202105 by The Southern Cross

FR RALPH DE HAHN: Let the Holy Spirit soar

WIN with Grazia Barletta

THE GLOW OF LOVE: Keeping your home warm

Southern Cross

Est. 1920

The

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

May 2021

R30 (incl. VAT in SA)

Seminarians speak:

The priests we want to be SAINT OF THE MONTH: ST RITA OF CASCIA

TV ACTRESS ON GOD’S PERFECT TIMING

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!

www.fowlertours.co.za/camino

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

Before coming to Medjugorje, you will visit Rome (with papal audience in St Peter’s Square), Assisi, Loreto (with the House of Our Lady), and the beautiful Croatian city of Split.

www.fowlertours.co.za/medju

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

Contact Gail at info@fowlertours.co.za or call or WhatsApp 076 352-3809

Southern Cross pilgrimages are arranged by

Welcome

A new age of being Church Dear Reader,

HIS MONTH WE TURN OUR SPOTLIGHT ON vocations to the priesthood. In South Africa we are not experiencing a drought of vocations as severe as that in many other regions; indeed, the number of our seminarians is encouraging. But that must not paper over concerns about whether the rate of new ordinations replenishes the number of priests we are losing to mortality, age, health or other circumstances. Moreover, the geographical distribution of new priests may be uneven, with some dioceses compensating for the loss of priests better than others. This will increasingly impact on the liturgical, sacramental and pastoral life of communities in regions where the number of priests is diminishing. So it is important that we continue to promote and pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and for those who have answered God’s call.

This month five seminarians tell us why they want to be priests, and what kind of priests they hope to become. When these young men, and their cohort, are ordained in a few years’ time, they will enter a priesthood that faces new challenges. The secularisation of society may have been accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic, during which churches were closed or restricted in the number of people they could welcome at Mass. Livestreamed Masses have become the norm for many people, and will remain so after we have retired our face masks. They will not come to church regularly or often, and they may adopt a privatised approach to their faith — the individualistic “I don’t need a church to be close to God” line of reasoning. But they are still part of our communion of believers. That challenges us, as the Church, to find new ways of ministering to those who come to Mass and those who watch it on their screens, to create a new way of being community. Of course, there are valid arguments one may raise against the non-participatory way of experiencing the Mass — and we must raise them. But those who feel

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no need for communion (or, indeed, Communion) also call us to introspection. Most importantly, what failures in formation have led Catholics to abandon the Eucharist in favour of the convenience of watching Mass at home? What shortcomings in parish life might have moved such people to vacate the pews for couches? Some have suggested that the future of parish life will be dual: ministry to those who come to Mass, and to those who don’t, while finding ways of bringing the two together where possible. In our missionary Church, these are challenges which need to be discussed now, and to which pastoral solutions must soon be found. Of course, one very simple and effective way of bringing the Church to people who don’t come to church is to encourage them to receive and read The Southern Cross. Pentecost, the birthday of the Church (this year on May 23), is a good time to turn our focus on the life of the Church: as it is now and how it might be in the future. The Church always has had to adapt to new realities, and at times it has been too slow, too set in its way, even too arrogant, to do so. Often it lagged behind the progress of time, and then had to run and catch up. The pandemic has created new realities. At Pentecost especially, we must ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we search with urgency for answers to the “new normal” — and be open to hear the voice of the Spirit! We hope that you will find much in this issue that is enriching, edifying, educating, entertaining and enjoyable. Thank you for reading The Southern Cross, and please tell others about this magazine! Yours in Christ,

Did you know?

Günther Simmermacher (Editor)

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Contents MAY 2021

Bishop’s new Covid book We review Bishop Graham Rose’s book of reflections on the coronavirus pandemic

Hungary for the Eucharist Bishop Victor Phalana previews the International Eucharistic Congress scheduled to be held in Budapest in September

How to become a priest A Q&A on the steps involved on the path to the priesthood

Seminarians on their vocation

The glow of love at home Günther Simmermacher on keeping a home happy and peaceful

You are a miracle! Sr Nancy Watinga calls on us to find God’s gifts to us inside

With pull-out poster!

EVERY MONTH 5 FROM OUR VAULTS We review a Southern Cross from 81 years ago

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have your say!

THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa on the light of Christ

RAYMOND PERRIER The problem with public holidays

FR RON ROLHEISER OMI

TV actress on God’s perfect timing

The story of St Rita of Cascia

Why St Thérèse was Dorothy Day’s saint

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

PRAYER CORNER Your illustrated prayers, to cut out and collect

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

COOKING WITH SAINTS Grazia Barletta tries out recipes from the past

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

Pentecost: Let the Spirit soar

Cover photo of Karabo Ranyathole by Mlungisi Mabe

81 Years Ago: May 22, 1940

FROM OUR VAULTS Rosary Crusade for Peace

The apostolic nuncio and various bishops have endorsed a “Rosary Crusade for Peace” which will begin on May 27 under the auspices of the Catholic Men’s Society. The various mysteries are allocated according to surname (for example, people whose surname starts with F, I or J pray the Second Sorrowful Mystery; those with S pray the Third Glorious Mystery).

Church damaged in storm

St Joseph’s mission church in Seven Oaks, Natal, was badly damaged in a storm, just as Fr Coppens OMI had almost completed the building of the church, presbytery and school there.

Don’t lock up Germans

In a commentary, The Southern Cross opposes the proposed internment of Germans, even those born here in South Africa. While the newspaper does not justify anybody’s “sympathy with the country with which the Union is at war”, there are also “many excellent institutions doing medical, educational and charitable [work] which would have to close down immediately” if German-born missionaries were interned.

Editorial: Lying, bestial Nazis

Nobody should be surprised by Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium, with the usual “lying propaganda and bestial savagery”, writes Mgr John Colgan in his editorial. “Nothing that Hitler does or threatens to do shocks anyone,” he writes. When Pope Pius XII “spoke of [the swastika] as ‘that other cross’, he spoke as a prophet. These words will be headlines for historians”.

What else made news in May 1940:

• Winston Churchill is Britain’s new prime minister following Neville Chamberlain’s resignation. Churchill, of the Conservative Party, will lead a coalition with the Labour and Liberal Parties. • Belgium and the Netherlands surrender after the Blitzkrieg invasion by Germany, with large parts of France also falling to German troops. • The first British soldiers, numbering 68 014, are evacuated on May 31 after their army is encircled by the Germans in Dunkirk. • Author John Steinbeck is awarded this year’s Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath. • The International Olympic Committee formally cancels the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were scheduled to be held in Tokyo. Left: Fr Nicholas Watkins officiated at the wedding of Ethne Kinlay and Frederick Kirkland in St Michael’s church in Rondebosch, Cape Town.

Right: An advert for Laurel paraffin.

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Is Church Latin actually street Latin? Q. I recently learned that the Latin which the people of ancient Rome spoke was different from classical Latin, and was called vulgate. Does that mean the Vulgate Bible was written in “street Latin” rather than classical Latin? And what kind of Latin is the Vatican using in its documents? HE “VULGATE” IS THE NAME given to the translation into Latin of the Bible done by St Jerome in the 4th century. There are various views on what “Vulgate” means. One possible interpretation — the one you raise — is that it was “common”, that is to say, not written in the elegant style of Cicero’s classical Latin. Indeed, a Renaissance cardinal reportedly refused to recite the Breviary in Latin, because it would do terrible things to his prose style! Probably, though, and more likely, it refers to the fact that (eventually) it became accepted as the official Catholic version of the Bible. The Vulgate has a complex history, and scholars (and Church-people) have differing views on its status. The role of Latin in the Church is a

St Jerome in a monument in Bethlehem, Palestine, where he translated the Bible into Latin. This work is known as the “Vulgate”.

slightly puzzling one; presumably the point of moving from one language to another is that the new language is more widely understood than the old. This happened, for example, in the 4th century BC, when Jews had to translate their Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, because they had forgotten their ancient tongue. Similarly, Jesus and his disciples originally spoke the

When did Johannesburg become an archdiocese? Q. When did Johannesburg become an archdiocese? What precisely is the area of the archdiocese of Johannesburg? And what are its suffragan sees? HE DIOCESE OF JOHANNESBURG was elevated to the status of an archdiocese in 2007, four years after the installation of Buti Tlhagale, former archbishop of Bloemfontein, as its bishop-archbishop. With that it became South Africa’s fifth archdiocese, after Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria. The diocese was first established in 1886 as the Apostolic Prefecture of Transvaal, of which Pretoria and other future dioceses in the region were part (what is now Polokwane split in 1910, present-day Witbank in

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1924). In 1948, with the founding of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Johannesburg and Pretoria split into two separate vicariates (or dioceses), with Johannesburg retaining the succession of past ordinaries, going back to Bishop William Miller OMI (1904-12). Pretoria’s succession therefore begins only in 1948. When the Southern African hierarchy was established 70 years ago, Pretoria was chosen as the region’s archdiocese, presumably because it is the country’s seat of government. But it makes sense that the country’s most populous see should be an archdiocese, as it became in 2007. The archdiocese of Johannesburg covers an area of 14 517km2, and serves about a million Catholics, or

Your Questions answered

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

Galilean dialect of Aramaic; but if the Gospel were to be preached around the Mediterranean, then the obvious language to use was Greek (even in Rome, oddly enough). Eventually Latin took over as the more useful tongue; and indeed for a good many centuries it performed a very useful function as a lingua franca, something that everyone could understand. That, of course, is no longer the case, and we tend to translate into more readily accessible vernacular languages. The recently late Fr Reggie Foster, who was certainly the greatest Latinist in the Church of our day, once reportedly said that Latin was spoken better by prostitutes on street-corners in ancient Rome than it is by most of the officials in the Roman Curia. Sadly, that seems to be true. But the Church is forever renewing its languages in order to preach the Gospel. (Fr Nicholas King SJ)

Johannesburg’s cathedral of Christ the King was consecrated in 1960

13% of the total population. Its suffragan sees are neighbouring Klerksdorp and Witbank/ Emalahleni as well as, in a quirk of geography, Manzini in Eswatini. The cathedral of Johannesburg used to be in Kerk Street until the present cathedral of Christ the King was consecrated in 1960. (Günther Simmermacher)

What to do when hosts drop?

Q. With the Covid-19 guideline that hosts be given in the hand, I have observed on telecasts of various Masses around the world that, on occasion, consecrated hosts are accidentally dropped onto the floor by both priests and communicants. What are the rulings in these instances? N OVER 20 YEARS OF MY PRIESTLY ministry, I would doubt if I have seen the host fall to the ground more than five or six times. If such a thing were to happen, the minister should retrieve the host with the minimum of fuss and keep it to one side until it can be consumed or, if soiled, reverently disposed of by the priest. Apart from times when timid people hesitate or pull away as Holy Communion is offered, most accidents happen when the minister’s fingers are damp, causing the host to stick as it is being given to the communicant. In my experience, the minister’s fingers are dampened mostly by the saliva of those who receive on the tongue. In the past 50 years we have witnessed a sea-change in how we cele-

Photos: Günther Simmermacher (St Jerome), Sheldon Reddiar (Johannesburg cathedral), Mary Ann Wyand/The Criterion (Eucharist)

brate the Eucharist. Our theology tells us that this is a communal celebration with a variety of ministries, not a holy ritual done by the priest on our behalf. When we come forward to receive Holy Communion, we are eating and drinking together, renewing our corporate identity as the Body of Christ in the world. Holy Communion is no

Is Covid God’s punishment?

longer to be understood solely as a personal foretaste of the heavenly banquet. During the coronavirus pandemic, our bishops have stopped Holy Communion on the tongue, but let us not forget that receiving in the hand is the more ancient practice! Our postures and gestures when receiving the Body and Blood of Christ (after lockdown) should show that we are brothers and sisters joining together at a sacred meal. Putting out the tongue —seldom considered polite and less healthy than outstretched hands — would seem to indicate that the minister is feeding the communicant as a mother feeds a toddler. Wouldn’t it be better if adult believers, called together for the Eucharist, looked like adults? This is sacred and communal food, after all, the Bread of Life being broken and shared, just as the first disciples did after Pentecost.

