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Mary and the Christ Child are depicted in a 17th-century painting by Giovanni Battista Salvi. (CNS/Bridgeman Images)

2

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CHRISTMAS

Why Christmas date may be right It is often argued that the date of Christmas was picked at random, or even to supplant pagan holidays.

JOE TREMBLAY argues the case that December 25 actually might have been the date of Christ’s birth.

I

F you ever watched the History or Discovery Channel you might have come across theologians or historians who dismiss out of hand the historical accounts of Christ's birth as told in the Gospels.

Quite often scholars look down upon tradition, the testimonies of the early Christians and their ancient writings. For some, it is beneath them to give any credibility to traditions associated with piety and religious devotion.

Yet, by confining their judgments within the narrow circle of contemporary scholarship, they deprive themselves of valuable insights which the traditions of the Church do provide. This may be one of the reasons why many people do not know the following about Christmas.

Take, for instance, the date of Christ's birth. Many scholars have said that it is highly unlikely that December 25 was the actual date of our Lord's birth.

One principal reason was that shepherds in the Holy Land did not normally graze their pastures with their sheep during the month of December. Rather, the more likely

NAZARETH

month for such activity would be during the month of March. But there are reasons to believe that the tradition of the Church actually got it right.

For starters, early in the 300s AD, St Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, wrote to Pope Julius I to inquire about the date of Christ’s birth. One might think that if anyone was qualified to answer the question it would be St Cyril himself; primarily because he was the bishop of Jerusalem, just 18km away from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ.

Nevertheless, it just so happened that the city of Jerusalem was pillaged in 70 AD by the Roman army, led by General Titus, in order to repress a Jewish uprising.

In the process, the Temple was destroyed and its records—along with the census documents—were brought back to Rome, to be filed among the Roman archives. Less than 300 years later, these documents were evidently still in existence.

Pope Julius was the bishop of Rome after the legalisation of Christianity As such, he had privileged access to the Roman archives.

Julius wrote back to the saintly bishop of Jerusalem and assigned December 25th as the birth date of Jesus Christ.

St John Chrysostom, a bishop and Father of the Church in the 400s, quotes the same authority of the Roman archives as the source of the date of Christmas.

What the shepherds knew As regards to the likelihood shepherds overseeing their sheep on a cold December night, we learn the

HOUSE

A crib scene in wood. In this article, Joe Tremblay argues that historical evidence points to December 25 being the actual birthdate of Christ, that suggestions that Jesus was born in Nazareth are unfounded, and that the Virgin Mary came from a theologically sophisticated background. following: Right outside the town of Bethlehem was a watchtower called the Migdal Eder. This was a special watchtower that overlooked a pasture of sheep.

But these sheep were no ordinary sheep. The sheep at the Migdal Eder were specially groomed for the Temple sacrifice “throughout the year�.

This pasture land was alongside a road leading to Jerusalem. The Migdal Eder shepherds were trained to keep these sheep unblemished, that is, with no broken bones or any other kind of infirmity. Unblemished lambs for sacrificial offerings, of course, were required by the Law of Moses.

These providential circumstances, no doubt, foretold that the Christ-child would fulfil the messianic role as the “Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world�.

It is believed that the angel announced the glad tidings of the Saviour’s birth to these special Migdal Eder shepherds on Christmas night. It is entirely within the realm of possibility that after having witnessed the angelic apparition and having visited the baby Jesus in “swaddling clothes�, these shepherds got to talking at the Temple when they transported the sheep there.

Perhaps, this is why St Simeon and the prophetess Anna (Luke 2) recognised the Christ-child as the long awaited messiah when he was presented in the Temple 40 days after his birth. After all, the following prophecy

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from Micah was well known within the Jewish community: “But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah; from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.�

Tradition also has it that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the age of three to the time she was betrothed to St Joseph, had lived in the Temple.

Just like Hannah did with her son Samuel in the Old Testament, Mary’s parents, Ss Anne and Joachim, dedicated Mary to the Temple (probably due to their old age).

According to an ancient document known as the Gospel (or the proto-evangelium) of St James, Mary was to spend most of her childhood in the Temple precincts.

As such, her holiness and even her vow of virginity could very well have been made known to the likes of St Simeon and the prophetess Anna, who also lived in the Temple.

Perhaps, the reason why this holy man and holy woman immediately recognised the Christ-child is because they first recognised his mother!

Not born in Bethlehem?

Some scholars, for their own reasons, have maintained that Christ was not born in Bethlehem but rather in Nazareth.

However, the early Christians have something to say about the exact place of Christ’s birth. It was virtually unanimous among the early Christians and Fathers of the Church that Jesus was born just outside Bethlehem in a cave, also known as a grotto.

St Justin, a Palestinian by birth and a Christian philosopher who lived about a hundred years after Christ, writes that Jesus was born in a grotto near Bethlehem.

He said: “Since Joseph did not find where to lodge in the village of Bethlehem, he repaired to a certain grotto near to it; and being there, Mary brought forth Jesus and laid him in the manger, where the magi, coming from Arabia, found him.�

About 50 years after St Justin died, in 165 AD, the Church Father Origen had this to say about the place of Christ's birth: “At Bethlehem is shown a grotto where Jesus was born. The fact is well-known throughout the whole country.

Even pagans know that in this grotto was born a certain Jesus adored by the Nazarenes.�

Just over a decade after Christianity had finally become legal in 313 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine’s Christian mother, Helena, travelled to the Holy Land.

In Bethlehem she was shown the grotto where our Lord was born. The 3rd-century Palestinian historian and bishop Eusebius described how St Helena restored the grotto. “Helena adorned the holy grotto with rich and varied decorations.

Sometime later, the emperor himself, outdoing his mother's munificence, embellished this place in truly royal fashion, lavishing on it gold, silver and sumptuous tapestries.�

From that time forward, the grotto, later turned into a shrine, became a favourite holy site for pilgrims.

St Jerome (c347-420), the famous saint and scholar, lived in a cave very near the grotto, where he translated the Bible into Latin. He lamented that it did not retain its original simplicity when Christ was born a little over 350 years earlier.

Although modern scholarship has furthered our knowledge about Christ in many ways, it nevertheless comprises fallible judgments based on many premises which may or may not be true.

One thing is for sure: If we want to know the truth about Christmas and the circumstances of that wonderful night, we cannot afford to ignore the traditions that have come down to us through the local Christians almost two millennia ago and through the Catholic Church.

These traditions have a lot of insights to offer. What is more, many of them are credible.

Indeed, there is every reason to believe that the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, as it is read to us from the pulpit at Mass on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day, really did happen the way the Gospels say it did. n With additional reporting and editing by Gßnther Simmermacher.

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CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

3

Christmas in prison What do prisoners do on Christmas Day? Are they sad or lonely? MANDLA ZIBI asked people who serve in the prison ministry to explain what happens behind bars on one of the most important days of the year.

B

EING in prison can be depressing at the best of times, but the prison ministry of the Catholic Church has always ensured that Christmas Day, the Lord’s birthday, is a special day.

“Christmas-time inside is very different from the outside,” said Fr Mathai Babychan MSFS, chaplain of the prison ministry in the archdiocese of Cape Town.

“Most prisoners feel sad, lonely, upset and angry because they cannot be with their families to celebrate the joy of Christmas. For many prisoners Christmas-time is the worst time in the year, and most often there are more cases of violence among prisoners.”

As is so often reported in the media, he added, the number of escapes also goes up during this time.

“The inmates absolutely crave family time during Christmas. The taste of prison makes them have a better appreciation for the importance of family,” the priest said.

“However, many inmates do realise that it is their own wrong deeds that brought them to prison.

Some of them may keep aloof from others because of the heartache, but there are others who decide to bring cheer to the rest through their acceptance of being inside.

They urge others to share the joy of the birth of Jesus,” he said.

In some happy cases this is the beginning of many a long-term friendship among inmates who would have otherwise remained strangers—a bonding which ultimately creates a second family in prison, Fr Babychan observed.

“Our contribution as Catholic volunteers, organisations and community members in general must consist in efforts to bring hope, cheer spiritual and emotional support to the inmates,” he explained.

He said the Prison Care and Support Network, a Catholic nonprofit organisation under the auspices of the archdiocese of Cape Town, organises Christmas gatherings in all the prisons in which it is active.

According to Fr Babychan, a volunteer group of around 24 people covers 10-15 prisons in the Cape peninsula throughout the year to fulfil Christ’s mandate to visit those in jail (Mt 25:36).

“We meet with all the inmates with whom we work during the year. Some years in the past, when we had enough funding, we gathered all the inmates in one prison to celebrate the joy of Christmas.

But now, due to limited funding, we have to make do with what little we have.”

This Christmas Day, Fr Babychan said, planned activities included spending time with inmates in prayer and reflecting on the Incarnation, singing Christmas carols and sharing a snack and drinks with them.

“Each inmate will receive a Christmas gift pack which contains a pen, a notebook, two Christmas cards with stamps, a face cloth, soap, body cream, and a cool drink,” he said Fr Godfrey Solomon, who assists Fr Babychan in the ministry, explained the number of items was strictly regulated by prison authorities.

“During the year we manage to bring prisoners as many copies of The Southern Cross as we possibly are allowed, together with other religious reading material. But otherwise officials instruct us to keep everything to the bare necessities for the Christmas presents,” he said.

“However, the prisoners are very grateful for the gifts that we give them. For some it is the first time that someone is recognising them with a Christmas gift.”

He pointed out that any Church person or teacher will know how difficult it is to motivate a class or congregation whose morale is at rock bottom, arguing that such is the challenge of prison officers at this time.

“In olden times, when communities still appreciated people, servants of the community like post delivery men were given gifts at Christmas time, some having a very merry, merry Christmas! What about our prison warders and our police?” asked Archbishop Slattery.

“Maybe parishes and priests will express appreciation for our men and women in uniform. In a way the police remind me of St Joseph, who protected the child Jesus and his mother from the murderous tyrant Herod,”said the cleric.

Prison Care and Support Network volunteers with the goods they deliver to prisoners. Often the simple gift of bringing prisoners hope and good cheer on Christmas Day is sufficient for them to remember their worth.

At Christmas, we may pray for their protection and wellbeing— and for prisoners, for whom this is

the loneliest time in the world. “...I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Mt 25-36)

O

ther Christian organisations also spend time at Christmas with prison inmates as part of their programme of rehabilitation and fellowship.

Most prisons give a good meal on Christmas Day and allow prisoners to sing together and spend time in groups as prison bands and choirs provide plenty of entertainment before the inmates are locked up for the day.

Prison Fellowship South Africa (PFSA), a group founded in 1976 by a man who had spent seven months in jail for a minor offence, has a project that focuses on mothers imprisoned with their own small children at the main Pretoria correctional centre, Kgosi Mampuru II. The programme comprises a Christmas party where the sentenced women and the children are allowed to gather at the sports field under strict supervision. They are joined by prison officials, community members, and volunteers of the fellowship.

“Gifts are supplied to the mothers to give to their children during a day of celebration and festivity aimed at reconciling broken families and restoring family units, the building blocks of society,” said Connie Wehrmann, executive director of PFSA. Inmates due for release the next year are invited to meet with their church representatives and are encouraged to embark on a journey with their families, which prepares them for the release of the mother.

PFSA also arranges for people close to the prisoner to be there to welcome her on the day of her release.

“This serves to establish the Church as the bridge linking the prison-church and the communitychurch, and receive her into a support and accountability group that will assist her with her reintegration back into society and hold her accountable for her commitment to a life change and becoming a positive, contributing member of society,” said Ms Wehrmann.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria urged that prison officials also be seen as part of the equation of care and Catholic prison ministry.

“It is also a stressful time for prison officers who are dealing with people who are experiencing in the most intense manner the reality of prison confinement,” said the archbishop.

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4

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CHRISTMAS

Why many Christmas carols are folk music Many traditional English Christmas carols have survived despite interference by authorities, and therefore could be seen as folk music, as JONATHAN LUXMOORE explains.

I

N a steamy pub room of the muddy greystone Yorkshire village of Dungworth in England, a crowd of revellers, young and old, press up against a portable organ, singing lustily, beer mugs in hand.

“At Jacob’s well, a stranger sought his drooping frame to cheer.

Samaria’s daughter little thought that Jacob’s God was near!”

Through the ancient windows, distant lights twinkle over a frosty hillside, where Loxley Valley runs down to the wintry chimneys of industrial Sheffield.

No one knows for sure how long community carols have been sung at Dungworth’s Royal Hotel, but they’ve been documented since the 19th century and are a staunchly defended local tradition.

“Changes happen slowly here— though people come and go, the repertoire stays much the same,” said David Eyre, who’s organised carolling since the 1960s.

“Hardly anyone reads music and we don’t rehearse, nor do we get any help from local government. It’s something we do that’s ours, and we’re very proud of it.”

Today, the Royal Hotel forms part

of a carolling heritage with deep roots in British folk history, reflecting the creativity of simple people who lacked education but often were highly talented.

Although musical tastes have evolved over the generations, some experts think the carols sung in places like this have a freshness and expressiveness often lacking in the standardised versions of mainstream churches.

“It’s often said these lesser-known carols are rustic and rough-edged, but this simply isn’t true,” said Ian Russell, formerly editor of Britain’s Folk Music Journal.

“Since they originated among the music-loving cobblers, tailors and blacksmiths of early modern times, they may not have much formal syntax or classical finesse. But they’re often of a high musical standard, with complex, evocative harmonies delivered by fine, full-bodied voices.

It’s an activity everyone can participate in and gain benefit from.”

English carols like “Good King Wenceslas” and “The Holly and the Ivy” began to appear in late medieval times, as ordinary churchgoers, barely understanding the Latin-language Mass, sought to make sense of a faith central to their lives.

Curious, apocryphal narratives emerged, such as in the 14th-century “Cherry Tree Carol”, in which Mary asks Joseph to pick her cherries in an orchard. Or in “The Bitter Withy”, which imagines the Child Jesus being chastised by his mother after causing three haughty young lords to drown in a river.

Although English carols had become the norm by the late 16th century, their spread was halted by the rise of Puritanism, when only psalms were allowed in churches. However, folk carols were passed on, both orally and via broadsheets.

After Britain’s monarchy was restored in 1660, they were again sung in the west galleries of rural churches.

Contemporary composers such as John Playford, better known for his dances, pitched in with new carols.

So did Charles Wesley, brother of the founder of Methodism (who had a hand in writing the carol “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, the history of which was featured in last year’s Christmas issue).

Also big in Ireland Village carols were also popular in the Catholic parishes of Ireland, where the Franciscan nationalist Bishop Luke Wadding (1588-1657), founder of Rome’s Pontifical Irish College, introduced the “Sussex Carol” (“On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”).

The carols were taken to the dominions of the British empire and to America’s Appalachian Mountains, where folk music traditions remain strong. In Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, a carolling association, dating from the 1840s, still greets Christmas with English village carols.

Before hymn-books came into use, carols were typically sung in parts, using harmonies and fugues.

They reflected local ways of life and drew on fishing and farming vocabulary; and since they were sung in

Revellers at the Royal Hotel in Dungworth, England, sing carols in the pub, a tradition that goes back at least to the 19th century. (Photo: YouTube) the streets on Christmas morning, many still begin with invocations such as “Arise, arise!”

Britain’s carolling tradition was dealt a new blow in the 1840s, when the reforming Oxford Movement set out to rid the predominant Anglican Church of England of secular influences. The west gallery choirs and bands were replaced by formal organs and choirs. In 1861, their repertoire was formally expunged from a new official Hymns Ancient and Modern.

As before, however, the carols survived. Musicians, expelled from the churches, reassembled in local pubs, and carols were copied and passed around.

Most of today’s best-known carols were popularised only in the late 19th century, with help from composers such as Arthur Sullivan and Isaac Watts, as part of the Victorian celebration of Christmas.

Mr Russell, the folk anthropologist, said village carols form part of a living tradition, in which, even without realising it, most English-speaking Christians are steeped.

“There are lessons to be learned...about allowing people to

express their religious faith in their own way,” said Mr Russell.

“Carols have always been a way of bringing church and community, religious and secular, together in the celebration of Christmas. They tell us where we’ve come from and who we are—and you don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate the determination of past generations not to give them up,” he said.

In the 21st century, a village carols association is collecting and recording, while a West Gallery Music Association, with 400 singers and instrumentalists, is attempting to re-popularise the music once performed in village churches.

In Dungworth, Mr Eyre said he is confident that, with young people joining in, village carols will survive and prosper.

Linda Lambert, the Royal Hotel’s landlady, agrees. “It must have started with village men coming out of the local chapel and into the pub,” she said.

“It’s great for business, since it now brings people here from all over the country, and sometimes from abroad. But what’s most important is keeping the tradition alive.”—CNS

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

5

The amazing story of ‘O Holy Night’ On the BBC this French hymn has repeatedly topped listeners’ polls of favourite Christmas carol. GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at the incredible history of ‘O Holy Night’.

O

UR body of carols clearly owes much to the French tradition. And so it is with the rousing hymn “O Holy Night”, composed in 1846 by a Jew, with the original lyrics written by a socialist wine commissioner.

The story begins in the small village of Roquemaure on the Rhône river in southern France, about 12km from Avignon. Roquemaure might have been tiny—even now it has just over 5 000 inhabitants—but it was also an important centre of wine-growing, with the term “Côte du Rhône” having been coined there.

The village has one church, as well as a few chapels on its outskirts. The 14th-century church of St John the Baptist & St John the Evangelist has a master-built organ from 1690 which it had received from a chapel in Avignon in 1820.

In 1843 the organ was renovated, and parish priest Fr Maurice Gilles wanted to commemorate the event in poetry. So he commissioned a local amateur poet, the wine merchant Placide Cappeau, to write a poem about the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was an odd choice, for Cappeau was not a face one saw often in church. Indeed, he was what one would later call a socialist. Still, he was honoured to receive and accept the priest’s request.

As a wine commissioner, Cappeau had frequent cause to travel, and he took a long road trip to Paris as an occasion to mull over his commission.

As the stagecoach took him over 700km of bumpy road, Cappeau read the gospel of Luke and began to imagine what it was like that night in Bethlehem when the Virgin gave birth to her little son. On his arrival in Paris, the poem was completed. He named it “Minuit, chrétiens” (Midnight, Christians).

Much of the poem is rooted in standard piety, but it also reveals the political mind of a man seeking liberation from an unequal society.

The final verse and chorus, for example, gives a vision we take for granted today but was close to sedition in the 1840s of France under the restored monarchy.

The Redeemer has broken every bond: The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.

