MIRROR
GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE
CONTENTS PAGE The Art of Living.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J F Declan Quinn.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Trust in the Lord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Martin Barta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Riches of Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Witnessing to the LORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Hearts that Beat for Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Pearl of Great Price. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 What Do We Gain from Prayer?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Trust in the LORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 True God and True Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 God Never Disappoints .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Francis.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Without God, Man Loses Himself.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The Light of Faith and the Search for God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Francis.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Precious Lives, Precious Vocations.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Precious Life, My Sister. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Pastors For Future Pastors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Christ Comes Begging with Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
‘Christianity spreads through the joy of disciples who know that they are loved and saved.’ POPE FRANCIS Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: ACN International, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acninternational.org
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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
THE ART OF LIVING A chairde,
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ope Francis never ceases to remind us that ‘Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone’. In doing so Pope Francis points out that as followers of Christ we ‘should appear as people who wish to share their Joy’ for the Church grows not by force but by attraction. Unsurprisingly then the Holy Father entitled his great Apostolic Exhortation, ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ / Evangelii Gaudium. Echoing this theme of Joy, the future Pope Benedict XVI writing as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in the Jubilee Year of 2000 stated that…
points out that ‘if the art of living remains an unknown, nothing else works’ and we need only look around ourselves to observe that our ever more broken world is in ever greater need of a New Evangelisation. Luke 4:18 records Jesus as telling us that He has come ‘to bring good news to the poor… to proclaim release to the captives and…to let the oppressed go free.’ Dear Friends this is the Good News we have been given and this is the Good News which we have been called to share. In doing this ACN, its project partners and all its many benefactors are teaching the world the ‘Art of Living’ and addressing the ‘deepest poverty, the inability of Joy’.
The deepest poverty is the inability of Joy, the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory. This poverty is widespread today, in very different forms in the materially rich as well as the poor countries.
Beir Beannacht
The inability of Joy presupposes and produces the inability to love, produces jealousy, avarice—all defects that devastate the life of individuals and of the world.
J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ire)
For both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict, teaching the world how to live authentic lives of Hope and of Joy is to evangelise. For them to evangelise means to teach the world the essential ‘Art of Living’. For as Pope Benedict
It is my great privilege to join with you on this great Mission of Joy and of Hope.
PS. Do take time to check out our website for a host of evangelisation materials which you can share within your families, among your friends and in your local communities.
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TRUST IN THE LORD Dear Friends,
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fter the last two major jubilee years – the Year of Mercy in 2016 and the centenary of the Fatima apparitions in 2017 – the present year 2018 is an ‘ordinary’ year, so to speak. But there is in fact a theme, not to say an obligation, that applies to this year, and indeed to every year, and that is the mission of peace. In fact, peace is quite simply the ultimate goal of every jubilee, commemoration and initiative. And that is why the Church always commemorates the first day of the year as a World Day of Peace. The Jewish word ‘Shalom’ signifies the fullness of time, the dawn of the new messianic age. But if the Messiah has already come, why is there still no peace on earth?
Yet Jesus does indeed leave us His peace, as His last gift to us before His Passion, and He grants it to us again as His first gift of Easter – a peace ‘that passes all understanding’ (Philippians 4:7). The peace of Christ is not something that can be measured, rather it is an object of faith. God alone possesses true peace, and He offers this peace as a gift to every person on earth. God’s peace is ‘not as the world gives’ (John 14:27), nor as a temporary military truce, nor as a ‘balance of terror’, a fleeting pleasure or a moment of supposed quiet, but an all-embracing, total and unequivocal peace. Jesus has paid the price of our peace by overcoming enmity in His crucified body and has thereby become ‘our peace’ (Ephesians 2:14). As Jesus told Saint Faustina, ‘Mankind will not find peace until it turns in confidence to My Mercy.’
Saint Seraphim of Sarov.
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The reality of peace does not lie in overcoming all difficulties nor in fulfilling every wish. This may make people ‘satisfied’ but it will not bring them peace. True peace is something we receive when, trusting in the Word of the Lord, we seek and promote reconciliation with God, with our fellow Aid to the Church in Need
AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
men and with ourselves. Only in this way can peace also reign in the world. And so we should celebrate each day as a ‘Jubilee’ by making peace with everyone around us and forgiving all those who hurt us. Saint Seraphim of Sarov, the great Russian spiritual director, assures us, ‘Seek peace, and thousands around you will find salvation.’ This kind of peace is not that state of inner quietude promised by many Eastern religions. In the words of the Swiss scientist and philosopher Max Thürkauf, ‘The Buddhist keeps his inner tranquillity for himself, whereas the Christian gives his to his neighbour – a tranquillity that is true peace. Peace is peace when it is shared, given to others. A Christian cannot be inwardly at rest when his neighbour is living in fear.’ Dear Friends, may the year 2018 be for us in this sense a ‘restless’ year, in which we daily strive to find and pass on the peace of Christ – so that the world may believe that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Prince of Peace. My grateful blessing on you all.
