200415

The

S outher n C ross

April 15 to April 21, 2020

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

No 5182

New bishop: How I became a priest

Page 3

www.scross.co.za

R12 (incl VAT RSA)

Saints to call on during plagues

Page 12

Centenary Jubilee Year

Pope Francis’ very unusual Easter in text and photos

Pages 6-7

J&P backs pope on lockdown rescue plan STAFF REPORTER

I

N an Easter letter to members of popular movements, Pope Francis has suggested that the coronavirus crisis may be an occasion to consider a universal basic wage—and the director of the region’s bishops’ Justice & Peace Commission agrees.

“Many of you live from day to day, without any type of legal guarantee to protect you.

Street vendors, recyclers, small farmers, construction workers, dressmakers, the different kinds of caregivers: you who are informal, working on your own or in the grassroots economy, you have no steady income to get you through this hard time...and the lockdowns are becoming unbearable,” the pope said.

“This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage [or basic income grant] which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out. It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.”

Pope Francis added: “My hope is that governments understand that technocratic paradigms are not enough to address this crisis or the other great problems affecting humankind.”

A basic income grant would guarantee every adult citizen a minimum income to cover the basic cost of living.

“Other than Pope Francis, a group of economists have recently called for the basic income grant as a response to the coronavirus crisis,” noted Fr Stan Muyebe OP, who coordinates the Justice & Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

“Other economists have also proposed the fiscal mechanisms to finance the grant. I think the government should consider their appeal for the basic income grant.”

A basic income grant was backed by the SACBC in the 1990s. In 2002, the govern-

ment dismissed the basic income grant as fiscally unsustainable and liable to generate a dependency syndrome.

“In a country which is marked by extreme economic inequalities, government response to the economic impacts of the coronavirus should give highest priority to the most vulnerable in the society, especially the unemployed, the victims of massive job loss, those in the informal business sector, and so on,” Fr Muyebe said.

“Most of these vulnerable categories are not covered by the current mitigation measures recently announced by the government,” he noted.

“A basic income grant should be considered as one of the measures to mitigate the economic impacts of the lockdown on the poor and the struggling middle-class.”

With a basic income grant, those whose businesses have collapsed due to the lockdown “would have a safety net to ensure survival and basic necessities while finding ways to rebuild their businesses”, Fr Muyebe said.

“Those who have lost their jobs would have a buffer to cover the expenses incurred when searching for a job, such as the cost of transport,” he added.

“It would also help the unemployed youth—who are not yet in the job market— with financial support for accommodation and expenses incurred in searching for jobs.”

He said the basic income grant could be time-limited to cover the period necessary for the economic recovery of the poor from the coronavirus crisis.

Fr Muyebe noted that in some informal settlements and rural areas, J&P has observed that the food relief programme “is politicised and used as a mobilisation campaign in relation to the forthcoming municipal elections”.

“A basic income grant could circumvent such risks since it is a relief package that is accessible to all citizens, irrespective of political affiliation,” he said.

Frs Brett Williams and Mtshengiseni Dlamini of Morningside in Durban prepare for a livestream from the parish’s St Joseph’s church. During the lookdown, many parishes throughout South Africa have livestreamed their liturgies. (Photo: Shelly Kjonstad/Independent on Saturday)

SACBC backs Southern Cross

T

HE Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on all parishes and the faithful to support The Southern Cross.

In a message signed by its president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, the SACBC asked that its “special heartfelt message” be relayed to the faithful “through your parish priests and parish organisations”.

“An invisible cordon has been thrown across the world causing isolation, lockdown and anxiety,” the message noted, saying that the Covid-19 pandemic “is a wake-up call to the whole of society to revalue the way we live as neighbours and communities—and for decisive action to improve health services, especially for the poor and vulnerable”.

The pandemic and the lockdown serve as “a call, too, for us to be Good Samaritans to one another”.

Bishop Sipuka noted that “Pope Francis has emphasised the crucial role of the media in keeping us informed and living with hope

in this time of distress and isolation”.

“In thanking journalists and TV, radio and online social networks for helping people to cope with loneliness, Pope Francis was affirming the importance of social communications in sustaining human solidarity and compassion,” the bishop said.

In South Africa, he noted, “The Southern Cross has kept us connected in faith for 100 years. As partners in this valued publishing enterprise, we support the special centenary gift” of free access to the newspaper’s online digital issue for one month.

All parishioners need to do is visit www.scross.co.za.

“In this way readers will answer the call to discipleship, the call to follow Jesus in his healing ministry at Galilee,” Bishop Sipuka said.

“And they can continue to read and be inspired by the Good News that The Southern Cross shares as a lighthouse that keeps the Word shining,” the message said.

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The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

LOCAL

Bishops: We will emerge from corona darkness STAFF REPORTER

T

HE bishops of Southern Africa have called on those disregarding the government’s lockdown “to consider the common good that informs these restrictions”.

In a pastoral letter issued on April 13, the bishops joined Pope Francis in his Easter message, “calling for strong bonds of solidarity among us during this time”.

“Social distance in everyday life has often meant division between poor and rich, but the social distancing we are being called to now is that of mutual care and cooperation in eliminating the virus,” said the letter, signed by Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference president.

“We have come face-to-face with the singular truth that, no matter what nation or race, what class or age, what economic power or weakness—rich or poor—all of us are in this together. This truth is undeniable,” the bishops said.

“With this greater oneness

comes the absolute necessity of greater solidarity. While we must regularly wash our hands to avoid the virus, let us not wash our hands of our responsibility for each other, particularly the poor who feel the impact of the lockdown the most and who will be affected by the effects of the virus the most.”

The bishops commended “the cooperation among all people in observing the directives that come with a lot of sacrificial restrictions”, and the government “in its decisive leadership and wide consultation in its response to the pandemic”.

“It is also touching to notice how individuals and organisations are trying their best to come to the rescue of those hard-hit by the pandemic,” the bishops said.

“We note the generous gesture of care by members of government to make significant and generous donations to the common good.

“We recognise, too, the generosity of business leaders, groups, sportsmen and women and other celebrities,” the bishops said.

Thandiwe Mkhonza, Norin Nyawose and Nonhlanhla Bucibo were accepted into the Sodality of St Anne’s at a Mass said by Salesian Father Tim Wrenn.

(Photo: Dr Kevin Luk)

“It is heartwarming to hear that even some gangs have declared a truce among themselves and decided to participate in distribution of food to the poor,” the letter noted.

“And so even in this hour of a fearful silence, we are witnessing the good human qualities of care and cooperation among people, and this is consoling,” the bishops said.

“We remember those infected by this disease and struggling for their lives, the healthcare workers who are at great risk of infection, those who are anxious about losing employment, the street vendors and those who survive by doing piece-jobs, as well as those sitting at home without the provision of basic needs.

“As bishops, we make a preferential option for people in such situations, not only in prayer but also to work with all concerned towards a relief of their situation, both during the lockdown and in the post-coronavirus period,” the bishops said.

The pastoral letter also offered a theological reflection of Easter in the time of the coronavirus.

The bishops noted that “when the news of Christ’s Resurrection was announced by the angel to the women followers of Jesus, it was met with disbelief as they were still in great shock about his execution”.

“They were in the total silence of fear and doubt. The silence that we observe on Holy Saturday, with no activity, is a symbolic joining with these first followers of Jesus who were mourning and confused because the one they believed was the Messiah, Jesus, had been killed,” the bishops said.

“This year our silence was also symbolic of the total silence and social isolation that has befallen the whole world because of the unexpected killer-coronavirus that has brought fear to all humanity.

“In this atmosphere of eerie silence, we would like to remind all who believe that our silence is not that of despair but of hope. While Jesus was hanging, dead and silent on the cross, his power was working,” the bishops said.

St Matthew’s Palm Sunday Pas-

sion narrative tells us when Jesus died, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom”.

“The divide between God and humanity was removed and so God is not far from us during this time of fear and anxiety,” the bishops said.

“As he hung on the cross in silence and apparent defeat, the power of Christ’s love was present and operational in the women who, though from a distance, were in solidarity with Jesus and keeping watch.

“It was present and operational in the courage of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who claimed the body of Jesus and gave him a decent burial,” the bishops reflected.

After Christ’s Resurrection, “this power and courage would be characteristic of all the followers of Jesus, bringing the victory of Christ over evil to the whole world”, they said.

“In the midst of this darkness, there have been, and continue to be present, signs of final victory over the pandemic with heartwarming gestures of solidarity in dealing with the coronavirus,” the bishops said.

Johannesburg Fatima pilgrimage postponed

T

HE annual Fatima pilgrimage in Johannesburg that was planned for May 9 has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Depending on how the pandemic progresses, and if possible, the pilgrimage may well take place later this year, or not at all this year,” said Manny de Freitas, co-convenor for the annual 4km procession from the Blessed Sacrament parish in Malvern

East which concludes with Mass at Bedfordview’s Schoenstatt shrine.

The pilgrimage is in honour of Our Lady of Fatima, and is held at a date close to the anniversary of Mary’s first apparition on May 13, 1917, to three poor shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal.

During the apparitions over the following six months, Our Lady Queen of the Rosary appealed for prayer, conversion and peace.

This year would have marked the 21st time and the 14th year in succession that this pilgrimage would have taken place, when hundreds of Catholics would have taken to the Johannesburg streets again on foot to celebrate the Marian apparitions at Fatima.

“Let us pray that this pandemic is over soon so that we can get back to our usual activities in our parishes,” Mr de Freitas said.

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The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

LOCAL

3

Bishops review 40 years of Zim independence

BY ERIN CARELSE

I

N a pastoral letter to mark the 40th anniversary of their country’s independence, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCCB) has called on leaders and citizens to work on rebuilding and restoring the country.

Zimbabwe gained official independence on April 18, 1980.

Reflecting on their country after these 40 years, the bishops said there had been achievements, but things had also gone wrong along the way.

“We need to acknowledge that dark chapter in our national memory which led to the killing of many civilians in Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands soon after independence,” the bishops noted.

“We have missed so many opportunities that God has given us,” the pastoral letter read.

“We missed the opportunity soon after independence to redefine and seek a different political path from what colonialism had charted for us.

“We missed the opportunity of national healing processes based on the policy of reconciliation.”

The bishops noted that Zimbabweans need to work towards reconciliation and healing past hurts

caused by historical injustices.

They said the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) offers the possibility of resolving conflicts in the country.

“There is a hunger for reconciliation and addressing the past hurts and injustices. However, the NPRC is still to be fully operationalised and the duration of its mandate remains unclear, apart from other grey areas, which is leading to loss of confidence in the commission,” the bishops warned.

“We have also failed to develop a political culture of tolerance.

There are so many issues that need to be addressed, like corruption, international isolation, collapsing infrastructure, and emigration,” they said.

“Zimbabwe has generally experienced a gradual economic recession that has led to the closing down of industries and companies, foreigninvestor flight, job losses, and a decline in agricultural productivity, leading to escalating poverty levels,” the bishops noted.

They added that health and education institutions had shown a gradual yet steep decline from where the country had started.

They urged the government to

which at times came through destruction such as floods,” they said.

“Forty is more than a number. It is a period of grace, a time of restoration, a time of fortification and a time of peace… It also marks a reprieve,” the bishops stated.

Celebrations for the country’s 40th anniversary of independence had been scheduled to take place on April 18.

However, due to the restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, President Emmerson Mnangagwa postponed the event to a later date.

The bishops have also welcomed the 21-day nationwide lockdown announced by the president but have called for more preventative measures to curb the spread of the global pandemic and “save lives”.

“Now with Covid-19, there is a need for outright and vigorous efforts to fight and prevent this pandemic, which if it is not carefully handled in our country, may spell doom to the whole of our nation where hospital structures are not fully equipped and ready to combat it,” the bishops noted.

“Our only line of defence is prevention. Let us be proactive and work hard to save lives,” they urged.

People arrive for Mass at a church in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Philimon Bulawayo, Reuters/CNS) ensure that all laws are aligned with the Constitution, noting that the attempted amendment of the 2013 Constitution “has not yet been fully implemented”.

The country’s bishops also expressed hope that the ten years leading to the golden jubilee celebrations in 2030 will be “a period of

realigning everything to the original vision of our independence”.

They noted that 40 is symbolic in the scriptures, often reflecting a journey of God and his people, leading them back to himself.

“The number 40 has great spiritual and theological meaning as it is a period of rebuilding, rediscovery,

New Aliwal diocese bishop: how I became a priest

BY DALUXOLO MOLOANTOA

A

Aliwal North diocese’s new bishop Joseph Kizito has been involved in Small Christian Communities since his youth in Uganda, and sees them as invaluable in implementing the Southern African bishops’ Pastoral Plan.

S a novice priest in the Aliwal North diocese, Fr Joseph Kizito immersed himself in the work of Small Christian Communities (SCCs). Now as the new bishop of the diocese, he intends to draw from this experience in implementing the new Pastoral Plan, “Evangelising Community, Serving God, Humanity and all Creation”.

Bishop Kizito first worked with SCCs as a youth leader and altar server in his native Uganda, and said this helped him in Aliwal North: “I was able to begin my pastoral work with ease because I had my roots in the SCCs.” Present at his ordination in February were the chairman of the Ugandan Episcopal Conference, Bishop Joseph Antony Zziwa of the KiyindaMityana diocese; Archbishop of Kampala Cyprian Kizito Lwanga; Bishop Jumba of Masaka diocese; and Bishop Bishop Kakooza of the

‘Human rights hero’ dies at 83 STAFF REPORTER

M

IKE Auret, the long-serving chairman of Zimbabwe’s Justice & Peace Commission, parliamentarian and outspoken opponent of President Robert Mugabe, died on April 10, Good Friday, in Ireland. He was 83.

Mr Auret led J&P from 1978-99.

He had been an opponent of Ian Smith’s Rhodesia, going into exile rather than to serve in its army.

In the early 1980s, he was instrumental in recording the Gukurahundi massacres in Matabeleland, which claimed 20 000 lives, in the seminal “Breaking the Silence: Building True Peace” document.

He was part of a Catholic bishops’ delegation which, in a Harare meeting on March 16, 1983, confronted Mr Mugabe with the atrocities.

A critic of the subsequent human rights abuses committed by the Mugabe government, Mr Auret represented Harare West as MP for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) until he resigned in 2002. He left Zimbabwe and settled first in Cape Town before moving to Ireland.

In 2011, Mr Auret published the book From Liberator to Dictator: An Insider’s Account of Robert Mugabe’s Descent into Tyranny.

Lawyer and former MDC MP David Coltart, who worked with Mr Auret in J&P, recalled: “Mike’s work

Mitiyana diocese; alongside 23 other bishops and many other priests and members of the laity.

