202111

THE GREAT FALLACY: Are all wars about religion?

SIX SAINTS for good health

ARTIST BEHIND SKETCHES The #BlackSaintsMatter Project

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SIX WAYS TO HAVE A MEANINGFUL ADVENT

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S outhern C ross P ilgrimages 2022 will be our year!

In 2020 we looked forward to some wonderful pilgrimages, taking us to places of faith such as the Holy Land, Rome, Assisi, Medjugorje, the Oberammergau Passion Play, and the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Then the pandemic closed down travel throughout the world for two years. But after several delays, in 2022 borders will be open again, and we can resume going on pilgrimage.

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

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Welcome

The Month of Saints

N

Dear Reader,

OVEMBER IS THE MONTH wHEN we are called in a special way to remember those people in our lives who are no longer with us. All Souls’ Day is a time to pray for their repose, to make a pilgrimage to their graves — going there physically or “visiting” the dear departed in our minds — and also to contemplate our own mortality.

The latter in particular is important throughout the year, of course. Because death can take us at any random time, as the Covid pandemic has so cruelly reminded us, we should always be spiritually prepared. And, as our article on page 16 counsels us, we also ought to be ready to leave our administrative affairs in order, just in case.

November is also the month of All Saints. The feast is the celebration of saints who are known or unknown, raised to the altars or never to be canonised. we consider some of the canonised saints this month, for example six patron saints for good health on page 21, which we present with a little wink of the eye. This month we cook with saints in two recipes by Grazia Barletta, whom we also introduce by way of a profile. Even the story of the present Saint of the Month, St Catherine Labouré of the Miraculous Medal, involves a couple of other saints.

On page 12 we look at a fascinating project titled “Black Saints Matter”. As it is with the movement from which this project borrows its name, the implication is not that these saints matter more or others less, but that black saints and candidates for canonisation need to become better-known. Test yourself: how many black saints, blesseds and venerables do you know?

But we are also looking at uncanonised saints, bearing in mind that canonisation is just the Church’s official confirmation that a person is with God. On page 22, three readers tell us about saintly people in their families. we may read these accounts as proxies for the particular saints in our lives. Indeed, these memories might help us as we reflect on the lives of the “anonymous” saints we have known. It may be a fruit-

ful exercise to set some time aside with our families or friends or other groups, and share stories and memories of such saints. And we may ask them to intercede on our behalf. God knows and hears them.

O

ur profile story this month is about a man whom many consider an uncanonised saint — and after reading the story by Daluxolo Moloantoa, you might agree with them. Fr Michele (or Michael) D’Annucci was murdered in Pretoria 20 years ago on December 8, so we could have run his story next month.

But Fr Michele also fits the criteria for the category of uncanonised saints. Perhaps that will change at some future point: Fr Michele was murdered “in the line of duty”, to use police terminology, and so might qualify for categorisation as a “martyr of charity”, in the terms outlined by Pope Francis in 2017.

Ten years ago, climate-change experts and politicians gathered in Durban to discuss ways of saving our planet from the effects of humaninduced pollution. A decade later, there has been progress — but not enough.

Since Durban 2011, Pope Francis has issued the ethical proposition on the crisis in his landmark encyclical Laudato Si’. Bernadette Crewe-Brown’s article in this issue surveys the situation as it is now, how it will be if there is no urgent action, and how we should respond to the crisis with the pope’s guidance.

we trust you will enjoy this issue. If you do, why not bless a fellow Catholic with a subscription to The Southern Cross as a thoughtful Christmas gift that lasts the whole year? Go to www.digital.scross.co.za/subscribe or email admin@scross.co.za.

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

God bless,

Günther simmermacher (Editor)

Contents NOVEMBER 2021

8

Climate Change: Where Are We Now? Ten years since COP 17 in Durban, time for talk has run out, and action is needed on climate change

10

A Martyr of Charity Twenty years after Fr Michael D’Annucci was murdered in Pretoria, we remember a special priest

12

The Black Saints Matter Project Interview with the artist of saints’ portraits

14

Six Ways to Have a Good Advent Ideas for a spiritually rich Advent season

16

What to Do When Somebody Dies?

Six Tips for a Spiritual Advent

14

Good advice for times of crisis

21

Six Saints for Good Health Who is the patron saint for haemorrhoids (and taxi drivers)? Whom to call on when your head hurts?

22

The Unknown Saints Three readers tell about saintly people in their lives

24

Families and Citizenship Imelda Diouf concludes her series on family and poverty

30

The Saint’s Cook Outside the Kitchen Meet our columnist Grazia Barletta, writer of the monthly “Cooking With Saints” page

EVERY MONTH 5

FROM OUR VAULTS The Southern Cross 69 years ago

6

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED You ask, and we reply: Does religion start most wars?

Does the Church believe in ghosts?

17

SAINT OF THE MONTH The life of St Catherine Labouré – with poster!

25

THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC Nthabiseng Maphisa on the gaze of God

26

FR RON ROLHEISER OMI Can non-believers be saved?

28

PRAY WITH THE POPE Fr Chris Chatteris SJ reflects on the pope’s November prayer intention on depression and burnout

29

Remembering Fr D’Annucci

12

The Black Saints Matter project

RAYMOND PERRIER On elections and accountability after them

27

10

With pull-out poster!

PRAYER CORNER Your illustrated prayers, to cut out and collect

31

COOKING WITH SAINTS Grazia Barletta offers two delicious recipes this month

32

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

34

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Have your say!

36

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

The life of St Catherine Labouré

17

Cover image by Grazia Barletta (see pages 30-31)

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69 Years Ago: 12 November 1952

FROM OUR VAULTS Nun killed, mission burnt

Dominican Sister Aidan Quinlan, featured on the front-page photo, was murdered by a mob and St Peter Claver mission in Duncan Village in East London was completely razed during riots. The buildings, including a new church, were not insured.

[See our July 2021 issue for the story by Mignonne Breier, whose new book Bloody Sunday gives a full account of the events that day.]

New rules for SA Catholics

New regulations drawn up by the bishops of Southern Africa will take effect on November 15.

Among these, the fast during Lent and the vigils of Pentecost, All Saints and the Assumption will be relaxed from its previous rigidity of one main meal of 230g and two of 60g. Now it is permissible to eat one full meal and two small meals “which enable an individual to perform his normal duties without excessive hardship”.

Other new regulations forbid Catholics to act as best man or bridesmaid at non-Catholic marriages, or non-Catholics to do so at Catholic weddings; and parents who don’t send their children to Catholic school or catechism without sufficient reason shall be regarded as public sinners and denied the sacraments.

Bible Week to be launched

To mark the 500th anniversary of the first printed Bible being produced by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, the bishops of South Africa have declared a Bible Week, starting on Sunday, November 18.

• Previous “From The Vaults” articles, with full scans, at www.scross.co.za/vaults

What else made news in November 1952:

• Police in Kimberley fire on a group of black protesters, killing 14 and injuring 39. The following day, several more protesters are maimed and killed in East London, giving rise to riots that see the mob killing of Sr Aidan Quinlan OP and the razing of the St Peter Claver mission (see above).

• The British colonial government in Kenya arrests 2 000 Kikuyu independence fighters, including leader Jomo Kenyatta, in an attempt to quell the Mau Mau uprising.

• General Dwight Eisenhower wins the US presidental elections to succeed President Harry Truman.

• The United States detonates the first hydrogen bomb, codenamed “Mike”, at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. According to eyewitnesses, an entire island disappears in the blast.

• The UK publishes its first sales-based music charts. The inaugural #1 hit is “Here In My Heart” by Al Martino.

• The first successful sex-reassignment surgery is performed in Denmark.

Left: Candidates for the Children of Mary are enrolled

by Fr Frederick Cole at Bl Oliver Plunkett church in South End, Port Elizabeth.

[The church closed in 1970.] (Photo

by P Chinnian) Right: An advert for the latest kitchen appliances.

The Southern Cross

5

Are most wars about religion?

Q. On several occasions I’ve heard people claiming that almost every war is about religion. I can’t believe that is true, but is religion really the most common cause for war?

T

HE SUGGESTION THAT MOST WARS HAVE BEEN OR are about religion, one which many secularists seem to trot out as received wisdom, has only a passing acquaintance with the facts. To define what exactly constitutes war and its causes may require book-length treatment, but an overview of armed conflicts in history — ancient and modern — shows that religion is not a common reason for war.

Of course, religion is one of several group identifiers by which one might classify warring factions. Others include nationality, ethnicity, ideology, social class, economic interest groups, and even criminal objectives — and many times these may overlap. The question here is this: Which military campaigns and civil conflicts have been caused primarily by codes of theology?

Religion is invoked in civil wars such as those involving Islamic terrorists like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram or the Taliban. These groups might be said to represent a historical anti-Western ideology as much as an assertion of religious primacy.

A common view sees the Israel-Palestine situation as a religious rivalry between Jews and Muslims, but it’s really about land and control of water, as well as ethno-national identification. While religious sentiment may be invoked, theological dispute is not a driving force. In any case, the Palestinian people include Christians, who in the occupied territories are as much subjected by the state of Israel to dispossession and repression as are their Muslim neighbours.

The Northern Irish Troubles had a sectarian appearance — Protestants vs Catholics — but the cause was primarily political and nationalistic, driven by historical events.

21st-century’s bloodiest wars Let’s look at the bloodiest conflicts of the 21st century.

According to Britannica.com, the Top 8 of these are (with duration and primary causes in brackets): Second Congo War (1998–2003: ethnic, economic); Syrian Civil War (since 2011: political control, ideological, land, geopolitical, religious); Darfur Genocide in Sudan (2003: political control, ethnic); US-led Invasion of Iraq (2003-10: nationalistic, geopolitical, economic interest); US-led Occupation of Afghanistan (2001-21: geopolitical, nationalistic, economic, ideological, religious); Nigeria vs Boko Haram (2009-16: political control, religious); Yemeni Civil War (since 2011: political control, geopolitical, ethnic); Ukraine Conflict

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French troopers in the ruins of a church near the Marne aim their machine guns at German troops during World War I (1914-18) — a conflict that didn’t involve religion.

(since 2014: ethnic, nationalistic, land, geopolitical, ideological). In these conflicts, religion is a minor feature.

When we consider the most important wars of the past 1 000 years, religion features more prominently. The Crusades of the 11th to 13th centuries were headlined by the Catholic Church, with the aim being the reconquest of the Holy Land (Islamic anti-Western sentiments today can be traced back to the excesses committed by crusaders).

In the post-Reformation wars, opposing sides were often identified by their religious affiliation. But the notion that these wars were only or even primarily about theological differences would show an incomplete understanding of that history, in which religion and politics were inextricably entwined.

Secular landmark wars Leaving aside the Crusades and post-Reformation conflicts, one might argue that the Spanish conquest of the Americas involved collusion with religion. Conflicts such as the violent partition of India and Pakistan (and then Bangladesh), the Lebanese Civil War, South Sudan’s Independence War, or the Yugoslav Civil War involved groups whose ethnic identity involved religious markers, but the principal rationales in those conflicts were secular.

Besides these, most of the bloodiest and significant wars have been about national or ethnic interests, land, geopolitics, economics and/or ideology. This is true of history’s two most destructive conflicts: World Wars I and II, which had no religious constituent. And it’s true of the Napoleonic Wars, the Russian Revolution and various Soviet invasions during the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Rwandan Genocide, the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, the US Civil War, the various Chinese uprisings, Japan’s invasions of China and Korea, and so on.

In short: Yes, some conflicts have involved religion.

But quite clearly, most do not.

(Günther Simmermacher)

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Your Questions answered Do you have questions about our faith? Send them to: editor@scross.co.za Subject line: Q&A

Does the Church believe in ghOsTs? Q. Jesus said: “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have” (Luke 24:39). Does that mean Jesus believed in ghosts? What is the Church’s position on ghosts?

I

Was the world really created in six days?

AM AWARE OF NO SCRIPTURE scholar who would say that this statement by Jesus confirms that there are, in fact, ghosts. On the other hand, Jesus did not debunk the notion when given the chance. Which is pretty much where the Catholic Church stands on the matter of ghosts: There is no settled doctrinal teaching with respect to their existence, no provision in conciliar teaching or canon law that addresses it.

What the Church does affirm is that God has from time to time permitted departed souls to commune with people on earth for their betterment — but the exact nature of that communication (whether by an intellectual sharing or a physical manifestation) has not been defined theologically.

