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March 28 to April 3, 2018

School launches anti-bullying app project

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Why we must be people of the Resurrection

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What Church says on land redistribution BY ERIN CARELSE

The risen Christ is depicted in this 16th-century painting titled “The Resurrection of Christ”, from the Isenheim Altarpiece by Mattias Grünewald, created between 1512-16. It is on display at the Unterlinden Museum at Colmar in France’s Alsace region. This year Easter—the feast of Christ’s Resurrection—is celebrated on April 1, beginning the 50-day Easter season. (Photo: Bridgeman Images/CNS)

HE IS RISEN!

Martin Luther King’s Catholic connections

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The editor and staff of The Southern Cross wish all readers, advertisers, Associates, pilgrims, supporters, contributors and friends a blessed Easter filled with the hope and joy of our Risen Lord.

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HE Catholic Church recognises the right to private property, but this right is subordinate to the common good and the needs of the wider community. The manner of land redistribution will have to be carefully considered and implemented, a Church analyst has said. “We all need to consider very carefully what the various pros and cons are of land expropriation without compensation,” said Mike Pothier, programme manager of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO). “Throughout our country’s history land was expropriated—stolen, in fact—by various settlers from its previous holders,” he pointed out. “There may well be cases where expropriation without compensation ought to happen. Some of those who benefited by getting land cheaply or free of charge as a result of apartheid-era forced removals, for example, can hardly demand to be ‘compensated’ now if that land is expropriated and returned to its former owners,” Mr Pothier told The Southern Cross. “On the other hand, we must also be careful not to swallow the populist rhetoric,” he warned. “Large-scale expropriation without compensation would have serious economic consequences, and these consequences— unemployment, lack of investment, erosion of the tax base and thus reduced government revenue—would hurt the poor more than the rich. “The land question in South Africa is a social challenge that needs to be approached with great circumspection and calmness. It should not be turned into a political football,” Mr Pothier said. The Catholic Church’s position on land reform starts from the understanding that land—like air, water, and food—is one of those things that every human needs for life, he explained. Therefore everyone must have access to

sufficient land to be able to live in dignity. They don’t necessarily have to own it—it can be leased, or it can belong to the state (the community) and be shared out equitably, Mr Pothier said. Expropriation without compensation was endorsed as policy at the 54th conference of the African National Congress in December. In February, Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema proposed a parliamentary motion to deliberate a law which would allow for expropriation of land without compensation. The motion was adopted following a vote where 241 MPs voted for the amended motion, with 83 MPs voting against it. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who supports land expropriation without compensation, committed to escalating the pace of redistributing land as long as it is used to increase food production and improves the country’s food security in a manner that doesn’t harm the economy. He warned that land grabs will not be tolerated. “We cannot have a situation of anarchy where we allow land grabs,” he said. “We will not allow land invasions when we have proper constitutional means through which we can work to give land to our people,” he said. The same was said in a 2012 document entitled “Catholic Church Vision for Land Reform in South Africa” issued by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (the PDF of it is available at bit.ly/2tOMAze). In it, the SACBC pointed out that the question of land had become a “bitter terrain of struggle” worldwide and in South Africa. If a way to just land distribution and efficient land productivity is not found, not only is there a great danger of violent conflict erupting in our midst, but the food security of our nation and our region is threatened, the bishops warned. The Constitutional Review Committee has to report back to Parliament by August 31 to report back to the National Assembly.

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The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

LOCAL

School launches anti-bullying app BY NEREEShA PATEL

CATHOLIC school in Johannesburg has rolled out an anonymous reporting system that lets learners and staff members report bullying and inappropriate behaviour via a cellphone app. After putting it through a trial run at the end of last year, St David’s Marist Inanda in Sandton launched its STOPit app in the high school. With the app installed on their cellphones or tablets, learners and staff members who witness or experience instances of bullying are able to anonymously submit reports consisting of text, pictures or videos. These reports are then received and managed by administrators at the school. The Grade 8 students currently

have access to an updated version of the app, which will later be made accessible to the rest of the school. St David’s head psychologist Lloyd Ripley-Evans and another psychologist at the school’s wellness centre receive and manage the reports. Although the app is not compulsory, learners are encouraged to install it to prevent instances of improper behaviour from occurring. The feedback from the app, said Mr Ripley-Evans, has been “generally positive so far”. “We’re still in the entry phase of using STOPit,” he explained. “Only a small portion of students are using the app, so the number of reports we’ve received is very limited at the moment. But the feedback from the discussions we’ve had with Watering the lawns of St Francis Orientation Seminary in Cape Town with grey water from dishwashing are seminarians (from left) Tebogo from Kimberley, Qetelo from Aliwal North, Kwanele from Mariannhill, Bonginkosi from Dundee, and Lavela from Mthatha.

How seminary tackles Cape Town’s water crisis BY ChARLES DLAMINI

EMINARIANS from provinces around South Africa at St Francis Orientation Seminary are getting used to life in droughtstricken Cape Town. Staff and students are rationed to three showers a week, two after afternoon manual labour and one on Sunday morning. Each day they use grey water from the washing up to keep the garden alive. Clothes and bedding are washed

only every two weeks, and seminarians and staff use groundwater to flush toilets. This has to be pumped up to the bathrooms from the wellpoints and then poured manually into the cisterns. The water-saving strategy was planned by staff and seminarians are putting it into practice with efficiency. The seminary has got close to the daily per capita municipal water consumption of 50 litres requested by the city and provincial authorities.

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students has been positive. “The anonymous nature of the app certainly helps, and the versatility of the back-end—what we as the administrators can do with the app, the amount of information that we can generate from it to help guide the interventions, and so on—is incredible.” Mr Ripley-Evans added that using the app not only helps identify various trends and concerns that are specific to grades or groups so that administrators can intervene, it also helps to “empower learners”. “What we’re hoping to achieve [with the STOPit app] is that the boys feel they’re in a space where they can voice their concerns,” he said. “It’s a mechanism we’ve put in place to encourage the boys to pause for thought—thinking about the be-

haviours of others and their own—and to deal with the realities they face,” Mr Ripley-Evans said. “St David’s takes a pro-active approach to various things, especially taking a stance against bullying. We’re trying to be ahead of problems as opposed to dealing with them when they happen.” Alongside the STOPIt app, St David’s has implemented other antibullying initiatives as part of its human rights awareness programme. These include senior art pupils taking part in a paving art project on the school grounds, producing work in chalk around the themes of bullying, gender violence and verbal abuse. n For more information about how to sign on with STOPit, visit www.stopit solutions.com/

Johannesburg school St David’s Marist Inanda has introduced an app, STOPit, that lets students and teachers anonymously report bullying to the school’s psychologists.

Religious called to be counter-cultural BY ERIN CARELSE

EOPLE in religious orders, “with their simplicity of life, can be a counter-cultural presence in a world of excess, luxury and consumerism”, the nuncio to Southern Africa told the region’s Benedictines. Archbishop Peter Wells addressed the assembly of superiors, formators and delegates of the nine Benedictine Communities in Southern Africa (BECOSA) on the topic “The Holy See and Religious Life”. The communities held their 27th annual general meeting at the Lumko Centre in Benoni, Gauteng. Some 20 participants from Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa were joined by Abbot Primate Gregory Polan, the highest representative of the Benedictine Order, which has about 22 000 monks and sisters worldwide. It was Abbot Polan’s first visit to South Africa. The aim of BECOSA is to promote unity among communities; to support them in faithfully living the rule of St Benedict in accordance with their own heritages; to make the Benedictine charism known in the local Church; to foster vocations; and to contribute to the life of the Church in Southern Africa. Together with Abbot Polan, the

AGM delegates of the nine Benedictine Communities in Southern Africa with Abbot Primate Gregory Polan and papal nuncio Archbishop Peter Wells. group looked at their present situation, the joys and challenges of their communities, and of the Church and society in Southern Africa. An important point was the need for ongoing formation, with the aim of growing in wisdom. The meeting saw the end of the four-year term of Sr Edith Reischert, prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of St Alban, as president. “It really deepened my own Benedictine identity,” she said of her term. “It was a real pleasure to work and meet with so many dedicated people, who, as St Benedict put it, ‘prefer nothing whatever to

Christ’ so ‘that in all things God may be glorified’.” Sr Reischert is succeeded by Fr Robert Igo, prior of Christ the Word monastery in Zimbabwe. “With Fr Igo, the group is blessed with an experienced leader, excellent facilitator and presenter, dedicated priest, exorcist, and psychiatrist,” Sr Reischert said. Mother Mary Thomas Prado, prioress of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, was elected vicepresident, and Sr Patricia Dlomo of the Benedictine Sisters of St Alban was elected additional member of the executive community.

Warning: Workers may lose in new labour law

OCTOR Carin Runciman, senior researcher at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Change, spoke at a Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office seminar. The seminar was aimed at unpacking the National Minimum Wage Bill, as well as amendments to the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. According to Dr Runciman, the proposed amendments to the labour laws are the biggest changes to the labour environ-

ment since 1994. She argued that if the three Bills are passed in their current form, they will: • limit the right to strike • change the conditions of collective bargaining, allowing minority unions to dominate sectors • not guarantee a monthly minimum wage of R3 500 but rather only R20 per hour • remove the important protections for vulnerable workers’ guaranteed sectorial determinations.

Dr Carin Runciman spoke at a Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office seminar. She is seen with CPLO economic and social development project coordinator Kenny Pasensie.

