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January 16 to January 22, 2019

Potchefstroom artist-priest dies at 79

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Recalling WYDs in Sydney and Madrid

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R10 (incl VAT RSA)

Matric results issue

Mother on raising a boy with autism

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Matric 2018: A good year for Church schools

BY ERIN CARELSE

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ATHOLIC schools again outperformed the national average in the 2018 matric results, which were released earlier this month. This applies to examinations written by state-funded schools as well as to those written by private schools.

Matriculants from Catholic schools were also among the top achievers in the 2018 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, which is written by state-funded schools.

Catholic schools also produced top achievers in the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) examinations, which are written by private schools, with two making it into the national Top 10.

A total of 7 031 Grade 12 learners in 103 Catholic schools across South Africa wrote the 2018 matric examinations. Of those, 5 734 wrote the NSC examination while 1 567 wrote the IEB examination.

The Catholic schools that wrote the NSC exams recorded a pass rate of 84,4%—that is, 4 838 of the 5 734 candidates. This is 6,2% above the national pass rate of 78,2% (which is up by 3,1% from 2017).

The average pass rate for Catholic schools writing the NSC examinations improved by 1,8% over the previous year.

The 1 567 pupils who wrote the IEB examination achieved a 99% pass rate, slightly better than the national average of 98,8%.

This gives Catholic schools a combined overall pass rate of 87,5%, an increase of 1,7% from 2017.

The Catholic Institute of Education (CIE), which is processing all data for a comprehensive analysis of the various matric results, reported that there was an expected increase in bachelor’s passes (or matric exemptions) due to the removal of designated subjects, with, 55,6% of candidates obtaining bachelor’s passes.

The CIE welcomed improvements in national matric results, but voiced concern about the large number of young people who did not even reach Grade 12 to write these exams.

“While there has been an increase in the pass rate—and the schools are to be commended for their efforts—of concern in the Catholic network is a drop in the number in the state sector writing Grade 12. This will need further exploration and analysis,” said CIE deputy-director Anne Baker.

According to education experts, if one includes the total cohort of children who entered Grade 1 in 2007—the year most of the Class of 2018 entered primary school—and takes into account all the students who dropped out over time, the pass rate stands at around 40%.

Five pupils from Catholic schools achieved outstanding passes and seven commendable passes, putting them among the top achievers.

Among them is Lara Iron of Holy Rosary School in Edenvale, Johannesburg, who earned ten distinctions.

Among the country’s 29 top NSC matriculants was Nqobile Nzimande of St John Paul II High in Elandskop, KwaZulu-Natal, who described her school as “very rural” with excellent teachers.

Ms Nzimande who wants to study actuarial science at the University of Cape Town, was a guest at a breakfast for the 29 topachievers hosted by basic education minister Angie Motshekga in Midrand.

In the rankings issued by Gradesmatch (www.gradesmatch.co.za/info/matric/results), two Catholic schools made it into South Africa’s Top 10 best-performing schools, based on their matric results.

Springfield Convent in Cape Town placed second, with 81 learners averaging 4,14 distinctions each, and Inkamana Abbey High School near Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal placed 9th, with 21 learners averaging 3,38 distinctions In the overall results, Gauteng recorded the highest pass rate for 2018 at 87,9%, followed by Free State with 87,5%, Western Cape 81,5%, North West 81,1%, Mpumalanga 79%, KwaZulu-Natal 76,2%, Northern Cape 73,3%, Eastern Cape 70,6%, and Limpopo 69,4%.

The matric group of Brescia House School in Bryanston, Johannesburg, had five sets of twins in 2018, all of whom received their Academic Full Colours in Grades 11 and 12. From left: Alexandra and Jessica Amsinck, Nicole and Alexandra Cromme, Mokgethwa and Mokgethi Mkalipe, Julia and Caryn Bishop, Nicola and Aimee Wheeler.

Five sets of twins in one school

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HE matric Class of 2018 at Brescia House School in Bryanston, Johannesburg, had no fewer than five sets of twins.

Mokgethwa and Mokgethi Mkalipe started at Brescia House in Grade 8.

“Mokgethwa and I are fraternal twins. Not only do we not look the same but we also have different interests,” said Mokgethi Mkalipe, who was also elected the school’s head girl in 2018.

“People always assume that twins are very competitive, but Thwa and I are the complete opposite. My mom always emphasises that our ‘C’ word in the house is not ‘competing’ with each other but ‘complementing’ each other.”

Her sister agrees wholeheartedly. “Having my twin sister with me throughout my schooling has been extremely advantageous for me as I have always had a piece of home with me wherever I went. I always had someone to fall back on,” said Mokgethwa, who achieved eight distinctions in their matric.

“Being a twin also allows me to go through life with someone who is going through similar challenges as me.”

Identical twins Aimee and Nicola Wheeler also started at Brescia House School in Grade 8. Apart from their academic prowess, the girls are both top sportswomen in swimming and athletics.

“The team spirit at the school is just in-

S outher n C ross Pilgrimage

credible,” said Aimee. “Bus rides to matches were always fun, with the entire team singing along.”

Alexandra and Jessica Amsinck (fraternal twins), Caryn and Julia Bishop (identical), and Alexandra and Nicole Cromme (fraternal) have all been together at Brescia since their Grade R year in 2000.

Caryn and Julia Bishop agreed that their favourite part of their schooling career was the special friendships they were able to form, as well as their Grade 11 leadership camp.

Both earned eight distinctions in their matric and will study accounting at Stellenbosch University.

Jessica and Alexandra Amsinck have described their new world after school as “an empty canvas”. Both are looking forward to travelling and possibly studying overseas.

The Cromme twins are looking to study physiotherapy at TUKS, with both hoping to specialise in paediatrics.

“We have made so many incredible memories as a grade, you truly get the feeling that we are one big family,” said Alex Amsinck.

“Letting our hair down during silly week was definitely a highlight,” said Nicole Cromme. “And the Grade 11 leadership camp really allowed our grade to bond even more, strengthening friendships that we know we will carry with us into our lives after school,” she added.

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2

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

LOCAL

Bishops urge faithful to pray to Bl Daswa STAFF REpoRTER

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Bl Benedict Daswa in 1989, less than two months before his murder.

ATHOLICS throughout Southern Africa are encouraged to pray for the intercession of Bl Benedict Daswa for the favours and graces they require during the nine days of a novena leading up to his feast day on February 1.

The novena will start on January 23 and conclude on January 31.

The feast of Bl Daswa has been approved by Rome for February 1, and may be celebrated in all dioceses and parishes as a memorial in the pastoral region of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

As Bl Daswa is a martyr, the liturgical colour is red.

The Vatican’s Congregation for Worship has officially approved the proper liturgical texts for the celebration of the Eucharist and for the Liturgy of the Hours. These texts have been printed by Mariannhill Mission Press and sent to the

SACBC dioceses.

The “Daswa Novena Booklet” can be used during these nine days, and is available in various languages from the official Benedict Daswa website at www.benedict daswa.org.za It is also available in printed form from chanceries in the SACBC region, the Daswa Office in Tzaneen diocese, and Nweli Catholic church, where the relics of Bl Daswa are laid.

Also available online and through SACBC dioceses are the official “Prayer to Implore Favours” and “Prayer for Canonisation” of Bl Daswa.

This year’s feasts will be a special commemoration as the Church launches a year-long preparation to mark 30 years since Bl Daswa’s martyrdom next year.

Benedict Daswa was lynched by a mob on February 2, 1990.

On the eve of the feast, January 31, the faithful are invited to spend

a period of silent adoration, prayer and reflection at Tshitanini village, near Thohoyandou.

The vigil begins at 17:00 and close at 20:00 “This period of immediate preparation for the feast on February 1 will be a time of grace, reconciliation and healing,” organisers said.

“On entering the area, people will be encouraged to spend time in silent adoration and prayerful reflection for examination of their conscience. Then the Most Blessed Sacrament will be exposed.

“During this quiet time, they can ponder in their hearts and ask Jesus how he wants them to be his disciple, as Bl Daswa was, and how to live better that call in their daily lives,” the organising group said.

Priests will be available to administer the sacrament of reconciliation, and Exposition will close with Benediction.

The conclusion of the nine days

of the novena will also be prayed at the end of the evening celebration.

On the feast day itself, February 1, celebrations will be held at Tshitanini village, where Bl Daswa’s beatification took place on September 13, 2015. The site is where the future shrine and pilgrimage centre will be located.

From 7:00 to 9:00 the relics of Bl Daswa will be venerated. Priests will be available for reconciliation during that time.

At 8:15 the Rosary (Luminous Mysteries) will be led by lay people, with the Prayer of the Litany of Bl Daswa.

Mass will begin at 9:00, celebrated by Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria with Bishop Joao Rodrigues of Tzaneen. The archbishop will deliver the homily.

After Mass the relics of Bl Daswa will be venerated in procession.

The celebrations are planned to conclude at 13:00.

Parish offers care programmes for the divorced and grieving

BY ERIN CARELSE

A

PARISH in Johannesburg will host another round of Divorce Care and Grief Share programmes, each running for 13 weeks, as of February.

These programmes, offered by St John’s parish in North Riding, are aimed at those in need of divorce/separation or grief counselling and support.

The two separate programmes are run by facilitators who will help guide participants, surrounded by others “who understand what you are feeling and who will be able to offer you encouragement”, organisers said.

Evelyn, who asked that her surname not be mentioned, attended a previous Grief Share programme after the death of a loved one, and told The Southern Cross about her “journey through grief”.

She recalled feeling awkward at first, being in a room full of strangers, where loss and emptiness were the common denominator.

“The programme started with guidelines, which at the time seemed like too many. We focused on the many challenges of grief, trying to make sense of the grief journey, followed by reflection on our relationships, before stopping to ask why,” Evelyn explained.

“Then the guilt and anger reared their heads, leading to a discussion about complicating factors such as the trauma of difficult deaths, and the acknowledgment of being stuck and finding our new normal.”

After travelling through the lessons of grief, the programme was steered to the topic of heaven, which Evelyn describes as the

highlight of her journey.

“A place so beautiful that is beyond imagination, provided me with the comfort of knowing my loved one is with Jesus in paradise, waiting for me to join him,” she said.

Evelyn said the strangers with whom she began this journey have now become her family: “I thank each and every one of them.”

Divorce Care, to help deal with divorce or separation, starts on February 7 at 19:00. Grief Share, for the loss of a loved one, begins on February 9 at 10:00. Each costs R200. n For more information, contact Arianna Wartmann on 071 138-8401.

LOCAL

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

3

Potch artist-priest dies

BY ERIN CARELSE

A

WELL-KNOWN and prolific artist and Oblate of Mary Immaculate priest who has died at 79 was recalled as a man who used most of the income from his paintings to build churches and support programmes in Klerksdorp diocese.

Fr Wilfried Joye OMI died on January 7 in Brugge, Belgium, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

His paintings have been decorating the walls of Oblate communities and of art lovers for many years, and have been seen in numerous exhibitions in South Africa and overseas.

Fr Joye’s artistic style resembled that of his fellow Belgian Oblate, the late Fr Frans Claerhout.

Born on July 4, 1939, into a working class family in Dadizele, Belgium, Fr Joye completed his humanity studies at the Oblate College in Warege, and made his first vows in 1959.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1964 and two years later was appointed to the prefecture of the Western Transvaal (since 1978 the diocese of Klerksdorp).

After studying Setswana, he worked in the districts of Wolmaransstad, Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom, where he remained for all his years in South Africa. Fr Joye loved working in the rural areas and was very close to the people.

He also served as chaplain at the University of Potchefstroom for a

few years.

Fr Joye was very involved with the Chiro Youth Movement in the diocese, of which he was a great animator.

From the beginning of his stay in South Africa, he spent a lot of his free time painting. He was inspired by the people he ministered to, and loved the rural and township life.

Many of his paintings were inspired by these surroundings, as well as by the psalms and the parables.

“I love to paint the farm people of South Africa. By nature they are very religious and very good people,” Fr Joye said in a 2003 interview. “Each time I paint, I hang myself on the wall,” he said.

The Belgian priest’s great gift of drawing, especially charcoal illustrations, was already apparent in the scholasticate.

While on a sabbatical, he studied iconography in Paris. “To me, an icon is painted theology. As you grow as a person, painting becomes an expression of your soul,” he said.

Fr Joye’s icons have oval heads, small mouths, and open, rounded eyes. “Small mouths show an attitude of being overwhelmed by the reality of truth,” he said in the 2003 interview.

“Big, open eyes are an expression of a seeing person, somebody who lives in the truth and understands the truth. Eyes are very important to me because they show an atmosphere of silence, wonder and mystery. That’s how I feel reality is,” he explained.

O

one of Fr Joye’s paintings, entitled “I am looking into life...”

ne of his icons hangs today in his previous parish church of St Michael’s in Potchefstroom. Others are displayed in places such as Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and Good Shepherd Centre in Pretoria.

Fr Joye’s paintings interpreting the 15 traditional mysteries of the Rosary hang in the basilica in Dadizele, his hometown.

He published a book of art and poetry with Bernie Mullen, who was impressed with the profound contemplative silence she experienced in Fr Joye’s paintings and penned the inspiring poetry to ac-

Intern honed craft, survived birds STAFF REpoRTER

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HIS is the final issue produced with intern Christen Torres in the newsroom. With her sixmonth internship coming to an end, the graduate of the University of Cape Town will now prepare to work in South Korea.

Ms Torres began working at The Southern Cross as part of the newspaper’s internship programme in July. In her first week, she landed a front-page byline.

Ms Torres recalled several memorable stories.

“I particularly enjoyed working on my stories about Victoria Giuricich, the Loreto Sisters, and researching and interviewing clergy regarding the then-newly released Pennsylvania Report in August. Now that was a stressful time,” she said.

“My time at The Southern Cross was very memorable and will always mark a special period in my life,” said Ms Torres, a parishioner of St Paul’s parish in Somerset West.

“Every day presented new challenges and new opportunities to learn, and grow in my craft as a journalist. I learnt a lot from my coworkers, who were always ready to

help and guide me whenever I needed it,” she said.

“There was never a dull moment in the office and I will miss the wonderful discussions we had, the debates that spontaneously sprang up, and the laughter we shared.”

Ms Torres will also remember her time at The Southern Cross office for the area’s wildlife.

“At one point a starling family decided to nest in a ventilation hole in the stairwell to our office, so it became quite a challenge to even get into work or go to the toilet downstairs without getting attacked by the parent birds,” she said, adding that having persisted through it, “this was a lesson I have learnt to apply through any challenges I encountered with an article or a story”.

Ms Torres said she was grateful to the editorial staff for the mentorship, advice and encouragement she had received, and the administrative staff for their good company.

While this is her final edition in the newsroom, Ms Torres is still going to contribute features to the newspaper.

Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher said that Ms Torres

Gregory “Gregs” Bennett of All Saints church in Ennerdale, Johannesburg archdiocese, dressed in New Year minstrel costume, sells the final issue of 2018 of The Southern Cross to fellow parishioner Chester Browne.

We love receiving your photos of parishioners selling The Southern Cross— so please keep them coming!

Send photos to pics@scross.co.za

had been “a real asset to our team, especially during a time when we were short-staffed”.

“The joy we have with our internship programme is to see young talent develop, sometimes rapidly so,” he said. “Christen had to hit the ground running and she never stopped. We will certainly remember her well.” n Applications for a position on The Southern Cross’ internship programme are currently open. Please see the panel advertisement on page 11 for further information.

Artist-priest Fr Wilfried Joye oMI, who has died in Belgium, at work in his studio. company it.

A second book is almost ready for publication.

In the new book’s tribute, Ms Mullen writes that Fr Joye’s style speaks of traditional icon artistry; the influence of his art mentor and teacher Egon Sendler, in that the figures have small mouths, large and usually wide-open eyes, straight-lined and small noses, and very delicate, gesturing hands.

