Tuesday 5 January 2010

Epiphany Fr Ronald Walls

Sunday Epiphany.
We learned of the death of Fr. Ronald Walls and remembered him in the intercessions for his soul in the Mass.

Fr. Ronald Walls

"The family announced with sorrow the death, in his 90th year, on Saturday, January 2, 2010, of Father Ronald J. Walls,

priest at Our Lady and St. Joseph's, Kirkwall and formerly Parish Priest in Caithness, Banchory and at Woodside, Aberdeen."

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Fr. Ronnie Walls was a very dear friend of, and greatly regarded by the monks at Nunraw Abbey. Our Notes below, reflect some of the enriching interests of his blessed life.


Ronald Walls was born in Edinburgh in 1920. He began adult life as a minister in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In 1948, with his wife and three sons, he was received into the Catholic Church. In a road accident in 1974 he was badly injured and his wife Helen was killed. In 1977 he was ordained priest by Mario Conti. now Archbishop of Glasgow. His inspiring autobiography, Love Strong as Death, and two volumes of daily meditations on the Gospel readings at Mass, Stairway to the Upper Room, are also published by Gracewing.


Ronald Walls (Bibliography)

The One True Kirk
by Ronald Walls
Burns
& Oats, London 1960


From the manse to the Mass is a long step. Ronald Walls, once a Presbyterian minister in the Highlands of Scotland, tells in this book how and why he finally came to take it.

From an early age, long before a Hungarian policeman described him as a "Knoxist", Ronald wails felt himself called to serve in the ministry of the Scottish Church. The One True Kirk is the story of how he became a minister, of the joys, sorrows and problems he encountered in his first and last parish and of how he finally left the ministry to face an uncertain future as a Catholic.


Told with a natural gift for writing, a quiet humour and constant charity, this is a story that will appeal to Scottish readers because of its deep seriousness and its affectionate fidelity to the realities of life in rural Scotland, while English readers will find in it a fascinating and timely insight into what unites as well as what separates them from their fellow-Christians who this year celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the Scottish Reformation. (Jacket Cover)

·

· Christ Who Lives in Me: Rosary Meditations by Ronald Walls (ISBN 0879738537 (0-87973-853-7)

·

· Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II
by Herbert Vorgrimler, Hilda Graef, W.J. O'Hara, Ronald Walls
Hardcover, Continuum International Publishing Group, Limited
, ISBN 0223294314 (0-223-29431-4)

· The Glory of Israel: Scriptural Background on the Mysteries of the Rosary by Ronald Walls (ISBN 0879738138 (0-87973-813-8)

·

Love Strong As Death by Ronald Walls
(
ISBN 187900741X (1-879007-41-X)


'To all who read it, this autobiography of Father Ronnie Walls will stand out as a sign of contradiction to the mood of the age. In an era of doubt this is a story of faith. In an era of flux this is a story of commitment. Most of all it is a very moving and inspiring story of love.

Father Ronnie’s fascinating description of his extended family's lifestyle and genuine religious attachment to the beliefs and practices of the Church of Scotland is the prelude.

There's something intensely moving about the kilted youngster making his own way in the world, full of enterprise and goodwill, eager to encounter fellow pilgrims, motivated by a deep awareness of God in his life.


These pages offer a valuable insight into many "nooks and crannies" of Scottish life during the 20th century. From the middleclass respectability of Edinburgh's suburbs to the idyll of Highland rural life in Logic Easter. From the friendly banter of the Glasgow tram to the evocative calm of Nunraw Abbey. Father Ronnie's writing skill is such that the reader will soon feel quite at home in these and many other locations, and will follow with increasing interest the boy becoming a man, finding happiness in an exemplary marriage to Helen , his soul-mate, and settling down to parish ministry.


Outwardly, the young minister had it all, but inside the burning desire for truth would not be extinguished. The pursuit of truth meant running the risk of losing everything.

In many ways the title of the book sums up everything. Love, to Ronnie Walls, is indeed as strong as death, perhaps even stronger.

I have no hesitation in declaring that this inspirational, funny, fascinating and moving book is one of the best of fruits produced in recent years.' (Thomas J Cardinal Winning

· The Reformation in Germany by Joseph Lortz, Ronald Walls
Hardcover, Darton, Longman & Todd, Limited
, ISBN 0232483868 (0-232-48386-8)

·

· This Is Your Mother : The Scriptural Roots of the Rosary by Ronald Walls Softcover, Gracewing, Limited, ISBN 0852444036 (0-85244-403-6)

·

· Stairway to the Upper Room: Salvation History and Sundays by Ronald Walls Gracewing Limited, (Vol 1 Oct 2002, Vol 2 Mar 2003)


From Loneliness to Solitude BBC talks Thoughts for Today
and other Studies and Article
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