Catholic News issue 14, 2017

SUNDAY JULY 9, 2017

SINGAPORE $0.70 CENTS / WEST MALAYSIA RM$2.10

MCI (P) 013/08/2016

PPS 201/04/2013 (022940)

VOL 67

INSIDE

Reaching out to young people with disabilities

HOME

Youths from various countries enjoyed a camp organised by the Order of Malta

n Page 2

Young people with disabilities enjoyed dragon boating at Kallang, free fall simulation at iFly, and a tour of the Botanic Gardens – thanks to the Singapore Association of the Order of Malta.

The 33 youths from Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore were the guests of the Church association at a camp specially organised for them from June 8-11.

It was held at the Singapore Sports School and this was the first time that the association has organised an Asia Pacific summer camp for young people with disabilities.

Some participants were accompanied by caregivers, while a large contingent of volunteers, nurses and doctors volunteered to provide round-the-clock care for them.

According to the association, the activities were carefully chosen to encourage the participants, who come from various religious backgrounds, to transcend their normal capabilities.

In addition to enjoying dragon boating at the Kallang River and a gravity-defying experience on Sentosa, participants also took part in an Escape Hunt Experience and toured the Botanic Gardens.

Within the camp grounds, participants enjoyed indoor activities such as boccia, lawn bowling, table games, nightly discos and a fun-fair type carnival.

There was even a croquet challenge cup which was won by the participants from Thailand.

In his homily at the opening Mass, Archbishop William Goh urged the organisers and caregivers to continue to carry out such

NO. 14

Charities Week 2017 campaign $6.07 million raised

WORLD

Online questionnaire for youth Vatican wants to know their concerns n Page 10

London’s Grenfell Tower fire Church offers assistance to students n Page 11

Participants from five countries, their caregivers and organisers pose for a photo at the camp held at the Singapore Sports School.

POPE FRANCIS

Horoscopes, palm-reading not for Christians Trust the Lord, says pope n Page 12

Pope in interfaith videos Appears with other religious leaders Dragon boating on the Kallang River.

activities with love in their hearts so that the light of Christ may shine through.

Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, who declared the camp open, said in her speech that the activities were exciting and challenging.

A participant (left) enjoys a gravity-defying experience at iFly.

She encouraged more volunteers to organise them.

Both Archbishop Goh and Ms Fu later joined participants and their caregivers for lunch.

According to the Singapore Association of the Order of Malta, the camp was modelled after the

international order’s annual International Summer Camp.

The objective is to offer people between 18 and 35 years of age, who have special needs, an opportunity to meet others and to enjoy activities not normally accessible to them. n

n Page 13

FAITH ALIVE!

Food and hunger How Christians can connect these with faith n Page 15

2 HOME

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Charities Week 2017 campaign raises $6.07 million This year’s Archdiocesan Lenten campaign, Charities Week 2017, has raised $6.07 million, exceeding the amount raised last year by $241,000.

Caritas Singapore, the archdiocese’s social mission arm, noted that despite Singapore’s uncertain economic outlook, many Catholic families, friends, businesses and schools donated generously in support of the charities and groups that come under Caritas’ umbrella.

These groups serve more than 50,000 beneficiaries from among the poor and vulnerable, running more than 70 programmes that range from residential care and psychotherapy to palliative care and emergency sheltering.

Caritas Singapore’s fundraising committee chairman Paul Beh acknowledged the encouraging support Caritas received from businesses and individuals for this year’s campaign.

“The funds we collect will be

channelled to the most needy, and towards programmes that provide them with holistic development, empowering them to break the poverty cycle, so thank you all for your generous support,” he said.

Caritas Singapore’s execu-

The funds we collect ‘will be channelled to the most needy, and towards programmes that provide them with holistic development.

’

– Caritas fundraising committee chairman Paul Beh

tive director Bernadette Lau also expressed her appreciation for the help given by 25 volunteers who assisted with the counting, checking and collection of some 13,000 envelopes from parishes and schools.

Their efforts were done in collaboration with Catholic Welfare Services, a Caritas member organisation.

The volunteers did the work over 10 weeks, and many, said Ms Lau, have been helping with the annual fundraising drive since a decade ago.

“Their enthusiasm and commitment made the operations of this massive campaign a smooth and well-coordinated effort. I truly thank God for this group of steadfast volunteers,” she added.

The volunteers also expressed their gratefulness for being able to contribute in their own way towards Caritas’ work for the poor.

“It’s gratifying to see the generosity of donors every year,” they said in a statement. “Our participation in Charities Week is our way of giving thanks to God for all the blessings in our lives!”

To find out more about Caritas Singapore, visit caritas-singapore.org or call 6338-3448 n

Security is everyone’s responsibility Catholic Church’s response to detention of Auxiliary Police Officer: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore is saddened to hear of the arrest of a radicalised auxiliary police officer with another officer placed under restriction orders for supporting him. It is understood that both men worked as security personnel at the Immigration Checkpoint in Woodlands.

Coming close after the report of the self-radicalised childcare assistant last week, this new case places even greater personal responsibility upon each and every one of us as Singaporeans.

To protect the sanctity of peace and harmony which we enjoy in our multi-religious, multicultural society we should reach out to members of our families or even friends whom we know have been influenced by extreme

religious ideology. With the help of known and respected religious teachers and leaders these family members could be led back on the right path.

Even though it may be painful to report a loved one who has been misguided by terrorist ideologies, it is better to surrender him or her to the relevant authorities for their greater good as well as for the good of all Singaporeans.

We cannot depend solely on our security agencies or the government to protect us from acts of terrorism here. So we all need to step-up and take personal responsibility; to stay alert and report any activity that could threaten the safety and freedom of our families and neighbours. Security is everyone’s responsibility.

Importantly we need to stand by our Muslim brothers and sisters. These latest arrests painfully put the entire Malay-Muslim community under the spotlight through no fault of theirs. Muslims are peace loving people who are also looking forward to give thanks to God for their holy month of Ramadan as they prepare to celebrate the festival of Eid better known here as Hari Raya Adilfitri this weekend.

May these threats and trials only strengthen our resolve to stand strong and united; protecting our values of universal brotherhood, democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality for every Singaporean of every race and every creed. n Released by the archdiocesan COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE on June 20.

Source: CARITAS SINGAPORE

HOME 3

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Retreat helps participants experience God through drama Participants who attended a retreat fusing both prayer and drama said they experienced personal healing and a greater sense of their Godgiven identity.

“The retreat experience was like God’s light shining in the deepest parts of me, bringing out those parts which have been hidden in the shadows of myself, allowing me to see them through the eyes of God’s mercy,” said Ms Lucy Tjhia from the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Playing different Bible-related characters during the June 9-11 retreat was also a powerful journey of discovery for the nine participants. “Standing in another person’s shoes, I discovered myself,” said Ms Mary-Rose See from the Church of St Ignatius.

The retreat titled Finding God in Drama saw participants using drama and prayer to unpack the ultimate question of identity: Who am I? It was led by Mr Keith Neubronner and Mr Anthony Siow

and held at Kingsmead Centre, Victoria Park Road.

Mr Neubronner has completed a course in Applied Christian Theatre in Birmingham, England, which encompassed aspects such as evangelisation through the performing arts and the use of drama as prayer.

Mr Siew is a trained spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition.

The retreat saw participants praying with the scripture passage on The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).

Mr Neubronner eased them into “pray-acting” with drama exercises that helped them get in touch with their emotions and express them. Sessions began with participants simply walking around the room to help them loosen up and heighten their senses.

Participants of the Finding God in Drama retreat taking part in a session.

They were then gradually led to walk according to a particular character or an emotion, and made aware of how their bodies responded to these.

Participants reflected on how others saw them by examining relationships.

They were also challenged to contemplate the backstory of The

Playing different Bible-related characters during the retreat was a powerful journey of self-discovery for participants.

Prodigal Son, essentially filling in the blanks between Luke 15:11 and Luke 15:12. This was an invitation to examine the possible relationships that existed – between the father and his two sons, between the two brothers, and between the family and the servants in the household.

Participants were given the choice to play a character they felt drawn to, or to have one assigned to them.

They also pray-acted the actual scripture passage of The Prodigal Son, but without words, which heightened the emotional

impact and power of the passage.

“Acting without words was more powerful,” said Ms See. Participants were then led into a prayer experience to see themselves the way God sees them – as God’s beloved.

Many gave the retreat the thumbs-up.

“I found God and myself,” said Ms Stella Amanda, 26, from the Church of St Mary of the Angels.

Another participant, Ms Jocelyn Seow noted how “drama brings out real expressions and draws us closer to God”. n

4 HOME

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Canossian educators go on learning trip in Italy Fifteen educators from the different Canossian education institutions in Singapore went on a twoweek learning journey in Italy as part of the recent launch of the Canossian Education Charter.

The charter was launched on May 26 in Singapore and is to be used as an interpretation of the Canossian education charism, a reference resource in the formation of educators and as inspiration for curriculum design.

Canossians Srs Cecily Pavri and Geraldine Lim led the trip to Italy, which lasted from May 28 to June 11.

The trip was to allow participants – who came from Canossa Convent Primary School, St Anthony’s Canossian Primary and Secondary Schools, Canossian School (Hearing Impaired) and Magdalene’s Kindergarten – to visit the Canossian educational institutes in Italy and experience their works and spirit.

It also enabled them to walk in the footsteps of St Magdalene, the Italian founder of the Canossian order, and to experience the faith of St Josephine Bakhita, a Suda-

Singapore Canossian educators (seated, front and right) seen here with Italian school children.

nese-born former slave who became a Canossian Sister in Italy.

Participants visited Canossian schools in Brescia, northern Italy, and spent time networking, interacting and learning from their educator counterparts working in Canossian kindergartens, and primary, secondary, special needs and vocational schools.

The visitors also realised how similar the Canossian schools in Italy and Singapore were. In both countries the schools regard the “formation of the heart” as key to what makes the Canossian brand of education special.

During the school visits, the group reflected on their role as Canossian educators, deepening

their understanding of the Canossian charism in schools as they saw how it is still lived out in the Canossian schools in Italy.

Throughout the trip, the group was also privileged to meet with the Italian Canossian Sisters in the schools and convents.

In addition, the group visited places of significance to the founding of the order such as Santo Lorenzo Church in Verona where St Magdalene was baptised, Canossa Palace, St Magdalene’s Museum, her room and the chapel.

The group also visited Schio to learn about the life of St Bakhita.

They visited the chapel there, her room and the St Bakhita museum.

As the Canossian Order in Singapore belongs to the Province of St Anthony’s, the group spent some time in Padua learning about the saint and attending Mass at the basilica dedicated to him.

The group also spent three days in Assisi being inspired by the life of St Francis of Assisi before making their way to Rome where they attended a Wednesday audience with Pope Francis and visited the Vatican. n

HOME 5

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

CHANCERY NOTICE

22 June 2017

APPOINTMENTS 1. Mr Nguyen Van Vang has been appointed a member of ABLE Social Enterprise Accounting Services (ABLE SEAS) for a term of two [2] years with effect from 5 April 2017.

2. Fr Edward Seah has been appointed to the Board of Governors of St Joseph’s Institution for a term of three [3] years with effect from 1 June 2017.

3. The following have been appointed to represent the Archdiocese as Catholic representatives on the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) Council for a term of two [2] years from 18 June 2017: a. Sr Theresa Seow FDCC b. Sr Maria Lau IJ

Business leader Sherman Kwek ferrying Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood Sr Florence Wong and Gracelyn Ng, granddaughter of an Assisi Hospice patient, during the hospice’s Kampong Assisi event.

