The Road to Emmaus - Sem 2, 2014

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2014 – Sem 2 Issue

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

A University Catholic Society Publication

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CONTENTS 2 - Letters to the editor 3 - Editorial 4 - President’s Piece 5 - Update – Syrian Conflict 6 - Words from Our Chaplain 8 – Homily on the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference 10 - 5 Ways the Catholic Leadership Can Help Reverse the Catholic Decline in Perth 14 - Tea Summary 16 - Prescriptions for Healthy Living 19 - A Great Legacy 21 - Time 23 - Human Work and Our Purpose in Life 24 - On Hitting Rock Bottom and the Long Climb Back Up 26 - THE UCS!

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

Front Cover – “The Journey to Emmaus” by Robert Zünd Back Cover – “Madonna of the Streets” by Roberto Ferruzzi The Mandate of the Road to Emmaus; To be a platform for the UCS and friends to express themselves. To be a witness to truth, beauty and goodness. To be a promoter of Catholic identity, teaching and practice.

Below: Previous Issues of The Road to Emmaus! If you’d like to read any of them contact us via email (next page) or Facebook.

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To the editor,

To The Editor/Readers

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank goodness we have ripped this vessel from the gnarled hands of the old editor ay? Was he even established as a capable writer? I doubt it.

Good morrow ma'am, I am writing to congratulate you and your team/staff on the production of three excellent magazines over the past year and a half.

I believe I have read most articles in both; my favourite have been Michael Quinn's "Quinnessential", Emanuele Graziani's "Graziessential" and the one on gay marriage that Notre Dame University's campus minister at the time did not allow as the views were "too catholic/traditional". Bear in mind people, Notre Dame is a Catholic University… I know???… Go figure…

I have also been very impressed at the presentation of the magazine; very beautiful, very colourful, and very professional. I congratulate you and apologise for not submitting a "letter to the editor" last edition. I'm not sure why I did not, I believe I might have found out late that you wanted them and I think I may have had an assignment or something due. Regardless, here is an exemplary rendition of one for this semester's edition. I hope you appreciate it.

I have not been idle though; I have put my money where my mouth is for the last two editions. I bought a number (maybe 10) from the first edition, and put in like $42 towards the last edition; I thought this was the least I could do to help/support. I am an outsider, not involved in the magazine and truly believe you guys have put a lot of effort into producing a really good thing, and the least I could do was support it by purchasing some magazines/donating some money. I mean, how much easier then writing an article is that.

This leads me to a bit of a gripe I have (I am sure you would agree, but maybe you cannot be as vocal as I); I felt some of the support from Catholic circles around the UCS team producing this magazine (some of these people very close) was very lacking/dismal/reflected very poorly on people's character. As I said, your team has put a lot of time and effort into producing this magazine; the least people could do would be to purchase one or more. Soon after the release of the last one, the magazine was on offer; people would say "that's good", "nice work", and not look to obtain a copy. Others saw the physical copy and asked "tell us when it comes out online"; far out - to me these people are a joke. Keep up what you are doing; keep the good articles coming, and I hope some of these punks come around.

I look forward to reading this edition.

A Dev

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Just a very general letter here to display my anticipation for this upcoming issue, I have hope that it will eclipse all previous issues in the same way that the society has progressed and continued to grow bigger and better.

Also a warning to the society; if I’m not satisfied with the value I get from the articles in the magazine I plan to systematically shave a bald spot on your heads while you sleep - watch your backs.

But really, great stuff, I can't wait.

Thanks! TB **from the editor: Thank you for you your contribution {note:

blasphemous language replaced with more appropriate expressions}. We are watching our backs but my neck is getting a bit sore from stretching it around. Could you perhaps watch my back and I’ll watch Downton Abbey?

Thank you also for your promise to become the next editor, I’m sure the magazine will flourish.

If you want to write a letter to the editor (much encouraged!!), send it to uwacatholicsociety@yahoo.co m.au

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Editorial – Oh Life, it’s bigger The Road to Emmaus was started in 2013 by J. Devitt, who I believe wanted to get people more involved in the UWA Catholic Society (UCS) – note: when I referred that statement to him he said “cling to that in your simplicity”1. It really is an excellent medium, because when people contribute to something their interest in it goes up 300%2, and so we can entertain and inform each other with greater ease than ever before (really good work, Joe).

When he finished uni and asked me to be the next editor I was keen at first because I enjoy the designside of stuff and would happily make a career out of making word documents look nice if it was sustainable. I have, however, just started postgrad study and I’ve never had so much work to do, and so as the deadline for publication got closer I became more and more resentful.

A few weeks ago my brother got married in Singapore, where his wife is from. My family flew over for the wedding and really it was one of the nicest weekends ever. It was busy, though, there’s no denying – but within the busyness there was a long pause the night before the service when we were waiting for the rehearsal to start. I walked around to the side of the church and sat on a swing chair away from everyone, thinking despairingly about life and being the editor, questioning WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS???.

Every now and then, when I’m being contemplative and pondering the solution to life3, I feel like I’m always asking God for things and about things, just asking and never really doing anything in return. This is obviously not what I think is ideal, as we are called to be open to God’s purpose and to always use our talents and strengths for it.

As I was going round in pointless circles I had a lifechanging revelation which was so obvious that I even laughed at myself. I am doing this Editorship for God – using my time for the people who will read one or two articles and have some different thoughts. A friend pointed out that his mum read the last few issues and showed them to her friends. How amazing is that?

Joe came up with this idea to have a magazine which members of the UCS and friends could contribute to.

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We don’t know how it could affect someone, but we do know that in earnestly seeking to aid God’s purpose we can at least be channels of his love and peace, and this will bring untold glory.

Before, I was questioning the commitment I’d made and what it meant. What is the point of anything if there is no greater purpose to life? Some people find freedom in the idea that nothing means anything. To me, it’s utterly horrific. Christianity has this beautiful foundational belief that every single person is unique and important, that every thought you have is heard and known by God. How can you turn away from such love? Everything you do has meaning.

So in confused conclusion, editing The Road to Emmaus Issue 4 has been such a good thing for me, and I hope for the people who contributed (all shout: ‘NO’ you’re so annoying stop bugging us for articles!!!), and I especially hope for the people reading this. It has a purpose, though we may not know the full effects. There’s a lot wrong with the world, but also a lot of potential for good.

I hope you enjoy this magazine and feel more positive about life after reading it, because I always feel ridiculously optimistic when I see some expression of our Catholic faith from unknown quarters. It reminds me of God’s promise for the Church he instituted on earth via Jesus, that ‘the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.’ I’ll leave you with (another) really nice quote, which is probably a step on the way to finding out the solution to life.4 Enjoy the magazine!!

“One is happy as a result of one's own efforts, once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness – simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, selfdenial to a point, love of work, and, above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain.”

George Sand 1

He didn’t actually say that but would have if he’d thought of it. See the front of the magazine for the actual mandate of The Road to Emmaus.

2 Real, evidence based value.

3 Note: none found yet. Please contact magazine if you have any information.

4 Life Key #2?

- Rachel Page 3

President’s Piece Do you know what makes a good club? Is it how many events the club runs or how important they seem, like balls or huge music events which have scores of people lining up on Oak Lawn to get tickets at lunch time? Or is it how many members it has and how many show up to its events? Perhaps it’s how old it is and how much history it has to attract people in? Maybe a good club is one who’s name everyone on campus knows?

As much as all these things can enhance a club and make it seem exciting and sparkly I don’t believe that they are at the core of what makes a good club.

Having spent much of my time at university being involved with UCS I have come to realise, in a powerful way, that a good club is one where all of its members know each other, care about each other and find the time and enthusiasm to actively participate in the going-ons of the club. It should not be an organisation or a society, but a community. I feel that the UCS is so special because it is a ‘good’ club and I am honoured to have been given the responsibility, as President, to keep that goodness alive in our club. We can not fulfil our mission – which goes something like this: to foster friendship and

community between Catholic students and so develop our Catholic faith and share it with others through good works and by speaking out against evil – unless we all choose to continue to “foster friendship and community between Catholic students” and personally contribute to the ‘goodness’ of this great club.

