MIRROR 04 17

Aid to the Church in Need

MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

Rays of Hope

RAYS OF HOPE

MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

CONTENTS PAGE Rays of Hope.............................................................. J F Declan Quinn...............................1 Renewing the Face of the Church........................ Cardinal Piacenza..............................4 Man Needs Hope to Live........................................ Dr. Christopher Kaczor.....................6 Greatest Hope............................................................ Dr. Christopher Kaczor.....................7 New Life in an Old Monastery.............................................................................................8 New Joy in the Faith........................................................................................................... 10 A Ray of Hope in Turkmenistan............................. Joseph McAuley............................. 12 The Slave who enjoyed the Good Life ............... Dr. Christopher Kaczor.................. 14 God’s Masterpiece.................................................... David Marshall Miller...................... 15 The Virtue of Hope.................................................... Dr. Christopher Kaczor.................. 16 Where the Church is the only Ray of Hope................................................................. 20 Making the World a better Place ......................... Dr. Christopher Kaczor.................. 22 Put out in the Deep............................................................................................................. 24 Real Hopes versus False Promises .................... Dr. Christopher Kaczor.................. 26 The Blessing of Christianity.................................... Johannes Heereman...................... 28

‘To Love means loving the unlovable.

To Forgive means pardoning the unpardonable.

Faith means believing the unbelievable Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless’.

GILBERT K CHESTERTON Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: ACN International, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany.

De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org

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RAYS OF HOPE A chairde,

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hese are difficult times of that there is no doubt. Of course one could say that about all times, one need only consider every decade of the last and present century. But these times are particularly challenging and today alas it is far too easy to despair for the future of the world, of humanity, of our families and of ourselves.

In times such as these; How then should we as people of the Resurrection proclaim the Good News that gives Life and Joy and Hope to a world in great need of such Life and Joy and Hope when that world seems hellbent upon rejecting that very Gospel of Life and of Joy and of Hope?

Yes dear friends these are big questions. In fact these are the big pastoral questions which Pope Francis continuously challenges all of us to address and as we know the Holy Father does not ‘pull his punches’.

And here I would suggest that the Holy Father does not ‘pull his punches’ precisely because these are extraordinarily difficult times when Humanity is being existentially threatened from all sides: technologically, ideologically, ecologically, biologically, sociologically, economically, politically and culturally. Indeed one would be forgiven for believing that our world is only a ‘banana skin’ away from some form of global disaster.

How should we become better and more effective witnesses to the Beauty, the Goodness and the Truth of Jesus Christ and of His Holy Church in a world that misconceives Beauty, undervalues Goodness and denies Truth? In a world that is tyrannised by the twin evils of radical secularism and radical fundamentalism…

How should we as Christians convincingly give witness to the ‘Hope that is within us’ and ‘Wake up the World’ and help make it a better place for all of humanity, for ourselves, for our children, for our grandchildren and for all the generations to come?

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ow I happen to be one of those poor souls who expects the world to slip on the metaphorical ‘banana skin’ and for disaster to strike. In fact every day the news confirms me in my grim expectation.

Moreover I would even go so far as to argue that this is a ‘future which has already happened’ for the ‘forces at work’ in the world which will generate such a global disaster have been deployed and have been active for some time now. Indeed I believe that all that is needed is a ‘triggering event’ to put it all in motion and that ‘triggering event’ could occur at any time and in any number of ways.

Yes, dear friends let us be in no doubt that these are indeed extraordinary times and as such they are times which require extraordinary efforts from all of us individually, as families, as local communities and as a

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Church to deal with the extraordinary suffering which is already in the world not to mention the great sufferings which are to come. The late Cardinal George of Chicago referred to one of the primary tasks of the Church as being ‘picking up the pieces’ when disaster befalls and that task is also our task.

Now if you were wondering where is the Easter Hope in all of the above, there you have it. As History testifies and as global events points to, inevitably there will be a global disaster(s). We don’t know When, or Where, or How or How great but sooner or later the world will ‘slip’ and fall. It will fragment, chaos will reign before a new order is established and when all of this happens the Church will be there helping to ‘pick up the pieces’ of our fallen world and helping mankind rediscover its lost humanity.

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The Church however was established by God not only to ‘pick up the pieces’ and heal our broken humanity but it was also charged to help minimise the degree of selfharming that Humanity inflicts upon itself.

In fact the Church primarily exists to evangelise the world, to teach the world ‘the Art of Living’ and its does this under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church’ is an article of faith which all of us should keep at the forefront of our minds as we live through the post-Truth cultural realities of these extraordinary times.

Today perhaps more than ever in history it is so easy to become self-opinionated and sanctimoniously sit in judgement of other’s authority and reject what is not convenient in the mistaken view that an inconvenient truth is, ipso facto, an untruth.

Blissful ignorance of the human condition appears to be the current norm. Paradoxically we seem to be living in a world which is governed by people (and institutions) who are technologically giants but who are moral and spiritual pygmies. The truth is that real power, creative and destructive power has been entrusted into the hands of people (and institutions) who are incapable of using it wisely and well. And this process of power transfer from the wise to the foolish is one which I believe has accelerated since the fall of the Berlin Wall over 25 years ago.

need for the witness of the Catholic Church than in today’s world and this witness is needed absolutely everywhere.

