Washing cars for God Washing cars for God Washing cars for God

Transcription

A publication of the Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg
4
Telephone (011) 402 6400 • www.catholicjhb.org.za
Financial problems force
St Augstine’s to downsize
Washing cars I
for God
T
he Young
Adult Group
at St Charles
Lwanga, Orange Farm parish
had a fun-filled, enjoyable day
on 1 September to welcome in
the season of Spring.
After a very chilly Saturday,
we were ready and rearing to go
to brave the cold to wash cars for a good and worthy cause,
which is fundraising for the
refurbishment of our beloved
home, St Charles Lwanga.
Thankfully mother nature was on
n a shock move, St Augustine’s
College in Johannesburg, known as
the “Catholic university,” announced
it will be suspending its undergraduate degrees from next year
because of financial problems.
Furthermore, it is being forced to
sell off its Victory Park property to pay
debts.
This leaves many students in the
lurch as they only have a few weeks
left to apply to other institutions.
One of the main causes of the
financial problems has been students
not paying their fees.
The college, which was established
in 1999 by a group of private individuals with the help of the local clergy
through the Southern African Catholic
Bishops Conference (SACBC), has said
it is not closing, but downsizing.
Professor Rex Van Vuuren, Academic
Dean said that over a number of years,
our side and
the weather
was good.
The birds were chirping and the
spirit all round was very high.
Much appreciation is
extended to our parish priest,
Fr Victor Ngwenya for his enthusiastic support, as well as other
community members who
entrusted us to deliver a great
service and, needless to say,
were not disappointed – they had
shiny and clean cars.
YA Team from St Charles
Lwanga, Orange Farm
the college had been battling to meet
its budgeted student and donor income
and will be operating on a smaller
scale from the beginning of 2014.
“The announcement of the scaling
down of the operations has come as a
shock to all. However, the fact is that
the college has been battling a
financial squeeze for the past year.
“St Augustine receives no State
funding at all, but relies on the fees
paid by students and the very generous
donations which have been made over
the years by both overseas and South
African donors. While the overseas
receipts are ring-fenced for capital
expenditure, the local donations have
been used for the running costs of the
college. In an ideal world, the student
fees would have been paid on time and
been the balancing figure in the
equation. However, in common with
virtually all universities in South Africa,
Singing
proudly
Fr Stan
from yoyo to hula-hoop
L
ast year, when our
recently- ordained
deacons received their
appointments, one of them was
surprised: Raphaël, a
Congolese, who did his two
years’ pastoral experience in
Algeria and studied theology in
South Africa (Cedara), was
appointed to... Brazil! Quite
unexpected for a Missionary of
Africa! He himself was
surprised, yet happy to fulfil his
mission to the African world.
Indeed, our policy is that, while
Africa remains the preferential
place for our missionary
activity, the African world
outside Africa is also very
important.
O
ccasionally, in the affairs of men,
there appears a giant who
drastically improves the lives of all
he meets; a colossus who during a lifetime
achieves what others dream of doing in an
eternity; a leviathan whose presence is a
joy and inspiration to all who share it. An
ordinary, likeable, friendly man who
without any particularly obvious talents,
simply gets on with things to astonishing
effect. Such a man was Irish Franciscan
friar, Father Stan Brennan.
Colour Blind Faith recounts the life of Father Stan, whose dogged
resistance to the might of the South African apartheid machine
brought comfort and opportunity to a community that would
otherwise have been little more than another distressing statistic in
the country’s roll of dishonour.
Told in an accessible and engaging way, Father Stan’s life stands as a
role model for every person who feels disempowered in today’s world,
or who is tempted to fall back on the excuse that one person can never
make a difference.
Today’s ‘enemies’ may not be as brutal or omnipresent as apartheid,
but the power of faith and the human spirit to effect change is as
relevant in every corner of our modern world as it was in the South
Africa of the 70s and 80s.
The book is written and edited by David Gemmel, who wrote the
biography of Joost van der Westhuizen.
‘I just loved this big teddy bear of a man with the huge smile and, as it
turned out, very big heart.’ – Tokyo Sexwale, anti-apartheid activist,
businessman and politician.
Have you ever
played with a
yoyo?
You know how it
constantly goes up
and down. It
reminds me
of how, in
the past, all
missionaries were
Higher Certificate in Biblical Studies
Undergraduate degrees
- BA, BCom (PPE), BTh
OCTOBER 2013
the level of student debtors has
reached astronomical amounts with
very little possibility of settlement,” he
said.
A further aspect of funding is the
unwillingness of large corporates to
give money to institutions affiliated
with any religion or denomination. This
has meant that St Augustine has relied
on its very generous private donors, he
said.
All undergraduate degrees will
continue to the end of 2013 at the
present campus in Victory Park. The
students in third year will be able to
graduate in 2014 with a St Augustine
degree. First and second year students
will be able to transfer to other local
universities to complete their degrees.
This is possible because all the
modules taught at St Augustine are
recognised both nationally and
internationally. The college is in
To page 10
coming from the north going to
the south and back to the north. It
was the Mission North-South,
North-South, North-South... like a
yoyo game... People were used to
see missionaries coming from
Europe and North America, and
that was it!
Nowadays, wherever we
go, we meet missionaries from all
corners of the
world!
They come
from India,
the Philippines,
South America,
Korea and Australia.
We have started to understand that
the mission is no longer like the
game of yoyo, but rather like the
game of hula hoop! The circle
goes in all directions: East-West,
North-South, up and down and all
around!
One of the most important
messages from Vatican II is surely
this: “The pilgrim Church is
missionary by her own nature.”
Honours degrees
BA(Hons) in Peace Studies
BEd(Hons) in Religious and Values Education
BTh(Hons)
admin@staugustine.ac.za | Tel (011) 380 9000 | www.staugustine.ac.za
Daveyton church
vandalised four
times in two weeks
Places of worship have always
been treated with utmost respect
and reverence. When God
appeared to Moses in the burning
bush he told him to come no
closer but to instead remove his
shoes for the ground on which he
stood was holy. The ground was
holy because of God’s presence.
40 years later God did the same
with Joshua at Jericho when he
commanded him to remove his
shoes. And in Leviticus 26:2 God
says, ‘keep my Sabbaths and
reverence my sanctuary.’
When Jesus entered into
Jerusalem and learnt that people
had turned the temple into a
market place, he made a scourge
of small cords and he drove them
all out of the temple warning
them to ‘stop making my Father’s
house a market place’ (Jn 2:16).
To page 9.
To page 9.
Postgraduate degrees
MPhil in a variety of disciplines
DPhil in Theology and Philosophy
Registered with the Department of Education as a private higher education institute under the Higher Education Act. 1997. Certificate No. 2000/HE08/002
October 2013
10
Mission Month ...
New book on
We offer
5
EXPOSE MISSION MONTH
adnews@catholicjhb.org.za
LCM 2013
AD
news
Volume 28 No 6
1
ntions
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for Ocosetofebeleing so
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wish to
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life that they ess of
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sense the nea
end it may
God’s love. That the celebration
.
Missionary sion Day may help
is
M
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e are
of Worl
alize that w mers
re
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not only rece .
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St Anthony’s
Coronationville
confirmations
O
n Friday, 23 August,
Archbishop Buti
Tlhagale confirmed six young adults
from the parish of St. Anthony’s.
During his homily, the Archbishop
encouraged them to stay faithful to their
faith and the church and to become
more active in the church when asked to
do so. He remarked that prayer changes
people’s behaviour, and attitude,
and that Confirmation is not the end
of the journey, but rather the start of
His Grace, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale will administer the Sacrament
making a meaningful contribution. Confirmations
The facilitator
was Colleen
Garrido, spiritual
directors, Fr Charles
Uloko CSsR and
Fr Cletus Onwudiwe
CSsR The newlyconfirmed are: Stephanie Fasasie, Michaela Groenewald, Jodie Bernards,
Roseanne Charles, Giovanni
Fisher and Martin James.
of Confirmation to young people of the following Parishes in October.
Pray for them.
Parish Patronal Feasts October
Fri11Oct 18:00Blessed Sacrament
Malvern
Sat 12 Oct 10:00 St NicholasDaveyton
Sat 12 Oct 17:30 Our Lady of Lourdes
Rivonia
Sun 13 Oct 10:00 Church of Ressurection
Bryanston
Fri 18 Oct 18:00 Blessed Sacrament
Malvern
Sat 19 Oct 10:00 St Joseph’s
Actonville
Sat 19 Oct 17:30 St Augustine’s
Germiston
Sun 20 Oct 09:00 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Vereeniging
Fri 25 Oct 18:00 St Martin de Porres
Geluksdal
Sat 26 Oct 18:00 St Patrick’s
Benoni
Sun 27 Oct 08:00 St Albert’s
Vosloorus
Tuesdays until 26 Nov 19:30-21:30
Family & Faith theme for
September
Hosted by the
Family of God Community
at St Charles, Victory Park
Mary 072 292 8442
Mission of the Family
For more
www.marfam.org.za/blog 2014
International Year of the Family
“FAMILIES TOGETHER,
THAT’S US!”
October is Mission Month
October is Rosary Month
Thursday 3 October 09:30
Clergy On-going Formation
Dr J Urbaniak on Vatican II doc
Apostolicam Actuositatem
St Augustine College
Contact Fr Tony Nunes
011 788-5226
OCTOBER REMINDERS
4 October 19:30 Richard
Cock and the Chanticleer
Singers in celebration of St
Francis of Assisi at Rosebank
Parish 011 788-5226
5 October St Martin de
Porres, Orlando West.
Charity Golf Day at South
Downs Country Club Contact
Musa Shangase
082 442 7204
5 October
St Faustina's Feast Day.
Mass at 15:00 at Divine
Mercy Parish, Walkerville.
011 949 4426
FAITH RENEWAL
IN THE SPIRIT OF
VATICAN II
Talks on Mariology and Cult of
Saints by Frs Zweli and George
continue at 18:00 in the parishes
below on the dates in October
St Pius Tuesday 1st
St Angela Wednesday 2nd
Molapo Thursday 3rd
Catechetical Training
Course
Our Catholic Faith; Christian
Morality
Saturday 12 October 11:00-16:00
Respect for Life
Catechetics Department
French Mass
Sundays 13 & 27 October 11:15
Our Lady of Lourdes, Rivonia
Every Sunday 10:00
Our Lady of Lourdes, City Deep
Catholic Francophone Community
Chaplain Fr Blaise Mambu
076-211-5232
2
Volume 28 No 6
St Therese of the Child Jesus, Alberton
Edenvale and Zondi
Holy Guardian Angles, Bezuidenhout Valley
St Francis of Assisi, Reiger Park,
Rust-ter-Vaal, Vanderbijlpark and Yeoville
The Holy Rosary, Phiri
St Margaret, Diepkloof
O
MISSION SUNDAY
20 OCTOBER
Healing Seminar
Wednesday 23 October 10:00
Morning of Recollection
for Diocesan Clergy
FAITH RENEWAL IN THE
SPIRIT OF VATICAN II
At 18:00 in the parishes below on
the dates in October this series of
talks for the Year of Faith draws
to a close.
There will be time for questions.
