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PRISONERS: WHAT CHRIST DEMANDS OF US

COOK A MEAL LIKE EZEKIEL

10 SAINTS TO TURN TO IN MONEY TROUBLES

Southern Cross

Est. 1920

The

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

July 2022

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The Seven Churches of Revelation

Which Church are YOU?

SOUTH AFRICA’S NEWEST BISHOP INTERVIEWED

ST MARIA GORETTI: GIRL WHO FORGAVE HER KILLER

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Est. 1920

Southern Cross The

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T

The cradle of our faith Dear Reader,

HE CHRISTIAN CHURCH wAS born in the Holy Land, but it grew up in the region we now call Turkey. The term “Christian” emerged in Antioch (Acts 11:26), and the first seven Councils of the Church were held in Nicaea, Ephesus, Chalcedon, and Constantinople. And the Book of Revelation specifically addresses the Christian communities of seven cities in Anatolia.

In May, it was the privilege of a group of Southern Cross pilgrims to visit first Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and then Turkey, with the seven churches of revelation, as well as Istanbul, Nicaea and Hierapolis. In Medjugorje, the emphasis was on Mary pointing to her Son, asking us to listen to him. In Turkey, we had the opportunity to listen to Christ through the messages he communicated through John of Patmos to seven Christian communities.

Although they lived around 95 AD, these communities faced problems which Christians in our age can identify with, too: the temptations of the world, the threat of persecution in some regions, lukewarm faith, piety without a solid foundation, and so on. The letters to the Seven Churches have a lot to teach us even today, as the universal Church, national Churches, dioceses, parishes and individuals. Turn to page 22 to learn about them. The Medjugorje experience will be covered in August.

M

ay’s Saint of the Month was St Joan of Arc, whom we proposed as a patron for issues of sexual violence. This month’s saint is an obvious patron for the same crisis. st Maria Goretti was just 11 years old when she was seriously and ultimately fatally injured in an attempted rape. Her sanctity was evident in the hours before she died, when she forgave the young man who took her life.

For generations, St Maria has been acclaimed for protecting her virtue by resisting rape. It is overdue that we drop this misogynistic idea, with the implication that rape victims have any agency in a sexual attack. It is cruel to even suggest that those who didn’t fight off their attackers to the point of death, as Maria bravely did, somehow had their “virtue” compromised. The important lesson in the life of St Maria Goretti resides in the

purity of heart which this remarkable girl showed in forgiving her attacker. Her story, with the monthly pullout poster, begins on page 17.

I

n jail, St Maria’s attacker, Alessandro Serenelli, experienced a vision of the girl he had murdered. He was converted by that experience. It is the Church’s belief that conversion is possible for anyone, even lowly criminals. In France, there even is a sainthood cause underway for Jacques Fesch, a murderer who was executed in 1957. As Jesus promised the criminal on the cross next to him, salvation is always possible. with God, mercy and forgiveness are eternal. Even and especially the most hopeless must be made aware of that.

This month, we feature two articles on the prison ministry. Both draw from the knowledge that this ministry was directly and explicitly mandated by Jesus (see Matthew 25:36). In a superb reflection, Sefatsa Qopane responds to this mandate. In our second article on the topic, Nathanael Siljeur introduces a practical method of bringing healing and reconciliation, and perhaps also conversion and rehabilitation, into prisons. we must not underestimate the impact of faith on inmates. we know of prisoners who converted due to reading The Southern Cross — how much more impact can personal, human contact make?

I

n these tight economic times, money worries can be a constant companion.

On page 21 we propose ten saints to whom we can turn when our finances are giving us sleepless nights. Especially during those dark nights, it is good to know that we are not alone with our troubles. God is always with us!

As ever, thank you for reading The Southern Cross. Please spread the word about our Catholic magazine. Our survival depends on the support of the Catholic community.

God bless,

Günther simmermacher (Editor)

Contents JULY 2022

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Meet SA’s Newest Bishop We interview Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa

10

Having Room at the Inn Catholic hotelier Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo tells us about her eventful life

12

Why We Find Christ in Jail Prisoners aren’t that different from the rest of us, writes Sefatsa Qopane in a reflection

14

Lock ’Em Up – But Give ’Em a Key What is the Christian way of dealing with convicted criminals? Dr Nathanael Siljeur explains

16

22 Journey to the Seven

Churches of Revelation

Mental Illness and the Saints A look at two saints who dealt with issues of mental illness

21

10 Saints to Help in Money Troubles We introduce ten saints we can turn to when we are experiencing financial and employment troubles

22

Which Church are YOU? What did Christ tell the Seven Churches of Revelation, and what does it mean for us today?

EVERY MONTH 5

FROM OUR VAULTS The Southern Cross 36 years ago

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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED You ask, and our team of experts replies, on questions about the gender of God, getting tattoos, being late for Mass, and the Maronite rite

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SAINT OF THE MONTH The life of St Maria Goretti — with pull-out poster

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have your say!

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THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa offers two more prayers

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The saint who forgave her killer

17

Meet SA’s newest bishop

RAYMOND PERRIER Can we trust our leaders?

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FR RON ROLHEISER OMI On falling in love

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PRAY WITH THE POPE Fr Chris Chatteris SJ reflects on the pope’s prayer intention for July

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PRAYER CORNER Your illustrated prayers, to cut out and collect

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TWO PAGES OF PUZZLES

TRY IT!

COOK A MEAL LIKE EZEKIEL This month’s recipes come straight from biblical times, with a lamb stew and bread from Ezekiel

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and ‘I was in prison it you came to vis me...’ (Mt 25:36)

In our digital ed ition, all links to websites are live.

Just click, and th e site opens in your br owser!

Two Crosswords, Wordsearch, Dropped Letters, Catholic Trivia Quiz, and Anagram Challenge

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Did you know?

...AND FINALLY History in Colour, Inspiring Quotes on war and peace, and a Last Laugh

Special focus on prison ministry

12

Cover image: Temple of Trajan in Pergamum, Turkey. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

36 Years Ago: July 27, 1986

FROM OUR VAULTS Hurley: We met banned ANC

Archbishop Denis Hurley has confirmed that a delegation of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference met with the banned African National Congress in Lusaka, Zambia, to discuss a variety of issues, including the question of sanctions.

However, the SACBC has not formally consulted with other liberation movements on the matter of sanctions, as claimed by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Responding to a jibe by the leader of the KwaZulu homeland that the conference had made itself a laughing stock by supposedly supporting selective economic pressure against South Africa, Archbishop Hurley clarified that the SACBC would not support sanctions if these would destroy, rather than just damage, the economy.

With pull-out poster!

Archbishop slams Thatcher

Archbishop Thomas Winning of Glasgow has accused British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher off “appalling moral ineptitude” for her refusal to apply sanctions against South Africa. The prime minister had previously called for sanctions against Argentina, Libya, Poland and the Soviet Union, the archbishop noted, adding: “Do financial considerations weigh more heavily than human rights?”

11 000 greet new bishop

Bishop Zithulele Patrick Mvemve, the newly -consecrated auxiliary bishop of Johannesburg [and future bishop of Klerksdorp], was welcomed by a crowd of 11 000 at Regina Mundi church in Soweto. (Also see photo below.)

Previous “From The Vaults” articles at www.scross.co.za/vaults

What else made news in July 1986:

• The government relaxes the pass book laws and introduces uniform green ID books for all South Africans.

• After more than 20 years of a government ban, Winnie Mandela is freed of all state-ordered restrictions.

• One month into the State of Emergency, several people are injured in bombings in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Volksrust and Cape Town.

• British prime minister Margaret Thatcher restates her opposition to economic sanctions against South Africa.

In reaction, South African-born UK athletes Zola Budd and Annette Crawley are banned from competing in the Commonwealth Games.

• US priest Fr Lawrence Martin Jenco is released by his Lebanese Islamic Jihad kidnappers after 18 months of captivity.

Fr Jenco was head of Catholic Relief Services in Beirut when he was snatched from a city street in January 1985.

• Germany’s Boris Becker successfully defends his Wimbledon title by beating Ivan Lendl in the men’s single final, and Martina Navratilova beats Hanna Mandlikova in the women’s final.

• SABC TV begins to simulcast some of its Afrikaans-dubbed TV series in the original soundtrack on Radio 2000. These include Misdaad in Miami (Miami Vice), Die Man van Staal (The Six Million Dollar Man) and Germany’s Derrick.

Left: Bishop Andrew Zolile Brooks leads newly-ordained Fr Richard Menatsi to the congregation at Zingisa Minor Seminary in Mthatha.

Right: Deacons Tom Robinson and Peter Horrocks hold the books of the Gospel over the head of Bishop Zithulele Patrick Mvemve during his ordination as auxiliary of Johannesburg.

The Southern Cross

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He, she, her, him...

Is God a man or a woman?

Q. I really can’t bear it when people try to be modern and refer to God as “she” and “her”, and so on. What next: “Our Mother who art in heaven”? Does the Church have a position on the gender of God?

I

T IS THE CLEAR TEACHING OF THE Church that God is neither male nor female. As the divine being, God transcends gender.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “In no way is God in man’s image. He is neither man nor woman.

God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective ‘perfections’ of man and woman reflect something

of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father” (370).

The traditional use of the masculine pronoun, then, does not equate to a belief in the masculinity of God. Having said that, I would make the argument that — for the sake of uniformity within a congregation and across the wider Church — it is best to stick in the liturgy with the responses given in the Roman missal and hope that the liturgical translators eventually catch up with the Church’s theology.

As for the Our Father, that of course has a special sacredness because it was the prayer taught directly by Jesus. In order to convey the ready

Does the Church allow tattoos?

Q. My daughter has told me that she is thinking of getting a tattoo.

I’m against that idea, so could you tell me whether the Church approves of tattoos, and what else I could tell her?

T

HE SHORT ANSWER IS: THE Church issues no prohibition on tattoos. And before anybody quotes Leviticus 19, remember that its prohibition relates to a specific cultural and religious context (basically, to discourage the followers of the one God from procuring possibly pagan tattoos).

The injunction in the Letters to the Hebrews that we ought to treat our bodies like a temple doesn’t apply to tattoos either. If it did, we couldn’t allow piercings, for example. The act of getting a tattoo is in itself morally neutral, though there are many practical arguments against it.

But there are some issues to consider before one gets a tattoo.

Obviously, lewd or blasphemous tattoos are a very bad idea. So are those that reflect a reality which

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The Southern Cross

might be very different in the future: the name of a girl- or boyfriend, or that of a currently popular pop act, or a political philosophy, for example. An “I ♥ Putin” tattoo probably does not look as good now as it might have done a few years ago.

It should go without saying that for Catholics, a tattoo should not be blasphemous, sexually explicit, insulting to others, and so on. And beware of inadvertently choosing an image connected to the occult or, worse, satanism.

Another consideration: Where is the tattoo going? Placement is important, especially if the tattoo refers to sexuality.

The question with every new tattoo should be: What are you trying to communicate with your bodywork — and why?

A good piece of advice is to allow for a cooling-off period. Wait for a few weeks or months, and see

Your Questions answered Do you have questions about our faith? Send them to: editor@scross.co.za Subject line: Q&A

accessibility to us of the Lord, Jesus called his Father by the Aramaic word “Abba” — which, some scholars say, really translates to our warm and familiar word “Daddy”.

That word must have shocked Christ’s Jewish listeners, who felt that God was so far above them that they ought not even pronounce his name.

Since Jesus used these very words, this prayer ought never to change.

With a touch of flippancy, I ask whether you can imagine if Jesus had invited us instead to pray to “Our divine and genderless being”?

(Fr Kenneth Doyle)

if you still want a tattoo, and that particular design in that particular place on the body. If after that period you still want that tattoo in that place, go for it.

And a final good counsel: If you do get a tattoo, make sure the artist has the necessary artistic skills and, if the design involves words, the ability to spell — you don’t want your tattoo appearing on websites for the amusement of others.

Photos: Sheldo Reddiar

How late may I be for Mass?

Q. If I arrive at church after Mass has begun, how late may I be before I am not allowed to receive Holy Communion?

T

HERE WAS A TIME WHEN PEOPLE WERE TAUGHT THAT you were late for Mass only if you arrived at church after the Gloria. Others were told that you were allowed to receive Holy Communion as long as you had heard the proclamation of the Gospel.

I think we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and have a greater integrity. If we are not in our places, recollected and attentive, before the opening hymn and procession, then we are late for Mass! Allow me to explain.

The liturgy is not something that is performed by clergy and lay ministers while the congregation looks on, as an audience does in the theatre or opera house. The liturgy is meant to be the prayer of the entire people assembled together. Although one person presides and others carry out the various ministries, all have a role to play. No baptised person should ever be reduced to a mere spectator. The congregation prays as a collective: standing, sitting, kneeling, responding, singing and gesturing together.

If, therefore, a minority of members is absent at the beginning, we are all impoverished. If individuals are squeezing in or pushing past at regular intervals during the Liturgy of the Word, they have misunderstood their role at Mass and

they prevent others from entering into what is happening.

Of course, there will be times when things are beyond our control. If the car breaks down, you are trying to get a grumpy teenager up and dressed, or the baby needs a nappy-change just as you arrive at church, you are going to be delayed and you may feel terribly guilty. If you have genuinely done your best to be on time, don’t think twice about going up to receive Communion. The Lord feeds us so as to make us stronger.

Nevertheless, let’s not get into bad habits, or be too ready to make excuses. Each of us has a role to play in making up the assembly of believers. We are supposed to be the People of God at prayer. The more regular and more enthusiastic our attendance, the more the congregation will grow into a vibrant body that lends support to each member.

(Fr Thomas Plastow SJ)

Who are the Maronites?

