202112

CHRISTMAS TRIVIA QUIZ: What do you know?

THE BIG SYNOD: What it’s all about

CHRISTMAS SEASON: When does it end?

Southern Cross

Est. 1920

The

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

December 2021

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Advent & Christmas Edition

THE BIG WAIT: ADVENT LESSONS IN A PREGNANCY

WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT POPE FRANCIS

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Welcome

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‘Tis the season to be holy

W

Dear Reader,

ILL yOUR CHRISTMAS BE different from last year’s Covid-restricted feast? I do hope mine will be. Usually, Christmas Eve is the one time of the year when our whole family gets together for dinner.

Last year that wasn’t possible. This Christmas, with everybody vaccinated, we may, pray God, come together again.

But last year, Advent and Christmas were also the quiet sort of affair many of us have always longed for, even if that was forced by a cruel pandemic.

The restrictions provided greater opportunities for the quiet reflections and peace we usually struggle to make time for. Will we be able to find the oasis for stillness again this year?

I

n this issue we pause to reflect on the Nativity of the Lord in different ways.

I suspect one item might cause some debate: the anonymously-written letter from “Jesus” (page 26). It certainly provoked lively discussion among the Southern Cross team. In the letter, “Jesus” writes that instead of complaining about the secularisation of Christmas, we should first take action in our life. Replace our own Santa Claus decorations with Nativity scenes, “Jesus” suggests.

But I don’t think the letter proposes that we should be happy if the symbols of our faith are absent in public spaces.

Rather, it calls us to interior conversion first, before we worry about external symbols. And that’s something which Scripture repeatedly and consistently calls us to. Our first concern should be about our own shortcomings, not those of others. Or, in Jesus’ words: “First, take the log out of your own eye; then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).

That speaks to our internal disposition as well as to the external expressions of our faith. If we don’t have the faith truly in our hearts (feeding the poor, forgiving our enemies, and so on) and in our homes (a well-thumbed bible,

sacramentals, The Southern Cross on the coffee table), then how can we demand with integrity the display of Christian symbols in public spaces?

Of course, we should also beware of the elimination of Christianity from the public sphere. But before we do so, we must always introspect whether we are really living what we are agitating for.

E

very Christmas, there’s one thing that invariably drives many Catholics to unholy anger: the use of “X-mas” for Christmas. I don’t use it myself because I know, from long experience, that if I do, somebody somewhere will angrily accuse me of blasphemy or worse. But there is nothing inherently disrespectful about writing “X-mas”.

It is an ancient rendering for the word Christmas used by the early Christians themselves.

The letter X in our alphabet indicates the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter of Christ’s name in Greek (Χριστός). So the letter X does, in fact, represent the name of Christ. It might annoy us when “X-mas” is used as a lazy shortcut, but its roots are solidly Christian and, indeed, sacred.

In that spirit, I do hope you’ll enjoy this December edition of The Southern Cross. Please tell your friends about your monthly Catholic magazine!

From all of us: May your Advent season be holy, your Christmas (or X-Mas!) be joyful, and your 2022 be filled with blessings, peace and good health.

God bless,

Günther simmermacher (Editor)

DECEMBER 2021 8

Synod: What You Need to Know A primer to the Synod on Synodality

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The Funny Side of the Church Meet SA’s Catholic social media comedian

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Pope Francis Behind the Scenes Some things you might not know about the pope

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The Sacrament of Joy Bishop Edward Adams on the fruits of confession

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The Great Mission of St Joseph A reflection for the end of the Year of St Joseph

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The Flip-Sides of December Music An Advent reflection involving two songs

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Waiting for the Birth A mother on what pregnancy taught her about Advent

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St Joseph’s great mission

Christmas Around The World A collection of beautiful Advent and Christmas photos

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A ‘Letter from Jesus’ Good Christmas advice from ‘Jesus’

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Christ’s Demand for Unity What the Incarnation demands of us at Christmas

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Biography of a Christmas Carol The story behind ‘As Shepherds Watched Their Flocks’

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Christmas Traditions in Three Countries Christmas celebrations in India, Kenya and Finland

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Lessons From the Holy Family Why the Holy Family wasn’t that different from us

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‘The Baby and the Blanket’ A short Christmas story by Fr Ralph de Hahn

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The Big Christmas Trivia Quiz Who’ll win the Family Christmas Quiz this year?

EVERY MONTH 5

FROM OUR VAULTS The Southern Cross 88 years ago

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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED You ask, and our team of experts replies

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SAINT OF THE MONTH – WITH POSTER This Month: St Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe

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COOKING WITH SAINTS Grazia Barletta’s recipe for an Italian cake

34

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have your say!

35

THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa on a happy heart for Christmas

36

RAYMOND PERRIER

When does Christmas end?

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Pope Francis: What do you know?

12

Did you know?

In our digital edition, all links to websites are live.

Just click, and the site opens in your browse r!

Try IT!

On the journey to the synod

37

FR RON ROLHEISER OMI On the great power of the baby of Bethlehem

38

PRAY WITH THE POPE Fr Chris Chatteris SJ on the pope’s December prayer intention

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PRAYER CORNER Your illustrated prayers, to cut out and collect

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TWO PAGES OF PUZZLES Two Crosswords, Wordsearch, Dropped Letters, and Anagrams

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...AND FINALLY History in Colour, Quotes on Christmas, and a Last Laugh

What pregnancy teaches about Advent

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Cover image: “Adoration of the Shepherds” (1539-40)

by Agnolo Bronzino, Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary

88 Years Ago: December 20, 1933

FROM OUR VAULTS Pretoria’s Sacred Heart opens

The new church of the Sacred Heart in Pretoria [now cathedral] was solemnly blessed and opened

by Bishop David O’Leary OMI of the vicariate of Transvaal before a capacity congregation of 1500.

The sermon was preached by Bishop Hugh MacSherry of the Eastern Cape. The offertory hymn was specially composed by Fr Charles de Hovre OMI. The new church replaces the Transvaal’s oldest church, built in 1877, which could accommodate only 200 people.

The day after saw the celebration of the diamond jubilee of Bishop Charles Cox OMI, retired of Transvaal, at Selborne Hall in Johannesburg.

Drought in northern Cape

After a long drought, the Orange river is in full flood again — but too late for this year’s harvest, which will be only 25% of the normal. Bishop Odilon Fages OSFS of the vicariate of Keimoes writes. The region around Pella in the northern Cape is still waiting for a drop of rain, and in other areas precipitation has been patchy.

Like kids at Christmas

In his editorial, Mgr John Colgan notes that at Christmas, “we become child-like [as] we enter into the children’s joys: we shower down our gifts on them; we lose ourselves in their innocent gaiety”.

• See previous “From The Vaults” articles at www.scross.co.za/vaults

What else made news in December 1933:

• Pope Pius XI canonises St Bernadette Soubirous, the visionary of Lourdes, on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

• Parts of the Orange Free State are rebuilding following a hurricane and hail storm that destroyed crops and property on November 30.

• Prohibition ends in the United States, bringing to an end a 13-year-long ban on the sale of alcohol throughout the nation.

• India hosts its first cricket test in Bombay [now Mumbai], losing to England by nine wickets. In 1932 India had become the sixth national team to be granted test status.

• Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama, dies at 54, after 38 years as supreme leader of the Buddhists of Tibet. [According to the beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism, he would be reincarnated and reborn 18 months later as Lhamo Dhondup, who would become the 14th and current Dalai Lama in 1940.]

Prelates and clergy at the opening of Pretoria’s new church of the Sacred Heart.

Front from left: Fr Ives Saccadas OMI, Mgr Mohn, Bishops Meysing, MacSherry, O’Leary, Delalle, Mgr van Nuffel, Frs Foley (rector of the church) and Goodfriend OMI. Middle row: Frs Paulsen, McNabb, Dupays, Martlew, Varrie, Merour, and van Hommerich. Back: Frs Peron, De Marco, Shapcote, Humbert, O’Callaghan, Le Breton, Burns, Charlton, Judd, Kleyle and Brady.

The Southern Cross

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When exactly does the Christmas season end?

Q. As Catholics, we know that the Christmas season begins on December 25 — but when does it end? Some say it ends on the feast of the Epiphany on January 6, but others say it concludes a week later on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Also, what does Jesus’ baptism have to do with Christmas?

Do we have to dismantle the Christmas tree after January 6? Not necessarily...

M

ANY PEOPLE DO TAKE DOWN the Christmas tree and put away their Nativity scenes and other Christmas decorations following the Epiphany, leading to a common assumption that the Christmas season closes with that feast. But liturgically, that’s not correct.

The liturgical season of Christmas begins with the vigil Masses on Christmas Eve and concludes on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

The baptism of Jesus marks a sharp line of demarcation: before the baptism in the River Jordan, he was viewed simply as a carpenter from Nazareth. But with his baptism, Jesus’ public life begins as he proclaims with

his words and actions the arrival of the reign of God; with the baptism, the Holy Spirit begins to lead Jesus in a new way.

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The second part of the question is a bit more difficult: What does Christ’s baptism have to do with Christmas? Here it’s helpful to consider something Pope Benedict XVI said in a homily on the feast of the baptism in 2013.

He explained that both the nativity of Jesus and his baptism show the Saviour’s solidarity with us, the humble immersion in our human condition that allowed Christ to understand our weakness and frailty.

Even though Jesus had no need for baptism as a sign of repentance, he allowed it to happen. In the words of Pope Benedict: “He was moved to compassion, he chose to ‘suffer with’ men and women, to become a penitent with us.”

(Fr Kenneth Doyle)

Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem?

Q. Last year I saw a documentary in which historians claimed that there is no evidence that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and that he was most likely born in Nazareth. Is this true?

T

HERE IS NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL proof to document Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, but there are written records from the first couple of centuries AD which unanimously state that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem — and none that indicates an alternative birthplace, such as Nazareth.

Before construction for the church of the Nativity began above a cave in Bethlehem in 326 AD, the space was occupied by a pagan shrine to Adonis, just as the site of Golgotha and Christ’s tomb in Jerusalem was covered by a pagan temple. In that way, the places of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection were signposted for successive generations of Christians for almost 200 years.

Had the exact location of these events been unimportant to the early Christians, they could have identified alternative sites for their commemorations when the temples prevented access. Clearly, they didn’t feel at liberty

to invent such alternate sites. Indeed, the place of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was an early site of Christian pilgrimage even during the time when it was still a pagan temple, as noted by the Church Father Origen (185-254 AD).

It is absurd to suggest that the local Christians carelessly forgot the major sites of the Messiah’s life — the arrogance of moderns who imply that idea is extraordinary.

The proponents of Nazareth as Jesus’ birthplace tend to refer to factual discrepancies in the Nativity narratives of Matthew and Luke, but they don’t allow that the Gospels nevertheless point to a strong tradition of the Bethlehem birth. In fact, for all the divergences between Matthew and Luke, both affirm independently from the other, and evidently working from different sources, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And while it might have suited Matthew to link the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem to Old Testament prophecy, as some point out, Luke had no such incentive.

Besides, Matthew and Luke aren’t the only literary references to the Bethlehem birth. The Christian apolo-

The silver star that marks the spot of Jesus’ birth in the church of the Nativity, Bethlehem.

gist Justin Martyr (100–165 AD) writes about “a certain cave” at Bethlehem where Mary gave birth to Jesus. Justin, who was from nearby Flavia Neapolis (now Nablus), must have known a local tradition that went as far as identifying the specific cave (which now is in the church of the Nativity).

The less reliable 2nd-century Protoevangelium of James also refers to the Bethlehem birth. Since the anonymous author clearly was unfamiliar with the geography of Palestine, he must have picked up a living tradition from travellers to his region.

Every ancient literary source and all ancient traditions place Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and nowhere else. So there is no substance to the speculation that he was born in Nazareth, other than that he grew up there.

(Günther Simmermacher)

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.

Brescia House School and St Ursula’s School

The Ursuline Schools of South Africa, Brescia House School and St Ursula’s School, wish the Catholic community a blessed Christmas.

Visit www.brescia.co.za and www.stursulas.co.za

What you need to know about the

Synodal Path of the Church

With the diocesan stage of the Church-wide Synod on Synodality having begun, the process is now in a crucial stage. But what is this synod about, and why does it matter?

I

N OCTOBER, POPE FRANCIS formally launched the two-year global consultation process leading to the 2023 Synod on Synodality.

The process has three main phases: • The diocesan phase lasting from October 2021 to April 2022. Different dioceses have launched or will launch this phase at different times.

• A continental phase will take place from September 2022 to March 2023, through the regional and continental bodies of bishops’ conferences.

• The third, universal phase will begin with the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, dedicated to the theme, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”, to be held at the Vatican in October 2023.

Preaching at a Mass in St Peter’s basilica on October 10, Pope Francis said that Catholics taking part in the synodal path should strive to “become experts in the art of encounter”. How? “Not so much by organising events or theorising about problems, as in taking time to encounter the Lord and one another,” the pope said, adding that through prayer we must be “listening to what the Spirit wants to say to the Church”.

It’s a “time to look others in the eye and listen to what they have to say, to build rapport, to be sensitive to the questions of our sisters and brothers, to let ourselves be enriched by the variety of charisms, vocations, and ministries,” the pope said.

He said that the Gospels often showed Jesus in the midst of a journey, meeting people, and listening to their deepest concerns. “Let us begin by asking ourselves — all of us: pope, bishops, priests, religious and laity — whether

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we, the Christian community, embody this ‘style’ of God, who travels the paths of history and shares in the life of humanity,” the Holy Father urged.

“Are we prepared for the adventure of this journey? Or are we fearful of the unknown, preferring to take refuge in the usual excuses: ‘It’s useless’ or ‘We’ve always done it this way’?” the pope asked. “Celebrating a synod means walking on the same road, together.”

To prepare ourselves, here is a primer to synodality.

What is a synod?

The word “synod”, has its roots in two Greek words: syn, which means “together”, and odos, which means “road” or “path”. A synod is thus a “coming together”. The practice of synods, or assemblies or councils, goes back to the early Church, held as early as 150 AD and was a norm during the Church’s first millennium.