St Margaret
St Albert
St Pius X
St Angela
Molapo
Tuesday 8 & 22nd
Thursday 10 & 24th
Tuesday 15 & 29th
Wed 16&30th
Thursday 17 & 31st
Friday 18 October : 09:00
Grade 7 Mass at
Regina Mundi
Contact CSO 011 4479219
Retreat for Caregivers
People living with HIV and all
interested. Cathedral, Small Hall
RSVP:AIDS Department,
Sr Claudia, Ndivile or Lisa.
Sunday 27 October 10:00
VOCATIONS MASS
Cathedral of Christ the King
Discernment group for School
Grades 10 to 12 and Young Adults
meets afterwards in the Small Hall.
Contact Susan 011 402 6400
vocations@catholicjhb.org.za
Father Thabo 082 8246 394
Facebook Thabo Motshegwa
Pray outside the abortion facilities
Saturday 2 November 10:30-12:00
Randburg
Mass for Zimbabwean
Community
at St Francis of Assisi, Yeoville
011 339-5954
SCHOENSTATT
18 Peter Place near
Sandton Clinic
Gandhi Square
Contact Marie Nichol
011 618-2489
Mass for Ethiopian and Eritrean
Community in Amharic
at St Francis of Assisi, Yeoville
Followed by Bible Study
Hailu Adalo 072-357-7185
hailuadalo@yahoo.com
PRH Workshops
4-6, 12, 13 October
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF
MY LIFE &
18 - 20 October
DISCOVERING THE CORE OF
MY IDENTITY
Both in Observatory with
Verena Kennerknecht
011648 3456 / 072 375 9053
Bedfordview
c/r Florence &
van Buuren Roads.
Tel 011 4555146
Covenant hour. Rosary & meditation.
Morning Mass every Saturday 08:00
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament:
every Sunday 11:00-12:30
Holy Hour & Adoration every Thursday
17:30-18:30
Our Lady of the
Angels Chapel
Edenvale, 011 609 7246
1 November First Friday Mass
10:30; Exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament one hour before.
2 November First Saturday Devotions 15:00-16:00
Saturday 19 October 12:00 to 16:00
THE SCRIPTURES IN
THEIR JEWISH CONTEXT
Bat Kol Institute. Year theme is Book of
Genesis: The Beginnings: Persons and
Personalities.
Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt
Cathedral Place
Catholic Bible College, 082-760-0809
btrnchellew@gmail.com
PARISH FAMILY MINISTRY
WORKSHOP
“Looking ahead to enriching parish families with a special focus on
bereavement ministry”
Contact Toni 0825521275
homefun@icon.co.za
btrnchellew@gmail.com
Fr Sikhosiphi Mgoza baptising baby Kuhlekonke as his
parents and god-parent,
Lebo Lentsoane, joyfully
witness.
n Sunday,18 August, Fr Sikhosiphi
Mgoza OP, parish priest of St Phillip
Neri, Moletsane baptised 17 infants. In
his homily, he highlighted the importance
of the sacrament of baptism, as, he said, it
is through it that we are made children of
God. He explained that we believe in one
baptism for the forgiveness of sins and
why it is important to invoke the Litany
of Saints before baptisms. This is because
we ask those that are with God to protect
the children and be patrons to those who
are called by their names. He concluded
his homily by appealing to the parents
and godparents to take full responsibility
in the upbringing of the children
especially relating to their Christian lives.
Community Notice Board
Chancery 011 402-6400
For all departments
Cathedral Place
186 Nugget St, Berea
1 October
2 October
4 October
7 October
16 October
Moletsane
baptisms
Tuesday 5 November 08:30-15:30
Debriefing of AIDS
counsellors
Only those counsellors trained by
the department. Book with the AIDS
department.
Remember the faithful
departed in November
Sunday 10 November 18:00
CHARISMATIC MASS
Report and photo: Lebo WA Majahe
CATHEDRAL OF
CHRIST THE KING
011 023-1501
Mass for Nigerian Community
Chief Sylvester 083-727-6401
Mass for Malawian Community
Felix on 0745167705 or
0718289967
Saturday 26 October 20:00 to
Charismatic all-night vigil
St John the Baptist Catholic Church,
Brakpan
Celebrant Fr Thabo Motshegoa
Contact Joan Paul on 0793964616
jbpaul@iburst.co.za
Saturday 2 November 13:00
Culture of Life campaign
Holy Hour
Adoration of Blessed Sacrament
13-17 November
World Congress of COMUICAP
titled Order and Disorder in the Age
of Globaliszation(s): Philosophy
and the Development of Cultures
www.comiucap.net
Wind breaker found at the Cathedral
after the Women's Day celebration.
Contact Lydia Moloi on 0604623436
or lydiamoloi@gmail.com
St Augustine
College,
Victory Park
Sat 16 November 09:00–12:00
Founders Day
St Catherine’s School
31 Piercy Ave, Parkhill Gardens,
Germiston 011 827-4117
Celebrate all the teachers, pupils,
parents and friends of the school
who contributed to the founding and
development of the school.
Feast of Christ
the King
24 November
Close of the Year of Faith
Could you not
spend one hour
with me?’
Holy Hour 15:00 -16:00
Every Saturday
Sung Chaplet of
The Divine Mercy
Assumption Convent Chapel
Pandora Rd, Malvern.
Enquiries 074-193-0449
Free Notices
Notices here are free but limited
to announcements of events with
contact details. Send your notices to
adnews@icon.co.za by the 10th of
each month. Fax 011 4026406
Found
Next ADNews is due
on Sunday
3 November. Collect
from 30 October.
@catholicjhb.org.za
The chancery departments all have
new e mail addresses.
Engaged?
Congratulations!
Now is the time to talk
to your parish priest
about marriage
preparation Catholic
Engaged Encounter
info@engagedencounter.co.za
Join the Archdiocesan
News group and use it
to share your blessings
and faith.
CWL Adoption Society
Reach the CWL Adoption
Society on 011 618-1533 or
adoptions@mweb.co.za
www.adoptions.org.za
Adoption, the loving option
This Year of Faith deepen your
faith. SMS the word 'JOY' to
31222 for daily SMS of quotes
from the Youth Cathechism
(YouCat). R4pw
October 2013
Excluded in
Translation?
Father Thomas Plastow S.J.
Answers Liturgy Questions
This month’s question comes
from Victory Park
Can anything be done to make
the language of the Lectionary
more inclusive?About 70 people
attend weekday Mass in our
parish. About 90% of these are
women, yet over and over the
readings say ‘he’, ‘man’, ‘men’,
etc. The occasional ‘she’ might
jolt listeners out of their
lethargy, and include the
majority of those being
addressed.
The Lectionary is the book used
at Mass which contains those
scripture readings stipulated for
each day in the liturgical year as
well as those given as options
for various types of celebration.
In 2012 a new edition of the
Lectionary was published for
English-speaking Africa. This
new Lectionary uses the Revised
Standard Version of the Bible
(Second Catholic Edition, 2006)
except for the Psalms which are
taken from the Revised Grail
Psalms of 2010. Previously we
in southern Africa had been
listening to The Jerusalem Bible
of 1966 and the Grail Psalms of
1963.
Which scriptural translations
are allowed in Church?
The New Revised Standard
Version, the New Jerusalem
Bible, the Revised New
American Bible and the Catholic
Edition of the Good News Bible
are some of the more recent
translations which have been
approved by various Englishspeaking bishops’ conferences
and are thus recommended for
private use. Since it takes a lot
of time and money to bring out
a new edition of the Lectionary,
a limited number of Bible
translations have been used in
this way. We are now using the
Revised Standard Version while
American Catholics are using
the New American Bible.The
Bishops of England and Wales
were contemplating using the
English Standard Version, but I
have not been able to find out
how far they have progressed
with this project. As you might
expect, there are differences of
spelling and idiom on either
side of the Atlantic, but the
greatest difference is found in
Canada where, since 1992, the
Canadian Lectionary has used
the New Revised Standard
Version.
It differs from all other English
language Lectionaries in that it is
an inclusive language text.
What is meant by “inclusive
language”?
Like with most northern
European languages, English has
long used masculine pronouns for
groups of people and for the
entire human race. Inclusive
language is the choice of words
which seeks to include all those
who will read or hear the text.
Words like “man”, “men” and
“brethren” are replaced by
“human being”, “people” and
“brothers and sisters”. Many
Catholic women report that this
kind of substitution enables them
to feel included in the group to
whom the scriptures are being
proclaimed.
When words refer to other
people or groups, as in the above
examples, we call this “horizontal
language”. Many clergy have a
great sympathy with this, but
little headway has been made.
Most would have no problem
with inclusive collective expressions for human beings, eg: substituting “brothers and sisters” for
“brethren”. What has proven less
acceptable has been the removal
of “man” and “men” when the
text is referring to a group of
people irrespective of gender.
Jesus calls himself the “Son of
man” and is referred to as the
“new Adam” and the “new man,”
and this may be why the
authorities are very anxious about
removing the word “man”
altogether.
“Vertical language” is that
which speaks of God or addresses
God. Some feminists object to
calling God “Father”, and seek to
remove all masculine nouns and
pronouns from writing about
God. The Church hierarchy
rejects all such attempts.
What can be done to neutralise
offensive language?
If we stick to the printed word,
we will not have any change. If
we make substitutions as we go
along, we are liable to make a
mess of things. If your parish
were to buy a Canadian Lectionary, you would be out of sync
with the rest of the bishops’
conference area, and there would
be complaints from those wishing
to follow in their little missals.
There is also a lack of clarity
since those who want change are
branded “subversive”, and those
who are content are called
misogynists. We’re in a real
pickle.
From left: Bishop Kevin Dowling,
vice chairperson of the SACBC’s
Justice and Peace Commission and
Episcopal representative on the
Church’s Rural Support and
Development Project, Brian Mooi,
Fr Raymond McQuarrie, Jacob
Sedibi and Tony Mokheseng at an
indaba on economic inequality held
on 3 September at St John Vianney
Seminary and hosted by the SACBC
J&P department.
Economic
Inequality
T
he huge disparity in
income between top
earners and the lowest
paid workers and unemployed
poor in South Africa is illogical,
a sin, a national disgrace and
unfair. These were some of the
words used in discussion during
the day-long interfaith colloquy
which was attended by the
Archdiocesan Vicar for Justice
and Peace, Fr Raymond and J&P
fieldworkers Tony, Brian and
Jacob. The day was facilitated by
Mike Roussos. Bishop Kevin
gave a theological reflection on
the alternatives to the current
economic system.
Vimal Ranchhod, associate
professor at the South African
Labour and Development
Research Unit of UCT, whose
research interests include labour
economics, economic
Fr Anthony Egan
conducts a session
on “Handling
Moral Issues”.
His was one of
eight topics
offered at the
Catechetics
Formation and
Creativity day
on August 24.
Faith in Action
October 2013
Lay Leaders’ conference a success!
T
he Department of Evangelisation, under the leadership
of Odilon Molapo, joined forces with the office of Divine
Worship and Liturgy for a successful lay leaders’
conference. This took place at St John’s, Northriding
on 24 August. The theme for the day was ‘The Year of faith:
A challenge to my Faith as a Lay Leader’, with Fr Paul Beukes
facilitating. The event was about making leaders aware of
their role, especially in the Church mission, and to make them
understand the type of leadership that emulates Christ.