Special trishaw ride a highlight of hospice’s charity event A charity trishaw ride and a guess- performances, carnival rides and the-number-of-Lego-bricks con- traditional food. test were some of the new activiMs Choo Shiu Ling, CEO ties held during Assisi Hospice’s of Assisi Hospice, said she was recent fundraising event. pleasantly surprised by the good The ride saw business leader response for the event, held at SJI Sherman Kwek ferrying Francis- International School, and which can Missionaries of the Divine attracted about 10,000 visitors.

Motherhood Sr Florence Wong “This event has become a mega and five-year-old event since its deGracelyn Ng, a pain 1999, with We hope to build but tient’s granddaughmore participation on this event and from our corporate ter, in a trishaw.

Guest-of-honothers with more partners and the our, Defence Mincommunity to help collaborations and us serve more than ister Ng Eng Hen, flagged off the ride, support from our 2,000 patients yearwhich raised more ly,” she said. than $76,000 from corporate friends, “We hope to business partners build on this event donors and the and corporations and others with community. even before Mr more collaboraKwek started ped- – Ms Choo Shiu Ling, tions and support dling for some 500 CEO of Assisi Hospice from our corporate m around the event friends, donors and grounds. the community.”

A “Guess the Lego Brick Assisi Hospice was founded Challenge” was also held for peo- by the Franciscan Missionaries of ple to guess the number of Lego the Divine Motherhood Sisters in bricks used to build a model of the 1969. It provides palliative care new Assisi Hospice building. Par- to patients with life-limiting illticipants were invited to submit nesses, caring for them and their entries on the spot. families regardless of faith, age, Other attractions at the June race and financial position.

18 event, themed Kampong AsThe hospice’s website is www. sisi, included dance and music assisihospice.org.sg n

‘

’

4. The following have been appointed members to the Board of Abilities Beyond Limitations and Expectations Ltd (ABLE) for a term of two [2] years with effect from 1 July 2017: a. Ms Jessica Lee b. Dr Sylvia Teo c. Ms Marcia Troxler d. Mr Lawrence Loh 5. Ms Serena Fah has been appointed as Chairperson on the

CHN/CN/2017/013

Board of Abilities Beyond Limitations and Expectations Ltd (ABLE) for a term of two [2] years with effect from 1 October 2017.

6. Mr Bernardus Angkawidjaja has been appointed as Deputy Chairperson on the Board of Abilities Beyond Limitations and Expectations Ltd (ABLE) for a term of two [2] years with effect from 1 October 2017.

OTHER MATTERS Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) Fr Gerard Weerakoon has been appointed a member of the MacPherson Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) for a term of two [2] years with effect from 1 April 2017 by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).

ABLE Social Enterprise Accounting Services (ABLE SEAS) Archbishop William Goh DD has approved the proposed amendment of the ABLE SEAS Constitutions as presented in a Directors’ Resolution in regard to increasing the number of directors from seven [7] to nine [9].

Fr John-Paul Tan, OFM, JCL, Chancellor Chancery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore #07-01 Catholic Centre, 55 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187954 Email: chancery@catholic.org.sg

6 BIBLE SUNDAY

By Sr Sandra Seow, FMVD “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Divine Revelation as God’s self-revelation Our Catholic faith is based on divine revelation. Before Vatican II, the concept of “revelation” was referred to as a list of truths which disclosed information about God. In Vatican II, however, our understanding of revelation evolved into God’s self-revelation in the person of Christ, who is the Word made flesh. Christ, the Eternal Word, comes to reveal the face of God to humanity as well as to invite each man and woman to enter into an intimate communion in the life of the Holy Trinity. 1 In fact, Christian faith springs from an encounter with Christ.

When Jesus who is the Word of God speaks, He calls for openness on the part of the listener to respond to Him in faith by allowing Him to transform and orientate his/her life.

As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote in Deus Caritas Est, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon, and a decisive direction.” 2

The Bible and the Catholics of today Nowadays, people tend to have little or no time and space to be quiet as they rush to meet deadlines and aim to be productive. As Catholics, we too can be stuck in the busyness of getting things done, even in the Church arena, that we forget what is most essential, i.e. to encounter Christ. It is easy to busy ourselves by undertaking charitable activities and organisational duties in parishes and neglect cultivating an inner life of prayer with the Word of God. The more we grow deaf to His Word, the greater the risk that our faith becomes rancid and dry.

As Fr James Meehan 3 once said, “Don’t work so hard for God that you forget the God for whom you work.”

Prayerful reading of the Word of God is not a common habit among Catholics. In fact, numerous families possess Bibles but many keep them as part of religious items on display. They are not used to reading the Bible. Some even mistakenly think that the Bible has no place in the Catholic tradition.

The Word of God, for some Catholics, does not make sense

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

to their life circumstances as they search for life’s direction, grapple with sickness and old age, deal with pain and loss, labour to make ends meet, etc. However, they have yet to discover that the pages of the Scriptures do in fact contain answers to their problems and questions. God speaks to them through His Word and leads them to find the quiet joy of His presence amid the peaks and valleys of daily life. Through this, they would then be able to give an account for their hope to those who ask for it. 4 It is also a common view among young people that the Bible is simply a book with lots of verses that instruct them as to what God expects of them. Many find that the Bible does not provide adequate explanation of the complex world around them. Therefore, most young adults today find the Bible to be uninteresting and irrelevant to their lives and do not see the need to read it. What can the Church do for the faithful in order that they may come to a closer contact with God’s Word?

Letting the Bible inspire all pastoral work The role of the Church is to facilitate and promote such intimate grace-filled encounters between Christ and His people through His Word. Thus, it is of great importance for all Christian faithful to be encouraged to attentively listen to God’s word and have prayerful reading of the Bible, in order to live their faith passionately.

“Along these lines the Synod called for a particular pastoral commitment to emphasise the centrality of the word of God in the Church’s life, and recommended a greater ‘biblical apostolate’, not alongside other forms of pastoral work, but as a means of letting the Bible inspire all pastoral work”.

This does not mean adding a meeting here or there in parishes or dioceses, but rather of examining the ordinary activities of Christian communities, in parishes, associations and movements, to see if they

are truly concerned with fostering a personal encounter with Christ, who gives Himself to us in His word. 5 As People of God, there are many areas in which we, as lay catechists, Religious, priests, parents, grandparents, teachers, etc. can commit to make the Word of God more central in our own life as well as in the Church’s life, and foster a life-transforming personal encounter with Christ.

To initiate and sustain this personal relationship, we must recognise the essential role of those entrusted with proclamation of the Word of the God daily. For the Word of God to be the foundation of the Church’s life, the faithful need to hear it proclaimed authentically by preachers who themselves are people who pray and live the Word out in their daily lives. The Homiletic Directory published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sac-

The parish must be the hub where the faithful, as diverse people, can gather as one community of faith to listen to and apply God’s Word to their lives so as to journey toward a greater authenticity as Christians.

Priests and the faithful of each parish must be creative in offering opportunities for the Bible to be heard, prayed and shared.

raments states: “The homily will be delivered in a context of prayer and it should be composed in a context of prayer.” 6 Therefore, preaching is a sacred duty whereby preachers speak from the heart to the listeners and place them with Christ, only Christ. Preachers must be people of prayer so that none of them will become an “empty preacher of the Word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly.” 7

The Word of God touching the realities of life The parish must be the hub where the faithful, as diverse people, can gather as one community of faith to listen to and apply God’s Word to their lives so as to journey toward a greater authenticity as Christians.

Priests and the faithful of each parish must be creative in offering opportunities for the Bible to be heard, prayed and shared. Too of-

Questions: 1. As Catholics, do we take delight in the Bible as our spiritual treasure?

2. Does God’s Word provide the daily nourishment for our faith?

ten, biblical texts are used as aids to draw lessons in morality or simply as a tool to indicate a time for discussion. Lay catechists, youth leaders, faith formators, etc. have the responsibility to create conditions in which Catholics, young and old, may develop their inner ability to listen to Jesus and personally experience the transforming power of His Word.

In order to make the Bible more relevant to the lives of the people, parishes can consider having a pastoral-biblical care ministry that provides responses from the Bible to human problems such as sickness, racial divisions, injustice, death, etc., in order for people to bring their life circumstances into the light of the Word of God. This was the experience of St Augustine whose life was transformed when he allowed the Word to resonate with his personal struggle of living a chaste life. While praying in the garden, he heard a child’s voice saying, “Tolle, lege!” (“Take and read!”) St. Augustine took his Bible and read the first passage his gaze fell on. It happened to be Romans 13:13 8. The biblical text made sense to St Augustine whose life changed after that personal experience with the Word of God. Our Catholic community can help to promote the Bible through resources like Bible-based music or comics or artwork that draw young people to appreciate more

BIBLE SUNDAY 7

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

the Word of God. There can be more youth ministries that are primarily centred on the Bible where young people can encounter the living Christ through praying and sharing the Word. Parents and godparents play an essential role in forming the faith of children and youth by setting examples and being people whose foundations are rooted in God’s Word. Pope Francis, addressing parents and godparents in a homily, said: “Every day, make it a habit to read a passage of the Gospel, a small one, and always carry a little Gospel with you in your pocket, in your purse, so you can read it. And this will set the example for your children, seeing dad, mom, their godparents, grandpa, grandma, aunts and uncles, reading the Word of God.” 9

its straightforward method can be adapted to cater to children and youth groups in the parishes.

The first step of Lectio Divina is a prayerful and personal reading of a passage of the Bible. It is taking in a biblical text until it sinks into the heart of the person and opens him/her to dialogue with Jesus.

The second step of Lectio Divina is meditating on the Word of God by placing the person’s gaze firmly on a word or a phrase of the passage. As the person starts to ruminate on the Word, he/she is slowly drawn from the matters of the mind to the matters of the heart. From the heart, the person starts to contemplate and enjoy the presence of God in the wordless silence. From prayerful reading, meditation and contemplation of the Word, the

In order to make the Bible more relevant to the lives of the people, parishes can consider having a pastoral-biblical care ministry that provides responses from the Bible to human problems such as sickness, racial divisions, injustice, death, etc., in order for people to bring their life circumstances into the light of the Word of God. Lectio Divina Vatican II states that “the treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly so that a richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s Word” 10 Average Catholics hear the Word of God when they attend Mass. Their interaction with the Word of God ends when they leave the church and head back to their daily routines. Thus, there is a greater need today for “pulling the Christian scriptures from the margins back to the centre as the text for living the Christian life deeply.” 11 An effective way of putting the Bible at the centre of Christian living is by using the method called Lectio Divina, which is a traditional monastic practice since the 6th century 12. It comprises 4 steps: Read, Meditate, Contemplate and Live. Lectio Divina can be used by any group in the parish. In fact,

person is led to become a “doer of the Word” 13. The Word of God becomes fruitful when the person starts to live it out and makes his/ her life as a gift for others. As Pope Francis said, “The Christian life is this: listen to the word of God and practise it.” 14

Conclusion On this Bible Sunday, let us, with humble hearts, give thanks to God for the invaluable gift of His Word.

Christ never gets tired of speaking to each of us and inflaming our hearts with the fire of His love.

May we always be eager to nourish ourselves with the Word so that we can be disciples of the Word made flesh, our Lord and God. Notes: 1) Dei Verbum No.2.

2) Pope Benedict XVI, “Deus Caritas Est” , No.1, 25th December 2005,

3)

4) 5)

6)

www.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/encyclicals/documents/ hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deuscaritas-est.html. Accessed 25th January, 2017, Fr James Meehan is a Mill Hill priest who is presently retired in Kuching.

Cf. 1 Peter 3:15 Pope Benedict XVI, “Verbum Domini” Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation on The Word of the Lord, No. 73, 30th September 2010, www.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_ verbum-domini.html.

Accessed 2nd February 2017.

