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Convents urged to open doors to the public

By STUarT GraHam

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God’s fine flooring: Grade 1 learner Zahra Dreyer-Ferreira was greeted by a beautiful purple carpet created by the blooms of jacaranda trees as she arrived for class at Brescia House School in Johannesburg.

Bishops: Cancel football cup

By Damian avevor

T

HE Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference called on the Confederation of African Football to postpone the Africa Cup of Nations 2015 football tournament scheduled for January 17 to February 8 because of ebola.

Despite the tournament taking place since 1957, the bishops maintained that the danger to human health posed by the potential spread of ebola requires officials to delay or cancel the tournament.

The tournament was scheduled to be played in Morocco, but officials there have asked confederation officials to postpone the tournament. Because of Morocco’s stance, confederation leaders asked Ghana to host the tournament instead.

The bishops also said it was prudent for the Ghanaian government not to step in to host the tournament.

“We live in challenging times due to the threat of ebola and so we must take the necessary precaution to handle the disease till such a time when we can safely say that the worst is over. Until that time, we think that anything that can increase the threat of the spread of the disease should be avoided as much as possible and that is certainly true of the hosting of the Cup of Nations.”

The bishops also expressed concern over the cost of hosting the tournament, citing the cost of logistical and infrastructure needed as well as upgrading stadiums in Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi.

“We think that with the current economic situation of our country, it will not be a good idea to commit resources within the limited time frame to host such an event,” they said.

South Africa, which staged the tournament in 2013, had been touted as an alternative host.

RIESTS, nuns and brothers will open up their monasteries, convents and religious houses to the public in the coming year as the Catholic Church seeks to create a new understating of religious life.

The move is part of the Year of Consecrated Life, called by Pope Francis from November 30, 2014 to February 2, 2016.

“The year is about the religious who have taken the vows of poverty, obedience and chastity,” said Fr S’milo Mngadi, communications officer for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

“In the coming year each diocese will organise celebrations, seminars and prayer days, according to its customs.”

The year is similar to previous themed years such as the Year of St Paul in 2008, the Year of the Priest in 2009, the Year of Faith in 2013 and the Year of the Family in 2014.

Fr Mngadi said the Church would encourage those who have taken vows to open their religious houses to the public as a way of improving understanding of the consecrated life.

The Church, he said, will hold various events to provide an opportunity, especially for young people, to see how men and women religious live.

Each parish and religious community will launch the Year on the first Sunday of Advent, November 30, and start the Prayer for the Year of Consecrated Life in all its Masses.

Two big celebrations will be organised to coincide with the bishops’ two plenary sessions in 2015, in Gauteng in late January and Mariannhill, KwaZulu-Natal in early August.

Fr Mngadi said the year will also celebrate missionary work done in South Africa.

“In this country we owe the existence of Catholic faith and its expansion to missionaries. They are the foundation of the [local[] Church. We want to show our gratitude to them.”

Fr Mngadi said the Church wants lay people to share their stories of encounters with people in the consecrated life.

“We want to hear those stories and collate and record them. We want to celebrate those stories, whether they occurred at school, at convent or in catechism classes.”

The Church is also “not blind” to the fact that there are decreasing vocations.

“Some who do join eventually leave at training stage. Some leave at an advanced stage,” he said.

“It is important to look at that problem this year and try to promote vocations that lead young people to share our lives.”

Sr Anne Wigley, general-secretary of the Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life, said she hopes the year will give a new sense of identity to religious people following their vocation.

“Simply explaining their order’s charisms to others should give the sisters a deeper understanding and appreciation of their own ministries,” said Sr Wigley.

“Many of the religious feel as though they have lost their place in the Church. We are not needed for pastoral work. We are not needed for running institutes anymore. We lost that identity and we haven’t created a new one,” she noted.

“In the past many people looked up to the religious orders. People gave us a special status.

Some of us want to reclaim that special status,” she said.

Sr Wigley said people are drawn to vocations for different reasons and “stay for different reasons”.

“When you ask a sister why she is in a particular order you will always receive a different answer,” she said.

“But what Pope Francis wants is for the Church to use the year as a way of remembering the past and celebrating the present. He wants there to be a renewal,” Sr Wigley said.

“As religious leaders we need to express who we are and to speak our words loudly into the world.”

Sr Wigley said people generally have lost the feeling of where they fit into the world.

They look for inspiration in those living consecrated lives. This was why it is important for the religious to have a strong identity, she said.

“People generally have lost that feeling where they fit into the world. We want people to know we are searching with them for our right place in universe,” she said.

“At the end of the year I would like to see the religious confident about their place in the world.”

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The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

LOCAL

Inchanga turns 90

By STaFF rePorTer

I

NCHANGA mission in KwaZuluNatal will celebrate its 90th anniversary on November 22.

Inchanga was served by the Mariannhill Fathers for many years before, in 1924, the first resident priest, Oblate Father Albert Hanon, moved to the mission, situated between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Fr Hanon worked tirelessly for eight years among the people, buying hundreds of acres of farmland and collecting funds for the first substantial church which was completed in 1928.

The original mission was on Inchanga Hill about a kilometre away from the present site.

A shortage of water on the hill proved a major difficulty and after a year the mission was moved to its present location.

Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of manzini, administrator of the vicariate of ingwavuma, blesses the new St Lucia retreat and Training Centre at St Lucia, KwaZulu-natal. He was joined by Bishop Barry Wood, auxiliary in Durban, and priests from the vicariate, manzini and Johannesburg, as well as delegates from ingwavuma’s parish communities and friends from australia, england and Swaziland. The centre, which was initiated by Bishop Ponce de León when he headed the vicariate prior to his appointment to manzini, overlooks the famous St Lucia estuary. For more information visit www.stluciaretreat.org.za

high school.

Altogether at that time there were three Zulu priests at Inchanga.

The third, Fr Dominic Khumalo, later became the auxiliary bishop of Durban. He was the principal of the primary school as well as being “Bantu Vocations Director” for the archdiocese of Durban.

Fr Johannes Ngubane OMI, the youngest member of staff, was a teacher and boarding master.

Today, Inchanga is a busy community, with KwaThintwa School for the Deaf, founded by the late Archbishop Denis Hurley, the Ethembeni School for the physically challenged, and a pre-school all situated close to the church.

The Dominican Sisters run the hospice and also care for and counsel young women in trauma and pregnancy crisis as part of the Right to Live Project.

Milnerton matrics receive special blessing for exams

Hats off to Brescia House STaFF rePorTer

By DyLan aPPoLiS

B

RESCIA House School in Johannesburg hosted a “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” in aid of Cuppa for CANSA day.

The school supports both CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation) and CANSA (Cancer Association of SA) annually by hosting various events, such as a Shavathon and a Ribbon Day, where pupils and staff participate together.

Each year pupils decorate their heads with as many ribbons as they like and staff get their heads sprayed or painted. There are also one or two brave female staff members and a number of male staff who shave their heads during break time for all the high school pupils to see. This is done as a symbol of support for their girls who have lost parents or siblings to cancer.

The school community contributes by making cash donations towards the Ribbons and Shavathon days and this year they have already raised R15 000 for CANSA, excluding money raised through the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

“This has helped make cancer

Frs Schwark, Cyprian and Mansuet were among the priests from Mariannhill who used to ride out on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist for the people.

In 1928 an Oblate novitiate for African brothers was started, with the first African Oblate brother, Leo Gumede, joining the staff.

An intermediate school for African children was built in 1930, which is now part of the Inchanga Primary School.

Inchanga has produced numerous vocations to religious life and the priesthood. The mission has produced more priests than any other in the archdiocese of Durban. To date, ten priests and three sisters received their callings while at Inchanga.

Fr Pat Brazil OMI taught in the high school for many years, and he was also bursar. Fr Jerome Mavundla OMI was principal of the

O

Brescia House School staff donned their craziest hats and baked up a treat for the mad Hatter’s Tea Party in aid of Cuppa for CanSa. something our girls can talk about, not fear. It has also helped our pupils grieve—they know their classmates and teachers all understand what cancer is and don’t need to

keep their struggles to cope with either having a sick or a dying family member silent,” said Liz Norman, head of counselling and community outreach at Brescia House.

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UR Lady of the Annunciation Catholic church in Milnerton, Cape Town, had a special Mass to bless this year’s matriculants.

Parish priest Fr Stan Botha invited all matrics of 2014 and their parents for a Mass at the parish; a special blessing was given to all matrics from different schools who attended, for diligence and success in their final exams.

The Mass was celebrated by Redemptorist Father Sean Collins.

“This was the fourth year we decided to do this for the matrics and it seems to work as it grows in numbers from all over,” said parish secretary Liz Roland.

Students from 20 schools were present at the special blessing Mass.

The matric students who were present were grateful to getting a blessing, Ms Roland said.

“The students being blessed before finals is awesome, especially the way it was done, being called to

matric students being blessed at the altar during a mass in our Lady of the annunciation Catholic church in milnerton, Cape Town. stand around the altar immediately after the gifts were received and being part of the consecration, all with our hands open in a receiving state. It made us feel good and it was a beautiful moment.

“Our children need to know that not only are their families in support of them but our church community as well. They need to know the power of prayer and they need to know they are part of something bigger and greater. And all this gives them a better feeling,” she said.

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The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

LOCAL

3

Academy aims to keep youth in Church

By STUarT GraHam

A

N academy for Catholics aims to keep young people in the Church by teaching them the skills they need to run youth movements within their parishes.

