Michael Glynn's experiences of being a missionary in Africa challenged him to the core of his being. 'Tomorrow, the priest must go,' he wrote of a visit to an out-station in Nigeria. 'Their voices will call after you: "Father, come soon, come to us soon again, do not forget us!" You will not forget - but you cannot come soon. You cannot come again until you have done the whole circle of the bush-stations, night-stop by night-stop, rest-house by rest-house.'
Michael's response to such need was to begin a column in Africa magazine called: Why not be a missionary? He tentatively began this project in 1952 and it would engage his considerable talent for writing for the remainder of his life. He wrote the column for forty-three years and this book contains a selection of his articles.
His experiences in Nigeria, at home in Ireland, in Rome, or wherever his work or holidays took him, were the inspiration for his reflections. He was wonderfully alert to the ordinary happenings in life and had the gift of being able to see in them deeper truths to explore. These vignettes reveal where his heart was and where he found his energy during his seventy-three years. While his articles always aimed to stimulate his intended reader, John Smith, to seriously consider the
invitation: Why not be a mlsst'onary?, they are also a study in themselves, displaying not only Michael's descriptive talent but his ability to engage the reader.
Fr Michael Glynn was a member of St Patrick's Missionary Society, Kiltegan. He was a native of Taghmon, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. After ordination in 1948 he was appointed to Nigeria. For many years he worked for the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in the Vatican. He died in 1996. |
