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February 14 to February 20, 2018

Lent: A good Prayer of Stopping: time to unclutter To just be in your life the moment! Page 10

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200 years of Church jubilee for all of SA STAFF REPORTER

T Knights of da Gama led the procession of the Blessed Sacrament in Cape Town’s Buitenkant Street as the music from an independent church’s service competed with the prayers and hymns of the Catholic faithful. (Photos: Günther Simmermacher)

Feb 23 day to pray for Africa BY CINDY WOODEN

OPE Francis has declared February 23 a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Africa, especially for the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. With so many direct attacks on human life, from abortion to war, Pope Francis is worried that so few people are involved in pro-life activities, he said at his Angelus where he announced the day of prayer and fasting. The Angelus prayer marked Italy’s Pro-Life Sunday. Many of the faithful carried the prolife movement’s green balloons with the message, “Yes to life”. Thanking all the “different Church realities that promote and support life in many ways”, Pope Francis said he was surprised there were not more people involved. “This worries me,” the pope said. “There aren’t many who fight on behalf of life in a world where, every day, more weapons are made; where, every day, more laws against life are passed; where, every day, this throwaway culture expands, throwing away what isn’t useful, what is bothersome” to too many people.” With conflict continuing in many parts of

The

the world, the pope said that it was time for a special day of prayer and fasting for peace, and that it was appropriate for the observance to take place on a Friday in Lent. “Let us offer it particularly for the populations of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan,” he said. Fighting between government troops, rebel forces and between militias continues in the DRC, especially in the country’s east, but tensions also have erupted as protests grow against President Joseph Kabila, whose term of office ended in 2016. New elections have yet to be scheduled. South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011 after decades of war. But, just two years after independence, political tensions erupted into violence. Pope Francis asked “our non-Catholic and non-Christian brothers and sisters to join this initiative in the way they believe is most opportune”. And he prayed that “our heavenly Father would always listen to his children who cry to him in pain and anguish”. But individuals also must hear those cries, he said, and ask themselves, “’What can I do for peace?”—CNS

S outher n C ross

HE archbishop of Cape Town has proclaimed a procession of the Blessed Sacrament through his city a resounding success. About 4 000 Catholics walked in procession from Holy Cross church in District Six to St Mary’s cathedral where they were addressed by Archbishop Stephen Brislin who then administered Benediction. “Much of the success of the procession was the fact that, insofar as possible, people walked in their parish groups. Parishes chose what they wanted to sing or pray and in which language, Archbishop Brislin told The Southern Cross. “The different hymns being sung and prayers being said created an incredible sense of our diversity and also of our oneness. It was a melodious ‘speaking and singing in tongues’, united in our focus on the Eucharist which binds us all together,” he said. The procession formed part of the jubilee celebrations for the bicentenary of the establishment of the Catholic Church in South Africa. It was led by Knights of da Gama (KdG) bearing a banner saying: “Cape Town Catholics are praying”. For the KdG, this was a special honour as it celebrates 75 years of existence this year. Priests assisted the archbishop in carrying the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament beneath a canopy held by members of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, of whom the archbishop is the local prior. They were preceded by altar servers from St Mary’s cathedral and the archdiocese’s clergy. Behind them followed the various parishes and Catholic organisations, many bearing banners, praying for their specific intentions, reciting the Rosary and singing hymns as they stopped traffic. Addressing the faithful outside St Mary’s cathedral, Archbishop Brislin emphasised that the bicentenary celebration is for all of the Southern African Church. “As we gather here this afternoon, we are

Archbishop Brislin addresses the faithful outside St Mary’s cathedral before Benediction. united with all the dioceses of Southern Africa —Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland— commemorating 200 years of the official establishment of Catholicism in our region,” he said. He noted that the procession coincided with the archdiocesan patronal feast of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt, “because the Catholic Church began in Cape Town and spread throughout the region from here”, but all dioceses “are celebrating this feast today, some with large diocesan events. We are one with them.” He commended the first missionaries for choosing Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt as Cape Town’s patronal feast, “because it does not only unite us with other dioceses of the region, but unites us with the rest of Africa. The Holy Family sought refuge in the very north of Africa. We, on the southern tip, are brought together with Egypt and all countries between ourselves and Egypt. “Perhaps it is not something we reflect on very often—we are African, and we are one with all our brothers and sisters of Africa,” he said. Referring to xenophobic attitudes and violence, Archbishop Brislin said: “We should not forget that all of us were at some time strangers. When our forefathers and foremothers came to this region—whether it was Continued on page 2

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The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

LOCAL

Salesians honour five board stalwarts C APE Town’s Salesian community honoured five long-serving board members with a prestigious medal from the order. Long-serving board members Thora Perez, Chris Vietri, Barry Jordan, Lynn Stevens and Sydney Duval were awarded the Rector Major Medal in recognition of their services to the Salesians and their special ministry to needy youth. Bursar and former provincial Fr Pat Naughton SDB, at the request of Salesian rector major Fr Angel Artime, presented the medals in the name of the congregation. Also present at the celebration luncheon was the current rector, Fr Jeffrey Johnson SDB. Fr Naughton said he had known Ms Perez since 1972 as “the Queen of Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Hanover Park”, where she was honoured with the papal Pro Pontifice et Ecclesia cross for her great work in Justice & Peace. He thanked her most warmly for three things: her tremendous support for her-then parish priest Fr Pat Lonergan SDB; for having lived the Salesian ethos for so many years;

and for having brought Lynn Stevens to the Salesians. Ms Stevens, he said, had served the Salesian mission with distinction, including a term as chair of the board. Her expertise in advertising had helped the Salesians to produce annual reports that were the envy of many organisations. Ms Stevens, who could not attend due to work commitments in Johannesburg, was also responsible for the Department of Education subsidising Learn to Live, a key Salesian project. Fr Naughton expressed his appreciation for how much he had learnt from Mr Jordan during meetings and in private contact. “I appreciated your patience, your detailed knowledge, your experience and wise counsel, your guidance in finance, maintenance and water issues, and in improving the projects.” Mr Vietri was at the helm of the board when Fr Naughton arrived at the Salesian Institute at Somerset Road. He had previously served with very efficient Salesians in Frs

Five Cape Town Salesians board members received awards for their service. (From left) Salesians rector Fr Jeffrey Johnson SDB, Thora Perez, Sydney Duval, Chris Vietri, Barry Jordan, and bursar and former provincial Fr Pat Naughton. Lynn Stevens, also honoured, was unable to attend due to Johannesburg work commitments. (Photo: Frieda Pehlivan) Robert Gore and Fr Eddie O’Neill. “It took you a while to get used to someone without their gifts,” Fr Naughton said, “but I won you over and we have become great friends. You were a hard taskmaster, but you put us on the right track about how The faithful are gathered outside St Mary’s cathedral and into Plein Street at the end of a procession of the Blessed Sacrament from District Six to the cathedral, where Archbishop Stephen Brislin addressed them and administered Benediction. Parliament can be seen in the background. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

From Abortion to Healing

HURT BY ABORTION If regret over an abortion is part of your life, you are not alone. We care, we can help. Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreats are a beautiful opportunity for any person who has struggled with the emotional or spiritual pain of an abortion. The retreat is a very specific process designed to help you experience the mercy of God. The retreat is an opportunity to get away from the daily pressure of work and family, to focus on a painful time in life, and to begin healing though a supportive and non-judgemental process.

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to run an efficient, effective, accountable organisation that could deliver good results. You taught us the value of accurate budgets for NGOs like ourselves.” He noted that Mr Vietri was educated by the Salesians as a young

person in Lansdowne. “He is a very spiritual person and his faith is an example to me.” Fr Naughton recalled meeting Mr Duval, who had retired after serving on the board for 27 years, when he arrived at Somerset Road 17 years ago. They got to know each other well through serving on a number of boards together. “Sydney is a man of great experience and huge vision. It was his vision that formed Youth Unlimited in the archdiocese. He had a wonderful network of people in many countries,” the priest said. “I had to chuckle when someone said we need to know how to deal with Germans. Sydney has been doing that for nearly 40 years— Missio, Caritas, and Misereor. Even his work in KwaZulu-Natal was based on German funders. He met them and got a lot of money from them for both the archdiocese, the Salesians and Youth Unlimited.” Fr Naughton noted another lesson from Mr Duval, a veteran journalist: “Sydney introduced us to storytelling.”

Bicentenary for all of South Africa’s Church Continued from page 1 as colonialists, slaves or migrants—they came as strangers. That is our history, and today this is our home. “In this bicentennial year we need to question how we treat those who have come here to escape persecution, wars and conflicts, famines and economic hardships.” Glancing over to the adjacent parliament, the archbishop noted that 22 years ago abortion was legalised. “It is quite true that many women, especially the young, find themselves in difficult life situations, often not knowing who to turn to and without support. We do not condemn and we do not judge,” Archbishop Brislin said. “Nonetheless, we are obligated, as the disciples of Jesus, to protect human rights and this includes the rights of the most vulnerable...We must defend the rights of the unborn and defend life from conception until natural death.”

He reminded the faithful that we are “in the world” but not “of the world”. “Our journey of life is focused on Christ, and while we live and use material things, our hearts are centred on Christ. We belong to Christ and to his Kingdom. “While we use and enjoy the many beautiful material things that are available to us, we do not become slaves to them,” he said. “As we embark on the next 200 years of Catholicism, we do so intent on remaining faithful to our Christian calling, and to be faithful and committed followers of Jesus, in order that future generations may also experience the graces and blessings we are so fortunate to have.” Responding to The Southern Cross, Archbishop Brislin said that the procession would not become an annual event, as some participants had hoped—”but we also won’t wait for another 200 years either”.

Some comments from men and women who have participated in a Rachel’s Vineyard weekend; “ It was the best weekend of my life. For the first time in 20 years I was able to share my grief, my guilt, my anger, I was able to mourn the loss of my baby ….” “I had given up on myself, and thought that I had nothing else to offer anyone in life. I had tried all kinds of counselling and therapy and nothing worked for me…..”

