180117

The

S outher n C ross

January 17 to January 23, 2018

Theology comes with a beer in Durban

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200-year jubilee: Bishops’ Mass, street march

BY NEREESHA PATEL

T

HE bishops of Southern Africa will celebrate a joint Mass in Pretoria to mark the jubilee of the bicentenary of the Catholic Church in South Africa in late January while Catholics in Cape Town are called to join a jubilee Eucharistic procession in early February.

The bishops’ Mass will be celebrated in Pretoria East’s church of the Beatitudes, and all are invited to take part in the celebration.

A recorded message from Pope Francis will be aired, and the special candle distributed at the opening Mass on June 25, 2017, will be lit in every cathedral in South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland. Bells will be rung as a symbol of solidarity of faith.

The SACBC is working with Radio Veritas to have the Mass broadcast on air.

The Eucharistic procession in Cape Town will take place on Sunday, February 4, the archdiocese’s patronal feast of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt.

Led by Archbishop Stephen Brislin, the 2km “prayer-walk” will start at Holy Cross church in Nile Street, District Six, and conclude at St Mary’s cathedral where the archbishop will give Benediction.

Participants will gather at Holy Cross parish at 14:00. After introductory prayers, the procession will follow the Blessed Sacrament as of 14:30.

Own transport will need to be arranged, and ample parking is available at Holy Cross.

In a letter addressed to clergy and religious in the archdiocese, Archbishop Brislin said that the procession will be “a wonderful opportunity for clergy, consecrated persons and parishioners to participate in as it is an outdoor event and we are not confined by the size of a building”.

He said that the purpose of the procession “is to give witness to the Catholic Church in Southern Africa over these past 200 years and more”.

In light of the procession’s theme, on the “importance of marriage and family in the life of the Church and society”, Archbishop

Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, SACBC president, with bishops and priests on the altar of St Mary’s cathedral in Cape Town at the inaugural Mass for the bicentenary jubilee in June 2017. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) Brislin encouraged the faithful to “come as families—parents, children, grandparents and so on”.

The Church in South Africa was formally established when Pope Pius VII erected the Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope in June 1818, with Benedictine Bishop Bede Slater as its first bishop.

From Cape Town the Church spread into what is now the Eastern Cape and then to KwaZulu-Natal, and from there inland.

Today, the Catholic Church in the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) region—which comprises South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland—consists of 28 dioceses and one vicariate apostolic.

The jubilee celebrations will culminate on June 10 with Masses throughout the country.

n See page 11 for the latest article in the series of histories of the early Catholic Church in South Africa.

Catholic Ireland A pilgrimage with Bishop Victor Phalana Feast day at shrine of Our Lady of Knock, PAPAL MASS in Dublin*, and much more * subject to confirmation

Members of the Class of 2017 of McAuley House Catholic School in Johannesburg celebrate the school’s 100% pass rate, with 97% bachelor passes. Catholic schools again outperformed their counterparts, with two making it into the national Top 3. See full report on page 3.

Mass for our Associates T HE annual Mass for the intentions of Associates of The Southern Cross and the repose of the souls for deceased Associates, will be celebrated on January 24 at 13:05 in St Mary’s cathedral in Cape Town.

It is one of two annual Masses said for those who have contributed to The Southern Cross’ Associates Campaign.

The January Mass always falls on the feast day of St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists and writers.

The Associates Campaign is a way for supporters of The Southern Cross to help keep South Africa’s only Catholic weekly newspaper going.

The Southern Cross is entirely unsubsidised and depends on circulation and advertising to sustain itself. The funds raised through the Associates Campaign in part help The Southern Cross to absorb big financial blows and to build up reserves that were depleted especially during the postal strikes of 2014-15.

The Associates Campaign also funds our

The

outreach programme which makes the newspaper available to seminarians, hospitals and prisons.

Other ways of supporting The Southern Cross include promoting the newspaper strongly in parishes to increase circulation, and taking St Francis de Sales out regular adverts in the newspaper—perhaps by sponsoring a charitable Catholic organisation, thereby bringing benefit to two institutions that exist to proclaim the Glory of God and to serve his Church.

All are welcome to the January 24 Mass.

S outher n C ross

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2

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

LOCAL

Theology on Tap heads for local bar A

The core Theology on Tap team is seen with Cardinal Wilfrid Napier.

(From left) Nicolas de Freitas, Dr Andrea Juan, Matthew Sprong, Cardinal Napier, Nikita Turk and Liam Smithers. Team member Caroline Message is not pictured. (Photo: Maxine Noel Photography)

GROUP of young adults in the greater Durban area have taken Catholic theology to the bars, quite literally.

Starting in 2016, Theology on Tap has hosted 15 talks on theological topics that are important, and of interest, to young Catholic adults today.

The monthly talks attract more than 70 people who are eager to learn more about the faith and meet other young adults.

“As the name suggests, these talks are usually held in bars, pubs and restaurants. They are targeted at, but not limited to, young Catholic adults,” said Theology on Tap member Dr Andrea Juan.

“The purpose of using a pub or restaurant is twofold: often people feel more relaxed in a casual atmos-

phere than at church, and secondly, it takes the discussion of Church and theology outside the church and into the local, ‘real’ world,” she said.

“Spiritually, Theology on Tap aims to promote the development of faith, as one method of learning more about Catholicism and its theology,” Dr Juan said.

“Evangelically, the aim is to take the teaching of Catholicism outside of the Church into the community.

“Socially, the aim is to provide an opportunity for people to meet others and develop relationships with fellow parishioners,” she said.

These aims are encapsulated by the group’s motto: “Faith, fellowship and food.”

Topics have included “The Church said what?!” (a discussion of the Catholic Church’s most con-

troversial teachings, led by Mgr Paul Nadal); “An eye for an eye” (which looked at social justice, led by theologian Steven Estes from Lifeteen International); and “Harlots and horsemen” (which unpacked the book of Revelation, led by Fr Brett Williams).

Over 120 people attended a talk

by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, titled “What the hell?!?”, in which the cardinal explained “the four last things” and offered firsthand accounts of demonic possession.

All are welcome to attend the events, which are posted on the Theology on Tap KZN Facebook page.

The next talk will be on February 22 by Sr Cathy Murugan. n For more information contact Liam Smithers on 073 252 7489 or go to the Theology on Tap KZN Facebook page.

Mass and blessings of the vines for wine lovers STAFF REPORTER

The windows of St Anthony’s chapel on Nagenoeg farm near Stellenbosch, where the Mass before the Blessing of the Vines will take place. (Photo: Schalk Visser)

W

INELOVERS in the Western Cape will again have the chance to celebrate their passion, with Mass, food and wine at both the Blessing of the Vines and the Vintners’ Mass this month.

The 19th Annual St Vincent’s Day for the Blessing of the Vines will take place on Nagenoeg farm near Stellenbosch on Saturday, January 27. All are welcome. Mass will be said in the farm’s St Anthony’s chapel at 11:00 to pray for a good harvest and for all who work on the farm.

A collection will be held for the St Anthony’s Chapel Fund, to be used for upkeep of the chapel and to sponsor school fees, uniforms and other extras for farm children.

Mass is followed by a 30-minute ride through the vineyards for the actual blessing, in a procession of tractors with trailers, trucks, bakkies and even ordinary cars.

“We will drive through the vineyards at a slow speed and stop for photo opportunities and to admire the views,” said farm owner Schalk Visser. Guests can use their own vehicles but must be aware they will be driving on farm roads.

After the blessing, a picnic will be held under the trees.

“Due to the severe drought and water-saving efforts, the grass is not in a good condition and we therefore urge guests to bring their own tables, chairs, blankets or groundcovers, picnic baskets, refreshments and wine,” Mr Visser said.

“As this is a wine farm, please bring wine, not beer,” he added, reminding guests to appoint a designated driver who won’t drink.

The 25th Annual Vintners’

Mass will be held on Thursday, January 25 at 11:00 at St Nicholas church in Stellenbosch, followed by lunch.

The collection at the Mass will go to Stellenbosch Hospice.

Most winemakers and distillers bring a bottle or more to the church to go into the offertory basket at the church entrance.

These donations will go up to the altar with the offertory procession, said coordinator Dave Hughes.

After the Mass, congregants will proceed to La Pineta restaurant on the R44. Guests may bring their own wine; no corkage will be charged on the day.

Mr Hughes is asking those who plan to lunch at La Pineta to let him know to help them cater for the numbers of guests. Meals and drinks will be for guests’ own account. n For queries and directions for the Blessing of the Vines contact Schalk Visser at beesting@mweb.co.za or 021 855 5767. For the Vintners’ Mass and lunch contact Dave Hughes at hughesd@iafrica.com or 021 865 2175.

Leading theologian Fr Anselm Prior OFM (centre) celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination to the Franciscan priesthood in the chapel at Holy Cross Home in Suiderberg, Pretoria, with Archbishop Emeritus George Daniel (left) and chaplain Fr Terry Duurland.

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The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

LOCAL

3

Catholic schools beat national average again STAFF REPORTER

I Learners from Immaculata High School in Soweto wait to receive their results. (From left) Vuyelwa Baloyi, Banele Motshoeneng, Khumi Phoko, Vuya Ntloko, and Sicelo Nguyuza. The school had a 99% pass rate and achieved more than 50 distinctions.

T was another year in which Catholic schools outperformed the national average.

In the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, written by public state schools, Catholic schools recorded an 84,1% pass rate—an improvement over the past two years—against the national average of 74,6%.

Private Catholic schools, writing the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) papers, attained a 99% pass rate, 0,2% higher than the national average.

The combined pass rate for Catholic schools, most of which

are public schools on private (Church-owned) property was 86,8%.

A combined total of 52,2% of Catholic school matric candidates achieved a university pass (or matric exemption). Here Catholic schools outperformed both state and private schools significantly.

In Catholic public schools, 43,1% attained university entrance, against the national average of 28%.

In Catholic private schools, the figure was 92,7% (up by 2,7%), against the national IEB exam average of 88,5%.

Catholic public schools recorded 2 711 (6,8%) distinc-

tions—marks above 80%—against the national figure of 145 385 (3,7%).

In private schools, the average was slightly lower than the national average: 22,5% against 23,4%.

Catholic schools occupied two of the Top 3 places of best-performing schools nationally in a ranking published in the Johannesburg daily The Star: Inkamana Benedictine School in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal came second; Springfield Dominican Convent in Cape Town came third. Herschel Girls’ High in Cape Town topped the list.

Church student body to help with new registrations

BY NEREESHA PATEL

T

HE Association of Catholic Tertiary Students (ACTS) will be offering assistance to firstyear students as they enter universities for registration. This includes partnering with student representative councils (SRCs) to ensure the smooth running of the registrations processes.

“We are fully aware that SRCs in different institutions will be managing both the registration and orientation programmes to avoid unnecessary chaos,” said ACTS president Kabelo Segapo.

“ACTS is therefore encouraged to partner with such bodies and work towards a common good in our society.”

This comes after President Jacob Zuma announced in December that education at tertiary institutions would be made free in 2018 and implemented over a five-year period.

Students who come from households earning up to R350 000 per year—more than 90% of the country’s households— qualify for the National Student Fi-

nancial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). University students who are already receiving funding from NSFAS will have their loans converted into grants which they will not have to pay back.

Finance minister Malusi Gigaba is expected to reveal the funding model for higher education in his budget speech in February.

According to Mr Segapo, ACTS has welcomed the announcement, albeit with some criticism regarding the government’s lack of strategy in implementing this new policy. “[President Zuma’s] announcement on fee-free education in higher institutions of learning and training was, and still is, a step forward in achieving free education, which ACTS has always rallied behind,” said Mr Segapo.

“However, there is an urgent need for clarity on how this will be realised since most universities are about to commence with registration, and some have even already begun.”

He said that ACTS is calling for “urgent, honest and open engage-

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amid other relevant stakeholders”.

Responding to the call by the Economic Freedom Fighters Student Command for walk-in late

applications, ACTS said that this could benefit many students, provided there is a mutual understanding between the university management and such groups advocating for walk-ins, and that this method of registration is performed peacefully.

Nelson Mandela University, the University of Limpopo, Sol Plaatje University and some University of South Africa campuses are confirmed to be allowing walk-in applications, while other universities have not allowed this.

To safeguard the wellbeing of first-year students, as well as to ensure a smooth registration process, ACTS members at various education institutions will be present to assist the new intake of students as they enter universities for registration.

The association also encouraged alumni to help these students “in any manner possible”.

Catholic campus chaplaincies will be involved in the association’s engagements and guide them where necessary, Mr Segapo said.

Deputy Principal Primary School

CBC Mount Edmund invites applications for the following position which will be available from 1st April 2018. Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced individuals who believe they have the required skills and competencies to take on this position.

The requirements of the position: • A proven track record of leadership and management within a primary school.

• Must have the appropriate academic and professional qualification.

• Excellent interpersonal skills with staff, learners and parents.

• Good communication skills.

• Promote high standards in the management of all aspects of the primary school.

• Have a proven record of innovation, commitment and professionalism.

• Understand, identify with and contribute to the Catholic ethos and values of the school.

• Proof of registration with SACE. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to reside on the college campus.

Interested candidates should submit a detailed CV as well as a covering letter motivating their suitability for this position.

• Details of three(3) contactable referees are to be included.

• All applications are to be emailed to headmaster.pa@cbcpretoria.co.za • Closing date: Tue, 30 January 2018.

CBC Mount Edmund is an equal opportunity employer. Only suitably qualified and experienced applicants will be considered. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. CBC Mount Edmund reserves the right not to appoint should a suitable candidate not be found.

An application will not in itself entitle the applicant to an interview or appointment and failure to meet the minimum requirements of the advertised post will result in applicants automatically disqualifying themselves from consideration.