Tim Harris, who co-founded the Cape Town-based Catholic Leadership Academy with his entrepreneur friend Adrian van Stolk, said many young people are no longer finding a home in the Church and are leaving in numbers.

“It’s not that the Church is not relevant or that people do not have a need for spirituality, but young people are simply not engaging in what the Church is putting out,” said Mr Harris.

“So we looked at that with a sense of concern and we wondered what sustainable things we could do.”

Mr Harris, a former advertising art director who now works as the parish coordinator at St Michael’s in Rondebosch, Cape Town, believes that “the lack of a cause” is leading to disillusionment among young people.

Helping the youth “find their calling” and giving them the skills they need to start and run an organisation in their parish will be a highly effective way to keep people

in the Church.

Leadership, Mr Harris said, is a skill that people can learn.

“The questions that come up are: What are our lives about? Where are we going? What can we give that gives life meaning?” he said.

“Giving people a cause of some kind can bring them back to the Church. The truth is that young people follow other young people.

We want to help leaders lead young people to Christ.”

Mr Harris said many young people crave adventure and “want to have a blast”.

“They are receiving messages that if you are not having a great time, your life isn’t of value. At the same time, they also want to secure their future,” Mr Harris said.

“If young people can find a way to have a good time and simultaneously build futures, I would assume that something like that would be an attractive offer,” he added.

What the academy does, Mr Harris explained, is to help young people realise that they can make a difference to the world by starting their own youth organisation within a parish.

“We want to engage with people who can lead young people. What we do is lay the foundation for it

young people and tutors gather in Cape Town for a course at the Catholic Leadership academy. and help them with all the specifics of running a movement within their parish,” he said.

The academy’s first course, which started earlier this year with 16 participants and ran over six weekends, attracted people from across cultural backgrounds.

The curriculum “is a work in progress”. So far it has been devised by a team of consultants, including

priests and lay people, Mr Harris said.

At the end of the theory side of the course, participants are given a task to work on that incorporates theory, group work and research.

“Many youth are willing to do work but lack the knowledge to get going,” said Mr Harris. “What they learn through the course is that starting an organisation is like run-

ning a business. You need to plan three years ahead and then implement your plan.

This requires spiritual leadership: “We need to provide opportunities for people to have a real encounter with God so they can discern what their calling is,” Mr Harris said.

The course, he emphasised, is not a once-off phenomenon.

“It is easy to drum up enthusiasm in the short term and watch as it slowly breaks down. It is something we are very aware of. But we are in this for the long run. This is not a once-off seminar,” Mr Harris said.

The academy has a “global goal” and will ultimately grow out of Cape Town with a full-year course open to the rest of South Africa.

“Ultimately we would like that to be a place where people from around the world come and spend a year with us full-time,” Mr Harris said.

Although the course focuses on the youth, age does not matter.

“Participants could be 85 but have this heart for leading people to Christ,” Mr Harris said, adding: “Our doors are open to everyone.” n For more information visit www. catholicleadershipacademy.com, or contact info@catholicleadership academy.com or call 021 686 3820.

Flag hoisted for democracy Mass STaFF rePorTer

T

every year the children between three and eight who attend children’s liturgy at St Dominic’s parish in Boksburg in Gauteng make 10-beaded rosaries which they then take home. This year the children were also given a dice-driven game which they could play with their parents and siblings, thereby learning more about the rosary.

HE South African flag was hoisted by members of the SA Police Service after Mass outside the church of Our Lady of Loreto, patroness of aviation, in Kempton Park, near OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

The Mass marked 20 years of democracy.

In his homily Fr Peter Rebello OCD reminded the congregation that all are called to become saints, “not just by being holy, but by following the will of the Father”.

Fr Rebello urged the con-

gregation to stand against injustice and prejudice and to be always mindful of the gospel teachings.

He said Benedict Daswa, the martyr from Limpopo whose sainthood cause is on track, was a good example of courage in his defence of the Christian faith when confronted with the evils of witchcraft and superstition. The congregation was asked to pray for Daswa’s beatification.

Guests of honour at the Mass were Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, representatives from the police, and several ministers and pastors from the surrounding churches.

Umzimkulu diocese holds overnight vigil

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MZIMKULU diocese in KwaZulu-Natal gathered at the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes mission for an overnight vigil for the celebration of Mary, the Queen of the Holy Rosary.

Although it was rainy and cold, about 1 500 people attended the vigil.

“There was also the blessing of families, where parish representatives received family candles and prayer books to celebrate the Year of the Family in their communities,” the diocese said.

“As well, religious sisters, brothers and priests launched the Year of Consecrated Life and received candles for their communities to commemorate their consecration to Jesus and to the service of the Gospel.”

Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba ap-

Congregants at our Lady of Loreto church near or Tambo celebrate 20 years of democracy.

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CASA SERENA Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba and deacons at a night vigil in Umzimkulu. pealed for funds to support the “education and formation” of young seminarians to become the priests and shepherds of the community.

“The diocese on its own is not able to raise all the funds required for the education,” the bishop said.

“Fees and other expenses add

up to R60 000 a year per person.”

The bishop said anyone willing to help build up the local Church and be part of mission work can deposit funds into the diocese account. n Account: Diocese of Umzimkulu, account number: 61240009757, branch code: 220123, or e-mail: office@umzimkulu.org

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The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

INTERNATIONAL

Iraqi Christians under threat of early winter

By DaLe GavLaK

S The lava flow from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is seen advancing across a pasture near the town of Pahoa, threatening about 4 000 people who live in communities in the lava’s path. The 2100º liquid rock, when moving, averages 5-10m an hour. Pahoa’s Catholics are served by Sacred Heart parish, whose parishioners have come together to help wherever they can. (Photo: reuters/CnS)

Church in Burkina Faso optimistic after coup

T

HE Church in Burkina Faso urged calm following the ouster of President Blaise Compaore and called on the country’s new military rulers to honour pledges of democracy.

“All the signs are positive, the shops, offices and schools are open, and life seems to be returning to normal,” said Mgr Joseph Kinda, spokesman for Burkina Faso’s bishops’ conference. “The new president says he’ll make it his programme to consult and cooperate with all social forces,” he added.

“Having deplored the recent acts of vandalism, robbery and looting, we’re now very optimistic,” he said.

Cardinal Philippe Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, declared a week of prayers for “reconciliation, justice and peace” in the landlocked West African state after the deputy head of the presidential

guard, Lt Col Isaac Yacouba Zida, declared himself interim head of state.

Mgr Kinda said that he had not heard of injuries to Catholics or damage to parish buildings during recent rioting in Ouagadougou, the capital. He added that Lt Zida had held “consultative talks” with Catholic, Muslim and other religious leaders, who had offered help in forming an interim administration.

Mgr Isidore Ouedraogo, director of the Church’s Caritas aid organisation, said the bishops had previously warned of “social division and the rise of violence”, and had welcomed Compaore’s departure “with joy”.

Ex-President Compaore fled to Ivory Coast after 27 years in power, following mass protests against plans to amend the constitution to allow him to continue in office for another term beginning in 2015.— CNS

ISTER Habiba’s kindly face is etched with sadness as she surveyed the muddy field where dozens of tents sheltering displaced Iraqi Christians once stood.

Cold, punishing rains and blustery wind swept through the encampment earlier than expected for winter, crashing down the tents in the dead of night. Shoes, slippers and toys were strewn about, stuck in the muddy mess, signalling the mad dash for safety.

The recent wintry deluge drove out families, adding to the woes of those who recently ran for their lives from the brutal Islamic State militant takeover of Iraq’s historic Christian heartland.

“The tents quickly filled with water and collapsed. They were engulfed in mud. Some people had to be taken to the hospital. This happened at 3am,” said the nun, one of four Dominican Sisters of St Catherine of Siena providing the displaced with shelter, food, hygiene and water.

They, along with a lone priest, serve about 1500 displaced Catholics from Mosul, Qaraqosh and Bartella, Christian towns in northern Iraq overrun by the Islamist extremists in early August. All were forced to flee rather than convert to Islam, pay a protection tax or be killed.

Now they shelter both inside and outside a youth sports centre on the outskirts of Ainkawa, a mainly Christian enclave that is part of the Kurdistan regional government’s capital, Irbil.

Sr Habiba and fellow Dominican Sr Ban, both from Qaraqosh, said

Blankets line a fence where iraqi Christians are sheltered by Dominican Sisters outside a youth sport centre in ainkawa, iraq. an early wintry deluge drove out families, adding to the woes of those who recently ran for their lives from the brutal islamic State militant takeover of iraq's historic Christian heartland. (Photo: Dale Gavlak/CnS) they never realised that the danger posed by the Islamic State’s capture of Mosul in June would eventually reach their own predominately Christian town.

“There was shelling. In the morning, we discovered three bodies on the street outside our home. They exploded and body parts were in the air and on the walls. It was heartbreaking to witness such tragedy and the trauma all are experiencing,” she said, suddenly choking up and unable to speak.

The sport centre itself is bursting at the seams with the displaced. Mattresses cover the floors of the twostory building like scattered dominoes; tall piles of colourful blankets fill corners. Families camp out helter-skelter within the facility’s rooms, but there is no privacy because space is at a premium. What is left of their worldly possessions is contained in some small suitcases and plastic bags.

Babies cry as people talk loudly; silence is a rarity. A badly trauma-

tised woman wanders from room to room, muttering. But at least these people are living inside a building, rather than exposed to the elements outdoors.

“Our bishop has managed to get about 60 trailers, which are more stable to shelter against rain and the snow we expect to get in January,” said Syriac Catholic Father Bashar.