“ For 20 years I have been haunted with the terrible guilt that no-one could take away, tormented by thoughts of what my child would have looked like, what my child would have done with his life. I aborted the only child that I would ever conceive. I was dead inside, and tried to kill myself several times. At a Rachel’s Vineyard weekend I was able to share my grief, my guilt, my shame. I was allowed to mourn the loss of my child, and experienced God’s mercy and forgiveness. Rachel’s Vineyard has been a blessing to me …”

“ I was hurting and there were women who did not know me, but I felt genuine God’s love for me. They allowed me to talk as long as I needed to. The retreat saved my life. Now I am ‘feeling again’. I feel God’s presence and love. It is amazing. Thank you.”

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St Albert’s parish in Vosloorus, Johannesburg, was the venue for a special Mass dedicated to police and security personnel on Police Sunday. The day was celebrated across South Africa. The celebrants at St Albert’s were Frs Solly Mphela OFM (back second from left) and S’milo Mngadi, assisted by Brs Tshepo Duik (left) and Kgaukgelo Ntsie (right). They are pictured with women police officers.

The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

LOCAL

Bishop: Why Sisters are striking STAFF REPORTER

ELIGIOUS Sisters are special, and even non-Catholics love and respect them, because they “present Christ in a striking manner”, a bishop told a Mass to celebrate the profession of a Precious Blood Sister. Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha presided over the Mass at Glen Avent convent during which Sr Mary James Makwati CPS pronounced her final “yes” to the Lord. He was flanked by Bishop Vincent Zungu of Port Elizabeth and about 25 priests were in attendance. Bishop Sipuka told Sr Mary James that she was taking her final vows “to follow Christ in a striking way…so that others may be drawn to Christ”. “Now that you have made your

final profession, you must not rest and just be happy to be finally professed,” he advised the Sister. “Don’t be happy to do the morning prayer and Mass, breakfast, tea, lunch, tea, evening prayer, supper social and sleep.” Instead, he said, a Sister must ask herself: “What contribution am I called to make to the mission of the congregation?” Bishop Sipuka expressed his sadness about Sisters who leave the religious life. “You wonder if they seek any genuine advice before making their decision,” he said. The bishop said he is available for advice and guidance when Sisters are feeling lost. Noting a shortage of spiritual directors, Bishop Sipuka said that “young Sisters must not only speak when they are in a crisis; they must

be constantly sharing…with their spiritual directors and confessors”. “But what do we do when we do not have a spiritual director? In the absence of a spiritual director, I would advise that one should have a friend with whom you can also talk about your spiritual journey and challenges.” The bishop also lamented that too few young people attend the professions of Sisters. “In many convents, like here, final vows are made in the mother house. But the problem is that we do not have enough young people attending professions so that they can witness the vows of Sisters, be they first or final vows,” he said. “The comments that we make in between the rite of the final profession, explaining what is happening now, are beautiful, but they are told

to people who know. “And so in these celebrations, we are talking to ourselves and we are not talking to young people so that [they] can see for themselves and be inspired. “We are preaching to the old and converted people, instead of preaching to the young people,” Bishop Sipuka said. He told mother superiors that “if young people cannot come to professions in the mother houses, maybe professions should go to the young people; they should go to the parishes. “Or if we continue to do them in the mother house, we must make a special effort to invite all parishes in time, and make sure that the youth from the parishes comes here in numbers,” Bishop Sipuka said.

Sr Mary James Makwati CPS made her final profession, with Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha presiding.

If the shoe fits...get funding and donate it Sacred Heart Grade 1s BY NEREESHA PATEL

ring in school careers

HEN a group of young Catholics noticed that many children don’t have shoes to wear to school, they decided to act. This month, the Young Roman Catholic Men’s Union (CMU) of Port Elizabeth handed over 60 pairs of school shoes to two schools and a youth centre as part of their school shoe project. The Port Elizabeth archdiocese identified St Patrick’s Special School, St Thomas’ Special School, and the King William’s Town Child & Youth Care Centre as institutions with children who badly needed shoes. Representatives from the schools and the youth centre accepted the shoes from diocesan chaplain Fr Tryos Munyaka. “They were very happy,” said Br Thembinkosi Chithi, the diocesan secretary present at the event. “These shoes are going to children who have either come from destitute families, been raised solely by their grandparents, or been victims of abuse,” he said. “It was a touching moment for us to see how thankful the representatives were.”

S The Young Roman Catholic Men’s Union in Port Elizabeth started a project in 2015 to provide poor children with free school shoes. This year children at two schools and a youth centre in King William’s Town received 60 pairs of shoes. The CMU comprises male Catholics who participate actively in local Church communities. They launched the school shoes project in 2015 with the goal of helping learners in need within the diocese. They were able to raise funds and contributions for the project through the three deaneries in Port Elizabeth, East London and King William’s Town, where the CMU exists in vari-

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ous parishes. Last year, with the help of the Missionary Sisters of the Assumption, the CMU identified the NV Cewu Public and Makana primary schools in Grahamstown as the schools to receive free shoes. The CMU will continue this project in 2019, with children in the East London deanery as the next recipients of school shoes.

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ACRED Heart College in Observatory, Johannesburg, marked the new school year with each Grade 1 pupil having a turn at ringing the school chapel’s bell, symbolising the beginning of their school careers. Dr Mark Potterton, who recently joined Sacred Heart as primary school principal, also rang the bell to mark the start of his tenure. At the end of the year, the 2018 matrics will each ring the bell at their valedictory Mass. The bell comes from the Marist Brothers’ general house in Grugliasco, northern Italy, where it had been since the late 1800s. This house was moved to Rome in the late 1950s, at which time Br Jordan, principal of Sacred Heart College and responsible for building the school’s chapel, asked that the bell be given to the college. Many Sacred Heart past pupils gave their lives in war. The 48 old boys who died in World War I are commemorated by a plaque in the college hall. The chapel was built in

A Grade 1 pupil at Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg takes his turn at ringing the school bell as principal Mark Potterton looks on. 1956 as a memorial to past pupils who had died in World War II. Behind the altar of the chapel is a statue of Marist founder Marcellin Champagnat, sculpted by Zoltan Borbereki.

The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

INTERNATIONAL Bl Paul VI, whose cause for canonisation has progressed after the recognition of a miracle by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Paul VI set to be saint BY HANNAH BROCKHAUS

HE Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved has the second miracle needed for the canonisation of Blessed Pope Paul VI, allowing his canonisation to take place, possibly later this year. The miracle attributed to the cause of Paul VI is the healing of an unborn child in the fifth month of pregnancy. The case was brought forward in 2014 for study. The mother, originally from the province of Verona, Italy, had an illness that risked her own life and the life of her unborn child, and was advised to have an abortion.

A few days after the beatification of Paul VI on October 19, 2014, she went to pray to him at the shrine of Holy Mary of Grace in the town of Brescia. The baby girl was later born in good health, and remains in good health today. The healing was first ruled as medically inexplicable by the medical council of the congregation last year, while the congregation’s consulting theologians agreed that the healing occurred through the late pope’s intercession. According to Vatican Insider, the canonisation may take place in October of this year, during the Synod of Bishops on the youth.—CNS

New Neocat co-head

URING an international retreat of the Neocatechumenal Way held in Porto San Giorgio, Italy, co-head Kiko Argüello announced that Maria Ascensión Romero will be a new international member of the movement, replacing Carmen Hernandez, who died on July 19, 2016. Mr Argüello and Ms Hernandez were the movement’s co-founders. Ms Romero joins Fr Mario Pezzi and Mr Argüello to make up the international team, which according to the the movement’s statutes is to be composed of three members. Ms Romero was an itinerant missionary for years in St Petersburg, Russia. The Neocatechumenal Way was founded in 1964 in Spain. It draws its

inspiration from the practices of the early Catholic Church, providing “post-baptismal” Christian formation in some 40 000 small, parishbased communities. The movement is present all over the world, and says it has an estimated membership of more than 1 million people. Since the Neocatechumenal Way was founded, the group has sometimes been cautioned by the Vatican for inserting various novel practices into the Masses it organises. These include practices such as lay preaching, standing during the Eucharistic Prayer, the reception of Holy Communion while sitting, and the passing of the Most Precious Blood from person to person.—CNS

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Letter in case of Chilean bishop raises questions S

HORTLY after the Vatican announced Pope Francis was sending a trusted investigator to Chile to listen to people with information about a bishop accused of covering up clerical sexual abuse, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the pope had been given a detailed letter from a survivor almost three years ago. The Vatican had announced that Pope Francis’ decision to send Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to investigate was prompted by “recently received information” in the case of Bishop Juan Barros, who was named bishop of Osorno in 2015. Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of Bishop Barros’ mentor, Fr Fernando Karadima, gave the AP a copy of an eight-page letter he wrote in 2015 to Pope Francis, graphically describing the abuse he suffered and saying that then-Fr Barros was in the room watching when some of the incidents occurred. The letter appeared to contradict what Pope Francis had told reporters who accompanied him to Chile and Peru. During the trip, the pope had said that the people accusing Bishop Barros were guilty of slander and calumny because they had presented no “evidence” of the bishop’s guilt. “No one has come forward, they haven’t provided any evidence for a judgment,” the pope told reporters on the flight back to Rome.

