150304 by The Southern Cross

The

S outhern C ross

March 4 to March 10, 2015

reg No. 1920/002058/06

Sizanani founder priest dies at 81

No 4914

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Ntabeni: Meet a new day in Lent

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r7,00 (incl VaT rSa)

St John XXIII’s church in Istanbul

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Bishops post synod survey on Internet By STuarT GraHaM

Pop star Daniel Baron promoted his upcoming new album, Apollo, which is due to be released on March 12, at Holy rosary School in edenvale, Johannesburg. Baron, an ex-De La Salle pupil and parishioner of Victory Park in Johannesburg, spoke about his faith in a Southern Cross interview in the christmas issue. He is known for hits such as “So Much More”, “Not Here” and “all Over Now”. He is seen here with Holy rosary Grade 9 pupils Daniella ribeiro, Bontleng Dibakwane, chrislin Nieuwoudt and amy Law.

Swiss Guard on popes’ top dishes By Laura IeracI

COOKBOOK featuring favourite dishes of the three most-recent popes and their elite military corps will be published in English this year. Buon Appetito, Swiss Guard was written by David Geisser, 24, who had worked as a chef and published two popular cookbooks in his native Switzerland before joining the Swiss Guard nearly two years ago. “Many people do not know about the Swiss Guard,” said Mr Geisser, whose commander conceived of the coffee-table-size book as a means to make the Guard better known. The book serves as a fascinating and unlikely point of entry into the daily life, history and tradition of one of the world’s most enigmatic military corps. The book’s more than 70 recipes are organised into nine main sections, including everyday meals, holiday dishes and desserts, recipes from the guards’ two favourite Roman restaurants, and dishes from three towns on the outskirts of Rome where the guards often go on days off. The truth of the old adage, when in Rome do as the Romans do, comes to life in the section on everyday meals. The soldiers are all Swiss, but the Polish sisters who run the kitchen cook mostly Italian cuisine, said Mr Geisser. Daily meals tend to the richer side, with lots of cheese, creams and butter, and in-

clude pastas, soups, meat and fish. While the Swiss Guard keeps the traditional practice of Friday abstinence from meat, soldiers are not required to fast, even during Lent, “because of the needs of the work,” Mr Geisser said. There are no restrictions on their diet, as they burn lots of energy in training and on the job. The book also includes guards’ mealtime prayers. Perhaps the book’s biggest draw is the section of regional menus based on the tastes of the three most-recent pontiffs. The menu inspired by Pope Francis consists of Argentine classics: empanadas (dough pockets stuffed with meat, cheese or vegetables), a beef dish called colita de cuadril and the milk-based dulce de leche for dessert. German sausage salad, schweinsbraten (southern German roast pork) and baked cherries with whipped cream are on the menu inspired by retired Pope Benedict XVI. And Polish pierogi (stuffed potato dumplings), a stuffed beef roll and beets, and apple tart are included as having been among St John Paul II’s favourites. “Good food is important” for an army to stay “motivated and ready”, said Geisser, whose term with the Swiss Guard was due to end at the end of February. He will return to Switzerland, where he said he has a few projects simmering, including plans for a new cookbook. The original German hardcover edition was released in October.—CNS

VATICAN questionnaire dealing with controversial topics of divorce, co-habitation and “same sex attraction” has been distributed to parishes around the country ahead of the family synod in Rome this October—and Southern African Catholics can respond to it on the Internet. The questionnaire, which covers many of the issues that caused heated debate at last year’s family synod, calls on Catholics to “create an accurate picture of family life”. “This is an open debate which we hope will assist the Church in responding more generously and mercifully to family issues while still maintaining the Church’s values,” said Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, spokesman for the Southern African Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). In December the Vatican sent the world’s bishops’ conferences a list of 46 questions asking them to consult with “academic institutions, organisations, lay movements and other ecclesial associations” in preparing their responses. The responses, due to be returned to the Vatican by mid-April, will be the basis for the working document for the synod, which will run from October 4-25. The SACBC’s Internet survey closes on March 27. In the run-up to the 2014 synod, a list of 38 questions was sent to the world’s bishops. The bishops of England and Wales posted the questionnaire on the Internet with the invitation for public responses. Other bishops’ conferences, including those of Germany, Switzerland and Japan, published the findings before the synod. The questionnaire for the 2015 synod encourages discussion on the Church’s pastoral response on issues such as divorce, the sanctity of life, cohabitation and homosexuality,. While the basics of Catholic doctrine will not change, the synod will discuss the pastoral application of Church teachings. On a proposal to make it easier for a divorced and civilly remarried Catholic to receive Communion, the questionnaire asks: “How can we respond compassionately to

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people in irregular unions while remaining faithful to the teachings of Christ and the Church,” asks a follow-up question. Questions 12 asks whether Catholics understand and accept the Church’s teaching on “the transmission of life”. The questionnaire later asks what pastoral care is being given to those who have participated in abortions. Homosexuality is dealt with in question 30 which asks: “How serious a concern is the pastoral care of those with same sex attraction.” The questionnaire, which clearly is addressed also to pastors, asks how many couples are known to be cohabiting in the parish and whether they intend to marry. It also asks whether polygamy is “a significant issue in your parish” and “how widespread the problem is”. The Vatican has urged bishops’ conferences to voice responses with “a formulation of pastoral care based simply on an application of doctrine”. Archbishop Slattery said the SACBC would prepare a national report for the Vatican, based on the responses. It is not certain whether the Southern African report will be made public. Some conferences have already said that their questionnaire results will not be publicised. Archbishop Slattery said the purpose of the questionnaire is to encourage “open debate”. “Above all we want to point out the beauty and the importance of family life,” he said. “We know family life can be difficult. What is the role of the spirit of Christ in preparing us for married life? How can we deal with difficulties in family life?” Issues such as “dealing with a world where divorce and marriage break-up is common place” and protecting children in fragile marriages must be discussed. “We must also look at situations of people who are divorced and remarried,” he said. Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town and Bishop Zolile Mpambani of Kokstad have been selected to represent the SACBC region at the synod which will have as its theme “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world”. n The Internet survey can be filled in at www.surveymonkey.com/r/SACBC-family

Rome, Assisi, Florence, Siena, Padua, Milan, Venice and more 6 - 18 September 2015

The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

LOCAL

Prisoners win construction awards STaFF rePOrTer

HIRTEEN former prisoners were awarded certificates in community house building at a graduation ceremony at Christ the King Catholic church in Pinelands, Cape Town. The ex-offenders were mentored by the Prison Care and Support Network (PCSN), a non-profit organisation functioning under the auspices of the Catholic Church. The network seeks to respond to the spiritual and emotional needs of offenders and the reintegration of ex-offenders. The 13 completed their courses at the West Coast FET College/ Power Construction Site with support from Construction CETA. The graduation was attended by Fr Peter-John Pearson, vicar-general of the archdiocese of Cape Town, Construction CETA CEO Sonja Pilusa, CETA core business execu-

tive Thapelo Madibeng, representatives from West Coast College, PCSN board members Janine Richards and Randall Bredenkamp, prison chaplains, as well as staff and volunteers of the PCSN. On behalf of his fellow graduates, Khanyiso Tshanyela thanked PCSN and its partners for giving them this opportunity. Mrs Pilusa thanked the PCSN and reminded the graduates of Nelson Mandela’s words: “It is not so much about what you are given in life, rather than what you make with what you have.” She announced that Construction CETA has further dedicated itself to the project, with 50 learnerships for 2015, besides construction-related bursary support worth R1,2 million for inmates. She also said that Services CETA intends to engage with the PCSN to

Jesuits to screen film of Marikana tragedy By DyLaN aPPOLIS

HE Jesuit Institute will be screening the multi-award winning documentary Miners Shot Down, which is based on the events that occurred at Marikana in August 2012. The screening will be taking place at the Jesuit Institute in Johannesburg on March 11. The film follows the story of the Marikana tragedy, including information from the police and the TV archive, plus interviews with the legal team representing the miners at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry. Jesuit Grant Tungay noted that Miners Shot Down has won the 2015 Cinema for Peace Award for Justice. “It is an emotional and poignant exploration of the events leading up to the Marikana massacre,” he said. “The producers of this documentary would like as many people as possible to see this documentary before these findings are released, because there are so many unanswered

questions about exactly what happened and who was responsible for this tragedy,” he said. “The documentary includes dramatic footage from Lonmin security personnel and the police, as well as interviews with key players in the saga, for instance with lawyers representing the families of the slain miners, together with photo-journalists, trade union leaders and Cyril Ramaphosa,” he added. The Jesuit Institute is interested in getting people to talk about the events which occurred at Marikana, he said. Members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference as well as Justice Edwin Cameron are expected to attend the screening. “It promises to be a good opportunity to tackle this sensitive topic, and to get people talking about this important event in our recent history,” Mr Tungay said. n For more information contact Grant Tungay at g.tungay@jesuitinstitute. org.za or on 076 488 6617.

provide additional support for the social reintegration of ex-offenders. The core team of the PCSN/CETA project, PCSN coordinator Fr Babychan MSFS and PCSN programme coordinator Alledene Cupido, led the successful completion of the first CETA-sponsored learnership programme for ex-prisoners in the country. Two recipients of the PCSN prison inmates bursary programme were also congratulated for their outstanding performances. Stanton Hermanus recently completed his honours degree in computer science and obtained seven distinctions. He is currently registered at the University of Cape Town for his Masters in information systems. Jacobus Thiart completed his first university year in accounting. He is currently registered for his second year.

