Fr. Herman Nolan, C.P.
From the desk of Fr. Ignatius Waters, cp
Sunday, 18th November 2018
Fr Herman died on 14th Nov. 2009, the feast of St. Laurence O’Toole. From early on in life, Herman was captivated by beauty of all kinds; he fell in love with beauty in all its manifestations in nature and people, but it was to the beautiful humanity of Christ crucified that he committed himself and his life. “It is only beauty that will save the world”, said Simone Weil, “Beauty is a sacrament; it is Christ’s tender smile coming through the world” Herman was always different, dramatic and passionate. He was a poet, an artist, a mystic, a prophet, a man for the mountains and the mass rocks, a druid, a locksmith who loved fixing things and a goldsmith of words, never happier than when on his bike heading for Glendalough and the mountains! He couldn’t be tied down to timetables or programs – a free spirit in times that were quite rigid. When we were students, he dragged us, protesting, over half the Wicklow Mountains but now these are some of my happiest memories!
One thing we never doubted was his genuineness. He was what he professed to be – a man of God. He was passionate about his faith; Mary and the Legion of Mary was the love of his life. He went on peregrinatio to Poland and Israel. The bicycle seemed to symbolise all that was good and simple and green long before the Green party took it up. Frank Duff’s bike was a holy relic hanging from Herman’s ceiling for years. I was always afraid it was going to fall down and kill someone. And poor Herman was so happy when the Legion began again here in Mount Argus, on July 9th 2009, Feast of Mary of Holy Hope.
When he was struck down with Legionnaire’s disease, serious though it was, we couldn’t resist saying, “No wonder! It had to be!” He was in a coma for six weeks and when he came out of that coma, every day and every breath was precious. He kept saying, “I’m bunched!” Yet, he plodded along to Morning Prayer and mass for as long as he could and his laboured breathing, even with the oxygen tank on his back, helped us appreciate just how marvellous it is to be able to breathe normally and deeply. No wonder our ancestors thought of life being in the breath and God’s Spirit being the breath of life. As I said already, Herman breathed his last breath on the feast of Laurence O’Toole of Glendalough, and I can imagine his spirit immediately taking off, with or without the bike, for the heavenly Glendalough!
“The vocation of the priest is to be a prophet of beauty, to remind people of the light within them. The calling of the priest, like it was for Jesus before him, is not to introduce something new to God’s creation but to reveal, purify and intensify what is already there” Daniel O’Leary.