The practice of a Synod of Bishops was revived after the Second Vatican Council by Pope Paul VI as a way of fostering collegiality — the pope governing the Church in collaboration with the bishops of the local Churches, respecting their proper autonomy. Held every two or three years at the Vatican, these assemblies are intended to deliberate on particular themes — vocations, family, the Eucharist, evangelisation, and so on — having been preceded by dialogue with clergy, religious and lay people (one may observe that all this hasn’t always worked out that way).

The outcome of these synods usually forms the basis for an apostolic exhortation, a magisterial document written by the pope. Apostolic exhortations are considered third in importance of papal documents, after apostolic constitutions and encyclicals.

The latest synod convoked by Pope Francis is unusual in that it deliberately extends the dialogue to as many people as possible — if it is properly executed on diocesan levels. The idea is to take the theme of

synodality to the grassroots, which will be familiar to those in regions where there have been diocesan synods — such as those held in several Southern African dioceses — and unfamiliar to those who’ve never had that experience.

What is synodality?

The present synod’s preparatory documents describe synodality as a faithful collective journey of the Body of Christ to reflect together on how the Church can live communion, achieve participation and open itself to mission as the pilgrim and missionary People of God, especially in the complexity of the world today. Synodality implies speaking and listening on a common journey rooted in prayer, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The path to the Synod on Synodality will address the crucial question posed in its preparatory document: How is this “journeying together” happening today in the Church, especially the local Church? What steps does the Holy Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”?

This must include an open forum in which the laity, religious, clergy, and bishops share their experiences, joys, sorrows, concerns, hopes and vision openly — and, hopefully, with no taboos or hierarchical barriers standing in the way.

While the voice of the people will be heard, it is important to remember that this is not a democratic process where a majority opinion will automatically be adopted.

What is the synodal process?

Having opened in the Vatican in October, with discussions and presentations already taking place, the Synod will run through the three stages outlined earlier in this article: diocesan (and other ecclesial bodies), continental, and finally the Synod of Bishops in October 2023.

Between April and September 2022, the various findings of the current

Photo; Paul Haring/CNS

diocesan process will be synthetised.

The outcome of that will form the First Instrumentum Laboris (working document). This will be the basis for discussions in the continental phase between September 2022 and March 2023. In Africa, these deliberations will be held within the umbrella body of the continent’s bishops’ conferences, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (Secam).

There are seven such continental bodies. Each of them will produce a final document, which in turn will form the basis of the Second Instrumentum Laboris, which will be issued in June 2023. That working document, then, will form the foundation for discussion before and, of course, during the Synod of Bishops in October 2023.

Who can take part?

All baptised Catholics — whether priests, deacons, religious or lay people — as individuals and in associations, should participate at the diocesan level. If in doubt as to how to go about that, ask your priest or your diocese for guidance.

Pope Francis has made it clear that

to our inner disposition, listening, sharing and talking to one another in an authentic, meaningful and welcoming way in order to find answers to the fundamental question posed by the Synod: How can the Church better “journey together” in communion, participation and mission into the third millennium?

Pope Francis greets young people during a meeting as the Vatican launched the synodal process in October.

the poor and the excluded must also be heard. This means that even those who are currently not active in the Church should be invited to participate in the process.

How should we participate?

“The synodal process is first and foremost a spiritual process. It is not a mechanical data-gathering exercise or a series of meetings and debates,” the Vatican’s preparatory document counsels.

It is a process of discernment. We are asked to hear what God is saying to all of us through personal and communal prayer, reflection, paying attention

What’s the outcome?

After the 2023 synod, the pope will very likely release his reflections on the process in an apostolic exhortation.

The pope has already made it clear that the times to hold on to old ways of doing things have to be over in our fastchanging world and Church. So, in its general tone, the final outcome of the process will very likely be a call to adapt to the signs of the times. How we shall do so will be the subject of this global, unprecedented synodal path.

In short, it is hoped that the synod process and the resultant apostolic exhortation will guide the Body of Christ on how to be Church in the present world.

Read or download the preparatory document at www.bit.ly/3vtkpBS Also see Raymond Perrier on page 36

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all at the Christmas Season. e Cardinal, Archbishops, Bishops, Secretariat and Staff of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference wish all a very happy Christmas and a blessed New Year.

The Southern Cross

9

The funny side of the Church

A young Catholic comedian is looking at the Church through a humorous lens, as Daluxolo Moloantoa writes

I

Fr EE !

N THE CAFETERIA OF A CATHOLIC school, a nun places a note in front of a pile of apples. It reads: “Take only one. God is watching! Further down the line is a pile of biscuits. A little boy makes his own note: “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.” It’s one of almost 500 Catholic jokes in the Church Chuckles book, published in 2019 by The Southern Cross.

Many Catholic jokes serve as an accurate and amusing reflection of the common goings-on in the universal Church. International comedians such as Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Judy McDonald and Jim Gaffigan are among those who wear their Catholic faith with pride, and often poke gentle fun at it in their repertoires.

Enter Bufallo Mavutane, a South African Catholic comedian who creates a uniquely local slice of Catholic comedy. Born in Ga-Kgapane, a village near

Tzaneen in Limpopo, Mavutane is perhaps the first South African comedian who shines a spotlight specifically on the Catholic Church through his comedy. He has been churning out Catholic jokes, mainly centred on the unique realities of the Church in South Africa, on social media since 2018. The popularity of his daily social media gags suggests that there is a big local appetite for humour from a South African Catholic viewpoint.

An only child, Mavutane attended a local primary school in Ga-Kgapane, and did his secondary schooling at St Brendan’s Catholic Secondary School in Botlokwa, about 100km north-west of Polokwane. He studied economics at the University of Limpopo.

The full-time teacher recalls his earliest memory of being Catholic: his grandmother teaching him how to pray, and attending First Communion classes at his home parish of Modjadjiskloof in Tzaneen. Coming from a

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devoutly Catholic family, his involvement in the Church started at a young age. “I became involved in various activities at church in my early teens. I was an altar server for some time. I helped in preparing the altar, putting together hymns for the liturgy, organising the altar servers, and arranging church camps.”

Genesis of comedy

The comedy started brewing in 2018, after Mavutane started to organise parish youth camps at the Modjadjiskloof parish and as a result built up his social media presence. “Young people would gather at the parish house over weekends or more days. So for every camp, I used to take pictures and post them on my Facebook profile. At the time most of my friends on Facebook were not Catholics. At some point, our parish priest, Fr Michael Bennett, suggested that I invite other young people from nearby parishes in our diocese to

servants of God Danny and Domitilla in loving memory of our beloved Founders of littlE EDEn society.

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We ask for prayers for the cause of their beatification as a couple.

littlE EDEn ‘angels’ and the staff thank you for your support. We wish you a blessed Christmas and a healthy 2022!

Bufallo Mavutane with Srs Nancy Nganga (right) and Agrippiine Turyomurugyendo

the camps. I did, and the camps grew bigger and bigger. I continued to post pictures after every camp. As a result, I started getting friend requests from young Catholics in those parishes. Eventually the camps covered the whole diocese. In the long run, my Facebook friends community encompassed the whole of our diocese,” Mavutane explains.

“Later I added Catholic prayers, novenas and saints for the day. Bit by bit I started receiving friend requests from Catholics from across South Africa, all over the SACBC region. From all the camps I learned a lot of new things about the Church from fellow youth Catholics. It also became clear to me that there were funny common things that we Catholics share, especially in South Africa, and I started to post these on my profile.”

These humorous posts attracted positive feedback from many Catholics. “It was at that point that I decided to focus on Catholic comedy,” he says. “My main audience is young Catholics from across the SACBC region. They relate to most of the things I say.” And they aren’t overly sensitive about jokes, he adds. Many of the gags are visual comedy, involving TikTok-style videos and memes.

“A lot of my jokes are about various people within the Church, Catholic choirs, seminarians, and Catholic girls. Over time, I’ve discovered that Catholics in general have a very solid sense of humour,” Mavutane says. His daily witticisms have gone beyond just making people laugh. They’ve also served to provide knowledge to those who didn’t know certain aspects of the Church. “I noticed that when I post certain jokes, for example about the sacraments, some people will ask what they are,

and then I’ll explain what the sacraments are. I came to realise that, in a way, I’m teaching catechism through gags,” he laughs.

Mavutane’s future plans include a new innovation for the local Church: stand-up comedy. “I’m looking into collaborating with the parishes in my diocese to stage stand-up shows. I think that having a stand-up show at a parish immediately after Mass would be fun,” he says. And, who knows, broadcast media might open other avenues to sharing Catholic humour.

Did you know this about Pope Francis?

By Günther Simmermacher

C

ARDINAL JORGE MARIO Bergoglio was elected as Pope Francis on March 13, 2013 — but he might have been pope already in 2005, when the conclave chose Pope John Paul II’s successor. That year, he finished second to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict XVI. As Pope Francis turns 85 on December 17, here are some facts about him you might not know.

The name Francis Whatever papal name Cardinal Bergoglio might have had in mind in case he’d be elected went out of the Sistine Chapel’s window the moment he actually became pope. During the conclave he sat next to Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a Franciscan, who congratulated his Argentine friend with the advice: “Don’t forget the poor.” Immediately, Bergoglio had the idea of taking the name Francis, after the saint of Assisi. He was the first ever pope to take that name.

The Bergoglios Pope Francis was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the eldest of the five children of Mario José Bergoglio, an accountant, and Regina Maria Sivori. Both parents had emigrated to Argentina in 1929 from the northern Italian region of Piedmont to escape Mussolini’s fas-

cist regime. His father died in 1959 at the age of 51, his mother in 1981 at 70.

Height and health Pope Francis is 1,75m tall. At the age of 21, part of his lung was removed when he had life-threatening pneumonia and developed three cysts. It is known that Pope Francis suffers from sciatica (a nerve condition that causes back, hip and leg pain), and this year he had a large portion of his colon removed because of an intestinal narrowing. He has credited an alert nurse for saving his life by urging him to see a doctor.

He is also open to alternative medicine. In 2004, Bergoglio had treatment with a Taoist monk whose sessions of massage and acupuncture helped the cardinal overcome symptoms of diabetes and gall-bladder problems.

Languages Pope Francis speaks his native Spanish and Italian, as well as the Piedmontese dialect of his parents and Latin. He can converse in Brazilian Portuguese, and has basic knowledge of German, French and English. Of these, the pope says, he struggles most with English, especially the pronunciation. He learned his German while living in Frankfurt in 1986 to work on his unfinished doctoral thesis.

Hot temper Pope Francis has admitted that he has a quick temper and is said to be familiar with strong language. He also acknowledges that he can be authoritarian — which is pretty much in the job description for popes.

The girlfriend As a teenager, Bergoglio had a girlfriend, Amalia Damante, who used to affectionately call him “a little devil”.

After her childhood sweetheart became pope, she recalled that he once declared: “If I can’t marry you, I’ll become a priest.” Thank you, Ms Damante, for not marrying our Holy Father.

Science geek The young Bergoglio loved to study, with a special interest in science, psychology and philosophy. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he decided to pursue a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, and a degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of Buenos Aires.

Employee Bergoglio For a while, Bergoglio worked as a chemical technician in the foods section of a laboratory. Other jobs on his CV include janitor and nightclub bouncer. But he dropped all these career options to become a Jesuit priest.

Photos: File; Catholic News Service

Football fan

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From left: Colourised photo of the Bergoglio family, with the future Pope Francis as a newly-ordained priest second from left at back • The young Jorge Mario Bergoglio as a boy • Pope Francis exits the Sistine Chapel after his papal election on March 13, 2013 • Pope Francis’ papal coat of arms

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Pope Francis is a keen football fan, and his favourite team is Argentinian side San Lorenzo. One might have expected him to support Boca Juniors or River Plate, the Buenos Aires equivalents of Pirates and Chiefs. Why San Lorenzo?

Perhaps because the club was founded by a priest, Fr Lorenzo Massa, and named after St Lawrence. And they were underdogs, and we know that the pope champions the little guys.

A few months after the election of Pope Francis in 2013, San Lorenzo won the national championship, only one year after narrowly avoiding relegation.

In 2014, the club won the Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club competition. Coincidence?

He also has a club named after him: Club Deportivo Papa Francisco, a semiprofessional football club founded in 2013 and based in San Francisco Solano, near Buenos Aires.

Gogglebox boycott

Right: The pope carries his own bag as he boards a flight in 2014.

Pope Francis never watches TV to relax. He switches it on only when there is an important news event. He turned off his TV on June 15, 1990, when he made a promise to the Virgin Mary to abstain from the gogglebox.

Favourite movies, book, and music Pope Francis has listed as his top three films La Strada (1954) and Rome, Open City (1945), by Italian directors Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini respectively, followed by the 1987 Danish film Babette’s Feast. His favourite book is a 19th century novel called The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni.

Pope Francis has what he calls “an intense love” for Argentina’s famous dance, the seductive tango. He used to dance the tango as a young man. He also likes the classical music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach, and the traditional music of Argentina and Uruguay.

Photos: Günther Simmermacher& Giampiero Sposito/ CNS/Reuters

Left: We are No.1, Pope Francis signals to fans of his favourite football club, San Lorenzo, during a general audience in 2015.

Favourite food and drink Pope Francis enjoys a good pizza.

In 2017, he celebrated his birthday with a metre-long pizza (which he shared!), and in Naples had one delivered to the popemobile. He also loves ice-cream. The Vatican Cookbook, published in 2016, noted that the Holy Father also has Argentinian favourites: empanadas (a filled pastry), sirloin steak, and dulce de leche (a caramelised milk desert).

The pope’s favourite drink is maté, a popular Argentinian herbal tea.

The rock star Pope Francis isn’t known to play the air guitar to rock music, but he does have a rock CD out in his name. Re-

leased in 2015 and titled Wake Up!, it is progressive rock music set to papal speeches from 2013-14.