“Here I am Lord” Cell: +27 72 769 7396, or +27 83 471 6081 E-mail: vocation.office@dehonafrica.net www.scj.org.za

The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

LOCAL

Teaching refugee children: decade of success BY NEREEShA PATEL

The Three2Six Refugee Children’s Education Project has been serving the needs of refugee children for the past 10 years. (Photo: Benjamin Bugeja)

O celebrate its tenth anniversary, a project started by a Catholic school for the education of refugee children will hold a special function in April. The Three2Six Refugee Children’s Education Project in Johannesburg was developed by Sacred Heart College in 2008, and later expanded to Observatory Girls Primary School and Holy Family College. The project provides a bridging education programme for about 300 refugee and migrant children who cannot access public education. Classes in maths, English and life skills are held from 15:00 to 18:00 daily at the three host schools’ facilities. Additionally, Three2Six learners are provided with uniforms, textbooks and school materials, one meal a day and, where necessary, safe transport to and from school. Employment and professional development for refugee teachers is

also offered. Current and past students of the project, their parents, benefactors and volunteers have been invited to attend the anniversary event, which will take place at Sacred Heart College from 10:00 to 14:00 on April 7. There will be a variety of guest speakers who will be reflecting on the project’s history, accomplish-

ments and future endeavours. They are Ivan Irakoze, a past pupil who was part of the project; Grade 1 teacher Lindani Juba; project member Hortance Kanku; and human rights activist Sharon Ekambaran. Special entertainment will be provided by award-winning musician Tresor, and two performance groups—Dassin and Igihozo—from

the Congolese and Rwandan refugee communities. “There’s a great deal of excitement,” said Colin Northmore, head of Sacred Heart College and director of Three2Six. “Those who have been part of the project from the beginning feel incredible pride in what they have achieved.” Since its inception, according to Mr Northmore, the project has provided 475 000 meals, raised over R31 million from its initiatives, and assisted 2 076 children, with more than 550 children being integrated into South African society. Other achievements include the learners developing and staging their own musical theatre production in collaboration with Minimax Performing Arts and the MindBurst Workshop; holding an art exhibition that raised over R47 000 and was nominated for a BASA Award; producing two stop-frame animations—–Precieuse and Precieuse 2—based on the children’s experiences, and publishing Refugee Stories,

a book made up of stories and drawings collected from the children. The vision of Three2Six, said Mr Northmore, is to “expand the project to more schools in Johannesburg and in other provinces”, specifically in areas where there is a “significant concentration of refugees”. Three2Six leaders are currently developing proposals that will help increase their core funding and realise the goal of establishing the project in schools outside Johannesburg. “There are still a lot of children in South Africa who don’t have access to education due to poverty and xenophobia,” said Mr Northmore. “Three2Six is a model that could be applied to every school in the country. Any school that has the desire to make a difference in its community could, and should, implement this model.” n For more information on how you can donate to the Three2Six Refugee Children’s Education Project, visit www.three2six.co.za

Renowned US leader for Contemplative Outreach SA conference BY NEREEShA PATEL

LEADING expert on Centering Prayer will guide Contemplative Outreach South Africa’s national conference in April. Rev Dr Cynthia Bourgeault of the Contemplative Society in the US will lead the conference, which will be held from April 27 to May 1 at the Padre Pio Retreat Centre in Centurion. The conference will revolve around the theme of “An Invitation to the Heart of Centering Prayer”. Centering Prayer, or contemplative prayer, is a method of silent, meditative prayer that its advocates say prepares Christians to receive and experience the gift of God’s presence. Members of Contemplative Outreach and others from across the country will be attending the conference, which is fully booked. Wendy Maree, contact person

for Contemplative Outreach’s Pretoria region, said the aim is to bring people together through Centering Prayer. “Our hope is that each one will encounter God in such a way that their relationship with him is significantly deepened,” she said. Rev Bourgeault, an Episcopalian minister, writer and internationally renowned retreat leader, is the founding director of the Contemplative Society, and serves as the organisation’s principal teacher and advisor. She has worked closely with fellow Centering Prayer pioneers such as Abbot Thomas Keating, Fr Richard Rohr OFM and Fr Bruno Barnhart in teaching and introducing Centering Prayer to a vast worldwide audience. “We are truly grateful to have someone of Dr Bourgeault’s spiritual stature and maturity coming to impart her wisdom with us,” Ms Maree said.

As an active contemplative, Rev Bourgeault travels extensively to educate others about the Christian contemplative tradition. This will be her first time coming to South Africa, which “had been on her radar for some time”, Ms Maree explained. Rev Bourgeault will be conducting talking sessions to explore the function and spiritual impact of Centering Prayer, using Christian mystic text The Cloud of Unknowing and her latest publication, The Heart of Centering Prayer, as examples. Following the conference, Rev Bourgeault will lead a contemplative Wisdom School at Goedgedacht Farm in Malmesbury, Western Cape. She will be working with meditation, contemplative prayer, lectio divina (divine reading), the language of sacred gesture, and the daily practices of mindfulness, inner observation, and surrender in a traditional Benedictine context.

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A meeting of Witbank diocese clergy turned its attention on how to use today’s media tools to advance the Church’s message.

Witbank focuses on key media role in evangelisation BY ERIN CARELSE

HE Witbank diocesan clergy met to discuss pastoral issues, present reports, and look at the important role that communication and the media play in today’s new evangelisation. Priests and deacons of the diocese came together with Bishop Joe Sandri at Maria Trost Pastoral Centre in Lydenburg for three days, and one of the key issues was the media, both in the life of priests dispensing their duties as well as the best ways to use today’s media tools in evangelisation. Fr Paul Tatu CSS, head of the Communications and Media department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, led

the media discussion. Participants spoke on how to spread the Church’s message in the contemporary media and communications environment, and also on using available tools to promote the active involvement of all Catholics in the mission of the Church. Time was also spent looking at reports from diocesan department heads, commissions, offices, and bodies; and on discussions on the state of the diocese’s financial self-reliance. Among those present at the meeting were Fr Molewe Machingoane, former rector of St John Vianney Seminary and present administrator in Witbank diocese, and vicar-general Fr Linda Zwane, a former lecturer at St John Vianney.

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Contemplative Outreach SA will be holding its national conference in April, to be led by Rev Dr Cynthia Bourgeault, an American Episcopalian minister, writer and internationally renowned Contemplative Prayer retreat leader. The conference will revolve around the theme of “An Invitation to the heart of Centering Prayer”.

The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

INTERNATIONAL

Some Irish pubs still closed on Good Friday BY MIChAEL KELLY

HILE Irish pubs are allowed to open and serve alcohol on Good Friday, this year, for the first time in 91 years, some pubs still remain shut and observe the tradition. President Michael Higgins signed the law change into effect in advance of the religious holiday this year after overwhelming support for the move in parliament. The ban on serving alcohol on Good Friday has been in place since 1927, when lawmakers decided that the penitential nature of the day of fast and abstinence merited a public observance. However, in recent years, pub owners have claimed that the prohibition was having a detrimental effect on tourists visiting Ireland for Easter. However, owners in at least two towns said they would remain shut. In Drumconrath, County Meath—north of Dublin—the three local pub owners joined forces to observe the Good Friday tradition. Dermot Muldoon, Pauline Fay and Pat Dempsey declared they would honour the

Pub owners who remain closed on Good Friday, despite a new law which allows pubs to be open on religious holidays. (Photo: Eamon Ward/CNS) time-old tradition this year. “Publicans get two days off in the whole year—just two—so we decided to keep that holiday as well as keeping up the tradition and having a bit of respect for our religion,” said Mr Muldoon. Pauline Fay of Fay’s Bar said the day enables bar owners to completely switch off and spend the

day with family. She added: “Quality of life has no price. I always spent the day with my children and will continue to do so.” One of the other pub owners in the village, Mick Hourigan, said: “There are 363 days a year when the pub is open and I think that it plenty. Soon they will want us to open on Christmas Day”.—CNS

Son’s meeting with birth mother who nearly aborted him now a film BY MARK PATTISON

AVID Scotton knew he had been adopted, but he didn’t really know the circumstances behind it until his birth mother made contact with him. “I didn’t ask about it for a solid 16-17 years. But when my birth mother reached out to me, it set everything in motion,” Mr Scotton said. “She had to do it through the law firm because of the semi-open adoption. The law firm had to ask me if I was even interested,” he recalled. “Once I said yes, that’s when things started moving.” “When I sat down and got my thoughts together, I thought there might be some positivity in it...so I said, sure. I sat down and wrote the letter, sent it to the law firm and they sent it to my birth mother, Melissa. Two weeks later, I got a friend request from Melissa on Facebook. She threw a lot at me about the last 16, 17 years,” said

David Scotton is seen in a promotional poster for the internet-only documentary I Lived on Parker Avenue, released online. (Photo: Joie de Vie/CNS) Mr Scotton, now 24, is a law student at Louisiana State

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University. The kicker: Melissa was inside an abortion clinic when she changed her mind and decided to go through with her pregnancy and give up the unborn child for adoption. Mr Scotton has talked to groups before, but his story went international with the release of an internet-only documentary, I Lived on Parker Avenue. It will be available for viewing at https://www.ilive donparkerave.com. The half-hour feature shows the emotional reunion between Mr Scotton and each of his birth parents. His adoptive parents are with him every step of the way, even trailing in a car as their son takes a train to Columbus, Indiana, to meet up with the folks who gave him away. “It was definitely not my idea” to have the cameras rolling, Mr Scotton said, “I in no way saw this coming.”—CNS

Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, meteorite in hand, is pictured at the observatory in Rome. (Photo: Annette Schreyer/CNS)

