The Southern Cross - 110518 by The Southern Cross

May 18 to May 24, 2011

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r5,50 (incl Vat rSa) reg No. 1920/002058/06

Jewellery design as a sacred vocation

Parish of the Month from the north

Priest on the hazards of a Catholic wedding Page 9

Page 2

No 4726

Page 10

Vatican plan to save the earth By Carol Glatz

Children from Nazareth House in Johannesburg with gifts from US visitors. two delegations of high-powered officials from the United States, including the deputy secretary of state, visited the home, which also serves as an anti-retroviral treatment site. (Photo courtesy of SaCBC aids Desk)

High-powered US delegates in SA to discuss Aids funding StaFF rEPortEr

HE deputy foreign minister of the United States headed a delegation that visited Nazareth House in Johannesburg. Deputy secretary of state Tom Nides visited the home with representatives of the Pretoria-based Centre for Disease Control (CDC). They were welcomed by Dominican Sister Alison Munro and Theresa Bossert of the bishops’ conference’s Aids Office, Dr Ruth Stark of Catholic Relief Services, and Sr Sylvia Simpwalo and her staff and patients at Nazareth House. Mr Nides is the head of the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), the US government-funded programme that has provided support to initiatives addressing HIV and Aids worldwide, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa for the past seven years. PEPFAR’s website describes the funding initiative as “the largest by any nation to combat a single disease internationally”. Funding for Catholic Church sites in South Africa was initially received through Catholic Relief Services. A second delegation including representatives of the US Department of Health and Human Services, US Agency for International Development, the US National Institutes of Health, US Congress, the White House and the US Department of Defence visited Nazareth House a day later. They were among 400 international delegates at a PEPFAR conference in Sandton, Johannesburg.

The anti-retroviral treatment site at Nazareth House in Johannesburg, one of 14 treatment sites currently receiving PEPFAR funding through the bishops’ Aids Office, has about 1 820 patients on treatment, and 3 230 in care and not yet on treatment, said Sr Munro. In March 1500 patients were also screened for TB. The Nazareth House site serves a huge migrant population, with patients coming from many countries, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon. Both delegations also visited the children’s home where most of the children are on ARV treatment. “PEPFAR funding in South Africa is currently being received by local South African non-governmental and faith-based organisations, which is different from the past when American-based organisations received grants to work with local South African organisations,” Sr Munro said. “Further transitions and changes are expected in the future. PEPFAR funding to non-governmental and faith-based organisations is to decrease, and PEPFAR funding will help build the capacity of staff and the required infrastructure at South African public health facilities,” she said. “The SACBC Aids Office is actively engaging with PEPFAR/CDC and the South African Department of Health in different provinces to ensure that patients are transferred to provincial facilities, or that the Department of Health provides the necessary drugs and laboratory services to Church sites,” Sr Munro said.

ATIONS and individuals have a duty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enact policies that mitigate global warming, according to a Vatican-sponsored working group of experts. “The business-as-usual mode will not be possible because of both resource depletion and environmental damages,” the group said in a report released by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing reforestation, cutting air pollutants and helping poor regions adapt to climate change “pales in comparison to the price the world will pay if we fail to act now”, it said. “We call on all people and nations to recognise the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses,” it said. The 15-page report on the impact human beings have on the environment was titled “Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene”. It was compiled and signed by 23 internationally renowned scientists, mountaineers, and lawyers. The academy’s chancellor, Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, was also a signatory of the working group report. The academy selected participants for the April workshop at the Vatican to discuss the phenomena of melting mountain glaciers and to draw up recommendations in response to the risks and threats of climate change.

atican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ said in a written statement that while the report reflects the findings of the authors and is not “an act of the magisterium of the Church”, it is still “a significant scientific contribution to be valued in the context of the concerns about environmental problems often shown in recent magisterial documents and in the words of the Holy Father”. Pope Benedict has been very vocal about his concern for environmental degradation and has criticised a lack of real commitment to mitigating climate change. Fr Lombardi said the group of glaciologists, climatologists, meteorologists, hydrologists, physicists, chemists and others repre-

sented “an extremely qualified working group” that issued “an important statement”. The report summarised recent findings of the effects climate change has and will have on world populations. It said diminished air quality due to particulates, soot and gases “result in more than 2 million premature deaths worldwide every year and threaten water and food security”. Melting glaciers put drinking water security at risk and climate disruptions threaten those living in coastal and storm-prone areas. “The concentration of carbon dioxide in the air now exceeds the highest levels of the last 800 000 years,” the report said, adding that the gases and pollutants pumped into the atmosphere are to a large extent “manmade”.

he idea that human activity could so drastically alter current and future climate conditions has required the assigning of a new name to the current geological period: anthropocene. The term was coined by Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen, who was one of the working group’s co-chairs. The working group made the following recommendations: l Immediately reduce carbon dioxide emissions worldwide by employing renewable energy sources, halting deforestation, increasing reforestation and deploying technologies that “draw down excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere”. l Cut heat-absorbing pollutants like soot, methane and hydrofluorocarbons by 50%. l Help countries assess and adapt to the environmental and social impacts climate change will bring. “The group’s consensus statement is a warning to humanity and a call for fast action—to mitigate global and regional warming, to protect mountain glaciers and other vulnerable ecosystems, to assess national and local climate risks, and to prepare to adapt to those climate impacts that cannot be mitigated,” the report said. The working group also said another major threat that humanity poses to the world’s climate is “the threat of nuclear war, which can be lessened by rapid and large reductions in global nuclear arsenals”.—CNS

Vatican to give silver fish to films By Carol Glatz

NDER the patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture, a Rome film festival features historic and modern films that highlight Jesus, the priesthood and Pope Pius XII. The May 12-21 International Catholic Film Festival also will award a new prize— The Silver Fish—for best film, best documentary, best short film, best actor/actress and best director chosen from a total of 746 films that “promote universal moral values” and positive role models, festival organisers said. Liana Marabini, an Italian director, producer and president of the film festival, told reporters she wanted to focus on the priesthood because priests are often “overlooked” or portrayed in a negative light in films. Italian Biblicist and composer, Mgr Marco Frisina, said art is a valuable way to communicate important values because “it can open the heart even in people who don’t believe” in God. With music, films and other art forms,

“people are naturally predisposed to listen” to the creator’s message, he said. Best film, best director and best actor or actress will be chosen on May 19 from three finalists: Duns Scoto, an Italian movie about Bl John Duns Scotus, by Fernando Muraca; God’s Mighty Servant, a German film about Pope Pius XII’s adviser and helper, Sr Pascalina, by Markus Rosenmüller; and Marcelino Pan y Vino, José Luis Gutiérrez’ Mexican remake of the religious classic. The best documentary was to be chosen from Nine Days That Changed The World, about Bl Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Poland; Teresa di Gesu Bambino, an Italian documentary about St Thérèse of Lisieux; and La Última Cima (The Last Summit), a film about the life and death of a Spanish mountain climber and priest. Films on the festival’s programme include The Miracle Maker (2000), Christus (1916), Of Gods and Men (2010) and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1953 drama I Confess, starring Montgomery Clift as a Catholic priest.— CNS

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PRH course helps adults discover who they are By ClaIrE MatHIESoN

HE archdiocese of Johannesburg is encouraging its young adults to get involved in Personality and Human Relations (PRH)—an international programme for the emotional and spiritual development of adults . Founded in 1970 by French Jesuit Father André Rochais, the programme encourages participants to explore and research the

developmental processes in the human person and find answers to the question: who am I? The international movement is new in South Africa with only six people qualified to give courses in the country. According to Magda Cuyvers-Uyttersprot, president of PRH-International, the movement can now be found in 40 countries and has gained popularity because the course allows people to develop their “own personality, their

relational life and their commitments in society, while remaining faithful to themselves”. A course lasts five days and can be spread out over weekends or weekdays. Course leaders are specially trained to help people work on their own growth and healing through a course that is based on the dynamic and positive vision of the person. The archdiocese of Johannesburg has reported that groups have continued to work

together even after the completion of the course. PRH has received a positive response from participants. Thabo Kennedy Mlotshwa said after completing the course it has helped him deal with past hurts and “to relate to others better”. Maseeiso Pelesa said the workshops “helped me to know ‘Who I am’, accept myself with all my weaknesses, my strengths and my unforgiving of the past painful

hurts. It is a process that helped me to realise and appreciate myself as an important gift to this world regardless of the hardships I endured in the past”. The movement is gaining popularity in the country and is expected to launch in other dioceses soon. n For more information about PRH contact Fr Richard Broderick MSC on 012 341 4728 or dbroderick@mweb.co.za

Questions around the death of Bin Laden has no ‘easy answers’ By ClaIrE MatHIESoN

Fr Mbongiseni Shabangu was ordained by Bishop Xolelo thaddeus Khumalo (left) of the Eshowe diocese as the first zulu Salesian priest. Fr Shabangu hails from Paulpietersburg in Kwazulu-Natal. In 2010 he finished his theological studies at tangaza College in Nairobi, Kenya. Bishop Khumalo and Fr Shabangu are photographed with Fr Francois Dufour, Salesian Provincial for Southern africa. (Submitted by Clarence Watts)

Jesuit priest has said the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan at the hands of United States Special Forces raises many questions to which there “are no morally easy answers”. The legitimacy of the secret operation has a foundation, said Jesuit Father Anthony Egan SJ on his blog on the website of the Jesuit Institute South Africa (www.jesuitinstitue.co.za). Had American forces dealt with the Pakistani government, it is likely al-Qaeda sympathisers within the government might have compromised the operation. Furthermore, Fr Egan said the raid was appropriately carried out. However, Fr Egan said, the big argument concerned the killing of Bin Laden. Some have argued that

