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S outher n C ross www.scross.co.za

Centenary Jubilee Year March 4 to March 10, 2020

Nthabiseng Maphisa on the ‘Fire of Truth’

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Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 5177

Lent 2020

R12 (incl VAT RSA)

How martyrs’ blood fertilised a Church

Is it OK to eat fake meat during Lent fast?

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Abuse: Much done; more work needed

BY CAROL GLATz

S Fr Elvis Sebina Komane of Witbank diocese is seen wearing a chasuble and clerical shirt he designed and made himself.

Priest makes own vestments

BY ERIN CARELSE

A

PRIEST from the diocese of Witbank is making his own chasubles as a way of expressing his creativity.

Fr Elvis Sebina Komane, of St Joseph Mukasa parish in Emalahleni, says he developed his love for sewing clothes from his mother.

“When I was younger, my mother taught me the basics of sewing, and I started making my own clothes. From there my love for sewing has just grown,” Fr Komane said when contacted by The Southern Cross.

The priest comes from a small village called Stocking in Steelport, Limpopo, and was ordained on February 16, 2019, by the late Bishop Giuseppe Sandri of Witbank.

Last year Fr Komane set himself a challenge to see if he could make his own chasuble—and to his surprise, it turned out very well.

“I was very impressed with the end result.

Being able to sew my own chasubles—from selecting fabric to completing the final details—fills me with pride and satisfaction,” he said.

The priest added: “It also means that I no longer have to spend money on something I can do myself.”

Fr Komane believes that many other priests have talents.

“Sometimes priests are afraid to share their talents with others, but I’m very proud of what I’m able to do,” he said.

Besides the chasubles, Fr Komane also makes traditional shirts and transforms everyday shirts into clerical ones.

Asked if he would be willing to share his talent and make garments for others, he said: “If people love my work, and want me to make things for them, I’ll be happy to take their order.”

The credit for his talent belongs to God, Fr Komane stressed.

“Sewing has given me a sense of accomplishment that comes from creating something handmade. These projects that I do are a way of maintaining the talent that God has given me,” he said. n For more information or to enquire about Fr Komane’s designs contact him on elviskomza@ gmail.com.

INCE Pope Francis convened a historic summit at the Vatican a year ago to address clergy sex abuse and accountability, much has been done, but advocates say more is needed.

Dozens of experts, abuse survivors and their advocates came to Rome to mark the summit’s anniversary to emphatically reiterate the need to never let ignorance, complacency or denial ever take hold again and to make the Church safe for everyone.

Significant measures have been rolled out over the past year. Here is a rundown of the most important changes: • Pope Francis approved a sweeping new law and set of safeguarding guidelines for Vatican City State and the Roman curia in March, just a month after the summit.

The new law, “On the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons”, beefed up existing criminal laws for Vatican City State and mandates quick reporting of suspected or known abuse to the Vatican tribunal.

It covers all forms of physical and emotional abuse—not just sexual violence through coercion—as well as serious forms of mistreatment, neglect, abandonment and exploitation against minors, who are below the age of 18, and vulnerable adults. l In May, Pope Francis issued Vos estis lux mundi (“You are the light of the world”) for the universal Church.

The papal mandate revised and clarified norms and procedures for holding bishops and religious superiors accountable in protecting minors as well as in protecting members of religious orders and seminarians from abuse.

It requires all priests and religious to report suspected abuse or cover-ups and encourages any layperson to report through a now-mandated reporting “system” or office that must be set up in each diocese by June of this year. l The latest, most recent change was in December, when Pope Francis waived the ob-

Church Chuckles

Pope Francis prays during last year’s Vatican summit on the protection of minors. (Photo: Vatican Media via Reuters) ligation of secrecy for those who report having been sexually abused by a priest and for those who testify in a Church trial or process having to do with clerical sexual abuse.

Abuse survivors had long called for lifting the obligation, saying it had been abused or used in ways to cover up misconduct and crimes.

Now, not only are victims and witnesses free to discuss their case, the amended law specifies that the still-in-effect obligation of Vatican officials to maintain confidentiality shall not prevent complying with civil laws, including mandatory reporting and following legal court orders. l The same day, Pope Francis changed the age defining a child from 14 to under 18 regarding what qualifies as “child pornography”, and the procedural norms for how the tribunal of the doctrinal congregation is to be composed and conducted was spelled out.

The pope has other big decisions and changes still coming, said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The step-by-step process, he said, is meant to help the Church develop “a culture of attention and prevention” that never ends.— CNS

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The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

LOCAL

Vicar-general: Catholics called on to fight injustice

BY SELBY MAKGOTHO

T Sacred Heart Sodality members Grace Riba (left) and Gopolang Makgotho were among new members welcomed in Polokwane diocese by vicar-general Fr Selby Selemela, who called on Catholics to rise up against injustice and corruption.

HE vicar-general of Polokwane diocese in Limpopo has said that Catholics need to rise and fight the injustices of poverty, unemployment and underemployment, as well as the corruption that is cancerous to modern society.

Fr Clemens Selemela challenged new members of the Sacred Heart Sodality to be symbols of the Catholic faith through their actions, words and deeds.

He welcomed the new members at a Mass in Polokwane’s Sacred Heart cathedral.

Fr Selemela said it is pleasing that the Sacred Heart Sodality is visibly standing up for their space which involves serving the poor.

“This is a calling to all of you, new members, to stand up and pray together for the Catholic Church in the world, the society we live in, our families and everyone who seeks prayer, healing and comfort,” he said.

“Go out and be God’s ambassadors of goodwill. In your sodality pray for the conflicts in the world to end and you will be inviting God to be always present in our lives,” Fr Selemela said.

There are so many challenges that test the beliefs of the Catholic faith and as such, he said, they require a prayerful society and communities.

Fr Selemela said it is concerning that many people don’t want to assist, and yet they have individual talents which, if utilised,

could be beneficial to the Church.

“We need those talents to fight for social justice in the community and to grow the Catholic Church. It cannot be correct that a person comes to church only for Holy Communion, and after the final blessing goes out, only to come back the following week without making a positive impact and difference in other people’s lives,” he told the congregation.

“Our teachings should mould you to become a better Christian.

You, too, have the responsibility to make a difference in your workplace, family and community. Let’s use our talents to contribute and fight for the survival of the Church amidst all these modern-day challenges,” Fr Selemela said.

Harare releases plan for Small Christian Communities

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HE archdiocese of Harare has released a pastoral plan to initiate smaller community cells aimed at fostering an intimate Christian experience.

Archbishop Robert Ndlovu encouraged these small communities to focus on scripture, liturgy and charity. “I urge you to form and establish standardised Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in all parishes, to foster membership, belonging and active participation of all parishioners and also to make the

Word of God, liturgy, catechesis and charity the thrust of Small Christian Communities,” he wrote in a foreword to the pastoral plan.

The SCCs will gather regularly at a parishioner’s home. The members will participate in formation, camaraderie and solidarity.

Among other events, the community will share the word of God, celebrate feast days, and band together in times of trouble, like sickness or mourning.

“Small Christian Communities

are meant to form a family of God, a people whose hearts beat together—sharing life and sharing about God,” said Fr Kizito Nhundu, pastoral vicar of the archdiocese.

The groups will consist of 10-15 families from the same region. If a group expands to 20 families then it will split into two separate groups. Fr Nhundu emphasised the importance of smaller groups to ensure intimacy.

“The smaller, the better. We are forming a family of God, that is, peo-

ple who are united, who share life, who share about God. So the involvement of all the faithful in the Church’s life is important,” he said.

The project is part of the archdiocese’s focus on youth formation and vocational discernment.

“Small Christian Communities will also serve to accompany young people in their journey of faith, so one will no longer be accompanied by their family only, but also by the community,” Fr Nhundu said.— ACIAfrica

Pretoria parish parking cut off

BY ERIN CARELSE

F

OR almost 65 years, parishioners at a Pretoria church had used a portion of land for parking when attending Mass—until one day they arrived to find the area blocked off, without warning.

Every weekend around 700-800 parishioners gather to worship at St John Fisher church in Lynwood.

A portion of a large circle opposite the church was used for parking, but in February, bollards were suddenly erected—without consulting the church community.

The next day the parish communicated with city representatives to work jointly towards a sustainable and mutually beneficial solution.

The next day, cement was placed around the bollards, apparently by order of an area ward councillor .

A petition, with around 850 signatures, sent to the City of Tshwane’s city manager, noted that all democratic societies are characterised by adherence to the rule of law to maintain good governance in society.

However, the conduct of the municipality in this instance amounted to a violation of its own bylaws.

The petition noted that according to the city bylaws on public amenities, no person shall “erect or cause to be erected, any post, rail, fence, tent, screen, stand, swing, structure, building or construction of whatever nature, without the prior written consent of the municipality”.

The parish has requested that the city replace the bollards with a chain and lock to enable the parish to open and close the area before and after church services and events.

The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

LOCAL

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Lesotho PM’s trial: Church implications STAFF REPORTER

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Six Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood celebrated their First Profession in Mariannhill convent. The newly-professed are (from left) Srs Mary Angelique Shezi, Prudence Gabriela Moyo, Olive Nanu Sopea, Omega Mary Masawi, Andreas Maria Mncube, and Rita Nabatte. (Submitted by Sr Fadzai CPS)

HE case of alleged murder by Lesotho’s Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has Catholic implications.

Mr Thabane, along with second wife Maesaiah Thabane, has been charged with the murder of his estranged former wife in 2017, two days before Mr Thabane took office as prime minister.

Lipolelo Thabane was shot several times at close range outside the capital city of Maseru. The couple were in the midst of an acrimonious divorce, and Mr Thabane was living with another woman at the time.

He married Maesaiah, his former paramour, in a Catholic wedding two months after the murder.

Paleka Mokete, Maseru’s deputy commissioner of police, said there is a “strong case” against the prime minister for the murder of his wife.

Both Thabanes deny the charges.

Mr Thabane, 80, has long had plans to step down in July.

