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February 1 to February 7, 2012

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HOPE&JOY: Being for life means to serve

Manchester United’s feast day

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Page 7

No 4757

Youth Catechism now out in SA Page 3

‘TV porn would harm anti-Aids fight’

By ClAIRE MATHIESoN

T

Bishop Valentine Tsamma Seane of Gaborone, Botswana, breaks the ground for the construction of a new pastoral centre in the diocese, which will be named the Ave Maria Pastoral Centre.

(Photo from Sr Phatsimo V Ramokgwebana SC)

HE moral fibre of the country will continue to decay, and Aids relief efforts will be hampered, if the proposed pornographic channels are launched on subscription-only Top TV, according to South Africa’s national youth chaplain, Fr Sammy Mabusela CSS. Fr Mabusela said the Church had taken a very clear stance on the country’s societal issues. “The government has promoted condoms but the Church has said the only way to change the statistics in the country is to encourage behavioural change,” the Stigmatine priest said.

“Condoms are not safe, but behaviourchange is. Condoms were originally intended as a means of contraception, not as an Aids-prevention method,” Fr Mabusela said, adding that condoms have allowed the youth to think that sexual promiscuity is acceptable behaviour.

“Introducing pornography into our society through Top TV will further establish this message.”

Fr Mabusela said the Church’s position is clear and it was the only way to address the epidemic.

“Education for Life is a programme that was approved by the country’s bishops to deal with Aids and to try and re-instil values.” The programme aims to offer youth a behavioural change process that attempts to mitigate the spread of HIV/Aids by addressing aspects of social injustice against human dignity, elements that rob people of their inherent freedom and integrity.

The programme, developed by Irish missionary Sisters Miriam Duggan and Kay Lawlor in the late 1980s, has been partly responsible for positive changes in Uganda. Fr Mabusela said that it is clear that behavioural change encouraged by both Church and government “can turn the tide of the epidemic as we have seen in Uganda”.

The east African country adopted the ABC mantra—abstain, be faithful, use a condom if A and B fail—after HIV infections reached epidemic proportions in the 1980s with nearly 15% of the population

infected. According to the World Health Organisation, by the end of the decade, HIV prevalence rates declined dramatically to an estimated 6% in 2007.

“Condoms are not safe and young people think condoms are a ticket to sex,” said Fr Mabusela. “Condoms are not going to be the solution. The solution is behavioural change like both government and Church helped happen in Uganda.”

The national youth chaplain said the Church has had the solution to the epidemic for many years, but no one has paid attention. Programmes like Education for Life, which focus on sound cultural, moral, social and Christian values, show precisely how effective the stance can be when dealing with HIV/Aids.

“If we now allow pornography on to our televisions, the already threatened moral fibre of our society is set to decay even further,” he said.

Education for Life Youth Programme Coordinator Sr Victoria Sibisi FCSCJ said allowing pornography on television would “destroy the minds of our young people”.

She said porn gives the wrong information about sex, something both government and the Church are working hard to educate the youth about.

Sex, she pointed out, is a gift from God and pornography strips a person of their dignity—something, she said, which Education for Life tries to instil in the youth today.

“If we allow porn on TV we give our young people the go-ahead to have sex,” Sr Sibisi said.

Fr Mabusela said there needs to be congruency between the Church and government. He said leading from the front— which includes what is encouraged in the media—is vital and if there is no consistency between the Church and the government “we are going to go nowhere” on improving the HIV/Aids situation in the country.

He said if the Aids epidemic is going to be addressed effectively, then values and morals need to be promoted. However, pornography, he said, will hinder this significantly.

Pope: You need silence to communicate

By CARol GlATz

A

MID the deluge of information and non-stop chatter in today’s media, the Church needs to help people find safe havens of silence, Pope Benedict has said.

Far from being the enemy of calm and quiet, social media and the Internet can lead people to virtual sanctuaries that offer silent reflection, thoughtful dialogue and true meaning in life, the pope said.

“Attention should be paid to the various types of websites, applications and social networks which can help people today to find time for reflection and authentic questioning, as well as making space for silence and occasions for prayer, meditation or sharing of the word of God,” he said in his message for the 2012 celebration of World Communications Day. Even brief posts and viral tweets can carry potent messages when people use those tools—not for spamming or for scanning the latest gossip, but for sharing a real part of themselves, he said.

“In concise phrases, often no longer than a verse from the Bible, profound thoughts

can be communicated, as long as those taking part in the conversation do not neglect to cultivate their own inner lives,” he said.

The theme of this year’s World Communications Day—marked in Southern Africa as Social Communications Sunday on September 2 this year—is “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelisation”.

At a news conference on the message’s release, Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said there is a huge difference between a “semantic silence” that can be rich in or bolster meaning versus “keeping quiet” and ignoring the realty.

“There are situations where I must speak up,” he said, because otherwise “my silence would be a betrayal”, especially when witnessing injustice.

The kind of silence that needs cultivating isn’t the kind that alienates people, but that leads people to a greater awareness and sensitivity of others and their needs, he said.

When asked how the pressures of the 24hour news cycle on television and talk shows could feasibly implement the benefits of silence, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lom-

bardi SJ, who also heads Vatican Radio and the Vatican television centre, said silence is used when one truly listens to the other.

A talk show or debate in which each participant could speak and be heard without others trying to outshout or interrupt “would already be a step forward”, the Jesuit said.

In his message, the pope acknowledged that “silence is often overlooked”, but is especially important today.

Silence, words, images and sounds need “a kind of eco-system”, that is, to find a harmonious, symbiotic balance “if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved”. Words without reflection and silence without meaning result in confusion, coldness and communication breakdown, he said.

Silence builds meaning, clarity and creativity since “we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth;” and people have the time to choose how to best express themselves, he said.

Listening to others requires silence, and “we avoid being tied simply to our own

A woman takes a picture with a cellphone as Pope Benedict leads the Angelus in St Peter's Square. The pope has said that silence is key ingredient to meaningful communication.

(Photo: Max Rossi, Reuters/CNS) words and ideas without them being adequately tested,” he said.

Moments of quiet and calm allow people to sift through, process and evaluate the information they’re bombarded with, figure out what is important or secondary, discover connections and “share thoughtful and relevant opinions, giving rise to an authentic body of shared knowledge,” the pope said.

Continued on page 11

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LOCAL

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

JHB man takes Alpha to Africa

By ClAIRE MATHIESoN

A

LPHA for Catholics continues to grow, not only in South Africa but across the continent—and it is the job of Tom Miles of Johannesburg to ensure this continues.

December saw a group of international representatives, including one South African, travel to Rwanda to the Alpha launch.

Mr Miles said the delegation travelled to conduct training courses and presentations of “Alpha in a Catholic context” for the local clergy.

The newly appointed Alpha for Catholics Development Manager in Africa said he was “extremely positive about Alpha in the Catholic Church in Rwanda now having met with and trained clergy and community from the nine dioceses in the country”.

Mr Miles said Alpha courses had run in the country during 2010 and much interest was shown by local clergy.

“When Bishop Servilien Nzakamwita of Byumba, the president of the Episcopal Commission for the Lay Apostolate, attended the Alpha International Week in London in 2011, he was so impressed that he called for the

Global Alpha Training programme to be run in Rwanda as soon as possible,” Mr Miles said.

Alpha for Catholics, which answers the call to the new evangelisation, is a practical tool that can be used to inspire Catholic renewal, explore the basics of Christianity while answering, among others, the questions of “what is the meaning of life” and “who is Jesus.”

Mr Miles said his new role as development manager is to “promote, invest in, and develop Alpha activity within the Catholic Church in Africa, with a particular focus on English and Portuguese-speaking countries”. He said this involved meeting with leaders across the continent to promote Alpha as a tool for evangelisation.

In addition, it means ensuring Alpha continues to grow at home.

“South Africa is a priority country and I am pleased to be working with a great team of committed volunteers in Johannesburg and Cape Town in setting up Vision Days within the Catholic communities,” he said. n For more information on how to set up Alpha in your community e-mail tom.miles@alpha.org

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Journey through Lent with Hope&Joy

By STAFF REPoRTER

A

BOOK of reflections has been launched in South Africa to help Catholics walk through Lent with Hope&Joy. Last year American Jesuit Father Ron Boudreaux wrote a series of daily reflections for South African MPs. The Jesuit Institute wanted to make these accessible to a wider audience and so they now appear in book form with a section for every weekday from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday.

Each day has a quotation, a reflection and a prayer. While most of the quotations are from the Bible, some are from other sources such as the Qur’an or more modern day writers, such as Steve Biko and Martin Luther King.

“The overall theme of the reflections is relationships,” said Raymond Perrier, director of the Jesuit Institute. “We know that our relationships can sometimes get out of balance: Lent is a good time to get them back in balance.”

Each week looks at a different area of relationships: with ourselves, with others, with objects, with the planet and with God. To tie in with Hope&Joy, there are quotations from Vatican II and from recent popes that illuminate our understanding of these relationships.

The full-colour pocket-sized book has been produced by Mariannhill Press. “We know that people want to be able to

Sculptor Philani Godfrey Mavundla and Br Albert Brazier of Mariannhill look at the recently launched Hope&Joy lent book which features the sculptor’s work. pray when they catch a moment in their busy lives.

