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SPECIAL 28-PAGE CHRISTMAS EDITION SA Catholics on memorable Christmases Pages 2-3

50-question Christmas quiz

Page 28

Interview with singer Daniel Baron

Page 17

The Christmas truce of World War I Page 6

ROUND-UP: This was the year 2014 Stained glass window depicting the Nativity in St Gatien cathedral in Tours, France (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

Pages 14-15

The story of ‘Joy To The World’ carol

Page 4

How priests, nuns spend Christmas

Page 5

Face to face with three refugees

Page 19

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The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS

Our most memorable Christmases Everybody has at least one special Christmas which sticks in the memory forever. DYLAN APPLOLIS asked South African Catholics about their most memorable Christmas.

Bishop Joe Sandri of Witbank Christmas 1973 was my first in South Africa. I was accustomed to cold and snow at Christmas time in Italy and in the USA where I did my theological studies.

That Christmas I was invited for the Christmas vigil at Waterval parish in the Bushbuckridge area near the Kruger Park.

It was very hot when I arrived at the small church at 8:00pm.

Around a hundred people were waiting for me and I was welcomed by joyful singing and dancing, mostly by women, youth, children and a few men. They were VaTsonga people and I could barely understand them, since I was just beginning to learn their language.

The only light was candlelight and for the readings I used a torch.

I became unaware of time. They performed a very simple drama about Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus, with a little baby that must have been born a month before.

Afterwards I realised that the Mass lasted three hours: people were singing, dancing, praying.

We finished with a good meal at the rising of the sun. When I said goodbye to the people, who were still singing and dancing. I felt so happy. Jesus had come to my heart and into my life as never before. I was a priest and a missionary.

I thought I was bringing Jesus to the people. They brought Jesus to me. That Christmas I fell in love with the VaTsonga and with all the people of South Africa.

Sr Anne Margaret Craig PSN, Nazareth House, Jhb I was born on Christmas Day, so I suppose that would have been my most memorable one, if only I could remember it!

But perhaps one that really stands out is the following: Twelve years ago in Cape Town, I received an urgent call from the Child Protection Centre early on Christmas morning just after breakfast. A baby boy had been born a few hours earlier at 4:00am in a local maternity unit and the mother had completely disappeared, leaving a false name and address.

We were asked to admit him to Nazareth House, and after the special Christmas morning Mass, the police arrived with baby “Noel” who was greeted very lovingly and curiously by the other children. One of the young boys asked why Jesus had changed his name, and why didn’t he have hair like the Jesus in the crib.

Noel was a real Christmas gift to us that day, and a few months later, after fruitless searches for his birth mother, he became a very special gift to his new adoptive parents. Each Christmas Day I remember him specially and pray for him.

Sr Winifred Mosololi OSF, Bloemfontein Christmas of 2009, because I had serious health problems that year and I almost thought I would not make it. After two big operations—brain and lung—I went to Cape Town to my cousin Madichaba, with my mother and other family members, to celebrate together.

What I enjoy most is the fact that

I belong to a very small family but that year the family was big as it included nephews, nieces, grannies and so on, and different cultures— and Madichaba’s daughter was only three weeks old. She was also baptised on that Christmas Day. It was such a great joy to the whole family and me too.

It was a consolation also because a couple of years before we were all sad when God took our only boy on Christmas Day. He was turning 21 and he drowned and died on his birthday.

Sr Victoria Sibisi FCSCJ, Education For Life

ols. The family gathering for Christmas lunch. Christmas is about God becoming human in a family and thereby making all families holy.

This is such an important truth that we have to be reminded of it every year.

Deacon Gerald Sobotker, Matroosfontein, Cape Town In our family, we have our Christmas in the German tradition on Christmas Eve. That year we also had dear friends join us for our Christmas Eve dinner. They loved it so much that they instituted our German tradition in their family.

And 1998 was the first Christmas which our son, Michael, properly experienced, having just turned four. Family and friends really make a Christmas memorable.

Rochelle Davids, principal: St Theresa’s Primary

It was December 24, 1989, after my first profession in religious life, and I was hoping to spend a Christmas holiday with my family. I had stayed for two years at the formation house without visiting my family. I love my family like everybody does. But I couldn’t make it that time. I was told to leave on December 25 to go and stay with other sisters whose convent was far away from home.

That Christmas I experienced the pain of starting new life with new sisters. The experience of being in the new mission. I was totally lost during Christmas because I needed to adjust myself to another language and customs. Meeting new people, I was dreaming all the time. I did not enjoy that Christmas and I will never forget that drama.

Günther Simmermacher, Southern Cross editor

My most memorable Christmas was on December 1, 1964, the day my first daughter was born. It was special to me because I got to celebrate my daughter’s first Christmas with her before she was even a month old.

Louise Beckett, coordinator Little Eden, Johannesburg

My most memorable Christmas moment was last year, when I attended Holy Mass at St John Neumann parish in New Jersey with my sister.

It started snowing outside, the pavement was lined with candles and the choir sang “O Holy Night”.

Bishop Frank de Gouveia of Oudtshoorn Memories of Christmas for me are all associated with family: setting up the Christmas tree and the family going to church and singing Christmas car-

2013: my husband proposed to me a few days before Christmas, which made it even more special, and it was my last Christmas at home with my parents, and it was all very exciting.

Gushwell Brooks, radio personality and columnist Last year Christmas, because it was my first Christmas that I was married to my wife, we moved into a new apartment and we had both our families celebrating Christmas together.

One Christmas that stands out in particular is that of 1998. My younger brother came from Germany to spend it with us; it was the first Christmas we had together in eight years, since he had left South Africa. It’s also the last one so far we’ve had together.

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Visit our Christmas archives www.scross.co.za/category/christmas

CHRISTMAS Mgr Barney McAleer, SACBC Department of Evangelisation I have to go way back to childhood for that. As one gets older Christmas loses some of its surprise and joy. For parents the great moment is the look on the faces of the children when they wake up to see what Santa left behind.

I was about five and came down to the kitchen on Christmas morning and discovered a pedal car. My father was a carpenter and must have spent hours making it when I wasn’t around.

I ran upstairs and got him out of bed to come and see it. As he showed all the surprise in the world I ran over his toe and I can still see the look of pain and shock as he tried to let on it was okay, but he was hobbling around all Christmas Day.

Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley In the 1960s I lived in a small town called Alex in Johannesburg. I remember the best thing about Christmas was when my mother bought me tight-fitted jeans, so I could fit in with the fashion trend at the time.

Raymond Perrier (left), Southern Cross columnist My most mem o r a b l e Christmas was when I was at a refugee camp in Northern U g a n d a , where the weather was extremely hot.

We had no elaborate food to eat and nothing to drink, but yet the wonderful people still wanted to celebrate Mass. We had 33 Christmas Masses over sixteen days.

Fr KizitoGugah, Malmesbury In 2010 I was working in Khayelitsha’s Our Lady Queen of Africa parish. I had my family—my mom, sister, brother, nephews and niece visiting me and we had a combined Christmas with some children from a poorer family in Mfuleni township.

Deacon Des Eyden, Durbanville, Cape Town My most memorable Christmas was as a member of the Knights of Da Gama in Pietermaritzburg. We organised a Carols by Candlelight evening, and we invited the children from a local children’s home. To see the delight on their faces as they watched the Nativity play being acted out and then again when they received a Christmas gift is something I will never

forget.

Mahadi Buthelezi, Radio Veritas The most special memory I have of Christmas was when my husband and I hosted a Christmas lunch for my entire family at our home.

Fr Desmond Royappen, Morningside, Durban Christmas is indeed a special time for me. Normally I am very tired from celebrating all the Christmas Masses, so Christmas Day tends to be a day spent with my family and relaxing.

My parents died many years ago so it is normally spent with my sisters, brothers-in-law and my nephews and nieces.

In recent years I have become a great-uncle with four great-nieces and two great-nephews. The oldest is Angelique who is just five years old and the youngest is Alexa, only six months old. However, just watching them fascinated by the lights, eager to open the presents is such a joy.

Each Christmas holds a special memory; in the parish it begins long before Christmas Day with various projects of outreach. We normally have a Christmas party for the senior citizens from an old age home and another for the children from an or-

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The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

phanage. The joy on their faces is always overwhelming. For me the joy of Christmas is to reach out in love and service to others and bring a little joy to the lives of others and hopefully be Christ to them.

Rhonda Qually, CWD project manager My most memorable Christmas was 2003 in Britain. It was the year my eldest daughter was born, so she was less than a year old—but watching her awe at the twinkling lights on the tree was very special.

It also snowed that year and it was the first time that I had experienced a white Christmas. My husband, daughter and I insisted on playing in the bit of snow in our garden, even though it was absolutely freezing! But it created wonderful memories.

Deacon Les Ruhrmund, Rondebosch, Cape Town One of my most memorable Christmases was the first Christmas I spent with my family in London about 20 years ago.

My two children—10 and 12 years old at that time—had not experienced the wonder of winter at Christmas time where many of the Christmas traditions they’d enjoyed in Cape Town made a little more sense: roast turkey, parsnips and steaming hot Christmas pudding.

The lights in the windows of homes and on Christmas trees that sparkled brightly in the dim winter light; holly and mistletoe. The

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Christmas lunch that started at noon and drifted into late afternoon because there was little incentive to go outside into the cold; a light shower of snow after Midnight Mass.

For them it was a time of special joy and wonder and for us it was a rich blessing to be able to share it with them.

Nokuthula Sibiya, Coronationville, Jo’burg 2012: it was the last Christmas we spent with my mom who passed on January 22, 2013 aged 83. We all travelled from far and wide to celebrate Christmas at Mom’s in Pietermaritzburg.

Deacon Weston Barwise, Bothasig, Cape Town My most memorable Christmas was when we were camping in the Cederberg. On Christmas Eve, as a young family we were having a carol service in the dark evening by camp firelight.

Suddenly a huge sunspider, a Solifuge, came running into the circle with “teeth” gnashing! My wife screamed and jumped onto the camp table to escape the spider!

Needless to say the spider finished off our carol service.

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The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS

The story behind ‘Joy to the World’ carol At Christmas we sing “Joy To The World”, an accidental Christmas carol written over two centuries in two continents by two pioneers of Christian hymns. GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at the background to the popular Christmas song.

M

ORE than a century before hip hop artists inaugurated the custom of sampling pieces of music in songs they claimed to be their own, the 19thcentury American composer of hymns Lowell Mason was already perfecting the art—and he was quite upfront about it.

Mason, who wrote the music to about 600 hymns, had a project by which he would attempt to incorporate pieces of music from the great composers of classical music into his own compositions—including his musical score for the nursery rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, which he lifted from Mozart.

He wrote several famous tunes, but none more so than that for the beloved Christmas carol “Joy To The World”, which borrows from George Frideric Handel.

The first four notes that begin the hymn and the “And heaven and nature sing” theme are very similar to passages in Handel’s “Messiah” oratorio from 1742 (The “Lift up your heads” and “Glory to God” choruses and the orchestral opening of the “Comfort ye”).

And at this point it becomes es-

Bishop Vincent Zungu OFM

The three hands in the hymn “Joy To The World” (from left): George Frideric Handel, Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason. sential to issue a caveat: there are some who don’t believe it is so. In fact, the suggestion that Mason lifted from Handel, or how much of it, is the kind of stuff over which some serious musicologists conduct trench warfare.

Whether or not Mason lifted from other composers, as he openly said he did, one cannot accuse him of being the Led Zeppelin of Christian hymns, the sort of composer who misleadingly passes off the music of others as his own.

Indeed, Mason only reluctantly claimed credit for his compositions.

His catalogue of compositions was impressive. One that is almost as famous as “Joy To The World” is the evergreen hymn “Nearer, My God, To Thee”.

That hymn has acquired great fame as the tune the band supposedly played as the Titanic went down. American movies that recre-

ate the sad scene tend to have the band play Mason’s melody. More likely, the band played the English version, titled “Horbury” by John Bacchus Dykes (if they played it at all, but that’s another story).

Born in 1792, Mason was a pioneer in music education in the United States. As a leader in the Independent Presbyterian Church, he was also instrumental in creating the first Sunday school for black children in the US. Mason, who died in 1872, is regarded as the most influential proponent of congregational singing in the United States. And the text of his most famous hymn, “Joy To The World”, was written by one of the most important propagators of congregational singing in England.

T

he British logician and Nonconformist Isaac Watts (1674-1748) didn’t conceive “Joy To The World”, which was first published

in 1719, as a Christmas hymn. In fact, it celebrated the second coming of the triumphal Christ, not the first coming of the naked infant Jesus.

“Joy To The World” formed part of project in which Watts reinterpreted every Psalm in poetry. His most famous creation, and the only one widely remembered— “Joy To The World”—is based on Psalm 98 which announces that “the LORD has made His salvation known...to the nations”.

The collection of Watts’ reinterpreted psalms was published in the awkwardly titled portfolio The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Applied to the Christian State and Worship. This was a big deal in Protestant England in 1719.

Until then English churches had followed the lead of the Reformist John Calvin, who had instituted vernacular translations of the

Bishop-elect Victor Phalana

psalms for congregational singing.

Watts, a Nonconformist by religion and in perspective, held that the psalms—written by Jews for Jews— should be adapted in poetry for the Christian context. In Watts’ words, the psalms were to be “imitated in the language of the New Testament”.

In that way, he introduced to Psalm 98 the mediator of the salvation which the psalm speaks of.

The poem, at first soberly titled “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom”, at some point acquired the compellingly exuberant title “Joy To The World”.

Not everybody agreed with Watts’ approach of introducing Christian poetry to England’s liturgy, but, as we know, his vision prevailed. He ended up writing about 750 hymns. By the time he died at the age of 74 on November 25, 1748, he was widely respected, as a writer of hymns, as a theologian and as a logician. Soon after his death, a monument was erected at Westminster Abbey; many more followed.

He might have been a small man, measuring about 1,52m in height, but he was an intellectual giant of his time. Even as a child he was a prodigy: at age 5 he knew Latin, at 9, Greek, at 11 French, and at 13 Hebrew.

And so every Christmas we sing “Joy To The World”, the hymn that isn’t really a carol, which combines the work of an 18th-century English theologian and a 19th-century American hymn writer, with a dash of notes by a German-born composer. n More biographies of hymns and carols at www.scross.co.za/category/ features/biography-of-hymns/

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

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What nuns and priests do for Christmas Christmas time is traditionally spent with family and friends, but what of those in religious life who may be far from home? STUART GRAHAM found out what our beloved nuns and priests do over Christmas.

F

r Jude Fernando TOR, parish priest of St Anne’s in Mpophomeni, outside Howick in the archdiocese of Durban, is originally from Colombo in Sri Lanka.

He says he oversees a day of appreciation at Christmas time.

“Usually what we do in Mpophomeni is to prepare an “appreciation day”. All people who work at the church prepare gifts and we express our appreciation for what we have,” he says.

The parish also prepares a tree before Fr Fernando names St Anne’s “woman and man of the year”.

The celebrations are usually concluded with a Christmas meal.

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UNS and priests working in South Africa’s villages and towns are used to being away from their families at Christmas time, but there is always one sure way to connect with home: dinner.

Schoenstatt Sister Kathleen Sauren of Cathcart, Queenstown diocese, says before celebrating Mass with her community she will prepare biscuits using a recipe from her native Germany, and make a roast chicken.

“I am usually alone for Christmas, so I will prepare biscuits and then I will roast a chicken, which takes me a number of days to eat,” she says.

Christmas in the area is normally very quiet, says Sr Sauren.

“The farmers from Cathcart will go away with their families. “The others who work much of the year in the Western Cape come back for Christmas, but they celebrate in their homes,” says Sr Sauren.

“We have midnight Mass, but the social activities are more in Kati-Kati, outside of Cathcart,” she says.

Sr Sauren, who has been in

Clergy and religious are often very busy around Christmas with extra services and people in need. (Left) Fr Sebastian Roussouw celebrates Christmas Mass with up to 2 500 people at Regina Mundi parish in Soweto. (Right) The Schoenstatt shrine in Cathcart, Queenstown, is decorated for Christmas by the sisters for midnight Mass.

South Africa for more than 50 years, says there is always a steady stream of visitors who come to Cathcart to visit the Schoenstatt Family’s “Mother Shrine of Africa”, and so there little time for her to be lonely.

The shrine, consecrated in 1949, is the first Schoenstatt shrine to be built on the continent of Africa.

“Many people, especially from the Indian community in Queenstown, come to see the shrine, so I can’t say I am lonely, because there are always people here.”

Sr Sauren says parish priest Fr Thulani Gubula is very popular in the area and his midnight Mass in Kati-Kati is well attended.

“It is Fr Thulani’s second Christ-

mas here after he was ordained in 2012,” she says. “He is very popular among the Xhosa community and the white farmers who love him.”

S

r Lucyna Budny of the Little Servants of Mary Immaculate in Matatiele, Kokstad diocese, who is originally from Poland, says Christmas in her parish is a “multicultural” celebration.

“We have people from Poland, Congo, Ghana and South Africa,” she says. “When we celebrate, we celebrate the customs from each country.”

Matatiele is hot in December and Sr Budny says she often misses the snow in Poland at Christmas time. She is always happy though

when she can prepare something from home for dinner.

“We prepare a Christmas Eve meal with each member welcome to contribute a recipe from home,” she says. “I will make something from Poland; some of the others will contribute things from Africa.

And when we celebrate Midnight Mass, we celebrate it in English,” she says.

“Church is always very full. People come from all over Matatiele.

We have a choir and the atmosphere is very warm.”

On Christmas Day the sisters are back at work, serving their communities. “On Christmas Day, if someone needs our help, we go,” she says.

D

inner with family is also an important part of the Christmas celebrations for Fr Sebastian Roussouw, parish priest of the Regina Mundi parish in Soweto.

“At Regina Mundi we celebrate with one big Mass at 6pm,” says Fr Roussouw. “After Mass we will give out gifts to the little ones, especially the less fortunate.”

This Christmas the parish will have baptisms, “to show that the birth of Christ brings new life”, he says.

Fr Roussouw says up 2 500 people usually pack into the church to celebrate Christmas Mass.

“After Mass the congregants will pose for photographs, but once the formalities are over, I will drive home to Eldorado Park to be with family for Christmas dinner,” he says, adding: “We try to encourage families to get together as Christmas is a day of the family.”

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The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS

The Christmas when the war’s guns fell silent A hundred years ago, in 1914, soldiers on opposing sides of the First World War showed the true spirit of Christmas. Fr MICHAEL AUSTIN SJ explains.

W

ORLD WAR I had been raging for only four months, but it was already proving to be one of the bloodiest wars in history.

Soldiers on both sides were trapped in trenches, exposed to the cold wet weather of northern Europe, covered in mud and ever conscious of the machine gun snipers that threatened them. The Maxim machine gun had proved its worth in war, bringing new meaning to the word “slaughter”.

In a place where bloodshed was commonplace and mud and the enemy were fought with equal vigour, something surprising and unheard of occurred at the front line on Christmas Day 1914: The men who lay shivering in the trenches embraced the Christmas spirit.

