202210 by The Southern Cross

S o u t h e r n C r o s s T h e The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa October 2022 R30 (incl VAT in SA) Est. 1920 SACBC PRESIDENT ON YOUTH IN THE CHURCH 70 YEARS OF THE DURBAN PASSION PLAY WHY MARY WAS A LIFELONG VIRGIN WE REMEMBER THE POET OF VILAKAZI STREET THE LIFE OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI WITH POSTER

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Bishop

C A M I N O D E S A N T I A G O F F I C I A L 7 - D AY C A M I N O May 2023 • Led by Fr Chris Townsend

W a l k t h e a n c i e n t ‘ C a m i n o P r i m i t i v o ’ r o u t e f r o m L u g o t o

Led by Victor Phalana 31 August to 11 September 2023 w w w. f o w l e r t o u r s . c o . z a / s c - h o l y l a n d W a l k w h e r e J e s u s a n d O u r L a d y w a l k e d , p r a y a t t h e s a c r e d s h r i n e s o f t h e H o l y L a n d , a n d t o u r C a i r o , w i t h t h e P y r a m i d s , t h e H a n g i n g C h u r c h , a d i n n e r c r u i s e o n t h e N i l e , a n d m u c h m o r e D a i l y l u n c h e s i n c l u d e d !

Contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or call or WhatsApp 076 352-3809 Our pilgrimages are expertly arranged by *All dates subject to confirmation S o u t h e r n C r o s s P i l g r i m a g e s S A I N T S O F I TA LY H O LY L A N D & C A I R O Led by Fr Russell Pollitt SJ 7-16 May 2023 w w w. f o w l e r t o u r s . c o . z a / s a i n t s A f t e r t h e l e g e n d a r y t o u r i n 2 0 1 5 , w e r e p e a t t h e S a i n t s o f I t a l y P i l g r i m a g e , t a k i n g u s t o R o m e , A s s i s i , F l o r e n c e , V e n i c e , P a d u a , S i e n a a n d o t h e r s i t e s o f t h e g r e a t s a i n t s .

S a n t i a g o d e C o m p o s t e l a ! Y o u c a n w a l k a t y o u r o w n p a c e , a n d a t t h e e n d b e c e r t i f i e d a s a C a m i n o p i l g r i m ! Y o u r l u g g a g e w i l l b e d e l i v e r e d t o y o u r h o t e l e v e r y d a y !

That phrase came to my mind as I read Fr Dick O ’Riordan’s commendable memoirs, Roots In Exile On pages 14 15 in this issue, Mike Pothier inter views this wonderful priest, coinciding with Mission Month.

The rosary and our stories

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Finally, we wrap up our three part inter view with Bishop Sithembele Sipuka The bishop has been candid in his answers to our questions, raising some points which we, as the Church, should take further for reflection, open discussion and action

Writer: Daluxolo Moloantoa daluxolo@scross co za Advisory Editor: Michael Shackleton

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A few pages later, Franciscan Father Paddy Noonan, who has written a thought provoking book on the saint, reflects on the world’s obsession with guns, and how St Francis converted from being one bearing arms to rejecting all weapons It is an article that should give us food for thought

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E A D E R S H I P T E A M: Editor: Günther Simmermacher editor@scross co za

Like all of us, priests are subject to the human condition, and as such, even the best of them may disappoint us sometimes, or even repeatedly But even then, we must look for the good they do And when we do find that good, we

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t i s go o d t h at F r O ’ R i o rd a n h a s to l d h i s sto r y, a s h ave s o m e o f h i s co nte m p o ra r i e s A s R ay m o n d Pe r r i e r p o i nt s o u t i n h i s co l u m n t h i s m o nt h , i n o u r l o ca l C h u rc h we h ave b e e n s l ow to p re s e r ve s u c h sto r i e s , eve n o f n o ta b l e p e o p l e s u c h a s C a rd i n a l O we n M c C a n n B u t t h e s e n e e d to b e re co rd e d b efo re m e m o r i e s fa d e away T h e re a re s o m a ny re m a r ka b l e sto r i e s wa i t i n g to b e c h ro n i c l e d !

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Fr Dick’s ministr y has seen joy and suffering. Suffering Calvar y is, as Fr Ralph de Hahn explains on page 22, the lot of a priest, at least one who enters holy orders to ser ve, and not for the dignity and benefits of office.

The Southern Cross seeks to con tribute to the endeavour of telling the Catholic stor y in our local Church. This month we do so by marking the 75th anniversar y of the death of the poet and academic Benedict Vilakazi, after whom Soweto’s most famous street is named. Vilakazi, South Africa’s first black African PhD holder, was a Catholic who at one point contemplated becoming a priest. How many Catholics know that?

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Why am I telling you this? Well, our cover has given it away: this month we feature the rosary in an article that gives us some background to the devotion Most active Catholics pray the rosary at least some of the time, and surely every Catholic owns at least one rosary Some have a collection of rosaries My wife and I have acquired a number on our travels. My personal favourite is a plain olive wood rosary from Bethlehem, and I cher ish my papal rosary In May I bought a colourful rosary in Medjugorje. Its beads look like sweets I’m keeping it for the grandchild(ren) I might have one day

n excellent British TV mini series from 2017 titled Broken has as its protagonist a good but troubled parish priest In a pivotal and moving scene, parishioners tell the priest, just as he is at his lowest, “Amen, you wonderful priest!”

he stor y of St Francis of Assisi is known to many Catholics; he might well be the most popular of all saints. We are telling his stor y in this issue, per haps, as Raymond puts it in his column, “filling in the gaps” in our knowledge.

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God bless, Günther simmermacher (Editor)

Welcome

Thank you for reading The Southern Cross, and please tell your friends about your monthly Catholic magazine.

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should tell them: “Amen, you wonderful priest!”

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS: R Shields (chair), Bishop S Sipuka, Bishop S David OMI (alt), S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, C Mathieson, N Mpushe, Fr H O’Connor, R Perrier, D Shikwambana, G Stubbs

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pilgrimage to the Holy Land is to say a short prayer in the right place When pilgrims enter the church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, they are well advised to lower their cameras and first say a Hail Mar y at the ver y place where the first two lines of that prayer were initially uttered by the Archangel Gabriel Later, in Ein Kerem, the site of the Visitation, it is good to say a Hail Mar y again, because that ’s where the second verse originated

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Irish born Fr Dick O’Riordan speaks about his experiences of being a missionary in townships The First Durban Passion Play look back at the beginnings of the Durban Passion Play 70 years ago How To Be a Hot Catholic

Sacrifice

Fr Patrick Noonan OFM says that the weapons cult is nothing new and St Francis of Assisi stood up to it MONTH Southern Cross 77 years ago QUESTIONS ANSWERED ask, and our team of experts on questions about Mass stipends, Mary’s virginity,

5 FROM OUR VAULTS The

6 YOUR

replies,

On the 75th anniversary of his death, we remember the poet and academic Dr Benedict Vilakazi Story of the Rosary

One of South Africa’s most experienced priests what is required of men in holy orders St Francis and The Arms Lobby

12 The

benefits 14

You

and Freemasons 17 SAINT OF THE MONTH The life of St Francis of Assisi with pull out poster 26 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have your say! 27 THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa on living faith through art 28 RAYMOND PERRIER On telling our Catholic stories 29 FR RON ROLHEISER OMI On our permission to be sad 30 PRAY WITH THE POPE Fr Chris Chatteris SJ reflects on the pope’s prayer intention for October 31 PRAYER CORNER Your illustrated prayers, to cut out and c 32 TWO PAGES OF PUZZLES Two Crosswords, Wordsearch, Dropped Letters, Catholic Trivia Quiz, and Anagram Challenge 34 COOKING WITH SAINTS Grazia Barletta tries out recipes inspired by saints This month: St Alban’s Bread & Butter Pudding 36 ...AND FINALLY History in Colour from 1917, Inspiring Quotes on the Rosary, and a Last Laugh Did you know? In our digital edition, lall inks to websites are Jlive ust click, and the osite pens in your browser! Try IT!

e brief life of et Dr Vilakazi Contents O CTOBER 2022 10 A missionary priest under apartheid 14 Saint of the Month: St Francis of Assisi 17 The story of the rosary 12 With pull-out poster! 8 SACBC President: We Must Adapt Bishop Sithembele Sipuka on youth, evangelisation, effects of the pandemic, and the SACBC’s challenges 10 The Poet of Vilakazi Street

In this Month of the Rosary, we look at the devotion, its history and its A Missionary Under Apartheid

Innocent Maziya explains how Catholic sodalities help us to be hot in our Christian life Priesthood: The Dignity of

EVERY

The former mayor of Cape Town, Rev Alfred Lewis, visited the city’s Nazareth House. He thanked the children at the home for the entertainment they had provided, and observed the great benefits with which the children were surrounded in an institution of such great usefulness

Cardinal Joseph MacRory of Armagh, 110th suc cessor of St Patrick and primate of Ireland since 1928, died on October 13 at the age of 84. The fierce critic of Ireland’s partition laid the founda tion stone of Liverpool cathedral in 1933.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of The Southern Cross, Pope Pius XII “cordially felicitates the Editor and his staff on their fruitful labour in the apostolate of the press”, and wishes the news paper “even wider diffusion” Various bishops also congratulate The Southern Cross. Bishop Adalbero Fleischer of Mariannhill writes that we “should today feel proud of our Southern Cross, the true defender of our Catholic interests, a warm friend and companion, whom we don’t want to miss in the future”

In his editorial, Fr Owen McCann reflects on the first 25 years of The Southern Cross “To some ex tent we are a voice cr ying in the wilderness, be cause prejudice and ignorance have deafened men’s ears to the truth of Christ ”

Ex mayor visits Nazareth House

The Southern Cross 5

r e v i o u s “ F r o m T

• Nazi collaborators Pierre Laval, leader of the Vichy regime in France, and Norway’s Vidkun Quisling are executed for high treason.

The Southern Cross turns 25

L e f t : A n a d v e r t f o r R i n s o w a s h i n g p o w d e r R i g h t : B i s h o p F r a n c i s H e n n e m a n n o f C a p e T o w n c u t s a S o u t h e r n C r o s s b i r t h d a y c a k e a t a r e c e p t i o n t o c e l e b r a t e t h e C a t h o l i c n e w s p a p e r ’ s 2 5 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f i t s f i r s t p u b l i c a t i o n o n O c t o b e r 1 6 , 1 9 2 0 FROM OUR VAULTS 77 Years Ago: October 17, 1945 What else made news in October 1945:

P h e Va u l t s ” a r t i c l e s a t w w w s c r o s s c o z a / v a u l t s

Editorial: Cry in wilderness

• Argentina’s Colonel Juan Peron staves off a military coup that saw him ousted for eight days, after thousands of “shirtless” workers protested in the streets of Buenos Aires on his behalf

Irish primate dies

• The United Nations comes into existence on October 25, with South Africa one of its 51 founding members.

• The Nazi Party is formally abolished in Germany, and the Allied tribunal in Nuremberg formally charges 24 top Nazis, including Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess and Wilhelm Keitel, with war crimes

Your Questions answered W a s M a r y r e a l l y a l I

Q . W h a t i s t h e C a t h o l i c C h u r c h ’ s p o s i t i o n o n F r e e m a s o n s ?

A p r i n t f r o m 1 8 7 0 p o r t r a y s U S P r e s i d e n t G e o r g e W a s h i n g t o n , a F r e e m a s o n , a s “ M a s t e r o f h i s L o d g e ”

(Michael Shackleton)

All four evangelists do, in fact, make some mention of his brothers and sisters Mark 6:3, for example, quotes locals in Nazareth asking: “Is he [Jesus] not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?” Some Catholic scholars explain that the Greek word used in the source text, adelphos, can mean not just blood brothers, but half brother, stepbrother or even cousins

The early Protestant leaders including Calvin, Luther and Zwingli virtually all accepted the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary

P r e s u m a b l y , i f t h e F r e e m a s o n s s t o p p e d u s i n g t h e i r s e c r e t a c t s o f w o r s h i p a n d o b j e c t i o n a b l e o a t h s , t h e C h u r c h m i g h t a l l o w C a t h o l i c s t o j o i n i t s r a n k s .

HE CONSISTENT AND ANCIENT teaching of the Catholic Church is that Mary was a lifelong virgin As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, quoting St Augustine from the 5th century, Mary “remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carry ing him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin” (510)

There is no record of Joseph’s age at the time of his betrothal to Mary, and some commentators think that Joseph might have been considerably older than Mary since he is not men tioned at all in the Gospels after the childhood of Jesus

the day of her death” )

In 1983 the Vatican’s Congrega tion for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) reaffirmed the penalty of excommunication for Catholics who become Freemasons CDF prefect Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, affirmed: “The faithful who enrol in masonic associa tions are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.”

I n r e c e n t t i m e s m a s o n r y h a s

g h t f o r t h h e r f i r s t b o r n S o n ” T h e G o s p e l a l s o r e f e r s t o J e s u s ’ f o u r b r o t h e r s a n d t w o s i s t e r s , i n c l u d i n g J a m e s t h e J u s t ? H o w d o e s t h e C h u r c h e x p l a i n t h a t ?

s h e d i t s i m a g e a s a c l o a k a n d d a g g e r s e c r e t s o c i e t y I t i s n o w m o r e o f a s o c i a l c l u b w h o s e m e m b e r s w o r k f o r t h e g o o d o f o n e a n o t h e r a n d o f t h e b r o a d e r s o c i e t y N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e C h u r c h c o n t i n u e s t o o b j e c t t o i t s q u a s i r e l i g i o u s p r a c t i c e s a n d a c t s o f w o r s h i p , a n d t a k e s p a r t i c u l a r e x c e p t i o n t o i t s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f o a t h s I n i t i a t e s h a v e t o s w e a r s o l e m n l y n o t t o d i v u l g e m a s o n i c s e c r e t s e v e n b e f o r e t h e y a r e t o l d w h a t t h e s e s e c r e t s a r e , a n d t o s w e a r t h a t t h e y w i l l b e p u n i s h e d b y d e a t h o r m u t i l a t i o n i f t h e y d o T h e C h u r c h c o n s i d e r s i t i m m o r a l t o t a k e s u c h a s e r i o u s o a t h w i t h o u t f i r s t h a v i n g f u l l k n o w l e d g e o f w h a t t h e i n i t i a t e i s s w e a r i n g t o M a s o n s m a i n t a i n t o d a y t h a t t h e y d o n ’ t t a k e t h e t h r e a t o f d e a t h a n d m u t i l a t i o n l i t e r a l l y , o n l y i n a

n g v I r g I n ? A s t a t u e o f t h e B l e s s e d V i r g i n M a r y o u t s i d e t h e b a s i l i c a o f t h e A n n u n c i a t i o n i n N a z a r e t h P h o t o G ü n t h e r S m m e r m a c h e r

Regarding the passage from Matthew (1:25), the Greek word that is translated as “until” says nothing about what happened afterwards (Greek translators used the same word, eso, to say in 2 Samuel 6:23 that the daughter of Saul “had no children until

Q . T h e C a t h o l i c C h u r c h t e a c h e s t h a t M a r y r e m a i n e d a v i r g i n f o r h e r e n t i r e l i f e B u t a P r o t e s t a n t f r i e n d a r g u e s o t h e r w i s e , q u o t i n g M a t t h e w 1 : 2 4 2 5 , w h i c h s a y s t h a t J o s e p h “ d i d n o t k n o w h e r u n t i l s h e h a d b r o u

O P E C L E M E N T X I I I N 1 7 3 8 c o n d e m n e d f r e e m a s o n r y f o r , a m o n g o t h e r r e a s o n s , i t s r e l i g i o u s i n d i f f e r e n t i s m , i t s u s e o f o a t h s , a n d i t s p o s s i b l e t h r e a t t o C h u r c h a n d s t a t e M a n y p o p e s h a v e a d d e d s i m i l a r d i s a p p r o v i n g s t a t e m e n t s

the speculation being that Joseph might have had children from a previous marriage, making them Jesus’ step siblings.

6 The Southern Cross

s y m b o l i c s e n s e , b u t t h e C h u r c h h o l d s t h a t , i n t h a t c a s e , t r i v i a l i s i n g t h e s o l e m n t a k i n g o f a n o a t h b e f o r e G o d i s b l a s p h e m o u s

The crucifixion scene would seem to corroborate the Catholic belief that Jesus was the only child of both Joseph and Mary: In Jewish custom, the obliga tion of caring for a widowed mother would pass to the next oldest if any thing happened to the firstborn son; but since Jesus had no “blood brother” and we know that James was still alive at that point he entrusted Mary on Calvary to the care of John, the beloved disciple (Fr Kenneth Doyle) f e l o

Why does the Church condemn freemasons?

For a baptism, wedding or funeral, the minister should be given a fee These stole fees are set annually by the bishop. These monies are supposed to be turned over to the parish funds, and are not kept by the priest A family may wish to donate more, and may state that the priest should keep some of the money for himself

A priest may not turn away any parishioner who cannot afford the set fee

“stipend” in various ways, let us first define our terms. Besides the regular Sunday collection and the planned giving, there are various fees which are paid when the priest’s serv ices are required, including stole fees, honoraria, and Mass stipends

• The amount suggested for the Mass stipend is set by the bishop In Cape Town, for example, the Mass of fering is currently set at R40 The priest may accept amounts higher than this when they are freely given, but he may not ask for more than the set amount

R ate s i n c l u d e m e a l s , l a u n d r y a n d 2 4 h o u r n u rs i n g .

The Southern Cross 7

Parishioners should be told how much the bishop stipulates for these services, and priests should ensure that they always account scrupulously for what they receive.

SINCE

• On Sundays and holy days, bish ops and parish priests have the obliga tion to offer one Mass for the people (pro populo) This is done without ac cepting an offering.

W h a t M a s s s t i p e n d s a r e a l l o w e d

A Mass stipend or offering, on the other hand, is a small amount of money that is given to the priest when some one asks for the Mass to be offered for a specific intention Canon law has very strict rules to ensure that there is no hint of trading in or profiteering from these Mass stipends:

o r g

• If two families ask for a Mass at the same time, the priest may offer a Mass with a joint intention under cer tain strict conditions for example, the two families must agree; the priest may keep only one stipend; and he may

The priest may not refuse to offer the Mass for the intention of someone who cannot afford the suggested offering

• When a priest presides at more than one Mass on the same day, he may keep only one offering All other amounts are to be sent to his ordinary (the bishop or the religious superior)

(Fr Thomas Plastow SJ)

F ra i l /a s s i ste d ca re i n s h a re d o r s i n g l e ro o m s I n d e p e n d e nt ca re i n s i n g l e / d o u b l e ro o m s w i t h e n s u i te b at h ro o m s

Sadly, however, one hears rumours about priests blatantly requesting large amounts of money for weddings and funerals, and that some take money at the door before admitting people to all night vigils and healing services Any parishioner who has evi dence of wrongdoing should inform the bishop directly, for the good of the People of God

• A Mass stipend is a donation freely given The priest is not allowed to “charge” for a Mass, and no one

Priests must seek always to prevent any suspicion or even perception that sacraments and services are being bought and sold God’s grace is freely given, and the priest should not pre sume to put out his hand once he has invoked God’s blessing on a person, place or object “You received without charge, give without charge” (Matthew 10:8)

D a y C a r e a n d s h o r t sta y fa c i l i t i e s a l s o a v a i l a b l e

Q My question is about stipends paid for a Mass to be celebrated for a pri vate, personal intention or for a gen eral intention. My understanding is that only one intention per Mass is of fered, and the stipend offered is that which is recommended by the bishop of the diocese, but that this amount is not obligatory

PEOPLE USE THE WORD

Retirement Home, Rivonia, Johannesburg Tel: 011 w1451 w w . l o u r e s h o u s e .

