FEB - APR 2021 ISSUE PUBLISHER: Bishop Steve Lowe Diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand EDITOR IN CHIEF: Brigid Conroy EDITOR: Samuel Harris ART DIRECTOR: Hayden Graham ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP: Brigid Conroy CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Fr Carl Telford sm Jo Lines-MacKenzie Shana Graham Maryana Garcia ILLUSTRATORS: Nicholas Mc Cann (Cover Art) Carmela Nepomuceno (St Joseph Drawing) Sean Kilkelly (Kara the Kea) POSTAL ADDRESS: PO Box 4353 Hamilton East 3247 PHONE: 07 856 6989
Email: kete@cdh.org.nz Any web links provided in this magazine are not intended to be a blanket endorsement of everything on those sites.
Inside This Issue 03
LETTER FROM BISHOP STEVE
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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK AND BASKET OF STORIES
FEATURES 07
YEAR OF ST JOSEPH
What Catholics Need to Know
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REJOICING IN THE CROSS:
Hearts Aflame Summer School 2021
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“VIVA PIT SEÑOR!”
“Viva Señor Santo Niño!”
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THE MAGIC OF VIRTUE:
Rimbrook Summer Camp 2021
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KATHERINE ABBOTT
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SUZANNE AUBERT SCHOOL
Commercial Pilot
Blessing and Opening
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SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
The Art of Prayer
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PRAYER IS A SURGE OF THE HEART TOWARDS HEAVEN
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
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A CALLING TO DO SOMETHING FOR GOD AND FOR THE WORLD
NEWS 21
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY GATHER IN JOY TO MARK CHURCH’S 25TH YEAR
27 THE FAMILY THAT PRAYS TOGETHER,
Stays together
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KIDS PAGE
In October last year a group from throughout the diocese met together for two days to formulate a strategic pastoral plan for the diocese. For the next five years the vision statement above will guide the diocese as we focus on the five pastoral priorities below, one each for the next five years, to help develop this vision. • Companioning (this will be the focus in 2021-22) • Partnerships/Mana Ōrite • Mission/Outreach • Empowering and Enabling • Facilitating the Encounter With Christ It is envisaged that we will take 03
one priority each year starting at Pentecost. This will enable resources to be prepared to assist parishes, schools, communities and groups to work on this as well as the diocese as a whole. In this issue of Kete Kōrero I want to reflect on the vision statement. For some time now I have been becoming increasingly concerned about the increasing divisions within our world and Church. The growing hate talk and constant attacks and accusations against people really upset me. We see this increasing as the mainline media lose the art of investigative journalism and as social media grows, allowing
BISHOP STEVE LOWE | DIOCESE OF HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND
anyone to publish any idea or any so-called “truth”. Often these are followed by comments and commentaries that are filled with anger and even hate and this leads to the development of factions, cliques or sects, reinforcing wrongheaded opinions, but that does not encourage minds and hearts to be widened. In our Church it really distresses me to read all the anti-Pope Francis rhetoric. There was similar rhetoric against Popes Benedict and John Paul II but the extremism and vitriol has increased with the growth in social media and independent news sites. A number of new media
sites often claim to be Catholic but they promote their own view of Catholicism, often presenting a distortion of what the Holy Father has said or a narrow view of Church teaching that might focus on just one element of Church teaching, and this in turn can malform the minds and hearts of well-meaning people. In recent weeks we saw what happened at the Capitol Building in the United States. This was a prime example of the fruit of individualistic and self-opinionated ideas that are promoted. The conversation became more vitriolic and then that conversation erupted into violence. In the Book of Revelation the evil one is named as “the accuser” (Rev 12:10). He is the one who promotes suspicion (Gen 3:4) and division. St Paul puts hatred, discord, dissensions and factions right up there with sexual immorality, drunkenness and idolatry. But we tend to focus on sexual immorality as the only and big sin and ignore the others. Paul warns us not to divinise our own self-righteous opinions, for “if you go snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, you had better watch or you will destroy the whole community” (cf Gal 5) which is exactly what the evil one wants. We need to beware of the false gurus and messiahs in our world and Church. Jesus, however, prays that we be one, together, in unity: “Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you… With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent
me” (cf Jn 17). Every Sunday we profess our belief in “one Church” that is “catholic”, meaning universal or diverse. And then we receive the Eucharist, Jesus’ great gift to us of unity, for you and me and all his disciples. Pope Benedict called the Eucharist the Sacrament of Charity. We share in Christ’s charity to us so that we in turn can be and reflect his charity to others, indeed to all people, not just those who think like us. Together in unity, is Jesus’ gift for us. In him we are one, but it is also our task as his followers to work for unity. In that task we are all on the journey. We are all at different places and stages on the journey
communities, is the way we moved away from accusations of heresy to appreciating and dialoguing about what in the past were points of division. In the same way we need to enter into dialogue with others in the Church who might have opinions that differ from our own. To do that we need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ who keeps his eyes fixed on us. When we lose sight of him and focus on our fears or differences we sink (Mt 14:22-33). We live no longer for ourselves but for Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, the Life. Together he invites us to be his one holy people, a catholic people of all ages and from all peoples with different spiritualities,
We live no longer for ourselves but for Christ who is the Way, the Truth, the Life. and as we approach Christ and our relationship with him grows we have different insights. We are reminded of this in the fact that there are four Gospels and a multitude of saints with a multitude of spiritualities. Each of them journeyed deeper into the mystery of Christ’s love and life and as they did so their minds and hearts were opened. We can reflect on how our own faith has grown and developed in our lifetime. Our life of faith is a journey of relationship that develops and grows. In our age, one of the fruits of the ecumenical movement, our dialogue and relationship with the other Christian
who hold our hope and trust in him and together go out to the world as his apostolic people, sharing our faith so that all might unite together in love, peace and good will as we continue our pilgrim journey in the complexities of our modern world. This is our work as a diocese for the next five years. May we do it together.
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In our program through until Pentecost the Pastoral Services Team will focus on enabling believers to become disciples. The overall theme of our events, initiatives and resources will be “Discipleship: intentional friendship with Jesus Christ” and will feature formation that helps people get to know Jesus, their identity in him and how to live in communion with the Church. “For each disciple, it is essential to spend time with the Master, to listen to his words, and to learn from him always. Unless we listen, all our words will be nothing but useless chatter” - Pope Francis in Gaudete et exsultate 150). As disciples we strive towards the summit, following Jesus Christ wholeheartedly in all aspects of our lives. Every day we encounter Jesus in the Scriptures and as a friend in prayer. In recognising our need for his love and mercy we regularly participate in Mass and in frequent Reconciliation.