Congregation for Divine Worship

and the Discipline of the Sacraments, “Homiletic Directory”, No.26, 2015, http://www.vatican. va/roman_curia/congregations/ ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_ doc_20140629_direttorio-omiletico_en.html#III._PREPARATION. Accessed 26th February 2017.

7) St Augustine Sermons, 179, 1: PL 38, 966.

8) New Revised Standard Version, “Let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy.” (Romans 13:13) 9) Pope Francis. Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Mass, 11th January 2015, Sistine Chapel, Homily.

10) Flannery, Austin, editor. “Sacrosanctum Concilium: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy”, Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, new rev. ed., Paulines Publishing House, 1998, No. 51, pp. 17.

11) Peterson, Eugene H., “Eat this Book: The Holy Community at Table with Holy Scripture.” Theology Today, Vol 56, No.1, April 1999, pp. 5.

12) The Regional Biblical Commission’s Bible Sunday Message for the Year 2008 presented detailed steps on Lectio Divina.

13) NRSV, James 1:22-25 14) Pope Francis. Daily Eucharistic Mass, Santa Martha Residence, 23rd September 2014, Homily.

8 HOME

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Learning about ministering to ethnic and religious diversity in Australia

Singapore visitors engage in a discussion at St Mark’s Primary School.

Eight principals and teachers from Singapore Catholic schools learnt how their Australian counterparts integrate the Catholic ethos in their schools’ curriculum and community during a study trip.

Two schools stood out in particular for the visitors during the June 4-10 trip to Brisbane and its outskirts, which was jointly organised by the Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS) and the Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) office.

One of them was St Mark’s Primary School in Inala. It serves students of diverse ethnicities, and has a strong tradition of ministry to children and families from lower socio-economic groups.

More than half of its 490 students have a Vietnamese background. The rest come from Pacific Islander, Anglo-Saxon, African, Filipino, Spanish, indigenous and other backgrounds.

In view of this diversity, the school is devoted to fostering a Catholic environment where emphasis is placed on respect for one another, which helps bond the school community.

The Singaporean visitors noted that the Catholic spirit is strong in the school where religious posters and other visuals can be seen. Curriculum time begins with prayer.

The school also actively promotes Catholic teachings on social justice.

The parish priest is a regular visitor to the school, and the parish as a whole provides support in helping the school feel part of the local community.

The other school which impressed the visitors was the ecumenical Emmaus College at Jimboomba with its students from the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Uniting Church traditions.

The school serves students

Two Singaporean educators (right) observing students at the ecumenical Emmaus College

from preschool to year 12 (junior college level).

BCE office supports a leadership team of pastors from each of the denominations in preparing the religious education curriculum. The curriculum upholds the commonalities of all these traditions while respecting the particularities of each one.

More than half of St Mark’s Primary School students in Brisbane have a Vietnamese background.

At Emmaus College, students come from the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Uniting Church traditions.

Resources are available for the respective clergy to provide sacramental ministry and spiritual guidance to the students of their denomination. Catholic teachers in Emmaus College also work closely with the parish to prepare the Catholic students for their sacraments.

The college seeks to create opportunities for students to encounter God in the church, in communities and in nature. For example, students and staff work together in caring for an environmental park on the college grounds which is home to one of the protected tree species in Australia.

The Singapore educators also learnt of the social justice initiatives where students are involved in outreach programmes to the wider community.

They noted that while the schools they visited had their own focus areas, consistent in every school was the upholding of the

Catholic ethos to create a learning environment that accommodates the needs of all students.

The vistors also shared that the trip has inspired them to boost the Catholic character and the spirit of togetherness in their own school communities.

The collaboration between ACCS and the BCE office over the past five years has seen more than 40 leaders from Singapore Catholic schools visiting Catholics schools in Brisbane.

According to ACCS, this has helped Singapore Catholic schools engage in dialogue and collaboration on ways to strengthen their Catholic identity.

The next ACCS-BCE joint programme is a faith formation session in Singapore for educators conducted by Brisbane Catholic Education officers. n Submitted by: ARCHDIOCESAN COMMISSION FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Looking at the Turin shroud in light of science and faith

The Shroud of Turin. CNS photo

A lecture on the Shroud of Turin

by Legionary of Christ Fr Andrew Dalton attracted a full house at the Church of St Ignatius and the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on June 20 and 22 respectively.

The Shroud of Turin shows the image of a crucified man.

While some believe it to be the linen that wrapped the body of Jesus, others deny its authenticity.

In his talk, Fr Dalton, an Adjunct Professor of Theology in Rome who holds a diploma in Shroud Studies, dealt with the topic of the shroud through the viewpoints of science and faith.

Christian interest in the

shroud derives from the fact that St John’s Gospel records how the disciples discovered the burial cloths in the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.

Scientific interest, however, revolves around the mysterious qualities of the cloth, which acts as a photonegative and encodes three-dimensional information.

To this day, no one, even with modern day science and technology, has been able to reproduce a similar image.

Although radiocarbon dating done in 1988 claimed a medieval origin to the cloth, rigorous science proved in 2015 that the sam-

ple tested came from a corner of the cloth that is not representative of the rest.

Fr Dalton suggests that the shroud is the natural effect of a supernatural event, namely the resurrection. The shroud reinforces Christian faith and even contributes to our spiritual growth, he added. Submitted by: SINGAPORE PATRONS OF THE ARTS IN THE VATICAN MUSEUMS

Fr Dalton’s trip to Singapore was sponsored by the Singapore Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums (SPAVM). For more information about SPAVM, email info.spavm@gmail.com or visit www.spavm.sg. n

Fr Andrew Dalton gives a talk on the shroud.

ASIA 9

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Priests say govt lets gangs terrorise Catholics in northeast Vietnam HANOI – Police have apparently looked the other way as groups of youths terrorised a Catholic community in northeast Vietnam.

Asian Church news portal ucanews.com reported that, throughout June, gangs of youths – wearing red T-shirts with yellow stars, the colours of the state flag, and waving national flags – have attacked Catholics and their property in Song Ngoc Parish in Quynh Luu District of Nghe An province.

“We see that the attacks have been carried out in an orchestrated manner, and the police know well what is occurring, but are ignoring what is going on,” said 11 priests Vietnamese protesters rally in Hanoi in 2016 denouncing mass fish deaths in a June 13 petition given to the due to toxic discharge from a steel plant. Gangs have apparently harrassed Vietnamese government.

Catholics over Church involvement in suing the company. CNS file photo The priests accused the government of “aiding and abetting those who intentionally violate the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp., seeking to be properly compensatlaws, cause hatred and divide which was responsible for a marine ed and for the plant to be moved from the area. n CNS Catholics from others”. pollution disaster in April 2016.

The attacks have occurred The youths also collected sigat night, and at least two Catho- natures from locals calling for the lics have been seriously injured, expulsion of the priests – Frs John sources told ucanews.com.

Baptist Nguyen Dinh Thuc and Despite a heavy police pres- Anthony Dang Huu Nam – from ence, the youths have the area. ridden motorbikes at “The primary full throttle through The gangs have motivation behind villages at night and apparently the incidents is to thrown stones at a lopressure local Cathourged the cal church and at the lics and the deanery expulsion of homes of Catholics. into boycotting and They have also inexpelling the two two priests timidated businesses priests from Quynh active in owned by Catholics Luu district,” the and, in one case, the priests said in their helping youths, armed with petition. fishermen sue knives, threatened a The petition said Catholic shop owner the government is a company and destroyed his seeking to “conceal responsible goods while also the truth about the driving away his marine catastrophe for marine customers. caused by Formosa pollution.

Local Catholics and preventing the told ucanews.com people’s fight against the youths are supporters of the the steel plant.”

Communist Party and criminal elToxic waste, including phenol ements from other areas. and cyanide, from the TaiwanAs part of their intimidation ese-built steel plant in Ha Tinh campaign, the youths raised ban- province poisoned water along ners in public places that called a stretch of Vietnam’s coastline, on locals to expel two priests ac- killing hundreds of tons of fish. tive in helping local fishermen sue Those affected by the disaster are

Blood donation drive to mark cardinal’s birthday MANILA – Instead of material

gifts, a priest and employees of the Archdiocese of Manila held a blood donative drive to celebrate the birthday of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who heads the archdiocese.

The drive was held at the Archdiocesan Chancery in the historic Intramuros area on June 19 to commemorate the birthday of the cardinal, who turned 60 on June 21.

Fr Sanny de Claro, archdiocesan director of human resource development, told Asian Church news portal ucanews.com that the group chose to hold the event as blood symbolises life.

“I think the best gift is to help save or extend somebody’s life, that’s why we have this blood donation drive,” Fr de Claro said.

“Through this, we also want to show the cardinal that we treasure life,” he added.

The blood collected will be used particularly to help poor people who cannot afford to buy blood, the priest said.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle turned 60 on June 21.

In the past, the archdiocese also held a blood donation drive to celebrate the birthday of thenCardinal Gaudencio Rosales. Cardinal Tagle succeeded Cardinal Rosales in December 2011.

The blood donation drive was organised by the archdiocese in cooperation with the Philippine Red Cross. n CNS

10 WORLD

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Vatican releases online questionnaire for youth VATICAN CITY – To

involve young people in preparations for the Synod of Bishops on youth in 2018, the Vatican has released an online questionnaire to better understand the lives, attitudes and concerns of 16- to 29-year-olds around the world.

The questionnaire – available in English, Spanish, French and Italian – can be found on the synod’s official site: http://youth.synod2018.va/content/synod2018/ en.html.

The general secretariat of the synod launched the website on June 14 to share information about the October 2018 synod on “Young people, faith and vocational discernment” and to link to an online, anonymous survey asking young people about their lives and expectations.

The answers to the questionnaire, along with contributions from bishops, bishops’ conferences and other Church bodies, “will provide the basis for the drafting

of the ‘instrumentum laboris,” or working document for the assembly, synod officials said in January.

Young people from all backgrounds are encouraged to take part in the questionnaire because every young person has “the right to be accompanied without exclusion”, synod officials had said.

The list of 53 mostly multiple-choice questions is divided into seven sections: general personal information; attitudes and opinions about oneself and the world; influences and relationships; life choices; religion, faith and the Church; Internet use; and two final, open-ended questions.

The write-in questions are an invitation to describe a positive example of how the Catholic Church can “accompany young people in their choices, which give value and fulfilment in life” and to say something about oneself that hasn’t been asked in the questionnaire. n CNS

Philippine bishops join fight against ‘fake news’ Catholic bishops in the Philippines have joined the fight against the proliferation of “fake news”, saying that deception is “a sin against charity”.

The Catholic bishops’ conference urged people to refrain from “patronising, popularising and supporting identified sources of ‘alternative facts’ or ‘fake news’”.

In a pastoral exhortation released on June 21, the bishops called on Filipinos not to be “purveyors of fake news” and “to desist from disseminating” false information.

The bishops said spreading “fake news” is a “sin against charity because it hinders people from making right and sound deMANILA

–

cisions and induces them, instead, to make faulty ones.” These often have disastrous consequences on people and communities, they said.

“The active involvement of citizens in creating a nurturing society steeped in justice depends on the truth,” said the Church leaders.

A number of Catholic bishops have become victims of “fake news” and deceptive memes on social media when they criticised the government’s war against narcotics.

The bishops said “deceit and lies” should be exposed with facts. They urged netizens to identify sources of “fake news” so that people will be alerted. n UCANEWS. COM

Study on impact of legalised marijuana needed: Vatican official VATICAN CITY – While some countries continue to debate the legalisation of marijuana, its effects and impact on possible dependency need to be further understood, said the head of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson said that while scientific studies on the therapeutic uses of marijuana must be evaluated, the ongoing “lively” debate on its legalisation for possible therapeutic uses “tends to neglect any ethical judgement of the substance”.

