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Anzac Day 2012
Caring beyond honour and
Remembrance
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Men of God on the sea and on the land
Prepare the way for grace
Last week, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB welcomed US chaplains and sailors to St Mary’s Cathedral (page 5) and spoke to priests at a special meeting for the forthcoming Year of Grace (page 3).
Epidemic on the cards says Bentley parishioner By Glynnis Grainger ALZHEIMER’S disease will be the biggest killer of Australians by 2050, according to leading researcher and Santa Clara Bentley parishioner, Professor Ralph Martins. The professor participated at an international conference held in Perth recently where world Alzheimer’s researchers presented their work on lifestyle factors playing a role in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
There was general consensus, Prof Martins said, that an action plan needed to be developed if Australia was to avert a major Alzheimer’s disease epidemic of over one million people in the next 40 years. “Alzheimer’s disease is going to destroy Australia in 40 years’ time if no effective treatments are found or prevention strategies implemented,” Prof Martins said. “The fabric of Australian society will be severely damaged.”
With those expectations in mind, Prof Martins and the Perth-based McCusker Alzheimer’s Disease Research Foundation he heads are expanding their groundbreaking research to India. A total of 1,600 people from all walks of life are currently being recruited for a major study beginning at the end of the year. “In India, we are starting to recruit people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias as well as healthy controls at five major
centres throughout the country,” Prof Martins said. “This cohort of people will be studied along the lines that have already been established for the Australian imaging biomarkers (AIBL) and lifestyle study of ageing. “It is hoped that through this Indian collaboration we will confirm the blood biomarkers that will form the basis of a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease,” he said. The study’s second major objective will be to identify lifestyle
factors that increase the risk of Alzheimer’s, the professor indicated. The Archives of Neurology, a US journal, recently accepted Prof Martins’ work identifying the panel of blood biomarkers that distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from healthy controls, for publication. “Further studies in other populations throughout the world will determine whether these biomarkers will serve as a diagnostic Continued page 5
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May 2, 2012, The Record
LOCAL ROUND-UP Digital pipes to grace Mt Lawley
Children remember all who suffered and died in war
ST PAUL’S Catholic Church in Mt Lawley has a new digital pipe organ which will be dedicated by one of Australia’s most active recitalists, Dominic Perissinotto, on Sunday, May 6 with a recital at 4pm. Dominic is the organist and music director at St Patrick’s, Fremantle. Invite your friends and go along to St Paul’s in Rookwood Street – all welcome.
Help not only to get by, but also to get ahead RUAH Community Services (RCS) in Perth has released its free 2012 resource guides to assist people with access to community opportunities and service agencies in and around the metro area. RCS operates from a spiritual foundation with a strong sense of mission and has been shaped by the Catholic Christian paradigm of the Daughters of Charity, a world-wide congregation of women who began their work with homeless people in Perth in 1959 and which has been developed further by Ruah. With the aim to support quality of life for people facing disadvantage, the annual guides, Getting By ... Getting Ahead and the Perth Aboriginal Resources Directory, were developed over a number of years in consultation with the community. Doubling in size over the last two years, the guides list a comprehensive range of services. Executive Manager Sheryl Carmody said the guides were intended to benefit people requiring service information, as well as agency workers in support roles: “We hope the information continues
Receive Divine and generous Mercy
Children from Immaculate Heart College in Lower Chittering decorated their fence with an immortal phrase in the lead up to their inaugural ANZAC day commemoration. See more ANZAC coverage on page 6. PHOTO: SUPPLIED to support people and improve their quality of life.” The guides are available for free download at www. ruahmentalhealth.com.au or by calling 9458 3927.
Holy hotspot for burgeoning outskirts ST Andrew’s in Clarkson holds prayer sessions on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7.30pm. As a new initiative this year, different approaches to prayer will be used
including meditation, taize, divine office, centering prayer, psalms and so on. Located north of Perth, the parish takes in the fast developing areas of Clarkson, Merriwa, Quinns Rocks, Mindarie, Somerly, Butler, Brighton, Ridgewood and Jindalee. Established in 1994 with founding priest Fr Patrick Lim, for a long time, parishioners did not have a place they might call home. Fr Philip Perreau was next up and built the church, staying until Christmas 2009 when Fr Andrew Albis arrived. During the past 15 years, Sunday
Mary Mazzarello 1837-1881 May 14
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An Italian peasant, Mary worked long hours in the fields and vineyards. She attended Mass frequently and joined a sodality whose members in 1860 were asked to nurse typhoid victims. Mary caught the fever and nearly died. Because of weakened health, she started a dressmaking business to employ local girls. This was the beginning of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, which now has 1,400 houses in 54 countries. Mary is enshrined in Turin next to St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesians men’s order.
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Masses have been conducted in various locations: a small hall on the Quinns beachfront; Gunblossom Community Hall (Quinns); Jenolan Way Community Hall (Merriwa) and a series of classrooms as they became available during the construction stages of St Andrew’s School. In the earlier years of the 1950s/60s, Catholics living in the area attended Mass, sometimes in family homes and later, when Mr Angelo Menchetti opened his market garden, his family home off Wanneroo Road for Sunday evening Mass. When attendance
The celebration of 20 years of Divine Mercy in Perth continues this weekend with a special Healing Mass to be celebrated in East Perth. Franciscan Father Marcellinus Meilak OFM and Somascan Father Johnson Malayil CRS will celebrate the 1.30pm Mass at St Francis Xavier Parish, 25 Windsor Street. Benediction will follow Mass and attendees will have the opportunity to venerate two first class relics of St Faustina Kowalska, to whom the Divine Mercy prayer was given. The celebration comes three weeks after Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast which Pope John Paul II gifted to the Church on the occasion of St Faustina’s canonisation on April 30, 2000. Divine Mercy was a favourite devotion of John Paul II and is also a special feast in the late Pope’s homeland, Poland. For more information, contact John on 9457 7771.
READINGS OF THE WEEK
SAINT OF THE WEEK
Phil Van Reyk
increased, he converted a building at the rear of his property to a chapel that accommodated the needs of a growing Catholic population. At that time, the area was serviced by Servite priests, Fathers Paddy Boyle and Carlo Machetti, from Wanneroo Parish. Within parish boundaries, there are four retirement villages, two Catholic primary schools (Clarkson and Butler), and Irene McCormack College. There are eight government primary and three high schools, as well as primary and secondary schools of other religious denominations. Representatives of 48 different nationalities attend Mass at St Andrew’s and the current Catholic population is around 6,000 within the boundaries of the parish.
Sunday 6th - White 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER 1st Reading: Acts 9:26-31 Fearless preaching Responsorial Ps 21:26-28, 30-32 Psalm God’s faithfulness 2nd Reading: 1 Jn 3:18-24 Love is not just words Gospel Reading: Jn 15:1-8 I am the vine Monday 7th - White 1st Reading: Acts 14:5-18 Turn from idols Responsorial Ps 113B: 1-4, 15-16 Psalm: Glory to the Lord’s name Gospel Reading: Jn 14:21-26 The Spirit will teach you Tuesday 8th - White 1st Reading: Acts 14:19-28 Many hardships Responsorial Ps 144:10-13, 21 Psalm: God’s everlasting rule Gospel Reading: Jn 14:27-31 Jesus does the Father’s will Wednesday 9th - White 1st Reading: Acts 15:1-6 Dispute over circumcision Responsorial Ps 121:1-5 Psalm: Go to God’s house Gospel Reading: Jn 15:1-8 You are pruned
Thursday 10th - White 1st Reading: Acts 15:7-21 Salvation through grace Responsorial Ps 95:1-3, 10 Psalms: Sing a new song Gospel Reading: Jn 15:9-11 Remain in Jesus’ love Friday 11th - White 1st Reading: Acts 15:22-31 Useless burdens waived Responsorial Ps 56:8-12 Psalm: Sing God’s praise! Gospel Reading: 15:12-17 I call you friends Saturday 12th - White SS NEREUS AND ACHILLEUS, MARTYRS, ST PANCRAS, MARTYR (O) 1st Reading: Acts 16:1-10 Paul is called to Europe Responsorial Ps 99:1-3, 5 Psalm: Serve the Lord gladly Gospel Reading: Jn 15:18-21 Do not belong to the world
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May 2, 2012, The Record
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Doctors targeted for dissent on gay marriage By Sarah Motherwell HEALTH professionals who signed a petition opposing changes to the Marriage Act have been condemned online for their beliefs and individually targeted. The petition, created by lobby group Doctors for the Family, received 150 signatures and was sent to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on March 28.
The document was one of 355 submissions received by the Senate committee to be published online out of a total 75,000 submissions from individuals and groups, both in favour and against same-sex marriage. Last week, a Western Australian doctor who signed the petition received a text message from another doctor singling out involvement with the document and discouraging his actions.
In New South Wales, a patient reportedly withdrew from his doctor’s services after he discovered the doctor was a supporter of the petition. The publicly available document lists the names of all signers and originally included their addresses, which were removed by the Senate committee before it was released into the public domain. WA-based GP Lachlan Dunjey founded Doctors for the Family
in November 2011 and said he is not surprised the group is being targeted. “It is part of a campaign to embarrass the doctors, get people of homosexual persuasion to refuse to see those doctors or harass them.” The National LGBTI Health Alliance released a statement last week stating it unequivocally condemns any kind of threats made towards the individual doctors who signed the petition.
Acting General Manager of the Alliance, Sujay Kentlyn, said threats of violence towards individuals are never justified. “We understand that many people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities were very hurt and angry about some of the claims made in this group’s submission. But that is never an excuse for threats or violence directed towards doctors and their families.”
Year of Grace asks: Where is Jesus? By Juanita Shepherd THE Year of Grace is not a program, its organisers say; it’s an opportunity. Beginning on May 27 at Pentecost, the bishops will encourage every Catholic in Australia to ask: “Where is Jesus in my life?” At a conference held at the Faith Centre on April 26, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB explained the background and purpose of the year to priests from parishes throughout Perth. “The Year of Grace was a result of a long period of reflection, discussion and prayer,” Archbishop Costelloe said, having been part of the bishops’ committee formed to explore the idea. “We really think that this is the work of the Holy Spirit.” After the success and significance of World Youth Day in Sydney, 2008 and the canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop in 2010, the time was right for the whole Church in Australia to engage in some sort of shared endeavour, the Archbishop said. “We didn’t know what that something was,” Archbishop Costello said. “But if Jesus is not both theoretically and practically at the heart of our faith in the Catholic community then perhaps we have no heart. “This is my take on the reflection that the bishops’ conference went through over a long period of time as we thought about this idea of promulgating the year of grace.” The Year of Grace was announced on the Feast of Christ the King on November 11 last year; it is about
yearofgrace STARTING AFRESH FROM CHRIST Organisers explain the Year of Grace logo: It is a bright and stylish image which, in looking at it, has many significant symbols and connections ... the cross, the sun, a circle that represents the infinity of God, the halo incorporating a cross that surrounds the head of Jesus in Eastern iconography, the host used at Mass, the monstrance used in Eucharistic Adoration, a link with the artistic tradition of our Indigenous people, the earthen, ochre colours of Australia, a diversity of peoples and cultures, gathered into one community, a star-burst or a light. There may be other ways in which the logo speaks to people.
styleguide
Left: Archbishop Costelloe outlines the background to the Year of Grace, to be introduced in Perth at the 5pm Mass on Pentecost Sunday at St Mary’s Cathedral.
the heart and a call to pray more than to study. Each parish in Australia will celebrate the Year of Grace in its own way. Paddy Buckley, co-ordinator for the Year of Grace said, “Each parish can do what it wants; the Year
of Grace will be different in every parish, what we are doing is not prescriptive.” Priests at the conference with Archbishop Costelloe received the Year of Grace enthusiastically, with many sharing their own ideas of
PHOTO: F D’SOUZA
how to make the best of the period. One suggestion was that those baptised during the time would have ‘baptised in the Year of Grace’ written on their baptism certificates. “Everything is centred on Christ
in the Year of Grace,” Archbishop Costelloe said. “From schools, to churches and the wider community. It is not another program; there are no goals or criteria, it is a call (to) reflection more than problem solving.”
Maranatha Centre for adult faith forMation Maranatha is offering courses at Newman Sienna Centre 33 Williamstown Rd, DOUBLEVIEW Commencement Date: Tuesday 3rd May 2012
Term 2 Daytime Courses Timetable - 8 weeks: $50.00, 6 weeks: $40.00
Tuesday (8th May – 26th Jun) (8 Weeks) 9.30am-12pm Discovering the Link between Psychology & Spirituality with Sr Jacqueline Jones sja (Alternate Venue: LJ Goody Bioethics Centre) 1pm – 3.30pm Three Giants of the Early Christian Church – Origen, Augustine, Maximus with John Auer Thursday (3rd May – 7th Jun) (6 Weeks) 9.30am -12pm Engaging the Universe – Story1 with Sr Shelley Barlow rndm Thursday (10th May – 28th June) (8 Weeks) 1pm - 3.30pm The Trinity for Non- Theologians with Dr Michelle Jones
Term 2 Evening Courses Timetable - 6 weeks cost $35.00
Mondays: (7th May – 18th Jun) 7pm - 9pm The Spiritual Journey of Thomas Merton Part II with Mr John Auer To Register or for more information, contact the Maranatha office Ph : (08) 9241 5221, Fax :(08) 9241 5225 Email: maranatha@ceo.wa.edu.au Or check our website: www.maranathacentre.org.au All units will be presented at Newman Siena Centre unless an alternate venue is indicated. Alternate Maranatha venue for this term LJ Goody Bioethics Centre 39 Jugan St MOUNT HAWTHORN WA 6016
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May 2, 2012, The Record
Mum’s the word for fundraiser By Robert Hiini A laid back day promising good food, lively music and expert gardening advice, taking place this Mother’s Day weekend, promises to be even more than advertised. The funds raised from the Open Garden Fundraiser will go to support the work of Sr Maureen Elliott FMM who runs the maternity and child health programme at the Busholo Health Centre, Ethiopia. Expert gardener Tony Williams was particularly moved by the work of Sr Maureen and so has made his beautiful 2 hectare garden available for the event. Catholic Mission director Francis Leong said the garden was “a stunningly beautiful, large and wellplanned garden ... We are hoping that people will be moved by the connection between their passion for healthy, vibrant and beautiful gardens, and the spirit of Mother’s Day to care for our planet and for the children suffering because of drought and environmental catastrophe in famine-ravaged Africa,” local Catholic Mission director Francis Leong told The Record. In addition to maternity services, the Busholo Centre provides other basic health and medical services, including an integrated and sustainable nutrition program and supplementary feeding and kitchen gardens for thousands of nursing mothers and children. Live instrumental folk and easy
Greener life in store for St Joseph’s
listening music will be provided String Tanglers, a local Catholic string quintet featuring The Record’s very own Peter Rosengren on the mandolin doing the odd jig or two. The Catholic Women’s League and St Francis Xavier Parish Pastoral Team will be providing tea, coffee, homemade cakes and slices for sale in very genteel surroundings. A host of gardening experts have given up their time in support of Sr Maureen’s work, to give public talks in their respective area of expertise. They include Chris Ferreia from the Great Gardens Program who will talk from 11am on the Saturday, and Bob Melville, from Melville Nurseries, who will talk from 11am and 1.30pm on the Sunday. Dan the Bee Man from the WA Apiarist Society will be talking from 2pm on both days. The property has wide brick pathways for easy pedestrian and wheelchair access throughout the whole garden. A large undercover outdoor area together with a pavilion with “amazing views” to various parts of the garden is on hand in the event of inclement weather. The entrance fee is $5 per person, payable at the gate. The event will run on both days (Saturday 12 - Sunday 13) from 10am to 4pm at 233 Foxton Drive in Oakford, 5 minutes off the Kwinana Freeway via the Rowley Road exit. For more information: 9422 7933 or email cm@perthcatholic.org.au.
