CATHOLIC NEWS BULLETIN ARCHDIOCESE OF DURBAN JUNE 2018

Transcription

1 CATHOLIC NEWS BULLETIN ARCHDIOCESE OF DURBAN JUNE 2018 CARDINAL S CORNER As I complete the first month of my extended tenure as Archbishop, Pope Francis having postponed indefinitely the process for appointing my successor, I find myself having to remember and pick up for attention a lot of things that I had been happily leaving for the next Archbishop to deal with. For that reason this Cardinal s Corner will be rather long and rambling. The Eucharist is, or should be, the central pillar of our Faith and Christian life, so I am going to begin with items related to it: the nature of our Church buildings; how to prepare for Mass; the role of the Deacon in the Mass; how a priest should celebrate when he is assisted by a deacon, etc, etc. Let s begin with the Church One of the very first causes of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his time was precisely the understanding of the nature and purpose of the Temple and the kind of behaviour expected of those who entered it, whether to pray or to offer sacrifice. He declared the Temple to be first and foremost the House of God which by that fact alone excluded certain activities and behaviours. He was obviously influenced by passages in the Bible which speak of sacred or consecrated places as the House of God or the Gateway to Heaven. That is how Church Teaching and practice regards our Churches. How I wish I could say that is the way Churches are respected in our Diocese. Sad to say in many cases the practice is very different. Even where the Tabernacle is in a most prominent place, many Catholics talk and converse as if they were in a hall, not the House of God! Often they carry on long conversations, completely unconcerned that there are people nearby who have come to pray, or meditate, or simply sit in the presence of God in His House! Making the Church truly the House of God is something that everyone can and must play a part. This is especially true about the time before Mass when the main focus should be preparing to worship the Father, receive the Body and Blood of the Son, and be filled with the Holy Spirit when leaving the House of God after Mass. The time before Mass gives us the best opportunity to teach our Little Ones how to respect and behave in the presence of our all Holy Father; how to prepare for Mass; especially how to think 37

2 of others who need peace and calm to prepare for what they have been assigned to do during Mass! Role of the Deacon at Mass Many parishes are blessed to have deacons who have been trained, formed and commissioned to serve their communities through a variety of ministries, ranging from teaching catechism, to caring for the poor, to preparing couples for marriage, doing Communion Services, funerals, etc. One of the most important liturgical roles of the Deacon is assisting at Mass. The importance of this ministry is underlined by the fact that in the new Missal, the Rite of the Mass is described in two forms: Mass when a deacon is present and ministering and Mass when a deacon is not present. (In the old days the Rite was described as: Mass with a congregation and Mass without a congregation) This is why a lot of time has been given by the Diaconate Board and by me to draw up very full and specific guidelines and rules to be observed by the priest, the deacon and the congregation when Mass is celebrated with a deacon present and ministering From the above paragraph, the impression might be given that the deacon is the centre of attention in the Mass. The very opposite is the case. The Deacon is first and foremost the servant of the community. He is responsible for making sure that everyone and everything is ready and in order for the celebration of the Mass. The Deacon s task begins with the most basic preparations: to see that everything is in place Missal, Lectionary (both properly marked for the Mass); hosts, wine, water, etc for the offertory; altar servers, ministers for every function and activity e.g. thurible and incense! To assist all concerned a copy of Rules and Guidelines is enclosed in the Bulletin and is available for every priest, deacon and parish. The most obvious major consequence of what has been said above is that the Deacon cannot arrive in the Sacristy just before Mass begins. He has to be there at least minutes before Mass. A second is that both priest, deacon and parish liturgy committee will need to study the Rules and Guidelines very well in order to work out how to implement them properly. NEW PASTORAL PLAN Alpha and Divine Renovation When the Bishops Conference decided way back in 1980 that the time had come for the Church to make a planned and systematic contribution to the building up of post-apartheid South Africa, the inspired result was a pastoral vision and plan encapsulated in the slogan Community Serving Humanity. 38