“But we need far more trailers to house the many people coming for aid,” he said. “They have run out of money and there is no safe place for them elsewhere.”

Other displaced Christians have camped out in churches, unfinished buildings and parks scattered throughout the town.

The United Nations has said that more than 800 000 Christians, Yezidis and other minorities displaced by Islamic State attacks in Iraq are especially vulnerable as winter has begun. It said that insulated mattresses, thermal blankets, warm clothes for children and food are needed.—CNS

Prince Charles decries worldwide Christian persecution

By Simon CaLDWeLL

T

HE heir to the British throne suggested that Islamic leaders must speak out against the persecution of Christians by Muslims if they are to guarantee freedom within their own countries.

Prince Charles said in a video message that it was an “indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East”, especially as the followers of the two faiths had lived together “peaceably” for centuries.

The message coincided with the presentation in the British parliament of the 2014 Religious Freedom Report by the United Kingdom branch of Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity helping persecuted Christians around the world.

The prince said faith leaders had a duty to ensure that their co-religionists treated those of other faiths with tolerance.

“Rather than remaining silent, faith leaders have, it seems to me, a responsibility to ensure that people within their own tradition respect

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people from other faith traditions,” Prince Charles said, adding that it was “essential that governments honour their duty to uphold the right of people to practise their faith.”

The Prince of Wales also was critical of the decline of religious freedom in Britain.

“It seems to me that our future as a free society—both here in Britain and throughout the world—depends on recognising the crucial role played by people of faith,” he said.

“I believe that to speak to another faith tradition and to defend those who follow it, it is profoundly helpful to speak from the core of one’s own spiritual experi-

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ence. My own Christian faith has enabled me to speak to, and to listen to, people from other traditions, including Islam,” he added.

“And, as Pope Francis has recently said, such interfaith dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world, and should be seen as a duty for all Christians, as well as for believers from other religious communities.”

The report analysed the situations of religious minorities in 196 countries from October 2012 to June 2014. It assessed the extent of religious freedom violations, discovering that about 80% of people facing persecution around the world were

Christians.

High levels of religious persecution were identified in 20 countries, with 14 of them Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran and the other six authoritarian regimes, including North Korea and China.

Religious freedom in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand was deteriorating at such a rate that they are designated as countries of concern in the report.

The United States, Ireland, Italy and Australia had low levels of religious persecution but all saw deterioration of religious liberties over the past two years, the report said.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

5

Pope to open traditional marriage conference

By FranCiS X roCCa

A

relatives of a Christian couple killed after being accused of blasphemy cry at their home in Kasur, Pakistan. Catholic leaders in Pakistan protested after the beating and burning of Shahzad masih, 28, and his pregnant wife, Shama Bibi, 24, who were accused of desecrating the Qu’ran. (Photo: rahat Dar, ePa/CnS)

Christian couple burned to death By anTo aKKara

C

ATHOLIC leaders in Pakistan protested the beatings and burning of a young Christian couple accused of desecrating the Qu’ran.

“The government has absolutely failed to protect its citizens’ right to life,” said the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Pakistan in a statement.

Condemning the brutal killing of Shahzad Masih, 28, and his pregnant wife, Shama Bibi, 24, the NCJP pointed out that the killing of the couple at the hands of a mob was based on a “false accusation of blasphemy”.

Police said they attempted to save the couple but that they were unable to do so because they were outnumbered.

The couple had three children, according to family members.

The victims’ bodies were burned at the brick kiln where

they worked in Kot Radha Kishan, a town in Punjab province.

Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan. Critics have charged that blasphemy laws often are misused to settle differences and that minorities are unfairly targeted.

Six brothers of the Masih family, including the youngest, Shahzad, worked at the brick kiln, a family member said.

The couple “was brutally tortured and burnt alive”, Shabhaz Masih, Shahzad’s older brother, said.

He said Shama was burning waste after cleaning the home of her father-in-law, Nazar, who died earlier this year. The manager of the brick kiln claimed to have seen pages with Quranic verses in the rubbish and alerted local Muslim leaders.

Word of the discovery spread on loudspeakers in neighboring villages, Shabhaz said. His brother and his wife

tried to flee, but the owner of the kiln confined them in a room at the business. Early the next morning, hundreds of Muslims descended on the village in tractor trolleys and motorbikes, he said.

“The mob broke the roof, pulled the couple out and tortured them. They were paraded naked and set on fire,” said Sardar Musthaq Gill, a Christian lawyer.

Although several police officers were present, they “could not control the mob”, he said.

The NCJP said it was concerned that non-Muslim Pakistanis received inadequate protection from the government.

“The perpetrators involved in such incidents have never been brought to justice due to lack of political will. It makes minorities further vulnerable and a soft target,” Fr Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, NCJP director, said in the statement.—CNS

Alternatives to in vitro for infertile couples

By LinDSay STeeLe

F

OR couples struggling to conceive a child, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has been a medical standard for the past 30 years.

The Catholic Church has long opposed the process as immoral, because it separates conception from the marital act and it destroys embryos.

With the procedure’s prevalence in the medical world, some Catholic couples are led to believe they are out of medical options after a doctor recommends it.

However, officials from the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha, Nebraska, say that IVF is not a miracle procedure and they report that more effective options exist.

Dr Kristina Pakiz, associate medical consultant, said couples “do not have to feel trapped in a corner where they are told they will never have a child without in vitro fertilisation. The truth is

that there is superior gynaecologic health care available to them”.

She said IVF has a success rate of about 30% and increases the possibility of high-risk pregnancy and birth defects. About five in six embryos created in the process will die. IVF does not address root causes of infertility; only a detailed workup that helps doctors diagnose and treat infertility as the product of an underlying condition can do that.

When infertility is seen as an underlying medical condition and treated accordingly, success rates for conceiving increase.

Dr Karla Polaschek, pro-life OB/GYN practitioner in Illinois, said IVF is part of a profitable industry; treatments cost thousands or more and medical research companies depend on donated embryos—with the parents’ permission—for research.

Beth Budelier, Natural Family Planning teacher, explained that it is common for couples with low or marginal fertility to con-

ceive within six months of learning this method.

For women who do not ovulate or have other issues that cannot be detected or confirmed through charting fertility signs alone, ultrasounds and hormonal testing can be useful.

Treatments can range from a healthy diet to fertility-enhancing medications such as clomiphene and letrozole to reparative surgery.

Still, she said, some couples may not be able to conceive even with the most statistically effective treatments. Anything that helps to increase a couple's natural fertility—as opposed to replacing it or creating life outside of the body—is acceptable in the Church.

Theologian Fr Thom Hennen said that couples are welcome to try what is permissible, all the while being open to whatever life may or may not come.

“At all times there has to be an abandonment to God’s will,” he added.—CNS

MONTH after closing the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family which was stirred by controversy over divorce, same-sex unions and other non-marital relationships, Pope Francis will open an interreligious conference dedicated to traditional marriage.

The Vatican-sponsored gathering, on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman”, will feature more than 30 speakers representing 23 countries and various Christian churches, as well as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism and Sikhism.

The conference will aim to “examine and propose anew the beauty of the relationship between the man and the woman, in order to support and reinvigorate marriage and family life for the flourishing of human society,” according to organisers.

Attendees from various Christian denominations at the conference will include Rev Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in California, Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of Great Britain, and Anglican bishops NT Wright and Michael NazirAli. Pope Francis will address the conference and preside over its first morning session, following remarks by Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The conference is officially spon-

sored by the doctrinal congregation, and co-sponsored by the pontifical councils for Promoting Christian Unity, for Interreligious Dialogue and for the Family. The heads of all four curia offices are scheduled to address the assembly.

Topics of lectures and videos will include “The Cradle of Life and Love: A Mother and Father for the World's Children” and “The Sacramentality of Human Love according to St John Paul II.” Rev Warren was one of 48 Christian ministers and scholars who signed an open letter to Pope Francis and the synod fathers in September, urging the assembly to defend traditional marriage, among other ways, by supporting efforts to “restore legal provisions that protect marriage as a conjugal union of one man and one woman”.

Russel Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention wrote a blog post in response to the synod's controversial midterm report, which used remarkably conciliatory language towards people with ways of life contrary to Catholic teaching, including those in same-sex unions and other non-marital relationships.

Mr Moore praised the document for suggesting that “we should not drive sinners away, but that we should receive them and nurture them towards Christ,” but said that “the Church is not itself, though, to be made up of unrepentant people”.— CNS

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6

The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Communion for non-Catholics issue

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Solidarity of faiths

R

ECENT reports from Pakistan of Christians being sentenced to death on charges of blasphemy, and even murdered for it, should alarm not only other Christians, but all people of goodwill.

While Pakistani Christians are allowed to exercise their faith more or less freely (unlike their counterparts in, say, Saudi Arabia), unjust laws reduce them to second-class citizens who are easily accused of offences they did not commit.

Many Christians have faced severe punishment, even the death penalty, for allegedly blaspheming against Mohammed or the Qu’ran. Often such charges are trumped up to settle interpersonal disputes.

Last month a Pakistani court upheld the death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Catholic who allegedly insulted the prophet Mohammed, a charge she denies. Currently another Christian, Sawan Masih, is sitting on death row, also having been convicted of blasphemy in a trial earlier this year.

Most shockingly, this month a lynch mob of more than 100 kidnapped, tortured and then burnt to death two young Christian parents over unproven blasphemy accusations.

In all this, where is the world’s outrage? Where is the political pressure on Pakistan to do away with its unjust blasphemy law?