He sees a brother where there was only a slave, love unites those

verse of “Cantique de Noël”.

The Prussians responded not by shooting at the crazy Frenchman but by singing a German carol of their own, Martin Luther’s “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her”.

Legend has it that the mutual carolling launched a 24-hour Christmas ceasefire.

First song on the radio Protagonists in the story of “O Holy Night”: (from left) poet Placide Cappeau, composer Adolphe Adam, opera singer Emily Laurey, music critic John S Dwight, and radio pioneer Reginald Fessenden. that iron had chained.

Who will tell Him of our gratitude, For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.

People, stand up! Sing of your deliverance, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

As luck would have it, he was acquainted with noted opera singer Emily Laurey, who had a well-regarded composer on mind to set Cappeau’s poem to music.

Meet the composer Adolphe Adam, a man of Jewish background in his early 40s, was a composer of operas and ballets. He even tutored the future composing great Delibes.

His father was a music teacher and composer himself and didn’t really want his son to follow a career in his thankless path. But Adolphe studied music anyway, and enjoyed success.

By the time Cappeau and Laurey approached him, Adam had already made his mark with the opera Le postillon de Lonjumeau (1836) and the ballet Gisele (1941).

A few weeks later, at Christmas 1843, the newly-minted song, now titled “Cantique de Noël”, was supposed to be debuted at the Roquemaure church, but that plan fell through due to Laurey’s pregnancy.

Other clashes of diaries delayed the debut to 1847. In the interim, Fr Gilles had died, so he never got to hear the hymn performed.

It finally made its debut during Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 1847 in the church in little Roquemaure, performed by Laurey.

Word of this beautiful new Christmas hymn quickly spread throughout France. Soon it was a staple in the canon of Christmas carols—and then it fell into disfavour with the leaders of the Catholic Church in France.

The Revolution of 1848 had polarised French society, as revolutions tend to do. Placide Cappeau was very much on the side of the revolution, the Church not so much, given the anti-clericalism that accompanied it. Cappeau was persona non-grata in the Church.

And when it became known that

Adolphe Adam had Jewish ancestry, the Catholic Church denounced “Cantique de Noël” as lacking in musical taste and for its “total absence of the spirit of religion”— both absurd charges.

The bishops might have suppressed the hymn from the liturgy for the next 25 years, but the faithful continued singing “Cantique de Noël” at Christmas.

And so it came to the ears of American Unitarian minister and music critic John Sullivan Dwight of Boston.

Going to America As America’s leading music critic, Dwight was doubtless attracted by Adam’s striking and complex melody. But something else caught Dwight’s attention.

As an anti-slavery campaigner, Dwight was taken by Cappeau’s verse: “The Redeemer has broken every bond/The Earth is free, and Heaven is open./He sees a brother where there was only a slave,/Love unites those that iron had chained.”

He translated—or, rather, re-

Beannachtaí na Nollag

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worked—“Cantique de Noël”, retaining the slavery reference: Truly He taught us to love one another/His law is love and His gospel is peace/Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother/And in His name all oppression shall cease.

But Dwight also took liberties with the original when the theology of it didn’t suit him. For example, he replaced the original’s line “To expunge the stain of original sin” with “Long lay the world in sin and error pining”.

In 1855 Dwight reproduced his reworked version, now named “O Holy Night”, in a periodical he published, Dwight’s Journal of Music.

It caught on in short order, earning popularity especially in the North during the 1860-63 American Civil War. “Cantique de Noël” is also at the centre of a great, though unverified, war story.

During the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, the story goes, a French soldier suddenly leapt from his trench, stood in view of the German trenches, and intoned the first

The story of the carol doesn’t end there. In Brant Rock, Massachusetts, on Christmas Eve 1906, the Canadian chemist Reginald Fessenden did something no man had done before: he spoke into a microphone and, for the first time ever, transmitted a human voice over the airwaves, to be heard by the surprised operators of wireless receivers of ships, post offices and newspaper offices. It was the birth of radio.

The first words spoken on radio airwaves were from the gospel of Luke: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus…”

Fessenden then picked up his violin and played the melody Adolphe Adam had composed almost six decades earlier. And so it happened that “O Holy Night” became the first ever song to be played on radio.

Adolphe Adam died in 1856, aged only 52. He is buried in Montmartre cemetery in Paris.

Placide Cappeau followed him in 1877, at the age of 68. John Sullivan Dwight died in 1893 at 80. Reginald Fessenden went in 1932 at 65. n Read Günther Simmermacher’s histories of hymns, and of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy To The World” at www.cross.co.za/category/ features/biography-of-hymns/

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6

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CHRISTMAS

A Southern Cross Christmas, 50 years ago The Christmas edition of The Southern Cross in 1966 featured an 8-page festive supplement, but no colour. Join GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER in this time-capsule from 50 years ago.

R

EADERS of The Southern Cross in 2016 are used to the annual Christmas issue supplement wrapping around the main part of the newspaper.

These days, the Christmas issue is bright and colourful, with a variety of what we hope are interesting articles that help to enrich the celebration of the great feast of the Nativity.

Fifty years ago, in the edition of December 7, 1966, the supplement ran in the middle of the newspaper.

At the time, The Southern Cross’ unwieldy format was about a third of a page larger than the current A3 size.

The cover price was a princely 10c. If that sounds cheap, consider this: a house that in 1966 would have cost R9 000 now goes for R1,5 million.

The leading news

T

he front-page lead article reports on a warning issued by Pope Paul VI to liberal theologians whose “irreverent and reckless audacity” distorts basic Catholic doctrines such as the resurrection and the virginity of Mary. The pope’s strong words were, it seems, occasioned by a new Dutch catechism.

Next to that, a report covers a call by British Catholic publications for Pope Paul to finally produce a statement on birth control.

Noting that opinions on birth control are changing, the Clergy Review predicts that whatever decision the pope makes “will create serious difficulties for many people. In fact, many people will face personal crises both in regard to the role of the Church as an authorative guide in morals and in regard to the Christian meaning of sex and marriage.”

This proved to be so, as would become apparent after Pope Paul is-

sued his encyclical Humanae vitae in August 1968.

In other news

I

n local news, the front-page photo shows Archbishop Joseph Fitzgerald of Bloemfontein (later of Johannesburg) presenting the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice to Sheila Mackenzie, president of the National Council of Women and archdiocesan Catholic Women’s League president, as Mr Mackenzie and vicar-general Fr Lycett look on.

Another recipient of the papal cross was Evarist Thaanyane of Edenburg mission, also in Bloemfontein archdiocese.

In other news: l Cardinal Owen McCann of Cape Town will ordain Dominican Brother Bernard Connor to the priesthood, and Brs John Heighway and Louis-Bertrand Blaser to the diaconate (today we know Br LouisBertrand better as Fr Emil Blaser; the late Fr Connor later served as editor of The Southern Cross). l The script of the Oberammergau Passion Play will be rewritten in light of Vatican II. l A pioneer in local dentistry, Dr Charleton Edmund Rice—the “Gentle Dentist”—of Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth has died at the age of 80. l Fr RF Copeland SJ is retiring as headmaster of St Aiden’s College in

The front-page of The Southern Cross of December 7, 1966, and that of the Christmas supplement in the same issue.

Grahamstown. He will be succeeded

by Fr Donald Johnson SJ. l The Church in the US drops the rule of abstinence from meat on Fridays. l Fr William Barnes of Port Elizabeth has returned from a two-year mission to the United States. l Cape Town youths can win a generous R5 in a competition to suggest a title and design a poster for a Youth Rally to be held in February. The rally will include a Mass celebrated by Cardinal McCann and “a mime depicting modern living in relation to the Mass”.

Columnists

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he main part of the newspaper also carries features and columns. Kathleen Blake, who in her retirement from public service joined The Southern Cross staff in the advertising department, wrote the “Lay Log”. She’s not happy with these modern hairstyles and the fashion for “depressing colours” displayed by those of “unkempt and unwashed appearance”.

Fr Francis MacNamara OP in his column points out, correctly, that “yesterday is gone and gone forever.

No power can bring it back.” Unerringly, he observes that “next year is a very uncertain thing”. Which is why Mrs Blake is in for a shock

May the love of Our Lord embrace you this Christmas and throughout 2017! www.fowlertours.co.za

when the 1967 “Summer of Love” hippie movement takes off.

Letters page

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pair of correspondents named Solomon of Cape Town argue the case for each race exercising “a right to maintain its own identity, language, customs and traditions”.

Editor Fr Louis Stubbs does a fair demolition of the arguments presented, making the point that it is only one race out of many that takes “to itself the right to tell all other groups just what are their traditions and customs”.

Among the correspondents is the indefatigable VG Davies, responding to a letter from Eileen Hurley, sister of Archbishop Denis.

Adverts

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s is customary, the 1966 Christmas issue features many ads offering seasonal greetings. These include some famous names, such as Johannesburg’s John Orr’s shopping centre, and Cleghorns and Garlicks in Cape Town.

The International House in Johannesburg offers “coloured crib sets”, ranging in price from R5,61 to R29; Falks in Durban lamps and Crawford’s in Cape Town carpets; Latsza & Lourie in Jo’burg suitcases (26-inch Samsonite Pullman case yours for R57,50); and W Killerby in Pietermaritzburg shows off the new two-stroke Suzuki motorbike.

You can get your hair done by Maison Champagne in Johannesburg’s Kerk Street. In Queenstown, you may buy your bread from the very reassuringly named Dunn’s Hygienic Bakery.

Christmas supplement

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he eight pages of Christmas supplementing are really only six of Christmas content. Apart from a full-page advert by Pretoria Portland Cement, the back-page randomly features three large pictures of Pope

Paul VI and his two predecessors, John XXIII and Pius XII. The front-page features a collection of Italian nativity artworks (rendered in black-and-white).

Inside the supplement, US Benedictine Father Pascal Boland offers a Christmas reflection, and English author Neville Baybrook explains how to edit a Christmas anthology— surely an item of narrow interest.

Michael Traber reports on “Christmas in Rhodesia”, where the word makorokoto (“congratulations”) is “the Christmas greeting everybody uses. Even the pagan neighbour is congratulated that he has been given a child on Christmas.”

There are a couple of Christmas stories, including one set in Durban

by Isobel D Robson-Garth, but the main focus is on Bethlehem. Two insightful articles explain the town of Jesus’ birth.

Franciscan Father Aniclete Yonick’s history of Bethlehem notes that documented non-scriptural reference to it as the birthplace of Christ goes back to Ignatius of Antioch, who was born in 35AD— around the time of Christ’s death and resurrection—and died as a martyr around 108AD. A second article on Bethlehem, about the basilica of the Nativity, notes: “Bethlehem is fortunate to lie in the domain of peace today because of the policies and greatness of Jordan’s King Hussein.”

Almost exactly half a year after these words were printed, Israel launched the Six Day War and occupied Jerusalem, Bethlehem and other Palestinian places. Bethlehem, birthplace of the Prince of Peace, has been occupied by the Israeli Defence Force ever since. n Also get the complete Christmas issue from 1939 at www.scross.co.za /2016/09/christmas-1939-southerncross-1000th-issue/

CBC Mount Edmund Grade RRR - 12

P E A C E LLO OV O VE V E andJOY OY THIS

HOLIDAY SEASON

The

S outher n C ross

December 21 to December 27, 2016

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The editor and staff of The Southern Cross wish all our readers, advertisers, associates, friends and supporters a blessed and joyful Christmas, and a happy, peaceful, faith-filled 2017.

DON’T MISS NEXT WEEK’S

2017 WALL CALENDAR Illustrated with the year’s feast days of saints and liturgical seasons, the Southern Cross Calendar will guide you through the year with faith

OUT ON DECEMBER 28!

CORRUPTION: See Zuma as a symptom, not the cause

BY MANDLA ZIBI

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The Ribeiro family—Michael, Nicol and baby Mila—played the Holy Family in the Nativity Play staged by the Maronite church of Our Lady Of Lebanon in Mulbarton, Johannesburg. Parishioners took part, with children dressing as angels and shepherds for the event. A special appearance by Fr Maurice Chidiac, superior to the Maronite Catholic Mission of South Africa, as one of the Magi added some extra joy to the celebration. The performance was interspersed with popular Christmas carols. Santa made a special appearance at the end of the play.

(Photo: Mark Kisogloo)

HILE most people see corruption as being a matter of “rotten apples” that must be removed before they contaminate the whole barrel, the reality is that “the whole orchard” is the culprit.

The law might be used to catch and punish individual corrupt officials and politicians, but a more effective way of fighting corruption is to look at the structure of society as a whole, the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) argues in a document following research into the issue.

“The ethical approach views political corruption as an individual-level phenomenon rather than as a societal [one]. It is sometimes argued that principles have been sacrificed by members of the ANC Alliance at the altar of greater power,” said Gerald Moore, who wrote the report.

“But are episodic, punitive remedies and solutions to political corruption sufficient?

Moreover, does remedying corruption begin with addressing political corruption?” he asked.

While admitting that studies have shown that innate human psychological traits, combined with a flawed childhood socialisation, can “predispose an individual to corrupt dealings”, Mr Moore argued that a more socio-economic approach to the subject may “provide useful insights”.

“A common thread coursing through many of these framings is their prioritisation of the corruption and corrupting effect of single individuals; an allusion to the ‘few rotten apples that spoil the rest’,” he said.

A systemic approach, in contrast, explains political corruption more broadly by giving it a historical and societal context.

“It becomes less a question of individual morality and more the by-product of certain structural variables, including the ever increasing voracity of political parties, the symbiotic relationship between corporate and politicians and the lack of change of government,” Mr Moore said.

“From this perspective, he said, “President Zuma is a symptom of corruption, not its cause.”

President Jacob Zuma is not just a rotten apple in the barrel, but the whole orchard is infected with corruption, according to a CPLO document. (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters/CNS) Mr Moore referred to Prof Xolela Mangcu of the University of Cape Town who “challenges us to look beyond the person of Jacob Zuma to the structuring of opportunities in our society, and how individuals in search of instant treasures align themselves with powerful politicians”.

This, Mr Moore noted, draws attention to issues such as inequality, economic exclusion and others which have emerged as being at the heart of many recent violent service delivery protests and in particular the #FeesMustfall student movement.

“The structural argument spotlights the economic inequalities of South African society. Corruption, among other things has its roots in the supposed deal of 1994 [which] is coming apart because it ducked the key issues—the domination of a racial minority and the economic ills that go with that,” Mr Moore pointed out.

He also observed that in its pastoral statement on corruption, the Catholic Church itself had come to recognise that the debate on this matter should be expanded.

“The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference statement is a call for a re-examination of ‘our own attitudes as citizens within the family, society and the Church’, concluding that corruption is not the government’s problem alone, it is our problem,” Mr Moore noted.

8

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

LOCAL

MARFAM 2017 calendar may be last

BY MANDLA ZIBI

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HE 2017 Marriage and Family Life Renewal Ministry (MARFAM) year-planner is out— and according to the woman behind its publication for the last 22 years, it might well be the last one.

Together with her late husband Chris, Toni Rowland had been active for some time in various family ministries, including Catholic Engaged Encounter and Retrouvaille, before founding MARFAM in 1994 with a priest friend as a more comprehensive marriage and family renewal ministry.

MARFAM continues today to provide a variety of resources and publications for family education and enrichment, of which the family year-planner is the “flagship”.

“I think I’m getting too old—all this running around. Packing and posting calendars and books is getting a bit much. It is also getting difficult to continue because of financial reasons. So this might be

my last one, but I don’t think I will give up on writing and ministering to families,” said Mrs Rowland, who also writes a monthly column in The Southern Cross.

The year-planner for 2017 has an overall family theme taken from the prophet Micah and its overview incorporates messages and quotations from Pope Francis’ writings, particularly his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”).

“I wanted to continue the mercy idea that Pope Francis had in 2016, and then each month we have taken an aspect of family life, like parenting or grandparenting, or gender, or youth, and added something to do with act justly or with mercy. So, in the calendar itself there is quite a lot of richness from the theme’s point of view,” Mrs Rowland said.

“But it is also a liturgical calendar because it lists all the main feastdays and has Sundays as well as other days we commemorate in South Africa, like Women’s Day and Mother’s Day. And then it has an

opportunity for families to fill in their own special occasions, their birthdays and their anniversaries of weddings, deaths and so on. And so you make it into the family’s liturgical calendar,” she said.

The family ministry is Mrs Rowland’s life’s work because for her, almost everything revolves around the family.

“Probably I’m known as the person who’s fanatical about family life, because everybody belongs to a family. Whether you are married, single, divorced, you still belong to a family,” she said.

When MARFAM started in 1994, it was the first International Year of the Family and it was also the time when bishops in Africa in the first African synod came up with the image of the Church as the family of God, Mrs Rowland noted.

“The idea was that the qualities of an ideal family are the qualities of what a Church should be. Family should be a model for the Church so if the Church wants families to be good models, then they need to

Toni Rowland, the steadfast organiser behind MARFAM, believes the 2017 calendar may be her last. be doing more work to build up family life. So that’s been the focus of MARFAM all this time, mainly through the publications media but

also through workshops, retreats and parish talks.”

To accompany the year planner, MARFAM produces pocket-sized booklets of daily scripture reflections every quarter.

“The reflections include quotations from recent writings of Pope Francis, so I hope that they are seen as inspirational as well as informational,” Mrs Rowland said.

Family Matters magazines develop the themes more deeply and a range of other booklets are also produced.

Recently, a greater presence in the digital world has been developed.

Daily reflections are posted on the MARFAM website (www.marfam. org.za) and Facebook, and a weekly enewsletter is also circulated.

“Some people say MARFAM just produces too much material. I suppose people can choose which medium suits them. Because for sure, Family Matters comes to everyone in some form or other,” Mrs Rowland said. n To find out more write to info@mar fam.org.za

Young Christmas elves help out

D The Zimbabwean-South African St Cecilia choir were jubilant at coming ninth out of 58 choirs at an annual competition in Zimbabwe. Dr Shingirirai Mutanga, chair of ZimCatholicSA, congratulated the choir on their commitment and win.

E La Salle Holy Cross College junior school in Johannesburg handed over some of their 608 Christmas “Fitin-a-Box” gifts to the children at Ikholwa Children’s Home.

The junior school elves had been busy since July this year, making up these gifts for the less-fortunate members of their community.

To raise funds for the gifts, the learners held a Civvies Day where they all paid R20 to come to school in their favourite outfits. The money raised from this was used to buy the plastic boxes that the gifts were packed in.

The children were all given a box to fill with a list of items for each box. The boxes were packed according to gender, age and which organisation they were destined for. Each box was then labelled with the name of the recipient, to make every person feel special.