(Fr Thomas Plastow SJ)

Catholic Institute of Education

Q. On Facebook I have followed debates about whether the Covid-19 pandemic is God’s punishment for a sinful world. I don’t believe that it is, but what is God’s role in the pandemic?

Called in faith

to serve

HE HUMAN ORIGIN OF THE CORONAVIRUS IS disputed; among the theories are that it originated in bats and was subsequently passed on to humans, that it came from a seafood market in China, or that it was engineered in a biolab and accidentally released. Whatever account one ascribes to, we are still left with this question: Why would a loving God let this happen? That is the age-old “problem of evil” which theologians have grappled with for centuries, and the most honest answer is: We just don’t know. Is the coronavirus a judgment from God? My answer would be “No”, and I would call both Jesus and Pope Francis as my witnesses. In the Gospel of John (9:1-7), Jesus was asked about the blind man: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus responded: “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” In a meditation, Pope Francis said of the coronavirus that this is not a time of God’s judgment but of our judgment, “a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not”. In the midst of this crisis, the pope noted, God is calling people to faith — not just believing that God exists, but turning to him and trusting him. (Fr Kenneth Doyle)

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Educating today tomorrow for the common good.

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7 9:40 AM

TV actress Bontle Rampa:

‘God’s timing is perfect’ On TV, she plays a sassy receptionist nicknamed Bubbles, but in her private life Bontle Rampa is a devout Catholic. DALUXOLO MOLOANTOA interviewed her.

OD FIRST. THIS IS THE PIECE of advice which Catholic TV actress Bontle Rampa gives to her fellow young Catholics in the acting industry. Bontle is the latest addition to the popular SABC 2 prime-time drama soapie Muvhango. Raised in Hebron, a small town 27km north of Pretoria, she made her on-screen debut in March. She plays the role of the receptionist Mmagauta “Bubbles” Mosibudi in the award-winning drama series. A 35-year-old mother of two, Bontle grew up in a close-knit family. The middle of three sisters has been a sports fanatic since her teens. She played netball, tennis and also participated in athletics. It was during her teens that she also became active in her parish’s youth affairs. “I guess I was making up for all the time that I missed out on going to church. Growing up, it took two taxis to

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reach the nearest Mass, in the Good Shepherd Sisters’ convent. Being poor as we were, it was only my mother who would go to Mass on most Sundays. We children stayed home, and missed out on going to church for most of the time I was little”, she explains. In her early teens, the church of Ss Anne & Joachim was built nearer to her home in Hebron. This made it possible for Bontle to become much more involved in Church life. “From my early teenage years until I was 20 years old, I was a member of our parish’s youth group. On my 21st birthday, I was initiated into the CHIRO Youth Movement.” She describes this period as the best years of her life. “I had lots of fun. We were all over while also serving Christ, attending concerts by our fellow CHIRO members from other parishes and organising our own, camping and night vigils, raising funds for our church, and so on. I can recall the wonderful winter and summer camps we would have, in

places like the Most Holy Redeemer parish in Mmakau Village, in Rustenburg, in Mafikeng, and as far away as Botswana. My favourite summer camp was the 2004 camp in Botswana. We drove there by bus, so you can imagine the fun we had: road tripping, singing and sightseeing along the way.”

How to be a Catholic

For Bontle, being Catholic is not just attending Mass on Sundays and receiving the Eucharist. “It is so much more. It’s also about helping one another and the community, living up to the teachings of Christ, and participating in the communion of the Church by living a sacramental life of obedience and faith. Belonging to the Church means I have an extended family, brothers and sisters I can lean on,” she notes. “I am still in contact with my fellow CHIRO members from all those years back. We are currently planning a thanksgiving Mass service once the lockdown restrictions are over. It will be a thanksgiving service, a reunion and a celebration of the CHIRO movement all wrapped into one. We are praying and hoping that our Archbishop Dabula Mpako will join us for the day.” In 2009 Bontle visited Rome in

Italy. “I went on a cruise ship with my former partner, his parents, as well as his uncle and aunt. We travelled from Barcelona in Spain and all across the Mediterranean Sea. Rome was one of our pit-stops along the way. We were all so excited to be there because all of us were Catholics. We could not go inside St Peter’s cathedral as it was packed with other tourists. But it meant so much to me just to be there because I honestly believe it is every Catholic’s dream to see Rome. For me, it was a dream realised.” Her favourite time in the Catholic calendar is the Easter season. “As a youngster, the actress in me always looked forward to the Passion Plays on Good Friday. I enjoyed acting in them. I also enjoy attending all the other services: Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday and the night vigil services. I think that the reason why the Easter period appeals to me so much is because the services are different, and not routine like every other Sunday.”

Zigzag career path

After high school, Bontle enrolled in a business management course, but she had to drop out for financial reasons. She then joined a modelling and acting agency so she could make some money to complete her studies. But deep down, she already knew that her destiny was in acting, notwithstanding her business management studies. “My father was very supportive of my decision to join a modelling and acting agency. He literally took me to every audition. I modelled for about two years.” Sadly, her father did not live to see his daughter’s big success; he died two years before Bontle became a TV star. While modelling, she was exposed to her first love: acting. “As a model one is exposed to acting as an extra for advertisements, corporate videos, and so on. I learned a lot about the craft of acting through these assignments, and I also took time out to learn from the professional actors on the shoots.” Still, when she turned 20, Bontle’s path took a diversion as she took a 9-5 job. For ten years she kept away from modelling and acting. Today she believes that this period was God preparing her for what was to come. “The ten-year gap delayed me in a way, but God’s timing is perfect. When I went back into acting, I got small roles in productions like Generations and for the drama series Bubomi Sana (My Life).” In 2019, Bontle decided that she would leave her good job at a leading mobile communications company in 2020 to take another stab at acting. She believes that it was her utmost faith in God’s timing, and her unwavering de-

Actress Bontle Rampa: “Belonging to the Catholic Church means I have an extended family, brothers and sisters I can lean on.”

termination which saw her finally land the biggest role in her career thus far, the glamorous role of Mmagauta “Bubbles” Mosibudi on Muvhango. “I am naturally a resilient person. I always advise up-and-coming youngsters in the industry that no matter how long it takes, they must never ever give up, because once you start you are closer than you were yesterday. So focus is key.”

Landing a dream role

Bontle went the extra mile to secure her latest role on Muvhango. “I actually auditioned for the role of Ituemeleng Mokwena, but I was offered my current role three months after my auditions. I did a self-taping audition because we were right in the middle of level 5 lockdown then. Two months

SNAPSHOT: Bontle in 2009 on a visit to the Vatican. St Peter’s Square is in the background.

later I was called for a face-to-face audition. A week later I was called to be told that I had been cast in the role of ‘Bubbles’. To say that I was over the moon about the news is an understatement,” she says. God’s perfect timing: The day on which she was told she got the part was the last day of her notice. The local television industry is going through far-reaching developments and changes, and these have made a good impression on Bontle. “The South African television industry is growing rapidly, with so many production companies starting up and vying for a piece of the pie.” There is another welcome development: “I’m glad that auditions are no longer limited to those who have agencies [representing them] because production companies are now opening the industry up to everyone who is interested in taking part.” It is also the changes that are taking place in the Church that have encouraged some reflection from her. “We are in the midst of a monumental change as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she notes. “So let us adapt and stand in solidarity, and help a fellow Church member who might be affected by the pandemic. We as a Church are big in helping our communities, so let us stretch our hands and help a fellow Catholic, and a fellow human being.” The Southern Cross

BOOK REVIEW

Bishop reﬂects on faith in Covid era

Reviewed by Günther Simmermacher

MUSINGS...IN A STRANGE TIME, by Bishop Graham Rose. SA Catholic Online Books (2021). 114 pp.

ISHOP GRAHAM ROSE LIKES a good conversation, but the opportunities for those were limited during last year’s severe lockdown. So he started monologues by way of written reflections, sharing these with the priests and people of his diocese, Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal. Now he has collected these writings in one volume, covering six months from March to September 2020. Musings is a snapshot of thoughts and emotions at a particular period of time. As such, it is already a historical document; and being in print, rather than digitally stored and potentially lost with the next computer crash, it has a permanence which may well delight future historians. But as we look towards a post-pandemic future (albeit one in which Covid will likely still be endemic, like influenza), can a series of reflections set in the worst of our lockdown experience still be relevant at this stage? Yes, I think it can. Many of Bishop Rose’s reflections are framed around the coronavirus crisis — “a global Lent” that isn’t constrained by calendars, as he notes — but the lessons he draws from them are universal, and can be applied in most situa-

tions of national, societal and even personal trauma and hardship. In short, they lead us to God, especially at a time when we might feel removed from him. God is always there to guide us, if we allow it. But our faith, the Church teaches and Rose echoes, cannot exist in the isolation of our personal sphere. It requires community, and this, in turn, demands of us solidarity with those on the margins. This, the bishop says, can be as simple as growing vegetables in a garden, or even a flowerpot, and sharing the produce with the poor — to “feed our Lord in the hungry”.

dication that the present pandemic will produce a better outcome? It doesn’t look like it. Nevertheless, it is important that those of us who seek economic reforms in line with Catholic Social Teachings should never tire of advocating for it. Rose’s reflections help us articulate the Church’s position. Also included in this collection is Rose’s powerful litany “Woe to the corrupt”, a “J’accuse” so potent that The Southern Cross published it in its penultimate weekly edition, September 16. But not all of these reflections are pegged on a Covid hook. Rose offers some superb spiritual reflections. One of these reveals, to my surprise, that theologian Fr Karl Rahner and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, both Jesuits, had a strong devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, though one far from the simple pieties often associated with it. They are but two of several people of diverse provenance to whom Rose refers in his writings. I suspect that this is the first book by a bishop that quotes the Afrikaans protest singer Koos Kombuis. Musings, a collection that might have been served better by a less generic title, is an engaging and accessible read, and frequently illuminating. It is best read one chapter at a time, allowing time for due reflection. It is also an opportunity to spend some time with a bishop who really likes a good conversation — he dedicates a chapter to that activity — and has something to say about the kingdom on earth and in heaven.

This book is an opportunity to spend time with a bishop who likes a good conversation

ham Gra or p o t h uh Bis se, a ngs. Ro Musi of

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That, he suggests, is also liturgical, especially in a time when access to the Mass is limited. “Liturgy must be related to life; priests and people are called to be liturgically-minded and socially active… we Christians should be as concerned about worship inside our churches as we are with life outside in the streets,” he writes.

Opportunity for change

The pandemic offers an opportunity to change things — in our politics, in our ecomonics, in our society, in our lives. It is a kairos moment. Rose endorses the view that “we can’t go back to before because before wasn’t working very well”. Of course, the world wasted a kairos moment in 2008, when the capitalist system could and should have been transformed to diminish unchecked greed and to protect the poor. Politics and business did the contrary, dogmatising greed and forcing the poor and the middle classes to pay for the errors of the rich through cruel austerity measures. Is there any in-

Hungary for the Eucharist

In September the Church will stage the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Hungary. BISHOP VICTOR PHALANA explains more.

HE 52ND INTERNATIONAL Eucharistic Congress will be held from September 5-12 this year in Budapest, Hungary. Pope Francis has announced that he will be part of the closing ceremony in Budapest on September 12. The Eucharistic Congress, held every four years, was supposed to take place in 2020 but had to be postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The theme of this Eucharistic Congress is “All my springs are in you”, quoting Psalms 87:7. Eucharistic congresses are designed to promote devotion to and belief in Jesus Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. In 1967, following the Second Vatican Council, the then Sacred Congregation of Rites wrote: “In Eucharistic congresses Christians seek to understand this mystery more deeply through a consideration of its many aspects.” It emphasised the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, saying that during Eucharistic congresses, the faithful “should venerate [this mystery] through devotions and private prayers, especially by solemn processions, in such a way that all these forms of devotion find their climax in the solemn celebration of Mass”.

What’s the programme?