Father Martin M. Barta, ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant
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RICHES OF GRACE
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owhere is the Church growing faster than in Africa. Nowhere is there such a great wealth of vocations, of Catholic schools and of seminarians as on this continent. And yet nowhere is the Church materially poorer. The bishops and seminary rectors are delighted at the growing number of candidates for the Church across Africa. They always check carefully to ensure that these are genuine vocations and not merely driven by the desire for security and safety. But then in practice, security is by no means certain anywhere, and in some dioceses life in the seminary can be quite dangerous. In Burkina Faso – the ‘Land of the Upright’ – in the diocese of Dori, on the frontier with Mali, it
takes courage and perseverance to consecrate your life to Christ. The people here are among the poorest in Africa, and gangs of Islamist terrorists sometimes cross the border. But Damien, Ambrose, Daniel and the 42 other seminarians here are still determined to serve the Lord. They continue to study and in the holidays they live and work in the local parishes to deepen their understanding of life here in the Sahel zone. This will help them later when as priests they play a crucial role, leading the people to Christ. ACN is supporting their studies. In the Central African Republic the Cardinal Archbishop of Bangui is rightly proud of his seminarians. Last year they all passed their end-of-year exams, three of them with distinc-
Walking in the Way of the Lord: seminarians approaching ordination in Tanzania.
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tion. And this despite the chaos that war has brought to the country. These young men long to lead their people to reconciliation and the peace of Christ. We are helping the Cardinal and his 53 seminarians. In Tanzania there are another 46 seminarians and in Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo several hundreds more. Thanks to your generosity, they are able to devote their lives to God in the seminary. In this way, you too are sharing in the grace of this wealth of vocations. •
Ora et labora – ‘Pray and Work’ – in the ‘Land of the Upright’: a seminarian working in the garden, Burkina Faso.
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akistan is a dangerous place for Christians to live. Blasphemy laws and Islamist extremists between them make life difficult. Nevertheless, many young men still want to become priests. In the seminary of Saint Francis Xavier in Lahore they are preparing to bear witness to the Lord, who has defeated darkness and death. So writes their rector, Father Asif John. But their situation has been made still harder by the fact that the seminary vehicle was involved in a serious crash and is now in constant need of repair. It is used to buy provisions in the city centre, 20 km away, for the 96 students and the teaching staff, and above all in support of
‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he explained the Scriptures to us?’
their pastoral work. Small wonder that it struggles on the unmade roads. In truth it is only a matter of time before it breaks down altogether. They would prefer not to wait for that, and in any case the constant repairs are already costing too much. We have promised our help for a new vehicle. That’s • a real ray of light for the seminary.
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HEARTS THAT BEAT FOR CHRIST
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n the east of the country a ongoing conflict, in the west rampant corruption, and everywhere galloping inflation. Yet in the midst of the darkness the seminarians sing God’s praises, in the midst of the chaos they revere his divine wisdom and continue to study for peace and reconciliation. In the two Ukrainian Greek-Catholic seminaries of Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil-Zboriv in west Ukraine their faith ensures that they still look with confidence to the future. Their sense of a great community strengthens their certainty that God is with them. There are 221 seminarians in Ivano-Frankivsk and 153 in Ternopil-Zboriv. They come from a number of different dioceses. The Church recovered the semi-
nary buildings, which had been confiscated and left in ruins by the Soviets, thoroughly repaired and refurbished them and filled them once again with young men whose hearts beat truly for Christ and for the Church. But the bursar is not the only one to realise that the prices of electricity, water, gas and basic food supplies are rising relentlessly today. For years the seminaries have been trying to cope with this crisis by growing their own food, keeping bees and raising livestock. But it’s just not enough. Quite often the seminary also helps the poor in the region. State support? No chance. The average basic living cost for each seminarian in west Ukraine works out at around €3,500 per year. We have promised to help.
221 voices for Christ. To proclaim the Gospel, they need good seminary formation.
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This is also an investment in the future of the Ukrainian Catholic communities abroad; a number of the young priests who emerge from these seminaries will later go to Kazakhstan, Italy and other parts of the world where they will proclaim peace to all people of goodwill. Thank you for helping these seminarians to continue singing the Lord’s praises in the midst of the chaos and suffering which is the present-day Ukraine. • Despite war and economic crisis, vocations remain high. Ordination ceremony in the seminary of Ivano-Frankivsk.
HIS CREED ROBERT HERRICK (1591-1674) I do believe that die I must, And be return’d from out my dust:
I do believe the good, and I, Shall live with Him eternally:
I do believe that when I rise, Christ I shall see, with these same eyes:
I do believe I shall inherit Heaven, by Christ’s mercies, not my merit.