4

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

INTERNATIONAL

Monk in letter: I know I’ll be killed

BY CAROL GLATZ

A

BISHOP, seven Trappist monks and 11 other religious men and women killed by extremists in Algeria in the 1990s will soon be recognised as martyrs, the postulator for their causes said.

The decree for their beatification should be published sometime this month, Trappist Father Thomas Georgeon said in an interview with Mondo e Missione.

A ten-year-long armed conflict between government forces and extremist Islamic rebel groups left tens of thousands of people dead, making the deaths of the 19 religious “a martyrdom in the midst of a sea of violence that devastated Algeria”, he said.

The conflict began in 1992 when the army cancelled the general election that fundamentalist politicians looked ready to win and cracked down on the Islamic Salvation Front political movement. Human rights groups said at least 44 000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the war between extremist rebels and Algerian government forces.

The 19 Catholic priests and religious proposed for sainthood died between 1993-96, and include Bishop Pierre Lucien Claverie of Oran, Algeria, who was killed with his driver by a remote-controlled bomb left at the bishop’s residence, and seven Trappist monks, who had been kidnapped from the monastery of Tibhirine and beheaded by a group of Islamic terrorists trained by the al-Qaeda network.

The monks’ story was treated in the film Of Gods and Men, which won the grand prize at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.

While different extremist Islamic

Trappist Father Christian-Marie de Cherge, one of seven monks slain

by Islamic terrorists in Algeria in 1996, left a letter that anticipated he would be assassinated. (Photo: Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Aiguebelle) revolutionaries were held responsible for the deaths of many of the religious, Catholic missionaries were largely respected by their Muslim neighbours.

Trappist Father Christian-Marie de Cherge, one of seven monks slain

by Islamic terrorists in Algeria in 1996, left a letter that anticipated he would be assassinated.

The monk’s family sent the letter to France’s daily Catholic newspaper, La Croix, which published the text in full on May 28, 1996.

Here is the text of the letter. The last word was written in Arabic:

I

f it were ever to happen—and it could happen any day—that I should be the victim of the terrorism which seems to be engulfing all the foreigners now living in Algeria, I would like my community, my Church, my family to remember

that my life was given to God and to this country.

That they accept that the unique Master of all life will be no stranger to such a brutal departure.

That they pray for me: for how should I prove worthy of such an offering?

That they understand that such a death should be linked to so many others, equally violent, but which remain masked by the anonymity of indifference.

My life has no greater worth than that of another. Nor is it worth any less.

In all events, it no longer has the innocence of childhood.

I have lived long enough to recognise that I am caught up as accomplice in the evil which, alas, seems to prevail in the world, even in that evil which might strike me blindly.

At such a moment, I would like to have enough lucidity left to beg God’s pardon and that of all my fellow human beings, while pardoning with all my heart anyone who might have hurt me.

Not that I would want to wish such a death. It seems important to profess that.

In fact, I do not see how I could rejoice that this people that I love should be globally blamed for my murder.

It is far more costly to pay the price of what might be called “the grace of martyrdom” than to owe one’s life to an Algerian, whoever he may be, especially if he professes to be acting in accord with what he believed in Islam.

I know full well the contempt in which Algerians generally are held.

I know, too, the caricature of

A scene from the movie Of Gods and Men which tells the story of the seven Trappist monks who were martyred during Algeria’s civil war.

(Photo: Sony Pictures Classics/CNS) Islam that is fostered by a certain Islamism.

It is all too easy to appease one’s conscience by simply identifying this religious tradition with the allor-nothingness of the extremists.

For me, Islam and Algeria is something different, it is body and soul.

I have proclaimed it loud and clear, I believe, to everyone that knows me, that I have found here the guiding line of the Gospel that I learned at my mother’s knee, my first Church, here in Algeria, and in the respect of Muslim believers.

My death would seem to justify those who dismiss me summarily as naive, as an idealist (saying): “Let him say how he sees things now!”

But they ought to know that at last my pounding curiosity will be satisfied.

For then I shall be able, if it pleases God, to steep my gaze in that which the Father has, to contemplate with him his Islamic children as he sees them, illuminated by the glory of Christ, by the fruits of his

passion, endowed with the gift of the Spirit, whose secret joy will be forever to establish communion and to restore likeness, through playing on differences.

For this life lost, totally mine, and totally theirs, I give thanks to God, who seems to have wanted it to be utterly so, for this joy, through and despite everything.

Within this thank you where, once and for all, all is said about my life, I include you, my friends of yesterday and of today, and you, my friends from here, along with my mother and my father, my sisters and my brothers and all who belong to them, life yielded a hundredfold as was promised!

And you, too, my last-minute friend, you who know not what you do.

Yes, for you, too, I wish this thank you, and this adieu, which is of your planning.

May we be granted to meet each other again, happy thieves, in paradise, should it please God, the Father of both of us. Amen! Inshallah!

100% Pass Rate • 90 subject distinctions • 6.9% Diploma Pass Rate 67% Learners received at least one distinction • 91.4% Bachelor Pass Rate (University Exemption)

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INTERNATIONAL

Masses cancelled in cholera crisis

BY MWANSA PINTU

A

S a cholera epidemic threatened the lives of more than 14 million Zambians, the country has banned church services and other gatherings in Lusaka’s high-density residential areas.

The Zambian bishops’ conference also implemented measures, such as eliminating the handshake of peace in areas where Masses were still allowed.

Zambian government ministers said that all gatherings of every nature, including church services, were banned in areas most affected by the epidemic. The ministers said the ban was aimed at curbing the spread of the disease and making current treatment measures more effective.

The ministers also announced restrictions on the movement of people in the cholera epicentres from 18:00 to 6:00 and limited the opening of bars and other business outlets to between 11:00 and 19:00.

They closed markets and food outlets in most of the cities where the

cholera bacteria was detected.

The archdiocese of Lusaka cancelled all Church-sponsored programmes until further notice. In a pastoral letter read in all Catholic churches in Lusaka, Fr Thomas Banda, Lusaka archdiocesan pastoral coordinator, said Church meetings should be held only if necessary. He also announced an indefinite ban on handshakes during the meetings and on gatherings after funeral services.

Meanwhile, the state ordered the defence forces onto the streets to help control the epidemic. They began a cleanup of the streets of Lusaka and other major Zambian cities, demolishing illegal market structures and unblocking drains.

The state also announced plans to begin vaccination against cholera, with 2 million doses of the vaccine donated by the UN Children’s Fund.

The National Heroes Stadium has been temporarily made the main treatment centre. More than 2 000 people have died from cholera in Zambia over the past ten years.—CNS

Pope to teachers: Help kids care for creation

BY CAROL GLATZ

A

LIFESTYLE that is environmentally ethical cannot be “schizophrenic”—for example, by showing more care for animals and forests, than for the plight of people, Pope Francis said.

A green lifestyle must be consistent and complete, driven by a love for God the creator and all of his creation, the pope said in a speech to the Italian Association of Catholic Teachers, which held its national congress in Rome this month.

The primary school teachers must help children from a young age understand and practise an environmentally ethical lifestyle that must not be “schizophrenic”. By that the pope meant that a kind of disconnected concern for, as an example, “taking care of animals in extinction, but ignoring problems facing the elderly. Or defending the Amazon rainforest, but neglecting the rights of workers to have a fair wage”.

This approach demands teaching the importance of personal responsibility, not bombarding the children

with slogans or catchy commands that someone else will have to carry out, he said. Teach children to have an enthusiastic appetite for “experiencing an environmental ethics that stems from the choices and behaviours in daily life”, he said.

The pope also encouraged teachers and schools to rebuild a new alliance with families that mutually support and strengthens each other.

The educational alliance or “pact” that once existed among the state, schools and parents unfortunately “is broken” and must be repaired, he said.

Since constructive collaboration no longer comes “naturally”, plan and design a way for it to happen, even with the help of experts in education, said the pope, who used to teach at a Jesuit high school in Buenos Aires.

“But even before that, foster a new ‘conspiracy’—and I am fully aware of this wording—between teachers and parents,” becoming jointly responsible accomplices to promote the wellbeing of children, he said.—CNS

Paris archbishop: God comes to people simply

T

HE new archbishop of Paris has urged French Catholics to ignore wealth and power and look for God “in the smallest, weakest and poorest”.

“If God wanted to show himself, he might give the task to some American filmmaker—to Cecil B DeMille, who could have done something amazing, to James Cameron with his special effects, or to the Disney studios with their laser technology,” said Archbishop Michel Aupetit.

“But when God shows himself to people, he comes with the greatest discretion like a small child—in a stable among animals because the world would not accept him,” he said at his installation at Notre Dame cathedral.

He said those who were “truly great and all-powerful” had no need for “coronets and symbols of office”, adding that God touched people who were “capable of recognising and listening to him”.

Archbishop Aupetit said Catholics needed to recognise “God

Newly-installed Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris. (Photo:Twitter) comes to us in the simplest possible guises, without a mitre or a crook— but he’s still God, and we need faith to recognise him.”

“Don’t justify the famous Chinese proverb that when the wise man points to the moon, the fool merely looks at his finger. Don’t look at the archbishop, but contemplate Christ.”—CNS

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

Pope: Bullying is the devil’s work

5

BY JUNNO AROCHO

A

S the influence of the Holy Spirit is recognised when one does an act of charity, Christians also must recognise the presence of the devil when bullying occurs, Pope Francis said.

“When we realise that we harbour within ourselves the desire to attack someone because they are weak, we have no doubt: It is the devil. Because attacking the weak is the work of Satan,” the pope said in his homily at morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

The pope centred his homily on the First Book of Samuel, which recounts the verbal abuse Hannah endured because she was unable to conceive a child.

Similar accounts in other Bible stories—from Abraham’s wife Sarah ridiculed by her servant to Job who was rejected by his wife after his misfortune—are stories that Christians should take time to reflect on, the pope said.

“I ask myself: What is within these people? What is it within us that pushes us to mock and mistreat others weaker than we are?” the pope asked.

“It is understandable when a person resents someone stronger than them, perhaps because of envy...but towards the weak? What

Pope Francis celebrates his morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican. (Photo: L'Osservatore Romano/CNS) makes us do that? It is something habitual, as if I need to ridicule another person to feel confident; as if it were a necessity,” he said.

Pope Francis said that as a child there was a woman named Angelina in his neighbourhood and she was constantly ridiculed by others, especially children, because of her mental illness.

While people would generously give her food and clothes, local children would make fun of the woman and say, “Let’s find Angelina and have some fun,” the pope said.

“Today we see it constantly in our schools—the phenomenon of

VACANCY

bullying, attacking the weak because ‘you’re fat or foreign or because you’re black’, he said. “This means there is something within us that makes us act aggressively toward the weak.”

Although psychologists may give a different reason as to why some are inclined to bully the weak, Pope Francis said he believed it was “a consequence of original sin” and the work of Satan who “has no compassion”.

“Let us ask the Lord to give us the grace of God’s compassion,” the pope said. “He is the one who has compassion on us and helps us to move forward.”—CNS

ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR

6

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

May 2018 hold the joy of the Lord

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Stop the bullying

P

SYCHOLOGISTS may cite a range of reasons to explain why some people bully others, but Pope Francis has identified in blunt language the spiritual roots of the harassment of others.

“When we realise that we harbour within ourselves the desire to attack someone because they are weak, we have no doubt: It is the devil. Because attacking the weak is the work of Satan,” the pope said in a homily at Mass in his residence in the Vatican.

His words come at a time when even the president of the United States acts in the ways of a schoolground bully, thereby helping to normalise behaviour which ought to be vigorously discouraged. And like the modern school bully, he uses social media to attack and demean his targets.

The phenomenon of bullying has long been downplayed as a rite of passage which forms part of growing up. But parents must not accept platitudes that conflicts are best settled by youngsters themselves, that victims of bullying should immunise themselves from hurt, or that being bullied provides preparation for the hard knocks of adult life.

Peer abuse includes not only physical intimidation and extortion, but also non-corporal forms of persecution such as systematic taunting and teasing, sexual harassment, gossip and social ostracism.

Bullies now have access to modern technology to assault their victims: by harassing them, or demeaning them, or slandering them, or by coordinating their social exclusion. Although observable, it is difficult to legislate against such forms of victimisation.

The effects of non-corporal bullying tend to be more devastating than physical harassment. In many cases peer abuse has resulted in children abandoning school and even in suicides.

Parents and teachers tend to be quite powerless to counteract this, whether their children are the perpetrators or victims of bullying.

They have not grown up with the technologies that to Millennials come naturally, and most are unfamiliar with the mechanics and methods of modern types of bullying. For adults it is a challenge to identify specific cases of cyberbullying and to respond to them appropriately.

Indeed, often it is almost impossible for many parents to know

what is happening because their children interact with their peers in what might as well be a different universe.

But this does not absolve parents and other caregivers from responsibility. For one thing, young people—and not a few adults— must be conscientised to understand that peer abuse is an infringement on the rights of others. Bullying has consequences, and these must be understood.

We live in an age where even in adult discourse, there often is an abrogation of civility and charity of thought. We can see this in the conduct of “keyboard warriors” on the Internet, in the demagoguery of politicians, and in the cold-hearted bigotry exhibited even by people who imagine themselves to be compassionate.

This is a social disease, and the basic codes of decency and empathy need to be restated, and even reformulated.

The Christian response to bullying is to condemn it, to act against it and to work to prevent it. Bullying subverts God’s love of the individual, especially those who are vulnerable and marginalised. It desecrates the dignity of the individual.

Schools and parents must adopt a proactive method to bullying, as many already do. It involves identifying and ending bullying when it occurs, and implementing measures to prevent peer abuse.