The “Fit-in-a-Box” contained hats, socks, scarves, aqueous cream, toothbrushes, toothpaste, stationery, hair accessories for

Two of the Grade 4 learners at De La Salle Holy Cross junior school with their boxes of gifts for underprivileged children. girls, balls for boys and some sweet treats.

The gifts were also given to Frederick Place and Nazareth House children’s homes.

De La Salle Holy Cross junior school deputy principal Carren Ilsley said: “Our college has undertaken numerous charitable initiatives like this over the past years. We are delighted that every learner in our school gets in-

volved in the process of giving so willingly and enthusiastically.”

Ulrika Mann, manager of Ikholwa Children’s Home in Weltevreden Park, said they felt very blessed again by the generosity of the college.

“We live in a society where children ask and they always get what they want, so giving is a very good educational incentive for them.”

Every Sunday Emmanuel King goes out of his way to sell The Southern Cross to parishioners at St Patrick’s church in La Rochelle, Johannesburg. The keen Southern Cross reader is seen here with Martha Johnson, a stalwart of the parish and a member of the English choir. We love receiving your photos of parishioners selling The Southern Cross—and so do our readers!

Please keep them coming. Send photos to pics@scross.co.za

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

9

‘Ambassadors of God’ Euthanasia fight must go on elect new executive

BY MANDLA ZIBI

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BY MANDLA ZIBI

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HE women of St Anne’s Sodality “are the same as those political ambassadors who represent our country in embassies around the world; the only difference is that our women represent the kingdom of God”, a priest told this month’s five-day convention of South Africa’s biggest sodality, at which a new executive was elected.

Fr S’milo Mngadi of Johannesburg, one of 45 priests at the convention, delivered the keynote address to the 1 200 delegates to St Anne’s 12th biennial convention, held at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban.

“The convention was a success and attendance was overwhelming,” said Nonhlanhla Ngcobo, newly-elected executive committee member and one of the coordinators of the event.

“One of the highlights included the reading and handing over by Fikile Motsa of the declaration on human trafficking from the meeting of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) in Rome earlier this year.”

Mrs Ngcobo emphasised the family-centred nature of the topics at the convention, and explained how they reflected the sodality’s core mission.

“The topics—which will be deliberated on and worked out at parish level, and on which we will get concrete feedback next year at our council meeting—reflect our motto, ‘Service Through The Family’.”

Speakers at the convention included Sr Chrysostoma Bele from the Bible Foundation of South

New St Anne’s Sodality president Fikile Motsa with (left) Bishop Barry Wood, auxiliary of Durban, and Bishop Stan Dziuba of Umzimkulu.

Africa, WUCWO board member Jennifer Hammond of Port Elizabeth, and Fr Steven Scheepers, chaplain at Oudtshoorn.

A Bible-sharing session titled “Reflection on mercy” was also held.

Delegates visited places of interest in the Durban area, such the Denis Hurley Centre, the Chief Albert Luthuli Museum, and uShaka Marine World.

The opening Mass was concelebrated by three bishops from Durban and Swaziland. The closing Mass was celebrated by Fr Cosmas Mzizi of Mariannhill.

The new members of the national executive committee are Mrs Motsa of Manzini (president), Mrs Ngcobo of Durban (vice-president), Sylvia Mbombo of Cape Town (secretary), Puleng Molepo of Polokwane (vice-secretary) and Grace Mere of Kimberley (treasurer).

Fr Mzizi was elected the national chaplain, taking over from Fr Mluleki Myaka of Port Elizabeth.

HILE welcoming this month’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision to overturn last year’s High Court ruling which allowed a man to end his own life, the Catholic bishops have cautioned against over-excitement.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, spokesman for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), warned that the fight continues against “the culture of death” as legally sanctioned by Judge Hans Fabricius of the North Gauteng High Court in Stransham-Ford vs Minister of Justice and others.

In that case, the now-deceased Robin Stransham-Ford, a 65-yearold man who was dying of prostate cancer, had asked the court to determine whether a doctor could legally assist him end his life. His application was successful and the order was not withdrawn upon appeal by the state. In the event, Mr Stransham-Ford died of natural causes.

The Church appealed against

the decision of the Gauteng High Court which allowed doctors to cooperate in terminating a patient’s life.

“The Catholic Church opposes euthanasia. While suicide itself is not illegal in South Africa, the law of the Church opposes it as morally wrong,” said Archbishop Slattery.

“The Church sees life as the ultimate gift of God. To allow human intervention in assisting suicide would open a dangerous door.”

He said assisted suicide/euthanasia would make the end of life a time of great uncertainty for the aged and seriously ill, and that such a law could be abused to terminate lives by relatives and doctors for money.

“The Church has enormous sympathy with terminally ill people who are suffering. We also appreciate the agony of those around them. The Church has been the chief provider of care for such people from the beginning,” he pointed out.

The archbishop said the Church does not expect extraordinary means to be continued, only that or-

dinary means such as food, water and warmth be available as an obligation.

In its judgment, the SCA ruled that the legal matter was in fact an issue for elected members of parliament to decide, not judges. The court further held that Judge Fabricius had ruled “in haste” and did not consider South African law, the international context, our social values or the impact on the right to life.

One of the damning conclusions of the appeal judgment was that Mr Stransham-Ford’s case had been manipulated by the euthanasia lobby group, its lawyers and the applicant’s estate, and that his medical records indicated he was actually wavering about the suicide route.

“Some countries, like the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, allow assisted killing. Can aged and ill patients trust any more those who care for them?” Archbishop Slattery said, noting: “Here in Africa, old people have always been seen as a blessing and close to God.”

Pax Christi International meets in SA

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EETING in Johannesburg, the Catholic peace movement Pax Christi International said it will build up young people to contribute to peace and justice in Africa, noting that children are the continent’s greatest resource.

Young people could “contribute to the development, wellbeing and peace” of Africa, Pax Christi members said in a statement from a conference on “Non-violence in Africa: Creating a Future of Hope” at the Denis Hurley Peace Institute.

The statement was read by Pax

Christi co-presidents Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, US laywoman Marie Dennis, and retired Bishop Paride Taban of Torit, South Sudan.

Pax Christi consists of more than 100 organisations around the world, and about 30 of these were represented at the Johannesburg meeting, which drew participants from nine African countries.

Parochialism, intolerance, extremism and violence are on the rise, the statement said.

“The huge investment in the

militarisation of peace and conflict could be channelled towards active non-violent peacebuilding approaches,” it said.

They said they are encouraged by the African Union’s commitment “to silence the guns in Africa by 2020”.

Pax Christi committed itself to hosting peace talks among adversaries at all levels, using “homegrown, faith-based approaches”.

Members called on political leaders to respect human rights and “promote a culture of peace and active non-violence”.—CNS

Wishing you peace and joy this Christmas and throughout the coming year

g

From the Head of College, Principals and staff of Sacred Heart College Marist Observatory, Johannesburg www.sacredheart.co.za | 011487 9000 | shc@sacredheart.co.za

10

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

INTERNATIONAL

Pax Christi seeks Pope: Baby Jesus reminds Holy Land peace us of refugees’ pain P

AX Christi International has called for a new peace process to end violence among Israelis and Palestinians and assure fundamental human rights as defined by international law.

Saying in a statement that adherence to international law is critical for a peaceful world, the Catholic peace organisation urged Israel and Palestine to return to negotiations.

Pax Christi added that recognition of the full equality of Palestinians would be a strong step towards securing long-term peace.

Marie Dennis, co-president of the Catholic peace organisation, said that the time has come “when we all need to find a way to start supporting what is a very difficult but critically important process”.

Pax Christi’s leadership, which includes Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, is concerned that Israel’s actions—including the continued occupation of Palestinian land, expansion of settlements in the West Bank, demolition of Palestinian homes, continued work on the separation barrier, and limits on the use of water—violate international law and must stop, Ms Dennis said.

“We included in the statement our own sense of recognition of the unevenness of the process, of the extremely difficult conditions within which the Palestinian people are living,” Ms Dennis said. Pax Christi also said “we cannot ignore the gross imbalance of power and resources in favour of Israel”.

The 1993 Oslo Accord, which set a goal of achieving a peace treaty between Israel and Palestine and even-

tual Palestinian self-determination, has “failed and negotiations are at a standstill”, the organisation said while pushing for a new political strategy to achieve peace.

The statement also described the Israeli occupation of Arab lands taken in the 1967 Six-Day War and the building of Israeli settlements and separation barriers on those lands as violations of international law.

Pax Christi expressed concerns that such actions have led to segregation and inequality, along with the forced displacement of Palestinians, limits on access to basic healthcare, water and electricity, diminished opportunities for education and employment, and harm to agriculture and economic infrastructure.

Israel’s air and sea blockade of Gaza, an area on the Mediterranean coast, has “led to a dire human rights situation” and a warning from the UN that, if current conditions continue, the area will be uninhabitable by 2020.

The seven-page statement urged Israel to allow for the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were displaced in 1948 with the formal establishment of Israel or compensation for Palestinians “as prerequisites for a just and legal peace agreement”.

Pax Christi offered support for non-violent actions, including boycotts, divestment and sanctions of companies that profit from the occupation, and said such steps are designed to “pressure Israel to meet its obligations under international law”.—CNS

BY CAROL GLATZ

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HE Christmas tree and Nativity scene are symbols of God’s love and hope, reminding us to contemplate the beauty of creation and welcome the marginalised, Pope Francis said.

Baby Jesus, whose parents could find no decent shelter and had to flee persecution, is a reminder of the “painful experience” of so many migrants today, he said at the Vatican Christmas tree and Nativity scene.

Nativity scenes all over the world “are an invitation to make room in our life and society for God—hidden in the gaze of so many people” who are living in need, poverty or suffering, he told people involved in donating the tree and crèche for St Peter's Square.

The northern Italian province of Trent donated the 25m-tall spruce fir, which is adorned with ceramic ornaments handmade by children receiving medical treatment at several Italian hospitals.

The 16m-wide Nativity scene was donated by the government and archdiocese of Malta. It features 17 figures dressed in traditional Maltese attire as well as a replica of a Maltese boat to represent the seafaring traditions of the island.

The boat also represents “the sad and tragic reality of migrants on boats headed towards Italy”, the pope said.

“In the painful experience of these brothers and sisters, we revisit that experience of baby Jesus, who at the time of his birth did not find

The Christmas tree and Nativity scene featuring a migrant display in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) accommodation and was born in a grotto in Bethlehem and then was brought to Egypt to escape Herod’s threat,” Pope Francis said.

“Those who visit this crèche will be invited to rediscover its symbolic value, which is a message of fraternity, sharing, welcoming and solidarity,” the pope said.

The Nativity scene and tree will remain in St Peter’s Square until the feast of the Lord’s Baptism.

Archbishop Lauro Tisi of Trent told people in St Peter’s Square that the towering tree had lived decades —decades that saw thousands of people from the region emigrate in search of work in the early 1900s.

It’s unconscionable, he said, that people today refuse to welcome those coming from poorer places with the same needs and dreams.

Manwel Grech, a sculptor of religious statues from Gozo, Malta,

won a contest to make the Nativity scene. It was a dream to create art for the Vatican and have it exhibited in the square where thousands of people from around the world will see it.

Mr Grech included several very Maltese touches in the Nativity scene: A traditional balcony decorated with a Maltese cross and a luzzu, the traditional Maltese fishing boat, which also reminds people of the journeys of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea. Between the Nativity scene and the Christmas tree, the Vatican placed the cross and chunks of the facade of the basilica of St Benedict in Norcia, Italy. The basilica was destroyed by an earthquake in October and money left at the Nativity scene by visitors will be donated to the church rebuilding effort in Norcia.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

11

Pope sends pope his prayers, condolences OPTIC Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria has thanked Pope Francis for his closeness after the pontiff phoned the patriarch to express his prayers and condolences for the terrorist attack at the Cairo cathedral that left 25 people dead.

“We are united in the blood of our martyrs,” the pope told the Orthodox patriarch.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference also sent its condolences to Pope Tawadros.

Bishop Victor Phalana, SACBC head of ecumenism condemned the use of religion to justify vicious acts.

“We, as the Church in Southern Africa, are in solidarity with the Coptic Orthodox Church in mourning the death of our beloved brothers and sisters,” he said.

He added that the Southern African Church stands with the faithful of Coptic Orthodox Church to pray for the repose of the souls of all who lost their lives and the quick recovery for those who were injured during the

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Celebrating Christmas with Benedictine nuns

BY CARL BUNDERSON

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HIT-making community of Benedictine nuns based in Missouri has released an album full of carols with which to greet the newborn Christ.

“Our greatest hope is that these songs will truly 'lift up our hearts' to the Infant King, so that we will always be mindful of his humility and mercy,” said Mother Cecilia, prioress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles.

Sales of the community's new album, Caroling at Ephesus, will go towards building a new priory church for the rapidly-expanding community.

“This is one season in which there is such an abundance of music, the only difficulty was in choosing which songs to include on this album. We decided to use many on the lighter side,” Mother Cecilia said.

“They are still sacred in nature, no 'Frosty the Snowman' or anything, but include beautiful carols from around the world.”

The album includes 24 songs, in six languages. “Most of the pieces are in English, but there are two in Latin, and one each in German, French, Polish and Spanish,” Mother Cecilia said.

“Along with a little help from my mother, who is Polish by birth, there are enough speakers here of each language now to guide us through the pronunciation. While Latin is easy— we chant in Latin every day—the others certainly added a challenge to the recording, as we have not ventured into recording in any other language before,” she added.

Among the more recognisable songs on the album are “What Child

Is This”, “Good King Wenceslaus”, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”, “O Holy Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”.

“It was surprising to find out how old some of these carols actually are.

We had a lot of fun trying out new arrangements to these carols, and perk up some others we have been singing for many years,” Mother Cecilia said.

In addition, the album features an original track: a Christmas poem written by Catholic author GK Chesterton, “Carol of the Christ Child”, was set to music by the nuns themselves.

Though the community practises limited enclosure, their music albums have brought them international renown and popularity. They have been Billboard’s Best-Selling Classical Traditional Artist several years in a row, and their albums have topped Billboard's Top Traditional Classical Albums.

Life in the community is marked by obedience, stability, and “continually turning” towards God. They have Mass daily according to the extraordinary form, and chant the psalms eight times a day from the 1962 Monastic Office.

The nuns also support themselves by producing made-to-order vestments, as well as greeting cards.

Mother Cecilia said that the priory is now attracting vocations from outside the US, including Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. n Caroling at Ephesus can be ordered from www.music.benedictinesof mary.org. Digital versions of the album are available from Amazon and iTunes.—CNA

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has launched a website for the protection of minors, www.protectionofminors.va

Vatican launches child protection website

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HE Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has launched a beta version of its website in English and has included its template for local guidelines on preventing sexual abuse, resources for a day of prayer for the victims and survivors as well as a mailing address to contact commission members.

The website—(www.protectionofminors.va)—eventually will include versions in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French.

Pope Francis’ international

Council of Cardinals identified the protection of children and young adults as one of the Church’s priority needs and suggested in December 2013 that he create a commission to advise him and assist dioceses and religious orders around the world in drawing up guidelines, handling accusations and ministering to victims and survivors.

Pope Francis named the first members three months later and appointed as president Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston.—CNS

A nun cries as she stands inside Cairo’s St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox cathedral after a terrorist attack.

(Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Reuters/CNS) bombing incident.

“I thought it was Judgment Day,” said 59-year-old Magdi Ramzi, who was in the back of the church at the time of the explosion which killed his wife, and gravely wounded his granddaughter.

“It was the loudest noise I have ever heard,” he told the Egyptian TV programme 90 Minutes.

On an Advent weekend bloodied by terrorist attacks in Egypt and Turkey, Pope Francis condemned the violence and urged people to hold fast to their faith and renew their commitment to upholding basic human values.

After reciting the Angelus, Pope Francis offered prayers for the “victims of savage terrorist attacks” in Egypt, which wounded dozens, and in Istanbul, which killed close to 40 people, mainly police.

“The places are different, but the violence is the same,” Pope Francis said. In response to the “death and destruction”, there is only one response: “Faith in God and unity in human and civil values.”

The pope said that each day in prayer he is close to the people of the besieged city of Aleppo, Syria.

“Unfortunately we have become used to the war and destruction, but we must not forget that Syria is a country full of history, culture and faith. We cannot allow this to be negated by war, which is a pile of abuse and falsity,” the pope said.—CNS

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12

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

LETTERS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher Christmas guest editorial by Dr Nontando Hadebe

Have yourself a very messy Christmas

O

NE of Pope Francis’ favourite words is “messy”.

He uses it in different contexts to wake us up to the reality that life is not neat, predictable or logical, but often complex, difficult to understand, surprising, painful and frightening.

In this regard 2016 can be described as a messy year that seemed to be getting messier with each news headline.

Mess characterises global, continental, regional and national politics, economics and governance. This mess spills over to daily life, messing up lives, relationships, families and communities, creating conditions that bring out the worst part of our humanity, generating hate, violence, division and conflicts.

Yet, surprisingly, in the midst of the mess are counter forces for the common good, such as peace movements and global events like the Olympics which remind us that we can transcend the destructive forces that threaten us and come together to celebrate excellence in sports.

This simultaneous reality of our capacity for destruction on the one hand and just cooperation on the other creates the mess as well as opportunities to counter it.

How does Christmas fit into the mess in our world and lives?

For some, Christmas is a time to forget about the world for a while, to “switch off” and enjoy time with family and friends. This may include reckless spending and excessive consumption of food and drink. Then after Christmas, it’s New Year celebrations, then back to “normal life” to deal with the mess in the world.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying life with friends and family or going on holiday as part of the celebration of Christmas.

However, the clue to understanding Christmas lies in the story that we are all familiar with, and particularly in the political and social context of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem in the first century.

As Jews, Mary and Joseph belonged to an oppressed nation under Roman rule. The Jewish nation was deeply divided, with different groups vying for power. King Herod had no real power as he was accountable to Roman rule. The majority of people were poor,

barely surviving through farming and artisan work—Joseph himself was a builder.

For the Jews and other oppressed groups, the world was in a mess and it was in this context that Christmas happened: God entered into a messy world through the birth of Jesus, in a messy, dirty place—not the clean manger of Christmas cards.

The lives of both Mary and Joseph were disrupted, so there was mess in their lives as well.

More lives were disrupted, positively and negatively.

Herod responded vengefully and with extreme cruelty, killing innocent children. In contrast, the shepherds and wise men from the East responded positively to the disruption in their lives.

