Aid to the Church in Need
Faith and The Family 13 - 4
+e413ei_print.indd 2
03/05/2013 10:28
God Speaks to His Children in Syria The head of an ancient Middle Eastern Church has described how whole of Syria has become a battlefield and has appealed to world leaders to intervene in a bid to stop the fighting.
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham
As a Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, Aid to the Church in Need has provided ongoing emergency aid – food, shelter and medicine – both in Syria and in neighbouring countries, working through leading bishops in the region.
Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
+e413ei_print.indd 3
03/05/2013 10:28
Aid to the Church in Need
Contents
Page
The Essence of Pure Faith - Fr. Martin Barta . ................................................. 2 A New Shepherd - Johannes Freiherr Heereman ............................................. 3 Discovering the Vocation to Love - Family Apostolate.................................... 4 God Speaks to All - Religious Literature . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 6 The Dynamism of Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 7 Poverty, Persecution, Hope - Letter from Africa ............................................. 8 Young People Carry the Divine Within Them - Youth Apostolate ................. 10
A LOOK IN THE
A chairde - Faith and The Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 12 Saint Augustine of Hippo - Eddie Cotter Jr., DTS ........................................... 13 A Bible Belongs in Every Home - Family Apostolate ..................................... 19 A Message for World Youth Day 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI .......................... 22 Evangelisation, Social Compassion and Pope Francis An interview with Fr. Michael Shields, Magadan, Siberia .................................. 29
Editor: JĂźrgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 KĂśnigstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org
Aid to the Church in Need +e413ei_print.indd 5
1 03/05/2013 10:28
Dear Friends,
parish in Poland, the commuIn this Year of Faith we commemorate nists attempted the 50th year of the opening of the to ‘prevent’ her Second Vatican Council. Lumen Gentium, visit and had the the fundamental Council document picture ‘taken on the Church, ends with a chapter on into custody’ the Mother of God. This text is most by the police. certainly no mere Marian afterthought, But the pilgrimsince for the Church Mary is the perfect age continued pattern of her divine calling. She is the nonetheless, with the empty frame – and very essence of pure faith, of selfless as a result its message was even more love and of unity with Christ. She enlight- compelling! The empty frame, deprived ens the Church with her virtues and of the image, was like a silent testimony helps her as her ‘all-powerful’ advocate to the presence of the Mother of God, before God. Mary is a personal Mother and the whole nation prayed still more to every single human being, whether fervently to Our Lady. This pilgrimage s/he knows it or not. of Our Lady resulted in an extraordinary strengthening of These Marian truths ‘Mary is the very essence the Faith in Poland. of our Faith are And it was this Faith, of pure faith, of selfless love ultimately, that led the reflected all round the world in innumerable people to their victory and of unity with Christ.’ places of pilgrimage over the regime. and artistic representations. But the Mother of God is Just as once in Nazareth God changed present to us by no means only through world history through Mary, so through pictures or statues; instead she is a living Mary still he guides the course of world presence in our midst. She is the Heart events today. The Mother of God gives of the Church. She is the Mother who us courage and addresses to each one forms the Church into a Family, in which of us the comforting words that she we can find consolation and security spoke in Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego: and feel fully at home. In his book Arise, ‘Do not let anything afflict you and be let us go! Blessed Pope John Paul II tells not afraid of illness or pain. Am I not of a deeply moving event relating to the here who am your Mother? Are you not image of the Black Madonna of Czesto- under my shadow and protection? Do chowa. When her image was about to be you need anything more?’ Let us, like taken in procession through every single the Apostle John, take the Mother of
2 +e413ei_print.indd 6
03/05/2013 10:28
God to ourselves, into our homes. Let us gather around her in the prayer of the Rosary, and she will make our families into small domestic churches where the Faith lives, and where God reigns. Thank you, dear friends, for helping us so that all men may recognise Mary as their own personal Mother, their Helper in every need and the Protectress of their families. We also entrust our new
Dear Friends, The time between the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis was like a time without a father, a time of being orphaned. And yet at the same time I sensed that even this sorrow has a purpose and is meant to teach us something. All human attachments here on earth are transient; again and again we must let go. Even of this humble, modest and loving Pope, to whom we are so indebted for his courageous step in the refoundation of ACN; Yes, even of him we must let go. Like his predecessors, who left their mark on our Charity, he acted as the Vicar of Christ. Therefore we must have confidence in the fact that it is God himself who holds our fate in his hands. God has granted us a new Shepherd. And while our love for Benedict continues still, our unfailing fidelity however
Holy Father Pope Francis to the care of the Queen of the May and ask that she may protect him. My blessing on you and your families
Father Martin M. Barta, Spiritual Assistant
belongs above all to the successor of Peter, our new Pope Francis. This fidelity is the foundation of ACN. It is the bond that binds together the suffering Church, our benefactors and ourselves who have the privilege of serving them both. United by this bond, and with the request not to let up in your prayers for the Vicar of Christ, I offer you my warmest greetings.
Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International
Aid to the Church in Need +e413ei_print.indd 7
3 03/05/2013 10:28
Discovering the Vocation to Love ‘Faith is no abstruse philosophy, but finding one’s way to wisdom, to understanding, to objectivity, to the perception of total reality’ (Benedict XVI). The encyclical Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI has been consistently derided by the world’s media. But in fact it is much more than a papal doctrinal teaching against artificial contraception. It is a prophetic statement about marriage, which is a ‘very special form of personal friendship’. The man who later became Pope John Paul II was involved in a major way in the drafting of Humanae Vitae. It was he who further developed the key concept of ‘responsible parenthood’ in a number of documents and who urged the bishops, priests, religious sisters and catechists around the world to help the Catholic faithful live this responsibility. This includes being open to the gift of life that God gives and determining the number of their children in accordance with nature and their circumstances of life.
Blessed John Paul II. No Pope has written more than he has about the family.
Rwanda. On the way to Our Lady’s shrine in Kibeho – and no one’s too small!
In East Timor there is some concern within the Church. Children are giving birth to children, and even young couples know too little about the psyche of husband and wife, about their bodies, about the fertility phases and the symptoms of the female cycle. They are now learning about all these things in courses on
Peru. Renewing their marriage vows – with a new understanding.
4 +e413ei_print.indd 8
03/05/2013 10:28
the nature of man and the dignity of the human person, made in the image of God: a dignity upon which the teachings of the Church are grounded. John Paul II in fact has even formulated a Theology of the Body. A married life, lived in reciprocal love and respect, helps to create a new sense of self worth, above all for the woman. The teaching is taking hold. In the three dioceses of this young nation, whose population is over 95% Catholic, there is great interest. Teachers are being trained, the curriculum adapted, work groups formed. The costs (photocopying, office expenses and teaching materials) are too much for the youthful Church alone, however. We are helping. In Madagascar and other poor countries the situation is similar; here girls are married at the age of 14 to 17 without any kind of intellectual or emotional preparation. Here too the Church is fighting, in the schools and in courses and programmes on natural family planning and family values, for a greater human maturity and a more conscious capacity to love.
Central Africa. Explaining and integrating the gift of sexuality.