The letter, published by the

Vatican on June 26, commemorated the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Cardinal Turkson said the international day drew attention to a continuing phenomenon made up of “a shameful market that crosses national and international borders, interwoven with the Mafia and drug traffickers”.

He also noted that the legalisation of gambling, even “with the intent of unmasking criminal management, eventually increased the number of compulsive gamblers”. n CNS

Myanmar cardinal highlights plight of Rohingya in message – Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon has called for an end to continuing persecution of minorities throughout Myanmar, particularly against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine State.

“Millions are now in poverty, millions in unsafe migration, forced into modern forms of slavery,” Cardinal Bo said in a message to mark Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“The sad and the continuous suffering of the people in Rakhine State has been one of my great concerns,” the cardinal’s message said.

The cardinal reiterated a previous call for allegations of rights abuses, and war crimes to be independently investigated.

He called on Myanmar’s government to “work with the international community to investigate crimes reported by the United Nations, in a truly independent way that results in justice and accountability.”

He said the world is judging Myanmar on how the Rohingya are treated in Rakhine.

Myanmar must move away from positions not conducive to peace, Cardinal Bo said, adding that people who support the Rohingya need to move forward, “maximizing

YANGON

A Rohingya refugee boy sleeps inside a camp in Sittwe, Myanmar. CNS photo

The sad and the ‘ continuous suffering of the people in Rakhine State has been one of my great concerns.

’

– Cardinal Charles Maung Bo

peace based on justice at every opportunity”.

“Continued pressure coupled

with an openness to engage all parties is the way forward,” the message said, adding that, “all parties need to be brought together in unity” and not divided. n UCANEWS.COM

Vatican calls on China to let bishop exercise his ministry VATICAN CITY – The Vatican expressed “grave concern” over the situation of a bishop in mainland China who has been in government custody for almost 10 months and moved repeatedly in an apparent attempt to prevent him from assuming leadership of his diocese.

Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin had been Coadjutor Bishop of Wenzhou and should have taken over leadership of the diocese in September when his predecessor died. Instead, officials took him to northern China “on a trip”.

“The Holy See is following with grave concern the personal situation of Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou, forcibly removed from his episcopal see some time ago,” said Mr Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, in a statement on June 26.

“The diocesan Catholic community and his relatives have no news or reasons for his removal,

Bishop Peter Shao has been in government custody. UCANEWS.COM file photo

nor do they know where he is being held,” he said.

The treatment of Bishop Zhumin “and other similar episodes,” Mr Burke said, do not foster the kind of understanding that the Vatican wants to reach with the Chinese government.

While Bishop Zhumin was approved by the Vatican as Bishop of Wenzhou, his election was not recognised by the government.

The Vatican hopes that the bishop “may return as soon as possible to the diocese and that he can be assured the possibility of serenely exercising his episcopal ministry”, Mr Burke said.

Mr Michael Clauss, Germany’s ambassador to China, posted a statement on his embassy’s website on June 20 saying the bishop appears to have been forced by authorities to move to unknown locations four times over the past year, the Associated Press reported. The ambassador called on China to allow the bishop full freedom of movement.

AsiaNews, a Rome-based Catholic news agency, said on June 21 that Chinese authorities appeared to be trying to get Bishop Zhumin to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The bishop was seen arriving at Wenzhou airport on June 16 “accompanied by government officials, who took him to an unknown location”, AsiaNews reported. n CNS

WORLD 11

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

LONDON TRAGEDIES

Church offers counselling to students, assists in aid after London fire LONDON – Church agencies are

helping London Catholic school students cope with the trauma of the Grenfell Tower fire, including knowing that some of their fellow students are missing.

Children who attend Catholic schools near Grenfell Tower are among about 76 people who have yet to be accounted for. Reports say that 79 people died in the June 14 fire.

Mr John Paul Morrison, the director of education for the Archdiocese of Westminster, told Catholic News Service on June 16 that the archdiocese was offering counselling to students to help them to deal with the trauma.

“What they have witnessed was incredibly shocking,” said Mr Morrison. “Television and media can only touch on it. The thing that really hit the students was the screaming,” he said. “I spoke to some people yesterday who were very upset by that – by hearing, ‘Help me! Help me!’”

Mr Morrison confirmed that students were missing from the schools, but he declined to say how many, saying he did not wish to identify them prematurely.

He said hundreds of other students and their families were evacuated from the vicinity of the 24-storey building because of the possibility that it might collapse and scatter debris over the area.

All students of the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, which is close to the tower, have been relocated to Sion Manning Catholic Girls School, which is

People look through clothes and other supplies after the Grenfell Tower apartment building was destroyed in a fire. CNS photo

outside the zone cordoned off by police.

Mr Morrison said that teachers tried extremely hard to provide students with a normal day in class, and schools across the archdiocese helped by delivering books and other materials needed at short notice.

He said he was “very proud” of the response to the tragedy of the Catholic Church “at every level”.

“It was good to see all elements of the Church’s mission come together to address what is an incredibly sad but also an incredibly complex situation,” he added.

St Francis of Assisi Church

in Notting Hill was one of two churches to serve as a collection point for members of the public who wished to contribute clothing, food and other supplies for families dislocated by the fire.

Fr Gerard Skinner, the parish priest, was so inundated with donations that within hours there was no storage space remaining.

The fire in Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, in the west of the capital, is believed to have started in the early hours of the morning and spread rapidly because it ignited the flammable cladding that encased the tower block. n CNS

Children who attend Catholic schools near Grenfell Tower are among those yet to be accounted for.

‘Repudiate hatred and violence,’ says cardinal after mosque attack welfare centre of our prayers and has condemned an attack against support,” he said.

“Violence breeds violence. HaMuslims who had gathered close tred breeds hatred. Every one of us to a London mosque.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of must repudiate hatred and violence Westminster issued a statement from our words and actions,” the following the fourth terror attack in cardinal continued. “We must all be builders of understandthe United Kingdom ing, compassion and in the past months. peace, day by day, in At least one person our homes, our work was killed and 10 othand our communities. ers injured when the That is the only way.” lone assailant drove A 48-year-old a van into a crowd man was overpowof Muslims gathered ered by Muslim byoutside the Muslim standers and was reWelfare House, near the Finsbury Park Cardinal Vincent Nich- strained until he was arrested by police Mosque, where they ols of Westminster. officers who arrived had been attending within minutes.

Ramadan prayers. The incident ocPolice have described the atcurred at 12.20 am on June 19.

“Together with people all over tack as a “terrorist incident.”

The attack follows two terrorthis country, I am appalled at the deliberate attack on people leaving ist attacks by Muslim extremists their late-night prayers, as the end in London, in which vehicles were of their day of fasting, at the mosque used to kill pedestrians, and a suiin Finsbury Park,” said Cardinal cide bomb attack after a concert

by Ariana Grande in Manchester Nichols in a June 19 statement.

“I have assured the leadership in May that left 22 people dead. of the mosque and the Muslim n CNS

LONDON – An English cardinal

A police officer stands in front of messages and tributes near where a man died and 10 people were injured in an attack near a mosque in London. CNS photo

12 POPE FRANCIS

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Humanity must unite in fight against corruption, pope says VATICAN CITY – Christians and

non-Christians must join the fight against corruption, which tears apart the bonds that unite humanity, Pope Francis said.

Corruption “reveals such strong anti-social conduct” that it “dissolves the pillars upon which society is founded: coexistence among people and the vocation to develop it,” the pope wrote in the preface to a new book.

“Corruption breaks all of this by replacing the common good with a particular interest that contaminates every general outlook,” he wrote. “It is born of a corrupt heart and is the worst social plague because it generates serious problems and crimes involving everyone.”

The new book, titled Corrosion, was written by Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Italian philosopher Vittorio V. Alberti.

The book’s release coincided with the Vatican’s first International Debate on Corruption held on June 15.

The meeting, sponsored by the dicastery and the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences, looked at corruption as a global problem

Pope Francis speaks with representatives from Italy’s national anti-mafia and anti-terrorism office earlier this year. He has written a preface to a new book on corruption. CNS file photo

and at its connections to organised crime and the Mafia.

Among the participants of the meeting were 50 anti-Mafia and anti-corruption magistrates, as well as bishops and Vatican of-

Pope: True Christians do not resort to horoscopes, palm-reading VATICAN CITY – The Christian life is a path along which men and women are called to be led

by God rather than turning to psychics and horoscopes in the hopes of knowing what lies ahead, Pope Francis said.

Like Jesus, who was stripped of everything and nailed to a cross, Christians are called to “strip” themselves of their securities and follow God’s call even though they do not know where it will lead, the pope said on June 26 in his homily during morning Mass at his residence.

“A Christian does not have a horoscope to see the future,” the pope said. “He doesn’t go to a fortune teller with a crystal ball or have his palm read. No, no! He doesn’t know where he is going.

He is guided.”

The pope reflected on the day’s first reading (Gn.12:1-9) in which God calls on Abraham to “go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.”

The Christian lifestyle, “our style as a people,” he said, is that of journeying towards the promised land.

“We are men and women who walk towards a promise, toward an encounter, toward something – a land, God says to Abraham – that we should receive in inheritance,” he said.

Trusting the Lord, he added, means being open “to the Lord’s surprises”, even those that are unpleasant, such as sickness or the death of a loved one.

However, Christians also must live with the confidence that no matter what happens along the way, God will bring them “to a safe place”. n CNS

ficials, heads of movements, victims, journalists, scholars, intellectuals and several ambassadors, the Vatican said.

In a June 17 statement, the Vatican also said the conference

studied the possibility of “excommunication for corruption and Mafia association” at an international and doctrinal level.

“We want to assert that we can never trample, deny or hinder the

dignity of people. So, it is up to us with this dicastery to know how to protect and promote respect for the dignity of the person,” Cardinal Turkson said in the statement. n CNS

‘Healthy decentralisation’ of certain Church matters VATICAN CITY – Pope Fran-

cis and members of his international Council of Cardinals discussed the possibility of allowing local bishops rather than the Vatican decide on certain matters, including the marriage or priestly ordination of permanent deacons.

It is “what the pope calls a ‘healthy decentralisation’”, said Mr Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office.

Briefing journalists on the council’s June 12-14 meet-

ing, Burke said the cardinals and pope looked specifically at the possibility of allowing bishops to determine whether a permanent deacon who is widowed can remarry or whether a permanent deacon who is unmarried or widowed can be ordained to the priesthood without having to “wait for a decision to be made in Rome” as is the current rule.

Such decisions regarding permanent deacons now are handled at the Vatican Con-

gregation for Clergy, but could pass to the local bishops’ conference, Mr Burke told journalists on June 14.

The council of cardinals advising the pope on Church governance also discussed proposals to broaden the participation of laypeople and members of Religious orders in the selection of new bishops.

“It is something that already exists, but they want to do it in a more systematic, more extensive way,” Mr Burke said. n CNS

‘Help young people see blessings of adulthood’ ROME – Instead of “pretending to be adolescents,” parents must help young people see the blessing of growing into adulthood, Pope Francis told priests, Religious, catechists and parish council members from the Diocese of Rome.

The belief that youthfulness is a model of success “is one of the most dangerous ‘unwitting’ menaces in the education of our adolescents” that hinders their personal growth, the pope said on June 19, opening the Rome Diocese’s annual convention.

This “can increase a natural tendency young people have to

isolate themselves or to curb their process of growth” because they have no role models, the pope said.

In his nearly 45-minute talk, Pope Francis reflected on the convention’s theme, “Do not leave them alone! Accompanying parents in educating adolescent children.”

The pope said the first step in reaching out to young people in Rome is to speak “concretely” rather than in general or abstract terms that do not relate to teens’ problems.