In addition to the political and criminal repercussions of the case, the Thabane murder charges could

have canonical effects.

Thomas and Maesaiah Thabane married in the Catholic Church shortly after Lipolelo’s murder.

Lipolelo’s death brought the ongoing divorce proceedings to a close and made the marriage possible.

Canon 1090 of the Code of Canon Law states: “Anyone who with a view to entering marriage with a certain person has brought about the death of that person’s spouse or of one’s own spouse invalidly attempts this marriage.”

In fact, “those who have brought about the death of a spouse by mutual physical or moral cooperation also invalidly attempt a marriage together”, even if the collaborators didn’t intend to marry.

If either or both Thabanes are found responsible for Lipolelo’s death, it could mean a determination of invalidity by a Church tribunal.

The ecclesiastical promoter of justice in the archdiocese of Maseru can petition the archdiocesan tribunal to consider the validity of the marriage, if he believes it is in the public interest to do so.—CNA

zanele Dlodlo (above) and Bongane “Sbobesh” Mofokeng (below) of St Peter Claver church in Pimville, Soweto, are regular Southern Cross sellers in their parish.

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

Send photos to pics@scross.co.za (Photos: Sello Mokoka)

Dedicated Mthatha principals receive papal honours

BY MANDLA zIBI

I

N recognition of their outstanding work in education, two Mthatha school principals were awarded Bene Merenti papal medals.

Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha presented the medals with citations to Sebastian Vettakunnel, of Khanyisa High School, and Nomonde Matyumza, of Zingisa Comprehensive High School.

The Bene Merenti medal is awarded by the pope to members of the clergy and laity for service to the Church.

“This award makes me feel that our work is being recognised and appreciated. It was a big surprise and a great honour,” said Mr Vettakunnel, 70, founder of the state-

of-the-art Khanyisa High School and Khanyisa Children’s home in Mthatha. He also said it urged him to work harder and give something more to the less privileged people.

One of the leading schools in the Eastern Cape, Khanyisa began in an outstation parish hall. Today its facilities include an Olympic-size swimming pool. Its matric pass rate is consistently over 90% every year.

“I had an opportunity to migrate to the US but I decided not to go. Instead I stayed in Mthatha. I thank my wife Sara and my two girls Sifi and Simi for their unconditional support and love. It is not my merit but God’s grace, and I believe God has a plan for me and I am prepared to do his will,” Mr Vettakunnel said.

Khanyisa Home for HIV/Aids-infected, abandoned, abused and neg-

Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha (left) presented papal Bene Merenti medals with citations to two school principals: Sebastian Vettakunnel (right) of Khanyisa High School and Nomonde Matyumza of zingisa High School.

lected children began in 2006 as a Khanyisa High outreach plan.

Presently there are 36 infants and toddlers being looked after by Franciscan Clarist Sisters and caregivers.

“We are getting very little support from the government; the rest is managed by Khanyisa High School and generous people from Mthatha,” Mr Vettakunnel said.

Zingisa Comprehensive High School was established by the Missionary Sisters of the Assumption in January 1989 from an old seminary that had closed a decade before.

Nomonde Matyumza became principal in 1991, the first lay and local to head the school.

Bishop Sipuka said he had applied for the prestigious award on behalf of the principals for their dedication in instilling Catholic values and responsibility in pupils.

“Ms Matyumza is a woman who has shown excellence and is purposely working on getting the school to a high standard, said the bishop.

Mr Vettakunnel “has fought for and developed one of the best schools in Mthatha and has been dedicated in his service”, he added.

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The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

INTERNATIONAL

L’Arche reports sexual abuse by founder Vanier L ’ARCHE International has published the results of an independent investigation detailing sexual misconduct by its founder Jean Vanier with six women in the context of spiritual direction.

“We are shocked by these discoveries and unreservedly condemn these actions, which are in total contradiction with the values Jean Vanier claimed and are incompatible with the basic rules of respect and integrity of persons, and contrary to the fundamental principles on which L’Arche is based,” the leaders of L’Arche International, Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates-Carney, wrote in a letter to the L’Arche federation.

Mr Vanier was the founder of L’Arche, an international community of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their supporters, and of Faith and Light, an ecumenical Christian association of prayer and friendship for those with intellectual disabilities and their families.

The report found that none of the abused women were intellectually disabled.

L’Arche commissioned GCPS, an independent UK consultancy specialising in the reporting of exploitation and abuse, last April to investigate Mr Vanier’s link to Fr Thomas Philippe, an abusive Dominican priest sanctioned by Church authorities in 1956, whom

Jean Vanier at a press conference in London March 11, 2015. (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP/CNA) Mr Vanier described as his “spiritual mentor”.

During the investigation, the inquiry received “credible and consistent testimonies” from six adult women that Jean Vanier initiated sexual behaviours with them in the period of more than 30 years from 1970 to 2005, according to the L’Arche summary report of the investigation’s findings.

“The women each report that Jean Vanier initiated sexual behaviours with them, usually in the context of spiritual accompaniment.

Some of these women have been deeply wounded by these experiences. Jean Vanier asked each of the women to keep the nature of these events secret. They had no prior knowledge of each other’s experiences, but these women reported

similar facts associated with highly unusual spiritual or mystical explanations used to justify these sexual behaviours,” a L’Arche International report summary states.

This behaviour follows the pattern of sexually inappropriate behaviour demonstrated by Fr Philippe, the report finds. The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) confirmed and completed elements in the inquiry relating to the trial of Fr Philippe, who died in 1993, and Vanier’s knowledge of the misconduct.

According to archived letters studied in the report, the CDF directed in 1956 that Mr Vanier be informed of the Church’s condemnation of Philippe’s conduct and “mystical doctrine”.

Mr Vanier denied in 2015 and 2016 that he had any knowledge of Fr Philippe’s abusive behaviour.

Until the late 1990s, Mr Vanier oversaw the entire L’Arche organisation, which grew into 154 communities and more than 10 000 members. He penned 30 books, was feted with awards and honours from governments around the globe, and became a sought-after speaker. He was a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Mr Vanier died in May 2019 at the age of 90 after a protracted battle with cancer.—CNA

Zambian bishops: End poison attacks

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HE Zambian bishops’ conference called for an immediate end to attacks in which people are sprayed with poisonous substances to immobilise them.

The “criminal and subversive activities” seem well-planned, coordinated and “aimed at inducing fear” among citizens to the point that “people cannot sleep peacefully or go about their business”, the bishops said in a statement after a meeting in the capital, Lusaka.

Police have received 511 reports of incidents of “chemical spraying of poisonous substances on house-

holds” that have affected 1 687 victims across the country, a police spokesman said. Police said 43 people have been killed and 23 others injured in mob violence on people suspected of being responsible for the assaults.

The attacks, which began in December, are “typical acts of terrorism”, the bishops said.

But citizens should not take the law into their own hands, they said, noting that “everyone is innocent until proven guilty” in court.

“Suspects have been subjected to mob justice in full view” of children,

the bishops said, noting that in some cases young people have even participated in the violence.

“Irresponsible recording, posting and sharing of such atrocities on social media have worsened the situation,” they said. Also, the authorities failed to provide timely and accurate information about the attacks, which fuelled rumors, they said.

Zambia is politically polarised, the bishops said, noting “intolerance of divergent views” and an increase in hate speech with tribal overtones.— CNA

Repair scaffolding on Notre-Dame de Paris, November 2019. (Photo: Vicente Sargues/Shutterstock/CNA)

Notre-Dame plaza, crypt to reopen F RENCH officials are hopeful that parts of the plaza of NotreDame de Paris, as well as the church’s crypt, will be reopened roughly a year after a fire ravaged the roof and much of the interior of the cathedral.

Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy mayor of Paris, said the internationally cherished cathedral’s plaza and crypt should reopen mid-year “if everything goes OK”, the New York Times reported.

Officials said that these parts of the cathedral and the surrounding area have thus far remained closed due to lead contamination from the rubble of the burnt roof and spire, which collapsed in the fire.

According to French government information, lead levels on the cathedral’s plaza following the fire were as high as 1 300 times above French safety guidelines, and on other surrounding areas lead levels were 955 times above safety regulations.

“Obviously this depends on whether the site has been properly cleaned up, but we have been doing regular lead checks,” Karen Taïeb, also a deputy mayor for Paris, said.

If all goes well, she said, the plaza and crypt could be opened as early

as the end of March.

The church receives more than 12 million visitors each year.

On April 15 last year, a fire started in the centre of the cathedral’s roof and nearly destroyed the entire building before it was put out.

The roof had been undergoing restorative work at the time of the fire, and in the subsequent months, fire officials said they believed either malfunctioning electrical work or an abandoned cigarette butt from a worker caused the fire.

Most of the church’s sacred and artistic treasures, including the Eucharist and a relic of the crown of thorns, were rescued during the fire thanks to a planned rescue strategy that was in place for just such emergencies.

President Emmanuel Macron vowed to restore the cathedral within five years following the fire, and nearly R15 billion has been pledged towards its restoration from private donors.

The French government passed a bill organising how the restoration funds would be distributed, though debates about whether the cathedral will be restored as it was are ongoing.—CNA

Locust plague brings a rare unity

BY FREDRICK NzWILI

I

N a remote village about 320km east of Nairobi, residents—some Catholics— have been fearing a new wave of desert locusts, as millions of eggs the insects laid earlier began to hatch.

Under the bushes and crops, the newly hatched hoppers can be seen attempting to fly. Within weeks, they will turn into adults when each locust consumes its own weight—roughly two grammes—every day.

The village is one of the many in Kenya struck by the deadly locust plague. ILast month, the second wave of the invasion started sweeping across the country. Since then, locusts have spread to 18 other counties.

Local Catholic priests and villagers say the hatching insects mean new and locally bred swarms, something that must be avoided.

“The hatching eggs are the greatest concern at the moment. It means if they are

Priscila Syombua displays a dead desert locust on her farm in Maseki, Kenya.