And what do Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, Madonna, Tupac Shakur, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Pope Francis have in common? They’ve all appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine (the pope on February 13, 2014).

What’s in the bag?

Pope Francis made headlines in March 2014 when he carried his own briefcase on his way to taking a flight.

Popes have not been known to carry their own stuff. And what is in the black satchel? We know of two things: apart from his breviary, he carries a razor — after all, even a pope must shave.

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COnFEssIOn: Why it is the sacrament of joy Many Catholics shy away from the sacrament of reconciliation, but approached right, it can heal the deepest wounds in our soul, writes Bishop Edward Adams.

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HEN POPE FRANCIS WAS IN SLOVAKIA IN September on a four-day pastoral visitation to that country, he told the youth congregated in a stadium that he was aware of their many struggles, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he urged them, they must not lose heart but trust Jesus who is never far from them. During his talk to them, the pope mentioned the importance of confession and how we must see it as the sacrament of joy. We must try to see the sacrament from God’s point of view, the Father happy to receive his prodigal son back again, and not from the son’s point of view, all repentant for having sinned, the Holy Father said.

When I read the words of Pope Francis, I said: “Amen to that!” This was a papal confirmation of how I’ve seen the sacrament of reconciliation for the past 25 years.

As a young priest I had always tried to stick to canon law, and so I was very juridical; everything had to be done by the book. Our pastoral theology was very clear: in the confessional the priest was the judge and the penitent was the accused. The doctrine as laid out in the catechism too was very clear, and from a young age when a child is preparing for First Communion, he or she must first be instructed on how to make their first confession. Depending on who the catechist is, this could be an ordeal for young children. They are taught to examine their conscience using the Ten Commandments and the commandments of the Church, identify which of these commandments they have broken, and then make a list of their sins.

As Pope Francis pointed out to the youth, we are concerned about our sins and every time we go to confession we repeat the same sins. Sometimes we are too embarrassed to confess certain sins because “what will Father think of me?” For this reason I believe many people do not like to go to confession. But if we were to understand the beauty of this sacrament, we would be very happy to go frequently to meet God in his mercy, forgiveness and love.

As I mentioned above, for the past 25 years my own understanding of the sacrament of reconciliation has been transformed. My practice of Lectio Divina was instrumental in this change, through the reading and meditating on the Sermon

on the Mount in Matthew (chapters 5-7), my personal relationship with Jesus was deepened. My image of God as Supreme Being has also deepened my spirituality. As a Christian I believe that Jesus Christ is God made man. Therefore I have no problem worshipping Jesus. I shall not go into the metaphysics of being here, but it is important to note that we are all one in being.

How to approach confession

So how do I approach confession today? When I lead a penitential service these days, I tell the congregation that after the service those who wish to make a personal confession mustn’t give me a long list of sins, because God already knows them all. Rather I ask them to examine their conscience and see in what area of their life they need healing most, and to come in all humility and ask God to heal them in that regard.

This does not mean that people will receive miraculous healings but that they will become more and more aware of that fault. The next time they go to confession, they then just tell the priest they want to thank God for his love and mercy by making them more aware of that weakness.

I like to tell the people that confession is a fountain of living water where we can come to drink when we are thirsty as we continue our journey of faith, and by drinking at this fountain we ourselves become fountains of living water where others can come and drink. I also tell them what Jesus said in the first beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” In other words: blessed are those who know that they need God, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

For me, when one goes to confession, one is actually saying: “My God I depend on you, I trust you, thank you for your great love for me.” So I agree fully with Pope Francis that confession is a sacrament of joy.

Bishop Edward Adams is a retired bishop of Oudtshoorn

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sT JOsEPH The great mission of

As we mark the end of the Year of St Joseph, Fr Chikadi Anyanele CMM says that we would do well to emulate the mission of Jesus’ earthly father.

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ECLARING THE YEAR OF St Joseph, which started in December 2020 and ends exactly a year later this December 8, Pope Francis noted that “with a father’s heart…Joseph loved Jesus, whom all four Gospels refer to as the son of Joseph”. St Joseph had earned this title, because just like Mary, he said yes to God’s invitation to be part of his plan in the history of salvation.

St Joseph, as the earthly father of Jesus, deserves all the respect, honour and recognition accorded to him by the Church. As we close the Year of St Joseph and prepare for the advent of God incarnate, it is good to reflect on the Lord’s invitation which Joseph accepted. This “just man” (Matthew 1:19), whose life does not feature prominently in Scripture, is a model of honour and sacrifice. Joseph accepted the risk in being part of God’s new plan.

Defender of a woman

In 1st-century Jewish society, certain types of adulterers could be killed by public stoning. Accordingly, Mary would have been stoned or socially excluded had her unexplained pregnancy become public.

When he discovered that Mary, his betrothed, was pregnant with a child of which he was not the father, Joseph wanted to pull out of the marriage arrangements. In charity, he was going to do so discreetly (Matthew 1:1819). He was unwilling to disgrace Mary and went all out to protect her and the unborn child she was bearing.

Joseph stepped up and saved the situation. He arranged Mary’s famous escape to her cousin Eliza-

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beth in the Judean hill country. There Mary proclaimed “The Magnificat”, this remarkable canticle of thanksgiving for her own safety and in praise to God for his miracle of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist (Luke 1:39-56). It was this very singular act — facilitating Mary’s escape to her cousin — that spared her from the “stones” of Jewish tradition. Three months was enough time for Mary to be away so that Joseph could make up his mind to take her in when she returned, and the marriage ritual could be conducted in Mary’s full safety at home.

Joseph’s mission

By then, the messenger of God, an angel, had spoken to Joseph in a dream, convincing him to take Mary as his wife. It was in this “dream” that Joseph’s mission was conceived — a mission of fatherhood, protecting Mary and the child she was carrying, and thereby becoming active in God’s plan.

Joseph’s willingness to cooperate with God in his plan for the world’s salvation is commendable, and it offers us a model for emulation.

Every mission has its target to achieve. Individuals in the Bible — Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Peter, Paul — and in our

own social histories, such as Mandela, Gandhi or Abbot Francis Pfanner of Mariannhill, reveal that men and women dream of missions, and with the grace of God they set out to achieve these missions, for the good of humanity. Joseph’s own annunciation by an angel gave him a must-achieve mission, to accomplish his God-given task and responsibility.

The safety of Mary and Jesus was a clear example of the fatherly task and accomplishment he freely assumed.

The kind of mission I refer to comes with a heavy burden of responsibilities and sacrifices. It demands personal commitment and conviction that must be attended to. St Joseph offers a good example of task-accomplishment. Despite the risk, the danger, the challenges and the unforeseen circumstances, Joseph made every effort to keep Mary and Jesus safe. He took the risk of going against Jewish laws governing the punishment for “wayward” women, as Mary would have been considered to be, had Joseph not claimed fatherhood.

In this way, St Joseph opposes the ill-treatment and violence against women through the ages, including our own. He was able to save Mary and her unborn child Jesus. He stood by Mary and thereby stands up for all women and the vulnerable who must be protected in all practices and traditions.

A model of sacrifice

Sacrifice is an act of atonement which one offers for the achievement of a better or a higher goal in life. Joseph

Left: A bronze statue of St Joseph between St Joseph’s church (also known as the Carpenter’s Workshop) and the basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The knees have been rubbed blank by pilgrims touching them.

Top of the page: The angel appears to Joseph, telling him to marry the pregnant Mary. Stained glass window in the grotto of St Joseph’s church in Nazareth.

Facing page: The Holy Family embarks on the flight into Egypt. In the Milk Grotto church in Bethlehem.

All photos by Günther Simmermacher

is a perfect example of a man who sacrificed his personal and individual life for a greater purpose in the light of God’s plans in his life and for humanity. Joseph lived a modest life. God identified him to be sent for a mission which made him give up his comforts to provide for Mary and Jesus (Matthew 2:13-15).

As a refugee in Egypt with Mary and Jesus, Joseph became a real protector of God incarnate on earth.

Without him, Our Lord would have been killed by the jealous and hateful King Herod. Listening strongly to another dream, this one issuing a warning, he took the risk of escaping to Egypt, despite the dangers of the oppressive darkness and the desert cold and wind, or bandits and soldiers on the way.

Having come through this journey, Joseph encourages us to believe and trust in the protection of God who will always shield the pilgrims on earth and poor refugees all over the oppressive world. As patron of refugees, St Joseph calls us to respect and accept strangers among us (Matthew 25:31-40, Exodus 22:21, 23:9).

May we never forget: Our Lord Jesus and our Blessed Mother once

were refugees. St Joseph thus encourages all of us to stand with refugees and to support them in every way.

Such a good man is a remarkable example to our deeply disturbed societies. A few important notes can be concluded from the life of St Joseph as he issues a great challenge to our troubled world. l St Joseph remains a model for today’s men to choose the part of fulltime husbands and fathers at home with their wives and children. l Everybody, according to St Joseph, deserves the protection of men. No child or woman should be left to be brutalised or molested by

anyone in any culture. l As we live in a challenging world, everyone must be supported to make a free choice about whom they live and relate with. No woman or girl should be forced to live with anyone who is not of their free choice. l Respect and honour for others should guide every Christian, whether they are men or women. l Every effort must be made to save the lives of unborn children. And no child should be abandoned by their parents at any stage of their lives. l We cannot underestimate the act of listening to our “dreams” and visions which may be revealed to us by God. This requires intensive prayer and action in our Christian lives. l We must respect and welcome the refugees in our midst. Our Lord was and still is such a refugee living among us. l The cooperation between Joseph and Mary remains a notable value to guide all married couples.

Dr Fr Chikadi J Anyanele CMM is a member of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries

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Hope will get us through December Reflection for Advent

By Brian Olszewski

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HEN IN THE EARLY 1980s, I moonlighted as a disc jockey at a country music station, my Advent was defined by one song.

This was a difficult time for our young, growing family. The season was marked by illness among children, death of loved ones, and paycheques that never stretched as far as we hoped. If spirits hadn’t already been down, one Advent night during my shift I played a song from 1974 called “If We Make It Through December” by Merle Haggard — definitely one of the most depressing Christmas songs ever recorded. (listen to it at bit.ly/3ujXkkw) Merle sings about being retrenched from his job and “why my little girl don’t understand why Daddy can’t afford no Christmas here”. Although that song is the antithesis of the hope we should experience during Advent, it resonated with me.

I was fortunate to have a full-time job, albeit low-paying, but unfortunate in having a boss whose disdain for Christmas made Ebenezer Scrooge appear as angelic as a child in a Christmas pageant. For several years, a couple of days before Christmas, he’d tell me the budget was tight and I’d probably be let go early in the new year. Thankfully, he did keep me on, but his annual alarms sucked most of the hope out of Advent.

However, a few years later I played a song during my shift that improved my focus on that hope. Dozens of artists have recorded the Christmas carol “The First Noel”, but on this night I played an a cappella version by Emmylou Harris (listen to it at bit.ly/3m9OToe). It was the pure, unencumbered sound that made me pay attention to the message, made me begin shedding the effect of Merle Haggard’s dirge and my boss’ annual pre-

diction of unemployment — and replacing it with hopefulness.

It didn’t happen quickly. There were still “Merle moments”, like scrounging for the last few bucks needed to pay off the layby in time for Christmas, but there was enough spark in “The First Noel” to figuratively rekindle the Advent candles and allow us to focus on hope. It has helped us, to paraphrase Merle, make it through more than 35 Decembers.

With all the Covidrelated concerns and their impact, the pandemic-era Advent seasons might well have triggered a return to “If We Make It Through December”. Instead, the focus has been on “The First Noel”, on the One we believe is the reason for the season — the Saviour who is our true hope. We let Emmylou Harris speak to our hearts and dispel the threat of Merle Haggard’s despairing words.

During Advent, there is time to hope, time to prayerfully realise that we will make it through December, and that the light, sound and experience of that first Noel will be as real for us as it was for those angels and shepherds more than 2 000 years ago.

May we find hope in the weeks of Advent, and may we embrace and celebrate that hope throughout the Christmas season and into the new year.

Let Emmylou speak to our hearts

Brian T Olszewski is the editor of The Catholic Virginian, newspaper of the diocese of Richmond, Virginia.

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Patiently waiting:

My pregnancy during Advent For Theresa Kiser, being pregnant during Advent held a lesson in faith

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HAD NEVER SO MUCH UNDERSTOOD THE WAITING of Advent until the due date for my baby boy started rapidly approaching. My belly was huge; I could barely put on socks. So excited to feel any contractions that might indicate the start of labour, I had trouble falling asleep. Our bags were by the door, just as the expectant Israelites kept their sandals on and staffs ready for travel.

In Advent, we look forward to the birth of God-madeflesh. I, too, awaited a child. But the similarities felt deeper than that, and the experience pulled me headlong into the meaning of this liturgical season.

In some ways, I looked forward to the birth simply because it had become quite difficult to be pregnant. I was looking forward to walking up a flight of stairs without running out of breath; sleeping on my stomach once again; eating cured meat and sipping wine. I wanted relief from the constant strain of baby-plus-womb weighing down the front of my body, the itchy and uncomfortable stretch

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marks, and the slower daily pace. In other words, I looked forward to the birth so that I might be relieved of the suffering inherent to my pregnancy. So, too, in Advent do we look forward to the ending of our suffering. We meditate with joy on the millennia-long wait of God’s chosen people for a Saviour who would transition them from the brokenness of their sin to the promised Kingdom of God. Now we remember Jesus’ coming with joy, because he leads us from the suffering of sin into the glory of the resurrection.

Waiting to meet him

Being tired of pregnancy paled in comparison to the true reason why I counted down the days to the due date: I wanted to meet my son! I had been getting to know him over nine months through his sweet little kicks, his nighttime stirring, and the way he snuggled up during my ultrasound, refusing to move to give us a good picture because he was just so comfortable right where he was.