The shepherds left their flocks in search of Jesus and the wise men their homes on an unchartered path in search for Jesus. Christmas happened through people who were willing to say “yes” to God, at the cost of their lives being disrupted. They did not think that their private actions would forever change the world.

This is Christmas: God entering a messy world in Jesus through the “yes” of Mary and Joseph. The redemption of the world happened in a messy way in response to a messy world through ordinary events prompted by faith.

Our world is in a mess and in need of a messy Christmas to respond to its mess.

These seemingly small and courageous private actions in the Christmas story make this our story too. So often we feel as if our actions are too small to change the world, but the Christmas story tells us something different—that the world is changed by “small” actions of love and justice.

Imagine what would happen if each Christian this Christmas reached out in friendship and hospitality across ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and political divides.

May we dare to say “yes” to God this Christmas and allow our lives to be disrupted as we together create Christmas 2016 in response to the mess around us. n Dr Nontando Hadebe is a postdoctoral fellow at Unisa and adjunct lecturer at St Augustine College. She also serves on The Southern Cross’ Editorial Advisory Board.

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

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

No priest can spoil soul of Mass

I

WAS enchanted to read Fr Ron Rolheiser’s article on the Mass (November 16). It made the point—not very often grasped these days—that every Mass is a good Mass, because in it Christ’s own flesh and blood sacrifice on the cross is renewed and rendered present in forms of bread and wine, no matter how “good” or “not so good” the celebrating priest may be.

I am reminded of the English author Evelyn Waugh, being asked by his wife when he returned home

Addicted to The Southern Cross

I

OFFER my hearty congratulations and deep appreciation on The Southern Cross reaching its 5000th issue in September. What an incredible achievement!

I am sending my congratulatory message only now since I was in India for two months at the time.

I have become addicted to The Southern Cross, and when I didn’t have it for eight consecutive weeks while I was in India, I felt that there was a part of me missing.

When I got home, there were eight issues waiting for me. I spent a full day doing nothing else but reading all the eight issues. It was spiritually so refreshing. A lot of the articles in The Southern Cross enrich our faith. My Sunday is complete when I finish reading The Southern Cross for the week.

I am an Associate of The Southern Cross and I would like to encourage all Catholics to also become Associates.

I congratulate the editor and all the staff at The Southern Cross for the awesome job you all are doing.

May the good Lord continue to bless each one of you and I pray that the membership of The Southern Cross Associates Campaign grows with each passing day.

God bless.

Walter Middleton, Johannesburg

Weekday Cycle Year 3 perplexes

W

HERE did “Weekday Cycle Year 3” come from in the heading to your weekly liturgical calendar?

I would be really happy if the Revised Standard Version (RSV) translation for the Proclamation of the Word was ditched and the Jerusalem Bible reinstated, as England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland have wisely done.

I agree that the RSV is the most accurate translation, but for the Proclamation of the Word it is not easy to read out aloud.

from Mass: “Anything special about the Mass today?” He answered: “Same as ever, just the body, blood, soul and divinity of Our Blessed Lord, as usual. That’s all.”

What a statement, and it remains true, even today!

Sometimes it does take an act of special faith and perseverance to get through the verbosity and idiosyncrasies of some of us priests who might get in the way of Our Redeemer’s saving action at the liturgy. It’s heartening to see the 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. Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 4653850

The Jerusalem Bible was worked over before its 1966 publication by people whose profession is the spoken word—actors, speakers, poets, newsreaders, teachers and so on— and it reads so much more fluently and comes across so much more understandably than the scholarly RSV. God bless The Southern Cross: it still is a great, great newspaper!

Fr Barry Reabow SAC, Queenstown n “Year 3” seems to have come from a slip of the typing finger, and we didn’t pick it up until Fr Reabow’s timely reminder. We are now following Year A, Weekday Cycle 1. And thank you for your blessing and kind words about The Southern Cross.

Choosing 7de Laan or EWTN

M

ANY Catholics, I believe, do not know or realise that the Church exists primarily to bear witness to our experience of knowing Jesus (not knowing about him!)

Scripture is clear: “Woe to you if you do not preach the Gospel.” And this does not necessarily mean “Bible-punching”.

One fellow resident in the place I stay spends a lot of time watching the local soap 7de Laan on TV. Her reason is that it is “in touch with real life”.

She was formerly very involved in her home parish. We have the Catholic TV station EWTN here for free, yet such is her choice.

Why is this? It seems so many of us are not truly evangelised. We’re of the world. Yet we may reach heaven one day as “baptised pagans”. Many of these fellow Catholics spend their time playing bingo and card games, watching sport on TV and other non-spiritual pursuits.

If I approach any of them on

persevering faithful at Sunday Mass, aware as we are that swathes of Catholics no longer show the same evidence of that dogged faith in the Mass (so much part of Evelyn Waugh’s generation).

Fr Rolheiser’s learned offerings on this, “the sacrifice of praise”, strike a resonant chord, surely, with all of us.

As the Irish are fond of saying at this time of the year: “There is no Christmas without Christ, and there is no Christ without the Mass.” Happy Christ’s Mass to all.

Fr Sean Collins CSsR, Cape Town Catholic subjects, especially if you mention the name of Jesus, they usually develop an embarrassed look and sometimes even respond with: “Are you a Catholic or not?”

Others of my ilk, who care about their faith and are not ashamed of Jesus, are described here as fanatics. I am reminded of the words of the Lord: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul?”

We have the privilege here of attending daily Mass in two chapels, yet the percentage of men in comparison to women—as in most places—is exceedingly low.

In our old age at least, let us learn to value the pearl of great price and proclaim it to others as best we can with the charisms God has given each of us, be it by word, action, simply by our love for others, in writing or even in singing.

This is essential evangelisation!

John Lee, Johannesburg

Seek charity first

I

N reply to Fr Anthony Esposito’s letter (October 26), allow me to comment as follows.

Criticism of a sincere fellow priest, the actions of whom a person is ignorant, is totally unacceptable.

Let us restrict our comments to the truth, facts, and charity.

St John Paul II saw in particular the presence of the Holy Spirit in each and every person on this planet, and Christ’s redemption for everyone uniting all of mankind.

With respect to the Eucharist, God created man in his own image, man cannot create God. I certainly do not need to go to a priest to have my sins forgiven.

Jesus did this for me on the cross of Calvary, and so justified me.

A devout person knows and feels remorse, is guided by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26), turns to God, is repentant, and asks for help to avoid the occasion of sin.

The earliest celebration of the Eucharist was the breaking of the bread at a meal (Acts 2:46, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34).

John Driver, Daveyton

PERSPECTIVES

Christmas inspiration A S I was going through some old writings I came across a column I wrote nearly ten years ago about inspiration, probably at the time when a local supermarket chain adopted the slogan “Inspired by you”.

We say the Bible writers were inspired.

We talk about well-known people in various spheres of life who were inspired to become good leaders and role models.

Sometimes older people in families have been an inspiration to younger ones. But even children can be inspirational in their own way. Like young Joshua in this story.

CHRISTMAS EVE

J

oshua had run away from home when he was 11 years old. Now he was 13 ½ and one of the most streetwise of the streetkids.

Somehow he was lucky that he had never got involved in crime. Of course, the older boys had offered him drugs, to smoke or sniff. But for almost a year he had watched his mother taking her drugs, and after she had died he knew he wasn’t going to do that.

That was also when he had run away because their shack was really no home any more. He had gone to live on the street and soon made friends.

In winter it was very cold and they would go to a shelter for a meal, a bath and sometimes to sleep. In summer they slept out, and sheltered where they could if it was raining.

But this wasn’t what he would call an ideal life. No ways did he want to carry on living like that. He’d become more and more fed up with the way his life wasn’t

going anywhere.

One wet evening in the middle of summer, a group of the boys was sheltering from the intermittent rain beneath the bridge near the bus station. Some of them were already asleep and the others were sitting talking, telling stories about how their life had been before, and sharing their dreams for a better future.

Joshua looked up and saw some people coming towards them. His first thought was to go up and beg. He had already put on his begging face, but as they came near, although they looked clean, he could see they were almost in a worse state than he was. The man looked so worried and the pregnant lady so tired. She was very beautiful but looked so terribly worried that instead of asking them for money he found himself asking if he could help them instead.

“Thank you, young man,” the man said to him. “You can see that my wife is going to have her baby very soon. We have just got off the bus from up north and don’t know our way around here at all. We’ve been looking around but can’t find any place where we can rest. I am so worried

A million Bethlehems C HRISTMAS came early for me at Rhino Camp. I don’t mean in the form of tinsel or turkey or even good Scotch.

Christmas came for me in human form, that first feast of the Nativity I spent living in a camp for Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda while working for the Jesuit Refugee Service.

I was struggling to drive along the potholed tracks that pass for roads in this refugee settlement. And in the heat of the day I spotted a mother and child—made not of plaster but of flesh-and-blood.

A young woman was carrying a newborn baby. Having walked 15km to register the birth at the nearest county office, she was now starting her journey back. The decree had not come from Caesar Augustus but, like Mary before her, it was a bureaucratic intrusion into a life usually of little interest to officialdom.

For swaddling clothes, she was using the garishly coloured mixed-fibre towel that is the standard issue there, despite its singular failure to absorb much water. The towel was wrapped tightly round her waist to create a papoose that held the baby snugly on her back.

My perspective on Africa was changing since I no longer bristled at the health and safety implications of these precarious makeshift baby carriers.

I offered her a lift and as she clambered in, delighted—so too did four of her friends, each in turn cradling a tiny baby.

Five new names on the Ugandan birth register; five tiny hopes for the new Sudan.

I don’t think that any one of them bore the name Emmanuel but there was no doubt, as I gazed at their innocent faces, that each was a reminder of “God-with-us”.

I drove along cautiously with this precious cargo and it struck me that, save for my own presence and that of my Hilux truck, I was closer than I had ever been to seeing what that famous birth in Bethlehem must have been like.

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Our shiny Christmas cards try to show us what it was like for Mary to care for her baby 2 000 years ago. But I suspect we become too absorbed by the scene’s sentimental beauty to sense the reality of bringing up a child in extreme poverty: no running water, no electricity, only the most basic foods, no doctors, few medicines—if lucky, a tiny ration of soap.

Even my nose was getting the full Christmas experience. Theologians describe the incarnation as God’s desire to enter the messiness of our world; now I was sensing how messy incarnation is.

B

ut the miracle of Christmas does not end with Jesus’ birth. We take it for granted that once born, Jesus would grow into a full adult. But that would not have been the case for him then, and it is certainly not the case now for children in rural Africa.

Families around there don’t need celebrity campaigns to tell them that malaria and bad water unnecessarily kill one child in the developing world every three seconds—with no ceasefire for Christmas.

Like you, I have read about 20% infant mortality statistics for parts of Africa and have tried to comprehend them. But here in the car I was faced with five babies, knowing that one of them will probably not celebrate a fifth birthday.

Christmas promises us peace and joy.

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The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

Toni Rowland

Family Friendly

about her. Where can we go? Oh please!”

Joshua felt quite like a man. “As it happens,” he said grandly, “I have just the place for you.”

Joshua led the way slowly and carefully through the dark street, keeping a watchful eye on the lady. But it wasn’t very far.

When the shelter was in sight he pointed it out to them and ran ahead to warn Fr Joe. The shelter didn’t usually take adults, nor people having babies, but he knew this was different.

When he got there and rang the bell he got quite a shock. The door opened and instead of the usual Fr Joe, there was an old man in a red coat with a long white beard.

“What are you doing here, Father Christmas?” Joshua couldn’t help but blurt out. “I’m here to welcome some special guests. In fact I had to be here to receive a great gift, one that I will share with many others,” he answered. And with the widest smile and the lowest bow he led the young couple into the house.

“Make yourself at home,” he said. “I know you have come from far but my friend Joshua here has brought you to just the right place. Tonight our Saviour will really be born here. We are honoured and these young friends will truly be your bodyguards. Today, and who knows, maybe also in years to come.”

My Christmas prayer for all: May we be open to God’s mercy which inspires us to be merciful as “Families Walk the Talk” throughout 2017.

Raymond Perrier

Faith and Society

Even if these babies could look forward to peace in South Sudan—and the ongoing civil war there suggests they couldn’t— whether they would also have joy is more complicated.

There might have been plenty of happy smiling faces but the grinding poverty of life for most people made it difficult for me sometimes to understand their joy.

One explanation is to offer platitudes about the poor having the real wealth, and how we fail to grasp the true message of Christmas because it has become so commercialised. There is certainly no danger of commercialisation in a place where the only brand names that most people see are the ones on clothes dumped here because, though still wearable, they have been thrown out to make place in our closets for our latest purchases.

But I fear that this temptation to spiritualise poverty is just a convenient way of us ignoring the huge injustices in the distribution of wealth from which we benefit.

The poor may have a keener appreciation of the true message of Christmas, but I suspect that they would gladly give up such poverty for the chance to have their senses dulled by too much food, too much drink, or too much comfort.

But I don’t want you to think that it was all bad in the camp. The trees might not have been decorated with tinsel but they were groaning with the most succulent mangoes; we might not have had lavish office parties but at least people there didn’t need to be drunk to dance in public; and we might not have had seasonal TV delights but every night God gave us a show of stars unseen in light-polluted cities.

If, like the Three Kings, we were to follow the star, we would find that God will come to earth this Christmas in a million different Bethlehems.

LENT IN THE

HOLY LAND 18-27 March 2017

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13

Tony Magliano

Christmas Reflection

This Christmas, be counter-cultural

T

HE world is a wonderful place. Our God is so good in giving it to us. But to a large extent, we have not taken good care of it, nor of each other.

We have polluted the water, fouled the air and are dangerously changing the climate.

The breakdown of the family, the redefining of traditional marriage, global poverty, hunger, homelessness, abortion, physician-assisted suicide, the arms trade, nuclear weapons, astronomical military budgets, human trafficking, corporate greed, murder and the mass killings of war are also among the critical illnesses humanity has inflicted upon itself.

But it doesn’t have to be this way! We don’t need to stumble around and die in darkness. For God entered onto the human stage to show us that he is the light of the world. For as the prophet Isaiah predicted: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

With humble and trusting hearts this Christmas season and New Year, we can be the very people who walk out of the darkness into the light of Christ Jesus.

God entered into the world not as the warrior Messiah the Jews were expecting, but as a defenceless, gentle, innocent baby.

Who would have imagined the all-powerful One would personally come himself—and as an infant?

And who would have imagined he would teach us that the Kingdom of God—the only kingdom worth living and dying for—comes to us not by the accumulation of wealth, not by powerful militaries, not by domination, and not by our will, but rather by trusting and living out God’s will: of social justice, a fair sharing of the earth’s resources, peaceful nonviolence, dialogue, solidarity, compassion, forgiveness and love for all.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

S

ince the Lord’s thoughts and ways are so very different from and better than human thoughts and ways, true disciples must be countercultural. We must swim upstream against the often evil currents of society. We must rock the boat!

The Jesuit peace activist Fr Daniel Berrigan, who died in April this year, once issued this warning: Beware! Beware! Or the culture will swallow you whole. It’s easy to be swallowed whole and drowned by our culture. It is a kind of a narcotic.

Therefore, we must be countercultural. But being countercultural is not socially acceptable.

Our culture encourages us to accept the status quo; to be quiet; to leave things the way they are. But genuine followers of the Prince of Peace, the God of life, the Lord of the poor and vulnerable cannot be quiet, cannot leave evil the way it is.

The peace activist Dorothy Day, who was a convert, pacifist, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker ministry for the homeless, said: “We must cry out against injustice or by our silence consent to it. If we keep silent, the very stones of the street will cry out.”

Filled with a fresh Christmas rebirth of our Lord Jesus within our hearts, may we take his loving, peaceful and joyful presence out into our hurting world this New Year, and courageously challenge the culture of greed, war and death!

Let us imagine during the new year a better world where all God’s people, and all of God’s creation, are respected, protected and cherished. n Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. His column appears regularly on The Southern Cross’ website (www.scross.co.za/category/perspectives/tonymagliano).

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This was 2016

14

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

YEAR-END REVIEW

The highlights and lowlights of the year

It was the year in which the Church observed the Jubilee Year of Mercy, South Africa exploded in student unrest, the world’s Catholic youth met in Poland, Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking document on the family, a priest was murdered at Mass in France, and two orders celebrated milestones. GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks back on the past year.

DECEMBER 2015

The Church in Southern Africa holds its first mini-World Youth Day at the Bosco Centre near Johannesburg. Youth chaplain Fr Mthembeni Dlamini CMM says that the local Church will have to overcome enormous challenges if it is to bid for World Youth Day 2022.

Kiko Argüello, founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, visits South Africa.

Pope Francis is awarded Germany’s prestigious Charlemagne Prize, while British animals rights organisation PETA names him as its Person of the Year.

Difficult times lie ahead for South Africa and the world, but by celebrating the coming year with faith and devotion, God will lift up our hearts and restore hope and joy, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) said in a message for the new year.

Pope Francis commends world leaders for reaching an agreement in the COP21 Paris climate talks, urging the international community to promptly put it into action.

The SACBC reveals plans to sell its current Khanya House headquarters in central Pretoria and to move to premises in the suburb of Waterkloof.

South African Catholic antiracism activist Anne Hope dies on December 26 at 85.

JANUARY 2016

The SACBC’s Justice & Peace Commission calls for a referendum on the government’s nuclear power procurement plans.

An interview book of Pope Francis by Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, titled The Name of God is Mercy, is published.

The bishops of Southern Africa close the Year of Consecrated Life with a Mass in Pretoria’s cathedral.

Pope Francis receives a standing ovation as he visits Rome’s main synagogue.

Drugs have taken over from apartheid as the new oppressor, says Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban.

The Latin patriarchate in the

Holy Land condemns attacks on Christian sites by Jewish extremists in Jerusalem.

In the year of the order’s 800th birthday, the Dominicans of Southern Africa elect Fr Stan Muyebe as their new vicar-general, succeeding Fr Sikhosiphi Mgoza.

The 51st International Eucharistic Congress is held in Cebu, Philippines.

FEBRUARY

Tzaneen diocese celebrates the first feast day of Bl Benedict Daswa on February 1.

The bishops call on South Africans to vote with wisdom and responsibility in the local elections in August.

Pope Francis appoints Fr Duncan Tsoke as auxiliary bishop of Johannesburg. He is ordained in April.

Archbishop Peter Wells, 52, is named as the new papal nuncio to Southern Africa.

The Southern Cross takes a group of pilgrims to the Holy Land and Egypt on its “Pilgrimage of the Peacemakers”, led by SACBC president Archbishop Stephen Brislin.