That’s why we went for a book that you can slip into your pocket or handbag,” said Rob Riedlinger, managing director of Mariannhill Press.

“And then we found the inspiration for the images right here at Mariannhill”, he said.

The photos in the book are of wood sculptures by Philani Godfrey Mavundla. While working as a night guard at Mariannhill, he taught himself how to carve using the jacaranda wood that was easily available on site.

“His work is a model of balance—between the sculptor and

the wood, between the workman and his tools, between the human and the divine,” said Nosi Mpungose from the Jesuit Institute, who helped edit the book. “In many ways the hands of the woodworker are a reminder of the hands of God— after all, wasn’t Jesus a carpenter?”

The book costs R40 and is available from February 4 from the Paulines Multimedia Centre in Johannesburg and Durban, and the Catholic bookshops in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Bulk purchases can be made from Mariannhill Press by calling 031 700 8978 or e-mailing artwork@mariannhillpress.co.za.

Have any local news?

Send your local news to news@scross.co.za or call 021 465 5007

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

3

New local edition of Youth Catechism

By ClAIRE MATHIESoN

T

HE local edition of the new Youth Catechism, known as YOUCAT, is now printed locally, at a lower cost and is available to Catholic youth around the country.

It was in 2006 that the compilers of the Catechism of the Catholic Church discovered that the catechism was not effective for young people and that a catechism that could reach young people of today was needed.

Under the leadership of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna and with the help of 50 young people, YOUCAT was developed over two years.

Based entirely on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it was written with young people in mind. YOUCAT was officially

launched at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.

The book is full of quotations, references and explanations, many in question-and-answer format, that help the reader to understand the statements of the teachings of the Church.

And the concept has grown beyond the confines of the books’ pages as an online community of young Catholics are sharing ideas, thoughts and discussing “how to apply this wonderful gift of the catechism faithfully in our daily lives”, as the YOUCAT website says. www.YOUCAT.org is the official YOUCAT website, on which young Catholics from all over the world come together and exchange creatively on their faith. Interested youth can find additional materials and information and can also

find links to their local online YOUCAT community in South Africa.

The project has been well received internationally with the book already translated into ten languages and another 20 in the process. YOUCAT has also been supported by Pope Benedict from its inception. The pope even wrote the preface of the book.

Fr Chris Townsend of the South African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Communication and Media Office said he was very excited YOUCAT was now being printed locally and encouraged confirmands and young Catholics to get a copy. n Youth Catechism can be ordered through the SACBC website www.sacbc.org.za at a cost of R120 per copy. Postage is R35 for 1-5 copies.

Church: Ensure food and land security

By ClAIRE MATHIESoN

I

T is necessary to ensure that Church land is used effectively.

This means developing, supporting the development of the rural communities using the land, and ensuring the land can offer food security.

This has been identified as a priority by the Church and the Siyabhabha Trust, the welfare and development agency of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), who have launched a new rural support programme in the Diocese of Dundee.

In partnership with the diocese and the Lima Rural Development Foundation, the new programme

will respond to the rising food prices and “the government’s failure to effectively support small scale initiatives which cater for the most vulnerable and marginalised communities,” said Siyabhabha director Dr Ann McCollum.

Dr McCollum said despite the large commercial agriculture industry in South Africa, food security is still a serious problem with roughly 50% of rural families hungry, and a further 25% annually who have come into contact with hunger.

“South Africa has a population of over 49 million of which approximately 40% live in rural areas. These figures mean that 10 million rural people are hungry

and a further five million come into contact with hunger annually.”

Dr McCollum said the solution to this problem lies “not in assisting commercial farming, which government policy is predisposed towards, but rather in promoting small scale agricultural, emerging black farmers and micro farmers”.

The pilot project, which was launched in January, was started in Dundee. “Bishop Graham Rose of the Dundee diocese has been particularly pro-active in wanting to find ways of improving socioeconomic conditions within Church communities. For this reason, it has been decided to pilot a developmental process within the

Catholic youth of South Africa can now buy the local edition of Youth Catechism, also known as YOUCAT. The yoUCAT website will be used to share additional material.

Dundee diocese,” Dr McCollum said.

The programme will be operated in conjunction with the Lima Rural Development Foundation—a non-profit NGO which implements projects and consults throughout Southern Africa on sustainable and integrated rural development service in order to overcome poverty.

The programme will ensure access to land; skills development and job creation which will lead to a range of opportunities for individual and community development.

Siyabhabha Trust aims to promote the creation of sustainable livelihoods and increased improved nutrition through the establishment of household and community gardens using organic

farming techniques, to generate income through enabling farmers to gain access to markets and to promote use of church land for rural community development.

Dr McCollum said the Siyabhabha programme comes at a time when rural communities need assistance to make the most of their land as well as learn to adapt to climate change.

The programme will help communities by accessing and conserving limited water resources, encouraging the adoption of environmentally sustainable farming methods and “seek and campaign for practicable and just solutions to the problems of land reform within South Africa”. n For more information on Siyabhabha Trust visit www.siyabhabha trust.org.za or call 012 323 7010

4

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

INTERNATIONAL

Sex-selective abortions move into Western world

By SARAH DElANEy

A

BORTING unborn girls on account of their gender has been a documented trend in certain Asian countries for at least two decades. Now, according to an Italian biologist and author, the practice is also growing in the West.

Women and couples who emigrate from cultures where male children are deemed more prestigious and economically valuable “will often bring those same values to their new country”, said Anna Meldolesi, author of Never born:

Why the world has lost 100 million women, in an interview In 1990, Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen calculated at 100 million the number of women who, by the laws of nature, should be part of the world population but are not. The “missing women” in question, Ms Meldolesi wrote, have been the victims of infanticide, intentional neglect of health and nutrition, and more recently, abortion on the basis of sex.

Inspired by studies of sex-selective abortion among Asian immigrants in North America, Ms Mel-

dolesi said she tried to find out if there was a similar trend in her own country of Italy.

Using four years of demographic data from ISTAT, the Italian statistics bureau, she found that the “sex ratio” of first-born children appeared to occur at the natural rate of about 105 males to 100 females, similar to the Italian population and other nationalities.

But when it came to second and third children, figures showed that the number of boys increased markedly—with the disproportion as high as 119 to 100—indicating that parents had probably aborted

female fetuses, Ms Meldolesi said.

She concluded that sex selective abortion, or “feminine foeticide”, has been common among Italy’s Chinese and Indian immigrant populations, and also, to a lesser extent, among Albanians.

Catholic moral teaching forbids abortion under any circumstances.

Ms Meldolesi, by contrast, supports legalised abortion. Yet she acknowledged in the interview that, “for those who are ‘pro-choice’ it becomes very problematic to find a coherent solution to this disgraceful phenomenon”.

She said that resistance to limits

on legal abortion “should not stop [supporters of legalised abortion] from seeing the consequences and realising that there should be some changes in the rules”.

People on both sides of the abortion issue should put aside differences to find solutions to a longterm problem with “very deep societal and cultural roots”, she said.

Most important would be an effort to educate immigrant communities, many of whom come from highly patriarchal societies in which women are valued “only to have children and be mothers, preferably of boys,” she said.—CNS

Church in drug-war city wants to make change, one person at a time

By JoSEPH J. KolB

I With Randy Raus - President: LifeTeen International; Kevin Hickey - International Director: LifeTeen International; and Greg Boudreaux - Catholic worship leader & musician

10 February 2012 Exalt Evening - 18:00 at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Virginia Entrance Free This is a night of praise, worship. Adoration and Confession.

An inspiring talk will be given by international speakers from the Catholic youth movement, Life Teen© International.

Music by Greg Boudreaux from the USA. All teens and interested adults are invited to attend. Food and drinks on sale.

11-12 February 2012 Training Conference at Immaculate Conception Parish, Pinetown R250pp incl. meals This is a training conference for all leaders, priests, religious, teachers, catechists and volunteers who work with youth and are interested in boosting their youth programmes!

A gifted Catholic worship leader will run a special Musicians’ Track during the weekend.

Visit www.sacyltc.co.za to register and more details.

12 February 2012 Youth Mass & LifeNight at St Dominic’s Parish, Hillcrest from 17:30-20:30 The weekend will end with Mass and a Catechetical youth night. Once again, all teens and interested adult are invited.

Entrance is free. Food and drinks on sale.

For more info visit www.sacyltc.co.za

N a Mexican city that has become synonymous with violence and despair during a four-year drug war that has claimed more than 12 000 residents, parishioners at a small church are trying to change the image of Ciudad Juarez—one person at a time.

Reflecting on the hymn lyrics, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me”, Fr Roberto Luna, pastor of Corpus Christi church, urges the estimated 500 active parishioners in this impoverished and besieged neighbourhood to live the life of Christ to the best of their abilities. He knows how daunting this task can be.

The suburb Corpus Christi is adjacent to the Juarez Valley, where a war is being waged between the Sinaloa and Juarez drug cartels, and the war greatly affects the youth in the parish.

Over the past year, Fr Luna estimates that as many as 50 young people between the ages of 17 and 23 have been murdered, leaving survivors with a sense of anger, frustration and vengeance.

Fr Luna’s counter-offensive against these spiritually destructive emotions is immersion of his parishioners in Church activities, where he develops a sense of community and teaches the tools of the faith so his people can survive, emotionally and spiritually. He is a jovial man with a pragmatic appreciation of the local street life, which contributes to his close rapport with parishioners.

