18th Sept. 6.30pm. � 8.30pm. in Teach Siamsa Finuge. See Church notice board for information
CONGRATULATIONS and good wishes to the boys and girls who received Junior Cert results on Wednesday 9th September �09.
CONGRATULATIONS to Listowel Tidy Towns Committee (T.A.B.L.E.) and all involved in winning a Gold Medal for the 2nd year running in this years National Tidy Towns Awards. This is a major achievement and just reward for much effort and commitment.
Sep. 14 (CWNews.com) - Editor's note: The following is the prepared text from which Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) spoke as he addressed an academic audience at the Unviersity of Regensburg on September 12. As he actually delivered it, the speech differed slightly. Because the speech has aroused an unusual amount of debate-- particularly regarding the Pope's references to Islam and to religious violence-- CWN strongly recommends reading the entire text.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a moving experience for me to stand and give a lecture at this university podium once again. I think back to those years when, after a pleasant period at the Freisinger Hochschule, I began teaching at the University of Bonn. This was in 1959, in the days of the old university made up of ordinary professors. The various chairs had neither assistants nor secretaries, but in recompense there was much direct contact with students and in particular among the professors themselves.
We would meet before and after lessons in the rooms of the teaching staff. There was a lively exchange with historians, philosophers, philologists and, naturally, between the two theological faculties. Once a semester there was a dies academicus, when professors from every faculty appeared before the students of the entire university, making possible a genuine experience of universitas: the reality that despite our specializations which at times make it difficult to communicate with each other, we made up a whole, working in everything on the basis of a single rationality with its various aspects and sharing responsibility for the right use of reason-- this reality became a lived experience.
The university was also very proud of its two theological faculties. It was clear that, by inquiring about the reasonableness of faith, they too carried out a work which is necessarily part of the whole of the universitas scientiarum, even if not everyone could share the faith which theologians seek to correlate with reason as a whole. This profound sense of coherence within the universe of reason was not troubled, even when it was once reported that a colleague had said there was something odd about our university: it had two faculties devoted to something that did not exist: God. That even in the face of such radical skepticism it is still necessary and reasonable to raise the question of God through the use of reason, and to do so in the context of the tradition of the Christian faith: this, within the university as a whole, was accepted without question.
I was reminded of all this recently, when I read the edition by Professor Theodore Khoury (M�nster) of part of the dialogue carried on-- perhaps in 1391 in the winter barracks near Ankara-- by the erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both. It was probably the emperor himself who set down this dialogue, during the siege of Constantinople between 1394 and 1402; and this would explain why his arguments are given in greater detail than the responses of the learned Persian.
The dialogue ranges widely over the structures of faith contained in the Bible and in the Qur'an, and deals especially with the image of God and of man, while necessarily returning repeatedly to the relationship of the three Laws: the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Qur'an. In this lecture I would like to discuss only one point-- itself rather marginal to the dialogue itself-- which, in the context of the issue of faith and reason, I found interesting and which can serve as the starting-point for my reflections on this issue.
In the seventh conversation edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the jihad (holy war). The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: There is no compulsion in religion. It is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat.
But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur�an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the �Book� and the �infidels,� he turns to his interlocutor somewhat brusquely with the central question on the relationship between religion and violence in general, in these words:
Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.
The emperor goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul.
God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death....
The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: "For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality." Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practice idolatry.
As far as understanding of God and thus the concrete practice of religion is concerned, we find ourselves faced with a dilemma which nowadays challenges us directly. Is the conviction that acting unreasonably contradicts God's nature merely a Greek idea, or is it always and intrinsically true? I believe that here we can see the profound harmony between what is Greek in the best sense of the word and the biblical understanding of faith in God. Modifying the first verse of the Book of Genesis, John began the prologue of his Gospel with the words: In the beginning was the logos. This is the very word used by the emperor: God acts with logos.
Logos means both reason and word-- a reason which is creative and capable of self-communication, precisely as reason. John thus spoke the final word on the biblical concept of God, and in this word all the often toilsome and tortuous threads of biblical faith find their culmination and synthesis. In the beginning was the logos, and the logos is God, says the Evangelist.
The encounter between the Biblical message and Greek thought did not happen by chance. The vision of Saint Paul, who saw the roads to Asia barred and in a dream saw a Macedonian man plead with him: Come over to Macedonia and help us! (cf. Acts 16:6-10)-- this vision can be interpreted as a distillation of the intrinsic necessity of a rapprochement between Biblical faith and Greek inquiry.