After a very interesting and dramatic few weeks and two AGMs the society bestowed upon me the Presidency. I was very apprehensive coming into the role however the hard work of the committee and support of all members and past-presidents has been of immeasurable value to me and I want to extend a huge thank you to all of you. Post-AGM the UCS has been running smoothly, albeit quietly as everyone has settled into their new roles. Mass, on every Tuesday to Thursday in the Chapel, and the gathering afterwards in Fr’s office has been the prime event which keeps UCS members together and has been going well with up to 15 people coming on some days. We are so blessed to have such an opportunity to gather and connect every week and I ask all who haven’t been coming along to make the

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Our UCS President Alexander Woloszyn, elected mid 2014 effort – the rewards (such as Fr’s exotic and delicious home-cooked meals) will not disappoint!

The UCS has just had its mid-semester retreat in New Norcia which was excellent as it gave us all an opportunity to take time out of our busy lives and refreshed us, physically and spiritually, for the weeks of uni ahead of us. Look out for some of the exciting events that the UCS has planned for this year – Mass and lunch with Bishop Sproxton and the huge End of Year Party to name a few.

Our society could not be what it is without the dedication of Fr Armando, our Chaplain. We are still somewhat in limbo as to when we will get a new chaplain for the university, however I hear that Fr Armando’s time with us may come to a close sooner rather than later. Without Fr and his dedication to being here every week we would not have the privilege of celebrating Mass together, nor his wonderful food, amazing and thought-provoking insights into theology and philosophy or such a strong and cohesive society. Fr Armando, you have done so much for us individually and as a society and we, especially this President, would like to thank you and show that we recognise the huge contribution you make to enhancing our time at university. I certainly hope that you can stay on as our chaplain for as long as possible.

One of my faults is that I continue to write without realising that I should have finished a long time ago.

Where many struggle to reach the word limit in essays or reports, I can never complete an assignment without exceeding the word limit so much that it takes the same amount of time to shorten my work as it does to write it in the first place! Why am I telling you this? Simply to ask your forgiveness for making you read such a long President’s Piece! And Page 4

some good news – you have reached the end of my piece – Hooray! But before I conclude, I want to say a huge thanks to Rachel who has taken on the huge responsibility of editing this great magazine and has put countless hours in to not only make it as professional and exciting as it is but to also constantly chase up late articles from many people (or maybe it was only me that was really late…). So

thank you very much Rachel. I ask all of you to keep supporting the UCS in all that we do because if we can continue to build up and grow – and we will – not only will all of you have a fantastic university experience, as I have thanks to the UCS, but we can make this club great – the best on campus! .- Alexander

UPDATE: Syrian conflict Like most of us I have been disturbed with the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in Northern Iraq and Syria. It seems that at least in the case of Northern Iraq no further diplomatic efforts could halt the activities of these extremist Islamists.

The Government with the support of the Opposition has committed Australia to providing military and humanitarian assistance in recent weeks, but is there more that could be done?

Currently there are over 6 million people internally displaced people in Syria and over 3 million Syrians displaced in neighbouring countries. Many of these people include our Christian brethren who are not only fleeing war but persecution for their faith.

Australia should play a role in helping these people through aid and relief and through a large influx of the refugee intake. If the Federal Government had compassion they would immediately reverse the decision to reduce the refugee intake from 20,000 to 13,000.

Unfortunately both the Right and Left have used Refugees as political football so let’s hope the Government can have a heart and accept people displaced from this conflict.

- Michael Quinn Prayer and intercession for peace in Syria God of Compassion, Hear the cries of the people of Syria Comfort those who suffer violence Console those who mourn the dead Give strength to Syria’s neighbouring countries to welcome the refugees Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms And protect those who are committed to peace.

God of hope, Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence and to seek reconciliation with their enemies Inflame the Universal Church with compassion for the people of Syria And give us hope for a future built on justice for all We ask this through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and Light of the world.

Amen

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Image from: The A38 Blog; The Syrian Conflicts: Unstoppable Saga (March 2014).

Syrians mourn after a government barrel bomb attack killed five members of the same family in the northern city of Aleppo. Image from: More and More Children Join Syrian Rebels’ Desperate Ranks, http://www.latimes.com (September 2014).

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Words from our Chaplain

By Rev Dr Armando Carandang, Acting UWA Catholic Chaplain What does the universal salvific will of God mean? It means God really and truly wants all people to be saved—Christians, yes, but non-Christians too. Hence to every human being, at every stage of history, everywhere in the world and at some moment in each person’s life, God directly or indirectly offers himself.

(See footnote 1)

God’s universal salvific will reaches down to every individual human person, while, of course, not infringing personal responsibility; God has given everyone the spiritual gift of freedom to respond or not to His overtures of grace and mercy. In one’s temporal exercise of freedom, each person carries one’s own destiny. Christians and non-Christians alike can condemn themselves, if they wish. They can shut themselves within the prison of their own egoism, cutting themselves off from the life and love of God and their fellows.

It is true that no one can be saved without faith in Christ as saviour (Acts 2.38; 4.12) who died for all. But faith presupposes primarily an open and active receptivity in one’s innermost core, or spiritual self, towards God’s gift; it entails one’s willingness not to remain locked within a human self-sufficiency, but to be humbly open instead to God’s mysterious ways.

This faith is an ineffable divine gift of God’s initiative that comes deeper than a set of beliefs stated in specific formulas. So the necessity of Christ as saviour does not in fact mean that all people (about 7 billion presently and many more throughout the long history of mankind before Christ and after today) must have an explicit and conceptualized awareness of Christ.

Faith as prescribed in the Letter to the Hebrews can be realized dynamically and existentially instead of conceptually and logically. That is, it might be expressed in one’s manner of living, rather than in a body of knowledge that can be formulated in sentences that in fact has been a privilege bestowed on only a minority of the human family (albeit the more than 2 billion Christians living today). So, to be saved one must have faith in Christ at least in this

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broad sense that one’s faith is a supernatural divine gift from a transcendent God who must have found ways to communicate to humans. By this implicit faith one is orientating one’s life towards a rewarding God and is in fact, if not expressly, enthroning a transcendent God instead of oneself.

St Thomas Aquinas (13th century), the Catholic philosopher-theologian par excellence, has long ago witnessed to the above: A raw pagan, cut off from other men, who follows his conscience, will certainly be offered grace by God…It belongs to God’s providence to furnish any man all the necessary means for salvation, provided there is no barrier thrown up by the man himself. (Treatise on Truth, 14.11 ad.1)….All acts whereby man surrenders himself to God belong to religion…and this implies a rewarding God. (In Boethius De Trinitate, 3.2c) The Vatican Council II document Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium, 21 November 1964) clearly declares: At all times and in every nation, anyone who fears God and does what is right has been acceptable to him (n. 9; see also Acts 10:35)…Nor is God remote from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, since he gives to everyone life and breath and all things and since the Saviour wills everyone to be saved (1Tim 2:4). Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – these too may attain eternal salvation.

Nor will Divine Providence deny the assistance necessary for salvation to those who, without any fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, and who, not without grace, strive to lead a good life. (n.16) God reaches the non-Christians not despite their religions -- though these are always in various ways defective-- but rather in and through some elements of truth and goodness enshrined in these religions.

Christianity, of course, cannot but register the omissions, insufficiencies, errors and superstitions in non-Christian religions. But going beyond the defensive and critical stance of the past, the Catholic Church in particular has become recently more vitally aware of the Holy Spirit’s activity beyond her visible

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realm. So continuing to respond to the call to evangelize, many more Catholics, clergy and lay, act today upon a sense of solidarity with all members of the human family and enter into the on-going period of dialogue with non-Christians including atheists.

Dialogue does not mean just talk, but cooperative actions for at least justice and peace. (Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied…Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God…Blessed are they who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5: 6,9,10). Evangelization means invitation to one and all and witnessing personally to the joy and beauty of living the complete Christian religion.