Clearly there is no intrinsic contradiction between the existence of “ghosts” and Catholic theology.

N

FR EE !

Are we, as Catholics, required to believe that God made the world in six days?

O, WE ARE NOT TIED TO biblical literalism. The Catholic Church sees the creation story in Genesis as a poetic rather than a scientific account.

For example, how would we do the maths of a “day” — in the sense of a 24-hour solar cycle — when God made the sun and the moon only on the fourth day? In a literal reading it makes no sense.

The Church accepts that the earth is older than 6 000 years and holds that God initiated and continued the process of his evolutionary creation, with human souls specially created

by God for humans, separately from the biological evolution of homo sapiens.

What we do need to know with certainty isn’t the timetable and mechanics of God’s work, but that he created everything from nothing and remains active in his creation.

St Thomas Aquinas did assert in the supplement to his Summa Theologiae that “according to the disposition of divine providence, separated souls sometimes come forth from their abode and appear to men”.

What the Church does reject is any proactive attempt to summon the dead. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future” (2116).

(Fr Kenneth Doyle)

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IN FOCUS THIS MONTH

CLIMATE CHANGE:

No more time for talk Ten years ago, the world gathered in Durban to discuss saving the Earth from the effects of climate change. A decade later, little has improved, as Bernadette crewe-Brown explains

W

8

HEN HE OPENED THE United Nations Climate Change Conference (or COP 17) in Durban ten years ago, on November 28, 2011, thenPresident Jacob Zuma used the catchphrase “Saving today for tomorrow”. In the intervening decade, this has not occurred. If anything, the opposite has happened.

At COP 17, national and international experts shared their expertise on the multidimensional complexities of the various climate change themes to foster dialogue about joint action for the future. These dialogue sessions were set up for decision-making.

Many decisions and many interventions have been implemented — but the impact on the reversal of climate change and global warming is minimal.

Today, solution-based interventions are far more urgent than the ongoing dialogue about joint action. This dialogue began back at the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992 and was continued at annual conferences, including COP 17 held in Durban in 2011.

The evidence of the climate crisis is extremely apparent in 2021, compared to 2011. Ban Ki Moon, then the UN secretary-general, sounded the warning bells in Durban in 2011. In his opening address he told the story of a young boy who lived on the Pacific island of Kiribati and was too scared to sleep at night in fear of being swept away. Kiribati is the first island nation that will be underwater due to the continuing rising of the sea level.

That level is rising by 3,2mm per year. This might sound like very little, The Southern Cross

but from 1981 to 2021 the sea has risen by 1,28m, and it will rise by a further 0,28m by 2030. Sea levels are rising due to melting glaciers and ice sheets, as we have seen happening in Antarctica and Greenland.

If adaptation to mitigate this melting does not occur immediately, scientists warn that there will be a continued increase in the rise of sea levels. Storm surges are also causing the sea to invade land more frequently, contaminating freshwater reserves, killing crops, and flooding homes. The sea level is expected to continue to rise in Kiribati.

Extreme weather events — including cyclones and hurricanes, wildfires and ocean acidification — are increasing due to global warming.

Global warming is causing the glaciers and ice caps to melt. Greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming as carbon dioxide is being trapped, creating non-solar heating of the earth’s atmosphere.

The temperature goal

strong attempts to limit the increase to 1,5°C. The agreement included commitments from all major carbon-emitting countries to cut their climate pollution and to strengthen those commitments over time. The pact provided a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.

There is still acknowledgement of this commitment, but it has not been fully implemented.

Pope’s intervention

In June 2015 the publication of Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home, Pope Francis’ first encyclical, was a monumental development. Aware of these scientific results, seven goals have been formulated out of Laudato Si’.

They are carefully balanced and fully inclusive of the social, ecological, economic and moral issues facing humanity today. Those goals are: 1. Respond to the Cry of Earth is a call to protect our common home for the wellbeing of all, as we equitably address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and ecological sustainability.

2. Respond to the Cry of the Poor is a call to promote eco-justice, aware that we are called to defend human life

In 2015, the Paris Agreement at COP 21 adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It was a landmark international accord which was confirmed by nearly every nation to address climate change and its negative impacts. The agreement aimed to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase in this cenMarchers in Durban protest ahead of the COP 17 talks in tury to 2°C above pre2011. The world has failed to solve the climate change industrial levels, with crisis in the decade since. Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters/CNS

from conception to death, and all forms of life on Earth.

3. Ecological Economics acknowledges that the economy is a sub-system of human society, which itself is embedded within the biosphere– our common home.

4. Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles is grounded in the idea of sufficiency, and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy. In short: living simply.

5. Ecological Education is about re-thinking and redesigning curricular and institutional reform in the spirit of integral ecology in order to foster ecological awareness and transformative action.

6. Ecological Spirituality recovers a religious vision of God’s creation and encourages greater contact with the natural world in a spirit of wonder, praise, joy and gratitude.

7. Community Engagement and Participatory Action encourage the development of cultures and policies that protect our common home and all who share it, creating an inclusive society where no one is left behind.

No improvement

The Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a continually updated evaluation process to monitor change. It’s the basis on which dialogue and decisions are taken at the Conference of Parties’ gatherings. The 6th version was released on August 9

present situation clearly indicates a code red for humanity.

There are so many areas of climate change-induced disasters around the world today, such as increasing floods, droughts, heatwaves, storms, wildfires. There is no time left for dialogue. Radical transformations must start now.

That requires creative ways of connecting different types of feedback across ecosystems and their services to promote positive tipping points.

Church action

The 7 Laudato Si’ Goals

this year, in time for COP 26, to be held in Glasgow in November.

Clear evidence in the IPCC’s new, epochal 2021 report shows that there has been no improvement since its fifth assessment report, published in 2014.

This latest report from the world’s top climate scientists warns that the planet will warm by up to 1,5°C in the next two decades if there aren’t drastic moves to eliminate greenhouse gas pollution.

The finding from the UN-backed group throws a key goal of the Paris Agreement in danger as increased signs of climate change have become apparent across the world. UN secretary-general Antonio Gutteres’ conclusion from this latest report is that the

Pope Francis has delegated the ecological faculty of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to implement a plan called the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP) which will enable all humanity to work towards achieving the seven Laudato Si’ Goals in seven years. The launch of the LSAP plan is imminent.

The impact of the successful outcome of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform will begin healing our world and her people, creating an environment for all humanity and all creation to live in peace, justice and harmony with a sustainable future. We live in hope that the outcome of the LSAP plan and the action that will be decided at COP 26 in Glasgow from November 1-12 will be in time to save life on earth.

Bernadette Crewe-Brown is a community and sustainable development practitioner and the Laudato Si’ representative at the Justice & Peace Commission of the archdiocese of Cape Town.

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Fr D’Annucci with learners of Bethesda Special School, which he had built.

Michele D’Annucci (second from left) with fellow Stigmatine seminarians Ferdinando Ronconi, Silvano Controneo and Gasperi Dionigio.

Fr D’Annucci with his fellow Stigmatine Father Charles Mittempergher

Fr Lino Vinco and Phaladi Moche at Fr D’Annucci’s funeral in Atella, Italy.

Martyr of charity Next month we will mark the 20th anniversary of the murder of Fr Michael D’Annucci. Daluxolo Moloantoa looks at the Stigmatine priest’s life and legacy.

courage and determination, always overcoming obstacles. A multifaceted, intelligent and modern model of a missionary, he expressed the greatest of himself through all that he accomplished. This is captured in the book of tributes to published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Fr D’Annucci’s death. Titled Masusumetsa: Tributes to a Martyr of Charity (Masusumetsa was his Setswana nickname, meaning changemaker), the book is co-edited by Donatella D’Annucci and PHONE CALL AT 16:15 ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER your present correspondent. “The book is a platform to give 8, 2001, “changed my life and the lives of many Stig- expression to the constant stream of personal memories and matine Fathers and South Africans forever”, says Fr messages that I receive about Michael, even this long after his Gianni Piccolboni. “Like a flash, the news of the hi- passing,” says Donatella, Fr D’Annucci’s niece. “This is the type jacking and murder of Fr Michael D’Annucci travelled around of legacy that he carved, and the impact that his life had on the world. My race to the crime scene was in vain. The rush everybody who crossed paths with him, especially during his to the hospital and encountering the sad reality was even 34 years in South Africa.” more devastating,” the priest writes in a forthcoming book to It was only after his arrival in South Africa and his ordinamark the 20th anniversary of Fr D’Annucci’s murder. tion that Fr D’Annucci demonstrated the fire burning within Early in the afternoon of that December 8, Fr Michael at him to be a catalyst in changing the lives of others. With fellow in the driveway of the home of a family he had been visiting Stigmatine Fathers, he provided a new impetus to the Church’s in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, ministry. They worked hard to provide when he was accosted by three hijacka platform for the wave of innovation Fr Michael’s blood, shed ers. He was shot in his foot, then in in the Church following the Second his hand and finally in the head — be20 years ago, continues to Vatican Council. cause he refused to hand over the car In 1968, a year before his ordinawater the seeds of the faith keys. Then the hijackers dragged him tion, the then Br Michael was among out of the car and sped off. They left he planted in South Africa a group of Stigmatine religious — Fr the Italian-born Stigmatine priest for Lino Vinco, Fr Charles Mittempergher dead. The murderers were eventually caught and sentenced to and Br Gulliano Melotto — who were vigorously involved in life. In 2002, Fr D’Annucci was included in offithe youth ministry of St Joseph’s mission in Oukasie Location cial martyrology documents in Rome. in Brits. They organised youth camps, sports days and various Born on September 17, 1941, in the small other activities. This resulted in the rapid development of village of Atella in southern Italy, Michele youth activity at the church. The crowning glory of their efD’Annucci entered the Stigmatine novitiate in forts was the famed Great Youth Camp in December 1971.

Verona in 1961, making his perpetual vows Taking place over a week, it attracted over a thousand young in 1964. He came to South Africa in 1967, Catholics from across South Africa. completed his theological studies at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria, The great builder and was ordained a priest on June 22, In September 1969, upon his appointment as parish priest 1969, at the Most Holy Redeemer mission in Mmakau Village, north- of Ss Peter & Paul parish in Maboloka Village, west of Brits, he west of Pretoria. Over three decades immediately made an application for a bigger site to build a in which he personified the spirit of new church. He succeeded, and the new church was blessed “community serving humanity”, his by Bishop Peter Butelezi in 1974. remarkable acts of charity left an inBy then, Fr D’Annucci had returned to Mmakau Village, delible mark on the townships and vil- where he led the building of Tsogo High School, to complelages north of Pretoria. ment the mission’s De-Wildt Primary School. Run by the SisHe undertook every task with joy, ters of Mercy, the school has become synonymous with

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education excellence, producing an array of leading members of South African society. These include Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp, businessman Patrice Motsepe, radio broadcasters Tim Modise, radio personalities George Manyosi and Ben Dikobe, Netball SA president Cecilia Molokwane, and author Dr Gomolemo Mokae.

Fr D’Annucci did not dream of building cathedrals but, as the biology maxim goes, necessity builds the organ — and so too began his mission to build structures for the benefit of others. He set up a construction company called Ka Bonako Construction. “He was the company,” Fr Piccolboni recalls. “He was the architect, supervisor, quantity surveyor and general manager of the company, all rolled into one. During the week, he would be seen in his overalls and got stuck in with the building work. He would always be heard shouting the words ‘Ka bonako!’, meaning ‘Quick, quick!’ — hence the company’s name.” The only workers employed by the company were a handful of bricklayers. He sourced help from Tsogo High School students, and later Chiro Youth Movement members.

The students, assisted by the builders, built houses for the destitute, churches, community centres, creches, health centres and so on. “Each house was built in three weeks, making it a home truly built Ka bonako,” Fr Piccolboni notes.

In later years, Fr D’Annucci built the Bethesda Special School for handicapped children in Garankuwa township.

“The Bethesda Special School is the summit of everything that he ever developed,” Mercy Sister Majella Quinn, first principal of Tsogo High, recalls. “It is a centre of learning and a home for handicapped children. It was later extended to include a HIV/Aids centre. Up to the time of his death, he was still trying to get more land for the building of this centre.”