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he should have been put on trial at an international court. “My contention is that keeping bin Laden in prison [pre-trial and then after sentencing] invites the risk of al-Qaeda hostage-taking operations to get him released. Killing him seems to be the lesser evil,” said Fr Egan. “But it seems he was unarmed. Surely it was wrong to kill him?” Fr Egan goes on to say in his blog. “Here some insight into other anti-terrorist operations may clarify matters; if there is any attempt by a suspected terrorist to resist, the standard procedure is ‘shoot to kill’, for fear that the suspect may have a hidden weapon. This has happened in the past in hostage rescue situations. It is a reality of which police and military Special Forces are all too aware.” Fr Egan said that in the short term one can expect hard-line

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Islamist protests, even possible revenge attacks. “But the astute Middle East journalist Robert Fisk might be proved right when he says that bin Laden and al-Qaeda have largely become irrelevant. Fisk points out that while bin Laden envisioned a new united Muslim caliphate [religious monarchy] purged of Western influences; the current trend in the Muslim world is towards democracy.” Fr Egan said the uprisings in the Middle East against “corrupt proWestern regimes” have been in favour of democracy, and a move is being seen towards democratic states with moderate Muslim values. Fr Egan added that, “If Fisk is right, and I hope he is, Bin Laden’s vision was ‘dead’—even before he was shot.”

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Jewellery design – one man’s vocation By ClaIrE MatHIESoN

EMINARY formator Fr Chris Chatteris SJ said in a recent feature article that finding one’s vocation in life, “whatever it may be, is cause for celebration”. This was true for Adam Bremner, who after six years of discernment with the Redemptorists decided to leave his studies towards the priesthood to follow his true passion: jewellery design. The Durban-born designer said after eight years as a jewellery designer, lecturer and jeweller, he was attracted to the charism of the Redeptorists. “I studied for three years towards a diploma in jewellery manufacturing and design and then worked towards gaining my trade papers,” said Mr Bremner. He was then invited to lecture on jewellery design. “I think it was this experience that opened a new area of life. Lecturing sparked the possibility of the priesthood.” After working for commercial jewellers, Mr Bremner said the cutthroat business kept his spirit down and he was looking for something else. He was accepted to join the Redemptorists for a year of postulancy which he described as a “come and see” opportunity. “I then spent a year in intense prayer in the novitiate after which I took temporary vows,” he said. For three years Mr Bremner lived as a Redemptorist brother. But during Mr Bremner’s studies in philosophy, as part of his training towards the priesthood, he

a former redemptorist brother, adam Bremner left the formation to become a designer of sacred jewellery. started questioning things. “Preaching required extra effort, but creativity came easily!” He shared his thoughts with his community and was sent to the congregation’s monastery in Bergvliet, Cape Town. “I was sent to spend time with Br Richard Maidwell. It was like a two year apprenticeship in icon writing and an internal struggle with discernment,” Mr Bremner said. “It was a time of beauty at the monastery. I was in a good space and was able to come to a decision to leave positively. I owe a lot to the Redemptorists for the total

acceptance and support they gave me —even when I said I was leaving.” Mr Bremner left the order and within two years has set up a business that designs and manufactures sacred jewellery. He said he was faced with a big question: “How do I, as a child of God, gifted with creative talents, contribute to our experience and upliftment of the beautiful and the sacred; how do I become a co-creator of beauty with God for the Glory of God?” After pondering this and prayerfully searching, Mr Bremner decided, after nearly six years of formation, not to renew

his temporary vows as a Redemptorist but to continue his vocational discernment with God as a sacred artist. “I avoid using unnatural substances. I try staying away from plastic and man-made substances. I consider myself a co-creator of beauty with God for the glory of God.” Mr Bremner said he was disturbed by many Catholic repositories stocking sacred jewellery from mass producers in countries such as China. He said what makes his jewellery different is that, due to his past, he understands Catholic ethos and the importance of sacred jewellery. His work, he says, is his prayer. “I think people can appreciate getting jewellery from an authentic source,” Mr Bremner said, pointing out that commercial jewellers are motivated by profits. “Something like an engagement ring is sacred. People forget this!” Mr Bremner said all of his work had a sacred intention. Today, Mr Bremner works from a small studio in Cape Town, producing natural material sacred jewellery in “an atmosphere of prayer”, using gold, silver, diamonds, precious and semi-precious stones in unique and custom made designs. He said he feels it is his true vocation to glorify God in the beauty of his designs and to offer the public jewellery that has meaning and prayerful intention. n For more information visit www.abjewellery.co.za

CATHCA book launch

NEW book celebrating the pioneers of Catholic health care in Southern Africa will be launched in Johannesburg on May 24. The book, titled In the Service of Healing, is being published by Catholic Health Care (Cathca). The idea was conceived in 2008 when Cathca celebrated its 20th anniversary. The book, from which The Southern Cross published an excerpt last week, is a compilation of stories, articles, archival material Cathca received from the religious congregations. It is a historical account of the health care work of the Catholic Church in South Africa that combines old pictures, records and personal stories. The book will be launched on 24 May at 15:30 at Rosebank Parish Centre in Keyes Avenue, Johannesburg. Guest speakers will include Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria. nTo attend please contact Loek Goemans on 011 880 4022 or email admin@cathca.co.za

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340 000 sign up for World Youth Day

BOUT 340 000 young people from more than 170 countries have signed up to participate in the World Youth Day (WYD) events in Madrid in August, the Catholic News Agency has reported. The August 16-21 WYD will include lectures, meetings, catechetics and cultural events, culminating with a vigil and Mass with Pope Benedict. The head of WYD 2011, Yago de la Cierva, said the planning phase ended in January 2011. Since then, organisers have been working with the Vatican and Madrid city officials on implementing the plans. A large contingent of full and parttime volunteers has been assembled to manage logistics. The culture and faith of Spain will be front and centre of the event, de la Cierva said. “Everything ought to be rooted in the 20 centuries of Catholic tradition in this country.”

The WYD will begin on August 16 with an opening Mass. The traditional catechetical sessions will take place on August 17 and 18 at more than 200 parishes throughout Madrid, led by bishops from around the world. On August 18, Pope Benedict will be welcomed at Cibeles Square. The next day the Way of the Cross will be prayed and the weekend will be spent at the Cuatro Vientos airfield. A vigil will take place there on Saturday night and the closing Mass will be celebrated on Sunday morning. Pope Benedict is also scheduled meet with university professors, women religious, seminarians, volunteers, those with disabilities and the sick. World Youth Day cultural activities will fill the streets of the Spanish capital, with more than 300 different sites available for young people, the CNA report said.

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New head for evangelisation By CINDy WooDEN

RCHBISHOP Fernando Filoni, a Vatican diplomat who was serving as nuncio to Iraq when the United States and its allies invaded in 2003, has been appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the curial office overseeing the Church’s work in missionary territories (which include Southern Africa). Archbishop Filoni, 65, succeeds Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias at the helm of the evangelisation congregation. Cardi-

nal Dias reached the customary retirement age of 75 in mid-April. He served at the Vatican for almost five years. According to statistics published in October, the congregation is responsible for almost 1 100 dioceses and other Church jurisdictions on every continent, except Europe. The congregation oversees 495 jurisdictions in Africa, 472 in Asia, 85 in the Americas and 46 in Oceania and the Pacific. Since 2007, Archbishop Filoni has held the post of “substitute for general affairs”

in the Vatican Secretariat of State, putting him in charge of daily Vatican affairs. Born in southern Italy in 1946, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1970 and entered the Vatican diplomatic corps in 1981. He served in Sri Lanka, Iran, Brazil, the Philippines and at the Vatican before Pope John Paul II ordained him a bishop and made him nuncio to Iraq in 2001. Pope Benedict named his nuncio to Cuba, Archbishop Giovanni Becciu, to succeed Archbishop Filoni at the Secretariat of State.—CNS

Pope in Venice: Like water, faith gives life V ISITING Venice, the city of gondolas and canals, Pope Benedict said Christians must make sure their lives as individuals and communities reflect the life-giving qualities of water and not the chaos and destruction it can bring. “Water is an ambivalent symbol: of life, but also death; the populations struck by flooding and tsunamis know this,” the pope said at the end of a twoday visit to Aquileia and Venice in northern Italy. Seated in a white gondola amid a colourful flotilla of all kinds of boats, Pope Benedict rode to a meeting with Venetian cultural, artistic, political and economic leaders. He said Venetians know how fascinating water has made their city and, yet, how many difficulties it causes, particularly for the health and stability of the city. Residents, he said, can choose to reflect either the beautiful or the problematic qualities of water in their relationships with others and in the way they organise their life together. Either they are “fluid” to the extent of being adrift and destructive, or they hold firm to their Christian heritage and become a source of life for all. Celebrating Mass for an estimated 300 000 people in a park in nearby Mestre that morning, Pope Benedict preached about the Gospel story of the disciples meeting the risen Jesus on the road of Emmaus. The story, he said, is about “conversion from desperation to hope, conversion from sadness to joy and, also, conversion to community life”. “Sometimes when one speaks of conversion, people think