As icons do, Ms Mullen writes, they draw the observer into contemplation and deeply prayerful attentiveness.

Fr Joye himself was a joyful person, a dedicated Oblate of Mary Im-

maculate priest, and a friend to everyone, said Oblate provincial Fr Neil Frank.

He refused further chemotherapy and embraced his death with deep faith and contemplative peace, Fr Frank said, adding that he was truly happy with his vocation and missionary life in South Africa.

Fr Joye’s Requiem was celebrated in the Oblate chapel in De Panne, Belgium, with memorial Masses held throughout the Klerksdorp diocese, including at his old parish, St Michael’s in Potchefstroom. n See www.wilfriedjoye.blogspot. com for a selection of Fr Joye’s paintings.

Departing Southern Cross intern Christen Torres, pictured outside our editorial office, is heading to South Korea to teach English after her sixmonth stint on the paper.

4

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

INTERNATIONAL

Christians vulnerable if Turkey enters Syria

BY DALE GAVLAK

G A message about abortion is seen in Dublin, Ireland. The primate of AllIreland insisted that the country’s new abortion law has “no moral force” and it “must be resisted” by Catholics. (photo: Clodagh Kilcoyne, Reuters)

Irish bishops urge Catholics to resist abortion law

T

HE primate of All-Ireland insisted that the Republic of Ireland’s new abortion law has “no moral force” and “must be resisted” by Catholics.

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, who also is president of the Irish bishops’ conference, said in a message to mark the legislation that the new law “in good conscience cannot be supported”.

“In a May 2018 referendum, voters opted by a margin of 2-1 to lift the country’s constitutional protection of the right to life of unborn children. The new law will permit abortion on demand up to 12 weeks’ gestation. It also will permit abortion up to 24 weeks on unspecified grounds for the health of the mother, and up to birth where the child is diagnosed with a life-limiting condition that means he or she may not live long after birth,” he said.

Archbishop Martin urged Catholics to “continue to call and work diligently for its limitation, amendment and repeal”.

Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin told Massgoers in his New Year message that Catholic politicians who had advocated for abortion had “chosen a position which is clearly out of communion with the Church. There is no point in pretending otherwise,” he said.

Elsewhere, Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick appealed to politicians to ensure that women experiencing a crisis pregnancy do not feel that abortion is their only option.

“Regardless of what way anyone voted and the reasons people had for voting as they did, it now behoves us all to do our part to make sure that abortion is not the default response when crisis pregnancies arise,” the bishop said.

“The question for us as a society is whether we still want to promote a culture of life that listens also to the child. I believe there is still a majority of people in Ireland who subscribe to a culture of the protection of the life of the unborn but many of those also subscribe to a culture of choice”, Bishop Leahy said He also criticised the limited right to conscientious objection in the new legislation. Doctors and other health-care professionals will not be obliged to perform abortions, but the law does say they are committing an offence if they do not refer a woman who wants an abortion to another physician who will provide the termination.

Bishop Leahy said the absence of more stringent protections for conscience was “outrageous” and called for the legislation to be amended to strengthen such protections.—CNS

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Syrian schoolchildren walk as US troops patrol in Hassakeh, Syria. (photo: Rodi Said, Reuters/CNS) zone over northern Syria to stop any possible Turkish attack, fearing further trouble for Christians who were endangered by Turkey’s takeover of Afrin early last year.

“We urgently need protection from Turkey’s threats to invade and “cleanse” our territory of Christianity, religious freedom, and democracy,” read a statement by the Syriac National Council of Syria, the American Syriac Union, and the European Syriac Union.

The groups include Catholic and Orthodox Christians.

U

S President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops and hand over the fight to Turkey “leaves us powerless and open to being destroyed by either Turkey, or other regimes scrambling to see

Belgium bans kosher and halaal animal slaughter M

uslims and Jews in Belgium could face difficulty finding food prepared according to their religious rules, as new animal slaughter regulations banning kosher or halaal slaughter take effect.

Joos Roets, a lawyer who represents a group of Islamic institutions, argued that the ban was intended to stigmatise some religious groups rather than its stated purpose, to protect animals from suffering.

The government could Dorothy Day was an have taken other steps American Catholic social to protect animals activist and newspaper publisher. “without violating the Belgian freedom of religion”, Mr Roets told the New York Times.

Both Muslim and Jewish rules regarding animal slaughter require that the animals

A great way of helping The

ROWING numbers of Christians in North America and Europe are joining Christians in Syria’s north-east in expressing concern for the future of religious minorities and Kurds in that region should the US give Turkey the “green light” to take over the fight against ISIS. “News of any Turkish military involvement in northern Syria impacts us strongly and negatively,” Chaldean Catholic Father Samir Kanoon of Qamishli, Syria said.

“Certainly, Christians don’t want to see Turkish troops entering Syria, given the past brutal history of the 1915 massacres of Christians carried out by the Turks,” Fr Kanoon said.

“Because of the massacres, Christians were forced to escape from Turkey, and this is where they fled, to north-eastern Syria and Aleppo. Turkey is viewed by many as the enemy of Christians,” he said. Qamishli is a city in north eastern Syria on the border with Turkey, close to Iraq.

“And again, Turkey now wants to interfere in Christian affairs in northern Syria and for that, it has a political agenda,” said the priest.

He warned that any problems could result in more Christians fleeing northern Syria.

Meanwhile, Syriac Christian organisations in Syria, the US and Europe have called for a no-fly

our demise in the vacuum this will create”, the statement said, a reference to Iran, which has supported Syrian government fighters.

In late 2018 and early 2019, Turkey amassed more military hardware along its border with Syria, including tanks, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers.

Turkish-backed forces inside Syria, which analysts say include al-Qaeda and ISIS fighters, have moved closer to the strategic town of Manbij. The Kurds, Christians and other religious minorities until now felt protected by the presence of US ground troops.

Many analysts believe Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s real aim in wanting to take over the fight against ISIS is to rid Syria of Kurdish fighters, whom he calls terrorists.

Pope Francis has stressed that Christians must have a future in the Middle East, and he urged authorities to ensure the security of Christians in their own countries as citizens in every sense of the word.

Bassam Ishak, who heads the Syriac National Council of Syria, warned that Turkey supports Syrian jihadists “who want to establish Islamic sharia law in land they occupy in Syria”.

However, north-eastern Syria under joint Kurdish and Christian control respects religious freedom for all its inhabitants for the first time in its recent history.—CNS

be in perfect health at the time of slaughter. They are to be killed with a single cut to the neck.

European Union rules require that animals be made insensible to pain before slaughter. This means techniques like knocking animals out with gas, delivering an electric shock to small animals like poultry, or using a “captive bolt” device that fires a metal rod to the brain of larger animals.

Religious authorities say some of these measures, like stunning an animal, violate their slaughter requirements. Some advocates of kosher and halaal slaughter say animals lose consciousness in seconds under their methods and may even suffer less.

Ann de Greef, director of the Belgium-based Global Action in the Interest of Animals, argued that stunning does not conflict with the religious rules.

Ms De Greef was also disdainful towards the religious practices of the law’s critics.

“They want to keep living in the Middle Ages and continue to slaughter without stunning—as the technique didn’t yet exist back then —without having to answer to the law,” she said. “Well, I’m sorry, in Belgium the law is above religion, and that will stay like that.”

There are about 500 000 Muslims and over 30 000 Jews living in Belgium, out of 11 million people.

Those who adhere to the slaughter rules will have to order meat from other countries. This will mean paying more and possibly facing food shortages.

Rabbi Yaakov David Schmahl of Antwerp, reflected on fears the Belgium rules conceal anti-religious bigotry under animal protection concerns.

It is impossible to know people’s true intentions unless they state them clearly, “but most antiSemites don’t do that”, he said.— CNA

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INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

5

Nationalism threatens world peace, says pope

BY JUNNo ARoCHo ESTEVES

one that embraces the entire human race,” he said.

A Bishop Luciano Capelli of Gizo, aboard his aeroplane. (photo: CNA)

The flying bishop of the Solomon Islands

K

NOWN as the “flying bishop” of the Solomon Islands, Bishop Luciano Capelli visits Catholics across dozens of islands by piloting a small aeroplane he also uses to deliver food and medicine.

Bishop Capelli, an Italian, was a Salesian missionary in the Philippines for 35 years before coming to the diocese of Gizo in October 2007. He arrived six months after an earthquake destroyed homes, schools, and churches across the Solomon Islands, a nation of nearly 1 000 islands in Oceania.

“My first task was to encourage the people to rebuild the cathedral, the seven parishes and the 12 schools,” he explained in an interview.

The diocese of Gizo is comprises some 40 islands with a total population of 136 347 inhabitants, 11% of which are Catholics.

With financial support from the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Capelli was able to take flying lessons and the diocese received an ultralight small aeroplane.

In the plane, which he himself has piloted since 2011, Bishop

Capelli visits hospitals, schools and communities, bringing medicine and basic necessities.

The bishop said that isolation is a major challenge for people in his diocese, adding that this is resolved “with a presence”.

“Presence is possible only if there is a means to take you.” Thanks to the aeroplane, he can visit each mission location between three to five times a year, whereas without it he would have to use a dangerous and more costly boat, he said.

Bishop Capelli has been particularly busy since October 2018, when he decided to send one of his dioceses’ two priests to Italy for advanced studies.

Speaking to Missio Italia, the prelate said that “it’s a sacrifice, and to no little account, depriving us of 50% of the clergy! But I trust that the Lord will make new vocations flourish and there will be new ones to come for an effective and courageous evangelisation”.

“We have been working a lot these years with young people and the new generations to train catechists and leaders in the communities. I’m not afraid!”—CNA

Pope: Life is a gift not meant to be manipulated

BY JUNNo ARoCHo ESTEVES

G

ENEROUSLY caring for the sick and the marginalised is the best way to combat a culture of waste and indifference that seeks to control and manipulate life, Pope Francis said.

In his message for World Day of the Sick, to be celebrated on February 11, the pope said that life is “a gift from God” that is “best suited to challenging today’s individualism and social fragmentation”.

“Precisely because it is a gift, human life cannot be reduced to a personal possession or private property, especially in the light of medical and biotechnological advances that could tempt us to manipulate the ‘tree of life’,” the pope wrote in his message.

The main Catholic celebration of World Day of the Sick 2019 is scheduled for Kolkata, India, where Mother Teresa—who was canonised in 2016—began her ministry serving the poor and the sick.

St Teresa of Kolkata, Pope Francis said, “is a model of charity” whose service to the sick and the marginalised “remains for us today an eloquent witness to God’s closeness to the poorest of the poor”.

The example set by the Albanian nun known as the “Saint of the Gutters”, he added, helps Christians understand that “our only criterion of action must be selfless love for every human being, without distinction of language, culture, ethnicity or religion”.

“Her example continues to guide us by opening up horizons of joy and hope for all those in need of under-

A member of the Missionaries of Charity cares for the critically ill in India. In his World Day of the Sick message, pope Francis said human life cannot be reduced to possessions or private property. standing and tender love, and especially for those who suffer,” he said.

Individual acts of solidarity also have an impact on wider society and political choices, the pope said. For example, by bowing down before those left to die on the side of the road, Mother Teresa “made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognise their guilt for the crime—the crimes!—of poverty they created”.

Pope Francis said that being generous towards the sick and needy flows from humility and from recognising that throughout his or her life, each person experiences being “poor, needy and destitute”.

“When we are born, we require the care of our parents to survive, and at every stage of life we remain in some way dependent on the help of others,” the pope said. “We will always be conscious of our limitations, as ‘creatures’, before other individuals and situations.”—CNS

S it did prior to World War II, the rise of nationalism in the world poses a threat to peace and constructive dialogue among nations, Pope Francis said.

During his annual address to diplomats to the Vatican, the pope said that the establishment of the League of Nations nearly 100 years ago ushered in a new era of multilateral diplomacy based on goodwill, readiness among nations to deal fairly and honestly with each other ,and openness to compromise.

However, he warned that the lack of one of those necessary elements results in nations searching “for unilateral solutions and, in the end, the domination of the powerful over the weak”.

“The League of Nations failed for these very reasons, and one notes with regret that the same attitudes are presently threatening the stability of the major international organisations,” the pope said.

“Clearly,” he added, “relationships within the international community, and the multilateral system as a whole, are experiencing a period of difficulty with the resurgence of nationalistic tendencies at odds with the vocation of the international organisations to be a setting for dialogue and encounter for all countries.”

In his nearly one-hour speech to the diplomats, the Pope Francis warned that the re-emergence of

R

pope Francis leads an annual meeting to exchange greetings for the new year with diplomats accredited to the Holy See, at the Vatican. (photo: Ettore Ferrari,Reuters/CNS) populist and nationalist ideologies is “progressively weakening” multilateral institutions and subsequently creating a “general lack of trust, a crisis of credibility in international political life, and a gradual marginalisation of the most vulnerable members of the family of nations”.

An essential aspect of good politics, the pope said, is the pursuit of the common good that would enable individuals and the international community as a whole to “achieve their proper material and spiritual well-being”.

“Peace is never a partial good, but

ecalling the ongoing humanitarian crises in countries such as Ukraine and Syria, Pope Francis urged the international community to defend the most vulnerable in the world “and to give a voice to those who have none”.

Among those most affected by instability, he noted, are Christian communities in the Middle East where many people have been forced to flee from violence and persecution, particularly due to the resurgence of attempts “to foment hostility between Muslims and Christians”.

Pope Francis urged the diplomatic community to continue to work towards building peace between nations divided by war.

While there have been significant strides in building peace in some places, such as the end of the decades-long conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and an easing of relations between North and South Korea, the pope called for peace in areas such as Venezuela and the Holy Land which are still affected by internal strife and divisions.

Citing Pope Paul VI’s 1965 speech to the United Nations, the pope said that peace is not built merely through politics and protecting interests but with “the mind, with ideas, with works of peace”.—CNS

6

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

The celibacy debate

W

HEN he announced that the bishops of Germany are opening a discussion about the option of changing the discipline of mandatory celibacy for Latin-rite priests, Cardinal Reinhard Marx kicked off 2019 with a topic which he acknowledges will cause disagreements within the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Marx is an important man in the hierarchy. He is the archbishop of Freising & Munich, president of the German bishops’ conference, and a member of Pope Francis’ council of advisers.

When he floats an idea, the Catholic waters ripple.

The cardinal is right to expect that the discussion will create friction, something which he feels is a necessary cost for renewal.

Some of that discord will no doubt have its roots in misunderstandings of the issues at hand.

Importantly, abolishing or otherwise modifying the discipline of clerical celibacy would not abrogate the Church’s universal demand for chastity, that is, the restriction of the sex act exclusively to matrimony.

Obligatory clerical celibacy is not a Church doctrine but a discipline, and as such it can be adapted or even abolished. Proposing changes to it does not constitute a challenge to the Church’s magisterium.

Indeed, there are many married Catholic priests in the Eastern-rite as well as in the Latin-rite, with the latter being married clerics who converted to Catholicism from other denominations.

It would be wrong to say that celibacy is an indispensable constituent of the Holy Orders of priesthood. If it was so, then by implication the sacerdotal orders of Catholic priests who are married would be defective, which they are not.

Nor is there a clear scriptural basis for clerical celibacy. The gospels note that Simon Peter was married; St Paul implies that his wife travelled with Jesus’ entourage (1 Cor 9:5). Indeed, it is implausible that all of the Twelve Apostles would have been bachelors at a time when people usually were married in their teens.

For more than half of Christian history, there was no law prescribing obligatory celibacy for secular priests, though there was a strong tradition of celibate priests.

The current discipline was introduced in the 11th century, in part to address licentiousness among clergy.

In many ways, prescribed clerical celibacy served its purpose, and there are good arguments for its retention.