University Catholic students of today grew up during the long pontificate of John-Paul II and are more or less aware of the work of Pope Benedict XVI and the current Pope Francis. But two other popes before them initiated the current greater openness to the Holy Spirit by the Catholic Church and hence to the rest of the world and other religions than the Catholic and Christian, while not missing a heartbeat for evangelization.

“Good old” Pope John XXIII – “everyone’s favourite”– called and inspired the surprise Vatican II Council. Pope Paul VI ably guided it to its conclusion with all its monumental documents that articulate for modern times the formal teachings of the Catholic Church. The wisdom in both vision and passion needed to actually steer the boat of Peter in the spirit of Vatican II through the troubled waters of the last three dozen years was provided by the Holy Spirit through the papal trio of John-Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.

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Briefly, and perhaps as an oversimplification, the three human ways and formal contributions to wisdom needed by the Catholic Church during these times, i.e., the philosophic, the theologic and the artistic, in order to promote solidarity and dialogue with non-Catholics and non-Christians can be said to come and to be still coming from, respectively, those three successors of St Peter.

John Paul II’s forte was his philosophy. He grounded his vision of solidarity and dialogue by seeking wisdom in truth through the freedom of the abs-tract universal. Benedict XVI was primarily housed in theology which is faith and reason seeking understanding and is not opposed to science which is sense and reason seeking knowledge. He promoted solidarity and dialogue by seeking wisdom in goodness through the freedom of the concrete universal. Pope Francis is a very practical pope. He promotes solidarity and dialogue by seeking wisdom in beauty through the freedom of the concrete particular. His style is narrative, a form of art, which he employs fetchingly for evangelization.

Catholics, young ones and the once young, would do well to read some of the writings of these three popes who exemplify the philosophical, theological and artistic approaches to what ultimately is the Divine Wisdom that guides Christ’s Church in her encounter with all. The main documents too of Vatican Council II that relate to other Christian churches and to other religions could be perused.

1 Much of the first part of this article is taken from J.P. Kenny, SJ. Christ outside Christianity. Spectrum Publications, Melbourne. 1971.

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it cam also reflect the worst in us. It can be like a crown of thorns’3.

THE AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC BISHOP’S CONFERENCE Social Justice Statement 2014-15

Presented in Homiletic format by Fr John Daly

This years’ Social Justice Statement focuses on the place of sport in Australian life. It has the title: A Crown for Australia: Striving for the Best in our Sporting Nation.

The ‘crown’ of the title recalls Saint Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, writing of an athlete’s rigorous training in order to win ‘a wreath that will wither’ (1 Cor 9:24-27). In the words of the Statement, the athlete’s reward is ‘a forerunner of the imperishable crown that we are striving for in our spiritual lives’. 1

‘The majesty of sport can be found in the joy it brings to individuals and groups…it teaches us lifelong lessons, unites communities and can overcome differences and be a force for social justice and reconciliation’. Through sport ‘we learn about the discipline of playing within the rules’ of the game…we learn about persistence and aspiring to our personal best…we learn that skills don't come easily’; and that a team of champions can be vanquished by a champion team.4 There is ‘a substantial body of research (Integrity in Sport University of Adelaide) showing how important sport is to the physical, emotional, moral and academic growth of young people’.5 How can we ever forget Adam Gilchrist during the semi-final of the Cricket World Cup in 2003.

Having scored 22 off 19, he gets an edge to the keeper and is fortunately given not out…But he walked of the pitch. Upon getting to the pavilion, his Captain Ricky Ponting asked him if he saw the umpire give him not out and he simply said Yes, I saw him! But I was out!

Sport is a massive part of our life as Australians and regardless of what sport we follow, it’s highly probable that we do follow some sport…unless of course you are like my mother…who just can’t stand sport of any description.

The ACBC highlight the enormous benefits afforded to a society through sport. ‘At its best, sport offers a safe and nurturing space where rich and poor, men and women, people of all colours and creeds can meet with a common goal; a place where human dignity is more important than winning the game’2.

I am sure that ‘we like to think that sport reflects the best in us, but if it does, we have to admit that

Reading a blog sometime ago I saw an intriguing entry with reference to Gilchrist’s memorable walk. The author referred to Psalm 1:1 Happy the man who does not walk! But if you look at the Psalm it reads Happy the man who does not walk in the way of the wicked! Gilchrist would indeed have walked in the way of the wicked had he gone against his conscience on that day.

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Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference (2014-15) A Crown for Australia: Striving for the Best in Our Sporting Nation. Editors: David Brennan and John Ferguson.

Associated resources: Helen Kearins RSM and Sarah MacRaild. p. 2.

2 p.3.

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3

p.3. p. 4.

5 P. 5.

4

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In a ‘rare moment of transcendence, one in which a professional athlete became a point of reference, allowing the spirit of integrity to take centre stage and for justice to prevail’.6 In a world where people increasingly grow up in an environment which provides no or little input on the way to behave, sport provides ‘a wonderful space in which to help adolescents transition into adulthood; a form of initiation where the elders (coaches and managers) set goals and boundaries in a safe, caring and nononsense setting.’7 Sport is hugely important in terms of our wellbeing and as a catalyst for social inclusion.

‘One in two Australians is overweight and (according to the CSIRO & Aust Sporting Comm) that proportion is likely to rise another 15% over the next ten years.’8 Community sport and the emergence of franchise gyms almost everywhere does provide an avenue through to combat this problem with which we are confronted. I know from my own experience that regular exercise is essential to both mental and spiritual wellbeing.

play and enjoyment of the game, the dignity of the individual is undermined and the integrity of the sport is put at risk.’10 Some of the real issues facing our Culture of Sport are performance enhancing drugs and the increasing prevalence of gambling in sport. The recent phenomenon of online betting advertisements is of major concern to the ACBC. Betting on sports rather than racing increased by 278% over the last decade. The issue of elite sporting people behaving badly through alcohol, drugs and violence is a reality. The high profile of professional athletes puts the spotlight not only on their ability and successes, but n their frailties and failures as well!11 Sport is a Crown for Australia…but we must be vigilant that it doesn't become a Crown of Thorns!

10 11

P.9. p.10.

In terms of ‘inclusion’ there are some lovely stories related in the Statement. The Tigers Eleven Soccer Club comprised predominantly of unaccompanied Afghan minors who arrived as refugees. The players are mostly Muslim and play in a Christian League in Brisbane. They have toured regional areas and in so doing have changed attitudes towards Asylum Seekers from suspicion and fear to wholehearted support.9 Think of how successful the sporting arena has been in terms of providing opportunities for Indigenous Australians. The names that stand out for me are Lionel Rose (Boxing) Cathy Freeman (Athletics) and Adam Goodes. The sporting community has changed the lives of people like Louise Savage and Kurt Fearnley, who have excelled as disabled athletes…but more importantly, as human beings!

The Statement also recognises the concerns that this sporting culture generates. ‘When the drive to win pushes individuals and teams beyond fair 6

P. 5.

P. 5.

8 P. 7.

9 P. 7.

7

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5 Ways the Catholic Leadership Can Help Reverse the Catholic Decline in Perth Who am I to make these recommendations? Just a young, punk, Catholic with pretty much no qualifications – except a High Distinction in Strategic Management Accounting (ACCT3323) and Performance Measurement and Evaluation (ACCT2206). How is a flair for management accounting and organisational culture and structuring relevant? It probably isn’t. Two HD’s though – not bad. This list was inspired by similar Catholic lists from the website St. Peter’s List (http://www.stpeterslist.com/). Check it out, sometime.

Place kneelers in every parish, so that reception of the Blessed Sacrament in its traditional and normal form (kneeling and on the tongue) is accessible and encouraged.

There is a reason why this millennium plus old practice has existed for so long. Contrary to mistaken belief, which I have even heard from a priest – Vatican II did not call for communion on the hand; rather it came about because rebellious priests did not follow Church teaching on the matter, and as they spread the practice, Pope Paul VI, in pastoral concern, gave an indult (a licence granted by the Pope authorizing an act that the common law of the Church does not sanction) to allow the practice in dioceses where the bishops voted in a two-thirds majority to request permission to distribute the Blessed Sacrament in the new way. Reception of the Blessed Sacrament, kneeling and on the tongue – is the norm and it is the preferred manner. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI requested that people only receive communion in this manner at his Masses.