It is my hope that pilgrims from Southern Africa will go in their hunThe Eucharist is carried in a procession during the International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu, Philippines, in 2016. CNS photo/Katarzyna Artymiak

dreds to celebrate this holy event. I attended my first International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu, Philippines, in 2016. The presence of African pilgrims, with their bright and colourful attires, their songs and dances in the streets of Cebu, filled me with joy. African prelates, priests, religious and laity participated in the programmes of the congress. They were part of the Morning Prayer (Lauds), catechesis, Holy Mass and workshops. The programme includes Eucharistic adoration, and cultural events in the evening. One day is reserved for visiting parishes in and around Budapest. On September 5, the opening ceremony will include First Communion for hundreds of children. On September 10, there will be a youth festival at a local stadium. The day after is the “Festival for Families”. In the evening there will be a candlelight procession. On September 12, the Holy Father will come to celebrate the closing Mass.

How to take part

There is a pre-registration option available on the congress website (www.iec2021.hu). It’s best to find a reputable travel agency to organise the trip, as a group or to travel individually. Use one that can also assist with registration. Travel consultants will advise on the requirements regarding the

Covid pandemic, and can also arrange excursions to other places of pilgrimage. South African citizens need a Schengen visa for Hungary, but that will also be valid for excursions to Rome or most other European countries. The SACBC Department of Christian Formation, Liturgy and Culture will guide our conference area on how we can be part of the special event locally. The suggestion is that we try and do something on the parish level, to raise the awareness of the faithful about the centrality of the Eucharist in our faith. It is up to each parish to organise its own programmes for children, youth and adults, around the theme of the Eucharist. It’s also important for us to make everyone aware of the fact that this is the year of the International Eucharistic Congress. Most of us will not be able to attend, but we can make sure that the feast of Corpus Christi this year, on June 6, is given special attention. It is also important that religious, seminarians, and all parishes begin to pray for the success of the congress.

Eucharistic Congress in SA?

In one of our bishops’ meetings, we felt that successful parish Eucharistic events can lead to diocesan Eucharistic congresses in a year or two. Successful diocesan congresses can lead to a national Eucharistic congress. The bishops felt that after a successful national Eucharistic congress, we might consider raising our hand to host an international Eucharistic congress — but that is still a long way off. n Bishop Phalana heads the diocese of Klerksdorp. The Southern Cross

How to become a Catholic

PRIEST

Photo: Mlungisi Mabe

First comes the call to the priesthood, and then the long way to ordination begins. We asked Fr Michael Seheri, director of vocations in the archdiocese of Johannesburg, to answer questions young men might have about that path. So, I’ve decided to become a priest. When do I start?

What’s the difference between a secular and religious priest?

Not so fast! Your first contact person is your parish priest: tell him about your This question is significant because if calling to the priesthood and your desire candidates know the difference between to join the seminary. Besides that, you the two, it assists the vocations director must be actively involved in your parish, to interact with young men discerning for example by assisting your parish their calling to the priesthood. priest during liturgical services, In a number of ways, all including the Mass readings, Catholic priests are the same, going with him to visit the since each priest has undersick, and so on. gone years of priestly trainYour parish priest ing at a seminary before his should then refer you ordination. All priests are to the vocations direcordained, among other tor of your diocese things, to serve God’s peowho will journey with ple in the person of Christ. you throughout the Most importantly, they addiscernment process. minister the sacraments to the people of God in order to The discernment Fr Seheri lead all souls into heaven. process — thinking and It is worth noting the followpraying about what God is ing distinction: a diocesan priest calling you to — is indispensable because becoming a priest is not a deci- makes three promises to the Church, sion to be taken lightly. Indeed, that before his bishop. He promises to pray process continues throughout your for- daily the Liturgy of the Hours, he promises obedience and loyalty to his mation and seminary studies. The following insights may assist bishop, and he promises to be celibate. In addition, the diocesan priest lives you to make your decisions: and exercises his pastoral ministry l Pray for God’s help in discerning within a specific geographical area your vocation. called a diocese (for example, the archl Regularly participate at Mass diocese of Johannesburg). In other (this is mandatory). words, a diocesan priest is called to l Develop a relationship with your serve the local Church within a geoparish priest. graphical region called a diocese. l Be constantly in touch with the Moreover, sometimes a diocesan priest vocations director. is asked to serve in a specialised minThe vocation discernment is done istry such as a chaplaincy or as a semin the diocese, should be a minimum of inary formator or lecturer. two years, and should be run by the voIn contrast, a religious priest makes cations director/promoter. three solemn vows even before his orThe Southern Cross

dination. He vows poverty, in that he owns nothing or very little, and shares things in common with others in his community; he takes the vow of obedience before his religious superior; and he also takes the vow of chastity, which, like the diocesan priest, means he will not get married. Furthermore, religious priests exercise their pastoral ministry according to a particular charism which unites them around the ideals of their founder. For example, a main charism of the Salesians is working with the youth, to bring them closer to Christ, thereby following the charism of their founder St John Bosco. Another fundamental difference is that religious priests can be sent to serve wherever the mission of their community takes them — it could be anywhere in the world. Therefore, the task of the vocations director is to guide and assist young men as they discern what God is calling them to do.

If I go with the diocesan priesthood, when do I enter the seminary?

After a process of discernment, the recommended candidates will be invited to make a formal application to the seminary. The application process is rigorous and is part of the discernment process. Here’s a summary of the seminary entrance criteria in the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference region: l The candidate must be a citizen of the nation in which his diocese lies (South Africa, Botswana or Eswatini), or

Hence, formators are a constituent part of formation. For this reason, if they feel that a seminarian does not have a vocation to the priesthood, they may ask him to leave the seminary.

After graduation, how long before my ordination?

This differs according to dioceses: it can be six months to a year, or even more. In religious orders, it can be even longer. In the diocesan priesthood, you are first ordained to the transitory diaconate, a period of time when your bishop may give you an appointment, usually to a parish, to gain experience.

have permanent residence in that country, or have a study visa and be in the process to naturalisation so as to live and work in his diocese. He must produce an identity document and birth certificate, and must have police clearance. l He must have the minimum of a South African Grade 12 with a bachelor’s pass, with 25 points, including 4 in English (excluding life orientation). l Those with tertiary education must produce the relevant certification. l Baptismal and confirmation certificates are required, plus letters of recommendation from the bishop, the parish priest and the parish council. l Candidates will be subject to a full medical and dental examination, an eye test, and a full psychological assessment. The application forms will then be sent to the seminary. After the applications have been processed by the admissions board, the rector of the seminary will notify the dioceses of the outcome.

OK, I’ve now been accepted to study for the priesthood. What now?

ment, hence not everyone who joins the seminary becomes a priest. Most certainly, if during priestly formation you feel like you do not have a calling to the priesthood, you may leave. A seminary (or, for religious, house of formation) could be described as a place where young men live in community and build the discipline of prayer, with the assistance of formators. Formators assist these men to discover and reflect on God’s calling to the priesthood. Most importantly, the seminary or house of formation supports the four significant pillars of a seminarian’s preparation for the priestly vocation as outlined by Pope John Paul II in his apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis. These four pillars (essential areas) of seminary life are human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation. Formators seek to assist the seminarians in these four areas, because all four are crucial in forming a man to be a balanced, holy, learned, and effective priest.

Successful candidates are sent to the seminary to begin the process of seminary/priestly formation. Acceptance into the seminary requires that a candidate demonstrates emotional maturity, academic ability, personal stability, and consistent growth in the practice of the faith.

And who pays for my studies?

If one joins the seminary through a diocese, then the diocese carries the costs. If one joins through a religious order, then the order pays for studies.

If I decide not to be a priest, can I leave? And can I be told to leave?

Remember that acceptance into the seminary does not imply that one will definitely become a priest. Seminary formation is still a process of discern-

Frs Kgaogelo Ntsie and Tshepo Duik are blessed by their brother priests at their ordination to the priesthood in St Albert’s church in Vosloorus in December 2019.

Photo: Sheldon Reddiar (also of Fr Seheri)

And how long before I get my own parish?

Newly-ordained priests are to serve as curates before becoming parish priests. The term of office of a curate is determined by the local ordinary (bishop). That being said, the curate may not necessarily have to finish his term; if he is deemed efficient by the appropriate authority, he may be appointed parish priest before the end of his term.

Actually, can I do something other than parish work?

Certainly, other than parish work, one can serve as a chaplain, seminary lecturer or formator or any other ministry that perpetuates the Gospel values: our task as a priest is fundamentally that of leading all souls into heaven.

What happens if I want to leave the priesthood after my ordination. Do I just send a resignation letter?

A priest wishing to leave the priesthood needs to write to his bishop or religious superior and state the reasons why. This will be followed by a formal process called “laicisation”, that is, the process of “reducing one to a lay state”. After that process has been completed, the individual would relinquish his priestly status, which, simply put, means he would not function as a priest in any way or represent himself as a priest. This includes, for example, the ability to celebrate the Eucharist. However, it is important to note that by virtue of his ordination, a priest remains always a priest, even after laicisation. Thus, after laicisation, one would still sacramentally be a priest — the sacrament of holy orders cannot be undone — but he would be dispensed from his clerical promises and released from the responsibility of the priesthood.

Anything else I need to know before I start my vocation?

Yes: Love God and the Church! The Southern Cross

Seminarians speak:

The priests we want to be The path to the priesthood is long — from the first discernment to ordination and then ministry. Five Johannesburg seminarians tell GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER about their vocation, and what kind of priests they hope to become (with photos by Mlungisi Mabe).

OD’S CALL TO THE PRIESTLY vocation was “like a mosquito that keeps buzzing in the silence of the night”, says Senzo Mduduzi Mbuzwa. The 25-year-old first-year seminarian from the parish of Ss Cosmas & Damian in Cosmo City, Gauteng, started going to the vocation workshops at Johannesburg’s Christ the King cathedral when he was in matric in 2014. He didn’t attend for just over a year as of early 2017, to concentrate on his tertiary studies, but “this ‘mosquito’ never stopped singing in my ear”. “The difficulty in my discernment process came from being indecisive; it’s as if I was waiting for God to make the decision for me, maybe in a letter in the mail with instructions on what to do,” recalls Mbuzwa, who worked as a software quality assurance analyst for about two years before entering the seminary. Karabo Ranyathole, 22, sees the call to his vocation as “loops you cannot just run away from”. The secondyear seminarian from Sacred Heart parish in Katlehong found the process of discernment difficult and challenging. “There will be days when you feel like giving up, but once one remembers the grace of God, one continues knowing that there is a source providing the strength to continue.” For some people, the call to the

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priesthood is the result of a long discernment, for others it hits suddenly. The latter was the case for Mlungisi Mabe, a 33-year-old final-year student from Our Lady of Peace parish in Kagiso. “It was the first-ever ordination I attended. After the celebration something hit me hard inside, and all I felt was that I wanted to experience what I had just witnessed. It just brought me joy. From that day on I never looked back,” he recalls. The priesthood had never been on his mind when he grew up, even as he served on the altar. “However, I had made my choice from the moment I felt that fire inside of me at that ordination. It was all I was talking about.” But God’s call might have been evident to others. Mabe recalls the day when he told his friend Fr Thabo Mothiba OMI about his decision to join the priesthood. “He didn’t seem surprised. He just said he had known it was going to happen sooner or later.” James Thaki, a 30-year-old from St

Senzo Mbuzwa: ‘It’s as if I was waiting for God to decide for me, maybe in a letter with instructions.’

Pius X parish in Mofolo in his second year, says that even as the call to his vocation was strong, “it took time for my family to accept and understand what I want to do”. Discerning his vocation “was the best decision I have ever made”. However, he adds, “the discernment continues”. Bongani Johannes Thunza is 35 and in his fourth year of study. The parishioner of Emmanuel church in Sebokeng says the discernment process wasn’t difficult. “I knew from an early stage that I wanted to become a priest, even though I did not start with the process immediately after completing high school. I made up my mind about joining the diocese when I was still employed. And all I wanted was, if I joined, not to be a missionary or a religious, because I didn’t want to be far from home.” Before joining the seminary, Thunza worked for the Department of Education in Sebokeng. “My employment experience played a huge role in influencing me to pursue my vocation in the priesthood,” he says. While working, Thunza researched different religious groups, and even attended weekend meetings with their aspirants. “I had full information about the diocesan priesthood, but I felt that I should gather much information about the priesthood and different religious orders.”