The new prelate, who was appointed as bishop by Pope Francis last November, comes from a devout Catholic family of five boys and five girls.

Before becoming a bishop he had been appointed an honorary prelate—monsignor—by Pope Benedict XVI in April 2009.

For years, he and his siblings spent part of their youth volunteering to clean the cathedral of Rubanga, his hometown parish. It was here that he first reflected on his vocation to become a priest.

Since then he has focused his vocation on the mission of SCCs. “We Christians are a community, just like God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,” Bishop Kizito said. “Christ speaks to us in our daily communal reading of the Bible, sharing it and linking our

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Mike Auret with Pope John Paul II. in promoting human rights in both Rhodesia and Zimbabwe was unparalleled. If ever there was a true Zimbabwean hero, it was Mike.”

A lifelong devout Catholic, and inspired especially by Fr Patrick Galvin, Mr Auret planned to become a priest—until he met Diana, with whom he remained married for 63 years. They had four children: Peter, Margaret, Stephen and Michael.

Son Michael paid tribute to his father: “While our hearts are torn asunder as we face the devastation of his leaving, we celebrate a life lived with such great compassion, activism, meaning, wisdom and above all—with such great love.

“Dad was never just ours. We shared him with the Zimbabwe he so loved and fought all his life for, and ultimately with all those whose lives he touched and raised up through the power of his love.”

He realised early on that his background in SCCs was once again going to be put to good use in implementing the plan. Soon after its launch, Aliwal North put in place guidelines that will act as a catalyst for translating the Pastoral Plan into action.

“We are going to have four stages of implementation of the Pastoral Plan in our diocese. Stage One will be the launch. Stage Two will be identification of the structures that we shall be using for implementation of the plan. Stage Three will be rolling it out. Stage Four will involve organising activities and events during the ten years of the plan,” he explained.

“The Pastoral Plan should not just stay on the bookshelves of priests and religious. It should bring about a change in people’s spiritual struggles. The faithful should demand it in their parishes and sodalities,” Bishop Kizito stressed.

faith to the problems prevalent in the world today. Within our SCCs, we are able to find God and each other’s joy and sorrows.”

The bishop initially came to Southern Africa to study for the priesthood at St Augustine Major Seminary at Roma in Lesotho. He had joined the Order of the Servants of Mary back home in Uganda.

In 1992, after his completion of a bachelors degree in theology, he became part of Aliwal North diocese.

He taught at Maclomes High School while being prepared for further theology studies.

From 1993-96 he was a student St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria, studying for a bachelors degree from Urbaniana University in Rome.

On September 27, 1997, he was ordained to the priesthood at St Teresa’s parish in Aliwal North.

Bishop Kizito took an active part in the consultative process leading up to the new Pastoral Plan.

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The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

INTERNATIONAL

Canadian priest: I’d rather English bishops: Chaplains be in jail than leave inmates shouldn’t give last rites

BY MICHAEL SWAN

BY SIMON CALDWELL

W

ITH the prison system shutting down all visits in Canada, a Catholic priest has volunteered to be incarcerated rather than leave inmates without spiritual care.

“He offered to go there and live in the institution 24/7,” said Bishop Gary Gordon of Victoria, British Columbia. “For a bishop to hear that from a priest, you say ‘OK, this is what it’s all about. This is the vocation—lay it on the line.’ It’s really beautiful.”

As Covid-19 infections begin to emerge in prisons, spiritual care for inmates has dwindled amid growing anxiety over the dangers faced by inmates and prison staff alike.

Bishop Gordon, who is the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ representative for prison ministry, said the priest who volunteered to remain with inmates has a deep and long commitment to prison ministry.

Subtracting prison ministry from prisons, even for a short time, could

B Bishop Gary Gordon of Victoria, British Columbia, who is the Canadian bishops’ representative for prison ministry. (Photo: Michael Swan, Catholic Register/CNS) have negative consequences for inmates and for the atmosphere inside the institutions.

“There is lots of research that, for religious or spiritually engaged people, chaplaincy services are integral to those people’s mental health,” said Rebecca Bromwich, law professor at Ottowa’s Carleton University .

At the same time, the institutions must prevent visitors “from becoming disease vectors”, Ms Bromwich said.—CNS

Pope establishes coronavirus fund for mission territories

BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

P

OPE Francis has established an emergency fund to help communities in the Catholic Church’s mission territories affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The pope has given an initial contribution of $750 000 (R13,5 million) and asked Church organisations to contribute to the fund, which will be managed by the Pontifical Mission Societies.

“In her task of evangelisation, the Church is often on the front lines of major threats to human wellbeing,” said Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the congregation. “The Holy Father is calling upon the Church’s entire vast network to face the challenges ahead.”

The Pontifical Mission Societies,

which are under the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, include the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Missionary Childhood Association, the Society of St Peter Apostle, and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious.

The societies support more than 9 000 health clinics, 10 000 orphanages, 1 200 schools, 80 000 seminarians and 9 000 religious Sisters and Brothers in more than 1 150 mission dioceses—mostly in Africa and Asia.

Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, president of the pontifical mission societies, said: “While so many are suffering, we remember and reach out to those who may have no one to care for them, thus showing forth the love of God the Father.”— CNS

ECAUSE of the lack of personal protective equipment, priests are being told to counsel dying Covid-19 patients by telephone rather than give them the last rites.

The new advice from the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales came amid a surge in the rates of infection of Covid-19 in the UK, with nearly 1 000 people dying each day.

Bishop Paul Mason of the Bishopric of the Forces, the lead bishop for health issues, said in the guidance that “it is becoming increasingly clear that giving access to chaplains is difficult due to the scarcity of personal protective equipment”.

This meant there was a higher risk of a hospital chaplain infecting other chaplains as well as “becoming another link in the chain of infection”, he said.

“Our advice, therefore, is for all Catholic chaplaincy coordinators to ensure that they are in constant

Medical staff are seen wearing protective clothing outside the Nightingale Hospital in London. (Photo: Matthew Childs, Reuters/CNS) liaison with hospital authorities so that these bodies are aware of the availability of priests,” he said.

Bishop Mason said while “this runs counter to our instinct to provide personal end-of-life sacramental and pastoral care, in the current circumstances, minimising the spread of the virus must be the priority of all”.

Access to the other sacraments already has been halted. Public Masses and most confessions are

suspended and baptisms, confirmations and weddings have also been deferred until after the pandemic.

Churches are closed even to private prayer as part of the threeweek-old national lockdown.

Similar restrictions exist elsewhere, prompting Pope Francis to suggest a liberal interpretation of canon law to an Italian bishop frustrated because he was unable to gain direct contact with patients to give them absolution.

The pope told a British journalist that he advised that bishop to fulfil his priestly duty and “found out later that he was giving absolution all around the place”.

“This is the freedom of the Spirit in the midst of a crisis,” said Pope Francis in the interview published in The Tablet.

“That doesn’t mean that canon law is not important: It is,” the pope said. “But the final canon says that the whole of canon law is for the salvation of souls, and that’s what opens the door for us to go out in times of difficulty to bring the consolation of God.”—CNS

Pope sets up new study of women deacons

P

OPE Francis has established a new “Study Commission on the Female Diaconate” as a follow-up to a previous group that studied the history of women deacons in the New Testament and early Christian communities.

Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi of Aquila will serve as president of the new commission and Fr Denis Dupont-Fauville, an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will serve as secretary, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis named ten other members of the commission—five women and five men, including two permanent deacons.

The three other men on the commission are all priests: None of the 12 were part of the commission the pope established in 2016 to study the historical facts about the women referred to as dea-

Icons and frescoes of women in the early Church. conesses in the New Testament and about the role of women deacons in the early Church.

In October, the final document of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon asked that synod members, several of whom advocated for opening the diaconate to women, be able “to share our experiences and reflections” with members of the original commission.

In his post-vote talk to synod members, the pope promised that he would have the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “reconvene the commission or perhaps open it with new members”.

But he told synod participants what he had told reporters the previous May, saying that the 12 theologians and historians on the original commission were unable to reach a full consensus on whether “there was an ordination with the same form and same aim as the ordination of men”, but more study was needed.

Pope Francis originally had set up the commission at the request of the women’s International Union of Superiors General, and he promised to “pick up the gauntlet” thrown down by women at the synod who asked for further discussion.—CNS

During plague, Church waived taxes and other requirements

BY CAROL ZIMMERMANN

C

ORRESPONDENCE can reveal a lot about periods of history and the letters written by popes during the Black Death are no exception.

These documents, often responses to questions, provide a window into a long-ago era that is getting renewed attention amid today’s coronavirus pandemic.

It turns out at least 206 516 letters were sent from the papal offices in Avignon, France, during the 70 years of the Avignon papacy when seven consecutive popes lived in Avignon instead of Vatican City from 1309-77.

The Black Death was right in the middle of this time period: from 1347-53.

Joelle Rollo-Koster, professor of medieval history at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, US said historians specialising in the 14th century like herself study these letters, written on paper parchment but available online.

When she focused her search on letters that specifically dealt with the plague, she was not disappointed.

These letters, Ms RolloKoster, said, pinpoint the plague’s outbreak in northern Italy because they show the

This painting by French artist Josse Lieferinxe depicts an intercession by St Sebastian during an outbreak of the plague.

(Painting: The Walters Art Museum/CNS) date the letter was sent and the community where it was sent, often in response to grave illnesses or deaths.

When parish priests or bishops died during the plague, for example, a parishioner would write to the pope asking for someone to be in charge.

Although this initial letter of request is not available, the

response often clearly indicates in very specific detail who died, where and when they died, and if they were bishops, priests, monks or cloistered Sisters.

Ms Rollo-Koster said the letters also reveal the Church’s “stimulus plan”, announcing tax waivers to those who requested them. The Church at that time imposed separate taxes from the government, requiring Church members to tithe one-tenth of their earned income.

She said the Church’s economic response to the plague was to redistribute funds, not tax people as much or allow for a deferred payment.

Because there was a clergy shortage with so many people dying, Catholics also wrote letters to popes requesting that married men be allowed to be priests, which was permitted under some circumstances, provided the priest led a chaste life.

Popes also granted waivers for people to marry within families, she said, allowing marriages between second and third cousins.

Letters also reveal indulgences or absolutions of sin for those who died of the plague without receiving the last rites—which at times covered entire cities.—CNS

INTERNATIONAL

The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

Pope prays for women facing domestic violence

BY CINDY WOODEN

P

OPE Francis highlighted the many ways in which women are caring for others during the coronavirus pandemic, but he also offered prayers for those facing an increased risk of domestic violence during the lockdowns.

At midday on April 13, after reciting the “Regina Coeli” prayer livestreamed from the library of the Apostolic Palace, the pope turned to the day’s Gospel reading and its account of the contrast between the faith of the women disciples, who were certain Jesus rose from the dead, and the uncertainty of the men, who doubted their words.

“Today, I want to remember with you how much many women do— including in this time of a health emergency—to care for others: women doctors, nurses, law enforcement and prison officers, clerks in

Pope Francis gives his blessing from the window of the library in the Apostolic Palace after a live transmission of the “Regina Coeli” prayer. (Photo: Vatican Media/CNS) stores selling basic necessities and all the moms, sisters and grandmothers who find themselves closed in their homes with the whole family, with children, the elderly, those with disabilities,” he said.

“Sometimes,” the pope said, “they risk being subjected to vio-

lence because of a living situation in which they bear too great a burden.

We pray for them that the Lord would give them strength and that our communities would support them together with their families,” the pope said.

“May the Lord give us the courage of women to always go forward,” he added.

Pope Francis also expressed his “closeness and affection” for every country “strongly impacted by the coronavirus—some with very large numbers of people infected and deceased”.

The pope said he was thinking especially of “Italy, the United States, Spain, France—the list is long. I pray for all of them”.

Looking directly in the camera, he added: “Don’t forget that the pope prays for you. He is near.”— CNS

Pope makes surprise call to nun who is treating Covid-19 patients

BY COURTNEY MARES

P

OPE Francis made a surprise phonecall after the Easter Vigil to a religious Sister treating coronavirus patients as a doctor on call in the hard-hit Italian region of Bergamo.

Dr Angel Bipendu, a member of the Sisters of the Redeemer, has been working on the frontline of Italy’s coronavirus crisis in Lombardy as part of a special care unit making home visits to people in full protective gear with Covid-19 symptoms .

On Holy Saturday, Sr Bipendu answered the phone at the emergency medical service in Villa d’Almè to an unexpected voice.

“I am calling from Vatican City, I would like to thank all of you and Sr Bipendu for what you are doing,” the person on the phone said.

To which the Sister responded: “This is she, but...are you Pope Francis?”

“It is me, I would like to compliment you for what you do, also for your testimony of faith,” the pope said, adding that he would like to see her after the pandemic.

Sr Angel Bipendu in a church in Lombardy, Italy, who received a call from Pope Francis thanking her for her care of Covid-19 patients.

(Photo: AFP/CNA) Sr Bipendu, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, studied medicine in Palermo, and has lived in Italy for 16 years. She formerly served migrants on an Italian rescue corps of the Order of Malta rescue vessel in the Mediterreanean.

“When I do my job as a doctor

and I visit the patients, at first they look at me a little surprised; they can see that I am not a traditional doctor. I let them have that, and then I introduce myself, I tell them I am not only a doctor but also a nun, and their attitude changes in a positive way,” Sr Bipendu said.

More than half of the 20 465 coronavirus fatalities documented

by Italy’s ministry of health have been in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, where Sr Bipendu is working.

In the diocese of Bergamo, 25 priests have died after contracting Covid-19.

With more than 100 000 people currently infected with the coronavirus in Italy, the country will remain under a national lockdown until at least May 3.

Throughout Holy Week, Pope Francis repeatedly expressed his gratitude to medical workers and religious serving the suffering.

In his “Regina Coeli” address on April 13, the pope recognised women working in the medical field to serve others during the health crisis. (See story above.) .— CNA

5

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, holds a protective mask as he enters the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City during the Covid-19 pandemic. On Easter, the archbishop said being unable to attend Mass in a community has made people realise how much they miss “celebrating the love that conquers every death”. (Photo: Ammar Awad, Reuters/CNS)

‘When families pray together, Jesus is there’

BY JUDITH SUDILOVSKY

A

RCHBISHOP Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said being unable to attend Mass in a community has made people realise how much they miss “celebrating the love that conquers every death”.

Celebrating the Easter morning Mass in the co-cathedral of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the archbishop emphasised the importance of praying together as a family during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The last time the church of the Holy Sepulchre—which was closed to the public because of the coronavirus—was locked and closed to prayer for an extended period was in 1349, during the bubonic plague epidemic.

