202103 by The Southern Cross

THE TRIDUUM: What you must know

WAY OF THE CROSS in photos from Lourdes

FR RON ROLHEISER: How to keep our dead alive

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It’s the Year of St Joseph A NEW CATHOLIC GOSPEL SINGER ON THE SCENE

THE GREAT STORY OF IRISH MISSIONARIES IN SA

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Welcome

Who will tell the Catholic story? Dear Reader,

HE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF SOUTH AFRICA HAS a big problem: We are not very good at telling our story. Ours is one of the biggest faith communities in the country — even at 7% of the population — but our public footprint is disproportionately small. Much of that is due to the neglect of social communications over the past three decades at leadership level. There is so much happening in the Catholic Church, so many wonderful stories to be told — and almost nobody ready to tell them. The same goes for the history of the local Catholic Church. So many stories are disappearing as those who lived them get older and eventually die. Of course, there are archives, but even those do not necessarily give a personal perspective of events, never mind capturing the emotions that shaped them. Some books have recorded these, and we must be grateful for them. We must accept that some stories will never be told, but that realisation should move us, collectively, to try and record what can be recorded before the memories of those who experienced history fall silent. So we must welcome the superb documentary on the Irish missionaries in South Africa, which was produced for Ireland’s embassy in Pretoria (see page 14). The film, titled Poverty, Chastity and dis-Obedience and available on YouTube, has excellent production values, but those can go only so far in telling a great story. The heavy lifting is done by the engaging interviewees and their Irish gift for storytelling. Missionaries from many other countries have made a big difference in South Africa. How wonderful it would be to know their stories, too! And it is even more necessary to record the experiences of local clergy and religious — and, indeed, laity. Most of these stories are inspiring, but there are also less than happy episodes in the local Church’s history: of abuse of power or of institutional racism, for example. That, too, must be researched and recorded. Who will write these stories? The community of the Most Holy Redeemer in Mmakau, near Pretoria, has taken on such a task in preparation for its centenary. The Southern Cross’ features writer Daluxolo Moloantoa is involved in compiling that parish’s history, and he wrote

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about the mission’s founder, Fr Camillus De Hovre OMI, in our November issue. May the work of Mmakau parish inspire other parishes, organisations and individuals to tell the history of our local Church and the people who have shaped it!

arch 19 sees the feast of St Joseph, husband of Mary, in this special Year of St Joseph, proclaimed by Pope Francis. We feature St Joseph in two articles (and if you bought the December issue, you can also revisit our brief history of the Holy Family). Our cover features St Joseph, holding the child Jesus, in the church of Giovanni Battista in Bragora in Venice (where, incidentally, the composer and priest Antonio Vivaldi was baptised). But look again: in the background is a Pietà, a sculpture of Our Lady holding her dead son, an image we will soon call to mind during Holy Week (for which we prepare in our explainer on the Triduum, on page 22). Here we see St Joseph and his foster son in daily life, and in the distance we see the son’s mother’s traumatised grief. That is how close normality and tragedy reside to one another in life, as the coronavirus pandemic has taught us with cruel abundance. This issue also sees the start of a series by Jesuit Father Chris Chatteris on the art of preaching. At first glance, this content may seem to be for a narrow audience, namely clergy. But I recommend it to all readers. Why? Firstly, it is good when the people in the pew know the difference between a good and a bad homily. Secondly, much of the advice Fr Chris dispenses can be applied also to public speaking, something that frightens many people. If we are called on to deliver a speech, a presentation, a eulogy, or a toast, this series will provide some great tips, for preparation and delivery. Thank you for reading The Southern Cross! Yours in Christ,

Günther Simmermacher (Editor)

R Shields (chair), Bishop S Sipuka, Bishop S David OMI (alt), S Duval, E Jackson, B Jordan, C Mathieson, N Mpushe, Sr T Munzhedzi OP, R Perrier, D Shikwambana, G Stubbs

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Contents MARCH 2021

Four lessons from the Annunciation For the March 25 feast, four things we can learn from the Annunciation

The Bible read in one year A priest’s podcast on Scriptures has become a widespread sensation

2021: The Year of Dante Why Dante is the greatest of all poets, and why his masterpiece is called a ‘comedy’

All about the Triduum As we anticipate Holy Week, JD Flynn tells us what we need to know about the Triduum

SA’s new Catholic gospel music star

How not to crash the homily In a new series, Fr Chris Chatteris SJ gives advice on how to deliver a good homily

Obituary: Archbishop Abel Gabuza Günther Simmermacher pays tribute to the late coadjutor archbishop of Durban

EVERY MONTH 6 YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED You ask, and our team of experts replies

SAINTS OF THE MONTH The amazing story of Ss Perpetua & Felicity

THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa looks at the gift of reading

10-11

RAYMOND PERRIER

Focus on St Joseph

21 Stations of the

Cross in Lourdes

on the hazard of becoming ‘armchair Catholics’

FR RON ROLHEISER OMI on how we keep our dead alive

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

PRAYER CORNER Illustrated prayers, for you to cut out and keep

TWO PAGES OF PUZZLES Two Crosswords, Wordsearch, Catholic Trivia Quiz, and Anagram Challenge

COOKING WITH SAINTS Grazia Barletta cooks with St Joseph

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

Irish missionaries in South Africa

Cover photo: St Joseph holds the child Jesus, with a Pietà in the background, in the church of Giovanni Battista in Bragora in Venice, Italy. (Photo: Günther Simmermacher)

8 Years Ago: March 20, 2013

FROM OUR VAULTS Bishops slam police abuses

The Justice & Peace Department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has condemned abuses committed by some within the South African Police Services. Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley said the bishops are “deeply concerned that a growing number of police officers are taking the law into their hands as they show little regard for human life in their daily operations”.

Secularism’s virulent attack

The Catholic Church is facing a “virulent attack by secularism”, but must also address its own problems, including “integrity of clergy”, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg said in an interview with Vatican Radio.

Prayer meeting ‘illegal’

Riot police stopped a prayer meeting at the Caritas Centre in Manzini, Swaziland, called by the Trade Union Congress, claiming it was illegal because the congress is not officially registered with the state.

New pope’s election

What else made news in March 2013:

In his editorial on the election of Pope Francis, Günther Simmermacher writes: “The election of a pope from Latin America signals that the Church in the developing world must now be seen as an equal partner; Pope Francis stands as a validation of the younger churches.”

• President Jacob Zuma says that 13 South African soldiers were killed in the war-torn Central African Republic as Muslim Séléka rebels seized the capital, Bangui. • Eight South African policemen are arrested on suspicion of murder after dragging a Mozambican man, Mido Macia, behind their police van. • Uhuru Kenyatta claims victory in Kenya’s violence-plagued presidential election. His leading opponent, Raila Odinga, challenges the result. • Hundreds of Christian protesters clash with police across Pakistan after the burning of Christian houses in Lahore. t-shirts for the Kwanele Kwanele campaign against gender-based violence, spearheaded by holy trinity parish in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, are sold at the launch of the initiative at McAuley house School.

An adve rt for the Good Frida y colle ction to help the Christians of the holy Land .

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Is Sunday a day-oﬀ from Lent? Q. As a lifelong Catholic, I was surprised when I was told that we may take a break from our Lenten sacrifice on Sundays, because Sundays are not counted as days of Lent. Is that true?

Do you have questions ab out our faith ? Send them wi th your name and location to: editor@sc ross.co.za Subject line: Q&A

WILL ANSWER THE SECOND PART OF your question first, because that’s the easier one: Do Sundays count as part of Lent? The clear answer is: Yes, they do. In the liturgical books of the Church, the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends just before the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday. In the Roman Missal, for example, February 21 was designated as the “First Sunday of Lent” in 2021. Now, for the more complicated part: If you’re fasting from, say, sweets for Lent, may you eat them on Sundays? The answer is: It’s your own call. Each of us is required in a general way to do penance, but the particular manner is a personal choice. There’s no law involved or question of sinfulness — you’re just doing something nice for

God, in return for the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Now, it is true that the Church has always viewed Sunday as a day of celebration in remembrance of the Resur-

Was St Joseph chaste? Q. Having read your article about the Holy Family (December 2020), I would like to know whether St Joseph was celibate during his marriage to Mary. Was the marriage never consummated?

HE CATHOLIC CHURCH HOLDS that the marriage between Mary and Joseph was chaste and their marriage not consummated. Mary therefore was a lifelong virgin.

Most Protestants do not believe in Mary’s perpetual virginity, so they may say that the marriage was consummated, and that the four brothers and two sisters mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-56 may be the children of Mary and Joseph. Indeed, the presence of the “brothers” who are with Mary when Jesus effectively renounces his family (Mark 3:31-35) suggests their close relationship with both Jesus and his mother. The trouble is that the Bible does not tell us either way. Even the word used to describe these family members in the original Greek text of the Gospels is ambiguous. The word

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Your Questions answered

rection, a kind of “little Easter”, and has never required fasting on Sundays — so I suppose there’s some warrant, when you’ve adopted a Lenten penance, for “taking Sundays off”. But I think it’s probably better to continue the practice throughout the whole Lenten season, Sundays included; if I gave up sweets for Lent but ate them on each of the six Sundays, that doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice. This reminds me that a couple of years ago at a school Mass on Ash Wednesday, I asked the kids what they were giving up for Lent. One little boy raised his hand and said: “Hitting my sister.” I hope that he didn’t take Sundays off! (Fr Kenneth Doyle)

adelphos can mean brothers as well as kinfolk (such as cousins), and the difference between siblings and cousins in their society was more fluid than it is in Western society, and similar to the way cousins are recognised in African culture. One theory is that Joseph was much older than Mary and widowed. So he wanted a wife for housekeeping and looking after his children — the four brothers and two sisters, or those of them young enough to need motherly care — rather than for procreation or romance. In a world where people often died young, it was not unusual for an older, widowed man to seek a wife who would keep the house. Perhaps that was so in the case of Joseph and Mary.

the marriage of Joseph and Mary, in a stained glass window in St Quiriace church in provins, France.

translated the Bible into Latin, offered another good reason for Joseph’s chastity: he would not have entertained the idea of having carnal relations with the woman who bore the Messiah, “the Temple of God”.

When a man officially took a woman into his household, they were considered to be married, whether they consummated their marriage or not. So the marriage of Joseph and Mary does not in itself imply consummation.

For the Catholic Church the case was settled almost 1 500 years ago, when the Second Council of Constantinople of 553AD declared that Mary conceived no more children after giving birth to Jesus. The Lateran Council of 649AD confirmed that teaching.

St Jerome, who in the 4th century

(Günther Simmermacher)

Can I bring myself back to my lost faith? Q. Is it possible for one to lose the Catholic faith and sometime later to bring oneself back to it?

HE CATECHISM SAYS THAT BY faith we freely commit our entire selves to God (para 1814). These are strong words. They profess that there can be no retreat from believing that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father except through him (John 14:6). We receive this divine gift of faith when we are baptised into the company of believers and become members of the Church. As long as we pray and work along with the Church, usually through our parishes, it is unlikely that we shall lose this shared faith. Jesus warned us, though, that it can happen. Just read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Jesus tells the story and then clearly explains the parable’s message. Faith and good works take root and flourish in “rich soil”, which is the spiritual

nourishment of the Word of God, the sacraments and prayer, found in our parishes and communities. Faith is a seed that requires this regular spiritual watering to develop. Without it, it will wilt and can even fade away. Can it be regained? Yes, because faith, hope and love are the three “theological virtues” that are poured into our souls at baptism. They are called “theological” because their object is God himself. They remain within us in spite of becoming dormant due to indifference and neglect. Here’s an example from the Gospel. A distraught father who begged Jesus to cure his little boy was told that everything is possible for those who believe. The man retorted: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark

9:23-25). The man’s dormant faith became reinvigorated when he asked for help to make it stronger. This is what we all need to do too, but in particular those who have doubts at times which inhibit their living in solidarity with the Catholic community. Faith is God’s precious gift to us. We must hold on to it resolutely because it assures us that life and death have meaning and purpose. (Michael Shackleton)

Are Covid vaccines morally OK?

Q. I have been hearing about the vaccinations for Covid-19 that come from an aborted foetus. My moral feeling is that I rather not benefit from one that has been developed from a foetus. What does the Church say?

