Japan s Hidden Christians The story of Japan s Christians who survived persecution and their modern descendants. Enriched by Dialogue

Transcription

1 MAGAZINE OF THE COLUMBAN MISSIONARIES Japan s Hidden Christians The story of Japan s Christians who survived persecution and their modern descendants. Enriched by Dialogue Fr Seamus Cullen is grateful to have been involved in inter-religious dialogue in Japan. One Woman s Story The heart-breaking story of Ja Ra and her daughter in Myitkyina, Burma.

2 MARCH/APRIL 25 - CONTENTS PANORAMA Japan s Hidden Christians Fr Barry Cairns tells the story of Japan s Christians who survived persecution and their modern descendants. 08. Fighting Bureaucracy Fr Dermot Carthy tells us of some of the obstacles he faced in trying to build a church in Lima. 10. One Mother s Story Sr Mary Dillon shares the heart-breaking story of Ja Ra and her daughter in Myitkyina, Burma Columban: A Man for All Times We continue our series on St Columban and his significance for our own times. 14. Enriched by Dialogue Fr Seamus Cullen has spent 48 years in Japan. He is grateful to have been involved in inter-religious dialogue. 16. Silent Growth Garreth Byrne was able to visit a predominantly Christian village community in northeast China. 18. Obituaries 19. Reflections 20. Saints for our Times 21. Stories from the Bible 22. Childrens Section Panorama Pope Francis Not Afraid to follow Synod Process In a wide-ranging recent interview with an Argentinian journalist Elisabetta Pique, Pope Francis made some interesting observations. Immediately after his election as Pope, he told himself, Jorge, do not change, continue being yourself because to change at your age would be ridiculous. Asked why he thought some sectors of the Church feel disoriented, and assert that today the Church is like a ship without a rudder especially after the recent synod, There are always fears, the Pope said, but it is because they don t read the texts, they read a newspaper summary of what was said. They don t read what the synod decided, what it published. Pope Francis pointed out that nobody spoke about homosexual marriage in the synod, it did not occur to us.... They spoke about the family, and homosexual persons in relation to their families, because it is a reality that we encounter many times in the confessional. So the synod has to see how to help this father or this mother who accompanies this son or daughter. He said he is not afraid to follow this process of synodality, that is a journeying together, because it is a journey that God asks of us. Furthermore the Pope is the guarantor; he is there to take care of this also. So it is necessary to carry on with this. He recalled that, no point of the doctrine of the Church on marriage has been touched. And in the case of the divorced and remarried, he said, We raised the question: What can we do with them, what door can be opened? It was a pastoral concern. All the recent Popes have met with resistance at some stage and now, after 20 months, the resistance to Francis has become more evident. But the Pope is not worried: It would be abnormal if there were not diverging points of view, he says. God is good to me, and he has given me a healthy dose of unawareness (inconsciencia). I keep doing what I must do. - Migration and Global Poverty There is one perspective normally absent from debates on global poverty: it is that in fact international migration is one of the most effective ways of reducing global poverty. Consider this: international migrants sent back more than $400 billion to their home countries in 22. Compare this to $135 billion spent by OECD donors on foreign aid in 23. Researchers have examined the size of economic losses caused by current restrictions on international migration. Development economist and migration expert Michael Clemens, reports that an expansion of international migration, realised through the removal of some (not all) restrictions on people s movement, could generate economic gains equivalent to 20% of global GDP. In short, migration works for poverty reduction, to an extraordinary degree. - america.aljazeera A Dilemma for Muslim Leaders Can Muslim leaders condemn the terrorism of ISIS without endangering their own lives and the integrity of Islam? Many writers have pointed out that the relative silence of Muslim leaders (in a religion that has no central authority) before scenes of persecution and terror, is not primarily because they too are not often horrified. The reason may be theological: they know that the Qur an does not condemn violence in the pursuit of religion. It sometimes approves it; it sometimes disapproves it. So, if they, as Muslims, condemn the terrorists, they risk violating the Qur an s specific wording. If they do not, they are held to be complicit in the atrocities. In either case they lose. So they avoid taking a principled stand on the basis of their own tradition. Muslim leaders also know that they are themselves targeted if they seem to criticise the so-called Islamic State, which claims to be the authentic understanding of Islam. The latter condemn as heretics those who do not engage in violence, especially at a time when it seems possible to expand Islam into a lethargic West. No authority within Islam itself can resolve this dilemma. - MercatorNet.com Pope Francis reaching out in St Peter s Square. God is good to me, and he has given me a healthy dose of unawareness. I keep doing what I must do. 2 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 3

3 EDITORIAL 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 Those Who Stand and Wait Waiting is rather a trial for most of us. Whether we are waiting for a promised tradesman who has not arrived, waiting at a bus-stop, waiting for movement in traffic, waiting in a supermarket queue - to say the least, it becomes an exercise in patience. The strain becomes even greater when we are waiting for an appointment with a consultant; waiting for an operation; waiting for a hospital bed; waiting for a nursing-home place; waiting to receive the results of blood-tests, or scans. People waiting. 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: (564) Columban Sisters 209 Quebec Drive, East Kilbride, Glasgow, G75 8BB. Tel: (3552) Cover: Ja Ra weaving outside her home near Myitkyina in Burma. (see pages 10-11) Photo: Sr Mary Dillon Then, when we become officially known as a patient, we pass to a new phase of waiting. We gradually pass into the hands of others: what makes our life satisfactory or unsatisfactory depends hardly at all on our own actions and decisions, and more and more on what is done for us by others. And with advances in medicine, this phase of our lives may go on for quite a long time. Our natural reaction to all this is almost totally negative. In the world s value system, happiness is associated with being free from external dependence, being able to exercise our own initiative, to create our own achievements. We congratulate elderly people on being so active, being still able to manage, being independent. The poet, John Milton, became totally blind at the age of 46. He had lost his independence, but being a religious man he was able somehow to come to grips with his condition. In the sonnet On His Blindness he wrote, They also serve who only stand and wait. In St Mark s narrative of the passion of Jesus, once Jesus is handed over by Judas in Gethsemane, there are no more active verbs used in his regard: all is in the passive voice, everything is now done to him. Yet, Mark s account of the crucifixion ends with the Roman centurion declaring, Truly this man was the Son of God. What had he seen Jesus do or achieve? Nothing. His judgment was based on observing how Jesus suffered in the course of his passion and death. For Mark then the passion of Jesus was not his