But it has created different problems, and today many, including Cardinal Marx, locate the culture created by celibacy within the causes of the Church’s abuse crisis.

There is no evidence that abuse is caused by prescribed celibacy—sexual abuse takes place across denominations and social groups, including families. To demand the abolition of priestly celibacy because of the incidence of abuse is naive.

But the culture of celibacy has fed a conspiracy of silence which in turn contributed to the decision-making which resulted in cover-ups and mismanagement of abuse allegations.

This may be a good enough reason to challenge mandatory celibacy, or even to change it— just as its spiritual fruits might weigh enough to retain it.

The Church will need to prudently consider the arguments for and against.

Some of these will have to be interrogated and, if necessary, dismissed. For example, lifting the celibacy restrictions might not increase vocations significantly, as has been suggested, since other denominations which allow married clergy also experience a decline in clerics.

Logistics must be examined as well. For example, how would a married priest’s family be sustained, especially in areas where the number of congregants is diminishing?

Moreover, the Church would need to consider whether a model such as that practised in Easternrites, whereby married clergy is permissible but only celibates may become bishops, could be an option in the Latin-rite.

These and many other questions would require thorough, judicious and cautious discernment, a process that would likely produce good arguments in support of all available options.

This is not a debate that should be shut down, and by no rights can it be.

All contemplation and dialogue must be liberated from the baggage of ideological positions and presumptions.

This discussion requires open hearts to the Holy Spirit.

On the question of sacerdotal celibacy, the Church must discern and implement God’s will. Holy Spirit, guide our Church!

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.

Reverent priest transforms Mass T is inspirational, beautiful and and furious pace, I get the feeling he Ibrated awesome to attend a Mass cele- is in a hurry to get to some place by a deeply devoted priest very important. But isn’t the celewho obviously believes in what he is doing.

It certainly lifts my mind and heart to God. I feel strengthened, encouraged, grateful, and so much more.

When a priest says Mass at a fast

Let’s extend Prayer for SA

T

HE “Prayer for South Africa” is recited in our parish in Pinelands, Cape Town, after Masses and Communion services.

Some of our members feel that it ought to be recited by all denominations. Perhaps the archdiocesan office(s) could invite other Churches to participate?

Prayer for South Africa Merciful Father, You hold all peoples in your loving and constant care.

We pray for the peoples of South Africa that you may guide us in the ways of Justice and Reconciliation, to respect and value every person, to bring healing to the memories of the past and into present conflicts, to seek to build bridges that unite all of us in a common purpose and to renew our sense of who we are for each other.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Adrian Kettle, Cape Town

Women can be as deadly as men

S

ISTER Angelina Laub OP in her letter “Capitalism hurts women most” (October 24) is, I think, a bit naïve, as is Antonio Tonin in his supporting response (November 28) when he says we need less of male aggression and more of “women’s life-giving, nurturing and compassionate qualities”.

But as journalist and poet Clive Lawrence noted: “What’s needed is feminine qualities of compassion and insight, not merely women. For instance, Nelson Mandela embodies more of these than does Winnie” (Natal Witness, May 16, 1994).

Women can be just as fierce and aggressive as men. As recent research on the ancient Amazon viragos shows, sometimes they are deadlier than the male!

There are several examples.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, after a quick prayer, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace”, at 10 Downing Street, launched the brutal Falklands War. Madame Mao of Red China tortured men and women to death.

Catholic news that COUNTS Print or Digital

SUBSCRIBE Digital: R420 • Print R500 • Call Michelle 021 465 5007 or email subscriptions@scross.co.za • www.scross.co.za/subscribe The Catholic Newspaper, Standard Bank, Thibault Square Branch Code:020909, Acc No: 071534342

bration of Mass the pinnacle of importance?

Please, dear Shepherds, help us to be reverent by being reverent too.

Please give expression to the prayers you are praying on our behalf so that we can hear and understand them, opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy. The letters page in particular is a forum in which readers may exchange opinions on matters of debate.

Letters must not be understood to necessarily reflect the teachings, disciplines or policies of the Church accurately.

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

And Marshall Tito’s wife Jovanka was no saint either!

Generalisations are not accurate or helpful, such as Sr Laub’s assertion that “women are also increasingly victims of capitalism”.

In communist China today, Black Marias prowl the country pulling screaming women out of their homes to have their unborn children forcibly aborted.

In fact, communists were the first to implement abortion and sex education, and both of these hurt women and children.

My old friend Fr Sergio Lorenzini of Evaton has said that in Liberation Theology, “one starts with oppression, exploitation and marginalisation”, but he overlooks the fact that such liberation ends with these uglinesses as well. Look at communist Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba, the last of which shoots people in the back as they swim to the capitalist USA. Let us not forget that communist men exploit women also.

For example, Marx was an adulterer, Stalin abused his wife and daughter, Mao and Tito were both satyrs—and none of them were capitalists!

Fr Finbarr Flanagan OFM, Pretoria

Recalling the Grail singers

I

ALWAYS enjoy your editorials, the Letters page, Fr Rolheiser’s columns, and recently greatly appreciated your articles on Marian shrines.

Also, the lovely front-page photo of the rear of Christ the King cathedral in Johannesburg (December 5), showing the splendid organ, calls to mind some events I would like to share with you.

In the late 1950s, I became the

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and make them our own.

When you place the Blessed Sacrament in my hand, please do it in such a way that I am aware that you too believe and appreciate that this is Jesus himself I am receiving.

And when, at the end of Mass, you look at us in the pews and urge us, clearly and with sincerity, to go out into the world, I will really feel I am going in the peace and love of Christ to continue “my journey”.

Merrilyn de Gersigny, Durban

organist at St Francis’ church in Yeoville, and the parish priest was the fine Fr Peron OMI, a Frenchman, whom someone called “a little Napoleon”!

He knew I was a student, and one day gave me a present of £10—in 1958/9, a good tradesman’s wage.

Fr Peron also welcomed the Grail to the parish and I remember their group singing all the services of Holy Week.

They also introduced the beautiful settings of the sung Gelineau psalmody, which our choir continued to us.

Once the new cathedral of Christ the King was opened, the Grail used to sing at High Mass at 11am once a month, and I had the pleasure of playing for them.

Peter Onesta, Johannesburg

No marriage prep for cohabitors

S

EVERAL years ago, under the courageous leadership of thenparish priest Fr Ignatius Fidgeon, our parish of Victory Park in Johannesburg published in its weekly bulletin a statement that cohabiting couples should not attend the parish’s marriage preparation courses.

This statement was eminently logical. First, these couples are living in a state of mortal sin. Second, most of them, by using the abortifacient birth-control drug the Pill, are participating in chemical abortion.

Our bishops should thus insist that this statement of Fr Fidgeon’s be inserted in the weekly bulletins of all our country’s parishes, and also the following: 1. That a prayer for an end to legalised abortion be included in the bidding prayers of all parishes at least once a month.

2. That all parish priests give a pro-life sermon to their congregations at least once a year (unheard of in modern times).

3. That our presently very silent Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office, whose validation it is to regularly inform our government of its objection to legalised abortion, confirm to the faithful at least once a year that it is in fact continuing this critical function.

Damian McLeish, Johannesburg

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The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

PERSPECTIVES

Faith when we’re running on empty Sarah-Leah T Pimentel WO blocks from my house there is a small church. It has no signboard to indicate its denomination.

On a Sunday, the parking lot is rarely full and the tiny congregation is elderly and frail. The church appears to be mostly deserted on the other days of the week.

The church itself has a fresh coat of paint, but beyond that it doesn’t seem to have received any major upgrades since it was built, probably half a century ago or longer. A Google search reveals nothing about this little church and Google Maps does not even recognise the building on the corner of a busy road as a church.

The pastor is a man with greying hair whose weather-beaten face has been worn down by time. His greying black suit, which he is wearing every time I see him, Sunday or not, has seen better days. It looks as if it once fitted a much larger man.

On the surface, both the little church and its pastor appear to be the forlorn remnants of a failed evangelisation project.

And yet...something about this little church and its pastor has captured my attention over the past two and a half years I have lived in the area.

Most afternoons, the pastor in his washed-out suit is standing at the chesthigh iron fence, greeting people as they go by.

Many are tired commuters climbing off the train after their daily struggle with public transport. Some are neighbours walking briskly past on their way to pick up last-minute groceries, while others drive past in cars and hoot at him in greeting.

It seems that everyone who has lived in the area for some time knows this pastor who stands at his gate outside his church every afternoon, offering a kind word or a smile.

I don’t know his story or why he is still there, when there is a more-established Anglican church less than 300 metres down the road and a pumping Evangelical

church down another street whose praise and worship songs often carry on the wind and wake me on a Sunday morning.

Why would this man, who clearly has reached retirement age, continue to prop up what we might call a dying church?

I cannot judge from the outside. I don’t know his story or the history of his little parish. To me, his continued presence is a sign of steadfastness.

It is the faith of perseverance when we are running on empty.

It is the willingness to continue to be an instrument when we have nothing left to give.

It is the presence of Christ when the fire of youthful evangelism has passed.

It is the trust that the Holy Spirit does work, despite human weakness and frailty.

B

oth for South Africa and in the Church, 2018 was a difficult year. Corruption scandals and political bankruptcy, and their effects on the economy at large, have made themselves felt in our own personal lives.

The backlash of the sexual abuse scandal in the Church has left us feeling a little less secure about the traditions and structures of our 2 000-year old Church, and have made us the subject of ridicule from non-Catholic family and friends.

No matter how ruined our Church may appear to be, we must remain steadfast in our faith, writes Sarah-Leah pimentel.

Fr Pierre Goldie

Christ in the World

The Mustard Seeds

Social teachings should be at front

Like the old pastor on the corner, we are running on empty, unsure of what we still have left to give and fully aware of our own faults and failings. Perhaps there are not enough words in the world that can uplift us or fill us with a renewed sense of our mission and purpose.

But there is a lesson we can learn from the little church down the road. No matter how small our congregation, no matter how tired our structures where no polish or paint can fix what has been broken, there is always something we can do.

We can remain steadfast in the faith that nurtured us in our youth. We can remain faithful to our calling, even when it seems that we are serving no purpose. We can continue to smile and greet our brothers and sisters, not as the heirs of an ancient tradition but as simple followers of Christ, bringing the love of Jesus to those we meet along the way.

Steadfastness was the calling of the shepherds who first heard the Good News from the angels. They were far from the synagogues and on the peripheries of theological concepts and learning, but they steadfastly believed in the prophecies and recognised the truth in the angels’ message.

Steadfastness was the calling of St Peter who struggled to understand all that Jesus taught, but yet admitted: “Lord, to whom can we turn? You hold the words of eternal life.”

May steadfastness be our calling as we head into a year of great uncertainty, politically and economically. May our steadfast faith testify to the presence of Christ among us.

By our faith, may we bring joy, peace and a smile to those we meet in 2019.

P

OPE Paul VI, in an encyclical on mission (1975), contends that the split between the Gospel and culture–real life—is one of the dramas of our time.

It seems as if religion has little to do with ordinary life, apart from the sick and poor. One reason is that many theologians were monks who lived secluded from the world, with the result that their theology was very other-worldly, detached from secular life. We have been taught to stoically endure the problems of this life in expectation of our heavenly reward.

The prayers of the Mass are very otherworldly. Religion thus appears as something confined to our personal, private lives, to the exclusion of vitally important areas such as politics, business, science, technology, education, sport, entertainment, art, medicine and other areas of life.

In my experience in the seminary, practical theology, which incorporates Catholic Social Teachings (CST), was given a low priority, and theoretical or systematic theology was more highly regarded.

Subjects such as politics and economics seemed unreal within the monastic reality of the seminary. Younger students were not familiar with political or economic jargon and found it boring.

Many papal documents which can be classified as part of CST, often deal with technical terms found in economics and are therefore probably not understood by bishops, priests and seminarians—who in turn, won’t pass on these teachings to the laity.

Fr James Mallon’s recent book Divine Renovation also comments on the hyper-intellectualised seminary curriculum in his experience in Canada.

CST is based on incarnational theology, which starts with real life and then searches Scripture and tradition as a means of assessing the moral issues involved in that particular area of real life.

Henri Nouwen: The lonely mystic Chris M McDonnell ANY have struggled over the years debating in their own lives the Christian message but have to the end remained faithful to the Gospel of the Lord. One such was the Dutch priest and writer, Fr Henri Nouwen.

Fr Henri died of heart failure in September 1996, at the age of 64. He was ordained for the archdiocese of Utrecht in 1957, but was destined to spend much of his life beyond the borders of his native country, largely in North America.

His studies in clinical psychology took place at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands during the early 60s followed by two years as a fellow in the religion and psychiatry programme in Topeka, Kansas, graduating in 1966.

It was a time a social unrest in the United States on many fronts, civil rights being one of the significant issues. Henri took part in the Selma March and later published a memoir of his experience.

From 1966-68 he was a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, followed by a couple of years back home at the Catholic Theological Institute of Utrecht.

He then returned to the US to spend some ten years as a professor at Yale Divinity School. He was to follow this with a short period experiencing the Church in Latin America before returning to the US and Harvard.

Fr Henri wrote many books, taught in many places and inspired many thousands of people.

A full biography of Nouwen was written and published in 2006 by Michael Ford. Titled Wounded Prophet, it is a full and detailed account of the priest’s life and work.

Now Ford has published a sequel to his first book on Nouwen, entitled Lonely Mystic.

This time he examines Nouwen not through sequential biographical events but through a different lens: who he was, what the nature of the man was. It is a valuable companion to his earlier text.

One thing is sure, Nouwen was essentially a lonely man. Frequently he was the centre of a crowd, whether he was teaching, leading retreats or celebrating the Eucharist. Yet, in spite of it all, there was an

M

ust religion exist in a sphere of its own?

Some argue that religion is an integral part of real life, and that the distinction between the secular and the religious leads to a dysfunctional relationship between religion and real life, or culture.

Would a secular historian criticise me for venturing to say that the most important event in world history is the death and resurrection of Christ? Must there be an iron-clad distinction between secular and religious history?

One reason is because there are many who disown any form of religion, and therefore seek to record history devoid of any reference to any religion. But what of us who are believers? Social teachings are there to bridge the gap between religion and real life.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both encouraged the evangelisation of the business and political realms, as does the current pope, Francis. In Evangelii Gaudium (2013) Pope Francis contends that “once we separate our work life from our private life, everything turns grey”—we do not see the soul in the nurse, the teacher, the politician.

Western Europe has been severely de-Christianised and Mass attendance and the use of sacraments are at an all-time low. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most powerful arguments is that Jesus has been excluded from ordinary life and therefore has become largely irrelevant to daily living.

CST is one treasure of the Catholic Church which aims to bring Christ into all areas of life, not limiting him to the poor and sick.

Within the Vatican Pontifical Council For Culture there is the Department of Culture and Sport, which may surprise many. Its first document on sport was released in 2018.

This is truly the Church, reaching out to the real world, in the spirit of Vatican II. n Fr Pierre Goldie is a priest in Cape Town. This is the first in a series of monthly articles on Catholic Social Teachings.

point of Church

The mystic Fr Henri Nouwen in a photo taken by his friend Frank Hamilton (www.henrinouwen.org) emptiness. He was indeed a wounded healer.

Because of his own struggles and experiences he was able bring support to those who were struggling, he knew where they were for he had been there himself.

“Henri was there seeing the mystery of God, then interpreting it for those who did not understand,” wrote his close friend Frank Hamilton, quoted by Ford.

N

ouwen’s perceptive nature and ability to relate to those in distress demonstrated that he was more than an inspiring teacher and fine book writer. It has led some to ask if indeed he was a Christian mystic, following in the steps of Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Therese of Lisieux. Lonely Mystic offers stepping stones and pointers in that direction.

