Matthew 5: 1-12a

The Mass has been central to the Irish Catholic identity and experience. Every small village has a chapel; Mass rocks dot the country from Penal times. Devotion to and the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was central to our cultural and religious self-understanding. Vocations to priesthood abounded to ensure the celebration of this Sacred Mystery and of the other sacraments. Baptism has never formed the Irish Catholic imagination in the same way. Unlike many other European countries, no ancient baptismal sites have been found in our land. The contemporary emphasis on baptism as the foundation of Christian life and mission does not sit easily with Irish Catholicism.

The Second Vatican Council intended to put an end to the pyramidal vision of the Church and to assert that all members of the Church are equal by reason of their baptism, prior to any subsequent differentiation. The term ‘the people' has often been used to denote ‘the laity' or ‘the faithful' besides the pope, bishops, priests and religious. Vatican II intended the term ‘People of God' to refer to all the baptised, ‘from the bishops to the last of the faithful lay people'.