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK We enjoyed putting this issue together in the busy-ness of Christmas and New Year celebrations and then the slowdown of summer holidays. (And for me, the arrival of a new beautiful baby boy, Joseph Thomas.) We’ve listened to your feedback - keep it coming - and made some changes, and we’ll continue to develop the magazine. This time we’ve talked to some interesting people who love their faith and embrace it wholeheartedly, and we hope their joy and passion comes through. Lent is here perhaps for many of us the aim this year might be to be gentle with ourselves and others as we discern the best Lenten devotions for our daily life, given the ongoing sense of unease in our world due to the pandemic. But let’s not be too soft on ourselves! Christ is always asking us to go deeper, and that often requires boldness and courage. “Lent is a time of going very deeply into ourselves. What is it that stands between us and God? Between us and our brothers and sisters? Between us and life, the life of the Spirit? Whatever it is, let us relentlessly tear it out, without a moment’s hesitation.” - Catherine Doherty Samuel Harris e: kete@cdh.org.nz
QUIZ 1. Name two of the symbols of the four Gospel writers. 2. In what year was the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary re-opened after its recent renovation? 3. In the standard list, how many corporal works of mercy are there? 4. What nationality were Pope Francis’ parents? 5. What is the shortest book in the Old Testament? 6. What name did Suzanne Aubert take as a sister? 7. What hymn’s last line is “And hold you in the palm of his hand”? 8. Who is known as the Lily of the Mohawks? 9. How many films are on the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications’ Some Important Films list? 10. Fill in the gaps in this paraphrase of a line from Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes: We cannot fully ____ ourselves except through a sincere _____ of self. 1. Matthew is represented by the Man, Mark by the Lion, Luke by the Calf, and John by the Eagle. 2. 2008. 3. Seven. 4. His father was Italian and his mother was Argentinian. 5. The Book of Obadiah. 6. Sr Mary Joseph. 7. On Eagle’s Wings by Michael Joncas. 8. St Kateri Tekakwitha. 9. 45: 15 in each of three sections titled Religion, Values, and Art. 10. find, gift
PASTORAL THEME
BASKET OF STORIES ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI One of my favorite saints is St Francis of Assisi. It is his love and care for creation that inspires me, his invitation to all of creation - animals, plants, natural forces - to give honour and praise to the Lord. St John Paul II writes that St Francis “offers Christians an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation”. I have witnessed the beauty and peace that God’s creation can work in all peoples’ lives, loved and loving family pets, the colour and beauty of plants and gardens. St Francis of Assisi’s feast day is October 4. “Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures” - St Francis of Assisi. ANNE CURRAN | HAMILTON
ST THOMAS MORE My favourite saint is St Thomas More. King Henry VIII accused him of treason and ordered him to be executed. St Thomas More was innocent but he did not falter and give in to King Henry. He was a man of deep faith and he died for that faith. I have always found his great courage inspiring. When he was led to the scaffold on July 6 1535 he declared that he died “the king’s faithful servant but God’s first”. I am sure he felt deep sadness leaving his family but he could not and would not compromise his faith and love of God for anyone. St Thomas More’s feast day is June 22. “Don’t worry about me no matter what happens in this world. Nothing can happen to me that God doesn’t want. And all that he wants, no matter how bad it may appear to us, is really for the best.” - St Thomas More. MARGARET DUFFY | PARISH OF THE HOLY FAMILY, MORRINSVILLE
ST CATHERINE LABOURE My favourite saint is St Catherine Laboure, who was born in France on May 2 1806. She was the ninth of eleven children. I came from a family of eleven children too. Catherine Laboure was a member of the Daughters of Charity. In 1830 Our Lady appeared to her and asked her to have a medallion made, showing her a design. She took this to her priest and bishop and this became known as the Miraculous Medal. Catherine Laboure spent the next forty years of her life caring for the elderly, sick and disabled. She died on December 31, 1876 and her feast day is on the same day as my Aunty Colleen’s anniversary. St Catherine Laboure is my confirmation patron and she inspires me to care for others. St Catherine Laboure’s feast day is November 28. “If you listen to him, he will speak to you also because with the good God, it is necessary to speak and to listen. He will always speak to you, if you go to him simply and sincerely.” - St Catherine Laboure. CHRISTINA FITZGERALD | ST THOMAS AQUINAS PARISH, TAURANGA
DO YOU HAVE A STORY? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A DISCIPLE AND FRIEND OF JESUS? Write to us and share your story for this section in our May issue. Contact details are on the contents page. About 100 words is a good length, and March 31 is the deadline.
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Year of St Joseph: What Catholics Need to Know Pope Francis announced a Year of St Joseph, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the Universal Church. Pope Francis said he was establishing the year so that “every member of the faithful, following his example, may strengthen their life of faith daily in the complete fulfillment of God’s will”. Here’s what you need to know about the Year of St Joseph:
WHY DOES THE CHURCH HAVE YEARS DEDICATED TO SPECIFIC TOPICS? The Church observes the passage of time through the liturgical calendar - which includes feasts such as Easter and Christmas, and seasons such as Lent and Advent. In addition, however, popes can set aside time for the Church to reflect more deeply on a specific aspect of Catholic teaching or belief. Past years designated by recent popes include a Year of Faith, Year of the Eucharist, and Jubilee Year of Mercy.
WHY DID THE POPE DECLARE A YEAR OF ST JOSEPH? In making his declaration, Pope Francis noted that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX on Dec. 8, 1870. Pope Francis said the coronavirus pandemic has heightened his desire to reflect on St Joseph, as so many people during the pandemic have made hidden sacrifices to protect others, just as St Joseph quietly protected and cared for Mary and Jesus. “Each of us can discover in Joseph -- the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence -- an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble,” the pope wrote.
a father who served his family with charity and humility, adding, “Our world today needs fathers.”
WHEN DOES THE YEAR OF ST JOSEPH BEGIN AND END? The year begins Dec. 8, 2020, and concludes on Dec. 8, 2021.
WHAT SPECIAL GRACES ARE AVAILABLE DURING THIS YEAR? As Catholics pray and reflect on the life of St Joseph throughout the coming year, they also have opportunities to gain a plenary indulgence, or remission of all temporal punishment due to sin. An indulgence can be applied to oneself or to a soul in Purgatory. An indulgence requires a specific act, defined by the Church, as well as sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, prayer for the pope’s intentions, and full detachment from sin. Special indulgences during the Year of St Joseph can be received through more than a dozen different prayers and actions, including praying for the unemployed, entrusting one’s daily work to St Joseph, performing a corporal or spiritual work of mercy, or meditating for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s Prayer.
WHY DOES THE CHURCH HONOUR ST JOSEPH? Catholics do not worship saints, but ask for their heavenly intercession before God and seek to imitate their virtues here on earth. The Catholic Church honours St Joseph as the foster father of Jesus. He is invoked as the patron saint of the Universal Church. He is also the patron of workers, fathers, and a happy death. Previously published Dec 10, 2020 at catholicnewsagency. com and reprinted here with permission. Written by CNA staff.