This might require limitations to a minor’s privacy as parents may need to supervise and, if necessary, act on a child’s Internet activities—also as a means of protecting them from harm (these restrictions must, of course, be sensitively mediated, as explained in Dr Joan Ibeziako’s article this week).

Prevention has to include reactive measures, but an effective anti-bullying approach must also seek to identify why a child or teenager engages in abusive behaviour—and whether they actually realise the harm they are doing.

It is self-evident that by addressing the causes of bullying, the effects of the phenomenon can be reduced.

There must be no room in schools and society for situations that cause children hurt and anxiety. Children have the right to grow up in a safe environment, without fear. It is our collective responsibility to protect that right.

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T

HERE is, surely, a difference between happiness and joy.

Human happiness is dependent on our interaction with other persons, places and moods, and circumstances beyond our control.

But the joy of the Lord is a gift and fruit of the Holy Spirit; it is an uplifting power within, an unshakeable trust in God. Jesus promises us: “My own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you” (John 14:27).

Our mental attitude will make all the difference in this new year. We will need to stand on firm ground and break away from past illusions.

If you are still waiting for a miracle to happen: Stop! Open your eyes, your ears and your hearts to the wonder that surrounds us right

We urgently need the Holy Spirit

J

ESUS, who was truly man, received a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins from John the Baptist (Mark 1:4-9).

The Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove after his baptism. Jesus was 30 years old (Luke 3:23).

In Luke 4, filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days. The Holy Spirit helps him to overcome the temptations of Satan.

Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee and taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath, and they handed him the scroll to read from the prophet Isaiah.

He found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me for he has anointed me,” (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus then told the people, the text is being fulfilled while you are listening.

In John 1:29, John was baptising at Bethany, along the Jordan. When he saw Jesus, he said: “Look, there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John must have had foresight of the redemption of the Cross.)

here on earth. We should be ever in love with nature and sing with Mary: “My soul rejoices in the Lord.”

Also, look around and witness how people grow older much faster once they stop loving. We should be ever-appreciative, taking nothing for granted. The gift of friendship is real and enduring. True friends will leave footprints in our hearts.

As we contemplate the mystery of life, we, as believers, are deeply aware that “nothing can separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8) and we are thankful to be guided by the wisdom of others.

Be contented with who you are and what you have—for this is how God sees you and loves you.

Always walk towards the light, Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate. Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

It was only after the Holy Spirit came down on him that Jesus performed his first miracle—water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana.

Now Jesus was as much the Son of God when he was a baby up until he was 30 years old, yet he started his Galilean ministry and performed miracles only after he was filled with the Holy Spirit and not before.

Surely these events must signify the importance of being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit?

As I see it, everyone has the Holy Spirit inside them from conception. Our bodies have become the Temple of the Lord but not everyone is actually filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is knocking at the door but we have to open the door, we

and take your heart with you.

There’s a broken world out there in need of compassion and love.

Learn to laugh at yourself for all the silly mistakes and wrong turns you make on the journey.

Understand that true wealth is spiritual wealth, and that a faith that costs nothing, demands nothing, is worth nothing.

All life is fragile, so handle with prayer; and when storms hit you, learn to dance in the rain.

Being kind and considerate is more important than being right.

Surely, the essence in living the Christian faith is to touch the untouchable, forgive the unforgiveable, and to love the unloveable, as Jesus did.

Here’s wishing you a joy-filled 2018.

Fr Ralph de Hahn, Cape Town

have to ask and he will make a home in us.

In Romans 8, St Paul tells us that if you don’t belong to Jesus you don’t have the Spirit of Christ in you.

Jesus was truly man up to death on the Cross at Calvary, when we were justified.

If Jesus only performed miracles after he had been filled with the Holy Spirit, how much more must this apply to us?

My understanding is that in the Jewish faith, rabbis had to be at least 30 years old.

John Driver , Daveyton

Dress at Mass in respectful way

T

HE Body of Christ is omnipresent—show some respect.

Ladies, dress properly please.

You cannot walk up to the altar with the Book held high in a sleeveless dress sporting tattoos.

It’s horrendous.

Men, you cannot serve on the altar in shorts and short-sleeves and flip flops.

It’s time to cover up; time to become real with Our Lord and our beloved Church.

Leonie Arries, George

Springfield Convent School

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Address : St. John’s Road, Wynberg Enquiries : Telephone (021) 7976169 ext 248 www.springfieldconvent.co.za ♦ truth

♦ trust

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PERSPECTIVES

The trick in answering God’s call NEW COLUMN A WHILE ago, I was speaking to my wife about me trying to get back on air as a radio presenter. But instead of the expected affirmations like “I believe in you”, she simply asked me: “Do you believe this is what God wants of your life?

Do you think this is what God is calling you to?”

My answer was yes. She then told me to pray about it, to ask God to help me with this dream and vocation of mine.

How many times do we chase after dreams thinking that God wants it of us but in the end realising that we only want it for ourselves? My wife’s guidance here is one of much prayer and discernment.

I believe we are all called—called to fulfil the Kingdom of God here on Earth by whatever ways and means God wants of us.

Not all of us are called to be priests and religious, nor are we called to be Biblebashing on the street corners and public places. We are called to live in the footsteps of Christ, to shine his light, life and love by our everyday example, and in doing so bring others to the knowledge and understanding of He-in-us.

Now, as I pray some more about this on-air position, which I believe is my calling, I realise that sometimes we are called for multiple vocations. Besides wanting to make a difference in the world and my community by being a radio presenter again, I believe that I am also called to make a difference by being the best husband, best friend and best entertainer I have been called to be.

This year marks 12 years since I began performing as a magician. But to me this

is not just a form of trickery nor simply entertainment. I also believe it’s a way of bringing others closer to Christ.

When I perform, I don’t go round quoting Bible verses, nor do I tell people that I am a Christian. I simply use my entertainment as a means for Christ to speak through me to the hearts of the audience.

L

et me explain: We are living in a world today where many families are divided.

Besides the family feuds, which are plenty, the one thing which connects us also divides us. Technology, social media and the Internet, if not properly managed, contribute to this split of family.

Working in the restaurant industry as an entertainer, I often see families who would rather update their statuses online than be in conversation with those around them.

Recently I noticed a man who had

Keenan Williams performs magic at a restaurant. He writes that he uses his entertainment “as a means for Christ to speak through me to the hearts of the audience”.

Keenan Williams

Talking Faith

turned his head around so that he could watch the television behind him and avoid having a conversation with his wife (who occupied herself by reading the ingredients at the back of the tomato sauce sachet).

If allowed by restaurant patrons to entertain them for those two to five minutes that I am with them, the cellphones are put down, the laptops put on sleep mode, and the TV screen is ignored. The real magic isn’t my sleight of hand; it’s the moment I leave that table, turn round and observe how that family and couple communicate and interact with one another. That, to me, is Christ bringing people together.

We have all been called, but it’s up to us whether we answer that call or leave it ringing.

No matter where we may find ourselves—a cashier in a shop, a waiter, a journalist, a doctor or even a scrap collector—we are called to live in Christ every day. Each job, each walk of life is a vocation, a calling.

We should treat it as such. We must allow Christ to live in us, for us to set Christian examples. Allow Christ to live in us and work through us to transform the lives of others.

Seeing in 2018 with a sense of trust E VEN in mid-January we still stand on the threshold of a new year and what it holds is as yet unknown.

Of course, we have hopes and expectations for this year: the birth of a child, cure for an illness, new beginnings after completing school at a tertiary institution, a first job, the adventure of travel. However, none of these things are a given.

The reality is that we don’t yet know what joys will give light to our days. What angels will we encounter through unforeseen circumstances? What random meetings will blossom into new friendships.

What events will change our lives forever?

The sorrow of death, disappointment, and heartache are still just shadows lurking behind an unknown corner.

In his December 31 homily, our parish priest said that we were stepping into an uncertain future as we headed into 2018.

“All we can do,” he said, “is trust. Trust in God through all the situations we’ll encounter this year.”

On a spiritual level, this is how I try to begin my days. One of my favourite prayers is: “I trust your might, your kindness, Mother dear. I do believe that you are always near. Whatever happens, Mother mild, I blindly trust in you and in your Child.”

But on a practical level, I struggle a great deal with blind trust.

Those who know me well often tease me and say that I’m a little OCD or a control freak. Although I don’t keep a meticulous diary, I am happiest when my life has a rhythm and an order. I don’t do well with too much craziness.

When things happen that upset my “mojo”, I rapidly lose my calm demeanour and tend to become a little frazzled. I’ve also been known to react by making mountains out of molehills, only to have everything sort itself out, as things often do.

Looking back over the last year, I recognise that the reason I unravel is that, in the moment, I forget to trust.

Sarah-Leah Pimentel

The Mustard Seeds

A sculpture of the Holy Family in Kazimierz Biskupi, Poland. The Holy Family is a great example of trusting God, writes Sarah-Leah Pimentel.

The New Year’s Eve homily made me think about how I can bring my prayer of trust in sync with my lived experience.

I’m going to start by trying to adopt an attitude of trust. I know, as South Africans our default is not to trust anyone—and sometimes we might extend that distrust to God as well. Perhaps I am being called to practise this attitude of blindly trusting in God’s plan for me this year.

T

he best model for this attitude of trust is the Holy Family. When they set out for Bethlehem, they knew only one thing: the child would be born before they would return home.

They trusted that they would be able to find a place to give birth to their child. No one had room for them, but God placed a compassionate person in their path who was at least able to provide them with a dry and warm place where Mary could bring her son into the world.

When they left for Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph no doubt expected that as soon as the census had been completed and the new mother and child were able to travel, they would return home, and the new family would find its rhythm and patterns.

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They could not possibly have imagined that a political leader would feel threatened by the newborn child and actively seek to kill him. They could not have imagined that they would find themselves fleeing in the middle of the night for Egypt, and not knowing how long they would live in exile.

Despite this they trusted. Joseph trusted that it was God speaking to him in his dream. Joseph trusted that God had a special care for the destiny of his family, giving him the confidence and courage to leave Bethlehem under the cover of night.

The Holy Family trusted that one day they would make their way home.

We are called to adopt that same attitude of trust as we head into an uncertain year. Trust even if your company is downsizing and you face the possibility of retrenchment. Trust while you hear the less than hopeful diagnosis to medical tests. Trust as you navigate the murky waters of personal relationships.

Trust even that those in power will make good decisions.

Yes, even if my faith is only the size of a mustard seed, I will try to be like Joseph, listening for God’s quiet voice in my dreams, deep down in my soul. I will try to be like Mary, trusting and believing that God will provide in all circumstances and refuse to give way to my fears.

I wish all Southern Cross readers a blessed 2018 and invite you to join me in making Isaiah’s proclamation of faith your own: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.”

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

7

Julia Beacroft

Point of Reflection

Back to school for new beginnings

W

E naturally consider the month of January to be a new beginning, and the commencement of a time when anything could happen. It’s the start of a new year when we make all kinds of promises to ourselves—and often fail to keep.

And after the long, lazy days of the summer holiday, education restarts in schools and universities.

In fact, all kinds of courses and programmes burst forth at this time.

For parents, this recommencement is usually marked by digging out the children’s school uniforms to see what fits and what doesn’t—for me it always came as a shock to see how short trousers and sleeves had become during the six-week holiday. There may be the dreaded school uniform shopping trip as a result of this.

And often that is followed by that most laborious of tasks: marking all new uniform items with name tapes or various other methods.

Shops have traded on this phenomenon with their signs of “Back to School” to act as a yearly reminder.

And the Church is no different in its revival.

After the summer holidays, when so many activities are put on hold, and the priest might take a well-deserved post-Christmas break, the Church launches into the new season’s activities with gusto.

This is hardly surprising. Catechism classes begin; soon it’ll be Lent and before we know it it’s Holy Week and Easter. The Church is always geared up for the busy time ahead.

Likewise, our lives are marked by notable events: births, deaths and marriages, birthdays, new home, new job and a variety of others. In the same way the Church celebrates so many occasions which have been brought to us by scripture and tradition, and rightly so.

As we launch ourselves into this wonderful new year, with all its accompanying activities, this could be a time for us to consider some different and possibly new pursuits of our own.

Spending increased time with the Lord in prayer and reflection can be a challenge for many of us in our busy lives, but nevertheless a wholly worthwhile one.

New beginnings can be strange, exciting and delightful. But as we gather pace in the new year, may our hearts also be mellow with love of God as we find a place and time to be with him.

After all, marking time with the Lord is far preferable to marking school uniforms! n Julia Beacroft’s book Sanctifying The Spirit is published by Sancio Books. It is available on Amazon.

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The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

COMMUNITY

Fr Stefan Hippler baptised six children at Mass at Our Lady of the Annunciation parish in Milnerton, Cape Town.

(Photo: Clarissa Witten)

New Confirmands gather at St John Bosco church in Robertsham, Johannesburg.

They were led by Martin Rathinsamy (third row, second left), Catherine Babu (second row, second left) and parish priest Fr John Thompson (third row, middle). (Photo: Roy Newton-Barker)

Send your photos to

St Vincent de Paul Society volunteers from Our Lady of Sorrows parish in Wentworth, Durban, pitched in to help at Mini World Youth Day in Durban.

pics@scross.co.za

First Communion was celebrated at St Kevin’s parish in Windvogel, Port Elizabeth, led by parish priest Fr Callistus Nwosu.

Christ the King parish in Worcester, Western Cape, celebrated First Communion, with parish priest Fr Ashley Orgill and catechist Violet Roberts.

St Therese parish in Edenvale, Johannesburg celebrated the First Communion of 49 children, with priest Fr Joseph Leathem OMI. Shown are catechist Pia Senetore, Mothekgo Mashiane, Amarachukwu Obodo, Jensen McDonald, Kyle Smith, Lebogang Nong, Tatiana Arantes, Micah Mitchelson and Emily Richards.

