Press Releases13 Dec 05

Joint Christmas letter 2005 from the Bishops of Clogher, Bishop Joseph Duffy and Bishop Michael Jackson.

Macartan, patron saint of Clogher, is our invitation this Christmas to celebrate our common inheritance and to look to the future together. We receive from the past in order to give to the future. The coming year, 2006, marks the fifteen hundredth anniversary of Macartan ? an occasion to recalls his links with Patrick and the coming of the Christian faith to our diocese, an occasion also to combine thanksgiving for the past with hopefilled expectation for the future.

The Macartan story is but a local expression of the greater story of Christmas. And the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - of God in human form - challenges us to reflect on God?s love and salvation. The Christmas story comes out of a rich tradition of experience and expectation: the experience of people who have known God and their expectation of something exciting about to unfold in the world.

At Christmas we also celebrate the origin of our Christian faith. In an era where there are hopes of more sustained peace, we need to explore together opportunities for a shared future. The inclusion of diverse ethnic groups in our society demands that we acknowledge and respect a wide variety of different faiths. This new scene tests the confidence and generosity of the various strands of our Christian tradition. It means that we are now asked to live and move beyond the boundaries of where our own tradition has taken us.

One of the abiding images which many of us have of Patrick and Macartan is the way in which Macartan helps his master by carrying him across the River Blackwater. Macartan does this once too often. Patrick notices that the effort has taken more out of his friend physically than he anticipated and he reacts to the signs of strain and stress. He concludes that his friend needs a change from their itinerant way of life. He sees also that Macartan has potential for a different type of work and with this in mind he gives him the task of creating a new faith community at Clogher.

It is a fresh beginning and a new birth. Macartan?s foundation in Clogher grew in time into the diocese we still have to this day. His instinct to carry the weight of another was matched by that of Patrick who offered Macartan a new way of serving God and neighbour. That common inheritance of ours is to be treasured, honoured and enjoyed.

Let us remember this tradition as together with one another we celebrate Christmas and greet the New Year.