He also said he wanted to highlight St Joseph’s role as ILLUSTRATION BY CARMELA NEPOMUCENO
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Katherine Abbott - Commercial Pilot
This is the first in an ongoing series of profiles in which we talk to Catholic lay people in the diocese about their job in light of the call of the laity to “consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives” (Lumen Gentium). Although I’ve only been working as a pilot for maybe six years I feel like I’ve had my head in the clouds since I was old enough to reach the rudder pedals. When I was about 6 or 7 years old I went for a flight with a family friend. I absolutely loved it, and from then on became absolutely plane crazy: pilots talk about “catching the bug”. I remember saying to our friend that when I grew up I wanted to be a pilot like him, and he said, “Girls are flight attendants.” Well, stroppy little six-year-old me wasn’t having that - I wanted to be up the front driving. During high school I tried to get as much flight time as I could beg, borrow or steal from friends with planes, using Christmas and birthday pocket money to pay my way. Flying in a light aircraft is around $300 an hour so it’s not cheap. When I was 17 I left school halfway through the year to go to flight school, so I was flying around the country by myself at the age of 18. Flight school was amazing, doing something difficult when you love it feels really easy. The hard bit wasn’t the training, which was a blast (God bless student loans), 09
the tough bit was finding a job after graduation. I was a fully qualified commercial pilot but I couldn’t get a job in New Zealand. That was my time in the desert so to speak: I worked as a hospital orderly, lived at home, scraped enough money together to go to Australia, and got a job with a small flight school in Perth, teaching people to fly. I earned below minimum wage in that first job, so little I didn’t even have to pay tax. Long hours, cold mornings pulling planes out, or hot days stuck with no air-con in that flying glasshouse, flight test after flight test. (People think being a pilot is really glamorous - they haven’t talked to a pilot about this stuff!) I enjoyed it, but it was hard work. It got my hours up - to get a job with an airline you need about a thousand flying hours and you come out of flight school with about three hundred - and then I applied for jobs back home as soon as I could, and got a job straight away: I’m a first officer (the other pilot in the plane is a captain) and I’ve been with this airline for about three years. I absolutely love it, getting to do what I love for a job, and the hard times were worth it. Waking up at 4am is kind of standard. You get up before the sun, get dressed, pack some lunch and head to work. We get to the airport and check the weather and see what kind of fuel we want to load the aircraft up with, then get out and check the aircraft and make sure it’s all good to fly. While we’re doing our loading up of the computers we get the passengers on, and once they’re all on we check
all the weights with the baggage guys, close up and then take off, getting in the air to wherever we’re going. I fly the smaller planes - the Bombardier Q300 - so I get to fly into the smaller airports, anywhere between Kerikeri and Invercargill. My favourite airport to fly into is home - Tauranga. When I started the job, staying in really nice hotels and so on, I’d ask other pilots what their favourite overnight was and they’d say, “Home,” and I didn’t really understand it. But now it’s sometimes like the hotels, as nice as they are, are a kind of “four-star prison” - nothing beats flying home to your own bed. My second favourite airport would be Hokitika because that’s where my parents are, and sometimes they come out to the airport to see me, which is a proud moment for them to see their daughter flying in. I get to work with a really great group of people. The captains are great (it’s not the old boys club that you see in movies and so on) and I’m a similar age to most of the flight attendants so I get on well with them. The atmosphere is really good, especially at the moment with Covid - we’re all looking after each other. Covid kind of forced me to let go because I put so much importance, so much identity on my job, but I realised that actually the most important part of me is that I’m a child of God. As amazing as my job is, it’s more amazing that God loves me. I became Catholic at 19: a friend invited me along to church and something just clicked and I had to find out more. By the time I’d been in RCIA for a couple of weeks I couldn’t turn back. I’d caught the bug - I was hooked, just as much as I was hooked on flying. There’s kind of an unspoken rule not to talk about politics, money or religion on the flight deck, but depending on who you’re flying with, you can push that a bit. I’m not going to hide from it - if someone says, “What did you do on the weekend?” I’ll say, “I went to Mass,” and so on. Sometimes the witness is just being an all-round nice person, working well with your co-workers, doing the job professionally: living in the world but yet apart from it, being a saint in ordinary life. I picked my career without God in mind and then when I went through RCIA at 19 it
made me feel really guilty that I wasn’t a nun or looking after the poor or something a bit more obviously helpful to the world, but if this recent pandemic has taught me anything, it’s just how important family and friends are those in-person, face-to-face connections. My aircraft type alone transports, on average, the entire population of New Zealand in passenger numbers a year. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve flown from A to B but If I can get them there safely to see their best friend they haven’t seen in ages, or to their next job interview or business meeting or family holiday, or perhaps just home to Mum and Dad for the weekend, I know I’m doing God’s work. People are interested in my job, and often have a hundred questions. Sometimes I have a bit of a joke with people when they ask what I do, just saying, “I work for an airline,” and they’ll say, “Ah, a flight attendant”. That stereotype is still out there even though it’s becoming more and more common for women to be pilots. I love it when there’s a little girl who says, “Are you the pilot?” and you can see her little brain trying to compute it when you say, “Yes, I am!” Some people say, “I’m a nervous flier, tell me about this or that,” and I just reply that we absolutely love the job don’t tell the airline, but we’d do it for free! - so if you’re scared of flying, don’t be. We love it, it’s our favourite place to be, we’re highly trained and we’ll get you where you’re going safely. I’ve got so many photos of incredible sunrises and sunsets. Sometimes you wake up early thinking, “Ugh, I don’t want to go to work today,” but the view we get up there is one of the best perks of the job. You just think, “Oh, this is great, this is why I get up at 4am,” as you sit there at 20000 feet watching a beautiful sunrise. As told to Samuel Harris. Photographs supplied by Katherine Abbott.
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Spiritual Direction and the Art of Prayer FR CARL TELFORD SM
What is spiritual direction? The short answer: a help to pray. The Catholic tradition has long regarded spiritual direction, for a person who is praying regularly, as a means of growth towards becoming a more prayerful person. So spiritual direction is a positive reality: helping to become “the best me”. It is not confession or counselling, not primarily a place to solve problems or give solutions to difficulties, but rather it is an adult conversation about God’s work in us, especially his love. God wants to communicate his friendship and love to each of us. Fr Pat O’Sullivan sj says, “The deepest reason why so few of us are saints is because we will not let God love us”. Perhaps you are being called to let God love you more! Yes, God is at work in each of us, but we often do not notice it! Spiritual direction is a conversation with someone (the spiritual director) who promises to listen and to try and help us find God more deeply. It is part of the ongoing lifelong relationship God has with us. God is so surprising, so creative and so desirous of our friendship. Committing to growing in prayer is part of the universal call to holiness for each of us. Pope Francis says, in his apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be glad), that Jesus “wants us to be saints ... My modest aim is to re-propose the call to holiness in a practical way for our time, with all its risks, challenges and opportunities. … Holiness consists in a habitual openness to the transcendent, expressed in prayer and adoration. The saints are distinguished by a spirit of prayer and a need for communion with God”. Working with a trained director in spiritual direction is a solid and achievable way of taking that call to holiness more seriously. Many years ago Pope St Pius X said that the true renewal of any
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FR CARL TELFORD SM
parish was to form a group of people of serious prayer. Bishop Steve has this aim of renewal also, and has made it a priority to provide and promote spiritual direction in the diocese.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE DIRECTOR
God is at work but the wisdom of the Christian tradition tells us that another pilgrim can help us hear that voice more clearly. We can deceive ourselves or self sabotage. Asking a more experienced pilgrim to help us pray is an act of humility. A spiritual director is an objective, external voice. It is a truth that someone else can help me listen to what God is saying. It implies that the pray-er is self-aware and has selfknowledge. The pray-er is daily, with honesty, recording (perhaps in a notebook or journal) how their prayer is going and feels free to then talk about this prayer journey. Setting the boundaries. Any spiritual direction relationship has a beginning, middle and end.
