Columban Fr Roderick Long RIP

By -



Fr John Roderick Long
(13 November 1934 - 14 September 2018)

Fr John Roderick ('Derrick') Long was born in Dublin on 13 November 1934. He was educated at the Convent of Mercy, Loughrea, County Galway, St Brendan’s National School, Loughrea, and St Joseph’s College, Garbally Park, Ballinasloe. He entered St Columban's College, Dalgan Park, Navan, County Meath, in September 1953 and was ordained priest on 21 December 1959.


St Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea [Wikipedia]

Father Derrick’s first appointment was to Burma (now Myanmar), but while he awaited a visa he served as temporary dean at the Templeogue house of studies in Dublin. When his visa came through, he left for Burma in October 1962. There he worked with Fr Jim Fisher as the latter ran a procure in Rangoon (now Yangon) for various Catholic groups working in Burma. However, Father Derrick was expelled from there in 1966 when the military government put further restrictions on missionaries.


Market in Downtown Yangon [Wikipedia]

His next appoinment was to the Philippines where he served from 1967 to 1995. He was part of the Columban group who served in the Dioceses of Lingayen/Alaminos. So at various times he served in Sual, Labrador and in the sub-parishes of Lingayen. A serious, determined pastor, he is remembered as a frequent visitor to all the families in his various assignments.


San Pedro Martir Parish Church, Sual [Wikipedia]

There followed an appointment to mission promotion in Australia. He served in Perth from 1995 to 1998, and then in Brisbane from 1998 to 2006. Mission promotion work involved visiting more than two hundred parishes to preach at Sunday Masses and visit Columban supporters. After 2006 he spent the next five years in semi-retirement in Brisbane while always willing to help out in neighbouring parishes.


Sandgate Town Hall [Wikipedia]
Sandgate is the suburb of Brisbane where the Columban house is located.

Father Derrick was a shy person but constantly overcame that shyness to fulfil his missionary tasks. As his health began to fail he returned to Ireland in 2011, was confined to the St Columban’s Retirement Home from early January 2015, and he died there on 13th September.

May he rest in peace.
Obituary by Fr Cyril Lovett

Crucifix, Dalgan Park Cemetery




Salve, Regína, mater misericórdiae vita, dulcédo et spes nostra, salve Ad te clamámus, éxules fílii Evae. Ad te suspirámus, geméntes et flentes in hac lacrimárum valle. Eia ergo, advocáta nostra, illos tuos misericórdes óculos ad nos convérte. Et Jesum, benedíctum frucum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsílium osténde O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo María.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

By -
Image
This is the image most often associated with the writings of the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit. She promoted devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. During my preparation for the retreat I am giving at the end of the month in Pantasaph, North Wales, I began reading a book by the late John Haffert (once the lay leader of the Blue Army of Fatima). His theory in the book, which speaks of God's "last effort" to convert the world before the coming chastisement, is that we are now living in the third or fourth "day" of the Fatima week. At this time, according to Haffert, we should be promoting devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. I also consulted another book by Dr. Courtnay Bartholomew (whom I have been privileged to meet) which also speaks of the importance of this devotion, linking it with the writings and visions of the mystic Berthe Petit, and the importance of the full title of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. These things will feature in
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more