human misfortune, it was the decisive manifestation of his divinity. There is no transfiguration in St John s Gospel. But there is a moment when his divine glorification becomes evident. When Jesus is handed over by Judas, and asks Whom do you seek?, the soldiers answer Jesus of Nazareth and he replies I am. The soldiers hear it as the sacred name of God and fall back. The ultimate dimension of Jesus divine glory has becomes manifest. Clearly then for both Mark and for John, the passion, the phase of Jesus life when he could no longer do anything except suffer what was done to him, became the greatest moment of all. Blessed Pope John Paul II lived a life of extraordinary activity for more than 25 years as Pope: yet, it is arguable that the witness he gave during his last years, when his speech and movement were greatly impaired, spoke even more eloquently to millions of Christians and non-christians. We need to ponder the mystery of waiting in order to give our own living of that phase of our lives its true importance. C.L. Japan s Hidden Christians By Fr Barry Cairns One hundred and fifty years ago, on March 17, 1865 a venerable Japanese woman whispered to French missionary Father Bernard Petitjean in a newly-built Church in Nagasaki : We have the same heart as you! That momentous phrase announced the existence of hidden Japanese Christians after more than two centuries underground. St Francis Xavier had arrived in Japan as the first Christian missionary in He and the other missionaries who followed him had great success. In a remarkable period of growth, as many as 300,000 Japanese were baptized and the church was growing at the pace of 5,000 to 6,000 converts a year. At the peak of this Christian era, the 40,000 strong population of Nagasaki was almost totally Christian. Radical change arrived with striking suddenness on January 27, On that day, having consolidated his power, strongman Tokugawa Ieyasu published a decree stating, Japan is the country of both the Shinto gods and Buddhism. Christianity, as their enemy, is a danger to the nation. It is to be eradicated. The process of pressuring Japanese Christians into complying with this decree was set in motion. Twenty-five years later, the last priests were expelled or executed. The remaining Japanese Christians were on their own, without priests. This situation lasted for 226 years. During all that time, despite a cruel and thorough persecution, thousands remained faithful to Jesus Christ. How did they manage to do that? Before the last missionaries were arrested or banished, they prepared their congregations. Confraternities were founded and groups encouraged to come together for prayer and mutual encouragement in the faith. All had set prayers and practices; all were based on Jesus words, Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst. (Matthew 18:20). In each of these secret communities, four leaders were chosen. There was the overall leader, chokata, who was the custodian of the Church calendar with its liturgical seasons and feast days. The other leaders We have the same heart as you! That momentous phrase announced the existence of hidden Japanese Christians after more than two centuries underground.. An artist s impression of the crucifixion of 26 Martyrs of Nagaskaki. 4 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 5

4 JAPAN were the baptizer, mizukata - literally water person ; the catechist, oshiekata - teaching person and the notifier - kikikata. This last person informed the members of the small group when and where their secret prayer meetings were to be held. These underground communities held and passed on various concrete objects to remind them of their faith. For example, a Buddha statue would have a false back that contained a crucifix. A statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy who was often depicted with a child in her arms, was used to remind them of the Virgin Mary. I have personally seen polished metal mirrors with crosses traced on their shiny side. Because this side would face the wall, the cross would remain hidden. Sometimes a simple round object - such as a round stone 02 - would be used as a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the Japanese word for round (marui) is similar to Maria. One family I know treasure a small stone that had been found on a beach by one of their ancestors. There is a hole going through the stone, and on the reverse side, three natural indentations. It was the family s Trinity stone. Notice boards forbidding Christianity and offering rewards for betraying Christians to the authorities were posted throughout the country. Christians were tortured and, if they did not recant, were crucified, beheaded or burned alive. Few recanted in the face of this violence. On the contrary, they looked forward to going to paradiso. So a more insidious torture was devised to induce a verbal denial of Christ. This torture was called the ana-tsurushi: a suspected Christian was hung upside down over a pit. The body was tightly bound to slow the blood circulation; a small cut was made in the head, and so death would come slowly. One young girl endured 14 agonizing days. Others, including both foreign and Japanese priests, shrank from the excruciating pain and gave at least verbal recantation. There are documented records of 4045 martyrs who did not give in. During these centuries of persecution, Japan was closed (even more closed than today s North Korea). Under pain of death, no Japanese was allowed to travel overseas and no foreigner was allowed to enter. Rare exceptions were Dutch merchants who were allowed to land not on the sacred soil of Japan proper, but only on an artificial island in Nagasaki harbor known as Dejima. Through these traders, rumours of the existence of Christian communities and their continued persecution found their way all the way to Rome. The Popes showed a consistent concern and frequently asked Missionaries of the Paris Foreign Mission Society to attempt entry into Japan. All failed and some were killed. In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry with four U.S. Navy ships steamed into Edo (Tokyo) Bay with a letter from President Millard Fillmore to Tokugawa Ieyasu s successor, the Tokugawa Shogun. The U.S. was requesting friendship and trade. One year later, through the persistence of the U.S. Consul,, a treaty was concluded. Britain, France and Russia also signed treaties. But the doors of the country were not exactly thrown open; the foreigners were to be confined to concession areas in Yokohama, Nagasaki, and Hakodate. The terms of the treaties allowed these countries to set up chaplaincies within these concessions. No Japanese was to enter. Persecution was still alive. The priests who were chaplains to the French built churches in Yokohama and Nagasaki. Each was topped by a large cross and a sign in Japanese proclaiming Tenshudo or temple of the Lord of Heaven. The Church they built at Nagasaki still stands prominently on Oura hill. This was where the Christian midwife Elizabeth Tsuru told Fr Petitjean, We have the same heart as you. The astounded priest was asked a further question, Do you have a statue of Mary? Shown the statue, they were delighted to see the infant Jesus in Mary s arms. Other questions followed to determine if this man was a genuine successor of the bataren or fathers of their ancestors era. Do you honor the great chief in Rome? Do you marry? They had already visited a Protestant church and the minister introduced his wife; they never returned! Elizabeth Tsuru revealed to Fr Petitjean that there were 1,300 underground Christians in the neighboring village of Urakami. She also explained some of their customs. A few days ago, we entered the sad season (Lent- remember it was mid-march.) We celebrate the birth of Jesus on the 25th day