Pope Francis visits Cuba and Mexico.

Radio Veritas joins several other Catholic initiatives in transporting water to drought-stricken regions.

The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office says that the disruptions led in parliament by the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) has turned the National Assembly into a “theatre of insults”.

Bishop José Luis Ponce de Leòn of Manzini appeals for help for Swaziland as the country suffers its worse drought in decades.

Spotlight, the fact-based film about the Boston Globe’s revelation of the cover-up of sexual abuse by priests, wins the Academy Award for Best Film.

MARCH

In a pastoral letter on racism, the SACBC commits the local Church to a “credible and comprehensive conversation on racism”.

Four Missionary of Charity nuns are murdered in a jihadist terror attack in Aden, Yemen. The

attackers also abduct Fr Thomas Uzhunnalil, an Indian Salesian.

Cardinal Napier reaches the age of 75, when he has to offer his resignation as archbishop of Durban. He is asked to stay on until the pope accepts his resignation.

A series of essays in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano suggest the possibility of allowing women to preach at Mass.

A new book by historian Mark Riebling suggests that Pope Pius XII had involvement in at least thee plots against Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

An icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help by Cape Town Redemptorist Brother Richard Maidwell is taken to Rome to aid the order in its Year of Mercy missions.

The Dominican Order requests the Public Protector to investigate allegations of state capture by the Gupta family, following revelations of meddling by the family in the appointment of government ministers.

The report is released in October, causing a political crisis.

Pope Francis’ Instagram account makes its debut.

Mother Angelica, founder of Catholic broadcaster EWTN, dies after a long illness on March 27 at 92.

APRIL

The Jesuit Institute commends the Constitutional Court’s ruling that President Jacob Zuma failed to uphold the Constitution by disregarding the Public Protector’s report that ordered him to repay some funds used in the upgrade to his homestead in Nkandla, KwaZuluNatal.

Pope Francis issues his apostolic exhortation on family life, Amoris Laetitia. In it, the pope suggests that divorced and civilly remarried couples could receive Communion on a case-by-case basis.

Reacting to Amoris Laetitia, Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria proposes the establishment of marriage and family desks in each diocese. Cardinal Napier praises the document’s tone which calls on “all ministers to be warm and caring in the way they deal with people in difficult circumstances”.

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The Carmelite Sissters at Retreat, Cape Town send love and prayer that Jesus, our Prince of Peace, ma mayy be truly deep within each heart this Chris h tmas, and bring us a New Y Yeear filled with new hope!

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Pope Francis closes the Holy Door of St Peter’s basilica to mark the closing of the Jubilee Year of Mercy at the Vatican on November 20. (Photo: Tiziana Fabi, CNS via Reuters) The SACBC Counter-Trafficking in Persons department involves taxi drivers in combating human trafficking.

Visiting a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis brings 12 Syrian refugees with him to Rome, where the Church will assist them in their new lives.

Regular Sunday Masses resume at the airport chapel at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

Catholic activist and academic Prof Tim Dunne is killed in a car crash in Cape Town on April 17.

A Eucharistic miracle that took place in Legnica, Poland, in 2013 is approved by the Vatican for veneration.

A statement by the Justice & Commission, signed by Bishop Abel Gabuza, that criticised EFF leader Julius Malema’s “barrel of a gun” comment makes national headlines.

US Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan, a noted peace activist, dies on April 30 at 94.

Mariannhill Father Siegfried Mandla Jwara is appointed apostolic vicar of Ingwavuma. Bishop Jwara is ordained in June.

MAY

Fr Xolisile Augustine Kondlo of Port Elizabeth, who needs a lung transplant, is interviewed on the front-page of The Southern Cross about his campaign to increase organ donor awareness.

Pope Francis indicates that he will appoint a commission to study the question of admitting women to the permanent diaconate.

Philosopher and former Dominican friar Augustine Shutte dies on May 23 at 77 in Cape Town.

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, spiritual leader of Catholic Maronites worldwide, visits Johannesburg.

Italian Franciscan Father Francesco Patton is appointed as the new custos of the Holy Land, succeeding Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM, who in July becomes the apostolic administrator of Jerusalem, with the rank of archbishop.

Holy Spirit Missionary Sister Veronika Theresia Rackova, 58, is killed in South Sudan while driving an ambulance. Three soldiers are arrested for the shooting.

The world’s oldest cardinal, Loris Capovilla, dies at the age of 100. The Italian was St John XXIII’s secretary.

JUNE

Catholics are warned that pirated editions of the Roman missal are being sold in South Africa.

Indian Bishop Jacob Murucken donates a kidney to a young Hindu father battling for his life.

South African Redemptorist Fr Cyril Axelrod, who is deaf and blind, leads a Jubilee Year celebration in Rome for the sick and disabled.

Pope Francis approves the creation of a new department for laity and family, to take effect as of September 1.

Fr Kondlo dies of his lung disease on June 18 at the age of 37, just a few weeks after writing in The Southern Cross about his apostolate in promoting organ donation.

Pope Francis canonises 17th-

century Polish Father Stanislaus Papczynski as well as Swedish foundress Sr Elizabeth Hesselblad, who is recognised as a Righteous Among the Nations for saving the lives of Jews during the Holocaust.

Archbishop Slattery calls for calm after rioting in Pretoria over the ANC’s nomination for mayor.

Pope Francis visits Armenia.

While there, he uses the sensitive term “genocide” to describe the Turkish massacres of Armenians in 1915.

The superior-general of the schismatic Society of St Pius X, Archbishop Bernard Fellay, says Pope Francis “encourages” errors in Catholic doctrine, rather than denouncing them.

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales condemn a sharp rise in xenophobic violence following the Brexit vote to leave the European Union.

Pope Francis says that Catholics and other Christians should apologise to homosexuals for poor treatment and fostering hostility against them.

JULY

Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu of Johannesburg is named in the Mail & Guardian as one of 200 young South Africans making a difference.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship, suggests that priests celebrate the Eucharist facing east, by which the celebrant would turn his back to the congregation. The Vatican clarifies that this is only Cardinal Sarah’s personal view.

An Italian team completes the restoration of Crusader-era mosaics in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank.

With rising poverty and unemployment at 90%, life in Zimbabwe is becoming unbearable, says Fr Frederick Chiromba, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Pope Francis calls for an end to the arms trade that supplies the warring factions in Syria with weapons.

Pope Francis names US journalist Greg Burke his new spokesman, to succeed Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi.

The Vatican and the influential al-Azhar University in Cairo pledge to restart dialogue between the Catholic Church and Sunni Islam.

After Portugal beats France in the final of the Euro 2016 football tournament, coach Fernando Santos pays tribute to Jesus and the Blessed Virgin.

Catholic HIV/Aids activists gather in Durban as part of the 21st International Aids Conference.

Carmen Hernandez, Spanish co-founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, dies on July 19 at 85.

Following several incidents of assassinations in the run-up to the August 3 local elections, Bishop Gabuza pleads for an end to political killings.

South African Muslim officials join worldwide condemnation of the July 27 murder of French priest Fr Jacques Hamel during Mass by terrorists in Saint-Étiennedu-Rouvray. Pope Francis repeatedly refers to Fr Hamel as a “martyr”.

YEAR-END REVIEW

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

AUGUST

An estimated 1,6 million people attend Pope Francis’ closing Mass of World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. The next WYD will be held in Panama City in 2019.

Dominicans and Oblates throughout South Africa celebrate the 800th and 200th anniversaries of the foundation of their orders.

US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton names Tim Kaine, a Catholic, as her running mate in 2016 elections. Donald Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, was raised as Catholic but is now an Evangelical.

Pope Francis names a panel of six men and six women to study the question of women deacons.

Bishop Edward Daly, whose photograph became the iconic image of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre of Catholics in Derry, Northern Ireland, dies on August 8 at 82.

At their mid-year plenary session, held for the first time in Gaborone, the bishops decide to set up a new laity council.

The editor of Bangladesh’s Catholic newspaper, Rosaline Costa, flees the country after sustained harassment and threats.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt wins three gold medals at the Rio Olympics—and wears a Miraculous medal in all his races. Other Catholic Olympic legends include US swimmer Katie Ledecky and gymnast Simone Biles.

Archbishop Brislin, Cardinal Napier and Bishop Graham Rose of Dundee share the stage in Cape Town and Durban at public talks with visiting Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee.

Spanish Mgr Lucio Vajello Barda begins his 18-month jail term in the Vatican after being convicted of stealing and leaking confidential documents. Co-accused Francesca Chaoqui received a suspended ten-month sentence.

St Augustine College, South Africa’s Catholic University, announces plans to expand its curriculum and to broaden access to bursaries.

SEPTEMBER

Pope Francis canonises Mother Teresa of Kolkata—”this emblematic figure of womanhood and of consecrated life”—before tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square.

The Southern Cross and Radio Veritas lead a pilgrimage to Italy for the canonisation of Mother Teresa in Rome, led by Fr Brian Mhlanga OP. Father Bonaventure Hinwood OFM—academic, author, poet and long-time Southern Cross columnist—dies on September 8 in Pretoria at the age of 86.

The SACBC comes out in support of a decision by home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba to deny homophobic US pastor entry into South Africa.

Pope Francis makes the second of two visits this year to Assisi, for an

Left: Fr Graham Pugin SJ stands in the way of an armoured police vehicle before he was shot with rubber bullets outside Holy Trinity church in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, where students were sheltering during unrest on the Wits campus. (Photo: Edward Molopi) Right: People walk past St Thérèse church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France, a day after Fr Jaques Hamel was killed with a knife during Mass on July 27. (CNS photo/Pascal Rossignol, Reuters/CNS) inter-faith peace summit. He previously made the trip on August 4.

Fr Gabriele Amorth, long-time exorcist for the diocese of Rome, dies on September 16 at 91.

The Southern Cross marks its 5 000th issue with a special bumper edition.

Nazi victim Fr Engelmar Unzeitig, a member of the South Africa-founded Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries, is beatified in Würzburg, Bavaria.

Pope Francis embarks on a visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia.

OCTOBER

Pope Francis tells an in-flight press conference on the way from Azerbaijan that the Church must accompany Catholics who are homosexual, confused about their sexuality, or believe they were born in the wrong body.

Hundreds of Catholics ask subscription broadcaster DStv to include Catholic TV station EWTN in its bouquet of channels.

Police shoot Jesuit Father Graham Pugin in the face with rubber bullets as he blocks the entrance to Holy Trinity church in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, during student protests at Wits University.

Later, a mediation meeting in the church is disrupted, forcing the parish to close its doors as a place of refuge.

Thirty-eight Albanian martyrs to communism are beatified.

Archbishop Slattery hails outgoing Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, saying she will be missed by many.

Pope Francis names 17 new cardinals, including retired Bishop Sebastian Khoarai of Mohale’s Hoek, Lesotho. They are elevated in late November in the Vatican; Cardinal Khoarai can’t attend.

Fr Thulani Mbuyisa becomes the first South African to head the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries worldwide.

The Jesuits elect Venezuelan Fr Arturo Sosa as their 31st superiorgeneral, to succeed Fr Adolfo Nicolás.

Pope Francis canonises seven new saints, including the Carmelite

The Catholic Bishops extend the blessings of a peaceful Christmas to all those who support their Foundation and wish them a successful 2017.

To know more about the Foundation and its objectives check visit www.catholicbishopsfoundation.org.za or call Msgr. Barney McAleer on 072 469 3710.

mystic Elizabeth of the Trinity.

A group of Southern Cross pilgrims, led by Fr Larry Kaufmann CSsR, take part in a Year of Mercy pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt.

Reparations on the edicule in Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre, which holds the tomb of Christ’s resurrection, begin. For the first time in half a millennium, the marble slab that covers the ledge of the tomb is lifted.

The SACBC’s Justice & Peace Commission criticises South Africa’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

The Vatican introduces new guidelines on the disposal of ashes after cremation. Practices such as scattering them at sea is forbidden.

Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski consecrates his country, himself and his family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Pope Francis visits Sweden to meet with Lutheran leaders in the run-up to the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation.

NOVEMBER

South African Catholics are warned to beware of a Nigerian man, Dr Simon Peter Nnolumfu, who styles himself as the Catholic bishop of the diocese of “Highveld” (which doesn’t exist).

The historic basilica of St Benedict, birthplace of Ss Benedict and Scholastica, and the cathedral of Our Lady in Norcia, central Italy, are destroyed in an earthquake.

Donald Trump, who called Pope Francis a “pawn” of the Mexican government for criticising his plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico birder, is elected US president, securing 52% of the Catholic vote.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul celebrates its 160th anniversary of foundation in South Africa

by Alexander Wilmot.

The bishops announce that they will celebrate a historic joint service with Lutherans and Methodists in January during their plenary session in Pretoria.

Dominican Father Dominic Scholten, former SACBC secretary-general and seminary rector, dies on November 18 in the Netherlands at 86.

Bishop Erwin Hecht, retired bishop of Kimberley, dies on November 19 in Germany at 83.

Pope Francis extends the formal permission to all priests to grant absolution to those who confess to having procured an abortion.

Pope Francis formally closes the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Pope Francis, who is credited with the rapprochement between the US and Cuba, expresses his condolences to the government and people of Cuba on the death of long-time president Fidel Castro on November 25.

Fr Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, former Jesuit superior-generals, dies in Beirut on November 26, four days before his 88th birthday.

A Pakistani court convicts 13 people of the 2014 lynching of a Christian couple near Lahore.

15

In Memoriam

Cardinal Caro Furno, 94, Vatican diplomat, on December 9, 2015 Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval CSsR, 79, of Bolivia, on December 9 Fr Carlos Domingos IMC, 53, formerly of Dundee, in an accident on January 2, 2016 Fr Martin Roden OP, 85, of Springs, Kroonstad and Cedara, on January 4 Fr Angelo Ciccone OSM, 85, of Swaziland, in a car accident on February 22 Fr Nel Sello Matlala, 44, of Pretoria and Rustenburg, on March 3 Fr Simon Rodenburg CMM, 86, of Mariannhill, on March 27 Cardinal Georges Cottier, 93, former theologian of the papal household, on March 31 Fr Henry Ratering CMM, 83, of Mariannhill, on April 4 Fr Christopher Mandlakhe Gwacela, 47, of Mariannhill, on April 9 Fr Ivo Picasane SDB, 88, of Johannesburg and Cape Town, on April 24 Fr Charles Richardson, 86, of Cape Town, on May 10 Cardinal Giovanni Coppa, 90, Vatican diplomat, on May 16 Cardinal Loris Capovilla, 100, aide to St John XXIII, on May 26 Fr Xolisile Augustine Kondlo, 37, of Port Elizabeth, on June 18 Fr Myles Russell OFM, 82, former St John Vianney rector, on July 2 Fr Moholo Patrick Maselwane, 52, of Johannesburg, on July 8 Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli, 92, retired of Florence, on July 9 Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, 89, retired of Krakow, on August 2 Fr Didier Michon M.Afr, 86, formerly of Pretoria and Johannesburg, on September 6 Fr Bonaventure Hinwood OFM, 86, of Pretoria, on September 8 Fr Nazaire Vantomme O.Praem, 86, of Oudtshoorn, on October 3 Fr Thomas Maphosa, 45, of Witbank, on October 5 Fr Charles Ryan, 78, of Johannesburg, Cedara, on October 5 Fr Dominic Scholten OP, 86, formerly of Pretoria and Springs, on November 18 Bishop Erwin Hecht, 83, retired of Kimberley, on November 19

16

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

oliic School fo or Girlss, Boksburg

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HOLY LAND

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

17

Despite conflict, there’s Holy Land hope Hope is abundant in the Middle East, even amid conflict, the new head of the Franciscan custody in the Holy Land told RHINA GUIDOS.

terested in their suffering or what they are doing to remain Christian there. Many of them have lost everything. The only thing they haven’t lost is the faith.”

It’s important to know what’s happening to them, to pray for them but also to act, Fr Patton said.

The friars are helping the local communities with food, electricity, water, gas, diesel and restoring houses after bombardments.

“We need support,” he said.

T

HE responsibilities entrusted to him are great: caring for about 50 shrines, more than two dozen parishes, various schools and other services provided by more than 250 Franciscan friars stationed at some of the most embattled places in the Middle East.

But Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, who will turn 53 on December 23, seems almost serene about the mission and his new post as the custos of the Franciscans of the Holy Land.

In almost any other religious order, he’d be called a provincial or a superior, but because the founder of the Franciscans didn’t like terms that would denote superiority of one brother over another, he is called the custos, Latin for custodian, of the Holy Land Franciscans.

“This is Franciscan vocabulary,” he explained. “St Francis said we are all equal in the Gospel. We are all brothers...the custos is the [custodian] of the sheep, and it is an important vocabulary because the sheep, they are not the property of the custos. We all are sheep of Jesus, but we have to take care of one another. It’s pastoral vocabulary.”

Pastoral vocabulary is familiar and dear to Fr Patton, whose father tended the fields of northern Italy.

He said he feels comfortable and grounded in his farming community roots.

In the Holy Land, the presence of the Franciscans is attested since the 13th century.

As custos, he said, his duty is to take care of the friars, and particularly to assume primary trust of places important to Christians in the Holy Land, including shrines in places such as Galilee, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Bethany, Emmaus and Jericho, as well as holy places in Jordan, Lebanon, Cairo, Cyprus, Rhodes—and war-torn Syria.

He also takes care of the “Living Stones” of the Holy Land, the Catholic community in the area.

It is a challenging post to be in, to be sure, especially because some of those places find themselves in political conflict, violence or outright war.

“In this moment, the land of conflict is Syria,” said Fr Patton. “So, our shrines [in Syria] now are not visited by pilgrims. It’s impossible to organise a pilgrimage in Syria.”

Before the current civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Christian pilgrims could visit locales such as the Memorial of St Paul—the place where he converted to Christianity—

Y Christian worshippers pray at Sayydet al-Niyah church in Damascus, Syria. The Franciscan custody in the Holy Land is in charge of most Christians shrines in the region, and also ministers to the Catholics of the region—including those in war-torn Syria. Inset: the new custos of the Holy Land Franciscans, Fr Francesco Patton. (Photos: Youssef Badawi, EPA and Tyler Orsburn/CNS) and the house were Ananias baptised him. Both places are in or near Damascus, Syria, and are under the care of the Holy Land Franciscans there.

“Now these are places in which local Christians are praying and asking for the end of this war,” Fr Patton said.