BEGINNING
Initial contact and a first meeting. You, the directee, are seeking someone who can help you, and you arrange a time to meet up and discuss your needs and good desires, with no obligation to continue. If both director and directee then agree to continue, you agree on a monthly meeting of 50/60 minutes. You agree that you will prepare for the meeting by reviewing the last month of prayer and your spiritual life. You agree that you will listen. (The spiritual director is a listener also.)
THE MIDDLE IS THE MEETING ITSELF
Perhaps it begins with a prayer. Then you explain what has been happening in the last month. That means you thought seriously and humbly about the following questions. When did I feel close to God? How did I feel God was at work? What encouraged me? What gave me deeper faith, hope and love? What gave me more generous desires? What made me more grateful? What directed my focus outside myself? What lifted my heart so I could be present to the joy and sorrows of others? What generated new inspiration and ideas? What restored balance and refreshed my inner vision? What showed me where God is active in my life and where God is leading me? What released new energy in me? In the real world there is the angel of light and also the spirit of darkness. So we discuss the things that stop us growing, and in Ignatian spirituality the term for this is desolation, which is a trap to lead me away from God. What discouraged me? What leads me away from joy and peace? What turns me in on myself? What crowds
out distant vision, or drives me down the spiral ever deeper into negative dark feelings? What cuts me off from community? What makes me want to give up the helpful things from the past, or covers up all my landmarks (the signs of our journey with God so far)? What drains me of energy?
THE END
Each session concludes with a summary of what has happened: new insights, challenges and encouragement. There may be a discussion if recently we perhaps haven’t found spiritual direction helpful or what we expected . There may come a time when one or both of you feel that your conversation in spiritual direction has done its work in this season of your life, or one or both of you move to a different location, and you decide it is time to cease the meetings. These are all good things to talk about with your director, doing so with gratitude and peace. Fr Carl Telford sm and Fr Richard Shortall sj are available for spiritual direction and can travel to meet you. Contact Alex Bailey at the Chanel Centre to arrange a first meeting: alexb@cdh.org.nz
Prayer is a Surge of the Heart Towards Heaven GUEST EDITORIAL
At one point in the Gospel Martha speaks to Christ, saying, “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself?” (Lk 10:40). At another, during a storm on Lake Galilee, the disciples woke Our Lord, saying, “Master, do you not care? We are going down!” (Mk 4:39). If prayer is talking to God then these are both examples of prayer: Our Lord’s response can be instructive as to the purpose of prayer. Firstly, it is reassuring that neither Martha nor the disciples are rebuked for questioning Our Lord’s care for them. Christ is seemingly quite happy to receive our raw and honest desires. It has been said of the incident in the boat that maybe Our Lord was sleeping with one eye open, implying that he was waiting for his disciples to express their concerns to him. The paradox in prayer is this: how can our prayers change the immutable, unchangeable God? Through prayer, do we change God’s mind, such that he intervenes in the world in a way that he otherwise would not have? The beginnings of an answer are found in one of the prefaces prayed before the Holy, Holy for weekday Mass. “For, although you have no need of our praise, yet our thanksgiving is itself your gift, since our praises add nothing to your greatness but profit us for salvation.” God is unchanging and we human beings are not. In fact as human beings we are body and soul and one of the 13
GUEST EDITORIAL
properties of matter, the flesh and blood that makes up our body, is that it is constantly changing. Matter is constantly in movement, growing, decaying, constantly being acted upon by other matter. So, if prayer is to have any influence it is best to look at how it first impacts us rather than God. This dynamic is further complicated by that fact that God is also omniscient, all knowing. This raises the question as to the point of prayer, given that God already knows what is good for us and what he is going to do. From the pen of St Augustine comes a beautiful letter written to Proba, the widow of a very wealthy Roman. Proba asks Bishop Augustine how she should pray and he responds with a letter explaining the Lord’s Prayer. In it he says “Why does the Lord advise us to pray, when he knows what is needful for us before we ask him? … He wants our desire to be exercised in prayer, thus enabling us to grasp what he is preparing to give. That is something very great indeed, but we are small and limited vessels for the receiving of it. So we are told: ‘Widen your hearts’.” The answer as to the why of prayer, is that Our Lord wants us to express our desires to him so that our hearts are opened to receive more and more from him. Meaning that in prayer we are changed and that change occurs firstly at the level of the heart. This heart change is spiritual, a grace, a gift from God. There remains another difficulty.
If God knows what we need, knows better than we know ourselves, would it not be more efficient and holy to simply pray, “God, do whatever you want”? The answer is that if this were the case Christ would have given us an Our Father that would have been half the length and not extended past the first sentence. Clearly Our Lord wants us to express our own desires in prayer, an example we see with Christ himself in the garden of Gethsemane. “‘Father,’ he said, ‘if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine.’ Then an angel appeared to him, coming from heaven to give him strength” (Lk 22:42-43). One gets the sense that if prayer was reduced to “your will be done” then the temptation would be that prayer becomes a purely an intellectual exercise, one that runs the risk of closing us off rather than opening us up to love. In #2558 of the Catechism St Thérèse of Lisieux is quoted as saying,“prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy”. It remains then to make the connection between our desires in prayer and God’s desires for us. In St Augustine’s letter to Proba he says, “Thus he [God] makes the saints intercede with sighs too deep for words, inspiring in them the desire also of the great, still unknown reality, which we await with patience”. In this Augustine seems to give the goal of our prayer and maybe hint at how our prayers will deepen over time. Our desires offered in prayer will result in us becoming more aware of this “great, still unknown reality”, which is God, his desires for us and his very self, which is love. Through our prayers God’s desires and more specifically his personal desires for us as individuals become more known to us and we in turn receive the grace to be able to make those desires ours. Prayer is therefore that privileged dynamic where we not only get to know God’s will for us but are also given the strength so that our desires change and become like his, even if that means trials and suffering. This dynamic has practical implications. For example, it is through prayer that we best discover the vocation that God desires for us. For then we receive not only the call, but also the desire for the vocation which becomes our heartfelt desire, such that we will be able to live it as well as God intends. It also means that God might choose or
not choose to answer our prayers in the way we initially desire. He might choose or not choose to change the circumstances that we are praying about, depending on whether they will help us to desire his will or not. This extends even down to the more ordinary aspects of life. It is through prayer that we can become more capable of transcending some of the things that we find difficult in everyday life. What we are called to do might not change but when we allow God to slowly change our desires then we can come to desire even the difficult things in life. We can go from white knuckling it, to holy resignation. This dynamic can be seen in the two examples of prayer we began with. Martha lamented that her sister was not helping her in serving Our Lord. Christ answered her prayer not by changing the practical reality but rather by encouraging her to go further, encouraging her to discover the order in God’s desire, that God’s desire is for us to contemplate, that this is more important than our practical life. In the second example the disciples were at risk of being swamped on the lake and Christ responded by calming the storm, a practical intervention, but he then moves to immediately to encourage them to go deeper “How is it that you have no faith” (Mk 4:40). Christ used the difficult circumstance and their imperfect understanding - “Master, do you not care” - expressed in prayer, to help them discover more fully who he was. As we enter the season of Lent, we are reminded of the necessity of prayer and in addition, of fasting and almsgiving. It is interesting that fasting and almsgiving are also about our desires, about reordering them in the light of more important desires. Fasting helps us to place our physical desire for food at the service of our spiritual desires. Our desire for matter - which as we said previously, is always changing - is given over for something spiritual, something much more stable. Similarly, in giving alms we choose to help others through forgoing the possibility of increased material comfort or security. Our desire for good things, for material goods, is suppressed to help others, the result being that we undergo a process of converting our desires in the light of something greater. In this light we see that fasting and almsgiving are the perfect training ground for prayer. They train us for retraining our desires, therefore disposing us for a deeper and more fruitful life of prayer.