Leaving aside the terrorism of the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, of Boko Haram in Nigeria or of Al-Shabab in East Africa, Christians in most Muslim societies experience daily prejudice because of their faith. Even in more tolerant countries, such as Tunisia, public expressions of Christianity are against the law.

This reality, however, must not descend into Islamophobia. The inhumanity of some, or even of many, must not lead to prejudice.

It is not helpful to blame all of Islam—which is fragmented, with competing philosophies at times in violent conflict—for the persecution of Christians in predominantly Muslim regions, just as it is absurd when Muslims attribute Western hostility, never mind gratuitous provocation by individuals, to all Christians.

Distorted perceptions are quickly exploited by people of ill will, and almost always create a backlash. Only extremists and bigots benefit from that.

Christians in Muslim countries almost invariably have long traditions there. Their roots are in Pakistan, Iraq, Iran or Indonesia—often the Christian communities there predate the advent of Islam. By contrast, in almost all of Europe, the growth of Islam is a fairly recent phenomenon, brought about by immigration.

Muslims living in Europe have also experienced a measure of discrimination. Such restraints have included bans on external expressions of their faith, such as bans on wearing headscarves in schools, or the denial of building permission for mosques, as well as informal forms of prejudice.

None of these compare to the threat of death for exercising one’s basic human right to religious freedom in choosing one’s faith, of course, but no injury to religious freedom can be tolerated.

For that reason the postconciliar Catholic Church has vigorously defended Muslims’ rights to religious freedom, wherever they are.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI were eager to dialogue with Islam. When Pope Francis visits the Sultan Ahmed mosque in Istanbul later this month, he will continue that tradition.

But Pope Benedict XVI also pointed out, rightly so, that just as Muslims enjoy substantial religious liberty in traditionally Christian countries, so should Christians enjoy corresponding religious freedom in Muslim countries.

The Church holds that different religions should collaborate in ensuring religious freedom.

In ideal terms then, Catholics in Italy would support Muslims in building mosques, while Muslims in Saudi Arabia would support the building of churches in their country. And Muslims would condemn the terrorism of fundamentalist Islamists and iniquities such as Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, while Christians would protest against legislation that prejudices Muslims and oppose general Islamophobia.

Even if this model is unattainable, the Church argues, religious freedom is not negotiable.

So even if our brothers and sisters in Muslim countries are being intimidated, persecuted and even killed, Catholics must regardless advocate religious liberty for all and strive to build a sense of reciprocity. And such a mutual solidarity must then find a forum.

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M

ICHAEL Shackleton’s column is always worth reading and the column “Communion for nonCatholics?” (October 1) needs further examination as the final comment is legalistic, although he opens the doors just a little when Father B’s response is offered.

Two cases come to mind and need to be considered.

The first concerns a family of six, mother, father and four smallish children who arrived at a chapel for 7am Holy Mass on Christmas day some time ago. A relatively stern admonition was issued that you had to be a Catholic to receive Holy Communion. One parent was not a Catholic, but had bestirred himself to make Mass-going a family affair at an early hour on Christmas Day. Surely latitude is needed to be inclusive and not exclusive, and who knows but a feeling of belonging

Yes to affirming our fellow man

I

SEND up a loud “Amen” in praise of Fr Ron Rolheiser’s article “Go and praise someone today” (October 22).

I’m convinced that one of the reasons why some of us Catholics are generally too stingy with praise, encouragement and affirmation of others is because many of us have fallen prey to a form of Pelagianism—a heresy—where we’re trying to achieve our own salvation by our own efforts, the grimmer the better, with a stiff upper lip, oblivious of evangelising and bringing the joy of the Lord to others.

Many seem unaware of the basic Gospel message, the kerygma, and are so concerned with their own individual salvation that they have moved unknowingly to feelings of jealousy and resentment. But our pride and blindness dare not permit anyone to make that accusation.

We feel ignored, cheated, wounded, treated unfairly, and have every right to be resentful, and not to admire, praise or give others a word of commendation, admiration, or even a smile.

Admiration and affirmation are seen as immaturity. “Maturity” and “sophistication”—picking others apart—are the flavour of the day.

We’ve learnt to concoct every reason not to admire or praise others, unaware that cutting down others is a clear sign of one’s jealousy and bad self-image. Rather our lives are soured by cynicism, judgments, jealousy and unpleasantness.

To withhold a compliment from someone who needs it is a sin: because it amounts to spiritual food needed to live, as Fr Rolheiser rightly recalls St Thomas Aquinas.

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from her and returned to the ciborium. She literally wept at being denied the gift she truly believed she had received. Her belief in the true presence was at least as strong as that of any Catholic.

I know that there are dangers attached to the reception of Communion and possible desecration.

The numbers who go up to receive Communion at the end of the Camino are huge and a large number just have to be non-Catholic.

How does anyone judge the beliefs of the recipients, except to leave it to the conscience of each person?

Hooray for the majority of the hierarchy at the recent Family Life synod at the Vatican who voted in favour of introspection regarding stumbling blocks such as I have listed above. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may there be a new openness to inclusivity and away from exclusivity.

Francis Boulle, Cape Town

(inclusive) might have encouraged this father of four to think of becoming a Catholic. I venture the opinion that he went away feeling excluded, perhaps even unwelcome. A lost opportunity?

The second occurred at the end of a person’s pilgrimage on the Camino in Spain.

The pilgrim, a minister of a nonCatholic church, joyfully went up to the altar during Mass at the end of the journey and received Our Lord’s body in her hand. She was in awe at the gift she had received. She went back to her seat and knelt adoring the greatness of Holy Communion, knowing that it was truly Jesus Christ that she had received and was about to consume.

A local “custodian” berated her in a language she did not understand, so did not know of her “sin”.

The consecrated host was taken

Viva Schoenstatt

When we can no longer compliment, we betray our poor selfimage. What we fail to see and admit is our being threatened by those whose gifts and virtues surpass our own.

I believe Fr Rolheiser’s excellent article should be essential and indispensable reading for any Catholic who takes faith in Jesus Christ seriously.

John Lee, Johannesburg

Catechism lack

I

S

N response to Archbishop Stephen Brislin’s question: “What sort of Church should we be?” (October 22), as a self-confessed badly catechised cradle-Catholic, I would like to make a plea to all priests: please start teaching us the catechism from the pulpit! It can’t be that difficult to tie it in with your weekly homilies.

Through no fault of their own, I’m sure, our parents were not catechised; they didn’t/couldn’t pass the faith on to us satisfactorily— don’t lose us too!

Perhaps then, when we understand our rich faith, we might be able to avoid the many mistakes we made or are likely to make when it comes to love, marriage, sex, family life, faith and so on.

Theresa Lovall, Johannesburg 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.

Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

ATURDAY, October 18 marked the centennial jubilee of Schoenstatt, founded exactly to the day 100 years before by F Joseph Kentenich. Close to 1 000 people gathered at Schoenstatt in Constantia, Cape Town, while in spirit they were united with the International Schoenstatt Family gathered in Schoenstatt, Germany, where 10 000 were present.

A more perfect day could not have been chosen for this thanksgiving, in a sought-after bit of paradise, nestled along a green belt.

The chapel extended the warmest possible welcome to all guests.

How wonderful of the organisers to provide ample seating on the rolling lawns for Holy Mass. The main celebrant was Fr Ivanhoe Allies, accompanied by a dozen priests from various parishes. The Mass itself was preceded by a procession of symbols—a most moving event with each symbol presented by a member of the Schoenstatt family.

A musical ensemble of flutes, trumpet, guitar, keyboard and drums accompanied a choir which led the guests in songs of praise. And then to heighten the ambience, a group of Burundian drummers and dancers entertained the guests, symbolic of the reach of the Schoenstatt movement throughout Africa.

To crown it all, the guests were invited to an incredible lunch on the lawns. The organisers really excelled in feeding the proverbial 5 000!

Organising an event of this scope must have proved challenging, and those responsible must be complimented. The part played by Sr Iona McKenzie, the mother superior, and her co-organisers must be acknowledged and praised.

Henry and Frank Jacobs, Cape Town

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PERSPECTIVES

The pin is coming out of the grenade Mphuthumi R Ntabeni

ECENTLY I attended a round-table discussion hosted by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office. It was titled, “Parliament: Degraded or Re-invigorated?”.

The were vigorous discussions about the role of parliament 20 years into our democracy.

The speakers were Dr Zwelethu Jolobe from the department of Political Studies of the University of Cape Town; Kasper Hahndiek, secretary of parliament from 19972006, and Nozizwe Mandlala-Routledge, former deputy minister of defence and deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

Dr Jolobe outlined the nature of our parliamentary constitutional democracy, where the president is more of a super prime minister than a strict definition of the term would allow.

Cabinet governs and prevails over parliament. Our national assembly is limited to oversight duties (to keep the executive accountable) and policy making.

Mr Hahndiek intimated that our first democratic parliament enjoyed much more relevance because it was, literally, a constitution-drafting parliament.

The debates were also much more rigorous because political differences were wider and strongly felt, he noted. The fact that this rigour is starting to re-emerge could also be a signal of widening political differences.

Ms Madlala-Routledge compared the position of a judge in the court of law with that of the Speaker of the House. The marked difference, she explained, is that it takes years of experience in law and its rules to become a judge. A speaker of parliament, on the other hand, usually is a political deployee, who sometimes lacks the required competences and understanding of the rules of parliament.

Hence it may be that the speaker becomes a catalyst for a more confrontational approach in parliamentary debates. That may be due to incompetence rather than bias.