In 1977 Fr D’Annucci went on a year-long sabbatical at the AMECEA Pastoral Institute in Kenya. He came back bursting with new ideas. “A life force ran through his veins, and it gave him momentum and enthusiasm. As a result, he was able to warm the hearts of many with the wholehearted and sincere Word of the Gospel on his return,” Fr Piccolboni relates. He began to build Small Christian Communities and instituted regional training courses for parish and community leaders.

“Parishes began to be organised with effective pastoral councils. The pastoral care of the family was promoted. Initiatives for young people, the animation of the liturgies and, above all, pastoral meetings were held to empower the laity.”

Fr D’Annucci vs apartheid

Upon his arrival in South Africa, Fr D’Annucci saw the untold hardships inflicted by the apartheid system. Encouraged by the Church’s social teachings and his deep belief in the goodness inherent in all of humanity, he became an active advocate for social justice for the oppressed population of South Africa. His anti-apartheid activities and stance put him at constant loggerheads with both the South African and the Bophutatswana homeland governments.

Asked why he involved himself in the struggle against apartheid, he responded: “I am a priest. I cannot turn a blind eye to the injustices I bear witness to orchestrated by the evil apartheid state.” He believed that it was the paramount task of all Christians to fight against the sinfulness of the apartheid system. As a result of his political activities, he was subjected to countless stints of detention — at times in solitary confinement. During the popular political uprisings of the mid-1980s, which led to a radical change in the socio-political landscape in South Africa, Fr D’Annucci offered the halls of the Christ the New Man Centre and other parish buildings for political meetings.

He was firmly convinced that the future of South Africa, as well as that of the Church, rests on the shoulders of young people. The founder-member and a leader of the Chiro Youth Movement in South Africa, he gave it the motto, “We Build the Nation in the Spirit of Christ”. It was an indirect call to Chiro movement members to reject and condemn the

Fr D’Annucci with Nelson Mandela in 1997

apartheid system, and to encourage members to envision a new, non-racial South Africa which would embrace everybody as dignified human beings.

A man of enormous vision, energy and zeal with the utmost trust and faith in God, nothing was impossible for Fr D’Annucci. Where others saw problems, he saw answers. He is remembered for his example of availability, for his enthusiasm, and for his eagerness in his apostolate.

Fr D’Annucci was struck down by bullets, but he was never killed. His spirit lives on. His blood, shed that Saturday 20 years ago, continues to water the seeds of the faith he planted in South Africa. Nelson Mandela knew Fr D’Annucci. The Italian priest known as Masusumetsa “was a great friend of South Africa, and its people”, Mandela said after the priest’s death.

For further information about the book Masusumetsa: Tributes to a Martyr of Charity, e-mail frmichaelbook@gmail.com

Catholic Institute of Education

Called in faith

to serve

Catholic schools and skills centres

Educating today tomorrow for the common good.

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For a Caribbean artist, black saints don’t receive much attention — and he hopes his project will

change that, as he told Günther Simmermacher

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AINTS ARE OUR ROLE MODELS, “our friends who have already won”, according to Ambrose Jozefzoon. “They pray for us and bring us closer to Christ. And if you can take an example from someone who looks like yourself, that really helps,” the 30-year-old artist from the Caribbean explains. “However, for black people, it often looks as if all saints are white.”

Ambrose is trying to change that perception with his Black Saints Matter project. “Lots of saints who are depicted as white in Europe were technically not white at all,” he points out. For example, many North African saints of the early Church, such as St Monica and St Augustine, likely were Berbers, and therefore dark-skinned. “But there are also a lot of more contemporary black saints still unknown to many. Actually, there are more than I had expected before I started my research,” Ambrose tells The Southern Cross.

This research has led to a series of drawings of black saints, some already canonised or beatified, and others still awaiting beatification. These saints —

which include Bl Benedict Daswa, St Josephine Bakhita, St Martin de Porres, and St Charles Lwanga (all of whom featured in The Southern Cross over the past year) — span continents and eras.

Eventually, Ambrose plans to “tell all the amazing stories about black saints

Every saint teaches us that you can go to heaven, if you cooperate with God’s grace who are still in the shadows” in a graphic novel, to be titled Black Saints Matter. He hopes that this will bring these men and women deserved attention and honour. He stresses that the project is aimed not only at black people but at anybody who is interested in getting to know the saints.

The project’s name obviously draws from the #BlackLivesMatter movement. “Of course, I have nothing against white saints. All saints matter,” Ambrose says. Then he adds: “But don’t the white saints get

enough attention already?”

Still, one of his favourite saints is St John Paul II. “He started with a different look at the Church. Not only did he travel all over the world, even to areas where no pope went before, like here with us in the Caribbean. With his many beatifications and canonisations, Pope John Paul also opened the eyes to the universal Church.

Saints can come from everywhere, not only from Europe. Of course, former colonies don’t have the same starting point, as evangelisation came with the colonisation. But in the graphic novel you’ll see that there were black saints already in the early ages.”

Faith owed to family

Ambrose comes from a close-knit Catholic family. “I owe my faith to my family. In the Caribbean, the churches are generally well-filled, except for now as Covid-restrictions are still active. In Europe that is different. The continent that used to send missionaries to our regions has now forgotten about the faith. Luckily, my parents gave a good example and prepared my siblings and me well,” he says.

HAVE YOU MISSED AN ISSUE? NO PROBLEM! Back copies are available at R30 plus p&p from admin@scross.co.za

With Saint of the Month posters: St Teresa of Avila; St Martin de Porres; The Holy Family; St John Bosco; St Josephine Bakhita; Ss Perpetua & Felicity; St George; St Rita of Cascia; St Charles Lwanga & co; St Anne; St John Vianney; St Vincent de Paul; St John XXIII

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Or subscribe: www.digital.scross.co.za/subscribe or subscriptions@scross.co.za The Southern Cross

Black saints as drawn by Ambrose Jozefzoon: (from left) Bl Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta (1939-64) of the DR Congo; Isidore Bakanja (1887-1909) of the Congo; the Servant of God Sr Amedeo Byabali (1908-79) of Uganda; and Bl Raphaël Rafiringa (1856–1919) of Madagascar.

“The Black Saints Matter project was born from faith, but it also deepens my faith by the great and inspiring examples I discover. We can see what discrimination did to the black saints, but also how they responded — with the courage to oppose hate with love. They show that all who keep the faith are welcome in heaven,” Ambrose adds.

“I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. Already as a young boy, I wanted to be an artist, though that turned out to be a harder challenge than you realise as a child,” he recalls. After studying art in Europe he came home, and has done graphic work for a few years. “But Black Saints Matter is my first solo project. It is also the project where my heart lies,” he says.

Drawing the portraits and forming a narrative for the graphic novel requires a lot of research. “I try to read as much as possible of the biographical information that is available. Also, I study photos and other art material from the time of the particular saint. I try to mould that information into a story that’s both historically accurate and dramatically convincing. Of course, I have to use my imagination and artistic freedom to come to concrete scenes and conversations, but always with the testimony of the lives of the saints in mind.”

So far Ambrose has publicly shared portraits and the first page of the graphic novel, mostly on Instagram and Twitter. “Most of the feedback is positive. Sometimes I get good suggestions or critical remarks. I really appreciate that and try to use them to improve my work. Only rarely do I meet with negative responses, but that also motivates me to go on with the project. It shows as well how important this project is.”

Ambrose places the saints at the centre of the project. He doesn’t want to draw attention to himself, to the point that he declined to be pictured in this feature. “I don’t like any attention

on myself. I prefer to work in the background and place the focus on these amazing saints,” he says.

Every saint on own path

Asked for his favourite saint from those who feature in the project, Ambrose can’t decide. “It is hard to choose, because all these stories are inspiring in their own way. Every saint follows his or her own path with the Lord. Every saint teaches us that you can go to heaven, if you cooperate with God’s grace. From black saints we can learn that to get there, it doesn’t matter where you come from. Maybe it’s harder if you have to be a slave in America first or become a martyr in Africa. But God gives us all the grace that is needed to become a saint, even if you don’t come from a privileged

continent. I hope that can give motivation and confidence.”

The plan is that the graphic novel will have two volumes, with each around 25 stories. And maybe the project will grow into something more than the graphic novel alone, Ambrose says.

“I started with the portraits, and soon I received many requests, not only to pre-order the book but also for prints, prayer cards and multimedia stuff. Who knows what will be possible?”

He adds: “Hopefully, the project will be sort of an emancipation movement; that Catholics will see how great the diversity is in our Church, which is a reason for celebration, not discrimination.”

View more portraits of black saints by Ambrose Jozefzoon at www.black saintsmatter.wordpress.com or on Instagram at @BlackSaintsMatter

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6 Ways to have a meaningful Advent

The season of Advent begins on Sunday, November 28. christina Antus suggests six ways of making the four-week season meaningful this year.

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HEN I WAS STILL A NOMINAL CATHOLIC, I liked to pretend that I knew a lot about Catholicism. Realistically, I knew slightly less than the average 7-year-old knows about the workings of a combustible steam engine. Back then, for me, Advent was the Catholic word for Christmas. I was, for lack of a better term, a theological idiot.

The dictionary gives three meanings for the word Advent: a) The arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.

The advent of Christ. The advent of television. The advent of the day my husband will finally pick up the pair of socks that have been in the same spot on the floor for six weeks. b) The first season of the Western Christian church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

So, usually late November and most of December. c) The coming or second coming of Christ.

If you knew this, you’re doing better than I was most of my life. One of the many drawbacks of being a lukewarm Catholic is blindly going through life thinking you know enough about the faith, yet really knowing very little, including the why and how behind most of the Church’s teachings. For a number of years, I was part of the misinformation problem.

Advent is a trifecta of celebrations: Celebrating Christ’s birth; waiting for Christ to return to Earth again; waiting for Christ to come into our hearts.

In a culture where everything is instant, we most certainly have lost the art of waiting. We’ve lost the wonder and contemplation needed to appreciate the beauty and mystery of Advent. How can we find Christ at Christmas if we aren’t watching and waiting for him? How can we appreciate the time we have to wait when we can’t even wait two minutes for a slow WiFi connection?

Advent gives us a chance to really put our minds where it matters most — on the next life. Here’s how: The Southern Cross

Don’tbe betoo toobusy busytotobe bespiritual spiritual 1.1.Don’t I know you have to do the thing with the thing before the thing, and then you have to rush off to the other thing, and in the words of the rock band INXS, “There’s not enough time”. If you wait for the time, it’ll never come. So make room. Turn off your phone. Set aside your to-do list. Light a candle. Say a prayer. Sit in a church or chapel (if Covid restrictions allow).

Sacrifice of the things 2.2.

Sacrifice all all of the things

Sacrifice things, and then substitute them with Jesus.

Give up some part of your daily routine to fit in 20-30 minutes for Christ. How? For example: • Pray while working out, driving, washing up...

• Dedicate a decade of the rosary to someone you don’t know who needs prayers. No rosary? No problem.

God gave you ten fingers.

• Read or listen to Scripture or faith-based books/ podcasts on your work commute.

• Grab a bible and pick a psalm. Find a sentence and make it your daily meditation. Apply those words to your day and try to uncover their meaning in your life.

Makea anew newChristmas Christmasplaylist music playlist 3.3.Make

Traditional Christmas music is one of my favourite things about the season. There’s a rumour going around that I indulge in it even in the middle of the year.

Once or twice a week, or for an hour before bed, listen to some spiritual songs, like a Gregorian chant or (my favourite) “Advent in Ephesus” by the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles. They feel as traditional as Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” but they are also prayers that are spiritually uplifting, calming, and peaceful.

Give, give, give 4. 4.

Give, give, give

You don’t always have to give away money. Give of your time, talent, and friendship. Be kind to an enemy. Pay

someone a compliment who you may think doesn’t deserve it — bonus points if you do it after they were rude to you. Hold open a door for a stranger. Offer to help someone carry their shopping. Write inspirational quotes on cards that serve as compliments to people and randomly place them on car windshields.

Remember that the smallest act of kindness is still a huge act of love.

Have Sunday Advent dinners 5. 5.

Have Sunday Advent dinners

If the good Lord gave you the gift of culinary skills, then by all means, give glory to God with traditional Advent meals. I was given no such skills. I am a terrible cook. But use meal ideas — perhaps some of Grazia Barletta’s “Cooking With Saints” recipes in The Southern Cross — to spark conversation about Advent, God and prayer over something to eat. Obviously, feasts are important to Catholics, since we celebrate one every day.