Study of the universe ‘an act of worship’ BY KATE BLAIN

ESUIT Brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory said that “the study of the universe is an act of worship”. He cited Psalm 139: “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me,” and added: “There are places in the universe we haven’t set foot on yet, and maybe we won’t,” but they are “as much a part of God’s creation” as the earth. “God is bigger than just what we see around here,” Br Consolmagno said. Attendees were visibly moved by the photos he shared of planetary landscapes, moon craters, stars and galaxies. The astronomer emphasised the need to see other heavenly bodies as specific places. He shared a clip from a panel discussion televised on C-SPAN after a Mars rover landing in which a mission team member described his awe at seeing photos of the red Martian landscape. Throughout the talk, photos flashed by on the viewscreen: • The rocky surface of Venus, captured by a Russian lander that lasted only minutes in the 700-degree, high-pressure atmosphere where sulphuric acid fills the air. • Io, a moon of Jupiter with a yellow surface covered with erupt-

ing volcanoes. • “Earthrise”, with the earth seen from orbit, coming up from behind the moon. Along with the pictures came quotes from St Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Sun”. “We are made by God and we are siblings,” the astronomer said. “To exploit nature is to exploit your little sister.” Br Consolmagno joined the staff at the Vatican Observatory in 1993, where he has studied meteorites and asteroids, and now serves as director. Though the observatory’s headquarters are in the papal summer gardens at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, much of its work is done on Mt Graham, north-east of Tucson, Arizona, where the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope is located. Br Consolmagno also has travelled to Antarctica to search for meteorites. He noted that the photos he took there resembled the surfaces of other planetary bodies: harsh, barren landscapes that, nevertheless, have much to reveal about creation. Even the smallest meteorite cross- section—thinner than a human hair—shows incredible crystalline structures, he said, noting “that sense of discovery, that I’ve seen this little thing…it’s like the voice of God behind me, saying: ‘Isn’t this cool?’.”—CNS

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N commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election to the papacy, Penguin Random House has published a collection of the Pope’s reflections on the Our Father. Our Father: Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer focuses on issues of social justice and charity around the world, urging Christians to reflect on solidarity and forgiveness. “I hope that in praying the Our Father, every one of us will feel ever more loved, forgiven, bathed in the dew of the Holy Spirit, and will thus be able in turn to love and forgive every other brother, every other sister,” writes Pope Francis in the book’s introduction. “This will give us an idea of what Heaven is like.” Each chapter breaks down one section of the Our Father. They also include reflections on topics such as hope, Mary’s fiat, the elderly, and the poor. In the beginning of the book, Pope Francis focuses on the importance of the title of God as “Our Father”. The word “Father” is power, he writes, and shows us an intimate image of God as creator of sons and daughters, and as a provider for his

children. “What I say is this: We must humble ourselves into saying ‘Daddy’ and to truly believing that God is the Father who accompanies us, forgives us, gives us bread, is attentive to all that we ask, clothes us even better than the flowers of the field.” The book emphasises the need for prayer and compassion for those who suffer from hunger around the world. Quoting the book of James, the pope writes that the Gospel is not lived properly without attending to the bodily needs of those who are hungry and sick. “Always someone is hungry and thirsty and needs me…This poor person needs me, my help, my words, my efforts, we are all in this together.” Pope Francis also expresses the importance of the elderly, stating that their prayers are a gift to the Church. He says their prayers sustain the workers of the Church. “The lives of the elderly and of the grandparents are prayers. They are a gift for the Church. They are a treasure!”—CNA

The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

INTERNATIONAL

Pope at Padre Pio’s shrine: Follow the saint’s example M

BY JUNNO AROChO ESTEVES

ANY people admire St Padre Pio, but too few imitate him, especially in his care for the weak, the sick and those whom modern culture treats as disposable, Pope Francis said during Mass at Padre Pio’s shrine. “Many are ready to ‘like’ the page of the great saints, but who does what they do?” the pope asked. “The Christian life is not an ‘I like’, but an ‘I give myself’.” Pope Francis celebrated the Mass outside the shrine of St Pio of Pietrelcina with about 30 000 people after visiting children in the cancer ward of the hospital St Pio founded, Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (House for the Relief of Suffering). In his homily, the pope reflected on three words that both summarised the day’s readings and, he said, the life of Padre Pio: prayer, smallness and wisdom. Padre Pio recognised throughout his life that prayer “heals the sick, sanctifies work, elevates healthcare and gives moral strength”, he said. Pope Francis began his day of tribute to St Pio with an early morning visit to Pietrelcina, where the Capuchin saint was born in 1887. Thousands waited outside the square of the chapel of the Stigmata which houses a piece of the elm tree Padre Pio sat in front of when he first received the stigmata—wounds on his feet, hands and side corresponding to those Jesus suffered at the

Margaret from The Pope's Cat looking out on the Square. (Illustration by Roy Deleon)

Pope's Cat introduces kids to pope, Vatican Pope Francis gives the homily as he celebrates Mass at the Shrine of St Pio of Pietrelcina in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. (Photo: Paul haring/CNS) crucifixion—in September 1918. Pope Francis entered the chapel where he prayed privately for several minutes before making his way to the square to greet the faithful. Standing in front of an iconic image of a young Padre Pio bearing the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion in his hands, the pope said that it was in Pietrelcina that the future saint “strengthened his own humanity, where he learned to pray and recognise in the poor the flesh of Christ”. “He loved the Church, he loved the Church with all its problems, with all its woes, with all its sins—because we are all sinners; we feel shame—but the spirit of God has brought us here to this Church

Guam archbishop found guilty of abuse BY CAROL GLATz

which is holy. And he loved the holy Church and its sinful children, everyone. This was St Pio,” Pope Francis said. Recalling the time in Padre Pio’s life when he returned to Pietrelcina while he was ill, the pope said the saintly Capuchin “felt he was assailed by the devil” and feared falling into sin. Christians, he continued, should follow the example of the Capuchin saint who did not fall into despair but instead found refuge in prayer and put his trust in Christ. “All of theology is contained here! If you have a problem, if you are sad, if you are sick, abandon yourself in Jesus’ arms,” the pope said.—CNS

BY MARY REzAC

ARGARET, the fictional stray cat adopted by a fictional pope in a new children’s book series, gets an up-close and personal look at the Vatican and the papal office that most Catholics could only imagine. In The Pope’s Cat, a new children’s book series by Jon Sweeney, Margaret is just another stray cat on the streets of Rome until the Holy Father finds her on his early morning stroll, scoops her up into his arms and decides to adopt her as his own. The ensuing shenanigans are what one might expect from a feline who suddenly finds herself in the pope’s life—she sleeps on his furniture (a lot), gets a glimpse at the general audience from the papal apartment window, and even interrupts an important dinner with the queen of England.

The pope in the series reacts to his new friend with bemusement and good humour, all the while going about his busy schedule as the leader of the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Mr Sweeney’s new series about Margaret the cat aims to teach children about the pope and his duties, to make him seem more relatable and human, and to also give them a taste of the Roman culture that permeates many aspects of life in the Vatican. “It’s a fictional pope who introduces kids to what popes do, to the fact that the Pope is the head of state, to the fact that a pope is a very human person who experiences anxiety and nervousness...and is someone who is invested with enormous responsibilities as the leader of the Catholic Church, with more than one billion people,” he said.—CNS

W OPEN. e 12. O N S N IO T A IC L Grad APP o t R R e d a r G r fo Limited spaces

VATICAN tribunal found Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana, Guam, guilty of some of the accusations made against him, accusations which included the sexual abuse of minors, including one made by his own nephew. After a canonical trial conducted by the apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican judges imposed the following sanctions on the 72-yearold archbishop: the removal from office and a prohibition from residing in Guam. The archbishop can appeal. In a statement released later in the day by his lawyer, Jacqueline Taitano Terlaje, Archbishop Apuron confirmed he is appealing the verdict. “While I am relieved that the tribunal dismissed the majority of the accusations against me, I have ap-

Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who was found guilty of two of five charges of sexual abuses. (Photo: Paul haring/CNS) pealed the verdict,” the archbishop said, protesting his innocence. Archbishop Apuron is among the highest-ranking Church leaders to have been tried by the Vatican for sexual offences.—CNS

Pope Francis: Crucifix not just for decoration

HE crucifix is not just something decorative to hang on the wall or wear, but it is an important sign of our beliefs —and should be truly looked at and prayed before as the source of our salvation, according to Pope Francis. “The Gospel invites us to turn our gaze to the crucifix, which is not an ornamental object nor clothing accessory—sometimes abused!—but a religious sign to be contemplated and understood,” the pope said. “The image of Jesus crucified reveals the mystery of the death of the Son of God as the supreme act of love, the source of life and salvation for humanity of all times. In his wounds we have been healed.” Pope Francis addressed around 20 000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus. Adding a few comments off-the-

cuff, he asked people how they look at a crucifix: as something to hang on a wall or really to contemplate the wounds of Christ? Think to yourself, he said: “How do I look at the crucifix? Like a work of art, to see if it is beautiful or not beautiful? Or do I look inside, within the wounds of Jesus, to his heart? Do I look at the mystery of God destroyed unto death, like a slave, like a criminal?” The pope suggested a beautiful practical devotion for people to make: To look at a crucifix and pray one Our Father for each of the five wounds of Christ. “When we pray that Our Father, we try to enter through the wounds of Jesus inside…right to his heart. And there we will learn the great wisdom of the mystery of Christ, the great wisdom of the Cross.”—CNA

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The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Christians are all alter Christus I