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Lima, Peru, to Rome. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) “You, in all good will, tell me that there are victims, but I haven’t seen any, because they haven’t come forward. If anyone can give me evidence, I’ll be the first to listen.” But Mr Cruz and two former members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) said they were assured by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, commission president, that he had personally given the eight-page letter to Pope Francis in 2015. “Four members of the PCPM travelled in April 2015 to Rome to meet Cardinal O’Malley. We passed a letter to him for the Holy Father from survivors of Fr Karadima. He assured us he would give the letter

to the pope and discuss the Barros appointment. The pope was not left in the dark,” Marie Collins, one of the former commission members, wrote on Twitter. “This is why I was shocked when I heard the pope had said on the plane the Karadima victims had not come to him and he would listen if they did. I knew they had contacted him directly with this letter three years ago!” she tweeted after AP published details about the letter Mr Cruz had written. Neither the Vatican press office nor officials at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors responded to calls and e-mails seeking comment.—CNS

Mexican priests killed in ambush BY DAVID AGREN

WO priests were gunned down as they returned from Candlemas celebrations in a corner of Mexico rife with drug cartel violence and increasingly lethal risks for prelates. Frs Ivan Anorve Jaimes and Germain Muniz Garcia were killed as they drove between the cities of Taxco and Iguala in Guerrero state, some 160km south of Mexico City. Guerrero state officials say an armed group blocked the priests’ van

and opened fire. The priests were travelling with four other passengers, all of whom were injured. Church officials in Guerrero condemned the slayings and called for a thorough investigation. “We are dismayed by this tragic event, which the archdiocesan community of Acapulco and the community of the diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa mourns,” the archdiocese of Acapulco said in a statement. Fr Anorve was a priest of the archdiocese, while Fr Muniz was part of the diocese of Chilpancingo-

Chilapa. “We will not stop in our efforts to build peace,” the statement continued. “We ask the Lord for this peace every day.” The most recent murders offered a reminder of the risks run by priests in Mexico, where the violence of the past 11 years has not spared clergy. The Catholic Multimedia Centre counts 21 priests murdered since December 2012, with the cases overwhelmingly remaining unpunished.—CNS

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Pope, Erdogan on Jerusalem peace

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OPE Francis welcomed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to the Vatican for a private discussion that included the status of Jerusalem and the need to achieve peace in the Middle East through dialogue and respect for human rights. During a 50-minute meeting, the two leaders discussed the current situation in Turkey, “the condition of the Catholic community, efforts in the reception of the many refugees and the challenges linked to this”, the Vatican said in a statement. Aided by interpreters, Pope Francis and Mr Erdogan also focused on “the situation in the Middle East, with particular reference to the status of Jerusalem, highlighting the need to promote peace and stability in the region through dialogue and negotiation, with respect for human rights and international law”. Mr Erdogan arrived in Rome amid heavy security measures for a two-day visit that was to include meetings with Italian authorities and business leaders. More than 3 000 police officers had been deployed for the visit, according to Agence France-Presse, and demonstrations had been banned in Rome’s centre for 24 hours. Exchanging gifts, Mr Erdogan gave Pope Francis a boxed collection of works by Jalal alDin Muhammad Rumi, the 13th-century Muslim mystic, philosopher and poet. “Ah, matters of the mystics,” the pope replied. The Turkish president also gave the pope a large panoramic image of the city of Istanbul hand-painted on ceramic tiles. Pope Francis then gave Mr Erdogan a large bronze medallion of an “angel of peace,” who, the pope said, “strangles the demon of war”. “This is a symbol of a world founded on peace and justice,” the pope continued. —CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

Pope: Stop payday loan sharks’ trade BY CAROL GLATz

U Franciscan sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez Argoti who was kidnapped by Nusrat al-Islam, a division of Al-Qaeda in Mali. (Photo: Vatican.va)

Mali Church still has hope for abducted nun

ALI’S Catholic Church said it hopes to obtain the freedom of a kidnapped Franciscan nun after her captors released a video showing her pleading with the pope to help save her life. “Although we’ve had no contact so far, we’ve set up a special office, with telephone and WhatsApp connections, hoping her abductors will explain how she can be freed,” said Mgr Noel Bernard Coulibaly, Caritas director in Mali’s southern Sikasso diocese. “Despite the passage of time, we’re still praying daily for her. But we also count on negotiations to secure her release in coming weeks— for her sake and that of her family, and for all those caught up in this drama.” The priest spoke after Sr Gloria Cecilia Narvaez Argoti, a Colombian member of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, was shown pleading for her life in a video released via a news agency in North Africa. Mgr Coulibaly said the diocese had received a copy of the video. He said local Catholics were relieved to know the 51-year-old nun was still alive, but also “in a state of anguish” about her return. “We hope there will be further

developments, now the hostagetakers have given this signal,” Mgr Coulibaly said. Sr Narvaez has been held by Nusrat al-Islam since February 2017. In Colombia, Sr Narvaez’s brother Edgar told the news channel Caracol that he had seen the video in which the nun pleads for Pope Francis’ intervention. “It gave me great joy to see that my sister is alive,” said Edgar Narvaez. “She looks very physically deteriorated, though, and her face looks burned, but thank God she is alive.” Colombian foreign minister Maria Angela Holguin said Nusrat al-Islam, the insurgent group that kidnapped Sr Narvaez, is seeking a ransom payment. “Giving resources to terrorists in exchange for hostages is a complex issue,” Ms Holguin said in a news conference. “It’s something that most countries are not willing to do.” The video, lasting less than five minutes, with a voiceover commentary in English, was published by alAkhbar agency. Sr Narvaez refers to Christmas and the pope’s visit to Chile and Peru. She pleads with the pope and her Colombian mother superior to intervene.—CNS

Cardinal: Blessing gay unions ‘is possible’ BY ANIAN CHRISTOPH WIMMER

HE president of the German Bishops’ Conference has declared that, in his view, Catholic priests can conduct blessing ceremonies for homosexual couples. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising and a member of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals (or C9), told the Bavarian state radio service that “there can be no rules” about this question. Rather, the decision of whether a homosexual union should receive the Church’s blessing should be up to “a priest or pastoral worker” and made in each individual case. Speaking on the occasion of his tenth anniversary as archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Marx was asked why “the Church does not always move forward when it comes to demands from some Catholics about, for instance, the ordination of female deacons, the blessing of homosexual couples, or the abolition of compulsory [priestly] celibacy”. Cardinal Marx said that, for him, the important question to be asked is how “the Church can meet the challenges posed by the new circumstances of life today—but also by new insights, of course”, particularly concerning pastoral care. Describing this as a “fundamental orientation” emphasised by Pope Francis, Cardinal Marx called for the Church to take “the situa-

tion of the individual...their lifestory, their biography...their relationships” more seriously and accompany them, as individuals, accordingly. The cardinal recently called for an individualised approach to pastoral care, which, he has said, is neither subject to general regulations nor is it relativism. Such “closer pastoral care” must also apply to homosexuals, Cardinal Marx told the Bavarian radio: “And one must also encourage priests and pastoral workers to give people in concrete situations encouragement. I do not really see any problems there.” The specific liturgical form that blessings—or other forms of “encouragement”—should take is a quite different question, and one that requires further careful consideration, he said. Asked whether he really was saying that he “could imagine a way to bless homosexual couples in the Catholic Church”, Cardinal Marx answered, “Yes”, but added that there could be “no general solutions”. “It’s about pastoral care for individual cases, and that applies in other areas as well, which we cannot regulate, where we have no sets of rules.” The decision should be made by “the pastor on the ground, and the individual under pastoral care” said Cardinal Marx, reiterating that, in his view, “there are things that cannot be regulated”.—CNA

SURY is a grave sin that must be fought by building more just and humane economic and financial systems as well as by teaching people to live within their means, Pope Francis said. The practice of usury—lending money at exorbitantly high interest rates—“humiliates and kills” just like a snake by “strangling its victims”, the pope told members of an Italian association dedicated to fighting usury and loan sharking. “It is necessary to prevent it, saving people from the illness of debt incurred for subsistence or for saving one’s business,” he told the delegation at the Vatican. But prevention also should include teaching people to live a more frugal lifestyle, he said. People need to be able to tell the difference between what is “superfluous” and what is absolutely necessary, he said, while learning to never take on debt for things that one could live without. “It’s important to recover the virtue of poverty and sacrifice: poverty, to avoid becoming a slave to things, and sacrifice, because one cannot receive everything in life,” he said. The pope praised the association’s work in saving more than 25 000 families in Italy from loan sharks, thereby helping them save their homes or small businesses and recover their human dignity.

People walk past a payday lending shop in London. (Photo: Suzanne Plunkett, Reuters/CNS) At the root of every economic and financial crisis, he said, lies a worldview that puts profits, and not people, first. “Human dignity, ethics, solidarity and the common good must be the focus of economic policies,” he said. Measures should be enacted to discourage practices that then push people to turn to unethical lenders, such as legalised gambling, which is “another scourge”, the pope said, that “grabs you and kills you”. “Usury is a grave sin; it kills life, tramples people’s dignity and is a vehicle for corruption and impedes the common good,”

he added. According to studies, estimates are that 40% of the South African workforce’s income is spent on repaying debt. A March 2015 article published in The Southern Cross highlighted the abuses of payday lending and the cruel garnishee order system abuse affecting the poorest and uneducated in South Africa. The Catechism has these stern words for corrupt lenders: “Those whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to the hunger and death of their brethren in the human family indirectly commit homicide, which is imputable to them (2269)”.—CNS

‘Passion of the Christ’ actor to play Apostle Luke in St Paul biopic

T has been more than a decade since Jim Caviezel played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. Now he’ll play St Luke in another major religious film, Paul, the Apostle of Christ, which will open in the US in March. Unlike The Passion, Mr Caviezel will not be the main actor in the film: James Faulkner, Randyll Tarly in Game of Thrones, will portray Paul. “James Faulkner is to Paul as Christopher Reeve is to Superman. This guy was born to play Paul. When he was walking around, it was in his behaviour. You couldn’t find someone else who organically nails it like this,” Mr Caviezel said. The movie follows St Paul in the last days of his life, facing Roman imprisonment for preaching Christianity while awaiting execution under Emperor Nero. Luke, a physician, is able to visit his fellow Christian in jail. Mr Caviezel, a Catholic, said the movie’s theme centres on forgiveness and merciful love, a message relevant today, and he recalled a powerful scene in which Paul restrains Luke from calling for justice