In his 1980 Apostolic Letter Dominicae Cenae (The Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist), Saint Pope John Paul II wrote “To touch the sacred species, and to distribute them

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with their own hands, is a privilege of the ordained.”

Dietrich von Hildebrand, a devout and lauded (by Popes) German Catholic theologian and philosopher wrote in his 1973 book, The Devastated Vineyard. “Unfortunately, in many places Communion is distributed in the hand. To what extent is this supposed to be a renewal and a deepening of the reception of Holy Communion? Is the trembling reverence with which we receive this incomprehensible gift perhaps increased by receiving it in our unconscentrated hands, rather than from the consecrated hands of the priest? It is not difficult to see that the danger of parts of the consecrated Host falling to the ground is incomparably increased, and the danger of desecrating it or indeed of horrible blasphemy is very great. And what in the world is to be gained from all this?”

catholicwelsh.blogspot.com; January 2012

Personally, I have found reception of the Blessed Sacrament kneeling and on the tongue both edifying and a source of increased reverence and faith in the power and True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Teresa reportedly said, "Wherever I go in the whole world, the thing that makes me the saddest is watching people receive Communion in the hand." Father John Hardon, S.J. also proclaimed, "Behind Communion in the hand — I wish to repeat and make as plain as I can — is a weakening, a conscious, deliberate weakening of faith in the Real Presence . . . Whatever you can do to stop

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Communion in the hand will be blessed by God." Even the Saint Pope John Paul II reportedly said: "There is an apostolic letter on the existence of a special valid permission for this [Communion in the hand]. But I tell you that I am not in favour of this practice, nor do I recommend it.”

The Blessed Sacrament the source and summit of our Christian lives. Let’s get back to treating it as such.

Audit Catholic high schools and staff in regards to their success in their primary mission – formation of young people in Christ and the Catholic faith. (Particularly Principals, Deputy Principals, Campus Ministers and Religious Education teachers.)

Catholic high schools are the slaughterhouse of the faith. Strong words – but believing Catholic children go in, and atheist young adults who are often hostile to the faith come out.

Understandably during high school years there are a number of questions and challenges for students and their beliefs and values – but that does not justify the wholesale loss of faith occurring while students are at Catholic high schools. If Catholic high schools were companies and returns to shareholders were the souls of students and their belief in Christ and faithful participation in the Church – nearly all the Principals (CEOs) would be fired. If you are not challenging staff on this most fundamental and basic mission of a Catholic school (to form and educate young adults as followers of Christ) then you are only going to see the 2-5% rate of practicing Catholic students from Catholic high schools drop even further. Yes, you can blame the parents all you like – but what are high schools doing about it? Seriously. This is their central mission. Do they put as much effort into the Catholic formation of the students as they do into organising their interschool athletic team or their school hall building fund? More often than not, instead of being a bulwark against the degradation of student’s faith, staff in the school

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are actively participating (subconsciously or otherwise) in the destruction of children’s belief.

This is a betrayal of children. Catholic high schools need to put Catholicism back into the school – authentic Catholicism – as priority number one. As Archbishop Costello said during his address at Notre Dame University Fremantle Campus on Catholic Education in WA (August 20, 2013) when reflecting on his time at school. “One thing, however, was very clear. The “God question” was absolutely front and centre. Prayer at the beginning and end of the day, regular celebration of the sacraments, daily religious education classes, religious images, and the presence of religious sisters, brothers and priests all pointed in the same direction: God, as God was understood within the Catholic tradition, was the whole reason for the school’s existence. … I would now like to suggest that this fundamental pillar of Catholic education, namely that is based on the conviction that a full and integral education of the young is only possible if the existence of a loving God who is made known to us in Jesus Christ informs and permeates the educational environment and all aspects of the educational endeavour, must remain the foundational principle and fundamental philosophy of our involvement in education. A Catholic school will always be, or at least should always be, a school where the “God question” is front and centre.”

Staff getting results should be rewarded and promoted, and in cases of incompetence or distinct wavering from Catholic teaching and ethos – staff should have to undertake radical professional development and if still uncooperative – let go and barred from teaching at Catholic schools. In cases where adequate staff cannot be found, the school should be closed down.

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Provide more competent, capable, orthodox and devout religious (priests, brothers and nuns) for youth engagement (in schools, universities and Catholic and secular youth organisations).

The youth are the Church of tomorrow. Young people are like a massive amount of potential energy – if you give them good instruction and upbringing, they become an asset that pays dividends long into the future. If you leave them to the wolves, do not nurture or provide for their needs and do not give them good instruction – they become a liability that hinders and drags the people around them down. We’re all assets and liabilities at different times in our lives – but it is terribly important to give young people the support and instruction to become creative brilliant adults who bring glory for God, and God alone, through their lives. Priests are beautiful gifts to the world – and young people need to be surrounded by priests, as well as brothers and nuns, as examples of holiness, piety and service to God and man. Today, more than ever, young people have a reduced network of support. A belief in God, and religious who unashamedly profess that belief in credible and intelligent ways can do wonders for young people that otherwise are not receiving support from their parents, family, schools, clubs, friends and other networks.

As there is a ridiculous shortage of religious, consider closing down parishes to free up priests.

This could serve a two-fold purpose. Firstly, freeing up priests by making more efficient use of a reduced number of parish priests; secondly building bigger and stronger communities of faith (at a cost of travelling a few more kilometres, a cost ultimately recouped by the saved admin/maintenance of closed parishes) - better to have a few full churches than many near-empty churches – the extra priests could be gifted to the service and instruction of the young. I take this position very seriously, and with sadness, wishing that there were full parishes on every second block. A third benefit of this ‘rationalisation of parishes’ could be the closing down of errant

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

liberal parishes and that horrid architecture (both exterior and interior) that boomed in the last thirty years. Churches should look like churches – not space ships, strange geometric shapes or protestant meeting halls. But I really do digress.

Exhortations from the Archdiocese for a holier, reverent and more traditional liturgy. (For example: no clapping at the end of Mass; no rock instruments or music; traditional hymns; no altar girls; genuflection whenever crossing the tabernacle; subdued sign of peace; Sunday best; no idle chatter in the church; no liturgical dancing; kneeling for the consecration; Rosary, Benediction, Eucharistic Procession and other devotionals.)

How we pray and worship is how we believe.

Fickle, man-centered liturgy does not lead to a strong faith in God. Mass should be a glimpse of heaven. Mass should be God-centered. I read once that at the Consecration, there are hundreds of angels gathered around the altar – that if we only had faith enough we could see. The Mass should be reverent and beautiful so that at the Consecration, although not seeing them, we perhaps catch a passing breeze of the angels as they exalt and adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued an Apostolic Letter, Summorum Pontificum, which freed up the usage of the Traditional Latin Mass the Mass commonly said pre the 1970 Mass of Paul VI – as per the rubrics of the 1962 Missal as promulgated by Saint Pope John XXIII. Pope Benedict wrote "There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place." There is much richness and reverence which we can learn from the Traditional Latin Mass. How many of us have taken

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advantage of our beloved Pope Emeritus’ gift and attended a TLM? In Perth, St. Anne’s Parish in Belmont offers the TLM throughout the week and on Sundays, at 7:30am, 9:30am and 11:30am. I encourage people to attend at least a few of these Masses to broaden their understanding and experience of the potential of the liturgy. I’ll finish with some more Hildebrand (from The Case for the Latin Mass)

Middle East. It was fantastic. Attending more traditional parishes means that you get an increased exposure to priests propagating the Rosary – but at other parishes I rarely hear the Rosary preached about, or even mentioned by the priest – and hardly recall the Rosary even being prayed. The Rosary! One of the most generous gifts from God – let us call, and remind, and encourage daily recitation of the Holy Rosary!

