FEBRUARY 17, 2002, vol 52, no 4 by CatholicNews

6 You received without paying, give without pay. 9

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Vol. 52 No. 4

The indissolubility of

W o rk in g to g e th e r ifor- h arm o n y

a focus on Lent P O P E ’S M ESSAGE FOR L E N T 2002

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better time is there than Xlent for offering this testim ony of gratuitousness which the w orld so badly needs? J

Dear Brothers and Sisters. 1 The free gift of the Salvific Plan We are preparing to follow the path of Lent which will lead us to the sol emn celebration of the central mys tery of faith, the mystery of the Pas sion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. We are preparing for the fa vourable time which the Church of fers the faithful, so that they may con template the work of salvation ac complished by our Lord on the Cross. The heavenly Father’s saving plan was completed in the free and total gift to us of the only begotten Son. “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (Jn 10:18), Jesus declares, leaving no doubt that he decides to sacrifice his own life for the salvation of the world. In confirmation of so great a gift of love, the Redeemer goes on: “Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Lent, the providential time for conversion, helps us to contem plate this stupendous mystery of love. It is a return to the roots of our faith, so that by pondering the meas ureless gift of grace which is Re demption, we cannot fail to realize that all has been given to us by God's loving initiative. In order to meditate upon this aspect of the mystery of salvation, I have chosen as the theme for this year’s Lenten Message the Lord’s words: “ You received with out paying, give w ithout p ay" (Mt

10:8). 2 The mystery of God's love God has freely given us his Son: who has deserved or could ever deserve such a privilege’? St Paul says: “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, but they are justi-

fied by his grace as a gift” (Rom 3:2324). In his infinite mercy God loved us, not permitting himself to be blocked by the grievous state of sepa ration to which man had been con signed by sin. He graciously stooped down to our weakness, and made it the cause of a new and still more won drous outpouring of his love. The Church does not cease to proclaim this mystery of infinite good ness, exalting God's free choice and his desire not to condemn man, but to draw him back into communion with himself. “You received w ithout paying, give without pay. ” May these words of the Gospel echo in the heart of all Christian communities on their peni tential pilgrimage to Easter. May Lent, recalling the mystery of the Lord’s Death and Resurrection, lead

all Christians to marvel in their heart of hearts at the greatness of such a gift. Yes! We have received without pay. Is not our entire life nuarked by God’s kindness? The beginning of life and its marvellous dewelopment: this is a gift. And because it is gift, life can never be regardesd as a possession or as private prcpperty, even if the capabilities we novw have to improve the quality of life cam lead us to think that man is the “rmaster” of life. The achievements oi meed/c/'ne and biotechnology can sometimes lead man to think of himself as his own creator, and to succumb to the temptation of tampering with “the tree of life (Gn 3:24) It is also worth repeating here that not everything that is technically pos

► A rch dio cese of Singapore home page, Veritas: h ttp ://w w w .c a th o lic .o rg .s g .

sible is morally acceptable. Scientific work aimed at securing a quality of life more in keeping with human dig nity is admirable, but it must never be forgotten that human life is a gift, and that it remains precious even when marked by suffering and limita tions. It is a gift to be accepted and to be loved at all times, received with out pay and to be placed without pay at the service of others. 3 Life is redeemed in Christ In setting before us the example of Christ offering himself for us on Calvary, Lent helps us in a unique way to understand that life is re deemed in him. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus renews our life and makes us sharers in the divine life which draws us into the intimate life

of God and enables us to experience his love for us. This is a sublime gift, which the Christian cannot fail to pro claim with joy. In his Gospel, St John writes: “This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). This life is passed on to us in Baptism, and we must nourish it con stantly by responding to it faithfully, both individually and communally, through prayer, the celebration of the Sacraments, and evangelical witness. Since we have received this life freely, we must in turn offer it freely to our brothers and sisters. This is what Jesus asked of the disciples when he sent them out as his wit nesses in the world: “You received without paying, give without pay.” And the first gift to be given is the gift of a holy life, bearing witness to the freely given love of God. May the Lenten journey be for all believers an unceasing summons to enter more deeply into this special voca tion of ours. As believers, we must be open to a life marked by “gra tuitousness”, by the giving of our selves unreservedly to God and neighbour. • Continued on Page 16

In te rn et ed itio n of The C a th o lic News: h ttp ://w w w .c ath o lic.o rg .sg /C N .

FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

LOCAL MIGRANT COMMUNITY

Singapore American School to teach computer skills to migrant workers By Mel Diamse-Lee FOREIGN domestic and industrial workers in Singapore will have a chance to learn basic and advanced computer skills from Singapore Ameri can School (SAS) volunteer teachers over five weeks from March 3. The basic course can accommo date 72 students. The advanced course is meant for 48 students who completed the basic course last year. Each of the students will have a computer to work on during the course. Mrs Linda Clarke, who coordi nates the project said this pro gramme is part of SAS’s social serv ices programme. “Each year, we usually organise a social service project and since last year we have worked with migrant workers together with the Com m ission for M igrants and Itinerant People,” Mrs Clarke said. In addition to the eight SAS vol unteer teachers, some 20 students will also assist the migrant workers. “The students have been enjoying themselves since they got into it,” Mrs Clarke remarked proudly. Last year, Mrs Clarke helped to teach computer skills at the Madonna Skills Centre run by the Church’s Com m ission for M igrants and Itinerant People. “There were 2 or 3 students to

one computer. It was frustrating for them,” she noted. Being a teacher in computers, she had to try to remember the very basics of the skills. “It’s a kind of going back into cold water. It made you really want to teach the basics, especially when you know that very young children nowadays are already using computers and these people are just learning. “But the women’s enthusiasm and humour while at class was re ally good. It makes you want to re lax. It feels good to know you are doing something that is helpful to the migrant workers,” Mrs Clarke added. The SAS Introduction to Com puters and SAS Level II Computer courses will be held at the Singa pore American School at 40 Wood lands Street 41. Registration will be held at the Church of St Anthony, 25 Wood lands Avenue 1 on Feb 17 and 24 from 10 am - 3 pm. Registration requirements: passport and pho tocopy, work permit and photo copy, two recent passport photos. Registration fee: $30. Those registering for the ad vanced course must bring their SAS Introdution to Computers pass card or certificate of completion, pass port and $30 registration fee. □

You may be the only Gospel your neighbour will ever read Francis o f Assisi was challenged to answer the call o f the Gospel. Today, his dynamic way o f life, Christ-centred and out-going, still seeks your response.

Professional group formed for Catholic Sri Lankan nationals By Bridget Lew and Darshanie Alles SRI LANKAN Catholic professionals formed a fellowship and sharing group during a Family Day Mass for Sri Lankan Catholics on Jan 27. Good Shepherd Sister Mary Susila Thomas, who ministers to Sri Lankan professional, non-profes sional skilled and domestic workers here, told the gathering that the pro fessional group was necessary to provide support to their needy coun trymen in Singapore. To highlight the need for the group, a young professional, Sanjeevi Fernando, shared how she experienced loneliness during her initial months in Singapore. She missed the family and community support so prevalent in Sri Lanka. There was a social vacuum in her life in Singapore, she added. Her experience was also echoed in the sharing of other participants who went through similar struggles. The 30 participants to the gath ering expressed their support of the group, which will focus on the spir itual, emotional and values-formation needs of Sri Lankans, especially the domestic workers. Many of the pro fessionals offered their services to Laksathe Skills Development Pro gramme for domestic workers. Meanwhile, some 150 students of Laksathe Skills Centre received their certificates during the Dec 30 graduation ceremony at Marymount

A Sri Lankan woman preceeds Sri Lankan High Commissioner Chitranganee Waglswara (left) and Archbishop Nicholas Chia during the Dec 30 graduation of Sri Lankan migrant workers. Convent School. The occasion was graced by Archbishop Nicholas Chia, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Vener able Gunaratana Thera and other guests. A team of Singaporean and for eign nationals were acknowledged with tokens of appreciation for their labour of love in the service of the Laksethe Sri Lankan community. It was touching to hear the speech of a Buddhist Sri Lankan domestic worker who described how she was welcomed by the Catholic community and given the opportunity to learn computer and hairstyling skills. She said that with her newly-ac

quired skills she hopes to find em ployment back home in the future. She also expressed her gratitude to her peers’ employers for trusting them and giving them time off to join the skills training. The event highlights included a drama based on the gospel story of the woman at the well .The perform ance presented by the multi-national members of Laksathe emphasized the importance of spiritual values in daily living. □ The Sri Lankan Catholic Com munity meets on the 4th Sunday of every month at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, where Mass is celebrated for them at 5pm. □

Training for carers of AIDS/HIV patients soon By Mel Diamse-Lee MR BENNY Leo is a regular visitor at the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC). He befriends HIV/AIDS patients and their families, counsels them and sometimes even feeds the patients. Mr Leo is an HIV/AIDS patient care volunteer who went through the compulsory Basic Volunteer Training provided last year by CDC. "The training was very good and comprehensive,” Mr Leo said of the six- weekend session. “It was a good introduction to the disease as well as the emotional, legal and health care aspects of it.” This year’s Basic Volunteer Train ing will run from March 3 to April 13. It is designed to prepare volunteers to be helpers and care givers to HIV/

AIDS patients and their families. Volunteers will be taught how to care for in-patients and out-patients; how to promote awareness and compassion to people affected with AIDS; how to provide emotional and pastoral support to families; and help in fund raising activities to support the needy patients. This time too, leaders from reli gious communities will be invited to share their perspective on the dis ease and how volunteers can best provide spiritual and pastoral care by being mindful of the religious beliefs of the AIDS/HIV patient. For volunteers interested in pro viding a support group, there will be advance training in stress manage ment and aromatherapy.

The AIDS/HIV Volunteer Train ing Programme begins on March 3 at the CDC Patient Care Centre. To register, contact Ms Mary Stevens (357-7949). □

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FEBRUARY 1 7 -2 4 , 2002 THE CATHOLIC NEWS

LOCAL

Religions working together for harmony Je w ish , Christian and M u slim speakers grapple w ith inter-faith issues in th e search fo r co m m o n ground during a re ce n t dialogue session. By Christopher Khoo

‘T ’fiere is a ({ire need of a gfofaf news network tfiat ref feets tfie vafues ancf morafity we fefieve in withoutjpus fling fo r any re figions yoint of view/