Approximately 260 people attended and Odilon was happy
with the positive feedback he has been getting from participants and that the conference had accomplished its objective.
Most departments were present and given slots to explain
their work and how they need participation from the laity
throughout the Archdiocese to carry out the task of being
disciples of all nations. Nomawethu Sango gave a talk on
faith formation with “Our faith on a daily basis,” as a theme.
Renew Africa received prominence as an effective tool of
evangelisation. Fr Beukes strongly urged people to take
advantage of it by using its fruits to nurture our spiritual lives.
Ndivile Mokoena of the Aids Department also gave input on
their work with Sr Claudia, who, amongst others, is tasked is
with helping parishes establish health desks. They also give
counseling to those infected and affected. The Aids department hopes to have a seminar with priests and health care
workers in which they will tackle sexuality and the Church
ethos. Priority will be given to youth, with the emphasis on
abstinence, as a way of preventing infection. They are also
going to sponsor a weekend training course for about 30
people representing all deaneries in the Archdiocese on
theology of the body. Felicity O’ Donnell, a parishioner of
St John’s, gave a beautiful talk on how fulfilling it is being an
active Catholic. She spoke fondly of the priests and religious
sisters who greatly contributed to her being the devout
Christian she is today.
Report by Lebo WA Majahe
“Faith in action is salt and light to the
world” was the theme for the Year of Faith
annual get together of catechists. There
were 3 sessions giving participants the
opportunity to attend three of the nine
presentations offered.
Our Lady’s chapel of the cathedral was
turned into an “atrium” for Catechesis of the
Good Shepherd. Sharon Westley, Jeanette
Armstrong and Lea Jorge demonstrated this
method of religious formation for very
young children. Good Shepherd Catechesis
is rooted in the Bible, the liturgy of the
church and the educational principles of
Maria Montessori.
Mrs Beatrice Nkuna spoke on “Freedom
is a force for growth and maturity”.
Fr Stanley Masilompana presented
“Commandments: Respecting God and
People”. “What is Christian Morality” was
the topic of Sr Patricia Finn’s presentation.
Peta Horn offered “Making lessons
interesting for grades 5, 6 and 7”. Sr Sarah Doherty with
co-presenter Mahadi Buthelezi offered “Parents Role
Models and Witnesses of the Faith”. “Understanding the
Sacraments” was Bernadette Chellew’s topic and
Sr TM spoke about SPRED, special religious development
to include people with developmental disabilities in the
community of faith.
Do you have these books?
1. Africa’s Way of Life,
published 1980’s? (English)
2. The History of the Catholic
Church in the Transvaal by
Elizabeth Brain, published
1990’s.
demography, the economics of
inequality and the economics of
education, made a presentation
of the facts and figures on
economic inequality in South
Africa and globally. SA has an
inordinately high GINI coefficient. For every R1 earned by
the poor, the rich earn R43.08.
The purpose of the workshop
was to determine the Church’s
response to the obvious injustice
of the present economic system.
Join us as a sister and bring
healing and joy to our world
The Missionary Sisters
of the Assumption
If you have in your library a copy of
either of the books and are prepared to
donate them to the Tribunal library of
the Archdiocese, please bring them to
Marieke Vrugtman at the Chancery.
Sr Carmel
082 543 9778
srcarmel@wizz.co.za
Contact Marieke Vrugtman
on 011 402 6400
Volume 28 No 6
MSA1101b
3
EXPOSE
– if we work together we
can stand up to corruption!
I
WAYS INTO PRAYER
The Rosary – a path to
contemplating the face
of Christ
Raymond Perrier, Director of South Africa's Jesuit Institute
n his recent visit to Brazil,
Pope Francis addressed people
in a very poor community and
urged them not to lose heart or be
discouraged in the fight against
corruption. He knows that we can
easily give up thinking that there
is nothing we can do.
While that may be true of one
individual acting alone, if we
work together we really can stand
up to corruption. That is why
Archbishop Buti, together with the
other Catholic Bishops of
Southern Africa, is encouraging
Catholics to join the international
ecumenical campaign against
corruption, called EXPOSED. In
the week of 14 to 20 October
there will be prayer services and
actions and protests organised by
a variety of churches as part of a
Global Vigil Against Corruption.
Corruption happens when
leaders – in business, government, public life and the wider
community – misuse their power
for personal gain. It happens when
traffic police extract bribes from
motorists rather than following the
letter of the law. It happens when
people are appointed to jobs based
on family, tribal or political
connections rather than merit. It
happens when public officials
demand money from citizens to
speed up access to passports and
identity documents. It happens
when large corporations bribe
parliamentarians to favour their
tenders for public contracts.
None of this, I suspect, should
be ‘news’ to South Africans. In the
last 20 years or so, few have not
been exposed to corruption in one
or other form. But we are tempted
to point out to those who receive
the bribe as the corrupt. What
about the 47% of South Africans
who have at one time or other
paid a bribe? My guess is that
there are some Catholics among
that number!
All in all, the global cost of
corruption worldwide is estimated
at US $1 trillion a year, money
that could have been much better
used. Above all, it is the poor –
the anawim to use a Biblical term
– that pay the price.
The Catholic Church, together
with all faith communities, deeply
opposes corruption in all its
forms, not simply because it is the
poor who suffer first and worst –
but because it creates a culture of
dishonesty and injustice that flies
in the face of faith. As Pope
Francis warned in his earlier
writings: “Corruption is worse
than any sin because it hardens
the heart against feeling shame or
guilt and hearing God’s call for
conversion.”
The Bishops’ Justice and Peace
Commission and the Jesuit
Institute are providing suggestions of how your parish can get
involved in EXPOSED. A 2-pager
is being distributed to all parishes
in a range of languages and can
be downloaded from www.
jesuitinstitute.org.za/exposed.
Here are some ideas to begin
with: What can I do?
On my own:
· Commit not to corrupt or to be
corrupted
· Confess my complicity and
decide to convert
· Call on political, religious and
business leaders to be honest
With others in my community:
· Organise a sign-up of the
global petition for the G-20
Summit
· Promote and participate in
activities being organised by
churches between October 14
- 20 as part of the global vigil.
Frances Correia of the Jesuit InstituteSouth Africa, explores Ignatian Spirituality.
O
be described in terms of friendship.
We are thereby enabled to enter
naturally into Christ’s life and to share
his deepest feelings.”(Pope John Paul II)
At its heart, this is a prayer of
intimacy, of encounter with the living
Lord. As I remember with Jesus, His
life, as I gaze at Him, as I contemplate
Him, so my heart is opened to falling
in love with Him. Ultimately Jesus’s
coming to be with us, is an act of
profound love, of God giving God’s self
to us. In praying contemplatively, using
the stories from scripture and the
rhythm of the Rosary, I open myself up
to responding to God’s generous
invitation to love.
ctober has long been dedicated
to the prayer of the Rosary. In
thinking about this prayer which
is so characteristically Catholic, I have
been struck by some of the teaching of
the popes on the subject.
Pope Paul VI wrote: “Without
contemplation, the Rosary is a body
without a soul, and its recitation runs
the risk of becoming a mechanical
repetition of formulas, in violation of
the admonition of Christ: ‘In praying do
not heap up empty phrases as the
Gentiles do; for they think they will be
heard for their many words’ (Mt 6:7).
Pope John Paul II reminds us that,
‘No one has ever devoted himself to
the contemplation of the face of Christ
as faithfully as Mary,’ and that ‘Mary’s
contemplation is above all a
remembering.’
The prayer of contemplation is
central to the Christian mystery of the
Rosary. We are invited to enter
contemplatively, using the gift of the
imagination, to encounter our Risen
Lord.
In his advice on how to pray
contemplatively, St Ignatius
emphasises setting the scene, and
using all of my senses to do this. First I
read the passage of scripture which I
will be contemplating as I pray the
Rosary. For example, from the
Mysteries of Light, the baptism in the
Jordan. (Matthew 3, Luke 3, Mark 1)
I remember with Jesus where He
was and what He was doing. I notice
what can I see, what I can smell or
taste, what can I hear and what can I
feel. As the story unfolds, I contemplate him and sense what feelings and
responses arose in Him at the time of
His Baptism. I let the rhythm of the
Rosary hold me in the depth of
contemplation. Every time
I feel distracted, the
prayer of the Rosary
draws me back to
contemplating the
mystery of Jesus
baptism.
As I come to the end,
I allow some time of
conversation with the
Heaven sent you to love me last May
Lord, talking to Him in my
And I’ve since cherished each blessed day
heart about what I have
Oh light of my life, my unborn child.
been contemplating and
But your frail heart now means you’ll soon
letting Him speak into my
leave me
own heart. This is a
Although you do not wish to grieve me
prayer of the heart – of
friendship with the one
My mind has caressed you each second
I love.
While the date of your birth vainly beckoned
“In the spiritual journey
of the Rosary, based on
Your days with our Lord will be happy
the constant contemplaSo take courage but do not forget me
tion, in Mary’s company,
of the face of Christ.” This
The Lord Jesus will love you and guide you
demanding ideal of being
Until I am once more beside you
conformed to Him is
pursued through an
Lord, for those blessed infants I pray
association which could
In my place of work:
· Be honest in my practices
· Honour the laws of the land and
of the church
· Help support whistle-blowers
· Have the courage to expose
corrupt practices.
Following the example of our
church leaders, let us embrace and
participate in the Global Vigil
against Corruption. If
you want to support
Exposed as an
individual or as a
parish go to www.
exposed2013.com. Or
contact SACBC Justice
& Peace Dept (Tel: 012
323 6458; Email:
jandp@sacbc.org.za
My Unborn Child
Who will not see the light of your day
Like the love of my life, my unborn child
Please take them to live by your side
In the love they had not when they died
With the light of my life, my unborn child.
My child, could I now choose to keep you
Unlike mothers who went not this way
I would treasure our future together
‘til our Lord came to fetch me one day.
Oh love of my life, my unborn child
(By) A Mother.
Not in my name
O
n 24 August, Fr Lizwelinjani Mlotshwa, parish
priest of St Margaret,
Diepkloof, and Tony Mokheseng,
Justice & Peace fieldworker for
the south and central deanery,
attended a men’s rally at the
Johannesburg Stadium, organised
by Brothers for Life, a men’s
coalition, and the South African
National Aids Council, where
they signed a pledge that no
women and children should be
abused, raped, killed, in their
name.
‘Not in my Name’ was a
declaration by the men of South
Africa for the elimination of
violence against women and
children.
Brian Mooi (J&P fieldworker for Soweto)
4 Volume 28 No 6
October 2013
“The missionary task belongs to every
baptised person ...” – Pope Francis
Message of Pope Fracis for World
Mission Day 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This year, as we celebrate World Mission Day, the Year of Faith,
which is an important opportunity to strengthen our friendship
with the Lord and our journey as a Church that preaches the
Gospel with courage, comes to an end. From this perspective, I
would like to propose some reflections.