His published writing often took the form of journals. The first and most famous, The Genesee Diary, published in 1976, recounts his six-month stay at the Cistercian abbey of the Genesee in upper state New York. It was the first of his books that I read and it was inspirational.

There was an honesty in his writing that was immediately recognisable: this

man had been there and wished to share that experience for the benefit of others.

Fr Henri was a man generous with his time. Early in the 1990s, I began a correspondence with him, a complete stranger, writing from the UK to Toronto where he was then living with the L’Arche Community—a clear and vivid contrast to the academic life that had been his lot for so many years.

Then, without warning, a package arrived from Toronto: a copy of his book With Open Hands with a beautiful handwritten inscription to me. We had met only through the words of his books and a few brief letters, yet he took the trouble to be so thoughtful in his gift. It is a book I value.

My last letter went unanswered till I saw his obituary in the journal The Tablet in 1996.

Those few words we exchanged are now lodged with the Henri Nouwen Foundation in Canada.

Without doubt, his is a significant Christian voice of the late 20th century, recognisable for his integrity and honesty.

That he should spend his final years at the L’Arche Community in Toronto is not without significance. The priest and teacher who was himself wounded spent time with others who were also severely wounded in so many ways.

Nouwen was en route to Russia to see Rembrandt’s painting “Return of the Prodigal Son” when illness took his life.

His voice remains through his numerous books, and the memories of those who experienced his magnetism in his public teaching, and his deep holiness in times of prayer. Fr Nouwen had a story to tell and his generosity allowed others to benefit from the telling.

A lonely mystic indeed: one who shows us the way. n This article was first published in the Catholic Times.

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The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

COMMUNITY

St Joseph the Worker church in pretoria West celebrated its 2018 matrics.

(From left) Kelebogile Mmutle, Mahlatse Makhafoka (six distinctions), Fr Isaac Tlhaledi, and Chido Chavhunduka (two distinctions). All three young women are on the parish youth committee, and also work closely with the Western Deanery youth committee and the Association of Catholic Tertiary Students at Tshwane University of Technology's main campus. They were altar servers when younger. (Submitted by Joseph Thupae)

our Lady of Divine Love church in paarl-East, Cape Town archdiocese, celebrated the First Communion of a group of parish children. They are seen with paarl area parish priest Fr Bogdan Buksa, (back left) catechist Victor Davids, and (back right) assistant catechist Jody van Wyk.

The St John paul II Catholic Community, which holds services at the Marist Brothers Linmeyer school chapel in Johannesburg, celebrated the First Communion of young members.

Send your photos to

pics@scross. co.za

Ambrosius Sephetho and Tsoakae Mokati were married at Nyolohelo parish in Sebokeng, Johannesburg archdiocese, by Fr Sekabata Solomon Mphela oFM.

St John Bosco church in Robertsham, Johannesburg, held an open-air Mass, with newly appointed parish priest Fr pawel Michalowski officiating.

Fr Michalowski was assisted by Deacon Victor Ho. Recently-confirmed youth were awarded certificates and welcomed into the Church by Fr Michalowski, who also presented longstanding parishioners with Salesian medallions for all their work and dedication. (Submitted by Mark Kisogloo)

St patrick’s parish in Benoni, Johannesburg archdiocese, celebrated the confirmation of a large number of young people. The group is seen with parish priest Fr David Evans and Auxiliary Bishop Duncan Tsoke.

(Submitted by Dave Chennells)

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, assisted by Franciscan provincial Fr Siphelele paulos Gwanisheni, opened and blessed Franciscan House in Hilton.

(Submitted by Fr Sekabata Solomon Mphela oFM)

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Two Junior City Council students at CBC St John’s parklands in Cape Town received certificates from the city council for their service to the community. (From left) Councillor Nicky Rheeder with students Mikayla van Wyk and paije Flood.

De La Salle Holy Cross College in Johannesburg, filled a whole truck with electronic waste (such as appliances and cellphones) after collecting from families in the school. The school’s environmental committee organises collections each term.

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

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The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

LIFE

Raising our boy with autism JANINE SCoTT DoS SANToS’ son has autism, a condition still not understood well by society. Here she shares her journey.

him. “He’s not feeling well.� Or, “He must be teething again.� I remember my aunt once saying: “Gees, this OJ is never feeling well.�

But, he was smart. Super smart.

His memory was amazing. He could recite whole scenes from movies after watching them only two or HESE days, everybody has a three times. He knew all his nursery label. When we were kids, rhymes. He spoke way ahead of his there was no autism, or peers. He could name all the flash ADHD—kids just got on with it or cards in a large pack.

My friends with kids of similar got punished. It’s ridiculous really!� said the 42-year-old man selling bil- age would remark on how brilliant he was, and, as someone to whom tong in his mother’s kiosk.

This was after my boy had had a language is important, I would preen meltdown at the sound of the slush and try to be humble about it.

But then, at about two and a machines—a sound nobody else half, it stopped. He just stopped could really hear.

I politely smiled, paid for my bil- progressing.

I remember being at a birthday tong, and walked away‌seething. party, and one of his You see, the danger cousins who is of a simiwith saying things like that is that it negates the In three weeks lar age started having a conversation with his real issues which we experience as parents of kids we went from grandmother.

He asked curious with special needs. My boy having a questions about salt, and doesn’t need stricter parwhy we have salt on the ents, or more authority; he perfectly table and not other is not naughty, or “otherwise�. He is autistic. normal little spices. It was cute, and clever, and we all Before OJ was diagnosed at three years old, boy to a son laughed at the curiosity we used to struggle every with autism. of it.

I felt a pit in my stomtime we took him out. ach. OJ wasn’t asking I have a large Mediterranean family, and he would get questions yet. OJ did not really conanxious and cry every time we ar- verse. He would ask for things‌but not about them. rived at my mom’s house.

It would kill me inside because I I spoke to my partner about it in would feel so bad for my mom— the car on the way home, and she she said she didn’t take it person- told me not to compare. His cousin ally, but she must have. I would had older siblings and OJ had a have! much better vocabulary anyway.

We used to make excuses for I rationalised that she was right.

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All kids are different. But I couldn’t stop wondering about it.

His first school report came. I was so excited to read it, and to hear all about the amazing progress he was making.

It was not good. All the assessments were “Needs Assistance�.

I sobbed myself to sleep that night. My partner told me I was being ridiculous and that it was not matric. I was too embarrassed to show it to our parents and families.

And that nagging feeling that there was something wrong was still gnawing at me.

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is third birthday came and we were invited to his birthday ring at school. I remember clearly watching all the kids shout at the teacher when she made a silly joke and participate in the fun. OJ stood

in the corner and played with a drum set, as if the rest of the class wasn’t even there.

I felt a massive lump in my throat and blinked back tears as I watched our boy being oblivious to the goings on around him.

I called my partner from the car on the way to work in a ball of tears. She said: “Well, you’ve been saying you want to take him for an assessment. Organise it then!� It was her defence mechanism to act out angrily when she was upset.

For the first time, she had seen what I had been questioning for months.

That week, we took him to see a highly recommended speech therapist. We explained all his quirks, and she gave them names‌ “He repeats whole lines from movies and adapts these to get a message across.â€? Mitigated Echolalia.

“He has to do things in the same way and says the same things in certain situations.� Scripting. “He sometimes flaps his hands when he gets excited and loves spinning.� Stimming (from self-stimulation).

She asked questions about his diet, behaviour and other habits.

And then she said: “He does display some aspects of autism spectrum disorder‌â€?

I am sure she said other things after that, but I can’t remember any of them.

She referred us to an occupational therapist who told us that he has Sensory Integration Disorder.

The speech therapist suggested we see a psychiatrist as it is easier to get medical aid funding if you have a diagnosis.

She suggested a nursery school in our area specifically for “children like OJ with language difficulties�.

It was a whirlwind three weeks in which we went from having a perfectly normal little boy to a son with autism.

It has been a year and a half since then and we know that our beautiful boy has so much to offer the world.

We have had to mourn the idea of having a “normal� or neurotypical child. We have had to accept that we may never be able to access all his thoughts and dreams.

He teaches us things every day.

He makes us laugh and cry and scream in frustration.

But more love we could never have. n This article first appeared in Catholic Education magazine, published by the Catholic Institute of Education.

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The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

EDUCATION

11

Why playing is important in learning The freedom and creativity of playing can equip children for lifelong learning, as MARK poTTERToN explains.

needs of play as the specific skills of each child find a platform, encouraging new social links to form.

Self-control and tolerance are rehearsed as play involving mixed abilities and cooperative turn-taking allows being in control then handing it to another to be safely experienced.

Children are able to create play freely without the guidance or direction of adults. Able to carry out imagined actions to see where they may go with no expectations of specific end-results, play allows children freedom of direction to follow their enquiries.

Because play can be enjoyed alone, children also experience ease within their own company, developing the ability not to rely on others.

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QUICK Internet search will reveal that play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination and dexterity, as well as physical, cognitive, and emotional strength.

Play is very important to healthy brain development. Scientists will also tell you that it is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact with the world around them.

Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practising adult roles; sometimes with other children or adult caregivers.

Children master their world through play, and play helps children develop new skills that lead to enhanced confidence and the resilience they will need to face life’s challenges.

Free, undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn how to speak for themselves.

When play is child-driven, then children practise decision-making skills, move at their own pace, discover their own areas of interest, and ultimately engage fully in the passions they wish to pursue.

The powerful medium of play threads its way throughout all aspects of learning, supporting and encouraging the development of each feature. Without pressures to succeed or expected outcomes to conform to, play enables children’s natural immersion in a world of endless discovery.

Play can happen in glitzy stateof-the-art classrooms or under trees.

It can happen with expensive Lego or with a couple of stones.

I still love play and playing and have learnt a lot about play through play. But not having too much formal training in learning and the role of play, the rest of this article relies heavily on a new book by

Finding solutions Kathryn Peckham titled Developing School Readiness (Sage Publishing).

Play in lifelong learning

formed by all the rapid successes and failures they experience to develop an intuitive approach to new situations.

Within play, children are given the opportunity and safety to assume, explore and trial many roles and behaviours, opportunities and actions. Through play, children find an ownership of their learning, demonstrating many talents as their unique abilities are given the opportunity to shine.

As level playing-fields have little to do with background, class, race or social status establish, children develop emotional wellbeing and their self-confidence can blossom.

Within play, children experience many changing situations as new children join, ideas are offered and resources embraced. This allows children continuously and spontaneously to develop their imagination, adapting their course of action and solving new problems in situations that are not pre-subscribed.

Granted the freedoms that play is rich in, children imaginatively initiate and trial new ideas, using resources to represent imagined realities.

Without set agendas, in play children are able to approach situations from their own viewpoint. Trying out ideas repeatedly, they are in-

Through play, children are given permission to be inquisitive, gaining new experiences and sensations first hand. With deep levels of involvement they can investigate whatever draws their interest for the time their curiosity needs.

In a playful environment, children are given opportunities to act out things they have seen and experienced in ways they can make sense of, for example through fairytale play.

Play offers children a safe place to experience uncertainty, to immerse themselves in other worlds and trial ideas without having to commit.

Thereby they possibly come to terms with difficult concepts in their own lives.

As children become aware of others’ perspectives, the emergence of social play sees groupings form, disband and reform freely as the nature of the game or wishes of children dictate playing needs.

Social skills of sharing, communication and negotiation, as well as conflict resolution and self-regulation, are rehearsed to meet the

Encouraging curiosity

SA’s National Catholic Weekly Newspaper

JOURNALISM INTERNSHIP The Southern Cross in association with Missio Germany are offering an

Play offers children hands-on opportunities to engage in practical investigations where the end product is not important; instead, practical elements of the journey can be freely enjoyed and explored for their intrinsic interest.

While a practical paint-mixing or ingredient-weighing may never result in the colours imagined or the correct recipe followed, the experience comes in the freedom to adapt plans and trial practical techniques as play takes many different tangents.

Play continually adapts and changes with new ideas and as children join or leave the activity.

Through these experiences children will adapt their thinking and actions, accommodating thoughts and opinions of others, managing limitations of the environment and resources as well as unexpected opportunities that present themselves.

Within the open arena of play there is no rigid path to follow and children experience first-hand that adaptability is both useful and successful.

Because play can be freely joined, left and come back to, children are given opportunities to ponder ideas and approaches.

With no requirement to achieve given outcomes, children can attempt something for as long as they

are motivated to do so, returning to it once new perspectives have been considered. Opportunity to reflect will renew motivation and encourage fresh ideas, promoting a reflective approach to learning

Thinking simultaneously As play develops, it demands an ability to consider multiple variables simultaneously—characters involved in a game, how storylines are evolving, and what objects are being used to represent—all the while playing a seamless role, communicating in character and offering plotlines to meet their own agendas while understanding the possibilities and limitations of the environment.

In play, children’s creative tendencies are enhanced, demonstrated and valued.

Taking any form or direction, children’s inventiveness and resourceful use of props add new dimensions while setbacks allow for creative solutions. With the ability to react creatively, no problem need derail the fun as these traits are recognised and celebrated.

Play allows children to continuously encounter new experiences in their environment. Through motivated and rapidly changing circumstances, children develop skills to draw on previous experiences, recognising similarities, all informed by previous actions and solutions.

Initiated and governed by its participants, this often follows familiar patterns as the interests of those involved drive repetition of required experiences, allowing practice of familiar patterns, problem-solving, and exploring links to the real world and their experiences within it.

I cannot overstate the importance of play in learning. Make sure that your own child has enough time to play!

Think about your own situation just for a moment. What do you think are some of the barriers for play to become fully embraced?

Why are some environments better able to deliver play-based curricula than others? No marks! Have fun. n Dr Mark Potterton is principal of Sacred Heart College Primary School in Johannesburg.

Springfield Convent School 2019 OPEN DAYS : PRE-PRIMARY OPEN MORNING : WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2019 : 09H00 ʹ 12H00 SENIOR SCHOOL : SATURDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2019 : 09H00 ʹ 12H00

The internship position will suit a young journalism graduate with talent and strong writing skills in English who wishes to gather hands-on experience in journalism in The Southern Cross’ Cape Town newsroom.

The successful candidate will: • Have a degree or recognised diploma in journalism • Have excellent written and verbal communication skills in English • Display attention to detail and problem-solving skills • Be a self-starter who is keen to learn • Be able to work on print and digital platforms • Contribute to the implementation of our social media strategy • Proofread both hard and electronic files • Be able to source news for both print and digital • Ideally have knowledge of Wordpress

We offer: • Hands-on training in print and digital journalism with a great scope for development in a small, dedicated team • A monthly stipend of R3,500

This is a minimum six-months internship, which may be extended. While a Catholic background is not a requirement for the position, knowledge of the Church and affinity for its mission will be a distinct advantage.

e-mail applications with a motivating covering letter and CV to: editor@scross.co.za Deadline: 1 February 2019 The Southern Cross reserves the right not to fill this position.

Congratulations to the Matric Class of 2018 ʹ 100% Bachelor Passes with 335 subject distinctions 12 Subjects with a grade average of over 80% 1 pupil achieved 8 subject distinctions 14 pupils achieved 7 subject distinctions 7 pupils achieved 6 subject distinctions 16 pupils achieved 5 subject distinctions Address ͗ ^ƚ͘ :ŽŚŶ͛Ɛ ZŽĂĚ͕ Wynberg Enquiries : Telephone (021) 7976169 ext 248 www w.springfieldconvent.co.za

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The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

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olitics, according to Pope Francis, “is a noble activity”, to be practised with vocation and dedication. This is the idea behind a joint awareness campaign being organised by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office, the Jesuit Institute, and the Justice & Peace Commission.

With financial backing from the Hanns Seidel Foundation, 100 000 pamphlets have been printed, in six South African languages, encouraging people to make sure they are registered to vote, and providing details of the next registration weekend, on January 26-27. The pamphlets were included in last week’s edition.