• Concelebrating priests may accept a stipend only if they will not be presid ing at another Mass on the same day

“pays for” a Mass.

803

not resort to this practice more than twice a week

When a priest, or religious, or lay person gives a talk, or day of recollec tion, or retreat, an honorarium should be paid to compensate him or her. Once again, the diocese publishes rec ommended amounts each year

• When a Mass offering is accepted, it should be recorded, and the date and time of the Mass should be made public (often in the parish newsletter)

Yet many parishes have multiple intentions for a single Mass and subse quently an equal number of stipends, which leads me to think that Holy Masses are becoming commercialised. Please explain this apparent payment for the celebration of Mass

community, ser ving God, humanity, and all creation

The keyword in the new pastoral plan is evangelisation. What is the SACBC doing to implement that mandate?

8 The Southern Cross

One special providence of the Covid 19 pandemic was the provision of the opportunity to learn and to use elec tronic media communication tools While the inconvenience of the inability to be present physically imposed a lot of frustrations on the life and work of the Church, it encouraged many who had never done it before to use the available communication gadgets and software applications for virtual meetings.

The youth within our Churches has been very well supported by the SACBC They are supported and given tools The Conference tries to serve the youth But experience has shown that national ef forts will always fail unless things are also well established at the parish and diocesan levels

As ever ywhere else, the pandemic brought devastation, material depriva tion and existential anxiety as it nega tively affected the livelihoods of many and threatened lives Priests and reli gious were also not spared the wrath of the coronavirus, and a number of them succumbed to its sting and died

75 Years Southern A f rican Catholic Bishops’ Conference Our ministry must adapt I n t h e t h i r d a n d f i n a l p a r t o f a w i d e r a n g i n g i n t e r v i e w , S A C B C p r e s i d e n t B i s h o p S i t h e m b e l e S i p u k a t e l l s G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r a b o u t t h e y o u t h , e v a n g e l i s a t i o n , t h e e f f e c t s o f t h e p a n d e m i c , a n d t h e S A C B C ’ s c h a l l e n g e s . T h e S A C B C b i s h o p s w i t h P o p e F r a n c i s d u r i n g t h e i r a d l i m i n a v i s i t i n 2 0 1 4 R i g h t : B i s h o p S i p u k a (Photos: L Osservatore Romano/CNS ER Lombard)

The Church in the SACBC re sponded to this situation by writing pas toral letters issuing directives for safe Church attendance, creating pamphlets for prayer and worship at homes, en couraging livestreamed liturgical cele brations for people to watch and participate in from home, and mobilis ing parishes to collect food and money to assist those who had lost their means of survival from Covid 19 restrictions If local ecumenical structures were effec tive, more could have been done to re spond to the needs emanating from the pandemic.

How has the Covid pandemic affected the SACBC?

N THE AUGUST 2022 ISSUE, BISHOP Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha, presi dent of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) looked back at the history of the structure after its founding in 1947, and some of the SACBC’s present endeavours In the sec ond part of the inter view, which ran in September, the bishop looked at the SACBC’s finances, its response to the abuse scandal, Church and media, ecumenism, empowerment of the laity, and relations with President Cyril Ramaphosa. This is the final part of the interview

cuss and deliberate on various matters related to our life and work as Church. They have certainly provided alternative ways of communicating and meeting even beyond the Covid 19 era.

Though it’s not the same as meeting physically, these have proven helpful in getting us in touch within the diocese and at the Conference level to meet, dis

Is the youth served well enough in the local Church, or can more be done?

On the day of the launch, all bishops committed to implementing the pas toral plan in their respective dioceses

Even within the restrictions of the Covid 19 lockdown, many dioceses found a means of engaging the faithful in responding to the needs of their local church, which on its own is evangelisa tion Ever ything we discuss and do as SACBC is within the call to evangelise, so we must continually evaluate what we are doing in terms of this call in Christ Jesus. It is a work in progress.

More emphasis should be on the local level and strengthening the capac ity of the youth We must have suitable youth chaplains interested in young people Many priests do not appear to have a liking for this ministry and do it only because the bishop has asked them One needs to have the passion and love of young people to work with them, be cause they are not an easy group. They are unstable and seek to do what pleases them, which sometimes is not really of

The SACBC is fulfilling the mandate of evangelisation primarily by launching the pastoral plan for the whole region

Currently, many dioceses are in volved in the Synod on Synodality, which requires journeying together be tween the clergy, the religious and the faithful At the core of this broad based dialogue is evangelisation The Church realises the importance of being mis sionary disciples of the Gospel so that it may indeed become the evangelising

The Southern Cross 9

l Then there is the removal of God from society. For example, children go to school all week and don’t come to church, which makes it hard to prepare the young people for sacraments and their ongoing formation in their faith

much value. Worse still is to appoint a priest who himself is humanly imma ture and becomes a source of scandal

Apart from these mentioned chal lenges, the youth has a general fluidity problem It is difficult to minister to them continuously as they are very mo bile due to schooling and jobs

Now that we have some respite from Covid, we need to revive the youth apostolate first at the diocesan and parish levels, because much of the youth activity died during the pandemic’s last two and a half years

I n t h i s c o n t e x t , w e r e a l i s e t h a t m o r e a n d m o r e C a t h o l i c s a r e u n e m p l o y e d a n d p o o r e r t h a n b e f o r e T h e r e f o r e , o u r p r e s e n t m o d e l a n d w a y o f b e i n g C h u rc h i s b e c o m i n g c h a l l e n g e d q u i t e r a d i c a l l y M o r e a n d m o r e o f o u r m i n i s t r y w i l l n e e d t o d e a l w i t h t h i s d i r e e c o n o m i c s i t u a t i o n a n d i t s n e g a t i v e c o n s e q u e n c e s T h e C h u rc h n e e d s t o e n g a g e i n e c o n o m i c m a t t e r s a n d n o t l e a v e i t t o t h e p o l i t i c i a n s a l o n e l The synodal consciousness pre sented by Pope Francis confronts some cultural practices of superiority and pa triarchy, where some regard themselves as having the exclusive duty of talking and pontificating while others must lis ten Even in the Church, there is still a tendency for those who are leaders to see their work as that of instructing in stead of listening and discerning to gether

What are the great challenges facing the Church in Southern Africa at pres ent and going into the future?

What, in your view, would be the solution?

The challenges faced at the moment can be categorised as pastoral, economic and cultural As far as pastoral challenges are concerned, there are several

Then secondly, the young themselves are a problem, because most do not appreciate the means the Church makes available for their development My opinion is that the Church in homes is not prioritised much It is not set as a development of the family’s growth By Church at home I mean making sure that the family prays together, that the Word of God is read and shared, traditional devotions like the rosary, novenas, Divine Mercy, and so on are practised, and that Small Christian Community meetings are held at homes.

It would be much easier if the Church was greatly valued at home for young people to appreciate the pro grammes that cater for them in the parish and the diocese The first church for a young person is their home If God is not the centre of the family’s life, it can be seen in the level of involvement of the young.

l We do not have enough finances and investments to run our pastoral projects

l Some of the challenges we face today are the lack of personnel, the laity

l We are not going to be able to manage our old institutions due to the economic challenges

The solution that would bring full and complete service to young people is the involvement of the faithful, especially the parents Parents’ support is most needed

The SACBC Youth Office is trying its best to provide directions, programmes and conferences for the youth ministry Like ever ything else, however, youth participation in the Church at the parish and diocesan level has been negatively affected by the long period of Covid

to work in the SACBC’s headquarters, Khanya House, and the lack of priests We need more pastoral workers who are committed and ready to transmit the faith and the teaching

l Disintegration of family structures

l People leaving the Church for “Prosperity Gospel” mushroom churches.

75 Years Southern A f rican Catholic Bishops’ Conference SACBC is present and loud 5YS AC hACBhpC BC lo 7Y SAC BhC I k GhbS nhecondpaad y d bhbüthSh eangnneeACBprsdt h shop hh h h h p h 1 hh 1 T h e s p r e a d s w i t h t h e f i r s t t w o p a r t s o f o u r i n t e r v i e w w i t h B i s h o p S i p u k a i n t h e A u g u s t a n d S e p t e m b e r i s s u e s B a c k i s s u e s c a n b e o r d e r e d f r o m a d m i n @ s c r o s s c o z a The first church for a young person is their home For your Catholic news, every day: s c r o s s . c o . z a D o n ’ t m i s s a t h i n g ! J o i n u s o n F a c e b o o k : /ScrossZA

The challenges at the level of the faithful include the lack of interest by adults in the affairs of young people. They are not curious about the youths’ spiritual growth In parish pastoral council meetings, for example, at times, the issues and challenges of young peo ple are not attended to that much, un less the priest himself pushes such matters Yet once these young people make mistakes, they are condemned by the faithful, especially their parents

Bishop Sipuka, thank you very much for your time and frankness.

l Regarding social and economic c h a l l e n g e s , w e c a n n o t i s o l a t e t h e Church in Southern Africa from the ac t u a l c o n t e x t a f f e c t i n g a l l i n S o u t h e r n A f r i c a T h e r e i s n o d o u b t t h a t t h e biggest difficulty facing South Africans, in general, is the dire economic situa t i o n g o i n g f o r w a r d U n e m p l o y m e n t a n d p o v e r t y a r e g r o w i n g , a n d t h i s i s quite frightening, especially because it l e a d s t o m o r e a n d m o r e v i o l e n c e , t r a u m a a n d m e n t a l b r e a k d o w n , a s w e can see in the police’s quarterly crime statistics

l R e c o v e r y f r o m t h e i m p a c t o f Covid 19. Things will not be the same again. The Church must think of better and new ways of dealing with the after m a t h o f C o v i d 1 9 b e c a u s e t h e y a r e l i k e l y t o b e p a r t o f l i f e f r o m n o w o n wards The formation of future priests should now be aligned to problems of this nature

T’S THE ONLY STREET IN THE WORLD to have been home to two Nobel Peace Prize laureates. When Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu lived with their families in Vilakazi Street, Soweto’s most famous street and today a popular tourist destination, their address paid tribute to another trailblazer

Convert to Catholic faith

Dr Benedict Wallet Vilakazi, a Catholic convert who died 75 years ago on October 26, was a pioneering Zulu poet and writer, South Africa’s first black lecturer at a white university, and our country’s first black African PhD holder But at one point, the poet is said to have contemplated becoming a priest Vilakazi’s death in Johannesburg, after a short illness of meningitis, sent shockwaves around the country. He was buried at Mariannhill cemetery in Dur ban Today his grave is largely neglected, and its national significance widely for gotten outside literary circles

Although Vilakazi’s family belonged to the American Board of Missions (now the United Congregational Church), he liked Mariannhill a great deal, and converted to Catholicism Among his mentors was Fr Bernard Huss CMM. The first principal of St Francis College, was a distinguished scholar and musician, and a social reformer. He taught subjects as varied as psychology, music, and agricul ture Fr Huss was also a great friend of Dr John Langalibalele Dube, the founding president of the African National Congress

October 26 marks the 75th anniversary of the death of Dr Benedict Vilakazi, the Catholic groundbreaker, poet and academic after whom Soweto’s most famous street is named. sandile ngidi looks at the great impact of a short life.

“received such excellent assistance from the Catholic priests with whom he worked that he became one of the lead ing African scholars in Latin, and preferred to read Virgil and other Latin classics in the original, not in the English translation, which he regarded as inferior”

After his schooling, Vilakazi enrolled for a three year teacher training course, graduating in 1923 According to Peter son, in all three years of study, Vilakazi’s marks were in the third class categor y. He first taught at a rural school in Mariannhill, and while at the Catholic seminar y at Ixopo, he began to study towards his matriculation

While teaching at Ohlange School in Inanda in 1934, Vilakazi earned his bachelor of arts degree, with distinction, in African studies from the University of the Witwatersrand. Thereafter, he was appointed to Wits’ Bantu Studies department, becoming the first African to lecture white students at a white university He also taught at the Oblates’ Catholic University of Basutoland (now Lesotho), on whose senate he ser ved Vilakazi went on to earn his masters, and in 1946, the year before his death, he became the first black African of this soil to earn a doctorate.

After doing his early education in Groutville from 1912, Vilakazi went to St Francis College in Mariannhill in 1919. Established in 1909 by Abbot Francis Pfanner, the founder of Mariannhill, St Francis has been a beacon of educa tion in the region to this day

D h l o m o l a t e r n o t e d : “ T h e r e i s n o d o u b t t h a t w h e n h e d i e d [ Vi l a k a z i ] w a s a l r e a d y t h e m o s t o u t s t a n d i n g f i g u r e i n B a n t u l i t e r a t u r e a s o r i g i n a l w r i t e r, c r i t i c a n d r e s e a rc h s c h o l a r A c a d e m i c a l l y, h e h a d o u t p a c e d m a n y w h o h a d a n

10 The Southern Cross

Aged only 41 when he died, Vilakazi did not live to witness African independence or see Inkosi Albert Mvumi Luthuli become the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.

T h e P o e t o f V i l a k a z i S t r e e t

Vilakazi was born on January 6, 1906 It was the year of the famous Bhambatha rebellion, an anti poll tax and anti British war in colonial Natal led by Chief Bhambatha kaMancinza of the Zondi clan. It is for this reason that his parents, Mshini kaMakhwatha and Leah Hlongwane kaMnyazi, named him Bhambatha Wallet Vilakazi.

In 1935, Vilakazi published his first collection of Zulu poetry, Inkondlo kaZulu (The Zulu Song), and his debut novel, Noma Nini (No Matter When). He also co authored the first Zulu English dictionar y, with Prof Clement M Doke, his boss at Wits Vilakazi didn’t live to see its publication in 1948. The pain of Vilakazi’s premature death was felt deeply when the dictionar y came out. Prof Doke wrote: “This dictionar y of [Vilakazi’s] mother tongue the language he loved will stand as a monument to a great African ”

P h o t o S t e f a n K r a s o w s k F i c k r

According to literary historian Bheki zizwe Peterson, Vilakazi’s parents were kholwa (believers) and his father was a sugar farmer in Groutville, near Stanger (now KwaDukuza) in Natal Groutville, a Protestant mission station on the banks of

the Mvoti River, enabled Vilakazi to learn both the traditional and Christian ways of self expression, culture, and spirituality.

According to his contemporar y, the poet, writer and journalist Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo (1903 56), Vilakazi

Vilakazi was the first African lecturer at a white university

In a heated debate with HIE Dhlomo from June 1938 to July 1939 pre ser ved in The South African Outlook and

Dhlomo, whose father was a friend of Bhambatha, called Vilakazi “the cul tural Bhambatha of his people” who “waged great battles for their cultural glor y”. A famous poet and writer himself, he saw Vilakazi as a man ahead of his own time and underappreciated by it Dhlomo wrote: “True genius and the highest quality only can defy time, as in the cases of names like Keats, Shelley, Schubert and others ”

Vilakazi had great ambitions in his academic life, which he hoped would culminate with doctoral studies at Oxford or Cambridge, and returned the disdain of those who looked down on academic pursuits Vilakazi “was often haughty, aloof, cold and deliberately rude to the highly placed Africans against whom he had a grudge, although he was warm, social and friendly to the rank and file”, Dhlomo noted

A Natalian at heart

a d v a n t a g e o f m a n y y e a r s ’ s t a r t b e f o r e h i m ”

By the 1930s, Vilakazi was also mak ing his name as a poet. But he was much more than that He was a philosopher, novelist, lexicographer, essayist, and dramatist for whom writing African languages was the hallmark of an Africanised literar y practice

M I S S E D A N I S S U E ? N O P R O B L E M ! Back copies are available at R30 plus p&p from admin@scross.co.za With Saint of the Month posters: St Teresa of Avila; St Martin de Porres; St John Bosco; St Josephine Bakhita; St Charles Lwanga; St Anne; St John Vianney; St Vincent de Paul; St John XXIII, St Oscar Romero, St Bernadette, St Anthony of Padua, St Maria Goretti, St Maximilian Kolbe and more o r s u b s c r i b e : w w w . d i g i t a l . s c r o s s . c o . z a / s u b s c r i b e o r s u b s c r i p t i o n s @ s c r o s s . c o . z a F r o m l e f t : W r i t e r H I E D h l o m o , F r B e r n h a r d H u s s C M M , a n d N e l s o n a n d W i n n i e M a n d e l a ’ s h o u s e o n 8 1 1 5 V i l a k a z i S t r e e t i n D u b e , S o w e t o T h e J o h a n n e s b u r g h o m e o f A r c h b i s h o p D e s m o n d a n d L e a h T u t u i s a l s o o n t h a t s t r e e t . More than a poet A Natalian at heart An enduring legacy

In 2016, South Africa’s highest hon our, the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold, was conferred posthumously on Vilakazi, for “his exceptional contribution to the field of literature in indigenous languages and the preser vation of isiZulu culture” The honour has been awarded only 17 times The other people of letters among awardees, all posthumously, are Bessie Herd, Alan Paton and Tiyo Soga. Sandile Ngidi is an arts activist, and a Zulu English literary translator.

Despite the immense difficulties and contradictor y pressures he faced as the first Zulu poet to publish a full length Zulu poetr y collection, Vilakazi’ s impor tance in education and African literature remains The Vilakazi Dhlomo debate continues to be a critical foundation stone for a historical appreciation of the politics of colonialism, language, moder nity, and the impact of missionaries on various facets of African cultural and in tellectual identity

An all rounder

An enduring legacy

Although Dhlomo had bitterly attacked Vilakazi’s use of rhyme schemes in his Zulu poetry, the two writers respected each other Literary scholar Tim Cousins, who authored a book on Dhlomo, notes that in his poem “The Girl Who Killed to Save”, Dhlomo used a part of Vilakazi’s poem “Sengiyakholwake”

Central in Vilakazi’s vocation as a poet and public intellectual was the quest to foster the advancement of African languages as a source of pride and critical vehicles for the understand ing and production of knowledge

Many of Vilakazi’s poems give a sense that he perhaps saw himself as someone, who, despite his talents and diligence, was destined for sadness. He had accepted his move from Natal to Jo hannesburg to work at Wits “with much misgiving”, according to Adrian Koop man, a Zulu literar y scholar He cites as an example the poem “Wo, Ngitshele Mntanomlungu (“Wo, Tell me, son of the white man”) The first line asks, “Ungiletheleni lapha?” “For what good reason have you brought me here?”