One of his favourite ministries is the Saturday catechism programme, attended by about 100 families. The day involves a potluck lunch in the fenced-in dirt corner lot of the church followed by classes for adults and children. He sees the invaluable responsibility of the family as a deterrent to the violence.

“The family serves as the roots to a blossoming tree, and the more you keep feeding the roots,

Snow completely surrounds a church in this photo taken above the village of Jenisberg near the mountain resort of Davos, Switzerland. (Photo: Arnd Wiegmann, Reuters/CNS)

the stronger the tree will be,” Fr Luna said. “We’re teaching love, peace, respect and tolerance.”

E

ach Saturday, the families arrive at the church and receive a week’s worth of catechism lessons. The parents then spend the week teaching their children, and assignments are discussed the following week.

“We are teaching parents who haven’t even been baptised to go home and teach their children,” Fr Luna said. “Many then become enrolled in [convert classes] and continue the faith here.”

Fr Luna is especially optimistic about the teen ministry which, given the drug and violent distractions in the neighbourhood, is a sign of hope for Ciudad Juarez. At the core of this work are the 200 young people enrolled in the confirmation programme. The priest knows the temptations abound for the youth in the parish to join with the cartels.

With so many people in his parish affected by the violence, Fr

Luna finds one of the biggest challenges he faces is reconciliation. “I see the faces of the families, the damage these young men did in terms of committing violence or other crimes against others, but the victims have to forgive,” Fr Luna said. “We’re trying to break the cycle of violence here through reconciliation.”

One woman, who declined to give her name, told her story.

“Three years ago my brother was murdered, and it was hard to forgive his killers until I returned to the Church,” she said. “My entire family is going through this process of forgiveness, and we are all coming back to the Church, which is helping.”

David Cano, a first-year seminarian, said he has been overwhelmed by the involvement he has seen among the parents.

“It’s amazing how humble these people are,” he said. “This is a close-knit community that has been deeply affected by the violence, but [parents] still want a better life for themselves and their children.”—CNS

Congo bishops: Scrap election results

W

EEKS after Congo’s general elections, the nation's bishops continue to speak out about the legitimacy of the results.

“We believe that the electoral process is stained by serious irregularities which raise questions about the published results,” the bishops’ conference said. “We call on the organisers to have the courage and honesty to draw the necessary conclusions.”

The bishops called on members of the National Electoral Council to “have the courage to question their own practices, or if not, step down.”

In December, the government said incumbent Joseph Kabila won the presidential race with nearly 49% of the vote, but pres-

sure has intensified on Congolese electoral officials to step down and on the government to cancel the announced victory.

At least 40 deputies and seven senators have called for cancellation of the elections as widespread fraud has been unveiled bits at a time since the November 28 polls.

The Church’s national Justice and Peace Commission fielded 3 000 lay observers to rural polling stations. The bishops’ conference and Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo of Kinshasa have issued statements on the legitimacy of the process, and Cardinal Monsengwo has since been the target of a defamation campaign for his remarks.

In their most recent statement, the bishops said that, after

analysis of the reports of Church observers, many more serious irregularities than initially thought have come to light.

The Justice and Peace final report showed that the elections took place, in many places, in a “climate of chaos”, in which several irregularities, including “serious, and apparently premeditated fraud, several incidents leading to deaths”, and in certain places, “a climate of terror deliberately maintained to allow ballot-box stuffing”. In addition, the bishops say, “current compilation of legislative elections results is unacceptable”.

“Rule of law cannot be built on a culture of fraud, lies and terror, militarisation and attacks on freedom of expression,” the bishops said.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

5

Cardinal: Suspicion, impatience harm hopes for Christian unity

By SIMoN CAlDWEll

A March for life participants make their way up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court building in the US capital Washington. The annual pro-life demonstration marks the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion across the United States. (Photo: Bob Roller, CNS)

Sudanese churches to help youths from war-torn region

T

HE Sudan Council of Churches has committed to involving young people from war-torn Jonglei state in a grassroots peace process.

The council said the state’s young people have no political leadership. A series of retaliatory attacks between ethnic groups in Jonglei has displaced tens of thousands of people since late December.

Among the factors that led to the fighting between the state’s Lou Nuer and Murle communities is that their political leaders “proved to be out of touch with their people, particularly the armed youth, and were unable significantly to influence events on the ground, nor even to provide accurate information about the situation”, the council said.

“Local church leaders also appeared unable to influence events,” the council of churches, of which the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference is a member, said in a statement from Juba.

Council members expressed their “deep sorrow and regret that violence had broken out in South Sudan so soon” after its July inde-

pendence from Sudan.

“As a nation we need to rediscover and reclaim the peace and unity which was felt so strongly” during the independence celebrations, the council said.

The outbreak of violence in Jonglei has led to a “new cycle of revenge and retaliation,” the council said.

The Lou Nuer sent at least 6 000 warriors to attack the Murle in late December and early January. Since then, the Murle have carried out revenge attacks, according to the Associated Press. No reliable death toll has been established.

South Sudan’s deployment of 3 000 security forces to the state to quell the attacks is “too little, too late”, the council said, warning that expressions of ethnic hatred “could be the precursor to larger-scale atrocities”.

“The peace process will now include the provision of security, humanitarian relief to affected communities,” as well as a churchled effort in which the council will “identify, train, equip and support key individuals from within the communities (and particularly from within the youth), who will act as peace mobilisers,” it said.—CNS

N English cardinal has encouraged Christians to overcome the “three enemies of ecumenism” and to pray for the progress of closer unity.

Cardinal Cormac MurphyO’Connor, retired archbishop of Westminster, said “suspicion, inertia and impatience” had damaged the ecumenical project.

The former co-chairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission also told about 500 worshippers gathered in the Anglican cathedral in Chester that prayer and grassroots initiatives were the best means of keeping the ecumenical dream alive.

“To mend the ruptures of the past is a task that devolves on each one of us here this evening,” the cardinal said at the service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

“For too long we have lived, as it were, apart, and one of the joys of my years as a priest and bishop has been the growing friendship that has come amongst us.

“For when we meet together and pray together, the suspicions of the past dissolve, and we reach the heart of the ecumenical movement,

which is a spiritual movement focused on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to whom we pray and in whom we reach the Father,” he said.

“And, of course, we overcome inertia by what we do together,” the cardinal added. “We can have many notional ideas of what we want to do, but do we actually do them? In every village and every town, everywhere, there ought to be some things which Christians are doing together.

“It may be a prayer group; it may be an expression of social concern for the poor and needy; it may be joint services, especially at key times such as today,” he said.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor also spoke of the urgent need for Christians to offer joint witness to the Gospel in the face of increasing secularism.

“Time and time again, together, we must proclaim, in season and out of season, the dignity of the human person made in the image of God from conception to the end of life,” the cardinal said.

“It means that, together, we reach out to the marginalised and to the poor. It means to be focused, too, on the centrality of the family.”

“Our society is built up on the family and the communities that support the family,” the cardinal added. “And, above all, together we assert that our Christian faith and all that is implied in our belief in God is alive, active and relevant in today’s secular society.”

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, 79, was active in promoting Christian unity throughout his ministry, leading ARCIC from 1982 to 2000.

He retired as archbishop of Westminster in 2009.

Anglican Bishop Peter Forster of Chester said after the event that the “average Christian” underestimated the impact of disunity.

“Disunity in a party is a real turn-off at the ballot box,” he said.

“It doesn’t quite carry over in the same terms in Christian terms, but there is a much greater negative effect on Christian witness of Christian disunity than we often realise.

“There is a lot of practical unity between Christians at a local level,” he added. “There is a hold-up at the institutional level for a variety of reasons. But I think that the advances in the last 50 years are real advances. They are in the bank, in a sense.”—CNS

Catholic pols told to cut out racism A GROUP of Catholic theologians and leaders of Catholic organisations has called on Republican presidential candidates to “stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail”.

The organisation Faith in Public Life circulated the letter challenging fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich (a recent convert) and Rick Santorum, both Republicans, to dial back from how they refer to the nation’s first African-American president “with a title that evokes the past myth of ‘welfare queens’ and inflaming other racist caricatures”.

The group called the tactic “irresponsible, immoral and

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unworthy of political leaders.”

Describing themselves as “Catholic leaders who recognise that the moral scandals of racism and poverty remain a blemish on the American soul”, the group noted that “some presidential candidates now courting ‘values voters’ seem to have forgotten that defending human life and dignity does not stop with protecting the unborn”.

The letter posted on the organisation’s website reminded Mr Gingrich and Mr Santorum that “Catholic bishops describe racism as an ‘intrinsic evil’ and consistently defend vital government programmes such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that

help struggling Americans. At a time when nearly 1 in 6 Americans live in poverty, charities and the free market alone can’t address the urgent needs of our most vulnerable neighbours”.

It went on to say that “while job seekers outnumber job openings 4-to-1, suggesting that the unemployed would rather collect benefits than work is misleading and insulting”.

They concluded by urging Mr Gingrich, Mr Santorum and all presidential candidates “to reject the politics of racial division, refrain from offensive rhetoric and unite behind an agenda that promotes racial and economic justice”.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

No porn on TV

W

E must hope that pornography will not be allowed on our airwaves when the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) rules on subscription broadcaster Top TV’s application to launch three 24-hour porn channels.