“Many centuries ago the churches were closed, so the Christians sang and prayed in the family. Now we are in a similar situation, with the churches closed, and I hope and want that at least now we can pray in the family as before,” said Archbishop Pizzaballa.

“Jesus said: Where two or three people are united in my name I am there. We normally go to church to meet Jesus, but if in families we pray, Jesus is there.”

The archbishop celebrated Mass

in Arabic for the local Christian population. The Mass was broadcast and livestreamed to the community on Palestinian television and various social media platforms and websites, and only a handful of other clergy were allowed in the co-cathedral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in Jerusalem’s Old CIty. Before starting the celebration, Archbishop Pizzaballa greeted those few present and those watching. He said that, despite the inability to celebrate together, the joy of Easter should be pronounced.

He shared with them his sadness at praying alone earlier in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where he normally would have been accompanied by the many local faithful and pilgrims who come to celebrate Easter at the church which is believed to be located on the spot where Jesus was crucified, laid out for burial, buried and rose from the dead.

“It was a little bit sad because the church was empty. But I brought in my heart all the demands and hopes of our people,” Archbishop Pizzaballa said, as in the background church bells pealed.

“I brought the demands of Jordanians, of the Israelis and especially of the Palestinians who are suffering, and of all Christian people who belong to our church here.”—CNS

Tanzanian churches remain open

BY FREDRICK NZWILI

C

ATHOLIC churches in Tanzania are remaining open alongside other churches, even as the rest of the world shuts places of worship to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Amid global calls to separate people to stop the spread of the virus, President John Pombe Magufuli, a Catholic, told churches and mosques to continue gathering to praise and glorify God. “The coronavirus cannot sur-

vive in the eucharistic Body of Christ. It will soon be burned away,” he was quoted as saying.

“The churches are remaining open to act as a spiritual aid, apart from science, in combating the virus,” Fr Chrisantus Ndaga, a priest in the diocese of Bukoba said. “People are coming to pray and seek God’s intervention for an end of the pandemic.”

At the same time, he said, all protective measures—including maintaining high hygienic standards, keeping social distances

and avoiding practices that bring people into contact with one other—were being observed.

“We are also following the bishop’s guidelines—holy water fonts have been drained,” said Fr Ndaga.

Tanzania has kept restrictions low while bolstering resources, preventive and testing measures.

But some politicians and health experts have raised a red flag that the failure to curb the church gatherings puts many people at risk.—CNS

Brothers of Charity

Cardinal: We have forgiven church attackers

S

RI Lankan Catholics have forgiven the 2019 Easter suicide attackers who brought terror to the island nation a year ago, said the cardinal of Colombo.

“Not only did Catholics die, but the bombs killed Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims,” said Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith as he celebrated Easter Mass.

“It is human nature to hurt people through anger, but we have given up that human nature and chosen the life of the Resurrection of the Lord. Res-

urrection is the complete rejection of selfishness,” the cardinal said.

“We have taught them that lesson, not hating anyone in any way. This is what civilisation means and that is the Resurrection.”

Nine suicide bombers affiliated with a local Islamist extremist group blasted three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing at least 279 people, including 37 foreign nationals, and injuring about 500.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka and Cardinal Ranjith appealed to the government to appoint an independent commission to conduct an impartial inquiry and to bring the perpetrators to trial.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also appointed a committee to undertake a formal inquiry and promised to give justice to victims.

Police have arrested 135 people in connection with the attacks.—CNS

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The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

POPE FRANCIS

Holy Thursday: Pope hailed ‘saints next door’

By CAROL GLATZ

U

NABLE to invite Rome’s priests to mark Holy Thursday in St Peter’s basilica, Pope Francis thanked all priests for their service and called those who died ministering to the sick and healthcare workers part of the community of “saints next door”.

More than 60 priests have died of Covid-19 in Italy after contracting the coronavirus while carrying out their ministry helping others, he said during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Because of the pandemic, liturgical celebrations with the pope have been pared down to the essential, eliminating or postponing optional rites and celebrations.

For Holy Thursday, the usual morning chrism Mass with Rome’s priests was postponed to a later unspecified date; the optional footwashing ritual was omitted; and the traditional procession with the Blessed Sacrament at the end of the Mass was also omitted, with the Eucharist placed directly in the tabernacle.

In the past, Pope Francis celebrated the Holy Thursday Mass in prisons, rehabilitation centres and with refugees.

This year, the pope presided over

the Mass in a vast and empty basilica with a handful of assisting deacons and priests, a reduced choir and a small congregation of about a dozen people.

Because Holy Thursday is usually the day priests renew their priestly vows at the morning chrism Mass, Pope Francis said he could not let the Mass of the Lord’s Supper go by without remembering the world’s priests.

“Today, all of you, brother priests, are here with me at the altar,” he said, speaking off-the-cuff in his homily.

P

ope Francis said he wished to hold close to his heart every priest, starting with those who offer their lives for the Lord; those who are servants; and those who are missionaries, taking the Gospel to faroff lands, where some will die.

The pope said he was thinking of those priests who minister to people in small villages, taking the time to get to know everyone. He said one priest he knew was so close to his people, he even knew the dogs’ names.

Others he was holding close in his heart, he said, were all those priests who must bear insults when they are in public because of the

“terrible things” other priests have done.

Close to his heart, the pope said, are “sinner priests, who together with sinner bishops and a sinner pope, do not forget to ask for forgiveness. They learn to forgive because they know that they need to ask for forgiveness and to forgive.

We are all sinners.”

He said he was thinking of all those priests who are experiencing a personal crisis and are in a place of “darkness”, not knowing what to do.

Speaking to all priests, Pope Francis said: “I have one thing to say: Do not be hard-headed like Peter. Let him wash your feet. The Lord is your servant. He is near you to give you strength, to wash your feet.”

When one understands the need to be washed by the Lord, one will become “a great forgiver. Forgive people”, have a big heart, don’t be afraid, he said.

If there are any doubts, “look at Christ”, who offers forgiveness for everyone. “As you have forgiven, you will be forgiven,” Pope Francis told priests.

“I thank God for you, priests.

Jesus loves you. He only asks you to let him wash your feet.”—CNS

Pope Francis celebrates the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday in St Peter’s basilica. Seen in the background is the Marian icon of Salus Populi Romani, which was present at all papal events in Holy Week and Easter.

The icon is usually housed in Rome’s basilica of Mary Major. Pope Francis prays before it before and after every apostolic journey he undertakes. (Photo: Vatican Media via Reuters/CNS)

Good Friday: Voices from jail

By JuNNO AROCHO ESTEVES

F

OR the first time in his papacy, Pope Francis led the Way of the Cross from St Peter’s Square rather than Rome’s Colosseum, where it has been held annually for more than five decades.

Two rows of torches lit the pathway from the stage set in front of St Peter’s leading down the square; they surrounded the famed ancient Egyptian obelisk that once stood in the Circus of Nero and is believed to be a “witness” to the martyrdom of St Peter.

The sounds of the Vatican choir chanting sombre hymns broke through the eerie silence and echoed throughout the empty square.

Vatican City and Italy are under restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It was the first time since 1964 that the annual service commemorating Christ’s passion and death had not taken place in the ancient Colosseum,

which for centuries has served as a symbol of the persecution of early Christians.

While the site of the traditional Way of the Cross changed, the meditations remained centred on those who share in Christ’s pain and suffering on the cross. Each year, the pope asks different people to write the commentary and prayers for the service.

T

his year, the meditations for the late-night event were written by members of the Catholic community of the Due Palazzi prison in Padua.

Various people from the prison— including a former prisoner, the prison director, police officers, a volunteer and the prison’s chaplain, Fr Marco Pozza—took turns carrying a large black cross. Five representatives of the Vatican City State health services also participated in carrying the cross.

The meditations on the tradi-

tional 14 stations were written not only by prisoners, but also by people directly affected by crime, including prisoners’ families, victims and even a priest falsely accused of a crime.

Although the programme released by the Vatican stated that Pope Francis would speak, the pope ended the prayer service with a blessing before leaving.

In a message to the prisoners released by the Vatican on April 10, Pope Francis thanked them for sharing their stories through their meditations.

God, the pope said, “speaks to us within a story, he invites us to listen attentively and mercifully”.

“I want to thank you also because you have scattered your names not in the sea of anonymity but of the many people linked to prison life,” he said. “Thus, in the Way of the Cross, you will lend your story to all those in the world who share the same situation.”—CNS

Easter vigil: The victory of life

By CINDy WOODEN

I

N a dark and nearly empty St Peter’s basilica, Pope Francis blessed a fire, lit the Easter candle and called Christians to keep kindling sparks of hope, knowing that Jesus has risen and death will not have the last word.

As at the earlier liturgies of the Easter triduum, the pope celebrated a pared-down Easter Vigil at the altar of the Chair in the back of the basilica.

With fewer than 20 people in the congregation and just a handful of singers from the Sistine Choir, the gradual lighting of the basilica came from the electric lights overhead and not from the progressive lighting of candles held by the faithful.

In his homily, Pope Francis echoed the sentiments of many people mourning the deaths of loved ones because of Covid-19 and facing the tensions of living in prolonged lockdowns.

Even after the Gospel proclamation of the Resurrection, Pope Francis spoke of how, for many people, “we are experiencing, more than

ever, the great silence of Holy Saturday”.

“We can imagine ourselves” like the women disciples preparing to go to Jesus’ tomb, he said. “They, like us, had before their eyes the drama of suffering, of an unexpected tragedy that happened all too suddenly. They had seen death and it weighed on their hearts.”

They, too, had fear about the future and all that would need to be rebuilt. Still, he said, the women were not “paralysed” by fear.

“They did not give in to the gloom of sorrow and regret; they did not morosely close in on themselves or flee from reality.”

I

nstead, they prepared spices to anoint Jesus’ body, he said. “They did not stop loving; in the darkness of their hearts, they lit a flame of mercy.

“Jesus, like a seed buried in the ground, was about to make new life blossom in the world, and these women, by prayer and love, were helping to make that hope flower,” Pope Francis said.

Easter, the Holy Father said, gives believers “a fundamental right that

can never be taken away from us: the right to hope”.

Easter hope is not simply optimism; rather “it is a gift from heaven, which we could not have earned on our own”, he said.

“Over these weeks, we have kept repeating, ‘All will be well,’” the phrase children wrote on banners and posters hung from windows and balconies all over Italy as the lockdown began a month ago, the pope said. “But as the days go by and fears grow, even the boldest hope can dissipate.”

But Easter proves that “Jesus’ hope is different. He plants in our hearts the conviction that God is able to make everything work unto good, because even from the grave he brings life,” the pope said.

“Let us silence the cries of death, no more wars! May we stop the production and trade of weapons, since we need bread, not guns,” Pope Francis said.

“Let the abortion and killing of innocent lives end. May the hearts of those who have enough be open to filling the empty hands of those who do not have the bare necessities.”—CNS

Pope Francis lies prostrate as he leads the Good Friday liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at the altar of the Chair in St Peter’s basilica. (Photo: Andrew Medichini, Reuters/CNS)

Pope Francis leads the Via Crucis procession in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 10. The Good Friday service was held with no public participation because of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo: Claudio Peri, pool via Reuters/CNS)

A deacon sings the Gospel during the Easter vigil Mass in St Peter’s basilica. (Photo: Remo Casilli, Reuters/CNS)

POPE FRANCIS

the Southern Cross, april 15 to april 21, 2020

7

Pope: Now is the time for human unity

BY COurtNEY MarES

I

N his Easter blessing urbi et orbi (“to the city and the world”), Pope Francis called on humanity to unite in solidarity and look to the risen Christ for hope amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Today the Church’s proclamation echoes throughout the world: ‘Jesus Christ is risen!’—’He is truly risen,’” Pope Francis said after celebrating Easter Mass in an almost empty St Peter’s basilica.

“The Risen Lord is also the Crucified One, Pope Francis said. “In

his glorious body he bears indelible wounds: wounds that have become windows of hope. Let us turn our gaze to him, that he may heal the wounds of an afflicted humanity.”

The urbi et orbi is a special apostolic blessing given by the pope every year on Easter Sunday, Christmas, and other special occasions.

He gave an extraordinary blessing on April 3, when he prayed in a rain-soaked St Peter’s Square in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before the blessing, Pope Francis offered the Solemn Mass of Easter at the altar of the Chair in St Peter’s

An Easter like no other

BY CINDY WOODEN

I

T was an Easter celebration like no other, in the context of the suffering and death caused by the coronavirus and the economic difficulties the pandemic already has triggered.

Pope Francis’ Easter morning Mass was unique; missing were dozens of cardinals concelebrating and tens of thousands of pilgrims from around the world packing St Peter’s Square.

Instead one cardinal—Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St Peter’s basilica—and a dozen faithful sat inside, one in each pew, before the altar of the Chair where the pope celebrated the liturgy.

Also missing were the more than 50 000 tulips, daffodils and flowering shrubs that growers in the Netherlands donate each year to turn into a garden the steps leading up to the basilica.

Millions followed on television, by radio and by livestream as the Easter “Alleluia” was repeated and the Gospel account of the disciples finding the empty tomb was proclaimed both in Latin and in Greek.

Those who followed the Vatican’s livestream in English were guided through the liturgy by Sean-Patrick Lovett, the Cape Town-raised head of the English section of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See. In a sign of continuing prayers to God for the end of the pandemic, the sanctuary around the altar again was dominated by symbols of Romans’ faith in divine intervention: the icon Salus Populi Romani (health of the Roman people) and the “Miraculous Crucifix” from the Roman church of St Marcellus, both of which were carried through the city centuries ago in times of plague.—CNS

The Southern Cross is our region’s only Catholic weekly, and so it is crucial in bringing Catholic news and thought to the People of God. Without it an important Catholic voice will be lost.

WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ANY SUPPORT WE RECEIVE. YOUR GIFT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.

basilica without the presence of the public due to the coronavirus.

He did not give a homily this year. Instead, he paused for a moment of silent reflection following the Gospel, which was sung in Latin and in Greek.

“Today my thoughts turn in the first place to the many who have been directly affected by the coronavirus: the sick, those who have died and family members who mourn the loss of their loved ones, to whom, in some cases, they were unable even to bid a final farewell,” the pope said.

“May the Lord of life welcome the departed into his kingdom and grant comfort and hope to those still suffering, especially the elderly and those who are alone.”

The Holy Father prayed for the vulnerable in nursing homes and prisons, for the lonely, and for those suffering from economic difficulties.