In Ukraine, on the other hand, the problems are somewhat different. Here married couples have first to be taught that abortion is not merely a method of family planning but the killing of a child. Restoring this awareness after decades of oppression, and helping people to relearn their vocation for love – to say yes to the dignity of life and the human person and to rediscover the importance of the family for the individual, as for society generally – all this necessitates the establishment of a complete counselling structure. There is a lack of trained experts to advise on issues such as natural family planning and the nature of man. And so, in every diocese, lay people, religious sisters and priests are now receiving additional training for this. We are helping to cover the cost of this training. For we know that here, as everywhere, ‘the family is the way of the Church’ (John Paul II). And as his successor, Benedict XVI has added, it is the ‘vocation to love that makes man into the true image of God’. •
Benedict XVI: ‘The family is the cradle of human and Christian values.’
Aid to the Church in Need +e413ei_print.indd 9
5 03/05/2013 10:28
God Speaks to All The Word converts. The Truth liberates. There are countless examples in history – Saint Augustine, Edith Stein and Saint Hilary are just three Doctors of the Church who were converted through the study of the Gospels. Still to this day the Bible has the power to convert. God speaks to his Children, ACN’s Child’s Bible, is for thousands of children all over the world their first, most significant and most enduring contact with the life of Jesus. Thanks to the Child’s Bible, many have discovered their vocation to the priesthood – for example Father José da Silva in Brazil, and the seminarian Fabio Losada in Colombia, who was profoundly
moved when he saw the many different languages in which ‘his’ little book has now travelled around the world. 174 languages, to be precise, and almost 51 million copies. And each day the number grows, because the bishops, priests and sisters continue to beg us for more copies. Nor are these books for the children only. Father Armand Alowakinnou is a prison chaplain in Benin. In searching for ways to help the prisoners come to know Jesus, he came across our Child’s Bible. ‘I found God speaks to his Children very suitable’, he writes. ‘There are around a hundred prisoners who now come to Mass on Sundays, and if you can send me 200 copies, it will undoubtedly lead to the conversion of still more of our brothers.’
Philippines. Children praying the Rosary in the diocese of Manila.
Argentina. Father Daniel prays with soldiers, using the Rosary booklet. Lithuania. God speaks to his children – in the religious education lessons. China. A new batch of Child’s Bibles – the thirst for the Faith is great.
6 +e413ei_print.indd 10
03/05/2013 10:28
Our Rosary booklet has had a similar effect. ‘These two books are a foundation for our people on their every step through life’, writes one bishop from Burma, and he asks us for more copies. For it is difficult in his country, where there is scarcely any religious literature, to find
good books for instructing and training people in their faith, he tells us. Conversion, education, formation – as Don Bosco once exclaimed, just three years before his death and after a lifetime of experience, ‘How many souls have been saved through good books!’ •
The Dynamism of Love ‘The sacrament of marriage is not an invention of the Church; it is really “cocreated” with man as such, as a fruit of the dynamism of love’ (Benedict XVI). This dynamism of love, ‘in which the man and the woman find themselves and thus also find the Creator who called them to love’, is something that depends on communication and on doing things together. In Chad this is by no means something that can be taken for granted. The custom here is for men and women to live separate lives, even within marriage. The association for ‘Christian living in the family – Saint Joseph’ in the diocese of Pala (36,000 Catholics and a million Muslims) is determined to change such practices, through a programme of dialogue and shared prayer. The response? ‘It was the first time we have really spoken together’. ‘We have never prayed together before.’ ‘To ask your wife for forgiveness is something that’s never done; but now I do so.’ ‘I saw my wife as a child; the idea of discuss-
They are talking and praying together. Couples, after a workshop .
ing things with her did not even occur to me. Now we talk together and are happy.’ More than a thousand couples have taken part in the programme, and many now want to go on joint retreats, to renew their marriage vows and to learn more about marriage and family in a Christian spirit. The demand is great, but they lack a centre. They have purchased a plot of land, but don’t have enough money to build with. We have promised them our help. •
Aid to the Church in Need +e413ei_print.indd 11
7 03/05/2013 10:28
Poverty, Persecution, Hope - Letter from Africa ‘Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia – Where Peter is, there is the Church.’ These words of Saint Ambrose are nowhere more faithfully lived than on the African continent. In Africa the Church is also growing at her quickest. However, the same is true of Islam as well. Roughly 40% of the people of Africa are Christians. Of decisive importance for their future is the training of priests, religious and catechists. In 2012 in Sudan and Guinea, in Burundi and Rwanda, in Nigeria, Mali and elsewhere, we have given major help for the construction or extension of seminaries. It is precisely in such crisis-torn countries as Nigeria or the Democratic Republic of Congo that the suffering and persecution are bringing many graces and vocations. Your financial support for specific
projects, and your Mass Intentions help to ease the need. As one bishop in northern Benin told us, ‘Perhaps it is precisely this great material poverty that is the source of spiritual graces for our ministry. The Good News is drenching the earth and spreading, despite the growing mistrust and the increasing hostility of our Muslim brothers.’ Formation projects and construction aid are long-term projects. Yet many Christians have first of all to survive. For Africa today is also a continent of wars and conflicts. We provide emergency aid for the displaced and the refugees – in Mali, Eastern Congo, Sudan and Central Africa, for example. In the north of Sudan, in the Nuba Mountains, the Islamist regime in Khartoum has for
Sudan. Schooling, food, clothing – refugee children with the nuns in Khartoum.
8 +e413ei_print.indd 12
03/05/2013 10:29
DR Congo. War and terror destroy families and leave children orphaned.
months been bombing the camps of Christian refugees, without the rest of the world even raising an eyebrow. In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo rebel groups, and indeed government troops too, are repeatedly falling on the civilian population, plundering, raping and burning. Without your generosity the local Church would scarcely be able to help the many homeless, beaten and traumatised victims. Yet in the midst of all this need, hope is also growing. One bishop in Morocco
Nigeria. A joyful faith – novices in the diocese of Jos.
says enthusiastically, ‘I am astonished to see how the Christian communities in sub-Saharan Africa are growing. We will have to enlarge many of our churches. It is wonderful to see the way in which human and Christian life is flourishing. I have just finished bestowing Confirmation on another 70 students.’ In the DR Congo again the Daughters of the Resurrection plan to establish a new centre. And on the island of Mauritius this year the general assembly of the African Family Life Federation, takes place, which we have been supporting for many years, in response to the words of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI for whom the question of the family is not merely one of a particular way of living, but ‘a question of the future of mankind itself’. The family apostolate is an apostolate at the source. The graces drawn from this source will flow like a life-giving river through the Continent of Hope. •
Rwanda. Steps of faith – seminarians with their bishop.
Aid to the Church in Need +e413ei_print.indd 13
9 03/05/2013 10:29
Young People Carry the Divine Within Them An interview with the Franciscan priest, Frei Hans Stapel, the founder of the Fazendas da Esperança (Farms of Hope). Today there are 86 such farms in 15 countries, where young addicts find their way back to life through work and prayer. What do you think about young people? Young people are by no means in an easy situation. They are discovering themselves and have to make decisions: What should I study? What profession should I follow? What am I to do with my life? Am I to marry sometime? These decisions influence our whole life. Besides, young people live exposed to massive tensions. They are influenced by the media, by their environment, by their friends. They don’t want to appear old fashioned. Those who are religious, but who want to or need to distance themselves from their parents, then often alienate themselves from the Church as well.
