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December 13 to December 19, 2017

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SPECIAL 28-PAGE CHRISTMAS EDITION

The Nativity by Noël Coypel (1660-65) in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes

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The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

CHRISTMAS

What Christmas means to me At Christmas retailers bombard us with catalogues for gifts—from cheap trinkets to bottles of booze that cost as much as a car. KARIN HUMAN looks at what Christmas really means to her.

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HAT is it that makes the festive season special for us? When exactly is it that things start to feel “Christmassy” for you?

Is it at that point when the first retail giant starts playing “Jingle Bells” while you shop for your usual monthly items?

Is it two weeks later when the next retail giant unpacks six aisles of Christmas trees, tinsel, cards, baubles, singing reindeer and jovial bell-ringing Father Christmasses?

Is it when you find yourself irritated by the advert on TV, in August, about everyone telling Father Christmas their wishes for Christmas (none of which are non-retail items)?

Perhaps it is because I am getting older, perhaps now that my last child has written his final matric exam, I don’t see the retail wonder.

Perhaps it is because I feel myself growing more and more concerned about the loss of the word “Christ” in Christmas.

There are four retail giants in particular who each publish a 100plus page full-colour Christmas booklet, filled from start to finish

with gifts, gifts, gifts and more gifts.

Cheap items, costly items, it is all there. Page after page of buy me, buy me, buy me.

A local bottle store produced what can only be called a glossy Christmas magazine of their offers for the festive season. In it was a bottle of booze that costs R250 000.

A quarter million rand for a bottle of alcohol, I ask you!

In this economic climate, with our credit rating plummeting, people starving on the streets, families battling to make ends meet, I find it rather tacky to publish something like that.

Of course, there are people who can afford it, still, you do not see Mercedes Benz splashing their price all over their adverts. And people who can spend such an obscene amount of money on a bottle of alcohol surely do not need an A4 colour advert to persuade them.

And do not even get me started on the 63-page toy catalogue I’ve seen. What are we teaching our children?

I

have two kids. Both of them are young adults now but, like all young adults, they were small not too long ago. We bought them

stuff, and we had lots of presents under the tree.

However, we tried to be discerning. You can give a lot of little gifts and one special “big” one. More importantly, at the same time we taught them about the Mass, the meaning of Christmas and consideration for those less fortunate.

This year we have been attending the “Carols by Candlelight” at CBC Mount Edmund in Pretoria, my children’s school from Grade 0 to matric. That was preceded by a market for Christmas items—not toys and stuff, but Christmas items.

My daughter and I had a table with

Catholic items such as Advent prayer books, Bible diaries, Nativity scenes and such.

I

realised today what Christmas is to me: it is the carols, the specific smell of incense in the church around Christmas, the parish’s tree with the tags from children at the Childhood Cancer Foundation’s and the elderly at Holy Cross Home (giving parishioners a chance to take a tag and buy a gift for that person).

Christmas is putting up the banner in the parish with the Christmas Mass times. It is packing out our nativity scene at home, carefully keeping baby Jesus one side until the right time. It is the smell of mince pies and Christmas cake, and the time spent making them.

Christmas is the special table my mom prepares for us on Christmas Eve, and her Christmas biscuits which she lovingly makes at this time. It is the fact that our family sits and listens to “Silent Night” every year before we have dinner or open gifts—a 50-year tradition.

Christmas is that we set a limit on the amount we spend on siblings and grandparents for gifts, and we all stick to it. It is all that we set aside at this time of year for those less fortunate than us.

Christmas is the taste of gingerbread and marzipan. It is a time of joy. A time of wonder. A time of waiting once again for a breath-taking story and event.

That’s Christmas. Put away the catalogues. Stop saying “Happy Holidays”. It is Christmas.

Smell it, feel it, taste it. It is not a purchase. It is a feeling of great warmth and joy. n Karin Human is the secretary of Christ the King church in Queenswood, Pretoria.

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

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Christmas Spirit fills the heart at Little Eden Little Eden, home for children with intellectual disabilities, hosts a Christmas concert every year where residents have a chance to show off their abilities through the spirit of our Saviour, writes ERIN CARELSE

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HE Christmas concerts at Little Eden in Gauteng always are the highlight of the year, every year, not only for the residents but for the guests who attend.

The concerts are a celebration of the achievements and milestones of the year and an opportunity for the residents to demonstrate their abilities and share new skills.

This year is special for the Little Eden Society, which was established 50 years ago by the late Domitilla and Danny Hyams to give care to children with intellectual disabilities.

Licensed with the Department of Health, Little Eden is a registered non-profit organisation with two homes, in Edenvale and Bapsfontein, Gauteng.

Little Eden’s Christmas concerts are held over four days at both of their homes to which their supporters are invited.

The music therapists from both centres work with residents and staff over a period of months to put these magical concerts together.

There is a new concert theme each year and the traditional nativity scenes are creatively weaved into it.

This year’s theme for the Edenvale home is “Little Eden Stars”; the

theme for the Home in Bapsfontein is “The 4 Elements”.

The concerts at both of the homes always have the same joyful spirit shining through, leaving audiences with no doubt that the children and adults at Little Eden know how to make the best of life despite their disabilities.

“These concerts give the public a perspective into the abilities of the residents rather than focus on their disability,” said Lucy Slaviero, Little Eden’s CEO and a daughter of Mr and Mrs Hyam.

Importantly, she added, the involvement and participation of the public “indicates to the residents that they are important”.

“These concerts form a fun element and contribute to the care and stimulation therapy programme throughout the year. Through the programme—which includes physiotherapy, music therapy, reflexology, animal therapy and hydrotherapy—we are able to assist residents to reach their full potential,” she explained. As a result of the programme, “some residents learn to walk, to talk, to feed themselves, to make sounds, push their own wheelchairs, and so on”, Mrs Slaviero said.

N

ichollette Muthige, Little Eden’s communications officer, said one of her most memorable moments took place at their 2014 Christmas concert.

“One of our residents, 32-year-old Paul, who has been with Little Eden since he was three years old, sang a solo. The title of his song was ‘Jesus Loves Me’. By the time he was done, there was not a dry eye in the room,” she recalled.

“It was not so much about how he perfectly hit the notes, or that he

remembered the lyrics, but more the message in the song and how Paul sang it with so much conviction for someone who had been in a wheelchair all his life. He has had to rely on the next person for all his needs, but still believes that Jesus loves him,” she said.

Paul is just one of many children and adults with a profound intellectual disability at Little Eden—all needing special care every day of the year.

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ittle Eden was launched in 1967 to provide respite care to mothers of children with profound intellectual disabilities. It started as a daycare facility caring for just three little girls.

Today Little Eden is a full-time care home for 300 children and adults. The Domitilla and Danny Hyams Home in Edenvale serves 180 residents, and Elvira Rota Village in Bapsfontein has 120 residents.

The Edenvale home caters more at the level of frail care as well as having a full therapy programme.

The Bapsfontein home places a greater emphasis on participation in activities of daily living: the ability to feed oneself (though not necessarily to prepare food); personal hygiene such as bathing, grooming and oral care; the ability to make appropriate clothing decisions and dress oneself; maintaining continence (both the mental and physical ability to use a toilet); and transferring, which refers to the ability of moving oneself from seated to standing positions and getting in and out of bed. n For more information visit www.littleeden.org.za or phone 011 6097246.

Top: Little Eden resident 32-yearold Paul sings at the Christmas concert in 2014 Middle left: Nikki playing hoops

Middle right: Busi counts to ten

Left: Sean singing at the concert

The Catholic Order of the Knights of da Gama

The Supreme Knight and Board of Directors of The Catholic Order of the Knights of da Gama wish our Clergy, our Brothers, members of all lay organisations and fellow Catholics a blessed, peaceful Christmas and a prosperous, productive New Year Email: kdg@telkomsa.net, Website: http://knightsofdagama.wildapricot.org

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The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

CHRISTMAS

The history of ‘Silent Night’ Translated into 140 languages, it may be the most famous Christmas hymn in the world. GüNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at the history of ‘Silent Night’.

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HAT “Yesterday” is to the Beatles, “Silent Night, Holy Night” is to Christmas music. The story behind perhaps the most famous carol is also one of the most Christmassy, having even been the subject of several films.

Of course, movies are dramas, not documentaries, and therefore need some kind of dramatic crisis that requires a solution. In the Silent Night movies, that predicament usually hinges on a broken church organ, put out of action by the gnawing teeth of a church mouse. The boring truth is that the organ probably was not the catalyst.

But our story begins with the parish priest who wrote the words.

At the time “Silent Night” was completed in 1818, Fr Joseph Mohr was the assistant priest of the Austrian village of Oberndorf, near Salzburg. But two years before, he had been the parish priest in another village in the region, Mariapfarr.

It was there, while trudging through the snow making parish visits, that he wrote a poem, a year after his ordination, which he titled “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” (which, as you have already guessed, means “Silent Night, Holy Night).

That ordination in 1815 might not have happened at all. Mohr was born in Salzburg in 1792—out of wedlock. His father was a military man who fathered several children with different women.

Mohr grew up without him; talk is that the godfather at Joseph’s bap-

Too happy to be a priest In 1917 he was transferred to Salzburg. There his superior priest was decidedly unimpressed with the cheerful and popular young priest.

Fr Mohr, said the older priest in an official complaint, was not only insubordinate but also lazy in his studies, and reluctant to visit the sick and schools. On top of that, Fr Mohr lacked the solemnity proper to a 19th-century Austrian priest, was inclined to make jokes—even with members of the opposite sex—and liked to sing apparently unedifying songs.

An investigation was launched in October 1818 and—happily for our carol services today—determined that Fr Mohr was quite a suitable priest, even if he did smile a lot.

Now supplying in Oberndorf and preparing for Christmas, Fr Mohr remembered that poem he had written at Mariapfarr, and decided that it should be set to music for Christmas Eve Mass.

His reasons for that are not recorded. It might well be that he simply regarded his poem as rather good and suitable for sharing— and clearly many generations of

Franz Gruber’s notation of “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht”, with his own autograph, from around 1860.

Happy

such short notice.

The records simply do not tell how much time Gruber had been given to write that tune. So we might as well take it that it was on the morning of December 24.

tism was Salzburg’s executioner.

Because he was born out of wedlock, his ordination had to be approved by Pope Pius VI. And Mohr might well have become a musician instead of taking holy orders. As a child he exhibited musical talent—and the cultured people of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, knew to appreciate that.

The vicar of the cathedral, Johann Nepomuk Hiernle, paid for his schooling.

Mohr’s education also included a course in theology, and that led him to the priesthood.

Fr Mohr first worked in Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, but soon returned to the Salzburg area, going first to Mariapfarr, where he wrote his poem.

First heard at Mass

A card issued in 1918 to mark the centenary of “Silent Night” being written, with the images of composers Fr Joseph Mohr (left) and Franz Gruber. people around the world have agreed with that sentiment.

As a trained musician, he had an idea that his poem would be best arranged for guitar accompaniment. Again, it is not known why he thought that.

One speculation is that the church’s small, moveable pipe organ was defective (enter the church mouse), but there is nothing to validate that idea.

Whatever the case, Fr Mohr asked the parish’s organist, the schoolmaster Franz Gruber, to come up with a tune.

The melody man Like Fr Mohr, Gruber was born into difficult economic circumstances—his father was a weaver— and received an education due a mentor who recognised his musical talent.

Instead of becoming a weaver, as fate seemed to have destined, Gruber was educated with a specific vocation in mind: to be a music teacher.

That career brought him to the village of Arnsdorf, a place of pilgrimage, where he taught at what is now Austria’s oldest-running school. But he had his sights on a position in neighbouring Oberndorf, which is how Gruber became the organist and choirmaster of the parish there, and how we got to know Fr Mohr.

The story goes that Fr Mohr gave Gruber the task to score his poem on the morning of Christmas Eve, and so the organist wrote that memorable, inspiring tune in just a few hours, just in time before the hymn’s premiere.

This account ties in with the broken-organ theory, though one might think that writing a guitar arrangement for an existing hymn would have been the easier option in overcoming the problem of a defective musical instrument at

Christmas and Blessed New Year

At the Christmas Eve Mass in 1818 in Oberndorf’s church of St Nicholas (dedicated to the saint who soon would become the global template for Santa Claus), Fr Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber performed “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” for the first time in public.

Fr Mohr played the guitar and both composers sang, with the choir repeating the last two lines of each verse in four-part harmony.

The people of Oberndorf were moved and enthused by what they had heard—and soon forgot about the seasonal hymn. It was an organ builder named Karl Mauracher who was, well, instrumental in taking the carol to a wider audience.

He had been in Oberndorf to either fix the organ (so perhaps a mouse ate from it after all!) or look at installing a new, bigger one under the supervision of Gruber.

While there, Mauracher heard about that beautiful hymn which the priest and organist had written.

The following Christmas, in 1819, it was sung at Mauracher’s home church in Fügen, Tyrol, about 100km from Oberndorf.

In 1822, Austria’s Emperor Franz I and Russian Tsar Alexander I visited Fügen, where parishioners of the small town performed it for the two monarchs and their respective entourages.

From there it was taken up by a folk group called The Strasser Sisters—a precursor to the singing Von Trapp Family— who performed folk songs from Tyrol throughout the German-speaking region. One of these songs was the non-Tyrolean Christmas hymn of Fr Mohr and Gruber.

When the organist of a Catholic chapel in Leipzig, Germany, heard it, he asked the sisters to sing it there in 1832. That performance caused a sensation. Within a year “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” was published as sheet music and became a bestseller.

By then the original composers had been mostly forgotten, and their work was widely thought to be a traditional Tyrolean folk song.

It was only in 1854 when the court musicians of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV looked into the provenance of the hymn that they stumbled on the identity of the real composers.

Franz Gruber was still alive to verify his co-authorship, and to ensure his priest friend received his due credit.

Neither ever made any money out of their song.

And in English The English version of “Silent Night” came into being in 1859, some 20 years after it was first performed there by another family singing group from Fügen.

John Freeman Young, an Episcopalian (Anglican) minister in

The Silent Night chapel in Oberndorf, near Salzburg, Austria. (Photo: Gakuro/Creative Commons) New York, translated three of Fr Mohr’s original six verses. Or, it is more accurate to say that he interpreted them. For the most part, his lyrics are not direct translations, but they are very much within the spirit of the German original.

Young, who went on to become a bishop in 1867, published his translation as part of a 16-page pamphlet titled Carols for Christmas Tide.

“Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” has since been translated into at least 140 languages.

How did it end?

And what became of the composers?

Fr Mohr left Oberndorf in September 1819 and went on to minister in several parishes around Salzburg.

From 1837 he served in the town of Wagrain. A socially engaged priest, he built a new school there to broaden the scope of education. Moreover, he established a fund to enable the children of poor parents to receive an education. He also built homes for the aged and for the indigent.

Fr Mohr died of lung disease on December 4, 1848, a week short of his 56th birthday. He left nothing but his ragged cassock. The lyricist for one of the most famous songs of all time died a pauper; a fundraiser had to be held to bury him.

Franz Gruber continued to compose music. Some 90 songs are credited to him, but none nearly as successful as “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht”. In 1833 he moved to the town of Hallein where he died in 1863 at the age of 75.

St Nicholas church, where the parishioners of Oberndorf heard the premiere of the world’s most famous Christmas carol, doesn’t exist anymore in the same place.

Repeated floods, causes by the straightening of the river Salzach, damaged the entire village which was moved upstream after 1899.

Some of the interior of the old church was transferred to the new village—unfortunately not the organ which Gruber had built in the 1820s. The original church, with its roots in the 12th century, was eventually demolished.

In its place there is now a chapel, completed in 1936, dedicated to Fr Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber and their Christmas hymn. n For previous biographies of Christmas carols see www.scross.co.za/ category/features/biography-ofhymns/

Dear customers, collaborators and friends: the peace of Christ be with you as we celebrate with joy the wonders of Jesus’ birth.

The Paulines & Staff

Johannesburg Tel: 011 622 5189 - booksmedia@paulines.co.za - www.paulinesa.org Durban Tel: 031 2018803 Email: paulinedbn@telkomsa.net

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

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*Kindly note that our offices will be closed for the holiday season from 19th Dec to 18th Jan inclusive

More Christmas articles at www.scross.co.za/ category/christmas

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

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Journey from gangs to God In prison he was a gang general until a visiting priest offered him a biscuit. Today Jerome Opperman is devoted to the Catholic faith and his young family — who’ll be without their dad this Christmas.

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HIS year the Opperman family in Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo will celebrate Christmas without their father— and in some way, that’s a good thing.

Jerome Opperman, 40, will be working in Qatar as an offshore catering manager. After many years of irregular employment, this posting means there will again be food on the festive table at home.

For many years there was little joy for the Oppermans. Jerome found it very difficult to get work— because he was a former prisoner.

In jail, the former member of a violent gang had turned his life around thanks to his Catholic faith. Before that conversion he had been in and out of jail since he was a child. In 1996 he was sentenced to a long stint in jail.

“Religion had never played a role in my life,” he told The Southern Cross. “I didn’t care about religion at all. When I came to prison, the prison gangs became my religion.” And his dedication to that life, including a willingness to commit acts of violence, saw him rise up the gang ranks rapidly.

“I led several gang wars within different prisons but that all ended in 2004,” said Jerome, whose chilling prison nickname was Panga.

“One morning, while I was busy with my 30 minutes of exercise in the courtyard, a fellow gang member told me that there was coffee in the church for free. I went inside and there I met Fr Wim Lindeque [now of Stellenbosch] who told me with a soft and quiet voice to come inside, offered me a seat and told me that I was welcome to take a biscuit too.”

The conversation that followed

Jerome Opperman, wife Carmenita and their children at home in Oudtshoorn.

This Christmas they’ll be without their dad. led to Jerome’s conversion to Catholicism. “My whole life changed,” he recalled.

Fr Lindeque and Jerome discussed for weeks how to “reach out to the hearts and souls of my fellow inmates so that they can be empowered through education and through the Church”.

The result was a 40-day programme called Total Transformation which emphasised a moral value system. Jerome wrote a training manual to implement that programme. Apart from the stress on moral values, it focused on selfidentity.

“The Catholic Church teaches you to be your true self. As we grow up, we adopt identities different from those we are born with when we were pure and innocent.

I was called Panga and not Jerome anymore. My name became Panga and I adopted a false identity. So the aim of the programme was to cleanse you mentally and physically to go back to the identity you had the day you were born.”

A life-changing letter In prison he also received The Southern Cross, which is distributed to jails throughout South Africa as part of the newspaper’s Associates Campaign outreach programme.

The SALESIANS OF DON BOSCO wish YOU a Blessed and Holy CHRISTmas!

www.salesianmissions.co.za

Jerome wrote a letter asking readers for sponsorship for studies.

Thanks to a generous benefactor, Jerome studied business management, graduating cum laude.

He was released in 2008, but his degree was of little help. “Here I was now with all the qualifications for the corporate world—but I had a criminal record,” he said. “I had so many interviews but never got a job as a result of my honesty in admitting that I came from prison.”

Jerome jobbed as a gardener and in a factory in Cape Town, but fled the city after an assassination attempt in which he was shot seven times. One thing he was sure of: “I will never go to back to prison!”

In 2010 he had a breakthrough when he got a job on an oil rig as a cleaner in the catering department, soon earning a promotion.

Other contract work has followed in Angola, Mozambique, Gabon, Italy and Qatar. He has also worked for the government. But contract-work is irregular. Permanent employment, with a steady income, is still almost impossible to come by because of his prison record.

And Jerome is one of the lucky ones.

“The biggest challenge after release from prison is the fact that this ex-inmate has to start a new life afresh. You come out with no resources and you also have the axe of society hanging over your head. You are going to be judged.

You will endure hardships,” he said.

“In jail you are in a comfort zone with no sense of responsibility because you get food, your washing is being taken care of, you sleep warm. Now you come out of prison and all of a sudden you must work to get food on the table,” he said.