“I have an unshaken belief in the pos sibilities of Bantu languages and their lit erature, provided the Bantu writers themselves can learn to love their lan guages and use them as vehicles for thought, feeling and will,” he once wrote

“His reactions to city life in Johan nesburg must have been those of a shocked and disillusioned man. He found a sophisticated African society little interested in academic degrees as such, but in talent and achievement in all walks of life A talented jazz band leader or successful business man were ranked higher than an unproductive graduate, and were more popular and respected ”

Your great songs echoed to the accompaniment of the festival horn, It was the beginning of our ancient new year, Before the foreigners came, before they planted their own emblems

Bantu Studies journals Vilakazi advo cated for dramatic works “written by a Bantu, for the Bantu, in a Bantu lan guage”. He wrote that he did not regard “English or Afrikaans dramas on Bantu themes, whether or not these are written by black people, as contributions to Bantu literature”

Vilakazi lived in the big city, but his heart never left his home region, the province we now call KwaZulu Natal. Dhlomo, who also hailed from the re gion, described the milieu in which Vilakazi moved:

There is no doubt that Vilakazi’s legacy endures, especially among young black South African scholars who value his visionar y fortitude Mazisi Kunene, democratic South Africa’s first poet laureate, found a major source of inspiration in Vilakazi In a poetic tribute, Kunene writes:

T h e S t o r y o f t h e R O S A R Y

HE ROSARY IS A POWERFUL prayer as recommended and attested by popes and saints throughout the ages The month of October is dedicated to the rosar y, primarily because the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated an nually on October 7

In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima ap peared six times each month from May13 to October 13, the latter being the ver y month dedicated to the holy rosar y, she announced to the world: “I am the Lady of the Rosary ” The basilica that now stands at the site of most of these apparitions is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary

Struggles with rosary

The Hail Mary as we know it today was printed officially in the Catechism of the Council of Trent in 1566 At that juncture, the traditional rosar y was more or less complete (save for the Fa

In the 16th century, the rosary was promoted and further developed by the Jesuit saint Peter Canisius According to tradition, he added the final verse to the Hail Mary: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death ” The first two verses of the Hail Mar y are adapted from Luke 1:28 and 1:42 the archangel’s greeting in Nazareth and St Elizabeth’s greeting in the Judean hill country (probably at Ein Kerem, now a suburb of Jerusalem)

T h e s e i n c l u d e d S t T h é r è s e o f L i s i e u x , b y h e r o w n a d m i s s i o n . O n a p e r s o n a l n o t e , a s a c o n v e r t t o C a t h o l i c i s m , i t i s o n e e l e m e n t o f C a t h o l i c f a i t h t h a t I s t r u g g l e d w i t h , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e e a r l y d a y s n o r c a n I s a y I ’ m q u i t e t h e r e y e t , t h o u g h I p e r s e v e r e .

St Louis de Montfort (1673 1716), the originator of the total consecration to Mary, urged people to say the rosary in groups, as far as possible, as an effica cious way of praying More specifically, he explained that when one person prays the rosary individually, they gain the merit of one rosar y, but a person who recites the rosary in a group gains

As a popular Catholic devotion, there is a wide variety of resources on the rosary by way of pamphlets, books and audios/videos. These are readily available from Catholic bookshops, repositories and other outlets One of the most popular among the rosary re sources is St Louis de Montfort’s little book The Secret of the Rosary, which was written in the early 18th century and is still in print Among audio resources, there is precious material by the popular Catholic singers Daniel O’Donnell and Marilla Ness (www bit ly/3OPI0VT)

rosary. In this Month of the Rosary, Benjamin Takavarasha looks at the devotion and its history

“It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the rosar y, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty of the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love Through the rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer ”

merit for all the rosaries prayed. It is therefore advisable to join others pray ing as a group, often before or after Mass in most parishes, or as part of a rosar y group

A m a n p r a y s t h e r o s a r y i n t h e c h u r c h o f O u r L a d y o f L e b a n o n i n M u l b a r t o n , J o h a n n e s b u r g (Photo: Mark Kisogloo) 12 The Southern Cross

T h e r o s a r y i s a p o w e r f u l p r a y e r, a s r e c o m m e n d e d a n d a t t e s t e d t o b y p o p e s a n d s a i n t s t h r o u g h t h e a g e s B u t a s p o w e r f u l a p r a y e r a s t h e r o s a r y c e r t a i n l y i s , m a n y C a t h o l i c s f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t o r e v e n g i v e u p o n i t a l t o g e t h e r P e r h a p s i t s h o u l d c o m e a s a c o n s o l a t i o n t o t h e m t h a t e v e n s o m e s t a l w a r t s o f t h e C a t h o l i c f a i t h s t r u g g l e d w i t h i t

Aside from the preliminary practice of praying 150 Hail Marys in imitation of the 150 Psalms, the popular devotion to the rosary was started and promoted by St Dominic in the 13th century It is said it came to him in a vision of Our Lady to counter the Albigensian heresy, although some consider this a legend. The mantle was picked by one of his fol lowers, Bl Alan de la Roche, who is dubbed the “Apostle of the Rosary”

Simply put, the rosary is a reflection on the life of Our Lord guided by the Blessed Virgin In his 2002 apostolic let ter on the rosar y, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II said: “The rosary, though clearly Marian in charac ter, is at heart a Christocentric prayer In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its en tirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium

History of the rosary

St Pius V established this feast in 1573 to thank God for the victor y of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto, a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church in 1716

In 2002’s Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II, who had always pro claimed that the rosar y was his favourite prayer, added five Mysteries

LESSED ALAN DE LA ROCHE, DOMINICAN LIVED from c 1428 to 1475, reported having had a Marian vision in which Our Lady made 15 promises to Christians the rosary devoutly daily Devotion to the 15 Promises is approved by the Church, but the Catholic Encyclopedia holds the rosary promises as not being historical The 15 Promises are:

• All who recite the rosary are my sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ

A s m e n t i o n e d , b e t w e e n M a y 1 3 a n d O c t o b e r 1 3 , 1 9 1 7 , O u r L a d y a p peared at Fatima in Portugal There she in particular asked the seers to pray the rosar y ever y day On the third appari tion, on July 13, she revealed to the vi s i o n a r i e s t h e D e c a d e P r a y e r f o r t h e rosar y, commonly known as the Fatima P r a y e r, a n d a s k e d t h e m t o r e c i t e t h i s prayer at the end of each decade of the rosary It was approved for public use in 1930, and has since become a common (though optional) part of the rosary: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from t h e f i re s o f h e l l , a n d l e a d a l l s o u l s t o h e a v e n , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e i n m o s t n e e d o f thy mercy ”

• Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be con quered by misfortune God will not chastise him in his justice; he

• All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

• The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish

• Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestination

The 15 Promises of Daily Rosary

WHO

who recite

• I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

• I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary

• Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

Pope Pius V had encouraged ever y man going into battle to carry a rosary Subconsciously or other wise, perhaps Pope Pius IX had the miraculous victory at Lepanto in mind when he famously quipped: “Give me an army saying the rosary, and I will conquer the world ”

Power of the rosary

• Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary shall receive signal graces.

shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he is just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life

• The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

• It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

P h o t o ; G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r

At any Catholic retreat or prayer gathering, there will be members who can give personal testimonies on the ef ficacy of the rosary in their lives or that of others for whom they prayed But there is one documented story that at tests to the power of the rosary and which changed world histor y: the miraculous defeat of the Ottoman Turks at Lepanto in 1571. On that day, a vastly outnumbered fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states, won that naval battle in modern day Greece which halted the advance of Islamic conquest in Europe The victory was at tributed to the prayer of the rosary.

• Those who recite the rosary faithfully shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of his graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

of Light to this devotion, thereby ex tending the rosar y to 20 decades One hardly needs to be a theologian to un derstand the rationale behind this addi tion: In the traditional rosary, we would jump from Our Lord’s childhood in the Joyful Mysteries straight to his Passion in the Sorrowful mysteries, skipping a huge chunk of Our Lord’s earthly life.

• I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary

• You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary

L e f t : “ A l l e g o r y o f t h e B a t t l e o f L e p a n t o ” b y P a o l o V e r o n e s e ( 1 5 7 1 ) T h e C a t h o l i c a r m y ’ s v i c t o r y o v e r t h e O t t o m a n s i n t h e i m p o r t a n t b a t t l e w a s c r e d i t e d t o t h e s o l d i e r s ’ r o s a r y p r a y e r s R i g h t : S t a t u e o f O u r L a d y w i t h r o s a r y i n L o u r d e s , F r a n c e

• The rosary shall be powerful armour against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies

tima Prayer) with 15 mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious

APE TOWN PRIEST FR DICK O’Riordan recently published his memoirs, entitled Roots in Exile: Fifty years as an Irish priest in Africa. The book has been hailed by the BBC’s international correspondent Fergal Keane as “an account of a life well lived in which choices were made with courage and principle”

Mike Pothier: You write movingly about the Irish diaspora, and the feel ings associated with leaving family and countr y for a life thousands of kilometres away Why did you decide to become a missionary priest, instead of serving in Ireland?

a n d t o 14 The Southern Cross

And when you settled into your first posting as a parish priest, in Gugulethu, you found a number of similarities with the life you’d left be hind in Ireland

C a r d i n a l O w e n M c C a n n , a t o w e r i n g f i g u r e i n t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n C h u r c h , w a s y o u r b i s h o p f o r t h e f i r s t c o u p l e o f d e c a d e s o f y o u r p r i e s t h o o d . F r o m t h e w a y y o u w r i t e a b o u t h i m , o n e s e n s e s t h a t a l t h o u g h h e s o m e t i m e s l e f t y o u f r u s t r a t e d , t h e r e w a s a l s o a r e a l w a r m t h a n d a f f e c t i o n i n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p ?

Fr O’Riordan: For me, as for many oth e r s b e f o r e m e , t h e r e w a s n o d e b a t e about it The Irish Capuchins, the Kilte g a n s , a n d t h e C o l u m b a n p r i e s t s w o r k ing in Peru, El Salvador, Zambia, South A f r i c a , J a p a n a n d S o u t h K o r e a v i s i t e d our primar y schools regularly. They left us their magazines and I can still see the picture of a priest paddling his dugout canoe in the Philippines I wanted to be t h e r e , t h o u g h I e n d e d u p i n A f r i c a , o f course

the people of Gugulethu welcomed me as one of their own

A township missionary looks back

Cardinal McCann is quoted as having said: “I like being a cardinal ” He seemed ver y conscious of his status as a Prince o f t h e C h u rc h , a n d h e s o m e t i m e s seemed to struggle in his calling as shep h e r d t o t h e f l o c k A s a w h i t e S o u t h A f r i c a n , h e h a d h a d v e r y l i t t l e c o n t a c t or interaction with black people on an equal basis But some visits to u p s h a c k s i n M a t r o o s f o n t i n

Born in rural County Cork in Ireland on June 2, 1944, Fr O’Riordan was ordained in 1967 for the archdiocese of Cape Town In 1971 he was appointed parish priest of St Gabriel’s parish in Gugulethu, but was expelled by the apartheid regime in 1978 Two years later he returned, to the “independent” home land of Transkei. In 1986 he was detained by the Transkei government for a month, and then expelled again. After working among exiles in Zimbabwe, Fr O’Riordan returned to South Africa in 1992, serving in the Cape Town parishes of Khayelitsha and Koelenhof until his retirement from parish ministry in 2015

Yes, many of my parishioners had grown up on the land, as I did, and they loved community activities, which often re minded me of the har vest days in Ire land At the Easter weekend they invited neighbouring communities, who came with their sheep and blankets for the all night Passover Vigil. There was also a similar sense of warmth and hospitality

Also, one of my uncles and some of my cousins and neighbours became Sis ters, Brothers and priests, many of them in faraway places, so it was a natural choice for me.

smashed

r D i c k O ’ R i o r d a n , a n I r i s h m i s s i o n a r y, h a s w r i t t e n h i s m e m o i rs o f m i n i s t r y i n S o u t h A f r i c a , a n d h i s r u n i n s w i t h t h e a p a r t h e i d r e g i m e H e s p o ke t o M i ke p o t h i e r P h o t o G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r P O Box 379 Cape Town 8000 Tel 021 465 5904 WhatsApp: 063 222 2724 sales@catholicbookshop co za Street address: The Grimley, 14 Tuin Plein (off Hope Street) Cape Town V i s i t o u r n e w O N L I N E S H O P a t w w w . c a t h o l i c b o o k s h o p . c o . z a For all your Catholic reading, gifts, repository items Chalices, pyxes, candles, incense and charcoal, and more Join our email mailing list for news of new stock! admin@schreuderattorneys co za Because we can be of Value and Assistance to you. Tel: +27 (0) 11 514 0063 or 010 592 2321 Ground Floor, Coral House, 20 Peter Place, Lyme Park, Sandton

I l a t e r w o r k e d i n Tr a n s k e i f r o m 1 9 8 0 , b u t i n 1 9 8 6 I w a s f o rc e d t o l e a v e t h e r e b e c a u s e I w a s h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e h o r r i f i c k i l l i n g s o f M a t t h e w G o n i w e a n d t h e C r a d d o c k F o u r b y t h e s e c u r i t y p o l i c e .

The Southern Cross 15

A t t h a t t i m e , s o m e o f t h e c o r n e r s t o n e s o f a p a r t h e i d l i k e t h e s t e a l i n g o f l a n d , r a c i a l l y s e g r e g a t e d r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a s , p a s s l a w s , a n d o t h e r s w e r e o n the surface working perfectly. With the b r u t a l i t y a n d t h e m i l i t a r y m i g h t o f t h e r e g i m e , I l e f t w i t h a h e a v y h e a r t , r e s i g n e d t o m y “ p h u m a p h e l a ” o u t f o r e v e r I w a s a w a r e o f t h e u n d e r g r o u n d r e s i s t a n c e , b u t I f e a r e d i t w o u l d t a k e t o o l o n g S o , a l t h o u g h I n e v e r l o s t h o p e o f c o m i n g b a c k , I c a n ’t s a y I w a s c o n f i d e n t a b o u t i t a t t h e t i m e

Roots in Exile: Fifty years as an Irish priest in Africa is available from the Catholic Bookshop, Cape Town, at R250 Ordered online at www.catholicbookshop.co.za or e mail sales@catholicbookshop.co.za or call 021 465 5904.

The Southern Cross reported on the film in the March 2021 issue. Editor Günther Simmermacher wrote: “The film has excellent production values, but those can go only so far in telling a great stor y. The heavy lifting is done by the engaging inter viewees and their Irish gift for stor ytelling ”

A rc h b i s h o p A l f o n s o M o r a p e l i o f Maseru

A s I p a s s e d b y G u g u l e t h u o n t h e d a y I l e f t C a p e To w n i n F e b r u a r y 1 9 7 8 , I cried out: “I will never see you again.” I t f e l t l i k e I h a d b e e n t o r n o u t o f t h e nurturing womb of Africa. I cried all the way to Port Elizabeth [now Gqeberha], a s I w e n t t o v i s i t s o m e o f m y f e l l o w Irish priests there, my homeboys One of them, Mgr Brendan Deenihan, like a brother, drove me to Lesotho, where we r e c e i v e d w o n d e r f u l h o s p i t a l i t y f r o m

Among those featuring in the hour long documentar y, which is available on YouTube in high definition, are Srs Agatha Byrne HC, Rosemar y Commins OP, Áine Hughes HC, Margaret Kelly OP, Mar y McAteer MSA, Marion Millane HF, Ethel Normoyle LCM, Maureen Rooney HC, Margaret Wall OP, and Frs Hyacinth Ennis OFM, Teddy Lennon OFM, Paddy Noonan OFM, Dick O’Riordan, and the late Patrick Naughton SDB Some of those ap pearing in the film did so after re sponding to an appeal published in The Southern Cross. See the full documentar y at youtu.be/xnb hXjkjuM

mourning families in Gugulethu, whose loved ones had been shot dead by the riot police, opened his eyes to the reali ties in his own countr y

I also learnt that I was not there “to bring God” to the people Many of them had names with deeply religious mean ings, like Nkosinathi (the Lord is with us), Khotso (Peace), Zamankosi (Try the Lord), Themba (Hope) Some priests would not accept these supposedly “pagan” names at baptism They told the people to find “Christian” names like mine, Richard, which means “iron rule”! As other missionaries have said, “When I arrived, I found that God was there already ”

L a t e r, i n a p a c k e d c o u r t r o o m , a t o n e o f m y c o u r t c a s e s , h e s a t o n t h e floor at the back, supporting me, and I g r e w t o a d m i r e h i s o p e n n e s s a n d s o l i darity during our conflicts with the evil apartheid laws It made me reflect that b i s h o p s a r e n o t made, they become

The first lesson I learnt was to take off my watch! In Africa, time is for people; and the people showed me that priest hood, like time, is also for people

Exile is another central theme in the b o o k . I n 1 9 7 8 y o u w e r e d e p o r t e d f r o m S o u t h A f r i c a a n d i n 1 9 8 6 y o u w e r e a l s o d e p o r t e d f r o m t h e Transkei. You write that “the bottom fell out of my life” These were some o f t h e d a r k e s t d a y s o f a p a r t h e i d . When you left these shores, were you confident that you would come back someday and resume your ministr y?

A number of Irish priests and religious appeared in a recent docu mentar y film produced on behalf of the Irish embassy to South Africa, titled Poverty, Chastity and (dis)Obe dience It detailed their missionar y activities and highlighted their engagement in the fight against apartheid A power ful section recalls how Dominican nuns smashed schools apartheid, at least in pri vately owned schools, in the 1970s

Although most of us did not see him as an emo tional person, or given to intimate personal sayings, he once called me “a young chicken, but a good chicken”, which I took as a compliment.

And then I was so moved at how, despite being treated as less than human by the evil system of apartheid, people kept their dignity I will never know how they managed it Amidst all the daily insults and humiliations, the people continued to practise their culture and their customs, and they lived out their strong faith. Ever yone was wel come, even me They helped each other to carr y their cross which is how I came to understand Ubuntu

You say that the people you ser ved taught you how to be a priest. At a practical level, what lessons did you learn from them?

ATHER DICK O’RIORDAN IS one of many Irish priests and religious who over generations ser ved in South Africa Even South Africa’s first residential bishop, Mgr Patrick Raymond Griffith OP, was from Ireland.

The pluck of the Irish F r D i c k O ’ R i o r d a n ( l e f t ) s p e a k s a t t h e l a u n c h o f h i s m e m o i r s a t S t M a r y o f t h e A n g e l s c h u r c h i n A t h l o n e , C a p e T o w n , a s F r P e t e r J o h n P e a r s o n l i s t e n s ‘ T h e f i r s t l e s s o n I l e a r n t w a s t o t a k e o f f m y w a t c h ’

The Durban play has the unique distinction of being the only other Pas sion Play to be affiliated with the world famous Passion Play of Oberammergau, as the people of the Bavarian village who first staged the play in 1634 have given the people of Durban special permission to use their script

H u r l e y ’s i n i t i a l i d e a

ITH THE OBERAMMERGAU

The Durban play’s histor y goes back 70 years In April and May 1952, a Marian Congress, presided over by Archbishop Denis Hurley OMI, was held to mark the centenar y of the arrival of the first Oblate of Mar y Immaculate in South Africa Fr Coughlan obtained special permission from the mayor of Oberammergau to stage an abridged and adapted version of their Passion Play as a prelude to the congress

The decision to per form a Passion Play as part of these celebrations em anated from Archbishop Hurley. His idea was to put on a religious theatrical per formance as a means of evangelising He approached prominent drama teach ers from Durban Doreen Lyster, Veronica Hassett and Deniece Grobler as well as Fr Coughlan, and tasked them with finding a suitable presenta tion which would appeal to people of all denominations.