‘They truly have the capacity to give themselves’. Father Hans with young people.
How do you respond to this? Anyone who works with young people knows that at heart they are of good will, yet often very helpless. They want to be free, but don’t know what freedom is. They are searching, and in doing so they also have bad experiences. This could be in entirely different areas – they begin to smoke, drink alcohol, discover drugs, have sex, fall victim to consumerism. In doing so there is much they don’t really understand, it leads to dependencies from which they can no longer escape. I call such situations ‘a great cry for love’, which we have to hear and understand. Many have an experience of prison or a rehab clinic behind them. If we take them in, take them seriously, listen to them and give them true values, then they are capable of doing great things. What we show them is more than human ways, divine ways in fact, and we invite them to live the Gospels. And do young people accept that? Yes, I always count on the young, and every time I am filled with enthusiasm when I see just what young people are capable of. They truly have the capacity to give themselves. For example, on our fazendas around the world today we have more than 500 young people who are devoting themselves entirely to God in order to help others. What distinguishes young people in wealthy countries from those in poor countries? Wealth is actually the worst possible thing for young people. It seems as though one
10 +e413ei_print.indd 14
03/05/2013 10:29
can buy anything for money. Young people are no longer so open then; it is harder to get through to them. But ultimately one should never be afraid of young people. They all want to be genuine, they want to be happy They are searching for experiences, for adventure. You have to give them the opportunity to do something for themselves. The more you entrust to them, the more they grow beyond themselves. Young people – like all of us – are created by God. They carry the divine within them, and this is what we must reawaken.
‘They need to discover the world of God, which is personal, radical, beautiful’: Frei Hans Stapel.
It was the wish of Pope Benedict that as many young people as possible should receive a copy of the youth catechism, YOUCAT during the Year of Faith. The Bolivian bishops’ conference also wanted copies of the book, but could not meet the expense of 25,000 copies. They turned to ACN for help, and when Bishop Jesús Juárez Párraga of the diocese of El Alto heard the good news of your generosity he wrote enthusiastically, ‘Thank you! Thank you! A thousand times, thank you! In the bishops’ conference, they were jumping for joy at this news. The Church
And what do you say to a young person to whom faith and the Church mean nothing? Go to the essential. Give yourself the chance to take the Gospel message quite seriously and really put it into practice. Try each day to live a phrase from the Gospel. Then you will experience the fact that it is a message for you, and makes you free and gives you a deep inner joy. It is like with young people who are in love. It can only work when they see each other. This is what people also need to experience with faith – to find their way to God through the lived word and to discover this world of God that is quite different: personal, even radical, but something very beautiful. Someone who does not have this experience of God will not stay in the Church. Structures alone are not enough. Our young people need the experience of God. We must get back to living the Gospel, this hymn of loving praise that can always be lived. •
in Bolivia thanks you from her heart for this gift, which will enable our young people to rediscover and deepen their faith in this year. We are praying for you. May • God bless you all!’
Aid to the Church in Need +e413ei_print.indd 15
11 03/05/2013 10:29
A chairde, his issue of the Mirror reflects upon some of the practical assistance Aid to the Church in Need provides families in their role as ‘small domestic churches where the Faith lives and where God reigns.’ In this Look in the Mirror we begin with Eddie Cotter Jr’s summary of the troubled family life of St Augustine. This is followed by a brief presentation on the great value and the great success of ACN’s Children’s bible. Since it was first introduced 34 years ago, over 50 million Child’s bibles have been distributed to the poorest and most persecuted of God’s children and helped open their eyes to a universe of love and the prospect of eternal happiness. The third article presents extracts from an October 2012 address by Pope Benedict XVI ahead of World Youth Day in Rio. Although expressly directed to the youth of the world, the Holy Father’s words have a profound meaning for ‘youth of all ages’ …from eighteen to eighty and beyond. Speaking of World Youth Day in Rio, mention should to the great work being undertaken by our ACN Colleague in Brazil, Jose Correa. In preparation for this
great Catholic event, Jose has organised for the distribution of 1.5 million YOUCATs gratis within Brazil. Additionally during the event itself Jose has arranged to establish an ACN ‘village’ in one of the main squares in Rio where the youth of the world can come and encounter the authentic face of the Catholic Church, a face of joy and hope in a world of suffering and despair. Our fourth and final article is a short interview with Fr. Michael Shields. Fr. Michael is the US-born Parish Priest of Magadan in the far East of Russia and for more than 20 years he has been bringing joy and hope to the people of Magadan, a place of indescribable suffering and despair during Soviet times. Stand firm in the faith, be strong.
Aid to the Church in Need
(1 Cor. 16:13)
‘The witness of the martyrs will help us give, to all who ask, an account of the hope that is in us’. Father Martin M. Barta, ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant.
‘By faith, the martyrs gave their lives, bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel that had transformed them and made them capable of attaining to the greatest gift of love: the forgiveness of their persecutors.’ Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei, Motu Proprio for the Year of Faith.
‘Out of the depths I cry to Thee, O Lord!’ The face of prayer, Lahore, Pakistan.
Aid to the Church in Need helping the Church heal the world. 151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9. TEL 01 837 7516 EmaiL info@acnireland.org
Go... Rebuild my Church
www.acnireland.org
www.allthingscatholic.org
www.wheregodweeps.org
www.godspeakstohischildren.org
• • 13
A LOOK IN THE
In his interview Fr. Michael speaking about the Faith in this Year of Faith observes that ‘the real sign of living faith is meeting needs with loving deeds.’ And where is this Faith first learned? Normally it is from within the ‘small domestic churches’ of our families that we learn to love and serve others for the love of God. Indeed one could say that Evangelisation begins at home. Beanachtaí
J F Declan Quinn
12 +e413ei_print.indd 16
03/05/2013 10:29
AINT UGUSTINE of IPPO (354-430) Bishop & Doctor ne of the most popular, well known saints in the history of the church is Saint Augustine of Hippo, North Africa. His life, more than any other, speaks of the drama of discovering the truth, which lead to his repentance and conversion. Augustine waded through the murky waters of paganism and hedonism only to discover the beauty and truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His writings are some of the most profound in the possession of the church and still impart many important lessons for the serious Christian today. Augustine’s writings are of such importance, that many Protestant seminaries read his works as part of their seminary training. Saint Augustine of Hippo is one of the most influential saints of all time.
ence his son accordingly, as he would have none of his wife’s religion. Over many years St. Monica would shed copious tears and pray plentifully for her husband and son’s conversion. In Augustine’s case, it would be take over thirty years of prayer and pleading before the throne of God to bring about his conversion. Educated in the School of Confusion ugustine hated school with a passion in his early years, as he was physically abused by his teachers. His parents ignored his pleas to be taken out of the school. In spite of these difficulties, he excelled in his education. Augustine, with the approval of his father, spent a year out of school, which led to a restlessness that would plague the future saint for many years.
