A Higher Education Centre Providing an opportunity for some of the poorest and brightest students in Burma. A Mountain Meeting

Transcription

1 MAGAZINE OF THE COLUMBAN MISSIONARIES A Higher Education Centre Providing an opportunity for some of the poorest and brightest students in Burma. A Mountain Meeting Working with indigenous Filipinos brought its own risks for a Columban Sister. Promoting Peace There will only be peace between peoples when there is peace between religions.

2 CONTENTS - MAY/JUNE 2015 PANORAMA Learning to be a Pastor Fr Seán Connaughton reflects back on various stages of learning to be a pastor in a parish in the Philippines A Higher Education Centre Fr Neil Magill has founded an important centre in Burma. Some of the students share their background and hopes. 08. Sleep-out for the Homeless Kyra Trewby wanted to show solidarity with the homeless by sleeping outside on one of the coldest nights of the year A Mountain Meeting Sr Grace de Leon, attempting to help the Filipino tribal peoples, describes a scary confrontation with guerillas. 12. Promoting Peace Fr Paul Glynn had devoted his life to promoting peace and better relationships between Christians and Muslims. 14. A Worthwhile Project Fr Michael Doohan shows how resourceful missionaries must be in attempting to help the people they serve. 16. Columban and Ecology Continuing our series on St Columban, Fr Seán McDonagh reflects on the Saint s relationship with Nature. 18. Obituaries 19. Reflections 20. Saints for our Times 21. Stories from the Bible 22. Childrens Section Panorama The Pope s Way of Relating Reporters from the world s secular press have consistently noted Pope Francis captivating empathy, and his clear, direct and humorous way of speaking. They quote some examples of this: like his saying to one mother in St Peter s Square, Feed your baby, woman, can t you see its crying because it is hungry! Or when asked why he didn t want darkened windows in his car One doesn t visit a friend in a dark, glass box. Or when challenged as to the real reason for choosing to live in Santa Marta rather than in the Papal Apartments: I settled in Santa Marta for psychiatric reasons, so that I would not suffer the loneliness that does me no good. And also for motives of poverty: so that I would not have to pay a psychiatrist a lot of money... And to be with the people. - Vida Nueva The Middle East s Forgotten Christians In the wake of the Pope s visit to Turkey last November, the siro-catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Yousef III Younan, described the dramatic situation that faces the Christians of Mosul and the Ninive Plateau who have taken refuge in Turkey and Kurdistan. They lack the most basic necessities. They have become ever more desperate because the international community has forgotten about them. They have ignored us, denounced the Patriarch, because we have no oil, nor do we threaten anybody with terrorism. - Mercatornet Ordaining Married Men In a Panorama item, in the July/August 2014 Far East, we printed a report of a meeting in Rome between Pope Francis and Dom Erwin Krautler, Bishop of Xingu, in the Amazon region of Brazil. Dom Erwin, bishop of the biggest ecclesiastical area in Brazil, told the Pope that he had 800 communities and just 27 priests to serve them. The result is that 70% lack Sunday Mass and many communities only enjoy the Eucharist once a year. Pope Francis surprised the bishop by asking what solution he proposed. The Pope went on to refer to some interesting theories that people like Dom Fritz Lobinger had proposed: namely, to ordain lay ministers (sometimes referred to as viri probati or proven married men ) who belong to the community and would continue their family and professional lives. Pope Francis stressed that he was looking for such very specific and bold proposals from National Conferences of Bishops. Dom Erwin presented this conversation to his fellow members of the National Brazilian Bishops Conference (CNBB). In December the latter group constituted a commission to study the possibility of ordaining married men whose faith and leadership has already been demonstrated in their communities. Meanwhile in January last, a group representing approximately 1000 members of the Association of US Catholic Priests has written to their bishops and asked them to start a dialogue towards ordaining married men to the priesthood. - Religion News Services Economic Inequality Increases The richest 1% of the world s population possessed 44% of the world s riches in In 2014 this percentage has become 48%, and the forecast is that the owners of these enormous fortunes will possess more than 50% of the world s riches by Meanwhile the remaining 99% of the world s population will have to make do with less than half. These figures were published by OXFAM at the Davos World Economic Forum as they denounced this spectacular growth of inequality. OXFAM s executive director, Winnie Byanyima said that this inequality strangles the fight against poverty at a moment when one in every nine persons has not enough food to eat. - Misioneros Tercer Milenio Concentrated Wisdom l A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing. l Don t wait for six strong men to take you to church. l Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position. l He who angers you controls you. l Worry is the darkroom in which negatives develop. l God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called. A typical picture of Pope Francis, the communicator. Reporters from the world s secular press have consistently noted Pope Francis captivating empathy... 2 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

3 The Far East: Published seven times yearly by the Missionary Society of St Columban (Maynooth Mission to China). Its purpose: To promote an awareness of the missionary dimension of the Church among readers; report on the work of Columban priests, Sisters and lay missionaries; seek spiritual and material support for missionaries. Subscription: 5 a year. Cheques/postal orders to be made payable to: The Columban Fathers Editor: Cyril Lovett SSC editorfareast@gmail.com Assistant Editor: Sr Redempta Twomey Layout & Editorial Assistant: Breda Rogers Manager: Tom O Reilly SSC Original Design: Tanika, Dublin Printers: Southern Print, Dorset Columban Websites News, reports, reflections etc. Missionary Society of St Columban Widney Manor Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB. Tel: (01564) Columban Sisters 209 Quebec Drive, East Kilbride, Glasgow, G75 8BB. Tel: (013552) Cover: The parents of Filipina Columban Lay Missionary Aurora Luceño. EDITORIAL Taken from their sight... The appearances of Jesus after the resurrection did not go on indefinitely. Scripture tells us that after forty days Jesus appeared to the apostles for the final time and commissioned them to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. In the period after his death and resurrection, the disciples had gone from being petrified with fear to having their hearts burn within them, to having an experience of forgiveness, healing, peace and reconciliation. They had gone from disappointment and confusion to a stage where they would boldly and fearlessly proclaim what God had done in Jesus. Now they entered a new phase, one in which they would no longer see the Risen Lord, but would experience his Spirit in the gathered community, in the breaking of bread and the sharing of the cup. The message of the resurrection would continue to be proclaimed. It would be in the Eucharist that Christians would experience at once the presence and the absence of the Lord - his presence in the intensity of the bonds of community shared; and his absence in the yearnings for the Lord to come again in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). In the post-resurrection period, Jesus had allowed himself to be seen as each disciple needed to see him: Mary Magdalen, Simon Peter, Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus. By the time he was taken from their sight, they knew by experience that he would be with them always. They had slowly learned to discover the living presence of Jesus in others, even when his physical appearance seemed so different. They had learned to be alert to his life-giving presence in the friends and strangers, in