HOW should different religions view themselves vis-a-vis other religions? How can religions work together to promote harmony in society? These and other issues were tackled by a Christian, Jewish and Muslim speaker at a recent InterReligious Organisation (IRO) faith sharing session entitled People of the Book - Together towards Har mony. The term, “People of the Book”, as the speakers explained later, commonly referred to Jews, Mus lims and Christians who each have their own sacred book - the Torah Retired Methodist Bishop Yap Kim Hao: ‘IRO must for Jews, Koran for Muslims and Assoc Prof Syed Farid Alatas: ‘Real peace and har encourage those faith communities who hold tradi Bible for Christians. There are com mony come out of accepting irreconcilable differ tional exclusive claims to seriously and honestly re mon references and similarities ences and yet working together’ on common issues. - Muslim Assoc Prof examine them.’ within these sacred books and the Syed Farid Alatas three religions have a common an cestry in the person of Abraham, they noted. “Real peace and harmony come Some 60 people of different out of accepting irreconcilable dif faiths attended the event held at the ferences and yet working together” Islamic Centre Jamiyah Singapore on common issues, he asserted. at Geylang. It was the first of three Some of these relate to the IRO inter-faith sharing sessions dignity of the human person, the aimed at acquainting Singaporeans family, marriage and morality which with the different religions here. all believers face regardless of re Rabbi Morderchai Abergel, spir ligious affiliation, he said. Believers itual leader of the Jewish commu of all faiths face common problems nity in Singapore, shared how like juvenile delinquency, sexual im Judaism focuses very much on “re morality and drug abuse and can ligious pluralism”. work together to tackle them, he In Judaism, one does not think suggested. of religion as an “absolute truth”, he He recommended that believers said, which would lead to viewing can work to together on media and those of other faiths as “second Rabbi Morderchai Abergel said Judaism focuses Mr Daniel Chu (left) of the Baha’i faith chaired the education-related issues for the bet best or second class” . A man of very much on religious pluralism’. panel discussion during the Feb 4 sharing session. terment of society. “There is a dire faith views religion as “something need of a global news network - a that is a relative truth. Of course, it’s CNN - that reflects the values and speak the voice of religious plural “we should not be working towards those of us who do not share this absolute to the person who follows morality we believe in without push ism, not just to pay lip service, but solving or ironing out”. exclusive view to enlighten the mem it, but not absolute to another ing for any religious point of view,” He said that claiming that all to impart it as a value.” bers within our own religious com person”, he shared. he suggested. religions ultimately espouse the Retired Methodist Bishop Dr Yap munity that we do not have the “It doesn’t mean to say that we He added that People of the “same truth” or that each religion Kim Hao, in his sharing, noted how whole truth and that religious truth have to relinquish whatever is spe Book should even extend their dia “has some of the truth” may force although Judaism, Christianity and also can be found in other religious cial in a religion... There’s beauty to logue to secular groups in society believers to compromise or dilute Islam recognized the work of some communities." see that in being different, we also and work with those which share their beliefs as well as thwart inter Secondly, “IRO must educate of the patriarchs and have similar acknowledge that there is a certain the same values. □ faith dialogue. its constituent members of the need teachings, tragically, “there has been unity - in the sense that there is no for dialogue and to interact with one a long history of conflict tainted with monopoly of truth, faith or God.” another in our common search for blood between these three religious Rabbi Abergel also mentioned truth,” he suggested. “We must communities”. how the Torah (which comprises forthe6agedE come together as members of dif “The major problem towards the first five books of the Christian ferent faith communities committed working together towards harmony Worried about looking after your loved ones? Leave them to Bible) significantly begins with the to dialogue to re-examine our differ as I see it,” said Rev Yap, “is this creation of mankind, as if stressing the care of Our Lady of Lourdes Nursing Home for the Aged. ent claims of exclusivism.” exclusive claim of different religions. that although people have “different Thirdly, he recommended that Reasonable rates. These religions proclaim that they beliefs, cultures and habits, at the the IRO “respond to emerging is have all the Truth that God has end of the day, we have this com Enquiries please contact: John Pereira 245-4767 I 9745-2494 sues which may give rise to con revealed to them... mon bond” of humanity. 19 Toh Drive, Singapore 507871 flict... We must discuss the problem “No wonder such people live in A very important commandment areas in our educational, social, Tel: 542-7158 Fax: (65) 2454767 splendid isolation within their own in the Torah, he said, which is also political and economic institutions religious community and do not see found in the Christian and Muslim which are the stumbling blocks along the need for interaction or relation faiths, is “to love your fellow human the road towards harmony. We must ship with other religions. They re being as yourself. In addition to 3\\%> act to address these situations of main in their Jewish ghettoes, Chris (e n jo y th e b e n ifits o f R e s a le N et and e a rly a p p o in tm e n t) this, there is also a commandment potential and actual conflict.” tian compounds, and Malay “to love the stranger”, he noted, Thinking of selling, buying or renting your house? Assoc Prof Syed Farid Alatas kampongs,” he commented. issued 37 times in the Torah. Having problems looking for the right agent whom from the National University of Sin He suggested a few actions “Our three religions have a lot in gapore took a different tack in his the IRO could take. “IRO must en you can trust? Look no further. common,” he said, “with the same sharing. The Muslim lecturer from courage those faith communities hdbF o r honest, reliable and trustw orthy services. message of love, respect and trust. the Sociology Dept felt that those who hold traditional exclusive claims It’s important, now more than ever, ResaieNet Jeffrey Goh now involved in inter-faith dialogue should to seriously and honestly re-examto speak these very fundamental realise that there are “irreconcilable ine them," he said. truths - that no one has a monopoly E -m a il: jr j.e a stv a le @ p a c ific .n e t.s g differences” in various religions which “There is a responsibility for on religion or God. It's important to

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REGIONAL! S e e k in g “ F e m a le ” s p iritu a lity MUMBAI, INDIA - Catholic women leaders in India say they want to build a spirituality based on the ex periences of women rather than one filtered through “male-dominated” religious and social systems. Women Church leaders gath ered from Jan 24-25 for a seminar that the Catholic Bishops’ Confer ence of India’s Commission for Women organized in Mumbai city, western India, on the theme, In Search of Women’s Spirituality. The seminar aimed “to empower women with a spirituality based on women’s life experiences, and to motivate them to work for gender justice”, according to commission executive secretary Virginia Saldanha. “To bring about social transfor mation, we have got to go to the root of our experiences - pregnancy, child birth, nurturing, caring for the young and old, which is giving abun dance of life,” she told UCA News. Sr Rosamma George from Bom bay archdiocese lamented that spir ituality has been “shaped by men and from their experience of God. Now there is a gradual movement to look at reality from women’s ex perience of God”. The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary nun said a spirituality based on women’s experiences would build up women’s confidence to insist that they be treated not as “second-class citizens but as equal partners”. Several of the 17 women del egates, who came from 10 of India’s 28 states, expressed their regret over what they call male domination in Church and society, and said there

is a need for women to have a greater voice and more involvement in decision making. Ms Bernadette Pitachai, coordi nator of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council Laity Commission, said that to her, women’s spirituality means fighting social mechanisms that work against women, such as dowry and female infanticide. She noted that though it is a “ca nonical requirement” to give women adequate representation in all Church bodies, this is “largely ig nored”. Ms Saldanha told UCA News that women have “for long been schooled in a spirituality which is alien to their life experiences, coming from the experiences of men in authority”. Daughters of the Cross Sister Mary Rita, regional women’s coor dinator for five dioceses in the east ern state of Orissa, said that al though women work “day and night for family welfare, they are kept away from decision making”. The tribal nun said the workshop strengthened her resolve to help priests and village men respect women “in the light of the Gospels”. Women’s commission chairman Bishop Valerian D’Souza of Pune told UCA News that the “process of women’s empowerment” would be gin with women leaders’ awareness of their rights and “will have a multi plication effect in society”. He said that the Church hierar chy is aware of women’s rights and wants to give adequate representa tion to women in various Church commissions and bodies at the di ocesan and parish levels. □ u c a n

An Indian woman holds her new-born baby. Indian Catholic women say women need to go to the roots of their experiences - pregnancy, child birth, caring for the young and old. CNS file photo

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Lenten campaign to promote social reconciliation JAKARTA - Social reconciliation based on forgiveness is the theme of the Indonesian Catholic Church's national Lenten action campaign for

An Indonesian police officer standing guard outside St Anne Catholic Church in Jakarta last year after an explosion ripped through it on July 22. Indonesian bishops are now initiat ing a national Lenten campaign of forgiveness and reconciliation among people.

2002. “To forgive others for the sake of love and peace” is what the Church means by promoting reconciliation among people, according to Fr Hilarion Datus Lega. “This is ex tremely important for the nation amid crises.” The executive secretary of the Indonesian bishops’ commission for socio-economic development also emphasized that “there is no di chotomy between crises in societies and in the Church”. “As Church members, we are also part of society and, therefore, we have to reconcile not only with our fellow human beings but also with God. However, reconciliation will be meaningless without repentance and change,” he told UCA News on Jan 20. The change should begin with each person in families and grass roots communities, and then move on to larger groups of people in so ciety, the priest said, noting that the Sacrament of Penance can be a fun damental motivation for Catholics in this regard. He observed that Jakarta Catho lics are enthusiastic about the Sac rament, but exhibit this more around Christmas and Easter than on a more frequent basis. However, he emphasized the

CNS file photo

importance of Catholics’ recognizing the need for self-renewal and not just making a confession to “follow Catholic ritual”. Jesuit Father Joannes Hartono Padmoharsono, who wrote a supple mentary guide for the campaign, said the campaign also focuses on the “victims of sin”. Those who are victims of sins may find it difficult to forgive, the Jesuit priest said. “Hopefully, the

Sacrament of Penance will be a help for them to receive God’s grace.” Sinners will be encouraged not only to ask God’s forgiveness through the Sacrament but also to ask forgiveness from others, so that the sense of justice can grow and reconciliation will become a reality. He expressed hope that the cam paign will help stem moral deca dence and bring people together. □ UCAN

Ecumenism —the sporting way!

Opus Dei leader: reach out to ordinary, marginalised people

SEOUL - A soccer match between clergymen of five Christian Churches to mark the Week of Prayer for Chris tian Unity in Seoul, South Korea, has strengthened fraternal bonds be tween them. On the snow-covered playing field of Jesuit-run Sogang University here, some 50 priests and pastors of the Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, Lutheran and Russian Orthodox Churches braved a cold winter day to be “brothers" in a unity soccer match on Jan 21. The game was organized to en courage reconciliation and unity among the five Christian Churches on the occasion of the Jan 18-25 Unity Octave. “All the clergy players experi enced fraternity during the football game on the snow-covered ground,” Fr John Bosco Hong Chang-jin, sec retary of the Catholic bishops’ Com mittee for Promoting Christian Unity and Inter-religious Dialogue, told UCA News. After the game, they took part in a prayer meeting for Christian unity held at the university’s Ignatius Hall. About 250 Christians, including A rchbishop G iovanni Battista

MANILA - The Philippine regional vicar of Opus Dei has urged mem bers of the prelature to reach out to ordinary Catholics in the country. Monsignor Joseph Duran urged Catholics to “launch into the deep” and help more marginalised people in society during the Jan 25 launch ing of a commemorative stamp on Opus Dei founder Blessed Josemaria Escriva. He said “much more remains to be done” in expand ing the group's apostolic work of achieving holiness in daily life. He told UCA News on Jan 4 that Opus Dei is developing its network of educational facilities and civic pro grammes to reach “ordinary Catho lics” and help them strive daily for ho liness in their home or through their work. Opus Dei’s apostolate is more focused on the person and the home “rather than with masses or crowds”, he explained. The prelature has several train ing centres in the Philippines that provide girls with a livelihood and home management skills. It also runs technical vocational institutes including courses in computer repair and carpentry. □ u c a n

Morandini, apostolic nuncio to South Korea, Coadjutor Bishop Boniface Choi Ki-san of Inchon, and Rev Kim Dong-wan, secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea, at tended the gathering. During the meeting, representa tives of the five Christian Churches pledged to love each other and to be united in God, speaking with candles in hand. In his speech, Archbishop Morandini urged all the participants to do whatever they can to achieve peace and reconciliation. □ u c a n

FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002 THE CATHOLIC NEWS

iWORLD!

VEHICLES WANTED

German Church woos lapsed Catholics CNS file photo

WARSAW - Germany’s Catholic Church lost 200,000 members be tween 1999 and 2000, said new bish ops' conference data. However, a Church spokesman said “spiritual yearnings” remained strong in the country and local dio ceses were doing everything possi ble to “bring people back to the Church”. “This trend has been evident for years now, so we don’t see it as new or dramatic,” said Ms Martina Hohnf, a spokesman for the German bish ops’ conference. “Many pastoral projects are un der way to save the situation by per suading people to see the Church as an open place where they can talk and reflect. Meanwhile, charitable donations remain high, and there’s no sign of any decline in commit ment,” Ms Hohnf said. In a Jan 28 Catholic News Serv ice telephone interview, she said na tion-wide Church affiliations had been reduced by West Germany’s 1990 reunification with the former communist-ruled East Germany, widely believed to be Europe’s most secularized region. “But all dioceses are using every possibility to bring people back, es pecially in areas where the Church lacks a strong tradition,” she added. The bishops’ conference figures showed Catholics currently make up 32.6% of Germany’s population of 80 million, although fewer than one in six Catholics attend Church.