Early Life of Struggle n 354 AD, the year Augustine was born, Tagaste, North Africa (modern day Libya) was much more Roman than it was African and was home for many ports on the Mediterranean Sea. From the time of his birth, there was considerable tension in Augustine’s as his mother, Monica (a canonised saint in her own right) strove to raise her son as a Christian, while his father, a pagan endeavoured to influA LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 17
13 03/05/2013 10:29
In his mid-teen years, Augustine began his studies at the University of Carthage, North Africa. It was here that he dove headfirst into the Manichaean philosophy. Manes, for whom the philosophy was named, taught that there were two gods, one good (Mazda) and one evil (AdheraMazda); together they waged war in our very nature. The philosophy also taught that no one was really responsible for this conflict, thus no one was really responsible for sin. Augustine took all of this to heart, as he entered headlong into a sensuous life. Augustine kept a mistress and with her had an illegitimate son, named Adeodatus. Augustine would follow the Manichaean sect for nine years, during which he taught philosophy in Tagaste and Carthage. Teacher of Philosophy ugustine took his mistress and their son to Rome where he furthered his studies. While in Rome, he began to study the works of Plato, with whom Augustine was very impressed. Plato’s philosophy taught that what we see on earth is only an imperfection of the perfect beyond our physical world. Soon, Augustine took a teaching position in Milan, Italy. His mother, Monica followed them to Milan. It was in Milan where the Holy Spirit double-teamed Augustine, through his mother, St. Monica and another saint, St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan. Tolle et Lege hile Augustine and a friend were sitting in a garden in Milan, Augustine heard the voice,
either of a young boy or girl singing a little ditty; ‘take up and read, take up and read’ (‘Tolle et lege’ in Latin). Immediately, Augustine picked up a copy of Epistles from Saint Paul and read the following from the Letter to the Romans; ‘Let us live honourably as in daylight; not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.’ (Romans 13: 13 – 14) After this event took place, Augustine shared the experience with his mother, who was able to set up a meeting between her son and the bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose. The Influence of Saint Ambrose aint Ambrose and Augustine became good friends almost immediately, as Augustine shared with the bishop his struggle for truth. Ambrose spent a great deal of time teaching the faith to Augustine, step by step. Augustine became aware of how empty his life had become, especially in the pursuit of heretical philosophies and in his dissolute living. Soon Augustine decided to become a Catholic catechumen under Ambrose. Augustine had to wait until Easter to be baptised and brought into the church (which was 8 months away). While awaiting baptism and the marriage to his mistress, Augustine yielded once again into the realm of the flesh as he took on once again another mistress. He records in his Confessions that he hit rock-bottom, emotionally, yet not wanting to let go of
14 +e413ei_print.indd 18
03/05/2013 10:29
his sinfulness; ‘Lord, heal me of lust, but not just yet.’ Later, Augustine would pray; ‘let it be now, let it be now.’ Augustine and his adolescent son, Adeodatus were eventually baptised at the hand of Bishop Ambrose in 387. Augustine was thirty-two years old at the time of his baptism. The mistress, with whom he had first intended to marry, left him when he had taken on the second mistress. Introduction to the Cross fter entering the Catholic Church, Augustine decided to take his son and his mother back to Africa. Together, they journeyed from Milan to Ostia, a port city outside of Rome, to await a ship back to Africa. It was in Ostia where his mother, St. Monica, fell ill and eventually died. Before she departed this life, she had the satisfaction of seeing her two sons, her grandson and her unfaithful, pagan husband all convert to become Catholic Christians. The death of St. Monica tore Augustine apart emotionally. Moreover not long after the death of his mother, Augustine’s son, Adeodatus also died in Carthage, at the age of sixteen. Monastic Life fter the death of his son, Augustine returned to Tagaste to live the rest of his life as a monk, as he desired to live a life of repentance, conversion and penance. To recruit additional monks for his monastery, Augustine travelled to the city of Hippo in North Africa. He intended to stay just long enough to acquire recruits A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 19
15 03/05/2013 10:29
to his monastery but wound up spending the rest of his life in the city. At the request of the faithful in Hippo who had gotten to know the new monk, Augustine agreed to be ordained a priest, at the hands of Bishop Valerius in 391. He was consecrated coadjutor bishop of Hippo by Bishop Valerius and would have the right of succession upon the death or resignation of the bishop, which took place soon after his consecration in 395. Bishop of Hippo t the time Augustine took over as bishop of Hippo, there were over 300 bishops in Africa, many of whom lived a lavish life style. In response to the wealth of his brother bishops, Augustine turned his Cathedral home into a monastery, gathering his priests around him, requiring them to take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He also enjoined upon his priests a strict monastic rule, which he had written and is still observed today.
the faith throughout the church. Among the works that have survived, historically, there are over 500 sermons, 200 letters and over 100 books, including Dialogues, Confessions and The City of God. The City of God n one of his greatest pieces of writing, The City of God, Augustine writes about the tension between the City of God and the City of Man. Those who dwell in the City of God are those who serve God, placing their trust and faith in Him. Those who dwell in the City of Man are those who serve their own gratifications and self interests only. Both cities are woven together in time and at the last
Battles Against Heretics t seems that Augustine’s earlier experience via a heretical sect, played an important role in his life as bishop of Hippo, as he would have to do battle against many heresies, too numerous to treat in this account. Through these battles against various heresies, Augustine’s writings became famous throughout the entirety of the Roman Empire. During his thirty-five years as bishop of Hippo, Augustine wrote prolifically in order to provide instruction in 16 +e413ei_print.indd 20
03/05/2013 10:29
n Chri s
to
uum M ort
mI
ead heologians ociety
o Vivu und
M The Dead Theologians Society (DTS) is a Catholic apostolate for high school-age teens and collegeage young adults. A special charism of the Dead Theologians Society is to pray for the release of the Souls in Purgatory. The DTS motto is, “Dead to the World – Alive in Christ!” This is inspired by Romans 6:11 where St. Paul tells us to be dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus. Eddie Cotter Jr. is the founder of the Dead Theologians Society (DTS). Since its establishment in 1997, over 10,000 youth and young adults in more than 400 parishes have participated in DTS programs.
Eddie Cotter Jr, DTS.
The DTS programs have proven to be a highly effective parish-based approach for evangelising and catechising secondary-age youth and college-age young adults and there are now five DTS parish programs running in Ireland.
www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com Dead Theologians Society National Office Eddie Cotter, Jr. – Executive Director P.O. Box 368, Black Earth, WI , 53515-0368 608-767-4063 Eddie@DeadTheologiansSociety.com Dead Theologians Society, Ireland, Please contact: Ger & Ursula Cantwell. LambofGodbb@eircom.net
A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 21
17 03/05/2013 10:29
judgment, they will be separated and only the City of God will remain. Augustine saw the crumbling of the Roman Empire as a symbol of the City of Man. Many Christians began to see the need for the City of God as the various barbarian groups invaded the Empire. Death of Augustine etween the years 429 and 430, Vandals came pouring into Africa, where churches were burned, monks and nuns were tortured and
violated and bishops and priests were slaughtered. The city of Hippo was packed with refugees, especially in the monasteries. Augustine fell ill with fever and asked to be left alone to pray. After several days of physical as well as emotional agony (over all that was taking place with the sacking of North Africa), Augustine died in 430 at the age of seventy-six. A year later, Hippo was sacked and taken over by the Vandals. • Eddie Cotter Jr.