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The general chapter of the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was held in Witbank, Mpumalanga. (From left) new superior general Sr Veronica Mashaba, vicar Sr Elizabeth Mathabathe, Bishop Joe Sandri, councillors Srs Margaret Maphanga, Cecilia Malaza and Claire Mncwango. (Submitted by Sr Elizabeth Mathabathe)

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An end of 2017 retreat was held at the Christian Brothers’ Centre in Stellenbosch, Western Cape.

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

PERSONALITY

9

Marist music teacher scores big

BY ERIN CARELSE

F

OR Leah Adams, a music teacher at St Joseph’s Marist College in Cape Town, 2017 will be a year to remember: for being a winner of the SA’s Got Talent contest.

Ms Adams is a member of AnecNote, the acappella group from Cape Town which captured the nation’s hearts as it won the highly contested finale of SA’s Got Talent (or SAGT), the hugely popular South African version of the international franchise, which broadcasts on e.tv. “The support St Joseph’s showed me, and continues to show me, has been absolutely amazing,� said Ms Adams, who joined the school’s staff in 2014 as a part-time vocal teacher.

She recalls being apprehensive at first about accepting the job of overseeing the school’s choirs as well as giving vocal lessons, as she was at another school at the time and busy completing her postgraduate certificate in education. She wasn’t sure if she could cope with the workload, but somehow felt the need to take the leap.

Church has also always been a huge part of Ms Adams life. After her confirmation she became a Sunday school teacher, igniting a passion for teaching at 16 already.

What she enjoys most about being a music teacher is that she gets to share her passion and to see students grow in confidence through music.

St Joseph’s backed Ms Adams from the beginning of her journey on SAGT. “The college has been fantastic. I

The class of 2017 achieved a 100% pass rate with a 98,2% university exemption (the highest in 25 years and 10% above the national IEB average !!

work alongside Alexis Petro, the head of music, and she has just been such a positive energy to work with, always encouraging and promoting me and the band,� Ms Adams told The Southern Cross. “During the SAGT competition, I was able to get a substitute teacher to stand in for me, which the college agreed to, no objections,� Ms Adams said.

She said her love for music came from her parents. Although neither of them plays an instrument or has any sort of formal training, there was always music in her house varying from genre to genre. “But my true appreciation for music came only when I went to high school and joined the music class. I was an extremely shy person, especially on stage, and I overcame that only recently, partially due to becoming a teacher,� Ms Adams said.

AnecNote was formed in 2014,

and consists of six members: Ms Adams, Kevin Smuts, Amy Campbell, Daniel Mambassi, and MornĂŠ Kahps.

The three men in the group met in the UCT Chamber Choir years ago. They sang a lot of acappella music and together they felt there was a need to be a platform for more contemporary/pop acappella groups. They approached Ms Adams and asked her if she would like to audition. “I thought it was a bit weird, but I decided to go because since graduating from UCT’s College of Music in 2013, I had missed singing in groups and really wanted to be part of one again,� Ms Adams said.

Once the group established a sound and felt confident enough to accept the challenge a competition brings, they entered SAGT. “As a band, we love working towards our goals and this was definitely on our list,� said Ms Adams.

(Above) Music teacher Leah Adams of St Joseph’s Marist College in Cape Town was thrilled when the acappella group she belongs to, AnecNote, won the finale of SA’s Got Talent. (Left) AnecNote in action with (from left) MornĂŠ Kahps, Leah Adams, Daniel Mambassi, Amy Campbell and Kevin Smuts. “Through SAGT we were also able to reach a bigger audience.â€?

AnecNote received the second “Golden Buzzer� of Season 8 from radio personality and judge DJ Fresh. The Golden Buzzer qualifies a contestant to go straight to the semi-finals.

DJ Fresh couldn’t contain his excitement after the group sang their rendition of Nathi’s Afro-pop hit “Nomvula�. “We never expected to receive the Golden Buzzer, nor win the semi-final—never mind winning the finale. The other acts were all so talented and everyone stood a good chance of winning the competition,� Ms Adams said. “Throughout the competition we kept reminding ourselves how

blessed we are to be able to do what we do and to also share it with the world. We just wanted to send out a good, positive message and get acappella in South Africa on the map,� she said.

The semi-final episode took place while Ms Adams’ Grade 10s and 11s were doing their final FET Music practical exam. During the practical, they took a break to vote for AnecNote. “This was extremely heartwarming to hear. I always tell my seniors, “I might be a Bergvliet alumni [a state school in Cape Town’s southern suburbs], but Marist stole my heart. I am Marist,� she said.

Upon returning home from Johannesburg, where the competition took place, she was welcomed with hugs, class parties, and chocolates by excited learners who were over the moon for her and the group.

Asked what she enjoys most about being a music teacher, Ms Adams replied: “I get to share my dreams with the learners.�

She has a passion and wants to share it. “To say I’m passionate about music is an understatement.

Getting to share my passion and journey with my learners is what drives me to get out of bed every morning and to be the best example I can be to their growing minds,�

Ms Adams said. “Being a teacher—and also this person who won a national competition—puts me in a position where learners can look up to me and see that anything is achievable. It’s always exciting to see how music can break down barriers and allow learners to be completely free,� Ms Adams said.

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The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

FAITH

The saintly icon of social justice One of the great modern icons of social justice is the late US activist Dorothy Day. A new book by her granddaughter explains how Day’s legacy lives on.

D

OROTHY Day, the cofounder of the Catholic Worker Movement in the United States whose cause for canonisation has been opened, is the subject of a book by her own granddaughter, Kate Hennessy.

And the thought behind the book could have been formulated by the saintly icon for social justice whose popularity among Catholics worldwide continues even almost four decades after her death.

“My grandmother and my mother really thought carefully and closely about some pretty basic things that I think we have lost sight of,” Ms Hennessy said. “One is: what am I meant to do, what is each of us meant to do, in terms of occupation and vocation? What skills can I offer the world? They both felt that that was so important.”

Day was also captivated by “this idea that we each have a role to play, that each are capable of doing something,” she said.

“I think that’s very, very hopeful. In these times people are unsure of what to do—I mean, the problem seems so big. My grandmother was saying [that] what we can do is so little, but that is what we are given to do. That’s only what we can do, so let’s move forward and do what we each think

that we can do. That’s what I hope people will come away with from this story,” Ms Hennessy said.

The author is the youngest of Day’s nine grandchildren, through Dorothy’s daughter Tamar. Ms Hennessy’s book, titled Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty, is a biography-memoir about her grandmother.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 8, 1897, Day was baptised Episcopalian (US Anglican) at the age of 12.

She displayed signs at a young age of possessing a deep religious sense.

Ten days in jail Day was strongly influenced by Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle, which told the stories of the harsh conditions and exploitation of immigrants in the United States.

As a young adult Day worked as a journalist for a socialist publication. In 1917 she was imprisoned as for protesting outside the White House as a member of the non-violent suffragist group, the Silent Sentinels. Sentenced to 30 days in jail, she served 15 days—ten of them on a hunger strike—before being released.

Day would spend another ten days in jail in 1973, when she was 75, after she joined Catholic labour activist Cesar Chavez in his campaign for exploited farm workers in California.

In her private life in the late 1910s and early 1920s, she had a series of disastrous romances, and procured an abortion which she later would often cite in her pro-life messages.

The birth of her daughter Tamar

Dorothy Day (left), her granddaughter Kate Hennessy, and the book Ms Hennessy has written about the well-known Catholic social activist, whose sainthood cause has been opened. in 1926 coincided with an increased interest in Catholicism which led to her formal conversion in 1927—which drove the final nail into the coffin of her unhappy marriage to activist Forster Batterham (they remained life-long friends).

In the Church, Dorothy Day remained a social activist.

She co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement with Peter Maurin in 1933, started soup kitchens and farm communities, and launched Catholic newspaper, The Catholic Worker, which at its peak had a circulation of 100 000.

She dedicated her life to aiding and advocating for the poor and leading a life characterised by voluntary poverty and works of mercy.

She embraced many left-wing causes, so her devout Catholicism puzzled many who admired her causes.

In her memoirs, Day wrote: “I had a conversation with John Spivak, the communist writer, a few

years ago, and he said to me, ‘How can you believe? How can you believe in the Immaculate Conception, in the Virgin birth, in the Resurrection?’ I could only say that I believe in the Roman Catholic Church and all she teaches. I have accepted her authority with my whole heart.

“At the same time I want to point out to you that we are taught to pray for final perseverance. We are taught that faith is a gift, and sometimes I wonder why some have it and some do not. I feel my own unworthiness and can never be grateful enough to God for his gift of faith.”

Day’s legacy lives on Dorothy Day died on November 28, 1980. Her legacy lives on today in some 185 Catholic Worker communities in the US and around the globe.

The Catholic Worker Movement was meant “to bring the word that

the Church had a call among social action”, Ms Hennessy reflected.

She considers Day’s profound influence on others to be the clearest evidence of her sanctity.

“So many people have said to me that when they met my grandmother, when they read her books, or when they worked at the Catholic Worker, that it had just changed their lives forever: What is my vocation, what should I be doing as an occupation? Or how should I be treating people, how should I be as a moral person?”

Holy people like Day “help us”, she said. “They lead us to change our perception of reality, in a way, and become more engaged in the world.”

Ms Hennessy recalled the beauty of a Catholic Worker Farm where she had spent summer breaks in New York state. She said Day had a powerful eye of observation and was able to see beauty anywhere.

“One of the things that I think my grandmother was so good at, and really teaches us, is how she could see beauty anywhere. She would see beauty in a tree that was struggling to grow in the middle of the city. She could see beauty in any little bit of nature that she could see…or eating from a lovely plate that had been donated.”

That beauty can be found at the Catholic Worker houses, she said: “Just being able to invite people in, and set them down with a cup of coffee and a bowl of soup, is also a form of beauty.” n As a newspaper publisher, Dorothy Day is one of the patrons of The Southern Cross’ Associates Campaign.

SA CHURCH 200

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

11

Rows in SA’s early Church The first parish in South Africa had outbreaks of hostility between priests and some laity in the 1820s and ‘30s, as MARTIN KEENAN explains.

I

T is a common error in past writings about the early history of the Catholic Church in the Cape to claim that the whole period from 1820-37 was marred by disputes.

Of course, there were disputes.

Conflict erupted between churchwardens and clergy in 1821 and again in mid-1827—but only in 1832 did strife split the congregation.

The disaffected members then seceded and the affairs of the chapel in Harrington Street—South Africa’s first church built to provide pastoral care to local Catholics—were harmoniously conducted at meetings of what was a model finance committee, as can be seen from their minutes in the Cape Town archdiocesan archives.

Since Sunday, February 13, 1820 a store—courtesy of Philip Albertus, a Catholic—had been adapted as a chapel where Mass was said every Sunday and holy day at 11am. It was on the Buitenkant, opposite the Main Barracks.

Dissatisfied with makeshift arrangements, Cape Town’s Catholic priest, Fr Patrick Scully, asked the Burgher Senate in April 1821 for land on which to build.

The church-wardens insisted on being involved, and so the plot agreed upon was transferred into Fr Scully’s name with the wardens’ concurrence.

Thereafter the wardens contributed nothing to the project, and

they are not on the subscription lists published in the Cape Gazette in September 1821.

Fr Scully pressed on alone, and in November 1821 it was announced in the Cape Gazette that plans could be viewed at the home of Antonio Chiappini.

Work started on October 28, 1822, and by March 1824 the Chapel and presbytery, although incomplete, was brought into use.

Complaints about priest The church-wardens’ enthusiasm in office had been chilled by the dour response which Bishop Bede Slater—the Mauritius-based vicar-apostolic of the Cape—had given to their complaints made in May 1821 about Fr Scully.

The wardens claimed Mass was said only on Sundays; that Fr Scully’s sermons were infrequent and inaudible; that if he made a house visit, he never followed it up; that no school had been built; that he did not properly record baptisms; and that he was baptising slaves—allegedly in breach of the law.

Bishop Slater rebuked them for interfering in the spiritualities, but some complaints deserved better than they had received: failure to record baptisms is a serious fault.

The bishop’s charge of meddling was well-founded, though. As early as 1821 the wardens had decided that the best way to address inadequate financial support from the congregation was to charge fees for the sacraments.

This was blocked by Fr Scully: the sacristan was relieved of his administrative duties when he and the wardens tried to prevent baptisms without their permission.

Fr Scully was the better able to do this because he had achieved fi-

nancial independence from the wardens, first by the state salary granted in 1821, and then, after it was withdrawn, by his taking outside employment with the astronomer royal in the Cape.

Scope for the exercise of his pastoral duties was necessarily curtailed, but if anyone objected, we hear nothing of it.

A persistent problem was that the congregation was not contributing to the building fund, so in 1823 Scully took out long-term and short-term loans secured by a bond on the chapel. Four laymen (only two were wardens) stood surety.

Loan called in

By July 1824 when he prematurely left the Colony, Scully had paid no interest on either loan.

The short-term loan was then called in. This necessitated a refinancing of the debt by the wardens who took out a new loan, again secured by a bond on the chapel.

They, with businessman Antonio Chiappini, guaranteed the repayment of the new consolidated loan.

Fr Theodorus Wagener, the Dutch priest who succeeded Fr Scully, had arrived two weeks before the refinancing, in which he was not involved. In May 1827, Benedictine Father Thomas Rishton joined him.

The original “Plan” envisaged two main sources of income: a fund subscribed by “all Catholics residing in Cape Town or its vicinity being in conscience desirous of exercising their Religion”, and stole fees.