Pope Francis acknowledged that many Catholics are left without the consolation of the sacraments this year. He said it is important to remember that Christ has not left us alone, but reassures us, saying: “I have risen and I am with you still.”

Millions of lives changed Noting that within just a few weeks, “the lives of millions of people have suddenly changed”, the pope said: “This is not a time for indifference, because the whole world is suffering and needs to be united in facing the pandemic. May the risen Jesus grant hope to all the poor, to those living on the peripheries, to refugees and the homeless.”

Pope Francis called on political

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Pope Francis delivers his Easter message urbi et orbi after celebrating Easter Mass in St Peter’s basilica at the Vatican. (Photo: Vatican Media) leaders to work for the common good and to provide the means for everyone to lead a dignified life.

He appealed to countries engaged in conflicts to support the call for a global ceasefire and to relax international sanctions.

“This is not a time for continuing to manufacture and deal in arms, spending vast amounts of money that ought to be used to care for others and save lives. Rather, may this be a time for finally ending the long war that has caused such great bloodshed in Syria, the conflict in Yemen and the hostilities in Iraq and in Lebanon,” the pope said.

The reduction, if not the forgiveness, of debts can also help poor countries to support their citizens in need, he said.

“This is not a time for self-centredness, because the challenge we are facing is shared by all, without distinguishing between persons.”

Pope Francis prayed that this Easter season would be a time of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

He asked the Lord to end the sufferings of those who live in eastern Ukraine and in Venezuela, and the suffering of people facing a humanitarian crisis in Africa and Asia.

The Resurrection of Christ is “the victory of love over the root of evil, a victory that does not ‘bypass’ suffering and death, but passes through them, opening a path in the abyss, transforming evil into good: this is the unique hallmark of the power of God,” Pope Francis said.—CNA

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The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

LEADER PAGE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editor: Günther Simmermacher

Justice and truth

I

N all the responses to the acquittal of Cardinal George Pell of charges of sexual abuse by Australia’s High Court, both the cardinal and the president of the Australian bishops’ conference struck the right tone.

The bishops’ statement, signed by president Archbishop Mark Coleridge, welcomed Cardinal Pell’s acquittal, as an expression of justice finally served.

But the bishops’ conference also showed remarkable empathy towards abuse victims and their advocates, noting that “the High Court’s decision will be devastating for others” and promising that Cardinal Pell’s acquittal “does not change the Church’s unwavering commitment to child safety and to a just and compassionate response to survivors and victims of child sexual abuse”.

The statement was an acknowledgment that whichever way the High Court’s verdict might have gone, there would be angry and hurt people.

Cardinal Pell also pointed to the right way in his statement, issued after he had spent 405 days in jail before being found innocent of the charges against him.

He said that despite having suffered “a serious injustice”, he bore no “ill will” towards his accuser, and asked that his acquittal should not add “to the hurt and bitterness so many feel”, a request that applies to both his supporters and his detractors.

The cardinal pointedly noted that his experience must not be seen as an anti-Catholic conspiracy, as many of his supporters had claimed.

His trial, he said, “was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the Church”.

Nevertheless, Australia’s judiciary will now have to introspect by what systemic deficiencies it was possible that an innocent man could be incarcerated for more than a year on the basis of a verdict by a jury that apparently did not know how to apply the principle of reasonable doubt.

Questions must be asked, too, whether a controversial public figure such as Cardinal Pell should face a jury which may enter the court with preconceived ideas.

There will also be a need for introspection by those who took partisan sides in this case: those who with disproportionate zeal pleaded his guilt or innocence.

Undeniably, for many people Cardinal Pell was a proxy for all the Catholic Church’s crimes and failings in the sex abuse scandal. For them his conviction, even if it was unjust in law, served as payback.

Some of the more fervent advocates of Cardinal Pell did the Church, and perhaps even the cardinal himself, little favour by casting aspersions on the integrity of the Australian judiciary and that of the accuser.

Cardinal Pell has rejected the notion that his case was part of an anti-Catholic conspiracy, though it certainly was used by some to feed anti-Catholic sentiments.

This distinction was not always evident in the passionate defence of the cardinal.

The attacks on Cardinal Pell’s accuser at times crossed the lines between reasonably interrogating the reliability of his testimony (in as far as the full content of that was known) and questioning his integrity.

The High Court found that there was reasonable doubt to prevent Cardinal Pell’s conviction, but it did not challenge the integrity of his accuser.

Those who attacked the alleged victim undermined the Church’s efforts to present itself as open and compassionate towards those who report having been sexually abused by Church personnel.

It is not easy to hold the two conflicting thoughts—that Cardinal Pell is innocent and that the accuser didn’t lie—but this is what we need to do now. We will have to withhold our judgment on the accuser and, honouring Cardinal Pell, hold no ill will towards him.

Even though he is now free, Cardinal Pell will still be facing challenges.

The Vatican will have to undertake its investigation of the allegations against him, though it would be a surprise should it find the cardinal guilty.

More seriously, Cardinal Pell reportedly is facing civic lawsuits concerning his alleged mishandling of abuse cases.

As it was in the now-concluded case, our fidelity must always be with justice and the truth.

This is Cardinal Pell’s advice: “The only basis for long-term healing is truth, and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all.”

Let us pray that both will be served.

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.

Why I don’t support The Southern Cross

E

VERY time I read appeals to “Save The Southern Cross”, a number of thoughts immediately come to mind. Some are very personal or even selfish, like, “What has The Southern Cross done for me, for the bishops, for the Church?”; others more general, like, “At least The Southern Cross gives people the space and opportunity to let off steam.”

Regarding the first category, what comes to mind is the number of times that bishops are presented in unflattering terms. A typical case is an angry reader letting go at his bishop with blazing guns. The bishop receives no forewarning, no note saying, “I have received an angry letter. This is the gist of the letter if you wish to respond.”

What I find particularly enervating is that the secular press seems to follow the audi alteram partem (listen to the other side) principle more faithfully than The Southern Cross.

So, logic demands that we ask: “Who in his right mind is going to support, let alone encourage, the clergy and faithful to subscribe to a

Coronavirus calls for united world

publication that regularly carries negative reports about him or about bishops in general?”

As to the second aspect, the Southern Cross editor may have noticed that at the most recent encounter between the bishops and the seniors of The Southern Cross, I held my peace and never uttered a word! I reckoned it was better to say nothing than to fake an interest in something that I didn’t and indeed don’t have a passion for in its present form.

What I would have said in different circumstances, is what I have said to the editor before: why not serialise what the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of Catholic Social Teaching say about the burning questions modern culture is throwing up at us daily?

This would lay a solid intellectual foundation upon which the faithful could build their faith life. From that solid knowledge base, they could then build a working love for God and neighbour, as well as a readiness to serve him and his Church.

My preference would be the Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or staff of the newspaper, or of the Catholic hierarchy.

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

L

IKE the bubonic plague centuries ago, the coronavirus probably started in Asia, central or east. But we should not be blaming the people of Asia, especially the Chinese, for this current pandemic.

We should not call it “the Chinese virus”, as US President Donald Trump recently did. Rather, we should be united because it affects us all—everybody worldwide.

It is now time to put aside our differences, our hatred for other races or tribes. It is time to see what is common in ourselves; to see what we can achieve, together and united.

This pandemic has affected our religious worship: for Christians Holy Week and Easter; for Jews the celebration of the Passover.

What can we learn from this?

That the world belongs to one God, and we are all his children, whether we believe or not.

This might also be a challenge for believers. This is a time for prayer for most people, but can we pray without others, or do we depend on gatherings to pray with others, in the presence of a priest?

Now is the time to show we truly believe in God. This is the time to revive the world in what I would call the Renaissance of the Earth. This is the time to come together and be one in all things that affect us all, in all things we have in common.

Let us take this opportunity with both hands, to see the good in all that is happening out there. God wants us to be more alert to him, to

show we have not forgotten about him, not forsaken him.

For now, let us all stay at home, and be safe. Let us keep our children indoors and spend time with them. Let us teach them about this pandemic, and how to keep away from it and safe. And use this time to teach them about our faith.

James Qeqe, Pretoria

Women deacons and Pope Francis

P

OPE Francis needs to be commended for reintroducing a commission to look into the ordination of women into the diaconate.

For too long the Church has subjugated women into minor roles, and it is quite possible that a “menonly” Church has given rise over the centuries to what Pope Francis called the “scourge of clericalism”.

In a visit to Colombia in September 2017, the pope noted: “If we hope for a new and living chapter of faith in this continent, we will not get it without women. Please, do not let them be reduced to servants of our ingrained clericalism.”

He further said: “It is imperative to overcome the clericalism that treats the Christifideles laici as children and impoverishes the identity

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Compendium of the Catechism and YouCat. These present the teachings of the faith and Catholic Social Teaching in an easy and simple style suited to ordinary believers, and even non-believers sympathetic to the Catholic faith or interested in becoming Catholic.

I trust these thoughts will be received in the spirit in which they are offered, namely the spirit of what Fr James Mallon calls the “divine renovation”, which is geared to taking the Church from maintenance to mission.

Cardinal Wilfrid Napier OFM, Durban n It is The Southern Cross’ policy to give anybody the right to respond to articles in the newspaper, particularly if they believe they were treated unfairly.

No bishop has approached us with a complaint of having been treated unfairly or having been denied a right to respond, and in subsequent communication with the editor, Cardinal Napier acknowledged that he doesn't know of any bishop who holds such a complaint.—Editor

of ordained ministers.”

In a visit to Chile in January 2018, Pope Francis said: “Clericalism, far from giving impetus to various contributions and proposals, gradually extinguishes the prophetic flame to which the entire Church is called to bear witness.

Clericalism forgets that the visibility and the sacramentality of the Church belong to all the faithful people of God, not only to the few chosen and enlightened.”

However, in our own country, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has restated the Church’s ruling that forbids any Catholic from attending a Catholic women priests’ service.

It is, firstly, against the principle enshrined in our Constitution of “freedom of association”, which was denied to our entire population during apartheid. Secondly, it is an attitudinal throwback to the medieval era when Galileo was threatened with torture for failing to adhere to the then-current, but incorrect, Catholic teaching of heliocentricity proposed by the Greek mathematician Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. One understands the Church moves slowly for fear of “changing for the sake of changing”, but there is a classical saying: “Ignorance is no excuse.”

Our Papa Francis has shown a willingness to move ahead, but his handicap is dealing with conservatives from within the Church, and, more importantly, a retired pope who evidently still wields a degree of influence.

Patrick Dacey, Johannesburg

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Via Lucis Supplement Exclusive to the subscribers’ version of our digital edition

Follow the Stations of the Light C

ATHOLICS prayed the Stations of the Cross this Lent—in the latter weeks at home, following printed or digital media. After Easter we are invited to follow a lesser-known devotion called the Way of the Resurrection, also known as the Via Lucis (Way of Light).

In this way we continue our walk with the Lord, from his Pas-

sion to his Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

The Way of Light consists of 14 Stations of the Resurrection, capturing the moments of Christ’s life beyond his crucifixion: from the Resurrection to Pentecost.

The devotion was inspired by an ancient inscription found on a wall in the San Callisto catacombs

on the Appian Way in Rome from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.

These inscriptions appear to have been written in response to a report that some members were denying the Resurrection (1 Cor 15:3-8).

In the 1990s, a Roman Salesian priest, Fr Sabino Palumbieri, helped develop the idea of com-

bining the events mentioned in the St Callistus inscription with other post-Resurrection events to create the Stations of the Resurrection.

The devotion is celebrated in several places around the world and has received formal recognition from the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Over the next few pages, we present the Via Lucis, with readings, prayers, reflections—and, of course, pictures.

You can follow the Via Lucis in groups or alone.

Insert the acclamations, Lord’s Prayer and silences as indicated in the first couple of stations.

The texts are courtesy of the Catholic News Agency.

Introduction: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

O sons and daughters, let us sing!

The King of heaven the glorious King, Over death today rose triumphing, Alleluia!

If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall live with Him...

Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5,7,11)

Make the Sign of the Cross

Reflection: Let us walk this pilgrimage of faith, the Via Lucis, as daughters and sons of the light and as witnesses of the Risen Lord.

Let us meditate upon the Resurrection of Christ and discover the pathway of light that Christ blazes through our lives.

(at every station after the acclamation)

Reading: For we have grown into union with Christ through a death like His, we shall also be united with Him in the Resurrection...

Station I

Station II

Jesus Rises from the Dead

The Disciples Discover the Empty Tomb

Jesus rises from the dead (Matthew 28:5-6). Mosaic in the church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor in Galilee.

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You! Because by the Wood of the Cross and the Light of the Resurrection, You have redeemed the world!

Make the Sign of the Cross Reading: The angel of the Lord said to the women: “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for He has been raised just as He said.” (Matthew 28:5b6a) Reflection: On the first day of the week, at the dawning of the new creation, Jesus arose from the dead. No one saw the event, yet like the apostles, we are called to be witnesses of this central faith event.

The light and power of Christ’s death and Resurrection has become the pattern for our living. May we recognise Christ’s dying and

rising in our midst.

Silence (at every station after the reflection)

Prayer: This is the day, Lord God, that You have made! Raising Christ from the dead, and raising us with Christ, You have fashioned for Yourself a new people. As we hear the word that brings salvation, make our hearts burn within us.

Through the presence of every friend and stranger, reveal to us the face of the One who had first to suffer, but who has entered now into glory, Jesus Christ, our Passover and our Peace, living and reigning with You, forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

That Easter morn, at break of day, The faithful women went their way To seek the tomb where Jesus lay, Alleluia!

The disciples discover the empty tomb (Matthew 28:1-6).

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You! Because by the Wood of the Cross and the Light of the Resurrection, You have redeemed the world!

Reading: Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. (John 20:8) Reflection: The empty tomb was not a proof of the Resurrection, but rather a silent witness of the greatest event of our faith.

Seeing the empty tomb, the disciples were motivated to seek the Risen Lord at work in their midst. They saw and believed in the continuing presence of the Lord of love.

All the empty and lonely places of human life are precisely where the Lord wishes to work and be revealed.

Prayer: God our Father, Creator of all, today is the day of overwhelming joy. The Lord appeared to those who had begun to lose hope and opened their eyes to what the Scriptures foretold: that first He must die and then rise.

May the Risen Lord breathe on our minds and open our eyes that we may know Him in the breaking of bread, and follow Him in His risen life. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

The dear belov’d apostle John Could faster than St Peter run, Arriving first before the tomb. Alleluia!