In this edition of the MIRROR you can see how your prayers and materials sacrifices are helping transport the Joy of the Gospel and the Sacraments of Christ’s Church to the peripheries of the world.

Thank you for your support and may the Holy Spirit continue to help you give witness to the Hope that is within you to all those you love and care about. You are a Ray of Hope, you are a Missionary of Joy

Beir Beannacht

J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ire)

So it is that I am of the firm opinion that never in human history has there been a greater GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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RENEWING THE FACE OF THE CHURCH Dear Friends,

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he Holy Spirit, who gives life to all things, is the mystery of the inner life and the missionary driving force of our Church. We know that the Holy Spirit never ceases to ‘renew the face of the earth’.

And even though it seems that the spirit of this world is conquering and destroying everything, yet we are still on our way to the fullness of the Kingdom of God. It is not by chance that the Church’s liturgy for the Easter season culminates with the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost is the crowning summit of the economy of salvation – that is of God’s loving stewardship of our salvation.

the Holy Spirit.

How many human institutions that were once living are now dead and gone forever, while the Church continues to pulse with life and give life.

In many places the Church may appear tired, may seem lacking in apostolic fervour, may seem to have forgotten the priority of adoration, the sense of the sacred, fidelity to sound teaching and wise moral order.

With wonder we realise that everything that Christ has done for us abides and does not simply disappear into the mists of the past.

For the Church is no mere museum and Some may even go so far as to think these Jesus is no mere historical figure. Jesus is deficiencies have a pastoral basis. But in fact it is exactly the still living and present opposite. among us, here and ‘Unseen, the Holy Spirit now, and by the power renews and rejuvenates All these notions are of the Holy Spirit. It is the face of the Church.’ the fruit of ‘worldliness’. the Spirit of the Risen Yet at the same time One, the Spirit who the Holy Spirit astonishes us with fragrant gives life to all things – blossoms of holiness.

Unseen, he renews the Word, and rejuvenates the face of the Church the Sacraments, once more. So in the midst of all the spir the entire Institution of the Church. itual neglect we discover young people The history of the Church is full of establishing beautiful families or becoming wondrous surprises – full of the deeds of wonderful priests and religious.

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They are restoring new life to the body of the Church.

And new religious communities are also springing up, striving to be faithful and true, while others waste away inwardly because of that ‘worldliness’ which Pope Francis so often warns us about.

‘How much better our family life would be if we used the words...

Please, Thank you, and I’m sorry’

ACN must be able to distinguish between the work of the Spirit and the work of the world. Let us remember, Pentecost is a missionary feast. Fear held the Apostles imprisoned in the upper room, but the Spirit flings open every door and drives the Apostles out onto the streets, into the margins and into the furthest corners of the world, to proclaim, to baptise and to announce the Word of God with deeds of mercy.

Dear Friends, let us be filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit and become inwardly renewed, so that we can work outwardly for the Church, which we see suffering in the need of so many of our brothers and sisters.

THE OF THE

GOSPEL FAMILY

Joy for the World www.worldmeeting2018.ie

And may the prayers of Mary, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the highest gift of heaven – which is God the Holy Spirit.

Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, President of ACN

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MAN NEEDS HOPE TO LIVE

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uffering, pain, and loss are a part of every human life. We experience minor setbacks and major ones. Some of us experience catastrophic events in which all hope appears extinguished.

Consider for example, those who suffered in concentration camps: physically abused, daily threatened by murderous death, enduring the loss of all property and privacy, and mourning the extinction of so many friends and relatives.

In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl pointed out that people in these horrible circumstances nevertheless reacted in radically different ways. Some killed themselves; others praised God even as they walked into certain death. As Frankl remarked, ‘He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.’2 Man needs hope to live.

In his second encyclical letter, Spe Salvi3, Pope Benedict XVI emphasizes the indispensability of hope for those who encounter suffering of whatever depth:

Christopher Kaczor1

‘[T]he present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey’4 In addition to enduring present hardships, we also fear the suffering that has not yet come. In dark times, it is easy to imagine a future filled with even greater affliction, debilitating loss, and destroyed dreams.

Indeed, the foreboding future can darken the present.

But despite all difficulties, Christians need never fear the future. Pope Benedict writes: ‘We see as a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that they have a future: It is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness. Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well’5.

Man needs Hope, not only for the future, but also for the present.

1 Edited and adapted from an article of the same title by Dr. Christopher Kaczor. Dr Kaczor holds an M.M.S. (1994) and a Ph.D. (1996) from the University of Notre Dame. He has published eight books including, The Ethics of Abortion, O Rare Ralph McInerny: Stories and Reflections on a Legendary Notre Dame Professor, Thomas Aquinas on the Cardinal Virtues; Life Issues-Medical Choices; Thomas Aquinas on Faith, Hope, and Love; The Edge of Life: Human Dignity and Contemporary Bioethics, How to Stay Catholic in College, and Proportionalism and the Natural Law Tradition. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/man-needs-hope-to-live dated 12 October 2011.

2 ’Man’s Search for Meaning’, 121 3 Spe Salvi, Saved by Hope 4 Spe Salvi para.1 5 Spe Salvi para.2

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THE FULL TEXT OF

SPE SALVI

IS AVAILABLE TO READ AT ACNIRELAND.ORG

SPE SALVI SAVEd In HoPE

But what exactly is ‘Hope’?

In Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict focuses on a number of important aspects of Hope: the relationship of Hope and Faith; the way in which Christian Hope has been replaced by secular ideas of progress achieved through technology; and

how Christian Hope has been misunderstood as merely an individual matter of personal salvation without a social dimension.

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THE GREATEST HOPE ‘Hope’ is a word often on our lips.

I hope this happens in the future.

I hope this or that situation turns out well.

I hope my friend feels better soon.

We have many hopes of greater or lesser importance. In the words of Benedict: ‘Day by day, man experiences many greater or lesser hopes, different in kind according to the different periods of his life. Sometimes one of these hopes may appear to be totally satisfying without any need for other hopes.

Young people can have the hope of a great and fully satisfying love; the hope of a certain position in their profession, or of some success that will prove decisive for the rest of their lives.

Christopher Kaczor

When these hopes are fulfilled, however, it becomes clear that they were not,in reality, the whole. It becomes evident that man has need of a hope that goes further. It becomes clear that only something infinite will suffice for him, something that will always be more than he can ever attain.’6 Pope Benedict is concerned with hopes of all different kinds, but he focuses particular attention on the greatest Hope that we can have, the Hope of Eternal Happiness.

All of our small hopes are geared to a bigger hope, the Hope of Happiness, and most of all the Hope of Perfect Happiness.

• 6 Spe Salvi para.30/

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NEW LIFE IN AN OLD MONASTERY ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and selfcontrol. Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord’ (2 Tim 1:7-8).

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t Paul’s words to Timothy also apply to our time. It takes courage to profess Christ in a heathen or secularised environment. The ‘Chemin Neuf’ community is doing just that. It was founded as a Catholic community in 1984 in Lyon, France.

Today its priestly and religious wing is formally recognised by the Vatican as a clerical religious institute of pontifical right. The association is present in many Eastern European countries and works for unity among Christians, unity within families and the unity of each individual soul with God. In 1998 the former Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Vlk gave the

community the former Jesuit monastery in Tuchomerice (not far from the Czech capital). Here they welcome married couples to a ‘Cana week’ where, through prayer and dialogue, they can rediscover the grace of the sacrament of marriage.

Likewise, there are retreat days for young people and young adults, prayer groups – and a Bible school is run on seven weekends each year, bringing new life to the old monastery. The demand for these is growing.

After decades of godless communism and soulless consumerism, many people are seeking for meaning and purpose in their lives. They come into contact with the missionaries during their street missions in Prague and other cities, and afterwards many visit the monastery. They are drawn

Tuchomerice: the monastery lives again – but there is still much to be done.

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considerably in the building: the roof timbers have been renewed, the facade renovated, the gas heating repaired, windows replaced, the chapel refurbished and the drainage system overhauled.

Many young people come regularly: Way of the Cross in the monastery gardens.

by the commitment of the young people to Christ. It is a commitment that has consequences, and not just for the people involved but also for the monastery itself.

The community has already invested

Now the 45-year-old electrical wiring, and the plumbing and heating system have to be completely replaced – an expensive undertaking. And the income from the courses is only sufficient to cover the basic day-to-day running costs. We have promised help to those professing Christ with such power and love. ACN has promised help to those professing Christ with such power and love.

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GOD IS AT WORK IN THE HOUSE OF EVANGELISATION ‘We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’ (Acts 4:20).

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he Sisters of Divine Providence in Utena, Lithuania truly live these words of Peter and John. They organise regular retreat days for young people and adults, care for women who have had abortions, and generally help believers and unbelievers alike.

For they want everyone to see and hear how God works in their lives. And there are many who come to their ‘House of Evangelisation’, including many young people, seeking spiritual counsel or simply wanting to pray before the Blessed

Sacrament. The house is becoming a beacon of hope in the region.

But it has become too small and needs to be extended. We have promised our help for this purpose – how can we remain silent and not respond when divine Providence calls?

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NEW JOY IN THE FAITH

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it means to be free to find out about their faith and also live it openly.

This fruitfulness is something to which the Dominican Sisters in Liepaja, Latvia can also attest. Here, as in the country generally, only 15% of the population are Catholics, and yet the courses in the Faith and on Church history run by the Sisters on a near weekly basis are constantly oversubscribed.

They were the ones who kept the Gospel message in their hearts and lived by it. Now they are refreshing their own knowledge of the faith so that they can pass it on to their children and grandchildren – and at the same time explain to them what it was like to risk prison, labour camps and even one’s life simply for attending Holy Mass. For the children and grandchildren of today for the most part only know from books or from hearsay about this time of persecution and dictatorship under communism.

ope Francis assures us: ‘A renewal of preaching can offer believers new joy in the faith and fruitfulness in the work of evangelisation.’

They also offer practical counsel, in something the world does not understand, namely fasting. They explain the meaning of renunciation and sacrifice. There are 190 women participants, many of them elderly ladies, grandmothers, who personally experienced the communist era and know what

The testimony of these grandmothers is awakening the longing for meaning and the inner life in many people. It is not simply a matter of recalling the past, rather it is about the future, especially of the younger

The greatest enemy of faith is ignorance: studying the faith in Liepaja.

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generation. However, fulfilling this spiritual longing once more is beyond the human capacities of the local churches in the Baltic nations.

Strength in shared faith: praying in front of the crib at Christmas time.