A Reading from the Confessions of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor eternal truth, true love and beloved eternity. You are my God. To you do I sigh day and night. When I first came to know you, you drew me to yourself so that I might see that there were things for me to see, but that I myself was not yet ready to see them. Meanwhile you overcame the weakness of my vision, sending forth most strongly the beams of your light, and I trembled at once with love and dread. I sought the way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced ‘the mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who is above all, God blessed for ever.’ He was calling me and saying: ‘I am the way of truth, I am the life.’ Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.
18 +e413ei_print.indd 22
03/05/2013 10:29
The Bible Belongs in Every Home he Bible is the most printed and most widely read book in history. Few people however realise how popular it is among children and young people and how beneficial it is for their development. God speaks to His Children, is a Child’s Bible which has been published by the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in association with the Divine Word Missionaries in Spain for over thirty years. The Child’s Bible is an initiative that goes back to the founder of ACN, Father Werenfried van Straaten (1913-2003). In 1979 the year the United Nations had declared the Year of the Child, he offered the first copies of the book to the Latin American bishops who had gathered for their assembly with Pope John Paul II in Puebla, Mexico. In doing so Father Werenfried was responding to the wish expressed by the Pope, to bring the word of God to the weakest, to the children suffering poverty and need in many countries, children ‘so poor that they cannot afford any book’.
A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 23
The Child’s Bible is meant to encourage children in their Faith – not least in those countries where Christians are a beleaguered minority, facing incomprehension, hostility and persecution, as is the case in some Islamic countries. Pakistan is one such example, where Christians of all denominations are treated as second-class citizens. There is also violence against Christians in Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa. Sadly some Christians in Nigeria have responded in kind. Referring to which Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos commented ‘When it comes to ethnic or political conflict, it is an unfortunate reality that even people who share the Word and the Eucharist can sometimes take up arms against one another and this is a cause for shame.’ Against this backdrop, the Archbishop clearly and unambiguously calls on all Christians to live lives that are consistent with their Faith and this requires that they deepen their own faith and read the Holy Scriptures daily. Anyone doing so will inexorably be guided by the Word of God and thus be able to contribute to society’s authentic political, social and economic advancement. Archbishop Kaigama is in no doubt that ‘The Bible belongs in every home” and that Joy and Peace will prevail when the word of God 19 03/05/2013 10:29
is heard in the heart of all God’s children of every age.’ Bishop Deng Majak Rudolf of Wau, in Sudan shares this view. For him the Child’s Bible plays no small role in building a culture of life and hope for the children and people of the long-suffering Sudan: ‘This book is a great help in our pastoral work. The people, our children, are literally thirsting for the saving Word of God – above all during this time of relentless oppression.’ The positive impact of the Child’s bible is further illustrated by Archbishop Boutros Mouallem, former Archbishop of Haifa, Nazareth and Galilee who in a letter to Aid to the Church in Need wrote: ‘Barely 3 months since we received the 1,000 Child’s Bibles in Arabic, almost half have already been distributed. What is especially remarkable is that the adults and
parents are at least as interested in this little book as the children, if not indeed more so, since they often do not know the Bible and are thus coming in contact with it for the first time.’ For many young people and adults, God speaks to His Children is the first book they have ever held in their hands – to say nothing of a book written in their mother tongue – the language in which as children they first learnt to pray. Again for many, this little Bible is not just the first, indeed it might be the only book they will have ever read or ever owned. In order to make the Bible as widely available to as many people as possible, ACN continues to translate God speaks to His Children into more and more new languages. These include Arabic, and other major languages current in Islam-dominated states or countries with a high
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16:
20 +e413ei_print.indd 24
03/05/2013 10:29
percentage of Muslims – for example Sindhi and Urdu in Pakistan, Hausa, Igbo, Tiv and Yoruba in Nigeria, and Toposa in Sudan. To date the Child’s bible has been translated into 174 local languages. During 2012, the 50 millionth copy of this Child’s bible was published in perfect time for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin and in good time for the Year of Faith which Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed to mark the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the second Vatican Council in October 1962. God does indeed speak to His Children of all ages and at all times and He speaks freely and when we take the time to listen to the Word of God we allow ourselves to be transformed by it and become more fully human. Such an understanding leads Archbishop Kaigama, speaking from the violent front lines of the faith in Nigeria, to see a clear need to have a bible ‘in every home’. Such an understanding too has motivated ACN and the Divine Word Missionaries over the past 34 years to place the Child’s bible into the hands of more than 50 million of the poorest and most persecuted of the world’s children and in so doing helped Missionaries the world over open the eyes of the dispossessed to a universe of love and the prospect of eternal happiness. • A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 25
21 03/05/2013 10:29
Message for World Youth Day 2013 by Pope Benedict XVI1
A Pressing Call any young people today seriously question whether life is something good, and have a hard time finding their way. More generally, however, young people look at the difficulties of our world and ask themselves: Is there anything I can do? The light of faith illumines this darkness. It helps us to understand that every human life is priceless because each of us is the fruit of God’s love. God loves everyone, even those who have fallen away from him or disregard him. God waits patiently. Indeed, God gave his Son to die and rise again in order to free us radically from evil. Christ sent his disciples forth to bring this joyful message of salvation and new life to all people everywhere. At the end of the Second Vatican Council… the Servant of God Paul VI consigned a message to the youth of the world. It began: ‘It is to you, young men and women of the world, that the Council wishes to address its final message. For it is you who are to receive the torch from the hands of your elders and to live in the world at the period of the most massive transformations ever realised in its history. It is you who, taking up the best of the example and the teaching of your parents and your teachers, will shape the society of tomorrow. You will
either be saved or perish with it’. It concluded with the words: ‘Build with enthusiasm a better world than what we have today!’ 2 This invitation remains timely. We are passing through a very particular period of history. Technical advances have given us unprecedented possibilities for interaction between people and nations. But the globalisation of these relationships will be positive and help the world to grow in humanity only if it is founded on love rather than on materialism. Love is the only thing that can fill hearts and bring people together. God is love. When we forget God, we lose hope and become unable to love others. That is why it is so necessary to testify to God’s presence so that others can experience it. The salvation of humanity depends on this, as well as the salvation of each of us. Anyone who understands this can only exclaim with Saint Paul: ‘Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!.’ 3 Become Christ’s Disciples his missionary vocation comes… for another reason as well, and that is because it is necessary for our personal journey in faith. Blessed John Paul II wrote that ‘faith is strengthened when it is given to others!’4 When you proclaim the Gospel, you yourselves grow
22 +e413ei_print.indd 26
03/05/2013 10:29
as you become more deeply rooted in Christ and mature as Christians. Missionary commitment is an essential dimension of faith. We cannot be true believers if we do not evangelise. The proclamation of the Gospel can only be the result of the joy that comes from meeting Christ and finding in him the rock on which our lives can be built. When you work to help others and proclaim the Gospel to them, then your own lives, so often fragmented because of your many activities, will find their unity in the Lord. You will also build up your own selves, and you will grow and mature in humanity. What does it mean to be a missionary? Above all, it means being a disciple of Christ. It means listening ever anew to the invitation to follow him and look to him: ‘Learn from me, for I am gentle and
A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 27
humble in heart’5. A disciple is a person attentive to Jesus’ word,6 someone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Teacher who has loved us so much that he gave his life for us. Each one of you, therefore, should let yourself be shaped by God’s word every day. This will make you friends of the Lord Jesus and enable you to lead other people to friendship with him. I encourage you to think of the gifts you have received from God so that you can pass them on to others in turn. Be conscious of the wonderful legacy passed down to you from previous generations. So many faith-filled people have been courageous in handing down the faith in the face of trials and incomprehension. Let us never forget that we are links in a great chain of men and women who have transmitted the truth of the faith
23 03/05/2013 10:29
and who depend on us to pass it on to others. Being a missionary presupposes knowledge of this legacy, which is the faith of the Church. It is necessary to know what you believe in, so that you can proclaim it. As I wrote in the introduction to the YouCat, the catechism for young people that I gave you at World Youth Day in Madrid, ‘you need to know your faith with that same precision with which an IT specialist knows the inner workings of a computer. You need to understand it like a good musician knows the piece he is playing. Yes, you need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents so that you can engage the challenges and temptations of this time with strength and determination’. Go Forth! esus sent his disciples forth on mission with this command: ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who
believes and is baptised will be saved’7 To evangelise means to bring the Good News of salvation to others and to let them know that this Good News is a person: Jesus Christ. When I meet him, when I discover how much I am loved by God and saved by God, I begin to feel not only the desire, but also the need to make God known to others. At the beginning of John’s Gospel we see how Andrew, immediately after he met Jesus, ran off to fetch his brother Simon.8 Evangelisation always begins with an encounter with the Lord Jesus. Those who come to Jesus and have experienced his love, immediately want to share the beauty of the meeting and the joy born of his friendship. The more we know Christ, the more we want to talk about him. The more we speak with Christ, the more we want to speak about him. The more we are won over by Christ, the more we want to draw others to him.