The churches were filled, if only for a short while, in the wake of the Sep 11 terrorist attacks on the US. The data also confirmed a drop in adult baptisms. Ms Hohnf said there was “no connection" between religious de cline and the relative wealth of Ger many’s churches, adding that a sud den increase in religiousness after the Sep 11 terrorist attacks on the United States had highlighted a con tinued “spiritual yearning” within German society. “The fact the churches were full, if only for a few weeks, shows peo ple still need to find answers to ulti mate questions,” she said. “It could be Germans need a crisis to bring

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Mass in Afghanistan

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A family rests in front of their home in a war-torn section of Kabul. Recently, a public Mass was held at the re-opened Italian Embassy here. ROME - A Mass was celebrated in Afghanistan for the first time in al most 10 years on the grounds of the recently reopened Italian Em bassy in Kabul. C a th o lic s o ld ie rs , fo re ig n broadcast and print journalists, and several embassy personnel attended the Mass on Jan 27 in the embassy garden near a chapel that was damaged by a missile during the civil war, said a Church source in Kabul. Italian Franciscan Father Ivan Lai, military chaplain of the Italian contingent of the United Nations in te rn atio n al peace force there, concelebrated the Mass with Fr

them back to religion. But that can be said of other Western countries, too.” In neighbouring Netherlands, where Church attendance by Catho lics has fallen by 81% since 1960, a Church spokesman said such data told “only one side of the story”, add ing that he also believed religious life faced “new signs of hope”. “We’ve known for the past halfcentury that statistics like this reflect the individualization of society - al though most people remain commit ted to some religious belief, they don’t want to be involved in Church organizations,” said Dutch bishops’ conference spokesm an Looek Sinfelmeyer. “At the same time, people have never given so much to charity or shown such deep concern for the poor and needy. Facts and figures aren’t the only way of telling whether the Church is alive,” he said. □ c n s

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Mark O’Keefe, chaplain of the Brit ish military contingent in the area, the source said. In his homily, Italian Franciscan Father Ivan Lai said Christ’s resur rection from death gave Christians hope even in the midst of suffering, like that of war-scarred Afghanistan. “What today is bitterness, to m orrow can be jo y ,” he said. “Through suffering, one regains life.” Observers said the recently cel ebrated Mass was “a truly historic event” and was marked by mo m ents o f intense em otion, particularly at the sign of peace and holy Communion. □ u c a n , c n s

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FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

AROUND AND ABOUT Religious praised for commitment to justice

W h o d u n n it ? On Wednesday 6 February some 50 "mice" gathered in a softly-lit maze. A number of them had woken up one day towards the end of last year only to find that someone had apparently moved their source of cheese. "Who moved MY cheese?" was the ques tion uppermost in their minds. Following fast on that question were other questions: "Why?" "What for?" What now?" Not to worry, help was on the way! Under the tutelage of a very congenial trainer of "mice" they were promised help to find a new source of their favourite brand of cheese. Mr Roger Collantes, a VicePresident and Regional Training and Development Director for a well-know banking establishment was at hand to help Singapore's priests gathered at the Major Seminary to Manage Change and Personal Transition. The session was obviously well-timed, given the great re-shuffle of personnel in the Archdiocese. Apart from being helped to reflect on how to cope with the

MANAGtHG CMAMGS AND The “mice” ▲ and the trainer ^ changes, we also began to realize that we were not only the mice who had their cheese moved - we were also the cheese for many more thou sands of mice out there who are also wondering "Who dunnit?" for them! Who m oved TH EIR cheese? □

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II thanked the more than 1 million mem bers of Catholic religious orders around the world, saying they were building a better world through prayer and a com mitment to peace and justice. “You are called upon to be the light of truth and of justice, witnesses of solidarity and peace,” the pope said at a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Feb 2. The Mass marked the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the sixth annual Day for Consecrated Life. Thousands of priests, nuns and Brothers held candles in the darkened basilica at the start of the liturgy, which was celebrated in the pope's presence by Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, head of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The pope, who gave the sermon and led the prayer of thanksgiving, said he wanted to express his deep gratitude to all the men and women

who have accepted a vocation in religious orders. “Thank you, above all, for prayer. How many contem plative communities, totally commit ted to prayer, are knocking night and day at the heart of the peace-giving God, cooperating in the victory of Christ over hatred, vengeance and the structures of sin,” he said. The pope said the members of religious orders help build peace in the world by their witness of brother hood and communion. Their commit ment to justice is evident by their work among the poor and outcast, he said. “Wherever the Church is involved in defending and promoting the human being and the common good, you are found,” he said. “Every person of good will is thankful for this.” According to the latest Vatican statistics, the number of men and women members of religious orders totals more than 1 million, with 809,000 nuns and 195,000 priests and Brothers. □ c n s

Venezuelan Bishops and President join battle WASHINGTON - Venezuelan bish ops are currently engaged in a heated war of words with President Hugo Chavez. On Jan 11, the bishops’ confer ence issued a statement saying that poverty, unemployment and social combativeness prevail in Venezuela. Without mentioning Mr Chavez, the statement criticized efforts “to im pose political and social models that are exclusive and excluding’’. Mr Chavez, an ex-military officer who led a failed 1992 coup attempt, was elected president in a landslide victory three years ago. He has been dropping in popularity, spurred by criticisms that he is trying to install an authoritarian regime and has not fulfilled many of his promises to im prove living conditions for the poor in this oil-rich country. About 80,000 people participated in an anti-Chavez march in the capital, Caracas, on Jan 23. On Jan 31, Venezuela’s largest political party asked the Supreme Court to remove Mr Chavez as mentally unfit. Mr Chavez has said that he is op

posed by political parties and pow erful elites who fear his plans for closing the gap between rich and poor will erode their control of soci ety. On Jan 27, Mr Chavez, describ ing himself as a practising Catholic, criticized the bishops for aligning them selves with opposition politicians. “They do not walk in the path of God, in the path of Christ,” he said of the bishops during his weekly ra dio address. He told the bishops to examine their consciences and say the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary 20 times each. He also invited the bishops to a Jan 29 meeting, but they refused. A Jan 28 statement by the bish ops’ conference accused Mr Chavez of “insults” and said the climate was not right for a meeting. The state ment denied that the bishops were siding with opposition politicians. Anti-church posters have ap peared on Caracas streets accusing Church leaders of being “pharisees and hypocrites”. Some churches have been vandalized.

The rector of the Catholic Uni versity in Caracas, Jesuit Father Luis Ugalde, said that despite the increas ing threats against the Church, the Venezuelan bishops will not back down in their criticism of Mr Chavez. He told reporters at the end of January that “the current govern ment is clearly abusing power and eroding the credibility of democratic institutions, and the Catholic bishops have decided not to be accomplices to this”. He said that “the government tries to make this appear as if the bishops and the priests were taking sides in the political arena, but what the bishops are doing is just apply ing the Gospel to daily life”. Eleven cardinals and bishops from the United States, Latin America, Canada, Africa and Asia have expressed support for the Ven ezuelan bishops in their heated pub lic battles with Mr Chavez. The cardinals and bishops ex pressed their support in a Jan 29 let ter signed in Washington, USA, to the Venezuelan bishops. □ c n s

Women Religious at prayer...The pope thanked men and women Reli gious for their witnessing to solidarity and peace at a Mass marking the sixth annual Day for Consecrated Life.

Vatican and the Global Economy WASHINGTON - All efforts to de velop new global networks and gov ernance structures will produce little good without “massive new invest ment in the capacities of people”, a Vatican diplomat told an international Conference on Humanizing the Glo bal Economy on Jan 28. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the Holy See’s permanent observer to UN agencies and the World Trade Organization in Geneva, spoke dur ing the Jan 28-30 conference, con vened in Washington, USA, by the bishops’ conferences of Canada, the USA and Latin America. The meeting drew leaders in the Church, business, labour, govern ment and academic worlds and other fields, to discuss the human and

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moral dimensions of economic glo balization. “We speak about health for all,” he added. “But we have not been able to establish a network of primary health care institutions in the poor est countries. “We speak about global govern ance and rules-based systems. But when the starting points of the dif ferent protagonists are so different, the rigid application of the same rules, in a one-size-fits-all manner, will only increase asymmetries and inequalities.” He called on the secular world to develop “its own form of a ‘preferen tial option for the poor’ ... which aggressively addresses the causes of inequalities and exclusions.” □ c n s

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VATICAN

Taiwan Bishops and reconciliation with China Church VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II told Taiwan’s bishops he was sure their work to promote reconciliation with the divided mainland Chinese Church would bear fruit. “Your efforts are aimed at pro moting mutual understanding, recon ciliation and fraternal love among all the Catholics of the great Chinese family,” he said on Jan 29. “I am confident that these ef forts, carried out in communion with other particular Churches and the See of Peter, will help to overcome the difficulties of the past, so that ever new opportunities for dialogue and reciprocal human and spiritual enrichment may arise,” the pope said. Taiwan’s bishops were in Rome for their ad limina visits, which bish ops make every five years to report on conditions in their dioceses. In their talks with Vatican officials, the bishops detailed their educa tional and financial assistance to other Asian Churches, particularly in communist mainland China. China’s Catholics are split be tween a “patriotic” Church - with government-appointed bishops and an underground Church that is loyal to the pope. Over the years, China also has demanded as a con dition to improved relations that the Vatican cut its diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The pope told Taiwan’s bishops not to lose hope in the face of chal lenges to their ministry, including the “increasing secularization” of their society. “The conviction that has accom panied me throughout my pontifi-

Catholics praying in China. The pope said he is confident cross straits reconciliation work will bear fruit. cate is this: The absolute and yet sweet and gentle power of the Lord responds to the whole depths of the human person, to his loftiest aspi rations of intellect, will and heart,' the pope said, quoting from a ser mon he gave shortly after his elec tion. He said the bishops' work would bear fruit if they fostered a spirit of prayer and tirelessly proclaimed Christ and the Gospel. “Without prayer, our evangeliza tion would be in vain; without mis sion, the Christian community would lose its savour and zest,” the pope said. □ c n s

Magicians request heavenly patronage VATICAN CITY - When Pope John Paul II spoke about the splendour of the sun at his general audience, his listeners included a group of Italians who try to spread the same warmth with magic wands and red rubber noses. The 250 members of the Mago Sales Association, named after a Salesian priest who literally clowns around as Sales the Magician, gathered at the Jan 30 audience to listen to the pope and to ask him to form ally recognize Salesian founder St John Bosco as the pa tron saint of magicians, jugglers and clowns. “We already consider him to be our heavenly protector, but we would like it to be official,” said Renzo Incarbone, wearing the multicolored patchwork tuxedo, curly yellow wig and big red nose he dons as Randy the Magician. Pope John Paul did not mention their request during his audience address, which focused on Psalm 19’s hymn to God the creator and, especially, on the psalm’s poetic meditation on the sun. in songs, stories and art, human ity always has shown its gratitude for the sun's light and warmth, often

Pope calls for legal protection of the vulnerable VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II called for legal protection of the human embryo, saying society should recognize its rights as a hu man being with an individual identity. The pope also called for legal measures to guarantee rights for other categories of persons unable to fully defend themselves, includ ing the mentally disabled and the terminally ill. He made the remarks at a Sun day blessing at the Vatican on Feb 3, which marked the 24th annual Day of Life promoted by the Italian Church. The pope said the embryo, like all human beings, should be guaranteed “the right to develop according to its own potential”. That is part of society’s duty to protect the right to life from the moment of conception to natural death, he said. The pope said that “science has by now demonstrated that (the hu man embryo) is an individual human being that possesses his own iden tity from the moment of fertilization. “Therefore, it is logically due that such identity be recognized legally, too, above all in its funda mental right to life,” he said. The comments were some of the pope’s strongest to date on the rights and status of the human embryo. In recent years, the pope has defended the embryo’s right to de velop as a human being. To scien tists who question when an embryo can be said to have individual iden tity, the pope has said that the mere probability that a human being is involved is enough to rule out an embryo’s suppression. The Vatican’s Pontifical Acad emy for Life said in 2000 that the human embryo has a right to its own

developing cults to the sun god, the pope said. But for members of biblically based religions, he said, “the sun is not a god, but a creature at the serv ice of the one God and creator”. Psalm 19, which begins by re flecting on the gift of the sun, ends by reflecting on the gift of God’s word and his law, the pope said, showing how both communicate something about God. At the end of the audience, Salesian Father Silvio Mantelli donned the black top hat of his alter ego, Sales the Magician, and went up to greet the pope. Although the occasion was for mal enough to convince the priest to wear clerical garb, he could not leave the hat behind, he said: “A magician without a hat is not a ma gician.” He gave Pope John Paul a let ter requesting the designation of St John Bosco as patron of magicians and an intricately carved magic wand once used by a magician in India. “When you do magic, you are a child again, you are playing, you are joyful, and that communicates itself like the sun,” Fr Mantelli said. □ c n s