I do believe that I must come, With others, to the dreadful doom:
I do believe the One in Three, And Three in perfect unity:
I do believe the bad must go From thence, to everlasting woe:
Lastly, that JESUS is a deed Of gift from God: and here’s my creed
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THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE1
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illiam Sieghart, publisher and poetry promoter, has hit on the charming if slightly eccentric idea of compiling an anthology of poetry for therapeutic purposes. The Poetry Pharmacy, subtitled ‘Tried-andtrue prescriptions for the heart, mind and soul’, offers poetic remedies for various states of mind: mental and emotional wellbeing, motivations, self-image and self-acceptance, the world and other people, and finally love and loss. The list includes poems, such as Kipling’s bracing If (prescribed when needing moral guidance); Elizabeth Jennings’ Lovely Into the Hour (useful for maturing grief); and Follower, Seamus Heaney’s lament for the changed role of an ageing parent.
No-one doubts that poetry fulfils a deep human need, articulating what we seek to voice in times of heightened emotion and providing the words that we would have used if we had the creative resources to do so. Nonetheless, despite John Keats telling us in his own oft-repeated lines that ‘Beauty is truth’, this is not always true – though it is very easy to be lulled by the music and magic of words into believing it. I am thinking here of a poem in Sieghart’s book by the 14th century Persian poet, Hafez. Entitled, ‘I am in love with every church’ it is brief and lyrical:
‘I am in love with every church and mosque and temple and any kind of shrine because I know it is there that people say the different names of the One God.’
Sieghart has prescribed this poem for the condition of ‘living with difference’, adding that it is ‘suitable for isolation, mistrust of others [and] prejudice.’ He comments further that ‘We all want …to feel happy, safe and loved; and most of all, to be able to see ourselves as good people: to be able to live with ourselves.’ 1 Adapted and edited from Francis Phillips http://www.catholicherald. co.uk/commentandblogs/2017/12/15/it-is-not-prejudiced-torecognise-we-dont-all-worship-the-same-god/
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He sees the poem as an ‘opportunity to learn more about our shared humanity’ and not a cause ‘for fear and mistrust’, concluding that ‘As Hafez suggests in this poem, the way in which we choose to achieve something may finally be of no great consequence so long as we all end up in what, taking the longer view, turns out to be much the same place.’ Much as I would like to agree with what Sieghart writes, and much as I want to embrace this venerable Persian poet, I can’t do so. Although it is a human instinct to yearn for the infinite, we do not all worship the same God. Christian churches, Muslim mosques and Buddhist and Hindu temples might all witness to a longing for the transcendent, but that is where the similarity ends. Christian revelation tells us that God is Trinitarian and that other ways of defining him are imperfect and flawed. Further, we believe that God became incarnate in the Person of Christ and that not to know Christ is a loss greater than we can possibly imagine. That is why Christianity, unlike other faiths, is a missionary faith. The Gospel is the Good News and meant for all mankind. To say this is not to be ‘prejudiced’ against other faiths but to recognise that we have the ‘pearl of great price’ and they don’t. All of this may seem offensive and intolerant some but there is no way to avoid saying it. • GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE
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WHAT DO WE GAIN FROM PRAYER?2 Once a man was asked, ‘what did you gain by regularly praying to God?’ The man replied, ‘Nothing…but let me tell you what I lost: anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and fear of death.’ Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not gaining but losing; which ultimately is the gain. –Anonymous
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his unattributed quote has been making its way across the internet via social media the past few weeks. Reading it, I was moved to reflect on the question, ‘What do we really gain from praying?’
2 Adapted and edited from a reflection by Tony Agnesi, https://tonyagnesi.com/2015/05/what-do-we-gain-from-prayer/
In the quote, the man explains what he has lost through prayer, but truthfully each of the things he says he has lost are actually gains if you look to the positive. He… lost anger…
but gained happiness,
lost ego… but gained compassion, lost greed…
but gained generosity and gratitude,
lost depression… but gained joy, lost insecurity…
but found comfort in God’s Word,
lost fear of death… and gained everlasting life. So, what do we gain from regularly praying to God? Here are some thoughts:
‘Joy is the sign of God’s presence and action within us.’ POPE BENEDICT XVI
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Prayer helps our physical and psychological health. Praying makes us feel better, reduces anxiety, and calms us in our times of need.
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Prayer deepens our relationship with God. When things are going wrong, we want to tell our problems to a friend. We want someone to tell us that things will be alright; to comfort and console us. If Jesus is truly our friend, then isn’t He the One best friend to offer us comfort? By going to Him, we deepen our relationship with Him and find comfort and consolation in His promise.