Q. I understand that Maronites are Lebanese Christians of an Eastern rite, but what is their background?

T

HE HISTORY OF THE MARONITE Church, which historically has close ties with Rome, goes back to the late 4th and early 5th century, with a Syriac monk named St Maron, who converted many people in regions of what is now Syria, Lebanon and southern Turkey. When he died in 410 AD, his followers built a monastery in the city of Apamea, in modern-day Syria. This was the beginning of the Maronite Church.

This group soon became embroiled in theological disputes with other Christian sects, particularly after the council of Chalcedon of 452. That helped strengthen their identity and make them well-known, enabling missionary activities in surrounding regions, including Lebanon.

In 609, the Maronites elected Bishop John Maron as patriarch of Antioch and all the East, the Church’s oldest see. The Church authorities in Constantinople (the future Orthodox Church) saw that as an usurpation of its powers, but the election was supported by Pope Sergius I. This helps

explain why the Maronites became close to Rome and its pope. The Muslim conquest of Syria — meaning the region covering modern Syria, Israel, Palestine and parts of Jordan — from 634–638 resulted in large-scale emigration of Maronites to Lebanon.

During the Crusades, the Maronites strengthened their relationship with the Latin Church, and that persisted even during the many centuries of Ottoman rule.

When global emigration became more common in the 19th century, the Maronites were widely dispersed globally. The first Maronites arrived in Johannesburg (which has two Maronite churches, in Woodmead and Mulbarton) by 1892. Today, it is believed, two-thirds of the world’s 3 million Maronites live outside Lebanon, where the remaining members make up about 20% of the population — but that number is dropping fast due to more emigration from a depressed country.

The Maronite rite has its own patriarch, missal and disciplines — for example married priests are possible.

The most famous Maronite saint is St Charbel Makhlouf.

• See www.maronitechurch.co.za

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The Southern Cross

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Photo: M3tt@Wikipedia

This is SA’s newest bishop In June, the diocese of Kokstad got a new bishop. Maurizio langa cMM spoke with Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa.

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N THE 1970S, eCHIBINI WASN’T nal grandmother Philomena Mazikode known for its beauty. Living condi- Mkhize. The idea was mainly to keep tions were hard, and the area had the grandmother, who was living alone, no electricity, no running water, no company. Another reason was that her proper roads, and very few schools. And house was close to the school. in this place, near eXobho (or Ixopo) in Bishop Mbuyisa grew up in a close KwaZulu-Natal, the future bishop of and loving family, and also a staunchly Kokstad was born on February 13, 1973.

Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa was the worldwide superior of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries (CMM) when Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Kokstad earlier this year. He received his episcopal Catholic one. “My grandmother was ordination in June. It is a far cry from very conversant, and she had great ingrowing up in eChibini, but the new fluence on me. She was a devoted bishop remembers his roots. He recalls Catholic and a member of the Sodality growing up in the deeply rural area as of St Anne.” being challenging. He would wake up So the Church played a central role early in the morning to milk the cows in his upbringing. From an early age, and then quickly drive them to the paddock or grazing area.

Bishop Tulani Victor From there, he would rush Mbuyisa, the new head home with a bucket of water of Kokstad diocese, for washing, before dressing with his cathedral at for school. the top of the page.

Photo: Maurizio Langa CMM, His family was small and big at the same time, he remembered. Small in the sense that he came from a family of five: his now late father Sphiwe Themba Beatus Mbuyisa, mother Nomathemba Theresa Mbuyisa (also known as Nomakisimusi, which means “the one born on a Christmas Day”); and his siblings Nokuthula Mbuyisa Magubane, Mondli Cyril Mbuyisa and Nhlanhla Emmanuel Mbuyisa. On the other hand, the bishop said, he came from a big family in the sense that he grew up with his cousins.

He attended Mariathal Primary School in eXobho from 1979-85. But then his parents sent him and elder sister Nokuthula to live with mater-

Mariathal mission became a home to us

8

The Southern Cross

the future bishop was an altar server.

“This was an exciting time because I enjoyed serving the priest at the altar.”

Young Thulani went on to join the choir and youth group at his parish, Mariathal mission. “Our lives were very much centred in the Church, and activities that took place at church”, he recalled.

Mariathal mission was a melting pot of activities which were carried out by the Precious Blood Sisters, and the Brothers and priests of the Missionaries of Mariannhill. “The mission became a home to us, and the priests and religious Brothers were very welcoming,” Bishop Mbuyisa recalled. “We went to the mission not only for Holy Mass on Sunday but also during the week after school for other activities, such as helping to pick fruit in the orchard,” Bishop Mbuyisa recalled.

Waking Br Herbert

Growing up during apartheid and without television at home or in the neighbourhood, the Mariathal parish house became a centre of convergence for many of his peers.

He said they would gather at the mission to watch soccer games involving Kaizer Chiefs (his favourite team) and Orlando Pirates — and this meant sometimes disturbing the siesta of the religious or priests at there. Sometimes Br Herbert would scream at them: “Why are you disturbing me?” But then he would get up, open the door and give the youngsters sweets and carrots before allowing them in to watch the game.

Young Thulani enjoyed his schooling. Most teachers came from the neighbourhood, he remembered, and that made it difficult for one to misbehave.

If one stepped out of line, punishment was severe — and there were no boundaries between

home and school. “If the teacher comes from the neighbourhood, he will come home and report what had happened at school, and you are once again punished. If one came late to school or failed a test, you would always get beaten. This is how we grew up,” Bishop Mbuyisa said.

His grandmother was a strict disciplinarian. When he and his siblings and cousins came back from school, grandmother made sure that they ironed their school uniform in preparation for the following day. Such routine, he said, was the same with church in that they had to have their clothing ready and shoes polished the night before. The strict regimen taught him to be disciplined and organised. Bishop Mbuyisa recalled that there was no gender distinction when it came to house chores. “We all, boys and girls, had to kneel and smear our house floor using cow dung. We all had to do it.”

After primary school Thulani attended Nokweja High School in eXobho from 1986-91, but his first choice had been Little Flower High School in eXobho, which was run by the CPS Sisters at the time. He was academically perfectly qualified for admission, but there was a snag: under apartheid, Little Flower was designated a “coloured school”. “They told me that my marks were very good and that they could take me if I changed my name and surname to English ones. The fact that I am light in complexion meant that there would be no problem since I looked like a coloured.” He kept his name.

Gradual call to vocation

Thulani completed high school in Mariathal in 1992, and the following year he joined the CMM novitiate in Mariannhill. He cannot remember exactly when the idea of joining religious life started. Bishop Mbuyisa vividly remembers that as a young boy he wanted to become a lawyer.

While he was still at high school, the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill opened a pre-novitiate house at Mariathal mission. This presented the opportunity for engaging with young men from other African countries who had come to join the CMM postulancy. That was an eyeopener, because in his home village young Thulani had never met young people from outside South Africa. “With the apartheid system, we grew up as if we were not part of Africa. We were not exposed to African literature and African history,” the bishop recalled.

Engagement with the formator at the pre-novitiate and young men at the postulancy ignited his vocation to the

The issue of The Southern Cross in October 2016 that reported on the election of Fr Thulani Mbuyisa as worldwide head of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries.

religious life and priesthood.

The call to join the CMM was inspired by many members of the congregation through their way of life and conduct, Bishop Mbuyisa said. One such person was his former parish priest at Mariathal, Fr Joseph Steger CMM. “His life inspired me in many ways. He is kind — and I enjoyed his Holy Mass as an altar server because they were shorter than those celebrated by other priests.”

As a young deacon and priest, he’d be assigned to do pastoral work under Fr Steger at St Michael’s mission. “Fr Steger is still alive, but now retired. He was one of the best priests to work under and introduce you to pastoral work,” the bishop noted.

As part of his ongoing formation and training after his first profession as

a Missionary of Mariannhill, the future bishop was sent to St Joseph’s Theological Institute in Cedara, near Pietermaritzburg, where by 1999 he successfully completed bachelors degrees in philosophy and theology. He made his perpetual profession on February 2, 1997, and was ordained a priest at Mariannhill monastery on March 4, 2000. Subsequently, he completed licentiate and masters degrees in canon law at St Paul University and Ottawa University, Canada.

He went on to train and form novices at CMM houses in Mariannhill and Nairobi, Kenya. From 2010 he served in leadership positions at the congregation’s headquarters in Rome, and in October 2016, he was elected superior general of the CMM, becoming the first black leader of the worldwide congregation.

New job as bishop

That job came to an end with his appointment to head the diocese of Kokstad. Bishop Mbuyisa’s first challenge in that role is getting to know the priests, religious communities in the diocese, and the faithful at large. “To know who they are, how they live, what brings them joy and what are their challenges is a starting point to familiarise myself with the dynamics of the diocese,” he said.

The diocese of Kokstad has a historical link with Mariannhill in that until it was established as a vicariate in 1935, the then-District of Kokstad had been part of the Mariannhill vicariate.

Bishop Mbuyisa noted that some bishops in their congratulatory messages noted that “now Mariannhill is going back to Kokstad”.

He is only the sixth bishop of the diocese; his last three predecessors — Bishops Napier, Slattery and Mpambani — all went on to become archbishops.

The new bishop is aware of the mammoth task entrusted to him. It will be necessary for him to work closely with all the relevant stakeholders in the diocese. He envisages a synodal way, which calls the Church to remain as a steadfast listening and proactive institution. “Instead of coming with alreadymade programmes, I commit to engage with the stakeholders so that together we can engineer the path that we will tread on together,” he stated.

And there are times when a bishop needs to relax. Bishop Mbuyisa does so by reading, preferably law stories, listening to music, and playing marimbas.

While he might not have any sporting trophies in his cabinet, he was a formidable football player in his youth, and still loves watching games on TV — now without the need to wake up Br Herbert.

The Southern Cross

9

Making room at the inn One of South Africa’s foremost hotel executives is driven by her deep faith.

Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo was interviewed by Daluxolo Moloantoa.

T

HERE ARE MANY HOSPITALITY stories in the Bible: the Wedding at Cana, the Last Supper, or the Feeding of the Multitudes. The best-known of them is the Nativity narrative in Bethlehem, where there was no room at the inn, yet the Lord ensured that Mary and Joseph had a roof over their heads as Jesus came into the world. For hotelier Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, CEO of the City Lodge Hotel Group, it is this direct relation to her three-decades-long career and her spirituality which fuels her passion to serve in tourism and hospitality.

When they escaped apartheid in 1965, Lindiwe’s parents had no idea that it was the beginning of a life spanning several countries and decades away from

their homeland. Having experienced apartheid South Africa, they decided that it was better to raise a family away from the chokehold of an oppressive system.

Lindiwe was born to Zulu parents in Manzini, Eswatini, in 1966. Her brother Dumisani was born two years later. “My parents say that we were the first children to be baptised with African names in Swaziland,” Lindiwe told The Southern Cross. Administering the sacrament was Bishop Aloysius Mandlenkosi Zwane at the Our Lady of Assumption cathedral in Manzini, the same church where she would later make her first Communion.

At that time, it was not a common practice to baptise children with African names, so parents often gave their children biblical names like John and Ruth.

“My parents felt strongly that their Zulu culture must be prominent in the naming of their children.”

At the time Lindiwe’s father, Stan Sangweni, was the head of the Luyengo Agricultural College, at a time when Swaziland was at the cusp of independence. Lindiwe’s first taste of international travel was as a little girl of six, when the family moved to the Netherlands in 1971, while her father pursued a master’s degree in geography. Two years later the family returned to Swaziland; two years later they moved to Lusaka, Zambia, after Mr Sangweni’s appointment to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. In Lusaka Lindiwe continued her primary and juniorhigh schooling.

Political exiles

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In the Zambian capital Mr Sangweni and his wife Angela became increasingly involved in the antiapartheid struggle.

They met great leaders of the African National Congress (ANC), such as the o r g a n i s a t i o n ’s president Oliver Reginald Tambo, future SA President Thabo Mbeki, Sophie and Benny de Bruyn (both The Southern Cross

Catholics), Ruth Mompati, Johnny Makathini, and many more cadres of the liberation movement. Mr Sangweni’s sister, the recently late Lindiwe Mabuza — also Catholic — lived with the family after going into exile in 1975.

This conscientised the children to the horrors of apartheid — and the price of resisting the system. “From 1976, our family was no longer able to visit family in South Africa, because both my parents’ active involvement in the antiapartheid struggle was now a danger to themselves and their families in South Africa — they were officially deemed political exiles,” Lindiwe recalls.

Way before she could even think of visiting her homeland for the first time, Lindiwe completed her high school education at Waterford-Kamhlaba School in Mbabane, Eswatini, in 1983. By then, her parents had relocated to Nairobi, Kenya. “I was confirmed in Nairobi at the church of St Ignatius. I was active as a youth, taught catechism to Grade 1 students as a teacher’s assistant — which was a lot of fun — and was also a reader at Mass,” she recalled.

After furthering her studies in Nairobi, Lindiwe took the first steps towards following her passion: hotel management. In 1987, she enrolled at the Ecole Les Roches Hotel Management School for a diploma in hotel management, and then furthered her studies with a BSc in hotel, restaurant and institutional management degree at Penn State University in the United States. Her first job in the hotel industry was in 1993 as assistant front office manager at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC. She later served in the same position at the Park Hyatt in Johannesburg.

Service to the Church

In Johannesburg, Lindiwe joined the parish she still belongs to today, the church of the Resurrection in Bryanston.

For many years, her parish priest there was the late Fr Michael Fitzpatrick, and since 2014 Fr Keith Gordon-Davis.

Lindiwe is an active parishioner. In 2007 she became an extraordinary minister of the Eucharistic.

“It has been a very important role for me,” she said. “I find that any role within the Church is an absolute privilege, which I do not take for granted. I

find deep fulfilment in visiting the sick and the elderly members of our parish. It is one of the most humbling acts of service one human being can give to another.