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

An incredible event

HY is it that many Catholics wear crucifixes around their necks but not representations of the empty tomb? Without the Resurrection on the third day, the events of Good Friday would merely mark the end of the story of another failed Messiah. The execution of Yeshua the Nazarene, alongside two other men, would hardly warrant a footnote in history. When Mary Magdalen arrived at the tomb to anoint the corpse of her friend Jesus, she had no expectation that something remarkable might have happened. When she found the tomb was empty, she suspected that somebody had stolen his body. She called Peter and John, and they, too, were puzzled. The full truth would be revealed to them later that day in the Upper Room. And even then, they had to be assured by Christ that they were encountering not a spirit but the actual man: “Look at my [pierced] hands and my feet, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, but I have” (Luke 24:39). The general confusion—one in which we share when we read the varying Gospel accounts of the discovery of the empty tomb one after another—is reasonable. Dead people don’t spontaneously come alive, less those who had been so thoroughly tortured to death as Jesus had been less than 48 hours earlier. Even after all Jesus had said about death and resurrection, and even after having seen him raise the dead—Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, the son of the widow at Nain—Peter and John evidently had not expected Jesus to rise from the dead himself.

ndeed, even after their encounters with the Risen Christ, they didn’t quite know what to do with the Resurrection until they received their commission after the fish braai breakfast on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. They knew that Christ had risen, but were perplexed about what to do with it. And even with the benefit of nearly 2 000 years of hindsight, in many ways we, the spiritual descendants of the disciples, still share in that mystification. So it is simpler to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas (usually without spending too much time pondering the meaning of the mystery of the Incarnation)

and to emphasise the Passion of Christ culminating in his sigh at 3pm: “It is accomplished.” But the story is not yet finished; it is about to reach the climax in the Resurrection—God defying nature. Preaching the Resurrection to sceptics is a hard sell, of course. It was always so, even just after it had happened, and even with many eyewitnesses testifying to seeing the risen Christ. (St Paul put the number at “more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive”, as if to dare his audience to obtain their testimony.) In telling the story of the Resurrection, the evangelists include embarrassing details which would have been omitted had they been peddling lies. Had they intended to deceive, the witness of women, for example, would have been excluded, for a woman’s testimony was regarded as worthless. The reports of mere fishermen from the backwaters of Galilee would not have carried much weight either. If the Gospel accounts were spun to create public credibility and acceptance, rather than the truth, the evangelists would have had a high-ranking priest finding the empty tomb, perhaps in the company of Pontius Pilate.

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.

he first Christians were prepared to die for their certainty in the fact of Christ’s Resurrection—a belief that promised them no earthly reward. On Good Friday we mark the atoning death of the Son of God for the whole world. Easter Sunday is the necessary vindication of that. You cannot have one without the other. We must not become casual about the meaning of Christ’s violent death and Resurrection for humanity. Because of it, we have the option of spending eternity in the presence of God. Christ died and rose from the dead so that even the most abject of sinners may have the opportunity of being redeemed, as Jesus promised while he was on earth. Something astonishing happened in Jerusalem that Passover weekend almost 2 000 years ago. And because of it, something incredible—the salvation of unworthy sinners, including one day, we hope, all of us— is happening every day. That is what we celebrate at Easter.

N his letter “Respect Priests” (February 28), Br Dzinisa Hyacinth Ngcongo emphasises that a priest is “another Christ” and thus must be respected. The reality is that all people who are baptised into Christ are also “another Christ”. The emphasis on the specialness of a priest as alter Christus is the source of the sin of clericalism and its manifestations as clerical privilege. Pope Francis, who sadly has to breathe in the stench of clericalism

Let children come to Jesus at Mass

APPLAUD Fr Francois Dufour SDB and others who appreciate children coming to celebrations of the Eucharist (March 14). I am in full-time retreat ministry but “help out” at Holy Family parish in Durban when I can, and am always impressed at the squealing, crying, laughing, talking children and babies of mothers who come to Mass faithfully every Sunday. No parishioner, I believe, has ever requested a cry room. Children are part of our faith community. I am reminded of when I was a child at Mass and a baby cried. The priest stopped his sermon and told the mother to remove the child as she was disturbing his sermon. With great courage the mother answered: “Father, it is you who is disturbing my child.” Ah! The sermon ended there, as everybody laughed and even the priest smiled. Plus, he immediately left the pulpit from which he had been preaching. Please let children come to Jesus. Fr Christopher Neville OFM, Durban

Appalling to say pope not worthy

EADING JH Goossens’ letter (February 28), I find it very difficult to be charitable. How can one suggest Pope Francis is not worthy to be pope, as Dr Goossens does? Is he also suggesting Mgr Vincent Hill, to whom he responds, doesn’t know what he is talking about! I find Dr Goossens’ approach to border on the disgusting, so much so that I wish The Southern Cross would not publish any further letters of his. I remember very well the reactions of “conservative” clergy and laity when Pope John XXIII announced the establishment of the Second Vatican Council. When asked why the council was needed, the pope replied that it was time to “throw open the windows of the Church and let the fresh air of the Spirit blow through”. Successive popes have tried to

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which pervades the Vatican, has written and spoken out against clericalism many times. It is the root cause of the continuing scandal of sexual abuse by the clergy which is doubly sinful: the abuse itself and the cover-up by priests and bishops. Clerical privilege is evident when priests in another African country insist that people in a parish must prostrate themselves before him, and in South Africa when at least one priest insists that at the end of

make Christ’s merciful teaching more and more accessible. All Pope Francis is doing is furthering the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Dr Goossens talks about Pope Francis preaching about mercy without justice. What in heaven’s name does he mean? If you want to dispense justice, you must be in possession of all the facts, and even then, it requires much prayer and thought before passing judgment. Remember too that in all Christ’s time on earth, he never passed judgment, as evidenced by the woman caught in adultery. “Has no one condemned you?” Jesus asked her after there was nobody without sin to do so. “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you, Jesus declared. ‘Now go and sin no more’ ” (John 8:10-11). I believe Dr Goossens would find much to meditate on regarding mercy and justice in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. Antonio Tonin, East London

Communion for non-Catholics

HAVE read with interest recent correspondence about who is and who is not entitled to receive Communion. I was especially interested in the letter from JH Goossens and his condemnation of Pope Francis for allowing certain divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion (February 28). Here are a few of my experiences. My young cousin, a Methodist, and his partner, a Catholic, go to Mass if they wake up early enough, and they both go up and receive Communion. If they wake up later, they go to the Methodist church, and both receive Communion there. They have a baby daughter and would choose to have her baptised a Methodist but think she will have a better chance of getting into a good Catholic school if she is a Catholic. My carer is also a Methodist. The first time she took me to Sunday Mass, she went up and received Communion. When we got home I

the Sunday liturgy people must come and kiss his feet. I have often thought that at ordinations of deacons, priests and bishops, only one of two gospel texts should be chosen: Matthew 20:20-28, where Jesus calls us all to be servants, or John 13:1-15, the washing of the feet. When I mentioned this to a colleague a while back he laughed and said: “By ordination day it is too late. The damage has already been done.” Sue Rakoczy IHM, St Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara, KZN explained that she was not supposed to receive Communion but she insisted she had been properly prepared and continued to do so. One day a religious Sister asked her if she was a Catholic, found she was not, and then refused to give her Communion. My carer no longer goes up to receive Communion. I was recently at a house Mass and the priest just walked around the room and gave everyone a host, even to an Anglican young lady and also to my other carer, whose religion I don’t know (her husband and family are Muslim). At Mass, there are four lines of people going up to receive Communion, so anyone could be given Communion, whether they should or should not be allowed to do so. SJ Mullaney, Cape Town

Seamless Garment hurts pro-lifers

ATHER Chris Townsend objected in his column (February 7) to a Catholic e-mailing list that asked him to pray for US President Donald Trump because he had spoken out defending the fight against abortion. Fr Townsend stated that this would lead to a “single-issue” Church, something in conflict with the Seamless Garment hypothesis. This hypothesis continues to flourish in the Church today, as illustrated by the almost-total absence of pro-life sermons, and the widespread dissent of many prelates to the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae, the cornerstone of support for the lives of unborn infants. In conclusion, statements like that of Fr Townsend are prejudicial to the pro-life movement and should be avoided. Damian McLeish, Johannesburg The letters page is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate. Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. Letters can be sent to PO Box 2372, Cape Town 8000 or editor@scross.co.za or faxed to 021 465-3850

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The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

PERSPECTIVES

The Church has to be a home for all Fr S’milo I Mngadi N a recent social network post, Fr James Martin SJ reported that the Catholic composer of hymns like “Here I Am Lord”, Dan Schutte, had had a concert scheduled for April banned from a Catholic parish’s grounds in the US, after protests by right-wing Catholic websites that suspect the composer to be “gay”. This is sad. Following the protests against Mr Schutte’s concert at a parish in Kansas City, Bishop James Johnston Jr ordered that the concert be moved, citing bureaucratic reason involving paperwork (he has denied that his decision related to the pressure from the right-wing websites). It is important to note that Mr Schutte has never made a public statement concerning his private sexual life, as is his right. Fr Martin, a popular Jesuit author, on Facebook described this incident as “another triumph of hatred and homophobia in the Catholic Church”. The Jesuit himself recently suffered a similar fate of exclusions after the publication of his eye-opening book Building A Bridge, which proposes an open pastoral approach to LGBTIQ+ Catholics. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that people of homosexual orientation must be treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity (2538). Yes, the homosexual act, as it is not open to procreation, is not accepted by the same Catechism which describes it as “intrinsically disordered” and of “grave depravity”. However, it is silly to think that all gay people commit the act. Even if they did, that would be akin to any extra-marital or pre-marital sexual activity, including masturbation, listed by the same Catechism (2351-6) as sins against chastity and the sixth commandment, and acts of the same nature performed by some hetero-

sexual couples which preclude the possibility of procreation. I am not sure whether being gay or acting as such is or is not according to God’s plan. As I have said in my recently published book, Collared and Content, the Catechism states that “its psychological genesis is largely unexplained” but it’s opposed to Scripture and Tradition (2357). The words attributed to St Augustine come to mind: “In things essential, unity; in things doubtful, freedom; in all things, charity.”

