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How fires brought people together

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Date for Daswa beatification set

BY STUART GRAHAM

T The De La Salle Holy Cross College in Johannesburg learners planted a tree and made pledges to help improve the environment, to mark the International Day of Forests. The initiative was organised by the college’s environment committee, which challenged all schools to “Plant a tree. Create a Climate Smart Future”.

Holy Land pilgrims will be blessed peacemakers

A

RCHBISHOP Stephen Brislin will lead a special Pilgrimage of Peacemakers to the Holy Land in February 2016, incorporating the major holy sites as well as encounters with peacemakers from Christian, Muslim and Jewish backgrounds.

The Pilgrimage of Peacemakers is scheduled for February 16-25, and will be headlined

by The Southern Cross.

Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher, who is also the author of The Holy Land Trek: A Pilgrim’s Guide, is expected to co-lead the pilgrimage.

The itinerary was designed by Holy Land guide Rimon Makhlouf in association with Fowler Tours. Mr Makhlouf, a Roman Catholic who is regarded as one of the top guides in the Holy Land, will also guide the tour.

Jerusalem-based Mr Makhlouf, who was in South Africa for a series of talks in late March, said that with all the propaganda and misinformation, it is difficult for many to understand the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

This pilgrimage, he said, is designed to provide greater insights into the conflict, and what is needed to resolve it.

“The Lord Jesus told us in the Sermon on

Archbishop Stephen Brislin and Jersusalembased Rimon Makhlouf outside St Mary’s cathedral in Cape Town after Palm Sunday Mass. Both will lead the Pilgrimage of Peacemakers next February. the Mount, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ On this pilgrimage we will be peacemakers when we pray at the holy sites, when we meet people who work for peace and get to understand Continued on page 3

HE bishop of Tzaneen hopes many learners from Catholic schools will attend the beatification ceremony of Benedict Daswa on September 13 in Thohoyandou, Limpopo.

“Benedict Daswa was the principal of a school. What I am hoping is that pupils from our Catholic schools will attend the beatification. It would be great if they could,” said Bishop João Rodrigues.

Benedict Daswa will be beatified a martyr

by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

“This will be a unique event in South Africa,” Bishop Rodrigues said. “Nothing like this has happened in our conference region before.”

The closest the region has come to a beatification was that of French-born missionary Bl Joseph Gérard OMI in Lesotho in 1988.

Pope John Paul II presided over that beatification. Pope Benedict XVI discontinued his predecessor’s custom of presiding over beatifications. Instead the pope now appoints a legate.

It was hoped that Pope Francis might deviate from this rule and beatify Daswa himself on South African soil.

However, the pope has a packed timetable in September, with trips planned for the United States and a synod of the Vatican in October, as well as a visit to Africa in November.

“From that point of view we would not expect the pope to come this year,” Bishop Rodrigues said.

Earlier this year, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference formally invited the Holy Father to visit South Africa “on a pastoral visit, but that was not a direct relation to the beatification. It was an aside,” Bishop Rodrigues said.

“What we want is for him to come for a pastoral visit so that he can visit important places and so on.”

Bishop Rodrigues said around 10 000 people are expected to attend the beatification, but added that is difficult to predict numbers at this stage.

“As the situation is at the moment, [Daswa] is not a public figure and Thohoyandou is not a well-known place either,” he said.

“We did feel that looking at the response from a vigil for Benedict Daswa in the Polokwane diocese last year, where 3 000 people came, it is quite possible that we are at around

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Benedict Daswa’s mother Ivy places flowers on her son’s grave. Daswa will be beatified on September 13.

10 000,” the bishop explained.

“Now that the date is known, people can diarise it. They have a lot of time to rearrange life to attend.”

I

t is hoped that the event will be held at Thohoyandou Stadium, which can hold up to 30 000 people. The bishop said the cause is waiting for the local municipality to approve the Church's use of the stadium.

The bishop said that September 13 was earlier than he had hoped for. “It is a bit on the earlier side. We had hoped for it to be held around October or November, but that was not possible”, since Cardinal Amato was not available then.

The diocese has established a number of committees to prepare for the event and has appointed a project officer to oversee and coordinate the beatification preparations and ceremony.

Beatification is the last stage before a candidate is declared a saint in a canonisation.

After the beatification ceremony, Daswa will be referred to as Blessed Benedict Daswa.

For his canonisation to proceed, the Vatican must approve a miracle attributed to the intercession of the candidate.

Daswa will be the first beatus to be born in Southern Africa.

Born on June 16, 1946, he was murdered by a mob near his home in Mbahe village on February 2, 1990 after he refused to take part in a witchhunt.

Pope Francis approved Daswa's beatification earlier this year.

A presentation by a congress of cardinals and bishops who examined the cause to beatify him said the matter is of “capital importance” because of its “great relevance” as witchcraft, a problem found throughout Africa.

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

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The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

LOCAL

Cape parish honours ‘courageous’ firemen A STAFF REPORTER

CAPE Town parish has presented the Volunteer Wildfire Services with a donation of more than R14 000 in recognition of its work in fighting the city’s devastating fires.

The parish of Our Lady of the Visitation raised R14 620 during a special Mass of thanksgiving “for the many miracles experienced during the dramatic fires that tore across the Cape peninsula mountains”, said Karen Parkin, communications officer of Constantia parish.

The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, with co-celebrant Fr Frank Conlisk, assisted by Deacon Richard Aguirre, from Constantia parish.

“Mike Brooks, a Constantia resident and member of the parish

The third annual Chiara Lubich memorial lecture, “Religion at the Service of Peace”, took place at the new Denis Hurley Centre in Durban. Seen here in front of a photo of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement, are (left) Professor Ela Gandhi who gave the main address. She is the grand-daughter of the Mahatma Gandhi, a former struggle activist, parliamentarian and chancellor of Durban University of Technology. With her are Dr Albertina Luthuli, daughter of the Nobel Prize winner Albert Luthuli, who gave the response, and Paddy Meskin, from the Jewish community, president of the World Conference on Religions for Peace.

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dedicated to the many people who fought on the frontline. It was the best way the community knew to say thank you from their hearts to these brave men and women,” Ms Parkin said.

“This fire will always be remembered in the images of those tirelessly fighting it, in the air, and on the ground, with the many support services—ambulances, police, community services, SPCA and animal support groups—who responded to the call of duty,” she said.

“We are proud of a community that came together in a time of great need—strangers helping strangers, side by side. The goodness of man was witnessed by acts big and small, and encapsulated in the words of one parishioner, ‘This is how we are intended to be’,” Ms Parkin said.

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council, gave a personal testimony of the dramatic events that unfolded in our community, and we were reminded how close we came to immense danger,” Ms Parkin said.

“It was surely through divine mercy that the winds turned and further damage to property and life was spared,” she said.

“Our prayers were offered for the many people whose homes were lost or damaged. And we prayed especially for the families and friends of the brave heroes who tragically lost their lives in the fires, in the service of others, strangers.”

Helicopter pilot Willem “Bees” Marais died in a helicopter crash while battling a fire in the Cape Point nature reserve; Nazeem Davies, a West Coast firefighter, was killed in an accident on a mountain road.

“The Mass of thanksgiving was

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South Africa’s Junior Team Rainbow participated in a synchronised skating competition in Croatia.

Faith among SA’s junior skaters

BY DYLAN APPOLIS

A

NTONIA Melim, Talia-Ché Maggott and Keisha Kannemeyer are three Catholic girls in the Junior Team Rainbow who represented South Africa at the World Junior Synchronised Skating Championships in Croatia.

Shireen Maggott, Talia-Ché’s mother, told The Southern Cross: “The competition was very well organised and as usual, Team South Africa was a hit with everybody.”

The team, being ranked 19th out of the 24 competing teams, went confidently into the competition, but a bad skate in the short programme saw them placed 23rd.

“They skated well in the long programme, but it was too little too late,” Mrs Maggott said.

“Nonetheless, the skaters experienced a massive learning curve and since their return have worked hard on correcting their mistakes in order to skate very good pro-

grammes in the SA Nationals.” The nationals will take place in May at Grandwest Ice Station in Cape Town.

The team now have their sights set on the World Junior Challenge Cup in February 2016. The Junior Team Rainbow feel they need to participate in more international competitions in order to boost their confidence and their ranking.

“I don’t think many skaters are reminded enough that their talents are blessings from God and should not be taken for granted,” Mrs Maggott said.

“We should continue to instil in our children that they should always give thanks to God and never be afraid to acknowledge him in their successes and achievements.

“It’s always great to witness our skaters making the sign of the cross before and after their performances.

This shows that they acknowledge God in everything they do.”

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The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

LOCAL

Diakonia group unveils plaque

T Our Lady of Good Hope parish in Verulam, in the Durban archdiocese, honoured its Dominican Sisters at a special Mass and social gathering.

Verulam celebrates ‘walking’ Dominicans

BY STUART GRAHAM

T

HE Dominican sisters in Verulam are well known for walking miles each day to serve the community in any way they can.