Passion of the Christ actor Jim Caviezel will play St Luke in Paul, the Apostle of Christ. (Photo: Wikipedia) on the Roman oppressors. “Forgiveness starts with not just love, but ardent love,” Mr Caviezel said. “It’s really easy to love people who think like you think; it’s very hard to treat someone with a polar opposite view with the same dignity and respect you would treat a

friend. That’s this movie’s core message.” Since Mr Caviezel played the role of Christ, he has received offers for parts in other religious movies, but is picky about the movies that change scriptural stories. “It’s like, ‘We want to change this, pull that out,’” said Mr Caviezel. “I’m like, ‘This book has been around a lot longer than any of us in Hollywood.’” “I have the faith to believe it’s still good for us now. That’s one of the greatest things about the movie. You don’t realise it, but it’s actually scriptural.” While the release of Paul is still a month away, Mr Caviezel is also excited about another movie, the sequel to Passion, again directed by Mel Gibson. Mr Caviezel has hinted at some surprises in the retelling of Christ’s resurrection. “There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience,” he said. “But I’ll tell you this much: The film Mel Gibson’s going to do is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good.”—CNA

The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

The pope’s big crisis

OPE Francis is in the midst of the worst crisis in his papacy of almost five years— and the cause is the sexual abuse scandal. The Holy Father has a good record of saying the right things on that crisis. He has talked a good game about “zero tolerance” for abusers and their enablers, and about compassion for the victims. He has also taken some strong actions, including the removal of bishops involved in scandal. So there was understandable indignation at his insensitive and tone-deaf comments in response to protests against a bishop accused of having known about the abuses of a priest. Pope Francis failed to follow his own advice by effectively saying that the critics of Bishop Juan Barros were liars perpetrating calumny in the service of a leftist agenda, and demanding evidence before acting on the allegations. Surely the Holy Father must know that the institutional Church, through generations of its own corruption, has lost the right to cast aspersions on those who make allegations of abuse, at least until it is proven that such allegations are proven baseless. Absence of proof is not enough to dismiss allegations, as Pope Francis has done. With his words, Pope Francis distressed even one of his closest advisers, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who criticised the pontiff in unusually strong terms. The cardinal knew that Pope Francis’ claim of having received no evidence for the allegations against Bishop Barros was wrong. O’Malley personally handed an outline of the case against Bishop Barros’ dossier to Pope Francis in 2015. It may well be that the pope, a very busy man, didn’t read it—but even then the question arises: why didn’t he? Responding to the criticism against him, Pope Francis this month sent Archbishop Charles Scicluna, his top investigator into abuse cases, to Chile to investigate the Barros allegations (it is not helpful that the Vatican pointedly declined to reveal the scope of that investigation). It’s too little and too late, though even that is better than nothing and never. Nonetheless, whatever the outcome, the pope emerges from the saga with his reputation stained, and the damage to the Church’s standing in Chile will

be difficult to repair. Of course, many people in the Church, especially clergy, have the experience of knowing priests accused of a transgression. In such cases, friendships with such priests can cloud judgment—it seems impossible that the accused could be guilty. This may be true for Pope Francis, whose judgment in those to whom he shows leniency has no perfect record. And he would not be the first pope to exercise such an error in judgment. Pope John Paul II, for example, took no action against his friend Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who was later found to have been guilty of sexual abuse of minors, among other crimes and sexual scandals. No doubt, the critics (and some friends) of the Church will use this case, and other areas of legitimate frustrations, to portray the Church as irreformable on sexual abuse. And the Church must introspect whether such an accusation has some merit. At the same time it must be emphasised that, in general, the Catholic Church is now a safer place for minors than virtually any institution dealing with children. On local levels, protocols are in place to keep children as safe as possible and to deal with allegations with integrity. But if even a man as good and virtuous as Pope Francis can get it wrong, then public confidence in the Church‘s capacity to deal with sexual abuse inevitably takes a hit. However, we must beware of those of Pope Francis’ critics within the Church who will use the Barros case as a proxy to undermine the Holy Father and his programme of reform and emphasis on mercy. The pope’s lapses in understanding the abuse crisis are not borne of malice, indifference or old-fashioned clericalism. But he has erred in judgment. For Pope Francis the correct response to his own failings is to accept them with humility and to swiftly put all his encouraging words about addressing the abuse crisis into concrete action, beginning by elevating the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors above the status of an advisory body by giving it the necessary teeth. There is still much catching up to do.

The Editor reserves the right to shorten or edit published letters. Letters below 300 words receive preference. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances and at the Editor’s discretion. Name and address of the writer must be supplied. No anonymous letter will be considered.

Build bridges in Lenten season L ENT needs a new image. Here is an opportunity to build bridges. This season offers us the opportunity to move away from the conventional slogans and frigid promises. It will demand a deeper faith and a lot of courage, like stepping out of a dark cell into a new light. The 40 days of Lent is ample time to build those bridges, with dedication, love and perseverance. It is a marvellous season for reparation—repairing the wasted hours of the past by the grace of God. In fact, we will be escaping from the all-earthly dwelling to the more heavenly kingdom. Lent offers that opportunity to build bridges from my mere physical needs to my essential spiritual de-

Taking a stand calls for courage

HANK you for the comprehensive view of the Seamless Garment in your January 31 editorial. I agree with you that “pro-life” covers a wide range. Even grandparents who offer time to babysit grandchildren are doing pro-life work. However, one person is not able to work for all those different scenarios, so one definitely needs different groups working for different causes. And one needs a lively, active and vociferous pro-life movement to keep in view what is taking place (some have likened it to an ongoing World War III). Why the unborn are so vulnerable is that they are unseen and cannot speak for themselves, and the whole of society becomes infected with a “contraceptive” mentality, where other human beings become a threat. There is a falling population in Europe and elsewhere, and an ageing community that is becoming exceedingly worrying even to the “economic” community. In the same edition of The Southern Cross, Fr Ron Rolheiser speaks about division in society. Christ himself spoke about the division he was to bring, where even family members would turn against one another. This is because there remain diabolical forces within our world that want to crush our very humanity and when we take a definite stand, we find ourselves up against these forces. People like Rev Beyers Naudé and many others would have faced these forces during their struggles. Even death may be required of us. We return to the struggle in Ireland with the referendum to legalise abortion in May. Judith Leonard, Knysna

mands; it is actually a wake-up call! How about building a bridge with God, getting closer to him by conversation or moments of silence? He is not so distant as we often imagine; in fact he is surprisingly close to our very being! Then bridging relationships with some family members, and addressing this struggle for prosperity and physical health while we neglect our spiritual wealth. We can also bridge that gap between our little giving to that joyful fluency of sharing with the unfortunates in society. Of great importance is the bridge of unforgiving bitterness to creating friends from so-called enemies. A smiling “Hello” can touch stubborn

Great edition of highest calibre

ONGRATULATIONS on your great edition of January 24. From the first to last page (including the masterly cartoon “I defriended 20 people on Facebook!”), there was so much of interest concerning the lives—and, sadly, the deaths—of a broad spectrum of our Catholic family, here in South Africa and worldwide. We had Archbishops Stephen Brislin and George Daniel pursuing pastoral duties in Palestine and Egypt respectively; we had the diamond jubilee story of Fr Ralph de Hahn who turns a youthful 90 this year; the profession of vows by four young Precious Blood Sisters; and, alas, the sad deaths of young Fr Lerato Mokoena of Bethlehem diocese in a car accident and young Calvary Sister Kefilwe Sejeso of Botswana. We were saddened too by the loss of erudite Irish lawyer Martin Keenan, an indefatigable champion of the Catholic cause; and the journeys of Pope Francis in Chile who faced up to abuse protests there. I found it most heartening to read also of the German bishops seeking to find a way to bless and ratify gay marriages (by any other name). Their Lordships recognise that such inclusion is for the growth and enrichment of the whole Catholic family. I was reminded in looking at the great Community Pics photos that the Catholic Church is indeed a family to which we are delighted to belong: a family that transcends language, nationality, culture and, mysteriously, even the tomb. While the Letters Page contained the usual gripes, the letters too were of unusually high quality. Your editorial on fake news was very opportune; this has become a plague in the form of chain-prayers and scaremongering proliferated on social media by people who should

hearts. We need to cross that bridge from living a lie and finding peace in the truth; and also that bridge of words and more words to responsible and courageous action. There are also our usual penitential exercises which demand a far deeper change of values, and a change of heart in our practice of reconciliation. Lent is such a valuable, joyful and challenging season of building bridges that will, hopefully, bring me to my knees before my crucified Redeemer on that Good Friday, and lift my spirits in inexpressible delight with the resurrected Lord. That will be an awesome Easter, with most bridges crossed—and a whole new image of my Christian Catholic faith, of who created me, and why! Fr Ralph de Hahn, Cape Town

know better. Congratulations to the editor and all the contributors, and wishing for more of the same to follow. Fr Sean Collins CSsR, Howick

Sex between men

ERMAN Bishop Bode finds that there is much that is positive, good and right in same-sex relationships (January 24), and therefore wants to bless them. American Prof Robert Lopez, an ex-gay who for years was immersed in the homosexual world, disagrees. He has said: “The sex act between two men, which nobody wants to talk about, is degrading. It is horrendous, repulsive, unclean, unpleasing and violent by nature. “The invasive, brutal, and uncharitable nature of the gay community is now the political totalitarianism that threatens to destroy America’s frail social order. “The LGBT community invades institution after institution to ‘out’ new prospects, brainwash them that they must be gay, ban any means for them to veer out of homosexuality, and expel and punish anyone who disagrees,” Prof Lopez said. Bishop Bode wants to spend his blessings on homosexual unions. What would Jesus do? He is merciful but also just. Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution (St Thomas Aquinas). And that is what is happening now in the Vatican. JH Goossens, Pretoria 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

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PERSPECTIVES

Where cows are worth more than people

HAT is more important: a human being or a cow? While this may sound like a silly and irrational question, the sad situation on the ground in much of my Nigerian homeland is that innocent human beings are being slaughtered so that cattle can graze on their land. Semi-nomadic herdsmen known as the Fulanis (also known as the Hausa-Fulanis) from northern Nigeria travel long distances throughout most of the country on foot in search of new cattle-grazing land— often at the serious expense of farmers’ cropland. It causes grave tensions between the mostly Christian farmers and the largely Muslim Fulanis. While this has been a major problem since the early 1960s, the situation has got much worse in recent years. From 2015 there have been a record number of brutal assaults on innocent, unarmed Nigerians by Hausa-Fulani herdsmen who in most cases attack with automatic weapons. It is a painful ordeal that innocent Nigerians suffer in their attempts to make an honest living. Many people live in serious fear—and receive little help from the government. The new year has got off to a deadly start. Last month more than 80 innocent citizens of the majority Christian Benue state lost their lives to Fulani herdsmen who attacked their villages in the dead of night, murdering men, women and children. And the killings continue in remote villages, while the government folds its hands and does nothing. Tensions are high. With the brutal militant Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram operating in north-east Nigeria, and the often equally brutal Fulani herdsmen attacking farming villages, a civil war is an increasing possibility.

