Fr. David Sherry
District Superior of Canada

Dear Reader,

Dublin Castle. December 6th, 1921. General Michael Collins arrives by appointment. For today, after 753 years, the English garrison is leaving, and a part of Ireland will belong to the Irish. With independence, thinks the General, Irish culture and language will flourish.

“You’re seven minutes late,” said the British Commander with a sneer.

“That’s nothing,” replied the Irishman, “you’re seven centuries late.” Indeed.

The story began in 1169 when the first Normans landed in Ireland. But the invader soon found himself hiberniores Hibernis ipsis—more Irish than the Irish themselves. After all, if Normans and Gaels shared the same Catholic faith and now spoke the same language, why wouldn’t they share peace?

And so they did, mostly. At least, until the sixteenth century when the English got a new religion. It was no longer the universal religion (that is, Catholic); but an Anglican religion (that is, English), which means false because no longer Catholic. And after that, flattery, threats, wars, famine, extermination, death and exile. No matter, the sons of Patrick did not abandon the Catholic faith. And because they did not abandon the Catholic faith, their culture remained intact because the essence of Ireland was the Catholic faith.

Dublin, December 6th, 2021. General Collins, assassinated in 1922, receives permission from God to revisit his country with its guardian angel to see what the nation had done with its independence. If language and culture had survived under the Saxon yoke, what would they not be in freedom?

But what’s this? The General doesn’t recognise his country. Everywhere, English culture, English newspapers, pagan songs, obscene films and fashions, and God knows what else. And the people? Soft now—for pity’s sake.

“How can this be?” murmurs Collins, “was it for this we shed our blood?”

I don’t know if ghosts can weep, but a passerby said he saw him shed a tear.

“Victor,” he said, “how is this possible?”

The angel replied, “The people have abandoned God, and so all things have abandoned them.”

Fr. David Sherry