ES, WE MAY RECEIVE COVID-19 vaccinations even if their development involved embryonic stem cells. In December, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a note on the morality of using anti-Covid-19 vaccines “which, in the course of research and production, employed cell lines drawn from tissue obtained from two abortions that occurred in the last century”. In the note, the Vatican did not concern itself with the efficacy and safety of these vaccines. According the pharmaceutical companies, no foetal cells are present in any of the vaccines. But some companies made greater use of these cells than others. According to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, inoculations produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna used a cell line derived from an aborted foetus to test their vac-

cines, whereas the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine used such cells in the design, development, production and testing stages. South Africa’s public vaccines probably will be of the latter variety. Nevertheless, the Vatican said: “All vaccinations recognised as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the

abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive.” Moreover, the Vatican said that “the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one’s own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good. In the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the epidemic, the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed”. So we may receive these inoculations in good conscience. “Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted foetuses, must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behaviour, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent,” the Vatican said. This principle would apply also to those who object to these vaccinations for other reasons. The Vatican stressed that its consent to the Covid vaccines does not imply “a moral endorsement of the use of cell lines proceeding from aborted foetuses”. The Southern Cross

PROFILE

‘I want to take Catholic gospel to new heights’

Having released her debut album, Catholic gospel singer Thuso Wa Sibini believes there is an audience for singers like her outside the Church, as she told DALUXOLO MOLOANTOA.

OSPEL MUSIC, ACCORDING to Catholic singer Thuso Wa Sibini, “is not just a genre of music. It is a calling, and I answered.” The 30-year old mother, who was born and raised in Alexandra township in Johannesburg, has been singing since she was eight years old. In January Thuso released her debut album, titled Faith On The Flip Side. It followed her debut single “Magnificat”, which was released in December. The single was well-received, and remains a firm favourite for many of those hearing it for the first time on the album. “The beautiful thing is that even mainstream DJs are remixing it, and adding it to their repertoires at live shows. It is timeless, and people are appreciating it,” she says. Thuso was raised by her grandmother. She recalls the strict ethical code by which she was raised. “My grandmother was the author of every moral fibre in my being,” she says. “I harbour and treasure my fond memories of being woken up at 5am to get ready for Mass beginning only at 9 — and we lived only five minutes away from our parish church, St Hubert’s in Alexandra.” It was these early mornings that got Thuso involved in the preparations for liturgy, as she was always at church long before Mass would begin. “I found myself being requested to help with Mass preparations by the sacristans and the church choir. This is how I ultimately joined the youth choir,” she explains. Thuso follows in the footsteps of her fellow parishioners and Alexandra

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residents The Light Twins, the popular duo of twins sisters who have taken their music beyond Catholic church pews and into the mainstream gospel music scene. From St Hubert’s youth choir Thuso moved on to the senior church choir. “The church choirs at St Hubert’s are nothing short of amazing,” she says. “Over and above their incredible, majestic sounds, they have a serious interest in liturgical correctness.” Credit for that, she points out, is due to long-time parish priest Fr Ronald Cairns OMI. “He will stop any song during the Mass that isn’t liturgical. The choir will then have to think on

its feet, and change the song on the spot. This has influenced my own music, in the attention to detail I invest in each song I create.” Another part of her grooming as a music artist was being involved with Radio Veritas. “I was a co-host with Tiiso Mosoeu on a music programme called ‘The Saturday Morning Show’. But I have taken a step back from it to focus on my music career,” she explains.

Shaped by Alexandra

Alexandra has been a major influence in both Thuso’s personal and professional life. She draws from the township’s diversity and cultural tapestry to create new music. “There are so many different people from all walks of life in Alexandra. The amazing thing is that they are all able to live together in harmony.”

Thuso Wa Sibini released her debut album in January this year, but she has been singing since she was eight (pictured above left) in St Hubert’s parish in Alexandra, Johannesburg.

Thuso was part of the archdiocese of Johannesburg’s contingent at World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain, in 2011, representing St Hubert’s. The experience taught her a great lesson about the Catholic Church. “There were many young people from every corner of the world at World Youth Day. There were Masses across Spain every day, in a multitude of languages. This is when I came to realise what is meant when they say that the Catholic Church is the ‘Universal Church’,” she recalls. For her, this universality expresses itself abundantly in music. “With every Mass, the language and the music was unique to each country. The rhythm and the style of presentation, too. But I could follow because the liturgies were well within the norms of a regular Mass at home.” She particularly enjoyed the African countries’ singing at Mass. “My ultimate favourites were the Nigerian Mass services. Hearing the infusion of the Afro-beat sound into the songs, even the sacred songs, was an awe-inspiring experience. I was truly blown away by it.”

gle song on the album that I haven’t got great feedback for. I really pray that the album receives the recognition I think it deserves.” (Hear the title track of the album at bit.ly/3630y0Z) Like The Light Twins, Thuso is determined to take her music beyond a Catholic audience. “It is now time for Catholic music artists to get out there. The time for making music just for ourselves is over. There is a huge gap in the local gospel music scene for authentically and unapologetically Catholic music to fill. I would like to one day switch on Metro FM or watch a music channel on DStv, and see a proudly Catholic music artist on air,” Thuso says. Catholic support will be crucial to

‘Now is the time for Catholic music artists to get out there’

Great reactions

Thuso’s greatest career challenge so far has been the creation of Faith On The Flip Side, her debut album. And the feedback, she says, has made it all worthwhile. “The reception has been nothing short of absolutely amazing. I knew I was giving it my all, but I didn’t think that I would be getting calls from all sorts of people patting me on the back, so to speak. There’s not a sin-

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the process. “I am currently praying, and working so hard for God to open the doors of the mainstream South African music industry to up-and-coming Catholic music artists,” she says. “I really want to teach the mainstream about the richness and beauty of Catholicism through my music. But it has to start with Catholics supporting Catholic artists. The support should be so loud that the mainstream music scene cannot ignore it! It means Catholics selling out Catholic music concerts,” she says. “The opportunities are immense for Catholic music artists to reach their potential, and by doing so become a force to be reckoned with in the South African music industry.” n Thuso Wa Sibini’s single “Magnificat” and her album Faith On The Flip Side are available on all major digital music platforms. To order a CD copy email ThusoWaSibini@gmail.com

Help Mmakau mission to print its story!

The Most Holy Redeemer parish, situated in Mmakau Village in the north of Pretoria, is marking it centenary in 2021. Its many milestones, including visits by two future saints, is being recorded in an illustrated book. But to cover its printing costs, the mission requires individual sponsorship. The first 50 sponsors who make a donation of R3 000 or above will receive a special mention in the book. They will also receive a complimentary copy of the book signed by the archbishop of Pretoria, his Grace Archbishop Dabula Mpako. For bank account details or further info, email holyredeemercentenary@gmail.com

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St Joseph and me God chose St Joseph to be Jesus’ foster father, so he must have been a special man, suggests MArylyn TurcoTTe of the man to whom Pope Francis has dedicated this year.

THINK ABOUT ST JOSEPH frequently — what he looked like, how his voice sounded. Was he a large, powerfully-built man? Was he outgoing or more reserved? How did people feel when they were with him? This much I believe is true: Joseph must have possessed a soul so beautiful that God chose him to be the foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary. Think about that for a moment. God, Creator of all things, looked at Joseph among all men and regarded him so highly, that God trusted him to be the provider and protector of the Holy Family. What did God see when he looked at Joseph? I picture him to look like the images we have in our churches, but I think that God saw past his physical appearance, to a man of prayer and humility who believed he could serve God best with his skills as a carpenter. I would imagine that God saw beyond the ordinary to a man with an extraordinary capacity for trust and faith. A man so skilled at listening that he heard the messages of angels and acted on them. When told by an angel to take Mary and Jesus and leave Bethlehem immediately because of the danger, “Joseph rose and took the child and

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his mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Matthew 2:14). His obedience and total faith in God are remarkable, leaving whatever comfort and security the family had to travel to a distant and strange land. Imagine Joseph speaking this urgent news to Mary. I think that in this latest upheaval of their lives, Mary remembered that Joseph was the man God had chosen to care for and pro-

Whenever our lives are disrupted or in turmoil we can turn to Joseph tect her and Jesus. She must have felt safe and trusted that somehow they would be alright. Imagine them leaving most of their belongings behind, packing what they could in haste and setting out along unknown roads towards an unknown future. By Joseph’s obedience, we have a sense of how deeply he trusted the care and providence of God.

Did St Joseph know?

Though he knew that Jesus was the son of God, Joseph assumed the

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The angel appears to Joseph to tell him to wed Mary, in a stained glass window in Milan’s Duomo. The feast of St Joseph, husband of Mary, is on March 19.

Photos: Günther Simmermacher

role of father, raising Jesus as his son in his culture and faith, and passing on his trade as a carpenter. When he worked with the wooden timbers and boards, did Joseph know of the unimaginable death Jesus would suffer on the same wood that provided their livelihood? Whenever our lives are disrupted or in turmoil we can turn to Joseph. He understands the pain, suffering, and dangers that we face because he experienced them in his own life. As St Teresa of Avila said: “If only I could persuade all men to be devoted to this glorious St Joseph, for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God.” Every day I turn with confidence to St Joseph for his guidance and protection. The Litany of St Joseph is a prayer that lists the many titles given to this powerful saint, like “Watchful defender of Christ”, “Joseph most valiant”, “Model of workman”, “Pillar of families”, and “Protector of Holy Church”. I read the list and imagine how St Joseph fulfilled each of these roles. One of my favourites is “Terror of Demons”, which St Joseph must have been to protect the Holy Family during all of its travails. Whatever your need or intention may be, take it to St Joseph and ask for his help. St Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, Terror of Demons, pray for us. n Marilyn Turcotte writes from Ontario, Canada. This article was originally published on BustedHalo.com.

12 ways to gain an indulgence in the Year of St Joseph By COurtney MAreS

E ARE NOW IN THE YEAR of St Joseph, decreed by Pope Francis, during which Catholics have the opportunity to obtain a special plenary indulgence. Until this special year ends on December 8, there are many new ways that Catholics can receive an indulgence, including by entrusting their daily work to the protection of St Joseph the Worker or reciting the rosary with their families. These acts must be accompanied by sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the pope’s intentions — the usual conditions to obtain any plenary indulgence. Plenary indulgences remit all temporal punishment due to sin and must be accompanied by full detachment from sin. According to the decree issued by the Apostolic Penitentiary, there are several ways to receive an indulgence in the Year of St Joseph. 1) Participate in a spiritual retreat for at least one day that includes a meditation on St Joseph. 2) Pray for St Joseph’s intercession for the unemployed that they might find dignifying work.

3) Recite the Litany of St Joseph for persecuted Christians. Byzantine Catholics have the option of an Akathist (sung hymn) to St Joseph. 4) Entrust one’s daily work and activity to the protection of St Joseph the Worker. 5) Follow St Joseph’s example in performing a corporal work of mercy. These include feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the imprisoned, visiting the sick, and burying the dead. 6) Perform one of the spiritual works of mercy, such as comforting the sorrowful, counselling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing the sinner, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving injuries, and praying for the living and the dead. 7) Pray the rosary together with one’s family in order that “all Christian families may be stimulated to recreate the same atmosphere of intimate communion, love and prayer that was in the Holy Family”. Engaged couples can also receive an indulgence from praying the rosary together. 8) Meditate for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, because St Joseph “invites us to rediscover our filial relationship with the Father, to renew fi-

the holy Family is depicted at St Joseph’s church in their hometown of Nazareth.

delity to prayer, to listen and correspond with profound discernment to God’s will”. 9) Celebrate the feast of St Joseph on March 19 with an act of piety in honour of St Joseph. 10) Pray an approved prayer to St Joseph on the 19th of any month. 11) Honour St Joseph with an act of piety or approved prayer on a Wednesday, the day traditionally dedicated to him. 12) Celebrate the feast of St Joseph the Worker on May 1 with an act of piety or prayer.—CNA

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Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee...

Four things we learn from

the AnnunCIAtIOn

The feast of the Annunciation on March 25 marks the moment of God becoming human. Prof MICHAEL OGUNU suggests four points for reflection.