We are reproducing it here to remind readers to register, and to help them motivate others to register as well.

12

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Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office

THE 2019 GENERAL ELECTION

What is the point of registering to vote?

Elections don’t seem to change anything…

We all feel negative about politics from time to time.

All around us, ordinary South Africans are battling with unemployment, crime, poverty, bad schools, overcrowded hospitals, and an uncertain future.

And yes, too many of our politicians seem to be interested only in power, not in serving the people. But we must not stop working for a better country…

How do we respond?

One thing is certain: if we turn our back on politics, if we give up our right and our duty to vote, things will certainly not improve. Voting CAN make a difference. It can send the right people and parties to the Provincial Legislatures and to Parliament; it can give good politicians a boost, and it can shock the bad ones into working harder.

“I have to do my best so that they govern well, ĂŶĚ / ŚĂǀĞ ƚŽ ĚŽ ŵLJ ďĞƐƚ ďLJ ƉĂƌƟ ĐŝƉĂƟ ŶŐ ŝŶ ƉŽůŝƟ ĐƐ ĂĐĐŽƌĚŝŶŐ ƚŽ ŵLJ ĂďŝůŝƚLJ͘ WŽůŝƟ ĐƐ͕ ĂĐĐŽƌĚŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ^ŽĐŝĂů ŽĐƚƌŝŶĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŚƵƌĐŚ͕ ŝƐ ŽŶĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŚŝŐŚĞƐƚ ĨŽƌŵƐ ŽĨ ĐŚĂƌŝƚLJ͕ ďĞĐĂƵƐĞ ŝƚ ƐĞƌǀĞƐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵŵŽŶ ŐŽŽĚ͘ / ĐĂŶŶŽƚ ǁĂƐŚ ŵLJ ŚĂŶĚƐ͙͟ Pope Francis

Pope Francis reminds us: “Politics is a noble activity. We should revalue it, practise it with vocation and a dedication that requires testimony, martyrdom – that is, to die for the common good.”

You cannot vote unless you are registered as a voter!

In the past, many South Africans were prepared to ‘die for the common good’; thankfully, very few are called to do that now. But we are ALL called to do what we can – and what we can all do is to vote. Carefully and prayerfully.

How do I register? The Electoral Commission of South Africa will hold a registration weekend on 26 and 27 January, 2019. All voting stations will be open and staff will be there to help you register.

Make sure you are registered in time to vote!

For more about registering to vote, and to keep up with the latest information about the elections, visit the IEC website: www.elections.org.za

What do I need to take with me? Your bar-coded ID book, or new ID ǡ ϐ Ǥ

͞ ůů ŽĨ ƵƐ ŚĂǀĞ Ă ƌŝŐŚƚ ĂŶĚ Ă ĚƵƚLJ ƚŽ ƉĂƌƟĐŝƉĂƚĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůŝĨĞ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ ĐŽƵŶƚƌLJ͘ ůĞĐƟŽŶƐ ĂƌĞ ĂŶ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJ ĨŽƌ ƵƐ ƚŽ ĞdžĞƌĐŝƐĞ ŽƵƌ 'ŽĚͲŐŝǀĞŶ ĚŝŐŶŝƚLJ ĂŶĚ ƚŽ ĐŚŽŽƐĞ ǁŚŽ ƐŚŽƵůĚ ŐŽǀĞƌŶ ƵƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵŵŽŶ ŐŽŽĚ ʹ ĚŽŶ͛ƚ ŵŝƐƐ ŽƵƚ͕ ŵĂŬĞ ƐƵƌĞ ƚŚĂƚ LJŽƵ ĂƌĞ ƌĞŐŝƐƚĞƌĞĚ ƚŽ ǀŽƚĞ͘͟ Ͳ Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

How do I check if I’m already registered? The easiest way is to check online at the IEC website www.elections.org.za/content/ Otherwise, send an SMS with your ID number to 32810 (R1.00 per SMS); or visit the nearest voting station on the registration weekend.

What if I can’t make it on 26 and 27 January 2019? You can register

ϐ Ǥ ϐ Ǥ Look on the IEC website or phone the Electoral Commission at 0800 11 8000 ϐ ϐ Ǥ

dŚŝƐ ƉĂŵƉŚůĞƚ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ,ĂŶŶƐ ^ĞŝĚĞů &ŽƵŶĚĂƟŽŶ͘

Can I register if I’m not 18 yet? Yes, as soon as you have an ID you can register – that is, from the age of 16. It’s a good idea to register as soon as you get an ID; then you’ll be ready to vote once you turn 18.

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ŽŶŐƌĂƚƵůĂƟŽŶƐ ƚŽ ŽƵƌ ϮϬϭϴ DĂƚƌŝĐ ĐůĂƐƐ͊ ϭϬϬй ƉĂƐƐ ƌĂĂƚĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ϯϮŶĚ ĐŽŶƐĞĐƵƟǀĞ LJĞĂƌ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ϯϮ LJĞĂƌ ŚŝƐƚŽƌLJ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵĂůŐĂŵĂƚĞĚ ŽůůĞŐĞ͘ ĐŚŝĞǀĞĚ ĂŶ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ ŽĨ Ϯ͘ϰ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ ĚŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ ƉĞƌ ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞ Ͳ ϭϳϲ ĚŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ƚŽƚĂů͘ ĂĐŚĞůŽƌ ĞŐƌĞĞ WĂƐƐ Ͳ ϵϴ͘ϲй͘ ϳϮ ĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞƐ Ͳ 'ƌĂĂĚĞ ĂǀĞƌĂĂŐĞ ŽĨ ϳϯй͘ ϴ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ͗ Jenna Beckenstrater, Mufaro Nduku ϳ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ͗ :ƵůŝŽ ĚĞ ďƌĞƵ͕ ĂůǀŝŶ ĚŽƐ ^ĂŶƚŽƐ͕ <ŝƌƐƚLJ ůůĂƌĚ͕ :ĞŶŶĂ >ŝƩůĞ͕ ŶŶĂ DƵŶŐůĞ͕ :ƵůŝĂ dƵƐŽŶ ϲ ŝƐƟŶĐƟŽŶƐ͗ ŵĂŶĚĂ &ĂƌŝŶŚĂ͕ &ŽƌƚƵŶĞ důĞĂŶĞ͕ ŝŵĞĞ ǀĂŶ 'ƌĞĞŶĞŶ / KƵƚƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ ĐŚŝĞǀĞŵĞŶƚ >ŝƐƚ͗ :ĞŶŶĂ ĞĐŬĞŶƐƚƌĂĂƚĞƌ dŽƉ ϭй ŽĨ ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞƐ ƉĞƌ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ͗ ĨƌŝŬĂĂŶƐ͗ Jenna Beckenstrater ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ^ƚƵĚŝĞƐ͗ Kirsty Ellarrd ,ŝƐƚŽƌLJLJ͗ Julio de Abreu >ŝĨĞ ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞƐ͗ Jenna Beckensstrater DĂƚŚŵĂƟĐĂů >ŝƚĞƌĂĂĐLJ͗ Jacqu ueline Ribeiro DĂƚŚĞŵĂƟĐƐ͗ Julio de Abreu

͞/ƚ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ĂŶŽƚŚĞƌ ĞdžĐĞƉƟŽŶĂů LJĞĂƌ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƐ ŽĨ ϮϬϭϴ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞŝƌƌ ƚĞĂĐŚĞƌƐ͘ DLJ ŚŽƉĞ ŝƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŽƵƌ ƉƵƉŝůƐ ůĞĂƌŶ ƚŽ ĞŶũŽLJ ƚŚĞ ũŽƵƌŶĞLJ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ĂƌĞ ĂďŽƵƚ ƚŽ ĞŵďĂƌŬ ŽŶ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ ƚŽ ĮŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƌŝŐŚƚ ŵŽƵŶƚĂŝŶƐ ƚŽ ĐŽŶƋƵĞƌ ǁŝƚŚ ŬŝŶĚŶĞƐƐ͕ ƉĂƟĞŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƐŝůŝĞŶĐĞ͘ WƌĂĞƐŝƐ hƚ WƌŽƐŝƐ͘͟ Ͳ Atholl tholl Murray, Headmaster of De La Salle Holy Cross College www.delasalleholyycr crosscollege.co.za o

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

RELIGION

13

What’s the deal with Pentecostals?

Pentecostal churches are spreading rapidly in Africa.

In the first of a two-part series, pRoF MICHAEL oGUNU examines Pentecostalism and the origins of the Catholic Charismatic Movement.

T

HE word Pentecostalism can be understood in two ways.

The first refers to the charismatic ministries of the Holy Spirit manifested on the day of Pentecost in Acts of the Apostles.

They are called Pentecostalism because the Holy Spirit began these manifestations in the Church on the day of Pentecost.

They include speaking in tongues, healing, miracles, discernment of spirits, prophecy, wisdom and understanding (1 Cor. 12:1-9).

Understood in this sense, Pentecostalism is the experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Catholic Church—an experience that is brought into focus every year when the Church celebrates the feast of Pentecost. The word is rarely used in this sense.

Pentecostalism can also be understood as a movement towards the activities of the Holy Spirit outside the Catholic Church.

In this sense, Pentecostalism is a relatively recent Christian renewal movement inspired by the first Christian Pentecost which is marked by the speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing.

It is in this latter sense that the term will be used in this series of articles.

Origin of Pentecostalism The Pentecostal movement began towards the end of the 19th century as a sect within North American Protestantism, promoted principally by Baptist and Methodist preachers.

As early as 1886 the “Latter Rain Movement” was founded in an American Baptist community. It preached a new, last outpouring of the Holy Spirit before the return of Christ.

Some years later, in 1892, the first ecstatic phenomena appeared among Baptists at Liberty, Tennessee, after they had received what they called “Baptism of the Spirit”.

The Baptist Free Church excommunicated those concerned and a Methodist minister formed them into the “Holiness Church”, which later adopted the title “Church of God”.

A whole series of similar foundations with the same name followed.

One that acquired

Members of the pentecostal Church in Nairobi, Kenya, celebrate a wedding. Many pentecostals propose polygamous marriages to ensure all women get husbands. (photo: Doreen Ajiambo/CNS) particular importance was the Pentecostal Community started by the African-American Pastor William Seymour at Los Angeles in 1906. It spread to a number of other US states and to Europe as well.

The individual Pentecostal churches in the United States united in loose federations as “Assemblies of God” and “Churches of God”. Later on, some also began using the name “Pentecostal Church”.

Initially these groups claimed that their followers directly felt the same grace of the Holy Spirit that was manifested in the charisms of the early Christians, for example, the gift of tongues and of healing.

These Pentecostal communities taught that it is possible to be completely exempt from sin on earth.

They preached an enthusiastic way of living piety which was often linked to ecstasy. Their Christianity had no dogmas because they considered that the Holy Spirit inspires the faithful directly in all that is necessary for salvation.

These Pentecostals also hold that the Holy Spirit intervenes directly in the private interpretation of the Bible, a principle common to all sects and denominations of Protestant origin.

Hence they do not recognise the existence of a magisterium enlightened by God. Rather, they leave everything to religious individualism, especially in regard to the interpretation of the exact meaning of the word of God. There are countless Pentecostal groups vying with one another in their emotional extremism.

Within the diversity of their potentially infinite doctrinal views,

the different sects coincide in rejecting infant baptism and also confirmation. Instead they call for a “baptism of the Spirit”.

Within the institutionalised Protestant sects, charismatic groups were first set up among the Episcopalians (as Anglicans are called in the US) in 1958, then in the US Lutheran Church in 1962, and five years later among Presbyterians.

Here, too, these different Protestant sects affirmed that one can experience the phenomenon of speaking in strange tongues, that is, glossolalia. The first groups to accept the phenomenon were the Baptists and the Methodists, from

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It was an international affair when Fr Gerard Masters presided over the exchange of wedding vows of Martine Klein and Dominic Tang at Suikerbossie in Cape Town. The couple had married in a Catholic church in Brunei in July, but had a second wedding ceremony in Cape Town for the bride’s family. Guests came from as far as Kazakhstan (where the bride’s parents, Michael and Faith Klein, currently teach), Australia, Dubai, Canada and Brunei.

Pope: Don’t pray like a parrot

BY CINDY WOODEN

C

HRISTIANS are not better than other people, but they do know that God is their Father and they are called “to reflect a ray of his goodness in this world thirsting for goodness, waiting for good news”, Pope Francis has said.

“God does not want to be appeased with long streams of adulation, as the pagans did to win the benevolence of the deity; it is enough to talk to him like a father who knows what we need before we even tell him,” he said at his first general audience of 2019.

“The Christian is not someone who tries to be better than others, but one who knows he or she is a sinner,” the pope said. A Christian knows how to stand before God with awe, to call upon him as Father, and try to reflect his goodness in the world.

Jesus urges his followers not to be like the hypocrites who pray just to be seen, the pope said. “How often have we seen the scandal of those people who go to church, spend the whole day there or go every day, and then they live hating others or speaking badly of

others—this is a scandal. It would be better not to go to church.”

He added: “If you go to church, live like a child [of God] and like a brother or sister” to others, Pope Francis said.

In teaching the Our Father, Jesus was helping his followers learn the essence of prayer and the importance of not thinking that using more words makes for a better prayer, he said.

“The pagans thought that by speaking, speaking, speaking, they were praying,” the pope said. But praying isn’t like being “a parrot” who repeats an endless stream of words, Pope Francis said. “No, praying comes from the heart, from inside.”

“It even could be a silent prayer. Basically, it is enough to put yourself under God’s gaze, recognise his fatherly love—and that’s enough to be heard,” he said.

“How beautifu ul it is to think that our God does not need sacrifices to win his favour. He needs nothing,” the pope said. “He asks only that we keep open a channel of communication with him to discover continually that we are his beloved children.”—CNS

Abuse summit must focus on role of bishops

BY CINDY WOODEN

A

MEMBER of the committee organising Pope Francis’ Februar y summit on the sexual abuse crisis said the meeting should include discussing ways to hold bishops accountable for handling cases correctly.

The Februar y 21-24 meeting will bring together the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences, the heads of the Eastern C a t h o l i c c h u rc h e s , a n d l e a d e r s o f r e l i g i o u s orders.

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the committee organising the meeting, said that “we want to see how we...can put on the table the question of bishops’ responsibility, so there would be greater clarity about who must do something and who checks if the things the Holy Father and the Church...have ordered be done are, in effect, done.”

Fr Zollner, president of the Centre for Child Protection at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, said the pope’s commitment to not under valuing or covering up any case of abuse will require “a clarification of procedures, which aren’t so clear”.

And, second, he said, there must be a change of attitude.

“The rules—the laws as such—will not change hearts. We see this not only in Europe, but throughout the world. So, we must s e e h o w w e c a n r e i n f o rc e t h r o u g h o u t t h e Church this attitude of openness and attention to the protection of minors because that is the attitude Jesus teaches us.”

S outher ross outhern Cr ou oss o s s Pilgrimage

Fr Zollner said he hoped the Februar y meeting would help ever yone in the C h u rc h , e v e r y w h e r e i n t h e w o r l d , r e a l i s e “the urgency of making the protection of minors and bringing justice to the victims a priority”.

Former papal spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJJ has said that Church leaders who continue to believe clerical sexual abuse is a problem only in some countries or cultures must open their eyes and take action—otherwise “the Church will continue to find itself facing one crisis after another”.

People have great expectations for the Februar y meeting, Fr Lombardi said, but they also should take time to look at all the Church has been doing to face up to the crisis and protect children.

“This isn’t something that began today or yesterday, but decades ago,” he said.

Bishops’ conferences in many countries “have undertaken important initiatives, have tried to understand what really happened, how to help the victims and how to establish a culture of prevention”, Fr Lombardi said.