In one of the truest acts of “peace to men of goodwill”, soldiers from both sides in the southern portion of the Ypres Salient set aside their weapons and hatred, if only temporarily, and met in No Man’s Land.

Though the German army had made a strong offensive into France, the French, Belgian and British forces were able to halt them—but they could not push them out. So a stalemate ensued with both sides dug into the earth creating a large network of trenches. The incessant winter rain flooded them and turned them into mud pits—a terrible enemy in and of itself.

The trenches of both sides were only a few hundred feet apart, buffered by a relatively flat area known as “No Man’s Land”.

A scene from Joyeux Noël, a 2005 French film about the Christmas truce. Right: German soldiers dress a Christmas tree on the Western Front.

The stalemate had halted all but a scattered number of small attacks.

Thus soldiers on each side spent a large amount of time dealing with the mud and water, keeping their heads down to avoid sniper fire, and watching carefully for any surprise enemy raids on their trench.

Restless and bored in their trenches, covered in mud and eating the same rations every day, some soldiers began to wonder about the unseen enemy, men declared monsters by the propagandists.

“We hated their guts when they shot any of our friends; then we really did dislike them intensely. But otherwise we joked about them and I think they joked about us. And we thought, well, poor so-and-sos, they’re in the same kind of muck as we are,” a British soldier wrote in a letter home.

The ghastly living conditions of the trenches, coupled with the closeness of the enemy who lived in similar conditions, contributed to a growing “live and let live” policy.

Andrew Todd of the Royal Engineers wrote of this in a letter home: “Perhaps it will surprise you to learn that the soldiers in both lines of

trenches have become very pally with each other.

“The trenches are only 60 yards apart at one place, and every morning about breakfast time one of the soldiers raises a board in the air. As soon as the board goes up all firing ceases, and men from either side draw their water and rations. All through this breakfast hour and so long as the board stays up, silence reigns supreme. But when the board comes down the first unlucky devil who shows even so much as a hand gets a bullet through it.”

S

ometimes the men would yell at each other, shouting rude remarks as entertainment. Singing was also a frequent way of communication.

“It was not unusual for little groups of men to gather in the front trench and hold impromptu concerts, singing both patriotic and sentimental songs. The Germans did the same and on calm evenings the songs from one side floated over to the other and were received with applause and even calls for an encore,” a Highlander soldier reported.

After hearing of such fraternisation, the commander of the British

troops, General Smith-Dorrien, reacted with vigorous condemnation of all such behaviour and issued a command to encourage the offensive spirit of the troops.

On December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV suggested a temporary hiatus of the war for the celebration of Christmas. Though Germany readily agreed, the Allies refused.

Families and friends of soldiers on both sides wanted to make their loved one’s Christmas special. They sent parcels with letters, food, cigarettes and warm clothing. But what especially made Christmas on the Western Front seem like Christmas were the troves of small Christmas trees decorated with candles put up on the parapets of the trenches by the German soldiers.

The British soldiers could see the lights but were puzzled at what they could be. Could this be a trick? They were ordered not to fire but to keep a close watch.

Throughout the eve of Christmas singing and merry-making sounds wafted over to the British trenches, including the guttural tones of a German shouting: “A happy Christmas to you English.” A Tommy would re-

ciprocate: “Same to you, Fritz.”

The singing of “The First Noel” would be answered by “O Tannenbaum”. As the Brits sang “O Come All Ye Faithful” the Germans joined in with the carol’s Latin version, “Adeste Fideles”. This was a most extraordinary thing: two nations in opposition both singing the same carol in the middle of war.

This fraternisation on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was in no way officially sanctioned nor organised. In some parts of the line men from each side would meet in the middle, on No Man’s Land.

Unofficial truces were agreed: we won’t fire if you won’t. Some ended the truce at midnight, some stretches of the trench extended it to New Year’s Day. Besides the fraternisation and celebration, another important task was to bury the dead. There were corpses on No Man’s Land that had been there for months. Along with the revelry was the sad and sombre task of burying fallen comrades. In a few rare instances chaplains would conduct joint funeral services.

Many soldiers enjoyed meeting the unseen enemy and were surprised to find how alike they were.

They talked, shared food, showed pictures and exchanged souvenirs.

A unique and extreme example of the prevailing spirit was a football game played in No Man’s Land between the Bedfordshire Regiment and the Germans. A Tommy produced a football and a large group of soldiers joined in the game until the ball was deflated when it hit a barbed wire entanglement.

Much to the dismay of the commanding officers, this unique, unofficial truce lasted for several days.

This amazing display of true Christmas spirit was never again repeated and as World War I continued inexorably with all its horrors of death and destruction, the story of Christmas 1914 on the Western Front became a legend.

Christmas in German trenches T

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HE grandfather of Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher spent three Christmases in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War. Adam Simmermacher fought on the German side of the conflict. In 1932 he wrote his memoirs of the war, which he joined in January 1915.

Günther Simmermacher has translated the memoirs of his grandfather, who died in 1942 while in Gestapo detention, and is publishing them under the title A Soldier For the Kaiser in February 2015.

In these edited excerpts Adam Simmermacher describes his Christmases as a soldier for Kaiser Wilhelm.

1915: We spent Christmas in Le Cateau, north-eastern France, where we stayed in a textile factory.

My brother Philipp was among the lucky few who were granted leave to spend Christmas with their families. As a married man he was given preference in the allocation of leave, even though he had arrived at the front after me, and I thought that this was correct.

Meanwhile I had myself a feast with the parcels from home which were actually intended for both of us. My dear landlady in Darmstadt used to be particularly generous. I received no less than nine parcels from my noble sponsor, among them a cute Christmas tree. Relatives and many families from my village would also lovingly send parcels which were always superb.

I shared these gifts at Christmas with my comrade Ernst Becker, the only lad in our squad who received little from home. This dependable fellow died a hero’s death during the first attack on Verdun.

On Boxing Day we were deloused in a modern institution in Saint-Quentin, and spent the remaining days of 1915 in Flers, building bulwarks.

1916: Christmas we were in position at the Ysercanal, Flanders. That was one bleak Christmas Eve! I was with my comrade Hannes Heyer in a damp concrete trench, groundwater beneath us and rainwater above. Our field stoves wouldn’t burn, and we had bad luck with food provisions.

On guard stood an old, married lance-corporal

who was terribly homesick and continually shot in the air, adding to the general sense of dejection.

During my break at midnight I sat in front of my lit Christmas tree which my noble patron had sent me, as she did every year, when a messenger appeared and asked if I would like to take a course as a mortar gunner. I received orders, along with seven other comrades, to report march-ready to the company commander at 6:00.

So early on Christmas Day we marched to Poelcapelle. We were deloused in a bathhouse in the Houthulster woods. On Boxing Day we marched to Stade, where the commanders of the entire division had assembled, and went by rail to our destination.

1917: We spent Christmas 1917 in our billets, but on Boxing Day we were drilled, in the snow.

As usual, we had our Christmas party on the 23rd. I’ll always remember this one. Our division commander was on leave, and General-Major Fritz von Lossberg deputised.

The general had announced his arrival to coincide with our Christmas party. So there was much excitement: cake was organised, Glühwein made and so on. Of course, the grog was supposed to be kept hot, and the cake put away to keep its nice appearance. Only when the distinguished gentleman entered would we eat, drink and sing, so that he could report with conviction: ‘Our troops are in excellent spirits!’

However, the order to hold back with the eating and drinking did not reach our platoon in the farflung barracks. By the time Lieutenant Schulz came to us to verify that his orders had been duly executed, we had already enjoyed ourselves.

What an eruption ensued! Every swearword Schulz could master, and these were not a few, spewed from his mouth. And as the platoon leader, I was the special recipient of his outburst. But a man like Schulz couldn’t insult me. And so no general came to visit us. They put on the scheduled show for Lossberg elsewhere though. n A Soldier For the Kaiser: A World War I Memoir

by Adam Simmermacher will be available at R130 (plus R35 p&p in SA). Pre-orders can be placed by emailing lupinusbooks@gmail.com

The

S outher n C ross www.scross.co.za

December 17 to December 23, 2014

The editor and staff of The Southern Cross wish all our readers, advertisers, associates, friends and supporters a blessed and joyful Christmas, and a happy, peaceful 2015.

Pope not worried about dissent

BY ELISE HARRIS

I The children of Leratong Catholic crèche in Bethlehem, Free State, performed the annual Nativity Play in Khotsong church, Bohlokong.

Tango flash mob for Pope Francis’ birthday P OPE Francis enjoys the customs of his native Argentina. He drinks mate—an Argentinean tea—he follows football, and likes to listen to tango music.

Consequently, some 7 000 tango dancers decided to perform a flash mob for the pontiff to celebrate his 78th birthday.

Touted on social networks as “the largest milonga [term for a place or an event where tango is danced] in the world”, nearly 9 000 dancers were invited to take part.

The event was being planned for Pope Francis’ birthday on December 17, at 16:00 on Rome’s Risorgimento Square, just steps away from St Peter’s.

Cristina Camaroni, who was organising the flash mob, posted on Facebook that she was very happy with the event.

“We have got all of the permits and we will dance a milonga with the official permission of the city of Rome and the Vatican gendarmerie!” she said.

The flash mob dance is expected to last two hours, and the city will block traffic as the tango dancers give their performance.

About 3 000 of the dancers are expected to take part that same morning in the pope’s Wednesday general audience in St Peter’s Square. They will each be wearing a white handkerchief around their necks.

In the 2010 book-interview, The Jesuit, by

Pope Francis greets people at a general audience in St Peter’s Square this month.

Some 7 000 dancers have planned to perform the biggest tango event ever in Rome on December 17 to mark the birthday of the Argentine pope, who loves tango music.

(Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) Francesca Ambrogetti and Sergio Rubin, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who is now Pope Francis, said: “I like tango very much.

It’s something that comes from inside of me.

My favourite singers are Carlos Gardel, Julio Sosa and Ada Falcón, who later became a [tertiary] nun.”

He has also said that in his youth he used to dance the tango, which once was condemned by the Church for being too erotic.—CNA

n an interview with the Argentinian daily La Nacion, Pope Francis said he is not concerned about some of the resistance he is facing.

“I am not worried. It all seems normal to me; if there were no difference of opinions, that wouldn’t be normal,” the pope told interviewer Elisabetta Piqué.

“Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open—no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”

Pope Francis was responding to the fact that nearly 21 months after he was elected to the papacy, differing opinions are beginning to surface more clearly regarding some of the changes he is implementing.

Facing resistance isn’t something to be afraid of, he said, because “to me, resistance means different points of view, not something dirty”.

Resistance, he said, “is connected to some decisions I may occasionally take, I will concede that. Of course, some decisions are more of the economic type, and others are more pastoral.”

The pontiff also addressed comments suggesting that the “honeymoon is over” due to divisions that surfaced during the Synod on the Family in October. He said that the issue was not so much the pope as it was differing pastoral positions.

This is evident and can be clearly seen by looking at the widespread enthusiasm with which his final speech was accepted, he said.

C

ommenting on a comment by conservative US Cardinal Raymond Burke that the Church is like “a ship without a rudder,” the pope said that “those expressions strike me as odd”.

“I am not aware of anybody using them.

The media quote them,” he said, admitting that “until I can ask the people involved ‘have you said this?’ I will have brotherly doubts.”

The pope also addressed the appointment of Cardinal Burke as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, following his six years serving as prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, a move widely seen as a demotion.

Pope Francis said “we needed a smart American who would know how to get around and I thought of him for that position”.

“I suggested this to him long before the

Southern Cross & Radio Veritas Pilgrimage Phone Gail at 076 352 3809 or 021 551 3923 or e-mail info@fowlertours.co.za fowlertours.co.za

THE SAINTS OF ITALY Led by Fr EMIL BLASER OP

Rome, Assisi, Florence, Padua, Milan, Venice and more

6 - 18 September 2015

Rome WITH PAPAL AUDIENCE | Assisi | Venice | Padua | Florence | Milan | Cascia (St Rita) | Siena (St Catherine) | Norcia (St Benedict) | Birthplace of St John XXIII

synod,” he said, explaining that he wanted the announcement to be made after the synod was over so that the cardinal could participate in the discussions as a curial department head. As chaplain of the Knights of Malta, Cardinal Burke would not have been able to be present.

“He thanked me in very good terms and accepted my offer; I even think he liked it.

Because he is a man that gets around a lot, he does a lot of travelling and would surely be busy there. It is therefore not true that I removed him because of how he had behaved in the synod.”

Speaking about the continuing reform of the Roman curia, Pope Francis said that it is a slow process. “We’re tackling it little by little.”

Pope Francis referred to the restructuring of the Institute for Religious Works, also called the Vatican Bank. He said that it is “operating beautifully” and that they did “quite a good job there”.

H

e revealed that at the time he was elected pope in March 2013 he had been planning to retire as archbishop of Buenos Aires. Once he moved to the Vatican he had to start his plans again from scratch, and that everything was new for him.

“From the start I said to myself: ‘Jorge, don’t change, just keep on being yourself, because to change at your age would be to make a fool of yourself.’ That´s why I’ve always kept on doing what I used to do in Buenos Aires. Perhaps even making my old mistakes. But I prefer it like this, to be myself.”

In the wake of many people’s concern regarding his various health scares during his first year as Bishop of Rome, as well as comments that he made on his flight back from South Korea in August about “going to the Father´s house”, the pope said that he’s in a normal condition for his age.

“I do have some aches and pains, and at my age ailments don’t go unnoticed. But I am in God´s hands, up to now I have been able to work steadily.”

Pope Francis also talked about his future travels, revealing that he will not travel to Argentina for the Eucharistic Congress in Tucumán in 2016 because it falls too close to World Youth Day, which is being held in Poland.

However, he did reveal that he plans to visit three other Latin American countries in 2015, which he declined to name, as well as a trip to Africa.—CNA

8

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

LOCAL

Bloem farewells veteran priests

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

T

HE cathedral parish of the Sacred Heart in Bloemfontein will be hosting a farewell lunch in honour of two Oblates of Mary Immaculate who are currently working in the cathedral: Frs John Nolan and Leo Roche.

This celebration is also for the 50th anniversary of Fr Roche’s ordination to the priesthood.

Fr Roche was born in Tamore, Waterford, in 1940, became a priest in 1965, and came to the Sacred Heart parish in 1994.

Fr Nolan was born in 1936 in Wexford, joined the Oblates in 1956, and was ordained in 1963.

He served twice at Sacred Heart, from 1981-90 and since 1994.

“With the departure of the two, an era that had lasted a combined 145 years comes to an end,” said Sr Winifred Mosolodi.

“We wish them a very good time and God’s richest blessings wherever they may be; we will definitely miss them,” Sr Mosolodi added.

The lunch will be held in the Donavan Hall on December 21.

Listen in for series of talks

F

OR the Year of Consecrated Life, the Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life (SA) will present a series of talks on Radio Veritas about the different congregations and about religious life in general.

The programmes will start on December 24 at 10:00 with Sr Therese Mathieson from Carmel.

There will be no programme on December but the series will resume on January 7 at 10:00, with Fr Francois Dufour of the Salesians, and run every Wednesday in that time slot.

Radio Veritas broadcasts on 576 AM in Gauteng and on DStv audio channel 870, and is streamed on www.radioveritas.co.za

Fr Petrus Shiya of Our Lady of the Wayside parish in Maryvale, Johannesburg, at the start of the fundraising campaign to send pilgrims to World Youth Day Poland 2016. Three lucky parishioners drew prizes.

Mariannhill musician Fr Lawrence Mota CMM has released a new CD.

Musician priest tracks real issues

T

HE Mariannhill priest who recently released his third CD has thanked “people from all walks of life for the encouraging feedback”.

Fr Lawrence Mota CMM described his third CD, Glory To God, as communicating a “message that is touching the real issues affecting our people today”.

The positive feedback to his CD is encouraging because “it gives us that zeal to bring across the message based on Gospel values, the Gospel values that will continue to challenge any style of life or principles that threaten human life or human dignity,” Fr Mota said.

“We are empowered to see the

public commenting positively on the messages” on the eight-track CD, which includes songs such as “uAbbot Francis Pfanner” on the history of Mariannhill and its founding father, Abbot Francis Pfanner in 1882.

Other tracks deal with social issues such as family life (“Impilo yomndeni”), problems of the youth (“Abantu Abasha”), HIV/Aids (“Isifo Esingelapheki”), abusive behaviour (“Indlela Yobulwane”) and gossip (“Ulimi lomuntu”). n The CD can be ordered at R80 from the Mariannhill Monastery Repository on 031 700 1031 or 031 700 4288.

The Nine First Fridays of Reparation to The Sacred Heart of Jesus Reparation for the outrages and offenses against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and against Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar!

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was officially recognized and approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1765, seventy-five years after the death of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque to whom Christ appeared and revealed His Sacred Heart as a symbol of His love for mankind. In 1794, Pope Pius VI issued a decree approving the devotion and granting indulgences to those who practice it.

On June 11, 1899, in what he referred to as "the great act" of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIII solemnly consecrated all mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Nine First Friday Devotion: The First Friday of each month was

designated by Our Blessed Lord Himself as a day to be consecrated to honouring His Most Sacred Heart. The object of this devotion is to make the Sacred Heart more ardently and more perfectly loved, and to make proper reparation for the outrages, indifference, and neglect against Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

The Great Promise: Is simply one blessing beyond compare, a death in a state of grace, in God’s friendship.(*see the 12th promise below)

“Behold this Heart which has loved mankind so much… and in return, I receive nothing but ingratitude from the greater number through the contempt, the irreverence, the sacrileges and the coldness shown towards Me in the Sacrament of love…”

Just TWO conditions are necessary to fulfill Our Lord’s request: 1. Confession – to ensure one is in a State of Grace.

2. Holy Communion – to receive worthily on nine consecutive First Fridays with the intention of making Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The following First Friday devotions are efficacious in honouring the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: 1. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

2. Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

3. Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Twelve Promises of The Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: 1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. I will be their refuge in life, and especially in death.

5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6. Sinners will find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls will become fervent.

8. Fervent souls will rise speedily to great perfection.

9. I will bless those places where the Image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give Priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names eternally written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.

12.  In the abundant mercy of My Heart, I promise that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they will not die in My displeasure nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their secure refuge in that last hour.

NB*** The Promise is not a substitute for living the Commandments, for carrying out one’s duties in life, from prayer or from the Sacraments.

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

LOCAL

Jesuit call: Christlike attitude to migrants STAFF REPORTER

C

OINCIDING with this month’s World Social Forum on Migration in Johannesburg, the Social Apostolate of the Jesuit Superiors of Africa and Madagascar (Jesam) called on governments to “effectively protect the rights of all persons, especially asylum seekers and refugees, regardless of their migratory or administrative status, specifically focusing on the most vulnerable—women and children”.

With some 232 million migrants worldwide, a threefold increase since 1960, “it is evident that migration is no longer a regional or continental concern but a global phenomenon”, the Jesuits said in a statement.

They noted that “many displaced people seek refuge in South Africa”. Recalling the xenophobic violence in South Africa in 2008, they said that even today, “infrastructure to receive migrants in South Africa today is insufficient, as in many parts of the world, while migratory policies are restrictive”.

