"AND I will lead the blind in a way they know not; in paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, and rough places into level ground" (Is. 42, 16).
These words from the Prophet Isaiah have great si
gnificance in my life. When I was the parish priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Lockerbie, I was in my house at 1 Sherwood Crescent on the evening of 21 December, 1988. My mother, Mary Keegans, was with me.
The darkness came. At 7:04pm Pan Am flight 103, destroyed by a bomb on board the aircraft, crashed into the town of Lockerbie. The darkness came. The lights went out. The house shook violently. An almighty explosion tore Sherwood Crescent apart; and then there was a silence and stillness, and still the darkness.
Then another kind of darkness took over: the thick, suffocating darkness that comes from extreme grief: the darkness that invades the human spirit, that threatens to crush and destroy – 270 people had been murdered: 11 residents of Sherwood Crescent and 259 passengers on Pan Am 103.
And into that darkness there came light. That light came from the people of Lockerbie. It was the light of genuine love, care and concern for all who were suffering. The people of Lockerbie, shocked to the core, looked not to themselves but to others. They are a shining jewel in the Crown of Scotland.
The words of John's Gospel speaking about Christ come to mind: "A light shines in the darkness, a light that darkness could not overpower" (John 1, 5). The love, light and compassion of Christ were shining through the people of Lockerbie, as it does to this very day.
Approaching the 20th anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster, our thoughts and our prayers turn to those who died; and we remember our friends in the USA, our UK families, all other nationalities, and all who, in some form or another, are victims of the disaster.
At a time of great sorrow I was asked by Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter, Flora, died on the plane, to conduct a service for the UK families. The words of Isaiah came to me. I pray and reflect on these words every day: "And I will lead the blind in a way they know not; in paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, and rough places into level ground" (Is. 42, 16). I pray that each day God will lead us and guide us.
I am honoured to be with you in a very special place and to speak these words to you. Thank you."
Holyrood moved by survivor's reflectionsHEADS bowed in silent reflection, MSPs yesterday contemplated the powerful words of a Catholic priest who narrowly escaped death in the Lockerbie tragedy.
The Very Rev Patrick Keegans, just days before the 20th anniversary of the tragedy this Sunday, told the Scottish Parliament how an "almighty explosion" tore apart the street in which he lived.
He also described the "thick, suffocating darkness" of the grief that followed the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which resulted in the deaths of 270 people, including 11 neighbours from Sherwood Crescent.
At the time, Father Keegans was the parish priest of Lockerbie's Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. Now the administrator of Ayr Cathedral, he came to Holyrood to address MSPs at the Time for Reflection slot, which starts each week's parliamentary business.
Fr Keegans told MSPs that he was at home in Sherwood Crescent with his mother when the plane came down at 7:04pm on 21 December, 1988. He then went on to praise the response of the people of Lockerbie, describing them as "a shining jewel in the Crown of Scotland".
It was a short sermon that moved all in the chamber. For David Whitton, the deputy Labour Party spokesman on finance, the words took him back to when he worked for Scottish Television and covered the disaster.
"I remember interviewing Fr Keegans, as well as the terrible destruction of Sherwood Crescent. There was almost nothing left, just a hole in the ground. I thought he spoke brilliantly. At a time, just before a debate when we would be taking pops at each other, it was important to put things into perspective."
Alex Neil, SNP MSP, added: "There could not have been a more apt person to speak in the parliament as we approach the 20th anniversary. Lockerbie will be in the thoughts of many people over the next week."
A Conservative MSP, Derek Brownlee, was pleased by the sermon's balance.
He said: "Fr Keegans managed to capture the horror of what happened on that terrible night, while still managing to look to the future. Lockerbie remains a vibrant town and, while for many it remains tied to a disaster, it is so much more, and I thought Fr Keegans managed to get that point across," he said.