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______ life “as a human individual”. Other Vatican documents call for uncondi tional respect for the human being from the moment of fertilization. In his noon talk delivered from his apartment window above St Pe ter’s Square, the pope said every one needs to recognize that human life involves a mystery, which itself deserves respect. “No one is a master over life. No one has the right to manipulate, op press or even remove life, whether someone else’s or his own. So much the less can this be done in the name of God, who is the one Lord and the

most sincere lover of life,” he said. The pope said that even the Church’s martyrs do not choose to end their lives, but accept being killed in order to remain faithful to God and His commandments. “Recognizing the value of life involves logical legal applications, especially in order to protect those human beings who are not able to defend themselves without help: the unborn, the mentally disabled, the gravely or terminally ill,” he said. At the end of his talk, he blessed a crowd that included a group of expectant mothers. □ c n s

Suffering - what meaning? VATICAN CITY - Though medical science rightly seeks to alleviate pain, suffering is an inevitable part of life that can be transformed into a good only through the Christian vi sion, Pope John Paul II said. In a message on the World Day of the Sick, the pope said Christianity offers a unique understanding of the mystery of suffering, allowing it to become “meaningful and precious”. World Day of the Sick is ob served annually on Feb 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Each year, the celebrations are focused on a Marian shrine, and the 2002 com memoration was to take place in southern India at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Health at Vailankanni. known as the “Lourdes of the East”. The pope said the choice of venue had important inter-religious significance, since the Indian shrine draws many Hindus who “see in Our Lady of Good Health the caring and compassionate mother of suffering humanity”. But unlike some other religions,

Suffering has a place in God’s plan, says the pope.

Christianity does not adopt a passive response to suffering, he said. Chris tians who actively suffer unite their pain to that of Christ, who is also the source of their reaching out to alle viate the suffering of others, he said. “In this union between the human

and the divine, suffering brings forth good and overcomes evil,” the pope said. He said medical science’s efforts to alleviate pain were “a valid quest” but ultimately could “neither wholly explain or fully overcome suffering.” Suffering remains a fundamen tal fact of human existence and has a “place in God’s loving plan for every individual,” he said. Given the advance of medical technology, the pope said the com memoration’s theme, That They May Have Life, and Have It Abundantly, underscores the need for “an unam biguous stance” of commitment to protecting human life from concep tion to natural death. The commemoration also gives the church an opportunity to thank and encourage Catholic health care workers around the world, "espe cially those working with the handi capped and terminally ill, as well as those contending with the spread of new diseases such as AIDS," the pope said. □ c n s

FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

FAITH IN LIFE 1ST SUNDAY OF LENT ACKNOWLEDGING

OUR

2ND SUNDAY OF LENT

SINS

HOPE FULFILLED

The Texts: The fundamental fact of sin being a reality in the world is estab lished in today’s Liturgy. The First Reading is the short account of the Creation of Man as found in Genesis. It focuses on the sin of mankind. The account of creation is by no means meant to be a scientific exposition - it simply stresses the presence of sin in the world and projects it as an aberration of the created world of God. St. Paul in the Second Reading says; “Death has spread though the whole human race because everyone has sinned.” “.. it ex isted in the world long before the Law was given". The acknowl edgement that we are all sinners is a fundamental disposition for Lenten conversion. The Responsorial Psalm spells out this fundamental disposition of acknowledgement of our sin-

The Texts: fulness very clearly: “My offences truly I know them, my sin is always before me." And so does the general Response, “Have mercy on us, 0 Lord, for we have sinned." This kind of acknowledgment is crucial to the forgiveness and mercy of God. “ What I want is a humble and contrite heart. ”

What that means is very clearly spelled out in our Holy Father's Message for Lent! He exhorts us to live Lent in practical generos ity, testifying to the tremendous love that God has shown us and which we in turn must manifest to others, in and through our lives. In the Bible, the term "penance " precisely does not mean "mortifi cation", but "changing one's di rection" In the present context of Lent, this makes a great deal of sense, We should see this period as a period of change of direction - the direction of our lives - to bring them more in conformity with the path that leads to Christ. Still keeping to our Biblical con text still, this penance in the sense of changing one's direction is a dynamic process which involves the effort of man - OUR effort.

hope that forgiveness of our sins is possible and indeed real. The First Reading holds out to us the general promise of our vocation by God - the original Covenant made with Abraham in the Old Testament: I will make you a great nation; I will bless y o u ..."

As we enter the season of Lent

we have first to humbly ac knowledge our sinfulness be fore God to dispose ourselves

Hope is conceived as some thing that we desire, but about which we have no real cer tainty and no real control. However, the hope of forgive ness is not tainted by uncer tainty. It is certain that God will forgive us and the basis is

to receive the "free gift that we do not deserve” that St. Paul speaks about. While Christ came to give us life, he does not force his gifts on us. We have to re sp o n d to his o ffe rs of forgiveness and eternal life. And while temptation is a reality in life, we have Christ’s example in the Gospel of how we should deal with it. More than that we

God’s fidelity to his promises: " for the word o f the Lord is faithful and all his word is to be trusted The Lord is our hope and our sh ie ld ... we place all our hope in you.” Responsorial Psalm. In deed, as St. Paul points out in the Second Reading, it is a

have his grace and strength to overcome.

Application in life The Season of Lent is generally referred to as a season of pen ance and mortification. While this is true, it cannot just be that. Penance and mortification can not be ends in themselves, oth erwise it would be tantamount to masochism. Penance and mor tification in the context of Lent can only make real sense if they are seen as means to an end the end precisely being to iden tify ourselves with Christ - to come closer to his image - to walk more faithfully in his foot steps.

Today, the liturgy fills us with

This is "conversion" properly understood as a "tuning around". As far as our relationship to Christ is concerned it must mean "rid ding ourselves o f the obstacles that will hinder Christ's coming into our lives" as we already promised to do during Advent in our preparation for Christmas.

roRC .generous, inwoRksof CHARITY

Now is the time for us to see what progress has been made in this direction since the Season of Ad vent. Was it just expressing pi ous sentiments which have been q u ite fo rg o tte n , now th a t Christmas has come and gone? Christ has NOT come and gone - he com e sallth etim e-atleast, that's what he wants to do, and will do, provided we don't keep putting obstacles in his way and closing the doors of our hearts. Scripture always tells us that we have to "seek God out" (Hosea 10:12). We have to wash our selves: "make ourselves clean and remove our evil doing ... cease to do evil and learn to do good." (Isaiah 1:16). Let us not postpone our decision to change. Procrastination is the best way not to succeed. The first thing to do is to examine ourselves to see what the obsta cles are in our own lives: obsta cles to Christ taking a more promi nent part in our daily living. Un less we identify the obstacles, we simply cannot begin to re move them!

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MYSTERIES bywhichwe arereborn

The promise consists in sharing in the transfiguration of Christ narrated in today’s Gospel. “This grace has already been granted to us", says St. Paul. For this, it is well worth “bearing the hard ships for the sake o f the Good N ew s,"as St. Paul says. We need to be firm in the consciousness that we are a redeemed people. We must not remain in our sinful ways. Lent is a time to make progress in virtue and leave behind us, ourold lives of sin. It is our certain hope and

conviction of redemption that must spur us on through our efforts at leading truly Christian lives as disciples of Jesus.

Application in life Strategy for Change: We pointed out for the First Sun day in Lent that Lent is precisely about changing the direction of our lives and re-orientating our selves more to Christ. However, unless we really make concrete plans and determine real steps towards achieving our goals, we are never doing to get anywhere. We have passed through many Seasons of Lent, but what suc cess can we claim in becoming more faithful to Christ! We cannot sim ply pray for change. We cannot expect some kind of miracle conversion after the manner of the conversion of St. Paul. We simply have to work seriously to achieve a change in our lives, then, with God's grace, that change can really happen.

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hope that is ALREADY REAL IZED in the person of Jesus Christ. “He abolished death and he has proclaimed life and im mortality...”

Identifying a point for change: We simply cannot say that we want to change our whole lives. That is practically an impossible thing to achieve. We have to de termine exactly what change we want to bring about. This has to be very specific and narrowed down. We need to identify just one point, even a very small point. Being vague about the change we desire is the best way to ensure failure. If we look back over the years, and find that de spite so many Lenten seasons, we are no different, we will prob ably begin to realize that this is

because we did not determine and define in very exact terms what particular point we wanted to change in our lives. There is another thing to note when trying to effect change in our lives. Rather than plannning to rid ourselves of some negative point, we would have greater chances of achieving change for the better, if we identified a point

in our lives which is already good, but can be made better. The reason for this is because it is more difficult to rid oneself of som ething negative than to improve, still more, something that is already positive.

Planning for change: Having identified what exactly it is we want to improve upon, we must now draw up a simple but very definite and concrete plan with clear steps that we can actually implement. Unless we do this, we will just have a good resolution and nothing more.

Monitoring for change: Finally, to ensure success in the change for the better that we have decided upon, it is necessary to devise some very specific means to measure our progress, otherwise, we are not likely to succeed in our efforts at reaching our targets. O bviously these ta rg e ts have a ctu a lly to be measurable! The final ingredient is prayer for the grace of God.

FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

ILENTEN FEATURE

IBM

Fasting and charity in other religious traditions Lent, a period of re-examining our relationship w ith God, is marked by fasting and charity work. CN looks at how other religions view fasting, atonem ent and charity. By Mel Diamse-Lee Islamic tradition FASTING for Muslims is observed in the month of Ramadan, the 9th month of the Islamic year. Literally, fasting means to abstain “com pletely” from foods, drinks, intimate intercourse and smoking. The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. The usual prac tice is to have a pre-fast meal (suhoor) before dawn and a post-fast meal (iftar) after sunset. According to Mr Ameerali Abdeali, a Muslim representative to the InterReligious Organisation (IRO), prophet Muhammad said:“ Ramadan is the month during which the Koran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the stat ute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may substi tute the same number of other days...” Fasting is one of the Five Pillars (duties) of Islam. Muslims believe that during the month of Ramadan, Allah revealed the first verses of the Koran, the holy book of Islam, to Muhammad. During the month, Muslims try to read as much of the Koran as they can. Some spend part of their day listening to the recitation of the Ko ran in a mosque. Some meet for Quranic studies or for congregation prayers. Some spend the last 10 days of Ramadan in a mosque de voting them to worshipping God. The Prophet Muhammad said: “He who fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeks his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven; he who prays during the night in Ramadan with faith and seeks his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.” Ramadan is also a time of inten sive worship, reading of the Koran, giving to charity, purifying one's be haviour, and doing good deeds. “Fasting serves many purposes. While they are hungry and thirsty, Muslims are reminded of the suffer ing of the poor. Fasting is also an opportunity to practice self-control

Tasting serves many purposes. Qt can he a symhoC of self-restraint, a spirituaf disciyiine tfiat signifies abstinence from anything impure a n d serve as a j