Jesam delegates met to share information and experiences, take into account the particular challenges in different areas of Africa and Europe, define priori-

ties, actions and processes, and network so that an effective global response can be made.

“Upon sharing on the various contexts in which the Society of Jesus works, we realise that many migrants face barriers preventing holistic survival in their host communities,” a statement said.

These barriers include restrictive migratory policies, detention, stigmatisation by media and societies, control by smuggling and trafficking networks and exploitation of migrant workers.

‘V

iolence and human rights abuses are pervasive throughout the migrant experience,” the statement noted.

“All people have the right to live, work and realise their full human potential. When this is not possible in their current domicile they have the right to look for better living conditions.

This could mean crossing an international border or migrating internally,” the Jesuits said.

“In addition, we recognise the importance of addressing structural root causes, such as poverty resulting from unfair trade policies, that cause migration.”

They urged all governments and people of goodwill to uphold and/or ratify the International Convention on the Protection of

the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990).

The Jesuits also advocated “integral and inclusive policies, which approach migration not only as a labour issue but also take into account the cultural, social, religious, and political dimensions of migration.”

The Society of Jesus commits itself, among other things, to raising “consciousness on the plight of many displaced people and in so doing combating what Pope Francis has termed the ‘globalisation of indifference’ by replacing fear with a commitment to building a more just and fraternal world”.

To that end it seeks to work with the media to provide accurate information, thereby fighting stigmatisation.

“Catholic Social Teaching holds that all people have the right to migrate so that they can sustain their lives and the lives of their families. Countries have the right to regulate borders and control immigration. This must be done with justice and mercy,” the Jesuits said.

They noted that Jesus himself “was displaced by the socio-political conditions to North Africa,” referring to the flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-23).

Pilgrimage Highlights HOLY LAND: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River and much more...

ROME: Papal Audience, Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Catacombs, Major Basilicas, Ancient and Baroque Rome...

FLORENCE: Dumo cathedral, Church of the Holy Cross with the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo, Renaissance Florence...

TURIN: Reserved viewing of the Shroud of Turin in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, plus sites of Don Bosco: Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians...

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There was great joy on the feast of Christ the King when the children’s associations of Holy Childhood and Soldiers of Christ the King received new members at Mahobe mission in Umzimkulu diocese, KwaZulu-Natal.

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9

10

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

INTERNATIONAL

Christian division stops peace in Holy Land T HE lack of unity among Christians is one of the factors that keeps them from playing a mediatory role in the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, according to the head of the Franciscans in the Middle East.

“Here in the Holy Land, we Christians are irrelevant. There are too few of us. In addition, we are confessionally divided,” Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM, custos of the Holy Land, told Aid to the Church in Need in an interview.

“We can’t even agree on who cleans what in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. How then are we supposed to be a model for unity and reconciliation?” he asked.

This, he said, “is why we cannot be the ones to build the bridge. However, we can of course provide opportunities for encounters. After all, every church has interreligious forums. However, I don’t believe that there is very much else we can do.”

Violence between Israelis and Palestinians was heightened in 2014 relative to recent years.

“We are doubtless far away from peace,” Fr Pizzaballa commented. “I can’t see that there is any possibility of changing the situation in the near future. There is deep-seated frustration and a profound lack of mutual trust between these two peoples.”

Rebuilding trust “will take a long time”, he said. “And there are no easy solutions. What we are seeing at the moment is the result of years of hate and frustration. You have to start in the schools and in society.”

He stressed: “You have to give the Palestinians something concrete and

Pope Francis stops in front of the Israeli security wall in Bethlehem, West Bank, May 25. (Photo: L'Osservatore Romano, CNS) not just promises. And the Israelis also have to feel as if they have a contact person on the other side.”

Fr Pizzaballa said that 2014 “has been a turning point” for Christians in the Middle East: “What World War I was for Europe, this year was for the Middle East. The old orders no longer exist. However, we don’t know yet what the new will look like,” he added.

“In Syria, for example, hundreds of thousands of Christians are fleeing. The middle class is leaving the country. What is left are the poor.

The ecclesiastical infrastructure that we built up in Aleppo and other such regions of the country has been destroyed or abandoned. We are faced

with enormous tasks. We not only have to rebuild the Christian community, but also the relationship with the Muslim majority.”

The advent of the Islamic State has been a “horrendous shock” for Christians in the Holy Land, he said.

“It strengthens the feeling that there is no future for Christians in the Middle East, that they are not wanted here.”

Relations between Christians and Israel are likewise strained. A bill in the Israeli parliament that would strengthen the nation's Jewish character, while it would “not fundamentally change the situation of the minorities, including the Christians”, would “intensify the feelings of reserve that minorities in Israel harbour towards the state. It will make them even more convinced that they are not really wanted here,” Fr Pizzaballa said.

The emigration of Palestinian Christians can be explained both by Israeli occupation and the Islamisation of Palestinian society, the custos noted.

“There is no ‘either or’, only a ‘not only but also’. The one does not exclude the other. From an economic standpoint, life in the Palestinian areas is very difficult. On the other hand, relations with the Islamic community are not the same as they once were. All of that, plus everything else that is going on around us and you get a feeling of hopelessness.”

He added: “Nineteen Christian families have left Bethlehem for Europe and America in the past two, three months.”—CNA

The Pazzi chapel at Santa Croce basilica in Florence is in need of restoration and has now turned to the Internet for help.

Basilica kickstarts funding campaign

T

HE largest Franciscan church in the world needs help. And it has turned to the Internet’s modern-day system of patronage for the arts with Kickstarter.

The basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy—the final resting place of Michelangelo, Niccolo Machiavelli and Galileo Galilei—is hoping to restore the loggia of a major chapel that was designed by Renaissance master Filippo Brunelleschi.

The 15th-century loggia in front of the Pazzi chapel is in urgent need of repair as the sandstone decorations and ceiling have been crumbling and deteriorating over time.

In an effort to drum up the needed funding for restoration, the non-profit Opera di Santa Croce organisation, which is in charge of the Santa Croce complex, has turned to Kickstarter for help (www.kickstarter.com/projects/santacroceopera/re storation-of-pazzi-chapel-loggia-atchurch-of-sa).

The organisation has until December 20 to raise $95 000, the last half of the total money needed after it fundraised from larger donors.

The NGO says it’s not the first time the church has had “crowd funding” for a restoration. According to its Kickstarter page: “In 1860, hundreds people from all across Italy responded to an open call pub-

lished in national newspapers to help build a new façade for the church. The sums pledged ranged from just one lira to 358 168 lira! All of these participants are recorded in the historical archive in leatherbound books.”

Earlier this year a less wellknown church owned by the Franciscans in Rome used Kickstarter to raise the quarter of a million dollars it needed to fix the crumbling cell St Francis of Assisi used to sleep in when he’d come to the Eternal City, as The Southern Cross reported.

The Opera di Santa Croce can be followed on Facebook and Twitter (both santacroceopera), and it is hoping people will help raise awareness about the restoration project on social media with the hashtag #CrazyForPazzi—a cute play on words since “crazy” in Italian is “pazzi”.

Pazzi is the last name of the Renaissance Italian benefactor who commissioned Brunelleschi to build the chapel.—CNS n The itineraries of both Southern Cross pilgrimages in 2015—“The Saints of Italy” with Fr Emil Blaser OP and the “Shroud Pilgrimage” with Archbishop William Slattery OFM to the Holy Land, Rome and Turin—include visits to Florence’s Santa Croce basilica (visit www.scross.co.za for more information).

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

11

Kenya’s Christians ‘living in fear’

BY BRONWEN DACHS

S

INCE Somali militants killed 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in early December, Christians in Kenya “are living in fear, wondering where the next attack will be”, said Bishop Emanuel Barbara of Malindi, Kenya.

There is much “confusion and anxiety” among Christians, he said in an interview.

As Church leaders, “we are telling our people: ‘Be cautious and pay attention to what’s happening around you; but don’t let anger and vengeance grow in your hearts,’” Bishop Barbara said.

At the same time, Kenya’s Catholic bishops are “putting pressure on the government to change the way the security forces deal with this situation”, he said.

Corruption in Kenya’s security forces is a major problem, he said, noting that to prevent further escalation of tensions, the government needs to ensure that its security forces are strong.

“We would like to see our security forces taking the lead and to have a sense that they are in charge,” Bishop Barbara said, noting that most Kenyans now feel “that it’s the Muslim militants who will decide when and where to attack next”.

In an attack near Mandera, in Garissa diocese, which borders Somalia, militants separated the nonMuslims and shot them dead.

Bishop Barbara said it was the latest of many incidents that “make it very clear that fundamentalists are attacking Christians”. A week before this attack, 28 people were killed in an attack on a bus target-

Wilson Kabwoya, Helen Akani, Agnes Khasandi and Margaret Naishorua wait for the bodies of their loved ones to arrive at a mortuary in Nairobi, Kenya. Since Somali militants killed 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in early December, Christians in Keny a “are living in fear, wondering where the next attack will be,” said Bishop Emanuel Barbara of Malindi. (Photo: Dai Kurokawa, EPA, CNS) ing non-Muslims in the same area.

Media reports said al-Shabab, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks, has stepped up its campaign in Kenya since 2011, when Kenya sent troops into Somalia to help battle the militants.

Last year, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack on a Nairobi shopping mall in which 67 people were killed by gunmen.

Br John Mwangi Wambugu, director of Caritas for the ecclesiastical province of Mombasa, said that attendance in churches has waned because of fears of more attacks in places where people are gathered together.

“There is a lot of insecurity and fear among Christians, especially in the coastal regions and northeastern Kenya,” because of their proximity to Somalia as well as the large number of Muslims living in these areas, said Br Wambugu.

Divisions between Christians and Muslims are growing “and people are not as close as they used to be”, Br Wambugu said.

Bishop Barbara said tensions between Muslims and Christians in Kenya “are being created by the fundamentalists” responsible for the attacks on non-Muslims.

“Not trusting your neighbour can lead to aggression,” he said.

The attacks “affect us spiritually as well as materially, with the temptation to give in to hatred and revenge, which threatens our spiritual calling to love and reconciliation”, the bishop said.

Warning against Islamophobia, Br Wambugu said “groups like alShabab will continue to use and exploit such fears to bring about more divisions in the country”.

Among Muslims, there is “fear of retaliation by Christians”, with groups of Christian youths talking “of taking action” in revenge for the attacks, he said.

Both Bishop Barbara and Br Wambugu noted harm to the coun-

The 2014 Vatican Christmas stamp is a joint issue with Pope Francis’ native Argentina. The Nativity scene is from a painting by Argentine artist Raul Soldi (1905-1994).

(Photo courtesy Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office)

try’s economy, as well as to the livelihoods of mostly the poor in affected communities.

After the bus attack, “those who were there have gone back home and won’t return unless they are certain that they will be protected”, the bishop said.

Mandera, where the population is majority Muslim, “will suffer without the services” provided by teachers, doctors and other skilled and unskilled workers from other parts of Kenya who go there to work, Bishop Barbara said.

Muslim leaders need to “speak out loudly and clearly” against the attacks, Bishop Barbara said, noting that “only recently have we heard their condemnation”.—CNS

12

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher Guest Christmas editorial: Pulang Matsaneng

Christmas trek and back

S

OUTH Africa’s migratory culture makes the Christmas season especially vibrant. People plan for the season as early as the beginning of the year; many in the townships taking part in savings clubs.

These clubs differ. There are those in which people buy huge quantities of groceries over the year to share, often before Christmas Day. Other folks save up in clubs to travel to see their loved ones. In at least one club, people save to buy cattle so as to start small farming. This turns the act of saving for Christmas into a “gift” that may have lasting good effect.

This illustrates a point: in many ways the decision to come together, to share gifts, is an act of making a difference— small or large, lasting or transient—in our lives and the world we live in. In lives of scarcity we try to create, if not abundance, then at least a little extra.

When Christ was born we see a different yet similar world, a world of rich and poor.

The beautiful element of the Nativity narrative is the search for him by the Three Kings and the shepherds, and their arrival to pay him homage in total love. The magi offer their treasures to the baby Christ, and the shepherds are emotionally moved, as the kings are: they offer him their love.

Not everyone is pleased, as we see in the gospel of Matthew. The jealous King Herod has his own agenda, one of preserving his interests.

His search is ugly, not to affirm but to kill the child Jesus, even if it means killing innocent children in the process.

This journey he undertakes is for self-interest, in contrast to that of the magi and shepherds.

Set in our society, it also runs contrary to the kind of financial journey of township savings clubs that seek, at their minimum, to connect with others, and at their best to do lasting good.

In the Holy Family we find those who value the gift-econ-

omy, ultimately pondering on how best to share Christ with the world.

Today we are also given the opportunity to see Christ in his birth, one happening in an unforeseen place which at the end allows us to search for him in unlikely places.

For it was God’s promise to the world to give us the child Jesus. How can we at this time of our lives value this gift, as the Three Kings and the shepherds did?

We live in a modern world with many demands which can be beyond us, a world of displaced people, those that go hungry each day, of wars in some countries, and the poor struggling in a world of the rich that seems immune to the rest.

Is there no way that we can balance these needs and crises?

Can something as small as a township savings club offer us an image of a way in which we can use whatever resources we have this season to create a slightly more humane world?

On this continent, as in every Christmas season, we will see the great treks: people travelling far to visit families.

In Zulu people say “ngisehla” meaning “I am going home to visit family”; when they come back, they say “ngisakhuphuka”, which means “I am returning back to my work place”.

By reconnecting and celebrating, perhaps we are trying to emulate the shepherds and magi, coming to see the Christ in our neighbour.

It’s important, too, in this gracious time filled with love, not to forget him who brought this joy to us.

The insight of St Ignatius of Loyola can help us. The power of being led to looking at what makes me a different person in this world is explained by him in this way: “Indifference to all created things is the way to find the will of God and fulfil it.”

Who does not want to fulfil God’s promise in this world?

Aren’t our attempts, using money and travel and gifts, simply a means to this end? n Puleng Matsaneng works for the Jesuit Institute SA in Johannesburg.

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion.

Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

We love our Hurley Sandwich

A

“SANDWICH centre”—what a wonderful analogy! Thank you, Adrian Kettle, for such a rich image (November 26).

By referring to the new almostcompleted Denis Hurley Centre in the heart of Durban as a “sandwich centre” Mr Kettle couldn’t have chosen a more apt phrase to describe our community’s pride-andjoy new building.

“Sandwich” conjures up images of wholesome, no-nonsense comfort food, of different fillings being held together with bread. It doesn’t take an English major to unpack the imagery implied here. The different projects; the different needs; the different challenges; the different communities: all held together by bread—the body of our Lord.

As we all know, sharing bread is as an expression of faith and of obedience to Christ.

So thank you, Mr Kettle, for the gift of such a beautiful metaphor.

However, we don’t share your aesthetic judgment of our centre.

We think the Denis Hurley Centre

Falling numbers of churchgoers

I

AM so pleased the postal strike is over and we can again receive our Southern Cross on a regular basis.

Thankfully the strike did not seriously affect us, as you had them delivered to our parish by courier.

The Southern Cross is such a wellbalanced Catholic weekly newspaper containing many brilliant articles that I am very surprised it is not given far more support by South Africa’s bishops and priests.

For example, apart from your excellent editorials, some of the best of any newspaper, there are the weekly contributions of Fr Ron Rolheiser, some of which are brilliant, with “Why people stop going to church” (November 26) one of them.

In it, Fr Rolheiser makes some very interesting comments, but I would like to suggest that one of the main reasons people are leaving the Church is because of the dramatic changes that have taken place over recent years.

In the light of access to better education, to the Internet and so on, our beloved Church has not kept pace; whereas it used to lead the way, it now lags behind and thrives on the past.

Yes, we need discipline and obedience in our faith and we need to go to Mass, but Christianity can be very interesting, and Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit is very much with us and part of us.

There are plenty of people in the world who are genuinely very poor and destitute. If you want to see

The Sisters of Nazareth All the Sisters, Staff and Residents wish our Cardinal, Bishop and Religious Leaders of Durban and the Editor of the Southern Cross, God’s Blessings and Peace this Christmas and for 2015.

We convey our sincere gratitude to all our friends, benefactors and volunteers who have assisted us in so many ways throughout the past year; you have made it possible for us to keep our “Mission Alive” in caring for the aged and the less fortunate in need of care.

The Sisters of Nazareth

is designed and constructed with imagination and care, and working within the constraints of a hugely limited budget.

It uses to its maximum a relatively small and awkward triangular space, sandwiched (that term again) between Emmanuel cathedral, the Victoria Street market, the bustling inner city taxi rank, the iconic Madressa arcade and the imposing Juma Masjid mosque. In short, the centre is exactly where it should be to offer the maximum service and dialogue for the complex melting pot that is our contemporary inner city.

And, of course, we wanted the centre to be optimally low-maintenance and efficient—to have a triple-storey building using natural ventilation and light that feels spacious and calm with custom-designed places for the myriad projects which will be housed in the centre.

Mr Kettle, you might never comprehend the magnitude of faith, commitment, passion and love that has gone into the planning, designChrist, look into their eyes and you will see him. I have always found that whatever I have given away to such people has always been abundantly repaid, and this is a subject that could be taught in our churches.

People seek God and that is why we have so many sects and various breakaway religious denominations. I have many friends who are firm believers but would not venture into a church, because it can be so boring. For example, various readings taken from the Old Testament, and obviously shortened, are often completely out of context and don’t make sense if you don’t know your Bible well.

We have a wonderful pope and we should all pray that he is given the support he needs to bring our Church into the modern world and achieve his stated objective of helping the poor.

Roy Glover, Tzaneen

Pray for Africa

‘L

ORD, grant us gentle spirits and understanding hearts to enfold Africa and the world, with love of neighbour and enemy, in lasting justice, peace and friendship.”

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

PO Box 379 8000 Cape Town Tel: 021 465 5904 Fax: 021 461 0785 custserv.cbs@mweb.co.za

ing and—most especially—the fundraising of every brick, every window pane, every door handle of our remarkable building. Already the Denis Hurley Centre has love and hope oozing out of every pore.

It is testimony to the magnificent legacy of Archbishop Denis Hurley, to the empathy and compassion of hundreds of volunteers and donors, and to our combined faith in our God, and in humanity.

For me personally—as a Methodist volunteer who has been part of the enormous and amazing team that has helped to bring this building into a reality—the Denis Hurley Centre is a dream come true.

We are enormously proud and delighted with it.

I invite you, Mr Kettle, when you are next in Durban, to please visit our beautiful centre; spend some time with the remarkable selfless people who work there and see the astonishing impactful work they will be doing. Perhaps then we can change your mind.

Visit www.denishurleycentre.org to learn more.

Illa Thompson, Durban A Christmas prayer, with warmest thanks for our editor, writers, admin people and readers, including those all over South Africa who responded to the offer of a free “Pray for Africa” leaflet.

During Advent, let us find time to think about God’s infinite goodness in sending his son to “step out of eternity” to join us. Will he be welcomed as he should be, or can we only spare an hour or two amid our jollifications?