End these meals by lighting the candle on your Advent wreath for the week.

confession 6. 6.

GoGo toto confession

Advent is “Diet Lent”. Cough it up, fess up, spill it out.

Get into confession because if Advent is the time to celebrate the Second Coming, then we should be ready at all times. No one wants to greet Jesus with a dirty soul.

I know. Gah. Bleh. Confession. Eye roll. I get it. No one who has ever lived rolled their eyes at the idea of going to confession harder than I used to. I’d even toss in a “pfffft” with the eye roll because I was a terrible person.

The truth is, without confession we really can’t allow

Christ into our hearts, which is needed for deeper conversion, and that is what this is all about. That’s what it’s always been about. If you do nothing else during Advent, consider, at least, confession.

Let’s go into Advent this year as Catholics ready and willing to serve our God. Let’s be humbled and filled with everlasting love for each other so we can show the world what true Christianity is all about. Let us find this season the path of peace and the ability to let Christ enter our hearts so that one day when he comes, we can kneel in reverence, bow our heads, and know that we served our purpose in this life: serving and loving.

This article originally appeared on BustedHalo.com and is reproduced with kind permission.

What to do when someone dies The death of a loved one is always a shock, whether sudden or after a long illness. Here’s what to do when somebody passes away.

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HILE WE PRAY THAT A person who has passed away will rest in peace, for the family the time after death is stressful as so many things need to be done — aside from grieving.

If the loved one is a Catholic and about to die, call the parish priest for administration of the Last Rites. If death occurs before the sacrament could be administered, call the priest (or, if in hospital, the chaplain). The Roman Ritual includes prayers that can be said in the presence of a dead person, and a priest or deacon may bless the body with holy water.

Immediately after a loved one’s death, don’t reach for the phone. First take time to cry, pray and reflect, in silence or with those around you. Once you have done that, inform those who need to know.

Then comes the admin: Is there a will? Where is it, and who is the executor? Is there a life insurance? A funeral plan? Is the bank account which covers day-to-day expenses in the deceased’s name? If so, that may cause all kinds of cashflow problems as it’s not legal to draw money from a deceased’s bank account. But the surviving spouse can approach the bank for access to a credit facility in their name to pay for funeral or living expenses while the estate is being wound up.

When a loved one who is Catholic is about to die, call the parish priest for administration of the Last Rites. Call him also if death occurs before the sacrament could be administered.

A doctor will have to certify the person’s death. If the loved one died in a

hospital, hospice or care facility, let them know which funeral home you would like to appoint for further arrangements. It’s an important choice to make.

Make sure the funeral home is duly registered and accredited. Funeral homes should have 24-hour service. First, schedule a time for the funeral home to collect the deceased’s body.

The funeral home usually liaises with parishes, cemeteries, crematoriums and so on, to make sure that all arrangements go smoothly.

Planning the funeral

The funeral arrangements require much thought: Where, when, how? Will there be a vigil or wake? Ideally, all of us have written down our funeral and burial preferences, leaving copies in a safe but accessible place, with family members and, if possible, with an attorney.

Don’t include these wishes just in the will, which may be opened only after the funeral.

Tony Wyllie & Co Funeral Home, based in Cape Town, suggest that it is important to reflect on the life of the loved one. How would they have liked their life to be celebrated? If the funeral

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is going to be in a Catholic church, this involves also the question of whether to have a full funeral Mass or a service. The programme of the Mass or service, including the suggested readings and hymns, must be discussed with the parish priest. Who will deliver a tribute or eulogy? Speak to the priest about whether he allows such tributes during the Mass or service, and if he does, at what point.

Once the parish has agreed to a date for the funeral, collaborate with the funeral director to plan the funeral or service, and the manner of burial. Funeral directors are, by the nature of their work, experienced in this and can give good guidance in arranging a personalised service.

Then prepare the obituary. What to include in the funeral programme? Share the funeral information in an appropriate way (bearing in mind the Covid restrictions, if they still apply). And on the day, remember the loved one, with grief but maybe also with gentle humour.

The funeral home usually arranges for the deceased’s death certificate.

Once this and all other important documents have been gathered, the admin begins. The bank must be informed of the death, insurance companies contacted, memberships cancelled and so on. And the executor will wind up the estate, which can be a drawn-out process.

Don’t forget to thank those who have accompanied you on this journey of bereavement. And keep on praying for the loved one’s repose.

With thanks to Tony Wyllie & Co for important information.

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Saint of the Month: St Catherine Labouré

The saint of the

Miraculous Medal In 1830, Our Lady appeared to a simple novice in Paris and told her to have a special medal made.

This is the story of St Catherine Labouré.

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PRINTING LEGEND USAIN BOLT ran his world records wearing the Miraculous Medal around the neck. And at this year’s Olympics in Tokyo, Hidilyn Diaz flashed the Miraculous Medal alongside the gold medal she had won in weightlifting. The Filipino athlete’s success came at a time of a pandemic; the Miraculous Medal gained popularity in a time of an epidemic. For that story, we need to flash back almost 200 years.

In July and December 1830, a 24year-old novice of the Daughters of Charity had two apparitions of Our Lady in the order’s chapel at 140 rue de Bac in Paris. It was not the first apparition Sr Catherine Labouré had experienced in that chapel. Previously she had visions of Christ and of the heart of St Vincent de Paul, the co-founder of her order (and September’s Saint of the Month).

At 23:30 on July 18, 1830 — the eve of what then was the feast of St Vincent de Paul — Sr Catherine was awoken by “a shining child” directing her to come to the chapel. There the Virgin Mary appeared to her for two hours. She told Sr Catherine: “God wishes to charge you with a mission.

You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world.”

St Catherine at a glance

Name at birth: Zoé Labouré Born: May 2, 1806, in Fain-lès-Moutiers, France Died: December 31, 1876 (aged 70), in Reuilly, Paris Beatified: 1933 Canonised: 1947 Feast: November 28 Patronages: Miraculous Medal, the infirm, the elderly

During Sr Catherine’s evening truth, he approached the archbishop meditations on November 27, 1830, with his report on the matter, and the Mary appeared again — inside an oval proposal that Our Lady’s request to have frame, standing upon a globe, with her the medals struck be acted upon. The hands coming out as rays of light, and archbishop agreed. A well-known the invocation: “O Mary, conceived Parisian goldsmith named Adrien Vawithout sin, pray for us who have re- chette was tasked with designing the course to thee.” Sr Cathermedals. The result of the ine saw the frame rotating 79-year-old goldsmith’s to form a circle of 12 stars, design was first struck in and a large letter M interJune 1832. twined with a cross above Not long after, Paris the Sacred Heart of Jesus suffered a cholera epiand Immaculate Heart of demic which in the end Mary. Asked why some of killed 20 000 people. The the rays of light did not Daughters of Charity had reach the ground, Our been distributing the St Ca the rine aroun Lady explained: “Those medals at that time and d the tim e of the are the graces which peomany survivors attributed ap pa rit ions ple forget to ask for.” She their cure to the protection then asked Sr Catherine received through them. to have medals struck featuring the And so the medallion became image she had seen. “All who wear known as the Miraculous Medal. Soon them will receive great graces,” the millions of Catholics adopted a devoBlessed Mother promised. tion to the Miraculous Medal, first throughout France and then the world.

Catherine’s secret By then Sr Catherine had made her Sr Catherine did as instructed, taking the encounters with Mary to her vows and was transferred to her order’s spiritual director, Fr Aladel, on condi- hospice at Reuilly, then a village just tion that he would keep her identity se- outside Paris. Nobody at the convent cret. The priest treated her reports with knew of her remarkable experience; in respect but also prudence. Before he their reports, her superiors described Sr would act upon them, he observed Sr Catherine as “rather insignificant”. She Catherine for a year. Once he was satis- repeatedly refused to appear before the fied that the young woman had told the archbishop’s inquiry which had been set up to confirm the authenticity of the apparitions. The inquiry found them to be authentic anyway.

Our Lady’s apparition to St Catherine is depicted above the portal of the Meanwhile the popularity of the Miraculous Chapel convent in Paris. medal grew, especially after the conversion of the future Jesuit Alphonse RatisBelow: The front and reverse of the Miraculous Medal. bonne from Judaism in 1842, on account of the Miraculous Medal. (The hospital pictured on our backpage this month was in the monastery established by Fr Ratisbonne in Jerusalem.)

Catherine would spend the remaining 40 years of her life in happy obscurity at Reuilly, caring for the elderly and The Southern Cross

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Southern Cross The

St Catherine Labouré

A Timeline of St Catherine Labouré 1806

Born on May 2 as Zoé Labouré into a sharecropping family in the village of Fain-lès-Moutiers, near Saint-Rémy, in eastern France.

1815

Catherine’s mother Madeleine dies.

Soon after, Catherine has a dream of St Vincent de Paul who says God has a plan for her.

1830

Begins her novitiate as a Daughter of Charity in Paris on April 21. Has an apparition of the heart of St Vincent de Paul.

Has first apparition of Our Lady in the convent chapel at rue de Bac in the night from July 18-19.

Has second apparition of Our Lady in the night from November 27-28; receives instructions for the design of a medallion featuring the Blessed Virgin, the letter M, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, among other elements.

Reports apparition to her spiritual director, on condition that her identity be kept secret.

frail, and looking after the poultry on the hospice’s farm. She was known for her humility and reserve, and her lifelong devotion to Our Lady.

Call to religious life

1831

Makes her vows and is transferred to her congregation’s Hospice d’Enghien in the village of Reuilly (now part of Paris), tasked to look after the elderly, the infirm, and the farm’s poultry. It’s her only posting.

1832

The archdiocese of Paris commissions goldsmith Adrien Vachette to design the medallion according to Sr Catherine’s description. The medal soon becomes popular.

1836

An inquest by the archdiocese of Paris declares the apparitions as authentic, despite Sr Catherine’s refusal to testify.

1876

Dies on December 31 at the age of 70 at the hospice in Reuilly.

1933

Beatified on May 28 by Pope Pius XI.

1947

Canonised on July 27 by Pope Pius XII. Left: The Miraculous Chapel in Paris, where Our Lady appeared to St Catherine Labouré in 1830. The saint’s glass tomb is beneath an image of the Blessed Virgin to the right of the sanctuary.

Below: Close-up of St Catherine’s glass tomb.

Photos: Günther Simmermacher

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That devotion went back to when she was nine years old. Catherine was born on May 2, 1806, near Saint-Rémy in eastern France to the farmers Pierre and Madeleine Labouré, the ninth of 11 children. She was baptised as Zoé.

After her mother died in 1815, nine-year-old Catherine picked up a statue of Our Lady, kissed it, and said: “You will be my mother now!” While cared for by her aunt in SaintRémy, Catherine had a dream of a priest who told her: “My daughter, it is good to care for the sick. For now, you flee from me, but one day you will be glad to approach me. God has plans for you. Don’t forget it!” Later she recognised the priest as St Vincent de Paul.

When Catherine heard God’s call to the religious life, her father tried to discourage it. His older daughter Louise had already abandoned her housekeeping duties to join the Daughters of Charity. So Pierre sent Catherine to Paris where she was to work in his brother’s canteen for poor workers. But the suffering she saw there cemented her decision to enter the religious life, and after a period of postulancy, Catherine joined the convent of the Daughters of Charity, a congregation devoted to caring for the poor which had been founded in the 1620s

by St Vincent de Paul and St Louise de Marillac.

In the night of April 21, 1830 — the day before the body of St Vincent de Paul was going to be translated (or moved) from NotreDame cathedral to the Lazarist church in rue de Sèvres, just around the corner of rue de Bac — Catherine had her vision of St Vincent’s heart. Three months later, Our Lady would appear to her.

Death on New Year’s Eve

Catherine died on December 31, 1876, at 70 in the hospice in Reuilly. Decades later, when her body was translated to the convent at rue de Bac, it was found to be incorrupt, prompting the introduction of her sainthood cause. Catherine Labouré was beatified in 1933

by Pope Pius XI and canonised on July 27, 1947, by Pope Pius XII. Her feast day is observed on November 28, the date of the second Marian apparition.

St Catherine’s body is now encased in glass beneath the side altar in the rue du Bac convent’s chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. On the other side of the sanctuary is the glass tomb of St Louise de Marillac, who died in 1660. The relic of St Vincent de Paul’s heart is above the altar.