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Prayer helps us to draw on God’s strength. When we realise that we are helpless to solve our problems on our own and that we need God’s strength to sustain us, remember Ephesians 6:10 where we are told to draw your strength from the Lord and from His mighty power.
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With prayer, God supplies our needs and fulfills our desires. A verse that my wife Diane and I held close to our hearts early in our marriage was this magnificent promise from the gospel of Matthew: Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by My heavenly Father. I can’t speak for others, but this promise has worked for us 100% of the time.
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With prayer, we gain wisdom.
When we are making a decision, any important decision, like taking a new job, buying a house, picking a college to attend, or deciding on surgery, He will guide us. Prayer is always positive and we profit from it whenever we pray. If we pray regularly, we not only loose anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and fear of death, but we gain so much more. •
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With prayer, joy and Grace are guaranteed. God’s never-ending supply of grace is waiting for us if we just ask. Prayer is the vehicle by which His grace is heaped upon us and our depression and fears are turned to joy.
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TRUST IN THE LORD3
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ot to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Thy name give glory, for the sake of Thy steadfast love and Thy faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ 3 Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, put your trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; 13 He will bless those who fear the LORD, both small and great. 14 May the LORD give you increase, you and your children! 15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth! 16 The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth He has given to the sons of men. 17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any that go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. 10
PRAISE THE LORD!
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3 Psalm 115 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition.
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TRUE GOD AND TRUE HOPE
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an is redeemed by Love… Jesus Christ has ‘redeemed’ us. Through Him we have become certain of God, a God who is not a remote ‘first cause’ of the world, because His only-begotten Son has become Man and of Him everyone can say: ‘I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’ (Gal 2:20). In this sense it is true that anyone who does not know God, even though He may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without Hope, without the great Hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12). Man’s great, true Hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God— God who has loved us and who continues to love us ‘to the end,’ until all ‘is accomplished’ (cf. Jn 13:1 and 19:30). Whoever is moved by Love begins to perceive what ‘Life’ really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of Hope that
POPE BENEDICT XVI4
we encountered in the Baptismal Rite: from Faith I await ‘eternal life’—the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply Life. Jesus, who said that he had come so that we might have Life and have it in its fullness, in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10), has also explained to us what ‘Life’ means: ‘this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent’ (Jn 17:3). Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And Life in its totality is a relationship with Him who is the source of Life. If we are in relation with Him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in • life. Then we ‘live’. 4 Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 30 November 2007, Adapted and edited from Paragraphs 26 and 27. The complete reformatted text is available to be read as an e-book at http://www.acnireland.org/ spe-salvi/
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GOD NEVER DISAPPOINTS POPE FRANCIS
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ope is a basic human need: hope for the future, belief in life, so-called ‘positive thinking.’ But it is important that this hope is placed in what can really help you to live and give meaning to our existence. This is why Scripture warns us against the false hopes that the world presents to us, exposing their uselessness and demonstrating their foolishness. It does so in various ways, but especially by denouncing the falsehood of the idols in which man is continually tempted to place his trust, making them the object of his hope. The prophets and scholars in particular insist on this, touching a nerve centre of the believer’s journey of faith. Because faith means trusting in God — those who have faith trust in God.
But there is a moment when, in meeting life’s difficulties, man experiences the fragility of that trust and feels the need for various certainties, for tangible, concrete assurances. I entrust myself to God, but the situation is rather serious and I need a little more concrete reassurance. And there lies the danger! And then we are tempted to seek even ephemeral consolations that seem to fill the void of loneliness and alleviate the fatigue of believing. And we think we can find them in the security that money can give, in alliances with the powerful, in worldliness, in false ideologies. Sometimes we look for them in a god that can bend to our requests and magically intervene to change the situation and make it as we wish; an idol, indeed, that in itself can do nothing. It is impotent and deceptive. But we like idols; we love them! Once, in Buenos Aires, I had to go from one church to another, a thousand meters, more or less. And I did so on foot. And between them there is a park, and in the park there were little tables, where many, many fortune tellers were sitting. It was full of people who were even waiting in line. You would give them your hand and they’d begin, but the conversation was always the same: ‘there is a woman in your life, there is a darkness that comes, but everything will be fine ...’. And then, you paid. 5 Pope Francis: GENERAL AUDIENCE, Paul VI Audience Hall, Wednesday, 11 January 2017
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And this gives you security? It is the security of — allow me to use the word — nonsense. Going to a seer or to a fortune teller who reads cards: this is an idol. When we are attached to them, we buy false hope. Whereas, in that gratuitous Hope, which Jesus Christ brought us, freely giving His life for us, sometimes we fail to fully trust. A Psalm brimming with wisdom depicts in a very suggestive way the falsity of these idols that the world offers for our hope and on which men of all ages are tempted to rely is Psalm 115, which is recited as follows:
‘Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them!’ (vv. 4-8).