One is able to serve Jesus directly.”

She has also served as an elected member of the parish pastoral council for the past six years.

Lindiwe’s wedding in 1995, however, was at her parents’ church, St Anne’s in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, conducted by Fr David Moetapele. She married Salif Siddo, whom she met while they were both students at Penn State.

“Ours is an interfaith marriage; he is a Muslim. Salif and his family were very comfortable celebrating our union in a Catholic church. It was a memorable day that brought our families — from Niger and South Africa — under one roof and in total harmony, in spite of our various cultural and religious backgrounds,” she recalled. “It was a colourful celebration, with our guests dressed beautifully in an explosion of colour from various African designs made of the finest fabrics. The late melodious songstress Sibongile Khumalo graced the occasion by singing ‘Ave Maria’ as we solemnised our vows. It was a truly beautiful day which I shall never forget.”

Growing up for a career

Sangweni-Siddo has carved a remarkable career in the hotel and tourism industry, despite her father’s original wish that she should become a medical doctor. “With the exposure to many different countries, and our life of travelling from place to place, I became very attracted to the tourism and hospitality industry.”

Hospitality was part of growing up. “My mother was also an accomplished home economics teacher, and over the years I had been exposed to her hospitable nature at home, where she often received guests, such as Oliver Tambo and his entourage. I would often assist her. She is an amazing cook and a meticulous homekeeper. I believe all of this must have had some influence on my love for the hospitality industry.”

As the founder of the Zuka African Tourism and Investment Corporation (ZATIC)‚ Sangweni-Siddo pioneered the development of the Soweto Hotel and Conference Centre.

The hotel is the first black femaleowned four-star hotel in a South African township. “The hotel has been pivotal in providing training and exposure to black youth who are keen to join our industry. Acquiring skills and qualifications for our youth is not always easy, given the financial outlay to acquire the prerequisite skills and knowledge of the industry. The Soweto Hotel and Confer-

Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo and husband Salif. They married in 1995

ence Centre has played this training role from its inception.”

The centre is located on a historic national heritage site — the place in Kliptown where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955. “This makes the hotel prominent, as we are able to give a historical account through not only the location but also the décor, photography on the walls, and the political background and historical context that one can follow in the Kliptown Museum situated opposite the hotel. There are youth from Kliptown and Soweto at large who have become tour guides over the years, and other owners of businesses such as quad biking, bungee jumping, bicycle rides, bird watching,

‘I am where I am because of my BELIEFS and my FAITH’ arts and crafts and much more, who have benefited from the existence and location of the Soweto Hotel and Conference Centre,” she said.

The tourism and hospitality industry suffered a major blow with the Covid-19 pandemic. Sangweni-Siddo has been at the coalface of the disruption brought about by the pandemic. The industry had to close down all operating hotels at the onset of the national state of disaster in March 2020. Nearly half a million jobs were lost. “The pandemic threw our sector into total disarray, as a result of local and global lockdowns. The lockdowns put a very long pause on travel with stringent restrictions. However, as the reign of turmoil caused by the pandemic gradually subsides, we are beginning to see signs of recovery.”

Led by the Holy Spirit

As a Catholic, Lindiwe’s spirituality has had a defining impact on her career and her life in general. “I am where I

am because of my beliefs and faith. In recent times, with the impact of Covid on my personal and professional life, I know I could not be where I am without my faith and belief in God. My spirituality as a Catholic is a dynamic journey, and led by the Holy Spirit all the time,” she said.

The loss of her father on May 18, 2021, came most unexpectedly. “Even as my family said our last goodbyes at his hospital bedside, we were consoled by his acceptance of his impending death.

He told us he was ready to meet his Maker, and that he was not afraid of death. He asked for the last rites to be performed by Fr Thulani Skhosana. He told the priest that he was preparing for his departure. Fr Skhosana later described this as a ‘good death’.

Hard as it has been for me to come to terms with my father’s demise, I am always consoled in my heart at how he lived his life always in close communion with God our Father, and how he allowed the Holy Spirit to enable his transition.”

Prayer and conversation with God form part of Lindiwe’s daily routine.

“My day begins and ends in prayer. I do gratitude walks, which I have about three or four times a week. As I walk very early in the morning, I am in conversation with God, and I use nature as my palette to paint my messages of gratitude to God. I thank him for all of my senses which are brought alive by the fragrances of flowers, the sounds of birds, the beautiful bursts of colour, the temperature of the air on my skin. I use these walks to praise and thank God for everything I can think of. When I am feeling down, I am always uplifted and energised once I have had my gratitude walk.”

Lindiwe believes Catholic professionals are not doing enough to use their “professional platforms to evangelise and spread the Word of God. There is a tendency for many of us, myself included, to shy away and not really share our experience of knowing the Lord, and testifying on the good things that we have experienced in our journey with God through thick and thin,” she said.

“I always ask God to use me as an instrument of his in everything I do. I try to use my God-given talents as tools to enhance my work and interactions with people, and my prayer is that they recognise all the good they see in me as proof of God’s existence.”

She added: “The Church could definitely use professionals more in its advancement and development by involving professionals in all aspects of its work, for the greater good.”

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Why we find Christ in jail Prisoners aren’t that different from the rest of us, sefatsa Qopane writes from the experience of his own ministry.

S

UCCESSIVE POPES HAVE REMINDED THE faithful of their duties towards the imprisoned and their families. This means that all Christians are challenged to consider ministering to prison inmates, as a call that needs their urgent response, here and now. Indeed, in his theme for the Holy Year 1975, Pope Paul VI made explicit reference to concern and care for prisoners — prisoners of conscience, but also prisoners sentenced for crimes.

There is so much more to be said about prisoners than the fact that they have fallen foul of the law. There are many positive things that we can imagine about prison inmates other than the ever-present negative stereotypes we have at our fingertips.

Goodness, too, can shine through, and when it does so in jail, it is even more welcome because of its improbable setting.

From my own experience, I can speak of the prisoners’ patience, tolerance, and their unexpected honesty, to mention but a few qualities. Because of the constraints of their environment, the goodness of prisoners often expresses itself in small ways, which might easily go unnoticed. But these “little” acts of kindness are not so little after all.

Many people think of prisoners as a bunch of ruffians who get what they deserve, but the truth is that they are, in fact, a very mixed bag. Whatever they are, however, it is absolutely contrary to the Christian ethos and its fundamental tenets to ostracise them. The Gospel helps us to recognise that we are not simply our brothers’ keepers but also that “whatever we do, or fail to do, for the least of the brothers and sisters, we have done unto Him” (Matthew 25:45).

Those who are acquainted with “virtue ethics” are unlikely

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to challenge an assertion that “loving means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all; forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all; faith means believing the unbelievable, or it is no virtue at all; and hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all”. This, I believe, is what the Christian calling entails. Many people who have had the opportunity of working with prisoners readily admit that they have gained at least as much as they have given.

The inmate is a human person

It has to be a constant reminder to us that, before anything else, prisoners are also human beings — people like you and me.

People with hopes and fears, ambitions and longings, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as the rest of the human race. People who are not wholly good but not wholly bad either — just like the rest of us. I have found prison to be truly a place where one discovers how good people are and how bad people can be. The badness is the same badness — violence, ingratitude, hypocrisy, and so on — we might find on every side in the world outside, and even within ourselves.

There is a general apathy and indifference which Christians display towards prisoners. A significant number of congregants simply do not want to know; they would rather not get too involved. It is as though they are echoing Cain’s proverbial question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). And perhaps many Christians think the same — but the question has an answer. Yes, we are our brothers’ keeper. And that poses a question: What have we done with our brothers and sisters? And inversely, it raises a question about

ourselves: What sort of human beings are we?

In the synoptic Gospels, Christ identifies himself with prisoners. Christians should not be surprised to find that when they

‘Prison is a place where one discovers how GOOD people are and how BAD people can be’ enter a prison, their Master is already there: “I was in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:36). Jesus doesn’t specify whether the prisoners have to be innocent or guilty. Certainly a great number of inmates seem to come straight from the scriptures — the lonely, the unloved, the addicted, and so on.

It is impressive to read Ezekiel’s account of his pastoral ministry to the prisoners in Babylon: “I came to them of the captivity…and sat where they sat” (3:15). I suppose every man and woman of goodwill should be called to set a time aside and try to reach out to offenders — to sit where they sit, both physically and psychologically, and to try seeing things through their eyes, to listen to them, and to offer them the hand of friendship. Christians are invited to identify with their brothers and sisters in prison according to the author of the letter to the Hebrews, when he urges his readers: “Keep in mind those who are in prison as though you were in prison with them” (13:3).

Ministering to inmates requires sincerity. Prisoners tend to be suspicious of people they do not know. To make matters worse, many of them have had unhappy experiences with authority figures. They hate hypocrisy and quickly sniff it out. They want to know if you really care about them. And if so, how do you show it? In a sense, you have to prove yourself.

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Called in faith

How should we see offenders?

How should we perceive offenders? A Christian view should not be like all others — it should be distinct. This assertion is articulated by an elegant maxim by the Romanian writer Virgil Georghiu (1916-92): “The police seek in every human being a murderer; the wise man and the philosopher seek in every murderer a human being. We Christians seek God in every person…even in murderers. And each of us will find what he seeks: the police will find their murderer; the philosophers will find their human beings; and we, we shall find God in every person.”

I suppose visiting the incarcerated can be the sort of thing that makes a Christian vocation to serve worthwhile. Indeed, it’s a call that demands dedication from each and every one of us — and a task to which Our Lord calls any of us.

Sefatsa Qopane has served as the facilitator of the Alpha course programme at the Department of Correctional Services. He writes in his personal capacity. To find out how to get involved in prison ministry, contact your local diocese.

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LOCK ‘EM UP! ...but give them a key Simply locking offenders up and throwing away the key is not the Christian option, as Jesus himself warned. But what is the Christian way of dealing with convicted criminals? Dr Nathanael Siljeur explains.

We’re all sick of crime. So why shouldn’t we just lock the criminals nals up up and and throw throw away away the the key? key?

The recently released crime statistics paint a bleak picture of crime in South Africa. South Africans are rightfully frustrated and angry with the level of crime in the country. The statistics relating to rape, gender and child offences, and murders evoke extreme emotions.

Prison ministry is sensitive to the consequences of crime: the loss, hurt, pain, brokenness, and vulnerability experienced by victims of crime, their families, and broader society. Therefore Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town explains that prison ministry rests on the offenders “acknowledging, accepting and owning the consequences of their actions”.

However, Christians cannot shy away from being that beacon of hope and ambassadors of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. Forgiveness entails restoring the communion between the victim, offender, and community damaged by sin.

How can criminals be rehabilitated? Don’t most relapse into crime when when they they get get out? out? crime

Rehabilitation entails a process of assisting an offender to better deal with risk factors that could make them offend.

Criminals can be rehabilitated. However, rehabilitation of offenders should be a collaborative effort between the offender, the victim, and the community, including the offender and victim’s families and correctional services.

Indeed the most extensive responsibility rests with the offenders as they should use the tools they have learnt during the rehabilitative programmes to make the correct choices.

Collectively, the broader society, including the different faith formations,

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Group session during a restorative justice course. Inmates’ faces have been blurred.

has a responsibility to create an enabling environment to ensure an offender’s continued and sustainable rehabilitation and reintegration back into their families and the community.

What What happened happened to to the the biblical biblical “an-eye-for-eye”? “an-eye-for-eye”?

Often, groups in society refer to passages from the Old Testament like “an eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Leviticus 24:1921) to justify harsh punishment. In her book Harm, Healing, and Human Dignity, Catholic author Caitlin Morneau correctly explains that punishment in the Old Testament was not intended as a form of revenge but rather as a means of purification. The punishment was meant to lead the offender to atone through self-sacrifice and repentance.

In our society today we have a term for that: restorative justice. Interventions using restorative justice are and should be about accountability, acceptance and responsibility.

The New Testament further amplifies a merciful and forgiving approach, characterised by turning the other cheek. Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:38-40).

There are many instances in the Gospels where Jesus tells us how to approach the outcasts and those suffering.

He has a loving and merciful approach to these marginalised individuals.

Firstly, in Matthew 25:16, Jesus commands us to visit prisoners. Secondly, in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), Jesus emphasises the forgiving and merciful nature of God the Father. Therefore we are called to emulate Jesus’ example by rejoicing when a “brother of yours was lost and is found”.

So what is restorative justice?

Restorative justice is an alternative to the traditional criminal justice approach. It focuses on the victim, offender and community relationships, the harm caused by the crime, and what can be done to repair the harm.

Throughout the entire restorative justice process, the impact is considered and emphasised. The mediator facilitates a voluntary dialogue between the victim and the offender.

We must also remember that the offender’s family is usually the secondary victim of the offender’s crimes. The family commonly suffers embarrassment, possibly the loss of a breadwinner, and the offender’s company, whether as a father, son or brother (or, in rarer cases, mother, daughter or sister).

How How does does restorative restorative justice justice work work in in action? action?

The mediation takes place in a safe and secure environment. The offender has the responsibility to truthfully explain his actions to the victim and take personal responsibility for the consequences of his crime.

Usually, the family-offender mediation occurs before victim-offender mediation. Although the victim and offender are usually primary participants during the mediation, other family members can support them during

the victim-offender mediation.

Many prisons globally implement variations of the restorative justice programme. I can speak from experience about that in the Western Cape correctional facilities, where the Prison Care and Support Network (PCSN) of the archdiocese of Cape Town, which I serve as chair, is active.

The two primary restorative practices are family-offender mediation and victim-offender dialogue. The PCSN specialises in the former. Our ten-day restorative justice programme focuses primarily on assisting the offender in understanding himself, understanding crime and its consequences, understanding the impact on the victim and the victim’s family, and understanding risk factors that could lead to them reoffending. In addition, we endeavour over the ten days for the offender to forgive himself and allow God’s grace and forgiveness to penetrate his life.