HE Church is a home and a family for all God’s children. People, gay or not, should be welcome in our churches. It has been said in various forums, including by Pope Francis himself, that the Church is a hospital. If we feel that being gay is a “sickness”, which is a very dubious proposition, then let the Church be a hospital providing its “treatment”. Some years ago, a mother of a young gay man who had committed suicide was told by some of our parishioners that his funeral should not be in church as his LGBTIQ+ friends would bring shame to

Dan Schutte, the Catholic composer of hymns like “here I Am Lord”, was bumped off a concert at a church after a right-wing website alleged that he was gay.

Collared & Content

our parish. She felt so pushed to yield to that pressure that only my firm order convinced her that we should have the funeral in church. One of the mourners, a lesbian who had left the Church in protest against being ostracised, later said that her reconciliation with the Church began during what she called that “non-judgmental” Requiem Mass. I pray for a gay theology that is consonant with traditional Catholic theology. However, we can only realise this when we have Spirit-filled witnesses who are both gay and Catholic. This is how the Church began: “Go to Jerusalem and await the Holy Spirit and become my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Church will embrace good Catholic gays and lesbians just as she included the Gentiles at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), with extreme heteronormativity curtailed at the altar of love, the Cross. Let gays and lesbians be given a safe space to share their experiences. Fr Martin’s book, which I mentioned above, goes a long way to guide us in this direction. Then, the “current James” will proclaim what is good to us and the Holy Spirit. n Fr Mngadi’s column runs in The Southern Cross every eight weeks. Join him on a very special pilgrimage to Uganda and Rwanda in June. More details at www.fowlertours. co.za/africa

Hold up the divine mirror for true self Nthabiseng R Maphisa ICH. Filthy rich. That’s what they are. Off of our vanities and insecurities, they are made wealthy enough to parade through the cities of the world in glistening vehicles and diamond-studded watches. In their eyes we are piglets to be raised for slaughter. They will press and pull at our flesh and when they are content with its plumpness they will turn us on our backs and say to the butcher: “Cut it here.” At times the beauty industry can be likened to an abattoir. Young and innocent are the calves of sheep and goats. Unaware of the cold axe that is about to sweep through them, they are pushed in and lined up for the kill. So it is with young women. As little girls they are promised to grow into tall and gorgeous Glamazonians. Until then, they are content to play and read of dragons and warriors. One day they will awaken to find that they are no longer girls but are on the difficult, dark and dangerous path to becoming women. They are forced to devour images of blemish-free faces and even skin tone. It will be implied to them that unless their muscles are defined, they are morbidly obese. They are disgusting, ugly and fat. Then, to their utmost horror, the realisation that they are not tall or thin will assault them in the deepest of their hearts. Horror turns into fear. Here brews the anguish, the angst and the panic. “How will we ever be lovable?” they cry. The gentle piglets have now grown to be old enough and plump enough to have their bodies pricked and sliced into pieces. Now the butcher will grin a grimace that shows devious intentions. “So you wish to be desirable?” he will ask them. He will show them flaws that do not exist and imperfections of make-believe.

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In her column, Nthabiseng Maphisa takes issue with the body-shaming of women, saying she has “grown weary with campaigns that seek to make a woman feel that what she was born with is somehow lacking or inadequate”. Through this, their flesh is sold on the market. These innocent lives will sell themselves to the manufacturers of skinlightening creams, cellulite-removal lotions and meal replacements. Those most especially wounded by the butcher’s cleaver will place their hopes of reaching the beauty climax in silicone implants, lip fillers and botox. Others will wish to seem less vain and turn to liposuction. What a disruption to the trades of the day it would be if someone were to march into the streets and tell the merchants that these body parts are not to be sold as meat?

aint Paul tells us that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:1617). How wicked it is then that this temple should be turned into a marketplace. Jesus at the sight of animals and goods being bartered in the temple overturned

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the tables of the traders and cast them out with a whip (Mt 21:12-13). So too must we scorn and scold the greedy and the irreverent who wish to turn the body of a woman into a market. I am yearning for beauty campaigns that advertise products in a way that celebrates a woman’s beauty. I have grown weary with campaigns that seek to make a woman feel that what she was born with is somehow lacking or inadequate. Who of us would walk into a church and seek to improve the appearance of the tabernacle? Because of that which it holds, it needs no decorations. Indeed, it is beautiful on its own but its glory brings us into celebration, and as such it is adorned with flowers on its sides. So it must be with the beauty of women and the mystery of their bodies. They are beautiful in themselves and the sight of them must bring us into a festive mood overflowing with joy. Anything less than this is pure exploitation. Each time that God pulls himself away from his throne to gaze lovingly at his creatures, he is warmed by an overwhelming sense of familiarity. When he rests his eyes upon us, he sees a reflection of himself. Each one us, moulded so skilfully in his image, is a divine mirror. Soon this mirror will be gilded and held up high for the world to see.

n Read previous columns by Nthabiseng Maphisa, who writes for us monthly, at www.scross.co.za/category/perspectives/ nthabiseng-maphisa/

Brian Gaybba

Last Testament

To try and love is to know God

S an old man looking back over his life as a Christian, as someone who had walked and talked with Jesus, had listened to him preaching, seen him die and had experienced him as risen again—as he approached death, the apostle John found himself writing increasingly about the centrality of love. For him, it was the key to understanding everything about God. Indeed, he comes up with a definition of God that was quite stunning. God, he says quite simply, is love. And from that flows important consequences. The first is that everyone who struggles to love is a child of God. Loving others is not easy, but anyone who struggles to do so is thereby transformed into God’s likeness. And as such, he or she becomes a child of God. That person may be a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist or indeed someone for whom the very idea of God has become quite unbelievable. But if that person joins in the human struggle to love others, then they are a child of Love with a capital L. They are a child of God. Even if, as in my case, their human weaknesses leave them bruised and disfigured by the sinfulness we all share, they are, like the bruised and disfigured Jesus, a child of God.

he second consequence of John’s dramatic statement that God is love, is (as he himself says) that everyone who loves knows God. If one takes this statement seriously, it means that knowing about God is not the only way to know God. And this in turn means that someone could know God without even recognising that they do so. Indeed, someone who may reject the very idea of God as misguided may, without realising it, know God. Why? Because they know love. And the person who knows love with a lowercase ‘l’ already has some experience of Love with a capital L. Thirdly, and finally, John tells us that whoever remains in love remains in God and God in them. As Paul put it in his letter to the Corinthians, love never ends. When someone dies, especially someone who has struggled to love others, they die into the arms of love. Paul described love as always being patient and kind, as never storing up grievances, as being always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. If that is meant to be a mark of our weak, human love, how much more is it the mark of the Love that is God, an infinite love that forgives infinitely. I spent my life talking about God but never believed I had a real experience of God. But I got it wrong. All we can say is that we are loved and forgiven by God. And accepting that, and believing that, WE BECOME LOVE. n This reflection, included in Prof Gaybba’s funeral instruction, was read out at his Requiem Mass in St Patrick’s church in Grahamstown this month.

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The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

COMMUNITY

Swimmers at Assumption Convent School in Germiston (above) won the Inter-high Gala held at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Assumption also produced two national winners at the SA Rowing Championships, with Courtney Westley winning the U16 A sculls, and Racquel de Oliveira the U14 A sculls.

Junior school pupils at CBC St John’s Parklands in Cape Town have been focusing on how they can produce “good fruits” during Lent. The Grade 1M fruit is strawberries, signifying love, as evidenced by pupils (from left) Kuhle Maxakana, Inathi Dlomo, Siseko Tina, Keira Nicoll, James Janssen, and Natasha Jayakody.

Marist Brothers Linmeyer in Oakdene, Johannesburg, hosted an Open Day, with prospective parents and students connecting with the staff, engaging with Marist students and exploring the school. Retired Dominican Sister Avelina celebrated her golden jubilee at an event hosted by St Peter Claver parish in Duncan Village, East London. Sr Avelina’s last years of work were at the Woodlands school for the deaf in King William’s Town. With her are Elma-Rose Majama Pule, her son Thabo, and grandson Unako.

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Members of the Good Shepherd and St Joseph parishes in Phoenix, Durban, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Ngome shrine in Eshowe diocese. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Benedictine Sister Reinolda May experienced ten apparitions of Our Lady between August 22, 1955 and May 2, 1971. In these apparitions, the Virgin Mary identified herself as “The Tabernacle of the Most high”. (Submitted by Bradley Ramjuttan) St John the Baptist parish in Atlantis, Cape Town archdiocese, held a Back to School dance. The organising team (from left) were Janine Latergan, Berry Koopman, Vivienne Frans and Natalie Jeniker.

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The Schoenstatt group in Port Elizabeth celebrated the Day of Reconciliation and Chinese New Year on the 12th anniversary of Fr Ludwe Jayiya’s ordination. Fr Jayiya is the parish priest at Mater Dei church in Newton Park.

The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

EASTER

Why we must be people of the Resurrection The Resurrection should fill us with joy every day, even in moments of sorrow. TINA McCORMICK explains why.

empty tomb? Do we fear to ponder its personal meaning to us as a lifechanging event? Do we turn away from the “blinding light” in fear of the challenges it might bring to our lives? Or do we live as true Christians with the joy of the Resurrection and an openness to what it pertains? The empty tomb, once discovered, should change our personal fate forever. In addition, knowledge of the Resurrection is clearly not a private matter. We are called to be witnesses and live the truth, to live its joy.