The psalmist also presents to us, a bit ironically, the absolutely ephemeral character of these idols. And we must understand that these are not merely figures made of metal or other materials but are also those we build in our minds:
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when we trust in limited realities that we transform into absolute values, or when we diminish God to fit our own template and our ideas of divinity; a god that looks like us is understandable, predictable, just like the idols mentioned in the Psalm. Man, the image of God, manufactures a god in his own image, and it is also a poorly realised image. It does not hear, does not act, and above all, it cannot speak. But, we are happier to turn to idols than to turn to the Lord. Many times, we are happier with the ephemeral hope that this false idol gives us, than with the great and sure Hope that the Lord gives us. In contrast to hoping in a Lord of life who, through His Word created the world and leads our existence, [we turn to] dumb effigies.
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Ideologies with their claim to the absolute, wealth, power and success, vanity, with their illusion of eternity and omnipotence, values such as physical beauty and health: when they become idols to which everything is sacrificed, they are all things that confuse the mind and the heart, and instead of supporting life, they lead to death. It is terrible to hear, and painful to the soul. Some years ago I heard of a very beautiful woman who boasted about her beauty. She said, as if it were entirely natural: ‘Yes, I had to have an abortion because my figure is very important’. These are idols, and they lead you down the wrong path, and do not give you happiness. The message of the Psalm is very clear. If you place hope in idols, you become like them: hollow images with hands that do not feel, feet that do not walk, mouths that cannot
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speak. You no longer have anything to say; you become unable to help, to change things, unable to smile, to give of yourself, incapable of love. And we, men of the Church, need to abide in the world but defend ourselves from the world’s illusions, the idols that I mentioned. As the Psalm continues, we must trust and hope in God, and God will bestow the blessing. ‘O Israel, trust in the Lord.... O House of Aaron, put your trust in the Lord.... You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord.... The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us’ (vv. 9, 10, 11, 12).
Idols always disappoint; they are makebelieve; they are not real. Here is the wonderful reality of Hope: in trusting in the Lord, we become like Him. His blessing transforms us into his children who share in His life. Hope in God allows us to enter, so to speak, within the range of His remembrance, of His memory that blesses us and saves us. And it is then that a Hallelujah can burst forth in praise to the living and true God, who was born for us of Mary, died on the Cross and rose again in glory. And in this God we have Hope, and this God never disappoints. •
The Lord always remembers. Even in the bad times He remembers us. And this is our Hope. And it is the Hope that does not disappoint. Never.
‘Let us pray that all find in Christ the meaning of life and the foundation of true freedom: without God, in fact, man loses himself. The testimonies of those who have gone before us and have dedicated their lives to the Gospel confirm it forever. It is reasonable to believe our existence is at stake. It is worth spending oneself for Christ, He alone satisfies the desires of truth and of goodness rooted in the soul of every man: now, in the time that passes, and in the endless day of blessed Eternity.’ Pope Benedict XVI6 6
Pope Benedict XVI, GENERAL AUDIENCE Wednesday 21 November 2012.
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GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
WITHOUT GOD, MAN LOSES HIMSELF7
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n his General audience on 21 November 2012 during the Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that it is through Faith we come to knowledge not only of God but also of ourselves. Moreover he made the rather startling statement: ‘It is reasonable to believe our existence is at stake.’ Pope Benedict teaches us that Faith is about our very existence. And Aesop’s Fable about ‘The Crow and the Serpent’ perhaps serves to illustrate the point which the now Pope Emeritus was making. A crow in great want of food saw a Serpent asleep in a sunny nook, and flying down, greedily seized him. The Serpent, turning about, bit the Crow with a mortal wound.
But when we actually realise these goals, we far find that not only are we not fulfilled, but those very things for which we worked so hard to achieve are destroying our lives, our relationships, our families. How many times have political leaders, and most certainly all dictators, come into power promising to be saviours and turn out to be the ones who cause more misery and suffering? All addictions - from drugs and alcohol to work or even a personal relationship - start out as pleasurable and something that will bring deep joy and meaning to our lives, and end up instead wreaking great havoc.
In the agony of death, the bird exclaimed: ‘O unhappy me! Who have found in that which I deemed a happy windfall the source of my destruction.’ ‘I have found in that which I deemed a happy windfall the source of my destruction.’ How often has this been true for us individually and for the entire world? How often have we told ourselves if I can just get that job, buy that house, get that car, marry that person, make this amount of money, then I will be fulfilled and happy? 7 Adapted and edited from http://catholicinbrooklyn.blogspot. co.uk/2012/12/pope-benedict-xvi-man-loses-himself.html
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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
And so we ask, is there anything in this world that will not become a ‘source of our destruction’?