The coalition against the transmission of pornography on South African television has been broad, ranging from religious bodies to the Congress of Trade Unions.

The Catholic Church welcomes this reaction. The Catechism states the Church’s objection to pornography with reference to moral fundamentals and natural law—“it offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other”—and to the harm it does to the dignity of the individual and the common good of society. The Catechism therefore demands that “civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials” (2354).

This then is the call the Church has been making to Icasa: Do not allow broadcasters to become part of the porn distribution chain.

Those who endorse the notion that pornography should be allowed to be transmitted on TV have argued, among other things, that its prohibition would somehow compromise the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression. This is a false argument.

Firstly, pornography does not intend to make a social, political or creative point. It is a utilitarian commodity, much as an insurance policy, an automobile or a hamburger.

Secondly, South Africans may legally produce, obtain and consume pornography (within a legal framework). Excluding television from its distribution does not negate these rights. South Africans have the legal freedom to seek it out where they can find it, but they have no right to expect porn to be delivered to them.

Owing to the Internet and proliferating adult stores throughout South Africa, pornography is already easily available. This has led to a demystification and consequently wider social acceptance of sexually explicit images, to the extent that some teenagers even produce pornographic images of themselves. Today porn is easily

circulated through cellphones, in workplaces, social settings and even in schoolgrounds.

Old taboos about pornography are being steadily eroded, and the sexually explicit is becoming socially acceptable, even in mainstream television programmes.

The genie is out of the bottle.

Defenders of the porn-on-TV proposal will argue that those who believe that pornography is morally objectionable can exercise the option not to subscribe to or tune into channels transmitting it. But that misses the crucial point that permitting the porn channels would legitimise and, indeed, institutionalise commercial sexual activity as, in the words of the Catechism, “an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others”.

A core of our objections to televised pornography must be the notion that the commodification of sex should not be beamed into the privacy of our living rooms, even less so as a service offered by a provider of entertainment.

Pornography is sexual activity performed, produced and distributed for commercial purposes. By broadcasting pornography, Top TV would become part of that industry.

While one may presume that the material which Top TV proposes to broadcast features consenting adults, it must be noted that some pornographic productions use coerced (often trafficked) women. Social acceptance of pornography in general, which would be an inevitable consequence of its legitimisation through TV broadcasts, may have the unintended consequence of fuelling the extreme, violent areas of the industry.

A society as marked by sexual violence as South Africa’s can ill afford to institutionalise debased sexual activity, especially when it by definition demeans women.

There is no statistical evidence to show that pornography causes rape—in the United States, the Internet porn boom has been reported as having led to a decrease in rape. Nonetheless, the broadcast of images that reduce women to dominated and often humiliated sexual objects will be of no aid in addressing those sexual and cultural attitudes that feed our culture of rape, sexual harassment and other forms of misogyny.

BLIND READERS OF

A group of readers is preparing audio tapes of excerpts from The Southern Cross, including editorials, selected articles, and regular features such as Father Nicholas King SJ and Chris Moerdyk, as well current affairs in the Church. Anyone wanting to receive tapes as part of this service, available for an annual subscription fee of only R50, is invited to contact Ms Veronica Vieyra at “Clareinch”, Union Ave., Pinelands, 7405 or phone 021-532 0661.

The Post Office will deliver and return tapes without charge. Should you know of any interested blind person, please inform them of this service.

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.

Catholics worldwide

‘A

LMOST a third of world’s population is Christian” (January 4) refers.

Figures can be misleading. In Matthew 24:14 we read that one of “the signs of the end” will be that the Gospel of the kingdom will have been preached to the whole world. Can we honestly say this has been done?

Even though a third of the world is Christian, and about 50% of Christians are Catholic, only about 17% of the world’s population are Catholic. Not very good going after 2 000 years, even considering that quality is more important than number. In Spain, one of Europe’s traditionally most Catholic countries, of the 80% who describe themselves as Catholics, only 30% attend Mass.

Distortion of truth?

I

AM appalled that our national Catholic newspaper has seen fit to publish the article “Lessons from the Holocaust” (January 11) containing pronouncements linking Hendrik Verwoerd with Adolf Hitler, apartheid, (when by definition has been applied worldwide ever since Noah’s cruise ship ran aground), and whites generally conforming to Nazi philosophy and practice.

Your paper is thus contributing to the perpetuation of racial hatred, malicious distortion of the truth and crass ignorance in our country.

The Southern Cross has without a break been part of my family establishment since the paper’s first issue, but instances such as described above place my continued subscriptions thereto at risk.

WE Muller, Centurion

Nativity date revisited

F

OR the second time in recent years Fr Hinwood has written (January 18) to debunk the idea that the feast of Christ’s birth is linked to the celebration of the Sol Invictus (Mithra) on December 25. Well and good.

He proceeds to explain that December 25 was chosen because it is nine months after the feast of the Annunciation (March 25). That rather begs the question: Why did the pope choose March 25 to celebrate the beginning of the Incarnation in the first place?

Besides, mothers and obstetricians in Roman times were perfectly well aware that the period of human gestation is nine lunar months, not calendar months. On that calculation the pope should have chosen early December as being nine lunar months after the feast of the Annunciation.

Among the relatively small number practising French Catholics, 24% do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, and 48% do not believe in the resurrection of the dead that they recite in the Creed (30 Days). In present day Poland only 25% of youth go to Mass.

In Brazil, the world’s most populous Catholic country of approximately 134 million, there are more ex-Catholics attending Sunday evangelical church services, than Catholics at Sunday Mass!

A very serious problem worldwide is the fact that many Catholics have a very superficial knowledge of their faith and are simply not equipped to defend the faith against the onslaughts of the many antiCatholic evangelicals worldwide.

To compound this, Catholics have a very confused idea of the Some eminent scripture scholars reading carefully the prophets in the Old Testament propose that Jesus’ birth would have occurred around the Jewish festival of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) in late September.

That would gibe well with shepherds having their flocks in the fields at night instead of being safely stowed in barns away from the snow that falls in Judaea in December.

Indulging in an appropriate mystical link, how apposite that Emmanuel should come to tabernacle among us at the festival of Tabernacles?

Michael Austin SJ, Johannesburg

History of nativity

I

N his letter “Date of Christmas” Fr Hinwood dismisses the claim that the early Christians usurped pagan feasts in the celebration of the feast of the Nativity by the simple mathematical equation of adding nine months to the feast of the Annunciation.

Fr Hinwood forgets that the present date of the feast of the Nativity, December 25, predates the earliest record of the feast of the Annunication, having been first recorded as Natalis Invicti on a calendar from 354AD. The feast of the Annunciation was unknown as late as the Synod of Laodicea in 372AD. The first almost certainly authentic recorded mention of the feast of the Annunciation is in the Sacramentarium of opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate. letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

basic Gospel message—that we are justified and receive the gift of salvation though faith in Jesus Christ and by his grace.

The terminology of many Catholics seems to indicate their belief in salvation through good works, by being good or by trying harder (a heresy known as Pelagianism—salvation by one’s own efforts).

We need to witness to the fact that we are not “among the lukewarm” whom Jesus is about to spit out of his mouth (Revelations 3:16).

We must take to heart, as a priority, the call of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, to the new evangelisation. It is estimated that only 10% of Catholics are truly evangelised—brought into an effective relationship with Jesus Christ empowered by the Spirit.

John Lee, Johannesburg Pope Gelasius, who died in 496 AD. In antiquity, March 25 was actually regarded as the date of Christ’s death. Based on (faulty) astronomical calculations linked to the book of Genesis, early Christians believed that the date of the Messiah’s incarnation and death were identical.

So it may well be that the date for the Nativity was fixed by the route Fr Hinwood suggests, but not by his simple logic. We have no way of knowing for sure.

Ms Bosman was quite correct to write in her article that it was “unclear” whether the allegation that Christians usurped the pagan feast of Mithra have a basis, and The Southern Cross should be commended for not whitewashing history.

Philip Adams, Cape Town

Stop porn TV

F

OR the social and emotional stability of our nation, take a stand against pornography television.

The effect of pornography is to heighten the drive of the viewers to put these ideas into action in their own lives, taking advantage of other people, adults or children willing or unwilling.

This has an inevitable result when the other person has not willingly been involved that they are detrimentally affected for life due to rape, incest or same-sex activity.

A crying need for help already exists and the number of establishments offering medical and psychological assistance hardly meets the present situation.

Therefore, as a matter of urgency, and standing as a responsible citizen of South Africa, you are called upon to make your voice heard in preventing the sanctioning of a dedicated pornography television channel.

Angela Manning, Fish Hoek

PERSPECTIVES

If a football club had a feast day

I

F football clubs had a feast day— which in the case of saints is usually fixed by the date of their death and heavenly resurrection—Manchester United’s would be on February 6, the day on which in 1958 almost an entire golden generation of young football players perished in the Munich plane crash.

Let me declare that I am a supporter of Manchester United (never Man U!), a team I adopted as a young boy in 1975, when I learnt that this newly promoted team was performing very well in the English First Division. I had no idea of the club’s rich history and thought they were plucky underdogs; I might as easily have become a Queens Park Rangers or Norwich City supporter.

I didn’t know then about the events of that February 6, 1958, and the astonishing story that followed it. Without a doubt, the tragedy set up Manchester United as one of England’s—indeed, the world’s—favourite clubs.