The planned-giving fund was never adequate. Because the Cape government fixed a tariff of fees for the Reformed and Anglican Churches, the wardens wanted to charge the faithful for the sacraments. We have seen how Fr Scully dealt with it.

The issue had receded in importance after Fr Scully’s intervention, but it re-surfaced after Fr Rishton’s arrival when the wardens demanded to be informed of impending baptisms so they could levy stole fees. The priests adamantly opposed them.

Conflict erupts Baulked, the wardens abandoned office, and from August 1827 until May 1832 Frs Rishton and Wagener managed the chapel finances. An accounting of sorts was given when a brief statement of receipts and expenditure was posted on the chapel door in May 1832.

It showed that the loan had not been serviced since March 1830. Indeed, Fr Wagener had repudiated it, claiming it was not binding on him because Scully, in whose name the chapel was still registered, had not executed the bond under the 1826 refinancing.

Having resigned his post, Fr Wagener then returned to Europe leaving Fr Rishton as lone chaplain to the Catholic congregation, which was now in ferment over the state of the finances.

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Cape Town in 1832, seen from Devil’s Peak. The Catholic chapel is the first building right at the foot of Devil’s Peak. (Image: Brenthurst Library)

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Bishop to Zuma: Launch probe into state capture STAFF REPORTER

T

The risen Christ emerges from his tomb in this image from the Resurrection altar in Rosary basilica in Lourdes. The feast of Easter, which marks the Resurrection of Christ, this year falls on April 16. Unusually, this year Easter is celebrated by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches on the same date. (Günther Simmermacher)

No 5067

HE head of the bishops’ Justice & Peace Commission has urged President Jacob Zuma “to show leadership and institute a commission of inquiry on corporate state capture, especially corporate involvement in cabinet appointments”.

Such inquiry, said Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley, “would restore public confidence in the office of the president and its ability to appoint ministers in the interest of the common good”.

It should “cover all corporates, and not only the alleged capture by the Gupta family”.

The bishop noted, however, that recent cabinet reshuffles seem to serve the president’s political survival, not the nation.

“Since the dismissal of [Nhlanhla] Nene as the finance minister [in December 2015], a strong impression has been created that the cabinet reshuffles by the president are done in the interest of the president’s political survival and his patronage networks, and not in the best interests of the nation,” said Bishop Gabuza.

The recent cabinet reshuffle, which saw among others finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas fired, “has failed to remove such an impression”, he said.

“Despite the government’s rhetoric around radical economic transformation, it is evident that uncertainties around the treasury, as well as continued political uncertainties, are not in the interest of the economy and the poor,” Bishop Gabuza said.

Bishop Gabuza lauded Mr Gordhan and Mr Jonas “for being men of integrity and for defending the principles of clean governance and fiscal discipline”.

He indicated that new finance minister Malusi Gigaba would be evaluated especially on “his ability to protect the treasury from corporate capture and undue influence”, an apparent reference to interference by the Gupta family.

“We therefore expect the new minister of finance to consider the common good and the poor, and not the vested interests of corporate sectors that are linked to political

elites and their patronage networks,” Bishop Gabuza said.

“This is particularly critical in the way the new minister will handle the immense pressure around the procurement of nuclear energy, the establishment of Gupta-linked bank and financial bail-outs of underperforming state-owned enterprises,” the bishop said.

In a statement, Mr Gigaba pledged that “I will not betray our people by allowing individual or special interests to prevail over the public good. Every decision I make will be for the public good, and I will be responsive and accountable to the public on those decisions.”

The Jesuit Institute of South Africa echoed the hope that Mr Gigaba “will continue to display the kind of honesty, integrity and fiscal prudence that marked Mr Gordhan’s time as head of the treasury”.

In a statement, the institute emphasised that “the treasury belongs to the people of the country and is not a feeding trough for a select few”.

The Jesuit Institute suggested that Mr Zuma did not undertake parts of his reshuffle rationally, as he is required to.

“While we recognise that the Constitution grants the president tremendous power, we are compelled to emphasise that the Rule of Law dictates that such power must be exercised rationally and for legitimate purposes,” the statement noted, adding that “the reasons put forward by the presidency do not point convincingly to this being the case”.

Mr Zuma cited apparently discredited intelligence reports that accused Mr Gordhan of colluding against the president as a reason for the finance minister’s dismissal.

The Jesuit Institute encouraged “forthright engagement by all sectors of society”, calling on South Africans to “make your voices and concerns heard in legitimate ways”.

“We appeal to all South Africans to join together in charting a path towards a peaceful and decisive resolution to this crisis for the common good of South Africa,” the statement said.

“The interests of our nation must be put before any other consideration at this time.”

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The place where South Africa’s first parish chapel stood in between Cape Town’s Harrington and Canterbury Streets is now a car park.

Fr Rishton’s response was to get the congregation to approve new statutes for church-wardens. At a parish meeting on Trinity Sunday 1832 four were elected, including Chiappini who refused office and instead resorted to various unsuccessful strategies to try take control of the Chapel and its finances.

The final strategy was litigation, including a summons to evict Fr Rishton from the presbytery.

All the court applications failed because the parsonage was not covered by the bond (having been built outside the plot granted by the Burgher Senate), and the bond taken out under the 1826 financing was unenforceable because the chapel was still registered in Scully’s name.

Gradually the 1832 wardens brought the servicing of the loan finance under control, but then a new crisis erupted.

Another crisis Johan Böhmer, one of the 1820 wardens, had claimed he was owed a large sum of money arising from

his expenditure on the chapel between Fr Scully’s departure and Fr Wagener’s arrival.

The court upheld the claim— pursued after Böhmer’s death—and in February 1837 it handed over control of the chapel to Chiappini and another wealthy surety, who asked the congregation to elect a new set of wardens.

Their immediate concern was the repair of the chapel, for which they obtained a promise of government aid—the first such application ever made by Catholics at the Cape.

In their determination to press ahead, they removed the roof in May, but before new timbers could be installed torrential rains collapsed the walls.

It was these wardens who, on his arrival in April 1838, greeted Bishop Raymond Griffith, the first resident bishop in South Africa. He would have nothing to do with them.

This repudiation of formal lay involvement persisted in South Africa until the revival of parish and diocesan pastoral and finance councils in the 20th century.

Early SA Church ‘Who’s Who’

H

ERE is a quick who is who of some of the protagonists referred to in this ar-

ticle.

The Roman Catholic Chapel was built on a plot (now a carpark between Harrington and Canterbury Streets) donated by the Burgher Senate.

Construction started in October 1822 and it came into use before July 1824. Internal galleries were inserted in 1828. It was financed by donations from Catholics and non-Catholics, but mostly by bank loans.

Edward Bede Slater: in June 1818 Pope Pius VII appointed him first vicar-apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope and in 1819 vicar-apostolic of Mauritius as well, and also of Australia later that year. He resided on Mauritius.

Fr Patrick Hurst Scully: a young Irish priest recruited by Bishop Slater for the Cape, in ministry at Cape Town from January 1820 to July 1824.

Fr Theodorus Wagener: a young Dutch priest recruited in Holland to replace Fr Scully. In ministry in Cape Town from March 1826 to May 1832.

Fr Thomas Clement Rishton: a Benedictine monk (like Bishop Slater and Pius VII) who came from England to the Cape to assist Fr Wagener. He was initially supposed to go to Grahamstown but stayed in Cape Town. In ministry in Cape Town from May 1827 to April 1835.

The 1820 church-wardens: five laymen elected under a “Plan” approved by Bishop Slater who installed them in office to handle finances. There were later six, only three of whom had ever been elected.

The 1832 church-wardens: four laymen elected under new statutes approved by Fr Rishton.

Antonio Chiappini: a wealthy Italian immigrant businessman who stood surety for the repayment of the bank loans used to finance the building of the Chapel.

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The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

13

What are kids up to on the Internet?

With children having increasing access to the Internet, parents have to mediate their use, as DR JOAN IBEZIAKO explains.

I

N May last year, the “Blue Whale Challenge”—an online suicide game which dares kids to kill themselves.—was topical in South Africa and internationally.

After signing up to the “Blue Whale Challenge”, the user is assigned a group administrator who issues tasks of gradually increasing intensity and severity over the subsequent 50 days. They range from trivial ones, such as listening to certain songs, to extremes of cutting words or the symbol of a whale on one’s skin, before finally taking the winning step of killing themselves.

There is a claim that it was created by a former Russian convict, although scientists have not been able to clearly state if it is a myth or real, nor is there conclusive proof that actual suicides have resulted from it.

Teenagers are most at risk to this kind of game because they are at a stage in their lives when they are vulnerable as a consequence of certain characteristics of self-affirmation, therefore wanting to break parental boundaries; need to be part of a group leads to giving in to peer pressure; and being full of energy and feeling adventurous, they end up taking risks.

The virtual world allows the space to act freely without the restrictions prevalent in the real world.

Globally, Internet access as well as access to electronic gadgets are connatural to millennials.

A report from Global Kids Online reveals that the average age for Internet usage among children between the ages of six and 17 is 11,7. Of course, those over 17 years are also heavy users.

This requires diverse approaches to parental guidance.

Smartphones are the most commonly used platforms to access the Internet, followed by tablets and computers. Very few would use expensive gadgets such as smart televisions.

The social media most commonly used include WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapschat and Twitter.

The Internet offers varied opportunities according to age: to learn new things and for research; community, civic and creative participation; social relationships; personal and commercial activities, as well as skills development.

But it also exposes its users to risks regarding content, contact and conduct. Some of the risks reported by teenagers themselves are gossip; racist, xenophobic and ugly comments; invitation to be friends by strangers; pornography; violence and inappropriate language.

According to global estimation, one out of three Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) users is a child; four out of ten children are in contact with a stranger in the virtual space; and two-thirds of children have seen or watched pornographic images.

The majority of teenagers affirm the absence of parental intervention and guidance while on-line or lack of awareness of the child’s on-line activities.

Children need to have a right to their freedom and space, but how can they channel that in order to attain perfect self-fulfilment without good orientation?

Where are our parents?

Studies have shown scarcely any intervention in the misuse of technologies and content accessed by children on the Internet by parents or teachers.

Parents have a primary and inalienable role as educators of their children, and teachers come in to play a subsidiary role.

ICT falls within the sphere of education which is not only about pro-

viding technical knowledge, cultural enrichment and developing capacities, but also—above all—forming the person to be ethically good.

With ICT, the greatest challenge lies in helping young people develop digital and critical skills.

Parents need the support of policies and professionals to become versatile in the use, benefits and knowledge of ICT. They need help to access resources on how to evaluate the good use of these new technologies and technical tools to ensure safe Internet usage.

Parents and educators can therefore benefit from easy-to-use educational strategies that would improve their confidence and competence in ICT usage enabling relationships with their child, providing guidance on how to mediate digital media, as well as giving a guiding role in sibling conversations, since older siblings have a major influence in the learning of younger ones.

Four parenting styles Diana Blumberg Baumrind, a clinical and developmental psychologist, has categorised parenting styles into four types.

The first, authoritative or democratic parenting style, has high expectations for achievement and maturity. They set rules and enforce boundaries by having open discussions and using reasoning, but at the same time are affectionate, supportive and encourage independence.

The outcome is a child with high academic performance and self-esteem, good social skills, less tendency to mental illness and delinquency.

The authoritarian parent would also demand high standards but also blind obedience using reasons such as “because I said so”.

They are stern disciplinarians and often employ punishment to control children’s behaviour, are unresponsive to their children’s needs and are generally not nurturing.

The consequence is low academic performance and self-esteem, poor social skills, mental illness, delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse.

The third, the permissive parents, set very few rules and boundaries and they are reluctant to enforce rules. They are warm and indulgent but they do not like to say no or disappoint their children.

The child turns out as egocentric with poor social skills, having problematic relationships and displaying impulsive behaviour.

The fourth parenting style is the neglectful or uninvolved parent who does not set firm boundaries or high standards, is indifferent to their children’s needs and uninvolved in their lives.

In some cases, such parents tend to have mental issues themselves such as maternal depression, or had experienced physical abuse or child neglect at a young age.

The child is pushed to delinquency, impulsive behaviours, drug and alcohol abuse as well as suicide.

At the core of upbringing is to ensure a balanced character, ability to act independently and apply moral principles in concrete situations. The “authoritative or democratic” parenting style is the best suited for humanising a person.

These parenting styles have been found to influence parental guidance on internet usage.

Livingstone et al, in their study of children between 9-16 from 25 European countries, described five types of parental mediation to regulate ICT usage.

The term mediation refers to measures that are applied in order to ensure Internet usage by a child or ward maximises the benefits the internet gives to them while minimising the harm which they could experience.

Active mediation of Internet use occurs when the parent is present, stays nearby, is encouraging, shares or discusses the child’s online activities.

The second, active mediation of Internet safety, whether before, dur-

Teenagers check their smartphones. In her article, Dr Joan Ibeziako urges parents and educators to mediate the Internet use of children and teenagers. ing or after the child’s online activities, has the parent guiding the child in using the Internet safely, also possibly helping or discussing what to do in case of difficulty.

Thirdly, with restrictive mediation, the parent sets rules that restrict the child’s use of particular applications, activities, or of giving out personal information, while monitoring.

In the fourth mediation strategy, the parent checks available electronic records of the child’s Internet use afterwards. The parent might use software or parental controls to filter or restrict the child’s use.

There is no one perfect strategy because other constraining factors— such as cultural norms, family context, influence from siblings and

parents’ Internet usage as well as age of the child—should be taken into consideration.

Fostering discernment In education and guidance, the importance of modelling expectations is pivotal. Whatever the strategy might be, the final goal ought to be fostering in the child the capacity to discern when, what and how, navigating the virtual world should enhance true personal values besides providing technical and intellectual know-how.