of the cold month. In the succeeding months, almost 20,000 hidden Christians had declared themselves in Nagasaki and the outlying islands of Goto, Amakusa, and Madara. When news of this reached the central government, persecution was intensified. Missionary priests visited the communities in secret. As the numbers multiplied, the priests trained lay helpers to instruct and support the communities. At this time Japan was in political turmoil. The Tokugawa family who had ruled for 250 years lived in Edo (now Tokyo). The Emperor, a powerless figurehead, lived in distant Kyoto. In 1867, the Tokugawa Shogun was deposed and the Emperor restored. The powers behind this imperial restoration were the powerful families and trading houses. These were ultra-nationalist in outlook and used the Shinto religion as their instrument. At first they even demoted Buddhism and declared Shinto to be the state religion. Notice boards banning Christianity were again posted in every village. There was a renewal of executions and exile. In January 1870, 2,810 Christians from Nagasaki, men, women and children, were forcibly loaded onto boats and exiled to 21 distant areas of Japan. The American, British and French consuls protested. But in December, 1871 a large delegation of Japanese officials, touring the U.S. and Europe to conclude treaties and promote commerce, were coldly received. In Brussels, as the Japanese delegation s carriages passed, the streets were lined with people demanding the liberation of Christians. As a result, on February, 1873 the persecution of Christians officially ended. Today, churches in Nagasaki, the Goto, Amakusa and Madara Islands are vibrant with faith. v Fr Barry Cairns served on Amakusa island and in other parts of Japan since A sketch of two martyrs being led to execution. 03. Statue of Mary in Oura Church. This is the actual statue seen by hidden Christians 150 years ago. Photos courtesy of Fr Barry Cairns. 6 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 7

5 PERU Fighting Bureaucracy By Fr Dermot Carthy Endless trips to the office of the oh-so-busy mayor and the repeated mantra of come back next week, went on for two more years. When I returned to Most Holy Redeemer Parish in 1989 I noticed how the population had grown. The fertile farmland was sprouting new homes. It was obvious sites for a new church and several chapels would be needed. By law, in Peru, 2% of the area for new housing must be left aside for other needs. The Church can request the use of such spaces from the local municipality. I spotted a very suitable site and set about getting it. Little did I guess it would take 25 years. The relevant authorities knew nothing about such land. Two years later the reason became clear. The housing cooperative which was developing the locality had never handed over the land. The group s president was trafficking in vacant sites and was trying to sell illegally the other needs ground. The residents finally succeeded in voting him out after 19 years. He kept his grip on power by suing or accusing anybody who questioned or opposed him. Accusing in the police station cost him little, but the accused usually had to pay a lawyer lest the matter got into the snail-paced courts. The new officials of the cooperative supported my request and together we started on the red-tape paper work to have the site transferred to the municipality. However the new mayor was in the pay of the ex-president and the officials did not trust either the mayor or the municipal employees. The previous 19 years of payoffs had sown that problem. Two years later I got permission to wall off the site. When work began on digging foundations, Mr Ex paid some thugs to attack the workmen. Next day the mayor revoked the licence. Endless trips to the office of the oh-so-busy mayor and the repeated mantra of come back next week, went on for two more years. Finally a new mayor was elected who did agree to give the site. But first the cooperative s officials had to be convinced to sign over the land to the municipality. Their fear was he might hand it over to somebody else. Eighteen months later all was signed and sealed. Then Mr Ex and friends took the matter to the courts to have the agreement annulled, with the mayor, the bishop and me as plaintiffs. I was the one who had to face the music in several hearings. In the first court the decision was against us on the fragile grounds that the decree did not specify what the land was for. An appeal to a second court was in our favor. This in turn was appealed to the Supreme Court, which found in our favour. These legal details took only five years. The next three years were full of tiring trips to municipal bureaucrats, some in the pay of our dear and expensive friends. Building permission was delayed time and again because the plan had to be corrected, or changed, or signed by an absent engineer. Once our address was put in a locality 20 miles away. This took three weeks to rectify. The paper work must have travelled from office to office on the back of a lame tortoise. As the licence began to take shape Mr Ex began lodging complaints in different authorities around town. I was accused of trying to take over a public park, of destroying trees and damaging the ecology, of exceeding the area granted by the municipality, of having the support of only 20 people while he had 200 (forged) signatures rejecting the project. At last work began with around the clock police protection. By law if a house or building site is taken over for 24 hours, all work must stop and only a court order can remove the squatters. Remembering my five-year trip through three clogged courts, I decided it was better to employ off-duty police. Three months later a municipal engineer stopped the work. Every week he kept on discovering flaws and gaps in the approved plans. Twelve weeks later he could not discover any more and gave his approval. After a whole year we finally inaugurated the 700-seater church people attended and they liked the end result. Eventually I hope to build on the site a parish residence and several meeting rooms for preparing children for First Communion, youths for Confirmation, couples for marriage, and adult catechetics. Funds for most of this will come from the sale of the nearby 130-seater chapel, and the collections of the parishioners which have been generous. Sometime in the future this will become a parish, dividing the present one into two with a mere 45,000 people each. The main hitch in this scenario is that the 18 year old diocese (hived off Lima Archdiocese) has a population of 2,700,000 and 103 priests, of whom over half are Columbans and other foreigners, most of whom were young 40 years ago. Columbans have worked in this area since 1952, setting up half of the present parishes in this diocese. Columban benefactors have been very generous over the years, and for this we are truly grateful.v Dermot Carthy was ordained in 1959 and has ministered in Peru since The first Mass being celebrated by Fr Dermot Carthy in the new church. Dermot is dressed in the light green chasuble. 02. Work in progress in the interior of the church. 03. The front of the new church. Photos courtesy of Fr Dermot Carthy. 8 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 9