ANY Christians, myself included, become upset at the widespread reluctance to say “Merry Christmas”. However, our outrage over a lack of appreciation of Christ’s birth should be trumped by a sadness over a common indifference about Easter. Try saying “Happy Easter” at the supermarket till and you are likely to encounter perplexed and confused looks. Personally, I would prefer a jolly “Happy Holidays” to such impassiveness. Yet while Easter remains an afterthought in Western culture, it is the Easter message rather than the incarnation which is at the heart of our faith. Easter is the event that transcends the realities of our earthly existence. It is the breaking out from human constraints and the natural rhythm of life, and the possibility of a new and life-changing encounter. It is the moment that humanity comes face to face with God. Easter is the high point of our liturgical year. Christ’s Resurrection is God’s perfect and final revelation to us. It is the source of great joy to all Christians. But is it a joy that truly and deeply permeates our lives? Is it a joy that stays with us throughout the year? Is it a joy we wake up to in the morning and contemplate as we go to sleep? Sports fans proudly wear jerseys and caps to signal their allegiance to their favourite team. They can recount many a game and victory with the thrill of true and childlike excitement. When we speak of the essence of our faith—the Lord’s Resurrection, the greatest event ever—do we show similar excitement? The answer is, unfortunately, no. But should we? And in what way? Granted, the joy we feel during the Easter Vigil and Mass is of a different order. We experience a sense of wonder and awe as we contemplate that Christ has risen. The Hallelujah elevates our spirits and our sights are drawn upwards towards heavenly glory as we celebrate Christ’s triumph over death. However, we tend to think of the Resurrection as an end point, a joyous ending to the despair of the cross. Instead, we should think of it as the beginning, as what defines us foremost as Christians. Only then will we be able to experience a joy that is with us every day, a joy that illuminates our very existence like a bright ray of light piercing through a grey sky, and, finally, a joy we can truly share with others. Yet in our every-day and in contemplating our faith, we tend to focus more strongly on the sadness and pain of the Crucifixion than on the triumph of the Resurrection. Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and as proof of his love for us.

Death no more meaningless However, as Christians we know that his death would be meaningless without the Resurrection. Bl John Duns Scotus explained the Incarnation as the culmination of creation and as intended from the beginning of time. Accordingly, it had been God’s original idea to ultimately unite with himself the whole of creation, “in the Person and Flesh of the Son” whose saving Passion is the expression of God’s loving will, as Pope Benedict XVI pointed out in his book Holy Men and Women of the Middle Ages (2012). The great triumph of Christ’s Resurrection is thus what God had in mind for us from the start and it marks the beginning of the glorious love affair that calls us to eternal closeness with the Father.

Doubts in faith

‘Do we recognise the Risen Christ by our side? Are we aware of him? Are we willing to see him? To follow him? This is our Easter challenge and our daily challenge.’ The Resurrection is the great turning point for humanity. It is also the most difficult to grasp of all Gospel events as, indeed, the promise of the Resurrection was initially unintelligible even to the disciples. Jesus had “entered upon a different life, a new life”. It was a resurrection into “definitive otherness” —a oneness with God. Because Christ and God are now one, he is with us always. The Resurrection must therefore be understood as a “universal event, as the opening up of a new dimension of human existence” (Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week). Yet, to make the Easter experience part of our everyday lives remain a challenge for many—we are still focused on the cross. When his followers encounter Jesus at Emmaus and the Sea of Galilee, and when he appears to Mary Magdalene, none of them recognise him at first. “Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus” (Jn 21:4). It is only through an internal recognition, as sense of his presence, rather than physical recognition, that they see him: “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord” (Jn 21:12). At Emmaus, he is recognised only as he breaks the bread and vanishes before the disciples’ eyes: “And they recognised him; and he vanished out of their sight” (Lk 24:31). The risen Lord’s new existence, still embodied, is of a mysterious nature, no longer bound by space and time or physical laws. Similarly, St Paul encounters the risen Christ as a light that shone “brighter than the sun” (Acts 26:13). How about our own encounter with the Risen One? Do we recognise him by our side? Are we aware of him? Are we willing to see him? To follow him? This is our Easter challenge—our daily challenge.

Christ and God are one Christ now lives in fellowship with God. He and God are one. And this is the beginning or our own story as Christians. The Gospels describe concrete encounters between the risen Lord and his immediate followers, and thus present a mirror of our own personal experiences with Christ. The Resurrection opened up within God a space for humanity. It comprises both our own hope of resurrection and signifies our daily possibility of closeness with God through our relationship with Christ. Christ’s final Ascension into heaven contains the promise that his presence is truly universal. Only by departing from his disciples could he return to all of us in a new form of closeness. Only that can explain the disciples’ joy after Christ leaves them: “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And

they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God” (Lk 24:50-53). Pope Benedict XVI emphasises the universal meaning of the Resurrection: “Through his power over space, he is present and accessible to all—throughout history and in every place” (Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week). Christ promised his disciples on Ascension: “I will go away and I will come to you” (Jn 14:28). That, according to Pope Benedict, is “the essence of Christian trust, the reason for our joy”. But even when we claim to recognise the event of the Resurrection, do we sincerely rejoice? Or do we give in to “trembling and astonishment”, like the women by the

But who feels joyful every day and all the time? Who has not doubted their faith when experiencing sadness or disillusionment with the world? However, the Christian joy does not mean waking up each morning and skipping through the day in constant happy exhilaration. As mere creatures of creation, we naturally experience a whole range of emotions. Despair, loneliness, hopelessness, sadness, and all sorts of pain are part of human existence. And even the most avid sports fan must agree: Yet when real tragedy strikes, any avid sports fan will agree, the Blue Bulls or Orlando Pirates become meaningless and worldly joys, happiness or thrills, fade. The Christian joy’s finest hour is when we are immersed in pain. It is the warm ray of sun that will penetrate the coldest darkness. It reaches down to us from that eternal space where man and God meet—where Christ has gone before us.

But it is not only during cataclysmic events in our lives that the Resurrection brings joy and certainty. Once we discover the joy of our faith, it grows and fills our complicated lives with its light and warmth. When we speak of joy rather than happiness, it is a quality that permeates our entire life. We speak of a joyful event when its meaning reaches beyond a particular moment. It is not the victory of a sports team, but, rather, the birth of a child. It is an event, which changes us forever and imparts meaning to our existence. That is the type of joy of which we speak when we contemplate the Resurrection and recognise Christ’s loving companionship through the ups and downs of life. The suffering that is naturally part of our human existence will not and cannot be eradicated. But once we make room for true joy, these dark shadows of our human condition will only add another dimension to the light that has broken through. The poet and convert Christian Wiman in My Bright Abyss summarises it thus: "Sorrow is so woven through us, so much a part of our souls, or at least any understanding of our souls that we are able to attain, that every experience is dyed with its colour. “This is why, even in moments of joy, part of that joy is the seams of ore that are our sorrow. They burn darkly and beautifully in the midst of joy, and they make joy the complete experience that it is." That is the Christian joy in all its richness, pointing to a space beyond.—CNA

DIVINE MERCY FEAST 2018

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The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

HISTORY

Nuns remember Rev Martin Luther King Rev Martin Luther King Jr, who was assassinated 50 years ago on April 4, had many Catholic contacts. KEVIN JONES recalls the stories of three nuns.

HE 50th anniversary of the assassination of the US civil rights leader Rev Martin Luther King Jr on April 4 will be the first without Sr Mary Antona Ebo, the only African-American Catholic nun who marched with Rev King in the historic march in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. “I'm here because I’m a Negro, a nun, a Catholic, and because I want to bear witness,” Sr Mary Antona Ebo said to fellow demonstrators at a March 10, 1965 protest which was attended by Rev King. The protest took place three days after the “Bloody Sunday” clash, where police attacked several hundred voting-rights demonstrators with clubs and teargas, causing some severe injuries among the non-violent marchers. Sr Ebo died on November 11, 2017 at the age of 93. After the “Bloody Sunday” attacks, Rev King had called on church leaders from around the US to go to Selma. Archbishop Joseph Ritter of St Louis had asked his archdiocese’s human rights commission to send representatives, Sr Ebo recounted to the St Louis Post-Dispatch in 2015. Sr Ebo’s supervisor, also a religious sister, asked her whether she would join a 50-member delegation of laity, Protestant ministers, rabbis, priests and five white nuns. Just before she left for Alabama, she heard that a white minister, James Reeb, who had travelled to Selma had been severely attacked after he left a restaurant.

Three decades later

At the time, Sr Ebo said, she wondered: “If they would beat a white minister to death on the streets of Selma, what are they going to do when I show up?”

A battleground In Selma on March 10, she went to Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal church, joining local leaders and the demonstrators who had been injured in the clash. “They had bandages on their heads, teeth were knocked out, crutches, casts on their arms. You could tell that they were freshly injured,” Sr Ebo recalled. “They had already been through the battle ground, and they were still wanting to go back and finish the job.” Many of the injured had been treated at Good Samaritan Hospital, run by Edmundite priests and the Sisters of St Joseph, the only Selma hospital that served blacks. Since their arrival in 1937, the Edmundites had faced intimidation and threats from local officials, other whites, and even the Ku Klux Klan. The injured demonstrators and their supporters left the Selma church, with Ebo in front. They marched towards the courthouse, then blocked by state troopers in riot gear. She and other demonstrators then knelt to pray the Our Father before they agreed to turn around. Despite the violent interruption, the 90km march would draw 25 000 participants. It concluded on the steps of the state capitol in Montgomery, with Rev King’s famous speech against racial prejudice. “How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,” Rev King said. The giant of the civil rights movement would be dead within three years. On a fateful Thursday, April 4, 1968, he was shot by an as-

The late Rev Martin Luther King Jr had frequent contact with Catholics, and died in a Catholic hospital. he is seen here with Fr Theodore hesburgh (left), then president of the University of Notre Dame, and Mgr Robert hagarty of Chicago in 1964. (Photo: University of Notre Dame) sassin at his Memphis hotel. Rev King had asked to be taken to a Catholic hospital should anything happen to him, and he was taken to St Joseph Hospital in Memphis. At the time, it was a nursing school combined with a 400-bed hospital. There, too, Catholic religious Sisters played a role.