In point of fact, this rapprochement had been going on for some time. The mysterious name of God, revealed from the burning bush, a name which separates this God from all other divinities with their many names and declares simply that he is, is already presents a challenge to the notion of myth, to which Socrates's attempt to vanquish and transcend myth stands in close analogy. Within the Old Testament, the process which started at the burning bush came to new maturity at the time of the Exile, when the God of Israel, an Israel now deprived of its land and worship, was proclaimed as the God of heaven and earth and described in a simple formula which echoes the words uttered at the burning bush: I am.
This new understanding of God is accompanied by a kind of enlightenment, which finds stark expression in the mockery of gods who are merely the work of human hands (cf. Ps 115). Thus, despite the bitter conflict with those Hellenistic rulers who sought to accommodate it forcibly to the customs and idolatrous cult of the Greeks, biblical faith, in the Hellenistic period, encountered the best of Greek thought at a deep level, resulting in a mutual enrichment evident especially in the later wisdom literature.
Today we know that the Greek translation of the Old Testament produced at Alexandria-- the Septuagint-- is more than a simple (and in that sense perhaps less than satisfactory) translation of the Hebrew text: it is an independent textual witness and a distinct and important step in the history of revelation, one which brought about this encounter in a way that was decisive for the birth and spread of Christianity. A profound encounter of faith and reason is taking place here, an encounter between genuine enlightenment and religion. From the very heart of Christian faith and, at the same time, the heart of Greek thought now joined to faith, Manuel II was able to say: Not to act �with logos� is contrary to God's nature.
In all honesty, one must observe that in the late Middle Ages we find trends in theology which would sunder this synthesis between the Greek spirit and the Christian spirit. In contrast with the so-called intellectualism of Augustine and Thomas, there arose with Duns Scotus a voluntarism which ultimately led to the claim that we can only know God's voluntas ordinata. Beyond this is the realm of God's freedom, in virtue of which he could have done the opposite of everything he has actually done. This gives rise to positions which clearly approach those of Ibn Hazn and might even lead to the image of a capricious God, who is not even bound to truth and goodness. God's transcendence and otherness are so exalted that our reason, our sense of the true and good, are no longer an authentic mirror of God, whose deepest possibilities remain eternally unattainable and hidden behind his actual decisions.
As opposed to this, the faith of the Church has always insisted that between God and us, between his eternal Creator Spirit and our created reason there exists a real analogy, in which unlikeness remains infinitely greater than likeness, yet not to the point of abolishing analogy and its language (cf. Lateran IV). God does not become more divine when we push him away from us in a sheer, impenetrable voluntarism; rather, the truly divine God is the God who has revealed himself as logos and, as logos, has acted and continues to act lovingly on our behalf. Certainly, love transcends knowledge and is thereby capable of perceiving more than thought alone (cf. Eph 3:19); nonetheless it continues to be love of the God who is logos. Consequently, Christian worship is worship in harmony with the eternal Word and with our reason (cf. Rom 12:1).
This inner rapprochement between Biblical faith and Greek philosophical inquiry was an event of decisive importance not only from the standpoint of the history of religions, but also from that of world history-� it is an event which concerns us even today. Given this convergence, it is not surprising that Christianity, despite its origins and some significant developments in the East, finally took on its historically decisive character in Europe. We can also express this the other way around: this convergence, with the subsequent addition of the Roman heritage, created Europe and remains the foundation of what can rightly be called Europe.
The thesis that the critically purified Greek heritage forms an integral part of Christian faith has been countered by the call for a dehellenization of Christianity-� a call which has more and more dominated theological discussions since the beginning of the modern age. Viewed more closely, three stages can be observed in the program of dehellenization: although interconnected, they are clearly distinct from one another in their motivations and objectives.
Dehellenization first emerges in connection with the fundamental postulates of the Reformation in the 16th century. Looking at the tradition of scholastic theology, the Reformers thought they were confronted with a faith system totally conditioned by philosophy, that is to say an articulation of the faith based on an alien system of thought. As a result, faith no longer appeared as a living historical Word but as one element of an overarching philosophical system. The principle of sola scriptura, on the other hand, sought faith in its pure, primordial form, as originally found in the biblical Word. Metaphysics appeared as a premise derived from another source, from which faith had to be liberated in order to become once more fully itself. When Kant stated that he needed to set thinking aside in order to make room for faith, he carried this program forward with a radicalism that the Reformers could never have foreseen. He thus anchored faith exclusively in practical reason, denying it access to reality as a whole.