Aerin takes UNDA gong
Aerin Newton-Creemers.
Music, food and gardening advice all add up to more funds for Sr Maureen Elliott FMM who helps needy mums in Ethiopia. PHOTO: CATHOLIC MISSION
LA SALLE College graduate Aerin Newton-Creemers has been awarded the 2012 Vice Chancellor’s scholarship at the University of Notre Dame. The 17-year-old is currently studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and Pre-Medicine certificate and plans to be an obstetrician. “It’s such a beautiful time in a woman’s life and my motivation is to help people and contribute something special in their life.” The scholarship, which is valued at $7,500, has covered the costs of Aerin’s first year at university. She was awarded the scholarship in recognition of her outstanding academic achievement in Year 12 at La Salle College as well as her involvement in the community. The scholarship is open to private and public school students.
Life lesson in how the other half live
St Joseph’s student Jakob Crowe inspects Princess Royal Harbour.
STUDENTS of St Joseph’s College in Albany have been “getting their green on” working for sustainability in regional Western Australia. On March 13, students attended the Greenstream2Mainstream Conference at the Albany Entertainment Centre. Conference organisers dubbed the event an expose of the “emerging low carbon economy”, canvassing the stakeholders and opportunities in renewable energy. Keynote speakers included Saul Eslake, chief economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Ben Waters, GE’s director of ‘ecomagination’. Peter Zurzolo, CEO of the Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Centre, and Sue Middletone, the 2010 Australian Rural Woman of the Year, also featured. Recently, St Joseph’s has participated in its own sustainability-themed initiatives, including investigating the health of the local harbour. A Year 12 biology class investigated the effects of excess nitrogen and phosphorus on the Princess Royal Harbour sea grass communities.
Mercedes College student Jocelyn MacRae and one of the children she met while volunteering in Cambodia.
By Sarah Motherwell YEAR 12 Mercedes College student Jocelyn MacRae wants to make the world a better place and has the runs on the board to prove it. A volunteering trip to Cambodia in 2011 left the 17 year old so moved she is planning to return again this year. Jocelyn, 16 at the time of her trip, spent more than two weeks working at the Rose Cambodia Rehabilitation Centre
where she assisted in medical procedures and delivered aid to remote communities. Jocelyn planned to wait until after school to volunteer in another country but when a knee reconstruction prevented her from attending a family holiday, she set her sights on Cambodia. “In our society, we have people who complain about a scratch on their finger. I can honestly say before I went to Cambodia, I was one of those peo-
ple,” she said. Jocelyn and hospital staff often spent hours travelling via motorbikes, tuk tuks or taxis to provide medical treatment. “The families we visited were usually the poorest and so unwell they weren’t able to move,” she said. “One visit was to a family with a nine-month-old baby. She had a club foot and required surgery.” “They gave her a local anaesthetic and two seconds later, ‘snip’ - the surgery was done”.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Jocelyn was amazed at how the baby only cried for 10 seconds and it has been a constant reminder when she thinks about complaining she tells herself it can only be for 10 seconds. “When you are having a bad day, know there is someone out there worse off and still smiling.” Jocelyn said she wants people to ask themselves: if you want every child healthy and educated, what will you do to make this happen?
May 2, 2012, The Record
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US SAILOR VISIT TO PERTH
Mission most angelic for sailing Sister By Juanita Shepherd ASHLEY Schumacher is no ordinary sailor, and at the same time, she’s just one of the crew. The visiting 25-year-old American is on sabbatical from her life as a cloistered nun with the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, the same order as Mr Angelica’s of Eternal Word Television fame. Long term, she says she feels called to found a religious order to minister to military chaplains. Born in Oklahoma, Ashley Schumacher is the second oldest of ten children and entered the religious life at 18 years of age. Known as Sr Maria Magdalene of the Merciful Heart of Jesus, Ashley told The Record why she left the world of the convent and joined the US Navy. “I came to serve the chaplains,” she said simply. Ashley is the chaplain’s assistant aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the same warship that carried the body of Bin Laden to his
watery grave. “I am on a sabbatical, I joined the navy to start a new order to set up a home for veterans and military chaplains.” It has been a long journey and she has faced many hurdles along the way, beginning with her chosen name when she entered the convent. “Many (Sisters) before me wanted the name Sister Maria Magdalene.” Ashley said, “but Mother Superior refused to give that name to anyone.” Ashley wasn’t deterred, proving that determination and faith go a long way. “I prayed for forty days to St Joseph and Mother Superior gave me the name.” Ashley explained why the name Maria Magdalene meant so much to her: “I wanted her name because I wanted people to know about the saint she became, not the sinner that she was.” Her spiritual enthusiasm wasn’t shaken on leaving the cloister, even when faced with rough seas and a navy life in stark contrast to the
sheltered walls of the convent. “It was an extreme shock,” Ashley says with a small laugh about her life as a sailor. “God gives us all that he knows we can handle, it is overwhelming sometimes but for me it’s one sailor, one heart at a time.” She was sent off to boot camp on the very same day she was sworn in. “I was sworn in by a chaplain,” she said. “I had my dad on one side and the chaplain on the other. It was very special for me because I had my earthly father and my spiritual father to send me off.” Ashley acknowledged that the journey to her dream of a new religious congregation has only just begun. “I’m going on faith,” she said. “I can’t do anything substantial right now but it’s a time for prayer and forming the bond with the Chaplain Corps.” Ashley came to Perth with the crew of the USS Carl Vinson. She plans to name her order The Sisters of Our Lady Star of the Sea.
Ashley Schumacher, 25, known to her confreres as Sr Maria Magdalene, helping out at St Mary’s Cathedral with her fellow sailors. PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI
Docked at St Mary’s and lending a hand By Juanita Shepherd ARCHBISHOP Timothy Costelloe SDB and Mgr Michael Keating welcomed US military chaplain Father Keith J Schuley and the sailors of the USS Carl Vinson at St Mary’s Cathedral on Friday morning. “We are blessed in a special way and delighted to meet you all,” Cathedral Dean Mgr Keating told the 14 sailors as he gave them a tour of St Mary’s. Archbishop Costelloe added his warmest greetings. “I have never been to America and hope to get there one day, but this is a very special thing for me and I am thrilled to be able to welcome you all.” The sailors of the USS Carl Vinson began their journey in November and reached Australian waters last Tuesday, their exact location being kept a secret for security. “This is a routine deployment,” Fr Schuley, the Catholic military chaplain onboard said. “It is an opportunity for American sailors to work alongside Australian sailors and it is to show goodwill from America.” Fr Schuley presented Archbishop Costelloe and Mgr Keating with a USS Carl Vinson baseball cap and also gifted the Archbishop with a ‘skateboard’ – a flat wooden likeness of their ship’s deck - and a coin from Admiral Shannon who could not be present. The plaque on the skateboard read: “from the crew of the USS Carl Vinson to congratulate Archbishop Timothy Costelloe on your installation as Archbishop of Perth, presented on 27th April 2012.” After admiring the Cathedral, the sailors were ready for some hard work. They donned protective white overalls to assist Cathedral parishioners and staff in cleaning and painting the Cathedral fence and tidying the garden. “We are here to help out and clean up,” US sailor Joanie Daniels said. “It’s a beautiful day and I can’t wait to get started.” Sailor Sriphaichitr Sunslip said, “This is my first time to Perth and the people are really nice and welcoming, it’s so good that I actually want to move here.” Archbishop Costelloe and Mgr Keating welcome visiting US sailors and their chaplains. PHOTOS: R HIINI
Epidemic on the cards
Prof Ralph Martins.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Continued from page 1 blood test for Alzheimer’s disease,” Prof Martins said. Prevention is a key focus for the Bentley acolyte who is also the president of Bentley’s St Vincent de Paul conference. At the recent conference, frequent brisk walking, a healthy and nutritious diet and stimulating activities for the brain were all put forward as helping to delay or prevent dementia. Discussed risk factors for dementia included high blood pressure (hypertension), obesity, diabetes and smoking. In addition to the McCusker Foundation-hosted conference, a public seminar was held at the Hyatt Regency Perth where a number of research leaders gave presentations to more than 320 people (a DVD of the lecture is available from the McCusker Foundation). The McCusker Foundation is extending its program of brain screening to continue its study of the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s. “We are now using this brain imaging test to assess the efficacy of drugs or herbal compounds such as curcumin for their ability to lower the levels of the toxic amyloid that builds up and causes Alzheimer’s disease in the brain,” Prof Martins said. “This amyloid imaging test is the ‘gold standard’ for determining which drugs will be most effective in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.” For more information or to make a donation, contact McCusker Alzheimer’s Research Foundation on 9347 4200 or visit www.alzheimers.com.au.
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May 2, 2012, The Record
ANZAC DAY 2012
No setting of the sun for ANZAC pride By Juanita Shepherd IMMACULATE Heart College held its inaugural ANZAC Day Assembly on Friday, April 27 before an audience that included two of the college’s directors, Father Paul Fox and Mrs Doris Anastasiades, as well as parents, grandparents and extended family members. All students from Kindergarten to Year 3 were involved in the simple but moving tribute to the ANZAC legend. Held in the paved courtyard of the college, the well-rehearsed assembly presented a formal air of reverence for the occasion with polished performances from both staff and students. The items included an Easter message and blessing from Fr Paul Fox, an opening address from the Year 3 students, a reading of Psalm 23 from a Year 2 student, and the recital of an original poem about Private Simpson and his donkey from the Pre-primary/Year 1 students. Two members of the college’s staff, as well as the principal, were involved in various readings which included the inscription on the War Memorial at ANZAC Cove, a speech about the significant service provided by the donkey throughout the history of humanity, and a poem relating to the donkey and Palm Sunday. The highlight of the assembly was the wreath-laying ceremony where, two by two, students placed a handmade poppy at the col-
Respect from Tobruk to Ellenbrook By Robert Hiini
A veteran addresses students at a joint school ANZAC commemoration in Ellenbrook, left. Above, students from Immaculate Heart College par ticipating in the school’s inaugural ANZAC assembly in Lower Chittering. PHOTOS: ST HELENA’S AND IMMACULATE HEART
lege’s ‘War Memorial’ beneath the Australian flag. The solemn and respectful manner in which the students executed this important ritual, despite their very young age, was an inspiration to all who witnessed it, adding to the reverent tone of the occasion. The Ode was then read by two students from Year 2. As The Last Post was played, the flag was
lowered to half-mast. A minute’s silence was observed by all and then the flag was raised with the playing of the Rouse. The assembly ended with the Australian National Anthem. Despite the short week in which to prepare for the assembly, and young age of the students, the college’s principal, Dr Angela Evangelinou-Yiannakis, was
thoroughly impressed with the calibre of performance and exemplary behaviour of students. Likewise, the effort put in by staff of the college regarding preparation of the poppies, wreaths, original poetry and historical background information provided to the students was of a high order, helping to fulfil the principal’s expectations of the event.
WHO says young people have no respect? Schools in Ellenbrook combined on Friday, April 27 to honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform. Ex-servicemen and RSL president Bill Gaynor and Fran Alban MLA were joined by Premier Colin Barnett and members of the wider Ellenbrook community at the city’s Woodlake Amphitheatre. St Helena’s Catholic School and Ellenbrook Primary School provided choirs for the day and led the Amphitheatre with renditions of Advance Australia Fair, I am Australian and a song written by a former student of St Helena’s, Jazz Cappeau, called Gallipoli Shores. Premier Barnett gave his reflections on ANZAC Day before students from each of the surrounding schools spoke about what ANZAC meant to them. Students listened solemnly to the Rouse (bugle call) and observed a minute’s silence. RSL president Bill Gaynor read the ode. Students laid wreaths before the ceremony concluded with the Reveille, another piece of bugle music. The ANZAC day commemoration was judged a success by locals. “It is heartening to that the ANZAC spirit is still strong within our younger generation,” one St Helena’s staff member said.