She said the locusts ate all her crops within a few days. (Photo: Fredrick Nzwili/CNS) not destroyed, the problem will continue for generations. At the same time, I think soon there are many people who will need food aid due to the destruction on the farms,” said Fr Patrick Musili of Kimangau

parish in Kitui diocese.

The locusts first landed in Maseki in early February, and by the time government planes came to spray, most of the crops had been destroyed.

“My crops—green grams, millet, sorghum and cow peas—were all gone in a few days. The animal pasture was also gone,” Priscila Syombua, 25, said. “We had never seen anything like this before. There were too many of them. Millions, perhaps billions.”

Fr Musili said the locusts also brought a rare unity among the people, with groups working together to chase them away.

“When the insects struck, the local community came together to scare away the locusts using traditional means. The villagers moved in groups from one farm to another, pushing away the insects.

When they moved to the next village, the action was repeated there,” said Fr Musili.

“As their leader, I was pleased with that unity. No one could manage to tackle them alone.”—CNS

Canon law revised on crimes and punishment

T Contact Vocation Coordinator on 072 989 2286 nardvocprom1855@gmail.com Facebook: Franciscan Nardini Sisters of the Holy Family

HE 12-year process of updating the Code of Canon Law section dealing with crimes and penalties was necessary “to make it more organic and responsive to new situations and problems”, Pope Francis said.

Meeting with members and staff of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Pope Francis said the work of revising Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, “Sanctions in the Church”, also was needed “to offer suitable instruments for facilitating its application”.

In an interview, Bishop Juan Ignacio

Arrieta, secretary of the council, said the current code was drafted in “a period that was a bit naive” in regard to the need for a detailed description of offences, procedures for investigating them and penalties to impose on the guilty.

It reflected a feeling that “penalties should be applied rarely”.

The naiveté of the law became clear with the sexual abuse crisis, Bishop Arrieta said.

In addition, the sanctions section of the 1983 code was written with such an emphasis on the role of the individual

bishop in his local diocese that each bishop bore the full weight of deciding when and how to intervene and what sort of sanction or punishment to impose on the guilty.

The law ended up being too vague, and Church sanctions were being applied so haphazardly, that the Church appeared to be divided, he said.

In his speech, Pope Francis said the council’s work on revising the section had reached a conclusion, but he did not indicate when he would promulgate the revised section of canon law.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

Pope: Extremism in love is permitted!

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BY CINDY WOODEN

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HE only acceptable form of extremism for a Christian is an “extremism of love”, Pope Francis said, concelebrating Mass with bishops across the Mediterranean basin. “‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ This is the Christian innovation. It is the Christian difference,” the pope said as he celebrated an outdoor Mass in central Bari, a city on the southeastern Italian coast.

The Mass, concelebrated by 60 bishops from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, marked the conclusion of a five-day meeting to address common concerns, including the need for peace, the care of migrants and refugees, the defence of religious freedom, and the promotion of interreligious and ecumenical dialogue.

Pope Francis’ homily did not directly address the Gospel ofMatthew in which Jesus tells his followers not to retaliate against those who harm them and to love and pray for their enemies.

“Pray and love: this is what we must do,” the pope said. “The love of Jesus knows no boundaries or barriers. The Lord demands of us the courage to have a love that does not count the cost, because the measure of Jesus is love without measure.”

Chilkdren wear protective masks while attending Mass at a Catholic church in Son Loi, Vietnam. The area has been quarantined due to the coronavirus. (Photo: Reuters/CNS)

Computer-wizz teen may now be beatified

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HE Vatican announced the approval of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Carlo Acutis (pictured), an Italian teenager and computer programmer, who died in 2006.

The miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian child suffering from a rare congenital anatomical anomaly of the pancreas in 2013. The Medical Council of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes gave a positive opinion of the miracle last November.

With Pope Francis’ approval of the miracle promulgated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Carlo can now be beatified.

The beatification is expected to take place in Assisi. Carlo is currently buried in Assisi’s Church of St Mary Major.

Carlo Acutis, who died of leukaemia at the age of 15, offered his suffering for the pope and for the Church.

He was born in London on May 3, 1991, to Italian parents who soon returned to Milan. He was a pious child, attending daily Mass, frequently praying the rosary, and making weekly confessions.

In May 2019, Carlo’s mother, Antonia Salzano said: “Jesus was the centre of his day.” She said that priests and nuns would tell her that they could tell that the Lord had a special plan for her son.

“Carlo really had Jesus in his heart, really the pureness…when you are really pure of heart, you really touch people’s hearts,” she said.

Exceptionally gifted in working with computers, Carlo developed a website which catalogued Eucharistic miracles. This website was the genesis of “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World”, an international exhibition which highlights

such occurrences.

Pope Francis also authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree regarding the approval of two other miracles.

One miracle is attributed to 18th century Indian martyr Bl Lazarus, also called Devasahayam, who converted from Hinduism to the Catholic faith and was severely persecuted.

The other approved miracle was through the intercession of Bl Maria Francesca of Jesus, the missionary foundress of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of Loano, who died in Uruguay in 1904.

Both Bl Lazarus and Bl Maria Francesca of Jesus can now be canonised as saints. Their canonisation dates have yet to be announced.

The Vatican decree also recognised the martyrdom of Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande García, and two lay companions, who were killed in El Salvador. Fr Grande, a close friend of St Oscar Romero, was shot by a right-wing death squad while travelling in a car on March 12, 1977 (see also page 9).—CNA

Speaker: Dr Jan Jans

Tilburg

University, The Netherlands

Date: Tuesday, 17th March 2020 Time: 19h00 T Venue: St Michael’s Catholic Church, Rouwkoop Road, 19h00 Rondebosch S

ism of love.”

Pope Francis said he knew some people would object and say, “That is not how life really is! If I love and forgive, I will not survive in this world, where the logic of power prevails, and people seem to be concerned only with themselves.”

“So is Jesus’ logic, his way of seeing things, the logic of losers?” the pope asked. “In the eyes of the world, it is, but in the eyes of God it is the logic of winners.”—CNS

G

REAT Catholic Music, a free Catholic music platform with over 16 000 downloads, is partnering with well-known Irish Catholic singer Dana this Lent to bring listeners the hour long program “The Stations of the Cross”, airing every Friday of the penitential season.

The programme will consist of spoken reflection and prayer accompanied by music sung by Dana. Listeners can catch the programme at GreatCatholicMusic.com, or on the outlet’s free mobile app for Android and Apple devices.

“This recording of the Stations of the Cross will help you meditate deeply on Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. The use of the harp, beautiful prayerful vocals, and added effects provide the contemplative background music,” Dana said in a statement.

She made this album with her brother-in-law, the late Fr Kevin Scallon, to allow Catholics “a chance to walk with Christ”.

Querida Amazonia: A Case of Jesuitism?

Unpacking the issues and controversies sparked by the post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Beloved amazon” of Pope Francis

Jesus’ commandment of love is not just a suggestion or even a challenge, Pope Francis said. “It is the very heart of the Gospel.”

“Where the command of universal love is concerned, let us not accept excuses or preach prudent caution,” he said.

“The Lord was not cautious; he did not yield to compromises. He asks of us the extremism of charity.

It is the only legitimate kind of Christian extremism: the extrem-

Catholic radio features Dana for Lent

THE CATHOLIC PARLIAMENTARY LIAISON OFFICE cordially invites you to a Public Lecture

Pope Francis uses incense as he celebrates Mass after attending the meeting “Mediterranean, Frontier of Peace” in Bari, Italy. (Photo: Paul Haring/CNS)

Refreshments will be served ALL WELCOME Hosted by the SACBC Parliamentary Liaison Office Tel: 021 461-1417 / Email: events@cplo.org.za / www.cplo.org.za

Irish singer Dana is partnering with a free Catholic music platform to perform “The Stations of the Cross”. (Photos: Living Bread Radio/CNS) “We could not think of a better programme to help our listeners prepare for Easter than Dana’s ‘The Stations of the Cross’,” said Chris Cugini, spokesperson for Great Catholic Music. “The stations are one of the most sacred prayers for

Catholics to reflect upon during the Lenten season.”

As listeners tune in during this programme, they will be praying the stations with thousands of others from around the world, according to Great Catholic Music.—CNS

AS 3,8 MILLION CATHOLICS IN SOUTH AFRICA, ARE WE DOING ENOUGH TO BE SALT AND LIGHT IN OUR NATION? There are approximately 3.8 million Catholics in South Africa, making up 6% of the total South African population.

If each one of us makes a commitment to do something to end the violence against women, our collective action, which is based on our faith in the power of the Risen Christ, will be able to transform South Africa like salt of the earth and the light of the world.

If each Catholic parish in our country makes a commitment to do some activity to end violence against women, South Africa will be different.

“You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Your life must shine before others so that they may see your good deeds and glorify the Lord.”

Pray, fast, reflect, repent and act to put the Gospel and Catholic social teaching into action.

A message from SACBC Justice and Peace Commission.

6

The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

A fallen saint

W

HEN Jean Vanier died at 90 last May, such was the perception of his holiness that many Catholics felt compelled to exclaim “Santo subito”—make him a saint now.

The new, devastating revelations of this ostensibly holy man’s sexual misconduct, and his complicity in the abuses committed by his spiritual director, give us a harsh lesson in not trusting even those whose holiness seem to be beyond question.

There were two sides to Jean Vanier. On the one hand there was the warm, unassuming, captivating beacon of love and tenderness. His life’s work gave a counterwitness to the cynicism of our age when the worth of the human being is negotiable.

To many, Vanier was a living saint in the class of Mother Teresa.

But we now know that Vanier had a dark side. The man who claimed to be celibate was a sexual predator who habitually manipulated and groomed vulnerable women in his spiritual care into having sex with him.

Moreover, he was complicit in the abuses committed by his spiritual director, Fr Thomas Philippe, and covered them up.

These two poles of Vanier’s life leave us bewildered, disillusioned and betrayed, because we trusted that the holy version was the only version.

Vanier was a bulwark against our cynicism. Now he is a cause for it.

But even so, we must not succumb to cynicism. Vanier is not like all of us.