Karabo Ranyathole: ‘I’ll want to be a compassionate, understanding, approachable, sociable and caring priest.’

Active youths in church

The five seminarians had been active in their parishes when they grew up. All of them were altar servers and involved in other ways, for example in youth or young adult groups, the church choir, St Vincent de Paul Society, or as catechists. And all recall people who inspired them along the way. “When I was young, I was fascinated by the idea of the priesthood,” Thaki recalls. “At a later and more mature stage, I encountered Fr Victor Ngwenya who made me understand this vocation in depth. I was particularly inspired by the priests’ spirit of prayer and their love for the people.” For Thunza, “there are a few individuals who were my role models, or rather, who influenced me to want to become a priest. Their actions and the way they upheld themselves and behaved is what influenced me.” He mentions Fr Malesela Dikgale, who came to his home parish to perform

his pastoral internship. “He’s actually the person who made me fall in love with the idea of a diocesan priesthood.” His former parish priest, Fr Mawethu Potolwana OFM, “made me realise that priests too deserve to be called heroes with the way he served the parishioners”, while Fr Mbulelo Skotoyi OFM showed him how to deal with parishioners. Mbuzwa also recalls his parish priests as an inspiration. “Fr Daniel Sehlapelo inspired me by his example of dedication, commitment, and hard work. He wanted to make sure that his priesthood was serving the people of God in the most effective way.” As a student, Mbuzwa encountered several Jesuits who helped and inspired him, such as Frs Gilbert Madai, Graham Pugin, John Enslin, Matthew Charlesworth and David Rowan. Fr Emmanuel Wafula AJ and Fr Lawrence Ndlovu also gave “patient priestly examples”, he says. But the role models extend beyond priests. “There is an equally long line of dedicated lay ministers who have been an inspiration of ministerial service. I think of people like Paul Coombes at Holy Trinity, or Nomsa Nkosi and Nkele Rambau at Ss Cosmas & Damian,” Mbuzwa says. As all five are studying for the priesthood for the archdiocese of Johannesburg, they are obviously also in-

Mlungisi Mabe: ‘After that ordination, I felt that fire inside of me. It was all I was talking about.’ fluenced and guided by their vocations director, presently Fr Michael Seheri and before him Fr Thabo Motshegwa.

Why become a priest?

Ranyathole cites the influential presence of “father figures” in his life, and now he aspires to play that role for others. “I wanted to become a priest to be able to serve and be at the service of others, giving care as a father figure and to be the image which Christ displays of his own Father, who is loving, caring, compassionate, and forgiving.” Thaki sees his priesthood as an agency for change. “‘Knowing God’ is the best change that can happen in the world today, and I want to help make that change happen,” he says. For Mbuzwa, love is the motivation for his aspiration to be a priest. “I wish to give my whole being to God, a friendship with Jesus which provides a deep and abiding joy in my heart. So I want to become a priest for the love

Why I want to be a hero

HAVE MORE THAN 20 REASONS WHy I want to become a Catholic priest, but I will state only three of them.

1. Because the priest forgives sins. The significance of penance cannot be overstated. This is one of the sacraments that Christ inaugurated after his resurrection, when he said to his apostles: “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained” (John 20:23). The subject of the sacrament of penance was an endless appeal from St John Paul II. Taking it further, Pope Francis in 2013 said that he frequents the sacrament of penance at least fortnightly. Jesus posed this question: “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). It is within the sacrament of penance, confession, where a priest gives the highest gift possible, one that is more than the entire universe. It is in that moment where a priest rebuilds peni-

BONGANI THUNZA explains why he wants to be a priest

tents’ souls. This is my first reason I want to become a priest, to restore the souls of penitents of Sebokeng, where I come from.

2. Because without priests, people would not have access to Christ. Before Christ ascended into heaven, he said to his disciples: “I am with you till the end of time” (Mark 28:20). And Christ has kept his promise in an amazing way, that is, in the Eucharist. I grew up holding the notion that it’s only priests who can bring Christ down to the faithful, since Christ is present in the Eucharist.

3. Because the world, our country and townships need heroes. I came to notice, when I was still in high school, that

the flashiest appreciation and approbation was for individuals who work as police officers, nurses and doctors, teachers and those who clean our streets, garbage collectors. Less was mentioned about our priests, who sometimes get killed for serving others and spreading the good news, as motivated by the words uttered by Christ when he said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Priests do what Christ says when they offer their lives in the slow martyrdom of a life of service for others. I believe they deserve to be called heroes — and I want to be one of those heroes. n Bongani Johannes Thunza, 35, is a fourth-year theology student at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria. He comes from Emmanuel parish in Sebokeng.

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James Thaki: ‘Discerning my vocation was my best decision ever – but the discernment continues.” I desire to have for Christ and the love he has for me. I am nothing without him, but with him I am everything.” “I have more than 20 reasons why I want to become a Catholic priest,” says Thunza. But the leading three of those are because the priest forgives sins, to facilitate access to Christ, and “because the world, our country and townships need heroes”, and he hopes to become one in his priesthood.

Career experience

Those who have had careers before entering the seminary believe their experience will help them in their ministry. “Working for the education department helped me to know how to deal with various people and also to have empathy,” says Thunza. Thaki recalls: “My past employments exposed me to real-life events,

and some were hopeless situations which needed God’s intervention. I met people who are strong in their faith and they strengthened mine as well. I also met people who did not have faith in Jesus Christ and some who even lost faith in God.” Mabe, a talented photographer (as is evident in these pages), worked for a paint manufacturing company for five years. “That’s an experience I don’t regret. During that period, I learnt how to be responsible, I learnt to be independent, I learnt how to budget and to differentiate between what I needed and what I ‘just wanted’.”

‘Priests we want to be’

Time will tell how these five young men, and those who are studying with them, will live their priesthood. Asked what kind of priests they want to become, they define their hopes in different ways, but all of these hopes come down to one thing: to serve the Lord, the Church and the people of God. Ranyathole aspires to become “the kind of priest who is caring, understanding, compassionate, approachable, and sociable”. Mbuzwa: “I want to be a priest with a passion for Christ, a deep love for the Church, and a zeal for the priesthood.”

Bongani Thunza: ‘I want to be a priest who will be with his parishioners in their pain and also their joys.’

Mabe: “I pray that I become a priest who is always available for the people of God. Moreover, I pray that I become a priest who will be fruitful in the archdiocese of Johannesburg.” Thaki: “I hope to become a priest who makes known the message of God’s comfort and love, a priest who is able to bring hope, and a priest who grows in faith so that I’m able to enrich others in their faith in God.” Thunza: “I want to be the priest that everyone would be talking about. A priest of the people. A priest who will always be there for parishioners placed under my care. The kind of priest who will not only administer sacraments but also be with his parishioners in their pain and who will also share their joys. I want to be a humble and loving priest. I want to be a priest for everyone.”

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Saint of the Month: St RITA OF CASCIA

The patron of the impossible At a time when domestic abuse is rife and people are losing hope, there is a saint for both situations. GüNTHeR SIMMeRMACHeR looks at St Rita of Cascia.

St Rita of Cascia at a glance

Name at birth: Margherita Lotti Born: c.1381 in Roccaporena (near Cascia), Italy Died: May 22, 1457 (aged 75–76) in Cascia, Italy Beatified: 1626 Canonised: 1900 Feast: May 22 Attributes: Forehead wound, roses, bees, grapevines, figs Patronages: Hopeless causes, marital problems, domestic abuse, mothers, sickness, wounds, sterility

Paolo Sr might have conOU WOULD THINK THAT A verted from his wicked ways, mother praying for her sons to but his past caught up with die, and having these prayers him when he was stabbed to answered, might disqualify death, probably by a member her from being the patron saint of par- of the Chiqui family. After 18 enting, but St Rita of Cascia can claim years of marriage, Rita was a widow. And yet, at her husmitigating circumstances. But let us start at the beginning. St band’s funeral she publicly forthe consecrated life. So she applied to Rita was born into a family of minor gave those who had betrayed and killed enter the local Augustinian monastery nobility in around 1381 — most dates Paolo, and whose identity she refused of St Mary Magdalene — whose superiin her life are guesswork — in the vil- to reveal. ors turned Rita away because of her aslage of Roccaporena near Cascia in the sociation with the scandalous feud A mother’s dilemma central Italian region of Umbria. Her (some say it was because the convent devoutly Catholic parents, a couple Rita might have extended a pardon, accepted only virgins, and Rita obviknown for acts of charity, named her but Paolo’s brother Bernardo was set on ously was not one). Margherita, of which the name Rita is revenge. Over time, Bernardo put it into With persistence, Rita eventually the diminutive form.. It is said that the the minds of Rita’s sons that their fawore the superiors down, and they set day after her baptism, five white bees ther’s murder must be avenged. Rita was her a challenge: “Bring the family were flying around her cot, entering faced with a dilemma: if the young men vendetta to an end, and then you can and exiting her mouth without sting- were to commit murder in retaliation join us.” Rita set to work at reconciling ing or choking the infant. Her parents for their father’s death, their souls the Mancini and Chiqui families — and took that to be a sign that their child would be lost. So she prayed earnestly succeeded, crediting the intercession of that God remove the boys from this life her three patron saints: St Augustine of had special spiritual gifts. Growing up, Rita was devoted to the of vendetta and violence, even by tak- Hippo, St Nicholas of Tolentino and St Christian faith, and the girl’s great wish ing them. The following year both sons John the Baptist. Finally, at the age of was to become a nun. Instead her par- died from dysentery, before they could 36 and six years after she was widowed, ents arranged a marriage to the wealthy commit the mortal sin of murder. For she could become a nun. Paolo Mancini when Rita was 12 years Rita, losing her sons was a heartbreakRita would remain at the convent old (that was not an unusual marriage ing but necessary sacrifice. Praying for for the remaining 40 or so years of her age in a time when life expectancy was their premature death, and thus assur- life. But her adventures were not yet much lower than it is now). Paolo was a ing their salvation, was an act of love. over. Rita had a particular devotion to Now widowed and childless, Rita the Passion of Christ, and often would nasty piece of work. Coming from a sought to finally realise her desire for family that maintained vendettas, pray: “Please let me suffer like he was a rough and dissolute man. you, Divine Saviour.” On Good For several years Rita had to suffer Friday 1442, when she was 60, physical and emotional abuse, and Rita was meditating before a cruPaolo’s infidelities. cifix in the convent. Suddenly a wound appeared on her foreWith nowhere to go, Rita head, as if a thorn from Jesus’ terstuck it out. Over time Paolo berible crown had struck her. She came gentler, thanks to Rita’s would retain the partial stigmata model of compassion, kindness for the rest of her life. It would be and patience, and it seems that visible even after her death at they really loved each other. Paolo each of the three occasions when even renounced his part in the her incorrupt body was exrunning feud between the Mancini humed, most recently in 1930. and Chiqui families. Rita bore two Because the bleeding wound sons, Giovanni Antonio and Paolo spooked others, Rita spent much Maria, whom she raised in the St Rita’s incorrupt body in her tomb in the basilica Continued on page 20 faith. dedicated to her in Cascia. Photo: Günther Simmermacher

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St Rita of Cascia

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The

A Timeline of ST RITA OF CASCIA c.1381

Born the only child of Antonio Lotti and Amata Ferri in Roccaporena, near Cascia in central Italy.

c.1393

In an arranged marriage is wedded to the wealthy and dissolute Paolo Mancini. They have two sons, Giovanni Antonio and Paulo Maria.

1406 or 1411

Is widowed after the murder of Paolo in a family feud. In the years that follow, both sons die of dysentery, preventing them from committing mortal sins by killing their father’s murderers.

1413 or 1417

After several unsuccessful attempts, enters the Augustinian convent of St Mary Magdalene in Cascia.