It wasn’t just the deaths of so many players in that young team which, with an average age of 22, had won successive league titles, but also the club’s dramatic resurrection from the ashes that captivated the people.

Less than a fortnight after the Munich crash—which ultimately claimed the lives of eight players (all but one of them first team regulars) and 21 in total—United fielded a team of reserves and youth players in an FA Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday. Amazingly, two crash survivors—goalkeeper Harry Clegg and the tough-as-nails defender Billy Foulkes— took to the floodlit field that evening (of all things, a Wednesday).

United won the tie 3-0 through a hattrick by young Shay Brennan, who would go on to have a fine career. And United marched on through to the FA Cup final, to face neighbours Bolton Wanderers.

Every football fan, bar Wanderers supporters, seemed to will United towards victory. But the steam had run out: United lost—owing in part to an illegal goal

for which many found it difficult to forgive striker Nat Lofthouse, who had pushed United’s goalkeeper into the net.

Memories of that game were revived on Lofthouse’s death last year.

United’s manager Matt Busby—his young team had been nicknamed the Busby Babes after him—was at Wembley that day. He had just returned from Munich, where he recuperated in the Isar Hospital from the injuries sustained in the crash. His recovery was more dramatic than these words suggest: the devout Catholic received the Last Rites more than once.

F

or weeks, the extent of the tragedy was withheld from Busby. Not until later did he learn of the deaths of his captain Roger Byrne (29; he never learnt that his wife was pregnant), striker Tommy Taylor (26, described by Real Madrid’s great Alfredo di Stefano as “El Magnifico”), winger David Pegg (22), full back Eddie Colman (21), pipesmoking centre half Mark Jones (24), substitute Geoff Bent (25), and the freescoring Irish midfielder Billy Whelan (22).

And Busby did not learn until much later of the death, two weeks after the crash, of 21-year-old Duncan Edwards, who doubtless would have become one of the great legends of the game.

Dublin-born midfielder Whelan was known to be a devout Catholic. With

The Busby Babes take to the field for their last game in Belgrade.

Communism and the Church

I

N December we looked at the impact of the scientific revolution on the Church. This month we reflect on a struggle between Christianity and two powerful ideologies: capitalism and communism.

The 19th century German thinker Karl Marx applied the principles of scientific observation and scientific analysis to the analysis of human society. He saw a parallel between the laws of natural science and what he considered to be the laws that govern human development.

The Marxist theory of social development is called historical materialism. In this regard Marx saw society developing in stages. The lowest stage was what he called “primitive communalism” where social organisation was based on family relations.

The next stage was slave-owning societies in which more advanced implements such as wooden ploughs and sickles were used. This was followed by feudalism where society was arranged in larger units under a feudal chief.

The next stage was capitalism where land, factories and other means of production were owned, not by chiefs but by capitalists. In this stage Marx saw a fierce class struggle between workers and capitalists, with the workers fighting to take control of society from the capitalists to establish socialism.

Under socialism poverty and injustice would be wiped out. Socialism would be followed by the highest stage of human

development called communism. This system would establish a perfect society without any oppression or poverty. The guiding maxim would be “From each according to his ability, and to each according to his needs”.

Marx was writing at a time when capitalism was at an advanced stage in Europe. Workers, including very young children, were being exploited in European factories; the discovery of America and other lands led to a huge and cruel slave trade with thousands of Africans being captured by force and shipped to the Americas. The colonisation of Africa and other lands was all part of European capitalist expansion.

Marx saw the workers’ struggle to establish socialism as the way to end all these and other evils of capitalism. Like other philosophers of the time, Marx was an atheist who saw the Church as an instrument of capitalism that blinded the people to their state of oppression. He called religion “the opium of the masses”.

While capitalism clearly violated many of the principles of Christianity, Marxism openly rejected God and declared that human happiness lay not in another world called heaven, but in the here and now—in changing the economic system in favour of the oppressed peoples of the world. Hence the slogan “Workers of the world, unite!”

For many oppressed peoples of the world, communism pointed the way to freedom. The first major victory for communism was the establishment of the

ORFORD

CONSTRUCTION

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

Michael Shackleton

Günther Simmermacher Point of Sports prescient foreboding, he reportedly made his peace with God minutes before his death in the aircraft that already had failed twice to take off. “Well, if this is the time, then I’m ready,” he said as he boarded the ill-fated aeroplane.

Building on a core of the survivors— chiefly Foulkes, Gregg and young Bobby Charlton—Busby reconstructed his team, buying wisely and astutely spotting young talent. These three elements provided what 1960s fans called the “Holy Trinity”: crash survivor Charlton, record signing Denis Law and youth player George Best.

Five years after Munich, Busby finally won the FA Cup; ten years later, in 1968, the European Cup—the competition in which the Busby Babes had played just hours before the crash.

If the Munich crash is a feast day for the club, Busby is the patron saint. Having nearly joined rivals Liverpool, he had come to United because of his friendship with club functionary Louis Rocca through their membership in the Manchester Catholic Sportsman’s Club.

A few months before his death on January 20, 1994, Busby witnessed his beloved United win its first league title since 1967. The club has won ten league titles since under the guidance of another Scot, Alex Ferguson (who once was abused by fans of the club he played for, Glasgow Rangers, for marrying a Catholic).

And on May 26, 1999, the day on which Busby would have turned 90, United won their second European Cup (now rebranded Champions’ League) in a dramatic fashion, winning 2-1 with two goals in injury time. The opponent that day: FC Bayern, the famous team from, of all places, Munich.

Emmanuel Ngara Christian leadership

Soviet Union in Russia in 1917. Subsequently China and most of Eastern Europe fell under communist rule, and Germany was divided into two after the Second World War, with East Germany being ruled by communists.

In Africa and elsewhere liberation movements sought help from communist countries. By the late 1970s it was estimated that a third of the world was under communism or ruled by governments of a communist orientation. The world was divided between the Eastern bloc, the capitalist West and Non-Alligned countries of the South. Unfortunately for communism, those countries that embraced the ideology tended to be oppressive and intolerant of opposing ideologies; and imposing the idea of a life without God was unacceptable to many.

Communism has suffered serious reversals since the 1980s, beginning with events which are associated with the visit of Pope John Paul II to his native land, Poland. In 1989 Poland broke away from communist rule when Lech Walesa’s trade union, Solidarity, won the elections. The Berlin Wall which had divided East Germany from West Germany since 1961came crumbling down in 1989.

On December 1, 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev became the first Soviet leader to visit the Vatican—an indication of his realisation of the importance of the Church in world affairs.

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open Door

Is Lefebvrist Eucharist valid?

What is the Church’s official position on the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), and are the sacraments (in particular the holy Eucharist) of the SSPX valid?

John E Cunha

O

FFICIALLY, the Church accepts that the founder of the SSPX, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, was a validly ordained bishop.

Because of this, the priests and the bishops that he ordained possess valid orders. They can celebrate the sacrament of the Eucharist validly.

Archbishop Lefebvre founded the SSPX in 1970 in an attempt to preserve the traditional values of the Church which, he believed, had been abandoned by Vatican II (1962-65).

After a number of years it became clear that he and his followers had not completely adopted the documents of Vatican II. In defiance of warnings from Rome not to ordain his own traditionalist seminarians as priests, he went ahead and did so in 1976.

He went further. Without papal mandate and in disobedience to Pope John Paul’s orders, he ordained four of his priests as bishops in 1988.

The Church considered this as a schismatic act which, in the words of canon 751 of the Code of Canon Law, is “the withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or from communion with the members of the Church subject to him”.

In effect, the disobedience to the pope’s explicit instructions was a snub for the head of the college of bishops, which led as a consequence to the SSPX’s exclusion from the unity of that college.

The Vatican’s Congregation of Bishops then declared that Archbishop Lefebvre and the men he had ordained had canonically incurred automatic excommunication (c1382). Dialogue between the Vatican and SSPX continued and in 2005 Bishop Bernard Fellay, Archbishop Lefebvre’s successor, requested a meeting with Pope Benedict. Other meetings with the Vatican followed, but the difficulties SSPX had with Rome were apparently not resolved.

In 2009 the Vatican lifted the automatic excommunication imposed on the SSPX bishops.

Nevertheless, Pope Benedict declared: “Until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers, even though they have been freed from ecclesiastical penalty, do not legimatately exercise any ministry in the Church”.

Catholics who may now and again attend Masses and received holy communion celebrated

by SSPX priests are not in breach of canon law.

However, their attendance does not express their full communion with the Catholic Church because the SSPX does not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Catholic Church.

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.

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COMMUNITY

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

learners from Marist Brothers linmeyer in Johannesburg on their first day at school for 2012.

(Submitted

by Tracy Edwards)

liam and lesley-Anne Bailey married at our lady Help of Christians church in lansdowne, Cape Town, on December 10.

The confirmation class of St Anne’s parish in Mpophomeni, Durban. Pictured are Bishop Barry Wood, Fr Jude Fernando ToR (left) and Br Seraficus Nzinande ToR (right) with the 51 candidates.