At Christmas, as we exchange gifts, let us pray for God to give Africa and the world good leadership and governance, and freedom from conflicts, crime, violence, abuse of alcohol, drugs and sex, greed and corruption, inequality, injustice, poverty and sickness.

Let’s thank him for, and ask him to share, his gifts of faith, hope and love, which help Africa and the world to sustain hardship and martyrdom.

After Christmas, as we remember the Holy Family, the magi, the holy innocents and the flight into Egypt, let us pray for all families (also those elderly and alone), children (including those aborted), and refugees.

We ask our loving God to remember that Africa sheltered his son and family, and preserved him for his mission to redeem us.

Let us ask that Africa, which was thus privileged, may also find redemption and peace—and lead others to find it too.

For a free “Pray for Africa” leaflet, SMS your name and postal address to 083 544 8449. Africa needs prayer—let us pray!

Athaly Jenkinson, East London

THE JOURNEyS OF A LIFETIME!

Jo’burg AD News Pilgrimage Holy Land & Cairo

Fr Patrick Maselwane OMI 7 to 17 October 2015

We thank our friends for encouragement and support during the year. We wish all Southern Cross readers Christmas blessings and a New Year filled with peace and joy.

May the God of hope fill you all with joy and peace.- Romans 15:13

The Grimley, 14 Tuin Plein (off Hope Street), Cape Town

Hiking Pilgrimage in the Holy Land Fr Russell Pollitt SJ 3 to 12 September 2015

Holy Land & Jordan Led by Fr Stefan Hippler 9 to 21 August 2015

Contact Gail at 076 352 3809 or 021 551 3923 info@fowlertours.co.za • fowlertours.co.za

PERSPECTIVES

God’s endless universe C HRISTMAS, the author Norman Vincent Peale once said, “waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful”.

Recently a colleague and I were discussing our plans for the upcoming holidays. We were talking about who we will be with and where we will be celebrating Christmas.

I asked him whether he will go visit his mom who lives 950km away. He replied: “I did not really plan to go home because I’ve just been home, but my mother insists that I come. She always thinks there is something magic that happens when I come home for Christmas.”

Is there magic in Christmas? What is the magic of Christmas about? What magic is Norman Vincent Peale and my colleague’s mom talking about?

We all know the Christmas story. We have heard it so many times. And the story is simple. I remember the story as a child.

There was Joseph and Mary. Mary was pregnant. They rode on a donkey. They were looking for a place to stay. They found a place in a stable. There were animals and shepherds. The baby was born in the stable. The baby was God. Magic means something mysterious or supernatural. Sometimes magic happens right in front of our eyes. When you watch a magic show we see it happening, but we cannot believe it. It’s more that we cannot understand it and that’s why we don’t believe it.

We watch the magician with concentration, awe and wonder while we are trying to figure out how it works. We walk away not having comprehended the magic, but with an excited feeling after having enjoyed the experience.

The story of the universe is a magic story. We cannot comprehend it. “Stars other than our sun are so far distant that astronomers refer to their distances not in terms of kilometres or miles—but in lightyears. Light is the fastest-moving stuff in the universe. It travels at an incredible 300 000km per second” (Wikipedia).

The distance from the earth to the sun is enormously vast but, in terms of the universe as a whole, it is minuscule. The stars that are visible to us at night, the ones nearest to us, are so far away that light travelling from them to the earth at 300 000km per second takes more than four years to get here.

There are stars which we can observe, though not as clear as the closer ones, whose light travelling at 300 000km per second takes 800 000 years to get here.

That is incredible, incomprehensible, unimaginable. That’s magic.

If you research how big the universe is,

Hubble Ultra-Deep Field image of a region of the observable universe, near the constellation Fornax. Each spot is a galaxy, consisting of billions of stars. (Photo: NASA)

A priest’s half-century O N December 20 Fr Ignatius Fidgeon OMI celebrates the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, a period that marks both extraordinary service to his flock and total devotion to his calling.

In the near 30 years he was pastor at the St Charles parish in Victory Park, Johannesburg—a time when I was a parishioner there—he not only got to know every parishioner personally, he visited most of them at home, conducted convert classes for many wanting to join the parish, was involved in catechism classes for children, and arranged for both the reconstruction of the church buildings and the redesign of the gardens.

He was busy literally night and day and had a hand in virtually every facet of the church and the running of the Oblates’ home.

That was my perception of the priest during the few years I was a member of his parish, a time when, among many other commitments, he decided to add stained glass windows to the “lemon squeezer” church. He was, in short, an indefatigable worker who, in his quiet way, seized every opportunity to help others—and fulfil his calling.

But his devotion was not limited to his parish alone. When in 1988 Pope John Paul II agreed that a young Basotho woman had indeed had her eyesight restored through the intercession of Father Joseph Gérard OMI—a priest who had died in 1914 and whom he planned to beatify on September 15 that year—Fr Fidgeon recognised the great spiritual opportunities this offered the Church.

Twice I accompanied him to Lesotho before the Holy Father arrived in South Africa and got to meet the daughters of Florina Phakele, the woman whose cure of blindness was attributed to Fr Gérard, providing the approved miracle needed for his beatification.

Fr Ignatius Fidgeon OMI The Star had asked me to prepare a booklet on the upcoming beatification, an experience that was to become a highlight in my life. It was just one occasion where Fr Fidgeon was on hand to provide guidance and arrange accommodation for me with religious sisters in Maseru.

And later, when Pope John Paul II flew to Lesotho for the beatification ceremony, he was there with a busload of parishioners keen to be part of this moving religious event, despite heavy rain.

N

ow, as my former parish priest celebrates the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, I find myself remembering the many times he quietly directed me, a full-time journalist, to “stories” of hardship many of our fellow black South Africans were enduring.

I was with him one day when we drove to an informal settlement somewhere on East Rand that had been abandoned—and found a young man lying dead in the road.

Almost unconsciously Fr Fidgeon said the prayers for the dead—as I dropped on my knees beside the corpse.

I visited a church he had built for a small community and spoke to countless people who thought of him as a saint.

I haven’t seen Fr Fidgeon in nearly 20

The managers of The

Southern Cross

Associates Campaign wish all its supporters a blessed Christmas and a peaceful 2015

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

Judith Turner

Faith and Life

Wikipedia offers this answer: “Astronomers have measured the age of the universe to be approximately 13,8 billion years old. Because of the connection between distance and the speed of light, this means they can look at a region of space that lies 13,8 billion light-years away.” This is only what astronomers can look at!

The human mind simply cannot comprehend the vastness of the universe and how it all works. Stars and planets and galaxies and the universe. There might be more universes other than the universe we know.

And in the middle of all of these billions and trillions of light years, in the middle of all the planets and galaxies and universes is God—the creator and centre of it all. The God who sustains the universe is the same God who came to us as a baby born to a peasant woman in Bethlehem and who lived among us on this very earth we are living on now, in a place and country not far from us.

In fact, we can go on a pilgrimage and visit the physical place where God was.

The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And by coming to live among us and teaching us, he also gave us the same super powers he himself as God has. Can you believe that! That is like magic.

And so when my colleague’s mom and Norman Vincent Peale speak about the magic of Christmas, they speak about God within us. The God within us who is able to bring that magic that makes everything softer and more beautiful to people all year round, but in a special way during Christmas time.

Winnie Graham

Tribute to a Priest

years, but as it was then so it is now: there are many injustices to uncover, people living below the breadline, families without homes, children without families...

We visited townships where we spoke to people in need—and convents where sisters were doing what they could to help the poor and the desperate. My newspaper recognised the importance of the human interest articles I wrote and gave me a free hand.

But it wasn’t always all work and no play. On one occasion the Irish Tourist Board invited me to visit Ireland, providing me with a self-drive car, leaving me free to go where I wished during the ten days it was at my disposal.

As luck would have it, Fr Fidgeon was visiting his sister in Ireland and he invited me to join the family. Kathleen prepared a room for me and Father offered to be my driver.

We started out each morning after breakfast exploring and photographing a different part of the Emerald Isle. With a guide as well informed as “Fidge”, it was a magical experience.

No one knew the countryside and the churches as well as Fr Fidgeon. As important, he understood the Irish political situation which, in those years, seemed always to be “bubbling”.

Fidge, who is now in Krugerdsorp, has dedicated his life to his Church and South Africa where he is a much-loved pastor— but he remains as essentially Irish as the country of his birth.

Our paths crossed for a few short years two decades ago, but his impact remains enormous. I treasure the impact he had on my thinking and the experiences we shared. Long may he continue to light up our lives.

13

Sam Lucero

Point of Social Justice

Absurd inequality

R

ECENTLY Oxfam America launched a global campaign to address extreme inequality. As part of this campaign, Oxfam issued a report that highlights just how extreme global inequality has become.

Titled “Even It Up: Time to End Extreme Inequality”, the report offers some troubling statistics on the growing gap between rich and poor.

The Oxfam report notes that the richest 85 people in the world own as much as the poorest half of the world. That’s an 85-to-3,5 billion contrast. “Between March 2013 and March 2014, these 85 people grew $668 million richer each day,” reported Oxfam.

Oxfam offered an example of the absurd levels of wealth: “If Bill Gates were to cash in all of his wealth and spend $1 million every single day, it would take him 218 years to spend it all...In reality though, he would never run out of money” because he would continue to make $4,2 million in interest each day.

Oxfam reports that a “billionaire boom” has occurred since the world financial crisis, which began in 2007. Today there are 1 645 billionaires in the world, more than double the number in 2007. This boom far exceeds the growth rate of millionaires, which rose from 10 million in 2009 to 13,7 million in 2013.

“Extreme wealth is not just a rich-country story,” said Oxfam, noting that Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu ousted Gates as the richest man in the world last July. There are 16 billionaires living in sub-Saharan Africa, home to 358 million living in extreme poverty.

In an effort to end extreme inequality, Oxfam is calling on governments, institutions and corporations to help build a fairer economic and political system. It proposes a nine-point plan including ways to make the world’s richest pay their share of taxes and close international tax loopholes that allow them to avoid fair taxation.

According to Oxfam, if the world’s billionaires were taxed 1,5% on their wealth directly after the financial crisis, “23 million lives across the world’s poorest 49 countries” could have been saved by providing them with funds to invest in health care.

With such a growing disparity between the excessively rich and extremely poor, it is no wonder Pope Francis called for an end to “an economy of exclusion and inequality” in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”).

Oxfam and Pope Francis share a belief that the world’s financial leaders have a duty and a moral obligation to make ethics a part of their business plan.

“Ethics—a non-ideological ethics—would make it possible to bring about balance and a more humane social order,” Pope Francis said.

“Money must serve, not rule! The pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor.”

Read the Oxfam report at www.bit.ly/1ufun5D. n This article first appeared in The Compass, newspaper of the diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

TONY WYLLIE Funeral Home & Staff wish everyone a Blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year

Maitland & Muizenberg, Cape Town

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

We would like to wish all our Parishioners at the Most Holy Redeemer and Sacred Heart Parish, Rustenburg a Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year rtbcatholic@telkomsa.net

This was 2014

14

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

YEAR-END REVIEW

The highlights and lowlights of the year

It was the year in which Pope Francis called an extraordinary Synod on the Family, two popes were canonised and another beatified, the Middle East blew up in crisis, a woman was invalidly ordained in Hermanus, South Africa re-elected Jacob Zuma whose home improvements created controversy, and the cause of Benedict Daswa received a massive boost. GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks back at 2014.

DECEMBER 2013

On the death of Nelson Mandela on December 5, the bishops of Southern Africa express gratitude “for the sacrifice he made for all peoples of South Africa and for the leadership and inspiration he gave in leading us on the path of reconciliation”.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria says that the crowd’s booing of President Jacob Zuma at the Mandela memorial in Johannesburg represents “a clash between the ideals the politicians were speaking of and the real world these people experience”.

Pope Francis announces that 2015 will be the “Year of Consecrated Life”, to begin in November 2014.

In an article published in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, the prefect of the doctrinal congregation, Archbishop Gerhard Müller, opposes moves

by German bishops to allow some divorced and remarried Catholics

access to Communion.

Faith leaders, including the Catholic Church, say that they must be in the forefront in encouraging peaceful rejection of e-tolling in Gauteng, which is implemented in early December.

Time magazine names Pope Francis its “Person of the Year”.

Brescia House school in Johannesburg is selected by technology giant Microsoft as one of 80 mentor schools around the world.

After being assaulted by racist thugs, Pretoria vicar-general Fr Victor Phalana says he forgives his assailants.

JANUARY 2014

President Zuma offers to donate R500 000 through his foundation towards the translation of a Catholic Zulu Bible. After being criticised as electioneering, the donation is turned down.

African Missionaries Father Sébastien Ndrutsomi, 37, of Witbank diocese dies in a car crash.

Catholic schools again shine in

matric exams: schools writing the national exams had a 91% pass rate (national rate: 78,3%); Catholic schools writing IEB exams had a 99,4% pass rate.

In the first nine-and-a-half months of Pope Francis’ pontificate, 6,6 million people took part in papal events at the Vatican, the Holy See announces.

During the baptism of 32 babies in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Francis encourages mothers to breastfeed their hungry infants, even during the Mass.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin and Fr Peter-John Pearson, both of Cape Town, are part of a group of bishops visiting Gaza and the West Bank in solidarity with suffering Palestinians there.

Southern Africa’s bishops meet in Manzini, Swaziland, to celebrate the centenary of the first missionaries arriving in the country.

Bishop José Ponce de Leòn is installed as bishop of Manzini. He also continues to serve as administrator of the vicariate of Ing-

We wish all our listeners and supporters a Happy and Holy Christmas. We thank you very much for your support in 2014 and wish you God’s blessings in 2015!

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Join Fr Emil on the unique SAINTS OF ITALy PILgRIMAgE from 6 -17 September 2015. www.fowlertours.co.za OR call 076 352-3809 PO Box 4599, Edenvale, 1610 [t] 011 663-4700 [f] 011 452-7625 info@radioveritas.co.za Radio Veritas South Africa Nedbank Cresta (191305) 1913296067 @RadioVeritasSA

Pope Francis blesses Mariam Ibrahim at the Vatican on July 24. The Sudanese Catholic was spared a death sentence for supposedly converting from Islam to Christianity and then was barred from leaving Sudan before being allowed to depart on an Italian government plane.

(Photo: L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters) wavuma, KwaZulu-Natal.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference publishes a book, Catholic Responses to Aids in Southern Africa, edited by Sr Alison Munro OP and Fr Stuart Bate OMI.

FEBRUARY

The diocese of Tzaneen holds a 12-hour vigil in prayer for the cause of Benedict Daswa. Night vigils are also held in Polokwane, Witbank, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Klerksdorp and Kimberley.

Franciscan Father Vincent Zungu is appointed new bishop of Port Elizabeth, succeeding the late Bishop Michael Coleman. He is installed on June 28.

The archdiocese of Durban marks the tenth anniversary of Archbishop Denis Hurley’s death on February 13 with a series of events.

Actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who died on February 2 at 47, is buried from St Ignatius church in New York.

A court rules to defer the building of Israel’s separation wall through property owned by Salesians in the Cremisan Valley, near the West Bank city of Beit Jalla.

Church leaders in the Central African Republic emphasise that the country’s civil conflict is not about religion.

In a pastoral letter for the May 7 election, the SACBC calls on Catholics to be guided by what “our Christian faith teaches us”.

In a pastoral letter on 20 years of democracy in South Africa, the SACBC and Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life notes advances but also condemns violence and corruption.

Gender activist Sally Gross, formerly Dominican Father Selwyn Gross, dies on February 14 at 60.

The Kolping Society opens its first new South African branch in 62 years with a foundation in Johannesburg.

A US court sentences 84-year-old Sr Megan Rice to 35 months in jail for defacing the walls of a Tennessee nuclear facility in a protest action.

Pope Francis establishes the 15member Council for Economics, which includes seven laymen as well as Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, and the Secretariat of Economics, headed by Australian Cardinal George Pell, to implement the council’s decisions.

The theologian consultors of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes approve a miracle attributed to Pope Paul VI, clearing the way for his beatification on October 19.

In an iPhone message to evangelical Christians, filmed by South African-born Bishop Anthony Palmer, Pope Francis says all Christians are to blame for divisions.

MARCH

Archbishop Lawrence Henry, who headed the archdiocese of Cape Town from 1990-2009, dies suddenly at 79.

Pietermaritzburg-born Fr Peter Smith is appointed auxiliary bishop of Portland, Oregon.

In a controversial speech, praised

by Pope Francis, Cardinal Walter Kasper outlines to the world’s cardinals how Communion for some divorced and remarried Catholics can

be possible.

Pope Francis opens the gardens that surround the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo to the public.

Pope Francis accepts the resignation of German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg, who had been under fire for extravagant spending and committing perjury.

CPLO director Fr Peter-John Pearson says that the office of the Public Protector must be protected after its head, Thuli Madonsela, was attacked over reports critical of the SABC and the Independent Electoral Commission.

An Irish abuse survivor, Marie Collins, is among four women appointed to the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Catholic churches report persecution after Russia’s annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine.

APRIL

An SACBC statement says that President Zuma’s decision not to respond promptly to the “Nkandla Report” issued by the Public Protector “undermines both the Public Protector’s office and Parliament”.

The Church and the world mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.

Dutch Jesuit Father Frans van der Lugt, 75, is beaten and shot dead by Islamic terrorists outside the Jesuit residence in Homs, Syria, on April 7.

Queen Elizabeth II of England visits Pope Francis in the Vatican.

Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly, who headed the archdiocese of Baghdad for much of the US war on Iraq, dies on April 8 at 86.

In an international conference on Human Trafficking, Pope Francis strongly condemns modern slavery.

Pope Francis issues an apology for cases of sexual abuse in the Church.

The Church in Nigeria demands the return of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the terrorist group Boko Haram.

Fr Sicelo Vilakazi TOR, 34, of Eshowe dies on April 20 in a car crash.

Pope Francis canonises Popes John XXIII and John Paul II in the Vatican. A group of Southern Cross/Radio Veritas pilgrims travel to Italy for the occasion.

The bishops of Southern Africa meet Pope Francis and members of the Roman curia during their ad limina visit.

MAY

Archbishop Brislin leads a group of Southern Cross pilgrims on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Italy.

Latin Patriarch Faoud Twal of Jerusalem demands an end to vandalism against Christian, Muslim and Druze sites by Jewish fundamentalists.

A total of 2 500 people take part in the annual Fatima procession in Johannesburg.

Thanks to a R75 000 donation from the SACBC, the diocese of Rustenburg has been able to provide immediate relief to those affected by the long platinum strike.

The Holy Family Sisters celebrate the 150th anniversary of their presence in South Africa.

YEAR-END REVIEW

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

An Argentina fan wears a mask of Pope Francis during the World Cup in Brazil. Argentina reached the final, losing 1-0 to champions Germany.

(Photo: Stefano Rellandini, Reuters/CNS)

In January the Church in Swaziland celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first Catholic missionaries coming to the country and the installation of Bishop José Luís Ponce de León as head of Swaziland’s only diocese, Manzini.