1442

1457

Dies on May 22 after long illness with tuberculosis. She is entombed in her convent. exhumed three times over the centuries, most recently in the 1930s, her body has been found incorrupt.

1626

Is beatified by Pope Urban VIII.

1900

Is canonised in the Vatican on May 24 by Pope Leo XIII.

1937

Construction of a basilica to honour St Rita begins.

1947

St Rita’s remains are translated from the convent tomb to one in the newly-consecrated basilica.

Receives the partial stigmata, a wound on her forehead, which persists for the rest of her life, and after her death.

1450

Makes a pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee Year.

Above: The central dome of St Rita basilica in Cascia, with frescos by Luigi Montanarini. The church was consecrated in 1947.

Left: The crucifix in Cascia’s convent of St Mary Magdalene in front of which St Rita meditated when she spontaneously received a wound on her forehead, as if caused by a thorn from Jesus’ crown.

Photos: Günther Simmermacher

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Continued from page 17

of her time in seclusion. The wound disappeared once, however, when Rita joined her fellow Sisters on a pilgrimage to Rome in the Holy Year 1450. On her return to Cascia, the wound reappeared. In her last months, Rita was bedridden with tuberculosis. One day she asked a visiting cousin to bring a rose from the garden of her old home. But there was a snag: it was January, the middle of winter when roses don’t bloom. When the cousin passed the snow-covered garden, she saw one lone rose — in bloom. Rita died a few months later, on May 22, 1457. Tradition records her first miracle soon after. Paying his respects at Rita’s very simple coffin, a carpenter who had been paralysed by a stroke exclaimed: “If only I were well, I would have prepared a place more worthy of you.” Instantly, he was healed. Soon, a mostly regional devotion to Rita spread. It became more widely popular after Pope Urban VIII, the former bishop of nearby Spoleto, beatified her in 1622. She was canonised by Pope Leo XIII on May 24, 1900. First St Rita’s popularity was due to her saintly patience and motherly sacrifice, but especially in Spain, she became a muchloved intercessor in cases that are considered hopeless. It is for this that she has become one of the most popular saints in many parts of the world. And then there are the bees, five of which explored Rita’s mouth when she was a little baby. Some 200 years after her death, a colony of bees moved into a wall between the saint’s cell in Cascia and her (now previous) tomb. Remarkably, they have no sting. And about 350 years later, the colony is still there today. St John Chrysostom once said: “The bee is more honoured than other animals, not because it labours, but because it labours for others.” This is also true for the life of St Rita of Cascia.

Marriage is difficult, but with love, communication and faith, it is possible to overcome obstacles, writes GÜNTHER SIMMERMACHER

The glow of love at home

ANY YEARS AGO THERE was a song in which the singer thanks his friends for their loving hospitality. As he admires their kindness and generosity, he wonders: “Maybe it’s because in your windows, the light gives a warmer glow.” When my wife and I were asked recently to reflect on “a bright and peaceful home” as part of a novena for marriage, the beautiful image of that old song came to mind: the light that shines in the window of these friends glows more warmly than it does in other homes. The singer obviously isn’t talking about the technology of artificial illumination but about the love that lives in that home. This is what couples and families must aim for at all times: to make sure that love lives in their home (and I exclude abusive relationships from the advice I’m offering here; those require a different set of interventions). And that love is not just eros — the romantic love that first brings most couples together — but also agape, the unconditional love modelled by God. Eros and agape can’t be completely separated in marriage. Pope Benedict XVI in his 2005 encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) wrote that “the more the two, in their different aspects, find a proper unity in the one reality of love, the more the true nature of love in general is realised”. But totally selfless, unconditional love is difficult. How often do we not make our love conditional on others doing our will? Conditional love kills love and breeds resentment. But trying to love unconditionally is challenging. And yet, trying to do so is fundamental to a strong relationship. Unconditional love requires a strength of spirit which most of us don’t have. This means that God has to live in our homes. More than that: God must be accepted as our landlord, the head of the household by whose rules we must live. Having physical reminders of that in the home helps: a crucifix, a statue

of Our Lady or favourite saints, posters or framed sacred artworks on the walls, The Southern Cross on the coffee table, an altar even… all of these remind us, constantly and concretely, of who’s in charge, and to whom we can turn when everything is not OK.

When lights go out

Of course, sometimes it’s difficult to keep that warm light glowing. Life is difficult, and marriage is difficult. At some point, every couple faces serious

God’s hands. Try not to stress, even if it’s really hard not to. When we place all in God’s hands, we can surrender our impulse to control what can’t be controlled — and, speaking as a control-freak myself, I know that this isn’t easy advice to follow! But experience has taught me that nothing eases stress and anxiety as much as surrendering to God’s will.

Call on God

And when the nuptial lights are dimming or even going out, we have recourse. First of all, pray! Together. Alone. Alone and together. But pray! Call on St Rita of Cascia, the patron of troubled marriages. Call on Our Lady and her husband, St Joseph. Go straight to Jesus. But prayer isn’t just the formal approach to God. All our acts of kindness are a prayer. If you and your partner had a big fight, don’t stew over it or plot revenge, but maybe...make them a cup of coffee. That’s an act of caritas, of love, that also calls out to God: “Be with us in this difficult moment.” And if God is with us, and we know God is with us, how can we fail to heal? The key in marriage is not to bear grudges. My wife and I can argue with the best of them, but afterwards we take a moment to cool down, and then we carry on as before. Sometimes just a little joke or an act of kindness — such as that cup of coffee — defuses or even heals the situation. The advice offered in every marriage preparation course holds true: Never go to bed angry. What’s important is the ability to let things slide. Even if the husband is too lazy to wash up, and even if the wife nags about his driving! In marriage, points of conflict must be resolved, through communication, mediation, acceptance and, of course, prayer. In cases of serious breakdown, call in help for healing. You can make use of Church services. Contact the SACBC Family Desk, diocesan family ministries or Marfam for referrals. You are not alone.

When the lights of love go out, let that be loadshedding – not a power-cut

trials which may threaten to extinguish that light: unemployment, debt, sickness, death of a loved one, alienation of affection, worries about the children, family interference, and so on. If a couple is already stressed, even something as trivial as different ideas about where to go on holiday or what movie to watch, can cause darkness. There will be testing moments in a marriage. That’s unavoidable. And at some point or another, the lights of love could go out. But when they do, let that be just temporary loadshedding, not a permanent power-cut. Stress is inevitable, especially in times of crisis. It can kill relationships. So find peace by placing everything in

The Southern Cross

You are a MIRACLE!

REFLECTION

Once we accept that we are miracles, our lives are forever changed. And then our work truly begins, writes SR NANCY WATeNGA.

RELIGIOUS SISTER IS FIRST A woman, a female, a sister and a mother, with all the innate qualities associated with each of these roles. These include being careful, aesthetic or beauty-conscious, loving, protective and considerate. When she was created by God, she was blessed and given a vocation. In her response to the divine call as a religious Sister, she takes with her all the feminine characteristics of a woman. I have been thinking about the relevance of our call as religious Sisters in a fastchanging world. The religious Sister has in her the divine — the miracle in her. In other words, “We are miracles!” Think about it. We all have within us the divine, and most of us believe in a higher power, a spirit or a force outside of ourselves. However, what is striking is that no matter what we call this power — God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Christ, Allah, Buddha, Yemoja (a Yoruba goddess) — believers in every religion profess to be claimed and loved by this power. Every master — Jesus, Buddha, Krishna — has had the same message: “What I am you are. What I can do, you can do. These things and much more shall you also do” (John 14:12). As a leader of a congregation, I ask each religious Sister: Are you a miracle yourself? Do you feel so from within? I would define a miracle as an extraordinary occurrence that cannot be ex-

plained by science, and therefore is attributed to God. As I mentioned at the beginning, the fact that each Sister — and each human being — has God within him or her, means that each one of us has something special, something unique within. It is the responsibility of the individual to discover what it is, with the help of existing structures like the family, Church, education or the government. What is unique in you?

Negative thinking

Marilyn Hughes Gaston and Gayle K Porter, in their 2012 book Prime Time, wondered why we ignore our miraculous bodies. But l echo: why do we allow others to demean us? Why do we fail to honour and affirm the divine within us?

comments like “You are actually good for nothing”, or “You cannot make it in life — you have to be like so and so.” I think such negativity weighs heavily upon our personalities, to the extent that it destroys our growth and development. This could be a reason why we do not consistently honour and care for the miracle of our lives. Marianne Williamson’s 1992 book A Return to Love offers a valuable explanation for change, in a passage often misattributed to Nelson Mandela: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? She asks: “Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give

Each one of us has something special within. It is everyone’s responsibility to discover what it is

The Southern Cross

Each of us could probably provide an explanation, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Or have we allowed the negative thinking that surrounds our environment to cloud our own thinking, making it difficult to see beyond the challenges that we encounter? As each individual grows, they may be confronted — at home, in the education system, in the workplace —with

Photo: Ian Kiragu/Unsplash

change, the Covid-19 era has been a milestone of self-discovery that has affected them immeasurably. Some examples: During this pandemic period, a Sister-friend of mine — who in the past had no interest in catering — has found a new passion in the production of everything made out of wheat, from cakes to meat pies. A neighbour has begun to supply table mats made of beads — which she learned during the pandemic. Personally, I have learned to prepare multi-purpose soap for household use, and how to make the ingredients used in the soap; among other household items. All these talents and many others lay hidden in our hearts and minds until Covid pushed each of us, mercilessly challenging us to think outside the box — or better still, to think inside the box. Each person seemed to ask: “What else can I do besides the normal work?” I may not know the plans of each and every person after Covid-19, but for me the new normal is to keep going forward and integrate this fact of embracing change into my life.

Change your life forever

other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” For people who choose to embrace

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Once we confront our fears and accept that we are miracles, our lives are forever changed. And then our work truly begins. As the late US psychiatrist Dr M Scott Peck wrote in his 1978 book The Road Less Travelled: “If we seriously listen to this ‘God within us’, we usually find ourselves being urged to take the more difficult path, the path of more effort rather than less.” If we really believe that we are mir-

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acles and contain the divine within us, there is no way that we could discriminate against another on account of colour, class, background or level of education. It would be like discriminating against God himself. The God within us works the miracle of loving others, against the odds. If we truly believed that we participate in the divine nature of God, we could not ignore or minimise the time we spend in personal prayer to build a personal relationship with God. Also, because of this presence in us, we religious Sisters become more disposed to obey, accept and own the constitutional rules of our individual religious institutes and the liturgical hours that first attracted us to the religious life. All these become more meaningful to us and very productive in our lives. This results in an authentic witness of Jesus in society. These positive attitudes in us can help us to regain a healthy spirituality, so that the divine light of Christ may shine through. I have always loved the quote attributed to Hans Urs von Balthasar: “What you are is God’s gift to you; what you will become is your gift to God.” At the beginning of this article, I noted that each of us has the divine within us. What would the world be like if every person experienced the divine within, celebrated this experience, and shared the same with others? n Sr Nancy Watenga writes from Nakuru, Kenya. This article first appeared on the website of the Global Sisters Network (www.globalsistersreport.org)

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Let the Pentecost spirit soar! On May 23 this year, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. FR RALPH De HAHN reflects on the events of the day when the Church was born.

HEN WE READ THE ACTS of the Apostles presented by St Luke the Evangelist — friend of Paul, a doctor, and convert from paganism — we are impressed by his account of that “powerful wind from heaven” and the “tongues of fire” in the Upper Room, followed by the amazing understanding of all present speaking foreign languages. It is that earth-shattering experience of Christ’s disciples, 50 days after the resurrection of the Lord, which we refer to as Pentecost. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke presents this unique spiritual energy inside the new body of believers that motivates its extraordinary and rapid expansion, even beyond the powerful Roman Empire. Before his departure from Earth, Jesus had promised his disciples: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you, and then you will be my witnesses” (Acts1:8). And when the disbelieving crowds mocked the disciples as having been “drinking too much new wine”, Peter stood up and declared: “This is what the prophet Joel spoke of — I will pour out my spirit on

all mankind…I will display portents in heaven above and signs on earth below…and what you now see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit” (Joel 3:1-5). Luke tells us that on that very day 3 000 were baptised and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:14-34).