T THE VERY INSTANT WHEN Mary consented to be the Mother of God, “the Word became flesh” in her womb (Luke 1:26-38). The feast of the Annunciation, celebrated on March 25, is an ancient commemoration of that event, going back to at least the 5th century. The Gospel of Matthew also affirms the virginal conception (1:1225). An angelic messenger tells St Joseph: “Have no fear about taking Mary as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child” (1:12-25). Most notable in the Annunciation account is the response of the young girl: “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say” (Luke 1:38). Mary chose to be a servant of the Lord and to bring the Saviour into the world. It proved to be a heroic service of love, for with her son, she walked the Way of the Cross. The feast of the Annunciation teaches us several truths that are worthy of our reflection. Firstly, God became human because he loves us and wanted to join his divine nature to our human nature so that we could share in his divine nature by grace. This truth is a central theme of the teaching of the Catholic Church. It is also the basis of the sacramental life of the Church. The kind of new life that Jesus came to give us is a sharing in divine

life which we had lost through the first or original sin of Adam and Eve. Now by Jesus’ death, it would be restored and the sacraments would be the means of receiving it and growing in it.

Secondly, this event teaches us that God requires our cooperation to bring about the salvific deeds he intends to accomplish. Without Mary’s fiat, the Son of God would not have become human and we would not have been redeemed. A relief of the Angel appearing to Mary, outside the basilica of the Annunciation in nazareth. Photo: Günther Simmermacher

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Life begins at conception

Thirdly, the feast of the Annunciation teaches us that life begins for human beings at conception. The Church has always believed that Jesus became human at the moment of his conception, not at the moment of his birth. The Latin text of the Creed states this very fact when it says: “...and he became flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary and became man.” This is also the third declaration of the Angelus when one says, “And the Word became flesh”, with the response “And dwelt among us.” This truth also reminds us why the Catholic Church so strongly condemns abortion from the moment of conception. Finally, the feast of the Annunciation reminds us of the remarkable role of Mary in the work of salvation. Mary was the one called by God to uniquely participate in the work of salvation so that the Son of God could become human and, by his death, redeem our world. Mary is the New Eve because, as the sinless Mother of God, and made so by Christ her Son, she becomes the mother of all the truly living, those who accept and live in the very life of God. So as we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation, let us rejoice in all the truths that are found in this great mystery. Let us begin to pray the Angelus daily in our families to commemorate our God becoming human by means of Mary. Let us rejoice that the Son of God truly came to dwell with his people by becoming human and opening the doors of heaven for us to enter.

Podcast reads the Bible in one year

By ChrIStIne rOuSSeLLe

CATHOLIC PODCAST OF a priest reading and analysing the Bible hit the top of the Apple Podcast charts this year, ahead of secular podcasts produced by such organisations as The New York Times, NBC News, and NPR. “The Bible in a Year”, produced by Ascension Catholic Faith Formation, features episodes containing two to three scriptural readings, a reflection on those readings by Fr Mike Schmitz, and a prayer. Each episode is about 15-25 minutes long, and a new episode is being released on each day of 2021 (subscribe and catch up at bit.ly/3i7Rehi). Instead of reading the Bible from cover to cover, the podcast follows “The Great Adventure Bible Timeline”, which was developed by Jeff Cavins. Fr Schmitz said that this approach, which centres on “14 critical narrative books” interspersed with the remaining non-narrative books, helps to maintain the story structure of salvation history, “A lot of times, what derails people is when they’re reading the story of Genesis and Exodus and Numbers, and all of a sudden they read Leviticus and [are] like, ‘Wait, I lost the story now,’” Fr Schmitz said. So the producers have built the non-narrative books, like Leviticus, around the narrative story, such as Genesis or Exodus. This “keeps people connected, like, ‘Oh, okay, now this makes sense, that here you are in the wilderness, and that’s why we’re reading Leviti-

cus, because this is where his podcast, with its innoGod needs to give his people vative formatting of salvathe law regarding the tabertion history with a nacle’,” the 46-year-old timeline, changes this perpriest explained. ception. The “timeline” apThe appeal of a “Bible proach also means that lisin a Year” podcast, Fr teners will not have to wait Schmitz believes, is threeuntil very late in the year fold: firstly, it goes through Fr Mike Sc hm itz to hear about Christ. “If the entire Bible in one year; we [read the Bible] straight secondly, it’s delivered in through like that, we wouldn’t get to the bite-sized chunks; and New Testament until, I think, Novem- thirdly, “you’re going to have some kind ber,” Fr Schmitz said. To help remedy of guidance”, the priest said. “And I this, he said there will be four “messianic think that for a lot of people [that] just checkpoints” that will introduce listeners makes something that might seem inacto Christ. “I’m really excited about that. cessible, now accessible.”—CNA Just to be able to say, in the midst of this Old Testament story, ‘here is the revelation of Christ’.”

the Bible proclaimed

Catholics tend to read the Bible less often than Protestants. Fr Schmitz believes that this is due in part to how Catholics are accustomed to having Scripture “proclaimed” to them at Mass. “And so one of the things that we are used to is having the Bible read out loud; we’re used to having the Bible...proclaimed. And I think maybe because of that, we kind of sit on our laurels a little bit, and don’t necessarily dig in and ask all the questions about translations, the questions about contexts and whatnot.” Despite this, Fr Schmitz thinks that “we still have this hunger to know”, even as many people are discouraged by the “daunting” nature of the Bible. He hopes The Southern Cross

Irish missionaries in SA A new documentary charts the experience of Irish missionaries under apartheid and afterwards. GüNTHER SIMMERMACHER watched the film — and recommends it.

ISSIONARIES FROM MANY countries in South Africa opposed apartheid, but standing out among them were the Irish. A documentary titled Poverty, Chastity and (dis)Obedience recalls the contribution of Irish missionaries to the struggle against the racist regime. Commissioned by the Irish embassy in Pretoria, the documentary features interviews with Sisters who broke racial segregation in Catholic schools and priests who lived in townships. Some of those appearing in the film did so after responding to an appeal published in The Southern Cross. Among those who contributed to the hour-long documentary, which is available on YouTube in high definition, are Srs Agatha Byrne HC, Rosemary Commins OP, Áine Hughes HC, Margaret Kelly OP, Mary McAteer MSA, Marion Millane HF, Ethel Normoyle LCM, Maureen Rooney HC, Margaret Wall OP, Frs Hyacinth Ennis OFM, Teddy Lennon OFM, Paddy Noonan OFM, Dick O’Riordan, Irish ambassador Fionnuala Gilsenan, historian Prof Donal McCracken, Richard Mokolo, Vuyokazi Mcetywa, Nozipho Khena Tembe, and researcher Dr Ciarán Reilly of Maynooth University in Ireland. Their interviews are interspersed with archive footage, photos and audio. The early Irish missionaries in the 19th century came to serve the English-speaking Catholic communities, especially settlers and British soldiers — Prof McCracken says that by the 1840s almost half of the British army was Catholic. The missionary impulse to minister in black communities came later. That included building hospitals and schools where government invest-

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ment in such social infrastructure was lacking. This was, of course, the work of missionaries from different countries and orders. And, for the most part, the daily work was done by religious. Prof McCracken points out that in their schools, missionaries quietly helped educate a new black middle class. Fr Dick O’Riordan, in South Africa since 1967, poignantly notes: “I never knew I was a white person until I came here.” In Cape Town, Fr O’Riordan was known as one of a group of white priests who lived and served in black townships. Others included the feisty Fr Desmond Curran, a Northern Irish convert and son of an Ulster Unionist judge and politician. He died in 2015. Fr O’Riordan notes that there was great cooperation among church groups in the townships, especially in times of highly-charged political funerals, which tended to be rare occasions when activists could speak in public. “I never experienced so much anger. You could sense the anger in the church, on the way to the cemetery, and at the cemetery,” he says.

‘God’s band’

Franciscan Father Paddy Noonan, in South Africa since 1970, was also a notable township priest, in the Vaal Triangle. He has written books about his experiences, including the acclaimed They’re Burning the Churches, and more recently Help! My Granny’s Dog Is a Racist. He recalls the hostility he felt from white officials who saw Catholic missionaries as the enemy. In that abnormal society as “a member of God’s

band”, he says, “you had to develop ways of resisting, unique ways for every area — always in collaboration with the local people”. According to Fr Noonan and Fr Teddy Lennon, a Franciscan who came to South Africa in 1976, this included parishes taking part in things like rent boycotts, delivering coded homilies, or producing leaflets, “the weapons of the poor”. According to Richard “Bricks” Mokolo of Sebokeng, a former activist who speaks movingly of the torture he suffered in detention, the Irish priests who lived in the black communities assimilated totally into the culture of the people (as, of course, did those of other nationalities, including South Africans).

They were “defying the apartheid government by working in the black communities”, Mokolo notes. “They ate what the black communities were eating, they learnt the culture of the black people; they even adopted the suffering, the struggle we were facing.” The presence of white Irish priests opposing the white government in itself was empowering. Franciscan Father Hyacinth Ennis, in South Africa since 1973, explains how in the 1980s, St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria — then headed by another Irish missionary, the future Archbishop William Slattery OFM — encouraged political activism among its students. Salesian Father Patrick Naughton, who came to South Africa in 1959, speaks of the helplessness he felt at the abusive power of the state. Assumption Sister Mary McAteer, who arrived in South Africa in 1984, says the injustices, big and small, made her so angry that in emotionalk moments she was tempted to take up arms herself. Fr Naughton’s work with the underprivileged as part of the Salesian Institute in Cape Town even provoked concrete threats to his life. Holy Cross Sister Áine Hughes, here since 1980, recalls being tailed by the security police, with the attendant fear of being driven off the road, as happened to many activists. Sr Ethel Normoyle, in South Africa since 1973, tells of the times she was arrested by the police, “treated roughly” and dropped off at 2am “in the middle of the bush”. Every morning she wondered if she would come home at the end of the day. After apartheid, the Little Company of Mary Sister received the Order of the Baobab in Silver, one of South Africa’s highest honours, for her

work in founding Missionvale Care Centre in the Eastern Cape.

School apartheid smashed

A centrepiece of the documentary is the dramatic, and heroic, defiance of apartheid by Catholic schools in opening up to all people, regardless of their apartheid classification, as of 1976. The story is told by three of the Dominican protagonists: Sr Rosemary Commins (who was born in South Africa), and Srs Margaret Kelly and Margaret Wall, both of whom came to South Africa in 1964 and were instantly appalled by the apartheid system. Discovering the grotesque iniquity of apartheid sowed the

‘I never knew I was a white person until I came to South Africa’ seeds for quiet resistance, Sr Kelly recalls. That resistance burst into the open in the mid-1970s when the century-old Dominican Springfield Convent School in leafy Wynberg, Cape Town, defied apartheid by opening its doors to young women of all races. This was revolutionary — so much so that the bishops, including the anti-apartheid giant Archbishop Denis Hurley, initially counselled caution. The Dominican Sisters stood firm, and others around the country followed suit. Overtaken by events, the bishops then supported them. This courageous step — at a time when priests and religious risked detention and missionaries faced the threat of expulsion — broke schools apartheid at least in private institutions. “I didn’t know whether I’d end up in prison that night, but I felt delighted, because I believed” in opening the schools, Sr Kelly recalls. There was a sense of real danger: “You had to be careful because... it was all right if they bombed me, but you couldn’t allow them to hurt the children.” Most parents and pupils were supportive. “A few took their children out, but not many.” Sr Wall says it was like walking into the dark. “We didn’t know what was going to happen.” But, she adds, “I think everybody was relieved, because somebody had to open the door.” She explains that the worldwide presence of Dominicans meant that news of their schools defying apartheid spread globally. Holy Cross Sister Maureen Rooney, who came to South Africa in 1974, recalls her experience as an eyewitness to the Soweto uprising of

June 16, 1976. She remembers returning to South Africa in the 1980s at the time of the state of emergency. “Once you crossed the border, you felt something closing in on you: the apartheid situation.” Support for the struggle came from Ireland itself: from the Church there, the government and the people. At a time when the Conservative Party in Britain under Margaret Thatcher supported the apartheid regime and called Nelson Mandela a “terrorist”, shopworkers in Dublin went on strike in protest against having to sell South African fruit. Srs Hughes and McAteer recall the “electric atmosphere” that accompanied the first concrete signs of apartheid’s collapse, in particular Nelson Mandela’s release from jail in 1990. But not everything in the documentary is about resisting apartheid. Holy Cross Sister Agatha Byrne, who arrived in South Africa in 1947, recalls how the presence of missionaries helped break down prejudices against Catholics, in a country where they were seen as the “Roomse gevaar”. And Sr Normoyle and Holy Family Sister Marion Millane (in South Africa since 1978) speak about poverty alleviation programmes. It is Sr Millane who articulates the sentiment of all these missionaries: “South Africa is now my country, and the people are my people.”