This, we hope, will give them a key to liberating themselves.

Secondly, we prepare the families to choose to come to a Family-Offender Mediation Day and be open to forgiving the offender for the hurt, loss, disappointment, shame, betrayal, and struggle that his actions have caused. That day usually is a very blessed and emotional time for the offender and his family. It is a blessing to experience God’s healing work to change people’s circumstances.

Our sister NGOs assist with the Victim-Offender Day.

Is there any evidence that restorative justice justice is is effective? effective? restorative

The empirical evidence indicates that the imprisonment of offenders is not an effective deterrent to recidivism. Recidivism — which is when a released offender reoffends — remains a challenge.

However, empirical studies and our experience in the Prison Care and Support Network ministry suggests that restorative justice processes are helpful in reducing recidivism. Further, the studies indicate that juvenile offenders who attend restorative justice programmes and return to enabling environments have a lower level of recidivism.

However, the broader society must create an enabling environment to prevent recidivism. An enabling environment includes family and institutional support to help the offender adjust to life outside prison. Rehabilitative programmes are not the silver bullet to prevent all crimes or prevent offenders from committing more offences. Still, it provides the offender with substantive tools to help him reintegrate into society, which mitigates reoffending.

Family members reconcile at a Family-Offender Mediation Day

Quite often, recidivism is used as the only measure to determine the impact of restorative justice programmes.

However, rehabilitative programmes such as restorative justice should be measured more broadly. For example, other measures might include improved spousal or child-parent relationships, reduced aggression, and so on.

Improving other socio-economic factors, such as poverty and unemployment, will also reduce recidivism.

What What is is the the Church Church doing? doing?

The Church has played a supportive role in ministering to offenders in prison. In addition, the Church advocates and ensures the pastoral needs of offenders are met at an international level and local level.

In 1972, a group of Catholic chaplains from different countries that had loosely cooperated since 1950 met with Pope Paul VI. With the pope’s guidance and support, the group received a juridical format with a charter and statutes. Today the organisation is known as the International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care (ICCPPC). For the past 15 years, the commission has ensured that they maintain the official observer status as an NGO at the United Nations. In this role, the ICCPPC provides input at the UN deliberations relating to crime prevention, criminal justice reform, promotion of human rights, application of UN standards, gender issues and social defence.

There’s also a national prison chaplaincy. Again, speaking from my experience, within the archdiocese of Cape Town, the PCSN has ministered to offenders and their families for more than 20 years at correctional facilities include Pollsmoor, Goodwood, Worcester, Allandale, Brandvlei and Helderstroom.

We have a board of management consisting of seven members, two fulltime

staff members, and approximately 30 volunteers. The ministry we provide in prison includes weekly visits from our spiritual workers, about six ten-day restorative justice programmes per year, and our chaplain administers the sacraments for Catholics on request.

Outside prison, the work includes monthly ex-offender meetings, bursaries for the offender’s children to attend secondary school, food parcels for families in need, and facilitating bursaries for offenders pursuing tertiary studies.

The PCSN needs to do much more in advocating for criminal justice reform, including reforms in the correctional facilities and programmes specifically tailored to support victims.

However, we need more support and funding to do this.

Why should Catholics care about about the the prison prison ministry? ministry?

The Church promotes prison ministry because Christians are called to create a culture of encounter. Pope Francis explains that we should go to the margins of society, sharing a ministry of presence with those we meet. Prison ministry creates a vehicle for such encounters with victims, offenders and the community.

We should be agents of restoration.

As Caitlin Morneau, the director of Restorative Justice at the Catholic Mobilising Network, states: “Jesus not only modelled how to live restoratively but his death and resurrection, in atonement for our sins, was the ultimate act of restorative justice. This redemption and promise of salvation implore us to be ministers of reconciliation.”

Dr Nathanael Siljeur is the chair of the Prison Care and Support Network.

The network can be supported by donations or volunteering. For more information, see www.pcsn.org.za The Southern Cross

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The SAINTS and MENTAL ILLNESS

In our ongoing series of articles on mental health, Deacon ED shoEnEr looks at saints whose lives proved that all are worthy of God’s grace, including those who live with mental illness.

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ID ANY OF THE SAINTS live with a mental illness? Yes, most certainly some of them did.

They were human. Mental illness has always been part of the human condition. Saints lived with every kind of illness, and those who lived with mental illness can give hope to the millions of people who live with mental health disorders today.

The suggestion that some saints lived with a mental illness does not diminish their legacy. To believe that would only perpetuate the stigma and discrimination that people who live with mental health problems must endure; it would falsely infer that living with a mental illness makes a person less worthy of God’s grace.

The reality is that people who live with a mental illness can have deep and profound insights into suffering and the mercy of God. God’s grace is not limited by any condition, including mental illness. People who live with a mental illness can be especially close to God and live holy lives.

People with mental illness are uniquely joined to Christ. Pope St John Paul II said: “Christ took all human suffering on himself, even mental illness. Yes, even this affliction, which perhaps seems the most absurd and incomprehensible, configures the sick person to Christ and gives him a share in his redeeming passion.”

There are two saints, St Dymphna and St John of God, who stand out because their legacies have inspired entire communities to value and accompany people who live with a mental illness.

Case 1: St Dymphna St Dymphna is well known as a patron of people living with mental illness (you may recall the prayer to her which we published with the first article in this series in May).

She was a 7th-century Irish princess who fled from her father, who seems to have had a mental illness, and she settled in Geel, Belgium, where she cared for people with mental illnesses.

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Because she lived so long ago, much of her story is shrouded in the mist of legend, so it is difficult to know with certainty much about Dymphna herself.

However, we do know that St Dymphna’s legacy inspired the people of Geel to show compassion for people who lived with mental illness. Over the centuries, the people of Geel invited

People living with a mental illness can be especially close to God and live holy lives people with a mental illness to live and work in their community, without any stigma or discrimination. Throughout the Middle Ages and even today, the town of Geel is known as a model for community acceptance of people who live with a mental illness.

Case 2: St John of God The legacy of St John of God continues to inspire people to provide good and compassionate medical care

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for people who live with mental illness. St John lived in Spain in the 15th century. In his midlife, his mental health deteriorated and he was sent to the Royal Hospital in Grenada, Spain, a psychiatric facility.

As was typical at that time, the care he received was harsh and inadequate.

Despite this treatment, over time John recovered and he was able to visit other patients and help the nurses in their care. After he was released from the hospital John dedicated himself to help the poor, sick and homeless, who often lived with a mental illness.

He drew followers who were inspired by his holiness and compassion.

Today his followers are known as the Hospitaller Brothers of St John of God. The Hospitaller Brothers continue his mission of caring for the poor and those with mental illness by operating hospitals and medical care facilities in over 50 countries.

Called to pray The US Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, which I serve as president, sees the legacies of St Dymphna and St John of God as models for mental health ministry. We provide free prayer cards of these saints for use in mental health ministries (they are depicted above).

On each card there is an image of the saint turning from the darkness, which so often envelops people who suffer with mental illness, and looking towards the light Christ. Along the bottom of the card is the phrase “The Pain is Real — but so is HOPE”.

The prayer concludes by asking God to grant courage to those for whom we pray and fill them with hope. “Help them remember You love them; they are never alone.”

We ask St Dymphna and St John of God to pray for us.

Rev Ed Shoener is a deacon in the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and president of the US Catholic Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers.

Saint of the Month: St Maria Goretti

The young girl who forgave St Maria Goretti at a glance her killer...

As she was dying, the 11-year-old girl forgave her killer who had tried to rape her. GüNTHER SIMMERMACHER looks at the short life of St Maria Goretti.

F

OR DECADES THE LIFE AND death of St Maria Goretti was held up as an example to young Catholics of the virtues of chastity and preserving one’s purity, because the 11-year-old girl fought off the would-be rapist whose attack would kill her.

The idea that the victim of an attempted rape should be held up as virtuous in preserving her virginity betrays the Church’s incomplete understanding of sexual violence. Indeed, the message this idea sends to the survivors of rape is injurious, implying that their virtue has been broken by their assault. Had Maria’s attacker succeeded in his attempt to rape her — by violence or even by coercion — could we say that the girl would have failed to be chaste and that she had surrendered her virtue?

The shining example of Maria’s life is not in her defence of chastity — as if being raped is a consensual act in which the victim is given a choice — but in her forgiveness for her attacker and killer.

Family forced to move

Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, near Ancona in southern Italy, to the peasant farmers Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. She was the third of seven children. When she was five years old, her family was forced to give up their farm and relo-

Name at birth: Maria Teresa Goretti Born: October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, near Ancona, Italy Died: July 6, 1902 (aged 11) in Nettuno, near Rome Beatified: 1947 Canonised: 1950 Feast: July 6 Patronages: Victims of rape, crime victims, teenage girls, modern youth, Children of Mary

cate. By 1899, the Gorettis lived in the village of Le Ferriere, near Nettuno in the Lazio region, about 60km from Rome. There they lived with another family, named Serenelli, in a building called “La Cascina Antica”.

Shortly after moving there, Maria’s father died of malaria. While her mother and siblings worked in the fields, Maria, still only nine years old and widely known as Marietta, took care of the household: she cooked, cleaned, sewed, and looked after the youngest child, Teresa.

July 5, 1902, was a normal Saturday.

Maria, now 11, was home alone, sitting on the steps of La Cascina Antica, sewing a shirt while Teresa was sleeping.

At around 3pm, the Serenellis’ 20-yearold son Alessandro saw his chance: knowing he would not be disturbed, he threatened to stab Maria if she did not submit to having sex with him.

Maria protested that this would be a mortal sin and warned Alessandro that he would go to hell for what he was demanding of her. At that, the young man turned violent, first choking Maria,

and when she still did not submit, stabbing her 11 times with his awl, and three more times as Maria tried to escape. The wounds penetrated her throat and cut her heart, lungs and diaphragm.

When Maria’s mother and Alessandro’s father found the girl on the ground bleeding, she was rushed to the hospital in Nettuno. There she was immediately operated on — without anaesthesia. During the surgery, she woke up. Knowing that Maria would not survive — it was a miracle that she was still breathing — the pharmacist asked her to “think of me in paradise”.

Maria replied: “Who knows who of us is going to get there first?” Told that it would be her, the girl said: “Then I will gladly think of you.”

Maria did not give up easily. She lived another 24 hours after the attack.

During that time she was interviewed by the police, revealing that she had been subjected to Alessandro’s sexual harassment for a while, and that he had tried to rape her twice before. She never revealed these attacks because the boy had threatened her and she didn’t want to get him in trouble.

While Maria was naturally worried about her mother, she also was concerned about Alessandro, her attacker.

“Yes, for the love of Jesus I forgive him...and I want him to be with me in Paradise.” She had forgiven her wouldbe rapist and killer. After receiving the viaticum, she passed away.

Killer’s slow repentance

Right: A colourised version of the only existing photo of St Maria Goretti, taken in 1902.

Above: The “Cascina Antica”, where Maria lived and was murdered.

Alessandro Serenelli was arrested immediately after Maria was found; it is said that the police car taking him away overtook the ambulance that was conveying his victim to hospital.

As a minor — the legal adult age was 21 — Alessandro escaped the death The Southern Cross

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St Maria Goretti

S outhern Cross

A Timeline of St Maria Goretti 1890

Born on October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, province of Ancona, Italy, the third of seven children of Luigi and Assunta Goretti.

1896

The Goretti family is forced by poverty to give up their farm and move to find work, settling at Colle Gianturco, near Frosinone.

1899

The family moves to Le Ferriere, near Nettuno in the province of Lazio. Shortly after, Luigi dies of malaria.

1902

On July 5, Maria is stabbed 14 times during an attempted rape by 20year-old neighbour Alessandro Serenelli. She dies from her injuries on July 6, after having forgiven Alessandro.

Alessandro is convicted of murder and receives a 30-year jail sentence.

Photo: Catholic News Service

Below: The canonisation of St Maria by Pope Pius XII in St Peter’s Square in 1950.

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Alessandro has a dream in which Maria hands him 14 lilies which ignite in flames when he touches him.

Previously unrepentant, Alessandro converts and leads a good life.

1929

Alessandro is released from jail, having served 27 years.

1934

On Christmas Eve, Alessandro begs Maria’s mother Assunta for forgiveness. The next day, both go to Mass together.

1947

Pope Pius XII beatifies Maria on April 27 in St Peter’s basilica.

1950

Pope Pius XII canonises Maria on June 24 in St Peter’s Square, in the presence of Assunta and four surviving siblings. She becomes the youngest-ever canonised saint.

Photo: Karen Callaway, Catholic New World/CNS

Right: A Missionaries of Charity Sister prays before the relics of St Maria Gioretti, which are encased in a wax effigy and kept in a glass coffin.

1910

Poster for an Italian-made 2003 TV film on St Maria Goretti, with Martina Pinto as the young saint. An acclaimed 1949 Italian film on her life was titled Cielo sulla palude, or in English, Heaven over the Marshes.

penalty or a life sentence. The court took extenuating circumstances into account.

Alessandro was found to lack the maturity of a 20-year-old and came from a dysfunctional family marked by mental illness, suicides and alcohol problems.

Alessandro was unrepentant. He said he killed Maria because she was crying and would not submit to his rape attempts. For eight years he stubbornly refused to acknowledge his guilt. But then things changed. In a thank-you note to the bishop, Alessandro had a dream of a smiling Maria, dressed in white, giving him 14 lilies — but as he touched them, they ignited in flames and burnt his hands. The flowers represented the 14 wounds he had inflicted upon her; the flames symbolised her forgiveness. After that, Alessandro repented.

He was released 27 years after the killing.