Perth padre a model for us all By Bishop Max Davis Catholic Military Ordinate ONE of the first Catholic Chaplains to land with the ANZAC forces at Gallipoli was a priest of the Archdiocese of Perth. I am sure many readers would be familiar with the story of Father John Fahey DSO. Fr Fahey remains one of the great legends of Catholic Chaplaincy. In his letter to Archbishop Clune – just a few days after the landing - Fr Fahey described his recollection of the dreadful experience of the landing and indicated his care for his flock, both those killed and those wounded. Facing the real possibility of his own mortality, he wanted to put on record his sentiments of the highest esteem for the character of the Australian soldiers. His sentiments are shared by all the Catholic Chaplains who have had the privilege of serving with our armed services down through the years in every engagement. Through the Catholic Chaplain our service men and women have been assured of the pastoral support of the Church and, through the presence of the priest, they can experience the reality that Jesus is in their midst and sharing their life with them. One of the alternate readings from Sacred Scripture contained in the Lectionary for the Mass on ANZAC Day is from the third chapter of the Book of Wisdom. This reading teaches us about the importance of the gift of faith in every dimension of our human life. It clearly articulates many experiences of distress and difficulty and acknowledges the tensions that traumatic experiences cause in our spiritual life. One of the enduring
Bishop Max Davis, head of the Catholic Military Ordinariate in Australia. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
questions that we all have is what some people call the ‘problem of evil’. How do the chosen People of God cope in the presence of evil? The Scriptures teach us that we cannot understand even the scope of that question if we approach it only from a human perspective. Many of us will acknowledge that to be so very true. What the Scripture teaches is that our understanding can only be complete if we embrace the gift of faith which enables us to glimpse a different dimension to the question – a dimension that does not have its origin nor its conclusion from only human understanding but comes from
God. “The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God” is the beginning of this chapter and sets before us the teaching about this different dimension. The text then goes on to apply what that means in examples of some of these difficult experiences. In recent days, there has been much media attention and public discussion about how we, as a community, can understand and assist in the ongoing care of those who are carrying wounds – both physical and spiritual – that are the consequence of our present involvement in war. This is not a new phenomenon. It has been a consequence of armed conflict since the days of Federation. Of course, we understand the responsibility we all have to care for those who have been wounded in their service to us. In some ways, it is perhaps easier to respond to those who are suffering from physical wounds because we can see them. It is the spiritual wounds that are not so obvious that make our response more difficult. This has always been the case. What we call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) today has been called by different names over the years – Battle Fatigue, Shell Shock, etc – and has always challenged our understanding of this reality and hence our ability to assist those who live with this wound. But this challenge must be met – it is our responsibility. Our approach to life is enlightened by our acceptance of the gift of faith from God. It is a gift that must be shared. When we gather on ANZAC Day, we have a particular contribution to make. Our Catholic tradition and doctrine includes an understanding that our prayers can
assist the souls of those who have died to reach their eternal reward. Our belief in the effects of praying for the dead is not a teaching that is shared by most of our non-Catholic faith communities. There is, therefore, an approach to our observance of ANZAC that adds a dimension to our participation in giving honour and remembrance of those who have died in the service of our country. The spiritual dimension revealed in that Book of Wisdom – and indeed in many other places in the Sacred Scriptures – calls us to more than honour and remembrance. This same perspective must also apply to our acceptance of our responsibility to care for those wounded.
Wisdom calls us to more than honour and remembrance. Caring for veterans is too big a task for chaplains to shoulder alone. Fr Fahey’s contribution in times of conflict continued after hostilities ceased. He was in great demand to continue to provide pastoral and spiritual care for the veterans he had served with. It is true that the special bond that develops in times of war between the Chaplains and his flock endure. It is very true still today. There are many veterans of the recent wars – Vietnam, Cambodia, Somalia, Iraq and now Afghanistan – who are still helped by the Chaplains who served with
them as they seek to understand and live with the consequences of their experience of service. Clearly, particularly responding to the veterans who carry ‘spiritual wounds’, it is not a responsibility that should be left to the Chaplains to carry alone. It is a responsibility and a ministry that we can all share in. During the Second Vatican Council it was identified that those who serve their nations in the armed services have a special contribution to make to the wider Church community. Part of that contribution is to increase our understanding of the spiritual, moral and ethical consequences of modern conflict and to develop solid pastoral means for addressing those consequences. It is a task that still needs to be done. We can assist our veterans and their families in a very real way by giving the support of our prayers for the graces they need. We can assist our veterans and their families by giving material and personal support to the many agencies that provide care. We can ensure that we always treat our serving men and women, veterans and their families with dignity, affirmation and understanding. We can assist also by reflecting the truth of the enduring presence of God in our human experience – no matter how terrible that may seem to be – by the way in which we think, speak and behave towards our serving men and women and their families. Our genuine and heartfelt prayer for eternal rest for those who have died provides some foundation also to encourage us to pray for those whose pilgrimage to the Father’s house is still under way. This is our responsibility in faith.
May 2, 2012, The Record
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LOCAL MILESTONE
moments past, passing and to come
Send your milestones to editor@therecord.com.au
Layered life in land of refuge
Joseph Kucik’s art as it once appeared at St Charles’ Seminary in Guildford, above and bottom right, and a detail from his Way of the Cross at New Norcia, below left.
I
T is 100 years since the birth of Josef Kucik (1912-1993), a Czech émigré who made a modest but significant contribution to liturgical art in Western Australia. Who knows how many thousands have seen his best known work, the Way of the Cross that decorates the walls of the Church of the Holy Trinity in New Norcia, or his other works at St Joachim’s Victoria Park and Our Lady of Grace, North Beach. Although no longer with us, the same might be asked of works at the Catholic Seminary in Guildford and Kucik’s Crucifixion, a gift for his parish of St Anthony in Greenmount. Kucik arrived in Perth from Czechoslovakia as a refugee in 1950. In his youth he had trained as an artist specialising in large-scale murals in a style called sgraffito, popularly used in Europe for the decoration of mansion walls (visitors to Prague can admire splendid examples of sgraffito). Sgraffito technique is tricky. A wall is covered with layers of coloured plaster such as black, ochre or red. The topmost layer is usually white. While the plaster is damp, the artist creates images by engraving or scraping away the plaster to reveal the different colours of the layers underneath. The artist has to work quickly and accurately or the whole wall has to be scraped down and the work begun again. Excellent drawing skills are imperative. When Kucik arrived in Perth, sgraffito murals were virtually unknown and to this day he is the only person to have worked extensively in this style in Australia. Of even greater interest was his conviction that liturgical art, like music, forms an integral part of the prayer of the Church and therefore should be created with the aim of inspiring pious reflection on the part of the viewer.
Kucik was himself a man of deep religious faith who had to flee his native land because he was unwilling to relinquish his Catholic convictions for the atheist principles of Communism. Already, in Czechoslovakia, he believed that art had an important role to play as an aid to worship and consequently he embraced a realistic style and avoided abstract art which he felt was somewhat egocentric and less able to inspire a meaningful response on the part of the viewer. He liked to present traditional subjects in a way that would encourage the viewer to reflect more broadly about the meaning of the Christian message. A good example of this is the First Station in the Way of the Cross in New Norcia. Here, Kucik expanded what is
traditionally one scene to include a panorama of episodes, all of which took place on Holy Thursday. We see Jesus presiding at The Last Supper, the Kiss of Judas, the reac-
A deeply religious man who fled communism, Kucik avoided abstract art, eschewing the egocentric in favour of the inspirational. tions of Caiphas, Herod and Pilate, the rooster signalling Peter’s betrayal, Jesus being tortured and, at the bottom, Jesus stoically accepting his
fate while Pilate washes his hands. All these events are enclosed in a red cross symbolising the suffering of Jesus. The viewer is invited to meditate on the events which acted as the ‘prelude’ to the Way of the Cross. The Last Supper is particularly important here because it is inseparably linked with Jesus’ sacrificial death and the liturgy of the Eucharist performed on the altar close by. Kucik completed other works in oil and mosaic also to be seen in New Norcia. Also interesting are his many pictures of WA churches. He worked on this project for decades, making valiant attempts to visit churches in isolated locations. Given that he did not drive and used public transport or even hitchhiked, some of his journeys were quite adventurous. He related
PHOTO: R HIINI, I ROSARIO
experiences where, after difficult journeys, he would find uncomprehending clergymen unwilling to let him sketch the church. Nonetheless, over 100 pictures were completed. A well-received exhibition of the churches took place in Historic House, Armadale in 1990. Last year, a festive event took place in his birthplace of Buchlovice. A mosaic picture, which had been a striking altarpiece in his home chapel in Darlington, was solemnly installed in the splendid parish church of St Martin. Although Kucik loved Australia, he would be pleased to know he had posthumously contributed something to the place of his birth, to the very church where he had been inspired by the beauty of the decoration to devote himself to liturgical art. - IVA ROSARIO
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May 2, 2012, The Record
WORLD
Sisters save PNG girls from tradition “FORCED marriage is a major problem in Papua New Guinea. Girls are sold when they are only 13 or 14 years old. We want to help to change this tradition.” This is how Sister Maria del Sagrario described the work of her Institute in the Diocese of Vanimo at a meeting with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). In that remote and poorly-developed region in the north-west of Papua New Guinea, the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM) operate a hostel for young women. According to Sr Maria del Sagrario, 19 girls between 13 and 19 years of age are living there at present. They were sent by their parents, who want to protect their daughters from the traditional form of forced marriage. ACN supports the initiative: the hostel in Vanimo is currently undergoing considerable enlargement because at the moment it does not offer sufficient space for either the girls or the sisters; up till now the sisters have only
had one single room for their use. In the words of Sr Maria del Sagrario, even today large areas of Papua New Guinea are little developed; ancient traditions remain alive, such as the custom of selling underage girls to men for marriage.
Despite the Gospels, ancient traditions live on such as selling underage girls to men for marriage. Payment is often in the form of pigs or other domestic animals. This practice is also frequent among the faithful. “Although Christians are numerous, the culture of the country is still far away from the influence of the Gospels,” says Sr Maria. For the sisters, there is only one answer to this: Christian
education, especially for girls. The religious Institute, Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, was founded in Argentina in 1988. Some Matará sisters lead contemplative lives and devote themselves exclusively to prayer in order to support their fellow sisters who concern themselves with social, charitable and pastoral initiatives. Through their withdrawn lifestyle, entirely devoted to serving their neighbours, they seek to remember the women who accompanied Jesus Christ until his death and who kept vigil beneath the Cross. The sisters wear a crucifix on their breast which, alongside the figure of the crucified Christ, also displays numerous symbols. It was carved in the late 1500s by a member of the Matará tribe, native peoples in the north of Argentina in the vicinity of today’s city of Santiago del Estero, who were evangelised by the Jesuits. At present, six Matará sisters are working in Papua New Guinea. - ACN
Girls learning to sew at the Lujan Home for Girls, the hostel in Vanimo run by the Sisters of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara. PHOTO: ACN
Real action is truly prayerful By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - All pastoral work, including promoting social justice and providing for the poor, must be nourished by prayer, Pope Benedict XVI said. Without contemplating and internalising God’s word daily, one risks being suffocated by too heavy a workload and one’s heart risks hardening to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, he said. “Charity and justice are not just social action but are spiritual action realised in the light of the Holy Spirit,” he said during the general audience in St Peter’s Square on April 25. It was attended by more than 20,000 pilgrims from all over the world, including members of the US Catholic Health Association and the Ascension Health Alliance. Continuing a series of talks on Christian prayer, the Pope highlighted Chapter 6 of the Acts of the Apostles which recounts how the early Christian community decided to call forth “seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom” to be dedicated to charitable action so the apostles could continue to dedicate themselves to prayer and proclaiming the word of God. “The proclamation of the Gospel - the primacy of God - and (providing) concrete charity and justice were creating difficulties” and the community had to find a solution so that both would have their place in the Church, the Pope said. The apostles created a new ministry dedicated to the needy because the Church is called not just to proclaim the word but to fulfil it through concrete acts of love and truth, he said. At the same time, he said, the apostles underlined the importance of prayer so that those who carried out the Church’s charitable mission would do so “in the spirit of faith with the light of God.” Charity workers must be filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and not just be “good organisers who know how to do things,” the Pope said. In fact, the apostles laid their hands on those chosen for the new ministry, conferring God’s grace and “consecrating them in the truth which is Jesus Christ”, he said. It
The Pope points to prayer to support the Church’s charitable mission.
was not a simple act of assigning a new role or responsibility to someone as happens in secular organisations, “but is an ecclesial event.” “The difficulty that the Church was going through concerning the problem of serving the poor, the question of charity, is overcome through prayer,” he said. It’s through prayer and reflecting on God’s word that people can “respond to every challenge and situation with wisdom, understanding and fidelity to God’s will.” Pope Benedict said, “We must not lose ourselves to pure activism, but always let our actions be penetrated by the light and the word of God and, that way, learn real charity.” Truly serving others means
not just providing them the basic necessities, it’s giving, “above all, the affection of our heart and God’s light,” he said. Everything Christians do should be nourished by contemplating God, which is especially important in a world that stresses productivity and efficiency above all else, he said. At the end of the audience, Pope Benedict called on people to drive sensibly and responsibly. Greeting families of roadaccident victims, the Pope said his prayers with “all those who have lost their lives on the road” and he said people have “the duty to always drive prudently and responsibly.” A delegation from the US Catholic Health Association, led by its president and CEO, Daughter
PHOTO: PAUL HARING/CNS
of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, was in Rome along with members of Ascension Health, a St Louisbased alliance of Catholic health care systems. Contacted by email, Sr Carol said the groups were taking part in an annual week-long education program in Rome for senior leaders in management, board and sponsorship roles in the field of health care. “Its purpose is to help them know the Church universal better and what it means to lead a Church ministry,” she wrote. The “Ecclesiology and Spiritual Renewal Program for Health Care Leaders” included meetings with officials of a variety of Vatican congregations and with the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry.