(Back row) c Greef, regional coordinator ceTa; T Madibeng, ceTa core business executive; Fr Peter-John Pearson, vicar-general, cape Town; graduates S Bruiners, X Matabata, T Mashwawu, r Sokoyi, M Koyingana. (Middle row) S Pilusa, ceO of ceTa; graduate r Petersen; J richards, vice-chair of PcSN; K Mbelwa, graduate; Mr Martin, West coast FeT college; graduates a Tshanyela and M Nefdt; W Smith, West coast FeT college. (Front row) graduates N Meje, K rodriques and L Manzini.

Big anniversary plans for home STaFF rePOrTer

O celebrate its 80th birthday, St Joseph’s Home for chronically ill children in Montana, Cape Town, is inviting all former patients to share their life stories, testimonials of perseverance and survival against all odds at an event on March 21. The anniversary “will celebrate life, hope and gratitude as the home reflects on serving more than 21 000 vulnerable children during this time”, said Alrika Hefers, resource development manager. St Joseph’s was established in 1935 by the Pallottine Missionary Sisters to care for orphaned and vulnerable children. “Armed with their belief, passion and forward thinking, the Sisters started a paediatric health and wellness model, which focused on the total wellbeing of the child,” Ms Hefers said. “St Joseph’s has been a pioneer in the field of paediatric intermediate health care in South Africa. The holistic model of service has developed over the years and is unique in

children of St Joseph’s Home and volunteers at a fun day last year. St Joseph’s has a full programme to mark its 80th birthday. South Africa,” Ms Hefers explained. “Children from mainly disadvantaged backgrounds with lifethreatening or limiting illnesses are referred to St Joseph’s from State hospitals to continue with postacute, restorative, palliative and rehabilitative care. It includes 24-hour general and specialised nursing care, multi-disciplinary interventions including rehabilitation, on site pre- and primary school education, parental education and empowerment, logistical support, training of accredited auxiliary nurses, pastoral care, outreach and follow-up support visits to fam-

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ilies and volunteer placement programmes.” This year’s events programme includes the reunion on March 21, starting at 10:00. Those wishing to join the reunion are asked to RSVP ronell@stjosephshome.org.za or dora@ stjosephshome.org.za. On July 29 the home will open two wards, Sweet Basil and Daisy, as its new child-friendly spaces. These are the first completed stages of the R36 million renovations being done. On September 22 a special Thanksgiving Mass will be celebrated to reflect on the pioneer Pallottine Sisters. From November 7-8 a fundraiser will be held at Stellenberg Gardens for the home’s “Sponsor a Bed” project. From November 25 to December 4 St Joseph’s will celebrate eight days of giving and solidarity, with a focus on global and local fundraising initiatives. n For more information or to arrange a visit to St Joseph’s Home contact Alrika Hefers at alrika@stjosephshome. org.za or 021 934 0352, or visit www.stjosephshome.org.za

Pope ‘discusses’ SA tour By STuarT GraHaM

OPE Francis is “discussing” an invitation to visit South Africa by the Southern African Bishops’ Conference with his schedule organiser, according to Cardinal Wilfrid Napier. Cardinal Napier, who was in Rome in February for meetings at the Vatican, told Radio Veritas that he had received a short reply from the Holy Father when he asked about the invitation. “I asked if he received our invitation to South Africa,” Cardinal Napier said. Pope Francis replied, “Yes, yes”, and said that he had discussed the issue with his travel organiser. “So he is discussing it and our request has been lodged and noted,” the cardinal said. Pope Francis will make his first visit to Africa in November, with stops in Uganda and the Central African Republic. Cardinal Napier said the SACBC indicated in its letter that South Africa is one of the few significant sub-Saharan countries never to have received a full pastoral visit by a pope. On a separate note, the cardinal said it was evident that two major concerns are coming across in Pope Francis’ ministry. “The one is that the Church has to be serving the people on the peripheries of society; the second one is that if the Church is going to do that effectively it has to get its families and ministries in order,” Cardinal Napier said.

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The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

LOCAL

Bishops plan tour to Sizanani children’s Eucharistic congress home founder dead STaFF rePOrTer

HE bishops of Southern Africa are staging a pilgrimage to the International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu, Philippines, from January 24-31, 2016. “As with previous congresses, our bishops’ conference is organising an official pilgrimage to this congress. All are invited to participate in this pilgrimage,” said Bishop Frank de Gouveia of Oudtshoorn. “It is anticipated that many bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons and laity will join the pilgrimage,” he said. The bishops have changed the dates of their January 2016 plenary session, usually held in the last week of January, to enable those bishops who are able to attend. The opening Mass will be on Sunday, January 24, and the closing one the following Sunday. During the week there will be daily Eucharist as well as many opportunities for adoration. On the Friday there will be a Eucharistic procession through the centre of Cebu concluding with Benediction. “Another highlight of the week will be the catechesis and testimonies. Among the well-known speakers will be Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, Fr Robert Barron and Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP,” Bishop de Gouveia said. Explaining the importance of the Eucharistic congress, the bishop drew from the early days of the Church. “In the year 304 in North Africa, a group of Christians were gathered to celebrate the Eucharist one Sunday. There were very severe restrictions against Christianity at that time and in that place, and to participate in this celebration was a crime punishable by death. “The group was discovered and they were warned that they could

gather as a church, but they were not allowed to celebrate the Eucharistic meal. They replied: ‘There is no Eucharist without the Church and there is no Church without the Eucharist. Without the Eucharist we cannot live.’ And so they were martyred rather than try to live without the Eucharist. “What deep faith in the presence and action of Christ in the Eucharist! And what about ourselves? What would we do in a similar situation?” Bishop de Gouveia asked, adding the response in our Eucharistic prayer: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

he Philippines is the third-largest Catholic country in the world and Cebu is regarded as the cradle of Christianity in Asia. “This celebration forms part of a ‘nine-year novena’ which the Filipinos are celebrating in preparation for the 500th anniversary of the coming of Christianity to their country,” Bishop de Gouveia explained. In 1521 the king and queen of the island of Cebu, together with many others, were baptised by Spanish missionaries who arrived on five Spanish ships under the command of the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan for King Charles V of Spain. The original Cross of Magellan which he planted as a marker on his arrival in Cebu is housed today in a shrine in Cebu. A replica of the shrine has been chosen as the symbol of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress. The cross is indeed a symbol of hope for the Filipino people who have experienced many natural disasters. For this reason the theme of this Eucharistic congress is “Christ in You, Our Hope of Glory” (Col 1:27). n For more information contact infor@micasatours.co.za or 011 3427917.

By STuarT GraHaM

HE priest who founded the Sizanani Home for Children in Bronkhorstspruit and dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of the poor and helpless, has died at 81. Fr Karl Kuppelwieser, widely known as Fr Charles, died in Bronkhorstspruit on February 24. Apart from his charitable works, the priest was internationally acknowledged for his work in the inter-faith and ecumenical dialogue. Fr Kuppelwieser, who arrived in South Africa from Austria in 1961, spent the last years of his life at the Phumula Old Age Home where he was cared for by Eunice Mathe, 40, who recalls meeting the priest in Carolina when she was a hungry 10-yearold altar girl. “Fr Charles worked in Lydenburg and the surrounding areas,” Ms Mathe recalled. “When he moved to Carolina, in what was the Witbank diocese, he started building schools and churches in the surrounding areas. He helped the community. He worked very hard.” “In the apartheid times black people from the homelands came to buy their groceries in Carolina. Fr Charles let the people stay in his house. The police didn’t like

Fr Karl Kuppelwieser, who has died at 81 this, but Fr Charles said they can do what they like; the people stay with me,” Ms Mathe said. She recalled that Fr Kuppelwieser would feed the children when he took them for catechism classes at Holy Trinity. Fr Kuppelwieser started building Sizanani in Bronkhorstspruit in 1989. When Ms Mathe visited him at the opening of the centre in 1993 he told her that everything would be ready in ten years’ time. “We were picking up big

stones and cutting down trees to make place for the buildings. Father said in ten years time everything will be ready. And it was. Ten years later everything was there.” Ms Mathe says Fr Kuppelwieser sold second-hand clothes, grew and sold vegetables, ran a pottery factory and a retreat centre to raise funds for Sizanani. The home had been subsidised by the Department of Health, with Fr Kuppelwieser providing the rest of the funds. Fr Kuppelwieser retired in 2004. Fr Kuppelwieser will also be remembered for giving refuge to the late Happy Sindane, who made headlines in 2003 after he walked into the Bronkhorstspruit police station claiming he had been abducted as a young boy from a white family by a domestic worker. In October 2003, the Bronkhorstspruit Children’s Court found Sindane was Abbey Mzayiya, the son of a black domestic worker, Rina Mzayiya and a white man. Fr Kuppelwieser described Mr Sindane, an unskilled man who admitted to having a drinking problem and was often found smoking dagga, his “spiritual son”. Continued on Page 11

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The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

INTERNATIONAL

More Christians taken by ISIS in north Syria D Pauline Sister rose Pacatte, director of the Pauline centre for media studies and Hollywood movie critic. (Photo: Still from INNdustry video)

Nun presents Razzie award in Hollywood By LISa GuTIerrez

OVIE critic Sister Rose Pacatte covered her first red carpet event in January, scoring a spot in the media scrum at the Los Angeles premiere of Kevin Costner’s new movie, Black or White. Watching the parade of stars, agents and handlers pass her by, she wondered if anyone would stop and talk to her. “Who expects to see a nun there?” she figured. When Paula Newsome, one of the movie’s stars, walked past, she assessed Sr Rose in her blue Daughters of St Paul habit and asked: “Are you really a nun?” “I am,” said Sr Rose. “You never know,” Ms Newsome said, laughing. The ice finally broken, Sr Rose ended up interviewing Ms Newsome, Kevin Costner and their co-star Octavia Spencer for her TV series, The INNdustry with Sister Rose from the sidelines of the red carpet. Sr Rose took centre stage at an even bigger Hollywood event—the annual Golden Raspberry Awards, better known as the Razzies. For 35 years the tongue-in-cheek, Razzies have “honoured” the worst of Hollywood—bad acting, bad writing, bad directing, bad movies. Think of them as the opposite Oscars. In fact, the Razzies traditionally take place the night before the hallowed Academy Awards. This year, the Razzies for the first time included a new honour—the Redeemer Award—for an actor who has made up for his or her past transgressions against cinema with better work. Sr Rose was picked to present the award, which went to Ben Affleck.