3 Twenty five years into the post-apartheid new South Africa the Conference is working on a renewed vision and plan to make a difference in the New South Africa which is struggling to live up to its ideal of a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic South Africa modelled on the vision of the Freedom Charter and built upon the principles incorporated in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. At the most recent Plenary Session, the Conference asked each and every Diocese, Community, Sodality and grouping of the Church in Southern Africa, to examine, review, revise and develop for its own use the new Pastoral Plan which aims to make the Church an Evangelising Community Serving God, Humanity and All Creation. An Evangelising Community Our new goal is to be an Evangelising Community, i.e. a community committed to the missionary mandate Jesus gave his Church before he ascended to his Father, Go, make disciples of all nations. So we are not a community focused only on removing the evil effects of colonialism and apartheid, but rather committed to becoming a community of those baptised to be the images of God, by introducing all men and women into the community of those who live God s life of community in the Trinity. Hence our decision as the Archdiocese of Durban to use ALPHA and the Divine Renovation to transform ourselves and our parishes into a Church that is on the move from Maintenance simply catechising and dispensing the Sacraments to those within our community, to Mission where our first objective is to call and welcome those who do not yet belong, to come and see! The challenge is to make sure that what they are coming to is a welcoming and loving community, whose welcome and love is what will soon make them feel they belong! Then we can move on to the next stage, baptising them in the name of the Trinity, and teaching them to worship God, to love their neighbours and show them how to be an evangelising Community Serving God and our neighbour. Serving All Creation This is another new element in the Pastoral Plan and is a direct response to Laudato Si, Pope Francis s call for all of us to take proper care of our immediate environment, so that we will leave the next generations something that is worthwhile. This is the reason why I am asking all parishes to study the Pastoral Plan, not as something the Bishops want the Church to do, but rather a way for us to become a Church on the Mission which Jesus gave us as his final wish and prayer. 39

4 For this reason every parish priest and priest in ministry should clear his diary in order to participate in the Clergy Study Day on 16 August. Fr James Mallon and his team will be workshopping the Clergy on how to move from Maintenance to Mission. A word about ALPHA Quite a number of parishes have gone through the ALPHA experience, and a number are contemplating doing so. I give every encouragement to look at the two in tandem. When I asked the Africa Director of ALPHA what is the difference he said ALPHA is like the On Ramp while Divine Renovation is the Highway that carries us forward. + Wilfrid Cardinal Napier OFM CONDOLENCES Our heartfelt condolences to all who have recently lost loved ones namely Fr. Pieter van Heeswijk (brother), Fr. Bonga Mkhize OMI (grandmother) and Fr. Nkosinathi Ngcobo (father). Be assured of our prayers for the repose of their souls and also for consolation for your families at this time. ARCHDIOCESE OF DURBAN ALTAR SERVERS ASSOCIATION (ADASA) Altar Servers Annual Mid-Year Retreat Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer Romans 12:12 7 July h00 16h00 Sacred Heart Parish, Tongaat Registration Fee: R25 per Altar Server This is a one day Retreat and all Altar Servers in the Archdiocese are encouraged to attend and reflect on their spiritual journey and the ministry in general. For further information contact: Fr. Sbusiso M. Dlamini OMI (Chaplain): Mr Aslam Mthalane (President): Ms Nomsa Ndlovu (Secretary General):

5 SEA SUNDAY CELEBRATION 29 July 2018 The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) has been ministering to seafarers in Durban since We continue to offer assistance with, among other things, moving injured or ill seafarers to the nearest port for medical treatment, regular hospital visits, providing Holy Sacraments to Catholic seafarers, handing out rosaries and religious materials, celebrating a weekly Mass at the Seafarers Centre in the Port, and helping with transport from the ships to the seafarers centre. Sea Sunday is celebrated internationally every year (usually the first Sunday in July). On this day the Church prays in a special way for all those who live and work at sea. Without them we would not have many of the items we buy in our shops. We, in the Archdiocese of Durban, continue our support to seafarers both practically and spiritually. In celebration of Sea Sunday the Apostleship of the Sea (Durban) is co-hosting an Ecumenical Prayer Service with Seafarers on 29 July 2018 at 11h00 at the Port (N-Shed), followed by refreshments. We extend an invitation to anybody who would like to attend and have the opportunity to meet our newly appointed AOS National Director, Mr Nicholas Barends. Please remember seafarers in your prayers, and we invite parishes to include a small thought for Seafarers in the Prayers of the Faithful that weekend. For more information on the Apostleship of the Sea contact: Fr. Herman Giraldo (Port Chaplain) ADVENT AND LENTEN APPEALS As director of the Advent and Lenten Appeals in the Archdiocese I would like to sincerely thank all my brother clergy (and indeed all sisters and lay persons as well) for the hard work that they have put in over the course of December 2017 to June 2018 in promoting these special collections. If there are any outstanding parishes still to submit their Advent 2017 and/or Lent 2018 offerings we would ask that these be done with all due haste as the closing dates for both collections in terms of allocation of funds has been well past and we are always in need of more, rather than less, to do more, rather than less. As you are aware, the Advent Appeal contributes significantly to both the Sick Priests Fund and Seminarians Formation and the Lenten Appeal to many worthy causes around the country, 41