It means maintaining a balance between monitoring and managing young people’s online behaviour, while also allowing them the freedom to handle their internet use responsibly.

Online parenting should be approached in the same way as offline parenting: developing safe, stable, open and nurturing relationships between parents and their children, focusing on bringing up confident, responsible, empathetic and resilient young members of society, whether on- or off-line.

South African legislation makes provision for the right to privacy and communication including ICT, as well as promoting safety of the child but there is no framework describing necessary critical skills to navigate the virtual would safely.

This is a big gap in enforcing positive protective legislative framework.

In June 2012, there was a joint launch of Google Online Family Safety Centre by UNICEF, the South African government, civil society and media companies. This website is accessible via mobile network and desktop in English, Zulu and Afrikaans. It offers guidance for parents and caregivers on regulating ICT usage.

Other useful information offered on the website include the definition of sexual abuse according to film and publication regulations, the obligations of Internet providers, and use of security tools.

Besides this, the Centre for Justice and Crime has published a leaflet titled “Digital Parenting in South Africa”, with simple and accessible information for parents, caregivers and children as well as links to other resources. n Dr Joan Ibeziako is a senior family physician in the Ekurhuleni Health District and lectures at the University of Pretoria.

14

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

CHURCH

Dominicans want to lift spirits through song Music can be a form of evangelisation, if done right, says a group of Dominican Brothers who have released an album, as PERRY WEST reports.

F

OLK music is known for its foot-tapping, hand-clapping, barn-raising style—but now, a group of Dominican Brothers is giving the genre a theological twist.

Meet the Hillbilly Thomists, a group of Dominican Brothers who have released a new album which they describe as an authentic human and religious experience.

“Music can be sacred, but it can also be simply human—which is also sacred, just in a less explicit way with lyrics and themes,” said Br Timothy Danaher, one of the vocalists.

“The New Evangelisation needs all kinds of music—both the sacred and the human—to get the attention of people going about their daily lives,” he added.

The band consists of ten members from the Dominican House of Study and St Dominic’s Priory in Washington, DC. It began as a lighthearted project with a focus on traditional Celtic music.

“The band itself was started by a couple of friars in our province,” said Br Jonah Teller, who sings and plays guitar in the band. It grew out of a group of Brothers who would get together to play Irish tunes, he explained.

At first, the project was a fun excuse for the Brothers to get to-

The Hillbillies Thomists, a Dominican folk group that has released an album of 12 songs with a decidedly retro-looking cover (inset). (Photo: Dominicana Records) gether weekly and enjoy music.

But as it grew from Irish tunes to more folk and bluegrass, the band began to perform publicly, receiving gigs for Catholic venues outside of the house.

The name Hillbilly Thomists comes from a line delivered by Catholic author Flannery O’Connor. After her novel Wise Blood was released, she said people had identified her as a “hillbilly nihilist,” to which she responded that she was more like a “hillbilly Thomist”, a reference to the Dominican theologian St Thomas Aquinas.

The album is eponymous— named after the band—and consists of 12 songs featuring instruments including the guitar, washboard, fiddle, banjo, and the bodhrán, an Irish drum.

Eleven of the songs are covers of old-time spirituals like “Poor Wayfaring Stranger”, “Amazing Grace” and “St Anne’s Reel”. The album also includes an original song, “I Am Dog”, written by band member Br Justin Bolger.

When asked how music corresponds to evangelisation, the band emphasised that humans are both

spiritual and physical beings, and that their spirits are lifted by beautiful images and sounds, especially when accompanied by Scripturebased lyrics.

“I do think music can enhance evangelisation, if done right,” said Br Peter Gautsch, who plays mandolin, piano and guitar.

“We’re bodily beings, so beautiful images and sounds can be good for us, can help lift our minds to God,” he said.

The Dominican order has released several albums of choir music, but the band hopes that

this project reaches the hearts of its listeners in a different way.

“There are so many great old songs in this tradition that speak of God’s love, his mercy, his grace, and our hope in him,” said Br Bolger, who not only sings but also plays piano, accordion, bass and guitar.

Among the songs on the album is “Poor Wayfaring Stranger”, an American spiritual originating in the early 19th century which has been covered by artists including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Eva Cassidy and Ed Sheeran.

The wayfarer—or traveller—is an important image in Catholic theology, Br Gautsch noted, citing examples from St Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine.

“The poor wayfaring stranger is all of us. There’s a strong theme in the history of Christian spirituality of our lives as a kind of pilgrimage to our heavenly homeland,” said Br Gautsch.

“There’s a loveliness and beauty that carries with it the longing for our heavenly home and the trials that can face us as we make our way towards the Lord, hopeful because of the promise of his love and mercy,” added Br Teller.

Br Gautsch said the song depicts the struggle that is part of carrying our individual cross and learning to rely on the graces Christ provides for the journey.

“Sometimes the way is hard and steep, as the song says—in fact, it inevitably involves the cross—but the path has already been trod by Christ, who goes before us to prepare a place for us.”

The album can be ordered online, and is available for download on iTunes and Google Play.—CNA

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

CHURCH

15

Why do so many people leave the Church?

One of the main reason people leave the Church is because they are looking for man-made fulfilment when there is no solace there, SIPHO MTIMKULU argues.

People have forgotten the real reason for the Church’s existence is Christ Jesus.

L

OOKING at things from a distance is sometimes helpful in getting a clearer view of the human condition that causes us to falter in our faith.

People usually have their own expectations, and are always looking for something that can satisfy their needs or longings. Meanwhile others can’t stop singing: “You alone are my strength, my shield, to You alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship You, ”.

One wonders what happened when a strong Catholic becomes so weak and gives up all he has built.

But this can be understood through the lens of 2 Timothy 1:7, which says that our strength must come from God, not from this world.

Faith can be described as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

As Christians, we have faith in Jesus Christ. Moreover, by its nature, faith does not seek proof in sciences or logic. It opens us up to true reality because it takes us beyond the realms of reason and senses. It opens our hearts to what our eyes fail to see.

Our faith should give us hope and

“Faith opens us up to the true reality because it opens our hearts to what our eyes fail to see.” Only then can we see that searching for the “next best thing” is futile and ultimately will not satisfy,Sipho Mtimkulu writes. assurance that there is purpose behind all our sufferings, as without hope our sufferings will lead us to despair and despondency. Suffering, poverty, broken relationships and hardships are elements of our lives, and they should not restrain us from trusting our God. The central teaching of Christ is the Kingdom of God. Christ expressed God’s presence and reign here on earth through his teaching, preaching and miracles.

Church on a journey The Church on earth is a church on a journey striving to reach its destination, to be with its master, the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s people on

this journey need both the support to face challenges on the road, and a destination at the end of their pilgrimage.

The Church offers us sacraments to support us on this journey, so that when we get tired and feel sick they may strengthen us as we walk towards our destination. However, for some reason, these are not enough for some of us.

Many people have left the Church over the years, while some are still leaving, and many may still leave.

The basic need in a community is to feel accepted and to have a sense of belonging. This need causes many people to set high standards—and

when these standards are not met, they become disappointed and feel rejected. The results of disappointment and rejection are resentment and bitterness which can cause some people to give up.

When we are feeling like this, we become vulnerable and desperate, and many people are going to continue to take advantage of us because we are impatient with God. We fail to understand that every community has its own rules and regulations to keep order and harmony.

We forget that our call is about discipleship; which involves faith, courage, commitment and a willingness to renounce some privileges.

The terms and regulations of living in the community of disciples are challenging and demanding. But Christians accept these with joy.

All about discernment God gave us the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us with his gifts. One of those gifts is the gift of wisdom. Wisdom helps us to be wise and objective about the truths of this world and to be able to distinguish between the true prophets and false prophets, and between the true Gospel and a false Gospel.

People love new things and often they fall for them. But the big question is, when are they going to be satisfied, because each day brings new things and more interesting than those of yesterday?

However, fashion always runs out of fashion, and when it does, what do you do?

Sacraments are everlasting and through history they have kept the Church strong and united, and focused on its mission.

Always remember the words of Christ when all these things happen: they will reject you, they will persecute you, they will hate you, they will make false accusations about you, there will be false prophets coming in my name saying I am He, (Mt 24:9-11) but when all these happen don’t be afraid because they have done them to Me. No servant is greater than his master (Jn 15:20).

What is the Church?

The Catholic Church is built on a rock: it is solid and firm on its foundation, even when the storms come it will always remain strong. It was not formed by human desire, but by divine command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:1920).

Don’t listen to false teachers; if there is something that you don’t understand, ask your priests and they will explain all these commands to you.

The Church is One. Be a proud Catholic, deepen your faith and defend your faith because is worth it to be a Catholic.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which reminds us of all the truths that your Son taught us We ask that your spirit may continue to unite the Church and keep it faithful to your mission here on earth. We ask this through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reign with you and the Holy Spirit one God forever. Amen. n Sipho Mtimkulu is a theology student at St John Vianney Seminary.

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The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

BOOK REVIEWS

Letters between peace-priest brothers THE BERRIGAN LETTERS: Personal Correspondence Between Daniel and Philip Berrigan, Edited by Daniel Cosacchi and Eric Martin, Orbis Books, New York.

2016. 340 pp.

Reviewed by Paddy Kearney ANIEL and Philip Berrigan were the first Catholic priests arrested for anti-war activity in the United States. They became particularly famous when in 1968 they were arrested for using homemade napalm to set fire to draft files of American conscripts as a protest against the Vietnam War. The Berrigan brothers’ fame was based on their ability to capture media attention, their prolific writing, the leadership roles they played in the many anti-war protests referred to in this book, and the fact that they were endlessly serving prison sentences for their protests, yet nevertheless continued undeterred in their highly

D

public opposition to war.

Another factor which made them well known was their awkward relationship with the Catholic Church which they never ceased to challenge, and yet they had a particular devotion to the celebration of the Eucharist.

But the feature that emerges most strongly from their letters is a remarkably close relationship, their most important source of strength in the huge difficulties they encountered in their valiant attempts to lead lives rooted in the non-violence called for by the Gospels.

As the editors say in their introduction, this was set “in the midst of hardship, whether by prison, the difficulties of community, exile from the country, a Church they found lacking and lagging, a secret marriage [Philip’s], excommunication, persecution by the FBI, ailing health, or public scrutiny”.

Inevitably the book can present only a small sample of the over 2 200 letters stored at Cornell and

De Paul Universities, fewer than a quarter of which were selected for this publication.

The first letter (written in 1940) was from the period just before Pearl Harbour was bombed and the US entered World War II, and the last (written in 2002) in the immediate aftermath of 9/11—making a collection of letters spanning a key period of 62 years in US history.

“We hope,” say the editors, “that those who work for the justice, peace, nonviolence, love, healing and mercy of the Gospels and prophets will find something in these pages to sustain them, and that all who read these letters will look beneath the historical events ...to the hard-fought struggle for faith that founded such radical acts.”

T

his is undoubtedly a remarkable collection of letters, but I’m not sure that the editors fully achieve their aim. That would have required rather more contextual in-

formation and explanations of terms which only those who are thoroughly conversant with the events referred to would understand.

The Berrigan Letters would best be read alongside a good biography of either Daniel or Philip Berrigan, or history of American anti-war protest from the 1940s to the beginning of the new millennium.

The Berrigan Letters is a difficult read also for two other reasons.

The mutual admiration of these affectionate brothers is at times cloying, though it is a relief that on occasions they found each other extremely difficult to understand.

The other factor is the deliberate misspellings, for example “yestiddy”, “hizonner” (a reference to a judge), “mebbe”, “sumpin”, “kultcher”.

Despite these irritants, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the struggle against the horrendous violence and wasteful-

ness of war—above all the cataclysmic threat of nuclear war.

There can be few more heroic figures from that struggle than Philip Berrigan, who died in 2002, and his brother Daniel Berrigan SJ, who died in 2016.

New book brings together writings from popular Jesuit JAMES MARTIN: ESSENTIAL WRITINGS, selected and with an introduction by James T Keane. Orbis Books, New York. 2017. 245 pp.

Reviewed by Mitch Finley O matter how many of the bestselling books authored

by Jesuit Father James Martin you have read, a great deal of what’s in this book—a volume in the publisher’s “Modern Spiritual Masters Series”—is likely to be unfamiliar.

N

While it includes some brief excerpts from his most popular books (The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, A Jesuit Off-Broadway, and Between Heaven and Mirth), most of what you’ll find here comes from articles by Fr Martin that appeared in various periodicals including America (over 200 to date), The Tablet, and Huffington Post.

Editor James T Keane does the author’s many fans a service, then, by presenting them with material

they might otherwise never know about.

Keane gathers this book’s 40plus articles into four categories titled: Motions of the Soul: Spirituality and Prayer; God in All Things: The Divine in Daily Life; The Care of Souls: Solidarity with the Suffering and the Wounded; and More by Deeds than by Words: Models of Holiness.

Article titles many readers will find particularly appealing are “Reflections on Chronic Illness and

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Pain, Among Other Things”, “Holy Dirt” (about sacramentals), “Six Stupid Things I Never Want to Do Again”, “Don’t Be a Jerk”, “Lourdes Diary”, “Why Stay in a Church So Clearly Flawed”, and “The Saint of the Sock Drawer” (about St Jude).

In his introduction, a short biographical essay about Fr Martin, Keane makes a solid case for his comparison of Fr Martin to the great 20th-century Trappist monk, author, social critic and poet Thomas Merton.

Fr Martin most likely dismisses any such comparison. Still, Keane writes: “James Martin SJ, the Jesuit priest who is perhaps American Catholicism’s most prominent public figure, was a lukewarm, non-practising Catholic on the fast track to executive riches at General Electric.”