He was nominated for the Redeemer along with Jennifer Aniston, Mike Myers, Kristen Stewart and Keanu Reeves. The winner was chosen by votes cast on the movie review website RottenTomatoes.com. “Nuns are all about redemption, right?” said Sr Rose, who writes reviews on her Patheos.com blog, “Sister Rose at the Movies,” and for the National Catholic Reporter. “Our culture is a redemptive culture. We like a comeback kid. Everybody makes mistakes and everybody deserves another chance,” she said in an interview. Sr Rose was the perfect person to hand out the new award, said Mo Murphy, co-owner and executive producer of the Razzies. Not only does she have the journalistic credentials—Sr Rose is director of the California-based Pauline Centre for Media Studies—she also recognises good filmmaking, said Murphy. The Razzies producer recalled The New York Times profile of Sr Rose from 2013 that noted how she reviews movies based on how they shed light on the human experience. “We want to put her on the map,” said Mr Murphy. “She’s very cool. And she’s got a sense of humour.” The ceremony, which was not televised, took place at the Montalban Theatre for the performing arts in Hollywood. The Academy Awards are always Hollywood’s biggest weekend of the year. But unlike celebrities who were busy getting their red-carpet wardrobes ready before Oscar night, Sr Rose already knew what she’d be wearing for her big evening out. “Basic blue,” she said, “from the House of St Paul”.—CNS

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OZENS of Assyrian Christians were abducted by Islamic State forces during a new offensive against a string of villages in northeastern Syria, aid and civil rights organisations reported. The exact number of people being held was unknown, but Fr Emanuel Youkhana, who heads the Christian Aid Program Northern Iraq, (CAPNI), said that more than 100 residents had been captured during the assault. “Knowing the brutal barbaric record of ISIS with the captured, the destiny of those families is a major concern to us,” Fr Youkhana said. The priest said at least two villages—Tal Shamiran and Tal Hermiz —remained surrounded by Islamic State forces overnight. It was not immediately clear what the militants would do with the abductees. The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need reported that thousands of people fled the villages nestled along the Khabur River and were able to reach the largely Kurdish-controlled city of Hassakeh, Syria, to the east. Bishop Aprim Nathniel of the Assyrian Church of the East reported that a local church and community hall were overloaded with people who fled the villages.

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tory for Human Rights, with a network of activists in Syria, also reported the abductions and said that about 90 Christians were being held by Islamic State forces, the Associated Press reported. As the assault unfolded, Fr Youkhana said, Arab Sunni villagers from a nearby Assyrian village rescued 15 Assyrians who were expected to make their way to Hassakeh. Kurdish forces managed to join the fight to slow the Islamic State advance, various media reported. The Associated Press also reported that the Islamic State group’s online radio station, Albayan, said that Islamic State fighters had detained “tens of crusaders” and seized ten villages around Tal Tamr after clashes with Kurdish militiamen. Islamic State militants frequently refer to Christians as “crusaders”. Assyrians are an ethnic group whose origins are in ancient Mesopotamia. They are a Christian people; the Chaldean Catholic Church was formed by a group of Assyrians who broke away and joined the Catholic Church in the 16th century. The Assyrians have traditionally lived in what is now Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey.—CNS n Doreen Abi Raad in Beirut contributed to this story.

UK bishops: Life is top election priority By SIMON caLDWeLL

HE Catholic bishops of England and Wales have made the defence of human life their top priority in guidance to Catholic voters ahead of the general election. A four-page letter to voters, which will be distributed throughout churches, lists “important issues” the bishops invite Catholics to raise with candidates in the election for the House of Commons on May 7. The issues include respecting life, supporting marriage and the family, alleviating poverty, support for parental choice for faith-based education, fair pay, religious freedom, care of refugees and migrants, the role of the European Union and Britain’s place within it, and the care of the environment. The first of all the issues they deal with, however, concern abortion and euthanasia, and the bish-

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Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan said he had been unable to reach Bishop Jacques Hindo in Hassakeh. “We pray and hope that these latest tragic events end without killing and abusing our Christian community,” the patriarch said. “It is shameful that the whole world, beginning with the so-called Western nations, became accustomed to these aberrations of religious and ethnic cleansing, in the name of a volatile, unrealistic Western democracy that never existed in countries ruled by Muslims. This is why the eradicating fanaticism is spreading in the latter nations,” said Patriarch Younan, who was born in Hassakeh. He said the Islamic State raids on the Assyrian villages were in an area fuelled by confessional hatred. “So it is quite possible that they attacked innocent, defenceless Christians, where no Syrian army exists, but only civilian defenders, in order to revenge serious losses suffered up north, near Qamishli,” he said. Nuri Kino, head of A Demand for Action, which works to protect religious minorities in the Middle East, said that the militants took between 70 and 100 Assyrians, including women and children. The Britain-based Syrian Observa-

ops note persistent attempts to legalise assisted suicide in the UK. “We support policies that protect the fundamental right to human life,” says the letter signed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark, president and vice-president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. “The unborn child is vulnerable and defenceless and, tragically, in our society often the innocent victim of abortion. We oppose calls to introduce assisted suicide or euthanasia,” the bishops say. They note that parliament would probably renew efforts to legalise assisted suicide, so they asked, “Where do the candidates in your constituency stand on assisted suicide, euthanasia, abortion and other life issues?” The bishops emphasise the importance of marriage “as the building block of society” and invite voters to ask themselves: “Do your

candidates have a commitment to support marriage and family life?” In the introduction to the letter, the bishops proclaim the Gospel as a “way of life”. “As Catholics, we are called to work for a world shaped by the Gospel of Jesus Christ”. “The Gospel proclaims the mercy of God and invites us steadfastly to love God and our neighbour. As with guidance in previous elections, the bishops stress, however, that they are not telling Catholics how to vote. “Who you vote for is a matter for you alone,” they explain. “Our aim is to suggest how you might approach this important question in May 2015 and to suggest some key issues for your reflection as you make your own decision.” In deciding how we vote the question for each one of us is then: How, in the light of the Gospel, can my vote best serve the common good?”—CNS

St Gregory of Narek now a doctor of the Church By Laura IeracI

Contact: Brother Evenie Turner O.F.M. 082 599 7718, 012 345 3732, PO Box 914-1192, Wingate Park, 0153,

Email: evenieturner63@gmail.com

10TH-century Armenian monk has been named among the doctors of the Church. Pope Francis approved the designation for St Gregory of Narek during a meeting with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. The Church confers this designation on saints whose writings are considered to offer key theological insights for the faith. St Gregory of Narek is considered one of the foremost figures of Armenian theology and thought, and many of his prayers are included in the Armenian Divine Liturgy. He was born in 950 in the Armenian town of Andzevatsik, located in present-day Turkey. He entered a monastery at a young age and was ordained a priest at 25. He lived at the monastery at Narek his whole priestly life and taught at the monastic school. His best-known writings in-

St Gregory of Narek clude a commentary on the Song of Songs and his Book of Lamentations, more commonly known as Narek. Narek is considered his masterpiece. It includes 95 prayers and has been translated into more than 30 languages. St Gregory died in Narek around 1005. St Gregory brings the current number of doctors of the Church to 36. His feast day in the Armenian churches is October 13; he is remembered in the Catholic Church on February 27.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

Kidnapped Jesuit: Pope: No soulless seafood ‘God has saved me’ splurge for meatless Fridays By aNTO aKKara

By carOL GLaTz

JESUIT priest kidnapped in Afghanistan and held for eight months told reporters, “God has saved me,” but he said he did not want to discuss details of his captivity. Fr Alexis Prem Kumar, 47, kidnapped on June 2 in Afghanistan’s Herat province, was flown to New Delhi from Kabul with the intervention of the Indian government. “First of all, I thank God almighty. I thought I would never be safe. God has saved me,” Fr Kumar said in an interview. He thanked everyone for their prayers: “the Vatican, the Jesuits, the [Jesuit Refugee Service] and all. God has heard our prayers". Fr Kumar said when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to him, “I felt that the whole of India was welcoming me. I am grateful and thankful to the Jesuits and all others who have worked for my release.” When media asked the priest to speak about his captivity, he replied, “I want to forget everything for some time.” “Anything about Afghanistan or what happened, I am not ready to share now. Please pardon me,” Fr Kumar told reporters when the question was repeated. “I have plenty of stories, but I feel it is not the right time to share all those about the time [in captivity],” he reiterated. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India welcomed Fr Kumar’s release and thanked Prime Minister Modi “for the efforts taken by

