The leader of the Irish Church has warned against worshipping the false god of unlimited choice.
In his homily delivered at the summit of a rain-swept Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday, Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin said discerning between good and evil is more important than ever, “when there are so many choices out there, and when the primacy of individual choice – including absolute choice over our bodies and over creation – is sometimes held up as the gold standard of a ‘modern’ society freed from the so-called ‘shackles of the past’.”
This year’s pilgrimage has been linked to the Irish Church’s Year of Vocations to the Diocesan Priesthood. It was Archbishop Martin’s first time undertaking the arduous climb of the 765-metre high mountain since becoming Primate of All Ireland and successor of St Patrick, although he climbed the mountain several times as a priest.
In his homily for morning Mass at the summit of Ireland’s holy mountain, the Archbishop of Armagh told pilgrims that to present choice as unlimited, unencumbered by talk of “good and bad”, of “right and wrong”, is a recipe for disappointment, for a sense of personal failure and even despair.
“Far from nourishing a happier life and a more free and rounded society, uninhibited choice is overwhelming and can impact negatively on spiritual, physical and mental health and well-being, especially that of our young people,” he told the pilgrims who were undeterred by the drenching rain. Many younger people climbed in bare feet.
“At its worst the concept of unlimited choice without consequence becomes a tyranny which threatens the dignity of the human person as a unity of body and soul; it can destroy life, create confusion and contribute to a culture of death where the destruction of innocent and vulnerable human life, at its very beginning or near its end, is presented as a matter of legitimate individual choice,” Archbishop Martin said.
Speaking about the tradition of Reek Sunday, he said pilgrims “follow in the footsteps of St Patrick, and of our ancestors who have climbed this holy mountain since the dawn of Christianity. Croagh Patrick, represents the rock from which we, the people of Ireland were hewn.
“Today’s pilgrimage links our past, present and future and it continues to nurture the spiritual memory and identity of this country. It is particularly special to celebrate the Eucharist here on top of Croagh Patrick, because the Mass is our greatest act of Christian remembering. It makes present, here and now, the Paschal Mysteries of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. Jesus said, ‘Do this in memory of me’.”
Recalling how the St Patrick was a teenage victim of human trafficking, he said the national saint saw his exile from Britain and captivity in Ireland as a bitter, but purifying time, a time when he first turned to God personally with all his heart, and when the spirit of God began to burn within him.
“Today, on Ireland’s holy mountain, I pray for that gift from God, for each of us personally, and for our country at this time, the gift of a heart to understand how to discern between good and evil. Because good builds us up; evil destroys us.”
He said the gift of being able to distinguish between good and evil is needed by all people, young and old, because “we are surrounded by the dangers of evil which is already prowling around our land, destroying life; stealing away happiness; stirring up violence and discord.
“Such evil seeks to snuff out the memory of ‘the rock from which we were hewn’; ‘the quarry from which we were dug’. Because if we lose our spiritual memory we lose our sense of identity, our sense of purpose and direction; we lose our way.”
Speaking to The Tablet, Archbishop Martin explained that hailing from Northern Ireland, “my Patrician pilgrimage has tended to be Lough Derg” in Co Donegal.
But he added, “I always love coming here [to Croagh Patrick] and when I first climbed it about 15 years ago, I thought this is very special because you are connecting in a way with our past and you are also connecting with the future of the faith. Many generations have climbed this holy mountain and so you are tapping into a whole spiritual memory. It is very special.”
Among Sunday’s pilgrims were three Dominican friars, Brother Philip Neary, aged 25, from Co Meath, Brother Michael Mary Donohue, aged 22, who is originally from Australia and Brother Bruno Mary Kelleher, aged 34, who grew up in Kilkenny, who travelled down from Dublin to undertake the pilgrimage in their bare feet.
Brother Bruno told The Tablet that one of the reasons they were doing the pilgrimage this year was to “encourage men to pursue all the different ways in which priesthood can be lived out”.
This, he said, included “diocesan priesthood but also Dominican priesthood and monastic forms of priesthood. Different people are called to different forms of priestly life. We are always looking to encourage vocations.”
Brother Philip Neary explained that what marked a Dominican vocation was “a desire to preach the Gospel and to share the faith with people and teaching people what it means to be a catholic; we think that is very much needed in Ireland today”.
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