“So many ex-prisoners are looking for work, but when they are rejected because of their criminal record, they go back to crime because they must also eat and wear clean clothes. Society is also responsible for crimes committed against ex-prisoners. If they opened the doors of opportunity in the first place, that ex-inmate wouldn’t need to dive back to a life of theft and robbery.”

To address that problem he has set up an organisation, South African ex-Prisoners Organisation for Equal Rights (SAPOR), which he hopes to get off the ground in 2018 to offer ex-convicts life-skills programmes and prepare them for the job market.

For that he needs funding, and being away on contract-work makes sourcing sponsorship difficult.

Build up poor youth When he is not working, Jerome is trying to get other social upliftment projects going. His big goal is to set up a free Internet café in his dirt-poor community, especially for young people.

“There are hundreds of youths in my community who do not have access to the Internet for their schoolwork and assignments,” he says. He has been upgrading old computers for that purpose.

“I also want to conduct lifeskills courses and IT development for the young people so that they can have a chance in life other than joining gangs,” he said.

But all that is on hold while he

Jerome Opperman at work. As a former prisoner he has found it difficult to find full-time employment. is in Qatar on contract work until next June—a time that also includes Christmas.

He recalls some tough festive seasons. “I remember Christmases when there were no presents, and the only food we had was a R5 packet of sausage and rice,” Jerome recalled.

“But I had my eyes set on Jesus and I had the guidance of the Catholic Church,” bringing him through when his faith was tested.

“Today I sing ‘Hallelujah’ because I can have Christmas presents for my family, buy a Christmas tree full of lights, and sing Christmas carols with them,” he said.

“But one thing my family will not forget is the love for Christ, and the love shown by our Church and our fellow human beings.

That is what I teach my children every day.”

This Christmas will be tough for a different and much more welcome reason. Working in Qatar, Jerome said he will miss his family especially at Christmas, and they will miss him. But with modern technology he will be able to communicate with his wife Carmenita and their three children aged eight, four and 6-months-old.

And this year there definitely will be food on the Opperman table—even if Dad is missing.

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The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

CHRISTMAS

A Southern Cross Christmas, 75 years ago The Christmas edition of The Southern Cross in 1942 was a slim affair at ten pages, but there was a lot to read. GüNTHER SIMMERMACHER steps into a time-capsule from 75 years ago.

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HESE days, the Christmas issue of The Southern Cross is bright and colourful, with a wide variety of articles which, we hope, help to enrich the celebration of the great feast of the Nativity.

But 75 years ago the Christmas issue, dated December 16, was a slim ten pages, due to paper shortages caused by the Second World War which at that point had more or less reached its halfway point.

There are only three photos in the newspaper: two on the frontpage (of the Holy Family and Bethlehem in Palestine), and one of a fallen soldier on the back-page.

The cover price was a princely 3 pence—a “tickey”.

The leading news

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n the front-page lead, Durban held a youth rally in the City Hall. All race groups were represented though it seems that the seating was not uniformly desegregated. Whites, coloureds and Indians occupied most of the lower tier and Africans the upper tier, with pockets of racially mixed groups.

The rally was addressed by Durban’s Bishop Henri Delalle OMI,

who entered wearing a cappa magna, the purple cape with a metres-long train.

The Blessed Sacrament was carried up to the makeshift altar by Fr Sormany OMI, one of the two priests who first came up with the idea for The Southern Cross almost a quarter of a century earlier.

Also present was Durban’s mayor Rupert Ellis Brown (who I think was a Catholic).

In other news

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ishop Aston Chichester SJ of Salisbury (now Harare) spoke in Bulawayo’s cathedral on social justice, saying that “the world to-day has gone astray because it has thrown Christ overboard and it will be a better place only when Christ is restored to his rightful place”.

Other news: • Vatican Radio is broadcasting thousands of messages from South African prisoners of war in Italy to their relatives back home. The SABC is recording these messages on wax records, and The Southern Cross calls on the national radio station to transmit these Vatican Radio broadcasts at 10am the next morning.

• Owing to stationery shortages, Bishop Hennemann of Cape Town will not be sending out Christmas cards this year but conveys his blessings for the feast of the Nativity through The Southern Cross.

• General Jan Smuts has said that we must already prepare for peace, with the provision of food supplies most important. Greece is experiencing a famine, and there are reports of widespread hunger in Nazi-occupied France, Belgium and Holland.

• St Mary’s school in Cape Town

hosted an exhibition on teaching religion, giving teachers an insight into what their colleagues at other Catholic schools were doing. Pupils were also part of presentations.

Among the schools presenting were Holy Cross in Maitland, St Louis in Langa, Christian Brothers in Woodstock, Simonstown Dominican School and St James on the False Bay coast.

Columnists

T

he “Editor’s Notebook”, written by editor Fr Owen McCann (the future archbishop and cardinal), takes issue with a new ordinance in the Cape Peninsula which prohibits anyone from supplying others with alcohol after 10pm. Fr McCann warns that this could mean that a priest cannot celebrate Midnight Mass this Christmas because “the altar server will be ‘supplying’ the priest with ‘liquor’ after 10pm”.

In her “Home Circle”, long-serving columnist Mary Singleton empathises with women whose husbands are away serving in the war. She notes that for many people who “through the evils of war” have returned to the faith, this Christmas “will have a special significance” because “this year they will be experiencing for the first time in many years the joy that comes from a heart at rest and a conscience that is untroubled”.

Aunt Celia from Estcourt in her “Children’s Corner” thanks those who took part in her drawing competition, won by Carol Parkin of Lydenburg.

In part 225 of his “Theology for the Layman”, Fr Gavan Duffy SJ looks at the sacrifice of the Mass.

The front-page of The Southern Cross of December 16, 1942, reports on a youth rally in Durban and features images of the Nativity and the town of Bethlehem in Palestine.

An “Afrikaans Katolieke Woordeskat” segment takes us from the word Fasting (vas) to Hours (getye, ure) A sad pair of regular features on the back-page: the “Roll Of Honour” lists South African Catholics who have fallen in the war, and next to it there is a list of South African POWs. This week’s fallen servicemen are Captain H Miles of Yeoville, Johannesburg, who had also fought in the Great War from 1914-18, and 21year-old Edward Brownbrigg of Woodstock, Cape Town.

The editorial

F

ather McCann’s editorial, titled naturally enough “Peace on Earth”, deals with the war, attributing it to a rejection of Christ. Even though the war is not decided yet, he is looking forward to an Allied victory and sets out priorities already.

The Allies, he counsels, will have to serve the common good, recognising that “the peoples who are now their enemy must also take their part and place in the after-war world”.

adult son: “A little of what you fancy does you good” (which is not always good advice).

Elsewhere, there are ads for Santy’s Brandy from Stellenbosch, as well as for Jack Dolyle’s Bottle Store in Benoni and The Palm Wine & Spirit Shop in Cape Town’s Long Street (the latter lasted for nearly another 50 years; it’s now a bar).

The earpieces on the front-page were for the C to C cigarette brand, the initials standing for Cape to Cairo, which was supplied to troops in North Africa (hence the name).

Soldiers nicknamed the brand “Camel to Consumer” because of the long time it took to come from South Africa.

For some reason, there were lots of bread ads in this issue: OFS in Kimberley, Lowther’s in Durban, Whyte’s and T&F Connolly in Johannesburg, Attwell’s and Barlings in Cape Town, Sunray in Stellenbosch, Pocket’s in Salisbury, and Osborn’s in Bulawayo.

Letters page

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We wish all our listeners, donors and supporters a Happy and Holy Christmas.

We thank you very much for your support in 2017 and wish you God’s blessings in 2018!

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here is only one letter this week, from Fr G Jansen OP. In it, he recounts the heroism and loyalty of African (“Native”) and coloured soldiers in the war, saying that they should “share” fully in South Africa when they return.

“I shrink from thinking that they will have to go back again to the same miserable existence which we allowed them to live in the Union before the war,” writes the priest, a chaplain who signs off as “Capt. the Rev. G Jansen OP”.

Christmas supplement

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here is no supplement, but a few items deal with Christmas, besides Mary Singleton’s column.

Fr Kenneth Green in what is likely a syndicated article writes about “Bethlehem Yesterday and Today”, describing in some detail the liturgical celebrations in the town of Jesus’ birth.

There are also two short stories that refer to Christmas, “The Admiral” by Wilkinson Sherren, and “A Cup of Water” by Edith Mary Power.

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ape Town’s magistrates might be perturbed by the number of ads for alcohol. There is Castle beer, suggesting that you need to stock up for blackouts, while the Lion lager ad shows a father telling his young-

A sad feature during the war was the Roll of Honour for South African Catholics killed in action. Among them was 21-year-old Edward Brownrigg of Woodstock, Cape Town, an alumnus of St Joseph’s College in Rondebosch.

The

S outher n C ross

December 13 to December 19, 2017

www.scross.co.za

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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 and faith-filled 2018.

Brislin: We could speak out more T

A Muslim woman shows her daughter the outdoor Nativity Scene in the courtyard of St Catherine’s church in Bethlehem, next to the church of the Nativity which marks the birthplace of Jesus.

The life-sized and life-like Nativity Scene was produced by the “Friends of the Christmas Crib” association in Tesero, northern Italy. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

Fatima donor offers gift STAFF REPORTER

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UST in time for Christmas, the Portuguese businessman who has donated more than a thousand statues of Our Lady of Fatima to parishes in South Africa and all over the world is offering a surprise gift.

“I’m inviting all priests and heads of other institutions that have received statues from me to write to me for this surprise gift,” said José Camara from Portugal, where he now lives.

Formerly a successful businessman in Cape Town, Mr Camara began his mission to spread devotion to Our Lady of Fatima with an offer of donating ten hand-painted statues made in Fatima to Catholic parishes in South Africa.

After making his offer in The Southern Cross, the response was so overwhelming that he extended it. News spread around the world, and Mr Camara has now bought and dispatched more than 1 000 statues—all at his cost—to many different countries around the world.

He has drawn a line several times, saying the offer is now closed. But requests keep coming in.

“I have just sent three big statues to the state of Victoria in Australia,” he told The Southern Cross. “I get a thrill when I get an order from a town I’ve never heard of.”

While he loves doing God’s work in this way, Mr Camara noted that some parishes never write to him even to acknowledge receipt. He would love to see photos of how the statues are displayed and of activities related to the devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.

Mr Camara came especially to Fatima in

The managers of The Southern Cross

ASSOCIATES CAMPAIGN wish all its supporters a blessed Christmas and a peaceful 2018

May to meet a group of Southern Cross pilgrims led by Archbishop Stephen Brislin and Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher.

Officials in Fatima have reported that the biggest number of registered pilgrims from outside Portugal for the centenary in May came from Spain, followed by Poland, France, West Timor (which sent one group of 500 pilgrims), the US, China, Ukraine and Indonesia.

Mr Camara said that he hopes that now that the centenary celebrations of the apparitions in the small Portuguese town are over, the faithful will remain devoted to Our Lady of Fatima and the rosary.

Asked for a hint about what the gift he is offering might be, Mr Camara replied: “I can’t tell you, otherwise how can it be a surprise?”

Priests as well as the heads of convents, and schools, and prison and hospital chaplaincies are invited to contact him for the gift, which will be distributed on a firstcome-first serve basis.

The gift will be send directly from Fatima, and Mr Camara requires the sender’s full name and postal address. n Contact Mr Camara at jjvcamara@gmail.com

HE president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has acknowledged that the bishops “could have actually done far more” to be publicly engaged but counselled that the Church cannot be “an alternative political party”.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Catholic social commentary website Spotlight.Africa, Archbishop Stephen Brislin discussed issues such as the Church’s response to government corruption, racial division in the Church, Pope Francis, and pastoral care for homosexuals.

Archbishop Brislin, who heads Cape Town archdiocese, noted that some Catholics have been disappointed with the bishops for not sufficiently attacking corruption and poor governance, and acknowledged that they “could have actually done far more” to be publicly engaged.

However, he said, the bishops also attempt to find a balance between trying to be a prophetic and being a healing voice.

“I think that simply being the prophetic voice without considering the need to heal relationships and to heal our country is not very helpful,” he said.

“We are not there as an alternative political party. When things are going wrong, of course we must make our voice heard and we must try to give the guidance that is necessary. But I don’t think that we can start portraying ourselves as being simply a negative voice that is continually pointing out mistakes,” the archbishop said.

The bishops have to offer a vision and hope, but because South Africa has become unpredictable, that is difficult to do, he said.

“Perhaps we ourselves have not risen to the occasion.”

But he also observed hopeful signs, such as the credibility of the courts and the assertiveness of civil society.

The current political turmoil has been a “wake-up call for us and perhaps ultimately it will be to our benefit”, he said.

Archbishop Brislin noted the prevailing racial division of the Church in South Africa, saying it is “also a reflection of society”.

The Church has to be a prophetic voice and has to address “the divisions which have their roots in our past, in apartheid, in racism and colonialism” which manifest themselves particularly in economic disparities in society.

The bishops need to work “very proactively to bring different people of different socio-economic situations together to further and deepen understanding among people”, he said.

The archbishop said that the Catholic Church is concerned about prevailing sexual attitudes, with many people having casual, frequent sexual relationships with multiple partners.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin during his interview with Spotlight.Africa. (Photo: Fr Russell Pollitt SJ) “Not only is the meaning of sexuality being degraded, but also the growth and development of the human person is being affected. This is because of our fundamental belief that we find our humanity in the humanity of other people and in committed relationships.”

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sked about the Church’s pastoral approach to LGBT Catholics, he said that gay people have always been part of the Church and continue to be.

“It’s very distressing to hear that gay people sometimes don’t feel at home in the Church. The Church should be a home for gay people.”

The archbishop said the Church has not accompanied people sufficiently and does not have enough of the personal touch in people’s lives.

“The fact of the matter is that in our parishes we have gay people who come to church and who are very good Catholics and who try to live the best life they possibly can.”

He said Pope Francis has opened up the discussion on homosexuality as well as pastoral care for divorced and remarried Catholics.

“I don’t think one should make a special class of people just because they are gay. I don’t think that should be the defining thing.

But if people are feeling excluded from the Church, if people are not feeling at home with the Church, that is the issue that we must address—and that might be because they are gay, it might be because they are divorced, it might be because they are in other situations. That is the core that should be addressed.”

Speaking about the Church’s abuse scandal, Archbishop Brislin said that the Church in Southern Africa has made progress in ensuring protocols are in place for the protection of minors.

Continued on page 9

8

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

LOCAL

Rosary at centre for 104-year-old

By ERIN CARELSE

A

T the age of 104, Dominica Catherine Soglanich is inseparable from her rosary.

At her peak, she would say up to 30 rosaries a day for friends and family in need. She is now down to ten—which son Christopher says means the family must be behaving better.

Mrs Soglanich—known widely as Aunty or Granny Domi—was treated to a birthday tea at St John’s parish in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, to celebrate her 104th birthday.

The youngest of five children born to Jure and Ursula Sinovich, Mrs Soglanich grew up in Pretoria North. At age 5 she was sent off to boarding school with the nuns at St Dominic’s Academy in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.

She recalls that the nuns got her to record weather forecasting information from apparatuses at the far end of the large school property, requiring a five-minute walk. This was the only weather information available in central Natal and her recordings were relayed via radio to farmers across the province.

Often the young Dominica would turn around halfway and just guess the weather information without reading it. Years later she was embarrassed to find out that Natal farmers in the 1920s sat glued to their radios and would base their planting and reaping schedules on her guesses.

She married Tony Soglanich in 1940. Happily married for 54 years, they had two sons, Anthony and Christopher.

Chris Soglanich described his mother as a model wife, mother, grandmother of three, and most re-

Dominica Soglanich cuts the cake at a tea held in honour of her 104th birthday at St John’s parish in Fish Hoek, Cape Town. cently great-grandmother.

The devoted matriarch of the Soglanich family still has all her mental faculties with amazing numeric recall, remembers birth and death dates of family and extended family and friends, knows her prices, and loves a good shopping sale and negotiating a bargain.

“My mother has lived through World War 1, the first Model T Ford, World War 2, the first commercial air flights, the first man on the moon, Halley’s comet, the Concorde, and computers. I’m ex-

tremely proud of her and not surprised at all that she has most people’s utmost respect,” Mr Soglanich told The Southern Cross.

“She has lived a hardworking, honest life dedicated to helping family and others, and has never ever spoken badly of anyone. She is always calm, and always positive, with an unerring faith,” he said.

When asked what the secret to her longevity is, he said: “It’s not so much what she does, but what she’s never done. She’s never driven a car, never used a computer, never drank

alcohol and never smoked.”

Among Mrs Soglanich’s prized possessions are the three papal blessing certificates from the Vatican from three different popes: from Pope Paul VI in 1965 on her 25th wedding anniversary; from Pope John Paul II in 1980 on 40 years of marriage; and from Pope Francis in 2013 on her 100th birthday.

A true farmer’s daughter, Mrs Soglanich enjoys baking, knitting, loves figs—her father gave her the unflattering Croatian nickname of Suhe Smokve (Dried Fig)—gardening, and making crochet lace hangers.

Mrs Soglanich’s faith has worked what the family believes is a miracle.

When Chris Soglanich was six years old, he was confined to hospital in Pretoria for almost a year.

The doctors prepared his parents for the worst, telling them after eight months of treatment that there was no cure for the boy’s ailment.

A neighbour, Agnes Toich, gave Mrs Soglanich a rosary and a small bottle of holy water from Lourdes.

Mrs Soglanich put the holy water all over Chris and continued to pray like only a mother can.

Soon after, the physician, Dr Epstein, told the Soglaniches: “Look, I don’t quite know what has happened here, but something has definitely happened.” Pointing to Mrs Soglanich, he said: “Your son is cured; you can take him home.”

Every time my mother’s prayer requests are met, twice the prayers get said in gratitude, Chris said.

“She is a remarkable woman in so many ways. We, her family and many friends, are truly blessed to have her as part of our lives.”

‘Reach out at Christmas to the needy’

By SELBy MAKGOTHO

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HE vicar-general of Polokwane diocese has asked Catholics to use the celebration of the birth of Jesus to reach out to the needy, poor and vulnerable.

In a homily, Fr Clemens Selemela, parish priest of Sacred Heart cathedral, said: “Christmas is the time of giving. Some of you have clothes that no longer fit in your wardrobes.

Some of you have extra food you throw away. Why don’t you think of the nearby poor person first?”

Referring to the Gospel of Matthew, Fr Selemela suggested that Christian communities in the diocese think deeply about the difference they could make if they helped meet the needs of the poor.

“Look around at your neighbour and think of something positive you could do for him or her,” he urged.

The Mass also saw 70 children receiving their First Communion.

Fr Selemela told the children and their parents: “The journey does not end here. This is just the beginning.”

He said the First Communicants had been prepared by committed catechists.

“We are reminded that the journey we are starting with these children is a spiritual one. We need to nurture, support and guide them,” Fr Selemela said.

“Christianity is being attacked on all fronts. We need strong and convinced Christians who will defend the Catholic faith. We cannot have our children being led astray by secularism and materialism.”

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

LOCAL

9

Gold Award for Salesian Youth Projects

By ERIN CARELSE

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CATHOLIC youth project has been honoured by the Western Cape government for its skills-development programme.

The Department of Social Development presented the Salesian Institute Youth Projects (SIYP) with a Gold Award at its ministerial awards evening for “Opening Economic Opportunities & Facilitating Entrepreneurship”.

This prestigious award recognises outstanding organisations and individuals who have contributed towards youth excellence and best practice in their fields, and exceptional projects that solve public problems for youth development initiatives.

The Gold Award was awarded to the SIYP for its Youth Employment Skills Programme (YES) YES is an intensive eight-week course aimed at giving young people both the social and job skills they need to support themselves.

Each class starts with intensive group training in life skills where participants learn about personal development, the work environment, and the social challenges facing young people of today.

The programme provides vocational skills training such as sewing, computer literacy and office management, computer repairs and mobile app development, as well as courses in bricklaying and food preparation.

It also offers job search and

placement services facilitated by strategic partnerships.

“Each course stresses hands-on learning, an ideal way to learn for many of these under-schooled youth. Upon graduation, students receive a certificate and ongoing help with job placement,” said Mbuyi Jongqo, YES project manager.