1. Faith is God’s precious gift, which opens our mind to know and
love him. He wants to enter into relationship with us and allow
us to participate in his own life in order to make our life more
meaningful, better and more beautiful. God loves us! Faith,
however, needs to be accepted, it needs our personal response,
the courage to entrust ourselves to God, to live his love and be
grateful for his infinite mercy. It is a gift, not reserved for a few
but offered with generosity. Everyone should be able to
experience the joy of being loved by God, the joy of salvation! It
is a gift that one cannot keep to oneself, but it
is to be shared. If we want to keep it only to
ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and
sick Christians. The proclamation of the Gospel
is part of being disciples of Christ and it is a
constant commitment that animates the whole
life of the Church. Missionary outreach is a clear
sign of the maturity of an ecclesial community"
(BENEDICT XVI, Verbum Domini, 95). Each
community is "mature" when it professes faith,
celebrates it with joy during the liturgy, lives
charity, proclaims the Word of God endlessly,
leaves one’s own to take it to the “peripheries”,
especially to those who have not yet had the
opportunity to know Christ. The strength of our
faith, at a personal and community level, can be
measured by the ability to communicate it to
others, to spread and live it in charity, to
witness to it before those we meet and those
who share the path of life with us.
2. The Year of Faith, fifty years after the beginning
of the Second Vatican Council, motivates the
entire Church towards a renewed awareness of
its presence in the contemporary world and its
mission among peoples and nations. Missionary
spirit is not only about geographical territories,
but about peoples, cultures and individuals,
because the "boundaries" of faith do not only
cross places and human traditions, but the
heart of each man and each woman. The
Second Vatican Council emphasized in a
special way how the missionary task, that of
broadening the boundaries of faith, belongs to
every baptized person and all Christian
communities; since “the people of God lives in
communities, especially in dioceses and
parishes, and becomes somehow visible in
them, it is up to these to witness Christ before
the nations" (Ad Gentes, 37). Each community
is therefore challenged, and invited to make its
own, the mandate entrusted by Jesus to the
Apostles, to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends
of the earth" (Acts 1:8) and this, not as a
secondary aspect of Christian life, but as its
essential aspect: we are all invited to walk the
streets of the world with our brothers and
sisters, proclaiming and witnessing to our faith in Christ and
making ourselves heralds of his Gospel. I invite Bishops,
Priests, Presbyteral and Pastoral Councils, and each person and
group responsible in the Church to give a prominent position to
this missionary dimension in formation and pastoral
programmes, in the understanding that their apostolic
commitment is not complete unless it aims at bearing witness
to Christ before the nations and before all peoples.
3. The work of evangelization often finds obstacles, not only
externally, but also from within the ecclesial community.
Sometimes there is lack of fervour, joy, courage and hope in
proclaiming the Message of Christ to all and in helping the
people of our time to an encounter with him. Sometimes, it is
still thought that proclaiming the truth of the Gospel means an
assault on freedom. We must always have the courage and the
joy of proposing, with respect, an encounter with Christ, and
being heralds of his Gospel. Jesus came among us to show us
the way of salvation and he entrusted to us the mission to
make it known to all to the ends of the earth. All too often, we
see that it is violence, lies and mistakes that are emphasized
and proposed. It is urgent in our time to announce and witness
October 2013
October
is Mission
Month
to the goodness of the Gospel, and this from within the Church
itself. It is important never to forget a fundamental principle for
every evangelizer: one cannot announce Christ without the Church.
Evangelization is not an isolated individual or private act; it is
always ecclesial. Paul VI wrote, "When an unknown preacher,
catechist or Pastor, preaches the Gospel, gathers the little
community together, administers a Sacrament, even alone, he is
carrying out an ecclesial act."
with Christ can give. Let us bring to the world, through our
witness, with love, the hope given by faith! The Church’s
missionary spirit is not about proselytizing, but the testimony of
a life that illuminates the path, which brings hope and love. The
Church – I repeat once again – is not a relief organization, an
enterprise or an NGO, but a community of people, animated by
the Holy Spirit, who have lived and are living the wonder of the
encounter with Jesus Christ and want to share this experience
of deep joy, the message of salvation that the Lord gave us. It is
the Holy Spirit who guides the Church in this path.
5. I would like to encourage everyone to be a bearer of the good
news of Christ and I am grateful especially to missionaries, to
the Fidei Donum priests, men and women religious and lay
faithful - more and more numerous – who by accepting the
Lord's call, leave their homeland to serve the Gospel in different
lands and cultures. But I would also like to emphasize that
these same young Churches are engaging generously in
sending missionaries to the Churches that are in difficulty - not
infrequently Churches of ancient Christian tradition – and thus
bring the freshness and enthusiasm with which they live the
faith, a faith that renews life and gives hope. To live in this
universal dimension, responding to the mandate of Jesus: "Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28,
19) is something enriching for each particular
Church, each community, because sending
missionaries is never a loss, but a gain. I appeal to
all those who feel this calling to respond generously
to the Holy Spirit, according to your state in life, and
not to be afraid to be generous with the Lord. I also
invite Bishops, religious families, communities and
all Christian groups to support, with foresight and
careful discernment, the missionary call ad gentes
and to assist Churches that need priests, religious
and laity, thus strengthening the Christian
community. And this concern should also be present
among Churches that are part of the same Episcopal
Conference or Region, because it is important that
Churches rich in vocations help more generously
those that lack them.
At the same time I urge missionaries, especially
the Fidei Donum priests and laity, to live with joy
their precious service in the Churches to which they
are sent and to bring their joy and experience to the
Churches from which they come, remembering how
Paul and Barnabas at the end of their first
missionary journey "reported what God had done
with them and how he had opened the door of faith
to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27). They can become a
path to a kind of "return" of faith, bringing the
freshness of the young Churches to Churches of
ancient Christian tradition, and thus helping them to
rediscover the enthusiasm and the joy of sharing the
faith in an exchange that is mutual enrichment in
the journey of following the path of the Lord.
The concern for all the Churches that the Bishop
of Rome shares with his brother Bishops finds an
important expression in the activity of the Pontifical
Mission Societies, which are meant to animate and
deepen the missionary conscience of every baptized
Christian, and of every community, by reminding
them of the need for a more profound missionary
formation of the whole People of God and by
encouraging the Christian community to contribute
to the spread of the Gospel in the world.
4. In our era, the widespread mobility and facility of communication
through new media have mingled people, knowledge, experience.
For work reasons, entire families move from one continent to
another; professional and cultural exchanges, tourism, and other
phenomena have also led to great movements of peoples. This
makes it difficult, even for the parish community, to know who
lives permanently or temporarily in the area. More and more, in
large areas of what were traditionally Christian regions, the
number of those who are unacquainted with the faith, or
indifferent to the religious dimension or animated by other beliefs,
is increasing. Therefore it is not infrequent that some of the
baptized make lifestyle choices that lead them away from faith,
thus making them need a "new evangelization". To all this is
added the fact that a large part of humanity has not yet been
reached by the good news of Jesus Christ. We also live in a time
of crisis that touches various sectors of existence, not only the
economy, finance, food security, or the environment, but also those
involving the deeper meaning of life and the fundamental values
that animate it. Even human coexistence is marked by tensions
and conflicts that cause insecurity and difficulty in finding the right
path to a stable peace. The men and women of our time need the
secure light that illuminates their path and that only the encounter
Finally I wish to say a word about those Christians
who, in various parts of the world, experience
difficulty in openly professing their faith and in
enjoying the legal right to practice it in a worthy
manner. They are our brothers and sisters,
courageous witnesses - even more numerous than the martyrs of
the early centuries - who endure with apostolic perseverance
many contemporary forms of persecution. Quite a few also risk
their lives to remain faithful to the Gospel of Christ. I wish to
reaffirm my closeness in prayer to individuals, families and
communities who suffer violence and intolerance, and I repeat to
them the consoling words of Jesus: "Take courage, I have
overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).
Benedict XVI expressed the hope that: "The word of the Lord
may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere" (2 Thes 3:1): May
this Year of Faith increasingly strengthen our relationship with
Christ the Lord, since only in him is there the certitude for looking
to the future and the guarantee of an authentic and lasting love"
(Porta fidei, 15). This is my wish for World Mission Day this year. I
cordially bless missionaries and all those who accompany and
support this fundamental commitment of the Church to proclaim
the Gospel to all the ends of the earth. Thus will we, as ministers
and missionaries of the Gospel, experience "the delightful and
comforting joy of evangelizing" (PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80).
From the Vatican, 19 May 2013, Solemnity of Pentecost
FRANCIS
Volume 28 No 6
5
Not only beautiful,
but talented as well
New Daughters of St Anne
The Daughters of St Anne’s welcomed eight new members into their sodality at
St Joseph’s in Katlehong on Sunday 8 September. They were from Holy Family –
Spruitview; St Anthony – Duduza; Mt Carmel – Thokoza; Holy Trinity – Katlehong
and four from St Joseph’s. Other sodality members who attended came from
St Albert’s – Vosloorus and Sacred Heart – Katlehong. They are pictured with
Fr Elijah Otu, the parish priest, whose homily placed emphasis on the cost of
being a disciple.
Holy Rosary High School recently held its annual Debutantes
Ball at the Birchwood Hotel, to celebrate its Grade 10 girls’
fundraising efforts. This year, over R1,058 million was raised,
with the 2013 Debs Queen, Andrea Arnold, raising R156 577.
The funds were raised through market days, selling school
magazine adverts, private and group functions and selling
raffle tickets. One-third of the funds raised will go towards
various charities including the Holy Rosary Sisters, CHOC,
Love of Christ, St Anne’s Old Age Home, Holy Rosary’s Out-
reach Programme and Little Eden. The remainder of the
funds will go for the upgrading of the high school’s consumer studies kitchen, and towards the Bishop Shanahan
Hall and conference centre which will be officially opened
at the end of October.
In the photo are the 2013 Holy Rosary School debs
showing off their dresses to the school on following
Monday morning.
2014 Leaders at Holy Rosary
Celebrating
spring
St Catherine’s Convent girls, Florida,
celebrated the arrival of spring by
participating in a sponsored walk in
the beautiful Walter Sisulu Botanical
Gardens. The girls had to identify
butterflies and birds in the gardens.
They also bought hand-made butterflies to wear in their hair or on their
shirts. The proceeds of the sale went
towards CANSA. The weather was
sunny and warm and a wonderful
morning was had by all!
Showtime!
Holy Rosary High School recently announced the 2014 leaders of its
various committees – ethos, sport, cultural, spirit, environmental and
outreach portfolios. Pictured here are: Chiara du Plessis (head of
Fatima House), Megan Nair (deputy headgirl: outreach), Simone
Soares (deputy headgirl: culture), Charlotte Hinckley (deputy
headgirl: sport and head of Rosary House), Michela Agostinetto
(headgirl), Olivia Visentin (deputy headgirl: religion), Gabbi Salgado
(head of Shanahan House), and Akhona Mabasa (head of Lourdes
House).
Praying for peace
The grades 6 and 7 Catechism class from St John, the Apostle
parish, Florida united in response to Pope Francis’s plea for a
day of fasting and prayer on Saturday, 7 September. They
each lit a candle and said a prayer for Syria and world peace.