II

Supplement to The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

VIA LUCIS

Station III

Station IV

The Risen Lord Appears to Mary Magdalen

The Risen Lord Appears on the Road to Emmaus

Acclamation (as before)

Acclamation (as before)

Reading: She turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought He was the gardener and said to Him: “Sir, if you carried Him away, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.” Jesus said to her: “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew: “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her: “Stop holding on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them: “I am going to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.” Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what He told her. (John 20:14b-18)

Reading: It happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognising Him. And He said to them: Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into His glory?”

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the scriptures. (Luke 24:15, 25-27)

Reflection: Mary Magdalen is given the mission to carry the good news of the Resurrection to the apostles and the disciples. Mary had been in the company of Jesus and His followers, and is given the privilege to announce the hope of new life. She is known over the centuries as the “Apostle to the Apostles”. Jesus called her by name, gave her the eyes of faith, and called her to give a unique personal witness to her friends in the faith community.

Prayer: God our Father, You will that all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of Your truth. Send workers into Your great harvest that the Gospel may be preached to every creature. May Your people, gathered together by the word of life and strengthened by the

The Lord appears to Mary of Magdala (Matthew 28:5-6). Detail of a mosaic in the church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, Galilee. power of the sacraments, advance in the way of salvation.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Not Magdalen, not Salome, Nor James’ own mother then delay Embalming Jesus’ corpse that day. Alleluia!

Reflection: The Emmaus road is the story of the Christian life. These disciples were walking away from Jerusalem and the apostolic faith community in defeat and dejection. They had lost hope.

We too, have moments of despair and desolation. The Risen Lord Jesus accompanies us along the road, even when we are moving in the wrong direction.

Only the Lord can “break open” the Word in order to help us understand the stories of our lives, especially suffering, and read them in harmony with the pattern of the Scriptures. Only the Lord can rekindle our energy and our resolve to devote ourselves to what is most important in life.

Prayer: Lord God, as disciples on our pilgrimage, we implore Jesus Christ: stay with us, Lord.

Open our hearts to true conversion and, as we

The risen Lord appears on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27). Detail from a painting by Joseph von Führich (1800–76), Kunsthalle Bremen. have known the Lord in the breaking of the bread, so make us witnesses of a new humanity, renewed, reconciled and at peace in Your love.

Send us as heralds of the repentance and forgiveness You offer to all in the name of Jesus, who lives and reigns with You, forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

That night the apostles met in fear; Amidst them came the Lord most dear, And said My peace be on all here. Alleluia!

Station VI

Station V

The Risen Lord Appears to the Disciples The Risen Lord is Recognised in the Breaking of Bread

The risen Lord is recognised in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:28-32).

In the Franciscan Emmaus church at El-Qubeibeh, West Bank.

Acclamation (as before) Reading: They urged Him: “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”

So He went in to stay with them.

And it happened that while He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognised Him, but He vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other: “Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24: 29-32) Reflection: The encounter on the road leads to the table, the breaking of the bread and the total gift of self. Recognition of the Risen Lord is always linked with the Eucharist. At the heart of our Christian life is this meal of Word and Eucharist.

The Risen Lord presides over all our jour-

neys, wishing to set our hearts on fire in generous service to all people in need, near and far. The gift we have received is the gift we share. Humbly, we set out on the various roads of our lives to respond to all the hungers of the human family.

Prayer: You are truly blessed, O God of holiness: You accompany us with love as we journey through life. Blessed too, is Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is present among us, and whose love gathers us together. As once He did for His disciples, Christ now opens the Scriptures for us and breaks the bread.

May the Eucharist we celebrate guide us to the fullness of Christ’s life. We pray in the power of Christ’s Spirit, forever and ever.

Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

When Thomas, first the tidings heard, How they had seen the Risen Lord, He doubted the disciples’ word. Alleluia!

The risen Lord appears to the disciples (Luke 24:38-40). The Upper Room on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Acclamation (as before) Reading: “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”

And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. (Luke 24:38-40) Reflection: The disciples on the road to Emmaus quickly returned to the other disciples in Jerusalem with “burning hearts”. Their despair had been reversed and they were eager to convince the others that Jesus was alive.

Jesus the Christ is always eager to gather the community of disciples at the table of faith and to show them that He has risen with His wounds glorified.

All our wounds will one day be glorified.

We seek to understand how the Risen Lord invites us to be “wounded healers”, recognising now that the Lord desires us to be ambassadors of reconciliation, while we ourselves are being forgiven and healed.

Prayer: God of unchanging power and light, look with favour and mercy on the entire community of Your Church.

Bring lasting salvation to the human family, so that the world may see the fallen lifted up, the old made new, and all things brought to perfection, through Him who is our origin, our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

My wounded side, O Thomas see; Behold My hands, My feet, said He Not faithless, but believing be. Alleluia!

VIA LUCIS

Station VII

Supplement to The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

Station VIII

The Risen Lord Breathes Peace & Gives the Power to Forgive

The Risen Lord Strengthens the Faith of Thomas

Acclamation (as before)

Acclamation (as before)

Reading: Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them: “Peace be with you.”

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.”

And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:19b, 20b-23)

Reading: Thomas was not with them when Jesus came... Thomas said: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Jesus came...and stood in their midst and said: “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and see My hands, and bring your hand and put it into My side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe...Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.” (John 20:24-29)

Reflection: Even though the doors of the Upper Room were bolted shut, the Risen Lord pierced through all fear and united the hearts of the disciples with the gift of peace.

Deep inner peace is the root and source of the peace and joy that the world cannot give.

The Risen Lord calls us to seek peace always through a non-violent commitment to conflict resolution and thus transform the world, relationship by relationship.

Prayer: God of perfect peace, violence and cruelty can have no part of You. May those who are at peace with one another hold fast to the good will that unites them; may those who are enemies forget their hatred and be healed.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

No longer Thomas then denied,

The Risen Lord breathes peace and gives the power to forgive (John 20:19-23).

He saw the feet, the hands, the side; You are my Lord and God, he cried. Alleluia!

Station IX

The Risen Lord eats with the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:10-12). Mensa Christi chapel of St Peter’s Primacy in Tabgha, Israel, with the rock on which the Lord cooked the fish breakfast for the disciples.

Reading: Jesus said to them: “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of 153 large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them: “Come, have breakfast.” And none of His disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are you?”, because they realised it was the Lord. (John 21:10-12) Reflection: After the crucifixion, the apostles returned to their former way of life. Out on the familiar Sea of Galilee, these expert fishers find themselves ineffective and baffled because not even a single fish was caught. From the shore, the Risen Lord guides them and directs their nets until they are filled to overflowing.

Reflection: The story of Thomas is important because it is through Thomas’ example that we realise that doubt can be a part of faith.

Too easily we call him “Doubting Thomas”, and forget that after examining the nail marks, he fully embraced the Risen One as his Lord and Saviour.

Thomas’ doubt was transformed into a lively faith. We too, are called to believe, knowing full well that our faith may be tested by doubt and fear. As disciples who desire an ever-deeper faith, we are patient and understanding with those who are struggling, searching and seeking like Thomas.

Prayer: Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for He is alive and has become the Lord of life. From the waters of death You raise us up with Him

The Risen Lord strengthens the faith of Thomas (John 20:24-29).

Detail of a Crusader-era mosaic in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. and renew Your gift of life within us.

Increase in our minds and hearts the risen life we share with Christ and help us to grow as Your people toward the fullness of eternal life with You. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

How blest are they who have not seen, And yet whose faith has constant been For they eternal life shall win. Alleluia!

Station X

The Risen Lord Eats with the Disciples

Acclamation (as before)

III

As He prepares breakfast for them, He nourishes their hearts and promises them that they can also be fed by making disciples in His name. He calls them to an entirely new way of fishing—fishing for people.

Prayer: Father in heaven, author of all truth, a people once in darkness has listened to Your Word and followed Your Son as He rose from the tomb. Hear the prayer of this newborn people and strengthen Your Church to answer Your call. May we rise and come forth into the light of day to stand in Your presence until eternity dawns. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

On Sunday morn at break of day The sad disciples went their way To see the tomb where Jesus lay. Alleluia!

The Risen Lord Forgives Peter and Entrusts Him to Feed His Sheep

The Risen Lord says to Peter: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Sculpture at St Peter’s Primacy church in Tabgha at the Sea of Galilee.

Acclamation (as before) Reading: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”

Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love Me?”, and he said to Him: “Lord, You know everything, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him: “Feed my sheep...Follow Me.” (John 21:15, 17b, 19b) Reflection: The Risen Lord directs His attention to Peter whose embarrassing three-fold denial was still ringing in his heart. The questions posed by Jesus help Peter to find reconciliation and to embrace his new mission to tend and feed the sheep.

Their encounter reminds us that forgiveness is always available, even for the most se-

rious of mistakes we can make. This warm embrace of forgiveness strengthens our resolve to be reconcilers and healers in the Spirit of Jesus. Only love can overcome guilt and deception. Only love and forgiveness can make us whole.

Prayer: Father, fill our hearts with the fire of Your love and the desire to ensure justice for our brothers and sisters. By sharing the good things You give us, may we secure justice and equality for every human being, an end to all division, and a human society built on love and peace. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

An angel clad in white they see, Who sat and spoke unto the three, Your Lord has gone to Galilee. Alleluia!

IV

Supplement to The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

VIA LUCIS

Station XI

Station XII

The Risen Lord Sends the Disciples into the World

The Risen Lord Ascends into Heaven Acclamation (as before) Reading: So then the Lord Jesus, after He spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took His seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. (Mark 16: 19-20) Reflection: The Scriptures do not portray the Ascension as a day of sadness. While still looking up at the skies, the disciples were consoled by the continuing presence of the Lord. They return to the familiar surroundings of the Upper Room, with Mary, the mother of the Lord, to pray in anticipation of their mission.

In this “original novena”, we continue to implore the Risen Lord to be the centre of our lives and to keep us focused as a jubilant pilgrim people.

Prayer: Eternal God, clothe us now with Your power. With the eyes of our hearts enlightened, may we come to understand the immeasurable greatness of Your power at work in us who believe.

In that strength, may we boldly pronounce the Good News of our salvation to everyone.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Risen Lord sends the disciples into the whole world (Matthew 28:16-20).

Acclamation (as before) Reading: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Reflection: From the mountaintop, the Risen Lord gives the “Great Commission” to the disciples to reach out to the ends of the earth.

We realise that we are the recipients of this faith-filled mission: our ancestors embraced the faith of the apostles, who were the original witnesses of the Resurrection.

The greatest response we can give to such a legacy is our dedication to a new evangelisation of our contemporary culture. We must allow the Risen Lord to reinvigorate our

whole way of living, helping us to reevaluate every aspect of our lives with the values of the Kingdom of God. Prayer: God of all creation, whose mighty power raised Jesus from the dead, be present to this community of disciples whom You have called to the hope of a glorious inheritance among the saints.

Strengthen us in the power of the Spirit to go and make disciples of all nations, to obey everything that Jesus Christ has commanded us, and to know that He is with us always until the end of the age, interceding on our behalf, living and reigning with You in the power of the Holy Spirit, now and forevermore. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

And we with Holy Church unite, As evermore is just and right, in glory to the King of light. Alleluia!

Station XIII Mary and the Disciples Keep Vigil in the Upper Room Acclamation (as before) Reading: When they entered the city, they went to the Upper Room where they were staying.

All [the apostles] devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers. (Acts 1:13a,14) Reflection: Throughout the history of the Church, there have been apostolic movements dedicated to prayerful contemplation, and others resulting in transforming action.

We look to the “Upper Room” as a symbolic place where we return over and over again, so that we can become “contemplatives in action”.

As persons who are both prayerful and energetic in service to the Gospel, we must always keep vigil for the advent of the Risen Lord, with the flame of faith alive in our hearts. Only the Lord can refresh our spirits and renew us in the ministries that flow from our baptism and confirmation.

Prayer: Father most holy, see Your Church gathered here in prayerful worship like the first disciples and Mary in the Upper Room. Grant that we may accomplish, in the joy of the Holy Spirit, all that You give us to do in the

world. May we gladly share in Christ’s sufferings so as to rejoice when His glory is revealed. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

On this most holy day of days, To God your hearts and voices raise, In laud and jubilee and praise. Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Our humble thanks to God let’s show And fitting praise on Him bestow For Paschal blessings here below. Alleluia!

Station XIV The Risen Lord Sends the Holy Spirit Acclamation (as before) Reading: Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (Acts 2: 2-4) Reflection: The power of the Holy Spirit drives the disciples from the Upper Room into the streets and marketplace. The Spirit compels them to take the message everywhere, in places familiar and unfamiliar, not stopping until they reach the ends of the world.

We have been clothed with the same Spirit. We are called to be evangelisers and witnesses, near and far, wherever we go. The Spirit always goes before us, preparing the way and strengthening our hearts to be generous servants of the Risen Lord who ever guides us.

Pentecost is an enduring and continuing event. We implore the Holy Spirit to renew the face of the earth by renewing us.

All our wounds will one day be glorified.

We seek to understand how the Risen Lord invites us to be “wounded healers”, recognising now that the Lord desires us to be ambassadors of reconciliation, while we ourselves are being forgiven and healed.

Prayer: Father in heaven, through this spiritual journey, You have reminded us of the fullness of the mystery of Your revealed love. See Your people gathered in prayer, open to receive the Spirit’s flame.

May it come to rest in our hearts and disperse the divisions of word and tongue. With one voice and one song, may we praise Your name in joy and thanksgiving.

Waiting with Mary in the Upper Room (Acts 1:12-14). Mural in Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, Jerusalem.

The Risen Lord ascends into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). Image from the Jesu Mafa project in Cameroon.

The risen Lord sends the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:2-4). Window in the altar of the Chair in St Peter’s basilica, Vatican.

Grant this through Christ our Lord, and in the power of the Spirit, both now and forevermore. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

O sons and daughters of the Lord, The King of glory, King adored, From death to life has been restored. Alleluia!

Conclusion Reading: Jesus Himself, through them, sent forth from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.

(Mark 16:8).

Reflection: Through the Via Lucis, we have shared our pilgrim journey with the Risen Lord. As servants and witnesses of Christ, let us now pray in the way our Saviour taught us:

All pray: “Our Father…”

Prayer: Lord, may everything we do, begin with Your inspiration, continue with Your help, and reach perfection under Your guidance. We ask this through Christ, our Risen Lord.

Amen.

Give the Sign of Peace.

The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

PERSPECTIVES

Drop the mask and find God Keenan W Williams HEN I truly found myself was the moment that I found God. And when I found him, I found

me too.

You see, many people in their quest for God look externally to find him. They look up at the clouds, and we even have explorers sending craft from planet to planet and even beyond our solar system in a quest to find evidence for the existence of God. What we don’t realise is that the search for him isn’t external, but rather an internal quest of finding one’s self in order to find God, or finding God to find one’s truest self.