‘Young people bring the Pope great joy! May JP II guide us so we can take this joy all over the world..’ Pope Benedict XVI:
24 +e413ei_print.indd 28
03/05/2013 10:29
Through Baptism, which brings us to new life, the Holy Spirit abides in us and inflames our minds and hearts. The Spirit shows us how to know God and to enter into ever deeper friendship with Christ. It is the Spirit who encourages us to do good, to serve others and to give of ourselves. Through Confirmation we are strengthened by the gifts of the Spirit so that we can bear witness to the Gospel in an increasingly mature way. It is the Spirit of love, therefore, who is the driving force behind our mission. The Spirit impels us to go out from ourselves and to ‘go forth’ to evangelise. Allow yourselves to be led on by the power of God’s love. Let that love overcome the tendency to remain enclosed in your own world with your own problems and your own habits. Have the courage to ‘go out’ from yourselves in order to ‘go forth’ towards others and to show them the way to an encounter with God. Gather All Nations he risen Christ sent his disciples forth to bear witness to his saving presence before all the nations, because God in his superabundant love wants everyone to be saved and no one to be lost. By his loving sacrifice on the cross, Jesus opened up the way for every man and woman to come to know God and enter into a communion of love with him. He formed a community of disciples to bring the saving message of the Gospel A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 29
to the ends of the earth and to reach men and women in every time and place. Let us make God’s desire our own! Dear friends, open your eyes and look around you. So many people no longer see any meaning in their lives. Go forth! Christ needs you too. Let yourselves be caught up and drawn along by his love. Be at the service of this immense love, so it can reach out to everyone, especially to those ‘far away’. Some people are far away geographically, but others are far away because their way of life has no place for God. Some people have not yet personally received the Gospel, while others have been given it, but live as if God did not exist. Let us open our hearts to everyone. Let us enter into conversation in simplicity and respect. If this conversation is held in true friendship, it will bear fruit. The ‘nations’ that we are invited to reach out to are not only other countries in the world. They are also the different areas of our lives, such as our families, communities, places of study and work, groups of friends and places where we spend our free time. The joyful proclamation of the Gospel is meant for all the areas of our lives, without exception. Make Disciples! imagine that you have at times found it difficult to invite your contemporaries to an experience of faith. You have seen how many young 25 03/05/2013 10:29
people, especially at certain points in their life journey, desire to know Christ and to live the values of the Gospel, but also feel inadequate and incapable. What can we do? First, your closeness and your witness will themselves be a way in which God can touch their hearts. Proclaiming Christ is not only a matter of words, but something which involves one’s whole life and translates into signs of love. It is the love that Christ has poured into our hearts which makes us evangelisers. Consequently, our love must become more and more like Christ’s own love. We should always be prepared, like the Good Samaritan, to be attentive to those we meet, to listen, to be understanding and to help. In this way we can lead those who are searching for the truth and for meaning in life to God’s house, the Church, where hope and salvation abide.9 Dear friends, never forget that the first act of love that you can do for others is to share the source of our hope. If we do not give them God, we give them too little! Jesus commanded his Apostles: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ 10 The main way that we have to ‘make disciples’ is through Baptism and catechesis. This means leading the people we are evangelising to encounter the
living Christ above all in His word and in the sacraments. In this way they can believe in him, they can come to know God and to live in his grace. Do not be afraid to suggest an encounter with Christ to people. Ask the Holy Spirit for help. The Spirit will show you the way to know and love Christ even more fully, and to be creative in spreading the Gospel. Firm in the Faith henever you feel inadequate, incapable and weak in proclaiming and witnessing to the faith, do not be afraid. Evangelisation is not our initiative, and it does not depend on our talents. It is a faithful and obedient response to God’s call and so it is not based on our power but on God’s. Saint Paul knew this from experience: ‘But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us’. 11 For this reason, I encourage you to make prayer and the sacraments your foundation. Authentic evangelisation is born of prayer and sustained by prayer. We must first speak with God in order to be able to speak about God. In prayer, we entrust to the Lord the people to whom we have been sent, asking him to touch their hearts. We ask the Holy Spirit to make us his instruments for their salvation. We ask Christ to put his words on our lips and to make us signs of his love.
26 +e413ei_print.indd 30
03/05/2013 10:29
In a more general way, we pray for the mission of the whole Church, as Jesus explicitly asked us: ‘Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’ 12 Find in the Eucharist the wellspring of your life of faith and Christian witness, regularly attending Mass each Sunday and whenever you can during the week. Approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently. It is a very special encounter with God’s mercy in which He welcomes us, forgives us and renews our hearts in charity. I also encourage you to practise Eucharistic Adoration. Time spent in listening and talking with Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament becomes a source of new missionary enthusiasm. If you follow this path, Christ himself will give you the ability to be completely faithful to His word and to bear faithful
and courageous witness to Him. At times you will be called to give proof of your perseverance, particularly when the word of God is met with rejection or opposition. I ask you to remain firm in the faith, confident that Christ is at your side in every trial. To you too He says: ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven’. 13 With the Whole Church f you are to remain firm in professing the Christian faith wherever you are sent, you need the Church. No one can bear witness to the Gospel alone. Jesus sent forth His disciples on mission together. He spoke to them in the plural when He said: ‘Make disciples’. Our
Crowd gathered for the Final Mass at WYD 2011, Madrid.