Pope Benedict takes a gondola across the Grand Canal during his visit to Venice. (Photo: alessandro Bianchi, reuters/CNS) only about the hard work, detachment and renunciation it involves. But Christian conversion is most of all a source of joy, hope and love,” as seen in the Gospel story when the disciples discover that Jesus truly rose from the dead and they return to Jerusalem to share the good news with the other disciples. Too many Christians today tend to live like the disciples going toward Emmaus: They once knew Jesus or heard about him, but now they are “immersed in doubt, sadness and disappointment”, the pope said. “The problem of evil, of pain and suffering, the problem of injustice and oppression, the fear of others, of foreigners and of those from far away who reach our lands and seem to

threaten who we are, can lead Christians today to say: We had hoped that the Lord would free us from evil, pain, suffering, fear and injustice.” The only truly Christian response, he said, is to recognise that Christ has risen and continues to be present in his Church, helping people respond to new challenges with hope and trust. The pope began his weekend visit in Aquileia, an ancient Roman city at the extreme north-eastern edge of Italy. Many of the town’s early Christians were martyred under the Emperor Diocletian in 303. During an outdoor meeting with residents of the town, Pope Benedict said he wanted to visit Aquileia “to admire this rich and ancient tradition, but also to confirm you in the deep faith of your forefathers”.—CNS

Boarding the charity train By CINDy WooDEN

FFICIALS and supporters of Caritas Internationalis will travel 100km on a historic Vatican train to celebrate the charitable organisation’s 60th anniversary. Dubbed the “Caritas Express” for the occasion, the Vatican’s train—pulled by classic steam and electric locomotives—will run a few hundred metres of track from inside the Vatican to its border with Italy on May 21, and then will carry guests to Orvieto, an Umbrian hilltop town 100km north of Rome. Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based umbrella organisation for national Catholic charities, said the Vatican’s is “the shortest national railway system in the world with just one tiny station, no registered rolling stock and no railway workers”. Three historic first-class carriages and two second-class carriages will transport invited guests, diplomats and other who have supported Caritas’ response to natural and human-made disasters, the organisation said. While the Vatican City railway station was built under Pope Pius XI, he never passed through it to board a train. Pope John XXIII used the station in 1962 when he went from the Vatican to Assisi, and Pope John Paul II used it in 1979 and 2002.— CNS

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the Southern Cross, May 18 to May 24, 2011

Egypt’s Christians live in fear and hope By CINDy WooDEN

GYPT’S Christian minority looks toward the future with hope for greater freedoms for all citizens but continues to have some fear that the revolution will be hijacked by Muslim fundamentalists, said the Vatican’s nuncio to Egypt. Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, the nuncio and former president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, spoke about the state of Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt just hours before Christians and Muslims clashed this month in one of Cairo’s poorest suburbs, leaving at least 12 dead and hundreds injured. The revolution that led to the downfall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February and to promises of greater freedom brought young Muslims and Christians to the streets together, Archbishop Fitzgerald told Catholic News Service in Rome. The young people of both faith groups were asking for greater freedom and for social reforms that would ensure the country’s development and progress would benefit more than just Egypt’s wealthiest citizens, the archbishop said. “The Catholic Church and the Christians in general go along with those demands and, of

Christians clean up a Coptic Christian church after it was set on fire during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo. at least 12 people were killed during the violence. (Photo: Mohamed abd El-Ghany, reuters/CNS) course, there were Christians and Muslims together demonstrating,” he said. “The other side, the downside of it, is the fear of the Christians that this revolution, which was not at all religious in its claims, its demands, has been taken over by Islamic fundamentalists in certain ways.” “There is hope and yet there is a degree of anxiety,” he said in the interview the evening before vio-

lence broke out in Cairo’s Imbaba neighbourhood. The clashes reportedly began outside St Mina Orthodox church, where several hundred Salafi Muslims gathered, claiming a Christian woman married to a Muslim man was being held there against her will. The violence spread to other Orthodox churches in the neighbourhood. The Salafis are a Muslim sect

Africa ‘needs better formation’ By BarB FrazE

LTHOUGH African vocations are flourishing, the continent needs people to form those vocations, and African bishops visited Washington looking for such help. Tanzanian Cardinal Polycarp Pengo said the major regional seminary in his city, Dar es Salaam, has 192 students and only ten formators. “Of course, the formation cannot be that good,” the cardinal told Catholic News Service in an interview. “For me, this [formation] is the greatest need we have.” Cardinal Pengo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (Secam), said he would like to see US seminary lecturers spend time teaching in Africa. He said he would like to send seminarians to the United States, where some could remain for a while after graduation while others would return to Africa to teach. Archbishop Charles PalmerBuckle of Accra, Ghana, added

that the need for formation extended beyond priests and religious. “When we talk about agents of evangelisation, we should look at the formation of the lay leadership of the Church in Africa, namely catechists, Catholic teachers, Catholic politicians, Catholic parents...so that they also know what will be required of them, particularly formation in...Catholic social teachings.” The archbishop said forming lay leaders was especially important given the growing democracy movement in Africa. The Church needs “people who are well-qualified in politics, in economics, in finances and other professions” to deliver Catholic social teaching, the archbishop said. Cardinal Pengo also emphasised the importance of Africa’s Catholic universities in forming future leaders. Because they accept more than Catholic students, “differences which are at the moment pretty threatening,” such as the “presence of Islamic

Pope: Bible not just phrases By CINDy WooDEN

HILE Catholics believe the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it is true, one cannot take individual biblical quotes or passages and say each one is literally true, Pope Benedict said in a message to the Pontifical Biblical Commission. “It is possible to perceive the Sacred Scriptures as the word of God” only by looking at the Bible as a whole, “a totality in which the individual elements enlighten each other and open the way to understanding,” the pope said. “It is not possible to apply the criterion of inspiration or of absolute truth in a mechanical way, extrapolating a single phrase or expression.” The commission of biblical scholars, an advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, met at the Vatican to continue discussions

about “Inspiration and Truth in the Bible” In his message, the pope said clearer explanations about the Catholic position on the divine inspiration and truth of the Bible were important because some people seem to treat the Scriptures simply as literature while others believe that each line was dictated by the Holy Spirit and is literally true. Neither position is Catholic, the pope said. “An interpretation of the sacred writings that disregards or forgets their inspiration does not take into account their most important and precious characteristic.” The Catholic position is that the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical writers so that “human words express the word of God. “Through his word God wants to communicate to us the whole truth about himself and his plan of salvation for humanity.”—CNS

fundamentalism...can be ironed out through these universities.” Archbishop Palmer-Buckle recalled Pope Benedict’s comment that Africa was “the spiritual lungs of the world” as well as the pope’s caution that Africa could suffer from the “viral infections” of materialism, atheism and relativism. The Church must know “how to form people to be able to ride what I may call the crest, the wave of huge exponential evangelisation, but at the same time how to help forestall whatever could be the pitfalls” of what the pope called “the toxic waste from the West and at the same time the fundamentalist extreme”. He said the Church must move into “ongoing formation, what we call post-confirmation catechesis for various laypeople, then formation that goes into vocation, into religious life and into vocation of family life, marriage and everything.” Such ongoing formation is why Catholic universities “are very, very necessary”.—CNS

EU founder waits for miracle

HE sainthood cause for former French foreign minister Robert Schuman, whose initiative set in motion the founding of the European Union, is stuck because of a lack of miracles, the EU Observer has pointed out. The Institute Saint-Benoit, a foundation in Montingy-lesMetz, France, where Mr Schuman spent much of his life, was set up in 1988 to promote his candidacy for sainthood. The foundation has the backing of Bishop Pierre Raffin of Metz According to its official literature, the foundation believes that Mr Schuman was an “exemplary Christian” both in terms of his personal life and the “holiness of his politics” in seeking to prevent another World War II-type conflict in Europe.—cathnews

dedicated to the spread of what they believe is traditional, Orthodox Islam, including in the political life of predominantly Muslim countries. Archbishop Fitzgerald said Catholics and other Christians are waiting to see the direction the country takes, particularly once elections are held in September and work begins on revising Egypt’s constitution. Like members of the special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, which was held at the Vatican in October, the archbishop said he and Egypt’s Catholic bishops are encouraging the country’s Christians to get involved in the political process, “playing their role in society without fear, giving their own testimony”. The official Catholic-Muslim dialogue in the country is that conducted by Cairo’s al-Azhar University and the Vatican. But the Muslim clerics of alAzhar announced in January that they were suspending the dialogue. Archbishop Fitzgerald said the decision was based on “the Holy Father’s statements about his concern for Christians generally in the world and particularly in Egypt after the bombing of the church in Alexandria [in December] and this was taken as a form of interference. But if you exam-

ine the statements carefully, this is only appealing to the government to look after their citizens and not saying we are going to intervene in anyway”. “We hope this will blow over eventually,” the archbishop said. At the same time, he said, dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Egypt continues on a local level. “The young people whom I mentioned who are engaged in revolution are Christians and Muslims together. And that dialogue on the question of human rights, of citizenship has been going on for quite some time. This is not an official religious dialogue, but it’s a dialogue between Christians and Muslims as individuals, as citizens,” he said. In a speech at the Lay Centre in Rome, Archbishop Fitzgerald said official dialogue meetings are “only valid if they are at the service of the dialogue that is going on all the time around the world”. The meetings of theologians, scholars and religious leaders must be “an example and a stimulus” to people in parishes and mosques around the world, he said. “The real dialogue is the dialogue of living in peace and harmony together, living in friendship together, working together,” the archbishop said.—CNS

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St Kizito Children’s Programme

Cape town

St. Kizito Children’s Programme (SKCP) is a parish-based movement responding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in the Archdiocese of Cape Town. SKCP is currently working in sixteen parishes serving largely disadvantaged communities, where local Parish Groups of volunteers work directly with the children, caregivers and families who are in need of their services. The Parish Groups are led and guided by Parish Group Mentor responsible for a cluster of participating Parishes.