The chapel where St Catherine had her visions, originally built in 1813, has been remodelled several times since. Its present appearance dates to 1930, the centenary of the apparitions. It is a popular site of devotion, for locals and international pilgrims alike.

Next Month: St Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe

6 Patron Saints for

gOOD hEalTh

T

HERE ARE PATRON SAINTS for virtually everything, including almost any health issue — though there is no declared patron yet for Covid-19. Here are six patronages that relate to health and wellbeing.

Haemorrhoids(and (andTaxi TaxiDrivers) Drivers) Haemorrhoids Patron Saint: St Fiacre of Breuil (c.600-670) Who’s that? Irish-born St Fiacre was a priest and hermit in France who was famous for his skills as a healer, and for the hospice he ran. He had a great vegetable garden, for which he is a patron for gardeners and herbalists.

He is also invoked as a patron of taxi drivers — though not officially by the Church — because in the 17th century the Hotel de Saint Fiacre in Paris used to hire out carriages, which became known as fiacres. This became a generic term for taxis and rented carriages. His feast is on September 1.

Why haemorrhoids? Because of his herbalist healing skills; he also helps sufferers of venereal disease.

Hangovers&&Headaches Headaches Hangovers

Patron Saint: St Bibiana (d.360AD) Who’s that? Also known as Viviana, St Bibiana was a 4th-century martyr in Rome.

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scourging with a martyr’s joy. Her feast is on December 2.

tuberculosis. Her feast is on April 11.

Why hangovers? Some sources say it’s a wordplay on “bibe”, the Latin for the word “to drink” (as in “imbibing” a beverage). But she is also a patron for mental illness, headaches and epilepsy — and of parishes, which can give you headaches!

Why back pain? As a teenager, St Gemma recovered from spinal meningitis. She attributed her extraordinary cure to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She is also a patron of those suffering headaches and migraines, and of pharmacists. And if you go parachuting, she is your patron, too.

Patron Saint: St Servatius (d.384)

Patron Saint: St Apollonia (d.249)

Who’s that? Armenian-born St Servatius was a diplomat, heretic-fighter, and the bishop of Tongeren in present-day Belgium. He is one of the trio known by the cool title “Ice Saints”, so named because their feasts fall on the days from May 11-13, the “blackthorn winter” in many parts of Europe.

His feast is on May 13.

Who’s that? St Apollonia was one of a group of people martyred in a pogrom of Christians in Alexandra, Egypt. Refusing to renounce her faith, she was burnt to death. Her feast is on February 9.

Footdisorders Disorders Foot

Why foot disorders? According to legend, St Servatius died of a leg infection and was buried wearing his shoes. He is also a patron for rheumatism and lameness. And if you have a rodent infestation, call on Servatius!

Backpain Pain& TB & TB Back

Patron Saint: St Gemma Galgani (1878-1903) Who’s that? St Gemma was a young Italian mystic who in her short life had an awful run of bad health which she suffered bravely in imitation of the Passion of Christ.

She died at only 25 of

Toothaches Toothaches

Why toothaches? Before she was killed in the fire, the persecutors knocked out all her teeth. For that reason she is the patron of those suffering toothaches and other dental problems — and of dentists.

Arthritis Arthritis

Patron Saint: Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1787) Who’s that? Lawyer, bishop, founder of the Redemptorist order, and Doctor of the Church. His feast is on August 2.

Why arthritis? St Alphonsus suffered from debilitating arthritis and, like Pope Francis, from sciatica.

Among other things, he is also patron of that other health hazard: lawyers.

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21

Three ordinary saints

I

N OUR JUNE ISSUE, WE INVITED readers to tell us about “the saints whom nobody knows” in their lives. This month, to mark All Saints’ Day — the feast the Church sets aside to celebrate the saints, known and unknown, officially recognised and uncanonised — three readers tell us of holy people in their lives.

These three “unknown saints” were ordinary people living ordinary lives, but they were also remarkable in the way they witnessed to their Christian faith. All of us have known such people — parents or grandparents, friends, fellow parishioners, priests or religious — and some of us will, we hope, also be remembered as models of holiness.

These three unknown, uncanonised saints may represent all those other unknown, uncanonised saints in our lives whose stories aren’t being told in these pages.

Jimmy McBride on grandhis Jimmy McBride on his grandmother Rose Ferguson mother Rose Ferguson

My granny, Rose Ferguson was born in 1897 and went back to her heavenly Father in 1959. She had five sons and a daughter, my mother, who together gave her 30 grandchildren.

Granny ruled the family with a strong, loving hand. When my father was in hospital after a bad car accident and my mother had to work, Granny kept an eye on my four sisters and me.

She loved the Church and was always involved in the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) — and she was the person who showed me the faith and kept me in it. If Granny was not at the same Mass I went to, this was the interrogation that I had to endure: James, were you at Mass? What Mass did you go to? Who was the priest? (The good old days when many parishes had two priests.) What colour were his vestments? Who were the altar servers?

I spent many nights sleeping over at Granny’s. It seems that we were always at novena or Benediction or Mass.

She even got me to join the boys’ choir — where I soon realised that God never meant me to sing his Word.

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In primary school we had the opportunity to have the Nine First Fridays before classes started. Those who had been at Mass could go to the hall.

We were allowed to bring a sandwich and the CWL women would make us tea. Granny was always aware of the poor kids in the parish. She would buy rolls and butter them, and very discreetly give them to the kids who had nothing. This was in the days when you fasted from midnight before going to Communion.

In Granny’s house was a statue of a young black man. Living in an all-white community in Scotland, he fascinated me. The statue was of Bl Martin de Porres, the Dominican Brother from Peru who would be canonised in 1962.

Granny had for many years taken in lodgers. They were mostly Irish, and her house was always alive with stories and song. She treated them as part of the family and would make sure they had good suits, collars and ties for going to Mass. One St Patrick’s Day they all had the day off from work and went to Mass. Granny was delighted — but on the way home, they ended up in a pub and gave it their best shot to drink it dry. However, the fighting — in a good old Scottish Catholic vs Protestant brawl – they did not win, ending up with all their lovely suits torn to shreds.

Granny grounded the men.

Every Sunday at Granny’s was a repeat of the five loaves and two fish!

How she fed everybody is a miracle.

My wife Anne, three-year-old son James and I emigrated to South Africa in 1972. Staying in the Hotel Louis in Pretoria, my first question was for the address of the nearest Catholic church.

I was uncertainly directed to Sunnyside.

On arriving at the church, we looked at its name: St Martin de Porres. I looked up to the sky and said: “Thanks, Granny!” We were home. I have been involved in the church to this day.

The greatest thing my granny taught me was to know God and know love. Thanks, Granny.

Theresa Fagan on on her her Theresa Fagan mother Honeywill mother Phylis Phylis Honeywill

My mother, Phyllis Honeywill (pictured above), could easily be a candidate for

sainthood. She raised eight children, two of whom are in religious congregations. When we were young, the first words that we heard in the mornings were, “Morning prayers everyone”, and every night as a family we recited the rosary and various novenas.

She always belonged to the choir in whatever parish she found herself — she had a great love of music and sang beautifully.

As we children grew older she joined the Catholic Women’s League, and at one point served as its president. She was part of a group of women at the cathedral of Christ the King in Johannesburg, helping to make and repair vestments for the priests. She was a devout member of the Third Order of St Dominic for many years.

She also founded Our Lady’s Guild of the Sick — these were ordinary people suffering with illnesses who offered up their suffering for priests.

Before her death at 89 in 1994, she was presented with the papal medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

She was a great example to all of us children, and was sadly missed after she died.

Deacon Walter Middleton Middleton Deacon Walter on on his his mother mother Gertrude Middleton Gertrude Middleton

My beloved mother, Beryl Gertrude Middleton, was born in India on July 3, 1922. She was an angel from heaven; her first name means “precious stone or jewel”. She was extremely warm, caring, kind and loving.

She was the rock of the family, the glue that kept it together. I admired her firm belief in “The Three Cs”: Never complain, never criticise, and never condemn.

She had a heart of gold and was very compassionate towards the poor and hungry. Whenever beggars or other people came to her looking for food — and there were many — she made sure they’d never leave emptyhanded, even though we did not have much for ourselves.

We were poor and my parents

struggled to make ends meet. My dad, Thomas Walter Middleton, worked for the railways, and they didn’t pay much in those days. When I was born in 1948, my dad was earning just 250 rupees a month (equivalent to R135). It broke my heart when my mum shared with me that my dad once told her that we would have to manage with the pay he got — or eat dirt.

Mum used to patch and repatch Dad’s trousers. For most of her years, she worked herself to the bone in the kitchen, preparing delicious food for everyone. Feeding five growing children and a husband was no small task, but she did it with the utmost care, love and compassion. To say she was an excellent cook is an understatement. My friends used to flock to our house to taste the various delicacies she prepared, sometimes with limited resources.

Because we were poor, we could not afford chocolate Easter eggs, so Mum would make us Easter eggs out of chicken eggs.

She had a talent for breaking the eggs right in the middle, emptying the yolks and whites into a frying pan, and then filling the empty shells with a couple of inexpensive sweets. She then put the shell back together, tied ribbons around the breaks, and painted the eggs. The mere sight of the beautifully decorated eggs would delight our hearts, and we’d open them up to see what sweets were inside.

God bless her.

Mum was a giver. She was created in God’s perfect image and lived her life as a saint. She had a wonderful sense of humour and the memory of an elephant. Parkinson’s disease confined her to bed for 11 years, but she never ever complained, even when she developed bedsores. She had a million-dollar smile which captivated the hearts of one and all.

Mum was an Anglican for most of her life, but she always prayed

the rosary with devotion as she loved Mother Mary, took us to church regularly, and taught us good values and principles. She converted to Catholicism at the age of 82.

Beloved Mum left for her heavenly home on January 20, 2009. It was

an important day, when history was written; it was the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first-ever African-American US president. For me, my mother was a true saint because she lived a saintly life. May her soul rest in peace. I love you, Mum!

Imelda Diouf on Family

Family and citizenship

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Voter registration in Kayamandi, Western Cape.

has led to snaking queues outside of Social Security Agency (SASSA) offices.

Unemployed youths, many themselves parents, stand alongside their parents as they sign up for R350 per month.

And so many vowed that they would not vote in the November 1 local government elections, deeming this great act of citizenship a complete waste of time.

The National Development Plan 2030, government’s blueprint of development, details a social compact. It is an agreement between the people and their government that outlines the rights and duties of each party while building national solidarity. Sadly, it’s increasingly a compact of broken promises. Promises to the citizens are awash with policies and plans and strategies that never come to fruition. The plan does not improve quality of life.

Time for reminders

Every single vote is a vote for family and households, for communities and services. A meaningful social compact must acknowledge that we live in households, mainly with family. The concerns

Photo: Helen Online/Creative Commons

B

ORN-FREES NOW OUTNUMBER the born-agains — those born after 1994 and the before-’94s.

The year 1994 was a pivotal point in our history, the year when the majority of South Africans finally became citizens, or were “born again” into a new democracy. My children are in the former group, and I’m in the latter.

Roll on to 2021 and children below the age of 18 years now make up a third of South Africa’s nearly 60 million population. And with youth (those between the ages of 18 and 34) making up another third of the population, South Africa’s born-frees now exceed the bornagains.

I am mindful that the fights, struggles and the dreams prior to 1994 might have, probably have, or even definitely have, shifted for this new generation. As countless parents before me, I sound like a stuck record. “When I was your age...”

Thinking back, when I was their age, defiance and prayer were natural partners in the safety of hallowed places.

Our God demanded justice. We rushed around, thrusting fists into the air, extolling the values of liberation and democracy. Then Freedom Day in 1994!

There was no exhaustion as friends, families and neighbours stood for many hours in serpentine splendour. Democracy was ours. Rights had been won.

Now, the chant of my youth, “liberation before education”, rings hollow.

Consider the pitiful state of the nearly 50% of children who drop out of the schooling system. They do not get the chance to write the much-desired matric examination. Education for many South African children is a daily struggle. For them, just the very possibility of a functioning school is an experience of gratitude — as well as a financial drain on many families.

The burden of care, a failed economy and high unemployment, including nearly 9 million NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training)

and needs of our households often extend beyond the four walls, to the group of people that is our affiliated unit of function. The elections and what follows them is a time for reminders all round. A vote is only one small step in ownership of the social compact. If families are to be supported where they are already thriving and strengthened where they are under threat, this must become part of a public agenda on which communities vote. As the sphere of government closest to the people, the local government election represents a vote for families.