A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 31
27 03/05/2013 10:29
witness is always given as members of the Christian community, and our mission is made fruitful by the communion lived in the Church. It is by our unity and love for one another that others will recognise us as Christ’s disciples14 I thank God for the wonderful work of evangelisation being carried out by our Christian communities, our parishes and our ecclesial movements. The fruits of this evangelisation belong to the whole Church. As Jesus said: ‘One sows and another reaps’.15 Here I cannot fail to express my gratitude for the great gift of missionaries, who devote themselves completely to proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I also thank the Lord for priests and consecrated persons, who give themselves totally so that Jesus Christ will be proclaimed and loved.
I also give thanks for all those lay men and women who do their best to live their daily lives as mission wherever they find themselves, at home or at work, so that Christ will be loved and served and that the Kingdom of God will grow. Let nothing – whether difficulties or lack of understanding – discourage you from bringing the Gospel of Christ wherever you find yourselves. Each of you is a precious piece in the great mosaic of evangelisation! •
1 The complete text of Pope Benedict’s October 2012 message for World Day is available on the Vatican Website. 2 Paul VI: Message to Young People, 8 December 1965 3 1 Cor 9:16 4 Redemptoris Missio, 5 4 Mt 11:29 6 cf. Lk 10:39 7 Mk 16:15-16). 8 cf. 1:40-42 9 cf. Lk 10:29-37 10 Mt 28:19-20). 11 2 Cor 4:7 12 Mt 9:38 13 Mt 5:11-12 14 cf. Jn 13:35 15 Jn 4:37
Pope Benedict XVI at WYD 2011 in Madrid.
28 +e413ei_print.indd 32
03/05/2013 10:29
Evangelisation, Social Compassion and Pope Francis An interview with Fr. Michael Shields, Magadan, Siberia How do you see your social work as being connected to the broader aim of proclaiming the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ? The word ‘mission’ means ‘to send’. Jesus says in Jn. 17: 18 ‘As you sent me into the world I send them into the world’. Jesus is in mission. He came to show God to the world. And He came to act i.e. to save, to make the broken whole and the sinner holy. In Matt. 28: 16-20 Jesus proclaims the co-mission of the church, we are to show God to the world and in so doing to heal the broken and make holy the sinner. It is about word and deed. It is about soul and body. It is about the good news and the good deeds. That is true missionary work. In what ways does this play out? Matt.28: 31-46 is about the last judgment. It is so clear Jesus says the way you show your love to me is the way you show your love to those in need. He is not saying social work will get you into heaven. He is saying the real sign of a converted Christian is social compassion. The real sign of living faith is meeting needs with loving deeds. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy are the concrete ways of saying that we are really following Jesus.
A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 33
Why is it important to keep evangelisation and social justice closely connected? I prefer the term ‘social compassion’ to that ‘social justice’ which has for me a political undertone. None the less I believe most Christians consider social compassion to be ‘an extra’ in their Christian life. We have good fellowship, lovely worship, good teaching, catechesis, great parish programs, and evangelisation outreach and then there is a committee to do social compassion: it is nice to help someone some times. Social compassion however is not an optional extra but rather it is the core teaching of Christian love. Show your deeds and I will see what kind of faith you really have. Faith is not ‘plus deeds’. Faith is lived out by loving deeds or it is not real faith. 1 John 3: 18 ‘Dear Children let us not love with words or tongue but with action and truth.’ The teaching that shows this beautifully is that of the Good Shepherd. Here we have a real person doing real things to help another person in real need: someone meeting real needs with loving deeds. We all have power to act with the money we have, the time we share, the position we hold and even though we feel we don’t have much, we 29 03/05/2013 10:29
have enough to meet needs with loving deeds. The key is to act not react. To say I can give this much, do this much, share this much, so now I will. What is the danger in separating them? We become the ones at the last judgment who say ‘when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or needy?’ And we will hear from Jesus himself. ‘Depart from me.’ This is the danger of treating the Gospel as though only words and not deeds count towards the salvation for your soul.
Is Pope Francis an inspiration to Catholics working in social justice areas? Pope Francis is clearly a pope of loving deeds. He is clearly saying ‘move out of ourselves.’ He uses a word that I like. He says there is a tendency within the Church to be self-referential or narcissistic. Before the conclave, he gave a talk to the cardinals in which he clearly spoke about the church needing to go ‘out of itself’. The fact is that in recent years the Church has had to be quite defensive and needed to sort out internal and external scandals but now I believe Pope Francis is calling us to engage in simple direct evangelisation. To be a church that talks about what it believes and in loving deeds shows what it believes. Pope Francis in my opinion possesses a simplicity in his person and a directness of approach that will lead the Church in a clear way. I think we will see a church that is clear about what it believes and what it expects of its members. Why is social justice / social compassion part of the very core of the Church’s ministry? Because social justice or social compassion is the inevitable result of a heart and life touched by the grace of God. Social compassion is not an extra for a committee in the parish, rather it is heart that has met Jesus. We are to act like Jesus so when our time comes we will hear ‘Come into my kingdom good and faithful servant.’ •
30 +e413ei_print.indd 34
03/05/2013 10:29
38t
Intercession 2013 for Priests
hY ear
5th - 30th of August
Knock Shrine
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR PRIESTS Monday 12th August With Fr. Kevin Scallon CM and
Sr. Briege McKenna OSC
10.00am A talk for priests Guest speaker: Cathy Brenti 11.30am Eucharistic Hour of prayer and praise for all 3.00pm Concelebrated Eucharist Celebrant: Fr Kevin Scallon CM Concluding with Eucharistic Healing Service with Sr. Briege McKenna OSC.
All are invited to attend.
DATES Week 1 5th - 9th August 2013 Week 2 12th - 16th August 2013 Week 3 19th - 23rd August 2013 Week 4 26th - 30th August 2013
All Hallows College TRADITIONAL PRAYER MEETING IN THE CHAPEL Thursdays at 7.30pm on 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th August PRAYER FOR CHURCH IN IRELAND Wednesdays at 4.00 - 6.00pm on 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th August
All are invited to attend.
Sr. Briege McKenna OSC & Fr. Kevin Scallon CM
Enquiries for all retreats Secretary, Intercession for Priests, Purcell House, All Hallows College, Grace Park Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, Ireland TEL (01) 852 0700/(086) 356 3120 EMAIL retreats@intercessionforpriests.org Supported by
www.intercessionforpriests.org A LOOK IN THE +e413ei_print.indd 35
Aid to the Church in Need 31 03/05/2013 10:29
Late Have I Loved You Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you! Lo, you were within, but I outside, seeking there for you, and upon the shapely things you have made I rushed headlong – I, misshapen. You were with me, but I was not with you. They held me back far from you, those things which would have no being, were they not in you. You called, shouted, broke through my deafness; you flared, blazed, banished my blindness; you lavished your fragrance, I gasped; and now I pant for you; I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst; you touched me, and I burned for your peace.