Since the pilgrims are gone from Syria, they are places the friars use to provide shelter for those running from the daily conflict in other parts of the country. The guest house close to the memorial of St Paul, where pilgrims used to stay, is now hosting refugees, he said. And the friars, even under danger, are providing food and any necessities to anyone who might need help.

Recently, the friars launched an Internet campaign which includes a video and social media component, using the hashtag #Syriafriars, asking for prayers as well as material help for the Franciscans trying to assist the local populations (www.myfran ciscan.org/syria).

“We help everybody,” said Fr Patton. “We don’t ask what is your religion when we help someone because we recognise in every person a living image of God and of Jesus who’s asking to be welcomed,” he said.

F

riars and nuns find themselves in desperate situations trying to help burgeoning populations such as that in Lattakiah, near the Mediterranean, where parish populations have doubled, as people run from conflict zones to areas of relative safety. The conflict has drained former Christian strongholds such as Aleppo.

Aleppo was once a very important city and known as the “second cradle” of Christianity, said Fr Patton, who recalls it had a Christian population anywhere from 250 000 to 300 000. These days, estimates say it

could be down to 40 000 or 30 000 Christians, he said.

Most have fled in the past five years, but many also have died there.

“Now there are unfortunately many funerals, also of children,” he said.

For the Christians who remain there, he said, it’s important that other Christians know of their suffering.

“They feel often abandoned by the other Christians,” he said. “They feel that many Christians are not in-

et for all the abundance of misery, there also is abundance of hope, not just in Syria but also in the Holy Land, said Fr Patton.

“I find hope in our schools, when I see children from different religions living together, becoming friends,” he said. “I find hope when I go to the shrine of Emmaus [in Quebebeh], in a small village in which there is only one Christian family and the others all are Muslims. And when there is the feast of St Cleophas, and a Muslim family pays the dinner for all the people present.”

There are countless stories in the region of collaborations among Jewish, Christians and Muslim teachers and students and their families, he said.

“I find hope when I have meetings with the religious leaders of the Greek Orthodox and the Armenians and we are able to find agreements, to do work together,” he said. “There are many, many signs of hope, but we need eyes to see the signs of hope.

If we are blind, we cannot see signs of hope.”

And the Franciscans are involved

in trying to build the bridges necessary to one day have lasting peace in the region, he said, and it starts with children.

“The first field is the field of education,” he said, adding that Franciscan schools have a mix of Christians, Muslims and other religions. “It’s an important experience of living together and we notice that in these schools the prejudice is reduced.”

When children learn to live together and become friends with people who hold different beliefs, their families, too, learn to hold different views, he said.

“If we do something to connect with the other people, if we do something to reduce the prejudice against Christians, we are working for peace,” Fr Patton said. “When they have an experience of Christian charity, they can change their minds on Christians.”

Fr Patton sees this type of peacebuilding as some of the most important types of work in the world.

He talks about the recent visit of Pope Francis to Sweden and the example in peacebuilding that he is setting. The Franciscans, following his lead, also have been involved in interreligious dialogue and cooperation.

“Franciscan friars are involved in interreligious dialogue with Jews and Muslims and other similar initiatives involving youth in the area, he said.

“And so this is good news,” he said. “We know there are also fanatics, but the only possibility to reduce the number of fanatics, I think, is to work to increase the number of open-minded people.”—CNS

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18

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

PEOPLE

Meet Paige, the ‘Belle’ of the ball Being the voice of Belle from Disney’s classic animated film Beauty And The Beast can help you book airline tickets, actress Paige O’Hara told MARK PATTISON.

I

F you were to meet Paige O’Hara in person, you might not give her a second glance. However, she’s had one mighty impressive film credit: the speaking and singing voice of Belle in the 1991 Disney animated classic Beauty and the Beast.

“They wanted people who could speak and sing,” Ms O’Hara recalled. “They wanted people who had been on Broadway.”

That fitted Ms O’Hara to a T. She had plenty of live theatrical experience, including on Broadway. It turned out that Howard Ashman, who wrote song lyrics for Beauty and the Beast, “liked my recording as Ellie in Show Boat, she said.

Five auditions later, she got the part.

She recorded her lines first, with the animation following. She used no vocal affectation for the voice of Belle.

“My voice is Belle’s voice,” she said. “They filmed all our recording sessions over two years,” Ms O’Hara added, noting that the camera often captured her brushing her hair away from her forehead—which became a signature gesture of Belle’s.

Seeing it all come together at advance screenings “was like magic”, she remembered.

Made on a budget of $25 million, the box office returns were a real beauty: $425 million, or 17

Paige O’Hara voiced the Disney character Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. times the original investment. asked, “You’re Belle, aren’t you?”

This resulted in Ms O’Hara, now Sometimes, Ms O’Hara said, 60, reprising her role at least ten when visiting sick children in a hostimes—and probably more often by pital, the kids could not quite beher estimation—for various Disney lieve she was Belle. projects. “It’s only been the last five “They’re expecting the animated years that I haven’t done Belle,” she character,” she added. I tell them to said. close their eyes and imagine.”

Although voicing an animated Hospital visits have been just character gives her some welcome part of the charity work for her and anonymity, the voice itself can be a her husband, Michael Piontek, who giveaway. She was trying to book a played the Beast in a Los Angeles flight over the phone when the air- stage musical adaptation of Beauty line customer service representative after the movie’s runaway success. asked: “Has anyone told you you ne would think that with such sound a lot like Belle?” a sparkling credit on her reWhen Ms O’Hara, who was using her married name—Piontek— sumé, Ms O’Hara might have reto book the tickets, revealed her ceived a slew of jobs. However, not middle name, the customer service long after the film came out, “both my parents got sick” and she moved agent replied: “I knew it!”

Then there was the time in the back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to supermarket, not long after Beauty help care for them; she recorded and the Beast was released, when a some Belle roles via phone for Disyoung boy approached her and ney during that period. Then, she

O

Emma Watson of the Harry Potter series, plays Belle in the new version of Beauty and the Beast. and Mr Piontek tried, unsuccess- she’s done that are among her fully, to have a baby. favourites.

As the decade drew to a close, Ms Of course, it wouldn’t be a O’Hara’s mother died. “I was very proper 25th anniversary without sad. It was a tough time for me. Los- some kind of marketing tie-in. Dising your mother stays with you,” ney has released a “combo pack” she said. with a Blu-ray disc and a DVD to A couple of months afterward, mark the anniversary.

Disney’s then-chairman, Michael On the discs, there’s also a trailer Eisner, called Ms O’Hara and asked for Disney’s live-action version of her if she would perform on Dis- Beauty and the Beast to be released ney’s Millennium Cruise. next year in cinemas.

“He got me singing again,” she Emma Watson of Harry Potter said of Mr Eisner. “That got me out fame plays Belle, while the beast is of my depression.” She was able to played by Dan Stevens, who starred put together a little 25-minute set in the television series Downton with husband Michael at the piano. Abbey. Other cast members include The couple now make their Kevin Kline, Audra McDonald, home in Las Vegas. She recently Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor, concluded a nine-year run perform- Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen ing on stage in Menopause: The Mu- and Josh Gad. sical. She’s also spent the last eight “I’m excited” about the live-acyears painting for Disney Fine Art, tion Beauty,” O’Hara said, “although and is ready to use her smartphone that’s not shared by all of my old to show Beauty and the Beast scenes cast mates.”—CNS

PERSONALITY

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

19

Catholic actor: Why I don’t do sex scenes Instantly recognisable with his blond hair and history of roles as the villain in many TV shows, and now star of the series Arrow, Neal McDonough is a committed Catholic. He told CArL KOzLOWSKI how one can be a Catholic in Hollywood.

Actor Neal McDonough is well-known from his roles in TV shows such as Suits, Desperate Housewives and Justified. He once declined a role worth $1 million because it required him to act in a love scene. He says he did so out of respect for his wife of 13 years, Ruvé, and their five children, two boys and three girls aged between 11 and two.

T

HERE are few actors in Hollywood brave enough to wear their Catholic faith on their sleeve and base their career decisions about the films and TV shows they will and won’t do on the morals they’ve been instilled with.

Jim Caviezel, who played Christ in The Passion of the Christ before becoming the star of the hit series Person of Interest, is one of the standouts.

But Neal McDonough, 50, is another staunchly Catholic actor who is making a splash in Tinseltown, with nonstop work in television including a regular role on the hit superhero show Arrow as villain Damien Darhk.

What’s even more remarkable about him, however, is that the married father of five’s strong standard of not performing sex scenes inspired him to walk away in 2010 from a $1 million payday for the show Scoundrels, drawing attention and admiration for his principles from those in show business as well as far beyond.

Now he’s the one of the stars of the new faith-driven movie Greater, in which he plays the real-life character of Marty Burlsworth, who instilled a passionate faith and unquenchable spirit in his younger brother Brandon.

Brandon went on to become a beloved college football player for the Arkansas Razorbacks despite being considered too short and too fat to play, setting an inspiring example for all when he made it all the way to the professional NFL— only to be killed in a car crash 11 days later.

The movie powerfully addresses his remarkable life and the way that his death also inspired others to greater faith and trust in God. Find out more by visiting www.greaterthemovie.com Your role as Marty Burlsworth in Greater sounds like a meaty and emotional role.

It really is. Marty is a typical big brother—loves Brandon, wants the best for him, razzes him a little bit throughout his life. But as much as Brandon looks up to Marty, Marty looks up to him, too—because he has such high character and commitment to all he does.

Particularly when it comes to his religious faith, Brandon’s is deep and consistent—and Marty admires that. Especially when he struggles with his own faith after Brandon dies.

Speaking of faith, you’re wellknown as a Christian in Hollywood for your strong Catholic faith. Did that influence your decision to star in a faith-based film like Greater?

My Catholic faith is central to who I am as a human being—not just as an actor—so it informs every decision I make, whether it’s deciding on a project or deciding on how to treat the guy who cuts me off in traffic. And, for the record, I don’t

get it right in either case every time!

I’m always on the lookout for projects with a strong moral and inspirational core—and Greater certainly qualifies there. It’s an entertaining, thought-provoking take on what it looks like to follow the path God lays out before you even when it has bumps and twists and turns.

You actually lost a role because you wouldn’t do the graphic love scenes that were demanded of you. That your Catholic convictions and your respect for your wife made you uncomfortable about the part.

(Laughs) Yes, it’s true that I don’t like to do—I won’t do—those kinds of scenes because of my desire to honour [wife] Ruvé.

One of the reasons I take my fair share of villain roles is because very rarely are villains required to do love scenes. I’m just more comfortable as a man and a husband when that’s not part of the job.

Speaking of villains, you were the chief bad guy on last season’s Arrow, the series based on the Green Arrow comic books. You played Damien Darhk, who was very dark indeed. How much fun was that show to do?

Well, it’s still fun to do—I’m film-

ing the upcoming season now and it’s a delight. He is really a rich, hammy villain—very much in the brilliantly crazy mould of other comic-book bad guys like Lex Luthor and even the Joker, without the clown makeup.

I mean, who doesn’t want to be in a superhero series or film? I’ve been in two now, and it’s a dream come true for every actor who was a kid who loved comic books.

Can you give us any details on the new season of Arrow?

You know a good villain never gives away his plot. You’re going to have to tune in like everybody else.

Let’s go back to Greater. Were you aware of Brandon’s story before the film?

I knew about the tragedy of his death, of course. And about what a remarkable story he was as a player.

But I didn’t know his backstory, the struggles his mom went through as a single parent and the obstacles they had to overcome.

Nor did I know about Brandon’s strong faith—God was the centre of his life and his character. In fact, Chris Severio says he was so moved

by Brandon’s faith and how it helped him be the best he could be that he, Chris, was actually inspired to grow closer to God in his own faith just by playing him in the movie.

What do you hope audiences walk away with from the film?

First and foremost, I hope they’re truly entertained. This is a movie of very big ideas and themes but also great fun and humour. There is some excellent, exciting football action in this movie, along with lots of solid family drama.

And there’s plenty of humour, too, in Marty’s relationship with Brandon, but also as we see Brandon expanding his social skills as he gets more and more accomplished at football.

But I also hope audiences leave encouraged—reminded that when hard times do come, and they will, that God has a purpose in them.

And we can actually be blessed through the pain if we follow him through it.—CNA

Where do you know that guy from?

N

eal McDonough has appeared in many TV shows over the years, usually in temporary parts, often as a villain.

The son of Irish immigrants, he had his first credited roles in 1991 in episodes of the TV shows China Beach and Quantum Leap, but came to greater public attention in the 2001 World War II mini-series Band of Brothers as Lt Buck Compton.

He had starring roles in Boomtown (2002-03) and in the single season of Medical Investigation, as a prosecutor and doctor respectively.

But the big breakthrough came with his 24 episodes as an increasingly sinister husband in Season 5 of Desperate Housewives.

In 2012 he played sadistic gangster Robert Quayle in Justified, and three years later another cold-eyed mobster in the well-received but short-lived 1960s crime series Public Morals.

In 2014 he played a police chief in Mob City, and presently portrays comic book villain Damien Darhk in Arrow.

His most high-profile turn recently was that of manipulative prosecutor Sean Cahill in seasons 4 and 6 of the popular lawyer show Suits.

McDonough is a very public Catholic, but has played a priest on TV only once, as the flawed Mgr Hugh McTeal in a 2011 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

And McDonough portrays Jesus in The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament Bible, a dramatised 22-hour, celebrityvoiced audio version of the New Testament in the Catholic Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

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The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS

TRE FONTANE GUESTHOUSE

The Sisters of the Precious Blood are once again running the Tre Fontane Guesthouse in Mariannhill, near Pinetown, Durban.

We would like to invite Confirmation groups and any other groups to utilise our facilities.

Please see www.trefontane.co.za for more details or email us at guesthouse@trefontane.co.za or telephone 031 700-2059

COMMUNITY PICS

The marriage of Mr and Mrs Binza was officiated by Fr Matthew A Ledo AJ of St Raphael parish in All Saints church in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

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Children from Our Lady Of Loreto parish in Kempton Park, Gauteng, performed their annual nativity play during the second week of Advent. The play was directed by Esther Gough.

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Zuko Ntshikila of Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg won an iPhone in the college’s raffle draw. Portraying the true Marist family spirit, Zuko gave the phone to his older brother, Lumko.

(2-3 weeks’ delivery time) Phone Maggie Pillay 083 945 3631 Postal address: 9 Granadilla Crescent, Newholmes, Pietermaritzburg, 3201 gabphill@telkomsa.net

Send your photos to

pics@scross.co.za Young people from Finetown, Lawley and Ennerdale in Johannesburg, who form part of the Salesian Youth Movement, had a recollection day.

Fr Emmanuel Vattakunnel SDB led them through the understanding of Advent.

Wishing our Catholic School Communities and all in the Catholic Education network a restful holiday and a Blessed Christmas

Twelve candidates were confirmed at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Vereeniging. Pictured with the candidates are Archbishop Buti Tlhagale and Fr Emmanuel Dim SMA.

Give your child the gift of a Catholic Education Visit www.cso.za.org

Do you feel called to the Franciscan way of life?

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The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CLASSIFIEDS Sr Teresa Matson PSN

N

AZARETH Sister Teresa Helena Matson died on November 25 at the age of 88.

Born in Manchester, England, on February 15, 1928, she was the fourth-oldest in a family of eight.

Teresa entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Nazareth in 1952 in the motherhouse in Hammersmith, London. Immediately she trained as a teacher.

In 1957 she was transferred to South Africa where she taught in schools in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

When the Nazareth House schools closed in South Africa, Sr Teresa returned to England for a while to continue teaching in Nazareth House schools there.

Sr Teresa came back to South Africa in 1983 to teach in St Augustine’s school in Port Elizabeth, CBC Kimberley, and then the two

Dominican schools of St Agnes and St Mary’s in Cape Town.

Her three great loves in life were her religious vocation, and her gifts of teaching and music.

She was an accomplished musician and taught many of her pupils to play instruments.

In Port Elizabeth and in Cape Town she made records and a CD of the children’s choirs. Sr Teresa also composed Masses and hymns for special occasions.

She shared her musical talents with all ages. The elderly residents loved to sing all the old tunes she played, some wartime songs, and also songs from the Shirley Temple films. She was also an accomplished tap-dancer and was always willing to entertain the Sisters with her nimble feet.

After retiring from teaching, Sr Teresa compiled a book of the

Births • First Communion • Confirmation • Engagement/Marriage • Wedding anniversary • Ordination jubilee • Congratulations • Deaths • In memoriam • Thanks • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday Accommodation • Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Others Please include payment (r1,60 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

IN MEMORIAM

history of the Sisters of Nazareth in Southern Africa.

She spent hours capturing all the details of past children and elderly residents from the old registers, dating back as far as the late 1800s.

Sr Teresa’s health gradually deteriorated, and she died very peacefully on the morning of Friday, November 25.

Sr Margaret Craig PSN

Your prayer to cut and collect

A Christmas Prayer Moonless darkness stands between. Past, the Past, no more be seen! But the Bethlehem star may lead me to the sight of Him Who freed me from the self that I have been. Make me pure, Lord: You are Holy; Make me meek, Lord: You were lowly; Now beginning, and always, now begin, on Christmas day.

Amen.

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: December 23: Bishop Graham Rose of Dundee on his 65th birthday December 26: Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg on his 69th birthday

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 738. ACROSS: 1 Uncles, 4 Amuser, 9 Christmas crib, 10 Insular, 11 Capri, 12 Mitre, 14 Cloud, 18 Linus, 19 Has-been, 21 Choir of angels, 22 Steams, 23 Seated. DOWN: 1 Urchin, 2 Christian love, 3 Easel, 5 Musical, 6 Scripture test, 7 Rabbis, 8 Smart, 13 Rostrum, 15 Flocks, 16 Chaff, 17 Unused, 20 Singe.

CLASSIFIEDS

Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday December 25, Nativity of Christ Midnight Mass: Isaiah 9:2-7 (1-6), Psalms 96:13, 11-13, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-14 Mass at dawn: Isaiah 62:11-12, Psalms 97:1, 6, 11-12, Titus 3:4-7, Luke 2:15-20 Mass during the day: Isaiah 52:7-10, Psalms 98:1-6, Hebrews 1:1-6, John 1:1-18 Monday December 26, St Stephen, First Martyr Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59, Psalms 31:3-4, 6, 8, 1617, Matthew 10:17-22 Tuesday December 27, St John the Evangelist 1 John 1:1-4, Psalms 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12, John 20:2-8 Wednesday December 28, Holy Innocents 1 John 1:5--2:2, Psalms 124:2-5, 7-8, Matthew 2:13-18 Thursday December 29, St Thomas Becket 1 John 2:3-11, Psalms 96:1-3, 5-6, Luke 2:2235 Friday December 30, Holy Family Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, Psalms 128:1-5, Colossians 3:12-21 or Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 Saturday December 31, St Sylvester 1 John 2:18-21, Psalms 96:1-2, 11-13, John 1:1-18 Sunday January 1, Mary, Mother of God Numbers 6:22-27, Psalms 67:2-3, 5-6, 8, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21

NEISH—Maureen (née Shephard). Passed away December 19, 2015. She and our father Walter, our Gran Dorothy Shephard and Aunt Barbara Morrison are lovingly remembered and constantly missed by Alison and Jennifer.