Drama pupils from Holy Rosary School, Edenvale High and Jeppe Boys
put in a great deal of rehearsal time for their production, Macbeth Afrika.
The play encapsulated an African take on the classic William Shakespeare
play. It took place in Holy Rosary’s newly-finished, state-of-the-art Bishop
Shanahan multi-purpose hall.
6 Volume 28 No 6
Science expo bofs
St Catherine’s had many winners in the Eskom Science
Expo which took place on 3 August. The three groups
that were selected at the school’s science
expo went on to represent the school at
the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists on
Saturday, 3rd August Wits. The Grade 6
group, Ongokoptse Cele, Lerato Ngcokwane, Unathi Maseko and Lesego Mlaba
received a bronze medal. The one Grade
7 group, Tiffany-Jane Wilton and AlexiaRei Wilton received a silver medal. The
second Grade 7 group, Dieudonne Van
Der Walt and Xe’nedra De Almeida
(pictured here), received a gold medal
and will go on to be judged a second time
for final selections for the national finals.
Their mentor is Mrs Van der Merwe.
Community members having some fun in the sun,
from left: Tyla Bibis, Yvonne Neethling, Kaylee
Bibis and Yvette Bibis.
Picnic fun at Holy Rosary
The Holy Rosary Parents’ Association recently
held its Moms & Daughters picnic providing fun
for all with live entertainment, massages, stalls
and a craft corner.
October 2013
Right: Sports staff from Catholic
schools enjoyed a sports-specific
day that focused on aspects of
leadership and organisation, and
provided them with a networking
opportunity.
Soweto Youth Deanery
Below: Rosa Calaca (Director,
CSO), Jenny Frattelli (McAuley
House School), Lauren van Graan
(Mayfair Convent) and Dumisani
Kunene (Deputy Director, CSO)
Fr George Njonge, middle front, with both the out-going and in-coming
deanery youth executive members.
O
n Saturday, 17 August, the
youth of Soweto Deanery gathered at St Margret, Diepkloof to elect the new leadership.
The elections were conducted by
the chaplain, Fr George Njonge
Gachaiya and the outgoing
executive of the deanery. The
newly-elected committee was
presented to the Deanery Pastoral
Council General and the Dean of
Soweto, Fr Mohohlo Patrick
Maselwane. The new team aims
to take youth activities to greater
heights. It is hoped that the
majority of young people in
Soweto will participate in deanery
programs. Thapelo Motaung,
chairperson, brings exiting ideas
from his past World Youth Day
experience.
Sports Leaders Day
F
orty nine delegates from 21 Catholic schools attended
a Sports Leaders Day at Marist Brothers, Linmeyer on
Monday, 9 September. It was organised by the Johannesburg Catholic Schools Sports Council. Topics included spiritual leadership, long term participant
development and injury prevention and treatment, and were presented by Raymond Perrier of the Jesuit
Institute, Dave Bensted-Smith and Jon Patricios respectively. The committee received extremely favourable
feedback and the day was appreciated by all who attended.
Brescia House
spreads
happiness
A
B
rescia House Grade 10s
headed off from school on
5 and 6 September for Didasko in
Etwatwa, east of Joburg. This little
school, in the middle of a squatter
camp, provides educational
services to many orphaned and
vulnerable children and relies
almost solely on donations from
the wider community. Our girls
spent two very busy days,
surrounded by 120 very excited
little people, as they repaired,
scraped and painted various areas
of the school.
BEFORE
All in all the experience was
a wonderful one for everyone
involved. New friendships were
formed and the Grade 10 girls
know they have made a huge
positive impact in the lives of
many little people.
Liz Norman
(Community Outreach Co-ordinator)
AFTER
Helping their sister school
Laudate Laudate
Maria!
Forty-five Holy Rosary girls and eight staff members recently
departed for their annual trip to their sister school in Malamulele,
Limpopo. The Holy Rosary girls spent the first long weekend of
their holiday sanding, washing, and painting murals and pictures on
the walls of a crèche classroom and two Grade 0 classrooms. The solemnity of the Assumption
of Mary into Heaven was a day
filled with joy, especially for the
candidates who are preparing to be
part of the sodality of the Children
of Mary in the parish of St Phillip
Neri, Moletsane. On the day five
candidates were presented by the
chairperson of the sodality, Danile
Msiza, to the priest, Fr Sikhosiphi
Mgoza and each was given a
Miraculous Medal. The candidates
made their promises to love,
honour, worship and consecrate
their life to the most holy and
blessed Trinity. They promised to
love our Blessed Mother, to pray
the Rosary every day, be good and
obedient children, and to keep
themselves pure and innocent by
avoiding the occasions of sin.
They were later joined by other
members of the Children of Mary
and the Immaculate Conception
Sodality women to say their
consecration prayers and received
a special blessing from the priest.
Sporting champs
Holy Rosary High School
recently held its interhouse
athletics event, where sisters
Jessica and Samantha Whelan
won senior and junior victrix
ludorum respectively. This
follows their winning the same
trophies at the Interhouse swimming event held earlier this year.
October 2013
We want
WYD in Africa!
s this year’s
World Youth
Day came to an
end in Rio de Janeiro,
the Archdiocese of Krakow-Poland
was named to host the 2016 youth
event. African youth participants were
disappointed and said the time has come
to have the World Youth Day held on their
home soil. “This would give a chance
to millions of African Catholic youth to
experience and participate in one of
the major church events of our time,”
they said. This issue, which began as
a lobby, has gained some prominence
on social media. Although youths differ
on where this event should be held,
African youth is unanimous that after
having hosted the World Cup, Africa has
the capacity to host the WYD. Looking
at the logistical requirements and the
transport challenges of moving millions
of people to events to be attended by
the Pope, they reasoned that the most
likely country with the capacity to host
the event at the moment would be
South Africa, with the main event taking
place either in Durban or Cape Town.
Most Johannesburg people think Jozi
is also ideal but, truth is, we don’t have
the capacity to host about 3 million
people in one venue. The Days in the
Diocese program would go excellently
here though. Senzo Masuku, a former
seminarian of the Kwa-Zulu Natal
believes that the opportunity to host this
magnificent event will see a rise in the
number of vocations to priesthood and
religious life, as youth will be inspired by
the Pope’s presence in re-evangelising
Africa. He said this would be a gesture
to show Africans
that they too, are
important, and that
they play a major
role in carrying out Christ’s mission.
Katlego Ipeleng Modisagae, of Our
Lady of Peace, Kagiso, a young person
who was part of making the 2010
FIFA World Cup a success in Mzansi,
reckons we are capable of hosting the
WYD and that it would prove to be the
best thus far! The WYD comes with a lot
of preparation, money and dedication.
Can we afford to host the World Youth
Day? We could if Government assisted.
Archbishop Edward Risi believes other
African countries like Ghana, Angola,
Uganda or Kenya would be better
African choices because the percentage
of Catholics in the population is much
higher. We, South African Catholics,
would learn a lot from the vibrancy of
the Catholic faith in those countries,
he stated. The SACBC is committed
to promoting this goal and is working
hard to promote such an event on
African soil in 2019. The door is not
closed on SA but we have homework
to do. Moves are underway to do this.
On our side, we need to get our youth
better organised. Commitment is of
chief concern and fund-raising certainly
the biggest headache; all of which
encourages commitment Archbishop
Risi said. The Pope, at the recent WYD,
emphasised that the best instrument to
evangelise young people is to use other
young people. They should yearn to
make a difference in this modern world,
he said.
Lebo WA Majahe
Candidates praying as they prepare to be made members of the Children
of Mary Sodality. They were joined by other members of the organisation
and women of the Immaculate Conception of Mary sodality.
Volume 28 No 6
7
Calling all youths
The new youth sub-committee: Back, left: Sphamandla Mofokeng,
Thapelo Kgatitswe, Valentine Dlamini, Errol Mazoek, and Vuyo
Jonase.Front: Busi Gwala, Itumeleng Makoropo, Zanele Nkosi
and Phumelele Mncgwango.
I
t was on a beautiful spring
Saturday, 14 September, that
young people from the ages
between 18–35 heeded the
call by Busi Futha, the president
of the sodality of the Most Sacred
Heart of Jesus and her committee,
to attend a conference to establish
a forum for youth and young
adults within the sodality.
Young people across most
deaneries attended the conference
that was facilitated by the charismatic Fr Mbulelo Sikotoyi. The
theme of the conference was New
Wine, New Skin, taken from the
scripture reading of Luke
5v 36–38.
They were given a platform to
relate their expectations and
experiences from joining the
sodality to give those in leadership an idea of the needs of young
people within the sodality. The
members tabled a way forward.
Lots of ideas and initiatives were
discussed and a follow-up launch
is to be held on the 16 November.
A youth sub-committee was
also established. We urge all the
youth and young adults in the
sodality across the Archdiocese to
attend to pave a way forward to
implement some of the initiatives
in the coming new year.
We would like to thank the
Archdiocesan committee and
Fr Sikotoyi for this blessed
opportunity to have a voice in the
sodality.
Thapelo Kgatitswe
he Glory of Shrine Foundation is a non-profit organisation situated in Malvern in need of clothing and food for
children and adults.
If anyone is able to assist, please contact Wakandwa
Ernest at (011) 051 7175 or 071 163 8204 or Sr Claudia
at the AIDS office on (011) 402 6400. In the photo are
recipients receiving much-needed assistance.
The Rite of Baptism
Fr Emmanuel Wafula, parish priest of St Peter’s, Kagiso, baptised
and welcomed six infants on 1 September. The priest explained to
parents that they are accepting the responsibility of training the
children in the practice of the faith, along with the godparents.
A white garment is put over the
child, signifying his becoming a
new creation, clothed in Christ
and as an outward sign of their
Christian dignity.
The priest anoints the child with
the Chrism of Salvation so she
may always live as a member of
Christ’s body, sharing
everlasting life.
A mother holding the baby during
the act of baptism, while Segakweng Molefe, the godmother,
looks on.
New recruits were enrolled
as fully- fledged members of
the CWL Kempton Park by the
president of the league in the
parish of Our Lady of Loreto,
Lynn Humphries. They were
given their membership insignia
by regional president, Angela
Rebello.
Parish Family
Ministry
he first Parish Family
Ministry (PFM) workshop
for new and existing
parish family teams, which took
place at Cathedral Place on 31
August, was most gratifying as
32 delegates from 19 parishes
participated, almost all being
new.
There was no time for more
than a small taste of PFM which
is creating awareness, celebrating
a strong family focus at parish
level, promoting family prayer,
communication in the home and
addressing identified needs.
It is a big, comprehensive
project and the PFM manual that
some delegates bought, covers it,
but more and ongoing formation
is always helpful. The family
year planners and MARFAM
publications given out as
resources for parish and homeuse. To get started, parishes
Lebo WA Majahe
8 Volume 28 No 6
he Bana Ba Maria (Children Of Mary) of Kristo Inkosi Parish,
Kwa-Thema with Mam’ Thoko Sam, celebrated the Assumption of Mary on 18 August by cleaning and bringing flowers for the
grotto, as their way of honouring Mary.
New CWL
recruits
T
Fr Wafula anointing a child
before baptism with the oil of
catechumens whilst invoking
strength in the power of Christ.