Fr Bonaventure Hinwood oFM congratulates Sr Elsbeth Kleine-Vorholt HC at the celebration of her Golden Jubilee in lady Selborne, Pretoria. (Submitted

by Sr Helen Bothe HC)

IN FOCUS

J.M.J

Send photographs, with sender’s name and address on the back, and a SASE to: The Southern Cross, Community Pics, Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000 or email them to: pics@scross.co.za Edited by Lara Moses

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The Catholic Women’s league of Immaculate Conception parish in Parow, Cape Town, hosted a carols by candlelight on the lawn outside the church. (Submitted by Richard lang)

HOPE&JOY

How to serve life Upholding the sanctity and dignity of life means actively serving those around us in need, as ClAIRE MATHIESoN finds out ahead of the Church’s World Day of the Sick on February 11.

E

VERY life is sacred and while it is good to ensure we do not harm another, we must not forget that each of us is called to actively protect those around us, from conception to death.

“God created life, so I believe that God’s essence flows though everything seen and felt, even the wind or the warmth of the sun,” says Guinevere Jacobs of St Ninian’s parish in Kuils River, Cape Town. As a registered nurse, Ms Jacobs believes human life is most sacred as we “have had the honour of being made in the image of God himself”.

Accordingly, that life needs to be revered and upheld she says. “Needs are more than financial or physical, and though I do admit that the latter and the former are present needs in our country, I also see a dire lack in fulfilling non-physical needs as well.”

Ms Jacobs believes that we can all contribute to the well-being of others in even the simplest of acts.

“Whenever people talk to others about helping those in need, others usually clam up saying that they don’t have the time or the money to help, but there are so many other ways to help, and people are not informed of this.” Ms Jacobs believes that we can all use our knowledge and compassion to help others—there are plenty in need out there. We are all called to help.

“I often see patients lying in the ICU in which I work who simply

need someone to hold their hand and tell them that everything’s going to be alright, and that confidence in one’s eye is the spark that gives them the strength to keep fighting in the battle towards health.” Ms Jacobs believes that we have the ability to help, we are called to help and even the smallest contribution to another in need, makes a huge difference in their lives.

Carol Smith of St Mary’s parish in De Aar is both parish secretary and a volunteer at the Nightingale Hospice. Hospice evolves from the vision that every person with a terminal illness deserves to live a meaningful life during the time that is left to him or her. Nightingale hospice delivers a community-based home care service to the terminally ill who suffer from diseases such as cancer and HIV/Aids.

Ms Smith says the hospice started from humble beginnings in 1994, but today the De Aar community benefits from 246 active care givers “who do wonderful work in their communities”. She says the hospice has grown according to the community’s need. Some 10 800 home visits are done monthly.

Ms Smith says the holistic homebased care they offer means that the patients’ physical, mental, social and emotional needs are met. “The nursing staff as well as the care givers are available 24 hours to help and assist when and where necessary. Services include nursing care, pain and symptom control, counselling and education.”

Hospice care means being there for the patient in their hour of need —usually their last hours. “As death is inevitable in terminal disease, we prepare our patients, as well as their family and friends, to die in peace and with dignity,” Ms Smith says.

Sometimes the helpers themselves need to be served. Ms Smith

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

9

Claire Mathieson A Church of Hope and Joy says the Nightingale Hospice caregivers meet once a week to discuss their own issues. “In this way they are also able to learn from each other and to morally support one another by sharing their experiences and moments of grief and joy.” enedictine Father Gérard Lagleder is the founder-president of the Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard in Mandeni, Eshowe diocese. It is South Africa’s only relief organisation of the Order of Malta in South Africa. The main aim of the Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard is to enable and empower people to help themselves, so that they will finally become independent of charity and possibly even become helpers themselves. The brotherhood is also active in providing direct aid in cases of emergency and immediate need, the German-born priest says.

Working predominantly in KwaZulu-Natal, Fr Lagleder says the brotherhood serves because there is a great need for every helping hand in his community. “We are convinced that everybody should not just demand help, but [also] offer it,” Fr Lagleder says, adding that acts of kindness are extensions of God’s love.

The brotherhood, whose mission it is to work towards the alleviation of sufferings and making misery more bearable, believes that everyone who is able should be willing to help those in need. Fr Lagleder believes we should help “decisively, immediately, with all our strength and resources, sustainably and happily!”

And Catholics should be most active, he says. The three essential tasks of the Church—liturgy, evangelism and charity—are like the three legs of a tripod. “If one of them is neglected, then the whole Church becomes lopsided and will fall,” says the Benedictine priest.

Being Christian, he says, means helping others.

In fact, when it comes to life issues of euthanasia and abortion, Fr Lagleder says that anybody not

B

“He gave us eyes so that we can see for others when they cannot. He gave us lips to kiss the head of an abandoned baby, to let him or her know that they are loved. He gave us ears to listen to those who simply need to talk to someone about their problems. He gave us shoulders to help those with a yoke just too heavy to bear, and he gave us a tongue to impart words of encouragement to those who have no emotional strength, to compliment one who has a lack of confidence, or to be an advocate to those who cannot speak for themselves.” fighting for life on these issues is guilty of severely neglecting their Christian duty to protect life from its very beginning. Protecting life and serving the human race can come in various forms, the priest said. What is important is not necessarily how we serve each other, but that we do in fact serve.

Similarly Ms Jacobs says God has given each of us tools to help others. “He gave us eyes so that we can see for others when they cannot. He gave us lips to kiss the head of an abandoned baby, to let him or her know that they are loved. He gave us ears to listen to those who simply need to talk to someone about their problems. He gave us shoulders to help those with a yoke just too heavy to bear, and he gave us a tongue to impart words of encouragement to those who have no emotional strength, to compliment one who has a lack of confidence, or to be an advocate to those who cannot speak for themselves.” Ms Jacobs says there are issues affecting people in every community in every country in every hour of the day, and we should serve where we can and when we can.

The 3 585 patients suffering with HIV/Aids and 947 orphans served by the De Aar’s Nightingale Hospice need dedicated and caring helpers which is hard work. But Ms Smith says the good acts do not go unno-

ticed. “Hospice prides itself that it cares for the carer because of the unselfish work these carers are doing.”

Indifference and apathy are dangerous but are easy to avoid. Ms Jacobs says in her years of nursing she has encountered people who have tried to take their own lives.

“All my patients who have tried to harm themselves have the same thing in common: fear,” she says.

Ms Jacobs believes that those who see no other option other than suicide need to be loved. “Fear of being seen as failures, of abandonment, of rejection, of upcoming burdens, fear of abuse from their partners or parents and fear of ridicule, among others” are just some of the stories Ms Jacobs has heard from her patients. She says love and support could be the solution to the unnecessary loss of life and acts of love include talking and listening to these people.

Reverence for life takes expression not just in acts of non-violence and protest against that which threatens it. It also means to actively serve those around us.

Helping another can come in the form of relief aid, emotional support, financial contributions or offering prayers—but whatever the form, every life is sacred, and every Christian is called to act in order to preserve that sanctity.

PO Box 11095, Mariannhill 3624 LENTEN LECTURES

Repeat of Lenten Lectures by Mgr Paul Nadal

Mondays 19h30, Mar 5, 12, 19, 26 The Eucharist: Source and Summit of Our Christian Life.

Led by Mgr Paul Nadal

APRIL 20 - 22

Questions and Answers: About your journey to God Led by Fr Urs Fischer

MARCH 9 - MARCH 11

NOVEMBER 9 - NOVEMBER 11

Trusting in God by Fr Pierre Lavoipierre

Search for Life by Fr Pierre Lavoipierre

MARCH 16 - MARCH 18

NOVEMBER 23 - 25

The Four Last Things: Christian thinking about Death, Judgement, Hell, Heaven.

Led by Fr Urs Fischer

Mary, the Mother, has the message

by Deacon Tony de Freitas

HOLY WEEK MARCH 31 - APRIL 8

1. Preached Retreat by Fr Christopher Neville OFM 2. St Faustina & Bl John Paul II: Divine Mercy Week by Fr Urs Fischer APRIL 13 - APRIL 15

The Eucharist: Source and Summit of Our Christian Life

DECEMBER 7 - DECEMBER 16

8-Day directed retreats

by Fr Urs Fischer and Br Crispin Graham DECEMBER 24 - JANUARY 1, 2013

A SPIRITUAL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY:

Praying constantly, bring your faith to life

by Fr Urs Fischer

Personally guided retreats may be arranged at any time throughout the year to suit individual need.

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Bored with your job in Community Development? Looking for a challenge? Ambitious and wanting to try something different?

SIYABHABHA TRUST IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Ideal Candidate to start 30th April 2012 Siyabhabha Trust’s vision is to achieve a just and equitable society which promotes people-centred development using methodologies underpinned by the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church.

We are looking for a young, dynamic Assistant Director to work at increasing the capacity of the church community to help the desperately poor communities of South Africa. This is a challenging and important job which will appeal to anyone who is concerned about the conditions that many millions of South Africans have to endure daily.

Core responsibilities: The Assistant Director will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of ST’s development Programmes and will report directly to the Director. Overall responsibility of the Assistant Director is to manage ST programmes and staff.

Applicants must have a Masters degree in a relevant field and 5 years experience in management, planning, monitoring and evaluation of development projects, or relevant Bachelor’s degree and 8 years experience as above. Excellent organisational and management skills. Strong computer skills and a drivers licence are essential. Applicants should preferably speak at least three local languages. Specific experience in organizational capacity building; income generation and business planning will be an advantage.