We must continue to believe that there is sanctity, unmitigated goodness, even as among those whom we admire the most there are some who may have done dreadful things. This requires of us a very difficult act of reconciling contradictions.

The Vanier case emphasises that we must be alert to our heroes revealing their fallibilities.

And his case, as we have learnt over and over in the past couple of decades, is hardly abnormal.

An extreme example of wicked people merely acting out holiness is that of Marcial Maciel, the Mexican founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who even fooled a man as astute as Pope John Paul II. Maciel was so successful in deceiving St John Paul that the pope appointed him as his repre-

sentative even when reports of his friend’s sexual and venal corruption were already more than just rumours.

With manipulative duplicity concealed behind a mask of excessive piety, Maciel attracted many followers, admirers and friends.

To be sure, Vanier was no Maciel. The latter was a thoroughly depraved man who pretended to preach Christ but sowed much evil, in his life and, as recent reports show, in the congregation he founded.

Vanier’s legacy, on the other hand, is something beautiful that reflects the love of Christ. The work of L’Arche, the communities that provide homes and spiritual support for people with intellectual disabilities, is not compromised by the misdeeds of its founder.

The acts of exploitation committed by Vanier were not criminal, and they did not involve minors or mentally handicapped people, nor were they the acts of physical sexual attacks.

But they were abusive and even blasphemous, as Vanier, like Fr Philippe, used religion to manipulate his victims. They were acts of spiritual violence.

Vanier’s impressive achievements, and the love he was able to project and spread, no doubt sincerely, constitute a venerable legacy. But his reputation is now irrevocably marred by the revelations of his predatory acts and his complicity in Fr Philippe’s abuse.

Whatever esteem we may maintain for the man is now laced with a bitter taste of disenchantment and even revulsion.

We may still regard Vanier’s achievements as admirable. We may forgive him for what his trespasses have done to our trust in goodness. But we can never again see Vanier in the same light as we did before the public disclosure of his abuse and lies.

After these revelations, Vanier will never be canonised, the Church’s way of confirming that a person is with God and thus worthy of our veneration.

Vanier may well be with God, for redemption is an open invitation and the Father’s judgment is none of our business. We may pray for the repose of Vanier’s soul.

And when we do, let us also pray for the healing of his victims, and of the survivors of all abuse.

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.

Divine reality not negated by our incredulity I N his letter “Eucharist puzzle” (January 22), Cecil Cullen states that the reaction of people to Jesus’ proclamation with regard to the necessity of eating his body was understandable: many left him.

Yet the reason Jesus gave for the need of disciples to partake of the Eucharist was not in order that they be followers of his, but so that disciples could attain resurrection and eternal life.

The Eucharistic teaching may be summarised as follows: Jesus is the bread of Life, the living bread that came down from heaven. This bread is his flesh, given for the life of the world.

Whoever eats Christ’s flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life, and he will raise them up on the last day (Jn 6:48-59).

After Jesus taught the necessity for followers to receive the Eucharist, many of his hearers argued.

They queried how this could be

We live for bread of eternal life

C

ECIL Cullen’s letter on the Eucharist (January 22) refers.

Because the Passover was near and many were on their way to Jerusalem, the crowd swelled to 5 000. “Then taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to distribute” (Mk 6:41).

The effect of the miracle on the multitude was stupendous. They realised that Christ had divine power.

Our Lord then told them: “You must work, not for this perishable food, but for the food that lasts, the food of eternal life. This food the Son of Man will give you, for he it is upon whom God the Father has set the seal of his authority” (Jn 6:27).

He was setting two kinds of bread before them: the bread that could perish, and the bread that could endure unto life everlasting.

So they said: “Sir, give us this bread now and always.” He answered: “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:34-35).

“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked. Jesus replied: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you can have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood possesses eternal life” (Jn 6:52-54).

And they were not left in the dark for long. As man died spiritually by physically eating in the Garden of Eden, so he would live again spiritually through eating the fruit of the Tree of Life.

The full meaning of these words

possible. Thereafter, many disenchanted disciples no longer followed Jesus.

Later, the full meaning of Christ’s revelation of the sacrament became clear. During the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, Jesus offered communion not of his earthly corporeal body but of his transubstantiated body under the appearance of bread and wine (Mt 26:26-28).

With regard to the accuracy of the Eucharistic account, the ancient text of John 6:25-70 is deemed by both the Church and many scholars as reliable.

The early acceptance of John’s Gospel, which was probably written in the last years of the first century, has to many appeared a sufficient proof of its apostolic origin.

Furthermore, second-century texts of St Polycarp and St Ignatius of Antioch reproduced Johannine ideas, as noted in The Oxford Diction-

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

did not become evident until the night before Jesus died.

In his last will and testament, he left that which on dying no other man has ever been able to leave, that being his body, his blood, his soul, and his divinity, for the life of the world.

The announcement of the Eucharist produced one of the greatest crises: this lofty spiritual doctrine was too much for many disciples, as the writer rightly states.

And up to the present day we still have such division in Christianity where each man decides whether he will accept a segment of the circle of Christ’s truth or the whole circle.

“From that time on, many of his disciples withdrew and no longer went about with him” (Jn 6:67).

Why not forget this bread of life and make it a figure of speech? Our Lord watched them leave and they never came back!

Many wonder why Judas broke with Our Lord; they think it was only love of money that forced the break. But the Gospel tells us the astounding story that Judas broke with Our Divine Lord the day he announced the giving of his flesh for the life of the world.

Dominic Sam, Port Elizabeth

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ary of the Christian Church (1966).

Mr Cullen raises the question that if no person is recorded as having ever eaten of Christ’s body, who is saved?

While it is true that no one partook of Jesus’ corporeal body, countless communicants have received his transubstantiated body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine.

As to knowledge of the redeemed, these names are known to God alone. Yet penitents and communicants may confidently entrust their eternal destiny to the Saviour who gave his life in order to win their redemption.

Jesus was constrained to stand by while followers defected due to their disbelief regarding the doctrine of the Eucharist.

Retraction of the teaching was impossible. Divine reality cannot be negated by human incredulity.

Nicolette Whittle, Kroonstad

Eucharist indeed flesh of God’s Son

O

UR Lord’s mandate to eat the true bread of life, the bread of the flesh of the Son of Man, and his blood in St John’s Gospel raises difficulties for reader Cecil Cullen (January 22). This leads to his perplexity at the last: he has yet to meet someone who has fed on Christ’s body.

I believe Our Blessed Lord provides the answer at the conclusion of the discourse: “My words are spirit and life: the flesh avails nothing. The spirit gives life.”

The very body, blood, soul and divinity of our Saviour is given, truly and assuredly in the Blessed Eucharist: in a non-bloody sacrifice; but rather the perfect and spiritual one: a sacramental one.

It is, as Thomas Aquinas sings, faith which perceives and delights in these realities.

This discourse is St John’s Eucharistic doctrine. It finds its counterpart in the other Gospels: “Take, eat. This is my body....” at the Last Supper. Both point to the same Christian truth of the Eucharist.

This is the amazing reality which is the Mass: and indeed our eyes and hearts, like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, are perhaps not always opened, as theirs were, by the host who welcomes us to his life-giving banquet.

Assuredly Mr Cullen has entertained angels, perhaps without realising it. Let us find ourselves truly to be fed and nourished in our daily Communion. Let us be guided by the teaching of the Church in a correct understanding of these Scriptures.

Fr Sean Collins CSsR, Merrivale, KZN

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PERSPECTIVES

The burning fire of truth I N the blackness of the night, amidst the whispers and the chill in the air, Truth walked through the streets of humanity holding a lantern in his hand.

As he made his way through the alleys, passing rats and littered corners, there were faces gaunt and gruesome, and voices heavy and husky.

At him eyes would stare, glare and roll but when he dared to draw closer to the people looking at him, they could see the roughness of their hands, the grimness of their faces and the ugliness within their hearts.

Truth had unveiled what Deception had tried to hide.

Truth distorted Many of us know what it feels like to lie and to be lied to.

I believe lying has various levels, categorised by the impact on those who unknowingly receive the lie.

There is the candy-coated lie. This is the one you learn as a child to not cause offense to your fellow classmate whose drawing of a lion requires a clear explanation followed by a labelled diagram.

It is a sweet, endearing lie that gives comfort.

There is the heavily seasoned peri-peri lie. This requires creativity, planning and mastery of holding a straight face when it is time for delivery.

It is the story you give to your mother about the completion of household chores.

It is the fanciful tale you give to your an-

noying relative as to your absence at their annoying event. It is the speech given to your teacher justifying the need for an extra day to hand in your assignment. It is saucy and spicy.

There is the vinegar lie. This requires coldness of heart, selfishness and a great love for pretence.

It is the utterance of an unfaithful spouse, a white-collar criminal or a wayward cleric. It is a forest of lies where each seed has been carefully planted. Many find themselves lost in the oaks, willows and pines.

And, worst of all, there is the poisoned chalice lie. It is the most lying of lies and the most deceptive of deceptions.

It is held not by one but many people with the intent of dehumanising a people

There are various kinds of lies—and a gentle light is not enough to reveal Truth, writes Nthabiseng Maphisa.

Nthabiseng Maphisa

Pop Culture Catholic

in the name of profit and progress.

It is the knots woven by dictators, eugenicists and slave owners. It is intended to tie the mind, twist it and hold it forever.

Here the light from the lantern of Truth is dimmed, replaced or destroyed. It is truth distorted, truth made foggy and truth indistinguishable.

Truth revealed I have had a first-hand experience of some of these lies and from others I am only just beginning to feel the effects.

Truth has seen the woundedness of these sugar-coated, spiced up and vinegarladen lies. It recognises that a gentle light has not been enough—he sets free the flame from his lantern and sets the world on fire.

All around the darkness there are flames illuminating hidden corners where dubious deeds had been done. With a thirst unquenched, Truth goes on ferociously. For some it is a light of hope and justice, and for others it is a moment of reckoning.

And now Truth walks through the streets of humanity followed by a crowd.