Often it does not take much, but for a small convent like that of the Dominican Sisters in Liepaja even the cost of the teaching materials and the organisation of the courses is beyond their slender means. ACN is helping the Sisters revive this new joy in the Faith. •

OUR BLESSED LADY AND A NEW CAR

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he workload of Father John Joseph in the parish of Saint Eugene of Mazenod, in the diocese of Faisalabad, Pakistan, is almost unimaginable.

He ministers to 243 Catholic families in 28 villages in an area which is more than 30 miles (50 km) from end to end.

He endeavours to say Holy Mass once a month, or if he can once a week, in every village. At the same time he cares for the elderly and handicapped, buries the dead, runs Bible and Catechism study groups, chairs interfaith discussion groups with local Muslims. Fr John also teaches about conception and counsels against abortion, takes an active interest in the school and the training of young teachers.

But the gruelling workload does not daunt Father John. He trusts in the help

Waiting for Father John: Bible study group in Faisalabad.

of Our Blessed Lady – and asks our help to get a new car, so that he can better serve his scattered flock.

His old car is rusting away and constantly in need of repair – he would prefer to be saying the Rosary while driving than while waiting at the roadside for the repair truck. Father John could live without a car, but his parish could not. That is why ACN has promised him our help.

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A RAY OF HOPE IN TURKMENISTAN JOSEPH MCAULEY7

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eligious hatred and violence are now a sorrowful fact of life, with the killing of Catholic nuns in Yemen on March 4 2016 being only a recent tragic example.

It is a rarity these days to come across a story that offers a ray of hope for those believers or persons of goodwill who desire nothing more than harmony between peoples, whatever their ethnic or religious background may be. But such is the case in the central Asian country of Turkmenistan, where a tiny—but growing—community of Catholics has taken root.

Historically, Turkmenistan has been known as one of the major stops along the ‘Silk Road,’ that famous trade route between the West and the East. Today, Turkmenistan is a nation of about 5 million people, bordered by the Caspian Sea to the West and by formerly Communist states Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to its North and East. To the South, it has Iran and Afghanistan for neighbours. Given that the country’s small Catholic community was almost wiped out by conquering Bolshevik revolutionaries a century ago, it is remarkable to see Catholicism is being resurrected in the former Soviet Republic.

7 Edited and adapted from an article of the same title dated March15 2016 by Joseph McAuley as assistant editor of America – The Jesuit Review . http://www.americamagazine. org/content/all-things/ray-hope-turkmenistan

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What Catholic presence there was was due to the remnant of Polish Catholic families from the World War II era. By the 1990s, the Holy See identified an opportunity to start afresh when two priests of the Order of Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate were dispatched as diplomatic representatives. They were given this designation as there was no other way they would have been allowed into the Muslim majority country (Muslims make up 89 percent, Orthodox make up 9 percent and nonpracticing or non-believers make up the final 2 percent).

The priests, Andrej Madej, O.M.I., and Radoslaw Zmitrowicz, O.M.I., began in 1997 to set up (with the help of a layman) a small Catholic community in the national capital of Ashgabat. In time, the group of 15-20 people grew to form three faith communities of about 200 people today (with a third priest assisting now).

The Superior General of the Oblates, Father Louis Lougen, who visited the country to see for himself how Catholicism was faring, found pleasant surprises and grounds for great hope. While there, he encountered a Muslim woman who found faith in Jesus. As she said (through a translator): ‘We discovered a God of Love, Compassion, and Mercy, and we never knew this kind of God before.’ Her husband, also a Muslim, was so moved by

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his wife’s transformation that he, too, is making that spiritual journey with her.

And that wasn’t the only thing that the Oblate Superior General Eugene de Mazenod saw. He also witnessed ecumenism in action between Orthodox, Evangelicals and Catholics. The Evangelicals, for example, while meeting in the Divine Mercy chapel, somehow had an acquaintance and knowledge of St. Eugene de Mazenod (the French-born founder of the Oblate order). They spied the crucifix that Father Lougen held and one of them took it and held it up, exclaiming that through St. Eugene’s intercession, he was dedicating Turkmenistan to Jesus.

And as to the Orthodox, Father Lougen noted they have become more friendly toward Catholics thanks to the personality and charisma of Father Madej, whose openness and charity helped chip away the wariness and distrust that have usually been the case between the two traditions.

can come together to acknowledge their common humanity and bear the daily burdens of life together.

Important, too, is the fact that no one is being coerced into believing or embracing a faith other than their own. Those who advance religion through violence pervert the true meaning of faith, which is to be freely given and freely shared.

These small faith communities of Turkmenistan can serve as a model for the universal church and for society generally. In a world that is constantly—and scandalously— racked by religious hatred and violence, it is a positive sign that there is a place where people are lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness. And given the violent temper of the times, we are in a great need of more light and less heat. •

It is heartening to read of such good news in a time when religion is either being denigrated or used for nefarious political purposes. In Turkmenistan, we are seeing the opposite: The goodwill being fostered there shows that people of different faiths

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THE SLAVE WHO ENJOYED THE GOOD LIFE Christopher Kaczor8

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n Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI recalls the story of Josephine Bakhita, who endured more than her share of unjust calamities:

be less cruel, but the great hope: ‘I am definitively loved and whatever happens to me—I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.’9

‘At the age of nine, she was kidnapped by slave-traders, beaten till she bled, and sold five times in the slave-markets of Sudan. Eventually she found herself working as a slave for the mother and the wife of a general, and there she was flogged every day till she bled; as a result of this she bore 144 scars throughout her life. . . .