Pope Francis visits Jordan, Israel and the occupied West Bank.

In Jerusalem he and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew mark the 50th anniversary of the mutual excommunication of their Churches.

a worldwide Google Hangouts event with Pope Francis.

Paddy Kearney, coordinator of the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, is among this year’s “Living Legends” awardees of the eThekwini municipality.

Dioceses across Southern Africa hold a week of prayer for peace in the Middle East.

A Durban couple, Steve and Sandra Conway of Retrouvaille, are among 14 couples appointed to serve as non-voting auditors in October’s extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family.

After 84 South Africans are killed in the Synagogue Church of All Nations disaster in Lagos, Nigeria, Archbishop William Slattery warns that with 6 000 independent churches in South Africa, “we must look for genuine religious leaders”.

A group of Southern Cross pilgrims, led by Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen, leave for a Marian pilgrimage of prayer for the cause of Benedict Daswa to Portugal, Spain and France.

Pope Francis dismisses Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano as ordinary of the Paraguayan diocese of Cuidad del Este following an apostolic visitation in July.

English Mill Hill Father Brendan Sullivan, a frequent visitor to Cape Town who from 1986-96 provided pastoral care for the Catholics on St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha islands, dies in England on September 22 at 91.

Pope Francis makes a one-day visit to Albania.

JUNE

The SACBC begins a process of restructuring, creating a new Council for Evangelisation comprising six departments.

Pope Francis meets with 50 000 Catholic Charismatics in Rome’s Olympia stadium.

A Catholic, Bongmusa Mthembu, wins the Comrades Marathon, clutching a rosary in his mouth as he crosses the finishing line.

Pope Francis, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres meet in the Vatican for an invocation for prayer for peace.

A newly constructed residential block is blessed at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria.

Southern Cross news editor Claire Mathieson leaves the newspaper and is succeeded by Stuart Graham.

Precious Blood Sister Mary Paule Thacke, 82, is murdered in Mthatha.

Two suspects are apprehended.

Ursuline Sister Cristina Scuccia, 25, wins the talent competition The Voice Italy—and leads the live audience in the Lord’s Prayer.

Argentina’s football team brings a larger-than-life photo of the squad with Pope Francis to the World Cup in Brazil. They finish second, losing in the final to Germany.

Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, falls to the Islamic State terrorist movement, which continues a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Christians and other minorities.

On a visit to southern Italy, Pope Francis said that members of organised crime are “excommunicated”.

Poland’s bishops hold a penitential service for the cover up of clerical abuse.

The Vatican laicises Polish Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, former nuncio to the Dominican Republic, who is accused of sexual abuse of minors. In August he is placed under house arrest, pending a trial.

JULY

Catholic leaders in the Holy Land condemn Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land and its collective punishment of Palestinians.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin says that Israel’s bombing campaign in response to rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas is “disproportionate”. About 2 000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, are killed in weeks of bombing of Gaza by Israel which also destroys much of the area’s infrastructure. During the same period, six Israeli civilians are killed by Hamas rockets.

A Holy Cross child-care project in Botshabelo, Bloemfontein, comes to a standstill after being robbed for the sixth time this year.

World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland, will focus on Divine Mercy, organisers announce.

All religious Catholic processions are suspended for two years in the archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano, in the Italian region of Calabria,

after Marian processions were misused to pay respect to crimelords.

The General Synod of the Church of England votes to authorise the ordination of women bishops.

The papal astronomer, Br Guy Consolmagno SJ, is awarded the prestigious Carl Sagan Prize by the American Astronomical Society.

Just over a week after visiting South Africa, Pentecostal Bishop Tony Palmer, a friend of Pope Francis who was raised in South Africa, dies in a motorbike accident in England on July 20.

Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, a Sudanese Catholic woman who was sentenced to death in Sudan because of her faith, is released and allowed to leave the country after intense international pressure.

Pope Francis visits a Pentecostal church in Casserta, Italy—a historic first for a pope.

South Africa’s first Catholic Media Expo is held at Holy Rosary School in Edenvale, Johannesburg.

AUGUST

The bishops of Southern Africa decide at their mid-year plenary in Mariannhill to establish a council of the laity.

The SACBC condemns plans to have pornography broadcast by satellite provider Top TV. The Vatican decides after a nineyear study that the Sign of Peace will stay where it is in the Mass.

The Church marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Pope St Pius X and the outbreak of World War I within days of one another.

Bishops in Nigeria, Liberia and other West African countries suspend the Sign of Peace over ebola fears.

The SABC breaks an agreement with the local Church to cancel the broadcast of the papal Christmas Mass. The national broadcaster refuses to explain its decision.

ISIS terrorists behead US journalist James Foley, a Catholic, and upload a video of the killing on the Internet. He is the first in a succession of Western journalists and other hostages to be beheaded.

Pope Francis visits South Korea to beatify 124 martyrs. On the way to Seoul he is the first pope to fly over Chinese air space.

Pope Francis reveals that before every foreign trip, he visits his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Eric Tyacke, founder of the South African branch of the Young Christian Workers movement, dies on August 20 at 89.

Sr Madge Karecki resigns as president of St Augustine College, South Africa’s Catholic university, after less than a year in charge, for health reasons.

SEPTEMBER

South Africa’s oldest priest, Mgr Anthony Seba of Cape Town, dies on September 2 at 101. He was a priest for 76 years.

Sean Lovett, the Cape Townborn head of Vatican Radio’s English service, leads a course in media for the bishops of Southern Africa.

Pupils from Selborne Primary School in East London take part in

OCTOBER

The extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family is held in Rome.

A mid-term report that features open language on matters such as welcoming homosexuals in the Church causes controversy.

In a submission to the synod, Liberian Bishop Anthony Fallah Borwah says that his compatriots are being “treated like scum” over ebola, an epidemic he says is tear-

In Memoriam

Cardinal Ricardo Carles Gordo, 87, retired of Barcelona, on December 17, 2013 Fr Sébastien Ndrutsomi, 37, of Witbank, on January 5 Fr Thuso Gregory Mothibedi, 44, of Kimberley, on February 2 Fr Harry Wilkinson, 83, of Johannesburg, on February 13 Archbishop Lawrence Henry, 79, retired of Cape Town, on March 4 Fr Moses Lupupa, 76, of Manzini, on March 7 Cardinal José Policarpo, 78, retired of Lisbon, on March 12 Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly, 86, retired of Baghdad, on April 8 Fr Sicelo Vilakazi TOR, 34, of Eshowe, on April 20 Fr Arsene Muhau, 40, of Pretoria, on June 2 Cardinal Simon Lourdusamy, 90, of India, on June 2 Cardinal Bernard Agre, 88, retired of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on June 9 Fr Michael Fitzpatrick, 75, of Johannesburg, on June 22 Fr John Kerr OFM, of Kokstad, in June Fr Mahatane Samson Kataka OMI, 78, of Johannesburg, on July 8 Fr Harry Schlight OSFS, 96, of Keimoes-Upington, on July 15 Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, 85, retired archpriest of St Peter’s basilica, on July 27 Cardinal Edward Clancy, 90, retired of Sydney, Australia, on August 3 Fr John Mehers SDB, 70, of Manzini and Johannesburg, on August 8 Fr Kieran McIvor CP, 93, formerly of Johannesburg, on August 9 Fr Kevin Cawte, 93, of Pretoria, on August 13 Cardinal Edmund Szoka, 86, retired curial official, on August 20 Fr Anthony Seba, 101, of Cape Town, on September 2 Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, 98, retired curial official, on November 22

ing at the nation’s fabric.

At the end of the synod, Pope Francis beatifies Pope Paul VI, who headed the Church from 1963-78.

The nine theologian consultors of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes vote unanimously to recognise Benedict Daswa as a martyr. At the same time, however, the cause and the beatification plans are running on very low funds.

A lower court in Pakistan upholds the death sentence for “blasphemy” imposed in 2010 on Catholic mother Asia Noreen Bibi.

The verdict is appealed.

Thousands of pilgrims travel to the Schoenstatt shrine in Germany to mark the movement’s 100th anniversary. Events are also held at South African shrines.

Franciscans from around the world meet at the Padre Pio Centre in Pretoria for a Peace Gathering Conference.

NOVEMBER

Pakistani Christians Shazad Masih, 28, and his pregnant wife Shama Bibi, 24, are abducted by a mob, tortured and burnt to death over alleged blasphemy.

Prince Charles of England calls on Islamic leaders to speak out against persecution of Christians

by Muslims.

The bishops of Southern Africa issue a pastoral statement which calls on the faithful to accept the Church’s teachings on women priests.

In a curial reshuffle, Pope Francis names English Archbishop Paul Gallagher new foreign minister, succeeding Archbishop Dominique Mamberti who takes over the Apostolic Signature after the appointment of Cardinal Raymond Burke as patron of the Knights of Malta. Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea is the new prefect of the Congregation for Worship.

A priest, Fr Guyo Waqo, is among five people found guilty in a Kenyan court for the murder of Bishop Luigi

15

Locati in 2005.

Fr Victor Phalana is named new bishop of Klerksdorp.

Pope Francis canonises six new saints,including Indians St Kuriakose Elias Chavara and St Euphrasia Eluvathingal.

Cardinal Napier is named one of four presidents of the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family.

Pope Francis makes a short trip to Strasbourg, France to address the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.

Pope Francis visits Turkey where he meets with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and visits the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

The Church begins the Year of Consecrated Life on November 30; it will run until February 2, 2016. n For previous round-ups, going back to 1996, visit www.scross.co.za/ category/year-end-review

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16

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

COMMUNITY

The children of St Francis of Assisi parish in Pietermaritzburg received their first Holy Communion. They are pictured with parish priest Fr Sanil Michael SCJ, Deacon Tony De Freitas and catechism teachers.

Corpus Christi parish in Wynberg, Cape Town, celebrated the feast of Christ the King with a candlelight procession through the streets of Wynberg.

Deacon Lionel Cooper is pictured holding the monstrance on top of the decorated car following the congregation. Photo by Keith Stober.

The Catholic Order of the Knights of da Gama

The Supreme Knight and Board of Directors of The Catholic Order of the Knights of da Gama wish our Clergy, our Brothers, members of all lay organisations and fellow Catholics a blessed, peaceful Christmas and a prosperous, productive New Year

Sacred Heart cathedral in Bloemfontein celebrated its 50-year anniversary with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Jabulani Nxumalo. The archbishop began Mass by telling parishioners about the history of cathedrals in the Church.

Cell: 083 274 5924 or Fax: 011 452 9281 Email: cfreschi@mweb.co.za Website: www.kdg.co.za

A “Men for Change” workshop was held at Hornlee in Knysna. Members from St Mary Magdalene’s parish travelled to Knysna to faciltate the workshop at which 24 men gathered to share their experiences with one another.

Youth at St John Bosco parish in Robertsham, Johannesburg, were confirmed. The Confirmands are seen with catechism coordinator Linda Ferreira, parish priest Fr John Thompson SDB and Salesian provinical Fr Francois Dufour SDB who was the main celebrant at the Mass.

Three groups of children from Three Rivers, SPRED and Vereeniging received their first Holy Communion at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Vereeniging, Johannesburg archdiocese. Mass was celebrated by Fr Justin Inandjo SMA.

INTERVIEW

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

17

Singer Daniel Baron: Me and my faith Daniel Baron is one of the biggest stars on South Africa’s pop scene—and he is a proud Catholic.

STUART GRAHAM interviewed the singer.

A

WARD-winning singer, songwriter and pop-rock performing artist Daniel Baron is an old boy of De la Salle Holy Cross College in Victory Park, Johannesburg, who speaks openly about his Catholic faith.

He had eight radio hits off his debut album It’s Time. His hit “Not Here”, a rock and rap collaboration with hip hop star ProVerb, hit number one on the Kia Take40SA in July 2013.

Stuart Graham: You are a selftaught musician. When did you find out you had a passion for music?

Daniel Baron: I started playing drums at the age of seven and ever since then I have always been spellbound by music. I then started writing songs at the age of 14.

I believe that I was born with the passion of music inside of me and I think God placed my dreams and aspirations in my heart too.

What music inspires you?

I am inspired by all kinds of music.

If I’m not inspired by it, then chances are it is not real music.

What drives you as an artist?

I would like to share my music with the whole world. I would like to perform in stadiums around the globe and maybe win a Grammy award one day.

I get very motivated when I hear my songs on the radio, or when I get a message from a fan to say that my music has helped them in their lives. Those things make me feel like I have done something right.

You are known to be a devout

Catholic. Does your faith inspire you when you are composing music and performing it?

Yes, I do have a very strong Catholic faith. My faith always inspires me when I’m composing and performing. I have always believed that God has given me the responsibility to use my talent not only to entertain but to inspire and help others.

Whether I’m writing music or performing on a massive stage, I always say a prayer beforehand and remind myself that I am in the presence of God throughout.

It’s often difficult for artists to remain grounded and humble as their success grows. Your colleagues say that you are very humble.

What keeps you grounded?

Thank you. My faith, my family, my friends and all my loved ones keep me grounded. Arrogance is something that I have always disliked and stayed away from.

I always tell myself that no matter how high I may climb on the ladder of success, there is always space for improvement and learning, and I have vowed to myself and to God, to always remain grounded and humble.

I am most definitely inspired by Pope Francis’ humility. I believe that we should all strive to be as humble as Jesus was.

Where did you grow up and go to school? Did religion play an important role already in your upbringing?

I grew up in Johannesburg and went to school at De La Salle Holy Cross College—and, yes, religion played a key role in my upbringing.

Tell us a bit about your upbringing and the values you were taught by your parents.

I have incredible memories from throughout my upbringing. I think my folks really did a great job with raising myself and my two brothers and sister.

A past pupil of De La Salle Holy Cross College in Johannesburg, Daniel Baron is a rising star in SA music. In this interview, the musician reveals how his Catholic upbringing has made him what he is today.

Some of the many values and lessons we were taught are good manners, generosity and to dream big, because if you put your mind to it, then anything is possible.

I also have memories of some really great priests, brothers and nuns from when I was at school.

One in particular was Brother Gabriel, who was the headmaster at my primary school. He was a very strict person, but at the same time the coolest dude ever. I learnt a lot from him in religious studies.

I also know a number of incredible priests who teach me something new, every time I am at church.

What are the important lessons you learned while growing up?

I have learnt countless important lessons from my parents who are my role models. I have two brothers and a sister, and although they are all younger than me, I always learn new lessons from them too.

One incident that I will never forget is when I lost my little cousin to cancer. He taught me that with faith, there is no need to fear.

You wrote “A Lion’s Heart” for you cousin. Could you talk about the song?

My cousin Matthew died at the age of 14. He suffered with cancer for ten years and is the bravest person I’ve ever known.

I wrote “A Lion’s Heart” for him just before he passed away. I played

it for him on his 14th birthday.

He was a saint on earth and now he is an angel in heaven. His smile will live on forever.

You dedicated your song “It’s Time” to the sporting heroes in South Africa, so we can take it that you are a big sports fan.

I do enjoy sport. I have taken to a very unconventional sport myself.

It’s called kite surfing.

What will be next for you?

My next adventure will begin when I travel to the US next year to further the reach of my music. I am also releasing a brand new album in the new year. My latest single, “Indestructible”, will feature on the album.

Catholic Liturgical Arts

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Tel: +27 11 782 3135, catholicliturgicalarts@gmail.com CONGREGATION OF OUR LADY OF CHARITY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD Wish a joy-filled Christmas to all Bishops, Priests, Religious, Government Officials, Mission Partners, Parishioners, Benefactors, Friends and Past pupils associated with our Congregation. Thank you for all your collaboration and generous support during the past year.

We wish you all a Blessed New Year 2015!

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18

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

BOOK REVIEWS

Cardinals show us Africa’s Church TEN AFRICAN CARDINALS, by Sally Ninham. Connor Court Publishing, Australia.

2013.

367pp Reviewed by Günther Simmermacher HE Catholic Church has acknowledged its rapid growth in Africa by holding two Synods of Bishops for Africa, in 1994 and 2011, with a view to guiding the continent’s Church in its pastoral, social, political and economic challenges.

Arguably, the Church in Africa is still not well understood, perhaps not even by itself. Sally Ninham’s Ten African Cardinals is a helpful contribution in creating such an understanding through interviews with people who, by virtue of their position and the experiences that brought them there, have valuable insights.

One could question, of course, whether the terminology of an “African Church” is precise. Africa is a diverse continent; the pastoral challenges in South Africa are not the same as those in, say, Ghana or Tanzania.

While there is much that unites the Catholic Church in Africa, there is a lot that is specific to individual local or regional churches. We know this from our experience in South Africa, where the pastoral

T

challenges differ even among dioceses. This book is a testament to that diversity.

Ninham, who lives in Australia, entered her project of interviewing African cardinals as a Western atheist with preconceived notions about Africa and the Catholic Church there. Her interviews with eight cardinals (the other two are by the Vatican correspondent Gerard Connell) are presented in chronological order, which serves well to chart her growing awareness and understanding of the Church on the continent.

However, it also means that the interview section of the book starts off weakly. The interview with Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, conducted in Melbourne in 2010, is lacking in direction, even as the cardinal provides some interesting insights, especially about himself and his evolving understanding of issues of race. It might have been advisable to re-interview him.

Ninham’s naivety is brutally exposed by Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, who in his initial treatment of the author comes across as a pompous bully. Still, his interview has fascinating moments, especially the cardinal’s experiences as a young bishop during Nigeria’s Biafra war.

Cardinals come in all shapes and

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sizes. Where Arinze gravely threatens Ninham with an army of lawyers in case he is misquoted, the modestly-living Ugandan Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala sends the author a letter of thanks for her interview.

Ninham presumably chose to focus on cardinals because of the special status of their rank. For an atheist (at least at the outset; later we encounter her saying a prayer), she is strangely intimidated by and deferential to the men in their red socks. She also seems to regard the cardinals as an episcopal species above their brother bishops, not as their equal collaborators.

As it happens, the best interview of the lot is the only one with a non-cardinal: the forthright and astute Bishop Raymond Ahoua of Grand Bassam, Ivory Coast, shakes some preconceived notions about Catholicism in Africa.

M

uch as the diversity of Africa’s Church is emphasised, there are common threads running throughout the book. One is the virtue of forgiveness, which is a necessity on a continent that has experienced so much violence.

Another is the Church’s political and social engagement.

The chapter on Mozambique’s Cardinal Alexandre dos Santos,

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An anthology of the best columns written by the late Owen Williams, The Southern Cross’ long-time contributor. First published in 2004, Any Given Sunday is a wonderful way to spend time with a first-class raconteur and man of deep faith. Only R80 (plus p&p)

Order from books@scross.co.za or www.books.scross.co.za or call 021 465-5007 or buy at 10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town

archbishop emeritus of Maputo, outlines the central role the Catholic Church, internally and externally, played in ending the country’s long civil war in 1992.

And, of course, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo, the giant of the African Church, served as interim head of state in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s.