Fr Coughlan led the adaptation of the script and also wrote moving choral verses which were used to link each scene of the play This determined and dedicated young priest can therefore justifiably be described as the “father of the Durban Passion Play” Doreen ac knowledged that it was his vision and drive which made her own dream of staging a Passion Play a reality

M a i n i m a g e : J e s u s , p l a y e d b y D a v i d H o r n e r , o n t h e c r o s s i n t h e 1 9 5 2 p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y , a n d ( f r o m l e f t ) O b l a t e F a t h e r N o e l C o u g h l a n , D o r e e n L y s t e r , a n d A r c h b i s h o p D e n i s H u r l e y i n 1 9 5 1 / 5 2 16 The Southern Cross Seventy years ago, Durban staged its first Passion Play, based on the famous version of Oberammergau in Germany With a new run of performances set for 2023, Wendy Greeff looks at the origins of the Durban Passion Play. Ob erammerga u O F A F R I C A J e s u s ( p l a y e d b y D a v i d H o r n e r ) f a l l s o n t h e W a y o f t h e C r o s s i n t h e f i r s t p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e D u r b a n P a s s i o n P l a y i n A p r i l 1 9 5 2

The first Passion Play was such a success that later that year Fr Coughlan travelled to Oberammergau to obtain permission for the Catholics of Durban to produce the Passion Play on a regular basis The people of Oberammergau agreed, but only on the condition that the Passion Play would be per formed before non segregated audiences

The Oblate priest was subsequently appointed the first spiritual director of the Durban Passion Play, and he retained a close relationship with the play until his death at 93 in 2009

In 1957 the second Durban Passion Play was staged at the Durban City Hall, and further productions were held in 1962 and 1967 The most recent performance was in 2015.

F r C o u g h l a n ’s d r i v e

The Durban Passion Play, dubbed the “Oberammergau of Africa”, was first per formed 70 years ago, spearheaded by the late Fr Noel Coughlan OMI.

The first per formances of “The Passion Play of Oberammergau” at the

Passion Play closing its run of almost five months on October 2, South Africans may look for ward to the staging of the Durban Passion Play in 2023

A c o p y o f s o m e n o t e s l a t e r m a d e b y D o r e e n Ly s t e r i s i n t h e D u r b a n C a t h o l i c P l a y e r s ’ G u i l d a rc h i v e s . I n t h e m , s h e r e c a l l e d h o w a s a p u p i l a t M a r i s S t e l l a C o n v e n t S c h o o l i n t h e 1 9 3 0 s s h e w a s “ g r e e n w i t h e n v y ” w h e n a c l a s s m a t e a n n o u n c e d t h a t s h e w o u l d b e t r a v e l l i n g t o E u r o p e w i t h h e r f a m i l y, a n d t h a t h e r i t i n e r a r y i n c l u d e d t h e P a s s i o n P l a y i n O b e r a m m e r g a u U p o n h e r s c h o o l m a t e ’s r e t u r n , D o r e e n w a s h i g h l y i m p r e s s e d b y t h e g l o s s y a l b u m o f p h o t o g r a p h s a n d t h e w r i t t e n h i s t o r y o f t h e O b e r a m m e r g a u P l a y w h i c h h e r f r i e n d b r o u g h t t o s c h o o l .

The Durban Passion Play was set to be per formed in 2020, but had to be cancelled just days before the opening, due to the Covid lockdown.

S h e v o w e d t h a t s o m e d a y s h e w o u l d a t t e n d t h e P a s s i o n P l a y i n O b e r a m m e r g a u h e r s e l f I n 1 9 5 0 s h e w a s f i n a l l y a b l e t o f u l f i l h e r d r e a m W h i l e i n O b e r a m m e r g a u , s h e m a n a g e d t o o b t a i n a n E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e s c r i p t

It was decided that the Durban Pas sion Play would be performed every five years, an undertaking which the subse quently formed Durban Catholic Players’ Guild has always taken very seriously

Durban City Hall took place on April 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15. A final per formance was staged at the Greyville Racecourse on May 1, the day after the Marian Congress opened at Emmanuel cathe dral. Jesus was played by David Horner; Mar y by Monica O’Regan

Although neither qualified nor au thorised to do so, Francis preached to people Soon he started to gather follow ers Among them would be a young no blewoman, Chiara Offreduccio, whom we now know as St Clare of Assisi.

Around 1202, he join

One day Francis had a vision that changed his life. Praying in the run down chapel of San Damiano, just out side Assisi, he heard from a crucifix the voice of Christ: “Francis, Francis, go and repair my church which, u can see, is falling into ” Francis understood this to the church in which he was praying, so he sold some of his father’s stock and offered the proceeds to the church’s priest, who sed to accept illicitly raised ney.

Francis now was a beggar, living a life of penitence, caring for lepers, and collecting materials to restore the church of San Damiano and other derelict chapels, including the Porziuncola, a lit tle chapel dedicated of St Mary of the Angels in the fields below Assisi This would became his favourite spot

Life changing vision

T h e ‘ s u p e r s t a r s a i n t ’ w h o s o u g h t p o v e r t y

S a i n t o f t h e M o n t h : S t F r a n c i s o f A s s i s i St Francis at a glance N a m e a t b i r t h : G i o v a n n i d i P i e t r o d i B e r n a r d o n e B o r n : 1 1 8 1 o r 1 1 8 2 i n A s s i s D u c h y o f S p o l e t o , I t a l y D i e d : O c t o b e r 3 , 1 2 2 6 , i n A s s i s i , U m b r i a , P a p a l S t a t e s C a n o n i s e d : 1 2 2 8 F e a s t : O c t o b e r 4 P a t r o n a g e s : A n i m a l s , e c o l o m e r

F r o m l e f t : A s t a t u e d e p i c t i n g S t F r a n c i s ’ p a r e n t s o u t s i d e t h e C h i e s a N u o v a , b u i l t o n F r a n c i s ’ b i r t h p l a c e , i n A s s i s i • T h e P o r z i u n c o l a i n s i d e t h e b a s i l i c a o f S t M a r y o f t h e A n g e l s i n A s s i s i • A p a t c h e d u p r o b e o f S t F r a n c i s • T h e o l d e s t s u r v i v i n g d e p i c t i o n o f S t F r a n c i s , a f r e s c o i n t h e B e n e d i c t i n e a b b e y o f S u b i a c o , p a i n t e d b e t w e e n M a r c h 1 2 2 8 a n d M a r c h 1 2 2 9 I n s e t a b o v e : T h e c r o s s o f S a n D a m i a n o P h o t o s : G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r ( 3 ) , S c o n o s c i u t o

St Francis of Assisi was born in 1182 in Italy’s region of Umbria, one of several children born to the wealthy silk mer chant Pietro di Bernardone and his wife Pica, who hailed from France Born while Pietro was away on business, Pica had her son baptised by the name Giovanni (Ital ian for John) On his return, Pietro, who loved everything about France, de cided to call the infant Franc meaning “Frenchman”

Pietro was understandably d about the embezzlement, ting Francis and having him ked up In a civil trial before

In 1209 Francis wrote a simple Rule for his followers, and then went with 11 friars (Brothers) to Rome to obtain per mission from Pope Innocent III to found a new religious order In Rome, Francis had some support but also faced resist ance. The matter was settled when the pope had a dream of Francis carrying the basilica of St John Lateran, the papal c h a n t s , s t o w a w a y s , I t a l y

military campaign against the city of Perugia Francis was cap tured and spent a year in captiv ity as a hostage for ransom While ill, he started to evaluate his life. Still, on his return to Assisi he resumed his care free lifestyle In 1205, Francis set off for another military expedition, but on his way he had a vision that told him to turn around and go home. He did so, and his life was to take a new direction

A s a yo u n g ste r h e l i ve d t h e h i g h l i fe , b u t n ow h e i s k n ow n a s t h e ‘ b e g ga r s a i nt ’ . T h i s i s t h e l i fe o f t h e m u c h l ove d S t F ra n c i s o f A s s i s i

the local consuls and bishop, he de manded that Francis relinquish his in heritance The son went further: he renounced his father and patrimony, and stripped himself naked; the bishop covered him with his own cloak

The Southern Cross 17

Francis grew up in lu and placed pleasure music and sports espe cially, above academic pursuit. Although Francis lived the high life, he alw gave to the poor: on at least occasion all he had on him concluding a business deal o father’s behalf

MAY WELL BE THE MOST popular of all saints in his tory, other than the Blessed Virgin. St Francis of Assisi cer tainly was an innovator and a revolu tionary reformer When he heard the call to “repair my church”, he didn’t realise that this was not an assignment for a renovation job but a command to change a scandal ridden institution.

S o u t h e r n C r o s s T h e S t F r a n c i s o f A s s i s i

Painting by Philip Fruytiers (1610 66), Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ‘ R e m e m b e r t h a t w h e n y o u l e a v e t h i s e a r t h , y o u c a n t a k e w i t h y o u n o t h i n g t h a t y o u h a v e r e c e i v e d –o n l y w h a t y o u h a v e g i v e n : a f u l l h e a r t , e n r i c h e d b y h o n e s t s e r v i c e , l o v e , s a c r i ﬁ c e a n d c o u r a g e . ’

B e g i n s a “ E u c h a r i s t i c C r u s a d e ” , ex h o r t i n g p e o p l e t o s h o w re v e re n c e fo r t h e E u c h a r i s t

1 2 1 7

They did, and on April 16, 1210, Pope Inno cent authorised the Order of Friars Minor, based at the Porziuncola, which the Bene dictines had transferred to Francis

Meeting the sultan

Francis died at the age of 44 on October 3, 1226, at the Porziuncola in Assisi (the spot of his death is preserved in today’s basilica of St Mary of the Angels). He was canonised only two years later, in 1228, by Pope Gregory IX, who as Cardinal Ugolino di Conti was Francis’ friend and protector His tomb is in the Assisi basilica which was built shortly after his death and was consecrated in 1253.

Po p e J o h n Pa u l I I c h o o s e s A s s i s i a s t h e v e n u e fo r h i s f i rs t i n t e r fa i t h p e a c e ga t h e r i n g

C a p t u re d i n a w a r b e t w e e n A s s i s i a n d Pe r u g i a a n d i s h e l d a s p r i s o n e r fo r ra n s o m . Re t u r n s t o A s s i s i i n 1 2 0 3 a f t e r b e i n g ra n s o m e d 1 2 0 5

O n h i s p a p a l e l e c t i o n , C a rd i n a l J o rg e M a r i o B e rg o g l i o ta ke s t h e n a m e F ra n c i s .

B o r n i n A s s i s i , c e n t ra l I ta l y, a s G i o va n n i d i B e r n a rd o n e t o t ex t i l e m e rc h a n t P i e t ro d i B e r n a rd o n e a n d h i s w i fe P i c a . 1 1 9 0 9 5

cathedral the pope had the group tonsured a sign of acceptance and told them to apply for recognition when their numbers increased.

1 2 2 6

C o nv o c a t i o n o f 5 0 0 0 f r i a rs .

F i rs t F ra n c i s c a n m a r t y rs a re s l a i n i n M o ro c c o . F ra n c i s s a i l s t o t h e H o l y L a n d , a n d i n D a m i e tta , E g y p t , m e e t s w i t h t h e M u s l i m s u l ta n .

1 2 2 8 C a n o n i s e d b y Po p e G re g o r y I X

Ve r y s i c k a n d n e a r l y b l i n d , w r i t e s “ T h e C a n t i c l e o f B ro t h e r S u n ”

By now, the order had grown internation ally at an unprecedented rate. In 1220 Francis resigned as minister general of the order, and concentrated on writing a new Rule for the order, in a cave at Fonte Colombo

Wr i t e s f i rs t R u l e fo r h i s i n i t i a l g ro u p o f fo l l o w e rs G o e s t o Ro m e t o re q u e s t re c o g n i t i o n fo r h i s n e w re l i g i o u s o rd e r 1 2 1 0

Po p e I n n o c e n t I I I a p p ro v e s t h e O rd e r o f F r i a rs M i n o r.

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Francis was concerned about the ecology long before care for God’s creation was seen as important In the “Canticle of the Sun” he gives God thanks for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth, all of which he sees as rendering praise to God. Almost 800 years later, Pope Francis who named himself after the saint of Assisi ded icated his landmark encyclical on the environ ment, Laudato Si’, to St Francis

Next month: St Elizabeth

St Francis is the patron saint of animals, owing to stories in which he negotiated a truce with a wolf in Gubbio and silenced noisy birds at the hermitage of Carceri, near Assisi

1 2 1 2

St Francis’ feast day is October 4

of St FraNcis 20 The Southern Cross F r o m l e f t : 1 4 t h c e n t u r y c o p y o f a n o r i g i n a l p a i n t i n g c o m m i s s i o n e d d u r i n g S t F r a n c i s ’ l i f e t i m e • P o p e F r a n c i s c e l e b r a t e s M a s s a t t h e s a i n t ’ s t o m b ( a b o v e t h e a l t a r ) i n t h e l o w e r b a s i l i c a o f S t F r a n c i s i n A s s i s i i n 2 0 2 0 • P o s t e r f o r B r o t h e r S u n , S i s t e r M o o n , t h e 1 9 7 2 F r a n c o Z e f f i r e l l i f i l m o n S t F r a n c i s . Photos: Günther Simmermacher; Vatican Media/CNS

A s s o c i a t e C l a re o f A s s i s i fo u n d s t h e Po o r C l a re s , a s a F ra n c i s c a n o rd e r fo r w o m e n 1 2 1 5

Two years later, Clare founded a religious order for women, the Second Franciscan Order, known as the Poor Clares Later a Third Order of Franciscans was founded for lay peo ple In the meantime, the order grew rapidly, and received wide support from rich donors and the people.

Re s i g n s a s m i n i s t e r g e n e ra l o f t h e o rd e r

In 1217, Franciscan friars founded the order’s first house in Jerusalem. It isn’t known whether Francis ever got to visit them when he was in the Holy Land in 1219 On that same trip, during a ceasefire in the war be tween the Crusaders and Muslims, Francis tried to mediate a peace agreement with the Sultan al Kamil of Egypt, at his camp in Dami etta The sultan received Francis graciously and Francis was even allowed to address the Muslims The meeting was noteworthy but did not end the war. However, it fostered goodwill for the Franciscans, who a centur y later would be given custodianship of holy Christian sites in the Holy Land, which they still hold today

1 2 1 9

Att e n d s t h e p a r i s h s c h o o l o f S a n G i o rg i o i n A s s i s i 1 2 0 2

I s s u e s h i s re v i s e d R u l e . S e t s u p f i rs t N a t i v i t y S c e n e i n G re c c i o .

A Timeline

Re c e i v e s t h e s t i g m a ta , t h e m a r k s o f C h r i s t ’s w o u n d s

Re m a i n s a re t ra n s l a t e d t o t h e n e w b a s i l i c a o f S t F ra n c i s i n A s s i s i .

1 2 3

1 2 2 5

1 2 2 0

C o nv e rs i o n b e g i n s H a s a v i s i o n o f J e s u s t e l l i n g h i m : “ Re p a i r my c h u rc h ” 1 2 0 6

1 2 2 3

2 0 1 3

1 2 2 4

At the Franciscan monaster y at Greccio, near Fonte Colombo in Italy’s Lazio region, Francis initiated an annual tradition which we still love today: the Nativity Scene His first staging, at Christmas 1223, used live animals and a real baby

D i e s o n O c t o b e r 3 a t t h e Po r z i u n c o l a , n e a r A s s i s i , a n d i s b u r i e d a t t h e c h u rc h o f S a n G i o rg i o i n A s s i s i .

Re n o u n c e s h i s fa t h e r a n d i n h e r i ta n c e , a n d d e d i c a t e s h i m s e l f t o p raye r, h e l p i n g l e p e rs , a n d re s t o r i n g t h re e c h u rc h e s 1 2 0 9

H e l p t h e C h u r c h g r o w

to be a HOT CATHOLIC I n n o c e n t M a z i y a ( b a c k ) a n d h i s f a m i l y There’s a wealth of resources for enriching spiritual life through Church organisations Personal and Digniﬁed 24 hour service 469 Voortrekker Rd, Maitland, Tel: 021 593 8820 48 Main Rd, Muizenberg, Tel: 021 788 3728 To n y Wy l l i e & C o . Catholic Funeral Home Member of the NFDA carol@wylliefunerals co za andrew@wylliefunerals co za

I t i s w h e n w e d o t h e b a r e m i n i m u m f o r t h e s a k e o f i t , w i t h o u t f a i t h , p a s s i o n , o r c o m m i t m e n t , t h a t w e b e c o m e l u k e w a r m s o u l s , l a c k i n g f i r e B e c o m i n g a l u k e w a r m s o u l s e e m s t o b e b o t h a r e s u l t a n d t h e c a u s e o f a t l e a s t o n e o f t h e s e v e n d e a d l y s i n s : s l o t h

i n t e n d e d b e n e f i t o f e v e r y C h u rc h o r g a n i s a t i o n i s s p i r i t u a l g r o w t h f o r m e m b e r s I c a n a t t e s t t o t h i s I h a v e r e a l i s e d t h e f o l l o w i n g b e n e f i t s o f p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n C h u rc h o r g a n i s a t i o n s :

The Southern Cross 21

T h e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h p r e s e n t s u s w i t h o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o p a r t i c i p a t e f u l l y i n t h e B o d y o f C h r i s t t h r o u g h s o d a l i t i e s a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n s T h e r e i s a s o d a l i t y o r o r g a n i s a t i o n s f o r e v e r y p e r s o n T h e

Wo r s e s t i l l i s t h e d a n g e r o f b e i n g a t e p i d s o u l I n t h e a p p a r i t i o n s r e p o r t e d b y S t F a u s t i n a , J e s u s l i k e n s t e p i d s o u l s t o c o r p s e s . I n t h e B o o k o f R e v e l a t i o n , J e s u s t h r e a t e n s t o s p i t o u t l u k e w a r m C h r i s t i a n s Te p i d o r l u k e w a r m s o u l s a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y a t r i s k b e c a u s e t h e y d o n o t r e a l i s e t h e d a n g e r s f a c i n g t h e m , s i n c e t h e y d o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e C h u rc h .