The ways that I knew my son at that point were real, but my knowledge of him would be so much more full the moment I saw him and held him in my arms. This is the way we experience Christ on earth. God makes himself present in our lives through Scripture, the sacraments, in private prayer, and — of course — in our experiences of everyday life. I am so grateful that God has forged a relationship with me through all these measures, but I know that my knowledge of him is minuscule compared to how well I will know him when I see him face-to-face in heaven.

I longed to see my son, and the longing itself was so sweet and meaningful that it made me want to long like this all the time. In Advent, we prepare for Christ’s coming.

This waiting to meet my son inflamed my heart to await the meeting of Christ face-to-face with the same hopeful desire.

When labour finally came, it was hard. Harder than I expected. Longer than I expected. And facing my suffering, no one could do it for me, just as in many sufferings of life.

And then... When my child was born, I was too weary to hold him up and gaze into his face, so I brought the naked baby immediately to my warm chest and cuddled him there.

The first thing I saw was the top of his tiny head. I will never forget his weight on my skin.

This must be Christmas then; this must be heaven: this long, untranslatable sigh of love. This gaze, so joyful that all is, at once, completely silent and jubilantly harmonic.

Because of my pregnancy and labour, I have tangibly experienced the hopeful waiting described in the Gospels.

Because I have met and held my son, I have a foretaste of the all-encompassing joy of encountering love face-to-face.

With these experiences, Advent is no longer a theoretical reflection on history, but a chance to understand the meaning of present suffering and to look forward with joy to the heavenly meeting that will be as real as the weight of my newborn in my arms.

Theresa Kiser is a Catholic writer (twitter.com/AuthorTKKiser).

This article originally appeared on BustedHalo.com

Saint of the Month: St JUAN DIEGO

The man who saw

Our Lady of Guadalupe

How the Blessed Virgin appeared to a simple indigenous peasant in newly-conquered Mexico.

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HE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR site of Catholic pilgrimage is not, as one might guess, Lourdes or Fatima but the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

It attracts an estimated 10 million people a year. The popularity of the shrine goes back to the four apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to St Juan Diego, and another to his uncle, Juan Bernardino, over a few days in December 1531.

Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (the last name means “the talking eagle”) was born in 1474. A peasant of the Chichimec people, he wasn’t poor, but certainly not a person of note. However, he was rich in the Catholic faith which he and his wife, María Lucía, converted to in 1524, soon after the arrival of Franciscan missionaries and three years after the Spanish had conquered the Aztec Empire.

Very little is known about Juan Diego’s life. His parents seem to have died when he was young, so the boy was raised by his uncle, Juan Bernardino, who also became a convert. Tradition mentions a son, but his name and fate are unknown. María Lucía is believed to have died by 1529, two years before the apparitions.

First apparition

The first of these apparitions took place on Saturday, December 9, 1531, at Tepeyac, a hill near what is now Mexico City, while Juan Diego was on his way to Mass. The lady who appeared to him identified herself as “the Mother of the True God” and told Juan Diego that she wanted the local bishop to build a church on the site. As instructed, Juan Diego, who was 57 at the time, rushed to see the bishop, Juan Zumárraga, a Franciscan. He was received politely but sent away.

A painting by Rick Ortega in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St Juan Diego. Photo courtesy Archdiocese of Los Angeles)

Name: Juan Diego Cuāuhtlatoātzin Born: 1474 in Cuauhtitlán, Tenochtitlan, Aztec Empire (modern Mexico) Died: 1548 (aged 73–74) Tepeyac, Mexico City, New Spain Beatified: May 6, 1990 Canonised: July 31, 2002 Feast: December 9 Patronages: Indigenous peoples of the Americas

As he returned to Tepeyac on his way home, the Virgin appeared again. Juan Diego told her that his mission had failed and suggested that she might enlist somebody with greater influence, not a nobody like him, to speak to the bishop. The Virgin insisted that Juan Diego was the right man for the job and instructed him to return to the bishop the following morning.

And the second meeting went better. Bishop Zumárraga was receptive, but demanded a sign as proof that the lady was indeed the Blessed Virgin.

With that, the emissary returned to Tepeyac where Our Lady appeared for the third time. Juan Diego reported back about the bishop’s demand for a sign, and the Virgin said she’d provide one the next day, December 11.

Death scare

St Juan Diego at a glance

When Juan Diego returned home from the apparition, he found his uncle seriously ill. Juan Bernardino had contracted cocoliztli, a usually fatal fever.

Over the next day Juan Diego tended to his uncle the best he could, but by the early morning of December 12, the ill man was close to death. So at 4am, Juan

Diego set out to fetch a priest to hear his uncle’s confession and administer the last rites. Left alone, Juan Bernardino prepared himself for the end when suddenly his room filled with light. A luminous woman stood in the room — and his fever suddenly disappeared. The lady told him about her encounters with his nephew and, helpfully, notified him that she had instructed Juan Diego to see the bishop.

Juan Diego knew nothing of this as he rushed to find a priest in time before his uncle died. Since he was embarrassed at having failed to keep his appointment with Our Lady the day before, he took a different route around the Tepeyac hill. Of course, the Virgin couldn’t be fooled, so she intercepted him and asked what he was doing. The man explained the situation, and was gently reprimanded with the words that today are inscribed above the entrance to the basilica of Guadalupe: “Am I not here, I who am your mother?”

She told Juan Diego that his uncle had recovered and then gave him a new task: to go up the hill and collect flowers to be presented to the bishop. To his surprise, the dry, rocky outcrop which normally let only cacti and weeds sprout was filled with roses, unseasonally in bloom. As instructed, he used his cloak, or tilma, to hold the flowers.

When he returned to the foot of the hill, Our Lady rearranged them a little and sent Juan Diego off to meet the bishop.

At first the bishop’s officials, who Continued on page 24 The Southern Cross

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The

S outhern Cross Our Lady of Guadalupe & St Juan Diego

Our Lady saying with that when she appeared in Mexico as a mestizo — or mixed-raced person — to a man who for most of his life lived in the pre-conquest Aztec Empire?

Growing excitement

The “Nican Mopohua”, written in 1556 by the indigenous writer Antonio Valeriano, told the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Continued from page 21 were already suspicious of Juan Diego’s claims, blocked access. After a long wait, he was finally admitted to the bishop’s office. In his presence, Juan Diego opened his cloak and the flowers poured out. The bishop was amazed at the sight of fresh roses in the middle of winter. And then he saw the sign he had demanded: on the tilma, made of cheap cactus-cloth, Our Lady had left an imprint of her image. The bishop was convinced. More than that, he was enthusiastic. He took the tilma to his personal chapel and asked Juan Diego to stay for another day.

When Juan Diego finally got home, he had no need to explain himself to his uncle. Juan Bernardino told him about his own apparition and the miraculous cure he had experienced.

And he related that the Virgin had told him by which title she desired to be known: Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This is not the first Our Lady Of Guadalupe, though. An older shrine of that name is in the Spanish city of Extremadura — the home region of conquistador Hernán Cortés. What was

In the days that followed, there was great excitement among the indigenous Christians about the reported apparitions, and especially about the miraculous image. On December 26, 1531, a procession was held to take the tilma to Tepeyac, to be placed in a hastily erected chapel. On the way, there was drama: a man was lethally struck by a stray arrow from a militaristic display held in honour of Our Lady. The distraught people carried his body to the tilma and prayed. When they removed the arrow, the man made an immediate recovery.

Juan Diego lived out his days in a hermitage next to the shrine at Tepeyac, the site that is now the sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He died in 1548, four years after his uncle, at the age of around 78. He was beatified in 1990 and canonised on July 31, 2002, both by Pope John Paul II at the shrine in Mexico City. His feast day is on December 9, and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12.

The immensely popular sanctuary has two basilicas: the old basilica was consecrated in 1709, the new basilica in 1974. The tilma is housed in the huge new structure.

The miraculous image shows a woman with local features and dress.

The black girdle around her waist signifies that she is pregnant. “Thus, the image graphically depicts the fact that Christ is to be ‘born’ again among the peoples of the New World”, as the Vatican put it in a commentary.

The tilma mystery

Science cannot explain how the image appeared on the cloth, or how it has remained as clear as it was in 1531, especially given the inferior fabric on

A detail from an original painting of St Juan Diego which is kept in a vault at the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

which it appears — the material should have disintegrated after 20 years — and the centuries of candle smoke it was exposed to. Moreover, the tilma has survived two disasters which should have destroyed it but didn’t even cause damage: in 1785 a worker accidentally spilled nitric acid on the right side of the cloth, and in 1921 an explosion of a bomb placed by an anticlerical terrorist near the tilma caused great damage, but none to the cloth or image, nor even to the glass that encased it.

The tilma is Mexico’s most popular religious and cultural symbol, venerated by the faithful and used as a symbol of anti-colonialism and Mexican nationalism. This also explains desperate attempts to prove that the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe is based on a pre-conquest cult. None of such theories have stood up to scrutiny.

Our Lady of Guadalupe inspired liberation fighters throughout colonial Latin America in the 19th century, drawing from the fact that she appeared to Juan Diego and on the tilma in the appearance of a mestizo.

For many Mexicans, she is the glue that holds their nation together.

In 1974, the Nobel Literature laureate Octavio Paz wrote: “The Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments and defeats, have faith only in the Virgin of Guadalupe and the National Lottery.”

Next month: St Francis de Sales

The original tilma in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

The old and new basilicas of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the hugely popular sanctuary in Mexico City.

24

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A pilgrim carries an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside the old basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Photo: Henry Romero/Reuters/CNS

THAILAND: Dressed elephants are ridden

by Santas in Ayutthaya to distribute Covid-19 facemasks to students.

IRAQ: Catholics wear facemasks during Christmas Mass at St Elya Chaldean church in Baghdad.

VATICAN: Pope Francis kisses a figurine of the baby Jesus at the conclusion of Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter’s basilica at the Vatican last year.

GERMANY: A lion at the zoo in Berlin eats from a Christmas tree.

CNS Photos (clockwise from top left): Vatican Media, Khalid al-Mousily/Reuters, Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters, Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters, Annegret Hilse/Reuters

IRELAND: A man dressed as Santa Claus paddles on a board with his dog in Galway.

Christmas Around The World COTE D’IVOIRE: Altar boys burn incense near a figurine of the baby Jesus during Christmas Eve Mass at the basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro.

PALESTINE: Nuns and a man pray in the grotto of the church of the Nativity on Christmas morning in Bethlehem.

The silver star below the altar marks the spot of Jesus’ birth.

All photos CNS (from left): Debbie Hill, Luc Gnago, Reuters; Adriano Machado/Reuters, Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

BRAZIL: A man dressed as Santa Claus inside a plastic bubble greets a child wearing a protective mask at a shopping mall in Brasilia during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ITALY: A man in Alberobello, near Bari, walks between limestone buildings lit up with Christmas animations.

To our pilgrims, past and future!

May the love of Our Lord embrace you this Christmas and throughout 2022!

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A Letter for Christmas from Jesus t has come to my attention that many of you are upset that people are taking my name out of the season. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.

I

I don’t care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate my birth, just get along and love one another.

Now, having said that, let me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene depicting my birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and put up a small Nativity scene in your own front lawn. If all my followers did that, there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene in public spaces because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that some people might be calling the Christmas tree a “holiday tree”. It was I who made all trees. You can remember me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grapevine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were.

If you have forgotten about that, look up John 15:1-8.

If you want to give me a present in remembrance of my birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way my birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to people away from home. They are terribly lonely this time of year. I know, they tell me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing complaints about the wording on official Christmas cards, why don’t you write a personal greeting the sender and tell them that you’ll be praying for them and their family this year. Then follow up. They will appreciate hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and they don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of my birth, and why I came to live with

you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Choose someone who has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don’t know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nitpicking about what retailers call the holiday, be patient with the people who work there.

Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas”, that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the shops didn’t make so much money on that day, they’d close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary — especially one who takes my love and Good News to those who have never heard my name.

9. There are individuals and whole families living near you who’ll have no Christmas tree nor any presents to give or receive. If you don’t know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the St Vincent de Paul Society, or your parish, or some other charity which believes in me, and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to me, then behave like a Christian. Don’t do things in secret that you wouldn’t do in my presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don’t forget: I am God and can take care of myself. Just love me and do what I have told you to do. I’ll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now in your court. Have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember: I love you,

Jesus 500 great CaTholiC jokes with 60 cartoons

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Order from books@scross.co.za orwww.digital.scross.co.za/church-chuckles The Southern Cross

Christ’s demand for unity Christmas is a time for solidarity and reflection on the meaning of the incarnation, according to Felisberto Juliana Dumbo scJ & Kelvin Banda op.

Are we Christians or Herods?

Christmas should allow time to meditate on how many times we ourselves have been Herods. Today Africa is facing political, economic and social crises due to lack of honesty, responsibility and openness. If Christ’s incarnation is to bring us unity, then we must discard the spirit of King Herod.

Many people in Africa are born defenceless. There are many child orphans who are abandoned in the streets. Xenophobia and consumerism cause exploitation and a culture of death, also through voluntary abortion. People are seen as objects and are mistreated because of their culture, skin colour and language. This tendency is growing because Christmas is seen by most people as a time for simply drinking, eating and merrymaking instead of being a time for talking, listening and being in solidarity with others.

Christmas should lead us to change our behaviour and to embrace Christ who destroys the barriers of culture, lan-

Photo: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay

C

HRISTMAS IS A SOLEMN TIME WHEN THE Church celebrates God becoming human in the birth of Chris. Therefore, Christmas is also a period of reflecting on how Christ incarnate as a new Ancestor brings unity to divided Africa, moving away from tribalism, nepotism, broken families, egoism, individualism, and consumerism. Through the incarnation, Christ becomes our brother in the Father. As mediator, Christ unites every one of us and becomes the model of Christian conduct.

Christmas is therefore a time for reflecting and celebrating Christ’s love, that is, bridging the gap caused by our sins.

This experience of having Jesus among us has been a cause of joy and communion because many African myths narrate that in the beginning God was close to humanity and lived in friendly companionship with us. Due to human pride, this relationship was broken. Therefore, it is said that God’s love restored human struggles by sending his only Son to redeem the world.