the unexpected incidents - joys and sorrows - that formed the fabric of their daily lives. In the tradition of their Jewish ancestors, they gave special A section from The Ascension of Christ from the Laudario of Sant Agnese, about 1340, by Pacino di Bonaguida. - The J. Paul Getty Museum. importance to the poor, the orphans and widows. These were three categories of persons who had nobody to speak up for them, and who, for that reason, were exceptionally vulnerable. We, who today share in the mission of the apostles, we who are fired by the same Holy Spirit, are likewise commissioned to reach out to the most vulnerable in our own particular context. Who are the outsiders, the strangers in my particular place? What of the new immigrants, whose dress, language and culture still stand out as different? What of the asylum-seekers spending up to ten years in holding centres, on a ridiculously small personal allowance; whole families crowded in small spaces, and without the right to work? If our Government has taken no measures to seek a more humane solution for these neighbours of ours, what are we doing to bring pressure on it? Jesus Christ, in his first-century physical presence has been taken away from our sight; his living, risen presence continues to demand our love and service of the most needy. C.L. We priests believe firmly that we have a vocation: that it to say that we are called by the Lord. But the question arises, to what are we called? For some reason, my memory tracks back to 1981, when the local Vicar General of the our Diocese in the Philippines was formally inducting me as Parish Priest. The brief Mass had a long homily. What was the new Parish Priest for? Call him, said the Monsignor, for the sick, for blessings, for reconciliation, for the poor, the homeless, the children, sacraments etc. I remember thinking to myself, I m to do more than 20 things here in San Pablo; so this is vocation. The Vicar General had more than 50 years of service behind him, had survived the American colonial regime and the Japanese occupation, he must know what he was talking about. But where would I start in his long list of services? On the first morning, on looking out the window I could see five very industrious women. They were sweeping, dusting, polishing, even mopping the wall. What on earth could this be about? Opening the door I quickly found out. My predecessor had had a cook: all five women were applicants for the job. I wondered what the Monsignor would have done? I didn t want to hurt or turn away anyone, but I didn t see how I could afford a cook. Yet it took me more than one whole day to accomplish a task that a competent canteen manager would have accomplished in ten minutes. Nena was clearly the most vigorous sweeper having piled a knee-deep corner of dust and sand. But Josie and Mila had actually climbed a wall to reach and clean the gutters. Then I had a brain wave and asked, Who was my predecessor s cook? Oh, she s an outsider and doesn t belong in this place, was the reply. However, after much agonizing, and for want of a better way to resolve my dilemma, I reinstated the former cook two mornings a week. As time went on I discovered great treasure among the women of the parish. Marisa was a member of the Apostleship of Prayer. I d met this group in another parish. To me they were the nearest thing to Women s lib activists. This woman and two or three friends went on to become the Appropriate Housing Group. During my time they built sixty-eight houses for families who had mostly lived in illegal shacks constructed on side-walks. The housing group from Germany, who helped fund the project, and the young architects from the nearby university, thought we were marvellous. A Credit Union stimulated the school and dozens of small shops in the market came from gatherings which discussed what we needed most. One disappointing case became the bane of our lives, with children in and out of jail and an alcoholic husband. One day when the flood was knee-deep in all our houses, I observed her daughter splashing through the flood with a huge sack on her shoulder. Too mucky for me, I just let her pass. Only later did we discover that she had cleared our little student library of a whole shelf of expensive math books. Keep the books on the shelves or sell to feed the hungry? A Gospel dilemma surely. Did we thank God and make our needs known to him? It used to hit me over the head when I looked at our under-20 choir. Nobody could say how many were escapees from the nearby jail. They sang every verse of every song and retired to the nearby bar after Mass to recover. So, vocation, who calls? Is it God? or is it the people? or both? I keep thinking about that. v Fr Seán Connaughton served for many years in the Philippines and now serves as assistant in Castletown-Finea, in the Diocese of Meath. They sang every verse of every song and retired to the nearby bar after Mass to recover. Pictured above is the author Fr Seán Connaughton. 4 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE PHILIPPPINES Learning to be Pastor By Fr Seán Connaughton

4 MYANMAR A Higher Education Centre Law s Story: In my family there are ten persons including my parents. They have had to struggle for their daily living and are now quite old. I haven t visited them for four years because I am studying in Mandalay and also during the holidays I attend University Distance Education. So, I am trying to support not only my family but also other young people who cannot study well. As a poor person, there are many struggles and daily problems, made worse without education. I want to thank our benefactors, also Fr Neil, the Sisters and staff and indeed all the students because I gain much knowledge, experience and maturity in living with them. The Centre has made my dreams come true. Had I not been given this opportunity, I wouldn t speak English properly; I would have struggled in my career and might have had to do hard physical work in Chin State or elsewhere. 02 The Centre is helping change the future of a country which for half a century has only known military rule and international isolation. On the outskirts of Mandalay, Burma (now known as Myanmar), is a former leprosarium, where a group of Columbans were kept under guard by the Japanese from 1942 to the end of the war. One of them, the late Fr Thomas Murphy, was fatally injured when a Japanese shell exploded as he was celebrating Mass on 16 March So this building has strong emotional ties for all Columbans. In more recent times, the building had been left unused for many years until Columban Fr Neil Magill saw its potential, had it repaired and founded the Mandalay Archdiocesan Higher Education Centre on the site. This Centre celebrated the 5th anniversary of its opening on 15 February this year. The Centre aims to prepare some of the poorest but brightest Myanmese students by providing high quality tertiary education for thirty students annually, over a threeyear period. The Centre has 90 students in total. The aim is to help them achieve their potential and become leaders in both their civil and church communities, opening up employment opportunities that would otherwise be totally beyond their reach. The curriculum of the Centre is broad, diverse and rooted in the Catholic faith. It By Fr Neil Magill includes English, Computer Studies, Human Rights, Music and Catholic Social Teaching. During their studies students practice what they learn by going each week to Buddhist monasteries to teach children who cannot afford to go to school. They also visit a Centre for those living with HIV/AIDS, and an orphanage. The first graduates of the Higher Education Centre are now back working in their parishes, diocesan offices, with Caritas and other faith-based, non-governmental organisations. They work on various projects such as micro-finance, HIV/AIDS awareness, disaster relief, human trafficking and child-protection seminars. Some have continued their studies, and four have obtained Bachelor degrees in Religious Studies from the Philippines. Seven others are doing similar degree courses; others have studied one year with the Institute of Jesus Sisters in Yangon to become teachers of a method similar to that used in Montessori schools. The Centre is helping change the future of a country which for half a century has only known military rule and international isolation. The students are full of enthusiasm and anxious to learn. We share the stories of three of the present students below. 