Now Our Lady of Good Help parish in Verulam, 30km north of Durban, has shown its appreciation to the sisters at a specially arranged social gathering and Mass.

“It’s common to see the sisters walking miles each day to serve the people,” said Anthony Venketsamy, head of finance at the parish.

“They visit different people and say the rosary with the sick and whoever needs help. Whenever someone needs help, the sisters will go out and serve them.

“It doesn’t matter what religion they are,” Mr Venketsamy said.

“We wanted to have a special day where our community and our parish could thank them for the

work they do.”

Mr Venketsamy said he has special memories of Sr Emmarentia, who also used to walk the area. She dedicated her life to the community.

He said the Dominican Sisters had played a role in educating the community. In the process they had passed on many of their good qualities.

“Many of us taught by them are now doctors, lawyers and top professionals.

“We picked up many qualities from the sisters from their teachings and their example. They enhanced the community in many ways,” Mr Venketsamy explained.

“At the social gathering we could catch up with the sisters. Some of them I hadn’t met for 15 to 20 years,” he said, adding: “People uplift you, but you forget them. This was an opportunity to say thank you.”

HE Diakonia Council of Churches—an ecumenical social justice organisation based in Durban and co-founded by the late Archbishop Denis Hurley—has unveiled a plaque commemorating the 30th anniversary of the first ecumenical Good Friday procession.

The plaque has been installed on the remaining wall of the former Durban Central Prison and was unveiled by the mayor of eThekwini municipality, James Nxumalo.

It was in 1985 that the first Diakonia ecumenical Good Friday service procession wound its way in silence at dawn through the streets of Durban from the Central Methodist Church to the prison to pray for 16 treason trialists held there, among

them Frank Chikane, Albertina Sisulu and Archie Gumede.

Outside the walls of the prison, the worshippers said prayers and sang hymns as the prisoners listened from inside.

Since then the Diakonia Council of Churches has held annual Good Friday services, each year highlighting one particular aspect of national suffering and injustice. The event has become one of the highlights of Durban’s calendar, with over 3 000 worshippers attending annually.

The theme for this year’s service was “Arise and act for a just society”, and the sermon was delivered

by Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip of Natal (KZN), the dean of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

Ethiopian chief priest visits parishes across South Africa

T

HE president of the Ethiopian Priests’ Association, Fr Estifanos Feliche Obola, visited the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic community in Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, King Williams Town, Tembisa, Rustenburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

“The community members warmly welcomed his spiritual guidance during the visit,” said evangelist Hailu Adalo, a coordinator of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic community.

“Many our group members re-

ceived the sacrament of confession and attended Holy Mass arranged by the community leaders,” he said.

Fr Obola also met Archbishop William Slattery of Pretiria, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town and Bishop Vincent Zungu of Port Elizabeth to discuss the challenges and concerns of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic community.  For more information, contact Hailu Adalo at lectorhta@gmail.com, 072 357 7185, or write to PO Box 1933, Phokeng, 0335.

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Pilgrimage of Peacemakers Continued from page 1 why there is this conflict,” Mr Makhlouf said.

He said that it is important for the rapidly declining Christian population of the Holy Land to see their fellow Christians “as peacemakers and not just as spiritual tourists”.

He emphasised that the pilgrimage will be absolutely safe.

“I know the Holy Land inside out; of course I will not take any pilgrim to places where it might be unsafe,” he said. “We won’t go to Hebron or Gaza; only to places where we know it will be safe.”

Archbishop Brislin, who led The Southern Cross’ pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Italy last May, is part of an international group of Catholic bishops who visit the Holy Land annually to observe conditions in the region and offer solidarity to the Christian Palestinian community.

The programme for the Pilgrimage of Peacemakers will include visits to the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the site of Our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, the place of his birth in Bethlehem, the basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, and the Mount of Olives.

The group will meet Jewish and Palestinian peace activists, visit the Catholic Bethlehem University, see abandoned villages and refugee camps, and discuss the Holy Land’s future at a conflict resolution centre.  For information or to book, contact Gail at Fowler Tours: info@fowler tours.co.za or 076 352 3809 or 021 551-3923 or visit www.fowlertours. co.za

4

The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

INTERNATIONAL

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Save sex for 'I do' T A illustration by Sandro Botticelli of the infernal abyss from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is part of the manuscript collection of the Vatican Library. (Photo: Courtesy of Vatican Library/CNS)

Dante: A ‘poet of the popes’

BY ANN SCHNEIBLE

W

ITH this year marking the 750th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s birth, the Vatican is taking a closer look at the author of the Italian masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, and his impact upon the popes of the 20th century.

“Dante is a universal poet for all people and all times,” according to an article by L’Osservatore Romano which expounds upon the estimation which Pope Paul VI, along with his predecessor Benedict XV, had for the Italian poet.

Once describing him as a “master of exalted lyricism”, Pope Paul VI so appreciated the works of Dante, he gifted a special edition copy of the Divine Comedy to each of the council fathers at Vatican II. Born around 1265, Dante Alighieri was the leading Italian poet of the Middle Ages. He is best known for penning the Divine Comedy, an epic poem widely considered to be among the world’s most important literary works. Completed about a year before the Florentine author’s death in 1321, the three-part story, rich with political as well as theological allusions, famously recounts a journey through the various levels of hell, purgatory, and heaven.

In 1965, the same year as the close of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI published the document Altissimi Cantus, in which the pontiff highlights the medieval poet’s significance.

In the Divine Comedy, the pope writes in the document, Dante “embraces heaven and earth, eternity and time, the mystery of God and the affairs of men, both sacred and

profane teaching, as well as the understanding made possible by divine revelation and the light of natural reason”.

Believing him to be “the poet of theologians and the theologian of poets”, Paul VI would go on to establish a chair for Dante studies at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, with an emphasis on what he saw to be the “ecumenical” elements of the poet’s writings.

Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922) was also an avid follower of Dante’s writings, referring to the Divine Comedy as “the fifth Gospel”, said Cardinal Paul Poupard, president emeritus for both the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who spoke at a meeting in Florence to commemorate the anniversary of Dante’s birth, as well as the 50th anniversary of Altissimi Cantus.

In his 1921 encyclical, In praeclara summorum copia hominum, Benedict XV refers to Dante as “the most eloquent bard to sing and announce Christian wisdom”.

“Who can deny that, at that time, the behaviour of some members of the clergy was reprehensible, deeply disturbing to a soul as devoted to the Church as Dante’s?” Benedict XV wrote.

Dante was a “Christian poet”, he said, “someone who sang Christian doctrine in an almost angelic voice; a doctrine whose beauty and splendour Dante contemplated with his entire soul”.

December this year will mark 50 years since the close of Vatican II.— CNA

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HE culture of casual sex and the slide of sexual intimacy is affecting the chances of a happy marriage.

The US National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia has published a study called “Before ‘I Do’” and found that what couples do before they say “I do” actually matters—and that premarital experiences from the past could end up haunting them long into marital bliss.

“How [people] conduct their romantic lives before they tie the knot is linked to their odds of having happy marriages,” said Drs Galena Rhoades and Scott Stanley in the study.

Dr Rhoades, a research associate professor in the psychology department at the University of Denver, and Dr Scott, co-director of the Centre of Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver, have spent their time researching relationship commitment and development, as well as related implications for family, children, and divorce.

Their findings lead to the conclusion that happy marriages could weigh on the balance of relationships past.

They found that those couples who partook in hooking up, premarital cohabitation, or even engaging in multiple sexual encounters with different people over the course of their lives, would have a less likely chance of remaining in a happy marriage— if they even got married at all.

“What happens in Vegas— everything you do before settling down in marriage—may not stay there,” Drs Rhoades and Stanley said, adding that “those who have had more romantic experiences are more likely to have lowerquality marriages than those with a less complicated romantic history”.

The study pointed to the probability that the more familiarity one has with relationships and sex, the harder it is to maintain commitment to just one person and to continue their satisfaction with only one partner. Marriage involves leaving behind other options, which may be harder for people who are used to having their choice of multiple romantic partners.

Having multiple relationship experiences also suggests having

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A recent study suggests that the more premarital relationships one has, the harder it is to maintain commitment to just one person. multiple break-ups, leading to a more skewed viewpoint of lasting love and committed relation.

T

he same goes for cohabitation.

Most couples think that moving in together will help make the transition into marriage smoother.

However, cohabitation before marriage has repeatedly been associated with higher divorce rates over the years, according to the study.

Drs Stanley and Rhoades pointed out that cohabitation, which includes creating a life together—buying furniture, investing in a pet, paying monthly rent together—can create a kind of inertia that makes it harder for the couple to break-up, if the time came.

So instead of breaking up if the match proved to be unsuitable, the couple would likely stay together in a kind of unhealthy paralysis. The cohabitating couple would more likely enter into an unhappy marriage rather than delve into the inconvenience of breaking apart the life they so carefully created when living together.

The study defined marital quality by happiness, confiding in one another, believing things in the relationship were going well, and an absence of thoughts of divorce.