T
CWL celebrates 30th years
Assistance needed
in Malvern
T
Cleaning Our Lady’s grotto
were invited to make a special effort to
celebrate Heritage Month with a
family focus in their parishes.
How many different cultural
groups are in your parish? Do
the children know their family
history and background?
Two important topics for the
future are:
· November is a month not only
for those who have died, but
also to offer support for those
of us left behind through
special prayers and retreats.
· The year 2014 is the United
Nations sponsored
International Year of the
Family and all organisations
and departments within the
church and society are
encouraged to focus on
families and their needs. 2014
Family Year Planner calendar
and MARFAM publications
will have relevant resources
for parish and home use.
Other family needs will be
considered too.
Toni Rowland
T
he Catholic Women’s
League celebrated its
30th year anniversary
with the welcoming of six new
members into the sodality. The
colourful celebration took place
at Mt Carmel in Thokoza on
Sunday 15 September. Some
of the founding members are
pictured with parish priest
Fr John Okwui Awih MSP,
whose homily was on mercy
and forgiveness. They are,
back, left: Mrs Motumisi; Fr
John; and Mrs Tau. Front: Mrs
Mfeka; Ms Motsepe; Mrs
Melato and Mrs Sekonyela.
Apart from being
custodian of the
values and ethics
of the Catholic
Church, they
pledged to
intensify the
sodality’s mission
of evangelization
in the Catholic
community.
Calling
Bennies Old
Boys
t Benedict’
S
s College in
Bedfordview
is in the proc
of updating it
ess
s alumni data
base.
Former pupils
of
requested to re the school are
gister on the
Old
Boys’ Portal
on the school
website
www.st benedi
cts.co.za CoLA Workshop
T
he Culture of Life Apostolate will be
holding a workshop on the theme:
“I have come that you may have life to the
full” on 19 October from 8am to 1pm at
the Cathedral, 186 Nugget Street, Berea.
This has a two-fold purpose: that all
parishes become aware of CoLA’s role in
cherishing the life of the unborn child as
the culture of death is becoming more
accessible and acceptable; and that
parishioners feel called to become CoLA
members getting involved with the many
life programmes and projects.
For queries call Sr Sarah Doherty on
011 782 4685 or 076 793 0108.
October 2013
Help OUR radio station follow the example of the Sodality
of the Sacred Heart
T
o cover operating costs, Radio
Veritas is short of more than
R100 000 each month. In a year and a
half, only about 800 new donors have
come forward – and we are grateful for
their generosity.
A suggestion was made to the 5000
strong Sodality of the Sacred Heart, that
each member make a contribution of
R5 per member to the support of Radio
Veritas. The members themselves
disagreed and decided the contribution
should be R10! A contribution of
R50 000 has been made! Furthermore,
they decided that a contribution of at
least R50 000 be contributed each year
to this worthy cause. God bless them for
their generosity. They shine like a bright
star in the night.
If everyone gave just a little, there
would be no problem. The Sacred Heart
sodality has shown that it can be done
and that every little bit helps. So, the
challenge is out: let every sodality,
parish, school, or Catholic institution
take up the challenge and show that
with goodwill and generosity we CAN
make a difference. In tough times, in
Johannesburg, a new chancery has
been built. You CAN make a difference!
3
The St Anne Sodality on two
occasions has contributed up to
R20 000 to Radio Veritas. The Knights
of da Gama have supported us
magnificently while at the same time
building several homes for the aged.
The Lenten Appeal and the SACBC has
come to our assistance as has the
Italian Bishops’ Conference (without
whom we would not have a
transmitter). Without these and about
2000 monthly donors, there would be
no Catholic radio in South Africa. All
these donors have helped but we have
still not reached breakeven point.
Radio Veritas is OUR Catholic radio
station. We CAN do better and shine
like a jewel in our South African
Church if each gave just a little. With
more than 4 million Catholics in the
country we CAN make a difference.
Come on, fellow Catholics, let’s do
what we read about in the scriptures,
SHARE, so that nobody would be in
need. Do it now, with your name or
phone number as a reference:
RADIO VERITAS Nedbank Cresta (1 9 1 3 0 5)
1913296067
Fr Emil Blaser
Season
for Edleen
Renew
The Edleen
Renew Group,
which meets
on a Tuesday
morning in
Kempton Park, started their third season with much joy. Recognising the
gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives was quite an eye-opener. Lined up in
the picture are, from left, Denise Brown, Dorothy Lai, Mathilde Ferreira,
Agnes Bartus, Wendy Simpson, Derryn Lange and Lydia Moyte.
Absent from the picture were Jane Appleyard, Berniece Eales and
Annette Simpson.
The only male member, Innocent Silimi, started a new job on
September 1 and he will be greatly missed in this group. His quiet,
unassuming manner hides a wealth of knowledge and a true understanding of what it is to be a Christian.
Springtime at
Our Lady of Loreto
Mission Month: contd from p1.
For last year’s World Mission
Sunday, Pope Emeritus Benedict
reminded us: “We cannot be
content when we consider the
millions of our brothers and
sisters, who like us, have been
redeemed by the blood of Christ,
but who live in ignorance of the
love of God.”
Should we not feel compelled to
go and evangelise, like we,
ourselves, have been evangelised
by so many missionaries? Look
around the many parishes in South
Africa: we meet priests, brothers
and sisters from the Americas,
Europe, Asia, Oceania, even from
other African countries. I wonder:
how many South African
missionaries would we find in
other countries? Ask yourself a
serious question: How many
missionaries have we sent to other
countries? If you don’t know, ask
your parish priest.
In 1979, the Latin American
bishops took an important decision
which changed the face of their
Church: they decided to become a
missionary Church! They declared
solemnly to “give from our own
poverty.” And nowadays many
missionaries come from Mexico,
Argentina, Brazil etc. They have
understood that every Christian is
a missionary! Pope Francis
constantly calls upon local
churches to become more
missionary-minded.
Missionaries go out of their
home countries, not so much
because of the greater needs of
other places, but because they are
motivated by the Lord’s mandate:
“Go out into the whole world,
proclaim the Good News to all
creatures” (Mk. 16:15).
There is plenty of work to do in
South Africa. But do I understand
the urgency of the worldwide
mission of Christ?
South Africans: “Stand up and
walk!” Go out: “The harvest is
plentiful, but the labourers are
few.” (Lk. 10:2)
Michel Meunier, M.Afr.
Abortion Warning.
Daveyton Church Vandalized:
contd from p1.
In Mark, he teaches that ‘my
house shall be called a house of
prayer for all peoples, but you
have made it a den of thieves.’
(Mk 11:17)
The God we worship is the
same yesterday, today and
forever, thus what he established
with Moses at the burning bush
was no different 40 years later for
Joshua at Jericho. Since he is the
same today, it means that when
we approach God or God’s house
we should have similar reverence
as a mark of respect in our
worship. Unfortunately, this
doesn’t happen anymore!
People used to go to church to
find peace, to seek consolation,
hope, strength and direction, but
that was then. Nowadays, there
are those who go to disturb that
peace, to cause confusion,
destruction and disorder, to turn
their frustrations and anger on
God’s house. Of late, our
churches have become soft targets
for bandits. Sometimes when we
hear news about places of
worship being broken into, it
sounds so remote and sometimes
we only react to it casually, but
when one comes face to face with
such a reality, then one realises
just how much we have lost the
way as a generation.
St Lambert Church has suffered
a number of breakages in the past
few weeks, and that has amazed
and baffled Christians in equal
measure. St Lambert Church is
under the Consolata Missionaries
and is one of the four missions
that form Daveyton parish in the
Archdiocese. In less than two
weeks, the church was vandalised
and robbed of valuables in very
quick succession. In their first
forced-entry, during which they
shattered a number of windows
and broke many door handles, the
thieves vandalised the electric
system and took away all the
electric cables, leaving the church
with no lighting system. One day
later, they came back and forced
their way into the sacristy; they
broke the cupboards and carried
away all the vessels, including
bottles of wine and the sound
system. As if that was not enough,
they carried away the tabernacle,
complete with the Blessed
Eucharist and then crowned their
activity by pulling down the pillar
on which the tabernacle was
erected.
Though heart-broken and
dejected, the parishioners did not
give up; measures were taken that
saw watchmen employed, an
electrician called in to restore the
wiring system, and technicians to
replace the window panes and the
broken door knobs.
Unfortunately, that very night,
the thieves broke in, and once
again vandalised the wiring
system, taking away all the
cables, including those that were
yet to be used, since the work was
only half-way to its completion.
The thieves seemed to have
broken in during the early hours
of the morning just shortly after
the watchmen had left. A few
days later, a young man jumped
in the compound and shattered
one of the windows that had been
replaced. This happened in broad
daylight and those who saw him,
gave chase and caught him. When
he was taken to the police station,
the police said there was no
evidence and so they could not
lock him up and he was set free.
We are living in times when
churches are becoming soft
targets for thieves; there is a great
need for all Christians, wherever
they are, to be vigilant and
observant; to keep watch of their
places of worship and to be
curious when they notice any
suspicious activities or movements of strangers within the
church premises. The war against
crime can only be won if everybody is brought on board. Thus,
in order to reach this goal, we
need a shared responsibility, a
shared commitment and a friendly
collaboration, otherwise we shall
remain at the mercy of bandits.
Samuel-Francis IMC
‘The Pill’ can abort, swiftly and
undetected. It clinically makes the womb
inhospitable to, and reject, those early
‘accidental’ conceptions (new lives)
which sometimes occur while using it.
(Medical facts stated in its pamphlet.)
Culture of Life Association
CATHOLIC CENTRE
T
he annual spring tea in the Parish
of Our Lady of Loreto, Kempton
Park, held on 7 September in the
parish hall was a good opportunity for
three of the “Golden Girls” to get
together for an afternoon of fun and
delicious eats.
Pictured are Denise Brown (left),
Mae Delaney and seated, Gaye Zajac.
Photo Bereniece Eales
October 2013
229 Jorrisen Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria
Tel: 012 341 6705
www.catholiccentre.co.za  cathcentre@mweb.co.za
Opening times: Mon-Fri 9:00 – 16:30 • Sat 09:00 – 12:00
Closed Sundays & Public Holidays
Volume 28 No 6
9
“Come join the
struggle to
eradicate poverty
and ignorance”
K
hanya College, an
institution founded in
1999 and based in
Johannesburg, supports various
efforts to strengthen civil society
by providing different training
workshops and events to
communities across Southern
Africa.
The Jozi book fair is one such
event, and this year, it will be
held on 25 and 26 October at
Museum Africa, Newtown. This
year’s theme for the Jozi book
fair is: “Reading the word and
the world: the role of libraries”
with the aim of promoting a
culture of reading and writing
through developing a literary
movement that brings together
readers, writers, librarians,
literary organisations and
progressive publishers committed
to a social justice agenda to
eradicate poverty and oppression.
The culture of reading and
writing in general is very poor
and often leads to apathy for
many individuals and
communities. One is reminded
about the saying: “Evil thrives
when good people do nothing.”