NuNAN—Patricia Mary.

01.05.1937 to 20.12.2012.

An angel in heaven. “We miss you now, our hearts are sore. As time goes by we miss you more. Always in our thoughts. Forever in our hearts. RIP. We love and miss you so.”

MuRDOCH—Michael. Died on December 20, 2012. We miss him especially at this time of the year. May God keep him in his care. Ilona, family and friends.

SNELL—Quintin. December 25, 2012. Our dear angel, it’s almost four years since your death but we still struggle with the loss. Mom still gets teary eyes, missing you a lot, and will never forget the time and date.

Loved you then, now and always. Remember, you will never be forgotten. RIP our son.

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ever and ever.

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 where you are, Mother of God. Queen of heaven and earth I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power, O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. “Say this prayer for three consecutive days and then publish. Special thanks to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Ss Jude and Daniel for prayers answered. Anna.

THANkS for prayers answered—Blessed Virgin Mary, Sacred Heart, St Jude. Alix.

THANkS to the Infant Jesus of Prague for hearing my prayers. Loving and merciful Lord I will praise Your name always. Leela.

PRAYERS

PERSONAL

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THANkS be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, For all the benefits thou hast won for me, For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, May I know thee more clearly, Love thee more dearly, And follow thee more nearly, For

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21

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The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd. Address: PO Box 2372, Cape Town, 8000. Tel: (021) 465 5007 Fax: (021) 465 3850 www.scross.co.za

Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, News Editor: Mandla Zibi (m.zibi@scross.co.za), Editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za), Advertising: Yolanda Timm (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Michelle Perry (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za) Directors: R Shields (Chair), J O’Leary (Vice-chair), Archbishop S Brislin, S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, Sr H Makoro CPS, J Mathurine, R Riedlinger, G Stubbs, Z Tom Editorial Advisory Board: Fr Chris Chatteris SJ, Kelsay Correa, Dr Nontando Hadebe, Prof Derrick Kourie, Claire Mathieson, Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu, Palesa Ngwenya, Sr Dr Connie O’Brien I.Sch, Kevin Roussel, Fr Paul Tatu CSS

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

the

Mary, Mother of God: January 1 Readings: Numbers 6:22-27, Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21

S outher n C ross

Prepare for God’s plan

Nicholas King SJ

ends with a lovely prayer: “May God bless us, and may they fear him, all the ends of the earth.” Our focus has always to be on God, and on Jesus.

The same is true of Sunday’s second reading. Jesus is described here as “born of a woman, born under the Law”. This is part of Paul’s argument that God’s gift is not in any way deserved by us, nor can our “keeping the Law” ever be a matter of “gaining merit”; what counts is simply having faith in what God did in Jesus.

The point here is that God acted first, sending his son to be one of us, and “born of a woman” simply emphasises that Jesus really was a human being; and that is what gives Our Lady’s motherhood its undeniable importance. That is what has made it possible for us, breathed upon by the Holy Spirit, to hear the cry in our hearts of “Abba Father”, so that through no merit of ours we are sons and daughters of God, no longer slaves, but children of the Father, and therefore heirs.

The Gospel for next Sunday is one that you will have heard if you were at the dawn Mass on Christmas Day; but it is no bad thing to

God always tells the truth.

There is one further detail in this story, however, which we shall do well to remember as we contemplate the mystery of Mary the Mother of God; and it is Mary’s response to this event, which will be repeated later in the same chapter, when Jesus goes missing on a pilgrimage and is recaptured in the Jerusalem Temple, three days later.

Here Luke simply comments: “Mary was keeping all these words, comparing them in her heart.” This is really the only thing that she does in this story; and what is happening here? Presumably Mary is now exercising her motherhood by reflecting on this extraordinary chain of events, and contemplating the God who is undoubtedly at work in what has happened to her.

Our task, in response, as the old year turns into the new year, is to gaze on the mystery of her motherhood, and to “compare all these things in our hearts”, so that we, like Mary, may in the coming year do whatever it is that God may ask of us.

N

EXT Sunday, we celebrate the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. From early in our era, Christians knew that they had to get Mary right, not for her sake (she seeks nothing for herself), but in order to be able to talk about her Son, fully human but also fully divine.

So this is a feast that is all about God, and that, no doubt, is why the first reading is that beautiful priestly blessing, how Aaron and his priestly descendants are to bless the children of Israel: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.”

We have the same idea in the harvest-song that is our psalm for the feast: “May God be gracious to us and bless us, may God let his face shine upon us”; and if that happens, then there will be consequences, for we hear the refrain: “May the peoples praise you, God, may all the peoples praise you.”

What has all this to do with the Mother of God? Simply that the plan of God is that “all the peoples” should praise God, as Mary and her Son always did, and that this is only possible because of what Mary has done, in agreeing to be the Mother of God. The psalm

hear this excellent story for a second time.

It starts with the shepherds, fresh from the angel’ message, who “went in a hurry” (and we may recall that in the previous chapter of the Gospel Mary went “in a hurry” from Nazareth, after the Annunciation, to the up-country of Judea, to visit Elizabeth, who is also unexpectedly pregnant). That is what we are supposed to do when the Lord speaks to us.

Then we watch as the shepherds find everything precisely as the angel had told them: “Mary and Joseph and the child, lying in the feeding-trough”. Then they play their important part of telling everyone “about the word that had been spoken to them about this child”. This has an effect, of course, in that “all who heard it were amazed about the things spoken to them by the shepherds”.

The point is that God is at work, and “amazement” is the likely result of such work, according to Luke.

Afterwards the shepherds return, presumably to see what might be left of their abandoned flocks; and they are “glorifying and praising God for all that they have seen and heard—just as it had been spoken to them”.

Plunge headlong into the pudding

T

happy: “Do not be afraid to be happy, for ever since I [God] wept, joy is the standard of living that is really more suitable than the anxiety and grief of those who think they have no hope.

“I no longer go away from the world, even if you do not see me now.

“I am there. It is Christmas. Light the candles. They have more right to exist than all the darkness. It is Christmas.

Christmas that lasts forever.”

At Christmas, the crib trumps the cross, even as the cross does not fully disappear.

How do the cross and the crib fit together? Does Calvary cast a permanent shadow on Bethlehem? Should Christmas disturb us more than console us? Is our simple joy at Christmas somehow missing the real point?

No. Joy is the meaning of Christmas.

Our carols have it right. At Christmas, God gives us a special permission to be happy, though that must be carefully understood.

There is no innate contradiction between joy and suffering, between being happy and undergoing all the pain that life hands us.

J

oy is not to be identified with pleasure and with the absence of suffering in our lives. Genuine joy is a constant that remains with us throughout all of our experiences in life, including our pain and suffering.

Jesus promised us “a joy that no one can take away from you”. Clearly that means something that doesn’t disappear,

Conrad

HE Gospel stories about the birth of Jesus are not a simple retelling of the events that took place then, at the stable in Bethlehem.

In his commentaries on the birth of Jesus, the renowned scripture scholar Fr Raymond Brown highlighted that these narratives were written long after Jesus had already been crucified and had risen from the dead, and that they are coloured by what his death and resurrection mean.

At one level, they are as much stories about Jesus’ passion and death as they are about his birth.

When the Gospel writers looked back at the birth of Jesus through the prism of the resurrection they saw in his birth already the pattern for both his active ministry and his death and resurrection: God comes into the world and some believe and accept him and others hate and reject him.

For some, his person gives meaning, for others it causes confusion and anger.

There is an adult message about Christ in Christmas, and the meaning of Christmas is to be understood as much by looking at the cross as by looking at the crib.

Hardly the stuff of our Christmas lights, carols, cribs and Santa.

And yet, these too have their place. Fr Karl Rahner, not naïve to what Fr Brown asserts, argued that, even so, Christmas is still about happiness and the simple joy of children captures the meaning of Christmas more accurately than any adult cynicism.

At Christmas, Fr Rahner contended, God gives us a special permission to be

Sunday Reflections

Southern Crossword #738

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

because we do get sick, have loved ones die, are betrayed by a spouse, lose our job, are rejected by a friend, are subject to physical pain, or are enduring emotional distress.

None of us will escape pain and suffering. Joy must be able to co-exist with these.

Indeed, it is meant to grow deeper through the experiences of pain and suffering. We are meant to be women and men of joy, even as we live in pain.

That’s a colouring, taken from their understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which the Gospel writers insert into their narratives about his birth.

But, of course, that is not what children see when they get caught up in the excitement of Christmas and when they look at the Christ-child in the crib. Their joy is still innocent, healthily protected by their naiveté, still awaiting disillusion, but real nonetheless.

The naïve joy of a child is real and the temptation to rewrite and recolour it in the light of the disillusionment of later years is wrong. What was real was real. The fond memories we have of anticipating and celebrating Christmas as children are not invalidated when Santa has been deconstructed.

Christmas invites us still, as John Shea poetically puts it, “to plunge headlong into the pudding”. And despite all the disillusionment within our adult lives, Christmas still offers us—depressed adults—that wonderful invitation.

Even when we no longer believe in Santa, and all the cribs, lights, carols, cards, colourful wrapping-paper, and gifts of Christmas no longer bring the same thrill, the same invitation still remains: Christmas invites us to be happy, and that demands of us an elemental asceticism, a fasting from adult cynicism, a discipline of joy that can hold the cross and the crib together so as to be able to live in a joy that no one, and no tragedy, can take from us.

This will allow us, at Christmas, like children, to plunge headlong into the pudding.

Christmas gives, both children and adults, permission to be happy.

ACROSS 1. Are they guilty of nepotism? (6) 4. Seamus errs partly as an entertainer (6) 9. At the Nativity secretly copy the Nativity model (9,4) 10. Narrow-minded on an island (7) 11. Isle held by Africa prince (5) 12. Cover for the bishop (5) 14. It formed a pillar by day (Ex 13) (5) 18. Future pope mentioned in 2 Tim 4 (5) 19. He or she is now history (3-4) 21. Heavenly chorus (5,2,6) 22. Hot vapours (6) 23. Position of the shepherds all on the ground (6)

DOWN 1. Ragged child from the sea? (6) 2. Char is violent but turns to perfect charity (9,4) 3. Support for the artist (5) 5. Melodious sounding stage production (7) 6. Bible knowledge quiz (9,4) 7. Leaders in Judaism (6) 8. Feel pain of being clever (5) 13. Strum or change conductor’s platform (7) 15. Shepherds watched them in 23 ac (6) 16. It will burn in the fire (Mt 3) (5) 17. Not accustomed to what’s brand new (6) 20. Superficial burn (5) Solutions on page 21

CHURCH CHUCKLE

D

ID you hear about the St Michael’s Primary School nativity play?

Two children were dressed as Mary and Joseph, and were on their way to the inn in Bethlehem.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stage, a lad in a shepherd’s outfit was on his cellphone, calling the inn to make a reservation.

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CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

23

Making New Year’s resolutions? Then remember Christmas Does making New Year’s resolutions work for you?

PETE SHEEHAN has some ideas that may help you— especially if we keep the meaning of Christmas at the forefront.

L

IKE New Year’s Eve, New Year’s resolutions begin with great hopes but often end in disappointment.

The question of what your New Year’s resolution will be arises each year with the inevitability of widespread hangovers on New Year’s Day. Many answer with enthusiasm—citing hopes to lose weight, get better organised, start exercising, save money, spend time with family or improve one’s marriage, perform volunteer work, pray or go to church regularly.

Others respond: “What’s the point?” recalling past failures through that annual ritual.

According to one study in the US, 45% of people still regularly make New Year’s resolutions, while 38% never do so. Seventy-five percent reported maintaining the resolution through the first week,

tailing off to 64% after a month, resolutions for the year—failing, and 46% after six months. and feeling guilty when the resoluOn the other hand, the same tions get broken—people should study found that those who make make resolutions for that particuexplicit resolutions are ten times lar day. Take a walk that day. Don’t more likely to achieve their goals. smoke a cigarette today. Read the The problem of keeping New Bible today. Write a letter for some Year’s resolutions is understand- worthy cause or help out at a soup able—trying to change long-estab- kitchen that day. lished habits. Reversing years of Day-by-day challenge behaviour is difficult, especially if There is undoubtedly wisdom the behaviour is deeply ingrained there. Alcoholics Anonymous and psychologically.

Often people don’t understand other groups that have adapted the struggles of those who are try- the 12-step programme, use the motto, “One day at a ing to change. time”, resolving not to I’m thinking of a drink, take illegal drugs, counsellor and youth reversing gamble or overeat that minister—now a tall, years of day. fit looking figure—who People in groups like was once afflicted with behaviour that have a much morbid obesity. People higher—if not perfect— would ask: “Why don’t is difficult, success rate. Psychologyou just go on a diet?”

Of course, he had especially if ically it is a lot easier to commit to avoiding tried that many times unsuccessfully. Yet peo- the behaviour self-destructive behaviour for that one day. ple had no clue as to is deeply Though I think that how difficult it was for is a great tactic, I doubt him. ingrained. that it could succeed Only when a priest without an underlying took a personal interest and developed a relationship with commitment to keep piling up him was he able to effectively con- those daily successes.

Which is why I think that those front his disordered eating habits.

A Methodist minister I know who make resolutions apparently suggests that rather than making tend to be much more successful

New Year’s resolutions are difficult to keep, but by adopting the right approach, they can work—especially if we let Jesus help us. in making positive change.

Still, I find that a both/and approach works better than an either/or commitment to the larger goal as well as those practical targets and more manageable steps.

It’s important to be smart. Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous also have support programmes, which should be part of any effort for positive change.

That might also mean other kinds of help—reading a book, psychological counselling, diet counselling, a formal exercise programme, anger management or spiritual direction. A couple wanting to improve their marriage would do well to consider Marriage Encounter or Retrouvaille.

When I wanted to enhance my spiritual life, I found that membership in some kind of prayer group, whether charismatic prayer or another group, can offer a lot.

The other lesson from Alcoholics Anonymous is the importance of calling upon our faith.

The 12 Steps they use include a personal acknowledgement that

one is powerless over one’s addiction or compulsion, and making a conscious decision to turn one’s life and will over to a “higher power”. God as a person has come to know and understand him, asking God to remove the defect in their character.

Not everyone is trying to overcome an addiction or that deep a compulsion, but my experience is that asking God’s help—even as one struggles and sometimes fails—is essential to the long-term process of changing my behaviour for the better.

“If God does not build the house,” the psalmist observes, “in vain do the masons toil.”

Remember, before we face the New Year, we celebrate Christmas—our belief that Jesus, the Word of God, became flesh and dwelt among us, and continues to be with us as we face our struggles and try to follow him. n Pete Sheehan is the editor of The Catholic Exponent, newspaper of the diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, in which this article first appeared.

24

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CHRISTMAS

Consumerism vs Christmas rampant consumerism and greed will lead to our downfall, so we should fix our gaze on the newborn Saviour in Bethlehem, argues BISHOP ARTHUR SERRATELLI.

I

N a rather clever social experiment last year, prankster Coby Persin turned the spotlight on human behaviour and motivation.

He taped 50 dollar bills to his suit, and on a bright November day he walked around Manhattan for an hour and a half. With his hands, he held up a sign that said: “Take What You Need.”

Some people just passed him by, but not everybody (see the video at www.bit.ly/1PW7CxI).

A well-dressed businessman stopped and took some money.

When questioned if he needed it, he responded that he was taking it because it was free. Then a woman sporting a Louis Vuitton purse grabbed $18 for herself. When questioned if she needed it, she said: “I have a nail appointment.”

Clearly neither had the need to take the money. But, they did anyway.

Desiring what is needed to satisfy the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, safety and education is both a necessary and healthy attitude. But many people desire and buy things that they really do not need. They buy on impulse, not keeping in mind their genuine needs but acting on impulse just to satiate their desire for more. This constant craving to acquire more goods beyond one’s needs is the social disease of consumerism.

Consumerism knows no class distinctions. Some affluent individuals ostentatiously flaunt their wealth.

They buy the most expensive watches, frequently go to the best restaurants, and constantly upgrade their homes and furniture to show others how much they are worth.

Even those with little wealth do the same on a lesser scale. They buy the newest large TV screens and the latest cellphones. In almost every case, the brand name matters more than the bargain or quality of the items purchased. Why is such consumerism so prevalent today?

Our culture conditions us to measure our personal worth in terms of our material possessions. The more we have, the more we are worth as a person.

A high style of living, so some think, guarantees us social standing.

Thus, many are obsessed with the desire to have more and more of the best. They can never have too much money in the process. Thus, it is no surprise that many people spend more time shopping than socialising.

The inordinate desire to acquire more and more things that we do not need but want has a name. It is “greed”. And, where greed is king, society cannot survive. Just think of ancient Rome.

T

he historian Edward Gibbon dates the Fall of Rome to September 4, 476AD when the Germanic chieftain Odoacer deposed the Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus.

Other historians date it to the year 410AD when Alaric and the Visigoths breached the walls of Rome. Still others speak of Constantine’s defeat over Maxentius in 312 at the Milvian Bridge as the end of ancient Rome.

But, the truth lies elsewhere.

It was not one event that brought Rome down. It was not the cry Barbari ad portas (Barbarians at the gates) that signalled Rome’s collapse.

Rather, it was the gradual moral breakdown within the very walls of ancient Rome. Once prosperity had lulled its citizens into thinking that their safety was secured, they foolishly gave in to their selfish instincts and become more and more greedy.

In the first century AD, the Roman satirical poet Juvenal already noticed the greed. He spoke of how Rome’s politicians satisfied the greed of the masses to rise to power. He coined the expression “bread and circuses” to capture their ploy. Doling out food to fill the belly and entertainment to distract the mind allowed the politicians to rule as they wished.

In the meantime, many neglected their civic responsibilities. The greed of many dulled their consciences to wider moral concerns and led to Rome’s demise. Could not the same end come to our society?

The world of advertising preaches the gospel of consumerism. Its evangelists are the young, attractive product-peddling models that grace our TV screens and billboards, convincing us to buy what we do not need.