R Jesuit Father alexis Prem Kumar, who was kidnapped in afghanistan and was held for more than eight months. (Photo: anto akkara/cNS) him personally and for the many steps adopted by the various agencies of the government of India to secure the safe release of Fr Alexis Prem”. Mr Modi tweeted as Fr Kumar was being flown to New Delhi: “Delighted at securing the release of Indian Jesuit priest Father Alexis Prem Kumar from captivity in Afghanistan.” Fr George Pattery, Jesuit South Asia provincial, was chairing a meeting of Indian Jesuit provincials in Mumbai. He told CNS: “We could not believe the news as there were no hints about it. We are relieved as we were getting more and more worried.” Fr Kumar had been based in Afghanistan since 2011 and headed the Jesuit Refugee Service there since 2012. “It was hard,” replied Fr Kumar when a fellow Jesuit asked him if he ate properly during captivity. “Let’s forget all that. Let’s rejoice now,” he said.—CNS

EAL fasting isn’t just restricting food choices, it must also include cleansing the heart of all selfishness and making room in one’s life for those in need and those who have sinned and need healing, Pope Francis has said. Faith without concrete acts of charity is not only hypocritical, “it is dead; what good is it?” he said, criticising those who hide behind a veil of piety while unjustly treating others, such as denying workers fair wages, a pension and health care. Being generous towards the Church, but selfish and unjust towards others “is a very serious sin: It is using God to cover up injustice”, he said. The pope’s homily was based on the day’s reading from the Book of Isaiah in which God tells his people he does not care for those who observe penance passively—bowed “like a reed,” lying quietly in a “sackcloth and ashes”. Instead, God says he desires to see his people crying out “full-throated and unsparingly” against injustice and sin, “setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless”. In the reading, God also points out the hypocrisy of the faithful who fast, but treat their workers badly and fight and quarrel with others. Pope Francis said Lent is about fulfilling all commandments both towards God and others. Lent is not about the formal observance of “doing a little whatever” and not eating meat on Fridays, while giving oneself free reign to

Pope Francis asked people to guard against treating the Lenten abstinence as a reason for a banquet of another kind. (Photo: Paul Haring/cNS) “grow in selfishness, exploit others the Church on the back of injustice,” and ignore the poor”, he said. he said. “It is not a good Christian There might be someone who who doesn’t do justice to the people thinks: “Today is Friday, I can’t eat who depend on him.” meat, but I’m going to have a nice “This is the distinction between plate of seafood, a real banquet,” formal and real,” he said, which Jesus which, while appearing to be an ab- underlined, too, when he constinence from meat, is the sin of glut- demned the Pharisees and doctors of tony, the pope said. the law, who adhered to “many exAnother person might say: “I am ternal observances but without the a great Catholic, Father, I like it a lot. truth of the heart.” I always go to Mass every Sunday, I Unfortunately, he said, many receive Communion,” to which, the “men and women have faith but pope said he would reply, “Great, they separate the tablets of law,” that and how is your relationship with is, they obey the first commandyour workers? Do you give them a ments and obligations to God while fair wage? Do you contribute to- ignoring or being selective about the wards their pension? ” rest of the commandments concernSome people may regularly make ing others. financial contributions to the “They are united: love towards Church, but, the pope asked, how God and love to your neighbour are generous are they towards their one, and if you want to practise real, loved ones and their dependants? not formal, penance, you have to do Are they generous and just to them, it before God and also with your too? he asked. brother and sister, your neighbour,” People cannot “make offerings to he said. —CNS

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The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

A poisonous brew

ECENT incidents of xenophobic violence have raised fears of a repeat of the antimigrant pogroms of 2008, with a poisonous brew of prejudice and criminality seeming to bubble beneath the surface of our society. Should widespread violence against immigrants from other parts of Africa take place again, the shame on South Africa will be immense. It will be unworthy of a country which only five years ago welcomed the world with open arms for the football World Cup. The government and its security organs seem acutely aware of this. There can be no better explanation for the unpersuasive intimation that the recent attacks were committed by criminals with no regard to the nationality of the victims, a suggestion that appears to be at odds with witness accounts. South Africa is shamed by mobs that attack, rob, evict, rape and even murder those who sought a refuge from suffering. How can this be in a society where a majority of people profess to have faith in God? How can this be in a country whose vast majority of people are warm and welcoming? Jesus warns that those who do not welcome the stranger face “eternal punishment” (Mt 25:3146). Our Lord leaves us in no doubt that xenophobia—the hatred of foreigners—is a grave sin. Christians who join the mobs in attacking foreigners, or even tolerate or justify such violations, are grievously offending against God. Pope Francis has a particular concern for the condition of migrants worldwide. Shortly after his election he visited Lampedusa, an island off Italy that serves as an entry point for Africans trying to reach Europe. There, in words that have application throughout the world, he said: “We pray for a heart which will embrace immigrants. God will judge us upon how we have treated the most needy.” Xenophobia must be as intolerable—to Church and society— as racism, sexism or homophobia. It is a repugnant bigotry wherever it takes hold; more so in South Africa which still suffers from a bitter legacy of prejudice, inequality and hatred. It is distressing that some

Cape Town Chapter

South Africans are not only failing to defeat but are perpetuating the sins of blind prejudice, in violation of God’s will and the state’s Constitution alike. And on whom will the mobs turn when all the foreigners have been driven out? What an awful hypocrisy is being committed in this country which is led by many who once themselves were strangers in a strange land, including President Jacob Zuma. Many of those who helped liberate South Africa from apartheid found hospitality in African countries, some of which suffered cross-border raids by apartheid forces as a consequence. Many migrants to South Africa have escaped conditions every bit as hellish as any which South Africans may have experienced. They did not come to South Africa “to take our jobs”; they came to South Africa to stay alive. It is important to note that immigrants tend to create employment and benefit the economy, rather than feed off it. What an indictment on our country that there are people who managed to flee the hell of countries like Somalia, only to find persecution, even violent death, in what they had hoped would be a place of refuge. We must be ashamed. And what an indictment on South Africa that the state is failing not only to provide protection to immigrants, but in many ways is party to their suffering by the creation of sometimes insurmountable bureaucratic obstacles. The government may be right is saying that the attacks on immigrants are initiated and led by criminal elements. But it is also true that the actions of many of those who are taking part in mob attacks are predicated on the government’s inability to address the systemic and hopeless poverty that exists in those communities where these attacks are taking place. The criminals are exploiting the frustration and anger of people, directing that rage against immigrants. This explains the phenomenon, but it can never serve to justify it. For South Africans it must be clear that any xenophobic attack is an attack on the country and its people.

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.

Blessed to receive Radio Veritas

AM blessed to be able to access Radio Veritas via DStv. I greatly look forward to Evening Prayer, followed by the Angelus and then the Rosary. The new music introduced this year is wonderful. If I am able, I tune in for Holy hour and Mass at midday. Listening to the ever-cheerful Khanya Litabe with his birthday and other greetings followed by

Who’s ‘Father’?

LLOW me to add my voice in defence of the title “Father” which we Catholics respectfully address our priests (Open Door, December 31). Jesus himself called Abraham “father Abraham” in Luke 16:24, as St Paul does repeatedly in Romans 4. Indeed, in 1 Corinthians 4:14-15 Paul says: “I became your father in Christ through the Gospel.” And St John continually refers to his “spiritual little children” in his letters, implying that he is their spiritual father. Stephen, too, addressed the Jewish priests and scribes as “my fathers” in Acts 6 et al. Are we then to refrain from calling our blood fathers “Father” or those who instruct us as “teacher”? Interestingly, when Jesus initiates the papacy in Matthew 16:1819, he uses the close analogy of Isaiah 22:20-23. Here Eliakim is created “prime minister”. He is to have successors and was to be a “father”: to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Peter and his successors too are affectionately called “father” (Holy Father, Papa) of the new Jerusalem (the Catholic Church). The title of “father” therefore has strong scriptural roots. John Lee, Johannesburg

Rosary book

HANK you, Bishop Bubert Bucher for giving us the Living Rosary book. I love reciting the rosary. I have started with a group, as you suggested in your book on how to go about saying the rosary daily. I urge more Catholics to do the same. We have a weapon to keep us sane. The devil will be scared to come near our homes, we become untouchable to him. Pope Francis asked us, in The Southern Cross in November, to use the 59 tablets of the rosary to keep our bodies and souls healthy. If we do this, we do it to be healthy Catholics, healthy in our faith not for God, Jesus or our Mother but we do it for ourselves. Get the book from your bookshop. It is a treasure. God bless. Mary Bowers, Cape Town

St Patrick’s Day will be Celebrated with a Dinner Dance at Kelvin Grove, Newlands on Tuesday 17th March 2015 18.30 for 19.00

Email : members@ireland.co.za For information about functions in Gauteng and KZN visit our website www.ireland.co.za or email members.jhb@ireland.co.za or members.dbn@ireland.co.za