The goal of the Jozi book fair is
to encourage communities,
especially young people, to form
reading and book-clubs, or study
circles, where they can come
together to discuss, debate and
organise themselves to work for
change amongst themselves, their
communities and society at large.
Amongst the writers present will
be Fr Albert Nolan discussing his
world famous book: “Jesus before
Christianity.” The keynote speaker
is Walter Bgoya, from Tanzania,
who will engage in discussion
with South Africans writers,
publishers and the public. There
will also be a round table
interfaith discussion: “Reading the
word and acting in faith in the
world”.
Frederick Douglas (1818-1895):
Ex-slave and women’s rights
activist, wrote in his
autobiography: “Once you learn
to read, you will be free.”
Entrance is free for reading and
book-club members and R10 for
all others. For more information
phone Khanya College at
011 336 9190 or visit the website:
www.jozibookfair.org.za
T
he St Michael’s Chorale Sing
has once again made the
Catholic community proud with
their superb performance at the
recently-held regional and
national choir festivals.
On 24 March, we ascended the
stage at Mphatlalatsane Hall in
Sebokeng for the Sedibeng
Choral Music Eisteddfod and
rendered a sophisticated performance which saw us attaining an
overall position of third out of 16
powerful competing choirs. That
proved to be just the beginning of
good things to come.
Upon descending the foyer, we
headed straight to our rehearsal
room to prepare for the Old
Mutual National Choir Festival
which was to take place on the
18 August at the Soweto Campus
of the University of Johannesburg. They did their homework
– we did our homework
T
he Justice and Peace in the
community of Lenasia in the
south deanery had a very special
event on 9 August at the Thembelihle informal settlement. The
initiative was held in conjunction
with the youth and a development
organisation called the Youth of
Faith.
We dedicated our day to an old
couple in the area who have
nothing at all. The shack the
couple was living in was in very
poor condition. Because of the
heavy rains that are still to come,
we decided to build a new shack
for them. We also donated money
for groceries. They have a 17-year
old son who is still in school and
they live off grant money, which
is not enough for them to sustain
their daily lives and for schooling.
The old lady said: “We sometimes
go two days without eating, the
only food we have is the 50c chips
from the street corner.”
10 Volume 28 No 6
he Cathedral of Christ the
King was filled to capacity by
parishioners at the Assumption of
the Virgin Mary night vigil on
Saturday 17 August, organised
and hosted by the Office of
Divine Worship and Liturgy.
The main celebrant, Archbishop
Buti Tlhagale delivered the
sermon. In his homily the
Archbishop said Mary, as our
pointer to Christ, has made Christ
her point of reference. He added
that she is the mother of God and
our mother through whom we
communicate our prayers.
Archbishop Buti told the
faithful that Catholics the world
over, experience, honour and
depict the Virgin Mary in different
ways according to their culture.
But they all ask her to intercede
for them in their prayers.
The Archbishop said he wished
and prayed that we could have a
place in honour of the Virgin Mary
where we could go and affirm our
faith together “as we are doing
today.” Before the healing Mass
by Fr Victor Ngwenya, Fr Joseph
Wilson gave a talk with the theme
‘Satan has been defeated’.
Fr Mbulelo Sikotoyi led the
faithful with The Chaplet of Mary
Seven Sorrows. Exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament, the Angelus
and Chaplet of St Michael and the
Divine Praises were administered
by Fr Teboho Matseke.
Before the termination of the
vigil which ended at 5am, Fr Paul,
Vicar of the Liturgy, expressed his
gratitude to the Archbishop and
priests, the head of Liturgy,
Annastacia Mphuthi and her team
and the combined choirs of St
Anthony’s from Duduza and Our
Lady of Africa from Mohlakeng.
On 9 September, Justice & Peace staff
attended a consultation on the Gauteng Vision
2055 for faith-based organisations,
organised by the premier of Gauteng’s planning
committee, at Constitution Hill Johannesburg.
Gaining pumbing skills
Gauteng
Vision 2055
Molemo Mokadi, Public Relations Officer
St Michael’s Chorale Sing
Assumption
celebrations
T
As Justice and Peace members,
we would love to help the couple
by getting the old man an ID
book so that he can apply for the
grant he is supposed to be
getting. We would also like to
donate a wheelchair for the old
lady who can barely walk. Our
last wish is that the old lady, who
was born in 1952, find her older
children as they do not know
where she is. We are appealing
for assistance of clothes, food and
money. Anyone who can assist
should call 076 797 6746.
Ntshaga Makgopela,
St Kizito Church, Lenasia
thoroughly and the Almighty
graced our midst, with the seventimes national championship
winner, and the current conductor
of Gauteng Choristers, Sidwell
Mhlongo, as our mentor and
guardian angel throughout the
preparations.
Indeed the day for eliminations
arrived on which we saw the
Catholics being crowned overall
runners up, second only to the
established Mamelodi
Philharmonic who emerged as the
winners for the day. Our victory
included a floating trophy and a
R7000 cheque. It is an honour
and privilege in the history of our
Archdiocese to be represented
and to attain such success at
competitions of this calibre.
We would like to take this
opportunity to thank all Catholics
and the broader Christian
community who have been of
great support to us throughout
this journey and a special thanks
to both our conductors Messrs
Tshepo Ramapulane and Senzo
Ndlovu and the choir’s executive
committee for making the day a
remarkable one. We are still
living the dream of our departed
founder conductor, the late Thabo
Mokoena, who wanted to see
Catholics choirs compete at
National Choir Championship
finals.
Our Music CD, titled “OA
HALALELA”, is still available
at R100. Call Molemo on
0731805594 to place an order.
The combined choirs of
St Anthony’s, Duduza and Our
Lady of Africa, Mohlakeng led
the congregation.
Mokesh Morar
Assistance desperately needed
St Michael’s
Chorale Sing
it proudly
Thapelo Makoko and Olwethu Modolo were
very fortunate to be able to attend St Anthony’s
Skill Centre in Boksburg where they did a
six-month plumbing course. St Anthony’s
sponsored them, with the Ursuline Sisters and
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp.
An anonymous donor helped towards their
board and lodging. They now have a basis to
get a job and study further.
St Augustine's Financial
Problems: contd from p1.
discussions with other South African
universities to smooth this transition
of students to their new university
in 2014.
At the recommendation of the
SACBC, the Victory Park premises will
be sold to settle all outstanding debts
of the college.
The postgraduate degrees will
continue to be offered. A new venue
is being sought and as soon as this
has been found all postgraduate
students will be informed where their
classes will be held.
The downsizing of the university
has meant that a number of people
will have to be retrenched. Val
Thornton is the conduit through
which job offers from college
contacts will be forwarded to relevant
staff members. If readers of ADNews
have any vacancies both
administrative and academic, they
can contact Val at v.thornton@
staugustine.ac.za.
ADNews spoke to an affected
student, who wishes to remain
anonymous. He expressed his
concern about what the downsizing
will mean for Catholic education in
South Africa. “I see this as a step
backwards to the value-based
education I was promised on his
registration. St Augustine opened my
eyes to new views on my faith,” he
said.
He expressed frustration that
students and their families were not
told in time about the problems.
Lebo WA Majahe
October 2013
WORD OF GOD
The Divine
Part 4
Story
M
ark introduces us to the
adult Jesus on the
banks of the River
Jordan. Later we will meet Jesus,
the Suffering Son of Man. Matthew portrays Jesus as the New
Moses and Luke as Son of David
and Son of God. John opens his
gospel, telling us about Jesus
existing outside of time and place,
always existing in the cosmos. “In
the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God.” He
takes this extraordinary understanding even further: “The Word
was God.” (Jn 1; 1 – 2) Pause for a
moment and try to take this in.
How does this transform your
understanding of Jesus?
The Word is God’s gift to us.
“In him was life, and the life was
the light of all people.” This gives
a totally new meaning to Genesis
1: 1 – 4
“In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth. Now
the earth was a formless void,
there was darkness over the deep,
and God’s spirit hovered over the
waters. God said: ‘Let there be
light’, and there was light. God
saw that the light was good.”
Now, “The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not
overcome it.” (1: 5) Jesus said, “I
am the light of the world.
Whoever, follows me will not
walk in darkness, but will have
the light of life.” (8: 12)
John, the Witness, enters,
bringing us down to earth. He
testifies to the light .. so that all
might believe through him.” We
learn that, the true light, is Jesus
Br Mike Chalmers cfc of the
Bible Foundation writes about
the Word of God in response
to the Synod call for spiritual
growth and on-going formation.
come into the world to enlighten
everyone. (1: 6 – 9) We also hear
the voice of Simeon in the
distance, “Now, Master, my eyes
have seen your salvation, a light
to the Gentiles and the glory for
your people Israel.” Jesus is our
light and our life. (Lk 2: 29 – 32)
Jesus experienced rejection
during his life. He taught,
“Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last
day.” (6: 54) We are called to
accept Jesus, his teachings, every
aspect of him, totally. The
response was, “This is a hard
saying; who can accept it?” As a
result of this, many of his
disciples returned to their former
way of life.” (6: 54; 60; 66) The
evangelist warns us of what is to
come. “He came to his own, and
his own people did not accept
him. (1: 11)
The prologue reaches its
climax.
“All who receive him, who
believe in his name will become
the children of God.” (1: 12)
We opened with the Godhead,
outside of time and place. Now:
“ The Word became flesh and
lived among us, and we have seen
his glory.” (1: 14) Why? “So that
you may believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, and
through this belief you may have
life in his name.” (20: 31)
process of journeying
RCIA: The
together in faith
T
he RCIA process welcomes all
those who want to be baptised as
Christians in the Catholic church,
those who are baptised in other
Christian churches, those who are
willing to join the Catholic church,
lapsed Catholics who needs to renew
their faith and those who were
baptised as Catholics but never got a
chance to receive the Eucharist and
confirmation sacraments.
The following are the stages
followed by the church for the Rites of
Christian Initiation of Adults. The
celebration of the rites includes both
the community and the candidates
who are seeking the faith to confirm
the journeying together.
conversion is nurtured. The candidates
who have completed the period of
catechumenate assemble publicly for
the first time to declare their intentions
to the church, and the church, in turn,
accepts them as persons who want to
become its members.
Pre-catechumenate
This is a period of evangelisation. It
does not have a fixed duration of time.
The inquiry is carried through the
intervention of the priest. Once the
candidate experiences the initial
conversion, the first transitional rite
takes place.
Period of enlightenment
This is the period of more intense
spiritual preparation consisting more
of interior reflection rather than
catechetical instruction and is
intended to purify the mind and hearts
of the elects as they search their own
consciences and do penance. The
period is also intended to enlighten
their minds and hearts with a deeper
knowledge of Jesus Christ the Saviour.
It takes place during the season of
Lent. For both the elect, and the local
community, the season of Lent is a
time for spiritual recollection in
preparation for the celebration of the
Rite of acceptance
Candidates are accepted into the
order of catechumens. During this
period, the priests and deacons,
catechists and other lay persons give
the candidate a suitable explanation of
the Gospel. It is the beginning of
catechumenate and the initial grace of
October 2013
Rite of election - liturgical rite
At the conclusion of the period of
catechumenate, a rite of sending the
catechumens to their election by the
Bishop may be celebrated. The church
formally accepts that the catechumen
is ready to enter into the final
preparation for the reception of the
Sacraments of initiation which are:
baptism the Eucharist and
confirmation.