As a teen growing up, for many years I was bullied at school. My peers never accepted me for who I was.

I was judged because of the way I spoke, the way I walked, my beliefs, and even the fact that I was a magician. I was classified as an “all-round” nerd, a loser and failure.

Because of this, I developed a complex about myself. Each time I performed on stage as a magician, I would pretend to be someone I was not by putting on different accents.

These accents didn’t just give me a mask to wear on stage, but often I also would use them recreationally to hide my truest self.

For seven years of my life I wore the mask of pretending to be someone I was not—and it was so convincing, I began to believe in the lie I had created for myself.

I used these accents and masks because I thought people would accept me more if I was “that Spanish guy” or “that guy from England”—because of the hurt I had experienced from my peers, who hadn’t accepted me.

It helped me navigate the stages of Cape Town and later more of South Africa, but it also drove me further and further away from me knowing my truest self.

This hurt which was perpetuated into my life and the scars of being bullied—verbally, psychologically and emotionally— didn’t just last till the final day of matric.

It kept me chained and shackled in the deepest part of my soul well after I had completed my schooling.

So in the workplace, I always felt uneasy around my colleagues.

“Are they talking about me?” I’d ques-

tion. “Why are they laughing? Are they laughing at me? Are they gossiping about me?”

Behind that hurt, the smile I showed was as fake as the voice I spoke with.

Eventually the organisation I worked for had a team-building activity. We had a lifestyle coach, Sean Collard, do an exercise on “learning to love and accept yourself”.

After a brief introduction, it seemed as if Sean’s talk and team-building exercise was directed at me.

He spoke about learning to love and accept oneself, and to move beyond the pain of the past. He also explained that “hurt people hurt people, and loved people love people” principle.

At first it didn’t make much sense, up until I was doing motivational talks at various schools across the country. It was having an impact but it wasn’t having the effect it should have had, because I wasn’t being real to the learners and youth—and neither was I to myself.

O

ne day, while in Pretoria, I decided to sit down and write down my own life experience around bullying. As I sat to write, I managed to discern more about my life.

And as I prayed I heard a soft murmur which was the voice of God. The next day, I went to Iona Convent School and spoke to a group of Grade 11s—but that day was different. It was different but also traumatic, and yet refreshing, all because I spoke in my own voice.

That day I went up onto the stage, and for the first time spoke in the voice which

For years after being bullied, Keenan Williams wore a mask—until he found God and himself. (Photo: Alex Iby)

Talking Faith

had been suppressed for all those years.

I told my story, a story of hurt, bullying, hiding behind a mask and pretence, and how in searching for God, I’d found myself.

Lately our country has been placed on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For some, it’s a good time to spend with their families. For others, there’s the dreaded reality of living in an abusive household. Others yet are all alone, except for the pain they live with.

Many of those locked down with themselves are avoiding eye contact with the man or woman who stares back at them in the mirror. They avoid eye contact because they blame themselves for the hurt, the pain and the trauma they’ve experienced.

That person might be you, so allow me to address you directly.

As you continue in the search to find God, my prayer is that you find yourself, that you too find your voice. Search deeply within yourself and remember that the hurt, pain and trauma someone else inflicted in your life isn’t your fault.

“Hurt people, hurt people.” That’s all they know, and I am sorry if you have had such hurt perpetuated in your life.

But as you stand there in front of that mirror, speaking to yourself, speak about the dreams and aspirations you have for your life. Shift your focus beyond the physical appearance and allow yourself to look yourself in the eye. With emotion, reach out to your truest self and begin to heal.

I read once that “it is wisdom to get to know others, but it is enlightenment to get to know one’s self”.

So, as you begin this process of healing and finding your own voice, may you find the voice and presence of God within yourself as well, because that is where he dwells.

May we each redirect our focus in finding God, and find ourselves, and be a stronger, healed people through him in whom we find our being.

9

Br Dzinisa Ngcongo

Point of Faith

After lockdown, come out singing

I

F birds can sing, why can’t people sing even better? I fully subscribe to the wisdom attributed to St Augustine: “To sing well is to pray twice” (“Bis orat qui bene cantat”).

Singing well is what makes Catholic music unique both in style and in tone.

Catholics, whether in Africa or Europe or the Americas or Asia, have a unique way of singing, one which I think is spiritually uplifting.

Catholic singing is prayer itself, one where we resemble the choirs of angels.

There is a fundamental mistake often made by people who do not understand the Roman Catholic Church, and criticise Catholic music as “old and boring”. We must forgive them because they do not really know what they are saying.

Catholic hymns are based on Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Catholics do not just sing what comes in mind at any time, but all songs and hymns have a specific time (season) in which they are to be sung.

On the other hand, the Church rejects any song, hymn or chorus which is meaningless or is contrary to our Christian faith.

In every celebration, every Catholic is expected to participate consciously, actively and fully.

However, this involvement ought to be always compatible with the Church’s liturgy.

Our singing is compatible with each liturgical season, for a liturgical reason. We have an order, and we sing what is right at the right time.

No matter how old some of these hymns are, when they are sung, they become new and thus renew our spirituality.

We have hymns for the invocation of the Holy Spirit, we have hymns of supplication, submission as well as of thanksgiving. They are all an integral part of our prayer life.

Moses and the Israelites sang for the Lord; there is no reason why we shouldn’t (cf Ex 15:1ff).

As Catholics, we believe that music is the symbolic language of worship. I would like to encourage all Catholics, especially the youth, to be involved in parish or church choirs and participate actively in order to make our worship effective.

Perhaps that is one fruitful intention we can carry out of the lockdown.

Do all good things come in threes?

Julia Beacroft A PRIL is quite an expensive time for me each year as we have three family birthdays that month: those of my daughter-in-law and my own twins.

It may be 27 years since the twins were born, but I can distinctly remember an episode that occurred when I was expecting them…

My husband and I had gone to the hospital for my second scan. We had just about recovered from the shock of the first one, when we were told that we were going to be the proud parents of twins.

Now my husband told me that he was disappointed that they hadn’t found a third baby at that second scan–and he was serious!

Needless to say, I was astounded—and also very relieved that this hadn’t, in fact, happened!

There is a school of thought which suggests that both bad things and good things can come in threes. I’m not too sure of the veracity of this, but it is true that trilogies work well. Ornamental groupings always look better in threes, for example, and a three-course meal is usually a recipe for success.

The number three is a highly significant biblical and theological number, of course.

God calls Samuel three times, the Magi brought the infant Jesus three gifts; Jesus

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Point of Reflection

Do all good things come in threes? Our trinitarian God certainly does, says Julia Beacroft. (Photo: Miroslav Sárkozy) goes back to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray three times; and he also repeats the phrase “Feed my sheep” to Peter three times. Peter, of course, had previously denied Christ three times.

I

t goes without saying that we can’t talk about the number three in this context without referring to the significant fact of Jesus rising from the dead after a period of three days.

In fact, in Jewish culture at that time, three days after the time of death indicated that a person was truly dead, so this made

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Jesus’ Resurrection all the more remarkable for the people of that era—and obviously this didn’t happen by chance.

Finally, we can’t consider the number three without looking at the Trinity. God is three in one: the Godhead/Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our God is a trinitarian God above all others.

And so, whether our good and bad things come in ones, twos or threes, we can always be assured and reassured that we worship, adore and give thanks to a God who is three-in-one.

I might not have received three babies for the price of one (two was quite enough!), but my faith shows me that three is, and continues to be, a significant number in our lives. Thanks be to God! n Julia Beacroft is an author, editor, workshop leader and presenter in Catholic faith formation. Her book Sanctifying the Spirit is available on Amazon. Her first children’s book, Monsieur Claude’s Great French Adventure, is also out now.

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10

The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

COMMUNITY

Catholic Women’s League members from Our Lady of Loreto parish in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, attended the Women’s World Day of Prayer service at the Anglican church in their suburb.

Religious Brothers and Sisters of Umzimkulu diocese who went on retreat at MariannhillCoolock House from March 23-6 were preparing spiritually to face the coronavirus and the lockdown, and praying for all those infected and affected by the virus.

Catechists at St Peter Claver parish in Pimville, Soweto, had their Bibles blessed. (Photo: Sello Mokoka)

Young pupils at St Benedict’s Collge in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, celebrated their First Communion at St Therese’s parish in Edenvale. They are seen with teachers and the junior primary headmistress.

St Henry’s Marist College swimmers showed up in their numbers at Midmar Dam for the annual Midmar Mile Swim. A number of the swimmers swam in aid of the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa and were able to raise much-needed money for the charity. Student Matthew Pelser completed eight miles over the two days and ended up coming second overall in the Eight-Mile Challenge.

PRICE CHECK

Students at Marist Brothers Linmeyer in Johannesburg celebrated their First Communion at St Patrick’s parish in La Rochelle.

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He IIss Rise Risen en

S outher ross o u t h e r n C ross www.scross.co.za

April 8 to April 14, 2020

A parish’s response to lockdown

Reg No. 1920/002058/06

Page 4

R12 (incl VAT RSA)

Centenary Jubilleee Year

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Page 11

The editor and stafff of Th he Southern Cro oss wish all readers, advertisers, Associates, pilgrims, supporters, contributors, bishops, clergy, religious, and all our frriends a blessed Easter fiilled with the hope and joy of our Risen Lord.

No 5182

A message to you from Pope Francis

Jesus dies; and Christ rises from the dead

Bloem’s new archbishop has ‘mixed feelings’

BY ERIN CARELSE

T

E a s t e r e g g s , i n c l u d i n g o n e d e p i c t i n g t h e r i s e n C h r i s t , a r e s e e n i n t h e c o u r t y a r d o f S t G a b r i e l ’s c h u r c h i n N a z a r e t h , I s r a e l , t h e s i t e w h e r e p i l g r i m s d r a w w a t e r f r o m M a r y ’s We l l . T h e E a s t e r egg is symbolic of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

HE newly-named archbishop of Bloemfontein says he has some “mixed feelings” about his appointment.

Bishop Zolile Peter Mpambani has headed the diocese of Kokstad since 2013. After his appointed as the seventh archbishop of Bloemfontein, he will succeed Archbishop Jabulani Adatus Nxumalo, who has retired as of April 1 at the age of 76.

“The appointment brought mixed feelings for me,” Archbishop-elect Mpambani told The Southern Cross.

“I’ve been busy with a lot of work in Kokstad, and was still developing a few things, so being told I’ll have to be in Bloemfontein in two months leaves ver y little time to finish things off—and more so because of the lockdown.”

On the other hand, he said: “I know that the same work that I’ve been doing here in Kokstad I could also do in the archdiocese of Bloemfontein, which tells me that I should look forward to the future.”

He is the third successive bishop of Kokstad to become an archbishop, following Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, who headed the diocese from 1980-92, before transferring to Durban, and Archbishop William Slattery (from 1993, moved in 2010 to Pretoria).

Appointed bishop of Kokstad on April 6, 2013, Bishop Mpambani said that one of his highlights in the diocese was getting to know all of the faithful.

“In 2015 I visited ever y parish and ever y outstation, to know where they are worshipping and to know where and which parishes and outstations my priests work in. Even the outstations where there were four to five people, I went there to visit and to celebrate Mass with them, just to get to know the situation in the diocese,” he said.

Before he became a bishop, the member of the congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus served in his home diocese of Aliwal North, in the Eastern Cape.

“I worked under [now retired] Bishop Fritz

Archbishop-elect Zolile Mpambani of B l o e m f o n t e i n . ( P h o t o : F r P a u l Ta t u C S S ) Lobinger, who was very big on empowering the faithful. This is what I’ve been driving in Kokstad: that they know their faith and that they know the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Of his move to the archdiocese of Bloemfontein, Archbishop-elect Mpambani said: “I’m not fearful.” He believes his experience of leading the diocese of Kokstad for seven years has prepared him.

“When I was appointed as the bishop of Kokstad, being in charge of a diocese after having been a priest, I didn’t know where I was going to begin and go forward, but it has taught me a lot and given me so much experience. This is what I’ll take with me to Bloemfontein,” he said.

“I know what is expected of a bishop, and what to expect of the faithful, the priests and everybody.”

Archbishop-elect Mpambani hopes to draw from the experience of his predecessor, who had headed the archdiocese since 2005, after three years as auxiliary bishop in Durban.

“Having Archbishop Nxumalo there, being able to have some sort of orientation, really Continued on page 3

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Students at Holy Rosary High School in Edenvale, Johannesburg, competed at the Puma School for Speed event at Ruimsig Stadium. Sinead Meyer in Grade 11 (centre) made it to the finals for the long jump U-17, coming second with a jump of 5.2m and won a silver medal. She also qualified for the finals for the 100m sprint where she came fifth.

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Dorothy Houston of Christ the King church in Wentworth, Durban, celebrated her 92nd birthday with fellow parishioners. She founded the repository, which she ran for about 40 years, and was chair of the Missionary Associates of Mary Immaculate for about 40 years too.

(Submitted by Brenda Abbott)

PREACHING

The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

11

How not to crash the homily At a time when many are bemoaning the general quality of preaching, FR CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ proposes to subject homilies to proper professional standards.

P

LANE crashes in a sermon?

Really? Yes, really! A preacher has just read a passage of sacred scripture, most likely the Gospel.

Our good and worthy preacher (I’ll call him “him” because he usually is) proceeds to précis it.

No matter that the Gospel has just been read and is still ringing in the ears of the congregation. No matter that it is extremely familiar to the regular churchgoers—so familiar in fact that some of them know parts off by heart and others can quote chapter and verse.

Even so, our preacher insists on repeating, say, the story of the prodigal son, in his own words.

What does he think he is doing?

Does he imagine that he is reminding them of what they have just heard? Or does he imagine that his own version of the tale will improve on Jesus’ own terse and dramatic telling?

It’s difficult to know what, if anything, is going on in his mind.

He may not realise it, but he has crashed the plane on take-off.

Some of the congregation want to stand up and say: “Please, Father, tell us something we don’t know!” What they would effectively be saying is that he is failing in his duty to nourish them, which is why the homily is a “fail”, as they say in the tech world today.

Unfortunately, in the Catholic Church at least, the homily is the last unanswerable monologue.

Without the possibility of giving some instant feedback, the congregation suffers in silence while the preacher ploughs on, pitifully paraphrasing the Word of God in a form vastly inferior to the original.

So the People of God go away angry, frustrated and unnourished.

Thus does a homily induce spiritual diminishment—the exact opposite of what is hoped for from preaching.

Such events are what a colleague and I call a “preaching plane crash”. Why the choice of such a melodramatic image? It’s to highlight the issue of professionalism.