And, he added, beginning with Pope B e n e d i c t X V I , t h e u n i v e r s a l C h u rc h h a s strengthened its norms and procedures for dealing with cases.

“We must understand that the problem is ver y serious, ver y important for society and for the Church,” he said.

“There is a real renewal needed in the C h u rc h , t h e r e i s a l o n g r o a d t o t r a v e l , ” h e noted. “But, at the same time, we are not starting from zero.”—CNS

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which the two founders of the Pentecostal Church had been expelled in 1892.

By 1963, speaking in strange tongues was fully in vogue in American Protestantism.

That same year, after serious study, Episcopalian Bishop James Pike of California prohibited his subjects from participating in Pentecostal meetings and declared that manifestations of glossolalia constituted a grave danger for the Christian faith of those who cultivated them.

Mgr Konrad Algermissen, a pioneer of Catholic ecumenical studies, in his verdict on the Pentecostal movement declared that “there can be no question of a second outpouring of the Holy Spirit bestowed through ‘Baptism of the Spirit’ or ‘Anointing of the Spirit’”.

“Man, who is born again through grace and baptism or penance, and is thus objectively sanctified, cannot attain here on earth the perfect subjective sinlessness and sanctity promised to its members by the Pentecostal movement,” Mgr Algermissen wrote.

Catholic Charismatics The Pentecostal or Charismatic Movement began among Catholics in 1966 with Ralph Keifer and Patrick Bourgeois, laymen and theology lecturers at Duquesne Catholic University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Both men attended a congress of the Cursillo—a Catholic apostolic movement that originated in Spain—where they met Steve Clark and Ralph Martin who were student activists in St John’s parish,

East Lansing, Michigan.

By this time Clark was reading a book titled The Cross and the Switch Blade by Protestant Pastor David Wilkerson.

This book describes how Wilkerson, out of his inner impulse, abandoned his parish ministry with its salary to minister to drug addicts, prostitutes, alcoholics and juvenile delinquents.

Another book which influenced them was the one read by Ralph Keifer, titled They Speak in Other Tongues by John Sherrill. The book describes the history of the Pentecostal communities and spiritual renewal within Protestant denominations.

Faced with apathy and unbelief among college students, Keifer and Bourgeois realised that they needed the kind of power which Wilkerson appeared to have.

The Cross and the Switch Blade made it clear to them they needed the Holy Spirit for remarkable acts of Christian charity and zealous Christian activity.

At a prayer meeting of a Protestant Pentecostal prayer group on January 13, 1967, they requested baptism of the Holy Spirit and were excited to discover that they could speak in strange tongues.

Returning to Desquesne University, they initiated other Catholics into the Pentecostal rite, and the movement grew rapidly.

Soon there were also groups at the University of Notre Dame and other Catholic centres, and they spread across the world, including South Africa.

NEXT WEEK: Why Catholics drift to Pentecostal Churches, and what we can do about it.

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14

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

FAITH

The Church problem with crystals Healing crystals might offer people hope, but the Church rejects their use. Why does the Church condemn crystals, but encourage relics?

T

O the outside viewer, crystals are pretty rocks. Perfectly curated pictures of the pretty stones pepper the social media feeds of scores of millennials, as they have become increasingly popular on necklaces and as part of a “holistic”, wellness-minded life.

But, more than just a fashion statement, crystals are believed by some to have healing properties, related to their energy or vibrations.

The Catholic Church rejects all things associated with New Age beliefs, including the trendy crystals, as heretical and dangerous.

At the same time, the Catholic Church embraces the veneration of relics.

To the outside viewer, relics are likely strange at best, and morbid at worst.

Relics are pieces of the body, clothing or other objects that have a direct association with a saint or with Jesus Christ. They may be pieces of bone or vials of blood collected after a saint has died, or a piece of their cassock, a book they used, or items that have been linked to these things.

Relics are venerated, often with a touch or a kiss, for the sake of the worship of God, and to ask the prayers of those saints.

So why is it okay for Catholics to kiss a vial of St John Paul II’s blood and pray for his intercession, but not

okay for them to cure their negative energy by wearing a rock around their necks?

It’s all about who you want to establish a relationship with, explained Fr Jim Orr, the director of St Anthony’s chapel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is home to 5 000 relics.

“The importance of the relics is their association with the saint, because while the saints would be in the glory of heaven, their body is still their body—so it’s that association that makes the relics important, and, if you will, creates the connection,” Fr Orr explained.

“When one venerates a relic, one is essentially making a connection with the saint in the glory of heaven.

So what is going on spiritually is a kind of prayer to the saint, invoking their intercession.”

No ‘spiritual radioactivity’ What makes a saint holy or worthy of veneration is not some kind of “spiritual radioactivity”, Fr Orr noted, but their holiness, which is how well they loved God and neighbour.

“Holiness is the difference between the world and those who follow Jesus Christ, and it’s a difference of behaviour,” Fr Orr said.

“Look at God’s great commandments: ‘Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, love your neighbour as yourself, love one another as I have loved you. This is how they will know you are my disciples, by your love for one another’,” he noted.

“And any of the great saints, if you look at them, [that love] is the characteristic of their lives. So when we look at relics, or blessed or consecrated objects, it’s about how they

A handful of healing crystals, the use of which the Church condemns. help us make the connection with those who have gone on into glory” in heaven, he said.

In some ways, crystals are similar to relics, in that they are physical objects that can establish a spiritual connection. But it would be a mistake to think of them as anything but harmful, Fr Orr said.

“It’s far from harmless. This is thinly veiled so-called witchcraft, which really is playing with demons,” he said.

In the 2003 Vatican document Jesus Christ: The Bearer of the Water of Life, the Church teaches that all things associated with New Age beliefs, including crystals, must be rejected, as they claim to offer an alternative to the Word of God. “From the point of view of Christian faith, it is not possible to isolate some elements of New Age religiosity

as acceptable to Christians, while rejecting others. Since the New Age movement makes much of a communication with nature, of cosmic knowledge of a universal good— thereby negating the revealed contents of Christian faith—it cannot be viewed as positive or innocuous,” the Vatican said.

Rejection of the New Age Furthermore, the Catechism rejects New Age beliefs and the use of crystals: “All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and

in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honour, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”

Fr Gary Thomas, an exorcist for the diocese of San José, California, said that relics obtain spiritual significance only because they are associated with the saints. Saints are recognised as holy through the authority of the Church, which has its authority in God through apostolic succession, starting with the first pope, St Peter.

Crystals can have “perverted” spiritual energy through spells or pagan rituals that are performed with them, he said.

“Crystals can be used as conjuring objects for the demonic,” Fr Thomas said. “I have had people come to me for deliverance who have been involved in the practice of using crystals for demonic musterings.”

Fr Orr, who has also been involved in exorcism ministry, said he too has seen people who have established connections with the demonic through their use of things like crystals.

“The demons go along until they can get their hooks into this person, and then they turn on them, and that’s when we in the ministry see them, when they finally realise what they’re dealing with, and they can’t disassociate themselves from the demons,” he said. That’s when they come seeking the help of exorcists.

“So in that sense, that’s how crystals are like relics. It’s who you’re creating a relationship with. The relics create a relationship with the saints and the glory of heaven; crystals create a relationship with demons.”— CNA

CHURCH

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

15

What are these stole fees?

In recent weeks the question of fees charged for services by priests has been discussed around the world. CHRISTEN ToRRES interviewed Bishop Edward Risi to seek explanations.

W

HEN Pope Francis recently criticised some priests and laity who he said turn their parishes into a “business” by charging for things such as baptisms, blessings and Mass intentions, he started a worldwide debate about questions of planned giving, Mass stipends and stole fees.

In a homily in the chapel of the Vatican’s St Martha guesthouse, the pope observed that many parishes have a price list readily available for baptisms, blessings and Mass intentions, adding that when a parish starts doing business, it’s like saying that salvation is no longer free.

The Southern Cross’ interview on the subject with Bishop Victor Phalana in the December 12 edition elicited further debate in South Africa, especially on The Southern Cross’ Facebook page (facebook.com/ thescross/).

Bishop Phalana said that where the poor have no means to offer stole fees and stipends, they must not be denied access to the full sacraments. But, he added, those who can afford it must make “a meaningful and significant donation given according to the means of each parishioner and the nature of the particular celebration conducted”.

We interviewed Bishop Edward Risi of Keimoes-Upington, the chair of the Department for Christian Formation, Liturgy, and Culture at the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, to explain some of the key issues in this debate.

Bishop Risi, could you explain what is meant by a “stipend” and “stole fee”? Let’s start with the Mass stipend.

“Stipend” in our Catholic usage usually refers to a Mass offering.

The monetary contribution is regulated by the bishops of the conference area.

By means of a Mass stipend, a member of the faithful or a group of people request a priest to offer Mass for their intentions, and the offering is a contribution to the support of the priest as well as the requisites for offering the Mass, such as wine, altar breads and candles.

In our conference region the Mass stipend is set at R40.

Canon Law requires the priests to keep a register of the offerings people make and include the date when the obligation on the part of the priest was discharged.

Similarly, a priest may take only one Mass stipend per day, unless he celebrates a second Mass for the faithful.

The stipend belongs to the priest who celebrates the Mass intention, unless he belongs to a religious congregation; then his religious congregation stipulates how the funds are used.

The local bishops, as well as religious congregations, usually organise a special fund for those who celebrate a third Mass in a day—the proceeds of the third stipend are usually given as a contribution for students for the priesthood or some similar purpose.

The amount stipulated as a Mass stipend is always considered the minimum amount and the faithful are always free to contribute more, if they so desire.

I remember my uncle, who was a religious priest, telling my mother that if she gave more, he would put the stipulated amount into the purse of the congregation and the rest into a good cause. And I know most priests have a similar attitude:

A man receives a blessing from a priest. In this interview, Bishop Edward Risi explains which services a priest may ask fees for, and what purpose they serve. they see these contributions as an offering participation in the saving action of Jesus and they respect them as such.

And the stole fee? Why are they called that?

“Stole fee” refers to the stole which the priest wears as a sign of his ministry. It is the symbol of priestly authority Stole fees are also regulated by the local bishops but in this instance, it is the bishops of a metropolitan area, for example the metropolitan area of Cape Town would include Port Elizabeth, Queenstown, Oudtshoorn and so on.

The bishops stipulate what is required from the faithful towards the support of the priest through the exercise of the priestly ministry.

However, in the case of stole fees, these belong to the parish and are used to augment the support the parish gives its priest or priests.

The regulation of stole fees would include baptism, confirmation, marriages and funerals. Usually not included is the anointing of the sick.

Again, the amount stipulated is

the minimum amount and the faithful are free to contribute more.

However, no priest or deacon and no parish finance committee has the right to set the stole fees apart from what the local bishops have decided.

How do parishioners know how much to give?

The diocesan regulations usually require that the stole fees be posted on the parish notice board so that all may have access to that information.

In the Bloemfontein metropolitan area, under which my diocese of Keimoes-Upington falls, we stipulated as follows: baptisms R50, confirmations R50; funerals R100; marriages R100. Unveiling of tombstones R100. These contributions belong to the parish.

Traditionally there is nothing set for First Communion.

For blessing of vehicles, a donation may be offered, but this is entirely the decision of the one who asks for the vehicle to be blessed.

In the spirit of what Bishop Phalana said in The Southern Cross, a priest does not ask for a contribu-

tion for giving a blessing or for blessing water or counselling.

So to clarify: When contributing towards the celebration of the sacraments or services involving sacraments who does the money go to? The parish or the priest?

Mass stipends belong to the priest who discharges the obligation; stole fees belong to the parish.

What is the purpose of having stole fees? What function do they provide to the church or priest?

Stole fees are a monetary contribution of the faithful who have requested the spiritual service of the priest or deacon. It forms part of the financial support which the parish gives him coming from collections, planned giving and other fundraising activities of the parish.

What is the difference between clergy “selling sacraments’” and parishioners paying stole fees?

Firstly, the bishops regulate the contributions from the faithful so as to prevent clergy offering their ministry to the highest bidder.

In Southern Africa, the bishops have tried to balance the requirement that the faithful support their priests adequately and that the poor and marginalised have access to the sacraments.

That is why all the amounts stipulated are minimum amounts and should in no way prevent people who can from offering more. But the decision comes from the one who is being ministered to.

There is a great challenge to giving our priests adequate financial support. Parishes need to take it more seriously upon their shoulders to organise planned giving and other fundraising opportunities.

However, this whole conversation is saying that the ministry through the sacraments and other services should never be allowed to become fund-raising opportunities.

To recap: what is subject to a stole fee, and what isn’t?

Not all the sacraments require a monetary contribution which is referred to as stole fees: traditionally confession, first Communion and anointing of the sick don’t require stole fees.

Bishop Edward Risi, who chairs the SACBC’s department responsible for the sacraments.

There is a stole fee for baptism, confirmation and marriage. Funerals and unveiling of tombstones have been added to this list.

It would be apt to add at this point that stole fees do not cover petrol or travel expenses. Here the Parish Finance Committees need to exercise oversight so that priests are adequately covered to answer the calls of their ministry.

Is there transparency and accountability governing a parish’s income?

Canon law requires priests to keep a record of contributions made to them by the faithful.

Contributions such as stipends or stole fees are also regulated by local bishops. Diocesan regulations requires bishops to post on their parish board the prices of stole fees as well as Mass stipend, for sacraments so that all parishioners are able to access to the information.

As mentioned, bishops have regulated the contributions of the faithful so as to prevent clergy from “selling sacraments” to parishioners, by setting certain prices for services. This is done so as to protect the poor and marginalised while continuing the required financial support for the faithful.

In the spirit of what Bishop Phalana said in The Southern Cross article, a priest does not ask for a contribution for giving a blessing or for blessing water or counselling.

16

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

BOOK REVIEWS

Priest’s book examines reconciliation in SA HELP! MY GRANNY’S DOG IS A RACIST!: Is Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Finally Dead?, by Fr Patrick Noonan. Write-on Publishing. 2018. 143pp Reviewed by Mmanaledi D Kgongoane RANCISCAN Father Patrick Noonan has done much in the service of racial reconciliation in the post- apartheid era.

His first book, They Are Burning The Churches, is now considered something of a national treasure in recording the history of the protests and struggles of apartheid South Africa in the 1980s.

Having celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Catholic Church’s establishment in our country, one may examine how the Church has helped or hindered social cohesion and reconciliation in South Africa.

It is a climate where many white South Africans are emigrating due to their lamentations on the state of our country, as well as their thoughts on how much they “used to have hope, but now we just want to leave before it all burns down”.

For me, as a black South African, it was important to find out why Fr Noonan, this Irish-born South African citizen, would want not only to stay in this country but even include his narrative in the tapestry of modern-day South Africa.

His personal story, a unique one, is well recorded in his third book, Township God, in which he explains how he had to examine “my position in life, my whiteness, religious vocation, understanding of Church teaching on social issues, on being a follower of St Francis, on township values”.

This is by no means a small feat of love. Few native-born white

F

South Africans have contrition for the past, including within the Catholic Church.

And it is indeed tough to grow up in a world where once the black majority was in service of you and the white government enforced your importance, and then find yourself in a place where black society blossoms, with black lecturers, black doctors, black government, a black president, black celebrities and TV shows, and, yes, black nuns, deacons, priests and bishops.

Not only, does the government ask you to make a seat at the table for the people who once washed your dishes, but also Jesus asks you to move over and hold the hand of the security guard.

In my parish, I have observed what I call “The Wince”. When politicians express their anger towards white privilege, or when black people ask for more positions of power in the Church, or the bishop asks for money, or the black families move into the pews, many white people show a little wince on their faces.

It is very much the same wince and silence that swept the hall when Fr Noonan, at the launch of the book under review, brought up the R-word.