n See the full documentary at youtu.be/xnb-hXjkjuM Also see a panel discussion, with more history of Irish missionaries in South Africa at youtu.be/4qoKIeY3EzM

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2021 is the Year of Dante

By KeVIn JOneS

ANTE ALIGHIERI DIED 700 years ago, and Italy is celebrating the author whose epic poem through hell, purgatory and heaven has influenced the art, imagination and faith of so many down the centuries. Anthony Esolen, a Dante translator who is writer-in-residence at Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, is a fan. “If we consider Shakespeare to be a playwright rather than a poet, I believe that Dante must win the laurels as the greatest poet in the history of man,” Esolen said. “There is hardly a subject you can name that he has not thought deeply about, and has not written about, in ways that clarify the subject and that suggest its relationships with others. And only Shakespeare and Charles Dickens are as fruitful as Dante is in inventing characters whom we will remember all our lives.” Dante, a citizen of Florence, died in exile in Ravenna in September 1321, shortly after completing “The Divine Comedy”. The poem, rich with symbolism and allusions, has Dante himself as the narrator. He is a pilgrim whose journey begins in a dark wood. His story passes through the various “circles” of hell, purgatory, and heaven. Esolen emphasised the Christian foundation of the work. “Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ is meant to be the poetic exposition of the whole universe: physical, spiritual, moral; and of the whole history of man, from his creation and fall, to his redemption in Christ, to the consummation of time in eternity and the beatific vision. To say that Dante is inspired by his Christian faith is to say not nearly enough. The faith is the air he breathes, and the blood that flows in his veins.” A “Year of Dante” was launched on September 5 last year in Ravenna, in the presence of Italian President Sergio Mattarella. The year is being marked — as far as the coronavirus pandemic allows — by events throughout Italy, including in Dante’s birthplace of Florence and 70 other towns and villages. Teachers have been encouraged to teach about the poet in class. Last year the Italian government declared March 25 to be celebrated annually as “Dante Day”. Its date coin-

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cides with the feast of the Annunciation. That is the date many scholars believe marked the beginning of Dante’s journey in the “Divine Comedy”.

Why it’s a ‘comedy’

The work is called a “comedy” because of the arc of its story, Esolen explained. “If you begin in misery or poverty or confusion, and you end in bliss and riches and clarity of vision, then that is a comedy,” he said. “If the converse, then it is a tragedy. The Christian view of the world is essentially comic, so much so that critics have sometimes wondered whether the Christian can properly, as a Christian, write any tragedy at all. The crucial event in the history of man is the Incarnation of the Son of God, and his passion, death, and resurrection. To incorporate yourself into that story is to embrace the comedy of love.” Dante’s epic poem is separated into three books of 33 sections, or cantos, each: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. “In Inferno, we see what happens when God gives us the evil that we

‘The faith is the air Dante breathes, and the blood in his veins’ choose, but stripped of all the veneer of glory in this world, and drained of even the temporary sweetness of pleasure that evil choices may bring,” Esolen explained. “It is a cramped place, befitting the constriction of the mind and heart and soul that sin visits upon us. Yet, of all the people in the comedy, we sinners are most like the people we meet down there, and that should cause us some discomfiture. “Purgatory is the realm, wonderfully imagined as a mountain on an island in the western sea, exactly opposite on the globe from Calvary, where what is crooked in us is made straight, what is feeble is made strong, and what is dim is made clear. Think of it as an infirmary, or an exerciseground, a place where the effects of habitual sin are scoured and cleansed away,” Esolen continued. “Then comes Paradise: the realm of

A painting of Dante Alighieri dating from his lifetime, attributed to Giotto, in the chapel of the Bargello palace in Florence. The great Italian poet died at the age of 56 in 1321.

the saints in full, which Dante divides according to the heavenly bodies, assigning to each, in conscious allegory, its own degree or variety of blessedness.”

Dante’s great influence

According to Esolen, Italian literature is “unimaginable” without Dante. While his reputation was eclipsed for centuries in much of Europe, his place has been secure since the romantic movements of the 19th century. “Countless poems, paintings, sculptures, operas, and other musical compositions have been inspired by him,” said Esolen, who also praised Dante’s other works, such as the love poetry of La Vita Nuova (“The New Life”). Pope Francis has spoken about Dante on several occasions. In an October 10 meeting with a delegation from the archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia, the pope blessed a gold cross that St Paul VI had donated to Ravenna for Dante’s tomb. Pope Francis had his own advice for an introduction to Dante. When teenagers encounter Dante in an accessible way, despite their “great distance from the author and his world”, they can “perceive a surprising resonance” with him. “This happens especially where allegory leaves space for the symbol, where the human being appears most evident and exposed, where civil passion vibrates most intensely, where the fascination of that which is true, beautiful, and good, ultimately the fascination of God, makes its powerful attraction felt,” the pope said.—CNA

Saints of the Month: SS Perpetua & FeliCity

the ﬁrst-hand account of Africa’s women martyrs More than 1 800 years ago, two women and three men were martyred in northern Africa. Today we know exactly what happened because we have a first-hand account.

Ss perpetua & Felicity at a glance

after her imprisonment, who begged her to recant. Perpetua refused. Her father had good cause for concern. Just recently, four Christians — Jocundus, SaturnBorn: c. 181 AD in carthage, roman Province inus, Artaxius and Quintus — of Africa • Died: 203 AD in carthage had been burnt to death for Canonised: Acclaimed as martyrs in the 3rd their faith. But Perpetua’s ficentury Feast: March 7 delity to her faith was beyond Attributes: (Perpetua) contemplative, mystic, visionary, religious reformer, writer compromise. She was baptised patronages: Mothers, expectant mothers, before her arrest. butchers, lifestock farmers Perpetua’s fellow catechumen included her slave, the pregnant Felicity. The others At her baptism, Perpetua was told to were Revocatus, a slave and possibly Felicity’s husband, and the freemen Saturn- pray for perseverance in the trials that inus and Secundulus (the latter would were to come. Initially the prisoners were die in jail). They were imprisoned, along held in abominable conditions, but with their instructor, Saturus, who in an bribery by two Christian leaders, the deaact of solidarity turned himself in as a cons Tertius and Pomponius, secured PerChristian to the local magistrate. They petua and her companions what she knew their likely fate: being thrown to described as “a more commodious part of the prison”. There she was reunited with wild animals in the circus. her baby. At that moment, she wrote, “my prison suddenly became a palace for Call a jug a jug All of them were implored to recant me”. When the end approached, she enand save their lives. In her writings, Per- trusted the infant to her mother and petua recounted how she explained to brother. Meanwhile the pregnant Felicity was her father even before her arrest why in a dilemma. Roman law prohibited the that was impossible. execution of pregnant women. Rather In that encounter, she pointed to a than using that to evade her dreadful water jug and asked fate, Felicity was worried that she might her father: “Do you be prevented from martyrdom by her see that vessel over pregnancy. So she prayed to give birth there? Can you call before the others would be led away to it by any other name the circus. Her wish was granted just two than what it is?” Her days before the group met their death. As she gave birth, the guards taunted father agreed that he couldn’t. “Of course Felicity that her death would be much not,” replied Per- more painful than the delivery. She told petua, “and neither them: “Now I am the one who is suffercan I call myself by ing, but in the arena, another will be in any other name me suffering for me because I will be sufthan what I am — a fering for him.” Her daughter was The martyrdom of Perpetua, Felicity, revocatus, Saturninus Christian.” Continued on page 20 and Secundulus (Menologion of Basil II, c. 1000)

HERE ARE FEW FIRST-HAND accounts of martyrs in the early Church, much less so by women. This is one of the many things that makes the martyrdom in 203 AD of Vibia Perpetua, her slave Felicity (or Felicitas), and others so fascinating. Other interesting aspects include their background as Africans, and their willingness to subordinate family, and even their babies, to Christ. Perpetua came from a noble family in Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia, then the Roman province of Africa. We know that she was about 22 at the time of her martyrdom, well-educated, and “honourably married” to an otherwise obscure husband with whom she had a baby. We know from her own account that she had a loving father, a mother, and two brothers (a third, Dinocrates, died at the age of seven). Perpetua was also about to become a Christian, like her mother and a brother. It was a circumstance that frightened her pagan father, because persecutions of the followers of Christ were rife at the time. She recorded a couple of showdowns with her father, before and

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The

S outhern Cross

St Perpetua’s vision, in her own words

Ne DAy [IN prISoN] My brother said to me: “Sister, I am persuaded that you are a peculiar favourite of heaven: pray to God to reveal to you whether this imprisonment will end in martyrdom or not, and acquaint me of it.” I, knowing God gave me daily tokens of his goodness, answered, full of confidence: “I will inform you tomorrow.” I therefore asked that favour of God, and had this vision. I saw a golden ladder which reached from earth to the heavens; but so narrow, that only one could mount it at a time. to the two sides were fastened all sorts of iron instruments, as swords, lances, hooks, and knives; so that if any one went up carelessly he was in great danger of having his flesh torn by those weapons. At the foot of the ladder lay

a dragon of an enormous size, who kept guard to turn back and terrify those that endeavoured to mount it. the first who went up was Saturus, who was not apprehended with us, but had voluntarily surrendered himself afterwards on our account. When he got to the top of the ladder, he turned towards me and said: “perpetua, I wait for you; but take care lest the dragon bite you.” I answered: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he shall not hurt me.” then the dragon, as if afraid of me, gently lifted his head from under the ladder, and I, having got upon the first step, set my foot upon his head. thus I mounted to the top, and

there I saw a garden of an immense space, and in the middle of it a tall man sitting down dressed like a shepherd, having white hair. he was milking his sheep, surrounded with many thousands of persons clad in white. he called me by my name, bid me welcome, and gave me some curds made of the milk which he had drawn. I put my hands together and took and ate them; and all that were present said aloud: “Amen”. the noise woke me, chewing something very sweet. As soon as I had related to my brother this vision, we both concluded that we should suffer death.

• From The Passion of Ss Perpetua & Felicity

adopted and raised by a Christian own account). leopard were set on the men. Then Fewoman. The rest of the story was written by licity was forced into the arena to face a And so came the day of their trial. an anonymous witness (some say it was wild heifer. By the time Perpetua enOne by one, they professed their Chris- Tertullian). When the martyrs entered tered, Felicity was already wounded. tian faith and were sentenced to die in the arena, they were told to change into When they gave each other the kiss of the circus. As Perpetua’s turn came, her robes dedicated to pagan gods. Perpetua peace, it is said, the beast was no longer father appeared, the little baby on his refused: “We came to die out of our own in the mood for fighting, and the crowd arm, begging one last time for her to re- free will so we wouldn’t lose our free- was losing interest. So the two women cant. Even the magistrate implored her dom to worship our God. We give you were to be put to the sword. Alas, the to change her mind. But Perpetua re- our lives so that we won’t have to wor- nervous swordsman was too incompefused. What they didn’t know was that ship your gods.” They were allowed to tent to kill Perpetua cleanly. In the end she set the sword to her own throat so Perpetua had had a dream which re- keep their clothes. The martyrs were first tortured: the that the hapless executioner could finish vealed to her how the story would end. men were flogged, the women beaten in the job properly. We know the details of that dream today Before she was killed, Perpetua the face. Then the men entered the ambecause she wrote it down. called out to her brother and other phitheatre. A wild boar, a bear, and a In her vision she saw a golden ladChristians: “Stand fast in the der reaching up to heaven. On its faith, and love one another. Do sides were swords, hooks and dagnot let our sufferings be a stumgers so that those who might atbling block to you.” tempt to climb up without The release of Perpetua’s looking towards heaven would be diary, with her non-negotiable fiinjured. At the bottom of the laddelity to Christ, caused a sensader, a large dragon tried to scare tion among Christians people away from heaven. Perthroughout the empire, at a time petua first saw Saturus go up who when religious persecution was a warned her about the dragon. She constant threat (as it would be for replied: “In the name of Jesus another century). After ChristianChrist, he will not hurt me,” and ity was legalised in 313 AD, a magthe dragon put his head down. At nificent basilica, now ruined, was the end of the ladder Perpetua built over the tomb of the marsaw a white-haired man milking tyrs, and the Roman martyrology sheep in a beautiful garden. He set the feast day of Ss Perpetua welcomed her and gave her curds and Felicity on March 7. from the milk. Perpetua awoke Ss Perpetua and Felicity are from her dream with the sweet the patron saints of mothers, extaste of the curds still in her A mosaic of martyrs Perpetua and Felicity in a chapel pectant mothers, butchers and mouth (see sidebar above for her wall in the basilica of the Immaculate conception in livestock farmers.