Most interviewees are forthcoming on questions of politics, but the late Ivorian Cardinal Bernard Agré objected to Ninham’s question because he felt his answers on political issues might undermine his ability to mediate between factions (hence the interview with Bishop Ahoua).

Ninham prefaces her interviews with introductions to the respective cardinals’ countries, the events that led to the interview, and her impression of meeting the subject. These are mostly entertaining and insightful. Indeed, it might have served her book better had she used the narrative style throughout. Verbatim Q&As can result in meandering monologues which require a strong editorial hand, as well as context or comment Indeed, the book might have benefited from more ruthless editing. That would also have prevented some avoidable errors.

There is no good reason why the diocese of Kokstad should be rendered as Coxford or the Xhosa language as Corsa.

The benefits of this book, however, outweigh such vexations. Ten African Cardinals presents Africa’s Catholicism in its diversity through the words of some of its leading churchmen. This does not make for a comprehensive survey, but it is a good way of getting to know the issues which occupy the Church in different parts of the continent.

Especially as an introduction to these issues, this book is eminently helpful. n Ten African Cardinals is available from on-line booksellers

The real meaning of Christmas JOY TO THE WORLD: How Christ’s Coming Changed Everything (And Still Does), by Scott Hahn. Image, New York. 2014.

192 pp.

CHRISTMAS: The Sacred to Santa, by Tara Moore. Reaktion Books, London. 2014. 224 pp.

Reviewed by Mitch Finley N his slim volume Joy to the World, Scott Hahn—a former Presbyterian who has become one of today’s most prominent Catholic authors, and professor of theology and Scripture—reflects on the meaning of Christmas.

Masterfully leaving behind the academic theologian’s technical language, Hahn speaks from his own experience and to the experience of the average person. At the same time, he shares with readers insights from his many years of study—biblical and theological.

Joy to the World explores the personages who populate the Gospels’ narratives about the birth and meaning of Jesus. These include, of course, Joseph, Mary, Herod, angels and the Magi. But Hahn also draws on insights from the letters of St Paul and the Johannine literature. He helps the reader see that the entire New Testament, not just the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke, is about the meaning of Christmas.

Hahn even reminds us of the original meanings of such common Christmas traditions as baking Christmas cookies (“because the Messiah has come to lead us

I

into a land flowing with milk and honey”); decorating a Christmas tree (“to recover the tree of paradise, which was restored by the tree of Calvary”); and giving gifts (“because God has given himself to us as a gift, wrapping his divinity in true humanity”) Joy to the World is a fine and insightful book, one of the best to read if you want to deepen and enrich your understanding of Christmas, whose religious meaning can easily get lost in the dominant commercial culture.

C

hristmas has histories both sacred and secular, and you can learn a great deal about both from Tara Moore’s Christmas: The Sacred to Santa. In fact, priests and deacons looking for material to liven up a Christmas homily would be wise indeed to read this book.

Most reasonably well-educated readers will find it an informative and intriguing page-turner. If there is anything to be known about Christmas, you will find it here.

Moore writes that her book explores “how past generations have

felt about Christmas, how people in the same neighbourhood might look at it in different ways, and how a simple birth in Bethlehem continues to make waves across the continents”.

Topics the author addresses include how Christmas came to be dated on December 25; what the earliest Christmas celebrations looked like; how Christmas has been portrayed in art and in various cultures; historical settings in which Christmas was outlawed; and how Christmas has been celebrated by those away from home, from immigrants to astronauts.

She also discusses the commercialization of Christmas; the central characters of Christmas, from St Nicholas to Santa Claus to a European personage named “Wild Man;” how other countries have imported, in particular, the English and German Christmases; how Christmas became a public holiday; and how churches have responded, to secular understandings of Christmas.

This last discussion begins with an attention grabber: “On Christmas Eve in 1951, [French Catholic] clergymen hanged and burned an effigy of Father Christmas on the railings of Dijon cathedral. Furthermore, the priests carried out their efforts in the sight of 250 Sunday school children.”

Read this book to learn a lot about Christmas. Then if you want to hear a better Christmas homily than you heard last year, give your copy to a priest or deacon.—CNS

FATHER RALPH de HAHN

Prayerfully wishes all clergy, religious and to all missionaries a holy & beautiful feast

There is no greater love than this...

A BLESSED CHRISTMAS. GOD LOVE YOU ALL

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

FOCUS

19

Face-to-face with refugees of Iraq and Syria Barb Fraze, international editor of Catholic News Service, travelled to Jordan and Lebanon to visit refugee camps for displaed Iraqis and Syrians. Here are the stories of three refugee families she met.

Lahab: My daughter blames me E VERY night, in the church hall that Lahab Hanna shares with her husband, three children and 47 other people, her middle daughter makes a scene.

Lahab, 32, said her children do not understand why they had to move from the Iraqi cities of Mosul, Qaraqosh and Ainkawa to their small space in a church hall in Amman. The children do not know the details of when her husband was kidnapped for eight days.

They just know they have lost their friends, left their school, and now share a small kitchen and two toilets with all the other Iraqi refugees in the room.

They share three mattresses among six people, and families take turns cooking.

Lahab , a Chaldean Catholic, said her middle daughter, age 9, is struggling most.

“She’s blaming me, she’s telling me every night, ‘You are the one who brought us here,’” said Lahab.

“Can you imagine how difficult it is to have your daughter or son blame you for this?”

Lahab said she has no answers for her two daughters, ages 9 and 11, and her son, age 7, but she knew they could not stay in their home as the Islamic State group advanced across northern Iraq this

summer. She also acknowledged that everyone in the room is in a similar situation.

It is “really painful for me that they lost their education”, she said of her children, especially her daughters. “They are really clever girls and had high scores.”

Although the girls are preteens, “they are talking to me as if they are big girls, sometimes they become aggressive...just because of what they have been through,” Lahab said.

“My biggest fear is the future of my kids—what will happen to them? I think about them, day and night.”

Lahab Hanna, 32, sits in the small portion of a church hall in Amman, where her family sleeps after fleeing from Iraq. (Photos: Barb Fraze/CNS)

Faten: Just let me go to Austria M

Faten Bohlak, 52, a Syrian refugee, with one of her 14 grandchildren at her apartment in Zarqa, Jordan. Faten, who asked not to be photographed, said she is praying to be resettled with two of her sons in Austria.

ORE than anything else, Faten Bohlak would like to go to Austria.

The 52-year-old refugee from Syria would like to join her two sons, aged 34 and 19, who have been resettled in Austria. The youngest son, she added, is “the heart of my heart”.

For now, she lives in a sparsely furnished apartment above a small shop in Zarqa, Jordan’s secondlargest city.

The paint is chipped on the twotone purple walls. A small two-door cabinet holds a TV and hand lotion.

Visitors sit on a three-person couch, while Faten and her husband sit on two single mattresses.

Her 24-year-old son is job-hunting, and the clock on the wall helps

keep track of how long the infant in the car carrier has been sleeping.

Faten and her husband, who identified himself only as Issa, have seven children and 14 grandchildren. When the war in Syria heated up in 2012 and bombing in Homs began, Faten asked her children to leave. She said she used to think: “Whatever happens, this is my country and I will never leave it.”

When the bombing reached their neighbourhood, they left their home and, Faten said, she saw it collapse. They had no passports or legal papers, so they entered Jordan illegally, dropped off at the border at night.

One daughter has been resettled in Canada, and one in the United States.

“We are waiting for resettlement,” she said. “I don’t want to go back to our country.”

She fears Jordan will send them back to Syria. She fears the United Nations will stop assistance, and they will not have food. For now, she, her husband and son each get UN assistance of $70 per month; their rent is nearly $185 per month.

“We depend 100% on the money and services that nongovernmental organisations provide,” Issa said.

“I’m afraid things will deteriorate more than it is right now,” when they already have nothing, added Issa, 63, who retired from the Syrian government in 2011.

“Let me just live my end of days in dignity,” he asked.

Samira: Living in constant fear S AMIRA, who asked that her real name not be used, has spent much of the past several years living in fear.

When the crisis in her home province of Dara’a, Syria, began in 2011, she was “afraid for my kids to go to school.”

When the bombing in her village began, she hid in a shelter.

When she emerged, “We saw big tanks, I didn’t even try to reach my house”.

She has been living with her husband and five children in Jordan for two years and, she said.

“I’m fearful for everything ... the whole situation.”

If the UN High Commissioner for Refugees stops coupons, “where

can I get the food for my kids?” she asked. That is her greatest fear, she added: to not have “the basic needs for my kids”.

Samira said that, in Syria, her husband worked in a market and restaurant.

“I cannot say I was wealthy, but we were living fine,” she said. Now, she added, her husband works illegally in a Jordanian restaurant, so they can afford their rent, just over $200 per month.

She said life is stressful—she does not go out and socialise, and she pays the rent as fast as she can, to avoid problems.

Syria was secure—even when the Arab Spring happened in Libya, she never dreamed she would have

to leave her home. She especially hates that several of her children— now ages 15, 13, 10, 7 and 5—are behind in their schooling.

The town of Ramtha, population 12 000, has taken in 2 500 Syrians. Samira said she is grateful for opportunities like the crèche her youngest daughter attends, with support from Caritas Jordan. The children are learning to print and read and are learning English.

“I have faith in God. I know that God will help us to go through all these crises,” said Samira, a Muslim.

But, she added, “When I look in my kids’ eyes, I can see that they have no future. They lost their future when we left Syria.”

More than 52 Iraq refugees share the church hall at St Ephraim Syriac Orthodox church in Amman, Jordan. The refugees, who take turns with kitchen duties, also share two toilets and one urinal.

THE LORETO SISTERS

wish all our friends, past pupils, school communities and co-workers every blessing this Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year — with love

and gratitude

20

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

SPIRITUALITY

Prayer and laughter in an English retreat house SILVANA REDMAN spent a three-month sabbatical at an English retreat house this year. Here she shares her experience.

D

RIVING up a long and winding road, through green farmlands in the English county of Shropshire, the motorcar suddenly came to a halt outside a beautiful stately mansion.

I cautiously climbed out of the car and took a deep breath of cold air. Winter in Shropshire is not the best of times to visit, but who cares about the weather when you have three months of sabbatical waiting for you!

Hawkstone Hall, in all its majesty and in all its sanctity, stood there waiting for me to enter. A huge library of books dating back centuries and the most beautiful murals decorate a home fit for God’s royal people.

Upon my arrival a very friendly Sr Laurice came to greet me full of cheer and warmth. My new home for the next three months!

Unpacking my small suitcase, I saw that the bedroom I had been given overlooked the greenest field, full of white fluffy sheep of various sizes. Just behind the field of sheep, a river meanders and every day I saw two beautiful white swans swimming.

The first two weeks of lectures I was introduced to the Pentateuch in all its glory and diversity. Our forefathers in the Holy Bible came alive with dynamic teaching and the use of CDs. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Then came lectures on psychology, from development within the womb, to growing old and facing our last days on earth. How best to handle stress while we are still on this planet was another topic that was discussed and explored.

Retirement Home, Rivonia, Johannesburg Tel:011 803 1451 www.lourdeshouse.org

Franciscan Missionaries of Mary

The Mission of the FMM springs from a life of union with Christ centred on the EUCHARIST

Hawkstone Hall retreat house near Shrewsbury in the English county of Shropshire. The Georgian mansion was built between 1700 and 1725. The Redemptorist order bought it in 1926 and until 1973 it was a seminary.

It is now a pastoral and renewal centre.

The lectures were delivered by highly professional lecturers and university professors.

Every day I embarked on a walk through rolling farmlands or into the pretty little villages. One day I was part of a group which visited a working farm, and before I could enjoy a delicious tea with homemade ginger cake, I got stuck in the mud. The cows were not at all

interested in our little walking group.

Back at Hawkstone Hall, I was given the opportunity to join chair dancing and other exercises, that not only helped to trim the tum, but made my tum sore with all the laughing!

The next lot of lecturers were fascinating. Do we see God in everyday life, in nature, in the big

Frail/assisted care in shared or single rooms.

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Day Care and short stay facilities also available.

Do you feel called?

UMHLANGANO WAMAFRANCISCAN MISSIONARIES OF MARY

Umsebenzi wobuthunywa benhlangano yama Franciscan Missionaries of Mary idabuka empilweni yokuzibandakanya noKhristo oyisizinda sesidlo esiyingcwele.

Uzizwa ubiziwe na?

Contacts: Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Pax Christi, Post Net Suite 36, Private Bag X6603, Newcastle 2940, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Sister Helena Coragem, fmm: 076 762 3125 and 034 312 1957 helenacoragem@gmail.com, Sister Ana Tonela, fmm: 073 542 0910 Sharafmm.tonela@gmail.com

and small things that life presents to us?

“All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.”

Then came a solemn period, with the weeks before Easter, our little group of retreatants studied the Lenten period and Christ’s death on the cross.

“I know that you are looking for

Wishing all our pilgrims, both past and present and future, PEACE, JOY, GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPINESS AT CHRISTMAS AND IN THE NEW YEAR Tel: (031) 266 7702

Fax: (031) 266 8982

Email: judyeichhorst@telkomsa.net This office will be closed from 19th Dec to 19th Jan for Christmas Holidays

END HOUSE

Connie and John of End House, Gordon’s Bay, Cape (Guest House for priests, brothers and religious) wishes everyone a Joyous Christmas and a Blessed New Year. Thank you for your support Bookings open for 2015

Telephone (021) 856 3592 or 082 262 7155 for reservations

Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

A spiritual director was available for anyone who felt the need to clarify the direction of their walk with God. What a blessed and creative time! A time to find God’s special and unique path, for the special and unique individuals we all are.

If creativity is your passion, Sr Jackie runs art classes for those who have and those who never have painted before. Painting to the sound of beautiful music, in a room overlooking a breathtaking view of rolling hills and miles of green fertile land, can only aid one’s creativity.

Some evenings were spent in prayers of meditation, contemplation and an understanding of God’s holy word. Other evenings, we had social time with one another, and I laughed until my jaw ached. The international little group I became part of certainly had a sense of humour, second to none.

Then there was the dining room.

Food, glorious food! There was a table laid out with delicious homecooked meals, or salads for those trying not to go home looking ten pounds heavier. Something for everyone, and not to forget the best desserts I think I have ever tasted!

“I have food to eat, that you know nothing about.”

Thank you to Frs Maurice and Kevin, Srs Laurice, Carol and Jackie, the wonderful cooks, the pristine housekeeping staff and all those on the administration and maintenance team.

Thank you also to my fellow retreatants, for making my experience at Hawkstone Hall a blessing and a very precious memory.

May our blessed Lord Jesus Christ continue to fill you all with his spirit of eternal love and may the rooms of Hawkstone Hall resonate with laughter and love, bringing fulfilment and spiritual enlightenment to all those who enter. n Silvana Redman writes from Harare.

YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP BIRTHRIGHT SAVE MANY MORE Tel: 031 201 5471 Cell: 079 862 3783

Missionary Sisters of the Assumption Wish you all a very happy Christmas and a blessed New Year

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 633. ACROSS: 5 Impi, 7 Admonished, 8 Spin, 10 Commence, 11 Demons, 12 Sesame, 14 Beards, 16 Eureka 17 Cenotaph, 19 Carp, 21 References, 22 Peri. DOWN: 1 Oats, 2 Downpour, 3 Discus, 4 Thomas, 5 Idle, 6 Peacemaker, 9 Precedence, 13 Saracens, 15 Staffs, 16 Exhort, 18 Omri, 20 Posy.

ST GERARD’S HOLY TOURS

Wishing all family and friends a Blessed Christmas.

May your New Year be filled with abundant Love, Peace and Joy

Booking via: Deacon John Sheraton - 021 705 5131 or 083 277 7999, Liz Lotters: 021 706 5217 or 082 319 7249 e-mail: stgholytours@gmail.com

Maureen Fernandes & Family

Wish all our family, friends, priests and religious a blessed Christmas and a year ahead full of good health and many blessings.

Our bishops’ anniversaries

This week we congratulate: December 23: Bishop Graham Rose of Dundee on his 63rd birthday.

Word of the Week

Ecumenism: A movement for spiritual understanding and unity among Christians and their churches. The term is also extended to apply to efforts toward greater understanding and cooperation between Christians and members of other faiths.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday December 21, Fourth Sunday of Advent 2 Sm 7, 1-5.8-12.14.16, Ps 89, 2-5.27.29, Rom 16, 25-2, Lk 1, 26-38 Monday December 22 1 Sam 1, 24-28, Resp 1 Sam 2, 1.4-8, Lk 1, 4656 Tuesday December 23, St John of Kanty Mal 3, 1-4; 4, 5-6 (3, 1-4.23-24), Ps 25, 4-5.810.14, Lk 1, 57-66 Wednesday December 24 2 Sm 7, 1-5.8-12.14.16, Ps 89, 2-5.27.29, Lk 1, 67-79 Evening: Vigil (W) Is 62, 1-5; Ps 89, 4-5.16-17. 27.29; Acts 13, 1617.22-25; Mt 1, 1-25 Thursday December 25, Nativity of Christ Midnight Mass: Is 9, 2-7 (1-6); Ps 96, 1-3.1113; Titus 2, 11-14; Lk 2, 1-14 Mass at dawn: Is 62, 11-12; Ps 97, 1.6.11-12; Titus 3, 4-7; Lk 2, 15-20 Mass during the day: Is 52, 7-10; Ps 98, 1-6; Heb 1, 1-6; Jn 1, 1-18 Friday December 26, St Stephen, First Martyr Acts 6, 8-10; 7, 54-59, Ps 31, 3-4.6.8.16-17, Mt 10, 17-22 Saturday December 27, St John 1 Jn 1, 1-4, Ps 97, 1-2.5-6.11-12, Jn 20, 2-8 Sunday December 28, Holy Family Gn 15, 1-6; 21, 1-3, Ps 105, 1-6.8-9, Heb 11, 8.11-12.17-19, Lk 2, 22-40

Pilgrimage to Fatima, garabandal, Lourdes, Dozulè, Lisieux and Paris led by Archbishop B Tlhagale OMI & Fr T Motshegwa 10 - 23 May 2015 Pilgrimage to Camino De Santiago Compostela in Spain led by Fr David Rowles 10 – 21 September 2015

Mike and Maggi-Mae Vidas of AIDA Cape Lifestyle Homes in Fish Hoek, Cape Peninsula wish all their clients, friends, family and Christians everywhere a Blessed Christmas and a Big thank you for support and prayers throughout 2014.

May 2015 be filled with Health and Happiness

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Pilgrimage to Rome, Assisi and San giovanni Rotondo led by Fr. Karabo Baloyi 20 – 30 September 2015 Pilgrimage to Medjugorje led by Fr Gavin Atkins 16 – 28 September 2015

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21

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.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

WISHING all my families, my in-law families, all my friends, parishioners of Holy Family Catholic church, Our Lady of Fatima, Bellville, prayer group Bellville and not forgetting the staff of The Southern Cross and our parish priest Fr BogdanBellville, God’s riches and blessings for Christmas and best wishes for 2015.