A n i d l e m i n d , t h e s a y i n g g o e s , i s t h e d e v i l ’s w o r k s h o p . We a r e a l l w e a k a n d i n n e e d o f h e l p We w i l l a l w a y s b e b u s y w i t h s o m e t h i n g We j u s t n e e d t o c h o o s e t o b e b u s y w i t h s o m e t h i n g t h a t w i l l b r i n g v a l u e t o o u r l i v e s M a n y o p p o r t u n i t i e s

3 . M o re t i m e t o re f l e c t o n m y f a m i l y l i f e I h a v e h a d t h e p l e a s u r e o f p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e C o u p l e s f o r C h r i s t ( C F C ) m o v e m e n t T h i s h a s h e l p e d m e t o o b j e c t i v e l y r e f l e c t o n w a y s i n w h i c h I c a n b e a b e t t e r h u s b a n d a n d f a t h e r i n m y f a m i l y C o m m i t t i n g t o C F C m e a n s c o m m i t t i n g t o a c t i v e l y d o i n g s o m e t h i n g a b o u t i m p r o v i n g m y f a m i l y l i f e . T h e m o v e m e n t , l i k e t h e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h , h a s a r i c h l i b r a r y o f r e s o u rc e s f o r s t r e n g t h e n i n g f a m i l i e s N e e d l e s s t o s a y, w e a l l n e e d h e l p i n t h i s a r e a .

How

I h a v e d i s c o v e r e d t h a t i t i s n o t e n o u g h f o r m y o w n s p i r i t u a l g r o w t h , o r t h a t o f t h e C h u rc h , t o a t t e n d S u n d a y M a s s , m a k e m y o f f e r i n g , a n d t h e n d i s a p p e a r u n t i l t h e n e x t S u n d a y M a s s . I h a v e d i s c o v e r e d a w e a l t h o f r e s o u rc e s f o r e n r i c h i n g m y s p i r i t u a l l i f e t h r o u g h p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n C h u rc h o r g a n i s a t i o n s I w o u l d e n c o u r a g e e v e r y C a t h o l i c t o d o s o B e a n a c t i v e w o r k e r i n t h e v i n e y a r d o f t h e L o

T h e s e a r e j u s t s o m e o f t h e e x a m p l e s o f h o w I h a v e b e n e f i t t e d f r o m p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n C h u rc h o r g a n i s a t i o n s , a s a w a y o f i m p r o v i n g m y s p i r i t u a l l i f e T h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e b e n e f i t i s t h a t w e h e l p t h e C h u rc h g r o w I h a v e a l w a y s w o n d e r e d h o w w e , a s a C h u rc h , a r e a l w a y s s h o r t o f c a t e c h i s t s w h e n w e h a v e s o m a n y p r o f e s s i o n a l t e a c h e r s , s o m e o f w h o m t e a c h r e l i g i o u s e d u c a t i o n i n s c h o o l . I a m s t i l l w o n d e r i n g . N o t o n l y t h a t , b u t w e s e e m t o b e a l w a y s s t r u g g l i n g t o f i n d p e o p l e t o s e r v e i n v a r i o u s c a p a c i t i e s i n t h e C h u rc h , w i t h o u t w h i c h t h e C h u rc h c a n n o t g r o w

Innocent Maziya

writes from Eswatini. Jesus condemns lukewarm Catholics. Being part of a Catholic sodality or organisation helps us to be hot in our Christian life, as innocent Maziya explains.

2 . M o re t i m e f o r m y f e l l o w h u m a n b e i n g s C h u rc h o r g a n i s a t i o n s h a v e a s o c i a l o b l i g a t i o n t o r e a c h o u t t o t h o s e w h o a r e s u f f e r i n g i n o u r s o c i e t y B e i n g p a r t o f a g r o u p e n a b l e s u s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e a l l e v i a t i o n o f t h e p a i n o f o t h e r s

I V I N G A C H R I S T I A N L I F E I S N O T

I h a v e f o u n d i t t o b e p a r t i c u l a r l y h e l p f u l t o t h r o w m y e n e r g i e s a n d m y m i n d i n t o a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e C h u rc h T h i s h e l p s m e a v o i d b e i n g t o o m u c h o f a s l o t h a n d a l s o t o s t a y a w a y f r o m t h e “ r o a r i n g l i o n ” W h e n I f i r s t s t a r t e d w o r k i n g , I a s k e d a f e l l o w C h r i s t i a n h o w I c o u l d a v o i d t e m p t a t i o n , w i t h s o m u c h g o i n g o n i n o u r s o c i e t y T h e a n s w e r I g o t w a s s i m p l e a n d i t h a s g u i d e d m e o v e r t h e y e a r s : B e b u s y i n t h e w o r k o f t h e L o r d

T h i s h a s a f f o r d e d m e a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o o f f e r h e l p t o t h o s e w h o n e e d i t , a s a n e x a m p l e o f l i v i n g o u t t h e a c t s o f m e r c y, j u s t a s C h r i s t i n s t r u c t s u s t o d o

M y g r e a t e s t e x p e r i e n c e w a s w h e n I f i r s t v i s i t e d a l o c a l c o r r e c t i o n a l f a c i l i t y T h e r e i s n o w a y I w o u l d h a v e e v e r h a d t h e c o u r a g e t o d o t h a t a l o n e Ye t , t h r o u g h a m e n ’s o r g a n i s a t i o n I w a s a b l e t o d o t h a t . A f t e r t h a t I e v e n c o u l d l e a d a t e a m o f c o l l e a g u e s f r o m w o r k t o d e l i v e r s o m e h e a l t h m e s s a g e s i n t h e s a m e f a c i l i t y

1 M o r e t i m e f o r G o d N o t a l l o f u s a r e a b l e t o f i n d t i m e o n o u r o w n f o r s p i r i t u a l r e f l e c t i o n , b e i t r e a d i n g S c r i p t u r e o r p r a y i n g B e i n g i n a n o r g a n i s a t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y a s o d a l i t y, h a s h e l p e d m e t o p r a y a n d r e a d m o r e O n c e I c o m m i t t e d t o b e i n g p a r t o f a g r o u p , i t w a s e a s i e r t o c o m m i t t o t h e s p i r i t u a l a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e g r o u p

e a s y We c a n a l l a t t e s t t o t h a t I t c o m e s w i t h c h a l l e n g e s , a n d t h e r e a l w a y s s e e m s t o b e s o m e o n e r e a d y t o r e c r u i t u s f o r “ t h e o t h e r s i d e ” J e s u s ’ m e t a p h o r o f s e n d i n g u s l i k e s h e e p a m o n g w o l v e s , a n d t h a t o f S t P e t e r o f a r o a r i n g l i o n l o o k i n g f o r s o m e o n e t o d e v o u r, a r e a p t

r d

A n y y o u n g m a n w h o s e e k s s t a t u s , d i g n i t y a n d c o m f o r t i n C h r i s t ’s p r i e s t h o o d i s o n t h e w r o n g p a t h T h e v o c a t i o n f a i l s m i s e r a b l y i f t h e y o u n g m a n i n s i s t s o n t h e d i g n i t y o f p r i e s t h o o d b u t n o t o n t h e i n d i g n i t y o f v i c t i m h o o d . Tr y t o i m a g i n e t h e h e a v y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f a p r i e s t p r o m o t e d t o s e r v e a s a b i s h o p T h a t i s i n d e e d a h e a v y c r o s s t o b e a r, f o r h e b e c o m e s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e s p i r i t u a l a n d m a t e r i a l w e l l b e i n g o f e v e r y p r i e s t i n h i s d i o c e s e a n d b y n a t u r e , e v e r y p r i e s t i s a d i f f e r e n t p e r s o n a l i t y

U R C RY F O R V O C AT I O N S

t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e I n c a r n a t i o n , a m e d i a t o r b e t w e e n G o d a n d h u m a n B y e m p t y i n g o f s e l f , h e w i l l c a r r y t h e s c a r s o f t h e r e d e e m i n g S a v i o u r

M a n y p e o p l e t e n d t o s e e t h e p r i e s t a s a s o u rc e o f p o w e r. B u t t h a t i s w r o n g . H e i s o n l y t h e c h a n n e l a m u d d y o n e a t t h a t a n d n e v e r t h e s o u rc e T h e p r i e s t i s e v e r h u m a n , e v e r f a l l i b l e , y e t a n a n o i n t e d i n s t r u m e n t o f t h e A l m i g h t y I n t h e o l d l a w, t h e J e w i s h p r i e s t s would use the blood of animals in their sacrificial offerings, and t h e b l o o d f l o w e d f o r t h e r e m i s sion of sin. But in Christ’s priest h o o d , i n t h e o r d e r o f Melchizedek, the Catholic priest offers his own body with Christ in ever y celebration of the holy sacrifice of the Mass “I appeal that you offer up your bodies as a living sacrifice consecrated to God in a manner pleas ing to God” (Romans 12:1) In celebrat ing the Holy Mass, speaking the words o f c o n s e c r a t i o n o v e r t h e b r e a d a n d w i n e , t h e p r i e s t i s a w a r e t h a t , a s C h r i s t ’s s e r v a n t , h e i s i m m e r s e d i n both priesthood and victimhood

Priests are both shepherd and lamb and the Church should promote vocations by stressing the sacrifices demanded by Jesus’ call to follow him, argues Fr ralph de hahn.

The call to priesthood

a n d a h e a r t t o w a n t t o i m i t a t e t h e M a s t e r, t o b e a n o t h e r C h r i s t a m o n g h i s p e o p l e J e s u s i n v i t e s y o u n g m e n t o b e l i k e h i m b o t h s h e p h e r d a n d l a m b , b o t h p r i e s t a n d v i c t i m , b o t h s e r v a n t a n d t h e r e i n e x a l t e d

H o w a b o u t t a k i n g u p t h e c a l l a n d c h a l l e n g e o f J e s u s C h r i s t , t h e e t e r n a l H i g h P r i e s t ? H e c a l l s : “ C o m e f o l l o w m e ! ” A n d w h e r e w i l l h e l e a d y o u ? M o s t c e r t a i n l y t o C a l v a r y ! T h i s w i l l d e m a n d o f a n y y o u n g m a n a d e e p , u n s h a k e a b l e f a i t h , a s i n c e r e a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e l i f e o f t h e M a s t e r, a w i l l i n g n e s s

A m u d d y c h a n n e l

This Holy Mass offered is not just an historical recalling, “remember me”, but a practical living out of the Cross It is very clear that the Blessed Eucharist is at the centre of the priestly vocation The reverence, faith and love he exposes in his celebration of the Eucharist speaks volumes to the laity The first cracks in his joyful ministr y will show in his haste, his slipping into mediocrity, that

A man who seeks status in Christ’s priesthood is on the wrong path

A p a r t f r o m t h e a r t i f i c i a l l i v i n g i n t h i s n e w t e c h n o l o g i c a l a n d s e c u l a r i s i n g a g e a n d w i t h t h e c u r s e o f d r u g s a n d a l c o h o l , i t w o u l d a p p e a r t h a t t h e C a t h o l i c p r i e s t h o o d i s b e i n g p o o r l y p r o m o t e d B y t h a t I m e a n t h a t w e a r e s t i l l u s i n g c o m m o n a d v e r t i s i n g t e c h n i q u e s , a s i f w e a r e p u n t i n g a b e t t e r w a s h i n g p o w d e r, t o c a l l t h e a t t e n t i o n o f o u r y o u t h t o t h i s s u b l i m e v o c a t i o n

t o t h e p r i e s t h o o d i s m e e t i n g a p o o r r e s p o n s e i n m a n y p a r t s o f s o c i e t y a n d i t ’s n o t s u r p r i s i n g .

22 The Southern Cross

T h a t i s n o t w h a t w i l l s t i r o u r y o u n g m e n a n d w o m e n t o g r e a t e r h e i g h t s n o t i n s p o r t , n o r i n c a r e e r b u i l d i n g , n o r i n r e l i g i o u s v o c a t i o n Yo u n g p e o p l e n e e d t o b e c h a l l e n g e d . S e t b e f o r e t h e m a c h a l l e n g e t h a t d e m a n d s s e l f s a c r i f i c e , a s p a r k o f h e r o i s m , s o m e t h i n g b e y o n d t h e o r d i n a r y w a y o f l i v i n g , a c a l l t o g r e a t n e s s b y s u r r e n d e r t o a f a r h i g h e r d e g r e e o f l i v i n g

A s h i s a n o i n t e d p r i e s t , h e w i l l b e t h e o n e w h o o f f e r s a n d a l s o t h e o n e w h o i s o f f e r e d . A s p r i e s t , h e w i l l b e

It is now so unconditionally clear that this unique vocation demands unceasing prayer, which is the priest’s very lifeline. His constant communication with the Divine Source is the only means of sur vival, else his ministry will be sterile and fruitless; the branch will die if not at tached to the vine (John 15) Pope Pius XII advised: “There is no substitution for prayer for the very busy priest there is the heresy of action which betrays poverty of soul.”

I t i s s o m u c h b e t t e r f o r a n y p r i e s t t o h a v e a m i s s i o n a r y v i s i o n , f o r h e i s o r d a i n e d n o t f o r a p a r i s h , n o r a d i o c e s e , b u t f o r t h e w o r l d T h a t i s w h a t J e s u s c o m m a n d e d j u s t b e f o r e a s c e n d ing to His Father (Matthew 28:19) It is n o w o n d e r t h a t t h e m i s s i o n a r y s o c i e t i e s a t t r a c t f a r m o r e y o u n g p e o p l e who yearn to venture to foreign lands

lack of fire and zeal, and so often discontentment

A m i s s i o n a r y v i s i o n

How to give him a million souls

good if a young priest sincerely asks God

with the Good News, not sure if t h e y w i l l e v e r s e e h o m e a g a i n N o w t h e re i s t h e c h a l l e n g e , t h e d a r i n g a n d t h e t h i r s t f o r o u r young people for all cultures and all ages. It is true that in some re g i o n s t h e s p i r i t u a l i t y o f t h e l a i t y i s deeper than that of the local c l e r g y

A R o m a n C a t h o l i c p r i e s t w i l l n o t h a v e a f a m i l y o f h i s o w n , b u t e v e r y w h e r e p e o p l e w i l l c a l l h i m “ F a t h e r ” , b e c a u s e o f h i s v o w o r p r o m i s e o f c e l i b a c y. A n d , y e s , h e w i l l g e n e r a t e c h i l d r e n t h r o u g h t h e p u r e f i e r y l o v e o f t h e S p i r i t i n h i s u n t i r i n g m i n i s t r y f o r s o u l s H o w g o o d i f a y o u n g p r i e s t s i n c e r e l y a s k s G o d t o g i v e h i m a m i l l i o n s o u l s a i m e v e r h i g h e r !

A s a h u m b l e p a s t o r h e w i l l a l w a y s b e a v a i l a b l e w i t h a p a t i e n t l i s t e n i n g e a r, e v e r i n l o v e w i t h h i s m i s s i o n a n d t h e p o o r, s e e k i n g a l w a y s t h e l o s t s h e e p , i n s p i r i n g t h e y o u t h W h i l e r e f l e c t i n g o n t h e C r u c i f i e d , h e w i l l c o m e t o r e a l i s e a n d u n d e r s t a n d t h a t a s p r i e s t a n d v i c t i m , a s s h e p h e r d a n d l a m b , t h e p r i v i l e g e h e e n j o y s h a s b e e n p a i d f o r i n b l o o d S o , p l e a s e , n o m o r e s u g a r y a n d p r e t t y w o r d s i n o u r c r y f o r p r i e s t l y v o c a t i o n s T h e c a l l m u s t b e a f a r m o r e c h a l l e n g i n g a n d d y n a m i c “ C o m e , f o l l o w m e … ” Fr Ralph de Hahn is a priest of the diocese of Cape Town.

We’ll arrange your spiritual journey as a community! C o n t a c t g a i l a t 0 7 6 3 5 2 3 8 0 9 o r i n f o @ f o w l e r t o u r s . c o . z a w w w . f o w l e r t o u r s . c o . z a h ave a p a r i s h p i l g r i m a ge ? E x c e l l e n t o r g a n i s a t i o n f o r a s m o o t h p i l g r i m a g e ! S p e c i a l l y d e s i g n e d p r o g r a m m e s f o r t h e H o l y L a n d • V a t i c a n • R o m e • A s s i s i • L o u r d e s • F a t i m a • M e d j u g o r j e • E g y p t • S p a i n • I r e l a n d • E p h e s u s a n d m o r e . . .

T h e p r i e s t i s c a l l e d t o p r a y t h e b r e v i a r y d a i l y i t i s t h e C h u rc h a t p r a y e r w i t h C h r i s t , a n d i t i s f o r t h e w h o l e w o r l d I n l o v i n g t h e b r e v i a r y a n d r e a d i n g i t w i t h d e v o t i o n , t h e p r i e s t w i l l f i n d e x c e l l e n t m a t e r i a l f o r h i s p r e a c h i n g a n d t e a c h i n g “ I t w i l l g o h a r d f o r m e i f I d i d n o t p r e a c h t h e G o s p e l i n w o r d a n d i n d e e d ” ( 1 C o r 9 : 1 6 ) .

T h e p o w e r f u l , “ p a t r i o t i c ” g u n l o b b y i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i s o f t h e s a m e m i n d a s t h e e a r l y F r a n c i s W i t h t h e i r o p e n l y d i s p l a y e d w e a p o n s , t h e y r e m i n d m e o f s o m e n e r v o u s w h i t e s i n t h e a p a r t h e i d e r a w h o c o n s p i c u o u s l y a n d p u b l i c l y b r a n d i s h e d g u n s

E n t e r t h e “ W i l d W e s t ” T h e U S g u n l o b b y r e m i n d s u s , w i t h o u t i n t e n d i n g t o , t h a t t h e W i l d W e s t t h e r a w r o u g h f r o n t i e r s o f A m e r i c a ,

c u l t u r e o f d e a t h b y g u n s h o t w o u n d s i s s t i l l a l i v e a n d w e l l T o a p p e a l t o t h e g u n l o b b y i n t h e U S t o r e d u c e t h e i r m o r t a l d e p e n d e n c e o n l e t h a l w e a p o n s i s l i k e a s k i n g W i l d B i l l H i c o c k o r B i l l y t h e K i d t o l e a v e t h e i r W i n c h e s t e r s a n d s i x s h o o t e r s a t t h e e n t r a n c e o f D e a d w o o d i n S o u t h D a k o t a i n 1 8 7 3 I t c o u l d n o t b e d o n e A s h e r i f f c o u l d n e v e r e n f o r c e i t N o t e v e n t h a t u n l i k e l y m u l t i c u l t u r a l p a i r , t h e L o n e R a n g e r a n d T o n t o , c o u l d d o i t

T h i s f r e e l e s s o n i n v i o l e n t c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n “ i m p r e s s e s a n d i n s p i r e s ” c r i m i n a l s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d a s t h e

The world loves Hollywood violence and many Americans worship guns even though those are used in increasingly frequent massacres. Fr patrick noonan oFM says that the adoration of weapons is nothing new — and St Francis of Assisi stood up to it.

