The late Fr Ronan Drury
Photo: Meath Chronicle Maynooth’s Professor of Homiletics lives on through the preaching of his students, writes Fr Paul Clayton-Lea
“I hope you’re not going to bore the socks off another generation of Irish Catholics” was the unlikely opening remark of the Professor of Homiletics Fr Ronan Drury to my class of seminarians in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in September of 1982.
As we later discovered Fr Drury’s words stemmed from his passionate belief in the importance of communicating the Gospel message – especially on Sundays – in a meaningful and relevant way and from his deep love and respect for the person in the pew whose attention and patience he lamented were all too often taken for granted.
When he died in November 2017 at the age of 93 and busy with his ministry until almost the very end, Fr Ronan had spent most of his long life in St Patrick’s College where he helped generations of Irish priests to develop their preaching skills and at the same time edited one of the most influential pastoral publications to emerge from Ireland following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), The Furrow.
Young students with speech difficulties or those who lacked confidence in public speaking have spoken fondly since his death of his particular help with the challenges they faced. But alongside those roles he also maintained a deep and affectionate bond with his home parish of Mullagh in Co. Cavan where he celebrated Mass on Christmas Eve for an unbroken 68 years.
On one occasion he even left his hospital bed by taxi to ensure that he fulfilled his Christmas mission and returned afterwards to the care of the medical staff.
Emotional element
As he recalled in a radio interview not long before his death, “the whole midnight Mass has a strong emotional element for me. I can see their grandfathers look in the child’s eye as they are coming up for Communion. It is a very rich experience.”
After his death many people continued to recall his warmth, kindness and good humour and on the occasion of his first anniversary Mass with the encouragement of his family, friends and colleagues, his secretary and personal assistant Maria Flood and myself decided to try and commemorate him in a way in which he might have approved.
Young students with speech difficulties…have spoken fondly since his death of his particular help with the challenges they faced”
With the discovery of several notebooks he kept as a young seminarian containing his favourite literary and spiritual quotations and sources which he drew on throughout his life as well as a boxful of homilies, prayers, blessings and reflections we carefully selected and edited numerous pieces that we thought best represented his positive, sunny outlook on life, his joy in his priesthood and humanity and his compassionate nature.
All of these characteristics endeared him to many people throughout his life and as we discovered his notebooks and surviving writings contain many wise and inspirational words and images that continues to offer enlightenment and encouragement for both priests and most importantly for him, the laity today. We were especially struck by a number of his favourite poems and named the publication for one which he had chosen as a young seminarian in Maynooth during the 1940s.
Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on!
‘Twas not given for thee alone. Pass it on!
Let it travel down the years
Let it wipe another’s tears
Till in Heaven the deed appears. Pass it on!
– Henry Burton
Included in the book are meditations on the Stations of the Cross which he famously presided over each Good Friday in the College Chapel, Maynooth as well as reflections, homilies, prayers and blessings and memories of friends like Msgr Michael Olden and Fr Gerard McGinnity and some of the obituaries which followed his death. Of all his notebook reflections on the topic perhaps the following says best what he would want to say about his leaving,
So be my passing,
My task accomplished and the long day done
My wages taken, and in my heart
Some late lark singing,
Let me be gathered to the quiet West,
The sundown, splendid and serene, Death.
– W. E. Henley
Fr Paul Clayton-Lea is a priest of the Archdiocese of Armagh, former editor of Intercom and author of In the Light of the Word published by Veritas in 2018. Pass it on! Is available by contacting mariaflood14@gmail.com or paclle@eircom.net. Price €15 hardback, excluding package and posting.