Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan, D.D., D.C.L.

'Putting Hand to the Plough'

by Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan.

A Veritas publication launched on 22nd June 2007.  This fascinating memoir traces one man's experiences of priesthood in Ireland over half a century from formation in the late 1940s and early 1950s, to ordination in 1956, through doctoral studies in St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, followed by post-doctoral research in Rome during the heady days leading up to Vatican II. 

His academic prowess led to a teaching career spanning close on twenty-five yars at his alma mater, where as Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Vice-President of the College he helped shape the growth and development of Maynooth at perhaps the most significant time in its history. 

Having nurtured the formation of countless students over a quarter century, upon retiring from Maynooth in 1982, Monsignor O'Callaghan took up the responsibilities of parish priest of Mallow with inexhaustable vigour.  He also found time for prolific media involvement with both The Corkman and North Cork Community Radio, among a range of other pastoral and educational initiatives.  In the pages of this book, we meet a man firmly committed to his vocation, his community and his Church.  In telling the story of his own priesthood, he holds up a mirror to the Catholic Church at large, engaging with its travails in recent years, pointing out hopes for the future and offering wise observations to assist in the quest to nurture collaborative forms of ministry in the years ahead.

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The Priesthood of the People of God.

How often people speak of attending Mass on Sunday’s - as if it were a matter of being present passively while the priest by himself celebrates the Eucharist?  Still during the Mass itself as he introduces the Eucharistic Prayer the priest directs: “Pray, brethren, that our sacrifice be acceptable to God the Almighty Father”.  We are called on to celebrate the Eucharist along with him!  We as a congregation are to participate actively in offering Christ’s sacrifice to his Father!

In days past when Mass was celebrated by the priest in the Latin language the congregation might be described as “hearing” Mass. Their faith in the Mystery was certainly vibrant and that was what motivated and gave meaning to their presence at Mass even though they might not have understood the prayers or Scripture readings. Here in Ireland the common practice among older people would have been to say the Rosary and other private prayers during Mass to avoid being distracted.

In today’s reading from the first Letter of St. Peter his insight into the active role of the priesthood of the People of God may surprise us. Christ is the foundation stone but all baptized Christians are built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  When St. Peter speaks of the priesthood of God’s people this embraces all baptized Christians in a common priesthood. Certain theologians played down the idea of this common priesthood of the whole Christian community in case it might undermine the concept of the ordained ministerial priesthood. The Second Vatican Council in its Constitution on the Church ch.2 clarified the issue in keeping with the mind of St. Peter.

Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchial priesthood are nonetheless interrelated. Each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power he enjoys, molds and rules the priestly people. Acting in the person of Christ, he brings about the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of all the people. For their part, the faithful join in the offering of the Eucharist by virtue of their royal priesthood. They likewise exercise that priesthood by receiving the sacraments, by prayer and thanksgiving, by the witness of a holy life, and by self-denial and active charity.

20th April, 2008.

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A Glimpse of Our Christian Heritage.

At the close of the great Jubilee Year 2000 the then Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, invited us in an Apostolic Letter to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look to the future with confidence.

The book A Glimpse of Our Christian Heritage is indeed a remembering of the past with gratitude.  It is what a glimpse should be an invitation to go further and discover the richness of the Christian heritage that has been passed on to us by living people who made up vibrant communities of faith.  The Faith, handed down and practised, has been incarnated in an historical past and kept alive in a spirit of hope so that every generation might embrace it with enthusiasm and in turn hand it on with confidence.

The book includes a picture and also a brief summary of the history of each church in the Diocese.

The book is a hard cover glossy paper , 96 pages full colour throughout and is available from Mallow Heritage Centre, 27/28 Bank Place, Mallow, Co. Cork, Ireland at a cost of €25.00  /  $35.00 including postage.

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Death Notices