The research also suggests that if an individual has pre-marital sex only with their eventual

spouse and no others, the odds of marital happiness are substantially better than if the individual had sex with multiple partners.

However, marriages are not fated to end in divorce when their past involves messy break-ups and haunting hook-ups—there are ways to manoeuvre this new, uncharted phenomenon.

“The more support a couple has, the better they are able to navigate the occasional choppy waters associated with marriage,” Drs Rhoades and Stanely found.

One of the most interesting revelations of the study was that those couples who had more guests at their wedding reported greater marital quality, alluding to the possibility that commitment is strengthened when publicly declared, symbolising a clear decision to commit.

This not only highlights the significance of community, family, and friends in a relationship but also suggests that community and a circle of support is one of the many ways that couples can enhance their chances of a happy marriage and renew their desire for commitment.

In addition, the study found that seeking advice, couple counselling or therapy, and transparency about past relationships, could also be helpful for those who want to escape the wounds inflicted by the casual sexual habits of the past.—CNA

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The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

5

Pope plans for trip to Turin Shroud

BY CAROL GLATZ

P Donald Nohs points to distinguishing marks on a negative image of the Shroud of Turin during a presentation at St Paul of the Cross monastery in Pittsburgh. Mr Nohs, who is an expert on the shroud, widely believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus, said the image shows what pain Jesus endured for his flock. (Photo: John Franko, Pittsburgh Catholic/CNS)

Cardinal Müller: Bishops are not the magisterium

BY JONATHAN LUXMOORE

T

HE prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has advised bishops’ conferences not to take “doctrinal and disciplinary decisions” on issues that rightly fall under the magisterium of the Church.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller said that while bishops’ conferences have authority on some matters, “they don’t constitute a magisterium within the magisterium, independently of the pope and out of communion with other bishops”.

His comments came in relation to claims by Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich-Freising, president of the German bishops’ conference, that his Church stood ready to “preach the Gospel in its own original way”, rather than being seen as “a branch of Rome” in relation to the possibility of allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments.

“An episcopal conference isn’t a special council, still less an ecumenical council, and its president is nothing more than a technical moderator with no magisterial authority,” Cardinal Müller said in a interview with France’s Catholic Famille Chretienne weekly.

He explained that the idea of “delegating certain doctrinal or disciplinary decisions on marriage and family” to bishops’ conferences was “absolutely anti-Catholic” and failed to “respect the Church’s Catholicity.”

“Hearing it said that an episcopal

conference isn’t a ‘branch of Rome’ leads me to recall that dioceses aren’t branches of a bishops’ conference secretariat either,” Cardinal Müller said.

“This type of attitude risks reawakening a polarisation between local Churches and the universal Church which was overcome by the First and Second Vatican Councils.

The Church isn’t a gathering of national Churches whose presidents vote in their head as a universal authority.”

Cardinal Marx caused controversy during a news conference at the close of a German bishops’ plenary meeting when he said his conference planned to help the Church “go down new paths” and “pursue its own pastoral care programme” regardless of the outcome of the synod on the family at the Vatican.

“We cannot wait for a synod to tell us how we have to shape pastoral care for marriage and family here,” said Cardinal Marx, who will be one of three German Church delegates at the synod.

“We are not a branch of Rome.

Each bishops’ conference is responsible for pastoral care in its cultural context and must preach the Gospel in its own original way,” he said.

Cardinal Marx’s statement was also rejected by Cardinal Paul Cordes, retired president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. Cardinal Cordes described Cardinal Marx’s comments as “irritating theological blurriness” in a letter to Germany’s Catholic Tagespost daily.—CNS

Pope remembers the Armenian genocide

BY ANDREA GAGLIARDUCCI

A

HEAD of Pope Francis’ Mass commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, newly released historic documents confirm the Holy See’s broad commitment to helping the Armenian people at a time when few others would.

The Italian Jesuit-run magazine La Civiltà Cattolica stressed that newly published documents “prove how the Holy See, always informed about events, had not remained passive, but was strongly committed to face the issue” of the Armenian genocide. “Pope Benedict XV was the only ruler or religious leader to voice out a protest against the ‘massive crime’.”

The Armenian genocide is considered to have begun in 1915 with a massacre of Armenians in Istanbul. Over the next eight years, some 1,5 million Armenians would be killed and millions more displaced.

However, such killings were perpetrated before, when much of the region was still under

Ottoman rule.

For instance, a letter written in 1896 by the Franciscan Father Domenico Werson, who was serving as a missionary in Aleppo, now in Syria, recounted the massacre of Christians in Marash and vicinities.

Most of the documents in the newly published series are from the archive of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches. They have been published in a newly released series of four books by the Jesuit priest Fr Georges-Henry Ruyssen.

The documents on the “Armenian question” date from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century.

The Holy See, La Civiltà Cattolica wrote, “mobilised a continual flow of financial aid and supplies in an era when there were no other international humanitarian organisations beyond the Red Cross and the Near East relief”.

Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass marking the centenary of the genocide in St Peter’s basilica on April 24.—CNA

OPE Francis will spend two days in Turin to venerate the Shroud of Turin; meet young people, workers, juvenile detainees, immigrants and the sick; and visit with his Italian relatives from northern Italy.

The papal visit in June 21-22 also will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of St John Bosco, a 19th-century priest from the Turin region who was a pioneer in vocational education, worked with poor and abandoned children and founded the Salesians, a religious order specialising in youth work.

The trip’s main focus will be to venerate the shroud, which will be on public display from April 19-June 24, in Turin’s cathedral. It will be the fourth time since 2000 the shroud goes on public display.

According to tradition, the 4metre by 1,2-metre linen cloth is the burial shroud of Jesus. The shroud has a full-length photonegative image of a man, front and back, bearing signs of wounds that correspond to the Gospel accounts of the torture Jesus endured in his passion and death.

The Church has never officially ruled on the shroud’s authenticity, saying the shroud is an important aid for spiritual reflection and that judgments about its age and origin belong to scientific investigation. Scientists have debated its authenticity for decades, and studies have led to

conflicting results.

A pilgrimage to Turin is not a journey to discover “apparitions or miracles. It is a journey that’s both communal and interior, ‘a pilgrimage within’” that prompts deeper conversion and faith, Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin, papal custodian of the Shroud of Turin, told reporters at the Vatican.

The Vatican released the pope’s Turin schedule during the archbishop’s conference. It said the pope is scheduled to give five speeches over the two days, including a question-and-answer session with young people. He will celebrate Mass outdoors on June 21.

The pope will have lunch that day with juvenile detainees, immigrants, homeless people and a family of gypsies, who are also known as Roma.

After praying before the shroud and the tomb of Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati at the city’s cathedral, Pope Francis is expected to visit a Marian sanctuary, visit the ill and disabled at a Church-run institute, and meet with Salesians and educators at the basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, which was founded by St John Bosco and houses his casket.

Pope Francis will visit Turin’s Waldensian church on June 22 before dedicating the late-morning and afternoon to visiting relatives from his father’s side of the family. The private visit is to include a Mass and lunch at the archbishop’s residence.

The Bergoglio lineage begins in northern Italy—and today the majority of Italians with that last name are still in Turin and Asti, the town where Pope Francis’ father grew up.

The pope’s father, Mario Jose, and other family members, including his beloved grandmother, Rosa, went to Argentina in 1929.

During the shroud’s display, special emphasis will be on those who suffer since the shroud prompts deeper reflection on pain, hope and service to those in need, Archbishop Nosiglia said.

Special services and accommodations will be available for those needing assistance and special, accessible confessionals will be available.

Organisers of the exhibition said they expected at least 1 million people from all over the world to visit during the two-month-long public exposition, adding that almost 850 000 people have already registered.

While visits to the display in the city’s cathedral will be free, reservations are mandatory in order to regulate the massive flow of visitors that is expected. Reservations can be made only online on the official site: www.sindone.org.

All donations made by pilgrims during the event will be given to Pope Francis, who will decide what charity or project the monies will be given to, the archbishop said. —CNS

6

The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Bless the peacemakers

D

URING the Israeli election campaign last month, Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, ruled out the possibility of a sovereign Palestinian state.

In declaring the two-state solution dead, Mr Netanyahu unwillingly found some common ground with a growing Palestinian consensus that there cannot be an independent Palestine.

Since illegally occupying the West Bank in 1967, Israel has annexed portions of what until then was Jordanian land, and built hundreds of settlements on land that isn’t theirs to take.

Settlements are now also built in East Jerusalem, which is the Palestinian part of the city, with people who have lived there for many generations being forced from their homes.

It is these settlements, erected in violation of international law, which form an obstacle to the notion of a Palestinian state, since these cannot be simply dismantled nor feasibly incorporated into such a state.

It is the continuing construction of settlement on Palestinian land and the occupation by the Israel Defence Force (IDF), as well as Israel’s eight-year-long siege of Gaza, which is at the heart of much of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The conflict is not about Israel’s existence. While Palestinians and Arab states might argue, with good cause, that the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 came at an unacceptably high cost to the people who had lived there for centuries, nobody seriously believes that Israel can be undone.