The Salesian Institute serves vulnerable children and youth at risk— regardless of religion, race, gender or nationality—and gives them the skills they need to stay out of danger, find good jobs and lead fruitful lives.

For more than a century it has been providing education, shelter and emotional support for at-risk young people, a mission which began in the 19th century in Turin, Italy, by Salesian order founder St

Parishioners from the church of the Resurrection in Dawn Park near Boksburg won complimentary tickets from Radio Veritas and the Market Theatre in Johannesburg to see the one-man performance The Man Jesus. The Radio Veritas/Market Theatre tickets competition was won

by Dawn Park parishioner Modjadji Motupa during Khanya Ditabe’s Radio Veritas show. Parish priest Fr Anthony Spencer OFM and parishioners are seen at the Market box office. (Submitted

by Modjadji Motupa)

Mbuyi Jongqo, yES project manager, with the Gold Award.

New award named after late Bishop Barry Wood

By ERIN CARELSE

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SACBC president on abuse, critcising pope Continued from page 7 Referring to abuse of children and women generally, the archbishop said that we must work hard to change that.

“I think it is just absolutely staggering, not only in terms of child abuse, but even rape and the issue of how women are being treated,” he said. “It is just unimaginable that this is so rife in our society.”

He said that often there is a conspiracy of silence where people are

John Bosco, who made it his life’s work to support children in need.

The Salesians in South Africa aim to live that mission today, adapted to the unique needs of South Africa’s 21st-century young people.

“Our commitment to enriching the lives of South Africa’s youth at risk is long-standing and longterm,” said Hilton Nyirenda, CEO of SIYP. “We believe that every youth deserves a chance and we commit to enable that. This award is received with pride and commitment to continue the work SIYP is doing in Cape Town with the support of our donors.” n For further information about the Salesian Institute Youth Projects see www.salesianyouth.org.za

aware of abuses being committed but do not speak out.

The Catholic Church’s experience may be instructive in that regard, he said. “I think that if anything, we can learn from these [Church] scandals that we must not protect people who are guilty of this.”

Archbishop Brislin condemned attacks on Pope Francis.

Popes can be challenged, he said, but ultimately they are the Church’s central unifying human aspect.

“My fear with Pope Francis and some of the criticism that has been made against him is that it has gone beyond the boundaries and that is unacceptable,” the archbishop said.

“It is unfortunate that some of the people who have transgressed those boundaries are people in the past who would have always called others to fidelity to the papacy.” n Full interview at http://bit.ly/ 2iLoFfh

HE Denis Hurley Centre (DHC) is launching a special award named after the late Bishop Barry Wood to continue the centre’s relationship with him.

As the auxiliary bishop of Durban and an Oblate brother of Archbishop Hurley, Bishop Wood was intimately involved in the DHC. The DHC honoured him at its Junior Schools Choir concert in February—a premature celebration for the 75th birthday he did not reach; and had also been planning a pilgrimage to Rome and Lourdes led by Bishop Wood for September. It was cancelled after the bishop’s sudden death at 74 on May 2.

“One of the reasons the late Bishop Barry was so at home at the DHC was that he exemplified our values: genuine care for the poor, a hunger to challenge injustice, a collaborative approach to working across faith traditions, and a willingness to go the extra mile, even at the risk of personal sacrifice,” said DHC director Raymond Perrier.

Each year the award will honour one staff member and one volun-

teer who especially exemplifies these values and who has been recognised by people who know the centre. Cardinal Wilfred Napier of Durban and the regional Oblate provincial, Fr Vusumuzi Mazibuko, are both supportive of the idea.

Nominations are now open and anyone associated with the DHC— an employee, a partner, a serviceuser, a donor, a supporter—is invited to nominate one staff member and one volunteer.

The nomination form can be obtained by e-mailing centenary@denishurleycentre.org or from DHC reception at 031 301 2240. The final date and time for entering is 9am on Monday, January 22.

Nominations will be reviewed in late January by a committee of five, including several trustees, the director, and an external person who knows the organisation well.

The committee will then select the two winners, to be announced at the DHC’s annual general meeting on February 10, 2018.

The award will be accompanied by a small gift—and winners will have the honour of being recognised for excellent service.

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Wishing everyo y ne in our Catholic School Communities and in the Catholic Education Netw t ork everyy blessing during this Chriistmas season.

May the Chriistt-Child be born again in our hearts and minds as we take time to rest, t refllect and radiate His goodness.

10

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

INTERNATIONAL

Pope: Why I yelled

By CINDy WOODEN

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ELL aware he was disappointing some people by not using the word “Rohingya” publicly in Myanmar, Pope Francis said his chief concern had been to get a point across, and he did.

“If I would have used the word, the door would have closed,” he told reporters during his flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Rome.

He spent almost an hour answering reporters’ questions after his sixday trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh, but insisted that most of the questions be about the trip.

In his speeches in Myanmar, Pope Francis repeatedly referred to the obligation to defend the lives and human rights of all people. But he did not specifically mention the Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Rakhine state. The Myanmar military, claiming it is cracking down on militants, has been accused of a massive persecution of the Rohingya to the point that some describe it as “ethnic cleansing”.

More than 620 000 Rohingya have fled across the Bangladeshi border just since August, joining hundreds of thousands already living in refugee camps there.

For the government of Myanmar, the Rohingya do not exist; instead they are considered undocumented immigrants.

“I knew that if, in an official speech, I would have used the word, they would close the door in my face,” the pope said. “However, “I described the situation publicly, knowing I could go further in the private meetings” with government officials.”

“I was very, very satisfied with the meetings,” the pope said. “I dared to say everything I wanted to say.”

It is true, he said, “I did not have the pleasure” of making “a public denunciation, but I had the satisfaction of dialoguing, allowing the other to have his say and, in that way, the message got across.”

Still, finally being able to meet some of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh was an emotional moment.

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rrangements were made for 16 refugees to travel to Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar, where the huge refugee camps are, so they could join the pope and Bangladeshi religious leaders for a meeting devoted to peace.

The refugees had travelled so far and been through so much that Pope Francis said he could not just let them shake his hand and be whisked away, as some event organisers seemed to think was proper.

“And there I got upset. I yelled a bit. I’m a sinner,” he said.

He had a few minutes with each of them, listening to their stories with the help of an interpreter, hold-

A young man adjusts the hat of a young woman before Pope Francis’ arrival to celebrate Mass with youths at St Mary's cathedral in yangon, Myanmar.

ing their hands and looking into their eyes.

“I was crying, but tried to hide it,” the pope said. “They were crying, too.”

Listening to them was emotional, he said, and “I couldn’t let them leave without saying something” to them. So he asked for a microphone and spoke about their God-given dignity and the obligation believers of all faiths have to stand up for them as brothers and sisters. He also apologised for all they had suffered.

Pope Francis refused to give reporters details about his private meetings with government officials and military leaders in Myanmar, but insisted they were marked by “civilised dialogue” and he was able to make the points important to him.

The pope was asked what he thought of recent criticism by human rights groups of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and de facto leader of Myanmar’s civilian government, over her handling of the Rohingya crisis. Pope Francis responded that people must take into account the challenges that are part of Myanmar’s transition from military rule to democracy.

“I never lose hope,” he said.

The same God who made the meeting with the Rohingya in Dhaka possible will continue to work marvels, Pope Francis said.—CNS

(Right from top) Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario of Dhaka and a Buddhist representative (left) pray with Rohingya refugees from Myanmar during an interreligious meeting for peace led by Pope Francis in the garden of the archbishop’s residence in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Pope Francis greets young people after celebrating Mass with youths at St Mary’s cathedral in yangon, Myanmar. (Photo: L’Osservatore Romano/CNS) The pope greets Bhaddanta Kumarabhivasma, chairman of the supreme council of Buddhist monks, during a meeting with monks of the council at the Kaba Aye Pagoda in yangon.

A girl kisses Pope Francis’ hand as he visits the Mother Teresa House in the Tejgaon neighbourhood in Dhaka.

Pope Francis blesses graves with holy water as he visits the parish cemetery at the church of the Holy Rosary in Dhaka.

People wait for the pope’s arrival to celebrate Mass at Kyaikkasan sports ground in yangon.

(All photos except second from top: Paul Haring/CNS)

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The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

11

Donate your wedding Growing Kenyan sect dress this Christmas! confuses local Catholics A A

By DOREEN AJIAMBO

S the drumbeats grew louder at the Jerusalem church, in western Kenya members of the Legio Maria movement bowed in unison before they began speaking in tongues, praying and singing.

Their “cardinal”, Raphael Midigo, dressed in a purple gown, appeared from behind a curtain near the pulpit and began to pray for the sick, the blind, deaf, disabled, mentally ill and couples who could not bear children.

Worshippers responded in shouts as others fainted, overcome with emotion.

Such supposed miracles in the Legio Maria sect have raised concerns among Catholic parish leaders in western Kenya. Thousands of Catholics have joined the sect in search of healing.

“This is worrying because leaders from this church have their own selfish agendas, which they achieve by making people believe that they have power to heal and provide solutions,” said Geofrey Omondi, a catechist of the Nyatike Catholic church in Migori, a nearby town.

Founded in the early 1960s by Catholics who claim to have been visited by Mary four decades prior, Legio Maria members believe they have received special messages about the reincarnation of Jesus as an African. Often, they deify sect cofounder Simeo Ondeto, a catechist who died in 1992.

In its early days, Legio Maria had around 90 000 members, mostly Catholics from the Luo tribe. Today, the sect claims around 4,3 million

A child prays with the Legio Maria sect in Kisumu, Kenya. Some Catholics have left the Church for the sect. (Photo: Doreen Ajiambo/CNS) members in Kenya, Sudan and beyond.

In Kenya, they take orders from their “pope”, Romanus Ongombe.

They also claim to have 58 cardinals throughout the country.

Many local Catholics said they remain confused, years after the formation of the sect. Legio Maria conducts the same types of services as the Catholic Church. Its members sing hymns. They have what they describe as a traditional Latin Mass.

They recite the rosary and even have nuns.

“We are sometimes confused to decide which church to go to,” said Peter Ogola, a member of the sect

who left the Catholic Church in May after he said he saw the image of Mary and baby Jesus engraved on a rock in the area. “Both churches look the same in the way they conduct their services. But Legio Maria church does it differently. They have the power to solve problems through prophecy and miracles.”

Kenyans also want tangible solutions to their myriad problems, including sickness, unemployment, poverty, bad relationships and other life challenges, Mr Ogola added.

Local Catholic leaders say the church confuses and lies to congregants.

“They have been lying to people who are seeking divine intervention in their lives, telling them that they are the official Catholic Church.

That’s a pure lie,” said Mr Omondi.

Religious analysts said the Catholic Church should not ignore the sect’s influence.

Kenyans’ cultural attachment to witchcraft has lured them to churches where visions, dreams and superstitious beliefs are explained in religious terms by church elders, said retired Bishop Elvis Otiendo of the Pentecostal Church of Kenya.

“It will be suicidal for the Catholic Church to ignore the influence of the African church which has strong roots in western Kenya,” he said.

“They are telling people and their followers what they want to hear.

The Catholic Church should start educating their followers about the values of the Church and what they stand for as a Church.”—CNS

CATHOLIC wedding planner has encouraged married women in Ecuador to “put a smile on the face of a poor bride” by donating their wedding dresses this Christmas.

“The goal is to have women give up their wedding dresses, since they don’t have a real use for them anymore. What’s better than keeping them is to give them to someone who needs one,” Maria Alejandra Guerra told the ACI Prensa news agency.

Ms Guerra explained that the idea came to her a couple of weeks ago when she went with a group of missionaries from the Bonds of Marian Love Movement to a parish in a poor section of Guayaquil, to coordinate a Christmas campaign for the children there.

Parish priest Fr John Codjoe told them that one of the parish’s ministries was marriage preparation. Because “most of these women don’t have wedding gowns”, he was looking for dresses to be donated, Ms Guerra said.

“So that little light went on, because that was something I wanted to do for some time, and so I said to him: ‘Father, I’m a wedding planner, I’m going to help you and I’m going to promote this for your parish’.”

Fr Codjoe “was thrilled” with the proposal and told her about 19 couples who would soon be getting married in the parish.

“That’s why I decided to launch this campaign on social media. I did not think I was going to get a good reception because some time ago I did a poll and most women told me they preferred to sell their wedding dresses. But it turned out just the op-

posite and now seven women have offered to give me their dresses,” she said.

On her Instagram account, where she launched the campaign, Ms Guerra said that Christmas is a “joy, it’s giving something to someone you don’t know but who needs it more...giving without remembering and receiving without forgetting, because that bride you give the dress to will be immensely grateful”.

She hopes that “we can put smiles on the faces of the brides most in need”.

Ms Guerra said that “if I succeed in coming up with the dresses which Fr Codjoe needs for next year and I continue to get more dresses, then I’ll be looking for other parishes that will want to receive them as donations”.

She also called on married women from other countries to look for churches where they could give their wedding dresses to low-income couples who are preparing for marriage.—CNA

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

12

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

LETTERS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher Christmas guest editorial: Sydney Duval

Heavens Alive!

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HRISTMAS in a village parish on the North Coast of then-Natal in the 1940s was a flowering of fragrance and colour from mangoes, avocados and litchis.

At Midnight Mass you could call it a silhouette of the flowering of the seed in the manger at Bethlehem. The crib was in place. The old wood and iron church, ablaze with candles and flowers, creaked in the heat. The choir sang to music from an old pump organ with sounds as sweet and sour as the tall grasses that covered the land where no sugarcane grew.

St Michaels’s in Blackburn Road, like parishes across the land, had much to celebrate. The soldiers had come home. Civvy street was alive with the shuffle of brogues and suedes. The wounds of war were being healed.

The school down the road, the bioscope round the corner, and Parkhill soccer ground up the road from the church formed a scaffolding that supported our spiritual formation, our education, our social life and our sporting activities. There was little brokenness to darken the sky or the landscape. Wholeness kept family and friends close together—before apartheid broke things up and smashed life and society into bits and pieces.

The year 1994 brought the dawn of a new beginning, with Nelson Mandela telling the world: “Never, never again.” Yet just 23 years later we find ourselves facing Christmas with a new kind of brokenness.

South Africa is being swamped by corruption, criminal violence, mismanagement of resources and services, and anarchy and carnage on the roads that have created new forms of brokenness.

Brokenness for the millions of poor and jobless citizens. Brokenness in education, health and policing. Children’s bodies broken and abused. Brokenness through state capture which flourishes with little or no consequences.

Economic perfidy has brought us to the perils of junk bond status. Parliamentary sessions bring more revelations of skullduggery.

When you put it all together it’s a very human temptation to dig a hole and hide your head, to deafen your ears to the cries of the brokenhearted.

But there is a far more compelling urge to respond with “the

Word that is made flesh” with the nativity and dwells among us—the Word that is our most powerful connection and possession down all the ages.

This Christmas may we welcome the messengers of the Good News, the bearers of good tidings, who connect us to each other and to the wider world that we may better understand it and nurture it and save it—and rekindle meaning and value and a passion for compassion.

I’m thinking of The Southern Cross and its prodigious efforts to bring us the Good News, Sunday after Sunday, for close on 100 years, and its mission to keep the faith alive through mastery of the technological revolution affecting media everywhere.

Or Catholic Link which not only illuminates the Sunday Mass with its profoundly thoughtful reflections on the liturgy and scripture—it has also kept us mindful of Pope Francis and his Gospel of service and mercy, of building bridges.

Think, too, of the conscientising voice of Radio Veritas calling us to prayer and discernment.

Here are gifts for family and friends to enrich their Christian journey as blessings in times of adversity.

Consider, too, what each of us can do to spread the Good News.

We could re-engage with the Vatican pastoral instruction Aetatis Novae which calls every diocesan pastoral outreach to include a social communications component.

Communication brings dialogue and communities that will live out the pastoral plan in serving humanity.

Here the local Church, through lay-religious collaboration, continues with its inspired mission to do what it can to help the seven million people living with HIV/Aids in South Africa.

This Christmas let the wondrous signs in the sky draw us back to Bethlehem and the Galilean ministry that was to change the way men and women were to embrace each other in celebrating their shared humanity.

Jesus himself had his body pierced. But he is still with us today. He is the light in the sky which inspires Catholic Link to proclaim “Good Heavens” and The Southern Cross to echo the news with “Heavens Alive!”

Ordinary Time anything but I HAVE a difficulty regarding the naming of one part of the liturgical year which I would like to share with Southern Cross readers, to discover whether I am alone with this problem. That difficulty is the use of the word “ordinary” as in “Ordinary Time”.

I feel there’s nothing ordinary about this time; it is when we hear about the main message of Jesus, the very reason that caused him to leave Nazareth and begin his mission.

This was the time when Jesus taught the apostles and disciples through his words and actions and

Imagine Lennon was right

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HE singer John Lennon in 1971 wrote a song called “Imagine”.

The hit provoked much controversy in that the “imagining” was of a world without religion and no heaven or hell. Were some of the reasons for his plea that far out?

Imagine all the unhappiness caused by religion. There are so many examples. The latest confession, after 500 years, is the “begging forgiveness for our failures” and division and even violent opposition

by Catholics and Lutherans and many other Christian communities.

In spite of it being interpreted by some as atheistic, much of Lennon’s song is, in fact, quite profound.

“Imagine there’s no countries… nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too.” Most of the world’s wars and conflicts are currently being waged, to some degree, because of religious intolerance.

“Imagine all the people living life in peace.” Check the gang wars, the murders and rapes, and general crime statistics of South Africa and many other countries.

“No need for greed or hunger”; that’s all we read about in South Africa, with reports of our own president and his cohorts stealing from the public purse and creating a nation of more and more hungry, poor and unemployed.

“Imagine all the people sharing all the world…A brotherhood of man,” Lennon sings.

“You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one. I hope [pray] some day you’ll join us [me] and the world will live as one.”

Tony Meehan, Cape Town

We are called to be witnesses

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ANY of us Catholics consider the word “evangelise” as somewhat “Protestant”.

However, the very reason for the

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formed them for their task of continuing on his mission in the world after he had gone.

This is the time that should influence us to become disciples; the time when we learn what it means to be Christian, to love God and to love our neighbour.

To call this time “ordinary” detracts from its importance.

Also, the fact that it is divided into two parts—a small section between Epiphany and Lent, followed by another section after Pentecost— makes one feel that it is merely a time when we fill up the gaps beOpinions 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 021 465-3850

Church’s existence is to evangelise–viz to bring others into a vital relationship with Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of mankind, empowered by his Spirit.

In the past, we Catholics understood “mission” as pointing out to non-Catholics, with pride, the “marks” of the one, true, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ. This is ecclesiocentrism or triumphalism—it is not evangelisation.

Pope Paul VI wrote in Evangelii Nuntiandi: “The best witness or example of one’s life would be a waste of time without a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ.” If someone is impressed by the quality of one’s Christian life, one has the duty to explain what the source and power of that witness is, if asked.

Many Catholics do not evangelise because thay are not sure of the basic Gospel message (the kerygma) as taught by the Church in its Catechism and in the Bible, viz that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and by his grace, working in love. If we live the joyful experience of being in love with Jesus Christ and by his grace, as both St Teresa of Avila and St Teresa of Calcutta stressed, we would spread that message to all we meet, as lovers do.

Our lack of witnessing shows that we are not cognisant of the basic Gospel message. We are so consumed with trying to save ourselves by our own efforts (a heresy, Pelagianism), that we have little interest in, and knowledge of, how to bring others to the Good News of the Gospel. St Paul warns in

St Dominic’s House of Prayer at the Bluff We Oakford Dominican Sisters wish all patrons God’s

tween the really important feasts.

To call this time “ordinary” seems to imply that it is not as important as the other liturgical times. But it surely is.

I believe we are all supposed to be apostles and for that we all need formation. The world needs to hear the message of Jesus. We need to convey it to the world.

As disciples, that is our mission too. To make this obvious it would help if Ordinary Time could receive another name: perhaps Formation Time?

