STRAIGHT TALK:How to Have a Dialogue

COOK WITH SAINTS:900-year-old Biscuits

70 YEARS SA HIERARCHY:When Our Church Grew Up

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Dear Reader,

THIS MONTH WE HAVE A FEW ITEMS ONprayer, working on the assumption that mostCatholics include the intention to pray moreand better among their New Year’s resolutions.

Indeed, for many of us, finding the time and energy topray is a perpetual challenge. For others, it is a questionof discipline, like going to gym. And for some, it’s afavourite past-time.

We have access to wonderful prayer texts — the OurFather, Hail Mary, litanies, written texts such as thosereproduced in our popular “Prayer Corner” feature (seepage 31), and so on. These are marvellous ways of con-necting with God, directly or through an advocate onour behalf. Written prayers can articulate for us whatwe want to say to God, and they guide us to properworship of God, Jesus and his Mother.

But God also hears our freestyling prayers, when wecan’t even articulate what we feel. I recall a formativeexperience in my faith life: I had just turned 19 and em-barked on my particular faith-journey. One day I wasdescending one of those endless escalators on the Lon-don Underground when I felt the urged to talk to God.I improvised, without even forming proper sentences,but to my surprise, I felt the awareness of his presence.By the time I reached my platform, I was a changed boy.I often pray spontaneously: while performing ablutions,or driving, or waiting at the dentist’s.

I still feel that I don’t pray enough, but sometimesprayers don’t need to be announced; indeed, we canpray without words and even without knowing it. Onthis, I have CS Lewis on my side: “Prayer without wordsis the best.” Of course, there is no right or wrong way ofpraying. God knows our heart and hears us in our words,our silence, and in our actions. Music can be a prayer.Our work can be a prayer. Even cooking can be a prayer.

And talking of cooking and prayer, this issue seesthe debut of a new feature which we are sure willbecome popular. Every month, Grazia Barletta

will combine her love of cooking, her skills in photog-raphy, and her faith by trying out recipes from ancient

Church documents. She begins bytempting us with an almost 900-year-old recipe for biscuits from a saint.

This issue also sees our first maga-zine cover profile. Fr LawrenceMduduzi Ndlovu is the sort of person who, it seems,has 48 hours in a day when we mere mortals have tomake do with half that. He serves the parish of Roode-poort in Johannesburg as its priest, and the SacredHeart sodality in his archdiocese as chaplain; heteaches theology at St Augustine College; he is a jour-nalist and published poet (and a fixture on the Johan-nesburg’s art scene); and he serves on many boards.

I had the privilege of travelling with Fr Lawrenceon pilgrimage to France in 2019. His profound faithfound expression in stirring homilies, and his de-meanour communicates the joy of the Lord. I also spot-ted a stricter side to this man with a big laugh and bigheart at an open Mass in the Miraculous Medal chapelin Paris, when he admonished congregants who failedto consume the host immediately upon reception.

Another great priest — and also one I have had theprivilege of having Mass with in the Miraculous Medalchapel — left us in November, just too late for inclu-sion in last month’s issue. On page 25, Fr Mark JamesOP pays tribute to the much-loved Fr Emil Blaser OP.To my mind, Fr Emil will be remembered as one ofSouth Africa’s great Catholics. I wrote a tribute on ourwebsite the evening of his death; you can read it atwww.scross.co.za/2020/11/farewell-to-fr-emil-blaser/

And in this issue we mark 70 years since Pope PiusXII announced the establishment of the SouthernAfrican hierarchy. That’s 70 years full of great history,with successes, failures and drama.

As ever, thank you for reading The Southern Cross.Please tell other Catholics about us!

Yours in Christ,

Günther Simmermacher(Editor)

WelcomePrayer and a couple of firsts

4 The Southern Cross

SA model gets out after lockdown

ContentsJANUARY 2021

24 Put Families FirstEconomic development has to begin with families, argues Imelda Diouf

22 The Perfect PrayerFr Ralph de Hahn reflects on the Lord’s Prayerand the promise of the coming kingdom

21 Unload the BitternessThe death of a friend moved Günther Simmer-macher to consider the poison of bitterness

25 Tribute to Radio Veritas FounderFr Mark James OP recalls the life, faith andwork of Fr Emil Blaser OP, who has died

14 7 Tips for Difficult ConversationsWhen a tough talk is needed, you have toknow these rules for a fruitful outcome

16 A Pope Tried to Exorcise HitlerA new book outlines how various popes havetreated exorcisms while in office

8 When SA Church Grew UpThis month 70 years ago, Pope Pius XII established Southern Africa’s Catholic hierarchy

31 PRAYER CORNERIllustrated prayers: To cut out and collect

32 PRAY WITH THE POPEFr Chris Chatteris SJ on the pope’s prayer intention

6 YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWEREDYou ask, and our team of experts replies

27 THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLICNthabiseng Maphisa on rivers to cross

26 LETTERS TO THE EDITORHave your say!

28 RAYMOND PERRIERreflects on Catholic ethics and politics

29 FR RON ROLHEISER OMIon why we should weep for Jerusalem

32 TWO PAGES of Puzzles & Quizzes

34 NEW: Cooking with the Saints

36 History in Colour, Church Chuckle

EVERY MONTH

13

Saint of the Month: Don Bosco 17

Profile of a poet-priest

10

The Mystery of the Divine Journey

23

With pull-outposter!

The Southern Cross 5

Smuts at Mgr Kolbe’s funeralThe great theologian, writer and Southern Crosscontributor Mgr Frederick Kolbe has been laid torest in Cape Town after his death at 81 on January12. General Jan Smuts attended the funeral (hecan be seen in the lead photo behind the coffin).

Missionary legend diesThe great missionary Fr Camille De Hovre OMI[who was remembered in our November issue]died unexpectedly at 56 on January 13 in Pretoria.The Belgian priest, also a contributor to TheSouthern Cross, founded several missions and alsocared for lepers.

Pope issues new encyclicalPope Pius XI has released a new encyclical on thepriesthood. Excerpts are published in the issue,and more will follow once the full text has beenreceived by airmail.

Editorial: Broadcast MassAfter the first Mass to be broadcast on radio inSouth Africa, from St Aidan’s in Grahamstown,editor Mgr John Colgan weighs the pros andcons of such innovation. On the one hand it ac-knowledges the presence of the Catholic Churchin South Africa and might lead to conversions, es-pecially through liturgical music. On the otherhand, Masses must be presented properly, whichis difficult when priests are forced to use one ofthe two official languages instead of Latin.

What else made news in January 1936:

• King George V of England dies on January 20, after 25 years on thethrone. He is succeeded (briefly) by his eldest son, Edward VIII.• As France considers carving up Ethiopia to give expansionist Italy parts ofthe country, rumour has it that Britain is thinking of restoring to Germanyits old colonies, including South-West Africa.• England records its first-ever win over the All Blacks in rugby union, thanksto two famous tries by 19-year-old Russian prince Alexander Obolensky. • Anti-Catholic imperialist author Rudyard Kipling, who used to holiday inCape Town as a guest of Cecil John Rhodes, dies at 70 on January 18.

Left: A catechist givesinstructions as anOblate priest preparesfor a Mass held at theback of his car in ruralSouth-West Africa.

Right: An advert for the film The Informer

which would go on towin four Oscars, includ-

ing one for formerJohannesburg resident

Victor McLaglen. Erin ga brach means

“Ireland forever”.

FROM OUR VAULTS85 Years Ago: 22 January 1936

6 The Southern Cross

Q. Recently a post was shared on Face-book that lists “5 Common MistakesMade By Catholics During Mass”.These include: genuflecting with theleft knee, making the sign of the crossrepeatedly during Mass (especiallyafter receiving Holy Communion), andasking the priest for a blessingstraight after Mass. Is that socialmedia post correct?

THAT POST DRAWS ON SEVERAL misunderstandings. Of course, the

liturgy has basic rubrics — or instruc-tions — which should be followed,otherwise all sorts of abuses can set in.We find these rubrics in the General In-struction to the Roman Missal.

l It seems clear that we genuflectto the Blessed Sacrament because thatis how our medieval ancestors showedobeisance to the king: by bending theleft knee. The liturgical gesture mirrorsan archaic secular one.

Bending the right knee to theground is reserved to signify our ado-ration of the Blessed Sacrament. There-fore we may not bend the right kneein genuflection for another purpose,for example to a king. But if we usethe left knee to genuflect to theBlessed Sacrament — perhaps becauseof an injury to the right knee — weshow no disrespect. We can be sure

that God knows our hearts and minds.l The congregation is mandated

to make the sign of the cross at twopoints in the Mass: during the intro-ductory greeting and again at the finalblessing. We also do so when theGospel is announced by making thesign of the cross on our foreheads,mouths and hearts. But congregantsmay cross themselves optionally atother points in the Mass — includingafter receiving Communion.

Some people believe, incorrectly,that they are supposed to bless them-

selves during the epiklesis over thegifts, during the elevation of the hostand chalice, and when the priest signshimself. It is a question of personalchoice whether or not one makes theoptional sign of the cross. But a wordof caution: these may be pious devo-tions but they can also too easily drawattention to the individual.

In any case, we shouldn’t worryabout how many times other congre-gants cross themselves, or which kneea person bends. Our focus should beon the liturgy.

l It is true that we are blessed bythe celebrant at the end of the Mass,so there is no need to seek anotherblessing after Mass, when the priestmight wish to greet parishioners. It isnot wrong to request a blessing for aparticular intention — but is it neces-sary? We should ask ourselves: can theLord not grant a safe journey, a goodexam or a happy birthday without thedirect and individual attention of thepriest?

Q. Why is the phrase “I believe inthe communion of saints” left outin the Nicene Creed?

THERE WERE OTHER EARLY CREEDSthat don’t mention the commun-

ion of saints, such as the 6th-centuryDer-balizeh papyrus from upperEgypt, the Symbol of St Ambrose(397), the Symbol of Rufinus, and theSymbol of Eusebius.

The ones that do mention thecommunion of saints come beforethe order of baptism. This refers tothe Creed of Nicea of 325, as theoriginal authoritative Symbol of theChurch.

The communion of saints refersnot only to the dead, but also to the

living and the dead. Canonisations,the official admission of a dead per-son into sainthood, came later inhistory. Before that, the Church hada strict veneration of the Christianmartyrs.

The veneration of the saints hasalways been based on the commun-ion of saints. Therefore, the factthat the Nicene Creed does not men-tion the communion of saints doesnot mean that they didn’t believe inthis communion, because they werealways in this communion(koinonia).

The Nicene Creed has a more de-tailed theology of the communionof saints, of Christology, of pneuma-tology, and of ecclesiology. As the

“Profession of Faith of Pope Paul VI”(1968) puts it: “We also believe thatin this communion the merciful loveof God and his saints is ever turninglistening ears to our prayers.”

(Fr Thabang Nkadimeng OMI)

Why does the NiceneCreed omit the saints?

Are we making thesemistakes at Mass?

The oldest extant manuscript of theNicene Creed, from the 6th century

YourQuestions answeredDo you have questions about our faith? Send them with your name and location to: editor@scross.co.za

Subject line: Q&A

The Southern Cross 7

Q. I’m troubled when I see peoplewearing the rosary around their necksor hang it from their cars’ rearviewmirrors. What is the Church sayingabout these practices?

YOU ARE RIGHT TO BE TROUBLEDwhen people wear the rosary as a

fashion accessory. That is neither thepurpose nor function of the rosary,and certainly not when it is profanedas a provocative statement, as singerMadonna used to do. In such cases,Church leaders voice their objection.

But many others, including priests,wear the rosary around their necks forreasons of their faith. These reasonsmay be different from one person toanother, but they all have in common

a need to keep Our Lady and herrosary close to them. The Church hasno objection to the rosary being wornaround necks for devotional reasons.

The Church has no opinion eitheron rosaries hanging from rearviewmirrors (road safety experts may voiceconcerns though). Again, the reasonswhy motorists have the rosary hang-ing from their mirrors are diverse.

For some, doing so has devotionalvalue, perhaps fostering prayer in po-tentially stressful traffic situations. Forothers it is a visible statement of theirlove for the Catholic faith. What mostmay have in common is their need tohave a constant reminder of OurLady’s presence in their lives. Asrosaries are blessed objects, their ap-

propriate use for sincere purposes isalways commendable.

There is a practical value, too. If amotorist is involved in a serious acci-dent, a rosary on the mirror may alertrescue personnel that the victim is aCatholic and therefore in possibleneed of appropriate pastoral care, in-cluding the sacrament of the last rites.

Photos

: Nan

cy W

iece

c (M

ass, pag

e 6); C

ommon

Licen

ce (C

reed

pag

e 6),; Gail F

owler (Sa

lt Mine); G

ünther Sim

mermac

her (Ros

ary)

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

www.fowlertours.co.za

Pilgrimages for 2021• May: Lourdes, Rome, Assisi,Loreto, Medjugorje, CroatiaLed by Fr Keith Gordon-Davis

• August: Holy Land & TurkeyLed by Archbishop

William Slattery OFM

• September: Camino Santiago De Compostela (Camino Primitivo Route)

Led by Fr Chris Townsend

• September: Holy Land & Rome Led by Fr Tom Segami OMI

• October: Sacred Heart Pilgrimage to Lourdes, Paris &

Paray-Le-Monial Led by Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu

Where did Holy Familyhide in Egyptian exile?Q. Joseph took Mary and babyJesus to Egypt when King Herod ordered the massacre of the Inno-cents. But how long did they stayin Egypt, and where did they hide?

THE ONLY GOSPEL TO MENTIONthe Flight into Egypt is Matthew’s,

and he provides little detail. Somescholars suggest that he told thatstory as an allegory to the story ofMoses, which the Jewish audience hewas aiming at would understand asfulfilling the prophecy of Hosea 1:11.

