Aidan Troy

• Was at Queens University, Belfast, on Friday night to hear a lecture by Noam Chomsky, philospher and political activist. What a treat to hear someone with so much knowledge and insight. It was packed out and I am glad to have been there.
• After the weekend, I attended a meeting in Belfast called by the leadership of the Passionist Congregation of which I am a member. It was to brief us on the situation with regard to the sexual abuse of children over the past forty years. I left the meeting coming back to Paris feeling so low when I thought of the cruel and devesatating treatment of those children and young people who should have been safe. While I am a sinner, the abuse of the innocent leaves me lost for words. It is so awful.
• While in Belfast I had a meeting with Philip McTaggart - the founder of PIPS which is a suicide prevention group. The people of St Joseph’s Parish, Paris, raised €16,000 (Euro) last Lent to support their training programmes in suicide prevention. The money raised is making a huge difference because training courses can be offered to more groups. As a sign of gratitude, PIPS personnel will present a training day in suicide awareness and response at St Joseph’s Church, 50 Avnue Hoche, 75008 Paris, on Saturday, 27 February 2010 (date to be considered by Parish Council on Saturday)
• Parish Council has a retreat day this Saturday.                                 AT             

Had a wonderful Ecumenical breakfast at American Church, Paris, last Saturday morning. There was a generous and positive response to the talk I gave on ‘Is Peace Possible?’
Cleaning job on church, hall, reception area nearing completion. I wonder why there is so much chewing gum stuck under church seats and on the carpet?
Have heard again, (have lost count of the times), about stories doing the rounds about my losing weight and what it may signify! I am exercising, jogging and walking, on a daily basis, have just completed a major medical examination that revealed nothing wrong. So, stories of cancer, AIDS, depression, heart trouble, etc do not match the truth, thank God.  But, it is good to hear that people care.
All going well here and good to have had visitors recently. AT

What a draw for the World Cup playoff! France in Dublin on Saturday, 14th November. Whisper… I hope to be there. Some months ago my beloved nephew and his wife very kindly asked me to baptise their newly born third child - Karina - on Saturday, 14 November in Ballinteer.  That means I will be in Dublin that day. God is good.

Now for the difficulty. The return game is at Stade de France on Wednesday, 18 November. I know this a very long shot - but if anyone could point me in the direction of a pair of match tickets for that game, I will be so grateful.

Delighted all the medical tests, ‘flu injection, etc all went well and are over.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast The Choice on Tuesday, 20 October. Michael Buerke interviewed me in London on 24 June. What a pleasant man and great to meet.

Am still trying to help out at Irish College, Paris, and will be there on Sunday morning. The rumour is that the Irish Bishops have appointed a Chaplain and it will be great to welcome him.

School holidays in France on the horizon again - Toussaint.

Finally, thanks to the people who comment to me about reading this little blog.

AT

Had a great birthday. Was at Marymount School for Faculty retreat Mass and lunch. Great kindness as always and a cake with a candle! The RTE Documentary on Radio One is now on their website and I listened to it. Spoke to Liam and Kaye who did all the work getting it together. American Catholic Women’ s Organisation (ACWO) had a Mass and brunch at St Joseph’s on Thursday. This is a very impressive group who offer a wide array of cultural, humanitarian and spiritual outreach as well as providing mutual support and welcome to newcomers to Paris.

Friday always a busy day at St Joseph’s as the Bulletin is put together for the weekend and posted on web - www.stjoeparis.org The major carpet cleaning of yesterday is still drying out but is already looking good. The church carpets, the parish hall and the reception area are all for their clean-up on Monday.  AT

Delighted to meet a group from NUI Galway in Paris this week for a UNESCO conference. They are from the Child and Family Research Centre  at Galway University. It was this group who kindly had me as a speaker at their conference in June this year. They do some amazing work there.

Attended my first Board of Directors Meeting at Marymount International School Paris on Tuesday night. It is different from previous Boards of Governors that I sat on in Belfast but it is good to be able to support the education and formation of the young.