Never mind me though, listen to those below.

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.” – Saint Louis de Montfort “Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.” – Pope Blessed Pius IX "The Rosary is the 'weapon' for these times." –

Saint Padre Pio http://wdtprs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/12_08_17_angels_monstrance.jpg

"The sursum corda-the lifting up of our hearts-is the first requirement for real participation in the mass. Nothing could better obstruct the confrontation of man with God than the notion that we "go unto the altar of God" as we would go to a pleasant, relaxing social gathering. This is why the Latin mass with Gregorian chant, which raises us up to a sacred atmosphere, is vastly superior to a vernacular mass with popular songs, which leaves us in a profane, merely natural atmosphere."

Propagation of the Rosary by the Archdiocese and Parishes/Priests as a Priority. (Priests in particular should be encouraging the lay faithful by their example and preaching in the homily.)

This seems like a no-brainer, but for all the power of the Rosary, where is the push to take up this armour, this weapon? Just the other day at Mass, a visiting brother from The Alliance of the Two Hearts spoke briefly at the end asking for parishioners to commit to saying a number of Rosaries in October, as part of the goal to get a million Rosaries for peace in the world and the

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

“The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.” – Saint Francis de Sales “The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” – Sister

Lucia dos Santos, Fatima seer “One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.” – Saint Dominic That is what I believe the Church leadership in Perth could do. But the one thing we can reliably change in this world is ourselves. To conclude then - 5 Ways a Young Catholic Can Help Reverse the Catholic Decline in Perth.

1. Pray the Rosary Daily 2. Devote 15 Minutes a Day to Spiritual Reading (eg The Holy Bible, Lives/Writings of

the Saints and Encyclicals)

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3. Build Virtues and Break Vices/Upskill and Inform Yourself – Continuous Improvement

(become a kick-ass person that is ready and able to help the Church in different ways and is an attractive example to other people) 4. Gather Together Often and Creatively as Friends (ie do a broad variety of activities with the friends, where the majority are set in

their Catholic faith and have the goal of getting to heaven) 5. Get Serious About Caritas (not the charity (though you can get serious about that as well) but that pounding unceasing unconditional love – which is what breaks hearts of stone, converts sinners, and grows our Holy Catholic Church) Joseph Devitt

Earl grey Being a favourite of one of my good friends Farmer Joey McDevitt I had to give this a go as my first tea of the year. I personally have only had earl grey once or twice, I think anyway it might be more but hey I've got a terrible memory so who really knows? Not me. Anyway my first impression of the earl was that it had this very earthy taste which (apart from making me think of how I would enjoy being a hippie) wasn’t really doing it for me. Before quickly getting on the abusive email to McDevitt I decided I’d see out the 10 pack and judge from there. As it turns out, the next 9 bags really grew on me and I was beginning to enjoy the earl more and more.

Rating: 7.5 / 10 Irish Breakfast Dating an Irish lass and enjoying the country when I was there pushed me towards this as my next option to test out. Although I was initially disappointed to discover that there was a lack of whiskey in the tea I did initially take a strong liking to the blend. Over the course of the ten bags my opinion varied daily as to whether I enjoyed the Irish blend more so than the earl grey. It was particularly hard to separate the two but the unique feature that shone brightly, distinguishing the Irish from the earl was the strong burning abilities of the Irish (bag 4 scalded me good). I have to tell you that was some hot tea. Still tasted ok though. The after taste is what lead me to my final rating, making my mouth quite dry which is a pain in the rear end if you don’t have a glass of water handy.

Rating: 6.5 / 10

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Lady Grey Lady Grey took my hand in marriage for the next 10 cups of tea at work. Although it seemed like a short lived marriage I had a blast and she will forever leave a pleasant imprint on my taste buds. She had my heart pretty much from the get go bringing back pleasant memories I had previously shared with a similar (in taste and in name) lover. Even though she shared some similar characteristics with the earl she was her own blend drawing out the strong earthiness with a smooth gentle aroma. The more I had of her, the stronger the love grew and I knew once she left me I would be singing off a cliff like that bearded fellow off that Hilux commercial.

Rating: 8 / 10 Darjeeling (or djeering, as previously falsely advertised by the man in the alleyway) I’m not sure if it was the pink box with the mountainous background or just the name of the tea but I had quite high expectations heading into bag number one. As always when you have high expectations based on strong statistical evidence, things live up to the standard. This was definitely not the case, as I thought I had the ratio of milk to tea way off as I looked down the barrel (cup) of one of the most albino tea’s I’d witnessed to date. As it turns out this was not the case as I read ‘Light Flavoured Strength’ on the box, ‘best consumed black or with a hint of milk’. Good thing I read this after I had finished the box, nice one yacob. All in all the tea was actually quite nice considering the weak side of life. In terms of the practicality of drinking this for the caffeine alone at work, it would score 3/10 but for a pot with your friends when the moon is out it would be a high scoring felon.

Rating: 7 / 10 Lemon & Ginger (herbal & no caffeine) As I launched myself back into my seat after returning from Woolworths I decided I’d check out my recently acquired tea selection. It was at that point in time I realised that the 5 out of 7 teas I had purchased were all caffeine free. This was not a good discovery as at the time the world cup was just about to start and sometimes I need old mate caffeine to switch me back into coherence (especially after limited slep (deliberately spelt slep to over emphasise the correlation between fatigue and sleep)). The executive decision was to consume caffeine in the form of an espresso or a cup of English breakfast before or after knocking back some caffeine free herbal tea. To the blend. This blend really hits you in the ginger face with yep you guessed it…ginger. The lemon is more on the side of the flavour and lacks the kick to blow you off the cup. The combination of the two is quite strange to be honest, not sure who thought putting some ginger and lemon together would be a good idea but hey I can’t really judge. I mean I’ve mixed lemon and honey togeth…wait a second that’s not outrageous at all, apologies for the bad example. I was suffering from a sore throat/post flu cough at the time so this was my fluid drug and much like heroin it was better off being injected into my veins because frank-lee (franky and bruce lee) my taste buds didn’t quite enjoy it.

Rating: 4/10 English breakfast Now that I think about it I’m quite surprised I didn’t try out ze English breakfast earlier in the year. In hindsight though this turned out to be a good decision because I’m afraid if I had of rated this first I probably would of given it a higher rating, purely because of my inexperience and recognition of this standard blend. I’m not 100% sure but I’m fairly certain that the English decided to plant biscuits in with their tea, in fact I’m 100% certain that the overwhelming biscuit essence is due to biscuit blending during the early stages of the tea’s life. It actually seems like a good idea when you think about it, I enjoy dunking my biscuits in my tea so why not cut out a step and blend them together. Well I’ll tell you why, because it creates a slight dry rough texture that can only be described as tiny fragments of soft biscuit pulp swimming along your tongue. Which is quite sad really because this tea has potential to score a HD/A/9-10. I’ll give the English one thing, they do know how to set the tea mood with a soothing aroma that reaches out from this biscuit invaded tea.

Rating: 5.5/10

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Prescriptions for Healthy Living I remember when I was young; the doctor was the person I faced every week, because I got malaria (I don’t have it anymore). Medicine was my best friend for almost 2 years. However, although I was sick, I always felt happy due to my parents’ presence and support. On this note, I want to question “Why I was happy?”

There are 5 types of sickness: 1) spiritual sickness, which generally means sin; 2) physical sickness (like me); 3) emotional sickness (anger, hatred, bitterness, etc); 4) mental sickness, which means poor mental health resulting from disability, illness, accidents, breakdowns, birth defects, and psychological conditions not caused directly by a demonic presence; and 5) demonically caused conditions including obsession, oppression, possession, and demonically caused mental and physical conditions1. In our life, we may experience some or all of the kinds of sickness mentioned above (If you do not, a standing ovation must be given for you ), but I just want to emphasize on spiritual, emotional and mental sickness in this article. Furthermore, the next question come to my mind is “how do we tackle these sicknesses”?