They carry small lanterns lit with his own light.

He leads them to the place where he received this undying fire. In the blackness of the night there is a light that now glows.

It is truth revealed, truth remembered and truth indestructible.

Builder of bridges, breaker of barriers Sydney R Duval ECENTLY The Southern Cross published warm tributes to the late Fr Albert Danker OMI—the priest who built bridges over barriers and inspired others to do the same through conscientious service to society through the Young Christian Workers’ movement and its compelling mantra: See, Judge, Act. Fr Danker was admired for the powerful outreach of his ministry—in pastoral work, as well as an explorer of faith and creator of new actions for justice.

I had known him from when I was an altar server at his first Mass at the old St Joseph’s in Stamford Hill Road, Durban, on December 11 1955, and then through his various assignments.

I knew him best as a priest who valued the laity and their friendship. Some friendships were enduring in life and death.

Roy Lailvaux was 16 and an altar server at St Michael’s church in Red Hill, Durban, when the recently ordained Fr Danker arrived at the parish, having completed training in Belgium as a Young Christian Workers chaplain.

He approached Roy and about ten young men to join a group he was forming to focus on youth. Little did they know that their first meeting was to be the beginning of a lifelong vocation.

Among them was the youngster who was to become Fr Allan Moss OMI and, like Fr Danker, a provincial superior of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

The first meeting was about work, about what goes on in a young man’s life, and preparation for the YCW methodology of See, Judge, Act and its impact on values.

“It was not just a talk shop,” Roy recalls.

“We discussed real-life issues. Perhaps the most powerful input was to hear the facts and then ask yourself: What would Jesus do?”

The group experienced new insights through sessions on leadership formation and study weekends where youths of all races shared overnight bungalows contrary to apartheid legislation under Group Areas, says Roy. “This was where Fr Danker showed himself to be a great listener.”

The

Point of Tribute

Fr Albert Danker (right) and his fellow Oblate ordinands Frs Charles Langlois and Cyril Carey give a blessing at St Anthony’s church in Greyville, Durban, shortly after their ordination in December 1955. All three priests are now dead.

A few years later Roy introduced Fr Danker to his new girlfriend, Letitia, which led to his forming a YCW group for girls and new work for the movement.

Roy was just 20 and living in the Durban cathedral parish when he and Letitia decided to marry. They wanted Fr Danker to officiate in their nuptial ceremony in Emmanuel cathedral.

To their chagrin they discovered that Fr Danker could not marry them as his licence as a marriage officer restricted him to only other persons of colour—despite his having influenced Roy and Trish during their courtship and having mentored her in becoming a Catholic.

W

ith their friendship deepening, Fr Danker persuaded the Lailvaux to run the first YCW house in Durban’s Overport area where they also joined a support group for married couples.

“Fr Danker baptised our children as our family grew and developed under his guidance. He was always full of ideas, such as using Trish’s skill on the piano to put the Ten Commandments to music in a special song,” Roy says.

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“He was there for us and walked with us when our teenage daughter Sharon was killed in a car crash, even though we were now living in Johannesburg.”

The friendship continued to deepen, with more and more priests getting to know the Lailvaux family, and their six siblings getting to know more and more priests, with more and more priests saying Mass in their home—including Fr Danker and Fr Moss when they were in Johannesburg.

It was Fr Danker who encouraged Roy, now retired, to look beyond his lack of formal training to join a large IT company where he rose to become HR manager.

Fr Danker deepened his great devotion to Our Lady by leading pilgrimages to sites dedicated to her which Roy and Trish joined when they could. They journeyed together to Lourdes, to Medjugorje and to Guadeloupe. They accompanied Fr Danker to conferences in different parts of the world. They took him to Russia as their guest.

This is how Roy recalls the more personal qualities of Fr Danker during their 65-year friendship: “Every one of our children and grandchildren know and love Fr Danker. He loved his dogs.”

One of them was a little aggressive.

When asked if the dog had bitten anyone, Fr Danker replied with a smile: “No. He has only bitten two priests and a nun.”

Fr Danker guided many young men into the priesthood. He also guided several young couples into successful marriages, always prompting them to ask: “What would Jesus do?”

Fr Albert Danker’s life has ended, but his influence continues as a spiritual voice for our times—torchbearer for family and society.

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The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

7

Michael Shackleton

Open Door

Must the afflicted fast in Lent?

What about invalids and the physically challenged who live with pain and hardship? Are they bound to observe the Lenten strictures of fasting and abstinence? I hope not. They have enough to contend with!

BB

W

HEN God promised a Redeemer to deliver humanity from its suffering due to sin, he did not then send an angel who would make a dramatic appearance in the sky and shout out: “You are all saved now and free from sin and pain!”

He sent his Son instead, the Second Person of the Trinity, to be born of a woman and become as human as we are, immediately sharing in our struggles in life.

Jesus Christ took on human affliction fairly and squarely. He did not pretend that it was an illusion or could be avoided or stoically endured: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).

He suffered and died to deliver us from sin and death. He absorbed himself into fallen human nature, so that we are now absorbed into his act of redemption, an act steeped in pain, grief and death.

Such is our unity with Christ’s healing sacrifice that he now asks us to unite our own sorrows, sufferings and death with his. In other words, he asks us to offer ourselves to the Father with him in his unique work of human redemption.

St Paul wrote: “In my own body I do what I can to make up all that is still to be undergone

by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church” (Col 1:24).

As long as we consciously and every day offer our afflictions to him and with him, we are doing acts of penance for the sin of humanity. This is important if our sufferings are to have any meaning in our Christian lives.

When the season of Lent comes around, canon law says: “All Christ’s faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed” (c1249). These acts include prayer, works of piety and charity, self-denial, fast and abstinence.

Christians who are physically challenged and in pain and discomfort already unify their hardships with Christ in this way. During Lent they need to have a real awareness that this is the time when the whole Church is with them in a common practice of penance.

They don’t have to do more than this but they should at least pray and feel with the Church.

Honest penance comes from the heart and not from the precepts of canon law.

n Send your queries to Open Door, Box 2372, Cape Town,

8000; or e-mail: opendoor@scross.co.za; or fax (021) 465 3850. Anonymity can be preserved by arrangement, but questions must be signed, and may be edited for clarity. Only published questions will be answered.

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8

The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

COMMUNITY

Grade R teacher Christina Shange, principal Ursula Collings and deputy principal Stephen Sutherland welcomed the Grade R class of 2020 at Holy Family College, Glenwood, Durban. The young pupils also joined other new admissions for the ringing of the bell inaugurating the new school year.

Fr Tom Segami OMI, assisted by Deacon Thabo Thokoane, during infant baptism at St Peter Claver parish in Pimville, Soweto, during Mass. (Photo: Sello Mokoka)

Cathedral parish pastoral council members in Tzaneen, Limpopo, attended a retreat at Ave Maria Pastoral Centre. The retreat was led by parish priest Fr Jimmy Kennedy SPS and assistant Fr William Banda SPS. Fr Andrew Shingange gave a talk on the sacrament of marriage during the retreat and Bishop Emeritus Hugh Slattery celebrated Sunday Mass. PPC members are seen with Fr Kennedy and Bishop Slattery.

Pupils at Brescia House School in Bryanston, Johannesburg, received their First Communion at the church of the Resurrection in Bryanston.

Parish priest Fr Keith GordonDavis is seen with the new First Communicants.

Every year students at Holy Rosary High School in Edenvale, Johannesburg, swim the Midmar Mile and raise funds for the Childhood Cancer Foundation SA. This year the school’s swimmers raised over R32 000.

Members of the Catholic Women’s League at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Durban North visited Mariannhill monastery, with Fr Anthony Nonso Dim CMM as their guide. (Submitted by Anna Accolla)

Catholic Women’s League member Sarah Firmin from St Francis Xavier parish in Bluff, Durban, received her 10-year service badge at a special Mass held at KwaKristo. (Submitted by Nickole Whittock)

The RCIA group of Immaculate Conception parish in East London went on retreat to the Pallotti Farm Centre. The focus of the weekend retreat was discipleship.

(Submitted by Sr Agnes Kreuzberg OP)

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James Shute and Emma Fallon of De La Salle Holy Cross College in Victory Park, Johannesburg, achieved their Springbok Scout Awards, the highest award a South African scout can obtain.

Catechists in Umzimkulu diocese were honoured by Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba.

Also present were spiritual advisor Fr Siyabonga Magcaba, Fr Mbekezeli zamisa and Fr Emmanuel Mashiya, religious Sisters, and children of St Andrews parish.

(Submitted by Sr zithobile zondi LSMI)

Bene Merenti recipient Amalia Snyman celebrated her 99th birthday at a party given by the Ladies’ Group at Maria Regina parish in Pretoria. Mrs Snyman continues to be actively involved in the group’s support programme of Holy Cross Home in Lady Selborne. She is seen here with Frs Kevin Reynolds and Sefiri Motsepe. (Photo: Peter Morey)

The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

CHURCH

9

How martyrs’ blood fed a Church Marking the 40th anniversary of the murder of St Oscar Romero, the Church in El Salvador is launching a Jubilee Year for its martyrs. FR VALENTINE IHEANACHO MSP reflects on the strange ways of martyrdom.

T

HIS month marks the 40th anniversary of the violent end of St Oscar Romero.

The late archbishop of San Salvador, popularly known as MonseĂąor Romero, was assassinated on Monday, March 24, 1980 while celebrating Mass for the repose of DoĂąa Sara de Pinto in the chapel of Hospitalito where he lived.

With threats to his life and person, Archbishop Romero had been advised to flee.

In December 1978, Archbishop Antonio Quarracino—Pope Francis’ predecessor as archbishop of Buenos Aires—voiced his concerns about the danger of a violent death the archbishop of San Salvador was facing. Archbishop Romero assured his brother bishop: “A pastor does not go away; he must stay to the end with his own.�

From time immemorial, death has never been far from the horizon of those who stand up for what is right and just, especially when they speak the truth to those in the corridors of power.