The incarnation of Christ embraces the whole universe; and so it presents a challenge for African society today.

Through his incarnation Christ caused humanity to participate in the divine nature, therefore there is no Zulu, Shona, Tsonga, but rather one unique family marked through the love of Christ.

How is Christmas celebrated today? Due to egoism and tribalism, people rarely share what they are and what they have. Of course, Christmas is a family day when people come together to celebrate. But who are those who join these celebrations? Often the meaning of family is reduced to blood ties, or to those of the same clan, culture, language.

Often, we are particular about what we have to offer and whom we include. In this regard, Christmas loses its meaning if it doesn’t embrace each and every one, in the sense that people should be able to invite others, especially those who are marginalised, and people should be able to share with those who have little so that they may celebrate together the incarnation of Christ who as Ancestor brings unity in this divided Africa.

guage, interests and death. It is a time for reflecting on the message that Christ brings to humanity.

If the Church, as Family in Africa, is to be relevant, we Christians must start by destroying what divides us, such as tribalism, nepotism, and egoism. In doing so the spirit of unity, communion, family and celebration will remain part of our mission.

Catth Ca Cath holic ho holic ic IInstitu In nssttittu u e of ute of Edu Ed Educa ucca a ion atio ation

Cal Ca Called allleed d in i ffa faith aii h a aith

to ser ser se er ve

Catholic Ca th tho hol ho ollic oli liicc schoo h o ols ls and a an nd d skill sk skills kiills ls centr entr en tres es

Educating today tomorrow for the common good.

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27

Günther Simmermacher’s biography of a Christmas carol

The story of ‘While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks’

O

NE MIGHT SAY THAT THE much-loved “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” was the first Anglican Christmas carol: before its appearance in 1700, only the Psalms of David were allowed to be sung in Anglican churches.

The lyrics were written by two Irishmen, Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady.

As the title suggests, the hymn tells of the annunciation to the Shepherds, and so thematically it accompanies carols such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. Indeed, these two provide a good two-parter in the episode of the Nativity narrative in Luke’s Gospel, involving the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem that first Christmas. First the angel of the Lord comes down to frighten the flock-watching shepherds and then deliver glad tidings of great joy: the birth of “a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord”. Then the seraph disappears, and, hark, a host of singing angels appears for the sequel.

The shepherds aren’t just random or peripheral figures in the nativity story. God chose the lowest class in society, smelly shepherds, to be the first recipients of the Good News — not the priest or the mayor. In doing so, God reveals his option for the poor. In a classdominated society as England in 1700, that significance was rather glossed over (as it is by many Christians today). Tate and Brady’s lyrics gave us the story straight, with no concern for why God sent the angels to the shepherds.

O

f the two writers, Nahum Tate was the bigger name. The son of a Puritan cleric, he was born in Dublin in 1652, and moved to England as a young

28

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A version of the lyrics of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” from 1733, and the writers: Nahum Tate (top) and Nicholas Brady.

man. There he made his name as a poet, writer, librettist and playwright. In 1692 he was named England’s poet laureate, a position he held until his death in 1715.

Tate was not uncontroversial. The Catholic poet Alexander Pope took a dim view of Tate’s poetry, and Shakespeare fans might not have been amused by Tate’s rewrite of King Lear, which gave the Bard’s tragedy a thoroughly happy ending (he would have been a successful Hollywood scriptwriter, had he been born 300 years later). Tate, a man of downcast demeanour, died while hiding from debtors on July 30, 1715.

H

is friend Nicholas Brady (16591726) was also born in Ireland and, like Tate, graduated from Holy Trinity in Dublin. Unlike Tate, Brady became an Anglican cleric. A fervent supporter of the so-called Glorious Revolution, which deposed the Catholic King James II, he

moved to London around 1690. There he made an impression as a poet, which brought him into contact with Tate.

The two collaborated in writing the landmark New Version of the Psalms of David. “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” was first published in 1703. It is said that Brady supervised the theological direction and Tate provided the poetry.

The first Anglicans to sing the hymn didn’t do so to the melody we know today. Possibly the first tune used was the English folk song “Ilkley Moor”.

The melody used today in Britain and its former colonies, including South Africa, actually predates Tate and Brady’s words: it’s adapted from the 1553 hymn “Winchester Old” by Christopher Tye, from his work “Actes of the Apostles”.

Tye, who was born around 1505 and died some time before 1573, was an English composer and organist. As the choirmaster of Ely cathedral, he was the music teacher of Edward VI, the child king of England and son of Henry VIII. The first record of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” being set to Tye’s tune dates to 1861. In the US, hymnbooks may include the Tye tune, or one adapted from George Frederic Handel’s 1728 opera Siroe, or even both.

For more stories behind the carols see www.scross.co.za/category/ features/biography-of-hymns/

Christmas in 3 countries InDIa

THE BUZZ: India’s Catholics attend midnight Mass, while Protestants tend to have their services on Christmas Day. Children are usually quizzed about the Nativity story before receiving their gifts. Many children also celebrate Christmas by setting off firecrackers.

THE LOOK: Nativity scenes and Christmas trees are widespread. In some parts of India, banana and mango trees are decorated, with the leaves of the latter being used for indoor decorations.

Some Christians use small clay oil lamps, a custom borrowed from the Hindu feast of Diwali.

THE FOOD: There is no typically Indian Christmas food. Dishes such as roast duck, chicken masala, mutton chops and prawns are always popular.

FANCY THAT: Although the Christian population of India is proportionately tiny (about

27,8 million or 2,3%), Christmas is a public holiday. Hindu shopkeepers will decorate their shops, and some even engage a Santa Claus to amuse and attract children.

chapatis (a flat bread).

FANCY THAT: Many Kenyan children try to replicate snow by shredding chicken feathers.

THE BUZZ: The religious significance of Christmas is still taken seriously by Kenyan Christians. Thus, church attendance is virtually obligatory, even among those who otherwise don’t go to church. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th. On Christmas Eve, many children will go from home to home singing. The gifts they receive, usually money, are then given to their church as a Christmas offering.

THE LOOK: Nativity scenes are popular. Homes and churches are decorated with bright balloons, ribbons, flowers and greenery.

THE FOOD: Extended families usually come together to roast a goat, or other meat (nyama choma), with

THE BUZZ: After a weeks-long buildup, Christmas officially kicks off at midday of Christmas Eve with a televised message by the mayor of Turku. Many families precede their Christmas dinner on December 24 by taking a sauna. Around Christmas, many families visit the graves of loved ones to place candles on the tombstone.

THE LOOK: Straw decorations are very popular. Christmas trees often are decorated with apples and sweets. Many homes set up a bird-feeding station on a pole.

THE FOOD: At a Finnish Christmas, you wouldn’t be surprised to eat roast ham, dried cod, and rice pudding.

FANCY THAT: Finns claim Father Christmas as their own, claiming he lives in Lapland (Danes will argue that he lives in Greenland). Thus, in Korvatunturi, north of the Arctic Circle, there is a theme park called Christmas Land, featuring Santa, his reindeer and elves.

We wish all our friends and benefactors a very happy and Holy Christmas and every blessing in the New Year

KEnya

FInLanD

A CHRISTMAS GIF T TO LAST THE WHOLE YEAR Buy a Southern Cross subscription as a present for a loved one or friend and we’ll send you a gift certificate* for you to present to them.

Or give yourself a great Christmas present by subscribing for yourself!

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29

What we can learn from the

HOLY FAMILY W HY IS THE FAMILY OF Jesus, Mary and Joseph presented as the model for all Christian families? This is a legitimate question. It arises from the fact that we actually know very little about the life of this family. The depictions that have been created about this family are idealised.

Jesus, like us, was born into a family: he worked, ate, drank, slept, played, cried — basically, he grew up in a family like every other human being.

He was born like all of us: unable to speak, blind, and in need of constant attention and care. He grew into a mature human being because his loving parents, Mary and Joseph, nourished him; they taught him to walk and to speak. From his father, he learnt his craft. Within his family environment, he learnt how to read and interpret the Scriptures. He “increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people” because he obeyed his parents.

In view of the aforementioned, we do not, then, have to present the coming of Christ like a meteor that drops from heaven. Jesus comes from a normal family! He was born like a normal human being!

We know almost nothing about the infancy and the early years of Jesus.

Unfortunately, his childhood has been presented as a romantic idyll, where all is pure and uncontaminated. But the members of Jesus’ family — inclusive of his kinship — were conformists: they deprecated his ministry, inter alia, because they misunderstood his missionary activities. Surely, Jesus must have suffered from this incomprehension.

In fact, on one occasion during Jesus’ public ministry, his mother and brothers (or cousins) considered him to be out of his mind (Mark 3:21).

Furthermore, they did not see themselves as Jesus’ disciples but as his owners; they did not want to follow him — while Jesus was teaching, they stood outside and sent in a message asking for him (Mark 3:31).

Relating this to our family experiences, we recognise that therein not

For the feast of the Holy Family, Fr Michael seheri looks at how their problems hold lessons for us today

only lies our greatest joys but also our most painful and enduring sufferings.

If we would like to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family on December 26 authentically, then we must recognise and acknowledge the notion that even Jesus in his family encountered the same experiences that we are going through. For instance, at some juncture, he had to leave his father and

procreation, matrimonial crises, sexual orientation, and so forth.

There is a clear refusal to accept the reality of the widening gap between human beings and a Christian moral discourse — a discourse that is incapable of listening attentively to the concrete human life situations; a discourse that is unable to take into account the necessity to overcome patriarchal family models and to take seriously the emancipation of women.

Unfortunately, the reference to the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families has not helped in bridging this gap.

Let us turn our gaze to the relationship of another important biblical family: the family of Abraham and Sarah.

If we passively read the events surrounding Abraham and Sarah, we would think that, for example, the birth of Isaac occurred peacefully and without drama. The contrary is the case. After Abraham’s maidservant bore him a son — since Sarah was unable to have children — Sarah treated the maidservant with contempt, thereby causing her to run away and desire death.

Another equally disturbing episode conveys Abraham presenting Sarah to Pharaoh not as his wife but as his sister in order to escape death. These are extreme episodes, but they eloquently symbolise the interweaving of love and jealousy, faithfulness and weakness — elements that characterise a fundamental aspect of our humanity.

We learn from the Holy Family, and from Abraham and Sarah, that the Lord always comes to our aid: to redeem us, bless us and fortify us with his love and fidelity — but on condition that we accept that this process is complex and lasts a lifetime.

Jesus’ family misunderstood his missionary activities

30 The Southern Cross

mother, as per Genesis 2:24, to discover his identity and mission. This is manifest on the occasion where he refused to meet his mother and brothers, proclaiming that those sitting around him, following and listening to him, were his true family (Mark 3:34-35).

The family today

The past few decades have been characterised by a legitimate concern for the disintegration of the family fabric, and also by a rigid Christian ideological impetus on matters of sexuality,

Fr Michael Seheri is the administrator of Christ the King cathedral in Johannesburg.

I

Father Ralph de Hahn

T WAS ALREADY DARK AND that evening. In the cold open air stood a donkey, and on his back sat a lone young woman, exhausted after a long journey. Her husband was going around, anxiously knocking on doors to find shelter. No room at the inn, nor at any inn. But as one innkeeper, Leo, gently refused the enquirer, his wife Rachel overheard the desperate man mention that his wife was pregnant and due to deliver a baby.

With great concern, Rachel rushed out to the busy street and found the donkey carrying the pregnant maiden.

She led them to a stable behind her home. Animals were already there to welcome their guest.

Rachel had to find sufficient clean straw and blankets. Her little daughter arrived, eager to see this new babe when it arrived. “Anna, hurry and find some blankets for this stranger, the baby is due any moment.” Anna was excited in the way eight-year-olds are. She dashed off to seek help from her father, the innkeeper. He told her: “Anna, we have nothing to spare here, the town is so filled with strangers. Go and seek blankets from the other inns.”

So Anna rushed out to the other

e Baby and the Blanket

a Christmas story by Fr ralph de Hahn

F

and Anna made an effort to find a little home for this new family, and there was that glow of holy contentment on both sides. But the story does not end there…

inns, but no spare blankets could be found because all the strangers were feeling the cold of the night air. After a long fruitless search, Anna returned to the stable. She found two strangers and a bed of straw. The young mother was holding a tiny baby in her arms as her husband stroked her hair. She was smiling at Rachel who had helped her deliver the child. The warm water, the towels, all there — but no blanket!

Anna turned around and rushed back to her lodgings. There she stripped her only blanket from her bed, and dashed back to offer it to the little child. The mother smiled her thanks, and Anna thought the babe also smiled, though maybe it was too early for that!

A few days passed, and the travellers slowly departed the once overcrowded town of Bethlehem. Rachel

To all my brother clergy and sister religious and the poor missions of Southern Africa

Prayerful, Joyful, Good Wishes to all Missions in South Africa for a Magnificent and Most Blessed Christmas

With much love, Father Ralph de Hahn

ast-forward many years later.

With the passage of time Rachel had aged, and was suffering an infection of the lung. Anna was now 38 years old and herself troubled by a blood issue for which she had seen a number of local physicians, but there was no medical remedy in and around the City of David.

Rachel suggested that Anna visit a physician in Jerusalem. Leo the innkeeper arranged safe transport to the Holy City. Everything went smoothly, and Anna was overwhelmed by the awesome beauty and glamour of this huge city and its awesome temple. But finding a physician in this great city was a depressing experience; none of them was able to see Anna to relieve her discomfort.

It was on her fourth day in Jerusalem that Anna saw a huge crowd following a man who, she gathered, was known as a prophet and miracle-worker. The air was buzzing with all kinds of rumours,

Continued on page 32 1 2021/08/20 12:33:12

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some favouring this man, others who feared him.

Anna’s curiosity led her into the moving crowd, not knowing who, where or what.

People were speaking loudly about this man being a healer, a teacher, even a messiah.