I know you must be thinking of seeing a psychiatrist, reading motivation books, attending mental health seminars and consulting with mental experts, etc. It is not wrong, but I have to tell you the best prescription for those sicknesses, which is simple, practical, easy to understand and easy to follow. This is “the Beatitudes” said by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount (If possible, please read “Luke 6:20-38” before we continue). Dr. Raymond Cramer, a Christian psychologist, says the Beatitudes are the clearest and most succinct expression of the principles by which a person can know a contentment and inner happiness.

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

When you see a doctor, you will get a prescription. As with this, I want to continue with the best prescription of healing mental and spiritual sickness for you that I got from “the Amazing Doctor”. It is a God-given instinct to be happy. In the very first words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus puts His finger on one of life’s most vital issues – individual and personal happiness. Therefore, we have to remember that only God can make us happy. You may ask, “How do I know where is God?” The answer is simple. He has given you, for example Joe’s smile, Rachel’s beautiful hair, King’s Park’s flowers, the sunset at Cottlesloe etc. Realise and be thankful for that, and your heart will be full of gladness and I’m sure your heart will sing “a happy song” for ever (even without “Happy” song from Pharrel Williams ).

Happiness is something you receive. But, how do we go about receiving it? Remember the first of the Beatitudes’ words: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.

From the Greek word “ptochos”, poor refers to those who by choice are so poor that they become humble enough to receive. Here, Jesus gave us the first prescription, called “selfrenunciation”. This is the decision we must make to receive Christ with empty hands. As the physical life begins with receptiveness, our mental and spiritual life also begins with receptiveness to Jesus Christ. Many scientists say that the ovum and the sperm should receive each other before they can start their business; the seed in the ground receives nutrition from the soil before it can be a tree and produce fruit and flower. You also will have a girlfriend or boyfriend if he/she receives you. So, to find happiness, we must empty our hands of whatever we are holding; find and receive Christ.

The second prescription is reflected in the second of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”. The word “mourn” refers to all those experiences in

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life when we may feel crushed, broken or sorrowful. Have you ever had such experiences?

Scriptures tells us that God permits pressure for a purpose. Then, we have to know that a mentally and spiritually healthy person is someone who is willing to face and feel sorrow, and recognise that it can be used to deepen one’s life. I hope you never become a “neurotic” (afraid to face reality) and/or “psychotic” (unaware of reality) person. Furthermore, it’s not Biblical way to handle hurting emotions by denying or expressing them. Denial pushes the problems down inside us, and expression dumps the problems on to other people or things. What should we do then? The correct Biblical way is to acknowledge the negative emotions fully before God and share with Him how we feel. Facing negative feelings is essential, if we know our Lord’s purpose for our lives. He comes alongside us in our pain, and through the comfort He enables us to become more sensitive to Him, to ourselves and to others. It is a paradox that: great sorrow lead to great happiness – and without the sorrow, there can be no genuine happiness.

The third prescription for happiness: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”. This is my favourite prescription. I’ve reflected on this many times since I’ve lived in Perth. As a student who lives and studies in a foreign country, I found this phrase very touching, lifting and encouraging. Personally, I also found this passage is very powerful and profound, and makes me a happy person in God. I opened Oxford dictionary and found that the word “meek” is defined as quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive. Does this mean that Jesus expects us to be like subdued puppies which crawl into their master's presence and cower at his feet? Or to become the type of people who lack inner fortitude and gumption, who can be easily pushed around and manipulated? The answer is a big NO!

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

In the Biblical sense, the truly meek person is not timid, shy, hesitant, and unassuming, but trusting, confident, and secure. Where does this meekness come from? It should not be the result of natural temperament, but should come from knowing Christ and abiding in Him. Whatever our natural temperament, as Catholics, we are meant to be meek. It is not a matter of natural disposition, it is a quality produced by the Spirit of God. I think of David, the powerful and extraordinary man – and yet observe his meekness. Or the master mind, Paul the apostle, yet consider his great humility and gentleness.

How did they get to be like this? Not because they were naturally prone toward meekness, but because they were permanently present in Christ and the Holy Spirit. So, meekness comes from knowing Christ.

Meekness is not a natural quality but spiritual one, and by reason we should possess it.

However, meekness does not mean the following things. First, meekness is not indolence (laziness). Sometimes, I find myself with an easygoing type of attitude, a person who just takes life as it comes. Until I realise that this is flabbiness, not meekness. The second thing that makes me wrongly interpret meekness is niceness. I think most of us are nice by nature.

However, natural niceness is something biological, the kind of thing we get in animals.

One dog is nicer than another, one cat nicer than another. The last thing that we have to remember is that meekness is not passivity or a desire to obtain peace at any price. I read many books about the great men and women lead by God. They have been the people who were meek without being weak – strong men and women.

What did Jesus mean by saying “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”? I reflect that this is entirely free from a spirit of demand; acceptance of the will of God in its entirety. We can congratulate ourselves, those who do not feel the need to be over-assertive, for we will

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inherit the earth. The meek are so sure of their resources and their goals that they can afford to be meek. If someone has to be aggressive simply because he is unsure of himself and his goals, the universe is closed to them. The meek can be called “the assured”, for they are meek enough to rest confidently in the resources of God. I do realise, of course, you will think this is impossible because it is directly opposite to the world’s view of things. The world thinks of strength, power, ability, self-confidence and selfassurance as the keys to success. The world says the more you assert and affirm yourself, the more you will get. But such people do not inherit the earth, and then, they do not have happiness.

This meekness involves two things: our attitudes towards ourselves and our attitudes towards others. The meek person is so sure of himself that he does not need to demand anything for himself. He also will not be over-sensitive about himself, or defensive. He realises that he has no rights at all and delights to leave everything in the hands of God. He also trusts God to work out the situation in His own time and in His own way.

What is there about this famous saying of Jesus which engenders good mental health? As mental health is more than medical term, it then goes beyond the walls of hospital or doctor’s clinic and applies to the home, the church and the world of everyday living. The statement of Jesus we are focusing on at the moment contributes to good mental health because it encourages us to be free from a demanding attitude – the attitude that says: “Things must go my way”, “I ought to get some consideration”, “People should respect my rights”. One of the biggest causes of mental and emotional illness is the demanding attitude and over-concern.

Do we wonder why Christ congratulates the meek and promises them the earth? It means, so I believe, that when we develop the attitude of

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

meekness, the whole universe is behind us. If, for example, I decide to manifest the attitude of anger and hostility rather than cultivating a meek and quiet spirit, then the anger and hostility becomes “sand in the machinery of my life”.

The universe has been made in Christlike fashion. As a physicist, I remember the story of Thomas A. Edison’s eleven hundred failures.

When someone said to him why he wasted so much time for that? He just simply answered that he finally found out eleven hundred ways how not to do things. This is exactly what is happening in the world right now. Humanity is finding out how to live. People (including scientists) are discovering that there are some things which the universe will not approve and some things it will approve. The meek are those who have come to terms with the fact that they cannot twist it to their own ends or make it approve of what cannot be approved. The Catholic who adopts the attitudes of his Master finds the universe backing him in everything he does. In the bottom line, I thank God for reminding me that life works in one way only – Christ’s way. When I live as God designed it, then the whole universe works with me.

The reflection about the rest of the prescriptions is meant to be continued in the next edition.

Hopefully, you are the one who consumes this prescription every day in your life. Let’s fix our mental and spiritual health! Jesus bless you.

- Erny Manlea References 1

(http://www.mcwehealingroom.com/study.php?id=5).

Huges, Selwyn.

“Every Day With Jesus, One year Devotional.” Surrey England 1997.

DeMarco, Donald. “The Virtue of Meekness.” Lay Witness (May 1999). http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0346.html http://www.newadvent.org/bible/mat005.htm#vrs4

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A Great Legacy This is the story of Mother Maria Felix Torres, a Catholic Nun of Spanish origin known in Europe and America as the founder of the religious congregation “Compañía del Salvador” (Company of the Savior) and the Mater Salvatoris Schools.

In December 2011, more than 10 years after her death the first stage of her process of canonization successfully concluded.

she was too young to make such decision and expected her to change her mind throughout the course of her degree.