On Christmas Eve 1934, Alessandro met with Maria’s mother, Assunta, and on his knees begged her forgiveness, which she gave. The following day, they went to Mass together and, kneeling side-by-side, received Communion. He later said that he prayed to Maria, “my little saint”, every day.

The little saint worked miracles for her three brothers, too. One of them, Angelo, said he heard her voice telling him to emigrate to the USA. Another brother received, as if by miracle, enough money to join Angelo in America. And brother Mariano reported that Maria’s voice warned him to stay in the trench while his unit charged at Germans in World War I. All of his comrades died in that charge. Mariano lived until 1975.

Alessandro, her killer, in 1937 became a Capuchin lay brother, working as a receptionist and gardener in a monastery. He died in 1970 at the age of 87.

Youngest canonised saint

By then his victim had long been a canonised saint. Assunta and Maria’s four surviving siblings were present at her canonisation by Pope Pius XII on June 24, 1950.

Alessandro wanted to be there, but kept away due to safety concerns. The canonisation was unusual: owing to the huge crowds, estimated at half a million, it was held in St Peter’s Square, rather than inside the basilica, as had been customary. Pius XII spoke in Italian, not Latin. St Maria Goretti became the youngest canonised Catholic saint, and remained so until the canonisation of Francisco and Jacinto Marto, the visionaries of Fatima, in 2017. And Assunta was the first mother ever to attend the canonisation of her child.

Maria’s bones are encased in a wax effigy, kept in a glass casket in the crypt of the Passionist basilica of Nostra Signora delle Grazie e Santa Maria Goretti in Nettuno. Contrary to reports, her body has not remained incorrupt.

She is the patron saint of chastity, rape victims, girls, youth, teenage girls, poverty, purity, and forgiveness.

Next Month: St Maximilian Kolbe

MONEY Ten Saints for Matters

Especially in these times of unemployment, inflation, debt and financial insecurity, we need all the help in the world to solve our money worries.

Günther simmermacher suggests ten saints to call on for money matters in tough times.

St Cajetan

St Matthew Who’s that? St Matthew was a tax collector sitting in his tax booth when Jesus called to follow him.

He left the booth, and with that a life of substantial wealth, to become an Apostle.

The money angle? As the wealthiest of the Apostles, St Matthew is the patron saint of finances.

St Hedwig of Silesia Who’s that? St Hedwig (or Edwiges) was a Germanborn 12th-century princess who became a nun after her husband’s death.

The money angle? St Hedwig distributed charity with her own royal hands, visited debtors in jail and helped them find jobs after their release. In parts of Latin America, she is popularly invoked to intercede in finding housing.

Who’s that? 16th-century priest who was so disgusted with the corruption in the Church that he founded an order, the Theatines, to work for reform and the poor.

The money angle? He is the patron saint of the unemployed, workers and job seekers — as well as of gamblers, whose weakness often is the source of financial distress.

St Nicholas of Myra Who’s that? 4th-century bishop in Myra, modern-day Turkey, and prototype for Santa Claus.

The money angle? As an heir to wealth, he distributed alms to the poor. Famously, he anonymously gave money to a father to keep his three daughters out of prostitution.

St Bernadette Soubirous St Anthony of Padua Who’s that? Portuguese Franciscan friar in the 13th century, and patron saint invoked for lost things.

The money angle? Lost things probably does not apply to lost jobs or money. But in 1231, St Anthony petitioned the Council of Padua to pass a law to help debtors who were at the mercy of predatory moneylenders.

Who’s that? The teenage visionary of Lourdes, and later nun.

The money angle? Because Bernadette grew up in very poor circumstances, including living at one point in a disused jail cell — an abode declared unfit even for criminals! — she’s the patron saint of poverty.

St Francis of Assisi St Walter of Pontoise Who’s that? Walter (or Gautier) was a 11th-century French professor and later a Benedictine monk.

The money angle? When Walter was sent to the monastery of Pontoise, he hated that job so much that he got the pope to intervene on his behalf. If your job causes you anxiety, the pope might not help you, but St Walter might intercede as the patron invoked against job-related stress.

St Joseph the Worker Who’s that? Jesus’ father. (Can we drop the “fosterfather” stuff? Surely to Jesus he was just Dad.) The money angle? Especially in May, we remember St Joseph as the worker. He was called by God to provide for their Son and for Mary, so he was always looking for jobs. He knows the struggles of looking for employment.

Who’s that? 13th-century founder of the Franciscans.

The money angle? St Francis was born into wealth but rejected that life to serve the Lord in deliberate poverty — to which he also held his companions. He and his followers lived on the charity of strangers, so they could know both material deprivations and God’s blessings.

St Jude Thaddeus Who’s that? This Apostle is sometimes confused with Judas Iscariot (who was the bursar of the Jesus movement, though his business ethics turned out to be less than exemplary). It is said that St Jude Thaddeus became the patron saint of hopeless causes because nobody would pray to him owing to that mistaken identity.

The money angle? Outside health and love, few things in life seem more hopeless than financial troubles.

When all else fails, turn to St Jude.

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Which Church Are You? The Seven Churches of Revelation

In May, a group of Southern Cross readers made a pilgrimage to Turkey and Medjugorje, visiting the Seven Churches of Revelation – the 1st-century Christian communities in Asia Minor addressed

by Christ through the visions of St John in the Book of Revelation. Günther simmermacher looks at these Churches and the messages to them, and why they are relevant today.

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RAVELLING TO THE ANCIENT sites of what once was known as Asia Minor is also a journey to the cradle of our Christian faith. St Peter led the Church in Antioch before he decamped to Rome; St John wrote his Gospel in Ephesus, the great orator St Philip was martyred in Hierapolis; and St Paul travelled through the region repeatedly and wrote some of his epistles in Ephesus. The first Seven Councils of the Church — from the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD to the Second Council of Nicaea in 768 — were held in what is now Turkey.

Our group visited the church (now a mosque) of the Second Council of Nicaea in modern-day Iznik, and in that city recited the Nicene Creed, which was formulated at the First Council of Nicaea (the site of that, a palace, is now underwater). We also visited the tomb of St Philip in Hierapolis, now the resort town of Pamukkale.

This region was so important in the development of the Church that the Christian communities of seven of its cities were addressed by name in the Book of Revelation. Collectively, they are known as the Seven Churches of the Revelation.

The Book of Revelation was written

by St John while he was exiled on the island of Patmos. The Church’s tradition is that this John was the apostle and evangelist. Others argue that there were two prominent Johns active in the region, and that the author of Revelation is distinct from the evangelist. Whatever the truth may be, John of Patmos had a series of mystical experiences and visions which gave rise to the Book of Revelation.

In chapters 1-3 of Revelation, John recounts a vision in which Christ himself dictated letters to the Churches of these seven cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatria Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. In South African terms, we night imagine Christ sending messages to the dioceses of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Kimberley. Limited to seven — always a signifiThe Southern Cross

Southern Cross pilgrims at the Temple of Trajan in Pergamum.

cant number in Scripture — these places are representative of those that are not addressed. The messages apply to all Churches in all areas and throughout all time.

These cities existed in the Roman Empire at a time when paganism was the state religion. Since Jews were exempt from pagan worship, and Christianity was still a sect within Judaism, the followers of Christ were technically also exempt. But Gentile converts weren’t, and if Christians were expelled or otherwise alienated from the synagogue, as they were in Philadelphia, their protection as Jews fell away.

The Hagia Sophia of Nicaea (now Iznik), site of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 AD. The church is now a mosque.

In these messages, the Christian communities are praised and rebuked, encouraged to persevere, or commanded to do better. These seven Churches had their own character and challenges, and all of these we can find even today in the Church, in dioceses, in parishes, and even within our individual selves. So visiting the Seven Churches of Revelation offers us an opportunity to review the character of our own Church, dioceses and parishes, and of ourselves.

Are we committed and faithful, like the Churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna? Are we lukewarm, like that of Laodicea? Have we lost our way to the ways of the world, like Pergamum and Thyatria? Are we outwardly pious but have lost our passion for Christ, like Ephesus? Are we spiritually dead, like Sardis? Often, our parishes and we ourselves may be a bit like some or even all of these Churches.

Here are the seven Churches, in the order in which we visited them:

Pergamum Pergamum

Our first of the seven Churches was that of Pergamum, now a World Heritage Site (we’d see so many of those on

our pilgrimage that this label almost lost its lustre). A rich city, Pergamum was a centre of commerce and learning. Galen, the famous 2nd-century “Father of Modern Medicine”, was active in Pergamum.

It had a library that housed 200 000 scrolls — made of parchment, which was invented in this city — and a theatre built into the steep slope of the city’s acropolis holding 10 000.

Pergamum was a thoroughly pagan city, at a time when failing to conform to pagan practices could see Christians persecuted, or at least excluded from civil life. Indeed, often the worst persecutions in the Roman empire were in the East, and almost always they were based on Christians refusing to compromise their faith by participating in pagan rituals. Revelation calls Pergamum “Satan’s throne” — probably referring to the huge monument to Zeus — and notes that a Christian named Antipas, likely a bishop, was martyred here.

Many Christians, as individuals and collectively, withstood that community pressure, refusing to pay lip-service to paganism, even when that was expedient. So Christ praises the Church of Pergamum for withstanding the demands to conform to the prevalent pagan culture. But before the local faithful can pat themselves on the back, they are warned that some members have compromised the Christian teachings by dabbling in things of the prevailing culture — much as we might do today when expedience demands it.

For those Christians, this might have involved partaking in pagan ceremonies, such as sharing food that had been sacrificed to idols, so as to protect or enhance their social and professional prospects. Some Christian leaders of the time even argued the case for such compromises, but Christ says that this is not allowed and threatens fearsome retribution if they don’t mend their ways. They need to repent, and when they do, the slate will be wiped clean. (Revelation 2:12-17)

ThyatriaThyatria

Thyatria, today’s vity of Akhisar, was a wealthy city that was on the forefront of being evangelised. Lydia of Thyatira is mentioned in the New Testament as

the first documented convert to Christianity in Europe (Acts 16:14–15).

In Revelation, the Christians of Thyatria receive praise for growing in their faith and serving the Lord — except some of them. Christ sees them: “You tolerate this woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the food sacrificed to idols.” By this, he refers to pagan feasts whose rituals included sexual orgies. As in other places, such as Pergamum, some Christians took part in these so as to conform to society.

Christ says that we must not take part in what is immoral in order to fit in.

The lesson for Thyatria applies today, maybe especially to young Christians who are feeling pressured to conform to society’s expectations.

The warning about false prophets is important for us all. We have many of those vying for our loyalty: politicians, business tycoons, celebrities, prosperity cult preachers, and so on — and maybe even some Catholic men of the cloth!

Christ warns us to resist the temptation to fall for them. (Revelation 2:18-29)

Sardis

Sardis

Sardis was a historically powerful and wealthy city located on a strategic trade route. This is the place where it is said that King Midas rid himself of his troublesome golden touch by bathing in the Pactolus River; the gold was caught with the wool of sheepskin, giving rise to the “Golden Fleece”. Sardis was also the place of the fabulously rich Lydian King Croesus in the 6th century BC. In Sardis at the time of Revelation, the Jewish community — of which Christians were still a part — assimilated into the civic culture, which was strongly pagan. This is exemplified by the location of the synagogue right next to the imposing gymnasium — both are impressively preserved.

The Christians of the metropolis get a bad review in Revelation. They keep up a façade of piety, but inside they are spiritually empty. They are warned that they had better change their ways now, lest Christ “come like a thief in the night” and deliver his judgment.

The lesson for us is obvious: We

mustn’t go through the motions in our faith but feed our spiritual life — for example by going on a pilgrimage or reading about it in a Catholic magazine.

(Revelation 3:1-6)

Philadelphia Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia in Asia Minor is sometimes mistaken as one of the cities of the Decapolis, the federation of ten cities which is mentioned in the Gospel. There were more than one Philadelphias; the one of the Decapolis is now Amman, the capital of Jordan.

The Philadelphia in Revelation, modern Alasehir, was one of the earliest patriarchates of the Church. The Christians of Philadelphia also suffered persecutions, but more from Jews than from pagans.

At the time when Revelation was written, the followers of Christ were still a sect within Judaism, even though the inclusion of Gentiles had complicated that relationship, as did, obviously, the Christians’ belief that the Messiah had already come.

Here we must understand Judaism as a community of very different theolo-

From left: Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town reads from the Book of Revelation at Thyatria • Members of the group pray in the 4th-century “Church M” at Sardis • The group at the remains of St John’s church in Philadelphia.

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The greatest of all the cities in the region was Ephesus. Here we can locate St Paul, who spent time here and later addressed his epistle to the locals, the Ephesians, and wrote to the nearby Colossians. In Ephesus we also find St John the Apostle, who might or might not be the author of Revelation. It is quite likely that St John wrote his Gospel in Ephesus. Later, in the 5th century, three Church Councils were held in the city.

Since Jesus entrusted his mother to John, it is thought by some that Mary accompanied him to Ephesus. Her reputed house is now a small shrine. Our group had the final Mass of the pilgrim-

age in the Catholic chapel there. While it is attractive to think that this was the place where Our Lady lived, the stronger tradition — and the one at the basis of the dogma of the Assumption — places her final moments in this world firmly in Jerusalem.

Ephesus was a centre of learning and commerce. Its Temple of Artemis was one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. Built in around 550 BC with funding by King Croesus, it was destroyed in an act of arson in 356 BC. Only a column and bits of stone have survived. Better preserved is the Library of Celsus, the remains of which still impress the multitudes of tourists who come here. St Paul and St John never saw it; the library was built around 110 AD. Addressing the Church of Ephesus, Christ is generous with his praise. The community has resisted the lure of accommodation with paganism and is commended for “your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance”, even when that has come at a price of hardships.