How St Francis took on the arms lobby

B u t w a i t ! P e o p l e d i d t h e s a m e i n t h e t i m e o f S t F r a n c i s a n d t h e 1 3 t h c e n t u r y s a i n t w o u l d b e t h e f i r s t t o t e l l y o u t h a t I n d e e d , t h e r e w a s a p e r i o d i n h i s l i f e w h e n t h e s w o r d a n d d a g g e r w e r e e x t e n s i o n s o f h i m s e l f , a n d h e d i s p l a y e d i t s e l f c o n s c i o u s l y w h e n e v e r h e s a u n t e r e d i n t o t h e b e s t a l e h o u s e s i n A s s i s i I t w a s t h e t i m e w h e n h e l i v e d b y t h e s w o r d a n d n e a r l y d i e d b y i t t o o h i s e a r l y l i f e

w o u l d s w a g g e r a r o u n d a f r o n t i e r t o w n u n a r m e d T o d a y i n t h e U S , g u n s a r e s o e a s i l y a v a i l a b l e t h a t a h i g h n o o n s h o o t i n g a t T o m b s t o n e c a n b r e a k o u t a t a n y m o m e n t i n a n y s c h o o l a n d c h u r c h , a n y h o s p i t a l a n d s u p e r m a r k e t , a n y c i n e m a o r c o n c e r t v e n u e , o r a n y p l a c e w h e r e c r o w d s g a t h e r . E v e n m o n a s t e r i e s a r e t a r g e t e d , a s i t w a s w h e n a n o l d m a n w i e l d i n g a n a s s a u l t r i f l e s h o t f o u r m o n k s , k i l l i n g t w o , a t C o n c e p t i o n A b b e y i n M i s s o u r i i n J u l y 2 0 0 2

w h e r e l i f e w a s c h e a p a n d v i o l e n c e n a t u r a l h a s n o t y e t b e e n w o n T h e y s o m e h o w t e l l u s t h a t t h e c r u s t y p i o n e e r s o f t h e p l a i n s a r e s t i l l w i t h u s a n d t h a t o n l y f o o l s a n d d u m m i e s

U N S A N D B O M B S A R E S E E N b y m a n y a s t h e s o l u t i o n f o r m o s t p r o b l e m s . G u n s f o r s e l f d e f e n c e a n d g e t t i n g e v e n , a n d b o m b s f o r s o l v i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l p r o b l e m s . L i k e Y e m e n , U k r a i n e , G a z a F o r m a n y p e o p l e , i t ’ s a m o d e r n m a l a i s e .

What a shock when St Francis told his followers not to carry arms! s c h o o l i n U v a l d e , T e x a s , w h e r e a g u n m a n m u r d e r e d 1 9 c h i l d r e n a n d t w o a d u l t s i n M a y

R i g h t : S t a t u e o f S t F r a n c i s a s a s o l d i e r o u t s i d e t h e b a s i l i c a o f S t F r a n c i s i n A s s i s i , I t a l y u r i V a b o n a / R e u t e r s / C N S ; G ü n t h e r S i m m e r m a c h e r

L e f t : M o u r n e r s o u t s i d e t h e

O n c i n e m a t i c e v i d e n c e , H o l l y w o o d i s s t i l l s h o o t i n g d o w n a g g r e s s i v e a l i e n s , s h a d o w y s p e c t r e s i n T V p a r a n o r m a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , a n d w e i r d s c i f i m o n s t e r s c l a n g i n g f l a t f o o t e d o v e r f i r s t w o r l d m e t r o p o l i s e s T h e

T h e H o l l y w o o d e f f e c t

P h o t o s N

T H l y w f f

24 The Southern Cross

T h e A m e r i c a n t i n s e l s c r e e n h a s a l w a y s d e m o n s t r a t e d t o u s , t h e p l a n e t a t l a r g e , t h a t l i f e ’ s p r o b l e m s a r e u l t i m a t e l y s o l v e d b y a “ G u n f i g h t a t t h e O K C o r r a l ” O r i n t h e l a n g u a g e o f t o d a y , w h e n t h e h a n d o f o u r r i g h t e o u s h e r o i n d o w n t o w n N e w Y o r k i s c a u g h t i n a c l o s e u p c a m e r a s h o t , s l i p p i n g i n t o a n o f f i c e d r a w e r t o r e t r i e v e a l i t t l e u s e d 9 m m p a r a b e l l u m A s h e r e a d i e s t h e b r e a c h f o r a c t i o n , h i s d e t e r m i n e d f a c e s a y s i t a l l , C l i n t E a s t w o o d e s q u e W e k n o w t h e e n d i s n i g h f o r s o m e o n e s o o n !

h i s s o n d o b u s i n e s s w i t h o u t p r o p e r c o v e r , b a r k e d ? W i t h o u t d e f e n w e a p o n s ? B u t F r a n c i s w a s g t o t h e e a r l y f r i a r s a n d m b e r s H e w a s a d d r e s s i n g w a y o f l i f e , t h e r e b y u n g f a m i l y a n d s o c i e t y v a l t i m e a n d n a i l i n g t h e m n b y t e l l i n g t h e b r o t h e r s i n n o u n c e r t a i n t e r m s n o t e v e n t o c a r r y c o i n s H e w a s d e c o n s t r u c t i n g “ t h e a r t i f i c i a l l e v e r s o f p o w e r a n d p r i v i l e g e ” i n s o c i e t y a n d i n t h e C h u r c h .

• Yo u a re we l co m e to s e l e c t m o re t h a n o n e o pt i o n

S t F r a n c i s ’ s u b v e r s i o n

F r a n c i s ’ f a t h e r r e p o r t e d l y w e n t i n t o a r a g e , o n c e a g a i n H o w c o u l d

I n S t F r a n c i s ’ t i m e , m o s t p e o p l e c a r r i e d t h e i r w e a p o n s f o r s e l f d e f e n c e I t w a s p a r t o f t h e i r d r e s s T h e s w o r d a n d d a g g e r l o b b y w e r e h a p p y w i t h t h a t a r r a n g e m e n t ; i t w a s n e v e r q u e s t i o n e d P o p e s a n d c l e r g y c a r r i e d a r m s t o w a r , t o o T h e y h a d t o d e f e n d t h e C h u r c h a n d i t s l a n d s a n d p r o p e r t i e s f r o m m a r a u d i n g w a r r i o r s , r o a m i n g S a r a c e n s , p a i d m e r c e n a r i e s , l o c a l w a r l o r d s a n d f o r e i g n a r m i e s . I t w a s t a k e n f o r g r a n t e d

A m e r i c a n m o v i e m a k e s i t s r o u n d s t o e v e r y c i t y , t o w n a n d v i l l a g e o n e a r t h C r i m i n a l s l i v i n g o n t h e p o o r p e r i p h e r i e s o f t h e w o r l d l o v e t h e s o u n d o f A m e r i c a n g u n f i r e s o l v i n g e v e r y d a y p r o b l e m s T h e y e v e n c o p y t h e m

The Southern Cross 25

r d e t a i l s c A r D i n A l o W E n M c c A n n A s s o c i At E SA’s ﬁrst Cardinal and twice Southern Cross editor securing the Future: Supporting the general running costs of The Southern Cross, including growing our digital footprint, and securing the title’s future B l E s s E D B E n E D i c t DA s WA A s s o c i At E SA’s ﬁrst Blessed, a family father, teacher and catechist outreach: Providing free copies of our magazine to prisons, hospitals, seminaries, and distribution to the poor through Church agencies D o r ot h Y DAY A s s o c i At E Catholic newspaper publisher and social activist sociAl coMMunicAtions: For our journalists and contributors, to continue to spread the Gospel, social teachings, and Catholic local and worldwide news c A r D i n A l o W E n M c c A n n A s s o c i At E D o r ot h Y DAY A s s o c i At E B l E s s E D B E n E D i c t DA s WA A s s o c i At E F r P a d d y N o o n a n i n a m o c k p o s e w i t h a n e m p t y g u n h a n d e d i n a t t h e p a r i s h t o b e d e l i v e r e d t o t h e p o l i c e d u r i n g a n a m n e s t y f o r i l l e g a l g u n o w n e r s i n t h e 1 9 9 0 s . S t F r a n c i s ’ s u b v e r s i o n

EEdduuctuhca ll InstituIInnssttitthatCaCEducaCathaatioionoff d e ohouuteicolic i h holicuteationof d i ffleed sseeerot r CCaCCaaalhoschools

T h i s w a s t h e r e a l S t F r a n c i s T h e q u i e t l y s u b v e r s i v e S t F r a n c i s T h e u n d o m e s t i c a t e d S t F r a n c i s T h e F r a n c i s w h o f r e e d h i m s e l f t o b e l e d b y t h e s p e c t a c u l a r p r o m p t i n g s o f t h e H o l y S p i r i t B l e s s e d b e t h e p e a c e m a k e r s ! F r P a t r i c k N o o n a n i s a F r a n c i s c a n p r i e s t w o r k i n g i n t h e a r c h d i o c e s e o f J o h a n n e s b u r g . T h i s i s a n u p d a t e d a n d e d i t e d e x t r a c t f r o m h i s b o o k S t F r a n c i s U n c e n s o r e d . S e e a f i l m o n t h e b o o k a t y o u t u b e / 8 A V U A 2 t q k Q and a v Called in aiaithh e hol eessceenntrls csskkikillills hoololili tr oolsolsthodndanlsandand c a licicth entr tholicfaith

A c c o r d i n g t o o n e r e c e n t s u r v e y , t h e a v e r a g e A m e r i c a n c h i l d h a s o b s e r v e d 1 8 0 0 0 f i c t i o n a l k i l l i n g s b e f o r e g r a d u a t i n g h i g h s c h o o l . I n 2 0 2 0 , s o m e 4 5 0 0 0 p e o p l e d i e d i n t h e U S f r o m t h e b a r r e l o f a g u n , i n a c o u n t r y w h e r e s t a t i s t i c a l l y e v e r y r e s i d e n t o w n s a g u n

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• Re c e i ve a f re e d i g i ta l o r p r i nt s u bs c r i pt i o n i f yo u co nt r i b u te R 2 0 0 o r m o re p e r m o nt h

• A s a n A s s o c i ate , h o l y M a s s w i l l b e c e l e b rate d fo r yo u r i nte nt i o n s t w i c e a ye a r • A s s o c i ate s w i l l re c e i ve re g u l a r u p d ate s o n t h e ca m p a i g n • s i g n u p o n l i n e a n d s e l e c t R 1 2 0 0 , R 2 4 0 0 , R 3 0 0 0 o r R 5 0 0 0 a n n u a l co nt r i b u t i o n o r a ny a m o u nt v i a E F T s i g n u p o n l i n e w w w. d i g i t a l . s c r o s s . c o . z a /a s s o c i a t e s c a m p a i g n o r e m a i l a d m i n @ s c r o s s . c o . z a o

W h a t a s h o c k t h e n w h e n S t F r a n c i s , o u t o f t h e b l u e , t o l d h i s f o l l o w e r s n o t t o c a r r y a r m s P e r i o d T h e y h a d n o t h i n g t o d e f e n d h e t o l d t h e m “ H e m u s t b e s t a r k r a v i n g m a d , ” h i s c o n t e m p o r a r i e s a n d f o l l o w e r s , m a n y o f w h o m w e r e p r o u d o f t h e i r m i l i t a r y c a r e e r s , c o n c l u d e d . S h o u l d y o u l a y d o w n y o u r a r m s w h e n y o u s h o u l d b e d e f e n d i n g t h e P a p a l S t a t e s a n d j o i n i n g t h e p o p e ’ s c r u s a d e s ?

Educating today t or the common good.ftomorr

y o u n g B i s h o p N a p i e r i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s

lel the level of our commitment, and until our commitment is ab solute, our intimacy cannot be complete!

Fr Francois Dufour SDB, Cape Town

C a r d i n a l N a p i e r i s p i c t u r e d i n o u r c o l l a g e , b u t a s a y o u n g b i s h o p o f K o k s t a d i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s , r a t h e r t h a n w i t h h i s r e d h a t We t h o u g h t i t w o u l d b e i n t e r e s t i n g t o s e e h i m a s a y o u n g m a n a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f h i s l o n g e p i s c o p a l c a r e e r B u t i t s e e m s a n u m b e r o f r e a d e r s d i d n o t r e c o g n i s e t h e y o u n g b i s h o p a t s e c o n d f r o m l e f t i n t h e s e c o n d r o w f r o m t h e b o t t o m A l l p e o p l e i n o u r c o l l a g e a r e i d e n t i f i e d o n o u r w e b s i t e a t w w w. s c r o s s . c o . z a / 2 0 2 2 / 0 7 / t h e b i s h o p s o n o u r c o v e r

I h a v e a c c o m p a n i e d m a n y a f o r e i g n v i s i t o r t o t h e “ P e o p l e ’s C a t h e d r a l ” , t h e c h u rc h o f R e g i n a M u n d i i n S o w e t o , w h i c h y o u f e a t u r e d i n y o u r A u g u s t i s s u e .

H A N K Y O U F O R A N A LWAY S

In Eucharistic Communion, just as in becoming one flesh in marriage, there is one basic rule of thumb which can help us: The level of our intimacy should paral

For my part, I have never denied Communion to an individual who came for ward to receive, even though I knew the person was not Catholic Making an occasional exception does not change the much needed rule to preser ve the significance of the act of receiving Holy Communion as meaning that we truly are in communion

Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross especially in to the do not necessarily

reﬂect the views of the publication or those of the Catholic hierarchy

VER MORE THAN TWO DECADES

Letters

T a

So if I accept the invitation to receive Communion in another church where I am attending a Communion ser vice, a wedding or whatever special occasion, then I am by this gesture stating that I am completely at one with all those also receiving in that church But between our many Christian denominations even though there are many convergences of faith there are unfortunately still many areas of major disagreement And so to receive Communion together, if we are not yet in communion, is simply not being honest. Can we sweep all those differences under the carpet and pretend to be all one?

d I h O RyondPerieron faithsHowothera Faith&Sty seeus h d k W d y Hy h p g h q p h C Hreyse aCathig fgdd Cbrng d p p ga M A h n e ae C p C h h y

That said, we need to make the kind of announcement restricting communion to “Catholics in good standing” ver y sensitively, preferably not just after the Agnus Dei, but as part of other notices earlier in the liturgy, with a brief explana tion for the restriction It is better if the announcement be made by someone other than the main celebrant, too.

R e a d e r s o f y o u r f i n e p u b l i c a t i o n m i g h t a p p r e c i a t e p h o t o s o f t h e t w o s t o n e s s i d e b y s i d e i n a f u t u r e i s s u e

We welcome your letters, while reserving the right to edit them We may publish your letters on our website Please include a postal address (not for publication) Letters should be no longer than 350 words Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstances at the Editor’s discretion. letters to editor@scross.co.za

Br Mario Colussi FMS, Johannesburg

I e n j o y e d t h e c o v e r o f y o u r A u g u s t i s s u e w i t h t h e c o l l a g e o f b i s h o p s w h o h a v e s e r v e d i n t h e 7 5 y e a r s s i n c e t h e f o u n d i n g o f t h e S o u t h e r n A f r i c a n C a t h o l i c B i s h o p s ’ C o n f e r e n c e i n 1 9 4 7 . I i m m e d i a t e l y r e c o g n i s e d b i s h o p s f r o m m y o w n a rc h d i o c e s e , J o h a n n e s b u r g , s u c h a s A rc h b i s h o p B u t i T l h a g a l e , B i s h o p J o h n F i t z g e r a l d a n d A rc h b i s h o p P e t e r B u t e l e z i T h e r e a r e a l s o s o m e o t h e r b i s h o p s I r e c o g n i s e d B u t t h e r e i s o n e b i s h o p w h o m I c o u l d n ’t f i n d i n y o u r c o l l a g e , a n d t h a t i s C a r d i n a l Wi l f r i d N a p i e r D i d y o u f o r g e t a b o u t h i m ?

h e c o v e r o f o u r A u g u s t i s s u e , a n d

I believe we need to be careful not to reduce the Eucharist to a feel good act, meaning little more than a spiritual hug, in the same way that sexual intercourse has been reduced from declaring in body language the same as what wedding vows declare, to meaning little more than, “Lie down, I think I love you, so let’s have a bit of fun together!”

Send your

T h e r e i s a r e m a r k a b l e d i s c r e p a n c y t o b e s e e n b e t w e e n t h e t w o “ f o u n d a t i o n s t o n e s ” i n t h e n a r t h e x o f t h e c h u rc h T h e s t o n e b l e s s e d b y C a r d i n a l G i o v a n n i M o n t i n i , t h e f u t u r e P o p e P a u l V I , i n 1 9 6 2 r e f e r s t o R e g i n a C a e l i ( m e a n i n g Q u e e n o f H e a v e n ) , a n d t h e s t o n e o n t h e o p p o s i t e w a l l a t t h e c o n s e c r a t i o n o f t h e c h u rc h r e f e r s t o R e g i n a M u n d i ( Q u e e n o f t h e Wo r l d )

In my own family, with a Presbyterian sister in law, a nothing in particular brother in law, and a lapsed sister and her spouse, I ex perience the pain of the whole issue first hand ever y time I go home to a family reunion during which I cele brate the Eucharist for my folks At the moment of Communion, we can really sense the reality of the separation But that is also, paradoxically, where we can grow most aware of the significance of com m union and our longing to be one in the Lord.

Our “separated brethren” don’t seem to understand that the reason for not leniently inviting all and sundr y to receive is not out of bigotr y or our snobbish elitism, but precisely because it would then diminish that significance Like sex in marriage, Eucharistic Com munion is the ultimate act of bonding among believers. And it is not just a spe cial moment of individual intimacy with Jesus, one on one, but a public act of faith that proclaims my commitment to and union with all others who are com municating

Editor,

Write to us

Why we cannot share Communion

Spot the cardinal

e x c e l l e n t m o n t h l y m a g a z i n e

26 The Southern Cross Letters

HE INTERCOMMUNION DEBATE keeps re emerging as a source of grievance and as being in contra diction to our ecumenical hopes, as Ray mond Perrier noted in his column, “How other faiths see us” (August 2022)

Margaret Moore, by email

I s t i l l m i s s o u r w e e k l y n e w s p a p e r, b u t I l o v e t h e n e w m a g a z i n e

Tale of two stones

artists who made visible the crown of thorns pressed upon the divine head of the Saviour, the nails pierced into his hands and feet, and the lifeless body of Jesus entombed There is a temptation in us to think that the Messiah did not re ally suffer, but when faced with the Sav iour falling down, we begin to see that we think erroneously

Slowly the cross is unveiled, and the same colours of the day which fell upon the noisy crowd, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus are now shown to us Those colours, dark and brooding, now illu mine the face of Simon of Cyrene, taking on the task of being a cross bearer Weep ing in the shadows are the women of Jerusalem, but Jesus, covered in the crim son of blood, implores them to weep for themselves Proceeding closer and closer to us are the harsh, rigid lines of Roman soldiers We see lines of shields and swords as the soldiers strip Jesus of his garments and nail him to the cross

Photo: Nancy Phelan Wiechec/CNS

Greatness of sacred art

Sacred art in union with sacred music and sacred Scripture must not stoop down to the level of being trendy or fashionable, lest we reduce Jesus to just a man who said a few wise words and died a terrible death Such art will not help us on our journey of faith.

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

It is in the sacred beauty of church architecture, sculptures and paintings that many of the faithful contemplate the glory of the Lord to echo the words of the saint from Damascus.

Art that accentuates the floral pat terns on your living room furniture can not be the same art that is used to depict Jesus being scourged at the pillar Let us pray for art that is solemn, sacred and beautiful so that, as we take on our own Via Crucis, we may, in the words of St John Damascene, “contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled”.