The round-table generally agreed that:

• Our electoral system is not really a problem. Rather the disintegration, or lack of unity, of opposition politics makes it ineffective.

• Business has disproportionate power in influencing government policies through political funding, threatening to turn our democracy into a plutocracy.

• Policy briefs from academic, faith and civil society are not frequent enough, and have little power beyond lobbying.

• Funding for civil activism is at an alltime low, which hampers the democratic process of participation.

• Reclaiming parliament as a People’s Assembly does not have to entail rude disregard of its rules and regulations.

• Rules need to be fair and effective in compelling the executive to be effectively accountable to parliament.

• The reading of speeches makes parliamentary debates dull, and violates the parliamentary “Members’ Guide”.

L

ater that evening I attended my Ecclesia group, part of the renewal programme in the archdiocese of Cape Town.

We watched videos and discussed the topic, “An Instrument of Transformation”.

The videos emphasised the imperatives of

Poverty in masiphumelele, Cape Town. in his column, mphuthumi ntabeni notes that the government is increasingly blaming the poor for South africa’s economic problems.

(Photo: Sydney Duval)

This was the synod T HE primary purpose of the synod on the “Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelisation”—or Synod 14—was in general to proclaim the Gospel of the Family as an integral part of the mission of the Church and in particular to consider how to respond to the widespread cultural, social and spiritual crisis which is posing a serious challenge to the Church’s work of enabling families to accept, live and pass on the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the next generation.

A secondary purpose was to reaffirm the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family as part of God’s plan revealed by him as a special relationship between a man and a woman, based of mutual love and self-giving and geared towards fruitfulness understood as the procreation and raising of children.

In the Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law, a synod is described as a group of bishops selected from different parts of the world, who meet together at specified times to promote the close relationship between the Roman pontiff and the bishops.

These bishops, by their counsel, assist the Roman pontiff in the defence and development of faith and morals and in the preservation and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline. They also consider questions concerning the mission of the Church in the world.

To understand Synod 14, it is necessary to see it against the frame of reference of its purpose, which was to identify, analyse and evaluate the challenges facing marriage and family at this time.

The theme was set out in three parts dealing with: • The Gospel of the Family—which is God’s plan revealed to man and woman— who have been married in Christ and called to live in accordance with the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church; • The problems and challenges in marriage which are calling for pastoral care; • Openness to life, understood as being committed to having children and raising them up according to the Gospel of the Family.

All of this was set out in the Instrumentum Laboris (working document) drawn up from the worldwide consultations carried out by local bishops’ conferences in response to the questionnaire authorised by Pope Francis and sent to as wide an audi-

Cardinal napier (second from right) in conversation with Cardinals Timothy Dolan of new york and oswald Gracias of mumbai, and archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the US bishops’ conference after a session of the family synod. (Photo: Paul Haring/CnS) ence as possible.

Following the solemn opening Mass in St Peter’s basilica on October 5 the synod began with the presentation of a summary of the working document and the clearer and more precise explanation of the theme and scope of work of the synod.

This was followed by four days of presentations by synod members (bishops and men superiors general) lay observers (married couples and others), and ecumenical delegates.

A

t the end of the presentations a summary was drawn up and presented as the Relatio post Disceptationem (Report after the Debate). This second working paper was also studied, discussed, amended, redrafted and so on by the ten discussion groups into which the synod was divided to facilitate discussion in the language and theme of choice.

It is important to note that this was a report to the synod to set out more systematically what had been presented to it up to that point.

This second working document— dubbed “Mid-term Report” by the media— caused a veritable media firestorm with sensational headlines, announcing and explaining major changes to the Catholic Church’s position on phenomena such as cohabitation, divorce and remarriage, and homosexuality, in particular same sex unions.

Needless to say there was a shocked reaction by many synod members. The main reason for their shock was that the Mid-

Pushing the Boundaries

justice and peace through the Catholic Social Teachings, acknowledging that South Africa’s social and economic problems are more than anything else structural and an inheritance of the apartheid regime. The solution is to go to the root of the problem, beyond just charity.

The following day I attended the Ministry of Finance mini-budget statement in the national assembly which made it clear that our fiscus is buckling from government expenditure, especially on social grants.

We are running out of money to keep the lid on the pot of our structural problems—we are in a political and economic gridlock. Meantime, the rising inequalities are threatening the national security of the country since they foster social rebellion.

I recalled the recent mutterings by the president—who blamed the poor for being lazy—and the minister of housing, who proposes denying those under the age of 40 RDP housing.

It seems clear that the government has decided to shift the blame for loss of confidence in our economy from its own corrupt, inept and dysfunctional departments, from the greedy hoarding of big capital, from overzealous credit agencies, from an ineffective neoliberal economic policy.

The blame is now being shifted to the poor. With that, I suppose, the pin will come out of the grenade.

I have a growing feeling that the Social Teachings of the Church will need to raise their head above the parapet, and once again, come to the defence of the poor.

The “Brave New World” Ecclesia series is, to me, good beginnings.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier OFM

Talking Frankly

term Report had been presented to the media before they had received and studied it, and especially that the media had understood it to be a document that had already been accepted by the synod as its official response to the issues under discussion.

This was totally incorrect. In fact, is was not true! The synod members had not even seen what the media was declaring to be their document. They saw it for the first time that Monday morning shortly after it had been presented to the world at the media briefing!

The ten small groups spent three days working on the Mid-term Report, transforming it into the Report of the Synod (Relatio Synodi).

What emerged from the small groups was a very different document—different because the sensation-making statements had been expunged; different above all because its focus was more sharply on marriage and the family as key institutions in the Church and in society which today are being seriously challenged by modern trends.

The final report was drawn up by a committee of nine cardinals, bishops and priests appointed by Pope Francis. These worked under considerable pressure to bring together the many proposals to correct, amend or redraft sections of the document so that they would reflect the considered views of the synod, and not those of individual members.

The final stage of the synod was the voting on the document paragraph by paragraph. The resulting document would become the first working document to be discussed once again in the local Churches of the world in preparation for the next ordinary synod, to be held in October 2015.

The theme of that synod will be “The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Contemporary Church and World”. It is envisaged that in the intervening year, the local Churches will concentrate particularly on how the Church at local and universal level will formulate practical ways and means of addressing the problems identified at Synod 14.

I thank God for a unique experience of what it means to be part of the Catholic Church in today’s world full of challenges.

The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

7

Michael Shackleton

open Door

The roots of Original Sin We were taught that Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden was the Original Sin which has tainted us all. Yet Genesis does not tell us that this sin was to affect all the descendants of our first parents. Where does the idea of a communal Original Sin really come from?

P Evans

W

E know from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, that after the Holy Spirit had come down on the Apostles at Pentecost, Peter told the crowds to repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of their sins and to receive the Holy Spirit.

Individuals who were old enough to acknowledge that they had sinned, and who wanted to turn away from sin in order to be born into the new life offered by Christ, were baptised into the community of the Church.

At this stage, the emphasis was on personal sin.

Baptism and repentance removed this stain and promised the gift of everlasting life with Christ in the kingdom of heaven.

A shift in emphasis occurred a little later when the question arose: What about those who had never committed a personal sin, namely, new-born babies? How could baptism cleanse sin from those who had never had the opportunity to sin? The question was now: is infant baptism necessary for salvation in Christ?

There was no doubt that the answer was yes.

Even before the concept of Original Sin was theologically formed, Christian thinkers knew that human nature was in desperate need of deliverance from the evils of this world, and the only deliverer was Christ. They referred to the human soul being dead until it is reborn in Christian baptism.

It was St Augustine of Hippo who framed the teaching of Original Sin and gave it that name in the fifth century. He based his reasoning on chapters 5 and 7 of the Letter to the Romans, where Paul writes of the sin of Adam being passed on to his progeny. Paul describes his own impotency in coping with his human weakness without the grace of Christ.

Scripture tells us that Adam and Eve’s blissful relationship with God was destroyed and their harmonious life shattered when they sinned. They quickly feared God and were told that henceforth they would struggle to cope with life in an unfriendly world.

The contamination of Original Sin is inherent in our fallen human nature. We can think of each of us being an Adam and an Eve, and our sins of commission and omission no different from the kind of disobedience displayed by our first parents.

It is the human condition which ends in death unless we are reborn in the waters of baptism and made members of the Body of Christ.

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.

CONGREGATION OF OUR LADY OF CHARITY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD “ONE PERSON IS OF MORE VALUE THAN A WHOLE WORLD” ARE YOU CALLED TO SHARE IN OUR MISSION OF RECONCILIATION?

AS A RELIGIOUS SISTER? A MISSION PARTNER? A PRAYER PARTNER? A BENEFACTOR?

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: SR. ZELNA @ 082 968 8493/ 072 265 0735, www.buonpastoreint.org

8

The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

Laura vicu単a educational centre in ennerdale, Johannesburg, celebrated Heritage Day. Learners planted trees, cleaned up the veld across the road from the school and held a prayer service in thanksgiving for the gifts of nature from God.

COMMUNITY

Children from reakgola Care Centre celebrated Heritage Day at Holy Trinity parish in midrand, Johannesburg archdiocese. They were dressed in traditional costumes and beadwork made by the members of the Zimele Project, a parish project being managed by the Franciscan missionaries of mary Sisters. (Photo: Carol Binda)

St John Bosco parish in robertsham, Johannesburg, held its third renew africa mission to launch season five of renew in the parish. Guest speakers Fr Tahbo motshegoa, administrator of Christ the King cathedral and Fr emil Blaser oP of radio veritas were invited. (From left) parish council vicechairperson Theresa Daniels, Fr Blaser, Deacon michael nolan and Salesian Fathers John Thompson and eugene Hennessy.