The Holy Spirit didn’t make a first appearance on Pentecost day

The Southern Cross

This is the awesome power that brought the world to be: the creation of all that is, and the new creation when the Father willed his Son, Jesus, to be born in the flesh in the great miracle of the Incarnation. Pentecost is that renewal of incredible dimensions: a manifestation of a power beyond our comprehension.

Holy Spirit always there

But let us not be led to believe that the Holy Spirit made its first appearance and impact on this Pentecost day in Jerusalem. For even at the very dawn of creation, “God’s spirit hovered over

the waters” (Genesis 1). The Holy Spirit was already active, and Psalm 33 expresses it so beautifully: “By a word from Yahweh the heavens were made… by the breath of his mouth.” In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is variously represented as fire, a dove, a powerful wind or a gentle breeze, breath, and living water. Yes, the power of God’s spirit was very active throughout the history of his chosen people, and boldly declared by the prophets. “Listen to the words Yahweh has sent by his spirit through the prophets in the past” (Zechariah 7:12). We have the cry of Ezekiel: “The spirit of the Lord has entered me, made me stand up and spoke to me (3:24), and “the spirit came and lifted me up” (11:24). How often we hear the cry: “It is the Lord who speaks!” The prophet Micah professes that he is “full of strength because of the Spirit of Yahweh” (3:8). Nehemiah is angry with his people: “You gave them your spirit to make them wise...you admonished them by your spirit, through your prophets, but they would not listen” (9:20, 30) The first book of Samuel records the anointing of King Saul: “The spirit of Yahweh will seize on you, you will go into ecstasy, and you will be another man” (10:6). We also recall the story of Samuel taking the horn of oils and anointing David: “And the spirit of the Lord seized on David, and stayed with him” (1 Samuel 16:13). Then David himself declares: “The spirit of the Lord

PENTECOST

in brief

The Holy Spirit is represented in an alabaster window in St Peter’s basilica.

speaks through me…His words were on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). In the book of Judges, when Yahweh’s anger flamed out against the Israelites for worshipping false gods, we have the anointing of Othniel, son of Kenaz, and “the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he became a judge in Israel” (3:9-10). We have a lovely text in the book of Job: “His breath made the heavens luminous…a whispered echo is all that we hear of him, but who can comprehend the thunder of his power” (26:13). The life of Jesus, as recorded by the evangelists, gives undeniable proof of the Spirit working through him, as does the Acts of the Apostles: “The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone” (2:43). Those who didn’t believe questioned the extraordinary powers exercised by the disciples who were casting out demons, healing the sick, and even raising the dead to life! The courage and fortitude in the disciples’ orations and deeds spoke of that “power from on high”. Both Peter and Paul bore witness to this God-given power, and so did all the early Christian martyrs.

The power of the Spirit

We will never fully comprehend the shattering event of that Pentecost; yet we can, in some measure, judge it by the fruits produced over the preceding centuries and decades. Enough to mention the creation of the heavens and the earth out of nothing, absolutely nothing! How the inspired Jewish prophets guided the life of God’s chosen people through victory and crushing defeats! Then recall how the image of the unblemished Lamb becomes the centre of our salvation history. The unbeliev-

able message to a young virgin in Nazareth that God is coming to earth in the flesh: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, Mary, and the power of the most high will overshadow you… and the child will be called the son of God” (Luke 1:35). Then to that amazing, awesome power which was revealed in the episode of Pentecost in the Upper Room on Mount Zion — in the face of fear, cowardice and betrayals. That astonishing transformation of simple human and fragile humanity. It is easy to lose sight of the Spirit’s power operating in the sufferings of Christ and in his last agonising hours, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah (53, also see Psalm 22). And then that Easter morning when the Spirit of Life conquered the darkness of sin. And he breathed on them, saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:22-23). What we often fail to fully understand and deeply appreciate is the Spirit’s action through the priesthood of Jesus and the enormous gift of the Blessed Eucharist. Without the action of the Holy Spirit there could be no daily miracle of the Holy Mass, no human priesthood, and none of the seven sacraments. Even the Catholic Church would be an empty shell, certainly not the Body of Christ. The spirit of Pentecost must not be allowed to fade. As Catholics, we must ever profess ourselves to be the true Pentecostal church. n Fr Ralph de Hahn is a priest of the archdiocese of Cape Town.

l Pentecost is the celebration of the person of the Holy Spirit coming upon the apostles, Mary, and the first followers of Jesus, who were gathered together in the Upper Room.

A “strong, driving” wind filled the room where they were gathered, and tongues of fire came to rest on their heads, allowing them to speak in different languages so that they could understand each other.

The Holy Spirit also gave the apostles the other gifts and fruits necessary to fulfill the great commission: to go out and preach the Gospel to all nations. It fulfils the New Testament promise from Christ (Luke 24:46-49) .

l The main event of Pentecost takes place in Acts 2:13, though the events immediately following (Peter’s homily, the baptism of thousands) continue to verse 41.

l Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church because Peter, the first pope, preaches for the first time and converts thousands of new believers. The apostles and believers, for the first time, were united by a common language, and a common zeal and purpose to go and preach the Gospel.

l Pentecost always occurs 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, and ten days after his ascension into heaven. Because Easter is a moveable feast without a fixed date, and Pentecost depends on the timing of Easter, Pentecost can fall anywhere between May 10 and June 13.

l The name of the day itself is derived from the Greek word pentecoste, meaning 50th.

l Priests wear red vestments on Pentecost, symbolic of the burning fire of God’s love and the tongues of fire that descended on the apostles.

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Letters

Opinions expressed in The Southern Cross, especially in Letters to the Editor, do not necessarily reﬂect the views of the publication or those of the Catholic hierarchy.

How St Joseph came to the rescue

We must save others to save ourselves

OUR FOCUS ON ST JOSEPH IN the March issue reminded me of the power of a devotion to the spouse of Our Lady, one which I discovered thanks to an article in the Southern Cross edition from July 19, 2006, headlined “Why I dug up St Joseph”. The author of the article, Tanya Watterud, wrote about how praying a novena to St Joseph helped her family sell their house. I cut the article out, laminated it, and still have it. Over the years, I have photocopied it for many people in their time of need, including housing problems, with the recommendation to turn to St Joseph. It has produced many fruits. One case I believe was miraculous. A family I knew was becoming homeless as their house was going to be repossessed, after the father had been retrenched. I gave his wife the Southern Cross article on St Joseph and advised that the family pray to the saint. The house was auctioned off nevertheless, and the day came when the family stood outside their old home in tears, the furniture in the front garden, with nowhere to go. Just then, the new owner, a Muslim man, arrived. He listened to the family’s story, and then told them: “Move your belongings back. I don’t need the house. You get back on your feet, and when you are able to, you repay me what I have paid for the property.” It was truly a miracle worked through the intercession of St Joseph, and one going back to an article in The Southern Cross. Turn to St Joseph; he’ll never leave you alone. Kathleen Samuels, Cape Town

Story of St Joseph is a great read

KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT St Joseph until a priest recommended reading The Life of Saint Joseph by Sr Maria Cecelia Baij OSB, based on revelations to her in 1736 (the book is still available overseas). What a read! Understanding him as man, husband and father is so much clearer now. With 2021 declared the Year of St Joseph, I pray many more will honour and follow the example of this wonderful saint. On a personal note: my son-inlaw lost his job during lockdown and within the time of praying one novena to St Joseph, he was offered a new job. Thank you, St Joseph, for prayers answered! Lynn Petersen, Cape Town

ICHAEL SHACKLETON’S Q&A response to the question “Can non-believers go to heaven?” (December 2020) failed to state that Catholics, and Christians at large, are also responsible for many non-believers possibly not getting into heaven! It is indeed our serious obligation to preach the Word of God and to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ being our and their Saviour, to these very people — on pain of us not reaching heaven ourselves, if we do not do so! Why do I say that? In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) the risen Jesus said: “Go and make disciples from all nations. Baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to fulfil all I have commanded you.” In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus was even more direct and strict: “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who refuses to believe will be condemned.” Therein lies the actual answer to the original question that was asked, and I think Michael Shackleton should have answered as such. It is indeed our responsibility as Christians to preach and for listeners to believe. And if they don’t, they will not go to heaven (be condemned, according to Jesus’ words). Frans van Neerijnen, Roodepoort

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Christ shines his light

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

HEN I WAS A CHILD, WE often visited family members from the afternoon to the late evening. Then we would drive home. As I’m sure many of us can attest, the purr of an engine can turn seemingly infinite energy into sudden sleepiness. My eyes would open and close like blinds until they couldn’t resist sleep anymore. But something would dare to interrupt my slumber and my eyes would peel open. It was the bright orange lights on the M1 highway illuminating the road in front of us. All around me, the daylight trees had grown into blobs of black in the night. Altogether, they were a sea of darkness. The streetlights floated like boats on the water; they were blue, green, red and white. There were patches of darkness, as if the light had swum away and abandoned unfavourable corners. But the lights would show themselves again and reveal many paths from which to choose. In John’s Gospel, the opening chapter is a poetic account of the Incarnation of Christ. He tells us: “What came to be through him was life and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:3-5). Too often these words become just a nice sentiment to put on fridge magnets, but I imagine that if we thought more deeply about it, we might just…see the light? When the sun rises in the early morning, its light slowly creeps in and reveals the folds of my duvet cover and the creases in the pillows. Suddenly, I’m reminded of where I left my shoes. I also feel comforted that the shadows are fading away. The light of Christ is something like this. At times, it comes in gently and in small openings where we allow the Lord to enter.

Change of season

The change of season has me holding on to the few warm days that are still left before winter sets in. I enjoy sitting under an awning or a tree and absorbing the warmth. Again, the light of Christ feels quite the same. When we draw closer to it, its warmth is an antidote to the coldness of the world. In the pride that comes with youth and in the confidence of being invincible, I once stared into the sun. I was wearing 3D glasses (yes, the ones you wear to the cinema) and for some reason

‘The light of Christ sometimes comes in gently and in small openings where we allow the Lord to enter’

I thought they would protect me. Needless to say, those few seconds hurt my eyes, but I’m okay now, and to the best of my knowledge, my vision is still sharp. It has often occurred to me that the light of Christ, which is truth, has troubled my gaze. The apostle John goes on to say: “And the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). Perhaps the meaning of life is to become worthy of beholding this grace and truth without fear of the light? Let your truth fill us with hope For life in heaven forever May it reveal the devil’s rope

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The trouble with holidays

Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

HE DECEMBER HOLIDAYS ARE long past, but here we are in May and we have again been in holiday mode. That is because we have had five public holidays within a period of six weeks: two connected with Easter (which change every year), March 22 for Human Rights Day, April 27 for Freedom Day, and then May 1 for Worker’s Day (which is a Saturday this year). When people start adding in bridging days — did anyone work on Monday, April 26? — and the time spent winding down before and winding up after a holiday, it feels like everything is operating at half-speed! The word “holiday” has a religious connection: it is, of course, derived from “holy day”. In medieval Christian Europe, holy days were very important. The year was marked out through the lives of Jesus or Mary or of important saints. In those days, very few people would have had fixed jobs with monthly salaries, so “holy days” were not really about being paid for not working. Instead they were a break from the normal grind of life. Catholic customs meant that there were lots of activities — to do with food, alcohol, music, dancing — that could be done on certain days and not be done on other days. And this applied not just to monks observing the discipline of life in abbeys but also to ordinary people working in the fields or in lordly houses. On a holy day,

everyone could join in the fun. Days off from work on these holy days would have started as a way of enabling people to attend a church service — a key part of making the day holy — and afterwards participating in festivals and events. And so the idea of a public holiday — a day that should be a working day but when no one is actually working — became established. There are countries that still tie many of their public holidays to Christian festivals. In countries that have a different dominant religion, public holidays are linked to Muslim or Jewish or Hindu holy days — though it can get complicated when the exact date is not known until the sighting of the moon! After 1994, South Africa retained many Christian-linked holidays and then added in several which are on dates associated with the liberation struggle. As a result, we have 12 public holidays. This is far from the record of 25 in Sri Lanka or 21 in India — but is considerably more than the nine in Germany, eight in the UK and seven in Mexico (the lowest in the world).