01 Monica s Story: My family is poor. My dad is a ruby miner, my mum a traditional teacher. I am the youngest of the family. Before coming to the Centre I couldn t understand a simple English sentence. I simply memorised all my lessons by rote for may years. Now I can understand lots and can speak quite well. It has improved my education, spiritual life and daily behaviour. Were I not studying in the Centre I would be sewing and weaving traditional clothes or feeding the pigs. I might be attending just a few courses. The Centre has given me a good opportunity so that I can implement my future well. Luke s Story My parents weren t educated; my elder brothers didn t go to school when they were young, so now they are daily (agricultural/construction) workers with a very low salary. Despite this they have supported me, the youngest of the family, to get an education. When I passed my matriculation exam I had no way to learn English, Computers, Human Rights and Justice. The Centre is one place I will never forget because it changed my life. It has taught me to be a mature and good person: sometimes I think my life started at the Centre. And for this I will always be thankful. How Can You Help? The Higher Education Centre is a relatively new educational inititative and we need continual financial support for the refurbishment and repair of the building. Of particular need at the present time is the Chapel, which also serves as a meditation room, and where we have daily Mass at 6.00 am. The Centre is a long way from the market where essential food and other supplies are purchased for the 90 students and teachers. A daily visit to the market is necessary and a truck or van is needed for this and for transporting students to their various pastoral postings. The running of the Centre is a collaborative effort between the Archdiocese and the Columbans. Your gift will help the centre to continue its important service to some of the poorest and brightest young people of Myanmar. v Fr Neil Magill is from Derry. Donations may be sent to The Regional Director, St Columban s, Widney Manor Road, Solihull, West Midlands B93 9AB (cheques should be made payable to Columban Fathers ) or you can donate online by clicking on Donate Now on our website: Fr Neil Magill pictured with some of the students outside the Higher Education Centre. 02. Law. 03. Monica. 04. Luke. Photos courtesy of Pat Colgan. 6 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

5 BRITAIN Sleep-out for Homeless By Kyra Trewby Making your Will? Perhaps it was the cold, or the weariness that came from being on guard the whole time. And I wondered how someone who has this night after night is able to function at all during the day. In the early hours of Homeless Sunday on 18 January, James and Kyra Trewby and a small Columban group joined the Bishop of Rochester to sleep outside on one of the coldest nights of the year to show solidarity with homeless people. Homeless Sunday is an annual oneday campaign dedicated to raising awareness of homelessness and its causes. When my husband James Trewby, Columban Justice and Peace Education Worker first asked me to do a sleep-out in Bromley for National Homeless Sunday, I can t say I was swept off my feet. It was January, temperatures were hitting the -1 mark and I was worried about getting ill from the cold. It was a busy time for me at work and I didn t want to have to take any time off. But later that day, on my commute home, I walked past a young woman about my age, wrapped up in sleeping bags on the pavement and I heard a voice in my head saying, Kyra- there is no good time to sleep-out. This opportunity was here now; I had an invitation, so why shouldn t I consider it? A few s later, I was signed up for the event that was being organised by Housing Justice and Bromley Winter Night Shelter. I was going as part of a small group from the Columban exposure programme which aims to engage people in different social-justice issues through experiential learning. I must admit, I was a little wary about the experience. Would it change the way I saw the issue? Or would it simply churn out an empty kind of empathy where the morning after we d smugly pick up our sleeping bags, have breakfast and catch the bus back home feeling all worthy and clued-up about homelessness? Thankfully, Alison Gelder, Chief Executive of Housing Justice, cleared that up straight away. This was not an event aimed at imitating the experiences of a homeless person. It was one that began with some hard-hitting videos of real people talking about the realities of sleeping rough. And it raised some important questions about why access to the basic human rights of food, shelter, water and sanitation are denied to homeless people in the UK. And of course, street homelessness is only half the story. The charity Crisis estimates that 62% of single homeless people are hidden homeless and never make the official stats. Tonight, we were just skimming the surface of this complex and difficult issue. The night 01 was about being in solidarity with people affected by homelessness. But I still wasn t sure what that meant. At about 11pm, a group of us started to scope out our beds for the night within the grounds of Bromley Parish Church. Even in such a safe and enclosed space there was still so much to consider when deciding where to plonk down our cardboard; the rain, damp ground, noise, light, and even, it turned out, foxes. I started to have a small idea about how gruelling it would be having to work that out every single night. After we d made up our sleeping area and bedded down, it all became very still and I could see the swirls of breath coiling out of the sleeping bags around me. Sleeping on the floor I felt quite vulnerable with every noise making me start. It took me about half an hour before I started to drift in and out of sleep. During that time, I began to think about peace. The work of the Columbans is centred around justice, peace and integrity of creation, and in my very drowsy state, I began to see these big concepts in a much more practical and even physical way what does it really mean to sleep peacefully when others might not? In the early hours, the rain began and I headed into the church to sleep when it started to soak through my layers. Even after only spending 4 or 5 hours outside, I woke up with a strange grogginess that was a different kind of tiredness to the one you get after a bad night s camping, or an essay all-nighter. It was a tiredness that was a little more abrasive. Perhaps it was the cold, or the weariness that came from being on guard the whole time. And I wondered how someone who has this night after night is able to function at all during the day. It seems tragic that those who have to do so much to survive each day must have so little energy to do it with. So I can t write about what it feels like to lay your head on a pavement every night, or how it feels to have nowhere private to go to the toilet. But I can say that I learned an awful lot. Mainly about how much I don t know. It was a quiet kind of learning; a brief but sobering education that gently shook my shoulders in a very practical and unassuming kind of way. It has left me with questions, questions about justice, human dignity, charity and statutory responsibility. And it has challenged me to play my small part in campaigning for change. v Kyra Trewby is the wife of James Trewby, Columban Justiice and Peace Education Worker. 01. James Trewby. 02. Rt Reverend James Langstaff, Anglican Bishop of Rochester. Photos courtesy of Kyra Trewby 8 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE Please remember the needs of the Columban missions. Without your help we cannot continue our work. Missionary Society of St Columban, Widney Manor Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB. Any Old Irish Currency? Sincere thanks to our readers who have sent their pre-euro currency as a donation for the missions. We are most grateful for your generosity. Donations can be sent to Missionary Society of St Columban, Widney Manor Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB.