The Family International Monitor in a 2020 “Report on Family and Relational Poverty” identifies three necessary indicators to build a family-friendly public agenda. “The first need of families is to be legitimated and recognised in their social role. The second element is to support the family relations, both specific and strategic as a family social actor. The third is for public policies that reduce socio-economic inequalities; these must assume a family-friendly qualification and support households in a sustainable way.”

We, the active citizens and leaders in our homes, must rally for pro-family support and services. Now is not the time to shun the right to vote. New battles and dreams need to be forged by born-frees and born-agains alike. Strengthened families and capable households are a public good worth a vote.

Imelda Diouf is the director of the Centre for Family Studies. This is the final article in her four-part series on family and relational poverty.

The eyes of the beholder

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

G

RACE, IN THE DAWN OF time, poured out love, and from this outpouring of love I was born. I entered a world that is both beautiful and tainted. I was given what I needed to navigate this perilous paradise.

Grace had given me ears to hear, and though I heard, I didn’t always listen. Grace had given me a voice to speak and sing, and speaking and singing I did. I even chanted my prayers. Grace had given me feet to walk, and walking I did; sometimes I jumped, sometimes I ran. Grace had given me eyes to see, and what love flowed into my heart when I became a beholder and beheld Him whom I love.

In the embrace and in the fullness of grace, I am seen. Better still, I am beheld by the first of the beholders.

Is this not the hope on to which we hold? Is this not the voice making supplications within our hearts? Is this not the joy of heaven for which we, the beloved and the beheld, so desperately long? Is not the communion of saints a handful of those devout people of God

together looking and together seeing?

I envy so much those who, in this pit of shadows, turned their heads from the passing madness to face a light, and in thus following it, were better able to see. By walking in this light they imaged their Creator.

T

he things of God which so often remain hidden, veiled and unseen, were gazed upon.

Grace had given them minds to ponder on the sacred mysteries. Grace had given them mouths to praise, and in union with angels they cried: “Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus!” There, in the midst of praising, came upon them a sweet fragrance.

It is the scent of souls, formed “perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect”.

How do we come to hold for ourselves the vision of God? When we look to the saints of the Church we see that

grace had given them hands to labour.

And so they laboured: putting robes on the shoulders of the naked, satisfying the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, burying the deceased, and visiting the imprisoned — and all of this was done with love. In this way they laboured, and with their oblations, furnished the dwelling place of God. And when it came time for the sunset, they followed the light for the last time. They saw a glow and went closer, and leaving this world they saw “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…for in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:15-19).

In this month of November, let us remember the souls of the saints who are seen by God. And in his infinite mercy, they see him too.

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Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

After the ‘All Saints Election’

B

Y THE TIME MANY PEOPLE read these lines, the municipal elections will already have taken place, the votes counted, and the winners announced. South Africa’s nationwide exercise in genuine democracy — the 12th since that world-changing moment in 1994 — will have been completed. And I pray that it will have been peaceful, transparent, fair and truly participatory.

It is an interesting coincidence that these elections were delayed to November 1 — which is All Saints Day. Have we elected a group of saints to lead our cities and towns? Or have we mandated a group of demons whom we should have driven out on Halloween? I suspect a mix of the two!

At the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, which I serve, we have taken a keen interest in these municipal elections because local government has more day-today impact on the lives of the homeless than either of the other levels, provincial or national. It is the actions and the inactions of local municipalities that can mitigate or exacerbate the conditions for people living on the streets. And it is also their policies that can make it easier or harder for people to find pathways out of homelessness.

This became abundantly clear during the hard lockdown at the beginning of the Covid crisis 18 months ago. The varying responses of the municipalities in assisting the homeless showed how much difference it makes who is in City Hall. Sometimes the response was speedy; more often it

“Healthcare”, the demand to the City of Tshwane was to implement the agreed strategy of creating a street medicine unit to provide early intervention primary healthcare.

There were similarly specific demands for each of the major metro areas. The local manifesto was presented to the parties and candidates competing for our Two men at the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban who were votes to ask if they were among many homeless people registered as part of the IEC willing to commit to voter-registration drive working with the National Homeless these demands — and if Network. Photo: Samora Chapman not, why not. was delayed. Some politicians and local The demands were not only specific government officials took advice from and local: they are affordable, managethe NGOs who understood the field, able and direct. In some cases, there is a some did not, and some just ignored the cost involved, but it is much less than advice they asked for. Some spent exces- the cost of not doing something. As we sively without any sense of the value of have seen with Covid, keeping people how they were using our money; some well is cheaper than trying to rescue were more judicious and worked with or- them when they are sick. In other cases, ganisations which could deliver in a cost- there is a cost-saving because municipaleffective manner. ities often spend money on expensive law enforcement practices that actually do not solve the real problem.

Just how much has the City of Cape Town achieved by fining homeless people, and what has it cost them in policing and legal fees?

We hoped that some politicians The National Homeless Network, would sign up to this manifesto because which brings together the main NGOs in they actually care for the poor, but pragthe homeless sector from across the matically we also knew that some would major cities, saw these municipal elec- sign up because they care about what ortions as a chance to consolidate this ex- dinary voters think — and we would perience: to build on the good things make sure that they knew that many that were achieved, and to learn from voters (like you) do care for the poor. We the mistakes that were made. Our Na- are grateful for the way that parishes and tional Homeless Manifesto focused on individuals across the country have the five areas where municipalities can shown their support for this campaign make the most impact on the lives of by praying with the National Homeless homeless people: Shelter, Sanitation, Network for a good outcome in the elecHealthcare, Security and Work. tions and by informing their local candidates that issues that affect the These are the demands homeless are also issues that affect them.

Some who supported the manifesto But, as they say, the devil is in the detail. So the demands of this manifesto will be among those elected, and so this were not broad, national petitions which is “where the rubber hits the road”. Makare easy for politicians to sign up for ing promises is all well and good, but the since they know they are too vague to tie test of politicians is in their ability to imthem down. Instead, they were specific plement what they have promised. local demands, in these five areas, for Our duty to vote extends to an oblieach city. gation to hold our elected politicians acThus, under the heading of “Shel- countable. I would suggest that this is ter”, the demand to eThekwini was to even more true of committed Catholic continue and upgrade the “Safe Open citizens. We have a clear overarching Sleeping Spaces”; under the heading of principle in politics — that decisions

Have we elected saints, or demons we should have driven out on Halloween?

26 The Southern Cross

should be taken for the common good, that is for the benefit of all, not just an elite minority or even a tyrannical majority. Thus, helping the homeless find work is not just for their benefit, it is for the common good: it leads to a society in which people are able to look after themselves, are less likely to resort to crime, and in which all are contributing through taxes.

The common good

But the common good will not be achieved through a one-off action of voting. Rather it requires us to spend time understanding the issues in front of us, to make a prayerful and considered judgment about how to vote, and then to work with our elected rulers, by supporting them as well as by challenging them.

Participatory democracy does not end at 19:00 on election day.

Speaking in 2013, Pope Francis reminded us: “We need to participate for the common good. Sometimes we hear: A good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true. Good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves so that the leader can govern.”

If this last part sounds difficult, let me suggest that local government is the best place to start. It is the only part of the democratic system in South Africa where we have a specific person — a ward councillor — whom we can actually meet and speak to face-to-face. If the only voices he or she hears are from people who care only about themselves, they will likely conclude that this is what all residents want.

If they hear from caring Catholics who are devoted to the common good, they are more likely to believe that this is the popular thing to do (and also be reminded that it is the right thing to do).

Those elected on November 1 have a huge opportunity to do good: we invest immense power and a large share of our resources in local government. Pope Francis gives elected politicians two simple questions to ask themselves: “Do I love my people, so that I may better serve them? And am I humble enough to hear the opinions of others so as to choose the best way of governing?”

These are not easy questions to face up to: so on the assumption that most of those elected on All Saints Day are not (yet) saints, let us also commit to pray for our local leaders that they will govern us well.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Can non-believers be saved?

A

T A WORKSHOP, A WOMAN shared her anxiety about the death of her brother. Her older brother had died from Covid-19 before there were vaccines for it, because he had dangerously exposed himself to catching the virus. However, he had exposed himself to that danger for a worthy reason.

Living alone, he used much of his salary and savings to cook meals and take them to feed homeless people living under a bridge in his hometown of Austin.

That certainly seems like a noble, Christian death — except that in his adult life he had lost any explicit faith in God and in Jesus, and self-defined as an agnostic (though with no antipathy towards religion). He simply didn’t believe in God or go to church anymore.

His sister, who shared this story, loved him deeply and admired his feeding of the homeless, but she worried about his dying outside of an explicit faith and the Church. Her anxiety was compounded by her other brother, a Christian fundamentalist, who is firm in the belief that dying outside of the Church puts one eternally outside of salvation; in brief, that belief says, you end up in hell. At a gut-level, the man’s sister knew that this could not be true. Still she was anxious about it and wanted some assurances that her fundamentalist brother was wrong and that her anxiety about her late brother’s eternal salvation was a false fear.

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hat does one say in the face of that? A number of things might be said. First, that the God whom Jesus incarnated and revealed is a God who is in every way the antithesis of fundamentalism and of this sort of false fear about salvation. Jesus assures us that God reads the heart in all its complexity, including its existential complexity. A fundamentalist reads only a written rubric, not the goodness of a heart.

Scripture describes God as “a jealous God”. This doesn’t mean God gets jealous and angry when we are preoccupied with our own things or when we betray God through weakness and sin. Rather, it means that God, like a solicitous parent, never wants to lose us and seeks every possible means to keep us from slipping away and hurting ourselves. Moreover, in the abstract language of academic theology, God has a universal will for salvation, and that means for everyone, including agnostics and atheists.

More specifically, Jesus gives us three interpenetrating perspectives that expose the narrowness of all fundamentalist

thinking regarding who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

Firstly, he gives us a parable of a man who has two sons and he asks them both to work in his field (Matthew 21:28–32).

The first son says that he will not do it but in fact ends up doing it; the second son says he will do the work but ends up not doing it. Which one is the true son?

The answer is obvious, but Jesus reinforces the parable with this comment: “It is not necessarily those who say ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of God on earth.”

What this parable highlights is what theologians — from John Henry Newman to Karl Rahner — have tried to teach: that someone can have a notional faith which in fact rings hollow in the light of true faith. Conversely, someone can explicitly deny what we hold in our notion of faith and yet, in the light of what a genuine faith demands, have real faith since this is not necessarily manifest in one’s notion of faith but in the fruits of one’s life.

W

e also have Jesus’ shocking warning in Matthew 25 about how we ultimately will be judged for heaven or hell, namely, on whether or not we served the poor. This warning does not suggest that explicit faith and church attendance are of no consequence — they have their importance — but it is a warning that there are things which are more important.

Finally, and perhaps most far-reaching in this regard, Jesus gives us the power to bind and loose. As parts of the Body of Christ, our love, like Jesus’ love, keeps a loved one connected to the community of salvation. As the 20th-century French philosopher Gabriel Marcel puts it: “To love someone is to say, ‘You can never be lost.’” The woman’s love for her brother assures that he is not in hell.

All of this I might have said when she asked me at the workshop, but instead I simply referred to a wonderful quote from Charles Péguy, the noted French poet and essayist. Péguy once suggested that when we die and appear before God, each of us will be asked this one question: “Where are the others?”

I assured the anxious woman that she needn’t worry about her brother’s eternal salvation, despite his dying outside of an explicit faith and the Church. When he stood before God and was asked the question, “Where are the others?”, he had a very good answer: “They are under a bridge in Austin.”

The Southern Cross

27

Photo: Liza Summer/Pexels

PRAY WITH THE POPE Every month FR CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ reflects on Pope Francis’ prayer intention

how we see depression and burnout

Intention: We pray that people who suffer from depression or burnout will find support and a light that opens them up to life.

having to play God in deciding who receives life-giving treatment and who doesn’t. Any one of these things could cause a person to burn out or become depressed.

EPRESSION IS COMMON, therefore to be highly valued.