Of course, Israelis remember well the external pressure that was applied by its neighbours in the early years of their state, and they seem to have internalised a siege mentality which those with no interest in peace exploit.

It is also true that the rhetoric and ineffectual rocket attacks by Hamas feed these fears. Hamas, quite obviously, are not agents of peace.

But the Israeli occupation of the West Bank—where the moderate Fatah party, not Hamas, is strong—does not discriminate between political views or even religious background. Christians, too, are the victims of often random repression and targeted dispossession.

Farmers are cut off from their land by the separation wall which Israel has built in the occupied territories; olive groves and crops are systematically burnt to drive people off their land; water is rationed for Palestinians in their own land while it runs freely for Israel’s illegal settlements; detention without trial, sometimes lasting for years, is widespread, with even children as young as five being arrested; and so on.

Even the city of the birth of the Prince of Peace, Bethlehem, is totally ringed in by a wall that is twice the height of the hated Berlin Wall. As a result of the wall and the IDF-manned checkpoints, the residents of Bethlehem have no freedom of movement to work outside their city, creating rampant unemployment in what once was the region’s most important Christian city.

Palestinian Christians, most of whom are Catholics, are leaving the Holy Land in great numbers because of the occupation, and in smaller part because of growing Muslim intolerance towards them. The land of Our Lord and Our Lady would be irreparably diminished should the Christian community there disappear.

As Catholics, we are called to pursue all avenues for justice and peace. And it is to this end that The Southern Cross is staging a “Pilgrimage of the Peacemakers” to the Holy Land next February, under the leadership of Archbishop Stephen Brislin.

The pilgrimage seeks to gain an understanding of the situation in the Holy Land by engaging with the history of the conflict, by observing the realities on the ground, and by encountering those on both sides who seek peace. The participants will see and be seen, and they will pray at the holy places of Our Lord, who called us to be peacemakers.

And in our prayers, the ultimate goal will be the peaceful coexistence between the people of the Holy Land in a secular, constitutional democracy in a unitary state which grants all citizens equal rights with provisions made for the concerns of minorities.

This is the only way in which peace will come to the land of Christians, Muslims and Jews.

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Let’s support our Southern Cross

I

T is no secret that the recent postal strike has adversely affected the financial position of The Southern Cross, the only weekly Catholic newspaper in South Africa.

The Southern Cross is a very important way of communicating with and keeping Catholics advised of news that is important to them.

This being the case, is it not time for the Catholic bishops of this country to start to promote the newspaper via parish priests in their dioceses?

In recent weeks I have been visiting some parishes in the Durban archdiocese and at one parish—a large parish with somewhere in the region of 450 registered families—

Shroud of Turin

S

INCERE thanks for the very comprehensive editorial on the Shroud of Turin (March 25), and the fact that the Shroud is to be publicly exhibited from April 15.

There are many discoveries regarding the Shroud that give proof of its authenticity: the fact that the nails went through the wrists, not the palms; that the crown of thorns was “cap shaped” and not the circlet of traditional artistic depictions over the centuries, and the crown of a type of thorn prevalent in the Jerusalem area at that time of year, April.

Traces of pollen from flowers and plants prevalent in the Holy Land and the areas through which history shows the Shroud travelled over the centuries, are also in evidence.

Analysis of the blood of the Shroud shows it to be type AB, the type most prevalent in the Middle East, and congruent with that on the veil covering Our Lord’s face, kept in Ovideo cathedral. The fabric weave is consistent with that of first-century Palestine, and contains cotton, not wool, which was forbidden by Jewish law.

Analysis of the dirt in the foot

for options, photos and videos

I

REFER to Judith Turner’s column of March 11, “Five ways of learning to love yourself”.

I admire her good advice and applaud it but think she omitted one important point: how to accept yourself “warts and all”.

She does say “acknowledge your efforts” but the main reason to love yourself, in my opinion, is because Jesus loves us, and who are we to 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

Laity council

I

RESPECT Brian Robertson’s views on who should comprise the proposed episcopal laity council (March 18).

However, he begs the question when he states: “It would surely have been better to start by inviting a small group of lay organisational experts…”. Who does he think should decide that these individuals are experts?

I would believe the decision should be left to the common sense of the relevant bishop.

Paddy Ross, Cape Town

Apology to St Bernard’s parish

I

N our edition of February 25 we published a letter in which a reader alleged an incident of racial behaviour by an unnamed individual at Mass in St Bernard’s church in Newlands, Cape Town.

While the writer acknowledged that the vast majority of parishioners are not racially prejudiced and that similar incidents had occurred elsewhere, we nevertheless should have omitted the name of the parish as the allegation of a single incident can cast a veil of suspicion over the whole community, even one as known for its openness, especially to the marginalised, as the parish of Newlands/Claremont.

Naturally it was not our intention to call into question the integrity of the parish.

For the pain and embarrassment caused to the parish of Newlands/Claremont by our failure to omit the parish’s name, we apologise to the community and to its pastor, Fr Christopher Clohessy.

Editor

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

Hiking Pilgrimage in the Holy Land Fr Russell Pollitt SJ

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Loving ourselves

dispute his judgment, rather than acknowledge it and be thankful, and glory in it.

Carmen Smith, Somerset West

Holy Land & Rome

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area is of calcium carbonate of a type found only in the Jerusalem area, while the imprints of flowers and pollen on the Shroud are of those used by the Jews in their burial procedures.

There is the partial imprint of a coin on one eye (also a Jewish custom) from the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. Also, the face has bruises and markings, such as the broken nose reported in scripture (see Matthew 27:29-31).

One arm appears to be longer than the other because of the stretching of an arm by the soldiers to accommodate it in the holes already made for that purpose on the cross.

The Shroud also shows that the person crucified was a circumcised Jew, and that he was most cruelly flogged, beyond what was required.

Measurement of the person depicted on the Shroud reveals his height as about 1,80m, tall for a man of that time (see Luke 19:1-5).

John Lee, Johannesburg

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their order of The Southern Cross, which had just arrived, was only 30 copies. This sad situation can be found among many parishes in this country.

Maybe there are many subscribers in this particular parish who receive their Southern Cross each week as do I, but I am doubtful. Yet, the annual subscription to The Southern Cross is less than the cost of a family going to a midrange restaurant for a meal, and a single issue costs less than a can of cooldrink.

Not only do I feel that the bishops and many parish priests are wanting in this matter, the laity too

need a jolt. They too have a duty to support their only Catholic weekly.

The laity of this country are in a comfort zone—nothing is said from the pulpit, so all must be well.

Let us not reach the stage where The Southern Cross, which is financially self-supporting with no subsidies, has to cease printing due to mounting financial losses. That would be tragic and a serious indictment of the Catholics of South Africa, both clergy and laity.

Here is a golden opportunity for the bishops to seek the help of the laity in promoting the paper.

I sincerely hope that they will take it. The Southern Cross cannot do it all on its own.

Mervyn Pollitt, Waterfall, KZN

3 to 12 September 2015

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The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

PERSPECTIVES

Mphuthumi And the fires came down... Ntabeni F IRES are a common occurrence in Cape Town—but not on a scale of the recent one that burnt over 5 500ha in the peninsula in over just five days.

Our suburb of Hout Bay was affected, making me privy to the horror of helplessness the raging fire brings. We woke around 2:00 in the morning, with the fire slithering down our mountains.

Fifteen minutes later I joined the night street vigil. Two fire trucks, with a dozen firemen, were awaiting the fire on the firebreak. It was obvious even to me that the firefighting personnel would be inadequate for the rate the fire was raging down.

We were told the priority was the fire in Tokai, then ten times more fierce than ours.

Around 3:20 one firefighter confided to me that when the fire reached us their equipment would not be too effective.

“What we have is not enough to contain it,” she said with a despairing air. “We must just pray for the wind to change direction.” I decided not share this news with my neighbours.

What the firefighter said in despair, perhaps even in jest, I took seriously. I asked our neighbours to form a circle, hold hands and pray.

Very few of them, if any, are religious, as is the case in most affluent areas. Most are even avowed atheists who like to take me to task for what they call “Catholic hocus-pocus”. But all of us felt helpless then.

If Scripture teaches us anything, it is that the power of God is revealed to human beings during the time of their distress and helplessness. “Be still, and know that I am God…” Truth be told, we would probably have done an African rain-dance with Queen Modjadji had she turned up to suggest it at that moment. The fire was coming down the mountain fast, and things were getting more desperate by the minute. Our prayer lasted just under seven minutes before we were back to our wait for the inevitable.

Noticeable among all of us was the humility which the pending disaster instilled: treating each other with tremendous courtesy and kindness I did not know existed in our rather individualistic, materialistic, and self-absorbed suburb that I have always lamented on Facebook.

T

he subsequent experiences of our “Week in Hell” proved to me that people who differ in their moral or religious perspectives can nonetheless work together for the greater good.