6 PHILIPPINES A Mountain Meeting By Sr Grace de Leon wives will be shunned. You will lose face before all the people, especially the tribes. Already you steal their food; you destroy their lives. But people will not stand for if you kill me. As for me, I have nothing to lose. I am a missionary; I have no children; I have no money; I have nothing to lose. Go ahead and kill me. But let me tell you that there will be an outcry not only in this country, but people all over will condemn you because I belong to an international congregation with Sisters in the East and in the West. In my trembling heart I was praying, Lord, let it be quick. Don t let them torture me; I m so afraid. Darkness had fallen on the mountain. Inside the house the mother, Rosario, was cooking the vegetables and rice for the evening meal while her four children played and laughed around the kitchen. Every few minutes one or other of them would skip over to kiss their baby brother who gurgled in my arms. I was staying with the family while working with the tribal people in the Philippines. This was in the late nineties; I had been there for four years. Suddenly a shout rang out, Who s there? The laughter stopped; I clutched the baby tightly, the mother froze. Again, louder this time, Who s there? The mother went to the door. Me and my children. Who else? Me and my children, she repeated. She glanced at me, mouthing NPA (New People s Army). The soldier trained his gun on her. You have a guest. Who is it? She was silent. She knew she was facing soldiers who would shoot her and her children. Quickly I got up and handed her the baby. You are looking for me. Leave them alone. My heart was thumping, my knees trembling. But somehow, and I still think of this, as I held that tiny infant I had felt a strength seep into me. As though now I too was small and vulnerable and had to be held by someone. Come, the leader barked, pulling me out the door. Surrounded by his men we walked up to the top of the mountain, an hour s journey. I knew they were the guerrillas who terrorized the tribal people of the hillsides, forcing them to hand over rice and chickens and whatever vegetables they had. We had heard of the people s suffering and the Bishop, Bishop Cabrera of the diocese of Alaminos in Pangasinan, had asked us, Columban Sisters to help. No one had visited the people and neither he nor we knew how to make contact. Then we got the idea of going to the local market and seeing if the tribal people came down to sell their goods. Sure enough I met some of the people from the Kankaney and Ibaloy tribe and told them of our desire to help them if we could. A short time later a few of the women took me to meet some of the leaders. We sat around while I asked them what their needs were. We cannot till the land, one man spoke. The NPA have taken all our carabaos (water-buffalo) and now we have no rice; our people are starving. Look at our children, their bellies are swollen, their eyes sunk in their skulls. I saw so many of the listless little ones. If they could not till the land they were doomed. I went back down the mountain 01 determined to get carabaos for them. And, by God s providence, and the generosity of many people, including readers of the Far East, we raised enough money to buy a good number of animals. Almost at once their situation changed. Their health improved; their children grew strong; they sang tribal songs again. I met regularly with the leaders who organized the distribution of the carabaos so that each farmer could have one for a time until we had enough for all. Now we eat three times a day, one man said to me, with a wide smile. The leaders worked with me and saw that there was a fair distribution, that everyone was helped. When a carabao had a calf, that calf could be kept and so gradually the stock built up. This was the reason I was now surrounded by fifteen guerrillas, their guns trained on me. I was terrified. The interrogation began. Where had I come from? What did I mean by giving the farmers the animals? Where did I get the money? Who was behind this? It went on and on. O Lord, I prayed silently, give me a clear mind. Don t let me panic. Stand with me. And then, suddenly, I remembered vividly the training we had undergone each week when I was in Peru some years before. Training on what to do if the Sendero Luminoso, the Shining Path terrorists attacked us: Don t panic. Challenge them. So, I told the men the money came from people who cared deeply for the poor. I told them I was a missionary sister. I told them I knew they would kill me, already their guns were pointed on me. But, I said, you will be the loser. Your children will suffer. Your In my trembling heart I was praying, Lord, let it be quick. Don t let them torture me; I m so afraid. I was amazed that my voice was so steady, as though I was fearless. I remembered the words of Jesus, Don t worry on what to say, the Spirit will give you the words. The men sat in silence. A few of them went aside arguing about me. Then the leader came back and said, We ll let you go now. But if you tell anyone we ll come after you. And they roughly shoved me down the path. Oh, the relief! I was still scared but how I thanked God over and over. Later that day I met with the leaders and told them, I m all right, I told them, but I can t talk about it. They understood. I told them we would go ahead and visit the eight families who had been promised funds; this was the last of the money we had received and I wanted to finish the work before I returned to the convent. So for the next four days I went around with the men until we finished the distribution and saw that everyone was seen to. The people protected me. I knew I would not see them again and my heart was breaking at having to leave them. Back with the community I was nervous, checking doors and windows, startled at the slightest sound, tense all the time. Finally the sisters sat me down. What happened, Grace? So I told them. Of course they were very shocked and at once made plans to get me to Manila and eventually out of the country. But that s another story. v Sr Grace is a Filipina Columban Sister who has worked in Peru, Hong Kong, the US and the Philippines. 01. Tribal people particapting in lowland cultural events Kankanaey and Iballoy. 02. Sr Grace de Leon. Photos courtesy of Sr Grace. 10 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

7 PHILIPPINES: SERIES: MY PILGRIMAGE IN INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE Promoting Peace By Fr Paul Glynn Dialogue work has many frustrations but the typhoon espisode constantly reminds me that if it is indeed God s work, God will find a way. When I first arrived in the Philippines, I felt inundated by anti-muslim prejudice from the majority Catholic population. In their view Muslims were nothing but traitors, ignorant, savages, enemies of Filipinos etc. After just two weeks into my immersion in a Muslim community in Mindanao I had a very instructive experience. It taught me how dangerous it is to make judgments about people that we don t fully understand. A sudden typhoon from the sea blew the roof from the house in which I was living. Some members of the Muslim community who had been opposed to my efforts at inter-religious dialogue began spreading rumours that Allah was angry at my host family for housing a Christian priest - hence the typhoon. I still remember my desolation when my hosts threw me out on the street at dusk, with no means of transport to get out of that remote village. I recall saying to God, This was all your idea. If you want me to continue this work do something fast. Otherwise I m giving up. After about 30 