These sad challenges have led the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria to issue a letter to the Nigerian federal government, titled “On the Recurrent Wave of Violence and the Cheapening of Human Lives in Different parts of our Country” (see http://bit.ly/2rLrKj5). In their statement, the bishops said that Nigeria appears to be under siege from many forces as “innocent citizens in different communities across the nation are brutally attacked and their resources of livelihood mindlessly destroyed. Property, worth millions of naira [Nigeria’s currency], including places of worship, schools, hospitals and business enterprises are torched and turned to ashes.”

hey continued: “Since the repeated outbreaks of bloody conflicts in different communities across the nation, we observe with great sadness that thousands of innocent people have been hacked down

A Catholic choir sings during the January 11 funeral Mass for people killed by Fulani herdsmen in Makurdi, Nigeria. At least 80 people have been killed since the start of the year in conflict over fertile land in Nigeria. (Photo: Afolabi Sotunde, Reuters/CNS)

NEW COLUMN

Ani Arinze

Letter from Nigeria

in cold blood. Others have been exposed to situations of unspeakable suffering. Many others have been crushed and silenced, while their rights and dignity are trampled with impunity.” Noting that with some degree of political will, government could take adequate steps to put an end to the human tragedies and save the country from the calamities of a civil war, the bishops sensibly advised: “It is wiser and easier to prevent war than to stop it after it has broken out”. The bishops observed that “it would be stressing the obvious to state that a better alternative to open grazing should be sought rather than introducing ‘grazing colonies’”. They suggested that the government should instead encourage cattle owners to establish ranches, in line with international best practice. Drawing on wisdom from the prophet Isaiah, the bishops pleaded: “We, therefore, urge all aggrieved parties to seek reconciliation through dialogue and mutual forgiveness. Above all, we passionately appeal to them to beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.” My brothers and sisters in Southern Africa, please pray for peace in Nigeria. n Ani Arinze is a young Catholic writer with a passion for evangelising youth. His column will run every eight weeks. He can be contacted at chinenye4chinenye@yahoo.com.

The Prayer of Stopping: Just be Sarah-Leah I Pimentel N his recent column “A priest’s rest” (January 10), Fr Chris Townsend wrote about how he looks forward to his annual holiday and getting away from his daily responsibilities as parish priest, and just spend time in nature, simply enjoying God’s creation. I can fully relate to that. I have just returned from a two-week road trip with a friend from overseas. In our two weeks away, we tried to hit as many nature reserves as we could. The aim of the holiday was to show my friend as much as I could of the breathtaking beauty our country has to offer. It turned out that it was also a journey of discovery for myself. South Africa really is an incredible country. Not just the fire and gold sunsets, or the gracefulness of a kingfisher catching its dinner or a herd of elephants cooling down at a watering hole. Ours is a country of abundance, from the generosity of strangers to the picture-postcard landscapes. Yet, we often miss all this as we race about our daily lives. When was the last time I woke up early enough to catch a sunrise over the ocean, even though I live two blocks from the beach? When was the last time I sat down to dinner with strangers, and shared a bottle of wine and just enjoyed the companionship of the moment, sharing the stories of lives that are very different from my own? When was the last time I had nothing planned and just drove the car wherever the road led me? The truth is that modern life places such demands on us, and we are taught early on that time is money. Time should not be “wasted”. As children, we are reprimanded for staring out the window and daydreaming

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The Mustard Seeds

South Africa is an incredible country, writes Sarah-Leah Pimentel. A two-week trip through the country not only gave her experiences like this sunrise in GraaffReinet but also an insight into the best use of our time. in class. As adults, our diaries meticulously map out every hour of busy days and we anxiously try to fill up every empty hour with some form of activity, even if it is just to schedule in enough time to binge-watch the latest TV series.

hen I am old, will I remember the plethora of activities to which I dedicated my life? Probably not. But I will remember the couple in Cathcart whose B&B was not just a place to spend the night, but rather a place where six strangers could share some wine and stories of their lives. I will remember climbing a sand dune in Colchester and watching the sunrise from a hill in Graaff-Reinet with a good friend. I will remember the joy of watching a bird drinking water out of my coffee cup and the wonder of watching a cheetah with her cubs. I can remember these things only if I

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take the time to just be. I need to take time out of my meticulous schedules, routines and responsibilities, and stop my busy mind to be able to take in the beauty around me. And I shouldn’t wait for my annual two-week holiday to this. There is wonder in every day. Each day presents opportunities to build relationships with others, to appreciate a warm evening breeze or the soft pitter-patter of rain, and give thanks for the life-giving power of a Highveld storm. There should be time to stop each day. How about making this a Lenten resolution? The Church calls us to do something extra for Lent—more time for prayer, to engage in works of charity, to get off the couch (as Pope Francis would say). All these things are good and it is an important part of our Lenten journey. But in our busy lives, especially in the cities, perhaps the real challenge to encountering God is simply to stop for a few minutes and just be. Let’s call it the “Prayer of Stopping”. The Prayer of Stopping calls us to be present in each moment and slow the pace of our daily living. Who knows what generosity we may find in friends and strangers; what beauty we may discover in our ordinary, everyday surroundings? In this prayer, we will certainly encounter the God of creation and of time itself. In that encounter, we find Jesus, the One who walks with us through all our days.

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The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

Peter Sadie

Point of Evangelisation

How can we appeal to youth?

Y wife Charmaine and I had the privilege of walking the last 220km of the Camino in north-west Spain over a ten-day period recently. There are many blessings we received along the way: • We grew close to a group of fellow young pilgrims who shared their lives and stories with us. • We discovered our bodies are stronger than we realised as we walked 25km each day. • Our emotions soared and sank as we came face to face with the beauty or battles at different moments. • While we were engaged in the external journey, we needed to also face our own shadows on the inner journey. • And, yes, we were aware of how we were accompanied by God’s spirit, in the encouragement along the way, and the sharing of food and wine with newly-made friends. What strikes me about this adventure though is the urgent need to close the gap between our Church and our youth. The young friends we met were mainly unmarried couples from Europe (Finland, Cyprus, Italy) who had been brought up as Christians but were now hesitant about church participation. We discovered many positive qualities in their concerns for justice and the environment which are synonymous with Pope Francis’ vision of Church. But when we asked why they avoided church services, it was evident they felt no sense of belonging within the Church. And yet there was a definite hunger for a spiritual substance, that they recognised our consumerism-driven society is empty of. As we attended Mass, I noticed that the majority of participants were over-50s with greying hair. The language was a challenge to most pilgrims, since the Masses were in Spanish, yet the symbols remained meaningful to us. I had to admit though that there was little in the Mass to attract these youth, in the message or music—and yet they continued to identify themselves as pilgrims. So we invited a few of the couples to join us at Mass one evening, after we had helped each other through a gruelling uphill walk to the top of a mountain. They agreed and with the help of some explanation found some peace in the service. Our youth, despite their escape into consumerism, have not lost their faith. They hold on to a God they experience in nature, in their friendships, in a sense of belonging to a community. However, they don’t generally find God in our churches, where the homily is addressed to their parents and irrelevant to the issues they face in life—and the music is a little slow. Our youth are hungry for spirituality, but we need to change how we address their concerns in a language and liturgy they understand. If we fail to bridge their faith experience with our Church’s message, we face a bleak and emptier future. n Peter Sadie writes from Johannesburg.

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The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

A PRAYER TO SAY EVERY FRIDAY DURING LENT

During the Lenten season, we would like to invite you to say the prayer below on every Friday. You can say it in your family, workplace and parish.

CONFRONTING RACISM Friday prayer and racial examination of conscience

“May the Lord of Peace grant our nation the peace, the healing and the reconciliation that we seek. (cf. 2 Th. 3.16)” (SACBC Pastoral letter on racism).

RACIAL EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

During the Lenten season, we invite you to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Sacrament can be celebrated using the theme of healing the sin of racism.

Recommended Bible readings

• 1 Corinthians 12:4-11:Although we are different from one another (in terms of race, ethnicity and nationality), we are one body of Christ. • John 17:11.23:The disciples were people from different social, economic and political backgrounds.There were conflicts and differences among them.Our Lord prays that all may be one. • Luke 10:25-37: How should we behave as Christians in the situation of racial divisions and racism? • John 15:9-17: Love one another. • 1 John 3:11-18:Love is not mere words. • 1 John 4: 7-21: If we love God, we must love our neighbours, including those different from us in terms of race, ethnicity and nationality. • Acts 10:1-43:God has no preference in terms of race, ethnicity and nationality. There is no partiality with God. • Matthew 7: 12: We should do to other people of a different race or ethnic group as we would have them do to us.

Questions for racial examination of conscience

The “racial examination of conscience” is not intended to implicate anyone as a racist. It is not a “test” to see how racist you are or are not. It is meant to help us to reﬂect on how we may grow as persons and children of God in our hospitality, love and mercy for all of our brothers and sisters, regardless of race, gender, ethnic origin and nationality.