In his provocatively titled new book, he examines the lifestyle and grooming of dogs in white South Africa and calls into question why they are treated as more precious than the average poverty-stricken

child in a township If white South Africans have The Wince, black South Africans have The Glare.

It’s the silent glare that is seen when our music is not included at Mass, when the assumption is made that we have all dabbled in witchcraft, when our hands are not shaken during the Sign of Peace, when the insinuation of our laziness and corruption is talked about during a sermon, when no real support and interest is shown for Bl Benedict Daswa as it would be for praying the Rosary.

And we apply The Glare when white people are “tolerating white demagogues and vilify a black demagogue such as Julius Malema”, as Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher rightly notes in an editorial which is reproduced in full in Fr Noonan’s book.

It takes true power to admit some ugly truths about yourself, and equal amounts of power to forgive ugliness acted upon you.

Who is Jesus, if not a lover of truth as well as forgiveness? He speaks to my heart in Setswana and to others in English, all with the same things: forgiveness and truth.

I have come to love the man who demands truth and forgiveness from me, not just love and adoration.

Help! My Granny’s Dog Is A Racist! is uncomfortable reading.

It’s at times intense, and often a critique on the Catholic family, our

societal inequities and the future of the youth, and how they could help perpetuate ugly old skeletons.

But the book also shows how, through the bravery of contrition and honesty and embracing the ugliness of our past, we can appreciate the beauty of our present.

This is the gift Fr Noonan through this book gives to Catholics, the youth, the Church and our country.

Here is a true “opportunity for reconciliation”. n Order from frank@writeonpublish ing.co.za

Abducted in Iraq ABDUCTED IN IRAQ: A Priest in Baghdad, by Fr Saad Sirop Hanna, with Edward S Aris. University of Notre Dame Press.

2017. 169 pp.

Reviewed by David Gibson OU don’t hate us, do you?” One of Fr Sirop Hanna’s captors asked that question as the young Chaldean Catholic priest’s month-long captivity in Iraq came to an end.

Today Fr Hanna is an auxiliary bishop of Baghdad. He was kidnapped on August 15, 2006, after Islamic extremists surrounded his car on a southern Baghdad street.

His captor’s question came after a seemingly endless series of days during which he was transported from one unknown place to another and another while blindfolded in a vehicle’s boot, endured countless violent beatings, and received little food or drink.

“No, I don’t hate any person,” he answered his captor. “My faith

‘Y

asks this of me, to love all people.

Even those who harm me. I don’t always accept the things they do, but I don’t hate them.”

Abducted in Iraq was written a decade after his captivity. The book tells the painful, day-by-day story of those times, and of his survival—his physical survival, to be sure, but the survival too, indeed the flourishing, of his faith under the most senselessly hurtful circumstances.

Love, he concludes, “must be the driving force for all people, to ‘love your enemy’, to look beyond the threats of the here and now, to look beyond ethnicity, creed, culture or religion. and to connect on a level of shared humanity”.

A continual flow of grave threats and painful moments mark this book’s pages.

They are marked, too, by the author’s refusal to allow his captivity to justify hatred toward Muslims.

Abducted in Iraq is a gripping account of profound faith, authentic courage and hope against all odds.—CNS

Congratula t l tions ti to every 2018 Ma M tric t i ulan l t

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“Congratulations ladies. I am so proud of all of you. May your present achievements be the start of tomorrow ’s’s accomplishmeents” -High School Principal al, Mrs B Damhuis Lara Irons 10 Distinctions

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FAITH

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

17

Why you must think about your death Thinking about our death is not morbid but an exercise in hope as we reflect on Christ’s victory over death, a young nun told CHRISTINE RoUSELLE.

minder of their death and the importance of preparing for a final encounter with God. While death can certainly be an uncomfortable topic to think about, it is far from a morbid subject in the mind of the Church. Sr Noble said that she believes that as Christians, “we are not just meditating on the reality of death but on Christ’s victory over death”.

With this in mind, Sr Noble said that meditating about death is actually a “hope-filled practice”.

“St Thomas Aquinas wrote that ‘Christ died so that by dying he might deliver us from the fear of death’,” Sr Noble pointed out. The practice of memento mori, she said, “helps us to make that journey from fear to hope”.

P

AULINE Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble has had an interesting Twitter project for the past year and a half: she has kept a small (ceramic) skull on her desk, and has been tweeting daily meditations on death with the hashtag #MementoMori.

The project has now grown to include two books: a journal titled Remember Your Death: Memento Mori Journal, as well as a Lenten devotional titled Remember Your Death: Memento Mori Lenten Devotional.

What makes a relatively young religious Sister—certainly not one expecting to die soon—so eager to focus on death?

Sr Noble said that she was first inspired by the example of the founder of her order, even before she entered the religious life.

Bl James Alberione, founder of the Daughters of St Paul, kept a skull on his desk to remind him of his eventual death.

“Before I entered the Daughters of St Paul I read this and I thought, ‘That is so metal. Definitely going to do that at some point’,” Sr Noble recalled.

While she later forgot about the intention, it came back to her during a spiritual retreat last year.

One of the priests at the retreat

Sr Theresa Aletheia Noble FNS promotes the practice of memento mori—thinking about your death— on Twitter, with impressive results.

She has now published two booklets on the subject. had a small skull with him. Sr Noble took this as a sign to take up the meditation and borrowed a ceramic skull from her sister’s Halloween decorations. She created the hashtag campaign shortly thereafter.

The practice of meditating upon one’s death has been common in the Church for centuries, and daily prayers for the dead are part of the routine for many religious orders.

In Catholic art, many saints are depicted holding a skull as a re-

Conversion from tweets Since starting her tweets, hundreds of people have sent Sr Noble pictures of their own memento mori skulls, and many people have seen the spiritual fruits that come along with meditating on their own death.

“One man told me that he had been suffering from insomnia and serious anxiety and had stopped going to church,” she said.

“But one Sunday he decided to go after seeing one of my tweets.

As he walked into the church, the priest was saying an exact phrase from a Bible passage that I had tweeted earlier. The man felt God speaking to him in that moment through that ‘coincidence’,” Sr Noble said.

“He started going to Mass and meditating on his death, and his insomnia disappeared. God can

Figures of Carthusian friars in France remind onlookers to remember their death. Memento mori is an old devotional practice in the Church. work powerfully in people’s lives through memento mori.”

With the journal and devotional she is now writing, Sr Noble says she wants to help people with the spiritual practice of meditating on one’s death “with something more substantive than my tweets”.

The journal contains an introduction to the practice of memento mori, as well as prayers and quotes from the Church Fathers, saints, and Scripture.

The journal, she said, is meant to be a companion to the Lenten devotional, which contains journaling prompts. It can, however, be used on its own.

Sr Noble said that “it would not

be an exaggeration” to say that the practice of memento mori has changed her life and how she thinks about the world.

In addition to thinking about death in a more Christian sense, she said she is less afraid of dying and more motivated to ask God for graces to change immediately rather than putting it off for the future.

“We all think we will live until old age, but death could come at any time,” Sr Noble said.

“Holiness becomes more urgent in view of the fact that death is both inevitable and unpredictable.”—CNA n The books can be ordered from www.pauline.org

18

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

CHURCH

The WYDs of Pope Benedict XVI In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI presided over his first World Youth Day. In Part 4 of his series on WYDs, GüNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at the other festivals which that pope led: 2008 in Sydney and 2011 in Madrid.

D

URING the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, big Catholic events became increasingly subject to various protests.

Some of these were ideological—by people opposed to the Catholic Church for various reasons—while others referred to specific issues, especially the abuse crisis in the Church.

Those who organised antiChurch protests unintentionally made a point they so often wished to deny: that the Catholic Church was still relevant.

The turnout for the WYDs in Australia and Spain supported the idea that the Church had not lost its relevance.

2008: Sydney

W

here in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI came into World Youth Day in Cologne cold—only a few months after his election—by the time he went Down Under for WYD 2008 in Sydney he had settled well into his papal job.

The build-up to the event was clouded by revelations of sexual

Left: pilgrims, including South Africans, welcome pope Benedict XVI to Sydney during WYD 2008. Right: A pilgrim waits for the start the of the WYD 2011 opening Mass in Madrid’s plaza de Cibeles. (photos from CNS) abuse by Church personnel, and a perception that Pope Benedict was responsible for it.

Isolated protests aside, the issue did not dominate WYD 2008 which put the focus on the graces of faith, not on the crimes and failures of people in the Church.

As one would expect, a WYD at the distant end of the world attracted diminished numbers of pilgrims. Still, for the closing Mass at Randwick Racecourse, about 350 000 turned up.

The number of pilgrims was said to have exceeded the figure for international visitors to the Olympic

Games in Sydney in 2000.

Throughout his various encounters and events, Pope Benedict explored the subjects one has come to associate with his papacy, such as relativism, materialism and the environment, as well as the erosion of society by alcohol and drug abuse, violence and the degradation of human sexuality.

But the recurring theme was the Holy Spirit as God’s creative, lifegiving and courage-giving force.

A

t the vigil, which began with the pope lighting a torch which was then carried by a young indigenous woman and ended with Eucharistic adoration, Pope Benedict exhorted the youth to open them-

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selves to the energy of God’s love.

“In accepting the power of the Holy Spirit you, too, can transform your families, communities and nations,” Pope Benedict said.

At the closing Mass, the pope hoped that for the young pilgrims, the WYD would be a “new Pentecost”, marking a new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit after they experienced the Church as “a living community of love, embracing people of every race, nation and tongue”.

During the closing Mass, Pope Benedict confirmed 24 youths from all over the world. Among them Port Elizabeth pilgrims Peter-John Urban and Benedicta Kara-Vala.

Throughout his four days in Australia, Pope Benedict sent daily SMS texts to subscribers of an Australian cellular phone network. Sample text: “The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles & gives u the power boldly 2 proclaim that Christ is risen! BXVI.” The highly articulate and generally purist pontiff probably did not personally put finger to touchscreen to create this txtspk-laced prose.

WHAT WAS HOT THEN: Music: “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay; “Take A Bow” by Rihanna; “Soundtracks and Comebacks” by Goldfish.

Movies: Wall-E; Bakgat; Hancock.

On TV: House; 30 Rock; Erfsondes.

2011: Madrid

W

ORLD Youth Day 2011 was hot. There were the high summer temperatures, and also public protests against the event.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ took it in his stride: “It seems to me that before every papal trip there are demonstrations by people who have a different opinion and use the occasion to express their problems or concerns. It’s part of life in a democratic country.”

Vatican Radio reporter Emer McCarthy noted a change in mood in the Spanish press during WYD, “which passed from front page reporting on the protests that had erupted on the eve of the papal trip, to the pope’s call for ethics in political and social spheres to help overcome the [economic] crisis”.

WYD pilgrims made themselves heard over that noise anyway, with their exuberant spirit.

South African pilgrims also made themselves heard in Madrid. Lebo Majahe of Johannesburg said the group from her archdiocese was “singing, dancing, drum-playing and blowing vuvuzelas—doing it in a true South African way”.

The WYD 2011 theme was “Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith” (cf Col 2:7). The WYD anthem was composed Fr Enrique Castro, with lyrics

by Auxiliary Bishop Cesar Franco of Madrid.

Organisers had expected about a million people at the vigil and clos-

ing Mass at the Cuatro Vientos airbase, about 13km from the centre of Madrid—a distance many pilgrims walked because public transport struggled to provide for the numbers.

And these numbers exceeded expectations. There were 1,4 million people, with another quarter of a million people being locked out. It was Spain’s largest-ever Catholic event.

M

ost of the 1,4 million were baking in the summer heat of 37°C as they were waiting for the vigil. Throughout the day, firefighters provided relief by hosing down the good-natured and exuberant pilgrims.

Fr Simon Donnelly, then a parish priest in Johannesburg and now working in the Vatican, noted: “It was a hot, hot afternoon that got hotter and hotter, until it was boiling! Pilgrims fainted, some had to be carted off, some were seriously dehydrated, some were just…overwhelmed.”

The sun began to set, and Pope Benedict arrived. Shortly after, a storm arrived, halting proceedings temporarily.

Once the skies had cleared, the huge crowd fell silent in Eucharistic adoration, followed by a devout Stations of the Cross. The ninth station, “Jesus is Stripped of His Garments”, included a prayer for victims of sexual abuse.

“A million or two people in total silence is an unbelievable experience. It was for many of us the best part of the whole evening. The youth of the world, surrounding the bishop of Rome, in silence, as together we prayed to the Eucharistic Lord, with all the petitions we brought with us. This is the Church!” Fr Donnelly said.

But the brief storm created another problem: it damaged several of the 17 Eucharistic chapel-tents set up on the perimeter of the airfield which had to be dismantled as they posed a danger. As a result, most pilgrims did not receive Communion during the closing Mass.

They were asked to offer it up as a sacrifice for the pope.

Organisation was a recurring problem, culminating in the 250 000 pilgrims being denied access to the closing Mass, despite having tickets.

The logistical dilemmas even preceded WYD. A food company wanted to donate 50 000kg of bananas—but organisers then had to find a way of disposing of all those peels.

But overall, WYD 2011 was seen as a great experience. Fr Chris Townsend of Pretoria called it a “Catholic love-in” and a great opportunity to learn about other cultures—even the tradition of the siesta.

WHAT WAS HOT THEN: Music: “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry; “The A-Team” by Ed Sheeran; “Loliwe” by Zahara.

Movies: Bridesmaids; Rango; Viva Riva!

On TV: Wild At Heart; Glee; Homeland.

The Southern Cross, January 16 to January 22, 2019

Sr Simone Görgen SAC

P

ALLOTTINE Sister Simone Görgen died on December 21, 2018, at the age of 77.

Born in Mayen, Germany on May 9, 1941, she was the youngest of the five children of Peter and Anna Görgen. She grew up in a very sheltered home and spent a beautiful and light-hearted childhood with her siblings, three brothers and one sister.

In 1963, after Sr Simone completed her training as a professional nurse, she immediately entered the Pallottine Missionary Sisters in Limburg an der Lahn. She made her first profession on August 15, 1966, and her final on March 25, 1973.

On April 28, 1970, Sr Simone was sent to South Africa and worked in St Joseph’s Home for Chronically Ill Children in Cape Town. During that time she completed midwifery and paediatric nursing courses, and in 1984, gained her diploma in nursing administration.

Thereafter, she successfully started a nursing training course, and offered the young girls on the staff at St Joseph’s an opportunity to not only im-

prove their lives but also to give them a meaningful and good education. She very much enjoyed working with the children and her students.

Sr Simone’s lovely footprints leave behind rich memories which will live on in our hearts.

In 2007, she was transferred to a mission station in Tanzania and spent again several happy years with our Sisters there, and later in England.

Sr Simone returned to South Africa in 2010 and became a lov-

ing member of our community at the St Vincent Pallotti convent in Pinelands, Cape Town.

After enduring severe backache and hypertension, she was diagnosed with myeloma.

She was treated for this over several years and enjoyed time while in remission until she became seriously ill and was confined to bed in December 2018.

The support pillars of her life have been her faith, her family, her community and her many friends.

The death of a person like Sr Simone is an opportunity to express thanks for a life of generosity and dedication to God and his people.

We are pilgrims, wayfarers, looking ahead. Sr Simone’s life offers insight into the nature of God, the Creator of all, Father of love and mercy.

Our sister and friend has passed from our midst, with sadness and gratitude, into the presence and care of a loving Father, and the realms of the angels and saints.

Where she has gone, we hope to follow.

Sr Annemarie Niehsen SAC

Pat Rogers

B

ROADCASTING veteran and Radio Veritas pioneer Pat Rogers died on December 23, 2018, at 87 in Somerset West near Cape Town after a short illness—two weeks before he was due to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his marriage to his wife Anne.