People fear as Sudan sits on brink of war IN view of the increasing level of fighting in the border region between North and South Sudan, the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has issued a call to pray for peace. “We must not forget or neglect this new conflict,” emphasises Christine du Coudray, head of the organisation’s Africa section. “We must plead through our prayers that conflict in the border region should come to an end and not spread further.” The risks are high, she says, because Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir wants war with South Sudan which has been independent since last July. The people in the border region are living in great fear. “In the Nuba Mountains, children run screaming into caves or holes in the ground when they hear the sound of aircraft. “The civilian population is being bombed, people are being killed, and many are suffering severe injuries – they lose limbs or are left with burns to their face. “Who hears the cries of these innocent people?” asks du Coudray. Many thousands have fled their homes, hunger is spreading and large numbers of children are under threat. Yet the government of North Sudan does not permit nongovernmental organisations to distribute foodstuffs or build camps for the refugees. According to her, the Church in the area is playing an important role. It should give aid to the people as early as possible. Experts predict that a new war in Sudan could have even more fatal consequences than the civil war between 1983 and 2005 which cost more than two million lives and made many millions homeless. Since the independence of South Sudan, formally declared on July 9, 2011, there has been a dispute between the two countries about the course of the border. - ACN
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WORLD Saying “yes” to Christ the only way to liberty DENVER (CNS) - At the heart of defeating attacks on religious liberty is the need for the faithful to rebuild a Christian culture that serves as the essence of a democracy, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput wrote recently. In his new e-book titled A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America, the former Denver Archbishop discusses ties between religious freedom and a good society. The American experience of personal freedom, he said, is in fact inconceivable without a Christian grounding. “Modern ideas about human dignity, rights, obligations and freedom are the child of Western culture and Western culture is a child of Christianity,” he told the Denver Catholic Register, archdiocesan newspaper. Although American culture today is nothing like the Founding Fathers’ society in early America, Christianity remains the moral framework of the Western world which must recognise religious liberty as a natural right to all of mankind, he said. “What Christianity does so uniquely and so well is to balance the dignity of every individual person with our social obligations to the common good,” Archbishop Chaput said. In response to these growing threats, instead of simply listing the problems with America and complaining, he added, Christians need to construct this religious culture and protect religious liberty through personal conversion and saying “yes” to Christ. “The only way to do it is to actually live what we claim to believe. Nothing is more powerful or more attractive than personal example,” he said. “But we also need to speak up vigorously for our rights and press our elected representatives to do the same.” In his e-book, he discusses the current state of American society and global threats to practising the faith. Christianity is now more than ever under attack, he says. A reported 70 per cent of the world’s people live in nations where religious liberty is gravely restricted, which makes it a global crisis, he notes. “I think there’s a much more aggressive secularism at work in American life today. Religion gets in the way of what some people see as progress on issues like abortion, bioethics and sexuality. Christianity requires not just personal conversion but public witness in a believing community and moral engagement with society. That’s inconvenient if you want to rewire the country’s moral framework.” He concludes his book by reiterating the Catholic faithfuls’ call to restore Christian culture in America, to set the world ablaze with their witness. A genuinely Catholic life, among other things, should feed the soul and mind while also recapturing the nobility of the human story and the dignity of the human person, he wrote. “This is the kind of witness that sets fire to the human heart,” he wrote. “It starts the only kind of revolution that really changes anything: a revolution of love. Our task is to start that blaze ... and then help it grow.” - CNS
Warm glow in Polish Easter
PHOTOS: Tatra Mountains from the village of Zakopane; Church of the Holy Trinity in Krakow; Easter Eggs and Palm Sunday bouquets. PHOTO: T ROWLAND
By Professor Tracey Rowland THE 2nd of April marked the seventh anniversary of the death of Blessed John Paul II. As part of the commemoration events I was invited to deliver a lecture at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) on the idea of a civilisation of love in the late pontiff ’s thought. KUL is famous for the fact that it was the only Catholic institution of higher education that managed to exist inside the Soviet bloc during the Communist era. The young Karol Wojtyła once held the Chair of Ethics at KUL and his classroom is now a tourist attraction. I was given a tour of the university by the current Professor of Ethics, Fr Alfred Wierzbicki. It included a visit to the statue in the courtyard which commemorates that moment in 1978 when the newly elected John Paul II embraced the then Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski. Wyszynski belonged to the generation of Central and Eastern European cardinals who did time in Soviet prisons for being enemies of progress and scientific rationalism. When he came forward in the line of cardinals to kiss the new Pope’s ring, John Paul II dispensed with the usual etiquette for such events and reached out to Wyszynski and hugged him. Some 40 million Poles watched the moment on television and after that there was little hope for the Communist leaders in Europe, although it did take eleven years of further heroism to finally get rid of them. Fr Wierzbicki explained to me that it is widely believed that the
assassination attempt on the life of John Paul II on May 13, 1981 was timed to coincide with the death of Cardinal Wyszynski. The most effective way of undermining Polish confidence was for the KGB to try and kill the Pope during the same week as Wyszynski lay dying. Today, in Poland, everything seems to be named after John Paul II, Wyszynski, Chopin or Copernicus. Generals Pilsudski and Sikorski also feature prominently. I was in Lublin for Palm Sunday which is more colourful in Poland than in most other countries of the world. Instead of turning up to Mass with a bit of pine tree or palm frond, the Poles turn up with
breathe, let alone stand. A number of priests were posted to hear confessions throughout the non-service times and they followed the tradition of draping their purple stoles over the door of the confessional, rather than wearing the stole around their neck. As penitents left the confessional box they would go to the front of the box and kiss the stole. On Easter Saturday, the Polish priests were kept busy blessing baskets of food and Easter eggs. Children barely old enough to toddle were dragging coloured baskets of eggs across the village squares into churches to be blessed. These blessings seemed to go on all day. My husband and I ran into
As long as Polish priests spend all Easter Saturday blessing eggs, securalism won’t get far in Poland. whole bouquets of multi-coloured wheat sheaves which are plaited into elaborate designs. In some parishes, there are competitions for the tallest and most beautiful. On Holy Thursday and Good Friday, I attended services at the Dominican Church of the Holy Trinity in Krakow. Fr Jaroslaw Kupczak OP explained to me that the music took the form of Byzantine melodies matched to Polish lyrics. He proudly declared that the Polish Dominicans were ‘over’ the pop music phase. They had been through it and had come out on the side of sacred music, borrowing chants from their Eastern orthodox neighbours. The church was totally packed for the services with hardly room to
a couple and their small son in a hotel lift late in the day and the little boy was clutching a basket of eggs. His parents suggested to him that he might like to offer some of the eggs to us, but he said “No”. They told him Our Lord would be ashamed of him but he just hung his head as if in total disgrace and clutched the basket of eggs ever more tightly. He had no intention of sharing eggs with complete strangers in a lift. It occurred to me that for as long as Polish priests spend their Easter Saturdays blessing baskets of eggs, secularism will not get very far in Poland. On Easter Sunday it snowed all day. By now we were in Zakopane, a kind of Polish Thredbo at the foot of the Tatra mountains.
It was a favourite place for the young Fr Wojtyła to take groups of university students for retreats and social events. Since it was snowing we went to the church nearest our hotel which was dedicated to the Holy Family. About 200 people who could not fit into the church stood in the snow outside and listened to the Mass through a PA system. After Mass, the main street had a carnival atmosphere. There were people dressed as bears and wolves and other mountain animals handing out Easter eggs to the children and holy cards to the adults. No doubt the Church in Poland has its own share of problems but my overall impression was that the spiritual capital of John Paul II is far from dissipated. Finally, for anyone visiting Krakow in the near future, I would strongly recommend the restaurant called Ancora which is adjacent to the Dominican Church and the restaurant in Hotel Stary near the main square. The food and service at both was of world-class standard. At Ancora, they even had a separate Lenten menu on which every dish was made from fish. I chose the trout sausages on mashed potato. A word of warning, however, is that “Spring” in Poland seems to mean ‘occasional rays of sunshine through sheets of snow and rain’. In Poland, they don’t only have a white Christmas, they have White Easters too. Professor Tracey Rowland is the Dean of the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne.
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There's no
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rushing a window to
EAVEN
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HE Philadelphia-born artist priest slowly inhaled, opened his mouth wide over an unfinished icon and released a long, belly-deep breath. Augustinian Father Richard Cannuli was warming the thick layers of a mixture of red clay, glue made from animal hide and a drizzle of honey that had been painted in the shape of a halo on a wooden panel. He then gently affixed a strip of 23-carat gold leaf to the dried clay. "I breathe three times so that I get my breath moist and warm so the clay gets tacky enough for the thin gold leaf to stick to it," he said. It's like re-enacting creation, he said, when God breathed life into Adam - a name that comes from the Arabic Adeem for "skin of the earth" or clay. "God formed humanity out of clay and breathed life into the clay", he said. "The gold then represents the spirit of God that's entering the icon through the gold." Surrounded by powdered pigments, paintbrushes and gessocovered birch plywood boards, Fr Cannuli demonstrated the long, slow process of painting an icon in the ancient Russian-Byzantine tradition. He had just wrapped up a twoweek icon-making workshop held in an empty side chapel at the headquarters of the Augustinians in Rome, just steps from St Peter's Square. The precise 22-step process of making an icon is like a spiritual journey and a reflection of the Christian faith, he told Catholic News Service on April 12. The icon is painted on wood, which represents the tree of the garden of paradise, Noah's ark of salvation and the wood of the tree Christ was crucified on, he said. The yolk and water used in the egg tempera represent life and baptism. When the icon is finished, it's blessed by a priest and rubbed with oils so "you confirm it, you chrism
Making an icon is like a spiritual journey and a reflection of Christian faith, Fr Richard Cannuli tells Carol Glatz of Catholic News Service it," reflecting the stages of Christian spirituality, he said. Fr Cannuli, who has taught studio art at Villanova University for 33 years, has been teaching iconmaking at the Catholic university for the past 13 years. The priest is currently on a one year sabbatical in four European cities to conduct workshops and display his latest mixed media art installation on Sicilian roadside shrines. An icon, which is a form of religious art of flat painted images, is a term that comes from the Greek eikon, for image. Just as clicking a colourful desktop icon will "take you somewhere else," a religious icon, too, opens up onto a new world beyond the image, he said. "It's a window that opens up to eternity." Fr Cannuli said he sees a resurgence of traditional iconic figures in the United States. "One thing people are going to learn is patience" when they tackle painting an icon, he said, as he brushed red clay onto the tip of a metal compass to make a clean arc along the halo's outer edge. There is a lot of waiting time between painting with hand-mixed egg-based tempera and letting the medium thoroughly dry, he said. One nine-by-12 inch small icon may take up to 40 hours - spread over seven to 15 days - to complete. While waiting for a layer to dry, "students ask, 'What can I do next?' I usually say pray, read, keep yourself occupied because there is nothing they can do" to work ahead or speed up the process, he said. In fact, it is the quiet, reflective nature of making icons that leads many students, even nonChristians, to experience some kind of spiritual growth. Working with icons was what led Fr Cannuli to decide to be ordained into the priesthood in 1999. "When you're working with an icon there's this very tight communication between you and the prototype of the image that you're painting," he said.
He said one Russian master iconographer told him he should pray to the person being portrayed for guidance in everything from what
"... making an icon has 'nothing to do with the individual painter' but is more about a person's ability to let God be in control." colour to use next to whether one's life is on the right track. Then-Brother Cannuli thought his life was going along fine "and then all of a sudden everything was turned upside down."
Over the next six years, he worked with a spiritual director and decided to become a priest. He said making an icon "has nothing to do with the individual painter" but is more about a person's ability to let God be in control. "It's like all along I was creating and now all of a sudden I let go and let God create," he said. Individual expression in iconography is muted by the fact that the paint must be pooled on the board, avoiding all brush strokes that would leave a kind of "signature" of the painter, he said. Only the name of the saint is inked on the final piece. The process for traditional icons is always done with the same elements and techniques, in the same order, and using images that are not products of the artist's imagination, but are exact tracings of copies of
ancient iconographic figures, he said. Icons, which are venerated, not worshipped, are believed to act as channels of divine grace. In fact, every icon of Christ, the Mother of God, a saint or archangel almost always has at least one ear prominently exposed toward the viewer, he said, "so the prototype you are painting can hear your prayers and bring them to the father in heaven". Fr Cannuli collects old icons and said he gets a sense of comfort looking at the ones that have been held and handled for so many years in prayer. "You don't worry about them once they're finished. They get damaged or chipped, it's meant to be, you just have to let it go. "You don't have control over it. It has a life of its own," he said.
May 2, 2012, The Record
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Confession: good for the heart and soul
Oprah, Twitter and Facebook just don't cut it when it comes to absolution.
A
Clockwise from top: Augustinian Father Richard Cannuli paints an icon of St Augustine, creates the outline for an icon, brushes off carbon after tracing a design while creating an icon, breathes to adhere gold to clay as he creates an icon and holds an egg yolk to be used to make tempera paints during a demonstration about how to create an icon in Rome on April 12. PHOTOS: CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
S part of her sophomore English Literature course, my teenage daughter has been studying The Tell-Tale Heart, a short story by 19th century American Gothic fiction author, Edgar Allan Poe. For those not familiar, this tale is written in first-person narrative by a character, who (whilst insisting he is not mad) exhibits classic symptoms of monomania and paranoia, if not psychopathy. He calmly calculates and carries out the murder of an innocent person and, by story’s end, is driven to confess the deed to visiting police investigators. He is compelled to the admission by the auditory delusion of hearing the victim’s heart beating, louder and louder, even hours after the murder has taken place. More likely (so my daughter’s teacher pointed out, thus I will not take credit for saying so), he hears, and is driven to confess, by the incessant pounding of his own guilty heart. The literature course is secular, taken through a secular school board, so there was no discussion about spiritual considerations, but there is at least one obvious lesson for those of a religious turn of mind: we need confession. Sadly, this self-evident truth is not so apparent any more, even among church-going Catholics. Priests far and wide lament the bald fact that while throngs of people come forth for Communion every Sunday, the line-ups for Confession are (to be kind) more sparsely populated. Either we have successfully eliminated mortal sin from the face of the earth, or else there is a frightening amount of sacrilege going on at every Sunday Mass in virtually every parish on the globe. Many pastors no longer talk about confession on a regular basis, but even those who do are disheartened to see that their words of encouragement and admonition are rarely heeded. And indeed, the faithful have been receiving conflicting messages for decades. Many years ago, in another diocese, my brother and his wife attended a parent meeting to discuss sacramental preparation for First Penance and First Holy Communion. The religious sister who conducted the meeting shocked most in attendance by announcing, among other things, that the Ten Commandments were obsolete; children aged 7-8 were incapable of comprehending “sin” and that, at any rate, Confession was “the Sacrament we all hate”. If only she had been the odd man out (sorry, inclusive language allergy), but she was, in fact, on the Church payroll as the Director of Religious Education for the entire dio-
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with Mariette Ulrich
cese. I attended many meetings and seminars conducted by her and heard how some of the Church’s practices were ‘stupid’ (fasting) or boring (the Divine Office). For sheer Gothic horror, Edgar Allan Poe had nothing on this lady. Speak for yourself, Sister, but having my sins sacramentally absolved – entirely obliterated in the unfathomable mercy of God - is an occasion of liberation and joy for which I am profoundly grateful to Christ and his Church. Pope Benedict has called for sounder catechesis; let us hope the Church heeds. But first, it seems as though many of our catechists (and diocesan bureaucrats) need to meet Jesus Christ. On an oblique but related note, I recently attended a Catholic parents’ conference, where one session dealt with the burning topic of social media.