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A Calling to Do Something For God and For the World JO LINES-MACKENZIE
L-R: Mother Joanna, Mother Rachel and Mother Miriam Joseph.
Turning off the road and into a long tree lined driveway, a sign points the way to Tyburn Monastery. Underneath it is another offering further direction for the spiritually unsure God’s Road, it reads. At the end is a property named Cor Iesu Fons Vitae, which is Latin for “Heart of Jesus, Fount of Life”. There’s just one other car in the car park when Stuff pulls in to meet the nuns that run the property thirty minutes south of Rotorua in Ngakuru. Only bird chatter breaks the silence when we step outside. A quick walk up the path and a ring of a doorbell brings a warm greeting from Mother Miriam Joseph, and introductions to Mother Superior Rachel and Mother Mary Joanna. 15
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Resplendent in black and white habits – handmade by the mothers themselves – in a world where nuns are no longer a common sight, the trio are the very picture of how a society that rarely sees nuns except in film and popular culture depictions would imagine them. Over a cuppa and a plate of biscuits the three share their way of life for the next ninety minutes. We are settled into a comfortable lounge area which overlooks Lake Ohakuri. Although not quite an alpine lake, it’s not hard to imagine a scene from The Sound of Music taking place in the picturesque surroundings. The Ngakuru property is the second Tyburn monastery in New Zealand, the other being in Bombay, on the border of Auckland and Waikato.
The Rotorua monastery was inaugurated in May 2009. It was established in response to an invitation from Bishop Denis Browne to establish a Tyburn Monastery in the Diocese of Hamilton. Mother Rachel is the monastery’s mother superior. A diminutive figure, she arrived at the monastery in about 2014. She recently received New Zealand citizenship, her third, after hailing originally from Lebanon and then Australia. None of the nuns will confirm their ages, as birthdays are not celebrated, but Mother Rachel entered the monastery about 30 years ago around the age of 31. The pull had been strong before then. “I used to feel like I wanted to be a nun when I was young, and my mother used to pray for me to be a nun, but that didn’t happen. I had left school and was looking after my mother, my father had a shop and my mother used to help him, we had an orchard, but when she became sick I started helping him and looking after my mother. I was thinking of getting married and things like that, but luckily the Lord called me for other things.” The monastery can cater for twenty nuns, however there are just four there at the moment. (Mother Mary Cecilia
preferred not to be interviewed or photographed.) The Tyburn nuns are part of the Benedictine family, with the common name of their order referring to their mother monastery at Tyburn in London - the official name of the order is the Benedictine Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre. Nun numbers are dwindling, across all orders. [Editor in fact, some orders are growing, with large numbers of vocations.] The Tyburn trio say people are still taking an interest in becoming a nun, but most of them pull out during the process before final vows. That was never going to be the case for Mother Joanna, a self-confessed rebellious teenager. At 20, she was one year into a law degree when she became interested after her elder sister made the initial enquiries. “She was just having a look around and in the end she didn’t join. She’s now married, but I did enter the monastery. It’s a calling and appeals to you, so you do something for God and for the world, it’s appealing in that sense I guess,” Mother Joanna said. The process begins with a live-in stage, essentially where an enquirer can just have a look. If someone then wants to
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join they become a postulate, wearing a short black veil and medal of the Sacred Heart. “Six months of that you can become a novice, you get a full habit and a white veil for two years.” A novice may request to make her first profession of Benedictine vows which are for three years. “After those three years you can pull out again but after you take your final vows you aren’t supposed to pull out,” explained Mother Joanna. “Unfortunately these days people do, as with people not sticking in their marriages, they don’t stick in religious stuff either. But we have taken our final vows and hopefully we will be here for life.” Mother Miriam Joseph is celebrating twelve months at the Rotorua Monastery. While also originally from Australia, she came to Rotorua via Largs in Scotland. She has been living the nun life for the past 22 years, having joined after turning 39, giving up a twelve-year career as a nurse. It’s not a career for the ill-disciplined, with the nuns getting just two weeks off a year. That’s time away from their extra jobs around the monastery – not time off praying. The women start their day at 5am. “Some get up exactly on the dot at five o’clock and no earlier. And then we start our prayers at 5.30am,” Mother Joanna said.
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The monastery chapel was donated by the diocese, coming on a truck from Taneatua. “Most of our work is prayer, so we spend a lot of the day praying, and we fit in all our other work between that. There’s an hour-long prayer called nocturnes and all the prayer times are the traditional Benedictine prayers which are singing the psalms, and we get through 150 psalms every week and there is a Scripture reading and prayers,” Mother Joanna said. After that if they have a bit of spare time someone will start cooking the dinner, then there are also the usual life administration tasks – accounts to be done, phone messages and emails to reply to. There’s a difference though. This is all to be done in silence if possible, although with guests there are always questions to be answered. Breakfast is at around 7.30am involving bread and a cup of tea. The nuns then have their community reunion. “This is our time to study anything that we need to or practice, read the Bible, read our rule or catechism, that is what we are doing at the moment,” Mother Miriam said. Mass comes after that, followed by the run of the devotional day – sext, none, vespers, compline –hours
marked in Latin and followed by thousands of their predecessors back to the dawn of Christianity. Lights out comes around 9pm. The lack of new nuns is of concern for all three, as they don’t want to see their order and those like it dwindle out of existence. “It’s just the way, I think all orders are the same really. Most of them are struggling at the moment, there is not that much faith in God anymore really,” Mother Joanna said. The arrival of Covid-19 hasn’t helped matters and obtaining visas for potential arrivals is another problem. “A lot of our younger sisters are in Nigeria because the African countries are the ones which have a lot of faith, and they are the ones entering monasteries now. I think they [officialdom] are not so keen on Nigerian people, a lot of corruption, you would think a Catholic nun would be okay,” Mother Joanna said. Previously a nun could go anywhere with no questions asked but nowadays they join the immigration queue and are treated no differently to anybody else. A nun’s life isn’t for everyone, the trio admit. “A disciplined life is difficult I think for people,” Mother Rachel said. They
understand that even though people might be genuinely good and religious they just can’t live that way of life. “We are not allowed radio or television unless it’s for some special event. We used to get the Guardian [newspaper] but that has gone so liberal for us nowadays, against what we believe, so we have stopped that.” But technology has also brought their distant colleagues closer in some ways. “We have (messaging app) Whatsapp with all the congregations, which includes nine other countries, and the prioresses from those countries are continuously putting things on that is happening in their countries, so you do pick up a lot of information from that,” Mother Joanna said. A common misconception is that an initiate couldn’t have been married before becoming a nun. “As long as you have [received a declaration of nullity] for your marriage by the Church, or you are a widow [it is allowed]. We have a widow actually, and she’s a grandmother, she entered when she was grandmother,” Mother Joanna said. The nuns also have restrictions on how often they contact their family. “You don’t have a load of contact, once a month you can have a phone call or you can write to them. Sometimes if they’re from a long, long way away like Australia, they will come and stay for a week or