Or does anyone have other ideas?

Fr Joseph Falkiner OP, Pietermaritzburg

1 Corinthians 9:16: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.” Holiness is given to us (in baptism and confirmation) before it is demanded of us.

Many misunderstand the role of good works. Good works do not save us; they show that our faith is genuine (James 2:17). These are fruits of grace. We do not “earn” salvation. It is a free gift from God, so that no one can claim the credit.

This stressing of good works by the Church has unfortunately been misunderstood by many of us Catholics, and was a primary cause of Martin Luther’s rebellion. Indulgences were being sold to secure entry into heaven, “earning” salvation through money unassisted by grace.

Actions (by the example of our Christian lives) do often speak louder than words. But such an excuse often masks other reasons, including timidity, embarrassment, pride, lukewarmness, and a patent lack of knowledge of the Bible and of the basic Gospel message.

On the first Pentecost, Peter raised his voice and proclaimed to the Jews in Jerusalem the good news of the Gospel (Acts 2:14). Shortly before his ascension, Jesus instructed that all the baptised should make disciples of the nations, both laity and clergy (Matthew 28:19).

Are we living in a vital, ongoing relationship with Jesus, empowered by his Spirit, or are we trying to “find God with arms outstretched as the pagans do” as Pope Paul VI put it, “trying desperately to save ourselves by our own efforts”?

An excellent way of entering into a vital, ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit, is to enroll in one of the Life in the Spirit seminars of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which Pope Paul VI once described as “a chance for the Church and the world”.

We need to learn to lift Jesus higher and proclaim him to the world as our only Saviour—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

John Lee, Johannesburg

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PERSPECTIVES

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

To change SA, ‘clean your room’ T HIS week is one of the big weeks in South Africa’s history. Whatever way things pan out at the ANC conference in Johannesburg, we know that we cannot go on as before. It would be just crazy to do so.

And this realisation is a great place to begin our Christmas celebrations.

The finalised Incarnation in the Nativity of Our Lord into a place and time— and with persons—means that the old had come to a full stop. It will lead the old order to a murder and then its dissolution.

As we face a similar situation in South Africa, we need to be prepared for the long slog of confirming the death of the old order. The looting, the corruption, the criminality and the confusion—and the silence of the bishops as a collective— has to be left behind in order that the new possibility and potential is given space to become what we know God desires for us.

Without sounding like I’m making a pious plea, we need to be able to read these signs of the times with the Light of the Gospel and the story of a deeply vulnerable and deeply meaningful hope.

Deeply vulnerable as only a small child can be, and fuelled by hope because we know that this story doesn’t end in the triumph of evil.

It’s with this hope-filled vulnerability that we are able to commit ourselves to the watchfulness of being a Christian. It also means that we are able to commit ourselves to the necessary work we are engaged in.

One of the greatest traps we can fall into in our spiritual, moral and social lives is that of being overwhelmed by the immensity of the task at hand, the demands on our charity, the fear for our

families and relationships, and the potential of messing this up.

Just look at how young parents react to the birth of their first child—often with a real fear mixed with an overwhelming Joy. This is us: caught up with a real fear and a possibility to which we are called not just by ourselves and circumstances but especially by God We cannot afford ourselves to be trapped by being overwhelmed, and nor can our country. Now is not the time for inertia.

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young family has to learn that while the baby is cute and lovely just to look at, it still needs feeding and changing. The young parents cannot be inert; looking after a baby and keeping it healthy requires a lot of work. In the same way, we cannot look at our country’s troubles and be inert, for inertia is ultimately not life-giving and serves no purpose—not ours nor God’s.

We may be overwhelmed by South Africa’s problems, but we cannot do nothing about it. And change, Fr Chris Townsend argues, begins at home, even and especially at the Christmas table

Fr Chris Townsend

Pastor’s Notebook

One of the marks of the Catholic Church in her engagement with the broader South African context is that we are a church that just gets on with it. Be it the provision of education that would not be dictated to by the vagaries of the apartheid regime, or the need to respond to the HIV and Aids pandemic with the provision of anti-retroviral treatment, we are a church that is not cowed by the state or her messiness. We have knuckled down and got on with the task with dignity and honesty.

As we approach the Christmas season proper (not the crazy pseudo-Christmas of the retailers), we often have to face the messiness of our families and the often broken, unhealed, scarred nature of the reality of lives.

I’ve recently become aware of the work of the Canadian psychologist and social commentator Jordan B Pieterson. One of his focus themes is: “If you want to change the world, clean your room…”

I suggest that if we want to change our South African context, we begin around the Christmas table. We can’t work on sorting out an overwhelming situation in our country without sorting out the often much smaller, even pettier family issues.

Unlike the macro issues of the country, which are often out of our control, the scar-causing and reinforcing histories and relationships of family are within our grasp and we can make the small steps to incarnate a vulnerable hope into our Christmas spirituality.

The Gospel according to my neighbour Judith Turner L AST month the Church observed the first World Day of the Poor, proclaimed by Pope Francis.

This day, which will become an annual event, is intended to highlight the plight of the poor in the world and to open our minds and hearts and our attitudes towards the poverty that exists every day of the year.

The gospel of Matthew spells out very clearly the mandate we have to serve the poor: “Truly, I say to you,” the evangelist quotes Jesus, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (25:40).

There is no better way for me to reflect on this mandate given to us in Matthew’s gospel message—which in this season of conspicuous consumption has special resonance—than to tell you the story of my neighbour of 34 years, whom we buried four months ago.

This woman truly lived this message of Matthew to the tee. She did good to everyone—especially “to the least of my brothers”.

We are always tempted to think that one day we will do something great for God. One day we will have a lot of money and feed a lot of people, or something spectacular like that.

But when we think like this, we do not realise that our opportunity to do something spectacular does not lie in the future, when things are better for us, but those opportunities are with us here and now, and every day, when things are not good for others.

Whenever my neighbour and I had time to talk over our fence, she always would relate her encounters with other people. And inevitably it would slip that she has helped someone in some small

Faith and Life

The Gospel calls on us to always have our eyes and hearts open to those who suffer.

Judith Turner writes about a woman who lived by that Gospel command. way. She would never start her conversation with the aim of boasting about what she did. We would just talk about some other issue, and somehow during the conversation I would realise the tremendous outreach she had to people around her.

And these people were never people of status or influence. She would always say something like, “The child looked so lost, so I did this…”, or “The man looked so dirty so I did this…”, or “The woman looked so hungry and I did this...”

My neighbour had taken the mandate given to each one of us in Matthew’s gospel as her own life mission. She saw an opportunity to do something good for people we could best describe as the least, the lost and the last.

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here was a time when all of us in our street built fancy brick walls around our houses, with beautiful palisades and security spikes.

I am sure my neighbour also wanted her house to look fancy and secure. But one day, during one of our conversations

at the fence, she told me that she did not want to have her wall too high and she did not want a gate that locks, “because how will someone who is looking for a piece of bread get into my yard?”

She told me: “There are people coming to me every morning on their way to work for their TB medication, I don’t want them to struggle to get in.”

At a time when all of us were rightfully thinking of our own safety and security, my neighbour was looking out for the “least of my brothers”.

There was something in the way my neighbour looked at a poor person that was different to the way society looks at the poor today. When she looked at a poor person, it touched her deeply and she connected with the goodness within herself, she connected with the godliness within herself, she connected with God in herself—and it led her to action.

Whenever she saw a poor person, though she never articulated it or maybe even never realised it, she saw the face of Christ. And therefore this verse of Matthew describes her perfectly: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

And we will do well to reflect on how the least, the last and the lost are faring around us while we are alive. And then act!

This, I think, is to live the spirit of Christmas every day.

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Julia Beacroft

Point of Christmas

Share the fare!

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HE traditional turkey roast dinner seems to be synonymous with Christmas, at least in Britain, and I’ve certainly had my fair share of cooking them. Yet strangely many of us seem to be over-awed, worried or downright stressed at the prospect of tackling the festive big bird each year.

Questions over whether we have the rightsized roasting tin, the correct width baking foil and even more importantly, how long the bird will take to cook in the oven, causes many cooks to scratch their heads and ponder each year.

And problems so easily arise as well… A friend of mine invited some elderly guests who had no families of their own for the Christmas meal, but nearly had a heart attack himself when he dropped the roasting tin, complete with halfcooked turkey on his kitchen floor.

On another occasion, my kitchen came close to resembling an abattoir when I tried to implement what I believed to be a foolproof plan to make sure that the turkey was cooked to perfection. Or so I thought…

As a family of six we were in possession of a large slow-cooker. Therefore the perfect solution to the timing debacle was to put the turkey in to slow cook overnight on a low setting. Ideal! Unfortunately however, the slow cooker was large— but clearly not large enough.

Denuded of first its wings and then its legs in a desperate bid to fit it in, my late father was heard to murmur sympathetically: “Poor little soand-so! What have they done to you?!”

In Britain, turkey dinners for Christmas are rooted in history, originally being introduced around the 1500s and with King Henry VIII being the first British monarch to enjoy the bird at Christmas.

But this year I am planning a change of menu.

On Christmas Day when my large and extended family gather together, we are having “shared plate” buffet-style Christmas fare.

There are definitely some advantageous reasons. The idea of coming together, bringing and sharing, is fundamentally founded in Christianity. Hospitality and sharing our food, which has been produced by man in cooperation with God, means that we are also sharing our lives.

And it seems to me that sharing our lives with each other and with the Lord is the very essence of the season of Christmas.

The “bring-and-share” initiative is not necessarily synonymous with Christmas dinner, but it is synonymous with Christianity as we share the food and the workload!

And this novel way of having the Christmas meal means that all those involved can go to Mass on Christmas morning without having to worry or get in a flap about over or undercooking the seasonal turkey.

Christmas Day is the celebration of the Lord’s birth. This is the essential heart of the celebration of Christmas Without the Lord, there would be no Christmas. Without turkey, we can manage perfectly. n Julia Beacroft’s book Sanctifying The Spirit is published by Sancio Books. It is available on Amazon.

LENT IN THE

HOLY LAND 17-26 March 2018 Led by Fr Brian Mhlanga OP Contact Gail at 076 352 3809 info@fowlertours.co.za of RADIO VERITAS

www.fowlertours.co.za/holyland

This was 2017

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The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

YEAR-END REVIEW

The highlights and lowlights of the year

It was the Catholic year that was dominated by the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima. In Southern Africa the Church began its year-long jubilee for the 200th anniversary of its establishment here, marked the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, and challenged government and business on several issues.

GüNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks back at 2017.

DECEMBER 2016

Catholic parishes across South Africa mark three days of prayer and fasting in support of sexual abuse victims, including those of priests, to support the 16 Days of Activism and No Violence Against Women and Children. In a statement, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) apologises for the Church’s “failure at times” to adequately deal with the issue and to empathise with the pain caused.

For the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, Pope Francis grants a plenary indulgence opportunity throughout the entire anniversary year.

President Jacob Zuma in a speech to the 12 Apostles Church in Christ in Durban tells churches to stop “meddling” in politics.

Terrorists kill 25 in a bombing of the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo.

The Vatican launches a child protection website (www.protectionof minors.va).

Brazilian Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, retired archbishop of São Paulo and famed champion of the poor and oppressed, dies at 95 on December 14.

Michelle Nkamankeng, 7, a parishioner of St Francis of Assisi church in Yeoville and pupil at Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg, receives the prestigious Mbokodo Award after publishing her first book, Waiting for the Waves.

Pope Francis grants clemency to Mgr Lucio Vallejo Balda who had served nine months in a Vatican prison for leaking confidential documents.

JANUARY 2017

Amid growing claims of demonic possession and Satanism in South Africa, the bishops arrange a series of workshops to educate priests about exorcism.

The great majority of sainthood causes in the past decade, nearly 40%, have originated in Italy, according to Cardinal Angelo Amato, head of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

Lesotho Cardinal Sebastian Koto Khoarai OMI receives his red hat in a ceremony in Mohale’s Hoek. The 87-year-old had been too ill to attend the consistory in November.

The Palestinian embassy to the Holy See is inaugurated in the

presence of Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas.

The bishops of Southern Africa issue a pastoral letter on the implementation of Pope Francis’ document on the family, 2016’s Amoris Laetitia, giving a general outline of the priorities for the local Church.

At their January plenary, the Catholic bishops welcome delegations from sister churches for an ecumenical session and service in Pretoria.

The new Council for the Laity in the SACBC pastoral region is launched, with Malatsi Leonard Kope as its first chair.

The bishops of Southern Africa appeal to all university students to follow their academic programmes, even “while continuing their legitimate campaign” for and end to fees.

The German bishops publish their guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, allowing, in certain cases, for divorced-and-remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

The death of at least 94 mental health patients in Gauteng facilities could be called “a gross violation of the right to life”, the Jesuit Institute says in a strongly worded statement.

Pope Francis forces Fra Matthew Festing to resign as grandmaster of the Knights of Malta following an investigation into the removal of the order’s grand chancellor.

FEBRUARY

The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) marks the 20th anniversary of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act taking effect with a Mass in Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral.

The Church in Southern Africa observes February 8, feast day of St Josephine Bakhita, as a day of prayer and reflection on human trafficking and the abuse of women and children.

The Vatican releases an expanded and updated guide of the Church’s bioethical teachings to reflect the Church’s positions on abortion, contraception, genetic engineering, fertility treatments, vaccines, and other life issues.

The 50th anniversary year of Little Eden homes for the intellectually disabled in Gauteng is launched with a Mass of thanksgiving.

Hundreds of homeless people and parishioners of Holy Trinity church in Braamfontein, Johannes-

burg, attend the unveiling of a sculpture by Timothy Schmalz of Jesus as a homeless person sleeping on a park bench.

The Jesuit Refugee Service compares South Africa’s policy proposals on refugees to the “protectionism and isolationism” of US President Donald Trump’s controversial ban on Muslim refugees.

Bishop Abel Gabuza, chair of the SACBC’s Justice & Peace Commission accuses the government of “playing with the lives of the poor” amid widespread fears that the social grant system is in crisis and that payments to 17 million poor South Africans might be disrupted after the first of April this year.

Precious Blood Sister Maria Senn, whose art is found in many South African churches, dies at 86 in Austria.

The head of the Franciscans worldwide, Fr Michael Perry, visits South Africa to meet with friars and sisters of various Franciscan congregations.

More than 6 000 people witness Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg officially launch the building of the archdiocesan Marian shrine and pastoral centre in Magaliesburg.

MARCH

Marie Collins, a founding member and the last remaining abuse survivor on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, quits over what she describes as resistance coming from Vatican offices against implementing recommendations.

The new shrine for Archbishop Denis Hurley at his grave in Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral is officially opened and a prayer for the intercession of the late archbishop released to encourage acts of public devotion which are needed to justify the opening of a sainthood cause.

Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, grand master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, presides over a vigil and investiture of South African members in Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral.

Benedictine Brother Ghislain Maluvu takes over as the local superior of his order’s St Benedict’s abbey in Polokwane.

Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, Ireland, says he was “horrified and saddened to hear” of the revelations of a commission set up

Sharing the mission of the Mini World youth Day in December in Durban are: (from left) Precious Mazibuko, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier and Philiswa Shongwe (Photo: Val Adamson) to investigate the treatment of unmarried mothers and their babies in Irish care homes run by nuns in the 20th century.

Vatican journalist Robert Mickens tells audiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town that Pope Francis likes to be addressed as “Padre”(“Father”).

The newly-renovated edicule that holds the tomb of Christ in Jerusalem’s church of the Holy Sepulchre is revealed.

In a pastoral letter on the drought in the Cape, Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town warns that saving water is becoming “the new normal” and calls on Catholic parishes and institutions to lead by example.

The Catholic bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo abandon their attempts to broker a powersharing agreement between government and the opposition amid violence.

Sr Alison Munro OP retires as director of the SACBC Aids Office which she headed for 17 years.

APRIL

The SACBC Justice & Peace Commission urges President Zuma to institute a commission of inquiry into state capture and “corporate involvement in cabinet appointments”.

Two ISIS terror attacks on churches in Tanta and Alexandra, Egypt, on Palm Sunday kill more than 45 people.

Bishop Duncan Tsoke, auxiliary bishop in Johannesburg, calls for “a coordinated and effective response” by the political community, civil society and the Church to meet the challenges and reality of migrant and refugee children in South Africa.

A US teenager, Santos Colon of New Jersey, pleads guilty to charges related to a plot to kill Pope Francis in 2015.

Pope Francis visits Egypt on a 72hour trip. In Cairo he meets with Muslim scholars and the iman of the influential Al-Azhar University.

St Augustine cathedral in Port Elizabeth closes a year of celebration to mark its 150th anniversary.

MAY

Bishop Barry Wood OMI, auxiliary in Durban, dies suddenly on May 2 at the age of 74. His funeral at the Royal Agricultural Showground in Pietermaritzburg is attended by 5 000 mourners.

St Mary’s cathedral in Wau, South Sudan, gives shelter to 16 000 people displaced by political violence.

President Zuma uses the setting of a Catholic church in Bulwer, Mariannhill, to launch the ANC presidential campaign of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

A Vatican commission set up to study the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has reportedly voted overwhelmingly to recognise as supernatural the first seven appearances of Mary in 1981, but is doubtful about the thousands of alleged visions that have occurred since July 4, 1981, and supposedly continue to this day.

Visiting Fatima, Portugal, to mark the centenary of the Marian apparitions there, Pope Francis canonises two of the three visionaries, Ss Francisco and Jacinta Marto (the cause

for Bl Lucia dos Santos is running separately).

The Syrian city of Aleppo, still damaged by the civil war, is consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima.

South Africa opens its first residential embassy in the Vatican, with George Johannes as ambassador.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin leads a Southern Cross pilgrimage to Fatima and Avila, and other places in Portugal and Spain. The pilgrimage is repeated in October in association with Radio Veritas and led by Fr Brian Mhlanga OP.

JUNE

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement celebrates its 50th anniversary with a Pentecost vigil and papal Mass in Rome, also attended by members of Pentecostal and Evangelical churches.

Catholic athlete Bongumusa Mthembu wins his second Comrades Marathon, holding his rosary. He later visits the Marian shrine at Kevelaer, Mariannhill, to give thanks to Our Lady.

The body of Bishop Jean-Marie Bala of Bafia, Cameroon, is found in a river three days after his disappearance. Authorities rule his death a suicide, but the Church and his family suspect murder and a cover-up.

Following its own findings of severe corruption in government, the South African Council of Churches calls for the dissolution of parliament and new general elections.

Church leaders in Zambia condemn rising political repression and rebuke President Edgar Lungu.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban says a case brought against the Catholic Church by a racist guesthouse owner for blasphemy, murder and the Spanish Inquisition was “a joke” by somebody not in full possession of his faculties. The case was quickly dismissed in the Durban High Court.

The archdiocese of Cape Town launches a year-long celebration to lead up to the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Church in South Africa, culminating with national Masses of Thanksgiving on June 10, 2018, in every cathedral, parish and mission station throughout Southern Africa.

Pope Francis elevates five new cardinals, including Cardinal Jean Zerbo from Mali.

Archbishop Teofil Matulionis, who was murdered by the Soviet police in 1962 to prevent him attending Vatican II, is beatified in Lithuania.

South African youth are urged to respond to an online questionnaire set up by the Vatican in preparation for next years Synod of Bishops on the Youth.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s term as prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine expires after it was not renewed by Pope Francis.

JULY

The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) applauds a Constitutional Court ruling instructing parliament to amend defects in the Immigration Act. Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls, longtime spokesman for Pope John Paul II, dies on July 5 at 80.

Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Offices from across Africa meet in Cape Town to share experiences.

YEAR-END REVIEW The Southern African CPLO celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.

Germany’s bishops’ conference criticises a parliamentary vote to allow same-sex marriage.

The Missionaries of Charity trademark the distinctive habit of their order popularised by Mother Teresa.

Former Northern Ireland and Manchester United footballer Philip Mulryne is ordained to the priesthood in Dublin.

The Vatican rules out permitting gluten-free Communion hosts.