At some primal level, most of us feel the need to get things off our chest - we want absolution. One dad who kept a vigilant eye on his pre-teen daughter’s Facebook account seemed puzzled by the propensity of people, young and old, to broadcast the most intimate details of their lives, whether momentous (“We’re going to Hawaii for Christmas!”) or disgustingly mundane (“Drat! Prom this weekend and I’ve got a pimple on my nose!”). As a matter of course, people also brag about their latest drinking binge or sexual conquest or, in one rather extreme case, a woman who live-Tweeted her (at-home, chemical) abortion. Why? Yes, there are the pathologically rebellious among us who rejoice in their misdeeds. But I think most of us feel, at some primal level, the need to get things off our chest. We need to feel we are not alone in our weakness and stumbling, or even our everyday silliness. We want to feel affirmed and accepted by the surrounding community. Above all, whether we know it or not, we want absolution. But it’s not to be found on Oprah or Twitter. Come, meet the Lord in the Sacrament of Confession; our tell-tale hearts are crying out for it.
Mariette Ulrich is a full-time homemaker and mother of seven girls. She writes from western Canada. ladywriter.ulrich@gmail.com
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May 2, 2012, The Record
LIFE in the Lap of
ISLAM Mark Riedemann interviews Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus of Kuwait, on issues confronting Christians in the Middle East. BORN in the mountains of Lebanon in a small village called Akoura, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem was appointed Apostolic Nuncio of Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and Apostolic Delegate in Arabia which includes Saudi Arabia and Oman and, in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. Arc hb i s h o p Pau l - Mo u ng e d El-Hachem, the Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus of Kuwait can you tell us a bit about how you came to this position? For 29 years I have been a professor of Islamic Law at the Lateran University. In 1997, I sponsored a conference in Lugano [Switzerland] on Christian-Muslim relationships in Lebanon and the Middle East. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, attended. Pope Benedict, knowing the importance of having better Christian-Muslim relationships, called and asked me to be Nuncio to that area of the world. I was 71 years old at that time. There is a misconception that there are no Christians in the Arab and Gulf States and in fact there is a large community? We have very large Christian communities in all the Gulf countries. Let us take Kuwait, for example: The population is about 3.1
million, of which one million are Christians. The Catholic population is about 400,000 and the majority are Filipinos and Indian. The majority of Christians are in fact foreign workers? Yes, labourers, but also professionals such as doctors and engineers. It is almost the same proportion in every country and we can say Christians constitute at least a third or a quarter of the population. Notwithstanding this important minority, the life of a Christian in the Gulf States is not always easy? It varies from country to country. In Kuwait, we have three Catholic churches - officially recognised as churches. The other communities, Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox, have their own churches. In many of these countries, Christians face various restrictions. In some countries like Saudi Arabia, the Church cannot construct churches whereas in Qatar an opportunity has been given to the Church. Is there generally ‘freedom of religion’ or only ‘freedom of worship’ and, if so, what is the difference? Indeed, in Qatar, I inaugurated a big Catholic church in Doha, one of the biggest Catholic centres in
A woman is marked with a cross of ashes at a Maronite Catholic church in Beirut.
the world. The Emir of Qatar gave 600,000 square metres to build 16 Christian churches. Now let me answer the important question you posed, the difference between religious freedom and freedom of
conscience. Lebanon is the only country in the Arab world and the Middle East that openly declares in Article 9 of the constitution that every Lebanese has complete freedom of conscience, which means
PHOTO: CNS
that he can believe, he can choose the religion he wants and if he wants he can change from one religion to the other; a Muslim can freely become Christian and a Christian can convert to Islam without any
May 2, 2012, The Record
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God not dead: Evolution is compatible but not a substitute
difficulties. This is well entrenched in the law. … but Lebanon is an exception ... It is an exception, but we have to recognise that Lebanon is an Arab country. It is a founder and member of the Arab League. It is a founder and member of the Conference of the Islamic countries and yet it has in its constitution that freedom of conscience, and it is only in Lebanon. So this is the model that we would like to see? Yes, that is what we hope and the model we would like to see. This is what inspired Blessed Pope John Paul II to call Lebanon as more than a country. … A message to the world … Yes, a message to the world. In the other countries, unfortunately we have religious freedom but with restrictions. In Saudi Arabia for example, we cannot have churches and yet we have priests there working without difficulties on the condition that they do not openly manifest or proclaim the gospel. In the Emirates for example, we have enough churches, Catholic schools, and the freedom to teach catechism in the churches but not in our schools. In Kuwait, the Muslim students in Catholic schools receive Islamic instruction and yet the Christian students are not allowed catechism classes despite the fact that the Christian population in these schools is about 60 per cent. The government response is: ‘you have full freedom to teach catechism on Friday and Sunday in your church’. So the governments in these countries, for the most part, take the position: You are a guest, you are a minority in our country. You have the freedom to worship but you do not have the freedom to evangelise. Church services have to be within the churches or on church grounds and there is no freedom of conscience in a sense that if a Muslim wishes to convert he is forbidden. Yes, that is true and I have to say that in some countries - even in Kuwait - there are some cultural centres that officially are supposed to give foreigners an idea about the Kuwaiti culture and Muslim religion, but in reality these centres are for proselytising and the conversion of Christians to Islam. This is highly encouraged but never is a Muslim officially allowed to convert to Christianity. If we assume that the majority of Muslims wish to live in peace and are moderate, why do we not hear from this silent majority? Why is it that we only hear from the fundamentalists and we only hear about the violence against Christians? What you are saying is very, very important. The Western countries must have a better understanding of Islam. Their behaviour and interaction should not provoke and encourage the fundamentalists and the fanatics to take power. I am absolutely sure that the events of September 11 were not approved by the majority of the Muslims. It was an action taken by some fundamentalists, fanatics like Bin Laden. This fanaticism and violent reaction was a response against the behaviour of some countries. The other issue, which altered dramatically the behaviour and mentality of many Muslims is the Israel-Palestinian issue. That is the heart of the matter? That is the heart of the matter. The other is the consequences of the way in which the State of Israel was founded and how the Israelis
Dear Father, I get the impression, from some scientists, that the discoveries of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution have completely done away with the need for God.
I
Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip take part in a Hamas-organized rally Nov. 23 against the US-sponsored Middle East peace conference. PHOTO: CNS
behave towards the Arabs. If we go back to history and describe the reception the Jews received from the Arabs when they came to the Middle East prior to the founding of the State of Israel, we discover a very friendly reception. Before the founding of the State of Israel, more than 500,000 Jews were living in Egypt. More than 200,000 were living in Beirut, Lebanon and more than 300,000 were living in Yemen in a perfect and harmonious relationship. The first Jews who immigrated to Palestine received a very hospitable reception from the Arabs. They sold them land. They lived a peaceful coexistence until the founding of the State of Israel. Since that time, and the fact that the Jews have declared Jerusalem as their own, the Muslims have felt humiliated. All this contributes to a deeper antagonism and provokes the further radicalisation of Islam. What is the answer? The answer is peace. The answer is what the Holy See has suggested from the very beginning; two states
“I think the other important program for the Muslim world today is to understand democracy, the rights of man and to realise the importance of all forms of liberty.” for two peoples with defined and secured boundaries and to reintroduce the good relations the Jews and the Muslims had prior to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Concerning the radicalised relations between Christians and Muslims, there have been suggestions favouring the idea of a ‘positive secularisation’, which I suppose is another variant on the separation of state and faith?
In the western countries, that is possible. The idea of secularisation is not possible in the Middle East. The idea of secularisation is a concept that does not exist in the Middle East for both Christians and Muslims because in the Middle East people are by nature religious. It is much better to speak about citoyenneté, ‘citizenship for all’, whereby the citizens are allowed to pursue their own religious values. Islam is not just religion but is both religion and culture. Every act of a Muslim has both a religious and cultural value. I will never forget when the then President of Lebanon, President Rafic Al-Hariri, prior to his assassination, wanted to introduce the idea that religion should only be taught in the mosque or the church. One of the prominent leaders of Hezbollah told me: ‘What is Hariri thinking? He wants to remove God from Lebanon, he cannot do it … God has the right to be in Lebanon’. So this then is the thrust of the argument; it is for the recognition of citizenships regardless of religious tradition? Yes, to recognise equality, independent of religious belief; that all have the same rights, duties and obligations to be recognised and entrenched in the law of the state. The ideal for us is the constitution of Lebanon and for that I think Lebanon can be our model. I think the other important program for the Muslim world today is to understand democracy, the rights of man and to realise the importance of all forms of liberty. One of the greatest decisions of the Second Vatican Council, which for me was a wonderful act of courage, is the declaration of religious freedom that states that every human being has the full right to have any religion he wants - and that is great and beautiful. This interview was conducted by Mark Riedemann for Where God Weeps, a weekly television and radio show produced by Catholic Radio and Television Network in conjunction with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
have also read statements of scientists who seem to think Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) put the final nail in God’s coffin. We could ask what Charles Darwin himself thought. If we open this book, we find on the title page two quotations, both of which mention God. The first, from William Whewell (1794–1866), a scientist, philosopher and one of the most important and influential figures in 19th century Britain, is from his Bridgewater Treatise published in Cambridge in 1833. It reads: “But with regard to the material world, we can at least go so far as this – we can perceive that events are brought about not by insulated interpositions of Divine power, exerted in each particular case, but by the establishment of general laws.” That is, Whewell, and obviously Darwin too, sees that God acts in the universe through the laws of nature he put there. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in its entry on Whewell, says: “Understanding involves seeing a law as being not an arbitrary ‘accident on the cosmic scale’ but as a necessary consequence of the ideas God used in creating the universe. Hence, the more we idealise the facts, the more difficult it will be to deny God’s existence. We will come to see more and more truths as the intelligible result of intentional design. This view is related to the claim Whewell earlier made in his Bridgewater Treatise that the more we study the laws of nature the more convinced we will be in the existence of a Divine Lawgiver.” The second quote is from Francis Bacon’s Advancement of Learning. Bacon (1561-1626) is regarded by many as the father of modern science. His quote reads: “To conclude, therefore, let no man out of a weak conceit of sobriety, or an illapplied moderation, think or maintain that a man can search too far or be too well studied in the book of God’s word, or in the book of God’s works: divinity or philosophy; but rather let men endeavour an endless progress or proficience in both.” Again, Darwin is encouraging the reader to grow in understanding of God’s word and works, found in the Scriptures and in nature. Clearly, in quoting this passage, Darwin himself sees no opposition between his discovery of natural selection and the existence of God. As for Darwin himself, in
Q&A By Fr John Flader the second last paragraph of On the Origin of Species, he writes: “Authors of the highest eminence seem to be fully satisfied with the view that each species has been independently created. To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator, that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of the individual. When I view all beings not as special creations, but as the lineal descendants of some few beings
“Clearly ... Darwin himself sees no opposition between his discovery of natural selection and the existence of God.” which lived long before the first bed of the Silurian system was deposited, they seem to me to become ennobled.” That is, while Darwin acknowledges many eminent writers believe each species was created directly by God, he himself believes, following the laws written in nature by God, that different species have arisen by gradual evolution from other species, and that this in fact ennobles them. Clearly, Darwin believes in both God and evolution. Pope Benedict XVI has expressed a similar view. In a conversation with priests on July 24, 2007 he rejected the idea that “those who believe in the Creator would not be able to conceive of evolution, and those who instead support evolution would have to exclude God. This antithesis is absurd because, on the one hand, there are so many scientific proofs in favour of evolution which appears to be a reality we can see and which enriches our knowledge of life and being as such” (cf J Flader, Question Time, q 6). So, in conclusion, God is not dead. We can believe in both God and evolution.
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May 2, 2012, The Record
Girl who had it all gave all to her beloved The Poor Clares, started some 800 years ago by an 18 year old runaway, are still strong today, writes Fabian Belle.