After being freed from slavery, she reached out to serve out of love rather than fear.

[A]fter escaping the terrifying ‘masters’ who had owned her up to that point, Bakhita came to know a totally different kind of ‘master’—the living God, the God of Jesus Christ.

Up to that time she had known only masters who despised and maltreated her, or at best considered her a useful slave. She came to know that this Lord even knew her, that he had created her—that he actually loved her.

‘The liberation that she had received through her encounter with the God of Jesus Christ,’ writes the pope, ‘She felt she had to extend, it had to be handed on to others, to the greatest possible number of people.

The hope born in her which had ‘redeemed’ her she could not keep to herself; this hope had to reach many, to reach everybody.’

•

8 Edited and adapted from ‘Man needs Hope to Live’ by Dr. Christopher Kaczor. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/printedition/man-needs-hope-to-live dated 12 October 2011.

9 Spe Salvi,3.

What is more, this master had himself accepted the destiny of being flogged and now he was waiting for her ‘at the Father’s right hand.’ Now she had ‘hope’—no longer simply the modest hope of finding masters who would

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GOD’S MASTERPIECE

David Marshall Miller

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once heard a story about a famous preacher who was admiring a friends art collection. After staring at one particuliar work that his friend was raving about, the preacher thought to himself quietly that it didn’t seem very special. So much so he thought that perhaps a child may have painted it.

His friend told him that he had purchased that piece for over a million dollars. This time the preacher took the painting more seriously and asked who the artist was.

His friend replied ‘Pablo Picasso.’

Suddenly this painting seemed far better than he first thought and after another 5 minutes of viewing he had really started to admire it.

Afterwards the Preacher realised that the painting had value because of who the painter is. It is the creator that makes it valuable.

Don’t forget who your Creator is. God made you in his own image. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

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THE VIRTUE OF HOPE

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aith, Hope, and Charity are theological virtues, gifts given by God to help us in our journey to Heaven where alone we can find perfect happiness.

They are called ‘theological’ because they are received as gifts through God’s power (as opposed to acquired virtues attained through human effort) and because they focus in distinct ways on God himself.

The virtue of Faith believes in God and in what God has revealed.

The virtue of Charity is a friendly union with God which begins now but reaches its culmination in the life to come.

The virtue of Hope grows out of faith and is a manifestation of love, since by hope we move towards perfect union with God in heaven.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Hope as ‘the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.’11

10 Edited and adapted from ‘Man needs Hope to Live’ by Dr. Christopher Kaczor.https://www.catholic.com/magazine/printedition/man-needs-hope-to-live dated 12 October 2011.

11 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1817 12 CCC 2092 13 CCC 2091

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Christopher Kaczor10

Hope, as a virtue, lies in a mean between the extremes of two vices, Presumption and Despair.

With Presumption, a person assumes that he will be saved.

‘Either man presumes upon his own capacities (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God’s almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit.)’12 The dictum, ‘once saved, always saved’ expresses a kind of presumption, for it holds that even if mortal sin (deadly destruction of our friendship with God) is knowingly and willingly done, a person can maintain a good relationship with God both now and into eternity.

‘By Despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God’s goodness, to His justice—for the Lord is faithful to His promises—and to His mercy.’13 We may despair at the loss of many sought goods, but there is no despair like the loss of the greatest of all goods, perfect happiness.

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In Presumption, Salvation is considered automatic; in Despair, Salvation is thought to be impossible. Both Presumption and Despair contradict authentic Hope.

Salvation is always possible with God’s help, for God’s Love and Mercy extends even to the most hardened, vicious sinner.

However, Salvation is not automatic, for God cannot contradict Himself— giving people the liberty to freely believe in Him and love Him both now and forever and also not giving people that Freedom.

Pope Benedict highlights the key links between Faith and Hope: ‘Hope,’ in fact, is a key word in biblical Faith—so much so that in several passages the words ‘Faith’ and ‘Hope’ seem interchangeable. Thus the Letter to the Hebrews closely links the ‘fullness of faith’ (10:22) to ‘the confession of our hope without wavering’ (10:23).

Likewise, when the First Letter of Peter exhorts Christians to be always ready to give an answer concerning the Logos—the meaning and the reason—of their Hope (cf. 3:15), ‘Hope’ is equivalent to ‘Faith.’14 Hope is indeed always linked to Faith, since one cannot have the Faith (at least a living faith) without also having both Love and Hope.

Infused with Hope, human beings can endure even the worst of circumstances.

Even though Hope primarily focuses on the perfect happiness of Heaven attained through the help of God, we also have earthly hopes that are related to our great Hope of Salvation.

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14 Spe Salvi, 2.

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GOD’S TEAR BOTTLE15

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hen was the last time you cried?

Years, months, weeks or perhaps this very minute. Some people view it as childish or not manly. King David, one of the bible’s bravest warriors was known to have a good old sob more often than not.

‘I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.’

Psalm 6:6 (KJV)

Archaeologists have excavated tear bottles or wineskins that people used to catch and store their own tears. The containers were made of various types of materials—some were of glass, some of clay, others of sheep’s skin; the size and shape of course varied.

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King David had his own tear bottle and believed that God would remember all his suffering.

‘Put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?’