The ethiopian and eritrean Catholic community held a sacramental celebration at Holy rosary parish in Tembisa, Johannesburg. Woldemaden Wabalo received Baptism and first Holy Communion and Tashome Kebede and rahawa Kelifa received first Holy Communion from Fr melese Tumato Shula mCCJ. The Cursillos in Christianity apostolic movement held a retreat at red acres in Durban. Pilgrims from all over the archdiocese attended.

Holy rosary Primary School in Johannesburg recently held its interhouse athletics event. (Back from left) Shannyn rae (best u12 athlete), Jada Dihahlo (best open athlete, fastest 100m, and best longjump), alessia Galeotti (best junior cross country). (Front from left) Sofia Bollo (best u9 athlete), Simone Jardine and Hannah obeng-mireku (best u10 athlete joint), Sinead meyer (best u11 athlete, fastest 150m and fastest 80m) and Kayla Bishop (fastest 800m) and HoD sport alison Watson. absent from the picture is Dannielle ritson (best senior cross country).

Salesian youth ministry delegates from the four Salesian provinces of angola, Zambia, mozambique and Southern africa gathered at Bosco youth Centre in Johannesburg, to familiarise themselves with the new guidelines of the Salesian youth mnistry: Frame of reference document. The workshop was animated by Fr Fabbio attard and his team from the youth ministry department in rome.

O N TAPE

A group of readers is preparing audio tapes of excerpts from The Southern Cross for interested people who are blind, sight-impaired, unable to hold a newspaper or illiterate.

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The Knights of Da Gama Caravan and Campers association and their families held an outing at Hennopspride resort in Hartebeespoort, Gauteng.

The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

CHURCH

9

Cellphones at Mass? Just switch them off Every Catholic will know the breath-stopping moment when a cellphone rings during Mass. DyLan aPPoLiS spoke to some priests about their experiences of parishioners with cellphones.

F

OR many priests ringing phones and congregants tapping away on their smartphones can be a distraction during Mass. For one priest, there is a potential upside to the cellphone revolution.

Fr Chris Townsend of Christ the King parish in Queenswood, Pretoria, advocates the use of cellphones during Mass—but only under two conditions: the purpose must be for social media, and it must be for the parish community.

“I don’t mind people using their cellphones during Mass if it is to tweet about what’s happening in our parish or posting our sermons online so people who missed church can read it. Then I am all for it,” said Fr Townsend, a former communications officer at the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Bishop José Luis Ponce de León of Manzini and Ingwavuma is an enthusiastic user of social media on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and so on. He often posts photos of liturgical functions. But there are lines which should not be crossed.

“The people in my parish are disciplined already. We had a talk with them before and nobody uses their cellphones during Mass. They prefer to focus on the Mass and listen to the sermon given,” he said.

Fr Hormisdas Kasule of All Saints parish in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, told The Southern Cross that churches should be a place where people go to pray, reflect and be attentive to the service—not to manage their social life.

“Texting during any service in church is not appropriate. It is distracting to those around you, and it says that your phone communication is more important than what is going on during Mass,” Fr Kasule said.

The priest keeps reminding people before every Mass to switch off their phones or leave them at home.

“I remind them every time that we are in a place of worship and that we should respect that,” Fr Kasule said.

“I have spotted teenagers and young adults texting at Mass, but I haven’t confronted anyone. Texting only distracts me if I notice it, but I still wish it didn’t happen at all,” he said.

a cellphone is being used inside a Catholic chapel. With cellphones everywhere—at family meals, in the classroom and at sporting events—it is no surprise they are at church, too. (Photo: Tyler orsburn/CnS) should be disciplined when attending church.

“I have experienced people using their phones during Mass. It happens all the time, especially at weddings and funerals, and I have asked [congregants] countless times to switch their phones off. I would like everybody to rather leave their phones at home and focus on the sermon during Mass,” he said.

He added: “We should not have to announce it or place notices on our bulletin boards—people should know better.”

Fr Sanil Michael of St Francis of Assisi parish in Eastwood, Pietermaritzburg, believes that Mass is the time one spends with God—and only him. To that end, his parish has developed a system of deterrence to discourage the use of cellphones during its services.

“We give fines of R25 to anybody who uses their phone during Mass. This is the system we have in place at the moment. The people who are caught pay, and the money goes into the collection,” Fr Michael said “I would say it has made a change, because people don’t use their phone that often ever since we introduced this system. They are more disciplined now,” he said.

He has not felt personally affected by the use of cellphones by parishioners.

“Cellphones are not always a distraction for me personally; it all depends on what ringtone they have, because some of them don’t take my mind off my sermon,” Fr Michael said. And he knows that sometimes cellphones just have to be answered.

“I understand that we have a lot of business men and women in our parish and I don’t feel disrespected if they need to answer their phone—but the screen addicts should know that this is a place of

‘The screen addicts should know that church is a place of God.’

S

ome parishes place notices on their bulletin boards to remind congregants to silence or switch off their cellphones. Lectors might also make announcements to that effect before liturgies, reminding parishioners that they are in a place of worship.

Fr Brian Southward of St Dominic’s in Hillcrest, Durban archdiocese, feels strongly that people

God and that Mass is not the time to communicate with friends,” he said.

D

urban’s Fr Southward shares the sentiment. Cellphones, he said, have become people’s everyday lifeline. Without them they feel lost, and that’s why many people always keep them close. And that is not dictated by age.

“In my parish you would expect the younger generation to be more on their cellphones, but in this case it’s the older people who get

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distracted by their cellphones,” Fr Southward said.

Cellphone use also disturbs fellow parishioners.

Juanita Barnes from St Anthony’s church in Boksburg believes it is unacceptable to bring cellphones to church, saying that they should be forgotten until Mass ends.

“The Mass should stop until all congregants switch their cellphones off,” she suggested.

“People should have a little more sense when it comes to their

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cellphones. They forget why they’re [in church]. It’s only an hour of their life,” she said.

Her parish priest, Fr Gerry O’Riley, concurred, saying that people should be less obsessive about their cellphones and more conscious of God. Fellow parishioner Jaclyn Erasmus said most people complain that young people are on their cellphones all the time, “yet all the distractions that I’ve experienced during Mass have come from the older generation, who forget to put their phone on silent, or even answer their phones to let the person know that they are in Mass”.

She has used her phone once during Mass—“but only to download an app that has the readings for each day. I followed the readings on my phone, while the first, second reading and the gospel was being read. But I ensured that my phone was on flight mode so that it would not cause a distraction if I received any messages during that time,” she said.

She used the app only once, “even though it was really good to use technology in that way”, she said. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to start that trend as there would be no method of determining whether people are using their phones for Mass, or for personal reasons, such as playing games,” she said.

The possibility of using smartphones as missals, which seems a legitimate use of smartphones during Mass, can still pose a dilemma.

“We understand that some people use their tablets or smartphones to follow the readings,” said Pretoria’s Fr Townsend.

“At the same time, people have to be conscious that they’re in church to pray with a community, and to try and put the distractions away.”

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10

The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

PILGRIMAGE

Mary’s first apparition and a miracle In October a group of Southern Cross pilgrims, led

by Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen, returned from a pilgrimage to Portugal,Spain and France. In the third of four articles, GünTHer SimmermaCHer looks at the Mother Church of Spain and a Eucharistic miracle in Portugal.

T

HE story of the Church is rooted in the supernatural. At the very basis of our faith is the notion that a man rose, against all laws of nature, from the dead.

Likewise, the story of many churches, especially in Europe, is predicated on the implausible. Unlike the resurrection of Christ, the Christian is not required to believe in every or any miracle, so the question of how close a relationship a miracle has with reality, and how much it is the stuff of fable to drive home a point, is in the eye of the beholder.

The thing about approved miracles is that they are, by definition, inexplicable, and therefore very difficult to refute. So it is with the Eucharistic Miracle of Santarém.

Santarém is a town in northern Portugal, not far from Fatima. It has a long history—the area has been inhabited since pre-historic times. In the 8th century it fell under Muslim control and re-

The interior of the church of the eucharistic miracle in Santarém, Portugal, with parts of the 12th-century church in which the miracle took place. right: Bishop João rodrigues celebrates mass in St anthony of Padua chapel in Zaragoza’s our Lady of the Pillar cathedral, which stands on the site of the first reported marian apparition and is regarded as the mother church of Hispanic people. (Photos: Günther Simmermacher) mained so until 1147 when the Christians conquered it. The conquest of the city and Lisbon soon after were decisive in the campaign to reclaim Portugal from the Moors.

Pedro Álvares Cabral, the man who “discovered” Brazil, is Santarém’s most notable citizen. But for Catholics, the city’s most important person might be an unnamed woman whose desperation drove her to an act of sacrilege.

The year was 1247. A woman, the story goes, had done all she could to stop her straying husband

from cheating on her, but nothing worked. In her desperation, she turned to a sorceress who promised to fix this sad situation. Her price: a consecrated host.

The woman went to Mass in the local church of St Stephen and received the host on the tongue.

Quickly she removed it and put it into her pocket. As she turned to leave the church, blood seeped from her garment. The woman ran home and threw the bleeding host into a trunk.

That night, after her adulterous husband had returned home to

sleep in the marital bed, the couple suddenly saw a bright light emerging from the trunk. The woman confessed to her husband what she had done. Conscious of the miracle before them, the couple knelt down in repentant prayer.