For Archbishop Romero and the martyrs of El Salvador, whose memory and courage are being commemorated this month by their country men and women, death— and violent death at that—was always going to be the ultimate price.

Archbishop Romero feared not so much death but that others might be killed with him: “I only hope that when they kill me, they do not kill many of us.�

Unfortunately, his wish was not realised. His funeral on March 30 was left unfinished due to a bomb explosion that killed several of his beloved campesinos (peasants).

They had gathered at the Plaza Barrios in front of the cathedral to pay their final respects to their martyred shepherd and defender.

As in life so too in death. Their tragic paths crossed once again with those of their prophet and pastor, who a few days earlier had preceded them on the sanguineous road of martyrdom.

It was Tertullian who said: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.� In many ways, that aphorism is descriptive of the many martyrs who fertilised the Salvadoran Church in its recent history.

Its landscape of martyrdom is illuminated by an array of martyrs that included priests, religious, catechists, lay leaders, simple Christians and children.

It was provoked by the systematic strategy of the repressive Salvadoran oligarchy whose aim was the total elimination of all those on the side of the poor and oppressed of the country.

The proto-martyr The proto-martyr in the long and winding road of that collective martyrdom of the oppressed and violated poor of El Salvador was Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, whose martyrdom has been recognised by Pope Francis.

His martyrdom in the late afternoon of March 12, 1977 led the local Church towards the part of pain, suffering and deprivation. It unleashed an avalanche of repressions and persecutions from the Leviathan Salvadoran state.

It is thoughtful of El Salvador’s bishop to kick off their Jubilee Year of the Martyrs on March 12, the 43rd anniversary of Fr Grande’s martyrdom.

In his death, Fr Grande unwittingly opened the door of martyrdom to others who, like him, were

embroiled in the struggle for justice and for a better society for the majority of their people.

They constituted that part of the Salvadoran Church which Archbishop Romero once eulogised: “Not any and every priest has been persecuted, not any and every institution has been attacked. That part of the Church has been attacked and persecuted that put itself on the side of the people and went to the people’s defence.�

The 18 priests who were murdered after Fr Grande between 1977 to 1989 were in one way or the other connected to him.

He was their formator, mentor and friend in the seminary of San JosĂŠ de la MontanĂŁ. He inspired his seminarians not to be elitist in their pastoral ministry after their priestly ordination.

Fr Grande impressed it upon students to immerse themselves in the life of their ecclesial communities.

It was those communities, especially the ones at the base of the church and at the margins of the society, that incurred the wrath of a conscienceless and ravaging state with its military and paramilitary death squads.

The Jesuit was the trailblazer whose words and simple lifestyle troubled the rich and mighty of El Salvador who appropriated the fertile land of the country to themselves while the majority of their country people were left behind in destitution and misery.

It was that harsh reality, woven together within that diabolic web of power, wealth and oppression which Pope Paul VI spoke about in Columbia in 1968: “That your ears and hearts be sensitive to the voices of those who ask for bread, concern, and justice.�

Fr Grande and his two peasant friends met their cruel deaths because of his work to rouse the consciences of the oppressors and to shake off their lamentable indifference in the face of abject poverty everywhere in El Salvador.

Lukewarm bishops Unfortunately some members of the Catholic hierarchy in El Salvador were lukewarm, and in a few instances even hostile, to Fr Grande and his army of prophets of social justice.

At the instigation of some members of the Salvadoran bishops’ conference, the Jesuits were expelled from the San JosÊ de la Montanã seminary, which was then under their administration.

The ultraconservative Bishop Oscar Romero was instrumental in the expulsion of the Jesuits from the national seminary. How mysterious the hand of the omnipotent God in human affairs!

As was later paraphrased by Rev Martin Luther King Jr: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.� The expulsion of Fr Grande and his fellow Jesuits from the seminary, partly due to Archbishop Romero, led the Jesuit to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to pastoral work among the poor and oppresseds.

It was the injustice of the brutal death of Fr Grande that led to the conversion of Archbishop Romero

A mural in El Paisnal, El Salvador, depicts the martyrs St Oscar Romero (left) and Fr Rutilio Grande SJ, surrounded by rural people of the community. Fr Grande served from 1972 until his murder on March 12, 1977. Archbishop Romero, who was himself murdered 40 years ago this month, experienced a conversion through the Jesuit’s assassination. They and the other martyrs of El Salvador are remembered in a Jubilee Year which begins on March 12. (Photo: Rhina Guidos/CNS) to become a champion of justice and equality.

It was for the same cause that Fr Grande had lived and died, and Archbishop Romero never shied away from recognising the “Grandeeffect� on him and his subsequent episcopal ministry in San Salvador as the archbishop of the capital city. “When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead, I thought: If they killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path.�

The point of conversion That was the game-changer for Archbishop Romero. It transformed him from being an ecclesiastical career prelate into a rabble-rouser and a social gadfly for justice. It made him the voice of the voiceless and the conscience of his nation.

Effectively, Archbishop Romero became the roaring lion at the pulpit in his cathedral from where his was preaching. The last homily on March 23, 1980 sealed his fate.

On that faithful Sunday, Archbishop Romero gave vent to his anger about the incessant repressions visited upon his simple and harassed flock by the nefarious and odious regime: “In the name of God, then, and in the name of this suffering nation, whose increasingly tumultuous cries rise to heaven, I beg you, I plead with you, I command you in the name of God: Stop the repression!�

As far as Archbishop Romero and his fellow Salvadoran martyrs were concerned, the enormity of the matter at stake at the time did not give them the leisure of preserving the niceties of Vatican diplomacy, which in some instances, may be miles away from the concrete reality of the A nun kisses the forehead of Archbishop Oscar Romero after he was assassinated while he celebrated Mass in a chapel on March 24, 1980.

people of God. The Salvadoran martyrs understood their mission as being intrinsically connected with the Christian faith and the concrete lives of their people.

In order for the poor to live a life of dignity, Archbishop Romero often recalled the words of Pope Paul VI to underscore this basic fact about the desired change in the society: “To change structures without changing the hearts of men is simply to place new structures at the service of new sins. What is needed is a new man. And in order to have

a new continent, it is not enough to have a change of structure without a change of hearts.�

As if to perform a mea culpa for their predecessors who disowned Archbishop Romero and the other martyrs, the bishops gave the motif for the Jubilee Year of the Martyrs: “The martyrs gave their lives and accompany us on our pilgrimage of faith. We want to hear their voice and at the same time, we want to echo that voice.�

A lot still remains to be done in El Salvador. It ranks as the most violent country in the Americas and also one of the poorest countries in the world.

The Salvadoran civil war may have ended but gang violence has replaced military and guerilla guns.

The economic underdevelopment of the populace today is not all that different from what it was in the days of the Salvadoran martyrs.

Hence, the current bishops of El Salvador must not allow the thundering voice of prophecy to be silenced.

The same applies to bishops in other countries of Latin America as well as in Africa and elsewhere.

May all those concerned about social justice heed these words of Archbishop Oscar Romero: “If martyrdom be my fate, may my blood become a seed of liberty and sign that hope may soon become a reality. A bishop will die, but the Church of God, which is the people, will never perish.� n Fr Iheanacho is of the Department of Historical and Constructive Theology at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein

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The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

LENT

The ethics of eating ‘fake meat’ As vegan diets are becoming popular even among some meat eaters, the question arises: Is it OK to eat ‘fake meat’ on Fridays during Lent?

F

OOD trends come and go, and the trend du jour is plant-based “meat” that is partially made in a laboratory.

Many vegans and vegetarians have rejoiced at the growing popularity and relative mainstream success of meatless brands, and there is a growing claim that eschewing meat choices in favour of these new products is a more ethical choice for consumers.

According to Dr Joseph Capizzi, a professor of moral theology at the Catholic University of America, a person is not morally obligated to choose a vegan patty over a beef or chicken burger.

“There’s no reason, in my opinion, to think the consumption of products so dependent upon technology are superior to the consumption of animal products,” said Dr Capizzi.

“I do think, however, in both cases, ethically relevant issues include the production of the foods— including not merely the environmental impact, but also the ways technologies might distance the human being from creation.”

Dr Capizzi said that while he does not think it is ethically superior for people to stick to eating

mostly plant-based food, he does of the Church would seem to indithink that “people need to reflect cate that the necessity of participaton the ethical nature of eating”. ing in the suffering and death of “Though eating is a basic human animals, for most of us, isn’t what need, how we eat, what it might have been in the we eat, with whom we past.”

‘Giving up eat—including whom we Dr Camosy noted that exclude—are all questhe Bible states that in meat but tions that need our reflecthe new Kingdom of God tion,” said Dr Capizzi. that will come with burgers eating While these alternaChrist’s second coming, tive products have done that taste like “animals are to be our some work to address companions, not our some of these concerns, meat gets out food”. there is much work to be The new kingdom done. of the spirit of “will be a Peaceable King“One thing I’ve nodom among all creatures: ticed is the lack of hospi- the penance’ lambs, lions, snakes, and tality that can babies”, he said, and accompany over-restricthere will be no need to tive diets,” he said. slaughter animals.

He recounted the experience of “Protein, fat, minerals, carbohyseeing a poor person offer meat to drates, and water are the five buildguests, presented as a luxury, only ing blocks of meat,” says the to see the meat rejected because of website of Beyond Meat, a faux the guests’ vegetarianism. hamburger producer in the US. Beyond uses plant-based verMeat obsolete? sions of protein—including protein Dr Charles Camosy, a professor from peas, mung beans, fava beans, at the Jesuit Fordham University in brown rice, and sunflowers—and New York who has written exten- fats to create its products. sively about veganism and vegetarAdditionally, Beyond uses beetianism, disagreed with Dr Capizzi’s root juice to create a burger that take. “bleeds”.