Families, the pope continued, also must confront the challenge of educating their children in an

“uprooted society” where people are disconnecting from their roots and feel no sense of belonging.

Although social networking has allowed more people to connect and feel part of a group, its virtual nature can also create a certain alienation where people “feel that they do not have roots, that they belong to no one”, the pope said.

Departing from his prepared speech, Pope Francis said parents “should make room for their children to speak with their grandparents” who have the gift of passing on “faith, history and belonging with wisdom”. n CNS

POPE FRANCIS 13

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Pope, rabbi, join effort to boost friendship across faiths VATICAN CITY – Reaching out to people of other religions can be both challenging and enriching for individuals and is the only hope for true peace in the world, said a variety of religious leaders, including Pope Francis.

The pope and his friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka from Argentina appear in a video montage and together in their own video as part of the “Make Friends” initiative coordinated by the Elijah Interfaith Institute, which has offices in Israel and Dallas, USA. The video series, posted on YouTube on June 14, also includes Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran leaders, Jewish rabbis, Sunni and Shiite Muslim clerics, Buddhist monks and nuns, and Hindu and Sikh leaders.

In their video, Pope Francis and Rabbi Skorka talk about how their own religious convictions led them into conversations with each other, and how those conver-

sations not only increased their understanding of God and formed the basis of a TV series and book, but also led to true friendship.

When sending emails back and forth, “because we still have projects going on”, Rabbi Skorka said, they address each other as “’Dear brother,’ and it’s not just a saying. We have such open, deep and affectionate conversations.

We understand each other.”

As they met and held discussions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, “the friendship grew, always retaining our respective identities”, the pope said. “‘Brother and friend’ – those are my feelings for him.”

Explaining the “Make Friends” initiative, the Elijah Interfaith Institute said, “Friendship and getting to know one another are the antidotes to negativity and divisions in society, enhancing understanding and unity.” n CNS The videos can be viewed at youtube.com/makefriends

Pope Francis appears together with other religious leaders in a video montage to promote interfaith relations.

‘We have such

open, deep and affectionate conversations.

We understand each other.

’

– Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka on his friendship with Pope Francis

The pope and Rabbi Abraham Skorka speak about their friendship in another video.

Pontiff urges Merkel End false beliefs about refugees, to continue supporting get to know them: pope Paris climate agreement Getting to know By the end of 2016, more than VATICAN CITY –

VATICAN CITY – German Chan-

cellor Angela Merkel said Pope Francis encouraged her to support international agreements like the Paris climate accord as well as to break down walls that divide people.

The German leader’s 40-minute private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on June 17 was the sixth time the two leaders have met.

The discussions – which included a separate meeting later with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister – focused on the G-20 meeting to be held in Hamburg, Germany from July 7-8.

“The parties agreed on the need to dedicate special attention to the responsibility of the international community in combating poverty and hunger, the global threat of terrorism and climate change,” the Vatican said in a written statement.

Ms Merkel later told reporters that she told the pope about Germany’s agenda for the G-20 meeting, which “assumes that we are a world in which we want to work together multilaterally, a world in which we don’t want

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met the pope on June 17.

to build walls but bring down walls,” according to the Associated Press.

She said the pope also encouraged her to support international agreements, like the 2015 Paris climate accord, which seeks to promote environmental stewardship and mitigate climate change.

“We know that regrettably, the United States is leaving this accord,” she added.

The pope also offered the chancellor his condolences for the death, on June 16, of the former Chancellor Helmut Kohl. n CNS

someone who is a refugee can wipe away fears and dismantle distorted ideologies, Pope Francis said.

Highlighting World Refugee Day, celebrated on June 20, the pope asked that “concrete attention go to the women, men and children fleeing from conflict, violence and persecution”.

After praying the Angelus with visitors in St Peter’s Square on June 18, he also asked that people pray for all those who have lost their lives on land or at sea in their attempt to flee for their lives.

“Their stories of heartache and hope can become opportunities for fraternally coming together and truly getting to know each other,” the pope said.

“In fact, personally meeting with refugees dispels fears and distorted ideologies” and becomes a way for people to grow in their humanity as they learn to make room for an attitude of openness and the building of bridges, he said.

One person becomes displaced every three seconds, the UN Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported on June 19.

The year 2016 saw the highest number of refugees and internally displaced people ever on record,

Young African refugees take part in a rally marking World Refugee Day in Sana’a, Yemen. CNS photo

it said, with 65.6 million people being away from their homelands, 300,000 people more than at the end of 2015.

40 million people were displaced within their own country, 22.5 million were refugees and 2.8 million people were seeking asylum, the report said. Half of all refugees, it said, are children under the age of 18.

World Refugee Day, held every June 20, commemorates the plight and strengths of the world’s refugees and asks that people show support for families forced to flee.

The UNHCR launched an ongoing #WithRefugees petition last year urging governments to work together to help refugees. n CNS

14 OPINION

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Fortnightly newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore

2 Highland Road, #01-03 Singapore 549102.

Telephone: 6858 3055. Fax: 6858 2055.

Website: www.catholicnews.sg Facebook: www.facebook.com/catholicnews MANAGING EDITOR: Father Richards Ambrose: ra@catholic.org.sg

EDITORIAL MATTERS AND QUERIES: cnedit@catholic.org.sg

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christopher Khoo: christopher.khoo@catholic.org.sg

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Richard Paul: subscriptions@catholic.org.sg

IN MEMORIAM: Racquel Castanares: memoriam@catholic.org.sg

STAFF CORRESPONDENT: Jared Ng: jared.ng@catholic.org.sg

ADVERTISEMENTS: Elaine Ong: advertisements@catholic.org.sg

Please include your full name, address and phone no. for all letters to the editor. All decisions on submissions rest with the CatholicNews. Published submissions will be edited.

DESIGN / LAYOUT: Christopher Wong: design@catholic.org.sg Elaine Ong: elaine.ong@catholic.org.sg

The views or positions presented in articles in CatholicNews do not necessarily represent the views of the Church.

Advertisements that appear in CatholicNews are not necessarily endorsed by the Church.

REFLECTION

Encountering Jesus in His variety of guises

By Effie Caldarola I was barely through the door of my neighbourhood bank the other day when I heard Ana, (not her real name), one of the tellers, call, “Hi, Effie.”

It’s a wonderful feeling when people know and speak your name.

A few years ago, we moved from Alaska, our home for many years. As we prepared to leave, I walked into my comforting, familiar coffee shop, and the words to the old “Cheers” television theme song came to mind: “I want to go where everybody knows my name.”

Nobody wants to be a stranger.

It’s nice to be recognised.

But then Ana said something else: “I was just telling Michelle [another teller] that Effie is my favourite customer.”

I was startled and we both laughed.

“Why,” I asked, “am I your favourite customer? Do you have a lot of unfriendly customers?”

She nodded her head sadly.

“You should come in and spend a

We should encounter no strangers if we are Christians, but only Jesus in everyone we meet. CNS file photo

day with me some time,” she said.

OK, before I go on, I must say that I do not always have a sunny disposition. Just ask the customer service folks at the store if I’m pleasant when I have to complain against being charged inaccurately. Or ask my husband how jolly I am some mornings before coffee.

Ana’s comment, however,

merits reflection. Is a cheerful and polite customer becoming the exception? Are people becoming less and less courteous?

We’re all too familiar with vile behaviour that has been reported in media, such as the racist and misogynistic threats made against Leslie Jones, a strong and vocal black comic who happened to star in a Ghostbusters remake some people didn’t like.

I took my own lessons away from the bank that day after speaking to Ana. We need to endeavour to make our own lives speak of respect and mercy. We need to renew our commitment to “go high” to make up for all the folks “going low”.

I may register a polite complaint at the store, but I’m going to be more mindful of the low-paid clerk with whom I’m interacting.

I’m going to be more aware of how people view my behaviour and how it affects others. I’m going to learn people’s names.

We should encounter no strangers. If we are Christians, we should encounter only Jesus, in His vast variety of disguises. n CNS

The seamless garment JOHN of the Cross teaches that within spirituality and morality there are no exempt areas. Simply put, you cannot be a saint or a highly moral person if you allow yourself a moral exemption or two. Thus, I may not allow myself to split off one moral flaw or sinful habit and see it as unimportant in the light of my positive qualities and the overall good that I do. For John of the Cross, you cannot be a saint and have a moral blind-spot, even if it’s a minor one. A bird tethered to a rock, he says, cannot fly irrespective of whether the cord holding it is a cable or a string.

The same is true for our efforts to protect life and foster justice in our world. The protection of life and the promotion of justice are all of one piece. We cannot be an authentic prophet and have a few moral blind spots.

A huge consequence flows from this, namely, we cannot treat issues like abortion, nuclear war, lack of ecological sensitivity, the plight of refugees, racism, sexism, poverty and inequality, poor access to health care, unequal access to education, sexual irresponsibility, and discrimination against the LGBT community in isolation from each other, as if these were wholly discrete issues. Whether we admit it or not, these areas are all inextricably interconnected. To quote the late American Cardinal Joseph Louis Bernardin: “The success of any one of the issues concerning life requires a concern for the broader attitude in society about the respect for human life.” That’s a strong challenge for all of us, on all sides of the ideological spectrum.

Thus, those of us who are concerned about abortion need to accept that the problem of abortion cannot be effectively addressed without at the same time addressing issues of poverty, access to health care, sexual morality, and even capital punishment. The interconnection here is not wholly mystical. It’s real. Abortion is driven more by poverty and lack of adequate support than by any liberal ideology. Hence, the struggle against abortion must also focus on the issues of poverty and support for pregnant women. As well, to morally accept killing in one area (capital punishment) helps sanction its acceptance in another area (abortion). Sexual morality must also be addressed since abortion is the inevitable by-product of a society within which two people who are not married to each other have sex with each other.

It’s all one piece, and any opposition to abortion that fails to adequately recognise the wider perspective that more fully defines pro-life leaves many sincere people unable to support anti-abortion groups.

Conversely, those of us who are concerned with the issues of poverty, health-care, capital punishment, ecology, war, racism, sexism, and LGBT rights, need to accept that these issues cannot be effectively addressed without also addressing the issue of abortion. Again, the interconnection isn’t just mystical, it’s empirical: Failure to be sensitive to who is weak and vulnerable in one area deeply compromises one’s moral standing on other issues that deal with the weak and the vulnerable. We must advocate for and strive to protect everyone who falls victim within our present way of living, and that includes the unborn.

It’s all of one piece! There can be no exempt areas, thus opposition to the protection of the unborn is not just antithetical to what’s central within a social justice agenda, but it, perhaps more than anything else, leaves liberal ideology and its political allies compromised in a way that allows many sincere people to withhold their support.

Clearly, of course, nobody is asked to give equal energy to every justice issue in the world. Accepting that none of these issues can be effectively dealt within isolation shouldn’t stop us from passionately working on one issue or another. But knowing that these issues are all of one piece does demand that we always recognise that, however important our particular issue, we may not see it in simple black and white, without nuance, as an issue that can be dealt with within one ideological, political, or religious silo. We must always be sensitive to the whole, to the big picture, to the intricate interconnections among all these social issues.

And, not least, we must be humble before and sensitive to our own moral inconsistencies.

But acknowledging both our own inconsistencies and the complexities of the issues should make us more open to listening to the views of others and make us less doctrinaire and fundamentalist in our own attitudes.

All the issues that deal with justice and peace, are of one piece, one whole, one moral corpus, one seamless garment; and, like the soldiers casting dice for Jesus’ clothing, we should hesitate to tear this garment into different pieces. n

FAITH ALIVE! 15

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

How should a Christian view food and hunger?

food ‘Whenever is thrown out,

By Nancy Wiechec “First we eat, then we do everything else,” so said American writer and gastronome Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher.