But just as the Ephesians are getting quite pleased with themselves, Christ issues a criticism: “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” We’re not sure what exactly he means: have they lost the love for the Lord, or the love which the Christian is called to have for others, and each other? Whatever it is, Christ is taking it very seriously: “Repent and do the things you did at first.”

And if they don’t? “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” That’s a promise of darkness.

What Christ really wants is an open heart for the Holy Spirit. “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” This is a lesson which we have to take to heart especially today, when the vitriol Catholics scream at each other — and even at the pope!

— drowns out the voice of the Holy Spirit. And during the current process building up to the 2023 Synod on Synodality, we must be acutely attentive to the voice of the Spirit. (Revelation 2:1-7)

Members of the Southern Cross group waiting for their balloon to take off above Pamukkale.

The ancient port city of Smyrna is still a metropolis. Known since the 1930s as Izmir — the phonetic relationship to its old name is evident — it is Turkey’s third-biggest city, with a population of about 3 million. This means that most of ancient Smyrna is below the ground, unlikely to ever be excavated.

Smyrna was the city of the saintly bishop St Polycarp, who was martyred by a mob of pagans and Jews in 156 AD. These kinds of attacks on Christians must have been common already in the time of Revelation, which notes that the city’s Christians are faithful even in the face of persecution. The Church of

Top left: The group walks in Laodicea, where the Christians were “neither hot nor cold”.

Top right: Archbishop Brislin reads from Revelation in the remains of St Mary’s church in Ephesus, site of the council which in 431 declared Mary the Mother of God. Bottom left: The group, with a photobomber in fancy dress, at the Library of Celsus in Ephesus.

gies, bound by the faith in the true God and by shared social attributes. In the Gospels, we see two of these parties of Judaism in action, the Pharisees and Sadducees. There were more such parties, and initially Christianity was one of them.

In Philadelphia, things became so heated in the Jewish community that the Christians were expelled from the synagogue. This was a huge problem: it caused the followers of Christ social and commercial ostracism, and put them at danger of persecution should they refuse to take part in pagan rituals, from which Jews were exempt.

Christ condemns the persecutors and encourages the Church of Philadelphia. He tells its members that if they remain faithful, they will receive his protection in the “hour of trial”. Christ promises: “I have set before you an open door which no man can shut; for you have little power, and you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

The message for us today is not to yield to the pressures of persecutors or of secular society but to remain true to our Church, as the Christians of Philadelphia did 1900 years ago. (Revelation 3:7-13)

tians and went through the motions as they performed their Christian duties.

But while they had comfort and wealth, they were spiritually impoverished.

Christ’s message is that the only wealth that counts is spiritual, and that can come only through him. (Revelation 3:14-22)

Ephesus Ephesus

Laodicea Laodicea

Perhaps Revelation’s most scathing judgment is reserved for Laodicea, a wealthy city known for its purple garment industry and eye ointments (both of these are referenced in Christ’s message). And it’s not even that the city’s Christians were particularly bad. They were just lukewarm in their faith, neither hot nor cold. This is not to Christ’s taste, so he threatens to spew them out of his mouth.

Laodicea was like many Western Churches today. Living in the comfort of prosperity, they called themselves Chris-

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Smyrna Smyrna

Left: Clergy in the synagogue of Sardis (clockwise from left) Fr Peter Whitehead, Archbishop Stephen Brislin, Fr Christopher Slaters, and Fr Vukani Masango CMM. Right: Members of the group at the original tomb of St Philip in Hierapolis (now Pamukkale), which was discovered in 2011, near the place of his martyrdom in around 80 AD.

Smyrna was poor and oppressed, but steadfast in its faith.

Christ warns that more trials are coming, and encourages the Christians to remain faithful, “even to the point of death”, because their suffering will be short in comparison to the glory of life everlasting.

Many Christians are persecuted today, by followers of other religions and increasingly by those without, as they were under communist regimes.

The encouragement for the people of Smyrna in Revelation is an encouragement for persecuted Christians today, and for all of us who feel put upon because of our faith. Christ calls us to persevere! (Revelation 2:8-11)

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Which Church are you?

A journey to the Seven Churches of Revelation is not a traditional pilgrimage on which one visits a series of holy sites and their churches. Here the pilgrim stands in communion with the earliest Christian communities, those that kept the flame of Christ alive when it was most at danger of being extinguished, in the places where they lived almost 2 000 years ago — the people and the places which Ss John, Peter, Philip and Paul knew. No other place on earth outside the Holy Land brings the pilgrim as close to Scripture than the old Asia Minor.

As we stood in the Roman streets and the agoras, and in front of the remains of the pagan temples which our

ancestors in faith had to resist, the Seven Churches of Revelation showed us that the challenges of the earliest Christians are not unlike those faced by Christians today. Here we were reminded of our own temptations to conform to the world, and of what keeps us faithful to Christ.

In a way, the absence of churches in this part of our journey animated us to make an interior pilgrimage, an examination of the self. And that is what a pilgrimage is supposed to do.

So, which Church of Revelation is your parish? Which one are you? And what does Our Lord Jesus Christ expect from us?

Next month: Medjugorje

Go to Italy with The Southern Cross!

his year, The Southern Cross will host two more pilgrimages: to the Holy Land and Oberammergau (or the German leg on its own), and the 100km Camino de Santiago de Compostela in the October holidays. They are led by Archbishop William Slattery and Fr Chris Townsend respectively, and places may still be available.

The big pilgrimage for 2023 will be THE SAINTS OF ITALY in May, led by Fr Russell Pollitt SJ, director of the Jesuit Institute. That special journey, an echo of the muchloved pilgrimage we hosted in 2015 with the late Fr Emil Baser OP, will take us through Italy’s gorgeous countryside by bus from Rome to Venice, with visits in between to Assisi, Siena, Florence and Padua.

Along the way, we will see and pray at tombs and

places associated with great saints such as St Anthony of Padua, St Aloysius Gonzaga, St Catherine of Siena, St Clare of Assisi, St Francis of Assisi, St Ignatius of Loyola, St John Berchmans, St John XXIII, St John Paul II, St Mark, St Paul, St Paul VI, St Peter, St Robert Bellarmine, St Serafina and more…

A papal audience in St Peter’s Square forms part of the programme (if the Holy Father is in town at the time).

Of course there will also be time to explore the great sights of Italy, and sample the country’s great cuisine and gelato!

Bookings are now open. For more information or to book, contact Gail at 076 352-3809 or info@fowlertours.co.za, or go to www.fowlertours.co.za/saints

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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.

How can the liturgy be improved?

Call the Spirit in every parish!

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N MANY OF OUR PARISHES, WE SEE Sunday Mass mostly attended by older people. In Holland, the land of my birth, the Wormerveer church in which I was baptised is one of the 600 Church buildings — out of a total of 1 600 — that have been sold. It has now been turned into a potter’s atelier. There are many other signs of a Church on the skids. So I, and many others, ask: “Where are we going wrong? Where are the young people? What can be done?”

Virtually the only contact many Catholics have today with the Church is through their attendance at Sunday Mass, even if parishes offer many other activities. So, to me, it is the Mass, and its content, that needs to be optimally presented around its most sacred core.

That presentation needs to be appealing, impressive, wholesome, meaningful and informative to all age groups (or should we consider separate Masses for different age groups?). If this is lacking, it seems inevitable that Church attendance will continue to decline, and that more church buildings will be deconsecrated, sold and turned into secular accommodation or ateliers.

Jesus said at the Last Supper: “Do this in memory of me.” In a great flight of imagination, please picture that next Sunday Jesus himself comes to your parish church to say Mass. Would he don the Mass vestments? I cannot visualise Jesus in a green chasuble. Would he insist on presenting the rote we are exposed to every Sunday in many parishes? Would he expect from us the kneeling, standing, and the today-meaningless responses of “and with your spirit”, “under my roof”, and so on?

Or would he, around the most holy

core of the Mass, weave a powerful message for you and me? Would he not keep our attention riveted? Would the young not want to come back for more, as the little ones did 2 000 years ago?

The Church needs, most urgently, to rethink, examine, and restructure the Mass: returning it to the meal it was, decreasing the physical distance from the priest, changing the church-seating to one of a meal experience, and letting all vestments go the way of the maniple (remember it?) — they have served their role of impressing the laity of past generations. Remove almost all rote, increase laity participation beyond tokenism by involving the entire royal priesthood in a meaningful way, shed the meaningless physical exercises of standing, kneeling and sitting...

I plead for a commission/synod of members of the entire Royal Priesthood to investigate a bold new approach.

Having written this, I want to express my very sincere admiration for our pastors who, within the currently massive constraints of the liturgy, try so hard to provide excellent homilies that address the weekly needs of those in the pews. Perhaps because they themselves play such an active part in the Mass, they are somewhat unaware of our need for comprehensive change?

Prayerfully I plead: Quo vadis?

Frits Rijkenberg, Howick

planning a parish pilgrimage? let us arrange your spiritual journey – with expertise and personal service! call GAil at 076 352 3809 or info@fowlertours.co.za

26 The Southern Cross

www.fowlertours.co.za

HE ARTICLE ON THE INDWELLING OF the Holy Spirit by Fr Ralph de Hahn in your June 2022 issue was inspiring.

I would like to see in the Catholic Church a permanent presence of the Charismatic Renewal and at least one Charismatic Mass every weekend in every parish.

I believe as a Church, we are neglecting the awesome, powerful and miraculous presence of the Holy Spirit as is recorded in the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit will radically transform people from fear to faith, from death to life, from breakdown to breakthrough, and from being lukewarm to superhot.

In the Church there are people who are helpless, hopeless, sick, stressed, depressed. Many of them find life and going to church meaningless. Jesus promised the Father would send his Holy Spirit precisely to empower us (John 14:16). Receiving the Holy Spirit is not like being awarded a certificate; it is a miraculous encounter and a beautiful, life-changing impartation of the third Person of the Trinity.

Peter and John — “filled with the Holy Spirit”, “empowered by the Holy Spirit” and speaking with all boldness in the Holy Spirit — went to the Temple, as was their custom. There they met a lame man begging for alms. They looked at him and commanded him to “rise and walk” in the miraculous name of Jesus.

He did and went “jumping and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:1-11). That is what happens when one is “under the influence” — that of the Holy Spirit.

The Charismatic Renewal is a lifechanging, dynamic and enthusiastic presence in the life of the Church. They are bold in asking: “Can I pray for you”?

The Holy Spirit will revive, restore and renew every heart that surrenders to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Stephen Selbourne, Cape Town

Go to St Joseph

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

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N GENESIS 39:4, WE READ: “HE made him Lord of His household and prince over all his possessions.” These are the triumphant words which may apply to Joseph, a wise, just and humble man. And yet, strangely, until the recent year dedicated to him by Pope Francis, the chaste spouse of the Immaculate Heart of Mary so often had been ignored and forgotten.

But I put forward, in chorus with many others, that ours is an age that is in much need of devotion to St Joseph.

Our frailties have brought us to a weighted sack of griminesss that is our lives, our sins and our very hearts. May the winds of courage make haste towards us, so that blessed St Joseph, by the virtue of His name, will increase the grace of God in us.

Isn’t it true that many a holy matrimony left its sanctity at the altar?

Weary must be the divine head of Jesus who in mercy imparts his grace to those seeking to be united in marriage.

As quickly as they race to find rings, so quickly do they abandon his grace.

Are we not in agony from witnessing these unions, so solemnly blessed, decaying to dust in the marriage bed?

It is through the example of St Joseph that the sacredness of marriage can once again be made visible.

Let us contemplate the ceaseless streams of virtue needed to be married to a woman without sin and bearing in her womb the Messiah. May God the Father, in his love for humanity, impart to all husbands the grace to be attentive to his divine word, that they may lead their brides in the wisdom of God. Bright will be the day when a husband discerns that what dwells within her is not the fruit of copulation but the seed of the Holy Spirit.

Patron of the Dying This vicious plague, this haunting tempest ruling over us and bringing the chill of death, should summon us to the heart of St Joseph who breathed his last in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Let us not deceive ourselves that by the consumption of copious pills we can defeat death. One laments how

have stumbled, seeks to accuse us once again and to take us for himself. May St Joseph defend us that we may receive a merciful judgement. Then shall death not kill us but bring us to life itself.

Terror of Demons

With the Christ child and with the Blessed Virgin Mary at his side, Joseph fled to Egypt, so that the infant Jesus might escape the bloodlust of Herod. In this sacred procession of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, many demons were driven out. As he did it then, so can he do it now.

Aren’t our lives filled with shadows hiding snares? Are our vices not worsened by things which we cannot see nor understand? Let us then, as pharaoh did to another Joseph, entrust ourselves to St Joseph. Let us go to him, the increaser, that our virtue may be rich. Call upon him to be Lord over your household and prince over all your possessions.

If St Joseph was sufficient for Jesus, he should be sufficient for us this world makes us foolish and brings us to place our trust in earthly beings.

It is in that final hour, in that last battle of the soul, that we need the intercession of our spiritual father. If St Joseph was sufficient for Jesus, why would he not be sufficient for us?

In that last moment, the devil, knowing the many ways in which we

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27

Can we trust our leaders?

Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

A

MID THE NEWS COVERAGE of the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal was a video that seemed to show relief provisions being stolen by municipal officials. On closer inspection it turned out that the deliveries in the video may well have been innocent — but what it revealed was the complete breakdown in trust in government (at least in this part of the country).

Not surprisingly, almost everyone who was raising money for flood relief directed wellwishers not to support government efforts but rather non-governmental organisations (NGOs). On US television, South Africa’s finest comedian, Trevor Noah, encouraged people to donate to the excellent Muslim organisation Gift of the Givers (and we at the Denis Hurley Centre did the same).