■

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Muslim women at the Inter-Civilization gathering recently. The fasting month of j p o ^ $ S u f f d l l i g . Ramadan is marked by Koran reading, worshipping God and giving to charity. and to cleanse the body and mind. And in this most sacred month, fast ing helps Muslims feel the peace that comes from spiritual devotion as well as kinship with fellow believers. Baha'i tradition In the Baha’i faith fasting and the obligatory prayers are the “two pillars that sustain the revealed Law of God”. The sacred writings say: “ We have [God has] commanded you to pray and fast from the beginning of maturity; this is ordained by God, your Lord and the Lord of your fore fathers. He hath exempted from this those who are weak from illness or age, as a bounty from His Presence...’’(Baha’u’llah: The Kitabi-Aqdas) To Baha’i believers, the “material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding ofoneselffrom all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God. (Abdu’l-Baha: Selections... Abdu’l Baha) The fasting period lasts 19 days,

from March 2-20. It involves com plete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset. It is essentially a period of medi tation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the be liever must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires. The universal fast is observed by believers from age 15 to 70. Ex ceptions to this obligation are those who do hard work, such as workers in heavy industries, and travellers. If one older than 70 years de sires to fast and is strong enough to, one is free to do so. In the same month of fasting, from Feb 26-March 1, which have been designated intercalary days, Baha’is make spriritual preparation by fasting, doing works of charity and gift-giving. As believers of the Baha’i faith believe that their “spiritual being” is directly related to God, they also recite prayers of forgiveness based on the Baha'i scriptures. (Copies of some Bahai writings were furnished by Mr Daniel Chu, a Bahai representative to the IRO). Zoroastrian tradition

To Baha'i believers, shown above during a study session, fasting is a period of meditation and prayer and spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life

Zoroastrians do not practise fasting, said Mr Russi Ghadiali, a Zoroastrian representative to the IRO. Our “religion teaches that the body must be nourished all the time to remain healthy,” he clarified. However, prayers are the most important part of the Zoroastrian faith and believers are supposed to pray “at least four times a day”. They also pray before meals. The faith also emphasises the need to share what one has. “The

strength of a person is not judged by how strong or rich one is but how one is helping the weak and the poor,” said Mr Ghadiali. According to Mr Ghadiali, al though the Zoroastrians are the smallest religious community in the world, in India, (where they are known as Parsis or Parsees) they are acknowledged by other religious communities with the saying “Parsi, thy name is charity”. Hindu tradition Among Hindus, fasting is tradition ally observed by not consuming food on certain days of the week, or month throughout the year or by doing so for a number of days before the advent of a certain festival, said Mr RaviShankar Maythil. The degree of the fast varies ac cording to the capacitiy of the individual. For some, it may mean not consuming food from sunrise to sun set. For more advanced saints and yogis, it could mean going without food or water for any number of days. For Hindus, fasting does not merely mean starving the body of food. It is a spiritual discipline that signifies absti nence from anything impure that is input through the five senses, sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. The real purpose of fasting is to control all the senses and see that they abstain and keep away from evil and undesirable things. The Sanskrit word used in the scriptures for fasting means “living with and living near God”. In its high est sense, fasting means living in the unbroken constant presence of the Lord, by chanting His name. The most common prayerto those who observe a fast is to chant the name of the Lord itself. During Thaipusam, those carry ing the kavadi will begin their observance from the day they as sume the kavadi to the day of the festival when it is offered to the Lord.

During this interim, the observance will consist of taking in only pure vegetarian food (meat, excessively processed foods and other diets that are known to agitate the mind are avoided). The person also abstains from sexual acts and all sorts of in toxicating drinks and drugs, and continually thinks of God. Thaipusam marks the triumph of the individual against the inner en emies of Anger, Greed, Hatred, Lust, Ego and Jealousy. It marks the de feat of unrighteousness and the establishment of Righteousness in the individual. The various penances, prayers and observances are a means towards this end. Repentance and acts of charity are part of the Hindu lifestyle. Hence, special days are not marked out to serve this purpose. The scriptures declare that every individual is sup posed to live and practise the following axioms to all sentient beings: ■ To help ever and hurt never even in thought, word or deed. ■ To always have love for God and fear of sin. Every night Hindus recite a prayer asking the Lord for forgiveness. Jewish tradition There are two major and five minor days of fasting in the Jewish tradition. Yom Kippur - literally “Day of Atonement,” is the holiest day of the Jewish year, said Rabbi Mordechai Abergel, a religious leader of the Jews in Singapore. Yom Kippur is a day of “self-denial” (Lev. 23-27) so that believers may be cleansed of their sins. It is observed eight days after Rosh Hashanah (Jew ish New Year). It is believed that on Rosh Hashana God inscribes all the believers’ names in the “books”, and on Yom Kippur the judgment entered in these books is sealed. The days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are called the Days of Awe. Yom Kippur is, es sentially, the last chance to demon strate repentance and change the judgment. In addition to fasting and praying, there are other restrictions accord ing to the Talmud (book of Jewishish civil and religious laws). Yom Kippur is a complete Sabbath; no work can be performed on that day. The Talmud also specifies addi tional restrictions that are less wellknown: washing and bathing, anoint ing one’s body (with cosmetics, deo dorants, etc.), wearing leather shoes and engaging in sexual relations. • Continued on Page 13

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FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

FAMILY

The Sanctity and Indissolubility of the Marriage Bond In the climate of divorce which pervades not only Singapore but the whole world, the address of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, on Monday 28 January 2002, to the judges, officials and lawyers of the Sacred Roman Rota on the occasion of the inauguration of the Judicial Year, comes as a tim ely reinforcement of the Church's position on marrigae. It also brings a renewed awareness of their role and responsibility to ecclesiastical courts in churches around the world which handle marriage cases, at the the frist instance, in their own dioceses. The Sacred Roman Rota (literally wheel) is the equivalent of the Supreme Court of the Vatican and is also the final Court of Appeal for all cases in the Church. 1 Work of the Sacred Rota In his opening words the Holy Father noted that a major part of the work of the Sacred Roman Rote involved cases concerning the nullity of mar riage, which involves the delicate question of the existence or otherwise of a given marriage. In this context the work of the Court is intrinsically bound up with the whole pastoral consideration of marriage and the family institution. 2 Essential properties of marriage The Pope emphasized that it is essential to avoid the view that indissolubility is a limitation of the freedom of those who contract marriage, a limitation which is a burden and which can become unbearable. In this sort of view, indissolubility is seen as something extrinsic to marriage as a sort of imposition of a condition which goes against the aspirations of a fuller realization of the person. All this contributes, the Pope said, to an idea which is getting more common - that the indissolubility of marriage is something which concerns the members of the Church, which it must not attempt to impose on civil society. 3 Foundations of indissolubility. The Holy Father then went on to deal at length with the Biblical foundations of indissolubility alluding to the text of Matthew 19:8; "It was because of your hardness of heart that Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, b u t it was not so from the beginning." These words of Jesus underline the disposition of natural law concerning the essential characteristic of marriage, which is reinforced in Christian marriage by the Sacrament of Matrimony. The Pope stressed that Mar riage IS indissoluble - it is a dimension that is in itself objective and not a mere subjective fact. Therefore, to uphold the indissolubility of marriage is to uphold the strength of marriage itself in its very essence. On the contrary, the exclusion of the factor of

t i f f d e a th

indissolubility is the exclusion of marriage in its very essence. N either does it follow that the"weight" of indissolubility and the limits which it imposes, compro mise human liberty. Given these considerations, one cannot talk of an "imposition" on civil law, for the simple reason that civil law should precisely reflect and uphold natural and divine law. 5 R ejection mentality”

“divorce

The truth of the indissolubility of marriage, just like the whole of the Christian message is addressed to men and women of every time and place. Until this is fully realized, this truth has to be borne witness to by the church and in particular by every family as 'domestic churches', in which husbands and wives consider themselves mutually bound forever by a bond which demands a love that is always renewed, generous and ready for sacrifice. One cannot accept a divorce mentality, the Pope affirmed. To do so would constitute a lack of faith in the natural and supernatural gifts of God to man. While the doctrinal aspects need to be expounded, actions which are consonant with doctrine are even more important. When a couple faces difficulties the understanding of the Pastors and other faithful should be united in clarity and strength in remembering that conjugal love is the way to positively resolve the crisis. Because God has united the couple by an indis soluble bond as man and wife, all human resources should be employed with good will, but above all trusting in the help of divine grace, they should and must resolve the crisis . 6 The role of Church judicial activity in matrimonial crises

c fo

u s p a r t !

Too often, when considering the role of law in matrimonial crisis, thoughts are turned almost exclu sively to the ruling of nullity of the marriage or the dissolution of the bond of marriage. Such a mentality, the Pope warns, sometimes extends even to Canon Law, which begins to appear as the way to find solutions of conscience to the matrimonial problems of the faithful. While this is true, the eventual solutions must be examined in a way that the indissolubility of the bond is safe guarded. While it is true that the declaration concerning nullity of marriage is for the purpose of acquiring peace of conscience, this must be presented in an eccelsial context which profoundly favours the indissolubility of marriage and the family which is founded on it. Spouses must be the first to understand that it is through legal research into the truth that their good is best served. This does not exclude, a priori, the possible convalidation of a union, which, while not in fact being a matrimonial union, does, however contain ele ments of good for themselves and for their children. These considera tions need to be seriously weighed in conscience before any decision to the contrary is taken. 7 The judicial activity of the Church The church's judicial activity is very specifically a truly pastoral activity which takes its inspiration from the principle of indissolubility and is geared to ensure its effectiveness in the People of God. Without the processes and judgements of the ecclesiastical tribunals, the question of the existence or non-existence of the indissolubility of marriage would be governed solely by the con science of the faithful, with the obvious risk of subjectivity, particularly when there exists in civil society a profound crisis in relation

to the institution of marriage. Every judgement concerning the validity or nullity of a marriage contributes to the culture of indissolubility of marriage, both within the Church as well as in the world at large. It is a question of a very relevant and necessary contribution: indeed, it is on a very practical level, giving certainty not only to the individuals involved, but also to all marriages and families. Because of this, the injustice of a declaration of nullity which is opposed to the truth of normative principles or facts takes on a particular gravity, because its official link with the Church would favour the diffusion of a situation where indissolubility is proclaimed by word but obscured in life. There appears to be a ten dency in recent years, which has seen a turning away from the traditional presumption "in favour o f marriage" to one "in favour of freedom" or "in favour o f the person". In this dialectic, it is obvious that the basis of the foundation is indissolubility, but the antithesis is even more radical in that it concerns the very truth of marriage, which becomes more or less openly relative. It is incorrect to invoke the liberty of the parties, when in fact they are bound to respect the objective demands of the reality of marriage, which cannot be altered by human liberty. Judicial activity needs to be inspired by a presumption "in favour o f ind is so lu bility", which obviously does not mean that it is prejudiced against a declaration of nullity. It is guided by a serious conviction of the good of matrimony which is at stake, and an optimism that springs from the natural quality of marriage and the help that the Lord Jesus provides for the spouses. 8 The Church, Light of the World The Church and every Christian have to be lights in the world; “In this way will your light shine in the face o f all mankind, so that seeing your good works they will give glory to the Father in heaven.” (Mt.5:16). These words of Jesus have a particular application today in respect of the indissolubility of marriage. It can seem that divorce is so entrenched in certain socie ties, that it doesn't merit the effort to continue to fight for and defend a mentality, a social given and a civil legislation in favour of indis solubility. Indeed it should not be necessary to conduct such a cam paign. In reality, the indissolubility of marriage is entrenched in the very foundations of the whole of society, as a necessary condition for the existence of the family. On the other hand the opposite has devastating consequences, which spread like a plague in society, to use the term of the Second Vatican Council in describing divorce (Church in the Modem World, n 47), which carries with it a negative influence on the new generation because it obscures the beauty of true marriage.