The liberal theology of the 19th and 20th centuries ushered in a second stage in the process of dehellenization, with Adolf von Harnack as its outstanding representative. When I was a student, and in the early years of my teaching, this program was highly influential in Catholic theology too. It took as its point of departure Pascal�s distinction between the God of the philosophers and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In my inaugural lecture at Bonn in 1959, I tried to address the issue. I will not repeat here what I said on that occasion, but I would like to describe at least briefly what was new about this second stage of dehellenization. Harnack�s central idea was to return simply to the man Jesus and to his simple message, underneath the accretions of theology and indeed of hellenization: this simple message was seen as the culmination of the religious development of humanity. Jesus was said to have put an end to worship in favor of morality. In the end he was presented as the father of a humanitarian moral message. The fundamental goal was to bring Christianity back into harmony with modern reason, liberating it, that is to say, from seemingly philosophical and theological elements, such as faith in Christ�s divinity and the triune God.
In this sense, historical-critical exegesis of the New Testament restored to theology its place within the university: theology, for Harnack, is something essentially historical and therefore strictly scientific. What it is able to say critically about Jesus is, so to speak, an expression of practical reason and consequently it can take its rightful place within the university. Behind this thinking lies the modern self-limitation of reason, classically expressed in Kant�s �Critiques�, but in the meantime further radicalized by the impact of the natural sciences. This modern concept of reason is based, to put it briefly, on a synthesis between Platonism (Cartesianism) and empiricism, a synthesis confirmed by the success of technology. On the one hand it presupposes the mathematical structure of matter, its intrinsic rationality, which makes it possible to understand how matter works and use it efficiently: this basic premise is, so to speak, the Platonic element in the modern understanding of nature. On the other hand, there is nature�s capacity to be exploited for our purposes, and here only the possibility of verification or falsification through experimentation can yield ultimate certainty. The weight between the two poles can, depending on the circumstances, shift from one side to the other. As strongly positivistic a thinker as J. Monod has declared himself a convinced Platonist/Cartesian.
This gives rise to two principles which are crucial for the issue we have raised. First, only the kind of certainty resulting from the interplay of mathematical and empirical elements can be considered scientific. Anything that would claim to be science must be measured against this criterion. Hence the human sciences, such as history, psychology, sociology, and philosophy, attempt to conform themselves to this canon of scientificity. A second point, which is important for our reflections, is that by its very nature this method excludes the question of God, making it appear an unscientific or pre-scientific question. Consequently, we are faced with a reduction of the radius of science and reason, one which needs to be questioned.
We shall return to this problem later. In the meantime, it must be observed that from this standpoint any attempt to maintain theology�s claim to be �scientific� would end up reducing Christianity to a mere fragment of its former self. But we must say more: it is man himself who ends up being reduced, for the specifically human questions about our origin and destiny, the questions raised by religion and ethics, then have no place within the purview of collective reason as defined by �science� and must thus be relegated to the realm of the subjective. The subject then decides, on the basis of his experiences, what he considers tenable in matters of religion, and the subjective �conscience� becomes the sole arbiter of what is ethical. In this way, though, ethics and religion lose their power to create a community and become a completely personal matter.
This is a dangerous state of affairs for humanity, as we see from the disturbing pathologies of religion and reason which necessarily erupt when reason is so reduced that questions of religion and ethics no longer concern it. Attempts to construct an ethic from the rules of evolution or from psychology and sociology, end up being simply inadequate.
Before I draw the conclusions to which all this has been leading, I must briefly refer to the third stage of dehellenization, which is now in progress. In the light of our experience with cultural pluralism, it is often said nowadays that the synthesis with Hellenism achieved in the early Church was a preliminary inculturation which ought not to be binding on other cultures. The latter are said to have the right to return to the simple message of the New Testament prior to that inculturation, in order to inculturate it anew in their own particular milieux. This thesis is not only false; it is coarse and lacking in precision. The New Testament was written in Greek and bears the imprint of the Greek spirit, which had already come to maturity as the Old Testament developed. True, there are elements in the evolution of the early Church which do not have to be integrated into all cultures. Nonetheless, the fundamental decisions made about the relationship between faith and the use of human reason are part of the faith itself; they are developments consonant with the nature of faith itself.
And so I come to my conclusion. This attempt, painted with broad strokes, at a critique of modern reason from within has nothing to do with putting the clock back to the time before the Enlightenment and rejecting the insights of the modern age. The positive aspects of modernity are to be acknowledged unreservedly: we are all grateful for the marvelous possibilities that it has opened up for mankind and for the progress in humanity that has been granted to us. The scientific ethos, moreover, is the will to be obedient to the truth, and, as such, it embodies an attitude which reflects one of the basic tenets of Christianity. The intention here is not one of retrenchment or negative criticism, but of broadening our concept of reason and its application.