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Washington.

Photo: chaz Muth/cnS

Station I: Jesus is Condemned to Death Station II: Jesus Receives His Cross Station III: Jesus Falls the First Time O Jesus, help me to appreciate your sanctify- O Jesus, you chose to die for me. Help me to O Jesus, make me strong to conquer my ing grace more and more. love you always with all my heart. wicked passions, and to rise quickly from sin.

Station IV: Jesus Meets His Mother Station V: Jesus is Helped by Simon O Jesus, like Simon, lead me ever closer to O Jesus, grant me a tender love for your mother, who offered herself in devotion to you. you through my daily crosses and trials.

Station VI: Jesus and Veronica O Jesus, imprint your image on my heart that I may be faithful to you all my life.

Stations of the Cross in Lourdes

Station VII: Jesus Falls a Second Time O Jesus, I repent for having offended you. Grant me forgiveness of all my sins.

Station IX: Jesus Falls a Third Time O Jesus, let me never yield to despair. Let me come to you in hardship and spiritual distress.

URING Lent we are called to follow Christ on his Passion journey to the Cross. Here we follow the Stations of the Cross in images from Lourdes in France. The photos are accompanied by very short prayers from the Treasury of Novenas, but readers may wish to do the full set of prayers. A good sample text for these can be found at www.lordcalls.com/dailyprayer/the-way-ofthe-cross-the-stations-of-the-cross

Station VIII: Jesus Speaks to the Women O Jesus, grant me tears of compassion for your sufferings and of sorrow for my sins.

Station X: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments Station XI: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross O Jesus, let me sacrifice all my attachments O Jesus, strengthen my faith and increase my love for you. Help me to accept my crosses. rather than imperil the divine life of my soul.

Station XII: Jesus Dies on the Cross Station XIII: Jesus is Taken From the Cross Station XIV: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb O Jesus, I thank you for making me a child of O Jesus, through the intercession of your O Jesus, strengthen my will to live for you on God. Help me to forgive others. holy mother, let me be pleasing to you. earth and bring me to eternal bliss in heaven.

Prayer after the Stations

Jesus, you became an example of humility, obedience, and patience, and preceded me on the way of life bearing your Cross. Grant that, inflamed with your love, I may cheerfully take upon myself the sweet yoke of your Gospel together with the mortification of the Cross and follow you as a true disciple so that I may be united with you in heaven.

The stone still covers the tomb’s entrance, but soon it will be rolled away, and the Lord will be risen. Hallelujah!

What you need to know about the

EASTER TRIDUUM Between Holy Thursday (this year on April 1) and Easter Sunday (April 4), the Church observes the Paschal Triduum. To help us prepare, JD FLYNN explains what it’s all about.

T THE END OF THE SEASON OF Lent, and right before Easter, the Catholic Church observes the “Sacred Triduum”. Many Catholics have questions about what happens during the Triduum, and how they should observe this time. Got Triduum questions? We have you covered: To start with, what is the Triduum? The triduum is a period that begins on Holy Thursday, and ends at the conclusion of Easter Sunday. It encompasses the evening of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. The term “triduum” means “three days” and refers to any three-day observance. Technically, the triduum during Holy Week is known as the “Paschal Triduum”. The word “paschal”, which is used to refer to Easter, comes from the Greek word pascha, which in turn comes from the Hebrew word pesach, meaning Passover. Jesus’ Passion, death, and Resurrection, which is connected theologically to the Passover feast, is referred to as the Paschal mystery.

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper most especially remembers the institution of the Eucharist: the sacramental gift to the Church of Christ’s Body and Blood, given in the transformation of bread and wine. Often at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the priest washes the feet of some members of the congregation, recalling Christ’s washing of feet at the Last Supper. Christ told his apostles: “If

“Maundy Thursday” because the word “maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means “mandate”. On Maundy Thursday, Christ gave us a mandate: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” Is Holy Thursday a holy day of obligation? No. And people may not be able to attend the Mass of the Lord’s Supper for a variety of reasons: their family needs or work schedule, or health (especially in this time of Covid-19). But it’s a beautiful Mass. You should go if you can!

Kids aren’t the only ones who may fall asleep during the Vigil readings

Okay, so what happens on Holy Thursday? On the evening of Holy Thursday, the Church celebrates the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which commemorates Christ’s Passover meal with his apostles the night before he died.

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I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

So is there Mass again on Good Friday? No. There’s no Mass on Good Friday. In fact, after Mass on Holy Thursday, the altar is stripped of its cloth. Crosses are removed from the church What’s “Maundy Thursday” then? or covered. No candles burn in the Holy Thursday is sometimes called church. The Blessed Sacrament is not reposed in the church’s tabernacle, but in another small chapel. On Good Friday, the church is empty of many of its symbols. It is adorned like a church in mourning. At 15:00, the Church offers the “Celebration of the Lord’s Passion”. At this celebration, Scripture is read that recounts the prophetic anticipation of Christ’s Passion, and recounts the Passion narrative itself. Although it’s not a Mass, Holy Worshippers venerate a crucifix during a Good Friday liturgy. This year, churches in South Africa and around the Communion is distributed. Normally, believers are inworld will probably not allow the faithful to kiss the cross, to prevent transmission of covid-19. Photo: cnS vited to venerate the cross, to

come forward and kiss or reverence a cross. “Behold the wood of the Cross,” the priest proclaims. Though this year, this will most probably not be possible. I know that Good Friday is a solemn day, but what should we do all day? Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstaining from meat. On Good Friday, families should try to observe a quiet day of simplicity, in addition to attending the “Celebration of the Lord’s Passion”. This might mean praying the rosary or reading Scripture together. It might mean keeping the TV off, or going for a family hike. The idea is that it should be a day of reflection, and it should be noticeably different from other days of the year. If you haven’t yet gone to confession during Lent, Good Friday is also an excellent day to go to confession, and take your family. Check with your priest or parish whether the sacrament of reconcilation will be offered on Good Friday.

and some spend the day preparing for an Easter feast. All the better if Holy Saturday is a day of prayer—punctuated by the rosary, or Scripture. And probably some people buy or dye Easter eggs. You have to do it at some point!

So what about Holy Saturday. What does one do on Holy Saturday? The culmination of Holy Saturday is the Easter Vigil. But it’s a long day, and people often ask what they should do with the rest of it. Many families use Holy Saturday as a day for cleaning or planting in the garden. Some spend the day outdoors,

And the Easter vigil? The Easter vigil is one of the most beautiful liturgies in the Church’s calendar. It is spectacular, and full of beautiful Catholic symbolism. The vigil begins at night. It starts with a fire, which is blessed, and from which is lit the Paschal candle. The whole of salvation history is pro-

St thomas’ church in Lenasia, Johannesburg, during an easter vigil, which is part of the paschal triduum. photo & main photo: Sheldon reddiar

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claimed during the reading. A beautiful Easter proclamation, called the Exsultet, is sung, usually by a deacon. Done well, this is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful things the Church does in a liturgy. I love a good Exsultet! And men and women are received into the Church: some will be baptised and confirmed, and others, already baptised, will receive confirmation. The Easter Vigil is awesome. Fair warning: It’s also long. Really long. And a lot of readings take place with the lights off. Some parents decide it is too much for children, while others bring their kids in pyjamas and let them sleep in the pews. At the Easter Vigil, that’s perfectly understandable. A scan of your parish church may well suggest that kids aren’t the only ones who sometimes fall asleep during the readings. It’s all part of the experience. So after that ends, is it Easter? It is indeed. If you go to the Easter Vigil, you should stay up all night and party. Celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection is what Easter is all about. Some people will, of course, go to Easter Sunday Mass, and then spend the day feasting with family and friends. One piece of advice for celebrating Easter: Remember the poor. The lonely. The outcasts. If you really want to celebrate Easter, invite someone to your table who might have nowhere else to go. You’ll be glad you did. And then Easter is over? The Triduum ends on the evening of Easter Sunday. But the “octave” of Easter lasts for eight days. And the liturgical season of Easter lasts for 50 days, all the way to Pentecost.—CNA The Southern Cross

PREACHING

how not to crash a homily At a time when many are bemoaning the general quality of preaching, FR CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ proposes to subject homilies to proper professional standards.

LANE CRASHES IN A SERMON? REALLY? YES, REALLY! A preacher has just read a passage of sacred scripture, most likely the Gospel. Our good and worthy preacher (I’ll call him “him” because he usually is) proceeds to précis it. No matter that the Gospel has just been read and is still ringing in the ears of the congregation. No matter that it is extremely familiar to regular churchgoers — so familiar in fact that some of them know parts off by heart and others can quote chapter and verse. Even so, our preacher insists on repeating, say, the story of the prodigal son, in his own words. What does he think he is doing? Does he imagine that he is reminding the congregants of what they have just heard? Or does he imagine that his own version of the tale will improve on Jesus’ own terse and dramatic telling? It’s difficult to know what, if anything, is going on in his mind. He may not realise it, but he has crashed the plane on take-off. Some of the congregation want to stand up and say: “Please, Father, tell us something we don’t know!” What they would effectively be saying is that he is falling short in his duty to nourish them, which is why the homily is a “fail”, as they say in the tech world today. Unfortunately, in the Catholic Church at least, the homily is the last unanswerable monologue. Without the possibility of giving some instant feedback, the congregation suffer in silence while the preacher ploughs on, pitifully paraphrasing the Word of God in a form vastly inferior to the original. So the People of God go away angry, frustrated and unnourished. Thus does a homily induce spiritual diminishment — the exact opposite of what is hoped for from preaching. Such events are what a colleague and I call a “preaching plane crash”. Why the choice of such a melodramatic image? It’s to highlight the issue of professionalism. I cannot speak

for other denominations, but in my quite extensive experience of Catholic preaching, I find it frequently ranging from low quality to downright disastrous. I hasten to add that at times I have contributed to these disasters, for preaching is, to some extent, an art — and art is not always successful. However, the fact is that there are clergy who “crash the homily” on a terrifyingly regular basis. Some do it without fail every Sunday, several times.

Where’s the quality control?

And here’s the question about professionalism: If a pilot crashed his plane regularly (assuming he survived), how long would it be before he lost his licence? Even if he only dented his aircraft from time to time while taxiing, he would come under the professional microscope of his trade. In fact, he would almost certainly never have got his hands on the controls in the first place. The flight simulator would have eliminated him early on in training. Yet ordained clergy, whose central task is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can perpetuate weekly disasters which alienate people from the Church and the Gospel. And despite this they retain their “licences”. In the Catholic Church, bishops rarely suspend or withdraw a priest’s or deacon’s “faculties” to preach. The competencychecking that pilots have to undergo every six months has no equivalent among the clergy. What happens in practice is that people in the congregation who are mobile drift off to other parishes or other denominations, or simply lapse from their Christian faith. The preachers themselves are often mystified by this and complain about the poor attendance, sometimes blaming the victims. People rarely tell them the truth. Nothing is done and the disasters simply continue, inflicted upon ever-dwindling numbers. Eventually the priest may be moved on to another parish, probably a poorer, less significant, less vocal one. The question here is what did the congregation of the poorer parish do to deserve the foisting upon them of an incompetent preacher? Was it simply because they are poor and less likely to complain?

One priest boasted that he never knew what he was going to say in homilies. Needless to say, it wasn’t great

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‘Such a shame: with such freestyling, Father could have been a great rapper.’

