Paul KeenanInspiring stories well told
Apart from the great work done by RTÉ and EWTN on the live broadcasts of religious services, two programmes stand out in particular.
School for Love – A Would You Believe Special on Easter Sunday night was one of the best religious shows of the year so far, when we got to explore the lives of the Cistercian nuns in Glencairn Abbey Co. Waterford. Apart from the religious message, the film was shot beautifully. Some scenes were totally poetic – scenes of nature, landscapes and skylines that perfectly enhanced the story being told.
I’ve criticised RTÉ in the past for imbuing religious imagery with a sinister aura, but here the statues and icons formed part of the visual poetry. Major compliments to producer/director Marion Creely and her crew for a work of great patience and insight. The unrivaled access they got to life in the abbey was amply repaid.
We got to know many of sisters and they were an impressive and inspirational bunch. We heard from a young postulant who had found her way to Glencairn through a growing interest in meditation and mindfulness and finally through an article in The Irish Times! The ceremony where she became a novice was quite moving, one of the moments that caught me off guard. Likewise the death, while the film crew was in the monastery, of one of the sisters. We saw her lying in the coffin and the whole atmosphere was so peaceful.
Listening ears
The moving funeral was one of the few occasions when we saw outsiders in the film. For an enclosed order however they had their listening ears to the world. Much of their work of service was prayer for those in need of help, often asking for this help through email. The sisters keep a strong online presence as this was the way vocations work in particular had to be done nowadays.
The life of prayer was central and the unobtrusive camera followed the routines and rituals respectfully. In fact, apart from just a little narration to fill in some background details (was it necessary?) it seemed as if the story was telling itself, such was the subtlety of the approach. But the sisters did a lot more than pray. One tended the farm, one looked after routine maintenance, one looked after novices, one managed the altar bread operation, another promoted vocations.
Another outstanding Easter programme was The Great North Passion on BBC 1, Good Friday. For years now the BBC have invested much creativity into these public passion plays, and this year a variety of artists engaged with the stations of the cross with enthusiasm rather than the embarrassment we’d expect in other quarters.
The event was live, from the North-East of England, home of St Cuthbert, the Venerable Bede and the Lindisfarne Gospels, but the preparation had been going on throughout Lent. Several communities received a shipping container to develop a theme around a particular station, and then all the brightly couloured containers were moved to a central park, arranged in cathedral formation, for the live event – a combination of music and readings that made the stations relevant for today without draining the religious significance out of them.
The narration of Fern Britton kept the focus on the original Way of the Cross, and the music was a well balanced collection of new and old.
It was hard to understand the Holy Week timing, but Prime Time (RTÉ 1, Tuesday of last week) re-opened the controversy about the Pure in Heart school talks.
Some effort at balance was made, in that visiting presentations from groups like the Irish Family Planning Association (identified by reporter Mark Coughlan as a group that has campaigned for contraception and abortion) were also examined, though I thought that the Pure in Heart group was the most under pressure and scrutiny, with an underlying sub plot – how dare they support Catholic teaching in a Catholic school.
What struck me most was how, apparently, Catholic schools invite presentations from groups whose ideologies are remote from and even inimical to Catholic teaching. Frank Hurl of Catholic Comment was an impressive rock of sense, and even had Aodhan O’Riordan of the Labour Party nodding in agreement. I’m impressed by the work of Pure in Heart but I think they need to up their game on the PR front and review some of the American materials they use.