9 Testimony of indissolubility The essential testimony of the value of indissolubility shines forth in the married lives of spouses, through their fidelity to their vows amidst the joys and tribulations of life. The value of indissolubility can in no way be considered as the object of mere personal choice: it concerns one of the pillars of the whole of society. While we must encourage the many initiatives that Christians together with other persons of good will promote for the good of families, (for example the celebration of wed ding anniversaries), we must also avoid the risk of permissiveness in questions that concern the very foundation of the essence of mar riage and the family. Amongst such initiatives must be counted attempts to revive public acknowledgment of the indissolubil ity of marriage in the dispositions of civil law. While manifesting clear opposition to legal and administra tive measures to introduce divorce or equate matrimony to a question of fact, to include even the union of homosexuals, this must be accom panied by a positive approach through the provision of juridical dispositions to increase society’s acknowledgment of true marriage , which have unfortunately been lost by divorce. On the other hand, civil lawyers ought to avoid being personally involved in what can be construed as cooperating with divorce. For judges this can be more difficult if dispositions do not allow for objec tors in conscience to be excused. For grave and proportionately serious reasons they can however act according to the traditional principles of "material cooperation in evil". But even then, they should find ways to favour the marriage union, above all through serious attempts at recon ciliation of the parties. Lawyers, as professionals, should always decline to use their profession for an end which goes against justice, such as divorce; they may only collaborate in court action, which, in the intention of the client, is not directed to the breaking of the marriage bond but in ensuring the legitimate effects that can be achieved only through legal process. In this way the lawyers serve the rights of the persons while avoiding being mere technicians in the service of whomsoever's interests. 10 Conclusion To the intercession of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Mirror of Justice, we entrust the growth of consciousness of all concerning respect for the indissolubility of marriage. To Her we entrust above all, the efforts of the Church and her sons, together with that of many other persons of good will, in is cause which is so decisive for the future of humanity. The quotes from the document are free translations from the original text in Italian. The subheadings are our own. - Editor

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

CATHOLIC NEWS EDITOR Dr (Rev) Robert P. Balhetchet

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VIEWPOINT

FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

The liturgical colour of violet creates a sombre atmosphere, enhanced by the absence of flowers, in Catholic Churches throughout the world during this time. The Lenten Season in the Church has always been associated with penance and mortification. The notion is reinforced by exhortations to adopt so-called penitential practices, favourite forms of which involve the non-indulgence in activities that one finds great pleasure in. Yet Biblical scholars inform us that the idea of penance in the Bible is indeed a change of direction - a conversion. In the Christian context this has to be interpreted as BY DR (REV) a positive effort to achieve a closer identification ROBERT P. with Christ our Redeemer. BALHETCHET Our Holy Father in his Lenten message points us in the direction this “conversion” should take. He refers to Lent as “the providential time for conversion” helping us “to contemplate this stupendous mystery of love.”. The love he is referring to is, of course, the incredible love that God had for us when he sent His Son Jesus into the world. The tremendous love that Jesus had in laying down his life for us. But it is not a question of merely contemplating and revelling in this love. We have, as our Holy Father puts it, “to offer this testimony of gratuitousness which the world so badly needs.” At a time when sensitivities are running high amongst our diverse cultures and religions, in the euphoria of “Assisi”, and above all during this season of Lent, it might be a very opportune time for us all to turn the focus on ourselves and examine our own attitudes as Catholics. Are we guilty of

harbouring suspicions and prejudices towards those of other races and religions. We may not be guilty of overt actions that would betray our inner feelings, but perhaps in very subtle ways we actually manifest our real feelings which are far from Christian! The Christian love that we profess to have for all is not satisfied by verbal protestations - it needs to be proven by concrete action. And it is personal action that is needed, because it is personal conversion that Lent demands of us. 347 Our Holy Father has appealed to us to bear testimony to the love that we have freely received. It is incumbent on us that we freely give that love that we received, to others. We must, however, resist the temptation to believe that giving money, however generously, particularly during, what has become customary in our archdiocese, the annual Lenten Appeal, satisfies what the Holy Father refers to as a testimony to the love we have received. It is, unfortunatley, very easy to try to reduce our obligations in many areas, to some set practices. Bearing testimony to love cannot be reduced to a monetary donation. It is a whole attitude, a whole disposition that must characterize our relationship as disciples of Christ to those we encounter in our daily living. And this is something that cannot just be confined to six weeks of Lent. It is something that we must work at to be operative throughout our lives. We would do well to work on this during the Lenten season, so as to set in motion this process - then Lent will represent a real “conversion” - the taking of a new direction in our lives.

FROM THE PEWS

Quality of sermons MOST Catholics are Sunday wor shippers only, meaning they only go to Church on Sundays to participate in the E uchristic celebrations. Although there is a growing numbers of Catholics who do attend weekday Masses or Novenas as well. Week after week, these Catholics are longing and thirsting for the mes sage of God, besides eager to receive the Body of Christ (Jesus Himself present in the Holy Eucharist). However in some parishes, the quality of Sunday sermons or homi lies delivered by some priests are below par or expectations to many. What the faithfuls needed are quality serm ons that can bring some changes in their daily lives. Sermons that are interesting, affirmative of our faith and believe, something to learn about and that touches the hearts of the parishioners. I believe many Catholics do not want priests telling long stories, just to get the message of the Gospel

across. What they needed is strong and straight forward messages that can change or enlighten their minds and hearts. In short, something qual ity that can touch their souls. With improved Sunday sermons or homilies, I believe Catholics will keep coming back week after week for Mass. That is why if we look at some Churches in Europe or Britian, the attendance at Sunday Masses are way below expectations. One of the vital reasons are due to the fact that the sermons are of low quality. The hymns for Sunday Masses should be selected carefully, not just to coincide with the day celebration but to ensure that all the congregation is able to participate fully and meaningfully. We need a participatory church, meaning that the priests and laity are both involved in the celebration of Mass. Bernard Anthony Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Validity of Confession On a number of ocassions that I have availed myself of the sacrament of reconciliation, the priests who administer this sacrament do not give absolution but instead say “Go in peace”. On other ocassions, the priests do not give any form of penance. I was under the impression that the sacrament of reconciliation had to go through a number of steps, namely a) Confession of sins b) Counsel given by priest c) Penance is given d) Penitant says the Act of Contrition e) The priest gives absolution

My question is whether such confessions that deviate from the norm are held to be valid. Could the church shed some light on this issue? Edwin Charles Singapore You have correctly set out the essentials for Confession. Normally, the priest should say the formula for Absolution aloud so that the penitent can hear it. So also is a suitable form o f reparation to be given to the penitent. Rest assured, however, should any of the essentials on the part of the priest be ommitted for whatever reason, you do NOT have to repeat your confession!

The challenges of building churches to build a condominium or a school, THIS is a little commentary on the but a church? Do they know how unending stream of parish building projects in Singapore. and where to place the tabernacle? Do they know where the baptismal Last year I attended a parish retreat which was meant to educate font should be placed? Is an Ado ration Room an absolute necessity? parishioners on enthroning the Bible “What do we have as an image in our homes. Suddenly from the of Christ?” Ever since I experienced back a woman quipped, to every the first church building project as a body's consternation: ..Father, how parishioner, I believe church de come there’s no Adoration Room in signers have wrestled with providing our new church building?” I don’t exactly remember howintimate worship spaces in large parishes, what with smaller land my parish priest answered the ques area available and bigger congre tion, but one thing really struck me: are Adoration Rooms really a must, gations. It was therefore no surprise that the relatively new church in or a requirement in a church? Ang Mo Kio, the Christ the King In fact, what do churches need? Church (1982) was rebuilt less than A document on church art and lit 20 years later! erature recently issued by the U.S. bishops (I don’t remember any such This episode really showed the importance of analyzing population document being issued locally or shifts especially in a rapidly evolv even at an espiscopalian level) ing landscape in the heartland. stresses on the importance of ac cessibility, a collaborative approach The Risen Christ Church, built and education for the whole parish, in the 1970s, still stands proudly. the role of a liturgical consultant, But St Mary of the Angels, another one built in the 1980s, is now being sensitivity to the cultural nuances of rebuilt. St Anne’s was renovated, parishes, and the importance of an but the rapidly developing Punggol art program. 21 and Sengkang estates would And it was then that I realised necessitate another major rework the problems faced by priests in building new churches or renovat of the church in say, five years. The Nativity of the BVM Church ing old ones. Most parish committee is also undergoing some renova members have never built a church tions, just like St Francis of Assisi; before. one wonders whether these par Do they know where to get art work, where to find an artist, how to ishes are preparing for the coming handle lighting, what kind of floor population shift, or are simply mak ing upgrades to their admittedly covering works best and what takes substandard infrastructure. precedence when there are con flicts? Do the building committee In the Upper Thomson area, the small Church of the Holy Spirit, members really know how to get originally designed for a parish of from A to Z of a church building 1,000, is now being rebuilt for 3,500project? 4,000 people. They may very well know how

And they had better be judi cious and careful as poorly built buildings eventually will end up in the waste dump, taking up landfill space and being replaced by new buildings, which require still more resources. An excellent example is the old Church of Christ the King in Ang Mo Kio, which, aside from being too small to accommodate its huge congregation, looked more like a community centre from the outside. But in being more judicious and careful about their parish building projects, parishes often must be willing to invest more in their con struction projects. Cutting corners is a no, no. Never mind about the state of the economy; a church, where it is needed, must be built. Fund raising, too must be viewed with a different slant. Raising money to build or renovate a church isn’t the same as raising money for a new gym or parish center. It is not enough to tell the people that the second collection is for our parish building project. There’s an educational compo nent that’s very important. Priests and their committees need to deepen parishioners’ understand ing of liturgy and salvation, and why the interior should be arranged a certain way. Some parishioners will not give if they don't understand why the church is arranged the way it is. Or why a particular stained glass costing $200,000 should be installed. Just my two cents’ worth. Al R Dizon Singapore

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INDONESIAN CATHOLIC CHARISMATICS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH (Karismatik Katolik Indonesia - Holy Spirit) w o u ld lik e to in v ite

I have read the article “Congregation at Mass” I agree with Joseph Lee’ We must have a standard. 1 Songs: at some churches the same songs are sung but with different tunes. Congregation didn't sing - either they don’t know the tune or they do not want to open their golden mouths. 2 Raising hands very meaning ful. 3 Is it a must to confess our sins to the priest. Why can't we confess directly to the Lord? Newly Baptized Dear "newly baptized". Firstly, you need to give your name and address when writing to the Editor as indicated in the "box" above. This is to ensure "good faith" and also to enable clarification to be

sought if needed. However, I am still publishing your letter and answering it, as it is obviously genuine. 1 With regard to the hymns, it is quite common to have the same words with different melodies or the same melody with different words. You sign off as "newly baptized" but as time goes on you will be fam iliar with the more common hymns. 2 Your observation about the congregation not singing is valid enough, but perhaps there was a particularly virulent strain o f flu with attendant loss o f voice affecting many! 3 Confession to a priest The necessity o f confession to a priest has to be seen in the whole context o f the Sacraments which find their meaning in the

exigencies o f man's human nature. We need v is ib le sign s fo r everything. Indeed, it is said that our lives are full o f symbols. Even lan gu ag e is fu n d a m e n ta lly "sym bol" - sounds being the symbols o f the spoken word, and characters being the symbols of the written word. Hence in every sacrament there is the spiritual reality and the visible elements that symbolize that real ity, e.g. for Baptism there is the spiritual cleansing and affiliation to God but there is also the pouring of water and the formula o f words that accompany the sign. Similarly, for Confession, there is the spiritual reality of reconcilia tion with God but there is also the visible sign o f admission o f sins and the formula of absolution from the priest. □

tion in the Celebration may well conceal this ignorance. At best, I put myself in this latter category of worshippers. Perhaps a concerted effort should be made by all priests and parishioners to ensure that we are all aware of the meaning of this Celebration. Then only may we erase from our minds, once and for all this recurring weekend picture: • Sunday morning at our parish • Car park jam-packed • Wardens directing you to go left when you want to go right where your subsequent exit will be swifter • Arriving late because of that traffic congestion which, you have not noticed, has been present same time, same place for the last 20 years • No parking lots when you ar rive at 10.35 am for the 10.30 am Mass • Hurrying with other people as you make your way into the church, trying to avoid cars and pedestrians and small talk with somebody you don’t particularly like • Teenagers meandering slowly and reluctantly towards the church doors • Adults and youths making last minute calls on their mobile phones or ensuring that it is active so as not to miss “important” calls or SMS

messages during Mass • Securing the corner seats or the standing room at the rear where some parents congregate because it is an ideal “playground” for their chil dren and talking area for themselves • Part of the mad rush to get out of the House of God At a parish some years ago, a priest noticed that two youths were not participating during the Cel ebration and his attempt to get an explanation from them,after the Mass was met with the remark “Bor ing lah, father”. The late Bishop Fulton Sheen, in a video presentation on “The Meaning of the Mass”, remarked that if you bring nothing to the Mass, you get nothing out of it. Perhaps it is time that all Catholics are made aware of what we need to bring to this “Heaven on earth”. Derrick D’ Souza Singapore 424028