In addition, there are changing soand it is commonly stigmaWe should consider the environ- cial structures, the erosion of the extised, despite being better un- mental factors and pray that we, as a tended family, the loss of transcendent derstood today. Perhaps we society, attend to those, too. The Covid values; all these things can contribute all have a deep, visceral fear of depres- pandemic has made us more aware of to burnout. However, the immediate sion? Everyone gets down or even de- how what happens in our world can af- trigger often seems to be a loss of conpressed at times, so we have all, as it fect our mental health. trol. There is just too much work piling were, looked into the abyss of the real And even when modern society is up and too little time in which to get thing — clinical depression — and we functioning “normally”, there are it done. The person feels overwhelmed are afraid. clearly things militating against good and eventually can no longer cope.

So, although depression is not Support is obviously vital in contagious like certain physical discountering the effects of depresIf we find our meaning in the sion and burnout. I find it sad to eases, some people avoid others who are depressed. They say that acquisition of material things, read that the days are over when they don’t want to be around “negpeople by their applause would we will sooner or later find ative people”. In other words, they support health workers going on fear that somehow they will “pick ourselves in a spiritual vacuum their shifts to work with Covid up” the depression that others sufpatients. When politicians tell us fer from. This is perhaps not enthat we just have to get used to tirely irrational. Sometimes we all might mental health. A general lack of mean- living with the disease, they overlook want to avoid people whose company is ing has to be an important one. If we the implications of this for health have opted to find our meaning in the workers whose lives sometimes look as capable of lowering our spirits.

By contrast, we are generally more acquisition of material things, we will if they will never return to “normal”. sympathetic to those who get burned- sooner or later find ourselves in a spirThe crazy thing about people sufout. We readily acknowledge the envi- itual vacuum. fering mental stress on account of ronmental factors that cause burnout overwork is the fact that we live in a The loss of control — being overworked, handling a parcountry with terrifyingly high unemticularly taxing situation or negotiatOne only has to read accounts of ployment. We do not lack people who ing one of life’s catastrophes — because the work of our doctors and nurses dur- seek work, but no one will hire them. most of us have been there. There is ing the nightmares of the successive Let us pray for the unemployed also something perversely heroic about waves of the pandemic to understand and also for sane policies about the burnout; it’s not something that hap- how the workplace environment can funding and provision of staff for those pens to the lazy, so those who suffer cause depression and burnout. Long services which this pandemic has from it must be highly productive and hours, a sense of being overwhelmed, shown to be essential. cApE toWn holiDAY AccoMMoDAtion Looking for reasonably priced accommodation over the December/January holiday period?

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28 The Southern Cross

For your Catholic news

D

www.scross.co.za

Prayer Corner Your prayers to cut out and collect Do you have a favourite prayer?

Please send to editor@scross.co.za

Prayer for the Holy Souls Merciful Father, hear our prayer and console us.

As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His Resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

Amen

QUICK ADVENT PRAYER Dear Heavenly Father, help me to hear your voice.

Touch me once again.

Give me the courage to be your beloved.

Give me the courage to choose joy.

Amen

PRAYER TO ST CECILIA

O glorious St Cecilia, you won the martyr's crown without renouncing your love for Jesus, the delight of your soul. We ask that you help us to be faithful in our love for Jesus, that, in the communion of the saints, we may praise Him twice in our song of rejoicing for the Blood that He shed which gave us the grace to accomplish His will on earth.

Amen

ST MARTIN DE PORRES PRAYER To you Saint Martin de Porres we prayerfully lift up our hearts filled with serene confidence and devotion.

Mindful of your unbounded and helpful charity to all levels of society and also of your meekness and humility of heart, we offer our petitions to you. Pour out upon our families the

precious gifts of your solicitous and generous intercession.

Show to the people of every race and every colour the paths of unity and of justice.

Implore from our Father in heaven the coming of His kingdom, so that through mutual benevolence in God, men may increase the fruits of grace and merit the rewards of eternal life.

Amen The Southern Cross

29

The saints’ cook outside her kitchen

S

INCE IT DEBUTED IN THE January Issue of The Southern Cross, Grazia Barletta’s “Cooking with Saints” column has become a favourite feature among readers. And it works both ways: doing the monthly column “brings me so much joy”, says Grazia, who not only provides the recipes but also takes the photographs accompanying them — she provided this month’s cover image.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own column, and with prayer and patience, it came to fruition,” she says, referring to her favourite Bible verse: “With God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Grazia also writes a blog of inspirational quotes and photography from her life and travels (momentswith grazia.com), and has published three books which incorporate her photography. One of them is the cookbook Delicious Italian Moments, which combined Grazia’s love of cooking and photography. It’s a project where her studies in food and nutrition come in useful.

Though born and raised in Cape Town, Grazia’s background is — as her name suggests — Italian. “My parents were both from the town of Maddaloni in the province of Caserta, about 30km from Napoli. I visited in 2012 and 2013, when my mother was reunited with her older brother, after not having seen him for 32 years,” Grazia recalls. “It was beautiful to visit the Italian relations for the first time. There was so much delicious Italian food; they made us feel so welcome.” The narrow cobblestone roads, the abundance of motor scooters, and the sight of chatting residents sitting at roadsides made an impression on her.

But the Italian culture was also present when Grazia grew up in Cape Town. “I learned to cook by just watch-

ing my mother cooking and baking when I was growing up. My mom passed away six years ago, and she was the inspiration for Delicious Italian Moments. I wanted to keep her memory alive through her recipes and by remembering our traditions together.”

Her favourite Italian dish? “I love making pasta al forno, which is pasta with a meaty ragu that is baked in the oven with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.”

Cooking with faith

The “Cooking with Saints” column has brought Grazia not only joy but also knowledge. “I enjoy researching the specific saint and how a recipe is connected to their story. I have learned so much about the different saints that I never imagined I would.” Faith is central in Grazia’s life. She is a member of the parish pastoral council of Our Lady of Good Hope in Sea Point, working with long-serving parish priest Mgr Clifford Stokes, and is involved in several parish activities — including selling The Southern Cross at the church door. She says that some of her fellow parishioners, especially those in the rosary group, “have become family”. Grazia is also a dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Outside food and photography,

Grazia loves her plants and gardening. “I do pilates, yoga and nia dance, and walk on the Sea Point promenade for exercise.” She enjoys getting involved in charity work and fundraising, “whether it’s for an organisation or just trying to help those in need” she says.

“My first two books gave me the opportunity to give the proceeds to St Joseph’s Home, Nazareth House and the Guide Dogs Association.” And then there is the travelling. Her favourite destination so far is Paris.

And who is the favourite saint of the author of “Cooking with Saints”? “My favourite saint must be St Joseph, as my late father’s name was Joseph. My dad was also a very hard worker and family man. Growing up we used to celebrate St Joseph’s feast on March 19 by eating Zeppole di San Giuseppe, which are traditional Italian pastries that are fried then filled with creamy custard and sprinkled with icing sugar. My aunt used to prepare and drop them off; my cousin has now taken over that tradition.”

Grazia Barletta at the launch of two of her books, Moments With Molly and Friends and Moments That Have Captured My Heart.

MARIANELLA

30

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Cooking with Saints

Every month GRAZIA BARLETTA prepares a delicious 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 prepared

two recipes for us: an Advent appetiser and a drink. Enjoy!

Advent Pomegranate and Cream Cheese Log

T

HE wORD ADVENT wAS adopted from Latin adventus, which means “coming arrival”. Thus, on November 28 this year, we begin the season that anticipates the “Coming of Christ”.

Advent candles symbolise hope, love, joy and peace. Each candle represents one of the four weeks of Advent, with one candle lit anew each Sunday during the month of Advent. In many regions, including Southern Africa, traditionally three of the candles are purple, because violet is the liturgical colour that signifies a time of prayer, penance and sacrifice. The pink candle announces Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of the season, which provides a break from the penitential character of Advent.

This simple appetiser — with its combination of cheese, pomegranates, thyme and honey — holds symbolism for the Advent season. The pomegranate is often depicted in paintings of the Madonna and Child. Its availability during the months around Christmas also makes it a great food for the Advent and Christmas seasons. It is a perfect appetiser for any time during the holidays.

The four ingredients all have symbolism or connection to make them fitting for this season: The pomegranate is a symbol of the hope of eternal life through Christ the word

P

recipe!). It is a yummy flavour combination, with the tangy sweetness of the pomegranates contrasting the tartness of the cheese. preparation: 35 min • servings: 3

inGrEDiEnts:

made flesh. The white of the cheese is a symbol of Our Lady’s purity, which we mark on the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. sage or thyme symbolises Mary’s humility. The honey is a nod to St John, whom we hear on the 2nd Sunday of Advent preparing the way of the Lord. The baptiser famously lived on honey and locusts (but we’ll dispense with the insects in our

• 210g cream cheese or goat’s cheese • 100g pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries • 70g toasted almonds • 2 tbsp honey • 6 leaves of sage or sprigs of thyme • Zest from 1 lemon

prEpArAtion: 1. Chop the almonds and herbs of choice and mix with the pomegranate, zest and honey.

2. Put half of the mix into the cheese and incorporate.

3. Spread a double layer of clingfilm on a clean surface and put the cheese at the centre to form a long shape. Fold the clingfilm over and use it to shape into a cylinder.

4. Freeze the cheese for 20 minutes.

5. Spread the remaining mix on a chopping board or clean surface so you can roll the cheese log on top.

6. Roll the cheese log while applying a bit of pressure so that everything sticks to it. Use your fingers to fill up empty spaces.

7. Serve with crackers of your choice.

8. Enjoy with a prayer to Our Lady and St John!

Grazia Barletta is an author, book designer, and food photographer & stylist. She can be contacted at graziabarletta1@gmail.com Follow her blog at www.momentswithgrazia.com and connect with Grazia on Facebook/Instagram: momentswithgrazia

Clementine Margaritas (with or without alcohol)

OPE CLEMENT I, ALSO KNOwN AS St Clement of Rome, is listed by Irenaeus and Tertullian as the fourth bishop of Rome. Having accepted the Christian faith as a young man and working as a missionary to preach the word of the crucified and risen Lord, Clement was eventually ordained a bishop by the apostle Peter and led the Roman Church before being exiled to the Crimea, where he died in 101 AD. St Clement is the patron saint of metalworkers and blacksmiths, and so these workers traditionally enjoyed a holiday on his feast day, November 23.

His writings were referred to as “Clementine literature”, so the tasty little citrus fruits of that adjective are a great connection to this papal saint. what better way

to celebrate a holiday and feast day than with a drink? This recipe uses clementines to make this delicious drink when they are in season, but you can substitute them with any other similar orange citrus fruit.

For a non-alcoholic version, substitute the tequila with tonic water. preparation: 10 min • servings: 2

inGrEDiEnts:

• 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed clementine juice (5-6) or the closest fruit in season • 4 tsp lime juice • 4 tsp water • 4 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or white sugar • 150ml tequila (or vodka, or tonic water) • Coarse sea salt • Clementine and lime slices (for garnish and juicing the rim of the glass) • Fresh mint leaves (optional

prEpArAtion: 1. Rub a wedge of lime around the glass rim and dip it into coarse sea salt.

2. Dissolve your sweetener of choice in water to make a simple syrup.

3. Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Garnish with clementine and/or lime slices, if desired.