While this is certainly true, one may be justified in observing that there are, undoubtedly, many regular Catholics with similar backgrounds who returned to being Catholic or joined the Church and did not go on to become priests or nuns, but went on to live their faith in admirable, even heroic ways without becoming well

A spiritual stroll for the blessed stressed BLESSED ARE THE STRESSED: Secrets to a Happy Heart From a Crabby Mystic, by Sr Mary Lea Hill FSP. Pauline Books & Media, Boston. 2016. 168 pp.

Reviewed by Brian Olszewski URE, you’ve heard dozens of talks and homilies about the Eight Beatitudes, but have you ever taken “a friendly stroll” through them?

Pauline Sister Mary Lea Hill invites readers to do that in Blessed are the Stressed: Secrets to a Happy Heart From a Crabby Mystic.

If one thinks of strolling as a low-impact exercise, then this is a low-impact but effective spiritual exercise because of the content and how it is presented.

Strolls are for conversation, for ambling with no particular purpose other than to take in the surroundings or to informally converse with a companion.

Here, the beatitudes are the surroundings; Sr Hill starts the conversation. And, like a conversation that occurs during a stroll, she jumps from topic to topic, always linking each to one of the beatitudes.

From this conversation come re-

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known in the pattern of Frs Merton and Martin.

One may hope for a book, one day, that presents the inspiring stories of just such ordinary Catholics.

All the same, James Martin: Essential Writings is a solid, inspiring and informative book. Read up!— CNS

flections such as: “The beatitudes are our spiritual selfies. They are individual snapshots of our soul at work.” In speaking about the meek, she relates it to handles. Remember, this is strolling conversation; it can go in any direction, with any connection.

The zig-zag of each two-page chapter includes, among others, a would-be shoplifter, professional wrestling, the music of folk-singer Joan Baez and dust bunnies.

That might appear to be scattered, but Sr Hill concludes every chapter with a paragraph titled, “And You”.

This is the serious conversation during the stroll, often leading to thoughtprovoking questions such as “How do you deal with a God who is set in his ways?” and “Do you think anyone will find in you a Catholic role model?” The strollers continue in silence as they contemplate answers.

Take the stroll. Enter the conversation. The “crabby mystic” provides the stressed-to-blessed workout your heart and soul will appreciate.—CNS

REFLECTION

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

17

The mystery of the Eucharist – our source of life in turn—having been won over by the supreme sacrifice on the cross of Calvary—give ourselves totally back to God.

The mystery of the Holy Mass lies solely in the Eucharist, the Eucharist being a commemoration of the Last Supper event, writes JOACHIM ANAKWENZE.

Eucharist and the Mass

A

T the Last Supper, Jesus as the Living Bread presented himself to his apostles saying, “This is my body” and as the lamb of sacrifice presented himself the same way saying: “This is my blood.”

He reminds us of the Jewish Passover feast which recalls the Passover by the blood of the sacrificial lamb marking the doorposts of Israelites.

The angel of the Lord, seeing the blood, will pass over and not kill the firstborn of those households.

Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God was ready to pour out his blood for the salvation of mankind. He did not hesitate to do so because he was born to die.

According to US Archbishop Fulton Sheen in his book Life of Christ, he went from the reason for his coming which was to be Jesus or Saviour to the fulfilment of his coming which was to be his death on the cross.

This is why at his presentation in the Temple, Simeon prophesied to Mary about a sword piercing her heart, making her one with her son in his suffering.

The Eucharist, according to Vatican II, is the source and summit of our Christian life (cf. Lumen Gen-

The Eucharist is primarily a sacrament of love, writes Joachim Anakwenze. tium n. 11).

The blood of our salvation Our Christian faith stems from our knowledge of Christ as the true Lamb of God who poured out his blood for our salvation.

This blood, according to Hebrews 12:24, pleads more insistently than the blood of Abel. The blood of Abel cried out to God for vengeance, whereas the blood of Jesus cries out for forgiveness of God’s children.

This is the Eucharist, as the

source of our Christian life. All our actions as Christians are pointing to the Eucharist making it the highpoint of our Christian life.

We go back to the Eucharist by a pouring out of our life and blood in love when we die. God the Father offered his only begotten Son in love to us so that through him (Jesus), we might gain eternal life and return to dwell in love with the Father. The Eucharist, then, is a sacrament of love.

In the Eucharist, God pours out himself as a libation for us and we,

At every Mass, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the sacrifice of the cross is re-enacted and relived. The words spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper: “Do this in memory of me”, are both a command and a prophecy of what will continue to be passed down from one generation to the next until this present day.

The Church, in obedience to this command continues to celebrate the Eucharist in his memory.

The bread and wine, just like in the Last Supper, become the body and blood of Christ. The consecration of the bread and wine to become the body and blood of Christ is an office reserved for ministerial priests by the virtue of their sacramental ordination.

They speak the same words of Christ and invoke the Holy Spirit Epiclesis on the bread and wine which transubstantiate to become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This is the faith of the Church.

Where lies the greater mystery of the Eucharist? It is in the fact that, during the Holy Mass, Christ comes down in fullness to assume the position and role of the altar, the victim and the priest. Jesus presented himself as the temple of God (Jn 2:19-21), and is there a Temple without an altar? It is the altar of sacrifice that makes the temple, not the gifts (Mt 23:17-19).

According to Catholic author Jeffrey Pinyan in his reflection,

Why is the altar a sign of Christ?

Jesus is the “gift” being offered on the altar, but he makes it clear that the altar makes the gift sacred; you certainly would not offer a sacrifice on an altar less dignified than the sacrifice itself.

“That makes Jesus who sanctifies both the gift and the altar.”

As the gift or victim of sacrifice, Jesus is presented on the altar in remembrance of his passion and death on the cross of Calvary.

The Catechism teaches us that both sacrifices—of the cross and the altar—are one and the same sacrifice.

The only difference lies in the fact that the sacrifice on the cross was a bloody sacrifice while the sacrifice on the altar is not bloody.

In both, however, it is the same Lamb (unblemished) of sacrifice being offered as a victim (Isa 53:7), for the salvation of mankind. Being the altar and the victim, he is also the priest that offers the sacrifice on the altar.

During the consecration, it is Christ repeating through the words of the priest what he did at the Last Supper.

That is why the Church retained the words of Christ: “This is my Body…This is my Blood...Do this in memory of me”.

Jesus as the high priest (Heb 4:14; 5:10; 6:20) speaks to us through the instrument of the ministerial priest, who by virtue of his ordination, stands in the place of Christ (alter Christus). This is the culmination of the mystery of the Eucharist. n Joachim Anakwenze writes from Klerksdorp diocese.

18

The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

FAITH

Beards bring the Gospel to men With Scripture full of bearded men, a group of Christians started a group called Bearded Gospel Men for today’s Christian men, hirsute or not, as MARY REZAC reports.

Y

OU might have heard it said that beardliness is next to godliness.

Well, maybe you haven’t heard exactly that. But there’s something about holiness and hairiness that has had the saints singing the praises of facial follicles throughout the centuries.

“The beard must not be plucked,” said St Cyprian in the third century.

“The beard signifies the courageous...the earnest, the active, the vigorous. So that when we describe such, we say, he is a bearded man,” said St Augustine, just over a century later.

The folks at “Bearded Gospel Men” feel similarly. Started five years ago as a blog and Facebook page, “Bearded Gospel Men” was begun by Pastor Joe Thorn mostly as a place where he could joke and write about beards, God, and all things manly and Christian.

Since then, the blog has grown into a community of more than 40 000 people, mostly furry-faced men, interested in growing in holiness and hairiness together.

The popularity of the blog spoke to a deeper need for authentic Christian community among men, prompting the creation of a new

book, Bearded Gospel Men, based on the blog.

“The dark secret of the Christian publishing industry is that 70% of book purchasers are women, so the whole market is kind of geared towards women,” said Jared Brock, coauthor of the book.

“It’s not the publishers’ fault obviously; they’re responding to market demand,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean that men, the bearded and the clean-shaven, aren’t hungering for authentic Christian community, he added.

That’s where Bearded Gospel Men can help. The 30-day devotional written especially for dudes chronicles the lives of the holy and hairy who came before—men who lived the Gospel message and rocked a wicked beard at the same time. It also includes follicular facts, jokes, and all of the beard puns two men could muster.

“There aren’t a lot of books—especially devotionals—that are written specifically for men, so we’re glad to be able to give guys another weapon in their arsenal to help build their band of brothers,” Mr Brock said.

The book is meant to be read in small groups, and small chunks, at a time. Each chapter is a day of the devotional, and tells the story of a bearded Gospel man, as well as offering a prayer, scripture verses, and questions for contemplation and discussion.

bearded and holy men such as Charles Monroe Sheldon.

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ Sheldon invented the phrase about 100 years before those bracelets took over the world,” Mr Brock said.

Mr Brock was looking for a way to attract young people to Christianity, and eventually published a book full of stories about a man trying to live like Jesus. However, due to a publishing error, the book ended up in the public domain, and while it was a wild success, Mr Sheldon barely saw a cent from his original idea.

“He just continued doing his thing, he kept preaching, he kept writing books, he was a social activist before social justice was even a phrase,” Mt Brock said, founding schools and mentoring men from poor areas.

Mr Brock said he hopes that the devotional can inspire community and Christian conversation among men who may have felt they were missing those things in their lives.

He added that he views the whole community of Bearded Gospel Men as something like a pub—anyone is welcome to come in and join the conversation.

“It’s this warm, welcoming space where anyone is more than welcome to pull up a stool and have a conversation about things that matter,” he said. “The fire is lit, the drinks are poured—welcome to the pub.”

More information about the devotional book and the community can be found at BeardedGospelMen.com. The book can be ordered in South Arica through on-line retailers like Loot or Takealot.—CNA

Jared Brock, co-author of Bearded Gospel Men (inset), a book of devotionals specifically aimed at male Christians.

“We actually profile a couple of women in the book, as well as guys who didn’t have beards—we call them the ‘beards that could have been,’” Mr Brock added.

Nevertheless, there is something about meeting fellow bearded men that establishes an instant connection, he noted.

“There is something about when I pass another guy on the street with a beard—we give each other a little ‘Hey what’s up bro’ nod, and there’s so much more [of a connection] when you bring God into the mix,” he said.

One such moment was when he

A Bearded Gospel Man? “Of course the key words in bearded Gospel men are obviously Gospel and men,” Mr Brock said— the emphasis on beards being largely a joke.

met the book’s other author, Aaron Alford, a Catholic seminarian for the diocese of Gallup in New Mexico.

“For Aaron and me that was definitely a bonding moment—’Hey we both have beards and love Jesus?

Cool!’” he recalled.

Obvious or obscure beards The Bearded Gospel Men whose stories are told throughout the book include perhaps more obvious choices, such as John the Baptist and jolly old St Nicholas—the template for Santa Claus–along with some lesser-known but nonetheless

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The Southern Cross, January 17 to January 23, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS

Fr Ted Rogers SJ

F

ATHER Ted Rogers, a Jesuit who was hugely influential in the Church in Zimbabwe over many decades, died on December 30 in Boscombe, England, at the age of 93, just weeks after the launch of his new book, Missionary Martyrs in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe: 1976-1988.

Fr Rogers was born on November 9, 1924, in Liverpool, where he grew up. He served in the merchant navy during World War II. When the war ended, he felt the call to religious life. He entered the Jesuit novitiate at Roehampton, England, in 1948, was ordained to the priesthood at Heythrop in 1958, and missioned to Africa in 1960.

Fr Rogers had entered a Church about to give birth to the Second Vatican Council, which inspired a revitalised Catholic social teaching.

He was to be part of that revitalisation in the then-Rhodesia, with another ex-serviceman Jesuit, Fr John Dove, and a visionary Brother, Francis Waddilove.

Thanks to the far-sighted leadership from the mission superior, Fr Rogers was sent after a few years to St Peter’s in Mbare to start a new community school. This was the origin of St Peter’s Kubatana, a vast educational enterprise incorporating both academic courses and technical training.

Fr Rogers’ vision made him see there was a great need for trained social workers, to help alleviate social ills and aid development.

At that time there was no

such training within Rhodesia, so in 1966 he launched a fulltime, three-year diploma programme in social work.

Shortly after that he opened the School of Social Service, with teachers and lecturers from a wide cross-section of Rhodesian society. In 1969 the school became the School of Social Work, and the first associate college of the University of Zimbabwe.

The school expanded and built an enviable reputation. Students from liberation movements in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique were enrolled; degree and masters programmes launched; consultancy services initiated; and contacts with a wide range of agencies, ministries and municipalities maintained.

By the time of Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 the school had trained 258 social workers.

Fr Rogers was also very active in care of the elderly, abandoned children and refugees; national reconstruction and development; and help to ex-combatants.

O

n retiring from the School of Social Work in 1987, and after a sabbatical in Brazil, he became aware of the devastating effects of Aids in Zimbabwe. With his usual determination, he set up the Aids Counselling Trust and later initiated the Jesuit Aids project.

In the midst of this heavy workload, in 1988 Fr Rogers was appointed director of IMBISA, the regional grouping of bishops for Southern Africa. Though a man not naturally drawn to ecclesial

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niceties, he responded with élan and ingenuity, persuading bishops to take a more prominent role in combating HIV/Aids.

In 2002 Fr Rogers was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Zimbabwe in recognition of his services to social work education.

Ill health necessitated a return to England in 2011. He completed work on two books, an autobiography, published in 2012, and Missionary Martyrs of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe 1976-88.

The above causes and works to which Fr Rogers devoted his great energies and skills are testimony to a life of dedicated service.

But more fundamental are the roots of his motivation, his spiritual and Ignatian values: service in practical solidarity to humankind and the sense of the divine in life, inspired by Teilhard de Chardin SJ. Like his fellow social activists Fr Dove and Br Waddilove, Fr Rogers felt early on that his fellow Jesuits did not always appreciate his work, and within the Jesuits he had the reputation of a loner.