Psalm 56:8 (KJV).

God remembers every tear you shed.

He not only remembers but He will turn every single one of them into moments of Joy, Peace and Happiness.

So cry as much as you want for God is here and He is listening. Turn your tears into prayers.

• 15 Edited and adapted from David Marshall Miller, 16 December 2013. http://catholichope.blogspot.ie/

Aid to the Church in Need

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YEARS OF AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED

100th Anniversary

Miracle of Fatima

THE MIRACLE CAR

13th of May 2017

‘The final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be about marriage and the family. Do not be afraid’.

Sister Lucia.

T

hey call it the ‘miracle car’. Thanks to this new vehicle, Father Henry Magbity of the parish of Our Lady of Graces in the diocese of Makeni, Sierra Leone, can not only carry out his normal pastoral duties in the widely scattered villages, but can also save the lives of women and children – as now he can take sick children or expectant mothers to the nearest hospital which is nearly 20 miles (28 km) away.

‘This car has brought us all so much happiness and so many blessings – especially for the poorest families’, writes Father Henry. ‘So now many of them believe that God has specially sent it to us through you, so that we can learn, from the example of your generosity, that we should be generous to others.’

And so he says thank you, twice over, on behalf of all the faithful in the parish – once for the car itself and the service it gives, and also because it is a constant reminder of God’s generosity.

• GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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RAYS OF HOPE

WHERE THE CHURCH IS THE ONLY RAY OF HOPE

E

ven great saints have their weaker moments. When St. Teresa of Avila’s wagon broke an axle in the middle of crossing a ford, she raised her eyes to heaven, and cried, ‘If this is how you treat your friends, Lord, it’s no wonder you have so few of them!’

But of course Saint Teresa knew that there are worse things than a broken axle. The same is true today. When the earthquake struck Haiti in early 2010, houses crumbled, churches and bridges collapsed and great rifts opened up in the streets. It marked a complete rupture with the past, a historical turning point – as nothing has been the same since. Not even poverty.

Even before then, Haiti was one of the world’s poorest nations, but the earthquake and its aftermath have left people with even starker prospects for the future. You could say their lives are still shaken by the earthquake today. And yet the Catholics of Haiti are still faithful to God. They seem to lack almost everything, but they have not lost their hope. This axle, around which their life revolves, has not been broken. Across vast swathes of the country the Church is the only ray of hope for many.

The state has, to all intents and purposes, imploded and in many places simply no longer functions. As the infrastructure has collapsed so have the roads. In the south-

A ‘road’ in Haiti.

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And sometimes he has to visit several dozen sick people in a week. So he is constantly on the go. For the moment there is no possibility of training lay catechists or pastoral helpers. There is a shortage of teachers in the schools, since no one wants to come to this inaccessible area. A sturdy 4x4 would not only make his work much easier in many areas but actually make it possible in the first place.

The road into the mountains: it takes hours on foot.

west of the country the roads end abruptly, and at 500 metres above sea level they become winding tracks of earth. One of these leads to the small town of Palmes among the hills and mountains, where the parish of Our Lady of the Presentation is located. Its young and enthusiastic priest, Father Roud Sauveur takes care of everything, as there is no one else. He looks after nine schools with 2,780 children, a sparsely equipped health centre and nine chapels.

Of the 36,000 inhabitants almost half are Catholic; many others follow voodoo cults.

It is virtually impossible for him to celebrate Holy Mass in all nine chapels every weekend. Father Roud has great difficulties navigating all the roads by bicycle.

Then he could bring teachers and volunteers into the hill schools from the nearest town, or transport mothers-to-be into the town.

Three hours on foot would be cut to just one by car. ‘A car would be like an active helper, lending a hand’, Father Roud tells us.

For Father Roud it was a moment of great joy when he heard that we would be helping him, it was a glimmer of hope amidst the formidable obstacles of everyday life.

•

Don’t give up hope: young and old, waiting for Holy Mass.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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RAYS ?????????????

OF HOPE

MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE Christopher Kaczor17

B

enedict sees the trend to limit Christian concern to otherworldly salvation as a misunderstanding of the social nature of both Sin and Salvation: [S]in is understood by the Fathers as the destruction of the unity of the human race, as fragmentation and division. Babel, the place where languages were confused, the place of separation, is seen to be an expression of what Sin fundamentally is. Hence ‘Redemption’ appears as the reestablishment of unity, in which we come together once more in a union that begins to take shape in the world community of believers.18 Every Sin—even Sins of thought which are known to no other human person— involves a social dimension.

Every loving act—again including those apparently unknown—moves humanity forward.

This movement for better and for worse remains fluid in human affairs. Improvements in the social order are therefore always partial and fragile. We cannot through 17 Edited and adapted from ‘Man needs Hope to Live’ by Dr. Christopher Kaczor.https://www.catholic.com/magazine/printedition/man-needs-hope-to-live dated 12 October 2011.

18 Spe Salvi, 14.

19 Spe Salvi, 24.

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human efforts and structures create a utopia on earth. Pope Benedict writes: ‘Since man always remains free and since his freedom is always fragile, the Kingdom of Good will never be definitively established in this world. Anyone who promises the better world that is guaranteed to last for ever is making a false promise; he is overlooking human freedom.