I would venture that it is because of the lack of professional accountability of the Catholic priesthood. Most professions have bodies which monitor the professional standards of their members. It’s not just airline pilots who are regularly checked for competence. Lawyers, doctors, journalists, auditors and other groups can all be called to account by their professional body or institute if their poor practice brings the profession into disrepute. But this almost never happens to Catholic priests in the case of bad preaching. How can it be that we set the bar so low? After all, preaching is supposed to be a core competency. We are not so negligent in other areas of Catholic pastoral practice. Catholic students for the priesthood have something called a “faculties” exam which they have to pass to get a “licence” to practise as a priest. The focus of this exam is on the hearing of confessions, but in theory it includes the ability to preach competently. Students quite frequently fail it the first time because they are judged insufficiently prepared to hear confessions. However, I have yet to hear of a seminarian who has failed to get his faculties because he was judged insufficiently competent to preach. This probably says something about a Catholic sacramental theology which — despite the insistence of Vatican II on the proclamation of the Word in the Eucharist, and the sacramentality of the Word — persists in the idea that as long as people have received Holy Communion, all is well. I think Catholic preaching is a victim of an unconscious theology of ex opere operato (“from the work performed”). This is a bit of pastoral theology for the protection of overscrupulous clergy and congregants which states that the sacraments are valid despite the foibles or carelessness of the celebrant. So if the priest is distracted during the Mass, the Eucharist is still valid, the Lord is still really present. Ex opere operato is all very well in the realm of the sacraments, but it can unconsciously foster an automatic and minimalistic mentality towards preaching. Could this mentality be affecting Catholic preaching? There are certainly some who seem to think that a good homily simply happens automatically, ex opera operato, without any preparation.

This would not be the first time in our history that ritualism became the refuge of clergy who cannot or will not rise to serious pastoral challenges but remain at the level of functionaries. Those medieval massing priests who used to do nothing but say several Masses a day were, I would guess, not the greatest of preachers. Anyone who regularly watches television programmes on air crash investigations will know that there is an infinite number of ways to crash a plane. Here the analogy holds good: there is a multiplicity of ways of causing one’s homily to fail. The method mentioned above — a summary of the readings in the preacher’s own words — is just one among many. I propose, therefore, to conduct in a series of articles a kind of homiletical “Air Crash Investigation”. My approach has been criticised for being rather negative, but I believe it’s necessary and I hope that the articles that follow over the next few months will be a helpful “examination of conscience” for the preacher or aspiring preacher who hopes to “fly” with greater safety and confidence for the sake of the People of God. It’s commonplace to say that preachers target themselves with their messages. The same is surely true of those who “preach” about preaching. We feel we can say these things because, as a Jesuit confessor once said in an unguarded moment in the box in response to the confession of a fault: “Why, I often do that myself!” n Fr Chatteris teaches at St Francis Xavier Seminary in Cape Town. Next month he will look at the delivery of homilies.

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theological autopilot

One man I knew used to boast that he never knew what he was going to say when he went into the pulpit! Needless to say, it wasn’t great. An ex opere operato view of the work of preaching is obviously a heaven-sent relief for the idle and the unimaginative. Why spend the hours of study, prayer and laborious thought which are required to preach well when one can rely on a kind of theological automatic pilot? The Southern Cross

9:40 AM

Archbishop Abel Gabuza: 1955 - 2021

N AUGUST, ARCHBISHOP ABEL Gabuza wrote a reflection on the coronavirus pandemic. In it he counselled us: “Let your half-full cup be the source of your strength, because it is not empty, but half-full. We need to keep hope alive, we have no choice. We must be people of hope.” At 11:35 on January 17, after an eight-day battle in Durban’s Hillcrest Hospital, the virus claimed the life of the 65-year-old coadjutor archbishop of Durban and former bishop of Kimberley. Born one of six children on March 23, 1955, in Alexandra, Johannesburg, Archbishop Gabuza would always highlight the role of his parents in his life. His father died when he was young, but “my mother was an important example to me. I always say to people, if it was possible, my mother would be the one who would be ordained,” he told Radio Veritas in 2018. In an interview with The Southern Cross in February 2019, he listed those who had shaped him: “My family, Holy Cross Sisters at Holy Cross Convent School in Alexandra township, teachers at St Paul’s Minor Seminary, and so many others I have met in my life.” He studied at St Paul Minor and St Peter Major Seminaries in Hammanskraal before taking a year out to work in a factory. That experience, he would later recall, helped him understand the difficulties and needs of workers. He then completed his studies at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria.

ordained in 1984

He was ordained to the priesthood for the archdiocese of Pretoria by Archbishop George Daniel on December 15, 1984, and served his archdiocese as a parish priest in several communities. He also lectured at three seminaries, and headed South Africa’s orientation seminaries in Pretoria and Cape Town as rector from 1991-94. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, then-Fr Gabuza was one of the leading forces in the African Catholic Priests’ Solidarity Movement. Viewed by many in the Church establishment at the time with suspicion, the movement helped reshape the Church in South Africa. Today, several of its leaders are themselves bishops. In the 2010s, Archbishop Gabuza served two terms as chair of the Justice & Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. In that position, working with Fr Stan Muyebe OP, he made many forthright

26 The Southern Cross

Photos: SAcBc/File/Denis Hurley centre

By Günther SIMMerMACher

top left: The late Archbishop Abel Gabuza at his reception as coadjutor of Durban in February 2019. top right: Visiting the small church of St Theresa in Manyeledi in the remote Kalahari on a donkey-drawn cart in 2015. Bottom right: Mgr Paul nadal, who died only four days after Archbishop Gabuza.

statements on matters as diverse as state corruption and the tragic deaths of pupils in latrines. In a tribute published on The Southern Cross’ website, Fr Muyebe noted that Archbishop Gabuza “used to receive emails with threats... This did not, however, stop him from speaking out.” (Read the tribute at www.bit.ly/2M2iRfN) Archbishop Gabuza was also outspoken on the Church’s sexual abuse scandal, warning Africa’s Catholic leaders not to write off the crisis as a “Western problem”. In his quiet but courageous and determined ways, the archbishop gave prophetic witness. He was a visionary who was more interested in implementation than publicity. His humility was always evident. He became vicar-general of Pretoria in 1999, serving in that position for 11 years until his appointment as bishop of Kimberley on December 23, 2010. Bishop Gabuza was ordained to the episcopate on March 19, 2011. He was the first of four successive vicars-general of Pretoria to be made a bishop. His successor, Dabula Mpako, was appointed bishop of Queenstown in 2011 (since 2019 archbishop of Pretoria), Bishop Victor Phalana to Klerksdorp in 2014, and Bishop-elect Robert Mphiwe to Rustenburg in 2020.

Made an archbishop

In December 2018 then-Bishop Gabuza was named coadjutor archbishop of Durban. His role was described as running the archdiocese alongside Cardinal Wilfrid Napier. He was supposed to eventually succeed the cardinal, who turns 80 in March. Just days after Archbishop Gabuza died, Durban lost its most senior priest, Mgr Paul Nadal, also due to Covid, on Januarty 21. Mgr Nadal, who died at 88,

was once considered a potential successor to Archbishop Denis Hurley. So in the space of four days, Durban lost two men who might have headed the archdiocese, albeit at different times. (Fr Nadal’s obituary is at www.scross. co.za/2021/01/mgr-nadal-obit) At his reception service into the archdiocese of Durban in February 2019, Archbishop Gabuza told the faithful: “I am not good at imposing myself upon other people, but I am good at seeking ways of drawing out from others what is best in them. I am not good at dominating others, but I am good at coordinating the work and efforts of each person.” It is a loss to the Church in Durban and South Africa that Archbishop Gabuza was not granted the opportunity to make his mark as the ordinary of the archdiocese to which he was transferred. His eight-year record as bishop of Kimberley suggests that he would have accomplished great things in the archdiocese which has known only five heads in 160 years. In the Covid-19 crisis, Archbishop Gabuza called us to hope. Even as we mourn this much-loved archbishop who was taken by the virus, and the horrifyingly large number of priests and religious who died around the same time, we must return to his words, written just a few months before his own death in that reflection on the pandemic: “The call for us today in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic is to continue the journey of staying spiritually healthy. As people of faith we are presented with challenges we cannot ignore. It can be easy to be swallowed by hopelessness and despair. This crisis is a particular prophetic moment in our lives. It calls us to remain strong, steadfast in our faith, love and hope.”

I’m grateful for my ABCs

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

OME TIME AGO IN A BOOKSHOP I passed by a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. I was both horrified and intimidated by the sheer size of it. I had heard that it is a classic and that some people have read it in its entirety. For many years, the act of reading has both delighted and repulsed me. I have fond memories of being read to Roald Dahl’s books Matilda, James and the Giant Peach and, best of all, The Witches. But I also have memories of being handed stacks of school textbooks, the words of which were to be consumed by my mind only towards a goal. Suddenly, reading was about digesting chapters and preparing for tests. Only now can I see that to be able to read is a gift — even if you cannot finish War and Peace. I don’t recall a single moment of learning to read. I simply remember singing the alphabet, which had somehow turned into words on a page that I was able to read with ease. I had a strong reading ability and often grew impatient with other children who could not read as fast as I did. Yes, I was that kid who’d be correcting mispronunciations out loud. Eventually, the time came to begin solitary reading, as we had outgrown being read to. There was the introduction to something called a library which had its contents ordered by the Dewey Decimal System. There were instructions on how to take out books, and serious threats of punishment for learners who failed to return books on time. In an instant I had forgotten the warnings and went in search of a “good book”. What “a good book” actually means is different for all of us. For the children in my class it was the floating staircases of Hogwarts, somebody called Artemis Fowl, or anything by Enid Bly-

ton. For me, it was Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng. To my surprise, the book had no pictures. This pained me. I wanted to see the characters. I suppose this is the dining room of literature in which I had to learn to take my seat and be fed. It is the challenge for every writer to tell and for every reader to be told.

reading a chore and joy

In time the act of reading transitioned from entering into adventure to demonstrations of studiousness. It was no longer fun, to put it bluntly. There

We, who know how to read and write, must not take this gift for granted were maps to be read, diagrams to be labelled, and the complex webs we found in history to be detangled. So I was grateful for the rare times I could be a pirate seeking treasure on an island, or a spectator to the rise of dictators through the lens of animals on a farm. I probably should have read more Shakespeare. And maybe, just maybe, I

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will one day read Lord of the Rings, even though the idea of Hobbits and a place called “Middle Earth” does not sound appealing to me yet. I lament that I never had the time to celebrate my achievement of learning how to read. How many people are not afforded the gift of literacy? And how many people aren’t put off from reading by discouraging and impatient teachers? We, who are lucky enough to know how to read and write, must not take this gift for granted. And as people of faith, we must use it to peel away the layers of Sacred Scripture. We must journey along with St Augustine who lays bare his confessions. We must accompany Dante who, led by Virgil, sees the torments of the Inferno, the Purgatorio and the joys of the Paradiso. And, you may ask, what will I do now? Well, having recovered from years of reading for the sake of preparing for exams, I think I am open to the challenge of writing my own books. I want to write stories for children, for grownups and everyone in between. I am grateful for the teachers and the books that formed me and the journey that began with ABC.

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Alone and together

Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

T IS CLOSE TO ONE YEAR SINCE our lives were turned upside down by Covid-19. Since last March, during various stages of lockdown, we have repeatedly experienced the shock of not being able to go to church. People who had never missed a Sabbath obligation in their lives suddenly found themselves sitting at home on their own on a Sunday morning, saying their prayers. All the familiarity of our local church, our friends in the next pew, the music that we love (or cannot stand), the sensation of receiving Communion, and the farewell handshake with the priest, were suddenly taken away from us. For some people, access to the Internet has helped. Initially with hesitation, but then with increased ease, a good number of people have been able to log in to online Masses and so at least experience, if not consume, the weekly sacrament.

hol (the latter even without assistance from Uncle Cyril). And the alms that we collect are, by definition, a link to the wider community as we hand them in for the benefit of the poor in our own parish, or in other parts of our towns, or for use elsewhere in the world. The great visual image of our Good

even in those intervals when we have been allowed to enter a church, we have had to sit far apart from other people, replacing the warm handshake of peace with an insipid smile of greeting between semi-masked faces. There are some up-sides, however. For some Catholics this has been a chance to rediscover the universality of the Church: to be truly catholicos. If my local church is not streaming Mass, I am only a click away from one in a different part of town; if my local priest has nothing new to say, I might be able to find a richer sermon in another city; if I feel like experiencing a Mass in a different country or even in a different language, it is no harder than “going to” my local church. My own mother, in her 80s, has enjoyed online Masses as a way of connecting with churches she remembers from her childhood in India. Moreover, when my family have had major celebrations — a birthday or a death anniversary — I have been able to “join” my parents at the same Mass at their local church, 5km from their home and 12 005km from mine. I know that, while feeling the loss of not having proper funerals, many have found the benefit of technology connecting us with people who share our grief but live in other parts of the world.