Amen St. Augustine of Hippo
Need, Love and Thanks – Your Letters Immense Joy I can scarcely describe to you the immense joy on the faces of the little ones as they held the Child’s Bibles in their hands. They are so happy! The children of the Orthodox and the Protestants also asked us for a copy. We gave them one, full of joy and affection. We often ask the children to remember the benefactors of ACN in their prayers. This time they did so, quite spontaneously! Youhannes Ezzat Zakaria Badir, Bishop of the Coptic Catholic Church in Luxor, Egypt Priestly Example When I see my fellow priests, working for the Kingdom of God and enduring so much poverty and hardship, persecution and imprisonment, and yet not allowing themselves to be discouraged, it cuts me to the heart. What a splendid example these priests are for me! A Priest in Portugal An Essential Vocation I just wanted to say thank you for the beautiful 2013 calendar. Our parish priest put a few out, that went like ‘hot cakes’. The pictures are so beautiful. Thank you for putting in a few old people who are praying. It is such a reminder of the essential vocation of the elderly (being one myself). May God continue to bless you in your work. A Benefactress in Canada The Bacon Priest Many years ago I saw an advert asking for support for ‘the Bacon Priest’. Little did I realise that the Bacon Priest was set to become Aid to the Church in Need. The Church, the Body of Christ, remains in need and I’ve been able to continue my support – almost every time I get a Mirror – and I expect to do so as long as my pension lasts and till the Lord says: ‘Your time’s up!’. A Benefactress in Australia
32 +e413ei_print.indd 36
03/05/2013 10:29
Back Cover Descent of the Holy Spirit
Glorious They put a crown of Mysteries thorns on Jesus’ head, from Thank you Crowning with thorns
which pierced hurt Him.
The Holy Spirit came to His Apostles and filled them with joy and hope.
and
Aid to the Church in Need Carrying of the Cross
fell three times, EachJesus year to the carrying Histhanks heavy
ed of he .
cross to Calvary.
• Donations Crucifixion and • Legacies Jesus suffered and died on the cross. He • Mass offerings gave His life for us.
at, ed
Resurrection of Our Lord
Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven
Ascension into Heaven
Coronation of Our Lady Queen of Heaven
4
g 3
er
er.
2
1
the be
rth. for
rcy. od. be
for m of
hat to thy his my ful ate, ear
on
the gue ith d. I hee
The Rosary
Our Lady was carried up to Heaven from where we are always in Her care.
Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His people.
Jesus went to Heaven while his Apostles looked-on.
of its benefactors in Ireland and around the world, ACN6is7 able to: 5
Learn to Pray
Our Lady is crowned Queen of Heaven and will go to Jesus for us.
• Provide 8 sustenance and the means of ‘How beautiful Aid to the Church in Need’s to Pray survival for approx. 20,000 priests Learn to PrayLearn The Rosary Card is the family that The Rosary recites The Rosary • Support approx. 18,000 seminarians and is now available as every evening’ religious and a Fold-Out Pocket version. Pope John Paul II • Distribute approx. 1.5 million catechetical Please find a sample enclosed books for children in over 170 languages. in this mailing. Heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and Aid to the Church in Need support provided to Christ’s Suffering andwww.acnireland.org Back Cover www.godspeakstohischildren.org Persecuted Church.
‘
’
helping the Church heal the world.
www.allthingscatholic.org
Hail Mary
MORnIng PRAyeRs
DAIly PRAyeRs
Hail Mary,conti full of grace! The Lordto is withbless thee; May the Good Lord nue youbefore Meals The Sign of the Cross Prayer blessed art thou among women, and blessed is In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which from the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of and your family, past and present, now and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thy bounty we are about to receive, through Christ God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our Lord. Amen. our death. Amen. Morning always. Offering Prayer after Meals Glory Be Dear Lord, I give you my hands to do Your work; I give You my feet to go Your way; I give You my eyes to see as You see; I give You my tongue to speak Your words; I give You my mind that You may think in me; I give You my spirit that You may pray in me. Above all, I give You my heart that You may love in me - love the Father and love all humankind. I give You my whole self, Lord, that You may grow in me, so that it is You who lives, works and prays in me. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Prayer after Mass
According to the Catholic Church
The Angelus
O Angel of God O Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
J F Declan Quinn Director Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland)
The Lord’s Prayer
We give Thee thanks, Almighty God, for all Thy benefits, who lives and reigns world without end. Amen.
Front Cover
Faith Card
Angels are spoken of frequently in the Bible. Jesus was supported by the angels during his trials in the desert before He set out on His work. We each have a guardian angel to watch over and protect us.
OTHeR PRAyeRs
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit, Hail Mary... V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary... V. And the Word was made flesh. R. And dwelt among us. Hail Mary... V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promise of Christ.
How to Baptise in Case of Emergency
Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need:Pour ordinary water on the forehead of the Prayer when lighting a candle Aid to the Church in Need’s Lord, may this candle be a light for you to enlighten person to be baptised, with the intention of Please use the Freepost envelope. me in my difficulties and decisions. May it be a fire doing what the Church does, and say while for you to burn out of me all pride, selfishness and pouring it: Faith Card is also now available Aid to the Church inMay Need, 151 St.toMobhi impurity. it be a flame for you bring warmthRoad, According to “I baptise you in the name of the Father, to my heart towards my family, my neighbours and Glasnevin, Dublin 9. who Tel.meet (01) 837 7516. as a Fold-Out Pocket version. all those me. In leaving this candle I the Catholic Church and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. wish to give you myself. May I continue my prayer Email: info@acnireland.org Any person of faith of either sex who has in everything I do this day. reached the age of reason can and should Web: www.acnireland.org Call 01 837 7516 Prayer of St. Francis baptise in case of necessity. The same
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from Thee. From the malignant enemy defend me. In the hour of death call me, and bid me come to Thee, (Registered that with Thy saints I may praise Thee forever and ever. Amen.
Lord,Numbers: make me an (RoI) O Divine Master, Charity 9492 (NI) XR96620). person must say the words while pouring instrument of your
grant that
faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
the water.
peace. not so much seek If you give by standing order, orItomay have sent a donaWhere there is hatred, be consoled as Prayer to St. Michael tion recently, please let me sow love; console; accept ourtotosincere thanks. where there is injury, be understood as St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be pardon; understand; This Mirror your interestto and information. our protection against the wickedness and snaresis for where there is doubt, of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen
+e413ei_print.indd 4
Faith ’ Card
‘
Aid to the Church in Need
Please visit our website www.acnireland.org for more information.
helping the Church heal the world.
www.acnireland.org www.godspeakstohischildren.org www.allthingscatholic.org
03/05/2013 10:28
Stand firm in the faith, be strong. (1 Cor. 16:13)
‘Mary is the very essence of pure faith, of selfless love and of unity with Christ.’ Father Martin M. Barta, ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant.
‘I entrust my ministry and your ministry to the powerful intercession of Mary, our Mother, Mother of the Church. Under her maternal gaze, may each one of you continue gladly along your path, attentive to the voice of her divine Son, strengthening your unity, and bearing witness to the true faith in the constant presence of the Lord.’
Pope Francis Audience with the College of Cardinals 15.03.2013
We fly to thy protection – the first thing Pope Francis did was to visit Our Lady.
Aid to the Church in Need helping the Church heal the world. 151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9. TEL 01 837 7516 EMAIL info@acnireland.org +e413ei_print.indd 1
www.acnireland.org www.allthingscatholic.org www.wheregodweeps.org www.godspeakstohischildren.org 03/05/2013 10:28