Suddenly the procession halted, and the prophet turned around to face the crowd. A woman in this teeming crowd had stretched forward to touch only his garment, believing that this would heal her. The man spoke to the woman: “Your faith has healed you.”

Anna was moved to tears for the sake of this woman, who now testified that she was instantly and completely healed of her illness. Was this the healer Anna had been seeking? Could she also break through the noisy crowd and just touch his garment, as that woman had done?

A

nna battled but found it impossible to reach the man.

“Heal me!” she cried out loud spontaneously. “I know you can heal me!” The prophet stopped and turned.

His eyes met hers, and he smiled.

“Anna, your faith has healed you. Go home, your mother is well, too.” Anna was stunned, speechless, unable to thank him. The great healer continued on his way, and soon Anna returned to Bethlehem, healed from her ailment.

All the way home she wondered about this man. Who was he, so gentle, yet so powerful? And those eyes! He knew her name, but how could he, unless

Fr Ralph de Hahn already wrote Christmas stories in The Southern Cross 69 years ago. Then a 25-year-old seminarian, he published his story “When Darkness Falls” in the Christmas issue of 1952, dated December 10.

they had met before…but where?

The caravan brought Anna safely back home where she was greeted by her mother. Tears of joy flowed freely as the two women realised that they had been healed from their ailments.

Knowing the hour of her encounter with that stranger, Anna asked Rachel when exactly she was touched by that healing power sweeping through her.

It was the same hour.

“Don’t you know the man’s name?” asked Rachel. “Surely the crowd must have known this amazing man.” Anna’s thoughts turned to that time in the Holy City. “I heard them speak of him as ‘teacher’, ‘master’, even ‘Lord’. Once, near the temple, somebody called out: ‘Jesus, son of Joseph of Nazareth and Mary.” At that, Rachel’s memory came alive.

“Do you remember, Anna, when you were eight, we had a baby born here in the stable. His mother told us his name was Jesus. Little Jesus of Beth-

lehem. Do you remember?” Anna struggled down memory lane. It was 30 years ago, when the town was overcrowded because the Romans demanded registration of all citizens.

“Yes,” said Anna. “The mom’s name was Mary, and her husband was Joseph.

He had to come to Bethlehem with his family. And it was here that little Jesus was born. I remember they were from Galilee. Maybe from Nazareth?”

Mother and daughter reminisced about that time. “Anna, do you remember that you gave little Jesus your only blanket?” Rachel asked. By now Anna was wrapped in a wild forest of dreams as her thoughts began to relive the past. “Yes, mother, I do remember,” she finally said. “The blanket, and the newborn baby...and those kindly eyes that gazed at me in the Holy City and called my name.” And both Rachel and Anna wondered if…

Fr Ralph de Hahn is a priest of the archdiocese of Cape Town.

e National Management Committee of the Catholic Women’s League wish the Clergy, our members

and readers of The Southern Cross,

a Blessed and Peaceful Christmas Season.

May the Joy and Peace of the Christ Child, be with you and you loved ones throughout the year.

Through the Bonds of Peace

Cooking with Saints

Every month GRAZIA BARLETTA prepares a recipe from Catholic tradition in her Cape Town kitchen, and shares it with our readers in text and photos taken for The Southern Cross by the chef herself.

THIS MONTH GRAzIA BAKED:

Happy Birthday Jesus: Italian cake

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IRTHDAyS ARE A CELEBRATION of one’s life. The birth of Jesus is one of the most important dates and celebrations of the liturgical calendar. On December 25 we mark the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem around 6 BC to Mary and Joseph. Every Christmas we are called to remember that the story of Christmas is one of love. Where there is hope, love, light and life, the plan and purpose of God will reach people.

There are many symbols for Advent and Christmas. The Advent wreath is a symbol of God’s never-ending love, with no beginning and no end. candles remind us that Jesus is the light of the world, and that we should strive to be like him and be a light to others. candy canes take the shape of a shepherd’s crook, which is used to bring lost lambs back into the fold. The Saviour is often thought of as the Good Shepherd who guides us back when we might stray.

santa claus is based on St Nicholas, whose feast day we celebrate on December 6. St Nicholas, a bishop in Asia Minor in the 4th century, went from home to home giving gifts and celebrating the saviour by showing love. And christmas presents remind us that God gave us the gift of his son, and that Jesus Christ gave us the greatest gift of all. Giving presents is meant to be a symbol of love and kindness.

The star represents the one of Bethlehem that shone on the night Jesus was born. That night the angels announced the news of the Saviour’s birth to shepherds and sang “Glory to God in the highest”, proclaiming the good news that first Christmas night.

A birthday celebration isn’t complete without cake. After all, “a party without a cake is just a meeting”, as the cook Julia Childs once remarked.

For this birthday celebration, I have chosen a vanilla sponge filled with two flavours of creme patisserie (or custard): chocolate and vanilla. Roasted almonds are coated around the sponge, and it’s finished

off with a glacé icing. you may even decorate with berries and chocolate shavings. This cake can be made round or any other shape, depending on the cake tins you have available. preparation: 120 min • servings: 8

inGrEDiEnts:

sponge: 5 large eggs separated • 190g caster sugar • 12,5ml lemon juice • 120g cake flour • 5ml salt

sponGE prEpArAtion: 1. Separate the eggs. Whisk the whites to stiff peak stage. While still whisking, add 125g of the caster sugar and lemon juice.

2. Without rinsing the whisk, in a separate bowl whisk egg yolks until foamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar and whisk till thick and light in colour.

3. Fold the whisked egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture.

Sift the flour and salt together, then sift layer by layer over the egg mixture. Fold into each layer lightly. Repeat until all the flour has been used.

4. Line the bottom of a large cake tin. Bake at 160°C for 30-40 minutes until golden.

Remove from the oven and let the cake cool, then remove from tin.

creme patisserie: 500ml full-cream milk • 4 large egg yolks • 8 tsp cake flour • 8 tsp sugar • 1 tsp of vanilla essence or extract • Rind of one lemon • 3 tbsp cocoa

crEME prEpArAtion: 1. Beat egg yolks and sugar together.

Add the flour, milk, vanilla essence and lemon rind.

2. Cook in a medium-sized pot until thick, continuously using a whisk so that no lumps form.

3. Remove the lemon rind and place half of the custard in a bowl.

4. Make a paste with the 3 tablespoons of cocoa and a few drops of water, and add this to the pot with the custard. Stir and bring to a boil, then remove and cool.

5. Cover the two bowls of custard — vanilla and chocolate — with clingwrap so that no skin forms on top. Of course, this recipe can be doubled.

Assembly: 100g chopped roasted almonds • 150g icing sugar • 2 drops almond essence • 10ml cold water • Optional: Brandy, whisky or rum (alternatively diluted rum or brandy essence)

AssEMBlY: 1. Cut the sponge into three layers. If you are opting to use the liquor or diluted essence, sprinkle it onto the sponge layers now.

2. Add the chocolate custard to the first layer and spread evenly. Repeat the next layer with the vanilla custard.

3. For the top of the cake, mix the icing sugar with almond essence and a drop of water to make the icing. Spread evenly.

4. Cover all of the sides of the cake with the chopped almonds. you will have to use a bit of custard to coat the edges of the cake, so the almonds will stick to the sides. If you would like to add berries and chocolate shavings you can do so once the icing is a bit firm.

5. Place the cake in the fridge till it is required. It’s best served at room temperature.

The flavour of the cake improves with time.

6. Enjoy with a prayer.

This recipe is one of many in Grazia Barletta’s cookbook Delicious Italian Moments.

Order it at R200 plus p&p from graziabarletta1@ gmail.com Follow her blog at momentswithgrazia.com

The Southern Cross

33

Letters

Write to us

We welcome your letters, while reserving the right to edit them.

We may publish your letters on our website. Please include a postal address (not for publication). Letters should be no longer than 350 words. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances at the Editor’s discretion. Send your letters to editor@scross.co.za Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication or those of the Catholic hierarchy.

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I

How the Mass transforms us

HY DO CATHOLICS LEAVE THE Church? It is most probably because they do not know what worship entails.

Worship is the giving of honour to God by various acts. There are three aspects of worship: 1. Sacrificial Communion The Church teaches that the Holy Mass is the highest form of worship it has.

The Eucharistic celebration always includes the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits; and, above all, the gift of his Son in the consecration of bread and wine.

On the Cross, Christ showed how to render perfect worship to God. In imitating Christ, we too must offer ourselves to God. This acknowledgment of the debt that we owe to God establishes a relationship between a person and the Creator. Sacrifice thus leads to participation and communion, as St Paul writes: “The chalice of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).

2. Transformative participation in mystery The Holy Mass is not simply a sacrifice but also our transformative participation in Christ’s sacrifice. This aspect of worship is well illustrated in an Old Testament passage that prefigures the Eucharist, when Isaiah glimpses the an-

Thank you for article on suicide

gels in heaven: “Then one of the Seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it.

‘See,’ he said, ’now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged’” (Is 6:1-7).

Participation is thus also transformative. We are changed by the way we worship.

3. Contemplation of beauty Worship is also the contemplation of the beauty of God. Such is the beauty of God that biblical writers cannot describe him directly in his essence. In the Book of Revelation (19:9), worship culminates in Communion, what the book calls the “wedding feast of the Lamb”, which is the eternal celebration of the Eucharistic feast.

That wedding is between the lamb and the bride — which is the Church. In this mystical encounter the bride has been transformed by her encounter with the Lamb. She too is now beautiful.

Scripture and Tradition show us that worship is a sacrificial act that establishes communion with God. It is a participation in his mystery and a contemplation of his beauty that utterly transforms us.

Dominic Sam, Gqeberha

Best Wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Happy 2022 to all readers,

from the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office.

34 The Southern Cross

Visit www.cplo.org.za

READ YOuR SEPTEMBER ISSuE WITH great interest after a friend, whom I’ve known since my time in South Africa in the 1990s, sent it to me digitally. I have to congratulate you most sincerely on creating a highly attractive and interesting Catholic magazine.

From my personal experience, especially the article by Fr Ron Rolheiser “understanding Suicide” touched me. Even in our more enlightened age, the question of suicide has not yet been resolved.

One hears so often statements that those who have committed suicide were selfish and cowardly.

This stigmatisation of suicide makes it difficult for the bereaved to come to terms with the death of a family member or friend. It would be better that people who say something like that would rather not say anything at all.

Articles like the one by Fr Rolheiser help to reduce the stigma of suicide and give comfort to the bereaved. Especially his statement: “Suicide is often the desperate plea of a soul in pain.

The soul can make claims that go against the body and suicide is often that.” One should write that in big letters on the wall. Thank you for publishing this article.

Gerhard Röhr, Pirmasens, Germany

In Memoriam

In December we at The Southern Cross remember with affection our late colleagues Noel Bruyns (December 6, 2004) and Gene Donnelly (December 18, 2011).

May their souls rest in heavenly peace!

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a happy heart

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

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HERE ARE MANY WAYS TO serve cheese, and today I shall pile it into these words. I will start by reminding everyone that according to the Internet (the source of all truth?), it takes six muscles to smile and 43 muscles to frown. I am bringing this up because I think, given the near-apocalypse that we all have endured, we are in need of joy. Did I mention that laughter is the best medicine?

Alright, I’ll stop serving the cheese. But truly, if we think deeply about it, those of us who are still alive and in good health have much to rejoice about.

In order for joy to flourish in the soul, one must search the spaghetti of one’s veins and gather the humility to laugh at oneself. It all starts with a bit of honesty, and I’ll go first. At the onset of the pandemic last year, there were many rumours and disturbing thoughts which mushroomed into full-blown conspiracy theories. This is not to make light of the many fears we held with good reason. But I am certain that we can all think of moments when we might have been a bit dramatic.

To my surprise, aliens have not invaded the planet and enslaved the human race, a meteor has not struck the earth, and the dinosaurs are still extinct.

In addition to all of this, the sky is still considered to be blue, and I have been told that it is safe to go outside and talk to people (with mask and social-distancing protocols observed). I will not further embarrass myself by disclosing the many other irrational thoughts and fears I have held during this awful pandemic. Suffice it to say that I chuckle to myself now and again.

Christ at the centre

Again, I do not make light of the many woes that have befallen each of us. No one can ignore the silent ache in our hearts that arises from mourning each day the loved ones who have died.

But despite this, we can have the deepest

joy that comes from the birth of Christ.

I implore you, ignore the tacky Christmas decorations in all supermarkets and resist the urge to make Christmas all about the money we spend or don’t get to spend. Instead, make this your most Christ-centred Christmas yet.

Listen to hymns on the Incarnation, spend time in Eucharistic adoration, read the narrative of the Nativity and meditate on it. What will be our joy in Christmas if we make it all about money? If we do, then this dreadful plague would have taught us nothing!

No, let us not fall into this trap. Let us allow Christmas to be about Christ.

Many tears have we wept Many dark nights we have known Unceasing pain we tried to accept And the fear we felt in our bones How we worried, how we cried How we suffered, how we prayed So much to us had been denied But in God’s love we stayed Now to us a child is born And at last we see a light The veil of evil has been torn There is dawn after this night Hail Sweet Virgin, Hail Redeemer Glory to God do we sing Happy are we who have a Saviour Our joyful hearts to him we bring.

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35

Journeying together

Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

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HOPE THAT YOU, THE READER, will instantly recognise the words in the title since they are the theme for preparing the Church for the Synod on Synodality. Questions for reflection have been shared with members of the Church throughout the world; bishops have been charged by the Holy Father to give feedback on this theme over the next 18 months (see page 8).

The notion of a “Synod on Synodality” sounds a bit like a political joke in which time is wasted having “meetings about meetings”. But 30 years ago, South Africa was brought back from the brink of civil war by a series of “talks about talks”, so we should not be too dismissive of this approach.

What is a synod anyway? I would define “synodality” as an approach in which decisions are made by a group of people (not just by one) through a process of discussion, reflection and constructive disagreement — rather than the issuing of orders from on high.