Will armchair Catholics just ‘watch’ Mass like it’s some kind of sacramental Netflix?

Jesus in the desert

After a year of this, where are we as Catholics and as a Catholic community? To reflect on this during Lent is, I think, especially appropriate. This season reminds us of how much of our Catholic journey is spent on our own with God; and how much is also spent together with other people. The foundational Scripture text for Lent (Mark 1, Matthew 4, Luke 4) gives us an image of Jesus on his own in the desert grappling with the devil. And that resonates with the Lenten experience for many of us: alone if not with the devil then at least with our personal demons — our temptations, our sense of inadequacy, our backsliding, our promises to do better. But Lent is also a journey that, in normal years, we take together. The moment of gathering for ashes on the first Wednesday is a great communal act — ironically, more widely shared than receiving the sacrament itself. We often discuss with our friends and family the challenges (and achievements) of giving up chocolate or cakes or alco-

28 The Southern Cross

Friday service — all of us gathered together at the foot of the cross and yet going up one by one to venerate it — captures this sense of being alone together. And the cross itself is a clear visual reminder of the two-fold relationship of the Christian. The vertical beam reaches up to heaven, emphasising our relationship with God; but the horizontal beam reaches out to the world reminding us of our relationship with others.

Aloneness in Covid times

It is obvious that Covid has reinforced our aloneness, and for many people our loneliness. For those who are working or studying from home, the great loss has not been physical proximity to the lecturer or the customer. Rather it has been the loss of camaraderie: the chats around the coffee station, the accidental encounters in the corridor, the shared experience (good, bad or ugly) of a team meeting. In the same way, no matter how adept we have become at tuning in to Mass, online or on-air (thanks to Radio Veritas), we are clearly much more alone than in pre-Covid times. And

Beware aloofness

However, these small advantages are not enough to compensate for our physical presence at Mass. Of course, we miss Communion in the sacramen-

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tal sense. Covid protocols create space for our silent communion with God; but we have to work hard to make sure we do not neglect the communion with others that is also essential. If we do not, then “alonenesss” can become “aloofness”. St Augustine defined sin as being turned in on myself (incurvatus in se). Lockdowns can encourage this in us if we do not act to counter it. How we address this will vary between people and circumstances. For those who can move around safely and are at a lower risk, volunteering in the community has become an outlet. In this past year, at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, we have seen many new volunteers who want to do something which takes them out of their bubbles and helps them give back to others. For those for whom that is not possible, making a donation or organising a quirky online fundraiser has enabled them to show that they remain connected. All of us have the chance to read more, to learn more, to talk to more people: to expand our horizons so that it is God and others who are the centre of our world and not ourselves.

Sacramental Netflix

At time of writing, it is far from clear if we will be back in our churches for Holy Week. We could give up and accept that our faith has been reduced to a spectator sport: armchair Catholics just “watching” the services like some kind of sacramental Netflix. Or we could invest energy and spiritual power in using this time to witness — to whomever we can connect with — Christ’s journey towards his death and resurrection. It might be online; it might be a conversation with a neighbour; it might be a phonecall to someone who is alone. As Christ hung on the cross he was at one moment completely alone and utterly connected to all of humanity. And, in his agony, he took the trouble to reach out to the two thieves beside him. In the same way, as we carry the cross of Covid, we might feel very alone but we also have a chance to connect with other human beings, sometimes ones who are far away, sometimes those who are very near. We might be alone, but we are alone together.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

How we keep our dead alive

OST OF US ARE FAMILIAR with the story of Zorba the Greek, either through Nikos Kazantzakis’ famous book or through the movie. Well, Zorba was not a fictional character. He was a real person, Alexis Zorba, who had such a larger-thanlife personality and energy that when he died, Kazantzakis found his death very difficult to accept, incredulous that such energy, verve, and colour were mortal. On learning of Zorba’s death, this was Kazantzakis’ reaction: “I closed my eyes and felt tears rolling slowly, warmly down my cheeks. He’s dead, dead, dead. Zorba is gone, gone forever. The laughter is dead, the song cut off, the santir broken, the dance on the seaside pebbles has halted, the insatiable mouth that questioned with such incurable thirst is filled now with clay... Such souls should not die. Will earth, water, fire, and chance ever be able to fashion a Zorba again? It was as though I believed him to be immortal.” Sometimes it’s hard to believe that a certain person can die because of the life and energy that he or she incarnated. We simply cannot imagine that life-pulse dead, stilled, forever gone from this planet. Certain people seem exempt from death because we cannot imagine such energy, colour, generosity, and goodness dying. How can such wonderful energy just die? I have felt that many times in my life; most recently when two former colleagues — both especially spirited, colourful, witty, and generous men — died. Kazantzakis came to mind, and his struggle to accept Zorba’s death, along with the way he tried to deal with that death. He decided he would try to “resurrect” Zorba, bring him back to life, by taking his story to the world in such a way so as to transform his life into a myth, a dance, and a religion. Kazantzakis believed this is what Mary of Magdala did in the wake of Jesus’ death, when she left his tomb and went back to the world. She resurrected Jesus by telling his story, creating a myth, a dance, and a religion. So, in the wake of Zorba’s death, Kazantzakis said to himself: “Let us give him our blood so that he can be brought back to life, let us do what we can to make this extraordinary eater, drinker, workhorse, woman-chaser, and vagabond live a little longer — this dancer and warrior, the broadest soul, surest body, freest cry I ever knew in my life.” Bless his effort! It made for a great story, a gripping myth, but it never made for a religion or an eternal dance because

that’s not what Mary of Magdala did with Jesus. Nonetheless, there’s still something to be learned here about how to deal with a death that seemingly takes some oxygen out of the planet. We must not let that wonderful energy disappear, but keep it alive. However, as Christians, we do this in a different way.

Story of Mary of Magdala

We read the story of Mary of Magdala quite differently. Mary went to Jesus’ tomb, found it empty, and went away crying; but… but, before she got to tell anyone any story, she met a resurrected Jesus who shared with her how his energy, colour, love, person would now be found, namely, in a radically new modality, inside his spirit. That contains the secret of how we are to give life to our loved ones after they have died. How do we keep our loved ones and the wonderful energy they brought to the planet alive after they have died? First, by recognising that their energy doesn’t die with their bodies, that it doesn’t depart the planet. Their energy remains, alive, still with us, but now inside us, through the spirit they leave behind (just as Jesus left his spirit behind). Further still, their energy infuses us whenever we enter into their “Galilee”, namely, into those places where their spirits thrived and breathed out generative oxygen. What’s meant by that? What is someone’s “Galilee”? A person’s “Galilee” is that special energy, that special oxygen, which he or she breathes out. For Zorba, it was his fearlessness and zest for life; for my dad, it was his moral stubbornness; for my mom, it was her generosity. In that energy, they breathed out something of God. Whenever we go to those places where their spirits breathed out God’s life, we breathe in again their oxygen, their dance, their life. Like all of you, I have sometimes been stunned, saddened and incredulous at the death of a certain person. How could that special energy just die? Sometimes that special energy was manifest in physical beauty, human grace, fearlessness, zest, colour, moral steadiness, compassion, graciousness, warmth, wit, or humour. It can be hard to accept that beauty and life-giving oxygen can seemingly leave the planet. In the end, nothing is lost. Sometime, in God’s time, at the right time, the stone will roll back and, like Mary of Magdala walking away from the grave, we will know that we can breathe in that wonderful energy again in “Galilee”. The Southern Cross

Photo: nacho Doce, reuters/cnS

PRAY WITH THE POPE Every month Fr cHrIS cHATTerIS SJ reﬂects on Pope Francis’ universal prayer intention

taste God’s inﬁnite mercy

General Intention: Let us pray that we may experience the sacrament of reconciliation with renewed depth, to taste the infinite mercy of God.

OVID-19 HAS DISRUPTED the celebration of all the sacraments, including that of reconciliation. Sacraments are celebrated in the context of a community, that is in the proximity of human presence, and the sacrament of reconciliation is no exception. We gather together as a community for the service of reconciliation and then we confess in the close intimacy of the confessional or reconciliation room. It almost seems as though Covid-19 had been expressly designed to prevent all this. So in response, some imaginative clergy organised “drive-by” confessions in which the penitents kept social distance protocols by remaining in their cars, and both they and the priest wore masks — in some cases over their eyes as well as their mouths in order to preserve anonymity! Some priests have absolved dying penitents over the phone or the internet, confident that under such circumstances, Ecclesia supplet, that is, the Church supplies or makes up what is lacking in the form of the sacrament. One Italian bishop told Pope Francis of how he would stand in the entrance of the intensive care wards of the local hospital and give general absolution to the patients. He asked whether, since

he had been criticised by some people for this, the Holy Father could give him any guidance. Pope Francis is said to have replied simply: “Bishop, do your pastoral duty!”

Deprived of sacraments

The painful irony of the situation was that the time of strict lockdown was a moment when many of us needed the graces of reconciliation and of the other sacraments more acutely than ever. We needed to be

Saying that the pandemic is God’s chastisement obscures the vision of a God of infinite mercy connected precisely because we were physically isolated and spiritually alienated. So the decision of bishops to allow a form of the sacrament of reconciliation without individual confession as a response to the dangers of transmitting the virus through individual confession is to be heartily applauded. This coronavirus pandemic time has been hard; the lockdown was hard; the economic fallout has been hard — brutal, in fact — for millions

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The Southern Cross

of people. There was something relentless about it and it’s not over yet. It is not surprising, therefore, that people are casting about for ways of making sense of it all. One unfortunate approach to this is to say that this pandemic is God’s chastisement of us for our manifest sinfulness. It’s a view which obscures the vision of a God of infinite mercy, and therefore of our need to experience this through the sacraments. If there is a chastisement, it is coming from the natural world, thanks to our unreflective exploitation of creation which has resulted in this pandemic and the many other eco-catastrophes of our time. But the Lord “knows of what we are made, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103). “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love for those who fear him.” This we know, and it is vital that we cling to it, else we risk falling into the sin of despair. We are also quick to forget the reality of God’s mercy, and we need to remember it by experiencing it frequently. The usual (but not the only) way we do this in the Church is through the sacrament of reconciliation. Let us pray that the pandemic may lead us back to this great gift and to a deeper love and appreciation of it and of the Lord who reveals his infinitely merciful self to us through it.