Equally, those who needed help seemed to be much more confident that they would receive it from churches, NGOs and local community organisations, rather than from the well-funded government departments which were supposed to deliver. So even when the municipality has started fixing roads and water pipes and other damage — and they have — they rarely get credit for it.

Something similar happened during the riots last year in Durban.

Again a video went viral, seeming to show police officers taking for themselves items that were being confiscated. It turned out that their actions were entirely legitimate and had been misconstrued. I don’t doubt that there were police who took advantage of the chaos of the riots (as many other people did), but the assumption of those who first saw the video was that all police were corrupt.

You can see why people might think this: we were only just reeling from stories of ways in which officials and politicians (including former health minister Zweli Mkhize, who had been a good friend of the Denis Hurley Centre) had used the pandemic as a cover to benefit themselves, their friends and their families.

And that is to say nothing of the stories of Eskom, Guptagate, the arms deal, Steinhoff, and so on.

Given KZN’s run of disasters — plague, riots, floods — I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon faced frogs or locusts or whichever biblical disaster is next on the list. And, no doubt, there will be people finding a way to make a dishonest buck out of the situation.

How did it get this way?

How have we reached a state in which we have lost so much trust in government? I confess that I have come to share in this general scepticism. But I am anxious at how easily we move from “some officials are corrupt some of the time” to “most officials are corrupt most of the time” to “all officials are corrupt all of the time”.

There will be Catholic politicians, public servants and police officers reading this article who may be feeling defensive, and I don’t blame you.

But I ask you to look deep inside and ask yourself: Is my own behaviour always above board? And do I turn a blind eye to the instances of bad conduct around me? The problem is that it takes a lot of examples of good behaviour to build trust; but only one or two cases of bad behaviour to destroy it.

If we want to know how this happens, we need look no further than our own Church. Abuse by a limited number of priests and religious has tended to undermine trust in all priests and religious.

Cover-ups by a few bishops has made some people suspicious of all bishops. Persistent failures to be accountable have made a bad situation even worse.

We might counter, defensively, and say: “But that is the Church in a different diocese or in a different country.” However, the claim to be universal (“catholic”) means that each part of the Church will be associated with the good and the bad behaviour of the rest of the Church. Similarly, when one part of a political party tries to distance itself from the bad conduct of one branch or one province or one politician, the defence rarely sounds credible.

In any religious or political organisation — especially ones that claim to be working for the common good — there will be cases of bad conduct that undermine faith in the institution. Because they are often close-knit groups, the temptation is to protect the institution by covering up or minimising or obfuscating those cases that come to light.

www.radioveritas.co.za

28 The Southern Cross

The right way to act The proper way to protect the institution — and also to make good for the people who have been harmed — is open accountability, an honest admission of failure, and genuine attempts to learn for the future. After initially being in denial and responding too slowly, various parts of the Church have made great strides in this area in recent years — at least as far as abuse is concerned, though the Church still has a long way to go on financial accountability.

The ANC now has the opportunity with the Zondo Commission to show that it really is penitent and has “a firm desire of amendment”. We wait and see…

Psalm 146:3 warns us: “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in human beings who cannot save.” That would apply to political princes and also to those who used to call themselves princes of the Church. But where does that leave you and me? We can say that we will put our trust in God; but God acts through the “princes” and other human beings who are placed in our lives to help us. I think that the psalmist is reminding us that we cannot put blind trust in our fellow human beings. If we are to live in society, we need to trust people, up to a point. But we also need to keep our eyes open and hold people accountable.

Perhaps for too long we have — through loyalty or laziness — believed the promises of religious (or political) leaders, hoping that they will take care of us. After all, it is much easier to be a child than an adult. But, as St Paul reminds us: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I gave up childish ways” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Are we each prepared to take responsibility for our own role in society?

For your Catholic news

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

When we fall in love...

I

MAGINE A YOUNG COUPLE WHO ARE intoxicated with each other in the early stages of love. Imagine a religious neophyte in love with God, praying ecstatically. Imagine an idealistic young person working tirelessly with the poor, enflamed with a thirst for justice.

Is this young couple really in love with each other? Is that religious neophyte really in love with God? Is this young social activist really in love with the poor? Not an easy question.

Whom are we really loving when we have feelings of love? The other? Ourselves? The archetype and energy the other is carrying? Our own fantasy of that person? The feelings this experience is triggering inside us? When we are in love, are we really in love with another person or are we mostly basking in a wonderful feeling which could be just as easily triggered by countless other persons?

There are different answers to those questions. John of the Cross would say it is all of these things; we are in fact really loving that other person, loving a fantasy we have created of that person, and basking in the good feeling this has generated inside us. That is why, invariably, at a given point in a relationship the powerful feelings of being in love give way to disillusionment —– disillusionment (by definition) implies the dispelling of an illusion, something was unreal. So for John of the Cross, when we are in love, partly the love is real and partly it is an illusion. Moreover, John would say the same thing about our initial feelings of fervour in prayer and in altruistic service. They are a mixture of both, authentic love and an illusion.

Some other analyses are less generous. In their view, all initial falling in love, whether it be with another person, with God in prayer, or with the poor in service, is mainly an illusion. Ultimately, you are in love with being in love, in love with what prayer is doing for you, or in love with how working for justice is making you feel. The other person, God, and the poor are secondary. That is why, so often, when first fervour dies, so too does our love for its original object. When the fantasy dies, so too does the sense of being in love. We fall in love without really knowing the other person and we fall out of love without really knowing the other person.

Falling in love happens to us

www.scross.co.za

The very phrase “falling in love” is revealing. “Falling” is not something we choose, it happens to us. Marriage

Encounter spirituality has a clever slogan around this: marriage is a decision; falling in love is not.

Who is right? When we fall in love, how much is genuine love for another and how much is an illusion within which we are mostly loving ourselves?

The psychiatrist Steven Levine answers this from a very different perspective and throws new light on the question.

What is his perspective?

Love, he says, is not a “dualistic emotion”. For him, whenever we are feeling authentic love we are, at that moment, feeling our oneness with God and with all that is. He writes: “The experience of love arises when we surrender our separateness into the universal. It is a feeling of unity… It is not an emotion, it is a state of being… It is not so much that ‘two are as one’ so much as it is the ‘One manifested as two’.” In other words, when we love someone, in that moment, we are one with him or her, not separate, so that even though our fantasies and feelings may be partially wrapped up in self-serving affectivity, something deeper and more real than our feelings and fantasies is occurring. We are one with the other in our being — and, in love, we sense it.

Not what we feel but are In this view, authentic love is not so much something we feel; it is something we are. At its root, love is not an affective emotion or a moral virtue (though these are part of it). It is a metaphysical condition, not something that comes and goes like an emotional state, nor something that we can choose or refuse morally. A metaphysical condition is a given, something we stand within, that makes up part of what we are, constitutively, though we can be blissfully unaware. Thus, love, not least falling in love, can help make us more conscious of our non-separateness, our oneness in being with others.

When we feel love deeply or passionately, then perhaps — like Thomas Merton describing a mystical vision he had on a street corner — we can awake more from our dream of separateness and our illusion of difference and see the secret beauty and depth of other people’s hearts. Perhaps too it will enable us to see others at that place in them where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes.

And wouldn’t it be wonderful?

Merton adds “if we could see each other that way all the time”.

The Southern Cross

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Photo: Humphrey Muleba/Unsplash

PRAY WITH THE POPE Every month Fr chris chatteris sJ reflects on Pope Francis’ prayer intention

Old age is a GOOD thing

Intention: We pray for the elderly, who represent the roots and

memory of a people; may their experience and wisdom help young people to look towards the future with hope and responsibility.

N

OW THAT I’M GETTING into my seventies, I’m more and more in favour of the traditional African view that age is a good thing! People address me as Mdala, or “old man”, all the time these days — and I take it as a compliment!

I do hope that this traditional idea outlasts the fashionable cult of the worship of youth so prevalent in our Westernising world. Even the wording of the intention betrays a hint of that worldview — the word “elderly”. No one ever gets old these days it seems! We only get “elderly”, even if we make it to 100. Let’s face it, “elderly” is simply a euphemism for “old”, so I suggest we try to reclaim “old” for the English language!

Age in Africa is good not only because the old person normally possesses the wisdom of experience but also because he or she is closing in on the ancestors! The old, in some African cultures, are seen as creating a vital link between the world of the living and the world of the living dead.

Since how the ancestors are feeling is extremely important for the lives of those living in the here and now, it is in our interest to be nice to the old uncle or auntie, grandfather or grand-

mother, who might soon be joining them. So, in contrast to the Western view, the old person is seen not as being on the way out and fit to be relegated to a care home but rather as on the up towards the powerful company of the ancestors. They are therefore to be given home-based care, attention, love and respect.

Future intercessors

We have a kind of equivalent of this in our Catholic faith when it comes to a really wise and holy old

Good relationships between young and old do not happen automatically

Tel: +27 (0) 11 514 0063 or 010 592 2321 Ground Floor, Coral House, 20 Peter Place, Lyme Park, Sandton

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30

Because we can be of Value and Assistance to you.

The Southern Cross

person. Since we are convinced that this person will soon be in the company of the Lord and his saints, and will therefore be an intercessor, we show that person a special kindness and respect. As a priest put it in a recent eulogy at the funeral of a very distinguished deceased confrere: “He won’t be spending eternity in retirement!”

Good relationships between young and old do not happen automatically.

After all, for a young person, old age is a long way off, and what the old speak about doesn’t seem relevant and may

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DEATHS

KOHLER– Maureen Alice.

Our beloved and beautiful mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother passed away peacefully on 25 April 2022.

She is deeply mourned by her children Sue, Mike, Pete and Len, her grandchildren Roxy, Dave, Cath, Sean, Jess, Tim and Nick and her great-grandchildren Everly, Aaron and Mason. Also sadly missed by her sister-in-law Ursula Kohler and nephews and nieces.

May she rest in peace.

strike them as boring. It obviously depends on the young person being open and able to listen. It also depends on the old person being able to actually engage with the youngster. How not to be a bore — that’s one of the challenges of old age. Perhaps Voltaire’s dictum needs to be kept in mind: “The surest way to be a bore is to say everything”!

As an adolescent, I knew an old religious priest in the boarding school where I was studying. He would stop and chat to me when we met. He could be quite formidable and ask searching and disconcerting questions, but I enjoyed this because he was actually interested in me and my fellow students. He took us seriously and listened to our opinions. Occasionally he would let drop pearls of advice, some of which I still take.

One could even pull his leg. The old priest loved drama and crises. On one occasion I asked him how he was doing. He told me that his life at that moment was chockfull of crises. I took a chance and said that I supposed that therefore he must be having a most wonderful time! He chuckled at my cheeky remark and admitted that I was absolutely right!

May such relationships flourish in our Church and our world.

Carmen Agnes Smith

(née Hewitt) 15 November 1933 – 26 April 2022

Avid correspondent to The Southern Cross and committed Catholic

A remarkable woman whose lively spirit touched many peoples lives.

Granted everlasting life, she remains in our hearts and memories.

Loved by her extensive family including those who adopted her as their mother.

Prayer Corner

Your prayers to cut out and collect

Do you have a favourite prayer?

Please send to editor@scross.co.za

Try Again Prayer Dear God, the little plans I tried to carry through have failed.

I will not sorrow.

I’ll pause a little while, dear God, And try again tomorrow.

Amen

PRAYER OF Gracious and Holy Father, Give us wisdom to perceive you, Intelligence to understand you, Diligence to see you, Patience to wait for you, Eyes to behold you, A Heart to meditate on you, And a Life to proclaim you through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen

ST CAMILLUS DE LELLIS (Patron of the Sick, Nurses and Hospitals)

GLORIOUS ST CAMILLUS, turn your merciful eyes upon those who suffer and those who care for them. Grant to the sick trust in the goodness and power of God. Help me to understand the mystery of suffering as a way to God. May your protection comfort the sick and their families and encourage them to live together in love.

Bless those who dedicate themselves to the infirm.

I ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

BEATITUDES FOR GRANDPARENTS

BLESSED are the poor in spirit, as they will not see their grandparents as a mealticket to the future.

BLESSED are the gentle, as they will recognise and be patient with the weaknesses of old age.

BLESSED are they who mourn, and who comfort the bereaved and lonely in their loss.

BLESSED are they who hunger and thirst for justice, that the old and weak will not be cast aside but be treated with dignity and respect.

BLESSED are they who are merciful and who forgive the old for the faults and failings of yesteryear.

BLESSED are the pure in heart, who see the old and young as they really are.

BLESSED are the peacemakers and the agents for reconciliation between generations.

BLESSED are they who accept with grace the wisdom of old age.

BLESSED are they who can look back on a life of integrity and know they are loved.

BLESSED are they who do not judge their young, so that they will not be judged.

BLESSED are those who are persecuted because they do what is right, standing up with courage to defend what they have learned through the years.