St. Kizito Children’s Programme is seeking to employ as of 1 July a

PariSh GrOuP MenTOr The key performance areas of the Parish Group Mentor are to: • Establish Parish Groups • Parish capacity building and support to Parish Groups • Monitor and evaluate Parish Groups • Ensure effective communication within SKCP • Record keeping • Networking with interested individuals and agencies The Parish Group Mentor will have the following attributes: • A good understanding and appreciation of the Catholic Church structure and ethos • Love and concern for children • Extensive life and community experience • Ability to work well within a team • Facilitation and training skills • Self-leadership • Fluency in Xhosa • Ability to communicate well in English (written and spoken) • Computer literacy • Own transport and valid driver’s licence • The willingness and ability to work at weekends and outside normal working hours. Closing date for position: 13 June 2011 Please submit CV and letter of motivation to The Coordinator, PO Box 69, Philippi, 7781 or info@stkizito.org.za No late applications will be considered and only those short-listed will be contacted

the Southern Cross, May 18 to May 24, 2011

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Mugabe in the Vatican

HEN television broadcasts of the beatification of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican showed Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe receiving Holy Communion, many Catholics in southern Africa were scandalised. This week we publish just two of the many letters we have received that express anger and hurt at Mr Mugabe’s warm welcome in the Vatican and his reception of the Eucharist at so public and exalted an event. How, many ask, can it be that a man who is responsible for the killing and persecution of so many people may take his place at the Lord’s Table? Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, spokesman for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and a critic of the president’s human rights record, explained: “For any Christian, receiving Communion is an act of personal choice made out of conscience before God. As such, it is a matter for the internal forum—between God and the believer.” No person but Mr Mugabe and perhaps his confessor can know whether he was in a state of grace when he presented himself for Communion in St Peter’s Square. It is not our place to interrogate Mr Mugabe internal forum. Moreover, as long as Mr Mugabe is not under interdict (as some Catholic pro-choice politicians in the United States are, at the discretion of local bishops), he may continue to receive Communion. We must hope that his personal chaplain will offer him the appropriate spiritual advice. But why was Mr Mugabe allowed to attend the beatification ceremony of the pope who in 2003 gave the Zimbabwean ambassador a most devastating public dressing-down over his regime’s reign of terror? Cardinal Napier points out that “no official invitations were issued to heads of state”. But it is not a case of Mr Mugabe simply presenting himself at the gates of St Peter’s Square’s VIP enclosure, demanding admission. Because the European Union’s travel ban on Mr Mugabe excludes the Vatican City state, Italian immigration must allow him passage through

Italian territory. This means that the Vatican’s Secretariat of State had to make the necessary arrangements through its diplomatic channels once Mr Mugabe had declared his wish to attend the beatification ceremony. Evidently the Vatican saw no cause to ask Mr Mugabe to stay at home nor to decline to engage its diplomatic channels on his behalf. International diplomacy sometimes requires unpalatable things of its practitioners. Protocol would demand that the Vatican will not reveal whether this was one such occasion. Clearly, however, Mr Mugabe was made to feel thoroughly welcome. And it is at the televised sight of the tyrant being warmly embraced by a broadly smiling prelate that Catholics may register indignation. That public embrace is embarrassing for the courageous bishops of Zimbabwe, and to the clergy, religious and laity who strive for a peaceful transition to an equitable and accountable democracy. Shortly before departing on his “absolutely heavenly” Vatican sojourn, Mr Mugabe described the Zimbabwean bishops as “so-called men of God who lie” and “mere puppets of Western countries”. In that light particularly, Mr Mugabe’s reception in the Vatican has created an impression, surely inaccurate, that the Vatican sides with him against the bishops of Zimbabwe. We can be certain that Mr Mugabe will refer to his welcome in the Vatican when next he feels compelled to insult and attack the bishops of his country, and to denounce their apostolic obligation to work for justice and peace. Their teaching authority on issues of social justice has been compromised. It is important that such a perception is vigorously countered to preserve the authority and dignity of Zimbabwe’s bishops and the laity’s confidence in the episcopate and, indeed, in the Vatican. Inestimable harm has been done to the Church by Mr Mugabe’s trip. Zimbabwe’s bishops have been undermined, and the faithful have been scandalised. Now that damage requires correction.

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion. Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

Knysna parish a blessing

N May, while on holiday, we went to the 8:00 Sunday Mass at St Boniface’s church in Knysna. It was so special that we decided to share it with your readers. Mass was of course as always the universal celebration of the Paschal mystery. But it was particularly beautiful. We arrived to an already full church, and seeing two spaces near the front, went to those seats. It was only later that we realised that we had barged into an area usually used by the choir (or perhaps I should say “the leaders of the praise singing”, for that is what they were). But no-one showed any sign of us not being welcome in those seats. On the contrary, we had not

seen or picked up the parish bulletin when we arrived, and a few minutes after Mass had started, the charming, smiling lady sitting next to me passed me her copy, indicating that she would share her neighbour’s. We immediately felt welcomed into the community! The homily, delivered by the deacon, was outstanding. What a gift the parish has in this man! The celebrant was clear, warm and holy throughout. The liturgy was an example of dedicated adherence to the norms, but—so importantly— with gentle warmth through the entire service. Two superbly trained altar servers added to the quality of all the movements on the altar.

Mugabe and the Catholic Church

ing and intimidating those who oppose him. As a Catholic I feel confused, betrayed and very cross, as I am sure every other Catholic in Zimbabwe is. To see the photograph of him receiving Communion just illustrates the hypocrisy of it all. The anti-Catholic population of Zimbabwe and the worldwide secularists could well interpret this invitation as a gesture of solidarity by the Church with Mr Mugabe. I sincerely hope and pray that Mr Mugabe will mend his ways. I am more concerned about the long term effects that this invitation will have on the Church and it’s members in central and Southern Africa. Desmond Foley, Randburg

RECEIVED news of Robert Mugabe presence at the beatification of Bl John Paul II with such utter disgust that my 54 years as a practising Catholic have been ripped from within me, and I do not know what to believe anymore. I have bought various books and studied the Church’s history so that I could with authority counter and protect my Church against attack by fundamentalists. However, what has happened now is beyond belief. Thousands of people have been tortured and murdered by this tyrant, and he still the murders and tortures—yet he attends Mass and takes Communion in the Vatican? Is this a throwback of the Church’s authoritarian, could-not-care-aboutthe-people style of yesteryear? I don’t know what to think of my Church. If the ordinary Catholics, priests and bishops of Southern Africa don’t speak up against this gross injustice against the people of Zimbabwe then they/we are equally to blame. Nothing but a public apology, and chastisement of Mr Mugabe’s deeds, by the pope will do. Frank Stuyck, Velddrif

Confused and betrayed

T is very difficult for an ordinary, simple, practising Catholic to understand the mysterious and sometimes convoluted thinking of the hierarchy. The presence of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe at the beatification of Pope John Paul is mindboggling. This is a man who authorised the massacre of 20 000 people a generation ago in Matabeleland. Not only has he not apologised, but he has continued his violent and oppressive ways of ruling Zimbabwe to this very present day, killing, maim-

Vegan: no biblical support

EIL Mitchell, “Ethical Eating”, April 13, points out that, while the creation myths of Genesis 1:28 and 1:19-30 exclude the killing and eating of animals for food, it is only after the fall that God permits humans to kill and eat animals for food. With the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 11), there are eating prohibitions in respect of many animals, particularly scavengers. Pork is perhaps the best known. Nowhere was any mention made of the ethics of it all. In relating the parable of the five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus doesn’t seem to have reservations about the ethics regarding eating of meat in that celebration, as also in the Passover meal. From these and other instances in the gospels, it is clear that nowhere in the New Testament do we find any instance of God, our Creator and redeemer, prohibiting the killing and eating of meat and fish, in anticipation of possible future global warming and danger to the environment. While we do have a duty to conserve our planet, it is not for us to

The music was wonderful, with two excellent guitarists (not strummers, but true guitarists in the Narcisso Yepes tradition) leading some beautiful and for us previously unknown hymns and a stunning sung Mass. Any musical purist would have rejoiced. Even the parish notices were special. Three people spoke on three different community matters, all of them clearly drawing attention to a focus on the greater good of all. Congratulations, St Boniface’s. We were totally won over to Knysna by your warmth and your community worship. We look forward to regularly spending time with our family in your beautiful town and with your beautiful community. Ruth and Chris Busschau, Johannesburg attempt to play God. The commandment: “Thou shalt not kill”, refers only to the intentional and malicious killing of a fellow human being, not everything that moves, down to insects. John Lee, Johannesburg

Bully priest

HERE is a flipside to “volunteers from hell”, to borrow Chris Moerdyk’s term. There are priests to whom I could cheerfully apply that term. This is the tyrannical priest, a bully of the first order. He beats up on his parishioners from the pulpit (nothing to do with the day’s sermon). It is to this priest that I find it hard to apply the term persona Christi. Christ was a shepherd full of compassion and kindness. This priest has no compassion in his dealings with his flock. Parishioners who serve the parish in specific areas are obliged to attend training courses in their particular field, which teach them that the priest appointed to their parish has the final say in all things pertaining to that parish. They are helpers in the priest’s administration—they can only advise and consult. Unfortunately, this type of priest will not consider suggestions made by parishioners, but makes his decisions based on his own ideas, never failing to tell you that he has the power of yay or nay. Many of those decisions do not benefit the parish at all. Catholics know they have recourse to a higher authority to ease their lot, but most are reluctant to walk this road. They hope and pray instead that the priest may be transferred elsewhere. Sadly some valuable people—catechists, members of PPC, PFC etc—begin to disappear from the parish scene, having joined other parishes. But sadder still some abandon the Catholic faith and join other churches or simply never come back. Lily P Fynn, Johannesburg