We were sharing lists of what to take from the houses when evacuations would begin. High in everyone’s list were family photos, hard drives, certificates, passports, paintings, etc. Nobody was talking about useless material things like their big-screen TVs. The police were highly efficient in answering questions, and the army personnel good in drilling us on the evacuation process, like how to avoid blocking the roads for emergency vehicles, and so forth.

It was a picture of the dreamed of Rainbow Nation.

By 4:00 most of us were past concern about our houses. We were thinking about the tragic devastation it would sow were it to reach Imizamo Yethu, an informal area

Cape Town’s recent battle against the sweeping fires brought people together.

(Photo: Mphutumi Ntabeni)

Pushing the Boundaries

in the suburb. Its official population, according to Stats SA figures of 2011, is 15 538, but we all know that it is at least twice that. All of that cramped into 18ha land makes for a disaster waiting to happen during moments of crisis.

Around 4:15 my firefighter friend, running and shaking with happiness, came to inform us that, by some miracle, the wind had suddenly changed direction into the sea. The relief of all of us was palpable.

The significance of 40 minutes hiatus between our prayer and this announcement was not lost on my faithful mind, but I kept it to myself. I even started saying my rosary to keep the winds blowing to the sea, reminded of Moses’ raised arms in prayer when the Israelites fought the Amalekites.

Needles to say, the change in wind direction, in direct answer to our prayers, strengthened my faith, not only in God, but in our community. City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, was quoted by the newspapers that it was a miracle the fire avoided the greater part of Hout Bay. Unfortunately for the luxury hotel of Thintswalo, the wind change brought the fire to them. Guests had to be hastily evacuated as the building caught fire. It sustained serious damages but the firefighters eventually managed to put out the fire.

My mother, panic-stricken after watching the news from the Eastern Cape, phoned as early as 7:00 to ask if we were okay. “Let’s be glad prayers are still answered,” I replied. I told her I now understood better the story of Moses.

My friends and neighbours, course, alluded the whole thing was due to natural causes—each to their own. I choose to bask in my own reinforced sense of humility that is endorsing my awe.

Like Blaise Pascal, I feel a sense of dread Continued on page 11

Easter offers us new opportunities I Gushwell Brooks T is always remarkable to see events leading up to Lent: the Brazilian Carnival, New York parade and the New Orleans Mardi Gras are traditionally events that were established as a final hedonistic release prior to the sacrifice of Lent.

It can be interpreted as a societal release, an opportunity for people to indulge in all that they will give up during this time of sacrifice.

So, in as much as the behaviour associated with these pre-Lenten events has become tasteless and can have very little connection with the true spirit of Lent, it does imply that there is recognition of the pending sacrifice.

So in the last 40 days leading us to Easter, some of us successfully ditched coffee, alcohol, chocolate, meat or cigarettes.

These tend to be vices, the type of stuff we should avoid or consume in moderation anyway, but a sacrifice was made and we could proudly go into Easter knowing that we had suppressed temptation and made a proportionally, possible sacrifice.

Now, in the Easter season—remember, it ends at Pentecost, not the day after Easter Monday—we enter this time to emulate Christ. It is a tribute to the sacrifice he made over a 40-day period, in the desert as he spent his time fasting, reflecting and praying. Easter reminds us that his 40-days-long sacrifice was in fact a lead-up to an even bigger sacrifice: his crucifixion.

Christians base their faith on the significance of this ultimate sacrifice which made possible the glory of the resurrection. But even as we are called to emulate Christ, it obviously cannot expected in a

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Talking about Faith

Lent is over, but can we carry over our Lenten sacrifices into the Easter season and beyond? (Photo: Sam Lucero, The Compass) modern, democratic age that people should lay down their lives for their beliefs. The vast majority of us today do not have to die as martyrs—though in some areas there are those who do—but does this mean that Easter marks the end of sacrifice, that we can go back to the Mardi Gras parade?

C

hrist’s sacrifice changed the world, the real impact he had has been translated through Catholic Social Teaching, as but one example. So in lieu of you having to lay down your life, a simple question all year around could be: what impact do I have on my community and society at large? In other words, am I emulating Christ in adding to changing the world for the better?

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It does not demand much. In fact we are reminded that Lent is not just about what you sacrifice, but should also be a time of giving of yourself. This momentum of Lent, which is also a time of giving of yourself, needs to be maintained perpetually.

It is great to organise a blanket drive in anticipation of winter, it is wonderful to volunteer at your local soup kitchen and feed the poor, and we cannot but admire the non-perishable food collection that happens over this period. But do we do these things only during Lent? What happens after Easter? Who feeds the poor after Easter and who provides them with shelter against the cold?

In as much as Christ’s ultimate sacrifice paved the way for our eternal reward—and many Christian denominations seem to fixate and base their entire lives on life after death—the reality is that as mortal humans on this planet, we are part of this world and in as much as we can point fingers to poor leadership in the corporate, political and civil society realms, it is up to us to be the positive change.

Our sacrifices cannot have ended with the conclusion of Lent. The sacrifice must be ongoing—and Easter marks the beginning of this opportunity.

7

Judith Turner

Faith and Life

Finding my way in a labyrinth

R

ECENTLY I had the privilege of walking the labyrinth at the Christian Brothers’ Centre in Stellenbosch with the women’s group of my parish.

We were all very excited because none of us had walked the labyrinth before. In fact, most of us did not even know what a labyrinth was. So off we went, very excitedly to experience walking the labyrinth. And what an experience it was!

The labyrinth is not a maze, as some people might think. There are many ways to describe a labyrinth: It is a path of prayer, a walking meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit and a mirror of the soul.

There are no tricks to it and no dead-ends. It has a single circuitous path that winds its way into the centre. The person walking it uses the same path to return from the centre and the entrance then becomes the exit. The path is in full view, which allows a person to be quiet and focus internally without having to wonder what lies around the corner.

We were guided by our spiritual director who recommended that we use the following method of reflection while walking the labyrinth: Remembering, that we are deeply blessed and deeply loved by God. Releasing: letting go of distractions, old hurts and disappointments.

Receiving the gifts of grace, guidance and new insights. Resolving: deciding our next steps of action.

One does not have to reflect in this order, and one can repeat these steps as often as needed while in the labyrinth. At the end, symbolically, and sometimes actually, this means that you are taking back out into the world that which you have received in the labyrinth.

There is no right way or wrong way to walk a labyrinth. You may use the labyrinth in any way that meets what you need while being respectful of others walking. You may go directly to the centre to reflect quietly—whatever meets your needs.

Our spiritual director suggested that we prepare ourselves by sitting quietly to reflect before walking the labyrinth. Some people come with questions, others just to slow down and take time out from a busy life. Some come to find strength to take the next step. Many come during times of grief and loss.

The labyrinth is situated within the Bigger God garden which is made up of various “circles” to help us explore different experiences we have of the mystery we call God. When you visit the Bigger God garden at the Christian Brothers’ Centre in Stellenbosch, you will also be able to experience a Tree of Religions, a Tree of Action and Contemplation, a Cosmic Spiral, the Sacred Feminine, a Resurrection Circle, a Zen Garden.

What I took from my labyrinth experience is a lesson to slow down and to control my need for getting things done.

As I was entering the labyrinth and proceeding towards the centre, I was prevented from walking faster by the woman walking in front of me. I really just wanted to overtake her and move on. But I did not. I settled down in my thoughts and meditation and it was a good experience.

Once both of us were in the centre, I decided to leave the centre before her so that she would not slow me down again. And I did. Just to find myself walking behind another woman moving slowly. What greater lesson to slow down in life can one get?

Having learnt from my first experience, I will be better prepared to walk the labyrinth in prayer and meditation a second time. It is a good spiritual exercise and if you are able to, then make a trip to the Christian Brothers’ Centre in Stellenbosch and spend a morning in their Bigger God garden—and be refreshed.

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8

The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

COMMUNITY

Youth at St Joseph’s parish in Mt Edgecombe, Durban, were confirmed by Cardinal Wilfred Napier. Parish priest Fr Mxolisi Ndlovu TOR is pictured with the confirmands.

We accommodate small Conferences, Retreats and workshops

Youth from the Salesian Youth Movement in Cape Town celebrated the feast of Don Bosco. Fr Jeff Johnson, rector of the Salesian Institute community, celebrated Mass followed by a screening of the Salesian Strenna 2015 video. The strenna (gift in Italian) for this year is: “Like Don Bosco, with the young for the young”. Fr Johnson (back) and Br Clarence Watts (front seated) are pictured with the youth.

The Knights of Da Gama gave donations of R6 000 each to Choc, McClelland Adult Centre, DJ Sobey Old Age Home and Salem Baby Centre. A representative of Salem Baby Centre is seen here receiving the donation.

Precious Blood Sister Deodora Mtagona, made her vows of final profession at Mariannhill.

Youth at St Peter’s parish in Boikhutso, Lichtenburg, were confirmed by Bishop Victor Hlolo Phalana. It was Bishop Phalana’s first confirmation since his episcopal ordination in January. Parish priest Fr Vusi Mdlalose is pictured with Bishop Phalana and the confirmands.