Preference will be given to practicing Catholics and this is an affirmative action position.

The successful candidate will be offered a one year fixed term post based in Pretoria.

Applicants should email a CV and a letter of motivation by Friday 24th February to Dineo Matseembi email: dmatseembi@sacbc.org.za Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

10

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

CHURCH

100 years of courage This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary expanding their mission in Zululand.

THE SISTERS look back over the century which has seen joys, but also fire, drought and a locust swarm.

T

HE Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) first arrived in Zululand from Europe in March 1903, at the request of a local priest, Fr Edward Mganga, who had studied in Rome in 1900. In 1912, they expanded their mission by taking over the works of St Anne’s in Umzinto from the French Kermaria Sisters.

But let’s first go back to 1896, when Bishop Charles Jolivet of Durban turned his attention to the south coast of Natal. He made his first recorded visit to Umzinto in December that year. A year later he returned to Umzinto with a Fr Le Texier, and together they prepared the site and building of a convent for the planned arrival of the Filles de Jésus de Kermaria congregation from the French region of Brittany.

The Sisters started two schools, but shared in the numerous financial problems experienced by Bishop’s Jolivet’s successor, Bishop Henri DeLalle. Admitting defeat, the Sisters went home in 1911.

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary arrived in Umzinto on the afternoon of January 13, 1912. The first Mass was celebrated the following day.

These first four FMMs at Umzinto were Mothers Fidele, Jesus Eucharistie, Lydie and Praesepio. A Ms Ellen O’Brien accompanied

them. In addition, four Kermaria sisters requested to join them and they soon joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

The FMMs continued the two schools started by the Kermaria Sisters, and on October 6 they began visiting the Zulu-speaking people who lived in the surrounding countryside.

Some of the Sisters already knew Zulu as they had been in the Emoyeni and Impala missions; others were attempting to learn the language. By December 1914, the Zulu people were requesting Mass and confession, and a Zulu-speaking Trappist priest from Mariannhill was sent once a month to Umzinto

by Bishop DeLalle.

On August 8, 1921 the first Zulu school, dedicated to St Francis, was opened on the mission, starting with 20 pupils.

The following year, a second school was opened on the farm for Mauritian children—many Mauritians lived in the area, working in the sugar industry, and many of them were Catholic. By 1925 that school’s enrollment was mostly Indian children from the locality, and this was the foundation of St Anne’s Indian School, which celebrated its 75th birthday in 2003.

The convent was situated on a hill and the majestic eucalyptus trees which led to the mission echoed with the sound of the church bell. The convent was the centre of the mission complex, and was surrounded by the Indian school, the home for African girls, and the buildings for workers and the priest. Nearby there was a small farm, also run by the Sisters.

Scattered on the hills around Umzinto’s convent were huts, homes of the African people. There were also many Indians who had flocked to Natal to work in the sugar-cane industry. They had origi-

nally come as indentured labourers from India, but when their contract expired, they elected to stay in South Africa.

The Sisters also used to visit nearby Esperanza, where the director of a local sugar refinery had constructed a small hospital there for the use of their sick or injured employees. n the afternoon of June 25, 1932, alarm: A fire on the mission! It was not known whether the fire was caused by an electrical fault, but flames gutted the dairy and spread with frightening rapidity to nearby buildings and soon all was aflame.

Sisters, boarders and the people from the village formed a human chain passing buckets of water up the hill from the river as the well was dry. Even the parish priest came from baptising a baby to direct operations. In less than two hours, three schools and seven huts as well as the dairy and storage quarters were destroyed, not to mention the contents of the buildings. Thanks to the combined efforts, the church was saved as well as the convent, though the walls of the latter were blackened. Local people rallied round and helped the Sisters to survive this disaster.

It wasn’t long before the re-construction of the convent began and

by April 1934 the Sisters were able to move back in.

On November 11, 1935, a swarm of locusts descended on the mission. The children managed to drive them away, but they were back a few days later.

That same year, the area was severely afflicted with a dreadful drought. By the end of the year, many of the African people in the area were starving. Numerous prayers were offered for rain and in January 1936 it finally rained.

In happier news, a new Indian school opened its doors on February

O

The first Franciscan Missionaries of Mary who arrived in Umzinto. (Inset) The Sisters give thanks at the centenary Mass of which Bishop Pius Dlungwane of Mariannhill was the main celebrant.

26, 1935. The life of the mission settled down to a routine, revolving around the two schools. The Sisters also did parish visiting and were involved in the teaching of catechism and going to the outstations.

Over the years the home and the two schools continued to expand in order to cope with the growing number of students, while the sisters continued to respond to the pastoral needs of the people in the parish.

In the mid-1950s, the Sisters of Umzinto were given a very arduous task: that of begging. They went to Durban in pairs, almost every day, to beg in the upper-class suburbs.

They did so to build a new school for African children, as the old one was in a bad condition. Their efforts

succeeded: the school opened in 1959 and owes its existence to the hard work and obedience of those sisters, and to the great generosity of the people of Durban.

In recent years, housing schemes have changed the face of the convent on the hill, which is no longer as isolated and remote as it once was.

Today, more than 100 years after the arrival of the first FMM Sisters in Umzinto, there are eight Sisters in St Anne’s convent, with two prenovices in fomation.

St Anne’s convent has a rich history, and it is in knowing our shared story that we are better able to give thanks to God for the many blessings received and to discern where he is leading us.

The Southern Cross, February 1 to February 7, 2012

Pope’s call for silence Continued from page 1 The pope underlined the importance of digital media—a theme he has championed in his three previous communications day messages. Search engines and social networks aid people in their innate thirst for answers and the truth, he said.

Because many people launch queries online about the deepest meanings of life, it is important for the Church “to affirm those

who ask these questions and open up the possibility of a profound dialogue, by means of words and interchange, but also through the call to silent reflection”.

He said silence is also key to the new evangelisation—the central theme for the world Synod of Bishops that will meet in October. “If God speaks to us even in silence, we, in turn, discover in silence the possibility of speaking

with God and about God,” he said.

Language, in fact, fails to encompass and truly communicate God’s grandeur; the extent of his love, power and mercy sink in with silent contemplation, and from that awe-inspiring awareness springs forth “the urgent sense of mission, the compelling obligation” to share Christ and his word with others, he said.—CNS

Word of the Week

Southern CrossWord solutions

Parousia: The second coming of Christ, when history and all creation will achieve their fulfillment.

Application: The point must be driven home that parousia always refers to the physical presence of Christ and not only the spirit.

SOLUTIONS TO #482. ACROSS: 4 Stephen, 8 Atones, 9 Slander, 10 Infuse, 11 Survey, 12 Addendum, 18 Benefice, 20 Entice, 21 Strafe, 22 Rebirth, 23 Sleeve, 24 Prayers. DOWN: 1 Vatican, 2 Confide, 3 Season, 5 Talisman, 6 Pantry, 7 Evened, 13 Do better, 14 Minaret, 15 Jezebel, 16 In fear, 17 Vivify, 19 Extols.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Sunday, February 5, Fifth Sunday Job 7: 1-4, 6-7, Psalms 147: 1-6, 1 Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23, Mark 1: 29-39 Monday, February 6, Ss Paul Miki and companion 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13, Psalms 132: 6-10, Mark 6: 5356 Tuesday, February 7, feria 1 Kings 8: 22-23, 27-30, Psalms84: 3-5,10-11, Mark 7: 1-13 Wednesday, February 8, feria 1 Kings 10: 1-10, Psalms 37: 5-6, 30-31, 39-40, Mark 7: 14-23 Thursday, February 9, feria 1 Kings 11: 4-13, Psalms 106: 3-4, 35-37, 40, Mark 7: 24-30 Friday, February 10, St Scholastica 1 Kings 11: 29-32, 12, 19, Psalms 81, 10-15, Mark 7: 3-37 Saturday, February 11, feria 1 Kings 12: 26-32, 13: 33-34, Psalms 106: 6-7, 1922, Marl 8: 1-10 Sunday, February 12, Sixth Sunday Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46, Psalms 32: 1-2, 5,11, 1 Corinthians 10: 31-11,1, Mark 1: 40-45

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: Good Shepherd, Bothasig.

Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in the 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.

Sr Rosemarie of the Holy Cross Sisters is looking for musical instrument (new or used) for the elderly and adult patients of the psychiatric ward to help make a “holy noise to the lord”.

Contact Sr Rosemarie at the Holy Cross Convent, Modderdam Road or call 021934 6006). you can

leave your gift at reception at Nazareth House, Upper Mill Street, Cape Town.

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: 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.

To advertise in this space call Elizabeth Hutton 021 465 5007 or e-mail advertising@scross.co.za Pray that AFRICA may draw closer to the HEART OF CHRIST 2 Chron 7:14 Matthew 7:7-12

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bedroom apartment with parking , in Strandfontein @R400 or R480 (low/high season) (4 persons per night ) Info: Paul 021 393 2503, 083 553 9856, vivilla@telkomsa.net

PERSONAL ABORTION is murder— Speak out on this issue.

ABORTION WARNING: ‘The Pill’ can abort, undetected, soon after conception (a medical fact). See website:www.humanlife. org/abortion_does_the_pill .php

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PRAYERS HOLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, 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.

PMD. HOLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, 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.