The next day the priest arrived, retrieved the host and returned it to St Stephen’s church. There it bled for another three days before it was placed in a beeswax reliquary.

The miracle soon attracted wide veneration, but the story doesn’t end there. Sixteen years later a priest—possibly the same one—discovered that the wax container had been shattered and the host was enclosed in a crystal pyx.

The Church authorities approved both Eucharistic miracles, which have attracted many devotees since, including St Francis Xavier, who visited the renamed church of the Holy Miracle in 1541 before leaving for India.

The old church of St Stephen doesn’t exist anymore, but the 16th century Igreja do Santissimo Milagre, which replaced it, incorporates a portion of its arches, on which the now faded decorations can still be seen.

Of course the miraculous host is preserved in a reliquary, which the very devoted and helpful volunteers at the church were keen to show us.

The host, and the still liquid blood, was subjected to scientific review in 1997. No rational explanation could be found for it.

The miracle of Santarém is widely regarded as the second-famous Eucharistic miracle, after that of Lanciano in Italy, which the Southern Cross pilgrimage with Archbishop Stephen Brislin visited in May.

A

different kind of miracle, one that goes back to the earliest days of the Christianity, is set in Zaragoza, Spain.

In brief, the apostle James the Greater, brother of John, had been dispatched to Roman-occupied Spain to bring the Good News to that region. James—or Santiago, as the Spanish call him—found unfertile ground in his mission.

Then, on the second day of the year 40 AD, as he stood on the banks of the Ebro river in Caesaraugusta (as the Romans called Zaragoza), the Blessed Virgin appeared to him upon on a pillar of jasper and instructed him to use it to build a church, telling the apostle: “This place is to be my house, and this image and column shall be the title and altar of the temple that you shall build.”

He did as he was told, and the Good News spread throughout Iberia. At the spot on which St James built that first church now is the basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, whom St John Paul II described as “the mother of the Hispanic peoples”.

The reputed column is still venerated in the 17th century church.

It is topped by a 15th-century statue of Mary, whose vestments, donated by Hispanic Catholics from around the world, are changed every day. Pilgrims can touch a small section of the pillar through the back of the chapel in which it is kept.

How much of that story is anchored in fact is difficult to determine. We know that St James was executed in Jerusalem, as the city’s bishop, within four years of the apparition. But we also know that the apostles went into different regions to evangelise; the absence of St James from the Acts of the Apostles might be due to his missionary absence in a remote territory.

Christianity was officially brought to Spain in the fourth century by the Visigoths who doubtless encountered some believers there already. St James is regarded as the patron saint of Spain, and his body, according to legend, is buried in Santiago de Compostela, destination of the famous Camino.

How it got there nobody knows.

Pious legend has angels relocating his executed body to Spain; other stories ascribe the transfer from Jerusalem to Compostela to faithful disciples who presumably could stand the idea of lugging a rapidly decomposing body over 5 000km.

Devotees of Nuestra Señora del Pilar hold that this is not only the very first Marian apparition, but the only one during her lifetime.

This idea is based on an investigation by the Holy See in 1723.

But Mary might have been assumed unto heaven by the time she is said to have appeared to St James.

The ancient Transitus Mariae suggests that Mary was no older than 50 when she closed her eyes for the last time. By that calculation, if one presumes that Mary was about 13 when she gave birth to Jesus, and that Jesus was born around 4 BC, then the Blessed Virgin was born around 17 BC. If she was indeed 50 years old when she passed on, then that might have been in the year 33, soon after the crucifixion of her Son. Whatever the integrity of the story of the first Marian apparition, it has left us with a magnificent church, decorated with paintings

by Goya, on the banks of the Ebro.

Our group was privileged to have Mass in the church’s St Anthony of Padua chapel: a special Mass at the birthplace of the Church in Iberia.

And the basilica of St Anthony’s tomb in Padua, which The Southern Cross’ “Saints of Italy” pilgrimage will visit next September, has a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Pillar.

After our Mass in the mother church of Catholicism in the Iberian peninsula we left Spain and crossed the Pyrénées into France.

NEXT WEEK: The Catholic spirit of Paris.

CLASSIFIEDS

Tribute to tireless lay missionary

By LUnGie GoDUKa

‘E

VERYONE should be able to experience the joy of being loved by God! The joy of salvation! This is a gift that one cannot keep to oneself but one to be shared! If we want to keep this joy only to ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians,” warns Pope Francis.

The missionary task of broadening the boundaries of faith therefore belongs to every baptised person and all Christian communities. This was the work that Tata Dennis Ndaba Mhlungu was committed to doing as a lay minister during his lifetime, which came to an end with his death in late September.

Realising the shortage of priests in many rural communities around Mthatha diocese, he was determined to go out to share and spread faith.

To “go out and share, go out and confront the world, not simply sit in the pews”, as Pope Francis has asked, was the quintessential moral and spiritual principle that Tata Mhlungu embodied and personified in word and action Fr Mbulelo Qumntu, administrator at All Saints cathedral in Mthatha, said: “To me Tata Mhlungu was not just an ordinary parishioner, but was the essence of what it is to be an active and conscious member of the Catholic Church. He took the pastoral agenda of the Church as his personal mission. He reignited the flame of faith in those who had lost hope. He became a champion to broaden a deeper understanding of the teachings of Small Christian Communities (SCC) and encouraged members to create prayerful neighbourhoods.”

Fr Qumntu said that this missionary work “was partly influ-

Tata Dennis ndaba mhlungu enced by the beautiful marital relationship he had with his wife”, Ntsikie.

Tata Mhlungu’s distinguished missionary work culminated in the Bene Merenti medal which he received from Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

P

arishioner Tshawe Dumalisile remembers being introduced to the man he has known from the first meeting as Ndaba ka Ndaba.

“I was introduced to Ndaba ka Ndaba by my wife Mantu. I was not a member of the Catholic Church at that time. But through Ndaba ka Ndaba’s soft and powerful voice I went through the Catholic rituals of becoming a confirmed member. Today, I am a proud member of the Catholic Men’s Union,” Mr Dumalisile said.

“Around Easter, Christmas and other special occasions, I accompanied him to parishes with limited visits from priests in the remote areas around Mthatha diocese, to teach members to read and reflect on the scriptures. As a leader of our St Paul’s SCC, he was instrumental to our spiritual growth through the Word.”

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Community Calendar To place your event, call Mary Leveson at 021 465 5007 or e-mail m.leveson@scross.co.za (publication subject to space)

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Padre Pio: Holy Hour 15:30 every 3rd Sunday of the month at Holy redeemer parish in Bergvliet.

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Boniswa Metu recalled meeting the Mhlungu family at Ngcwanguba church, a sub-parish of Elliotdale mission.

“I was a young girl at the time I met Mama and Tata Mhlungu.

They were the embodiment of what it is to be undiluted Christians and true spiritual leaders,” she said.

“On days when there was no priest to conduct Holy Mass, Tata followed the order of Mass to an extent that the feeling of the absence of a priest was minimised,” Ms Metu recalled.

“Together with Fr Peter Grant and former Fr Nogonyothi, they built Ngcwanguba sub-parish from scratch. Mama and Tata poured resources in a very humble and selfless manner. Through Tata’s leadership and financial support, the youth at Ngcwanguba became highly involved in the Chiro Movement. On Sunday afternoons Tata encouraged us to visit the sick and poor in our areas, so we can make Christ known and celebrated through our active participation.”

Professor DS Koyana recounts a warm friendship he shared with the Mhlungu family. “In our everyday business or social interactions, Denny (Dennis) proved to be a very straightforward, honest, generous and God-loving person. He fully embraced the strong ethics of hard work rooted in the following Biblical saying: ‘By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat’ (Gen 3:19).”

He said he was impressed with the bravery Mr Mhlungu showed during his final illness. “He often said: ‘Through pain I am experiencing closeness to God. Being alone also gives me an opportunity to have a one on one conversation with God. I do not fear death and will be ready when the Lord comes to take me home.’”

Word of the Week

The Southern Cross, november 12 to november 18, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS

Births • First Communion • Confirmation • engagement/marriage • Wedding anniversary • ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • in memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • accommodation • Holiday accommodation • Personal • Services • employment • Property • others Please include payment (R1,37 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

IN MEMORIAM

CLOETE—Samuel. in memory of my husband, our father and grandfather Samuel who left us november 20, 1991. you are always in our prayers and thoughts. Lovingly remembered by your wife Catherine, children agnes and martin, Bernadette and Keith. Gregory and Carol, grandchildren Leon, Celeste, Lyle, Grant and mandy. may his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

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.

Connie.

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. rC.

Aspergillum: A vessel or device used for sprinkling holy water. The ordinary type is a metallic rod with a bulbous tip which absorbs the water and discharges it at the motion of the user's hand.

mother conceived me. you desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and i shall be clean; wash me, and i shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, o God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Psalm 51

HAVE mercy on me, o God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For i know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. against you, you alone, have i sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. indeed, i was born guilty, a sinner when my

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HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

O MOST beautiful flower of mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed mother of the Son of God, immaculate virgin, assist me in my necessity. o Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my mother, o Holy mary mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, i humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to secure me in my necessity. There are none who can withstand your power, o show me that you are my mother. o mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. amen. Prayer courtesy of the USCCB..