We are 5mins from Howick Falls, 10min from Midmar Dam, 20 mins from Pietermaritzburg.

Contact Veronica 083 784 7455, Email redacres@omi.org.za Regrettable due to stolen telephone cables, we do not have a landline anymore.

Youth at the parishes of the Blessed Sacrament in Virginia and Star of the Sea in Umhlanga, archdiocese of Durban, were confirmed by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier.

Fr Joe Money OMI of Blessed Sacrament parish in Virginia, Durban, celebrated his 75th birthday.

‘We believe that each person is special in God’s plan and has a mission nobody else can fulfill.’

Fr Don Bohė celebrated Holy Mass at St Michael’s parish in Potchefstroom together with members of ACTS (Association of Catholic Tertiary Students) from the North West University of Potchefstroom.

Aneshan Bhagat, son of Mr and Mrs Suraj Bhagat and Prenesha, daughter of Mr and Mrs Kaniya Archari were married at St Thomas church in Lenasia, Johannesburg, with Fr Raymond Maquarrie presiding.

The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

CHURCH

9

Sisters set a rock for generations Holy Family College celebrated the arrival of the Holy Family Sisters in Durban 140 years ago with a thanksgiving Mass that celebrated the consecrated life and Catholic education, as SYDNEY DUVAL reports.

is not finished with you yet. He has a lot more that he wants us to do.”

H

T

HE archdiocese of Durban went back to school to celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving for the Holy Family Sisters of Bordeaux founding Holy Family College 140 years ago.

A large marquee was set up in the school grounds high up at Glenmore, overlooking the city where the sisters opened the school that began its life as the iconic educational facility known as Convent High, where pupils wore the striking red and black striped blazer with the motto “Quid Retribuam?”

(What shall I render to you?).

This was the motto that set the Holy Family Sisters on a journey of service in education, health, pastoral and community work across Southern Africa, leaving footprints from Lesotho to Kimberley, from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

The celebration explored past and present as building blocks for an inspiring vision of the future— of combining faith and life to “know what God wants me to do now”.

At the beginning of Mass, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, the principal celebrant, added the spiritual and human developmental dimensions to the introductory talks on the academic, sporting and cultural achievements of schools such as Holy Family College.

He spoke of human development, alongside the spiritual, as one of the greater things these schools were doing—“developing boys and girls into mature young men and women who become more and more what God intended them to be. Unless we are conscious of the spiritual we won’t be able to develop our full potential”.

In celebrating the birthday of the Holy Family Sisters, he continued, we were also celebrating the life of

Celebrating 140 years of the Holy Family Sisters in South Africa at a Mass: (from left) Sr Shelagh Mary Waspe, Hilton Stander, head prefects Mikhail Amod and Safia Poultney, and Srs Therese Hannon, Tshidi Matsha, Dolores Boyle and Cathy O’Gorman (seated). (Photos: Sydney Duval) the sisters and their 140 years in Durban as special gifts from God. The cardinal used his homily to apply the readings of the day (Eph: 2: 1-10, 19-22 and Lk: 6: 46-49) to the celebration in likening true disciples to God’s household which he builds with rocks on a solid foundation that will not collapse in a flood—but will endure. Knowing sacred scripture and knowing Jesus Christ formed part of the rocks.

C

ardinal Napier said the sisters came as gifts to the people—not just to start a school and the activities associated with education, but to communicate the knowledge, the understanding and the appreciation of the gift that God was offering us and had given us. These gifts included faith in God, faith in his word and faith in his Holy Spirit.

Addressing the Holy Family Sisters present, Cardinal Napier said: “You are living proof that if you build your life on a sound solid foundation of rock, God being that rock, then you will be able to share with others...what is important in the life of each one of you is that you founded your life, your Christian life, your religious life, your professional life on deep and firm foundations of faith in God, hope in his goodness and the grace and love of God which showed itself in the way your cared for the children

in your care.”

For the future, Cardinal Napier offered the sisters the vision of walking with Jesus as his disciples in “the Church in motion” expressed by Pope Francis, who never ceased to surprise with the simplicity of his remarks.

He also offered the sisters this creative thought on ageing: “Though some of us are already on the wrong side of 60, and even 70, God is not finished with us yet— what does he have in store for us, for renewal of religious life?”

He developed this idea and its relevance for consecrated life through some challenging questions: “What do we do in order to renew our religious life...how do we renew the vision, rediscover the original inspiration, the charism of our respective community life...how do we attract and form new members... how do we show our evangelical commitment...what is the rock of today...what resources do we have...how can we be building blocks for our society that it doesn’t fall down...how do we go forward?

“In short, let’s go back to the Gospel, to something that really makes a difference to our personal life. What is God saying to me now today—what is the solid rock and foundation of today that they will not fall down before the storm. God

oly Family Sisters present were Sr Shelagh Mary Waspe, leader of the sisters in South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda, and Srs Marion Millane, Tshidi Matsha, Colette Holmes, Marie McGhee, Therese Hannon, Dolores Boyle and Cathy O’Gorman.

Also present were the school chaplain, Fr Christopher Neville OFM, and principal Hilton Stander, who spoke of six young Holy Family Sisters arriving in Durban to implement the dream of their founder, Pierre Bienvenu Noailles. In attending to the education of the children of settlers, they were obeying the words of their founder who encouraged them to “go forward and let nothing check your course”.

The sisters had diligently allowed their hands “to scatter on all sides the divine seed of God’s work and good example”. It was out of this diligence and obedience and an unwavering faith in God that Holy Family College as we know it today was born in 1875.

“Through all the years the school’s employees walked together preaching a silent message of life.

What and how they talked represented the desires expressed by Venerable Pierre. There was a very clear message to love your neighbour and

to take care of the poor. It was from a humble beginning that this tradition began and would continue to grow for centuries.

“I often wonder what it was like to be in the audience on that day when Martin Luther King made his ‘I have a dream’ speech,” Mr Sander said. “On this day he was motivating, moving and challenging. His commitment to reform was the catalyst for change, the effects of which are still being felt today.”

The offertory procession included Sr Marion and Sr Tshidi, each bringing a brick signifying that the Holy Family Sisters built the foundation of the school, knowing that Jesus was and still is the cornerstone of all that they hoped to accomplish. They would lay their bricks on the large rock which reminded us always to make Jesus the cornerstone of our lives.

Two of the younger learners carried a poster reminding us that they are the future of the school and the next generation to care for God’s creation which he has entrusted to us. Others bearing symbolic gifts included teachers and a family.

The offertory procession with the Fynn family, Andrew and wife Leeanne, and their son and daughter Matthew and Jordan, representing all the families, past and present, who have been part of Holy Family College in Durban.

Southern Cross BOOKS Pilgrimage to The Holy Land In the Footsteps of Jesus led by Fr. Laszlo Karpati 27 September – 04 October 2015 R19 995 incl. Airport taxes

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THE HOLy LAND TREK:

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MOERDyK FILES

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

10

The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

MEDIA

Is new TV series OK for Catholics to watch?

The controversial TV comedy drama Jane The Virgin will be screened in South Africa as of April 15.

CHRIS HEFFRON examines whether it is suitable for Catholics.

V

IEWERS familiar with Latin American telenovelas (or soap operas) know that many of these salacious serial dramas shelve realism for overcooked eroticism— to laughable results.

Bed-hopping can be a form of cardio in these shows, which might explain why they’re so popular.

The controversial comedydrama Jane the Virgin—airing on DStv’s Vuzu Amp channel on Wednesdays at 19:30 as of April 15—is adapted from the Venezuelan telenovela Juana La Virgen. The English-language version toys with the genre’s themes without losing its focus. What we’re left with is a thoughtful, though at times troubling, look at family, love and resilience.

Fresh-faced Gina Rodriguez, who won a Golden Globe for her role in January, leads the ensemble cast as Jane, an aspiring teacher and hotel waitress living with her mother (Andrea Navedo)—who became pregnant with her when she

Gina Rodrigues as the titular character in the comedy-drama TV series Jane the Virgin, which launches in South Africa on April 15. In the show, the main character is accidentally inseminated and has to deal with the consequences of her bizarrely conceived pregnancy. was only 16—and a loving but firm grandmother (Ivonne Coll).

Jane’s virginity, as her grandmother explained to her when she was young, is like a delicate flower to be guarded.

That’s a lesson Jane has carried with her into her two-year relationship with Michael, played by Brett Dier. Michael wants to take the relationship a step further. Jane wants to wait for marriage.

The Southern Cross receives no subsidies and is entirely self-sufficient. This means that one bad year too many could put The Southern Cross in danger of following the many titles worldwide that have already closed down.

Last year’s crippling postal strike has caused the newspaper financial damage from which it cannot recover through its regular income.

The Associates Campaign is crucial in helping The Southern Cross rebuild its reserves, without which it might not survive.

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Named after the modern martyr and heroic Catholic newspaper editor and publisher, for those who assist our apostolic efforts by means of an annual contribution of between R500 and R1 499.