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something but you don’t see them very often. We can’t go on holidays, we don’t get a day off,” Mother Joanna said. They also only venture off the property for necessities, like doctor or dentist appointments, but Mother Rachel and Mother Joanna both voted in the recent general elections. “Exits from the monastery need the permission of the superior general, or they give Mother Prioress certain permissions, so she can allow us to go out for things like that. Nuns are assigned to convents based on the mother general’s assessment of their skills and of the needs at a specific monastery. “She does ask you and if you had a real reason that she could understand, she will usually oblige. But usually they will just send you, and when you are young it’s great see the world,” Mother Joanna. They get a lot of outside assistance with Rotorua locals delivering their supermarket shopping twice a week. While they lease most of their 12-hectare property to neighbours, the nuns do keep a couple of paddocks for their alpacas and small cows. “We’ve got a gardener now. We didn’t for a long time, but he arrived last year because we are so few. Volunteers help out around the monastery, and we have the PD (community work) workers who mow the lawns on a Thursday,” Mother Joanna said. The monastery is open to the public, with people visiting for a bush walk, a picnic by the lake or to stay in the guest rooms, which are very economical at $55 a night. The guest house provides a large part of the monastery’s income, along with a small shop from which the nuns sell things they make, including candles and jam. The Monastery gets an income but the nuns don’t. They don’t need it, they say, as they can’t go shopping. The sisters who are old enough to get a pension donate it to the monastery. Everything is held in common. If they need anything, they ask the mother superior, and she will provide. There are eleven Tyburn monasteries in 10 countries. New 19
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Zealand has two, which is unusual, and the order is also in England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Ecuador, Colombia Peru, Italy and France. The Mother General in London is in charge of all the monasteries with a prioress in each monastery next in charge. For all three nuns, their families largely understood their decision to put on the habit every day. And that meant putting their original dreams to one side, with Mother Joanna leaving her law degree. “I hadn’t really thought about it, I was studying law because I enjoyed law in high school, so I did one year at university. It was interesting.” Mother Miriam, who left nursing after twelve years, believes she would struggle to do the job now. “Nowadays with all the moral and ethical things that are going on in the world I wouldn’t like to be doing it. I sometimes feel we are praying for those suffering, especially with the euthanasia bill because people will feel obliged to do things that they wouldn’t do before the bill. “I loved the work when I was doing it but this is much better, much better. The best decision I ever made.” As the nuns don’t get to choose where they get to go, they don’t get to choose which nuns they live with. “As in any family there will be blow ups occasionally, arguments, that is part of living a life of Christian charity - you forgive people, and forget. It’s the same as in a marriage, you have to get along with people and understand they’re different,” Mother Joanna. A hot lunch and a walk through the property concludes the visit to the monastery. As we leave the nuns return to finish their daily routines and the silence descends again. Originally published as “Sounds of Silence” in Waikato Times, in a slightly different form, on Jan 13 2021. Reprinted with permission. Photo credit: Stuff Limited
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY GATHER IN JOY TO MARK CHURCH’S 25TH YEAR Gisborne’s Catholic population came together last week to celebrate 25 years since the opening of the St Mary Star of the Sea Church in Campion Road. On December 3, 1995 St Mary Star of the Sea Church was opened and consecrated by Bishop Denis Browne . . . and 25 years later he returned to celebrate a Jubilee Mass. He was joined by parish priest Monsignor Frank Eggleton, and assistant priest Father Tovio Lusitino. “There was great joy of the choir, the Maori, Tongan and Filipino cultural groups and the congregation as they sang with volume and fervour stirring the hearts of the large number of people who joined for the celebration,” St Mary’s parish leadership team chairman Ross Gregory said. The work of Fr Joe Stack, parish priest 25 years ago, was recognised and comments he wrote at the time of the opening emphasised the significance of the new church to the community. “Here is a family home in which we can take pride and rejoice,” said Fr Stack. “It reflects both who we are and who we can become. Its clear lines, bright openness, expansive room are reflected in our appreciation of God’s presence in our lives, in our world and in our hospitality and recognition of one another.” Bob Proudfoot, chairman of the 1995 building committee, acknowledged the work done by the building and finance committees in the years before the church was built, and the significant financial contribution given generously and freely by the parishioners. The new church was designed by architect Paris Magdalinos and built by Story and Lomas.
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Mr Gregory said the Catholic community remembered with warmth and gratitude sharing the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in the transition from the old St Mary’s church in Lowe St, to the new church at Campion Road. During the Jubilee Mass, a YouTube photo collage was shown of the removal of sacred items from the church in Lowe Street and building of the new church where these treasures now reside. After Mass, the sharing of memories continued over a potluck meal. “A beautifully decorated jubilee cake, made by a parishioner, gave recognition to the diverse and multicultural nature of St Mary Star of the Sea Paris,” Mr Gregory said. “A special 25th year anniversary candle inscribed with ‘United in Christ for the Glory of God’ was gifted to a member of each family present at this wonderful celebration.” Republished with permission: Dedication 25 Years Jubilee Gisborne Herald 3 Dec 2020
REJOICING IN THE CROSS: HEARTS AFLAME SUMMER SCHOOL 2021 SHANA GRAHAM
After a year like 2020, “Rejoicing in the Cross” was the perfect theme for this year’s Hearts Aflame, the annual Catholic summer school for young adults held at Nga Tawa Diocesan School, Marton, from 1-10 January 2021. Covid-19 didn’t deter the planning team from going ahead and the 120 participants - a full house - from all over the country taking part. It might have had something to do with this being the Year of St Joseph (since Hearts Aflame’s patron saint is St Joseph himself)! The message was this: the Cross only makes sense in light of God’s Love. This was explored at the opening retreat weekend led by Sister Clare of Assisi from the Community of the Beatitudes, as well as the various lectures taught by the likes of Brendan Malone, Tim and Jennifer Goulding (keynote speakers for Family Weekend 2020) and our very own Fr Matt Gibson. Hearts Aflame was an amazing time to renew relationships with Christ and community. We were led in many forms of prayer, from the Liturgy of the Hours to praise and worship, which showed the richness of our faith and the countless ways we can be in God’s presence. Another gift of the school was being put in small groups who met every day to process God’s work in us, and to meet and share with like-hearted peers. The biggest gift for me was the openness and vulnerability of everyone at the school, because of the theme. We’ve all had experiences of, and are vulnerable to, suffering and this fact seemed to tear down the walls we usually have when placed in new and uncomfortable situations. The shared culture of openness reaped for us the benefits of deeper healing and insight. At the very least, we came out knowing God’s love for us, even at the foot of the Cross. www.heartsaflame.org.nz Contact your parish about the possibility of sponsorship to next year’s summer school! @CATHOLICDIOCESEOFHAMILTON | CDH.ORG.NZ
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“VIVA PIT SEÑOR!” “VIVA SEÑOR SANTO NIÑO!” BRIGID CONROY
Jubilant cheers of praise fill the air each year as faithful gather to conclude the annual novena to the Holy Child Jesus, the Santo Niño. Readers may be wondering what this devotion is all about. Representatives from the Hamilton Santo Niño working committee (Mel Libre and Dexter Soon, both born in Cebu, Philippines, and Ruth Bailey) kindly share what happens locally and where this devotion originated:
WHAT IS THE SANTO NIÑO (OR STO NIÑO) NOVENA? The Santo Niño novena is the practice of praying to the Holy Child leading up to the feast day on the third Sunday of January. (The Hamilton Santo Niño devotees observe this on the first Saturday of January.)