Weekend picture Dear Father Congratulations to your team on the new-look CN. I found the section “From the Pews" very informative and thought that I would share some of my views from the pew, focusing mainly on our celebration of Holy Mass. Not many Catholics however, I suspect, are aware that the Mass is essentially a celebration of the great est event of human history, that our Holy Father likened its participation to being “in Heaven on earth”, that Vatican II called this Celebration “the source and summit of the Christian life" or that some awesome things happen during the Celebration. How else do you explain the persistent stream of latecomers to the Celebration, the walkabouts when the Word of God is being read, the inattention and non-par ticipation during the Eucharistic Prayers, the casual approach to re ceiving the body of Christ and the treatment as an intermission of the remaining minutes, when we are surely in our most holy state. While it is a minority of parishioner who persist in such actions, the majority, by their silence and inaction, are in fact condoning such behaviour. They themselves may not fully understand the meaning of the Mass and their “acceptable” method of participa

Lenten Regret

o u r B r o t h e r s a n d S is t e r s i n C h r i s t t o a tte n d a T h a n k s g iv in g M a s s in B a h a s a In d o n e s ia c e le b r a t e d b y F r Y u s u f H a l i m S V D a n d N a f ir i V o c a l G ro u p i n c o m m e m o r a tio n o f

KKIHS ’ 2nd Anniversary F r id a y , 2 2 n d F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 2 , 7 p m H o ly S p ir it C h u rc h 2 4 8 U p p e r T h o m s o n R o a d , S in g a p o r e 5 7 4 3 7 1

Enquiries, please contact: Jane 9762-4395, Leny 9002-7692, Susan 446-3855 “... and on this rock I will build my church...” Matthew 16:18

When I was born I was baptized as a Catholic and now I am 66 years old. Until now, I have never heard of Ash Wednesday being postponed to Friday! What has happened to the Catholic Faith? All this, just because of Chinese New Year. It is very unfair! Why not have the Imposition of Ashes on Wednesday and keep the fast and abstinence for Friday? Does enjoyment come before God? Then why should those who are divorced not be allowed to receive Holy Communion? Why can't this be changed? I am a Catholic and will remain one til! I die. Please answer my queries. C. A. L. P. You have a point about the ashes. It certainly could have been done that way, but the Bishop's

Conference of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore decided on this arrangement as it was felt that it would not be very appropriate to begin the Lenten Season with a Lunar New Year celebration, since the Lunar New Year celebration is actually beginning one day before Ash Wednesday. As for your query about those who are divorced not being allowed to receive Holy Communion, one needs to understand that divorce goes against the permanence of the marriage vows and the whole question ofindissolubitiy of marriage. /As for the reception o f Holy Communion, this depends on whether one initiates the divorce proceedings or not. Affected persons should consult their confessors about the matter. □

I couldn't agree more with your weekend picture, or is it a jig-saw puzzle!? If it's the latter, there's one piece you m issed out - the "Outstanding Catholics" (they stand outside!) as my old parish priest when I was a little boy, used to call them - and indeed at your home parish, too!! As for the mobiles, it could be that their owners are selecting ETR (extra-terrestial roaming) for celestial SMS!! However, given the "live" connection that the Holy Eucharist provides, one would have thought that connections of the electronic variety wouldbe quite inferior. Seriously, though, one assumes that such machines should definitely be switched off. □

Sunday Mass Readings May I suggest the inclusion in The C atholic News of a regular commentary on the Sunday mass scriptural readings? I am sure that such a regular feature, especially if it explains the relevance of the text to the present times and in the local context, will be much appreciated by parishioners. There used to be such a column in The Catholic News some time ago. Lee Kip Lee We welcome the suggestion and are implementing it in this issue.

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

NEWS

Course on religious sign language to equip more laity to help the deaf By Mel Diamse-Lee A NEW course on basic and ad vanced religious sign language hopes to get more Catholics to help with interpreting signed Masses, teach catechism, give talks to and fellowship with deaf Catholics. Franciscan Friar Rowland Yeo, one of the ministers to the commu nity said Catholics need to “learn more about the deaf so as to help make others understand them too”. The 12-weekend course will be gin on March 2 at the Church of St Bernadette.lt will offer cultural infor mation, religious words, prayers and liturgical signs. “Signed Masses are very impor tant as they allow the deaf C atholics to experience and follow the Mass fully, just as it is important to have masses in Tagalog for our Filipino foreign workers,” Friar Rowland said. Some 50 deaf Catholics come to gether every Sunday afternoon at the Catholic Archdiocesan Education Centre for a signed Mass. However, Friar Rowland hopes that the deaf will be integrated in the

parishes. “The Church can help the deaf by allowing them to participate in church Masses and be part of the parish. “They could also help out by in viting the Singapore Catholic Deaf Community members to talks or functions held by the church so that the deaf feel wanted and have a sense of belonging to a church in stead of being segregated because of communication difference.” Friar Rowland adds: “I draw a parallel with the Gospel story in which Jesus heals a deaf man by placing his fingers in the man’s ears and saying, ‘be opened’. I hope the new archbishop is opening the doors to us! “I call on the Church to recognise the deaf community as another cul ture with its own language and cus toms that is in no way inferior.” □ The basic and advanced courses on Religious Sign Lan guage will be held at the Church of St Bernadette on Zion Road from March 2, 2.30-4.30 pm. Reg istration fee: $45.

Fasting and charity Orthodox Jews praying at Jerusalem’s Western wall... Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It is a day of self-denial so that believers may be cleansed of their sins. • Continued from page 9 It is customary to wear white to symbolize purity and call to mind the promise that our sins shall be made as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Prayer services on Yom Kippur are lengthy and solemn. The level of public solemnity on Yom Kippur surpasses that of any other festival, including Rosh Hashanah. The Jews pray for forgiveness for sins between themselves and God, and correct wrongful actions be tween each other. Most of the holiday is spent in prayer in the synagogue.To differentiate the Yom Kippur prayer service from other days and to show the solemnity of the prayers, special melodies are used for some of the prayers. Tisha B’av, the second major fast, is the ninth (tisha) day in the Hebrew month of Av. It is a day of mourning. In addition to being the day on which the First and Second Temples were destroyed and Jerusalem was conquered, many other tragic events occurred on this day. Believers are prohibited from eating and drinking, washing (hands can be washed only up to the knuck-

IN MEM0RIAM!

COMING UP

les), anointing with lotions, wearing leather shoes, having marital rela tions and studying Torah subjects not related to the day. At the evening prayer service, the entire congregation sits on the floor and recites the Book of Eicha (Lamentations). The Minor Fasts There are five minor fasts in the Jewish calendar. With one exception, these fasts were instituted by the Sages to com memorate some national tragedy. The minor fasts (that is, all fasts except Yom Kippur and Tisha Beav) last from dawn to nightfall, and one is permitted to eat breakfast if one arises before sunrise for the purpose of doing so. There is a great deal of leniency in the minor fasts for people who have medical conditions or other dif ficulties. The date of the fast is moved to Sunday if the specified date falls on Sabbath. Acts of Charity must be per formed especially during the month of Elul which precedes the high holidays as well as during the minor fasts as above. Charity must also be dispensed on a daily basis before and during the daily morning services. □

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Y O U TH S e e p a g e 15

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Still rem em bered by your loved ones. First Anniversary In loving memory of

Ninth Anniversary In loving memory of

ANNA CHEONG AH NYONG Departed: Feb 26,2001 Today recalls sad memories, Of a dear mother gone to rest, And the one who thinks of her today Is the one who loves her best. Always loved and cherished by children, grandchildren and great-grand children.

LOURDES SOMA SUVANARIS Departed: Feb 24,1993 In our hearts your memory lingers, Sweetly tender, fond and true, There is not a day, dear mother, That we do not think of you. Deeply missed by children, grand children, relatives and loved ones.

Seventh Anniversary In loving memory of

T hirty-fourth Anniversary In everloving memory of

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ARTHUR LEFO RT Bom: Oct 19, 1920 Departed: Feb 16,1995 In our hearts your memory lingers, St Francis Xavier M inor Sem inary Sweetly tender, fond and true, (SFX R etreat C entre), 2887901 There is not a day, Fax: 8582716 sfxrc@ sing net.com .sg Website. dear father, h ttp llw w w .catholic.org.sglS F X That we do not think of you. The S ojo u rn e rs ’ C om panions, Sadly missed by 92686723 wife, children, scjoumeis_companions@yahoo.com grandchildren and loved ones.

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JO SEPH IN E BARTHOLOM EW Departed: Sep 23, 1945 Dearest mother, \\re mjss y0U s0 mUch. j0ve you gave us s ke beautifully 0f v0U

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G. R. MANUEL Departed: Feb 26, 1976 Dearest father, You toiled all those years for us, And then you had to go Toetemal peaceful rest Promised to the just and honest.

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THANKSGIVING O Holy St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in times of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you, to whom God has given such great power, to come to my assistance. Help me in my present urgent petition. In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. St Jude pray for me and all who invoke your aid. Humbly in need of your intercession. Amen. Thank you for answering my prayers. Our sincere thanks and gratitude to St Jude, Jesus and Mother Mary for answering our prayers. Please continue to guide, bless and protect us. Alicia and Aaron

BELSIAN MARTIN FERNANDO Departed: Feb 14,1968 Rest in peace, dear loving father, Thirty-four long years have passed away; You’re gone, but are still living In the hearts of those who stay. Lovingly remembered by wife, children and loved ones. 2nd Anniversary In loving memory of

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

IN MEMORIAM In everloving memory of My Dearest Dad

Sixth Anniversary In m em ory o f a loving husband, father, fath er-in -la w an d grandpa

In everloving memory of Beloved Luke

Second Anniversary In loving memory of

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PETER ANG YONG MONG Departed: F eb 15,1996 In o u r h om e he is fondly rem em bered, S w eet m em o ries c lin g to h is nam e; T hose w ho loved him in life sincerely, S till love h im in death ju st th e sam e. A lw ays rem em b ered an d sadly m issed by w ife T eresa and loved ones.

VICTOR ERNEST ROZELLS Departed: Feb 27, 1979 We often think of bygone days When we were together, The family chain is broken But memories live forever. Always loved and remembered by loved ones.

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MRS P. THOMAS NEELANKAVIL PAUL ROSE Nee NEELANKAVIL Bom: Feb 17, 1912 MARY Called to Bom: Oct 2, 1921 eternal rest on Called to the Lord on Feb 17, 1997 Feb 15,1997 in Singapore in Singapore

Eighteenth Anniversary In loving memory of

ANSELM PA TR IC K D’ SOUZA Departed: Mar 2, 1984 Rest in peace, dear dad Eighteen long years have passed by. You’re gone, but are still living in the hearts of those who stay. Remembered by Nan, Rosemary De Souza, Family, in-laws, ten grandchildren and loved ones. Twenty-Seventh Anniversary In loving memory of

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DAVID GERRARD PEREIRA Who left us twenty-five years ago on Feb 20, 1977 Sweet are the memories silently kept. Of one we loved dearly and never forget. Sadly missed by family and friends.

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CHARLES JO SEPH Departed: Feb 20,19

GREGORY CHEOK POH SEONG Departed: Feb 17,1999 GRACE I have lost my soul’s CH ELLIAH Departed: Feb 24,1992 companiion, A life linked In memory with my own; of a loving mother And day by day From: Her children, I miss him more, grandchildren As I walk through and all loved ones. life alone. Cecilia and Vincent. In loving memory of Sixth Anniversary In loving memory of

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EDWARD TAN TECK YAM Departed:Mar 1, 2000 In life, we loved you dearly. In death, we love you still. It broke our hearts to lose you, Butyoudidn’tgoalone. Part of us went with you. The day God took you home. Mass will be celebrated at the Church of Christ the King on Thursday, M arl.2001at6.15pm . Dearly missed by Doreen, Avryl and all loved ones.