From a spiritual point of view, Catholics might say: First the Eucharist, then everything else.

Food is first and foremost sustenance. We need it to nourish our body. But it is also ritual and heritage. Food connects us to our beliefs, our communities, our ancestors.

Christians are called to treat food like all of God’s gifts, with respect and gratitude, and to avoid overindulgence and waste. Yet temptations abound! How many will admit they want to try each and every flavour of potato chips?

Interestingly, while most of us consume more than enough food, 800 million people worldwide are chronically hungry.

Systems of production, distribution and consumption fall short when food is viewed from a global perspective. About one-third of all food produced for humans is lost or wasted, according the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

“Whenever food is thrown out, it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor, from the hungry,” Pope Francis has observed.

He called hunger and malnu-

it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor, from the hungry.

’

– Pope Francis

A man sits down to a meal at the St Vincent de Paul Society dining room in Phoenix, USA. CNS file photo

trition in the world a scandal and has asked all people to reflect on the problem of wasted food and to identify ways to address it.

To kick start your hunger awareness and ways you can help, contact your local chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

They are experts at what it takes

to reach out to the needy.

For ourselves, it’s good to remember that food is temporal and that satisfaction on earth means nothing in God’s greater plan for us.

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life,” Christ tells us. “I am the bread of life; whoev-

Physical food and spiritual food

By Paul Senz Since the beginning of creation, humanity’s relationship with food has been inseparable from its relationship with God. In the Garden of Eden, God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In disobeying this commandment – and seeking to be like God – Adam and Eve fell from grace and were expelled from the garden.

Adam and his children would forever toil for their food. When the Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt, and wandered the desert for 40 years, they became angry with God, worried they would starve.

God let no such thing happen: “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread, and then you will know that I, the Lord, am your God” (Ex 16:12). As in the Garden of Eden, God provides food as a sign of His steadfastness and providential love.

We, too, are called to be hospitable. The Letter to the Hebrews states, “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels” (Heb 13:2).

It seems that any talk of food in Scripture leads to the Eucharist.

Abraham entertained God who came in the guise of three men, telling them, “Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterwards you may go on your way” (Gn 18:5).

In being hospitable and charitable with our food and other blessings, we avoid avarice and gluttony. In giving of ourselves and our gifts, we are hospitable to the Lord.

It seems that any talk of food in Scripture is leading up to, and culminates in, the Eucharist as instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper. The Eucharist is a sacrament,

which means it is more than a symbol – it enacts what it signifies.

It is spiritual food, and Jesus alludes to this when He says: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (Jn 6:35).

The sharing of the meal, the eucharistic sacrifice, became so identified with Jesus that His disciples did not recognise Him after the resurrection but in this act: “While He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.

With that their eyes were opened and they recognised Him, but he vanished from their sight. ... Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:30-31, 35).

They finally recognise him – not just in the bread, but in the breaking of the bread, in the communal meal. This is the eucharistic sacrifice, shared in community as it was intended.

Food can be misused just as any earthly good can. It is not misused if we recognise it as a gift from God: an opportunity to be giving, to make sacrifice, to grow in holiness. n CNS

er comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (Jn 6:27, 35) While celebrating Mass in America’s agricultural heartland in 1979, St John Paul II said: “Farmers everywhere provide bread for all humanity, but it is Christ alone who is the bread of life. … Even if all the physical hunger of the world were satisfied, even if everyone who is hungry were fed by his or

her own labour or by the generosity of others, the deepest hunger of man would still exist. … Therefore, I say: Come, all of you, to Christ. He is the bread of life. Come to Christ and you will never be hungry again.”

Catholics come to the eucharistic table to receive the body and blood of Christ; to be one with Him and to be one with each other, His followers, the community of faithful. We are sent to go into the world and share that gift of Christ.

In all that is asked of us, we can squeeze in a few small practices to be more conscious of temporal and spiritual hunger.

We can pause after Communion to recall all who hunger and offer a prayer that they too might be filled with the grace of God through Christ Jesus.

Likewise, when feeling hunger pangs or simple cravings, let’s sit still for a moment, recall God’s gifts and be thankful for his Son and everlasting life.

That bag of chips can certainly wait. n CNS

Food blogger connects food and faith

By Kurt Jensen Food culture is nothing new to Jeff Young, founder of the Catholic Foodie blog and podcast in the US. “I grew up in southeastern Louisiana. If we’re not eating, we’re talking about eating.

That’s just the way it’s always been.”

Young, whose blog mixes spiritual observations with recipes, also has a keen perspective about Catholics’ relationship to food. “Food plays a very important role in salvation history, starting with the eating of the fruit from the tree of knowledge,” he says.

“Every covenant in the Old Testament ended in a shared communal sacred meal.”

But beyond the theological message, Young says, “there’s something very, very

important about sitting around a table. We open up to each other through food.

There’s a shared intimacy there.

“It gives the best of who you are as human beings. It starts in Genesis from the very moment of the fruit of the truth, all the way to Revelation, and, we’re told, what are we preparing for? The feast of the lamb.”

He’s also familiar with the lament of families that “we’re too busy for our own good.”

The solution, he thinks, is a return to Sunday dinners.

“I’m trying to reinforce the importance of that shared time – that leisure time around the table, because we live in the world today that’s fast-food nation. Families hardly know each other. n CNS

16

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

SPOTLIGHT ON SAINTS:

St Kateri Tekakwitha St Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in a Mohawk village near what is now Auriesville, New York. When she was a little girl, she was disfigured and partially blinded during a smallpox epidemic that killed her family.

She was baptized by a French missionary who had visited her village. When her Catholic faith caused problems for her in her village, she moved to a Native American community near Montreal. She was known for her kindness and she was very well liked by the Native Americans and the French in Montreal.

Kateri died in 1680, and in 2012 she was canonized, becoming the first Native American saint. We remember her on July 14. n

ful as the dust of the earth,” God told Jacob. “Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land.”

“How awesome is this shrine!”

Jacob said when he awoke. “This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!”

Jacob made a memorial stone, poured oil on it and called the site Bethel.

“If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making

and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I come back safe to my father’s house, the Lord shall be my God,” Jacob declared. n Read more about it: Genesis 27

Q&A 1. What did Jacob do that angered his brother, Esau?

2. Where did Jacob flee to safety?

Wordsearch: n SHRINE

n TRIP

n DECLARE

n MEMORIAL

n DREAM

n FOOD

n ANGEL

n REBEKAH

n BORN

n SERVE

n DECIDE

n CANONISE

ESSAY: Jacob trusted God to help and guide him through life.

How do you trust God to help and guide you through your life?

Bible Accent:

4. F

Before Jacob left for Haran, his father, Isaac, told him not to marry a Canaanite woman, but to marry a daughter of Laban, Jacob’s uncle.

When Jacob finally made it to Haran, he met Rachel, the younger of Laban’s two daughters. Jacob and Rachel fell in love, and Jacob promised to work for Laban for seven years if he could marry Rachel.

Laban agreed – sort of!

When the seven years were up, Laban arranged for Jacob to marry Rachel. But in Haran, it was a custom for the older daughter to be married before the younger one. So Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, Rachel’s older sister.

When Jacob realized that the woman he had just married was not Rachel, he was very upset. Laban said that Jacob could marry Rachel also – but in return he had to work for Laban for seven more years.

During the time Jacob spent in Haran, he had 11 children. After Jacob had worked for his father-in-law for 20 years, God spoke to Jacob.

“Return to the land of your ancestors, where you were born, and I will be with you,” God told him. n

PUZZLE: Put a T next to the sentences that are true and an F next to the ones that are false. Hints have been provided.

1. ___ Jacob had a daughter named Diana. (Genesis 30:21) 2. ___ Jacob’s favorite child was Joseph. (Genesis 37:3) 3. ___ God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. (Genesis 35:10) 4. ___ Esau never forgave Jacob. (Genesis 33:4)

Answer to Wordsearch

Abraham’s son, Isaac, married a woman named Rebekah. Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons, Esau and Jacob.

When Isaac was an old man with poor eyesight, he decided it was time to give his blessing to his older son, Esau.

Isaac called Esau to his tent and asked for his favorite dish of game to eat. Isaac said he would bless Esau once he was done eating.

Rebekah overheard the conversation. After Esau left to go hunting, she decided to trick Isaac into blessing Jacob. She did this because God had told her that her younger child would serve the older one.

She told Jacob to dress in Esau’s clothes and wear goatskins on his arms and neck, because Esau was very hairy.

Rebekah then prepared some goat

meat in the way her husband liked.

Jacob brought the food to his father. Isaac felt Jacob’s hands and neck and thought it was Esau. So Isaac ate his meal then blessed Jacob.

When Esau returned from hunting and realized Isaac had been deceived into blessing Jacob, Esau was so mad that he wanted to kill his brother.

Rebekah told Jacob to flee from Esau and stay with her brother, Laban, in Haran.

During his trip to Haran, Jacob stayed the night near a shrine at a place called Luz. As he slept, Jacob dreamed about a stairway leading up to heaven, and he saw God’s angels going up and down it.

Then God spoke to him.

“The land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants. These shall be as plenti-

Answer to puzzle: 1. F; 2. T; 3. T;

By Jennifer Ficcaglia

WHAT’S ON 17

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

EVENT SUBMISSIONS WHAT’S ON submissions now require the completion of a form from the Archdiocese before the event can be publicised. For events with foreign speakers, please submit the necessary documentation for approval to the Chancery. For more information and to download the form, visit http:// www.catholic.sg/events/announcementadvertisement-request/.

Once forms have been submitted online, kindly send us details of your event for publication at www. catholicnews.sg/whatson/ at least one month ahead of the publication date.

JULY 1 MASS FOLLOWED BY PRAYERS FOR HEALING All are welcome. Time: 2pm-4pm. Join us for praise and worship and Mass followed by prayers for healing. After Mass, prayer teams will be available to pray with you.

Please spread the word to your family and friends. Celebrant: Fr Francis Leong.

Organised by SACCRE-Praise@Work.

Venue: Church of Sts Peter and Paul. For more information: E: praiseatworksg@ yahoo.com; T: 97472467.

JULY 3 TO AUGUST 14 LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINARS Time: 7.30pm-9.45pm. The seminars at the Church of the Risen Christ comprise praise and worship, talks, sacraments, small group sharing and prayer ministry to bring you to an experience of God’s love.

Contribution: $10. To register: W: https:// www.facebook.com/aflamecpc.rc. For more information, 97649432 (Charisse Teo). E: enquiry.liss@gmail.com.

JULY 6 SPIRITUALITY FOR BUSY PARENTS Time: 7.30pm-10pm. A spirituality for busy parents is essential to enable and enrich their lives as they go about their co-parenting efforts. Organised by Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Rd. Cost: $30. To register: W: http://tinyurl. com/busyparents; T: 64676072.

JULY 6 TO AUG 17 CATECHIST ELECTIVE COURSE INTRODUCTION TO VIRTUES Time: 7:30pm-10pm. Venue: CAEC 2 Highland Rd Spore 549102. Introducing Catholic doctrine & morality about sexuality to catechumens is never limited to teaching about avoiding sin – it deals with growth in the Christian virtues and developing the capacity for self- giving.

To register: visit http://tinyurl.com/ y9qxr3r3. W: www.catechesis.org.sg; E: formation@catechesis.org.sg; T: 68583011.

JULY 8 CATHOLIC LAWYERS GUILD ANNUAL RETREAT Time: 9:30am-4:30pm (ends with sunset mass). Venue: MPH 2, Agape Village, 7A

Lor 8 Toa Payoh. “Let Down Your Nets!”

Conducted by Rev Fr John-Paul Tan OFM and team. Calling all law students and legally trained persons.