6 Making your Will? Each time I visit with her, her eyes fill up with tears, tears that I know are coming from a mother s broken heart. One Mother s Story By Sr Mary Dillon Ja Ra, a gentle, vulnerable and very creative woman of 45 years infected with the HIV virus has lived a life time of heartache and survival. She and her two sisters were left alone and penniless when their parents died while they were still teenagers. Life in the mountains was very bleak and perilous; there was little hope for the three young girls. Ja Ra moved from the hills down to the small town of Myitkyina and searched out a way to stay alive by selling little bundles of vegetables on the side of the road. She also learned to weave cloth. In time she married with the dream that life would be kinder to her and she would have someone to share her love. She had two children, a daughter, Khaun Din and a boy, Kyaw Win. Life was tough and void of any comforts and often the family had to go to bed hungry. It is a searing pain to hear your children cry of hunger. Her husband travelled to the jungle and mining areas to seek manual work. Little did she realise that these areas were flash points for disease and drugs. He returned home sick, with no money. Ja Ra looked after him until he died shortly after. Now she was alone again with the added responsibility to provide for her two small children. One of the most industrious and creative people I have met, Ja Ra lives with courage, surmounting difficulties that would send another into a deep depression. She regularly searches the forest for vegetables and wild animal meat. For some months I had been looking at a few bundles of dried-out corn hanging off one of the beams in her half fallen down house. One day during the early monsoon weather I spotted the sturdy green young corn growing all around her home. Ja Ra and I have developed a mutual semi barter relationship; I provide her with rice and she collects greens and berries that are used in Kachin cooking that I buy from her. She feels good that she can support her little family. We were also, thanks to the goodness of our benefactors, able to help pay for the schooling of Kyaw Win and his sister, Khaun Din. Life dealt this gentle woman an even heavier blow. For some weeks she had felt that her energy was slipping away and that she was losing weight, she had no energy to eat. A neighbour encouraged her to visit a HIV/AIDS clinic where it was discovered that she had the virus and was in urgent need of both TB and anti-retroviral medication. When the news leaked out among the neighbours Ja Ra found herself isolated and discriminated against. Women who used to visit her and spend hours chatting with her all avoided her now. The stigma of this disease, and the awful loneliness, caused her much inner pain. As the weeks progressed Ja Ra withdrew into herself and began to fear the world outside her little shack as a dark and threatening environment. Thankfully we were able to provide some medication and within a number of months her energy returned. Gradually she ventured out and was once more accepted by her neighbours. Ja Ra s suffering was intensified when in March 24 her daughter, Khaun Din, now 16 years, began dropping out of school and roaming the streets of Myitkyina with a friend. One evening while Khaun Din and her friend were walking on the country road near her mother s house, a woman on a motor bike told them that there was work for them in China and that she could help them to get there. Ja Ra knew at once that this was not good news and begged the girls not to get involved with the woman. That very night the two of them left while Ja Ra was asleep. She has never seen her daughter since. I found out later that, around the same time, 30 other young girls also disappeared. Trafficking of young women into China is well documented and the numbers are well in the thousands each year. The Kachin Women s Association Thailand (KWAT) in 21 said, Out of the confirmed trafficking cases, about 90% of the cases were forced to be brides in China. Last year it reported that, Decades of civil war and rampant drug and alcohol addiction among men has left many women as the heads of household, creating further burdens for women as the sole breadwinners of their families. Ja Ra was distraught and for weeks she walked the streets and roads of the town and surrounding area looking for a glimpse of her precious daughter. We put her in contact with a local women s group that work with families of children who are trafficked and they in turn contacted the local police. Today Ja Ra continues her search, crying bitterly to have her daughter back by her side. Each time I visit with her, her eyes fill up with tears, tears that I know are coming from a mother s broken heart. Trafficking of women and young girls is a global phenomenon; in today s world there are estimated to be over 20 million victims of this horrendous crime, especially from undeveloped countries. This is just one mother s story. v Sr Mary cares for HIV/AIDS patients in Burma.. Ja Ra in her kitchen. 02. Ja Ra s house. 03. Ja Ra carrying her produce. Photos courtesy of Sr Mary 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. 10 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 11

7 Series: 1400th Anniversary of St Columban s Death Columban: A Man for All Times The ideal of communion was at the centre of all his dealing with the local Church and the Papacy. While he argued for diversity in the dating of liturgical feasts, especially that of Easter, there was no compromise when it came to communion. For Columban, the Church s communion was celebrated in the diversity of cultures, be it Celtic, Roman or Frankish and in the gathering around the Eucharist table. Pilgrims going to Bobbio for the feast of Saint Columban are offered a crust of bread to bring back home with them. This bread is a sign of communion of all gathered round the table of the Lord, and of the communities from which they come. He was Christ-like in his prayer and presents us with a way of praying, that of keeping vigil. The parish church that I come from has parish records dating back to the early 19th century. As a young altar server, I got a job from the sacristan, during the summer school-holiday months, to help Irish Americans, and other visitors, trace their family ancestors. I would open the pages of Baptismal and Marriage Registers, and the smell of old books would perfume the air. Our visitors manifested a curiosity and an inherent longing to connect with their past as they became immersed in piecing together family history. You could almost see them become one in mind and spirit with persons they had heard of, but had never met in the flesh. They were family. Many scholars, writers and historians have gone through manuscripts, documents, commentaries, while in the process of writing about Saint Columban. This year as we remember and celebrate his death 1,400 years ago, it is an opportunity to draw from the spiritual and historical wells of Columban s life and tradition. It is an invitation to log into his inspiration, and into the values, we share with him as missionary disciples and followers of Christ. It is not just a connection with one person, but with a period of Celtic monastic history that has influenced and laid the foundation of much that we celebrate and live today as missionaries. We are proud to speak of Columban and there are many things from his life and times that we cherish. He is the father of modern-day Europe. Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of European unity, who in cooperation with Jean Monnet drew up the internationally renowned Schuman Plan in 1950, said Saint Columban is the patron saint of those who seek to construct a United Europe. As a missionary monk, Columban did not stand idly by and support the status quo, but rather took the prophetic option of speaking out against abuses of civil or ecclesiastical power. While his monastic foundations were on the outskirts of towns and villages, this did not prevent him from getting involved in the political upheavals of the day. His ability to dialogue with the authorities of his time without compromising the Gospel message is both an inspiration and a challenge for today s church ministers. He dialogued openly with the Pope and did not resist the opportunity to advise him on various issues, He challenged the local French bishops about their lifestyle and their commitment to be of Christ rather than promoting their own interests and power. Columban gives us an understanding of the sacrament of reconciliation. It was he who introduced into the Celtic monasteries in Europe the practice of individual confession and private penance, which was later adapted by the whole Church. Previously, sins were confessed in public and in front of the whole community. Now the father Abbot took the place of Christ; clothed in the role of the servant and master, stooping down to embrace the penitent monk and in the name of Christ forgiving him his sins. On the feast of St Columban in Northern Italy there is a tradition of blessing motorcycles, cars, and trucks to ask the saint s protection for safe driving. It has its origin in the image of Columban as a pilgrim, one who journeyed over dangerous lands. In 2002, Columban was officially declared patron of motorcyclists, thanks to Rev John Oliver, an Anglican bishop and biker, who initially suggested it. In the words of a Harley Davison biker, If Columbanus were alive today I imagine him riding a Harley Fat Boy. It s got a 1,584cc pushrod V-twin engine; six gears, massive torque, has no saddlebags and would be ideal for itinerant monks flying those twisty roads of Europe. Columbanus and his monks paved the way for many forms of meditation and contemplative prayer that are practiced today by people both Christian and non- Christian. He was Christ-like in his prayer and presents us with a way of praying, that of keeping vigil. He invites us to sit at the feet of the Master, to take care to be silent, empty the mind, watch and stay, listen to the silence, engulf oneself in the cloud of nothingness and there encounter our God. Columban, missionary, contemplative, prophet and teacher is part of who we are. v The author of this series wishes to remain anonymous.. Pilgrims sharing the bread on the feast of St Columban in Luxeuil, France. 02. Stained glass window of St Columban in Bregenz, on the southeast corner of Lake Constance in Austria. Photos: Far East FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 13

8 JAPAN: Series : My Pilgrimage in Inter-Religious Dialogue Enriched by Dialogue By Fr Seamus Cullen Because I have gained so much from my inter-religious encounters, I am saddened by the fact that there is relatively little interest in Interfaith Dialogue amongst the bishops and priests of Japan. I came to Japan in 1967 and after Japanese language study I was assigned to my first parish. After settling in, I visited a local Buddhist temple to ask about Buddhism. I suppose it reflected an openness I had toward other spiritualities and religions. I didn t understand much of what the Buddhist priest told me except that he seemed to be telling me about the founder of his particular sect rather than about Buddhism itself. I lived for fourteen years in a city where there was not one Catholic. In the neighbouring towns there was a sprinkling of Catholics and it was with these people I celebrated Mass in my house which I rented for a small sum. While living in this place I met a variety of people and shared their lives on all kinds of levels. Of necessity my encounters with the people were a dialogue of religions, with Buddhism and Shinto in particular. To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of my ordination I went to India and spent some time in an ashram, a spiritual hermitage. This was a very important time for me; I would readily say that it changed my life. Sitting in meditation, very much based on Zazen, was what took up most of the day. I practiced slowing down my mental activities to the pace where I gradually became aware of the self that is unmoved by things or events or people. We sat on a concrete floor for our meals. Our food was a simple diet ladled out onto stainless steel platters. Rice with a few steamed vegetables was the staple food, usually with a covering of lentil soup over everything. And, once a week, there was a whole day of fasting. One of my reasons for going to India had been a plan to visit Mother Teresa. Through my experience of living in the ashram that plan evaporated. She might have become merely a topic of conversation and this would be entirely unacceptable. More importantly, through contemplation I discovered that my desire to get closer to God by being close to a person who was close to God, was unfounded. The words, Be still and know that I am God first came to life for me in the Zazen environment even though the Buddhists do not use the word God. On my return to Japan, I was asked to become formally involved in Inter-faith Dialogue. I was happy to do so and found a place to live in the mountains. I had lived there for only a few months when I met a Shinto priest who told me he liked what I was doing, and he offered me accommodation in a place that he had. Through my contact with this man I came to take part for many years in an annual Shinto ceremony the centre-piece of which involved climbing the holy mountain for the festival of light. The main purpose in climbing the mountain is to procure the new fire for the various Shinto shrines in the area. The leading Shinto priests would go to the top of the mountain and strike fire from a stone. This flame is then carried by young men who race down the mountain to the main shrine. More than a thousand men take part in this ceremony every year. I had ample opportunity to discuss the symbolism of fire and water in our various rituals. I continued with the annual climb until last year when I had to stop because I got a pacemaker. When the Shinto priest-friend was dying I brought him to a hospice run by Catholic nuns and I was with him when he died. His funeral took place in a Buddhist temple and I was asked to, and was happy to, give the eulogy. In my new abode, I met with many Buddhist priests and became friends with several of them. Sometimes they would invite me to talk to their congregations in the temple. I can recall the wonder on the faces of the Buddhist laity when they saw these two clerics of different religions talking and laughing with each other. Because I have gained so much from my inter-religious encounters, I am saddened by the fact that there is relatively little interest in Inter-faith Dialogue amongst the bishops and priests of Japan. Perhaps it is because many of these men have moved away from the Buddhist world of their youth and are not interested in revisiting it. Once at a meal with fourteen Buddhist priests I found myself telling them the story of Fionn Mac Cumhail, a hunter-warrior of Irish mythology. I mentioned that Fionn announced that for him the finest music is the music of what happens. I had difficulty translating this and gave a literal translation. Immediately one of the more august members told me that in Buddhism there is a precise phrase for that attitude, nyojitsu chiken. It is the very foundation of contemplation. The humility with which Shinto believers approach the divine reality in nature is very inspiring. It reminds me of the spirituality that used to be in Ireland in St Columban s time in the sixth and seventh centuries, when Christians considered nature in all its wonder, beauty and awesomeness to be the original mediator of God. The (Chinese/Japanese) ideogram for the God-reality is an icon which describes the awarenesses that arise in the person who has had an encounter with the divine reality, rather than attempting to explain the divine reality itself. It speaks of worship and awe. I find this most helpful. It does not imply that we know something about God, something that is capable of expression in words. v Seamus Cullen has worked in Japan since FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL Fr Seamus Cullen on one of the building sites in his parish. 02. Fr Cullen with members of his interreligious dialogue group. 03. Fr Cullen with his Shinto priest-friend. Photos courtesy of Fr Seamus Cullen 03