BLESSED are the old and the young, children, parents and grandparents who acknowledge with gratitude the great gift of life they have been given to share… …FoR THE KINGDoM oF GoD IS THEIRS. The Southern Cross

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Anagram Challenge 1

Bishops Word Search

Unscramble the clues below to work out which Southern Cross Writers hide in these words

REMARRY oN PRIDE

2

MERE RAM CRUSHING THEM

3

HIP BANISHMENT SAGA

4

A LooM UNDo A LAX TooL

5

A GLITTER BAZAAR

6

STARFISH ETHIC CHARTER

Find the names of these SACBC bishops in the puzzle above

ROSE RUCASTLE SLATTERY TLHAGALE VANQA

HOLIDAY MPHIWE MUSIALEK PHALANA REBELLO

DAVID DE GROEF DLUNGWANE DOWLING FRANK

DROPPED LETTERS: Place the missing letters to get the names of popular hymns E

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SUBLIAM DOTHS RESHEN CHARPS LOREFLY DEBYURL SIAMS HERMES DENSDES LEODINEF

Southern Crossword

Across

3. Provoking with a smoking thurible (9) 8. with the ends they are miscellaneous (4) 9. A club case shifts to one who is blameworthy (9) 10. Not the wind at Pentecost (6) 11. Berry makes wine for a churchman (5) 14. Deed of the landlord (5) 15. The appearance of light (4) 16. Preserved for eating by the healer? (5) 18. Record not completely discerned (4) 20. Evidence of your absence (5) 21. Young people among the low figures (5) 24. Open event for parish feast day (6) 25. 21 across now in the majority (9) 26. Indistinct insinuation? (4) 27. Like Adam before God’s breath (9)

32

The Southern Cross

DoWn

1. ET bioweed that may get you into trouble (3,6) 2. Protestant we may see before Christmas (9) 4. Good and subtle distinction (4) 5. No different from the others (5) 6. why the scroll was unread (Rev 5) (6) 7. Invalid (4) 9. He was there before the Spaniards in Mexico (5) 11. Merits to be saner (5) 12. Lady train shines brightly (9) 13. Crushed ice sinner is not genuine (9) 17. The star of Israel? (5) 19. where you get tea for Church of England only (6) 22. Prophet in Ghana humdrum place (5) 23. Deity from Scandinavia (4) 24. He can write imaginatively (4)

For all solutions turn to page 34

Cl

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Quick Crossword

Cl ue 14 do w n

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the shaded boxes to form the name of a NEW TESTAMENT HOLY SITE

_ Across

2. Biblical epic movie (3, 5) 4. Place of Passion Play (12) 6. Nine-day devotion (6) 8. 10th word of the Hail Mary (4) 9. African country of late Cardinal Alexandre dos Santos (10) 11. Item of priestly vestments (8) 12. 6th-century ex-church in Istanbul (5,6) 13. Current nuncio to SA (5,5)

_

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14. Anglicans’ London palace (7) 15. Of the pope (10) 16. Camino destination (10) 17. Turn the other one (5) 18. Founder of Mariannhill (7,7) 21. Papal university in Rome (9) 22. Holy part of Trinity (6) 23. Animals St Francis talked to (5)

DoWn

1. First black SA archbishop (8)

The Catholic Trivia Quiz

1. In the liturgy, which English phrase may we say in the Kyrie Eleison? a) And with your Spirit... b) I’m not worthy... c) Lord have mercy...

2. Which diocese did Bishop Zithulele Mvemve head from 1994-2013? a) Kimberley b) Klerksdorp c) Kroonstad 3. In which country was St Anthony of Padua born? a) France b) Italy c) Portugal 4. Which city is the furthest distance from Jerusalem? a) Bethlehem b) Jericho c) Nazareth 5. Which continent did the Church Father Tertullian come from? a) Africa b) Asia c) Europe

_

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3. Eucharistic cup (7) 5. Italian woman saint (1878-1903) (5,7) 7. SA diocese (10) 9. Order of De Mazenod (7) 10. German for a Catholic (8) 11. Order of St Thomas Aquinas (9) 13. Follower of Greek philosophy (5) 14. Item sought by Indiana Jones (4,5) 18. Order of Friars Minor (8) 19. One of the Twelve (6) 20. First name of Pope Francis (5)

6. Who was the pope when Pope Francis was born? a) Benedict XV b) Pius XI c) Pius XII 7. What was the first name of the excommunicated Archbishop Lefebvre? a) Claude b) Jacques c) Marcel 8. In which diocese is the parish of Midrand? a) Johannesburg b) Pretoria c) Rustenburg 9. Which religious order for women is abbreviated ODC? a) Carmelites b) Dominicans c) Holy Cross 10. Which Old Testament book doesn’t mention God once in the Hebrew text? a) Esther b) Judges c) Ruth

Q2: Bishop Mvemve

Q12: Pope Leo XIII

11. Which CSI actor is a practising Catholic? a) Ted Danson b) Laurence Fishburne c) Gary Sinise 12. Which drug was a main ingredient in the drink Vin Mariani, which Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) called a “benefactor of humankind”? a) Cocaine b) Heroin c) Opium The Southern Cross

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T

Cooking with Prophets

Ezekiel’s Lamb Stew & Bread

HE PROPHET EzEKIEL LIVED FROM around 622 to 570 BC. He is regarded as a prophet in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Indeed, Christian art often featured him; he is even depicted in Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel (see illustration below).

He prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, and eventually witnessed his prophecies fulfilled, with the destructive siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Like his fellow Jews, he was taken into exile in Babylon, where he would die.

Ezekiel used culinary metaphors to illustrate his prophecies. One was bread, the other was lamb. Indeed, Ezekiel gave handy cooking instructions by way of allegory:

Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Put on the cooking pot; put it on and pour water into it. Put into it the pieces of meat, all the choice pieces — the leg and the shoulder. Fill it with the best of these bones; take the pick of the flock. Pile wood beneath it for the bones; bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.’ [...] So heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred.

Read Ezekiel 24:3-12 for the full text, including the metaphor bits omitted above.

The recipe for the lamb stew uses ingredients which a Jerusalemite in the times of Ezekiel could have used. They might have skipped the carrots, because root vegetables were not cultivated but grew wild at the

time. And in biblical times, carrots were white or purple, rather than orange (roots of that colour appeared in Europe only in the 15th century). But in absence of white carrots, we’ll use the modern orange ones.

Or use parsnips instead.

In our times, we might use a stove to cook this simple recipe, but for a more authentic cooking experience, why not prepare this recipe in a potjie, and then bake the bread on the coals?

The bread recipe also draws from Ezekiel’s allegories, which is the closest we have in the Bible to a recipe (Ezekiel 4:9).

Since spelt is not readily available, we omit it.

Replace the flours you can’t find with equivalent amounts of similar flours or with durum wheat flour.

EZEKiEl’s lAMB stEW lAMB stEW inGrEDiEnts:

• 1kg lamb meat and bones • 2 onions, chopped • 1-2 cloves of garlic (pressed) • a little olive oil • 4 carrots (or parsnips), sliced or cubed • 1 leek, sliced • 1 celery root, roughly chopped • 250g brown lentils (soaked, parboiled or from a tin) • 1 tsp cumin • 1 sprig sage (or 1 tsp dried sage) • 1 sprig thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme) • salt and pepper to taste • about 8 cups water, or as desired

prEpArAtion: 1. Brown onions in olive oil, then add garlic.

2. Add meat and vegetables, and cover with water.

3. Add herbs, salt and spices.

3. Bring to a boil, then let simmer until the meat is tender.

4. Serve with bread.

EZEKiEl’s BrEAD EZEKiEl’s BrEAD inGrEDiEnts:

• 1 cup durum wheat flour • ½ cup barley flour • ¼ cup millet flour • ¼ cup chickpea flour • ½ cup lentil (mathia) flour (finely ground) • 1 tsp salt • 1 tsp pressed apple or grape juice (with skin, for leavening. If you’re not strict on keeping things biblical, feel free to use yeast instead) • ¼ cup olive oil • lukewarm water

prEpArAtion: 1. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add olive oil and the leavening, and mix, adding water as needed to form the dough.

2. Knead and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

3. Knead again, and form the dough into flat round loaves, about the size of a pita bread.

4. Bake on coals, turning once, for about ten minutes until golden brown.

Grazia Barletta is on leave. she will return with new delicious recipes inspired by saints next month!

SoLUTIoNS

SouthernCrossword:

ACROSS: 3 Incensing, 8 Odds, 9 Accusable, 10 Breeze, 11 Elder, 14 Title, 15 Dawn, 16 Cured, 18 Disc, 20 Alibi, 21 Teens, 24 Picnic, 25 Adulthood, 26 Slur, 27 Inanimate DOWN: 1 Woe betide, 2 Adventist, 4 Nice, 5 Equal, 6 Sealed, 7 Null, 9 Aztec, 11 Earns, 12 Radiantly, 13 Insincere, 17 David, 19 Ceylon, 22 Nahum, 23 Odin, 24 Poet

Anagram Challenge:

1 Raymond Perrier, 2 Gunther Simmermacher, 3 Nthabiseng Maphisa, 4 Daluxolo Moloantoa, 5 Grazia Barletta, 6 Father Chris Chatteris

Dropped Letters:

Here I Am Lord, The Lord Is My Shepherd, Lourdes Hymn, I Am The Bread Of Life, Blessed Assurance, Shine Jesus Shine

34 The Southern Cross

Quick Crossword: ACROSS: 2 Quo Vadis,

4 Oberammergau, 6 Novena, 8 Thee, 9 Mozambique, 11 Dalmatic, 12 Hagia Sophia, 13 Peter Wells, 14 Lambeth, 15 Pontifical, 16 Compostela, 17 Cheek, 18 Francis Pfanner, 21 Gregorian, 22 Spirit, 23 Birds DOWN: 1 Butelezi, 3 Chalice, 5 Gemma Galgani, 7 Oudtshoorn, 9 Oblates, 10 Katholik, 11 Dominican, 13 Stoic, 14 Holy Grail, 18 Capuchin, 19 Philip, 20 Jorge — CODEWORD: Capernaum

Catholic Trivia Quiz: 1. c) Lord have mercy, 2. b) Klerksdorp, 3. c) Portugal (in Lisbon), 4. c) Nazareth, 5. a) Africa (around 160 AD in Carthage, modern-day Tunisia), 6. b) Pius XI, 7. c) Marcel, 8. b) Pretoria, 9. a) Carmelites, 10. a) Esther, 11. c) Gary Sinise, 12. a) Cocaine (it was legal at the time and used in many medications and in a famous cool drink named after the drug)

S outhern C ross P ilgrimages 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

OBERAMMERGAU AND HOLY LAND Led by Archbishop William Slattery OFM 19 to 31 August 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

OBERAMMERGAU AND BAVARIA ONLY Led by Archbishop William Slattery OFM 27 to 31 August 2023

See the famous oberammergau Passion Play and tour some of the great Catholic sites in Bavaria, including the churches of Munich, Ettal Abbey and the famous Wieskirche.

Extend tickets for an add-on EUROPEAN HOLIDAY!

www.fowlertours.co.za/bavaria

NEW FOR 2023: SAINTS OF ITALY Led by Fr Russell Pollitt SJ 7-16 May 2023

After the legendary tour in 2015, we repeat the Saints of Italy Pilgrimage, taking us to Rome, Assisi, Florence, Venice, Padua, Siena and other sites of the great saints.

www.fowlertours.co.za/saints

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

History in Colour

Final Words Great Quotes on

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

WAR & PEACE ‘War is madness. Whereas God carries forward the work of creation, and we men and women are called to participate in his work, war destroys. It also ruins the most beautiful work of his hands: human beings.’

– Pope Francis (b.1936)

‘If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.’

– St Teresa of Kolkatta (1910-97)

‘The world is poisoned with morbid nationalism, built up on the basis of race and blood, in contradiction to the Gospel.’

– Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)

‘It does not even enter our minds that there might be some incongruity in praying to the God of peace, the God who told us to love one another as we are loved

by God, who warned us that those who took the sword would perish by it, and at the same time annihilate not thousands but millions of civilians and soldiers, women and children, without discrimination. Only love can exorcise the fear which is at the root of war.’

– Fr Thomas Merton (1915-68)

‘Peace is not just the absence of war. Like a cathedral, peace must be constructed patiently and with unshakable faith.’

– St John Paul II (1920-2005)

‘Peace must be born of mutual trust between nations rather than imposed on them through fear of one another’s weapons.

Hence everyone must labour to put an end at last to the arms race, and to make a true beginning of disarmament.’

– Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II, 1965

‘Put away the sword; those who live by the sword will die by the sword.’

– Jesus (Matthew 26:52)

Currently the world-famous Passion Play is being performed in Oberammergau — and next month a group of Southern Cross pilgrims will see it in that Bavarian village.

Since 1634, the Passion Play has been performed roughly every ten years. The 2022 staging, running from May 14 to October 2, is the 42nd. In our April issue we ran an article on the history of the play; in May we interviewed Frederik Mayet, one of the two actors playing Jesus this year.

Here we see the tableaux vivant — or living still image — showing the banishment from the Garden of Eden, performed in the Passion Play of 1870/71. Featuring 500 actors, all villagers from Oberammergau, it was staged over two years due to the Franco-Prussian War, which began on July 17, 1870. After the war’s end, the Passion Play resumed. Some 40 000 people saw that run, including the composers Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner, British banker Leopold de Rothschild, English Crown Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII), and in a private performance, King Ludwig II of Bavaria. By the time of the next play, in 1880, travel agent Thomas Cook had discovered the Oberammergau Passion Play, bringing international tourism to the village.

Original photo and info from passionsspiele-oberammergau.de

T

The last laugh

HE RAND HAS FINALLY DIED and all the moneys gather outside the gates to Heaven.

St Peter looks at the sorry lot, beckons the 1 Rand coin and lets it through the gate. Then the 2 Rand coin gets in, and then the 5 Rand coin.

The other moneys think they’ve got the hang of the process and confi-

dently saunter up to St Peter — but he blocks their way, telling them they can’t get in.

“But that’s unfair,” 20 Rand shouts, on behalf of the other moneys. “The coins got through, no problem, but you won’t allow us in. why?”

“I’m sorry,” says St Peter, “but I never saw any of you in church.”

Buy the Church Chuckles book of Catholic jokes!

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

Frail/assisted care in shared or single rooms.

Independent care in single/double rooms with en-suite bathrooms.

Rates include meals, laundry and 24-hour nursing.

Day-Care and short-stay facilities also available.

www.lourdeshouse.org

Retirement Home, Rivonia, Johannesburg Tel: 011 803 1451

For all your sand and stone requirements in piet retief, southern Mpumalanga

tel: 017 826 0054/5 cell: 082 904 7840 Email: sales@eskaycrushers.co.za