WHY DO PEOPLE COME TOGETHER TO PRAY THE NOVENA? Devotees seek help from the Holy Child and express their thanksgiving for blessings granted to them.
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE NOVENA? HOW MANY PEOPLE PARTICIPATE? Each evening begins with the novena prayers followed by Mass. In Hamilton a different priest each evening was invited to be the main celebrant. After the recessional hymn, devotional dance is offered and food is shared. This year about 100 people came together each day to pray the novena in Hamilton at St Matthew’s, Silverdale. To culminate the novena, on January 16, we celebrated with Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with Fr Fernando Alombro, Filipino chaplain, as celebrant. After the Mass there was a procession from the church to the Gerry Sullivan Events Centre for a fiesta full of food, dancing of the Sinulog (the devotional dance to Santo Niño) and other cultural dances. Attendees numbered 300-400 people. Also part of the celebrations, many children dress up in the Santo Niño attire, much to the joy of their parents and other attendees.
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WHERE DID THE DEVOTION ORIGINATE? It started in Cebu, Philippines where the image of Santo Niño is venerated. The image of the Holy Child Jesus was a gift given to Queen Juana of Cebu by Ferdinand Magellan after her conversion to Christianity on April 15, 1521. When Magellan was killed by the neighbouring king, Lapulapu, the Spaniards left and continued their voyage to achieve the first circumnavigation of the world. Another expedition in 1565 led by Miguel Legazpi was not welcomed by the king, and they attacked and burned Cebu. In the ashes, soldiers found the image of the Santo Niño undamaged. From there on, through the centuries, devotees have sought assistance from the Holy Child Jesus. Today, the celebrations comprise as many as 2-3 million in the grand finale called Sinulog.
HOW LONG HAS THE DEVOTION BEEN IN HAMILTON AND IN NEW ZEALAND? It started in 2013 in Hamilton. Most of the places with large Bisaya-speaking communities hold novenas, Masses and feasts. The Auckland community has celebrated the devotion for more than 25 years and gathers as many as 5,000 people on the final feast day. Photos provided by Ruth Bailey
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THE MAGIC OF VIRTUE: RIMBROOK SUMMER CAMP 2021 MARYANA GARCIA
A popular summer camp for girls is proving how growth in Christian virtues can be a lot of fun. Between 19-22 January, 80 campers and leaders from all over the North Island gathered on the shores of Lake Taupo for the annual summer camp. This year, the activities had a medieval theme. The girls were welcomed to the MiCamp site with the sound of lutes playing over bluetooth speakers and the smiles of enthusiastic leaders. On the surface, the activity-filled timetable might not look too different from your usual fun in the sun. There was archery, a water slide, ropes courses, scavenger hunts and a Burma trail, to name a few. All activities were accompanied with screams of delight, pounding music, the sound of frantic running feet and leaders dutifully fretting over health and safety. But on this camp, the girls would not be earning points by scoring bull’s eyes at archery. “The magic happens when you are on time and tidy, when you play fair, when you persevere without complaining, when you encourage the girls around you, when you are kind,” camp organiser Marcy Helbano reminded everyone.
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They were encouraged to enjoy themselves, but also to help each of their fellow campers have the best summer experience they could. How? By living the Camp Code, a list of active statements each focusing on a virtue such as patience, generosity, charity and honesty. The best part is that following the Camp Code, leads to an effect that is just as advertised: magic. Campers coming home described their experience in positive superlatives like, “Awesome!”, “Amazing!”. One girl even called it “the best camp EVER!” Campers were invited to attend daily Mass and to pray the Rosary each evening. The sacrament of reconciliation was also available each day. The camp was organised by volunteers from Fernhall Study Centre and Rimbrook Study Centre. These centres are looked after by the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei. Photos provided by Rimbrook Study Centre.
SUZANNE AUBERT SCHOOL BLESSING AND OPENING BRIGID CONROY
“To engage, inspire and empower through Christ”: this vision, the motto of Suzanne Aubert Catholic School, was inspired by the work of Suzanne Aubert and is what will guide the foundation board of trustees, staff and students in the creation of this new community of learning. After only six months of planning, praying and preparing, the school was blessed and opened by Bishop Steve on February 2 2021 in the presence of students, staff and board members, governance facilitator Jeremy Kedian, All Saints by the Sea parish community, tangata whenua, manuhiri and sisters from the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion in Whanganui. “The Sisters of Compassion were founded by Suzanne Aubert. She was a woman of great faith and inspired many people. For the sisters today we hope that Meri Hōhepa/Suzanne Aubert will be an inspiration for all the school community here,” said Sister Margaret-Anne Mills. Welcomed via a whakatau by local iwi and inspiring opening remarks from establishment board chair, Ron Scott, foundation principal Anthony Mills, Bishop Steve Lowe, and Sister Margaret-Anne, Bishop Steve blessed not only the buildings but all the new learners and those present. Ron Scott put it this way: “Like the Church itself, Suzanne Aubert Catholic School is not these buildings, as wonderful as they are. At the centre of the school, the beating heart, are the learners.”
82 students in years 1 to 6 are enrolled this year, with the ability to grow to 150 by 2022 and 250 by 2024. “We are blessed to be opening a Catholic school in one of the most beautiful places in Aotearoa. To parents, caregivers and whānau, we feel incredibly privileged to be sharing this journey with you as we partner together in the education of your tamariki,” siad Anthony Mills, foundation principal. The diocese and school would like to thank all involved in making the opening of the school possible, in particular the Ministry of Education; Graeme Roil, the Diocesan Schools Property Manager; Establishment Board members; governance facilitator Jeremy Kedian Principal Anthony Mills and his team of staff; the Daughters of Compassion; tangata whenua. Thanks also to Mike McClennan, the IDS Project Manager, Boffa Miskiel, Waiotahi, Watts and Hughes, and all the subcontractors who have worked right up to the opening of the school. Finally thank you to the parish and school community at All Saints by the Sea Parish and all those families sending their children to this new school. To learn more about the new school and keep up to date with how this learning community grows, visit their website www.suzanneaubert.school.nz or their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneAubertSchool
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The Family that prays together, stays together In an article in our November issue, talking about Advent, we quoted Pope Francis speaking of the importance of family prayer. It’s been said that sometimes people need to be reminded more often than we need to be instructed, so here’s a reminder of his words: “Dear families: do you pray together from time to time as a family? … It is what makes the family strong: prayer”. Lent, like Advent, is a graced time to draw closer to Christ; to reflect on our prayer life as individuals and as families or communities, whatever shape our particular family takes, and commit to going deeper. I asked some of our people about prayer in their families, and some common themes came through. Here’s what they shared with us.