E
XACTLY 800 years ago (on Palm Sunday just past), an adolescent girl from a wealthy family in central Italy slipped away into the night from the protection of her home and into the dark unknown. Now a scenario such as this in those times would normally raise eyebrows to say the least. The intriguing element to this true story however, is that the 18 year old Clare (Chiara in Italian, meaning ‘Clear’), from the highly respected Corano family of Assisi, saw all that material affluence and luxury as a heavy shackle and not something to which to aspire. She was, of course, running away to join one Francis Bernadone and his little band of poor brothers who had recently established themselves just outside the town’s walls and begun a life of total poverty. CLARE’S CLARITY It was Palm Sunday evening, 1212 (some sources cite 1211), when the girl with the fair complexion, who was to have been married off, vanished into the cool night air. As Father Ambrose Ryan OFM noted in his St Clare of Assisi – Companion of St Francis, Clare was a mature, well-educated and beautiful young lady – a very good “catch”. So why did she choose to flee away from her life of privilege and venture down into the depths of extreme poverty, obedience and prayer? To Clare, it was as clear as the sun before her young face. Clarity was what she now possessed; something that she had lacked while growing up. It was much the same for her brother in Christ, Francis. Think for a minute of how this story unfolded and imagine it happening today. An intelligent and attractive girl runs away from a prosperous household to go and shave her head, walk barefoot, don old brown robes and veil and give herself totally to Christ. People would think her as insane today as they certainly did eight centuries ago. They thought the same of Francis a few years earlier - he had also rejected the riches his family were offering him. Moreover, he did it all in public and it apparently was quite the spectacle. Can you imagine the humiliation his parents felt!? Clare, on the other hand, completed her escape in secret; but with the same end result nonetheless. TOUCHED BY GOD With God’s power running through her veins, nothing could touch her. She would need all that power soon enough though, as the male members of her family sought to bring her back to the fold; with force if necessary. Carlo Carretto, in his famous little book I, Francis, speaks of her strong gaze and adamant spirit. This look saw both her angered family, as well as marauding Saracens, off several years later. This was a woman with abundant strength and confidence in her Lord. A withering stare frightening enough to have armed soldiers scamper off into the distance is quite a stare indeed! This all makes for great drama; however, the real
Clare was as soft as a single rose petal; always ready to help the poor, to help her sisters and to sacrifice herself in the service of Christ. Clare’s journey, however, was far from easy. Like Francis, she had chosen a severe and radical path and to simply enter an established convent would not have been sufficient to satisfy her hunger to follow the Gospels to the letter. She had to strike out on her own and start an order that would mirror her Franciscan brothers. Before long, several of her dear friends, her two sisters and eventually even her own mother would join the ‘Poor Clares’. Like Christ, Francis and Clare wanted to shake up the established order, do away with riches, help the poor and the despised, and spread love. It was a simple formula. LEGACY Unlike Francis, who passed from this earth in only his early 40s, Clare lived on to 60 and, in a way, took over where Francis left off. Her brother and sister Franciscans looked increasingly to her for guidance in turbulent times, when various religious orders were being reproached and even her wishes for extreme poverty were put into question. It was only on her death bed that then Pope, Innocent IV, finally granted her desire to embrace poverty for herself and for her sisters and officially have it put into writing. The issue of total poverty has been up for debate ever since
“Why did she choose to flee away from her life of privilege and venture down into the depths of extreme poverty, obedience and prayer?” the notions of religion, penance and wealth have been concepts. Religious orders have grappled with these ideals for centuries and the Franciscans were certainly no exception; in fact, the Franciscans have undergone reforms on more than one occasion, as have the Poor Clares. Much of this struggle has understandably stemmed from changing needs in changing times. What was good for the lone figure of Francis strolling gently through the wooded hills of Umbria in the 13th century suddenly became problematic once the order started to grow. Nevertheless, today’s Franciscans of both genders still adhere to their respective founders’ teachings to the letter. There are roughly 20,000 enclosed religious women today who follow Clare’s example. The courage and determination that the young girl who ran away into the night exuded was extraordinary. Will there ever be another like Clare? Clare of Assisi was made a Saint in 1255, barely two years after her death.
FUN FAITH
May 2, 2012, The Record
WITH
SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2012 • JOHN 15: 1 - 8 • 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
ANA REIDY
WORD SEARCH
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5
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COLOUR IN COMPETITION
CROSSWORD WORD LIST BRANCHES GROWER Across 3. Jesus said, “My Father is the vine ____.” 4. Jesus said, “I am the true ____.”
VINE FRUIT Down 1. Jesus told His disciples, “I am the vine, you are the ____.” 2. Those who remain in Jesus will bear great ____.
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THE RECORD
Renato Bonasera is a teacher, blogger, husband and father.
Are novelties valid?
I note with concern the story in the Easter edition of your newspaper about the priest who placed his pet goldfish on the altar whilst celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The good priest states, “Fish are the earliest of Christian symbols”. The humble ass carried our Lady and her newborn son into Egypt. Does this mean it’s only a matter of
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Conservative, liberal or moderate? Catholic teacher, family man and blogger Renato Bonasera looks for light in what is often a nasty and divisive debate.
J Gonzalez WILLETTON, WA
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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LAST YEAR I coined a phrase, namely that of Catholic Spectrum Disorder. For those wondering what I mean, it refers to the existence within the Catholic Church of groups with divergent views on definitions of authority, truth and dogma with the assumption that such diversity is not beneficial but harmful. Do these “groups” have a name? Well, as in politics, I have heard the following terms being used: Catholics have been called either conservative (traditionalists), moderate or liberal (progressives). I don’t particularly agree with political terminology being applied to something as mystical as the Church but I can see the functionality of it. The categories also help those involved in evangelisation or pastoral work to be sensitive to where people are coming from. For example, if I am speaking with liberal Catholics I need to be aware they may not share my respect for the Magisterium (teaching authority of the Catholic Church) and that I may have less in common with them than with some protestants who respect the idea of an objective Truth which reflects a Natural Law. Likewise, if I speak with a conservative traditionalist Catholic of the type who questions the validity of the Second Vatican Council and may even doubt the authenticity of post-conciliar popes, then, once again, I may have more in common with a protestant who assesses orthodoxy by fidelity to the Gospel as opposed to a cultural expression of the Faith. What adds to the dynamic of the Catholic Spectrum Disorder is the following observation. It would be appear that to a liberal, a conservative is someone who does not accept change either in doctrine or practice, and to a conservative, a liberal is someone who feels change is the norm and must occur in both teachings and application. Can you see why there might be some tension, especially when it comes to specific areas of moral theology? Doesn’t do much for the reunification of Christianity when Catholics can’t come to an agreement among themselves! With all due respect to both types of Catholics, neither side is expressing what the Church actually holds to be true. For a person like me who strives for the via media and who, for want of a better term, must therefore describe himself as “moderate”, there is a great deal of frustration when faced with both conservative and liberal views. Strictly speaking, moderates appreciate Church teaching that there can be development of doctrine (which could necessitate a change in expression) as well as a change in customs which are manmade and culturally determined (eg whether or not one should or should not say Mass in the vernacular). However, revealed PO Box 3075 Truth can never change even Adelaide Terrace while it can be expressed in an PERTH WA 6832 evolving fashion. The paragraph from the office@therecord.com.au Catechism of the Catholic Tel: (08) 9220 5900 Church that makes this point Fax: (08) 9325 4580 well, while specifically speaking about the context of social teaching, is 2421 which reads: The social doctrine of the Church developed in the 19th century when the Gospel encountered modern industrial society with its new structures for the production of consumer goods, its new concept of society, the state and authority, and its new forms of labour and ownership. The development of the doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests the permanent value of the Church’s teaching at the same time as it attests the true meaning of her Tradition, always living and active. So, in summary, what would be the main characteristics of a moderate? I think the following would apply. 1. Acceptance of development in doctrine regarding faith and morals and openness to that development. 2. Acceptance of the Magisterium’s authority in all areas of doctrine regarding faith and morals which do not change. 3. Openness to changes in Church laws or teachings that are historically or culturally determined and purely manmade (eg whether priests should be allowed to marry or changes in various fasting practices). 4. Acceptance that change in cultural expressions does not mean an abandonment of tradition. 5. Tolerance of the various cultural practices that exist within the universal Church. 6. Respect for the need to ever hold in balance the tension that can exist sometimes between truth and love. So which type of Catholic are you? Are you conservative and accept no change in either practice or dogma? Are you liberal and think that change in both practice and dogma is possible and, in fact, the norm? Or are you a moderate and see that development in both practice and dogma can occur without detriment to the unchangeable truth of what God has revealed?
Congratulations on your editorial of April 25, 2012. Family breakdown and premarital sex have indeed put Western society on the road to collapse. It is not far away now. Children are being scandalised daily, Church attendance is way down etc etc. I realise some parishes have large Sunday attendances but most of the congregations there are NOT Australian-born. Thank God for the attendees and let’s hope they and their children continue to practise their Catholic Faith and not succumb to the paganism that is so rife around them.
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Catholic Spectrum Disorder: where do you fit in?
Stay strong and prevent collapse
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editorial
May 2, 2012, The Record
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Letters to the editor time before another priest brings an ass into the sanctuary during Mass? The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is as old as Christianity itself, designed and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Are we now expected to accept such novelties as valid additions to a most venerable and sacred of acts? In the same edition, I see another ancient and sacred ritual has been usurped. I thought there were 12 male apostles whose feet the Lord washed. Can someone please explain why, and on whose authority, a priest saw fit to try and rewrite history? Such changes do nothing to have us focus on the sacred and are simply another distraction diverting our attention from the awesome events taking place on the altar. G Kiernan MILLENDON, WA
Linda’s House of Hope seeks help
I have read with interest articles and correspondence recently about proposed new legislation for sex workers, and write to encourage your generous readers to donate to my friend Linda Watson, of Linda’s House of Hope, which is the only exit program for girls trying to leave prostitution. The stories Linda hears on a daily basis are so appalling I am in awe of her courage to keep going. Girls are forced to quickly become addicted to drugs, so they have to keep working to support their habit, they lose their birth name to become someone else, and they are raped, sodomised and debased in other ways which are repugnant. Ninety percent of their clients are married or in a relationship. I urge readers who uphold the value and dignity of human life to support Linda to finish the much-needed renovations for the House of Hope which will allow her to continue her work. In particular, if there are any Christian businesses which can donate expensive kitchen items like a stove or fridge, please consider helping. Melissa Kelly MORLEY Send your Letters to The Record at office@therecord.com.au
Destroying love through disingenuous cohabitation Wisdom wanting in lack of commitment engendered by cohabitation
I
HAVE been going out with a lovely young woman for almost three months and thankfully all is going very well. I was telling a friend this news the other day and at the end of the conversation the person asked me, with a face of anticipated excitement, “Will you be moving in together”? I was initially surprised by the question as I imagined it was obvious to most people I know where I would stand on such an issue. However, I guess that it is no longer ‘obvious’ why a young dating couple would decide not to pack their bags and find a place together. Let me explain then why I have decided not to share a bed with my girlfriend. Cohabitation prior to marriage is well and truly the most popular path for young couples. Just over 75 per cent of couples now live together prior to marriage and for many of them it is something they slide into rather than necessarily consciously deciding upon. When he or she begins to spend more nights at the other person’s house than their own, eventually it seems natural to stop paying two lots of rent. But while cohabitation is billed as an important way to get to know the other person and ensure a more secure future marriage, there is really no evidence to back that up. Social data shows cohabiting relationships last about 2.5 years before breaking up or converting to marriage but conversion rates to marriage are declining. Among couples who begin cohabiting, 50 per cent will have married and 50 per cent will have broken up within five years. For those who do eventually marry though, divorce rates are double those who do not cohabit before marriage. Why, then, is cohabitation the accepted norm, and at the same time completely useless in helping couples discern their future? The answer to both questions is the same: sex. When a couple moves
Foolish Wisdom
“a foolishness wiser than human wisdom” (1 Cor 1:25)
By Bernard Toutounji in together it is the fruit of that fact that they have begun engaging in sexual relations already. Cohabitation is about sex, let’s not be confused. The cohabiting couple make the subliminal statement to each other that “I don’t need to be married to you to have sex with you”. That is a very critical statement in the health of a relationship because sex goes from something once worthy of vows before God, to something not much bigger than deciding what one will have for lunch. The vow a cohabiting couple makes is this, “I promise to have sex with you until such a time that I meet someone else who I would rather have sex with”. I watched the movie The Vow recently, a romantic comedy/drama based on a true story. The main couple meet, begin dating and eventually the guy asks the girl to move in with him. The scene was portrayed as this special romantic moment where the man had finally stepped up and done the right thing. Rubbish! All he had really said was, “I want to have sex with you more regularly but I want the freedom to end it all in case it doesn’t work out”. How romantic is that?! So what about the couples who do live together but eventually marry? I question the freedom with which they entered into that marriage and their real desire to be together until death. Sex by its very nature is designed to bond a couple but when a relationship gets physi-
cal before its time, important issues like character, life philosophy, and compatibility go to the wayside. Consequently, everything is romanticised and it becomes difficult to remember the important issues, let alone talk about them. When a dating couple engage in sex, they disregard checking for an intellectual commitment and instead enter into an emotional and sexual one. Budding love is very fragile and can easily be crushed by lust. Just because a cohabiting couple may eventually make it to the altar (or more likely the garden) is not a sign they share a true love. Many couples who marry today do not choose marriage as freely as they might have, they often simply slide into it. It just became the next choice in a series of unwise choices. A cohabiting relationship is based on the principle that one can walk away at any time and this attitude is not easily dislodged just because a wedding certificate has been signed. Couples who cohabit certainly desire love and they undoubtedly try their best to love one another, but the problem is their best will not be good enough because they are relying on tainted and corrupted information. They learn how to have sex with the other person but not about the person; they desire to be loved but fail to understand how to love. If I was not interested in discerning any possible future with my girlfriend, then sure, we might as well shack up now. But my heart, like every other human heart, desires to find a love that will last a lifetime. I have a far diminished chance of finding that love if I take the easy option now and simply follow the social trend. Love is too precious a commodity to be cheapened and destroyed through the social evil that is cohabitation.
May 2, 2012, The Record
Page 17
Loving the journey: priest to the sick
An admirer of Mary and St Teresa of Avila, Fr Dishan entered the seminary with great peace and joy, writes Debbie Warrier.