Their sweet-sounding voices surround us, seducing us to overvalue things. They excite our craving to have more and more and allure us to give in to greed.

There is an emptiness within us that cannot be filled by things. There is a deep longing to be accepted that cannot be satisfied by accumulating and acquiring more and more possessions. Yielding to greed only makes us want more. Since we are made for God, only God can fill our emptiness.

“The Three Kings in the Transkei”, an acrylic on wood by Eduard Bachmann in Sacred Heart church in Qoqodala, Queenstown diocese.

True contentment is not found in the palace of a king but in the manger that migrant parents borrowed for their newborn son.

In Bethlehem, Jesus himself becomes “our daily bread” that fills us with joy. Welcoming him into our hearts and sharing him with others enriches us beyond the paltry pleas-

ures of this passing world and brings peace and prosperity to our land.

Christmas, not consumerism, is the answer to our deepest longings.—CNA n Bishop Serratelli is the bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, and chairman of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy.

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CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

25

Israeli Jews join in the Christmas spirit In Israeli cities, Jews show an increase in interest and acceptance of Christmas, as JUDITH SUDILOVSKY reports.

people who are open to learning about the other without losing their own identity,” he said. “I don’t know where this is going or who will have the upper hand, but there is a large majority [of people] who have good will or really don’t care. [But] in an atmosphere of fear, a lot of power is given to the marginal groups.

“If the right political leader came along, they would find a lot of support.”

O

N Christmas Eve last year, the entrance to the West Jerusalem YMCA was decked out in colourful lights against the night sky, and a Christmas tree sparkling with ornaments stood in the lobby.

Jewish Israelis and international visitors, guests at the YMCA’s popular restaurant, stopped to take pictures in front of the tree.

Nearby, the YMCA’s auditorium was packed with mainly Jewish Israelis who had come to listen to a concert of Christmas music.

A group of secular rabbinical students from the centre of the country, who had come to experience Christmas in Jerusalem, followed their guide through the building to hear about Christmas traditions.

A little later, a smaller group of Jewish teen nature scouts took a quick glimpse at the tree as they rushed to be on time from the Christmas Mass at the nearby Italian consulate.

“It is interesting to see different customs,” said 15-year-old Dvir Sagury of Jerusalem.

His friend Harel Guttel, 15, said Israelis have some inkling about the Muslim Arabs living among them, but with Christians a tiny minority in Israel, there is very little opportunity to come in contact with their traditions.

“I’d like to see what [are] the tra-

R Galit Oren, Tali Khanin and Zohar Kaplan wear special glasses that make the lights multiply on the Christmas tree in the lobby of the YMCA in Jerusalem. (Photo: Debbie Hill/CNS) ditions are of another religion, see the prayers,” he said.

The scene was a far cry from the one a few weeks earlier when a handful of members of the group Lehava, led by the anti-Christian demagogue Rabbi Bentzi Gopstein, demonstrated against a Christmas bazaar held at the YMCA, calling it a “murder of Jewish souls”. They held signs demanding the “impure ones” to leave the country. In an op-ed piece in a religious newspaper, Rabbi Gopstein later called Christians “bloodsucking vampires”.

F

rom the West Jerusalem restaurant displaying a Christmas tree to Jewish children cajoling their parents to decorate at Christmastime, to groups like Lehava, Jewish Israelis are extremely divided when it comes to Christmas, said Fr David Neuhaus,

patriarchal vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel.

“Israeli society is becoming more and more divided on every single issue, including this issue,” the South African-born Jesuit said.

“Some people are terrified of a kind of obscuring of the boundaries, and we have Rabbi Gopstein saying terrible things, which elicits a contrary reaction. We had a number of rabbis and Israeli Jews coming to Mass at our parishes and who are open” to seeing symbols and learning about Christmas.

He said others are happy to embrace the outward trappings of the holidays with the tree and the decorations because they are pretty, but they are not very interested in learning about the significance of the holiday.

“What interests us more are the

abbi Sivan Maas, 57, who was heading the group of secular rabbis for the evening, said she felt there is increasing interest and acceptance of seeing the symbols of Christmas in public spaces.

With their wide exposure now to Christmas on the Internet and in the media, Israelis like the feeling of being cosmopolitan and fashionable, she said. Many even like to travel abroad specifically at this time to see the decorations in their full glory and hit some of the Christmas sales.

“It is more the fun of [Christmas], not so much the message,” she said.

“I think it is a very beautiful holiday, and I think that as a country we don’t give enough room for the holidays of the other traditions that live here,” said Yuval Moran, 21, who accompanied her mother on the rabbi’s tour.

Ms Moran, from the almost completely Jewish city of Kfar Saba, said she did not even know when Christmas was until two years ago.

“In mixed cities like Jerusalem and Haifa, people are more exposed to it. I didn’t know what the tree symbolised. It’s not that I am celebrating their holiday, I am joining them in their celebration,” she said.

Her mother, Galit Oren, 49, said that although she had always loved

the decorations and lights of Christmas, she felt the need to delve deeper into the significance of the holiday.

“It’s important to know about the traditions of the people who live with us,” she said.

In their Jerusalem living room, Ella Bolton-Laor, 15, and her 11-yearold sister Emily adjusted the lights on their small Christmas tree. It was the second year that Ella spearheaded the Christmas decorating, including in her bedroom.

A classmate is the daughter of a foreign worker from the Philippines and celebrates Christmas, so she and another friend decided to put up decorations in their own homes. Ella’s father took her to Jerusalem’s Old City to buy Christmas ornaments.

“I like the way it looks with all the lights and smells, and it is my mom’s birthday. It’s winter time,” she said.

Emily said she first started getting interested in Christmas from YouTube, where families posted their Christmas videos.

“I wanted to see what kids really get for Christmas. It looked like kind of fun, and [the decorations] give me a feeling of having my family all around me,” she said. Her interest led her to doing a school project on the significance of Christmas two years ago.

Tamar Herman, 63, travelled to Jerusalem from the coastal town of Netanya over the Christmas weekend. She said attending the YMCA Christmas was about making a statement against the increasing extremism she has noticed.

“I came here especially to hear the bells” at the end of the concert, she said. “The whole world is becoming more fanatical, and I hope that in my own way, I am doing something to counter that.”—CNS

Season’s greetings and best wishes for the New Year.

ǁǁǁ͘ŶŽǀƵƐ͘ŚŽůĚŝŶŐƐͬƉƌŝŶƟŶŐ

26

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CHRISTMAS

Co-inventor of Muppets staged puppet Nativity Play With her husband Jim, the late Jane Henson was central in the creation of muppets such as Miss Piggy, Kermit and the Cookie Monster. Later, the Catholic staged a puppet Nativity Play. MARY REZAC spoke about it to the man who helped stage it.

M

OST people know the late Jim Henson as the man who brought the world the beloved comedic puppet characters known as the Muppets: Kermit the Frog, his on-again, off-again diva girlfriend Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, the Cookie Monster and Big Bird, to name just a few.

But most people aren’t familiar with Jim’s wife Jane, the co-creator of the Muppets—and a Catholic.

For years, Jane worked side by side with Jim, creating and performing their various shows since their teenage years. As the Muppet project grew into TV shows and movies— first with Sesame Street, then The Muppet Show, later The Muppet Movie—the characters became global household names.

“People don’t know Jane Henson,” said Sean Keohane, a puppeteer

Mary has a little boy in Jane Henson's Nativity Story, a puppet play developed by Jane Henson, the late widow of Muppets pioneer Jim Henson.

The late Jane Henson and (right) Sean Keohane, her collaborator in developing a puppet Nativity Play that has been televised and staged in churches throughout the US. who worked with Jane on her later puppet Nativity show.

“Everybody knows Jim Henson, but they don’t know that he was married and there were two people back there in the beginning—it was those two for 20, 25 years”, until Jim’s death at only 53 in 1990.

When the Henson family started growing in the 1970s, Jane retired from puppet- or muppeteering to raise the Hensons’ five children.

After her children had grown and Jim had died, Jane still had an unfulfilled dream: she wanted to create a puppet show that conveyed the Gospel message: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” “Since she was a little kid, she had

loved Nativity scenes, the little creche figures under the Christmas tree,” said Mr Keohane, who worked with Jane as a writer, director and puppeteer for her Nativity show.

“She said, OK, this is the show that I want to create, this is on my bucket list, I want to do the nativity story with puppets, so she combined those things she loved,” he recalled.

Puppeteer for Disney Mr Keohane himself had loved the Muppets as a child and grew up to become a puppeteer with Disney.

After he left, he started creating his own puppet shows for adults. That’s when Jane Henson and her daughter Heather attended one of his shows, about 15 years ago.

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It was then that Jane started recruiting Mr Keohane to create the Nativity show with her—he was the only other puppeteering Catholic she knew who was writing puppet shows. He would write, and she would work with the Henson puppet shop to create the characters.

“Jane had said to me, I don’t want the script to sound like…a New York guy from the Bronx wrote it; I want it to sound like the Bible,” he said.

She also didn’t want the characters to look like traditional Muppets, but rather like the Nativity figures brought to life.

They based the play on the styles of liturgical drama performed in the Middle Ages in Europe during the Easter season, which were sometimes performed as puppet shows—though they were eventually kicked out of the churches themselves and onto the steps or the town squares to be performed.

“That’s the tradition we’re going back to,” Mr Keohane said. “One hundred years ago, you would go to Little Italy in New York City and you’d go to a marionette theatre, and it was the feast of the Assumption, and the Virgin Mary would be a marionette that would be taken up on a cloud into heaven by the puppet strings.”

In fact, the word “marionette” comes from this tradition, and translates as “little Little Mary”.

At first, Jane didn’t have grand visions for the scope of her play. She lived next to a convent in Connecticut, and she just wanted to perform the show with Mr Keohane for the sisters, and maybe a few families.

But the show grew, and in 2009, the show had its first major debut at St James cathedral in Orlando, Florida, where Mr Keohane lived.

From there, they toured around churches and schools in the area— some Catholic, and some not.

A few years later, on April 2, 2013, Jane died from cancer. Shortly thereafter, her Nativity show was picked up by the CBS television network for a Christmas Eve special.

After adding more puppets and adjusting the set for television, the show made its TV premier live from St Paul the Apostle Catholic church in New York, with the well-known presenter Regis Philbin narrating the show in between concert music.

When the show ended, the Henson Foundation approved the show for additional tours.

“I think this is an amazing opportunity—you have a Henson, someone from this very talented family who’s Catholic, who created this show about: ‘God so loved the world that he gave it his only Son,’” Mr Keohane said.

“She said, OK, I’m lucky in my life, I have these talents, my family’s had success, how do we give back and how do we use that? How do we give back to God and how do we share that story with people in a world that’s kind of messy? This is a good message to remind the world of,” he added.

Besides the beauty of the message of the Gospel in the play, the show is also worth seeing because of the artistry of Jane Henson, he said.

“She was this artist who created this thing, and hardly anybody knows about it,” he said. “Everybody knows the Muppets, but hardly anybody knows that this was an important thing to her.”

The show appeals to people of all faiths, or no faith, because of its artistry, Mr Keohane said. After almost every performance, he would have agnostic or atheist people approach him and ask how they could help with the show.

“I would have a lot of people who would tell me they were ex-Catholics or they were agnostic or atheist, and the next thing they would say is: ‘And you know what? You should have Mary sing the Magnificat. And here’s a beautiful version of it.’ And it happened every time.”

As a passion project that Jane Henson never expected to be performed in churches, much less in cathedrals and on TV, the success of the show has been humbling and inspiring for Mr Keohane.

“But it’s ended up in cathedrals, and that’s because people see it and they say wow, this is a beautiful piece,” he said.

“It was a way for Jane and the rest of us to use our talents to tell this story, and it was a great honour for her to ask me to do it. And in my career it’s one of the things I’m most proud of having worked on.” n A full recording of “Jane Henson’s Nativity Story” is up on YouTube (http://bit.ly/2fCEfng).

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

27

The remarkable life of the Christmas babe A SHORT STORY

BY FR RALPH DE HAHN

H

ARRY was the youngest son born to Fred and Marlene Pengo, and the only baby in all the village ever born on Christmas Day. Fred and Marlene had five children—all boys—but somehow they envisaged a remarkably exciting life for their youngest.

On Harry’s first birthday the following Christmas, he was chosen to play the role of the babe Jesus in the church manger in the parish’s Nativity play.

The Pengo family rejoiced over this grand privilege, but they did not know that more was to come.

Twelve years later, after Fred had passed away, the parish staged a play of the public life of Jesus. The very talented Harry was chosen to play the role of the 12-year-old Jesus, lost among the learned lawyers and doctors in the temple of Jerusalem.

Mom and his brothers were thrilled with Harry, not only with his acting skills being recognised, but also with his carpentry skills.

It was no surprise when, at the age of 25, Harry Pengo was selected from six nominees to play Jesus the Healer, with a rather lengthy script.

He played the role with much dignity, wearing a small beard and a crop of dark hair. He looked the part, loved the role, and was the pride of his family.

Ever grateful to his late father, he prayed to and for him each day.

During rehearsals and the production, Harry made many friends; some of them his male “disciples” on stage.

Now one of his disciples, Jude, was a regular gambler in the cruel business world.

At his birthday party, Jude confessed to Harry he was in terrible financial trouble and begged Harry to help him out. Harry did, month after month, until Jude finally owed him R30 000.

Then Jude vanished from the scene, with the police on his tail.

Harry was still willing to help Jude, for he loved him even to the end. And the end came when Jude, after avoiding the police for nine months, took his own life.

NAZARETH HOUSE The Sisters, Staff, Residents, and Children wish

Last year’s Nativity scene at Our Lady Of Lebanon church in Mulbarton, Johannesburg. (Photo: Mark Kisogloo)

T

his hurt Harry deeply. He suddenly felt he had no friends, not even among the Church authorities.

He lost his job, having been unjustly accused of mismanagement, and for introducing his own methods contrary to the traditions of the firm. His own family judged him to be acting strangely.

Harry suffered bad nights with very little sleep, and ate poorly, losing a lot of weight.

People concluded he was lost, wandering through the streets, seemingly homeless, humiliated.

And yet he was delighted to help those worse off than he.

He passed most of his days and nights among the “scum” of the town, the beggars, the untouchables.

And then he died a miserable death, hurriedly buried in a pauper’s grave outside the village.

Nobody even knew his family.

Time passed and no-one remembered him, only his mother and younger brother John.

One day John decided to look for Harry, asking around about him. Nobody was interested.

A few days later, the dispirited John was walking through the pauper’s area of the cemetery, urgently calling his brother’s name.

“Did I hear you call for Harry?” came a drunken voice from behind. John was startled.

“Yes, oh yes, I am his brother.

Do you know where he is… where can I find him, please?”

The stranger cleared his throat and said: “ I’m afraid you won’t find him, young man, He died here some while back.”

John was shocked, and asked: “Then maybe you know where his body is? Was he buried here?”

The old beggar shook his head: “They gave him a pauper’s burial.

He had no money, no nothing, but a lot of ugly wounds.”

Tears began to fill the young man’s eyes. “But you must know where he is buried, or somebody will know, surely!”

The old beggar called a name; and out of the shadows came another elderly beggar, this one sober. John questioned him.

“Yes, I remember the good man, he had a very sad story to tell me. Harry...I remember him.”

“Do you know where he is buried?” John begged. “Please tell me.”

“Come with me, I will show you where the unmarked graves are scattered.”

Together the three men wandered through the pauper’s graveyard. Suddenly they stopped.

“There is his grave, I think.

Yes, there lies poor Harry.”

For a short while John was hopeful—but then no longer. He stepped further into the darkness. And stared unbelievingly.

The grave was empty.

The managers of The Southern Cross

Associates Campaign wish all its supporters a blessed Christmas and a peaceful 2017

Prayerfully wishing all my friends and supporters clergy and religious - a glorious and fruitful Christmas deeply touched by the love and peace of Jesus, the incarnate God

FATHER RALPH de HAHN

our Archbishop, Clergy, Religious, friends and benefactors of Johannesburg every blessing for a peace-filled and joyous Christmas, and grace and strength for 2017.

We also express our sincere gratitude to our donors and friends who have assisted us in so many ways throughout the past year.

Without your support, we could not continue our ministry of serving the more vulnerable adults and children in our community.

May the Infant Christ fill you with His Grace and Joy!

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28

The Southern Cross, December 21 to December 27, 2016

CHRISTMAS AuSTRALIA: A diver dressed as Santa Claus swims with sharks at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Melbourne.

(Photo: Julian Smith, EPA/CNS)

SRI LANkA: A man cleans straw to be used for the roofing of his Nativity mangers to be sold during the Christmas season near Colombo.

(Photo: MA Pushpa Kumara, EPA)

PHILIPPINES: Women religious sing Christmas songs next to an orangutan during an Animal Christmas party at the Malabon zoo, north of Manila. (Photo: Ezra Acayan, Reuters/CNS)

AuSTRIA: A chocolate praline featuring the likeness of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart hangs from an outdoor Christmas tree along a busy Vienna street. (Photo: Chaz Muth/CNS)

IRAq: Children perform during Christmas Eve Mass at Sacred Heart church in Baghdad. (Photo: Thaier Al-Sudani, Reuters) INDIA: A woman prays during Christmas celebrations at a grotto outside Holy Family Catholic church in Kashmir.

(Photo: Farooq Khan, Reuters/CNS)

Christmas around the World MEXICO: Youths play the parts of Joseph and Mary as they make their way along the border fence with the US in Nogales during a ITALY: The small chapel of the Nativity in Greccio built in binational posada procession. the grotto where St Francis of Assisi staged the first Nativ(Photo: Nancy ity scene. The Southern Cross’ pilgrimage with ArchWiechec/CNS) bishop William Slattery will visit the place in September.

(Photo: Octavio Duran/CNS)

PALESTINE: Muslim women take a selfie in front of a Christmas tree in Manger Square in Bethlehem, West Bank. (Photo: Atef Safadi, EPA/CNS)

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We thank you very much for your support in 2016 and wish you God’s blessings in 2017!

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PO Box 4599, Edenvale, 1610 [t] 011 663-4700 [f] 011 452-7625 info@radioveritas.co.za Radio Veritas South Africa Nedbank Cresta (191305) 1913296067 @RadioVeritasSA

CHINA: Altar servers lead a procession during Christmas Eve Mass at a Catholic church in Beijing. (Photo: Wu Hong, EPA/CNS)

Our children and staff thank you for your support.

Greetings for a blessed Christmas and a healthy and peaceful New Year.

Visit www.littleeden.org.za for more information on our 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017

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