While we rejoice in the new possibilities open to humanity, we also see the dangers arising from these possibilities and we must ask ourselves how we can overcome them. We will succeed in doing so only if reason and faith come together in a new way, if we overcome the self-imposed limitation of reason to the empirically verifiable, and if we once more disclose its vast horizons. In this sense theology rightly belongs in the university and within the wide-ranging dialogue of sciences, not merely as a historical discipline and one of the human sciences, but precisely as theology, as inquiry into the rationality of faith.
Only thus do we become capable of that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today. In the Western world it is widely held that only positivistic reason and the forms of philosophy based on it are universally valid. Yet the world�s profoundly religious cultures see this exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason as an attack on their most profound convictions. A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures. At the same time, as I have attempted to show, modern scientific reason with its intrinsically Platonic element bears within itself a question which points beyond itself and beyond the possibilities of its methodology.
Modern scientific reason quite simply has to accept the rational structure of matter and the correspondence between our spirit and the prevailing rational structures of nature as a given, on which its methodology has to be based. Yet the question why this has to be so is a real question, and one which has to be remanded by the natural sciences to other modes and planes of thought: to philosophy and theology.
For philosophy and, albeit in a different way, for theology, listening to the great experiences and insights of the religious traditions of humanity, and those of the Christian faith in particular, is a source of knowledge, and to ignore it would be an unacceptable restriction of our listening and responding. Here I am reminded of something Socrates said to Phaedo. In their earlier conversations, many false philosophical opinions had been raised, and so Socrates says: �It would be easily understandable if someone became so annoyed at all these false notions that for the rest of his life he despised and mocked all talk about being - but in this way he would be deprived of the truth of existence and would suffer a great loss�.
The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality, and can only suffer great harm thereby. The courage to engage the whole breadth of reason, and not the denial of its grandeur � this is the program with which a theology grounded in Biblical faith enters into the debates of our time. �Not to act reasonably (with logos) is contrary to the nature of God�, said Manuel II, according to his Christian understanding of God, in response to his Persian interlocutor. It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures. To rediscover it constantly is the great task of the university.
http://www.stlucy-campbell.org/bulletin.shtml
HISTORY OF SAINT LUCY PARISH
In 1914 a Mission of Saint Martin Parish of San Jose was established on Third Street in Campbell and dedicated to Saint Lucy. Soon the little Mission Church became inadequate and in 1929 a larger Church was constructed on Rincon Avenue and served as the parish church until 1957. This building now houses the Orchard Community Church of Campbell.
In 1947 Archbishop Mitty established Saint Lucy as a parish and appointed Father Dennis Kennelly as its first pastor. Campbell continued to grow as did the Catholic community. To keep pace with this growth, Father Kennelly purchased several acres of land on Winchester Boulevard and undertook an expansion program. In 1953 a school building was constructed on the new site and the parish school opened that same year staffed by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur with 112 students in grades one, two and three. An unused portion of the building was used for Masses on Sunday to relieve the crowded conditions at the Church on Rincon Avenue.
In 1957 a larger church, seating 600, was built on Winchester Blvd. and the parish moved from Rincon Ave. to this building on August 15, 1957. In the 1960 Father Lally replaced Father Kennelly as pastor and he soon realized that, because of the continued growth in Campbell, an even larger church was needed. This new church, seating 1200, twice the size of the former church, was blessed on October 29, 1967 by Archbishop McGucken and continues to serve as the place of worship for Saint Lucy Parish. The former church building was converted to serve as a parish hall and gymnasium for the school.
In 1969 Father Leonard W. Bose succeeded Father Lally and served as Pastor until his retirement in 1990 when Father J. Patrick Browne became Pastor. In 1992 Bishop DuMaine appointed Father Browne rector of Saint Joseph Cathedral in San Jose and Father Terrence Sullivan succeeded him as Pastor.
Over the years Saint Lucy Parish has been noted for its ministry to the people of Campbell, especially in the areas of music in worship and the Christian formation of children and adults. Its many programs involve members through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, outreach to the poor, ministry to the sick and those grieving the death of a loved one, and the formation of its members through the parish school and catechetical programs for children, youth and adults. It also assists the engaged prepare for the vocation of marriage, and parents of newborn children fulfill their role of educating their children in the practice of their faith.
Saint Lucy Parish will continue to minister to the people of Campbell as it fulfills its Mission Statement:
We, the community of Saint Lucy Parish, joined together by faith in Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church, are committed to help each other grow in the understanding of our faith, celebrate this faith in Liturgy, and live it out by using the gifts of each person in the service of others, especially those most in need.