As Catholics, the Sacrament of Reconciliation offers us an opportunity to discern how we may grow from our personal shortcomings and grow in our personal encounter of God’s love and mercy. This day we gather in the love of God and neighbour to reflect on how we have grown in our love and relationships with people who are from a different racial, ethnic and economic background. We seek repentance and beg for forgiveness as we open our hearts to receive God’s mercy. When we grow in friendship with people who are different from us, we grow in our friendship with God. We reflect the perfection of God’s love for all humanity. For our love for neighbours should be as perfect as God’s love for all humanity. “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:48. “In loving only those who share our racial and ethnic backgrounds, we fall short of fulfilling the demands of love which the Gospel calls for. The words of our Lord challenge us that if we greet only our brothers and sisters, ‘what more are you doing than others? Do not even the non-believers do the same?’ (Matthew 5: 47)” (SACBC pastoral letter on racism).

As our nation struggles with racism and racial divisions, I ask you, O Lord, to make me a channel of your justice and peace, Inspire me with the power of your Holy Spirit so that Where there is racism, Let me bring justice and peace: Where there is hurt as a result of racism, Let me bring healing. Where there is racial hatred and intolerance, Let me bring tolerance: Where there is a fear and mistrust of a people of diﬀerent race, Let me bring the spirit of listening: Where there is historic situation of wrongdoing and racial injustice, Let me bring the common good; Where there is doubt, Let me bring faith: Where there is despair, Let me bring hope: Where there is sadness, Let me bring joy: Lord, grant I may seek rather To comfort than to be comforted; To understand than to be understood; To love than to be loved; For it is by forgetting self That one ﬁnds, It is by forgiving That one is forgiven, It is by dying That one awakens to eternal life. Amen. (An adaptation of the prayer of St. Francis)

Have I hurt others through:

• Racist comments and racist jokes? • Racial prejudice? • Negative stereotyping of people of a different race, ethnic group or nationality? • Treating people of a different race, ethnic group or nationalityas outsiders and outcasts? • Being involved in violence against people of a different race, ethnic group or nationality? • Participating and laughing at jokes or comments that belittle or denigrate people of a different race, ethnic group or nationality? • Blame all the problems in our community and in our society on people of a different race, ethnic group or nationality? • Ridiculing, gossiping and saying bad things about a person because he or she belongs to a different race, ethnic group or nationality? • Use of dehumanising language against people of a different race, ethnic group or nationality? • Come up with excuses for things that I have done that are perceived as racist? • Failing to make friends with people because they are from a different race, ethnic group or nationality? • Failing to stand up and challenge those who treat other people because they belong to a different race, ethnic group or nationality?

Am I willing to apologise and make amends?

Am I willing to forgive people who have hurt me and members of my family through: • Racist comments and racist jokes? • Racial prejudice? • Negative stereotyping of a people of my race, ethnic group or nationality? • Treating people of my race, ethnic group or nationalityas outsiders and outcasts? • Unleashing violence against people of my race, ethnic group or nationality? • Ridiculing, gossiping and talking bad things about me because I belong to a diﬀerent race, ethnic group or nationality? Am I willing to ask for God’s forgiveness for failing to recognise and thank God for diversity in humanity? Am I open to a member of my family marrying somebody of a diﬀerent race, ethnic group or nationality? Do I work to end poverty, racism and inequality in ways that are possible to me? Do I see Jesus Christ in each and every person regardless of their race, ethnic group or nationality? Do I love each and every person regardless of their race, ethnic group or nationality or the perception I may have of them?

The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

LIFE

What are the tools for a happy marriage? Young couples need help when they begin their life together. Family life ministry activist Mahadi Buthelezi tells ERIN CARELSE about a seminar she and her husband Rob have introduced to give such couples the skills for happiness together forever.

APPY marriages don’t just happen—and the secret to having a biblically successful marriage is abiding in Christ, according to a Catholic family ministry expert. There are many marriage enrichment programmes or seminars for couples who want to strengthen and deepen their relationships or marriages and strive for a sacramental way of life through the vocation of marriage. In the Catholic Church, Marriage Encounter is perhaps the most well-known, giving couples an opportunity to truly communicate directly with one another in a retreat-type setting. Mahadi Buthelezi says her R&M Marriage Seminars complement such programmes. These seminars offer a comprehensive programme designed in accordance with the latest research findings to help couples considering marriage, engaged couples, newlyweds and all young married couples achieve their marriage goals before challenges build up or become entrenched, and before the demands of career and childrearing have intensified. “To maintain a successful marriage relationship, a couple needs special and dedicated time together,” said Mrs Buthelezi, who with her husband Rob is involved in the family ministry in the Johannesburg archdiocese. “Just as winning sports teams may use their timeouts to be ref r e s h e d , strengthened, and to strategise to go on to victory, so too do all married couples need special times of renewal,” she said. “This principle,” she added, “can be seen in Jesus’ words, ‘Come away by yourselves. ..and rest awhile’.” Mrs Buthelezi explained that the seminar is structured to accommodate the diverse learning styles of different couples. “Some people are highly participative learners, while others are more laid-back. Some are cognitive learners, while others are more emotional,” she said. “It’s not at all unusual for the individual partners in the same couple to have different learning styles. No one will be pressured to do anything that makes them uncomfortable, and participants who are less outgoing are not disadvantaged in the seminar approach.” The seminar provides an opportunity for couples to take an important time-out, have a “date” away from the demands of daily living, and be biblically encouraged and strengthened in their relationship. “We carefully designed the seminar to provide the right environment to maximise couples’ learning and skill acquisition,” Mrs Buthelezi said. She said the defining features of the seminar are “warmth, support, and enthusiasm” which are intended to help couples “integrate

A couple pose for their wedding photo. But when the sun has set and new days dawn, will they be equipped to deal with the challenges and problems of marriage? A new marriage and relationship seminar introduced by Johannesburg family life ministry activists Rob and Mahadi Buthelezi (below) aims to impart the skills which can help make a marriage happy and lasting. marriage success skills and begin a personal and relationship growth process that is difficult to initiate on their own”. During the seminar, couples work together to learn about their relationship compatibility profile, to strengthen their relationship skills, and to plan long-term strategies to promote growth and address areas of concern and challenge. The seminars cover all the knowledge and skill areas that research has shown to be essential to successful marriages, she said. “A satisfying, and enduring marriage is a key to a lifetime of happiness,” she said. “Love alone is not enough to produce a wonderful marriage. Over time, all marriages evolve—pass t h r o u g h stages—and face challenges,” she explained. “Everyone knows that successful marriages require commitment and work—but even these are not enough to ensure the marriage you want,” Mrs Buthelezi said. She said that through the seminar, she hopes to give couples insight into: Love: Knowing how to receive and give unconditional love. Faith: Learning how to have all your needs met in Christ. Gender: Perceiving how male and female uniqueness contributes to oneness (culture versus male and female supremacy). Finances: How and when to spend on your relationship and surroundings. Sex: Understanding how to meet each other’s sexual wants and desires. Long-term: Maintaining a love relationship that lasts a lifetime. Conflict: Resolving disagreements and disputes quickly. Forgiveness: Applying the four most important aspects of forgiveness. The seminar provides three hours of direct preparation, plus one hour of pre-seminar, selfguided relationship inventory and review exercises. Mrs Buthelezi said the seminar is intended to help couples build the skills to:

• Identify and enhance their relationship strengths, • Better understand themselves and their relationship style, • Better understand their partner’s background and style, • Understand their relationship

compatibility profile, • Explore their expectations, • Set key relationship boundaries, • Accommodate their personality styles, • Appreciate gender issues that

affect their compatibility, • Understand family-of-origin issues that impact on their relationship, • Strengthen their relationship skills, including conflict management, resolution and consensusbuilding abilities, • Select the set of strategies and skills that work for them and their style, • Identify areas that need change, • Apply their own style and new skills to key relationship issues and challenges (including sexuality, finances, child-rearing, family-oforigin and in-law issues, personality and style conflicts, impasses, and so on. “Every individual and couple is unique, so the seminars are not a one-size-fits-all,” Mrs Buthelezi said. “The nature of the seminars will help couples focus on the areas where their relationship can benefit most. We will lead couples through the process of working together to begin building the customised relationship skill set that’s right for them and that will serve them for a lifetime,” she said. The seminar intends to “plant the skill seeds that will grow over time” to enrich a marriage. By that, the “relationship will grow now and keep on growing.” And that, she added, “is what makes a great marriage”. n The next Marriage Seminar will be held at Bryanston parish on March 17. Cost is R100. For more information contact Mahadi Buthelezi at 083 992-0287.

S outher n C ross

FAITH OF AFRICA

The

PILGRIMAGE

Led by Father S’milo Mngadi

Martyrs of Uganda & Our Lady of Kibeho, Rwanda 30 May - 7 June 2018

Contact Gail at info@fowlertours or call 076 353-3809

or visit www.fowlertours.co.za/africa

The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

LENT

A time to unclutter your life Lent is a time to unclutter our lives and journey towards the most sacred time of the year. ANNEMARIE PAULIN-CAMPBELL explains.

ness of the Paschal mystery if we come only to Passion Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

What we prepare for

HERE is something strongly compelling about the season of Lent. It is a time when collectively we all try to open ourselves a little more to putting God back at the centre of our lives. Something about the fact that we are all on this journey together creates a space which perhaps makes it a little easier to go deeper. Most of us have strong memories of Lent from childhood days. The solemn ritual of receiving the ashes, the deep purple vestments, the purple Lenten Appeal posters—or those tin boxes we used to get as children. I vividly remember giving up chocolate for Lent in Grade 1! But while the outward symbols and resolutions help us to focus, it is what happens on the inside that is really important. Like a clothes closet that hasn’t been cleaned out or tidied for a while, our lives accumulate clutter. Things that take up space but which are not useful or helpful. Lent is a time to look at what can be let go of to make space for those things which really matter. Where is my heart? The places, relationships and activities where I spend most time, and the things I spend my money on, probably are a pretty accurate indicator of where my heart is.