6 including within our own Archdiocese. Considering this, I hope that you have all, by now, both received and read the grants application correspondence I recently dispatched and should you have any special projects within your parish or territory that could make beneficial use of the Lenten Appeal please do not hesitate to fill in the required documentation and forward it to me for the next round of applications. Once more I thank you all for your tireless efforts and continued commitment to these special collections and pray that God may continue to bless us all in our collective ministry. Fr. David Houbert DENIS HURLEY CENTRE Urgent Appeal for Men s Clothes The Street Store hosted with Grace Family Church was hugely successful. But sadly we ran out of men s clothes and now have absolutely nothing appropriate especially for homeless men being seen in our clinic, working as newspaper sellers or going to rehab. Clothes worn by teenage boys are the perfect sizes for our homeless men all fairly thin, but some tall and some short. And teenage boys often outgrow shoes when they still have a lot of wear in them. We are appealing to teenage boys through their schools for shoes and clothes. If you know a teenage boy (or a slim man) with more clothes and shoes than he needs, please let us know. Tel / raymond@denishurleycentre.org (Please note we do not need clothes for children, for women or for larger men) Give books, buy books, make work Our latest partner for providing work for the homeless is Booksellers of Mzansi. They are willing to collect and sort second-hand books and then set up some of our trained homeless guys to sell books to a public that is keen to read but cannot afford to buy new books. Excellent ranges of books, mostly R5 to R20. If you have books you want to donate, or phone and Avinesh can arrange collection or suggest a convenient drop off. If you have a church or community group that wants to host a book sale contact Stuart. 42

7 July St. Vincent s Parish, Pietermaritzburg Cardinal 2 Khanya House, Pretoria Vicar General 3 Chancery Meeting 4 VAT Audit Committee Meeting 6 Building Committee Cardinal 7 Catholic Women s Union Conference, Mariannhill Cardinal 8 Annual OFS Convention, Ntshongweni Cardinal 9 20 Annual Leave Vicar General 10 Audit Committee Cardinal Winter Living Theology, St Joseph s Morningside 13 Seminarians Interviews Couples for Christ and Youth for Christ Conference Cardinal 14 Jubilee Celebration, Mariannhill Convent Cardinal Rome Cardinal 15 Confirmation: St Vincent s Pietermaritzburg Chancellor 20 Ntshongweni Committee Evaluation Napier Centre 4 Healing Cardinal th Jubilee Celebration, Woodlands, Durban Cardinal Confirmation: Ikhwezi Lokusa, Imbali Fr. A. Moss 24 DIZIMO AGM, St Joseph s Morningside 25 KZN Church Leaders Group Cardinal 27 Johannesburg Cardinal 29 Mass of Thanksgiving, Mooi River Cardinal 30 Finance Board 31 SACBC Plenary Session Cardinal 43

8 Bringing your Parish from Maintenance to Mission DIVINE RENOVATION CONFERENCE August 2018 Parish of St. Joseph, Morningside Father James Mallon will address the Clergy of the Archdiocese of Durban in the afternoon of Wednesday, 15 August at their Clergy Study Day In the evening Alpha will host an Alpha Experience for all who would like to see how Alpha works. On Thursday, 16 August Father James will host a workshop for clergy, parish leaders and lay faithful. The cost is R Please register online at: DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY IT WILL CHANGE YOUR MINISTRY! 44