But for all the objections thescholars may care to raise, the Holy Family’s migration to Egypt isplausible. Perhaps they went asrefugees, as Matthew says, or forother reasons.

The Christians of Egypt, knownas Copts, have a presence in thecountry going back to the begin-ning of the Church. They have astrong tradition (embellished bysome extraordinary claims) of theitinerary of the Holy Family inEgypt, which the 4th-century CopticPope Theophilus claimed Mary dictated to him in a dream.

It would have been an arduousjourney — especially with a baby onboard — going most likely on theVia Maris trade route, via Gazathrough the coastal region of theSinai desert. They first travelled westinto the desert, to Wadi Natroun.

Many of the places where theyare believed to have hidden are inCairo and its outskirts. An impor-tant site in the Flight into Egypt isthe 4th-century Abu Serga churchin Old Cairo, where the Holy Familyis said to have stayed after arrivingin the city.

The odyssey ended after an unknown length of time at what is now the modern city of Asiut,400km south of Cairo, where a million Copts gather every Augustfor the “Festival of the Virgin”. This is where the angel appeared to Joseph with the words: “Get up,take the child and his mother, andgo to the land of Israel, for thosewho were seeking the child’s lifeare dead” (Mt 2:20).

(Günther Simmermacher)

• See also page 23

The Flight into Egypt is carved into awall in Poland’s Wieliczka salt mine.

Should rosaries hang offnecks and car mirrors?

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1951: When SA

THIS MONTH MARKS 70 YEARSsince Pope Pius XII estab-lished the ecclesiastical hier-archy of Southern Africa.

Practically, it led to a restructuring ofthe local Church, but even more im-portant was the psychological effect:Rome now regarded the Church inSouthern Africa as sufficiently matureto run its affairs under the guidanceof bishops in charge of their ap-pointed territories.Before that, thepope was thebishop of the wholeregion, with prefectsand vicars-apostolicin the various terri-tories serving as hisdelegates.

The establish-ment of the ecclesias-tical hierarchy alsorequired a restructur-ing of the SouthernAfrican Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference(SACBC), which wasfounded in 1947 andinitially covered SouthAfrica, Basutoland (nowLesotho) and Swaziland(now Eswatini).

Botswana joined in1959 when the apostolic prefecture ofBechuanaland was formed from partsof the dioceses of Kimberley, Bulawayoand Windhoek. Lesotho would formits own bishops’ conference in the1970s. South-West Africa became partof the SACBC but, as Namibia, left inthe 1990s. However, the SACBC’s mainfocus has always been on South Africa,which today covers 26 out of the con-ference’s 29 dioceses and vicariates.

The establishment of the hierar-chy was formally celebrated with allthe bishops and Cardinal Teodosio deGouveia from Mozambique in lateApril 1951 in Cape Town, an occasionthat coincided with the centenary cel-ebration of the consecration of StMary’s cathedral. The Southern Crosseven published daily during that week.

A big dealHaving its own hierarchy was a big

deal for the local Church and its bish-ops. Before 1951, there were no dioce-ses in the region, only prefectures andvicariates. Strictly speaking, a bishop

must have a see (diocese). If he doesnot, one will be allocated to him froma pool of defunct dioceses, known astitular sees, as is still the case today forauxiliary bishops, military bishops,

nuncios, curialprelates, and soon.

For example,after his appoint-ment to headthe vicariate ofNatal in 1946,Denis Hurleywas not the“bishop of Dur-ban” (that wasthe pope) butthe bishop ofTuruzi, a titularsee in Tunisiawhose exactlocation no-body knows.

With theestablishmentof the hierar-chy, the ac-

tive ordinaries in the regionbecame the actual bishops of the terri-tory they were administering.

With the new hierarchy came fournew archdioceses: Bloemfontein, CapeTown, Durban and Pretoria (Johannes-burg was elevated to that status only in2007). Their respective archbishops were:

• Hermann Meysing OMI, 64,vicar-apostolic of Kimberley since1929. Retired in 1954.

• Owen McCann, 43, vicar-apos-tolic of Cape Town since 1950. Retiredin 1984. Became South Africa’s firstcardinal in 1965.

• Denis Hurley OMI, 35, vicar-apostolic of Natal since 1946. Retiredin 1992.

• John Garner, 43, vicar-apostolicof Pretoria since 1948. Retired in 1975.

All the founding bishops of theSACBC were white, and only five wereborn in South Africa. The conference’sfirst black bishop was Pius Bonaven-tura Dlamini FFJ, appointed firstbishop of Umzimkulu in 1954. Thefirst black archbishop was PeterFanyana Butelezi OMI, appointed

archbishop of Bloemfontein in 1978(see also our December issue).

The number of locally-born bish-ops increased over time, but even inthe 1950s, they were taking the lead. In1954, a Catholic delegation comprisingArchbishops McCann and Hurley aswell as Archbishop William PatrickWhelan of Bloemfontein and FrHoward St George OMI of Durban metwith Prime Minister Hendrik Verwo-erd. At one point, the architect ofapartheid told the Catholics that hewouldn’t be instructed on policy byforeigners. At this, Hurley respondedthat only one person in the meetinghad not been born in South Africa, andpointed at the Dutch-born Verwoerd.

Slow to tackle apartheidLike other churches, the SACBC

was slow in opposing apartheid. Infact, the most voluble episcopal oppo-nent of apartheid and systemic racism,Cape Town’s Bishop Francis Henne-mann SAC, died just as the establish-ment of the Southern African

1951: When SA 70 years ago Pope Pius XII established the Southern African

hierarchy. It was the moment the local Church grew up.Günther Simmermacher looks back.

Above: The original hierarchs, picturedin The Southern Cross of January 24,1951. Inset: Frontpage of that issue.

8 The Southern Cross

Church grew up Church grew up

hierarchy was announced. His anti-racism baton was taken over most vis-ibly by Archbishop Hurley, who wouldpush to have the bishops declareapartheid as “intrinsically evil” in1957 — in opposition to the views ofthe nuncio at the time, who preferreda strategy of diplomatic engagementwith the Verwoerd regime.

The SACBC fought the apartheidregime on many fronts. In the 1950s,the local Church protected its missionschools from being taken over by thegovernment and its Bantu Educationpolicy by embarking on a massivefundraising drive to ensure their inde-pendence. In the 1970s, the bishopseventually followed suit when reli-gious Sisters opened Catholic schoolsto all races.

But the bishops were not united inhow to express their opposition toapartheid. Two archbishops of thesame order fought recurring battlesover that: Archbishop Hurley advo-cated a culture of protest, while his fel-low Oblate Whelan of Bloemfonteintook a more conciliatory line beforehis sudden death in 1966. Over thedecades, the SACBC became increas-ingly active in its opposition toapartheid.

Headquarters bombedDuring the repeated detention of

its secretary-general, Fr SmangalisoMkhatshwa, in the 1980s, the SACBCstood by the priest. In 1986, theSACBC even established an alternative

weekly newspaper, New Nation, toserve as a tool of communication inthe struggle. The apartheid regimerecognised in the SACBC an enemy, asit showed when it bombed its head-quarters, Khanya House, in 1988.

That was a long way from 1951,when the newly-built St John Vianney

Seminary in Pretoria was opened forwhite students only. Black studentswere sent to St Peter’s Seminary inHammanskraal, or to Rome. St JohnVianney Seminary started to desegre-gate in 1972 and became fully “mul-tiracial” only in early 1976.

Since the advent of democracy in1994, the SACBC’s focus in the publicsphere has been on social issues, jus-tice and reconciliation, with politicalengagement delegated mostly to theCatholic Parliamentary Liaison Office,which was established in 1997.

The conference’s greatest post-apartheid achievement may be thework of the SACBC Aids Office, whichrolled out antiretroviral clinics at atime when the government was stillresisting doing so.

More recently, the SACBC madeheadlines by successively appointingwomen to serve as its secretary-gen-eral, with Sr Tshifhiwa Munzhedzi OPsucceeding Sr Hermenegild MakoroCPS at the beginning of the new year.

Where in 1951 all bishops werewhite and only five locally-born, 70years later, 16 of the currently-serving27 bishops are of colour, and 21 are lo-cally-born.

The SACBC bishops, staff and advisers on the silver jubilee of the hierarchy in 1976.Cardinal McCann is sitting fifth from left in the front; Archbishop Hurley fourth fromright; Bishop Butelezi far right. Fr Smangaliso Mkhatshwa is standing at left in thesecond row from the back. Go to www.scross.co.za/2020/12/sa-bishops-in-1976/ foridentification of all the 40 men and two women pictured. (Colourised for The Southern Cross)

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The Southern Cross 9

10 The Southern Cross

THE PRIEST’S EYES LIGHT UP AShe says: “I am at home in thearts.” He should be. Havinggrown up in a home that em-

braced the arts through music, itcomes as no great surprise that FrLawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu has takento the creative world through music,visual art and poetry.

The Johannesburg priest recentlylaunched his second anthology of po-etry, titled MAYIBUYE: 25 Years ofDemocracy in South Africa. His first po-etry anthology, titled In Quiet Realm,was published in 2018. His debut col-lection focused on issues such as envy,joy, despair and respect. His new bodyof work — the title of which in Englishmeans “Let Africa Return” — shines alight on the first 25 years of SouthAfrica’s democracy, and the time pre-ceding it. The poet illuminates the“miracle” transition leading up to1994, and follows the ensuing years tothe present through incisive, acute andat times razor-sharp words.

It is precisely the years leading upto South Africa’s transition that shapedthe young Sowetan. “I was born in the1980s. It was a fascinating time in ourcountry. The State of Emergency was atits toughest. Nevertheless, consideringthe fact that I was born during theheyday of apartheid, I had a happychildhood — inspite of the civilunrest and theviolence,” the36-year-old re-calls.

Diepkloof,his corner ofSoweto, was theperfect grounding for his developmentin the Church. “My grandparents werefounding members of our familyparish, St Margaret’s in Diepkloof. Ilater celebrated my first Mass as apriest there.” He attended Holy CrossPrimary and Secondary schools, alsoin Diepkloof. His father and grand-mother were teachers at Holy Cross

Primary. “The friends I was at schoolwith were the same friends I attendedchurch with, and hung out with inour neighbourhood”, Fr Ndlovu re-calls. That way, the Catholic faith wasalways at the centre. The priest says heowes his faith to his grandmother.“She was my first catechist.”

But the priesthood was not quiteon the cards yet. After high school, hebegan his journey with the writtenword. While studying for a diploma injournalism, he was offered a job asmarketing coordinator at Carpe DiemMedia. It was while working for the

company’s flag-ship title, Soulmagazine, thathe became in-volved withRadio Veritas.

At the sametime, he wasalso involved in

his home parish in various capacities.His work allowed him to contribute tothe work of the youth office of thearchdiocese of Johannesburg, and ul-timately with the youth secretariat ofthe Southern African Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference (SACBC).

In 2006, he became a facilitatorwith the SACBC’s Education for Life

Fr Lawrence Mduduzi Ndlovu is a young priest who livesout his love of the faith, the arts, music and leadershipto the fullest. DaLUXOLO mOLOantOa spoke to him.

Profile of a poet-priest

INTERVIEW

‘My friends at school were the same friends

I attended church and hung out with’

Left: Lawrencewith his parentson his first birth-day, and (above)graduating fromcreche.

Left: As a teenager with cousins andsiblings, and (below) as a seminarianwith his beloved grandmother.

youth programme. “I travelled alot with the programme. We ranworkshops countrywide, andeven in Swaziland, which is partof the SACBC,” he says.

It was for his youth workthat Fr Ndlovu would gain aplace among the Mail &Guardian newspaper’s annuallist of “200 Young SouthAfricans” in 2016. The follow-ing year he was a recipient ofthe Youth Trailblazer Awardfrom the Gauteng provincialgovernment.

Call to priesthoodIt was during the early period of

this youth work that the signalspointed to a vocation to the priest-hood. In 2008 he entered the orienta-tion programme at St Kizito Seminaryin Oakford, Pietermaritzburg. The fol-lowing year he started his studies forthe priesthood at St John VianneySeminary in Waterkloof, Pretoria. Hecompleted his studies there in 2012.

Then it was London calling.Arrangements had been made for himto continue his studies at Heythrop

College, a part of the University ofLondon. “London is an interestingcity. It is very cosmopolitan and alive.It is very cultural but economics-minded. It is also very old but ad-vanced. I fell in love with its beauty,order and, dare I say, its pageantry,” FrNdlovu recalls.

“My stay in London has influ-enced my liturgy. I vividly rememberthe glorious choir-singing and organ-playing at both Westminster cathedraland St Thomas parish in Chelsea,” heexplains. It was also in London that hiscalling to the arts was entrenched.“London was buzzing with culture. Icould, over a weekend, go to a musicconcert, an art gallery, the opera, thetheatre, and so much more.”

By the time the young seminarianarrived in England, the former SouthAfrican high commissioner to theUnited Kingdom, poet LindiweMabuza, had left the city. They wenton to form a friendship after meetingin Johannesburg. Mabuza contributedthe foreword and a number of poemsto Fr Ndlovu’s first poetry anthology,In Quite Realm.

“I always wrote poetry, but Ididn’t care to get it published. MsMabuza inspired me to get my

work published,” he says. “I firstmet her at my mentor Gib-son Thula’s home inHoughton in Johannes-burg. We realised that we

were so much alike. Besideshaving spent some time inthe United Kingdom, weboth write poetry. Weboth love the visual arts,and, lo and behold, weeven share a birthday.”