The noble and the vulgar

Sacred art that is made well does not shy away from the truths of our faith and it aligns itself to the beauty of God I lament that at times it seems the needs of the Christian people for prayer and contemplation are set aside for the vain glory of the artist seeking personal self expression

There are many things that signify a Catholic church, chief among them being the tabernacle holding the Divine Presence of Jesus Towering above the tabernacle is a large crucifix making visi ble the sacrifice that takes place on the altar Just outside the sanctuary there will be a statue of Our Lady and of her most chaste spouse St Joseph And then there will appear the Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross, also referred to as the Stations of the Cross We are presented with the many scenes of Christ’s Passion and the saintly and sinful figures who form part of it

I believe that meditation on the Via Crucis is the antidote to our self inflated and pornographic mindset Why is that? I believe it is because we are invited I dare say, compelled to look at Christ’s Passion as it truly appears We are called to share in the courage of great sacred

Meditation on the Via Crucis is the antidote to our self-inflated mindset

We find ourselves in a world abun dant with images. Some of them are good, noble and pleasing to the eye, while others are crude, vulgar and cor rupt the imagination. When we see the latter, the heart drowns in anguish and pain at visions of ghastliness We struggle in the arduous pursuit of purity and a holy imagination that we so desperately need in order to adequately contemplate Christ’s life, death and resurrection and not just in the season of Lent!

We humbly regard the silhouette of the Saviour in his final hour on the cross

In the delicate strokes of paint we encounter the cowardice of Pontius Pi late, we behold the face of a strange man, the prisoner Barabbas. Still the picture lacks the scheming, snarling chief priests, elders and scribes Coming to the fore ground of our frame is the compassion ate Veronica, wiping the face of Jesus Blessed is she indeed who received in her hands the likeness of the Word made flesh, printed with his own blood

WHY WAS IT FORBIDDEN in Judaism to show the face of God, but allowed in Christianity? St John Damascene, who died in 749 AD, had an answer: “Previously God, who has nei ther a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God… and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled ”

At this moment in our solemn medita tion, we kneel in a sombre and reverent silence, for we dare not speak a word while the Saviour utters his last words, commending his spirit to the Father In this we see the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, laying down his life for his bride, the Church The words of the new and ever lasting covenant are brought to life and

The Southern Cross 27

Why is it so important for these images to be inside every Catholic church? Why don’t we just use that space for something else? I propose that the Church in her infinite wisdom, knowing that our senses need to be sanc tified by the veneration of holy images, sees an opportunity for the faithful to enter into the mystery of salvation

the marriage between the Church and Jesus Christ is consummated

It is no wonder then that, at least from my side of the horizon, the cruci fixion of Jesus is the most widely com missioned work of art; I would guess that the second would be that of the Lord’s Supper In a strange way, we seem to judge the greatness of sacred artists by the manner in which they depict the Pas sion of Jesus Christ If the artist reveals the truth of the Passion to us by exposing the wounds of Jesus, by revealing the coldness of the cross, and by shining a light on the tears of the Blessed Virgin Mary, then we are in awe, admiration, and a bit of shock that the death of Jesus could be made so vividly real to us

Pope Pius XII articulates this well in his encyclical Mediator Dei “Modern art should be given free scope in the due and reverent service of the Church and the sacred rites, provided that they pre serve a correct balance between styles tending neither to extreme realism nor to excessive symbolism, and that the needs of the Christian community are taken into consideration rather than the particular taste or talent of the indi vidual artist ”

This, I suppose, begs the question: What are the needs of the Christian com munity? Well, they are the same now as they were almost 2 000 years ago. Chris tians, many residing in a world hostile to their beliefs, must be reminded of Christ’s incarnation, of his life, ministry, Passion, death and resurrection

our eyes on Christ

In this approach, Christian scripture takes over from Jew ish scripture (our Old Testament), which, again, is full of sto ries. In fact they are such good tales about kings and battles and escapes from pharaohs and whales that they have regu larly been the inspiration for secular works of theatre, whether an opera like Verdi’s Nabucco or a musical such as Joseph And His Technicolour Dreamcoat

It is interesting that we are much more likely to know what the saints did, where they lived, or what obstacles they overcame than to have memorised their pious sayings or stud ied their theological writings It is the stories of the saints that most inspire us and, it is hoped, give us confidence that we too can be saints in our own day.

We do not have to wait until someone is declared a saint to share and be inspired by their story In fact, the process of setting down someone’s stor y is an important step in the process towards sainthood. Paddy Kearney’s award winning biography of Archbishop Denis Hurley, Guardian of the Light, will be a very important contribution when, we hope soon, the cause for the archbishop’s canonisation is opened.

Once my PhD is completed (with God’s grace), I hope to

But she is best known for having sur vived the maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912, taking command of the oars on her lifeboat so they could row back and rescue more passen gers. This earned her the nickname “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and she became immortalised in musicals and movies There aren’t many poor Catholic girls who end up being por trayed by Debbie Reynolds and Kathy Bates!

Of course, there are also the people in our Catholic world who are unlikely to be saints but whose stories are well worth hearing. Our editor re minded me recently of a won derful character, Margaret “Molly” Tobin, who died 90 years ago this month

our Catholic stories The biggest collection of Catholic jokes yet! 500 CATHOLIC JOKES WITH 60 CARTOONS BY CONRAD! ONLY R180 (plus p&p) Order from books@scross co za or w w w.digital.scross.co.za/church chuckles cApE toWn holiDAY AccoMMoDAtion Looking for reasonably priced accommodation over the December/January holiday period? Come to Kolbe House, set in a beautiful spacious gardens in Rondebosch, nestled just under Devil s Peak Self catering, clean and peaceful, with spacious gardens Safe parking Close to all shops and public transport contact pat 021 685 7370 or 073 2632105 or e mail pat@kolbehouse co za www.kolbehouse.org.za F e w p o o r C a t h o l i c g i r l s e n d u p b e i n g p o r t r a y e d b y D e b b i e R e y n o l d s a n d K a t h y B a t e s R a y m o n d P e r r i e r ( l e f t ) a n d t h e l a t e P a d d y K e a r n e y w i t h A r c h b i s h o p D e n i s H u r l e y ’ s s t a f f a n d m i t r e i n 2 0 1 7 . P h o t o : D e n s H u r e y C e n t r e

TELLING AND RETELLING of stories is at the heart of our tradition as Catholic Christians While the Gospels do contain a lot of counsel on how to live a good life, most of the content is the story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth and his followers And even the sharing of moral advice is usually presented in the form of parables, which are stories

World War I and women’s education

I mention her because her story could have been lost but instead was noticed by writers and so passed on But how many other stories from our community are we in danger of losing?

Stories worth hearing

As Catholics we develop this tradition even further with the stories we share of the lives of the saints. One of the most popular features in The Southern Cross magazine is the Saint of the Month sometimes reconnecting us with old friends, sometimes introducing us to new ones, or filling in gaps about people whom we only half knew.

Molly was a Catholic, born in the US to very poor parents, who intended to marry a rich man but instead married the poor Jim Brown, with whom she had fallen in love But Jim then made a lot of money in min ing and so she spent the rest of her life using his wealth and her contacts as a socialite to support all kinds of causes: votes for women, court reform for juveniles, rebuilding France after

Tell

28 The Southern Cross Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

An overdue biography

Paddy Kearney did such a great job writing down Arch bishop Hurley’s story Since his own story in the Church and in the Struggle was so interesting, I used to tease him that he should write his own biography Being immensely modest, he refused to do so, and when I asked him if I could write it his exact words were: “For as long as I am alive, you cannot write my biography ”

So after his death almost four years ago, I started re searching his stor y I am close to completing a PhD which is based on Paddy’s life and how he exemplified many of the challenges that Vatican II placed before the Church: to work more closely with other Chris tians, to open up to other faiths, to recognise the role of the laity in the Church, to fight for justice and peace.

THE

G o o d r e a s o n s f o r s a d n e s s

The feelings you say you have, you don’t have.

Sadness is an unavoidable part of life and not, in itself, a negative thing In sadness, there is a cry to which we are often deaf In sadness, our soul gets its chance to speak and its voice is telling us that a certain frustration, loss, death, inadequacy, moral failure, or particular circumstance or season of our lives is real, bitter, and unalterable Acceptance is our only choice and sadness is its price When that voice is not listened to, our health and sanity feel a strain

D H Lawrence once famously wrote:

Such exercises take work, but it is work well worth doing What’s more, there are so many gaps to fill. While we have the book about Hur ley, there is no biography of South Africa’s first cardinal, Owen Mc Cann, or our first black archbishop, Peter Butelezi There are even more gaps when we consider the many women and men who founded re ligious institutions: again we do have biographies of Abbot Pfanner from Mariannhill and Mother Rose Niland from the Newcastle Do minicans, but there are so many other stories worth telling. And that doesn’t even begin to list the heroic things done in the struggle by Catholic lay men and women, like Paddy Kearney

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Yet another good reason to support and invest in our Catholic media is to make sure that we have ways of passing on these stories and inspiring future generations If we lose these media, and we fail to cap ture these stories, then our sense of Catholic identity just becomes fur ther diminished.

turn it into a more readable book since I think his story is one which should continue to inspire new generations of Catholics, facing for themselves the challenge of how to be “Church in the modern world” (to quote the subtitle of the Pas toral Constitution of the Church, Gaudium et Spes)

The term theology is usually re served for books and treatises writ ten by academics. These writings are sometimes hard for ordinar y people to absorb But the stories of people’s lives are also a form of the ology what American writer James McClendon called “biogra phy as theology” They remind us of what people did, why they did it, and how they used their talents, their situations and their connec tions to live out God’s call to each one of us to bring good news to the world

Let’s make sure that we can be inspired by the lives of others and perhaps one day our own sto ries will be captured to inspire fu ture generations.

F o r e x a m p l e , i n a p a r t i c u l a r l y c h a l l e n g i n g ( r a w ) b o o k , Suicide and the Soul, t h e l a t e p s y c h o l o g i s t J a m e s H i l l m a n s t a t e s t h a t s o m e t i m e s w h a t h a p p e n s i n a s u i c i d e i s t h a t t h e s o u l i s s o f r u s t r a t e d a n d w o u n d e d t h a t i t k i l l s t h e b o d y F o r r e a s o n s t o o c o m p l e x a n d m a n y t o k n o w , t h a t s o u l c o u l d n o t m a k e i t s e l f h e a r d a n d w a s n e v e r g i v e n p e r m i s s i o n t o f e e l w h a t

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This needs to be honoured in our Eucharists and in other church gatherings Church is not just a place for upbeat celebration It is also supposed to be a safe place where we can break down Liturgy too must give us permission to be sad

“And in a world where old age be comes the golden years, where every problem can be fixed and every ailment cured, let the preacher say, you have per mission to be sad In a world preoccupied with prolonging life, where death is a for bidden word, let the preacher say, you have permission to die And let the preacher say, you have permission to live in memories of a lonesome kind ”

M A R IA N E L L A

Permission to be sad

Moreover, all of us will have our own share of losing loved ones, of breakdowns of all sorts, and bad seasons that test the heart There are a myriad legitimate reasons to be sad

The Southern Cross 29

THE PREACHER SAY, YOU HAVE permission to be sad! In a book, When the Bartender Dims the Lights, Ron Evans writes: “There’s a line I came upon in the musings of a preacher: On a Sunday morning many of the people sitting before you are the walking wounded, and you need to give them permission to be sad. In a world obsessed with happiness, where being great is all that matters, let the preacher say, you have permission to be sad

i t w a s i n f a c t e x p e r i e n c i n g A t a n e x t r e m e , t h i s c a n k i l l t h e b o d y

LET

We see this in a less extreme, though also deadly, way in the phenomenon of anorexia among young women There is an irresistible pressure from the culture, often coupled with actual bullying on social media, to have a perfect body Unfortunately, nature doesn’t issue many of those. Thus, these young women need permission to accept the limitations of their own bodies and to be okay with the sadness that comes with that Unfortu nately, this isn’t happening, at least not nearly enough, and so instead of accept ing the sadness of not having the body they want, these young women are forced (no matter the cost) to try to measure up We see its sad effects

There are many legitimate reasons for being sad Some of us are born with “old souls”, poets, oversensitive to the pathos in life Some of us suffer from bad physical health, others from fragile mental health Some of us have never been sufficiently loved and honoured for who we are; others have had our hearts broken by in fidelity and betrayal Some of us have had our lives irrevocably ripped apart by abuse, rape, and violence; others are simply hope less, frustrated romantics with perpetually crushed dreams, agonising in nostalgia

The feelings I don’t have I don’t have. The feelings I don’t have, I won’t say I have

Today neither our culture nor our churches give us sufficient permission to be sad Occasionally, yes, when a loved one dies or some particular tragedy befalls us, we are allowed be sad, to be down, tearful, not upbeat But there are so many other occasions and circumstances in our lives when our souls are legitimately sad, and our culture, churches, and egos do not give us the permission we need to feel what we are in fact experiencing sadness When that is the case, and it often is, we can either deny how we feel and go through the motions of being up beat, or we can give way to our sadness, but only at a price of feeling there is something wrong with us, that we should not be feeling this way. Both are bad.

The feelings you would like us both to have, we neither of us have

Psychotherapists who do dream work with clients tell us that when we have bad dreams, the reason is often that our soul is angry with us Since it cannot make itself heard during the day, it makes itself heard at night when we are helpless to drown it out

We need to be true to our soul by being true to its feelings

A Church that welcomes everyone

O NE OF THE CLASSIC WAYS IN w h i c h t h e C a t h o l i c C h u rc h g r o w s i s t h r o u g h i m m i g r a t i o n . A n y o n e w h o h a s a t tended Mass in the urban areas of South Africa will have noticed this the num b e r s a r e b e i n g s w e l l e d b y i m m i g r a n t s from our neighbouring countries.

t h e u s u a l e m o t i v e a c c u s a t i o n s a b o u t o u t s i d e r s b e i n g c r i m i n a l s a n d c o m i n g t o “ s t e a l ” l o c a l j o b s A s i f w e d o n ’t h a v e a n y o f o u r o w n c r i m i n a l s ! A s f o r t h e stealing of jobs even in our local gov e r n m e n t , t h e r e h a v e b e e n c a s e s o f p o l i t i c i a n s b e i n g m u r d e r e d b e c a u s e o f c o m p e t i t i o n f o r p o s t s . .

And then, if immigrants do manage t o f i n d e n t r y t o t h e c o u n t r y, t h e y f a c e t h e c o n s t a n t b a c k g r o u n d t h r e a t o f x e n o p h o b i c v i o l e n c e , w h i p p e d u p b y

30 The Southern Cross

T h e s t a t e i t s e l f h a s m a d e i t v e r y d i f f i c u l t f o r p o t e n t i a l i m m i g r a n t s t o c o m e here. The bureaucratic red tape that one h a s t o d e a l w i t h , e v e n t o g e t a v i s i t o r ’s or study visa, appears ro be designed for

Every month Fr chris chatteris sJ reﬂects on Pope Francis’ prayer intention

C h r i s t i a n s a r e c a l l e d t o b e a c h a n n e l o f t h e g r a c e o f f r a t e r n i t y

T h i s h a s h a p p e n e d m a n y t i m e s b e f o r e i n t h e C h u rc h T h e E u r o p e a n i m m i g r a t i o n t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s f r o m c o u n t r i e s s u c h a s I r e l a n d , I t a l y a n d G e r m a n y g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e d t h e n u m bers of Catholics in that countr y The process continues today with the mi g r a t i o n o f C a t h o l i c s f r o m S o u t h a n d C e n t r a l A m e r i c a , s o t h a t i t i s n o w e s s e n t i a l f o r U S C a t h o l i c s e m i n a r i a n s t o k n o w S p a n i s h .

T h a t g r a c e c a n f l o w t h r o u g h t h e parish community The smallest acts of kindness or gestures of acceptance will mean much to people who have experi enced hostility, rejection and violence. Those of us who have the security of cit izenship must make a leap of imagina tion to step into the shoes of those who lack that security To do this is to believe i n t h e w e l c o m i n g c a t h o l i c i t y o f t h e Catholic Church

Which is why a courageous preach i n g o f t h e G o s p e l , C h r i s t i a n s o l i d a r i t y a n d h o s p i t a l i t y t o w a r d s s t r a n g e r s i s m o r e u r g e n t t h a n e v e r w i t h i n t h e C h u rc h I t i s n o t a p o p u l a r m e s s a g e h e r e , o r a n y w h e r e e l s e f o r t h a t m a t t e r, b u t s t u d i e s a p p e a r t o s h o w t h a t i m m i g r a t i o n i s i n f a c t g o o d f o r t h e e c o n o m y o f t h e r e c e i v i n g c o u n t r y, b e c a u s e i m m i g r a t i o n c re a t e s r a t h e r t h a n d e s t r o y s o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r e m ployment

o n e p u r p o s e o n l y t o d i s c o u r a g e p e o p l e f r o m e v e n t r y i n g !

T h i s p r a c t i c a l s y n o d a l i t y r e q u i r e s t h a t t h e l e a d e r s h i p e n c o u r a g e s a n d f a c i l i t a t e s i t a n d t h e “ f o l l o w e r s h i p ” s u p ports and participates in it We pray that t h e H o l y S p i r i t w i l l g r a n t t h e g r a c e o f generosity of heart to us all

I n t e n t i o n : W e p r a y f o r t h e C h u r c h ; e v e r f a i t h f u l t o a n d c o u r a g e o u s i n p r e a c h i n g t h e G o s p e l , m a y t h e C h u r c h b e a c o m m u n i t y o f s o l i d a r i t y , f r a t e r n i t y a n d w e l c o m e , a l w a y s l i v i n g i n a n a t m o s p h e r e o f s y n o d a l i t y .

WITH

t r y ” h a s n o t a l w a y s s h o w n i t s l o v e t o wards immigrants Solidarity and frater n i t y t o w a r d s n e w c o m e r s f r o m w a r t o r n o r e c o n o m i c a l l y f a i l e d s t a t e s h a s b e e n s o r e l y l a c k i n g

More urgent than ever

L i n d s e y W a s s o n / R e u t e r s / C N S

T h e r e i s a p a r t i c u l a r a n d p o i g n a n t r e l e v a n c e i n t h e p o p e ’s O c t o b e r i n t e n t i o n f o r S o u t h A f r i c a U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h i s “ b e l o v e d c o u n

S o w h e r e t h e s i n o f x e n o p h o b i a abounds, the grace of fraternity must abound more and Christians are called to be a channel of this grace

PRAY THE POPE

This bounces us out of our comfort zones, but that is the point of synodal ity. When we listen intently to the other a n d t a k e t h e m s e r i o u s l y, w e o u r s e l v e s f i n d t h a t w e c h a n g e . A n d , o f c o u r s e , newcomers to a parish will change the parish, even without tr ying to The chal l e n g e t o t h e “ o l d f a i t h f u l ” i s t o g r a s p that such change will be for the best be cause infusing new blood into the Body of Christ renews and revivifies it

THE GOD WHO SAVES a s o n o f g r a c e , l e t u s e m b r a c e o p e n l y a n d w i t h j o y t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y o f b e c o m i n g a S y n o d a l C h u r c h .