Where do those things draw me closer to God and where do they get in the way? Lent is a time for taking stock and seeing anew what is truly important. A wise spiritual director once said that Lent is a time when God is longing to offer us more. Where we are overstretched and overworked, God may be inviting us to rest more. Where joy and laughter is absent from our lives, perhaps we need to consciously do some things which are life-giving. Where we are lacking in generosity, maybe we need to find a new way to give.

CBC St John’s Parklands

Where friendships have been neglected, Lent may be an invitation and opportunity to revive them. Lent is an invitation from God to live more deeply fulfilled lives and to deepen our relationship with him. It is a time to come to know Jesus more and to accompany him on the journey of his passion.

The key moments There are two key moments that may help us to begin and end our Lenten journey well. The first is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the Lenten season. On that day we receive the

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ashes which are a reminder of our mortality and an invitation to say “yes” to wanting to live our faith more deeply. The second is the Triduum. Though not technically part of Lent, these days are the culmination of our Lenten journey. These are the most sacred days in the Church’s year—from Holy Thursday evening through to the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night and into the morning celebrations of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. These are my favourite days of the year. We miss the full beauty and rich-

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The Thursday evening celebration of the Last Supper followed by the “watching” and praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament is a powerful way of being with Jesus on that last night with his disciples, and in the agony of his inner struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Friday is most familiar to us with the Stations of the Cross and the liturgy of the Passion. Holy Saturday is an almost surreal space of waiting—of knowing that the Resurrection will dawn but we are not there yet. It is a day of being with Mary and the disciples in their grief and notknowing. Finally, as the sun goes down on Holy Saturday, the solemn lighting of the Easter fire and then the Easter candle and the singing of the Exultet marks the beginning of the liturgy that will lead us into the joy of Christ’s Resurrection. And so Lent is a time in which we intentionally try to open ourselves to receive all that the Lord is longing to give us and to prepare ourselves to celebrate God’s abundant life in us. Let us walk in these days confident in our God who is always faithful and who longs to offer us more. n Dr Annemarie Paulin-Campbell is the head of the Jesuit Institute School of Spirituality, and the author with Southern Cross columnist Fr Nicholas King SJ of the Lenten reflection booklet The Long Journey to the Resurrection, published by the Jesuit Institute (www.jesuitinstitute.org.za).

19 Feb 2018 from 18:30

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CLASSIFIEDS

Sr Mary Aquinas O’Sullivan HC

OLY Cross Sister Mary Aquinas died on December 25, Christmas Day, at the age of 97, in the 73rd year of religious profession. Sr Mary Aquinas was a wonderful teacher in many ways and had an outstanding insight into life. Her wisdom and her deep love for God in whose presence she spent many hours daily in prayer was shared with young and old alike. She was an avid reader and loved the lives of the saints. Although a quiet person, she was keenly interested in the lives of

each Sister and all those with whom she came in contact, always making an effort to remember names and events around each one. She had a great sense of humour and was a gifted storyteller. She always held community close to her heart and when she could no longer be with the community due to failing health, her room became a daily gathering of the clans who would come to visit her. In her retirement years she spent hours making and recon-

ditioning old cards—thousands annually—which she would give to the local prisons for the inmates to send home, especially for Christmas. Sr Mary Aquinas had an inner joy and a great sense of the ridiculous. Hers was a listening ear and a compassionate, empathetic heart. She has been described as a bridge-builder for the many transfers she accepted in her life between South Africa and her home country Ireland. Sr Bernadette Duffy HC

Pope: ‘Lent time to be aware of false prophets and cold hearts’ BY CAROL GLATz

ATHOLICS should use the season of Lent to look for signs and symptoms of being under the spell of false prophets and of living with cold, selfish and hateful hearts, Pope Francis said. The pope also invited all those who are not Catholic, but are disturbed by the increasing injustice, inertia and indifference, to “join us then in raising our plea to God in fasting and in offering whatever you can to our brothers and sisters in need”. The pope’s Lenten message looked at Jesus’ apocalyptic discourse to the disciples on the Mount of Olives, warning them of the signs and calamities that will signal the end of time and the coming of the Son of Man. Titled “Because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12), the papal message echoes Jesus’ caution against the external enemies of false prophets and deceit, and the internal dangers of selfishness, greed and a lack of love. Today’s false prophets, the pope wrote, “manipulate human emotions to enslave others”. So many of God’s children, he wrote, are “mesmerised by momentary pleasures, mistaking them for true happiness”; enchanted by money’s illusion; and convinced they are autonomous, “sufficient unto themselves, and then ending up entrapped by loneliness!” “False prophets can also offer easy and immediate solutions to suffering,” he wrote. People can

Pope Francis celebrates the Eucharist during Lent. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS) be trapped by the allure of drugs, “disposable relationships”, easy, but dishonest gains as well as “virtual”, but ultimately meaningless relationships, he wrote. “These swindlers rob people of all that is most precious: dignity, freedom and the ability to love.” The pope asked people to look at things more closely, “beneath the surface”, and recognise that what comes from God is life-giving.

hristians also need to look for any signs that their love for God and others has started to dim or grow cold, the pope said. Greed for money is a major red flag, he wrote, as it leads to a rejection of God and his peace. “All this leads to violence against anyone we think is a threat to our own ‘certainties’: the unborn child, the elderly

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 798. ACROSS: 5 Imps, 7 Immolation, 8 Espy, 10 Barnabas, 11 At Mass, 12 Seduce, 14 Random, 16 Emmaus, 17 Dalmatic, 19 Seth, 21 Swiss Guard, 22 Chat. DOWN: 1 Nile, 2 Holy Land, 3 Rabbis, 4 Mitres, 5 Inca, 6 Papal Court, 9 Sets a watch, 13 Damascus, 15 Matric, 16 Excuse, 18 Mist, 20 Hide.

Our bishops’ anniversaries This week we congratulate: February 19: Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria on the 24th anniversary of his episcopal ordination February 20: Bishop Zolile Peter Mpambani SCI of Kokstad on his 61st birthday February 21: Cardinal Wilfrid Napier on the 17th anniversary of his elevation to cardinal February 24: Bishop Emeritus Michael Wüstenberg of Aliwal on the 10th anniversary of his episcopal ordination

and infirm, the migrant, the foreigner among us, or our neighbour who does not live up to our expectations,” the pope wrote. Whole communities, he said, also can show signs of a cold lack of love with selfish sloth, sterile pessimism, the temptation to become isolated, and constant internal fighting. The remedy for these ills can be strengthened during Lent with prayer, almsgiving and fasting, he wrote. Praying more enables “our hearts to root out our secret lies and then to find the consolation God offers”, he said. “Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbour as a brother or sister.” The pope urged people to look at every request for help as a request from God himself, and to look at almsgiving as being part of God’s generous and providential plan, and helping his children in need. Finally, “Fasting disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth,” he said. It also “expresses our own spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbour and revives our desire to obey God, who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger.” The pope also reminded people to take part in the “24 Hours for the Lord” initiative from March 9-10 in which many dioceses will have at least one church open for 24 hours, offering eucharistic adoration and the sacrament of reconciliation.—CNS

Community Calendar

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

CAPE TOWN: Retreat day/quiet prayer last Saturday of each month except December, at Springfield Convent in Wynberg, Cape Town. Hosted by CLC, 10.0015.30. Contact Jill on 083 282 6763 or Jane on 082 783 0331.

Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Good Shepherd parish, 1 Goede Hoop St, Bothasig, welcomes all visitors. Open 24 hours a day. Phone 021 558 1412. DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony

at St Anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9:00. Holy St Anthony’s rosary group. Every Wednesday at 18:00 at St Anthony’s church opposite Greyville racecourse. All are welcome and lifts are available. Contact Keith Chetty on 083 372 9018. NELSPRUIT: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St Peter’s parish every Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:45, followed by Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, then a Mass/Communion service at 17:30.

The Southern Cross, February 14 to February 20, 2018

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PRAYERS

bring forth the rich, useful fruit that was expected of it from the beginning. Amen.

insults thou hast borne for me. May I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, for ever and ever.

PERSONAL

DEAR LORD, we are now in the holy season of Lent. We begin to realise anew that these are the days of salvation, these are the acceptable days. We know that we are all sinners. We know that in many things we have all offended Your infinite majesty. We know that sin destroys Your life in us as a drought withers the leaves and chokes the life from the land, leaving an arid, dusty desert. Help us now, Lord, in our feeble attempts to make up for past sin. Bless our efforts with the rich blessing of Your grace. Make us realise ever more our need of penance and of mortification. Help us to see, in our ordinary difficulties and duties, in the trials and temptations of every day, the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities. Every day we are so often reminded in field and wood, in sky and stream, of Your own boundless generosity to us. Help us to realise that You are never outdone in generosity, and that the least thing we do for You will be rewarded, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and flowing over. Then we shall see, in our own souls, how the desert can blossom, and the dry and wasted land can

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. THANkS be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits thou hast won for me, for all the pains and

ABORTION WARNING: The truth will convict a silent Church. See www.valuelife abortionisevil.co.za ABORTION WARNING: The Pill can abort. All Catholic users (married or cohabiting) must be told, to save their souls and their unborn infants. See www.epm.org/ static/uploads/downloads/ bcpill.pdf HOLY SPIRIT CENTRE: 161a Coronation Street, Maitland, Cape Town. We offer food and accommodation 70+ guests (school/tour/ youth groups, and so on). Bookings manager on 021 510 2988, cell 083 723 0293 e-mail hscentre@telkom sa.net

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

MARIANELLA guest house, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped with amazing sea views. Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy. Malcolm Salida 082 784 5675, mjsalida@ gmail.com kZN-DURBAN: Self-catering guest house close to churches, shopping malls and beach. Tel 083 263 2174.