9 CHINA Silent Growth By Garreth Byrne A grain of mustard seed thrives mysteriously in vast surrounds of agnostic or traditionalist custom. I had an opportunity two years ago to visit a church-supported kindergarten in a remote village in the North East of China. Carolina, from Mexico, had already been to the village with a Chinese woman she met at the weekly English Mass for foreigners at the downtown church in the city where I teach. Carolina gave a power point presentation one afternoon, with lots of photos, on a folding screen, and asked for donations of money and materials. One Saturday morning in spring about thirty of us departed from the city in a hired minibus and soon drove through flat farmland with fields and strips of corn (maize) and soya beans. Tall thin trees acted as boundaries and windbreaks. I saw plastic PVC tunnels for growing vegetables in the sub-siberian winters of this region. After almost three hours the small bus swung right into narrow roads for 15 minutes until arriving at a settlement of houses, small shops, a school and in an oblique corner a church beside a compound of single-story buildings. In a courtyard we browsed at notice boards in Chinese with several photographs of church happenings. A Chinese religious sister greeted us, whom Carolina had met previously. Soon a Chinese priest appeared and ushered us into the large, bright and ordinary church. It was a new structure, perhaps replacing something older that had been closed during the cultural revolution in the turbulent years Our visiting party included teachers, a couple of Chinese students who attended the English Mass, and foreigners working for international companies. A group of eight teenage Chinese students from an international fee-paying school in the city came too. They had helped their foreign teacher to fundraise. The priest had no English and celebrated in the Chinese liturgy. Elderly villagers sang a few hymns, while Chinese students in our group did the readings. The priest delivered a short sermon with words of warm welcome for us visitors. At communion we lined up along the centre aisle. The students from the international school were not Catholics and had been advised to cross open hands on the breast and receive a blessing instead of the host. This was their first visit to a church, and they followed the liturgical proceedings with attentive curiosity. We all filed back into the minibus and were driven to a redbrick building surrounded by trees behind the village main street. Cartons of books, toys, games and other gifts were carried indoors. A gloomy corridor connected several rooms. In small groups we dispersed into different classrooms where pre-school children aged 4 7 were being kept active by trained female teachers, two of them religious sisters. Soon we were playing balloons with the children, and hitting balloons into the air turned into riotous fun. Some children had reading books on desks; others did sums and writing exercises in jotters. One classroom whiteboard had mathematical tests, pinyin (alphabet) letters and characters illustrating different Chinese tones. A small crucifix was attached to the inside door of a couple of rooms. In one classroom a couple of visiting girls made a game of teaching words and riddles to the children. Maybe they were destined for teaching careers, and this was their first teaching practice. Everybody went out to the rear playground. Teachers put children into orderly lines before letting them enjoy fun and games. The children wore cheap colourful clothing suited to the spring temperature. About 90 per cent of villagers here are Christians but the kindergarten and parish dispensary serve the whole community and its hinterland. We were whisked back to the parish compound. It has functional one-story buildings including the priest s living quarters, rooms for pastoral activities, residential quarters for five religious sisters, and a dispensary. Two of the sisters are medically qualified. We sat at two long tables while volunteer parish assistants brought steaming dishes of meat and vegetables from a small kitchen. The religious sister kept an eye on things while chatting to Carolina and other visitors. The Chinese priest poked his head in and waved, then went back to his duties. After an hour of relaxed eating we returned to our big city. I felt happy at having made a rare visit to a kindergarten in rural China where people try to follow the spirit of the Gospels. A grain of mustard seed thrives mysteriously in vast surrounds of agnostic To make a comment on this article go to or traditionalist custom. I have heard of villages and towns near the border with North Korea where Christian communities are found among the Korean-speaking ethnic minority, but to visit a predominantly Christian village in the Han mainstream was different. What unwritten history of quiet persistent faith lurks in the archives of the heart among the older generations? v Garreth Byrne has taught English in Ireland, Africa, the Middle East and China Some of the children in the kindergarden. 02. The visiting girls made a game of teaching words and riddles to the children. 03. The whiteboarrd with mathematical tests and pinyin (alphabet) letters and characters on it. Photos courtesy of Garreth Byrne. Are you interested in teaching in China? Skills Needed: Competence to teach third-level English language. A bachelor s degree or teaching diploma. A TEFL diploma is a decided help (an essential for those without teaching experience). A fluent speaker with clear enunciation and a lively teaching style. Other valued subjects are Journalism, Law, Engineering, Import & Export Trade, Computer Science, Biology, Pharmacy and Costume Design. College runs from August to July. Accommodation normally free on campus. Salary adequate for the needs of a simple lifestyle. Upper age limit for candidates is 65. The deadline is December 25 for academic year beginning August 26. For further information contact: Cultural Exchange with China (CEC), St Joseph s, Watford Way, Hendon, London NW4 5TY. Telephone: cec.uk@btconnect.com Mission Dimension: Able to say: I try to live by Gospel principles, to trust, to pray and to be led by God. This is a mission in the sense of integral human development of both 16 FAR EAST teacher and students. Website: MARCH/APRIL 25 17

10 OBITUARIES REFLECTION Rest in Peace The Fifth Loaf Fr Mark Kavanagh was born in the Pro Cathedral parish in Dublin on 27 January 1926 and grew up in a family of five sisters and three brothers. He received his primary and secondary education in O Connell Schools before joining the Columbans in Dalgan in Ordained on 21 December 1950 he was appointed to the Philippines. The island of Negros became Mark s home for most of the next fifty years. The place sugar workers were to play in his life and ministry began with an early assignment as chaplain at Binalbagan Sugar Central Biscom. Along with pastoral roles, Mark soon found himself as part of the Columban leadership team in the area, a position he held for the rest of his time there. His wisdom, humour and human kindness helped maintain the bonds among the Columbans in Negros. This was particularly true during the saga of the Negos Nine when Niall O Brien and others were jailed on trumped-up charges of murder. The violence and intimidation of those times were linked to the struggle of the sugar workers for a life other than that of a feudal serf. Mark was the friend and mentor of all young Columbans arriving in Negros at that time. Most of these served with Mark in either Kabankalan or Binalbagan. He was very supportive of new initiatives like Niall O Brien s