The Southern Cross 31

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help me respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace, so that i may be Your trustworthy instrument for Your honour

On that first glowing dawn

May Your Will be done in time and in eternity by me, in me, and through me Amen

Despair bringing death upon us Now life is chained by finite years

lord, grant that i may always allow myself to be guided by You, always follow Your plans, and perfectly accomplish Your holy Will.

Amen

P r a y e r C o r n e r

L e t u s b e a l i s t e n i n g C h u r c h , m a k i n g a p a u s e o f o u r r o u t i n e s a n d p a s t o r a l c o n c e r n s a n d l i s t e n t o Yo u r S p i r i t a n d o u r b r o t h e r s a n d s i s t e r s , l e t t i n g t h e i r h o p e s m o v e o u r h e a r t s G i v e u s a t t i t u d e s o f c l o s e n e s s , c o m p a s s i o n , a n d t e n d e r l o v e t o b e l i v i n g s i g n s o f a C h u r c h w i t h Yo u r s t y l e , t a k i n g Yo u i n o u r p r e s e n c e a n d w o r d s , a n d w e a v i n g b o n d s o f f r i e n d s h i p w i t h e v e r y o n e , a s s u m i n g t h e f r a g i l i t i e s a n d p o v e r t y o f o u r t i m e , b a n d a g i n g w o u n d s a n d h e a l i n g b r o k e n h e a r t s w i t h Yo u r b a l m , o h L o r d A m e n

To save us from the pains of the night

He bears a name above all names

The voice seemed to say ‘Take of His what you can All shall go your way.’

But soon the voice would fade Almost as quickly as it came A rupture had now been made And flesh once living now is lame God the Father is no fool And all sin was laid bare A warm day had turned cool Belief was now despair

Do you have a favourite prayer?

DAIly PrAyer

Photo: St Charles church Victory Park Jhb by Sheldon Reddiar

Yo u r p r ay e r s t o c u t o u t an d co l l e c t

PRAYER FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH L o r d J e s u s C h r i s t , w h o l o v e s y o u r C h u r c h a n d w i s h e s f o r h e r t h i s s e

Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, i may do whatever You require of me.

But then would come a tempting voice Casting seeds of fear and doubt

By Nthabiseng Maphisa

Where once was music there was noise And fruits of envy began to sprout ‘Who is God to man?’

Had the Spirit brought life anew The veil between night and day was torn Man and woman had seen the dew. Of lawns lush and evergreen And fields filled with flowers afar Adam toiled and the harvest he gleaned And Eve laboured under the stars

No more with sin would we wrestle

That no more souls should be lost That not another be left to lie ‘Christus vivit!’ the angel cried Let us in this manner live When once we deeply sighed Now our hearts to God we give We walk the straight and narrow Remembering the sacrifice We leave all sin and its harrow We serve Jesus who paid the price.

Sin reduced man to the dust It enslaved him to his fears.

God, please help me to make peace with yesterday and have an open mind and heart for today

He is the king above all kings And yet he took upon our shame With all the suffering that it brings It took him to the Holy Cross There on a hill he would die

Through a most holy vessel

But God would bring forth a light

11. One of Christ ’s ﬁve (5)

18 Nevertheless, it is in there always (4)

6 They may support the arts (6)

Find the names of these saints with feast days in October in the puzzle above

1 One bad and left alone (9)

26 Its labour is taken without pay (4)

22 Block from King Solomon’s mines (5)

32 The Southern Cross ANTONY CLARET BRUNO FRANCIS FRANCIS BORGIA FRUMENTIUS GAUDENTIUS GERARD MAJELLA HILARION LOUIS BERTRAND LUKE MARGARET MARY TERESA OF AVILA THERESE WILFRID WOLFGANG S a i n t s Wo rd S e a rc h Anagram Challenge Unscramble the clues below to work out which MALE RELIGIOUS ORDERS hide in these words A L L B L O T S R E H E A R S E D F A I R F O A M I N E S S , C I A O S I R S O S M A R T R E B I R T H R A M R O D F O R I N F E R I O R S R I C H S O N S B I R T H R A T E A S S I M I L A T I O N S O R O C E A N S 1 2 3 4 5 6 Across 3 It teaches about the beauty of church art (9) 8 The pope’s decree about the beast? (4) 9 The craft of the monks’ superior? (9) 10 Callers at the baptismal font (6) 11 Kind of happy time Jonah had? (5) 14 Refreshing place on the Flight into Egypt (5) 15 It ’s a long story (4) 16 The Latin horse on the stage (5)

20 Shout with joy with the hundred hereabout (5)

24 Obvious shed Barnabas is in (4)

M T H S E LL N WG B RL I C G E NN P E Y M G GR K , , , , , , ,

S o u t h e r n C r o s s w o r d For all solutions turn to page 34 DroPPeD leTTers: Place the missing letters to get the names of Catholic movie stars

24 Religious founder (6)

25 Creature that takes the blame with it (9)

S I P A K E A M A J E R E R A C K E Y M E R S C H E N R O S A C A R P Y O R I C E A R E B E L O N E R E N E S C I O A L T D J A N N

27 Aged print found earlier on (9)

21 Saint who could be from Cardiﬀ (5)

9 Got up as a knight (5)

23 The Oscars can make a mark (4)

13 The best are really made in heaven? (9)

19 Snake in bright colour made gruﬀ sound (6)

7 She can control the pupil? (4)

2. Disturbed, I bled Shem, showing a defect (9)

5 It is pledged with solemnity (5)

DoWn

4 Leaves the shore (4)

12 Listen but with a fall (9)

17. He may be in a troop (5)

7 Meeting of cardinals (10)

12 Recipients of two Pauline letters (9)

1 Death for the faith (9)

13 Container for hosts (3)

a) Bloemfontein b) Kimberley c) Rustenburg

10 Living together in peace (7)

15. Evening prayers (8)

6. Founder of Comboni Fathers (6,7)

6. Who is eligible to be elected pope? a) Any baptised male b) Any priest older than 50 with at least 16 years’ clerical experience c) Any bishop or cardinal who can speak Latin and/or Italian

9. Order of Preachers (10)

4 Italian region of Assisi (6)

a) Dirty Dick b) Hair y Harr y c) Purring Pius

1. Who of the three Fatima visionaries lived into adulthood?

10 Which order did Mother Teresa originally belong to?

2. In which diocese is East London located?

12. What was the name of the stray cat which The Souther n Cross adopted in the 1950s?

11 Bishop’s staﬀ (7)

Across

15. The Lord’s Table (5)

8 Sacrament (4,5)

a) Lucia’s mother b) Lucia dos Santos

Quick Cr osswor d The Catholic Trivia Quiz Clue2down Clue16down Clue17across Q8: Archbishop Tlhagale Q 1 1 : S ô n i a B r a g a

7. Which Pauline epistle was likely not written by St Paul? a) Galatians b) Hebrews c) Philemon

5. Who is the patron saint for missionar y priests?

a) Francisco b) Jacinta c) Lucia

11 Whom did Brazilian actress Sônia Braga play in the 2020 film Fatima?

3. In the liturgy, what follows the Lord’s Prayer?

c) The Virgin Mar y

5 Language of Jesus (7)

10 SA’s national seminary (2,4,7)

DoWn

a) Mthatha b) Port Elizabeth c) Queenstown

The Southern Cross 33

9 Saint of Padua and Lisbon (7)

1 Surname of St Thérèse of Lisieux (6)

16 Country of Cardinal Peter Okpaleke (7)

9. What food did St Francis of Assisi repor tedly request on his deathbed? a) Gingerbread b) Marzipan c) Pistachio nuts

14 Devotion of St Faustina (6,5)

19 Karol Wojtyla’s archdiocese (6)

a) Agnus Dei b) Prayers of the Faithful c) Sanctus

8. Which diocese did Archbishop Buti Tlhagale head before his transfer to Johannesburg in 2003?

4. Where was Karol Wojtyla, the future St John Paul II, bor n? a) Wadowice b) Warsaw c) Wroclaw

18 Biblical city in today ’s Palestine (7)

21 Returning to lay state (9)

19 Lord, have mercy (Greek)

a) Loreto Sisters b) Salesians Sisters c) Sisters of Mercy

20 Relating to icons (6)

17 20th cent Trappist monk and mystic (6,6)

3 Mystery of the Rosary (8)

a) Francis Xavier b) Thérèse of Lisieux c) Vincent Pallotti

2 Oudtshoorn’s Bishop Noel (8)

11 Egyptian Christians (5)

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C

A I N T A L B A N L I V E D I N T H E E A R LY

34 The Southern Cross SOLUTIONS SouthernCrossword: ACROSS: 3 Aesthetic, 8 Bull, 9 Abbotship, 10 Namers, 11 Whale, 14 Oasis, 15 Saga, 16 Equus 18 Ever 20 Cheer 21 David 24 Buddha 25 Scapegoat, 26 Love, 27 Predating DOWN: 1 Abandoned, 2 Blemished, 4 Ebbs, 5 Troth, 6 Easels, 7 Iris, 9 Arose, 11 Wound, 12 Eavesdrop, 13 Marriages, 17 Scout, 19 Rasped, 22 Ingot, 23 Scar, 24 Barn Anagram Challenge: 1 De La Salle Brothers, 2 Missionaries of Africa, 3 Marist Brothers 4 Order of Friars Minor 5 Christian Brothers 6 Consolata Missionaries Dropped Letters: Spencer Tracy, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Kidman, Pierce Brosnan, James Earl Jones, Grace Kelly Gregory Peck Martin Sheen Quick Crossword: ACROSS: 1 Martyrdom 4 Umbria 5 Aramaic, 9

Alban is honoured as Britain’s first saint, and his hillside grave became a place of pil grimage This story of an ordinary man doing an extraordinary thing has endured to this day. The cathedral of St Albans, a pretty town in Hertfordshire, has a shrine that is said to contain some of his bones I took the photo at left on a recent visit there.

Pr epa r a ti o n:

The recipe uses eight heaped cups of white bread, preferably slightly stale, and cut into cubes or just torn into to pieces. Although the classic version uses plain white bread, you can make this with any bread of

6. Once out of the oven, let rest for a few minutes then dust with icing sugar, and serve topped with custard or ice cream

5 Drizzle melted butter over the mixture, then bake for 25 30 minutes or until golden on top and the inside is set but still wobbly (poke to check).

7 Enjoy with a prayer to St Alban! Dominicans, 10 St John Vianney, 11 Crosier, 12 Ephesians, 13 Pyx, 14 Divine Mercy, 15 Altar, 17 Thomas Merton 19 Kyrie Eleison DOWN: 1 Martin 2 Rucastle 3 Luminous, 6 Daniel Comboni, 9 Anthony, 10 Coexist, 7 Consistory, 8 Last Rites, 11 Copts, 15 Compline, 16 Nigeria, 18 Jericho, 19 Krakow, 20 Iconic, 21 Laicising

What better way to celebrate St Alban than with delicious bread and butter pud ding? This typical English dessert is comfort ing; custardy on the inside, golden and buttery on top It is served with custard or vanilla ice cream.

3rd century in the Roman city of Verulamium where he worked, just down the hill from where the cathe dral stands today in the modern day city of St Albans in England.

St Alban’s Bread and Butter Pudding C o o k i n g w i t h Sa i n t s E v e r y m o n t h i n h e r C a p e T o w n k i t c h e n , G R A Z I A B A R L E T T A p r e p a r e s a r e c i p e i n s p i r e d b y t h e s a i n t s , a n d s h a r e s i t w i t h o u r r e a d e r s i n t e x t a n d p h o t o s t a k e n e x c l u s i v e l y f o r T h e S o u t h e r n C r o s s b y t h e c h e f h e r s e l f . T H I S M O N T H G R A Z I A B A K E D : G ra z i a B a r l e tta i s a n a u t h o r, b o o k d e s i g n e r, a n d fo o d p h o to g ra p h e r & st y l i st S h e ca n b

One day St Alban gave shelter to a stranger fleeing from persecution This stranger was a Christian priest, now known as Amphibalus While sheltering the priest, Alban was inspired by how important faith was to the priest and asked to be instructed about Christianity in order to accept the faith

choice like raisin bread, brioche or even hot cross buns One can also use pre sliced white bread. For this recipe, I used challah bread.

In g r e d i e n t s

preparation and baking: 35 minutes servings: 6

2. Briefly whisk eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk, cream, butter, sugar and cinnamon, and whisk

The feast day of the patron of converts, refugees and torture victims is on June 22

Soon the Roman authorities caught up with Amphibalus However, Alban’s newfound faith would not allow him to let the authori ties arrest the priest Instead, Alban swapped clothes with Amphibalus and was arrested, al lowing the priest to escape Alban refused to renounce his beliefs and the magistrate or dered that he should receive the punishment intended for the escaped priest Upon this rul ing, Alban was led out of Verulamium and up the hillside where he was beheaded

3 Add bread and raisins, mix briefly, and set aside for 3 minutes to allow the egg mixture to soak through the bread

4. Pour into a baking dish If you have lots of raisins on the surface, push them below

Catholic Trivia Quiz: 1 c) Lucia (died at 97 in 2005), 2 b) Port Elizabeth, 3 a) Agnus Dei, 4 a) Wadowice (near Krakow) 5 c) St Vincent Pallotti (the other two are patron saints of missions), 6 a) Any baptised male, 7 b) Hebrews, 8 a) Bloemfontein, 9 b) Marzipan, 10 a) Loreto Sisters, 11 b) Sr Lucia dos Santos (as an aged nun), 12 a) Dirty Dick e co nta c te d at g ra z i a b a r l e tta 1 @ g m a i l c o m Fo l l o w h e r b l o g at w w w m o m e nt s w i t h g ra z i a c o m a n d co n n e c t w i t h G ra z i a o n Fa c e b o o k / I n sta g ra m : m o m e nt s w i t h g ra z i a

• 8 heaped cups of white bread • 1 cup sultanas or raisins • 3 eggs • 1 ½ cups of full cream milk • 1 cup heavy/thickened cream • 3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled • ½ cup white sugar • 1 tsp cinnamon powder E x t ra : • 2 t bs p m e l te d b u tte r fo r to p p re b a k i n g • I c i n g s u ga r fo r d u st i n g

Next month in The Southern Cross A preview of some of our top stories in the November issue. Digital issue out on october 22 • Subscribe at digital.scross.co.za/subscribe Catholic stars of the football World Cup Meet ﬁve strange patron saints Why we have Advent wreaths INTO YOUR HOME BRING THE CHURCH EASILY RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION ONLINE digital.scross.co.za/subscription-renewaladmin@scross.co.za Read comfortably on your tablet or desktop, or have the printed issue delivered to your doorstep, when you SUBSCRIBE DIRECT DEPOSIT Name: The Catholic Newspaper Bank: Std Bank, Thibault Square, Branch code: 020909 Account No: 07 153 43 42 Please use your surname as the beneﬁciary reference and email deposit slip to admin@scross.co.za

St Louis de Montford (1673 1716)

‘The Rosary is the best therapy for these distraught, unhappy, fearful, and frustrated souls, precisely because it involves the simultaneous use of three powers: the physical, the vocal, and the spiritual.’

Great Quotes on THE ROSARY

Pope Francis (b 1936)

‘I take refuge, then, in prayer, and turn to Mary, and our Lord always triumphs.’

Fr Thomas Keating (1923 2018)

Sr Lucia dos Santos OCD (1907 2005)

T h e p h o t o w a s t a k e n b y p h o t o j o u r n a l i s t J u d a h R u a h a n d w a s f i r s t p u b l i s h e d t w o w e e k s l a t e r i n t h e p u b l i c a t i o n I l l u s t r a c a o P o r t u g u e z a . tel: 017 826 0054/5 cell: 082 904 7840

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

St Thérèse of Lisieux (1873 97)

‘Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.’

Email: sales@eskaycrushers co za

Buy the Church Chuckles book of Catholic jokes! email books@scross co za or go to www digital scross co za/church chuckles

For all your sand and stone

St Francis de Sales (1567 1722)

C a l l M i c h a e l a t 0 8 3 7 0 4 - 5 0 6 3 o r e m a i l i n f o @ f o w l e r t r a v e l c o z a e x p e r t a d v i c e f o r a s m o o t h j o u r n e y ! g o I n g s o M e W h e r e ? foWler TrAvel arranges all local or overseas holidays, local or international business trips, group tours all tailored to your particular personal needs, with personal service Travel with Peace of Mind!

Final Words

‘There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.’

S o m e o f t h e t e n s o f t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e w h o w i t n e s s e d t h e “ M i r a c l e o f t h e S u n ” a t t h e C o v a d a I r i a i n F á t i m a , P o r t u g a l , o n O c t o b e r 1 3 , 1 9 1 7 T h e c r o w d h a d g a t h e r e d t h e r e i n a n t i c i p a t i o n o f a p r o p h e c y m a d e b y t h r e e s h e p h e r d c h i l d r e n , L ú c i a d o s S a n t o s a n d F r a n c i s c o a n d J a c i n t a M a r t o , t h a t t h e V i r g i n M a r y w o u l d a p p e a r , a s s h e h a d d o n e a l m o s t e v e r y m o n t h s i n c e M a y 1 3 , a n d p e r f o r m a m i r a c l e o n t h a t d a t e N e w s p a p e r s p u b l i s h e d t e s t i m o n y f r o m w i t n e s s e s w h o s a i d t h a t t h e y h a d s e e n e x t r a o r d i n a r y s o l a r a c t i v i t y , s u c h a s t h e s u n a p p e a r i n g t o “ d a n c e ” o r z i g z a g i n t h e s k y , o r e m i t t i n g r a d i a n t c o l o u r s A c c o r d i n g t o r e p o r t s , t h e e v e n t l a s t e d a b o u t t e n m i n u t e s A f t e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , t h e m i r a c l e w a s a p p r o v e d b y t h e l o c a l b i s h o p i n 1 9 3 0 M a n y t h e o r i e s b u t n o c o n c l u s i v e s c i e n t i f i c e x p l a n a t i o n h a v e b e e n f o r w a r d e d f o r t h e r e p o r t e d s o l a r p h e n o m e n o n A p a r t f r o m s c i e n t i f i c t h e o r i e s , s c e p t i c s s u g g e s t a m a s s h a l l u c i n a t i o n a p p a r e n t l y c a u s e d b y a l l t h e s e p e o p l e l o o k i n g i n t o t h e s u n t o o l o n g a n d s e e i n g w h a t t h e y w a n t e d t o s e e a l l a t t h e s a m e t i m e , i n c l u d i n g n e u t r a l o b s e r v e r s .

history in Colour

‘The Rosary is a prayer that always accompanies me; it is also the prayer of the ordinary people and the saints... it is a prayer from my heart.’

Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895 1979)

requirements in piet retief, southern Mpumalanga

The last laugh

‘The whole purpose of the Rosary is to lead to this deep experience of Our Lady, who together with Jesus breathes the Spirit into us.’

‘Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.’

s u p e r i o r t h a t h e fo u n d i t d i f f i c u l t t o e va n g e l i s e i n t h e c i t y “ I t ’s s o b e a u t i f u l h e re i n t h e w i n te r,” h e s a i d , “ t h a t H e av e n d o e s n o t i n te re st t h e m ” H e t h e n a d d e d : “A n d i t ’s s o h o t h e re i n t h e s u m m e r t h a t h e l l d o e s n ’ t s c a re t h e m . ”