Pope Francis introduces a fourth pathway to canonisation: giving one’s life in a heroic act of loving service to others.

A proposed law that would require the licensing of “worship centres”, such as churches, and of “general religious practitioners” would amount to limitations of freedom of religion and association, the CPLO warns.

Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp hails 45 tavern owners in his diocese who have committed themselves to the fight against a culture of rape and femicide.

The Vatican shuts down the fountains in St Peter’s Square in the midst of a drought.

A theme song for Mini World Youth Day in Durban in December is released with a video. “The Mighty One” was written by Justin Nanak and Thandeka DubeNdhlovu.

Fr Thomas Weston SJ tours South Africa and Swaziland to present the Jesuit Institute’s Winter Living Theology on the subject of addiction.

AUGUST

The bishops of Southern Africa focus on race in their mid-year plenary meeting in Mariannhill, saying the Church can help in the national racism debate.

Bishop Valentine Seane, 51, of Gaborone resigns unexpectedly for what he says are “personal reasons”. Bishop Frank Nubuasah of Francistown is appointed administrator of Gaborone.

At least 11 people are killed in a shooting during Mass in Ozubulu, Nigeria.

The Dominicans celebrate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of their friars in South Africa. Later in the year, the Cabra Dominican Sisters celebrate 150 years in the country, and the King William’s Town Dominican Sisters 140 years.

The Church throughout the world marks the centenary of the birth of martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero. There are hints that he may be canonised in 2018.

Sr Ruth Pfau, the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan”, is given a state funeral in the Muslim country after her death at 87 on August 10.

The Catholic Women’s League’s national council will be based in Johannesburg for the next three years following the election of Bernice Cocci as national president.

Twelve people about to begin a Marian procession are killed by a falling tree in Madeira, Portugal.

Archbishop Mario Cassari, nuncio to Southern Africa from 2012-15, dies at on August 19 at 73.

Kenya’s bishops condemn postelection violence that left 24 dead following the disputed presidential elections.

Some 72 members of Neocatechumenal Way of South Africa go on a ten-day itinerant mission, travelling without money or cellphones throughout Southern Africa.

SEPTEMBER

Bishop Michael Wüstenberg, 63, of Aliwal North retires for health reasons.

Christopher West, a speaker on Theology of the Body from the US, addresses audiences in South Africa on sexual ethics.

Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria leads his third Southern Cross pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Rome and Assisi.

A survey in Britain finds that 53% of respondents say they have “no religion”.

St Augustine College, South Africa’s Catholic university, is invited by the International Federation of Catholic Universities to join an initiative that, through the Vatican’s new Department for Promoting In-

Left: Pope Francis leads a vigil in May at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal where he commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions there. Right: Altar servers lead the recessional procession after the Mass in Cape Town’s St Mary’s cathedral in June to mark the beginning of the jubilee year leading to the 200th anniversary of the Catholic Church being established in South Africa. (Photos: Paul Haring/CNS; Günther Simmermacher)

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

A Vatican court convicts Giuseppe Profiti, former president of the Vatican-owned paediatric Bambino Gesu hospital, of abuse of office for using donations belonging to the hospital’s foundation to refurbish a Vatican-owned apartment used by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, former Vatican secretary of state. Mr Profiti’s sentence is suspended. Cardinal Bertone was not investigated.

Pope Francis makes a phone call to outer space as he speaks to astronauts on NASA’s International Space Station.

Bishops from the metropolitan region of Durban resolve to uphold a 1981 SACBC resolution that no party political speeches are to be permitted at Church events.

Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral is packed as 80 clergy from different Christian denominations celebrate an ecumenical service to mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation.

NOVEMBER

Left: The restored edicule that covers Jesus’ tomb in the church of the Holy Sepulcher is seen during a ceremony marking its unveiling. Right: Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg blesses the ground for the new diocesan Marian shrine and pastoral centre in Magaliesburg after a sodturning ceremony in February. (Photos: Sebastian Scheiner, Reuters/CNS; Alexis Santana Callea) tegral Human Development, will provide support to papal diplomacy on important global issues.

Pope Francis makes changes to the Code of Canon Law regarding translations of the Mass and other liturgical texts that give bishops’ conferences greater power in introducing liturgical texts.

Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil is released 18 months after he was kidnapped in Yemen. The sultan of Oman was reportedly instrumental in securing the Indian priest’s release.

Pope Francis visits Colombia, urging reconciliation after a 50year civil war.

Fr Teresito Soganub, vicar-general of the prelature of Marawi, Philippine, is released after almost four months in captivity by ISIS-inspired militants.

Sr Hermenegild Makoro CPS, secretary-general of the SACBC, briefs Pope Francis on behalf of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, of which she is a member.

A group of conservative priests and laity, including the head of the schismatic Society of St Pius X, accuse Pope Francis of propagating heresies.

Forty Catholic institutions worldwide, including Catholic Welfare & Development, the social welfare agency of the archdiocese of Cape Town, decided to divest from fossil fuel companies.

US priest Stanley Rother, who was martyred in Guatemala in 1981, is beatified.

OCTOBER

The official medal for Bl Benedict Daswa, authorised by Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen, is unveiled.

Rimon Makhlouf, a frequent guide of Southern Cross pilgrimages in the Holy Land and a Roman Catholic, dies suddenly on October 3 at 57.

The bishops’ Justice & Peace Commission launches a Friday prayer campaign for the healing of our nation and to ask God to intervene in the political and economic situation of the country in the leadup to the ANC National Conference from December 16-20, at which the party’s members will elect their new leaders.

Francistown in Botswana is elevated from vicariate to the status of a diocese.

Slovakian Salesian Father Titus Zeman who died in 1969 from torture and radiation poisoning after forced labour in Czechoslovakia’s uranium mines is beatified.

Bishop Tsoke is tasked with overseeing the establishment of Caritas in all dioceses of the Southern African pastoral region, with a view to having the Church’s charitable arm present in all parishes.

Fr Pius Afiabor of Rustenburg, regional superior of the Society of African Missions, dies on October 12 at 45.

Retired Bishops Herbert Lenhof SAC of Queenstown and Fulgence Le Roy OSB of Polokwane die on October 13 and 14 respectively.

Pope Francis says that the death penalty is contrary to the Gospel.

Bishop Gabuza calls on candidates for the ANC presidency to declare their support for the establishment of a specialised anti-corruption court.

An SACBC delegation led by president Archbishop Brislin, vice-president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, and secretary-general Sr Makoro makes a submission to a parliamentary committee on the abuse of religion, saying that a law requiring all religious practitioners to register under umbrella organisations would amount to a violation of the right to freedom of religion and worship.

The Franciscans celebrate 800 years since their arrival in the Holy Land, where today they are the custodians of major shrines.

A Synod of Bishops for the PanAmazonian region will take place in Rome in October 2019, Pope Francis announces.

Pope Francis proclaims 35 new saints, including the “Martyrs of Natal”, Brazil, and the “Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala”.

Archbishop Tlhagale approves the initial stages of an investigation into the possibility for a cause for sainthood for Domitilla Rota and Danny Hyams, the founders of Little Eden Home in Edenvale.

The beatification of Indian Sister Rani Maria Vattalil who was murdered in 1995 at 41 is attended by her killer, Samandar Singh.

Chris Langeveldt, a former Oblate priest and social activist, dies on November 2 at 66.

Recognition of a national homeland for Palestinians is required to achieve justice and reconciliation in the Holy Land, English Catholic and Anglican leaders say to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration which culminated in the founding of Israel in 1948.

The Justice & Peace Commission challenges 21 South African mining companies to explain why they are using tax havens.

Pope Francis bans the sale of cigarettes in the Vatican.

The Church marks the first World Day of the Poor, instituted by Pope Francis.

Jesuit Father Fidelis Mukonori, parliamentary liaison officer for Harare archdiocese, is involved in mediating a graceful exit for the reluctant Robert Mugabe following the de facto coup in Zimbabwe. The country’s bishops urge “a speedy return to normalcy and constitutional order”.

Thousands of Christians gather at Soccer City in Johannesburg for a National Day of Prayer for South Africa.

Pope Francis begins his visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Organisers for Mini World Youth Day in Durban say more than 3 600 youth have registered to take part.

Springfield Convent School

Springfield wishes Cardinal Napier, Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy, Cabra Dominican Sisters, Parents, Staff & Pupils a blessed and peaceful Christmas

May peace be your gi at Christmas and your blessing all year through

15

In Memoriam

Fr Eric Boulle OMI, of Durban, on December 5, 2016 Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, 95, retired of São Paul, Brazil, on December 14, 2016 Cardinal Gilberto Augustoni, 94, Swiss curial official, Brazil, on January 13, 2017 Fr Paddy Gallagher, 74, of Witbank, on February 13 Cardinal Desmond O’Connell, 90, retired of Dublin, on February 21 Fr Ludwig Brunner SAC, 77, of Oudtshoorn diocese, on February 23 Cardinal William Keeler, 86, retired of Baltimore, US, on March 23 Fr Mario Ceruti OMI, of Durban, on April 1 Fr Eugene Makhathini, of Mariannhill, on April 11 Cardinal Attilio Nicora, 80, Italian curial official, on April 22 Bishop Barry Wood OMI, 74, auxiliary bishop of Durban, on May 2 Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, 84, of the Ukraine, on May 31 Fr Bongani Manzini, 36, of Witbank diocese, on June 15 Cardinal Ivan Dias, 81, curial official formerly of Mumbai, on June 19 Cardinal Joachim Meisner, 83, retired of Cologne, on July 5.

Fr George Gallagher SDB, 90, of Cape Town, on July 6 Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, 83, retired of Milan, on August 5 Archbishop Mario Cassari, 74, ex-nuncio to Southern Africa, on August 19 Cardinal Cormac MurphyO’Connor, 85, retired of Westminster, England, on September 1 Fr Gabriel Goibaiyer, 75, of Cape Town, on September 2 Cardinal Carlo Caffara, 79, retired of Bologna, Italy, on September 6 Fr Paul Fahy, 74, of Port Elizabeth diocese, on September 6 Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, 81, Italian curial official, on September 9 Fr Anthony Austin SCJ, 85, of Aliwal, on September 29 Fr Pius Afiabor SMA, 45, of Rustenburg, on October 12 Bishop Herbert Lenhof SAC, 81, retired of Queenstown, on October 13 Bishop Fulgence Le Roy OSB, 93, retired of Polokwane, on October 14 Fr Julian Black CP, 81, of Gaborone, on October 14 Cardinal Ricard Vidal, 86, retired of Cebu, Philippines, on October 18 Cardinal Bernard Panafieul, 86, retired of Marseilles, on November 12 Fr Zaba Mbanjwa OMI, 52, of St Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara, KZN, on November 15 Cardinal Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, 92, Vatican diplomat, on November 19 Fr Abie Tlhapi, of Klerksdorp, in November

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The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

COMMUNITY

youngsters of Alfonso Maria Fusco Children’s Home celebrated their First Communion at St Charles’ parish in Bronkhorstspruit, Pretoria archdiocese.

St Kevin’s parish in Windvogel, Port Elizabeth diocese, celebrated its golden jubilee with parish priest Fr Callistus Nwosu SDV. To highlight its 50 years, the parish built a new grotto to Our Lady, the church itself was renovated, with the support of donors and parishioners, and work began on a new Garden of Remembrance.

St Therese’s parish in Alberton, Johannesburg archdiocese, saw 35 children receive their First Communion. The celebration included the children singing a special song with Fr Kevin Bugler OMI. (Back from left) teacher Celeste Pereira, coordinator Lisa Cruickshank and teacher Laurinda Xavier. (Photo: Grant Pearson) Blessed Edmund PreSchool held its year-end concert and Grade R graduation. The school, at Mahobe mission near Harding in Umzimkulu diocese, is headed by Sr Helena Kolcz of the Congregation of the Little Servants of Mary. (Supplied by Sr Zithobile Zondi)

Send your photos to

pics@scross.co.za

Holy Rosary High School in Edenvale, Johannesburg, announced its Johannesburg Junior Council reps for 2018, Kekeletso Masenya and Siyanda Thabede.

Season’s greetings and best wishes for the New Year.

ǁǁǁ͘ŶŽǀƵƐ͘ŚŽůĚŝŶŐƐͬƉƌŝŶƟŶŐ

PERSONALITY

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

17

The magician who wanted to be a priest Keenan Williams, a radio presenter and magician, wanted to become a priest, but God had other plans for his life, as he told ERIN CARELSE.

R

ADIO DJ and magician Keenan Williams always felt a calling to become a priest; even the old grannies at church would tell him that they were praying for his vocation. But God had other plans for him.

Keenan, who was born in Athlone, Cape Town, in 1991, is the son of Michael and Anthea Williams, and also the grandson of the late Deacon John Williams who served the parish of Our Lady Help of Christians in Lansdowne.

His parents had him baptised a Catholic at St Mary of the Angels in Athlone but later became members of St Matthew’s Anglican church in Claremont. There he served as an altar server from a young age and also made his First Communion.

He recalled a tough childhood.

Attending Kenwyn Primary School, he was not academically inclined and failed Grade 1. He had to repeat the year and was picked on by his peers. The name-calling turned into verbal abuse, even into his high schooling years, and he became a victim of bullying.

“I suffered from mild depression and hid the truth from my parents until after I had matriculated,” Keenan said. Taking part in sporting and music activities—he played the saxophone till Grade 10—be-

Keenan to pray some more during his gap year, to decide whether the vocation was for him.

K

Keenan Williams performs magic in a restaurant came a coping mechanism to help deal with the stress.

Throughout his schooling, he knew that he wanted to one day get into the seminary and study to become a Catholic priest. But the journey wasn’t easy. He attended several vocations festivals and had regular meetings with his parish priest to discuss his vocation.

“Much prayer and discernment is needed” before entering the seminary, Keenan said.

The late Salesian Father Vincent Ford once told him: “It’s not necessarily what you may want for your life but what God wants from you to enhance his Kingdom here on earth.”

After matriculating in 2010, Keenan took his parents’ advice to take a year off.

His father was now a priest in the Anglican Catholic Church (which continues in the Anglican movement but is separate from the Anglican Communion), studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood, and was a brother with the Servants of Christ the Priest. He urged

eenan got a job at Salesian Life Choices and was tasked to run life-skills sessions in high schools across the Western Cape and to equip peer educators to conduct sessions for their fellow learners.

He was selected to represent Life Choices at an African HIV/Aids conference and awards ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The organisation won the award for its Dream2B programme, which Keenan brought home.

In 2012 he met Nicolette from Stellenbosch, and the two began dating. But soon he quit his job, took his savings, and travelled.

He went through to Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Pretoria to visit schools and youth groups where he combined comedy and magic into a motivational talk about his upbringing and how he overcame his depression.

Living with the priests and religious of the Salesian Congregation at the Bosco Youth Centre, as well as with a priest friend in Capital Park, Pretoria, he continued his prayer and discernment.

Returning home, his childhood passion for wanting to become a radio DJ was reignited. He applied to study journalism at City Varsity and thanks to an inheritance left by his grandmother, he was able to do the one-year certificate course in 2013.

During his studies, he worked at a new local radio station as an onair presenter and voice-over artist.

Later in the year, he began working at a Christian radio station as a reporter and news compiler. He

Keenan Williams and his wife Nicolette at their wedding in 2016. quickly moved up the ladder to anchor the afternoon news and got his own show as a presenter.

Since January 2016 he has been content producer for 702/Cape Talk. And when he isn’t doing that, he gets much joy from performing magic for children at Spur restaurants throughout the Cape Peninsula.

I

n 2015, he concluded that the priesthood was not his calling— and decided he wanted to marry Nicolette.

“After much plotting and planning to ensure the engagement was a surprise, I popped the question on Heritage Day. We had the family gather at a restaurant under the pretence that it was my dad’s tenth anniversary of his ordination—it was in that year but not that month. I opened with a prayer,

then laid the ring out in front of her, went down on one knee and prayed to the Heavenly Father ‘that this beautiful woman you have created will give me a positive answer to my question’”. She said yes.

They married in March 2016.

Keenan’s father did the honours by celebrating the nuptials.

Keenan and his wife live in Kuils River and attend St Ninian’s church in the area. The two, who live with their two dogs named Popeye and Olive, enjoy hiking, watching movies, hosting family for a braai and travelling.

“Throughout my life I wanted so badly to become a priest, but God had other plans for my life,” Keenan said. But just because he is not wearing a clerical collar doesn’t mean that he cannot bring people closer to Christ, he added.

“I may not be standing on the street corners with Bible in hand preaching the word of God, but I do believe that each of us, no matter where we may be finding ourselves, has the living Bible written in our hearts,” Keenan said.

“The only way to establish the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth is by sharing the love of Christ and peace of God with everyone we meet. After all, we were all baptised to be priests, prophets, and kings.

“Who knows, maybe one day Catholic priests will be allowed to be married. I pray for that, as I saw the benefits of being a son of a married priest. But for now, I will enjoy my vocation to the married life and all the fun, laughter, and challenges which come with it.” n Keenan Williams will start a new column in The Southern Cross in the new year.

18

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

YEAR-END REVIEW

How music can call back ex-Catholics Christmas is a good time to reach out to people who are distant from the Church with music—but parishes must understand what works. CAROL GLATZ spoke to two experts in sacred music.

’T

IS the season for a huge assortment of holiday concerts and carols to choose from, making Advent and Christmas a unique period for reminding people of the evergreen beauty of sacred music.

And music can be that gentle lure that helps welcome and embrace those who have become distant from the Church, said one liturgy and music expert.

Like weddings and baptisms, “Christmas is a great time” to reach out and offer people an experience that encourages them to return to church more regularly, said Paul Inwood, a British composer and former director of liturgy and music for the diocese of Portsmouth.

“When it comes to Christmas, I’m always very aware of the people who perhaps come just once or twice a year” to church, he said.

For that reason, the music that parishes programme should be “beautiful and magnificent”, but also hospitable and accessible to everyone.

Because “you can’t find anything more religious and more joyful in sacred celebrations than the whole congregation expressing its faith and devotion in song,” Mr Inwood said.

Mgr Vincenzo de Gregorio, who heads the Pontifical Institute of Sa-

cred Music in Rome, said that accessibility means respectfully matching the complexity of the music to the abilities of the congregation so that everyone can participate and feel elevated by the music.

Mr Inwood said before the Second Vatican Council, liturgical music was performed by choirs and the people in the pews were spectators.

“After Vatican II, the kind of liturgy that we had changed its nature and went back to the traditions of the earlier Church when participation in the liturgy was the norm.”

Music was now seen “as a ministry, rather than a performance, and it serves the people and helps them lift up their voices and praise to God”, said the composer.

The people must sing This push for musical reform was already well underway before the Second Vatican Council, Mgr De Gregorio said, which is why the pontifical institute was founded in 1911

by Pope Pius X. The institute was established to respond to the growing belief that “the people must sing”.

The institute teaches religious and laypeople from all over the world about liturgical music as well as giving them the practical skills to include and promote new forms of artistic expression appropriate to the present culture and people.

The tendency towards inclusion is a unique characteristic of the Latinrite Catholic Church, said the monsignor, who is an expert in the pipe organ and Gregorian chant, and has degrees in sacred theology and modern literature.

Roman Catholicism was heavily influenced by “the ancient Roman mentality”, he said, which saw that expanding into new territories and spreading its influence meant includ-

develop and appreciate musical traditions.

Two fronts to tackle

Music in churches should be “beautiful and magnificent”, but also hospitable and accessible to everyone, according to an expert in liturgy. ing and assimilating all that was good and useful from the local cultures.

This history of inclusion “is the secret of the development of music” and all arts, he said.

The Latin-rite Catholic Church “never chose one style. It never said ‘no’” to new developments and allowing instruments, which “for around 1 000 years were never used in [Christian] worship because they stank of paganism”.

Instruments first used by pagan Greece and Rome—like the organ, flute, trumpet and string instruments—are today considered by many to be uniquely sacred instruments, Mgr De Gregorio said.

“In her wisdom,” he said, the Church embraces appealing local traditions and elevates them, finds a way to fold them into the sacred.