Church stifles

OW fickle the Church becomes on what it perceives to be “sinful” issues and then, because it feels it has the authority to do so, it bulldozes the faithful. A statement by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference outlines a number of instructions to the faithful on its interpretation of women priests; one of which states that “it is inconsistent [whatever this means] to use the Catholic media to undermine the authoritative teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church”. Thankfully, the editor of The Southern Cross is not only a professional journalist but also an independent thinker who understands freedom of speech. Can one really be reconciled to the excommunication of honest, sincere and dedicated Christian women? Is this consistent with the Bible? In Mark 9:38-40, John tells how the disciples tried to stop someone found driving out devils in the name of Jesus. Jesus rebukes the disciples and says: “No one who works a miracle in my name could soon speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.” Our God is a loving, living, thinking God. Jesus changed many things and much thinking in his time. Many believe that the modernday, male-only, celibate priesthood is more traditional than doctrinal. Christianity is evolving doctrine and will continue to do so. From the early days, the Catholic Church has made many changes in doctrine and disciplines, one of which was celibacy. It was after many centuries that 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

celibacy, and therefore the forbidding of a Roman Catholic priest to marry, was mandated in 1074. In Mark 7:7-9, Jesus warns against human tradition for its own sake and refers to the prophecy of Isaiah and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes: “Their reverence of me is worthless; the lessons they teach are nothing but human commandments. You put aside the commandments of God to observe human traditions.” And he said to them, “how ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition!” I find it strange that those who insist that Jesus only wants male priests refuse to understand the influence of culture, both at the time of the early Church and the Church of the Middle Ages; and the Church of today. Jesus said: “What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” However, he did not say: “—except you may not ordain women to teach my Gospel or propagate my faith; and they must be banned from doing so.” Let the debate continue and the truth will prevail. Tony Meehan, Cape Town

A good place to be

E recently spent a wonderful holiday week at the Christian Brothers Centre in Stellenbosch. The tranquil surroundings and spotless facilities are all one could wish for when on holiday. The centre of Cape Town is some 30 minutes distant, the vineyards of the Western Cape are at one’s door, and the beaches of the Strand and Gordon’s Bay 10km down the road. Beautiful grounds with braai facilities enhance the peaceful atmosphere, with the Stellenbosch mountains almost within touching distance. The bird life is great, with many of them being attracted to the lovely pond area. Owls are one's companion at night. Br Terry Dowling, the manager of the complex, is a caring but unobtrusive plus to the wonderful experience. John Laros, Johannesburg

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Changing Gear is just great. And so it was heartwarming for me to note that Twitter was abuzz with Tweets for Fr Emil Blaser’s birthday late in February. It is thanks to the vision and hard work of Fr Blaser that South Africa has its own Catholic radio station. It is a great pity that many Catholics throughout the country do not have access to Radio Veritas. If they had I am sure this

would also increase donations. Since listening to Radio Veritas I have become aware of the importance of a Catholic radio station and therefore funding to keep it on the air. Please, Catholic world, think of assisting Radio Veritas financially, a good cause from which we all indirectly benefit. God bless Fr Emil and his team for a wonderful radio station. Thank you. Marion Jordaan, Pennington, KZN

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PERSPECTIVES

Meet a new day in Lent T HERE’S beauty in the silence of a dawning day. Beauty on the rising of a freshly minted sun. Beauty in the simplicity of order on a Given Day—more so when it’s a Sunday morning, when the city is still awed by the nature of things. A few souls are caught up in the picture of this beauty: the security man getting off the bus from his nightshift; the man walking his two dogs on the leash; the Zion Christian Church group in their white and green uniform gathered on the silent, slithering river; the spruce Zimbabwean lady hurrying for the mini bus, a reluctant toddler in tow; the supermarket staff rushing to work with something loud to say; the petrol attendant still yawning the night away as he rouses himself out of the hut; the police van turning towards the police station; the homeless man already conversing with himself and trying to convince the fading stars about the care of God for little swallows; even the straddling cyclists, arrogantly blocking the traffic. This is the beauty of the accepted day. The voice of God rising up from the nature of things to draw our comprehension. In it you see the loving acceptance of God who is towards the nature that is becoming, calling it forth and renewing the face of the earth. You feel awed and humbled by it all as you drive to church on another Lenten Sunday. You listen to the priest. He asks you to accept all these things, to make your penance and keep your Lenten practices as symbols of your gratitude and praise for God, the incomprehensible ground of your existence. You think of your friend who only yesterday told you that he is an atheist now because he does not believe this world

could have been made by a rational person, let alone a loving God. Your silent answer was how you felt the opposite, how you too would be unable to believe in a God that can be comprehended by his creature— surely such a god would lack the divine attributes. You think about how you accept your incomprehension of God in deep humility and self-surrendering love. And there you identify the difference between your attitudes: one haughty and demanding answers, the other lowly accepting revelation. Like a psalmist you have always been confounded as to why God cares for man; your significance in the scale of things: What is man that you should be so mindful of? The son of man that …?

ent is about your acceptance of what God has seen to be good, thus worth being redeemed at the price of blood. Of seeing the purpose of even evil in the supreme design of God. Of opening yourself to the probings of the Holy Spirit. You tell yourself: it is about opening yourself up to God—what-

The sun rises to greet a new day. (Photo: Dedulo Photos/morguefile)

Mphuthumi Ntabeni

Pushing the Boundaries

ever in Christ’s name that means? In seeing the beauty of the day that is given you to participate in creation. In offering unconditional readiness to be transformed by the Holy Spirit in Christ. To “put off the old man who is corrupted according to the desire of error, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth” (Eph 4:2224). To accept God’s call to metanoia in total breach with the worldly values that sway by false conventional standards and a need to be “respectable”. In standing with Saul on the road to Damascus with a simple but deep question of total self-deliverance: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Or with Michelangelo: “Lord, take me away from myself, and make me pleasing to thee.” True contrition comes with fear and trembling at the hands of the living God. It is in the anguish of Gethsemane; in the malleability of your soul in response to God’s signature in nature. The awe that comes with a sense of deep gratitude for the Given Day for you to water the seed of your supernatural self. Lent is the weeding season, the season of raking away that which keeps you from becoming what is created to be you in Christ. The season of feeding my lambs. The season of getting rid of the clutter blocking the Holy Spirit’s work in you. It is the season of asking, in fear and trembling: Lord, what wilt thou have me do? And then contemplating the answer in action. It is the season of being in humble awe for the Given Day.

Land: Govt can learn from the Church A Gushwell Brooks BOUT two years ago, while still working full-time in the field of social justice and civil society, my employer—a former cabinet minister under Nelson Mandela and unionist—gave me the opportunity to accompany him to Kwa-Zulu-Natal in search of land for a community-based, cooperative farming initiative. I learnt a few lessons in my research leading up to this trip on the issue of land and creating sustainable livelihoods for some of the poorest people in the country, livelihoods created from their own labour. In as much as there is a legitimate debate around resource ownership in South Africa—particularly in relation to land— sadly much of the agricultural land scattered across South Africa lies fallow and unused. This has turned South Africa from being a net exporter of food to now being a net importer of food. This does not diminish the fact that land needs to be more equitably distributed, even land that is currently in use; however fallow land, some on the government’s balance sheet, would be a brilliant starting point. The land question arose once more when President Zuma, in his State of the Nation Address, delivered on February 12, said the government would reignite their focus on land redistribution and that land ownership by foreign nationals would no longer be a possibility going forward. Accordingly, the alternative to foreign nationals—and presumably enterprises—owning South African land would be to permit long-term leases as their most permanent possession of land. With an estimated 7% of South African land vested in foreign ownership, limiting the further acquisition of land by foreigners might seem to be a practical starting point in aiding land redistribution. Simple land transference is not enough, however. There is an assumption that just

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Talking about Faith

a track on a farm in the Western cape. Gushwell Brooks suggests that if the government wants to implement land reform fruitfully, it should ask the catholic church. because a community has been working on a farm, or live in a rural area, that they will have an innate ability to farm. My trip from two years ago proved how incorrect this assumption is. Speaking to the regional and municipal managers in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, it was clear that support in the form of seed, irrigation, connecting small-scale farmers to the market and the imparting of skills are essential to the success of land redistribution. Sadly, these essential elements for the successful use of redistributed agricultural land are all too often completely absent. Our conversation with these regional managers proved that many of these schemes required government’s financial and practical, ongoing support. Even in instances where this support was given on an ongoing basis, the lack of farming skills left the land to eventually lie fallow.

he Catholic Church—owner of generous stretches of land—recognised that land and the redistribution thereof is in fact important. Catholic social teaching would demand that ordinary people in society

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benefit from the Church’s resources, more so land. The Southern African Catholic Bishop’s Conference therefore established a Land Desk in aid and in cooperation of government’s redistribution programme. Philani Mkhize, coordinator of the desk, told me on my Radio Veritas show that the Church recognises that it is not just an act of handing over land to communities, but that the essential imparting of skills is crucial. This approach has yielded positive results and teaches us a few lessons. Land redistribution should be initiated for the good of people rather than for political expedience. With the rise of the Economic Freedom Fighters, whose central policy hinges on radical land policies, the incumbent party feels the threat of losing a younger disaffected vote, and so seems to have responded with a “radical” policy of their own. Long-term lease agreements work well in many parts of the continent, Mozambique being the closest and most obvious working example. So the issue is not the policy itself but the reason why it is implemented and to what end. If such a policy is to be implemented, with the supposed aim of communal beneficiation, than surely it should yield these results. The government does not have far to go to find out how to implement such a programme fruitfully. They can simply pick up the phone and call Philani Mkhize to learn valuable lessons on how to truly befit the benefactors of redistribution schemes.