Died in Catholic hospital Srs Jane Marie Klein and Anna Marie Hofmeyer recounted their story to The Paper of Montgomery County Online in January 2017. The Franciscan nuns had been walking around the hospital grounds when they heard the sirens of an ambulance. One of the sisters was paged three times, and they discovered that Rev King had been shot and taken to their hospital. The National Guard and local po-

lice locked down the hospital for security reasons as doctors tried to save Rev King. “We were obviously not allowed to go in when they were working with him because they were feverishly working with him,” Sr Klein recalled. “But after they pronounced him dead, we did go back into the ER. There was a gentleman as big as the door guarding the door and he looked at us and said, ‘You want in?’ We said yes, we’d like to go pray with him. So he let the three of us in, closed the door behind us and gave us our time.” Sr Hofmeyer recounted the scene in the hospital room. “He had no chance,” she said. Sr Klein said authorities delayed the announcement of Rev King’s death to prepare for riots they knew would result.

Three decades later, Sr Klein met with Rev King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, at a meeting of the Catholic Health Association Board in Atlanta where Mrs King was a keynote speaker. The Franciscan Sister and the widow of the civil rights leader told each other how they had spent that night. Sr Klein said being present that night in 1968 was “indescribable”. “You do what you got to do,” she said. “What’s the right thing to do? Hindsight? It was a privilege to be able to take care of him that night and to pray with him. Who would have ever thought that we would be that privileged?” She said Rev King’s life shows “to some extent one person can make a difference”. She wondered: “How anybody could listen to Dr King and not be moved to work towards breaking down these barriers?” Sr Klein would serve as chairperson of the Franciscan Alliance Board of Trustees, overseeing support for health care. Sr Hofmeyer would work in the alliance’s archives. For her part, after Selma, Sr Ebo would go on to serve as a hospital administrator and a chaplain. In 1968 she helped found the National Black Sisters’ Conference. The woman who had been rejected from several Catholic nursing schools because of her race would serve in her congregation’s leadership as it reunited with another Franciscan order, and she served as a director of social concerns for the Missouri Catholic Conference. She frequently spoke on civil rights topics. When controversy erupted over a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer’s killing of Michael Brown, a black man, she led a prayer vigil. She thought the Ferguson protests were comparable to those of Selma.— CNA

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It is often ignored that at the centre of Rev Martin Luther King’s activism was his Christian faith, as Archbishop ChARLES ChAPUT OFM.Cap explains.

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ATHOLICS can take a lesson in the courage to follow a well-formed Christian conscience from Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He was first and above all a Christian minister, guided by his faith in Jesus Christ. His Letter from Birmingham Jail is an actual letter, a response to Alabama clergymen who publicly criticised King for interfering in local affairs, pushing for human rights, and breaking the law while arguing other laws were unjust. The clergymen wanted to know why Rev King, an outsider, had come to Birmingham in the first place. King answered that he came because injustice was there. He argued that he could not sit idly by in Atlanta and ignore evil events in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere, felt King, is a threat to justice everywhere. People are linked in an inescapable network of mutuality, a single garment of destiny: “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” King felt compelled to be in Birmingham. To stay in Atlanta would have violated his sense of what was just and morally necessary. King then addressed the “troublemaker” charges levelled against him: “I must confess that I am not afraid of the word ‘tension’. I have earnestly opposed vi-

olent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.” He was not naïve. He did not assume that progress would happen without human choice, action and sacrifice. Human history was not set on an automatic pilot to expand justice, freedom and equality under the law to all peoples. Certain people would need to create tension to push progress forward. King’s “weapon of non-violence” required him and his followers to willfully disobey unjust laws and accept the legal consequences. He knew that when a critical mass of his followers accepted the cost of changing bad laws, a tipping point would be reached, and events would turn in his favour.

Need to disobey laws King believed that “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” In his Letter, he invoked two great doctors of the Christian Church, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. He argued that “a just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” King did not advocate breaking the law only because it was unjust, but also to teach a lesson. A person who breaks the law must also have a “willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.” He wrote at length in his Letter about the kind of citizen he con-

sidered almost worse than the “rabid segregationist”—the “white moderate”. White moderates were citizens who agreed with his goals personally, but refused to support his public actions. He wrote that he had hoped that the “white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice, and that when they fail in this purpose, they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress”. His hope had often been disappointed. King and his followers were willing to go to jail for conscience’s sake. His Letter is an example of using language in the service of truth; of the power of words to compel action consistent with God’s higher law; of a healthy and articulate Christian conscience. His Letter also reminds us that too many of us are willing to live quite comfortably as cowards. He wrote that “human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation”. King was deeply troubled that the world so readily dismissed the Christian Church, Christ’s community of disciples, “as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the 20th century.” He lamented that, “in deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the Church.” King had little use for lax Christians. And neither should we—especially if the lax Christians are us. We have no excuses. We have too many models of courage to guide us. n Archbishop Chaput heads the archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The Southern Cross, March 28 to April 3, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS

Br Val Haran CFC

HRISTIAN Brother Valerian Haran died in Boksburg on February 2 at the age of 85, some 18 months after reaching his 70th jubilee as a Christian Brother. Born in rural Letterbrone in West County Sligo, Ireland, Seamus (as he was known in his family) and his twin brother Cóilín were the first-born children of the family. Both of them decided to join the Christian Brothers, beginning their preparation at age 13. Two of their sisters also joined the religious life. At age 19, Br Val was missioned to South Africa, arriving in Cape Town on the Stirling Castle in January 1953. He was to spend six and a half decades in Southern Africa. At various times he lived and worked in Brothers’ communities in Bulawayo, Green Point and Woodstock in Cape Town, Flagstaff, Kokstad, La Rochelle in Johannesburg, and Boksburg, but he spent the most time in Pretoria (1953-58, 1971-87, 2007-15). Though he started as a primary school teacher, teaching did not go well with his nervous disposition. He was more comfortable in the role of assisting wherever he could—driving (including a bus), catechism classes, church involvement, and being

the bursar and “general dogsbody” of the community. Br Val had a great devotion to Christian Brothers founder Bl Edmund Rice, and was appointed the local promoter of the founder’s cause in 1983. In his last period in Pretoria from 2007, Br Val and the late Br Ollie Harkin formed a community. They were a wonderful example of two retired Brothers living peacefully and gently together. They looked after the house themselves—cooking, cleaning, ironing. Val was the driver and Ollie the cook. It was a joy to take visitors there for lunch. The Brothers’ 2010 annual assembly had the theme of creation spirituality and eco-justice, stressing the 3 Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. This made a deep impression on Br Val; he became a champion of recycling after that. He would walk around the school grounds picking up papers and plastic. It became disconcerting for some to see this elderly Brother scratching in bins in the carpark (particularly looking for plastic bottles) while Br Ollie was doing the shopping. In his later years Br Val became very frail, needing more professional nursing than the

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community was able to offer. After being temporarily accommodated at St Francis Care Centre in Boksburg, he joined two other Brothers at Marian House, a frail-care community of the Newcastle Dominican Sisters, where he was cared for lovingly and patiently. He died in his bedroom there. His funeral Mass was celebrated at the Marian House Chapel on February 9. Cremation enabled his ashes to be divided between Ireland and South Africa, to fulfil his wish to be buried with his twin brother, to whom he had donated a kidney in 1978, extending his twin’s life by about ten years. They are survived by several sisters and by the 70 Christian Brothers of Southern Africa. Brs Michael de Klerk and Michael Burke CFC

GAYBBA—Brian Patrick passed away peacefully on February 25, 2018. Thank you for all you taught us and all you were to us. Yours was a life poured out in loving service to God and others. Your spirit of generous Love will continue to inspire us. Deeply mourned by Monika, Richard; Jennifer and David, Luke and Joshua; Gay, Barbara, Janie and John; extended family, friends and the Grahamstown community. “God is Love” (1 John 4:8).

PERSONAL

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PRAYERS

FATHER, you have given all peoples one common origin. It is your will that they be gathered together as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of mankind with the fire of your love and with the desire to ensure justice for all. By sharing the good things you give us, may we secure an equality for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May there be an end to division, strife and war. May there be a dawning

EASTER PRAYER

Southern CrossWord solutions

Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty Christ is Risen indeed from the dead, the first of the sleepers, Glory and power are his forever and ever.

SOLUTIONS TO 804. ACROSS: : 5 Upon, 7 Old Masters, 8 Omen, 10 Incident, 11 Durban, 12 Envied, 14 Utters, 16 Vicars, 17 Biblical, 19 Tots, 21 Palm Sunday, 22 Dies. DOWN: 1 Solo, 2 Amenable, 3 Assign, 4 Rescue, 5 Used, 6 Open secret, 9 Mount Sinai, 13 Vacating, 15 Sickle, 16 Valise, 18 Lips, 20 Dies.

of a truly human society built on love and peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

THIS CANDLE, Lord God, 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. 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.

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)

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Mass on last Saturday of every month at 9:30 at Sacred heart church in Somerset Road, Cape Town. Followed by vigil at abortion clinic. Contact Colette Thomas on 083 412 4836 or 021 593 9875 or Br Daniel SCP on 078 739 2988. DURBAN: Holy Mass and Novena to St Anthony at St Anthony’s parish every Tuesday at 9:00. Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Devotion at 17:30 on first Friday of every month. Sunday Mass at 9:00. Phone 031 309

3496 or 031 209 2536. 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.