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PERSPECTIVES

From one hot cross bun to another

HAVE just washed nine mugs—in the dishwasher—plus a sundry collection of plates, glasses and the odd dish, all built up over a few days of living lazily alone. That has been my life and I am looking ahead to a much longer time of living alone, with my youngest daughter now engaged and a wedding on the cards some time in the future. That has caused me to sit back and reminisce a little before looking ahead to some attempts at pearls of wisdom for other family people. What is the point, then, of the hot cross buns? These ever popular buns are no longer eaten only on Good Friday, but for many of us are a significant part of the Holy Week and Easter season. They are not part of my Dutch family background and I really encountered them only when I joined the Rowland family in the early 1960s, having met my future husband Chris in the parish church choir. For more than 50 years Easter has meant time spent in church at the various Easter ceremonies. As a member of different choirs over the years it meant singing or playing at some of my favourite ceremonies —and of course hot cross buns on Good Friday for tea. When we married it became hot cross buns for breakfast (for some in bed, it being a day of fast and abstinence). For the next few years there were babies on board, and as our little family continued to grow, it was hot cross buns for breakfast, buttered and toasted under the grill. As we rejoined the choir the small people sat, played or slept under the bench in the choirloft, or sat with Nan and Grandad. Seen from a distance,

they were remarkably good. After this we would be off to their house for the traditional hot cross buns. The family grew, tastes developed and some preferred them microwaved with melted butter. Over the years too we discovered that food fundis held competitions as to the best-tasting, most spicy, richest-in-fruit buns. So time went by, the family continued to grow; over the years they gradually left home and buns would be left over, to dry out and still be eaten by a can’twaste-food mom, or they would stay in the freezer for a month or more. Afternoon tea with the grandfolks continued until they passed on. In time there were just three of us left, eating buns for breakfast and afternoon tea. When Chris died, there were just two of us, and the tradition just wasn’t quite the same, as mom and daughter wouldn’t necessarily both be there at the same time doing the same things. Will this year’s hot cross buns have been the last in company? From now on, am I to eat them alone? Six in a pack is a lot. Should I find someone to share with, join a commune or just become a hermit? There are times in one’s life when all these options are considered. But work keeps me going for the present. Developing the May focus on Family Life has been time-consuming, on top of other family-promoting activities, writing, workshops and talks. The Family Desk at the bishops’ conference was delegated to take on the task and I highlighted aspects that may not normally be part of Church life. May is Mary’s month. There is also Vocations Sunday. How often in commemorating the feast of St Joseph the

You’ve gotta be kidding me. LOL

OME stories, like the following, bring tears to your eyes: One day a young man was shopping in a supermarket when he noticed an elderly lady who seemed to be following him. Whatever aisle he turned down, she turned down. Whenever he stopped, she stopped. He also had the distinct impression that she was staring at him. As the man reached the checkout, sure enough, the lady was right there. Politely, he motioned for the woman to go ahead of him. Turning around, the elderly lady said: “I hope I haven’t made you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that you look so much like my late son.” Touched, the young man said, “Oh, no, that’s OK.” “I know that it’s silly,” continued the lady, “but could I ask you to do something for me? Could you call out, ‘Goodbye, Mom’, as I leave the store? It would make me feel so happy.” The young man was glad to oblige. After the lady went through the checkout and was on her way out of the store, he called out: “Goodbye, Mom!” The lady turned back, smiled and waved. The young man’s heart swelled, seeing that his small gesture had brought such joy into someone’s life. As he went to pay for his groceries, the clerk said, “That comes to $121,87.” “Why so much?” said the young man. “I only have five items.” The clerk replied: “Yeah, I know, but your mother said you’d be paying for her things, too!” OK, OK, so those tears that I spoke of at the beginning of this column? Well, they’re tears of laughter. And they’re something I hope you’re having plenty of throughout the seven weeks of the Easter season.

I recently came across a phrase that I really like: risus paschalis. It’s Latin for “Easter laughter”. Although some trace this expression back to St Gregory of Nyssa (died 385), the Catholic Encyclopedia says that it refers to a “strange custom” that was common in 15th-century Bavaria. Apparently, priests would use funny stories in their homilies on Easter to get their parishioners to laugh. Then a moral was drawn from the story. As time went on, though, abuses crept into the practice, prompting Pope Clement X (1670-75) to prohibit the risus paschalis. It’s too bad those abuses occurred, because joy and laughter should be a big part of the Easter season. After all, in the Resurrection, death was defeated; it didn’t have the final word. And we believe that Jesus’ resurrection is something that we already share in, though not yet completely. How can we not be joyful? Unfortunately, many people today are weighed down by their own sinfulness and by the multiple tragedies that they see daily recounted in the news: wars, injustice, natural disasters, murders, poverty, hunger and disease. As Christians—people of the Resurrection—we’re called to usher in hope where there is despair, light where there is darkness, and joy where there is sorrow. One way to do that is to resurrect, so to speak, a healthy risus paschalis. Hopefully, our Lenten disciplines made us holier, more willing and able to bring God’s joy and healing to the world. Our good practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving should not have ended with Easter. The only thing that should change is our motivation for doing them. As I look back on this past Lent, there were some bright spots, but I also fell

the Southern Cross, May 18 to May 24, 2011

Michael Shackleton open Door

Toni Rowland Family Friendly Worker, on May 1, do we not only honour him but use the opportunity to reflect on the topic of work and how important its impact is on family life? Mother’s Day may be a commercial gimmick, but it does give us an opportunity to focus on the gift, the blessing and the responsibility of motherhood in family life. It also highlights the fact that women are the ones who have abortions, who deny themselves or are denied the fullness of motherhood, for whatever reason. UN International Day for Families on May 15 was a significant one too. Not nearly enough attention is paid in Church and society to the importance of families and the need to build up and strengthen family life for its own good and that of society. Pope John Paul II in the commemorative issue of The Southern Cross is credited with many good things, but there is no mention of all the things he did and said about family life. Familiaris Consortio and his Theology of the Body teachings surely are crucial to respond to his oft repeated exhortation: “The future of the Church and of society is through the family.” I concur and am sure will continue to do so next year and thereafter, even while I eat my hot cross buns alone. For more on the May family focus and the daily prayer for families—which incidentally need not end when the month is over—visit www.marfam.org.za.blog.

Fr Mark Goldasich Point of reflection short in other areas, especially with my “Lenten Tasks” bucket. I gathered up “to do” items that I’d been procrastinating on and wrote them down, one per small piece of paper. I’d intended to pick one out of the bucket each day of Lent and do what was written there. In the end, let’s just say that there were still a lot of papers “to do”. Knowing that these are things that will bring a smile to the face of another—a risus paschalis—I’ve renamed the bucket “Easter Tasks” and intend to have it emptied by the time Pentecost rolls around on June 12, the end of the season of Easter. One of the things many people mentioned in the sacrament of reconciliation this Lent was how impatient they are. Because our schedules are so packed with commitments, there’s no time left to renew our spirits; we’ve forgotten how to appreciate and enjoy life. In short, we’ve forgotten how to laugh. If this describes you, open your heart this Easter season to some “Easter laughter”, the new life of the risen Jesus. Try by doing something different—a new recipe, an alternate route home, a fresh radio station or genre of book—to reawaken feelings of peace and joy. Take pleasure in moments when things go right: when computers don’t crash, when your kids actually do what you ask them to, when you catch people doing good. Let’s all rediscover a wholesome risus paschalis—even if we get fooled by an elderly lady at the supermarket. n This article first appeared in The Leaven, newspaper of the archdiocese of Kansas City. Fr Goldasich is its editor.

Is God leading us into temptation? The words “and lead us not into temptation” in the Our Father bother me. It is inconceivable that God would lead one into temptation. If this is explained as a mistranslation of perhaps “save us from being led into temptation”, it raises the question of how many other mistranslations there are in the Bible. Jimmy Carter ET us begin with a glance at Psalm 141:4: “Let me feel no impulse to do wrong, to share the godlessness of evildoers.” This is an example of the Hebrew literary style of what is known as poetic parallelism. There are two expressions of the same idea: let me not do wrong; let me not share evildoing. If you read the psalms especially, you will find many more examples of this Hebrew form of parallelism. Now take a look at the words “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”. Can you see the parallelism: let me not be tempted; let me be delivered from evil? These two expressions of the same sentiment go together in order to emphasise the appeal of the prayer, which is for protection from what is harmful to us. “God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire” (James 1:13-14). This assurance should help us see that God does not lead us into temptation. He cannot do so because he is all-holy. So, why do English translations, which are not mistranslations, persist in using the words “lead us not into temptation”? The original Greek is closer to “let us not enter (eisenegkes) into temptation” and the Latin is closer to “do not bring or induce us (inducas) into temptation”. The English word “lead” seems to embrace these nuances, upholding God’s being in charge. He leads us by his grace at all times. Connect this to Psalm 23, the well known “The Lord is my shepherd”. The psalmist imagines himself as a sheep of the flock, led and guided by God, confident that because the Lord leads him, he fears nothing: “Though I pass through a gloomy valley, I fear no harm; beside me your rod and your staff are there, to hearten me.” In this vein, perhaps we can appreciate that our Father in heaven will lead us not into temptation but will deliver us from evil.