Inequality of holidays

Covid has made us more aware of the gaps in our society between the haves and have-nots: whether in terms of income, or data, or food security, or access to healthcare, or having a stock

28 The Southern Cross

of alcohol. Holidays are another area of inequality. For those of us who are paid a monthly salary — including myself — public holidays are a gift. You get to the end of the month, you get the pay you would normally get, but you’ve worked a day or two fewer than you normally would have. What’s not to like? But we forget that for many others, a holiday is of little benefit and may actually be a cost. If you are young or sick or old, public holidays just merge in with the general drift of days. If there is any impact from a public holiday, it is a loss — fewer people to help them in their school or hospital or care home. That is why we, at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, are committed to feeding the homeless on all the days we usually do, even if one happens to be a public holiday. And thanks to our range of volunteers from different religions, this is possible. The people who most clearly benefit from a public holiday are those employed in the “formal sector”. According to Stats SA, that means about 9,2 million people in South Africa. That is only about one in four of the 35 million South Africans of working age. What of the rest? For the unemployed, every day is a “holiday” — whether they want one or not. In this past year, because of Covid, more peo-

ple have discovered that not working when you want to isn’t a holiday but a depressing emptiness that saps your energy. For many in informal employment, a public holiday makes little difference: the cows still need to be milked, the children still need to be fed, the sick relative still needs to be cared for. But there is a group in the city that loses out every time there is a public holiday. Think of how many people make a living — however meagre — from other people coming to work each day. The car guards, the food sellers, the office cleaners, even the beggars. Days when all those formally employed people are not coming to work represent lost income for all the people who are informally providing them with goods and services.

Drop in earnings

And then there are those who are paid by the day. Employers who are conscious of their moral and legal obligations will make sure that such workers get commensurate compensation for public holidays. But most do not. Just think about domestic workers who are paid by the day. How many of them get paid for not working on a public holiday (or do work and get paid double)? That isn’t trivial, think about the impact. If you are cleaning for a household every Monday and get paid R200 per day, but only for the days you work, your monthly pay in March (which had five Mondays, one of them a holiday) from that family would have been only R800 instead of the usual R1000. That’s a big drop! And even those in formal employment may not always benefit. We might have used our holidays to enjoy a meal in a restaurant or some entertainment or to go shopping. But do we ever check to see if the waiters or shopworkers are themselves benefiting from being paid extra for working on a holiday? If they are not, it’s no holiday for them. So hopefully we have been enjoying our holidays — and that the holy days have also been a time of blessing. But I also hope that we spare a thought for those for whom a holiday is of little benefit, and perhaps think of ways in which we can share our blessings with them.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Dorothy Day and St Thérèse

NE OF DOROTHY DAY’S four, and several bouts of clinical depresfavourite saints was Thérèse sion from which she nearly died. She did Martin of Lisieux, the saint not have an easy walk through childhood. whom we call “the Little On the other hand, she had an excepFlower”. At first glance, this might look tionally graced childhood. She grew up in like a strange affinity. Dorothy Day (1897- a family of saints who loved her deeply. 1980) was the ultimate activist for justice, They honoured (and often photographed) protesting in the streets of New York City, her every joy and pain. She was also a being arrested, going to prison, and start- beautiful young girl, attractive and graced ing a community and a newspaper, The with a disarming warmth and sensitivity. Catholic Worker, in service of the poor. Her family and everyone around her conThérèse of Lisieux was a contempla- sidered her special and precious. She was tive nun, hidden away in an obscure con- much loved; but this did not make for a vent in a small town in France. In her 24 spoiled child. We can never be spoiled by years on earth, except for one brief trip to being loved too much, only by being Rome with her family and parish, she loved badly. Her family loved her purely, never left Lisieux. At her death on Sep- and the result was a young woman who tember 30, 1897, she was probably known opened her heart and person to the world by fewer than 200 people. Moreover, in in an exceptional way. her writings, one finds precious little that As she matured, Thérèse began to nomight be considered explicitly prophetic tice something. She noticed how when she in terms of social justice. She wrote as a was a child her every tear was noticed, valmystic, with a focus on the interior life ued and honoured, but that this was not and on our personal intimacy with Jesus. the case for many other people. She recogNot exactly the stuff of protests in the nised that countless people suffer heartstreets. So why did Dorothy Day, whose breaks and injustices, endure abuse, are life looks so different, have an affinity for humiliated, live in shame, and shed tears this young recluse? that no one notices and no Dorothy was drawn to one cares about. Their pain Thérèse’s spirituality beis not seen, not honoured, cause she understood it benot valued. From this inyond its popular sight, she articulated the misconception. Among all basic metaphor that underknown saints, Thérèse of pins her “little way”. Lisieux stands out as one of Her words: “One Sunthe most popular of all time St Thérèse and Dorothy Day day, looking at a picture of — and as one of the most Our Lord on the Cross, I was misunderstood. Her popularity is part of struck by the blood flowing from one of his the problem. Popular devotion has en- divine hands. I felt a pang of great sorrow crusted her person and spirituality in an when thinking this blood was falling on over-simplistic piety that generally serves the ground without anyone’s hastening to to hide her real depth. gather it up. I was resolved to remain in Thérèse termed her spirituality “the spirit at the foot of the Cross and to receive little way”. Popular piety, for the most its dew. … I don’t want this precious blood part, thinks of her “little way” as a spiri- to be lost. I shall spend my life gathering it tuality that invites us to live quiet, hum- up for the good of souls.” ble, simple, anonymous lives wherein we From this, we see that her “little way” do everything, especially the small hum- is not about privatised piety, but about ble tasks asked of us, with fidelity and gra- noticing and responding to the pain and ciousness, unassuming, childlike, grateful tears of our world. Metaphorically, it is to God just to be of service. While there is about noticing and “gathering up” the a lot of truth in that understanding, it blood that is dripping from the suffering misses some of the depth of Thérèse’s per- face of Christ — a face which is still sufson and spirituality. fering in our world today — in the faces of the poor, the faces of those who are The ‘little way’ and justice bleeding and shedding tears because of To understand Thérèse’s “little way” heartbreak, injustice, poverty, lack of love, and its connection with justice for the and lack of being deemed precious. poor, we need to understand certain Dorothy Day walked the streets of the things in her life that helped constellate poor, noticing their blood, drying their the vision that lay behind her “little way”. tears, trying in her own way to gather Thérèse had a very complex child- them up. Thérèse did the same thing myshood. On the one hand, her life was tically, deep inside the body of Christ. It touched by deep sadness, not least the is no surprise that Dorothy Day took “The death of her mother when Thérèse was Little Flower” as her patron saint. The Southern Cross

Every month FR CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ reﬂects on Pope Francis’ universal prayer intention

The bondage of the free market

Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters/CNS

PRAY WITH THE POPE

Universal Intention: Let us pray that those in charge of finance will work with governments to regulate the financial sphere and protect citizens from its dangers.

in Britain in 1995 when the infamous Nick Leeson single-handedly brought down the venerable Barings Bank through reckless trading. The historian Timothy Snyder, in his disturbing book The Road to Unfreeyoung men who worked for the big in- dom, traces many of the world’s geopovestment banks which went bust carry- litical problems to the financial crash of AINT FRANCIS FAMOUSLY DIDN’T want his followers to even touch ing their pathetic cardboard boxes as 2008. The rise of political strongmen is money, that “root of all evil”. It they vacated their offices. They didn’t a key outcome. These dangerous men, would be interesting to see how look very happy, but I doubt if many of who have come to power in countries he would apply that injunction today, them ended up on the streets. Many of as diverse as Turkey, the Philippines, the thousands of people who lost their Brazil, Hungary and the United States, in a world of intangible electronic succeeded by tapping into the anger money and Internet banking. As of people who were impoverished by money has become more intangiSuccessive popes have the financial disaster of 2008/09, he ble, it also becomes more susceptiargues. condemned the cult of ble to criminal manipulation. fundamental problem is that This, along with other contempothe free market: the market it is The not in the interests of “those in rary developments, has made the “financial sphere”, as Pope Francis was made for humanity, not charge of finance” to regulate the system and to build in the necessary calls it, increasingly dangerous to humanity for the market safety features. These features would ordinary citizens. entail forbidding risky trading, I’m sure the pope means more than just morally dangerous. When sub-prime mortgaged homes and their which is a very difficult temptation to things go wrong in the financial do- jobs, however, did end up on the resist if you know that you will always be bailed out by national governments main, untold numbers of vulnerable streets. people can suffer — and some may even The financial sphere is run mostly because they feel that the system is “too die. We are still living with the dire con- by young men with plenty of technical big to fail”. sequences of the financial crash of brilliance but rather less wisdom and 2008. We remember the pictures of the experience of life. They sit in front of Were lessons learnt? computer screens all day moving That is effectively what happened money around to make more of it. They after 2008 — the system was rescued at play around with “financial products” the expense of citizens and although MARIANELLA To advertise Guest House, Simon’s and “derivatives”, indulge in the mys- some things were tightened up, it is by Town — experience the in small terious activity of “short-selling” or no means clear that such an event will peace and beauty of God “shorting”. The question is whether all never happen again. and nature with us”. Fully panel ads at equipped, with amazing this activity creates any wealth or An even deeper problem is the worsea views. R330 send whether it is just a clever way of manip- ship of a quasi-mystical market (Adam Secure parking, ideal for rest and relaxation. ulating the system to suck wealth out of Smith’s “invisible hand”). This idolayour text to Special rates for families, it, for their companies and for them- trous mindset views any attempt to pensioners and clergy. selves. Malcolm or Wilma Salida advertising@ control the market as the ultimate

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Prayer to St Joseph of Cupertino for Success in Examinations

This powerful prayer is very effective in examinations. It has to be said before appearing in the examination.

O St Joseph of Cupertino who by your prayer obtained from God to be asked at your examination, the only preposition you knew. Grant that I may like you succeed in the [mention the name of exam, eg. History paper I] examination. In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked. O St. Joseph of Cupertino pray for me. O Holy Ghost enlighten me. Our Lady of Good Studies pray for me. Sacred Head of Jesus, Seat of divine wisdom, enlighten me. Amen

The Southern Cross

When bets are bad

The other question is how close this activity comes to gambling and what happens when the bets are bad. The sub-prime mortgages system was a terrible bet, and when its luck ran out, it crashed whole sections of the financial system, ruining lives and livelihoods across the globe. Should we have seen this coming? One particularly stark warning occurred

heresy. Successive popes have all condemned this cult of the market, reminding the world that the market was made for humanity, not humanity for the market. It is vital that ordinary people be empowered to cut through the deliberately obfuscating mumbo-jumbo of the contemporary high priesthood of investment banking and demand that the market serve people rather than the reverse.

