OBITUARY NOTICE BROTHER JOSEPH OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR. In the Province of St. Patrick, on the 14th October 1942, Brother Joseph of our Lady of Perpetual Succour passed to his eternal reward, at the age of 70 years, and the 45th of his religious profession. Known in the world as John O’Neill, he was born of a good old Wicklow stock in the town of Arklow on the 8th of September, 1872. His relatives included the late Father Cornelius McGrath, C.P., the great social reformer of Glasgow, the late Rev. Dr. McGrath, secretary of the Archbishop of Dublin, the late Rev. Father Galvin, P.P. of Howth, and the late Father James McGrath, C.C., Westland Row. Responding to a call to the religious state he entered our novitiate at St. Saviour’s Retreat, Broadway, Worcestershire, and was admitted to profession on the 30th of July, 1897. During his religious life he was stationed at our Retreats at Glasgow, London, and Dublin. Often it was his duty to act as Porter, and had to deal with all sorts and conditions of people. With St. Francis de Sales he believed it an honour to guard the doors of the monastery, as there is nothing small in the service of God. Exercising great charity towards the poor, he assisted them with whatever alms he could procure, and sent them away with words of consolation and benediction. As Refectorian at Mount Argus for several years, our good Brother showed that he had a special aptitude for this office, and gave general satisfaction. Neat in his habits, and attentive to the wants of the religious, he made every effort that due hospitality should be extended to visitors from other houses, as well as to seculars who were invited to dine with the community. Poverty, the great standard of our Congregation, was strictly observed by him, and he had a leaning for poverty of dress, a feature peculiar to our Holy Father and his first companions. He took great care of everything committed to his charge. Convinced that religious perfection consists in the renunciation of our own will, Brother Joseph gave a ready and cheerful response to the call of obedience, and, if possible, would anticipate the wishes of his superiors. He had a great devotion to the Holy Mass, which he was always ready to serve, to the Blessed Sacrament, and it is hardly necessary to say, a deep and heartfelt love of the Sacred Passion and the Dolours of Our Lady. Tender and confiding was his love of the Mother of God. He recited the Little Office and the Rosary every day in her honour. During his long residence at Mount Argus, he was accustomed daily to arrange with deft fingers a vase of flowers, which he placed at the foot of her statue. Noticing this, a religious remarked that our Brother was determined to secure the friendship and protection of our Lady, during life, so that she might lead him at last to her Divine Son. Cardinal Newman’s definition of a gentlemen – one who never inflicts pain – could well be applied to Brother Joseph. Gentle and graceful in manner, he was an agreeable and interesting companion. Much of his time, outside his ordinary duties, was devoted to reading the Lives of the Saints, as well as ascetical works, and thus he acquired a deep knowledge of the science of the Saints which enabled him to make his mental prayer with great spiritual fruit. The Holy Rules were regularly read by him; he had a great reverence for them and put them in practice to the best of his power. He also made himself conversant with our customs and traditions, and was conservative in his views regarding their observance, according to the principle: “Nihil innovetur quod non traditur.” Brother Joseph’s desire to visit Rome and obtain our Holy Father, the Pope’s blessing, as well as visit the tomb of our Holy Founder and other great sanctuaries, was fulfilled when he joined a pilgrimage to the Eternal City. When his last illness came, the doctor ordered his removal to Jervis Street Hospital, so that he might receive special medical attention and careful nursing. While this treatment helped to assuage his pains, it proved unavailing to save his life. After a few weeks, there were signs that the end was approaching and he received the Last Sacraments with great fervour, faith and devotion in full resignation to God’s Holy Will. The Father who assisted him in his last hour was the witness of a happy and saintly death. The Obsequies took place at Mount Argus on Friday, 16th October, and the mortal remains of our beloved brother were laid to rest, beside the religious who had gone before, in our little cemetery. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord: And may perpetual light shine upon him. SIGNED: Adrian of the Seven Dolours, Rector. BRO. JOSEPH (O’NEILL), C.P. At the age of seventy years, Brother Joseph of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, a. beloved member of St. Patrick’s Province, passed to his eternal reward on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 14th 1942. A native of Arklow, Co. Wicklow, the late Bro. Joseph – known in the world as John O’Neill entered the Passionist Congregation at the age of twenty-five and made his religious profession at St. Saviour’s Retreat, Broadway, Worcestershire, on July 30th. 1897. During his religious life he was stationed at the Passionist Retreats in Glasgow, London and Dublin. In these populous centres, his office as almoner brought him into daily contact with the needy and the poor, towards whom he invariably exercised boundless charity, patience and sympathy. For many years he had filled the office of refectorian at Mount Argus. Of very retiring disposition, Brother Joseph seldom quitted the precincts of the monastery. His chief. recreation was reading, of which he never tired, and as a result of which he had acquired an amazing fund of anecdote and information. His favourite reading was the lives of the Saints, and in particular the life of St. Teresa of Avila, whose writings were familiar to him and from which he could quote endlessly. Most exact in the fulfilment of his various duties, he was to be found each morning in the sacristy, ready to serve the first Masses of the day. The old traditions of the Order were an unfailing topic of his conversation. whilst his shrewd comments on the events of the day, both foreign and domestic, were always worth hearing. After a comparatively short illness, the end came peacefully and calmly. Some days before his death he had received the Last Sacraments, and, with the utmost resignation, he awaited the summons of the Master Whom he had served. May his good soul enjoy everlasting peace. (The Cross, Vol. XXXIII, 1942-43; p. 175)