So it that we are completely dependent upon our merciful God, who always stands ready to pour His Love out upon us for He has told us:
Pope Benedict answers that ‘without God, in fact, man loses himself.’ He points out that in order for anything in this life to be truly successful, it must be centred around Faith, which is our relationship with God.
Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.
Anytime our lives are not centred on our Creator, we are walking a destructive path and it is only through Faith that we can have a relationship with God.
Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light. (Matt. 11:28-30) •
Moreover this is a relationship that can only be initiated by God for Faith is a gift we receive from our Creator and not something we can manufacture on our own.
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here is a happy atmosphere in the seminary of Hrodna in Belarus. The rector, Father Roman Raczko thanks us ‘on behalf of our seminary family’ for the help we gave them last year. Thanks to this support, the 33 seminarians were able to benefit from a solid academic and spiritual formation. They were also able to spend more time visiting orphanages, homes for handicapped children and for the elderly and in this way learn how to care for ‘these children of God’. All this forms part of their training in Hrodna, the overall goal of which is ‘to better prepare our students for the priesthood’. And it also leads to many of
its new priests working in the missions, in Brazil and Cameroon, for example, ‘to work among the poor children there’. Father Roman assures us, ‘We think daily of our benefactors, and not only in Holy Mass. You are also with us in our thoughts when our students and professors travel on pilgrimage • to nearby Marian shrines.’.
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GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
THE LIGHT OF FAITH AND THE SEARCH FOR GOD POPE FRANCIS
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T
he Light of Faith in Jesus also illumines the path of all those who seek God, and makes a specifically Christian contribution to dialogue with the followers of the different religions. The Letter to the Hebrews speaks of the witness of those just ones who, before the covenant with Abraham, already sought God in faith. Of Enoch ‘it was attested that he had pleased God’ (Heb 11:5), something impossible apart from faith, for ‘whoever would approach God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him’ (Heb 11:6). We can see from this that the path of religious man passes through the acknowledgment of a God who cares for us and is not impossible to find. What other reward can God give to those who seek Him, if not to let Himself be found? …
An image of this seeking can be seen in the Magi, who were led to Bethlehem by the star (cf. Mt 2:1-12). For them God’s light appeared as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led them on a path of discovery. The star is a sign of God’s patience with our eyes which need to grow accustomed to His brightness. Religious man is a wayfarer; he must be ready to let himself be led, to come out of himself and to find the God of perpetual surprises. This respect on God’s part for our human eyes shows us that when we draw near to God, our human lights are not dissolved in the immensity of His light, as a star is engulfed by the dawn, but shine all the more brightly the closer they approach the primordial fire, like a mirror which reflects light.
Religious man strives to see Signs of God …
in the daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the seasons, in the fruitfulness of the earth and in the movement of the cosmos.
God is Light and He can be found also by those who seek Him with a sincere heart. 8 Pope Francis Lumen Fidei, 29 June 2013 Paragraph 35 (Re-formatted). The complete reformatted text is available to be read as an e-book at http://www.acnireland.org/lumen-fidei/ 9 Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Dominus Iesus (6 August 2000), 15: AAS 92 (2000), 756.
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Christian Faith in Jesus, the one Saviour of the world, proclaims that all God’s Light is concentrated in Him, in His ‘luminous life’ which discloses the origin and the end of history.9 There is no human experience, no journey of man to God, which cannot be taken up, illumined and purified by this light. The more Christians immerse themselves in the circle of Christ’s Light, the more capable they become of understanding and accom-
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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
‘A Christian brings peace to others. Not only peace, but also love, kindness, faithfulness and joy.’ POPE FRANCIS
panying the path of every man and woman towards God. Because faith is a way, it also has to do with the lives of those men and women who, though not believers, nonetheless desire to believe and continue to seek. To the extent that they are sincerely open to love and set out with whatever light they can find, they are already, even without knowing it, on the path leading to Faith. They strive to act as if God existed, at times because they realise how important He is for finding a sure compass for our life in common or because they experience a desire for light amid darkness, but also because in perceiving life’s grandeur and beauty they intuit that the presence of God would make it all the more beautiful. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons tells how Abraham, before hearing God’s voice, had already sought Him ‘in the ardent desire of his heart’ and ‘went throughout the whole world, asking himself where God was to be found’, until ‘God had pity on him who, all alone, had sought Him in silence.’ 10 Anyone who sets off on the path of doing good to others is already drawing near to God, is already sustained by his help, for it is characteristic of the divine Light to brighten our eyes whenever we walk towards the fullness of love. • 10 Demonstratio Apostolicae Predicationis, 24: SC 406, 117.
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GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
PRECIOUS LIVES, PRECIOUS VOCATIONS
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ccording to the World Health Organisation, Papua New Guinea has the highest road accident rate in the Pacific region. This is partly because of the roads which in most cases are very poor. Many people travel in dangerously overcrowded and unsafe conditions in the back of lorries and pickup trucks. For these small trucks are cheaper to buy than a minibus.