n Send your queries to Open Door, Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850. Anonymity can be preserved by arrangement, but questions must be signed, and may be edited for clarity. Only published questions will be answered.

phone: fax: e-mail: post: visit:

021 880 0242 (Monday to Friday) 021 880 0253 cbcstel@gmail.com Po Box 142, Stellenbosch, 7599 Paradyskloof rd (off r44 to Strand)

advertising the Southern Cross, May 18 to May 24, 2011

Divine Mercy Parish Walkerville Feast Day, 1st May, 2011

The Divine Mercy Parish, in Walkerville, Gauteng, hosted their 3rd Divine Mercy Feast Day. They are in the process of building a church but in the interim they have extended their daily Chapel and created an Ante-Chapel to accommodate the parishioners. Prior to this, all the functions as well as the Masses were held in a large tent measuring 15m x 33m. The decision was made to move from the tent due to the discomfort of the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer. They have started the building of the church with very generous donations received. The decision was made to host the Feast Day in their present circumstances with a small Chapel and Ante-Chapel and the rest of the seating outdoors. The confessions were held in the catechism classes—the building being a renovated chicken run!!! The message of trust and humility is truly experienced by the Divine Mercy Parish!! Four priests were available for confessions and every effort was made to ensure that all attending the Feast Day took advantage of the availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the promise of Jesus that all souls receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion on the Feast Day will receive total forgiveness of all sins and punishment—a gift that is comparable to a new baptism. The Parish received Votive Offerings on the Feast Day for Divine Mercy Miracles received. The Divine Mercy of Jesus is so available to everyone and Jesus told St Faustina that she would prepare the world for His FINAL coming. It is the mission of the Divine Mercy Parish to ensure that this message of love and forgiveness is made available to all. The Parish continues to distribute the Images of the Divine Mercy and the intention is to penetrate Africa. This is done by visiting Religious who continue to take the Images into all parts of Africa. The Images were made freely available on the Feast Day as well as literature on the Divine Mercy message. Over 100 000 images have been distributed so far. The Sisters of the Merciful Jesus, in Poland, have agreed to come out from Poland and take up permanent residence to help the parish develop with projects such as a crèche, a school for adult illiterates, a House of Mercy for the sick who cannot afford doctors and expensive medicines as well as the visiting of the sick as the Walkerville area is extensive and it is not possible for one priest to reach all the sick and the families who are not able to get to Mass. At 3pm each day, the “Hour of Mercy”, a bell which is a “bush version of a bell” (a motor car rim hung in a tree!!), is rung to call all the workers and whoever is available to the Chapel in order to pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. When the church building is complete the bells will be rung from the bell tower on the “Hour of Mercy”. The members of the Parish pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy for the sick and the dying when called to the hospitals or homes of the sick. The Divine Mercy Parish wishes to thank all those who attended their Feast Day and extends their gratitude for the generous donations received and also wishes to thank the Southern Cross for affording them the opportunity of publishing this article. Article written by Rona Fabian

FAMILY

the Southern Cross, May 18 to May 24, 2011

The hazards of Catholic weddings What is a priest to do when the bride wants a U2 song sung at her wedding in a private venue? rUSSEll PollItt SJ argues that the faith of the Church cannot be separated from Catholic weddings.

OMETIMES I think that weddings are the most hazardous part of parish ministry. I never quite know what new and fashionable trend will rear its head when a couple approaches me requesting marriage. More and more I notice how wedding ceremonies (and nuptial Masses) have undergone a significant shift: from the sacred to the secular. A number of couples who want to get married do not practise their faith. Why get married in the Church when you do not participate in the life of the Church? Often they respond: “It’s the right thing to do, Father,” Isn’t that like filling the petrol tank of the car and then parking it in the garage and taking the wheels off? Like all the sacraments, matrimony should be lived in the context of the Church community. To be married in the Church is to say yes to what the Church teaches and understands marriage to be. “We want to get married at a wedding venue, we can get a good deal if we use the chapel at the venue and it’s easier for our guests.” Is the wedding about a good deal or the convenience of the guests? The real focus of the wedding, as far as the Church understands it, is your relationship, commitment and God. The Church has good reasons for saying, in canon law, that marriage should take place in a parish church. The parish church is the very context in which marriage and family life is to be lived. I think there is something sacred about entering the place where it all happened week after week. This will be the same place where your children are baptised, confirmed and married. Venues come and go; parishes are here to stay—hopeful-

ly like your marriage. If the Church is not important to couples and it’s a case of “I never go to Church but was born Catholic” or “My parents and grandparents really want this for me”, then are we not all involved in a disingenuous undertaking? Honest and frank discussion about this is, I think, crucial. Everyone’s integrity is at stake— the couple, parents, grandparents and the priest. It would be, in my opinion, more honest to go down to your local home affairs office, sign the deal and have the party. Let’s not pretend it’s something it’s really not. Once we have crossed that hurdle we need to jump another: marriage preparation. “Why? We know each other really well—in fact there is nothing we don’t know!” Isn’t that a shame? Surely marriage is about discovering more and more about each other, an adventure which in time reveals new things you didn’t know about your partner? If you think you know everything about each other, do you also know everything that the Church thinks about marriage (that is, what the Church really thinks, and not what the media says the Church thinks)? It is interesting to me how many couples claim to know everything about one another and, after the preparation course, come back and tell me something new they discovered or something they had not spoken about (or avoided speaking about) before. The commitment to preparation reveals something about the very way you view your relationship and proposed marriage.

he actual wedding itself: weddings have become a business (and, sadly, often a show). The social pressure and “Hollywood model” often take the very heart out of weddings. I get the feeling sometimes that the wedding ceremony is just the curtain raiser to the jol afterwards. More energy goes into preparing things like flowers, the unity candle (which is not part of the rite by the way), where the photographer and videographer will stand, and how many candles can be put into the church rather than into how best to celebrate the commitment in a spirit and faith-filled manner. The more grandiose, the more complicated, and the more com-

something that’s not broken.

a newly married couple rushes to attend Pope Benedict’s weekly general audience in St Peter's Square. In his article, Fr russell Pollitt discusses the shift of nuptial ceremonies from the sacred to the secular. (Photo: Paul Haring, CNS)

plicated, the less meaningful— that’s my experience anyway. At wedding rehearsals everyone becomes a liturgical expert; personal preferences and creative innovations abound. The wedding in the latest movie on circuit or on the favourite soap opera now becomes the liturgical norm. We often have to steer around other hazardous tensions at the rehearsal so that mother-in-law’s or aunt’s eccentric ideas or desires can be incorporated to keep everyone happy. Strange requests often reveal what unthinking fashion slaves we have become. Bride says to me: “Father, there is a very meaningful song we want at our wedding; both of us love the tune and my aunt sings it beautifully, is it okay

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for her to sing?” Cautiously I respond: “Well, if it’s appropriate; what is the song and in which part of the liturgy do you want it sung?” The bride replies: “We would love her to sing it while we are signing the register, it’s called ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ by a band called U2— have your heard of them Father?” I respond: “Yes, I have heard of them. No, you cannot have it sung!” Do I live on another planet? “For better or worse…from this day forward…”—and now we listen to “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”? The rite of the Church is simple and focuses on the essentials. Done well, the rite is beautiful and needs no frills. Don’t try and fix

he actual day: Gum chewing guests arrive and the church becomes a party hall rather than a place of prayer. As we wait for the arrival of the bride, people loudly embark on fashion consults and comparisons or family catch-ups (“I haven’t seen that side of the family since the last time we had a conversation at the last family wedding in the church. PS: She is wearing the same dress!”). Inevitably the bride is late: “It’s her special day and her prerogative, Father”. It’s not. It’s disrespectful to me and the guests who have made the effort to be there on time. On the odd occasion the bride is on time she has to drive around the block or go into hiding because other guests are late. If you are invited to someone’s wedding you have no excuse, get there on time! There is also the occasional wedding when the groomsmen (and the groom) have a drink (or two) in the car park to “calm their nerves”. It certainly doesn’t calm the nerves of the bride when she walks up the aisle, smiling at the man she is about to marry, and then gets the whisky whiff. It becomes exceedingly difficult to stand in the pulpit with the conviction that this is a sacred moment when everything else is so secular. I may be a cynic, but sometimes I am tempted to think that it’s easier (and more consoling) to celebrate funerals rather than weddings. The challenge, for priests and couples, is to work hard together to regain a sense of the sacred in celebrating matrimony. It begins by ensuring that we have good catechesis about matrimony, and that we work to actively return to the essentials—even if these are counter-cultural. To make things simple; we must put the heart back into weddings by ensuring we move from the secular into the sacred. The Church has a great gift to offer in the way we celebrate matrimony; let’s use it well and in the right context. It will be a lot less hazardous for bride and groom— and the priest! n Fr Pollitt is the pastor of Holy Trinity parish in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. This article first appeared on his blog on The Southern Cross’s website (www.scross.co.za/category/pollitt/)

the Southern Cross, May 18 to May 24, 2011

FOCUS

SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL, POLOKWANE

A parish with a plan for the future In the cathedral parish of the Sacred Heart in Polokwane, the enthusiastic youth are responsible for selling the Southern Cross every Sunday. ClaIrE MatHIESoN introduces the latest Parish of the Month.