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The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

Are Mass stipends a form of simony? Our archdiocese recently increased the stipend from R20 to R40 for a Mass intention. Please explain why we are asked for a payment for a Mass intention, especially as regular scheduled Masses are already being celebrated. And why do parishioners have to pay for the November Masses for the holy souls? It has been suggested that paying for prayer/Mass is a form of simony. Name withheld HE Acts of the Apostles 8:14-24 tells of a certain Simon, after whom simony is named, who saw Peter and John lay their hands on a group of Samaritans, giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit. Simon offered the Apostles money if they would give him the same power. Peter refused, saying that money cannot buy what God has given for nothing. Your question seeks clarity on whether we are also buying with money what God gives for nothing in the Mass. We know that there is no quid pro quo between the Mass and a stipend, as if there was a material equivalence between the infinite fruits of the Mass and the finite gift of money. So it is normal to say that the stipend is not a quid pro quo because it is a contribution to the support of the priest. It is more. If you offer your R40 for Mass to be celebrated for your intention, this sum or any other, represents your personal oblation of yourself, sharing in the sacrifice. It provides you with a spiritual connection with the Mass, a sense that your money may go to the priest but, more especially, it is a free sacrifice of some of your income for your own spiritual welfare and the support of the Church, which is a sacrificial community. This is not simony. In the early days people donated bread and wine and, later, money for the poor and the support of the clergy. Their offering was often accompanied by a request for a specific intention of their own to be remembered in the Mass. That’s how Mass stipends began and they are there to draw us closer into the mystery of the sacrifices we must all make for Christ. Instead of thinking of “paying” to have a special Mass said for you, think of your cash offering as a sacrifice of part of your substance to share in the sacrifice of the Mass, as if you were part of the offertory procession at that Mass. November Masses for the holy souls should be seen in the same light. Local bishops fix a minimum sum of money as a guideline to assist us to make an appropriate gesture for the priest’s services. Those who can’t afford the fixed sum will always be accommodated by the clergy.

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

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The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

cWD’s youth Interfacing Programme hosted a five-a-side football tournament through the South african youth Leaders Network in Piketberg, Western cape. Over 100 young people took part in the competition.

COMMUNITY

Bishop Joe Sandri MccJ of Witbank is pictured with the members of the diocesan pastoral council at Maria Trost in Lydenburg/Mashishing.

The Sunday school children of all Saints parish in Makhaga, Khayelitsha, cape Town, show their colouring-in pictures. (Photo: catechist Makatiso Ngaka)

Michelle de Jong and volunteers of HOPe cape Town, are pictured handing over toys to the children at the Blikkiesdorp crèche.

St Helen’s parish in Kwangcolosi, archdiocese of Durban, held an academic Mass celebrated by Fr David Sithole. all parish graduates wore their academic gowns and professionals addressed the congregation on various fields of study. all learners and teachers received a blessing. Sr Lethiwe Mazibuko, mother-general of the Montebello Dominican sisters, was the guest speaker.

a marriage retreat was held at the church of the resurection parish in Bryanston, Johannesburg. a total of 7 926 buckets were collected for the catholic Welfare and Developement’s Buckets of Love campaign. One bucket had the capacity to feed a family of four for a week and more than 31 000 less fortunate individuals benefited from the campaign.

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Fr emil Blaser OP cuts a birthday cake during the second annual radio Veritas Senior’s celebration. Fr Blaser celebrated his birthday with more than 220 grandparents at christ the King cathedral in Johannesburg. upon arrival, guests were able to have a personalised photograph of them and their friends taken as a memoir of the day and they were treated to a massage by professional masseuses. a gift bag packed with health items was also given to all guests. They were serenaded by the Holy cross anglican choir and Our Lady Of Fatima Parish youth choir, with Fr Blaser himself giving a musical performance.

made by christians in the land of christ and blessed with holy water in Jerusalem.

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St anthony’s parish in Sedgefield, Knysna, held a breakfast for parishioners. Dave and Fay Wood are pictured cooking bacon on a skottel in the garden of the presbytery.

FAITH

The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

The prophetic call to live up to Jesus’ ‘dangerous memory’ The slogan of the Year for the Consecrated Life is “Wake up the World”. Bishop Barry WOOD OMI explains why the prophetic call to ‘make a noise’ applies to those in religious orders and all the faithful.

HEN I was an Oblate novice and scholastic, we were woken up each morning by a brother ringing a bell. In a loud, solemn voice he proclaimed, “Benedicamus Domino”, and we were instructed to reply “Deo Gratias”. But the last thing that came into our irritated minds was to thank God. The same holds true of an alarm clock: it awakens us out of a deep sleep and often we are irritated. So if we are to wake up the world, to shake up the world, we will irritate people who don’t want to wake up because so often we have been lulled into a sleep of indifference that strangles and suffocates us. But who can wake up the Church or anything else except those who themselves are awake? St Paul announced this call to the Christians of Rome: “Besides, you know the time has come, the moment is here for you to stop sleeping and wake up, because by now our salvation is nearer than when we first began to believe” (Rom 13:11). In this passage Paul speaks of an appropriate time, a time to be interpreted, a time of absolute urgency. This is what Jesus meant when he encouraged us to read the signs of the times (Mt 16:3). Pope Francis told the religious superiors gathered in Rome in November 2013 to “wake up” the world, to be prophets, to be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living. Be prophets by demonstrating howJe-

The Magnificat is represented in different languages on plaques on a wall in the courtyard of the church of the Visitation in ein Kerem, Israel. In his article Bishop Barry Wood OMI (inset) quotes the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer as calling Mary’s prayer “the most revolutionary hymn ever sung”. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) sus lived on earth and proclaimed the kingdom of God in all its perfection. A religious must never stop prophesising. He went on to say that “prophecy makes a noise, ruido [Spanish for noise], an uproar, some say a mess”. Pope Francis also spoke of the “mess” to the youth in Brazil. Consecrated life is not only a way of life that gives witness to the reality of God, the relevance of Jesus, and the work of the Spirit. It is also a way of life that contradicts the values of the world, the values of most of our society. It is a prophetic witness because it speaks out like all the prophets when others remain silent. Consecrated life is prophetic because it dares to stand up against the worldly values that most people just take for granted. It is prophetic because it wants to transcend the

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culture of sex, the culture of money, and the culture of individualism. The witness of religious life is that another world is possible. There is an alternative. We have adopted this consecrated way of life in order to remind people that a world of love and justice and peace and happiness is possible. We call it the kingdom or reign of God. This prophetic way of life finds expression in the three vows or promise of our consecration: poverty, chastity and obedience. Religious life is meant to be the prophetic voice of Christ in the Church and in the world.

here is a parallel in the Old Testament when God gave Israel a king, he also gave them a prophet—whenever the king failed to represent God, whose people he governed, the prophet came knocking at the door. Think of Nathan

knocking at David’s door in the wake of David’s adultery. Similarly, religious are meant to be the thorn in the side of the establishment when the establishment has lulled itself into an apathetic slumber. This has been the role of the consecrated life in the history of the Church: to irritate the establishment when it fails to be the bearer of the dangerous memory of Jesus. I came across an article by the German theologian, Johannes Metz, titled “Keeping alive the dangerous memory of Jesus of Nazareth—Bearers of the dangerous memory of Jesus”. This is evoked every time we put into action the practice of Jesus. I am told that Metz coined the phrase in the context of praxis as opposed to transcendental methods of doing theology. The dangerous memory of Jesus is his suffering, death and resurrection which has broken the world’s assumption about power and violence and opens our eyes to the suffering of others, especially the vulnerable and innocent. Its memory is dangerous, it continues to challenge the powerful of the world, power based on domination, exploitation and violence. It is dangerous because it draws us to the abandoned places, prisons, torture chambers, battlefields, homeless shelters, toxic dumps, car bomb victims, informal settlements and soup kitchens. It draws us out of our comfort zones, class, race and culture to the humble service of creating the reign of God. In this age of wilful amnesia, such memories are dangerous. Isn’t this precisely what our mothers and fathers of religious life did? This is what inspired our founding mothers and fathers. They all fell in love with Jesus and they and their companions found themselves urged by the Spirit to become prophets of their time, urging both Church and society to pay more attention to God and to those beloved of God—the poor.

They were lovers and bearers of the dangerous memory of Jesus of Nazareth. Some of the practices of Jesus in the Gospel: This guest list was different to that of the Pharisees , the religious leaders of that time. “When you give a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends, your relatives or neighbours, in case they invite you back and repay you. No, when you have a party invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind—then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you. You will be repaid when the upright rise again” (Lk 14:12-14). In the fourth chapter of John, in his dialogue with the woman at the well, Jesus smashed in one act three artificially constructed boundaries: the gender boundary, the cultural boundary and the religious boundary. This is what the Church prays for during this Year of Consecrated Life: for a faithful renewal of the charism of the founding mothers and fathers of religious congregations. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian martyred by the Nazis, described Mary’s Magnificat as the most passionate, the wildest one might say, the most revolutionary hymn ever sung. “He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the starving with good things and sent the rich away empty.” In the Magnificat, Mary sang a prophetic hymn of praise for God’s salvation. Mary joyfully sang her song, and because she did, the world was changed. We pray that during this Year of Consecrated Life, all religious and all of us will sing joyfully with Mary and “Wake up the World”.

n Bishop Wood is an Oblate of Mary Immaculate and the auxiliary bishop of Durban.