She stayed there for one year and then moved to Zaragoza to study chemistry. During her college years she actively participated in Catholic Action and all types of apostolic work.

Maria obtained her degree and intended to put it to use in God’s service.

She worked as a chemistry and physics assistant teacher at the Secondary School Institute of Lérida.

During this time she was able to witness the huge influence the school had on the education of children and young people.

I would like to share her story for two reasons: 1. It shows how one person can achieve great things that will continue to have a positive impact on an immeasurable amount of people. All you need is passion, determination and love for what you do.

God will do the rest.

With great concern she saw how these youngsters, often unaware, were being educated to exclude God from their lives, unconsciously indoctrinated in practical atheism.

2. I would love everyone to hear about her achievements and how we can all continue to help keep her legacy alive.

On 1907 Maria was born in Albelda, a village in the province of Huesca, Spain. As a little girl her intelligence always stood out and she had a special sensitivity towards religious matters.

On 1921 she moved to Lleida to continue her studies at the catholic school of the Company of Mary where her spiritual live developed. The simplicity and austerity of the sisters' life had an enormous impact on her.

Maria first told her parents she wanted to become a nun in the summer of 1924 when they noticed something had changed in her after returning from boarding school.

Since she was only 17 they decided to send her to Barcelona to study Medicine. Her parents thought

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

First group of girls attending the Mater Salvatoris school in Kalale, Benin.

She took her vows in 1934 on the day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with Carmen Aige, her first companion. Carmen and Maria shared the same ideals.

She wasn’t expecting to start her own Congregation but slowly groups of university students joined her and they got the Bishop’s permission to live in a community.

The Holy See approved the Company of the Savior as a Religious Congregation of diocesan law by a decree dated January 1952, the year of the 35th

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International Eucharistic Congress, celebrated in Barcelona.

On January 2nd, the first seventeen sisters took their vows during a Mass. The choice of the name “Company of the Savior” was made following the Ignatian tradition.

For 18 years Mother Maria Felix served as Mother Superior. By then she was clear the mission God had given her and her companions was to teach the youth the catholic faith while providing a worldclass education.

The young women who surrounded Maria began separating to open up new houses around the world. By doing this they fulfilled the Company’s own universal vocation, whose only purpose is the greater glory of God anywhere in the world.

Nowadays they can be found in places like Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, Venezuela and the USA. Mother Maria Felix died in Madrid in January 2001 but her successors have kept her company and vision alive throughout the years.

I feel lucky and blessed because I was able to be part of the Mater Salvatoris School in Maracaibo, Venezuela. I can honestly say the great education they provide isn’t what makes the school so special, it’s the tools they give you to become a successful and integral woman.

The passion and dedication of the nuns who run

the school is contagious and it’s impressive to see how happy they are to be there. For me that’s a great lesson.

In 2011 when I was still studying there the director of my high school made a great announcement: The Company of the Savior had started a new project. For the first time they were going to Africa!

The plan was to open their first school in Benin, a country in West Africa known for being severely underdeveloped and corrupted. The school would provide free education to girls living in poverty while teaching them about God and the Catholic religion.

This wasn’t an easy task. The nuns in charge were sent to Africa where they had to adapt to a new culture and learn a new language. Since then many students and other collaborators have travelled to the West African country to help in different ways. Events to raise funds have been conducted in Europe and America.

Two weeks ago I heard from my friends that the first group of students attended the school in September. I couldn’t be happier! I have to admit I felt incredibly proud when I saw photos of the girls wearing the uniforms of the school I once attended.

There’s still a long way to go but I think this is a great project that has the potential to impact many lives in the future. That’s why I would love everyone to hear about it.

If you want to know more about Mother Maria Felix I encourage you to look up her full biography online, it’s truly a beautiful story. You can also find more information about the school and how to collaborate on the internet.

Mater Salvatoris school in Maracaibo, Venezuela

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I’m sure Mother Maria Felix is proud to see how what she started continues to grow after her death.

I know all the girls attending the school in Benin will be as grateful to her as I am now when they grow up.

Ana Gutierrez

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bargaining tool. Time is used as an excuse. Time consumes us. And God has a purpose for time.

“There is a reason why God limits our days.

Why? To make each one precious.”

The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom begins by drawing our attention to how little the world, excluding the human race, cares about the passing of time. Animals are never late. They do not worry about a missed birthday. They are not constantly checking their watches. Yet humans cannot stop thinking about time. We cannot help but want to control it.

Albom’s novel tells the story of Dor, the first person in the world to ever try and measure time.

The person who invented the clock. And the person first to be made aware of the consequences of counting the minutes; and the misery this creates. In one of the more memorable passages of this book (and I say passages, because there are several*) Albom states “With endless time, nothing is special.

With no loss or sacrifice, we can’t appreciate what we have.”

While we have no control over time, we still wish to speed it up, or slow it down. We wish for endless time, or we wish for time to end.

Whichever it is, this desire for time consumes humanity. What Albom wishes us to realise is that we cannot make time last forever. We cannot stop time from running out. But we can make the best use of the time we have.

God has gifted us with what has now become one of the most precious resources on earth. Life doesn’t work like a Justin Timberlake movie**.

No matter how important or rich or intelligent someone is, they cannot get more time; they merely have the amount given to them. Time is used as an incentive in children’s behaviour management in schools. Time is used as a

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

Pope Francis is quoted as saying “Our life is made up of time, and time is a gift from God, so it is important that it be used in good and fruitful actions.”ᵃ We belong to God, and our time also belongs to him. We are asked to use His gift in productive ways. We need to change our view of time, and focus not on how little time we seem to have, but on how we can use the time that we have been so graciously given.

As products of the fast paced society of the 21st century, “we think and act as if God has short changed us when it comes to time”ᵇ. But as bible.org puts it, “the problem we face in society today is not the amount of time [God] has allotted to us, but our view of time itself, and how we use the time we have”ᵇ. The Time Keeper examines the misconceptions we hold about time, and our futile wish for more or less time. It concludes with the statement that “no one owns time.” That is God’s prerogative.

Our lives may be, as the Psalmist says, “a mere handbreadth”*** with the span of our years nothing before God, only a fleeting breath.

However there is no end of good that we can do if we spend each instant living for God. We need to make use of the time we have, to wonder, to be grateful, to believe and to work for God. To do something useful.

The Timekeeper is a story about the meaning and value of time. This poem, written anonymously, captures this message.

I Am Dying First I was dying to finish high school and start college.

And then I was dying to finish college and start working.

And then I was dying to marry and have children.

And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work.

And then I was dying to retire.

And now, I am dying ... and suddenly I realise I forgot to live.

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As Albom truly states: “When you are measuring life, you are not living it.” We waste our time counting our years, days, hours, minutes, even seconds. And to what end? Rather, we should live in each moment, striving to appreciate all that God has given us, and to become all God has made us to be. God has limited our days, but as Albom says, this serves to make each day infinitely more precious. We should not waste this time. We only have the time God has gifted to us. Make it count.

M Tuson

ᵃhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/thepope/11016061/Pope-Francis-urges-young-not-to-waste-time-onInternet-and-smartphones.html

ᵇhttps://bible.org/seriespage/stewardship-time

*with apologies to Jane Austen **In Time [Movie] ***Psalm 39: 4-5

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Human Work and Our Purpose in Life By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return12 I admire my father so much. He is knowledgeable, diligent and relentless, possessing a broad set of skills with which he manages to seriously get stuff done. He is a 62-year-old plasterer who has had major back, hip and shoulder surgery and despite these setbacks continues to work 5 days a week. When he isn’t working, he’ll be at home maintaining his vegetable garden, cooking/baking or fixing things around the house. Rarely would you find him seated not doing anything productive. I really admire that. I find it quite sad that, at his age, he isn’t able to retire or switch professions to one that is perhaps not so physically demanding. Given the economy and the continually increasing retirement age, many others have unfortunately found themselves in a similar situation to my father.