You cannot make savings and put people’s lives at risk in the process; they need our help for a minibus for the seminarians and the teaching staff. The new vehicle would be especially useful for taking groups of seminarians to do pastoral work in the more distant parishes. Vehicles are expensive in Papua New Guinea. We have promised them help for life is precious, as indeed are priestly vocations too. •
The Good Shepherd Seminary in Banz also has a truck. At present the seminary has 35 students and 15 will join them this year. There are too many to fit in the back of the truck and in any case the pickup is on its last legs. The dangers of travelling in Papua New Guinea.
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Aid to the Church in Need
AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
PRECIOUS 11LIFE, MY SISTER
M
any years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5 year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.
‘The fullest freedom I have ever known, the greatest sense of security, came from abandoning my will to do only the will of God’
I saw him hesitate for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, ‘Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.’ As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the colour returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, ‘Will I start to die right away?’ Being so young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all his blood in order to save her. •
FR. WALTER CISZEK, S.J. Survivor of 23 years in Soviet prison camps.
11 Adapted and edited from http://lordcalls.com/inspirational/thelittle-boy-and-his-sister. The author is a Catholic mother of Indian heritage called Jisha who loves her faith prays that the Lord will make her a saint.
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GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
PASTORS FOR FUTURE PASTORS
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n his homily for All Saints Day, Pope Gregory the Great, a Saint and Doctor of the Church, lists some of the features of the great Communion of the Saints: joy, serenity, consolation, brotherliness. They are the fruit of steadfastness, strength of soul and diligence.
Such words also describe the atmosphere encountered by the rectors and seminary directors who have converged on Rome from different countries and continents, to spend four weeks together at the international pontifical college of ‘Maria Mater Ecclesiae’. Most are from Africa and Latin America. Naturally there is a programme of events, with lectures, concelebrated Masses, prayer, Rosary, working groups on marriage and the
family apostolate and other pastoral themes. But the most important aspect is the opportunity to meet as friends of God and experience this tangible communion of those who are ‘called to be saints’, as Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Romans (1:7). Last year there were 89 of them from 24 different countries. Most come from the poorest countries, such as Ecuador, Vietnam and the Central African Republic, where the Church has neither the resources nor the facilities for such encounters. The largest contingent last year, almost half the number, was from Madagascar. Almost none of them could afford the flight and accommodation in Rome. So once again ACN was privileged to support this year’s encounter.
United in prayer: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name...’ (Matthew 18:20)
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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
For the rectors and formators of the seminaries, these annual meetings in Rome with their brothers from all over the world are an experience that strengthens the soul and brings new courage for the future, despite the often hostile circumstances they face in their own countries. Father Etienne Randriamanantsoa from Madagascar wants to ‘share these experiences and talks with my brother priests in the diocese’, while Father Ludwig Takuali Utuku from Central Africa feels spiritually renewed and enriched. He was particularly impressed by some of the more profound aspects of the formation, in particular the talks on human maturity and psychology, and he is looking forward to passing on this understanding to his students.
Father Isidor Makutu from Tanzania is also enthusiastic about the holistic approach to the formation of his future priests. He is convinced that ‘the seed being sown here will bear fruit throughout the world’. As for Father Sean Byrnes from the diocese of Wagga in Australia, he sees his vocation in a new light today: ‘It is a calling of God to be pastors for future pastors’, he says. All these men return home to their own countries with renewed energy. They sense what Saint Paul writes in his Letter to Timothy: ‘The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith’ (1 Tim 1:5). •
Brotherly joy in Christ: chosen and ‘called to be saints’ from 24 different countries.
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GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
CHRIST COMES BEGGING WITH US
Q
uietly, a young religious Sister enters the noisy bar. She belongs to the congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor and she is begging for alms. She stretches her hand out to a man, who is notorious for his hatred of the Church, and he spits in her face, laughing derisively. Quietly, she wipes her face and says, ‘That was for me. Now will you give me something for the poor?’ The mocking smile dies on the man’s face and his eyes open in wonderment. He asks her pardon and gives – more than she had dared to hope. Bishop Raul Castillo of La Guaira, Venezuela, is happy to tell people this true story. It takes a lot of courage, he says, to put your dignity in your open hands and beg. But, as he also knows, ‘Christ comes begging with us.’ For here it is about ‘God’s first love, the poor’, as Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI puts it in his book on Jesus of Nazareth.