In his latest book, FrNdlovu pays tribute to aclose confidant ofMabuza’s, the late AfricanNational Congress presi-

dent Oliver Tambo. “Our lib-eration is sacred. We who

enjoy it today, do so at agreat cost borne by oth-

ers. Oliver Tambo gave all ofhis life for this freedom,” FrNdlovu explains. “I rememberhis daughter, Thembi Tambo,speaking at an event, and say-ing that her father had ourfreedom as the uppermost inhis priorities at all times dur-ing their time in exile.”

That passion for Africafinds expression in a poem in

MAYIBUYE which borrowsfrom the structure of theCreed. It opens with theseverses:

I believe in one AfricaA united state of being Honed by the very dust

From its northernmost peak To the south most deep I believe in one land

Giving and inexhaustible I believe in one people I believe in one Africa

All the ages belong to herAlways has been

Always is her timeApart from Mabuza, Fr Ndlovu had

a global star contribute a foreword forIn Quiet Realm: the opera sopranoJessye Norman, who passed away notlong after, in 2019. For MAYIBUYE, for-mer president Kgalema Motlanthewrote the foreword.

Joy of priesthoodFr Ndlovu says that he has thor-

oughly enjoyed the first five years ofhis priesthood. “I have been very for-tunate to have been in a position tomaximise my ministry through mywriting, teaching, public speaking, andthrough other ways.”

He is currently the priest of OurLady of Peace parish in Roodepoort,Johannesburg, and serves as the spiri-tual director of the Sacred Heart Sodal-ity in the archdiocese ofJohannesburg. He also teaches theol-ogy at St Augustine College, SouthAfrica’s Catholic university. On Fridayafternoons, he presents a programmeon the arts on Radio Veritas.

In October 2019, Fr Ndlovu ledThe Southern Cross’ “Catholic France”pilgrimage. As a chaplain of the SacredHeart Sodality, the visit to Paray-le-Monial and the tomb of St MargaretMary Alacoque was special. But a lessexpected grace was the leg that tookthe group to Aix-en-Provence and Mar-seilles, the places of St Eugène deMazenod, founder of the Oblates ofMary Immaculate. “My home parish isrun by the Oblates, so they had a greatinfluence on me,” he notes, addingthat if the Holy Spirit hadn’t guided

The Southern Cross 11

12 The Southern Cross

him to the diocesan priesthood, hemight have become an Oblate. TheMasses at St Eugène’s tomb in Mar-seilles and in the very room where thesaint founded the Oblates in Aix-en-Provence are unforgettable.

A man of many talents, Fr Ndlovuis also blessed with an exquisitesinging voice. When he arrived at thefuneral of Bishop Emeritus ZithulelePatrick Mvemve of Klerksdorp in July,he noticed that there was no singer.With 20 minutes to go, he offered hisservices — despite having just recov-ered from Covid-19, which affected hisvoice and breathing. Nobody in thecongregation noticed these limita-tions.

Fr Ndlovu has been singing all hislife, starting in primary school. Hisfamily loved singing, and he was amember of the parish choir which helater conducted. At St John VianneySeminary he served as the house musicconductor.

As a writer, Fr Ndlovu has con-tributed to several publications,Catholic and secular. The SouthernCross was among the first to publishhis writings (he also wrote the presti-gious Christmas guest editorial in2018). Since then he has written foronline platforms such asSpotlight.Africa, The Daily Maverick,The Thinker, TheSouth African, News24, Huffington Post,and others.

Fr Ndlovu alsoserves on the boardsof several organisa-tions. He is the chair-man of St AugustineCollege’s Foundation Trust and direc-tor of St Augustine’s Centre for EthicalBusiness Leadership. He also chairs theIthemba Recovery Foundation NPC.His latest appointment is to the boardof Play Africa, a Gauteng-based non-profit which is aimed at programmingfor play, creativity and social connec-tions for young children. The appoint-ment is one of a number of others heholds with a socially-orientated focus.

“I am wary of people who have nocause to champion or defend. I see myactivism as my Christian duty. If we re-ally take to heart what the saints andthe martyrs of our faith stood for, wehave no choice but to follow their pro-motion of the common good,” he ex-plains. “I am fortunate that I have

platforms that I can use to make mycontribution.”

It is this commitment to his coun-try and his fellow citizens which keepsFr Ndlovu motivated to play his part inthe improvement of our society. “Ilove my country, even with all itsthorny issues. It’s the people, the land-scape, the smells, the languages, thehumour, and so much more that makeme proudly South African,” he says.

In MAYIBUYE, Fr Ndlovu ends thepreface with these apt observations:“We as South Africans stand at thedoor of choice. The choice is to con-tinue with the known of the past 25years or risking the unknown. Theunknown is the opportunity to dothings right, and moving on to the

next phase of our lib-erty with gusto and anew freshness andfaith. It is a vision thatdrives all levels of oursociety.

“It is a call to everyone of us to play ourpart in improving our

country and people. For our teachersto teach. Our health workers to heal.Our police to protect, and our studentsto learn. It’s a different way, and onethat we all know.”

Fr Ndlovu is determined to playhis part in meeting this call.

n MAYIBUYE is published by African Per-spectives Publishing. Orders can be madethrough Rose Francis at francis@africanperspectives.co.za

Pray in Medjugorje andvisit Rome, withpapal audience,

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21 MEDJUGORJE

ROME • ASSISI • LORETO

Fr Ndlovu celebrates Mass at the tomb of St Eugène deMazenod, founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, in Marseilles during The Southern Cross’ “CatholicFrance” pilgrimage in October 2019. Fr Bonga MajolaOMI (back), who guided the group, concelebrated.

‘We have to follow the saints and themartyrs of our faith in the

promotion of the common good.’

THINGS WERE GOING GREATfor model Victoria Giuricich —then Covid-19 and lockdowncame. But the 22-year-old used

the time behind closed doors produc-tively, and had a good 2020 anyway.Now she has much to look forward towhen the world opens again.

The young JohannesburgCatholic, who was born with trisomy21 (also known as Down syndrome), isan aspiring model and rhythmic gym-nast who has achieved some extraor-dinary titles. She has worked withSouth African and international cre-atives who are embracing diversityand inclusivity in the fashion andmodelling industries. They havepoured their time, professionalism,hearts and souls into turning Victo-ria’s dreams into reality.

In September 2019, Victoria jettedoff to Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.She had received a prestigious invita-tion from M Missoni — a high-endfashion house based in Varese whichis known for its colourful knitwear de-signs — to be one of their promotionalmodels at the Milan Fashion Week.

After that, Victoria entered theRagazza Cinema Ok Cinecitta World

Pageant in Rome — and wasawarded the Miss CinecittaWorld 2019 special award.

The new decade began withgreat promise. On February 27,2020, Victoria won the diver-sity category at the Top ModelSouth Africa competition. Shehad prepared diligently, put-ting in many long and latehours rehearsing for the opu-lent finale.

But as Victoria was stillfloating on the wings of herwin, Covid-19 hit and SouthAfrica went into hard lock-down.

Extra-hard lockdownHaving Down syndrome

and being a higher-risk individ-ual, due to her weaker immunesystem, lockdown was a lottougher and lonelier for Victoria. Shewas not able to leave home at all, forher own safe-keeping. But Victoria’sdedication to her career and dreamscannot be locked away.

During lockdown, Victoria contin-ued her twice-weekly rhythmic gym-nastics sessions with coach AlexiaBazzo of Jozi Rhythmic, via online

coaching. She also trainedand worked on her level 4rhythmic dancing routinesand element drills in anyspare time, and restudiedher six-month “Introduc-tion to Modelling” coursematerial from the ModelAcademy. Her manager andfellow Catholic, LaurenWiniecki, has been in touchwith her every day.

Victoria’s dreams aresustained by her Catholicfaith. In January 2019, Vic-toria — who matriculatedat Brescia House School inBryanston — attendedWorld Youth Day inPanama City, having tire-lessly fundraised to financethat pilgrimage, on whichshe was accompanied byher brother, Andrea.

During lockdown, Vic-toria and her family

watched livestreamed Mass, includingMasses celebrated by Pope Francis. Assoon as they were able to, the devoutGiuricich family resumed attendingMass at Our Lady of Lourdes church inRivonia. Victoria says that returningto church was one of her highlights in2020.

As soon as lockdown eased, shehad a photoshoot with internationalaward-winning portrait and beautyphotographer SJ van Zyl; followed byanother location shoot in Cape Town,where the photographer lives, show-casing garments from South Africanhigh-end designer Jacques LaGrange.

Victoria was a goodwill ambassa-dor for the fundraising event CasualDay in December. She has featured inSimply Unique Magazine UK’s 8th issue,as well as in their most recent editionfor International Down syndromeAwareness.

To top it all, Victoria was ap-proached to model for the Walt Dis-ney Company Africa for its Christmas2020 clothing range.

Victoria tries to be a good exampleof someone who is working diligentlyand passionately towards achievingher goals and dreams — in this casethe fashion and modelling industry —while wholeheartedly embracing herdiversity. Her motto is: “You areenough! You have what it takes! Neverstop smiling and shining!”

For 22-year-old Victoria Giuricich, lockdown closed doors — now the Jo’burg

model is ready to go for her dreams

The Southern Cross 13

Victoria Giuricich is making waves in South Africaand internationally as a diversity model.

Photos: SJ van Zyl, September 2020

After lockdown, model comes out

14 The Southern Cross

FROM THE TIME I WAS YOUNG,I was taught that there aretwo subjects that shouldnever be discussed in polite

company: religion and politics. Thelast thing my parents wanted was tospoil a nice evening around friendsor relatives with a heated debateover contentious issues. As kids, mysister and I learned to limit our top-ics of conversation to what we werelearning in school and themovies we had recently seen.

What was a successfulstrategy for managing dinnerparties, though, may not bean ideal goal in other con-texts. Simply avoiding a difficulttopic doesn’t make it go away. Buttalking about controversial subjectsin the usual “I’m-right-and-you’re-stupid manner”, which we see everytime we turn on the TV or open thenewspaper, doesn’t either. The un-rest over racial justice and the divi-sive, mean-spirited rhetoric thatcharacterises our political discoursetoday make it painfully clear that wehave a long way to go in “loving ourneighbours” if we can’t even talkwith them.

But it doesn’t have to be thatway. Like anything else that’s chal-lenging, talking with people who aredifferent from us — in terms of race,

religion, socio-economic status, po-litical views — requires the carefuluse of specific skills to be successful.The bestselling book Crucial Conver-sations (2011) outlines several ofthese important skills.

At work, I was part of a group ofmanagers who were trained in theseskills in a corporate setting to help ushave the tough conversations weneeded to have with employees

whom we supervise. Through thatexperience, I began to realise that myparents’ approach to talking withguests is not the way to understandand connect with someone who isimportant to me but whose views arevery different from my own.

1. Know when it’s crucialA “crucial conversation” in-

volves three key elements: differingopinions, strong emotions, and highstakes. Certainly, conversations in-volving differing views on race andpolitics can be considered “crucial”.Others include things like ending arelationship or addressing someone

who has hurt us. The authors of Cru-cial Conversations argue that when-ever we find ourselves “stuck”, thereis a crucial conversation that we areeither doing poorly or avoiding alto-gether.

2. Be clear on motiveTo be successful, both parties

need to share the same goal. If mygoal in talking with you is to “win a

debate” or to “prove that I’mright”, then I’m not ready tohave a crucial conversation.

If, on the other hand, Itruly want to understandyour point of view and wantyou to understand mine and

if we both want to find a solutionthat works for each of us, then weare ready.

3. Start with observable facts

The best way to open the con-versation is with indisputable facts.If I tell my boss, “I think you areprejudiced against the black femalesin our department”, I have begunwith a negative opinion that will puthim or her immediately on the de-fensive. Instead, if I start with, “I seethat the last five people promoted inour department were all white andfour of them were male”, then there

To be successful, both partiesneed to share the same goal

7 Steps for havingtough conversations

mary ann SteUtermann offers advice on how to navigate challenging conversations.

7 Steps for havingtough conversations

is nothing to dispute. Start-ing with verifiable facts getsthe conversation going inthe right direction.

4. Tell your storyThe authors argue that

every issue has two compo-nents: the facts and “thestory we tell ourselves aboutthe facts”. Therefore, Ishould follow my fact-shar-ing with: “The story I tellmyself about those promotions isthat black females in our depart-ment don’t have the same shot atadvancement as white males do. Isthat how you interpret the situationor is there another way to look atit?”

This allows me to put forwardmy viewpoint, but in a way thatleaves the door open to other inter-pretations. It’s important to ask forthe other person’s “story” too, notjust advance our own.

5. Beware of “silence”and “violence”

The key to a productive conver-sation is for each person to feel“safe” throughout, meaning thateach person feels respected, andboth parties share a common goal.When people start to feel unsafe,they either become “silent” by hold-ing back or “violent” by resorting toinsults or accusations. If I see any of

these signs, I must pull back fromthe conversation to get it back to aplace of safety for both of us.

6. Mutual respectIf I have created an unsafe envi-

ronment by being disrespectful,then the only way to fix it is to sin-cerely apologise with somethinglike, “I’m sorry. I should not havesaid that you are biased. Really, youare a very fair boss which is evidentby the way you manage the holidayschedule and public holiday hours.”When we are wrong, we need to ownit.

But sometimes we haven’t doneanything wrong; we’ve just beenmisinterpreted. In these instances,the skill to use is “contrasting”,where we make it clear what we arenot trying to say. If my boss thinks Ihave judged him as a poor leader, hewill feel unsafe and not want to con-tinue the conversation.

But I can avoid this by saying, “I

don’t mean to suggest thatyou are not a great manager.Our department has been atleast twice as productive sinceyou have been in the role,and I am happy to come towork each day. I just thinkthat we may need to look athow promotions are decidedwith an eye towards race andgender.”