minutes, wondering if I should sleep under a tree or begin trecking the 20 kilometres to the nearest town, one of the other Muslim villagers came up to me and said, Brother, come and live with us. I did and stayed with them for four years. Dialogue work has many frustrations but the typhoon episode constantly reminds me that if it is indeed God s work, God will find a way. The call to join the Columban apostolate for Muslim-Christian dialogue captivated my heart and it hasn t let go over the past 23 years. The words of Vatican II ring in my ears, Over the centuries many quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The Sacred Council now pleads with all to forget the past and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding for the benefit of all. Let them together promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values. (Nostra Aetate art. 3). The seeds of the deep-seated prejudice between Christians and Muslims in the Philippines were sown over 400 years ago. The Spaniards arrived in the Philippines just twenty years after the Muslims had finally been expelled from Spain. Spanish intolerance for things Islamic tended to permeate their colonial dealings with the Filipino Muslims whom they misnamed Moros (Moors). The Spanish Crown had Catholic religious orders simultaneously occupy the roles of missionaries and colonial administrators: naturally Muslims regarded baptised Filipinos as collaborators with the Spanish colonial cause. Also, Catholic Filipinos were often recruited to quell the frequent Muslim insurrections in what were called the Moro Wars. With the end of the Spanish era, the US took over and adopted a policy of civilising Moro-land. They encouraged Christian Filipinos to resettle in Mindanao, in what Muslims considered their ancestral lands. The Philippine Government continued this policy so that the Muslim population of Mindanao dropped from 50% in 1918 to 27% in These developments have led to a series of armed conflicts over the past fifty years. In my role as co-ordinator for Muslim- Christian dialogue in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, I act as co-convenor of the Cagayan de Oro Interfaith Forum for Peace, Harmony and Solidarity. This forum is comprised of Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, various Evangelical Churches, and Muslim clergy and lay leaders. We arrange regular visits to educate each other about our particular beliefs and religious practices. Joint inter-faith statements are often issued and read in churches and mosques in order to promote Christian- Muslim understanding. I organise a gathering of Catholic and Protestant bishops and Ulama (Islamic theological leaders) in this part of Mindanao to promote peace, understanding and cooperation. I help the staff of the local seminary to train students in Inter-Religious Dialogue. I give public lectures and workshops in schools, as well as among the police and army to promote tolerance, and to counter misinformation and misunderstanding. I also balance my dialogue efforts by teaching English to five Imams (Islamic liturgical leaders). This has certainly helped create a deep trust and friendship between us. My experience in the Philippines has taught me that a good Muslim is a Muslim who prays regularly, sincerely, humbly and from the heart. Sincere prayerfulness really does transform people. Living within hearing distance of the regular daily calls to prayer from the local minaret, has given me a greater appreciation of how the hours of the Divine Office help to sanctify the day. When I spend time in silent contemplation, I feel in solidarity - in communion - with my Muslim friends who are at prayer. I deeply sense that we are praying to one and the same God and that His transformative grace is at work in all of us. v Paul Glynn, from Mallow, Co. Cork was ordained in 1994 and has worked as a student and a priest in Mindanao, Philippines. 01. Interfaith Walk for Peace -- taking part are the Roman Catholic Archbishop Antonio Ledesma SJ, priests and Sisters, United Church of Christ of the Philippines, and Evangelical pastors, and Muslim Ulama, Asatidz and Ayama. 02. Paul Glynn (right) with a Muslim friend. Photos courtesy of Paul Glynn. 12 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

8 PHILIPPINES A Worthwhile Project By Fr Michael Doohan One of the first things I noticed was that there were many young men, aged or so, hanging around doing nothing. In 1974 I was assigned to open a new Parish in Sonedco. It was part of Kabankalan Parish on the island of Negros, in the Philippines, and it had a Sugar Factory. At the time it had no church nor house nor the land on which to build either. One of the first things I noticed was that there were many young men, aged or so, hanging around doing nothing. I spoke to them and asked why they were not working. Nobody will hire us they said. And why don t you go back to school?, I asked. We have no money they replied. Here was a budding problem. I had always been interested in mechanics and asked if they would like to study it if the course was free. The answer was a resounding YES so I got to work. The first thing was to approach land owners who were very generous. I asked for two hectares for a church and school and got it. Next, I built a house. In the tropics one does not need a solid building so my little shack made of bamboo and nipa (thatch) cost the noble sum of about twenty Euro at that time. Once I had erected a small church with similar materials, I could work on my promise to get a place for boys who would study mechanics. I got some tools, a couple of old engines and went to Cebu City to look for someone who would help me teach. At a vocational school there I found a young man called Walter Onting. He knew that he was taking a big gamble, going to a different Island, to teach in a school that did not yet exist. But he came and we got started with 20 boys. I soon realized that Walter needed a second teacher and again I was fortunate in getting one from a school in Bacolod City. Since I was planning a free school, where was I to get the funds to cover salaries and expenses? I went to other land owners, to the sugar factory owner, also some friends abroad helped and then I asked help from the Government Department of Labour. I must say that all were very helpful and generous so we could carry on. After a few years our student numbers increased so I approached the U.S. AID in Manila and requested help from them. To my surprise I got much more than I had requested, a bulldozer, a road grader, two backhoes, two lorries, an old car and lots of tools. The big machines we could rent out and could thus earn money for salaries and school expenses. As the school was now getting bigger than I had originally envisioned, I went to talk to the Salesian Fathers who have excellent schools in the Philippines and are experts in vocational training. I was advised to request a Dutch volunteer mechanics-teacher. 