I
WAS born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and migrated to Australia with my parents and siblings at 15. I attended Christian Brother’s College, St Kilda, then studied at Monash University, qualifying as a Civil Engineer. My association with Monash continued for another four years while I completed postgraduate studies (PhD) and worked as a research assistant and tutor. Yet I felt a call to the priesthood from an early age. My discernment process was a bit complicated and sometimes painful. I also had a strong desire to marry and raise my own family. I was engaged for six months when my then fiancée sensed that deep down I still wanted to be a priest. Ending the engagement was tough on both of us but I am sure it was the right thing to do. Otherwise, we would have ended up unhappy. In the end, it was the persistence of the call that finally convinced me. With great peace and joy, I entered Corpus Christi College Seminary in 2002 where I studied for three years. Archbishop Hart asked me to continue the last four years of my studies in Rome. After being ordained a deacon in St Peter’s
My
Vocation with Debbie Warrier
Basilica in Rome, I was ordained a priest in 2009 by Archbishop Hart in St Patrick’s Cathedral. I then commenced a short parish assignment at St Mary’s, Geelong before returning to Rome to complete my Licence in Sacred Theology. I now work as assistant priest in the partnered parishes of Braybrook and Maidstone in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. There are challenges working in a busy parish. The congregation is made up of many ethnic migrants and I have to adjust to the differences in culture but have loved my work from the beginning. As well as my pastoral work, I am on call at the Western General Hospital. It is a privilege comforting families and administering the Sacrament of the Sick. There are many graces
that flow from my ministry: I love watching Christ working through me and touching other people. I have a strong devotion to Our Lady which stems back to saying the family rosary. Mary accepted God’s will for her and responded in a radical way. She had great courage and was not afraid to seek clarity from him. I have learnt a lot from this and try to emulate her. I also love the Carmelite charism. I admire St Teresa of Avila, a spiritual giant. She championed interior prayer where one loves God through conversing with him, meditating on his words and contemplating his face. St Teresa said: “Mental prayer is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” I like to sit with God and let him speak to me. It is essential to spend time with Christ because I am bringing Christ to people. I only ever felt a calling to the diocesan priesthood; hence the choice of whom to join was straightforward. Being a priest has made me more people oriented and concerned about others’ feelings. I can feel God walking with me and I am loving the journey.
Fr Dishan Candappa, who found the call to the priesthood so strong, he ended his engagement. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Schools confront the globalisation of superficiality We have had more choices than we could handle, writes Bishop Greg O’Kelly, and we’ve been making the wrong ones.
W
E live in an Australia of burgeoning secularism, one where individual choice can be seen as its own justification. Within this context, educators of young people, particularly within the Catholic system, face two challenges in particular: the need to educate for choice and to educate for depth. Confronting today’s young people are choices of an extensive nature, far more than confronted their parents — not just choices of websites, or of TV stations, or choices of stores in shopping centres, but also concerning values and beliefs and lifestyles. A choice enables us to be free, but choice is not its own justification. Education about choice is a real challenge for those charged with forming the young. Five or six years ago, Allen Close wrote an article in the Weekend Australian in which he reflected on his generation which was then just touching 40. He was struck by the childlessness of so many of his social circle and of the failure of himself and others to have established sustained relationships. He wrote: “What happened that so many of us have ended up entering middle age the way we have, on a grim treadmill of hope and disappointment? “Our marriages ending, our families split asunder, our assumptions about life devolving into confusion and loneliness?” We had choice, is my answer. More, I would suggest, than most of us knew how to handle. We got selfish, or greedy or something. We left our partners because we could. We terminated our babies because we could. We discarded the rules, loosened the ties that bind, stretched the limits of the allowed, and this left us dependent on instincts, on our untutored human frailty. In the fight for freedom which we considered our right, we lost the quiet skills of commitment and relationships. We lost the gentle wisdom of
putting our own needs second ... the art of love. Unless there is education about discernment, the consideration of what directions and consequences choices will lead us to, students may select disastrous options or become mired in indifferentism. Another challenge is the need to educate for depth. When in Rome for the canonisation of Saint Mary MacKillop in 2010, the then recently deposed prime minister Kevin Rudd visited Fr Adolfo Nicolas SJ, the present Father-General of the Jesuit order. In the casual way that one employs when having morning tea with someone, Rudd asked Nicolas what he believed to be the major challenges facing western society. Fr Nicolas replied, ‘the globalisation of superficiality’.
In a world of massive and instant communications and distractions, it is possible never to go beneath the surface, never to go in to those
“In the fight for freedom which we considered our right, we lost the quiet skills of commitment and relationships.” deeper places where our humanity registers. In Year 12 classes, I used to employ the Cro-Magnon cave paintings which show the earliest
homo sapiens to be tool-makers, lovers, thinkers and worshippers. You can see evidence of the axe as the tool; see the lover in the flowers laid around the bodies of the dead; the thinker in the scratchings and calculations made on the walls; the artist in the paintings; and the worshipper in the subjects conveyed by the paintings. In essence, one might say that nothing has changed, human nature appears to have a consistency and a constancy. There can be no full humanity without those dimensions of creativity, of love, of thought, and of worship. To be fully human, we must develop on all fronts. To help our young people mature, we should guide them on what Teilhard de Chardin called that most difficult of journeys, the
journey within. Educators live in a world these days of NAPLAN, of issues affecting numeracy and literacy, and of where their school comes on a league table. This is increasingly to the detriment of education for depth and discernment. I do think it is time for principals to look closely at the phenomenon and to see what can be done about it. Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ is the bishop of Port Pirie. He has been the headmaster of two Australian Jesuit schools and served widely as an educational adviser. This article contains edited extracts from his opening address at the 2012 Conference of Catholic Secondary Principals of Australia and his address to the 2011 National Catholic Education Conference. - eureekastreet.com.au
Page 18
May 2, 2012, The Record
PANORAMA SATURDAY, MAY 5 Day with Mary 9am-5pm at St Jerome Parish, 36 Troode St, Munster. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. 9am video; 10.10am holy Mass; Reconciliation, procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic adoration, sermons on Eucharist and on Our Lady, rosaries and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286. Vigil for Life 8.30am at St Augustine’s, Gladstone St, Rivervale. Commencing with holy Mass, followed by rosary procession and vigil at nearby abortion clinic, led by Fr Paul Carey SSC. Please join us to pray for the conversion of hearts and an end to abortion. Enq Helen 9402 0349.
NEXT WEEK SUNDAY, MAY 6 2012 Busselton May Rosary Pilgrimage in Honour of Our Lady 12.30pm at Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine, Bove’s Farm, Roy Rd, Jindong, Busselton. Begins with hymn singing and concelebrated Mass led by Fr Tony at 1pm. Followed by rosary procession, benediction and afternoon tea. Note: Roy Rd runs off Bussell Hwy, approx halfway between Busselton and Margaret River. Enq and bus bookings: Francis 0404 893 877 or 9459 3873. Parish Mission 6pm at St Joseph’s Parish, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean. Presenting a parish mission entitled To Serve is to Reign by Fr Joseph Aytona, Fathers of Mercy. Five consecutive nights, confession followed by presentation and benediction prayer service. Except the last night on Thursday, 5.30pm confession, 6pm holy Mass followed by closing dinner. Bring a plate and RVSP is needed for dinner. Topics include The Holy Eucharist, God’s Infinite Mercy, The Church: Mother and Teacher, The Universal Call to Holiness and Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Enq: 9379 2691 or stjosephs.bassendean@perthcatholic.org.au. Divine Mercy 1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Parish, 25 Windsor St, East Perth. Celebrating 20 years of Divine Mercy devotions in the Archdiocese of Perth with thanksgiving. Mass will be celebrated by Fr Marcellinus Meilak OFM and Fr Johnson Malayil CRS. The afternoon concludes with veneration of first class relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Followed by refreshments. Enq: John 9457 7771. Latin Mass 2pm at Good Shepherd Parish, 42 Streich Ave, Kelmscott. Enq: John 9390 6646. Organ Recital at St Paul’s Parish 4pm at St Paul’s Parish, 106 Rookwood St, Mt Lawley. Dominic Perissonotto will play the Dedication Recital for the new digital pipe organ. Enq: Fr Deeter on 9271 5253. TUESDAY, MAY 8 Spirituality Seminar – Norma Woodcock 7-8pm at St Benedict’s School Hall, Alness St, Applecross. “Where love is, God is. How do we find both?” Presented by Norma Woodcock. View a weekly short video broadcast at www.thefaith. org.au. Cost: collection. Accredited - CEO - Faith Formation for ongoing renewal - $10 reg. Enq: 9487 1772 or www.normawoodcock.com. SATURDAY, MAY 12 Divine Mercy 2.30pm at St Francis Xavier’s Parish, Windsor St, East Perth. Mass will be offered by the main celebrant Fr Marcellinus Meilak OFM. Divine Mercy prayers followed by veneration of first class relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Followed by refreshments. Enq: John 9457 7771.
What’s on around the Archdiocese of Perth, where and when
Two Hearts Fundraising Lunch 12-3pm at Bali Modern Cuisine Restaurant, U4/1163 Albany Hwy, Vic Park. Special guest Fr Ronan Murphy. Door prizes and raffles. Enq and booking: Vicky 0400 282 357 or Nick 0428 953 471 or John/Joy 9344 2609. Meditative Prayer in the style of Taize 7-8pm at St Joseph's Convent Chapel, 16 York St, South Perth. Chapel doors open at 6.30pm. Remembering the 21st Anniversary of Sr Irene McCormack’s death in Peru, includes prayer, chants, scripture reading and silence in candlelight. Bring a friend and a torch. SATURDAY, MAY 26 Africa Day Inauguration Celebration 9.30am at North Perth Monastery, 190 Vincent St, North Perth. Mass followed by entertainment. Bring a plate to share. Drums are already being warmed, all welcome for music and dance. Enq: Bibiana 0458 945 444 or Rose 0409 688 547 or Patience 0411 667 353. SUNDAY, MAY 27 Taizé Prayer Evening 7-8pm at St Lawrence Parish, Balcatta. Spend an hour listening to simple music (canons), short readings from the scriptures and intercession prayer. Reflect on the mercy of God in silence. Enq: Fr Irek Czech SDS or parish office Tues - Thur, 9am2.30pm 9344 7066. SATURDAY, JUNE 16; SUNDAY, JUNE 17 Books Books Books 10am-4pm at Myaree Parish, Evershed St, Myaree. Pater Noster School/ Parish Hall.
REGULAR EVENTS EVERY SUNDAY Gate of Heaven Catholic Radio Join the Franciscans of the Immaculate from 7.309pm on Radio Fremantle 107.9FM for Catholic radio broadcast of EWTN and our own live shows. Enq: radio@ausmaria.com.
Novena to God the Father 7.30pm at St Joachim’s parish hall, Victoria Park. Novena followed by reflection and discussions on forthcoming Sunday gospel. Enq: Jan 9284 1662. EVERY WEDNESDAY Holy Spirit of Freedom Community 7.30pm at The Church of Christ, 111 Stirling St, Perth. We are delighted to welcome everyone to attend our Holy Spirit of Freedom praise meeting. Enq: 042 3907 869 or hsofperth@gmail.com. Bible Study at Cathedral 6.15pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, 17 Victoria Sq, Perth. Deepen your faith through reading and reflecting on holy Scripture by Fr Jean-Noel. Meeting room beneath Cathedral. Enq: Marie 9223 1372. Holy Hour - Catholic Youth Ministry CYM is back in 2012, followed by $5 supper and fellowship. Mass at 5.30pm and Holy Hour (adoration) at 6.30pm at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary St, Highgate. Enq: www.cym.com or 9422 7912. EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY
EVERY SECOND WEDNESDAY
St Mary’s Cathedral Youth Group – Fellowship with Pizza 5pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, 17 Victoria Sq, Perth. Begins with youth Mass followed by fellowship downstairs in parish centre. Bring a plate to share. Enq: Bradley on youthfromsmc@gmail.com.
Chaplets of Divine Mercy 7.30pm at St Thomas More Parish, Dean Rd, Bateman. A beautiful, prayerful, sung devotion. Includes exposition followed by benediction. Enq: George 9310 9493 or 9325 2010 (w).
EVERY SECOND SUNDAY
Divine Mercy 11am at Ss John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Pray the rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy and for the consecrated life, especially here in John Paul Parish. Concludes with veneration of the first class relic of St Faustina. Please do come and join us in prayer. Enq: John 9457 7771.
Healing Hour 7-8pm at St Lawrence Parish, Balcatta. Join us for songs of praise and worship, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and prayers for the sick. Enq: Fr Irek Czech SDS or parish office Tues - Thur, 9am2.30pm 9344 7066. EVERY THIRD SUNDAY Oblates of St Benedict – Meeting 2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. For all interested in studying the Rule of St Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life of today for laypeople: Vespers and afternoon tea afterwards. Enq: Secretary 9457 5758. EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY
UPCOMING
Latin Mass 2pm at Good Shepherd Parish, 42 Streich Ave, Kelmscott. Enq: John 9390 6646.
EVERY FIRST TUESDAY Short MMP Cenacle for Priests 2pm at Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Enq: Fr Watt 9376 1734.
EVERY FIRST SUNDAY
A ministry to the un-churched 12.30-1.30pm at St John’s Pro-Cathedral, Victoria Ave, Perth (opposite Church offices). With charismatic praise, and prayer teams available. Help us ‘reach out to the pagans’ or soak in the praise. Enq: Dan 9398 4973.
SUNDAY, MAY 20
Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal 6pm at Pater Noster Church, Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm followed by benediction. Enq: John 040 8952 194.
Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation 2pm at Shrine, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Commencing with rosary followed by benediction. Reconciliation is available before every celebration. Anointing of the sick administered during Mass every second Sunday of the month. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation last Sunday of the month. Side entrance to church and shrine open daily between 9am-5pm. Enq Sacri 9447 3292.
Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life 2-3pm at Infant Jesus Parish, Wellington St, Morley. The hour includes exposition of the blessed Eucharist, silent prayer, scripture and prayers of intercession. Come and pray that those discerning vocations can hear clearly God’s call.
FRIDAY, MAY 18 TO SUNDAY, MAY 20
EVERY TUESDAY
Holy Hour Prayer for Priests 7.30-8.30pm at Holy Spirit Parish, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. All welcome. Enq: Linda 9341 3079.
St Padre Pio Prayer Day 8.30am at St Lawrence Parish, Balcatta. St Padre Pio DVD in parish centre. 10am exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, rosary, Divine Mercy, silent adoration and benediction. 11am holy Mass, St Padre Pio Liturgy. Confession available. 12pm. Bring a plate for shared lunch. Enq: Des 6278 1540.
Opening the door to your heart 6pm at St John of God Retreat Centre, 47 Gloucester Cr, Shoalwater. A reflective weekend for young women seeking the path to the Sacred which will lead us through many doors. Life provides us with lots of challenges that sometimes can close the most important door, the door that forms who we can become. The door opener is Christ. This weekend will assist in taking a closer look at the door of your heart as you grow in intimacy with the door opener. Sunday begins at 1pm. Enq: Sr Ann 0409 602 927 or Sr Kathy 0418 926 590.