I cannot speak for other denominations, but in my quite extensive

experience of Catholic preaching, I find it frequently ranging from low quality to downright disastrous. I hasten to add that at times I have contributed to these disasters, for preaching is, to some extent, an art—and art is not always successful.

However, the fact is that there are clergy who “crash the homily” on a terrifyingly regular basis.

Some do it without fail every Sunday, several times.

And here’s the question about professionalism: If a pilot crashed his plane regularly (assuming he survived), how long would it be before he lost his licence?

Even if he only dented his aircraft from time to time while taxiing, he would come under the professional microscope of his trade. In fact, he would almost certainly never have got his hands on the controls in the first place. The flight simulator would have eliminated him early on in training.

ity towards preaching.

Could this mentality be affecting Catholic preaching? There are certainly some who seem to think that a good homily simply happens automatically, ex opera operato, without any preparation.

Theological auto-pilot

Weekly disasters?

Yet ordained clergy, whose central task is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can perpetuate weekly disasters which alienate people from the Church and the Gospel.

And despite this they retain their “licences”. In the Catholic Church, bishops rarely suspend or withdraw a priest’s or deacon’s “faculties” to preach. The competency-checking that pilots have to undergo every six months has no equivalent among the clergy.

What happens in practice is that people in the congregation who are mobile drift off to other parishes or other denominations, or simply lapse from their Christian faith.

The preachers themselves are often mystified by this and complain about the poor attendance, sometimes blaming the victims.

People rarely tell them the truth. Nothing is done and the disasters simply continue, inflicted upon ever-dwindling numbers.

Eventually the priest may be moved on to another parish, prob-

A priest preaches a homily. But has congregation actually listening? ably a poorer, less significant, less vocal one. The question here is what did the congregation of the poorer parish do to deserve the foisting upon them of an incompetent preacher? Was it simply because they are poor and less likely to complain?

I venture that it is because of the lack of professional accountability of the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Most professions have bodies which monitor the professional standards of their members. It’s not just airline pilots who are regularly checked for professional competence. Lawyers, doctors, journalists, auditors and other groups can all be called to account by their professional body or institute if their poor practice brings the profession into disrepute. But this almost never happens to Catholic priests in the case of bad preaching.

Why is the bar set so low?

Father repeats, in his own words, the passage which has just been read—plane crash!

(Cartoon by Conrad)

How can it be that we set the bar so low? After all, preaching is supposed to be a core competency?

We are not so negligent in other areas of Catholic pastoral practice.

Catholic students for the priesthood have something called a “faculties” exam which they have to pass to get a “licence” to practise as a priest.

The focus of this exam is on the hearing of confessions, but in the-

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One man I knew used to boast that he never knew what he was going to say when he went into the pulpit! Needless to say, it wasn’t great.

An ex opere operato view of the work of preaching is obviously a heaven-sent relief for the idle and the unimaginative. Why spend the hours of study, prayer and laborious thought which are required to preach well when one can rely on a kind of theological automatic pilot?

This would not be the first time in our history that ritualism became the refuge of clergy who cannot or will not rise to serious pastoral challenges but remain at the level of functionaries. Those mediaeval massing priests who used to do nothing but say several he prepared well, and is the Masses a day were, I would guess, not the greatest of preachers.

Anyone who regularly watches television programmes on air crash ory it includes the ability to preach investigations will know that there competently. Students quite fre- is an infinite number of ways to quently fail it the first time be- crash a plane. Here the analogy cause they are judged holds good: there is a insufficiently prepared of ways of One priest multiplicity to hear confessions. causing one’s homily to However, I have yet fail. to hear of a seminarian boasted that The method menwho has failed to get his he never knew tioned above—a summary faculties because he was of the readings in the judged insufficiently what he was preacher’s own words—is competent to preach. just one among many.

This probably says going to say in I propose, therefore, to something about a conduct in a series of artihomilies.

Catholic sacramental cles a kind of homiletical theology which—deNeedless to “Air Crash Investigation”. spite the insistence of My approach has been say, it Vatican II on the proclacriticised for being rather mation of the Word in negative but I believe it’s the Eucharist, and the wasn’t great necessary and I hope sacramentality of the that the articles that folWord—persists in the idea that as low over the next few months long as people have received holy will be a helpful “examination of Communion, all is well. conscience” for the preacher or I think Catholic preaching is a aspiring preacher who hopes to victim of an unconscious theology “fly” with greater safety and conof ex opere operato (“from the work fidence for the sake of the People performed”). This is a bit of pastoral theology for the protection of of God. It’s a commonplace to say that overscrupulous clergy and congrepreachers target themselves with gants which states that the sacraments are valid despite the foibles their messages. The same is surely true of those who “preach” about or carelessness of the celebrant.

So if the priest is distracted dur- preaching. We feel we can say ing the Mass, the Eucharist is still these things because, as a Jesuit valid, the Lord is still really pres- confessor once said in an unguarded moment in the box in reent. sponse to the confession of a fault: Ex opere operato is all very well in the realm of the sacraments, but “Why, I often do that myself!” it can unconsciously foster an au- n This is the first of a series of artitomatic and minimalistic mental- cles by Fr Chatteris on preaching.

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12

The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

FAITH

During plague, Church called on saints Catholics call on saints for all kind of problems — and some have been popular in times of plague, as CAROL ZIMMERMANN explains.

T

HE Catholic Church has had a long tradition of calling on saints and praying for their intercession in sickness and difficult times.

This plea for saintly help for protection from disease and for healing was particularly evident when the bubonic plague, or Black Death, spread throughout Europe in the 14th century, killing one-third of the population.

At the time, in many cities and villages where medical knowledge was limited, cities and villages often adopted a “plague saint” to protect them.

St Sebastian In Florence, Italy, the bishop had an altar built in honour of St Sebastian as a means to stop the Black Death. After the plague was over, he built a church dedicated to the 3rdcentury saint in thanksgiving for his intercession.

Artwork depicting the plague shows that St Sebastian seemed to be the go-to saint at the time.

He was martyred around the year 288 during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian. He was shot by arrows, which is how he is portrayed in paintings where the arrows are also said to be symbolic of the arrows of the Black Death.

But the special appeal of St Sebastian has a lot of layers.

He is said to have converted to Christianity after seeing the bravery of Christian martyrs. He then drew

A sculpture of St Sebastian in the Roman basilica outside the walls dedicated to the 3rd-century saint. During the bubonic plague, he was a go-to saint for the faithful. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher) others to become Christian, including a Roman officer who was said to be have been cured of a plague at his conversion.

This particular action caught the attention of Diocletian, who sentenced St Sebastian to death by arrows.

But the saint, according to tradition, is said to have survived the arrows and returned to Diocletian to have strong words with him. That caused the emperor to again have St Sebastian executed—successfully this time.

The saint’s prayers for the Roman soldier and the soldier’s cure made him associated with the cure of plagues, especially in Italy.

St Roch St Roch (or Rocco or Roque or Rock) also is portrayed in paintings of the plague, but he is shown among victims, often praying to

Mary, since he too caught the disease.

St Roch lived during the Black Death in the 14th century. He was said to have cured plague victims he visited in Italy with his prayers and by marking the sick with the sign of the cross.

Eventually, he too was infected by the plague and is said to have withdrawn to a hut in the forest until he recovered.

Legend has it that a dog brought him food, which is why statues of St Roch often include a dog at his side.

Although the saint might seem far removed from modern life, his care for plague victims certainly resonates today.

St Aloysius Gonzaga

A statue of St Aloysius Gonzaga carrying a plague victim in his arms on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. A Jesuit novice, he died in 1591 while caring for the sick and dying of the plague. (Photo: Gonzaga University via CNS) Palermo in 1625 and even now.

During a plague in the city, the saint is said to have appeared to a hunter who found her remains in a cave.

Her relics were paraded through the city streets and three days later the plague was gone, which people credited to her intercession and named her the city’s patroness.

As the coronavirus spread through Italy, many in Palermo during the government-imposed lockdown again turned to the saint although with a more modern means: prayers on the social media messaging platform WhatsApp.

Another saint known for his care for plague victims, during a later plague in Rome in 1591, was St Aloysius Gonzaga, who cared for plague victims in a Roman hospital while he was studying to be a Jesuit priest.

He not only visited the sick but carried them to the hospital, The 14 helpers washed their wounds and fed them.

There also is a whole group of He ended up contracting the disease saints who were called on for and died from it at age 23.

The Jesuit-run Gonzaga Univer- prayers during the plague, starting sity in Spokane, Washington, has a in 1348 in Munich in Germany.

This group goes by the name the statue on campus of St Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Aloysius carrying a plague The group of 14— victim.

Legend has it each with individual On its website, the unidays and initially versity describes the saint as that a dog feast one day for the whole a “model for servant leaderbrought him group until 1969—is hoship”. noured in a German “Without a lot of fanfare food, which is chapel that is a pilgrimand expectation of recogniage site. tion or fame, Aloysius qui- why statues of There also are etly and humbly cared for churches in Italy, Austhe abandoned, vulnerable St Roch often tria, Hungary and other and dying. countries include a dog European “He was clearly devoted named after these 14. to and at the service of othat his side Twelve of this speers. He willingly gave up all cialised group are marclaims to wealth and power tyrs and three are in order to follow a call that he was women. convinced came from God.” Perhaps best-known now among In 1991, on the 400th anniver- the group is St Blaise, patron saint sary of his death, Pope John Paul II of throats, who is invoked each Febnamed St Aloysius the patron of ruary 3 on his feast day, for blessing Aids patients and their caregivers. of the throats.

The names of the other 13—and St Rosalia what people pray to them for proAnother saint at the top of lists tection from or intercession for— for plague patrons is St Rosalia, or are: Rosalie, who lived in the 12th cen• St Achatius, headaches; tury.

• St Barbara, fever or sudden The Church knows little about “St Rosalia Interceding for the Plague-stricken of Palermo” by 17thher life, but she plays a big part in death; • St Catherine of Alexandria, century Flemish painter artist Anthony van Dyck gives a mystical view prayers for healing from the plague, sudden death; especially in the Sicilian city of of the 12th-century saint. (Metropolitan Museum of Art) • St Christopher, plagues and sudden death; • St Cyriac, temptations; A HOLY PILGRIMAGE TO OUR LADY • St Denis (or Dionysius), headaches; • St Erasmus (or Elmo), abdomiin Johannesburg & beyond Plus ASSISI nal maladies; • St Eustachius (or Eustace), PADRE PIO DStv Audio 870 family trouble; www.radioveritas.co.za LORETO AND MORE • St George, the protection of streaming live domestic animals; 8 - 19 March 2021 • St Giles (or Aegidius), plagues, Led by Fr S’milo Mngadi Catch our interviews with Southern Cross editor good confession; Günther Simmermacher every Friday on 8:30am • St Margaret of Antioch, safe childbirth; 41809 MASS followed by Mass Intention • 41809 VERI followed by comments Contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or 076 352-3809 • St Pantaleone, physicians; 011 663-4700 info@radioveritas.co.za www.fowlertours.co.za/medju21 • St Vitus (or Guy), epilepsy.

576 AM

Medjugorje & Rome 2021

St Corona: no plagues During this current time of coronavirus pandemic, some have called on St Corona as a possible patron, but the connection seems to be in name only.

Little is known about the young woman who was killed for her Christian faith, presumably in the second century AD. St Corona also is not the namesake for the virus. The Latin word corona means “crown”, an indication that the young saint had achieved the “crown of eternal life” because of the steadfastness of her faith.

The connection with the coronaviruses, named because of their crown-like structure, is just a coincidence.

Over the centuries, St Corona was often prayed to by people seeking her help in times of trouble, be it heavy storms or livestock diseases.

People believed she had a positive influence regarding money matters since “coronae” (crowns) was the name given to coins. As a result, treasure-hunters often invoked her name and in light of how Covid-19 has triggered an economic crisis, she could be called on again.

Fr Martin recommends In the listing of Church saints there are at least 100 saints who can be invoked for protection or healing of nearly every possible ailment from eye troubles, headaches and toothaches to cancer, rabies and epilepsy.

When asked about saints that would be good intercessors during this time of the coronavirus pandemic, Jesuit Father James Martin, author of the 2006 book My Life With the Saints, said that three saints he mentions in his book would be good to start with.

At the top of his list is St Aloysius Gonzaga, the Jesuit saint mentioned above who died as a result of working with victims of a plague in Rome. The second is St Thérèse of Lisieux, “who also had to deal with illness at a young age”.

Last on his shortlist is St Bernadette Soubirous, the visionary of Lourdes, France, who contracted cholera in the epidemic of 1854 and also suffered from asthma and other ailments throughout her life.

She is invoked as a patron for the millions who go to Lourdes each year seeking healing.

On a personal note, Fr Martin said that when he was undergoing treatment for a benign tumour and radiation last year, his own prayers were to St Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes.—CNS

The Southern Cross, April 15 to April 21, 2020

YOUR CLASSIFIEDS

Br Raimund Berchtenbereiter CMM

M

ARIANNHILL Missionaries Brother Raimund Berchtenbereiter, previous head of the tailor workshop at his congregation’s monastery in KwaZulu-Natal, died at the age of 79 on April 4, 2020 in Reimlingen, Germany.

Born on June 18, 1940 in Aschaffenburg, Germany, as the third of five children, he was christened Adolf Martin.

After attending school, he learned tailoring in Aschaffenburg and soon went to work in Munich, where he quickly found a job. There he lived in the local Kolping house where he soon came into contact with the Mariannhill Missionaries.

In September 1959, the 19year-old began his novitiate as a Mariannhill Missionary at St Josef House in Reimlingen, and two years later made his first religious profession.

In 1964 he was transferred to

St Pius Seminary in Würzburg to prepare for the master craftsman examination as a tailor. He passed it with the highest mark in the region.

In 1970 Br Raimund was transferred to Mariannhill monastery near Durban, where he took over the monastery tailoring workshop.

His reputation as a tailor soon

Your prayer to cut out and collect

spread and the monastery workshop soon made suits, gowns and clerical wear for customers throughout southern Africa.

Among his clients was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as members of other denominations also appreciated Br Raimund’s craft.

Br Raimund also took care of shopping for the monastery kitchen and, as manager, was also responsible for the security of the monastery.

He had been at the monastery of his congregation’s founder for close to 40 years years when his health began to trouble him. At his request, he was transferred back to the Reimlingen in Germany in 2008.

Shortly after returning to Germany Br Raimund suffered a stroke and for 18 months was paralysed on his left side. He recovered slowly, but was able to savour his retirement a little in recent years.