The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

TRAVEL

The altar of St anthony of Padua church in Istanbul at christmas; a statue of Pope St John XXIII outside the church; a Nativity scene in the church’s transept. (all photos by Günther Simmermacher)

St John XXIII’s church in Istanbul The basilica of St Anthony of Padua is the biggest Catholic church in Istanbul. GÜNTHer SIMMerMacHer writes about the basilica where the future Pope John XXIII preached, and two nearby churches.

HE Catholic Church is present everywhere, even in a nation such as Turkey, where Muslims constitute 98% of the population and the tiny Christian minority is mainly Orthodox. Istanbul not only has Catholic parishes but also historic churches in central areas. Within just over 2km of one another in the modern and popular Beyoglu/Galata area of Turkey’s largest city are three active churches with a long history—in addition to the cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the Harbiye district, and several other churches elsewhere. Beyoglu and Galata are on the opposite side of the Old City, across the Golden Horn. It is a cosmopolitan part of the city of 14 million. The Orient Express used to arrive at Sirkeci terminal in the Old City, but its wealthy passengers would be transported across Galata Bridge to the opulent (and recently rejuvenated) Pera Palace Hotel in Beyoglu, which used to be called Pera. The area’s elegant main street was then called Pera Avenue; today it is called Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue), now a pedestrian zone famous for its single-carriage trams that transport passengers from Taksim Square at one end to the medieval Genoese district of Galata on the other. The famous Galata Tower, built in 1348 by the merchants of

Genoa, overlooks the Old City with its famous skyline with the Sultan Ahmet and Suleyman mosques, the Topkapi Palace and the Hagia Sophia, as well as, across the Bosphorus, the Asian part of the city.

ear the tower is the 19th-century church of Ss Peter and Paul, founded by the Dominicans in the 15th century, and historically linked to both Venice and the king of France. Once it was the church of newly-arrived Catholic immigrants; now it serves the Maltese community with Masses said in Italian. The other two churches of the Levantine (Latin Christian) quarter of Istanbul are right on Istiklal Avenue, among the shops and restaurants and consulates. The older of them is the church of St Mary Draperis, which was built between 1678 and 1769 by Franciscans who had a run of very bad luck with fires burning down their previous churches since the 15th century, and Ottoman officials confiscating their property. The church is named after the woman, Clara Maria Draperis, who in 1584 donated the friars’ original chapel in Galata. That chapel burnt down, but an icon of Our Lady was rescued from the altar. It survived subsequent fires and still adorns the altar of the current church. St Mary Draperis church, which offers Masses in Italian and Spanish, also has a statue of St Anthony of Padua, the saint to whom the other church on Istiklal Avenue is dedicated. And to your faithful correspondent, it is a very special church because it incorporates three saints that attract his devotion: Ss Anthony of Padua, Maximilian Kolbe and John XXIII. The church’s address at number 171 is prestigious: next to it is the former Russian consulate (now all

The basilica of St anthony of Padua, on Istanbul’s busiest shopping street, was the church in which the future Pope John XXIII preached. former embassies are consulates since the Turkish capital is in Ankara), opposite the British consulate, and nearby the French consulate. And a stone’s throw away is the Galatasaray High School which gave birth to the famous football club of the same name.

aint Anthony of Padua was the parish church of Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, when he was the nuncio to Turkey from 1935-44. A statue of St John XXIII in the lovely courtyard was inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit in 2006. Images in the church still recall that visit. Pope Paul VI visited in 1964, but neither St John Paul II nor Pope Francis popped in during their trips to Istanbul. The followers of St Francis had once a massive church in Galata, built in the 1230s and dedicated to St Sophia of the Latins. That church burnt down twice, in 1639

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and 1660, and each time it was rebuilt. In 1696 another fire swept Galata, destroying the whole neighbourhood, but the church was miraculously spared. It did not help the friars: Sultan Mustapha II confiscated the church and turned it into a mosque, as Muslim rulers frequently did after their conquest of Constantinople in 1453. So the Franciscans built a new church on Pera Avenue, completing it in 1724, and dedicated it to St Anthony of Padua. But in 1904 the church had to be demolished to make way for the construction of the new tramway; the present church was built from 1906-11 to serve the 40 000 Catholics in the area at the time. The red-brick church, built in Venetian neo-gothic style by Italian architects in the form of a Latin cross, is Istanbul’s largest Catholic church. It was elevated to the rank of a basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1932. The same year Archbishop Roncalli, then nuncio in Bulgaria, came to preach in the church to mark the 700th centenary of St Anthony’s death. It was the beginning of a long association. The future pope spoke fluent Turkish and had such an obvious affection for the country—when the Second World War broke out he prayed to St Anthony in his church that Turkey be spared its horrors—that he is known as “The Turkish Pope”. He is remembered so fondly that the street where he lived is now named after him. St Anthony of Padua church has traditionally served foreign residents, but since the 1980s the parish has included Turkish in its Masses as well as in its parish life as a way of serving the tiny indigenous community, which calls the church Sent Antuan Kilisesi. Its four Sunday Masses are in English, Italian, Polish and Turkish respec-

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tively, and weekday Masses in English and in Turkish. On each side of the church are six-storey apartment buildings, income from which helps finance the parish’s operations.

nside the basilica is a gilded wooden statue of St Anthony holding the Child Jesus. It was carved by the Italian artist Luigi Bresciani, who also made the wood crucifix above the main altar. A bronze bust commemorates St Maximilian Kolbe, the Franciscan journalist and missionary who was killed by the Nazis in Auschwitz. It was made by the renowned Turkish sculptor Sermin Güner (she has created another 18 works in the church). At Christmas the church becomes an extravaganza of seasonal decoration. This winter two tall Christmas trees stood in the sanctuary, while a huge Nativity scene, with much detail and beautifully lit, stood in the transept, giving the basilica a magical atmosphere. In the courtyard there was another large Nativity scene—these were, of course, invented by St Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans—and a tall Christmas tree next to the statue of St John XXIII. One may see priests in religious garb in the precincts of the church, but one will not see a Roman collar on the streets of Istanbul. Turkey’s secular constitution forbids the wearing in public of all clothing which can be identified as sectarian, whatever the religion. And so the basilica of St Anthony of Padua, located on one of the world’s busiest shopping streets, is an oasis of Catholic faith and calm amid Istanbul’s buzzing commerce. n Günther Simmermacher is the author of The Holy Land Trek: A Pilgrim’s Guide. See holylandtrek.com

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The Southern cross, March 4 to March 10, 2015

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Sizanani children’s home founder dies Continued from Page 3 In 2012 Fr Kuppelwieser opposed the establishment of the medical plant on a farm adjacent to the Phumula Home for the sick, abandoned children and the aged, which he founded at Sizanani. “In Phumula there are about 100 people, including 52 residents,” he told The Sowetan newspaper at the time. “We draw our irrigation water from the spring not far from the earmarked place and there’s a va-

riety of protected animals on the wetland. It is our duty to protect the elderly. We cannot let them die of unnatural causes,” he said. Ms Mathe said Fr Kuppelwieser had an “open door” policy but was disturbed after an attack at Phumula last year. “We would never lock the door. Fr Charles did not worry about attacks. “He helped everyone. If someone came he would say open the door and let them in.”

Words of the Week

Free Will: The faculty or capability of making a reasonable choice among several alternatives. Holy See: I) The diocese of the pope, Rome. 2) The pope himself or the various officials and bodies of the Church’s central administration—the Roman Curia—which act in the name and by authority of the pope. Laicisation: The process by which a man ordained is relieved of his obligations and is returned to the status of a lay person.

Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday, March 8, Third Sunday of Lent Exodus 20:1-17, Psalms 19:8-11, 1 Corinthians 1:22-25, John 2:13-25 Monday, March 9 2 Kings 5:1-5, Psalms 42:2-3; 43:3-4, Luke 4:24-30 Tuesday, March 10 Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Psalms 25:4-9, Matthew 18:21-35 Wednesday, March 11 Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Psalms 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20, Matthew 5:17-19 Thursday, March 12 Jeremiah 7:23-28, Psalms 95:1-2, 6-9, Luke 11:1423 Friday, March 13 Hosea 14:2-10, Psalms 81:6-11, 14, 17, Mark 12:28-34 Saturday, March 14 Hosea 6:1-6, Psalms 51:3-4, 18-21, Luke 18:9-14 Sunday, March 15, Fourth Sunday of Lent 2 Chronicles 36:14-17, 19-23, Psalms 137:1-6, Ephesians 2:4-10, John 3:14-21

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In the attack in March 2014, the priest and a 83-year-old English dentist were assaulted. The dentist later died from his injuries.After that, “Fr Charles became very worried about us,” Ms Mathe said. In 2006 gangsters tortured Fr Kuppelwieser and his housekeeper in a futile search of rumoured “Sizanani millions”. Fr Kuppelwieser was to be buried on March 4 at Sizanani following a funeral Mass.

Our bishops’ anniversaries

This week we congratulate: March 8: Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban on his 74th birthday. March 8: Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen on his 60th birthday. March 14: Bishop Stan Dziuba of Umzimkulu on the 6th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

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

CAPE TOWN: Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Mass on last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred Heart church in Somerset road, cape Town. Followed by vigil at Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Bree Street. contact colette Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel ScP on 078 739 2988. DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9am. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy

Devotion at 17:30pm on first Friday of every month. Sunday Mass at 9am. 031 309 3496 Overport rosary group. at emakhosini Hotel, 73 east Street every Wednesday at 6.30 pm. contact Keith at 083 372 9018 or 031 209 2536 NELSPRUIT: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St Peter’s parish every Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:45, followed by Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/Communion service at 17:30pm.