For Bishop Raul, that also includes his priests, religious Sisters and seminarians. And it is they who are combatting the immense spiritual poverty of today, for as Pope Francis says in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium: ‘The worst discrimination which the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care.’ The 19 young men in Saint Peter’s Seminary in La Guaira are well aware of this. They see the poverty in the country, the lack of basic necessities and the widespread violence. They themselves suffer from the same shortages and Bishop Raul has asked for help to provide them with the barest necessities – soap, eggs, milk, flour, paper. As for money, they have none, and in any case it would be of little worth, for inflation here is the highest in the world today.
Tilling and planting to stave off hunger: Seminarians working in the field.
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Aid to the Church in Need
AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
Money from abroad would help them to address the material needs and at the same time prepare for the growing spiritual need. Many of the seminarians have themselves known past sorrow and suffering. When Luis Carlos felt the call of God, he was already engaged. The parting was not easy. Fellow seminarian Caesar Rafael suffered cancer of the lymph nodes at the age of 10. He underwent chemotherapy, but then when he was 14 the cancer returned. This time the chemotherapy was followed by radiotherapy. Since then, he seems to have been in good health. He gave up his studies in machine engineering after two years and entered the seminary. Another student for the priesthood, Esteban Marcanos lost his mother when he was just one year old. He was brought up by his father in his grandparents’ house. Then his father died when he was just 16. Yet he never ceased to
believe in God’s love, and today he is training for the priesthood. No one knows what will happen to this country in the future. But one thing is certain: without the Church the spiritual poverty will continue to increase. Luis, Caesar and Esteban want to combat this with the sacraments, the signs of God’s love. And this too is what the 20 young men in the seminary of the Mother of the Redeemer in Carupano are preparing for. They also have no fear of the future, although they too lack even the barest necessities. We have promised to help both Carupano and La Guaira. Our aid will help them towards their goal, expressed in the words of Pope Francis: ‘Our preferential option for the poor must mainly translate into a privileged and preferential religious care.’ (Evangelii Gaudium, 200). • Singing for the Lord: choir practice at the seminary.
Bishop Raul Castillo of La Guaira: and future vocations?
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GOD AND THE ART OF LIVING
YOUR APPRECIATION... GOD’S APPROVAL AND BLESSING
OPENING HEARTS
I first came to know about ACN five years ago, and I can tell you that I am very enthusiastic about your work. Since then, I have endeavoured with all my heart to get to know more about your charity and to tell others about it. But above all I want to stay loyal to ACN by financially supporting it, for it is a charity that really has God’s approval and blessing.
After I had read out something from the Mirror to my children, they spontaneously decided to give up some of their savings, so as to provide babies in Syria with nappies and milk. Thank you for these practical suggestions for helping, which have opened my children’s hearts.
A benefactress in Brazil
AN ANSWER TO MY PRAYER
HOPE FOR THE CHURCH Your magazine gives us so much hope for a bright future for the Church despite all the attacks against her. May God bless each of you with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to continue this great Work for God.
A mother in France
Tonight when I read of the ACN for the first time on the Internet, I felt my heart skip a beat and tears of joy came to my eyes… This I realised was the answer to my prayer. Thank you for caring for our unfortunate brothers and sisters around the world. A benefactor from the U.S.
WHAT THE SAINTS SAY...
A benefactress in Australia
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‘God made us for joy. God is joy, and the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us.’ Pope St. John Paul II Quote selected by Eddie Cotter, founder
ead heologians ociety www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com Aid to the Church in Need
AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS
...AND OUR THANKS Dear Friends,
I
f anyone is still looking for good resolutions for the New Year, then I recommend you read Saint Paul. In his Letter to the Romans he gives a host of recommendations that are both practical and personal. For example, if you have the gift of prophecy, then speak, in accordance with the Faith; if you are suited to the work of service, then serve others.
And if called to comfort others, then give comfort (Romans 12:6ff). In other words, we should all fully use our true potential, and thereby become better people. This and nothing else is what our resolutions are about. But Saint Paul touches not only on the importance of personal qualities but social ones too.
‘Outdo one another in showing honour... Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.’ (Romans 12:10, 13-16). These are not merely good resolutions, but a whole programme of life for everyone who wishes to prepare the way for the Peace of Christ on earth, and in so doing experiences the Peace of Christ in his heart. With these thoughts in mind I wish you all a peaceful and blessed 2018.
Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International
WHERE TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR THE CHURCH IN NEED Please use the Freepost envelope.
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WE ARE CALLED TO BE MISSIONARIES OF
‘True peace comes when we trust in the Lord and strive for reconciliation.’ ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant
‘May we dedicate ourselves prayerfully and actively to banishing violence from our hearts, words and deeds. Nothing is impossible if we turn to God in prayer. Everyone can be an artisan of peace.’
Artisans of peace – seminarians in Nigeria.
Pope Francis, message to the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2017
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THE MIRROR IS AVAILABLE TO READ AT ACNIRELAND.ORG/MIRROR
MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE
Rays of Hope
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