Southern CrossWord solutions SOLUTIONS TO 911. ACROSS: 1 Recite, 4 Aghast, 9 Metamorphosis, 10 Reckons, 11 Nasal, 12 Rufus, 14 False, 18 Heels, 19 Entitle, 21 Places of peace, 22 Needle, 23 Dyes it.

DOWN: 1 Romero, 2 Catechumenate, 3 Tempo, 5 Gehenna, 6 Assists at Mass, 7 Tussle, 8 Brass, 13 Upswell, 15 Chopin, 16 Demon, 17 Repent, 20 Tipsy.

Our bishops’ anniversaries

13

Anniversaries • Milestones • Prayers • Accommodation • Holiday accommodation Personal • Services • Employment • Property • Parish notices • Thanks • Others Please include payment (R2.00 a word) with small advertisements for promptest publication.

IN MEMORIAM

took our sufferings upon Himself, and took up our sorrows to bring us, through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection, Amen. We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our pleas—we who are put to the test—and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and Blessed Virgin.

HOUGHTON—Agnes. Wife of the late Bill and mom of the late Mary, passed away on April 23, 2014. Lovingly remembered by her daughters Margaret, Bridget and Barbara, sons-in-law Walter, Derick and Ben, grandchildren Stephen, Jeannine, Ryan, Lauren, Catherine, Elizabeth and Susan, their spouses and ten great-grandchildren.

May her Dear Soul Rest In Peace.

PRAYERS

O MOST beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity.

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 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.

PERSONAL

POPE’S PRAYER TO MARY DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: O Mary, you shine continuously along our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who at the Cross were near to the pain of Jesus, keeping your faith firm. You, Salvation of the Roman people, know what we need, and we trust that you will provide for those needs so that, as at Cana of Galilee, joy and celebration may return after this moment of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us. He who

ABORTION WARNING: The truth will convict a silent Church. See www. valuelifeabortionisevil.co.za

ABORTION: Monthly Sunday Mass bidding prayer: “That Almighty God guide our nation to cease our murders of our unborn infants.”

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Liturgical Calendar Year A – Weekdays Cycle Year 2

This week we congratulate: April 15: Auxiliary Bishop Duncan Tsoke of Johannesburg on his 56th birthday April 18: Bishop José Ponce de León of Manzini, Eswatini, on the 11th anniversary of his episcopal ordination April 18: Bishop João Rodrigues of Tzaneen on the 10th anniversary of his episcopal ordination

FROM OUR VAULTS

Sunday April 19, 2nd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 2224, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31 Monday April 20, St Marcellinus Acts 4:23-31, Psalm 2:1-9, John 3:1-8 Tuesday April 21, St Anselm Acts 4:32-37, Psalm 93:1-2, 5, John 3:7-15 Wednesday April 22

97 Years Ago: April 11, 1923

Acts 5:17-26, Psalm 34:2-9, John 3:16-21 Thursday April 23, St George and St Adalbert Acts 5:27-33, Psalm 34:2, 9, 17-20, John 3:31-36 Friday April 24, St Fidelis of Sigmaringen Acts 5:34-42, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14, John 6:1-15 Saturday April 25, St Mark 1 Peter 5:5-14, Psalm 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17, Mark 16:15-20 Sunday April 26, 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14, 22-33, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11, 1 Peter 1:17-21, Luke 24:13-35

Excellent Catholic dead at 86 “One of our most excellent fellow Catholics”, Alexander Wilmot, has died at 86. The founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Cape Town had arrived in South Africa from Scotland in 1853 and entered the Cape parliament in 1889. His son, Fr Christopher Wilmot, celebrated the funeral Mass.

Anti-Catholic Kipling spread ‘stupid lie’ In his “Catholic Notebook”, Fr C McCarthy writes that Rudyard Kipling, “who prostituted his gifts for the benefit of Ulster bigots”, in an address to the Royal College of Surgeons had repeated the “stupid lie” that the Catholic Church forbids scientific dissections.

St George

St Mark

A priest since 1873 Fr John Duignam of Cape Town is honoured with a large picture on the occasion of his golden jubilee. He was ordained in 1873 and celebrated his jubilee at St James’ church, Kalk Bay, where he had served since 1874. (Fr Duignam died in 1931.)

Neighbourhood Old Age Homes

We can use your old clothing, bric-a-brac, furniture and books for our second-hand shop in Woodstock, Cape Town.

Help us to create an avenue to generate much needed funds for our work with the elderly.

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

The views of the children of ‘23 In his “Children’s Corner”, Uncle Joe (Mgr Frederick Kolbe) writes that he will continue being the “crying Plein Street baby” even though his cold has got better. His young correspondent Saxum, meanwhile, writes that “children are no good at all”, noting that he himself had been in trouble during the holidays.

Garrulus reports that “lots of houses were floating in the recent flood”.

The Southern Cross is published independently by the Catholic Newspaper & Publishing Company Ltd.

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Editor: Günther Simmermacher (editor@scross.co.za), Business Manager: Pamela Davids (admin@scross.co.za), Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton, Local News: Erin Carelse (e.carelse@scross.co.za) Editorial: Claire Allen (c.allen@scross.co.za), Mary Leveson (m.leveson@scross.co.za), Advertising: Yolanda Timm (advertising@scross.co.za), Subscriptions: Michelle Perry (subscriptions@scross.co.za), Accounts: Desirée Chanquin (accounts@scross.co.za), Directors: R Shields (Chair), Bishop S Sipuka, S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, Sr H Makoro CPS, C Mathieson, G Stubbs

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the

3rd Sunday of Easter: April 26 Readings: Acts 2: 14, 22-33, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11, 1 Peter 1:17-21, Luke 24:13-35

S outher n C ross

T

HE readings continue the exploration of what it means that Jesus is risen; in particular they allow us to see the courage that it brings.

The first reading, from Acts, of course, gives us Peter’s speech on Pentecost Sunday.

He “stood up with the Eleven” (a reminder, of course, that the Church has been broken since its very beginning; they should be Twelve, but Judas has gone another way).

Peter shows quite remarkable bravery, considering that virtually the last time we saw him, he was denying, with the most terrible oaths, that he had ever even heard of Jesus.

Now he is speaking the brave truth on a large stage: “Men of Judah, and all you who live in Jerusalem!”

Not only that, but he is challenging his hearers, claiming that they “know that Jesus the Nazarene was a man marked out from God to you, with miracles and portents and signs which God did through him in your midst”.

And he has the courage to accuse them of murder: “You destroyed him, who had been handed over through the hands of lawless people, crucifying him.”

Then he makes the all-important claim: “God raised him up, undoing the agonies of

death; because it was impossible for Jesus to be held by Death.”

After this he produces a quotation from David (traditionally the psalmist); and argues that “it is possible for me to speak courageously to you about the Patriarch, that he died and had been buried”, which proves that when the psalm speaks of “my Lord”, “he foresaw and spoke about the Resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see destruction”. On the contrary: “This was the Jesus whom God raised from the dead—and we are all his witnesses.”

There is immense Easter courage here.

The same confidence is detectable in the psalm: “Keep me safe, O God, because I have taken refuge in you…my portion and cup.”

There is quiet courage: “I shall bless the Lord, because he gives me counsel…I keep the Lord always in my sight.” And there is joy here, too: “Therefore my heart rejoices, and my body is glad, and even my flesh shall be secure.”

The source for this courage is that God is incapable of letting us down: “For you will not leave my soul for Sheol…you will teach me the path of life.”

Now look at the second reading, continuing

S

though that’s what we generally assume.

However, and for good reason, both scripture and Christian tradition strongly affirm that Jesus didn’t raise himself from the dead—his Father raised him. This might seem like an unnecessary point to emphasise; after all, what difference does it make?

It makes a huge difference. Jesus didn’t raise himself from the dead, and neither can we. That’s the point.

For the power of the Resurrection to enter us, something from beyond us has to remove the huge, immovable rock of our resistance.

This is not to deny that we have goodwill and personal strength; but these, though important, are more a precondition for receiving the grace of the Resurrection than the power of the Resurrection itself, which always comes to us from beyond. We never roll back the stone ourselves!

Who can roll back the stone? Perhaps that isn’t a question we’re particularly anxious about, but we should be.

Jesus was entombed and helpless to raise himself up—all the more so for us.

Like the women at that first Easter, we need to be anxious: “Who will roll back the stone?” We can’t open our own tombs.

Second, our “locked doors”.

I

Pilgrimage 2020

S outher n C ross

Conrad

t’s interesting how the believers at that first Easter experienced the resurrected Christ in their lives.

The Gospels tell us that they were huddled in fear and paranoia behind locked doors, wanting only to protect themselves,

Sunday Reflections

our Easter journey through 1 Peter: “Be aware that you were ransomed from your useless way of life, handed down by the ancestors, not by perishables like silver or gold, but by the precious blood of a spotless and unblemished lamb, who had been known about before the creation of the world, but revealed at the end of days on your account…[you] who believe in God who raised him from the dead…so that your faith and hope are in God.” This takes us to the Gospel, a story of how two of Jesus’ disillusioned disciples are brought from despair to courage. It is one of the loveliest Resurrection narratives, and starts with Cleopas and his unnamed partner (Mrs Cleopas?) trudging from Jerusalem to Emmaus, convinced they have lost Jesus forever.

Unrecognised by them (and often by us), he entices from them the story of their disappointment; and when he asks what they are talking about, they “stopped, with long faces”, and interrogate him: “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

We are allowed a wry smile: the one they address is actually the only person in Jerusalem who does know what has been going on.

Huge stones and locked doors OREN Kierkegaard once wrote that the Gospel text he strongly identified with is the account of the disciples, after the death of Jesus, locking themselves into the Upper Room in fear—and then experiencing Jesus coming through the locked doors to bestow peace on them.

Kierkegaard wanted Jesus to do that for him: to come through his locked doors, his resistance, and breathe peace inside him.

That image of locked doors is one of two particularly interesting images inside the story of the first Easter. The other is the image of the “large stone” that entombed the buried Jesus.

These images remind us of what often separates us from the grace of the Resurrection. Sometimes for that grace to find us, someone must “roll away the stone” that entombs us and sometimes the Resurrection must come to us “through locked doors”.

First, about the “stone”.

The Gospels tell us that early on Easter morning three women were on their way to the tomb of Jesus to embalm his body with spices, but they were anxious about how they would remove the large stone sealing the entrance of his tomb. They were asking each other: “Who will roll away the stone?”

Well, as we know, the stone had already been rolled away. How? We don’t know.

Jesus’ Resurrection happened with no one there. Nobody knows exactly how that stone was rolled away.

But what scripture does make clear is this: Jesus didn’t resurrect himself. God raised him. Jesus didn’t roll away the stone,

Nicholas King SJ

The courage to believe

So, laboriously, they tell the tale of Jesus who looked as though he might be a prophet, and what the “high priests and rulers” did to him (“and we had been hoping that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel”).

Not only that, but it turns out these disillusioned ex-believers actually had all the evidence in their grasp, because “some women from among us have amazed us”; they had found the tomb empty, and seen angels (“but you can’t believe what women say!”).

Then Jesus restores their courage, by simply preaching a sermon, on how “Moses and all the prophets” had predicted this.

Warmed by this, they beg the stranger to stay with them. Astonishingly, he breaks bread for them—and disappears!

But it does not matter, for they have been given precious courage by the encounter; and they go roaring back to Jerusalem, even though they had just been saying how late it was; and there they find that it is all true.

Suddenly they have all their courage back.

What about you, this Easter season?

Southern Crossword #911

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Final Reflection

when Christ came through their locked doors, the doors of their fear and self-protection, and breathed peace into them.

Their huddling in fear wasn’t because of ill-will or bad faith. They sincerely wished that they weren’t afraid, but that goodwill still didn’t unlock their doors. Christ entered and breathed peace into them in spite of their resistance, fear, and locked doors.

Things haven’t changed much in two thousand years. As a Christian community and as individuals we are still mostly huddling in fear, anxious about ourselves, distrustful, not at peace, our doors locked, even as our hearts desire peace and trust.

Perhaps, like Kierkegaard, we might want to privilege that scripture passage where the resurrected Christ comes through the locked doors of human resistance and breathes out peace.

Moreover, this year, given this extraordinary time when the coronavirus has our cities and communities locked down and we are inside our individual houses, dealing with the various combinations of frustration, impatience, fear, panic, and boredom that assail us there. Right now we need a little extra something to experience the Resurrection—a stone needs to be rolled away so that resurrected life can come through our locked doors and breathe peace into us.

At the end of the day, these two images, “the stone that needs to be rolled away” and the “locked doors of our fear”, contain within themselves perhaps the most consoling truth in all religion because they reveal this about God’s grace: When we cannot help ourselves we can still be helped and when we are powerless to reach out, grace can still come through the walls of our resistance and breathe peace into us.

We need to cling to this whenever we experience irretrievable brokenness in our lives, when we feel helpless inside our wounds and fears, when we feel spiritually inept, and when we grieve loved ones lost to addictions or suicide.

The resurrected Christ can come through locked doors and roll back any stone that entombs us, no matter how hopeless the task is for us.

ACROSS

1. Repeat the Creed at Mass (6) 4. Hag sat about filled with horror (6) 9. Hammer top is so ready for transformation (13) 10. Calculates, having an opinion (7) 11. Concerning the nosey? (5) 12. Paul greeted him and his mother (Rm 16) (5) 14. Like fake news (5) 18. Take to them and run away (5) 19. Give a name to (7) 21. What retreat houses should be (6,2,5) 22. Camel may pass through its eye (Mt 19) (6) 23. Changes colour of the vestment (4,2)

DOWN

1. St Oscar …, archbishop of San Salvador (6) 2. Group preparing for baptism (13) 3. Musical time (5) 5. Abode of the dead from e g Anneh (7) 6. Attends the Eucharistic celebration (7,2,4) 7. Scuffle lets us move around (6) 8. Bold section of the band?

(5) 13. What the spring of water in one will do (Jn 4) (7) 15. Part of music hoping for a composer (6) 16. The spirit of evil (5) 17. Show your remorse (6)

Solutions on page 13

CHURCH CHUCKLE

G

REETING parishioners after the Easter Mass, Fr Bill was delighted to see Joe after his old friend’s annual attendance at Mass.

“Well, it’s nice to see you, Joe,” Fr Bill said. “But tell me: why don’t you come to church more often than just at every Easter?”

“Fr Bill, I’m simply following the Lord’s example,” Joe replied.

The bemused priest asked Joe to clarify.

“You see, Father,” Joe explained, “if Christ can rise up early only one Sunday a year, that’s good enough for me, too!”

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