7. Mutual purposeAnother way that people begin

to feel unsafe in a crucial conversa-tion is when it starts to appear thatwe no longer share the same pur-pose. Continually affirming thecommon goal can help avoid thefear of hidden agendas. When wetake a step back to remember wherewe do agree, it’s easier to address theareas where we don’t.

My parents probably had theright idea in teaching me not toraise difficult topics at parties withtheir friends. But what works at thedinner table with guests does notwork to help us heal some of thebrokenness among us. True, havingcrucial conversations with those wecare about can be very challenging.But by using these skills, we can“love our neighbour” in positive,practical ways that unite rather thandivide.

• This article was first published onBustedHalo.com on November 4, 2020.

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IT IS A TENET OF THE CATHOLICfaith that demons are real, and assaid in the St Michael prayer, thatthey “prowl about the earth seek-

ing the ruin of souls”. As a lifelongCatholic, Italian journalist FabioMarchese Ragona has always believedthis. But he did not know he would oneday write a book about it — until hewitnessed an exorcism with his “owneyes”, and a priest asked him to writeabout what he saw and learned.

“Many people think the devil is aninvention of marketing,” said Ragona.He wanted to tell the stories of realpossessions and exorcisms, not only tounderline the reality and existence ofSatan but also to show that “even ourneighbour” can have problems withthe demonic.

In My Name is Satan: Stories of Exor-cisms from the Vatican to Medjugorje,Ragona talks to exorcists to answerquestions about the phenomenon andthe Church’s response, and he tells thestories of ordinary people — plus casesthat went all the way to the Vatican.“Even the popes have performed someexorcisms, and some cardinals too,”Ragona said.

One story Ragona recounts in hisbook is Pope Pius XII’s attempts at exor-cising Adolf Hitler. “The concern of thepope, according to witnesses, was alsothat of averting the protracted massacreagainst the Jews,” Ragona wrote. “And,perhaps driven by desperation, he alsoattempted the extreme card of the ritualof liberation from the devil against theFührer. An attempt that, however, didnot have the desired effect.”

The fact that Pius XII had at-tempted to exorcise Hitler was first re-ported in 2006, when Vaticandocuments were released showing PiusXII had attempted a “long distance” ex-orcism of Hitler from his private chapel.

Fr Gabriele Amorth, who died in2016 and was an exorcist in the Vaticanfor over 20 years, explained in a 2006interview that a requirement for an ex-orcism is that it be carried out in thephysical presence of the possessed per-son and with their consent, so “it’s veryrare that praying and attempting tocarry out an exorcism from a distanceworks. Therefore, trying to carry out anexorcism on someone who is not pres-ent, or consenting and willing wouldprove very difficult,” he said.

But that was not the only exorcism

Pius XII attempted to carry out from theVatican. Ragona said he uncovered doc-uments showing that Pius XII had alsoattempted an exorcism of sorts on theItalian Communist Party on the eve ofthe 1958 election, to prevent its victory.In a 1969 report, Pius XII’s nephewwrote that his uncle had been very anx-ious and had difficulty sleeping in thedays leading up to the election. “In thethree preceding days he also performedexorcisms,” Carlo Pacelli stated. TheCommunist Party lost the election tothe Christian Democratic Party.

Exorcism in guardhouseThough there are personal accounts

that the prayers of Pope Benedict XVImight have helped liberate some peoplefrom possession, there is no evidencethat he, as pope or before, ever carriedout the Rite of Exorcism, Ragona said.However, during Benedict’s pontificate,an elderly Indian cardinal did performan exorcism in the guardhouse of theSwiss Guards, the book recounts.

A young Italian woman and herfriends had attended a Mass offered byPope Benedict in St Peter’s Square, “andthe devil immediately revealed him-self”. As her friends together with someyoung guards looked for help for thewoman, Cardinal Ivan Dias ap-proached. He asked, in a severe tone, fora place to “pray for a soul”, and was of-fered the guardhouse, just outside thecolumns of the square. According to aneyewitness, after an intense 20 minutesof prayers, the young woman appearedto have been freed, and left.

There is testimony that St John PaulII performed at least three exorcismswhile pope: in 1982, 1984, and 2000.The book shares details of these mo-ments as witnessed by the pope’s long-time photographer, Arturo Mari, and astestified to by Fr Amorth.

According to reports, those of 1982and 1984 were effective in permanentlyliberating the young women. But a

third, which took place outside StPeter’s Square after one of John Paul II’sgeneral audiences in 2000, had somegood effect but did not succeed in liber-ating the girl, according to Fr Amorth.

Devil hates John Paul II“John Paul II, in addition to practis-

ing exorcisms, represented with hisprayer a great disturbance for the ‘fatherof lies’,” Ragona wrote in his book. “Thedevil, in practice, has always hated himand continues to hate him, first as pope,now as a saint.”

Pope Francis has never performedthe Rite of Exorcism while pope, but hehas prayed for the liberation of a pos-sessed Mexican man, identified only asAngel V., who had asked for his prayers.

Pope Francis’ first encounter withAngel was in May 2013. After celebrat-ing a Mass in St Peter’s Square, the popewent to greet the sick, including Angel.The man was accompanied by a priestwho explained to Francis that Angelwas possessed by demons and had cometo Rome for an exorcism. Pope Francisput his hand upon the man and prayedfor him. The man underwent several ex-orcisms in Rome but none liberated himfrom the demons possessing him.

In 2015, Angel wrote to Pope Fran-cis, recounting his story and asking forhis prayers. Angel asked the Holy Fatherto let him know the time and day hewould pray for him, so that he couldundergo another exorcism in Mexicowith the additional power of the pon-tiff’s prayers. Pope Francis offered hismorning Mass in the Santa Marta guest-house for Angel on April 27, 2015, andagain on May 13, 2015.

According to Angel’s spiritual direc-tor, he is not yet free of the four demonspossessing him.—CNA

Exorcisms in the Vatican

PoPEs vs tHE dEvilBy Hannah Brockhouse

Pope Pius XIItried to

remote-exorcise

AdolfHitler.

Clockwise from top left: Popes Pius XII,John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis

16 The Southern Cross

The Southern Cross 17

THE FEAST OF ST JOHN BOSCO(popularly known as “DonBosco”) is celebrated on Janu-ary 31, honouring the 19th-

century Italian priest who reached outto young people to remedy their lack ofeducation, opportunities, and faith —and founded the Salesians congregationto accomplish this aim.

John Bosco was born on August 16,1815, into a family of peasant farmersin Castelnuovo d’Asti, about 20km eastof Turin in Italy. The village would laterbe renamed in the saint’s honour asCastelnuovo Don Bosco.

John was only two years old whenhe lost his father, Francesco, to pneu-monia, but he drew strength from hismother Margherita’s deep faith in God.

Margherita also taught her sons —John (or Giovanni) and his older broth-ers Antonio and Giuseppe — the im-portance of charity, using portions ofher own modest means to supportthose in even greater need. John de-sired to pass on to his own youngfriends the example of Christian disci-pleship which he learned from hismother.

She died in 1856 at 68, also frompneumonia. Margherita was declaredvenerable in 2006 and has an advanc-ing cause towards beatification.

At age nine, John had aprophetic dream in which un-ruly young boys were blasphem-ing. A nobly-attired man said tohim: “You will have to win thesefriends of yours not with blows,but with gentleness and kind-ness. So begin now to showthem that sin is ugly and virtuebeautiful.”

As a boy, and even later as apriest, he would entertain hispeers with juggling, acrobaticsand magic tricks, before explain-ing a sermon or leading them inpraying the rosary.

Older brother Antonio op-posed his plan to be a priest —“John is a farmer like us,” he would say— and antagonised John so much thatthe younger of them left home to be-come a farmhand at the age of 12. Aftermoving back home two years later,John worked in various trades.

Life-changing mentorIn 1830 he met St Giuseppe

Cafasso, a young priest and social re-former who spotted some natural talentin John and supported his first school-ing, which would enable John to enterthe seminary.

On June 5, 1841, John Bosco wasordained a priest. In the industrial city

of Turin, he began ministering to boysand young men who lived on thestreets, many of whom were withoutwork or education. The industrial revo-lution had drawn large numbers of peo-ple into the city to look for work whichwas frequently grueling and sometimesscarce. Don Bosco (“Don” is the Italianaddress for priests) was shocked to seehow many boys ended up in prison be-fore the age of 18, left to starve spiritu-ally and sometimes even physically.

The young priest was determinedto save as many young people as hecould from a life of degradation. He es-tablished a group known as the Oratory

Continued on page 20

Saint of the Month: St John Bosco

St John Bosco at a glanceName at birth: Giovanni Melchiorre BoscoBorn: August 16, 1815, inCastelnuovo d’Asti, Pied-mont, Kingdom of SardiniaDied: January 31, 1888 (aged72), in Turin, ItalyBeatified: 1929 Canonised: 1934Feast: January 31Attributes: Social reformer; youth mentor,writer and publisherPatronages: Young people, schoolchildren, apprentices, juvenile delinquents, editors,publishers, magicians

Alter servers at a bicentennial Mass for StJohn Bosco at the Bosco Youth Centre inWalkerville, near Johannesburg, in 2015.

Photo: Mark KisoglooAbove: A colourised photo of St John Bosco and(inset) his mentor, St Giuseppe Cafasso.

Right: St John’s mother Margherita.

The champion of the youth

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1815Born on august 18 at castelnuovod’asti in Piedmont, Kingdom ofSardinia, the third son ofFrancesco and margherita Bosco.

1817Francesco Bosco dies at 33 ofpneumonia.

1825John has his first revelatory dreamabout converting the youth on au-gust 14. a year later he receiveshis First communion.

1827Due to quarrels with older brotherantonio, 12-year-old John leaveshome to work as a farmhand.

1829returns home; meets Fr Giuseppecafasso, who mentors him.

1841having entered the seminary in1835, John is ordained to thepriesthood on June 5. he beginshis youth ministry soon after.

1845Sets up his first oratory, settling ita year later in the Pinardi Shed inthe turin suburb of Valdocco.

1853Begins publishing and also opensa shoemakers’ workshop in theoratory for the training of youths.a carpentry shop follows in 1856,a printing press in 1861, and ablacksmiths’ shop in 1862.

1856mama margherita, as Don Bosco’smother is popularly known, dieson november 25, 1856, aged 68.

1858Don Bosco forms a religious soci-ety whose members dedicatethemselves to working for youngpeople. “We shall call ourselvesSalesians,” he says and presentshis plan to Pope Pius iX. the Sale-sian Society is established as a pri-vate religious association, with layand clerical members, in 1859.the same pope formally approvesit in 1869.

1870/71Founds two colleges and a techni-cal school.

1872Don Bosco and St maria Domenicamazzarello set up the institute ofthe Daughters of mary help ofchristians, a female associationfor the education of girls, com-monly known as the Salesian Sisters.

1875the Salesian congregationspreads to other parts of europeand then South america.

1888Don Bosco dies on tuesday, Janu-ary 31, at 4:45, at the age of 72.

1897the first Salesians arrive in Southafrica.

1934Pope Pius Xi canonises St JohnBosco on april 1, almost five yearsafter beatifying him.

Continued from page 17of St Francis de Sales, and became akindly spiritual father to boys in need.His ageing mother helped support theproject in its early years.

John’s boyhood dream came to pass:he became a spiritual guide and provider,along with his fellow Salesian priests andbrothers, giving boys religious instruc-tion, lodging, education, and work op-portunities. Among his charges was StDominic Savio; Bosco’s biography of thesaintly lad helped the young boy becanonised. Bosco also helped St MariaDomenica Mazzarello form a similargroup for girls.

A prolific author throughout his life,in 1875 Bosco began to publish the Sale-sian Bulletin. It has remained in continu-ous publication, currently in 50 differenteditions and 30 languages.

But success did not come easily, asthe priest struggled to find reliable ac-commodations and support for his am-bitious apostolate. He was resented bysome, within and outside the Church, asa “wheeler-dealer” for his fundraising ef-forts. Bosco, a conservative in Churchmatters but a social reformer, attractedmuch opposition. Traditionalist clergyaccused him of stealing young and oldpeople away from their own parishesthrough the oratories he founded. Anti-clerical nationalists saw his several hun-dred young men as a recruiting-groundfor revolution. The police in Turin re-garded his open-air catechisms as politi-cal and a threat to the state. Severalattempts were made on Bosco’s life.

But such hostility did not stop theSalesians from expanding in Europe andbeyond. By the end of Don Bosco’s life in1888, they were helping 130000 chil-dren in 250 houses. Nine years after hisdeath, the first Salesians came to SouthAfrica. Since that day in 1897, they haveworked to empower young people inCape Town and Johannesburg, as well asin Eswatini and Lesotho.

St John Bosco died in the early hoursof January 31, 1888, after conveying amessage: “Tell the boys that I shall bewaiting for them all in Paradise.”

He was canonised on Easter Sundayof 1934, and is a patron saint of youngpeople, apprentices, and Catholic pub-lishers and editors.

Pope Francis at the tomb of St JohnBosco in Turin’s basilica of Mary Helpof Christians.

Photo: L’Osservatore Romano/CNS

The Salesians first came to South Africa in 1897.

A Timeline ofSt John BOsco

20 The Southern Cross

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MY FRIEND DARRYL, Ateacher who reluctantlyidentified as coloured, car-ried the load of growing

up under apartheid heavily. Even afterhe left South Africa in the 1990s, the re-sentment of a lifetime of racial discrim-ination and injustice resided withinhim. Darryl died in October, far tooyoung. At his funeral in Canada, whichI could follow via livestream, I learntthat Darryl found healing a few yearsago.