Fr Rogers’ Requiem Mass was celebrated on January 13 at Corpus Christi church in Boscombe, England.

Fr Joe Hampson SJ

Lord our God, in your wisdom and love you surround us with the mysteries of the universe.

Send your spirit upon our learners and students and fill them with your wisdom and blessings.

Grant that they may devote themselves to their studies and draw ever closer to you, the source of all knowledge.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Liturgical Calendar Year B – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday January 21, 3rd Sunday of the Year Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Psalms 25:4-9, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20 Monday January 22, St Vincent 2 Samuel 5:1-7, 10, Psalms 89:20-22, 25-26, Mark 3:22-30 Tuesday January 23 2 Samuel 6:12-15, 17-19, Psalms 24:7-10, Mark 3:31-35 Wednesday January 24, St Francis de Sales 2 Samuel 7:4-17, Psalms 89:4-5, 27-30, Mark 4:1-20 Thursday January 25, Conversion of St Paul Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22 Psalms 117:1-2, Mark 16:15-18 Friday January 26, Ss Timothy and Titus 2 Timothy 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5, Psalms 96:1-3, 7-8, 10, Luke 10:1-9 Saturday January 27, St Angela Merici St Angela Merici 2 Samuel 12:1-7, 10-17, Psalms 51:12-17, Mark 4:35-41 Sunday January 28, 4th Sunday of the Year Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Psalms 95:1-2, 6-9, 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, Mark 1:21-28

BraaF—Eugene David.

21/01/2010. A beautiful memory, dearer than gold, of a husband, father, fatherin-law and grandfather whose worth can never be told, there’s a place in our hearts no one can fill, we miss you so much and always will. Rest in Peace.

Daphne, Eugenie, Michael, Noleen, Wayne, Lucretia, Carol, Ryan, Andrea, AmyLeigh and Tehillah.

VaN DrIeL—James. January 10, 1937-January 19, 2009. In loving memory of a husband, father, and grandfather. After faithfully serving your God, family and those in need, you were called to your heavenly reward. We remember your good example, words, acts of kindness and love. May you rest with the Holy Family, whom you were devoted to. RIP. We love and miss you, Eunice and children, Maria, Nicky, Felicia, Esther, Ian, Rene, Marcelino and grandchildren.

THaNKS

MY GraTeFUL thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, Little Infant of Prague, The Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, Ss Jude and Martin for prayers answered. PDY

PraYerS

LOrD GOD, this candle that I light here today reminds me of the light that you enkindled in me at my Baptism. Renew the flame

of your Love in me. Let it burn away all my egotism, my jealousy, my pride and my failure to love. Let me have a warm and generous heart. Lord, I am not able to remain here in this church very much longer: I have to go. So, please accept this candle in my place. Let it be like a part of me that I give to you. Here, before the image of Blessed Mary, Mother of God, and imploring her powerful intercession, I ask you, as I offer you this humble candle, to allow my prayer to penetrate every activity and every facet of my life, so that everything will be shaped and formed by the burning flame of your Love. I ask this for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

PareNTS FOr CHILDreN—O Jesus, lover of children, bestow your most precious graces on those whom you have confided to our care. Increase in them faith, hope and charity. May your love lead them to solid piety, inspiring them with dread for sin, love of work and an ardent desire of worthily approaching your holy table. Preserve in them innocence and purity of heart; and if they should offend you, grant them the grace of a prompt and sincere repentance. From your tabernacle watch over them day and night; protect them in all their ways. Grant that they may acquire the knowledge that they need to embrace the state of life to which you have called them.

Grant us a sincere love, constant vigilance and gen-

Our bishops’ anniversaries January 27: Archbishop Jabulani Nxumalo of Bloemfontein on his 74th birthday.

January 27: Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg on the 27th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

January 28: Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town on the 11th anniversary of his episcopal ordination as bishop of Kroonstad.

January 31: Bishop Joe Sandri of Witbank on the 8th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 794. ACROSS: 1 Titans, 4 Daniel, 9 Hail, Holy Queen, 10 Trimmed, 11 Idiot, 12 Lynch, 14 Legal, 18 Deuce, 19 Receive, 21 Judas Iscariot, 22 Boyish, 23 Prayer. DOWN: 1 Tahiti, 2 Trinity Sunday, 4 Nahum, 5 Acquire, 6 Inevitability, 7 Length, 8 Blade, 13 Creases, 15 Odd job, 16 Cross, 17 Lector, 20 Chair.

Word of the Week

Apostolic nuncio: The Vatican ambassador to another country and the papal liaison with the Church in that country.

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erous devotedness towards them. Grant us all consolation on earth and eternal reward in heaven.

PerSONaL

aBOrTION WarNING: The truth will convict a silent Church. See www.valuelife abortionisevil.co.za aBOrTION ON DeMaND: This is legalised daily murder in our nation. Our silence on this issue is the reason why it continues.

Avoid pro-abortion politicians.

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

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the

S outher n C ross

4th Sunday: January 28 Readings: Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-9, 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, Mark 1:21-28

Don’t be alarmed!

I

raelites on Mount Horeb] there is an invitation to “come and worship, let us kneel before him”.

But there is also a reminder that we are not God’s equals: “He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock of his hand.”

This is followed by a warning: “If only you would listen to his voice”; and then it gets very serious indeed: “Do not harden your hearts as…in the desert, when your ancestors tested me, even though they had seen what I had done!” We are not gods, but we are God’s beloved flock.

That explains the tenderness that we can hear in Paul’s voice (or pen) in the second reading: “I want you not to have any worries”, and that explains what he goes on to say about marriage: “The unmarried person worries about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord” (and that is what is best for us); by contrast, however, he argues: “The married person worries about the things of the world, how to please their spouse—and they get divided.”

This can sound a bit harsh; but actually Paul is thinking only of what is best for his Corinthians: “I am saying this for your benefit, not to put a noose on you, but so that

T can be rather alarming to listen to the voice of the Lord; but the voice is always there, and always seeking what is best for us.

In next Sunday’s first reading, we hear Moses tell of the promise of “a prophet from the midst of you, from your kinsfolk, a prophet like me”, and they are to listen to him.

The reason for the gift of this prophet is that the people of Israel, out there in the desert on Mount Horeb, were terrified witless, and said: “Let us not once more hear the voice of the Lord God, or see this great fire—-or we’ll die.”

So instead the Lord (who approves of their reaction) says: “I shall raise up a prophet like you for them, from the midst of their kinsfolk, and put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them whatever I command him.”

But there is a terrible warning for any would-be prophet: “If the prophet presumes to speak in my name a word that I did not command him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods—he shall die.”

The psalm for next Sunday at first sounds less alarming: “Come let us sing joyfully to the Lord, cry out to the rock of our salvation”; and it continues in the same vein: “Let us approach his presence in thanksgiving, let us praise him with psalms”, and [like the Is-

everything is in good order and undistractedly devoted to the Lord.”

There is more alarm in the Gospel for next Sunday; we find ourselves in Capharnaum, which was Jesus’ headquarters during his Galilean mission. As always (we shall discover as we read through Mark this year): “Immediately on the Sabbath day, he went into the synagogue and started to teach.” His teaching was evidently very striking: “They were amazed at his teaching, for he was teaching them like someone who had authority.”

We should notice that word “authority”, for it is really important in Mark’s Gospel: Jesus has it, and his opponents do not, and it is evident from early on that his authority is the authority of God. There is one other thing to notice here, and that is that we find here the first mention of the “scribes” in this Gospel. Here we notice that they did not have the same authority as Jesus. The very next time we shall see them, and with only one exception in the whole Gospel, they will be out to get him, accusing him of the terrible capital crime of “blasphemy”, for which he will eventually be condemned to death.

Then it becomes even more alarming, for

How can it all end happily?

T

She offers something different.

For her, God allows evil, sin and suffering because God will use them in the end to create for everyone a deeper mode of happiness than they would have experienced if sin, evil and suffering hadn’t been there. In the end, these negatives will work towards creating some deeper positives.

L

et me quote Julian in the original (the Middle English within which she wrote): “Jesus, in this vision informed me of all that I needed answered by this word and said: ‘Sinne is behovely, but alle shalle be wele, and alle shalle be wele, and all manner of thing shalle be wele.”

She shares that Jesus says that sin is “behovely”. In Middle English, behovely has these connotations: “useful”, “advantageous”, “necessary”. In her vision, sin, evil and suffering are ultimately advantageous and even necessary in bringing us to deeper meaning and greater happiness.

(Not unlike what we sing in our great Easter hymn: “O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam”.)

What Julian wants us to draw out from this is not the idea that sin and evil are of little consequence but rather that God, being so unimaginable in love and power, is able to draw good out of evil, happiness out of suffering, and redemption out of sin in ways that we cannot yet grasp.

This is Julian’s answer to the question, “Why does God allow evil?” She answers

Conrad

HERE’S a line in the writings of Julian of Norwich, the famous 14thcentury mystic and perhaps the first theologian to write in English, which is endlessly quoted by preachers, poets and writers: “But all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” It’s her signature teaching.

We all have an intuitive grasp of what that means. It’s our basis for hope. In the end, the good will triumph.

But the phrase takes on added meaning when it’s seen in its original context.

What was Julian trying to say when she coined that phrase?

She was struggling with the problem of evil, sin, and suffering: Why does God allow them? If God is both all-loving and all-powerful, what possible explanation can there be for the fact that God lets us suffer, lets us sin, and lets evil be present all over the world? Why didn’t God create a world without sin, where we would all be perfectly happy from birth onwards?

Julian had heard enough sermons in church to know the standard apologetic answer for that: that God allows it because God gave us the great gift of freedom. With that comes the inevitability of sin and all its sad consequences. That’s a valid answer, though one that’s often seen as too abstract to offer much consolation to us when we are suffering.

But Julian, despite being a loyal daughter of the Church and having been schooled in that answer, doesn’t go there.

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Sunday Reflections

“immediately in the synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit, who cried out, saying, ‘What have we got to do with you, Jesus the Nazarene? You have come to destroy us! I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” This is a dangerous moment, for the demon is struggling for mastery over Jesus, by use of his name and title. But we are not to be alarmed, for Jesus simply “rebuked him and said, ‘Be muzzled, and come out of him.’”

The demon has lost the battle, though he makes a last struggle, “convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, it came out of him”.

Notice the people’s verdict, however, and we are invited not to be alarmed: “They were all amazed, and argued with themselves, saying ‘What is this? A new teaching, with authority [that word again]: he even commands unclean spirits—and they obey him!’”

Then we see how the mission spreads, and our fears are calmed: “The report about him immediately went out into the whole region of the Galilee roundabout.”

Alarm should not be our principal emotion this week.

Southern Crossword #794

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

by not answering because, in essence, no adequate answer can ever be imagined.

Rather, she sets the question into a theology of God within which, beyond what we can imagine at present and beyond what theology can really account for, God’s power and love will eventually make all things well, dry every tear, redeem every evil, erase every bad memory, unfreeze every cold heart, and turn every manner of suffering into happiness.

There’s even a hint in this that the final triumph of God will be to empty hell itself so that, indeed, absolutely every manner of being will be well.

In a subsequent vision, Julian received a five-fold assurance from God that God may, can, will, and shall make all things well, and we ourselves will see it.

All of this is predicated, of course, on a particular concept of God. The God that Julian of Norwich invites us to believe in is a God who is precisely beyond our imagination both in power and in love.

Any God we can imagine is incapable of making all manner of being well (as many atheistic critics have already pointed out). This is not just true in terms of trying to imagine God’s power, it’s also particularly true in terms of trying to imagine God’s love.

It’s unimaginable in our present human condition to picture anyone—God or human—who cannot be offended, is incapable of anger, holds nothing against anyone no matter what evil he or she may have perpetrated, and who (as Julian describes God) is completely relaxed and has a face like a marvellous symphony.

The God of our imagination, reinforced by certain false interpretations of scripture, does get offended, does get angry, does take vengeance, and does meet sin with wrath. Such a God is incapable of making all manner of things well. But such a God is also not the God whom Jesus revealed.

Were we to look into the eyes of God, says Julian, what we would see there would “melt our hearts with love and break them in two with ecstasy”.

ACROSS

1. Saint T is among the giant gods (6) 4. His book is nailed unfirmly (6) 9. Marian prayer (4,4,5) 10. Has cut the monk’s tonsure to measure (7) 11. I’m a fool. Initially, I dreamt I outdid theologians (5) 12. Execute without a trial, like the Irishman (5) 14. If it is, it is legitimate (5) 18. Two of spades could be devilish (5) 19. For what we are about to ... (grace) (7) 21. Said a co-jurist turned out to be a betrayer (5,8) 22. Altar girl will not be like this (6) 23. The ... of faith will save the sick (Jm 15) (6)

DOWN

1. Polynesian island (6) 2. It follows celebration of Pentecost (7,6) 3. Prophet who was all human (5) 5. Get the sound of a singing group (7) 6. Unavoidable Predestination (13) 7. Longitude distance (6) 8. The grass cutter or the grass? (5) 13. Folds in the vestments needing pressing work (7) 15. Casual work for a patient man (3,3) 16. Signature of illiterate Christian? (5) 17. Reader seen in select organisation (6) 20. Conduct the meeting from the seat (5)

Solutions on page 19

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE young priest was delivering a fired-up sermon. “Who here is standing with God?” he asked. All the congregation answered affirmatively.

“And,” the priest asked by way of rhetorical question, “who will stand with the devil?” Silence.

Just then a drunk man woke up and said: “Sure, Father, I didn’t quite hear your question, but I’ll join you. It looks like we are in a minority though.”

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