That’s why the institute is so important, he said, because the desire for inclusion was never about “want-

ing to lower the level” of standards, but to skilfully elevate the music of the people to a higher plane.

“Here then is the reason for our school, to create and form people who can make music of the highest level,” he said.

He said he thinks the debate over “folk” versus “traditional” forms of music stems from an “ignorance” about music in general.

Fears that “the Church has abandoned its great music” find fertile ground “where there is no widespread musical culture” in schools and parishes, and people lack basic skills in reading or understanding music, he said.

Problems and polemics occurred, he said, where the reform of liturgical song was “introduced without the necessary preparation”.

The answer, then, isn’t “creating an aristocracy” of experts, but of increasing awareness and preparation for everyone so they can hold onto,

Education and formation, both Mgr De Gregorio and Mr Inwood said, have to tackle both fronts: the risk that clergy don’t understand music and its proper expression, and the risk that musicians don’t know enough about liturgy.

Mr Inwood said “there’s a lot of goodwill” on both sides to do the right thing, but people need to understand how music is “integral to the rite and not just an optional stuck on top of it, which is how it sometimes comes across”.

“The music needs to fit the ritual like a glove”, which requires people to understand not just music, but also “what liturgical action is doing so they can tailor the music to what is going on”, a skill not unlike what composers do when fitting musical scores to action unfolding on film or the stage.

Being respectful of the ritual and sensitive to the congregation means sacred music can shine anywhere— whether it’s a parish in a poor township or in a monumental cathedral, the two men said.

It doesn’t depend solely on resources like a pipe organ or a professional choir, Mr Inwood said, it’s about “authenticity”.

“You can do wonderful things with what you have,” even just a cantor and assembly, he said. “The music isn’t inferior in any way, it’s just different and reflects who the community is at that particular point” and aims to draw them together in praise.

“It’s much better to do [music] you can manage and do it well than try very hard to do things you can’t achieve,” he added.—CNS

Ursuline Schools of Sou U uth Africa, s School and St Ursula’s se a’s School, Community a blessed Christmas.

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SA HISTORY 200

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

19

In search of SA’s first chapels The earliest Catholic structure of any kind on South African territory was built by the Portuguese before 1506, but it wasn’t until 1823 that the first purposebuilt Catholic chapel for public worship was constructed. MARTIN KEENAN explains.

T

HE first Catholic chapel of any sort on South African territory was built at Mossel Bay in 1501—and those explorers who built it named the bay after a Catholic saint, St Blaise.

In a lecture titled “Our Beginnings” in 1957, Archbishop Owen McCann of Cape Town noted: “There John da Nova built a small chapel. It was the first place of Christian worship.” He added: “There is no trace of this chapel. It was destroyed.”

There are two eyewitness accounts of the chapel, published by George Theal in his Records of South-Eastern Africa Vol. 1.

The first is a letter of August 31, 1506, written from Moçambique by the Portuguese official Pero Coresma to the king of Portugal, mentioning that he recognised the Bay of São Bras (or St Blaise) from the “ermyda…que fez Johão da Nova” (the hermitage John da Nova made).

The second occurs in a description of the bay from 1576 which mentions two coves. On the high ground between them, part of the walls of a ruined hermida dedicated to St Blaise was built at the time of the discovery of the sea route to India. A watering place on the seashore was nearby.

It was evidently a major landmark for locating fresh water. It might have been an exaggeration to call it a “chapel”, however. A hermitage might be no more than a chamber for prayer.

Lost Dutch chapel of 1805 Another lost chapel of the early Catholic presence on South African territory is that of three Dutch priests who briefly ministered in Cape Town in 1805, before the British took over the Cape and sent them back to the Netherlands.

Nothing is known of the premises the Dutch priests were given for a chapel, but they were requisitioned by the British army for a military hospital. An inventory or ship’s manifest of the equipment the Dutch priests took out with them was published in a Dutch article by Mgr Hensen in 1908.

Among the items is a large painting of the Flight into Egypt which had been removed from its frame to facilitate shipment.

We also learn from the article that Governor Janssens had confessionals constructed. The intention was that the chapel be fitted with every convenience to permit solemn liturgies to be performed with celebrant, deacon and subdeacon.

Once the British took over, four lay Catholics petitioned the British military governor in February 1806 that they might “either to hire or to purchase or to build here an edifice not at the government’s but at their own expence [sic] in order to continue in the same the exercise of their worship”.

Apparently this was to no avail.

They would have to wait until 1823.

The Irish chapel of 1823 By then, Pope Pius VII had established the vicariate apostolic of The Cape of Good Hope with surrounding regions and the Island of Madagascar, though the vicar apostolic, Bishop Edward Bede, resided in Mauritius, not Cape Town.

The priest who ministered to

Cape Town’s Catholics was a young Irishman, Fr Patrick Scully.

It was on his watch that South Africa’s first parish church was built.

It also was at the centre of a controversy that would tear the local Catholic community apart, going as far as litigation.

And it is from that legal dispute that we learn a lot about this first church, located in Harrington Street in the area that is today a parking lot.

John Crowly, one of two building contractors, both of whom were parishioners, made a deposition in the course of the litigation conducted in 1832, and printed a year later in a collection of papers.

Crowly stated that the building commenced on October 28, 1822, and that the work was carried out under the “direction and superintendence” of Fr Scully.

Crowly had “continued in the performance of [his] work, as mason, until March 1824 under the exclusive orders of [Fr Scully] at which period the whole of the masonry was entirely completed”.

In the same publication another document notes that soon after May 1823 an urgent need for more funds for “the then rising chapel” arose which was met with the advance of loans and “the exertions of several individuals, but more particularly…the pecuniary assistance of the late J W Böhmer”.

It was still unfinished in 1828 when the clergy organised works there, but it was certainly in use from July 1824.

In July 1833, Fr Scully’s successor, Fr Rishton, listed the chapel’s movable property which the churchwardens (elected the previous year under new statutes) recorded in their minute-book, which is now in the archdiocesan archives in Cape Town. Many items on the inventory match those in the manifest.

Although the subject-matter is not recorded, an “altarpiece” referred to must surely be the painting of the Flight into Egypt brought from Holland in 1805.

This sufficiently explains the dedication of the cathedral in Cape Town (and the dedication of the vicariate) to St Mary of the Flight into Egypt.

Trailblazing architecture

South Africa’s first proper Catholic chapel, built in 1823 in Cape Town’s Harrington Street (it is now a parking lot), in an engraving by De Meillon published in the Cape Town Almanack for 1832. The chapel could seat about 500 people. It collapsed in 1837. dation was afforded for the military”.

The defects of the chapel’s construction were common to all brick buildings at the Cape at that time. A survey in 1819 of the Lutheran church on Strand Street, which still exists, found the roof timbers rotten, necessitating their immediate replacement.

In 1834 the end walls of a half-

built Anglican church fell in. By then, zinc roofs were no longer experimental and the surveyor recommended one for Wynberg. The roof of the Groote Kerk was condemned in 1835.

The Catholic chapel’s collapse in 1837 was attributable to persistent and torrential rains while the roof had been dismantled pending emergency replacement of the timbers.

The artists’ views delight in the Neo-Gothic style which, for churches, was still a novelty even in England. An architectural historian says Fr Scully’s chapel was the first church at the Cape wholly in the Gothic idiom. By the 1840s the style was widespread.

The significance is that the medieval style coupled with a cross on the end gable was, for the Cape, a revolutionary announcement that the building was a place of Christian worship. There was a bell-cote with bell; an organ fund.

Contrary to widespread opinion, it was not small. As mentioned above, Fr Rishton says its capacity was 500.

Marten Teenstra, a Dutchman invaliding at the Cape in 1825, wrote that he and a friend rode their horses through the great west door as far as “the unprepossessing altar”.

So it seems that the common misperception—one stated by Mgr Frederick Kolbe in The South African Catholic Magazine in 1891 and since often repeated—of it as “a wretched and decaying little chapel” is not true.

n In the issue of December 27, Martin Keenan will look at the extent of persecution of Catholics in the Cape.

The Sisters of Naza z reth In the Southern Africcan Region Wish our Card r inal, Bishops, Clergy y, Religious, Friends and Benefa actors Every y Joy and Blessing durring g this g great feast of Christma m s And A Peaceful New Year.

Eyewitness accounts There are eyewitness accounts of the chapel, and three artists left six views of it from every angle. All the views date from the 1830s; two eyewitness accounts date from the 1820s.

The longest is a report Fr Rishton gave in a letter in 1833.

In an earlier letter to a friend in 1828, Fr Rishton calls the chapel “a pretty little Gothic building capable of accommodating about 500 persons”. The artists’ views bear that out. He added: “Great improvements have been made and are making in the chapel.”

The later letter, addressed to Bishop Morris on Mauritius, is a lugubrious retrospect of the disputes, so there is a likelihood of hyperbole in the two passages describing the poor condition of the building as he found it on arrival at Cape Town in 1827.

The first passage reads: “…the building itself remained in an unfinished and deplorable state: an experimental zinc roof laid on unscientifically admitted the rain in all directions; there was no pulpit; and the whole interior arrangement was faulty in every respect.”

The second notes that “the very defective state of the building admitting the rain in all parts, and thereby damaging and warping all the interior woodwork, made absolutely necessary that attention should be immediately given to these affairs”.

Fr Rishton wrote that it was he and Fr Wagener who ordered the work to be done, at no little expense. As a result, “part of the interior was repaired, and galleries completed, by which, accommo-

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Thousands praye ed for SA Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban and SACBC secretary-general Hermenegild Makoro CPS (behind the cardinal) are joined by the Mini World Yo outh Day Presidium and members of the organising committee during a site visit to the Durban Exhibition Centre where the region’s youth is gathering from December 6-10. Some 3 650 pilgrims are signed up to participate in the event. MWYD can be followed on Facebook (MWYDDurban), Tw witter: (@MWYD_Durban) and Instagram (mwyd_durb ban). See miniworldyouthday.co.za for the full programme. (Photo: Fr Paul Tatu CSS)

Hello to 4 000 new readers

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ITH this issue we welcome the 4000 Catholics who are receiving The Southern Crooss in their pilgrim packs at Mini Wo orld Yo outh Day. For some, this may be the first time that they see The Southern Crooss.

This newspaper is the only national Catholic weekly in South Africa, and is read throughout Southern Africa and as far afield as Zambia.

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Yo ou can also subscribe to the paper edition or the digital issue (see panel ad on page 8 for details). A subscription to the digital edition gives you access to our archives going back to 2010.

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BY ERIN CARELSE

C

ATHOLICS have hailed the National Day of Prayer for South Africa at the Soccer City (or FNB Stadium) in Johannesburg, with the bishops’ communication officer saying the event was a clear sign that God comes first in the lives of many people.

“We sincerely thank all who were a part of this ‘dawn of a new histor y’, and all who were with us in spirit to pray for South Africa,” said Fr Paul Tatu CSS, communications officer if the Southern African Catholics Bishops’ Conference.

Leaders of diverse faith-based organisations and people from all walks of life gathered in the Soccer City in a show of unity.

The purpose of the day was to pray for unity in South Africa, to pray for the poor, marginalised and the disadvantaged, and to pray for guidance, leadership, and blessings for a bright future for all South Africans.

The National Day of Prayer was sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation, an initiative of billionaire Patrice Motsepe, a Catholic.

The Motsepe Foundation and faith-based organisations had previously held discussions about the serious and far-reaching problems and challenges facing all South Africans. To ogether they saw the need to hold a National Day of Prayer.

Present at Soccer City were various politicians, who in spite of their political differences came together and be united in prayer.

Members of denominations like the Zion Christian Church spent the night in vigil at the stadium to pray for South Africa.

“Wee must stand up against corruption in the government and against poverty. It should not only end here with a prayer, we

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must also take action for a better South Africa,” said Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg.

Anglican Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tu utu, who has been out of the public eye for a while, addressed the gathering at noon in a prayer focused on economical inequality.

Gospel artists Rebecca Malope and Winnie Mashaba also performed.

People who attended the event were given free tickets to enter the stadium, and those who were outside could watch it live on eight big screens situated around the huge arena.

The event was broadcast live on Radio Veritas. Mahadi Buthelezi, the station’s marketing coordinator, said that one could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the stadium.

“Histor y was made in South Africa and this is a clear indicator that we need to be united as one in order for our countr y to progress and succeed,” she said.

Fr Tatu said that in the past there have been occasions when people have prayed for the nation—but coming together physically in such numbers in the name of God was a remarkable.

“The National Prayer Day for South Africa which was inspired by the Spirit of God. It reminds ever ybody in South Africa that relegating religion to the peripheries is one of the biggest mistakes [of] the leadership of any country,” Fr Tatu said.

“We do what we can to the best wisdom of our human nature—but God is the author of the same wisdom,” he said..

“I congratulate all the leaders of religious and faith-based organisations and The Motsepe Foundation for reminding ever yone that God is in charge—and where God is in charge no evil shall prevail,” Fr Tatu said.

CAT THOLIC IRELA AND AN A pilgrimage with Bishop Victor Phalana

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IT’S WORTH IT!

sleuth books was an Augustinian monk The British author of novels about sleuthing priest Father Anselm was once a monk. He talked to MARK PATTISON.

E

VEN though British author William Brodrick gave up the monastic life in the Augustinian order, just before priestly ordination, to be a lawyer, another call also had been tugging at him. It was persistent, and it didn’t let go.

Finally, after ten years as an attorney, he put pen to paper and started writing what would be the first of six “Father Anselm” novels, which have proven popular in Europe.

Fr Anselm is a Gilbertine monk in England, but he often gets the approval of the monastery’s superior to travel throughout Europe as long-dormant issues rise to the fore, causing great dilemmas for nearly all parties years later.

Two novels in the series, although set in the present, deal with the Holocaust and with Soviet oppression in Poland.

“His task is as much to understand as it is to solve,” said Mr Brodrick, 57, who now lives in France with his family.

The books are called “thrillers”, to distinguish them from other crime and detective genres, although Mr Brodrick noted the Father Anselm books might be a different breed altogether.

“They don’t follow the strict conventions of any particular genre. And I think that’s the sort of books I wanted to write..

“Like John Le Carré, what I like about any psychologically charged novel is the fact that there was an intervention, the fact that it was unresolved, and the fact that it was critically important to find out what’s going on.

“At the same time, I wanted to find it [as] a literary novel, reflective, trying to understand these very dilemmas. That slows

Author William Brodrick down the thriller, that slows down the mystery.”

Mr Brodrick said there’s an undeniable attraction to the subgenre of clergy solving crimes ranging from Edith Pargeter’s Brother Cadfael, whose sleuthing was set in the 12th century, to G K Chesterton’s Father Brown.

“When you have a character who steps back in the monastic setting—no longer living in their city—he brings a certain type of question to the probe he’s resolving: the crisis at the centre of the novel,” Mr Brodrick said.

“He’s not just going to find out who killed someone. He’s going to be asking questions about the motivation that wouldn’t feel right coming from another kind of investigator,” he said.

“He’s not trying to solve any particular personal demons,” he added. Father Anselm, Mr Brodrick said, is “more interested in the subject than the crime”, even if the subject is the criminal, “in fullness and redemption and hope and meaning”.

In the Father Brown stories

by G K Chesterton, “crimes are going to be resolved, and Father Brown or Chesterton is going to flick in something here or there”, Mr Brodrick said. “I wanted to take something that would be a big theme and the conventions of the thriller or crime fiction and weld it or use that to also explore some fairly significant questions that trouble everybody.”

One Father Anselm novel, he noted, dealt with mercy killing.

“I remember my mum saying, ‘Don’t write anything unless you’ve got something to say’,” Mr Brodrick recalled. “I was approaching 40. I was married, had three children, and if I didn’t decide to try and write—regardless of whether it was worthwhile—I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”

Mr Brodrick chose Anselm for his hero’s name because of St Anselm of Canterbury, who coined the phrase “faith seeking understanding”.

“That’s what the great enterprise is, not understanding seeking faith,” the author said.

“We’re already going to investigate and try to understand and see God in a vaguely secular context, Anselm’s not going out there to theologise. He has faith in humanity, he has belief in justice. He has faith in redemption. All these books are meditations on redemption.”

Mr Brodrick said there has been some interest in bringing Father Anselm to television or the movies, but nothing is signed.

Ironically, just as Father Anselm is poised to make his mark worldwide, Mr Brodrick is giving his lead character a rest.

“It’s been a voyage, and I might come back to him,” he added, “but he’s gone quiet for now.”—CNS

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The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

CLASSIFIEDS

New proof for Christ’s tomb

By RHINA GUIDOS

S

CIENTISTS who helped restore a shrine above the site believed to be the place where Christ was buried say testing of samples has dated the tomb to at least the fourth century.

The new information, published recently by National Geographic, is consistent with historical accounts that say Constantine, the first Roman emperor to stop persecuting Christians and who later became one, financed the protection of the tomb.

At some point, a marble slab was placed on top of the tomb.

In 2016, when a team from the National Technical University of Athens restored the shrine around the tomb, which was in danger of collapsing, they also placed a moisture barrier to protect the tomb. It hadn’t been opened in around 500 years, but the opportunity allowed the team to take samples.

“Mortar sampled from between the original limestone surface of the tomb and a marble slab that covers it has been dated to around AD345,” said National Geographic. Until the results were

A pilgrim prays in Christ’s tomb in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. presented to the magazine by Professor Antonia Moropoulou, director of the restoration project, there was no scientific evidence to support that the tomb was older than 1 000 years.

What’s harder to pin down scientifically is evidence that the person buried there was Jesus of Nazareth. However, a documentary on National Geographic’s TV channel shows scholars who say oral history strongly supports the possibility that the location of the shrine is where Jesus was buried, a place where Christians believe he returned to life.

“Why would people remember for several generations that

this is the spot?” asked National Geographic archaeologist Dr Fred Hiebert.

In the absence of scientific data, you have to take into account village traditions that pointed to the site 300 or so years after the actual crucifixion of Christ, as the place where he was buried, he said.

“In the TV documentary, we know from scientific data that this is the exact spot where Constantine said, ‘X marks the spot,’” Dr Hiebert said, meaning that’s where Christ was buried.

“From an archaeological point of view, there’s no conclusive proof. There’s no DNA. There’s no sign that says it, there’s no artifact that says, ‘This is it’, as opposed to over here,” he said.

But Dr Hiebert, who witnessed the 2016 restoration of the shrine and was present for the opening of the tomb, added: “From an archaeological and historical point of view, I can document that was pretty much the place identified in the fourth century AD [as the tomb of Christ], and for me that’s as much personal satisfaction as I need.”—CNS

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IN MEMORIAM

SWARDLING—Reece Dex ‘Miyagi. your smile, your laugh, your hugs, your love—these are just a few of the things we miss. your charisma is always noticeably absent—and so on this, the 5th anniversary of your answer of yes to be with the Lord, we want you to know that your place in our hearts is forever entrenched. We still love and miss you with every second of every day… We thank GOD for choosing us to be your family, from your Mum, Dad, Olivia, Reagan and Trinity.

GOD called and you said, send me. Love you forever.

PRAYERS

Your prayer to cut out and collect

Christmas Prayer

God of love, Father of all, the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh.

Make us a people of this light.

Make us faithful to your Word, that we may bring your life to the waiting world.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Liturgical Calendar Year B – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday December 17, 3rd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11, Responsorial psalms Luke 1:46-50, 53-54, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1:6-8, 19-28 Monday December 18

Jeremiah 23:5-8, Psalms 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19, Matthew 1:18-24 Tuesday December 19 Judges 13:2-7, 24-25, Psalms 71:3-6, 16-17, Luke 1:5-25 Wednesday December 20 Isaiah 7:10-14, Psalms 24:1-6, Luke 1:26-38 Thursday December 21, St Peter Canisius Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18, Psalms 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21, Luke 1:39-45 Friday December 22 1 Samuel 1:24-28, Responsorial psalms 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-8, Luke 1:46-56 Saturday December 23, St John of Kanty Malachi 3:1-4; 4, 5-6 (3, 1-4, 23-24), Psalms 25:4-5, 8-10, 14, Luke 1:57-66 Sunday December 24, 4th Sunday of Advent 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16, Psalms 89:2-5, 27, 29, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 789. ACROSS: 3 Shepherds, 8 Avow, 9 Islanders, 10 Nomads, 11 Jewry, 14 Hotel, 15 Seal, 16 Samos, 18 Omen, 20 Pater, 21 Roofs, 24 Starry, 25 Protracts, 26 Cana, 27 Chorister OWN: 1 Sainthood, 2 Godmother, 4 Huss, 5 Plate, 6 Elders, 7 Dark, 9 Idols, 11 Jewry, 12 Yesterday, 13 Clergyman, 17 Spits, 19 Noster, 22 Fears, 23 Arch, 24 Stye.