HE showpiece cathedral of the diocese of Polokwane, Limpopo, is home to a parish that reveres the past but has great plans for the future. The cathedral parish of the Sacred Heart, in the centre of the city once known as Pietersburg, has a rich history but is aiming to bring all its families together to work towards a stronger community in the future. From small beginnings in a little wooden and iron building, which still stands in the grounds, the cathedral is now 63 years old, and is an attraction in the diocese. “Catholicism was brought to the then Northern Transvaal by the Benedictine priests. In 1928 the foundation stone of the present cathedral was laid by the first

bishop of the diocese, Bishop Salvator van Nuffel,” said parish secretary Edwina Mbite. Bishop van Nuffel, a Benedictine, headed what was then the prefecture of Northern Transvaal from 1922 till 1939, when the Belgian-born prelate died at the age of 54. The building of the cathedral began in 1928, but in 1931 sponsorship was withdrawn from the project. The Benedictines from the United States, under the auspices of Charity Sister Mary Delphine, came to the rescue by continuing the funding that was needed to complete the building, explained Ms Mbite. In 1933 the building of the cathedral was completed and it was consecrated by Bishop van Nuffel. Since those early days, nine parish priests have served the cathedral. “One of the longestserving incumbents was Fr Georges Bral, who served the parish loyally from 1956 till 1995, when he returned to Belgium. He passed away on December 31, 2010 in Belgium,” said Ms Mbite. His ashes were recently brought to South Africa and have been placed in the Wall of Remembrance at the cathedral. The Wall of Remembrance serves as a source of inspiration to

the parishioners and as a way to honour those who have died, said Ms Mbite. Today, the cathedral parish is served by Fr Bernard Madiba. Activities in the parish are not exclusive to its immediate vicinity. “We have satellite parishes at Westenburg, a suburb of Polokwane, and out of town at Ramongwana (or St Norbert) and Makibelo,” said Ms Mbete. The parish numbers have “exploded” in recent years, and the church now serves more than 650 families—and that excludes the satellite parishes. “The reason for the fast growth of the parish over the last couple of years is that Polokwane became the capital of Limpopo after the 1994 elections, and large numbers of people have moved into town from all over the province, causing Polokwane to be one of the fastest growing towns in South Africa,” Ms Mbite said. These 650 families are heavily involved in Church activities ranging from Sodality of St Anne, Catholic Women’s League, Catholic Women’s Association, Knights of da Gama, Sacred Heart, St Vincent de Paul Society and a Divine Mercy group. Ms Mbite added that there was a growing youth group, and the parish was in the process of start-

ing a family ministry at Sacred Heart. She said it was hoped the family programme will shortly be rolled out to the rest of the diocese. The youth play another important role at Sacred Heart—they are in charge of selling The Southern Cross. Ms Mbite said the newspaper had been sold at the parish for many years and parishioners are encouraged to subscribe through the parish by paying for it monthly. She said the youth group sell The Southern Cross every Sunday after Mass, and the remaining papers are given to the Catholic bookshop in the parish yard for those who missed Sunday Mass. The enthusiastic sellers have been in part responsible for the increase in sales of The Southern Cross at Sacred Heart, making the church the Parish of the Month. The Parish of the Month is selected on the basis of increased sales in a month. While parish numbers are increasing quickly, Ms Mbite said

Sacred Heart was faced with challenges: “Our biggest challenge is to bring the community together after the service on Sunday to participate in church activities or to practise our faith as a family.” She said the community was incredibly diverse with parishioners from around the world. While many are involved in church activities, there were many who were “left out”, Ms Mbite said. The parish hopes to grow equally with parishioner involvement and parishioner numbers. One event that is expected to see involvement from the parishioners is the annual procession to be held in September at the Mater Dei Pastoral Centre, situated a few kilometres from Mokopane. Ms Mbite said this is an opportunity for the parish to be seen actively in the community, and a great unifying experience. The parish is aware of its challenges, but inspired by its rich past, Sacred Heart strives to become a closer knit community.

Images of Sacred Heart parish, parishioners and the old and new cathedrals —both serving the diocese of Polokwane, in the limpopo Province.

the Southern Cross, May 18 to May 24, 2011

Pope: Liturgical reform about changing people’s lives By CINDy WooDEN

HE Second Vatican Council’s renewal of the liturgy wasn’t so much about changing texts or gestures as it was about changing Catholics’ attitude toward the Mass and helping the liturgy change their lives, Pope Benedict has said. “Unfortunately, the liturgy was seen, perhaps even by us pastors and experts, more as an object to reform than as a subject capable of renewing Christian life,” the pope told participants at a conference marking the 50th anniversary of Rome’s Pontifical Liturgical Institute.

A strong pastoral concern for Catholics around the world required the encouragement of “a more active participation of the faithful in the liturgical celebrations through the use of national languages” and an appropriate “adaptation of the rites in the various cultures, especially in mission lands”, he said. But the Church’s liturgy, the centre of its existence, could not be changed simply for the sake of change, he said. “From the beginning it was clear that the theological foundation of the liturgy had to be studied in order to

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO #445. ACROSS: 1 Doff, 3 Epiphany, 9 Sundial, 10 Riser, 11 Indian summer, 13 Energy, 15 Attest, 17 Transporting, 20 Tutor, 21 Cilicia, 22 Recalled, 23 Asia. DOWN: 1 Despised, 2 Fined, 4 Polish, 5 Peremptorily, 6 Austere, 7 Yore, 8 Vicar general, 12 Stigmata, 14 Erratic, 16 Apache, 18 Incas, 19 Star.

Word of the Week Charism: A grace or gift given by the Holy Spirit Application: Religious orders each follow individual charisms: the intellectual charism of St Thomas Aquinas; the monastic charism of St Benedict; the service of the poor charism of St Vincent de Paul.

Liturgical Calendar Year A Sunday, May 22, 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 6:1-7, Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19, 1 Peter 2:4-9, John 14:1-12 Monday, May 23, feria Acts 14:5-18, Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16, John 14:21-26 Tuesday, May 24, Dedication of the basilica of St Francis of Assisi Revelation 21:1-5, Psalm 95:1-7, John 10:22-30 Wednesday, May 25, Ss Bede, Gregory, Magdalene Acts 15:1-6, Psalm 122:1-5, John 15:1-8 Thursday, May 26, St Philip Neri Acts 15:7-21, Psalm 96:1-3,10,John 15:9-11 Friday, May 27, St Augustine of Canterbury Acts 15:22-31, Psalm 57:8-10, 12, John 15:12-17 Saturday, May 28, feria Acts 16:1-10, Psalm 100:1-3,5, John 15:18-21 Sunday, May 29, 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 8:5-8, 14-17, Psalm 66:1-7,16,20,1 Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21

avoid falling into ritualism and so that the reform would be justifiable from the point of view of revelation and of continuity with the tradition of the Church,” he said. Pope Benedict said too often Catholics try to set up an opposition between “tradition and progress” in the liturgy, when “in reality, the two concepts go together. In some way, tradition includes progress. It’s like saying the river of tradition carries its source with it as it flows toward its outlet”.—CNS

Family Reflections

May 22nd 5th Sunday of Easter. Our Royal Priesthood. Peter describes all God’s people as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation set apart to sing God’s praises. The task of a priest is offering sacrifice and family life is a life of love and sacrifice too. Living out our responsibilities and offering them as a sacrifice to God makes us into sharers in the priesthood of Jesus. Make a habit of praying a daily prayer of offering to God. “My God I offer to you all the thoughts, words, actions, joys and sufferings of this day. May I love and serve you and all who pass my way today.”

Community Calendar To place your event, call Claire Allen at 021 465 5007 or e-mail c.allen@scross.co.za, (publication subject to space) BETHLEHEM: Shrine of Our Lady of Bethlehem at tsheseng, Maluti mountains; thursdays 09:30, Mass, then exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. 058 721 0532. CAPE TOWN: CWD craft market May 27, 37a Somerset rd, Green Point, 17:30-22:30pm. St Michael’s fundraising race day at Kenilworth racecourse -r150 includes lunch and activities. to support call Diane 082 872 9683 or antoinette 082 855 5372. Holy Hour to pray for priests of the archdiocese, 2nd Saturday monthly at Villa Maria shrine Kloof Nek rd, 16:0017:00. Good Shepherd, Bothasig. Perpetual Eucharistic adoration in our chapel. all hours. all welcome. Day of Prayer held at Springfield Convent starting at 10:00 ending 15:30 last Saturday of every month—all welcome. For more information contact Jane Hulley 021

790 1668 or 082 783 0331. Holy Redeemer Bergvliet: Padre Pio prayer group, every 3rd Sunday of the month. DURBAN: St Anthony’s, Durban Central: tuesday 09:00 Mass with novena to St anthony. First Friday 17:30 Mass— Divine Mercy novena prayers. tel: 031 309 3496. JOHANNESBURG: Family walk talk—May 22, 10:30. Start—la Salle College Discovery, roodepoort, finish St John’s, Havenga Street, Florida Park. also May 29, 11:30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: first Friday of the month at 09:20 followed by Holy Mass at 10:30. Holy Hour: first Saturday of each month at 15:00. at our lady of the angels, little Eden, Edenvale. tel: 011 609 7246.. PRETORIA: First Saturday: Devotion to Divine Mercy. St Martin de Porres, Sunnyside, 16:30. tel Shirley-anne 012 361 4545.