Darryl, his wife recalled, was inThailand at a gathering of the Evangel-ical church to which they belonged. Atsome point he met André, an Afrikanerwith what Darryl, with histypical humour, referred to asa “Voortrekker beard”. AsSouth Africans do, they got tochatting. Darryl was still am-bivalent towards the land ofhis birth, with a bitterness to-wards white South Africans generally.

At a footwashing ceremony laterthat day, André left his allocated area,approached Darryl, and asked him if hecould wash his feet. Darryl agreed andreciprocated. Something happened. Asthe two men rose, they wordlessly em-braced, both men weeping. That day, allthe weight of growing up underapartheid fell off Darryl, and at last hecould make peace with the past. He andAndré went on to form a tight friend-ship that lasted till Darryl’s death.

I was moved by that story, know-ing also that my friend was a stub-born man who, for all his Christianfaith, was probably surprised bythat encounter of spontaneousand almost wordless reconcilia-tion.

I returned to that story oftenin the weeks that followed Dar-ryl’s funeral — a time when pridetrumped humility, lies trumpeddecency, hate trumped love. In

the US, in Senekal, in Brackenfell. Andeverywhere on social media.

Catholics, who are supposed to beguided by the example and teachings ofJesus, are not immune from trading inbitterness, division and hatred. Evenamong Catholics, there is an attitude —as old as it is wrong — that if you dis-agree with me, you are my enemy.Some people almost visibly ooze con-tempt for those with whom they differ.

Two-sided vitriolThe vitriol can cut both ways. Take

the issue of abortion. Many of thosewho oppose abortion see those whosupport legal access to it as deserving

scorn and vitriol, even calling them“babykillers”. And across the street,people in favour of legalised abortionare as unrestrained in throwing accusa-tions of misogyny and verbally attack-ing those whose concern resides withthe unborn.

Yet, at both ends, there are mostlydecent people who take their own posi-tion from a perspective of trying to do

what they see as the right thing. Ac-knowledging this does not make usweak in our conviction. Rather, by ac-knowledging the good (though, in ourview, wrongheaded) intentions in oth-ers, we are able to invite them to con-sider our point of view, and perhaps tobe persuaded by it.

This goes for all points of argu-ment, disagreement and prejudice. Pre-sumption of good faith in others — thefoundation for civility in discourse —has given way to hostility and division,fought in trenches of ideology and fear.What a victory for the devil!

But we are called to engage withothers in order to change minds, not toreject and demonise. Isn’t that howevangelisation works? We don’t convertpeople by seeing them as the enemy,and treating them with less dignity thanwe would others. Yet, in our anger at theinability or unwillingness of others todo our will, we forget to pray for thosewho trespass against us. And I am aware

that I’m also preaching tomyself here.

How often don’t we seethe same kind of dynamicsplay out in families, part-nerships or among friends,when a (perceived) slight or

a disagreement turns love into bitter-ness and anger? We might blame theother party without interrogating ourown culpability in the breakdown ofthe relationship. And even — or espe-cially — if we are the innocent party, wemay well harbour a self-destructive bit-terness.

It is easy to be angry at all kinds ofthings, but how much of ourselves arewe losing when we act without charitytowards others? How much does fester-ing anger eat us up? And what reliefmight there be if we were to lose all that

bitterness, all that anger?My friend Darryl shed a lifetime

of bitterness in that encounter inThailand. He couldn’t speak abouthis healing with André withoutgetting emotional; the experiencewas too powerful to articulate dis-passionately.

And here’s the good news:Darryl experienced a grace that isalways available to all of us.

A moving story he heard at a friend’s funeral got Günther Simmermacher thinking about the

corrosive effects of anger and bitterness.

How my friend lost his bitterness

How much of ourselves are we losing when we act without

charity towards others?

The Southern Cross 21

WHEN THE DISCIPLESasked Jesus to teachthem to pray, he re-sponded with perfec-

tion: the greatest of all prayer, from thevery lips of God’s own Son (Matthew6:7). I wonder whether we Christians,who pray the Lord’s Prayer so often,have the correct emphasis and focus.

Jesus very clearly offered two sidesin his response, namely God’s side andthe human side. Jesus, as the Son ofMan, begins the Our Father by very de-liberately stressing the Fatherhood ofGod and the Brotherhood of Man. If itwasn’t so, the prayer would be “I-cen-tred” and not “we-centred”. For unlessthe Lord’s Prayer moves beyond thebarriers of race, culture, colour, religion

and so on — that is every-body and everywhere — it islifeless!

God is first acclaimed asFather and creator “who artin heaven” and his name isexalted and praised beforeany claims are made to hisdivine majesty, as Jesus him-self did throughout hisearthly life. “Hallowed bethy name” — that is the aimof the entire prayer. Wetherefore express a deep rev-erence for his name andpray that his Kingdom maycome. This is a kingdom ofpeace, justice and truth, akingdom which was thevery heart of all his preach-ing, which is very evident inall his parables, his healingmission and so beautifullyexpressed in the Beatitudes(Matthew 5).

Driving home the qualities of thechildren of the kingdom — the meek,the humble, the pure of heart, the per-secuted — Jesus speaks of his kingdomhere on earth in the parable of the Mus-tard Seed (Mark 4:30). Jesus makes itvery clear that his kingdom, beginningsmall and slowly, is a spiritual move-ment not of this world (John 18:36) butone that is “among you” and “in you”and “with you” (Luke 17:21; 4:43; 8:1;Matthew 3:2; 4:17).

What is this kingdomIt is his kingdom here “on earth”

— and even here “in earth”, in thesense that it is inherent in the whatand where and how of our creation. Itis the earthly kingdom before itachieves its final eschatological realisa-tion, that kingdom which the conquer-ing Christ will finally present to hisheavenly Father, as mentioned by Paulin his First Letter to the Corinthians(15:24).

For this kingdom to be establishedon earth demands that we surrenderand pray: “Thy will be done on earth.”

It is God’s will which really matters.That is exactly why Jesus never failedto execute God’s will (Luke 22:42). Al-though humanity has received the giftof free will, we know that God’s will isalways for our happiness and our sal-vation, for God can respond only withlove (1 John 4:8-10). Kingdom-peopleare obedient souls. It was disobediencethat plunged us into original sin!

Now comes the second part of theLord’s Prayer, and this is simply the re-sult of believing and living the firstpart as indicated by Jesus. It is veryclearly stated in his promise: “Seek firstthe kingdom of God and his righteous-ness and all you need will be given toyou” (Matthew 6:33). As the Lord’sPrayer so clearly promises, God gives,he forgives, he leads us, delivers us.

Having prayed the first part sin-cerely (“not babbling as pagans do”, aswe are reminded in Matthew 6:7), youcan be sure that the second part willtake care of itself. God is ever-faithful,ever-generous, ever loving us as hischildren.

n Fr Ralph de Hahn is a priest of the arch-diocese of Cape Town.

22 The Southern Cross

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The Southern Cross 23

WE MAY PRAY THE FOURmysteries of the rosary —Joyful, Sorrowful, Gloriousand Luminous — which

highlight episodes in the life and deathof Jesus, from the Annunciation to theAscension and beyond. We might praythem every day, and that is indeed afruitful spiritual exercise.

Pope John Paul II added the Lumi-nous Mystery, or the “Mysteries ofLight”, to the previous three in 2002.This suggests that the scope for mysteriesis not exhausted. In my own prayer life,I like to also meditate on what I call “TheDivine Journey”, based around theevents of the Flight into Egypt. This jour-ney began when the Saviour was bornand divine assistance was needed to es-cape Herod’s murderous plot. Manyartists have tried to capture it, fromGiotto di Bondone to Fra Bartolomeo.

The five reflections on the Mysteriesof the Divine Journey follow, and leavemuch freedom for further meditation.

1. st Joseph, pray for usAlways informed by angels, grant assis-tance to those whose lives are in danger!(Say ten Hail Marys, one Glory Be, andone Our Father.)

As King Herod plotted the Massacreof the Innocents, an angel appeared toJoseph in a dream and warned: “Get up,take the child and flee into Egypt.”

2. the Holy Family flees into Egypt,pursued by the soldiers of HerodMary, Mother of Divine Journeys, prayfor us!

Imagine the terror and exhaustion ofthat journey. Herod, upon hearing that a“King of the Jews” had been born inBethlehem, ordered the slaughter of allmale children in and around the town inorder to protect his claim to the throne.Joseph, Mary and Jesus escaped to Egypt.

According to a tradition, Herod’s sol-diers interrogated farmers in their fieldsto find the Holy Family. The farmerstruthfully answered that the family hadpassed when the wheat seed was beingsown into the ground. Through divineintervention, the wheat grew to its fullheight overnight, suggesting that thefamily had passed several months earlier,thus saving them from certain death.

3. the Holy Family arrives in EgyptIn 1968, tens of thousands of Cairo resi-dents of different faiths, including Presi-dent Gamal Abdel Nasser, a Muslim,witnessed a se-ries of appari-tions of theBlessed VirginMary above theCoptic churchof St Mary’s inthe city’s sub-urb of Zeitoun.Because of Pres-ident Nasser’spolicy towards Christians, predomi-nantly Muslim Egypt entered a period ofinternal peace and bon accord.

Contemplate the photo above, takenby a photographer who reported that hisinjured arm was healed the instant heclicked the shutter.

4. the Holy Family remains in Egypt Mother of safe journeys, pray for us! Wecan acknowledge the terror that manymigrants and refugees must feel as theyflee the threat of harmful governmentpolicies, racism or political terror. TheHoly Family’s Flight into Egypt is rele-vant even today.

Throughout Egypt are sacred siteswhere tradition says the Holy Familypassed through or remained for a while.

In all of these places they found water.Wells are an essential commodity in thedesert, and water is life (cf Isaiah 12:3 orJohn 4:13-14).

5. the Holy Family is called out ofEgypt Have you ever wondered about the ori-gins of the prayer, “…and after this, ourexile, show unto us the blessed fruit ofthy womb Jesus”? The angel of the Lordhas reappeared and says: “Out of Egypt Icalled my Son” (Matthew 2:15; also seeHosea 11:1). Imagine the joy of the re-unions Joseph and Mary had after yearsof separation from loved ones in a foreignland!

Hail Mary, full of Grace...

The meditations and thanksgivingsand petitions in the mysteries of theHoly Rosary are endless and bear somuch goodwill and peace. When youfeel like, “I’ve heard it all before”, re-member there is so much more.

n Lucy Rubin writes from Pretoria.

There are four official mysteries of the rosary, but we are unlimited in our prayerful meditation.

LUcy rUBin suggests a Mystery of the Divine Journey.

Mystery of the divine Journey

The Flight into Egypt as depicted by 14th-century painter Giotto di Bondone, in theScrovegni chapel in Padua, Italy.

Photo: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro

Olive-wood carving depicting the Flightinto Egypt from Bethlehem, where theHoly Family’s journey into exile began.

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24 The Southern Cross

BIG THINGS START WITH SMALL THINGS — OR, TOput it in more technical terms: macro-economics isfounded on micro-economics. A skilled nation startswith education and training of children; a healthy

population starts with lifestyle choices within the home;non-violence starts with peaceful families; and a non-cor-

rupt society starts with norms and values passed fromgeneration to generation.

And yet we find that legislators, policymakers, economists and planners con-

tinue to focus on the big issues, and inthe process marginalise “soft” issues.

Their debates are fixated on wordslike macro-economics, infrastruc-ture development, labour mar-ket, capital accumulation,technological advancement.Powerful topics discussed bypowerful people! Nationaland international interestgroups craft and package lan-guage in a way that excludesmatters of family.

But raise the topic of fam-ily, and suddenly an unsexy

subject is placed on the agenda.It would appear that the subject

of family is to be avoided. Thetemperature in the room drops and

the excuses start. “Not our mandate.We don’t deal with family. This should

be taken to Social Welfare. A local issue.” Orone of my personal favourites: “Not now. Be pa-

tient. Functioning systems will lead to trickle-downand members of the family will eventually benefit!” But theseoft-repeated statements defy logic.

Societies comprise systems. Political, economic, techno-logical, ecological systems and many others are connectedand interdependent. Just like a family! The individual com-

ponents are linked. Even dysfunctional and struggling fami-lies are interdependent. The status, position and behaviour ofone member will profoundly affect the situation of others;often into future generations. Therefore the economy of thefamily is the foundation of a post-Covid economy. Entrepre-neurial and caring families are part of the future.

Family security In all the policy talk, there’s one spark of hope. The gov-

ernment’s White Paper on Families views the family as a keydevelopment imperative to overall socio-economic develop-ment in the country. One of the specific objectives is to “em-power families and their members by enabling them toidentify, negotiate around, and maximise economic, labourmarket, and other opportunities available in the country”.

Economic success within families will improve self-suffi-ciency through expanded opportunities to work and thusearn a living wage that provides for the basic needs of thefamily. It will also help to build an asset-base that will growthe family over time. Owning and maintaining a home andbeing financially secure into old age are part of being a securefamily over generations.

Macroeconomics starts with household-budgeting and fi-nancial planning. The role of the family in society is not onlyabout the care-economy, but it is also about economic devel-opment. The strengthened family is fundamental to the hardbusiness of an economically skilled and productive society.So let’s move the family firmly onto the agenda of big players.

Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ details the need tocorrect models of growth to include concern for family, socialequality and rights for future generations. In a letter to youngpeople, Pope Francis pleads that future economists and entre-preneurs, based on the teachings of St Francis of Assisi, mustbe interested in a different kind of economy: one whichbrings life and inclusivity, humanity and care for the envi-ronment. None of this can take place outside the basic unitof society — the family. n Imelda Diouf is the director of the Sekwele Centre for FamilyStudies, based in Bethlehem, Free State (www.sekwele.org).