01 Again the Dutch Government seemed very positive and sent a team to investigate. When they arrived I was embarrassed as the school consisted of just one poor nipa building and my own house was only a shack. As I had only two chairs, I had to invite them to sit on the floor with me. They said This is just what we want, to be with the people, be like them and not living in a big house. A young Dutchman, Harry van Lammeren, was with them and was very happy when I said I d get a similar house built for him beside the school. He came with his young wife and they stayed for three years, one year more than the original contract. All expenses were paid by the Dutch Government. The school grew until we had over fifty boys and girls studying mechanics, driving, heavy equipment operation, electricity, welding and dress-making. By this time Harry had left so I was working with the Labour Department who paid the salaries of two teachers. We ran a two-year course and the graduates easily found work, while some opened their own business and others went overseas. Eventually I was about to be transferred to another parish but no priest wanted to take responsibility for a free vocational school. I had been preparing for this and had discussed it with the Board of Directors consisting of the bishop, three priests, two attorneys and representatives from the factory and Department of Labour. We had a meeting and decided to hand over the running of the school to the Department, on the condition that they continued it as a free school for the poor. Now after 30 years it is much improved and they have even a school bus and also give an allowance to each student for their lunch. So I was very happy to visit them on my most recent visit back to the Philippines. v Fr Michael is now retired at St Columban s, Navan after almost sixty years of ministry in the Philippines. 01. The workshop where the mechanics are trained today. 02. A sign displaying some of the courses available. 03. One of the workshops. 04. The tool room. Photos courtesy of Ma Victoria Espanola. 14 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

9 SERIES: 1400TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST COLUMBAN S DEATH Columban and Ecology By Fr Seán McDonagh intende; Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina (God come to my aid; O Lord make haste to help me). The wolves approached and touched his habit, but instead of harming him they wandered off. the whole universe together participates in the divine goodness more perfectly, and represents it better, than any single creature whatsoever. (Summa, Part 1, Question 47, article 1). Like other early Irish saints finding God in creation came naturally to Columban. 01. In the footsteps of St Columban : pilgrims on the Bernardino Pass, Switzerland. 02. The Philippine Eagle. Photos courtesy of Seán McDonagh and Derry Healy. To make a comment on this article go to Anybody who visits the sites of Columban s monasteries cannot but be struck by the beauty of their natural setting. Like other early Irish saints finding God in creation came naturally to Columban. Many legends grew up around him in Luxeuil. Squirrels and doves were pictured playing in the folds of his cowl. Birds also approached him and nestled in the palms of his hands. Even wild beasts obeyed his commands. 01 His biographer Jonas relates how Columban once withdrew to the forest in order to fast and pray. The food ran out and all he and the young monk Chagnoald had to eat were crab apples. However, when Chagnoald went to collect the apples he found a hungry bear eating them. He returned to Columban for directions. Columban ordered him to go back to the orchard and to divide it in two halves, one for the bear and one for the monks. Jonas recalls another occasion when Columban was walking and praying in the forest near Luxeuil. He was confronted by a pack of wolves. He remained completely still and prayed Deus in adjutorium meum On another occasion, when Columban was looking for a quiet place in which to pray near Annegray, he came on what he considered to be an ideal place. Unfortunately, it was a bear s den, but, far from being frightened by the experience, Columban ordered the bear to leave the place and never to return. The bear duly did so and found another den further away from Annegray. On another day at meal time Columban took off his working gloves and left them at the door of the refectory. While the monks were eating, a raven swooped down and carried off one of the gloves. Jonas writes that Columban told the monks that he would not feed the chicks of the raven until the latter had returned the stolen glove. Immediately, as the monks watched, the raven flew down with the glove in its beak and dropped it in front of Columban, and the bird did not fly away until Columban gave it permission to do so. Columban and his monks clearly found God in the created world around them. In Columban s sermon on grace we find, Seek no further concerning God; for those who wish to know the great depth (of God) must first learn about creation. Further on in the same sermon there is a sentence which could become the mantra for Creation Theology, Intellige, si vis scire Creatorem, creaturam (If you wish to know the Creator, learn about creatures.) Centuries later St Thomas Aquinas wrote, God brought things into being in order that his goodness might be communicated to creatures and be represented by them; and because his goodness could not be adequately represented by one creature alone, he produced many and diverse creatures so that, what was wanting to one in the manifestation of the divine goodness, might be supplied by another, and hence So other species also reveal God in ways that humans do not and cannot. My own experience of this came many years ago in Lake S bu in the mountains of South Cotabato in the Philippines. One evening a group of fishermen brought a Philippine eagle over to my house. A flock of kalaw (hornbills) had forced this young eagle down on to Lake S bu and its talons became entangled in the fishermen s nets. Because we had preached so much about protecting God s creation, the fishermen didn t kill the bird, instead, they brought it over to my place were we built a makeshift aviary. We sent for a vet to the Philippine Eagle Foundation in Davao City because we thought the bird had been injured. For the next few days, hundreds of T bolis came from all over the mountain to view this magnificent creature. It stood more than three feet tall and had a wing span of more than six feet. Everything about the bird was stunning its eyes, its beak and its front plumage. After the bird had been treated by the vet, we released it back into the wild. I remember being struck by the power of its wings in flight. While marvelling at the beauty of the eagle, I experienced incredible sadness at the thought that I and those watching were the last generation of humans which would see the Philippine eagle in the wild. We are living in the 6th largest extinction of life on earth since life began 3.8 billion years ago. We have comprehensive data on about two million species, but there could be ten or even one hundred other species that we do not know. We could lose up to a third of or half the species on the planet - all of which mirror God in a particular way - over the next fifty years. May the memory of Columban cause us to prevent any further loss of God s wondrous creatures. v Fr Seán McDonagh is the author of numerous books and articles on ecology. 16 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