Bless you all, Mary da Silva, Bellville (Pillay) LENDERS—Brian, Jean and Laura wish all relatives, friends, priests, and religious and Mary Immaculate Queen enthronees all the joy and love of this blessed Christmastide.

May the Christ Child and the Holy Family surround you and your loved ones with serene peace and happiness.

DEATHS

BRADLEY—Donald Brian of Pinelands. Passed away peacefully after a short illness age 75. Deeply mourned by his brother Cecil John. RIP. YAZBEK—Francois.

Southern Cross pilgrim to the Holy Land in 2005, died on December 1. With condolences to the family.

IN MEMORIAM

SNELL—Constable Quintin Charles, died tragically while on police duty, Christmas morning 25/12/2012. God’s greatest gift, remembrance.

May his soul rest in peace and joy. Fondly remembered by his godmother Agnes Julie.

ACCOM—Linnet Mavis. In loving memory of our sister who passed away on December 24, 2007. Rest in

peace. Brian, Jean and Laura.

ACCOM—Ruby Mavis. In loving memory of our beloved mother on this 13th anniversary of her passing on Christmas Day, 2001. May you join the heavenly choirs of angels and share in the rich inheritance promised by our glorious Lord. May Our Blessed Lady shield you under her mantle and may the Holy Family surround you with eternal joy and peace. Brian, Jean and Laura.

MURDOCH—Michael.

20/12/2012. Loved by your wife Ilona, children, grandchildren and great-grandchild. Micah our grandchild says when she sees me, hello Ouma Nana, Oupa has gone to heaven. May God keep him in his care.

SWARDLING—Reece, Dex (Miyagi). Born October 5, 1988. Passing on December 20, 2012. You said Yes Son, to be a warrior for our Lord. Never will the gap be filled in our home without you. We love and miss you so much. It was an honour to be your parents, Anthony and Charmaine, siblings Olivia and Reagan, and niece Trinity, Gran Tootoo all your family and friends.

Love and missed by all.

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. Gilbert.

PERSONAL

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HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

LONDON: Protea House.

Single ₤30, twin ₤45 per/night. Self-catering, busses and underground nearby. Phone Peter 021 851 5200. 0044 208 7484834.

KNYSNA: Self-catering accommodation for 2 in Old Belvidere with wonderful lagoon views and DStv. 044 387 1052.

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

Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675, mjsalida@ gmail.com SEDGEFIELD: Beautiful self-catering garden holiday flat, sleeps four, two bedrooms, open-plan lounge, kitchen, fully equipped. 5-min walk to lagoon. Out of season specials. Contact Les or Bernadette 044 343 3242, 082 900 6282.

STELLENBOSCH: Christian Brothers Centre. 14 suites (double/twin beds), some with fridge & microwave, others beside kitchenette & lounge, ecospirituality library. Countryside vineyard/forest/ mountain views/walks; beach 20-minute drive. Affordable. 021 880 0242. www.cbcentre.co.za E-mail: cbcstel@ gmail.com The Southern Cross is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa. Printed by Paarl Coldset (Pty) Ltd, 10 Freedom Way, Milnerton.

Published by the proprietors, The Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Co Ltd, at the company’s registered office, 10 Tuin Plein, Cape Town, 8001.

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The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd. Address: PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.za Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, News Editor: Stuart Graham (s.graham@scross.co.za), Editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za) Advertising: Elizabeth Hutton (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Avril Hanslo (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Dispatch: Joan King (dispatch@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za).

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Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, staff or directors of The Southern Cross.

NOAH OLD AGE HOMES

Fourth Sunday of Advent

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Feast of the Holy Family: December 28 Readings: Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3, Psalm 105:1-6, 8-9, Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19, Luke 2:22-40

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God leads us through the family Fr Nicholas King SJ

N

EXT Sunday, as always after Christmas, the Church invites us to contemplate the mystery of the Holy Family. That is particularly topical just now as the Church seeks to go deeper into the mystery of our “family values”.

At bottom what we have to do is ask ourselves what God is doing, what God is saying to us, in the precious gift of the family. Now we have to recognise that all families are different, and none of our families is perfect; but nevertheless God is there, somewhere.

In the first reading, Abram is filled with anxiety about his family; but we should notice that it is God who takes the initiative: “The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.” Abram is quite frank: “I am childless”, and someone else is his heir.

So God promises that he will have descendants, and even gives him a visual aid: “Look at the heavens, please, and count the stars (if you are able to count them)…so shall your offspring be.”

This bit of the reading ends with Abram believing God (something that we shall do well to imitate, as we gaze upon our families); then we leap six chapters and see that Abram is indeed given a family, as God had prom-

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Sunday Reflections

ised: “the Lord visited Sarai, as he had said”, so that “she gave Abraham (his name has changed since we last saw him) a son of his old age”. The rest, of course, is salvation-history, for God is at work.

The psalm for next Sunday does not really mention families; but we should notice two things.

First, it ends with a reference to God’s fidelity to the covenant “which he made with Abraham and his oath to Isaac”.

Secondly (and this is the clue to our grasp of family values), it is all about our attitude to God: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name”, which includes “the offspring of Abraham his servant, children of Jacob his chosen one—he remembers his covenant forever”.

The second reading, likewise, reflects on what happened to Abraham. Here he is presented as an example of faith (which is what you and I need as we ask ourselves what God is saying to us today about “family values”); he had the faith that enabled him to make his journey into the unknown “not knowing where he was going”; his wife had faith to “accept the power to give birth, because she thought that the One who had given the promise was trustworthy”.

The gospel for next Sunday brings us face to face with this “holy family”; and we see that they have the context exactly right, for they go up to Jerusalem “to offer him to the Lord”, at precisely the time proclaimed in the Bible.

Then Luke brings on stage the figure of Simeon, “a just and pious man…and the Holy Spirit was upon him”. Not only that, but he knows what is going on: “warned by the Holy Spirit not to see death before he should see the Messiah of the Lord”.

As this tiny family comes into the Temple, Simeon intervenes: “He took the child into his arms and blessed God.” Then, after singing his canticle, he tells the family about

Christmas’ chequered history I

F someone who had never heard the story of Jesus were to ask any of us about his origins, we would, I suspect, begin with the story of his annunciation and birth and end with the story of his resurrection and ascension.

While that does capture his life, that’s not how the Gospels either begin or end his story. The story of Jesus and the meaning of Christmas can really be understood only by looking at where Jesus came from, his family tree, and by looking at how his story has continued in history.

The gospel of John begins his story by pointing out his eternal origins inside of God before his birth. For John, Jesus’ family tree has just three members, the Trinity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Mark’s gospel gives no family tree. Mark begins Jesus’ story with his public ministry, and then has no ending to his story. For Mark, Jesus’ story is still ongoing.

Matthew and Luke, however, include in Jesus’ story a long family tree, a genealogy, that shows his origins.

Too often we tend to ignore this long list of difficult-to-pronounce names, most of which mean little to us. But, as the renowned biblical scholar Raymond Brown emphasises again and again, we cannot really understand the story of Jesus without understanding why his family tree is judged to be important.

Conrad

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

What’s to be learned from looking at Jesus’ family tree, that list of ancient names?

Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah, Judah fathered Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez fathered Hezon, Hezon fathered Ram ... and so on.

A

mong other things, these genealogies trace Jesus’ origins in a way that tells us his real story will not be grasped by anyone who wants to believe that Jesus’ human origins were immaculate and pure, containing no sin or weakness. Jesus wasn’t born of all saintly ancestors. Rather, his family tree contains as many sinners as saints. Among his ancestors were liars, adulterers, murderers, power-grabbing men, scheming women, wicked kings, corrupt church officials, and sinners of every sort.

The same holds true for the religious institutions that figured in his birth. The religious history of Judaism out of which

Jesus was born was also a mélange of grace and sin, of religious institutions serving both God and their own human interests.

And what’s the moral in all this? The lesson is this: both the persons and the institutions that gave birth to Jesus were a mixture of grace and sin, a mixture that mediated God’s favour and also rationalised it for its own benefit. But, out of that mélange, Jesus was born.

It can be a scandal to the piety within us to accept that not everything that gave birth to Christmas was immaculately conceived. The same holds true of what followed after Jesus’ birth. His earthly ministry was also shaped by the self-interest of the religious authorities of his time, the resistance of secular powers, and the fear and infidelity of his own disciples.

And this has continued through the 2 000 years of history since. Jesus has continued to have an earthly incarnation throughout the centuries, thanks not only to saintly individuals and virtuous churches. No, Jesus’ family tree subsequent to his birth is also a long list of saints and sinners, of selfless martyrs and selfish schemers, of virtue and betrayal.

And recognising and accepting this should not lead us to a cynicism where we doubt the truth of Jesus or the legitimacy of the Church because of the lies, sin, infidelity and stupidity of those human persons and religious institutions who originally made up Jesus’ family-tree and who have constituted his family since.

Faith can accommodate the recognition of sin and infidelity. So can Christmas.

Christmas has a checquered origin and a checquered sequence. Jacob did steal his brother’s birthright; Judah did sleep with his daughter-in-law; David did commit adultery and did commit murder to cover it up; the Church did set up the Inquisition; the Church did give us popes who sold ecclesial favours and were sexually licentious; the churches, despite their catholicity and holiness, have perennially been narrow and elitist and never been fully free of self-interest; and the sexual abuse scandal did happen.

But the pure mystery of Jesus, of Christ, and of the Church somehow shine through in spite of all of this and, ironically, because of all of this. Like a hidden seed, God’s grace works, even through people like us and churches like ours, revealing divinity despite everything.

And the God who wrote the original Christmas with crooked lines also writes the sequence with crooked lines, and some of those lines are our own lives.

itself: “Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look—this one lives for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is being contradicted—and a sword is going to pierce your soul’.”

Nor does it stop there, for in Luke’s gospel, where you have a man you must also have a woman. So the prophetess Hanna adds her piece; she is of the same impeccable priestly ancestry, and “did not depart from the Temple, worshipping with prayer and fasting, day and night”.

Her response is to “praise God—and she was speaking about him to all those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem”.

Then we watch this holy family with new eyes: “And when they had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to the Galilee, to their city of Nazareth.”

And there is more to come, for “the little child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was upon him”.

It is in the activity of God that we must find the values for which our families are precious to us. And God’s activity is sometimes rather unexpected.

Southern Crossword #633

ACROSS 5. Warlike tribesmen in impious setting (4) 7. Reproved the Danish mode (10) 8. What the lilies do not do (Mt 6) (4) 10. Make a start (8) 11. Troublesome devils (6) 12. Seems a jumble to find the seed (6) 14. Capuchins may be faced with them (6) 16. The word of Archimedes (6) 17. Can’t hope for a memorial (8) 19. Find fault with fish (4) 21. Allusions to credentials (10) 22. Experience a sprite inside (4)

DOWN 1. Cereals partly from toast (4) 2. Noah was ready for it (8) 3. It was gamefully thrown by the old Greeks (6) 4. Sceptic among the Apostles (6) 5. Hands the devil can tempt (4) 6. One of those to be called Sons of God (Mt 5) (10) 9. Bishop takes it over the priest (10) 13. Arabs who resisted the Crusaders (7) 15. Bishops hold them for their personnel (6) 16. Give encouragement (6) 18. He founded the city of Samaria (1 Kg 16) (4) 20. The bride will carry it colourfully (4)

Solutions on page 21

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

S Fr Murphy checked the Nativity display before packing it up, he noticed the baby Jesus was missing. Suddenly he saw little Jenny on a red bicycle, and in the basket the figure of the infant Jesus.

“Why did you take him?” Fr Murphy demanded. Jenny replied: “Well, the week before Christmas I told him if he would bring me a red bicycle with a basket for Christmas, I would give him a ride around the block in it.”

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

CHRISTMAS NATO troops from the International Security Assistance Force pray during Christmas Eve Mass at Bagram airfield in Afghanistan.

(Photo: Mohammad Ismail, Reuters/CNS)

Clergy celebrate Christmas Eve Mass at St Joseph Chaldean Catholic church in Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo: Ahmed Saad, Reuters/CNS)

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

Archbishop Peter Nguyen Van Nhon of Hanoi, Vietnam, delivers his homily during Christmas Eve Mass at Lai Yen Catholic church. (Photo: Kham, Reuters/CNS) Katherine Russell, dressed as an angel, tells four-year-old Nori BellucciMattice about the night Christ was born during a living Nativity at Sacred Heart cathedral in Rochester, New York. The living Nativity was part of a threeday Crèche Festival, which also featured breakfast with Santa Claus and St Nicholas, carolling, choir concerts, arts and crafts, and the display of a hundred Nativity sets. (Photo: Mike Crupi, Catholic Courier)

Ruben Miraflor, 15, a survivor of last year’s Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, decorates a Christmas tree in a street in Tacloban.

The typhoon killed more than 6 000 people, and displaced more than 4 million. (Photo: Romeo Ranoco, Reuters/CNS)

Palestinian Catholic Karen Najjar, 5, from Fassuta, Israel, touches the baby Jesus figurine following Christmas Mass in St Catherine church in Bethlehem, West Bank. St Catherine’s is next to the church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Christ’s birth. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill)

Pakistani Christian boys decorate a Christmas tree on the roof of their house in Islamabad. (Photo: Zohra Bensemra, Reuters/CNS)

Last year’s Vatican Christmas tree glows in St Peter’s Square. The 25m-high pine was a gift from the town of Waldmünchen in Bavaria, Germany.

(Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

Beannachtaí na Nollag

The Committee of the Irish South African Association in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban wishes all our members and friends a very happy and peaceful Christmas & New Year

We thank you for supporting our many events during 2014 & we look forward to meeting again at 2015 events.

www.ireland.co.za members@ireland.co.za members.jhb@ireland.co.za members.dbn@ireland.co.za

23

A girl in St Peter’s Square holds baby Jesus figurines for Pope Francis to bless during the Angelus at the Vatican.

Every year children observe a tradition of bringing their Nativity figurines for the pope to bless. (Photo: Paul Haring/ CNS)

At Christmas, God sent his first MISSIONARY!

The Missionaries of Africa are eager to wish you a very

WE CONTINUE THE MISSION OF JESUS IN AFRICA. Would you like to help us in some of the 22 African countries where we are working? Are you interested to be his Missionary?

Contact us: The Vocation Director Tel : 011.452.5283 P.O. Box 10057, Cell: 072.987.2990 Edenglen 1613 mavocsa@gmail.com Visit our international website: www.africamission-mafr.org

24

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS

Being God’s slave sets you free The great lesson of Christmas is that by being slaves to God, we are set free, as CATHERINE DE VALENCE explains.

T

HINK about this: It took a servant to bring a Servant into our world.

Mary never saw herself as a leader for the people, but as a servant of God, for the people. It was her trust in God and her servanthood, which enabled her fiat ‘yes’ to God. She considered herself the Lord’s “slave”, which spoke of her obedience to God. Consider two slightly different translations of Luke 1:38, Mary’s response to the angel’s annunciation.

Mary said, “You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.

(New Jerusalem Bible) “I am the Lord’s slave,” said Mary.

“May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

(Holman Christian Standard Bible) The different versions of the Scripture can enable us to see things a bit more clearly.

For example, to be a servant of God is to be slave to righteousness (God). We are all given free will to choose two paths: to be slave to sin, or slave to righteousness. Through Christ Jesus, we are set free from sin, and have been given a New Life of righteousness.

This is God’s ultimate gift of love to us through the birth of Jesus. St Paul put it like this: “But thanks be

to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Rom 6:17-18) Advent is a time to reflect, to examine our fidelity to God. It’s a time to repent and to renew our minds and hearts. It’s a time to count the blessings of family, friends and even foes.

Our foes are there to test our unconditional love and forgiveness through Christ. We become witnesses to this and give glory to God. We can bring all we face to the table of grace, for we serve a God who understands our humanity, through Christ Jesus.

We know that Lent is a time for repentance, but Advent is a season for that too, in order to renew ourselves for Christ.

The more we repent of sin, the more we choose to live in righteousness. This is an ongoing journey of self-discovery in Christ.

Jesus asks us to follow him in servanthood: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life-a ransom for many” (Mt 20:26-28) When Jesus is born in us, we become more Christ-like. As Mary

brought Jesus into our world, we too bring Jesus into our world in a spiritual way. We enable him to work in and through us, to serve one another. The gift of love that is born to us is passed on in and through us.

Through Mary’s Immaculate Heart, we have access to Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Through their hearts, we are drawn even closer to God, through serving and loving others unconditionally.

This amazing love is what unites us, prompts us, guides and directs our steps towards servitude to God. This servitude sets us free from sin, giving us freedom to live in peace and harmony with one another.

Christmas is a time to reach out to the marginalised, and to seek reconciliation and peace. No matter what has happened in this past year, know that God can bring good out of negative situations (our wilderness and wildness).

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

This Christmas, appreciate this amazing gift that is born to us. Let this season be the reason, for our gratitude of servitude to God. This Christmas embrace the unity that God’s love brings. n Catherine de Valence writes from Cape Town.

Mary considered herself the Lord’s ‘slave’, which spoke of her obedience to God.

Shadows magnify an abstract sculpture of the Nativity at the sanctuary of Fatima in Portugal. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

2014

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

25

Reach out with love for others The greatest gift we receive at Christmas is the one we receive every year: Jesus Christ.

And with that gift comes an obligation. KELVIN BANDA OP explains.

E

VERY year, as early as October, shops in our malls get decorated, alerting people—and especially Christians—that Christmas is approaching.

Christmas brings us much excitement and sometimes even fear. Excitement probably because we will prepare a feast to eat, and fearful because we may not have enough to eat and share with others.

At Christmas we feel a need to show and share the real love we have for others. Sometimes we may struggle to find special gifts which can show our love. Sometimes we might even give and receive gifts that are not needed.

The perennial question is: What gift do we buy for someone who has everything? And another question: What do we teach children about Christmas?

Christmas in itself is a most precious gift to humanity. Christmas, the birth of the Redeemer, is a gift given to us freely by God. This gift needs to be shared authentically with others. Jesus Christ is the gift.

This Christmas, we need to help our children, relatives and friends to appreciate the great gift of our Heavenly Father to us when he sent his only begotten Son to the earth.

This Christmas, let us be fully human and fully alive by going out of our homes and communities to help those who are most in need.

The gift of Christmas should not be just about shopping for ourselves, our families and our friends. Let us shop also for those who have never given us anything.

And even when we do shop for ourselves and others, let us give one another this Christmas the most precious gifts of relationship, friendship, support, love and caring.

M

any of us take our relationships and friendships for granted.

After all, for most of us, there is always someone in our lives who will care and who will give us time and attention.

We must love and cherish them, of course, but the gift of Christmas is not only love for those who love and care for us. Christmas is also about loving those who do not love and care for us.

It is about giving that special gift of relationship to someone who may not give that gift in return. Our gift must be unconditional.

The gift of Christmas is sharing

Residential Care, Family Reunification and Family Preservation Programs for orphaned, abandoned, abused and neglected children and their families

We thank everyone who supported us during this year and wish everyone a blessed Christmas time, Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

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Springfield Convent School Springfield Convent School wishes

time as Christ Jesus did with the sick and the lonely, with widows, orphans and the lowly.