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Named after the patron saint of Catholic media, for those whose annual gesture of support for The Southern Cross is R100 or more.

which, in this hyper-sexualised TV culture, is certainly refreshing— several of the secondary characters engage in behaviour that will trouble viewers of faith. The doctor who accidentally inseminated Jane is a lesbian with a history of alcoholism. Infidelity and promiscuity factor into the series as well, and distract from the central story.

Perhaps most jarring about the series is the whimsicality with which it treats its heroine’s thorny predicament. Jane has a support system in place, yes, but that’s a luxury for many young, unwed mothers.

The writers would do well to infuse Jane’s character with a bit more genuine angst. Pregnancy, regardless of the mother’s situation, is a life-changing experience.

Women who give their babies up for adoption are making a selfless, loving choice. But the emotional scarring from the separation can linger for a lifetime. Jane is written a bit too cheerful, too optimistic about the road ahead.

But the show does have faith-affirming takeaways as well. Jane, naive to the world but still holding on to the goodness of it, chooses life, even when the alternative is all too widely available.

When Jane decides to put aside what is convenient for what is just, what we’re seeing isn’t merely an act of self-sacrificing love, but the final steps of a girl’s journey into womanhood, in all its imperfect glory.—CNS

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Here’s where the plot thickens: On a routine gynaecological visit, Jane is accidentally inseminated by a distracted doctor. To complicate matters further, the sperm sample belongs to Rafael (Justin Baldoni), the owner of the hotel where Jane works. He’s a cancer survivor with whom she once shared a kiss years prior.

Suddenly Jane is thrust into a world of uncertainties: should she

keep the baby or have an abortion?

Should she give the baby to Rafael and his wife? Will the pregnancy derail her relationship with Michael?

The colourful characters who surround Jane react with varying degrees of horror. Michael doesn’t want to raise another man’s baby.

Jane’s mother and grandmother, no strangers to unwed pregnancy, differ on how to advise the young mom-to-be.

When Jane decides to carry the baby to term and give it to Rafael, however, relationships are tested.

Peppering this freshman series are slapstick moments of quirkiness that bring levity to the weighty proceedings.

Jane the Virgin has its charms, but is not without significant problems.

Since the show first aired, writers in the Catholic blogosphere have cried foul at its treatment of morally questionable subject matter.

Artificial insemination—accidental or otherwise—is handled with far too light a touch here.

Without delving into the consequences of morally objectionable reproductive practices, viewers, especially the young women the show is seeking to hook, aren’t given every side of the issue.

In a disconcertingly comedic way, the show treats Jane’s insemination and ensuing pregnancy as hiccups in an otherwise uneventful day.

Though Jane has vowed to remain chaste until marriage—

We therefore appeal to your generous support to ensure the survival of South Africa’s only Catholic weekly through the Associates Campaign!

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ensure that every seminarian in the country has access to The Southern Cross provide many prisons with the Catholic newspaper to help inmates turn around their lives towards God. supply free copies every week to six bases of the South African National Defence Force to give our soldiers spiritual support, and also provide free copies to hospitals.

BECOME AN ASSOCIATE your contribution makes a difference The Southern Cross, Associates Campaign, PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000 l Account details: Standard Bank, Thibault Square Branch (Code 020909), The Southern Cross, Acc No: 276876016 (please fax or e-mail deposit slip or confirmation) l Fax Number: 021 465-3850, Email: admin@scross.co.za

CLASSIFIEDS

Sr Floriana Planck FIC

A

FTER a long life of dedicated service, Sr Floriana Planck, a Franciscan Sister of the Immaculate Conception, died on December 2, 2014, at the age of 88 years, just six days after her birthday.

On her birthday, she quoted the late Bishop Anton Reiterer of Witbank, whom she had nursed until his death, “This is no life anymore”, applying it to herself.

Lately she repeatedly prayed, “Jesus, take me home”. Now he did, unlike during her many angina pectoris attacks which were always noticed just in time to get her back to consciousness and blood circulation.

Sr Floriana was born on November 26, 1926 as the eldest of four children in an Austrian family whose father was a builder by trade. She entered the congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in 1946 to start her novitiate as well as her training as a nurse. She arrived in South Africa in 1950 and began working in a clinic and with the boarders at Maria Trost.

In 1952 she went to Mariannhill to repeat her general nursing training to have it recognised in South Africa. On completion of her stud-

ies she came to the bishop’s house where she nursed the ailing Bishop Johannes Riegler of Lydenburg until his death in 1955. 1956 saw her take up her duties as a nursing sister at St Joseph’s Catholic church, Hazyview, establishing a small clinic in the then bush area, and later the Bongani Mission Hospital, of which she was matron for 20 years.

From 1964 to 1974 she was the regional superior of her congregation. From 1976 to 1978 she did psychiatric training in Cape Town.

Elected general councillor, she went to stay in the mother house

in Austria. After her return in 1980, she was again regional superior until 1993 and helped out at St Joseph’s home for the aged in Middelburg where she then worked as the matron from 1981 to 1995.

In 1999 she had a quadruple bypass but remained active during her retirement, loving cooking, praying, birds and all of nature, and people. And people loved her.

In living her Franciscan charism she was a humble instrument in the hand of God, serving where the Church needed her, striving for constant union with God. Sr Floriana became a witness to the Gospel by lovingly caring for some of those sick ones for whom there was no medical care available in the 1950s. She did this where the Church wanted it, in the rural area of Hazyview, Mpumalanga. She found strength and guidance for it through her life with God, in a spirit of joyful poverty.

Quite some time ago her health got worse, and after a bad turn on Sunday, November 30, Sr Floriana was admitted to hospital on the Monday, actually for a blood transfusion, but died there the following morning.

Sr Marianne Tieber FIC

And the fires came down the mountain Continued from page 7 against the silence of these eternal spaces, the beautiful destructive power of nature for its own renewal.

Of course, the awe, that fateful morning, was accompanied by what the poet called “the eternal footman”; and frankly, I too was afraid.

It is sometimes a blessing to have seen horrible things, for afterwards your heart is full of awe and gratitude; you take nothing for granted.

Nothing, especially the goodness of people.

The rich Peninsula suburbs of Cape Town, with the coming of this fire, saw “the moment of our

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: April 18: Bishop José Ponce de León of Manzini on the 6th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

April 18: Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen on the fifth anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 649. ACROSS: 1 Eshowe, 4 Mizpah, 9 Religious vows, 10 Essence, 11 Dirge, 12 State, 14 Wrest, 18 April, 19 Arabian, 21 Chapel of ease, 22 Desist, 23 Albert. DOWN: 1 Earned, 2 Holy Saturdays, 3 Wagon, 5 Insider, 6 Procrastinate, 7 Hostel, 8 Horeb, 13 Tellers, 15 Lanced, 16 Harsh, 17 Ingest, 20 Awful.

greatness flicker” and were shook to the quick.

The question is whether we shall continue measuring our lives in Prufrock’s coffee spoons and let things go back to business as normal, or whether we shall learn some humility—starting with a fight for a living wage for our firefighters.

CLASSIFIEDS

THANKS

ST RITA—thank you for your intercession: prayer was answered. Glory to God. Mediatrix

PRAYERS

DIVINE MERCY: 3 o’clock prayer. At 3pm, meditate on the Passion of Jesus no matter how brief, implore God’s unconditional love and mercy especially for poor sinners, and say: You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. (Diary 1319) O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You. (Diary 187) Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

(Three times)

HoLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and

publish this prayer. Amen.

Riccarda.

HoLY ST JUDE, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my petitions. In return I promise to make your name known and publish this prayer. Amen

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.

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

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and

gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Psalm 51 o MoST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity.

O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my Mother, O Holy Mary Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to secure me in my necessity. There are none who can withstand your power, O show me that you are my mother. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. Amen.

PERSoNAL

ABoRTIoN WARNINg: The pill can abort (chemical abortion) Catholics must be told, for their eternal welfare and the survival of their unborn infants. See www.epm.org/ static/uploads/downloads/ bcpill.pdf NoTHINg is politically right if it is morally wrong.

Abortion is evil. Value life! www.abortioninstru ments.com is the graphic truth that will set you free.

HoLIDAY ACCoMMoDATIoN

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Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675, mjsalida@ gmail.com

NOAH OLD AGE HOMES

Divine Mercy Sunday

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.

How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet Use an ordinary rosary

11

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Liturgical Calendar Year B Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday, April 12, Second Sunday of Easter Acts 4:32-35, Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24, 1 John 5:1-6, John 20:19-31 Monday, April 13 Acts 4:23-31, Psalms 2:1-9, John 3:1-8 Tuesday, April 14 Acts 4:32-37, Psalms 93:1-2, 5, John 3:7-15 Wednesday, April 15 Acts 5:17-26, Psalms 34:2-9, John 3:16-21 Thursday, April 16 Acts 5:27-33, Psalms 34:2, 9, 17-20, John 3:3136 Friday, April 17 Acts 5:34-42, Psalms 27:1, 4, 13-14, John 6:1-15 Saturday, April 18 Acts 6:1-7, Psalms 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19, John 6:1621 Sunday, April 19, Third Sunday of Easter Acts 3:13-15, 17-19, Psalms 4:2, 4, 7-9, 1 John 2:1-5, Luke 24:35-48

The Southern Cross, April 8 to April 14, 2015

1. Make the Sign of the Cross 2. Pray an Our Father, Hail Mary and The Apostles’ Creed 3. On the Our Father beads say: Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world 4. On the Hail Mary beads say: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion Have mercy on us and on the whole world.