Was delighted to celebrate Mass at Irish College, Paris, last Sunday. This community of very devoted people are eagerly awaiting the appointment by the Irish Bishops of their new priest. He can be assured of a warm Ceád Míle Fáilte from us all. With five weekend Masses at St Joseph’s it is not possible to help every weekend.

That’s all for the moment.                                                                              AT

Was one year at St Joseph’s, Paris, on Monday last.

Today was the opening and blessing of the spectacular new gymnasium and science centre at Marymount International School, Paris. This is a magnficent development and a great credit to the Sisters, parents, pupils, teachers and all who brought this about. The USA Ambassador to France spoke at the opening as did the Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine. 

Was at dentist this week for the first time in ages - quite good was the verdict.

RTE Radio “Documentary on One” next Saturday evening, 10 October, is looking at life in St Joseph’s, Paris. The idea came from Liam O’Brien and the long and hard work of getting it all together was done by Kaye Mortely. Kaye will be talking to Pat Kenny on his raido programme on Friday, 9 October 

9th October is my birthday. But, in case this looks like a hint for greetings for the event, it is not. I don’t ‘do’ birthday parties any more. That day I will be in Marymount School, Paris, helping out with a staff retreat. I’m delighted to celebrate the old birthday this way!

But a little ‘confession’ to make - I am leaving Paris at 2 p.m. Saturday, 10 October and returning from Dublin Airport 7 a.m. Sunday, 11 October. Why? A great friend in Dublin, has got me a ticket to see Ireland vs Italy at Croke Park! What a birthday present! But not to worry I should be back for 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday - all going well!                                                                AT

Had a wedding in Tooreen, Co. Mayo, last week. Visited Knock Shrine with the local priest of the parish. What a prayerful place. Got back to Dublin in time to get to Croke Park for the All-Ireland Football Final. Good wins for Armagh (Minor) and Kerry. Next year watch out for Wicklow! Back to Paris next day to deliver a talk to American Catholic Women’s Organisation in Paris. This was my second time addressing this group.

Have signed up for a full medical examination, half of which takes place tomorrow. This is part of the Ministry of Health preventative policy. Hope all turns out ok.   AT

Got back Friday lunch- time from a retreat I was making at Trosly-Breuil, a l’Arche community. The retreat was organised for 35 Irish priests as part of the year of the priest (2009-2010). The retreat director was Jean Vanier, 81 years of age today, who founded l’Arche (Ark) over forty years ago. l’Arche has spread all over the world providing a community of love and care for the people with severe mental and physical needs. To say the retreat was amazing is a total understatement. In time, I would hope to be able to spell out something of what happened and what it meant to me. It is good to be back and ready for another weekend at St Joseph’s Church. Catching up on letters, emails, etc is keeping me busy all afternoon and into the evening. I think I will turn over to RTE on the computer and have a look at the Late Late for a while.                                                         AT

It was with sadness that I emptied the holy water fonts in St Joseph’s Church and sealed them with cardboard for the time being. This is part of our effort at preventing ’swine ‘flu’. The Ardiocese of Paris has issued some helpful suggestions without imposing anything. In this  week’s bulletin, I have suggested that the handshake at the sign of peace can be replaced  with a bow or a salute. Receiving Holy Communion in the hand rather than on the tongue is being encouraged, without, of course, prohibiting receiving on the tongue. At the morning Mass on weekdays, Communion is given under both species. Receiving by intinction (placing the Host into the chalice) rather than drinking from the chalice is being encouraged. Posters have been placed on toilet doors beside the church, highlighting the importance of washing hands and the use of handkerchiefs. It will be interesting to see what the reaction is this weekend. While we pray and hope there will not be an outbreak of this deadly illness, it is only responsible to take whatever steps we can as a community and as individuals to prevent the spread of this illness. With schools reopening this week, the French press has been full of comments and instructions about how to protect pupils from catching and spreading the illness.                               AT                                                

People coming back into the city after the summer break. Schools have reopened and a lot more traffic. Going on my annual retreat next week under the direction of Jean Vanier of l’Arche community outside Paris. Will be one year here on 28th September.                  AT