Freedom must constantly be won over for the cause of good. Free assent to the good never exists simply by itself. If there were structures which could irrevocably guarantee a determined—good—state of the world, man’s freedom would be denied, and hence they would not be good structures at all.’19 Although our hope is primarily for heaven, our hope also extends to earth, towards spreading the kingdom of God here and now. Even though our efforts to do this will never achieve full and permanent success, our efforts can make this world, imperfect as it is, better than it was.

Technological progress certainly can improve human lives but more than that is needed to make life truly worth living. In the words of Pope Benedict:

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It is not science that redeems man: Man is redeemed by Love. This applies even in terms of this present world… The human being needs unconditional love.

He needs the certainty which makes him say: ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 8:38-39).

If this absolute love exists, with its absolute certainty, then—only then—is man ‘redeemed,’ whatever should happen to him in his particular circumstances.

This is what it means to say: 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).20 In Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict focuses on the infused theological virtue of Hope. He underscores its essential connection with the virtue of Faith.

He also notes how ideologies such as Marxism and ‘faith in progress’ fueled by scientific advancement have in effect replaced Christian Hope in the hearts of many people.

Even among Christians, Hope has been misunderstood as merely a matter of personal salvation without a social dimension.

The complexities of Benedict’s message can be summarized fairly simply: To live a hopeless life is to live a miserable life.

We need the various little hopes that we nurture, for good fortune, family, and friends, and most of all we need the fundamental Hope of attaining Heaven with the help of God. • 20 Spe Salvi, 26.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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RAYS OF HOPE

PUT OUT IN THE DEEP ‘Duc in altum – put out into the deep’, says Jesus to Simon Peter, after teaching the people from his boat (Luke 5:4).

J

esus needed a boat from which to proclaim the Gospel. For the Mar a Dentro community based at the mouth of the Amazon in Brazil, the words of Christ are an inspiration for their work. They too put out into the deep, as fishers of men.

They have an old wooden boat, which chugs along slowly and has no reverse gear – which turns mooring into a risky manoeuvre every time – and is in constant need of repair.

But they need it. Some 400 families on the island of Caratateua-Outeiro depend on them for medicine, teachers for their children, and the Word of God.

They are in need of healing, both in a physical and in a spiritual sense. The community and its many volunteers bring them health and healing. They call this project ‘The Friends of the Island’. They have a house on the island, in Outeiro, where they provide vocational training courses and medical and psychological help. They also offer catechesis, prayer groups, Word liturgies and, whenever possible, celebrate Holy Mass.

In previous centuries the island was used by the indigenous peoples as a cemetery.

Today, especially in the Amazon region, there are numerous sects who exploit superstition for their own ends. The Mar a Dentro community’s humanitarian and evangelisation work aims to fight this throughout the

Bringing medicines, food and healing – but every manoeuvre is a challenge.

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The Friends of the Island have arrived: bringing the cargo ashore.

region, and particularly on the island, with its 65,000 inhabitants.

There is only one bridge to Outeiro. So their boat is essential, and also necessary to reach neighbouring islands. It plies the waters, steadily, but oh so slowly.

The community would like to expand its missionary work, as there are so many they could help.

But with their old boat they cannot. A new boat would reduce their overall costs, allowing them to travel more frequently.

‘Master’, said Simon, ‘we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets’ (Luke 5:5-6). And they took a great catch, so great that they had to call on a second boat to help them and ‘they ... filled both the boats, so that they began to sink’ (Luke 5:7).

We have promised to help purchase a new boat, as without a second boat their work will not flourish. All of us, Mar a Dentro, ACN and you our benefactors are the fishermen who place these and other boats in the service of the Lord, so that His Healing and Salvation can reach the multitude. •

Combating superstition, sects and wilderness: this is where the ‘Friends’ have their mooring.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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RAYS OF HOPE

REAL HOPES VERSUS FALSE PROMISES Christopher Kaczor21

B

enedict points out that a Christian Hope based on Faith has increasingly become replaced by a faith in ‘progress,’ which is understood to mean mastering nature through use of our reason.

Reason is seen as self-sufficient— particularly as manifest in technology—for solving all the problems of mankind, including suffering and lack of hope.

Although it is clear that we have not yet reached that utopian state, nevertheless many people still have faith that technological progress will eliminate the essential tensions in human life.

But reason and freedom defined in opposition to God do not lead to real progress and happiness but rather to death. Even Immanuel Kant (who was enthralled by the power of the Enlightenment understanding of reason), saw, after the Reign of Terror, that reason so construed is not sufficient to guide human beings to happiness. The gulags of Communism provide further evidence.

Secular ideologies such asCommunism or Consumerism are mirrored on religious faith in that both promise happiness for man, both can be motivated by an evangelical 21 Edited and adapted from ‘Man needs Hope to Live’ by Dr. Christopher Kaczor.https://www.catholic.com/magazine/printedition/man-needs-hope-to-live dated 12 October 2011.

22 Spe Salvi, 23.

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fervour, and both provide a philosophical orientation to life’s challenges and rewards.

But the ideologies, unlinked to the transcendent, lead not to paradise but to the violent domination of some people (the ‘enlightened’ ones) over others: ‘Yes indeed, Reason is God’s great gift to man, and the victory of reason over unreason is also a goal of the Christian life. But when does reason truly triumph?

When it is detached from God? When it has become blind to God? Is the reason behind action and capacity for action the whole of reason?