LOUIS LOW YAT ON Departed: Feb 22, 2000 Fondly remembered by wife, children, grandchildren and all loved ones.

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LUKE ALPHONSIUS ONG Departed: Feb 21,1979 Only the memory of bygone days And a sigh for a face unseen A constant feeling that God alone knows best what should have been. Always loved and remembered by mum, brothers and sisters.

I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me, even if he dies, shall live, and whoever lives and believes in me, shall never die. Sadly missed and always remembered by children, grandchildren and all loved ones. Mass will be celebrated at Church of St Teresa, Kampong Baru on Saturday, Feb 23, 2002 at 6.30 pm.

STEW ART TEO CHYE SOON Departed: Feb 19,1996 Six years have gone by but in our hearts and minds You will forever remain, pa The memories of you are still as vivid today as they were yesterday. Always loved and dearly remembered by family - Lilian, Elaine, Jimmy, Lenna and Jaramy. Mass will be celebrated at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2002 at 6.15 pm. Eleventh Anniversary In loving memory of

JO H N DANAM Called home on Feb 28, 1975 Life’s labour done; as sinks the clay, Light from its load the spirit flies, While heaven and earth combine to say, “How blest the righteous when he dies!” Death is not a period It’s only a comma. Always remembered by wife, daughters and loved ones. T hirtieth Anniversary In loving memory of

Rest in peace. Always remembered by loved ones. Fourth Anniversary In ev erlo v in g m em o ry o f

MDM AGATHA HENG SWEE KHIM D eparted: M arch 2, 1998

Peacefully sleeping, resting at last, The world’s weary troubles and trials are past. In silence she suffered, in patience she bore, Till God called her home to suffer no more. Forever cherished and fondly remembered by family, relatives and friends.

MARY TAN Departed: Feb 19,1991 ANTOINETTE Eleven years since MARIE ZEHNDER you left us, Called to be with the Mama dearest; Lord on Feb 22, 1972 When God took you, it was His will, Eternal rest grant unto But in our hearts, her, O Lord, and let we love you still. perpetual light shine Missing you, upon her. Yes, we always do, May she rest in peace. But in our heaven, Lovingly we believe, it’s true, remembered by Looking and smiling daughter Valerie, sons down at us, are you. Patrick, Desmond, In Jesus ’ arms you have Barry, grandchildren, always prayed to be. great grandchildren This is the memory and loved ones. of you, in our hearts within. Please turn to Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and page 13 for more let your perpetual light “In Memoriam” shine upon her. announcements May she rest in peace. and classified Amen. Fondly remembered advertisements. by loved ones.

FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

'YOUNG We thank the Lord for Fr Michael Sitaram’s recovery, but we need to continue to pray for his full recovery. We welcome feedback and comments from our youth readers who have something to share with other readers. This page is specially dedi cated to you!

Lent through the eyes of the young

By Melissa Lim ONE of the most wonderful things about teaching is what you learn about your students and more im portantly, what you learn about yourself in the process. When a human connection takes place, par ticularly the kind that takes place in a dynamic learning environment, it enlarges our capacity to understand our world better and deepens our sense of self-knowledge. When I recently recounted the story of the Prodigal Son to a mixed class of Christian and non-Christian students, the first and immediate reaction of many was “the father is so stupid!” The students, particularly the non-Christian ones, were incredu lous that a father would welcome back a son who had squandered all his wealth, and with not a word of reproach! Quite a few identified strongly with the older brother - the one who had faithfully stood by his father and had received zilch in terms of appreciation. The first thing that had struck them was the unfairness of it all. In a meritocratic society like Sin gapore, it would be folly and unrealistic to espouse the values of the father in the story. To the stu dents, the moral of the story seemed to be - Live selfishly and enjoy yourself, you will be rewarded; be filial and work hard, you will be unrecognised! Ridiculous! I initially hoped the story would illustrate the power of the uncondi tional parental love. Faced with the

Faced witfi tfie pragmatic reactions o f m y students after s flaring witfi tfiem the story o f the Trodigaf Son, *1suddenfy fecame more aware o f flow “crazy” tfie fefiaviour o f tfiefather was, a n d f y association, flow “crazy ” (gods fove a n d forgiveness is.

pragmatic reactions of my students, I suddenly became more aware of how “crazy” the behaviour of the father was, and by association, how “crazy” God’s love and forgiveness is.

“Crazy” but wonderful at the same time. And not entirely uncon ditional either. I realised more fully at that moment, standing in front of my students, the importance of the

Youth sharing for World Youth Day HONG KONG - A Church-organized youth rally here has generated interest among Catholic youth about the World Youth Day (WYD) cel ebration this July in Canada with Pope John Paul II. Some 1,500 Catholic youth turned up for the three-hour concert and rally hosted by the Hong Kong Diocesan Youth Commission at a sports ground here. Rally organizer Fr Philip Chan Tak-hung told UCA News on Jan 20 that the sole objective of the pro gramme was to bring young Catholics together and provide “a chance for them to share their faith with their fellows". While the rally was "not exactly a preparatory activity" for the WYD, Fr Chan said he would like to take the opportunity to invite all the par ticipants to join either the world event or similar Church programmes in Hong Kong. The rally, featuring bands that performed original faith music and songs, was attended by Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong and Auxiliary Bishop John Tong Hon of Hong Kong, together with a dozen diocesan priests and members of the Foreign Missions Society of Mexico (Guadalupe Missioners).

Prodigal Son’s recognition of his mistakes and his humility in seeking forgiveness. That was the “condi tion” - the one and only effort that had to be put in for him to be richly rewarded.

DIRECTORY FOR YOUTHS/YOUNG ADULTS B akhita Search-lnn, C hristina/S r Veronica (367-6264/467-4290) email: yscchris@ yahoo.com l can osis@ pacific.n et.sg B oys’ Town Fraternity, gaudette@ boystow n. org.sg Br D om inic Kiong 7691618 Fax: 7627846 C atholic O verseas Students Dow n U n d e r A d ria n (98365217) or Dennis (274-2979) or cosdu@ yahoo .com .au Choice, 93077752/96710767 choice@ cheerful. com Youth Life-Line, 2526300 Fax: 2855311

Youth representatives from all over the world practise the World Youth Day theme song in Canada. In Hong Kong, youths gathered for a sharing session to prepare for the gathering in July, c n s photo Ms Clare Cheung, parishioner of the Rosary Church, and Mr Horace Choi, chairperson of the Catholic Students' Society of the City University of Hong Kong, ex pressed appreciation for the youth gathering. However, the rally could have included sharing, role-playing and other activities that would have al lowed the participants to interact, said Ms Cheung, who is one of the Hong Kong delegates due to attend

the July 18-28 WYD. While agreeing with Ms Cheung, Mr Choi said the rally in eastern Hong Kong island was a good "warm-up" for the WYD celebration. Another participant Ms Angie Lo, who teaches at a Catholic pri mary school, anticipates that her first experience of the World Youth Day will facilitate her teaching in school. She said she plans to share her experience with others upon returning from Canada. □ u c a n

Haven’t we all been through periods of depression, when we felt that no matter how hard we tried, our efforts just w eren’t good enough? When we made mistakes and had to pay for them no matter how regretful or sorry we were? Life can be extremely demanding. Failed your exam? Sorry, you don’t de serve success. Didn’t shine in your CCA? Sorry, no points for you. Betrayed my trust? Sorry, never want to speak to you again. But here in the simple story of a young man who grieved his father and committed the most selfish mis takes was a message that God offers more than a calculation of whether one is “good enough”. All that’s required is an admission of our mistakes and a genuine desire to change. This is a powerful message and one that I only fully appreciated after viewing the story through young and pragmatic eyes. How timely that this revelation should be brought home just before Lent. Have faith, reflect on our mis takes, sins and errors, turn to Him in humility and seek reconciliation simple tasks for all of us but not always easy to actually do. But once done, the reward of love, for giveness and happy reunion will be “crazily” bestowed on us time and time again. □ Our youth contributor, Melissa Lim, in her 20s, is a member of the Shine Jesus Shine commit tee and a parishioner o f the Church of St Vincent de Paul. She teaches at a local college.

C atholic S tu d en ts ’ Society - U niversity o f Singapore, M r Irving Teo 2960897 irving teo @ catho lic.org

St Patrick House, (Boarding) Br Collin Wee, FSC 3455929 Fax: 3454635

Nanyang Technological University Catholic Students’ Apostolate, NTU Branch: Mr Budi S usanto 94787827. National Institute of Education Catholic Students’ A posolate (NIECSA), NIE Branch: Ang Mei Ling 96663234

Infant Jesus R etreat and Youth Centre, S r Gerard Lee 7602461/92947521 Fax: 7699369 srtlee@ yahoo.com

Praise@ W ork Juliana 9799-9184 or em ail welcom e@ praiseatw ork. org

Y ou ng C hristian S tud en ts’ M ovem ent (M andarin speaking), M r Stephen Chia 2864166 95024549

Poverello Teen Centre, S r M aria S ylvia Ng, FMM Tel/Fax: 5442603 ju b200 0 @ s in g n e t. com .sg

Y ou ng C hristian W o rkers (M andarin-speaking), M aria Ng Kim Luang 7630137

Y outh Praise M inistry Helen Lee (9029-0118) em ail yp m sin gapore@ yahoo.com .

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FEBRUARY 17-24, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

VATICAN

Live in practical generosity WHO Photo

be how we prepare to live this Lent: in practical generosity to wards the poorest of our brothers and sisters! By opening our hearts to them, we realize ever more deeply that what we give to others is our re sponse to the many gifts which the Lord continues to give to us. We have received without paying, let us give without pay! What better time is there than Lent for offering this testimony of gra tuitousness which the world so badly needs? In the very love which God has for us, there lies the call to give ourselves freely to others in turn. I thank all those throughout the world - lay people, Religious, and priests who offer this witness of charity. May it be true of all Christians, whatever the circumstances in which they live. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Fair Love and Hope, be our guide and strength on this Lenten journey. Assuring you all of an affectionate remembrance in my prayers. I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing to each of you, especially to those engaged day after day on the many frontiers of charity.

• From Page 1 4 Commanded to love “What do you have,” St Paul asks, “that you did not receive?” (1 Cor 4:7). The demand which follows this recognition is that of loving our broth ers and sisters and of dedicating our selves to them. The more needy they are, the more urgent the be liever’s duty to serve them. Does not God permit human need so that by responding to the needs of oth ers we may learn to free ourselves from our egoism and to practise au thentic Gospel love? The command of Jesus is clear: “If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same’?” (Mt 5:46). The world prizes human relationships based on self-interest and personal gain, and this fos ters an egocentric vision of life, in which too often there is no room for the poor and weak. Every person, even the least gifted, must be welcomed and loved for themselves, regardless of their qualities and defects. In deed, the greater their hardship, the more they must be the object of our practical love. This is the love to which the Church, through her countless institutions, bears wit ness in accepting responsibility for the sick, the marginalized, the poor, and the exploited. In this way, Chris tians become apostles of hope and builders of the civilization of love. It is highly significant that Jesus

The greater their hardship, the more they must be the object of our practical love.

From the Vatican, 4 October 2001 Feast of St Francis of Assisi. spoke the words “You received with out paying, give without pay” as he sent the Apostles out to spread the Gospel of salvation, which is his first and foremost gift to humanity. Christ wants his Kingdom, which is already close at hand (cf. Mt 10:5ff), to be spread through gestures of gratuitous love accomplished by his disciples.

This is what the Apostles did in the early days of Christianity, and those who met them saw them as bearers of a message greater than themselves. In our own day too the good done by believers becomes a sign, and often an invitation to believe. When, like the Good Samaritan, Christians respond to the needs of

their neighbour, theirs is never merely material assistance. It is al ways a proclamation of the Kingdom as well, and speaks of the full mean ing of life,hope, and love. 5 Exhortation to love Dear Brothers and Sisters! Let this

n r

The Holy Father’s message for Lent was issued on 4 October 2001 and was under embargo till now. Section subtitles are our own. Editor.

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