RCP SAINT MICHAEL, the

Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, o Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

THANKS GRATEFUL thanks to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, our Mother Mary and Ss Joseph, Anthony, Jude and Martin de Porres for prayers answered. RCP.

ACCOMMODATION OFFERED CAPE TOWN, Cape Peninsula: Beautiful homes to buy or rent.

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HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION CAPE TOWN: Fully equipped self-catering, 2

GORDON’S BAY: Beautiful en-suite rooms available at reasonable rates.

Magnificent views, breakfast on request. Tel: 082 774 7140. bzhive@ telkomsa.net KEURBOOMS RIVER, PLETT: Cozy log cabin in riverside complex, sleeps 6. Tel: 041 583 3629 carolyn.silversands@ gmail.com KNYSNA: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in old Belvidere with wonderful lagoon views. 044 387 1052.

LONDON, Protea House: Underground 3min, Piccadilly 20min. Close to River Thames. Self-catering. Single per night R300, twin R480. Phone Peter 021 851 5200.

MARIANELLA Guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views.

Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Tel: Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675 or mjsalida@mweb.co.za

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6th Sunday: February 12 Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46, Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11, 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1, Mark 1:40-45

H

OW do you handle it if you contract a serious illness? There is a temptation to blame God, or to assume that the sick person has “deserved” it, because of some kind of sinful activity. The readings for next Sunday invite us to see the possibility that God is at work even in the most appalling situation.

The first reading considers the disease of leprosy (and scholars will tell you that it may not mean what we normally understand by that disease, but never mind the gory details); it is an excerpt from one of the chapters that most deals with what happens if you have got it.

I should advise you not to read the rest of the chapter, as it might put you off your lunch. The point to watch is that if the disease is suspected, they are to go to the priests, the “sons of Aaron”, who are the ones to decide what is going on. And if it is indeed leprosy, then the sufferer is to be ostracised: “He shall live apart, making his dwelling outside the camp.”

We can understand this, of course; it is obviously important not to expose the People of God to the risk, but equally we are less happy these days with excluding our

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How do you handle serious illness?

Nicholas King SJ Sunday Reflections

brothers and sisters. And, as we shall see, that is not Jesus’ style.

The psalm for next Sunday sings cheerfully of a God who can deal with human imperfections: “Happy are those whose sins are forgiven”; there is immense joy here, because God is the one who forgives sins: “I made my sins known to you; I did not hide my iniquity,” and it ends with immense joy: “Rejoice in the Lord and exult, you just; be glad, all you upright of heart.” Here we are offered a God who is at work to make things right, despite human failures.

In the seco nd reading , Paul has been trying to resolve a difficult question raised by his Corinthian questioners, namely whether it was permissible for them to eat food that has been sacrificed in pagan temples (it was a cheap way of getting neces-

sary protein, but might carry the implication that those who ate the food were in fact worshipping false gods). Paul’s answer, and we shall do well to live it out, is “whether you eat or whether you drink, do everything for the glory of God, putting no obstacles in anyone’s way”.

And, what both we and the Corinthians find so difficult to put into action, “I am pleasing everyone in every respect, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the majority, that they may be saved”. Then he offers the all-important slogan: “Become imitators of me, as I have become an imitator of Christ.” We should make that our slogan, this week.

The g ospel shows how Jesus deals with those who ought to be ostracised, when a leper comes to him. Instead of running for cover, as sadly, some people do even today when they meet someone with Aids, Jesus accepts him as a human being, takes up his eager declaration (“if you are willing, you can make me clean”), by demonstrating first that he was not terrified of this highly contagious disease, and second that the leper had got him right: “He took pity on him, stretched out his hand, and touched

Don’t let mozzies bite grace ‘W

HEN grace enters, there is no choice—humans must dance.”

W H Auden wrote those words and, beautiful as they sound, I wish they were true.

When grace enters a room we should begin to dance but, sadly, more often than not we let some little thing, some minor mosquito bite, blind us to grace’s presence.

I say this with sympathy, not cynicism.

We all know how mosquitoes can ruin a picnic. Here’s an example: You are celebrating your birthday in your back garden, having a picnic with family and friends.

The weather is perfect, the sun is warm, the mood is mellow, and everything around and within you is an invitation to be joyful and grateful.

This is “Sabbath” in the biblical sense: You are celebrating life, your birthday.

You are healthy, surrounded by family and friends who love you, enjoying leisure, time off the wheel of work, all with good food and good drink. Grace has entered and everything is wonderful, except for one thing, mosquitoes.

As dusk begins to take hold they discreetly begin to infiltrate, inflicting a bite here and a bite there until eventually almost everyone loses his or her focus and is preoccupied with keeping exposed parts of their flesh under vigilance.

Eventually most of the good cheer and the gratitude evaporate and irritation at the mosquitoes effectively ends any incli-

Conrad

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Final Reflection

nation to dance. The picnic is brought down by a series of little bites.

We could all recount a hundred kinds of incidences of this sort. Given the complexity and contingency within our everyday lives, mosquitoes of some type are invariably present. There is some rain on every parade, some irritation in virtually every situation in life, and some element challenging pure grace within almost every moment of life. Life rarely comes to us pure, free from all shadow. That’s why former spiritualities said that we are “living in this valley of tears”.

In our lives we never experience a moment of clear-cut, pure joy. Everything comes with a shadow, a mosquito at the picnic.

And so it is not always easy to dance, even in the clear presence of grace. Mosquito bites can easily cause us to lose perspective, to lose the big picture, the one that would have us see and celebrate grace, even in the face of some minor irritation. A minor irritation can make us lose sight of a huge grace.

Today there is a rich spiritual and psychological literature that challenges us to

try to live more fully inside the present moment and not let our heartaches about the past or our anxieties about tomorrow cheat us out of the riches of today. But, as we as know, that is easier said than done.

Elements from our past—half-remembered lullabies from childhood, an almostforgotten face, a past love, an humiliation on the playground deep in our past, a misstep that still haunts us, and thousand other things from our past—impale themselves into our present.

And the future, as well, colours our present as we anxiously worry about an impending decision, the meeting we must have tomorrow, what the doctor is going to tell us at our next visit, and how will we meet our next bond payment. The present moment never comes to us pure.

And yet the challenge remains, an important and healthy challenge: Don’t let the mosquito bites within life blind you to the larger presence of grace!

One of my favourite spiritual writers, David Steidl-Rast, articulates this challenge very strongly, though he does it by emphasising the positive.

Here’s an example from his writings: “You think this is just another day in your life. It’s not just another day; it’s the one day that is given to you today. It’s given to you; it’s a gift. It’s the only gift that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is, if you learn to respond as if it were the first day of your life and very last day, then you will have spent this day very well.”

But that is a grace that does not come easily, it must be fervently prayed for.

Mosquitoes will inevitably make their presence known at every picnic in our lives. That’s a given. The challenge is to not lose sight of the larger presence of grace because of minor irritations.

And it helps to keep one’s sense of humour about this: I was trying to untie my shoe lace yesterday, a simple, rote act that I’ve performed blindly thousands of times. I tugged on a lace and, given how shoes are tied, it should be impossible for the laces not to open. But somehow a knot appeared instead.

How can this happen? The answer lies in a simple, age-old, philosophical axiom: In the world of irritation there are no impossibilities, no limits of finitude, only infinite potentialities.

Small wonder humans don’t always dance when grace enters.

him, and says to him, ‘I am willing: be made clean’.” Then we watch in astonishment as the leprosy scuttles away.

There is more than this to the story, however, for Jesus does not want to make a public matter of it: “Snorting he immediately expelled him” [presumably it is Jesus doing this to the leper, though Mark does not make it quite clear], saying: ‘See that you say nothing to nobody, but go and show yourself to the priest’.”

This takes us back to the first reading, of course, where the priests are the all-important people for deciding whether or not there is a case of leprosy to deal with here.

Not surprisingly, the leper disobeys the commandment to silence and “began to proclaim many things and to spread the word”, so that Jesus has to hide in the desert.

So that is God’s final word on leprosy, or Aids, or whatever someone in your world may be suffering from; Jesus reveals that God is not punishing us when we fall sick, but always working to heal us of all that afflicts us.

That is the God whom the readings celebrate next week.

Southern Crossword #482

ACROSS 4. The first of the Christian martyrs (7) 8. Makes reparation (6) 9. Damage one’s reputation (7) 10. Instil divine grace (10) 11. How map-maker will do parish census? (6) 12. Extra item at the end (8) 18. It provided a living for the old cleric (8) 20. Tempt (6) 21. Shoot bullets from aeroplane faster (6) 22. Reincarnation (7) 23. Arm cover (6) 24. These could be the bidding ones (7)

DOWN 1. Catholic city of Rome (7) 2. Do it when you tell the priest in confession (7) 3. Period of the liturgical calendar (6) 5. Ma’s Latin conjures up a good luck charm (8) 6. Cooking vessel to test in its place (6) 7. Did some ironing and called it quits (6) 13. Improve after confession (2,6) 14. Call to prayer may be heard from here (7) 15. King Ahab married her (1 Kg 16) (7) 16. How you work for your salvation (Phil 2) (2,4) 17. Give life to (6) 19. Praises enthusiastically (6) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

N elderly woman died last month. Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers be present.

In her hand-written instructions for her memorial service, she wrote: “They wouldn’t take me out while I was alive; I don’t want them to take me out when I’m dead.”

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