If progress, in order to be progress, needs moral growth on the part of humanity, then the reason behind action and capacity for action is likewise urgently in need of integration through reason’s openness to the saving forces of faith, to the differentiation between good and evil. Only thus does reason become truly human.

It becomes human only if it is capable of directing the Will along the right path, and it is capable of this only if it looks beyond itself. Otherwise, man’s situation, in view of the imbalance between his material capacity and the lack of judgement in his heart, becomes a threat for him and for creation.’22

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There can be no real progress for humanity without a moral development also. And unlike technological development, moral development cannot just be handed on to each generation. We do not each need to discover electricity anew, but we each need to acquire good habits. As Pope Benedict writes: ‘We have all witnessed the way in which progress, in the wrong hands, can become and has indeed become a terrifying progress in evil. If technical progress is not matched by corresponding progress in man’s ethical formation, in man’s inner growth (cf. Eph. 3:16; 2 Cor. 4:16), then it is not progress at all, but a threat for man and for the world.’ 23

By technological progress, man moves from using the slingshot to nuclear power, but without moral excellence, nuclear power doesn’t make the world better but rather much more frightening.

Tools, of whatever kind, can be used or abused depending upon the person making use of them.

‘Science can contribute greatly to making the world and mankind more human. Yet it can also destroy mankind and the world unless it is steered by forces that lie outside it,’ writes the pope.

‘On the other hand, we must also acknowledge that modern Christianity, faced with the successes of science in progressively structuring the world, has to a large extent restricted its attention to the individual and his salvation. In so doing it has limited the horizon of its hope and has failed to recognize sufficiently the greatness of its task—even if it has continued to achieve great things in the formation of man and in care for the weak and the suffering.’ 24 • 23 Spe Salvi, 22.

24 Spe Salvi, 25.

SAINT POPE JOHN PAUL II -

A GREAT WITNESS TO HOPE GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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RAYS OF HOPE

THE BLESSING OF CHRISTIANITY Dear Friends,

W

e were delighted, recently, to welcome a new priest into our parish.

He is from Nigeria. He celebrated Holy Mass with a profound faith. Wonderful. At the same time there was also this unspoken thought among the congregation: Western colonialism brought exploitation to Africa, but it also brought with it Christianity. A curse, and a blessing.

The only chance of overcoming the curse is the blessing of Christianity. It is a growing hope, and we are even benefiting from it today by the presence of African priests in our own parishes.

WHAT THE SAINTS SAY...

Undoubtedly, our aid for Africa is having an impact. Our motivation for it is not self-interest, of course, whether in our Africa campaign or in our work in

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general – however understandable that might be, given the shortage of priests and the growing difficulties facing the Church in Europe.

Instead, our principal motivation remains always the same, namely love – especially for the poorest and most needy. In this we will continue with undiminished energy, confident in your support.

For indeed, without your generosity we could not carry out this work of love anywhere in the world, Africa included. For this I wish to express to you my repeated and heartfelt thanks.

Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International

‘Hope is the very soul of happiness on this side of Heaven’

Venerable Fr. Solanus Casey Quote selected by Eddie Cotter, founder

ead heologians ociety www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com Aid to the Church in Need

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YEARS OF AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED

THANKS TO YOU...

IN MEMORY OF A FAITHFUL SUPPORTER My cousin, who was a priest, departed this life at the beginning of January and is now helping us all in a different way.

Back in the 1950s he was an enthusiastic supporter of the MIRROR, and later was himself a gift to the Church from the diocese of Bolzano and Bressanone for 30 years as a missionary in Brazil. I am sending you my greetings along with this donation in his memory, now that my pacemaker is slowly beginning to announce the final phase of my own life on this earth.

A benefactor in Italy WARMEST CONGRATULATIONS Reading ACN’s Newsletter came at the right time. It helps me so much to ‘look out’ at others’ plight and be thankful for what I have and to overcome my struggles in my journey. We all need each

other. It is so refreshing to see the smiles on the faces of those religious who work with persons in terrorised countries and also bright smiles of the children. ACN does a great job in bringing their news to us. Congratulations on your ministry for the past 70 years. It was refreshing to read again how ACN all started. Praise God for our Popes and Fr Werenfried who answered their Call. May this milestone bear much fruit in 2017.

A benefactress in Australia WE ARE THE CHURCH We are the Church. When one member of the Church is wounded, the whole body suffers. We have to believe in this truth of Christ and help, with our prayers and our resources, however limited these may be.

A benefactress in Brazil

WHERE TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR THE CHURCH IN NEED Please use the Freepost envelope.

IBAN IE32 BOFI 9005 7890 6993 28 BIC BOFI IE2D

Aid to the Church in Need,

info@acnireland.org

If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This MIRROR is for your interest and information.

www.acnireland.org

Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620.

151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

(01) 837 7516

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

WE ARE CALLED TO BE MISSIONARIES OF JOY

Unseen, the Holy Spirit renews and rejuvenatesthe face of the Church.

President of ACN

‘The Holy Spirit grants the courage to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness in every time and place, even when it meets with opposition.’

Apostolic letter Evangelii Gaudium

Moved by the Spirit: taking the Blessed Sacrament to the people – in the car you provided.

THE FULL TEXT OF SPE SALVI IS AVAILABLE TO READ AT ACNIRELAND.ORG 17 - 4

SPE SALVI SAVEd In HoPE