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Quick Lenten prayer

Prayer Corner Your prayers to cut out and collect Do you have a favourite prayer? Please send it with a reference to its origin, to editor@scross.co.za

Almighty and ever-living God, you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent. May this time be one of outward focus; seeking you in those we often ignore. Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter. Give us hearts hungry to serve you and those who need what we have to give.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort me and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend or stranger. (390-461 AD)

Amen

Annunciation Prayer Lord who came down from heaven and stayed in the womb of St Mary, after making the Annunciation to her through his head of angels, is blessed. The Lord is blessed whom heaven and earth, angels and mankind are praising always. Oh Lord let the intercession of your mother be a fort for us all. Orthodox Annunciation prayer

Prayer to St Joseph

the most loving of fathers. h St Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt Oh St Joseph, I never weary before the throne of God, I place in contemplating you and Jesus asleep in you all my interests and desires. your arms. I dare not approach while Oh St Joseph, do assist me by your he reposes near your heart. Press him powerful intercession and obtain for in my name and kiss his fine head for me from your divine son all spiritual me, and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. blessings through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so that having engaged here below your heavenly power I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to

St Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen The Southern Cross

Anagram Challenge

Holy Week Word Search

BETHANY

CAIAPHAS

LAST SUPPER

CRUCIFIX

GETHSEMANE HOSANNA

PILATE

NICODEMUS

SABBATH

PASSION

VERONICA

PALMS

GOOD FRIDAY

PASSOVER

PALM SUNDAY

Unscramble the clues below to work out which NEW TESTAMENT PEOPLE hide in these words

TOMB

I p o p U LA te tI N S

e A G e r MA th Je Ste r

r A G e Me N MA LA Dy

to r A h Wo MB Le

o o h he F tI e r p A JA MA S

he r A DA p tI o N S

VIA DOLOROSA VIGIL

Southern Crossword

aCRoSS

3. Filled with reverent fear when cuts wreak havoc (9) 8. Regretted the turn in the colour (4) 9. The devil finds work for them (4,5) 10. Pleasant smells on the trails (6) 11. Changes there above the clouds (5) 14. Keep the vigil (5) 15. Negate (4) 16. Baker finds it useful for expansion (5) 18. The band at the wedding ceremony (4) 20. Where the event may have spectators (5) 21. Have confidence in someone (5) 24. Ways to get into the church (6) 25. One of the Three Wise Men (9) 26. The image of devotion (4) 27. Gave your permission (9)

The Southern Cross

DowN

1. Spoken angrily when puzzled? (9) 2. Entrap ten showing sorrow for sin (9) 4. Receives the sacrament together in church (4) 5. The woman did it in search of a coin (Lk 15) (5) 6. Brought in the harvest (6) 7. Give up? (4) 9. Having a feeling of irritation (5) 11. Former ordinance of parliament is right (5) 12. Show respect by bowing deeply (9) 13. How to succeed in the examination (2,7) 17. The mount where the troops assembled (Jg 4) (5) 19. Without a charge (6) 22. Dye on the church windows? (5) 23. It may go to Holy Joe’s head (4) 24. Save yours from embarrassment (4)

All solutions on page 34

Quick Crossword

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the shaded boxes to form the name of an Old Testament book

aCRoSS

1. Founder of Mariannhill (7,7) 2. One of the seven sacraments (12) 3. Founded by Eugene de Mazenod (7) 4. English Martyr (6,4) 5. Other name for St Jerome (10) 6. Catholic tenor Andrea… (7) 7. Cathedral of Pretoria (6,5) 8. Jacob’s brother (4)

9. ... Mary (4)

DowN

1. The Apocalypse of John (10) 2. Saint of Lisbon and Padua (7) 3. Replacement apostle (7) 4. Mount of Transﬁguration (5) 5. Pope Paul VI’s surname (7) 6. Archbishop of Cape Town (7)

the Catholic trivia Quiz

1. Which religious order does Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg belong to? a) Dominicans b) Oblates of Mary Immaculate c) Salesians of Don Bosco 2. On what kind of tree did Zaccheus sit in Jericho to see Jesus? a) Acacia b) Cedar c) Sycamore 3. Whom did actress Monica Bellucci portray in the 2003 film The Passion of the Christ? a) Blessed Virgin Mary b) Mary Magdalene c) Veronica 4. What do we say after “Glory to God in the highest”? a) Amen b) And peace to his people on earth c) Hosanna in the highest 5. Which of these is not a major

basilica in Rome? a) St Lawrence b) St John Lateran c) St Peter 6. Who is the patron saint of waiters? a) St Anthony b) St Martha c) St Martin de Porres 7. Who was the first pope to speak on radio? a) Benedict XV b) Pius XI c) Pius XII 8. Whose visions helped popularise the devotion to the brown scapular? a) St Anthony Claret b) St Louis de Montfort c) St Simon Stock 9. In which province is the tomb and shrine of Bl Benedict Daswa? a) KwaZulu-Natal b) Limpopo c) Mpumalanga

7. Day of cruciﬁxion (4,6) 8. Rome basilica (4,5) 9. First pope (5) 10. Southern Cross columnist (surname) (7) 11. Radio Veritas founder (4,6) 12. One of the Twelve Apostles (6) 13. Statement of beliefs (5) 14. St Polycarp’s city, now Izmir (6) 15. Soccer club founded by Marist Brother (6)

Photo: Sheldon Reddiar

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Q1: Archbishop Tlhagale

10. Which Old Testament book tells the story of David and Goliath? a) 1 Chronicles b) 1 Kings c) 1 Samuel 11. Which of these is not one of the Stations of the Cross? a) Jesus addresses the grieving women b) Jesus entrusts his mother to John c) Jesus falls for the third time 12. Which Gospel is the shortest? a) Mark b) Matthew c) John The Southern Cross

Cooking with Saints

every month GrAZIA BArleTTA prepares a recipe from the history of the church in her cape Town kitchen, and shares it with our readers in text and photos taken exclusively for The Southern Cross by the chef herself.

St JOSePh’S DAy PAStA

To get the sawdust effect, breadcrumbs are sautéed in butter. It is also a very simple, inexpensive, quick meal to make — and a delicious meatless meal to eat during Lent.

According to legend, there was a famine in Sicily many centuries ago. The village prayed to St Joseph and asked for his intercession before God. Prayers were answered, ending the dreadful famine. A special feast of thanksgiving was held in St Joseph’s honour. In many Italian homes and churches, it is a tradition on St Joseph’s feast day to set out food for the homeless and hungry. Preparation: 10 min • Cooking: 15 min Servings: 4

INgReDIeNTS:

PRePaRaTIoN: 1. Boil pasta until al dente. 2. While the pasta is cooking, heat butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs, mix to coat, and cook until toasted and lightly brown. Transfer breadcrumbs to a plate and set aside. 3. In the same frying pan over medium-high heat, add remaining olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and let cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add the tomatoes and black and cayenne pepper. Salt to taste. Cook for 4 more minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Add some pasta water if too dry. Add the anchovies, if you choose to include them, at this point. 4. Add the hot cooked pasta right from the pot to the pan and toss to coat. Add the buttered breadcrumbs on top of each serving or on top of the pasta in a large serving platter. 5. Enjoy with a prayer to St Joseph! n Next month, grazia will cook Two easter meals!

1 packet linguine or spaghetti 3 tbsp butter 5 tbsp olive oil 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs (light and flakytextured, compared to regular breadcrumbs, these absorbs less oil) 3 tsp crushed garlic 1 cup chopped onion 2 cups halved Rosa tomatoes 1 tsp ground black pepper ½ tsp cayenne pepper or to taste salt to taste 4 anchovy fillets (optional )

Crossword Solutions:

34 The Southern Cross

ACROSS: 3 Awestruck, 8 Rued, 9 Idle hands, 10 Scents, 11 Ether, 14 Watch, 15 Deny, 16 Yeast, 18 Ring, 20 Arena, 21 Trust, 24 Foyers, 25 Balthazar, 26 Icon, 27 Consented DOWN: 1 Crossword, 2 Repentant, 4 Weds, 5 Swept, 6 Reaped, 7 Cede, 9 Itchy, 11 Exact, 12 Reverence, 13 By passing, 17 Tabor, 19 Gratis, 22 Stain, 23 Halo, 24 Face

Submitted by Gregory Moonilal

Anagram Challenge:

23 June 1941 - 26 December 2020 Sr Angelina had just celebrated 60 years of Religious Profession as a Poor Clare Capuchin Sister on 8 December. Lovingly remembered by the Poor Clare Capuchin Sisters of the Perpetual Adoration Convent at Melville, KZN, her family and friends. Please pray for the happy repose of her soul.

1. Pontius Pilate; 2. James the Greater; 3. Mary Magdalene; 4. Bartholomew; 5. Joseph of Arimathea; 6. Herod Antipas

Sr Angelina Moonilal

Quick Crossword:

IN LOVING MEMORY

Visit Grazia’s blog at www.momentswithgrazia.com

ACROSS: 1 Francis Pfanner, 2 Confirmation, 3 Oblates, 4 Thomas More, 5 Hieronymus, 6 Bocelli, 7 Sacred Heart, 8 Esau, 9 Hail DOWN: 1 Revelation, 2 Anthony, 3 Mathias, 4 Tabor, 5 Montini, 6 Brislin, 7 Good Friday, 8 Mary Major, 9 Peter, 10 Maphisa, 11 Emil Blaser, 12 Andrew, 13 Creed, 14 Smyrna, 15 Celtic — CODEWORD: Leviticus

HIS MONTH’S DISH, ST JOSEPH’S DAY Pasta, is also called ‘Sawdust Pasta” or “Carpenter’s Pasta”, and it’s a great way to honour St Joseph, especially on his feast day on March 19 and in this Year of St Joseph. Since he was a carpenter by trade, it is fitting to serve pasta that resembles sawdust — but, of course, tastes much better!

Catholic trivia Quiz: 1. b) Oblates of Mary Immaculate; 2. c) Sycamore; 3. b) Mary Magdalene; 4. b) And peace to his people on earth; 5. a) St Lawrence; 6. b) St Martha; 7. b) Pius XI; 8. c) St Simon Stock; 9. b) Limpopo; 10. c) 1 Samuel; 11. b) Jesus entrusts his mother to John; 12. a) Mark

THIS MonTH GrAZIA cooKeD:

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S outhern C ross P ilgrimages CAMINO TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Official 7-Day Camino 12-21 September 2021 • Led by Fr Chris Townsend Walk the ancient ‘Camino Primitivo’ route from lugo to Santiago de compostela in this Holy Year! Bonus: your luggage will be delivered to your hotel every day!

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MEDJUGORJE, ROME, ASSISI, CROATIA Led by Archbishop Stephen Brislin NEW DATES: 4-13 October 2021

Before coming to Medjugorje, you will visit rome (wth papal audience in St Peter’s Square), Assisi, loreto (with the House of our lady), and the beautiful croatian city of Split.

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HOLY LAND AND TURKEY Led by Archbishop William Slattery OFM 21 August to 1 September 2021

See the great holy shrines of the Holy land, including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, nazareth, Sea of Galilee and the river Jordan. In Turkey visit ephesus and Istanbul (incl. Hagia Sophia).

www.fowlertours.co.za/slattery

OBERAMMERGAU AND HOLY LAND Led by Archbishop William Slattery OFM August/September 2022

See the great holy shrines of the Holy land, including the sites of our lord’s Passion, before flying to Germany to tour in Bavaria and see the famous oberammergau Passion Play.

www.fowlertours.co.za/oberammergau

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Southern cross pilgrimages are arranged by

History in Colour

Final Words Great Quotes on

EASTER

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

‘If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.’ – St Paul (1 Corinthians 15:14)

‘Whatever you are facing right now, remember the empty tomb: Jesus is alive, and because of that, we win in the end!’ – Sheila Walsh (1956-

)

‘Do not abandon yourselves to despair: We are the Easter people, and Hallelujah is our song.’ – St John Paul II (1920-2005)

‘Christ has not only spoken to us by his life, but has also spoken for us by his death.’ – Søren Kierkegaard (1813-55)

‘Easter says to us that despite everything to the contrary, his will for us will prevail, love will prevail over hate, justice over injustice and oppression, peace over exploitation and bitterness.’ – Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-

March 13 sees the eighth anniversary of the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis. He had been the archbishop of Buenos Aires in Argentina since 1998, and auxiliary there for six years before that. Fr Bergoglio was ordained to the priesthood in December 1969, four days before his 33rd birthday.

He is seen here as a young Jesuit novice in 1958, with his parents, the accountant Mario José Bergoglio (1908–59) and Regina María Sívori (1911-81). His parents had emigrated from northern Italy in 1929 to escape the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini. Jorge was the eldest of five children, three boys and two girls. Only one sister is still alive now. (Original photo: Bergoglio Family)

)

‘The resurrection to which Easter calls us — our own — requires that we prepare to find God where God is by opening ourselves to the world around us with a listening ear.’ – Sr Joan Chittister OSB (1936-

)

‘May Christ, who has already defeated death and opened for us the way to eternal salvation, dispel the darkness of our suffering humanity and lead us into the light of his glorious day, a day that knows no end.’ – Pope Francis (1936-

)

The last laugh

HE NEW PRIEST HAD A GREAT idea to drum up some excitement for Sunday Mass. He instructed the altar server to release a dove at the point in the Eucharistic prayer when the priest intones, “by the power and working of the Holy Spirit…”. On Sunday, the altar server did as told, and the surprised congregation was enthusiastic about this innovation. Next Sunday, the congregation was bigger. This time the local newspaper

reported about the Mass. On the third Sunday, the church was packed. As the dove was released, the congregation did all they could not to applaud and whoop in delight. On the fourth Sunday, the priest reached the moment when he intoned “by the power and working of the Holy Spirit”. Nothing. He repeated, louder: “BY THE POWER AND WORKING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!” No dove. At that point the altar server ran into the church and exclaimed: “Father, the cat ate the Holy Spirit!”

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