Dr Camosy said that these new Another producer uses “heme”, meat-free products make it harder a protein that is found in nearly all for Catholics to justify eating meat. living things, to make its plant“The Catechism of the Catholic based burgers taste like meat. It Church insists we have a moral also mimics a “bleeding” effect. duty not to cause animals to suffer They produce the soy leghaemoor die needlessly,” said Dr Camosy. globin protein through genetic en“With good-tasting protein gineering and fermentation. available from so many sources Does fake meat break fast? now—including from new imitation meat products—the teaching And during Lent, one may ask

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A vegan burger awaits its meatless consumption. While there may be good ethical reasons to switch from animal products to meat substitutes, eating plant-based “meat” on Fridays in Lent is still a bad idea. (Photo: Obi Onyeador) whether meat-substitute products would be appropriate for a day when Catholics abstain from meat.

“The Church’s universal norms say that we should abstain from meat on Fridays, especially Fridays in Lent,” said Dominican Father Thomas Petri, the academic dean and vice-president of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington.

If products are not technically meat, one could argue that we can eat them on Fridays, he said.

However, “giving up meat but having [burgers] that taste like meat seems to me to be a technicality to get out of the spirit of the penance,” Fr Petri said.

“We should remember the point

here is to give up something in union with Christ crucified. If a person is seeking [artificial] meat to skirt the penance, it’s hard to believe they’ve really understood the point of it all.”

It is important for Catholics to remember that fasting and abstinence are not done for purposes of dieting, or to respect animals, said Fr Petri.

The purpose of fasting is to “unite our offerings to the perfect offering of Christ, and so to prepare for the great feast of his coming”.

And for those who are still struggling (or hungry) on a Friday, Fr Petri had some advice: “If you’re craving meat on a Friday, offer it up.”—CNA

Why be humble?

BY FR RALPH DE HAHN

T

HE saints and scholars seem to have a consensus that humility is the one necessary basic virtue we need to nurture before striving for the others.

Jesus himself taught that “unless you become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. He asks us to be dependent on him as a baby is on its mother.

A few weeks ago, the Ash Wednesday liturgy reminded us: “Remember, man, that you are only dust, and into dust you shall return!”

In our short life, we merit, in fact, nothing; Christ has merited all. In humbly acknowledging that truth, we need to thank the Almighty every day of our lives—but a proud person will find no reason to thank him.

When people through self-praise climb to dizzy heights, to the applause of others, then they eventually are dazzled and crumble before the brightness there.

But the Book of Proverbs warns that “every proud man is an abomination to the Lord” (16:5).

St Bernard of Clairvaux tells us that if we know ourselves well enough, then we will be humble.

Our human history teaches that pride ever goes before the fall. It is a shattering thought to realise that God creates the best from nothing.

We impede his work when we become an imaginary somebody.

St Augustine advised: “Do you wish to rise? Then begin by descending.”

What’s gain for self is loss for Christ. To possess God we must renounce self and make space for the Holy Spirit.

St Paul said this beautifully about his Master: “Though he was divine, he emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave” (Phil 2:6).

A humble man does not feel humiliated. St Francis de Sales insisted that one ounce of humility is far greater than a thousand pounds of honour!

We are told that humility is truth. Be yourself, never try to be somebody else. Do not be controlled by the world of fashions or

rapid technology.

Listen to the wisdom of St Francis of Assisi: “What I am in the eyes of God, that I am, nothing more!”

St Gregory the Great believed that humility is the mistress and mother of all virtues, and the mystic Thomas a Kempis was adamant in his belief that there is no progress in the spiritual life until we see ourselves as inferior to all.

In some countries the mule carries large quantities of precious metal, even gold—but he remains a mule.

Pride is the worship of self, and that spells destruction! St Alphonsus Liguori said “that to know oneself is the foundation of everything; he who truly knows himself, despises himself”.

But St Paul adds that “the grace of God is with me” and that Man cannot conquer self except by God’s grace; Jesus invites us to ask, with faith, and we shall receive.

Where there is humility, there is wisdom and growth in maturity.

We often judge rashly because of our pride. St Augustine also points out that the less attentive we are to our own sins, the more we pry into those of others.

Now Paul gives us good advice: “No competition among yourselves, no conceit, but be self-effacing.Always consider the other person better than yourself” (Phil 2:3).

Charles de Foucauld smilingly remarked that “Jesus took the last place for himself, and no one has ever been able to take it away from him”.

Humility is power. Poverty is power; we are well aware that empty barrels make the most noise!

We can achieve more for Christ ,through humility, than from knowledge. In this short sentence there is enormous truth: when self dies, all problems die.

Finally, let’s listen to St Peter: “Wrap yourselves in humility, to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour the humble. Bow then before the power of God now and he will raise you up at the appointed time” (1 Peter 5:5).

The Southern Cross, March 4 to March 10, 2020

YoUr CLaSSIFIeDS

God calls on us to live in partnership with creation

BY SR ANGELIKA LAUB OP

Anniversaries • Milestones • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday accommodation Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Parish notices • Thanks • Others Please include payment (R1,90 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

PerSonaL

aBorTIon WarnInG: The truth will convict a silent Church. See www.valuelifeabortion isevil.co.za BIrTHrIGHT of Durban: Mandate to function as a chapter of Birthright of South Africa has been withdrawn by the National Board of Birthright of South Africa. No further activity, for example, fundraising, counselling by any member past or present of Birthright Durban is permitted. Birthright of South Africa 082 0575561.

M

ANY animals on land, in the water, in the air and in the soil have become extinct. The rate of loss accelerates and is at present at one species every 12 minutes.

All living species—plants, animals and humans—are interconnected, forming the web of life.

The quality and resilience of this web is weakened through the loss of every species that vanishes.

The present mass extinction is caused by pollution of air, soil and water through plastics and chemicals as well as the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other gases in the air (climate change) and the destruction of the life space justly required by animals.

The burning and cutting of trees and forests for our benefit and pleasure also reduces the life space of many animals. The increasing use of chemicals in the production of crops, fruit or vegetables causes more deaths and new diseases while destroying the natural fertility and resistance to disease.

According to the understanding of the Bible, animals were created to be partners with humans.

God made Her Covenant with the whole creation. In Hosea we read: “When that day comes I shall make a treaty for them with the wild animals, with the birds of heaven and the creeping things of the earth…” (2:20-24).

In Genesis we find this: “But with you I shall establish my Covenant and you will go aboard the ark…from all living creatures, from all living things, you must take two of each kind aboard the ark, to save their lives with yours; they must be a male and a female.

“Of every species of bird, of every kind of animal and of every creature that creeps along the ground, two must go with you so

Sr Angelika Laub OP writes that we as humans have a God-given duty of care towards the earth and its creatures, and that we are called on to re-establish a compassionate and respectful relationship with creation. that their lives may be saved” (6:18-21).

Later in Genesis we read: “I am now establishing my Covenant with you and your descendants to come and with every living creature that was with you: birds, cattle and every wild animal with you, everything that came out of the ark and every living thing on earth. I shall maintain my covenant with you” (8:9-10).

In the first chapter of Genesis, the human was mandated to care for creation. And in Exodus the commandment to rest on the Sabbath includes the people around us, our workers, and also the animals under our control (20:8-11).

Also in the Book of Wisdom (Prov 12:10), we read that compassionate care for our animals is part of being a just person.

Psalm 104 describes beautifully how the animals know their place in creation. It is the human

who no longer wants to know his place and his work as caretaker in creation (Jer 8:7).

It was mainly in the 17th century that respectful and compassionate treatment of animals was replaced by self-centred domination over creation.

At present, every day millions of animals are destroyed cruelly in our factories to satisfy our greed for meat. The overconsumption of meat is harmful for us and for creation.

It is important that we learn again to feel for and communicate with animals.

It is also essential that animals have their well-cared place in our towns; this creates for our children and youths the opportunity to grow up and learn to respect and love our partners in creation.

And, especially in our days, when more and more people are lonely or psychologically wounded, animals may be caring companions.

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O Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are. Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from

This week we congratulate: March 8: Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban on his 79th birthday March 8: Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen on his 65th birthday March 14: Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba of Umzimkulu on the 11th anniversary of his episcopal ordination

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Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 905. ACROSS: 5 Isis, 7 Curriculum, 8 Etna, 10 Preamble, 11 Darius, 12 Strict, 14 Akimbo, 16 Shinto, 17 Handmaid,19 Fish, 21 Apostolate, 22 Stab. DOWN: 1 Acre, 2 Arianism, 3 Scopes, 4 Elders, 5 Imam, 6 Implicates, 9 Thanks a lot, 13 Rainfall, 15 Orator, 16 Sedate, 18 Drab, 20 Heed.

19 Years Ago: March 4, 2001

Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 2 Sunday March 8, 2nd Sunday of Lent Genesis 12:1-4, Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22, 2 Timothy 1:8-10, Matthew 17:1-9 Monday March 9, St Frances of Rome Daniel 9:4-10, Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13, Luke 6:36-38 Tuesday March 10 Isaiah 1:10, 16-20, Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23, Matthew 23:1-12 Wednesday March 11 Jeremiah 18:18-20, St Frances Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16, of Rome Matthew 20:17-28 Thursday March 12 Jeremiah 17:5-10, Psalm 1:1-4, 6, Luke 16:19-31 Friday March 13 Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28, Psalm 105:16-21, Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 Saturday March 14 Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Sunday March 15, 3rd Sunday of Lent Exodus 17:3-7, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, Romans 5:1-2, 5-8, John 4:5-42

the bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. There is none who can withstand your power.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands. “Say this prayer for three consecutive days and then publish.

Leon and Karen. 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: A Holy Hour Prayer for Priests is held on the second Saturday of every month at the Villa Maria shrine from 16:00 to 17:00. The shrine is at 1 Kloof Nek Road in Tamboerskloof. The group prays for priests in the archdiocese, and elsewhere by request.

Our bishops’ anniversaries

FROM OUR VAULTS

Liturgical Calendar

11

Napier becomes a cardinal

GoD BLeSS aFrICa

Guard our people, guide our leaders and give us peace.

Luke 11:1-13

Presiding over the largest consistory in history, Pope John Paul II created 44 new cardinals.