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

COME, O HOLY SPIRIT Come, O Holy Spirit. Come as Holy Fire and burn in us, come as Holy Wind and cleanse us within, come as Holy Light and lead us in the darkness, come as Holy Truth and dispel our ignorance, come as Holy Power and enable our weakness, come as Holy Life and dwell in us. Convict us, convert us, consecrate us, until we are set free from the service of ourselves, to be your servants to the world. Amen by John Henry Newman

Gladden us with holy joys, Almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ Your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Fatima Prayer to the Holy Trinity

O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for outrages and sacrileges and by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus I beg the conversion of poor sinners. Amen

Prayer for Joy O holy St Philip Neri, patron saint of joy, you who trusted Scripture’s promise that the Lord is always at hand and that we need not have anxiety about anything. In your compassion heal our worries and sorrows and lift the burdens from our hearts. We come to you as one

by the intercession of St Philip Neri

whose heart swells with abundant love for God and all creation. Hear us, we pray, especially in this time of need. Keep us safe through your loving intercession, and may the joy of the Holy Spirit which filled your heart, St Philip, transform our lives and bring us peace. Amen. The Southern Cross

Marian Shrines Search

Anagram Challenge 1 2

Unscramble the clues below to work out which RELIGIOUS ORDERS hide in these words

R I CH SO N B I R THR A TE S

DO A B O SS CO N F E SSI O N A L

3 RAM IN FOOLISHNESS IN AIRMAIL

AKITA BEAURAING FATIMA GUADALUPE KEVELAER

KIBEHO KNOCK LAS LAJAS LOURDES MEDJUGORJE

NGOME VELANKANNI WALSINGHAM ZARAGOZA ZEITOUN

I N F O R MA LLy E MP Ty CO A T

P A CI F I C N U N S CHA R CA N S

6 FEARS AUTOMATICALLy MOB ME

See 40 Top Marian Shrines in words & pics at: www.scross.co.za/category/marian-shrines/

Southern Crossword: Month of Our Lady

ACROSS

5. Laura conceals her sign of holiness (4) 7. It’s taken as true for Our Lady (10) 8. How John referred to Our Lady’s son (4) 10. How Our Lady felt when the angel appeared to her (8) 11. Statement of the Christian faith starts a long Gospel text (6) 12. Daniel disturbed by Jesus’ suffering in Fifth Mystery (6) 14. Not accustomed to a new car? (6) 16. Pick the best of the superiors (6) 17 and 19. Ignore my foal roaming among Our Lady’s troops (6,2,4) 21. One hundredth anniversary (10) 22. Continent that could be major or minor (4)

DOWN

1. The angel’s greeting (4) 2 Affliction that struck the Baptist’s father (8) 3. Support the faith (6) 4. He told Our Lady a sword would pierce her heart (6) 5. The woman in the Temple with the man in 4 down (4) 6. One who will give Our Lady homage (10) 9. Those who rise with increasing status (10) 13. What the Mysteries of Light will do? (8) 15. They were doing it at the Last Supper (6) 16. Our Lord had to do it in the Sorrowful Mysteries (6) 18. Cain upset by one in the Andes (4) 20. Log of Nativity time (4)

Solutions on page 34 The Southern Cross

Quick Crossword

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the shaded boxes to form the name of a famous European Marian shrine ACROSS

1. Southern Cross editor (surname) (12) 2. Pope in the city (5) 3. Fatima visionary (7) 4. Southern Cross columnist Fr Chris (9) 5. Cup for Precious Blood (7) 6. Archbishop Hurley’s middle name (6) 7. Mount of Last Supper (4)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8. SA Marian shrine (5) 9. Feast a week after easter (6,5) 10. Defunct SA Jesuit school (2,6) 11. Place of Creed (5)

DOWN

1. Fr O’Malley in 1940s movies (4,6) 2. Destination of Jesus’ followers (Lk 24) (6) 3. KZN diocese (11)

The Catholic Trivia Quiz

1. Whose Gospel opens with the words: “In the beginning was the Word...”? a) Matthew b) Luke c) John

6. What was Martin Luther called to attend to answer charges of heresy in May 1521? a) Can of Worms b) Diet of Worms c) Edict of Worms

2. In the liturgy what is the “ambo”? a) Altar rail b) Baptismal font c) Lectern 7. In which order was Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music a 3. Which archdiocese is not dedicated novice? to the Sacred Heart? a) Benedictines b) Poor Clares a) Bloemfontein b) Johannesburg c) Sisters of Mercy c) Pretoria 8. What artform was the late Fr Frans 4. What is the meaning of Bergoglio, Pope Francis’ civil surname? a) Mountain dweller b) Short man c) Village in Piedmont 5. Which devotion was revealed to St Simon Stock? a) Perpetual Adoration b) Rosary c) Scapular

4. Order founded by Don Bosco (9) 5. Diocese of Bl Daswa (7) 6. OT book (7) 7. Italian Catholic priest-composer (7) 8. Country of Moses’ birth (5) 9. Christian of Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-9) (5) 10. Christ’s Blood (4) 11. Adam and eve’s third son (4)

Claerhout OMI of Bloemfontein world-famous for? a) Painting b) Poetry c) Singing 9. Who is the patron saint of IT and the Internet? a) Genesius of Rome b) Isidore of Seville c) Vitalis of Assisi 10. By wordcount, which is the

Q11: Fatima visionaries

longer book in the Old Testament? a) Jeremiah b) Joshua c) Judges 11. What is the home village of the children who saw Mary in Fatima? a) Aljustrel b) Cova de Iria c) Valinhos 12. Which of these famous athletes is a practising Catholic? a) Michelle Wie b) Selena Williams c) Simone Biles The Southern Cross

Cooking with Saints

Every month GRAZIA BARLETTA prepares a recipe from Catholic tradition 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. THIS MONTH GRAZIA BAKED:

Heavenly Garden Apple Rose Pastries

AINT THéRèSe OF LISIeUX WAS A French Carmelite nun who was only 15 when she entered the convent. She loved flowers and saw herself as the “Little Flower of Jesus” who gave glory to God by just being her little self among all the other flowers in God’s garden. Because of this beautiful analogy, she is often known as “The Little Flower”. After a long illness with tuberculosis she died in 1897 at the young age of 24. She was canonised by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925.

Roses have been described and experienced as St Thérèse’s signature. The recipe I am sharing with you is traditionally prepared for her feast day in October, but it can be enjoyed at any time of the year — also this month, on the 96th anniversary of her canonisation.

As you enjoy eating an apple pastry you can say this prayer for your intention: “St Thérèse, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love: ask God to grant me the favour I thee implore and tell him I will love him each day more and more.”

It is with regret that Birthright of South Africa announces the closure of its offices in South Africa. Time and circumstances have caught up with us after 45 years of serving mothers to be and their babies. We would like to express our deep gratitude to all who have assisted us by volunteering,donating cash and clothes, free advertising and praying for our intentions. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for without you we would not have able to continue for so many years. We ask that you continue to assist others in their task of supporting those who are pregnant and afraid, both practically and in your prayers.

34 The Southern Cross

Preparation: 50 min • Baking: 25 min Servings: 16

INgREDIENtS:

1 sheet of puff pastry • 3 red apples 8 tbsp sugar • 2 tsp cinnamon 1 pinch nutmeg • 1 tsp lemon zest 4 cups water • 2 tbsp lemon juice Icing sugar (optional) • Wax paper

PREPARAtION: Preheat the oven to 200ºC 1. Wash and core the apples. Slice very thinly. 2. Place the sliced apples in a saucepan along with the 4 cups of water, 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 2 minutes or until the apple slices soften and can easily bend. 3. Strain the apples and let them cool in a colander. Line a plate with paper towels and arrange the slices so they can dry and cool completely. 4. While the apples are cooling, mix the 5 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest. 5. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry and place it onto a surface sprinkled with flour. Using a pastry or pizza cutter (a knife will do) cut long strips of about 1,3cm on the short side of the pastry. 6. Spread the cinnamon mixture over the dough and slightly press it down. 7. By this time the apples should be cool and almost dry. Take a few slices and place them on the first strip of pastry dough, overlapping them so they do not fall out to create a rose petal-like design (see illustration right). Now start rolling, mak-

WIN with Grazia

WIN a copy of Grazia Barletta’s Send the answer and your postal address to illustrated cookbook Delicious competitions@scross.co.za Italian Moments, a collection by JUNE 10. of authentic Italian recipes. The lucky winner will be To stand a chance of windrawn from all ning, name any correct entries on recipe Grazia has June 11. prepared in her • Delicious Italian “Cooking with Moments can also Saints” column be ordered at R200 since its inception from Grazia: in our January momentswith issue. grazia@gmail.com

ing sure it is fairly tightly rolled. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat until you have created all the apple roses. 8. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Dust with icing sugar, if desired. 9. enjoy with the prayer cited earlier!

• Follow grazia Barletta’s blog at www.momentswithgrazia.com

Crossword Solutions:

ACROSS: 5 Aura, 7 Assumption, 8 Lamb, 10 Overawed, 11 Screed, 12 Nailed, 14 Unused, 16 Select, 17 Legion of, 19 Mary, 21 Centennial, 22 Asia. DOWN: 1 Hail, 2 Dumbness, 3 Uphold, 4 Simeon, 5 Anna, 6 Reverencer, 9 Ascendents, 13 Illumine, 15 Dining, 16 Suffer, 18 Inca, 20 Yule.

Anagram Challenge:

1. Christian Brothers; 2. Salesians Of Don Bosco, 3. Missionaries of Mariannhill; 4. Little Company of Mary; 5. Franciscan Capuchins; 6. Oblates of Mary Immaculate

Quick Crossword: ACROSS:

1 Simmermacher, 2 Urban, 3 Jacinta, 4 Chatteris, 5 Chalice, 6 Eugene, 7 Zion, 8 Ngome, 9 Divine Mercy, 10 St Aidan’s, 11 Nicea DOWN: 1 Bing Crosby, 2 Emmaus, 3 Mariannhill, 4 Salesians, 5 Tzaneen, 6 Numbers, 7 Vivaldi, 8 Egypt, 9 Jason, 10 Wine, 11 Seth. — CODEWORD: Czestochowa

Catholic Trivia Quiz:

1. c) John; 2. c) Lectern; 3. b) Johannesburg; 4. c) Village in Piedmont; 5. c) Scapular; 6. b) Diet of Worms (The Edict of Worms would open a can of worms); 7. a) Benedictines (in Nonnberg Abbey); 8. a) Painting; 9. b) Isidore of Seville; 10. a) Jeremiah (some say it’s the longest in the Old Testament); 11. a) Aljustrel; 12. c) Simone Biles (her patron saint is St Sebastian)

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S outher n Cr oss T he

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

Est. 1920

Final Words Great Quotes on

VOCATIONS

History in Colour

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

‘All vocations are intended by God to manifest his love in the world.’ – Br Thomas Merton (1915-68)

‘Our business is to love what we have. He wills our vocation as it is. Let us love that and not trifle away our time hankering after other people’s vocations.’ – St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

‘Lay all of your cares about the future trustingly in God’s hands, and let yourself be guided by the Lord just like a little child.’ – St Edith Stein (1891-1942)

‘The best thing for us is not what we consider best, but what the Lord wants of us.’ – St Josephine Bakhita (c1869-1947)

‘There are very few people who realise what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves into his hands, and let themselves be formed by his grace.’ – St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

‘No vocation is born of itself or lives for itself. A vocation flows from the heart of God and blossoms in the good soil of faithful people, in the experience of fraternal love.’ – Pope Francis (1936-

)

‘If you are what you should be, then you will set the world on fire.’ – St Catherine of Siena (1347-80)

‘You will know your vocation by the joy that it brings you. You will know. You will know when it’s right.’ – Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

Abbot Francis Pfanner outside the first “abbey” at Mariannhill in 1885, the year he founded the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood. Abbot Pfanner had founded what was then the Trappist monastery of Mariannhill, near Durban, less than three years earlier. The Austrian-born monk came to South Africa in 1880 with 30 fellow Trappists. They failed to establish themselves in the Eastern Cape, but found the rural areas around Durban a fertile mission field, and bought a farm named Zeekoegat near Pinetown in 1882. Pfanner called his new mission Mariannhill, in honour of Our Lady and her mother, St Anne, and of his stepmother Maria-Anna, who had supported his vocation. By 1898, Mariannhill was the largest Christian monastery in the world. More mission stations were soon established across the region. Abbot Pfanner died at 84 at Emmaus mission, in what is now Umzimkulu diocese, on May 24, 1909 — the same year the congregation he founded became fully independent from the Trappist order.

The last laugh

FTER A NIGHT OUT, SEVEN seminarians arrive back at the seminary only at 3am. Waiting at the door, the angry rector interrogates each one as to the reasons for this violation of the rules. One after another, they offer the same explanation: “Father, I was going back to the seminary on horseback — but on the way my horse collapsed and died, so I had to walk home.”

The rector is no fool, so when he questions the seventh seminarian, he utters sarcastically: “Let me guess, your horse collapsed and died...” “Riding on a horse? Oh no, Father, I took a taxi home.” “Why were you late, then?” “Father, you won’t believe it, but the road was blocked — by six dead horses.”

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