Christmas is a time of healing wounds and forgiving ourselves and others so as to receive Jesus Christ with love, joy and peace. Christmas is the time when we really need to see God descending from heaven and coming to us in human form, thereby bridging the gap left by sin.

God always gives us a gift of relationship at Christmas. We need to give back by being there for one another, for the poor, for the unloved, for prisoners and the most afflicted.

During this Christmas, let us cherish God’s great love for us, expressed through the gift of Jesus Christ.

But Christmas, then, is also a time when we must look inside ourselves to see if we have love within.

St Francis once said: “We cannot give what we do not have.”

If we have the gift of love within ourselves, we should be free and able to love others genuinely this Christmas. It is this great gift, Jesus Christ, of God to us which we need to cultivate so that we may be more creative in serving God in those around us and beyond our walls.

This Christmas, let us be gifts to one another and to those in material and spiritual need. Let us celebrate Christ and be able to transform the lives of others.

“Nativity at Night” by Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni (1575-1642) depicts the birth of Christ in a Bethlehem manger. (Photo: Bridgeman Art Library)

DE LA SALLE HOLY CROSS COLLEGE Please visit our website at www.delasalleschool.co.za 2-22 Road No 3 Victory Park 2195

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Wishes all those associated with the College a Blessed and Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year.

SERVANTS OF CHRIST THE PRIEST

Secular Institute of Consecrated and Apostolic Life Founder: the very Rev Father Andre Joseph Blaise OMI (1902-1992)

Cardinal Napier, Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy, Cabra Dominican Sisters, Parents, Staff & Pupils a blessed and peaceful Christmas

May peace be your gi at Christmas and your blessing all year through

Peace and blessings to all our friends and benefactors during the holy season of advent and Christmastide and a blessed and peaceful new year.

Let’s put Christ back into Christmas; and we shall be his witnesses.

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26

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS

193 Nativity scenes and counting

BY SAM LUCERO

E

VERY Christmas season, Verna Bechard’s home is transformed into a gallery of Nativity sets.

Scenes of the first Christmas in Bethlehem fill nearly every curio cabinet, coffee table, mantel, window sill, hutch and cupboard in her spacious New London, Wisconsin, home.

Today the collection of Nativity sets numbers 193, with 30 from foreign countries.

Mrs Bechard purchased the first set in 1950 to replace one her mother owned. “It was [made of] painted plaster of Paris and the crèche itself was made out of cardboard. I figured it was old and thought we should have a new one,” she said.

Twenty-two years later, she bought a second one in Las Vegas.

She explained she was there with her husband, Dick, who was at-

tending a convention.

“I went to the gift shop at the hotel we were at and I saw this Nativity set,” she said. “I thought, oh my kids would really like that [but[ I couldn’t afford to buy it.”

So she went to play a slot machine and hit a jackpot. “I went right down to the gift shop and bought it.”

After that, the collection just started to grow. “One here and one there,” she told The Compass, newspaper of the Green Bay diocese. “Whenever my husband and I would go anywhere, I would buy one. The kids, after they were out of college and working, every Christmas they would come with new ones. It just kind of got out of hand.”

T

he Nativity sets come in all shapes and sizes and are made of a variety of materials, such as glass, ceramic, cloth, plastic, pewter, wood, coconut shell and

This Nativity set is one of 193 which Verna Bechard displays in her home.

She bought her first set for her mother in 1950 to replace an older one.

corn stalk.

She also has a small Christmas tree that hangs on a wall decorated with Nativity ornaments, many given to her by grandchildren. “Those are not counted” as part of the 193 Nativity sets, she added. Nor are the Nativity pillows, paintings or artwork given to her.

Mrs Bechard taught Grade 2 catechism in various parishes where she worshipped for 46 years. She has received small Nativity sets as Christmas gifts from parish children she taught.

When Verna and Dick, who died in 2011, celebrated their 50th anniversary on August 6, 2010, their seven children and 15 grandchildren held a surprise party at a local country club. All of the grandchildren dressed as characters from the first Christmas—animals, angels, Wise Men, shepherds and the Holy Family. It was a living Nativity which Mrs Bechard will never forget.

Last Christmas, her daughterin-law photographed every Nativity set and created eight photo albums, one for Verna and one for each of her children.

Mrs Bechard enjoys sharing the collection with others.

“A lot of people have come through to see them,” she said. “I always have the kids from the Catholic school come through.”

Mrs Bechard said her favourite sets include a glass set; the one she bought for her mother; and the original one her mother owned from the late 1930s.

“I would say the one from my mother would have special meaning—after I decided it wasn’t so bad,” added Mrs Bechard.—CNS

MONASTERY RETREAT HOUSE Mariannhill Tel 031 700 2155 Fax 031 700 2738

We wish all our guests and

benefactors a grace-filled and joyful Christmas, and a New Year overflowing with

happiness, peace and success

Verna Bechard holds one of the nearly 200 Nativity sets she has collected over six decades. (Photos: Sam Lucero, The Compass)

Tangney

Special Interest Tours To our Archbishops, Bishops, Monsignore, Priests and Pilgrims

Be assured of our prayers May the Lord bless and keep you now, and throughout 2015

NAZARETH HOUSE Johannesburg

The Sisters, Staff, Residents, and Children wish

our Archbishop, Clergy and Religious friends of Johannesburg every blessing for a peace-filled & joyous Christmas, and grace & strength for 2015.

We also express our sincere gratitude to our donors and friends who have assisted us in so many ways throughout the past year.

Without your support, we could not continue our ministry of serving the more vulnerable adults and children in our community.

May the Infant Christ fill you with His Grace and Joy! Tel: 011 648 1002, Cell: 084 838 3495, superior@nazarethhousejohannesburg.org fundraiser@nazarethhousejohannesburg.org www.nazarethhousejohannesburg.org

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

27

The wondrous babe in a cave A CHRISTMAS STORY BY FR RALPH DE HAHN

W

HEN twins Sally and Molly Kenny went missing, Mom knew where to find them.

Not too far from their forest home was a little cave on the hillside, large enough for two young girls, their dolls and a makeshift crib.

There were also little items from mother’s kitchen and bedroom to adorn the quaint little hideout.

After school hours and during the holidays this was their favourite playground; it was here that they would pray together their “Jesus Mary Joseph” prayer, and place some wild flowers before the rather shabby Joseph statue.

Here for them was a sanctuary of peace, yet always the same routine, ever uneventful—until the night of December 24, 1982.

When Sally and Molly arrived at their cave dwelling on that late afternoon, with the sun already dipping over the tall pines, imagine the shock and utter amazement of the twins on finding a real live baby nestled in their play crib, wrapped in rags and lying motionless at the feet of St Joseph. Another surprise!

Pinned to the baby’s clothing was a scrap of paper reading: “I have no right to be a mother, sorry.”

“You watch the baby,” cried Sally as she started off for home. “I’ll take that message and tell Mom and Dad about our find.”

When the folks heard the amazing story it was Dad who spoke up, with mixed feelings: “By God, another abandoned kid; it’s happening too often among the pregnant girls in the village and now in your little cave, of all places. Come then, we must bring this baby home and quickly inform the authorities.”

Sally ran with her parents along the path that led to the cave, and there was Molly, a nine-year-old child, smilingly holding a real live baby in her arms. “It’s a boy, Mom—and so cute!”

“OK then, let’s get this child back home and out of the chill.” Rachel Kenny took the child gently from her daughter, and because of her professional training in the general clinic many years before, and being

Contact us 229 Jorrisen Street Sunnyside, Pretoria 012 341 6705 www.catholiccentre.co.za

the mother of two, she was able to fit the part admirably.

At home, Dad was pondering his decision as this was Christmas Eve and they were faced with caring for this unknown baby while all the family always celebrated midnight Mass together.

The twins suggested a solution.

“Dad, Mom, never mind the police and other officials on this holy night. Look how cute he is, and so quiet, can we not take him to our parish Mass tonight...please?”

Mom threw a questioning gaze to her husband, Jerry.

“He could be the live Jesus baby in the church’s manger tonight. It could be a real Christmas,” Mom said, and Molly was doubly excited and cried out: “Oh how wonderful to give Mother Mary and Joseph a real live gift!”

Dad slowly nodded his approval, saying: “We will need to approach the parish priest in good time; he already has the liturgy planned.”

Rachel added that Fr Paul was very kind, obliging and understanding.

Maybe, just maybe!

With only a little persuasion Fr Paul allowed the substitution, and the foundling baby was elevated to play the silent role of the Christ child born to us that we may live forever.

The hour struck, the lights blazed, the choir raised their voices, the carols were heard again. “O come, all ye faithful, come let us adore him…”

The procession moved up the central aisle with Fr Paul carrying the abandoned baby in his arms, to place him in the church’s manger bed, followed by the blessing. What a childlike joy radiated from the hearts and faces of those twins. This to them was a real Christmas, angels were certainly present and so were the shepherds.

Molly knew of a shepherd lad on a neighbouring farm who suffered from partial blindness and used a white cane. Nine days after the feast he had no further need of his cane.

Many congregants spent time at the crib admiring the real live baby Christ; there was one adult woman wrapped in a broad black shawl who spent hours at the manger in tearful prayer, or so it seemed.

St Clare’s parish in Elsie’s River, Cape Town staged a 45-minute Nativity play at its Christmas midnight Mass last year. Mary was played by Charne Classen and Joseph by Christopher Fourie. The congregation filled the gaps with carol singing. As Jesus was born, a new spirit of hope filled the church. Fr Job Kaleekaparampil MFSFS roceeded with the Christmas celebration to the sound of the hymn “O Holy Night”.

That midnight Mass of 1982 was never forgotten.

Eventually the social services found a foster home for the baby, who at his baptism was named Vincent, because this was the parish of St Vincent de Paul.

Vincent grew up in the parish community. He was an altar boy and involved in a few ministries until he felt the call to the celibate life within the Church.

Because Vincent was very bright, his bishop sent him to the Propaganda Fide College in the Vatican.

There he was ordained priest at the age of 25.

How grateful he was to find Jerry and Rachel and Molly at his ordination; Sally, now married, stayed home with her own two children.

On returning to his diocese, Fr Vincent was assigned to his old parish. This was to him a great challenge, a new adventure, and he remained deeply grateful to the people who had brought him this far.

Like a true shepherd, Fr Vincent displayed a deep love for the repentant sinner, spent many hours in

the confessional and was admired for his compassion towards all.

His first Christmas Eve in 2008 found him glued to the confessional for hours before the midnight Mass. The Christmas carols could be heard in the background as a woman, she looked to be in her early 40s, knelt behind the purple curtain.

Her voice quiet and tearful: “Father, please bless me, for I have sinned. It is 26 years since my last confession. I am so sorry…I have no right to be a mother…”

Wishing all our Catholic School Communities and all in the Catholic Education Network a restful holiday..

and a blessed Christmas..

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28

The Southern Cross, December 17 to December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS

The big Southern Cross Christmas Quiz

50 questions to test your Christmas knowledge and learn a few new things! Compiled by Günther Simmermacher

9. Three Wise Men with three names.

22. Origin of Christmas cards

46. Judy Garland’s Chistrnas song

48. London’s Chrisrmas tree

30. A present for Harry Potter

36. A Charlie Brown Christmas

a) Green b) Red c) White 32. In which country are gifts bought to children on the eve of the feast of the epiphany by a female named Befana? a) El Salvador b) Italy c) Kenya 33. In which city was George Frederick Handel’s “The Messiah” first performed in 1742. a) Dublin b) Leipzig c) London 34. Who was the first British monarch to make the annual broadcast to the nation? a) Edward VII b) George V c) Elizabeth II 35. St Nicholas, on whom Santa Claus is based, came from Myra: in which modern state is that

city? a) Iran b) Syria c) Turkey 36. In the animated movie A Charlie Brown Christmas, which character explains the meaning of Christmas by quoting Luke 2:8? a) Charlie Brown b) Linus c) Sally 37. The cathedral of which German city houses the reputed relics of the Three Kings? a) Dresden b) Cologne c) Munich 38. In the title of the famous carol, where is the comma placed? a) God Rest, Ye Merry Gentlemen b) God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen c) God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen 39. Which animal brings gifts to

Christian children in Syria? a) Camel b) Donkey c) Lamb 40. Bing Crosby had a posthumous hit in a duet, “The Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth” with which pop singer? a) David Bowie b) John Denver c) Paul McCartney 41. In which country was the decorated Christmas tree first recorded as being used to celebrate the birth of Christ? a) Finland b) Germany c) Latvia 42. From which carol is the line: “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found”. a) Joy To The World b) O Come All Ye Faithful c) O Holy Night 43. Who replaced Father Christmas in the Soviet Union in 1926? a) Father Frost b) Mother Nature c) Father Time 44. In which country is it considered inappropriate to send red Christmas cards? a) Japan b) Russia c) Uruguay 45. Where did “Good King Wenceslas” rule? a) Bohemia b) Ruritania c) Moravia 46. In which film did Judy Garland sing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”? a) Meet Me In St Louis b) The Wizard Of Oz c) Easter Parade 47. At least four saints have their feast day on December 25. Which of these is not one of them? a) St Anastasia b) St Eugenia c) St Irmina 48. Which nation donates the Christmas tree in London’s Trafalgar Square every year? a) Austria b) Norway c) Poland 49. Which poet wrote the poem “The Cultivation Of Christmas Trees”? a) TS Eliot b) TE Hulme c) DH Lawrence 50. In the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, what is the total tally of gifts? a) 81 b) 162 c) 364

1. b) Isaiah; 2. b) 4th century (about 350); 3. c) Julius I; 4. c) Welsh; 5. b) Mark and John; 6. b) Holiday Inn; 7. b) Knecht Rupprecht; 8. c) Little Jack Horner; 9. c) Dagobert; 10. a) Francis of Assisi; 11. c) January 6; 12. b) It’s A Wonderful Life; 13. a) Oliver Cromwell (starting around 1642); 14. c) Franciscan; 15. a) Goat; 16. c) Vasco da Gama; 17. c) Hark, The Herald Angels Sing; 18. b) Holly (its thorns ward of evils); 19. b) Beit Sahour; 20. c) Klaxon; 21.

Matthew (2:1-12); 22. London (in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole); 23. a) Austria, 24. a) Austria (in 1936); 25. c) A hot mulled wine; 26. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (before its appearance in around 1700 Anglicans sang only the psalms of David at Christmas); 27. a) Incense; 28. a) Die Hard; 29. c) We Three Kings; 30. c) Invisibility cloak; 31. c) White; 32. b) Italy; 33. a) Dublin; 34. b) George V (in 1932, with a speech written by Rudyard Kipling) ; 35. c) Turkey; 36. b) Linus; 37. b) Cologne; 38. c) God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; 39. a) Camel; 40. a) David Bowie; 41. c) Latvia; 42. a) Joy To The World; 43. a) Father Frost; 44. a) Japan (because funeral notices are customarily printed in red); 45. a) Bohemia; 46. a) Meet Me In St Louis; 47. c) St Irmina (her feast day is December 24); 48. b) Norway (since 1947, in gratitude to England’s role in liberating the country from Nazi control); 49. a) TS Eliot; 50. c) 364

ence of Co nfer ns o C e

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e The L adersh i

“Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness!” a) Angels We Have Heard On High b) The First Noel c) Hark, The Herald Angels Sing 18. What traditional Christmas decoration is intended to protect us from pagans and witches? a) Candles b) Holly c) Mistletoe 19. The shepherds received the news from an angel in a field near Bethlehem. In which present-day town are their fields believed to have been? a) Beit Jalla b) Beit Sahour c) Ein Kerem 20. Which of these is not one of Santa’s reindeer? a) Comet b) Donner c) Klaxon 21. Only one gospel mentions the Three Kings. Which one? a) Mark b) Matthew c) Luke 22. Where was the first Christmas card produced? a) Boston b) Hamburg c) London 23. In which country was the great Christmas carol “Silent Night” written? a) Austria b) Germany c) Sweden 24. Which European country issued the first Christmas stamp? a) Austria b) Italy c) Switzerland 25. At the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Scrooge invites Bob Cratchit to join him for some “smoking bishop”. What does that mean? a) A steaming pudding b) A pipe with spiced tobacco c) A hot mulled wine 26. What was the first ever Anglican Christmas carol? a) Away In A Manger b) Once In Royal David’s City c) While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks 27. What is myrrh, one of the three gifts the magi brought the baby Jesus? a) Incense b) Jewel c) Oil 28. Which 1980s action movie is set on Christmas Eve? a) Die Hard b) Lethal Weapon c) The Terminator 29. From which carol is the line: “Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, Gold I bring to crown Him again King forever, ceasing never over us all to reign”? a) O Little Town Of Bethlehem b) Once in Royal David’s City c) We Three Kings 30. What gift did Harry Potter receive for his first Christmas at Hogwarts? a) A wand b) Quidditch broomstick c) Invisibility cloak 31. What colour are the berries of the mistletoe plant?

The answers

1. Who predicted the birth of the Messiah? a) Ezekiel b) Isaiah c) Joshua 2. In which century was the Nativity first officially celebrated? a) 2nd b) 4th c) 6th 3. Which pope declared December 25 to be Christmas Day? a) Gregory I b) Leo I c) Julius I 4. In which language is Christmas known as Nadolig? a) Hungarian b) Latvian c) Welsh 5. Which two gospels don’t mention the Nativity? a) Mark and Luke b) Mark and John c) Matthew and John 6. In which film did Bing Crosby first sing his big hit “White Christmas”? a) White Christmas b) Holiday Inn c) The Bells Of St Mary’s 7. Which German Christmas season figure punishes children who are naughty, not prayerful and don’t know the catechism? a) Hans Trapp b) Knecht Ruprecht c) Struwelpeter 8. Who pulled out a plum from the Christmas pie? a) Hopton, Smyth & Thynne b) Good King Wenceslas c) Little Jack Horner 9. Which of these is not one of the three wise men? a) Balthasar b) Caspar c) Dagobert 10. Who staged the first Nativity scene? a) Francis of Assisi b) Gregory the Great c) Nicholas of Myra 11. According to the calendar we use now, on which date would the Christmas of the Julian calendar fall? a) December 6 b) December 26 c) January 6 12. Which classic Christmas movie features the line, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets wings”? a) The Mirace On 34th Street b) It’s A Wonderful Life c) The Bishops’ Wife 13. Who tried to have Christmas abolished? a) Oliver Cromwell b) Henry VIII c) Napoleon III 14. To which order did Bl Jacopone of Todi, the first person to produce Christmas hymns in the vernacular, belong? a) Benedictine b) Dominican c) Franciscan 15. What animal brings Christmas gifts to children in Finland? a) Goat b) Reindeer c) Squirrel 16. Who “discovered” Natal on Christmas Day in 1497. a) Bartolomeu Dias b) Jan van Riebeeck c) Vasco da Gama 17. From which carol is the line:

wishes all benefactors and friends PEACE, JOY and NEW LIFE this Christmas and New year. and we thank you for your prayer and your support over the past year.

PEACE

May the love of Our Lord embrace you this Christmas and throughout 2015!

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