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JOHANNESBURG: St Anthony’s church in Coronationville is calling for donations of tinned fish, peanut butter, jam, butter and juice for their soup kitchen. Contact Faried and Nadine Benn on 073 906 6037 or 083 658 2573. CAPE TOWN: Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Good Shepherd parish, 1 Goede hoop St, Bothasig, welcomes all visitors. Open 24 hours a day. Phone 021 558 1412.

Sunday April 1, Easter Sunday Acts 10:34, 37-43, Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23, Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, John 20:1-9 or Mark 16:1-7 Monday April 2, Easter Octave Acts 2:14, 22-33, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11, Matthew 28:8-15 Tuesday April 3, Easter Octave Acts 2:36-41, Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22, John 20: 11-18 Wednesday April 4, Easter Octave Acts 3:1-10, Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9, Luke 24:13-35 Thursday April 5, Easter Octave Acts 3:11-26, Psalm 8:2, 5-9, Luke 24:35-48 Friday April 6, Easter Octave Acts 4:1-12, Psalm 118:1-2, 4, 22-27, John 21:1-14 Saturday April 7, Easter Octave Acts 4:13-21, Psalm 118:1, 14-21, Mark 16:9-15 Sunday April 8, 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24, 1 John 5:1-6, John 20:19-31

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Second Sunday of Easter: April 8 Readings: Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 118: 2-4, 1315, 22-24, 1 John 5 1-6, John 20:19-31

EXT Sunday is Low Sunday and the Sunday of Divine Mercy, and we are invited to ask ourselves what Resurrection means. In the first reading, this central point of our faith is presented in terms of the way the community lives it out: “One heart and one soul—and no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own. Instead they held everything in common.” That might be an interesting challenge to us today, in the light of the teaching of the present pope. Then, secondly, we learn that “with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus”. Thirdly, “Great grace was on all of them”; and this is then illustrated by the fact that “no one among them was in need, because anyone who owned estates or houses sold them, and brought them the money resulting from the sale … and they distributed to each in accordance with anyone’s need”. The psalm takes us back to the experience of Israel, the great song roundly asserting that the Lord’s “steadfast love is without end”; and various sectors of Israelite society are invited to join in the song, namely, “Israel … the

S outher n C ross

What Resurrection means house of Aaron … those who fear the Lord”. Then we learn that this is the song of someone who was close to death (and of course it is not many days since we were celebrating Jesus’ own journey to death). Finally, the song concludes with a thought that evidently meant a good deal to Jesus himself: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the pillar”, and the constantly necessary reminder that all this comes from God (or there would be no point): “This came from the Lord; this is a marvel in our eyes”, and (appropriately enough on the last day of our Easter octave) “This is the day which the Lord made—let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The second reading on Sunday, and for the next few weeks, comes from the first letter of John; and it is about getting Jesus right, in the light of the Resurrection; he is “the Messiah, has been begotten of God; and everyone who loves the Begetter also loves the one begotten of him”. And the criterion for understanding the Resurrection, much as in the first reading, is that “we love God and perform his com-

is given the secret of the kingdom, but to those outside everything exists in parables.” That sounds like Gnosticism, that is, the idea that there’s a secret code somewhere (for example, the book and film The Da Vinci Code) that some know and some don’t, and you are in or out depending on whether you know it or not. But that’s not what Jesus is saying here. His secret is an open one, accessible to all: the meaning of the cross. Anyone who understands this will understand the rest of what Jesus means, and vice versa. We are in or out, depending upon whether or not we can grasp and accept the meaning of Jesus’ death. But, being in or out isn’t a once and for all thing. Rather, we move in and out! After Peter denied Jesus, we’re told: “He went outside.” This is intended both literally and metaphorically. After his denial, Peter stepped outside a gate into the night to be away from the crowd, but he also stepped outside the meaning of his faith.

ur faith also bounces up and down for another reason—we misunderstand how it works. Take, for example, the Rich Young Man who approaches Jesus with this question: “Good master, what must I do to possess eternal life?” That’s an interesting choice of a verb: to possess. Eternal life as a possession? Jesus’ gentle correction of the young

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Sunday Reflections

mandments”. Loving God, it seems, is a matter of “keeping his commands—and his commands are not oppressive”. Then there is a message for us who are in the Resurrection community: “Everything that is begotten of God conquers the world—and our faith is the conquest that conquers the world.” The heart of it is “believing that Jesus is the Son of God” and accepting “water and blood” as well as the Spirit. We hardly understand, but know that something important is being said here. The Gospel, of course, is always the same on this Sunday, the story of Thomas’ unbelief dramatically overcome. You remember how it goes; he was absent on Easter Sunday, and roundly declared that he would certainly not believe his brethren’s story about having seen the Lord, unless he could experience it for himself; then, eight days later, he gets his crude wish granted. Thomas is present when Jesus comes through the locked doors and beautifully greets them: “Peace be with you.” Then, not having to be told about what Thomas had been demanding, Jesus invites him, in the

The ups and downs of faith HE poet Rumi suggests that we live with a deep secret that sometimes we know, then not, and then know again. That’s a good description of faith. Faith isn’t something you nail down and possess once and for all. It goes this way: Sometimes you walk on water and sometimes you sink like a stone. The Gospels testify to this, most graphically, in the story of Peter walking on water. Jesus asks Peter to step out of a boat and walk across the water to him. At first it works, and Peter, unthinking, walks on the water—then, becoming more conscious of what he is doing, he sinks like a stone. We see this too in the massive fluctuations in belief that Jesus’ disciples experience during the “forty days” after the Resurrection. Jesus would appear to them, they would trust he was alive, then he would disappear again, and they would lose their trust and go back to the lives they’d led before they met him, fishing and the sea. The post-Resurrection narratives illustrate the dynamics of faith pretty clearly: You believe it. Then you distrust. Then you believe it again. At least, so it seems on the surface. We see another example of this in the story of Peter betraying Jesus. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that there is a secret which separates those who have faith from those who don’t: “To you

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very words that he had used: “Bring your finger here, and look at my hands. And bring your hand here, and throw it into my side. And don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.” We are not told whether Thomas actually did that; but there can be no doubt about the depth of his belief now. For, going deeper into the mystery of Jesus than anyone else in the entire Gospel, he gasps, “My Lord and my God”, while we applaud the depth of his perception. It does not stop there, however, for we who listen 21 centuries later are singled out for praise: “Congratulations to those who did not see and yet came to faith.” Then we are told why the Gospel was written: “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this scroll. But these are written that you may have faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. And that because of your belief you may have life in his name.” This is an awesome prospect for us.

Southern Crossword #804

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Final Reflection

man’s verb teaches us something vital about faith. Jesus says to him: “Now if you wish to receive eternal life”, meaning that faith and eternal life are not something you possess so that they can be stored and guarded like grain in a silo, money in a bank, or jewellery in a box. They can only be received, like the air we breathe. Air is free, is everywhere, and our health doesn’t depend on its presence, for it’s always there, but rather on the state of our lungs (and mood) at any given moment. Sometimes we breathe deeply and appreciatively; but sometimes, for various reasons, we breathe badly, gasp for breath, are out of breath, or are choking for air. Like breathing, faith too has its modalities. And so we need to understand our faith not as a possession or as something we achieve once and for all, which can be lost only by some huge, dramatic, life-changing shift inside of us, where we move from belief to atheism. “Faith isn’t some constant state of belief,” suggests the 20th-century rabbi Abraham Heschel, “but rather a sort of faithfulness, a loyalty to the moments when we’ve had faith.” And that teases out something else: To be real, faith need not be explicitly religious, but can also express itself simply in faithfulness, loyalty, and trust. For example, in a powerful memoir written as she was dying of cancer, The Bright Hour, Nina Riggs shares her strong but implicit faith as she calmly faces her death. Not given to explicit religious faith, she is challenged at one point by a nurse who says to her: “Faith, you gotta have it, and you’re gonna need it!” The comment triggers a reflection on Riggs’ part about what she does or doesn’t believe in. She comes to peace with the question and her own stake in it with these words: “For me, faith involves staring into the abyss, seeing that it is dark and full of the unknown—and being okay with that.” We need to trust the unknown, knowing that we will be okay, no matter that on a given day we might feel like we are walking on water or sinking like a stone. Faith is deeper than our feelings.

CATHOLIC IRELAND A pilgrimage with Bishop Victor Phalana 19-28 August 2018

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ACROSS

5. It follows once at fairytale time (4) 7. Elderly male teachers in the art gallery (3,7) 8. Phenomenal portent seen inside(4) 10. Occurrence to indict two points (8) 11. Hurley’s archdiocese (6) 12. Coveted your neighbour’s goods? (6) 14. Partly stutters saying something (6) 16. Bishop’s deputies (6) 17. Contained in Scripture (8) 19. Small drinks for tiny children? (4) 21. Liturgical day of the blessed crosses (4,6) 22. A grain of wheat does it to bear fruit (Jn 12) (4)

DOWN

1. One voice in the choir (4) 2. Last word in prayer can be easy to handle (8) 3. Allocate a task sounding like a portent (6) 4. Save and roughly secure (6) 5. Second-hand (4) 6. It’s supposedly not generally known (4,6) 9. Where Moses went up (Ex 19) (5,5) 13. Taking leave of your position (8) 15. Cutting tool for harvest time (6) 16. Travel case is in vale (6) 18. Open my ... (Ps 51) (4) 20. Speaks (4)

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CHURCH CHUCKLE

T a weekly husbands’ marriage seminar, the priest asked Giuseppe, who was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary, to share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years. Giuseppe replied to the assembled husbands: “Well, I’ve tried to treat her nicely, spend money on her, but the best thing is, I took her to Italy for our 25th anniversary.” The priest responded: “Giuseppe, you are an amazing inspiration! Please tell us what you are planning for your wife for your 50th anniversary?” Giuseppe proudly replied: “I’m going to pick her up.”

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