Retreat Movement for men and the decision of Brian Gore and John Brazil to move out from the parish of Kabankalan to set up the Basic Christian Communities in neighbouring villages. These later were developed into 16 parishes in Southern Negros. The visit to Negros of his brother Bishop Jim, his sister Breda and brother-inlaw Michael in the early 1980s was deeply appreciated by Mark. He will long be remembered for his humour and his supportive and caring role among Columbans that continued until he died in Blanchardstown Hospital on 23 December 24. May he rest in peace. Fr Daniel M. Baragry was born on 11 May 1930 in Tipperary. Educated at CBS Tipperary and The Abbey School, Tipperary. He came to Dalgan in 1948 and was ordained priest on 21 December Dan was assigned to the Philippines and spent the next 45 years happily working in that country. The first 35 years were all spent in parishes in the southern island of Mindanao. He served in Pagadian, Mahinog, Malabang, Tangub, Bacolod, Anakan, Alubijid, Marihatag, and Linamon. A man of prodigious energy, he served, for example, in Anakan, a very rough, rugged, mountainous parish, which had a logging camp and a total of eighty-three small scattered communities. Dan was out almost every day on his motor-bike, visiting one or other community. On his return to the parish house, after a short rest, he had the energy to play tennis, and after a shower and supper, there was always the designated prayer time. A former superior said of him Dan always wanted the hard assignments; he worked hard, played hard and prayed hard. When the new area of Tandag was taken on, Dan was one of the first to volunteer, even though his assignment was an eight-hour drive from the Columban Central House in Cagayan de Oro. In the early 1990s, Dan took some units of Clinical Pastoral Education. Later, residing in the formation house in Cebu, he undertook a new apostolate with patients, and the families of patients, of the psychiatric wing of the Provincial Hospital. In this apostolate he served those most neglected by society. By the year 2000 his own health required care and he spent a year in Manila before returning home to Ireland in April 20. As long as he was active he did some book-keeping work in the farm office before being confined to the Dalgan Nursing Home where he died on 9 January after participating in the morning Eucharist. Dan was a quiet, dedicated, loyal Columban with a gentle sense of humour. May he rest in peace. Fr Mark Kavanagh Fr Daniel Baragry It is an image found all over Galilee. Reproductions of the design proliferate - on mugs, plates, cups, T-shirts and, of course, postcards. Maybe you already have received one from a pilgrim to the Holy Land. The image is of a brown and white mosaic depicting a wicker basket with some loaves flanked by two fish. Instantly recognizable, the loaves and fish bring us to the great story of the feeding of the 5,000 on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The mosaic was discovered on the floor of the small Byzantine Church now housed in the modern Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes in Tabgha. A favourite destination for pilgrims, Tabgha, on the west side of the Sea, about two miles from Caphernaum, is one of the most important sites in Galilee. It is reputed to be the traditional location of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. This miracle of Jesus, when he fed five thousand people, is the only one of his miracles recounted in all the four Gospels. A miracle of communion, a miracle of sharing; an event that echoes the great story of the manna in the desert. But, most of all, a miracle that touches on the Kingdom of God (Mk 6: 34-44). Jesus heart, Mark says, was moved with pity for the crowd. It was late and before they could journey home, the people needed some sustenance. The disciples wanted to send them off so that they could buy food in the surrounding villages. But Jesus response, a word for us too today, Give them some food yourselves. But how? With what? How on earth could they get food for so many? All they could produce was five loaves and two fish that someone in the crowd had. This to feed five thousand! Mark paints the lovely scene of the tired and hungry people sitting down on the green grass in rows of hundreds and fifties. No need for crowd control here. And Jesus, looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them as well. They all ate and were satisfied(6:41). At the last supper Jesus blessed, broke and gave the bread to the apostles at table with him. This is my body. The bread of life, handed over for our life, for the life of all people. We hand over our lives and are transformed. The poor, the hungry, the weary, the lost and the lonely are invited to the table of the Lord. And he asks us, trusts us, to feed them. To give ourselves in loving generosity, without counting the cost. To give, even though we may have only one loaf. Look closely at this early work of Christian art there are only four loves in the basket, not five. Could it be that we are to be the fifth loaf? Give them some food yourself (Mk 6:37). Give them yourself. v S.R.T. Look closely at this early work of Christian art there are only four loves in the basket, not five. Could it be that we are to be the fifth loaf? Photo: 5th century mosaic in the floor of the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes in Tabgha on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. 18 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 19

11 Bible Quiz No In 2 Kings ch. 4, which prophet advised his servants, fetch some flour? 2. In Matt. ch. 15, who said to Jesus, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master s table? 3. In 1 Kings ch. 5, did Solomon, Hezechiah or Ahab say, I intend to build a temple for the Lord? 4. In Judges ch. 11, who invited Jephthah, Come be our commander to fight against the Ammonites? 5. In I Samuel ch. 1, who said to his wife, Am I not more to you than ten sons? 6. In John ch. 12, who came to Philip saying, Sir, we would like to see Jesus? 7. In I Kings ch. 10, who flattered Solomon saying, How happy your wives and couriers must be...?. 8. In Job ch. 2, who said to God, Reach out your hand and touch his flesh and bones and see if he will not curse you? Consult your Bible, answer the questions above and send your entry to: Bible Quiz No. 49, St Columban s, Widney Manor Rd, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9AB, before 31st March 25. Name: Address: Age: Bible Quiz No 47 Winners: Dr E.P. Kirwan, Headington, Oxford and Mrs Sally Walsh, Aylesbury, Bucks. Saints for our Times Jesu, Jesu, Jesu have mercy on me. St Margaret Clitherow English Martyr (d. 1586) Margaret Clitherow was the first martyr for the Catholic faith in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The daughter of a wealthy wax merchant of York, she married John Clitherow, a prosperous butcher, at the age of sixteen. Though raised a Protestant, Margaret converted to the Catholic faith some years after her marriage apparently inspired by the sufferings of so many Catholics under the repressive penal laws of the time. John did not share his wife s new faith, but he placed no obstacles in her way, even when her public reputation as a Catholic incurred fines and penalties. At one point Margaret was imprisoned for almost two years. She welcomed this as a period of retreat, and used her time in learning to read. Despite the proven risks, Margaret offered a safe haven in her home for fugitive priests, housing them in a special hidden room where she and other underground Catholics could attend Mass. Often she was seen praying at the site of the gallows where many priests had offered their lives. On 10 March 1586 she was arrested. A search of her house uncovered the secret room, along with