5. Repeat for the five decades 6. Conclude by repeating this prayer 3 times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

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

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Website: www.scross.co.za Third Sunday of Easter: April 19 Readings: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19, Psalm 4:2, 4, 7, 9, 1 John 2:1-5, Luke 24:35-48

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Fr Nicholas King SJ

Sunday Reflections

The poet who wrote our psalm for next Sunday has, as always, his eyes entirely on God: “When I call, answer me, God of my justice…the Lord will hear when I call upon him”, and the song ends in quiet confidence: “In peace I shall both lie down and sleep… you alone, Lord, make me secure.”

This is a tiny poem, but you might gain a great deal from spending time with it.

In the second reading, from the first letter of John, the author makes sure that our eyes are in the right place: “We have a Paraclete with the Father—Jesus Messiah, the Righteous One”; and our task is to keep our eyes exclusively on him.

First, “ he is the atonement-offering for our

sins”. Second, this offering is not just for us, but “for the whole world”. Third, we have to show we know him by keeping his commands; and, fourth, keeping his commands is a sign that “the love of God is made perfect” in us. It is as simple as that.

The Gospel for next Sunday has the baffled and excited group of disciples, partly digesting the fact that the Risen Jesus has appeared to Peter, partly trying to cope with what the two disciples from the Emmaus road are telling them, and partly dealing with the presence of the Risen Jesus in their midst.

You can’t blame them, for it is all a bit sudden: “He stood in their midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’.” They cannot think of anything to say, but are “alarmed and fearful, thinking it was a ghost”.

This is not exactly a massive vote of confidence in the Resurrection, so Jesus has to educate them: “Why are you disturbed? Why do arguments arise in your hearts?”

Then he has to persuade them to pay attention: “Look at my hands and my feet: it’s Me! Touch and see; ghosts don’t have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

The blindness of euthanasia R

AISSA Maritain, the philosopher and spiritual writer, died some months after suffering a stroke. During those months she lay in a hospital bed, unable to speak. After her death, her husband, the renowned philosopher Jacques Maritain, in preparing her journals for publication, wrote these words: “At a moment when everything collapsed for both of us, and which was followed by four agonising months, Raissa was walled in herself by a sudden attack of aphasia. Whatever progress she made during several weeks by sheer force of intelligence and will, all deep communication remained cut off. And subsequently, after a relapse, she could barely articulate words.

“In the supreme battle in which she was engaged, no one on earth could help her, myself no more than anyone else. She preserved the peace of her soul, her full lucidity, her humour, her concern for her friends, the fear of being a trouble to others, and her marvellous smile and the extraordinary light of her wonderful eyes.

“To everyone who came near her, she invariably gave (and with what astonishing silent generosity during her last two days, when she could only breathe out her love) some sort of impalpable gift which emanated from the mystery in which she was enclosed.”

The emphasis on the last sentence is my own and I highlight it because, I believe, it has something important to say in

Conrad

www.birthright.co.za We welcome prayers, volunteers and donations.

We are called to be witnesses

H

OW do you know Jesus has been raised from the dead? Only if we keep our eyes on our victorious God, can we really get it right. It will not come if we just concentrate on the difficulties we have in believing.

In our first reading, Peter is explaining to an agitated crowd the meaning of the healing that has just been given to the paralytic who had been begging by the Temple gate.

We cannot help remembering that, not very long ago, Peter had been an utter coward who denied that he had ever heard of Jesus.

Now we marvel at the confidence of his address to the crowds, his command of Scripture (“God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”), and his ability to lay the credit with God (“God glorified his Son/Servant Jesus”) and the blame where it belongs: “You people denied the Holy and Just One, and asked for a murderer to be given to you; you killed the Pioneer of life; but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this”.

He is not, however, condemning them: “I know that you acted in ignorance, just like your rulers”, and gives them a message of hope: “Repent and turn, in order to have your sins wiped away.”

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Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

an age where, more and more, we are coming to believe that euthanasia and various forms of physician-assisted suicide are the humane and compassionate answer to terminal illness.

T

he case for euthanasia generally revolves around these premises: suffering devalues human life and euthanasia alleviates that suffering and the ravages of the body and mind that come with that suffering so as to provide a terminally ill person “death with dignity” and death with less suffering.

As well, it is argued, that once an illness has so debilitated a person so as to leave him or her in a virtual vegetative state, what is the logic for keeping such a person alive? Once dignity and usefulness are gone, why continue to live?

What’s to be said in response to this?

The logic for euthanasia, compassionate in so far as it goes, doesn’t go far enough to consider a number of deeper issues.

Dignity and usefulness are huge terms with more dimensions than first meet the eye. In a recent article in the Jesuit America magazine, Jessica Keating highlights some of those deeper issues as she argues against the logic of those who have lauded Brittany Maynard’s (the young woman who last year chose assisted suicide in the face of a terminal illness) decision to take her own life as “courageous”, “sensible”, and “admirable”.

Keating concedes that, had she not made that decision, Maynard would no doubt have suffered greatly, and rendered unproductive and unattractive. But, Keating argues, “she would have been present in a web of relationships. Even if she had fallen unconscious, she likely would have been read to, washed, dressed and kissed.

She would have been gently caressed, held and wept over. She would simply have been loved to the end.”

That’s half the argument against euthanasia. The other half reads this way: Not only would she have been loved to the end, but, perhaps more importantly, she would have been actively emitting love until the end. From her ravaged, silent, mostly unconscious body would have emanated an intangible, but particularly powerful, nurture and love, akin to the powerful lifegiving grace that emanated from Jesus’ broken, naked body on the cross.

We too seldom make this important distinction. We believe that Jesus saved us through his life and through his death, as if these were the same thing. But they are very different: Jesus gave his life for us through his activity, his usefulness, through what he could actively do for us. But he gave his death for us through his passivity, through his helplessness, through the humiliation of his body in death.

Jesus gave us his greatest gift precisely during those hours when he couldn’t do anything active for us.

And this isn’t something simply metaphorical and intangible. Anyone who has sat at the bedside of a dying loved one has experienced that in that person’s helplessness and pain he or she is giving us something he or she couldn’t give us during their active life. From that person’s helplessness and pain emanates a power to draw us together as family, a power to intuit and understand deeper things, a deeper appreciation of life, and especially a much deeper recognition of that person’s life and spirit.

In our dying bodies we can give our loved ones something we cannot fully give them when we are healthy and active.

Euthanasia is partially blind to the mystery of how love is given.

Still, however, they cannot believe it (“from joy”, as Luke charitably remarks); so they have to have further evidence, which is duly given them: “Do you have anything to eat here?” They provide “a piece of grilled fish”, which he devours before their gaze. Are they getting the message?

Well, not really, because there is still a lesson to learn, and they have to be taught that what has happened is only what God had predicted: “It was necessary for everything written in the Torah of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms about me to be fulfilled.”

Then comes the vital moment, of which we ourselves may stand in need: “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

And now their (and our) gaze is fully on him as he goes on: “It was written that the Messiah should suffer and be raised from the dead on the third day”; but it does not stop there (for there is a job for us to do): “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins is to be preached to all the nations, starting from Jerusalem.”

Then comes the line which should engage our attention: “You are witnesses of these things.” Well, are you?

Southern Crossword #649

ACROSS 1. Shoe we find in SA diocese (6) 4. Where the sons of Israel met (Jg 20) (6) 9. Lay people may not take them (9,4) 10. Extract of nature? (7) 11. Ridge of lamentation (5) 12. A condition in north America (5) 14. Wrench (5) 18. One of the annual dozen (5) 19. Sinbad the Sailor is found in these nights (7) 21. Oratories for the weary?

(6,2,4) 22. Discontinue (6) 23. Great Dominican saint (6)

DOWN 1. Well deserved (6) 2. Easter Vigils (4,9) 3. A gown for the road (5) 5. Does he not know what goes on outdoors? (7) 6. Delay to paint Creator’s movement (13) 7. Inn (6) 8. The mountain of God (Ex 3) (5) 13. Bankers who answer all questions (7) 15. Soldier did it to Jesus’ side (6) 16. Char shows she’s unkind (5) 17. Take in tinges (6) 20. Dreadful (5) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE lesson in catechism was the story of Adam and Eve. The children were then asked to draw a picture about the story.

Little Thabo busily drew a picture of a car with three people in it. In the front seat, behind the wheel, was a man, and in the back a man and a woman.

“Thabo,” the puzzled catechist asked, “what does this have to do with the story of Adam and Eve?” Little Thabo shot back: “This is God, driving Adam and Eve out of the garden!”

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