Liturgical Calendar Year B – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday February 18, 1st Sunday of Lent Genesis 9:8-15, Psalms 25:4-9, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15 Monday February 19 Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18, Psalms 19:8-10, 15, Matthew 25:31-46 Tuesday February 20 Isaiah 55:10-11, Psalms 34:4-7, 16-19, Matthew 6:7-15 Wednesday February 21, St Peter Damian Jonah 3:1-10, Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19, Luke 11:29-32 Thursday February 22, Chair of St Peter 1 Peter 5:1-4, Psalms 23, Matthew 16:13-19 Friday February 23, St Polycarp Ezekiel 18:21-28, Psalms 130:1-8, Matthew 5:20-26 Saturday February 24 Deuteronomy 26:16-19, Psalms 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8, Matthew 5:43-48 Sunday February 25, 2nd Sunday of Lent Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Psalms 116:10, 15-19, Romans 8:31-34, Mark 9:2-10

Traditional Latin Mass

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel 36 Central Avenue, Pinelands, Cape Town Call 071 291 4501 for details. Email: sspx.capetown@gmail.com The

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the

2nd Sunday in Lent: February 25 Readings: Genesis 22: 1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Psalm 116:10, 15-19, Romans 8: 31-34, Mark 9:2-10

S outher n C ross

OUNTAINS can be good places to find out who we are, and to hear the voice of God—but they can also be uncomfortable. Each year in the second Sunday of Lent we hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, and this year there is a mountain also in the first reading, with a chilling moment of testing. It starts with the ominous phrase “God put Abraham to the test”, and Abraham saying (before he even knows what is to be asked of him): “Here I am.” This is followed by a terrible command: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, namely Isaac” (so that as we listen we can feel the awfulness of it), “and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him up there as a holocaust on one of the mountains that I shall show you”. Then our reading misses out a portion that underlines the horror (read verses 3-8 some time this week, and you will see what I mean). The killing does not take place, because the angel forbids it (and Abraham once more says: “Here I am”); but it was a close-run thing, and we are left reflecting that Mrs Abraham is not mentioned once in the story,

and indeed she dies in the very next chapter, that Isaac never speaks to his father again, and that it is a very uncomfortable kind of God we are invited to contemplate here. The story ends happily, of course, because God promises: “I shall certainly bless and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the heavens and the sands on the seashore.” And why? “Because you heard my voice”; and that is the secret for us, during this Lenten journey of ours, that if we simply listen to what God is saying to us, the demands made of us may be immense, but in the end God is incapable of letting us down. The poet who composed our psalm for next Sunday did not need to be told this: “I trusted even when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted’…Oh Lord, I am your servant; your servant, the son of your maidservant.” However it may seem to you at this stage of Lent, nothing is more important than this intimate relationship with God, so that we trust instinctively, and do whatever God asks of us. So the psalmist sings a song of gratitude: “I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call on the Lord’s name…in the courts of the house

of the Lord, in the midst of Jerusalem. Alleluia!” This is a God to whom we should listen all through the journey to Easter. There are no mountains in the second reading, where Paul is coming towards the end of some difficult argument, where he is trying to prove that his hearers in Rome have every right to feel confident about what God has done in Christ: “God is on our side—who is against us?” he demands. Nevertheless, Paul also deliberately recalls our first reading, because when he uses the phrase “he did not spare his own son”, he is using the very same words that he would have known in the Greek translation of that terrible chapter of Genesis. He triumphantly concludes that so generous a God “will give us everything as a free gift”, and reminds us that the Risen Jesus “is at God’s right hand; he is interceding for us”. So this reading is part uncomfortable, but mainly offering much comfort. In the Gospel we are invited to climb “a high mountain”; and we watch in astonishment as Jesus “was transformed in their presence”, and “Elijah with Moses appeared to them; and they were chatting with Jesus”.

Superstition and delusion? T

“The holy nuns who sailed through the house when we were young were a dying breed even then. … The call to sanctity and self-sacrifice, the delusion and superstition it required, faded from the world even then.” Wow! The delusion and the superstition it required. As if this kind of radical self-sacrifice can only be the product of false fear. As if whole generations of Christian selfsacrifice, vowed celibacy, and singleminded dedication can be dismissed, post-factum, as ultimately predicated on delusion and superstition. How true is that?

grew up in the world McDermott is describing, where nuns were like that, and where a powerful Catholic ethos supported them and declared what they were doing was anything but delusion and superstition. Admittedly, that was another era, and much of that ethos has not stood the test of time and has, indeed, to a large part succumbed to the raw power of secularity. And so McDermott is right, partially. Some of that selflessness was based upon an unhealthy fear of hellfire and God’s anger. To an extent, too, it was based on a notion of faith that believed that God does not really want us to flourish much here on earth but that our lives are meant to be mostly a sombre preparation for the next world. Perhaps this isn’t exactly “delusion and superstition”, but it is bad theology and it did help underwrite some of the religious

Conrad

HE power of a subordinate clause, one nuance within a sentence, and everything takes on a different meaning. That’s the case in a recent brilliant but provocative novel by Nina McDermott, The Ninth Hour. She tells a story which, among other things, focuses on a group of nuns in Brooklyn who work with the poor. Times are hard, people are needy, and the nuns, who work mostly in home care for the poor, appear utterly selfless in their dedication. Nothing, it seems, can deflect them from their mission to give their all, their every of ounce of energy, to help the poor. And on this score, McDermott gives them their due. For anyone familiar with what goes on inside of a religious community, McDermott’s portrayal of these nuns is both nuanced and accurate. Nuns aren’t all of a kind. Each has her own unique history, temperament and personality. Some are wonderfully warm and gracious, others nurse their own wounds and aren’t always evident paradigms of God’s love and mercy. And that’s the case with the nuns that McDermott describes here. But, quirks of individual personality aside, as a community, the nuns she describes serve the poor and their overall witness is beyond reproach. But then, after telling this story of faith and dedication and reflecting on how today there are few groups of nuns who still live so radical a commitment, McDermott, through the voice her narrator, introduces the subversive subordinate clause:

‘He’s always been known to be long-winded.’

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God puts us to the test

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Sunday Reflections

Peter likes this set-up, and wants to build a camping-site: “Let’s make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah”, he says brightly. But that is not the kind of comfort that is on offer, as Mark darkly comments: “He had no idea how to respond—for they had got into a panic.” Then things get decidedly uncomfortable, because God intervenes: “There came a cloud overshadowing them, and a voice from the cloud, ‘This is my son, the beloved—listen to him’.” And suddenly (is this comfort or the opposite?): “They looked around and saw no one except just Jesus with them.” Then they come down the mountain, and mysteriously, as they go, Jesus “instructed them not to explain what they saw to anybody—except when the Son of Man should be raised from the dead”. And they scratch their heads: “They kept the word to themselves, discussing what ‘rising from the dead’ is.” Our Lenten journey presents us with a God who may make uncomfortable demands, but is leading us to our greatest possible comfort.

Southern Crossword #798

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

life in the world McDermott describes and in the Catholic world of my youth. But there was also something else undergirding this ethos, and I inhaled it deeply in my youth and in a way that branded my soul for good, like nothing else I have ever breathed in this world. Notwithstanding some false fears, there was inside of that a biblical faith, a raw mandate, that taught that your own comfort, your own desires, and even your own legitimate longings for human flourishing, sexuality, marriage, children, freedom, and having what everyone else has, are subject to a higher purpose, and you may be asked to sacrifice them all, your legitimate longings, to serve God and others. It was a faith that believed you were born with a God-given vocation and that your life was not your own. I saw this first in my own parents who believed that faith made those demands upon them, who accepted that, and who consequently had the moral authority to ask this of others. I saw it, too, in the Ursuline nuns who taught me in school, women with full red blood flowing through their veins but who sacrificed these longings to come into the public schools in our remote rural areas and teach us. I saw it too in the little prairie community that nurtured me in my youth, a whole community who, by and large, lived out this selflessness. Today I live in a world that prizes sophistication above all else, but where, as a whole society, we’re no longer sure what’s “fake news” as opposed to what we can believe in and trust. In this unsteady world, the faith of my youth, of my parents, of the nuns who sacrificed their dreams to teach me, and of the nuns whom Nina McDermott describes in The Ninth Hour, can look very much like delusion and superstition. Sometimes it is delusion, admittedly; but sometimes it isn’t, and in my case the faith my parents gave me, with its belief that your life and your sexuality are not your own, is, I believe, the truest, most non-superstitious thing of all.

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ACROSS

5. Mischievous devils (4) 7. Break up too minimal sacrificial offering (10) 8. Catch sight of eastern agent (4) 10. Paul’s travelling companion (Ac 4) (8) 11. Where good Catholics may be on Sunday (2,4) 12. Entice to do a sinful thing (6) 14. Some of Iran dominates by chance (6) 16. Jesus surprised the disciples on the way to here (Lk 24) (6) 17. I’m clad at the deacon’s vestment jumble (8) 19. One of Adam and Eve’s sons (Gn 4) (4) 21. One from Geneva at the pope’s door (5,5) 22. Talk from a mystic hater (4)

DOWN

1. Egypt’s long flower (4) 2. God’s own country? (4,4) 3. Leaders among the Jews (6) 4. Term is up for bishops only (6) 5. Find a South American in case (4) 6. Where the pope plays tennis? (5,5) 9. Fixes the time and keeps vigil (4,1,5) 13. City Paul was on the road to (Ac 9) (8) 15. Last short exam at high school (6) 16. Forgive and let go (6) 18. Sounds like you failed to hit the cloud (4) 20. Keep out of sight (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

HE parish priest was preaching the homily at a children’s Mass. He told the children that Jesus saw the harvest was so big that he needed helpers, so he called some helpers and named them apostles. “Jesus said: ‘Come, follow me. Don’t be afraid, from now on you will catch men.’ What do you think he meant by that?” the priest asked the children. Little Jimmy raised his hand and replied: “Jesus meant that all the apostles should become traffic cops.”

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