10 OBITUARIES Rest in Peace Fr Frederick (Fred) Hanson was born on 8 September 1916 in Belfast. Educated at St Brigid s NS, Holy Family NS and St Mary s CBS, Belfast, he came to the Old Dalgan in Shrule, Co. Galway in He was ordained in Shrule in December The war prevented his being assigned overseas, so he was assigned to parish work in the Diocese of Down and Connor for three years. He joined the Royal Air Force as a chaplain in 1943 and served until This appointment clearly suited Fred s talents. The RAF Chaplain-in-Chief pleaded that he be allowed serve a further three years, Fr Hanson is a most zealous priest and has done heroic work in looking after young Irish men in several RAF stations... I cannot conceive of anybody doing greater work for the glory of God than he is doing in his present position. In 1950 he was assigned briefly to Korea, but the outbreak of war in that country resulted in a change of assignment to Japan. From 1953 until 1958 he served as Editor of Tosei News (an English news service for missionaries) and NCWC correspondent for Korea and Japan. From he was assigned once again to Korea where he served as secretary to Bishop Quinlan. There followed two years doing pastoral work on a temporary basis in parishes in England. Then he was assigned to the Parish of St Teresa, Glen Road, Belfast and later to Holy Family Parish where he served until the year Fred was a big man, big in stature and with a voice to match. He was generous and kind, devoted to his sisters Eileen and Mary, and managed his long illness with patience while noting that there were few pleasures in growing old. When he died on 15 February 2015 the nurses and carers in the Columban Retirement Home formed a guard of honour to escort him to the chapel. May he rest in peace. Fr Fred Hanson REFLECTION Caring for The Earth Every week the elderly nun took the class of 12-year-old girls for nature study. The students loved these periods, not only because they were a welcome break from more academic studies, but because almost always the nun took them out into the open fields where she helped them discover the beauty of what until then had seemed so common and so ordinary grass and weeds and wild flowers. She opened the windows of wonder in their hearts and, long before it became fashionable, these girls grew up caring deeply for the earth and all creation. thousands of species, denuding forests, poisoning oceans. greeds And garbage are too thick-strewn To be swept up now or invent Excuses that make them all needs. When we mindlessly throw a Coke can into a ditch, we are not just breaking a law, we are also, at some deep level, defacing Christ. Celebration of the But maybe at last we can hope that the groaning of Mother Earth has reached the ears and the hearts of people all over people who are united in their 1400th Anniversary determination to heal the wounds caused by greed and thoughtlessness. With of the Death of St Columban deeper understanding and with love we are learning to live more simply, to recycle, Half a century later those fields are to restore and to reverence, and to teach What Can We Do? gone. Trees cut down, grass paved over, our children to reverence, the world that houses and roads where once buttercups, is our home. As Christians our response The following are some suggestions: anemones and speedwell bloomed. must surely be whole-hearted, courageous Philip Larkin saw it happening in the early and persevering. In Him, St Paul says, seventies when he wrote: all things were created, in heaven and on l Organise/take part in a nine-step Pilgrim Walk of The Way of St Columbanus earth (Col 1:16). When we abuse or in your parish or local area. I thought it would last in my time destroy the physical universe we ignore l Organise/take part in a Prayer Service to honour St Columban. The sense that beyond the town, the truth that Christ came to redeem not There would always be fields and farms just humanity but all of nature (Rom 9:18f). l Read more about St Columban: Where the village louts could climb Fr Ronald Rolheiser, reflecting on these Columbanus in his own Words - by Tomás O Fiaich, Veritas Ireland; Such trees as were not cut down truths, wrote, When we mindlessly throw Saint Columbanus, Pilgrim for Christ - by Aidan Larkin; Things are tougher than we are, just a Coke can into a ditch, we are not just Cumann Seanchais Árd Mhaca, Armagh, Northern Ireland. As earth will always respond breaking a law, we are also, at some deep However we mess it about; level, defacing Christ. But when we taste Chuck filth into the sea if you must: and see the beauty of creation, God is Details and texts for the above celebrations are available on the Columban website The tides will be clean beyond. truly glorified. In the short time we have on Photo: Wild flower meadow or by contacting Missionary Society of St Columban, - But what do I feel now? Doubt? this planet we must, as St Francis of Assisi at Dalgan Park. Widney Manor Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB. urged, do what is ours to do, as we join Today the reports come thick and fast: with others in caring for the earth and for Photo: Charlie Meagher. Telephone: (01564) we are polluting the planet, destroying each other. v S.R.T. 18 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

11 Bible Quiz No In Luke ch. 22, who said to Peter and John, Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover? 2. In Genesis ch. 48, who said, May the angel who delivered me from harm bless these boys.? 3. In Luke ch. 24, who asked this question, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem not to have heard the news of what has happened there these days? 4. True or false? In Acts ch. 28, Peter protested, Although I have done nothing against our people... I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 5. In Gen. ch. 45, who said, I m convinced my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die? 6 In Gen. ch. 24, who asked Rebecca, Please give me a little water from your jar? 7. In Jesus parable (Matt. ch. 25) who said, Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out? 8. In Matt. ch. 4, who tempted Jesus saying, If you are the son of God, throw yourself down.?.. Consult your Bible, answer the questions above and send your entry to: Bible Quiz No. 50, St Columban s, Widney Manor Rd, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB, before 30th June Name: Address: Age: Bible Quiz No 48 Winner: Mrs A. M. Pettett, Tintagel, Cornwall. Saints for our Times Only from within to without can the world be formed Gustav Landauer: Revolutionary ( ) Gustav Landauer lived in an age of revolution. But among German revolutionaries of his time he was something of an anomaly - as much a mystic and poet as a political activist. He combined the anarchist ideal of freedom with the socialist commitment to community. But his actions were rooted in a moral and spiritual vision that tended to invite scorn from more pragmatic comrades. To friends like Martin Buber, he was another Amos or Jeremiah - a prophet who combined righteous denunciation of injustice with the annunciation of something totally new. Landauer was born on April 7, 1870, into a middle-class Jewish family. From an early age he became immersed in the revolutionary movements of his day. But he put little stock in political parties. He particularly abhorred the authoritarian tendencies of Marxism, with its obsession with seizing political power. As a self-described Anarchist-Socialist, Landauer sought a revolution from below. It involved the transformation of relationships - whether by cooperatives, trusts or unions - from a spirit of power to a spirit of community. His strategy was to build a new world within the shell of the old. The State, he wrote, is a condition, a certain relationship between human beings, a mode of human behaviour; we destroy it by contracting other relationships, by behaving differently. At the same time he abhorred the anarchist tendency to resort to violence,... a goal can be reached only if the means to this goal are already bathed in the colour of it. Landauer served several prison terms as a result of his political activities. In 1899 he spent six months in prison for writing a libelous attack on the Berlin commissioner of police. While in prison he studied and translated the writings of Meister Eckhart, the fourteenth-century German mystic. He was much taken by Eckhart s exhortation to discover God in one s soul. From