In all the talk about economic policies, the family is usually ignored. Yet, it is the family that should be a basis for economic development, argues imeLDa DiOUF.

building blockthe economy’sWhy families are

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The Southern Cross 25

LOVED BY MANY AS THEgolden voice of Radio Veritas, FrEmil Blaser OP died at the ageof 78 after a protracted struggle

with an autoimmune disease.Fr Emil was a gifted communica-

tor, and even from his earliest years asa priest showed a talent for radio andtelevision work. Against the odds andthrough single-minded determinationto expand the Catholic ministry intothe broadcast medium, he started theVeritas production house for Catholicmedia on television and radio. In1999 it emerged as Radio Veritas.

Originally, Radio Veritas broadcastfrom a house in Fairview, Randburg,but in 2000, the station was relocatedto the Dominican house in Troyeville.In 2008, Radio Veritas bought a prop-erty in Edenvale jointly with theKnights of da Gama.

Fr Emil was able to move, inspireand motivate people. He was full ofheart, had tremendous charm and acourageous, at times dogged, determi-nation. He was able to relate to manydifferent people, regardless of theirstanding in society. He found a way tospeak to their hearts (and sometimesto their wallets!).

He battled for years to find thefunding to start, and then later main-tain, Radio Veritas. During this period,Fr Emil held positions in the Domini-can order as bursar and fundraiser. Hislove for the order never diminished

even though the needs at Radio Veri-tas were equally vast.

Salesians or Dominicans?Emil Blaser was born in Cape

Town on February 21, 1942, and grewup in Claremont. He went to schoolwith the Salesians and considered join-ing them to study as a priest. However,after meeting the Dominicans in Stel-lenbosch, he changed his mind andentered the Dominican novitiate in1961, with Fr Dominic Baldwin OP ashis novice master. Given the religiousname Louis (after the Dominican StLouis Bertrand), which he soon dis-carded, he was professed on the dayafter his 20th birthday. Cardinal OwenMcCann of Cape Town ordained FrEmil on December 8, 1967.

He went to Marakabei in Lesothoto learn Sesotho, and in 1969 was ap-

pointed to work in the parishes ofSasolburg and Zamdela and later toSprings.

At the Dominican chapter of 1984,Fr Emil was elected provincial. Heserved two four-year terms. During thisperiod, he was also the vocations pro-moter and encouraged many youngmen from South Africa, Lesotho, Zim-babwe and Zambia to join the order. Inthis regard, he breathed new life intothe Dominican order in SouthernAfrica, after many of the friars had be-come disheartened as a result of an ex-odus of priests and religious followingthe Second Vatican Council.

Work for the ChurchDuring his provincialate, Bishop

Reginald Orsmond of Johannesburg ap-pointed Fr Emil as the diocesan vicarfor Justice & Peace, with the mandateto establish a J&P Commission whichwould initiate actions to demonstratethe Church’s stance against apartheid.He also took on the role of nationalchaplain of the National Catholic Fed-eration of Students, where he con-vinced many students on traditionally“white” campuses that their faithcalled upon them to resist apartheid.

In 1992, after completing his termsas provincial, Fr Emil was appointed as-sociate secretary-general of the South-ern African Catholic Bishops’Conference (SACBC). During this pe-riod, he oversaw the building of thenew St Peter’s Seminary in Garsfontein.

Fr Emil was a man of vision whosaw the need to proclaim the Gospelthrough modern means of communi-cation — reaching a far broader audi-ence than the pulpit. His contributionto the mission of the Church is indeedpioneering.

Fr Emil played the classical guitar,having been taught by the famousTessa Ziegler. He was an accomplishedcook and he attributed this to learningfrom his mother, who ran a restaurantin Cape Town for many years.

Fr Emil died on the feast day of StMargaret, the saint who, as GüntherSimmermacher noted in his movingtribute on the Southern Cross’ website,shared the name of Emil’s belovedmother, Margherita.

May he rest in peace.

On November 16, Dominican Father Emil Blaser died at78. Here his confrere Fr marK JameS OP pays tribute.

A big voice has fallen silent

Left: Fr Emil Blaserand his famous orange jersey atbreakfast in a caféin Paris.

Right: A quintes-sential Fr Emil pose

as he preaches in St Anthony

cathedral in Padua,Italy, in 2015.

Photos: Günther Simmermacher

Fr Emil Blaser OP with his father Johnand mother Margherita after his ordination on December 8, 1967.

26 The Southern Cross

Letters

Magazine is brilliantin all respects

I REMEMBER GROWING UP INHanover Park, Cape Town, andmy now late mother, Mona, re-

minding me and my siblings everyweek before attending Sunday Massnot to eat one hour before receivingHoly Communion. This fasting priorto Mass is probably not practised inthe greater Catholic Church anylonger.

I am trying to ascertain why Istill love the Catholic Church andmost of its practices so much, and Iam in absolute reverence of the pa-pacy, past and present.

This poser was somewhat re-solved when my wife, Michelle, camehome from Mass with The SouthernCross magazine.

My wife attends St Philip’s parishin Strandfontein, and I hope to startattending regularly soon as well.

The inaugural edition of TheSouthern Cross magazine in Octoberas well as the November issue were

brilliant in all respects, including thecrossword section.

The articles were well-researched,well-written and a joy to read. Thefeatures on St Teresa of Avila and StMartin De Porres and others werepure brilliance.

I look forward to reading futureeditions of The Southern Cross. Thankyou for a great publication.Jerome Adams, Cape Town

Southern Crossneeds a cross

THANK YOU FOR THE centenary issue of the SouthernCross magazine. I enjoyed read-

ing it so much.I have been reading The Southern

Cross for 57 years and have been asubscriber for 40 years. Although thenew format will take some time toget used to, I am sure you will makeit a success.

In the meanwhile, may I make anobservation? To avoid the presenta-tion looking like another “Evangeli-cal” magazine, I would suggest alarge cross be placed on the frontcover. Perhaps a Jerusalem cross or aMaltese cross may be printed to dis-tinguish the origin as Christian andCatholic.

Deacon Edmund Burke,Port Elizabeth

• Thank you for your kind com-ments and loyalty. We are in-trigued by your idea to place across on our cover, even if the strapbelow the masthead identifies TheSouthern Cross as a Catholic publi-cation. We will experiment withthe design to see whether and howthe idea can be implemented.— Editor

You helped us grow

ON BEHALF OF ALL YOURfriends at Little Eden Society,I congratulate The Southern

Cross on its 100th anniversary.Your publication is an incredible

platform for sharing and strengthen-ing faith for the Catholic communityand beyond. It has allowed organisa-tions such as ours to reach out on agreater scale to supporters and shareour news, the service we provide, andthe kind of assistance we requirefrom the community.

May God bless you and theSouthern Cross team with many moreyears of sharing and communicatinghis teachings.

Xelda Rohrbeck, CEO: Little Eden, Johannesburg

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 350words. Pseudonyms are acceptable only under special circumstancesat the Editor’s discretion. Send your letters to editor@scross.co.zaOpinions 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.

Write to us

A Jerusalem cross in the Holy Land. Areader suggests that the cover of TheSouthern Cross should feature a cross.

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HERE WE ARE AT THE DAWNof 2021. We arrive here withtrembling shoulders and theheels of our feet charred by

the flames of yesteryear. Where there isnormally excitement, there now istrepidation.

Many of us have been left fragile inthe storm caused by Covid-19, a stormwhich continues to rage over the riverof life. Despite the roaring rapids, thecrocodiles and the rocks, should we beafraid? Should we turn our backs to thehorizon? Should we curse the wind andswear at the sun?

I dare to believe we can make itacross the water; so does reggae singerJimmy Cliff (or, if you prefer, UB40)whose lyrics inspired the title of this ar-ticle. Our charred heels are quenchedby the moss as we touch the first ofmany rivers to cross.

Africa is known for its scenic land-scape and vibrant wildlife. It is the mar-vellous wonderland that cradles peopleof every kind. When God moulded theuniverse, he placed amongst its hillsand valleys rivers which may make usyearn for living water.

Those who are adventurous anddare to journey through the mountainswill stumble upon the Zambezi Riverwhich calls to us from Zambia. It de-sires to never be forgotten. To have thiswish granted, the Victoria Falls are un-veiled before us and therefore engravedinto the memory of mankind. After abusy course of rushing rapids, it goes torest in the Indian Ocean.

As we sojourn further north, we aregreeted by the Congo River. It is longand secretive, as a consequence ofbeing one of the deepest rivers in theworld. Its thoughts buried down beloware known only to God. And how canwe speak of great rivers without men-tioning the Nile? It is the jewel of the

land of the pharaohs and the inspira-tion of many myths of the ancientworld.

What do all these rivers have incommon? Is it their meanders, theirstillness or their danger? I believe it isall of these things. At the best of timesthey are beautiful, and at the worst oftimes they can scare us. So it is withlife.

What I have learnedIf I have learned anything from

this time of tribulation, it is that thefullness of life does not come fromplaying it safe. We are made for beautyand adventure. We are made to hearthe pulse of the river. We feel this achein our bones, but we are still afraid. Wedo not know what sharp-toothedbeasts lie in darkness pining for ourflesh. We do not know what heavy

clouds may gather and empty theirhearts through the rain. We do notknow what vengeful white waters lieahead, seeking to devour us.

The past year has shown that thereis so much that could destroy us. Andyet, in some way, we know that the ans-wer is not to run away, for God himself— our raft, our river guide — will carryus. Who else could do so? We could try(I know I have) to chart our course and“search north”. But we did not make theriver on which we travel nor their water-falls which might stop our journey.

There are many mountains toclimb. There are many roads to drive.There are many sunsets to endure.There are many sunrises to come. Thereare many moons to wonder at. Thereare many stars to count. There are manythings to hope for, on the many riversto cross.

The Southern Cross 27

Nthabiseng Maphisa: Millennial Catholic

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The sun sets over the Nile in Cairo. Photo: Günther Simmermacher

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THEY SAY THAT TWO SUBJECTSshould always be avoided inpolite company: religion andpolitics. Despite knowing that

the readers of this esteemed title are in-deed polite company, I clearly breachthat rule every month by dis-cussing religion in my column;I am about to do the same withregard to politics.

A new year starts with theinauguration of a new Ameri-can president — only the sec-ond Catholic to hold thatposition in 244 years and thefirst since John F Kennedy sixtyyears ago. And what is more,President-elect Joe Biden is aCatholic with long-standingproof of his commitment to theprinciples of social justice ex-pounded by popes since LeoXIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum130 years ago.

A YouTube clip has been shared ex-tensively in South Africa of SenatorBiden in 1986 challenging the Reaganadministration’s support for theapartheid regime. In it, Biden describesapartheid as “repugnant and repulsive”.He showed clearly that he was on theside of the oppressed and the margin-alised — exactly where the Church callsall of us to place ourselves.

The night of his win, Biden choseto draw on the words of a Catholichymn known to many of us, “OnEagle’s Wings”. Addressing a nation(and a world) still terrified by the im-pact of the coronavirus, these words ofMichael Joncas, based on Psalm 91have, had a particular resonance:

You who dwell in the shelter of the

Lord / Who abide in His shadow for life /Say to the Lord, “My refuge, my rock inwhom I trust!"

And He will raise you up on eagles'wings / Bear you on the breath of dawn /Make you to shine like the sun / And holdyou in the palm of His hand.

But Biden’s candidacy and his elec-tion have not been met with unani-mous enthusiasm by AmericanCatholics, or indeed by their bishops. Iam not saying it should be. We shouldbe careful of a knee-jerk reaction whichin our minds equates the word“Catholic” with “virtuous”. After allthere are good and bad Catholic CEOs,good and bad Catholic teachers, goodand bad Catholic NGO directors, orgood and bad Catholic politicians. (Re-member that Mugabe, Pinochet andFranco were all proud of their Catholicidentity and claimed the support of thelocal Church.)

By their fruits...Moreover, revelations from the last

few years remind us that a pristine bap-tismal certificate has not been enoughto guarantee the virtue even of some ofour bishops and priests and sisters (nomatter how hard they might have triedto cover this up). So while we might bepredisposed towards a Catholic politi-cian, we should of course apply the testof Matthew 7:20: “By their fruits youwill know them.” And you rememberwhat the Lord did to the tree that didnot produce good fruits…

Applying this test, but on the partic-

ular issue of abortion,some Catholics rejectedBiden as a bad candi-date. This is because Biden supports theDemocratic Party’s long-held pro-choiceposition. Some Catholics have gone sofar as to try and “excommunicate” him,saying he is not a “proper Catholic”, oreven that he should be refused the sacra-ments (though they have very poor jus-tification under Canon Law to do so).

Some have actively supported out-going President Trump because of hisposition against abortion. I leave you to

apply for yourself the same testof virtue to Trump: “By hisfruits you will know him.”

Of course, abortion is animportant moral issue and oneon which the Catholic Churchhas a clear stance. It is one ofmany issues on which theCatholic Church has takes posi-tions, including other life issues.The late Cardinal JosephBernardin of Chicago drew onthe Calvary image of the “seam-less garment” to help us under-stand the Catholic position onlife issues.

He pointed out that opposition toabortion or to euthanasia made sensewhen matched with an opposition tothe death penalty or unjust wars, andindeed an active support for healthcarefor all those in need. Life is a seamlessgarment, and so a consistent life ethic isneeded which brings together differentissues. He commented: “When humanlife is considered cheap or easily ex-pendable in one area, eventually noth-ing is held as sacred and all lives are injeopardy.”

In this context, the Church’s cam-paigning for the rights of refugees, or itsadvocacy for health and welfare for thepoor, or its understanding of the de-structive impact of climate change onthe poorest communities are all part ofa consistent ethic of life. And theChurch should — and does — applaudpoliticians who are aligned with her onthese issues.