LAST MONDAY OF THE MONTH Be Still in His Presence – Ecumenical Christian Program 7.30-8.45pm at St Swithun Anglican Church, 195 Lesmurdie St, Lesmurdie (hall behind church). Begins with songs of praise and worship, silent time, lectio divina, small group sharing and a cuppa at the end. Enq: Lynne 9293 3848 or 043 5252 941.
EVERY SECOND AND FOURTH MONDAY
EVERY LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH Filipino Mass 3pm at Notre Dame Church, cnr Daley and Wright Sts, Cloverdale. Please bring a plate to share for socialisation after Mass. Enq: Fr Nelson Po 0410 843 412, Elsa 0404 03 8483. EVERY MONDAY Evening Adoration and Mass 7pm at St Thomas Parish, Claremont, cnr Melville St and College Rd. Eucharistic adoration, reconciliation, evening prayer and benediction, followed by Mass and night prayer at 8pm. Enq: Kim on 9384 0598 or email to claremont@perthcatholic.org.au.
Novena to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop 7-7.45pm at Blessed Mary MacKillop Parish, cnr Cassowary Dr and Pelican Pde, Ballajura. Begins with Mass, novena prayers and benediction. Followed by healing prayers and anointing of the sick. Enq: Madi 9249 9093 or Gerry 0417 187 240.
EVERY THURSDAY
St Mary’s Cathedral Praise Meeting 7.45pm every Thursday at the Legion of Mary’s Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Includes praise, song and healing ministry. Enq: Kay 9382 3668 or fmi@flameministries.org. Group Fifty - Charismatic Renewal Group 7.30pm at the Redemptorist Monastery, 150 Vincent St, North Perth. Includes prayer, praise and Mass. Enq: Elaine 9440 3661. EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH Prayer in Style of Taizé 7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Parish, 3 Kitchener St, North Beach. Includes prayer, song and silence in candlelight – symbol of Christ the light of the world. Taizé info: www.taize.fr. Enq: secretary 9448 4888 or 9448 4457. EVERY FIRST FRIDAY Healing Mass 7pm at St Peter’s Parish, Inglewood. Praise and worship, exposition and Eucharistic adoration, benediction and anointing of the sick followed by holy Mass and fellowship. Celebrants Fr Dat and invited priests. 6.45pm Reconciliation. Enq: Mary Ann 0409 672 304, Prescilla 043 3457 352 and Catherine 043 3923 083. Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life 7pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins St, Glendalough. Mass followed by adoration with Fr Doug Harris. All welcome. Refreshments provided. Healing and Anointing Mass 8.45am Pater Noster Church, Evershed St, Myaree. Begins with reconciliation followed by 9am Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, anointing of the sick and prayers to St Peregrine. Enq: Joy 9337 7189.
Catholic Faith Renewal Evening 7.30pm at Ss John and Paul Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton –Songs of Praise and Prayer, sharing by a priest followed by thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments after Mass. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913 or Ann 0412 166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@gmail.com. Communion of Reparation All Night Vigils 7pm-1.30am at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee St, Mosman Park or St Gerard Majella Church, cnr Ravenswood Dr/Majella Rd, Westminster (Mirrabooka). The Vigils consist of two Masses, Adoration, benediction, prayers and Confession in reparation for the outrages committed against the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357 or Fr Giosue 9349 2315or John/Joy 9344 2609. EVERY SECOND FRIDAY OF THE MONTH Discover the spirituality of St Francis of Assisi 12pm at St Brigid’s Catholic Parish Centre. The Secular Franciscans of Midland Fraternity meet for lunch followed by 1-3pm meeting. Enq: Antoinette 9297 2314. EVERY FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Healing Mass 12.35pm at St Thomas Parish, cnr Melville St and College Rd, Claremont. Spiritual leader Fr Waddell. Enq: Kim 9384 0598, claremont@perthcatholic.org. au. EVERY LAST SATURDAY Novena Devotions – Our Lady Vailankanni of Good Health 5pm at Holy Trinity Parish, 8 Burnett St, Embleton. Followed by Mass at 6pm. Enq: George 9272 1379. EVERY FOURTH SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Voice of the Voiceless Healing Mass 12pm at St Bridgid’s Parish, 211 Aberdeen St, Northbridge. Bring a plate to share after Mass. Enq: Frank 9296 7591 or 0408 183 325.
GENERAL Free Divine Mercy Image for Parishes High quality oil painting and glossy print – Divine Mercy Promotions. Images are of very high quality. For any parish willing to accept and place inside the church. Oil paintings - 160 x 90cm and glossy print - 100 x 60cm. Enq: Irene 9417 3267 (w). Sacred Heart Pioneers Is there anyone out there who would like to know more about the Sacred Heart pioneers? If so, please contact Spiritual Director Fr Doug Harris 9444 6131 or John 9457 7771. St Philomena’s Chapel 3/24 Juna Drive, Malaga. Mass of the day: Monday 6.45am. Vigil Masses: Mon-Fri 4.45pm. Enq: Fr David 9376 1734. Mary MacKillop Merchandise Available for sale from the Mary MacKillop Centre. Enq: Sr Maree 041 4683 926 or 08 9334 0933.
Is your son or daughter unsure of what to do this year? Suggest a Certificate IV course to discern God’s purpose for their life. They will also learn more about the Catholic faith and develop skills in communication and leadership. Acts 2 College of Mission & Evangelisation (National Code 51452). Enq: Jane 9202 6859. AA Alcoholics Anonymous Is alcohol costing you more than just money? Enq: AA 3253 5666. Saints and Sacred Relics Apostolate Invite SSRA, Perth invites interested parties, parish priests, leaders of religious communities, lay associations, to organise relic visitations to their own parishes, communities, etc. We have available authenticated relics, mostly first-class, of Catholic saints and blesseds including Sts Mary Mackillop, Padre Pio, Anthony of Padua, Therese of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe and Simon Stock and Blessed Pope John Paul II. Free of charge and all welcome. Enq: Giovanny 0478 201 092 or ssra-perth@ catholic.org. Enrolments, Year 7, 2014 La Salle College is now accepting enrolments for Year 7, 2014. For a prospectus and enrolment form please contact college reception on 9274 6266 or email lasalle@lasalle.wa.edu.au. Pellegrini Books Wanted An order of Sisters in Italy is looking for the following: The Living Pyx of Jesus, Fervourings From Galilee’s Hills, Fervourings From the LoveBroken Heart of Christ, Fervourings From the Lips of the Mast, Listening to the Indwelling Presence, Sheltering the Divine Outcast, Daily Inspection and Cleansing of the Living Temple of God, and Staunch Friends of Jesus, the Lover of Youth. If you are able to help, please contact Justine on 0419 964 624 or justine@waterempire.com. Secondhand Electric Organ Good working condition. Angela Vigolo would like to give it away to a good home; maybe a parish would like it? Enq: Angela 9276 9317.
MAY ONLY EVENTS EVERY THURSDAY Mary, Mother of Sorrows prayer group 1-2.30pm at St Benedict’s Parish, cnr Ardross St and Canning Hwy, Ardross. “Spirituality in times of violence” course presented by Stephanie Woods, followed by refreshments. Cost: donation. Enq: Judy 9364 9249 or Marie 9332 8179. WEDNESDAY, 16; THURSDAY, 17; SATURDAY, 19 ‘Taking good care of our Hearts’ Seminars Times: Wed 16: 7.30-9pm; Thurs 17: 7.30-9pm; Sat 19: 9am-12pm ‘Taking good care of our Hearts’ presented by visiting Jesuit Priest, author and editor of ‘Madonna’ Magazine: Fr Chris Gleeson. Mary MacKillop Room (Multi-Purpose) John XXIII College. Cost: $10 per talk. Enq and registration: Murray 9383 0444 or graham.murray@johnxxiii. edu.au.
Financially Disadvantaged People Requiring Low Care Aged Care Placement The Little Sisters of the Poor community - set in beautiful gardens in the suburb of Glendalough. “Making the elderly happy, that is everything!” St Jeanne Jugan (foundress). Registration and enq: Sr Marie 9443 3155. Resource Centre for Personal Development The Holistic Health Seminar “The Instinct to Heal’’, every Tuesday 3-4.30pm; and RCPD2 “Internalise Principles of Successful Relationships and Use Emotional Intelligence and Communication Skills” every Tuesday 4.30-6.30pm, 197 High St, Fremantle - Tuesdays 3-4.30pm. Enq: Eva 0409 405 585. Bookings are essential. Courses held at The Faith Centre in 2012 450 Hay St, Perth 1. RCPD2 - Internalise Principles of Successful Relationships and Use Emotional Intelligence and Communication Skills This course provides knowledge of principles that, if applied, will improve all relationships. Skills of self-analysis are taught as well as communication skills. Mondays: 5-7pm, until 10 Dec. For enquiries or bookings ph Paul 0402 222 578. 2. RCPD4 – Increase Personal and Spiritual Awareness and Improve Relationships This course promotes self-awareness and spiritual growth. Emotional development is explained in order to improve understanding between persons. Study of Psychology and Theology. Mondays: 10am–12.30pm, until 10 Dec. For enquiries or bookings ph Eva 0409 405 585. 3. Higher Certificate in Biblical Studies The Higher Certificate of Biblical Studies is a distance education program that can be followed in your own home at your own pace with periodic face-to-face contact workshops. Tutorial assistance is available as required. It is equivalent to a one-year tertiary course, although it is recommended that you aim to complete it in two years. For enquiries and enrolment, ph The Faith Centre on 6140 2420.
Panorama Deadline Friday, 5pm GREAT GIFTS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS FROM THE RECORD BOOKSHOP
See Page 20 for the newest and most exclusive books for 2012
Classifieds
May 2, 2012, The Record
Page 19
CLASSIFIEDS Deadline: 11am Monday RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS
ACCOMMODATION
CATHOLICS CORNER Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for Baptism, Communion and Confirmation. Ph 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Rd, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat.
Practising Catholic professional woman 54 years seeking accommodation in/near Fremantle in return for housekeeping/babysitting/other duties. Currently working in childcare so POLICE CLEARANCE, WWCC and references all available. Can’t afford rent but I’m a great cook, come with own sewing machine.
RICH HARVEST YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, Baptism/Communion apparel, religious vestments, etc? Visit us at 39 Hulme Ct (off McCoy St), Myaree. Ph 9329 9889 (after 10.30am Mon to Sat). We are here to serve. KINLAR VESTMENTS www.kinlarvestments.com.au Quality handmade and decorated vestments: albs, stoles, chasubles, altar linen, banners, etc. 12 Favenc Way, Padbury. By appointment only. Ph Vickii on 9402 1318, 0409 114 093 or kinlar.vestments@ gmail.com.
TAX SERVICE QUALITY TAX RETURNS PREPARED by registered tax agent with over 35 years’ experience. Call Tony Marchei on 0412 055 184 for appointment. AXXO Accounting & Management, Unit 20/222 Walter Rd, Morley.
ACCOMMODATION HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION Esperance holiday accommodation, three bedroom house, fully furnished. Phone 08 9076 5083.
FURNITURE REMOVAL
I’m a professional family and adultolescence counsellor, love reading books out loud and have a great sense of humour. Pls ring Rebecca after hours 0449 854 144.
TRADE SERVICES BRENDAN HANDYMAN SERVICES Home, building maintenance, repairs and renovations. NOR. Ph 0427 539 588. PROPERTY MAINTENANCE Your handyperson. No job too small. SOR. Jim 0413 309 821. BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952. PICASSO PAINTING Top service. Ph 0419 915 836, 9345 0557 or fax 9345 0505. PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd For all your residential, commercial painting requirements. Ph Tom Perrott 9444 1200. LAWNMOWING AND WEED SPRAYING Garden clean ups and rubbish removal. Get rid of bindii, jojo and other unsightly weeds. Based in Tuart Hill. Enq: 9443 9243 or 0402 326 637.
ALL AREAS. Competitive rates. Mike Murphy Ph 0416 226 434.
MISSION ACTIVITIES LEARN HOW TO MAKE ROSARY BEADS for the missions and special rosaries for family and friends. Phone: (02) 6822 1474 or visit our website: OurLadysRosaryMakers.org.au.
BOOK BINDING NEW BOOK BINDING, general book repairs; rebinding; new ribbons; old leather bindings restored. Tydewi Bindery 0422 968 572.
C R O S S W O R D
SETTLEMENTS ARE YOU BUYING OR SELLING real estate or a business? Why not ask Excel Settlements for a quote for your settlement. We offer reasonable fees, excellent service and no hidden costs. Ring Excel on 9481 4499 for a quote. Check our web site on www.excelsettlements.com.au.
CHURCH FUNDRAISING BUILDING A PRESBYTERY Would you like to help us build a presbytery for our two priests in Canning Vale. We are holding a car raffle with limited tickets. Cost of a ticket is $20. Please contact Jim Wood on 0406 319 500 or 9456 4280.
ACROSS 2 “He is ___!” 6 “…and darkness was upon the face of the ___” (Gen 1:2) 8 Eternal ___ 9 “Let us make man in our ___” (Gen 1:26) 10 Liturgical year start 11 Protection or liberation from the power of the devil 13 St Jean ___ de LaSalle 15 The Lord’s Day 17 Minor Prophet 19 God’s sign to Noah 22 Service book 24 St Rose of Lima or St Martin de Porres 27 It is worn around the neck 29 “___ Night” 31 St ___ Stein 32 “___ Lord, we are perishing.” (Mt 8:25) 33 “…___ to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Ps 103:8) 34 What you do not use in unleavened bread DOWN 1 “Whatever you ___ on earth will be bound in heaven…” 2 Turned away from sin 3 Oddly enough, there have been only five popes by this name 4 Jonah’s destination (Jon 1:1-2) 5 Return of our Lord 6 A member of the clergy
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“…to the ___ of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Tunic-like vestment Marian month Type of monastery Diocese of Honolulu greeting Word of praise and joy Like Catholic author Mary Higgins Clark Diocese, in an Eastern rite OT prophetic book Lot, to Abraham St Therese of Lisieux is a patron of this country Tool of trade for Peter and Andrew Monk’s room Church section
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