We have been made in the image and likeness of God, and have been called to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it13. Pope John Paul II said in his encyclical letter Laborem Exercens: “Man’s life is built up every day

from work. From the beginning, man is called to work. It is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose activities for sustaining their lives cannot be called work ”. Work is something therefore that man has been designed to do and from it receives certain benefits. However, it is also important to acknowledge that work is not an obligation but a right and we should be grateful to have the opportunity to work. There are many places on earth where communities of people do not have a reasonable opportunity to work honestly and provide for themselves.

Eventually most people will marry and start a family and it is at that point that full-time work becomes particularly relevant. Children are not capable of supporting themselves and the reality is, in our modern society today, a large amount of financial support is needed to raise children and to offer them the best opportunity possible. Pope John Paul II said “In a way, work is a condition for making it possible to found a family, since the family requires the means of subsistence which man normally gains through work”. I personally feel it is irresponsible for people to give life to children without having the ability to adequately support them. That is not say you have to be a millionaire before considering having children but I believe you should be able to provide for them the basic necessities of life which in my opinion includes a good quality education and paying for their involvement in extra-curricular activities such as sport and/or music.

Humans derive fulfilment from being productive and using their time effectively. Being able to do a broad range of things competently gives us confidence and helps us develop a higher self-esteem. Work is therefore not just purely a means of earning money so that you can support yourself and provide for your family but it expresses man’s dignity and increases it14. Like I said, people derive satisfaction from work despite it being physically or mentally demanding and as members of society and children of God we have certain obligations in regards to contributing to the development of humanity and the preservation of nature. In God’s image we are called to subdue and dominate the earth and whatever occupation we choose, in some way, should contribute to the equitable advancement of society. We were given the authority from God to rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth and attached to this authority is the responsibility to maintain the earth and ensure equal opportunity for all.

Emanuele Graziani 12

Genesis 3:19 Genesis 1:28 14 Pope John Paul II – Laborem Exercens 13

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

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On Hitting Rock Bottom and the Long Climb Back Up If in last semester’s issue of RtE you didn’t read Joseph’s ‘Presidents Report’ (and I ask you why not), he made a rather sobering statement that really hit home for me. He stated that “...there is so much desperation and sadness; it was just at the start of the year that suicide overtook road accidents as the leading cause of death for 1524 year olds.” [1] Considering that to be the case, and the fact I did suffer from a rather painful bout of depression, I thought it’d be a good idea to bring it to light.

In this past year, I’ve gone through some difficult times. Things went from good to bad, and then to downright unpleasant. It just felt like one major blow after another to my emotional state with no end in sight. The experience became like a personal version of hell.

Now hell as I see it is not some eternal fiery inferno within a warped hyper-spatial dimension beyond ours. No; Hell seems to me a much more personal and perpetual suffering that is a uniquely different experience for everyone. You can catch but a glimpse of it in our physical being – the thoughts and feelings of pain, isolation, hopelessness, despair, anxiety, misery and fear. It’s not difficult to see why people caught in this state of mind will go to the frightening measures of self harm or worse still, suicide. At my lowest point, whilst waiting at a train station, I did have to scream internally with myself to not jump in front of the train as it approached the platform.

My mindset was so badly shattered, that I was crying day in and day out. Yeah, it came as a surprise to me too. For men, depression is one of those taboos that we just do not talk about even if you corner us and give us no chance of escape, we’ll try to suppress talking about our feelings as much as possible. There’s a giant wall that needs to be torn down if you want to witness a man’s true emotions.

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

It was a bleak period for me. Unfortunately, no one is immune. From my experience, I can offer some advice for those going through a hard time. What you can do, and I strongly suggest you should do, is two things: Firstly let your emotions run their course - DO NOT bottle them up inside, lest you want to contribute to a growing statistic that really should be zero.

Secondly, seek help. I cannot stress this enough, you need to deal with the situation as soon as possible. Don’t try and suppress your emotions or shy away from them – they’ll consume you – just look at what happened to Robin Williams. I was the stubborn type who thought I could deal with it myself, but I’m grateful I made the decision to talk to a psychologist (a good friend of mine) – they do work if you give them the chance – and many other close friends who all helped by simply listening and supporting me.

There is a quote a priest gave at a funeral I attended for a sixteen year old girl who died from an aggressive brain cancer: “the Lord has given, the Lord has taken”. He repeated these words a few times throughout his homily, but it applies to every aspect of our lives. When I reflect back on the whole situation, I look on it as God presenting me with the most golden opportunity to learn from all the glaring mistakes I made, address all my imperfections or shortcomings and change myself accordingly. I’ve been given the chance to grow from it. Of course, the one thing I yearned for more than anything else was that second chance to fix the mistakes I made from what I’ve learnt. Unfortunately, important lessons like this usually come at a high price, and second chances don’t happen outside of film. It’s important to always look towards the next chapter in your life.

Andrew Solomon, an American author gave a TED talk on depression [2] in New York back in October 2013. It’s a 30 minute long video, but definitely worth your time. There’s a great excerpt from the ‘Chastity Project’ that I stumbled upon (more likely I was led to it) – it Page 24

may be the single most powerful message I’ve read regarding being single and something you should remember when loneliness gets the better of you: “...God gives us all a season of singleness to serve him, and many of us spend it miserable because the future is not here yet.

Before we can truly love another, he wants us to be secure and content with his love alone.” [3] Uplifting or what? I have no affiliation to the website, but I do encourage you to read the rest of the article and check out other posts on their website.

Mass is at 12pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the Chapel. Rosary is 12:30pm on Thursdays. Please feel free to come along and join us if you’re around (See map below).

From what I have experienced, I can say one thing: if ever you lose something you cherish and have to start over from scratch, what you rebuild will be far greater than what it was before you lost it; you just need to be willing to put the effort in. God bless Lewis Teixeira [1] Devitt, J 2014, ‘President’s Piece’, Road To Emmaus, sem. 1, p. 21 [2] ’Andrew Solomon: Depression, the secret we share’ <http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_th e_secret_we_share#t-1518915> [3] <http://chastityproject.com/qa/im-depressed-im-afraidill-never-get-married-novena-see-god-calling-vocation/>

At the end of the fourth issue of The Road to Emmaus! From humble beginnings we have come, and expanded (not by much; the quality was already very high – note: not a compliment to previous editor). I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the contributions by many members of the UCS and associates (friends), which is home to some beautiful people who have really done a lot in supporting me in this Editorship. Thank you to everyone who gave something to this issue, including those who bought it – it’s so much appreciated. Any thoughts? Put them in the form of a short letter if you want to appear in the next issue! I look forward to it.

Thanks Joe, for the excellent opportunity. – Rachel. *Please note, views expressed in articles are those of individuals, and not of the UCS as a whole.*

Like us on Facebook to keep updated! – UWA Catholic Society

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

“Christ be in the heart of anyone who thinks of me” – Adapted from the Prayer of St Patrick.

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The UCS! – In Summary (In Wintery as well)

(..Sorry)

This past Semester has seen the UWA Catholic Society be a part of some amazing events happening around Perth.

Such events included many members attending the Dawson Society’s Speakers Forums on topic such as ‘Sex and Popular Culture’ spoken by the well-known author, speaker, media commentator, blogger and advocate for women and girls Melinda Tankard Reist ; and ‘Dante’s Divine Comedy’ spoken by Associate Professor John Kinder from the UWA languages department.

Many members also attended talks at the University of Notre Dame which focused on the teachings from ‘Love and Responsibility’, a book written by Karol Wojtyła before he became Pope John Paul II. The UWA Catholic Society itself has had some amazing opportunities available to students and staff on campus itself: 

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Mass was said in the UWA Chapel , with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament once a week

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A UCS member started up a Rosary group on Wednesday after Mass , giving all members opportunity to pray together to Our Lady

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The UCS soccer team made the finals of UWA soccer

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Mid-year retreat/camp to Augusta UCS volunteered at a Shopfront Mid-semester hike UCS volunteered at a homeless shelter Freshers BBQ at Matilda Bay - Rachel Hicks

The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

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The Road to Emmaus Semester 2 - 2014

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