Visit to the Lord Mayor’s Chapel

    Fr Michael Cleary SVD was the celebrant of our Eucharist in this chapel. This was the first Mass celebrated since the Reformation
Fr Michael talked about “Tradition” and its place in our lives.
“We are celebrating the tradition in the Catholic sense – the living church”. All that the Church is, all that it proclaims, all that the Church proclaims is her very life. It is a “cat’s cradle of relationship”.   The Church is passing on a life style of what we are doing today, celebrating Mass, celebrating the Eucharist.

    In Nano’s time, if people wanted to "get Mass” they had to join the worshipper sin the hedge rows; they wanted Christ to be beside them and to be with them.  Fr Michael went on to say that there are two images of Nano, one the beautiful woman  coming back from the ball and seeing the little group of people huddled together, waiting to get into the church for Mass. The second is “the woman of the lanes”, going through the streets of Cork looking for people to bring them into the shelter of the mud cabin – the Eucharist is not an isolated thing, it overflows to the people around us, and we celebrate Eucharist with those people.

    The bread we break demands of us to be bread for all people, bread at the table of the poor, bread of education, feeding peoples minds, giving a sense of dignity to those who have been robbed of their dignity.  The sign of renewal in the Church is our returning to our roots, to our Founders.  For some it may be realising that they may be in the wrong place.  In the light of this revelation, we are called to reveal Christ to the underprivileged, to the unrecognised.

    This is what the Eucharist is about and this is what Nano in the depths of her heart knew totally and this is what she handed down to those who are coming after her.  The Eucharist is the essence of tradition.  It is the very heartbeat of each of us. It is what holds us together.

    Teresa pbvm

I could say lots in praise of the Nagle Connections event - its preparation , research, planning, smooth running, easy pace, beautiful setting, ecumenical  histroy-making liturgies, especially the Mass in the Lord Mayor's Chapel, Bristol and the Remembrance Service in Calverleagh.
 
The guided tour of beautiful Bath brought home to me again the elegant social life Nano could have lived and the utter radicality of her vision and life option.  I was delighted to learn so much about her maternal ancestry and the valliant Poyntz and Mathew women who lived through such turbulent times.  Their valour and faith, together with the Nagle steadfastness gave us our single-minded and wise Foundress.  I was reminded of the Scripture which says "For God, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as aone day".
 
I would love to see the Event repeated so that more Sisters and Friends of Nano could experience it.  I thank God that I had the opportunity to participate.  It has helped me to relate to Nano in a new way- seeing her and speaking to her as she now is, eternally living, our inspiration and companion on our journey.

Carmel

All good things come to an end!!, but the Nano Connection Experience of the past few days will remain with us for a long time to come.  The three of us on the Nano Commission have been privileged and delighted to be part of the celebration of our Presentation Ancestry, as we walked in the footsteps of the maternal ancestors of Nano, in South West England.  The greatest of credit is due to all who were involved in the organization.  The vision and courage of the Sisters of the English Province, to embark on such an adventure, and lead us to reconnect with the Poyntzes, the Mathews, and the Nagles, is deserving of the highest praise.

As Commission, one of our briefs is to promote and encourage devotion to Nano.  The love of and pride in Nano was so evident as was the enthusiasm to keep her spirit alive, that we have come away encouraged and enthused in our work and life.  May the flame that burned so brightly and warmly during the week, touch the hearts of our whole Presentation Family.  Certainly, this “one pace beyond experience” is so important in the process leading to the canonization of Nano.

Thank you so much Sisters for who you are and what you have done.  The hard work and long hours  involved in the organization of such an event certainly will not go unrepaid.  You were and are wonderful.  We were truly blessed to be there.

God and Nano bless and keep each and everyone of you.

Roisin Gannon
Anne Nevin
Maire O’Sullivan.