Pope Francis is deeply concerned about how we, as a Church, live up to the challenge of “synodality”. The epitome of synodality in modern times was the Second Vatican Council which opened almost 60 years ago. This in turn led to the rediscovery at a local level of diocesan synods: Archbishop Denis Hurley convened the first South African one in Durban in 1968.

Pope Francis, like his immediate predecessors, has used the model of a synod to draw together voices from around the world — mostly bishops but not exclusively — to look at issues such as family life, youth and the Amazon region. So what better way to look at synodality than through an actual synod?

What is unique about this one is that the pope has given the Church two years to prepare for the synod in October 2023. And we are all invited to participate!

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36 The Southern Cross

So the second word in the theme “journeying together” has huge significance. Every member of the Church is being invited to participate through reflection and sharing so that the final synod draws on the whole Church not just on those bishops (and others) who will be present in Rome in October 2023. Now, in November and December, you should be hearing through your parish about the different ways in which you can participate. This is going to be quite a journey!

And December is a good time to reflect on journeying: we are on our way towards Christmas, and we are conscious of the journey taken by the Holy Family from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

train driver. Not surprisingly, this is sometimes referred to as “cattle class”.

As we are invited to share on what it is like to be “journeying together”, this train image poses some significant problems in producing good reflection: there will be conversations, but most of them will take place within each carriage.

There might be some notes passed up the train from 3rd Class to 2nd and from 2nd to 1st — but what gets lost on the way? A few lucky people might get a temporary upgrade and get to sit in a

The Synod Express

But I am intrigued by the image that “journeying” brings to mind. There is one image that for some of us might be the instant one and which has merit but also some drawbacks. It is the image of the Church journeying together on a train: the bishop is the train driver, keeping to the timetable published by Rome, and we are all settled in our carriages chugging along behind. It might be a comforting image until we start asking deeper questions. When we imagine that train, we do see all of us on it together, but perhaps we have immediately put people into different carriages.

Subconsciously, we seat the priests up in 1st Class, closest to the driver, enjoying the best view, the most comfortable chairs and the free snacks! The nuns are in 2nd Class, perhaps these days joined by the ecclesiocrats (those lay people in our organisations and schools who, like me, are paid to work for the Church and so have some privileged access). And then the remaining 99% of the people of God are in 3rd Class — in the train certainly, but with few of the comforts, a bad view of where we are heading, and very little contact with the

Jesus walks among the people in Jericho, with Zaccheus in the tree, in this artwork from the ”Jesus Mafa” project in Cameroon. Jesus walking among us serves as a metaphor for how the Church’s global synod should work, writes Raymond Perrier.

higher class, but everyone still feels like a passenger. At the end of the journey the train driver might or might not respond to what the passengers are saying, and in any case he is limited in what he can do by the tracks and the points that have been set by Rome.

Moreover, there are a lot of people who are not on our train but could be.

Is the “together” of our “journeying together” only for the people who have the right ticket? What about those who feel that they are not welcome on the train or cannot access it? The homeless, the disabled, the youth. What about those who had a ticket but lost it? The baptised Catholics who, because of a personal situation, find that their ticket is no longer valid.

Or those who have tickets for trains that are running alongside us on similar tracks? Our “separated brothers and sisters” (to use the Vatican II phrase) who are members of other Christian commu-

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

nities. Do we have to wait till they hitch their carriages to our train before we ask their opinions?

Christ among us

Metaphors are helpful because they can help us identify what is working in a model, but they also help us spot what is not working. So I want to offer a second metaphor, to go alongside the train image but from a different perspective. The image is drawn from the picture of Christ walking while he is surrounded by other people, with people on the peripheries — Zaccheus in the sycamore tree; the woman with a blood disorder — reaching out to him. It is a fitting metaphor because it has roots in the Gospel stories.

If our “journeying together” looks like this, it feels very different.

There is no need for a ticket — people can join the crowd of walkers as they wish. It is Christ who is the focus of the group of walkers — not any one human being however holy — and it is Christ who sets the direction and the pace. Some are walking upright, some with sticks, some in wheelchairs. Some of us are on the journey from beginning to end; some join late or (for whatever reason) decide to leave early, or even leave and come back later.

And each of us can find the place that suits us in the crowd of walkers: at the centre or at the peripheries, taking a lead or holding back, close to the important people or alongside those who are overlooked. And because we are not contained in our carriages, we are free to talk with whomever we find ourselves alongside. We can talk in groups or, more intimately, share in twos and threes.

So, as we use this month to reflect and share on the preparation questions for the synod, let’s take a moment to think about whom we are sharing our journey with. And, like those on the journey to Emmaus, be prepared to be surprised by who actually is with us on the journey.

Visit scross.co.za for your Catholic news!

A baby’s great power

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T’S FUNNY HOW GOD INVARIABLY shatters the containers of our expectations. We have a notion of how God should act, and God ends up acting in a way that shatters all of those expectations and yet fulfills our expectations in a deeper way. That’s certainly true of what happened in Bethlehem at the first Christmas.

For centuries, men and women of faith, aware of their helplessness to rectify everything that’s wrong in life, had been praying for God to come to earth as a Messiah, a Saviour, to clean up the earth and right all that’s wrong with it. Exactly how this was to happen was perhaps more of an inchoate longing for justice, a hungry hope, than any kind of clear vision, at least until the great Jewish prophets came along.

Eventually prophets like Isaiah began to articulate a vision of what would happen when the Messiah came. In these visions, the Messiah would usher in a “Messianic Age”, a new time, when everything would be made right. There would be prosperity for the poor, healing for the sick, freedom from every type of enslavement, and justice for all (including punishment for the wicked). The poor and the meek would inherit the earth because the long-sought Messiah would simply overpower all evil, drive the wicked off the face of the earth, and make all things right.

And after all those centuries of waiting, of longing, what did we get?

What did we get? A helpless, naked baby, unable to feed himself. That wasn’t the way anyone expected this to happen. They had expected a superhuman, a superstar, someone whose muscle, intellect, physical stature, invulnerability and invincibility would simply dwarf all the powers on the planet in a way that there could be no argument, no resistance, no standing against its presence.

That’s still the way, mostly, we fantasise how God’s power should work in our world. But, as we know from the first Christmas, that’s not normally the way God works. What was revealed in Bethlehem is that normally we meet the presence and power of God in our world as a helpless infant lying in the straw — vulnerable, seemingly powerless, touching us subliminally.

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hy? Why doesn’t the all-powerful Creator of the universe flex more muscle? Why is God normally revealed more in the body of an infant than in that of superstar? Why? Because the power of God works to melt hearts rather than break them, and that’s what vulnerability

and helplessness can do. That’s what infants can do. God’s power — at least God’s power to draw us into intimacy with each other — doesn’t normally work through might, muscles and cool and invulnerability. It works through a lot of things, but it works with a special power through vulnerability and helplessness.

Intimacy is predicated on vulnerability.

You cannot overpower another person so as to make him or her love you, unless you overpower his or her heart the way an infant does. We can seduce each other through attractiveness, draw admiration through our talents, and intimidate each other through superior strength, but none of these will ultimately provide the basis for a shared community of life for long… but the powerlessness and innocence of a baby can provide that.

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od’s power, like a baby sleeping in its crib, lies in our world as a quiet invitation, not as a threat or coercion.

When Christ took on flesh in our world in Bethlehem 2 000 years ago and then died seemingly helpless on a cross in Jerusalem some 30 years later, this is what was revealed: The God who is incarnated in Jesus Christ enters into human suffering rather than stands clear of it, is in solidarity with us rather than standing apart from us, manifests that the route to glory is downward rather than upward, stands with the poor and powerless rather than with the rich and powerful, invites rather than coerces, and is more manifest in a baby than in a superstar.

But that isn’t always easy to grasp, nor accept. We are often frustrated and impatient with God who, as Scripture tells, can seem slow to act. Jesus promised that the poor and the meek would inherit the earth, but this seems forever belied by what’s actually happening in the world. The rich are getting richer and the poor don’t seem to be inheriting much. What good does a helpless infant do apropos to this?

Where do we see messianic power acting?

Well, again the containers of our expectations need to be shattered. What does it mean, “to inherit the earth”? To be a superstar? To be rich and famous?

To have power over others? To walk into a room and be instantly recognised and admired as being significant and important?

Is that the way we “inherit the earth”?

Or, do we “inherit the earth” when a coldness is melted in our hearts and we are brought back to our primal goodness by the smile of a baby, with searing clarity towards home!

The Southern Cross

37

PRAY WITH THE POPE Every month FR CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ reflects on Pope Francis’ prayer intention

Bishop Stanislaw Dziuba of umzimkulu commissions catechists at Mahobe parish in 2017.

VIVa, CaTECHIsTs! VIVa!

Intention: Let us pray for the catechists, summoned to announce the Word of God: may they be its witnesses, with courage and creativity and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

sure that they have the resources for the task. Do they have decent teaching spaces and is there adequate stationery freely available, or is this left up to them? Is there an adequate supply of suitable textbooks? Is there some kind of offer support by using the pulpit to per- annual ceremony or event in the parish E CATHOLICS DO NOT suade parents to make sure that their to honour catechists?

Catechists are the unsung, heroic normally preach on trains children attend catechism classes. He or on street corners. We must show that he thinks catechism is evangelists of the Catholic Church. Most Catholics received the gift of faith still preach the Gospel important, vital even.

The credibility of catechists lies through the ministry of a catechist. Most through our schools, especially our primary schools, but in places where such greatly in their volunteer spirit. Cate- of us can remember our catechists and schools no longer exist, the parish cate- chists are not in it for anything except some of the things they said years ago.

How many of us remember what our chist is the last evangelist standing.

The growth in the Catholic parish priest said last Sunday?

Of course, the parish priest preaches That the work of teaching catethe Gospel every Sunday, but he is Church in Africa is the largest chism is a vocation and ministry in its normally addressing older people own right has been recognised by who are “fixtures” in the church. and fastest in its history Pope Francis in his apostolic decree of He is involved in maintenance for the joy of passing on the faith. No May 11, 2021, in which he established rather than mission.

The priest’s preaching should nor- one ever became wealthy by being a the lay ministry of the catechism mally also touch those in the adult con- parish catechist. “You received without teacher (it was briefly explained in the verts’ programme, but the RCIA charge; give without charge”, is what “Your Question Answered” pages in the candidates get most of their knowledge characterises their lives and vocations. July issue). Underlying this decree, titled of the faith and inspiration through the And, incidentally, their example should Antiquum Ministerium (Ancient Minlay or religious catechists who accom- be something that those clergy who tend istry), is a recognition of the inestimable pany them through the course. They to charge steeply for everything they do work done by lay catechists in Africa also draw inspiration from one another. may reflect on when considering their and other missionary regions.

It is worth remembering that the Sometimes evangelisation is just own credibility as witnesses to the Gospel! growth in the Catholic Church in the turning up. Parish clergy sometimes neglast two centuries in Africa is the largest lect simply to turn up and encourage Support and honour and fastest in the Church’s history — their catechists at their work. Often pasTo face a class of lively primary kids and that it was greatly due to the work toral leadership is just about showing your face. Father doesn’t have to be piv- or worldly-wise adolescents, week after of zealous lay catechists, some of whom, otal at every event he attends, but his week, certainly takes courage and cre- like Bl Benedict Daswa, gave their lives simple affirmation, just by looking in ativity. Again, it is incumbent upon the for the Gospel.

Francis hopes that the ministry of and speaking a few words of encourage- leadership to help catechists by building ment, can be of immense value to cate- up their confidence and creativity catechist will be promoted as a vocation chists and their students. Father can also through professional formation. Make in its own right. Viva catechists, viva!

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The Southern Cross

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Prayer Corner Your prayers to cut out and collect Do you have a favourite prayer?

Please send to editor@scross.co.za

God of love, your son Jesus is Your greatest gift to us.

He is a sign of Your love.

Help us walk in that love during the weeks of Advent, as we wait and prepare for His coming.

We pray this in the name of Jesus our saviour, Amen

NATIVITY PRAYER O sweet Child of Bethlehem, grant that we may share with all our hearts in this profound mystery of Christmas.

Put into the hearts of men and women this peace for which they sometimes seek so desperately and which you alone can give to them.

Help them to know one another better, and to live as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father.

Reveal to them also your beauty, holiness and purity.

Awaken in their hearts love and gratitude for your infinite goodness.

Join them all together in your love.

And give us your heavenly peace.

Amen

COST A CENT

5 GIFTS THAT DON’T The Gift of Listening Listen without interrupting The Gift of a Smile Give a smile to those around you The Gift of Love Give a hug, a compliment or loving observation The Gift of Gratitude Say “thank you” to the people in your life The Gift of Favour Every day try to do someone a favour

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION O Mary, ever Blessed Virgin Mother of God, Queen of Angels and of Saints.

We salute you with the most profound veneration and filial devotion as we contemplate your Holy Immaculate Conception.

We thank you for your maternal protection and for the many blessings that we have received through your wondrous mercy and most powerful intercession.

Amen The Southern Cross

39

Anagram Challenge 1

Christmas Word Search

Unscramble the clues below to work out which CHRISTMAS CAROLS hide in these words

I N I TS LE N G TH

2 GET MY REGRET, MONEYLENDERS 3

I LE F T THR O N E S

4 HANDSHAKING GREETERS HALL 5

HE R TWI N G E E K S

6

TO M F E V E R I SHLY SWA TS CA D

Find these multi-lingual words for Christmas BOZIC KERSFEES NAVIDAD CHRISTMAS KRISMASI NATIVITATIS EKERESIMESI KURISUMASU NOEL JUL NA NOLLAG UKHISIMUSI KERESEMESE NATALE WEIHNACHTEN

For extra fun, work out which of the above words for Christmas belongs to which language? Presented here are: Afrikaans, Croatian, English, French, Gaelic, German, Igbo, isiZulu, Italian, Japanese, Latin, SeSotho, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish.