Rev Fr Modibedi
Lisene celebrates 20 years
T
he community of
Nyolohelo Parish at
Sebokeng in the Vaal
Deanery celebrated
with Fr Modibedi Lisene his 20th
priesthood anniversary on
Sunday, 15 September. Together
with him, as the main celebrants,
were Frs Mkhonza Sizwe, parish
priest of Nyolohelo, Fr Mokete
Seboka Saint Dominic, Fr
Michael Rasello from Motse
Thabong, Fr Vincent Mepha from
Virginia, Deacon Khehla
Mokoena and Fr Thabo Mabaso.
Fr Lisene was the first
African diocesan priest in the
Diocese of Kroonstad. He is
presently serving as the Vicar
General of the Diocese, the
Chaplain of the Sacred Heart
Sodality and Vocational Director
of the Diocese. He also serves as
parish priest at St Peters and St
Albert in Maokeng, Kroonstad.
Fr Lisene was struck by an
accident, but for the past 17 years
has been going strong in his
service in God’s vineyards. He is
a real source of inspiration for all
in religious life.
By Cecilia Koebe
We Celebrate
with our Priests
and Deacons
We celebrate birthdays and
anniversaries of ordination of
the clergy listed. Pray for them.
Ordinations
Eduardo Guarin
Emmanuel Wafula
Ibercio Rojaz Zevallos Lizwelinjani Mlotshwa Rampe Hlobo
Bonga Majola Archbishop Buti Tlhagale
installs seminarian Lawrence
Ndlovu (left) to the minor
order of Reader. Fr George
Njonge (right) of St Angela’s,
Dobsonville, assists.
October Birthdays
One of Our Own
“Keep your goal in mind. Keep
your dream in mind,” Archbishop
Buti adjured Lawrence Ndlovu on
the occasion of his installation as
a Reader. This is the first of the
pre-ordination orders. Lawrence
wishes to be a diocesan priest. He
studied theology and philosophy
at St John Vianney Seminary.
Presently Lawrence is studying in
London. The Archbishop
explained that if candidates for
the diocesan priesthood are
academically capable, he likes to
send them abroad to study for a
period to give them experience of
the wider church and expose
them to a different culture.
Lawrence was home for the
summer holidays and did eight
weeks of pastoral care at St
Angela’s in Dobsonville under the
guidance of Fr George Njonge.
Fr Thabo Motshegoa, Vicar for
Vocations, was the first to congratulate Lawrence. He thanked Fr
George and the Catholics of
Dobsonville for their hospitality.
The choir from St Angela’s led
the singing at Lawrence’s installation Mass. The congregation
was swelled with faithful from his
home parish of St Margaret’s and
Immaculate Conception.
Lawrence was raised in
Diepkloof and told ADNews that
it is the love of that community
where “everyone is my mother
and father that nurtured my
vocation.” Lawrence certainly
reflects that love. Pray for him.
paschal mystery, in which each of the
elects will share through the sacraments of initiation.
Eucharist and they need to continue
with catechesis until Easter season of
50 days is over. These newly-initiated
members of the church continue the
reflection of the significance of the
Easter vigil. They meditate on the
Gospel and engage in works of charity.
Mystagogia
This is a period of post-baptismal
catechesis. The newly-initiated converts
experience full membership in the
church. They participate in the Sunday
23 Oct 82
22 Oct 89
12 Oct 91
9 Oct 04
25 Oct 08
22 Oct 11
Cecilia Koebe (Coordinator for the
Department of Catechetics ).
2nd Emmanuel Luamina Luamina
3rd Ronald Cairns
4th Daniel Sehlapelo
6th Michael Austin
14th Rev Philip Teulon and
Samuel Anjah
18th Michel Sadie and
John Anih
19th Philip Miller and
Rev Doug Boake
21st Miguel Gonzalez
24th Raphael Ntlou
25st Rev Ernest Madondo
28th Anthony Thouard,
Jeremias Dos Santos Martins
and Benedict Mahlangu
29th Martin Morrisey
30th Chaka Motanyane
Rev Michael Pinnock
Early November
1st Miguel de Lemos
3rd Elijah Out and
Rev Abednigo Thokoane
AD news
Published by the Catholic Archdiocese
of Johannesburg,
Pvt Bag X10, Doornfontein, 2028.
186 Nugget St, Berea.
Twelve issues per annum.
Circulation 15 700 copies per issue.
Distributed to all parishes of the
Archdiocese of Johannesburg.
Editor: Anna Cox
Cell 083-610-0439
Chancery office: 011 402-6400
Fax:
011 402-6406
Chancery cell:
079 040-0668
Reporter:
Judy Stockill 083 267-7070
Reporter, West Deanery:
Lebo WA Majahe 074 577-5982
Letters Editor:
Mike Kennedy 082 904-8980
Advert Assistant:
Thandi Motasi 082 463-9739
DEADLINE FOR NOVEMBER ISSUE
10 OCTOBER
Volume 28 No 6 11
F
Practice
makes
Perfect
r Emil Blaser, Vicar for
Communications and Director
of Radio Veritas, photographs,
and is photographed, during the
working part of a photographic
workshop conducted by Tim
Bernard, photo grapher for The
Star, for the ADNews on September
7 at Cathedral Place. In the third of
the series, Tim showed participants
that one doesn’t need the best and
most expensive equipment for good
photographs. Even cell phones do
the job if the photo-grapher plans
the shot, anticipates the moment
and knows the capabilities of the
camera. Tim gave participants
homework – “take five pics a day.”
Anna Cox, editor of the ADNews
appeals to all to send in photostories – like this one – about
parish and sodality events.
“We would love to hear your
news. Let us know what you are
doing – it is all part of evangelising
and spreading the word,” she said.
Workshop for ministries
and sodalities
F
ield worker for
the East Rand
Deanery, Charmaine Khawula and the
Diocesan trainer, Moses
Mihale, conducted a
Justice & Peace workshop for the different
ministries/ sodalities at
St Albert Parish on 17 August. Some 21 participants were present
representing: the Youth Parish Forum, Justice & Peace, the Liturgical
Choir, Eucharistic Ministers, Holy Family sisters, PPC, Sacred Heart
and the Young Adult Choir.
The topics that were covered were: What is Justice & Peace
Ministry? • History of Justice and Peace and its structure; • The spirituality of Justice & Peace; and • The difference between
Justice & Peace and other ministries.
Because of time constraints, three sessions were not done: The
Social Teachings of the Church, the Right Relation and the Pastoral
Cycle. These were completed at a later session.
Civic democracy and
education workshop
Front row, from left: Doreen Salvero, Jabulile Mazibuko, Beverley
Maboja, Nomasonto Dladla. Back row: Sechaba Mofosi, Rebecca
Tattle, Joseph Kubheka, Nomvuyo Khanyile, Nomfanelo Tsotesti, Lindiwe
Hlatshwayo, Tshepo Vilakazi, Busisiwe Mgabi, Johannes Lesemane,
Ntibaleng Msimango, Thabo Mkhabu.
O
n 31 August, the Justice and
Peace groups in the East Rand
Deanery had a workshop at
St Joseph’s, Mokoena.
The topic for the day was
“Civic and democracy education,”
which was conducted by the IEC
Independent Electoral Commission
About 20 Justice and Peace
group members were present,
representing seven parishes –
St Albert – Vosloorus, St Paul –
Eden Park, St Joseph – Mokoena,
San Salvador – Leondale, Our Lady
of Mount Carmel – Tokoza, Sacred
Heart – Katlehong and Holy Family
– Spruitview.
12 Volume 28 No 6
Calling all
Catholic Media
Professionals
N
ewly-appointed SACBC
Communications Officer,
Fr S’milo Mngadi invited all
Catholics working in media to meet him
and Archbishop William Slattery in the
hope that such a meeting would lead to
cooperation between the church and the
media. It transpired that the meeting attracted only
Catholics working in Catholic media. Nonetheless
it was a fruitful meeting with those present
concluding that they are a media family and will
talk about, and work together, in drawing in other
Catholics. A full report of the meeting is on the
front page of the September 4 issue of The
Southern Cross, the national Catholic weekly newspaper. It is available digitally at www.scross.co.za.
Fr S’milo appeals to all Catholics working in
media to contact him at SMngadi@sacbc.org.za.
The ADNews had a list of media professionals in
Johannesburg which was lost in the move to the
new chancery and echoes the appeal.
Fr S’milo also asks ADNews readers to “Like”
the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference
on Facebook, follow them on Twitter@
CathBoSaSwa and subscribe to eKhanya, a
Salt of the
Earth; Light
of the World
Archbishop William Slattery, SACBC liaison bishop
for Communication and Media with Lebo wa Majahe
and Anna Cox of the ADNews with Toni Roland of
Marfam publications, left, in the background. They
are at the Pauline’s Conference Centre after a
consultation with Catholics working in the media
industry held on August 20.
bi-monthly newsletter by visiting www.sacbc.
org.za. You can find these links on the Archdiocesan
website www.catholicjhb.org.za
Communication Sunday
September 1 was Communication Sunday. Parishes
were asked to take up a special collection to support
Catholic media and to take stock of their own public
image including the sign outside their church, the
church notice board and announcements after mass
and the bulletin.
D
uring a liturgical
celebration led by
Fr Peter Doherty,
Episcopal Vicar for
Catechetics, catechists were
invited to recall their baptism and
invited to recommit themselves to
bringing light to people of God
through their ministry as
catechists.
After the liturgy, Sr Patricia
Finn, head of the department of
Christian Formation at the
SACBC, spoke about the bishops’
“Revised Statement on Catechetics” which supersedes the one
published in 2003. The revision
was necessitated by the bishops’
wish to include documents arsing
from the Synod on the Word of
God and the African Synod. The
Pastoral Statement is available in
a booklet from either the Catechetics department or the
Paulines Centre. It is recommended reading for all Catechists
and clergy as it makes clear the
vision of Catechesis as an
on-going journey of conversion
and faith.
All the talks were recorded by
Radio Veritas and will be aired in
time on the Letsemeng
programme.
By lunchtime, with only the
simple hot dog meal to be served
and one more session in the
afternoon, Cecilia Koebe said
that she was very pleased with
how the day had gone and was
very happy with the turnout.
From left: Ashton Resekele of
Radio Veritas, Sr Patricia Finn,
main speaker and Cecilia Koebe,
head of the Catechetics department at the Formation and
Creativity day held at Cathedral
Place at the end of August. Some
500 catechists attended.
Are you on
facebook?
HEAVEN IS A REALITY
CATHOLIC SHOP
No Holiness, No Heaven
Dealers in Rosaries, Crucifixes
Medals, Statues, Bibles etc
Pope Francis 2014 calendars now on special
Shop number 002 Park Central Shopping Centre Opposite Chicken Licken Johannesburg Tel 011 338 5077
Cell 078 919 1515
Cnr Noord & Twist Streets
Reg. No 2003/047906/23
New Stock: Assorted types of statues, crosses
and medals in various sizes available.
October 2013

Washing cars for God Washing cars for God Washing cars for God

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