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21

HOLY ST JUDE, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke you, special patron in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg you to come to my assistance. Please help me now in my urgent need and grant my petition. In return I promise to make your name known in distribution of this prayer that never fails. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be forever blessed and glorified. Holy Mary Mother of God, Pray for us and grant my request (name your request). Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. T. MIRACULOUS PRAYER to the Holy Spirit—Holy Spirit, you who makes me see everything and shows me the way to reach my ideal, you who gives me the divine gift to forgive and forget all

the wrong that is done to me and you who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything, and affirm once more that I never want to be separated from you no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. To that end and submitting to God’s holy will, I ask from you...(mention your favour).

Amen. Grateful thanks for prayer answered. D. PERSONAL

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View God’s marvellous work of healing and deliverance in various African countries since 2007. More than 20 video clips have been uploaded onto youTube (simply go to Google and type Pious Kintu youTube). Also, you will read about African stigmatic Sr Josephine Sul of DR Congo and Padre Pio, among others. Share it with all your friends. Contacts e-mail avemaria832@ gmail.com and avemaria 832@yahoo.com, cellphone (roaming within Africa) +243 99 0358275 +243 81 6090071 ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI parish is looking to purchase a brass church bell new or secondhand from anyone who has one available. Please contact 033 390 3514/082 827 6409, e-mail catholiceastwood @gmail.com

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This week we congratulate: December 23: Bishop Graham Rose of Dundee on his 66th birthday December 26: Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg on his 70th birthday

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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Come to Kolbe House, set in beautiful, spacious gardens in Rondebosch, nestled just under Devil’s Peak.

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Close to all shops and public transport. Contact Pat 021 685 7370, 073 263 2105 or kolbe.house@ telkomsa.net CAPE TOWN: Strandfontein. Fully equipped selfcatering, two-bedroom apartment with parking, sleeps four. R660 per/night.

Paul 061 446 9665, vivilla@telkomsa.net KZN: Holiday house. Selfcatering, 3 bedrooms.

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MARIANELLA Guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views. Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675, mjsalida@gmail.com MONTAGU: Self-catering cottage in central area.

Sleeps 3, lovely garden setting. Braai patio and secure parking. Pets and children welcome. Phone 082 975 8049.

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the

S outher n C ross

4th Sunday of Advent: December 24 Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16, Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38

Have faith like Mary’s

Nicholas King SJ

N

So you will best prepare for Christmas by concentrating on God’s faithfulness.

That is something that is quite clear to the psalmist whom we hear on Sunday: “I shall sing forever of the Lord’s steadfast love”, he begins; and he sings of the royal throne: “I shall make a covenant with my Chosen One; I have sworn to David my servant.”

God is utterly faithful: “I shall keep my steadfast love for him forever; my steadfast love and my covenant are guarantees for him.”

And for Christians, the feast to which Advent has been leading is the crown of God’s unremitting faithfulness. We have reason to rejoice during these days.

The second reading for the day is perhaps an odd one; for it is that part of the Letter to the Romans printed at the end of most texts.

Yet it functions as a summary of that important letter, with its account of what God’s faithfulness has done in Christ, “in accordance with the revelation of the mystery that was kept in silence for eternal ages”, and which Paul thinks “has now appeared through the prophetic writings in accordance with the command of the eternal God, for the

you are to call his name ‘Jesus’.”

And the name “Jesus”, of course, means something like “The Lord will save”. God’s fidelity continues to echo through the story: with his promise: “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord will give him the throne of his ancestor David [you will recall that this throne was mentioned in our first reading], and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

All these predictions about the future are evidence of the faithfulness of God which this feast so powerfully celebrates. So at the end of the picture we rejoice as Mary raises herself to a fidelity all of her own: “Look! The Lord’s slave-girl. Let it happen to me in accordance with your word.”

We breathe a sigh of relief, and we pray, perhaps, to model our own fidelity on Mary’s, so that we can help to bring God’s own faithfulness into the world, this Christmas Day. A very happy Christmas to you all.

EXT Sunday is Christmas Eve (it has come at last, and there is no more shopping for you to do). And how are we to think about the feast? The readings for the day suggest that the secret is to reflect upon God’s faithfulness.

The tone is set in the first reading. David is settled in quite nicely, thank you, to his monarchy and his palace, and starts to think that God might also like a palace (it may help you to know that the word for “palace” and “temple” are the same in Hebrew).

At first the house-prophet Nathan encourages him in the project of temple-building, but then God intervenes, and the question becomes rather “Who is building a house for whom?”; and now it turns out that it is God who has the initiative, and God who is acting faithfully; and indeed God is building a house for David, not the other way round, in that he is promising to “raise up your offspring after you, who shall come out of your loins”.

So what matters here is not David’s expansive offer, but God’s fidelity: “Your house and your kingdom will remain in my presence forever; your throne shall be established forever.”

obedience of faith, which has been made known to all the Gentiles”.

Once again, we are speaking of nothing else than God’s unchanging fidelity.

And fidelity certainly sums up the beautiful picture that is the Gospel reading for Christmas Eve, Luke’s account of the Annunciation. It starts “in the 6th month”, which links this story to the previous annunciation, the one to Zechariah, and so serves to remind us of God’s unending faithfulness.

The object of this annunciation is, on the face of it, the least important person in the entire Holy Land, and this is emphasised by the fact that she is mentioned last in the sentence (“the name of the virgin was Mary”).

Nevertheless, it is she, the deeply faithful one, who has been chosen as the instrument of God’s fidelity: “Rejoice, Graced one—the Lord is with you.” We grimace in sympathy as Mary is puzzled: “What kind of a greeting is this?” But then, the angel, the emissary of God’s fidelity, puts her at her ease: “Don’t be afraid, Mary; you see, you have found God’s unconditional love. And look! You are going to conceive in the womb and bear a son; and

Why this is a time to celebrate F

Conrad

OR many of us, I suspect, it gets harder each year to capture the mood of Christmas. About the only thing that still warms our hearts are memories—memories of younger, more naïve, days when the lights and carols, Christmas trees and gifts, still excited us.

But we’re adult now and so too, it seems, is our world. Much of our joy in anticipating Christmas is blunted by many things, not least by the commercialism that today is characterised by excess. By late October we already see Christmas decorations, Santa Claus is around in November, and December greets us with a series of Christmas parties which exhaust us long before December 25.

So how can we rally some spirit for Christmas Day? It’s not easy, and commercialism and excess are not our only obstacles. More serious are the times. Can we, amid the many cruelties of this year, warm up to a season of tinsel and festivity? Can we continue to romanticise the pilgrimage of one poor couple searching for shelter two thousand years ago amidst the plight of the millions of refugees today who are journeying without even a stable as a refuge?

Does it mean anything to speak of peace when politics has polarised our nations and left millions unable to speak civilly to their neighbours? Where exactly is the peace and goodwill in our world today?

The

Closer to home, there are our own personal tragedies: the death of loved ones, lost marriages, lost families, lost health, lost jobs, lost time, tiredness, frustration.

How do we celebrate the birth of a redeemer in a world which looks shockingly unredeemed and with hearts that mostly feel heavy and fatigued?

The Christmas story is not easily made credible. How do we maintain the belief that God came down from heaven, took on human flesh, conquered all suffering, and altered the course of human history?

This isn’t easy to believe amid all the evidence that seems to contradict it, but its credibility is contingent upon it being properly understood.

Christmas is not a magical event, a Cinderella story without midnight.

Rather, its very centre speaks of humiliation, pain and forced fleeing which is not unlike that being experienced by millions of refugees and victims of injustice on our planet today. The Christmas story mirrors the struggle that’s being experienced within our own world and within our own tired hearts.

I

ncarnation is not yet the Resurrection.

Flesh in Jesus, as in us, is human, vulnerable, weak, incomplete, needy, painfully full of limit, suffering. Christmas celebrates Christ’s birth into these things, not his removal of them.

Christ redeems our limits, evil, sin and pain. But they are not abolished. Given that truth, we can celebrate at Christ’s birth without in any way denying or trivialising the real evil in our world and the real pain in our lives. Christmas is a challenge to celebrate while still in pain.

The incarnate God is called Emmanuel, a name which means “God-iswith-us”. That fact does not mean immediate festive joy.

Our world remains wounded, and wars, strikes, selfish-

Sunday Reflections

Southern Crossword #789

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

ness, and bitterness linger. Our hearts too remain wounded. Pain lingers. For a Christian, just as for everyone else, there will be incompleteness, illness, death, senseless hurt, broken dreams, hunger, lonely days of bitterness and a lifetime of incompleteness.

Reality can be harsh and Christmas does not ask us to make make-believe.

The incarnation does not promise heaven on earth. It promises heaven in heaven.

Here, on earth, it promises us something else—God’s presence in our lives.

This presence redeems because knowing that God is with us is what ultimately empowers us to give up bitterness, to forgive, and to move beyond cynicism.

When God is with us then pain and happiness are not mutually exclusive and the agonies and riddles of life do not exclude deep meaning and deep joy.

In the words of the theologian Avery Dulles SJ: “The incarnation does not provide us with a ladder by which to escape from the ambiguities of life and scale the heights of heaven. Rather, it enables us to burrow deep into the heart of planet earth and find it shimmering with divinity.”

The British author George Orwell in his 1948 novel 1984 prophesied that our world would eventually be taken over by tyranny, torture, double-think, and a broken human spirit. To some extent this is true. We’re a long way from being whole and happy; still deeply in exile.

However, we need to celebrate this Christmas heartily. Maybe we won’t feel the same excitement we once felt as children when we were excited about tinsel, lights, Christmas carols, and special gifts and delicious food. Some of that excitement isn’t available to us anymore.

But something more important is still available, namely, the sense that God is with us in our lives, in our joys as well as in our shortcomings.

The word was made flesh. That’s an incredible thing, something that should be celebrated with tinsel, lights, and songs of joy.

If we understand Christmas, the carols will still flow naturally from our lips.

CATHOLIC Feast day at shrine of IRELAND OUR LADY OF KNOCK,

ACROSS

3. They watched by night (9) 8. Openly confess a very old wickedness first (4) 9. They live an insular life (9) 10. Mad son among the wanderers (6) 11. Judaism (5) 14. Tourist stop (5) 15. Securely close the confessional? (4) 16. Island visited by St Paul (Ac 20) (5) 18. Portent of great moment (4) 20 and 19. Lord’s Prayer in the Roman Rite (5,6) 21. Coverings for the churches (5) 24. How your eyes will be in the heavens? (6) 25. Prolongs for religious pamphlets (9) 26. Famous marriage town (4) 27. Singer from the choir rest (9)

DOWN

1. State of heroic sanctity (9) 2. At the font she is promising (9) 4. Bohemian Reformation character (4) 5. Contemplates the holder inside (5) 6. Senior churchmen (6) 7. Night of the Soul of St John of the Cross (4) 9. They are solid and worshipped (5) 11. He wrote one epistle (5) 12. Jesus Christ the same ..., today and forever (Heb 13) 13. He is not among the laity (9) 17. They turn the meat on the fire (5) 19. See 20 22. Is afraid of (5) 23. Char turns architect’s design around (4) 24. You’ll get it on the lid (4)

Solutions on page 21

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

WO young boys were spending the night at their grandparents’ house the week before Christmas.

At bedtime, they knelt beside their beds to say their prayers.

The younger one began praying at the top of his voice: “I pray for a new bicycle!”, “I pray for a new Nintendo!”

His older brother leaned over, nudged him, and said: “Why are you shouting? God isn’t deaf.”

“No,” the little brother replied, “but Gran is!”

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CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

23

O come, Emmanuel A CHRISTMAS REFLECTION By MGR M FRANCIS MANNION

T An unusual Nativity scene and crib, incorporating Detail of a crib built entirely by Fr Hugh O’Connor at a whole village, was erected last year in one of the the entrance to St Francis Xavier Orientation Semi- side altar alcoves of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus church in East London. nary in Cape Town.

A Nativity Scene in the Milk Grotto church in Bethlehem, West Bank. Located a few blocks from the church of the Nativity, it marks a place where Our Lady traditionally breastfed the baby Jesus.

HE story that we narrate and celebrate at Christmas needs no rehearsal. We know it by heart.

The story has ancient roots in the world before Christ. He who was born in Bethlehem over 2 000 years ago had long been expected. The prophet Isaiah foretold a child who would break the yoke that bowed the people’s spirit.

As at the first Christmas, the Prince of Peace comes now to join us amid the harsh realities of the present: a world torn apart, nations at war, and widespread political turmoil.

And there is always the danger of World War III as terrorist nations and groups get hold of the worst and most powerful weapons of destruction ever conceived by human madness.

As of now, there are many million unborn dead—on the feast of birth. The earth is beset by hunger, homelessness, human trafficking, terrorism, child abuse, and the suppression of women in the name of religion. In much of the world, poverty and wealth are growing further and further apart.

Throughout Advent, we have sung the words, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.”

Now we give thanks that Christ, Emmanuel, has come.

To call Christ “Emmanuel”—God with us—means that his love and peace penetrate the world’s darkest realities. From him we learn how to cope in the midst of adversity. He shows us who we are; what is important; and how to live. He opens our barren hearts to new possibilities.

Out of the darkness of Christmas comes light: light for peace and growth, courage and strength, hope and confidence.

But Christmas offers us not only warm consolation: it offers us a very stern challenge. The challenge is that if

God has become one with us, then God’s work is done today through you and me.

If God is with us, then he is with us through our vocations in life. This is literally what the incarnation means: God taking on our flesh.

Emmanuel, God with us, means giving bread to the poor and welcome to the homeless. Emmanuel, God with us, means the comfort we give to the lonely and the sorrowing. Emmanuel, God with us, means the love a neglected child feels when someone pays attention. Emmanuel, God with us, means the comfort the old feel when they are loved and cared for by their children and grandchildren.

Emmanuel, God with us, means the devotion of children for parents, parents for children, and children for each other.

Emmanuel, God with us, means rearranging our lives because others depend on us.

And, most of all, Emmanuel, God with us, means that the Word of God, the love of God, has taken flesh in you and me.

What sense does it make to say that God is with us—that he is Emmanuel— if those we are responsible for don’t feel God’s love through us? God’s light has little power except as it shines through you and me.

God’s warmth must be incarnate in our good deeds for those who need that warmth—or it has little presence at all.

God’s peace flows out of your heart and mine—it does not drop from the skies.

God answers our prayers not by great miracles mostly, but by the love, mercy, and charity we feel and express towards each other.

Christmas is about Christ coming to us, and our coming to Christ—and about our going out to each other.

Most of all, Christmas promises us an imperishable inheritance from Christ who came once in Bethlehem and will come again in glory.—CNA

24

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

CHRISTMAS

In Lebanon, Christmas shines in public places In Lebanon, Christmas is a time for Christians to celebrate their presence in freedom—and Muslims gladly join in, as DOREEN ABI RAAD reports.

A

MID the turmoil in the Middle East and persecution of Christians in surrounding countries, the Christmas spirit is evident in Lebanon: sparkling lights, decorated trees and even mangers in public places.

“Wherever you go, you can find Christmas decorations,” even in the cities and the places where the residents are Muslim, Maronite Father Joseph Soueid said.

“I feel that here in Lebanon, we have this grace, that really, Jesus is the reason for the season,” said the priest, pastor of St Takla parish, which serves 6 850 Maronite Catholic families.

With seating for just 280 people, the church overflows with the

faithful for each of its eight Masses on Sundays and has generated 24 vocations in the past eight years.

Its outdoor manger near the entrance to the church is just a few steps away from a busy street intersection.

Fr Soueid noted that because most of the municipalities in Lebanon are a mix of Christian and Muslim, the influence of Christianity gives the Lebanese an opportunity to “make this season a season of joy”.

Muslims also have attended and continue to attend Christian schools in Lebanon. So it follows that “when they grew up, they found themselves familiar with our traditions and with the way we celebrate our great celebrations, like Christmas, like Easter”, Fr Soueid said.

The splendour of Christmas is not only a feast for the senses in Lebanon, but also a witness of Christianity, he said.

“Sometimes you can feel the spirit of Christmas by the choirs that come out of the churches during this season to public places to

This outdoor manger at St Talka Maronite Catholic church in Beirut is steps away from a busy junction.

sing the glory of Jesus,” Fr Soueid added.

“That’s why I consider that in Lebanon, we do not have a big problem when we spread the Good News” through the media, on TV, magazines—”everywhere,” he said.

“We can share the way we think openly without having any fear of the others. Because they accept us.”

Christmas vibes at the mall At City Mall, huge cut-out stars, glistening Christmas trees and tinsel adorn the tri-level shopping concourse. There is also a sprawling, rustic, miniature crafted scene reminiscent of a Lebanese redroofed village from centuries ago: women at the well with jugs of water, shepherds with their sheep, people gathering in the centre square.

The Nativity is prominently featured in the display. Nestled in a cave, Mary and Joseph lovingly gaze upon the newborn King, his arms outstretched, lying in a simple manger illuminated with a soft light. Livestock surround the Holy Family. Outside the cave, the Wise Men have already arrived to pay homage to the Saviour; a shepherd tends to his sheep, with his head cocked towards baby Jesus.

Shoppers stroll by—Christians and Muslims—many stopping to get a close look at the magical scene and to snap pictures. Young children typically rush ahead of their parents to step up and lean against the translucent railing to get the closest view possible.

That’s just what 5-year-old Angelina Youssef did, arriving ahead of her mother, Samar, who pushed one-year-old Roy in a pram.

“It’s amazing,” the mother said of the mall’s manger display. “Kids like it. We come every year to see it. It gives us the Christmas spirit.”

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A life-size manger scene decorates a busy intersection in Beirut. The “reason for the season” is evident in Lebanon, with Nativity scenes and glistening Christmas decorations displayed throughout the country. (Photos: Johnny Antoun/CNS) ferring to the Christian presence.

In Lebanon, 54% of the population is Muslim; around 41% are Christians. Maronite Catholics are the largest Christian groups, at about 21% of the population.

In Beirut’s Sassine Square, a lifesize manger scene featured next to a towering cone-shaped Christmas tree. Mary and Joseph—an angel between them—look upon the empty crib, filled with straw.

Admiring the site as he passed, George Abdul Malak, a Greek Orthodox from Beirut, said: “It’s a part of our culture that even in homes in Lebanon, we find this accompanying the tree all the time, the creche.” He added that many people wait until Christmas Eve to put baby Jesus in the crib.

“Maybe globally we don’t find the custom of creches, we find [Christmas] trees more,” Abdul Malak said. But in Lebanon, the presence of a creche in a public place “means that we have some kind of freedom of expression”.

Karim Al Younis, a Shiite Muslim visiting Lebanon from Basra, Iraq, stopped to gaze at the A Christian presence manger scene. Asked how he feels With 18 religious sects repre- about the display, he said: “What sented in Lebanon, he added, can you see here, except peace, “we’re still hanging on here”, relove 10:59 and family?”—CNS 1 17/11/17

Gazing at the manger, Samar Youssef, a Maronite Catholic from Beirut, said: “Everything sparkles.

Christmas is when Jesus was born, so we must always remember this before we think about trees and gifts. Jesus is the joy of Christmas.”

Grace Abou Tayeh smiled as her one-year-old son, Joe, looked with wonder at the creche.

“I like when my son sees Jesus inside so he won’t forget what’s the meaning of this holiday,” she said.

