Parades and Prayers

Our correspondent today is Chris Tweed:

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict - alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence.”
~ Dorothy Thompson

This morning had a less joyful and lighthearted feeling than the last two weeks in Belfast. Before making our way to the Orange parade, Mr. Bizga informed us that last night was pretty chaotic. Loyalist communities all around the city begin their July 12th celebration by lighting numerous, often large, and highly controversial bonfires. Although many were peaceful, several carried messages of hate toward the nationalist/republican/Catholic community. Rioting broke out throughout the city within both loyalist and nationalist communities injuring 22 Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers, thankfully most were not too seriously injured. For example, a crowd of rioters hijacked a bus and attempted to drive it into a police check point. Although it did not cause any damage to the police, it shows the antipathy towards the PSNI and the violence of yesterday evening’s rioting. It was extremely disheartening to hear this bad news because over the past two weeks, we have been talking to numerous people who said that the situation on Belfast is much better than it was in the past. Although this time of the year is typically full of conflict between the two communities, last night’s acts of violence were certainly more escalated than preceding years.

Queen’s Elms and the main Queen’s University campus have never been affected by any violence; even during the Troubles. Leaving the safety of the Queen’s campus, we did not know what to expect in the neighborhood beyond Queen’s (even though we were assured it was safe). Thankfully, the area around us was untouched by any of the riots and we made our way to the Orange parade with no problem. What struck me was the calm feeling I encountered. It was nice seeing the people of Belfast acting as if everything was normal and continuing on with their celebrations. When we started heading down to the Orange parade, we could all could hear the thunderous sounds of the drums. The sound of the drums could be heard from at least a mile away. I can easily see how this is seen as intimidating by the nationalist community. When we arrived on the Lisburn Road I came face to face with the parade I had learned so much about. The bands wore very intricate and military-like uniforms and each was followed by its own group of Orangemen. Each band had a banner, often with religious imagery, representing the areas they were from. They played several up-beat tunes and all seemed to have had great pride in what they were doing. Although we stayed less than an hour, the line of bands did not seem to have an end in sight. This surprised me was the sheer numbers of bands and Orangemen. It was a very interesting experience and a good way to end our trip in Belfast.

The rest of the day we were instructed to pack and prepare for our next adventure on Achill Island. This evening was our final night of prayer and reflection in Belfast. Ms. Madden challenged to pick a word that described Belfast. It was an exercise based on the book, Eat, Pray, Love. We all chose a word and explained why we chose it based on our experience. Almost everyone chose a different word, but they all seemed to fit.

Here is the prayer she wrote for our final reflection:

Good and Gracious God -- Guide for all of our journeys,

Jesus -- our companion along the Way,

Holy Spirit – the tongues of fire that first empowered women and men to go out into the world to spread Good News:

We come to you in gratitude today for this community of pilgrims.

We ask that you bless us with safety throughout our travels tomorrow and as we return home next week.

Through the example and the intercession of Your servant Ignatius of Loyola, our patron and a fellow pilgrim, may we continue to seek You in all of our journeys.

May each step along the way inspire within each of us a Spirit of generosity and compassion so that we might always strive to do all things for Your greater glory.

We ask that You bless the countless number of people who have been a part of our journey thus far – our parents, our families, Walsh Jesuit and St. Ignatius teachers, Queen’s University professors, politicians, activists, ministers, and many new friends here in Northern Ireland.

Bless the people of Northern Ireland – especially those suffering tonight.

May we always share Your love and Your grace with everyone we encounter throughout our life pilgrimages.

And we ask all of this through the intercession of Mary, Our Lady of the Way.

Amen.

Goodnight everyone. Can’t wait for Achill!