For the common goodIt is to be hoped that Biden, like all

Catholic politicians, reflects on therange of life issues and seeks to promotean ethic of life that, to use anotherCatholic term, is for “the commongood”. But he would always have to doso in the context of the political situa-tion in which he operates: politics after

28 The Southern Cross

Raymond Perrier on Faith & Society

When faith and politics meet

Joe Biden will become the USA’ssecond-everCatholic presidenton January 20.

Photo: Tom Brenner,Reuters/CNS

The Southern Cross 29

all is, in the words of Otto von Bis-marck, “the art of the possible”.

In some ways, not being seenas a placeman for the bishops hasbeen to Biden’s advantage. Sixtyyears ago some in the Americanpress were anxious that a Catholicpresident would be a puppet ofthe Vatican. It is noticeable thatthis was not an issue duringBiden’s campaign. Indeed, whenbishops have tried to tell Catholicpoliticians how they should voteon contentious issues, it hastended to backfire as, for example,in the votes on same-sex marriagein Catholic-majority countries inEurope.

After a time of being suspi-cious of democracy, the magis-terium came to understand thatCatholics had an important contri-bution to make to democratic gov-ernment, and that they could do soonly by participating. Their role —indeed the role of all Catholic laymen and women according to Vat-ican II’s decree on the laity — is tobe “leaven in the dough” (Luke13:20). If Catholic politicians aresuspected by non-Catholics of justbeing voting machines for bishopsor popes, they will not be elected,and so we lose a major opportunityto influence society.

A person’s faith should notpredetermine how they will voteon any issue but instead indicatethe principles that have formedthem and that will inform the waythey vote. I, for one, welcome anoccupant of the White House whopromises principled leadership, acommitment to the commongood, an understanding of theneeds of the poor, respect forwomen and people of colour,transparency and honesty, and aset of values consistent withCatholic Social Teaching.

Plus, I have to admit that himsharing my faith tradition and mylove of the music of the St LouisJesuits is an added bonus.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI

Do you weep for Jerusalem?

MATURITY HAS VARIOUS levels. Basic maturity is de-fined as having essentiallyoutgrown the instinctual self-

ishness with which we were born so thatour motivation and actions are now shapedby the needs of others and not just by ourown needs. That’s the basic minimum, thelow bar for maturity. After that, there aredegrees and levels, contingent upon howmuch our motivation and actions are altru-istic rather than selfish.

In the Gospels, Jesus invites us to ever-deeper degrees of maturity, though some-times we can miss the invitation because itpresents itself subtly and not as an explic-itly worded moral invitation. One suchsubtle, but very deep, invitation to a higherdegree of maturity is given in the incidentwhere Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. What’sinside this image?

Here’s the image and its setting: Jesushas just been rejected, both in his personand in his message, and he sees clearly thepain the people will bring upon themselvesby that rejection. What’s his reaction? Doeshe react in the way most of us would:“Well, the hell with you! I hope you sufferthe full consequences of your own stupid-ity!” No. He weeps, like a loving parentdealing with a wayward child; he wisheswith every fibre in his being that he couldsave them from the consequences of theirown bad choices. He feels their woundrather than gleefully contemplating theirsuffering.

There’s a double challenge here. First,there’s a personal one: are we gleeful whenpeople who reject our advice suffer for theirwrong-headedness, or do we weep inside usfor the pain they have brought on to them-selves? When we see the consequences inpeople’s lives of their own bad choices —be it with irresponsibility, with laziness,with drugs, with sex, with abortion, withideology, with anti-religious attitudes, orwith bad will — are we gleeful when thosechoices begin to snake-bite them (“Well,you got what you deserved!”), or do weweep for them, for their misfortune?

Admittedly, it’s hard not be gleeful whensomeone who rejects what we stand for

is then snake-bitten by his own stubbornchoice. It’s the natural way the heart worksand so empathy can demand a very highdegree of maturity. For example, duringthis Covid-19 pandemic, medical experts(almost without exception) have beentelling us to wear masks to protect othersand ourselves. What’s our spontaneous re-action when someone defies that warning,thinks he is smarter than the doctors, re-

fuses to wear a mask, and then contractsthe virus? Do we secretly bask in thecathartic satisfaction that he got what hedeserved or do we, metaphorically, “weepover Jerusalem”?

Beyond the challenge to each of us tomove towards a higher level of maturity,this image also contains an important pas-toral challenge for the Church. How do we,as a Church, see a secularised world thathas rejected many of our beliefs and val-ues? When we see the consequences theworld is paying for this, are we gleeful orsympathetic? Do we see the secularisedworld, with all the problems it is bringingon to itself by its rejection of some Gospelvalues, as an adversary (someone fromwhom we need to protect ourselves) or asour own suffering child? If you’re a parentor grandparent who’s suffering over a way-ward child or grandchild, you probably un-derstand what it means to “weep overJerusalem”.

Moreover, the struggle to “weep over”our secularised world (or over anyone whorejects what we stand for) is compoundedby yet another dynamic which militatesagainst sympathy. There’s a perverse emo-tional and psychological propensity insideus which works this way: Whenever we arehurting badly, we need to blame someone,need to be angry at someone, and need tolash out at someone. And you know whomwe always pick for that? Someone we feelsafe enough to hurt because we know thathe or she is mature enough not to hit back!

There’s a lot of lashing out at the Churchtoday. Granted, there are a lot of legiti-

mate reasons for this. Given the Church’sshortcomings, part of that hostility is justi-fied; but some of that hostility often goesbeyond what’s justified. Along with the le-gitimate anger, there’s sometimes a lot offree-floating, gratuitous anger. What’s ourreaction to that unjustified anger and un-fair accusation? Do we react in kind? “Youare way out of line here, go take that angerelsewhere!”

Or, like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem,can we meet unfair anger and accusationwith tears of empathy and a prayer that aworld that’s angry with us will be sparedthe pain of its own bad choices?

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard fa-mously wrote: “Jesus wants followers, notadmirers!” Wise words. In Jesus’ reaction tohis own rejection, his weeping overJerusalem, we see the epitome of humanmaturity. To this we are called, personallyand as an ecclesial community. We also seethere that a big heart feels the pain of oth-ers, even of those others who reject you.

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The Catholic Magazine for Southern Africa December 2020 R30 (incl. VAT in SA)

Est. 1920

LEVINIA PIENAAR:The Christmas I cried

WAITING FOR JESUSAll about Advent

STORY OF A CAROL‘We Three Kings’

INTERVIEW WITHSR HERMENEGILD MAKORO

PULL-OUT POSTER:JMJ – THE HOLY FAMILY

Advent & Christmas Edition

30 The Southern Cross

IHAVE A JESUIT CONFRERE WHOsays that when he gets to heaven,he wants to ask God about thereason for the existence of other

religions. The fact that there are inour world what we perceive as “com-petitors” can indeed be perplexing, es-pecially when they are as powerful asIslam or Hinduism and whenthey are growing.

There was a time when Chris-tians assumed that in the longrun Christianity would “tri-umph”. It would become thedominant religion in the worldand the others would slowly beconverted to it. Clearly, this is proba-bly never going to happen and wehave to get used to that fact.

In the case of Judaism, the Churchnow acknowledges that its continuingexistence is because God wills it, hav-ing never abandoned the covenantwith his first love, the People of Israel.

But what of Islam, a relative late-comer which has grown so dramati-cally in our own era? Pope Francis’newly-released encyclical Fratelli Tuttiis partly an attempt to throw light onthat question. If all things are con-nected — which is the basic theme ofthe encyclical — and if all people arebrothers and sisters, what does this

mean for our sometimes difficultChristian-Islamic relations?

Francis reminds us of a celebratedincident in the life of his namesakewhich took place in 1219 during theFifth Crusade. St Francis of Assisi wentto meet Sultan al-Malik in Damiettain Egypt. The sultan was an interest-ing man in his own right, a nephew

of the legendary Saladin, and a manwhose rule was often insecure, threat-ened by both Christian (Crusaders)and his Muslim rivals.

It is unlikely that St Francis met al-Malik in the spirit of post-VaticanII interreligious dialogue. He al-

most certainly wanted to convert theman to the Gospel. He failed in thisendeavour, but he did impress the sul-tan, and St Francis did try to bringabout the peace which the sultan alsosought, and so the meeting has be-come deeply symbolic as a result.

According to one commentator,the theme of interreligious fraternity

of Fratelli Tutti is partly inspired bythe joint document Pope Francis co-signed with Grand Imam Ahmad al-Tayyeb of Al-Azhar Islamic universityin Cairo. The friendship which blos-somed between the pope and theimam during this initiative rathertouchingly mirrors the meeting be-

tween St Francis and Sultan al-Malik — two religious leadersseeking peace in a world wherethere are still tensions betweentheir respective faiths.

This peacemaking is clearlythe work of God, which is whyFratelli Tutti can say that “the

Church esteems the ways in whichGod works in other religions”. Whenwriting the encyclical, Pope Franciswould have had in mind the jointdocument in which he and the imamstated that “the pluralism and the di-versity of religions…are willed by Godin his wisdom”.

This sentiment echoes the Quranwhich says that God made us diversein culture and religion to test us andsee if we could live together. There-fore we must “excel in good deeds”(Sura Maida, verse 48), and in the endwe will all return to God and he willshow us all where we were right andwhere we were wrong!

PRAY WITH THE POPE

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

Why are there other religions?Intention: May the Lord give us the grace to live in

full fellowship with our brothers and sisters of other religions, praying for one another, open to all.

Two religious leaders seekpeace in a world where there

are still tensions between their respective faiths.

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St Francis with a halo featuring thesymbols of various religions at the

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The Southern Cross 31

Your prayers to cut out and collect. Do you have a favourite prayer? Send it to us, if possible with a reference to its origin, to editor@scross.co.za

PrayerCorner

Dear Jesus, you who promise tobe with me always, I pray that

you will be with me today as I go to school.

Bless my going and my coming. Bless my learning and my playing. Please protect my heart

from fear. Please keep me safe. Please give me good friends. Give me joy this day, and

thank you for loving me from head to toe.

In your name. Amen

BacktoSchoolprayer

Your kindness melts my hard,cold soul,Handsome lover selfless giver,Your beauty fills my dull, sadeyes.I am yours, you made me.I am yours, you called me.I am yours, you saved me.I am yours you love me.I will never leave your

presence.Give me death, give me life.Give me sickness, give mehealth.Give me honour, give meshame.Give me weakness, give mestrength.I will have whatever you give.

(St Teresa of Avila, 1515-82)

St Teresa of Avila’s prayer

The pope’s prayer intention for January is human fraternity, and so we pray...

Lord, You make all things new. You bring hope alive in our hearts and

cause our spirits to be born again. Thank you for this New Year for

all the potential it holds. Come and kindle in us a mighty flame, so that in our time, many will see the

wonders of God and live forever to praise Your glorious name. Amen

NEW YEAR’S PRAYER

Holy and gracious God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth.

Look with compassion, O Lord, on the wholehuman family, whom you have made in your

image and according to your likeness. Take away the arrogance, fear, and

hatred which infect our hearts. Break down the walls that separate us,

and unite us in bonds of love.Give wisdom and creativity to all who work for unity, peace, concord, and the

freedom of all people. Grant us inquiring minds, searching hearts,and curious spirits that we might deepen our own faith by learning of your ways

from those who differ from us.Amen

For interfaith relations

edited prayer from interruptingthesilence.com

32 The Southern Cross

ACROSS1. St Paul wrote he’d nevereat it again (1 cor 8) (4)3. the fare onShrove tuesday (8)

9. canonical group ofparishes in the diocese (7)10. the very poor among you (5)11. you get it when you reach your majority (12)13. Son of eli (1 Sm 2) (6)15. rise on the clerical ladder? (4,2)17. Low european may enter her land (12)20. Once a turn for the little boat (5)21. Priest may do it with your rosary (5,2)22. Sampled the mass wine again (8)23. inspected closely (4)

DOWN1. time the bridegroom

arrived (mt 25) (8)2. Prize for room in

hospital (5)4. this person is not

particular (6)5. nun who makes

the pastries (7,5)6. it may bear the weight

of your praying (7)7. asserts (4)

8. Do they assist you at arm’s length? (7,5)

12. Full of energy from God? (8)

14. the time to give the gift (7)

16. Bar ale wrecked by productive soil (6)18. Uninteresting

sort of study (5)19. Blessed are the … in

spirit (mt 5) (4)

Southern Crossword

ALBALTAR

BLESSINGCHALICECHASUBLE

COMMUNION

GENUFLECTIONGOSPELHOMILYHYMN

LECTIONARYMISSAL

OURFATHERPRAYERS

PROCESSIONSACRAMENTARY

SERVERSTHURIBLE

Mass Word Search Anagram ChallengeUnscramble the clues below to work out which

famous HYMNS hide in these words

I  HERALD MORE

BITE WHAM DIE

FAMOUS IVORY SOUL

THE UNWISEST CHAIR

A BEARDLESS CENSUS

EARTH WROUGHT OAT

All solutions on page 34

1

2

3

4

5

6

The Southern Cross 33

the Catholic trivia Quiz1. Which Gospel tells of Jesus’ en-counter with the woman at the well?a) Matthew b) Luke c) John