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IN MEMORIAM FERNANDES—Debbie. My dearest Mom I will always love and miss you. Please pray for the soul of my Mom Debbie. your son Paulo Joseph Narciso. FERNANDES—Debbie. a loving sister and daughter left on 20th May 2001, not a day goes by that we do not remember and miss you. Mom Maureen, Sisters anita, Belinda, Cynthia, Evette and Fiona, brother in laws, nieces and nephews. rIP till we meet again. SETSUBI—themba Eugene. 6/11/1966 – 11/05/2005. God’s ways; life nipped in it’s prime. loved, cherished and missed always. rest peacefully in eternity and in our hearts. your family. VAN SCHOOR—Fr laurence. Went to his reward May 19th, 2007. He will always be fondly remembered by the Fernandes family of rondebosch for his caring gentle ways and the support of Debbie in her last weeks with us. May his soul rIP.

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faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. amen. In thanks for prayers answered. Pr. O MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruit vine splendrous of heaven, Immaculate Virgin assist me in my necessi-

ty. o Star of the sea, help me and show me you are my Mother. o Holy Mary, mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to secure me in my necessity. there are none that can withstand your power. o Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (say 3 times).Holy Mary I place this cause in your hands (say 3 times).thank you for your mercy to me and mine. amen. Say this prayer for 3 days. EH HOLY SPIRIT you who make me see everything. you showed me the way to reach my ideal. you who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget all that is done to me and you are in all the instincts of my life with me. I want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. this prayer should be said on 3 consecutive days, after the 3rd day, the request will be granted, no matter how difficult it may be. Promise to publish the entire dialogue with the condition of having your request granted. Ca

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6th Sunday of Easter: May 29 Readings: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17, Psalm 66: 1-7, 16, 20, 1 Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21

HE Easter season is nearing its end now; Ascension is celebrated on Thursday (for South Africa is a sensible country that does not shift the feast to the nearest Sunday!), and in two weeks we shall be celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit; so it is not surprising that the readings for next Sunday start to look at that Spirit. In the first reading , we see the Spirit’s action in that Philip, not waiting at table, which is what he was appointed for, is instead driven out by the persecution that was the aftermath of the death of Stephen, his fellow “deacon”. He ends up in Samaria, as the Lord had predicted, back at the beginning of Acts, and the Spirit is evidently with him, because he performs “signs”: drives out “unclean spirits which shouted at the tops of their voices”, and cures “many who were paralysed and lame”. So the Samaritans are duly impressed; but what has happened needs to be validated by the apostles in Jerusalem, so Peter and John are sent to pray over them, “that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen upon them”. And the Spirit duly comes upon them, though we are not told what that means for them. The psalm for next Sunday makes a pos-

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Welcome the Holy Spirit into your life Nicholas King SJ Sunday reflections

sible suggestion. If you have the Spirit, then it is natural and right to “sing joyfully to God, all the earth, play music to the glory of his name”. That is what the Spirit enables us to do, and we hear the invitation to “come and see the works of God”. What the Spirit does is give us the gift to see God at work: “Come and listen, and I shall sing, you who fear God, what he has done for my life...bless God, who did not refuse my prayer, nor take his steadfast love from me.” In the second reading, from 1 Peter, we are told another fruit of the Spirit: “Keep the Lord Christ as holy in your hearts, ready to give your defence to anyone who asks an account of the hope that is in you.” And they are to be ready for suffering, “for it is better to suffer when you do what is good, if that is what the will of God wants, than when you do something bad”. And for

that we certainly need the Holy Spirit. Then comes the reminder of why Christ died: “Once for all as a sin-offering...in order to lead you to God, put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit”. This Spirit is something else again.And the Spirit, of course, is what the gospel for next Sunday is speaking about. The g o sp el is taken from Jesus’ “Last Supper Discourse”; he is talking, the night before he died, to the tiny group of apostles gathered with him for the last time. Over them (and perhaps over you?) hangs the sad question, “how can we survive without Jesus?” Happily, the answer is “you don’t have to”. And the name for the continued presence of Jesus is, of course “the Holy Spirit”. How do you know when the Spirit is present? Easy: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments; and then I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete, that he may be with you for ever.” And this “Paraclete” is given another name, “the Spirit of Truth¸ which the world cannot receive” (and we remember that the world could not receive Jesus, either), “because it does not see the Spirit nor recognise it”. Jesus’ little group, however, is different:

Our homemade mass ended on a violent note S OMETHING for which I will forever be indebted to my long-suffering parents was their ability to keep completely straight faces when, at the tender age of eight, I decided to turn our regular half-hour evening rosary into a full blown “high Mass” in the style of the Vatican at its pomp and ceremonious best. When a slightly older cousin came to visit, that daily half-hour my family spent reciting the rosary turned into a period of intense self-restraint and inner battles against giggling. One evening, after a particularly disruptive half hour, my mother told us that the only way she could think of stopping our incessant giggling was to make us lead the rosary. We accepted the challenge, because in those days misbehaviour usually resulted in a clip on the ear from my father, and in the interest of not going deaf before we had a chance to reach puberty, we were as anxious as my mother to seek some form of solution. We discussed our plan of action the following morning and decided that perhaps it would be a good idea to actually look the part. So, we raided my mother and sister’s wardrobes and found some dark flannel nighties, not quite black but close enough to be used as cassocks. Being altar servers we knew all about vestments and by chance my cousin had brought his surplice home from church to have some unidentifiable

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the last Word

stains removed, so he was all set. I had to manufacture one out of a white T-shirt that I had to wear inside out because it would not have been appropriate to say the rosary with “My Parents Went Skiing In Obergurgl And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt” emblazoned across my chest. We decided that since we were dressed for the occasion, we might as well go the whole hog. So we fetched some cardboard boxes and an old kitchen door from the storeroom and raided the linen cupboard for a white table-cloth and serviettes. Flowers came from the garden and we got a golf trophy my father had won recently to use as a chalice. Wine came from a half bottle of medium cream sherry, and sufficient hosts for the family “communion” from a box of Corn Flakes. Everything was set up by midday and we used the intervening six or seven hours to modify and add to our “chapel” with such enthusiasm and vigour that by 7pm the room looked like a cross between the side chapel of a Russian Orthodox cathedral and a Hollywood starlet’s coming out party.

My cousin and I concelebrated the service which started with the rosary and all went very well indeed. We were concentrating so hard on the job at hand that we had no time to giggle. I must say that in spite of being so young, we took things very seriously, and in hindsight there was absolutely no vestige of mockery or levity. Never before had we been quite so pious and well-meaning. But we were also enjoying every minute, and when rosary ended and the family started to get up off their knees and head for supper, my cousin announced that “Mass” would now follow. So we said “Mass”, in Latin, and gave thanks to those kindly Fathers at the monastery parish in Pretoria who had gone to so much pain to teach us the proper responses at altar servers’ practice. The family remained straight-faced throughout. We did notice that quite often they had their heads buried in their hands, but we just assumed that they were devout. We were told only many years later that they were desperately trying to stop giggling. But we were on a roll. “Mass” ended and on we went to benediction, hastily crafting a monstrance out of a tennis racquet and bottle top. An hour and a half after starting, we were about to bring this Catholic version of Herman Charles Bosman’s Bekkersdal Marathon to a dignified end when my cousin lost the plot completely and destroyed what would have been a deeply meaningful, religious experience by announcing that we would now proceed to the bathroom where my 17-year-old sister would be baptised by full immersion. My sister chased him into the garden and the last we saw was a ghastly vision of a 12-year-old boy in a nightie having his backside kicked the length and breath of the front lawn by an irate teenage girl intent on doing grievous bodily harm. The next day my cousin and I decided that religious life was far too dangerous.

“You recognise [the Spirit] because it remains by you, and will be among you.” Best of all, we hear the promise: “I am not going to leave you as orphans—I am coming to you.” And, even if the world is unable to see Jesus, “you people see me, because I live, and you are going to live”. And then Jesus’ followers, assisted by the Spirit, are going to understand what it is all about: “On that day, you will recognise that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you.” Finally, in a sentence that we need to spend the whole of this week pondering, comes a hint of what the Spirit can give us: “The one who has my commandments is the one who loves me; and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love that person, and will reveal myself to that person.” The Spirit is something to celebrate, the source of Christ’s unfailing presence, and the condition of possibility of our keeping Christ’s commandments, as well as our contact with the one whom Jesus calls “Father”. Let us, this week, concentrate prayerfully on who this Spirit is, and what the Spirit does. And may we notice the Spirit hard at work in our lives.

Southern Crossword #445

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Take off your hat as you speed off (4) 3. Feast day of January 6 (8) 9. It may tell the time on a clear day (7) 10. Is he found getting up on the staircase? (5) 11. Warm weather in late autumn (6,6) 13. Capacity to do your work well (6) 15. Join and give evidence at test (6) 17. Carrying off in ecstasy (12) 20. Your private teacher (5) 21. Roman province where Tarsus was situated (Acts 21) (7) 22. Remembered being summoned again? (8) 23 . Caucasian conceals continent (4)

1. Loathed (8) 2. Given a penalty (5) 4. Nationality of Blessed John Paul II (6) 5. Brusquely trip employer (12) 6. Severe and having no luxuries (7) 7. Of times long ago (4) 8. He represents the bishop (5,7) 12. The marks of St Francis of Assisi (8) 14. Tracer I find is not regular (7) 16. A cheap American Indian? (6) 18. Find the old people of the Andes, in case (5) 19. Could be King David’s emblem (4)

Answers on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

FATHER was approached by his small son who told him proudly: “I know what the Bible means!” His father smiled and replied, “What do you mean, you ‘know’ what the Bible means?” “That’s easy, Daddy,” the young boy replied excitedly, “it stands for Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.”

Send us your favourite Catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern Cross, Church Chuckle, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000.