Info and registration: 68017494, admin@clgsingapore.com (Susie) or hilda@advancelawllc.com (Hilda).

JULY 8 MEDITATIVE PRAYER WITH THE SONGS OF TAIZE Time: 8pm. Venue: Armenian Church of St Gregory the Illuminator, 60 Hill St. Come and pray with fellow Christians and all who want to create greater trust and openness through meditative prayer.

No registration needed. Organiser: S’pore Taize core group. E: bennycah@gmail. com. W: www.taize.fr/en JULY 12 IS NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING (NFP) ALSO A KIND OF CONTRACEPTIVE? 7.30pm-9pm. Venue: St Joseph’s Church, Victoria St, Parish House. Exploring the fundamental differences between contraception and NFP and offering some reflections on whether NFP can be used with a “contraceptive mentality”. Speaker: Mr Michael Wee, Education officer, Anscombe Bioethics Centre (UK). Organiser: Catholic Theology Network. Enquiries: 97843682 JULY 14 TO JULY 16 MONTFORTIAN XPERIENCE 4 – LOVE OF ETERNAL WISDOM Friday (6:30pm)-Sunday (1pm). If you have a burning desire to acquire wisdom, come and join us for a weekend live-in retreat based on the spirituality of St Louis Marie de Montfort. Venue: Montfort Centre. Conducted by Br Dominic YeoKoh and Br John Albert. Cost: $130.

JULY 15, 22 AND AUGUST 5 CLARITY’S INTRODUCTORY TO SELF-WORTH FOR YOUTHS WORKSHOP Time: 10am-noon. How can we better maintain our self-worth and gain a sense of peace through such tough times? Come join us and learn ways to maintain your self-worth through various activities.

Venue: Blk 854 Yishun Ring Road, #013511. Cost: $10. To register: T: 67577990; E: registration@clarity-singapore.

JULY 16 OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Our Lady of Mount Carmel feast day Mass times: 7.30am (English), 2.30pm (Chinese), 4.30pm (English), 6.30pm (English). Venue: Carmelite Monastery, 98 Bukit Teresa Road, S099750.

JULY 17 TO JULY 19 MONTFORTIAN XPERIENCE 6 – CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP Monday (9am)-Wednesday (1pm). A livein retreat based on the spirituality of St Louis Marie de Montfort. Venue: Montfort Centre. Conducted by Br Dominic YeoKoh and Br John Albert. Cost: $130.

JULY 21 TO JULY 23 ART & SOUL: A WAY TO GOD THROUGH ART July 21 (8pm)-July 23 (1pm).

Venue: Montfort Centre. Contribution: $350/person (includes materials).

See how art, life and creativity can lead to “finding God in all things”.

This is not an art workshop, but a time for prayer and reflection.

Non-artists are most welcome.

Organised by the Cenacle Sisters and team.To register: W: www. cenaclemission.com; T: 65652895; E: cenaclemissionsingapore@gmail.com JULY 22 SJI 165TH ANNIVERSARY GALA DINNER Time: 6:30pm. Venue: Fairmont Ballroom, Raffles City Convention Centre.

SJI is celebrating its 165th year as a Lasallian school. For more information, W: http://www.sji.edu.sg/165thanniversary.

JULY 27 TO OCT 19 BIBLE STUDY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN Delivered by Msgr Ambrose Vaz. Time: 8pm-10pm. Organised by the Biblical Apostolate Team, Church of Christ The King. Venue: Ang Mo Kio Ave 8. To register: T: 98321538 (Lene); E:ctkbat@hotmail.com; W:www.christtheking.com.sg AUG 3 CAREGIVING WITH PURPOSE AND LOVE Time: 7.30pm-9.30pm.

Caregiving is the art of providing unpaid assistance and support to individuals in need. In this talk for caregivers, learn about how we can care without feeling burdened.

Organised by Kingsmead Centre, 8 Victoria Park Rd. Cost: $30.

To register: W: http://tinyurl.com/ caregive17; T: 64676072.

AUG 7 TO OCT 23 GOSPEL OF MARK BY MSGR AMBROSE VAZ Mondays (7.30 pm to 9pm).

Venue: Church of Sts Peter & Paul, Parish Building, Level 3 Chapel.

Come and join us on a 12-week study of the Gospel of Mark. Cost: Love offering.

To register: E: sppbiblestudy@hotmail. com with your name and contact number.

AUG 11 TO AUG 13 GRIEVING: A WAY TO HEALING Aug 11 (8pm)-Aug 13 (1pm).

Venue: Montfort Spirituality Centre.

Contribution: $250/person.

This retreat will offer ways of dealing with unfinished business of the past to discover the grace coming from past hurts.

Organised by Cenacle Sr Mel Benedictos and team. To register: T: 65652895; W: www.cenaclemission.com; E: cenaclemissionsingapore.com

RCIA/RCIY A journey for those seeking to know more about the Catholic faith. Baptised Catholics are also invited to journey as sponsors.

MAY 5, 2017 TO MAY 31, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF ST TERESA Every Friday from 7.45pm-9.45pm.

To register: W: www.stteresa.org.sg/rcia/; E: stteresa@singnet.com.sg; T: 62711184.

To register: E: query.rcia@gmail.com; W: http://www.christtheking.com.sg.

JUNE 15, 2017 TO MARCH 31, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BVM Every Thursday from 8pm-10pm. Every Sunday from 10.30am-12.30pm. For more information, contact the parish office at 62800980; E: nativitysg@yahoo.com.sg

MAY 24, 2017 TO MAY 16, 2018 RCIA @ CATHEDRAL OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD Every Wednesday from 7.30pm-9.30pm.

Please register at cathedral.rcia@catholic. org.sg. Registration forms are also available at the entrance of the cathedral.

JUNE 16, 2017 TO JUNE 1, 2018 CANTONESE RCIA @ CHURCH OF STS PETER AND PAUL Every Friday from 7:45pm-9:30pm at parish second floor, room 8. For enquiries, T: 63372585 (Parish Office); T: 97120452.

MAY 28, 2017 TO MAY 20, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE Every Sunday from 3pm-6.30pm.

For more details, please contact Catherine at kosp2411@yahoo.com.sg or Gregory at teiktiong@yahoo.com.

JUNE 18, 2017 TO JUNE 3, 2018 MANDARIN RCIA @ CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR Every Sunday from 9am-10.30am.

Organised by Church Of Our Lady Of Perpetual Succour, 31 Siglap Hill S456085.

For more information: T: 94517396 (Magdalene); W: website@ www.olps.sg.

MAY 30, 2017 TO MAY 20, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF ST BERNADETTE Every Tuesday from 7:45pm-9:45pm at the parish hall. Venue: 12 Zion Road, S247731. Registration forms can be found at http://www.stbernadette.org.sg/ and from the parish office.

JUNE 27/29, 2017 TO MARCH 31, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS Every Tuesday (Chinese) and every Thursday (English) from 7.45pm-10pm.

Venue: 450 Clementi Ave 1 S129955. For more information: T: 97577115 (Susan); E: holycrosschurch.rcia@gmail.com.

MAY 31, 2017 TO MAY 20, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY Every Wednesday from 7.30pm-9.30pm.

From August, every Sunday from 11.30am-12.45pm. To register: E: rciaholyfam@gmail.com; T: 63440046 (parish office); T: 93414999

JULY 1, 2017 TO MAY 19, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF DIVINE MERCY Every Saturday from 3pm-5.30pm. Register at the parish office. For more information: T: 65833378; E: rcia@divinemercy.sg.

JULY 4, 2017 TO MAY 20, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF STS PETER AND PAUL Every Tuesday at 7.30pm. Registration forms are available at the parish office or register your interest via http://sppchurch. org.sg/contact- us/

MAY 31, 2017 TO JUNE 5, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF THE RISEN CHRIST Venue: 91 Toa Payoh Central, S319193.

Every Wednesday from 7.30pm-9.45pm.

Registration forms are available at the church’s secretariat/website. For more information: W: www.risenchrist.org.sg; E: rcia1718@gmail.com.

MAY 31, 2017 TO APRIL 25, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF CHRIST THE KING Every Wednesday from 8pm-10pm.

Venue: 2221 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, S569809.

JULY 11, 2017 TO APRIL 1, 2018 RCIA @ CHURCH OF ST IGNATIUS Every Tuesday from 8pm-10pm. Sponsors and facilitators start on July 11. Inquirers start on Aug 1. Registration forms are available at: http://stignatius.org.sg/home/ ministries/faith-formation/rcia- ministry/.

For more information, T: 64660625 (Angela); 96286472 (Sandra)

AUG 19 ORDINATION OF JEROME LEON, SJ Aug 19 (5.30pm). Venue: Church of St. Ignatius,120 King’s Road.

The Society of Jesus of the MalaysiaSingapore Region warmly invites you to the priestly ordination of Jerome Leon, SJ. His Thanksgiving Mass: Aug 20, 11.30am, Church of the Risen Christ.

For more info, E: infosjordination2017@ gmail.com

AUG 20 CATHOLIC NURSES’ GUILD BIANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND ANNUAL MASS 2017 Come celebrate our bi-annual general meeting and Mass at the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace 4 Sandy lane S437321. Time: 3pm (meeting), 5.30pm (Mass) followed by dinner at $10/pax. For more information, T: 97670579 (Laura); 92361047 (Theresa); 91093391 (Doreen); 93210031 (Janet).

OBITUARY

Verbum Dei founder called to the Lord Rev. Fr Jaime Bonet, founder of Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity, died on 25 June 2017 in the Henares University Hospital in Coslada, Madrid. He was 91 years old and had been battling a deteriorating illness for a long time.

Fr Bonet was born in Alqueria Blanca, Spain on 21 May 1926. Even as a seminarian, he organized schools of evangelization and conducted recollections and retreats. He believed that these provided a deep encounter with the living Word of God, Jesus, and growth in faith in Him. As a priest, his preaching inspired in others the desire to consecrate themselves totally to the life of evangelization.

The Verbum Dei Missionaries Fraternity was thus founded on 17 January 1963, in Mallorca, Spain and gradually emerged as an apostolic-missionary family of the Catholic Church. Their charism was the dedication to prayer and the ministry of the Word (cf. Acts 6:4). The Fraternity consists of consecrated Religious women, consecrated Religious men (brothers and priests) and associated married couples. In Singapore, the Fraternity is represented by consecrated Religious women. The Verbum Dei Sisters have been established here since 12 September 1997.

Fr Bonet’s Funeral Mass was scheduled to be held on 28 June at 8pm in Madrid. The Archdiocese extends our deepest condolences to the Verbum Dei family in Singapore. We invite you to pray for him, and to remember the Verbum Dei Missionaries in your Masses and prayers. n Submitted by CHANCERY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SINGAPORE

18 IN MEMORIAM

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Crossword Puzzle 1188 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21 24

28

29

25

31

41

45 50 55

38

39

44 48

49

52 58 60

61

62

65

66

70

71

72

73

74

75

67

68

63

64

69

www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

ACROSS 1 Favourite food of Isaac (Gen 25:28) 5 French “thank you” 10 Rumple 14 Mountain goat 15 Dimness 16 Former overseer of the VOA 17 Outlet 18 Yacht 19 Celestial topper 20 Senior 22 Priest and founder of Boys Town 24 Holy ___ Society 27 Cats or connections 28 Honorary title for a bishop 32 Outer edge 33 “Just ___ thought” 34 Edged ahead 36 Type of witness we are not to bear 40 Speech defect 42 Parable of the ___ of great price 44 One who applies colour 45 Pretended 47 Fear greatly 49 Worthless piece of cloth 50 “When we eat this bread and drink this ___…”

52 “He who shall remain ___”

54 “No one can serve two ___” (Mt 6:24) 58 Republic in Africa 59 Impressive 61 Where Vatican City is 65 Coconut husk 66 “…thy will be done on ___” 69 Musical group 70 Neighbourhood 71 Slope slider 72 1949 Gatsby portrayer 73 Paradise Lost?

