Day Four of the Edmund Rice International Gathering was Saturday, 27th June, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, a day traditionally honoured by the Christian Brothers and the Edmund Rice Network. It was also the day specially chosen by Br. Philip Pinto, the Christian Brother Congregation leader, to be a day of prayer and fasting, a day when everyone connected to the Network engaged in soul-searching and silence as they sat in ‘still and alert attention’ with the findings of the Ryan Commission Report.
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| We set off bright and early for Callan today. Ian, our facilitator for the day, reminded us that having started our journey at the tomb of Edmund in Waterford we were now returning to the beginning – the birthplace of Edmund. Our challenge for today is to give birth to new ideas pertaining to the Edmund Rice Network. |
The South American group (Gaston Richelet and Paul Keohane - pictured here in Edmund's bedroom) set the tone for the day by leading us in a beautiful prayer: ‘Dios esta aqui’ God is here. |
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| Our first discussion of the morning focussed on religious and lay charisms and their role in taking the ERN vision forward. Within the person of Edmund Rice we find a father, a husband and a vowed member of the congregation. |
We would like to establish a network that incorporates all of these dimensions. As Edmund responded to the greatest unmet needs of his time, so should we find new ways of responding to the needs of our time. |
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| We concluded the session by visiting Edmund’s family home. It certainly was an experience of standing on hallowed ground. |
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| Later in the morning, we addressed the question: What would we like to give birth to? We bagan outside connecting again with the four elements: earth, fire, water and air. Peter Dowling led us in some simple but poweful movements. |
Our individual hopes and aspirations were recorded and then categorised-new forms of community, renewal, formation and new ways of looking at life. Slowly, a new vision of Edmund Rice is emerging. The next challenge was to express the visions as a face on a mask. |
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| After a wonderful lunch we took off to the streets of Callan retracing Edmund’s childhood. We explored the rich Norman heritage of Callan – visiting the motte, St. Mary’s Church (1250) where a number of Edmund’s relatives are buried as well as the Church of the Assumption and the Augustinian Friary. Joe, a Callan historian, was our tour guide for the day. He colourfully recalled the history and stories of Callan for us. Joe shared so much more than Irish history with us. He gave us a sense of living in the time of Edmund. |
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| We concluded our day back at Edmund’s home. We shared our ERN faces with each other. This was an energising experience. |
Today was a special day of connecting with our past, celebrating our present and imagining our future. A profound Irish proverb sums it up: It is in the shelter of one another that people live. |