vestments, vessels and books intended for Mass. Charged with sponsering illegal religious services, she refused to enter a plea, hoping thus to spare her family and friends the risk of testifying in a trial. She knew however that this would automatically incur a judgment against her and the terrible penalty of death by pressing. In vain the judge urged her to seek the mercy of the court, entreating her to consider her obligations to her husband and children. I do honour my husband and love my children she replied. While imprisoned she was not permitted to see her children, and only once saw her husband in the presence of the jailer. When he heard of her sentencing, John Clitherow was like a man distracted, crying out that they would murder the best wife within the kingdom and the best Catholic. She spent the last night of her life in prayer, accompanied by the jailer s wife, whose company she had requested (Not that I fear death, for that is comfort; but the flesh is frail.) Next morning she was taken to the site of her execution. Urged to beg the queen s forgiveness and also that of her husband, she replied, If ever I have offended him, I do ask forgiveness from the bottom of my heart. Then she was placed on a sharp stone with a board laid over her on which steadily increasing weights were applied. She endured this punishment for only fifteen minutes before her ribs were shattered. Her last words were Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, have mercy on me. She was canonised in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. Her feast is celebrated on 25 October among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. 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 Tower of Babel Many years had passed since the great flood and Noah s descendants gradually spread over the land. Eventually some settled in the land of Shinar. In those days everyone in the world spoke the same language and used the same words. The people of Shinar decided to build themselves a fine city out of brick, with a tall tower that would be the highest in the world and reach right up to the heavens. They thought this would make them all famous and powerful: the envy of every other nation! No longer would they be weak, and scattered over the countryside. While they were still making bricks and building, God came down to see what they were doing. The sight of their city, with its strong walls and its tower reaching up to the sky, made him sad. These people, he saw, were full of pride and selfish ambition. Once their city was built, there would be no end to their greedy scheming; nothing would stop them. So God confused their language and the words they spoke, so that they were all unable to understand each other. At once the building came to a stop and the tower of Babel - which took its name from the babble of sounds that everyone made - was never completed. The people left the Shinar valley and scattered in many different directions once more. Read also Genesis Chapter XI. Illustration by Val Biro, from One Hundred Bible Stories for Children by Award Publications Ltd. 20 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL 25 21

12 KIDZONE Pontius s Puddle Wonderful Wrens By Elizabeth McArdle Pudsy s Diry Im awful confuzed. cos bfore the inspekter kem to our class Ms Flinn told us we mus give an awful good impreshon to this important vistor an mek him happy. He had a big smile an sed he herd we were the best klass in the whole skool but he wud soon find out an he gev an even bigger smile. Then he started askin all sorts of qwestions an med us spell awful hard words an we got everythin wrong an he jus kep smilin and didnt luk cross at all. We jus sat there tryin to figure out whas he smilin so much for. So im thinkin twas like the time Bump an me hed to collect ole newspapers from our naybur Mr McHugh for the skools Ha! Ha! 1. What do you call an alligator in a vest? 2. What do you get when you cross a fridge with a radio? 3. Why did the belt go to jail? 4. Why did the man lose his job at the orange juice factory? 5. Which month do soldiers hate most? 6. Why did the baby strawberry cry? 7. What do cats eat for breakfast? 8. What goes up and down but doesn t move? 1. An Investigator! 2. Cool music!! 3. Because it held up a pair of trousers! 4. Because he couldn t concentrate! 5. The month of March! 6. Because his parents were in a jam! 7. Mice crispies! 8. The temperature! wastpaper drive for the mishons. Now he has a dog as big as a tigre an he baired his teeth at us so much we were neerly dazzled an kep snappin at our heals. But Mr McHugh sed not to worry cos when the dog doz a dazzler hes only sayin hello an with his snappin hes only greetin us cos hes such a luvable creeture. Now mebbe the inspektor is like that too cos when we think he shud be cross with us he gives us a dazzler cos hes only tellin us hes happy. But mebbe the next time he comes to our klass he might go snappin at our heals too. Bump an me cant figger it out so weere awful confused. A Gaelic Proverb Is treise dúchas ná oiliúnt. Instinct is stronger than upbringing. Competition Winners December 24 Colpaint Winners Aged 8 & Under: Laila Moffatt, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. Over 8: Saoirse Ruane, Hackney Wick, London. My Diary: Menna Louise Owen, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. Bible Quiz No 47 Winners Dr E.P. Kirwan, Headington, Oxford. Wrens are adorable little birds. Their reddish brown feathers and cocked tails make them easy to spot as they hop along the ground, probing in crevices with their long thin beaks. They are wonderful birds to have in your garden, as they eat many insect pests such as caterpillars, snails, greenfly and spiders. For such a tiny bird, the wren sings a very loud song indeed. Their 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 31st March 25. 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. distinctive sound explodes from the greenery in a melodious cascade of beautiful notes. The Carolina wren can sing up to forty different songs, 3,000 times in a single day. See if you can try that at home. The scientific name, Troglodytes means cave dweller and is in reference to their exquisite globe shaped nests which have only one small opening. The male wren works really hard and constructs several nests (often 6-10) from leaves, moss and grass. He knows that female wrens are very fussy about where they lay their precious eggs. When the female chooses her favourite nest, she lines it with the softest feathers for the comfort of her tiny brood. Wren s nests have been found in tin cans, old boots, car radiators, post boxes, as well as in walls, hedges and trees. In the gospel of Matthew, Christ tells us that we are not to worry about anything at all. He tells us that God the Father cares for us as he cares for the birds of the air. This includes our new friend the wren. We would do well to take God s advice. Our lives and those who live with us would be the better for it. It is reassuring and heartening to know that God the Father takes care of us all, no matter how small. Mrs Sally Walsh, Aylesbury, Bucks. 22 FAR EAST MARCH/APRIL Name: Address: Age: Colpaint

13 O Cross of Christ O Cross of Christ, immortal tree On which our Saviour died, The world is sheltered by your arms That bore the Crucified. From bitter death and barren wood The tree of life is made; Its branches bear unfailing fruit And leaves that never fade. O faithful Cross, you stand unmoved While ages run their course; Foundation of the universe, Creation s binding force. Give glory to the risen Christ And to his Cross give praise, The sign of God s unfathomed love, The hope of all our days. Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal Roman Breviary. Wooden cross in the Piora Valley, Switzerland. Shutterstock.com