They included Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, archbishop of Durban, who was the 24th of the 44 new “Princes of the Church” to kneel before the pope. Other new cardinals include Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, Walter Kasper and Karl Lehman of Germany, Cormac MurphyO’Connor of England, Cláudio Hummes of Brazil, and (alas) Theodore McCarrick of the US.

Seminary’s new rector New rector Fr Sithembele Sipuka opened the 2001 academic year at St John Vianney, which has 160 registered students, the highest number since its foundation.

Fr Küng calls for papal term limits Theologian Fr Hans Küng proposes term-limits or mandatory retirement ages for popes, saying that 80-year-old Pope John Paul II is “not fully present from a psychic or physical point of view”.

‘Productive penances’ for Lent In his editorial, Günther Simmermacher suggests various “productive penances” for Lent, such as volunteering, accompanying the lonely, supporting homes that offer alternatives to abortion and so on.

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the

3rd Sunday of Lent: March 15 Readings: Exodus 17:3-7, Psalm 95: 1-2, 69, Romans 5:1-2, 5-8, John 4:5-42

A

T this stage of Lent, it is quite possible for you to feel that perhaps God is not all that he is cracked up to be; if that is how you are feeling, then look at the readings for next Sunday, and notice how God reacts.

The first reading has the Israelites in the desert complaining about God and Moses, accusing them of genocide. Like Jesus in the Gospel for the day, they were thirsty; but the tone was quite different: “Why did you bring me up from Egypt to kill me and my sons and my cattle with thirst?” is their complaint.

Moses fears that they are going to “stone” him, and complains to God. God is quite calm: “Go and stand in front of the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel.”

Then he tells Moses how to produce water: “Look! I shall be standing before you there at the rock at Horeb. You are to strike the rock and waters shall flow from it; and the people shall drink.”

It is as simple as that; but the people are not to forget they had been complaining about God, for the place is now to be called “Massah” (“Testing”) and Meribah (“Quarrelling”).

The psalm for next Sunday is a liturgical reflection on this episode, but the poet is rejoicing in what God had done, rather than

S outher n C ross

making a complaint about the divine failures: “Come let us sing to the Lord, cry out to the Rock of our salvation!”

That phrase “the Rock”, of course, takes us right back to the scene of our first reading, but we should notice the joyful tone; and we might pray to make it our own.

The whole point of the song is that they should now recognise what God had been up to: “Come let us bow down in worship and kneel before the Lord who made us.” And they are to recognise their own insignificance: “We are the flock of his hand. Today, if only you would listen to his voice: do not harden your hearts.”

That is not a bad suggestion for us, at this stage of our Lenten journey, as the poet reminds us of “Massah in the desert”.

In the second reading, Paul is starting a long section of his letter to the Romans, where he gives that divided Church reasons for being confident about what God has done for us in Christ: “So since we have been justified because of faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And we notice the overflowing confidence: “The love of God has been poured out in our

T

Conrad

a saint, to “willing the one thing”.

Moreover, because our complexity hasn’t been recognised and honoured spiritually, we often feel guilty about it: Why am I so complicated? Why do I have all these questions? Why am I so often confused? Why is sex such a powerful impulse? Why do I have so many temptations?

The simple answer: Because we are born with a godly fire within. Thus the source of so many confusions, temptations, and resistances comes as much from what is best in us as from Satan and the world’s wiles.

W

hat should we do in the face of our own bewildering complexity? Some counsels for the long haul: • Honour and hallow your complexity: Accept that this is a God-given gift inside you and, at the end of the day, it’s what is best inside you. It’s what separates you from plants and animals. Their nature is simple, but having an immortal, infinite soul makes for lots of complications as you struggle to live out our life within the finitude that besets you. l Never underestimate your complexity, even as you resist massaging it: Recognise and respect the “demons and angels” that roam freely inside your heart and mind. But don’t massage your complexity either by fancying yourself the tormented artist or the existentialist who’s heroically out of step with life. l Befriend your shadow: It’s the luminosity you’ve split off.

Slowly, with caution and support, begin to face the inner things that frighten you. l Hallow the power and place of sexual-

Sunday Reflections

hearts, through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” And the reason for the confidence is the unstinting generosity of Jesus who “died for us while we were still sick; at just the right time he died for the impious”.

Then he sums up God’s unfailing generosity: “Because when we were still sinners, Christ died on our behalf.”

Are you still feeling God is not up to it?

The Gospel for next Sunday is the longest conversation held by Jesus in any of the Gospels; and his interlocutor has two strikes against her, first that she is a woman, and second that she is a Samaritan. It is also possible her domestic arrangements were somewhat awry, though we cannot be sure of this.

However, there is no hostility on either side, hers or his. She shows herself to be of a ready understanding, prepared to ask questions, and going deeper into the mystery than anyone has done up to this point in John’s Gospel.

It starts at midday, when both of them meet at a well; and any young rural African will tell you that midday is just the wrong time to come for water, so she is clearly not in good standing in her community.

Then we notice that Jesus, perhaps some-

Ten tips for the long haul HE renowned spiritual writer Ruth Burrows begins her autobiography with these words: “I was born into this world with a tortured sensitivity. For long I have puzzled over the causes of my psychological anguish.”

Unfortunately, too many spiritual biographies don’t begin like this—by recognising right at the start the bewildering, pathological complexity inside our own nature.

We’re not simple in heart, mind, and soul, nor indeed even in body. Each of us has enough complexity within us to write our own treatise on abnormal psychology.

And that complexity must not only be recognised; it needs to be respected and hallowed because it stems not from what’s worst in us but from what’s best in us.

We’re complex because what beguiles us inside and tempts us in every direction is not, first of all, the wiliness of the devil, but rather the image and likeness of God. Inside us there’s a divine fire, a greatness, which gives us infinite depth, insatiable desires, and enough luminosity to bewilder every psychologist. The image and likeness of God inside us, as John of the Cross writes, renders our hearts, minds, and souls “caverns” too deep to ever be filled in or fully understood.

I believe Christian spirituality has often not taken this seriously enough, and the impression has been given that Christian discipleship shouldn’t be complicated: “Why all this resistance within you?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

But, as we know from our experience, our innate complexity is forever throwing up complications and resistances to becoming

Nicholas King SJ

Got any complaints?

what abruptly, asks her for a drink. That request is the starting-point to lively discussion.

In answer to her question about the interaction between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus introduces the idea of “living water”, which could mean either “running water” or “water of life”. A bit further on, Jesus explains this as “a spring of water that wells up into eternal life”, and she gets decidedly interested in the idea of not having to come again to the well.

The conversation then goes deeper, as she first recognises Jesus as a prophet, and then receives some very profound teaching about “true worshippers”. The woman tumbles to his identity as “Messiah”; and then, when Jesus’ disapproving disciples turn up, she significantly abandons her bucket and turns into an apostle for her fellow-Samaritans.

They in turn go deeper into the story: “We have heard, and we know that this one is truly the Saviour of the World.”

We have come a long way since the angry complaints of our first reading. Where are you, at this stage of your Lenten journey?

Southern Crossword #905

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

ity within you: You’re incurably sexual, and for a godly reason. Never deny or denigrate the power of sexuality—even as you carry it with a proper chastity. l Name your wounds, grieve them, mourn your inconsummation: Whatever wounds you don’t grieve will eventually snakebite you. Accept and mourn the fact that here, in this life, there is no finished symphony. l Never let the “transcendental impulse” inside you become drugged or imprisoned: Your complexity continually lets you know that you’re built for more than this life. Never deaden this impulse inside you.

Learn to recognise, through your frustrations and fantasies, the ways you often imprison it. l Try to find a “higher love” by which to transcend the more immediate power of your natural instincts: All miracles begin with falling in love.

Hallow your spontaneous impulses and temptations by searching for that higher love and higher value towards which they’re pointing.

Offering others your altruism and the gaze of admiration will feel so good and right that it will bring to fulfilment what you’re really yearning for.

• Let your own complexity teach you understanding and empathy: By being in touch with your own complexity you will learn that nothing is foreign to you and that what you see on the news each day mirrors what’s inside you. l Forgive yourself often: Your complexity will trip you up many times and so you will need to forgive yourself many times. Live, knowing that God’s mercy is a well that’s never exhausted. l Live under God’s patience and understanding: God is your builder, the architect who constructed you and who is responsible for your complexity. Trust that God understands, and is more anxious about you than you’re anxious about yourself.

The God who knows all things also knows and appreciates why you struggle.

Southern C ross Pilgrimage

Led by archbishop William Slattery www.fowlertours.co.za/passion

5. Egyptian goddess is seen again (4) 7. The course of study (10) 8. Planet naturally has a volcano (4) 10. Introduction before the stroll? (8) 11. The Mede who became king (Dn 5) 12. Unrelaxed kind of religious vows? (6) 14. Arms on hips, I’m a Bok (6) 16. Religion of Japan (6) 17. Mary’s title for herself (8) 19. One that Jesus multiplied (4) 21. O, a late stop for evangelistic activity (10) 22. Kind of wound Christ suffered (4)

DowN

1. Care about a bit of land (4) 2. Heresy denying the divinity of Christ (8) 3. The ranges of the micro and tele (6) 4. The older fellows in the ministry (6) 5. I, missing from Miami, am a Muslim (5) 6. Shows to be involved in the crime (10) 9. Words of gratitude (6,1,3) 13. It started the Flood (8) 15. Public speaker (6) 16. Calm with a sedative (6) 18. Bard turns out dull (4) 20. Pay attention to the warning (4) Solutions on page 11

CHURCH CHUCKLE

A

man ordered flowers to be sent through the florist to his friend on the opening of his new shop.

Soon after , he received a call from his angry friend.

“Is that some kind of joke? Do you think it’s funny to send me flowers with a card saying, ‘Rest In Peace’, just as I open my new shop?”

The man calmed his friend down, explaining that obviously there had been some mistake. He then went to the florist to complain.

“Oh, but it could be much worse,” the florist said.

“Imagine this. Today someone was buried beneath a floral arrangement with the inscription, ‘Congratulations on Your New Location! Well Deserved!’”

21 Aug - 2 Sept. 2020

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