this he derived the insight that by delving deep into our souls we might find the roots of universal community. He later edited Eckhart s writings, a work he considered the critical bridge between his spiritual vision and political convictions. He worked tirelessly to prevent the coming World War. He hoped workers would resist the tide of nationalism and militarism, but found himself almost entirely alone. Landauer was a moralist in a dark age. He was a poet and mystic who believed no lasting human society could be established that did not draw on the image of God, a sense of the unity of life, memorised deep in the human soul. In Munich in the aftermath of World War I Landauer briefly served as minister of education in a short-lived revolutionary republic. On 2 May, 1919 he was arrested by German troops and beaten to death. To read more, see All Saints by Robert Ellsberg, The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York,1997. With this issue we continue our series of stories from the Bible. The Story of Abraham Abraham was a rich man who lived in the city of Ur, in Mesopotamia. He was devoted to God and had been obedient to him all his life. When Abraham was seventy-five years old, God called him and said, Leave your home and go to the new land I shall show you. I will be your God and will bless you and your family. Abraham trusted God. He took his wife, Sarah, his nephew, Lot, their servants, sheep and goats and everything they owned, and set off in search of the land of Canaan, stopping only whenever they found water for their animals. Abraham continued travelling through Canaan until he reached the holy place of Shechem. There, God appeared to him again. Look all around you. I am going to give this land to you and your descendants. From Shechem, Abraham travelled on towards the mountains. Again, God appeared to him. Look up at the stars, he said to Abraham. Can you count them? No, there are too many. I promise you that one day your descendants will be just as numerous! Now Abraham trusted, God, but he was worried because he and Sarah had no children. His wife was now too old to have them. But nothing was impossible to God. Just as he promised, Sarah gave birth to a little boy and they called him Isaac. Now Abraham could indeed be the father of many people. Read also Genesis Chapters Illustration by Val Biro, from One Hundred Bible Stories for Children by Award Publications Ltd. 20 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

12 KIDZONE Pudsy s Gallery Wonderful Wagtails By Elizabeth McArdle Above is a recent Colpaint winner, John Liam Burke from Clermont Ferrand in France, pictured here with his sister Caitlin Rose. This picture was sent to us by their granddad John Burke. Pudsy s Diry It was jus after we had that mishonry who was tellin us bout the tyfoons and fluds and her-i-canes and things out on the mishons that we had our google day cept Ms Flinn calls it our Re-search day. She sez its somethin useful we shud be doin and not wastin time playin computer games but educatin owerselves. An she said its our heads we hev to use and not just exercising ower fingers. Thas very confusin cos how can you move the mouse with your head and if you can t move the mouse you can nt do any googllin at all. But we sed yes Ms Flinn cept MsFlinn we dont know what to do this re-search on. So she sed remember Mrs F. M. Collard sent us this picture of her four grandchildren (l to r) Sean, Voirrey, Beeshey Rose and Joshua. the mishonry and the her-i-canes and we googled an guess what we found out. That in the past all her-i-canes have girls names and the girls said thas not fair an why is that so they asked Ms Flinn. And she said class any ideas and nobody had cept Bump was whisperin to me and Ms Flinn sed I see two of our keenest students are deep in conference mebbe they can enlighten us a little. Cud you share with us pleeze an we said we dont know also but we re wondering that if these her-i-canes had boys names wudnt they have to be called him-i-canes. And Ms Flinn jus sed oh dear I think its time for a break now. Above is Francis Pettett from Gt Bardfield in Essex on his First Holy Communion Day with his uncle Fr John Cooke. This picture was sent to us by his grandmother, Mrs A Pettett. Car parks and cement foot paths are not the usual places where I would recommend that you go bird watching. In the case of the wagtail, surprise is the name of the game. These sprightly, delightful birds are as much at home in urban areas as they are in the countryside. They feed on insects so tiny that other ground-feeding birds ignore. For this reason, wagtails can often be seen pottering about on pavements and in car parks, picking up these Colpaint meagre morsels with their sharp pointed beaks. Their most delightful attribute is their constantly wagging tail. It never stops and this makes wagtails so easy to recognise. Rarely has a bird been so well named. Being black and white and also tiny, they are often mistaken for young magpies and on occasions have been called mini magpies. I don t think they would be too happy if they knew this. Wagtails seem to be the most cheerful of birds. They are as content on the tarmac of the petrol station as they are in the green fields. Their food is simple and they are happy on their own or with lots of their noisy friends. Maybe we could learn from the wagtail and be thankful for what God already provides for us. It can be tempting to want more and more, thinking it will make us happier. Take advice from our little bird. Happiness is not about more, it is about less, with more of the really good things like nourishing food and lots and lots of fresh air. Out you go to seek out the wonderful wagtail and you will enjoy the constant surprise of God s creation. Ha! Ha! 1. Why can t a leopard hide? 2. What do you get when you cross a cat with a lemon? 3. What did one birthday candle say to the other? 4. What did the bald man say when he got a comb for his birthday? 5. Name a city where no one goes? 6. What do moon people do when they get married? A Gaelic Proverb Is fearr beagán den ghaol ná mórán den charthanas. A little relationship is worth a lot of charity. Competition Winners January/February 2015 Colpaint Winners Aged 8 and Under: Elliot Pickard, Baildon, Shipley, West Yorkshire. Colour the drawing and send it with your name and address to: COLPAINT, St Columban s, Widney Manor Rd, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB, before 30th June Prizes for under and over 8. Don t forget if you also send a corrected version of Pudsy s Diry you ll have another chance to win a prize. Name: 6. They go off on their honeyearth! 5. Electricity! 1. Because he s always spotted! 2. A sour puss! 3. Don t birthdays burn you up? 4. Thanks. I ll never part with it! Over 8: Jamie Breden, Billinge, Wigan. Bible Quiz No 48 Winner Mrs A. M. Pettett, Tintagel, Cornwall. Address: Age: 22 FAR EAST MAY/JUNE

13 God Is With Us A man whispered, God, speak to me. And a bird began to sing. But the man did not hear. Then the man repeated: God, speak to me. And the echo of thunder was heard. But the man was unable to hear. Then he looked around and said: God, let me see you. And a star shone in the heavens. But the man did not see it. The man began to shout: God, show me a miracle. And a baby was born. But the man did not feel the heart-beat of life. Then, the man became desperate and cried: God, touch me and assure me that you are with me, and a butterfly alighted gently on his shoulder. The man brushed off the butterfly with his hand And disillusioned continued on his way, Sad, alone and afraid. Translation of a song from the indigenous people of Peru.