Liturgical Calendar Year A Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday, November 16, 33rd Sunday Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31, Psalm 128:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, Matthew 25:14-30 or 25:14-15, 19-21 Monday, November 17, St Elizabeth of Hungary Sirach 26:1-3, 15-18, 24 or 1 Timothy 5:3-10, Psalm 31:4-5, 8-9, 20, 24-25, Matthew 25:3140 Tuesday, November 18, Dedication of the Basilica of Ss Peter and Paul Acts 28:11-16, 30-31, Psalm 98:1-6, Matthew 14:22-33 Wednesday, November 19 Revelation 4:1-11, Psalm 150:1-6, Luke 19:1128 Thursday, November 20 Revelation 5:1-10, Psalm 149:1-6, 9, Luke 19:41-44 Friday, November 21, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Zechariah 2:14-17, Luke 1:46-55, Matthew 12:46-50 Saturday, November 22, St Cecilia Revelation 11:4-12, Psalm 144:1-2, 9-10, Luke 20:27-40 Sunday, November 23, Christ the King Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17, Psalm 23:1-3, 5-6, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Matthew 25:31-46

11

THANkS be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, For all the benefits thou hast won for me, For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. o most merciful redeemer, Friend, and Brother, may i know thee more clearly, Love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, For ever and ever.

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Christ the King: November 23 Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17, Psalm 23:1-3, 5-6, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Matthew 25:31-46

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EXT Sunday the Church’s year comes to its end with the feast of Christ the King.

It is entirely appropriate, of course, to call Jesus our “king”, but we have to understand this term carefully, and the main way in which the readings for next Sunday present the idea is in terms of “shepherding”.

The first reading comes from Ezekiel’s explosive attack on Israel’s religious and political leaders, who have failed to be “shepherds” to God’s people. So he allows us to hear God’s plan, starting with the powerful formula “Thus says the Lord: behold, I am going to...”; and what God is “going to” is “seek for my flock, and look out for them”.

He gives the example of a “shepherd”, who goes searching when the sheep have been “scattered, on a day of thick cloud and darkness”. So it is no political or religious leader, but God himself who will “shepherd the sheep”, again with a prophetic formula, to make us take it seriously: “oracle of the Lord”.

And this is a shepherd who is precisely looking for the marginalised: “the lost…the strayed…the crippled…the weak”. That does not mean that we can be complacent, however, for the prophet also warns (with yet another

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Christ our King as shepherd Fr Nicholas King SJ

Sunday reflections

prophetic formula) of a judgment coming upon the sheep: “I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and she-goats.”

The psalm is (almost inevitably) that loveliest of all psalms, in which we sing that “the Lord is my shepherd”, and make the claim that “I shall not lack”, and meditate on the “green pastures…still waters…and paths of righteousness” that will in consequence be our lot. This confidence in God as shepherd is a good way to end the liturgical year, even if we should “walk in the valley of the shadow of death”.

The second reading has a different way of reflecting on the kingship of Christ. Here it is the Resurrection that gets prime focus; it is described as “first fruits of the dead”, and the

point that Paul is making to his rather reluctant Corinthians is that Jesus’ resurrection means that all is well.

What Adam got wrong, Jesus has put right, and then the end will come, “when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father…for he must be King until he places all his enemies beneath his feet”. And the last enemy, of course, is Death, and the final upshot of Jesus’ kingship is that “God will be all in all”.

The gospel for next Sunday reverts to the idea of “shepherd”; on this occasion it is Jesus who is the shepherd, but he is a shepherd who is rather grandly enthroned “in glory, all his angels with him”.

So it is a demonstration of power; however, this “King” has some surprises in store: for one thing, “all the nations shall be gathered before him”. Then he will perform the action that you can still see at the end of each day in the Judean desert, of separating sheep from goats.

Here, however, it is a metaphor for what is expected of the disciples of the “King” whom we are invited to celebrate next Sunday.

For if we are to be servants of this particular monarch, it turns out that we are not, after all, going to be clad in grand livery and drive

Call to pick up your cross now A

MONG Jesus’ many teachings we find this, rather harsh-sounding, invitation: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Lk 9:23-24).

I suspect that each of us has a gut-sense of what this means and what it will cost us, but I suspect too that many of us misunderstand what Jesus is asking here and struggle unhealthily with this invitation.

What, concretely, does Jesus mean by this?

To answer that, I would like to lean on some insights offered by Fr James Martin SJ in his latest book Jesus, A Pilgrimage. He suggests that taking up our cross daily and giving up life in order to find deeper life means six interpenetrating things: • First, it means accepting that suffering is a part of our lives. Accepting our cross and giving up our lives means that, at some point, we have to make peace with the unalterable fact that frustration, disappointment, pain, misfortune, illness, unfairness, sadness, and death are a part of our lives and they must ultimately be accepted without bitterness.

As long as we nurse the notion that pain is something we need not accept, we will habitually find ourselves bitter—bitter for not having accepted the cross.

• Second, taking up our cross and giving up our lives means that we may not,

Conrad

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final reflection

in our suffering, pass on any bitterness to those around us.

We have a strong inclination, almost as part of our natural instincts, to make others suffer when we are suffering: If I’m unhappy, I will make sure that others around me are unhappy too!

This does not mean, as Fr Martin points out, that we cannot share our pain with others.

But there’s a healthy way of doing this, where our sharing leaves others free, as opposed to an unhealthy kind of sharing which subtly tries to make others unhappy because we are unhappy.

There’s a difference between healthily groaning under the weight of our pain and unhealthily whining in self-pity and bitterness under that weight.

The cross gives us permission to do the former, but not the latter. Jesus groaned under the weight of his cross, but no selfpity, whining or bitterness issued forth from his lips or his beaten body.

• Third, walking in the footsteps of Jesus as he carries his cross means that we must accept some other deaths before our physical death, that we are invited to let some parts of ourselves die.

When Jesus invites us to die in order to find life, he is not, first of all, talking about physical death. If we live in adulthood, there are myriad other deaths that we must undergo before we die physically.

Maturity and Christian discipleship are about perennially naming our deaths, claiming our births, mourning our losses, letting go of what’s died, and receiving new spirit for the new life that we are now living. These are the stages of the paschal mystery, and the stages of growing up.

There are daily deaths.

• Fourth, it means that we must wait for the resurrection, that here in this life all symphonies must remain unfinished.

The book of Proverbs tells us that sometimes in the midst of pain the best we can do is put our mouths to the dust and wait.

Any real understanding of the cross agrees.

So much of life and discipleship is about waiting—waiting in frustration, inside injustice, inside pain, in longing, battling bitterness, as we wait for something or someone to come and change our situation.

We spend about 98% of our lives waiting for fulfilment, in small and big ways.

Jesus’ invitation to us to follow him implies waiting, accepting to live inside an unfinished symphony.

• Fifth, carrying our cross daily means accepting that God’s gift to us is often not what we expect.

God always answers our prayers, but often by giving us what we really need rather than what we think we need.

The Resurrection, says Fr Martin, does not come when we expect it and rarely fits our notion of how a resurrection should happen. To carry your cross is to be open to surprise.

• Finally, taking up your cross and being willing to give up your life means living in a faith that believes that nothing is impossible for God. As Fr Martin puts it, this means accepting that God is greater than the human imagination.

Indeed, whenever we succumb to the notion that God cannot offer us a way out of our pain into some kind of newness, it’s precisely because we have reduced God to the size of our own limited imagination.

It’s possible to accept our cross, to live in trust, and to not grow bitter inside pain only if we believe in possibilities beyond what we can imagine, namely, if we believe in the Resurrection.

We can take up our cross when we begin to believe in the Resurrection.

around in Rolls Royces. Instead, this King demands of us that we are to give him food and drink and clothing and visit when he is sick or in prison (“in prison?”, we gasp). How on earth are we to do that? Well, it seems that each time we perform any of these charitable actions for anyone at all (“the most insignificant of my brothers and sisters”), we are doing it for Jesus.

As in the first reading, the “shepherd” is a “King” now, and the highest possible standards are in consequence demanded. Above all we do not wish to hear from our King those terrible words that “I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a foreigner, and you failed to gather me in; I had no clothes, and you did not give me anything to wear; I was sick and in prison, and you never visited me”.

Our King is one who can reasonably demand only the best of us; but we may be taken by surprise when we learn what that implies.

Let us end our year with generous service to those whom God most loves; that way we shall indeed be worshipping Jesus as King.

Southern Crossword #628

ACROSS 1. Impartial judge will do it to himself (6) 4. Red Bob had his property stolen (6) 9. God made human beings like this (4,3,6) 10. Sequin can snap leg (7) 11. Fired for eating an egg (5) 12. The whole amount (5) 14. Confess and let in (5) 18. Job amateurishly conceals the leader (5) 19. Establish the monk’s place in the choir (7) 21. What the dove got flying over the ark (1,5,3,4) 22. Are they fired in church?

(6) 23. Simon’s occupation (Ac 9) (6)

DOWN 1. Lacking due care about the spinster (6) 2. Local abortion involved joint activity (13) 3. Not very formal speech (5) 5. Having put too much on the table (7) 6. A fiction I beat about approaching sainthood (13) 7. Fears writhing adders (6) 8. Milk dispenser (5) 13. The angel’s Hebrew name (Rev 9) (7) 15. Patterns of little tiles from the Old Law (6) 16. Make a comparison (5) 17. Grass withers but this fades (Is 40) (6) 20. Queen from this place called on Solomon (1 Kg 10) (5) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

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SUNDAY school teacher was talking to her class about the difference between right and wrong.

“For example,” she said, “if I were to put my hand into a man's pocket and take his wallet with all his money, what would I be?”

A little boy smiled, raised his hand, and confidently blurted out: “You’d be his wife!”

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