DrOPPED LETTErs: Place the missing letters to get 5 classic Christmas movies C

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HAMPOT STREIT LIERS RAND HIMSCAILS WAXPRAR STYCH HENSTSEL RECRuTLE

Christmas Crossword Across

DoWn

4. One sent by God to a town in 1. How the shepherds Galilee (7) crowded into Bethlehem? (7) 8 and 24. How and where the 2. By odes I can refuse God’s will (7) shepherds found the baby (4,2,1,6) 3. They’re on show during 9. How the server puts out the pontifical Christmas Masses (6) candle (5,2) 5. Christmas vigil until daybreak (3-5) 10. Voices the shepherds heard (6) 6. Parcel the gifts again (6) 11. He prophesied the virgin birth (6) 7. He is put in jail roughly, 12. A smooth melody for service at the prophet (6) day’s end? (8) 13. How the star kept the Magi 18. Terraces where Christmas towards Bethlehem (2,6) meals may come from (8) 14. His same move is that 20. you may need it to focus on of Christ (7) your locks at Christmas (6) 15. Don’t put more brandy into the 21. Listen around the Christmas Christmas pudding. It’s no good (7) tree (6) 16. Big bottle of wine for 22. Oranges turn up on wild donkeys Christmas Opus? (6) (7) 17. In the beginning (6) 23. Sounds of sheep crying from 19. Fit for Christmas consumption (6) the stable (6) 24. See 8

40

The Southern Cross

For all solutions turn to page 42

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2. Bird in pear tree (9) 4. One of the Three Wise Men (8) 5. To whom the angel spoke at Christmas (9) 6. Handel’s Christmas opus (3,7) 9. The 8th word in “O Come All ye Faithful” (10) 10. OT messianic prophet (6) 14. Explorer who named SA’s Natal province (5,2,4) 15. Saint on whom Santa Claus is based (8) 16. Singer of “Blue Christmas” (5,7) 17. Ringing for Christmas (5) 18. Peanuts’ Christmas hero (7,5) 20. One of Santa’s reindeers (6) 21. Popular Christmas hymn from Austria (6,5) 23. One of the Magis’ gifts (12) 24. Portuguese for Christmas (5) 25. SA bishop with birthday on Boxing Day (4, 8) 26. Spanish Christmas greeting (5,7) 28. English leader who banned Christmas (8) 29. Four weeks before Christmas (6) 30. Decreed by Caesar Augustus in Luke 2 (6)

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DoWn

1. Trad. Christmas plant (9) 2. Where there’s no place for Mary (3) 3. Birthplace of Jesus (9) 6. German for Christmas tree (10) 7. Feast of Christmas (8) 8. The 12th day of Christmas (8) 9. Four on advent wreath (7) 10. Singer of “All I Want For Christmas” (6,5) 11. Ancient abbreviation for Christmas (4) 12. English author of A Christmas Carol (7,7) 13. Royal who introduced Christmas tree to UK (6,6) 14. Jesus’ dad (6) 17. Christmas carol (1,4,5) 19. Feast nine months before Christmas (12) 20. Category on Santa’s list (4) 21. Action of the herald angel (4) 22. Czech king of Christmas carol (9) 23. Decoration on Christmas tree (6) 26. Province of SA’s diocese of Bethlehem (4,5) 27. Mary’s mode of transport (6)

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the shaded boxes to form the name of a Christmas carol

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_ _ _ _ _ The Southern Cross

41

Q6: Denzel

1. When is the earliest possible date for the first sunday of Advent? a) November 25 b) November 27 c) December 1

2. Which Gospel recounts the angels appearing to the shepherds to announce the birth of the Messiah? a) Matthew c) Mark c) Luke

3. in nat King cole’s “christmas song”, what is roasting in an open fire? a) Chestnuts c) Marshmallows c) Peanuts

4. What is the traditional opening hymn at the famous carols from King’s service in cambridge, England? a) God Rest ye Merry, Gentlemen b) Joy To The World c) Once In Royal David’s City 5. in which language would one say “ube neKrismesi emnandi” to wish you a merry christmas? a) isiNdebele b) SeTswana c) isiXhosa

6. What have cary Grant, Denzel Washington and henry travers played in christmas-themed movies? a) Angels c) Priests c) Santa Claus 7. What is usually made with myrrh? a) Paste b) Perfume c) Smoke 8. Which carol features the chorus “Gloria, in excelsis Deo”? c) Angels We Have Heard On High b) Carol Of The Bells c) Ding Dong Merrily On High

Solutions

Christmas Word Search

Q15: Crypt of the Nativity

Q3: Nat King Cole

9. What does Gaudete, as in the third sunday of Advent, mean? a) Expectant b) Joyful c) Third

10. According to st Matthew, what was the name of Joseph’s father? a) Jacob b) Jesse c) Josiah 11. What is the name of the traditional German christmas bread loaf? a) Lebkuchen b) Spekulatius c) Stollen

12. in which country was the carol “hark! the herald Angels sing” written? a) France b) Great Britain c) USA

13. Which pop star co-wrote the 1984 Band Aid charity record “Do they Know it’s christmas” with Bob Geldof? a) Bono b) George Michael c) Midge Ure 14. in charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, whose party do scrooge and the Ghost of christmas present visit? a) Bob Cratchit b) Fred c) Mrs Fezziwig

15. What colour is the star in Bethlehem’s church of the nativity that marks the spot of Jesus’ birth? a) Gold b) Silver c) White

16. When was the use of tinsel to decorate christmas trees first recorded? a) 1610 b) 1710 c) 1810 17. What nine things did my true love give me on the ninth day of christmas? a) Ladies dancing b) Maids a-milking c) Pipers piping Christmas Crossword:

ACROSS: : 4 Gabriel, 8 Laid in, 9 Blows it, 10 Choirs, 11 Isaiah, 12 Evensong, 18 Caterers, 20 Hairdo, 21 Tinsel, 22 Onagers, 23 Bleats, 24 A manger. DOWN: 1 Flocked, 2 Disobey, 3 Mitres, 5 All-night, 6 Rewrap, 7 Elijah, 13 On course, 14 Messiah, 15 Useless, 16 Magnum, 17 Origin, 19 Edible.

Anagram Challenge:

1. Silent Night, 2. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, 3. The First Noel, 4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, 5. We Three Kings; 6. Twelve Days Of Christmas

Multilingual Christmas: Božić: Croatian; Christmas: English; Ekeresimesi: Igbo; Jul: Swedish/Danish; Keresemese: SeSotho; Kersfees: Afrikaans; Krismasi: Swahili; Kurisumasu: Japanese; na Nollag: Gaelic; Natale: Italian; Nativitat: Latin; Navidad: Spanish; Noël: French; uKhisimusi: isiZulu; Weihnachten: German Dropped Letters:

A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, It’s A Wonderful Life, The Polar Express

42 The Southern Cross

Q11: German Christmas loaf

18. At christmas of which year did Vasco da Gama name the eastern coast of south Africa natal? a) 1497 b) 1547 c) 1597

19. What does the gold which the Magi brought the baby Jesus symbolise? a) Glory b) Kingship c) Power

20. What colour vestments do catholic priests wear on December 28? a) Gold b) Green c) Red

21. Which carol includes the lines, “While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love/oh morning stars together, proclaim thy holy birth”? a) O Come All ye Faithful b) O Holy Night c) O Little Town of Bethlehem

22. in which year did The Southern Cross publish its first christmas edition? a) 1920 b) 1921 c) 1922 23. roughly how far is Bethlehem from nazareth? a) 50km c) 100km c) 150km 24. Where would you eat a traditional christmas food called “wat”? a) Ethiopia b) Cameroon c) Guinea 25. Who was the soviet union’s equivalent of santa claus? a) Comrade Ice b) Father Frost c) Uncle Snow

Quick Crossword: ACROSS: 2 Partridge, 4 Melchior, 5 Shepherds, 6 The Messiah, 9 Triumphant, 10 Isaiah, 14 Vasco da Gama, 15 Nicholas, 16 Elvis Presley, 17 Bells, 18 Charlie Brown, 20 Donner, 21 Silent Night, 23 Frankincense, 24 Natal, 25 Buti Tlhagale, 26 Feliz Navidad, 28 Cromwell, 29 Advent, 30 Census. DOWN: 1 Mistletoe, 2 Inn, 3 Bethlehem, 6 Tannenbaum, 7 Nativity, 8 Epiphany, 9 Candles, 10 Mariah Carey, 11 Xmas, 12 Charles Dickens, 13 Prince Albert, 14 Joseph, 17 O Holy Night, 19 Annunciation, 20 Nice, 21 Sing, 22 Wenceslas, 23 Tinsel, 26 Free State, 27 Donkey — CODEWORD: Joy To The World

Christmas Quiz: 1. a) November 25; 2. c) Luke; 3. a) Chestnuts, 4. c) Once In Royal David’s City; 5. c) isiXhosa, 6. a) Angels (in The Bishop’s Wife, The Preacher’s Wife and It’s A Wonderful Life respectively); 7. b) Perfume; 8. c) Ding Dong Merrily On High; 9. b) Joyful; 10. a) Jacob; 11. c) Stollen (or “Christstollen”); 12. c) USA; 13. c) Midge Ure; 14. b) Fred (Scrooge’s nephew); 15. b) Silver; 16. a) 1610 (in Germany); 17. a) Ladies dancing; 18. a) 1497; 19. b) Kingship; 20. c) Red (Holy Innocents); 21. c) O Little Town Of Bethlehem; 22. a) 1920 (two months after it launched); 23. c) 150km; 24. a) Ethiopia; 25. b) Father Frost

Images: Vannino/Pixabay, MGM/CNS, Günther Simmermacher, Bear Family Records, Conger Design/Pixabay

Q18: Vasco and explorers

S outhern C ross P ilgrimages Join us in 2022!

In 2020 we looked forward to some wonderful pilgrimages, taking us to places of faith such as the Holy Land, Rome, Assisi, Medjugorje, the Oberammergau Passion Play, and the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Then the pandemic closed down travel throughout the world for two years. But after several delays, in 2022 borders will be open again, and we can resume going on pilgrimage.

Join us on our spiritually enriching and perfectly arranged journey of faith!

CAMINO TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Official 7-Day Camino 30 Sept to 9 Oct 2022 • Led by Fr Chris Townsend

Walk the ancient ‘Camino Primitivo’ route from Lugo to Santiago de Compostela! Timed for school spring holidays!

Bonus: Your luggage will be delivered to your hotel every day!

www.fowlertours.co.za/camino

MEDJUGORJE, ROME, ASSISI, CROATIA Led by Archbishop Stephen Brislin 9 to 18 May 2022

Before Medjugorje, you will visit Rome (with papal audience in St Peter’s Square), Assisi, Loreto (with the House of Our Lady), and the beautiful Croatian city of Split.

www.fowlertours.co.za/medju

OBERAMMERGAU AND HOLY LAND Led by Archbishop William Slattery OFM 19 August to 2 September 2022 • Only few open seats left See the great holy shrines of the Holy Land, including the sites of Our Lord’s Passion, before flying to Germany to tour in Bavaria and see the famous Oberammergau Passion Play.

www.fowlertours.co.za/oberammergau

Contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or call or WhatsApp 076 352-3809 *All dates subject to confirmation

Our pilgrimages are expertly arranged by

Final Words Inspiring Quotes on

The Lord’s Nativity

History in Colour

A snapshot from the past, colourised exclusively for The Southern Cross

‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has made known to us.’

– Shepherds at night (Luke 2:15)

‘Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.’

– C S Lewis (1898-1963)

‘God...came not in a blinding glory that would make faith superfluous but as a vulnerable little infant, nuzzled by the animals.’

– Archbishop Desmond Tutu (b.1931)

‘The birth of Jesus is the ‘newness’ that enables us to be reborn each year, and to find, in him, the strength needed to face every trial.’

– Pope Francis (b.1936)

‘Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.’

– Fr Thomas Merton (1915-68)

‘At this Christmas, when Christ comes, will he find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God’s own love and concern.’

– St Teresa of Kolkata (1910-97)

‘Christmas is built upon a beautiful and intentional paradox; that the birth of the homeless should be celebrated in every home.’

– G K Chesterton (1874-1936)

‘Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.’

– Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94)

‘We know we have had a happy Christmas when our reception of the Gift of God has turned us into a gift to others.’

– Fr Sean Wales CSsR (b.1940)

Bing Crosby as Fr Chuck O’Malley and Ingrid Bergman as Sr Mary Benedict in the 1945 film The Bells of St Mary’s. Directed by Leo McCarey, like Crosby a Catholic, the movie revolves around the pair’s activities to save the titular church from the clutches of property developers. One sequence in the film is set at Advent and Christmas, with Crosby singing “Adeste Fideles” and children of the parish school putting on a charming, apparently improvised, Nativity Play. The Nativity Play can be viewed on YouTube at youtu.be/2HKDseSyDMM.

The Bells of St Mary’s is referenced in another Christmas classic. In a scene in 1946’s It’s A Wonderful Life (directed by Frank Capra, also a Catholic), its title is seen on a cinema’s marquee. In 2019, The Southern Cross’ Top 15 Christmas movies included both films (www.scross.co.za/2019/12/15-movies-to-see-at-christmas/)

The last laughs S

ince humanity was still behaving badly, God had sent a second flood, again putting Noah to work with the same instructions as last time.

Everything was going well until Noah made his weekly headcount. Troubled, he consulted his wife: “Darling, I’ve taken stock and I’m sure we took two turkeys on board when we set sail. But I can find only one.”

Mrs Noah replied: “Don’t be silly, dear. Have you forgotten that last week was Christmas?”

T

he catechist was telling the children the Bible narrative of the birth of Jesus. She then wanted to see if the kids had been paying attention and posed a trick question: “Who was the first to know of the Messiah’s birth: the shepherds or the Wise Men?” Quick as a flash, a girl answered: “Mary!”

Buy the Church Chuckles book of Catholic jokes!

email books@scross.co.za or go to www.digital.scross.co.za/church-chuckles

Wishing all clients – past, present and future

Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Peaceful and Healthy 2022

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Michael at 083 704-5063 or info@fowlertravel.co.za

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