4. Pour over ice in a glass. Serve with fresh mint if available.

5. Enjoy — in moderation and only if you are not driving — with a toast to St Clement.

The Southern Cross

31

Anagram Challenge 1

Feasts WordSearch

Unscramble the clues below to work out which famous SAINTS hide in these words

O R DE R SP E A R MI N T

2

HE TI P S A B A N JO HI K E

3

A F E A R V I O LA TE S

4

N U N E V I CTE D P A L

5

CI A O F I A T CA R S

6

I N TR I CA TE LY F E D U P P E A

Find these feasts of the Church in the puzzle above

ALL SAINTS

CORPUS CHRISTI

MOTHER OF GOD

ANNUNCIATION

EPIPHANY

PALM SUNDAY

HYPAPANTE

TRANSFIGURATION

ALL SOULS

EASTER

ASCENSION

EXULTATION

ASSUMPTION

Hint: All of the answers are of our previous Saints of the Month

NATIVITY

PENTECOST

FallEN PhRasE: Place the missing letters to get the names of popular saints N

U I

S

O

,

S

C

E

O D

,

Y

A R

A N

R

,

I

,

C

H A

S

O

,

E

O L E FA L A FA R A I G A S T I P U F T J O Y L O N A FA N C E A S O F I A H E S I N O F O M I R O N L O T

Southern Crossword Across

1. Adam and Eve’s landscape (6) 4. Paul’s first letter in the Bible (6) 9. Come to possess eternal happiness (7,6) 10. He loves fine food but may avoid it in Advent (7) 11. Saul’s army commander (1 Sm 14) (5) 12. well-known metal worker (5) 14. Religious pamphlet on the land (5) 18. where the cleaner and I are seated (5) 19. It’s said after Confession (7) 21. Hastily let ace out with refined beauty (13) 22. Desire to live somewhere (6) 23. Clergyman with a nose for fowl (6)

32

The Southern Cross

DoWn

1. Dead plots (6) 2. November liturgies (7,6) 3. He was angry with Job (Jb 32) (5) 5. Unenclosed space for the liturgy (4,3) 6. They glow among the wreaths (6,7) 7. One on guard (6) 8. Some pale person cured

by Christ (5) 13. Got the funeral pyre going (7) 15. A tasty cake can be a relic (6) 16. Deliberately hurt (5) 17. Token Yank hides the African (6) 20. where the Creed got its name (5)

For all solutions turn to page 34

Cl

Quick Crossword

ue 9 do w n Cl ue 7 do w

Cl

ue

24

ac

ro

ss

Cl

ue

6

ac

ro

ss

n

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the shaded boxes to form the name of a famous Gospel location

Across

1. 12th word in Lord’s Prayer (7) 6. Surname of Fatima siblings (5) 8. SACBC sec-gen O’Connor (4) 11. North-west province diocese (10) 12. Early Roman New Year’s Eve martyr (9) 14. St Peter’s brother (6) 15. Place for sacrament of penance (12) 18. Radio Veritas “Matins” co-presenter (5,5) 20. Site of Jesus’ first public miracle (4)

_ _ _

_ _

21. Parable in Matthew 13:47-50 (7,3) 22. UK Catholic journal (3,6) 23. Prophet and Moses’ older brother (5) 24. Man Utd’s Catholic striker Edison (6)

DoWn

2. Bend the knee to the tabernacle (9) 3. They shall be satisfied (Beatitudes) (9) 4. Derogatory English term for Catholics (7) 5. Formerly Diocese of Pietersburg (9) 7. Name of 12 popes (4)

The Catholic Trivia Quiz

1. What title does the head of the Vatican between popes bear? a) Camerlengo b) Interregolo c) Pocopapa

6. Which saint is the subject of the play and film A Man For All Seasons? a) St Francis of Assisi b) St Paul c) St Thomas More

2. In which year did Denis Hurley OMI become archbishop of Durban? a) 1947 b) 1949 c) 1951

7. To which country did Pope John Paul II make his first papal trip? a) Dominican Republic b) Philippines c) Poland

3. Which book in the New Testament features the phrase “Salt of the earth”? a) Matthew b) Ephesians c) 2 Peter

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

9. Eswatini bishop (surname) (5,2,4) 10. Leo XIII’s workers’ encyclical (5,7) 11. Island of Archbishop Hurley’s infancy (6) 12. Time of no pope (4,7) 13. Adam & Eve’s garden (4) 14. Heretic or argonaut (6) 15. Egyptian Church Father (6) 16. Galilee town condemned by Jesus (8) 17. Month of All Souls’ Day (8) 19. Country of OL of Guadalupe (6) 20. Ruth’s mother-in-law (5)

Q2: Hurley

Q11: R&B Singer

4. In which country is Medjugorje? a) Bosnia & Herzegovina b) Croatia c) Montenegro

8. Which of these hymns was written most recently? a) Here I Am Lord b) On Eagle’s Wings 11. Which R&B singer is a practising Catholic? c) Shine Jesus Shine a) Ari Lennox b) Brandy Norwood 9. Which SA diocese does not border c) Nicole Scherzinger Lesotho?

12. Other than the Vatican, which a) Aliwal b) Kroonstad c) Umzimkulu country’s population has the world’s

5. Who is the patron saint of police? a) Gabriel b) Michael c) Raphael

10. In which era did Abraham live? a) Stone Age b) Bronze Age c) Iron Age

highest proportion of Catholics? a) Cabo Verde b) Malta c) Timor Leste

Write to us

We welcome your letters, while reserving the right to edit them.

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

Letters

I

Church must lead on vaccination

READ WITH INTEREST THE ARTICLES which The Southern Cross has published on Covid vaccination, in particular the article on vaccine justice published on your website on September 4 (www.bit.ly/3lqYB58); and the articles by Carol Glatz reporting on Pope Francis’ message: “Being vaccinated with vaccines authorised by the competent authorities is an act of love. And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love.”

I also saw that the Catholic bishops in June encouraged South Africans to get vaccinated, also arguing for equitable access to vaccines.

Despite this, we know that in South Africa we have very high levels of vaccine hesitancy, and many I speak with are unaware of the unequivocal support which the Catholic Church gives to vaccination. It seems to me that the real act of love required in South Africa to bring “equitable access” is ongoing, and active steps are needed to ensure people are unequivocally encouraged and helped to get vaccinated, as it does seem that the most vulnerable are most at risk as a result of hesitancy.

As community and pastoral leaders, it would be wonderful if a new impetus could be given within Catholic communities and the clergy in South Africa to unequivocally encourage all parishioners to get vaccinated, to facili-

SOLUTIONS

Anagram Challenge:

1. Martin de Porres, 2. Josephine Bakhita, 3. Teresa of Avila, 4. Vincent de Paul, 5. Rita of Cascia, 6. Perpetua and Felicity

Dropped Letters:

Ignatius of Loyola, Clare of Assisi, Rose of Lima, Anthony of Padua, Joan of Arc, Catherine of Siena

SouthernCrossword:

ACROSS: 1 Garden, 4 Romans, 9 Acquire heaven, 10 Epicure, 11 Abner, 12 Smith, 14 Tract, 18 Chair, 19 Penance, 21 Aesthetically, 22 Reside, 23 Parson DOWN: 1 Graves, 2 Requiem Masses, 3 Elihu, 5 Open air, 6 Advent candles, 7 Sentry, 8 Leper, 13 Torched, 15 Éclair, 16 Spite, 17 Kenyan, 20 Nicea

34 The Southern Cross

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.

tate vaccination registration and information, and to encourage all Catholics to make every effort to ensure that those around them know of the benefits of vaccination and are vaccinated.

Claire Tucker, Johannesburg

B

Youth: We missed an opportunity

ISHOP SITHEMBELE SIPUkA’S words in your September cover story “Which way for the youth?” are so true.

Back in the old days, my three sons were conscripted into the army for two years after matric. What has happened to all those army bases in the country?

They could have been converted into training centres for school leavers.

Boy and girl school leavers could have been conscripted for a year to learn a trade of their choice (electronics, plumbing, cooking, sewing and so on), and be paid a small salary. After a year they would have a qualification in their particular trade which might enable them to obtain employment, while the academically-minded could go on to university. We would have had productive citizens.

Your chance to help improve liturgical music at Mass

T

HE LETTER BY PETER ONESTA and his recall of Fr Perron in your September issue offers an opportunity to share with the readers that a sub-committee of the Liturgical Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has been trying for a number of years to work at improving the quality of music and singing in the Mass.

Guidelines for new compositions in the Southern African scene have also been drawn up.

The subcommittee works with English liturgical music, but there are other contacts within the Liturgy Commission who are working with other language groups.

Anyone who is keen on joining this initiative or wishes to know more about it may contact me (at edwardrisi@gmail.com) or Fr Rohan Smuts of the archdiocese of Cape Town (at rohansmuts@yahoo. com).

Now that we are getting somewhat on top of Covid-19, we are looking forward to pushing ahead with some of the initiatives that have been planned, especially workshopping liturgical music for parish choirs.

Alice Mancer, by e-mail

Quick Crossword: ACROSS: 1 Kingdom, 6 Marto,

8 Hugh, 11 Klerksdorp, 12 Sylvester, 14 Andrew, 15 Confessional, 18 Colin Yorke, 20, Cana, 21 Fishing net, 22 The Tablet, 23 Aaron, 24 Cavani DOWN: 2 Genuflect, 3 Righteous, 4 Papists, 5 Polokwane, 7 Pius, 9 Ponce de León, 10 Rerum Novarum, 11 Robben, 12 Sede Vacante, 13 Eden, 14. Nestor, 15 Origen, 16 Chorazin, 17 November, 18 Mexico, 20 Naomi — CODEWORD: Sea of Galilee

Catholic Trivia Quiz: 1. a) Camerlengo, 2. c) 1951 (when the SA hierarchy was established. But he was ordained bishop of the Vicariate of Natal in 1947), 3. a) Matthew (5:13), 4. a) Bosnia & Herzegovina, 5. b) Michael, 6. c) St Thomas More, 7. a) Dominican Republic (on a tour that would also take him to Mexico and the Bahamas), 8. c) Shine Jesus Shine (1987; the other two were written in 1979), 9. b) Kroonstad, 10. b) Bronze Age (about 2000 BC), 11. c) Nicole Scherzinger, 12. c) Timor Leste (previously East Timor, ca 98%)

Bishop Edward Risi, keimoes-Upington

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S outher n Cr oss T he

The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa

Est. 1920

history in Colour

Final Words

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

Great Quotes on

GRIEVING

‘The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’

– Psalm 34:18

‘The right to weep must not be denied. Even Jesus was deeply moved and profoundly troubled by the bereavement of a family he loved.’

– Pope Francis (b.1936)

‘During painful times, when you feel a terrible void, think how God is enlarging the capacity of your soul so that it can receive Him — making it, as it were, infinite as He is infinite.’

– St Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906)

‘Grief is like a long, winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape.’

– C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

‘Your tears were collected by the angels and placed in a gold chalice, and you will find them when you present yourself before God.’ – St Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968)

‘Granted, our love may weep for a time, but our faith must ever rejoice. We should long for those who have been sent before us, but we should not lose hope of gaining them back.’

In many parts of the world, including South Africa, November is Remembrance Month, in which we are called to remember those who fell in wars. The tradition goes back to the end of the First World War, which ended on November 11, 1918. The symbol of Remembrance Day is the red poppy, inspired by John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields”, which refers to poppies growing among the graves of fallen soldiers. In South Africa, commemoration ceremonies are usually held on the nearest Sunday to November 11.

Seen here is a priest celebrating Mass during the 1914-18 war for wounded soldiers and staff at the Austrian Military Hospital in the Catholic Ratisbonne monastery in Jerusalem, then part of the Ottoman empire. The monastery, near Jaffa Gate in West Jerusalem, was built in 1874 on a barren hill. It is now owned by the Vatican and is run by the Salesians of Don Bosco as a study centre.

– St Paulinus of Nola (354-431AD)

‘Our Lord has gone into the forests of suffering and loneliness, but he has left his footprints there so we can find the way out. Take God’s hand and follow him in the dark, trusting and believing.’

– Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

‘When I am in heaven, you will have to fill my little hands with prayers and sacrifices to give me the pleasure of casting these as a shower of graces upon souls.’

– St Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-97)

A great Christmas gift!

The last laugh

A

PRIEST GOES INTO A RESTAURANT AND is greeted by the hostess: “Smoking or non-smoking?”“Non-smoking,” Father replies.

He is seated and the waiter comes over to his table to take his drink order. “I’ll have a coffee, please” the priest says. The waiter asks: “Americano, cappuccino, latte or mocca?”

“Cappuccino, please.”

The priest orders his food. The waiter asks what kind of dressing he’d like on his starter salad: “Italian, French, Thousand Island or vinaigrette?” “Italian, please.” “Regular or fatfree?” “Fat-free.”

For his main course, the priest orders the steak with vegetables. “How do you want your steak done: rare, medium-rare, medium, or

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well-done?” “Medium, please.” “And which sauce would you like: pepper, mushroom, monkey gland, bernaise?” “Pepper, please.”

“And how do you want your vegetables: steamed, baked, boiled, blanched or fried?”

“Boiled.” “what starch would you like: potato, rice or pasta?”“I’ll have the potatoes, please,” Father answers. “Chips, baked, mash or wedges?” “Mash, please.” “would you like tomato sauce, mustard or…”

Finally, the poor priest snaps. Looking up to heaven he implores his patron saint: “I can’t take all of these choices! St Francis, please help me with all these decisions!”

Just then, from above a voice booms: “Assisi, Xavier or De Sales?”

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