DEACON HENK GIELEN PARISH OF ALL SAINTS-BY-THE-SEA, TAURANGA For family prayer in our house we simply said a decade of the Rosary: at times it was difficult but this was said every night, come what may. To pray each night with children is difficult and perseverance is required. As I turned the tv off for prayer the children would have many distractions and it was hard to settle them down, but I believed this was so important I would let nothing stand in the way of family prayer. The goal behind family prayer was for the family
to experience Christ and for each child to know Christ personally, and I was always seeking the Holy Spirit to this end .The Holy Spirit too wants us to experience Jesus personally for ourselves. I think this is the crux of prayer: this was always foremost in my mind and for me prayer was about a type of waiting on the Lord, so as we prayed it was always about waiting and expecting God to show up, as it were, which he always did. We went to Mass each Friday at 5pm then had fish and chips, and our Sunday obligation was always followed by cream buns and some treats: the idea was that Mass was remembered as something nice. God was an important part of our lives and we always prayed for his direction when faced with important decisions. As I was growing up my Dad would lead us in a family Rosary each night. As we prayed there would be a change, l would sense God in the prayer so God was not taught but caught, as it were. So in my turn I was doing the same for my family, “passing God on”. To pass Jesus on in this way is a gift from the Holy Spirit that doesn’t come from ourselves but from God. I believe God wants everyone to have this gift which comes through prayer and knowing Jesus personally.
EVE MCKOY ST PIUS X PARISH, HAMILTON Thank you for the opportunity to share our experience of family prayer time with you. Sam and I have been married for nine years, and God has blessed us with Trevor, 8, Clare, 5, and Bethany, 2. We do our family prayer every day after dinner, sitting around the table after the kids finish doing their little home chores. Family prayer time is important to us because we have learnt from other experienced parents that it’s more effective to start forming our children’s prayer life and love of God when they are little. This is a golden age when they are very receptive, just like a sponge, and they’re capable of absorbing what we teach them. It’s also beneficial for
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prayers. Family prayer enables us to use the Gospel to study Our Lord and appreciate his merciful love for us. We use “iPray With the Gospel” (a free app) for contemplating both the Gospel reading and the saint of the day. Despite our limitations - sometimes we pray poorly due to distractions (one technique that seems to help is letting Clare and Bethany do some colouring while they wait for their turn to pray out loud) or our prayer time is shortened due to laziness - we believe the invisible grace of our Lord has continuously transformed us and the kids to be more joyful and faithful like him. Sam is not Catholic but he does appreciate the Christian values and desires our children to thrive in their faith, to be kind and strong for everyone. And I think he secretly likes the kids and me praying for him and his intentions. Family prayer helps our kids to love Christian ideals by exposing them to stories of saints - the real super-heroes - so that they become more receptive to God’s vocational calling for them and will be more inspired to answer God’s calling with courage.
MIKE BAIRD CATHEDRAL PARISH, HAMILTON
the kids to see us adults praying. Being the natural role model for them, our example is more compelling than words alone to convince them of the necessity of daily prayer. We believe the tradition and culture of family prayers instills in kids a sense of their Christian identity as a child of God, and this daily commitment of connecting with Our Lord and Our Lady will keep strengthening their relationship with the Lord and the saints.
We didn’t start family prayer until our eldest child started at a state school. Kate and I realised it was up to us to model prayer as our daughter wouldn’t see it anywhere else outside of Sunday Mass. Our first attempts at family prayer were simply saying grace before every meal. We eventually established a family culture where prayer was part of who the Baird family were.
Family prayer time unites us with our extended families and friends, especially those who are sick, dying, suffering and the souls in Purgatory. By praying for them, our kids learn to grow in compassion for the needy and poor, and to have more faith that our loved ones will be praying for us when we struggle. We pray one decade of the Rosary, contemplating the mystery at the beginning of the prayer using a children’s Rosary book. We also use children’s prayer books, a children’s Bible, and saints’ story books for kids, so they can be proud to know and say their own
The main family prayer time of the day was in the evening. Once dinner was finished we would leave the dishes on the table and go directly into the lounge for prayer time. This was non-negotiable even though there was always “urgent stuff” that needed doing, like homework or ringing someone. This was hard to start with but once the pattern was established it worked. By the time the children reached teenage years it was routine. This prayer time always happened, even when we had guests who might be non-believers.
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their understanding of what prayer could be. We also started playing Christian music in the home, morning and evenings. We explained to our children this was a type of prayer as the songs usually were based on scripture. The music was appropriate to the children’s ages but also much of it was adult Christian music. As well as prayer after dinner, we made time for prayer all through the day. In the morning: Before I went to work we called the children into the kitchen or lounge and I would pray a blessing of protection over them. This sometimes included prayer for anything happening that day, like exams or sports events. Before car trips: Any long trip always started with prayer in the van. A friend once commented he saw our family in the van at a petrol station all doing the sign of the cross. He knew what was happening. At bedtime: Every child had one or the other of us pray with them once they were in bed.
A candle was lit in front of a crucifix and I would say a spontaneous opening prayer. It was important for the children to see Dad leading the prayer time even though it was usually Mum who made sure it happened. Then each of the children were encouraged to say a thank you prayer, a prayer for someone else and a prayer for themselves. We would finish with an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be and a song. Our son refused to say anything until he was seven when his eldest sister left for university, and then he suddenly started praying for her during these prayer times. Perseverance paid off in the end. Sometimes our evening prayer was playing a game together with an opening prayer at the start and a closing prayer at the end. This could be Bible charades, which was very popular, a board game or anything else where we could enjoy each other’s company. We told the children Jesus loved watching us have fun together. It broadened 29
Before meals: We would say grace before every meal, even when at a restaurant or at McDonalds. The children accepted this as part of what we did. When the children turned sixteen, a family tradition was to take the child to a restaurant of their choice where they would say grace. I remember this happening with our son, and at the end of our meal, before we left, a man approached our table to say thank you to our son for the witness he was in saying grace. Doing the sign of the cross made it obvious what we were doing. The children knew we would pray for anything at any time, like when then they were sick or had concerns about school. We had holy water fonts in their bedrooms from which we would bless them and sometimes they would bless us. We continue with this family prayer routine to this day, even though our children have all left home. Of course, now they and the grandchildren come to stay, and we pray together, and so the tradition of family prayer continues and is passed on again.
Wordfind “Puns are the highest form of literature” - Alfred Hitchcock. Do you agree? Or do you think puns are actually the lowest? What do you think of these punny book titles for Lent and Easter?
prayer mercy penance forgiveness forty desert
resurrection carnival pancakes ashes laetare purple
gold rejoice redemption fasting palms triduum
cross tomb crucify faith hope grace
When Does Lent Start by Ash Wednesday God Loves You So Much by Olive Himtoo Three Days in the Tomb by Rose Again The Mission of Christ by Freda Captives The Power of God’s Mercy by Buster Chains Easter Joy by E. Ting-Chocolate Liturgical Colours by Violet Vestments Prayer and Fasting by Len Tinpennants Being a Disciple by P. Sand-Joy Send us your ideas for funny Catholic book titles, on any topic, for the next issue - email with “Kids’ jokes” in the subject line, or write us a letter. We’ll print some here. For contact information see the contents page. @CATHOLICDIOCESEOFHAMILTON | CDH.ORG.NZ
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