74 Indian tent 75 Actress Lancaster DOWN 1 “___ us this day our daily bread…”

2 First murder victim 3 Set right 4 Stretch forth 5 UK sports cars 6 Building extension 7 Something to raise 8 Loses heat 9 Damage 10 Founder of Islam 11 Long-continued practice 12 Paul’s companion during his missionary travels 13 Rhone tributary 21 “…and sends ___ on the just and on the

unjust” (Mt 5:45) 23 Inexperienced person 25 Alphabet string 26 Relaxed 28 The golden ___ 29 The Archdioceses of Tokyo and Mandalay are here 30 Hazard 31 Get to know 35 Joseph was told in one to flee to Egypt 37 David played one 38 Galilee, and others 39 Energy units 41 Cross worn by a bishop 43 Tibetan holy man 46 Membership fees

48 Sandwich shop 51 Presider at Mass 53 St. Theresa, the ___ Flower 54 Prophet who prophesied that the saviour would come from Bethlehem 55 Dean Martin song word 56 Speak extravagantly 57 Garden tempter 60 Clench 62 Asian inland sea 63 Tops 64 Jedi master 67 Spot to drive from 68 Med. Christian empire

Solution to Crossword Puzzle No. 1187 H I P P O

A L A R M

N I S E I

T A C K

S H U N

P E R E

R A V E

O W E D

M A R S

D A E N T T A C H C R O H E N E Y A D D P E L E L E W A N S I T D I E L

P A T E N E C A R D C E E

A. THERESA MARY Departed: July 12, 1977 Take her in Thy arms, dear Lord, And ever let her be A messenger of love Between our hearts and Thee.

Fondly remembered by children and loved ones.

Twentieth Anniversary In loving memory of

53

57

59

37

43 47

56

First Anniversary In loving memory of

36

42

51

13

32 35

46

12

27

34

40

11

23

26

30

33

54

22

Fortieth Anniversary In loving memory of

I A G S O P R R S A K I F U L O L E L L U O C C R E M D R V E N I R E

S P E A K S

T R A V E S T M Y A L T T O A T A L S

E A S E

A D E N

L O S S

I R A Q

N I L E

G O L D

B I D E S

E V E N T

R E S T S

www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

CHARLES TIMOTHY CHAN TIAN CHWEE Departed: July 13, 2016 Our Lord Jesus knew what was best He took you home for eternal rest We wiped our tears and tried not to be sad And remember the precious times we had.

Deeply missed by loved ones.

First anniversary In loving memory of

ANTHONY JOHN ALEXANDER Departed: July 1, 2016 God looked around His garden and found an empty place.

He put his arms around you and lifted you to rest.

God’s garden must be beautiful, He always takes the best.

A part of us went with you, the day God took you home.

If our tears could build a stairway and heartaches make a lane, we’d walk our way to heaven and bring you back again.

We love you always.

Dearly missed and forever cherished by your family and loved ones.

CLASSIFIED

FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY In loving memory of

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 IGNATIUS need. To you I have AMOS LIU recourse from the Born: Sep 2, 1993 depth of my heart and humble beg you to Departed: Jul 3, 2016 whom God has given Eternal rest grant such great power, to onto Amos, O Lord come to my assistance.

And let perpetual Help me in my present light shine upon him. urgent petition. In May his soul rest return, I promise in peace. Amen to make your name Deeply and sadly known and cause you missed by mother to be invoked. St Jude pray for me and all Philomena and younger brother Andres. who invoke your aid.

Humbly in need of y o u r i n t e r c e s s i o n . In memoriam rates Minimum $80 Amen. Thank you for answering my prayers. for an insertion not

Please turn to page 19 for more in memoriam advertisements.

exceeding an eight-centimetre column.

Additional space: $8 per onecentimetre column.

Sixteenth Anniversary In loving memory of

ROBERT ONG CHENG THYE Departed: Jul 8, 1997 His smiling way and pleasant face Are a pleasure to recall; He had a kind word for each And died beloved by all.

Some day we hope to meet him, Some day, we know not when To clasp his hand in the better land, Never to part again.

Dearly missed by Germaine, Eugene, Alywin, Katherine, Kyle, Roberta, Alex, Alexine and loyal family dog, Lilo.

Nineth Anniversary

Ninth Anniversary In loving memory of

Fifth Anniversary In loving memory of

VICTOR AJELF SEBASTIAN JOOSA NAPOLEON CRUZ Born: Jun 28, 1950 ROSALIND Departed: Jul 2, 2008 Departed: Jun 16, 2012 WEE LIN NEO Time takes away Born: Oct 27, 1939 Pray for me, Rev the edge of grief Departed: Jul 13, 2001 Fathers, Brothers and But memory turns Sisters of Opus Dei, What is home back every leaf Pray for me, without a mother?

Gone from our lives Rev Fathers, All things one so dear this world may send, Brothers and Sisters of But in our hearts Cursillo in Christianity But when I lost forever near.

“Decolores”. my darling mother, Always missed and I lost my dearest friend. Always remembered by family and loved ones. dearly remembered by Dearly missed and family and friends. remembered by Twenty-fourth son Terence, Anniversary Seventh Anniversary daughter-in-law Ina In loving memory of In loving memory of and loved ones.

Second Anniversary

In loving memory of

CHRISTOPHER TERESA SEOW SONG Departed: July 2, 2008 Nov 1, 2015

Our Lord Jesus knew what was best He took both of you home Papa and Mama Our hearts still ache with sadness and silent tears still flow for what it means to love and miss you both.

Dearly missed by family and loved ones.

MARIA SONG GUAN NEO Departed: Jul 10, 1993 The depths of sorrow we cannot tell Of the loss of one we love so well And while you sleep a peaceful sleep Your memory we shall always keep.

Fondly remembered

by Alice, Soon Huat (deceased) and all loved ones.

MOLLY ZUZARTE NEE TAN Departed: Jul 5, 2010 We miss you in so many ways We miss things you used to say And when old times we do recall It’s then we miss you most of all.

Always loved and cherished by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Tenth Anniversary In loving memory of

Third Anniversary In loving memory of

ANTHONY DORAI Returned to God on July 5, 2007 Husband/Father/Grandfather lives on...

“He is not the God of the dead but of the living”

VERONICA DURU KISHINCHAND NANWANI MRS HORACE FELIX PAGLAR Departed: July 3, 2014 In our hearts you will always live Your love, your voice and your smile Are forever imprinted in our minds.

Always remembered by husband, daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, relatives and friends.

Matthew 22:32

A private service will be held to celebrate his life.

We love him, eternally and he’s sadly missed.

Always cherished and loved by: wife, Grace and children, Jennifer, Stephen & Anita, Charles & Rita, William & Betty, Francis & Michele and grandchildren.

IN MEMORIAM 19

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

In loving memory of our parents

In loving memory of

In loving memory of

MANUEL ALLAIS (ALEX) Born: Aug 27, 1929 Departed: Jul 8, 1981 He had a smile, a pleasant way, A helping hand to all he knew, He was kind, generous and true, On earth he nobly did his best; Grant him, Jesus, heavenly rest.

Always remembered by loving wife M. Mayma, sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

ALICE LEE SWEE YIN Aged: 85 was called home to be with the Lord on July 2, 2016

In loving memory of Thirty-Sixth Anniversary

Third Anniversary

LAZARUS CECILIA AMBROSE AMBROSE nee CONCEICAO Departed: Jul 20, 1999 Departed: Apr 24, 2010.

We think of you in silence No eyes can see us weep But still within our aching hearts Your memory we keep.

Always remembered by children / spouses, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and loved ones.

Take her in your arms, dear Lord, And ever let her be A messenger of love Between our hearts and thee.

Dearly missed and fondly remembered by Husband, sons, daughters, daughters in law, son in law, grandchildren, great-grandson, helper and loved ones.

K. AROKIADASS DORAY CATHERINE Departed: July 10, 1981 March 28, 2014

Dad and Mum are the stars that guide us, In their love and care, they hide us, It pains when they are far away, But they are in our thoughts always Deeply missed and forever cherished by sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great grandchildren and all loved ones.

In loving memory of

ELIZABETH LOH KAM CHEE Departed: July 2, 2013 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.� (Psalm 23:6) Sadly missed by family and loved ones.

Third Anniversary Seventh Anniversary

In loving memory of

SANTHA PAKIAM MARY LOURDESAMY Departed: July 4, 2014 Departed: Jan 18, 2010

Softly within the shadows God gave a gentle call With farewells left unspoken Mum & Dad, you silently left us all Our hearts still ache with sadness and Silent tears still flow To sit with you and talk for awhile would be our greatest wish today.

You will always be dearly missed by your son, daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and daughter-in-law.

Please turn to page 18 for more in memoriam and classified advertisements.

20 WORLD

Sunday July 9, 2017 n CatholicNews

Eucharist is call to unity and love ... says Pope Francis as he celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi ROME – The Eucharist is a tan-

gible reminder of God’s love, and receiving Communion is a call to work to build the body of Christ by loving others and shunning all that sows division within a community, Pope Francis said.

The Eucharist should “heal our ambition to lord it over others, to greedily hoard things for ourselves, to foment discord and criticism”, he said on June 18, celebrating the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. “May it awaken in us the joy of living in love, without rivalry, jealousy or mean-spirited gossip.”

Pope Francis celebrated the Mass outside the Basilica of St John Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. With an almost constant breeze cooling the warm Rome day, thousands of people – including children who made their first Communion earlier this year – gathered outside the basilica for the evening Mass and for the Corpus Christi procession later from St John Lateran to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, more than a kilometre away.

The Blessed Sacrament was carried on a platform held aloft on the shoulders of four men.

Eight other men carried tall poles holding a canopy over the platform.

In his homily at the Mass, the pope said the Eucharist “is the sacrament of memory, reminding us, in a real and tangible way, of the story of God’s love for us”.

Just as the Israelites were called to remember how God led them safely through the desert,

it awaken ‘inMay us the joy of living in love, without rivalry, jealousy or mean-spirited gossip.

’

– Pope Francis

he said, “remembering all that the Lord has done for us is the foundation of our own personal history of salvation.”

“Remembrance is essential for faith, as water is for a plant,” Pope Francis said.

Remembering, he said, keeps people “mindful, never forgetting who it is who loves us and whom we are called to love in return.”

Pope Francis said it seems that today people’s ability to remember and be mindful is weakening. “Amid so much frantic activity, many people and events seem to pass in a whirl,” he said.

“We quickly turn the page, looking for novelty while unable to retain memories.”

But the focus on living for the moment, he said, often means living superficially and without a focus on “who we are and where we are going.”

The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, the pope said, reaches people even in their “fragmented lives,” reminding them how Christ was broken for their salvation and continues to offer Himself in the “loving fragility” of the Eucharist.

“In the Bread of Life, the Lord comes to us, making Himself a humble meal that lovingly heals our memory, wounded by life’s frantic pace of life,” he said.

At the same time, the pope said, the Eucharist is a reminder that Christians are not isolated individuals but are called to receive Christ’s body together and to build up the body of the Church. n CNS

File photo of Pope Francis leading the Benediction outside the Basilica of St. Mary Major on the feast of Corpus Christi last year. CNS photo

PUBLISHED BY THE CATHOLIC NEWS, 2 HIGHLAND ROAD #01-03, SINGAPORE 549102. PRINTED BY TIMES PRINTERS PRIVATE LIMITED, 16 TUAS AVENUE 5, SINGAPORE 639340.