An incisive interviewer with a passion for justice, Mr Rogers did much to expose apartheid on the SABC through his current affairs programmes Midweek and Agenda. He was forced to resign after objecting to the National Party government’s overseeing his programmes.

Born on March 29, 1931 in Ladybrand in the Orange Free State, Pat Rogers was one of four children. His oldest brother Bob was a highly decorated World War II pilot and later head of the South African Air Force.

When the family moved to Johannesburg, Pat was educated at Marist Brothers’ College in Observatory, where he flourished academically and at boxing.

After his schooling he moved to the then-Rhodesia and served a stint with the British South Africa Police, patrolling the

bush on horseback.

From there he moved into journalism, working for Horizon magazine and the South African Press Association. He then joined Rhodesia Television and was later transferred to Zambia for the launch of TV there in 1964.

Mr Rogers then emigrated to Australia, and co-hosted the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s respected This Day Tonight current affairs programme.

Eight years later he returned to South Africa and the SABC. He was also the first news editor on Radio 702.

In May 1987 Mr Rogers won a seat on the Johannesburg city council for the Progressive Federal Party, giving the PFP a firstever, albeit short-lived, majority.

After leaving his radio career, he worked in public relations before joining Fr Emil Blaser OP in 1998 to establish Radio Veritas, serving as executive programme and production manager.

Mr Rogers applied his wide experience to the station’s programmes. He still took the microphone, as uncompromising as ever in his refusal to suffer fools.

While at Radio Veritas in

Annual Associates Mass for the intentions of our Associates will be celebrated on JANUARY 24 feast day of St Francis de Sales, patron of journalists, at 13:10 in St Mary’s Cathedral, Cape Town.

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DEATH NOTICES

BYRNE—patrick George. passed away on 09/01/2019, will be sadly missed by his loving wife Yvonne and children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. May his dear soul rest in peace.

IN MEMORIAM

BRAAF—Eugene David.

21/01/2010.

There is another side of grief Where the tears still flow, not as often Where memories bring smiles, not just sadness Where blessings are recognised, not just struggles Where joy and peace are present, not just sorrow Where you are remembered, not just mourned God bless you and may your dear soul rest in peace.

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

VAN DRIEL—James.

10.01.1937 to 19.01.2009.

Ten years have passed since our Saviour called you home to your great reward.

We miss your physical presence but know you are with us in sprit. We still speak of the lessons you taught us by your good example. This will stay with us, God willing, till we meet again. From Eunice, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

PRAYERS

2003, Mr Rogers lodged a landmark complaint regarding the SABC’s censorship of news that then-Deputy President Jacob Zuma was being investigated by the Scorpions for his involvement in the controversial arms deal scandal.

Mr Rogers retired in 2004.

Fr Blaser described him as “a mentor, patron and friend” who did much to set Radio Veritas on its path.

Radio Veritas deputy director Olinda Orlando praised him too: “He taught us so much of what we know about effective broadcasting.”

Pat Rogers is survived by Anne, his son Guy, step-children Nicholas and Jane, and three grandchildren.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 846. ACROSS: 4 Service, 8 Hailed, 9 Francis, 10 Latvia, 11 Luther, 12 Cardinal, 18 Godchild, 20 Fourth, 21 Hophni, 22 Contact, 23 Adduce, 24 precept. DOWN: 1 Chalice, 2 History, 3 Gemini, 5 Enrolled, 6 Vanity, 7 Crimes, 13 Nightcap, 14 Light up, 15 Admired, 16 Dolour, 17 Critic, 19 Clouds.

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DEAR SAINT JOSEPH, you were yourself once faced with the responsibility of providing the necessities of life for Jesus and Mary.

Look down with fatherly compassion upon me in my anxiety with my present inability to support my family. please help me find gainful employment very soon, so that this great burden of con-

cern will be lifted from my heart and that I am soon able to provide for those whom God has entrusted to my care. Help me guard against discouragement, so that I may emerge from this trial spiritually enriched and with even greater blessings from God. Amen.

MOST HOLY LORD, I see your works here on earth. I stand amazed at the beauty before me. Thank you for my joy that is not claimed by life’s sadness and disappointments. I thank you for keeping me in your wings of love. You are so very precious to me and I will forever be yours in faith and hope.

Blessed be your name in all of the earth, I pray. Amen.

PERSONAL

ABORTION WARNING: The truth will convict a silent Church. See www.valuelife abortionisevil.co.za ABORTION WARNING: The pill can abort. All Catholic users (married or cohabiting) must be told, to save their souls and their unborn infants. See www.epm.org/ static/uploads/downloads/ bcpill.pdf

PARISH NOTICES

NEW PARISH NOTICES MOST WELCOME: If any parish notices listed are no longer valid, call us on 021 465-5007 or e-mail us at m.leveson@scross.co.za so that we can remove them.

Also, we’d welcome new notices from parishes across Southern Africa to run free in the classifieds.

CAPE TOWN: Retreat day/quiet prayer last Saturday of each month except December, at Springfield Convent in Wynberg, Cape Town. Hosted by CLC, 10.00-15.30. Contact Jill on 083 282-6763 or Jane on 082 783-0331. perpetual Adoration Chapel at Good Shepherd parish, 1

Liturgical Calendar Year C – Weekdays Cycle Year 1 Sunday January 20, 2nd Sunday of the Year Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 96:1-3, 7-10, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, John 2:1-11 Monday January 21, St Agnes Hebrews 5:1-10, Psalm 110:1-4, Mark 2:18-22 Tuesday January 22, St Vincent Hebrews 6:10-20, Psalm 111:1, 2, 4-5, 9-10, Mark 2:23-28 Wednesday January 23 Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17, Psalm 110:14, Mark 3:1-6 Thursday January 24, St Francis de Sales (pictured) Hebrews 7:25--8:6, Psalm 40:7-10, 17, Mark 3:7-12

Neighbourhood Old Age Homes

We can use your old clothing, bric-a-brac, furniture and books for our second-hand shop in Woodstock, Cape Town. Help us to create an avenue to generate much-needed funds for our work with the elderly.

Contact Ian Veary on 021 447 6334 www.noah.org.za

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Friday January 25, Conversion of St Paul Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22, Psalm 117:1-2, Mark 16:15-18 Saturday January 26, Ss Timothy and Titus 2 Timothy 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5, Psalm 96:1-3, 7-8, 10, Luke 10:1-9 Sunday January 27, 3rd Sunday of the Year Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10, Psalm 19:8-10, 15, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Goede Hoop St, Bothasig, welcomes all visitors. open 24 hours a day. phone 021 558-1412.

Helpers of God’s precious Infants. 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 031309-3496 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.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

MARIANELLA Guest House, Simon’s Town: “Come experience the peace and beauty of God with us.” Fully equipped, with amazing sea views.

Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. Special rates for pensioners and clergy.

Malcolm Salida 082 7845675, mjsalida@gmail.com COTTAGE IN WILDERNESS: Four-sleeper, fully equipped, self-catering, with WiFi. Near Island Lake and short ride to George/Sedgefield and Knysna. Scenic and tranquil. Contact John or Vee on 021 715-6544/084 599-8599/084 500-3214.

The

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the

3rd Sunday: January 27 Readings: Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10, Psalm 19:8-10, 15, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

W

E are at something of a new beginning as we listen to the readings for next Sunday.

In the first reading, the exiles have returned from Babylon, but have not really got round to sorting out their religious life, mainly because they do not know the Bible very well.

So Ezra decides to read it to them. The entire population is there; men, women and children.

We are given the location (“at the Water Gate”) and the timing (“from first light till the middle of the day”), so we deduce that those forebears of ours had stamina, and “the ears of all the people were on the Scroll of the Torah”.

Ezra was also surrounded by a bunch of named officials, to give the occasion due weight, and it starts (where all our new beginnings must start) with God: “Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered ‘Amen, Amen’. And they bowed down and worshipped the Lord.”

Then Ezra does what we still have to do today, “interpreting it so that all could understand what was read”. And this new beginning had impact: “Ezra told them, ‘This is a day holy to the Lord your God; don’t weep or be sad’, for the entire people were weeping

S outher n C ross

Jesus’ very brief sermon when they heard the words of the Lord.”

Then they are invited to celebrate their new beginning with a cracking good meal.

What had given them this deep emotion was their encounter with the “Law [Torah] of the Lord”, which Israel always understood not as a grim imposition, but as a precious gift from God. That is what the psalm for next Sunday sings: “The Torah of the Lord is perfect; it refreshes the soul. The decrees of the Lord are to be trusted; they give wisdom to the simple.”

And, in the end, it all comes back to God: “Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer”. That is our end and our new beginning.

The second reading has a different sort of a beginning, with Paul trying (as ever) to stop his Corinthians from quarrelling. To achieve this he uses the idea of the body and its parts, and relates it (a serious new beginning for Christians) to the idea of the Body of Christ, and the absolute unity given by being “in Christ”.

The heart of the matter is that there is only “One Spirit” (Paul shows great originality treating the Old Testament theme of the Spirit of God), into which “we were baptised, whether we are Jews or non-Jews, slaves or free”.

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him, the majority of his followers abandon and betray him, and his own death becomes imminent, then, like the rest of us, fear and paranoia threaten to overwhelm him.

This is in fact the essence of his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane, his agonia.

Simply put, it’s easy enough to be loving and forgiving when you are bathed in these qualities. It’s quite different when your very adherence to them makes you the object of misunderstanding, hatred and murder.

And so, in Gethsemane, we see Jesus prostrate, humanly devastated, struggling mightily to cling to a cord of sustenance that had always sustained him in love, and that had kept hatred and despair at bay.

And the answer doesn’t come easy for him. He has to pray repeatedly and, in Luke’s words, “sweat blood” before he can root himself again in that grace that sustained him throughout his ministry.

L

Conrad

ove and forgiveness are not easy. Not giving in to anger, bitterness, self-pity, hatred and the desire for vengeance didn’t come easy for Jesus either.

And that’s our ultimate moral struggle: to not give in to our natural reaction when we are slighted, ignored, misunderstood, hated, or in small or large ways victimised.

In the face of these, paranoia automatically takes over and almost everything in-

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Sunday Reflections

Here Paul is suggesting the utterly revolutionary notion that everyone is equal under God; and he plays whimsically with the absurd idea of the “foot” or the “hand” or the “ear” declaring independence of the rest of the body. All of us, whatever our function, are equal members of the Body of Christ. That is a very new idea that is beginning here.

And the Gospel reading offers no less than two beginnings! We hear first the original opening of Luke’s gospel, where the evangelist tells us (or “Theophilus”) what he is proposing to do, namely to give “an accurate and orderly account, so that you may know the infallibility of the matters in which you have been catechised”.

Then we leap to chapter 4, and the first act of Jesus’ ministry after his baptism. It starts with him “returning to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” and winning general praise.

Then we listen very attentively to his firstever sermon. Luke tells the story carefully, and makes us wait.

We watch him come “to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and as usual went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, and rose up to read”.

Our choice: bitterness or love E all struggle to not give in to coldness and hatred. This was true even for Jesus. Like the rest of us, he had to struggle, mightily at times, to remain warm and loving.

It’s interesting to trace this in the Gospel of Luke. This is the gospel of prayer.

Luke shows Jesus praying more than all the other gospels combined.

Moreover, in Luke, Jesus’ disciples were intrigued by his prayer. They sensed something extraordinary about Jesus—not because he could perform miracles, but because, unlike us, he could in fact turn the other cheek. He was strong enough not to give in to coldness in the face of hatred, so strong that it threatened his very life.

In every situation, no matter how bitter, he could understand and forgive, and never doubt that love is what’s most real.

His disciples sensed that he drew this strength from a hidden source, which he called his Father, and accessed through prayer. So, in Luke’s gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. They too want to draw sustenance from this source.

But we see too in Luke that this doesn’t always come without struggle. Sometimes things seem easy for Jesus; he meets love and understanding, and his ministry is joyous and easy.

But when the forces of hatred encircle

Nicholas King SJ

The text he chooses is from late in Isaiah, about what the Spirit does to him, giving him the anointing “to preach good news to the poor…to preach freedom to captives and new sight to the blind, to send the oppressed away in freedom, to proclaim an acceptable year of the Lord”.

Then Luke describes the scene: “He rolled up the scroll. He handed it to the servant.

And he sat down.”

We watch and listen intently, for Jesus has now adopted the posture of a teacher, and just in case we had not quite got the point, Luke adds that “everyone’s eyes in the synagogue were focused on him”.

Then the sermon begins, and to our astonishment immediately ends: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And that’s it!

It may be that the sermon you will hear next Sunday does not quite match this for brevity; but, however long it is, listen out for the signs of a new beginning to which the Lord may be inviting you this week.

Southern Crossword #846

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

side us conspires to create an obsessive pressure towards giving back in kind— slight for slight, disrespect for disrespect, ugliness for ugliness, hatred for hatred, violence for violence.

But there’s another possibility: Like Jesus, who himself had to struggle to not give in to coldness and hatred, we too can draw strength through the same umbilical cord that nurtured him. His Father, God’s grace and strength, can nurture us too.

In his famous movie The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson focuses on the physical suffering Jesus had to endure during his passion and death. This has some merit since Jesus’ sufferings were in fact pretty horrific. But mostly it misses the point, as we see from the gospels.

They minimise any focus on the physical sufferings of Jesus. For the gospels, Jesus’ passion is not a physical drama but a moral one, indeed the ultimate moral drama. The real struggle for Jesus as he sweated blood in Gethsemane was not whether he would allow himself to die or invoke divine power and escape. The question was only about how he was going to die: In bitterness or love? In hatred or forgiveness?

That’s also our ultimate moral struggle; it won’t just confront us at the moment of death but meets us daily, hourly.

In every situation in our lives, small or large, where we are unfairly treated and diminished, we face a choice of how to respond: Bitterness or understanding?

Hatred or love? Vengeance or forgiveness?

And, like Jesus struggling in Gethsemane, we will have to struggle to continue to cling onto something beyond our natural instincts, beyond common sense, beyond our cultural dictates.

Doing what comes naturally will not serve us well. Something beyond our DNA needs to be accessed.

The first word out of Jesus’ mouth in the synoptic gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—is the word metanoia. Among its other meanings, it’s the opposite of paranoia. It means to trust even in the face of distrust.

Paranoia is natural to us, metanoia isn’t; it requires struggling to draw sustenance from a deeper source.

ACROSS

4. The army chaplain may be called to do it (7) 8. Greeted while the weather was rough (6) 9. Present pope’s patron (7) 10. Eastern European land of the Church in Riga (6) 11. Reformation character (6) 12. Rid canal of the senior prelate (8) 18. Is this baby born at the font? (8) 20. Station of the Cross where Jesus meets his mother (6) 21. One of Eli’s sons (1 Sm 2) (6) 22. Study diplomacy of physical touch (7) 23. Short advantage in court for Italian dictator to lead in evidence (6) 24. The order to alter your percept (7)

Solutions on page 19

DOWN

1. Chartered accountant in Chile holds Eucharistic vessel (7) 2. Chronology of the life of the Church (7) 3. The heavenly twins (6) 5. Older Len now registered in the sodality (8) 6. The futility of Ecclesiastes 1 (6) 7. Serious unlawful offences (6) 13. Bedtime drink that goes to your head? (8) 14. Your face may do it when you strike the match (5,2) 15. Dream I’d had about being approved (7) 16. One of Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows (6) 17. One with an unfavourable opinion (6) 19. The Son of Man will be seen coming in them (Mk 13) (6)

CHURCH CHUCKLE

T

HE new parish priest was looking for a document but could not make sense of the filing system.

“What kind of filing system do you have here?” he asked the parish secretary.

“It’s the biblical system,” the secretary replied.

“The biblical system? What is that?” Father demanded to know.

The secretary responded: “It’s based on the principle of Luke 11:9—‘Seek and you shall find.’”

Would you like to have a parish pilgrimage?

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