2. Where is the apostolic nuncio toSouth Africa based?a) Cape Town b) Johannesburg c) Pretoria

3. What is the long white garmentworn by priests in Mass called?a) Alb b) Amice c) Chasuble

4. What is apostasy?a) Greek for apostolic succession b) Installation of catechists c) Renunciation of Christ

5. Which pope wrote the famous encyclical Humanae Vitae?a) John XXIII b) Paul VI c) John Paul II

6. Which actress played a nun and StJoan of Arc?a) Audrey Hepburn b) Elizabeth Taylor c) Ingrid Bergman

7. Who is the current archbishop ofBloemfontein?a) Abel Gabuzab) Jabulani Nxumaloc) Zolile Mpambani

8. Which Marian shrine is in Ireland?a) Immaculate Conception b) Knock c) Walsingham

9. Who is the patron saint of taxidrivers and for haemorrhoids?a) Fiacre b) St Drogo c) Vitalis of Assisi

10. Which is the sixth book in theOld Testament?

a) Joshua b) Judges c) Ruth

11. In which country’s top footballdivision does the Catholic club RKCWaalwijk play?a) Belgium b) Germany c) Netherlands

12. Who founded the congregation ofthe Oblates of St Francis de Sales?a) Anthony Mary Claret b) Eugene deMazenod c) Louis Brisson

Q8: Irish shrine

ACROSS1. Diocese of e. London (4,9)2. Saint of Lisieux (7)3. church of Jesus tomb (4,9)4. archbishop of Johannesburg (8)5. Broke with the catholic church (5,4)6. Study of the BVm (9)7. Where Jesus raised the widow’s son (4)

DOWN1. Second Pope and Peanut (5)2. mass utensil (5)3. Sa cardinal (6)4. mary’s Prayer (10)5. St John Paul ii’s city (6)6. Durban cathedral (8)

7. Pope Francis’ surname (9)8. catholic institute of education (abbr) (3)9. new US cardinal (6,7)10. One of the seven sacraments (4,6)11. Lamb of God (Lat.) (5,3)12. roman martyr or composer temple (9)13. country of 5. across (7)

CODEWORD: Combine the letters in the shaded boxes to form the name of a South African diocese _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

QuickCrossword

theSe BiScUitS Were FirSt maDe almost 900 years ago by the German mys-tic St hildegard of Bingen. She said that

these spice biscuits should be taken at regularintervals to increase joy and positivity. St hildegard made many contribu-tions to the field of holistic healthand wellness, and believed foodnourished the soul. the spices, themain ingredients in this recipe firstpublished in 1157, have healthbenefits. today we might call them“Joy cookies”, as St hildegard saidthey lift all melancholia, open your heartand bring you a sense of cheerfulness. Preparation: 10 min • Baking: 15 minServings: 30

INGREDIENTS:200g Butter ¾ cup brown sugar⅓ cup honey4 eggs yolks2,5 cups flour½ tsp Baking powder ½ tsp salt1 tsp nutmeg ( Joy mix ) 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground clovesWax paper

PREPARATION:1. melt butter over low heat, add sugar, honey,and egg yolks, beating lightly.

2. add flour, baking powder, salt and spicesand combine gently into dough. refrig-

erate for about 30 minutes. 3. Preheat the oven to 200°c. re-move dough and roll out on flouredsurface, cut with cookie cutter. 4. Bake on baking tray lined withwax paper for about 10–15 minutes

till golden brown. 5. cool for five minutes then remove

from baking tray. 6. enjoy with a prayer!

34 The Southern Cross

Crossword Solutions:ACROSS:1 Meat, 3 Pancakes, 9 Dean-ery, 10 Needy, 11 Independence, 13Hophni, 15 Step up, 17 Netherlander, 20Ocean, 21 Bless it, 22 Retasted, 23Eyed DOWN: 1 Midnight, 2 Award, 4Anyone, 5 Convent baker, 6 Kneecap, 7Says, 8 Helping hands, 12 Spirited, 14Present, 16 Arable, 18 Dusty, 19 Poor

Anagram Challenge: 1. Here I Am, Lord; 2. Abide With Me; 3. Soul Of My Saviour; 4. I Watch TheSunrise; 5. Blessed Assurance; 6. HowGreat Thou Art

Quick Crossword:ACROSS:1. Port Elizabeth, 2. Therese,3. Holy Sepulchre, 4. Tlhagale, 5. HenryVIII, 6. Mariology, 7. Nain DOWN: 1.Linus, 2. Paten, 3. McCann, 4. Magnifi-cat, 5. Krakow, 6. Emmanuel, 7.Bergoglio, 8. CIE, 9. Wilton Gregory, 10.Holy Orders, 11. Agnus Dei, 12. Sebast-ian, 13. England CODEWORD:Kimberley

Catholic Trivia Quiz: 1. c)John; 2. c) Pretoria; 3. a) Alb; 4. c) Re-nunciation of Christ; 5. b) Paul VI; 6. c)Ingrid Bergman; 7. c) Zolile Mpambani;8. b) Knock; 9. a) Fiacre; 10. a) Joshua;11. c) Netherlands (RKC stands forRooms Katholieke Combinatie); 12. c)Louis Brisson (1817-1908)

Cooking with SaintsEvery month GRAZIA BARLETTA will prepare a recipe from the history of

the Church in her Cape Town kitchen, and share it with our readers in textand photos taken exclusively for The Southern Cross by the chef herself.

THIS MONTH GRAZIA BAKED:

St Hildegard’s Cookies of Joy

Prayer in gratitudefor employment

Holy St. Joseph, husband of MotherMary and protector of Jesus, and St.Jude, kinsman of Jesus Christ, apos-tle and martyr, great in virtue and

rich in miracles. Faithful intercessorsof all who invoke you both and spe-cial patrons in times of need. To youboth, I had recourse from the depthof my heart and humbly asked you tocome to our assistance in this time ofurgent and desperate need. We nowthank you most humbly for grantingmy petitions. In return, I promised to

make your names known and tohave this prayer published. Amen.

Felicity and David Borland.

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SnapshotKeystone Anokam (11)

studies the rubrics at aFirst Communion Mass for 38 boys and girls in

St Martin de Porreschurch in Sunnyside,

Pretoria, celebrated by Fr David Motsepe.

This delightful photo wastaken by Fr Mathibela

Sebothoma.

Many of us are still recovering from the damage apartheid did to us. Crime and racist tendencies nourish one another and feed off each other. Read why Help, My Granny’s Dog Is a

Racist proves this astonishing claim — and others too — that will make you cry or laugh orangry or at least embarrassed.

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076 416 1808 See also: www.patricknoonanbooks.org.za or read the review

“This book is a gift to South African Teachers and Parents”

What readers said:David Sadie, director, Imsimbi Training:The book should be compulsory reading inour schools, helping to create a solid founda-tion for our united rainbow nation.Albert Nolan OP, theologian and best-sell-ing author: For those white people who cannot under-stand why black people react so strongly ateven the slightest sign of racism today, thisbook will be a real eye-opener. Anyone inter-ested in the real meaning of racism todaywould do well to read this book.Rev Gift Moerane, ecumenist and Execu-tive Mayor, Emfuleni:This easy-to-read book provides invaluableinformation and points of referencing for anynational dialogue or public debate on socialcohesion and even reconciliation. The ques-tions at the end of each chapter in the newedition will be of great help to readers, teach-

ers and educators. I recommend Help! MyGranny’s Dog is a Racist as a resource man-ual for ideas on national reconciliation andnation building. Its timing is overdue. RM Mogane, paediatrician, St Anne's So-dality, Gauteng: I believe we blacks have much to learn fromthese pages. I never knew what white peoplewere feeling or going through in the ’80swhen apartheid was falling asunder. Thisbook offers compelling suggestions for groupdiscussions in parish groups and schools. Fr Mokesh Kantilal Morar, Young Chris-tian Students organiser:With many people, even within theChurches, in a state of denial, amnesia orlethargy, this essential book comes at theright time. Terry Oakley-Smith, Thought leader and

commentator on diversity:I recommend this book for all South Africanswho want to play a role in bringing our frac-tured unequal lives together. Kenneth N Lukuko, Institute for Justiceand Reconciliation, Cape Town:This small volume opens for us in a mostoriginal and sometimes moving manner athoughtful journey of discovery which pointstowards social cohesion, a common human-ity, and ultimately even reconciliation. Itshould draw widespread circulation in gov-ernment and church schools and institutes ofeducational.John Allen Green OFM, writer and formerchaplain to the Knights of De Gama:The story of Ruth and her inner journey ofdiscovery of the nonsense she grew up ac-cepting should be the basis of a play; com-pelling, thought-provoking, tearful and

some-times infuriating. It has all themakings of a Broadway hit. The pertinent,sometimes humorous questions at the end ofeach chapter will add flavour to the discus-sion. It is a story of hope! It is a book for ourworld and our time. Didi Kgongoane, medical student: Help, My Granny’s Dog is a Racist! unveilsthe forgotten story of the opening of Catholicschools to all races, the secret persecution ofSouth African clergy in the ’80s stretching asfar as Washington, how other countries andindividuals deal with reconciliation eventoday, and the struggles of the multi-culturalcommunity of the early Church. Catholicsdon’t know these things! A perfect book gift.Thank you, Fr Noonan!

HELP! MY GRANNY’S DOG IS A RACIST!

Written by Franciscan Paddy Noonan, author of the acclaimed They’re Burning the Churches.

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ASSOCIATES CAMPAIGN

Be part of our centenary by joining our Associates Campaign. Sign up for a minimum contribution of R100 per month. TELL UShow you would like your contribution to be spent by choosing one of these three options:

Cardinal Owen McCann Associate – SA’s first Cardinaland one-time editor of TheSouthern Cross.Securing the Future: Supportingthe general running costs of The Southern Cross, includinggrowing our digital footprint,being innovative and embracingthe future of Catholic media.

Bl Benedict Daswa Associate– SA’s first Blessed, teacher and catechist.Outreach: Providing free copies of our magazine to prisons, hospitals, rural clinics, Catholicschools and seminaries, churcheswhere parishioners cannot affordthe magazine, and distribution tothe poor through Church agencies.

Dorothy Day Associate –social justice activist andCatholic newspaper publisher.Keeping the News Flowing: Forour journalists, contributors andsubscriptions to news services, tocontinue to spread the Gospeland social teachings, keep up todate with international news andcover activities at local level.

•• YYoouu aarreewelcome to select more than one option. • RReecceeiivvee aa free digital or print subscription if you donate R200 or more per month.• AAss aann AAssssoocciiaattee, Holy Mass will be celebrated foryour intentions twice per year.• AAss aann AAssssoocciiaattee, you will receive regular updates on the campaign.• SSiiggnn uupp oonnlliinnee and select R1200, R2400, 3000 or 5000annual contribution or contribute any amount via EFT.

Sign up online www.digital.scross.co.za/associates-campaign or email admin@scross.co.za

ON FEBRUARY 2, 1990, President FW de Klerk unbanned the liberationmovements, setting in motion the path to democ-racy in South Africa. Thatsame day near Mbahe, inwhat then was the “home-land” of Venda, 33-year-oldschool headmaster BenedictTshimangadzo Daswa had abusy day giving lifts to sev-eral people. Then a mob setupon him.

As Daswa prayed, theymercilessly murdered the fa-ther of five. Why? Becausehe refused to contribute to awitch-hunt, as his Catholicfaith and reason prescribed.Just R5 would have saved hislife, but Daswa refused onprinciple.

His death might have re-mained a senseless crime,but the devotion of the localpeople came to the atten-tion of Bishop Hugh Slatteryof Tzaneen. After due inves-tigation, he approved the in-

stitution of a sainthood cause for this holy man, who tookthe name Benedict after his conversion to Catholicism.

On September 13, 2015, Bl Daswa was beatified as a mar-tyr at Tshitanini near Thohoyandou. His tomb is in the smallchurch at Nweli, which he had helped build. Devotion to Bl Daswa is growing throughout South Africa.

His feast is on February 1. See www.benedictdaswa.org.zafor details on how the feast will be observed this year.

Final WordsGreat Quotes onPEACE

‘Peace begins with a smile.’ – St Teresa of Kolkatta (1910-97)

‘While you are proclaimingpeace with your lips,

be careful to have it evenmore fully in your heart.’

– St Francis of Assisi (c.1181–1226)

‘Peace without justice is an impossibility.’

– Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931- )

‘Peace is the priority of allpolitics. God will ask an accounting of those whofailed to seek peace, or who fomented tensions

and conflicts.’ – Pope Francis (1936- )

‘Opting for peace does notmean a passive acquiescenceto evil or compromise ofprinciple. It demands a

[nonviolent] active struggleagainst hatred, oppression

and disunity.’ – St John Paul II (1920-2005)

‘If you want to make peacewith your enemy, you have towork with your enemy. Thenhe becomes your partner.’

– Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

‘Peace is a daily, a weekly, amonthly process, graduallychanging opinions, slowlyeroding old barriers, quietlybuilding new structures.’

– John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

‘Let us not be justices of thepeace, but angels of peace. ‘

– Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-97)

THE PARISH PRIEST VISITS THE LOCALschool’s Grade 4 religious education

class, and wants to see how much thechildren know about the Bible.

He asks: “Who knows who broke thewall of Jericho?” Silence. Father asks:“Anyone?” Eventually Johnny raises hishand and says: “I don’t know who brokethe wall of Jericho, but it wasn’t me.”

Puzzled by the answer, the priest looksat the teacher. She says: “Well, if Johnnysays he didn’t do it, then I believe him.”

Shocked at such ignorance, the priestgoes to the headmaster. He says: “Father,I know the teacher well enough to knowthat if she believes Johnny, then the boyis telling the truth.”

Fed up, the priest phones the ministerof education, a former parishioner, and re-lates to her what had happened.

The minister sighs: “Father, I knowneither the boy nor the teacher nor theprincipal, but get three quotes and we’llhave the wall fixed.”

Buy the Church Chuckles book of Catholic jokes! email books@scross.co.za or go to www.digital.scross.co.za/church-chuckles

History in ColourA snapshot from the past, colourised exclusively for The Southern Cross

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