Her husband, Charbel Abou Tayeh, also Catholic, pointed to the appeal of Christmas within other faiths.

“The birth of Jesus is for all mankind, so no matter what the religion is—Christian, Muslim— it’s for everyone, so we all share the happiness of Christmas here in Lebanon,” he said.

“And I’m seeing it, even all my Muslim friends have [Christmas] trees, and some even have the baby Jesus in their houses,” he said, calling it an example of “the unique culture of our country”.

CHRISTMAS

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

25

United after 26 years in town of Jesus’ birth The Christians of the Holy Land have spread all over the world in search of better opportunities. JUDITH SUDILOVSKy spent time with a family that was reunited for the first time in 26 years.

F

OR Bethlehem Catholics Lilian and Nadeem Aqleh, last Christmas was special—for the first time in 26 years they had all six of their children with them to celebrate the feast of the Nativity.

“This is the happiest day of my life,” said Lilian, 70, as she celebrated the holiday with her children and grandchildren, some of whom travelled from the United States and Canada.

“It is hard having your children so far away. I want my children with me. At Christmas we remember the birth of Christ and the meaning of Christmas is to share it with family.”

Only two of the Aqlehs’ children remain in the Bethlehem area in the occupied West Bank. Like many Palestinian Christians, two of the Aqleh siblings went to the United States to study more than 20 years ago and stayed because of better opportunities available to them. A third sister went to Canada with her Egyptian husband for similar reasons.

A fourth sister married an Israeli Palestinian resident of Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab city in northern Israel. Although she can visit her parents, she and her husband

need a special permit to enter the West Bank together.

The last time they were together as a family was in 2001.

But as the Aqlehs’ 50th wedding anniversary approached, their youngest daughter, Jane Aqleh Zelfo, 36, who lives near her parents, decided it was about time the family celebrated the holiday together once again.

Her parents are getting older, and her father, 76, has had several heart operations, she said.

“I worked hard to make this happen,” Mrs Zelfo explained as she put the final touches on the decorations for a catered dinner.

“We deserve to be together. We love each other. We have a special relationship. These moments are so special and I want my family to be next to me. Our parents raised us well and always gave us what we needed. They deserve to see their kids all coming together.”

Celebrating Christmas The family had its main celebration on Christmas Eve and also marked the older couple’s anniversary. Mrs Zelfo asked everyone to wear Christmas colours to add to the festive atmosphere.

Recalling their tradition of buying new clothes for their children before Christmas, they relished the sight of their grandchildren dressed in new matching red, white, black or burgundy slacks and skirts.

“Christmas is not about where you are but who you are with and it is a special feeling to experience Christmas again as a family,” said Michael Aqleh, 36, who flew from San Francisco where he owns a car dealership. “We probably won’t be

city that is encircled by Israel’s separation wall.

Feeling like a minority

The Aqleh family, together for the first time in 26 years: Maha Aqleh of Nazareth, Jane Aqleh Zelfo of Beit Jala, father Nadeem Aqleh, Faris Aqleh of the US, mother Lilian Aqleh, May Aqleh of Canada, Michael Aqleh of the US, and David Aqleh of Beit Jala. (Photo: Debbie Hill/CNS) able to have an experience like this ever again. Life is too short to not have this celebration now.”

The family enjoyed the parades and festivities at Manger Square, opposite the church of the Nativity, on Christmas Eve afternoon.

In the evening the family gathered at their parents’ home for their traditional barbecue dinner.

Michael Aqleh and his brother Faris, 44, also living in San Francisco with his family, tried to get into midnight Mass, but they were unable to do so. Michael Aqleh had hoped that he would be able to visit Jerusalem but he said that as a Palestinian he was not permitted free access—despite his American citizenship. The Israelis

required that he have a special permit.

He recalled how in past Christmases the entire extended family of cousins and aunts and uncles celebrated together, visiting each other’s homes and sharing meals.

And there always was a visit from a friend or neighbour dressed as Santa Claus handing out gifts to the children.

“Most of my cousins are also spread out all over the place now,” he said. “They are in the USA, Canada, Latin America, Europe.”

Many of his friends also have left the area, he said, because they have found it difficult to deal with the challenging economic, political and social environment in the

In recent decades the demographics of the Bethlehem-Beit Jalla-Beit Sahour triangle—all traditionally Christian West Bank towns—have changed as many Muslim villagers from the surrounding countryside moved into the area.

Some Christians say they feel like a minority in Bethlehem, where some 80 percent of the population is now Muslim. Though relations remain largely cordial, some Christians and local Muslims say they feel the influx of villagers with more conservative traditions has changed the personality of their hometowns.

Mrs Zelfo and her younger brother, David Aqleh, 37, who also has remained near Bethlehem, said that despite the difficulties they do not have plans to leave—at least for now.

“It is a wonderful feeling to have all my brothers and sisters come back here to celebrate all together,” said David Aqleh, who runs his father’s public service office translating documents and preparing passport applications.

“It makes me feel stronger.”

Mrs Zelfo expressed concern that life “is not easy” in Bethlehem and acknowledged that she feels “like the minority” in the community.

“But we have something nice here,” she added. “God calls on us to stay here. He needs us here. We can always smile with Jesus as our shepherd, he is our joy and our strength. Without him we could not make it.”—CNS

Wishing a our customers a Bleed Christmas & a Prosperous New Year Dryden Drs Management & Sta

26

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

People are in a festive mood outside St Stephen basilica in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. (Photo: Balazs Mohai, EPA) Fr Claude Paradis of Montreal, Canada, distributes Communion during an outdoor Christmas Eve Mass for about 100 homeless people. Fr Paradis and his team also had Christmas gifts for the people. (Photo: yves Casgrain, Presence)

Christmas decorations hang from a balcony in Aleppo, Syria, which was liberated from Islamic extremists a year ago. (Photo: Khalil Ashawi, Reuters/CNS)

CHRISTMAS

A girl takes a nap during a Christmas Eve Mass at a Catholic church on the outskirts of Taiyuan, in China’s Shanxi province. (Photo: Jason Lee, Reuters/CNS)

Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of the papal apartment overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Photo: Claudio Peri, EPA/CNS)

Christmas around the World

A Catholic family, including eight children, ride in a horse-drawn carriage during the annual Buon Natale parade in Thrissur in the southern Indian state of Kerala. (Photo: Anto Akkara)

Christmas tree ornaments hang from a tree in St Anthony friary in Butler, New Jersey.

(Photo: Octavio Duran)

A man decorates a neighbourhood for Christmas in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo: Faisal Mahmood, Reuters/CNS)

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Thank you to our Marist family and community.

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A scuba diver dressed as Santa Claus swims in an aquarium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo: Fazry Ismail, EPA/CNS)

A policeman stands guard as worshippers pray during Christmas Eve Mass in 2016 at al-Tahira alKubra church in Mosul, Iraq. Iraqi government troops captured the city from ISIS in June, after eight months of grinding urban warfare. (Photo: Mohammed Badra, EPA/CNS)

Lucas and Valentine Zakaria from Bali, Indonesia, in St Peter’s Square after watching a video monitor as Pope Francis celebrated Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter’s basilica last year.

(Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

CHRISTMAS

27

The World of Glass A CHRISTMAS STORy By FR RALPH DE HAHN

L

ITTLE Alice always loved window-shopping, but this window was special. Standing before this huge shop display on the morning of Christmas Eve she found herself totally absorbed and mystified by the wonderful scene before her searching eyes.

She gazed with fresh fascination at the newborn babe in the arms of his mother, with the kindly Joseph at her side, and three shepherds and a few animals around the stable crib.

What was most gripping and wonderful for her joyful heart was that every figure was of glass—rich, pure, sparkling glass!

Alice staggered home in a daze, with her heart and mind deeply distracted by what she had seen. And then it happened.

An accident!

Alice was still semi-conscious when they wheeled her into the Riverside Hospital. Witnesses reported that she was hit by a drunken motorist driving a Mercedes. The injuries to the body had yet to be determined but concussion was suspected.

Her widowed mother was called and arrived much later, only to find her daughter already in the care of doctors in the emergency ward. Alice was her only child. She was asked to wait, but for an anguished mother it was a long, long wait.

Late into the night the waiting came to an end when Alice became fully conscious after what appeared to be a long, deep sleep. And she had a marvellous story to tell.

I

n her sleep, she was magically transported into a new country, an extraordinary land where everything was made of glass. It was unbelievable, fascinating, yet so very real.

It was a wonderland world entirely of glass—clear, transparent, peaceful and beautiful to behold. Glass houses, glass trees, glass animals and birds, glass flowers. And all the people were lovely glass figurines.

Everything was of glass, yet nothing had ever been broken, splintered or shattered. And why not? Because in this exquisite wonderland all the people moved about carefully and gently in order not to hurt one another.

The atmosphere was so pure and peaceful; everything happened in perfect harmony. The very thoughts of the people were open and transparent.

Alice smiled with sheer delight as she related this remarkable experience: “No one dared to lie or speak even the tiniest untruth because even the most secret thoughts were transparent. The people were so careful and nice in what they said and

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Wishing our Cardinal, Bishop, clergy, all religious of Durban, our Benefactors, friends, staff, residents and the Staff of TheSouthern Cross

what they did!”

Alice was also amused on reflecting that, when people encountered each other, certain questions were answered even before they were posed. Misjudging others was unheard of; there was no need for law courts, stringent judges or prison cells.

The supermarkets of glass conducted business with delightful ease; there were no miscalculations, no thieving, no security guards.

And the houses were totally exposed, with no ugly walls, no shrieking alarm gadgets, no prison-like iron bars protecting the windows, no armed security signs—and also no gangsters patrolling the streets.

And what of the traffic? The lanes were clear; the cars, trucks and even the taxis moved along meticulously, showing much respect for one another and for pedestrians. There was no hooting and no crazy bikers! It was a wonderland of glass and dignity.

A

lice wept as she said: “I could live in such a country, Mom, really I could.”

“But, Alice dear, don’t cry.

You have recovered wonderfully

from your accident, and you are now back with us. Why are you so upset?”

“Because, Mom, that is the real world, the world God has planned for us.”

“No, no, Alice,” her mother explained, “this is the real world—a world of trials and suffering and all types of angry people, all striving for peace and harmony…and, of course, searching for true love.”

Alice was pensive, her eyes still glistening with tears: “I am going to find it so difficult to live in a land not made of glass; I need people to be transparent and sincere and truthful. No more lies, no more hypocrisy!

No more hurting one another.”

Around the hospital bed there was an eloquent silence.

The mother spoke: “My dear daughter, I see you have a beautiful vision. You now have a task to live in this world just as you experienced life in the world of glass.”

Mother and daughter embraced. They were both in tears; for suddenly the coming of Jesus Christ into this world on Christmas Day had a totally new meaning.

“In gentleness and peace he comes, may he fill our hearts with joy in this holy season”

Our grateful thanks to all for your prayers and support, and for helping to keep our "Mission Alive" in caring for the aged and less fortunate in need of care.

The Sisters of Nazareth, Durban

Nazareth House, 82 Kunene Road, Durban, Kwazulu Natal.

Phone: 031 261 2207, www.sistersofnazareth/southern-africa

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Prayerful, Joyful, Good Wishes to all Missions South Africa for a Magnificent and Most Blessed Christmas.

Never was there such a Son, Never was there such a Mother

With much love, Father Ralph

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28

The Southern Cross, December 13 to December 19, 2017

CHRISTMAS

The Big Southern Cross Christmas Quiz 50 questions to test your Christmas knowledge! Compiled by GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER

13. The first Christmas crackers

18. Bethlehem Square

32. The star of Bethlehem

39. Biggest-ever Christmas present

28. The 1962 Christmas song “Do You Hear What I Hear” was written in the USA as a protest against what? a) Commercialisation of Christmas b) Communism c) Nuclear weapons 29. According to legend, which 7th-century missionary to Germany promoted the fir tree as a Christmas decoration because it points to heaven and its triangular shape symbolises the Holy Trinity? a) St Blaise b) St Bonaventure c) St Boniface 30. In which region might you find silver spiders decorating a Christmas tree? a) Australia b) Central America c) Eastern Europe 31. Which cartoon character is a staple on Swedish TV at Christmas? a) Bugs Bunny b) Donald Duck c) Mr Magoo 32. Astronomers speculate that the Star Of Bethlehem, which guided the magi to Jesus, may have been a comet or which planet? a) Saturn b) Uranus c) Venus 33. Which composer wrote “The Messiah”?

a) Johann Sebastian Bach b) George Frederick Handel c) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 34. In which country was a traditional Christmas dinner pig’s head smothered in mustard a) England b) Portugal c) Romania 35. What marks the reputed spot of Jesus’ birth in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem? a) Perennially burning candle b) Silver star c) Statue of Mary and child 36. Which 1980s action movie includes no Christmas storyline? a) Beverley Hills Cop b) Die Hard b) Lethal Weapon 37. In which century did Puritans in England and in the US outlaw Christmas as a “decadent” feast? a) 16th century b) 17th century c) 18th century 38. In the carol “We Three Kings” which way is the star of wonder and star of light leading? a) East b) North c) West 39. The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States on Christmas Day 1886—making it the biggest Christmas present ever. Which country presented it? a) France b) Great Britain c) Italy 40. Which English glam rock

band has had multiple hits with 1973’s “Merry Christmas Everybody”? a) Mud b) Slade c) Wizzard 41. On which date do the Armenian Christians in the Holy Land celebrate their Christmas? a) December 19 b) January 1 c) January 19 42. In which country do people light candles on the graves of relatives on Christmas Eve? a) Finland b) Ghana c) Panama 43. Who of these celebrities was not born on Christmas Day? a) Annie Lennox b) Humphrey Bogart c) Ricky Martin 44. Which Portuguese explorer in 1497 named the territory of KZN “Natal”, after the Portuguese name for the feast of the Nativity? a) Bartolomeu Dias b) Henry the Navigator c) Vasco da Gama 45. In which year did warring British and German troops declare an unauthorised Christmas truce? a) 1872 b) 1914 c) 1941 46. Which classic book was made possible after the author received funds to tide her over from her friends as a Christmas gift? a) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone b) To Kill A Mockingbird c) White Teeth 47. Which Italian city holds what are said to be the bones of St Nicholas, the prototype for Santa Claus? a) Avellino b) Bari c) Como 48. On the 1984 charity hit “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, which English singer delivers the first line? a) Bob Geldof b) George Michael c) Paul Young 49. What is frankincense, one of the three gifts the magi brought the baby Jesus? a) Incense b) Jewel c) Oil 50. What is still technically illegal to do on Christmas Day in England? a) Drink alcohol b) Eat mince pies c) Sing Christmas carols

ANSWERS

15. Which Christmas hit was written during a heatwave, to cool the writers down? a) Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer b) The Christmas Song c) White Christmas 16. People of which profession were the first to hear the news of the birth of the Messiah? a) Fishermen b) Scribes c) Shepherds 17. What animated Christmas movie was produced by Tom Hanks? a) Frozen b) How The Grinch Stole Christmas c) The Polar Express 18. What is the name of the main square in Bethlehem, opposite the church of Jesus’ birthplace? a) Holy Family Square b) Manger Square c) Nativity Square 19. What is the French name for Santa Claus? a) Papa Réveillon b) Père Noël c) Saint-Nicolas 20. Where in Africa do Christians have parades after Christmas church services with large bamboo-and-paper boat-shaped lanterns called “fanals”? a) Central Africa b) East Africa c) West Africa 21. What is the official title of the 1822 Christmas poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas”? a) A Visit from St Nicholas b) Happy Christmas To All c) The Mystery Gift 22. In which country was the hymn “O Holy Night” originally written? a) Austria b) England c) France 23. According to the classic movie of 1947 (remade in 1994), on which New York street was there a Christmas miracle? a) 34th Street b) 52nd Avenue c) Broadway 24. Which fast food, by a multinational giant, has become a traditional Christmas meal in Japan? a) Cheeseburgers b) Fried Chicken c) Pizza 25. There are two places called Christmas Island in the world. In which ocean is there no such island? a) Atlantic b) Indian c) Pacific 26. “Stollen” is a traditional Christmas cake in which country? a) Belgium b) Germany c) Sweden 27. The Southern Cross has had guest editorialists in every Christmas issue but one since 2001.

Who was the first guest editorialist? a) Fr Ralph de Hahn b) Archbishop Denis Hurley c) Cardinal Wilfrid Napier

1. b) Matthew; 2. c) O Come All Ye Faithful; 3. b) Kimberley; 4. c) 822; 5. c) Tiny Tim; 6. a) St Francis invented the Nativity Scene; 7. a) Hitler; 8. b) Blue (Christmas); 9. a) Annunciation; 10. c) Swahili; 11. a) Angels We Have Heard On High; 12. a) Teddy Roosevelt (in 1901); 13. a) 1847; 14. c) 7 Swans a Swimming; 15. b) The Christmas Song; 16. c) Shepherds; 17. c) The Polar Express; 18. b) Manger Square; 19. b) Père Noël; 20. c) West Africa; 21. a) A Visit from St Nicholas; 22. c) France; 23. a) 34th Street; 24. b) Fried chicken; 25. a) Atlantic; 26. b) Germany; 27. c) Cardinal Wilfrid Napier; 28. c) Nuclear weapons; 29. c) St Boniface; 30. c) Eastern Europe; 31. b) Donald Duck; 32. b) Uranus; 33. b) George Frederick Handel; 34. a) England; 35. b) Silver star; 36. a) Beverley Hills Cop; 37. b) 17th century; 38. c) West; 39. a) France ; 40. b) Slade; 41. c) January 19; 42. a) Finland; 43. c) Ricky Martin (the singer was born on December 24); 44. c) Vasco da Gama; 45. b) 1914; 46. b) To Kill A Mockingbird; 47. b) Bari; 48. c) Paul Young; 49. c) Essential oil; 50. b) Eat mince pies (in the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony. The law has never been rescinded.)

1. Which Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus? a) Mark b) Matthew c) Luke 2. By which English title do we know the Christmas carol “Adeste Fideles”? a) Angels We Have Heard on High b) Joy To The World c) O Come All Ye Faithful 3. Which of these South African dioceses is not dedicated to Our Lady of the Flight Into Egypt? a) Cape Town b) Kimberley c) Port Elizabeth 4. According to US scientists how many homes per second would Santa Claus have to visit to deliver all the world’s presents on Christmas Eve? a) 266 b) 588 c) 822 5. In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Bob Cratchit’s son? a) Barnaby b) Pip c) Tiny Tim 6. What happened in Greccio, Italy, at Christmas 1223? a) St Francis invented the Nativity Scene b) St Francis introduced the first vernacular Christmas hymn c) St Francis spoke with the wolf 7. Which dictator put in place a policy to replace the celebration of Christmas with that of the Winter Solstice? a) Hitler b) Mussolini c) Stalin 8. What colour was Elvis Presley’s Christmas? a) Black b) Blue c) Pink 9. Which Church feast precedes Christmas by exactly nine months? a) Annunciation b) Immaculate Conception c) Visitation 10. In which language do you say Merry Christmas by saying, “Krismasi Njema”? a) Croatian b) Malay c) Swahili 11. From which carol is the line: “Why these songs of happy cheer? What great brightness did you see?” a) Angels We Have Heard on High b) It Came Upon a Midnight Clear c) Joy To The World 12. Which US president banned Christmas trees in the White House, for ecological reasons? a) Teddy Roosevelt b) Jimmy Carter c) Barack Obama 13. When was the first Christmas cracker made, in London? a) 1847 b) 1877 c) 1907 14. What seven things did my true love give to me on the seventh day of Christmas? a) 7 Geese a Laying b) 7 Maids a Milking c) 7 Swans a Swimming

May the love of Our Lord embrace you this Christmas and throughout 2018! www.fowlertours.co.za

The CATHCA Board and Staff thanks everyone for their great support during 2017 and wishes them a blessed and peace-filled Christmas and a healthy and happy 2018.

St Pius Retreat Centre wishes all our clients, friends, family and suppliers a very Blessed and Holy Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Contact us at 082 853 8869 or cecilhalley@gmail.com