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fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek to rest; to labour and not to ask for no reward save that of knowing I do your will. amen. St Ignatius.

this cause in your hands. “Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days and then publish. rG. ST MICHAEL the archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. amen. PRAYER FOR CONSECRATED LIFE. “Loving creator, we thank you for the gift that religious life has been within our church and society. Help us to nurture this gift so that the congregations may continue to be a healing presence in our world. May we all respond to the realities of our present times, in ways that promote your reign now and in the future. May your kingdom come, may your will be done. amen” LORD, teach me to be generous; to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to

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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: Pamela Davids (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Dispatch: Joan King (dispatch@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za). Directors: c Moerdyk (chairman), archbishop S Brislin, P Davids*, S Duval, e Jackson, B Jordan, Sr H Makoro cPS, r riedlinger, G Simmermacher*, r Shields, z Tom, John O’Leary

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4th Sunday in Lent: March 15 Readings: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23, Psalm 137: 1-6, Ephesians 2:4-10, John 3:1421

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Sunday reflections

and the end comes in a very unexpected way, for, of all people, it is King Cyrus, the Persian monarch, whom God inspired to write to his entire kingdom, saying that he has been commanded (by God!) “to build him a house in Jerusalem in Judea”. And the last word of this dark reading is flooded with light, for “any one of you, from all the people, their God shall be with them—let them go up!” These are words of light out of the terrible darkness. The psalm too reflects on the catastrophe of the Exile; it is, I think, the only psalm that made it to the Top of the Pops, “By The Rivers Of Babylon”; we need to notice the sadness of

it, though, as the singer reflects on the experience of Exile, and how they wept “when we remembered Zion”, and hung up their harps. And it was worse when “our captors asked us for the words of a song… ‘Sing for us one of the songs of Zion’ ”. That they could not do, for it might look as though they had forgotten: “If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand wither, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you.” Jerusalem has to be the psalmist’s “highest joy”. So they cope with disaster by mourning, but also by trusting in God. (Read in your Bible the remaining three verses of the psalm, where the poet expresses his deep anger; and see why it is not read in church.) The second reading, from Ephesians, concentrates on God “rich in mercy, because of the great love with which [God] has loved us”, and the vital message, which we need to hear at this stage of our Lenten journey: “We were corpses, because of our transgressions, and [God] raised us to life with Christ: it is by God’s free gift that you have been saved…it is God’s present to you.” And it is not our doing “so that no one

God takes joy in our talents OR the past six months, while undergoing treatment for cancer, I was working on a reduced schedule. The medical treatments, while somewhat debilitating, left me still enough health and energy to carry on the administrative duties in my present ministry, but they didn’t allow me any extra energy to teach classes or to offer any lectures, workshops, or retreats at outside venues, something I normally do. I joked with my family and friends that I was “under house arrest”; but I was so grateful for the energy that I still had, that being unable to teach and give lectures was not deemed a sacrifice. I was focused on staying healthy, and the health that I was given was appreciated as a great grace. A month ago, the medical treatments ended and, soon after, most of my normal energies returned and I resumed a normal schedule that included again teaching inside a classroom. Having been on the sidelines for half a year left me a little nervous as I entered the classroom for my first three-hour session. My nervousness passed quickly as the class robustly engaged the topic and, after the three hours, I walked out of the class feeling a wonderful energy that I hadn’t felt for six months. Teaching—which I consider both my profession and my vocation—lifted both my heart and my body in a way that it hadn’t been lifted in months. It was the

Conrad

Contact Ian Veary on 021 447 6334 www.noah.org.za

How do we cope with disaster?

OW do you cope with disaster? That is a question we might pose to ourselves this Lent; but we should be aware that the answer is going to be the uncomfortable one, that we must trust in God. That seems to be the message of next Sunday’s readings. The first reading offers us the very last words of the Hebrew Bible; we are brought face to face with the disaster of Exile, brought about by the gruesome disloyalty of the people’s religious leaders, their rejection of God’s prophets and messengers, until “God’s wrath rose up in his people, and there was no healing”. Then comes the terrible moment, when “[the King of the Chaldeans] burnt the House of the Lord, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt its palaces with fire, and all the beautiful vessels to destruction”. After that, “he deported the rest into Babylon, and they were his slaves, and his son’s slaves, until the reign of the Medes”. But the Bible cannot end on a note of disaster, so we are given a reminder that this was only what Jeremiah had predicted, that the exile would last for 70 years. Now that is a long time, but at least it means that there is an end;

We can use your old clothing, bric-a-brac, furniture and books for our 2nd hand shop. Help us to create an avenue to generate much needed funds for our work with the elderly.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final reflection

missing tonic. At first I felt some anxiety and guilt about this. What really triggered that wonderful feeling and burst of energy? Narcissism? Pride? Was I basking in the capacity to demonstrate some cleverness and learning and then drink in the students’ admiration? Did I feel good because my ego got stroked? Was my teaching about furthering God’s kingdom or about stoking my ego?

am not alone with these questions. These are valid questions for anyone who draws energy from work, especially if, because of that work, they drink in a fair amount of adulation. Our motivations are never completely pure. Indeed, if we are fully honest with ourselves, we have to admit that there is always some degree of self-serving in our service of others. But, mixed as our motives will always be, something else, something much more positive, needs to be factored into this, namely, the fact that God gave us our var-

‘’If altar boys are intimidated by girl servers, what won’t scare them if they become priests?’

ious talents and that God feels good about us using them. Eric Liddell, the Olympic runner whose story featured in the Oscar-winning movie Chariots of Fire, once made this comment: “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” He didn’t make this comment lightly. As his biography and Chariots of Fire make clear, Liddell, in his quest to win an Olympic gold medal was motivated more by his faith than by his own ego. His faith had him believe that, since God gave him this unique talent, God, not unlike any proud parent, took a genuine delight in seeing him use that gift. In his heart, he sensed that God was pleased whenever he exercised that talent to its optimum. Moreover, that inner sense that God was happy with his use of his talent filled Liddell with a wonderful energy whenever he ran. Seen from that perspective, we note that the root and source of his motivation and pleasure in running was, ultimately, not his desire to win gold medals and popular adulation, though clearly no one is immune to these. Rather, Liddell was motivated by an inner sense that God had given him a special gift, that God wanted him to use that gift to its fullest, and that God was happy when he optimised that gift. Like everyone else who is human, Liddell no doubt enjoyed the adulation he received for his successes, but he knew too that the deepest joy he felt in using his gift had its ultimate source in God and not his own ego. And this, I believe, is true for every one of us. When anyone uses properly the gifts that God gave him or her, God will take pleasure in that. After all, God gave us that gift and that gift was given us for a reason. Not long after I felt that burst of pleasure and energy from again teaching inside a classroom, I was talking to a colleague, a very gifted young teacher just beginning his teaching career. He shared about how much he enjoys teaching but how he worries too that the pleasure he derives from it is somehow too much connected to his ego. I gave him the Eric Liddell quote, assuring him that, whenever he teaches well, God takes pleasure in it. He much appreciated Liddell’s comment. And so should we all. We shouldn’t feel guilty for exercising the gifts that God gave us, even though our motivations will never be completely pure. Whenever we use a God-given talent to do something well, God takes pleasure in it—and so too should we.

should boast; for we are his ‘poem’, founded in Christ”. It is a wonderful vision of what God has done for us from the pain of Jesus’ crucifixion. The Gospel, finally, reflects on the disaster of the crucifixion, which is seen as a “liftingup” (as indeed it is), but also reflects on what God was up to in the disaster, using that other “lifting up” that sorted out another disaster, when God’s people were moaning, and Moses had to raise up a bronze serpent, to deal with the consequences. What is on offer is nothing less than “eternal life”; and then come the utterly striking words that we shall do well to memorise: “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him.” For it turns out that “the light has come into the world”. Sadly the disaster was that “humans loved the darkness more than the light”. But God can work with the disaster; we must remember that “the one who does the Truth comes to the light, that their deeds may be revealed—they are done in God”.

Southern Crossword #644

ACROSS 1. He lives under vows (4) 3. Here late, seeming not of this world (8) 7. It’s on the jumble sale (7) 9. It was about body measurement (5) 10. Penitent’s garment (4,5) 12. River of the woman warrior (6) 14. Continue to follow the text (4,2) 16. Mist borne from hell (9) 19. Ready for use (5) 20. Aider’s accomplice (7) 21. Sank belt among the covers (8) 22. Do it on your knees (4)

DOWN 1. John Huss’s church via Roman route (8) 2. Spirit of many mph is seen (5) 4. Belief that God exists (6) 5. Lawfully expelled (7) 6. Stringed instrument (4) 8. Hostility at simony I am involved in (9) 9. Dress of one to be baptised (5,4) 11. Not justly (8) 13. Mother Teresa’s homeland (7) 15. Askew on a slope (6) 17. Go in (5) 18. Son of Omri (1 Kg 16) (4)

Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

HREE thugs in Belfast pulled a man into an alley and were robbing him. He protested and they asked: “Are ye Catholic or Protestant?” The victim replied: “Neither, I’m an atheist.” The three conferred for a minute, and then one asked: “But, are ye a Catholic atheist or a Protestant atheist?” Send us your favourite catholic joke, preferably clean and brief, to The Southern cross, church chuckle, PO Box 2372, cape Town, 8000.